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"Planet ISKCON" - 52 new articles
Clemens Both, Germany: Wellington lifeHare Krishnaapologies for being slack on my blog...I'm just really involved in the outreach activities of the local center: book distribution three days a week and a lot of performance (mainly keyboard and guitar) on Krishnafest and Kirtanyoga and especially busy with preparing for Gaura Purnima. I just recorded some hip hop tunes for that occasion with a very experienced (and cool! :)) devotee • Email to a friend • Related •  •Clemens Both, Germany: proof of life!sunday feast at gaura yoga (www.gaurayoga.co.nz)navida nirada prabhu gave his amazing realizations about krishna consciousness. very mature due to looong experience in ISKCON.you would know this guy if you have been looking at this blog regularly... ;)Devamrita Maharaja's mesmerizing voice heats up the Kirtan party! • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Sunday Feast Recordings - February 21, 2010The Sunday Feast recording can be viewed by clicking the image below. As a reminder, the recordings from our weekly live web broadcasts are stored on our ISKCON Toronto Video Archive Blog.   • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Toronto, Canada: The Countdown to Gaura Purnima & Holi Celebrations Begins!
The Hare Krishna Centre would like to warmly invite you to join us for grand Gaura Purnima and Holi Celebrations on Sunday, February 28, 2010! Holi, one of the most popular festivals in India, marks the beginning of spring. Although there will be no throwing of coloured powders during the festival, it will certainly be a festive event. For Hare Krishnas, this day not only marks Holi, but also Gaura Purnima, the appearance anniversary of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Gaura Purnima, one of the largest festivals at Toronto's Hare Krishna temple, is the celebration of the appearance of Lord Caitanya, who is none other than Lord Krishna Himself. Over 500 years ago, in a special appearance, Lord Krishna personally came as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and acted as His own devotee by propagating the chanting of the Holy names of the Lord in every town and village! Stay tuned for more information about the festivities!  • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: Sunday February 21, 2010     • Email to a friend • Related • •HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 3544:06 A.M I had a headache just at the time for going to bed last night, and I took medicine which contained wakeup elements. However, I was able to get to sleep right away and woke up at 2:30 A.M. I felt pretty good. To use a metaphor, I felt like I was in a room [...] • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Devamrita SwamiSrimad Bhagavatam 11.17.52 - A householder taking care of many dependent family members should not become materially attached to them, nor should he become mentally unbalanced. • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Jagannatha Ram PrabhuClass given on 21-02-2010 • Email to a friend • Related • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhakta PrabhuClass given on 20-02-2010 • Email to a friend • Related • •Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: gentlemen worship dogsIf I want to love a dog and become a dog in my next life, instead of loving God and becoming like God in the next life, that is my choice. The prison and university are open to everyone, and by making our choice, we can make our future destiny. When one worships God, he is criticized, and when he worships dog, he is considered a gentleman. So it is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Interview with the New York Times -- September 2, 1972, New Vrindaban • Email to a friend • Related • •Gauranga Kishore das,USA: Radhanath Swami Vyasa Puja Picture Above is a picture from the recent Vyasa Puja celebration in Mumbai. The devotees there created a Himalayan Vyasasana for Maharaj to commemorate his early travels there and his love of the Himalayas. The Bhagavatam refers to the Himalayas as the delight of the sanyasis and says that the renunciates take pleasure in the Himalayas in the same way a fighter takes pleasure in a good lashing.  • Email to a friend • Related • •H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Saturday, February 20th, 2010Frail, and the Fail  • Email to a friend • Related • •H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Friday, February 19th, 2010Where It Shines!  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1966 February 21: "Todays meeting was attended by greater number of members than other days. They liked the Introduction recording very much. Some of them brought fruits for me and Mrs. Leblanc paid $3.00."  • Email to a friend • Related • •David Haslam, UK: Facilitating Questions (is it needed?)One should not blindly accept the thesis or the theory which is put forward from Bhagavad-gita. Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya [Bg. 4.34]. One should be asking questions by two principles. He should ask questions from a person whom he believes to be a man of knowledge. Otherwise it is simply waste of time. And [...] • Email to a friend • Related • •Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: Idols?
