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The post Shouldn’t we teach the highest standard, otherwise people will rationalize their materialism? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Hare Krishna! When people danced to ‘Hare Rama, Hare Krishna’ in Beijing
The “prasadam” were fresh grapes, cookies and tiny condiments in wrappers. The devotees were mostly young Chinese. And, it was a rare interactive session held by senior members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Beijing on the Bhagvad Gita combined with insights into yoga on Saturday afternoon. On sale outside the auditorium was a new version of the Gita in Chinese. Copies of the “Bu Jian Fan Ge” in Chinese or “Bhagvad Song” sold rapidly from the counter as visitors picked up their copies for the price of an entry ticket at 200 yuan (Rs 2000). In the auditorium, musicians from India played the mridangam, flute and harmonium as trained singers sang “bhajans” and the well-known tune of “Hare Rama, Hare Krishna” associated with devotees of Krishna.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18748

Vasusrestha and Dhanistha have returned to live at New Govardhana after living at Woolgoolga for many years. She works as a nurse at Tweed Hospital and he manages the day to day activities at the farm.

Rādhā and Krishna’s morning pastimes follow immediately after their pre-dawn pastimes. They have returned to their homes and caught a little sleep. Then…

राधांस्नात विभूषितां व्रजपयाहूतां सखीभिः प्रगे
तद्गेहे विहितान्न पाकरचनां कृष्णावशेषाशनाम्
कृष्णं बुद्धमवाप्त धेनुसदनं निर्व्यूढ गोदोहनं
सुस्नातं कृत भोजनं सहचरैस्तां चाथ तं चाश्रये

rādhāṁ snāta vibhūṣitāṁ vrajapayāhūtāṁ sakhībhiḥ prage
tad-gehe vihitānna pāka racanāṁ kṛṣṇāvaśeṣāśanām
kṛṣṇaṁ buddham avāpta dhenu sadanaṁ nirvyūḍha godohanaṁ
susnātaṁ kṛta bhojanaṁ sahacarais tāṁ cātha taṁ cāśraye

To recite this, use the same meter as the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka:

Translation

At dawn, summoned by the leader of Vraja, the sakhī’s bathe and dress Rādhā 

and goes to the leader’s home, where Rādhā cooks a wonderful breakfast and eats what Krishna leaves.

Krishna had woken up and gone to the cowshed in time to milk his fortunate cows

Then, after his bath, he enjoyed Rādhā’s breakfast with his friends.

My mind dwells on this. 

Comment

The “leader of Vraja” is Yaśodā. She summons Rādhā to come to her house and prepare an amazing breakfast for Krishna. So, Rādhā’s friends bathe, dress and decorate her (and themselves), and go with her to Yaśodā’s house, where they cook wonderful things.

Krishna, meanwhile, had woken up in time for his cows. There is a particular time of day that the cows should be milked, and so as not to disturb their schedule Krishna wakes up in time for it, although tired. Then, his friends and servants bathe and dress him, and he sits down to eat the breakfast Rādhā and her friends had cooked. He sits with his father, brother, and several of his friends.

After they have eaten, Yaśodā, Rādhā, her friends, etc. enjoy the meal. Rādhā specifically acquires the food left on Krishna’s plates, because it tastes like Krishna’s kisses. Some of the fortunate sakhī’s serve this meal to Rādhā and her other friends. Then they also eat.

The mind must dwell on these pastimes.

This verse summarizes chapters 2 – 4 of Govinda-līlāmṛta.

Vraja Kishor

VrajaKishor.com

(this blog is recorded on the full blog page: quick time player is needed; works best with Firefox or Explorer; if you are using Google Chrome it will automatically play, so if you don't want to listen, mute your speakers.)
[originally posted on 1-08-15]
Sometimes we experience great surprise and intense sadness at the unexpected departure from the bhakti path of a devotee we may have been inspired by or respected. Or even if the devotee struggled to follow the basic devotional practices and disciplines, we can still be unnerved when they leave, and then denounce and attack what is still our faith, reinterpreting their stay in an ashram in terms of cultic manipulation and brainwashing. “What really happened?” me may wonder, and how could I have helped prevent this? Sometimes in the aftermath of such a sudden departure, some devotees worry and wonder if it could happen to them, as it brings up their own doubts. This scenario recently happened in a circle of devotees I know, and it caused me to reflect on what it takes to stay on the path, and the various reasons people leave.

