"Planet ISKCON" - 50 new articles
Dandavats.com: Medical Tour to Bhaktivedanta Hospital and MayapurMayapur Worldwide: To humbly please HDG Srila Prabhupada , HH Jayapataka Swami and HH Radhanath Swami we at Mayapur Worldwide humbly announce the launch of the brand new "Spiritual Care Tour" which is a Medical Tour. The Tour is aimed at Nurses, Doctors and ALL Healthcare related personnels • Email to a friend •  •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Virbhadra PrabhuSrimad Bhagavatam 11.22.42 - The eternal soul exists beyond material duality but falsely mistakes the material situation to be his own. • Email to a friend • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhakta PrabhuClass given on Saturday 31-07-2010. • Email to a friend • •Gaura Nitai das, Mayapura, IN: more on grassroots and fertilizerA few days ago I wrote about something that Aindra said in Mayapur 2009 about the importance of the ISKCON "grassroots" movement. After downloading some of the kirtans that Aindra led in 2009 at this site.... I found the sound byte that actually contains this nugget of wisdom. It can be found here....ISKCON Grassroots. When he told us who is considered a part of the ISKCON grassrooots movement he told everyone there in the temple that it meant all of them. There is no doubt that he also meant everyone else who takes to kirtan and bhajan of the Hare Krishna maha mantra as their shelter. When one regularly experiences the lifestyle that is centered around the glorification and singing of Krishna's names then they too are a part of this grassroots movement. The only fertilizer is the careful avoidance of the ten offences to the Holy name. They are as follows:
 • Email to a friend • •Japa Group: Japa Workshop From Alachua
 • Email to a friend • •David Haslam, UK: Association and the MindAssociation and the mind, who we associate with reflects the state of our mind, who we associate with effects our state of mind, our mind craves attention and causes us so many problems but despite this we continue to listen to it. But in reality we need association, the association of our peers in work, [...] • Email to a friend • •Ekendra das, Alachua, USA: Listen to Your Wife, part II, entitled "Do What She Says Immediately"Yesterday I said something and my wife told me, 'you should put that in a blog post." Damned if I can remember what it was now. Probably something that could save the world. Something so clever and inspired it must have come directly from the Mouth of God. So many events like that come and go, and I don't immediately go and write them down. All I'm left with, in such situations, are laments like this one, where I keenly regret not having captured some transcendental gem in Microsoft Word. Do our "own" ideas actually originate with us anyway? Is there anything we can genuinely claim the copyright on? If so, then why the hell are we stumped when it comes to coming up with good ideas so much of the time? David Byrne said, "There was a motion to just abandon this one, but I thought there was something about this that I thought 'I'm sure I could write words to this that would make it work, that would pull it together.'" Then Brian Eno (the producer) came up with the melody for the chorus, and Byrne started building on that. No one involved with the making of that record said anything like, "oh, yeah, I simply willed that song into existence, and it came deliberately and fully-formed from my mind." Any artist knows there's a certain amount of shooting in the dark going on. If you fire enough ammo, you're bound to bring down some game. By "ammo" I mean you know there's something there, or you have faith that something is there, you don't know exactly what it is, and all you have is the little trigger of your mind that keeps firing, firing, firing. My prayer lately? "Please give me the necessary whatever to do what I feel I have to do. Without Your help, Your energy, Your mercy, I can't do anything good."       • Email to a friend • •Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: HumilityWe should not try to force others to respect us because we are Krishna Conscious. We should preach with humility and respect for others. For example, instead of saying, "Every[thing] you know is a lot of nonsense," we should say, "I know you are a learned man, but please forget it for a moment and listen to me." We should not expect to be always well-received, either. Jesus Christ preached the word of God, and He was crucified for it. Humility includes acceptance of difficulties from others. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Notes transcribed from a lecture given September 8, 1966 from BTG #4. • Email to a friend • •Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: HumilityWe should not try to force others to respect us because we are Krishna Conscious. We should preach with humility and respect for others. For example, instead of saying, "Every[thing] you know is a lot of nonsense," we should say, "I know you are a learned man, but please forget it for a moment and listen to me." We should not expect to be always well-received, either. Jesus Christ preached the word of God, and He was crucified for it. Humility includes acceptance of difficulties from others. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Notes transcribed from a lecture given September 8, 1966 from BTG #4. • Email to a friend • •Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: HumilityWe should not try to force others to respect us because we are Krishna Conscious. We should preach with humility and respect for others. For example, instead of saying, "Every[thing] you know is a lot of nonsense," we should say, "I know you are a learned man, but please forget it for a moment and listen to me." We should not expect to be always well-received, either. Jesus Christ preached the word of God, and He was crucified for it. Humility includes acceptance of difficulties from others. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Notes transcribed from a lecture given September 8, 1966 from BTG #4. • Email to a friend • •H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 263:41 A.M.I woke at 12:00 A.M last night with dullness in my head. I got up from bed at a quarter to one and took medicine. I then began my chanting, and my pain subsided. I am preparing a substantial report on the status quo of my japa for a future episode of Healing House, but I will give only a short report on my performance this morning. It was good. I chanted all 16 rounds in a row and kept my attention on the silent mantras without wandering to other thoughts. It is an easy process when you get the cooperation of your mind. There's nothing to do but adoringly hear the repeated names of Hare, Krishna and Rama. It is mantra meditation and the most recommended form of God realization for this age. One does not have to live in Vrndavana to do it, but one should keep one's mind in Vrndavana. That can be done by peaceful morning chanting without sleepiness and wild-mindedness. I'm satisfied with this morning's japa and would like to keep up the pace of doing 16 rounds before my assistant comes up to wake the Deities. 16 rounds completed • Email to a friend • •H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: On His Morning WalkPrabhupada Smaranam
As many devotees as possible accompanied Prabhupada on his morning walk. He did not consider it awkward and allowed them to tag along and crowd the avenues or parks he walked in. He would often talk philosophically, and a devotee walks beside him to record it. Most of the devotees could not expect to be close enough to hear him, but they just wanted the thrill of being near him, walking in his group and catching a glimpse at him. Maybe he would notice them and make eye contact with them, but everyone couldn't expect that. Prabhupada was now the world-acarya of so many devotees that they had to be content to follow his instructions without much personal association. Jayadvaita (then a bramacari) asked Prabhupada on a walk how his disciples could know he was pleased with them. At first Prabhupada replied that they could please their GBC representatives. But Jayadvaita pressed further: how would the disciple personally feel the connection? Prabhupada replied that they would feel it by chanting their 16 rounds and following the rules and regulations. He said a disciple shouldn't crave attention. He should be humble. When he said that, I got the feeling that if I received too much attention the spiritual master would find out all my faults, like being examined by a flashlight in the dark. Just be content to serve your guru with hard work and be confident the internal reciprocation and recognition would be present. The young men crowded around Prabhupada on his walk through European monuments and were satisfied to stroll with him. Back at the temple they could observe him on the vyasasana and chant with him. They could all see and hear the lecture and perhaps experience the sensation that he was looking at them and speaking to them individually (a sensation many devotees experienced). Prabhupada had so many disciples he could not recognize them each by name and face, but it was the responsibility of each of them to take the relationship with him responsibly in their hearts and lives and always be close to him. • Email to a friend • •H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Knowing KrishnaMy right eye is acting up
I can only say Krishna is
I know Krishna from
He's inspiring all the devotees
Krishna is behind the threefold
Above even His form as Lord We know so little of Krishna, • Email to a friend • •H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Trouble ContinuesHealing House
