Planet ISKCON

Use milk to get meat eaters to take to Masada, see quotes below to support the premise.

The milk is nothing, but it is cow’s blood transformed. Just like mother’s milk. The mother’s milk, wherefrom it comes? It comes from the blood, but transformed in such a way that it becomes nutritious to the child, tasteful to the child. Similarly, cow’s milk also, a most nutritious and valuable food.

Bhagavad-gita 7.3  — Montreal, June 3, 1968

Yes, you do not know. You do not know how to utilize the animal. Ignorance. The milk is also produced out of the blood.

So it is intelligence. You are drinking the blood in a different way, produced by nature with more vitamin values and more taste and more gentleman. Why should you kill one cow and try to drink the blood? The blood is there already, but in a different form, without any violence.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.17 — Denver, June 30, 1975

Another business is to protect the cows, and to give them food nicely so the cows will give enough milk. And from milk, you know, so many nice preparations, all full of vitamins. So why they should be killed? You are killing; the blood is not utilized, you are taking the flesh. But flesh is transformation of the blood. And milk is also transformation of the blood. So if you take, just like channa, it is as good as flesh. By taste, by benefit — as good as. So why if you can take the flesh and blood in a human way-blood is transformed into milk, and from milk there are so many good preparations-ghee, yoghurt, burfi, channa, so many preparations are available. This panir, channa, and let the animal live peacefully. Why are you cutting his throat? You require some benefit from the animal. Take this benefit. Why should you kill?

Morning Walk — May 10, 1975, Perth

“They cannot give up that small piece of meat. What is the difficulty?  The same thing can be made by milk, milk product, channa. What do you call curd? Cheese. You prepare cheese and fry it. You’ll get the same taste.”

Lecture, London, 12 July ’73 / Conversation, Melbourne, 2 July ‘74

“It is a very good idea for people to come to our vegetarian restaurant and take so many nice things, especially the panir, fried cheese, and sandesh, kachori, rasagulla, samosa and in this way they will forget their meat-eating. If you make a soup of fried panir with asafoetida and ginger, this will replace lobster soup nonsense.”

Letter to Tusta Krsna, Mumbai, 9 Nov. ‘75

Filed under: Cows and Environment

One of Srila Prabhupada's most cherished desires was to establish the New Vrindaban Community in America. He spoke at great length about building a replica of Vrindaban India, where there are seven main temples. In 1968, The New Vrindaban Community was founded in West Virginia to fulfill Prabhupada's dream of an ideal society based on Krishna Consciousness, or love of God Read more ›

The post Kirtan on December 15th in Krsna Valley appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The rest of the week was spent around the Creamery – laying pipes below the freeze line; installing the pasteurizer; cleaning the barn; and getting the building in shape for inspection Read more ›

Anyone can visit Jihvna Mandir on the bank of Radha-kunda at any time of day and see that it is perfectly clean and groomed Read more ›

Brahmananda Invites Devotees To New Vrindaban On Behalf of Srila Prabhupada – September 1968.

New York
7 September, 1968

ALL GLORIES TO SRI GURU AND GAURANGA
MEMO TO ALL DEVOTEES

RE: NEW VRINDABAN

I have just returned from a two days stay at our newest center New Vrindaban in Moundsville, West Virginia, near Wheeling. This New Vrindaban is under the direction of Sriman Hayagriva and Kirtanananda Maharaja and promises to be a great step forward for Krishna Consciousness in America.

It has a farmhouse and several other structures, well, streams, hills (govardhana, as named by Swamiji) pasture grounds (a cow will be acquired soon), ghat, pond, woodland, all situated on 138 acres.

Prabhupada has requested that 7 temples be established there. Its main activity will be cow protection and to show the world that simply by living with cows and land and chanting HARE KRISHNA a perfect society will prevail.

A great deal of work is required and Swamiji has requested at least four devotees to go there immediately. New Vrindaban lacks so-called necessities as hot running water and toilets, so that only stout and sturdy devotees are needed, especially those with carpentry experience and can do manual labor.

New Vrindaban will be especially attractive to householders who will want to raise their children in full K.C.

So, all devotees who are interested in living in New Vrindaban, either immediately or in the near future should please contact me. Those with carpentry experience should especially do so.

Approved . . .

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Approved . . .

Kirtanananda Swami

Signed . . .

Brahmananda das Brahmacari

1966 December 15: "I do not wish to disturb the position of the sevaits of Radha Damodara Temple, but simply if I am given the facility to live there with my disciples, it will be my pleasure to serve Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Damodara to my best capacity."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1967 December 15: "In the Absolute world there are no such relativities as success or failure. The one thing in the Absolute world is to serve Krishna. Krishna must know that we are working very seriously and that is our goal of life."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1969 December 15: "We are now printing 50,000 BTGs per month, so try to increase sales as far as possible. Sankirtana and distributing BTG and my other literatures is the fieldwork of this movement. Temple worship is secondary."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 December 15: "Your mother has benefited undoubtedly and she will be more and more benefited. Not only your mother, but also your father and all family members will be benefited by your dedication of life for Krishna's sake. Be rest assured. Krishna Consciousness is so nice."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1972 December 15: "I, the undersigned, shall be the sole operator of the Account; furthermore, in the case of any emergency the two Members of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, besides myself, may be called upon to enter and withdraw funds into and from the Account."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 December 15: "I shall be the last man to give up the land to the rogue. He has taken our money but tactfully has not given us the conveyance. The land is still in our possession and we are not going to leave this land so easily. More when we meet."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 December 15: "We have neither changed our plan nor have we any intention of changing our plan of developing our Land. We shall stick to the place to the last moment and we require your cooperation very much."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 December 15: "Enclosed find three sacred threads and three gayatri mantras for the second initiates. Hold a fire yajna, after which they may listen to the mantra once through the right ear from from the cassette tape I have made."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

Two Jewels In The Drizzle

Burnaby, British Columbia

I guess it was an Otter in the water.

As I was about to turn a corner at Willard and 10^th Ave. I heard a splash in the creek next to me.  I came to a halt and waited for whatever to surface.  Not all creatures walk, like me.  Some swim.

Sure enough out pops his head and off he goes for his slinky swim.  He must be a member of the weasel family.  Hard to tell.  At one point he poked his head out and stared.  And so did I  - stare at him.  His stillness was better than mine.  I couldn’t fool him with my static pose.  My breath could be seen, a misty exhaust emanated from the mouth.

I take these things as a little game.  I like to imitate, even mock the birds at times trying to see if there is any communication.  I attempt it with crows and hawks.  I’m sure they concluded that I’m a weirdo.

After this long pause our creek fellow submerged, then continued on gliding through a greenish snow melt as I kept an eye on his moving pelt.  It was a curvy motion he took.  I couldn’t do that even if I fit into the creek.  Our friend the Otter (I guess) is just sleek and slick.  He made my day.  I would have stayed on, staring, but I had things to do and besides, the drizzle drove me to continue forging ahead until a new encounter came about.

Yes, and that did occur.  A mustached man with baseball cap delivering newspapers just came right out and started talking, “You know they say it never rains in LA,”  (I didn’t know that) “well, I’ve got a song about how it always rains in BC.”  He then proceeded to recite his poem.  I thanked him for that.  It was a gem of a poem – his poem.  What a treat!  That doesn’t happen too often, that someone out of the blue starts sharing poetry to a stranger.  Perhaps the donning of dhoti makes you look receptive.

The drizzle thickened and drove me on, otherwise I might have heard more.  His newspapers needed distributing.  “Hare Krishna, friend.”

Multiple duties blessed this day but the highlights were the Otter and the poet.

May the Source be with you!

5 KM

Black Feathers

Burnaby, British Columbia

My walking today was not my idea of walking.  Weather conditions somewhat restricted my being in the out of doors.  Sometimes, out of a sense of duty I pace indoors as it’s important to be with others, so I confined myself to the temple where I could be with others.

Recently a survey was done revealing that Canadians are relatively happy with their work, in fact, thee happiest in the developing countries.  Another survey that went around revealed that when it comes to a sense of community or a sense of belonging, 90% said it’s not there.  With the deterioration of the family unit, the infiltration of secularism and a general mood of “I need my space”, we can understand the reason for such results.

I did at portions of the day pick up my meditation beads and pace in the apartment given to me for my three week stay here.  It becomes a C shaped trek, back and forth venture between two rooms where I curve to dodge the furniture.  At one point I opened the door to the real world with the real air.  There, in front of the door was a gathering of crows.  With a fresh white blanket, an inch deep snow, this feathered community seemed to have less access to food.  Two dried up chapattis were left on the dinette table, so I found the opportunity to have those cracker like pieces tossed out to the crows.  They were ecstatic.  I envied their “togetherness”.

Rain had been coming down, turning the snow to mush or slush.  For this reason I guess the dynamics force people indoors into their cubicles.  Although there is facility available for group fun and work, few people make the effort, even in this devotional setting.

I have to ask, what’s happening to human beings?  We have lost our sense of interdependence.  We are going the route of depression and despair.

Keeping in mind the active crow community, I am inspired to do something.  While I’m here I will attempt to pull together some drama, as in theatre, with the intent to engage members in a positive way, to bring them together.  I must try to be a part of the solution and not the problem.

Thank you, crows.

May the Source be with you!

7 KM

H.G Deena Bandhu Prabhu – SB 4.31.31

The post December 15th, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

I had this realisation today.....like a strong relationship there is good communication - we have this chance to connect with the Lord via the mercy of the spiritual master. That connection is through sound.....when we really hear the Maha mantra that's our connection and we feel the Lord's presence.
It's been said many times but we always need to be reminded of this simple truth....just hear the names and then we will connect with the Lord and receive His mercy.

3 days a week I have to make the 16.4  mile (26 km) 28 minute drive into Wheeling to do dialysis. To save a few minutes I tend to drive 5 mph (8 km) over the speed limit as my experience is that even 8 mph over the limit law enforcement will give you a pass.

In Sherrard on Route 88 there is a bit of the road where the speed limit is 25 mph. I had just gone thorough the dip in the road and was heading up when here comes a State Trooper. He gave me a hard look and I glanced at my speedometer and saw I was at 33 mph, 8 mph over the limit. I watched him in my rear view mirror and sure enough the first driveway he came to he pulled in and clearly was turning around, waiting for traffic as the road curved and I lost sight of him.

Running a little late and not wanting to go through getting a ticket within a few seconds I was at Route 86 and I turned off onto it. It goes straight for only a few yards then turns and drops down behind a bank.  I hoped I would be out of sight by the time he got there.  Over 95% of the traffic on Route 88 stays on 88 so I hoped he would make the assumption I did too.

There was an anxious moment but in a few hundred yards (meters) I was at the turn off for Boggs Run and headed down there. Boggs Run is parallel to Route 88 so it didn’t add any distance to my journey but is a lot twistier and slower.

I soon realized he hadn’t followed me and I breathed a sigh of relief. I soon felt a pang of guilt as I respect law enforcement and generally am supportive so this wasn’t typical of me and I wouldn’t advise anyone else to do so.  I even have a son who is a policemen in Georgia,  of whom we are very proud, so I do try to see the world through their perspective.

I hadn’t actually heard a siren or seen flashing lights so technically I wasn’t breaking any laws by running.

The guilt was soon replaced by a thrill of adventure. My life is generally quite placid and routine and it has been years since I even had the thrill of competing in a soccer game, so this was quite out of the ordinary for me.  I will say it wasn’t an unwanted thrill that I had pretty much written off I would ever feel in this body again.

Plus it gave me something to write about. :-)

Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever

Jyotisar is the exact spot where Lord Sri Krishna spoke Bhagavad-Gita. There is a Banyan tree in this place under which Krishna explained Bhagavad-Gita 5000 years back to Arjuna – his greatest friend and devotee.

Volume 13, Chapter 13 Dec 6, 2013   Memorial Address for Nelson Mandela Delivered at Edison Power Group Memorial Function Durban,South Africa December 6, 2013 Dearest Madiba, It was with profound sadness that I learned of your departure from this world yesterday. Though all of us were aware that your demise was imminent, somehow we [...]

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With locations across central Dublin, Govindas is a great place to stop into for lunch. You walk up to the counter and ask for a regular or large plate, and the kind soul serving you proceeds to pile it high with homemade Indian-ish tasty glop. Their food isn’t as intensely flavorful as traditional Indian, but it’s so cheap and satisfying (and the soft Hare Krishna chanting playing in the background is so soothing) that I’m never disappointed Read more ›

Vicaru das
ISKCON uk

O’ Vaisnava Goswami please be merciful to me now ,there is no one except you who can purify the fallen souls.where does anyone find such a merciful personality by whose mere audience all sins go far away/.After bathing in the waters of the sacred Ganges many times one becomes purified.,but just by the sight of you, the fallen souls are purified,This is your great power

The holy name delivers one who has committed an offence to Lord Hari, but if one commits an offence to you, there is no means of deliverance,Your heart is always resting place of Lord Govinda and Lord Govinda says,The vaisnavas are in my heart,
I desire the dust of your holy feet in every birth I may take ,./Please consider Narottam yours, and be kind upon him

VICARU DAS
BHAKTIVEDANTA MANOR
ISKCON UK

Gurudava,By a drop of your mercy make this servant of yours more humble than a blade of grass.Give me strength to bear all trials and troubles,and free me from all desires for personal honour.

O lord and master Invest me with the power to properly honor all living beings.Only then will I sing the holy name in great ecstasy and
will all my offences cease.

O lord and master’ when will this devotee be blessed by obtaining your mercy/ I am low fallen and devoid of all strength and intelligence.Please make me your beloved servant.

When I examine myself,I find nothing of value,your mercy is therefore essential to me.If you are not merciful,I will constantly weep, and I will not maintain my life any longer.

The Kali Yuga series No 3.

The post The deterioration of religion, truth and cleanliness appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.