When I was a new devotee I experienced one of my friends leave the temple. I didn’t see him again for three weeks until he came to the Sunday feast. Though I recognized him, I was startled to see his expression. He looked like a shadow of his former self when he had a bright faced countenance. Now he had a dark gloomy appearance and seemed unfocused and dazed. I wondered what had brought this about, as if he had just entered a self-created prison.

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Hare Krishna! Kinds and degrees of illicit sex
Urmila Devi Dasi: Certainly we Gaudiya Vaisnavas, members of ISKCON, should know what is sinful and what is not. In the ultimate sense, “sin” is anything that is not done 1) for Krishna, 2) with a desire to please Him without wanting anything in return, and 3) without any interruption in the service. Such pure bhakti is the nature of the soul, and anything contrary to that, or less than that, is untruth and sinful. But sin is of different kinds and degrees. Just as one cannot say that because a cat is an animal and a dog is an animal that a cat is a dog, so one cannot say that because two things are both sinful that they are the same kind of thing, or to the same degree. Murder is a different kind of sin than is stealing, and there are degrees of both, with different types and severity of consequences. First degree murder is of a different degree than manslaughter; and manslaughter is a different kind of sin than armed robbery with a deadly weapon, which is of a different degree than burglary.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=3269

This past week Vilasini, Head Architect for ToVP, and Parvata Muni visited the fabrication plant of McCoy Industries. A mock-up of a section of the Kalash, constructed full size, was to be shown.

[See image gallery at tovp.org]

This mock-up is made from polished stainless steel, coated with titanium nitride and would give an idea of which fabrication methods would be used. This coating is a ceramic gold like substance which i weather resistant.

A skeletal structure behind the sheeting holds everything in the correct position and is connected to the tubular structure at the top of the dome.

[See image gallery at tovp.org]

There are 24 segments and 24 lotus leaf shaped petals that are formed and riveted to the facets to give a faceted look.

In this drawing we can see the size of the mock up section in proportion to the rest of the Kalash.

The overall height of the Kalash from this level is about 49 feet (15 meters), and at a height of 80 meters above the ground level, the engineering and structural integrity is of paramount importance.

[See image gallery at tovp.org]

The post Real Size Scale of The Kalash Mock-up appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Hare Krishna! A Philadelphia Invocation
Ravindra Svarupa dasa: It began with an answered phone in my office on an otherwise ordinary day in 1973. A woman addressed me in the distinctive vowels and consonants that revealed her to be a native of Philadelphia—or “Fluffya,” as it’s called in the local dialect. She asked if I were the head person of the Hare Krishna temple. She pronounced “Hare” as “hair.” “Ha-ray Krishna temple,” I responded. “Yes, I am.” “Are you,” she continued, “a priest, minister, or rabbi of your religion?” She had a raspy smoker’s voice. “A priest,” I affirmed. “OK, then. I’m calling you from the Philadelphia City Council, office of Councilman Kelly.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18743

Vital Yoga: Preaching program with Devamrita Swami (Album with photos)
See them here: https://goo.gl/6zxpFf

Hare Krishna! Lord Jagannath appears on the shore of Brahma Putra @ISKCON Jamalpur, Bangladesh
Jamalpur is a district in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. It has a total population of around 2,300,000. On the bank of the serene Brahma Putra River, surrounded by lush green forests beholding the most fragrant of flowers, it was the perfect location for the Lord of Universe to reside. It is very meaningful that this holy river, being connected with our Brahma Madhava Gaudiya Sampradya will play host for our most worshipable Lord. On 31st July, 2015, hundreds of devotees from all over Bangladesh gathered to celebrate in officially opening ISKCON Jamalpur and this being the day of Guru Purnima, it made the event even more special.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18735

Thousands chant and dance with the devotees as the Polish Woodstock festival begins. (8 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: The main organizer of Woodstock, our good friend Jurek Owsiak, opened our village on our big stage, amidst the tumultuous cheers of 8,000 young people. Later he invited us to the main Woodstock stage for the official opening of the festival itself. It was quite a sight looking out at a sea of 500,000 people eagerly waiting for the event to begin. Afterwards we returned to Krsna’s Village of Peace, for our signature activity of endless kirtan as thousands of people wandered around the site enjoying the wonderful world of Krsna consciousness.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/7aYmg5

Here Lord Brahma pray to the Lord so that he can not become puff up when he given this order to created the universe. But us when given even small order we become proud, Here the proper attitude was given.