Police officer Dan Woods wasn't finished with trouble from the knife-attacker, even though the man was safely in jail with a long sentence for his third conviction of armed assault. He had a criminally-minded brother who visited him in jail. He convinced his brother to carry the torch of his feelings of revenge against Dan and commit another crime against him. He proposed that his brother kidnap Dan's 13-year-old daughter, then hold her for ransom for $500,000. It would torment Dan, and his brother could take his share of the ransom money. His brother agreed. They were evil men and daring, but not very intelligent. His brother was not a mastermind kidnapper, but they figured it would be easy enough to pull off. Early one morning the brother pulled up in his van, with an accomplice, and slowed down in front of Dan's house. Unluckily for Janice, she was playing with a ball in the front driveway. But sitting on the front porch across the street was Ollie, and he saw everything. The two men got out of the van and grabbed the girl and strapped her mouth shut with duct tape. They then shoved her in the side door of the van, where the accomplice held her while the brother rushed to the driver's seat. Ollie scrawled down number of the license plate and then ran across the street and grabbed open the driver's front door. The man came out and punched Ollie and pushed him to the ground. Ollie fought back and even managed to bite off a small piece of the man's ear. The man then kicked Ollie's head against the pavement, and he went unconscious. The kidnapper then drove off. Dan had heard some disturbance and came out of the house to find Ollie on the ground and hear the awful news. Dan was completely distraught and beside himself. Again the news spread through the street like wildfire: Janice had been kidnapped. Swami Rupa came out to see Dan. Dan told him, "If they sexually abuse her, I'll him." Rupa Swami advised him to remain coolheaded and work through the police. "Yes," said Dan, "this is a job for Albany." Dan contacted the Albany precinct and gave them the license plate number. He also arranged that his phone be tapped so that they could trace a phone call he anticipated he would receive from the kidnappers. The kidnappers had made no arrangement to cover their license plate, and neither did they dispose of their van. They proceeded as raw amateurs attempting to pull off a difficult ransom job. They took the girl to the brother's home, an apartment in a run-down two-story building in a dilapidated section of Hudson, New York, only a half hour from Dan's house in Stuyvesant Falls. Dan was taxed to the maximum trying to keep his wife and son from becoming hysterical and trying to remain cool-headed to deal with the traumatic event. That night, Dan received a phone call from • Email to a friend • •Akrura das, Gita Coaching: POSSIBILITYStay open to possibility for it's all around you.  • Email to a friend • •Akrura das, Gita Coaching: POWERFULKrsna's devotees do not require to practice any yogic power to become materially powerful. Their surrender to Krsna makes them all-powerful. This is the position of devotee. Devotees do not care for yogic powers. They depend on Krsna. Krsna is Yogeśvara, master of all mystic powers. So if one takes shelter of the Yogeśvara, why he should bother about yogic powers?  • Email to a friend • •Akrura das, Gita Coaching: CHANGEIf you want to change your life, you must change your desires.  • Email to a friend • •Akrura das, Gita Coaching: MY FAVOURITE JULY VIDEOhttp://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/sunny_day_download.aspx  • Email to a friend • •Gauranga Kishore das,USA: It's a Girl!!!  We just found out thursday that we are having a baby daughter. I actually knew the whole time, so for me it was more of a confirmation. Somehow right from the beginning I was quite certain it was going to be a girl, and then pretty early on I had this incredibly lucid dream, the kind that seems to have more reality than the waking state of consciousness, in the dream this beautiful little child came and kissed me on the nose and I knew that it was my child, and then I thought "I wonder if it is a boy or girl?" I looked down and saw that it was a girl and then I woke up and pretty much knew for sure. We are planning to name her Rati Keli, that was one of the first names we came up with and after going through lots of different choices that one was the one we both liked the best. The name is taken from the fifth verse of the gurvastakam and refers to the conjugal pastimes of Radha and Krishna. She is due on October 31st. Everyone please give your blessings to her and to us in this new phase of our lives.  • Email to a friend • •ISKCON Klang, Malaysia: Jayapataka Swami Health UpdateBY ACHYUTANANDA DAS Source: Guruvakya.com KOLKATA, INDIA – After being requested by Mahavaraha prabhu, I am writing this mail to update all the disciples and well wishers of HH Jayapataka Maharaj about his recent health events. Today as of 31st July 2010, Saturday at 12noon IST Jayapataka Maharaj is in Kolkata, admitted in Belle View [...] • Email to a friend • •Dandavats.com: WSN June 2010 - World Sankirtan NewsletterBy Vijaya das The month of June had some interesting highlights. Bhaktin Radhika of the temple in Juhu (Mumbai) did 44,560 book points, distributing 20,000 Bhagavad-gitas and 9,120 medium books. Very impressive • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1965 August 1 :  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1966 August 1 : "Our men in the ideal line of activities chalked out by Srila Prabhupada will be a great help to me in America. Awaiting to hear from you with the list names of the persons who will come here from different camps."