345. Celebration Tree
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

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And the tree of celebration is up at the city centre, encouraging all those who look, to continue to enjoy more than they have done in the months before.

In the spiritual world also there are trees called Desire Trees, which can grant anything you wish for so you can enjoy more than what you have achieved before but – in the company of Lord Krishna.

That difference makes a huge difference.


344. Growing
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

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So, in a plastic yoghurt tub, i am growing my own basil. Hows that? Planning on more herbs, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots and even flowers for the prayer altar.

There is so much to gain from farming – the ideal occupation for humans. If thats not possible, then at least gardening. If you are in an apartment, there are so many innovative ways to grow your grocery. Check out the internet and Pinterest in particular for ideas and motivation.

Good Luck!


Passing Phantasmagoria
→ 16 ROUNDS to Samadhi magazine

When there are ample earthly flats to lie on, what is the necessity of cots and beds? When one can use his own arms, what is the necessity of a pillow? When one can use the palms of his hands, what is the necessity of varieties of utensils? When there is ample covering, or the skins of trees, what is the necessity of clothing? (Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.4)

Commentary by Srila Prabhupada

The necessities of life for the protection and comfort of the body must not be unnecessarily increased. Human energy is spoiled in a vain search after such illusory happiness. If one is able to lie down on the floor, then why should one endeavor to get a good bedstead or soft cushion to lie on? If one can rest without any pillow and make use of the soft arms endowed by nature, there is no necessity of searching after a pillow. If we make a study of the general life of the animals, we can see that they have no intelligence for building big houses, furniture, and other household paraphernalia, and yet they maintain a healthy life by lying down on the open land. They do not know how to cook or prepare foodstuff, yet they still live healthy lives more easily than the human being. This does not mean that human civilization should revert to animal life or that the human being should live naked in the jungles without any culture, education, and sense of morality. An intelligent human cannot live the life of an animal; rather, a human being should try to utilize his intelligence in arts and science, poetry and philosophy. In such a way he can further the progressive march of human civilization. But here the idea given by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami is that the reserve energy of human life, which is far superior to that of animals, should simply be utilized for self-realization. Advancement of human civilization must be towards the goal of establishing our lost relationship with God, which is not possible in any form of life other than the human. One must realize the nullity of the material phenomenon, considering it a passing phantasmagoria, and must endeavor to make a solution to the miseries of life. Self-complacence with a polished type of animal civilization geared to sense gratification is delusion, and such a “civilization” is not worthy of the name. In pursuit of such false activities, a human being is in the clutches of maya, or illusion. Great sages and saints in the days of yore were not living in palatial buildings furnished with good furniture and so-called amenities of life. They used to live in huts and groves and sit on the flat ground, and yet they have left immense treasures of high knowledge with all perfection. Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami were high-ranking ministers of state, but they were able to leave behind them immense writings on transcendental knowledge, while residing only for one night underneath one tree. They did not live even two nights under the same tree, and what to speak of well-furnished rooms with modern amenities. And still they were able to give us most important literatures of self-realization. So-called comforts of life are not actually helpful for progressive civilization; rather, they can be detrimental to such progressive life.

A True Democracy?
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ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD “DEMOCRACY”

In popular historical accounts the word democracy was first used in ancient Greece to denote a contemporary system of governing. In ancient Athens, the word democracy was a compound term which could be broken into two parts: demos meaning ‘people’ and kratein ‘to rule.’ This ideal of governing inspires us even today. Democracy echoes the ancient ideals of equality and freedom among the modern governing systems.

Some authors like John Keane (author of Life and Death of Democracy) think that democracy has much older origins. He traces the meaning of the word democracy back to the Mycenaean period, which preceded the rule of Greece in the Mediterranean region. There the word demos (a person) is slightly changed to be pronounced damos. John Keane discovered the word demos in the Sumerian language, where it is pronounced dunu, meaning ‘inhabitants of a designated region.’ In the ancient world many of the different languages enjoyed a greater connection to one another than they do today. That is due to the fact that they all kept close phonetic link to their unifying origin, the prototypic Sanskrit. In Sanskrit or devanagari (lit. “language spoken in the cities of the demigods”) dham means “place.” Dhamu means “one who hails from a particular region.” Kratu implies intellectual ability. Therefore in ancient times, dhemokrat meant to employ the thinking ability of every person and utilize it for the welfare of the total society.

