Planet ISKCON

From Peter

Answer Podcast

From Peter

Answer Podcast

From Peter

Answer Podcast

From Peter

Answer Podcast

From Peter

I am a comparative philosophy student trying to understand the Bhagavad-gita. Can you please give specific Gita verses while answering the question?

Answer Podcast

Please give some details  regarding prayers offered  by different exalted devotees in srimad bhagavatam, can we choose any particular prayer and recite everyday as part of our sadhana if it is so, how much importance should we give/in what way we should understand  the  translation of the slokas  while we recite as a daily routine.

Answer Podcast

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Conversation.

The post Those who eat from Srila Prabhupada’s plate should at least give credit for doing so appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

New Vrindaban board members, residents & well-wishers outside Srila Prabhupada’s Palace.

Minutes of the Semi Annual Joint Board Meeting Of New Vrindaban

November 10, 2013

Day 3 of 3

ISKCON New Vrindaban (INV) Vision Statement: Founded in 1968, Srila Prabhupada boldly envisions New Vrindaban as a sacred place known worldwide for Cow Protection, Self-Sufficiency, Holy Pilgrimage, Spiritual Education, and, above all, Loving Krishna.

ECO-Vrindaban Mission Statement: ECOV (Earth, Cows, Opportunities & Vrindaban Villages) 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 Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

INV Board Members:  Dayavira, Chaitanya Mangala, Ranaka, Jaya Krsna, Gopisa, Tamohara

ECOV Board Members: Navin Shyam, Kripamaya, Madhava Gosh, Ranaka, Chaitanya Mangala, Anuttama

GBC: Malati, Tamohara, Anuttama

Recording Secretary: Laxmi Honest

Guests: Keval Patel, Bhima Walker

Chaitanya Mangala gave a report on the ECO-Vrindaban integrated auxiliary transformation.  An issue arose when ECOV realized that most of its income would soon come from gas royalties. Unless the organization obtained an integrated auxiliary status, similar to that of a church, the IRS would reclassify it as a private foundation and it would have to pay annual tax to the IRS on royalty and investment income.

The IRS will take approximately one year to process the application.  During that time, ECOV may act as though it is approved.  While this more accurately represents the relationship of the two entities for IRS purposes, it was also noted that it brings the two entities closer in service. By terms of integrated auxiliary status, INV has the authority to place one director on the ECOV board. That requirement could be met if either Ranaka or Chaitanya Mangala, who are currently on both boards, is officially chosen as the INV representative.

Devotees currently serving with ECOV are:

Anuttama – GBC

Kripamaya – President

Madhava Gosh – Vice President

Navin Shyam – Chairperson

Ranaka – Secretary-Treasurer & Lead Cowherd Man

Chaitanya Mangala – Board Member

Cow Protection Staff are:

Ray Kudurski,  Ananda Vidya, Lalita Gopi and Caitanya Bhagavat

Project Managers in 2013:

Nityodita – NV Protected Cow Dairy Initiative

Tapahpunja – Vegetable gardens

Rafael – Fruit trees and bushes, Deity flower garden

Chota Jay Krsna – “Green” Lodge remodeling

ECOV plans to submit its 2013 financial reports to the INV board during the March/April 2014 bi-annual meeting.

In the operations review it was reported that there are 48 cows and 6 are being milked. The milking cows provide cream, butter and ghee daily for the Deities.  Hay and potatoes were being grown and harvested all summer.  More fruit and nut trees and berries were planted.  Deity flowers were grown all summer.  Eco friendly housing was built near the Garden of Seven Gates, a greenhouse was renovated and a garden irrigation system was installed.

ECOV provides broad community support.

$70,000 to INV for multiple projects

$45,000 for Dham Seva projects through the purchase of a bulldozer

$15,000 for Small Farm Training Center garden related projects

$12,000 to Gopal’s Garden School

$6,000 to ISCOWP for hay and general farm assistance

A total of $148,000 has been invested in the NV community so far in 2013.

In 2014 ECOV plans to:

Expand the Deity flower garden

Further develop bulk grain storage

Hire a Project Coordinator

Continue building more eco-housing

Plan an eco-village

Plant more fruit and nut trees and berries

Continue to support other efforts that are in line with the ECOV mission.

A report was given regarding gas royalties. The Snyder gas well net mineral acreage footprint has been reduced by about 100 acres. Of the total acres, INV has approximately 23 and ECOV has approximately 257.

The initial royalty checks received for gas income were incorrect.  There were some errors in calculation and the amounts were smaller than anticipated. Gopisa has been talking to representatives at Chevron in this regard, but they have been unresponsive thus far.

