The Negative Undercurrent in Communities—Acknowledging and Dealing with Relationship Conflicts
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Author: 
Karnamrita Das

photo undercurrents-sign_zpsc13f8a8c.jpg
This last Thanksgiving day at our small country temple we decided to have a day of japa as a way to show our gratitude for the holy name and those gurus who have given it to us. This is a practice we used to do monthly and are hoping to revive. During such occasions I’m reminded of the many japa retreats I’ve attended where participants were totally absorbed in japa, kirtan, and hearing about the Krishna conscious philosophy from saintly persons in front of beautiful Deities and our many gurus—in other words, the main practices of bhakti.

Some devotees chant 64 rounds, though the main emphasis is to increase our number of rounds beyond what we have vowed to chant, in the mood of surrender, praying for perfection, and to glorify the Lord and his devotees. We also share together at the end of our chanting what our struggles, positive experiences, and realizations were. I often write about whatever has come to me through the experience and this blog is based on those thoughts. My feelings and awareness during this time were also influenced by some serious drama and difficulties in devotee dealings over the last 6 months.

During the day I was appreciating how such regular shared spiritual practices bring the devotees closer together. There was obvious unity among the participants, at least observably. In theory we were also internally united in terms of our goal to perfect our lives by the holy name and Vaishnava seva. In addition to the power of sharing our spiritual practices, I was reminded that it is really our good will and affection toward one another that is the foundation of being able to harmoniously come together.
6 hour japa day photo DSCN0210_zpscfd6d9a2.jpg

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We Will Bond With Him
→ Japa Group

"We should always be very grate­ful to Krishna for giv­ing us the Hare Krishna mantra, and we should show our grat­i­tude by chant­ing it as much as pos­si­ble. That way, we will bond with Him, which is our heart’s great­est desire. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare."

From Japa Transformations
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

Radha`s People
→ travelingmonk.com

Varsana is where Srimate Radharani lived in Her youth. It is dear to all Vrajavasis. A number of them are fortunate to take birth and live their lives in that sacred abode. On my way out of Vrindavan to Australia this morning, I stopped by Varsana to roll in the dust, visit King Vrsabhanu’s palace, [...]

Saturday, November 29th, 2014
→ The Walking Monk

Habana, Cuba   

Monastic Getting Around                                                                

I, along with three monks from Canada, taxied our way to the city of Matanzas last evening after a long beach walk.  Sand and salt water met our our feet along the Varadero beach.  At a bend to the beach we split ourselves for a preference to a dip or a nap.  Away from the industrial world and away from the masses, we enjoyed solitude on sand while shaded by plants.  Readings and discussions from the Bhagavad-gita centred on the topic of bhakti as the supreme yoga.  Just imagine if you will, four single men, (by name Hayagriva, Brihat, Frederic, and I) with not the worries of the world on our minds.  It really does work that way for monastics. 

After sundown in Matanzas we had this Cuban reception, initiated by a kirtan, followed by my talk.  Then today, a long drive to Habana , landed us at a culture house where we engaged in, once again, kirtan. From the lotus position, sitting down cross-legged, we all eventually stood up for a spontaneous dance.  The venue was Casa de la Cultura, a former architectural Spanish building of beauty, now in disrepair, like so many aristocratic edifices of the area.

People here appear to be immune to the disregarded state of affairs, but they do have each other.  They are the lovin’ kind.  They like rhythm and movement.  With that being said we did deliver.  All being pleased.  In the short time here in Cuba, a day and a half, we spanned some kilometres on foot, some on wheels and treated ourselves to the spirited hospitality of the Cuban people in Varadero, Matanzas and Habana. 

May the Source be with you!

