Author Archives: Candidasa dasa, UK

Hare Krishna Questions and Answers website
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<p>I have created a proposal to create a new Question &amp; Answer website for Hare Krishna devotees and need your help.</p><p>The proposed website will be built on the same software as stackoverflow.com, a hugely popular site where over seven million computer programmers help each other with difficult programming problems. On Stack Overflow the audience votes for the best answer. Answers with the highest number of votes automatically rise to the top, to be read first. People answering questions gain reputation from each “up” vote for their answer, encouraging them to answer questions well. I can see this proposed site turning into an equally amazing resource. </p><p>We need a certain number of people “following” the proposal before the people who run StackExchange see it as important enough to make it into a real website. So, please help out and click the “Follow It” button on this website and enter your email address:</p><p>http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/10537/hare-krishna?referrer=oBZN-v_zajmdB6M–FAu3g2</p><p>Please forward this to all your devotee friends and get them involved, so we can get our Q&amp;A site launched very soon.</p><p><a href=”http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/10537/hare-krishna”><img src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/exchange.jpg” alt=”StackExchange Hare Krishna Questions and Answers Site” title=”exchange” width=”313″ height=”148″ class=”size-full wp-image-515″/></a></p><p>Detailed information about what I’m trying to do here:</p><p>The primary aim of the site is to give devotees a way to get good answers to all kinds of questions, as well as for more learned devotees to share their knowledge. If an answer is online, then google can find it and it becomes a permanent record for the future. That is much better than a devotee answering the same question over and over again on various forums. It is also better for the person looking for the answer, because the voting highlights what the best answer is, placing it at the top.</p><p>I got the idea for this kind of website after a conversation with another devotee. We were talking about facebook and blog controversies and the inability of devotees to do much about them. I thought about this a lot and had the idea for a devotee Q&amp;A site that could address both local and global controversies in an authoritative way that doesn’t look like it is just one person’s biased opinion. A good answer on such a site will visibly have the stamp of approval from a whole group of devotees. Then, a few weeks ago, this StackExchange thing came along and did all the hard work of designing such a site for us. So, I’m very keen to take advantage of this opportunity.</p><p>To my knowledge every other devotee attempt at an online community either gets neglected over time, limited to a few hundred people, or has a confusing interface which is too bewildering. This is not any individual’s fault. The fact is that building a website that people will use for valuable high-quality social interactions is very difficult. The best essay on the topic is this one “A Group is its own Worst Enemy”</p><p>http://shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html</p><p>The author explains in great detail why so many social websites fail. The StackExchange model is exactly in line with the principles recommended to make a site successful. It is expertly designed with identity (once the site is launched, anyone that contributes needs to have an identity and is therefore accountable for what they write – no anonymous answering), voting (the community polices itself), reputation (a way to identify those members of the community that are in good standing) and a barrier to entry (you need a certain good reputation to be able to vote to determine what is a good answer). All this means that a website based on the StackExchange technology can still be useful and manageable with millions of users.</p><p>Please help make this amazing resource a reality by clicking “follow” on the proposal and writing some good and bad example questions to go on the site. Bad questions are those off-topic questions that we don’t want appearing on the site to keep the site focused on topics related to Krishna consciousness. We need examples of such bad questions in the proposal stage to define what the site will be about.<br/>(sign up to the site using your Gmail or Yahoo email address – that is what is meant by OpenID).</p>

Gaura Purnima / Golden Avatar Festival 2010 Photos
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<p>The Golden Avatar Festival (Gaura Purnima) 2010 was held in Wellington last week.</p><p>I have uploaded the photos from the event to the gallery on this website. (Note that the photos at the start of this album are from a previous Krishna Fest; actual Gaura Purnima photos being after the “Golden Avatar: Rhythm &amp; Dance!” display board photos).</p><p>View the photos <a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/gaurapurnima2010/”>here</a>:</p><p><a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/gaurapurnima2010″><img src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/gaurapurnima2010.jpg” alt=”gaurapurnima2010″ title=”gaurapurnima2010″ width=”300″ height=”199″ class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-510″/></a></p>

Spiritual Recharge Festival 2009/2010
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<p>Every year Hare Krishna devotees from around Australia and New Zealand get together for an 11-day Spiritual Recharge Festival. Lots of feasting, chanting, seminars and association (and my wedding – see previous post). This year there were 130 guests at the retreat. The biggest ever! So much opportunity to meet many wonderful souls. </p><p>At this festival I also got Brahminical-initiation (the day before the wedding). So, I am now a Brahmana (teacher/intellectual) by Varna (occupation) and a Grihastra (householder) by Ashram (stage of life/shelter).</p><p>I took so many photos. It took quite a while to narrow them down to the 280 best pictures. But that process is now complete … and here they are. Please browse them to your hearts’ content:</p><p> <a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/retreat2009/”><img src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/2009-12-31-imgp0167.jpg” alt=”Spiritual Recharge Retreat Festival 2009 2010″ title=”Spiritual Recharge Retreat Festival 2009 2010″ width=”199″ height=”300″ class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-503″/></a></p>