The shrine at our temple is undoubtedly the main attraction. In dialogues with those from Judeo-Christian or Islamic backgrounds, I regularly encounter some uneasiness as to how God can appear in a 'material' form – idols made by the hands of man. It appears limiting, imaginary and almost childish – to treat God like a play-doll by dressing Him, feeding Him and putting Him to bed at night. Can God truly reveal His divine self through material elements? Can a factual and deep relationship with God be established via such rituals?  • Email to a friend • Related • •Vrndavana Vinodini dd, Toronto, Canada: Searching for the LessonI am searching. Like a lost wanderer searches through the dark, thick jungle for the path back to civilization, I search to find the key to be grateful.  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1968 February 21 : "There are different kinds of hellish life for different kinds of sinful activities. One is sent to a particular type of hell and when practiced to suffer the hellish condition, one is given a similar body as reaction."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1969 February 21 : "So far as the bowing down in Deity worship, there is no restriction on bowing down. As many times as you can is all right."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1970 February 21: "I will suggest one thing - that you can organize a mass Sankirtana procession on the Advent Day of Lord Caitanya. If George and John Lennon both lead the procession, I think that will be a great successful program."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 February 21 : "If the money invested comes back manyfold in the form of books sold, then we may spend thousands on radio advertisements and make Krishna Book very famous all over your country."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 February 21 : "There is a Bengali proverb "When you pay the price it becomes purified'', just like if I purchase something and it is unclean in so many ways, but, because I have paid, it becomes purified."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1973 February 21 : "We must become recognized not only by the mass but also by the class. Hearing is the first step; therefore if we can simply convince these big men to hear, then gradually they will accept."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1973 February 21: "It is our duty to rectify him. To create a devotee takes much labor and to reject him in a minute is not to our credit."  • Email to a friend • Related • •Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Lecture - Prahladananda Swami - Bhagavad Gita SummaryAt the conclusion of Gita Jayanti, Prahladananda Swami gave a lecture on the Bhagavad Gita. A whirlwind tour of the Bhagavad Gita. Dallas, TX • Email to a friend • Related • •Hari Sauri das, Mayapura, IN: Prabhupada's Passport continued…Here’s Srila Prabhupada’s entry stamp for his second visit to Australia on April 1 1972
It was an amazing time. I moved into the temple on February 15. There were 10-12 full time devotees. By the time of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival six weeks later there were 44. We would go out on sankirtan and chant the Hare Krishna mantra on the street corners for 4-6 hours a day. Almost every day when we arrived back at the temple another new devotee was waiting to be shaved up or put on a sari. I mentioned in my entry below that when I joined, I donated my life savings, about $1,500.00 (in those days the Australian $ was worth about US$1.50) Most of that went to paying for a revolutionary new piece of preaching equipment:
The bus was converted into a travelling temple, with an altar and wooden floor upstairs and an open carpeted area down below. It was launched on Lord Caitanya’s appearance day, which that year was February 29. It caused a sensation wherever it went. Australians had never seen a bright orange double decker packed out with two dozen chanting dancing bald kids dressed in bright saffron robes and women wearing exotic saris. We got instant news coverage on all the TV channels and in the major newspapers. Raghunatha das, who was the oldest member of the temple at approximately 28 years, took his test and got the necessary licence and he used to drive us into the city every day for our sankirtan activities
On our first day out we were hanging out of the top windows armed with hundreds of carnations which we flung enthusiastically over the heads of the bewildered passersby whenever we stopped at the red lights. When Srila Prabhupada visited a month later the bus was parked on the street outside the temple and he was taken on a tour of the facilities, which included a look-see of the bus. When he went up the back staircase to see the upper floor his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “Oh, I could live in this!” He gave it his enthusiastic endorsement and even rode on it one night from the house he was staying in to the temple.
That was a wonderful visit, my first chance to see my spiritual master and I was initiated along with about 15 others onn April 9. It was the first time I experienced what senior devotees told me was a state even higher than Krishna consciousness — Prabhupada consciousness. I was fortunate to have my first photo taken with His Divine Grace during that visit also:
April 1 1972–Bhakta Harry, Ajita das, Mohanananda das, Srila Prabhupada There are many stories to tell from those days but I will save them for another time. Readers interested in the development of the Australian yatra can do no better than read Kurma prabhu’s book “The Great Transcendental Adventure” in which he details year by year the growth of the Hare Krishna movement downunder, under the inspiration of Srila Prabhupada. Although seemingly so far away from the rest of the world, Australia was blessed by his presence every year from 1971 1976, and that no doubt had a major impact on our successful growth. through • Email to a friend • Related • •Dandavats.com: Caru Das gives the opening prayer for the Utah State Senate
