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Srila Prabhupada's Letters

PLAY LIST de Kadamba Kanana Swami

H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Monday 4 April 2011--Liberated Soul or Slave of Maya: Your Choice--and--How to Fully Surrender to Krishna?

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Nanda Mandir Prabhu

ISKCON Brampton, Canada: Sunday Feast - April 3 2011

ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: Sunday April 4, 2011

ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Offenses to Avoid at the Temple - Slides from Today's Sunday Feast Class by Rupanuga das

Bhakta Eric, Seattle, USA: A Ton of Books for Sale!

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: One step, not 108

Kripamoya dasa, UK: Youth Summer Camp in Europe this year

Japa Group: Taking Our Environment Into Account

Nityananda Chandra Das, Dallas TX: TEXAS FAITH 39: Did the King James Version of the Bible change the world?

David Haslam, UK: March Recorded Classes

Dandavats.com: Sriman Sadaputa Prabhu: A saint among scientists; a scientist among saints

Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: In the race... but not a rat...

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

Srila Prabhupada's Letters

H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 269—Poem for April 3

Bhakta Chris, New York, USA: The Intersection-The Calling Within And The Forces Within

Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: A Black and a White Pebble

Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : Rose Petal Jam

H.H. Sivarama Swami: Celebrating our cows’ first day out in the pasture

ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Bhaktimarga Swami Leading Kirtan on a Boat in Mayapura, India!

H.H. Sivarama Swami: Celebrating our cows’ first day (20 minutes) out in the pasture and more on cow-protection and sva-dharma

Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: The True Food Shoppers Guide For Avoiding Non-GMOs

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Aniruddha Prabhu

Japa Group: Please Join The Japa Group

Gouranga TV: Bhaktivinasa Nrsimha Swami – memory of Padmalochan Das

Dandavats.com: Recharge Station

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
We thank our Temple President for taking the darsana pictures today.

Little meditation of the day from Lord Brahma:

SB 3.9.11

"O my Lord, You are so merciful to Your devotees that You manifest Yourself in the particular eternal form of transcendence in which they always think of You"

SB 3.9.11

¡Oh, mi Señor! Tu devoto puede verte a través de los oídos mediante el proceso de oír genuinamente, y en esa forma su corazón se limpia, y Tú Te sitúas en él. Eres tan misericordioso con Tus devotos, que Te manifiestas en la forma eterna trascendental específica en la que ellos siempre piensan en Ti.

SB 3.9.11

Mon Seigneur, Tes dévots peuvent Te contempler à travers leurs oreilles, grâce à la pratique de l'écoute spirituelle par quoi ils purifient leur coeur, lequel devient alors Ton lieu de résidence. Si grande Ta miséricorde pour Tes dévots, que Tu Te manifestes à eux dans la Forme spirituelle et éternelle vers laquelle ils ont eux-mêmes choisi de porter leur méditation constante.

That is why Sri Krishna has descended in the forms of SS Gaura Nitai, SS Radha Ballabha and SS Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Mayi; let us therefore relish Their darsana.

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H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Monday 4 April 2011--Liberated Soul or Slave of Maya: Your Choice--and--How to Fully Surrender to Krishna?
A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course(TM) Monday 4 April 2011 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani are enjoying transcendental pastimes in the topmost planet of the spiritual world, Sri Goloka Vrindavan. They are beckoning us to rejoin them. (Click on photo to see a larger image.) Our Mission: To help everyone awaken their original Krishna consciousness, which is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. Such a global awakening will, in one stroke, solve all the problems of the world society bringing in a new era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for all. May that day, which the world so desperately needs, come very soon. We request you to participate in this mission by reviving your dormant Krishna consciousness and assisting us in spreading this science all over the world. Dedicated with love to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, and to you, our dear readers. Today's Thought: Liberated Soul or Slave of Maya: Your Choice Uploaded from Sri Vrindavan Dhama A devotee of the Lord can serve the Lord in any condition of material existence. Simply he has to remain always in strict obedience to the orders he has received from his spiritual master. In this way he will always remain in a liberated position beyond the influence of the material energy. This is confirmed as follows in the Bhakti-rasmrta-sindhu 1.2.187: h yasya harer dsye karman manas gir nikhilsv apy avasthsu jvan-muktah sa ucyate One who engages in the transcendental service of the Lord in body, mind and word is to be considered liberated in all conditions of material existence. However, if one deviates from the orders he has received from his spiritual master, he falls down from his liberated position and once again becomes a slave of the material energy. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Fully Surrender to Krishna? Hare Krishna, dear Maharaja, Please accept my humbles obeisances. Thank you once again for your enlightening guidance. How do we fully surrender unto the Lord? Many times, I become scared of situations around me and worry how I will be able to make it through. Deep down within I know that the Lord is here to take care, yet I get carried away at times by fear. Humbly yours, Vidya Answer: Fully Surrender to Sri Guru. As quoted in the Adi Purana, Krishna describes to Arjuna the method for being a fully surrendered devotee of Krishna. One has to fully surrender himself to the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna's pure representative, the bona fide spiritual master. This means to take complete shelter of the spiritual master by initiation and by accepting his instructions as your very life and soul. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? Check out the resources at:http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com or write Sankarshan Das Adhikari at: sda@backtohome.com Get your copy today of the world's greatest self-realization guide book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is available at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/store Know someone who could benefit from this? Forward it to them. Searchable archives of all of course material: http://www.sda-archives.com Receive Thought for the Day as an RSS feed:http://www.backtohome.com/rss.htm Unsubscribe or change your email address Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Daily_Thought http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=714185709 Copyright 2005-2011 by Ultimate Self Realization.Com Distribution of this material is encouraged. Simply we request you to acknowledge where it is coming from with a link to our sign up page: http://www.backtohome.com Our records indicate that at requested to be enrolled to receive e-mails from the Ultimate Self Realization Course at: This request was made on: From the following IP address:

