The different emphasis of the words “God”, “Lord” and “Krishna”
→ The Spiritual Scientist

 In  this  first  section [of the Chaitanya Shikhsamrita]  the  words "Lord",  "God"  and  "Krsna"  have  all  been  used.    The reader should not  think   that  these  words refer  to separate entities.     Krsna  is the only form,  the  only  object  of    worship by  the  soul.    Krsna  is  the  complete  revelation  of sweetness in God.     When  we  consider Krsna  in relation to other  objects   and  need  to emphasize his lordship, we use the word "Lord."  That is why  in the beginning the word "Lord" was  used  instead of Krsna.    Lordship is nothing more  than  the natural  control that  Krsna  displays  towards the objects  of his creation.  In enumerating, the objects  of existence,  the  word "Lord" is thus  used:   cit (conscious entity),  acit (matter) and  isvara (Lord, controller of both).

Chaitanya Shikshamrita, Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Is there Freewill in Fate?
→ The Enquirer

Originally posted on Vic DiCara's Astrology:

“Fate” comes from Latin, where it means, “Spoken.”Like if a judge sentences a criminal, the sentencing is called a “Fatum”. The common people thought that the gods sentenced human beings to various rewards or punishments. This is a half-truth. The gods do enforce a sentence, but like a judge, they are not the origin of the need for a sentence to be passed. The criminal is the origin. Similarly the living being is the origin of the sentence declared by the gods as fate.

In short the word “Fate” should convey the understanding that the gods enforce certain results upon us, but that we are the root cause of the reward and punishment we experience.

“Destiny” also has Latin origins. “de-stinare” means to make something stable. In other words, when something is decided. Again, common people thought that the gods whimsically decided what rewards and punishments to bestow on people…

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Rain of mercy
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 April 2014, Radhadesh, Belgium, Srimad Bhagavatam 6.4.49-50)

We must, somehow or other, connect to Krsna and that changes everything. We had this one kirtan, a Ratha Yatra actually in South Africa, in Newcastle and it was raining cats and dogs, as they say in English. When it rains cats and dogs, you can understand that it is not just a little bit. It was just raining buckets! It was not clearing up and the Ratha Yatra was postponed for an hour, but there was no hope. It just kept on pouring and pouring, so we had to go out in the rain.

dancing in the rainSo, we went. I had to give an opening speech from the chariot which I did and I remember that I said, “You know, the rain of mercy is greater than the rain of water.” (laughter) I was trying to be positive! Say something positive and get everyone in a positive mood about it, right!

You know, we were just out there and it was raining so much, fish were swimming passed! (laughter) At one point, we just started dancing! To hell with it all and we just started dancing and it became one of the most ecstatic Ratha Yatras we ever had, just dancing like mad men because it was mad, so we got mad! We danced like mad in the rain. We would have never danced mad like that, but because of that rain, it sort of just made us mad! Everyone went berserk and it really brought out something extraordinary. So what can be said, it was a special opportunity!

So, if one takes everything as a special opportunity, a special opportunity to serve Krsna in a special way, then one can rise above this sense of austerity in life. Otherwise, the material austerity will always follow us and burden our mind.

 

Sunday, May 25th, 2014
→ The Walking Monk

Calgary, Alberta

A Day in Calgary

For practical reasons, our group of four decided that a one day stay in Calgary would make sense before embarking on the long continuous trek to the destination point, the Pacific Ocean.  We were already here and the Sunday Open House at the Radha Madhava Cultural Centre should be attended by us.  Michael opted for visiting and attending Mennonite services at a church nearby. 

At the Radha Madhava Cultural Centre, I did speak from Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 3, regarding every endeavour being a sacrifice.  Otherwise, one’s actions create a kind of bondage.  In other words, you function in life with the best of efforts.  Being detached from the fruits, so to speak.  Our best foot should be put forward.  Even walking can be done, or any activity, for that matter, as an offering.  In the course of your activity, you don’t seek attention for your own profit.  If what you do brings what you do to an increased state of awareness, then you are on the right track.  If you act in such a way that ego becomes inflated, then you can consider you’re taking several steps back. 

After our time speaking, chanting and mingling, a group of us headed for the placid waters at the Jaypur Bridge on Princess Island, situated on the Bow River.  Our kirtan, which included voice, harmonium, drums, karatals (cymbals), met with delight by park browsers. 

In addition to this, just to keep up some foot momentum, Gaura Chandra, a local devotee, Karuna and I, took to the Calgary Greenway Trail, in the city’s northeast end.  The day was full and rich. 

May the Source be with you!

7 KM

Does the M-theory do away with the need for God, as Stephen Hawking claims in The Grand Design?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

Quotes by scientists pointing out the limitations of M-theory:

"The connection between this multiverse idea and M-theory is, however, tentative. Advocates of M-theory such as Witten and Hawking would have us believe that it is done and dusted. But its critics have been sharpening their knives for a few years now, arguing that M-theory is not even a proper scientific theory if it is untestable experimentally. At the moment it is just a compelling and beautiful mathematical construct, and in fact only one of a number of candidate TOEs [Theories of Everything]."

- Theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili

“It is not testable, not even in any foreseeable future.”

- Physicist Paul Davies

“M-theory is not even defined …we are even told ‘No one seems to know what the M stands for.’ Perhaps it is ‘myth’... I don’t see that M-theory adds one iota to the God debate, either pro or con.”

- Oxford physicist Frank Close

“M-theory is highly speculative and certainly not in the zone of science that we have got any evidence for.”

-  Physicist Jon Butterworth, Large Hadron Collider, Switzerland

“The book is a bit misleading. It gives you this impression of a theory that is going to explain everything; it’s nothing of the sort. It’s not even a theory."

- Mathematical physicist Roger Penrose

FFL Bosnia with help of Hungarian devotees distribute 300 warm meals to affected victims of recent flooding in Bosnia (49 pics)
→ Dandavats.com

FFL Bosnia with help of Hungarian devotees distributed 300 warm meals to the most affected victims of recent flooding in Bosnia. These victims were from Željezno Polje and Topčić Polje villages in the Zenica-Doboj Canton and they literally lost everything. Their homes were totally destroyed (see previous album Topcic polje). They welcomed devotees and appreciated our gesture. Thank you all for supporting our mission in Bosnia. We will visit them again. Stay tuned and please keep contributing! Please donate if you can over PayPal to "dhiraprasanta@gmail.com" for FFL Food relief in Bosnia. Thank you for you blessings, services, donations, support! Read more ›

How do we respond when prominent scientists like Stephen Hawking write books propounding atheism?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

Some logical absurdities from The Grand Design:

“Because there is a law of gravity, the universe can and will create itself out of nothing.”

“The universe can and will create itself from nothing.”

***

The book simply demands faith in M-theory, making it into a surrogate God. My review comment about this book that was published in the Mumbai Mirror article here:

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Did-God-create-Universe-or-did-it-create-itself/articleshow/16049770.cms

Chaitanya Charan Das, ISKCON:

Hawking assumes that the laws of nature existed before the universe. He simply substitutes God with the laws of physics. Our experience shows that laws need an organising intelligence.