ISKCON Ahmedabad Double Rathayatra Honors Lord Rama

PLANET ISKCON

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Here are the latest updates for "Planet ISKCON" - 45 new articles Japa Group: Keep Trying To Hear ISKCON News.com: Court: Hare Krishnas Barred From LAX Solicitation ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Next Live Conference Call - Tomorrow 8:30pm EST Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: If you understand KC science, then revive Indian culture Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Fw: "we don't have right to criticize others" Gaura Sakti das & Adi Radhika dd, New Vraja Dham, Hungary: Nityananda Trayodasi in Istanbul ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Laksmana Watch! Where is Hanumana? David Haslam, UK: understanding and correctly referencing ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Mayapur Introduces New “Festival of Bliss” ISKCON News.com: The Oldest City in the US Meets Its Maker ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Bangladesh Holds Second “Hare Krishna Convention” Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Devotees Join Six Million to Bathe at Kumbha Mela ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Ahmedabad Double Rathayatra Honors Lord Rama ISKCON News.com: CDM Sets Sites on Next Generation ISKCON News.com: Maharashtra Celebrates Rama Navami ISKCON News.com: Hindu New Year Marked by Ratha Yatra in Solapur HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: '387' from The Yellow Submarine HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'The Sweetest Karatala Swing Ever' from The Yellow Submarine HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'Safe Trip—Danger’s at Home' from The Yellow Submarine Caitanya Mangala, CA, USA: Kuli Mela 2008 Radhadesh DVD is now available at Krishna.com! Japa Group: This Is Called Attentive Chanting Prema-Rupa dd, USA: Taj Mahal Dandavats.com: Rama-navami Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Electric Vehicles Charge Ahead in US Dandavats.com: Krishna devotee has provided lunches for ten years Kripamoya dasa, UK: I’m starting my own movement; the one that Srila Prabhupada really wanted HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'Rama Navami Lecture' from The Yellow Submarine Mayapur Online: 61st Vyasa Puja celebrations of HH Jayapataka Maharaja H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: 61st Vyasa Puja of HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja Mayapur Online: Vyasa Puja message of HH Jayapataka Maharaja Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Energy Diversification: A National Security Imperative Dandavats.com: Ram Navami at ISKCON New Gaya - Japan Dandavats.com: Vision of Building a State of the Art ISKCON Hare Krishna Temple in Silicon Valley Kaunteya das, Mayapura: Wanted: Cultural Engineers Gouranga TV: Initiation Ceremony by Giriraj Swami and Indradyumna Swami ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Bhakti Vaibhava 1 Starts April 3rd. More Recent Articles Search Planet ISKCON Japa Group: Keep Trying To Hear As we make our way on the journey of Japa, we sometimes forget about listening to the Holy names - our mind becomes louder and we tend to listen to that. By persistent effort we can bring ourselves back to the sound and continue to make progress. The importance of hearing the Holy names cannot be overstated. Hearing is the first process in devotional service and the most important....so keep trying to hear the Holy names beginning with the next mantra you chant and then the next. Persistence pays off and we will soon be absorbed in the Lord's spiritual energy. I hope your Japa is going well this week and that you can continue to hear the Holy names. • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON News.com: Court: Hare Krishnas Barred From LAX Solicitation By Paul Elias for AP on 25 Mar 2010 California top court bars Hare Krishnas from soliciting funds at Los Angeles International Airport. • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu - Srimad Bhagavatam 11.18.37 SB 11.18.37: A realized soul no longer sees anything as separate from Me, for his realized knowledge of Me has destroyed such illusory perception. Since the material body and mind were previously accustomed to this kind of perception, it may sometimes appear to recur; but at the time of death the self-realized soul achieves opulences equal to Mine. SB 11.18.37: Un alma realizada considera ve todas las cosas como una parte de Mí, porque la realización de su conocimiento sobre Mí ha destruido toda opinión ilusoria. El cuerpo material y la mente estuvieron acostumbrados previamente a esta clase de opinión, y puede de nuevo a veces repetirse; pero a la hora de muerte el alma auto-realizada alcanza las opulencias iguales a las Mías. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.18.37A realized soul no longer sees anything as separate from Krishna. Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu - Srimad Bhagavatam 11.18.37 13.1MB Posted by Kanapathy Ramasamy at 27/3/10; 8:20:00 AM to the Daily Class dept Download: Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu - Srimad Bhagavatam 11.18.37 Srimad Bhagavatam 11.18.37 - A realized soul no longer sees anything as separate from Krishna. • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Next Live Conference Call - Tomorrow 8:30pm EST Our next conference call is tomorrow, Saturday, March 26, 2010 at 8:30pm EST, during international Earth Hour. The conference calls now also have a toll-free number. Please call either 1-888-535-3378 or (416) 900-1162. The Access Code is 360-232-914. During the call, we will have a live chat window right here on our blog! • Email to a friend • Related • • Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: If you understand KC science, then revive Indian culture (Pandit Nehru died on May 27, 1964) India is going down by giving up this original cultural life which is its own. The government is enamored by the glittering civilization of the West, and it was a definite policy of our late prime minister, Mr. Nehru, who wanted to see India overnight as rich and materially advanced as America. It was, of course, Gandhi's policy to concentrate his organization in village life, taking to simple life and cow protection. But just after Mahatma Gandhi's disappearance, his chief disciple, Pandit Nehru, planned for up-to-date organized cow-slaughter house. So this is our position. If you have understood Krishna Consciousness science, then you will try to revive this cultural life in India. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Gopala Krsna -- New Vrindaban 5 June, 1969 • Email to a friend • Related • • Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Fw: "we don't have right to criticize others" Srila Prabhupada wrote: A pure Vaisnava should be very careful to engage in his specific duty without criticizing others. This is the safest position. Otherwise, if one tends to criticize others, he may commit the great offense of criticizing a Vaisnava. >>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 6.17.15 Srila Prabhupada also wrote: a Vaisnava preacher may sometimes criticize others >>> Ref. VedaBase => Antya 13.133 The harmonization of these two conflicting statements is that a devotee should not have a critical attitude, but may and indeed must criticize when required. Here is a sample criticism by Srila Prabhupada of a false paramahamsa: Prabhupada said. "Krsna is the Supreme Lord, and all others are demigods." The man became a little nervous and quoted a popular Bengali impersonalist who taught that all gods and all methods of worship are the same. "He's an upstart," Prabhupada said. "That is not the teaching of the Gita. What is this other teaching? It is all utter confusion." "If you go on speaking like this," the man said angrily, "I'll have to leave this place. Please don't criticize this paramahamsa." "Why not?" Prabhupada said. "He is a concocter." The man got up and left, calling out, "You don't know Krsna!" as he left the room. >>> Ref. VedaBase => SPL 28: India Revisited: Part 2 Again: Guest (3): By preaching Krsna consciousness would you condemn other people's beliefs? Prabhupada: We must condemn anyone who is not Krsna conscious. I don't condemn; Krsna condemns: na mam duskrtino müdhah... >>> Ref. VedaBase => Press Conference -- October 2, 1975, Mauritius. Non-judgmentalism is sometimes touted on the strength of SB 11.28.1-2: sri-bhagavan uvaca para-svabhava-karmani na prasamsen na garhayet visvam ekamakam pasyan prakrtya purusena ca The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One should neither praise nor criticize the conditioned nature and activities of other persons. Rather, one should see this world as simply the combination of material nature and the enjoying souls, all based on the one Absolute Truth. para-svabhava-karmani yah prasamsati nindati sa asu bhrasyate svarthad asaty abhinivesatah Whoever indulges in praising or criticizing the qualities and behavior of others will quickly become deviated from his own best interest by his entanglement in illusory dualities. As indicated in Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's commentary, these verses advise the transcendentalist to remain on the transcendental platform by not making distinctions of better or worse on the mundane platform. Blanket application of these instructions would be not only impractical, but dangerous. It would obliterate distinctions between good and bad, and render a preaching mission impossible. Without criticism there cannot be preaching, which entails pointing out what is wrong and what should be given up, and exposing cheaters and their cheating. Suspension of discrimination would leave no means to judge who is fit or unfit for initiation, nor for living in an ashram. This topic is far deeper than persons raised on cartoons and popcorn can begin to imagine. It is unwise and incorrect to represent the mood of an acarya based on a single quote or anecdote (incidentally, the anecdote concerning Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati has been misquoted). It is particularly an insult to the profundity of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati to attempt to gauge his understanding without oneself having seriously performed sravana-manana-nidhidhyasana of his teachings. Recommended reading: Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava On Speaking Strongly in Srila Prabhupada's Service • Email to a friend • Related • • Gaura Sakti das & Adi Radhika dd, New Vraja Dham, Hungary: Nityananda Trayodasi in Istanbul We spent the Nityananda Trayodasi day singing with the devotees joyfully. • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Laksmana Watch! Where is Hanumana? For those who attended Rama Navami celebrations (marking the appearance anniversary of Lord Rama), we saw how in the middle of the celebrations, a battle broke out between Laksmana and Indrajit! In this battle, Laksmana was struck with an arrow and fell unconscious! We are all awaiting Hanumana to come save the day (word has it, that he will arrive on Sunday). But until then, we encourage you to keep an eye on Lord Laksmana to ensure that he is ok! Free video streaming by Ustream • Email to a friend • Related • • David Haslam, UK: understanding and correctly referencing I have been pondering how and why we reference, and how important it is that we reference authority correctly. If we are not careful we can mislead others or give a false point of view based on our own understanding or view we wish to present or impose on others. In an earlier blog posting I [...] • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Mayapur Introduces New “Festival of Bliss” By Madhava Smullen on 26 Mar 2010 Beginning this year, organizers at ISKCON’s headquarters in Mayapur, India, are establishing an annual early summer festival dubbed “Festival of Bliss.” • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON News.com: The Oldest City in the US Meets Its Maker By Navina-Shyama Dasa on 26 Mar 2010 On March 20th, ISKCON of Alachua hosted a Ratha Yatra in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida for the fifth time. This year, however, both the organizers and the city made some strategic changes. • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Bangladesh Holds Second “Hare Krishna Convention” By Madhava Smullen on 26 Mar 2010 Dubbed “The Festival of Humility,” this year’s event was designed to help devotees cultivate the most beautiful jewel-like decoration of a Vaishnava—the quality of humility. • Email to a friend • Related • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1966 March 26: "Sasthi. Today when I came back from Dr. Mishra's apartment at 1 pm. I saw my window on the door broken and entering the door I saw my tape recorder, typewriter, and books-bag stolen. A separate note is written in this connection. At 2 pm. someone came to to take me to Ashram and I went there. The whole thing was up set. Purchased one bottle Sour Salt .30. No income." Prabhupada Letters :: 1966 • Email to a friend • Related • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1968 March 26: "I understand he has been induced by this Maharaja to be initiated by him for giving him shelter and this foolish boy has accepted his inducement. This isn't very happy news and in the future, we shall be very cautious about them." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968 • Email to a friend • Related • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1968 March 26: "In future don't be misled by some unauthorized person. Such ceremony is observed among the Hindu community as a socio-religious convention but this ceremony isn't approved by us. I am very glad you are repentant. This attitude improves one in progressing on the path of devotional service." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968 • Email to a friend • Related • • 1968 March 26: "The best thing is to remain in the midst of pure devotees. So long we are engaged in devotional service with proper guidance certainly we are always in transcendental position, and transcendental position is unlimited, it doesn't matter whether you are in Vrindaban or America. So long we have not completely freed our material attachment, even Vrindaban residence can become uncongenial." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968 • Email to a friend • Related • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1969 March 26: "In the beginning we thought that we were losing a nice place but now I can understand Krishna's desire was to give us a still better place, and so we have now got it. So it is not the place alone which is responsible for beautifying the temple; it is the devotees who are actually beautifying the temple. So kindly try to maintain the present atmosphere, and try to improve it more and more, that is my request." Prabhupada Letters :: 1969 • Email to a friend • Related • • 1970 March 26: "I am so engladdened that at your University meeting hundreds were singing and dancing. I take it for granted that you are one of the selected devotees of Lord Caitanya. From within your heart He has inspired you to go to such a distant place just to satisfy Krsna. This is a great transcendental adventure." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970 • Email to a friend • Related • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1970 March 26: "Just try to convince the younger section. Krishna Consciousness is not dry. It is complete. Simply we have to administer this idea to the people in general very magnificently. The program is already there, and it is very simple. I wish that you establish at least ten centers there. That is my desire." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970 • Email to a friend • Related • • 1974 March 26: "The devotees are giving everything they have for giving others a chance to come and worship at an authorized Radha Krishna temple. Our main purpose for keeping a large temple is to give a chance to as many people as possible to take to Krishna Consciousness." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974 • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Devotees Join Six Million to Bathe at Kumbha Mela By Lakshman Dasa on 26 Mar 2010 As the day dawned on March 15, several hundred ISKCON devotees joined six million other pilgrims and holy men to bathe in the sacred Ganga river at this year’s Kumbha Mela in Haridwar. • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Ahmedabad Double Rathayatra Honors Lord Rama By Basu Ghosh Dasa on 26 Mar 2010 Two Rathayatras organized by ISKCON Ahmedabad, India on Friday March 19 and Saturday March 20 saw the Ratha cart carry deities of Sita, Rama, Lakshman and Hanuman as well as the more traditional Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra deities. • Email to a friend • Related • • By Seva Priya Devi Das on 26 Mar 2010 The Congregation Development Ministry's annual meeting was held in Mayapur from March 13-14. • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON News.com: Maharashtra Celebrates Rama Navami Sindh Today on 24 Mar 2010 Nearly half a million devotees congregated for the colorful evening boat event at ISKCON Juhu. • Email to a friend • Related • • By Sankirtana Dasa on 26 Mar 2010 The sometimes violent city welcomed the event for a third year. • Email to a friend • Related • • HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: '387' from The Yellow Submarine www.sdgonline.org. 2:20 A.M. Now we are in a new place again, the beach house. The room is nicely arranged with a comfortable chair for japa, a small desk with a decent desk chair and a bed with mosquito netting. People were up late talking until 9:30 and a dog was barking, but I used earplugs and a revolving fan. I woke up with a slight headache around ten and subdued it. I was wide awake at 12:30 and so got up and started chanting. I’ve chanted ten rounds, but now I’m going sleepy and think I’ll go back for some more rest. • Email to a friend • Related • • HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'The Sweetest Karatala Swing Ever' from The Yellow Submarine www.sdgonline.org. Prabhupada Smaranam In the beginning, in the summer of 1966 at 26 Second Avenue, Prabhupada played the one-headed bongo drum in leading the kirtana. We had about three pairs of karatalas, and they were played by the boys. One-two-three, one-two-three. Later a friend donated a big size khol (an Indian wooden drum with straps and pegs, different than the clay mrdanga). Prabhupada began playing that, and you can hear it on the Happening record album kirtana that was produced in December of 1966. After Prabhupada suffered his stroke on Memorial Day in 1967, he didn’t play the mrdanga again except for studio engagements were they recorded him for bhajanas. He would have liked to lead full kirtanas, but his disciples “restricted” him, saying it was too strenuous, and he went along with the restriction. Then he played karatalas or occasionally a brass gong with a wooden peg, but mostly karatalas. He was a very artistic karatala player. He would play the fast two beats of the three-beat rhythm by holding the cloths very tightly, but on the third beat he would relax the cloths and slide a kind of “splash” sound almost akin to what a jazz drummer does with his cymbal. It would produce a lively, melodious ring and then he would tighten the cloths again for the first two beats