Here are the latest updates for sricaitanyamahaprabhu.juanymecky@blogger.com
- ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Yamuna-lila Mataji
- Japa Group: You Chant Your Japa
- 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
- Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Apron Front Farm Sink Cabinet Modification Pics
- H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Intro to Self-Healing – Ayurveda Seminar – Dallas July 11th-11th
- David Haslam, UK: Devotional Perception
- Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Indians giving up their culture
- New Vrndavan, USA: Snana-yatra New Vrindavan June 27th
- Bharatavarsa.net: Book distribution seminar: what is required to please Krsna
- Sastra Dana, San Diego, USA: Fifth issue of the 16Rounds publication
- Kurma dasa, AU: What's for Dinner, Kurma?
- H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 477
- H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: A Meeting
- H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Random Lines
- H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: Free Write
- Book Distribution News: what is required to please Krsna
- H.H. Bhakti Caitanya Swami: Photos from Mariampole Alytus
- H.H. Bhakti Caitanya Swami: Photos from Kaunas
- H.H. Sivarama Swami: What is the difference between Ajamila’s once chanting and our constant chanting?
- Mayapur Online: Panihati Cida Dahi Mahotsava
- Maddy Jean-claude Durr, New Govardhana, AU: Original Aussie Journey: Day 5
- Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Tastes Like Chicken: The Quest For Fake Meat
- H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Thursday. June 17th, 2010
- H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
- Japa Group: Make The Japa A Holy Time
- H.H. Sivarama Swami
- Gouranga TV: Bhajan – New Year's Eve 2010 – Mukunda Datta das
- Syamesvari dd: Mamma Mia!!
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Srimad Bhagavatam 11.21.32 - The Supreme Lord and the source of all demigods is Krsna.
You chant your japa
in a routine way,
keeping the pace,
keeping alert,
pronouncing the names.
I did not weir off the road
or break down to a stand still.
My motor ran smoothly
with no warning lights on the
dash port.
At this rounds I'll have
sixteen done in short order
unless I grow weary, asleep.
So far, so good,
we are counting off
routine with a prayer
underneath.
1966 June 24:
"Saptami. Today one letter posted to Brahmachary Mangalniloy deprecating his views. In the evening there was meeting and the attendance is about 12. Mr. Grant took one set of books. He desires to pay gradually."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966
1968 June 24: "Since the temple is started, the temple cannot be closed on any day. In no case, even in the most urgent case, the temple cannot be closed even for a single day. This is the serious business of opening a center."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1969 June 24: "One who can show the whole cosmic manifestation within the hole of His mouth, what service can we render unto Him? Krishna does not require anyone's help but if we serve Him, even in a very small capacity, He will accept. That is our only hope."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1970 June 24: "You are doing very nicely. Krsna is giving you intelligence. So accepting always Krsna as the Supreme advisor and always begging for his mercy, go on with your progressive march - and I am very satisfied with your activities."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1970 June 24: "Speaking depends on practice and study. So read my books carefully especially Nectar of Devotion now published and gather thoughts and practice speaking. It will be alright."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1971 June 24: "My Dear Professor Kotovsky, I have given you one sample chapter of my Srimad-Bhagavatam and there are many hundreds such chapters. I think some of you should translate this great book into Russian. I am fully prepared to cooperate with you."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971
1972 June 24: "One should cut the coat according to the pocket. So even we cannot afford the proposed temple project, better to go ahead and build something even if it is little cheaper and very simple."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1974 June 24: "I shall have full power and authority to act alone on all matters pertaining to the above mentioned account; whereas the Trustees shall have the same powers only by acting conjointly on all account matters."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
Skip right over this post. Go on. It’s not for you. You will find this post boring. Blah. Blah blah blah.
But. If you are in the process of installing an apron front farm sink–Shaws, soapstone, stainless, whatever–well, then I know you are loving this. This is your post. You are the reason I snapped these pictures.
Modify. Reinforce. Words you know. Words you understand. Words you want hammered to the underside of your sink. But how? What is the best way? What is the neatest least ugly most tidy way to modify those sink base cabs.