ANCIENT APPLICATION OF DEMOCRACY

How democracy was applied in ancient times can be seen in an incident that is recorded in the Srimad Bhagavatam (10th canto, 89th chapter). When the local king failed to protect one citizen from a disease in the family, the citizen, every time the disease occurred, walked straight into the king’s assembly hall to voice his protest, concern, and demand protection. The king vowed to protect the citizen even at the cost of his own life. Numerous such incidents are described in the Puranic literature, the literature which consists of accounts of the ancient Vedic culture.

When it comes to queens, they were equal to the kings in making decisions. One such example is illustrated by the story (Srimad Bhagavatam 1st canto, chapter 7) of punishment applied to Ashvatthama. When Ashvatthama killed the five sleeping and helpless sons of Draupadi, he was captured by Shri Krishna and Arjuna. When Krishna and his friend were determined to kill Ashvatthama, Draupadi was also consulted for a verdict. Her choice of punishment was much milder and considerate of the mother of Ashvatthama; therefore, Shri Krishna only disgraced Ashvatthama.

As long as there was true princely order, the aristocracy (kshatriyas), the citizens were protected. But the moment the kings became corrupt, the people decided to take the reigns of power into their own hands. In ancient Athens, democratic votes were given every day. Whenever there was a predicament, all the people discussed the situation. For this reason the governments constructed large places for congregation. Every citizen had a turn to rule the city at some point in their life; a big city being considered to be a village of 10,000 people, which made the application of democracy easier. In Manu Samhita and Shukra Niti it is noted that an ideal city should not exceed a population of 56,000.

DEMOCRACY IN MODERN TIMES

What is the situation today? We live in gigantic conglomerates. The idea of democracy is stronger than ever in our modern world. But although it may be one of the most used words in political accounts and discussions, democracy remains an elusive dream when it comes to practical application.

Words have vast power in today’s world of the variegated media. Words in the form of information rule the world today; they change and shape the global perception of each generation. When we hear “democracy” we think equality and freedom. But there are many different forms of democracy and all of them are meant to discourage the straightforward practice of control by the people.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF APPLYING DEMOCRACY

In representative democracies, the people elect a few candidates amongst themselves and those representatives run in an election. The problem with representation is that not all people in the population of a country are politically active and only the political parties elect representatives. Many end up voting for candidates they do not like or do not identify with. In this form of democracy the president is not able to stand for all the views and wants of all the citizens at large. The main reason is because in this form of democracy the rule is wielded by the majority. This situation creates an oppressed minority. The oppressed minority acts in opposition to the elected representative. Because the opposition wants a share in the decision making process, a situation is created in which a consecutive election is inevitable. Thus no one remains on top of the political game for too long. No president has enough time to solve the major problems concerning his country and the world. Most presidents come to power, enrich themselves for their term of four or five years and then go away for the next elected “leader” to come along and repeat the performance.

Because the representative democracy, depending on the winner amongst the two leading parties, is inevitably partisan to their own party’s agenda, some societies employ another type of democracy called parliamentary. In this form of democracy, there is an extended representation of the citizens in the form of a parliament. In the parliament, all major political parties in a country have their representatives. The parliament has the right to vote against the decisions of the prime minister and the president. Although this is a better version of democracy than the representative democracy, it is noteworthy to mention that an ordinary person has little or no access to the parliamentary decisions. The high officials who supposedly represent the citizens are sitting in big chairs behind many closed doors. Their cabinets have high security alarms and the so-called “representatives” are virtually inaccessible to the ordinary citizens. Hence, the fellow on the street has a tough time influencing the decisions of the parliament.

