They Find a New Place at Twenty-six Second Avenue

WHO IS THE PERSON YOU THINK YOU ARE, AND DO YOU ASPIRE TO IMPROVE?; NATURE VERSUS NURTURE, OR KARMA VERSUS FREE WILL?: At this point in my life I am doing my best to really understand what is true and what we can all do to be the best person possible, both on the human and spiritual level.

I know what it is like to either focus on the spiritual in theory while neglecting the material, as well as those whose total emphasis is on material progress, often at the cost of the environment and any possibility of spiritual growth and factoring God into their lives—and everything in-between. I have personal experience and life is full of teachers who model that which is to be avoided, and a few who model the ideal in various arenas, to varying degrees.

Spiritual growth isn’t about denying our material needs, and material life can’t be perfected without a relationship to God. We have to become masters of ourselves and our attitude and in creating a positive self-image that is realistic and full of promise, and incorporate this in relationship to making spiritual progress.

Many people have a very low opinion of themselves—almost everyone who comes for counseling—or they can hide this fact by showing an inflated sense of whom they actually are. In my view our character is everything, or how we walk our talk, or live what we speak and profess as our ideal.

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By Rsiraja Das

1.Mystic Universe – An Introduction Vedic Cosmology

Cosmology has been of great interest to devotees ever since Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed his disciples to construct the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. However, since the Vedic cosmic model is so different from the modern one, devotees often struggle with many common differences such as heliocentric vs. geocentric models of the “solar system”, flat vs. round descriptions of the planets, rotating vs. stationary models of the Earth, the enormous mountains which cannot be observed, etc. Somewhat surprisingly though, devotees unquestioningly accept “higher” and “lower” planetary systems, and linear vs. cyclic time, which are fundamental to grasping Vedic cosmology, because they change space and time from flat-linear (in modern science) to hierarchical-cyclic (in Vedic cosmology). What we have unquestioningly accepted (although not adequately understood) holds the key to a better understanding of Vedic cosmology.

This is what my new book Mystic Universe attempts to do. It shows how the hierarchical-cyclic view of space and time is intimately connected to Bhagavata Sāńkhya, and once this theory of matter is correctly understood, other currently “problematic” features of Vedic cosmology become directly amenable.

2.Modern and Vedic Cosmology – The Key Differences

There are many important differences between modern and Vedic cosmologies:

• The size of the visible universe in Vedic cosmology is only 4 billion miles, which is about 100,000 times smaller than the universe in modern cosmology. However, the age of the Vedic universe is significantly larger: 15 billion years in modern cosmology, and about 10,000 times older in Vedic cosmology. This far older and yet much smaller universe is contrary to Big Bang: if the universe was this old, it would also be significantly bigger considering continual expansion.

• Space in modern cosmology is largely flat and the occasional bumps in it represent matter. Time in modern cosmology is similarly linear and reversible. Furthermore, there is only one space and time for the entire universe. In Vedic cosmology, space is closed and time is cyclic, and there are many spaces and times embedded in each other, like cities are within states and states are within countries, or like minutes are within hours, and hours are within days.

• The so-called solar system in modern astronomy is heliocentric, while it is geocentric in Vedic astronomy. However, this “geo” in Vedic cosmology is not a single planet called Earth; it is rather numerous planets which constitute a planetary system called bhū-mandala. Why we cannot see these other planets has been a topic of numerous interpretations in the past, none of which take into account the understanding of matter in Vedic cosmology.

• The planets in Vedic cosmology are sometimes described as flat surfaces, and sometimes as spheres. This presents great difficulties for those who compare this to the medieval flat Earth theories, although the nature of this flatness in Vedic cosmology is quite different.

• Both space and time in Vedic cosmology are hierarchical. There are thus many higher and lower planetary systems in the Vedic universe, and the “vertical” dimension in the universe is treated quite differently than space is treated in modern cosmology.

It is not enough to simply describe these differences; it is also imperative to understand why these differences arise from a different theory of matter, space, time, causality, and lawfulness in nature. To that end, it is imperative to grasp the theories of nature in Sāńkhya before we can understand their implication to cosmology. If these theories are understood, Vedic cosmology becomes directly amenable without an interpretation. If these theories are not understood, many interpretations have to be created, which appear to reconcile parts of Vedic cosmology with our observations and modern scientific theories, while creating new kinds of problems and contradictions.

3.The Goal of Mystic Universe

The central goal in Mystic Universe is to present Vedic cosmology just as it is, without an interpretation, while making it amenable to a modern audience through a different theory of space, time, matter, causality and lawfulness. The goal is to understand Vedic cosmology, rather than merely read about it; as someone has aptly said: an ounce of understanding is better than a ton of knowledge.

