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1. H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 7 June 2011--Utter Helplessness is the Greatest Asset--and--Why Not Directly Worship Krishna?
2. Jahnavi, UK: Star flowers.
3. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Temple Compound Pictures
4. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
5. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu
6. 16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: The World Policeman
7. Japa Group: The Mood Of Chanting
8. H.H. Sivarama Swami
9. Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Shoe-beater God
10. Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Bhajan - Mukunda Datta das - Hare Krishna @ Singhania's House - 1/6
11. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 333—Poem for June 6th
12. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS
13. Dandavats.com: Kids Not Krishna Conscious?
14. Vrndavana Vinodini dd, Toronto, Canada: Fully Present
15. H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Vyasa Puja de Prahladananda Swami en Lima, Peru–Video
16. H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 5.1.1 Playing The Part Perfectly 5-21-2011
17. H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – BG 15.8 Mahatma Hog
18. Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: Pride before fall
19. Dandavats.com: Miami Herald Article on Govinda’s
20. ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: Sunday, June 5, 2011
21. Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Strawberries and Rhubarb Recipe With Ginger
22. Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: My First Birthday
23. Dandavats.com: Second Annual BBT Inspired Art Seminar
24. Dandavats.com: New Vrindaban Rathyatra Festival
25. Dandavats.com: He entered with his raised hands, joyfully chanting “Hare Krishna”
26. Dandavats.com: Luton Carnival 2011
27. Dandavats.com: The First ISKCON Bollywood Movie…
28. H.H. Sivarama Swami: I ask myself
29. H.H. Sivarama Swami: In my humble opion Aruddha dd is doing the preaching of ten sannyasis
30. H.H. Sivarama Swami: The substance of accepting a spiritual master
31. Akrura das, Gita Coaching: "I DO NOT WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL"
32. 16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: Chyawanprash- Ayurvedic Herbal Wonder Supplement
33. Akrura das, Gita Coaching: CLARITY AND PURE CONSCIOUSNESS
34. New Vrndavan, USA: 2nd Annual BBT Inspired Art Seminar New Vrindaban, September 19th through 28th, 2011
35. Bharatavarsa.net: Book distribution seminar: Re: This is for you Dravida Prabhu
36. Bharatavarsa.net: Book distribution seminar: Opening temples is subordinate
37. Bharatavarsa.net: Book distribution seminar: This is for you Dravida Prabhu
38. Book Distribution News: Re: This is for you Dravida Prabhu
39. Book Distribution News: Opening temples is subordinate
40. Book Distribution News: This is for you Dravida Prabhu
41. H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Corrected Version--Monday 6 June 2011--On Behalf of My Guru Maharaja--and--Religious Meat Eaters Get Salvation?
42. H.H. Sivarama Swami
43. Sita-pati dasa, AU: Nitya-baddha and Swarupa-siddhi
44. Sita-pati dasa, AU: Nitya-baddha y Swarupa-siddhi (Almas Liberadas y Almas Condicionadas)
45. Akrura das, Gita Coaching: FOOD
46. Akrura das, Gita Coaching: ONE OF THE BEST-KEPT SECRETS OF THE SUCCESSFUL
47. Japa Group: Why Do We Have To Chant?
48. Akrura das, Gita Coaching: IMAGINE WHAT YOU COULD ACCOMPLISH!
49. Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Plan for China’s Water Crisis Spurs Concern
50. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
51. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
52. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
53. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
54. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
55. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
56. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
57. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
58. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
59. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
60. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
61. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
62. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
63. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
64. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
65. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
66. Gouranga TV: Lecture – Giriraj Swami – SB 10.3.14 – Praising God’s Activities
67. Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Morning class with Vaisesika prabhu - LIVE!
68. More Recent Articles
69. Search Planet ISKCON
70. Prior Mailing Archive

H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 7 June 2011--Utter Helplessness is the Greatest Asset--and--Why Not Directly Worship Krishna?