I was requested by State Senator Mark Madsen to deliver the opening prayer for the Utah State Senate in the capitol building in Salt Lake City. Senator Madsen & his family have been to festivals at the temple on several occasions & enjoyed them all. • Email to a friend • Related • •Dandavats.com: Iskcon Prison Ministry - From the Mouth of InmatesBy Bhakti-lata Gauthier Hare Krsna! Here is some more nectar I want to share with all of the devotees. Letter after letter arrive every day, bearing witness to Lord Caitanya's infinite mercy. The power of Prabhupada's books and of the holy name does change lives of countless souls, even in prison. • Email to a friend • Related • •Dandavats.com: Myth Creation BegunNrsimhananda das: Canonization (or canonisation) is the act by which a particular Christian church or group declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process • Email to a friend • Related • •Dandavats.com: Sri Sri Chota Radha Kalachandji are returning to DallasNrtya Kisori Dasi: Their Lordships Sri Sri Chota Radha Kalachandji are returning to Dallas after 31 years! We are having a welcoming festival for Them on March 7th, 2010 and wish to invite all the devotees! • Email to a friend • Related • •Dandavats.com: Malati dd hospitalizedSikhi Mahiti das: Malati dd, GBC member, is hospitalized in the Bhaktivedanta hospital in Mumbai. She was returning from the GBC meetings in Sridham Mayapur to New Vrindavan when she began to experience severe abdominal pains at the airport. • Email to a friend • Related • •Dandavats.com: Deity installation on Goura Purnima at Murari Sevaka Feb.28th 2010Murari Sevaka: Deity installation on Goura Purnima at Murari Sevaka Feb.28th 2010. Support this once in a lifetime festival! • Email to a friend • Related • •Dandavats.com: Maha Kumbha, Haridwar - 2010 starts with Srila Prabhupada's bathLakshman (das) Vrindavan (IN): Maha Kumbha mela-2010 at Haridwar has been started with millions of people devoted to mother Ganga and followers of our great Indian Vedic culture. It has inaugurated with the first bathing of saintly persons called naga swami. • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: Radha Madan Mohan, January 24th   Yesterday morning I dressed Radha Madan Mohan, the installed deities of the gurukulis Ragunath and Yamuna here in Alachua. While I dressed, I turned on a random lecture by Radhanath Swami; the end deeply moved me, so I transcribed it here for all of you. *** One of the most beautiful things I appreciate about flowers and garlands is how within a day, they wilt and become soggy and lose their fragrance… lose their color, lose their texture, and nobody wants them. Isn't that wonderful? It's so metaphorical to our life. Everything in this world, like the flower, begins as a seed; every living being begins like a seed, starts to grow as a sprout, then blossoms, then wilts, and dies. But Krishna accepts the essence. This body doesn't last much longer than a flower garland, from the perspective of eternity. The amount of time that a flower garland wilts and is no longer nice in our vision is really a long time compared to our life from the perspective of Lord Brahma. Our whole life span – all the aging and wilting and everything – is not even a second from his perspective. So a devotee is saragrahi, always concerned with the essence, seeking the essence of life, seeking the essence of everything we see. And what is the essence? The essence is everything's connection to Krishna. The essence is eternal. The essence cannot be wilted by time. And every time you place a flower on a garland, that act of devotion is eternal. Whatever you offer to Krishna – that investment of devotion – will never wilt, will never grow old, will never be lost, is ever fresh, and forever. That is the beauty of bhakti. - Radhanath Swami January 13th, 2009 Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: A Glorious Encounter In Mexico, there is a mystical place called Agua Azul where a series of waterfalls cascade down a mountain. Once a year, the Bus Tour visits for one glorious day. So after many adventures, towards evening I made my way to the main waterfalls to chant japa. Tourists crowded behind the railing, snapping pictures. I grinned and ducked under the railing. I nimbly walked along a narrow strip of rock until it ended in a little spot just big enough for one person to sit. I had dubbed this The Radhanath Swami Rock, so named because once Radhanath Swami had sat upon a rock in the middle of the Ganges River in meditation for one whole month. When he had committed to a final act of surrender, the Ganges had given him the holy name, the maha mantra. I settled on the little promontory. The majesty of the waterfalls enfolded my vision, and the roar drowned out the sounds of tourists. I unwound my beads from their bead bag and held them between my hands so that anyone who saw me would know I was meditating, and not just mumbling to myself. I chanted and fell into a trance. I wondered if I listened closely enough the roar of the waterfalls would reveal the holy name to me. I've tried this a lot around large bodies of water ever since I heard Radhanath Swami's story, but mostly I just get an earful of water. Suddenly, I heard someone call my name. I turned around to see a friend from the Bus Tour behind the railing, holding a plate of prasadam for me. I rose, walked to the railing, gratefully took the plate, and then my friend left. I ate the pasta as fast as possible - I wanted to return to chanting. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an elderly couple observing me in silence. "Excuse me," the woman suddenly asked in Spanish, "But were you chanting 'Ha-dee Kish-na Ha-dee Kish-na...'" she recited the entire maha mantra. Dumbstruck, I replied in Spanish, "Yes," "And you go around the beads 16 times?" "Yes! How do you know this?" "There are Hare Krishnas in Veracruz, where we are from," she said. "Wonderful people." "Tell me," the husband asked. "What do you believe?" I lowered my plate. "Well... Ah... This is the science of how to love God, and how to love one another. It is the same in all religions, is it not? This," I gestured to my beads, "is how I connect with God, by calling out His name with love. God may have many different names, but ultimately, God is God." "Beautiful." the woman said. "God is so miraculous, isn't He? He created all this," the man gestured to the panorama in front of us. The sun was setting behind the turquoise waterfalls, the jungles were lit in emerald, and the sun danced through the mist in golden clouds. "God is amazing," I said. "God is amazing," they agreed. We bowed farewell to each other, enlightened. I threw away my plate and once more tiptoed out onto The Radhanath Swami Rock. Just as I had settled down, an undulating black ribbon began to stream from behind the waterfalls and fill the sky. Bats! Hundreds and thousands emerged from the waterfalls in the twilight to loop through the sky in dizzy circles, and then flew off into the jungles for their evening hunt. Had the elderly couple witnessed this glory of creation, too? I twisted around to look for the couple, but they had vanished. I closed my eyes and began to chant. Suddenly I realized that the waterfalls had revealed to me the holy name - the elderly woman, in her broken way, had recited the entire maha mantra. Even out here, in this far-flung country of Mexico, the mercy of Srila Prabhupad had found an elderly couple; and in the jungles of Agua Azul, that mercy had found me. Sometimes I see so little difference between the glory of God and the glory of His devotee. Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Debate Over GM Eggplant Consumes India MUMBAI, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The purple eggplant that Indian shopper Tanuja Krishnan picks out at a Mumbai market stall every week is an unlikely protagonist in a raging debate about whether genetically modified foods should be introduced into India. A genetically modified version of eggplant, a staple in fiery curries, was slated to be the first GM food introduced into India in a bid to stabilise food prices and mitigate some of the effects of climate change on Indian food crop yields. Yet, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh blocked the release of the vegetable until further notice following an outcry by environmentalists and some farmers. The opposition to GM foods was so heated that some protesters burnt effigies. Ramesh said there was not enough public trust to support the introduction of such crops into India's food supply until more research was done to remove all doubts that GM foods were safe for consumption. But while those from the camp that opposed GM foods are celebrating, there are concerns that rising food prices will be a major problem for Indian policymakers in the future unless the country starts embracing genetically-modified food crops. "This is bad for the country's agricultural and biotechnology future. Our scientists have lost their credibility, companies will be unwilling to invest more money, and it will take us a long time to pick up the pieces again," said C. Kameshwar Rao, an official at the Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness & Education, a GM advocacy institute. "Scientists can't win a shouting match with politicians." India's farm sector has changed very little since the advent of the Green Revolution with crop yields failing to keep up with soaring population growth and rising incomes. At the same time, damage to crops from pests and disease have worsened due to rising temperatures from climate change. HYBRIDS Known as Bt brinjal, the Indian word for aubergine, the GM vegetable is able to resist some pests responsible for devastating crops across India thanks to a gene from soil bacteria called 'bacillus thuringniensis' (Bt). The thought of eating a genetic hybrid has made consumers such as Krishnan wary. "I would try it to see if it tastes any different, if it has fewer pests, but I think I would prefer organic brinjal just to be safe," she said. The moratorium against the release of the GM eggplant followed harsh criticism by environmentalists and farmers who demanded rigorous testing and labelling standards before Bt brinjal was cultivated. "Stringent monitoring measures should be immediately put in place to ensure that no releases of GM crops happens," said Rajesh Krishnan, a manager for sustainable agriculture at Greenpeace India. India's Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) opened the way for the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal last October, seven years after approving Bt cotton, which is now grown on more than 80 percent of total cotton area. Thanks to genetically modified cotton, India has become the world's second largest cotton producer and exporter after China, with about 5 million farmers growing Bt cotton. "Our experience with Bt cotton has showed the technology has benefited the farmer, the consumer and the states' economies," said Bhagirath Choudhary, head of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) in Delhi. "We have a solid case in Bt cotton, with higher yields, double the output and less use of insecticide. But the technology is so sophisticated, the general public is ignorant about it." India is among the top biotech crop growing countries, trailing only Argentina, Brazil and the United States. NO OTHER OPTION India is the world's second largest producer of eggplant after China and the vegetable is also used in traditional medicine to treat diabetes and hypertension. About 1.4 million farmers grow eggplant, which is very susceptible to pest attacks. Farmers tend to spray the crop with pesticides 30-50 times during a crop cycle. "The brinjal we eat now is more harmful because of the pesticide residue," said Raju Shetty, a farmer leader in western Maharashtra state and a member of parliament. He supported Bt brinjal because he said "it will cut the cost of pesticide and boost yields. That's what farmers are seeking". Even though the GM seeds for the vegetable would likely cost three times the price and farmers would need to purchase seeds for every sowing rather than reusing crop seeds, proponents say the extra expenses would be compensated by lower pesticide costs and less devastating crop loses. Expanding India's food supply is crucial in a country of one billion people, with predictions the population might reach 1.4 billion by 2025. The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation has said food production will need to