Although the deputies are supposed to represent the opinions of the people, they have their own political agenda. Often politics and corruption go hand in hand. On the surface, parliamentary democracy may seem fairer than other forms of democracy but in practice it does not provide better results. This form of democracy is confusing to the general public. The ordinary citizens are deceived to believe that they personally take part in the government via their representatives. In fact, the chosen few in the parliament are only looking after the citizen’s interests in theory. In this unfair form of democracy only a chosen few can truly represent themselves and those few are the deputies in the parliament. When the citizens realize that nobody is truly looking after them, they do not know how to overcome this social imbalance.

In general, society reacts to corruption by exposing the culprits. However, the ones who want to fight for their rights by bringing about a revolution in society, lose track of priorities. They start by looking into the lives of the alleged high personas, and end up popularizing their mistakes. They do this by focusing on the flaws themselves instead of developing a pragmatic alternative for people to follow. Although they have good intentions to make a change, it ends up backfiring; the freedom fighters inspire society to follow the same path of corruption as the ones in charge instead of following a higher standard.

Some countries prefer another form of democracy called presidential. In this form of democracy the president has the right to oversee the work of the government. His power is close to that of a king because he can interfere with all decisions made by the administration. The problem with this democracy is that the president is elected through one political party. He is supposed to be without bias and represent all political parties equally. In practice this is impossible because the president is always loyal to the party that promoted him. But a perfect ruler is not created in one or two days and he does not rule a country for one or two terms for a limited number of years. A real well-wisher of all citizens is born as a king and trained since birth to follow dharma. Thus the problem with the presidential democracy is that the imposed leader ends up being a mere panderer in the hands of certain powerful political parties or corporations.

In some countries there is semi-presidential democracy where the prime minister and the president have equal powers and are supposedly checking and correcting each others’ errors. The problem here is that the president and the prime-minister go into endless error fining. Instead of working constructively and solving real problems like tax, poverty line, employment, and medical care, they only add new meanings to political correctness.

Since all democracies in the above list have failed to properly represent all citizens, political masterminds have made one last attempt to make democracy work by using the power of law. Supposedly, in the face of law, the political parties, the president, the prime minister, and the ordinary citizens are equal. The chains of law, ideally, stop all unfair and underhanded techniques and secure true representation of all citizens. But the problem with liberal democracy is that it does not make the democratic system more workable. In practice, it actually makes the drawbacks of the system legalized.

Finally, to cast the historical mistakes of modern classlessness as iron clad, the last and supposedly perfect form of democracy is created, the constitutional democracy. This democratic system is based on a constitution and it is a derivative of the liberal democracy. The difference is that the constitution is supposed to be permanent while the law can be changed. The problem with the constitutional democracy lies in the truth that the constitution is not a perfect document. It is written at a particular time, which has its own trends, by a handful of people with limited experience. The constitution is a weak call to rewrite the laws of the universe, a task only God can be capable of.

We should also note that democracy cannot possibly represent spiritual equality. Krishna devotees, for example, know the futility of voting for any listed political party because there is no representation for followers of Krishna consciousness. The truth is that if we wait for the mundane world of repeated-birth-and-death type consciousness (samsara) to represent us, those of us who are on the spiritual path will never be heard or noticed. We cannot be apart of a world where selfishness dictates to the majority of representatives, from whichever party they originate.

DEMOCRATIC LOSS OF FREEDOM

Today in the name of democracy, gigantic corporations threaten to swallow even the little remaining freedoms of the ordinary citizens. People have been tricked in the name of democracy into voting away their autonomy. They have sacrificed their free time, the right to drink pure water, the need to breathe fresh air, and to work at home producing their own God-given food. Big businesses assure the people that they do not have to do hard labor because all their needs will be taken care of. The corporations will bottle the water and sell it to the people in pretty containers. They will sell them air purifiers; they will open big supermarkets with all imaginable fruits and vegetables in every season, and they will vend them to the obedient citizens. The human beings do not need to do anything but surrender their freedom and in return they will receive plenty of money to spend back into the system. Though such big corporations create a motherly image, they induce everyone to model their life after their unscrupulous principles. The big corporations console the sleeping souls with the promise that in the next election each citizen can vote for whoever one chooses.