This book would have been impossible without earlier books which that elaborate the Vedic theory of matter, space, time, causality, and lawfulness, contrasting it to modern theories in science. How a different view of nature becomes essential due to problems in modern science, and how the Vedic view addresses these problems, paving the path to a new kind of science is necessary for a firm grasp of Vedic cosmology. The differences between modern and Vedic cosmologies should therefore be viewed as different models of the universe, based on a completely different theory of nature.

The Vedic model also explains the same observations, and there is remarkable agreement between Vedic and modern cosmologies with regard to observations—e.g. the observed periods of planetary motion. However, there is complete disagreement between the two on the interpretation of these observations to produce models. All interpretations are based on a theory, and if the underlying theory is changed, then the model changes too. In that sense, Vedic cosmology is also empirical, and yet based on a completely different theory of nature. How the same observation is explained in different ways is then the essence of the difference between modern and Vedic cosmologies.

4.The Everyday View of Space and Time

In Vedic cosmology, the universe is described as an inverted tree, whose roots are above and leaves are below. This is not merely a euphemism or an analogy; it is the Vedic model of space.

This tree-like view of space pervades our ordinary world. For example, if we describe the present Earth planet, we would have Earth as the root of the tree. The countries in this planet would be the trunks, the states in each country will be the branches, the cities in each state would be stems, the streets in the cities will be twigs, and houses on the street would be leaves and fruits.

The key difference between the flat and the hierarchical views of space is that we don’t consider the countries, states, cities, or streets as real physical entities—i.e. the entities that will enter a theory of nature, because modern science reduces the macroscopic world to the microscopic world. We thus call the countries, states, cities, and streets by names in ordinary language, but we disregard their real existence in science. What would happen if science acknowledged all these as real physical entities?

5.Five Blind Men and the Elephant

This problem is analogous to that of the five blind men and the elephant. The men individually touch the legs, trunk, stomach, tail and ears of the elephant, but, being blind, cannot see the elephant itself. They then model their observations according to different concepts—e.g. a line (tail), cylinder (legs), sphere (stomach), hollow cylinder (trunk), and flat surface (ear)—thereby producing contradictions among the different men. As a result of these contradictions, there cannot be a consistent and complete theory of the entire elephant. If you describe the parts of the elephant by individual concepts such as line, cylinder, flat surface, sphere, etc. then the theory works for only limited parts of the elephant. If you try to extend this theory to the entire elephant, you create contradictions with other views.

You can only solve this problem by recognizing that there is an elephant apart from its legs, stomach, trunk, tail, and ears. The elephant is the whole, and the legs and stomach are parts. The recognition of the whole changes the description of the parts from line to tail, from cylinder to legs, from sphere to stomach, from hollow cylinder to trunk, and from flat surface to ear. In other words, when you recognize the reality of the whole elephant, you must change the description of all the parts as well. If science were conceived as a “working theory” of the parts, which works well for some of the parts, all these theories would have to be changed if and when the whole’s existence is recognized.

6.The Vedic Theory of Matter

The problem is: if we remove the tail, trunk, stomach, ears, and legs, we would not see the elephant. In other words, if you take away all the parts, then the whole seems to disappear. This is where the Vedic theory of matter (Sāńkhya) is important, because it says that the whole elephant doesn’t disappear even if you remove all the parts, although it becomes invisible to sensual observation.

Underlying the body of the elephant is the elephant’s mind. Underlying that mind is an intellect, underlying that intellect is an ego, and there are several higher layers of matter. Therefore, if you remove all the elephant’s body parts, the mind still exists. This mind is a type of mentality that constitutes the idea of being an elephant. Similarly, if you remove the parts of the mind, the intellect still exists; this intellect is the ability to judge the truth of ideas, and evolve the ideas into new ideas. If you remove this intellect, you still have an ego, which constitutes the intentions based on which different things are considered right and wrong. And if you remove this ego, there is there is still morality based on which intentions are formed. The removal of the body parts of the elephant therefore doesn’t destroy the elephant, because there are many deeper meanings of ‘elephant’ beyond the body.

The elephant’s body in fact is developed from the mind, the mind is developed from the intellect, the intellect is developed from the ego, and the ego is developed from morality. We cannot sensually perceive these higher levels of material reality, but their effects on the body can be perceived. If you take out the effects, however, the cause doesn’t automatically disappear. Since modern science considers the body to be the cause, it thinks that if you take out the parts, then the whole disappears. In Sāńkhya, even if you take out the body parts, there are still many layers of matter which can be called the “elephant”. The word “elephant” therefore has many meanings beyond the body.

7.The Vedic Theory of Space and Time

The so-called “macroscopic” objects therefore are also real, even if the “microscopic” objects are removed, although this “macroscopic” object exists as a kind of entity, different from the body. Due to this existence, we cannot reduce the whole to the parts. In fact the whole exists before the parts, in a different form, and produces the parts, like fruits grow on the branches of a tree. If you pluck the fruit, the branch still exists. If you cut the branch, the trunk still exists. If you cut the branch, the root still exists. All these manifest portions of the tree are produced gradually one after another.