A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Tuesday 7 June 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: Utter Helplessness is the Greatest Asset Uploaded from Mauritius Sometimes one's circumstances become so overwhelming and bewildering that one goes into a a state of total, complete anxiety, which can even culminate in a nervous breakdown. This is what happened to Arjuna at the beginning of the battle of Kurukshetra. At such times one may feel himself to be the most cursed and unfortunate person in the whole world. However, those who are blessed with transcendental knowledge understand that such times are the greatest asset, the greatest blessing because they enable one to call out to the Lord with feelings of utter helplessness, like a child desperately crying for its mother. Such feelings of total dependence on the kindness of the Lord are most advantageous for one's spiritual advancement because they attract and capture the mercy of the Lord. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Not Directly Worship Krishna? You wrote The spiritual master never accepts worship on his behalf. He only accepts it on behalf of his spiritual master, who accepts it on behalf of his spiritual master, etc., etc., all they way back to Krishna. My question is: Why worship guru, why not directly Krishna since the direct way is much better than the long indirect way? Regards, V.J. Answer: Indirect is the Direct Way If you want to understand Krishna directly, then why do you approach Him indirectly through your imperfect mental speculation? You should instead approach Him directly through His words, which are perfectly presented in the scriptures. This is the real meaning of direct approach. Mental speculation is indirect and imperfect, whereas hearing the words of sastra (scripture) is direct and perfect. By approaching Lord Krishna directly in the scriptures you will find this instruction, which He imparts in the Adi Purana: ye me bhakta-janh prtha na me bhakt ca te janh mad-bhaktnm ca ye bhakts te me bhakta-tam math My dear Arjuna, those who are My direct devotees are actually not My devotees, but those who are the devotees of My devotee are factually My devotees. So if you truly approach Krishna directly by taking His words as Absolute Truth, He will reroute you to re-approach Him properly by coming to Him through the transparent via medium of the bona fide spiritual master. This is the system that Krishna has established. Because His devotees are so very dear to Him, He does not want to be worshipped alone. He wants to be worshipped through the medium of His devotees. He confirms in the Bhagavad-gita that the only way to understand the science of the Bhagavad-gita is the through the system of disciplic succession. In other words, to properly understand Krishna we must hear about Him from His devotee. evam parampar-prptam imam rjarsayo viduh This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. Mental speculation will never allow us to perfectly understand Him. We must read what Lord Krishna has stated in the scriptures, that He is telling us to approach Him through the medium of His devotee. In this way we will achieve true direct access to Him. 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 Sankarshan Das Adhikari on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SDASITE Thought for the Day on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ultimate.Self.Realization 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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Jahnavi, UK: Star flowers.

When I’m traveling I try and keep at least my morning walk consistent. While I walk I chant on my japa beads. It’s always my favorite part of the day. When I was young, we’d always pick flowers on any walk to take home and put on our altar. The habit is firmly stuck, and I try and find an altar space or a deity, or a dear friend to give a flower, whenever I’m out.

I found these unusual star flowers the other morning while I walked around the upscale suburbs of New Haven, Connecticut.

Now I’m back New York city, where I crave trees and flowers like a tall drink of water on a hot day. As I walk through the streets, bustling and clouded with smoke and noise, it’s a delicious surprise to come across a cool, green walled garden. Or even a stray rose, peering over a fence.

 

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Temple Compound Pictures

If you are away from Melbourne and missing Sri Sri Radha Ballabha; or if you are so proud of your local Mahaprabhu Mandir and want to share the nectar with your friends and family, here's a slideshow covering our Melbourne Temple's facilities.

 

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana

"Lord Jagannatha sometimes makes the melodious sounds of playing music and singing throughout the groves on the banks of the Kalindi river. He is like a bumblebee experiencing great delight while tasting the nectar of the lotus-like faces of the cowherd damsels.

