Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast

The UK is experiencing massive floods even here at Bhaktivedanta Manor, no real damage was done except to Arjuna Prabhu's caravan. It is scary to wake up in a flood. Read more ›

Answer Podcast

Lecture Podcast

 

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 02-02-2014.

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes a simple, sustainable lifestyle centered on the care and protection of cows, local food production and the loving service of Lord Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.

Participating Members of the ECOV Board of Directors: Anuttama (partial attendance), Bhima, Chaitanya Mangala, Krpamaya, Madhava Gosh (partial attendance), Navin Shyam, and Ranaka.

Advisors present: Jaya Krsna

1. Utica Shale gas lease

A discussion was held regarding signing the proposed Utica Shale gas lease (without the participation of Gosh).

After having conducted a significant review of the lease, five additional considerations were raised:

a. In line with issues raised by members of the New Vrindaban Advocacy Sanga (NVCAS), the lease should require additional measures to reduce potential air pollution from wells and pipelines.

b. In line with the recommendations of the environmental lawyer engaged by INV & ECOV, several paragraphs of the lease should be revised to strengthen/clarify the lessor’s rights.

c. In line with issues raised by members of the the NVCAS, the “broken hill” site should not be used as a location for a well pad.

d. If signed, several Board Members would like to see a significant amount of the funds be dedicated to renovations at Srila Prabhupada’s Palace.

e. That the Board of Directors of ISKCON New Vrindaban first decide about whether or not to sign their lease.

As the resolution of these issues has the potential to change how directors vote, the Board has decided to wait for the results of any further developments before making a final decision.

2. 2013 Operations budget review

WHEREAS: It is the responsibility of the ECOV Board to review and approve the final calculation of expenditures made in any given year.

RESOLVED: The Board approves and adopts the final 2013 Operating Budget report and related documents submitted by Ranaka.

3. 2014 Operations budget approval

WHEREAS: It is the responsibility of the ECOV Board to approve all budgets and a Board subcommittee developed the 2014 operating budget based on actual budgets from prior years as well as projected income and expenses for the current year.

RESOLVED: The Board approves, adopts and authorizes the Operating Budget for the 2014 fiscal year in the amount of $275K, with the following stipulation:

For the “Manager’s Discretionary Expense Account,” any single expenditure that is $2,500 or less shall be authorized as long as Madhava Gosh, Ranaka and Jaya Krsna have all approved.  Any single expenditure over $2,500 shall require approval by the Board.

4. ECOV Mission Statement

WHEREAS: The Board wishes to describe ECOV’s mission in a clear and concise manner.

RESOLVED: The Board adopts the following revised Mission Statement, to be used uniformly across various media.

“ECO-Vrindaban promotes a simple, sustainable lifestyle centered on the care and protection of cows, local food production and the loving service of Lord Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.”

5. Grant requests: Fence at the Temple Teaching Garden

WHEREAS: The Board wishes to improve the appearance and functionality of the garden most visible to visitors.

RESOLVED: The Board approves up to $5,224 for the installation of a new fence for the Teaching Garden, constructed from local lumber by members of the New Vrindaban Village Co-Operative.

H H Indradyumna Swami KIRTAN in Anand 19 01 2014

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

Answer Podcast

Flavors of Love

During the first stage, love begins as a vague feeling and gradually becomes very specific and clear. The divine love realized in the second and third stages takes the form of a very clear and tangible personal relationship with Krishna. There are infinite flavors of divine love, and infinite varieties of relationships with Krishna, because there are infinite individuals. Still, its helpful to classify the flavors of loving relationships into five broad, main categories.

1. The Peace of Selflessness

The first, most fundamental quality of true love is that it is totally devoid of selfishness. Absence of selfishness is the most basic form of selflessness, just as absence of hate is the most basic form of love, or as absence of war is the most basic form of peace.