Since we cannot “see” anything beyond the fruits, we think that if the fruit is plucked, the tree must have disappeared. That view is rejected in Vedic cosmology. Accordingly, space and time are like a tree structure, rather than a box. You can dismantle the visible parts of the box and ultimately the box disappears. But even if you pluck the fruits from the tree, the other parts of the tree still exist.

The “higher” realms of the universe are therefore like trunks and branches, while the lower realms are like fruits and leaves. Occasionally, the leaves and fruits are plucked, and the visible portions of the universe are destroyed. But the higher trunks and leaves still exist because these higher parts of the tree are of a different type than the visible parts. Like trees shed leaves during fall, and grow them again during spring, similarly, the universe also sheds and creates its manifest parts periodically.

This cyclic addition and removal of leaves is described in Vedic cosmology as cyclic time. The higher realms of the universe count the same number of units as the lower realms, but the higher realm counts in larger units while the smaller realm counts in smaller units. Just like if one person counts 100 hours and another person counts 100 seconds, they have both counted 100, but their durations are not the same. In the same way, the natural clock in the universe operates at many levels, producing long lives for the beings in higher realms, and smaller lives in lower realms. These higher and lower are parts of hierarchical space, and the longer and shorter life durations are part of hierarchical time.

To understand Vedic cosmology, therefore, we need to grasp only one key idea: namely that space and time are hierarchical rather than linear. This can be both a scientific construct, and is consistent with everyday notions of space and time. The scientific basis of this space-time is the existence of meanings or what we call wholes beyond parts. The mathematical foundations of this space-time requires the rejection of some assumptions in Euclidean geometry, which the book discusses in greater detail.

8.The Theory of Light

A direct consequence of this viewpoint is that light does not go in straight lines. Rather it goes up and down the tree. To go from one leaf to another, you cannot jump from leaf to leaf. Rather, you must traverse up to the branch where the two leaves are joined. To go between farther leaves, you have to traverse even more branches until you find the branch from which both the leaves have grown. The physical proximity of the leaves therefore has no bearing on the real hierarchical distance between the leaves. Things that appear rather close can actually be quite far apart, while things that appear far apart may be quite close. Thus a new notion of “distance” is created, which is not physical.

In this new notion of distance, an astronaut traveling in his or her space suit is like a leaf swaying on its branch: this swaying does not attach the leaf to a new branch. There are clearly limits to this swaying, without detaching from the branch, and similarly, there are limits to how far we can travel in space in this body. If the leaf sways too far, it will break off from the branch, and the astronaut will die.

It is thus not possible to travel to other parts of the universe without rising up the tree, which in turn involves changing the body and mind of the traveler. Essentially, to travel, the old leaf must disappear and a new leaf must grow on a different branch. The time taken in this travel is the time it takes to modify one meaning to another. If meanings can be changed rapidly—because the logically prior meanings have been acquired—then the time is short, because one only needs to change the body. If, however, the mind has not been modified, then simply a bodily change cannot take us to a new location.

All distances in Vedic cosmology are described in terms of this new notion of “distance”. It is not physical distance, but a “semantic” distance, which represents the effort and time it takes to modify one idea into another. This motion is not like running a car on a road. It is like the car modifying into a truck. Travel in the universe is therefore not like motion of objects with a fixed design. It is rather like one object modifying into another. This modification doesn’t simply need motion; it needs a rearrangement of the parts, discarding some parts, and creating new parts. In other words, you need a completely different design. This design is the mind of the traveler, who acquires a new kind of body.

9.Flat vs. Round Descriptions

The vertical dimension in the universe is therefore not the vertically upwards dimension in physical space. The vertical dimension rather represents the branches and trunks which are logically prior to the leaves. All the leaves are therefore at the same “level”; the twigs are “higher” level, the trunks are even “higher” and the root is the “highest”. We cannot see these higher levels through our senses, just as we cannot see the mind, intellect, ego or morality through our senses of perception.

To understand Vedic cosmology, therefore, the three-dimensional physical world has to be understood as a two-dimensional “plane” in which all the leaves are at the same level, the branches are the same levels, the trunks are at the same level, etc. If we think in terms of a physical space, we can never understand Vedic cosmology, because the higher and lower will simply mean some elevation or depression in physical space. How the physical three dimensional world is reduced to a two-dimensional conceptual space requires a deeper dive into modern physics where two properties—position and momentum—are used to completely describe the state of an object. The two dimensions used in modern science correspond to two ordinary ideas—what an object is and what it can do.

A knife can be used to cut, saw, and hit, although other things can also be used to cut, saw, and hit. Therefore, the nature of an object doesn’t specify its uses, although it limits the uses. Similarly, a certain type of use doesn’t fix the object, although it limits the possible objects. Two properties are therefore necessary to completely specify a state, and this space of two properties is called phase space in modern science. The two-dimensional flat description represents a phase space rather than physical space. Vedic cosmology is therefore not describing a physical space, but a conceptual space in which the properties of an object are completely specified simply by their location in space. Since two properties are necessary to specify the state completely, there are two dimensions. These two properties are measured by two kinds of senses in Sāńkhya—the senses of knowledge and action.