His lotus feet are worshipped by great personalities such as Laksmi, Siva, Brahma, Indra and Ganesa. May that Lord of the Universe kindly become visible unto me."

(Sri Jagannathastakam uttered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu)

The Lord of the universe has indeed kindly made Himself visible unto us and grants us His glorious darsana.

 

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.8.47-49 - Pancanga bhakti can boost your enthusiasm ( sadhu-sanga, nama-kirtana, bhagavata-sravana, mathura-vasa, sri-murtira sraddhaya sevana).

 

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16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: The World Policeman

The Biggest Dog on the Block

As the news was broadcasted, some Americans cheered at the killing of Osama. Sure, let the rat rot. But please have no illusions about who is the world’s largest terrorist. All the world terrorists together have not brought about as much harm and destruction, of property and lives, as the biggest dog on the block.

Let us have a quick look into the history of the U.S. and its growing to be the biggest dog on the block.

In the U.S., a huge part of the money the IRS takes out of our paychecks goes to support the military. Military spending adds up to more than 50% of the Federal Government’s annual discretionary spending.

The U.S. maintains the largest and most powerful military in history. U.S. warships dominate the oceans, its missiles and bombers can strike targets on every continent, and hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops are stationed overseas. Every few years the U.S. sends soldiers, warships, and warplanes to fight in distant countries.

Three centuries ago, the U.S. was a collection of thirteen small colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Today it dominates the globe in a way that even the most powerful of past empires could not have imagined.

The path to world power has, however, not been peaceful.

The American revolutionaries who rose up against King George in 1776 spoke eloquently about the right of every nation to determine its own destiny. Unfortunately, after they won the right to determine their own destiny they thought they should determine everyone else’s too. The leaders of the newly independent colonies believed that they were preordained to rule all of North America. This was so obvious to them that they called it “Manifest Destiny.” Representative Giles of Maryland said, “We must march from ocean to ocean. It is the destiny of the white race.”

This soon led to genocidal wars against the Native American peoples. The U.S. army ruthlessly seized their land, driving them west and slaughtering those who resisted. The ones that were left to live were confined to reservations.

By 1848 the U.S. had seized nearly half of Mexico’s territory. In Congress, the war was justified with speeches about the glory of expanding “Anglo-Saxon democracy,” but in truth it was the Southern slave owners’ thirst for land and the lure of Western gold that inspired these speeches.

General Zachary Taylor ordered scores of U.S. soldiers executed for refusing to fight in Mexico.

With their domain now stretching from coast to coast the “Manifest Destiny” crowd began to dream of an overseas empire. Col. Charles Denby, a railroad magnate and an ardent expansionist, argued: “Our condition at home is forcing us to commercial expansion. Day by day, production is exceeding home consumption. We are after markets, the greatest markets in the world.” Senator Orville Platt said: “I firmly believe that when any territory outside the present territorial limits of the U.S. becomes necessary for our defense or essential for our commercial development, we ought to lose no time in acquiring it.”

The next year, taking a fancy to several Spanish colonies, including Cuba and the Philippines, the U.S. declared war on Spain. Rebel armies were already fighting for independence in both countries and Spain was on the verge of defeat. Washington declared that it was on the rebels’ side and Spain quickly capitulated. But the U.S. soon made it clear that it had no intention of leaving. Senator Albert Beveridge said: “The Philippines are ours forever…and just beyond the Philippines are China’s illimitable markets…the Pacific is our ocean.”

Elaborate racist theories were invented to justify colonialism. “We are the ruling race of the world …. We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee, under God of the civilization of the world … He has marked us as his chosen people … He has made us adept in government that we may administer government among savage and senile peoples.” (Senator Albert Beveridge)

But the Filipinos didn’t share the views of Senator Beveridge and his buddies. They fought the new invaders just as they had fought the Spanish. The U.S. subjugated the Filipinos with brute force. U.S. soldiers were ordered to burn all and kill all. By the time the Filipinos were defeated, 600,000 had died.

The Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam were made into U.S. colonies in 1898. Cuba was formally given its independence, but along with it, the Cubans were given the Platt Amendment, which stipulated that the U.S. Navy would operate a base in Cuba forever, that the U.S. Marines would intervene at will, and that Washington would determine Cuba’s foreign and financial policies.

During the same period, the U.S. overthrew Hawaii’s Queen Lilivokalani and transformed these unspoiled Pacific islands into a U.S. Navy base surrounded by Dole and Del Monte plantations.

In 1903, after Theodore Roosevelt became president, he sent gunboats to secure Panama’s separation from Columbia because the Columbian government had refused Roosevelt’s terms for building the Panama canal.

Then Uncle Sam began sending his Marines everywhere. The Marines went to China, Russia, North Africa, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Between 1898 and 1934, the Marines invaded Cuba 4 times, Nicaragua 5 times, Honduras 7 times, the Dominican Republic 4 times, Haiti twice, Guatemala once, Panama twice, Mexico 3 times, and Columbia 4 times! In many countries, the Marines stayed on as an occupying army, sometimes for decades. When the Marines finally went home, they typically left the countries they had occupied in the hands of a friendly dictator, armed to the teeth to suppress his own people. Behind the Marines came legions of U.S. business executives ready not only to sell their goods but also to set up plantations, drill oil wells, and stake out mining claims. The Marines returned when called upon to enforce slave-like working conditions and put down strikes, protests, and rebellions. A reporter described what took place after U.S. troops landed in Haiti in 1915 to put down a peasant rebellion: “American marines opened fire with machine guns from airplanes on defenseless Haitian villages, killing men, women, and children in the open market places for sport.” 50,000 Haitians were killed.

General Smedley Butler, after retiring, described his career as follows: “I spent 33 years and 4 months in active military service … And during that period I spent most of my time as a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. Thus, I helped make Mexico, and especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927, I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested.

World War I

World War I was a horrific battle among the European colonial powers over how to divide up the world. When President Woodrow Wilson decided to enter the fray, he told the American people that he was sending troops to Europe to “make the world safe for democracy.” But what Wilson was really after was what he considered to be the United States’ fair share of of the spoils. Wilson’s ambassador to England said rather forthrightly that the U.S. would declare war on Germany because it was “… the only way of maintaining our present pre-eminent trade status.” (Ambassador W.H.) For this, 130,274 U.S. soldiers were sent to their deaths.

“Our boys were sent off to die with beautiful ideals painted in front of them. No one told them that dollars and cents were the real reason they were marching off to kill and die.” (General Smedley Butler, 1934)

World War II

200,000 people were killed instantaneously when the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs first on Hiroshima and then on Nagasaki. Tens of thousands more died later from radiation poisoning. “We pray that God might guide us to use [the Bomb] in his ways and for His purposes.” said President Harry Truman. The defeat of Japan had already been assured before the bombs were dropped. Their main purpose was to demonstrate to the world the deadly power of America’s new weapon of mass destruction. World War II left the U.S. in a position of political, economic and military superiority.

“We must set the pace and assume the responsibility of the majority stockholder in this corporation known as the world.” (Leo Welch, former Chairman of the Board, Standard Oil of New Jersey (now Exxon) 1946)

The U.S. eagerly assumed responsibility for determining the economic policies and selecting the management of what it considered to be the subsidiary companies that made up the “corporation known as the world.” But this didn’t go over too well in many nations that considered themselves to be sovereign countries. I think you can guess what happened to them.

Cold War

The United States, however, had to contend with the Soviet Union, which had also emerged from the Second World War as a world power. For the next 45 years, the world was caught up in a global turf battle between the “two superpowers.” The U.S. was always much stronger than its Soviet adversary, but both countries maintained huge military forces to defend and expand their own “spheres of influence.” The contention between the two powers was called the “Cold War” because they never directly engaged each other in battle. The “Cold War” was marked by plenty of violence in other countries though. Typically, the two superpowers lined up on opposite sides of every conflict.