of the rhythm. You can see in this photo how he moves his pointing finger to produce the clashing together of the cymbals for the third beat. He played variations of this method, sometimes playing almost four beats or clashing the cymbals in a clopping way on the first two beats. The devotees loved to hear him play and to sing along in kirtana with him. Such a simple time-keeping musical instruments, and yet he played it like a maestro. Now almost anyone with a sense of rhythm can passably play the karatalas and some kirtaneers play them even more complicated than Prabhupada did, but there was not—and will not be–anyone who played them as sweetly and rhythmically as he did. • Email to a friend • Related • • HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'Safe Trip—Danger’s at Home' from The Yellow Submarine www.sdgonline.org. Free write I am publishing this ocean vista in anticipation of a several days stay at the beach in Trinidad, which will start today. We did it two years ago, and it was pleasant. There were no high surf waves in the water, and we stood up to our waists or chests, on soft sandy ocean floor. There were about twenty of us, men separate from women. We stayed in the water for a couple of hours a day and the main activity was kirtana. It seemed very natural to stand outdoors under the big sky and sing together the Hare Krishna mantra. We took turns in leading, and everyone had time to lead for a considerable time. We didn’t tire quickly. The water was gentle and buoyant, and you had to keep shifting your feet to keep a balance. Then we took a lavish picnic outdoors on the dock. I hope it will be as nearly successful this year. This picture reminds me of my bicycle accident in Lewes, Delaware, last April. Baladeva thought I wasn’t getting sufficient physical exercise from a daily foot-walk and suggested the bicycle ride. With hindsight, at my age and lack of agility, I don’t think it was good idea. I was coming down the right side of the road like the bicycle in this picture, when a big truck approached us from the other side. There was sufficient room for him to pass without hitting us, and we passed each other with a few feet to spare. But it was close enough that I grew nervous and lost my equilibrium. I jerked the handle to the right side and fell over the front of the handlebars, landing precisely on the point of my collarbone with no other support from my body. It hurt very much, but we didn’t go to the hospital. We went home and soaked it in ice. But when it didn’t get better the second day we went to the emergency room at Beebe Hospital and there x-ray confirmed that I had broken my collarbone. The picture showed a separation in the bone. The put me in a simple sling and arranged an appointment with a specialist. Two days later he saw me, and said I would heal in six weeks. But I have been returning to the orthopedist for almost a year, and the x-rays shows that the bones have not mended. It doesn’t hurt much anymore. I have also been going to physiotherapy for strengthening my muscles in the right arm with exercises. But both the specialist and the physiotherapist say I may not be able to ever paint again in the way I used to, using very rigorous up and down strokes. It’s ironic. I tend to think I may get injured when I travel, perils of going to distant places. But the bicycle accident happened two minutes away from the townhouse in Lewes. My arthritic left foot gives me most pain when I walk out the front door and try to take a walk in the neighborhood. • Email to a friend • Related • • Caitanya Mangala, CA, USA: Kuli Mela 2008 Radhadesh DVD is now available at Krishna.com! The Kuli Mela 2008 Radhadesh DVD is now available at the newly launched Kuli Mela Outlet @ Krishna.com! Click HERE to check out the growing Kuli Mela video and audio selections… In the ancient Sanskrit language, Kuli refers to a member of a community. Mela is a festive gathering. Combined, Kuli Mela transforms into a celebration of community. In the summer of 2008, the second-generation Hare Krishnas (known informally as Gurukulis, or more simply as Kulis) gathered at the Radhadesh temple in Belgium to celebrate the fifth Kuli Mela. Take a look at the festival through the eyes of the attendees. • Email to a friend • Related • • Japa Group: This Is Called Attentive Chanting We should not minimize the hearing. What are we hearing? Krsna’s name. Hearing oneself calling on Krsna’s name is really not different from addressing Krsna. It should not be that we are repeating the name dully, or unconsciously. So let your consciousness be that you think of calling on Krsna’s name while you actually recite that name. This is called attentive chanting. From Japa Reform Notebook by SDG • Email to a friend • Related • • Prema-Rupa dd, USA: Taj Mahal It sucked. The End. Ok ok, I suppose I should write something but Im not posting any pics because we all know what the Taj looks like. While we were in Vrindavan my family was all into going to the Taj Mahal, which isn’t that far away. I find the Taj to be so super lame and cliché. Ok, seriously, ticket prices are ridiculous, for Indians its super cheap, like 7 Rs. but for non-Indians its 700 Rs. So my husband thought that as long as my family and I don’t say anything they wont realize that we aren’t native Indians. I can pass for native Indian, my sister and Dad can pass for Indian. My Mom on the other hand, with her light complexion and freckled face coupled with her short brown hair, didn’t fool the guards. My husband instructed us that if anyone asks, tell them we’re from Bangalore. We stood in line and the guard checked our tickets, he took one good look at my Mom and told my husband that there was no way she was Indian. My husband quickly changed the story, saying that we were all from Bengal and my mother had no clue, so when the guard turned to her and asked “where are you from?” She grinned and said “Bangalore”. Yep, my husband had to go back and buy the expensive tickets before we were let through. During the ordeal my sister had managed to go through, and while she waited for us a female guard asked her a question, she couldn’t respond and she rejoined us. So the Taj was built by some king with three wives and he liked the third one best (they always do, sheesh) and built this thing for her when she died. I guess some people find it romantic and a wonderful expression of your love for someone. Its lame. You stand in a ridiculously long line that goes around the building a couple times