This leads to the question: If the space is flat, why do we see it as three dimensional? There are two reasons for this. First, the three dimensional space we see through our senses, is only one dimension of the phase space—denoted by the senses of perception (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell); the second dimension is for the senses of action (holding, walking, speaking, procreating, and evacuating), which we never see by our five senses, although the mind perceives it. Second, this single dimension of visible space is divided in three ways by the three modes of nature to denote three types of ideas. For example, color is represented by three ideas like cyan, magenta, and yellow, and to completely denote all the colors, these three colors must denote three dimensions, forming a color sphere.

In reality, each sense has its own three dimensional space, and they are not identical. For instance, the three dimensions perceived by the tongue are different from the three dimensions perceived by the eyes; the three dimensions of the tongue denote different kinds of tastes, while the three dimensions of the eyes denote different kinds of colors. But the mind mixes them up and produces a combined picture. Our materialist intellect then interprets this combined picture as a single “external” world. Thus distinct three dimensional spaces for each sense are combined into a single three dimensional space.

The real space in Vedic cosmology is three-dimensional. Of these three dimensions, we sensually perceive only one dimension—through the five senses of perception. This space is then further divided to produce a three dimensional “picture” of the single dimension. At the level of the mind, this space becomes nine dimensional, when we can see what an object is, what it does, and other abstract concepts from which this object has been derived. At the level of intellect, this space becomes 27 dimensional, and at the level of ego, it becomes 81 dimensional. At successive levels, the space acquires more dimensions. In one sense the universe has more dimensions or types than we can see sensually. In another sense, there are only three types—the three modes of nature—which form a three dimensional space. A deeper understanding of Sāńkhya is necessary to grasp this description of space.

The round Earth is a three dimensional blowup of a single dimensional reality perceived by the senses of perception. A more complete description of this Earth, involves a six dimensional phase space perceived by the senses of action and knowledge, and these six dimensions are actually blowups of a flat two dimensional space, perceived by the mind as the ideas of what a thing is and what it can do. There is no contradiction between flat and round Earths, as long as we understand what they mean. The flat Earth description, however, is a superior description based on the fact that it is more complete.

10.Heliocentric vs. Geocentric Descriptions

Both heliocentric and geocentric models currently used postulate that all the planets are in the same plane, called the ecliptic. In the Vedic model, these planets are not in a plane; rather planets such as Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, etc. are successively higher from the Earth. Therefore, the Vedic model is different from both heliocentric and geocentric models. The “heights” are in a semantic space, not in physical space. In other words, these planets represent higher nodes in a tree through which light passes in going from one location to another. When I’m seeing the computer screen while writing this post, the light is not traveling in a straight line from the computer to my eyes in a physical space. Rather, the light is information that travels up the tree, passes through one or more of the planets, and then enters the senses. The objects on Earth are like leaves, and the other planets are higher nodes. The informational transfer between two objects is not occurring between two objects because of direct “line of sight” between the objects but because these planets are involved in the transactions.

11.The Description of a Material Transaction

In Vedic philosophy, all perception involves three parts: ādibhautika or the object being seen, ādiatmika or the observer’s senses, and the ādidaivika which is the demigod controlling this perception. In this case, the computer that I’m seeing is ādibhautika, my senses (eyes) are ādiatmika but the light doesn’t travel directly between the computer and the eyes. Rather, this light goes up to a planet where a demigod controls the transfer of information and approves this transaction, based on prior karma.

As a sidebar to this, it is important to note that the current scientific view that light travels at some fixed speed must be rejected to arrive at this view. Information always travels instantaneously but it takes time to be absorbed, depending on how well the receiver is prepared to absorb the information. For instance, if a teacher wants to impart information to a student, the rate at which the student can learn does not continually improve by increasing the teacher’s proximity to the student. Rather, the student has to learn the prior concepts, so that the new concepts can be acquired. In that sense, the hurdle in learning is not the time taken for the sound from the teacher’s mouth to the student’s ear; the hurdle is in the student’s ability to absorb that sound, understand it, and integrate it in his or her mind.

The time taken to transfer information can be zero, but the time taken to absorb this information could still be finite. In the simplest case, the time taken in transfer and absorption are both zero. In other cases, both could be finite. The speed of light overturns this idea: it takes zero time to absorb, but finite time to transfer. The empirical observations only measure the delay between the emission and absorption. This delay can be attributed either to the transfer or the absorption. The Vedic and scientific views are opposite in this respect. Any idea can come to us instantly if we are prepared to receive it.

