Planet ISKCON

Video of Ananda Vidya leading New Vrindaban’s Kartik 24 Hour Kirtan - October 19th, 2013.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

This body is today or tomorrow finished. We should not be very much bothered about the body. Trees also live for thousands of years but that does not mean a successful life. A successful life is one of Krishna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Jayananda 77-02-26

The post May 13th, 2014 – Darshan – Chandan Yatra – Day 12 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

About the Depths of Self-deception

In 2007 I attended a talk at Cornell University by Dr. Steve Weinberg, the 1979 Nobel Laureate in physics for his work on electromagnetic and weak forces, on the topic of “Science and Religion.” Dr. Weinberg did not mince any words when he categorically stated that religion is the cause of major problems in today’s world. Science, he stated, has proven to be objective in its outlook, and it only speaks the beneficial truth.

As I returned to my dorm after the talk, I mulled over Dr. Weinberg’s statements. As a young seeker, I looked towards both physics and religion for answers to the big questions about the purpose of my existence. I was often puzzled by the fact that every person that I admired on both sides seemed to have a different version of what life ought to be, what a “good” man is, how to live, and so on. It became quite apparent to me that both science and religion could be used for positive transformational work and for the perpetration of deeply hurtful activities, and both had the capacity to explain “truth” in deeply philosophical and practical ways. It was not a question of which was better; it was more a question of who used it and for what purpose. It became evident that the core problem in this debate is that of human nature itself — its hopelessly self-fulfilling side called the ego.

Modern psychology has been wrestling with the vast territory of the human ego for a great while now, and its complexity continues to mystify us. Even before I learned about Freudian ideas on the ego, I first encountered the concept of the ego explicitly mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. According to the Gita there is a fundamental difference between “real” ego and what it defines as the “false” ego. Real ego is our very essence, the consciousness that makes us aware and awake to reality. The false ego is a false identity crafted to preserve the sense of being the most significant and the most important all the time. In short, it is a narcissistic search for being loved, validated and appreciated. This is what some refer to as the ego. The Gita further describes the subtleties of the ego and how it manifests moment to moment in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

The concept seems to be stretched too far when we first read about it. But when we honestly study our own lives, we can clearly isolate various episodes of how this tendency manifests itself in our personality, either covertly or explicitly. The events can range from simple conversations on which football team is the best, to intense debates in boardrooms on the next important decision for the organization. What’s worse is that the ego blinds us from seeing its own ploy, the ultimate of which is rationalized excuses for avoiding honest introspection and admittance.

None of us have navigated through life without encountering the effects of the ego, be it in the workplace or home. Our own behavior is, at times, strange, unsettling, and un-objective. Some of this is tolerable and some of this is decidedly unpleasant or outright disastrous. Yet, while everyone is busy gathering insight into the way other people act and behave, few are willing to look so intently at themselves. This dynamic of interaction also applies to the way groups of people interact with each other. We want to know what makes other people or groups tick, yet are afraid to discover anything upsetting about ourselves. We would like to point out the faults of systems and people as if we had X-ray vision, while not really wanting others to see our weaknesses and shortcomings.

Capitalism further aggravates this mentality by simply rewarding us for producing enjoyable and affirmative content. Even academia, which prides itself on objectivity, is more geared towards pleasing companies and corporations that can provide grants and financial assistance. In this atmosphere, we are less conscious of our severe mental shortcomings and less inclined to be skeptical of our own opinions. Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway once gave a speech called “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment,” and in his talk he revealed our natural weakness, in which we only pick out evidence that supports our views, or we pick out weakness in the other that makes us look better. We are cognitive misers; we try to think as little as possible, especially about our deep inner motivations. In today’s times where we pride ourselves on progress in cognitive science and search capabilities, this tendency leaves a huge cognitive deficit. And the thought of internal combat further takes us away from attempting to rid ourselves from the shackles of the false ego.

The false ego is a master of disguise. One of the greatest dangers of progressive work is that the false ego tempts to sidestep deep introspective work by leaping into self-righteous advancement too soon. This is because the false ego fancies itself as more “advanced” than it actually is. How many “rational” decisions made by heads of state have caused havoc in the lives of millions of people? How much scientific research has been employed to cause direct harm to our environment? How many first-year novices of religion have persuaded themselves to believe that they are just about ready for sainthood only to find their misconceptions and behavior give rise to scandals and violence?