Korea, 1950-1953.

After World War II, the ambitious plans of the U.S. State Department for Asia and the Pacific were upset by revolutions and anti-colonial wars from China to Malaysia. U.S. warships, bombers, and artillery reduced much of Korea to rubble. Over 4,500,000 Koreans died; three out of four were civilians. 54,000 U.S. soldiers returned home in coffins. But the U.S. military, for all of its technological superiority, did not prevail. After 3 years of intense warfare, a cease-fire was negotiated. Korea was left divided and some 40,000 U.S. troops remained in Southern Korea.

Dominican Republic, 1965.

After a U.S. backed military coup, Dominicans rose up to demand the reinstatement of the overthrown president (who they had elected in a popular vote). Washington, however, was determined to keep its men in power, no matter who the Dominicans voted for. 22,000 U.S. troops were sent to suppress the uprising. 3,000 people were gunned down in the streets of Santo Domingo.

Vietnam, 1964-1973

400,000 tons of napalm were rained down on the tiny country. Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides were used to destroy millions of acres of farmland and forests. Villages were burned to the ground and their residents massacred. Altogether, two million people died in the Indochina War, most of them civilians killed by U.S. bombs and bullets. Almost 60,000 U.S. soldiers were killed and 300,000 wounded.

Lebanon, 1982-1983

After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the U.S. Marines intervened directly in the Lebanese Civil War, taking the side of Israel and the right-wing Falange militia which had just massacred 2,000 Palestinian civilians.

Grenada, 1983

According to Ronald Reagan, Grenada, population of about 110,000, represented a threat to U.S. security. So he ordered the Pentagon to seize the island and install a new government more to his liking. “A lovely piece of real estate.” said Secretary of State George Schultz. He also said, “I’m a Bechtel man and a Pentagon fan.”

Libya, 1986

Washington loved King Idris, the Libyan monarch who happily turned over his country’s oil reserves to Standard Oil for next to nothing. It hates Col. Qadhafi, who threw the King out. In 1986, Reagan ordered U.S. warplanes to bomb the Libyan capital, Tripoli, claiming that Qadhafi was responsible for a bomb attack at a German disco that killed two U.S. soldiers. It’s unlikely that very many of the hundreds of Libyans killed or injured in the U.S. bombing raid knew anything about the German bombing.

Behind The Scenes

So far we’ve recounted wars that have involved U.S. troops. But there are many other wars in which Washington was involved behind the scenes.

After World War II, Britain was compelled to dispose of its colonial empire in the Middle East. It decided to give a big chunk of the land known as Palestine to European Jews displaced by the Holocaust. The problem was that there were already people living there. The result has been five decades of violence and war. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven from their homes in what became Israel. The center of the conflict has been the West Bank and Gaza, where Palestinians have lived for decades under Israeli occupation.

The U.S. provides crucial political support and billions of dollars a year in aid to Israel, including the most advanced weaponry. More than three decades of occupation of the West Bank and Gaza have produced bitter anger not only at Israel but also at the United States. As Palestinian teenagers continue to die in confrontations with the Israeli Army, this anger only grows.

The bloody, U.S.-backed, counter-insurgency wars continue in Columbia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines and other countries. In Colombia, for example, a corrupt U.S.-backed army fights alongside paramilitary forces that have slaughtered whole villages and hundreds of opposition union leaders and politicians. The U.S. has been getting more deeply involved, under the cover of the “War on Drugs,” providing billions of dollars of arms used to continue the killing.

The CIA and the Pentagon have also organized proxy armies to overthrow governments that are not well liked in Washington. In 1961, for instance, U.S. warships ferried a small army of mercenaries to Cuba, hoping to reverse the Cuban Revolution. They landed at the Bay of Pigs. It was the fifth U.S. invasion of Cuba this century. But this time the U.S. was defeated.