The implication is that the planets that control the karma are higher nodes in the tree, and information goes up and down this tree. The demigods thus exercise control on all our perception and activity, directing them towards those entities where the corresponding karma can be vectored. For example, if you were donating money, which particular individuals will get that money is controlled by their karma and by the demigods. The demigods therefore redirect information flow, thus matching the source and destination of the information instantaneously, although absorption takes time.

Those of you who find this idea problematic, must consider the fact that matching of source and destinations presents a serious problem in modern quantum physics, because unless the destination has been decided, the source cannot emit. But how can the source decide the destination if all destinations are equally likely? Moreover, if the source is light-years away, then this star cannot emit unless it decides that I am the destination, and it cannot know that I even exist if the knowledge of my presence takes many years to reach the star. If the star is 100 light years away, then at my birth, a signal can travel to the star indicating that I have been born. The star will receive this signal after 100 years. Then it can decide to emit another signal, which will arrive after another 100 years, by which time I would have died. In effect, this entails that a source-to-destination transaction occurs when the destination doesn’t exist, which is a contradiction of how quantum theory describes quantum phenomena.

This problem is called nonlocality in quantum theory, but it arises only if we suppose that light takes a finite time to ‘travel’ from one place to another. The problem disappears if the time is spent in absorption, for then, we can identify those instances when it doesn’t take any time to absorb because all the information that is necessary for a new idea to be accepted already exists. But this view also requires us to treat light as meaning rather than as a physical entity. The transfer of meaning is not random, and not defined by the meaning itself. It is rather produced by a material entity called karma and controlled by the demigods, and this process should be understood to understand cosmology.

12.The World is Different

Vedic cosmology is very vast and Mystic Universe captures only limited parts of the Vedic description. However, to understand even this limited description, all fundamental concepts in modern science have to be reformulated. This includes ordinary ideas such as that space is three dimensional, that light travels in a straight line, that light takes a finite time to travel, that matter is objects without meaning, that there is nothing ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ in the universe because parts of the universe are essentially similar, that the Earth goes around the Sun in an ecliptic plane, that the Earth is a sphere that rotates on its axis, that the axis is tilted which causes the changing of seasons, etc. Any attempt to “reconcile” modern and Vedic cosmologies is likely to end in serious compromises and contradictions.

If, however, we are prepared to resolve the problems in modern science and overturn the current scientific concepts, then a completely new theory of nature emerges, which changes our view of the world. Mystic Universe describes these changes and the new worldview that follows.

If you are further interested in the subject matter please visit www.ashishdalela.com

Harinama in Auckland, New Zealand, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of SriSri Gaura Nitai and Jagannath, Subhadra, and Baladev. (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Worship of the Lord, whose name is like the sun, for just as a slight appearance of the sun dissipates the darkness of night, so a slight appearance of the holy name of Krishna can drive away all the darkness of ignorance that arises in the heart due to greatly sinful activities performed in previous lives. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.62)
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Are we the makers of our destiny or is life pre-destined? In the Mahabharata, Vidura explained to Dhritarastra, “Destiny determines the consequences of our actions, not our actions themselves.” This means that we are not like programmed robots that have no free will, or no choice. Our past karma does determine what will happen in our life, but it does not determine how we will react to it. Destiny is something like a weather forecast on a journey. A weather forecast can tell us whether our journey from one place to another is going to be snowy or sunny. But it does not determine what we do during the journey. Continue reading "Is Destiny In Your Hand
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Many times devotees try to reconcile this essentially Christian concept with Vedic understanding, but end up writing lengthy explanations that do not always satisfy the curiosity. This is because it is mostly incompatible with the truths of Bhagavad-Gita, for it has to be broken down in a simplified manner to give a satisfactory and brief explanation. Predestination As we may know, the five truths covered by Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, namely Krishna, the jiva souls, nature, time and action or karma are revealed. Of these, karma or action does not fit in to the predestination scheme. Yes, we can argue that our actions determine our ‘predestination’ or fate, but this is not the predestination of God’s doing. Continue reading "Free Will vs Predestination – Easily Explained
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ISKCON Vapi Rath Yatra 2016 - with elephants and camels (Album with 615 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The names of the Lord and the Lord are non-different. So Lord Krishna’s instructions to Arjuna to “remember Me” and Lord Caitanya’s injunction to “always chant the names of Lord Krishna” are the same instruction. (Bhagavad-gita, Introduction)
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Kumbha Mela: an amazing festival of Harinam and Prasad Distribution! (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: Blissful Harinama Sankirtan with Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Srila Prabhupada! Every evening, we go with our Gaura Nitai Padayatra Ratha throughout the Mela showering all the pilgrims with the Nectar of the Holy Name! Morning and evening we distribute thousands of plates of Prasadam! Check out our Mela Kitchen! Set up and manned by our devotees from ISKCON Chowpatty!
Thousands of pilgrims relishing full plates of Krishna Prasadam!
Special dining area for our donors and special guests. Today the RAF, Rapid Action Force, came!
Even a stove for making nans!
Notice the rail tracks for transferring the pots!
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To spread awareness of the importance of cows and their well-being for a peaceful and prosperous society, the devotees at New Vraja Dham organise a special festival every spring to celebrate the first grazing of the cows after a cold winter. The festival, held on 16 April 2016, had some very special guests this year. Organised by Mrs. Kavita Chhabra, wife of the Indian ambassador in Budapest, a group of the members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Hungary came to see NVD. 