However, every civilian has but one time to vote every four or five years. And even then, many are watching how he, the civilian, exercises his vote. Family members who are politically oriented will also try to sway him into voting for their representative. The company he works for will also try to buy his vote. Around the time of the election campaign, certain faces become famous for a short period of time. They are supposed to be the candidates of the ordinary citizen who usually has never met them in person. There is nothing personal about the aggressive way the candidates approach him from their posters, television, radio, and internet. They talk about themselves and how they are going to solve his problems, but they do not care to personally know the voter. Because the candidates are also ordinary people, it is impossible for them to know every single person who is going to vote for them in the elections. In the aftermath, a person is not counted as an individual but as a vote.

ACHIEVING PERSONALISM THROUGH SPIRITUALITY

Personalism is possible only in spiritual, Krishna consciousness. Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, knows every single soul in the universe regardless of the size of their body, from an insect to a demigod. It does not matter what form of democracy, monarchy, or patriarchy society adopts. If Shri Krishna is not put in the center, there will always be a failure in the establishment. The system’s principles would stay elusively in the realm of idealism. Democracy is theoretically a very good system, but in practice its ideals have been unreachable. On the contrary, Vaishnava philosophy does not claim that everyone is born equal. Every single entity has different karma and has to suffer different consequences in life. Though advocates of democracy claim that vox populi can provide equality, sameness will not exist. A man and a woman have different bodies with different requirements. A person with godly inclinations is also not equal to a person with demonic propensities. People have to be treated according to their individual karma, their respective characters, and their goals in life.

Real equality means to treat every single person according to their situation while at the same time providing them with equal possibility for self-realization. This is the goal of the spiritual varnashrama system taught by Shri Krishna (See Bhagavad Gita 4.14).

SPIRITUAL-AGRARIAN LIVING IS FREEDOM

The varnashrama principle is “simple living and high thinking” because it relies on the resources of nature. Self-sufficiency, which is a normal consequence of agrarian living, is the key to freedom. Freedom is not possible if a single person is dependent on countless individuals; as it is the situation in the modern world. For example, we would be surprised to learn how many people handle the distribution of electricity before it reaches the consumer. How many individuals have been engaged in producing the devices which allocate the electricity, and how many devices are there that receive the electricity? How many people handle the bureaucratic side of electric distribution? How many people handle the invoices? Before someone receives a single kilowatt-hour of electricity, countless people have participated in its production. On the contrary, agrarian community makes the individual dependent on a small and intimate community, but mainly on their family. In this way the family becomes the basic unit of society.

Today families are being destroyed by the artificial dependency on technology. Technology dooms human relations and destroys the feelings associated with human interaction. In modern society new psychological diseases are on the rise. We cannot disregard the fact that human beings are mainly emotional creatures. And despite the fact that in modern society all material needs may be met, the need for emotional security is not. The original position of the living entity is to find his close relationship with the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna. All other relationships are based on this fact. Reviving our lost relationship with Krishna is the most comprehensive way to solve emotional disorientation. Democracy can be a manifestation of a confusion regarding our innate need to be close to another, to be close to the Supreme.

In the name of democracy we see all kinds of atrocities being conducted by the big powers of the day. The large and powerful establishments force others into becoming democratic in the name of consumerism, which they control.

The need of the hour is that we try to entrench ourselves in secure situations. We need to own land, grow our own food, and we need to develop small communities which will grow to enact the vision of self-sufficient society which gives freedom and equality to all individuals to love God, our common source. Then the utopia of direct democracy (when everyone’s desires, opinions and rights are fully counted) can be accomplished.

The futility of democracy at work: American elected officials check sports scores, visit Facebook, or play video card games while the Speaker of the House addresses the “dignitaries.”

