Planet ISKCON

On the afternoon of 4th February, 2016, HH Radhanath Maharaja visited ISKCON desire tree (IDT).

A treasury of memory

He first came to the flat where I do video recordings – I think of it as my digital bhajan kutir. When he saw a picture of Srila Prabhupada in the studio, he immediately said, “This is from New Vrindavan. It was in 1972, Kirtananada Maharaja was near Prabhupada and I was there too, standing where you are.” He pointed to where I was standing. Looking closely at the picture and then at me, he said, “No, I was not that close. I was where Vaishnava Seva Prabhu is.” He pointed to a spot a couple of feet away. Maharaja gazed at the picture for several long moments – it was clear that he was in a different world.

As I was observing Maharaja, another similar incident flashed through my mind. A few months ago when I had met Giriraja Maharaja in America, I had given him my book Prabhupada: The moments that made the movement. On seeing some of the pictures of Srila Prabhupada in that book, He too had become momentarily lost in devotional absorption.

It struck me that Srila Prabhupada’s disciples have a treasury that we his grand-disciples don’t. They have such rich memories of Prabhupada, something that we can relish only as long as they are still with us on this planet. After that, we will be bereaved of that great treasure of personal memories of the person who has changed the course of Vaishnava history.

As Maharaja turned to leave, he again turned back to the picture and said to me, “I helped make that vyasasana which Prabhupada was sitting on. It was 1972, and I was not even initiated – I hadn’t even shaved my hair. But I got to help in making that vyasasana, and Prabhupada sat on it every day when he gave class. After that, it was taken to the bramachari ashram and used there for many years.”

As we left the flat, Maharaja asked me about my realizations from my US visit. As we had just started speaking, we reached the IDT office, and our discussion was cut short.

“Even I am inspired by Vaishnava Seva Prabhu’s dedication”

IDT office is actually the same as Vaishnava Seva Prabhu’s home. He has taken two adjacent flats and merged them into an improvised office. He is a respected surgeon, Dr Bimal Shah, specializing in laproscopic surgery and heading the Department of Laproscopic Surgery at the Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mira Road, Mumbai. His wife Dr Kshama Shah (Kalindi Mataji) is chief anesthesiologist at the same hospital. Both of them stay in just one room and his father stays in another room. He keeps a guest room for visiting devotees, usually those who want to recuperate after treatment at the Bhaktivedanta Hospital. The rest of the home is used as workspace for over a dozen employees.

From this inconspicuous base has issued a gigantic digital outreach of Krishna’s message. Iskcondesiretree.com has 23.000 members and over 11,000 unique daily visitors. The reach is spread further through over 70 sites and over 100 apps. From audio.iskcondesiretree.com, 7000 audio files are downloaded daily. And IDT’s youtube channel is viewed for 120,000 minutes daily.

Maharaj entered IDT office and sat on a sofa. Vaishnava Seva Prabhu outlined briefly the history of IDT starting with how decades ago he had been doing audio recording of Maharaja’s classes and handling the tape ministry, library and sound system in Radha Gopinath temple. Maharaja nodded and, speaking to everyone, appreciated Vaishnava Seva Prabhu’s commitment and versatility, saying that he is not just a high-class surgeon, but also an architect – he designed and oversaw the building of the Bhaktivedanta Hospital. Maharaja turning to Vaishnava Seva Prabhu said that we discussed what color the building should be and what kind of windows we should have. Maharaja appreciated him, saying that it’s amazing that he is able to do so much in twenty-four hours.

Vaishnava Seva Prabhu, pointing to his wife, said, “Due credit for whatever I have done goes to my better half too.” Maharaja nodded and smilingly said, “I was going to say that, but I was waiting for you to say that. It is more appropriate if you acknowledge that rather than I tell you that.”

As everyone laughed, Kalindi Mataji humbly said, “Maharaja, this is what I can do; I cannot preach like other Matajis, but I can do this small service.” Maharaja replied, “This is not a small service; it is a huge service.”

During his subsequent talk addressed to everyone assembled there, Maharaja said, “All over the world people tell me that they get lectures from ISKCON desire tree. I travel all over the world spending so much time and energy, but I can’t reach as many people with all that traveling as you can reach just by pressing a few buttons.”

After a moment’s thought, he added, “Even what I speak can’t reach as many people by my traveling as it can by your pressing a few buttons – you are all doing a very valuable service.”

Thereafter, Maharaja aptly and insightfully expanded on the name ISKCON desire tree. Sometimes, some names become so integrated into our functional vocabulary that we overlook their transcendental import. That’s what had happened to me with respect to the name ISKCON desire tree, I realized while hearing Maharaja’s talk. Maharaja spoke, “Every tree begins with a tiny seed, and as it is nourished, it grows and finally gives fruits. ISKCON desire tree started as a small seed in the recording space at Radha Gopinath temple, and from that seed now it has grown so big that it is giving thousands of fruits, millions of fruits, unlimited fruits, to people all over the world.”

After speaking for a few minutes, he brought his talk to a beautiful conclusion: “Lord Chaitanya when he was in Varanasi said that he had so many fruits of love of God to distribute, but had only two hands to distribute them, so he needed helping hands. All of you are his helping hands, assisting Lord Chaitanya and Srila Prabhupada in distributing those fruits.”

When his talk ended, I mentioned to Maharaj, “Vaishnava Seva P is not just funding and facilitating IDT – he is also pioneering it. Whenever any new technological initiative comes up, he is in the forefront, learning it himself first, then teaching it to his staff. That’s how he diversified from audios to videos and recently to mobile apps. He works all day as a surgeon and late into the night for IDT. He is so dedicated that although I am a brahmachari, I am inspired by his dedication.” Maharaja smiled and replied, “I am a sannyasi and I too am inspired by his dedication.”

After Maharaja’s talk, when Vaishnava Seva Prabhu was leading Maharaja to a small video studio inside his house, I mentioned to Maharaja that I had recorded 75 lectures on the Mahabharata here. Intrigued, Maharaja said, “75 lectures?” and followed Vaishnava Seva Prabhu inside. On seeing the four tiny rooms, Maharaja turned to me and asked, “Where did you record those 75 classes?” When Vaishnava Seva Prabhu pointed to the place, Maharaja immediately realized that the room was too small for anyone else to be sitting with the camera. So he asked me, “You sit alone in front of a camera and speak?” When I nodded, Maharaja said, half-jokingly, “I can’t speak in front of a camera; I become speechless. You are sitting in one small room and are reaching out to so many people.”

When Maharaja was leaving, he remembered and asked me about my US trip. But his secretary had earlier told me that Maharaj had to go for another meeting. So I told Maharaj that as I didn’t want to delay him, I would work out with his secretary the time for a meeting later. Maharaj nodded, embraced me and said, “You are doing such amazing service. I am proud of you.”

Affection beyond affliction

While Maharaja’s words were certainly memorable for me, the most revealing and edifying part of his visit was his conversation with Vaishnava Seva P’s father (I will refer to him as Mr Shah). He is afflicted with dementia, and has periods of lucidity that alternate with phases of incoherence. Maharaja’s visit was a period of lucidity, though there were a few moments of incoherence in between. Yet Maharaja treated him with respect and attention throughout.

After seeing IDT, when Maharaja was about to leave, Mr Shah suddenly spoke out loud, “I once fought with you.” As several of the devotees gasped at the outburst, Maharaja turned around, peered at Mr Shah and returned to his seat. Mr Shah continued, “I had a verbal fight with you when he (pointing to Vaishnava Seva P) left me to go to you. Do you remember?” Maharaja replied, “Yes, I remember. That was a natural expression of your affection for your son. So I respected it.” After a pause, Maharaja added, “I didn’t agree with it, but I respected it.”

Mr Shah then reminisced several defining incidents in his life, including the time when he had a bypass surgery. At that time, Maharaj, Mr Mafatlal (Krishna Chandra Prabhu) and Mr Desai (Srinathaji Prabhu) had come to see him in the hospital. Vaishnava Seva Prabhu, who was giving us a running commentary to his father’s recollections, elaborated, “Those visits changed his attitude – he started feeling that devotees really cared for him.”

After a brief pause, Mr Shah told Maharaja, “Although I fought with you once, now I like you. You know why?” Maharaja remained silent and shook his head slightly. Pointing towards his son, Mr Shah said, “Because you changed him.”

After mentioning a few other incidents, Mr Shah suddenly said, “My memory is very sharp. Be careful.” Maharaja replied with gravity in his voice and joviality on his face: “Yes, I will be very careful.”

After a few moments of silence, Mr Shah said, “I am a Jain, but I appreciate Vaishnavism.” Maharaja nodded, “Therefore, you are a Vaishnava, and he (pointing to Vaishnava Seva P) is Vaishnava Seva. I am proud of the way he is taking care of you.”

While Mr Shah was speaking, intelligibly but disconnectedly, jumping from one incident to another, Maharaja gave him his full attention, as if he had all the time in the world. Finally, Vaishnava Seva Prabhu mentioned discreetly to his father that Maharaja had to leave. After his father nodded, Vaishnava Seva Prabhu intimated to Maharaja. Maharaja got up, went to Mr Shah, gave him another tight, long embrace and said, “I am honored to spend time with you.”

I had known that Maharaja always values relationship more than projects. It’s not that he undervalues projects – the many projects that he has inspired are testimony to his commitment to offering doing wonderful projects in Srila Prabhupada’s service. But he keeps relationships at an appropriately high priority. This became evident when he said, “I am proud of your son for the way he is taking care of you.” I found it sobering that Maharaja didn’t say, “I am proud of him for pioneering IDT.” IDT might seem to be a far more special and glorious project than taking care of one’s ailing father, and Maharaja is definitely pleased with the IDT service, as was evident from his earlier talk. But Maharaja’s statements underscored that while doing big things in Krishna’s service, we shouldn’t neglect the ordinary things that define us as human beings and as devotees.

Maharaja has won the hearts of thousands, if not millions, all over the world because of his capacity to connect at the level of the heart with people. That is not a skill we get genetically or learn by some self-help training. We can form heart-to-heart connections with others only when we have genuine respect and concern for them. And Maharaja has always had that in abundance, even from his pre-devotional days.

I remembered an incident during his spiritual search. A sadhu had served spicy khichadi to Maharaja (then Richard Slavin). Although the chili in it was burning him from within, he not only finished all of that khichadi but also accepted a second helping when offered – just to not hurt the feelings of that sadhu.

I also remembered how, during a Pune yatra many years ago, HH Devamrita Maharaja had said, “What amazes me about Radhanatha Maharaja is his ability to maintain so many loving relationships.” I gained a deeper understanding of that appreciation when I meditated how Maharaj had so affectionately and respectfully connected with a person whose affliction would have normally made anything beyond basic greeting difficult.

Vaishnavas are desire trees. Advanced Vaishnavas such as Radhanatha Maharaj are like giant desire trees. I felt grateful to have had the opportunity to behold the lila of a giant desire tree blessing ISKCON desire tree.

The post A giant desire tree blesses ISKCON desire tree appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Please pray for H. H. Vedavyas Priya Swami. He had an emergent cardiac bypass surgery couple days back and is still in ICU. Maharaj is conscious and conversing but he is still in ICU.
Please pray for Maharaj so he recuperates faster. Maharaj is a wonderful Vaishnava who from ICU has been distributing Bhagavad Gita to the staff at the hospital. If anyone of you would like to contribute any donation towards his medical bills, please contact Nila Madhava Prabhu on 443-255-9609. Thank You!