Well, take a look. Mine were done fabulously.
The double base cabs (30″) that hold the almost 500 lb soapstone sink were reinforced along the sides while the white Porcher London fireclay sink had a little shelf built for the back of the sink to rest upon and sides were reinforced.
That’s it.
Twin 30" Schuler sink bases, modified with reinforced sides for 60" soapstone apron front farm sink.
Top view, modified sink base.
close-up
60" soapstone sink, installed.
Cabinet modified for fireclay sink.
Cabinet scribed for sink.
Lotus did an excellent job scribing to the curves of the sink.
installed
Pride and joy--homegrown carrots.
His Holiness Prahladananda Swami began his training in Ayurveda in 1987 in India under Dr. Liladhar Gupta
and Dr. Sri Krishna Caitanya. In addition to giving instruction on Ayurveda, Jyotish astrology, and Iyengar
yoga His Holiness' true ardor lies with sharing the wisdom of Vedic literature such as the Bhagavad-gita and
Srimad Bhagavatam. Over the past twenty years his travels have brought him around the globe, where he has
had the opportunity to teach classes on Vedic health and science to audiences in Australia, New Zealand,
Hong Kong, Russia, Belgium, Spain, and Peru (to name just a few locations).
Perception is an interesting thing; Is the cup half full, or half empty? Depending on your perception and view of the world; or even the mood were in. As devotees perception and view says a lot about our own realizations, do we try to understand or do we have the critical mind or as some say the [...]
We have given up our own culture and imitating the foreigners and the Western country. That also we cannot do very properly because we are meant for different purpose in India. In India, one who has taken birth in India, it is understood that in his previous birth he tried to cultivate spiritual culture; therefore he has been given the opportunity to take birth in India. India is so fortunate. But as soon as he takes birth, the rascal leader spoils him, the rascal father spoils him, the rascal teacher spoils him. So what can they do, the poor younger generation? They are being taught that "The spiritual culture is useless. Because we are so much spiritually inclined, the foreigners came and they ruled over us. Now give up all this nonsense. Become technologist." This is going on.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.12.4 -- Bombay, April 15, 1976
Snana-yatra of Lord Jagannath
Lord Jagannatha’s Rathayatra pastimes are near! His Holiness Bhakti Purusottama Swami will speak to us Tuesday, June 22nd, morning and evening about Lord Jagannath. Maharaja was born in Orrisa and is a scholar on Lord Jagannath. The following Sunday, June 27th, we will observe Lord Jagannath’s Snana-yatra.
Lord Jagannath takes his annual public bath and becomes sick. After the expert care of our pujari’s, the Lord is cured of His illness (two weeks!). Afterwards, He emerges from his sick room and is taken on a procession down our New Vrindavan road to give darshan to all the residents (animals and birds included!).
Please come and bath the Lord Sunday, June 27th.
Snana-yatra Schedule
11:15 am – Lord Jagannatha is carried to the yajna pit in front of the temple for His bath.
11:30 am – Abhisek begins. Everyone will be able to bath Their Lordships.
12:45 pm – Lord Jagannath is carried to His sick room
01:00 pm – Arati
01:30 pm – Talk about Lord Jagannath
02:00 pm – Prasadam
Ratha-yatra will be held on Saturday, July 10th.
–
ys,
Sikhi Mahiti das
In class Prabhupada explained what is required of us if we want to please Krsna and get His blessings. "We have to surrender. That will please Krsna. And without pleasing Him? You cannot see Krsna. You may have your eyes, big, big eyes, but you cannot see Krsna. You have to please Him. That pleasing activity is bhakti.
"Without that bhakti, it means sitting down silently... 'No, no, I am chanting. I do not want to go out. I am busy.' This means excuse. What you will chant? You will think of money and woman, that's all. Just work. Go to sell books and work hard. That is wanted. Therefore we do not give that opportunity. My Guru Maharaja did not give this opportunity, and we are following the same principle. No opportunity of sitting idle. No, you must work. That will rectify. Yes."