yadā tu sarva-bhūteṣu dāruṣv agnim iva sthitam praticakṣīta māḿ loko jahyāt tarhy eva kaśmalam

You will see Me in all living entities as well as all over the universe, just as fire is situated in wood. Only in that state of transcendental vision will you be able to be free from all kinds of illusion. Srimad Bhagavatam 3.9.32

http://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/3/9/32

The post When dharma becomes adharma and adharma becomes dharma appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Gauranga 2015 - International Bhakti Vriksha Festival, N.Novgorod (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The mantra delivers the conditioned soul from his bondage; so simply by chanting the mantra Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, one can gain deliverance from any condition. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.42 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/Y6Po4b

The qualification of a guru.
Once, someone asked Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, “Are you the guru of the whole world?” Srila Prabhupada humbly replied, “I am not anyone’s guru but I am everyone’s servant.” This is the perfection and qualification of a guru.– Radhanath Swami
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/wsXT1E

Food For Life Nepal serving Mid Day Meal to one more school. (Album with photos)
Today 30th July 2015, Food For Life Nepal started Mid Day Meal at Sri Sri Ram Nimna Madhyamik Vidhyalaya, Vishnu Buddhanilkantha-5, Pasikot, Kathmandu for 120 students.
These wonderful children will be served Mid Day Meal on daily basis additional to 300 students from different schools. The nutritious mid day meal ensures good health & keep them in school.
Lets eliminate classroom hunger TOGETHER.
Join Us.
If you have an idea that you would like to share with us, or if you wish to collaborate with us for volunteering, fundraising and other activities:
Write to us— info@fflnepal.org
See them here: https://goo.gl/zw4ZEY

CC daily Podcast:
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The post CC daily 183 – 6.271 – Revelation needs to be understood through the living tradition appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The last previous days excessive rains have flooded Mayapur. Now there are fears for an inundation from the Ganga river. (Album with photos)
See them here: https://goo.gl/UH4Pek

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.3.24 ( Ujjain@26.10.2012 )

~ HIGH “ FLOOD ’ ALERT POSTED ( just now from Mayapur ) FOR SRIDHAM MAYAPUR / NAVADVIP , and all of NADIA ~PLEASE - PRAY & CHANT ~

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The post Bhagavatam-daily 285 – 11.13.18 – Spiritual safety comes not by position but by devotion appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Guru Maharaja say we should be carefull of our thinking about Vaishanva, some pseudo devotee will blaspheme Junior Haridasa but what given by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu actually a mercy.

Sri Caitanya mercy sometimes hard to be seen and what happens to Junior Haridasa is he got the mercy, not otherwise.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chastise Junior Haridasa to give an example how an ideal Vaishnava should be. A Vaishnava should be simple and free from any sinful activity, even if its tiny sinful activity.

If we read the Lila, Junior Haridasa not actually "in" maya, he only have a glimpse of something in his mind. But, to correct him and give him a lesson and mercy Lord Caitanya chastise him.

The result of that chastisement is Junior Haridasa receive constant personal association with His subtle body. So junior haridasa personally singing for Lord Caitanya and Lord Caitainya is the only one who hear it. which is a great mercy.

Guru Maharaja gave some stories in real life, how sometime devotee get sick, have problem, have baby that unhealthy and doesn't live long. Then Maharaja tell a story about a devotee with baby that doesn't live long, but the soul just need it a few moment and get to higher position.

Some devotee have baby that died after birth and Prabhupada said that baby only need to be in a womb of a devotee and doesn't need to live long to go to higher position.

Its hard to see but everything is Krishna mercy.

Please hear this lecture more, Guru Maharaja narrate a lot of interesting real life story.

Hare Krishna! Tribute to HG Surabhi Prabhu
Subhag Swami: One day we were in Mayapur, many years back, desiring to have his association I requested him to have a glass of fruit juice with me. During our conversation we spoke about several things. I conveyed my feelings of appreciation in how he helped in establishing a wonderful temple: Punjabi Bagh. Out of his humility, he replied, “Yes, yes but a very small temple though.” I told him that it doesn’t matter; he helps maintain it and guides the devotees there through the expert medium of HG Samba das, thus doing a great service.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18727

Scenes from the preaching in Woodstock in Poland (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many millions of ears. And when the holy name dances in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind, and therefore all the senses become inert. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 4.71 purport, Vidagdha-Madhava 1.12)
See them here: https://goo.gl/Rkldqc

(This article, co-authored with Aja Govinda Prabhu, was published in Back to Godhead when the claims of artificial life had been in the news in 2010, but was not published on thespiritualscientist.com, though two separate small articles were published: What is the Vedic perspective on the creation of artificial life? and What is wrong with creating life?  As similar news about the claims of the creation of artificial life are again surfacing, this article is being published now.)
“Scientists create artificial life,” declared newspaper headlines around the world in May 2010. Genome pioneer J. Craig Venter, the man behind the sensation, claimed, “This is a philosophical advance as much as a technical advance.”