Doubts About Chanting
→ Japa Group

Hare Krsna my dear devotees, I hope everything is well with your chanting and that you have been able to concentrate on your rounds. I would like to share with you some doubts I had on chanting and the message from Bhakti Dhira maharaja answering them. It inspired me a lot and after his email I took my beads and prayed and started chanting, it was a nice and pleasant experience. Here is my question:

I wanted to share with you maharaj, this feeling I have inside, because of association of devotees I felt I need to commit more to my chanting and stop making excuses not to chant properly and consider making it at the brahma muhurta time. I am scared tough because my mind always  preaches to me that I just can't do it and because I have to work everyday, take care of my house and kids this will be difficult and certain times I will be tired and fail it, but I need to keep trying and be able to overcome my doubts and fears, have faith in chanting and dedicate all my efforts to do it, not to be proud of chanting 16 rounds or to gain something out of it, but just to follow the promise I made to my gurudev and to Srila Prabhupada. How can I be able to be committed like that maharaj and how can I persist even when I feel weak and my mind is restless trying to focus on something rather than the sound of Krishna's holy names. Please bless me so I can become strong enough to focus and be determined to carry on even in difficult days and that the feeling of not being able to be without chanting is with me every moment. 
Aruna devi

Here is maharaja's answer:

Thank you so much for the mail.To be able to focus more on chanting with quality and to complete your daily rounds at all times despite the restlessness of the mind,you have to hear more about the urgency of our situation.We have no time to waste and the days are not getting better but worse so we have to move faster in out spiritual journey.the mind will never tell us any good for ourselves but things which will never help us therefore we shouldn't hear and obey the mind but neglect it.

We can hire people to cook,clean and many other household duties but we cannot hire anyone to chant the holy name for us.So the mind tells us that there are so many things we have to do but it will never tells us the most important we have to do first,chanting our rounds completely daily.

To keep good association with devotees and chant with them is very important and will help us maintain a strong determination to chant regularly and carefully without worrying over other things that can be done after our japa.So please try to keep good association and whenever you see a serious devotee anywhere,try to chant with the person and also Tulasi Devi and Srila Prabhupada.
In this way you will become very strong and be a good friend of the holy names.
Bhakti Dhira Damodara Goswami Maharaj

Wishing your chanting is with the heart from now on,

your servant

Aruna devi 

iOS 7
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I got tired of swiping a metallic looking thing to the right to open up my personal-universe-slash-smartphone. It got boring. But today, there is a new iOS! iOS7! Seven!!! Now I don’t have to swipe that same old boring metallic looking thing to the right. Now I have… well, I don’t really even know how to describe it, it’s so light and airy and freeform. It’s so fun. It’s like right-swiping cotton candy.

My personal-universe-slash-smartphone is fun again! Yippie!

And other neat things abound. I can have an “active background.” That means little bubbles can blurb around animated in the background. That’s a relief. I was bored solid of those static, standing-still photo-images I had to use for the last twelve years as the backdrop to my personal universe.

And there are other neat things. Well, there are other things that look neater, and there are a few things that even work better. Actually, everything looks neater. Kinda more like, you know… one of those other smartphones – like the Galaxy or whatever else is out there.

So, that’s what you do. You repackage.

Here is a bit of meal that’s already been chewed. That’s alright, we can serve it again, just put it on a new plate. The customer will love it, because the plate is more modern. So I get my new iOS and feel like a kid again, for fifteen minutes, or maybe fifteen days. Then I’ll want a new plate again, a new package, a new update, some new way to swipe, some new two-finger screen-gesture to flick… and they’ll give it to me. iOS7.0.0.0.0.1. They’ll keep giving it to me because they like my money.

And it seems that I like giving them my money.

It’s nothing “evil” about Apple, or smartphones, or technology, or the modern world. It’s just the way things are. Everything has always been this way.

A zillion aeons ago, a brilliant young boy named Prahlād ingeniously expressed what it’s like to live in this world:

“Again and again, chewing the chewed…”

We’re chewing something that doesn’t have flavor. But it’s so nicely packaged! The plate is so well presented, and so nicely decorated! The user interface is so simple, clear, minimal, and effective!!! So, let’s try it!

OK, once the packaging is opened, the content is… well, the same… basically, something without much flavor.

“Waiter! This is tasteless. Send it back to the chef!”

OK, the chef will try again… a new platter, new decorations, a new interface – same food.

Oooo, so attractive. Let’s try it again. Chew it again.