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Nanda Mandir Prabhu
Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.28-30 - The enemy lust sits at the strategic positions of senses, mind & intelligence (indriyani mano buddhir asyadhisthanam ucyate...).

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ISKCON Brampton, Canada: Sunday Feast - April 3 2011
His Holiness Bhaktimarga Swami at ISKCON Brampton

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ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: Sunday April 4, 2011

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ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Offenses to Avoid at the Temple - Slides from Today's Sunday Feast Class by Rupanuga das
As promised during this evening's Sunday program, below are the slides from the class given by HG Rupanuga das about "Offences to Avoid at the Temple". Enjoy!

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Bhakta Eric, Seattle, USA: A Ton of Books for Sale!
I’m doing some spring cleaning and have a BUNCH of books to sell. Soon, I’ll let them individually, but for now, Here are shots of the spines…
You’ll notice that I have a Srimad Bhagavatam set for sale. I’m asking $200 for that. If anyone is interested in anything else, we’ll work out a deal. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1969 April 3: "Don't do anything whimsically. The direction comes through the Spiritual Master, and any one who abides by the order of the Spiritual Master, he is perfectly surrendered soul. So stay there."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1972 April 3: "N.B. Regarding changes made in GBC zonal management. I do not favor these changes. Tell them to stop everything. Why they have done this without consulting?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1972 April 3: "There is no other literatures like ours in the world, and this information, 'Here is God, just see Him,' this clear understanding of God is not available anywhere else but from our books."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

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Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: One step, not 108
I am in due receipt of your letter of January 5, 1972, along with Outline and Introduction to your proposed book. I don't think this will be a very good proposal for book. Our process is not mechanical, so that anyone, simply by following 108 steps can attain Absolute Pleasure. It is not like that. One only has to surrender to Krishna, a very simple one-step matter. Why confuse and complicate. Krishna Consciousness process is not to be presented in this way as mechanical achievement, at least we find no evidence from previous scriptures to support such technique. So I do not approve of this book.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Hayagriva, 18 January, 1972

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Kripamoya dasa, UK: Youth Summer Camp in Europe this year
My regular readers will know that every year I go to the Bhaktivedanta College in Europe to teach for a few days. The college is situated in the small Belgian village of Septon, near Durbuy in the Ardennes. Its a pleasant journey to get over there; I travel by Eurostar, the train that takes me effortlessly from St. Pancras in London all the way to the small train station of Marloie, only a few miles from my destination.
For me personally, its still the stuff of science-fiction to be on a train that travels underwater between England and France. I don’t think I will ever get used to entering a railway tunnel in the English countryside and coming out twenty minutes later into the sunshine of rural France.
They’ve been running excellent courses and retreats for many years at the Bhaktivedanta College. The castle is a beautiful setting for learning, and the bakery, restaurant, superb new art gallery and the guesthouse make living there a real pleasure for guests and resident students. They’ve made a name for themselves internationally as a forward-thinking place for education and last year offered a summer camp for youth. This year its happening again and I wanted to share the dates and details with any reader who might be – or know of someone – aged 12-20.
Travelling to Belgium for a summer break might not be the first thing you think of when you think of a late summer break, but the summer camp is fun and everyone gets to learn something new. Please have a look at the details and pass on the news to anyone interested: http://www.radhadesh-summercamp.com
And if you’re in Britain you can go over easily on Eurostar: http://www.eurostar.com

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Japa Group: Taking Our Environment Into Account

Our environment during Japa can have a big impact on the quality of our rounds. We need to ask ourselves a few questions - Do I get constantly interrupted by others during Japa? Do I get constantly distracted by the environment around me? Is the environment around me helpful for concentration?

For those in family or household life, chanting Japa can be a hard task....there are many distractions to keep us from concentrating. We need to give sacred time to the Holy names and try to place ourselves in a peaceful situation to increase the chances of deep meditation.

We may need to excuse ourselves from the family situation and go for a Japa walk or sit in a place away from interruptions. Whatever situation we find ourselves in, we need to treat our Japa time as the most important part of the day - give respect to Krsna and really try hard to pronounce all the names properly and to hear ourselves with attention.

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Nityananda Chandra Das, Dallas TX: TEXAS FAITH 39: Did the King James Version of the Bible change the world?