In the 1970s and ’80s, the CIA was particularly busy financing, training and arming guerilla armies around the world.
For years the U.S. backed Portugal’s efforts to hang on to its colonies in southern Africa, helping it stave off independence wars in Angola and Mozambique. In 1975, after a democratic revolution in Portugal, the Portuguese called it quits. But Washington didn’t! Instead, it teamed up with the apartheid regime in South Africa to supply a mercenary army to fight the new government in independent Angola. And in Mozambique, top U.S. and South African politicians and ex-military officers sponsored a particularly brutal bunch of mercenaries who massacred tens of thousands of peasants.

And then, of course, there are the “contras.” After the Nicaraguan people overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of the Somoza family in 1979, the CIA gathered together the remnants of Somoza’s hated National Guard and sent them back to Nicaragua with all the weapons they could carry–to loot, burn, and kill.

Let’s Finish

This article is now getting a bit too long, but be sure that the same government is still today running a business rather than a country inhabited by people, people that need to be educated, people who for the most part do not know that their material prosperity, which is by the way now dwindling fast, is largely resting on exploitation, murder, crime, immorality, torture, etc, etc, etc. Having lived in a number of countries on several continents, it seems that the U.S. is not an exceptional country – they all appear to be doing the same thing: brainwashing the common folks, covering up the ugly reality with fairy tales about standing up for democracy, freedom, and human rights. The funniest of all cover-ups is the one of war on terror. After reading everything above, terrorist groups, such as Osama’s Al-Qaeda, seem puny.
And they are so good at misleading people who by watching the oil companies-owned television stations are totally convinced that these wars are fought for good causes. They are so convinced of this that they are ready to defend the concept even by brute force. Watch out! If something happens to me, it will simply go to support what I have just stated.

“USA, USA!!!” they shouted when Osama was proclaimed dead. What is USA?

The brief history of the U.S.’s ascension to power presented in this article was taken from Ph.D. Joel Andreas’s Addicted To War. At the end of the book, which I highly recommend everyone to read, references are given for all the historical events so that you can see their authenticity and accuracy.

 

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Japa Group: The Mood Of Chanting

The mood of chanting the holy name combines the actions of mind and heart-namely thinking and feeling. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised all devotees to be free from false ego, and to think oneself lower than a blade of grass. With feelings of deep submission and surrender one should beg Sri Radha for service.

From Art Of Chanting Hare Krsna
by Mahanidhi Swami

 

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H.H. Sivarama Swami

A devotee does not become his enemy’s enemy; he thinks, “This person is acting as my enemy due to my own past misdeeds. So it is better to suffer than to protest.”

- Srila Prabhupada

 

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Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Shoe-beater God

So how one can become God? Rascal. How one can become God. That is not possible. God knows everything. If one knows everything, then you can accept him as God. Otherwise, don't accept. As soon as somebody says, "I am God," kick him on his face. "Yes, you are God, I am God. I am the kicking God." (laughter) That should be the answer. "I am the shoe-beater God. Now you protect yourself if you are God." Don't accept this false God.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 13.3 -- Paris, August 11, 1973

 

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Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Bhajan - Mukunda Datta das - Hare Krishna @ Singhania's House - 1/6

Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Bhajan - Mukunda Datta das - Hare Krishna @ Singhania's House - 1/6

Subido por rupagopi el 06/06/2011

Mukunda Datta das singing a Hare Krishna bhajan at the home of the SInghania's.

Dallas, TX

2011-01-08

Mukunda Datta das singing a Hare Krishna bhajan at the home of the SInghania's.
Dallas, TX
2011-01-08
Download: 2011-01-08 - 1 - Mukunda Datta das - Bhajan - Hare Krishna.mp3

 

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 333—Poem for June 6th

www.sdgonline.org.

4:26 A.M.

A Writer of Pieces

New format—I will begin with the poem written on the day of its printing. Then I will print random excerpts of books I have printed over the last 35 years. I hope this variety will be pleasing.