and when you go inside it’s a dark room with two tombs, one of Shah Jahan and the other of Mumtaz Mahal and then you leave. Exciting, I know. I think if I were into historical architecture this would have interested me more because Wikipedia talks about a bunch of stuff that I didn’t really take notice of. Or I just looked at it and thought, “well that’s Muslim-y” and that was it. The thought of people getting their hands cut-off after it being built wasn’t so appealing to me either. Meh. The Yamuna has been getting smaller and smaller due to her separation from Krishna. The Yamuna runs right behind the Taj Mahal. My husband told a story that there is a balcony that Mumtaz used to look out of from her palace and the Yamuna was so close she would look at her reflection. Its kinda romantic I guess. So while we were outside the building I could faintly hear Srila Prabhupada singing the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. I pretty much thought I was going crazy. That maybe the line was so long I started hearing things. But even after I had gone through the Taj and we were just hanging out outside the building, I could hear it. I mean, I didn’t want to be at the Taj but would I literally become schizophrenic from not being in Vrindavan? As we were leaving I could still hear this music faintly, it was driving me crazy, did no one else hear it? Why is no one saying anything?! Finally I turned to my Dad, “Do you hear that? Its way off in the distance?! That music?!” My Dad shrugged, “Yeah, its Prabhupada chanting Hare Krishna.” And that was it. At that point I realized something. Love was not found in that man who made a marble house dedicated to a decayed corpse. It was that personality who gave us a house the whole world could live in. Love is not seen in monuments and buildings, but is depicted through our hearts. Srila Prabhupada loves Krishna so so much that he cant contain himself, he has to share it with everyone. That is love. We look for love in all the wrong places and for all the wrong reasons, but Srila Prabhupada is so kind, an embodiment of true love, that he distributes love of Krishna freely, he is so eager for us to taste what he tastes, to give us a glimpse of his love for Krishna so that we too can rekindle our lost love. Srila Prabhupada loves us so much that even here, even in the most odd and random place you can hear Srila Prabhupada: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare….” • Email to a friend • Related • • Dandavats.com: Rama-navami By Giriraj Swami The original Personality of Godhead is Krsna, and He manifests Himself in different forms. One such manifestation is Lord Ramacandra. When Krsna appeared in His original form He acted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas when He appeared as Rama He acted as the ideal king. • Email to a friend • Related • • Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Electric Vehicles Charge Ahead in US Construction to begin on thousands of charging stations for ‘clean’ cars. Source: Washington, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] What’s billed as the biggest rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure in the world is about to begin in the United States. Urban planners are deciding where to locate more than 11,000 charging stations in 11 major cities. They want those stations up and running when the first mass-market electric cars from Nissan and General Motors go on sale at the end of this year. Last year, the Department of Energy awarded $100 million to eTec, an electric transportation research and development firm, to build electric vehicle charging networks in five states. Now is when the rubber meets the road, or more precisely, construction begins. “You know, there’s a lot of excitement over this,” says Rich Feldman, a regional manager for eTec. “This is going to result in oil savings. There’s going to be jobs that come out of this project in terms of people installing the equipment. We’re obviously launching a whole new industry here. There’s going to be other spinoffs and economic opportunity.” Park, Plug in and Power Up Feldman is supervising the installation of more than 2,000 electric car chargers in the greater Seattle area in western Washington, and another 2,000 at homes and public places in four Oregon cities. They’ll be near shopping centers, fast food restaurants and movie theaters, “the variety of places that people think about when they’re able to park and leave the vehicle for an hour or two.” Feldman’s infrastructure company has partnered with Nissan. The car maker bought lots of ads during the Winter Olympics to promote its forthcoming all-electric model named the Leaf. Nissan is inviting drivers to sign up on its website to be among the first to buy one. Feldman says eTec hopes to convince a subset of Nissan Leaf buyers to participate in a study. It wants 900 drivers in each state to let researchers from the Idaho National Lab monitor their driving and charging behaviors. “In exchange, they get a free, home-based charging station,” he explains. Lessons learned about consumer preferences on placement, features and payment options could guide the eventual national rollout of charging infrastructure. The Nissan Leaf and the plug-in Chevy Volt are supposed to hit U.S. dealerships late this year. They’re the first wave of mass production electric cars. Mark Perry, who directs product planning for Nissan North America, says new owners will have no trouble finding a power station. “So the concern, ‘If I use this vehicle or purchase this vehicle, can I get charging?’ that’s going to be a very easy answer here.” The price of the fully electric Nissan is being announced at the end of March. Then the company will start taking deposits from consumers, who likely will pay a substantial premium over a comparable gasoline powered compact. The four-door, five-passenger Leaf has a range of about 160 kilometers. Perry says that Nissan will sell and lease the car and battery as a package. “There had been a lot of conversation about separation of car shell and battery and different approaches,” he said. “Nissan is still going to explore different business models in other parts of the world. But here in the U.S., definitely an entire transaction ? car and battery ? purchase or lease.” A World of Business Models for Electrics Other companies and countries are trying different business models to lure consumers into electric cars. Denmark is one nation on the cutting edge. A California-based company called Better Place is working with Denmark’s biggest utility to build the charging network there. It will offer battery swap-out stations, a feature not included initially in the United States. (Image, left: In Copenhagen, hotel owner Kirsten Brøchner gets behind the wheel of her leased Norwegian-made electric car. Credit: VOA – T. Banse) “We are building these switch stations here in Denmark ? a number of them ? so that when people want to cross the country, then they can very easily,” Utility CEO Anders Eldrup says. “If it works according to the plans ? we hope it will ? then you can, within three to four minutes, faster than you can put gasoline in your car, you can switch the battery for a brand new one, which is fully charged, and off you go.” When the system starts up next year, Danish electric vehicle drivers will pay a monthly subscription to access the battery charging network. They could also pay by the mile. But will consumers go for any of this? Vehicle researcher Valerie Karplus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says the car market is big enough to support numerous niches. But she adds, “It’s going to take consumers some time to sort out how they feel about going to a swap station, versus a gas station, versus charging at home. At the same time, today’s internal combustion engine cars are going to get more and more efficient. You may not have to go the gas station all that often with one of those cars.” She is looking forward to what she calls ‘an interesting technology race’. In Denmark, electric cars are exempt from the world’s highest car registration tax. That’s a big incentive, along with free parking on Copenhagen streets. Washington State already exempts fully electric cars from its sales tax, and Nissan executives recently paid a call on legislators to talk up additional incentives. Free parking came up, along with access to carpool lanes. In Oregon, electric car enthusiasts want that state to increase the tax credit it offers to buyers of alternative fuel vehicles. Similar conversations are happening in government offices in Europe, East Asia and U.S. state capitals. Many policymakers, as well as drivers, find the prospect of a zero-emissions ride electrifying. Reprinted from Voice of America, a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 115 million people. Filed under: Cows and Environment • Email to a friend • Related • • Channel 9: For more than a decade, a solid group of people led by Hare Krishna devotee Jahna Vamata have been providing very cheap vegetarian lunches around the campus area. • Email to a friend • Related • • Kripamoya dasa, UK: I’m starting my own movement; the one that Srila Prabhupada really wanted I would like to announce to all readers of this blog that I am starting my own spiritual movement and that you are all invited to join me. As you all know, I am an English disciple of Srila Prabhupada who lives in my spiritual master’s favourite city, London, the capital of England. We are divinely blessed with Srila Prabhupada’s favourite deities: Sri Sri Radha Londonishvara. And England, as everybody knows, has a unique and ancient relationship with India, the land in which Lord Krishna personally chose to appear. Srila Prabhupada was asked by his beloved guru to take the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to all speakers of the English language and therefore the founder-acarya of the Hare Krishna movement translated his books from Sanskrit into English and gave all his classes in English. His spiritual master very much wanted a branch of the Gaudiya mission in London and even sent his disciples to the city in 1932. Although Srila Prabhupada spent some time in preparation in America, the real purpose of his mission was to come to England and start the movement here. Even the ship that brought Srila Prabhupada to America was originally built in England and was named the Shadwell. Only later on was it sold to India and renamed the Jaladuta. So I hope that you’ll agree that because of my Englishness, I am uniquely qualified to understand what Srila Prabhupada really wanted, and that I am actually capable of helping others understand Srila Prabhupada in truth. My Hare Krishna Movement will be known by a very English name: The Trinity Church. In this case the trinity is guru, sadhu and shastra, and when devotees come to my church they will understand the true Prabhupada. Please write to me if you would like to join. ……………………………………………………………………………. Of course, much of the above is complete nonsense. I’m not actually starting my own movement and neither do I consider myself uniquely qualified to do so, not least because of my atttachment to the land of my birth. And if you ever catch me speaking like that you should beat me with a shoe, lock me in my wooden cabin at the bottom of the garden, and only let me out when I am normal. Unfortunately, in the rapidly growing Hare Krishna movement, such claims to privileged insight into Srila Prabhupada’s theology, intentions, governance or mission are all too common. I think I’ve lost count of the number of people who have lectured me – always uninvited – on their personal understanding of: ‘what Srila Prabhupada really wanted’ and hence their comprehension of the direction in which the Hare Krishna movement should now move. I always try to be a good listener but I’m afraid even my eyes tend to glaze over after the 200th such urgent lecture (which is when I stopped counting, years ago) While I can’t claim to have any more exclusive insights to Srila Prabhupada than the next man, it does seem to me that those who claim to have them are getting younger, more strident, and sometimes downright menacing. They are also, albeit inadvertently, repeating the journey of religious history with all its theological meanderings, political machinations and splinters and schisms. If they’d only cool down for a few minutes they might be able to understand that what we all have to deal with is our opinion. Like a belly button, we’ve all got one, and its born – like us – from two parents: one is knowledge and the other conditioning. We see the world not exactly as it is – but as we are. That means we mentally project onto the world and the people in it our own conditioning born of unlimited material desires, painful and pleasurable experiences, and a good few past lives. Our vision is defective to the degree that we’re affected by the modes of material nature. So what happens when we come to Krishna consciousness is that