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Lecture at ISKCON Seattle
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ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 10/11/2015

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes simple living, cow protection, engaging oxen, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.

Participating Directors: Chaitanya Mangala (chair), Kripamaya, Madhava Gosh and Ranaka

Participating Advisors: Jaya Krsna, Sri Tulasi Manjari and Radha-Krishna

Participating Managers: Nitaicandra

Recording secretary: Jamuna Jivani

1. Mukunda’s Monthly Report

Mukunda reported on the previous month’s projects:

• Bahulaban Barn: The restoration of the exterior is nearing completion. At some point a decision needs to be made as to how the upstairs will be used. In the meanwhile it will remain locked for the winter.
• Village Council Steering Committee: The Committee prepared a one-page presentation about a proposed Village Association and a short survey that will soon be presented to some local devotees for feedback.
• Bahulaban Water Test: The results are expected by the end of October.
• Recycling Project: Connecting with the Marshall County authorities has been a challenge. Mukunda desires to meet people who can help move this project forward. He will network with a group of like-minded “green” people who meet monthly in Wheeling.
• Temple Barn: The goshala received some maintenance repairs, but needs more: fencing, gutters, insulation, etc. Mukunda, Ananda Vidya and Lalita Gopi have made a prioritized list. Mukunda has begun the work and will continue for the next several months, two days per month.
• Skills Training: Nitaichandra and Mukunda took a four-day course in Restorative Agriculture. They intend to implement some of their learning in the next growing season.
• ECO-V’s Conference Room: Construction is progressing slowly, but nicely. It is on schedule to be completed by the December Joint Board meetings.

2. Nitaicandra’s First Monthly Report

Nitaicandra reported on the previous month’s projects:

• Gardens: The community gardens have mostly been on hold for 2015 and now Nitaicandra is preparing the beds for 2016. A cover crop has been planted and two oxen have been temporarily moved to the Garden of Seven Gates. He met with Madri from the temple kitchen regarding seasonal cooking and quantities.
• Oxen: Nitaicandra began working with the oxen and crew at Bahulaban.
• Permaculture Training: Nitaicandra attended a Restorative Agriculture conference with Mukunda.
• Orchard: The apples are being harvested and sorted. The pears are next.

3. Update on Community Folklorist

Kripamaya reported that Sankirtan is interested in this role. Kripamaya will follow up with Sankirtan to see what ideas he has. Kripamaya and Radha-Krishna will brainstorm ideas for a proper service description. The position will most likely be managed by ISKCON New Vrindaban (INV) and Jaya Krsna would oversee its direction.

4. Garden of 7 Gates 2 Pole Barn Grant

Jaya Krsna, Mukunda, Nitaicandra and Ranaka will review the present situation and develop a proposal for how to proceed with this project.

5. Garden of 7 Gates 200 sq ft Prototype House

The prototype house is approximately half-way completed. Nitaicandra would like to continue the work on this project and will meet with Jaya Krsna to discuss the next steps. From that Nitaicandra will develop a budget for what it would cost to complete this project.

6. Solar Equipment

There is $2K remaining in the budget designated for this project. The ECO-V managers will review the current situation and propose how to proceed.

Appropriately, Prabhupada had described himself as “a man not to be disappointed.”  He was convinced that if there were a center where people could come hear from a pure devotee, the genuine God conscious culture of India could begin in America.

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(©syamarani dasi, used with permission; wwwbhaktiart.net)

[reposted from Oct 2009]

Often I have spoken
of matter’s “naked form”—
its conditions upon us
or rather how our body
is subjected to tribulations,
conditions and diminishing returns
with misery sometimes
reaching such a pitch
that cruel death
seems a welcoming friend,
but “death” is only another beginning
as we take birth again
to pursue the same things repeatedly
looking to fulfill our spiritual urges
through external, physical bodies—
a vain hope against hope!