Dallas Morning News,
Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.
Throughout this year, celebrations are being held around the world to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. Websites touting the anniversary of its publication, such as this one, talk about the King James Bible as "the book that changed the world."
The argument is that it did so by making the Bible more accessible to people by putting it in English, a language that common people understood in the 1600s. As a result, the Bible became more accessible to everyday people. And it spread English around the world.
What do you think:
Is the King James Bible really the book that changed the world? If so, explain why. If not, explain why not. And, if possible, suggest what book did.

NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas
Let me ask you all a question. Would you accept a surgery by a plumber who had read lots of books on surgery? No? Why not? Say he practiced surgery on his friends and rodents? Would you now? No?

How about a high court judge, an attorney, or a mathematician who all read books on surgery? No. A surgeon is qualified by studying under someone who is already expert in surgery, a real surgeon. Similarly one cannot become a lawyer simply by reading books, therefore there is law school. So then why do so many apply this standard for all sophisticated fields except spirituality, which is the most subtle subject.

Lord Krishna therefore in the Bhagavad Gita 4.2 teaches that spiritual knowledge must be passed down from teacher to disciple in an unbroken disciplic succession. This is to be done by teachers who are factual examples then the information given. Otherwise such teaching becomes just lost theory, precept with no example.

Here is a wonderful example of this fact. Over 40 years ago A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami translated the Bhagavad Gita As It Is. Now why would there be a need for another translation of the Bhagavad Gita when there were already over 700 other translations and commentaries available, many in English?

Although there have been so many translations we find that historically no one who has read those translations has ever become a devotee of Lord Krishna, the desired goal of the Bhagavad Gita. This is because the translators did not take into account Krishna's instruction that spiritual teaching must be presented in disciplic succession. On the other hand the Bhagavad Gita As It Is has been very effective in promoting change. Not just a change in ideals but a change in habits and behavior. As soon as someone takes up reading Bhagavad Gita As It Is seriously they then take up the spiritual principles of honesty by giving up gambling, cleanliness of mind by giving up intoxication (both legal and illegal), self control by giving up loose sexual relationship, and compassion by giving up eating meat. Combined with becoming firmly established that there is no goal higher than serving God with love.

Because a teaching can only be understood properly when a real live teacher is present and because the world is ready for non-sectarian religion that teaches that God accepts pure love from everyone regardless of culture or religious background I therefore consider that the Bhagavad Gita As It Is as the book that is now changing the world.

To see all the responses from the Texas Faith Panel click here

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David Haslam, UK: March Recorded Classes
Just up-loaded the morning class taken during my visit to Bhaktivadanta Manor: HG Adi Karma Dasa HG Sarvabhavana Dasa HG Sutapa Dasa All are MP3 format and also have a facility to play directly from the web-server, enjoy

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Dandavats.com: Sriman Sadaputa Prabhu: A saint among scientists; a scientist among saints
By Sthita-dhi-muni dasa & Krishna-kripa dasa
A number of the devotees in Alachua who worked closely with Sadaputa Prabhu, especially since he moved here in the early 1990s, have in cooperation with Sadaputa’s wife, collected and organized his papers so to make them available to future researchers. We are working under the auspices of the GBC BI Committee and have already sent an initial digital collection to Hari Sauri Prabhu and the Bhaktivedanta Research Center in Kolkata for use by the TOVP-Mayapura project

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Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: In the race... but not a rat...
The competitive spirit pervades the world we live in. Students fiercely compete to clinch university placements and graduate positions. Colleagues deviously compete to intercept each other in the ascent up the corporate ladder. Neighbors become engrossed in ‘keeping up with the Joneses’. Believe it or not, even aspiring spiritualists can end up competing with each other in the quest for distinction, fame and adoration. As the founder of McDonalds once quipped “If any of my competitors were drowning, I’d stick a hose in their mouth!” In a world which impels one to pursue grand success, it’s no wonder that rates of stress, anxiety and depression are also soaring. The pressure to demonstrate a successful life through eye-opening achievements is immense.

The Bhagavad-gita offers a unique perspective – the idea of detached work, technically referred to as karma-yoga. The wisdom of the Gita posits that we are not the only factor in our success or failure. In reality, there are higher universal laws and factors beyond our control which are simultaneously contributing to our fortunes. Thus, in times of success one cannot take the full credit, and in failure one is not deemed the sole culprit. The first attitude nullifies tendencies of arrogance and complacency, and the former attitude guards against feelings of despondency and self-pity. Real Success, the Gita states, is demonstrated by determined, dutiful and conscientious endeavor. For the spiritualist, more important than output and external results, is the sincerity of purpose, motivation and devotion with which one works.

One may develop the notion that lack of focus on goals and outputs can easily lead to lethargy, laziness or indifference. A true karma-yogi however, can stand on the cutting edge of material competence and spiritual acumen simultaneously. When one invests complete attention in making the best endeavour, and when such attention is not diverted by the externals of success, failure and worldly opinion, it’s a no-brainer that the output will naturally be improved. As Henry David Thoreau once said, “what lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when we bring what is within us, out into the world, miracles happen.”