29.01.2016 H.G.Denabhandhu Prabhu_disappr: Ramachandra kaviraj

February 8. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Dissolving the “Illusory Prabhupada”
We have to be patient with ourselves as we serve Prabhupada. It is natural to select certain instructions that we think fit our situations and our personalities. When we try to relate to the spiritual master as preachers, we even encourage newcomers to find something in Prabhupada’s teachings which they can follow wholeheartedly. We just have to be careful not to present a watered down version of what Prabhupada is teaching. Until we are pure, there will always be some trace of compromise in our ability to follow, but we should always seek to increase our surrender and to know internally who our spiritual master is and what he wants from us. Even if there is some trace of illusion in ourselves, ultimately, there is nothing illusory about Prabhupada.
A duality can sometimes exist between Prabhupada as he is and one’s conception of Prabhupada as we want him to be. (There are many “Prabhupada saids” floating around our movement – how often do we hear “Prabhupada said” offered by someone trying to end an argument?) Therefore, it is good for us to expose ourselves to the “real” Prabhupada as he wrote letters to people, as long as we carefully understand the context from which he is speaking. Exposing ourselves to Prabhupada’s books and letters replaces any imagined idea of Prabhupada with the real person. A search for the real Prabhupada has to be in a sensitive and ongoing way.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=5

Dissolving the “Illusory Prabhupada” 

The Veda presents four goals of life. The first is kāma – “pleasure.” This is the root of every goal, for everyone – from insects to gods.

More evolved people, however, don’t just focus on immediate pleasure, they try to insure that they can also enjoy tomorrow. This is the second goal, artha – “wealth.” The purpose of which is to make pleasure sustainable.

Still more evolved people don’t just try to earn wealth, they try to protect it. Eventually they realize that the most effective way to do that is to create a cooperative society where people respect one another’s property and rights. This is the third goal of life, dharma – “morality.”

Very evolved people who pursue pleasure through moral wealth eventually come to realize a few things: (1) the rules of morality are often impositions, they want more freedom, (2) they get tired making money, they need a break, (3) their concept of pleasure seems flawed. Thus, people eventually evolve to desire the fourth goal of life, mokṣa – “liberation.”

The Veda lauds mokṣa as the highest goal of life because liberation is the most refined pleasure, mokṣa is the most refined kāma. It is so because it frees pleasure from being dependent on external objects and situations, and by so doing, frees us from all sources of pain and suffering. Without pain and suffering, we can experience an existence that is carefree, peaceful and tranquil, unbounded, and effortless to maintain.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s school, however, brings out a fifth goal from the Veda – one which Vyāsa makes particularly clear in his book dedicated to it: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. This goal points out that pleasure is not merely freedom from suffering. Within the purely conscious self accessed by a liberated soul, one can discover the Superself; the root of oneself, and the root of everything – Krishna. Discovering this all-important and all-attractive entity, one falls in love!

It is not the love of an external object. It is love for the root of one’s own being! Since the object of love is not extrinsic to one’s own conscious being, it does not have the flaws of external kāma, flaws which demand money (artha) and laws (dharma). It is love built on the freedom and enlightenment of liberation (mokṣa) – but without mokṣa’s shortcoming of merely being tranquil, and not being passionate and thrilling. Love is superior to freedom, because the thrilling pleasure of love vastly outclasses the peaceful pleasure of freedom!

Thus prema truly is the supreme goal of life, the “fifth goal” of the Veda.

1. Sri Krishna promises: “Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Krishna and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.” (8.7)
2. Sri Krishna promises: “Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me, and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” (9.34)
3. Sri Krishna promises: “To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” (10.10)
4. Sri Krishna promises: “My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being—he certainly comes to Me.” (11.55)
5. Sri Krishna promises: “Just fix your mind on Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.” (12.8)
6. Sri Krishna promises: “Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.” (18.65) 

This blog of mine has been pretty neglected for the past few years. It's time to resurrect, re-boot, and restore it to past glory.

Deltaflow is now upgraded it to the latest version of SilverStripe, is running the shiny new blog module. Plus, I've implemented some useful little features, like the recent comments view on the left and automatic cross-posting to Facebook and Twitter.

I plan on writing a lot more blog posts, so watch this space.

This blog of mine has been pretty neglected for the past few years. It's time to resurrect, re-boot, and restore it to past glory.

Deltaflow is now upgraded it to the latest version of SilverStripe, is running the shiny new blog module. Plus, I've implemented some useful little features, like the recent comments view on the left and automatic cross-posting to Facebook and Twitter.

I plan on writing a lot more blog posts, so watch this space.

Gita verse-by-verse study Podcast

Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Gita 09.16 – See beyond the technical to the transcendental appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, November 2015, Vrindavan, India, Video Interview)

Divorce happen because husbands and wives fight like cats and dogs. This happens because Krsna is not in the center. When Krsna is in the center and both husband and wife try to serve and please Krsna then there is no need for divorce. Divorce happens when one becomes self-centered and when one begins to think of one’s own enjoyment, ‘This partner of mine is not supplying my enjoyment! I want somebody else!’  But when husband and wife serve Krsna together and are fully absorbed in serving Krsna there will be no divorce.

The New Gokula Dairy has been operating for about 30 years and there are around 70 cows, bullocks and a bull.

The pasture is rich this year after a good rainfall season and Radha Gokulananda have plenty of milk and milk products, including wonderful yoghurt.

I have Ulcerative Colitis (or perhaps Crohn's Disease – doctors can't quite make up their minds). It is chronic inflammation of the intestine. Nasty white ulcers form on the inside of the intestine, causing bleeding, cramping and preventing me from digesting food.  There is no apparent cause and no cure.

I thought I had the disease under control with a strict diet and regular acupuncture. However, last month I had a major flair-up. I was in hospital for a week, unable to digest even water. My body gradually recovered with the heal of life-saving steroids. However, steroids have lots of side-effects and shouldn't be given long-term.

Speaking with one of the chief gastroenterologists at the hospital, and saying how I was into natural medicine, she remembered that she had read a journal article about the amazing ability for turmeric to help heal the inflammation caused by colitis. 

The researchers did a double-blind scientific study where they gave 150 people with colitis, who weren't responding to conventional treatment, either 3g of concentrated curcumin per day (curcumin is the ingredient in turmeric that has the beneficial medical effects), or a placebo. 50% of those given the curcumin got better, while none of the placebo group improved. This is huge!

Turmeric root contains about 2% curcumin, but most of the curcumin is filtered out by the liver. However, taking the curcumin with a healthy fat like coconut oil, or with black pepper helps it bypass the liver and enter the blood-stream, where it can have its full anti-inflammatory effect. By taking curcumin extract with the fat or pepper, a 1g tablet gives the same benefit as taking 1kg of turmeric root. There is an excellent Nutrition Facts video on boosting the bioavailability of curcumin, and another on the healing power of curcumin. 

I did the research on what curcumin supplement is best and my conclusion is: Doctor's Best Curcumin C3 Complex with BioPerine. (BioPerine is black pepper). I'm taking this every day now. Many thanks to the Margaret's Corner blog for the recommendations.

(Warning: Curcumin and BioPerine do have some side-effects. Curcumin is a blood thinner and can increase the risk of bleeding, it can cause hypoglycemia for those with diabetes, it isn't recommend for someone with gallbladder problems, and it shouldn't be taken during pregnancy. BioPerine can prevent certain pharmaceutical medicine from working. Most notably antibiotics don't do anything if taken with BioPerine.)

I have Ulcerative Colitis (or perhaps Crohn's Disease – doctors can't quite make up their minds). It is chronic inflammation of the intestine. Nasty white ulcers form on the inside of the intestine, causing bleeding, cramping and preventing me from digesting food.  There is no apparent cause and no cure.

I thought I had the disease under control with a strict diet and regular acupuncture. However, last month I had a major flair-up. I was in hospital for a week, unable to digest even water. My body gradually recovered with the heal of life-saving steroids. However, steroids have lots of side-effects and shouldn't be given long-term.

Speaking with one of the chief gastroenterologists at the hospital, and saying how I was into natural medicine, she remembered that she had read a journal article about the amazing ability for turmeric to help heal the inflammation caused by colitis. 

The researchers did a double-blind scientific study where they gave 150 people with colitis, who weren't responding to conventional treatment, either 3g of concentrated curcumin per day (curcumin is the ingredient in turmeric that has the beneficial medical effects), or a placebo. 50% of those given the curcumin got better, while none of the placebo group improved. This is huge!

Turmeric root contains about 2% curcumin, but most of the curcumin is filtered out by the liver. However, taking the curcumin with a healthy fat like coconut oil, or with black pepper helps it bypass the liver and enter the blood-stream, where it can have its full anti-inflammatory effect. By taking curcumin extract with the fat or pepper, a 1g tablet gives the same benefit as taking 1kg of turmeric root. There is an excellent Nutrition Facts video on boosting the bioavailability of curcumin, and another on the healing power of curcumin. 

I did the research on what curcumin supplement is best and my conclusion is: Doctor's Best Curcumin C3 Complex with BioPerine. (BioPerine is black pepper). I'm taking this every day now. Many thanks to the Margaret's Corner blog for the recommendations.

(Warning: Curcumin and BioPerine do have some side-effects. Curcumin is a blood thinner and can increase the risk of bleeding, it can cause hypoglycemia for those with diabetes, it isn't recommend for someone with gallbladder problems, and it shouldn't be taken during pregnancy. BioPerine can prevent certain pharmaceutical medicine from working. Most notably antibiotics don't do anything if taken with BioPerine.)

There were three poor men who always desired great riches. One day a special delivery man handed to each poor man an envelope and informed each man, that within the envelope is a great fortune. The first poor man did not think very much of the envelope, thinking it to be junkmail, he tossed it on a pile of similar mails that was supposed to make him a millionaire, or win a special prize, sweepstakes etc. The second poor man opened the envelope and found a golden card. Thinking it to be real gold, he rushed to jewellery store to ascertain the card's carat or value. The jeweler took one look at the card and began to laugh at the poor man. He remarked that it was just a plastic card, amused at the poor man's foolishness. The poor man felt cheated and threw the card away. The third poor man opened the envelope and found the same gold card. He inspected it carefully and humbly asked the delivery man to explain the significance of the mail. He also found within the envelope a note informing him that this was the prize for a competition he (and the other poor men) entered some time ago. He listened intently to the delivery man, understanding that this was no ordinary delivery boy, but an educated gentleman. The delivery man explained that this competition was sponsored by a charitable benefactor, who handpicked each poor man's name. The prize was a credit card which did not require repayment with and no credit limit. However it was only to be used at selected businesses. He thanked the delivery man profusely and bid him farewell. The poor man understanding his fortunate position began to utilize the credit card to become a very wealthy man. Continue reading "A moral story
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ISKCON Mumbai’s 50th Anniversary Celebration The Joy of Devotion Day 1. Hema Malini At Jamnabai Narsee School Grounds (22 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: Caitanya Mahaprabhu says: “I have brought medicine to awaken very living being from perpetual sleep. Please receive the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and awaken. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.13.9 Purport)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/JwNFWB

According to the shastra, the way to counteract the very deeply strong tendency for possessiveness in the grihastha life is to giving charity to the Vaishnavas and the brahmans, to the mission of the guru. According to the shastra, the first fifty percent you have give it to your guru’s mission. And then whatever else you have, maintain, that is the ideal standard. You never be possessive if you do that, because the first priority with whatever you get goes to Guru and Krishna. You cannot do fifty percent; you should aspire to come as close to that as possible. But that should be the first thing you do with your Laxmi or your wealth or whatever you have. Not that I will take care of my own needs and whatever little is left will see. This is how a grihastha suppose to be trained according to the shastra. Then you will not be possessive, for you should give in charity and you should also always be aspiring to be the humble servant of the servant. And very important that you are always looking of to those who are in a renounced order of life. Continue reading "Possessiveness, for a grihastha
→ Dandavats"

Hare Krsna to all devotees, PAMHO, AGTSP.
I am getting regularly these interesting 'Science Religion' dialogue messages after publication of Why Biology is Beyond Physical Sciences? in Advances in Life Sciences journal by Dr.B.N.Shanta and Dr.B.V.Muni. It has aroused interest in eminent scientists worldwide to discuss about Consciousness,Evolution and Origin of Life once again.
This important service by Srila Prabhupada’s Scientific Sankirtan party must be very pleasing to Srila Prabhupada.I want to share responses for that article with you all for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada.

