"Planet ISKCON" - 38 new articles
H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 1 February 2011--Be True to Your Guru. He's Saving You.--and--Stop My Personal Projects?A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course(tm) Tuesday 1 February 2011 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani are enjoying transcendental pastimes in the topmost planet of the spiritual world, Sri Goloka Vrindavan. They are beckoning us to rejoin them. Our Mission: To help everyone awaken their original Krishna consciousness, which is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. Such a global awakening will, in one stroke, solve all the problems of the world society bringing in a new era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for all. May that day, which the world so desperately needs, come very soon. We request you to participate in this mission by reviving your dormant Krishna consciousness and assisting us in spreading this science all over the world. Dedicated with love to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, and to you, our dear readers. Today's Thought: Be True to Your Guru. He's Saving You. Uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram--Austin, Texas USA When after careful study of the revealed scriptures and due deliberation we accept someone as our spiritual master, we must be very careful to always faithfully follow his instructions because Krishna measures our devotion to Him by how much we are dedicated to our spiritual master. It is not that we simply use our spiritual master as a ladder to attain the transcendental platform and then after attaining it kick him away. No. We must always remain fully dedicated and surrendered to our spiritual master because it is by his mercy that we are being delivered from the vicious cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease. Even after going back to home, back to Godhead one still remains the eternal servant of his spiritual master. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Stop My Personal Projects? Is it necessary to leave one's studies or personal projects to be able to practice Krishna consciousness? What influence does it have if I have thoughts and desires for improvement in all areas and I offer them to Krishna--for example, to be well situated economically to provide well for a family and not live in misery? The other matter concerns the principles. If one is having difficulty fulfilling some principle, is this a fault that impedes chanting the Maha Mantra? It is supposed that the Maha Mantra is tremendous, so if we chant it we enter in contact with God and therefore we will have the best experiences of our life. L.W. Answer: Offer Them to Krishna One does not have to change one's position in society to become Krishna conscious. Whatever you are doing now, you simply do that for Krishna. That is Krishna consciousness. It is your duty to see that your family is comfortably taken care of. So you should be very responsible in this regard. The key is to remember that it is not your household. It is the property of Krishna. So now you should have a nice spiritual program with your family members in the morning and evening and work to maintain Krishna's household so that all the family members can peacefully practice Krishna consciousness and go back to home, back to Godhead. In Krishna consciousness we have four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no illicit sex, and no gambling. If you are not able to follow these principles strictly, it will be more difficult for you to absorb yourself in Krishna consciousness. Therefore we advise you to strictly follow these principles so that you can progress along the path of bhakti without any impediment. It is a fact that by chanting sincerely we will the experience the best of all possible lives. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? Check out the resources at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com or write Sankarshan Das Adhikari at: sda@backtohome.com Get your copy today of the world's greatest self-realization guide book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is available at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/store Know someone who could benefit from this? Forward it to them. Searchable archives of all of course material: http://www.sda-archives.com Receive Thought for the Day as an RSS feed: http://www.backtohome.com/rss.htm Unsubscribe or change your email address Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Daily_Thought Copyright 2005-2011 by Ultimate Self Realization.Com Distribution of this material is encouraged. Simply we request you to acknowledge where it is coming from with a link to our sign up page: http://www.backtohome.com Our records indicate that at requested to be enrolled to receive e-mails from the Ultimate Self Realization Course at: This request was made on: From the following IP address: • Email to a friend •  •Candidasa dasa, UK: Spiritual Recharge Festival 2009 PhotosI’ve posted 307 photos I took at the last Spiritual Recharge Festival 2009-2010. See the gallery here.  • Email to a friend • •