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1969 April 3: "Although it resembles the material way, our separation is completely different. Separation is simply another feature of meeting. In the spiritual world, separation is eternal, and meeting is also eternal."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1969 April 3: "You should take the indication given by Krishna: the press is already there, the press worker is coming, and the scholar has joined. Don't you see the indication by Krishna?."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1972 April 3: "There is no other literatures like ours in the world, and this information, 'Here is God, just see Him,' this clear understanding of God is not available anywhere else but from our books."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1973 April 3: "Today is Tuesday so I hope that the court case will be heard. If the judge takes seriously that the land must be given to one of us, that will be a great success."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1973 April 3: "Regarding the house at Puri – the place of Srila Prabhupada. I understand that Sripad B.D. Madhav Maharaj is also eager to purchase, so I do not wish to make a competitive price."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1974 April 3: "If we cannot utilize the land then why purchase it at such expenditure? Self help doesn't mean Rs 10,000 spent monthly."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1974 April 3: "Why are the cows suffering from no good shelter? I sent $5,000 and then $4,000 previous to that, for construction for the cows. Why have you not built them something solid?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

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Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1974 April 3: "If somebody can recite like storm, it is to be understood he has perfected himself. No. Don't be in hurry. Just explain one word. That is the defect of the modern approach. These reciters do not explain even the first line of Bhagavatam, 'janmady asya yatah.' It requires many years to understand that one line and they jump over, 'rasa-lila.' That has spoiled the whole atmosphere." Prabhupada Lectures

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 269—Poem for April 3
www.sdgonline.org.
5:40 A.M.
A Writer of Pieces
New format—I will begin with a poem written on the day of its printing. Then I will print random excerpts of books I have printed over the last 30 years. I hope this variety will be pleasing.
Poem for April 3
I woke up late at
4 A.M. and rushed through
two rounds to get to this
poem. It’s home, but I
have to think of what to say.
In any case, praise Krishna.
It is not too late. Don’t
get into a panic over that.
Praising Krishna is always apropos and your
unorthodox approach can
be accepted if it’s sincere.
Although askew, he
waved the incense at
Radharani’s feet and to the
Others praying divine
insight although not
in regulated form.
He prayed for long
life and true allegiance
to the Divine Couple
and Srila Prabhupada.
They are lenient masters
and will accept your homage
even if offered in a behind-
the-schedule manner.
I do bow down like a
soldier with his gun,
like a monk in solitude.
This was not a regular journey,
but I declare it was offered
in sincerity and plain sight
of the authorities, a little
ruffled but well-intended.
You are in the right place
at the lotus feet of
Krishna, a tiny part and
parcel, grateful for the
parampara grace which
doesn’t desert you even
in a hurried poem.

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Bhakta Chris, New York, USA: The Intersection-The Calling Within And The Forces Within

I'd like to make a simple and hopefully heartfelt request to readers of this blog as I recommit to this blog: I am hoping that my service as a monk and my life can be enhanced by an offering of writings and thoughts and reflections which I consider a form of digging into my own heart-a internal prayer to call out within me the best of the Divine, so that I may understand myself and in the course of this perhaps even inspire you to also find the way to understanding your own self.

I simply ask that as I post these writings here that you may offer your feedback and constructive criticism. It is your voice that will help to find mine, and I deeply appreciate and offer my gratitude to anyone who takes the time to read anything I may offer.

First, a series of smaller essays from a larger essay titled "The Intersection", exploring the bridge between spirituality and social justice, inspired by the writings of Thomas Merton from his book "Conjectures Of A Guilty Bystander"