Reply By Dr.B.N.Shanta to Prof.T.V. Sreenivas
==============================

Dear Prof. T.V. Sreenivas Ji

Namaskar. Here are our replies to your thoughts.

1. Human mind, behavior, psychology, ... functions are not easy to isolate, unlike some other studies of biology or nature. When we are looking at such a highly evolved system, cause-effects are the most difficult to resolve, and each assumption would lead to a different conclusion. We dont have to worry about narrow demarcations of certain scientific disciplines, but go by a overall scientific question of measurables, models, inferences. This approach itself may be considered a limitation, but otherwise we will be floating in subjective opinions and understandings. (meta-physical)
Reply: Materialistic theories in modern science speculate that our thoughts and feelings are (1) outcome of atomic activities in brain, (2) end product of chains of physical causation rooted in atomic motion, (3) electrical impulses somehow shaped by the human nervous system into coherent patterns and so on. Under this limited framework it is difficult to address the real nature of life. This framework insists on direct observation of nature and thus denies any understanding through abstract philosophical reasoning. As we have been stating repeatedly that a child cannot use the higher rational means to grasp the reality and thus he/she tries to know every object by putting those objects inside the mouth. It is only an attempt to imitate a childish mentality that is prevalent in modern science, where scientists try to know everything within their empirically based methodologies. Thus following this attitude modern science only gave importance to the external appearance of reality. However, Quantum Mechanics forced scientists to accept the limits of such a naive approach towards understanding the reality. Until we come out of this puerile way of knowing things we cannot understand properly the deeper aspects of reality like mind (manasā), intelligence (buddhi) and false ego (ahańkāra), consciousness (cit), soul (ātman) and God (Bhagavān).

2. It is clear in computer science that a program can rewrite upon itself; similarly a layered network of neurons can prune itself, thus giving some hints of how a "control system" (loosely speaking) can evolve (or control) itself. There is recent evidence that brain structures form and dissolve in v.short time, indicating the possibility of v.fast adaptations.
Reply: Computer code, by its meaning, is a predetermined representation of information that is independent of the sender, receiver, and mechanisms of transmission {Kreiman G. Neural coding: computational and biophysical perspectives. Phys Life Rev 2004; 1:71-102}. We cannot reduce biological activities (which are driven by sentient principles) to such a simplistic reductionistic view that is commonly practiced in physical sciences. That is why all sincere scientists should know “Why Biology is Beyond Physical Sciences?” and thus they can also help others to overcome the dogmatic stand of materialistic view about living reality.

3. Adaptation, learning, cognition, recognition, conceptualization, ... are all highly pursued technology topics, at least in limited domain problems, not just scientific or philosophical ideas.
Reply: We have not shown by technology how a piece of matter can acquire subjective qualities like adaptation, learning, cognition, recognition, and conceptualization. AI is nothing but a superficial comparison of computational machines with living organisms.

4. Very very sophisticated coordination among various sub-systems of a biological system, seems apparent and necessary for any deeper understanding of behavior. So, there could be some basic schemas which will show a means to construct bigger structures and also adapt themselves in a 'safe and useful" manner. However, the concept of "purpose" hovers large in all biological evolution, which we are yet to pin down.
Reply: The main goal of materialism is to reduce mind to natural processes, which in turn can be translated into the language of math, physics and chemistry. Supporting a hedonic approach to enhance the quality of life, neuroscientists and psychologists believe that by understanding brain states they can enhance fulfillment and eliminate suffering. However, this intent to enhance fulfillment by brain manipulation does not have any available evidential support to link brain states with organism’s subjective behavior. It is difficult to separately understand brain functioning for different pleasures that are derived from basic needs (food, shelter, etc) and monetary, artistic, musical, altruistic, and transcendent pleasures. Materialism could not translate qualia (conscious experiences) into the terms of physical science. Even though it is bluntly presumed that our personality and experiences are outcomes of physical events in brain, materialism could not reduce one individual’s personality/experiences to the same series of physical events as that which underlay another individual’s personality/experiences. Our article “Why Biology is Beyond Physical Sciences?” also states:
“There were several repeated attempts to explain life materially and all of them have repeatedly come full circle, because, physical sciences mostly deal with questions that begin with “what?” and “how?” On the other hand, biological sciences will be incomplete without addressing the functional questions of purpose that begin with “why?””

For more discussions and responses: Please visit: https://goo.gl/ZBc6P3

Humbly in your Service,
Brajgopal Dasa.

Ruchika Srivastava: “In the journey of life, allurements breeze in

Choice is given to us, we refrain or entertain

Pursuit of happiness in the wrong terrain,

Make results uncertain, for a person lamebrain.

On the boat of desires with mind as captain

We go with the flow, caught in illusion’s enchain.

Ups and downs on the way, send us the warning

Of dangers underlain

We feel the stress and strains

Of material nature uncertain.

Then one day finally comes the storm,

Our feelings of attachment twisted and torn

Create a pain, difficult to explain

Makes us realise, all our feelings were in vain

Lost and shattered we look for a guardian

Who then reminds us of Krishna’s divine game

We are not here for any material gain,

Serving the Lord, is our duty main

Served the senses time and again

Mind’s duty is to mistrain

His mercy is pouring like incessant rain,

But are we holding the umbrella

of selfish desires in brain.

Until we are totally purified, experiences are there to train,

Before the next storm comes, hope the lessons learnt retain

In the end, only Krishna will remain

Don’t forget to thank Him, be it pleasure or pain.”

Thank you

Your humble servant

Ruchika

https://flic.kr/s/aHsktUp4Pf

The post Scenes from 2016 parikrama – Vrndavana parikrama appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The nice thing about being ill, if their is such a thing is that it forces you to stop.
Shivering and coughing its hard to chant and even basic care of the deities takes an eternity the material body demonstrates its limitations and reminds me that in many ways in this form time is limited; Srila Prabhupada words “Don’t waste time Chant Hare Krishna rings true”
However illness also gives the opportunity to catch up on things and although the ability to concentrate on reading is impaired one can enjoy the wonderful collection of Srila Prabhupada video’s; now that will inspire you.
I’ve been watching the very early movie collection, you can see the early disciplines struggle answering some basic questions by the reporter’s; but despite this two things stand out:
1) Their love for Srila Prabhupada
2) Their love for chanting Hare Krishna
Despite not having a great philosophical insight they understood the importance of guru and the power of the holy names in solving the world’s problems by firstly solving theirs.
In some ways their is a child like approach, simple surrender, unquestioning but practically experiencing the power of the shelter of Guru and the healing power of reconnecting with Krishna in the form of the holy names.
It makes me wonder if somewhere along the way as a society of Krishna Consciousness we’ve become too proud of our newfound academic prowess?
Greater emphasis is on slokas and completion of courses, without really gaining understanding.
Sat watching between coughs and shivering what comes across in these early videos is great love, in many ways Srila Prabhupada looks his happiest in these early video’s, despite the crazy dancing, odd instruments being played and what would bring outcrys from current leaders of this Krishna Consciousness movement of bad etiquette.
I know the party line, those were exceptional times, we can’t live in the past, we have standards bla bla bla
What attracted me and made me take up devotional life?
It was Love
The love the devotees had for their Guru Maharaja and the chanting of the holy name’s, slowly philosophy came, and indeed I’ve got a long way to go, Krishna Consciousness has so many levels I think even after many lifetimes I won’t get it.
My own initiation remains a defining moment, but again I pray maybe one day my understanding will be as deep as that of my god family; I’m for sure a slow learner.
But personally I think we’ve lost the lesson Srila Prabhupada gave in those early day’s, hung up on standards and enforcement of standards; but Prabhupada knew over time this would come; but first he met them at their own level.
If we’re so high up it becomes or feels unattainable.
Srila Prabhupada cheeted the westerner’s in a very expert way
He understood they were rebelling against authority, establishment, religiosity.
That they wanted to self express, explore but mostly to experience love
So he simply gave them prasadam and kirtan
Bring your instrument’s your dancing shoes enjoy
This is the essence of harinama and rathayatra come join in sing and dance
You could see how much pleasure Srila Prabhupada was getting from seeing those early disciples getting attached to the holy name’s, bringing others come join in.
We’re now apparently boiling the milk, its time to educate; but no one is watching the milk only the cash flow; the real boiling of the milk is not education but loving attachment to Guru and the chanting of Hare Krishna
Seeing so many go through our prized education system I wonder why we still in London only have two temple’s, the population has grown in London but in real terms the devotee community hasn’t. These temple’s were inauguration was by Srila Prabhupada by the enbevours of his early disciples who hadn’t done this or that course; inspired by the love they felt for Srila Prabhupada because they felt loved by Srila Prabhupada.
This love cannot be manufactured, or learnt in any academic setting.
Have we become so hucked on ritualistic standardisation and persut of academic excellence that the origins of and aims have been lost, that absorption in chanting Hare Krishna?
Although I know many who feel that academia is the future as it gets rid of sentiment
But is the reality that we actually are getting rid of this unconditional love?
The spontaneous love of Guru and Krishna that opened up centres and temple’s that remain open to today and which we appear unable to replicate.

The post Saturday evening Vrndavana kirtana with parikrama devotees appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

A poem in honor of ISKCON’s Golden Jubilee.
Samapriya Devi Dasi (ACBSP): There is a section written from the point of view of one who resides in New Ramanreti.

ISKCON’S GOLDEN JUBILEE

Srila Prabhupada built a house
the whole world could live in,
welcoming melechas and yavanas
whose lives were degraded and covered in sin.

The vision of the pure devotee
is boundless and broad,
he sees within the hearts of men
the undivided Lord.

Unleashing the value of each human birth
foretold in a divine prediction,
the Sankirtan Movement has come to the earth
bestowing the prime benediction.

Joyfully embracing the Holy Name
to establish religiosity
Prabhupada’s movement takes it’s place
attaching itself to the Caitanya tree.

The ultimate good for all the world
and essence of its divine teaching,
has now spread around to every country and town
all glories to Srila Prabhupada’s preaching!

And the Vedas deliver the Absolute Truth
awakened throughout the ages,
of a spiritual realm within each heart
broadcast by self-realized sages.

To deliver the suffering souls of this world
Srila Prabhupada translated these books,
his purports composed, in crystal-like prose
get sweeter the deeper one looks.

We are living in Krsna’s abode
Srila Prabhupada invited us here,
as we abide by his sacred words
our path Back to Godhead will remain clear.

ISKCON’S tenets are suited
for men of all time
with no closed doors
on this house of the sublime.

Never limited to a selected few
no matter what you’re inclined to do
variety includes both me and you
the desire of the Lord is ever fresh and new.

Everyone is equal in the eyes of God,
from His transcendental qualities we’re created,
though in this world where surrendering is odd
happiness is found when our pride is abated.
—
In one remote corner of great Mayadesh,
a faraway hamlet is surviving,
where generations of devotees are serving the Lord
and bhakti is growing and thriving.

To this sacred place devotees have flocked
attracted to each other’s alliance,
seeking spiritual strength beyond worldly cares
in a fellowship of godly compliance.
Sri Sri Gaura Nitai are the Lords of our hearts
and we become ecstatic when the kirtan starts.
We chant the holy name, dance to transcendental sound
easily renouncing what keeps us earthly bound.

