A Visit to Astha Sakhi Mandir – Vrindavan (186 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

In Vrindavan, on the holy Krishna Janmabhoomi, lies the temple that is a “must visit” destination for devotees completing the 84 kosh Vraj Parikrama Yatra. The temple is centuries old and is the first Indian temple that is dedicated to the divine couple and their Ashta Sakhi’s - the eight “friends” of Radha who were intimately involved in her love play with the Lord Krishna. Mention of the Ashta Sakhis are found in the ancient texts of Ramayan and the Srimad Bhagvat. Read more ›

When money offers security amidst uncertainty how can one give up material ambition for spiritual pursuits?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From Milind Sonawane

The most common reason to hold ones possessions and strive for more is to address eventualities which money can resolve, such as disease, hospitalization, accidents or incidences leading to physical or mental dis-ability or any such life’s situation which money can ease out. All of this applicable to one self or his loved ones. If this uncertainty is addressed, many might exit the material aspirations and take the path of spirituality.

Please advice…….

Answer Podcast

Tuesday, September 17th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Fresh Feel

Dunmore, Alberta

I had started with a fresh feel back on the Number 1 Highway, the Trans Canada, referred to in Newfoundland as TCH and sometimes called the main drag of Canada. It’s 4:30 AM, prairie dogs (gophers) are sleeping at this time.

I ventured through Urvine, population 300+. If memory tells me right the last time I came through here there was one of those old grain elevators years ago. Not anymore. I also remember meeting and speaking with a woman by the name of Natasha. I also recall meeting a fellow in a pickup truck who stopped and said he had seen me walking in Ontario; that’s three provinces over.

The sun eventually became strong. With no shade or spring water sources for thirst, I decided to check out the weigh scale station. A real nice elderly officer supplied me with plenty of cool water and even some to go.

It’s funny how now I’m on a major highway and no one stops to talk. I have to detour slightly in order to make human contact. I liked Highway 13 for the slower pace and the increased interactive opportunities.

Daruka and I did leave the area for a visit to Swift Current and a visit to Satya Yoga Studio on Central Avenue. Sasha is the facilitator to this marvellous space. As you enter near the lobby, decorative framed messages adorn the wall – Love Deeply, Laugh Often, Live Simply.

Sasha’s students had come to listen to some of my tails from the road. We also got to chanting and discussing. One message that I try to convey is to always tread the middle path and to avoid extremism. Some of the students really delighted in a brief lesson on a Sanskrit verse,’ aham brahmasmi’, which means, ‘I am spirit’.

‘Twas good.

36 KM

Monday, September 16th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Try To Keep Plugging

Calgary, Alberta

I consider today chill day number two. A meagre trek it was, 4 KMs at the most, in the north east of Calgary. My companion for the trek on trails was Gaurachandra, born as Gigi Festa in southern Italy. His Orissan wife has a good handle on prepping Italian food which is perhaps second to an Indian kitchery for being the ideal hot meal for a walker. When the plate of steamy hot pasta drenched in the red of tomato was presented to me, I boldly requested their garden basil as topping.

“No problem,” was the host’s remark, who speedily and eagerly wished to be guest friendly, and went on her feet to harvest the delectable greens. My intent at the request was to share this wealth, and so Gigi, Bindu who is from Costa Rica, and Vani Priya, the cook, went green on the tongue with this additional appetizer. Artichokes, avocado and asparagus were side dishes.

I mention about food, and especially prasadam, food that our friends consecrate before consuming or serving. A marathon walker can easily crave food for our burning cells and after hours on the road the only minor sensual outlet will be to please the palate.

“Not too much, please,” I must remind another host, “please understand, I am a swami ji, I must live a simple life. Too much rich food is not good for me.” Sometimes I have to check their generous offer of seconds and thirds. Even the firsts were big in quantity. “Have mercy,” I plead.

It sometimes becomes a playful thing. What appears as a shovel load of tasty edibles comes at you with speed, and you might have to place the head, torso and arms over the plate that is struggling to reach vacancy. If the host has his or her way, wheelbarrow loads would tip over as loads of delicious prasadam. All is done in good spirit.

I must remind myself, however good it all smells and tastes, that it was Sri Chaitanya who was a sanyassi (monk) who set up the standard for the renounced, “No fancy attire and no opulent food,” so I will try to follow in His footsteps and keep plugging away.