Poem for June 6

Up early chanting the numerical
counting you see the strength rise
without glancing at Radha-Govinda.
This is not the way you want to
chant at the time of death; you
want more feeling
and realization. But it will
do for now.

We thought we were finished writing
the autobiog., but now it’s opened
up to the author speaking on
each of his many books and
answering questions posed by
Baladeva. It’s a new life, but I have to
prepare by reading each book
before I speak.

Yesterday we received four guests:
Samika Rsi, Madana Gopala,
Kaulini Mataji, and Pancaratra’s wife.
Samika wants to open many reading
rooms in people’s homes.
Pancaratra’s wife wants to move
back to Mayapur where she says
the morning program is the life of
the devotees. And Kaulini is
wishing that Krishna will arrange for her
to go each year to Vrndavana for
hospice work. I told them
I was not planning to travel,
but I did not get a chance to
tell them of my writing work.
Madana Gopala says he’ll visit
me more often in New York.

The three of us are jolly
and relaxed in this house.
When there are no guests,
Narayana reads to us,
Vidura’s questions to Maitreya.
Vidura said he is satiated
hearing about social and historical
topics and wants to hear
directly Krishna-katha.
After eating he shuts
the book and we talk
jokingly while
Baladeva drums on his
belly like a mrdanga.
He says the wild roses’
scent reminds him
of Vrndavana and almost
every day he picks new
roses to go into the
vases of Radha-Govinda
and Prabhupada
thus his gardening is linked to
devotional service. Narayana said if I
wrote but didn’t mention
Krishna, it would be no good.

So my poem is Krishna-
centered, I seek the
Cowherd Boy of Gokula
even though I can’t get
His darsana. Searching for
Him is as good as finding
Him in a bush. Chanting
His holy names, when done in
devotion, is as good as
attaining His holy form.
The music leads us
into byways of
free thought, and I
claim it for the
Lord. It’s lilting
and lively like Krishna’s flute.

 

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS

www.sdgonline.org.

From Obstacles on the Path of Devotional Service.

“Obstacles Presented by the Nondevotee World

“Osmosis

‘Because devotees live in the world, they sometimes feel influenced by it. This happens by a process of osmosis, whereby one gradually, and often unconsciously, assimilates his environment. As you breathe in the atmosphere of the nondevotees, it is likely that you will become somewhat like them. Devotees begin following the latest trends in electronic appliances, clothing fashions, and street slang. It is not necessarily wrong to be aware of the latest ‘state of the art’ computers, because such things can be used in the service of Krishna. But it may be that a devotee becomes motivated by desires other than pure service. We are not immune to the psychological influence of advertising and political propaganda that affects everyone else in society. Businessmen see devotees as just another type of customer, even if dressed a little strangely. And so devotees become sucked into the same traps as everyone else, because we live in the world. From the viewpoint of pure devotional service, these are obstacles on the path.

“In order to protect the devotees from being absorbed into the ‘pop’ consciousness of mundane society, Srila Prabhupada created a subculture. Included in the charter of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, as written by Srila Prabhupada, are several references to a society of devotees:

“1. To bring the members of the society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the Prime Entity, thus to develop the idea within the members and humanity at large that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna).

“2. To erect for the members, and for society at large, a holy place of transcendental pastimes, dedicated to the Personality of Krishna.

“3. To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler and more natural way of life.

“The Krishna conscious society lives within the buildings of ISKCON. The Society is also found in the congregation of devotees, who live in their own homes, but who sometimes gather together in the temple or in each other’s homes for the purpose of sharing Krishna consciousness. Devotees are social beings, and so the obstacle of becoming too influenced by the mundane world can only be surmounted by living in a society of like-minded friends.”

Readers inspired by this excerpt from the Krishna conscious volume Obstacles on the Path of Devotional Service are encouraged to visit www.amazon.com.

