"Planet ISKCON" - 44 new articles
H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 205 Every Day, Just Write: Welcome Home to the One Big Book of Your Life11:12 A.M. From Every Day, Just Write, Volume I:
“I’m reading a book, Nourishing Wisdom, about food and attitudes towards food. It is very helpful and teaches that one should not be a slave to any one diet or regimen or to a person trying to insist that you follow one. Find out what is best for you at the different times of your changing life. But I cannot apply this in the same way for my spiritual life. I follow a regimen and a person who is my spiritual master (describing the way to eat also is in spiritual life—we will not eat the cow flesh or food that is not offered to Krishna. You may say, ‘Why not break that rule sometimes? Don’t just do it out of fear.’) “The ‘suspect authority’ attitude is helpful even in spiritual life. But when you find the actual authority, then you can surrender. But I also have to find out that I am serving not out of fear or duty merely. How to find out the actual level of my love? Admit it, admit your worst. But one way to do it is not open to me–the breaking of rules and promises I made to Prabhupada in order to ‘liberate’ myself from taboos. No. The author of the food book tells a story of how he was forbidden to eat bacon by his Jewish upbringing. But one day, while suffering in many ways in material life, he almost unconsciously went into a cafeteria and ordered a lettuce and bacon and tomato sandwich. He said it was a very happy experience, liberating, and that there was no bad aftertaste from it. He says ‘no bad aftertaste’ but doesn’t know about karma. “11:45 A.M.
“Then outside, see last rich autumn trees, walk to quay. Water in bottom of rowboat, and for the second time I unconsciously dip my dhoti in it. Two ladies walked us down to the quay. I thought of turning and smiling to them and showing them that the bottom of my dhoti was wringing-wet. But I didn’t. Sat with my back to them. Arjuna pushed off the rowboat, and we went. “It may get rough some mornings in the strait. I tense up when the boat rocks. “The shed is ready, they say, for my use. M. went to a local doctor who said he has a right hernia and ought to get operated on. But no one is willing to do it soon. Maybe he’ll go to Italy. “Looked again at Robert Lax interviewed by Peter France on hermit life. Lax says he’s not a hermit but sought solitude so he could write. His idea of writing is, I think, journal and poems. Wants to straighten out his own thoughts and then he can help others. “Peter France asked him, ‘Do you write to discover what you have in mind?’ “Lax replied, ‘More to keep it from getting away. I think that, from moment to moment, I usually know what I have in mind, and I also seem to know that five minutes from now I won’t be able to rediscover it unless I’ve written it down . . . I look back through my notebooks and remember the different things that have happened and read what I said about it at the time, and you won’t be surprised to hear that I usually agree with it.’ “France asked him if there was an element of helping people in his poems and writings. “Lax replied, ‘Yes, I think first of all I have this confidence that if I can ever manage to clear things up for myself, I’ll be helping clear them up for some other people, and if I put it in a language that I can really understand and find simple enough to communicate to myself in, then some other people too will be able to pick up on it.’ “Lax says he listens to the BBC news broadcasts. France asked him if hearing the news gave him a problem in the sense of moral duty—‘to be informed of all the disasters you can do nothing about.’ “Lax replied, ‘I just don’t think we’re ever in a position to be able to do nothing. Take an analogy from science—if a man is working on the discovery of penicillin, I think he’s right to keep on with his work even if all the cities in the world are falling. He should keep to that work. We’ll need some penicillin. I don’t think you can rush off with a gun on your shoulder every time there’s an alarm. I think if there’s destruction and turmoil in the world, people need penicillin. They need any good thing you can produce.’ (Hermits: The Insights of Solitude, edited by Peter France, p. 200-205.) “In preparing for this morning’s lecture, I found a nice section in Prabhupada Lilamrta describing Prabhupada’s quiet kirtanas in his room. “‘Srila Prabhupada would ask that the kirtanas be continued, and he would become silent, as the devotees sang softly hour after hour: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. A very small pair of karatalas, the only instrument, produced a soft, pleasant ringing. The voices of the chanters were subdued, but their minds were firmly fixed in devotion to Srila Prabhupada and the holy name, concerned that Prabhupada could hear the maha-mantra without interruption.’ I said that Prabhupada was teaching us the importance of chanting Hare Krishna and reading from his books without speculation and that Prabhupada would always be with us in the future by this method. Then I described, without actually naming myself as a subject, an experience which I actually felt while chanting in Prabhupada’s presence. I said that sometimes during this chanting Prabhupada communicated unspoken feelings with his disciples: ‘He might simply glance at one of the devotees, but that devotee would feel a surge of loving emotion and realization. Suddenly he would understand better how pure and compassionate Srila Prabhupada was. And the devotee might recall how Srila Prabhupada had come and saved him, bringing him to Krishna consciousness.’ (Srila Prabhupada-Lilamrta: Uniting Two Worlds, p. 321-22) “Good to remember that again. That’s what I’m looking for here in this Geaglum retreat and writing. Trying to recover fresh love for Prabhupada, but I realize I have to cut through a lot of falsity in myself and also a kind of resistance which is perhaps not always my fault but created by circumstances. More on that later—but nice to see and recall how just being near Prabhupada I felt my indebtedness to him and loving exchange.” END  • Email to a friend •  •H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Saturday 29 January 2011--When Stumbling Blocks Become Stepping Stones--and--Purity Required for Chanting?A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course(tm) Saturday 29 January 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. 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: When Stumbling Blocks Become Stepping Stones Uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram--Austin, Texas USA As long as we are in this material world we are going to be besieged by so many obstacles or stumbling blocks, because this material world by its very nature is problematic. Therefore in order to successfully navigate the path of bhakti we have to tolerantly persevere through so many difficulties. We will never be overwhelmed or psychologically devastated by these obstacles if we always take shelter of Krishna, remembering that He will never give us an obstacle which is greater than what we can handle. Therefore we should always see the stumbling blocks or obstacles as Krishna's special blessings to help us advance nicely and rapidly along the path of bhakti. In this way, if in the face of so many obstacles we always remain Krishna conscious, the stumbling blocks will all be transformed into stepping stones for our conveniently attaining the ultimate goal of pure devotion, pure Krishna bhakti. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Purity Required for Chanting? I have been reading the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. I have now finished Chapter 6 and came to Text 44 where in the purport it reads: Unless therefore one is purified, one cannot take to the principles of Krishna consciousness or become engaged in chanting the holy name of the Lord, Hare Krishna. I had come to understand that anyone could take chanting. So this was a bit contradictory. Can you please clarify my doubt? Regards, Akhilesh Answer: Chanting Gives Purity If somehow or other one takes to the chanting of the Lord's holy name, he will become purified and thus qualified to advance further and further along the path of pure bhakti. Generally if one takes to chanting it means that is reaping the benefit of purification from his previous lifetime. But even if one has no previous pious activities, the holy name is so powerful that if one seriously takes up the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, he will quickly and easily attain the supreme perfection of going back to home, back to Godhead. 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 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: • Email to a friend • •
Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Lecture - Prahladananda Swami - Book Distribution - Value Awareness Prahladananda Swami speaking at a Book Distribution discussion regarding "Value Awareness." Dallas, TX
Download: 2010-12-11b - Prahladananda Swami - Book Distribution Talk - Value Awareness.mp3 • Email to a friend • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
• Email to a friend • •Kurma dasa, AU: Stay High Forever: Forty-four Years On
From today's Wikipedia Main Page Entry: "The Mantra-Rock Dance musical event took place on January 29, 1967, at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco and came to be dubbed as the "ultimate high" and the "major spiritual event" of the hippie era. It was organized by the early followers of the Hare Krishna movement as a promotional and fundraising effort for their first temple on the West Coast. One of them, Harvey W. Cohen, created the Stanley Mouse-inspired promotional poster (pictured). The Mantra-Rock Dance featured the Hare Krishna founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, the countercultural ideologues Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary, and leading rock groups the Grateful Dead, Moby Grape, and Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company. The event caused the Hare Krishna Mantra to be adopted by all levels of the counterculture as a "loose commonality" and a viable alternative to drugs."
