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Mangala Arati – 11.05.2014

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At the end of Śrī Haṁsadutta, Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī describes Lalitā sending, via a swan, a lovingly-angry message to Śrī Krishna describing his famous ten-avatāra. Here it is:

Indeed you are Matsya the great fish. My friend (Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī) tried to catch you in the ocean of sweetness using her heart as a hook and her love as the bait. What did you do? You devoured the bait and broke the hook of her heart. Now she is hopeless. Oh, what can she do now?

Indeed you are Kurma, the great tortoise. When that poor girl saw the sublime grace of your handsome form she approached you with a heart radiating enthusiasm for you. What did you do? You became as hard as a turtle’s shell towards her, hiding yourself from her like a turtle withdraws its limbs.

Indeed you are Varāha, the great boar. To this day you are compassionate and uplift fallen persons. Waves from the deep ocean of love splash on your body as you lifted the servant girl carrying sandal paste (Kubja) and passionately placed her in your lap like a lover.

Indeed you are Narasiṁha. Though that incarnation appeared long ago, you have not forgotten his nature. To this day you are pleased with humble people (like Kubja) but cruelly break the hearts of others (like Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī).

Indeed you are Vāmana. My dear friend (Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī) is just like Bali because she ignores the orders of her superiors and happily surrenders the entire kingdom of her heart to you. You respond just as Vāmana did: you bind her in the ropes of your love and then exile her far away from you.

Indeed you are Parasurāma. You are cruel to those who deviate from the guidance of the brahmanas, and so you are cruel to my friend – who now wants to leap from a mountain-top. But why, unlike Parasurāma, do you ignore everyone’s affection, even your father’s?

Indeed you are Rāmacandra. Now that you have left your home, everything withers. The cows are tormented by sadness, Govardhan hill withers and wilts, death dances everywhere, approaching even Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

But she has not yet left us, and we still adore you. So, as Balarama threw the jackass-demons far away, return to Vṛndāvana with your monsoon-cloud-glorious-beauty and throw away the demon that prevents us from dancing with you.

Oh wise and merciful Buddha, why will you not be merciful to wise Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī? She has no attachment to anything, completely rejects lust, abandons all selfish desires, is always enrapt in medication, and is filled with spiritual bliss.

Oh Kalki, riding your horse, your sharp sword cutting down the useless barbarians intoxicated with passions. So, with the sharp glances from the edges of your eyes, cut down the barbaric suffering inflicted on Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī by her intoxicating passion for you. Fulfill her desires!

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?

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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

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