Exquisite Radhe Shyama are the Lords of the land
They except loving service from each devotee’s hand,
who completely gives his heart to what the Lord commands
we are the loyal servants of New Ramanreti sands.

When we walk in the temple it’s a sight to behold
two divine brothers beautiful and bold.
They’ve stolen our hearts and won’t give them back
after all They are thieves who provide what we lack.

For 50 years ISKCON has steadily grown,
as we place Lord Caitanya in our hearts on a throne.
Praying to remain on the Lord’s sacred tree
and bloom in pure love for eternity.

In the service of Srila Prabhupada
by Samapriya devi dasi

The post Mohana dasa inquires about what it means to think of ourselves as a servant of the Vraja-vasis appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post Daily Darshan : February 7th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Scenes from 2016 parikrama with Sivarama Swami (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna mantra says, “My dear Lord Krishna, my dear Lord Rama, O energy of the Lord, Hare, kindly engage me in your service.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.69 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/cL9UEt

New York City Daily Harinam Ashram Wants You! Going on 4 years, the NYC Harinam ashram has performed the Yuga Dharma in NYC, and some of its regular 365 days a year 6 hours per day Sankirtan members are taking much needed pilgrimage to the holy dham to recharge. From March 5th to April 15th there is a critical need for kirtan leaders and or book distributors so the Harinam can continue on with full strength! If you or a devotee you know would like to perform the Yuga Dharma in the city where Prabhupada started ISKCON as well as help the devotees who serve there regularly, Please contact Bhakta John hnsa.inc@gmail.com.

ISKCON Mumbai’s 50th Anniversary Celebration The Joy of Devotion (Album with photos)
ISKCON Mumbai’s 50th Anniversary Celebration The Joy of Devotion Day 1 on 5th Feb 2016 Celebration in Presence of HH Gopal Krishna Swami, HH Radhanath Swami, HH Lokanath Swami, HH Nava Yogendra Swami, HH Indradyumna Swami, HH Atmanivedana Swami, HH Prabodhanand Saraswati Swami, HG Basu Ghosh Das, HG Devakinandan Prabhu, HG Pancharatna Dasa, HG Radha Jivan Prabhu, HG Sura Das Prabhu, HG Yasomotinandan Prabhu, HG DadiVaksha Prabhu, HG Mahaman Prabhu, TP’s of all Mumbai Temples, and many senior Leaders of ISKCON.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/NNcRU0

By Jaya Sada Gosai Dasa

On the 26th of January this year, ISCKON Adelaide celebrated its 3rd annual Rath Yatra. Lord Jagannath took to the streets as a part of the Australia Day Parade, His rath being designated as one of the floats. But, true to form, He stole the show yet again. With His huge, delighted eyes and inimitable smile, the Lord of the Universe appeared to be in rollicking good cheer. He was primed for an afternoon of wanton mercy distribution and thousands of unsuspecting onlookers reaped the full benefit.

Amongst the vibrant parade participants, Lord Jagannath in His opulent and fetching regalia called for undivided attention. Veda Vyasa Prabhu and Yashoda Sakhi Mataji brought their decades of altar experience to bear. With consummate skill and artistry, they dressed the Lord of all lords in the manner of a true king. Regardless, the merciful Jagannath ensured that He was not the only reason His “float” turned the most heads. Around 50 devotees in their Vaishnava best took part in pulling the chariot through Adelaide’s streets. They were led by a troupe of matajis who captivated onlookers with their graceful, coordinated dance steps. The ladies moved to an electric Kirtan led by HG Adi Purusa Krsna Prabhu with the accompaniment of expert mrdanga, kartal and harmonium players. Adi Purusa Prabhu is ISKCON Adelaide’s President. It must also be mentioned that he is very nearly a septuagenarian and that his kirtan lasted five hours; in the summer heat no less.

With the transcendental calls of Jai Jagannath! Jai Prabhupada! and the Hare Krishna mahamantra reverberating through Adelaide’s streets, the 40,000 strong crowd was enthralled like never before. Everyone clapped and jived in sync with the kirtan and a good many rushed forward to shoot “groupies” with their eternal Lord. While simply enjoying a good day out, thousands unknowingly began their spiritual lives too.

By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, the anxiety filled weeks of ground-work paid off. Ratha Yatra 2016 was a success. But, this is surely not all Jagannath has in store for His beloved Adelaideans. Plans are in place to triple the mercy next year! Adi Purusa Prabhu is working hard to build a chariot that will accommodate not only Jagannath and Srila Prabhupada but Lord Baladev and Subhadra Devi as well. Adelaide’s devotees now impatiently wait for the day when their streets will be graced by the transcendental siblings!

Click below to see the complete gallery
https://picasaweb.google.com/117179696334914649014/RathaYatraAdelaide2016

Chicago, 1972 ­– a group of students milled around an orange robed, shaven head monk who had travelled to America to share spiritual wisdom. He had made the journey from his home in India when he was sixty-nine, suffering two heart attacks along the way. Many thought he wouldn’t make the full journey. But His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was determined to share the knowledge of Krishna consciousness with the West. Within a year he had established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) whose aim was to do just that.

A university student named Roger was part of the group meeting with the extraordinary spiritual teacher that day in Chicago. Everyone was asking questions, and Roger was waiting for his chance to ask his. When there was a lull in the conversation, he raised his hand and asked: “Swami, could you tell me about Vedic technology?”

Vedic knowledge comes from the Vedas, ancient spiritual texts packed with advanced knowledge. This knowledge is the basis of the spiritual system known as Krishna Consciousness.

Roger had read many books describing sophisticated ancient technologies, and he expected Prabhupada to give more information on the topic. But instead, Prabhupada simply responded, “Vedic technology is the system of passing spiritual knowledge from teacher to student.”

Huh?

This was not at all what Roger was expecting. Here was Prabhupada, a man with vast knowledge of all the Vedic writings. Prabhupada would teach spiritual knowledge all over the world, write over sixty books, found over a hundred temples and create the vision to build the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, the largest temple in the world, currently under construction in Mayapur, India.

He could have talked about Amazing Ancient Technologies such as:

Vastu, the ancient science of architecture and city planning. The Vedic writings explain how to arrange a building for maximum positive energy and comfort; how certain geometric symbols influence the energy-dynamics in a house; how to insulate a house with baked bricks; how to construct a multi-level house with an inner courtyard that is cool in the summer and warm in the winter; how to construct an underground sewage system, and much more. This remarkable science was available in 5000-year old literature. So, why didn’t Prabhupada mention it?

Or, how about sonic levitation? The Vedic writings explain that specific sounds spoken in exactly the right way can produce wondrous effects. One use of the sonic technology was to levitate objects. This technology from India may have spread all over the world and enabled the building of great pyramids by the ancient Mayan civilisation in Mexico, where stories mention “needing only to whistle to bring together stones in their correct position in buildings.” Or, in ancient Greece, where Amphion built the city of Thebes, “using sounds from a harp to move large stones” has been described. Furthermore, the Swedish engineer Henry Kjellson observed monks using sonic technology in Tibet in the 1920s: “The monks played trumpets and drums, chanted rhythmically, and four minutes later, a stone block wobbled on the ground then rose into the air, and, in an arc-like pattern, travelled to a ledge 750 feet above. There the stone crashed to a halt, sending dust and gravel flying in all directions.”

And why didn’t Prabhupada discuss the ancient Brahmastra nuclear weapon? The Mahabharata, a 5000-year old historic chronicle, describes the elite warrior Arjuna, who had the ability to use specific spiritual sound vibration to unleash a nuclear explosion upon his opponents. The text describes the effect of such a weapon:

“An incandescent column of smoke and flame, as bright as ten thousand suns, rose with all its splendour. The corpses were so burned as to be unrecognisable. Hair and nails fell out, pottery broke without apparent cause, and the birds turned white . . . After a few hours all foodstuffs were infected . . . To escape from this fire the soldiers threw themselves in streams to wash themselves and their equipment.”

Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who headed the Manhattan Project to create the first nuclear weapon during World War II, was a student of the Vedic literature. When he saw the mushroom cloud rise after the test firing of the first nuke in the New Mexico desert, he quoted a verse from the Bhagavad-gita (part of the Mahabharata) saying:

“Now I am become Death, [Time] the destroyer of worlds.” (11.32)

Later, when asked if that was the first bomb of such power ever created, he responded: “Well, yes, in modern times.” Oppenheimer had read the stories of the Brahmastra weapon and recognised that he had merely recreated a technology previously known in ancient India.

Given these mind-blowing examples of Vedic technology, why did Prabhupada deem it only worthy of mentioning the system of knowledge transmission? Let’s try and understand.

Knowledge Transfer System

There are three ways of learning something new:

1. By direct observation
2. By logical deduction
3. By receiving knowledge from a teacher

All these are valid means of discovering knowledge, but learning from someone who already knows is the easiest and most reliable way of learning. Our eyes can deceive us when observing something, and our logic can be flawed, but a qualified teacher, provided they genuinely know what they are teaching, has none of these shortcomings.

In this way, the Vedic knowledge has been passed down since time immemorial from teacher to student. Originally, the knowledge was passed down as an oral tradition. Then, as writing was invented and memories faded, the text was written down.

A sophisticated feature of the poetic Sanskrit language used in the Vedic knowledge is its built-in error-correction system utilising rhyme and rhythm. If a student makes a mistake while reciting the text, the rhythm is off and it is immediately obvious. This helps ensure that text is kept accurate, and the knowledge isn’t distorted.

Technology to Stop Death

The definition of technology states that for knowledge to be technology it must have a practical purpose. So, for something to be the best technology, it must have the most practical of purposes. Vastu, levitation, and nuclear energy, as amazing as they may be, do not address how to get to the root of the problems we are faced with today nor do they promote life’s real aim. Therefore Prabhupada did not consider them important.

In a conversation in 1976 Prabhupada said:

“Artificial necessities of life do increase your so-called comfort, but if you forget your real business, that is suicidal. We don't want to stop the modern advancement of technology, although the so-called advancement of technology is suicidal.”

The “real business” Prabhupada was concerned about was the knowledge of the eternal self as different from the temporary material body and the self’s transmigration to a new body at death. The technology he taught was the ability to control that transmigration, to transform the self into a being of pure consciousness and thereby stop death. The death of the material body is inevitable, but the consciousness powering that body can transform into its pure original state with proper application of this spiritual knowledge. As a result, the consciousness of that body doesn’t reincarnate into another body, and the cycle of repeated birth and death is broken.

That technology to stop death was originally taught by Krishna, the Supreme Person, who is himself beyond death. He is therefore uniquely qualified to be the original teacher, and knowledge passed down from him is the perfect technology for understanding our eternal nature. That purpose understanding our true self is, indeed, the aim of life, and this knowledge was taught to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita for the benefit of all humanity. Those who could theoretically stop their body from dying would still be killed at the end of time when the universe collapses in on itself. But Vedic technology is designed to provide a truly unlimited lifespan, beyond the lifetime of the universe, by restoring the self to its true form of pure consciousness, unimpeded by the material body.

“Inconceivable!” you might say. “How can anyone possibly do that?” Srila Prabhupada gives some answers:

“Arjuna was a fighter, and he remained a fighter, but he changed his consciousness. We want that. … We are not against [material] technology. No, but we try to teach this Krishna consciousness to people.”

To restore ourselves to pure consciousness we need to change our consciousness. That doesn’t mean we need to reject lesser technology or necessarily change our occupation. Instead, we simply need to apply Krishna consciousness, the greater technology that will transform our consciousness.