Śānta is the Sanskrit term for this type of love. Literally it means “at peace,” because when all selfishness is gone we feel at peace. Yogis who meditate upon the divine within themselves and within all things (paramātmā) can attain up to this level.

If, from this foundational absence of selfish desires, we develop selfless desires to please our beloved – then active personal relationships to him can begin. The remaining four categories represent four depths of personal relationship.

2. Indebtedness

Our beloved is the source of all beauty and joy in our lives, so we feel deeply indebted to him. The desire to express this feeling of indebtedness is the first budding of pure desire and the first of four types of active loving relationships.

Dāsya is the Sanskrit term for this type of love. Literally it means “servitude,” because the feeling of indebtedness makes us very humble and helpful, without desiring anything in return.

Those who worship the Supreme Person (bhagavān) can can dive to this depth of realization. There are depths beyond this, but they are inaccessible to those whose love centers on majestic forms of the Supreme. The intimate forms of love beyond indebtedness are open only to those who fall in love with intimate forms of the Supreme Person, especially the most intimate form, Śrī Krishna.

3. Companionship

Our divine beloved is much more than a source of power and authority, he is a person in the truest sense of the world. More than worship, a person wants companionship. If we deeply realize this, our sense of selfless indebtedness will carry us swiftly across the boundaries of formality and reverence and make us Krishna’s confidential companions: his peers, who play and joke with him. The desire to express our indebtedness manifests now as the desire to please him through friendship.

Sakhya is the Sanskrit term for this type of love. Literally, it means “friendship.” Those who develop this degree of divine love can become the young boys of Vṛndāvana, Krishna’s dearest, most confidential friends.

4. Protection

If our love can develop still deeper we will go beyond acting as Krishna’s peers and begin to act as his superiors. Sometimes Krishna’s cannot stop him from doing something unpleasant or difficult, those with very powerful love therefore experience superior, senior and parental towards Krishna. Such persons become Krishna’s elder friends, his aunts and uncles, his guardians, and his parents. Their desire to express their indebtedness manifests as the desire to protect him.

Vātsalya (Literally, “Calflike”) is the Sanskrit term for this type of love. It is so named because Cows are so maternally protective affection towards their calves.

5. Romance

If the desire to express our indebtedness escalates still further we reach the fullest level of loving relationship – the absolute intimacy of romance. In this relationship, we can joke and play like a friend, control and advise like a parent, and also directly delight all his senses.

There are several Sanskrit terms for this deepest stage of divine love. Mādhurya means “honey-sweet” and “intoxicating.” Śṛṇgāra means “passionate” and “sexual.” The meaning of these terms is obviously romantic. Ujjvala is another term for this category of love, which literally means “fully blossomed and brilliant.” It is so named because romance is the fullest expression of love.

Only the most intensely passionate divine lovers can access the extreme bliss of romantic love for All-Attractive Krishna. Those who do can hope to become the girls of Vṛndāvana, Krishna’s beloved girlfriends, the gopīs – the most ecstatically blissful of all living entities.

Re-compression, decompression, whatever you want to call it. It just popped into my head. Was thinking about the weekend and the combined 28-hours (waking hours) of non-stop being with my 3.5-year old daughter. Now, many people may not be able to appreciate what that means. 28-HOURS of straight association with a toddler. A little kid. A little, irrational, demanding kid. A little person there in your face: constantly needing, constantly demanding...for 28-hours.

This is the first bit of silence I've had since the weekend began. The first chance to just sit down in a silent room and to just be. I can hear my breath. Feel the moment. Feel the calm. Decompressing.

On my commutes home last week I would sometimes listen to the comedy of Louis C.K. He's often foul and offensive and lewd and perverse, but many times he's spot on in his observations of life. He talks about the realities of having children. He says things that many people think, but wouldn't actually say. There's a kind of honest courage in that; in just being able to say what you really think even if others will then see you in a bad light or think negatively of you.