>From Transcendental Diary
Sastra Dana’s publication, 16Rounds to Samadhi, is one of the very few printed materials produced to reach out to the non-devotee audiences. The latest issue, issue five, is printing as we speak (type). Here you can preview it before it hits the streets of San Diego and Los Angeles, bringing people spiritual education. To sponsor printing and distribution of 16Rounds, CLICK HERE.
Made Mee Goreng last night, and it looked so good that I just had to take a photo, for posterity. And yes, it definitely is vegetarian.
The recipe is in Great Vegetarian Dishes, my first cookbook, that is now enjoying its 20th year in print. Happy birthday GVD!
www.sdgonline.org. 
3:55 A.M.
I slept all right and got out of bed at 1:30. My first eight rounds were good, attentive and not distracted onto other things. But after eight rounds I got a migraine headache with a pain in my right eye. My next four rounds were like a crippled spider, and I was too much involved with the pain to give good prayerful attention to the japa.
read more from SDGonline - daily updates from The Yellow Submarine: My Bhajana Kutir journal
www.sdgonline.org.
Prabhupada Smaranam
It is fun doing detective work with a photograph of Prabhupada in which I am not sure of the circumstances. Is this man in a business suit a guest in Prabhupada's room in a temple, or has Prabhupada come out to visit him in his place (or a neutral place)? There are some details that suggest it is not Prabhupada's room. Over the man's head is a picture we can only partially make out, but it clearly shows an animal like a dog walking forward on three legs, and his snout is visible. Prabhupada would not have a picture like this in his room. Srila Prabhupada is wearing shoes. He never kept his shoes on when he was in his room. He is also sitting on a chair lower than the man's chair, but not as he usually does in his room, seated on a pillow behind a low desk. However, a woman in a sari is adjusting a vase of flowers, which seems contradictory to an outside visit. The other elements are neutral: Prabhupada and several disciples with him, Syamasundara and Pradyumna, and microphones are present.
Whether Prabhupada is visiting or being visited, it doesn't matter much. The man has properly been selected as a person to talk to because of his professional or personal interest in Krishna consciousness or Indian philosophy. Maybe he is a professor. Prabhupada has his head turned alertly to the man, and he is looking at his face. The important thing is what they are talking about. Prabhupada may have already mentioned Bhagavad-gita, the world authority on the nature of the soul. Arjuna did not want to fight because he had a material concept of the self. He thought the self could die. But Krishna informed him, "Never was there a time when you nor I nor all these kings of men did not exist, and never will there be time in the future when they will cease to be." Only the body dies, but the real self, the atma, continues to exist and transmigrates to another body. The body he takes in his next life is determined by his karma (action) in this life. "Whatever you think of at the time of your death, you take another body like that." Therefore you should always practice thinking of Krishna. The best and easiest way to think of Krishna in the age of Kali is to chant the holy names, Hare Krishna.
"Excuse me Swami, but I have to go now. I have an afternoon appointment."
Later: "When we spoke of life after death he did not seem so interested. This means he is not intelligent. He is a teacher, but he is a mudha."
www.sdgonline.org.
1.
Krishna, do you hear me
calling to You? Who among
Your angels will respond
to me? It will be Prabhupada,
my savior. But have I called
enough to him? Have I fulfilled
my service to his order?
He will decide. He will speak
up for me to You, Lord and
Radha. He will say what
this man deserves.
read more from SDGonline - daily updates from The Yellow Submarine: My Bhajana Kutir journal
www.sdgonline.org.