Academic Conference at Harvard Highlights ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary.
Over the weekend of April 22nd to 24th, more than thirty scholars met at Harvard University’s Center for the Study of World Religions to talk about the growth, impact, and challenges of ISKCON since its inception in July 1966. Participants included some of the earliest scholars ever to study the Hare Krishna Movement, such as retired professors Thomas J. Hopkins and Larry Shinn, as well as the retired head of the British Council of Churches’ Committee on Interfaith, Kenneth Cracknell. Also in attendance were scholars who are themselves practitioners of bhakti-yoga and members of ISKCON, including Ravi M. Gupta, William Deadwyler, and Edith Best.
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Chaitanya Charitamrita, which is said to be written by Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami’s own hand. Relish these beautiful photos taken by the BRC Manuscripts Mission Team on a recent visit to Jhamatpur, the birthplace of Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami, (author of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita.)
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Harinama in Arbat Street, in the historical centre of Moscow (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: I do not know how much nectar the two syllables “Krs-na” have produced. When the holy name of Krishna is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 4.71 purport, Vidagdha-Madhava 1.12)
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Jhansi Ratha Yatra (Album with photos)
All glories unto Jhansi. The city where Srila Prabhupada made his first attempt to create a society of devotees which he later on did: ISKCON. In Jhansi Srila Prabhupada started “ The League of Devotees”. In Jhansi Srila Prabhupada initiated his first disciple Acarya Prabhuakar Das who was around not long go.
It was a wonderful Ratha yatra. It is worth going every year.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/fSMFpD

Kingsday 2016 Harinama, Amsterdam, Holland (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds of millions of names such as Krishna and Govinda. In these spiritual names you have invested all of Your transcendental potencies, and there are no hard and fast rules for chanting these names. (Sri Siksastakam, text 2)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/7aZida

Devotees in Stockholm, Sweden, are campaigning to save their Hare Krishna Center, which has served the public for 34 years and is the oldest Hindu temple in the city. Every three years so far, the Center has renewed its lease with its landlord, Familjebostader (Family Residences), a property company that is owned by the Municipality of Stockholm and builds properties for public benefit. But in December 2014, the company cancelled ISKCON’s rental contract, with plans to use the building for another purpose.

Ecstatic Harinam during King’s day celebration in Amsterdam, Holland. Probably the world’s largest street chanting party! (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: All glories to the all-blissful holy name of Sri Krishna, which causes the devotee to give up all conventional religious duties, meditation and worship. When somehow or other uttered even once by a living entity, the holy name awards him liberation. The holy name of Krishna is the highest nectar. It is my very life and my only treasure. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 4.71 purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hU0dfY

By Zayani Bhatt

As a part of ISKCON’s 50th year celebrations, devotees from Bhaktivedanta Manor, academics from around the country and students from Bath Spa University gathered at the picturesque and quaint university on Saturday 23rd April to talk about their shared interest in the Hare Krishna movement. The day, organised in collaboration with Religions, Philosophies and Ethics at the University, was dedicated to talks, presentations and a panel discussion on the history of ISKCON including its greatest achievements and challenges, its position within the larger British Hindu community and its future and the potential challenges it may experience going forward into the next fifty years.

The academics included Dr Dermott Killingley who used to be of Newcastle University and Professor Kim Knott of Lancaster University, both of whom have extensively studied the Holy Scriptures such as the Bhagavat Gita, and the theology and practice of Srila Prabhupada’s movement.

Professor Kim Knott conducted her PhD on ISKCON, which enabled her to spend a week at the temple and experience and enjoy the practical aspects of Krishna conscious life such as garland making and the 4am aarti. She spoke openly and positively about ISKCON’s development within the UK: from engagement with the Beatles to enter the awareness of the British public, to the arduous struggle with local government over planning permission, to the establishment of education with the Krishna Avanti schools and the College of Vedic Studies. Professor Knott also noted that despite the various conceptions the public has had, over the years with the identity of the movement; from the Indian-isation of it given the mostly white disciples of Prabhupada, to its Hindu-isation in order to fit into the British Indian society, it has retained its theological philosophy whilst trying to engage with and serve the wider Hindu community.

Dr Killingley, one of the country’s most advanced Sanskrit speakers and a senior associate researcher at University of Oxford’s Centre for Hindu Studies, spoke at length about the history of ISKCON within the Vaishnava tradition as a whole. There is often debate about whether Krishna Consciousness is a new religion or not and Dr Killingley explained, that, the movement began fifty years ago by Srila Prabupada is a new version of a much older practice of Gaudiya Vaishnavism started in Bengal by Lord Chaitanya. This, in turn was a new version of a much older custom. In a wonderfully clear and succinct manner, Dr Killingley also explained bhakti, the different loving relationships one may have with God and the concept of Krishna Lila.

