Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2014-11-13 01:28:00 →
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975
Websites from the ISKCON Universe
There are ten facets, ten topics, in Śrīmad Bhagavatam. 2.10.1 lists them. The next verse explains that the first nine serve to clarify the tenth and main topic. Then five verses elaborate on what the titles of the topics mean. Here are the ten topics:
Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings convened a group at the George W. Bush Institute last Thursday to discuss the role faith-based schools play in American cities. The group drew upon representatives from various traditions, including Catholic, Islamic and evangelical educators.
Later, Rawlings said one of the first big words he learned in Sunday school as a kid was “omniscient.” He said he went on to learn “omnipresent,” which led him to think that if God was indeed everywhere, then he is in schools, too. Rawlings, who identifies himself as a Democrat and Protestant, summed up his feelings this way:
“Surely we can create a new way to educate, to fund the best and the brightest in this country,” Rawlings said. “For me, it starts with God being omnipresent in lives across this country.”
So, here’s what I would like to hear you all discuss:
Are people of faith better off focusing their attention on education to schools that reflect their own tradition?
Of course, I imagine most of you think that public schools are valuable. Many of us probably attended them.
But if you really want to make an education dent, especially getting students to discuss God and larger issues of moral consequence, couldn’t one argue that schools that represent the values of a particular faith tradition are the better place to start?
Certainly, Catholic schools have produced strong results. Speaking at the Bush Institute conference,Father Tim Scully of Notre Dame claimed that 99 percent of students in Catholic high schools graduate. Eighty-five percent of those graduates, he said, attend college. And Latino and African-American students who attend Catholic school are two-and-a-half times more likely to graduate from college.
What do you think?
Where should people of faith put their focus on education, especially in our big cities? How would you try to move the needle, as the expression goes?
NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas
Educational institutions are not simply meant to create industry and employment but rather education is primarily for the purpose of character development. The ancient Vedic aphorism states that the sign of an educated man is that:
1. He sees all women, except for his wife, as one would view their own mother.
2. He does not covet other people's property, no more than one would covet garbage in the street.
3. He sees the pains and gains of others as his very own and therefore is compassionate towards other's distress and happy for other's happiness.This wisdom is naturally developed when one studies and practices the science of the soul. In America we have so many educational institutions, yet how many institutions discuss the nature of consciousness? How many institutions can clearly explain the difference between a dead body and a living body?
Everyone in this world wants to be happy, however to be happy one must know the self and how to please the self. Because of mis-identifying the temporary body as the self, people in general look at the opposite sex or same sex as objects of their enjoyment.
Other people's property is seen with envy. And the pains and gains of others are something to take advantage of and exploit. Therefore, if there is no higher knowledge of the self, the modern educational institutions often can increase materialism and unhappiness within society.
To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 November 2013, Vrindavan, India, Lecture: Damodar Lila)
Whenever I come to this Krsna Balaram mandir, I get excited because I am coming home. Like yesterday, Mother Daiva Shakti said, “Welcome home!” And I said, “Yes, Vrindavan is my home!”
She said, “Yes, because you took birth here!” Well, it is true; I started my spiritual life here in Vrindavan. Anyway, whatever may be, when I come to this town, it is wonderful because in Vrindavan, Krsna is so present. Practically everywhere, you just feel like he was there a few minutes ago, maybe he went around the corner somewhere. Krsna is very close in Vrindavan. So that certainly is wonderful.
This is not the second time I posted this photo, but it is the second photo I’ve posted of the Pecos Ruins taken with the Mamiya C3 using Kodak EktaChrome 64x. This other one was here.
I’ll repost it here to show the differences:
Since these photos were taken within twenty minutes of each other using the same exact camera and the same brand of film, why would there be such a difference? My guess would be the film. The rolls I was using both expired in September 1994 – interestingly, the month that I moved from Pennsylvania to Columbus, Ohio. Film degrades over time, and it’s clear that it degrades in differing ways.