Devotee care, counseling and spiritual enlivenment, encompassed the next topic.  It was suggested that the old clinic building could become a clinic again, with counseling available.  It could also service as a gathering place for new members.

Another suggestion was that some festivals should be developed specifically for the local devotees.  A question was raised that since New Vrindaban has primarily evolved as a place of pilgrimage and a tourist attraction what can we do to strengthen relationships within the community?  It was pointed out that Srila Prabhupada’s appearance and disappearance are festivals that are specific to devotees and could be good for this purpose.

Another suggestion was to figure out ways to get more community members involved in the other festivals.

Anuttama mentioned that in DC there is an annual appreciation dinner which has been very well received and could be incorporated in New Vrindaban.

The Palace Sangams with Srila Prabhupada at his Palace are going well with 20-30 devotees regularly in attendance, but there is still a sense that it is a place for tourists and not so much for the devotees. We have to continue to diligently work to change this mindset.

It was noted that 2016 is the 50^th anniversary of ISKCON and 2018 is the 50^th anniversary of New Vrindaban and the 20^th anniversary of ECOV.

Planning for 2014, as well as the anniversary years, was discussed.  There is a long list of desires. It was suggested that we need a list of projects with costs to set priorities.  In view of the upcoming anniversaries, renovations at the Srila Prabhupada’s Palace are a top consideration.

Anuttama discussed world-wide plans for the ISKCON anniversary starting in 2015 in India when Srila Prabhupada departed for the US, then in Boston, Butler, New York etc.

This led to more discussion about Srila Prabhupada’s Palace as it should be in the best possible condition for the celebration.

Immediate projects were listed as:

Wrought iron work

Outside wall/windows

Four chatras

Front steps

Entry path railing

Gopisa will get costs and details on each of these specific areas and share these details with the Palace restoration subcommittee members.

Community Dialog

11/10/13

The program opened with kirtan led by Jaya Krsna who then welcomed the devotees and gave a presentation regarding Srila Prabhupada’s vision for New Vrindaban.  As part of the presentation he discussed the transformation of New Vrindaban as a spiritual community and noted that some stages are very difficult.  He explained that we are currently in one of those stages and we must keep our vision of developing a strong community and maintain our Brijabasi Spirit.

Jaya Krsna then introduced the GBC representatives Anuttama Prabhu, Malati Prabhu and Tamohara Prabhu who have volunteered their time and devotion to assist the boards.  This was followed by introductions of the board members and of Keval Patel and Bhima Walker as guests of the boards.

INV Department heads then gave presentations of their activities throughout the past year.  These were from the same slide presentations that were discussed in day one of the minutes.

Caitanya Mangala discussed the ECOV integrated Auxiliary plan for the benefit of the gathered devotees.  He highlighted the work ECOV does in and around the community.

Anuttama discussed the ISKCON 50^th anniversary in 2016 and asked for suggestions on how New Vrindaban would like to celebrate. Nityodita Prabhu suggested creating a data base of people who were here in the early days and also putting together a slide presentation from the old days.  Oral histories could be recorded and a discussion of the importance of the movement begun.  Other projects suggested were: a book and a documentary of the history, of New Vrindaban, a traveling art exhibit, interface with colleges, and prasadam distribution.  As outreach the ideas were put forth of holding a type of cultural festival at Heritage Park or Wesbanco Arena in Wheeling.

It was suggested that we start something in 2015 to coincide with 50 years since Srila Prabhupada left India and traveled to America, which would make the focus more about Srila Prabhupada and then in 2016 it would be about his organization.

Madhavananda Prabhu expressed concerns about Tapahpunja. Jaya Krsna explained the arrangements between Tapahpunja and the INV management.

Jayasri Prabhu asked who would tend the gardens instead of Tapahpunja, and Jaya Krsna explained that going forward ECOV has agreed to manage the gardens.

Lalita Gopi Prabhu asked about Dham Seva and how that project is being served by INV. Jaya Krsna outlined the support that INV has given in the past year and assured her of continued commitment.

A proposal was made for the creation of an advisory committee made up of community members who are not board members. The idea is that this group would regularly meet with Jaya Krsna and discuss issues and concerns.  It was generally agreed that something of this nature would be helpful and the details can be worked out for consideration at the December board meetings.

Bhakti Bringa Govinda sw. Final kirtan. Vaishnava Winter Fest.Baltic 2013

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Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.12.3 for the morning class at Bhaktivedanta Ashram.