• Email to a friend • •Bhakta Chuck, CT, USA: Friday Night Oxen #41Hello Everyone,
Gestures and body language are very interesting and I understand can indicate different things in different circumstances. When working with Jigger & Jolly, I have gotten so that I can tell their mood and energy level somewhat just by looking at them. In this series of pictures, the ability to turn the neck so that the head is parallel with the body, but in the reverse direction, is quite remarkable. Although the gesture appears similar, the mood of our CT Zebu displays alert status, the middle picture, one of contentment and, lastly, Jolly is deep repose. This inspired me to post a short slideshow of some pictures on the blog of Jigger over a period of time. I always like these positions they take, they display a more delicate side than people sometimes realize when they think of Oxen. Have a nice weekend, in service to the Oxen, ys, Chuck Chant
        • Email to a friend • •Australian News: Australia Ignites Kulimela Fuse………….BOOOOM
The Kulimela was hosted by New Govardhana Dham, a farm at Eungella near Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales. The festival ran over two weeks from the 27th of December 2010 to the 9th of January, 2011. The first week of the celebration was designed to allow participants to recover from jet lag, get to know each other and experience the Australian environment. Bus tours took everyone to refreshing rockpools and waterfalls for swimming and to explore the region’s beautiful rainforests and walking tracks. On new year’s eve devotees travelled to the Gold Coast, a popular tourist destination, for Harinam and prasadam distribution. The afternoons and evenings rang to the sounds of bhajans and kirtan in the temple and bhajan kutir. Week two was also filled with kirtan, prasadam and the added ingredients of seminars and concerts. The second week was capped by the Kulifest, a festival of photography, art, fashion, martial arts and yoga presented by second generation devotees. The final event was a Ratha Yatra from the bridge near the farm entrance up to the temple. Devotees and well wishers at the Kulimela were treated to seminars on business planning, forgiveness, yoga, reframing, healing, ayurveda, self defence, cow protection and more. Seminars were presented by Asesha Devi Dasi, Gitanjali Devi Dasi, Taraka Devi Dasi, Vaiyasaki Dasa, Damodara Dasa, Lila Kirtan Devi Dasi, Shabaz and other talented devotees. “The idea of a Kulimela in Australia was initially floated by Kalindi Bindi,” said Advaita Myler, one of the Australian Kulimela organizers. “She knew that we needed something like this for our youth.” “I was fortunate enough to attend the Kulimela in Radhadesh a few years ago,” Advaita said. “That event inspired me so much that I signed up straight away to help Kalindi pull it off over here.” “Initially it was Kalindi and myself trying to plan the whole thing,” Advaita says. “Once we had settled on New Govardhana as the venue it was a challenge as neither of us lived there on the farm. Shyamasundari stepped up wanting to get involved and she got a bunch of the local youth enthused by the idea and from that Nitai Christian Durr signed up to be the local co-ordinator. By the time it kicked off we had about seven main organizers. Advice and assistance was available from the Kulimela Association which gave valuable support behind the scenes in the lead up to the event. The association is comprised of people who have organized previous Melas, with a core group from the States who have a lot of experience having organized a few of these festivals. The festival was host to many wonderful musicians such as Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits, Azitiz and the Ghost Brothers from the USA and Canada. Local acts inspired and uplifted everyone including Sri Prahlada, Gitanjali Devi Dasi, Dovetales, Haribhakti Dey, the Bhajan Babas and Cupids Bullet. “The main message of the festival was for everyone, especially the youth, to unite, reconnect and to inspire one another both materially and spiritually,” said Nitai. “Everyone should strive to move forward in life regardless of what level of Krishna Conciousness they are at,” he says. “People I meet are still commenting on the Kulimela,” Nitai says. “Some are saying it was the best devotional festival they have been to, some say they will remember it for life and they are looking forward to the next one.” During the Kulimela the rain poured almost every evening which, after the festival, led to flooding in the region. Even this could not take away from the immense benefit of associating with so many devotees of Lord Krishna. The Australian Kulimela organizers are planning smaller scale gatherings all over Australia throughout the year and are hoping to arrange another big event on an annual basis. Rumour also has it that New Zealand devotees may be planning a Kulimela of their own. Click here to read more stories like this at the ISKCON News web site Share this story your way:          
• Email to a friend • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: River of Prayer  I sit in the corridor of a thousand pillars in the Ramanatha temple in Rameshvaram. I overlook a great pond which is filled with delicate pink lotuses. A cement platform extends out over the pond, and high up on the ledge, men toss down metal buckets into the water over and over again, reeling them up expertly. The men splash that holy water onto the heads of swarms of eager pilgrims who flow out onto the platform.