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1967 August 1 : "Even a slight change will spoil this Divine Fruit of transcendental knowledge. That is why I have always been so careful to give you only those things which I have heard from my Guru Maharaja"  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1970 August 1 : "Your opening a new branch is very good. This is required. If you can, do it. However, Krsna Consciousness does not depend on the place, on the contrary, it depends on the person who is free from duality."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 August 1 : "Why you have neglected this very important program? I want that you shall distribute prasadam at least to hundreds of persons daily, and advertise very widely all over Nadia Province. Otherwise the whole thing is a farce."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 August 1 : "At least he can remain in Vrindaban for a few weeks to get the thing off on a solid basis. They have been there many months now and only one fence is there, one small hut, and one tube well. Otherwise, simply politics."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1972 August 1 : "In one day we have captured the citizens of Calcutta, and I am so much pleased. Yes, the Mullick family is one of the most important and aristocratic families in Calcutta. Practically once Calcutta was owned by the Mullicks."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1973 August 1 : "By association of the great, one appears great; by reflecting the sun, the moon appears light. So I am not great, my Guru Maharaja is great and I thank you very much that you are appreciating Him."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1965 July 31: "Tomorrow I am going to Calcutta to catch my ship M.V. Jaladuta and I am starting for U.S.A. by the 10th of August, 1965 reaching New York after a month. I may return to India by November next."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1969 July 31: "The Rathayatra Ceremony was tremendously successful. There were about 10,000 people who joined us chanting, dancing taking Prasadam, watching puppet stories about Krishna, and hearing us speak on Bhagavad-gita."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1970 July 31: "Our life is very short. The Krsna consciousness movement is not meant for fulfilling one's personal ambition, but it is a serious movement for the whole world. Take it with great responsibility. That is my request to you all."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1970 July 31: "I am fervently appealing to you all not to create fracture in the solid body of the Society. Please work conjointly, without any personal ambition. It is the duty of the disciple to accept the Spiritual Master as Superhuman Man."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1972 July 31: "For you, child-worship is more important than deity-worship. At least you must take good care of your son until he is four years old, and if after that you are unable any more then I shall take care."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1972 July 31: "Teach the small children to play Krishna games: then attend arati, then learn some ABC, then play some more, have kirtana, little ABC, and this will keep their attention always focused around Krishna."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1975 July 31: "Your feeling on seeing the Ratha Yatra, which you say cannot be expressed in words but which has since given you great peace in your life - it is stated that one can be liberated from all material suffering simply by seeing the Ratha Yatra cart passing."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1975 July 31: "Your desire to follow the path of the gopis, that can only be done by following the rules and regulations in the association of devotees. All the things you are yearning for are there. Radha Krishna are being worshipped, and there are many devotees there."  • Email to a friend • •Hari Sauri das, Mayapura, IN: TOVP updateThis week the construction team passed the halfway mark of the number of piles hammered into the sacred ground of Sri Mayapur dhama. Over 1,300 in the first six months. According to Sadbhuja prabhu, the project Director, Gammon expect to have completed the sinking of the piles by December 2010. Many piles have already been capped with concrete, and these cappings will form the basis for the plinth to be laid. If the schedule remains as it is we could see the first slab by next Gaura Purnima festival. If that happens there will be a huge kirtana organized on top of it to further invoke the blessings of Lord Caitanya! Here’s a few pics. Five pile drivers are working from early morning till late at night:
All piles are load tested to 250 tonnes, about twice the required capacity, and above ground columns are now being constructed:
These piles are being prepared for capping:
Stainless steel cages being prepared for piles:
I visited Sadbhuja prabhu in his office where he showed me a scale model under construction of the main dome. Hanging from its apex is a simple scale replication of one of the possible designs of the planetarium ‘chandelier’ which will demonstrate the movements of the main planets according to the Srimad Bhagavatam.