What exactly did Venter do? He:

1. Determined the sequence of the DNA in one of the world’s simplest bacteria,
2. Synthesized a copy of that DNA from components sold by a biological supply company,
3. Replaced the natural DNA in a living bacterial cell with this synthetic DNA.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a long linear molecule found in the nucleus of a cell. Sometimes dubbed as the king of molecules, DNA comprises of genes or biological units of heredity that are passed down from parent to offspring. The complete DNA (also known as the genome) has a few billion chemical bases (bases are specific bio-molecules) paired together into a double helix. The four bases used in DNA (adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine) act like the letters of an alphabet, and the specific sequences of these bases convey information used for building proteins (chemical compounds used by living cells). The actual production of proteins is done by “gene expression” machinery within the cell that makes copies of the DNA and uses the information therein to arrange amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) into the sequence and structure required for the protein under production. Each different gene sequence results in a protein with a distinct structure and shape, and consequently distinct function in the cell.

Venter, like many modern scientists, believes in reductionism: the idea that all the features of a complex system can be explained in terms of or “reduced” down to the properties of its simple components. Reductionist biologists hold that a living organism is like a computer: just as the capacities of the computer can be explained in terms of the capacities of its components, the characteristics, traits, behaviors of livings organisms can be explained in terms of their components, going down ultimately to their genes. As Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins noted, “The machine code of the genes is uncannily computer-like.” Applying the computer analogy to the current experiment, Venter has certainly not created the complete computer. What he has done – introducing a new genetic sequence within a preexisting living organism – is like replacing one chip within a pre-existing computer by another chip. So, even from this reductionist viewpoint, he has not created life. That’s why Caltech biologist and Nobel laureate, David Baltimore, pointed out that Venter has “overplayed the importance” of his results; he “has not created life, only mimicked it.”

What if scientists someday use the biochemical components to create the entire cell? Would that amount to creating life? No, because that would just be like making the computer, not the person who would use the computer. Although reductionist scientists would have us believe that there is no such “person” and that life is just a product of bio-chemicals, living systems behave in ways fundamentally and inexplicably different from nonliving objects. Nonliving objects are created, deteriorate over time and eventually meet with destruction. Living systems exhibits three additional features: maintenance, growth and reproduction. A living human hand, if cut, can clot and heal itself; the most state-of-the-art artificial hand, if cut, cannot clot or heal itself. The simplest unicellular organism can grow; the most sophisticated computer cannot. The most primitive living systems can reproduce; even the most advanced robots can’t.

No wonder Boston University bioengineer James Collins candidly admitted the scientific ground reality: “Scientists don’t know enough about biology to create life.”

The Program of Life

What is amiss in the reductionist portrayal of life is analyzed by eminent Oxford biologist Denis Noble, renowned for his contributions to physiology, in his book The Music of Life. He points out an important problem with the notion of DNA as the “program or blueprint of life”. This notion that deifies DNA into the super-agent behind life is implicit in the current claims about creation of artificial life. Noble explains that the DNA is more like a database than a program; in computer terminology, a database refers to an organized storage of data, whereas a program refers to a list of executable instructions that achieve a specific objective. The DNA only contains data, but this data is useless unless it is read by “gene expression” cellular machinery that actually executes the “program of life” to build proteins. The database-like role of DNA is evident from the fact that the same gene sequence code of the DNA can be converted to different proteins according to the needs of the particular cell that it is in. Therefore, the genes do not determine all the functions of the cell, but are simply templates that are interpreted into differently functioning and distinct proteins depending on the environment and need of the cell. To complete the computer analogy then, the cell is a computer, the cell nucleus is the controller (control unit that manages the entire operation of the cell), DNA is the database that contains genetic memory data and program data, protein production is the program (the biological tasks to be completed to build proteins), gene expression mechanism is the processing unit, and proteins are the output.