“At the end of the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna explains that this science should not be explained to those who are envious or not austere or not engaged in devotional service—in other words, that it is for devotees. But Srila Prabhupada said that sometimes a preacher, who knows the heart of the Lord—ultimately the Lord wants everybody to come back to Him—will take a risk and speak in an open audience where there may be people who are not devotees. But they take the risk because they know how important it is to Krishna to get His lost children back to Him. Therefore Srila Prabhupada sometimes did meet challenges. Even Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura met challenges. All the acharyas who preached in a big way met challenges from the envious. But they took the risk for Krishna.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.12.13

this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player is needed; works best with Firefox or Explorer; if you are using Google Chrome it will automatically play, so to not listen, mute your speakers.)

All there is in existence is Krishna, which includes His unlimited expansions and energies. I have experienced how seeing everything externally and internally as different types of energy can be helpful in life and service. I am speaking about developing sensitivity to what we are taking in, or being affected by, and what we are giving out, focusing on, or contributing…I will explain. The soul is one type of energy, matter another. Let me direct you to two Gita verses which show the broadest divisions of matter and the soul which animates them, [Bg 7.4-5]: “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, [and the components of the subtle body of] mind, intelligence and false ego – all together these eight constitute My separated material energies. / Besides these…there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities[the souls]who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.”

All living physical bodies are a particular combination of material elements (energies) revolving around the mind, uniquely combining together to facilitate the desires and destiny (karma) of the soul. Of more importance for this blog is that not only is the body energy, but it is an energy generator and receiver. We have to be careful of what we allow to influence us as we endeavor to be absorbed in spiritual consciousness. Here I am going to emphasize the importance of what we focus our mind on even when we may be externally engaged in devotional activities or visiting a temple or holy place.

Our intentions, or reasons for acting, are all important, as is what we are thinking about, or are focused on while chanting the holy name or engaging in any of the nine main limbs of bhakti (hearing, chanting, remembering Krishna, etc.) This mental culture of bhakti is sometimes assumed to be in place, yet neglected, especially if we are very busy or rushed for time, don’t have a good spiritual foundation, don’t regularly study and hear the philosophy of bhakti, or have developed bad internal habits. I am speaking from personal experience.

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The reaction of change in the heart is exhibited by gradual detachment from the sense of material enjoyment by a false sense of lording it over the world and an increase in the attitude of rendering loving service to the Lord.

- Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.24 purport

Srimad-Bhagavatam class.

The post Avoiding committing violence to others and practicing seeing things as they are (Part 2) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Ananda Vidya milks Surabhi Gomata, summer, 2013.

by Madhava Smullen

With its new Protected Cow Dairy Initiative, ISKCON New Vrindaban is carefully taking one step at a time back towards dairy self-sufficiency.

Nityodita Das,who spearheaded the Initiative, fondly remembers the early days of New Vrindaban, when ISKCON Founder Acharya Srila Prabhupada was still physically present.

“I remember living at the old Vrindaban farm in 1974 and occasionally milking the cows with Radhanath Swami, then a brahmachari,” he says. “At that time we didn’t buy milk or milk products, except maybe rarely for big festivals. We used to have these big barrels full of ghee, and the Deities were getting opulent offerings.”

Srila Prabhupada, of course, envisioned New Vrindaban as a sacred place known worldwide for five things: loving Krishna, spiritual education, holy pilgrimage, self-sufficiency and cow protection.

“Krishna by His practical example taught us to give all protection to the cows and that should be the main business of New Vrindaban,” Prabhupada wrote to his disciple Hayagriva in June 1968.

Over the years after Srila Prabhupada’s passing in 1977, New Vrindaban residents continued to drink milk from their own cows, but eventually reverted to buying butter and other dairy products from local stores.

Recently however, there has been a renewed focus on Srila Prabhupada’s vision for New Vrindaban. In the past two years, devotees have added eight new cows to the herd—four each year—as a major step towards becoming independent from store-bought milk products produced by cow-slaughtering commercial dairies.

In May 2013, the Protected Cow Dairy Initiative, supported by ISKCON New Vrindaban and sponsored by non-profit Eco-Vrindaban, was launched.

“The idea is to revive a program wherein all food offerings for the Deities are made with dairy products coming from cows cared for by New Vrindaban residents,” says ECOV board member Chaitanya Mangala Das.

New Vrindaban has a herd of 47 cows, with six milking cows. In contrast to the cows tortured and slaughtered at commercial dairies, they are all treated with love and care as family members by program overseer Ranaka Das and daily caretaker Chaitanya Bhagavat Das.