Japa Group: I Put My Heart Into The Syllables
The quality of my japa is questionable. It is not suddha-nama, or chanting without offenses. But I sincerely complete my quota. I put my heart into the syllables and the getting-done of the quota. From Viraha Bhavan #203  • Email to a friend • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Prahladananda SwamiSrimad Bhagavatam 11.29.38 - We should arrange our lives in a way that we can hear the Holy Name & glories of Krsna. • Email to a friend • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Prahladananda SwamiSrimad Bhagavatam class given on Monday, 31st January, 2011 • Email to a friend • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
• Email to a friend • •Institute for Sustainable Society, NZ: Backyard SufficiencyWell, it’s a good time of year to start our blog as now is the time we are reaping the rewards, a bountiful harvest! Apart from a few potatoes we lasted a whole year using only the vegetables from our own back yard. I was certainly surprised how little space we needed to live off, we are currently using about 50 sq foot. Dave loves making juices with carrots plucked straight from the soil and the health benefits that come from home grown veggies.The highlights for me are picking our fresh strawberries for our one year old, knowing they’re full of goodness. Cooking becomes much more of a joy knowing that everything comes from our garden which is completely organic and grown in line with our ethics, not to mention the rich flavours and sweetness that is so unique to home grown vegetables. We hope to keep you updated on our evolving journey to a more simple and organic lifestyle. • Email to a friend • •Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Where is money? Where is stool?What is this rascal civilization, whole day "Where is money? Where is money? Where is money? Where is money? Where is money?" Everyone. Busy means "Where is money? Where is money?" Just like the hog, he is busy: "What time...? Where is stool? Where is stool? Where is stool? Where is stool? Where is stool?" That is not civilization. If you remain always busy, "Where is stool?" like the hog, then what is your civilization? Whole day working, night, nightshift, dayshift, whole day, the same, like hog. Get money and then drink wine and eat meat and do all nonsense things. This is their civilization. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- October 28, 1975, Nairobi • Email to a friend • •David Haslam, UK: My monthly stressorI want to share what for me is one of the biggest stressors faced every month and in many ways it shouldn’t be, but it also reminds me of two things; that I am not really known (a point made by a senior devotee) and that we should not expect things even if we think [...] • Email to a friend • •H.H. Sivarama SwamiWhen one’s mind is polluted, it is very difficult to remember Krishna, and when remembrance of Lord Krishna is hampered, one’s life is unproductive. - Lord Caitanya • Email to a friend • •H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, January 31st, 2011Luckiest Man
 • Email to a friend • •H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Sunday, January 30th, 2011Twisting Things
 • Email to a friend • •H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Saturday, January 29th, 2011Cold!
 • Email to a friend • •H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Friday, January 28th, 2011Smitten With Love
 • Email to a friend • •Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Part 1ajayadhvamaja yadhvam na sansayah
kalau sankirtana rambhe bhavisyami saci sutah “The Supreme Lord said: ‘In Kali-yuga, I will appear as the son of Saci, and inaugurate the sankirtana movement. There is no doubt about this.’” anandasru-kala-roma-harsa-purnam tapo-dhana sarve mam eva draksyanti kalau sannyasa-rupinam “O sage whose wealth is austerity, in the Kali-yuga everyone will see My form as a sannyasi, a form filled with tears of bliss and bodily hairs standing erect in ecstasy.” ~ Bhavishya Purana  • Email to a friend • •Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: For Many Species, No Escape As Temperatures Rise Ed Ou/The New York Times The long-tailed widow bird was once far more common but is now a threatened species. More Photos » By ELISABETH ROSENTHALPublished: January 21, 2011 in the New York Times