There are many things to having children that truly suck. You no longer live for your self. You become secondary. It's just the way it has to be. It's a necessity of raising a dependent little being. These little people come into our worlds and demand. They strain marriages, they strain your patience, they strain your sanity. And yet we still love them. Of course we love them. We love them, but why can't we just say, "Man...sometimes having kids really, really sucks."

I sometimes guilty think about all of the other things I could be doing if I didn't have to tend to this little person under my care. I could be pursuing my Masters in Fine Art. I might not have to work so far away, because there would be less necessity. I could go out on dates with my wife and spend more quality time with her. I could draw more, paint more, read more. But alas, these are all things that will have to wait until she's older and more independent.

There's this really depressing commercial on TV where this guy sits down in his office to start writing a novel. But then he has a baby. A time-lapse thing kicks in and now the guy's office becomes the baby's room. Then the baby is a little girl in a ballet outfit, then it's all these milestone moments: prom, graduation, going off to college. Then at the end, all gray-haired and weathered, the guy gets his office back and once again sits down to finish that novel he never got to start. How freaking depressing is that?

Anyway, what is the point of me saying all this? Nothing. I just need to decompress. Isn't it healthy to say, "Hey, I need a break from this demanding, irrational little person"? I think it is. We all need silence. We all need quiet time. We all need to reflect and ponder and question. And those are all things that don't happen when you're wiping butts and getting snacks and playing princesses.

It's so horribly easy to get caught up in the maintenance of life. The daily ins and outs of just taking care of business, whether it's work/career-related or family-related or whatever. We become these mindless automatons, just going through the motions and running in the proverbial hamster wheel. At some point we have to step back and say, "What is the point of all this?" Sure, it's a noble thing to just be a decent human and to take care of your family and their material needs, but beyond that, what really is the point of it all?

I'm all to aware that my days here are numbered. My success in life cannot and will not be measured in material gains. I will never attain all of my material goals. That's just a fact. The reality is this place, this world, is a place of misery and suffering. There's no escaping it. The goal is not to try and stop the suffering, it's figuring out how to transcend it, to ignore it, to not let it consume us. That requires full absorption in something higher than us, something outside of us. I've only had glimpses of it, but I am far from living in it.

The tracks here could quickly switch to my self-pity about what a crappy devotee I am and about how Krishna Consciousness often times doesn't seem real. But it's late and that conversation is a circular road that goes nowhere.

I don't know what's real anymore. All I know is this moment. And in this moment there is a wonderful silence; a wonderful decompression.

"We actually like to space out when we chant. It’s easy, it’s easier than concentrating, it’s hard work to control the mind. It is hard work to concentrate. So that’s why you have to develop internal momentum, you get the speed, you get the determination, the sankalpa developed in the mind."

From The Process Of Improving Habits
by Mahanidhi Swami

Friend, don’t try to be popular. Treat the senses roughly. Break the love of this world. Don’t be attached to wife, children, friends and relatives. Friend, desiring to stay until the body perishes, reside in Vrndavana.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-58 Translation.]

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Sriman Revati Raman Prabhu, ISKCON Tirupati temple president's younger daughter, Sowbhagyavati Krishnacharanpriya to Sriman Chiranjivi Praneet Read more ›

This remarkable photo of Matador Torero Alvaro Munera marks the end of his career. When this gentle bull would not attack him, even after being provoked with sharp stakes, Munera collapsed in remorse. He became an avid opponent of bullfights. The fearless bull demonstrates that we don’t have to be disturbed by the provocations of the material energy. And on the other hand, the bull also shows us that it just takes one little act of compassion to help give someone a new perspective and  turn their life around.

“All schemes are useless scraps of paper in the face of war, famine, earthquakes and tsunamis. They are warning from mother Durga confirming her superiority.”

HDG Srila Prabhupada.