Then there is our internal
“naked form” of inner desires
unconscious before—
but now as a devotee
our “dark side” revealed:

read more

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 11 April 2010, Durban, South Africa, Lecture)

Saintly people can touch the heart of all. In this day and age, as soon as we speak about a saintly person, we turn to Srila Prabhupada first. He is the emblem of a saintly person for us. His qualities of saintliness are important and becoming saintly should be at the forefront in our spiritual life. Spiritual life is not about belonging to a society, it is not about being part of a certain temple, it is not about belonging to a certain group of people – that is not enough. That is just some arrangement to give us support in becoming saintly people. Krsna says that the sadhus, the saintly persons, they are dear to him. And Krsna is dear to the saintly persons and thus never for a moment, does he forget the saintly persons, not for a moment are they out of his mind.

“I’m a little Vaisnava, come and play with me.
When you come to my CLASS, this is what you’ll see!”

While studying the process of creation, based on an article by H.G. Urmila Devi, Upper Elementary students created illustrations of their understanding and impressions on the subject.

Hare Krishna! The highest study in the land of higher studies
Chaitanya Charan das: Visiting the inconspicuous Matchless Gift storefront that at first glance had nothing spiritual to recommend itself drove home like never before Srila Prabhupada’s pragmatism. As I contemplated how the surroundings had been squalid and sordid during the days of the counterculture, it struck me how revolutionary Prabhupada had been. Starting amidst the most impure of circumstances, he had by the potency of bhakti not only purified many people here, but had also made this place the starting point for a global movement that had purified millions all over the world. We need to share bhakti where we are amidst whatever cultural setting we find ourselves in; we can’t wait for the utopia of a more conducive setting. Just as a surgeon can’t demand ideal hygienic conditions while treating people on a battlefield, we can’t demand ideal cultural conditions while sharing bhakti with the world. Commitment means doing what we can with what we have – now.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20730

The post Early morning parikrama with Radhanatha Swami in GEV’s Vrndavana forest (Part 2) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Shyamasundar: Once we were in Mayapur. We had an old—I think it was a 1948 Hudson or some old, big car. And I was driving. We had left the main road. If you have been on the main road you know how bad it is. You can imagine how bad this secondary road was like. We were going to visit Lalit Prasad, who was Bhaktisiddhanta’s living brother, who was a very old man then.

Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada,

Calais and the refugees.

On the 21th October 2015 we set off from Bhaktivedanta Manor with two vehicles loaded with Prasad and provisions such as sleeping bags, tents, clothes etc. We were heading to a place called the ” Jungle “, just outside of, Calais in France, where there were 6,000 refugees struggling to survive in the worst conditions imagable.

After a short ferry crossing we arrived at the refugee camp. It was raining, mud everywhere, people were wandering around aimlessly, desperation on their faces. Within seconds of arriving we realised that the situation was much worse than we expected. Some people had been living here for 3 months or more. There were a dozen portable toilets , no showers, no communal buildings, no kitchen, a few people were trying to cook some porridge on a open fire. fi

It is an automatic expectation that there would be someone in charge or at least some kind of order, But no, not here in the jungle. So we just drove down through the water and mud into the heart of it, and got on with the mission. It was a little scary to be honest. Hundreds of desperate people surrounded the van. The first task was to get people to make a queue which needed all hands on deck, and our team sprung to action. Soon we were distributing delicious rice, subji, cake, apple pie, apples and oranges. We were going as fast as possible as it was important to keep up the momentum , if we spaced out the volatile situation could kick off.

Desperate suffering people were pointing to their muddy feet , broken shoes and sandals, no socks, and going without a bath for months, and they stood in the relentless rain with tears in their eyes. We had the shoes they needed but it would create a riot if we were to attempt to distribute them. distribut

After a few thousand plates of Prasad were distributed we reflected on how we were going to distribute a van load of clothes. So we opened the back door of the van, drove and started throwing the bags out, left and right, as we drove around the camp. The clothes were quickly snapped up and we were able to cover most of the camp, ” Indiana Jones Style ” Jo

We are distributors of Prasad, we don’t claim know the reasons why these people are here and what are the political solutions, civil wars, bombings, weapons of mass destructions, illegal wars, or maybe people coming to the UK to get a better life. We do know that these people are eternal spirit souls suffering the pangs of material existence, and are in need of special mercy.