Another reason for the contrast between the two shots could possibly be the processing. I develop my own film and while the C-41 process (in this case, cross-process) is pretty standard, I’m not always as careful as I should be when it comes to times and temps (the former much more so than the latter).
I’m not sure which I like better, but, as I was mentioning yesterday, I’m not sure I like either.
And Barnaby Booth asks about Nara-Narayana Rsi and about living stones.
The post Silpa-karini dd asks whether Srila Prabhupada gave instructions to follow Purusottama masa appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
20130921 Radhanath Swami – spiritual principles for married couples
Some devotees say we should read only Prabhupada's books and hear only from sannyasis and such advanced devotees. Are they correct? On what basis should we decide from which devotees to hear?
In other religions, even great saints have eaten meat. But no meat-eating is a basic regulative principle and even neophyte devotees follow it. Are such devotees more advanced than great saints from other traditions?
Back in May of 2013, Hungary government officials incinerated 1000 acres of genetically modified corn, a product made by the agro-chemical conglomerate Monsanto. Hungary, a maverick among the EU on the issue of genetically modified crops (GMOs), has taken a strong stance by banning it from being used by Hungarian farmers. This comes at the same time massive protests were conducted here in the United States in response to The Monsanto Protection Act (see May issue of 16 Rounds for more information on Monsanto and The Monsanto Protection Act).
There is a worldwide countervail against Monsanto’s biopiracy and hegemony. Farmers in Mexico conducted a hunger strike and protest march in Mexico City to decry GMO corn; Chileans have rallied against a bill that would put multinationals at the helm of controlling Chile’s seed market; in Haiti, 10,000 farmers burned Monsanto seeds in Papaye, asserting the preeminence of keeping seeds organic and local. Indian farmers have taken a univocal stand to oust Monsanto after being cheated since 2001 with promises of soaring crop yields.
Now is a watershed in food production. Chemical manipulation of food is deleterious to health, toxic to the environment, and an impractical, unrealistic remedy to world hunger – as evinced by batteries of lab tests and case studies conducted by third-party researchers for years.
Bhagavad Gita, a text of profound wisdom from ancient India, teaches that whatever action a great person performs, common people follow and whatever standards such a person sets by exemplary acts, the entire world pursues. Indeed history repeats itself, and teaches us about the consequences of not fighting back to malign influences.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ― Edmund Burke
Nowadays in the younger generation there is a strong opposition to dowry as they feel it reduces marriage to a auction. But the older generation feels that dowry is a part of the culture and they expect, even demand, it at the time of marriage. Should a young devotee who wants to get married go along with the current trend of opposing dowry or go along with the family's desire to have dowry?
The world of our senses is in constant flux and we, like fools, are trying desperately to cling on to it, failing to see the inevitability of separation; I used the words ‘constant flux’ to illustrate that our very existence is so contradictory that it is apt to use an oxymoron in order to describe it. Nothing seems to outlast time and everything is subject to withering away, yet our innermost desire is to hold on, to persist, to live forever. The fact that even those who believe in heaven and eternal life don’t want to die to get there is case in point.
Are we truly born to live, but forced to die? I found a good answer to reconcile this apparent anomaly between what I feel is our inherent purpose, to be alive, and the enigma of death, in the Bhagavad Gita. The passage states,
“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the non-existent (material body) there is no endurance and of the eternal (soul) there is no change… For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.”
Commentaries by authoritative teachers on the illuminating verses of the Bhagavad Gita explain that the reason why all of us feel so inexorably drawn to eternal life is because that is our true nature as spirit souls. In other words, the fact that we are ever-existing individuals is evident in our deep-rooted longing for an existence not bound by time. Due to our misidentification with the impermanent body, we delude ourselves into believing that we will die; whereas in actuality it is only our physical bodies that die. These seers of the truth emphasize that the body is dying at every moment as we move from a child’s body to a youth’s body to an adult’s body and finally to an elder’s body; yet, the personality, the embodied self, continues to exist. So, when the body dies once again, having alas deteriorated beyond repair, we should not be bewildered; instead, we should understand that the self will remain as it always has.
Pondering these fascinating revelations by the sages of the East, I look back to this earth knowing that it is just a temporal home, and I am a traveler in it. Then I wonder how prudent it is to make my stay here the emphasis of my entire journey. Rather, I should ask myself, where am I heading?
I have seen that in the devotee community sometimes when devotees are expecting a child, they say that they have so little time for chanting and going to the temple and an additional child will leave them with even lesser time for bhakti because of the increased care and the increased expenditure. They say that in such situations abortion is favorable for bhakti. Is their understanding correct?
According to Ayurveda and the Bhagavad Gita, there are three modes of nature that we can live under – goodness (sattva), passion (raja), or ignorance (tama). Ultimately, a spiritual practitioner aims to transcend all three modes and live life acting as pure spirit, beyond the limitations of the body and mind, but until we reach that point, living in goodness is the road that can lead us best towards the ultimate spiritual destination.
Whether we live in goodness, passion, or ignorance (or any combination of these three modes) is determined by our day to day activities such as the foods we eat, the schedules we keep, and even by our thoughts and attitudes. Following, will be a description of one living in goodness. The more we choose activities in goodness, the more we will feel positive results such as a peaceful mind, better health and energy, a sense of happiness, knowledge, and more clarity of thought.
Foods in goodness are wholesome, fresh, and acquired by nonviolent means . They include whole grains, milk products (from well cared for cows), fresh fruits and vegetables (raw or cooked), nuts, seeds, legumes, and oils. Garlic and onions, as well as some spices like chili, although natural and fresh, are considered in the mode of passion, not goodness, because their strong flavor/spiciness bring agitation rather than tranquility to the mind. Leftovers, even if consisting of vegetables, whole grains, and beans for example, are considered to be in the mode of ignorance, as they are dull and lacking in energy. Freshly cooked food, on the other hand, gives life and energy to the body and mind, and helps keep one in a state of goodness.
The daily schedule and routines of one living in goodness are regulated. Those in goodness do not do whatever they want whenever they want, but in general, aim to wake and take rest at around the same time each day, and eat, work, and exercise at around the same times each day. Having a daily routine helps keep the body healthy and the mind peaceful. Regulation also helps one to be disciplined, and discipline is an essential ingredient of a spiritual practice.
A person in goodness performs work simply because it ought to be done, without being affected by outside conditions. For example, a person in passion or ignorance might want to stay in bed under the warm covers in the morning when it is cold outside, whereas a person in goodness will get up at their regulated time regardless of the weather, and carry on with daily activities. A person in goodness is determined and disciplined, and acts out of duty without attachment to the result.
The work and recreation of one in goodness are healthy, and help to maintain, rather than destroy the body and mind (as some activities in passion and ignorance actually bring harm to oneself such as drug use, overwork, lethargy, etc). A person in goodness maintains a healthy balance between work and recreation, working enough to honestly support oneself (in a profession that does not cause harm to others, and possibly in a profession that gives service to others), and takes time to exercise and socialize moderately. Recreation in goodness includes swimming, yoga, hiking, walking, reading and other intellectual pursuits, meditation, and pursuing a hobby or skill such as art or music. Any of these activities could be done in passion however, and become harmful to one self rather than helpful. A person could take an intense two hour yoga class every day for example, without taking time to let the body rest and recover. That would be in passion rather than goodness. Watching a wisdom-provoking movie could be done in goodness, whereas sitting in front of the TV all day could result in ignorance and lethargy. Overall, recreation in goodness is regulated, balanced, and brings life, energy, and health to the body and mind.
A person in goodness aims to live and speak in a manner that is beneficial to others, being honest, kind, compassionate, and generous. One in passion or ignorance might be greedy, selfish, angry, or hurtful to others.
Some activities in goodness may appear difficult at first, but they lead to long term and lasting happiness, whereas activities in passion are often highly pleasurable in the moment (sex, drugs, and rock and roll), but lead to future suffering and destruction of health over time. Modern society, for the most part, is highly passion driven, and focused on instant gratification of the senses in many ways. To counteract this passion, we have to strive extra conscientiously to work for goodness in our lives, putting aside immediate pleasure for longer term, inner satisfaction, peace, and happiness.