6 KM

Why I will never leave ISKCON? – H.H.Kavicandra Swami Maharaj (5…
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Why I will never leave ISKCON? - H.H.Kavicandra Swami Maharaj (5 min video)
He explains that he has a big position in ISKCON but that is not the reason he is in ISKCON. He talks about how Srila Prabhupada created ISKCN with so much endevour. He talks about how devotees get attracted to splinter groups. He talks about what happens in splinter groups. Srila Prabhupada always said that we all should stay inspite of problems. Its not that we have not made mistakes but ultimately we want to be with Srila Prabhupada because he did the original work and saved us. He has created the whole society for us besides writing books for us.
See it here: http://goo.gl/tM4rHu

Radha`s People (Album 283 photos) Indradyumna Swami: Varsana is…
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Radha`s People (Album 283 photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Varsana is where Srimate Radharani lived in Her youth. It is dear to all Vrajavasis. A number of them are fortunate to take birth and live their lives is that sacred abode. On my way out of Vrindavan to Australia this morning, I stopped by Varsana to roll in the dust, visit King Vrsabhanu’s palace, take the mercy of the genuine sadhus who live there and pray to Radharani for Her grace to please my spiritual master with my upcoming preaching in Sydney and Hong Kong. It is extremely hard to leave Vraja … but I will be back in one month to begin our festival programs in Maharashtra.
“I wander over this earth meditating on Her, who is a moon shining in the rasa-dance arena, who is a host of bright lamps in Vrsabhanu’s palace, and who is the central jewel in the necklace of Goloka.”
sri rasa rangasya vikasa candrika
dipavalir ya vrsabhanu mandire
goloka cuda mani kantha bhusanam
dhyatvaparam tam bhuvi paryatamy aham
[ Narada Muni, Garga Samhita 1.8.12 ]
See them here: http://goo.gl/g2IYAZ

Discussions at the New Vrindaban Community Dialog – Fall Board Meetings
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

New Vrindaban Prabhupada Palace Wall 2014

The wall outside Prabhupada’s Palace, 2014.

New Vrindaban Fall Board Meetings 2014:

Community Dialogue Discusses Palace Wall and Succession

By Madhava Smullen

The recent Fall Board Meetings at New Vrindaban included a community dialogue on November 1st that brought up some lively discussion on pressing issues.

Community President Jaya Krsna Das and Palace Restoration Manager Gopisa Das first presented a proposal to renovate the boundary wall around the grounds of Prabhupada’s Palace.

The wall is falling apart and needs attention, Jaya Krsna said, as it is the first thing visitors see, and first impressions are important. He also pointed out that according to Gus Kayafas, the Wheeling architect who specializes in the preservation of historic buildings and is working with Gopisa on the project, the rustic appearance of the wall does not match the expectation created by the Palace’s opulent reputation.

Kayafas Architects’ proposal suggests that “the entire existing top course of block, rubble and decorative elements be removed and a new integral bond beam created. A precast concrete wall cap will provide the visual continuity. A sense of rhythm will be reinforced with a more refined stone pilaster with decorative stone inlay [of black granite]. The original colors of black and salmon will be utilized.”

This restoration plan would prevent the previous deterioration that had occurred due to water intrusion and poor construction techniques from happening again.

Sitting in a circle facing each other, board and community members discussed the proposal. Several devotees felt that the wall blocked the Palace from view, and suggested removing it completely. Others suggested putting up a wrought iron fence that the Palace would be visible through instead.

Jaya Krsna concluded the session by saying that the Prabhupada’s Palace Restoration Committee appreciated hearing from everyone, and would take the feedback into consideration during their decision-making process.

For the Community Dialogue’s second item, the New Vrindaban Community Advocacy Sanga, represented by Nityodita Das, brought up one of its main concerns, the need for succession in an ageing community.

The issue generated a lot of interest and opinions, with many devotees contributing to the lively discussion on how to attract younger devotees to live in New Vrindaban, and help them become situated as long-term residents within the broader community.

New Vrindaban ISKCON Community Dialog 2014

Lively discussion at the Community Dialog.

Several people brought up the need to plan a smooth transition from the student ashram to the householder ashram, develop a strong householder community, and have good income sources, a sense of community, and assistance with housing and land acquisition.