Ponds or lakes with surrounding forests, in summertime … What is the place of humans here? They could fish or swim or go boating, but the places are quite complete without the intrusion of people. "This is the forest primeval." Every summer the trees grow lush with leaves and fish and birds multiplying. Wild life roams the forest. The city is in the mode of passion, and the forest is in the mode of goodness. But the temple or a place of worship of God is transcendental even to the pristine material mode of goodness in the forest. Aborigines, "Indians," or "savages" lived in forests and jungles with little material, industrial development or culture. They followed religions based on nature worship and sometimes offered sacrifices to primitive concepts of gods of the elements, such as the Sun, Moon, thunder, rain etc. Sometimes different tribes quarreled and went to war with one another. Other tribes lived more peacefully and developed agriculture and arts and crafts.
read more from SDGonline - daily updates from The Yellow Submarine: My Bhajana Kutir journal
In class Prabhupada explained what is required of us if we want to please Krsna and get His blessings. "We have to surrender. That will please Krsna. And without pleasing Him? You cannot see Krsna. You may have your eyes, big, big eyes, but you cannot see Krsna. You have to please Him. That pleasing activity is bhakti.
"Without that bhakti, it means sitting down silently... 'No, no, I am chanting. I do not want to go out. I am busy.' This means excuse. What you will chant? You will think of money and woman, that's all. Just work. Go to sell books and work hard. That is wanted. Therefore we do not give that opportunity. My Guru Maharaja did not give this opportunity, and we are following the same principle. No opportunity of sitting idle. No, you must work. That will rectify. Yes."
>From Transcendental Diary
Why don’t we get the same result. (Jun 17, 2010)
With great happiness, the most sweet pastime of Lord Nityananda ordering Srila Raghuantha dasa Goswami to feed His associates with Yoghurt & Chipped rice, celebrated as Cida-Dahi Mahotsav is being celebrated in Sri Mayapur dhama today. This is a very special festival, the essence of which is that only by the blessings of devotees, one will receive the mercy of Lord. HG Jananivasa Prabhu read the narration of this pastime from Caitanya Caritamrita in the morning Srimad Bhagavatham class. Listen here HG Jananivasa Prabhu’s class
read more
Monday 24th, December 2007. I awoke and found a yajna going on in the courtyard. There was a heavy film of white smoke drifting in the air and a strong smell of burning ghee, combined with other substances. HH Indradyumna Swami was initiating two Indian couples from the congregation. I had danced ecstatically in kirtana with one of the Prabhus and had since made good friends with him. He thanked me for being present on his initiation and I thanked Krsna for waking me up on time so it appeared that I made it there in good timing.
I received a call from Ajita, confirming that someone had replaced me in Woodford catering. He encouraged me and wished me all the best on my endeavours with Indradyumna Swami. I was so grateful that he allowed me to go for this opportunity and was happy with his easy, enthusing attitude over the whole ordeal. There was still one silly problem left to sort out, which was that I didn't know if I could actually travel with HH Indradyumna Swami. I talked with my parents on the phone about the whole situation. It was vague what actions I should take. I simply had to go with what Krsna was arranging, which for now was uncertain. All I could do was be patient.
I tried to chant in Prabhupada's room again but found it was locked. The room seemed to be my mercy hub and I was attracted to visit it at any free moment, especially if I had some rounds to chant. I was hoping to chant there to so I would be easily available to any news of the Troupe. Dominik Prabhu seemed to have vanished; I couldn't find him anywhere. The decision of me staying or going now seemed to be in his hands.
I served the devotees their lunch again. I still wasn't receiving any signs if I was coming with them or not. I needed to know soon. My flight was soon to depart and I didn't know which direction I was to take. I stumbled up to Prabhupada's room again and found Dominik just outside the entrance. I asked him if they had made up their minds yet about me coming along. Just as I was speaking to Dominik, HH Indradyumna Swami excited from Prabhupada's room and was walking towards us. Dominik turned to Maharaja and said "this young man wants to join us on the tour." "Is that so" said Maharaja, looking towards me. I don't know what tiny thing I added in but Maharaja simply looked me down, paused for a moment and then gave his approval. That was it; I was in the troupe!
Dominik told me that I would be driving up in a few days with Santi Prabhu, while the majority of the troupe was flying up. I had never considered that they would be flying so I was lucky that Krsna had arranged in this genius plan a way for me to travel to Sydney. It was now too late to book plane tickets now. Indeed they had been looking for someone to drive with Santi Prabhu because the drive was dangerous alone. Luckily this had all happened because I had focused so much on trying to join the troupe that it was already too late to catch my flight back home. Yet again Krsna made some masterful plans to go on an unforgettable journey.