Rasamandala Das gave a presentation on the education ISKCON provides and the aims of this education, including further propagation of Krishna Consciousness in the future. As a devotee, he proposed that education, along with ethics are key areas for ISKCON, both looking inwards, especially at training for leadership roles and in engaging with the wider western world. The academics, Gauri Das, Rasamandala Das and Dr Suzanne Newcombe, a research officer at INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) engaged in a panel discussion about their first encounter with ISKCON, whether it can be considered a new religious movement and the future challenges ISKCON might face such as environmental issues and its stance on transgender.

Conference goers were also treated to a demonstration of aarti with its meaning and spiritual purpose, a short skit by the Bhaktivedanta Players, a traditional Bharatnatyam dance and a rousing musical rendition of the mahamantra. The essence of the day as explained by Devaki Dasi, the ISKCON 50 UK National Coordinator was that “there were people from all walks of life and every single one of them was interested in the Hare Krishna movement. There was a deep appreciation of our society.” Ultimately for the devotees however, it was a learning experience. In the words of guest His Grace Vraja Bihari das Brahmachari from Mumbai, “we are here to learn. Often when we are spiritual, we miss the world around us. By engaging with academics, we have a great opportunity to see and hear, from the benches, how far we have come. It helps us to better engage with others and improve.”

April 29. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Asking Michael Grant for Help.
A week passed, and no one had found a suitable place for the Swami. One day Prabhupada suggested that he and Carl take a walk up to Michael Grant’s place and ask him to help.
Mike: I was awakened one morning very early, and Carl was on the phone saying, “Swamiji and I were just taking a walk, and we thought we’d come up and see you.” I said, “But it’s too early in the morning.” And he said, “Well, Swamiji wants to see you.” They were very near by, just down the street, so I had to quickly get dressed, and by the time I got to the door they were there.
I was totally unprepared, but invited them up. The television had been on from the previous night, and there were some cartoons on. The Swami sat between Carl and me on the couch. I was keeping a pet cat, and the cat jumped up on Swamiji’s lap, and he abruptly knocked it off onto the floor. We began to talk, but Swamiji glanced over at the cartoons on the television set and said, “This is nonsense.” Suddenly I realized that the television was on and that it was nonsense, and I got up very quickly saying, “Why, yes, it is nonsense,” and turned it off.
As Prabhupada talked, he tried to impress on Mike how difficult it was for him to live with Carl and Eva, and Mike listened. But was the Swami so sure he couldn’t go back to the Bowery loft and live with David Allen? Except for that one incident, it had been a nice setup, hadn’t it? Prabhupada explained that David had become a madman from too much LSD. He was dangerous. Mike gave the Swami a half-incredulous look – David Allen, dangerous? Prabhupada then told a story: “There’s an old saying in India that you get yourself a spiritual master, you sit opposite him, you learn everything from him that you can, then you kill him, you move his body to one side, and then you sit in his place, and you become the guru.” As Prabhupada spoke, Mike began to feel that David was dangerous, so he didn’t ask for any more details.
Mike could see that Swamiji was appealing to him for help, and as they all sat together on the couch, Mike and Carl quietly nodded in agreement. The Swami was looking at Mike, and Mike was trying to think.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=7

Asking Michael Grant for Help

Tesla Motors unveiled the Tesla Model ≡ last month. I've been meaning to write about it for a while. Here's my thoughts:

First of all, watch the unveiling by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Elon Musk famously never rehearses his presentations as he is too busy. He makes them up on the spot. This one seems a bit more rehearsed than "never". Maybe he practiced it once. He has a lovingly awkward super-genius style of presenting. I think it's great. 

I thoroughly recommend reading the Elon Musk biography by Ashlee Vance. It gives a great understanding about how Mr Musk things and why is he so driven to do the amazing things he and his companies do.

So, what's so special about this car? 

It's relatively fast (0-100km/h in under 6 seconds), it has relatively long range (350km on one charge) and it's going to be relative cheap (USD $35,000 for the base model). It's also been pre-ordered by a bunch of people, so good luck getting on in the first few years of production.

The reason it's so (relatively) cheap it that Tesla has built the Gigafactory, the biggest battery factory in the world. The economies of scale of that factory mean Tesla can product lithium-ion batteries cheaper and better than anyone else in the world. The Gigafactory will produce more batteries than the entire rest of the world's battery production combined.

The design of the car has people divided. I think it looks great. Other people don't like the unfamiliar front of the car, a design without an air-intake grill. Electric cars don't have a hot-running combustion engine to cool, so the air-intake is unnecessary.