The UK is experiencing massive floods, even here at Bhaktivedanta Manor, no real damage was done except to Arjuna Prabhu’s caravan, it is scary to wake up in a flood. Please check out this movie taken 7 Feb 2014

Food For All Manor flood

This is the real flood we want:

Taken from Viraha Astaka from 1958 recently translated from Bengali, this is part of an offering to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarawati
Srila Prabhupada.

“The ocean of mercy was previously held back by a dam,
But Lord Nityananda personally cut a channel in it and
thereby released the outpouring flood of pure ecstatic love of God

The devotees to whom the responsibility was given to continue
spreading this flood of love somehow became overpowered
by Maya and were thus reduced to simply performing ritualistic
Hindu ceremonies for the benefit of materialists.”

Your servant
Parasuram Das

1966 February 9:
"Today morning I met Manager of 33 Riverside Drive New York for occupying apartment No 307 on rent as follows:
Rent to Commence 2/15/66 $70, Security $70, Total $140
Expenditure:
Bus fare .30 and rent above
Total $140.30"
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 February 9: "On hearing from you, I shall immediately start for London. When I go there I am sure I shall find out a suitable temple-house. Please let me know your decision so that I may prepare for my London Yatra."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 9: "I shall be very happy to know what is happening to the second issue of our French edition Back To Godhead. I was very pleased with the first issue, and I hope the new issue will be ready very soon. Please inform me what is the problem in this important matter."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 9: "So far I am not displeased with any of my disciples. Sometimes the sons create disturbances, and the father has to tolerate. But it is up to the sons to obey the father and keep the relationship natural."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 9: "Regarding Back To Godhead, the advertisements which you are now getting, especially the hippie advertisements, are not very good. Therefore, I am thinking of avoiding these advertisements. We shall try to find out the money by some other means."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 9: "We wish to publish only purely Krishna Consciousness articles up to 48 pages per month. Purely Krishna Consciousness means Isopanisad, and similarly all the Upanisads, and Vedanta Sutra. Articles like Dr. Spock, the Beach Boys, or nonsense book reviews should be completely avoided."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 9: "If you recommend it, I shall initiate him. Of course, the best thing will be to initiate husband and wife together. I have no objection to initiate him alone, but will he be able to thereby follow the rules and regulations?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 February 9: "I hope that everything is going on well with the production of Bhagavad-gita. Please immediately make the following addition to Chapter Nine in the purport of the 34th verse. This evidence is given to show that there is no distinction between Krishna's body and Himself since commentators such as Dr. Radhakrishnan make such distinction."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

The post Conversation with Raghunatha Bhatta Prabhu about being a brahmacari and developing the asrama appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Lam Tsuen is an area in Tai Po. It is famous for Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees. Read more ›

Lord Kṛṣṇa In the Dvārakā-māhātmya states as follows: "A person who is in a jubilant spirit, who feels profound devotional ecstasy while dancing before Me, and who manifests different features of bodily expression can burn away all the accumulated sinful reactions he has stocked up for many, many thousands of years." Read more ›

The chips are still hot and spicy and there are the workers, “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!” Eating the chips! I saw :-) -- Read more ›

New Vrindaban Farm Report – Back To Godhead Magazine – October 1975.

Over the past eight years, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has established fourteen successful farming communities in various parts of the world. As national economies founder and cities go bankrupt, ISKCON’s farms flourish and grow, proving that the Krishna consciousness movement is providing not only potent spiritual knowledge, but a viable alternative lifestyle as well. There’s full employment for everyone and natural prosperity when everything’s done for Lord Krishna.

New Vrindaban (Moundsville, W. Va.)—”While herding the beautiful bulls, the Lord, who was the reservoir of all opulence and fortune, used to blow His flute, and thus He enlivened His faithful followers, the cowherd boys.” (Bhag. 3.2.29)

This past summer was definitely bull season here. At Bahulaban, largest of New Vrindaban’s six farms, eleven of the seventeen new arrivals were bull calves.