Gaura Haven photos
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<p>Have you heard of Gaura Haven? It is in the Otaki gorge region (1 hour’s drive North of Wellington, NZ). Lots of work has gone into the place over the past year. It is very beautiful and many new crops have been planted in the garden. I took a bunch of pictures of Gaura Haven and its surroundings.</p><p>Take a look at the wonderful natural beauty:</p><p><a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/gaurahavenjanuary2010/”><img src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/2009-12-30-imgp9968.jpg” alt=”Gaura Haven January 2010″ title=”Gaura Haven January 2010″ width=”300″ height=”199″ class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-499″/></a></p>

Rotorua (and Huka Falls) vacation
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<p>After my wedding my parents, wife and I headed up to Rotorua for a vacation. We toured the powerful Huka Waterfalls and visited the strange and wonderful volcanic landscapes of Rotorua (and had some fun riding down the “Luge”.</p><p>Lots of photos of all that. Check them out here:<br/><a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/rotorua/”><img src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/2010-01-05-imgp0716.jpg” alt=”Huka falls and rotorua” title=”Huka falls and rotorua” width=”300″ height=”199″ class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-496″/></a></p>

My wedding (with photos)
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<p>It seems about time I posted something on this blog. I has been quite a while. News of the moment: I have gotten married. On the 1st of January 2010 I, Candidasa dasa, married the lovely Visnumaya devi dasi. Or, if you prefer, our western names: Julian Malik Seidenberg and Susan Elizabeth Burrows (now Seidenberg).</p><p>Lots of great pictures from the event (thanks to Thakur Saranga and Sukanthi Radha for taking the pictures):</p><p><a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/wedding/”><img class=”size-full wp-image-491″ src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/candidasa-visnumaya-wedding33.jpg” alt=”Candidasa Visnumaya Wedding” title=”candidasa-visnumaya-wedding33″ width=”300″ height=”169″/></a></p><p>The wedding was traditional Vedic/Hare Krishna style. Here are some of the fun traditions depicted in the photos:</p><ul><li>showering the deities with flowers (pushpa abhishek) and then showering those flowers over the audience and married couple to counteract any bad astrological influences</li><li>the groom leaving the wedding with his Bhagavad-Gita and umbrella to meditate in the forest as a celebrate monk (brahmacari) for the rest of his life (but being convinced otherwise by the spiritual master – representing the father of the bride)</li><li>exchanging garlands</li><li>tying the hands together with a flower garland and sealing it with water<br/> tying the couple’s clothing together with a knot</li><li>a fire sacrifice (agni-hotra) where various grains, seeds and fruits are thrown into a fire to purify any bad karma reactions</li></ul>

Vedic System of Self-Development
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<p>I recently gave a talk at the Krishna Fest at Gaura Yoga on the “Vedic System of Self-Development”. Thanks to Sivarama Swami for the <a href=”http://www.sivaramaswami.com/?p=3929″>inspiration</a> for this talk.</p><p><a href=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/vedic system of self-development.m4a”>You can view the talk synchronized with slides here</a>.</p><p>or download the source AAC file <a href=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/vedic system of self-development.m4a”>vedic system of self-development.m4a</a></p><p>or download the source MP3 file <a href=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/vedic system of self-development.mp3″>vedic system of self-development.mp3</a></p>

Reinventing the Sunday Feast
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<p>I was listening to the following podcast:</p><p><a href=”http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail4002.html”>Darrel Rhea: Marking During an Economic Meltdown</a></p><p>The title is deceptive. It is more about analyzing a market or activity holistically and reinventing it to taking into account the complete picture. With a complete view of all the factors, motivations, desires, side-effects and intentions, one can transform into a truly customer focused organization.</p><p>Darrel Rhea gives example how he helped do this for Apple Retail Stores, Electrolux Kitchen Appliances, the Australian Tax System and Hospital Stroke Treatment.</p><p>How about we think about the classic Sunday Feast in this way? In New Zealand the Sunday Feast has already been adapted and reinvented to a certain extent to make it more accessible to newcomers, but without changing any of the core values of Krishna Consciousness. But more can always be done to improve it even further.</p><p>(Learn more about the “Krishna Fest” as it is in Wellington, New Zealand: <a href=”http://gaurayoga.co.nz/festivals/”>Gaura Yoga – Festivals</a>)</p><p>Think of the usual kind of person that might attend a Krishna Conscious center: curious, wary, ignorant of any kind of philosophy, averse to ritual, averse to religion, proud, attached to the opposite sex, not able to sit on the floor for long periods of time, short attention span, self-conscious (unless intoxicated), concerned about spending too much money and concerned about the environment (although not actually doing much about it).</p><p>So, using that picture of the typical guest, how would you reinvent the Sunday Feast with a fresh outlook, unencumbered by past traditions? Things that might be changed: name, time, music, types of events, sequence of events, physical layout of the room(s), decoration of the room(s), devotee numbers, devotee dress &amp; accessories and devotee language &amp; attitude.</p><p>Please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.</p>