This one resembles an inverted orrery, and is one of several ideas currently being considered. • Email to a friend • •H.H. Sivarama Swami: Radha-Syama (Mahajana’s 6 year old son) wants to know
• Email to a friend • •Dandavats.com: Narada Bulletin - Monsoon Special Edition
Krishna's creation is so wonderful. This monsoon started as described in the sastras. Panchanga predictions, farmer's intuitions, birds and animal's behaviour and devotees prayers marked the beginning of monsoon and there was a flurry of agricultural activity at SSKBK • Email to a friend • •Gaura Nitai das, Mayapura, IN: Different types of theism?In the previous post modus operandi I quoted from the Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 a description of the various qualities that influences material nature. Later in the chapter Krishna even describes religion in the different modes of nature! Here it is: Theism in Goodness: Any person, whether man or woman, who worships Me with loving devotion, offering his or her prescribed duties unto Me without material attachment, is understood to be situated in goodness. Theism in Passion: When a person worships Me by his prescribed duties with the hope of gaining material benefit, his nature should be understood to be in passion Theism in Ignorance: One who worships Me with the desire to commit violence against others is in ignorance. Unfortunately, these days theism in the mode of ignorance is getting a great deal of press and attention. But, at least in the United States of America, the mood of passion seems to be the more popular conception of theism e.g. "Please God give us our daily bread". It is certainly the type of theism that Americans have been historically inclined to practice. As time progresses if the community can find other ways of getting "our daily bread" then theism is easily cast aside. Srimad Bhagavatam states that theism exists in its purest and highest sense if the practitioner's approach to God is in the mood of a sincere desire to simply please God. The great saint Prahlad Maharaja has said that any other type of theism should be described as doing business with God or Krishna. Business relationships are by there very nature not based on love. Love is by nature selfless. Love of the supremely attractive Lord is the only thing that will really satisfy the self. The Srimad Bhagavatam explains that such relationship with the lord must be unmotivated to satisfy the self. The Srimad Bhagavatam explains this type of theism in more detail in this wonderful chapter. Give it a read! Maybe we could try that out for a while!  • Email to a friend • •H.H. Sivarama Swami: Christian shop manager dissuades would-be armed robberSRS: This is a brave preacher. What would you do in her place? Read more… • Email to a friend • •Dandavats.com: Identifying Right from WrongChirag Dangarwala: The capability to Identify Right from Wrong is of vital importance for everyone. Yet it is astonishing that most of us baffle and many a times walk into arguments regarding this basic concept • Email to a friend • •Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Project's Fate May Predict The Future of Mining
By ERIK ECKHOLMPublished: July 14, 2010 in the New York Times BLAIR, W.Va. — Federal officials are considering whether to veto mountaintop mining above a little Appalachian valley called Pigeonroost Hollow, a step that could be a turning point for one of the country's most contentious environmental disputes. MultimediaTodd Heisler/The New York TimesAbove is an existing mining operation, adjacent to the Spruce 1 site, which is to the upper left of the cleared areas. More Photos »  The New York TimesThe population of Blair, near the Spruce 1 site, has dwindled to 60. More Photos » The Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit in 2007 to blast 400 feet off the hilltops here to expose the rich coal seams, disposing of the debris in the upper reaches of six valleys, including Pigeonroost Hollow. But the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration, in a break with President George W. Bush's more coal-friendly approach, has threatened to halt or sharply scale back the project known as Spruce 1. The agency asserts that the project would irrevocably damage streams and wildlife and violate the Clean Water Act. Because it is one of the largest mountaintop mining projects ever and because it has been hotly disputed for a dozen years, Spruce 1 is seen as a bellwether by conservation groups and the coal industry. The fate of the project could also have national reverberations, affecting Democratic