***

It is an attempt to elevate man...to a level consonant with his dignity as a son of God...liberated from the powers that keep him in subjection, the old dark gods of war, lust, power, and greed. In such a context, political action itself is a kind of spiritual action, an expression of spiritual responsibility”
Thomas Merton
“A person who realizes the particular evil of his time and finds that it overwhelms him, dives deep in his own heart for inspiration, and when he gets it he presents it to others”
Mohandas Gandhi
What is the role of the spiritual person in the realm of social justice? How can the spiritual person offer the truth of God and His mercy and His relationship as the way to create real and meaningful solutions to the inequalities and injustices that burden our humanity? One can clearly argue that the spiritualist who is attempting to wholeheartedly give their life to the service of God certainly has one of the most essential roles.
The most selfish thing one can do is to keep one's love and faith in God within themselves, and not give this to others who are in desperately in need. It certainly follows from this that there is a clear relationship between the realm of the spiritual and the realm of social justice. The issues of ecological abuse, economic inequality, political and power abuses, war, torture, prejudice, etc have left a stain on our collective humanity because of a spiritual vacuum within the heart of our civilization.
Real and meaningful solutions to these issues will only come from an intersection between the powerful motivation and personal power of the activist with the deep spiritual foundation of wisdom given to us by the traditions based in the discovery and realization of love of God.
This intersection between spirituality and social justice is especially lucid through the work and thought of author/poet/mystic/monk Thomas Merton, particularly in his landmark book “Confessions Of A Guilty Bystander.” Merton's piercing and prophetic observations of the state of our contemporary civilization sears a sharp focus upon the crossroads of our collective human situation, rife with potentialities both empowering and frightening, and how the subsequent role and voice of the committed spiritual activist is completely essential to restoring and affirming the natural, spiritual birthright of our existence on this Planet Earth.In this essay we will attempt to explore the meaning of this intersection through select passages of Merton's work from "Confessions", based in the themes of...as well as select passages from the classic Eastern wisdom text the Bhagavad-Gita, a book Merton was personally inspired by in the later period of his life.
**
The Calling Within And The Forces Within
Merton's own prophetic voice and his understanding of the prophetic calling are strong, firm, and uncompromising. Against the faceless gaze of the impersonal tyranny which threatens to strangle our deep, inner freedom, Merton's words are scathing and honest. In the force of Merton's language, we encounter him as someone who has transmuted his heart into a weapon of compassion, and we see and hear him as someone who is not neglecting his responsibility as a committed spiritual activist,
He writes:
“We are living in the greatest revolution in history-a huge spontaneous upheaval of the entire human race...a deep elemental boiling over of all the inner contradictions that have ever been in man, a revelation of the chaotic forces inside everybody. This is not something we have chosen, nor is it something we are free to avoid.
This revolution is a profound spiritual crisis of the whole world, manifested largely in desperation, cynicism, violence, conflict, self-contradiction, ambivalence, fear and hope, doubt and belief, creation and destructiveness, progress and regression, obsessive attachments to images, idols, slogans, programs that only dull the general anguish for a moment until it bursts out everywhere in a still more acute and terrifying form.^¹
To a great extent, when we commit ourselves to the spiritual path, we also willingly call these forces to the surface within ourselves. We enter into battle against our inner hypocrisy, against all the polarities that strangle our very being and whose monstrous face we want to simply avoid.
We live in a hypocritical collective society, wearing many masks to conceal our true face. There is little else more courageous than to expose, explore, and defeat this hypocrisy, and this inner battle is an essential one to conquer if we are going to also understand and conquer our many external battles. We cling to the surface glean of an illusory well-being that convinces us and others that we do not stand on the brink of dissolution. It is very much that we are treading water on the surface of our being, ignoring the giant man-eating sharks swimming just below the surface.
Our dogged optimism is thin, as Merton writes:
“Our sickness is the sickness of disordered love, of the self-love that realizes itself simultaneously to be self-hate and instantly becomes a source of universal, indiscriminate destructiveness. This is the other side of the coin that was current in the nineteenth century: the belief in indefinite progress, in the supreme goodness of man and of all his appetites.
What passes for optimism, even Christian optimism, is the indefectible hope that eighteenth and nineteenth century attitudes can continue valid, can be kept valid just by the determination to smile, even though the whole world may fall to pieces. Our smiles are symptoms of our sickness.”^²
Turning towards a living spiritual discipline is a clear indictment of this status-quo. For under all the masks that we wear is the person we actually are, and this is the person who is able to dance and able to live and able to love without being weighed down by a damning confusion of who I am, what I can do, and what I represent.
Within a spiritual discipline, we not only get the methodology to free our potential for actual and eternal happiness, but we earn the right to share these methods with everyone else, everyone who is equally in need of a solid, forthright, and honest truth with which to understand their essence. Here is a tremendous opportunity to understand the real power of the revolutionary impulse, to look at the struggle for justice as something beyond even the material sphere itself, as an issue that dives down into our soul.
The great gift and the great weapon a spiritual activist has in this inevitable struggle is the inner strength of wisdom one receives from the teachers and guides in one's life who have fought this battle and won, and also from the mystical inner guidance of God, described in this verse from the Bhagavad-Gita:
“But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form-to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.”^³
It may be a cliche or a medieval impulse to term those impulses and those entities that we battle in the spheres of spirituality and social justice as demoniac. If one examines closely the Sixteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, we see that this term means much more than goat-horns and horror stories. In fact, we find an indictment not only of greedy bankers and totalitarian dictators, but also of the demons inside us which keep us much closer to that same darkness that blinds this world that we would like to know.
Some examples:
Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance -- these qualities belong to those of demoniac nature, O son of Prtha.^⁴

Those who are demoniac do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them.^⁵

Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.^⁶

They believe that to gratify the senses is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus until the end of life their anxiety is immeasurable. Bound by a network of hundreds of thousands of desires and absorbed in lust and anger, they secure money by illegal means for sense gratification.^⁷

