Vedic Discourse – December
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Vedic Discourses at the ISKCON Brampton Vedic Education and Learning Center.

The discourse, a main part of the Sunday program, consists of a speaker basing their talk on popular Vedic scriptures such as the Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam or Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Appealing to everyone, from the most experienced of Bhakti-yoga practitioners to a new-comer who has come for the first time, the class focuses on the practical application of Vedic philosophy in our lives. This may range from how we can become more determined and focused individuals, to how we can help our fellow loved ones. Soaked with the time-tested knowledge of the Vedas, these discourses will stimulate your intelligence and give you food for thought. Below are audio recording from these lectures:



Vedic Discourse by His Grace Acharya Thakur Das Vedic Discourse by Her Grace Prema Manjari Devi Dasi Vedic Discourse by His Grace Ananda Gauranga Prabhu Vedic Discourse by His Grace Gadadhar Pandit Prabhu

A Rush and a Push
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Camera: Polaroid EE100 (with Big Swinger 3000 lens) | Film: Fuji FP100C

Camera: Polaroid EE100 (with Big Swinger 3000 lens) | Film: Fuji FP100C

While I’m still not completely finished with the testing (and sort of feel like I’ve only begun), here’s another photo I took with what I’m calling the Polaroid EE100BSL (EE100 with a Big Swinger lens). I had been calling it the Frankencamera, but that’s just dumb.

This was taken before I (might have) figured out a way to get the focus to “infinity” (you can read about that here. I tramped around the Ballard neighborhood trying to remember that since the camera on focused upon things around five feet away from me, I really had to find subjects and backgrounds. Doing most landscape stuff, it’s not so easy to remember.

I took three photos and only one of them worked out (this one). For the other two, I just thought “well, hey, maybe it’s close enough.”

Over this next week, I’m going to try to do more testing and sharing, but we’ll see if I can manage that.


Yamuna Devi’s Disappearance Anniversary, Saphala Ekadasi, December 29, Vrindavan
Giriraj Swami

Yamuna_Devi's_Image_#732E05“Yamuna Devi was a super-perfectionist. Generally, perfectionists are either proud, thinking that they are better than others, or eccentric. She was a super-perfectionist, but she was neither proud nor eccentric—she was humble, loving, and expert. I feel blessed that I knew her personally. Many of us here, of all different sizes, shapes, and ages, have been blessed by her personal association. But even if you never met her personally, you can have access to her through “Unalloyed: The Yamuna Devi Legacy Project” <krishnamagic.com>. It is filled with nectar from the great ocean of her wonderful qualities and expert loving service.”

Yamuna Devi Memorial Talk

Thursday, December 26th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Deer Lake, British Columbia

Deer Lake

According to my hosts on this trail, a prison was once standing at Deer Lake.  I was shown some of the foundation which still remains.  What was then is no more.

At the edge of the lake, beavers have done their expert work chiseling almost to pencil point some sizeable trees.  One tree in particular has, in my estimation, only one chewing day left before you can holler timber, “Timber!” Such is the way of an ever changing landscape whether adjusted by man or by nature.  Change is changeless.  It is eternal.  The only feature of the world that does not change is the Creator.

It really was a break from people that I found at Deer Lake compliments of Manoharini and family who brought me here.  It’s just great to capture a piece of nature in the course of the day.

There’s a usual rendezvous for the lake’s turtle population.  Usually when the sun peaks out , these guys tend to cluster at one corner of the lake on a long piece of driftwood.  They just lie there motionless in perfect camouflage, but today they were just not there for us to view.  We didn’t have that satisfaction.  Yet we knew they’re in there somewhere in the silky mud.  Something was swishing around at the water’s bottom.

The soul is like that as well.  It appears hidden or perhaps even nonexistent, yet by the mere presence of consciousness, the testimony of its being lies in its life symptoms.

We carried on by foot along the lake and saw the eager response of birds at our tossing of pistachios.  Geese, drakes, crows and gulls all picked up speed at the first throw.  It looked as if we were capturing 2/4ths of their primary activities, out of eating, mating, sleeping and defense, we were observant of their eating and defense.  Defense came in the form of just that – speed.

To absorb the power of the lake, and all that’s connected to it, we stopped walking and sat by a blue spruce for gayatri chanting.  The smell of the needles from that tree when pinched, what can I say, wow.

It’s essential to meet nature each day.  It makes the day whole, complete.  There is much to learn from this encounter.

Deer Lake, I like it.  It’s a fine eco system with many wonders.  Only thing is you might not sight a deer, at least I’ve never seen any there.  I guess that’s a wonder in itself.

May the Source be with you!

5 KM

Wednesday, December 25th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Burnaby, British Columbia

Christmas Day in the Life of a Hare Krishna Monk

What does a Hare Krishna monk do on Christmas Day?

He rises early at 4 am, showers, applies tilak (sacred earth substance) to 12 parts of the upper body, and then dons his robes, a dhoti (lower garment) and a kurta (upper garment).  With japa (meditative beads) carried in a pouch, he makes his way to the temple.  This then is the time when morning songs in honour of guru and Krishna are initiated.  Then, for an hour and a half or 2 hour period, he chants with the aid of his beads the Hare Krishna maha mantra:

This will be done in the company of others.  He may even choose to walk and chant on a trail, by a beach or on a street.

By 7 AM, he is poised for something called darshan, a viewing of the Krishna deity, followed by more song and drumming.  Culminating in a class delivered by a senior teacher just before breakfast.

Between 9 AM and 12, there is some time for specific duties.  My specific task at 12 o’clock was to speak on the subject of Christ and Krishna.  Naturally, the topic was selected to address the event, Christmas.  A subsequent feast was served, special features of this were mashed potatoes with a veggie gravy.  Yummy.  During meal time I had some people come to me with questions.  One east Indian gentleman had a question regarding dietary principles, “The meat diet is something that’s been going on for generations because in colder climates, western people in particular were forced to hunt as nothing else was available.  People are habituated to this diet, what do you have to say about that?”

Answer, “Granted, in colder climates people have resorted to eating other animals.  It’s true.  But the circumstances have changed since ancient times.  That was then but now is now.  Today you can acquire non violent food in the supermarket, vegetables, grains, fruits, etc. etc.  In some countries it had been the standard to eat humans on occasion, but now we know better.  We’ve evolved.  Let the animals enjoy their right to roam, crawl, or fly.”

Another question, “Is there truth to the theory that Jesus had spent time in India?”

Answer, “Some say he was in India, others theorize that there wasn’t a Jesus at all.  I will not argue that point, but what is relevant is the teachings that are propagated by someone who was called The Prince of Peace, and when those teachings are applied, they can improve our life.  Those teachings tell us to love your neighbour as much as yourself.”

Plus, “Love the Lord with all thy heart, mind, soul.”

The feast was great and it forced a nap which a monk is permitted to have.  A second walk, answering correspondence, and an evening program with kirtan (chanting,) sums up the day.  At least this is a look at my day.

7 KM

Tuesday, December 24th, 2013
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Burnaby, British Columbia

No Power

Being not at home base (Toronto these days), it spares me from the dynamics of the hottest news coming from there.  Correction.  It’s not hot news at all, and has nothing to do with an embarrassing Mayor who’s caught taking crack.

The ground breaking news from Toronto (T Dot – the  cool short term) is the cold ice storm that hit last weekend putting 300,000 home out of power.  Normally a power failure wouldn’t create such an out on a short term, but when you consider it’s the middle of winter and it’s dragged on, people will have had to make some adjustments.

I was on the phone with our temple operations person, Keshava, in Toronto.  He said with relief, “After 57 hours of no electrical power, we had a big pizza party.”  The whole force of nature seemed to have that bonding effect on everyone in Toronto.  In the ashram at meal time where there’s no access to light in the eating room, all the monks were getting together hovering around a single candle.  Everyone was quite liking it.  It was as it should be, perhaps.

I contemplated the joy within the crisis and thought how life must have been before homes were equipped with hydro.  Perhaps the utility has spoiled us; that it’s a curse.  At least you can safely say that an element of interedependence was very much status quo when we were all unplugged.

It was sadly reported though that through this time of testing, generator, power, propane, and other less safe ways of generating warmth left some people dead from the fumes and exhaust.

I had taken to walking in weather that was just below zero degrees in the lower mainland of Burnaby, BC at Christmas Eve, when things were rather Silent Night –ish.  I imagined myself being back in Toronto and how I would handle the cold.  Likely, I would find maximum satisfaction in keeping warm in my winter boots, doing a lot of walking.  After all, each and every one of us has a built in furnace as much as we have a soul.  At some point in time, our 98 degrees Farenheit will quit on us.  But the spirit goes on searching for a new furnace.

May the Source be with you.

6 KM

Monday, December 23rd, 2013
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Burnaby, British Columbia

Presents

We all hear that Christmas is the time of giving.  That’s nice!  From the Vedic perspective (directions east) we can also say it is a charitable time because it was in December that Krishna gave His message of truth to the world.  When this truth was spoken some distance north of the ancient city Hastinapur (current Delhi), millennia ago, the subsequent events and struggle for power ensued for 18 days which would terminate at the corresponding date of December 30th, 2013.  That’s when you can mark the end of the war.  The dust of turmoil settled and peace prevailed.

Whenever truth is told, it often caused commotion.  Expect some calm after the storm.  Silent Night.

When the realities of The Gita, Krishna’s message, were told to me, my world had turned around.  That was back in December of ’72, right at Christmas time.  It was the present I ever received.  I am grateful to those five monks that did the delivery.   Their names I have not forgotten – Visvakarma, Ayodhya Pati, Satyahit, Drupada, and Dustadhura.  They had peculiar names (in Sanskrit) and like the early pages of The Gita where names of warriors are identified, I found the names of my new friends to be odd, yet exotic.

The gift of the Gita, which in ’72 was five dollars hardbound, was the greatest treasure.  I actually bought it for myself out of my student loan money.  It was the best life investment ever.  I see and respond to the world differently since I received this gift.

To Padyavali, my dear godsister, whom I’ve been visiting in her seniors’ home every Monday since I’ve been in Vancouver, I asked her the standard questions.  She’s struggling with her Parkinson’s.  “How are you doing?”  She looks me straight in the eyes with a stern look and says, “Don’t ask.”  It’s with a cheerful response that I say, “You’ll be alright.”

This very morning, she handed me a gift, it was in a plastic bag, the contents were lightweight.  I opened that bag and in it was a chaddar, shawl, from India.  It has markings of Devanagari script and bears images of cows and footprints of great divinity.

It really was thoughtful of her.  Come to think of it, the best gifts are my friends who are devotional.  How can I repay Krishna for these presents that are undeserving to me?

May the Source be with you!

8 KM

New Vrindaban Daily Darsan @ December 29, 2013
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Please see the link for all photos ….05

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/114809389518597520995/albums/5962886377222961761

I have seen Vrndavana plunged into an ocean of sweetness by the amorous pastimes of two persons more splendid than gold and sapphires and more glorious than millions of Ratis and Kamadevas.
[ Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrndavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-20 Translation ]