Why doesn’t the content have any flavor? We should ask! Our smart-phones are fun to use, but what do we use them for? Talking to friends? It can be fun to swipe, pinch and point to call and text our friends, but do our friends really even like us? If we stopped driving them here or there, or flattering their ego – would they keep speed-dialing and SMS / Line / Skyping us? And how delicious is that reality?

The real operating system is the mind. And the real content is the heart.

Our content is stale. Only love is fresh.

Instead of love we all are saturated with various permutations of selfishness – the anti-love. That’s why life tastes bitter. Even if you taste a bitter thing from a penthouse on the top of the Empire State Building, it’s still bitter. Even if you read it on your amazing iOS79c transported by Mr. Spock to you from the future – it’s still bitter.

So, you might be thinking, “What? I’m selfish?”

It’s not like it’s just you – it’s the entire material universe. So when you compare yourself to the creature standing next to you in the line for the cashier, you might look pretty awesome and unselfish.

So, again, you might be thinking, “What? This whole universe is selfish?”

Yeah. You haven’t noticed? The only unselfish thing that exists is love. But is there any true love in the material world??? When you’ve got the patience and guts, think about that honestly for a while. Like I said with your friends, are they really texting you, or are they texting someone who enhances their image, or maybe makes them feel “good” etc. etc.? How about your significant other? Do they love you, or what you do for them? The only love that’s pretty darn close to true love in this world is the love of a really good mother; and it only gives you a hint of the reflection of real, true love.

If you want to get a taste for true love, I really think you’ll need to put yourself in contact with Śrī Krishna Caitanya – the fountainhead of true-love-divine. It’s a very deep and beautiful ocean of bliss you can access there. It won’t fit in this short article about a gadget’s latest crappy update.

Suffice to say that as long as we are charmed by the allure of repackaging a selfish, bitter outlook on life – every revision is going to be disappointing (as iOS7 turned out to be). As soon as we forget the fluff and get to the real stuff – right down into our heart and work on finding the infinite pool of rāsa (FLAVOR) that ripples like nectar in the goblet of our spiritual being – then we really won’t give a damn for any OS updates. We’ll be too busy dancing, singing, celebrating, and shedding tears of loving joy.

This is the most powerful mantra that will update the kernel of your soul’s inner heart. Download it now:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma

Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Chant this mantra constantly and you will discover the fountainhead of all delightful flavor, Krishna – the honeymoon-faced divine darling surrounded by the limitless beautiful love.

A visit to Mamgachi
→ KKSBlog

mamgachi (1)On Saturday, 23 November, Kadamba Kanana Swami took devotees on parikrama to Mamgachi. This village is located on the island of Modadrumadvipa and is the birth place of Srila Vrndavana Das Thakur and Srila Vasudeva Datta, two very close associates of Lord Caitanya.

The parikrama party included disciples, students from MIHE, well-wishers and special guest, HG Pankajanghri Prabhu. The group departed from the temple at 10am and reached Mamgachi after an hour-long boat ride across the Ganges.

Devotees engaged enthusiastically in kirtan all the way and upon reaching the temple in Mamgachi, Kadamba Kanana Swami and Pankajanghri Prabhu gave class. After taking prasadam, the devotees began their journey back to Mayapur. An exciting element of the return journey was the ecstatic kirtan led by Maharaj which had devotees in all three boats dancing and feeling overwhelmed.

 

The glories of Mamgachi

[quote]It is said that Vrndavana das Thakur was none other than Vyasadeva himself and he specifically appeared to write down the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. These pastimes of Mahaprabhu were written down in the Caitanya Bhagavat which is an elaborate description, especially of the early pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as he is here in Navadvipa dham. Then in his twenty-fourth year, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa and that is also described in the Caitanya Bhagavata. Finally, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Jagannatha Puri and some of the pastimes in Puri are mentioned here also…

Srila Vasudeva Datta was a very close associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Vasudeva owns my body. He can do with it whatever he likes. He can sell it in the market place; I am his property.”