Board member Chaitanya Mangala suggested that concerns about acquiring land within the community could be eased by broadening the vision of what constitutes New Vrindaban to Srila Prabhupada’s grand request to “convert West Virginia into New Vrindaban.”

Jaya Krsna talked about how ISKCON New Vrindaban is already meeting some of the needs that were raised – the management has recently helped several devotees to move to the community and acquire land; there is a dedicated real estate manager to help devotees with land acquisition; and there are already about half a dozen independent companies within the geographic boundaries of New Vrindaban that provide employment opportunities.

What’s more, there are future plans for a building at Bahulaban where artisans and craftspeople could set up small businesses, as well as an ongoing discussion about how to attract more business owners to the area in general.

Jaya Krsna also pointed out that while ISKCON New Vrindaban management is doing what it can to help, the long-standing expectations that it be responsible for all the needs of the broader community are unrealistic and are a standard no other ISKCON organization is held to.

Chaitanya Mangala agreed, calling for a paradigm shift that would see a strong and vibrant householder community with a healthy temple environment at its center, something Jaya Krsna presented as a model earlier in the board meetings.

In the end, while there was no clear solution to an ongoing and complicated topic, the dialogue concluded with a collective resolve to continue exploring ways to attract young devotees to move to New Vrindaban, and to create an atmosphere that has them wanting to stay.

New Vrindaban Gaura Nitai

Some of the beauty of New Vrindaban

Indian Wisdom on How to Deal with Disobedience
→ The Enquirer

How to Deal with Disobedience

According to the principles of ancient Indian politics, there are four way to deal with disobedience:

1) sāma – harmonize / compromise
2) dāna – empower / bribe
3) bheda – break / terminate
4) daṇḍa – beat / punish

These have to be applied by an expert leader as they befit the right circumstance.

Sāma — Harmonizing / Compromize

If the disobedient person is an intellectual (“brahmana”) the best strategy is sāma (harmony / compromise). This means rationally explaining why they should do the particular thing you want them to do, hearing why they haven’t already done so, and being willing to negotiate a compromise. (Since the person is intellectual, they usually have a good reason not to want to do what you want them to do, therefore compromise is advised.)

Dāna — Empowering / Bribery

If the disobedient person is an entrepreneur (“vaiṣya”) the best strategy is dāna (empowering). This means granting the person some power, to be used under your jurisdiction, thus making it lucrative for them to become more cooperative with you. (Since the person is profit-oriented, make it profitable for them to be obedient.)

Bheda — Breaking / Firing

If the disobedient person is merely an employee (“śudra”) with no remarkable leadership initiatives the best strategy is to threaten them with termination (bheda). (Since the person just cares about their paycheck or whatever other tangible benefit they get from you, they will respond to a threat to cut off that remuneration if they continue to disobey)

Daṇḍa — Beating / Punishing

If the disobedient person is another charismatic, powerful leader, (“kṣatriya”) you should first try the above three options, and if they fail you will have to resort to “using the stick” (daṇḍa).

You’ve got two options with using the stick, which depend on whether or not the disobedient person is equally powerful as you, or less powerful. If they are less powerful Punishment means putting them in jail and all that other tyrannical stuff. If they are equally powerful, Punishment means having a contest of strength. This might be a physical fight, but more likely it might be something like holding an election in which the two of you compete for votes.

Examples

Say you are running an āśrama, and you make a policy that every resident must attend the functions in the temple at 4:30 am. After a month there are four residents who usually do not attend. How should you deal with them?

One of them is an intellectual, so they probably have a good reason for not attending. You should talk to them respectfully, explain your reason for wanting them to attend, hear their reason for not attending, and reach a compromise that they can obey. That’s an example of how sāma should be used.

Another one is an ambitious up-n-comer who wants to be an āśrama manager one day, open his own āśrama, etc. In this case you should use dāna. “Every time you come to the function in the early morning, I will make note of it. When you’ve maintained an average of attending 4 days a week for 10 weeks I will promote you to [insert title of āśrama position here].”