we do exactly the same thing. We project onto the teachings, the devotees, and yes, even the guru, Srila Prabhupada, our own limited, wish-fulfilling conceptions. And so it turns out that what Srila Prabhupada really wants is what we ourselves want. What a surprise. Srila Prabhupada’s international mission, his vehicle of delivering the teachings and practises of bhakti, is thus subjected to as many interpretations as there are members. Such is the human tendency to reformulate eternal religion in its own likeness, we are somehow extremely fortunate that the million or so people involved in ISKCON has not resulted in a million Hare Krishna movements. Yet ISKCON is certainly no monolith. It is, as the Christians say, a ‘broad church,’ successfully accommodating a wide diversity of theological nuances, social affiliations, and worship styles. Within ISKCON’s more than six hundred locations worldwide you’ll find Vaishnavism in its orthodox, ultra-orthodox, conservative, reformed, liberal and reconstructionist forms. We don’t use those terms ourselves, but the elements that cause other religions to be classified as such are all there. And to a certain extent we all get on, unified by powerful, essential principles and practises. Yet that’s not enough for some. For those unwilling to modify their personal interpretation of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings – even when to do so might result in their factually understanding more about him – there is always the temptation to create their own personal church. And just as it is an act of self-deception to elevate one’s own opinion to the level of axiomatic truth, so it is equally deceitful to make those personal beliefs concrete in the form of a church in which one is the sole director. ISKCON has unwillingly given birth to several such churches, and more develop as the years proceed. Some of them are based on spurious claims and interpretations, some on the innate tendency toward exclusivity. Thus we now have a Mathura Movement for Latter Day Saints, The Temple of the Truncated Parampara, as well as The Very Loose Collective for Vaishnavas who don’t like Institutions. There are, sadly, various branches of The Gaudiya Church of the Poisoned Mind, linked only by their founders predilection for dreaming of Srila Prabhupada, having daytime visions of him, interpreting hitherto undiscovered meanings from his commentaries, or discerning his directions by playing his taped lectures backwards. It is a politically free western world, of course, and people can, to a certain extent, believe as they wish. But the material world in which the ‘free world’ sits is itself not free, since captivity is the nature of material existence. To get out of the repeated captivity of embodiment, we must follow the directions of someone who has himself broke free. If one of the temptations is to interpret the teachings of such a free soul according to our restricted vision, should we not be extremely cautious in placing our own truth above others? And should we not be gravely aware that the temptation to live in a ‘church’ of our own imagination is one of the last snares of illusion? • Email to a friend • Related • • HH. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'Rama Navami Lecture' from The Yellow Submarine www.sdgonline.org. Recording of the Rama Navami Lecture given at Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha Temple. read more from SDGonline - daily updates from The Yellow Submarine: My Bhajana Kutir journal • Email to a friend • Related • • Mayapur Online: 61st Vyasa Puja celebrations of HH Jayapataka Maharaja The auspicious day of Kamada Ekadasi has become even more auspicious as this day is marking the appearance of a great and dedicated vaisnav, HH Jayapataka Maharaja. Our beloved Guru Maharaja used to celebrate His Vyasa Puja always in Mayapur, but this year due to His treatment, which is essential for his recovery, He blessed the Los Angeles yatra with His holy presence and the Mayapur festival was celebrating this day in separation. Separation, but still, in Guru Maharaja`s presence. read more • Email to a friend • Related • • H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: 61st Vyasa Puja of HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja The following is a message by HH Bhakti Charu Swami on 61st Vyasa Puja of HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja. Share/Save • Email to a friend • Related • • Mayapur Online: Vyasa Puja message of HH Jayapataka Maharaja Hare Krishna!!! Obeisances to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupad! Hari Bol!!! read more • Email to a friend • Related • • Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Energy Diversification: A National Security Imperative From our friend Madhava Ghosh... Source by T.J. Buonomo, Former U.S. Military Intelligence Officer According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. imports about 60% of its oil, with more than two-thirds of it used for transportation. Oil is essential to the basic functioning of the global economy, from the production of goods in factories overseas and across the country to their delivery to local markets. Without oil our military would not be able to defend the country from external threats. In short, we are critically dependent on this non-renewable resource. The vital importance of oil and the corresponding impulse to control or safeguard its supply and price has led to repeated Western interventions in the Middle East and other parts of the world, sparking militant nationalist and revolutionary movements and causing deep and lasting resentments. In the case of the Middle East, outside intervention against secular nationalist movements has led to the rise of Islamist terrorism as an alternative solution for a relatively small but very determined minority. Though limited military action may be necessary in the short term to respond to this threat, America’s long-term security ultimately requires intelligent public policy in support of a vibrant domestic market for renewable energy. Our dependence on foreign sources of energy has made America vulnerable to militant religious fundamentalists spawned by repressive regimes — elites whom our government has in some cases covertly placed in power and whom it is pressured to continue to support, either due to lack of friendly, viable alternatives or fear of the unpredictable outcomes of successful popular movements. To minimize such vulnerabilities and the moral and