KINANGOP, Kenya — Simon Joakim Kiiru remembers a time not long ago when familiar birdsongs filled the air here and life was correlated with bird sightings. His lush, well-tended homestead is in the highlands next to the Aberdare National Park, one of the premier birding destinations in the world.  Ed Ou/The New York TimesSimon Joakim Kiiru, a beekeeper in Kinangop, Kenya, has seen the area’s birds decline. “So many today are gone,” he said. More Photos » Ed Ou/The New York TimesA tacazze sunbird, which lives in high altitudes, spread its wings while perched on a branch in Aberdare National Park, in Western Kenya. More Photos » When the hornbill arrived, Mr. Kiiru recalled, the rains were near, meaning that it was time to plant. When a buzzard showed a man his chest, it meant a visitor was imminent. When an owl called at night, it foretold a death. “There used to be myths because these are our giants,” said Mr. Kiiru, 58. “But so many today are gone.” Over the past two decades, an increasing number of settlers who have moved here to farm have impinged on bird habitats and reduced bird populations by cutting down forests and turning grasslands into fields. Now the early effects of global warming and other climate changes have helped send the populations of many local mountain species into a steep downward spiral, from which many experts say they will never recover. Over the next 100 years, many scientists predict, 20 percent to 30 percent of species could be lost if the temperature rises 3.6 degrees to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit. If the most extreme warming predictions are realized, the loss could be over 50 percent, according to the United Nations climate change panel. Polar bears have become the icons of this climate threat. But scientists say that tens of thousands of smaller species that live in the tropics or on or near mountaintops are equally, if not more, vulnerable. These species, in habitats from the high plateaus of Africa to the jungles of Australia to the Sierra Nevada in the United States, are already experiencing climate pressures, and will be the bulk of the animals that disappear. In response to warming, animals classically move to cooler ground, relocating either higher up in altitude or farther toward the poles. But in the tropics, animals have to move hundreds of miles north or south to find a different niche. Mountain species face even starker limitations: As they climb upward they find themselves competing for less and less space on the conical peaks, where they run into uninhabitable rocks or a lack of their usual foods — or have nowhere farther to go. “It’s a really simple story that at some point you can’t go further north or higher up, so there’s no doubt that species will go extinct,” said Walter Jetz, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale, whose research last year predicted that a third of the 1,000 mountain birds he studied, or 300 species, would be threatened because warming temperatures would decimate their habitats. Birds are good barometers of biodiversity because amateur birdwatchers keep such extensive records of their sightings. But other animals are similarly affected. Two years ago, scientists blamed a warming climate for the disappearance of the white lemuroid possum, a niche mountain dweller in Australia that prefers cool weather, and that was cute enough to be the object of nature tours. Many scientists, suspecting that the furry animal had died off during a period of unusually extreme heat, labeled the disappearance the first climate-related animal extinction. Since then, biologists have found a few surviving animals, but the species remains “intensely vulnerable,” said William F. Laurance, distinguished research professor at James Cook University in Australia, who said that in the future heat waves would probably be the “death knell” for a number of cold-adapted species. For countries and communities, the issue means more than just the loss of pleasing variety. Mr. Kiiru regrets the vastly diminished populations of the mythic birds of Kikuyu tribal culture, like buzzards, owls and hawks. But also, the loss of bird species means that some plants have no way to pollinate and die off, too. And that means it is hard for Mr. Kiiru to tend bees, his major source of income. Current methods for identifying and protecting threatened species — like the so-called red list criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a conservation gold standard — do not yet adequately factor in the impact of probable climate shifts, and the science is still evolving, many scientists say. Some species that scientists say are at most risk in a warming climate are already considered threatened or endangered, like the Sharpe’s longclaw and the Aberdare cisticola in Kenya. The cisticola, which lives only at altitudes above 7,500 feet, is considered endangered by the international union, and research predicts that climate change will reduce its already depleted habitat by a further 80 percent by 2100. Other Kenyan birds that are at risk from climate warming, like the tufted, brightly colored Hartlaub’s turaco, are not yet on watch lists, even though their numbers are severely reduced here. A rapid change of climate can quickly eliminate species that inhabit a narrow niche. On a recent afternoon, Dominic Kimani, a research ornithologist at the National Museums of Kenya, combed a pasture on the Kinangop Plateau for 20 minutes before finding a single longclaw. “These used to be everywhere when I was growing up,” he said. He added: “But it’s hard to get anyone to pay attention; they are just little brown birds. I know they’re important for grazing animals because they keep the grasses short. But it’s not dramatic, like you’re losing an elephant.” As the climate shifts, mountain animals on all continents will face similar problems. Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley recently documented that in Yosemite National Park, where there is a century-old animal survey for comparison, half the mountain species had moved their habitats up by an average of 550 yards to find cooler ground. Elsewhere in the United States, the pika, the alpine chipmunk and the San Bernardino flying squirrel have all been moving upslope in a pattern tightly linked to rising temperatures. They are now considered at serious risk of disappearing, said Shaye Wolf, climate science director of the Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco, which in 2010 applied to protect a number of American mountain species under the United States’ Endangered Species Act. Last year, new research in the journal Ecological Applications and elsewhere showed that the pika, a thick-furred, rabbitlike animal that takes refuge from the sun in piles of stones, was moving upslope at about 160 yards a decade and that in the past decade it had experienced a fivefold rise in local extinctions, the term used when a local population forever disappears. On the Kinangop Plateau in Kenya, Mr. Kimani exults when he finds a Hartlaub’s turaco, once a common sight, near Njabini town, in a stand of remaining of old growth forest, after engaging local teenagers to help locate the bird. The turaco could lose more than 60 percent of its already limited habitat if current predictions about global warming are accurate, Dr. Jetz said. “Even substantial movement wouldn’t help them out,” he said. “They would have to move to the Alps or Asian mountains to find their mountain climate niche in the future.” This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: January 21, 2011 An earlier version of a photo caption with this article misidentified a bird that was pictured. It is a Tacazze sunbird, not a sandbird.  • Email to a friend • •Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: Imitation meat and my 2 centsPeople who believe in God, especially who follow the Judeo-Christian tradition, are convinced that God created animals for humans to eat them. People who do not believe in a God do not care about such ethics...they are happy to eat anything that is dubbed as "proteinicious" and "tasty" by the scientific community. Combination of these two population constitute approximately 80% to 90% of the world population. The end result, the poor animals slaughtered and mis-treated in all possible ways. Unfortunately, not much sympathy is shown to these animals.
 • Email to a friend • •H.H. Sivarama Swami: Pictures from puja this morning
• Email to a friend • •Australian News: INVITATION TO AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT
By Kurma dasa INVITATION TO AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT (Originally posted at Dandavats.com) Dear Disciples, followers and well-wishers of Srila Prabhupada, 2011 is a special time for all members of Srila Prabhupada’s Australian Family. It marks a milestone in the history of the Krishna Consciousness Movement that began back in 1971, when we were all in the prime of our youth. 2011 marks the 40th Anniversary of Prabhupada’s arrival in Australia, and 40 years since Australia’s first Deities – Radha Gopinatha – were lovingly carried across the Pacific in the arms of Vegavan and Bali-mardan and finally installed in that fledgling storefront temple at 118 Oxford Street Paddington by Srila Prabhupada himself. Srila Prabhupada expressed his desire that 10 temples be established in Australia and New Zealand, and that number has been well surpassed. Some of us were early members way back then, and some of us ‘joined’ a bit later, some here in Sydney, and some elsewhere in Australia. And some have remained well-wishers, or become disciples of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples. It’s an incredible history, and one worth celebrating. Those years have left an indelible mark on our hearts. Our lives have changed dramatically in those 40 years, but there is one constant: with Srila Prabhupada as our Spiritual Father we have a unique relationship as brothers and sisters. Over three magical days, Friday 20 May to Sunday 22 May 2011, Sydney Temple will be celebrating that unique bond. The Temple will be hosting a whirlwind of memorable events that shouldn’t be missed. Family members from all over the world will be attending. That alone is a great reason to come – to meet old and dear friends again all in one spot, at