Sound to Transform Consciousness

Krishna consciousness involves chanting the ancient sound vibrations known as mantras. Sound vibrations have the power to levitate giant boulders and create nuclear blasts, but they also have the power to transform consciousness. A mantra’s sound vibrations can help transform a person, eliminating behaviours that are unattractive to the self. For example, by adopting the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, cravings for spiritually unhealthy activities abate automatically. A spiritually unhealthy activity is any activity that binds us to this material world and forces us to reincarnate into a body made of flesh and blood. By stopping such activities we loosen the ropes holding us to our material bodies. However, it is exceedingly difficult to stop all spiritually unhealthy activity only by using one’s personal will power.

Krishna consciousness mantra meditation can help strengthen a person’s will power. In this way a person no longer desires spiritually unhealthy activities. It’s not that we are forced to give them up artificially, but that we simply do not desire them anymore. By adopting the higher taste of the Hare Krishna mantra, the lower taste of activities that cause harm to oneself and harm to one’s environment naturally cease.

Once our consciousness is sufficiently purified by the mantra’s sound vibration, we no longer need to accept another material body at death. Instead, one’s self is ready to enter a world of pure consciousness. You become a person of such high character that you are welcomed into the company of other such highly elevated saintly souls in the spiritual dimension that is Krishna’s home world.

The ideal Vedic teachers instruct their students in this science of consciousness transformation using the system of spiritual knowledge transmission. This applied spiritual technology is Srila Prabhupada’s greatest contribution to the modern world, a timeless gift that helps address the root cause of the world’s problems.

“Yes. You can stop your death. That technology we are teaching.” - Srila Prabhupada

Chicago, 1972 ­– a group of students milled around an orange robed, shaven head monk who had travelled to America to share spiritual wisdom. He had made the journey from his home in India when he was sixty-nine, suffering two heart attacks along the way. Many thought he wouldn’t make the full journey. But His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was determined to share the knowledge of Krishna consciousness with the West. Within a year he had established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) whose aim was to do just that.

A university student named Roger was part of the group meeting with the extraordinary spiritual teacher that day in Chicago. Everyone was asking questions, and Roger was waiting for his chance to ask his. When there was a lull in the conversation, he raised his hand and asked: “Swami, could you tell me about Vedic technology?”

Vedic knowledge comes from the Vedas, ancient spiritual texts packed with advanced knowledge. This knowledge is the basis of the spiritual system known as Krishna Consciousness.

Roger had read many books describing sophisticated ancient technologies, and he expected Prabhupada to give more information on the topic. But instead, Prabhupada simply responded, “Vedic technology is the system of passing spiritual knowledge from teacher to student.”

Huh?

This was not at all what Roger was expecting. Here was Prabhupada, a man with vast knowledge of all the Vedic writings. Prabhupada would teach spiritual knowledge all over the world, write over sixty books, found over a hundred temples and create the vision to build the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, the largest temple in the world, currently under construction in Mayapur, India.

He could have talked about Amazing Ancient Technologies such as:

Vastu, the ancient science of architecture and city planning. The Vedic writings explain how to arrange a building for maximum positive energy and comfort; how certain geometric symbols influence the energy-dynamics in a house; how to insulate a house with baked bricks; how to construct a multi-level house with an inner courtyard that is cool in the summer and warm in the winter; how to construct an underground sewage system, and much more. This remarkable science was available in 5000-year old literature. So, why didn’t Prabhupada mention it?

Or, how about sonic levitation? The Vedic writings explain that specific sounds spoken in exactly the right way can produce wondrous effects. One use of the sonic technology was to levitate objects. This technology from India may have spread all over the world and enabled the building of great pyramids by the ancient Mayan civilisation in Mexico, where stories mention “needing only to whistle to bring together stones in their correct position in buildings.” Or, in ancient Greece, where Amphion built the city of Thebes, “using sounds from a harp to move large stones” has been described. Furthermore, the Swedish engineer Henry Kjellson observed monks using sonic technology in Tibet in the 1920s: “The monks played trumpets and drums, chanted rhythmically, and four minutes later, a stone block wobbled on the ground then rose into the air, and, in an arc-like pattern, travelled to a ledge 750 feet above. There the stone crashed to a halt, sending dust and gravel flying in all directions.”

And why didn’t Prabhupada discuss the ancient Brahmastra nuclear weapon? The Mahabharata, a 5000-year old historic chronicle, describes the elite warrior Arjuna, who had the ability to use specific spiritual sound vibration to unleash a nuclear explosion upon his opponents. The text describes the effect of such a weapon:

“An incandescent column of smoke and flame, as bright as ten thousand suns, rose with all its splendour. The corpses were so burned as to be unrecognisable. Hair and nails fell out, pottery broke without apparent cause, and the birds turned white . . . After a few hours all foodstuffs were infected . . . To escape from this fire the soldiers threw themselves in streams to wash themselves and their equipment.”

Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who headed the Manhattan Project to create the first nuclear weapon during World War II, was a student of the Vedic literature. When he saw the mushroom cloud rise after the test firing of the first nuke in the New Mexico desert, he quoted a verse from the Bhagavad-gita (part of the Mahabharata) saying:

“Now I am become Death, [Time] the destroyer of worlds.” (11.32)

Later, when asked if that was the first bomb of such power ever created, he responded: “Well, yes, in modern times.” Oppenheimer had read the stories of the Brahmastra weapon and recognised that he had merely recreated a technology previously known in ancient India.

Given these mind-blowing examples of Vedic technology, why did Prabhupada deem it only worthy of mentioning the system of knowledge transmission? Let’s try and understand.

Knowledge Transfer System

There are three ways of learning something new:

1. By direct observation
2. By logical deduction
3. By receiving knowledge from a teacher

All these are valid means of discovering knowledge, but learning from someone who already knows is the easiest and most reliable way of learning. Our eyes can deceive us when observing something, and our logic can be flawed, but a qualified teacher, provided they genuinely know what they are teaching, has none of these shortcomings.

In this way, the Vedic knowledge has been passed down since time immemorial from teacher to student. Originally, the knowledge was passed down as an oral tradition. Then, as writing was invented and memories faded, the text was written down.

A sophisticated feature of the poetic Sanskrit language used in the Vedic knowledge is its built-in error-correction system utilising rhyme and rhythm. If a student makes a mistake while reciting the text, the rhythm is off and it is immediately obvious. This helps ensure that text is kept accurate, and the knowledge isn’t distorted.

Technology to Stop Death

The definition of technology states that for knowledge to be technology it must have a practical purpose. So, for something to be the best technology, it must have the most practical of purposes. Vastu, levitation, and nuclear energy, as amazing as they may be, do not address how to get to the root of the problems we are faced with today nor do they promote life’s real aim. Therefore Prabhupada did not consider them important.

In a conversation in 1976 Prabhupada said:

“Artificial necessities of life do increase your so-called comfort, but if you forget your real business, that is suicidal. We don't want to stop the modern advancement of technology, although the so-called advancement of technology is suicidal.”

The “real business” Prabhupada was concerned about was the knowledge of the eternal self as different from the temporary material body and the self’s transmigration to a new body at death. The technology he taught was the ability to control that transmigration, to transform the self into a being of pure consciousness and thereby stop death. The death of the material body is inevitable, but the consciousness powering that body can transform into its pure original state with proper application of this spiritual knowledge. As a result, the consciousness of that body doesn’t reincarnate into another body, and the cycle of repeated birth and death is broken.

That technology to stop death was originally taught by Krishna, the Supreme Person, who is himself beyond death. He is therefore uniquely qualified to be the original teacher, and knowledge passed down from him is the perfect technology for understanding our eternal nature. That purpose understanding our true self is, indeed, the aim of life, and this knowledge was taught to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita for the benefit of all humanity. Those who could theoretically stop their body from dying would still be killed at the end of time when the universe collapses in on itself. But Vedic technology is designed to provide a truly unlimited lifespan, beyond the lifetime of the universe, by restoring the self to its true form of pure consciousness, unimpeded by the material body.

“Inconceivable!” you might say. “How can anyone possibly do that?” Srila Prabhupada gives some answers:

“Arjuna was a fighter, and he remained a fighter, but he changed his consciousness. We want that. … We are not against [material] technology. No, but we try to teach this Krishna consciousness to people.”

To restore ourselves to pure consciousness we need to change our consciousness. That doesn’t mean we need to reject lesser technology or necessarily change our occupation. Instead, we simply need to apply Krishna consciousness, the greater technology that will transform our consciousness.

Sound to Transform Consciousness

Krishna consciousness involves chanting the ancient sound vibrations known as mantras. Sound vibrations have the power to levitate giant boulders and create nuclear blasts, but they also have the power to transform consciousness. A mantra’s sound vibrations can help transform a person, eliminating behaviours that are unattractive to the self. For example, by adopting the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, cravings for spiritually unhealthy activities abate automatically. A spiritually unhealthy activity is any activity that binds us to this material world and forces us to reincarnate into a body made of flesh and blood. By stopping such activities we loosen the ropes holding us to our material bodies. However, it is exceedingly difficult to stop all spiritually unhealthy activity only by using one’s personal will power.

Krishna consciousness mantra meditation can help strengthen a person’s will power. In this way a person no longer desires spiritually unhealthy activities. It’s not that we are forced to give them up artificially, but that we simply do not desire them anymore. By adopting the higher taste of the Hare Krishna mantra, the lower taste of activities that cause harm to oneself and harm to one’s environment naturally cease.

Once our consciousness is sufficiently purified by the mantra’s sound vibration, we no longer need to accept another material body at death. Instead, one’s self is ready to enter a world of pure consciousness. You become a person of such high character that you are welcomed into the company of other such highly elevated saintly souls in the spiritual dimension that is Krishna’s home world.

The ideal Vedic teachers instruct their students in this science of consciousness transformation using the system of spiritual knowledge transmission. This applied spiritual technology is Srila Prabhupada’s greatest contribution to the modern world, a timeless gift that helps address the root cause of the world’s problems.

“Yes. You can stop your death. That technology we are teaching.” - Srila Prabhupada

https://flic.kr/s/aHsktTvPvN

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I thought I had it all figured out.

My wife and I were living in South Auckland, but I was working in the CBD, twenty kilometres away from home. I was horrified at the prospect of buying an expensive car, paying for insurance, registration, and maintenance, then, every week, paying for fuel and parking. Parking in Auckland city costs seventy dollars per week. Fuel is another seventy dollars, more or less, depending on the car. And have you seen the traffic on the southern motorway in the morning and evening? It is a continuous traffic jam, taking as long as one and a half hours to get into town. No way!

Then there is the train. It takes you straight into the city, without needing to worry about parking. So far so good. However, you need to first get to the train station, a twenty-minute walk, then you need to wait for a perpetually late train to arrive, another ten minutes on a good day. After that, you need to endure thirty-five minutes sitting on a crowded train with a bunch of depressed looking people.

The train eventually arrives at Britomart station, then you must walk another ten minutes to the workplace. Altogether it takes an hour and fifteen minutes to get to work. Oh, and you need to pay fifty-six dollars per week for the privilege. Catching the train would certainly be better than driving a car, but still, a huge chunk of my day would be spent commuting.

So, what to do? I thought I was smart—I knew just the thing: a scooter. Not a piddly little sewing machine on wheels, but a big 300cc scooter weighing two hundred kilograms. This scooter is basically a motorcycle with an automatic transmission (CVT) and a more comfortable feet-forward riding position. It’s a bike powerful enough to travel on the motorway; a bike that is more fuel efficient than even the most efficient car (fuel costs me twelve dollars per week); a bike that gets free parking in various locations all over the city; a bike that can ride between the lanes to bypass the continuous Auckland traffic jam; a bike that can get me to work in thirty-five minutes flat, no matter how bad the traffic. It was the perfect transport solution.