Another of the four disobeyers is the guy who mops the floor and cleans the pots. He doesn’t have a good reason for not attending, he’s just lazy. And he isn’t interested in getting anything you have to offer (he’s lazy). All he wants is the comfort of living in a pretty nice āśrama with relatively nice people. So, you have to threaten him with termination (bheda). “If you are absent from the morning function more than 4 times in a month you will be terminated and no longer allowed to stay in the āśrama.”

The fourth disobeyer is a guy who has been an āśrama resident since forever, and for this and other reasons has considerable respect from a lot of the āśrama residents. First try to reach a compromise (sāma). If that doesn’t work offer some type of bribe for sharing the power (dāna). If that doesn’t work, threaten with termination (bheda) and if that doesn’t work, prepare for a battle (daṇḍa). You will not be able to just throw him out or revoke his privileges (because the rest of the residents will become outraged since he has been around forever and they respect him), so you will have to do open battle with him, taking his vision of how the āśrama should run and pitting it against yours, in some sort of combat arena like a higher court, or a communal debate / vote.


Padma and Maha Bhakti
→ Ramai Swami

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Padma das and Mahabhakti devi dasi are active members of the Bali Sanur area devotees. For a while Padma was the general manager of the Jagannatha Gauranga temple.

Now he actively goes out on book distribution all over Bali and sometimes to other islands. Mahabhakti, although having two children to look after, is the co-owner of the Tamukami hotel in Sanur and is also busy at her work.
They regularly have programs at their house and accommodate visiting gurus, sannyasis and leading devotees there.
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True protection
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 10 October 2014, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 10.10.2014)

Nrsimha_mayapurKrsna is always our well-wisher. Always! No matter what happens, always! Therefore, never become angry with Krsna. That is a mistake. That is a great mistake! We are small just like here in this temple room, on this floor, there are squares and everyone is sitting on a square, like a piece on a chessboard. The piece on the chessboard cannot oversee the game. He can only see the pieces that are around him. He cannot see everything… but the player can oversee the entire game. In the same way, Krsna can oversee the entire game but we cannot oversee.

So we should not just throw our arms in the air and say, “How can this happen to me!? How can this happen to me? I have given everything to Krsna. How can this happen to me?” No, Krsna understands. Krsna knows who we were in our last lives. We do not know. Krsna knows everything. He knows what we did. We do not know. Krsna knows everything. Krsna will never want to give us unnecessary suffering. Never ever! So whatever our burden may be, we must somehow or other endure it with great faith. We should realize that when we are devotees and then we are going through special difficulties. We should realize, “Krsna has favoured me. He has favoured me. He is making arrangements for my purification. I am fortunate. He has given me special attention, special mercy.” Like that. That is a transcendental vision. In that way, we should take any hardships, knowing that Krsna always protects us. That knowledge is the greatest comfort and with great faith we must be very, very sure about that. Krsna is always protecting us. Even when we do not know, he is protecting us.

“Yeah, but some devotees die. Even in terrible situations, they die. Did Krsna not protect them? Where was Krsna?”

“Krsna was there. Krsna did protect.”

“Ah, he did not. He did not. The devotee died. He did not protect. No, he did not protect him actually. Just died. We have seen devotees that were murdered. Murdered! How can a devotee be murdered? Krsna did not protect.”

“Oh yes, he did.”

“No, he did not.”

“Yes…he did.”

“Then how did he protect?”

KKS_SerbiaHe did not protect the body but he did protect the soul. He never abandoned that soul. Never ever! Krsna never abandons his devotee. The body… okay, you know, sooner or later, it has got to come to an end. I mean, that has to happen. These bodies…What can happen to a material body, that is amazing and it does happen. The material body is not that good. Who wants to keep it? Whenever it is the time, let us get out of this body. That is not a problem. Krsna saves the soul. That is really the essence and that is wonderful!