The Music of Life

Noble illustrates the limitation of the reductionist view by another intriguing analogy.Let us say, a person relaxes at home by playing a music CD. Upon hearing the music, tears flow from the person’s eyes. Imagine aliens observing this scene. The alien scientists enquiring about the cause of the tears trace it back to the speaker system, to the CD player, to the CD, to the particular track being played. By their empirical scientific method, they reason that the music and the subsequent tears were caused by the digital information encoded in the CD track being played. All of us know that the emotions are caused not by the CD track itself, but by the context and memories attached to the melody, the song, the players and other such factors. The music does not originate from the CD but from the musician who recorded it onto the CD. The music is independent of the CD, which is only one of the various forms of media that allow the music to be stored and played. Echoing Noble’s reasoning, French philosopher Andre Pichot asserts that the DNA-mania of modern geneticists is similar to the aliens’ hasty reasoning. As the CD is useless without the CD player, the DNA is useless without the gene expression cellular machinery that copies and converts the gene code into proteins. Just as the CD is only a media for storing music, DNA is only a media for storing and recreating biological life. DNA is neither life nor the absolute cause of life, just as the CD music track is neither the music nor the primal cause of the music. Life is thus like music: neither can be reduced down to codes – biological or digital. DNA is like the CD track; DNA stores biological data for creating proteins, the CD track stores digital data for creating sounds. Life like music does not originate from and is independent of the media temporarily used for data storage.

Then, where does life originate from? Just as music can only originate from a musician, life can only originate from a living person. That living person, according to the Vedas, is the spirit soul. The Bhagavad-gita (2.17) explains that the soul is an irreducible, eternal unit of consciousness. When the soul enters a biological medium such as our body, the body acquires apparent life. Just as a living person is necessary to play the CD and the CD player, the soul is necessary for the dead inert cellular machinery to read the DNA genetic code and run the biochemical processes that animate the cell. The soul is the cause of maintenance, growth and reproduction, the features of living systems that defy reductionist explanation as discussed earlier. The Gita (2.25) explains that the soul is “invisible and inconceivable”, implying that its presence cannot be detected by our senses and sense-created instruments.

The Gita (13.33-34) also points out that the soul remains distinct from the body it animates, as does sunlight illuminating the universe or air pervading space. So, when a part of the body is changed, the soul remains unchanged, just as when a component in a computer is changed, the computer-user remaining unchanged. Thus, in Venter’s experiment, the soul animating the bacteria remained unchanged when the DNA within that bacteria was changed.

Reductionist philosophers object to the existence of any non-material spirit animating the body because, they hold, spirit that being of a nature fundamentally different from matter cannot influence matter. The Gita agrees that spirit can’t influence matter, but asserts that the Supreme Spirit being the controller of both matter and spirit can. The Gita (13.23) explains that spirit interacts with matter through the agency of the Supersoul, an expansion of God who is immanent and all-pervading in matter.

In this connection, it is pertinent to note that Cambridge-educated researcher Stephen Meyer in his book Signature in the Cell explains how attempts of reductionist scientists to explain life in biological terms has paradoxically ended up showing the need for intelligence as the cause of life. For example, computer algorithms that attempted to simulate genetic information by random symbol generation achieved modest success only when they were intelligently directed toward a pre-chosen target sequence. Thus, far from proving the efficacy of randomness, they ended up proving the necessity of intelligence in generating genetic information. Could the same apply in Venter’s case? Intelligent scientists working for decades with funding running into millions were able to synthesize only one of the simplest DNAs. What does that say about the intelligence required to synthesize DNAs as complex as the human genome? Author George Sim Johnson points out, “Human DNA contains more organized information than the encyclopedia Britannica. If the full text of the encyclopedia were to arrive in computer code from outer space, most people would regard it as proof of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence.” Obviously then, the organized information in the DNA can be regarded as proof of a magnificent designing intelligence, as Meyer persuasively established in his book. This echoes the Gita (9.10), which states that material nature works under God’s supervision.