All the cows, of course, live out their natural lives. During the summer, they graze upon hundreds of acres of lush, green pastures. During the winter, hundreds of bales of hay are harvested for them to eat. They are protected from the cold in a cosy, clean and spacious barn. And the calves, like three-month old bull Pundarikaksa, are not separated from their mothers as in commercial dairies but are kept close.

“They are given time together throughout the day,” says Ananda-Vidya Das, who milks the cows along with his wife Lalita-Gopi Dasi and heads up production for the Dairy Initiative. “And twice a day, during milking times, we give the calves a quarter of the milk to drink from their mothers.”

Every morning at 7:00 am, Ananda-Vidya makes his way to the milking barn across the street from the temple. It takes him up to two hours to set up, milk Punya, Malati, Yamuna, Anjali, Shankari, and Surabhi, and clean up afterwards.

To develop a personal connection with each cow, Ananda-Vidya milks at least one or two of them by hand every day. As he does so, the others are milked with vacuum bucket milkers, the most subtle type of milking machine on the market today.

“The suction feels pretty much how a calf would,” he says, adding, “When I have help from other devotees, often we can milk them all by hand.”

After milking, Ananda-Vidya brings the milk to the temple. He then warms up the leftover milk from the previous day, brings it back to the barn, and runs it through a cream separator. This machine produces cream from one spout, and skimmed milk from another.

“I boil the cream, and add a culture to make it into yoghurt,” says Ananda-Vidya. “After the yoghurt process is started, I leave it until the next day. Then in the afternoon, I put the yoghurt from the previous day into an electric blender and churn it into butter. It makes around three or four pounds of butter — it comes out really nice.”

Finally, Ananda-Vidya milks the cows again for a second time at six o’clock in the evening, often with his wife Lalita-Gopi.

Guest milks Malati Gomata.

Ananda-Viyda’s service takes five or six hours a day, and yields fourteen to fifteen gallons of milk. This is used to make milk sweets, curd, ghee and other dairy products for New Vrindaban’s presiding Deities, Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra.

The Dairy Initiative recently successfully completed its five-month trial period. Now, it’s ready to gear up for a second, experimental phase.

During the quieter winter months, there will be a test-run expansion of the program so that meals served to devotees at the temple will also be made only with dairy from protected cows.

This will not involve an increase in milk production. Rather, kitchen staff, cow protection staff, and New Vrindaban management will work together to make sure that the available milk is used wisely.

 Ananda Vidya separates cream for the Deities.

There are different ways that this can be done. For example, cooking of excessively dairy-filled dishes can be regulated. And skimmed milk, rather than whole milk, can be used to create delicious curd or yogurt. Of course, whole milk will always be offered to the Deities and be honored later by devotees as maha-prasad.

To make this transition successfully, Nityodita Das notes that “there must be a raising of consciousness to understand that when we go out and buy milk products, we’re basically supporting the slaughter of cows.” The small amount of austerity required to change this, it follows, is worth it.

Of course, there are plans for some expansion of New Vrindaban’s herd and milk production in the future. But having learned from over-ambitious attempts that proved unmanageable in the past, this time devotees will expand in a very humble, careful and sustainable way.

There are plans to gradually grow the overall herd from 47 to approximately 70. And there is space in the current milking barn to expand the amount of milking cows to eight.

Beyond that, there are long range plans to build another barn on the pasture behind Srila Prabhupada’s Palace, which will be able to house up to ten milking cows. This will also be designed to function as a teaching farm, where guests can better observe and participate in the daily cow protection activities.

Behind all this is the cow care team, which meets regularly under Ranaka Das’s leadership to discuss overall improvements in cow care as well as required upgrades of the barn and pastures.

In the meantime, milking the cows at the temple barn in New Vrindaban, Ananda-Vidya Das doesn’t worry about any of this. Life is simple for him: it’s hard work, but serene, too.

“There’s some austerity,” he says. “You have to be regulated and on time. You have to lift heavy things and shovel manure. Sometimes it gets really cold, sitting there in an unheated building.”

“But it’s also meditative. Sunrise and sunset are peaceful times. There are not a lot of people around. You can listen to a lecture, or chant verses.”

Genuine fondness warms his tone. “And the cows are just really loveable creatures. They all have their unique characteristics and personalities. It’s nice being with them.”

“Most of all, it’s such a rewarding service,” he concludes, “Because it’s really at the heart of what Srila Prabhupada wants for New Vrindaban.”

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