Before long, I had completed a motorcycle driving test and bought myself a used Sym Citycom 300i for $3,500. It is such a nice scooter, cheap to purchase, has lots of storage space, and it’s fast, reliable, and stable at high speeds. What could possibly go wrong? And did I mention motorbikes get free parking in town? Great! 

So, there I was, riding into town each day, rain or shine. When the traffic slowed I would pull right in between the lanes and bypass the queue, a practice known as “lane splitting.” Splitting is perfectly legal in New Zealand, as long as do it safely and responsibly—you don’t go too much faster than the surrounding traffic and you pull back into the lane once the traffic is going forty kilometres per hour or faster. Splitting also helps you avoid one of the most common types of motorcycle accidents, being rear-ended by a car.

I was happy and content, having conquered the Auckland traffic, until one day on my way to work, something unfortunate happened.

The lanes of traffic on the motorway were moving at different speeds and I was lane splitting between the fast and middle lane. As I was riding, a gap between a truck and car closed up quickly because of the speed differential. I saw the gap close up just five metres in front of me. I grabbed for the brake, but it was too late. I came up between an impossibly tight gap. While braking I tried to swerve left slightly to avoid smashing into the car, but I overcorrected and got my handlebars entangled in the side of the truck. By that time my speed had slowed sufficiently that the truck was now travelling faster than I was, and he drove off, raking the side of my bike and throwing me off balance. Before I knew what was going on, I fell left, into the middle lane, right into the path of another truck. My shoulder slammed into the asphalt, my bike entangling itself with my leg as it skidded to a halt. The driver slammed on his brakes and stopped with a few metres between his truck and me.

A few seconds later, shocked and dazed, while I was trying to take in what had happened, the driver of the truck came running to my aid. I opened my helmet visor, disentangled my foot from my bike, and stood up, with his help. Miraculously, I seemed to be unharmed—or so I thought.

Meanwhile, the driver of the car I had narrowly missed crashing into got out and inspected his vehicle, seemingly unconcerned with my well-being. He was driving a flawlessly gleaming Audi sports car. As I fell to the side my tires must have clipped the Audi, making a black scuff mark on the side door. The owner, an older man, kept angrily pointing at the scuff mark. I was thinking: “I nearly died here, and you are worried about some minor damage to your car? It’s crazy how some people are so entangled in a materialistic illusion. An illusion that convinces them they are non-different from their car; the car is them, the car is supreme, the car is holy. But my head was in too much of a jumble to express my thoughts. I just shrugged my shoulders and ignored the man.

Meanwhile, the friendly truck driver had lifted my bike up and was offering it to me. I looked it over and saw no obvious damage. I hit the starter button and the engine came to life. “Hmm,” I thought, “that could have been bad, but perhaps I can just continue on to work. No need to call the police. The scuff mark hardly qualifies as damage. Great!”

So I thanked the truck driver, continuing to ignore the irrationally angry man, and drove off. However, within a minute, my left foot started to hurt. I ignored it for a while, but it was getting worse and worse by the second. In increasing distress, I took the next exit, turned around and headed back home.

As I pulled into my street, I was chanting to myself, “Hare Krishna, just keep it together; Hare Krishna, almost there, Hare Krishna, just a few more metres.” In acute pain, I parked the scooter, pulled off my helmet, and collapsed onto the floor, sobbing, as my concerned wife came running, holding my one-year-old son.

Some minutes later, I collected myself enough to explain what had happened, and my wife took me to the hospital in her car.

Many X-rays later, the diagnosis was a severely bruised foot, but with no obvious bone damage. A nurse encased my foot in a cast, and I was discharged later that day.

A week later, I went into the clinic to get some more X-rays. The doctor, examining my foot and seeing severe bruises, told me that I probably had Lisfranc tendon injury and that I would need an operation to reattach a severed tendon. I might never gain full use of my foot again. He ordered a CT-scan to confirm exactly how bad the tendon damage might be.

I was shocked. “Oh no! What will I do? I’ll never be able to walk properly. Let alone run. But I love running. How can the world be so cruel? I’m ruined!”

My wife calmed me down and gently reminded me of the basics of Krishna conscious teachings. “Remember, you are not the body,” she said. “You are not your foot. The foot may be damaged, but the eternal soul that is your consciousness is not harmed and indeed cannot be harmed.”

“That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.17)

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. It has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain.” (B.G 2.20)

“It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.” [B.G. 2.25]

Hearing this, I said to my wife, “Oh, right, of course! I remember reading these Bhagavad-gita verses many times. Yes, I actually have nothing to worry about. I’m so lucky to be married to a wise lady who can remind me of such things.” I was actually just as much in illusion as the angry Audi driver. He thought he was his car, and I thought I was my foot. Both of our conceptions were silly.

 So, I accompanied my wife home, at peace with my plight.

Another week passed. I had the CT-scan and was waiting in the doctor’s office for the diagnosis. I felt quite content with my situation, happy to accept whatever my condition might be.

The doctor called me in and showed me a 3D model of my foot, courtesy of the scan. The image showed a previously undiagnosed chipped ankle bone and fractured sesamoid bone, but no tendon damage. The two fractures would heal by themselves within the next six weeks. No operation was necessary.

I was wearing full motorcycle armour when I crashed: a helmet, armoured jacket, pants, gloves, and boots. The German Sas-Tec armour pads in my jacket protected my shoulder completely. It was not even sore. The boots (Sidi brand—aptly similar to the Sanskrit word siddhi, which refers to a mystic power acquired by long practice of yoga) saved my foot from more serious damage. My foot would have been ripped open, if I had not been wearing an armoured shoe. Within a month I could walk again and within two months I was fully recovered.

I’m still riding my scooter to work. It’s just too convenient to give up. I am, however, much more careful when lane splitting, always watching the lanes for possible gaps that might suddenly close up.

Today, gazing down at my foot, I still remember the crash. I am most happy to recall how the accident helped me practically realise that my body is not the be-all and end-all of my life. With such a conviction, any hardship can be endured, and any misery is diminished. Studying the Bhagavad-gita has taught me that my body is a wonderful machine, but nothing more. It is a vehicle that I can use to get my soul, my consciousness, into its rightful home beyond this material world, into Krishna consciousness.

“By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries.” (B.G 2.51)

“For one thus satisfied [in Krishna consciousness], the threefold miseries of material existence [miseries caused by other living beings, natural forces, and one’s own mind] exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness, one's intelligence is soon well established. (B.G 2.65)

I consider myself fortunate to have had an opportunity to realise the significance of these verses. If practical freedom from misery can be obtained, even in this life, with knowledge of the Krishna conscious teachings, then certainly, with a lifetime to learn and practice, such a state of being is readily available in the next life. Now and forever.

I thought I had it all figured out.

My wife and I were living in South Auckland, but I was working in the CBD, twenty kilometres away from home. I was horrified at the prospect of buying an expensive car, paying for insurance, registration, and maintenance, then, every week, paying for fuel and parking. Parking in Auckland city costs seventy dollars per week. Fuel is another seventy dollars, more or less, depending on the car. And have you seen the traffic on the southern motorway in the morning and evening? It is a continuous traffic jam, taking as long as one and a half hours to get into town. No way!

Then there is the train. It takes you straight into the city, without needing to worry about parking. So far so good. However, you need to first get to the train station, a twenty-minute walk, then you need to wait for a perpetually late train to arrive, another ten minutes on a good day. After that, you need to endure thirty-five minutes sitting on a crowded train with a bunch of depressed looking people.

The train eventually arrives at Britomart station, then you must walk another ten minutes to the workplace. Altogether it takes an hour and fifteen minutes to get to work. Oh, and you need to pay fifty-six dollars per week for the privilege. Catching the train would certainly be better than driving a car, but still, a huge chunk of my day would be spent commuting.

So, what to do? I thought I was smart—I knew just the thing: a scooter. Not a piddly little sewing machine on wheels, but a big 300cc scooter weighing two hundred kilograms. This scooter is basically a motorcycle with an automatic transmission (CVT) and a more comfortable feet-forward riding position. It’s a bike powerful enough to travel on the motorway; a bike that is more fuel efficient than even the most efficient car (fuel costs me twelve dollars per week); a bike that gets free parking in various locations all over the city; a bike that can ride between the lanes to bypass the continuous Auckland traffic jam; a bike that can get me to work in thirty-five minutes flat, no matter how bad the traffic. It was the perfect transport solution.

Before long, I had completed a motorcycle driving test and bought myself a used Sym Citycom 300i for $3,500. It is such a nice scooter, cheap to purchase, has lots of storage space, and it’s fast, reliable, and stable at high speeds. What could possibly go wrong? And did I mention motorbikes get free parking in town? Great! 

So, there I was, riding into town each day, rain or shine. When the traffic slowed I would pull right in between the lanes and bypass the queue, a practice known as “lane splitting.” Splitting is perfectly legal in New Zealand, as long as do it safely and responsibly—you don’t go too much faster than the surrounding traffic and you pull back into the lane once the traffic is going forty kilometres per hour or faster. Splitting also helps you avoid one of the most common types of motorcycle accidents, being rear-ended by a car.

I was happy and content, having conquered the Auckland traffic, until one day on my way to work, something unfortunate happened.

The lanes of traffic on the motorway were moving at different speeds and I was lane splitting between the fast and middle lane. As I was riding, a gap between a truck and car closed up quickly because of the speed differential. I saw the gap close up just five metres in front of me. I grabbed for the brake, but it was too late. I came up between an impossibly tight gap. While braking I tried to swerve left slightly to avoid smashing into the car, but I overcorrected and got my handlebars entangled in the side of the truck. By that time my speed had slowed sufficiently that the truck was now travelling faster than I was, and he drove off, raking the side of my bike and throwing me off balance. Before I knew what was going on, I fell left, into the middle lane, right into the path of another truck. My shoulder slammed into the asphalt, my bike entangling itself with my leg as it skidded to a halt. The driver slammed on his brakes and stopped with a few metres between his truck and me.

A few seconds later, shocked and dazed, while I was trying to take in what had happened, the driver of the truck came running to my aid. I opened my helmet visor, disentangled my foot from my bike, and stood up, with his help. Miraculously, I seemed to be unharmed—or so I thought.

Meanwhile, the driver of the car I had narrowly missed crashing into got out and inspected his vehicle, seemingly unconcerned with my well-being. He was driving a flawlessly gleaming Audi sports car. As I fell to the side my tires must have clipped the Audi, making a black scuff mark on the side door. The owner, an older man, kept angrily pointing at the scuff mark. I was thinking: “I nearly died here, and you are worried about some minor damage to your car? It’s crazy how some people are so entangled in a materialistic illusion. An illusion that convinces them they are non-different from their car; the car is them, the car is supreme, the car is holy. But my head was in too much of a jumble to express my thoughts. I just shrugged my shoulders and ignored the man.

Meanwhile, the friendly truck driver had lifted my bike up and was offering it to me. I looked it over and saw no obvious damage. I hit the starter button and the engine came to life. “Hmm,” I thought, “that could have been bad, but perhaps I can just continue on to work. No need to call the police. The scuff mark hardly qualifies as damage. Great!”

So I thanked the truck driver, continuing to ignore the irrationally angry man, and drove off. However, within a minute, my left foot started to hurt. I ignored it for a while, but it was getting worse and worse by the second. In increasing distress, I took the next exit, turned around and headed back home.

As I pulled into my street, I was chanting to myself, “Hare Krishna, just keep it together; Hare Krishna, almost there, Hare Krishna, just a few more metres.” In acute pain, I parked the scooter, pulled off my helmet, and collapsed onto the floor, sobbing, as my concerned wife came running, holding my one-year-old son.

Some minutes later, I collected myself enough to explain what had happened, and my wife took me to the hospital in her car.

Many X-rays later, the diagnosis was a severely bruised foot, but with no obvious bone damage. A nurse encased my foot in a cast, and I was discharged later that day.