Party prospects in coal states. While extensive research and public hearings on the plan have been completed, federal officials said that their final decision would not be announced until late this year — perhaps, conveniently, after the midterm elections. Environmental groups say that approval of the project in anything like its current form would be a betrayal. "Spruce 1 is a test of whether the E.P.A. is going to follow through with its promises," said Bill Price, director of environmental justice with the Sierra Club in West Virginia. "If the administration sticks to its guns," Mr. Price predicted, "mountaintop removal is going to be severely curtailed." Coal companies say politics, not science, is threatening a practice vital to local economies and energy independence. "After years of study, with the company doing everything any agency asked, and three years after a permit was issued, the E.P.A. now wants to stop Spruce 1," said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. "It's political; the only thing that has changed is the administration." While the government does not collect statistics on mountaintop mining, data suggest that it may account for about 10 percent of American coal output, yielding 5 percent of the nation's electricity. The method plays a bigger economic role in the two states where it is concentrated, Kentucky and West Virginia. The proposal to strip a large area above the home of 70-year-old Jimmy Weekley, Pigeonroost Hollow's last remaining inhabitant, was first made in 1997 by Arch Coal, Inc., of St. Louis. The legal ups and downs of Spruce 1 have come to symbolize the broader battle over a method that produces inexpensive coal while drastically altering the landscape. Spruce 1 started as the largest single proposal ever for hilltop mining, in which mountains are carved off to expose coal seams and much of the debris, often leaking toxic substances, is placed in adjacent valleys. After years of negotiations and a scaling back of the mining area to 2,278 acres, from its original 3,113 acres, the Spruce 1 permit was approved by the Army Corps of Engineers in 2007 and limited construction began. But this spring, the E.P.A. proposed halting the project. The announcement caused an uproar in West Virginia. The E.P.A. held an emotional public hearing in May and stopped accepting written comments in June. Arch Coal has objected publicly, but did not respond to requests to comment for this article. The Obama administration's E.P.A. has already riled the coal companies by tightening procedures for issuing new mining permits and imposing stronger stream protections. But environmental groups were worried in June, when the agency approved a curtailed mountaintop plan in another site in Logan County, W.Va. Now, as negotiations between the E.P.A. and Arch Coal continue, the Spruce 1 battle is being closely watched as a sign of mountaintop mining's future. Feelings run high in the counties right around the project area. "Spruce 1 is extremely important to all of southern West Virginia because if this permit is pulled back, every mine site is going to be vulnerable to having its permits pulled," said James Milan, manager of Walker Machinery in Logan, which sells gargantuan Caterpillar equipment. The loss of jobs, Mr. Milan said, would have devastating effects on struggling communities. Maria Gunnoe, an organizer for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and a director of SouthWings, which organizes flights to document environmental damages, said that if Spruce 1 went forward, "it's going to mean the permanent erasure of part of our land and our legacy." "We can't keep blowing up mountains to keep the lights on," said Ms. Gunnoe, a resident of nearby Boone County who has received death threats and travels with a 9 millimeter pistol. Mr. Weekley, whose house is in sight of the project boundary, remembers the day in 1997 when he decided to fight it. Nearby mining under previous permits had filled his wooded valley with dust and noise. "You couldn't see out of this hollow," he recalled. "I said, Something's got to be done or we're not going to have a community left." He and his late wife became plaintiffs in a 1998 suit claiming that the project violated environmental laws. A ruling in their favor was overturned, setting off litigation that continues. Mr. Weekley said that he had rejected offers of close to $2 million for his eight acres and that he had seen the population of the nearby town of Blair dwindle to 60 from 600, with most residents bought out by Arch Coal. A rail-thin man who enjoys