[http://maddmonk.wordpress.com]
Click here to read the full article from TIME
"The desire to eat meat has posed an ethical question ever since humans achieved reliable crop production: Do we really need to kill animals to live? Today, the hunger for meat is also contributing to the climate-change catastrophe. The gases from all those chickens and pigs and cows, and from the manure lagoons that big farms create, are playing a part in global warming. So the idea of fake meat has never been more alluring. What if you could cut into a juicy chicken breast that wasn't chicken at all but rather some indistinguishable imitation made harmlessly from plant life?"
Numbers Count
Villagio hare Krsna, Italy
Spontaneity is often times the way to go. I sometimes convince myself of this.
One of the local devotees with administrative clout saw me as I walked into the temple room, ran over to me and said, " You can give the class?" "Now? Today? But I'm not prepared!" "Please", he pleaded." "The person assigned can't do it." "Alright, " I surrendered. "Give a little advanced notice the next time," I said with a smile. There I went rushing into the fastest prayer of all times before sitting on the vyasasan (the speaker's chair) and viewing a mixed peer and junior-to-me audience. The verse from Canto 3 of the book Bhagavatam was Vedically technical addressing the pradhana, the element of the universe. It's called sankhya philosophy when the cosmic make-up is analyzed. I ended up speaking mostly about the relevance of itemizing the things we work with, the need to be orderly, to be result-oriented. Numbers matter. To make things interactive I asked the listeners to vocalize the golden sacred numbers given to us by our guru, Srila Prabhupada. here were some of them with corresponding items.
108- beads on a japa meditation items
16 - rounds to chant daily on beads
4 -regulated principals
50 - the age recommended to renounce
7 - purposes of ISKCON
2 - double the distribution of BBT books
8 - 4 varnas and 4 ashramas (social+spiritual divisions)
1 - one mantra, one scripture, one god
10 - avatars
12 - Cantos (parts) of the book Bhagavatam
24 - elements
this is a partial list but these are the numbers that came up first. Numbers are important. In any event the spontaneity went alright. You have to be ready for any service if it calls for it.
5 KM
Speed and Space
Rome/ Milano/ Italy
Perhaps its a European trait-about the road I'm referring to. Aside from the wide and straight autostrade where traffic flies by at an easy 120-130 km per hour the country roads are windy and narrow. Due to heavy rain I was somewhat obstructed from doing much serious walking, but the little that I could do allowed me to appreciate the curves of the country road. You wonder what's around the corner. The scenery is a spectacular view for the eyes. Numerous hills, part green and part cultivated, gently roll.
The downside to the roadways in Italy is the lack of room for a pedestrian.
It appears the roads are for the machines and not for people. Its a dual deal, pleasant and not.
From the time that I landed here in Italy,I experienced a loving kind of people. There's an utter softness. Affection smiles at you in the matter of people dealings. But may I be so bold as to say something about the flip side to all the emotion. Hospitality can be sweet, but the other component, a malice, an unwillingness to get along tends to be an undercurrent. Its not exclusive to Italy. It's a worldwide phenomena. It's as simple as saying where there is love there is hate, and where there is hate there is love. Of course, this is the mundane world we are talking about. In it human nature prevails. It becomes painful to observe a lack of harmony due to upheld grudges. I understand that there is constant upheaval in the government here. It is so hard to find harmony and unity even though from one point of view everything looks alright. We humans are great at putting up good facades. Nevertheless we must carry on and let bitter and sweet co-exist. Let there be space for both of them. We have no choice in that matter. We can just try to co-operate.
From Rome I took one of those speed trains to Milano. My carrozza (wagon) was virtually empty. I imagine in the weekend it fills up. I spoke to the ticket collector who told me we were going 250km per hr. The train has the capacity to go faster. I guess spiritual life is like that too. We all have the capacity to go at greater speed with our commitment and our surrender, but do we?