Srila Prabhupada was not averse to helping the “needy”. In Mumbai my wife Moksha Laxmi was instructed by Srila Prabhupada to start a school for the street kids who were coming to the temple. He also wanted to have clothes for them.

Your servant Parasuram das

Food For Life’s Wroclaw Project (Album with photos)
Peace, Love & Prasadam…23.10.2015
Find them here: https://goo.gl/eh5mfD

Hare Krishna! Football, Friction and Faith in the Holy Name
They wear special cloth, prepare foods only eaten on these rare days, and congregate in mass around a few exceptional people that are taking part in a ceremony lasting over 3 hours. All the while they chant two and three word phrases together in cadence, which creates and encourages a collectively desired experience. I remember 4 years ago, when we first began regular harinama’s at the football games. A rag/tag group of us led by me, a 2 year old bhakta at the time, were chanting with some regularity on campus with little regard from the ‘local’s.’ Ann Arbor Michigan, home of the University of Michigan, is considered the ‘smartest town in America’ according to recent studies on such useless things. So smart these folks were, that they had no regard or respect for the sankirtan party we would feebly and yet faithfully assemble. Our party would look even more pathetic amid the wash of Maize and Blue on Saturdays outside ‘The Big House’, the temple where pig skin is worshipped by 100,000+ of America’s best and brightest on fall Saturdays in Ann Arbor.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20724

Hare Krishna! Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra: IDVM’s offering at ISKCON 50
On the auspicious day of Dwadasi, October 25, 2015 in the attractive precincts of Sri Sri Radha-Madanmohan temple, Hyderabad, the inauguration ceremony of the Yatra was conducted. The Yatra team had readied one Sankirtan bus with Sri Sri Jagannath Baldev Subhadra. Since it was Srila Prabhupada’s desire to travel to villages in a vehicle, he is also present in his deity form besides the Lordships. A simple program was conducted at 9 in the morning amidst the enthusing crowd of devotees. HG Basu Ghosh prabhu (Vice Chairman, ISKCON Bureau and Temple President, ISKCON Baroda), HG Vedanta Caitanya prabhu (Temple President, ISKCON Hyderabad; Sri Sanskritananda Acarya (Sanskrit Pandit & Go-rakshak) and HG Anandamaya prabhu (Head, BBT-Hyderabad, Telugu) were present to witness the occasion.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20721

Hare Krishna! Sadhu Sanga Bliss in Vrindavan – Maan Sarovar and Bhandiravan
During the month of Kartik, many devotees assemble from various parts of the world to Vrindavan in order to recharge their spiritual battery. Parikrama allows an opportunity for devotees to nourish their bhakti through the medium of visiting various places of pastimes of the Lord, hearing of those pastimes from senior devotees and serving the vaisnavas. With this in mind, HH Subhag Swami Maharaj organised a series of programs in different places across Vraja during this holy month. In preparation for Kartik Maas, on 26th October 2015, Maharaj took 170 devotees from a range of places across the globe to Maan Sarovar and Bhandiravan. Buses left from our ISKCON campus at 6am. Class was given by Maharaj on the banks of this most holy pond. The tears produced from Radharani, from her deep feelings of separation from Krishna formed this reservoir of water we see today. Maharaj mentioned that although feeling separation from the Lord is our goal, it can only be achieved when we stop sense gratification, as Srila Narottam Das Thakur states in his celebrated song.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20718