A week later, I went into the clinic to get some more X-rays. The doctor, examining my foot and seeing severe bruises, told me that I probably had Lisfranc tendon injury and that I would need an operation to reattach a severed tendon. I might never gain full use of my foot again. He ordered a CT-scan to confirm exactly how bad the tendon damage might be.

I was shocked. “Oh no! What will I do? I’ll never be able to walk properly. Let alone run. But I love running. How can the world be so cruel? I’m ruined!”

My wife calmed me down and gently reminded me of the basics of Krishna conscious teachings. “Remember, you are not the body,” she said. “You are not your foot. The foot may be damaged, but the eternal soul that is your consciousness is not harmed and indeed cannot be harmed.”

“That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.17)

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. It has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain.” (B.G 2.20)

“It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.” [B.G. 2.25]

Hearing this, I said to my wife, “Oh, right, of course! I remember reading these Bhagavad-gita verses many times. Yes, I actually have nothing to worry about. I’m so lucky to be married to a wise lady who can remind me of such things.” I was actually just as much in illusion as the angry Audi driver. He thought he was his car, and I thought I was my foot. Both of our conceptions were silly.

 So, I accompanied my wife home, at peace with my plight.

Another week passed. I had the CT-scan and was waiting in the doctor’s office for the diagnosis. I felt quite content with my situation, happy to accept whatever my condition might be.

The doctor called me in and showed me a 3D model of my foot, courtesy of the scan. The image showed a previously undiagnosed chipped ankle bone and fractured sesamoid bone, but no tendon damage. The two fractures would heal by themselves within the next six weeks. No operation was necessary.

I was wearing full motorcycle armour when I crashed: a helmet, armoured jacket, pants, gloves, and boots. The German Sas-Tec armour pads in my jacket protected my shoulder completely. It was not even sore. The boots (Sidi brand—aptly similar to the Sanskrit word siddhi, which refers to a mystic power acquired by long practice of yoga) saved my foot from more serious damage. My foot would have been ripped open, if I had not been wearing an armoured shoe. Within a month I could walk again and within two months I was fully recovered.

I’m still riding my scooter to work. It’s just too convenient to give up. I am, however, much more careful when lane splitting, always watching the lanes for possible gaps that might suddenly close up.

Today, gazing down at my foot, I still remember the crash. I am most happy to recall how the accident helped me practically realise that my body is not the be-all and end-all of my life. With such a conviction, any hardship can be endured, and any misery is diminished. Studying the Bhagavad-gita has taught me that my body is a wonderful machine, but nothing more. It is a vehicle that I can use to get my soul, my consciousness, into its rightful home beyond this material world, into Krishna consciousness.

“By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world. In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries.” (B.G 2.51)

“For one thus satisfied [in Krishna consciousness], the threefold miseries of material existence [miseries caused by other living beings, natural forces, and one’s own mind] exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness, one's intelligence is soon well established. (B.G 2.65)

I consider myself fortunate to have had an opportunity to realise the significance of these verses. If practical freedom from misery can be obtained, even in this life, with knowledge of the Krishna conscious teachings, then certainly, with a lifetime to learn and practice, such a state of being is readily available in the next life. Now and forever.

February 7. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Prabhupada’s Legacy is One of Disturbing the Sleeping Dogs. Although the old adage tells us to “let sleeping dogs lie,” Prabhupada explains the necessity for waking them up. In his purports to the verse where Krishna tells us not to disturb the minds of the materialists or the ignorant, Krishna advised the devotees to prosecute their duties peacefully, and said they should not feel troubled by persons who have no desire to practice spiritual life. Prabhupada reminds us, “If you give a good thief instructions, he will just become angry.”
Krishna tells us in the Bhagavad-gita that only persons who are austere can receive the message of Bhagavad-gita. In an apparently different mood, Krishna says that whoever distributes the message of Godhead and makes devotees is the dearest servant of the Lord. Prabhupada clears up this apparent contradiction by telling us that the devotees know Krishna’s inner purpose. Although Krishna doesn’t want to trouble His devotees by exposing them to harassment, His deepest desire is that the conditioned souls be given a full chance to take to Krishna consciousness. Actually, they have already had many chances. Krishna Himself has appeared in His many forms, but still the generations of conditioned souls continue to revolve in the cycle of birth and death, refusing to hear the message of Godhead. Krishna wants to give them another chance. Now it is Kali Yuga and the conditions are even more unfavorable for coming to spiritual life. Krishna and the devotees have to be more accessible, the process has to be easier and shorter. Despite Krishna’s merciful holy name, which is the only way in this age to attain God consciousness, the devotees are still harassed. And because of Kali Yuga, people are even more violent in their rebellion against God consciousness.
Prabhupada knew Krishna’s inner desire. He woke up the sleeping dogs. And he wants us to do the same.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=5

Pushyabhishek Festival Ego Juncture Between Material And Spiritual Consciousness 2016 01 30, SB 1.11.27

A View from Science

With the advancement of science, some people think the cure for death is just around the corner—people like billionaire investor Doug Casey. He shares his view in an interview with fellow investor James Turk:

Technology has been advancing very quickly today. […] We’re at the stage that you can basically grow new ligaments, new veins. This is advancing and compounding […] in a very finite length of time […] if you can survive only another twenty years, perhaps, you might be able to grow a brand new body. And not just any old body! Maybe one that resembles Bruce Jenner’s who won the Decathlon a few years ago. This is the best reason I can think of for becoming wealthy. Because you want to be able to afford wonderful things like that. And it’s as it should be. Why? Because, the way you get wealthy is by producing goods and services for other people. You get wealthy by creating wealth. So, of course, people that have money should be rewarded with being able to buy these things. 11th November 2011

What do you think? Do you agree with Casey’s point of view? Wouldn’t it be great if we could cure death? Shouldn’t the rich be entitled to get first dibs with any anti-death treatment?

A View from Ancient Teachings

Let’s compare and contrast Casey’s enthusiastic account of the possibilities of curing death with a section from A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada’s commentary on the Sri Isopanisad, a book of ancient Indian philosophical wisdom:

By its so-called advancement of knowledge, human civilization has created many material things, including spaceships and atomic energy. Yet it has failed to create a situation in which people need not die, take birth again, become old, or suffer from disease. Whenever an intelligent man raises the question of these miseries before a so-called scientist, the scientist very cleverly replies that material science is progressing and that ultimately it will be possible to render man deathless, ageless, and diseaseless. Such answers prove the scientists’ gross ignorance of material nature. In material nature, everyone is under the stringent laws of matter and must pass through six stages of existence: birth, growth, maintenance, production of by-products, deterioration, and finally death. No one in contact with material nature can be beyond these six laws of transformation; therefore no one—whether demigod, man, animal or plant—can survive forever in the material world.

Material scientists and politicians are trying to make this place deathless because they have no information of the deathless spiritual nature. This is due to their ignorance of the Vedic literature, which contains full knowledge confirmed by mature transcendental experience. (Sri Isopanisad 14)

So, who is right? These are clearly two opposite views of the world. Let’s keep exploring.

What If We Could Cure Death?

How about a thought experiment conceiving of what would happen if Casey’s view of the world were to come true? Let’s suppose we could cure death. The exact mechanism of such a cure is unimportant. It could be a new body grown in a vat, a drug that stops the ageing process, nano-tech machines that repair cell damage, or any number of other techniques. Let’s just suppose there were some way to prevent death.

The rich will almost certainly be the first to get the cure. They have the power, resources, and influence to become deathless before anyone else. However, as soon as the news breaks that scientists have cured death, everyone will want the cure. Very quickly, a black market of salesmen will promise the cure in exchange for people’s life savings. Some genuine, most fraudulent.

People will riot in the streets, demanding the anti-death treatment from their governments. You can almost hear them shouting: “Why should only those upper 1 percent get cured? We want it too!”

In a couple of years the cure will become reasonably available to everyone in the western world. It will guarantee that you will never die a natural, peaceful death. Only violent destruction of your body can truly kill you. Socially, the cure will cause massive changes. Almost immediately the institution of marriage will go out the window. People can cope with being married to the same person for ten, twenty, or thirty years. But three hundred years of marriage, or three thousand years? Can you imagine spending the rest of eternity with the same person? The divorce rate is already at 50 percent, but with the cure for death it will increase to 100 percent. Marriage vows will be changed from “until death do us part” to “until we get bored of each other.”

The traditional religions will protest against the cure, probably while secretly partaking themselves. They have everything to loose. What use is the promise of an after life, if the current life lasts forever? New religions will be established, religions not based on fear of death, but based on celebration of life. People will welcome humanism as their saviour, not God. A new saviour, a well-intentioned saviour, a saviour whose solutions, unfortunately, come with some unexpected and unfortunate side-effects, such as those described in the following paragraphs.

There will be no more retirement. What reason is there to ever retire? However, since no one is retiring and children are still being born, unemployment will skyrocket. How do you get a job as a young person if all the other applicants have five thousand years of experience?

Soon, everyone will have done everything there is to do, a million times over. You’ve taken every drug there is, you’ve gotten drunk in every bar on the planet, you’ve slept with every conceivable type of partner, you’ve played every sport ever invented, you’ve visited every tourist destination in every country in the world. You’ve done everything, and so you seriously ask yourself: what’s the point of it all? What goal could you possibly strive for? Intense boredom sets in: boredom leads to despair, despair leads to suicide. A wave of suicides sweeps across the population.

Still, even with people committing suicide in unheard-of numbers, overpopulation will become the number one problem in the world. Currently, without a cure for death, scientists like Hans Rosling estimate that world population will increase from the current seven billion until it stabilises at about eleven billion people by the year 2100. With a cure for death, however, there will be as many as eighteen billion people by 2100, and the number will keep going up and up, until famine or war alleviates the pressure of excess population.

You might think: “Hey, not my problem, I’ll be dead by…oh.”

The increase in population will lead to intense shortages in natural resources. Oil will, of course, run out. Or rather, not run out per se, but become so expensive and energy intensive to extract, that it is no longer viable to mine. Access to clean drinking water will become a closely-guarded privilege for the rich. Food production, reliant on clean water for irrigation, will become more difficult, and food shortages will ravage the world. Countries with strong militaries will try to invade less powerful nations to steal their resources, at first with some pretense of “fighting terrorism” or “peace keeping,” but soon everyone will realise the wars are entirely for natural resources. Most people won’t care.

Governments might even encourage these resource wars, because lots of people dying in wars effectively helps reduce the world population. Suicide might also be encouraged for the same reason. People who kill themselves might be seen as “helping their fellow man.” Perhaps there will be governmentsponsored suicide centres where people can safely and humanely end their own lives.

Ultimately, some nation, pushed to the brink of collapse by all the above pressures, will take to using nuclear weapons in a desperate attempt to kill off the ever-growing population. Other countries will follow suit, and humanity will self-destruct.

Perhaps curing death is not such a good idea, after all?

What Would It Take?

What would it take to cure death, but not destroy everyone’s life in the process? What would a hypothetical scenario be that could let people live forever, without any negative side effects?

We would need unlimited resources, or 100 percent recycling to ensure that resources never run out. Also, people would have to have deeply meaningful, satisfying and rewarding things to do all day, every day, for eternity. We would have to have a total population of saints without any kind of selfish desire, no desire to enjoy at other people’s expense. People would also have to be free of desire to harm themselves in any way. Laws and police wouldn’t be able to achieve this; that would only create a police state. Instead, people would need to freely and willingly choose a saintly lifestyle, ultimately causing laws to become completely unnecessary. With such a society, and a cure for death, we might be able to realistically live forever.

Fantasy? Fiction? Fallacy? Let us turn to the Vedas, the spiritual literature of ancient India, a literature that suggests a realistic method to actually achieve the above scenario.