That faith we must have and we must solidify. It begins with knowledge. First we hear it and we think about it, “Hmmm… I never thought of that… Hmmm, okay, I see. Krsna is protecting the soul.” So, one cannot just have that faith instantly. We have to hear it and think about it and then after we have thought about it, we think, “Yeah that is a fact.” Then, we can have firm faith. Firm, yes! We see that great devotees, they take it like that. That is the secret of the great devotees. That is how they are, abhayam, fearless… because they know that Krsna protects the soul.

 

 

Virtual Mantra Choir Features Hundreds of Webcam…
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Virtual Mantra Choir Features Hundreds of Webcam Singers!
Jayadev’s Virtual Mantra Choir Perform Giri Govardhan.(10 min video)
A unique offering was presented to the sacred hill Giri Govardhana.
Renowned UK musician and singer Jayadeva Das (John Richardson) has put together a virtual version of his Mantra Choir project in which over 108 singers have harmonized through their webcams on a mantra in praise of Govardhana.
The resulting track was just posted with an accompanying video featuring all the singers. Simply amazing!!
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/6X1MqS

Finnish crowd-funding campaign: Great home at bargain price
→ Jayadvaita Swami

Finnish_place The devotees in Helsinki reached the end of their lease on their old temple but have a chance to buy a new place at a bargain price, courtesy of the Helsinki City Council. To help the devotees out or learn more, you can see their page on Indiegogo.

The post Finnish crowd-funding campaign: Great home at bargain price appeared first on Jayadvaita Swami.

Sunday Feast with HH Devamrita Swami – 07 December 2014 in…
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Sunday Feast with HH Devamrita Swami - 07 December 2014 in ISKCON New Govardhana - Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari (Album 25 photos)
Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Aryans. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.33.7 Purport)
See them here: http://goo.gl/JUEv35

New Vrindaban Community Parikrama Showcases Exciting Developments
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

New Vrindaban Fall Board Meetings 2014:

Community Parikrama Showcases Exciting Developments

 By Madhava Smullen

 On November 2nd, after spending the previous day hearing presentations on New Vrindaban’s many departments, board and community members wrapped up this fall’s meetings by seeing some of the latest developments for themselves in an enlivening community parikrama.

At 10:00am, around twenty-five people stepped out into a crisp but brilliantly blue and sunny morning and made their way first to the old barn at Bahulaban, which had fallen into a severely dilapidated condition over thirty years but is now being rebuilt as a new ox training center.

New Vrindaban Bahulaban Ox Barn Renovation 2014

Renovation Progress on old cow barn> new ox barn

Renovation project manager Vyasasana Das spoke about his work on the barn, which has been given a brand new wood frame over its original core structure. He indicated the spaces on the first floor where there will be hay storage and corrals for oxen, and on the second floor where there will be living quarters for people working with the ox program.

Daivata Das, who worked with oxen when Prabhupada was physically present and is back to carry out the same service, showed everyone the training area at the back of the barn, and spoke about how he hopes to have the young oxen pulling a cart next year. He was clearly brimming with enthusiasm at getting to serve the community in this way again.

New Vrindaban Ox Team Daivata das.

New Ox Team and their trainer, Daivata das.

Meanwhile New Vrindaban pioneers Madhava Gosh and Advaita Das told stories about how devotees lived in the barn with their families in the early days, and how Advaita’s son was born there.

Madhava Gosh and his wife Vidya, who received an appreciation plaque to take home the previous day, were then presented with another public plaque which will remain permanently affixed to the new ox barn. “In recognition of more than four decades of service rendered to the cows and gardens of New Vrindaban by Madhava Gosh Dasa and Vidya Dasi,” it reads, “The Board of Directors of Eco-Vrindaban hereby renames this building the Madhava Gosh-alla.”

After everyone had a good chuckle at its pun-tastic new name, the ox program’s spiritual advisor Varshana Swami reminded them that the barn also had great spiritual significance. “It’s the last place built by devotees that Srila Prabhupada visited in Bahulaban,” he said. “And now, it’s getting a second life.”