There are three gates leading to this hell -- lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.^⁸
These three gates of lust, anger, and greed are easily placed around those considered as the perpetrators of the crime. If we hear a senator grilling Goldman Sachs bigwigs or historians defining the place of a Stalin or a Nixon, it doesn't take a lot of deliberation or meditation to join along in the condemnation that the Gita has laid out above.
What does take more of our courage and our heart to do is to point that finger at ourselves. The polarities of our hyper-competitive state of being impart that even if we consider ourselves on the progressive side of history, we forget to examine our own motives before striking out to remove the fatcats and the tyrants. This invariably leads to the “meet the new boss, same as the old boss” syndrome.
If we want to avoid creating, on the large scale, totalitarianism out of idealism, or on the small scale, to simply keep our promises to a friend, spouse, or colleague that we will “change our ways” for the better, we have to spark and sustain a revolution within our own hearts first. We have to rise up against the forces of hypocrisy within us that will strangle any external expressions of our idealism, and we must fight these forces with the power of a meaningful spiritual discipline of joy and understanding.
This is where the intersection of spirituality and social justice has its strongest and most practical bonds, for it is the depth of a genuine spiritual science practically applied in one's life under the guidance of learned and loving practitioners that positions one in the best way to face the faceless gaze with a look of conviction, a warm smile bearing real substance, and a determined action that truly and clearly takes down injustice.
1Merton, Thomas, Confessions Of A Guilty Bystander, pp 66-67, Image Books, 1968
2Merton, pp 67-68
3A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, pp.409, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2008
4 Prabhupada, 628
5 Prabhupada, 629
6 Prabhupada, 632
7 Prabhupada, 634
8 Prabhupada, 640

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Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: A Black and a White Pebble
Many years ago in a small Indian village a farmer had the misfortune Of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.
The Moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain.
He said he would forgo the farmer’s debt if he could marry his Daughter.
Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter.
He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would Have to pick one pebble from the bag.
1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven.
3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer’s field. As They talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles.
As he Picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two Black pebbles and put them into the bag.
He then asked the girl to pick A pebble from the bag.
Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have Done if you were the girl?
If you had to advise her, what would you Have told her?
Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag And expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with The hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral And logical thinking.
The girl’s dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking.
Think of the consequences if she chooses The above logical answers.
What would you recommend to the Girl to do?
Well, here is what she did ….
The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path Where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.
“Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the Bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I Picked.”
Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had Picked the white one.
And since the money-lender dared not admit his Dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into An extremely advantageous one.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don’t attempt to think.

Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever

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Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : Rose Petal Jam
rose petal jam
Springtime. Ahhh.
The kids and I were at our friend Mohini’s house the other day. My kids were like, “Blah blah blah something something ROSE BUSH blah blah something something.”
And I was like, “Something something blah blah blah THAT’S A CAMELIA NOT A ROSE BUSH duh blah blah.”
And Mohini was like, “No blah blah blah that is a something something rose bush.”
And I was like, “WHAT!!!!? WHY DIDN”T YOU TELL ME???!” Really I was. I was that loud.
Turns out Mohini knew all along that she had a rose bush but she had no idea she could make JAM out of the petals. Thank goodness there’s me.
Seriously.
8 cups of organic rose petals, locally sourced from around the corner
We picked the petals on the spot but Mohini and her son fell ill soon after and were out of commission for about a week. Do not fear! The petals were in water in her fridge and survived beautifully.
Saturday we met up for a quick jam session. I measured out the petals and went through my mental recipe rolodex trying to put together a recipe. It was not looking good. We were thinking of that time we made the Martha Stewart candied peel roses. We were bracing ourselves for ugliness. But we didn’t care. We were two gals on the cusp of solid middle-agehood and we were alone. In the kitchen. Together. With Cutest Baby In The World and my lactating breasts. We were going for it.
flower pot : bringing to a boil with 4 cups of water and 1 cup of rose water. is that cheating?
I added all the stuff to a pot. To be more specific, it’s called a chicken fryer. But chicken has never touched its noble stainless steel walls. No. In my kitchen, it’s just sugar and roses. Sugar and roses. Sugar and roses….
rose water. eau de rose. taking it to the next level.
Speaking of roses, I had a bottle of rose water hanging around so I dumped that into the whole shebangalang figuring it couldn’t do much harm. And when else was I going to use rose water?
cooking my petals
all poured--love my 8 cup pyrex measuring cup
recipe yielded more than i expected--seven 9.5 ounce jars
The house filled with the fragrant aroma of roses and we tore off our clothes, making hot passionate love to one another on the floor of my kitchen.
No. We didn’t. Actually, the thought didn’t even cross my mind. Until now apparently. That’s what you get for blogging while breast feeding. I guess.
i am loving life
Recipe
*This recipe uses pomona’s pectin, a natural fruit derived pectin available at natural food stores. If you use the yucky pectin available at any old grocery shop, you will use a ton more sugar. Just saying.
Ingredients

8 cups organic rose petals, washed

4 cups filtered water

1 cup rose water

2 tablespoons citric acid

2 tablespoons calcium water (calcium powder comes with Pomona’s Pectin–follow instructions in packet)

2 tablespoons Pomona’s Pectin

6 cups evaporated natural cane juice

Directions

Place rose petals in a pot with water and rose water.

Add citric acid and calcium water.

Bring to boil.

Mix pectin powder into sugar.

When boiling, gradually add sugar, stirring.

Boil until reaches gelling point, approx 20 minutes.

Pour into hot, sterilized jars that have been in an oven at 200 degrees.

Wipe any excess jam off rim and secure lid.

Wait for that beautiful popping sound!