Playing God

Despite his claims to be “playing God”, Venter has unwittingly played into the hands of God by providing evidence for his existence and intelligence. Historically, attempts to play God have repeatedly backfired. In new fields of research, scientists almost invariably promise beneficial, often sensational, future results. However, the past track record of such promises shows counterproductive, often devastating, consequences. In the field of genetic engineering itself, genetically-modified (GM) food was advertised as the solution to world hunger, but it ended up causing hunger-deaths of hundreds of farmers in Maharashtra, India. These farmers were captivated by promises of pest-resistant seeds and high yields, but when the pests developed resistance to the seeds, the yields failed utterly. Moreover, as the GM seeds are designed to not give seeds for the next sowing, the farmers had no chance of a yield in the next season either. Afflicted by poverty, hunger and hopelessness, multitudes of them committed suicide. Concerned with the health hazards associated with GM food, the European Union has banned its use. NGOs are attempting to have similar curbs on GM food in other parts of the world.

What are the possible dangers in “artificial life” research? Genome manipulation of the kind done by Venter can lead to the development of medicine-resistant variants of disease-producing microbes, which could trigger a pandemic. The genome Venter synthesized was copied from a natural bacterium that infects goats. Before copying the DNA, he claims to have excised fourteen genes likely to be pathogenic, so that the new bacterium, even if it escaped, would be unlikely to cause goats harm. However, such measures may not be incorporated in future similar researches – either unintentionally or intentionally. Will we then see headlines of “artificial deaths” – deaths caused by human attempts at creating artificial life – in the papers? While some may consider such a scenario unlikely and even unduly pessimistic, it is certainly a possibility. And perhaps contemplation on the worst-case possibility is necessary to prevent it from becoming a reality. A good cautionary step is that the US President acknowledged the development raised “genuine concern” and asked the White House bioethics commission study the issues raised by synthetic biology and report back to him within six months.

Real Life

On a positive note, the “artificial life” news, by bringing to the forefront the age-old question of what life actually is, may prompt some soul-searching – at least figuratively and maybe even literally. Developing the computer analogy further, ISKCON scientist the late Dr Richard L Thompson (Sadaputa Dasa), in his book “Maya: The World as a Virtual Reality”, explains how our entire present existence is like a computer simulation, a virtual reality. So as spiritual beings, the material existence that we are currently leading is itself an artificial life. From that perspective, the attempt to create artificial life within an artificial life is little more than an artifice. Alternative to such artifices is the spiritual technology described in the Gita that can enable us to progress from our current artificial life to our real life as eternal beings. If the energy spent on creating artificial life were directed to cultivate spiritual knowledge and practice, humanity would make quantum leaps in its understanding of life. The scientific establishment may or may not do this, but each of us individually can. Then we will no longer be taken in by overhyped reports about artificial life, for we will be constantly experiencing and relishing the meaning of real life – and will want to share that with everyone.

The post Artificial Life? Why Not Real Life? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Ratha Yatra - Festival of India in Copenhagen (Album with photos)
Here are finally some photo when Lord Jagannatha and His faithful devotees from England visited Denmark and graced Copenhagen with Their divine presence :)
See them here: https://goo.gl/rxQUSi

Bangladesh Yatra (Album with photos)
We’re very greatful to the devotees of Narasindhi, Haviganj, Sylhet, Moulavi Bazar, Narayan Ganj, and Dhaka who warmly welcomed us and gave us their wonderful association. It was very purifying for us to be able and chant the Holy Names and discuss the Lord’s patime with all of you. We would like to specifically thank HG Charu Chandra prabhu, the regional secretary of Bangladesh, and HG Navadwip Dvija Gauranga prabhu who accompanied and helped us from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. Hare Krsna! ys, Mayapur Chandra’s team
See them here: https://goo.gl/yYn0rW

Ultimate Realization of Surabhir Prabhu (7 min video)
Surabhir Prabhu (here in an earlier photo with Jayapataka Swami) describes his feelings and realizations upon his return to the association of devotees after being apart for 25 years.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/OKDrBG

Srila Sanatana Goswami Disappearance ceremony at ISKCON-Delhi: 31-07-2015 (Album with photos)
See them here: https://goo.gl/eC9GHM

Hare Krishna! First Youth Festival at Iskcon Gurgaon’s recently donated temple
In the last week of May this year ISKCON was donated a fully functional building located on a 4800 sq. yard campus, on the outskirts of Gurgaon, a sattelite city of Delhi, and home to several major software companies. The property was earlier owned and operated by an NGO called Atma Kalyan Kendra run by its founder Acarya Sudarshan Ji Maharaj. It is located on a Sohna road, a National Highway, and has two major universities, several deluxe hotels and residential apartments within few minutes drive. The campus has a spacious hall on front side, which can accommodate about 500 people.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18723