Next, the tour moved on to the hilltop Radha Gopinath Mandir. Still under construction, it’s set to be a small replica of the original temple in Vrindavan, India. Varshana Swami, who is overseeing the project, pointed out the Radha Gopinath Deities residing in an elegant gazebo nearby, and said that They would move into Their temple once it is completed.

New Vrindaban Govardhan Hill Radha Kunda ISKCON

Tour of Govardhan Hill area

He then explained the history of the project, outlining Srila Prabhupada’s instructions to build not only seven replicas of Vrindavan’s seven main temples, but also replicas of its sacred lakes. He showed the group two of these replica lakes, Radha Kunda and Lalita Kunda, and spoke about the pastimes Krishna performed at them, while community president Jaya Krishna Das cheerfully sprinkled everyone with their sacred waters.

The tour also inspected a computer-generated image of the Radha-Gopinath Mandir, with Raghunath Das Goswami’s bhajan kutir and Radha-Kunda next to it.

“Please offer your blessings and prayers that Srila Prabhupada’s vision will unfold more and more,” Varshana Swami requested the assembled devotees.

From Radha-Gopinath Mandir, the parikrama went on to the Garden of Seven Gates. Garden manager Kacey Orr showed everyone the new greenhouse for in-ground planting, where greens will continue to be harvested until February and will last the Temple through much of winter.

New Vrindaban ISKCON Garden of 7 Gates

Inside the high tunnel at the Garden of 7 Gates

She also took the tour through the recently renovated flower greenhouse, which was dormant but will see an astonishing twenty to thirty thousand flowers grown there throughout the 2015 growing season.

Walking through the open fields in the Garden of Seven Gates, Kacey talked about the crops grown there, including tomatoes, peppers, Chinese cabbage, green beans, pumpkins, watermelon, squash, ten-foot-high sunflowers, and marigolds, which were still growing in a golden carpet across the ground.

“Every time we pick, there are fifty gallons of marigolds,” Kacey said, before pointing out the area where a brand new rose garden, exclusively for the Deities, will be grown next year.

Kacey’s last stop was the smaller Teaching Garden, a cosy haven for herbs and flowers encircled by a newly-built honey-colored fence and gates. A regular site for guest tours, its centerpiece is an attractive wooden pergola where devotees can chant or make garlands, and guests can relax and soak up the peaceful environment.

“Next spring we will be taking it up to show-level, and putting signs in every bed so that guests know what they’re looking at,” said Kacey.

Finally, the tour visited the community’s milking barn where nine Brown Swiss cows are milked, passing through the new swing and large decorative flower planters at the entrance. Inside, cowherds Ananda Vidya and his wife Lalita Gopi pointed out the new extension to the feeding aisle, and the new enclosed loafing area for the cows to relax in a dry, hay-covered space.

New Vrindaban Cow Protection Oxen ISKCON 2014

Two young bulls playing together

The weekend ended with a beautiful pushpanjali ceremony honoring Vaishnava acharya Gaura Kishora Das Babaji on his disappearance day. Afterwards, as they tucked into an Ekadasi Sunday Feast, all the devotees excitedly discussed everything they had seen and heard, inspired to continue their service with renewed energy and support New Vrindaban in its ongoing growth.

Without sufficient food, people won’t receive spiritual instruction – distribute prasad
→ The Spiritual Scientist

"Now I am especially concerned to distribute grains, rice, wheat in the form of dahl and rice prasadam to hungry people all over India. The people here are very disturbed because, partly due to the punishment of Nature, and partly due to the mismanagement of the demon class of men, food is not available. If the people do not even have sufficient food they will not even be able to receive spiritual instructions. So I am hopeful that if we can widely distribute free foodstuffs to the people of India, by giving it out at our centers as well as by travelling parties to villages, we will win over the whole country and the whole world by this activity on Krsna's behalf."

Letter to Satyahit
Vrindaban, 16 March, 1974