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H.H. Sivarama Swami: Celebrating our cows’ first day out in the pasture

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ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Bhaktimarga Swami Leading Kirtan on a Boat in Mayapura, India!
Continuing with our recent tendency to post YouTube videos, here is a video of our very own Bhaktimarga Swami leading kirtan on a boat last month in Mayapura, India!

ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Bhaktimarga Swami Leading Kirtan on a Boat in Mayapura, India!

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H.H. Sivarama Swami: Celebrating our cows’ first day (20 minutes) out in the pasture and more on cow-protection and sva-dharma

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Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: The True Food Shoppers Guide For Avoiding Non-GMOs
The True Food Shoppers’ Guide to Avoiding GMOs
From The Center For Food Safety

Download our NEW True Food Shopper’s Guide to avoiding GE foods, updated for 2011, or get our True Food Shoppers Guide mobile application for iPhone and Android! The mobile app was created to help you find and avoid GE ingredients wherever you shop. Our guide gives you valuable information on common GE ingredients, brands to look for, and look out for, and common sense tips to keep you in the know. Stop shopping in the dark and download your new pocket shoppers’ guide today! Check out this video review of the app on livingmaxwell.com.
Get it for free on iTunes (for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) or Android Market by searching for “True Food.”
Don’t have a compatible mobile phone? Download our NEW printable True Food Shoppers Guide, updated for 2011 instead!
Go behind the label and get the facts on genetically engineered foods.
Today, thousands of products on supermarket shelves are made with ingredients from genetically modified (also known as genetically engineered [GE]) crops. But GM foods are not labeled in the U.S., despite warnings from doctors and scientists that these foods may not be safe in the diet or the environment. This lack of mandatory labeling can make it difficult to determine which products are made with GM ingredients and which are not. The True Food Shoppers Guide is designed to give you the tools you need to make informed purchasing decisions.
The True Food Shoppers Guide also arms you with valuable information regarding common GM ingredients, as well as brands to look for, and to look out for. The application includes a “Four Simple Tips” section, which offers easy ways to avoid GM ingredients, a “Supermarkets and GMOs” section to help consumers identify GM and non-GMO private-label store brands, and a rbGH and rbGH-free dairy guide.
In addition to a list of brands that produce foods with no GM content, the application also offers contact information for companies that do use GM ingredients. This feature enables consumers to personally voice their opposition to the use of GM foods directly to the parties involved. As a result, the app serves not only as a shopping guide and teaching tool, but one that can be used for widespread advocacy as well. The app also has a “Take Action” section allowing people to contact state and federal agencies and officials to demand better regulatory oversight, safety testing and labeling laws for GM foods and crops.

App Features:

Our “Four Simple Tips” section gives you easy ways to avoid genetically modified ingredients in any product

“What’s New” brings you an always-updated feed of the Center for Food Safety’s latest news and campaign developments on GMOs and other important food issues. You can even share these articles and announcements with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and more, right from the app!

Our “Action” center brings you our latest action alerts on simple things you can do to demand True Food!

“Supermarkets and GMOs” lists major supermarket chains across the US and their policies on GMOs and rbGH use. Here you can find non-gmo and rbGH-free store brands, and supermarkets that are entirely non-gmo in their private-label brands!

You can browse the Shoppers Guide by category (16 categories in all) in a simple “Green” and “Red” list format, or search for products by brand name or food type

The Shoppers Guide also includes the ability to call or email companies listed in the “Red” (those who do not avoid GM ingredients in their products) to let them know you will not buy their products until they drop GMOs

Learn about the risks of gm crops and foods, the benefits of and where to buy organics, gm crops in development, rbGH, and more in “More Info”

Join the CFS True Food Network or our new Mobile Activists list and get updates and action alerts on the most pressing food issues via email or text message! We are over 100,000 members strong, and growing. Add your voice!

Connect with the CFS True Food Network on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

The True Food Shoppers Guide was compiled because you have the right to know what’s in your food!
The Guide was compiled primarily from direct communications with food producers. In some cases, we received company policy statements from consumers who passed these on to us. In addition to written statements, we spoke to many company representatives to clarify or assess their position. Products on the RED list contain ingredients that come from the most common GE crops (corn, soy, canola, cotton). Companies with products on this list have confirmed that their products may have or are likely to be made with GE ingredients, or have not denied using GE foods when given the opportunity to do so. Companies on the GREEN list have made a concerted effort to avoid GE ingredients and have company policies asserting their position on avoiding GE foods.
As ingredients change in products all the time, the best thing is to check the ingredients list of the products you buy often. Keep a look out for:
Corn: corn oil, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, corn meal
Soy: soy protein, soy lecithin, soy oil, soy sauce, soy isolates
Canola: canola oil
Cotton: cottonseed oil
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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Aniruddha Prabhu
Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.27 - Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu gives krsna prema without any consideration (papi tapi yata chilo hari-name uddharilo...)