End of Year Retreat 2008
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<p>I just got back from a 10-day Christmas retreat. Most of the Hare Krishna devotees in New Zealand attended this festival of inspiration, rejuvenation and association. Over 100 devotees were there, in total.</p><p>The retreat was held in the Otaki region of New Zealand (1 hour North of Wellington). We rented out two retreat centers: <a href=”http://riverslearetreat.co.nz/”>Riverslea</a> and <a href=”http://www.waihoanga.co.nz/”>Waihoanga</a>; and also used our own retreat center <a href=”http://gaurahaven.co.nz/”>Gaura Haven</a> for accommodation.</p><p>The 10-day passed quickly. There were so many brilliant talks, inspiring presentations, delicious spiritual food (prasadam), and nice people to talk to. A slight downer was that everyone (and I do mean everyone) got sick. A nasty flu virus managed to infect everyone’s bodies. It lasted about four days in most people. Nevertheless, it was a brilliant time.</p><p>I took about 900 photos over the course of the retreat. A <a href=”http://www.deltaflow.com/pictures/v/retreat2008/”>selection of images</a> is available in my picture gallery.</p><p><a href=”http://www.deltaflow.com/pictures/v/retreat2008/”><img src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/imgp4401.jpg” width=”300″ height=”199″ alt=”IMGP4401.jpg”/></a></p>

Gaura Haven: landscape photographs and photo presentation
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<p>I have been taking some pictures in and around Gaura Haven / New Gupta Vraja, located in Otaki (about an hour’s drive outside of Wellington). Here is a <a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/gaurahaven-landscapes/”>gallery</a> the best photographs, the so-called “glory shots”.</p><p>I’m relatively new to landscape photography. So, advice and suggestions are welcome.</p><p><a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/gaurahaven-landscapes/”><img src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/gaurahaven-landscapes.jpg” width=”300″ height=”210″ alt=”gaurahaven-landscapes.jpg”/></a></p><p>Additionally, I gave a photo presentation about Gaura Haven at our recent <a href=”http://www.deltaflow.com/pictures/v/album_001/”>Vyasa-Puja festival</a> in honor of Devamrita Swami. </p>

Gaura Haven: eco-retreat photos
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<p>Last month I went on an eco-retreat with a group of young interested persons who have been coming along to the Gaura Yoga center in Wellington New Zealand. We went to Gaura Haven (New Gupta Vraja), a retreat center recently acquired by Gaura Yoga. While there we proceeded to plant a variety of organic vegetables. The idea is to slowly move towards self-sufficiency.</p><p>Here some pictures from the weekend events:</p><p><a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/eco-retreat2008/”><img src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/imgp0179.jpg” width=”300″ height=”199″ alt=”IMGP0179.jpg”/></a></p>

Vyasa Puja Festival 2008 Pictures
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<p>On the weekend of the 25th of October, 2008 the majority of practitioners of Krishna consciousness in New Zealand (and a few from Australia) went to a retreat center in Inglewood, NZ called <a href=”http://verticalhorizon.co.nz/”>Vertical Horizon</a>. There we celebrated the Vyasa-Puja (birthday of the spiritual master) of Devamrita Swami.</p><p>It was a grand festivals. Nearly 100 devotees were present. It was expertly organized by Visnumaya and Gopal Guru. So many great activities, presentations and speeches. The spiritual food (prasadam) was over-the-top great. I also really enjoyed seeing and speaking with many, many old friends.</p><p>I took over 800 photos. You can view a selection of the best shots <a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/album_001/”>here</a>:</p><p><a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/album_001/”><img src=”http://www.deltaflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/album-001.jpg” width=”300″ height=”200″ alt=”album_001.jpg”/></a> <a href=”http://deltaflow.com/pictures/v/album_001/”/></p><p>(the images 0.8-megapixel images in the gallery are fine for viewing on screen, but not nearly detailed enough for large prints. If anyone wants to print out any of the images, please email me and I can supply the original full 14.6 megapixel images from the <a href=”http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxk20d/”>Pentax K20d</a>)</p>