The Bhagavad Gita’s prescription to combat this crafty enemy within us is to create a culture of introspection and self-knowledge whose basic components lie in courage and humility — a healthy skepticism of our own “goodness” combined with an unending desire to learn more about ourselves. They work as powerful radars that uncover the camouflage of the ego and disarm it. Real self-knowledge is an invaluable guardian against self-deception mechanisms of the false ego, and any true and beneficial culture of transformation will teach us this. The more we practice this awareness, the more we can realize that it is not necessarily the systems that are good or evil; rather it is more likely our ego-centric adoption of those systems that we need to explore before we make judgments.

About the Depths of Self-deception

In 2007 I attended a talk at Cornell University by Dr. Steve Weinberg, the 1979 Nobel Laureate in physics for his work on electromagnetic and weak forces, on the topic of “Science and Religion.” Dr. Weinberg did not mince any words when he categorically stated that religion is the cause of major problems in today’s world. Science, he stated, has proven to be objective in its outlook, and it only speaks the beneficial truth.

As I returned to my dorm after the talk, I mulled over Dr. Weinberg’s statements. As a young seeker, I looked towards both physics and religion for answers to the big questions about the purpose of my existence. I was often puzzled by the fact that every person that I admired on both sides seemed to have a different version of what life ought to be, what a “good” man is, how to live, and so on. It became quite apparent to me that both science and religion could be used for positive transformational work and for the perpetration of deeply hurtful activities, and both had the capacity to explain “truth” in deeply philosophical and practical ways. It was not a question of which was better; it was more a question of who used it and for what purpose. It became evident that the core problem in this debate is that of human nature itself — its hopelessly self-fulfilling side called the ego.

Modern psychology has been wrestling with the vast territory of the human ego for a great while now, and its complexity continues to mystify us. Even before I learned about Freudian ideas on the ego, I first encountered the concept of the ego explicitly mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. According to the Gita there is a fundamental difference between “real” ego and what it defines as the “false” ego. Real ego is our very essence, the consciousness that makes us aware and awake to reality. The false ego is a false identity crafted to preserve the sense of being the most significant and the most important all the time. In short, it is a narcissistic search for being loved, validated and appreciated. This is what some refer to as the ego. The Gita further describes the subtleties of the ego and how it manifests moment to moment in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

The concept seems to be stretched too far when we first read about it. But when we honestly study our own lives, we can clearly isolate various episodes of how this tendency manifests itself in our personality, either covertly or explicitly. The events can range from simple conversations on which football team is the best, to intense debates in boardrooms on the next important decision for the organization. What’s worse is that the ego blinds us from seeing its own ploy, the ultimate of which is rationalized excuses for avoiding honest introspection and admittance.

None of us have navigated through life without encountering the effects of the ego, be it in the workplace or home. Our own behavior is, at times, strange, unsettling, and un-objective. Some of this is tolerable and some of this is decidedly unpleasant or outright disastrous. Yet, while everyone is busy gathering insight into the way other people act and behave, few are willing to look so intently at themselves. This dynamic of interaction also applies to the way groups of people interact with each other. We want to know what makes other people or groups tick, yet are afraid to discover anything upsetting about ourselves. We would like to point out the faults of systems and people as if we had X-ray vision, while not really wanting others to see our weaknesses and shortcomings.

Capitalism further aggravates this mentality by simply rewarding us for producing enjoyable and affirmative content. Even academia, which prides itself on objectivity, is more geared towards pleasing companies and corporations that can provide grants and financial assistance. In this atmosphere, we are less conscious of our severe mental shortcomings and less inclined to be skeptical of our own opinions. Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway once gave a speech called “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment,” and in his talk he revealed our natural weakness, in which we only pick out evidence that supports our views, or we pick out weakness in the other that makes us look better. We are cognitive misers; we try to think as little as possible, especially about our deep inner motivations. In today’s times where we pride ourselves on progress in cognitive science and search capabilities, this tendency leaves a huge cognitive deficit. And the thought of internal combat further takes us away from attempting to rid ourselves from the shackles of the false ego.

The false ego is a master of disguise. One of the greatest dangers of progressive work is that the false ego tempts to sidestep deep introspective work by leaping into self-righteous advancement too soon. This is because the false ego fancies itself as more “advanced” than it actually is. How many “rational” decisions made by heads of state have caused havoc in the lives of millions of people? How much scientific research has been employed to cause direct harm to our environment? How many first-year novices of religion have persuaded themselves to believe that they are just about ready for sainthood only to find their misconceptions and behavior give rise to scandals and violence?

The Bhagavad Gita’s prescription to combat this crafty enemy within us is to create a culture of introspection and self-knowledge whose basic components lie in courage and humility — a healthy skepticism of our own “goodness” combined with an unending desire to learn more about ourselves. They work as powerful radars that uncover the camouflage of the ego and disarm it. Real self-knowledge is an invaluable guardian against self-deception mechanisms of the false ego, and any true and beneficial culture of transformation will teach us this. The more we practice this awareness, the more we can realize that it is not necessarily the systems that are good or evil; rather it is more likely our ego-centric adoption of those systems that we need to explore before we make judgments.