Most of our bulls are used for ox teams because we don’t need so many for breeding. Right now our oxen program is in the rough stages, but what we have going is very promising. We’re working four teams regularly, and several others are being trained up. Many New Vrindaban residents enjoy watching the oxen as they haul the milk from the barn to the temple’s milk separator twice a day. The bulls are working better together all the time.

The medical program is also being improved to properly care for the increased number of calves. We examine each of them twice a day for any abnormality which might indicate sickness, and the sick ones get more complete treatment.

Milk production from the herd is soaring because there are so many “fresh” cows now. All told, the cows at Bahulaban are giving almost a thousand pounds of milk daily, and they’re still increasing!

For Lord Krishna’s birthday (Janmastami) we put the barn into excellent shape. Everyone who visited us for the holiday celebration was able to relish the purity and simplicity of Lord Krishna’s cow protection program. It’s easy to appreciate this wonderful service when we see so many milk preparations—sweets, curd, yogurt and cream—offered to the Deity of Krishna in the temple every day. When we satisfy the Supreme Lord, He satisfies us with His mercy.

2014 01 26 Sunday Feast Eagerness to Hear Chant and Serve Radhanath Swami ISKCON Chowpatty

Hare Krishna

Growing up at my home was at times a big pain. Why? Because my dad made me always take responsibility for everything in my life. Whenever I said something like "Dad, my girlfriend makes me so mad," without fail Dad would come back with: "Now come on, Sean, no one can make you mad unless you let them. It's your choice. You choose to be mad." Or if I said, "My new biology teacher stinks. I am

"Should we think of Krsna’s forms and pastimes while chanting japa? We should not do anything artificial. As Prabhupada has said, the chanting is not an artificial imposition on the mind. Prabhupada has recommended that if we just hear the chanting then the time will come when simultaneously we will think of the form of Krsna. To concentrate on the sound may seem routine. Of course, that is only our neophyte stage."

From Japa Reform Notebook
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

Volume 14, Chapter 1 Feb 8, 2014   In December of 1970 , Srila Prabhupada spent fourteen days in Surat, India, with twenty-five of his Western disciples. Five years earlier, he had traveled to the west on the order of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, to spread Krsna Consciousness. ISCKON was still a fledgling [...]

Vrndavana is wonderful. The two sweet fair and dark splendors named Radha and Krsna are wonderful. Pure love for Their lotus feet is wonderful. He who has faith in Them and rises to the spiritual world is wonderful. The rare soul who understands these truths is wonderful.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-57 Translation.]

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 16 December 2013, Sandton, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.17.38)

Krsna is like the sun, maya is like darkness; wherever there is Krsna, maya’s influence cannot be there. So in this way, we don’t have to fear. We don’t have to think, “How will I conquer? How will I ever conquer this illusory energy? I feel weak”. Then it means that we should engage in more hearing and chanting, have more devotee association and take only Krsna-prasadam. No potato chips, nothing – just Krsna-prasadam.

You may say, “I offer my potato chips!”

Alright, but actually, they’ve already been offered to the factory workers. Actually to tell you the truth, if you’re cooking for Krsna and someone walks into the kitchen and just puts his hand straight into the pot and starts eating from it, will you still offer it to Krsna?

Well, there was a devotee, near Ermelo (in South Africa) who had a big chips factory and one time, they wanted me to go there to bless the factory. You know, “Swamiji, please come and bless our factory?”

So, I went and blessed the factory and checked it out and I saw trucks of potatoes coming in and then being washed and chopped up by machines, and then the slices are dried and they go on the conveyor belt, and then there is a dip and they go through the hot oil and they come out brown and crispy. Then on the other side, as they come out, there is some machine that blows on hot spices onto the chips which stick on. The chips are still hot and spicy and there are the workers, “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!” Eating the chips! I saw (laughing). I was like, okay… so much for the chips, you know! But if we take shelter, we take shelter of Krsna-prasadam, then everything is there. There is no doubt of that…