double by mid-century to meet demand from a growing world population, prompting calls for a second Green Revolution. But Greenpeace maintains GM crops are a costly distraction from tackling hunger through fighting poverty and helping small holders in developing countries sell their products. A combination of changing diets, a growing population, demand for farmland for industrialisation and high energy prices have stoked food prices globally, including in India, where the food price index rose 17.56 percent in the 12 months to Jan. 23. India is also battling with lower crop yields and more pests and plant disease because of higher temperatures, raising concerns that India's farm output could lag demand and the world's second most populous country will become a large food importer unless crop yields jump. Some economists and scientists in India favour a raft of policy initiatives, including genetic engineering, to improve yields and increase resistance to pests, disease and drought. "You have a large population that's growing in affluence, but our resources -- land, water, cheap labour -- are all shrinking, so we have to increase output quickly and efficiently," said Gyanendra Shukla, director of Monsanto India Ltd. "I don't see any other option but GM crops." Since Monsanto launched the world's first GM crop in 1996, more than 25 countries have taken to biotech crops including soybean, corn, tomato, squash, papaya and sugarbeet. Bt brinjal was developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co (Mahyco) under licence from Monsanto, and estimates show economic benefits from higher yields could top $400 million a year. GEAC has also approved studies of GM okra, tomato and rice, but opponents say GM should be a last resort. "You can't simply abandon all other solutions, including organic farming, to focus just on biotechnology when the testing, labelling and enforcement standards are so inadequate," said Kushal Yadav, an official at the Centre for Science and Environment. NO PANACEA Aside from health and safety concerns, critics worry that the widespread use of GM crops will put India's food supply largely in the hands of a few giant corporations that make the seeds. There is also the possibility of genetic contamination if the Bt genes cross pollinate with other varieties. A recent report by U.S. health and environment protection groups said that rather than reduce the use of pesticides, genetically engineered crops had actually prompted increased use of these chemicals, caused an epidemic of herbicide-resistant weeds and resulted in more chemical residues in foods. A backlash against the technology also appears to be growing globally, with consumer resistance to what British tabloids have dubbed "Frankenfood" taking root. Even advocates in India admit genetically modified crops are no magic bullet. "Bt can't be the panacea for all the problems in Indian agriculture. But if we miss this, we miss the chance to usher in a new technology, see how it can help us," Choudhary said. (Additional reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Sujoy Dhar; Editing by Megan Goldin)  • Email to a friend • Related • •Hari Sauri das, Mayapura, IN: Prabhupada's Passport continued1971 continued: This is a special entry:  top right: Srila Prabhupada's entry and exit stamps from his one and only historic visit to Moscow The entry is 20/06/71 and the exit is 25/06/71 • Email to a friend • Related • •Hari Sauri das, Mayapura, IN: Prabhupada's PassportHere some interesting entries into Srila Prabhupada’s passport. It was issued in 1971 and expired in 1974.  Srila Prabhupada's 1971-1974 passport
 Note that on the page on the right Srila Prabhupada lists his father as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura  Prabhupada's first visit to Australia is stamped May 9 1971 As a new immigrant to Australia I arrived in Sydney on May 16, the week after Srila Prabhupada’s first visit there. I just missed him by a couple of days. I met the devotees standing on a street corner, chanting and dancing, the first day we got off the boat. I bought my first BTG from Vaibhavi dasi, the wife of Charu dasa who for the last couple of decades have been staying at Spanish Fork in Utah. It was volume 37 and it had a picture of the Rasa dance on the front cover:
I remember paying 20 cents for it and receiving an invitation to attend the ‘Sunday Love Feast’. I had no idea what a love feast was, and come Sunday it was raining so I didn’t go. When I bought it we had just moved into an immigrants hostel provided by the Australian govt. for one week free. When we got back from our city excursion I pulled out the BTG and we all stared in complete uncomprehension at the multi-colored picture. Noone had a clue what it was. The nearest we came to understanding it was when one of our party, a tall thin fellow from Scotland called Bill whom we had met on the boat coming over, exclaimed, “I think those blue fellas are spirits!” When I checked out the contents I couldn’t understand a word. The Sanskrit names and the topics were all completely foreign to me and I couldn’t make head nor tail of it. Yet instead of throwing it away, I kept it very carefully in my suitcase, thinking that at some point in the future I would have another read. I knew it was important and it felt like the magazine was somehow vibrant and alive. I knew I had to keep it with me and that it would help me in my search for some meaning to my directionless life. I did read it over the next few months and its contents were revealed to me more and more, till eventually, nine months later, I joined the Sydney temple–but that’s another story. • Email to a friend • Related • •Bharatavarsa.net: Book distribution seminar: Ninety-three-year-old Lady Gets the MercySOFIA, Bulgaria -- One morning during the recent Prabhupada marathon, shortly after arriving at our sankirtan spot, I opened a box full of Srimad-Bhagavatams. A curious lady came by and looked over my shoulder. She was ninety-three years old! "What is this?" she asked. Usually such old people don't buy anything; they just tell us how big their library is and how learned they are. Expecting she was like that, I tried to at least give her the