3 KM
You have to concentrate and be very serious if you want your chanting to be more than just sweeping with a broom. You have to remember your place in this material world, remember that you're a spirit soul seeking to retain your original conscious ness. This kind of concentration is required in order to make the japa a holy time. Entering a life of prayer you have to crawl humbly and plead with Krishna to please let you remain fixed on the actual business of japa. Otherwise it becomes a mechanical duty which is alright but not topmost.
From
Bhajan Kutir #474 Just keep this your attitude of sincere service and without a doubt Krishna
will give you all intelligence to serve Him nicely.
- Srila Prabhupada
Bhajan – New Year’s Eve 2010 – Mukunda Datta das
Nobody told me how hard being a new mother would be.
Actually they did. They all did. I just didn't believe them.
After all, how hard could it be to take care of a little person? All they need is to eat, sleep and have their diapers changed - usually in that order.
But did you know that in the beginning they eat every two hours?
And did you know that sometimes putting them to sleep would take both a longer amount of time than they actually slept for, as well as a great deal of creativity (rocking? no. Bouncing? No. Singing? No. Rocking, bouncing and singing? Yes. *cue sigh of relief*) and leave you in need of a nap - but before your head actually hits the pillow for said nap, the little person is awake and ready to go again?
I did not know this. I do now.
I think I looked a little wild-eyed, a little crazy in the beginning. Yes, I definitely did. Sadly Vaishali did not come with a users manual. Of course there are plenty of baby books (not to mention aunts, grandmothers, friends, neighbours, strangers) to give you advice, but what I needed was a manual tailor-made to fit Vaishali's personality. You know, something that went along the lines of:
This model of baby will wake up every day, without fail, at 5 a.m and require 2 hours of non-stop playing activity. Do not bother trying to change this habit. Or praying that it will change. It won't. Ever.
But now, my little girl is 6 months old, and the crazy, sleep-deprived days are getting better. I no longer check on her every five minutes, just to make sure she's breathing (I've stretched it to about 15 minutes, and yes, I'm proud of that achievement, thank you very much.)
Of course, each new stage comes with new challenges. The nature of my questions have changed. It's no longer "Is she getting enough milk", but "Is she ready for grains?" I no longer panic when she cries (which is hardly ever - which is of course something I used to panic about too. You know, "Shouldn't she cry more than this?" I'd fret. "I think she's just a happy baby," my husband or mother would comment, a tad dryly.)
And sometimes, in my sleep-deprived, hormonal, overly-worried state I would feel bad for my little baby. Didn't she deserve a mother who actually knew what they were doing? Who knew what each different cry meant, who knew how to calm and soothe her and take care of her from the very moment she entered this world?
For a new mother, there's nothing better than talking to or hearing about other new mum's and their experiences. It's comforting to know that your neurotic state of mind is not unique, that you are not the only one who feels overwhelmed at times, or at a loss over what to do.
I recently read a book, and in it a first-time mother, a few years after the birth of her son, stated, " You can never be one hundred percent prepared for motherhood, because it is motherhood itself that prepares you."
How completely, and utterly true.
I assumed that the role of mother was one I would take on naturally, gracefully. It wasn't. I may have carried Vaishali for 9 months, but I only really met her after she was born, and only got to know her in the weeks and months that followed. And it was difficult, not having any experience. But as the days passed, that experience came - I grew stronger and more sure of myself and my ability to take care of my child.
And now, Vaishali and I know each other pretty well. Each day, as she discovers more and more about herself, the world she lives in, and the people who love her, we discover more about her. Between her father and I, we know how to make her smile. We know that lots of kisses from her papa will irritate her, unless its first thing in the morning and she's just woken up. We know that after she's had her pureed squash or sweet potatoes, she likes to babble with the spoon in her mouth. We know that she likes it when we firmly press her arms and legs - it calms her down. We know that we can get her to give us big, open-mouthed, spitty kisses by saying, "Kisses!!"
It has been a life-altering experience, becoming a mother. But I guess, that's what babies do! They take us on a journey that changes us from self-centered and selfish, to become more giving, more open and more loving individuals.
What a blessing babies are!
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