Spiritual Solution

The Bhagavad-gita, foremost spiritual literature, gives us an initial hint:

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (2.20)

There are two aspects to this statement. First, the soul is eternal: it is never born and it never dies. There is no overpopulation, because the total number of souls remains constant. Birth and death only happen to the material body, a body controlled and owned by the soul, but ultimately apart from it. There are no resource shortages, because the soul is not a physical thing and does not require any limited material resources to survive.

Second, there is reincarnation: the soul can move from one material body to another. A new body gives a new chance in life, a chance to learn from past mistakes; learn, with the previous life being remembered subconsciously.

How do we know there is a soul, a thing that makes eternal life and reincarnation possible? Well, how do we know there is a sun in the sky? We perceive both the soul and the sun by their symptoms. The symptom of the sun is light; we see the light and conclude that there must be a sun. The symptom of the soul is consciousness; we observe our own consciousness and conclude that there must be a soul.

It seems therefore, that, if we accept the Bhagavad-gita, we have nothing to worry about. Our consciousness, our soul, never dies.

“Wait just one minute!” I can hear you saying, “Living forever isn’t enough. People’s qualities also need to be transformed. Otherwise you end up with the distopian future mentioned earlier. How are you going to do that?”

How to Do It?

How do you do it? How do you develop spiritual qualities? How do you practice real yoga, going beyond mere physical exercises? How do you develop into a being of pure consciousness?

The secret is to practice the original and greatest form of yoga: bhakti-yoga, the yoga of loving devotion to Krishna. It’s yoga practice that will gradually transform the heart, mind, and soul, ultimately leading to an eternal life of bliss and knowledge.

This transformation very much makes your life better in the here and now. You develop good qualities, qualities that lead to health, happiness, and fulfillment. Obtaining an everlasting, ever-cognizant, ever-blissful spiritual body in the future, is just a welcome side effect.

The first step in this practice is to start a regular programme of mantra meditation, chanting the great mantra, the maha-mantra, a mantra that transforms consciousness:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In the comic to follow, Dadhici teaches us that if we falsely think the material body is our true self, then we will act selfishly to preserve the body at all costs. However, the body is only a temporary covering of the eternal spirit soul. If we neglect the needs of the soul and focus solely on pleasing the body, we will inevitably be frustrated, as the body will certainly perish. With this understanding we take care of the body for a higher purpose—the purpose of spiritual enlightenment.

A View from Science

With the advancement of science, some people think the cure for death is just around the corner—people like billionaire investor Doug Casey. He shares his view in an interview with fellow investor James Turk:

Technology has been advancing very quickly today. […] We’re at the stage that you can basically grow new ligaments, new veins. This is advancing and compounding […] in a very finite length of time […] if you can survive only another twenty years, perhaps, you might be able to grow a brand new body. And not just any old body! Maybe one that resembles Bruce Jenner’s who won the Decathlon a few years ago. This is the best reason I can think of for becoming wealthy. Because you want to be able to afford wonderful things like that. And it’s as it should be. Why? Because, the way you get wealthy is by producing goods and services for other people. You get wealthy by creating wealth. So, of course, people that have money should be rewarded with being able to buy these things. 11th November 2011

What do you think? Do you agree with Casey’s point of view? Wouldn’t it be great if we could cure death? Shouldn’t the rich be entitled to get first dibs with any anti-death treatment?

A View from Ancient Teachings

Let’s compare and contrast Casey’s enthusiastic account of the possibilities of curing death with a section from A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada’s commentary on the Sri Isopanisad, a book of ancient Indian philosophical wisdom:

By its so-called advancement of knowledge, human civilization has created many material things, including spaceships and atomic energy. Yet it has failed to create a situation in which people need not die, take birth again, become old, or suffer from disease. Whenever an intelligent man raises the question of these miseries before a so-called scientist, the scientist very cleverly replies that material science is progressing and that ultimately it will be possible to render man deathless, ageless, and diseaseless. Such answers prove the scientists’ gross ignorance of material nature. In material nature, everyone is under the stringent laws of matter and must pass through six stages of existence: birth, growth, maintenance, production of by-products, deterioration, and finally death. No one in contact with material nature can be beyond these six laws of transformation; therefore no one—whether demigod, man, animal or plant—can survive forever in the material world.

Material scientists and politicians are trying to make this place deathless because they have no information of the deathless spiritual nature. This is due to their ignorance of the Vedic literature, which contains full knowledge confirmed by mature transcendental experience. (Sri Isopanisad 14)

So, who is right? These are clearly two opposite views of the world. Let’s keep exploring.

What If We Could Cure Death?

How about a thought experiment conceiving of what would happen if Casey’s view of the world were to come true? Let’s suppose we could cure death. The exact mechanism of such a cure is unimportant. It could be a new body grown in a vat, a drug that stops the ageing process, nano-tech machines that repair cell damage, or any number of other techniques. Let’s just suppose there were some way to prevent death.

The rich will almost certainly be the first to get the cure. They have the power, resources, and influence to become deathless before anyone else. However, as soon as the news breaks that scientists have cured death, everyone will want the cure. Very quickly, a black market of salesmen will promise the cure in exchange for people’s life savings. Some genuine, most fraudulent.

People will riot in the streets, demanding the anti-death treatment from their governments. You can almost hear them shouting: “Why should only those upper 1 percent get cured? We want it too!”

In a couple of years the cure will become reasonably available to everyone in the western world. It will guarantee that you will never die a natural, peaceful death. Only violent destruction of your body can truly kill you. Socially, the cure will cause massive changes. Almost immediately the institution of marriage will go out the window. People can cope with being married to the same person for ten, twenty, or thirty years. But three hundred years of marriage, or three thousand years? Can you imagine spending the rest of eternity with the same person? The divorce rate is already at 50 percent, but with the cure for death it will increase to 100 percent. Marriage vows will be changed from “until death do us part” to “until we get bored of each other.”

The traditional religions will protest against the cure, probably while secretly partaking themselves. They have everything to loose. What use is the promise of an after life, if the current life lasts forever? New religions will be established, religions not based on fear of death, but based on celebration of life. People will welcome humanism as their saviour, not God. A new saviour, a well-intentioned saviour, a saviour whose solutions, unfortunately, come with some unexpected and unfortunate side-effects, such as those described in the following paragraphs.

There will be no more retirement. What reason is there to ever retire? However, since no one is retiring and children are still being born, unemployment will skyrocket. How do you get a job as a young person if all the other applicants have five thousand years of experience?

Soon, everyone will have done everything there is to do, a million times over. You’ve taken every drug there is, you’ve gotten drunk in every bar on the planet, you’ve slept with every conceivable type of partner, you’ve played every sport ever invented, you’ve visited every tourist destination in every country in the world. You’ve done everything, and so you seriously ask yourself: what’s the point of it all? What goal could you possibly strive for? Intense boredom sets in: boredom leads to despair, despair leads to suicide. A wave of suicides sweeps across the population.

Still, even with people committing suicide in unheard-of numbers, overpopulation will become the number one problem in the world. Currently, without a cure for death, scientists like Hans Rosling estimate that world population will increase from the current seven billion until it stabilises at about eleven billion people by the year 2100. With a cure for death, however, there will be as many as eighteen billion people by 2100, and the number will keep going up and up, until famine or war alleviates the pressure of excess population.

You might think: “Hey, not my problem, I’ll be dead by…oh.”

The increase in population will lead to intense shortages in natural resources. Oil will, of course, run out. Or rather, not run out per se, but become so expensive and energy intensive to extract, that it is no longer viable to mine. Access to clean drinking water will become a closely-guarded privilege for the rich. Food production, reliant on clean water for irrigation, will become more difficult, and food shortages will ravage the world. Countries with strong militaries will try to invade less powerful nations to steal their resources, at first with some pretense of “fighting terrorism” or “peace keeping,” but soon everyone will realise the wars are entirely for natural resources. Most people won’t care.

Governments might even encourage these resource wars, because lots of people dying in wars effectively helps reduce the world population. Suicide might also be encouraged for the same reason. People who kill themselves might be seen as “helping their fellow man.” Perhaps there will be governmentsponsored suicide centres where people can safely and humanely end their own lives.

Ultimately, some nation, pushed to the brink of collapse by all the above pressures, will take to using nuclear weapons in a desperate attempt to kill off the ever-growing population. Other countries will follow suit, and humanity will self-destruct.

Perhaps curing death is not such a good idea, after all?

What Would It Take?

What would it take to cure death, but not destroy everyone’s life in the process? What would a hypothetical scenario be that could let people live forever, without any negative side effects?

We would need unlimited resources, or 100 percent recycling to ensure that resources never run out. Also, people would have to have deeply meaningful, satisfying and rewarding things to do all day, every day, for eternity. We would have to have a total population of saints without any kind of selfish desire, no desire to enjoy at other people’s expense. People would also have to be free of desire to harm themselves in any way. Laws and police wouldn’t be able to achieve this; that would only create a police state. Instead, people would need to freely and willingly choose a saintly lifestyle, ultimately causing laws to become completely unnecessary. With such a society, and a cure for death, we might be able to realistically live forever.

Fantasy? Fiction? Fallacy? Let us turn to the Vedas, the spiritual literature of ancient India, a literature that suggests a realistic method to actually achieve the above scenario.

Spiritual Solution

The Bhagavad-gita, foremost spiritual literature, gives us an initial hint:

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (2.20)

There are two aspects to this statement. First, the soul is eternal: it is never born and it never dies. There is no overpopulation, because the total number of souls remains constant. Birth and death only happen to the material body, a body controlled and owned by the soul, but ultimately apart from it. There are no resource shortages, because the soul is not a physical thing and does not require any limited material resources to survive.

Second, there is reincarnation: the soul can move from one material body to another. A new body gives a new chance in life, a chance to learn from past mistakes; learn, with the previous life being remembered subconsciously.

How do we know there is a soul, a thing that makes eternal life and reincarnation possible? Well, how do we know there is a sun in the sky? We perceive both the soul and the sun by their symptoms. The symptom of the sun is light; we see the light and conclude that there must be a sun. The symptom of the soul is consciousness; we observe our own consciousness and conclude that there must be a soul.

It seems therefore, that, if we accept the Bhagavad-gita, we have nothing to worry about. Our consciousness, our soul, never dies.

“Wait just one minute!” I can hear you saying, “Living forever isn’t enough. People’s qualities also need to be transformed. Otherwise you end up with the distopian future mentioned earlier. How are you going to do that?”

How to Do It?

How do you do it? How do you develop spiritual qualities? How do you practice real yoga, going beyond mere physical exercises? How do you develop into a being of pure consciousness?

The secret is to practice the original and greatest form of yoga: bhakti-yoga, the yoga of loving devotion to Krishna. It’s yoga practice that will gradually transform the heart, mind, and soul, ultimately leading to an eternal life of bliss and knowledge.

This transformation very much makes your life better in the here and now. You develop good qualities, qualities that lead to health, happiness, and fulfillment. Obtaining an everlasting, ever-cognizant, ever-blissful spiritual body in the future, is just a welcome side effect.

The first step in this practice is to start a regular programme of mantra meditation, chanting the great mantra, the maha-mantra, a mantra that transforms consciousness:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In the comic to follow, Dadhici teaches us that if we falsely think the material body is our true self, then we will act selfishly to preserve the body at all costs. However, the body is only a temporary covering of the eternal spirit soul. If we neglect the needs of the soul and focus solely on pleasing the body, we will inevitably be frustrated, as the body will certainly perish. With this understanding we take care of the body for a higher purpose—the purpose of spiritual enlightenment.

Prabhupada’s Legacy is One of Disturbing the Sleeping Dogs