the same time. But there’s more. The formal program commences with a delicious reunion dinner on Friday 20 May. Slideshows, a tour to old Sydney temple sites, vintage films, guest speakers, an historic group photo, blissful chants, feasting and a picnic are just some of the highlights! More details are available but for now, please mark these dates in your diary: Friday 20, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 May, 2011. Want to know more? Contacts listed below. We eagerly look forward to seeing you again! With love and affection, Kurma dasa (on behalf of the 40th Anniversary Committee) email: kurma.acbsp@pamho.net website: http://www.kurma.net/ blog: http://www.iskcon.net.au/kurma/ facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kurma.dasa Share this story your way:          
• Email to a friend • •H.H. Sivarama Swami: Danavira dasa asks whether residents of Vaikuntha can go to Goloka at will
• Email to a friend • •Matsyavatara das (ACBSP), Italy: Family Matters (Part Four) - By Matsya Avatara Dasa (Marco Ferrini)
Spiritual Lovers Question: Wife and husband should be seen more like spiritual friends or more like "spiritual lovers"? What is the difference between the two? If the spiritual is authentic both definitions are synonymous. But only if it's authentically spiritual, because today it is a fashion to say spiritual: "Oh, today I got to know a very spiritual person!", but often people don't know anything about the dimension of the spirit. I remember, years ago, I had so much discussion on this with one person. I had to rebuke and correct him so many times. Slowly, slowly, he stopped. He had friends―some poets―that he considered spiritual but who were actually conditioned by everything: by tobacco, by alcohol, by scurrilous language; they were very conditioned. What a distorted idea of spiritual! I have explained and re-explained to him the definition of spiritual―five, seven, ten times―and it seems that lately he has grasped it. But the idea of spiritual is generally very vague, therefore it’s better to further clarify. Let's analyze the category that indirectly emerges from your question: if the two, instead of being spiritual lovers, are carnal lovers. Then they are known as grihamedhi, which is different from grihastha. The distinction is that for the grihastha the fundamental goal is spiritual realization, while for the grihamedhi the aim is to get a beautiful wife or a handsome husband and enjoy each other. (Of course we know that it's only an attempt and than there is the other side of the coin.) These are the two categories. We have to make this essential distinction: does the person want to get married to increase his or her own potentialities of enjoyment, or does the person―in this case a sincere spiritualist―choose another sincere spiritualist in the form of the other gender to have a companion for the journey of spiritual realization? Therefore we have two categories: those who pair for enjoying life better and those who unite for reciprocal help in self-realization. We exclusively deal with the second category; the first category is dealt with by sexologists, psychologists and other researchers. We are concerned only with those who try to have a family as a suitable, propaedeutical instrument for spiritual realization. The single man and the single woman may think, "By myself I can't make it." They may think that they are not yet ready to live as brahmacari or brahmacarini. Therefore, they look for a person with whom to walk a section of the path together, understanding from the beginning that the aim is to help each other to obtain liberation, to obtain love of God. In this category―the grihastha―there could be some short-circuits at times, because the body is there, the senses are there, and the karma is there. Therefore by being close sometimes they find themselves too close and at times there might be exchanges of affection surpassing the level allowed in the shastra. I would say that this is not a tragedy. Some people have made a tragedy of it but then they themselves created tragedies many times greater than this. Probably I won't be acclaimed for saying what I am saying but, in all conscience, I am taking full responsibility and I have solid arguments to support my theses. Going Beyond the Conditioning of Modern Culture The information of the media―which the mass misinterpret as progress and emancipation―doesn't stimulate at all a 'positive' process of liberation and emancipation of the human being, but an indiscriminate consumption, which only profits the great financial and industrial groups. The disposition of modern man is to be lenient, to be accommodating with the weak side of his character, to let one's own bio-psychic impulses and the external influences dominate his personality. Even if superficially he appears original, spontaneous and self-assured, in reality he is an off-centered and fragile individual, because of being hetero-directed. Control