If your current lifestyle and habits are more passion or ignorance driven, fear not. You can gradually elevate yourself to goodness step by step. Start by incorporating a few activities in goodness into your daily routine – perhaps the foods you eat, or resisting the urge to get angry at the driver in the lane next to you, meditating, or going to sleep earlier and waking up at a regular time. You will start to feel the benefits of choosing such activities, and will naturally want to bring more goodness into your life. Once situated in goodness, due to the development of consequential qualifications (discipline, clear mind, focus, austerity, compassion, etc.), you will find transitioning to the spiritual plane very natural, which will elevate you to an even brighter future.
Put aside immediate gratification and choose the path in your best long term interest – choose goodness – you are worth it.
I go through phases. Sometimes I really like the Mamiya C3. It’s a real camera, to be sure, and takes a bit of skill to achieve anything close to resembling a good photo. But then, that’s really the issue. Do I really want a technically good photo? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
With the right film, the right lighting, and (for me) a bit of luck, I’ve taken some really fun pictures with the Mamiya. But mostly, I’ve taken bland and forgettable shots.
I got back into film photography via the Holga. I liked, at first, what it did to the photos. I quickly got tired of the predictable wackiness and moved onto vintage cameras, which provide a more subdued and individualized unpredictability. Some of the images are straight up surreal without looking all “Instagrammy” like the Holga (yeah, I know the trajectory is reversed).
So will I keep the Mamiya? Sure will. Hopefully someday I’ll acquire the skills to capture what I’m looking to find. Until then, there might be a great deal of wasted film in my future. If wasted film is something that can even exist.
The photo above was taken at the Petrified Forest National Park.
Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.13.50:
candrika-visada-smeraih
sarunapanga-vikshitaih
svakarthanam iva rajah-
sattvabhyam srashtri-palakah
TRANSLATION
Those Vishnu forms, by Their pure smiling, which resembled the increasing light of the moon, and by the sidelong glances of Their reddish eyes, created and protected the desires of Their own devotees, as if by the modes of passion and goodness.
PURPORT
Those Vishnu forms blessed the devotees with Their clear glances and smiles, which resembled the increasingly full light of the moon (sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam). As maintainers, They glanced upon Their devotees, embracing them and protecting them by smiling. Their smiles resembled the mode of goodness, protecting all the desires of the devotees, and the glancing of Their eyes resembled the mode of passion. Actually, in this verse the word rajah means not “passion” but “affection.” In the material world, rajo-guna is passion, but in the spiritual world it is affection. In the material world, affection is contaminated by rajo-guna and tamo-guna, but in the suddha-sattva the affection that maintains the devotees is transcendental.
The word svakarthanam refers to great desires. As mentioned in this verse, the glance of Lord Vishnu creates the desires of the devotees. A pure devotee, however, has no desires. Therefore Sanatana Gosvami comments that because the desires of devotees whose attention is fixed on Krishna have already been fulfilled, the Lord’s sidelong glances create variegated desires in relation to Krishna and devotional service. In the material world, desire is a product of rajo-guna and tamo-guna, but desire in the spiritual world gives rise to a variety of everlasting transcendental service. Thus the word svakarthanam refers to eagerness to serve Krishna.
In Vrindavana there is a place where there was no temple, but a devotee desired, “Let there be a temple and seva, devotional service.” Therefore, what was once an empty corner has now become a place of pilgrimage. Such are the desires of a devotee.
The post November 12th, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, September 2013, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 8.20.12)
When Srila Prabhupada was in Mayapur and was showing the devotees around, he came upon an area which was very dirty. Prabhupada told he devotees, “Why is this going on? This is the mode of ignorance. If you do not do anything about the mode of ignorance to correct it, then you are in the mode of ignorance!”
So like that, when people did not feel responsible, Prabhupada made them responsible. That is our duty! So gradually, by transcendental knowledge, we begin to see things in a proper perspective then we can handle our mind and handle all of our senses.