This is only one stop in the maze of 22 holy wells within the temple complex. I feel like one of the columns here, watching and watching, very, very still. I have begun to see the moods of the variety of pilgrims who come - most people are rushed and a little frantic in their quest to visit all 22 holy wells; some arrive with creased eyebrows, some demand more water. But every so often a group of Vaishnava devotees will come. They smile from ear to ear and chant Hare Krishna, sometimes with arms upraised or palms folded. Ha! A crowd of devotees just arrived, grinning and jumping, chanting "Haribol! Haribol! Haribol!" They are so happy, so in bliss! They receive the water on their heads and dash off with the cry, “JAI!!!" Every day, day in and day out, people come to receive the holy water. The people change, but the lake remains, the columns remain. Upon closer inspection, I see that the columns are pockmarked with graffiti. I see names, numbers, dates... actually, the pillar in front of me has a faded heart with two names inside scrawled in Telugu. Amazing. No matter the country or language or culture, people will graffiti monuments, buildings, trees, or even bathroom stalls and picnic tables. People want to leave a mark that will live on long after they're gone. Isn't that the nature of the soul, to be eternal? It is so painful to die. We all want to live on forever. But the truth is, we are all like someone in this river of pilgrims who come to receive their splash of water. Our time in this world is just for one fleeting minute. And some of us arrive with arms upraised or palms folded, smiling, chanting the Lord's name… and maybe that's all I can ask of this life.  Subscribe  • Email to a friend • •3D Temple Project, Cyberspace: Playable Demo Released!So it was promised after the end of the year, there will be a playable demo! But don’t get too excited, this is nothing to show off. The process from transferring content from 3D Studio Max to Unity is still being resolved, perhaps 90% done. In the meantime I thought I’d post just the basics [...] • Email to a friend • •Kurma dasa, AU: Death on Toast
Are you the type of vegetarian that has given up 'red meat' but still eats eggs? Watch this hidden camera video footage (if you can get through it) exposing shocking animal abuse at a southern California egg factory farm."
• Email to a friend • •H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Guru Maharaja In BahreinFor more pictures please look here • Email to a friend • •H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Corrected Version--Friday 28 January 2011--Don't Lose Your Cool--and--How to Measure One's Purity?A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course(TM) Friday 28 January 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. 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: Don't Lose Your Cool Uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram--Austin, Texas USA A Krishna conscious person always remains cool-headed or equipoised in all circumstances. He is not carried away by victory or defeat, or by gain and loss. In this way his mind is always peaceful, and he is always able to take shelter of Krishna and therefore experience the ultimate happiness, no matter what may be going on around him here in this material world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Measure One's Purity? I have been practicing Krishna consciousness for two years now, chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on japa beads every day and following the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat eating, and no gambling. I see a huge change in myself. Most of the time I am not distracted by material desires. My query is how to check to one's purity? And how to find out how more pure we have become? What are the symptoms of 100% purity? Vikram Answer: Detachment from Sense Gratification One's purity can be seen by how much he is detached from all forms of material sense gratification including the desire to be recognized. You mention that most of time you are not distracted by material desires. This means that you have made nice progress. But it also means that you are sometimes distracted by material desires, which means that you still have a way to go yet before you are 100% pure, completely free from all material desires. 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 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: • Email to a friend • •Dandavats.com: Reflections on “the Transcendental Proofreader”
One of my main services is to write, and writing involves much editing and proofreading. Through writing I hope to share my knowledge and realization of Srila Prabhupada, my teacher, and of Sri Krishna, my Lord, and please them. One of my main inspirations in this endeavor has been the description of Srila Prabhupada's teacher, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, as "the transcendental proofreader": |
sábado, 29 de enero de 2011
H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 205 Every Day, Just Write: Welcome Home to the One Big Book of Your Life
PLANET ISKCON
By Giriraj Swami
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