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Japa Group: Please Join The Japa Group
Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:

rasa108@gmail.com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

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Gouranga TV: Bhaktivinasa Nrsimha Swami – memory of Padmalochan Das

Gouranga TV: Bhaktivinasa Nrsimha Swami – memory of Padmalochan Das

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Dandavats.com: Recharge Station
By Jaya Kesava das
Traveling along the west coast of the US has been on my top priority of things to rekindle since I experienced traveling sankirtan to some extent back in Portland Oregon many years ago. We'd drive down to Los Angeles for Ratha Yatra and along the way distribute books, picnic, swim, and have wild car kirtans

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More Recent Articles
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Kadamba Kanana Swami - PLAYLIST1

Información Adicional de los Videos en el PLAYLIST:

Kadamba Kanana Swami 82min

http://iskcon.net.au Bhakta dasa asks questions not often asked in the Srimad Bhagavatam class. HH Kadamba Kanana Maharaja talks about his youth, joining ISKCON, serving in Vrindavan, his service in South Africa and contemporary issues. ISKCON Melbourne 2010

Kadamba Kanana Swami Mayapur Bhajans 2009.mpg

Canal de ragalekha1

Canal de ragalekha1
Kadamba Kanana Swami leads bhajans after Panca Tattva Maha Abhishek, 25 Feb 2009

Sugerencias

12 Hour Kirtan Kadamba Kanana Swami 1

ISKCON Melbourne Australia

Canal de russellprabhu

Canal de russellprabhu

(HD) Kadamba Kanana Swami Holland Tour 2011

Haribol108 aka bhakta Michel

Canal de Haribol108

Canal de Haribol108

Hare Krishna Mahamantra Iskcon Temple

Canal de KADAMBAKANANA

Canal de KADAMBAKANANA

(HD) Kadamba Kanana Swami @ Radhadesh Mellows 2011
Canal de Haribol108
HG Syamananda dasa and other devotees are dancing.......
Leading vocals by HH Kadamba Kanana Swami.

www.radhadeshmellows.com
www.radhadesh.com
www.haribol.nl
30.01.2011

(HD) Kadamba Kanana Swami Holland Tour 2011
Canal de Haribol108
@ Theosofische Vereniging, Rotterdam - 09.02.2011
www.kkswami.com
www.sacisuta108.blogspot.com
www.haribol.nl

Kadamba Kanana Swami @ manor (ramnami) p3
Canal de punjabisuperman
Kadamba Kanana Swami kirtan at the manor. phone was on night mode so some actions look sluggish. Was a sik kirtan tho, Kadamba was rocking the temple room!! Varun on mridanga!

Radha Madhava song by Kadamba Kanana Swami

Gaurav108

Canal de punjabisuperman

Canal de Haribol108
HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, an ISKCON Guru, plays harmonium and sings the Radha Madhava bhajan before the morning lecture. (4/1/2010) Morning program at Radhadesh (Belgium), the headquaters of the Hare Krishna Movement in the Benelux. Maharaj was given a Caitanya Caritamrita (CC) seminar for the students from the Bhaktivedanta College and the guests. (Monday 4th of January till Thursday 7th of January 2010)

Fragments of the CC Seminar and morninglectures from this period will be uploaded soon on this YouTube account.

Check out for more information:
www.kkswami.com
www.library108.com
www.kkswami.blogspot.com

Hereby you're invited to join Maharaj and the devotees 30th of April 2010 In Amsterdam (Holland).
On this day there is a huge harinam party with hundreds of devotees!!! It's Queensday festival in Holland 30th of April, check out the YouTube impressions from previous years.

www.amsterdhama.nl
www.radhadesh.com
www.haribol.nl

Kadamba Kanana Swami

Canal de svairam

Canal de svairam
Small film as a little puja to the spiritual master i like very much.
Just like His singing ,very good,you don't want to stop
Kadamba Kanana Swami Maharaj ki jaya

Kadamba Kanana Swami - Hare Krishna Kirtan - Festival Iberico 2008
Canal de gaura79
Kadamba Kanana Swami Bhajan Festival Iberico 2008 in New Vrajamandala Spain

Kadamba Kanana Swami GoraPurnima Stockholm 2009
Canal de eddycontis
One magic evening in Stockholm/Sweden with His Holiness KADAMBA KANANA Swami. His wonderfull kirtans are well known all over the world and in Gora Purnima evening He brought to us a glimse of Caitania Lila. Hare Krishna !

Jaya Radha Madhava ! Kadamba Kanana Swami. Newc...
Canal de KADAMBAKANANA
KKSWAMI.COM

Kadamba Kanana Swami - Spiritual Warrior
Canal de KKS16108
Kadamba Kanana Swami travels the world inspiring everyone!
GO ON KKSWAMI.COM

Kadamba Kanana Swami dancing in Kirtan
Canal de paramak
Kirtan after initiation ceremony on Czech summer Nama-Hatta camp 2007. Leading His Grace Vidyavacaspati Prabhu, dancing in extasy His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami and many other devotees.

Kadamba Kanana Swami @ manor (ramnami) p1
Canal de punjabisuperman
Kadamba Kanana Swami kirtan at the manor. phone was on night mode so some actions look sluggish. Was a sik kirtan tho, Kadamba was rocking the temple room!! Varun on mridanga!