Holy Name. "This is for Krishna!", I said. "What?" she asked. I almost shouted, "This is for KRISHNA, the SUPREME LORD! KRISHNA!" "Can you show me a book, son?" "Yes, mother." Something in my heart told me, "She can take a few books." After I•d quickly described a little about the three Bhagavatam volumes we•d brought, she took all three books and gave all the money she had with her -- a good donation. She had been raised in an atheist family and was just waiting for ninety-three years to find the treasure of her life, the Srimad-Bhagavatam (although she didn't know it). * * * Dear Vijaya Prabhu, you inspire all the devotees around the world to distribute books. This year forty-three devotees from Sofia distributed books during the marathon. It is because of your association that they distributed more books then the last nine Prabhupada Marathons! We greatly appreciate your service of inspiring devotees to distribute books. That your personal distribution is not so big is not so bad. We are sure that Srila Prabhupada is very pleased with you. Dear prabhu please let all the devotees on BDN read this few last words if it is posible. Your servant, Sthanu Dasa • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: My Milk-Water Tale A common tale tells of a teacher who bids his student to fetch him a glass of water. "Water? For my master? No, he deserves milk," the student thinks, and so he fetches a glass of milk. When the teacher receives the glass of milk, he rebukes his student, "True instruction is to follow the orders of the teacher, what pleases the teacher, not what you think would please the teacher. " Although I've heard this tale since childhood, I believe that to truly understand this principle of service, every sincere student must live this humbling tale, at least once. So welcome to my tale. When my spiritual master Radhanath Swami visited Alachua this summer, I took it upon myself to organize Wednesday bhajans – the nama hatta program of the gurukulis of Alachua – and invite Maharaj as the special guest. The night before Wednesday bhajans, several gurukulis were gathered around Maharaj. The night went late, but we all wanted to keep talking, so we planned to fit in a darshan time for the following night, when we could talk about life and his book. Maharaj suggested a schedule that basically left no time for him to take prasad. "But Maharaj, we planned for you to take prasad at 8 o'clock," I spoke out. He turned to me. "Then I will eat what everyone else eats." "Pasta?" I asked. He just chuckled and said, "Yes. We'll all be like the cowherd boys, taking prasadam together," Everyone smiled and chuckled, but I thought, yeah right. I brought the issue up with my friend Radhika Rani, and we both brushed aside Maharaj's sweet but unrealistic desire to eat gurukuli fare. His health came first, and Maharaj's health is possibly one of the worst in ISKCON. So we arranged a nice, healthy menu as a collaborative effort of wonderful cooks. The following night when Maharaj came for bhajans, as planned we had a separate darshan time. Gurukulis were packed in, wall to wall. Maharaj's bronchitis was so bad you could see the entire room leaning in to hear him speak. I worried about him, and was glad we had made a nice dinner. After the darshan when most of the gurukulis had filtered away to head to the main house for bhajans – which were already in full swing – at last we got to serve Maharaj dinner. I placed the plate in front of him, and he turned to me and asked, "Is this what everyone else ate?" "Um, no, Maharaj, they had pasta and watermelon," I replied, taken aback. "Would you get me some of that prasadam?" Abashed, I rushed out to get Maharaj a serving of pasta. The pasta was cold and slippery, and we were running low on sauce so we had watered it down to runny red water. As I put a serving into a bowl, I just laughed and laughed. I knew Maharaj was chastising me. When I set the bowl down in front of him, he turned and asked me, "So, is this exactly what everyone else ate?" "Well, we were running out of sauce so we mixed it with water, but yes, this is what everyone else ate." I said, embarrassed. Satisfied, he turned to take prasad. At one point, I asked Maharaj, "Would you like any water, anything to drink?" And he said, "I am…" a smile twitched the corners of his mouth, "… intimidated by your hospitality," he grinned then to see my speechless expression. He then laughed, his shoulders shaking, his whole body bouncing, and he looked at me with a sparkle in his eye. He added, "I'm just joking." I grinned in return. When Maharaj and several other Prabhupad disciples had finished dinner, they all stood up to leave to attend bhajans in the main house. I stayed behind to clean up. I picked up Maharaj's plate… and laughed and laughed to remember the Milk-Water tale. Of the fresh dhokla, sweet potato soup, and organic brownies, he had barely taken one bite. The pasta was finished. Only two or three wet noodles remained at the bottom of the bowl, along with some of the runny sauce.  Subscribe  Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: Love SpellYou know how when you're falling in love, you want to shout it out to the whole world? Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: The Mystery of MercyNot so long ago, I had a dream that I was lying on the side of the road, immobile, hidden from view. I was dying. My mind was scattered and fear seeped through my veins. A call for help was lodged in my chest, unable to move because of my numbered breaths. Then, from down the road I could hear the faint ting of kartals and a distant thrum of mrdanga. The party approached; a dozen people danced by, only yards away. But they didn't see me and I couldn't get their attention. The holy name rung through the air. I wept and wept; I felt peace filter into my heart. Then the kirtan party moved on down the road, and I breathed my last breath. I awoke. The dream haunted me for weeks, for I realized that at the time of my death my mind was not on Krishna. I had been abandoned by everyone and everything, and the dying process had submerged me in fear. And yet, although I had forgotten Krishna, He had remembered me. The holy name had come