doesn't mean repression or suppression. Repression involves an irrational fear (taboo) that impedes the elaboration of psychic energies, which are mostly unconscious. Rather, reasonable control consists in governing the energetic manifestation, with the objective of utilizing those same energies for a constructive goal. Among the innumerable examples I could make I limit myself to the case under exam: the transformation of the sexual push into a satisfactory rapport of love, process that for years I have defined from Eros to Love. In other words, through using a well-trained willpower, it's possible to control the bio-psychic energy through reason (Logos). This control is the opposite of repressing or suppressing one's impulses, as it can produce the transformation of the egoistic-destructive pushes in ecologic energy, beneficial to the individual, the collectivity and the environment. This process is defined transformation and sublimation. The same principle applies to inhibition. The modern psychological literature―especially the one of Freudian school―has incorrectly attributed a negative connotation to the vital psychic function of inhibition. Evidence of the erroneousness of such idea is provided by scientific research in physiology, which has amply demonstrated that inhibition is a normal neurological function to better govern the organism. On the psychic plane also, to inhibit doesn't necessarily mean to suppress, but to apply a temporary brake to a reaction of the conditioned consciousness, in order to reflect on one’s behavior. To reflect means to activate the intellect, the buddhi, and to deliberate with emotional detachment on the present event without being overwhelmed by one’s urges. Inhibition is pathologic when used stubbornly, non-critically, but it is therapeutic when propaedeutic to sublimation: "One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws his limbs within the shell, is to be understood as truly situated in knowledge" (Bg. II-58). A person who lives the traditional values (sacrifice, work, saving, honesty, family, religion, etc.) doesn’t maximize commercial profit. To obtain maximum profit financial companies need to transform man in avid consumer, because to realize profit they need people to buy their products. Maximum profit for capital invested is given by a person who works to the maximum of his psychophysical capacity and consumes to the maximum of his financial capacity. The worker who is content leading his social or family relationships based on religious values and behavior is a bad consumer. He yields little, because to realize oneself in that way costs little or nothing and consequently doesn't push the individual to work to the maximum of his capacities. Similarly, the chaste girl who doesn't go out at night to have fun, the faithful wife who stays at home, the monk and the priest produce very little commercial profit. There arises therefore the need to create the consumerist, who seeks pleasure and entertainment, who seeks an individualistic, materialistic actualization and who frees himself from all the factors that could have inhibited such evolution, spending in goods and services whose sale produces profit. Modern culture achieved this by demolishing those ethical and social values―or motivational vectors―that checked the establishment of consumerism. Modern culture promoted liberation from duties, sexual liberation, blameworthiness of prohibitions, devaluation of the family and of family roles, emptying of religion, relativization of ethics and of authority. It created innumerable new personal fancied wants―essentially responding to the need of the industry to sell and gain: divorce, fashion, designer clothes and accessories, hankering for status symbols of every type, from classy cars to vacations in particular places.  • Email to a friend • •Australian News: Radhadesh Mellows continues (online video archives available)
If you didn’t catch the outrageously great kirtan live stream from Radhadesh Mellows recently you can catch up by playing the video recording over at Mayapur TV Archives.
http://www.mayapurtvarchives.com/ But dont forget the live program still continues and you can ride the wave of nectar here http://www.radhadeshmellows.com/ Don’t miss out Share this story your way:
• Email to a friend • •Dandavats.com: International Vaisnavi RetreatPrasanta dd: Fostering a spirit of love and care between devotees is on the agenda for the up-coming International Vaisnavi Retreat. This special event is aimed at generating peer support between female devotees dedicated to Srila Prabhupada’s mission. It has sprung from an initiative of the now three-year old GBC Devotee Care Committee and is being organized by the Vrindavana Institute for Higher Education |
martes, 1 de febrero de 2011
Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: For Many Species, No Escape As Temperatures Rise
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