The car is shaped for maximum aerodynamics with a drag coefficient of 0.21. The lower the drag coefficient, the less wind resistance a car experiences as it drives at high speed. Less wind resistance equals better power efficiency, as less power is required to pushing the car through the air.

The XL1 might be slippery, but, oh boy, is that thing ugly. The Model 3 looks wonderful by comparison. Note that Tesla will continue to optimise the aerodynamics of the Model 3, so the drag coefficient might improve more before release.

See how on the XL1 the rear wheels are covered over? That greatly contributes to an improved drag coefficient because the spinning wheels cause a lot of turbulence, adding drag and slowing the car down, but those wheel covers make the car look really weird. Tesla did something really clever to get the best of both worlds. They designed a special kind of turbine hub cap that redirects the passing air underneath the car, reducing the wheels' drag.

I'm a bit disappointed that the Model 3 is a sedan and not a hatchback (hidden details video has some explanation about why). Watch this test drive of the Model 3. At the end of the video they open the trunk/boot of the car. While it doesn't have the extra storage space behind the rear head-rests that a hatchback would have, it does have an incredibly deep trunk and a frunk for additional storage. A frunk is a "front trunk". Because there is no need for a big combustion engine under the hood of the car, there is storage extra space there instead. The battery is along the base of the car. 

Finally, here is an excellent overview of the Model 3 and the Gigafactory with lots of great pictures of the new car.  

Tesla Motors unveiled the Tesla Model ≡ last month. I've been meaning to write about it for a while. Here's my thoughts:

First of all, watch the unveiling by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Elon Musk famously never rehearses his presentations as he is too busy. He makes them up on the spot. This one seems a bit more rehearsed than "never". Maybe he practiced it once. He has a lovingly awkward super-genius style of presenting. I think it's great. 

I thoroughly recommend reading the Elon Musk biography by Ashlee Vance. It gives a great understanding about how Mr Musk things and why is he so driven to do the amazing things he and his companies do.

So, what's so special about this car? 

It's relatively fast (0-100km/h in under 6 seconds), it has relatively long range (350km on one charge) and it's going to be relative cheap (USD $35,000 for the base model). It's also been pre-ordered by a bunch of people, so good luck getting on in the first few years of production.

The reason it's so (relatively) cheap it that Tesla has built the Gigafactory, the biggest battery factory in the world. The economies of scale of that factory mean Tesla can product lithium-ion batteries cheaper and better than anyone else in the world. The Gigafactory will produce more batteries than the entire rest of the world's battery production combined.

The design of the car has people divided. I think it looks great. Other people don't like the unfamiliar front of the car, a design without an air-intake grill. Electric cars don't have a hot-running combustion engine to cool, so the air-intake is unnecessary.

The car is shaped for maximum aerodynamics with a drag coefficient of 0.21. The lower the drag coefficient, the less wind resistance a car experiences as it drives at high speed. Less wind resistance equals better power efficiency, as less power is required to pushing the car through the air.

The XL1 might be slippery, but, oh boy, is that thing ugly. The Model 3 looks wonderful by comparison. Note that Tesla will continue to optimise the aerodynamics of the Model 3, so the drag coefficient might improve more before release.

See how on the XL1 the rear wheels are covered over? That greatly contributes to an improved drag coefficient because the spinning wheels cause a lot of turbulence, adding drag and slowing the car down, but those wheel covers make the car look really weird. Tesla did something really clever to get the best of both worlds. They designed a special kind of turbine hub cap that redirects the passing air underneath the car, reducing the wheels' drag.

I'm a bit disappointed that the Model 3 is a sedan and not a hatchback (hidden details video has some explanation about why). Watch this test drive of the Model 3. At the end of the video they open the trunk/boot of the car. While it doesn't have the extra storage space behind the rear head-rests that a hatchback would have, it does have an incredibly deep trunk and a frunk for additional storage. A frunk is a "front trunk". Because there is no need for a big combustion engine under the hood of the car, there is storage extra space there instead. The battery is along the base of the car. 

Finally, here is an excellent overview of the Model 3 and the Gigafactory with lots of great pictures of the new car.  

As usual, Thursday night programs at Govindas Asrama in Darlinghurst are great.

On other nights there is mainly kirtan and wonderful prasadam served to the guests.

However, on Thursday, there is a mix of kirtan with philosophy and of course sumptuous prasadam. Generally around 25 or 30 guests attend.

Indradyumna Swami and hist team visited the famous Confucius Institute in Qufu, China, the hometown of Confucius, the famous Chinese philosopher and teacher. During their two day stay Maharaja gave a seminar on Krsna consciousness and had ecstatic kirtans with the students. A video by Ananta Vrindavan.

The day, organised in collaboration with Religions, Philosophies and Ethics at the University, was dedicated to talks, presentations and a panel discussion on the history of ISKCON including its greatest achievements and challenges, its position within the larger British Hindu community and its future and the potential challenges it may experience going forward into the next fifty years.