for me. *** On the first day of the Winter Bus Tour, we pulled into the city of Houston. Our stay was short, so that morning some temple devotees invited several of us on the Tour to sing at a hospice. When we arrived to the hospice in the cold afternoon, we filled the quiet halls with our laughter. Our arms were loaded down with a mridanga, portable harmonium, and karatalas, and our faces shone with tilak. Moshumi, our host, addressed us in welcome. "Thank you for coming. This first floor is for those who are to leave this world soon. We have two women especially that we would like you to sing for." We all quieted and followed Moshumi down the hall. "We were thinking that first you can sing in the hall, and when the time is right we'll usher you into each room. "Please keep the music soft," she continued. "We just had a death on the second floor," The gravity of this experience settled on our shoulders. Akinchana began a soft, lilting kirtan and passed the lead on to each of us. Several minutes later, Moshumi ushered us all into the first room. Singing, we fanned out in a ring around a woman in a hospital bed, her body laced in tubes. When we entered, she sat up in bed, and her eyes lit up. She smiled, as if the sun had entered her room. Then Akinchana gestured for me to sing; I closed my eyes and sang, and here in this room with a woman whose days were numbered, my own moment of death felt so close, as if I could reach out and touch it. Suddenly, I remembered my dream, and how I had been so helpless and undeserving at the time of my death. But by the mystery of mercy, Krishna had come for me. The devotees of Krishna had come for me. It was as if I had become one of those devotees on the road passing by a dying woman. I could sing and I could dance, whereas in my dream I had been paralyzed. This time, I could be an instrument of peace for the holy name. I sang and tears fell from my eyes. When I opened my eyes, the woman had raised her arms in the air, her face beaming. Everyone in the room was dancing. I wept. I write this now over a month later, and I believe that the woman at the hospice has left this world. I don't even know her name. But before she left, she knew the holy name. Somehow, on that cold afternoon in Houston, we had all been instruments of the holy name, and that is a mystery of mercy I shall never unravel.  Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: the perfection of silence the perfection of silence a reflection on the kartika new vrindavan 24 hour kirtan the holy name glows in the dark like the field of flames in the templeroom which dance in the hands of devotees of God for one day the holy name resounds upon my tongue and bathes my mind in stillness for one day the sound surrounds me and enfolds me in rhythm with my hearbeat for one day only Your name dances upon my tongue this is the perfection of silence. Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: Not Eye Deep, Heart Deep When I was in Hawaii, I would often tune in to the Alachua webcam at krishna.com/alachua for Sayana Arati, the last Arati of the day, which is also my favorite. It is soft and sweet, like singing a lullaby to Krishna before He goes to sleep. One day, I tuned in to the webcam and the above picture flashed on my screen. I quickly saved it to my computer. The mood of this picture reminds me of the aphorism, "Don't go to the temple to see Krishna; be sincere and serve so that Krishna wants to see you." That is the meaning of "darshan". I believe that this woman truly saw Lord Krishna in His deity form... and Krishna saw this woman. Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: The Gift of Renunciation The Ganges River photo courtesy of vaisnava.cz In Radhanath Swami's autobiography, he writes how after a month of solitary meditation, he decided to renounce his most prized possession and talent - his harmonica - because he realized that it was drawing him away from his spiritual path. He threw the harmonica into the Ganges River. After it had sunk, he received the maha mantra from the Ganges River. Frankly, his experience confounded me. So when two friends and I had a darshan with Radhanath Swami on the Thursday of KulimeLA, I asked him to clarify his mystical experience. "Had you heard the mantra before? How is it possible you could hear the mantra for the first time, and hear it clearly... in the swishy sounds of water?" "It's very possible that I had heard the mantra before. But when I was sitting on the rock in the middle of the Ganges, and I was listening to Her flow, I heard the mantra for the first conscious time in the roar. Maybe others wouldn't have been able to hear it. But I could hear it, clearly." "Really?" "Yes." "How mystical," I murmured. Radhanath Swami smiled.  Venice Beach photo courtesy of behance.vo The next evening of the KulimeLA, I decided to not go to the Ford Theater extravaganza. I was too exhausted from the first two days of the Mela, and I knew that if I went to the extravaganza, I wouldn't be able to properly do my service for the festival. I had decided even before I came to the Mela that my service took priority over entertainment. So while the block emptied out and headed to Hollywood, Gopishvari and I caught a bus down to Venice Beach. In the cool evening, she swam in the Pacific and I took a japa walk down the beach. I pondered the waves. I thought about how I was missing the extravaganza, an event I had looked forward to for months. But I felt peaceful in my heart to be walking along the sand, and I knew I had made the right decision. When I returned to where Gopi was swimming, I sat in the sand to chant and closed my eyes. The evening sun soothed my face. It was a wrenching decision, one that I knew I would feel twinges of regret for years to come, but I stood by it. I listened to the ocean. I wondered, what if I could hear the maha mantra in the roar of the waves? I imagined what the mantra would sound like, whispering through the roar. I listened and listened, but I was mystified at how impossible it was to hear a word, what to speak of the maha mantra. But I was grateful I had the peace of mind to even chant. Radhanath Swami had given up something so dear to him - his harmonica - because it was drawing him away from his spiritual life. I realized that with his sincere renunciation, he had been given something much, much greater - the holy name. I now realize that because I had forgone the Ford Theater, the next day I could do my service with patience and with a smile because I had slept properly. The gift of my renunciation was nicer service. And hopefully, if I can serve the Vaishnavas, I will be able to humbly hear the holy name. If not from a holy river, or the ocean, at the least may I sincerely hear Krishna's name from my own mouth. Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: The Secret to Silence I arrived into Mexico City silent, and I left silent. I had made a vow that for one day, I would devote my voice to Sri Krishna. It was my third 24 Hour Kirtan; in each of these three events, I have committed myself to mauna vrata, or a vow of silence. And each time, my experience of the holy name goes one notch deeper. All day long, only the holy name cycles through my mind - over and over and over. In all shapes and forms and sizes, the holy name swirls around me - around and around and around. By the end of the day, the power of the holy name has soaked into my skin, into my mind, into my heart. Mauna vrata for a 24 hour kirtan is so beautiful and so powerful that I wish others would try it. Of course, the question is: How to only chant the holy names when I'm surrounded by such amazing devotees, by my friends? What if I have a service? What if I just need to ask for directions? I have several techniques which involve a notepad and plenty of hand gestures, but here's my secret to survive a vow of silence for 24 hours when you're surrounded by the whirl of a festival: stay in kirtan. That's it. Maybe you're immersed in a beautifully sung kirtan. Wonderful, stay there. Maybe the kirtan is off-key, or off-beat. Wonderful, stay there. Maybe you get up to dance, maybe you cry. Stay there. Maybe the holy name will decide to dance upon your tongue. Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: Pinnacle of DevotionI meditate on this picture every day.  "There is no vow like chanting the holy name, no knowledge superior to it, no meditation which comes anywhere near it, and it gives the highest result. No penance is equal to it, and nothing is as potent or powerful as the holy name. Chanting is the greatest act of piety and the supreme refuge. Even the words of the Vedas do not possess sufficient power to describe its magnitude. Chanting is the highest path to liberation, peace and eternal life. It is the pinnacle of devotion, the heart's joyous proclivity and attraction and the best form of remembrance of the Supreme Lord. The holy name has appeared solely for the benefit of the living entities as their lord and master, their supreme worshipful object and their spiritual guide and mentor. "Whoever continuously chants Lord krishna's holy name, even in his sleep, can easily realize that the name is a direct manifestation of krishna Himself, in spite of the influences of kali-yuga." Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in Saranagati (quoted from Adi Purana) Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: Wish In My PocketA line of sixth grade boys stood tense on their heels, their eyes trained to the sky. And every day, when I finish my rounds, I make a wish: Please allow me to chant Your name, every day, for all of my life.  image by renegade graphics Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: A Superfluous ApologyOn the way back from Daytona Rathayatra on the bus, I got into a lively conversation with Jagadish, whom I have known for several years, and Giri, a young second-generation devotee I had never spoken with before. Our fascinating conversation turned towards guru, and I began to effuse about my own spiritual teacher. I became so animated, and the two men became rather quiet, just listening intently. Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: No BoundsOur first official day in Mexico, we had just finished an amazing kirtan program at the Museum of History in Monterrey. We were all super tired. Outside in the streets, car honks filled the night in exhilaration - the city´s soccer team had just won a match. Subscribe  • Email to a friend • Related • •Book Distribution News: Ninety-three-year-old Lady Gets the MercySOFIA, Bulgaria -- One morning during the recent Prabhupada marathon, shortly after arriving at our sankirtan spot, I opened a box full of Srimad-Bhagavatams. A curious lady came by and looked over my shoulder. She was ninety-three years old! "What is this?" she asked. Usually such old people don't buy anything; they just tell us how big their library is and how learned they are. Expecting she was like that, I tried to at least give her the Holy Name. "This is for Krishna!", I said. "What?" she asked. I almost shouted, "This is for KRISHNA, the SUPREME LORD! KRISHNA!" "Can you show me a book, son?" "Yes, mother." Something in my heart told me, "She can take a few books." After I•d quickly described a little about the three Bhagavatam volumes we•d brought, she took all three books and gave all the money she had with her -- a good donation. She had been raised in an atheist family and was just waiting for ninety-three years to find the treasure of her life, the Srimad-Bhagavatam (although she didn't know it). * * * Dear Vijaya Prabhu, you inspire all the devotees around the world to distribute books. This year forty-three devotees from Sofia distributed books during the marathon. It is because of your association that they distributed more books then the last nine Prabhupada Marathons! We greatly appreciate your service of inspiring devotees to distribute books. That your personal distribution is not so big is not so bad. We are sure that Srila Prabhupada is very pleased with you. Dear prabhu please let all the devotees on BDN read this few last words if it is posible. Your servant, Sthanu Dasa • Email to a friend • Related • •Gouranga TV: Mahavishnu Swami kirtan – Vrindavan 2009Mahavishnu Swami kirtan – Vrindavan 2009 • Email to a friend • Related • •More Recent Articles |
By Caru Das
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