sitting on his porch with a dog on his lap, Mr. Weekley uttered an expletive when told that coal industry representatives, including Mr. Raney in an interview, referred to the upper tributaries filled in by mining as "ditches" that can be rebuilt. In fact, some of the streams to be filled by Spruce 1 are intermittent, while others, including Pigeonroost Creek, flow year-round. "I caught fish in that stream as a child, using a safety pin for a hook," Mr. Weekley said. "If they get that permit, there won't be a stream here." In documents issued in March, the E.P.A. said the project as approved would still smother seven miles of streambed. Filling in headwaters damages the web of life downstream, from aquatic insects to salamanders to fish, and temporary channels and rebuilt streams are no substitute, the agency said. The pulverized rock can release toxic levels of selenium and other pollutants, it noted. The effects of Spruce 1 would be added to those of 34 other past and present projects that together account for more than one-third of the area of the Spruce Fork watershed, the agency said. The debate over Spruce 1 and other mountaintop mine permits has been a source of division and anguish among local residents. Michael Fox, 39, of Gilbert, is a mine worker who like many other miners here thinks the objections are overblown. "I have three kids I want to send to college," Mr. Fox said. One former mountaintop miner who says he now regrets his involvement is Charles Bella, 60. He is one of the remaining residents on Blair's main street, along the Spruce Fork, which is fed in turn by Pigeonroost Creek. "I know it put bread on my table, but I hate destroying the mountains like that," Mr. Bella said.  • Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Temple Profile: Goura-Vrindavana Farm, Brazil
• Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: New York Professionals Learn to Cook up a Veggie Storm
• Email to a friend • •Gouranga TV: Aindra Prabhu – Hare Krishna kirtan – ISKCON Vrindavan kartik – October 29, 2009 – 1/3Aindra Prabhu – Hare Krishna kirtan – ISKCON Vrindavan kartik – October 29, 2009 – 1/3 • Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Toothpaste with a Spoon
• Email to a friend • •Institute for Sustainable Society, NZ: August is a sustainability month in Auckland
• Email to a friend • •Institute for Sustainable Society, NZ: Making Green ConvenientA convenient choice is most commonly defined as one which saves us time and effort. It could be argued that adopting environmentally friendly behaviours requires forgoing some convenience. Just looking at some of these behaviours, versus their less sustainable alternatives. Cycling versus driving. Composting versus putting everything in the rubbish bin. Turning off appliances at the wall versus leaving them on standby. Each of these greener options quite clearly require more investment of time and effort, however small the difference. In a society where we are increasingly "time-poor" (or are increasingly told so anyway), the task for those promoting sustainability requires overcoming the barrier of perceived inconvenience. How important is convenience? Reviewing research related to "cognitive effort", Garbarino and Edell report that "a consistent finding is that humans have limited cognitive resources and allocate them judiciously". In order to avoid being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of decisions we are required to make every day, and the myriad choices available, we are attracted to things which reduce the amount of mental effort required. This is one reason why we develop habits, as a shortcut to having to make a new decision every time we encounter the same need. Garbarino and Edell also found that "it is clear that people are willing to forgo some benefits to conserve cognitive effort". This explains, for instance, why we are willing to buy convenience snacks which we know are less healthy for us. The effort required to make the decision itself also has an effect on the perceived desirability of our choices. The study by Garbarino and Edell found that, when faced with a choice between two products, the effort required to evaluate a product created a negative emotion towards that choice, even though the attributes of the choices were the same. People were also willing to pay more for the product which was easier to evaluate. This has important implications for many aspects of promoting sustainable choices, such as labeling. When we are asking people to buy the most environmentally friendly product, if it is hard work for them