New fence being built.

This week was a busy one in the garden. The first of our summer crops was planted, tomatoes. We planted three varieties this week Sungolds (exceptionally sweet, bright tangerine-orange cherry tomatoes), Rutgers (The legendary Jersey tomato, introduced in 1934 great tasting both fresh and for cooking), and Hillbillies (large bi-color heirloom with red and yellow marbling. Large with a rich, sweet flavor. An heirloom believed to be from West Virginia). The tomatoes were planted on red tomato mulch. This red plastic is used for both tomatoes and peppers it allows for more light transferring and has show to increase yields up to 20%. It also decreases the number of nematodes which are harmful insects to tomato plants.

The Teaching Garden which this year is in it’s first phase of becoming a medicinal apothecary garden has been receiving a ton of TLC. Dr. Nick Tsacrios and his crew have been working on a beautiful new fence. Marty Wach has been taking the lead on the planting in the Apothecary Garden. Marty and his wife Delia write children’s book and she is an accomplished artist. Marty the Gardener has an amazing history with medicinal plants. In the early 1990’s Marty went to Suriname, South America, for business and by chance met a Maroon Medicine Man. This led to a trip into the rain forest and meetings with the chiefs of the four Maroon Indian Tribes to discuss their need to create trade and commerce with America. Marty suggested the creation of sustainable micro-businesses as a solution to creating new trade relationships. The projects included the search for new medicines, aviculture, butterfly farming, poison dart frog research and eco-tourism. Now many years later he is bringing his great ideas to New Vrindaban. This year the garden will have flowers, vegetables, and medicinal herbs. Beside the tool shed is a wonderful area that Marty hopes to hold educational gardening classes in the future. Until next week happy gardening to all……

Marty and his wife Delia holding an Apothecary garden meeting.

In your Gita daily article,

http://www.gitadaily.com/2014/05/09/watch-the-watchdog-of-the-conscience-that-watches-for-us-and-watches-us/

you state

"The Bhagavad-gita (15.15) states that Krishna is the source of knowledge, remembrance and forgetfulness. As conscience is usually the subconscious recollection of the right choice based on our prior knowledge, we can infer that conscience ultimately comes from Krishna."

Where is this concept talked about in our scriptures?

Answer Podcast

References:

"Why does the Supreme Personality of Godhead permit sinful activities? The Supreme Lord does not want any living being to act sinfully, and He begs him through his good conscience to refrain from sin. But when someone insists upon acting sinfully, the Supreme Lord gives him the sanction to act at his own risk (mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca [Bg. 15.15])."

Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.3 purport

"A materialistic person works throughout the whole week very, very hard. He is always asking, "Where is money? Where is money?" Then, at the end of the week, he wants to retire from these activities and go to some secluded place to rest. King Puraïjana returned to his home because he was very much fatigued from hunting animals in the forest. In this way his conscience came to stop him from committing further sinful activities and make him return home."

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.26.11 purport

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast

Lecture Podcast

Lecture Podcast

Lecture Summary: Overview of Srimad Bhagavatam 07.10.01-23:

1. Narada sets the scene
2. Please don’t tempt me
3. “Do I tempt my devotees?” No, you want to demonstrate how your devotees don’t succumb to temptation
4. “What are the qualities of the devotee?” Selfless servitorship
5. “What are the qualities of the master?” Selfless lordship
6. I want that selfless relationship with you
7. If you want to fulfill any desire of mine, fulfill my desire for freedom from material desires
8. “Why?” Desire destroys the resources that I can use for serving you
9. Desirelessness makes one eligible for liberation [But I don’t want that]

10. [I simply want to be your servant] so I offer obeisances to my eternal Lord

11. The Lord speaks: My devotees such as you are selfless, but I want to reward them, so accept the kingdom for just one Manavantara

12. “Why are you punishing me like this?” Not a punishment, but a service. By being centered on Me, practice bhakti-yoga, not karma-yoga

13. “Will I not be bound by karma?” By bhakti, you will be jivan-mukta and eventually you will be videha-mukta

1. 14.  “Why do all this?” For benefitting others

15. -17. Please deliver my father

18. 21 generations already purified

19. Even place of living of devotee gets purified

20-21. Set an example for people

22. Do last rites for your father – by your devotion, he will attain sublime destination

23. Rule the kingdom on my behalf

Conversation with guests in Istanbul.

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