security dilemmas they create, we must put an end to the mad pursuit of fossil fuels across these war-torn and politically volatile parts of the world. As a matter of civic responsibility and obligation to the men and women who keep us secure, the American people should press their elected representatives to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. The longer our elected officials remain beholden to powerful private interests, the more our families and communities will suffer. Supporting our troops means not only taking care of them when they get home but also working to minimize the likelihood of them being sent into harm’s way in the first place. This effort will not be without formidable political obstacles. Supposed conservative media figures have in recent months frequently insinuated that subsidies to the renewable energy industry are socialistic — a damning term among true conservatives — while conspicuously neglecting to point out that the much more well-established fossil fuel industry received over $72 billion in federal subsidies from 2002-2008. Federal subsidies to the wind and solar industries amounted to about one-sixth of this figure in the same time period based on the Environmental Law Institute’s figures. Since America was founded, our government has always provided limited support for innovation in emerging markets that further the national interest. Clean energy should be no exception. Alexander Hamilton, Founding Father and first Secretary of the Treasury, was a strong advocate for government support of industrialization as a matter of national security. The case for government support to the renewable energy industry is no less urgent but will require sustained public pressure from across the political spectrum against entrenched private interests conflicting with the national interest. T.J. Buonomo is a former Military Intelligence Officer. He holds a B.S. in Political Science and Middle East Studies from the U.S. Air Force Academy and has spent the past 5 years researching the nexus between multinational corporations, markets, U.S. covert operations and political instability in developing countries, with a primary emphasis on the Middle East and Latin America. • Email to a friend • Related • • Dandavats.com: Ram Navami at ISKCON New Gaya - Japan By Sanjay Krsna Candra das Organized by ISKCON New Gaya Dhaam, Tokyo, Japan. On 13-March-2010 (Saturday, 4:00 PM Onwards). At Koko-ku Bunka Center • Email to a friend • Related • • By Girish Parikh ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) of Silicon Valley (ISV) was started in a suburb of San Jose by a small group of devotees who moved from Los Angeles to the Bay Area in 1998. • Email to a friend • Related • • Kaunteya das, Mayapura: Wanted: Cultural Engineers I am preparing for a four-day course that I will present in May, in ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai, to the Western India participants of the ISKCON LEADS trainings - some 40 devotees from various temples. The title of the workshop is "Building Vibrant Vaisnava Communities" and I will be teaching it with my "co-Minister of the ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry" hat on. At the same time how can (or why should I) disregard my other identities as a member of the GBC Strategic Planning Team and as the co-Chair of the GBC Organizational Development Committee? Therefore I am contemplating to start the course by suggesting to the participants to look at themselves, in relation to the multi-faceted subject of community-building, as cultural engineers, over and above their other immediate/obvious/formal roles. I had the designed the course in 2008-2009, and it has been already presented last year in Washington DC, USA, by Anuttama Prabhu, ISKCON Minister of Communication and member of the GBC Succession Committee. The focus is to offer a broad introduction to the values and practices conducive to grow a congregation - qualitatively and quantitatively. I am now expanding the course, both because my perceptions and ideas have expanded and - more prosaically - because I will have more course time in Mumbai: some twenty hours as opposed to the original twelve for which the course has been designed. The course will challenge the participants to go behind and below the externals mechanisms of congregational development to the discovery of the underlying assumptions that guide our work. It will also promote change (you can always improve from whatever platform you are achieved, right?). I am planning to introduce Edgar H Schein's tripartite cultural model: 1. Artifacts (norms, behaviors, etc.) 2. Values (strategies, philosophies, etc.) 3. Underlying Assumptions (worldviews, taken for granted beliefs, etc.). I could then engage the participants in analyzing some existing applications of congregational development and see if we can identify elements in all three levels. But I am less interested in the academic aspect of the exercise: The goal would be to identify ways of modifying the predominant local culture and achieve better results. Permalink | Leave a comment » • Email to a friend • Related • • Gouranga TV: Initiation Ceremony by Giriraj Swami and Indradyumna Swami Initiation Ceremony by Giriraj Swami and Indradyumna Swami rupagopi Subido por rupagopi el 11/03/2010 Giriraj Swami and Indradyumna Swami initiated 8 devotees - some with first initiation and some with second initiation. This is the entire ceremony. en: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GotHwIJmpo&feature=player_embedded You can also purchase the DVD. $15 + $5 shipping (US, $15 shipping for international orders) at http://www.rupa.com. Dallas, TX 2010-03-09 • Email to a friend • Related • • ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Bhakti Vaibhava 1 Starts April 3rd. If you will be taking the Bhakti Vaibhava l Course with Gangeshvara das, please note that the introducory lecture will now be held on Saturday April 3rd. from 2-5pm; classes then continue weekly (Saturdays 2-5pm.). • Email to a friend • Related • • More Recent Articles Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Bhajan - New Year's Eve 2010 - Gopal das - 2/22 Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: "not fall down" and "must fall down" ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhakti Sara Prabhu ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Jaya Radha Madhava - Bhakti Sara Prabhu Sita-pati dasa, AU: Mayapuris debut album - full of awesome win, and coming soon!