to identify its environmental benefits they are not going to view it positively. Another demonstration of the importance of convenience is the effect of the "default option". Studies have found that we will often accept the choice which is presented as the standard option, rather than make the effort to consider the alternatives. Among the most interesting of these was a study of a German town where green energy was offered as the default option, resulting in 94% of people continuing to purchase it, in contrast with single-digit uptake in towns where non-renewable energy was the standard offer. The stiff competition which convenience provides for sustainability promoters raises an interesting question. Are we best to attempt to convince people to reduce the emphasis they place on convenience, or should we direct our efforts to making green options more convenient? The former option would require a re-framing of the value which we place on certain behaviours. Cycling, for instance, would struggle to compete with driving on the convenience stakes for many people (although traffic congestion in many cities is fast tipping this balance). However, the benefits in terms of wellbeing, cost and environmental impact offer an opportunity to put a strong case for cycling – a case so strong that the trade-off in terms of convenience may seem worth it. On the other hand, some people are likely to drive a harder bargain when it comes to giving up convenience. So making cycling more convenient is also effort well spent. Better cycling tracks, facilities and information would all reduce the perceived trade-off of time and effort. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether to attempt to influence the importance people place on convenience, or simply to match the convenience of less eco-friendly options appears to be "both". Although the addiction to convenience has arguably caused us to become disengaged from the realities of production, there is strong evidence that humans are pre-disposed to seek options which minimise our time and effort. In other words, a need for convenience is here to stay, so we can either fight it, or meet it. The quest to make sustainable options more convenient would benefit from an awareness of the key elements of convenience. Interestingly, nearly all discussions of convenience are centred around marketing to consumers. However, it is possible to apply many of the principles to other types of behaviour which are not necessarily related to purchasing. One useful model which outlines the elements of convenience is presented in Understanding Service Convenience. The model describes 5 types of convenience:
Understanding and incorporating these elements of convenience may go some way towards making eco-friendly options a more convenient choice, and reducing yet another barrier to the uptake of a more sustainable lifestyle. Awake provides psychology-based services to support the development of sustainable behaviour in individuals, groups and organisations. Visit www.awake.com.au for more info • Email to a friend • •More Recent Articles |
What purpose does devotees’ cursing each other play in the greater plan of the Lord, as in the pastime of Jaya, Vijaya and the four Kumaras.
By GaurNataraja Dasa
Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Planet ISKCON" or change your subscription or subscribe
Unsubscribe from all current and future newsletters powered by FeedBlitz
| Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498 |
TABLA - FUENTES - FONTS
- SOUV2P.TTF - 57 KB
- SOUV2I.TTF - 59 KB
- SOUV2B.TTF - 56 KB
- SOUV2T.TTF - 56 KB
- bai_____.ttf - 46 KB
- babi____.ttf - 47 KB
- bab_____.ttf - 45 KB
- balaram_.ttf - 45 KB
- SCAGRG__.TTF - 73 KB
- SCAGI__.TTF - 71 KB
- SCAGB__.TTF - 68 KB
- inbenr11.ttf - 64 KB
- inbeno11.ttf - 12 KB
- inbeni11.ttf - 12 KB
- inbenb11.ttf - 66 KB
- indevr20.ttf - 53 KB
- Greek font: BibliaLS Normal
- Greek font: BibliaLS Bold
- Greek font: BibliaLS Bold Italic
- Greek font: BibliaLS Italic
- Hebrew font: Ezra SIL
- Hebrew font: Ezra SIL SR
Disculpen las Molestias
Planet ISKCON - 2010 · Planet ISKCON - 2011
Dandavats
Conceptos Hinduistas (1428)SC
Aa-Anc · Aga - Ahy · Ai - Akshay · Akshe - Amshum · Ana - Ancie · Ang - Asvayu · Ata - Az · Baa-Baz · Be-Bhak · Bhal-Bu · C · Daa-Daz · De · Dha-Dry · Du-Dy · E · F · Gaa-Gayu · Ge-Gy · Ha-He · Hi-Hy · I · J · K · Ka - Kam · Kan - Khatu · Ki - Ko · Kr - Ku · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · Saa-San · Sap-Shy · Si-Sy · Ta - Te · U · V · Ve-Vy · Y · Z
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario