Planet ISKCON

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes – 9-29-2013.

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban (ECOV) is dedicated to cow protection, sustainable agriculture, self-sufficiency and simple living — all centered around loving service to Sri Krishna, as envisioned by the ISKCON New Vrindaban (INV) Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Participating Board Members: Anuttama, Chaitanya Mangala, Kripamaya, Madhava Gosh, Navin Shyam, and Ranaka.

Participating Project Managers: Rafael

1. Deity Flower Garden / Trees & Berries

Flowers:  Rafael reports that the flowers have been suffering from blight.  They had been sprayed earlier in the season, but have not been recently.  Next year a regular spraying schedule should be implemented. Other than that, the growing season is coming to an end, and the area is being wrapped up for winter.

Rafael has been watering several flowering bushes that need to be planted, but he will not be able to do so before he leaves next month.

Trees: Many that have been planted need additional caging to protect them from being further damaged by deer.  The trees at Madhuban have been mulched with wood chips and cardboard, which prevents grass from growing in spaces that cannot be mowed.

Rafael mentioned that in 2014 he plans to propose hiring a permaculture expert and development of an ox-training program for the bulls that are taking birth in New Vrindaban.

2. G7G Cabin Construction

As it turns out, Tom prabhu has some experience with green building and has addressed a number of construction issues with the cabin (e.g. the need for a moisture barrier and perforated drainage pipe). A concrete floor will be installed soon.

3. Deity Dairy Project

Nityodita prabhu provided a progress report and financial review. He reported that the program was a great success because they were able to supply the cooks in the Deity Kitchen with butter, butter milk and small amounts of ghee through out the summer. Nityo’s conclusion is that one can understand Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra are pleased to be once again relishing milk products coming directly from cows lovingly cared for by Their devotees.

Gosh explained that the project was well under budget because Anandavidya and others separated the cream at the same time they were cleaning the barn, thus significantly reducing previously anticipated labor expenses. These remaining funds continue to facilitate Anandavidya’s service past the initial trial period.

Nityodita is planning to write an article for publication. ECOV Board Members look forward to reading it.

Connected to this, and as part of our overall herd management strategy, Ranaka reports that he is breeding 3 heifers, which will increase the available milk supply.

4. Sustainability Poster Display

12 posters can be displayed behind Srila Prabhupada’s Palace or in the downstairs of the Palace Lodge.  The Lodge is more likely because of Jaya Krsna’s preference and because of wall mounting difficulties at the Palace.

5. Bahulaban Pink Building Demolition

Jaya Krsna & Gopisa prabhus provided the following information through e-mail:

In addition to the $10K for Savage demolition, there was $4,320 in other costs, as follows:

• Varsana Swami had 100 hours of preparation for the pink building and the dam – $2,500 + expenses $500
• Maharaja used for four hours the D4 = $90 * 4 = $360
• Backhoe: 10 hours * $60 = $600
• We have still to bury the wood – I propose to add another 3 hours for the final burying. $270

6. 2018: INV’s 50^th & ECOV’s 20^th Anniversary Celebrations

INV’s 50^th anniversary will be in 2018. This same year will also be the 20^th anniversary of ECOV. The Board agreed to regularly use meeting time to explore what projects and initiatives we would like to dedicate for that celebratory year.  All directors and advisors are requested to come to these meetings with ideas and thoughts prepared ahead of time, ready for discussion.

7. Budget for Promotional Items

WHEREAS: The ECOV Board wishes to gain greater visibility in the public eye, while remaining consistent with its ecological focus.

RESOLVED: The Board authorizes up to $1,500 for the purchase of reusable stainless steel water bottles and up to $2,000 for organic cotton T-shirts (all with custom ECOV & INV logos) to be resold at various points within the community, as well as on the ECOV website.

8. Special Note

The ECOV Board Members note that several initiatives were highlighted in these minutes. These projects were completed timely, well under budget and done in a cooperative spirit that brought members of our community closer together. We pray that Srila Prabhupada and their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra bless us with many more of these kinds of opportunities. We thank Gopisa, Varsana Swami, Rafael, Tom, Anandavidya, Nityodita and other crew members for their part in making these efforts a success.

H.G Saci Suta Dasa kirtan

Nicole’s Day

Toronto, Ontario

Today we had another birthday in the ashram, it was Nicole who took the honour on this fine day.  Born in the Philippines and in her early 20’s, she has captured the hearts of all the ashram dwellers with her fine devotional qualities.

We have a kind of family atmosphere in the ashram and when it is someone’s turn to be recognized it becomes moments of lightness and gratitude.  Manish is an outstanding artist who designed a gorgeous card for all of us to contribute our tribute to her.  Kanad is our main cook these days and he made a cake with an outstanding icing, at least that was the consensus.  And my input was, well, it was not an out of the way gift, but I encouraged her to come on that early trek with us as we chant our japa, mantra meditation, which is the ultimate medication.

Let’s face it, we are all imbalanced in some ways in this dark age of Kali.  Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, in his brilliant delivery of  7 purposes of the bhakti devotional technique expresses the need to check the imbalanced lives of today and the root cause of the problem is emphasis goes so much to ‘me’ and not ‘we’.

I was delighted that Nicole be part of our small troupe on the street.  As of late she has come to like the process of chanting while on the feet.  I do wish her the best on this day and in this life.  She carries a real sweet attitude that rubs off onto others.  It’s contagious.

While she spent a section of her day with family and friends, some of the boys and I made our way to Dundas Street and the Bhakti Lounge run by a devotional stalwart, Mangal Aarti by name.  There we had staged our latest drama production, Gita: Concise, to a small group.  This was an important venture for me because the lounge attracts among a diversity of people, the artistic types.  One chap completed his four year course at Ryerson U in theatre arts, and Melinda is an actor and dancer who very much liked the drama.  In fact, her comment at the end of the presentation was that she wants to read up on the Gita now that she saw the rich concepts that the philosophy contains.  The actors too had a great time at this humble venue wherein was included a tasty vegan meal of kofta, veggie rice and halava.  It was a good day at these two places of bhakti.

8 KM

Answer Podcast

Giriraj Swami gave class to devotees and guests in the Darshan Room in Dallas.

“This magazine had an article on the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock festival, with profiles of one hundred people who had been at the original Woodstock. There was a little photo of each, with a brief description of what they experienced then and what they were doing now. Ninety-six had become conventional mainstream people. All their idealism from the sixties when they went to the festival was gone. The other four still had ideals but were a bit wacky. And I thought, ‘Thank Srila Prabhupada. Now, twenty-five years later, we still have our ideals—and we’re not wacky.’ We do not do wacky things like some of the people, who still had long hair and drove around in psychedelic VW vans with strange ideas. So I thanked Srila Prabhupada. Twenty-five years later we still had the same ideals. And what he gave us—Krishna consciousness—is not crazy or impractical. It is revolutionary, but in a spiritual way. And it is eternal, and it continues. When Srila Prabhupada came to America he was seventy years old, but because it is eternal and universal, he was able to touch our hearts and infuse us with spiritual knowledge and inspiration.”

Bhagavad-gita talk

There are many possible motives for suicide. Saintly people sometimes commit suicide to attone for some serious mistake or as an involuntary expression of some extremely deep emotion. Śiva’s wife Sati, for example, committed suicide out of grief of being related to her father, who had disrespected her husband. Coṭa Haridāsa committed suicide by drowning himself in a sacred river as an expression of his grief over so seriously displeasing Sri Caitanya. Sanātana Goswāmī planned to kill himself under the wheels of Jagannātha’s cart during Ratha Yatra, feeling that his life was useless. Sri Caitanya stopped him, affectionately explaining, “Your life belongs to me, it is not yours to throw away.” Raghunātha dāsa Goswāmī attempted suicide by leaping from Goverdhan hill. Rupa and Sanātana Goswāmīs gave him the inspiration to continue living.

The result of suicide, like everything, depends on the motive. Sati’s result was that she became Parvatī, married Śiva again and was free from her inglorious previous family / father. This shows that suicide does not always have a negative result.

Almost always, however, suicide is an unrecognized expression of the desire for mokṣa. The pains and depressing inescapable realities of existence become too great to bear, they vastly outweigh the joys and pleasures of life – one decisively prefers not to exist at all, rather than exist amidst such unbearable circumstances.

Since the desire for mokṣa is unrecognized, the individual seeks to end their existence by some physical means – a bullet, a pill, a blade, a steep drop, etc. If the desire were recognized as a desire for mokṣa the individual would instead recourse to nihilistic spiritual disciplines to extinguish his or her existence altogether – a much more effective form of suicide – since it destroys not just the physical self, but also the emotional self.

What destination is attained by a person who physically kills themselves?

It depends on their consciousness at the time of death. yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvam tajantyante kalevaraṁ - “whatever your heart is absorbed in when you die will become the general condition of your next birth.” (Bhagavad Gita)

Not always, but most often the consciousness of a person committing suicide is tragic and filled with negative emotions. Therefore most often, the destination of those who commit suicide is tragic. It is not always the case, but it is arguably the norm. When a person dies with a lot of unfinished, unresolved emotional ties to people, places and things in their life, they will find themselves unable to move on to their next birth. A suicidal person, specifically, will also be loathe towards the proposal of starting the whole depressing cycle over again in another birth. When the mind is paralyzed from moving on to the next life, the being has to exist for a while without a physical form, only in an emotional “body” – a very troubled emotional body.

People tend to experience such beings as “ghosts” and so on. Often, people who commit suicide have many, many unresolved issues with their life, thus it is quite frequent that suicide produces what many people call “ghosts.”

Another problem is that suicide most often leaves behind unfulfilled responsibilities. This is a serious karmic problem incurred by committing suicide. If a person is old, legitimately renounced, or somehow has fulfilled or never incurred many familial and social responsibilities, this may not be an issue.

Eventually (it can take centuries) the ghost forgets his or her negative ties to the previous life and drifts slowly towards another birth. In that next birth they will have to again deal with what they wanted escape: being alive in a painful world.

If a person recognizes the suicide impulse as the desire for mokṣa and fulfills that impulse not by physical suicide, but by “spiritual” nihilism – what is the result?

Another type of “ghost” – really.

They extinguish their false existence, which is good, but they do so with a sense of disgust, disdain, frustration, or repulsion. These negative motives invariably generate negative results. The result of such mokṣa is to obliterate one’s false being, but not attain any true being – a type of ghostly existence in a sense, in between falsehood and truth, and neither of either. Like a ghost, they exist for sometime without any tangible existence. Eventually, the negative, unresolved emotional ties to the false world will again pull them into subdividing their consciousness into negative existence and they will again acquire a material birth.

In the end, suicide of either type fails to solve the problem. You eventually have to actually face your problems and solve them. The problem is suffering. Self-centered existence is the root of suffering. Selfless existence is the end of suffering and the root of joy. “Selfless existence” means an existence of pure love. Pure love is realized in its most perfect zenith when the beloved is absolutely pure and real - focused on the absolute reality as the supreme beloved.

The only real way to end suffering is love - bhakti. Practice of bhakti is the only way to accomplish what suicide would like to accomplish, but cannot.

Hare Krishna.

"I am very glad to learn also that you are feeling joy while chanting the mantra Hare Krishna. Yes, it is exactly like this. If anyone chants this mantra in good faith and in simple understanding, then surely this transcendental vibration will act immediately in spiritual bliss."

Letter to Sriman Minoru and Kenji
Los Angeles 22 April, 1970

POWER IS ALWAYS DESCENDING By Mayapur dasa Power is always descending. All history books show that Monarchy was the established system of government across the globe, from Asia to India, Africa and Europe. Until relatively recent times, guided by detached clergy (brahmanas), monarchs (ksatriyas) were educated and trained to fulfill their duties as earthly representatives of the

The Radha Krsna Temple, or now more commonly Radha Krishna Temple, was the headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in London from the late 1960s. The Temple came to prominence when The Beatles, and especially George Harrison, started to publicly express their interest in Eastern philosophy and Krishna consciousness. The Radha Krsna Temple is also the name of an album of devotional music issued by the Temple on The Beatles' Apple Records label, produced by Harrison Read more ›

Shopping Cult @ Oxford Circus
Episode Two of Parasociology Series.
http://youtu.be/mz-D8AxREcw


The Cult of Shopping | Parasociology at Oxford Circus
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Nicolas Riddihough is a world wide researcher into the science of Parasociology which he introduces to us with clarity and insightfulness. The second episode... Continue reading →

24-12-2012 SB 8.6.21-28, Churning the Milk Ocean, Cape Town, South Africa om namo bhagavate vasudevaya! om namo bhagavate vasudevaya! om namo bhagavate vasudevaya! Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 6, “The Demigods and Demons declare a Truce”, text… it says 20 here; I was told it was 21. Is this correct? Or is Devotee: [...]

When Possible

Toronto, Ontario

When possible I like to run errands on foot.  I did so today.  On a side street off of Davenport, I was approaching one of those cement mixer trucks parked next to one of the 180 condo high rises going up in the city.  The truck was parked on the sidewalk that I was on.  I was just prepared to cross the street to the other sidewalk when the driver of the truck came out from behind the steering wheel, jumped onto the sidewalk and then came to see me.

“Excuse me,” said the man with the hard hat and other safety gear, “my name is Andy.”  He stretched out his hand for a handshake which I happily obliged.  “I was wondering if you could pray for me.”

“I sure will, Andy.  Are you going through stuff?” I asked.

“Yes, I am, so please pray for me.”

“I will do that.”

Andy returned back to his post, back to work.  I noticed some of his coworkers took a side glance at Andy and the man of the cloth momentarily.  Not sure what they were thinking, but it’s good they were thinking.

At Davenport I had to cross the four lane expanse.  Traffic was crawling along.  I hadn’t yet made it fully across, half way actually, when a motorist rolled down his window and said excitedly, “Hey!  I danced with you guys last Saturday!  I can’t believe it!”

“At Nuit Blanche, at Queen’s Park?” I asked while standing by his car’s side.

“Exactly!  You were singing.”

“Hope you had a good time?”

“Yeah man!  It was a blast!”  I finally got across to the sidewalk and was at peace within, thinking about how crossing a street can bring magic.  Of course the robes made a difference in terms of getting noticed and having some interaction.  People must get tired of seeing blue denim.  Sometimes I’m referred to as the moving traffic cone.  Once I was called an orange bear.  At least it was the clothes that attracted and initiated short but meaningful exchanges.

5 KM

This was the story never told
By one who cared not for the world’s gold.

One of the idle and wise,
A beggar with unfathomable eyes.

One who had nothing but dreams to give
To men who are eager to labour and live.

For the world in its wisdom deep and dim
Had taken all pleasure and treasure from him.

This was the story his soul could tell,
Immortal and unfathomable.

There was no record in his brain,
He did not know he should live again.

But there was one who read the whole,
Buried deep in a dead man’s soul.

“In the days of Atlantis, under the wave,
I was a slave, the child of a slave.

When the towers of Atlantis fell,
I died and was born again in hell.

From that sorrowful prison I did escape
And hid myself in a hero’s shape.

But few years had I of love or joy,
A Trojan I fell at the Siege of Troy.

I came again in a little while,
An Israelite slave on the banks of the Nile.

Then did I comfort my grief-laden heart.
With the magic lore and Egyptian art.

Fain was I to become Osiris then,
But soon I came back to the world of men.

By the Ganges I was an outcast born,
A wanderer and a child of scorn.

By the Waters of Babylon I wept,
My harp amongst the willows slept.

In the land of Greece I opened my eyes,
To reap the fields of Plotinus the Wise.

When the great light shattered the world’s closed bars,
I was a shepherd who gazed at the stars.

For lives that were lonely, obscure, apart,
I thank the Hidden One, in my heart,

That always and always under the sun
I went forth to battle and never won.

A slayer of men, I was doomed to abide,
For ever and aye, on the losing side.

Whenever. I dream of the wonderful goal,
I thank the hidden God in my soul

That though I have always been meanly born,
A tiller of earth and a reaper of corn,

Whenever through ages past and gone
The light divine for a moment shone,

Whenever piercing laborious night
A ray fell straight from the Light of Light,

Whenever amid fierce, lightning and storm
The divine moved in a human form,

Whenever the earth in her cyclic course
Shook at the touch of an unknown force,

Whenever the cloud of dull years grew thin
And a great star called to the light within,

I have braved storm and labour and sun
To stand at the side that Holy One.

No matter how humble my birth has been,
There are few who have seen what I have seen.

Mine the shepherd’s star and the reaper’s reward,
And the dream of him who fell by the sword.

One thing I have learned the long years through,
To know the false words from the true.

The slave who toiled on the banks of the Nile
With wisdom gladdened his long exile.

From Buddha at eve by the Ganges’ side
An outcast learnt the worth of the world’s pride.

To the tired reaper, when day was done,
Did Plotinus unveil the hidden sun.

Amongst the stars, on a Syrian night,
A ragged shepherd found the Light of Light.

From dream to dream, o’er valley and hill,
I followed the Lord Christ’s wandering will.

Kings there are who would barter a throne
For the long day’s toil and the light unknown,

The deed of the strong and the word of the wise,
And the night under cold and starry skies—

The white light of dawn on the hillside shed
On Him who had nowhere to lay His head.

Behold there are kings who would change with me,
For the love of the ancient mystery.

Shepherd and reaper and slave I have been,
There are few who have seen what I have seen.

I have been a gipsy since those days,
And lived again in the wild wood ways.

Wise with the lore of those hidden things,
Learnt from Lord Christ in His wanderings,

Beggar and reaper and shepherd and slave,
I am one who rests not in any grave;

I will follow each stormy light divine,
And the secret of all things shall be mine.

These things have I seen, would you bid me mourn
That I was never an Emperor born?”

Filed under: Poetry

Gokul is a nagar panchayat in Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located 15 km south-east of Mathura. Read more ›

Yesterday after arriving in Skopje, Macedonia we drove several hundred kilometers southwest to Ohrid on the Albanian border. It is said that Ohrid is the, ‘meanest town in Macedonia.’ Local tradition says the Devil created Ohrid. The saying goes that when someone challenged that the town is so beautiful the Devil smiled and replied, “Yes, [...]

The post October 9th, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The New Talavan farm community was begun as a project in June of 1974. At first it was just a few devotees from the New Orleans temple who came out and slowly began planting gardens. They worked as time permitted and then returned to the New Orleans temple at night, a round trip of about 130 miles. Soon some devotees began staying on the farm full time. Read more ›

It is said that Ohrid is the, ‘meanest town in Macedonia.’ Local tradition says the Devil created Ohrid. The saying goes that when someone challenged that the town is so beautiful the Devil smiled and replied, “Yes, but the people are as mean as can be!” Read more ›

ONE DAY ON POLISH FESTIVAL OF INDIA TOUR 2013

The word ‘self-conscious’ refers to an excessive awareness of one’s appearance and actions. For example, when we give our first public speech, we may be self-conscious, that is, too worried about how we look and how we speak.

Self-consciousness can be crippling. It can divert our mental energy away from concentrating on doing our actions properly to conjuring images of what others are thinking about our actions.

When we are thus self-conscious, the self that we are conscious of is a pseudo-self. It is our surface appearance that is visible to the public eye. In fact, it is not even that – it is our conception of what the world is seeing when it sees us. This conception is derived mostly from our material desires, our notions of what kind of appearance will attract us and thereby make us feel good.

Gita wisdom helps us break free from such self-consciousness by enabling us to become conscious of the self, our authentic self – the soul. The best way to become conscious of the self is by becoming conscious of the Supreme Person Krishna with whom the self is eternally related as an integral part, as a beloved child.  The process of bhakti-yoga brings dynamism to our consciousness of our self by providing us multiple ways in which we can serve Krishna.

The Bhagavad-gita (06.18) urges us to give up material desires and thereby situate ourselves in consciousness of our true self. The more we live in our harmony with our spiritual identity, the less we worry about our material image because we understand that it is peripheral to our actual self.  Once we start relishing the fulfillment of our true spiritual identity and glory, the need to be self-conscious and seek flickering pleasure through a positive self-image in the world disappears.

***

06.18 - When the yogi, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in transcendence — devoid of all material desires — he is said to be well established in yoga.

Introduction to Krishna Consciousness 2013-07-27

"Lord Caitanya instructed us to be more humble than the grass on the street, and more tolerant than the trees, and to offer all respects to all, demanding no respect for ourselves. All these nice qualifications make one worthy to chant Hare Krishna."

Letter to Hamsaduta
February 4, 1968

I got a request via Contact Me on this blog for the recipe for oat water so here I am obliging.  I am going to attempt to rebrand it as oat broth.

The basic principle is to use more water that normal and cook it longer

Currently I use old fashioned oats and about 4 times the normal recommended amount of water but you can use more.  We used to cook it for an hour but I am too impatient anymore so stop after 25-30 minutes. The sign when it is cooked enough is you see the  “cream” starting to come out of it and the oats have mostly lost their shape.  If you add enough water it is almost like a drink you can sip instead of  spoon.

I add fresh ginger and cinnamon but you add whatever you want to taste, I like it quite gingery. I usually don’t cook with salt but do lightly salt this as it seems to really bring out the flavor.  A tablespoon of butter per gallon doesn’t hurt it.

I add  a tablespoon or two of plain yogurt  to a bowlful and sweeten to taste with honey or jam.

I make a large batch once and keep it in the refrigerator taking out a daily dose and heating it up. Sometimes I add fresh or dried fruit when reheating it.

You can do the same thing with rolled barley but it takes a little longer to cook.

It is the kind of food that when you eat it you can almost heat your cells screaming, this is so good for me and tastes good to boot.

Filed under: Health

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 9.3 at a home program in Dallas.

“The faithless cannot accomplish this process of devotional service; that is the purport of this verse. Faith is created by association with devotees. Unfortunate people, even after hearing all the evidence of Vedic literature from great personalities, still have no faith in God. They are hesitant and cannot stay fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. Thus faith is a most important factor for progress in Krishna consciousness. In the Caitanya-caritamrita it is said that faith is the complete conviction that simply by serving the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, one can achieve all perfection. That is called real faith.” — Bhagavad-gita 9.3 purport

Bhagavad-gita 9.3

The pure devotee does not endeavor for anything which is against the principles of devotional service. For example, constructing a big building requires great energy, and a devotee does not take to such business if it does not benefit him by advancing his devotional service. He may construct a temple for the Lord, and for that he may take all kinds of anxiety, but he does not construct a big house for his personal relations.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is 12.16 purport

On Sunday afternoon, Mr.Rajiv Shukla, Member of Parliament, IPL Chairman, BCCI Vice President came to ISKCON Juhu for Darshan of Sri Sri Radha Rasabihariji. I talked to him that it's nice that you came to temple for darshan... Read more ›

HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami, ISKCON Malaysia President, has attained full consciousness. Semi-solid food is being recommended by doctors as Maharaja's appetite is gradually improving. His liver is functioning better than before. Speech clearer, physical strength picking up. In fact, Maharaja is so eager to speak that he is calling devotee on phone Read more ›

Vegavati devi dasi, from Iskcon Alachua, gave the Invocation at the County Commissioners Meeting. She read from the Bhagavad-gita where Krishna speaks of the particular responsibilities of leaders Read more ›

The post October 8th, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Krsna is in control. Many of our guests will remember the summer of 2012, when there were big electric storms in the New Vrindaban area, notably on the July 4 long weekend, and the electricity went down for a long time.  We were helpless to make things work more quickly. There was also a severe water shortage at this time in the Dhama, with drying wells and a damaged main water tank.  Many of our donors and pilgrims generously came to the aid of New Vrindaban by helping us repair the essential main water tank, and we send thanks to everyone for that.  We learned that Krsna, through His devoted well-wishers, has saved us, as He always does, from a similar fiasco re-occurring!

After much uncertainty, the final appearance of the public water line on the ridge allowed New Vrindaban to hook up the Palace of Gold to the local city water system.  Our main water tank (which is fed by our wells) also has city water hooked up as a back-up system. A new well has been drilled, which increases our own water production. The final approval to connect the new well from the government is currently on its way.

Gopisha das, the director of renovations and maintenance at New Vrindaban tells us,  “The main water line from the city terminates behind our temple apartment building #1. Should we ever have the need in the future, we are already set up to switch the entire temple complex over to city water, but will remain on our own wells for now..”

Gopisha das confirms, with relief, “With the repair and lining of the 90 thousand gallon main tank, the newly drilled well and the addition of city water as a back-up to our own system, we can hopefully put our festival water shortage days behind us.  Lord Krsna is very kind to His devotees.”

Sewa is a universal concept, which involves performing an act of kindness without expectation of reward. It is performed selflessly and without ulterior motive. As a concept, Sewa in embedded in Indian traditions, and is actively promoted by different cultures and faiths - as the core belief is the same - to sacrifice your time and resources for the benefit of others without wanting anything in return. Read more ›

There are many purificatory processes for advancing a human being to spiritual life. The marriage ceremony, for example, is considered to be one of these sacrifices. It is called vivaha-yajna. . . . The Lord says here that any sacrifice that is meant for human welfare should never be given up. Vivaha-yajna, the marriage ceremony, is meant to regulate the human mind so that it may become peaceful for spiritual advancement. (Bg. 18.5, purport) Read more ›