Vasudeva Datta prayed that all the sinful reactions of all the living beings in the entire universe would be transferred upon him so that they could all go back to Godhead. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta writes in his commentary on the Caitanya Caritamrta that in this way, Vasudeva Datta was even greater than Jesus Christ, in the way that he took the sinful reactions of his followers; he was ready to take the reactions of anyone and everyone. So Vasudeva Datta embodies compassion particularly. The deities at Mamgachi are named Madan Gopala and there is a very nice elderly devotee who has been here for so many years and is now cooking for us because he is addicted to serving the vaisnavas…

We come here to meditate. We come here to think deeply. We can also stay home and read about Vasudeva Datta but that is a little different. When we come here our meditation becomes a little intense, deeper. That is why we came. We came to pray to Vrndavana das Thakur to be allowed to enter into the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And to appreciate how he can lift us above our sinful life, how he can drive away the sins from our heart…

We came to Vasudeva Datta to pray that we may also develop a little bit of compassion so that we can become sankirtan devotees, so that we can give out the mercy.[/quote]

Excerpts from a lecture by Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 November 2009

 

Photos

Here are photos of the trip to Mamgachi. If you cannot view the slide-show below, then please visit flickr.

 

 

Indradyumna Swami in hospital after operation receives the visit of a King, the King of the Zulu Nation!
→ Dandavats.com

Indradyumna Swami: Today I had a hernia operation in a hospital in Durban, South Africa. After the surgery I had a surprise visitor to my room: His excellency King Goodwill Zwelithini, king of the 30-million strong Zulu nation. He was at the hospital to visit his daughter who is recovering from an illness in the room next to mine. When he learned I was next door he immediately came see me. We reminisced about my visit to his kingdom last December and our discussions about God, South Africa and social cohesion. He invited me back to his palace in Zululand as soon as I'm better to continue our discussions. I was so honoured by his visit Read more ›

Harinama in a cold Gorky Park, Moscow, Russia (Album 59 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Narottama dasa Thakura has sung: goloker premadhana, harinama-sankirtana, ratina janmila kenetay samsara-visanale, divanisi hiya jvale, judaite na kaimu upaya Sankirtana is imported from Goloka Vrindaban it is not material musical rock and roll. It is actually imported from Goloka. Narottama sings, Everyone is burning in the materialistic way of life. That burning can be extinguished only be employing Hare Krsna maha-mantra. It is a fact that the western countries are in blazing fire of material enjoyment. But as soon as they take to Hare Krsna surely they will find peace and happiness. There is no doubt about it. Read more ›

New Vrindaban Hosts Presentation for “Affordable Health Care Act”
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

health-promotion-industry

On Monday Dec. 2, there will be a representative from the local Dept of Health and Human Resources coming to New Vrindaban to give a presentation on how each of us can  enroll in the health plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace’s Affordable Care Act.

An open presentation will be given at the school building in New Vrindaban on Mon. Dec. 2 sometime in the afternoon.

Exact time to be announced.

Please contact Lilasuka for more information at lilasooka@msn.com  or 304 843 1600 xt 106.

BECOME MOST TRUSTED FRIEND AND ADVISOR
→ Gita Coaching

Become people's trusted advisor and friend for their whole life. Become a trusted authority. Become a leader . Guide people towards goodness and towards Krsna. Be someone who knows how to help. Someone who can help practically in their particular situations. In your occupation you position yourself as the most trusted advisor. What does it mean?  It means that people are convinced that you

343. Suffering
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

Just saw pictures and read few articles on cruelty to animals – cows slaughtered, dogs boiled alive, pigs packed into small spaces, little chicks smashed, elephants shot etc. What a sad state of affairs for the animal kingdom.

Humans have absolutely ruined everything – the environment, the animals, their relationships, their body, their mind and their consciousness. But we don’t care really. As long as we have fashion, music, sports, food, sex, money and technology in plenty – who cares who suffers!

Get out of my way while I enjoy when I want, how I want and where i want!“, seems to be the mantra of the populace in general.

The fate of the Earth and her belongings have a dim and bleak future. And those who care really have to work harder and together to ensure that everyone knows what is going wrong.