Hare Krishna! Prasadam distribution etc. to the refugees in Calais, France
Parasuram das: It was a little scary to be honest. Hundreds of desperate people surrounded the van. The first task was to get people to make a queue which needed all hands on deck, and our team sprung to action. Soon we were distributing delicious rice, subji, cake, apple pie, apples and oranges. We were going as fast as possible as it was important to keep up the momentum , if we spaced out the volatile situation could kick off. Desperate suffering people were pointing to their muddy feet , broken shoes and sandals, no socks, and going without a bath for months, and they stood in the relentless rain with tears in their eyes. We had the shoes they needed but it would create a riot if we were to attempt to distribute them. After a few thousand plates of Prasad were distributed we reflected on how we were going to distribute a van load of clothes. So we opened the back door of the van, drove and started throwing the bags out, left and right, as we drove around the camp.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20714

October 27. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
You were alone in the city
where no one knew Krishna.
Only a backward boy came,
but Krishna in your heart
was your direct companion.
You had kept your courage on the lonely Atlantic,
and now alone in the ocean of vices.
The Lord protected you,
just as He protects the sages in the forest.
Loitering in neighborhoods
thinking how they could be transformed
for Krishna’s mission.
But it seemed impossible,
and you went to Scindia’s man
to ask when a ship was returning.
Still you extended your stay again:
Let me try a little longer.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#27

Hare Krishna! Easy 5 minute austerity this Kartik month to calm the disturbed mind and please Lord Krishna
Vaisesika Dasa: The happiness and distress that every human being experiences are two extreme states of the mind. Everyone welcomes happiness but depression, dejection, and demotivation are not welcomed. WHO (World Health Organization) predicts that by 2020, depression will be the second-leading cause of global disability. Modern science is still struggling to deal with depression that attacks 1 in every 20. Here is where the instructions that Lord Krishna spoke in Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, who was depressed and demotivated, are utilizable. After hearing Bhagavad Gita Arjuna got out of his negative thoughts and depression, fought with full motivation and won the war by the mercy of Lord Krishna.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20704

The post Daily Darshan – October 27th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

YOU ALONE

You were alone in the city
where no one knew Krishna.
Only a backward boy came,
but Krishna in your heart
was your direct companion.

“Murali Manohar” Dance by Radha and Lalita (5 min video)
Kathak Fusion on the song from “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje”
Artists: Radha (Srimati Radharani), Lalita (Krishna)
Performed on 25th Oct 2015 at Samadhi Auditorium, Sridham Mayapur
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/AUKWh5

Damodara month! (4 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: During this Damodara month, if one manages to capture Krishna with the ropes of pure devotion, he will be released from the bondage of repeated birth and death. – Srila Prabhupada, October 1972
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/L4J6wz

Tomorrow is the first day of Kartika here in Vrindavan (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Tomorrow is the first day of Kartika here in Vrindavan. One can just feel the excitement in the air. Everyone is busy preparing for the most auspicious month of the year. Ananta Vrindavan dasa arrived in the afternoon and even before he put his bags down we were out capturing the mood of Vrindavan through the lens of his camera. For the next month we’ll be producing, almost daily, photos albums and short videos of our parikramas with 400 devotees. All for the pleasure of those who can’t be present in Sri Vrindavan during this special time.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/KYIU8a

Hare Krishna! Immortal Longings
Ravindra Svarupa dasa: Our inability to sustain relationships is at the heart of our predicament. All our happiness and our achievement depend upon our successfully perpetuating relationships, and our ultimate failure to do so is called death. Small losses prefigure the larger one. We want to live, to expand our organism, to increase the power of our being—in short, to overcome death. As sex is the act of creation of life, we turn to it to commune with the energy of life itself and to prove our vital power. This power becomes embodied in offspring. Our family becomes the nucleus of a fortification composed of real estate, money, social connections, privilege, and power. We feed our vital force by competing with enemies and destroying them. In this way we prosper and gloriously expand. Yet all these activities have a desperate and driven character. We are trying to fool ourselves. For at heart we know very well that nothing can protect us, that all our powerful friends, aristocratic relatives, and sweet-faced children are fallible soldiers in the war, and that all of us are doomed.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=4018

A Day of Kartik month In ISKCON Vrindavana (4 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Jo9Gf2