From Here is Srila Prabhupada

“We should not go to Prabhupada with everything ‘hanging out.’ We go on our best behavior, not relaxed, ‘as we are.’ Does this sound like an inferior, formal relationship after all my words about love and serving with the spiritual master? But I think the relationship can have those limits and still be called love. One ‘hangs out’ with friends. When you go to the spiritual master, we go with our highest aspirations in the forefront. The spiritual master is our true friend because he sees not only how we present ourselves but down to the level of the soul. He sees through all our coverings and sees where our aspirations can take us. Thoreau said something like, ‘A friend should accept his friend not just as he is, but as he aspires to be.’ So the guru accepts the disciple as he aspires to be, although the guru also sees the actual nature and weaknesses of the disciple. The guru does not officiate over the disciple as an ecclesiastic, but he engages the disciple and loves the disciple enough that he helps him reach his full potential as a loving servitor of Radha-Krishna.
“The disciple, out of gratitude, shows respect. We don’t sit before the guru with our feet pointing at him. We don’t belch in his presence or talk foolishly or laugh loudly. When embraced by his guru, the disciple should not throw his arms around his guru like an equal. Once a year the guru will cook for his disciples, but usually the disciple menially serves the spiritual master. There are so many details and etiquette by which we can define the guru/disciple relationship—these can make the relationship seem more formal than it is—but the real essence is father and child. It’s love.

“Years ago, I used to sing the introductory song to Saranagati every morning in the cabin at Gita-nagari. About fifty devotees would gather with me after a morning walk. I remember straining to reach the high notes in the second line of each stanza. Then I would read the translation. This theme of surrender is dear to all devotees. Managers and gurus sometimes used surrender to convince subordinates to perform. ‘Your duty is hard? Do it anyway. Surrender.’ I sang this song to remind us.

“The devotees who sang these songs with me are scattered now. They no longer collect money for the farm or teach in the gurukula. The children are no longer obeying their teachers. Some of them no longer surrender to the four rules or chant sixteen rounds. I’ve stopped singing Saranagati every day, and I’ve stopped demanding that everyone surrender. Now I am working on myself.

“‘Out of compassion for the fallen souls, Sri Krishna Caitanya came to this world with His personal associates and divine abode to teach saranagati, surrender to the Almighty Godhead, and to freely distribute ecstatic love of God, which is ordinarily very difficult to obtain. This saranagati is the very life of the true devotee.’ (Introductory Song, Text 1)

“The Lord taught surrender in the form of harinama sankirtana. Prabhupada called it an easy and pleasant method of surrender: Chant Hare Krishna and dance, and whenever you get tired, take prasadam.

“Lord Caitanya taught more difficult things too, as in His teachings to Raghunatha dasa Gosvami: don’t eat palatable food, dress like a mendicant, and avoid the company of women. When He dealt with Chota Haridasa, He spoke against hypocrisy. Lord Caitanya Himself surrendered to the sannyasa dharma and traveled and preached throughout South India.

“He taught surrender to Krishna, and He showed the ecstasy that comes to the loving bhakta. He gave that ecstasy out freely along with Krishna-nama. ‘The youthful Son of Nanda Maharaja, Sri Krishna, hears the prayers of anyone who takes refuge in Him by the six-fold practice.’ Bhaktivinoda Thakura concludes the opening song by declaring himself the lowest among men. ‘But please make me the best of men by teaching me the ways of saranagati.’”

Readers inspired by this excerpt from the Krishna conscious volume Here is Srila Prabhupada are encouraged to visit www.amazon.com.

 

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Dandavats.com: Kids Not Krishna Conscious?

By Kesava Krsna Dasa
Is it possible that in spite of the parents best interest and loving Krishna conscious attention given to their children, that such children can turn their backs altogether, to pursue life, as they desire most? Would there have to be a major problem for this to occur, or is “desire” the one insurmountable force that eludes all but themselves?