4 KM

iOS7 – When “Chewing the Chewed” Works
→ The Enquirer

ios7-hand-100041902-largeI 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 12 years as the backdrop to my personal universe.

And there’s other neat things. Well, there’s other things that look neater, and theres 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 15 minutes, or maybe 15 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 like 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:

पुनः पुनश्चर्वित-चर्वणानाम्

In case you can’t read those pretty letters:

punaḥ punaścarvita-carvaṇānām

And in case you don’t know Sanskrit:

“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 permutation 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.

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 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, the handsome hero of Vraja.


Bad Chanting
→ Japa Group


Actually chanting is always good, but chanting with inattention or with offenses will not give us the taste of nectar that we are hankering for - we will not feel the Lord's spiritual energies.

On the positive side, if we chant with devotion....giving our attention to the sound and with great concentration diving deeply into the Holy names, then we will feel the Lord's transcendental spiritual energy and our faith and determination will increase.

Here is a quote from Srila Prabhupada that illustrates this point:

"....Practically we see that as we sincerely try to improve our chanting for the pleasure of Krishna, Krishna reciprocates and we feel our greatest pleasure which is devotional service to the Lord."

Letter to Syamasundara - November 24, 1968


Krsna’s sweetness
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 10 July 2013, Serbian Summer Camp, Fruska Gouranga, Seminar Part 2)

radhastami bliss (17)I remember, one year I was with Sacinandana Maharaja and a whole group of devotees on a boat, sailing in Danish waters. Maharaja gave this seminar about Krsna’s sweetness. It was all about Krsna being so sweet, looks so sweet… and this sweet and that sweet… and at one point, it just got too sweet for me.

Having a bad character and being not sweet myself, when things get too sweet, I cannot handle the sweetness. So, I spoke after Maharaja and I said, “Well, I very much appreciate the presentation of Sacinandana Maharaja but I have one little question. Why is it that in the Middle ages, one third of the world population died of the Black plague? Why is that just a decade ago, in three days, five million people were killed in Rwanda? In one night in Bangladesh, five hundred thousand people drowned? Where is your sweet Krsna in the middle of all that? Is that sweet also?“

So I asked him, how is Krsna so sweet? I remember that he rolled-up the sleeves of his sweater and he even loosened his scarf. He was getting serious and philosophically explained how even this is sweet, bitter sweet! Because ultimately, the sweetness of Krsna means that Krsna will leave no stone unturned. Krsna is not a passive Lord who is just seated on a throne, accepting our offerings – another golden plate with beautiful fruits, “Bless, bless…” No. That is not Krsna. Krsna is the one who, out of his sweetness, is destroying our material life. As death he destroys everything. He acts as a destroyer – very sweet. Simply because Krsna cannot wait.

This point, that I’ve just reached now, is a very difficult theological point in our philosophy. Because we are the living beings who said to Krsna, “No, I want to go to the material world.” Even when Krsna wanted us to stay in spiritual world we said, “No, thank you. I want to try it, to see what it is like to be the Lord and master, to be an enjoyer.”

And here we are, trying hard but why is it that Krsna’s put sand in the sweet rice? It is not fair! Why did he put suffering in the material energy, just when we are enjoying. Why did he not give us independence to enjoy when we wanted to? Why did he have to create suffering in the material world, active suffering?

radhastami bliss (1)Passive suffering means the suffering of missing Krsna. That is alright; that was logical if we have left the spiritual world – so some suffering, some home sickness. But why is there active suffering if Krsna is sweet? If he is not cruel? Why does someone gets squashed under a car? I have seen it, so much suffering; I have seen with my own eyes. Wars – some people here are from Sarajevo and they can tell you stories about the dead bodies in the street. So how about that, is that sweet? Why this extra suffering? Why…

That is Krsna’s sweetness. It shows how deep Krsna’s love is. He cannot tolerate it. Krsna is like a parent who has a rebellious son that says, “It is my life! I’ll do what I want and I’m leaving home,” and he goes in the wrong direction, with the wrong friends. The parents say, “Yes, we let you free to do whatever you want,” but meanwhile, they are making all kinds of plans how to spoil his so called freedom so that he would learn a lesson and come back home soon because they are suffering.

So, actually, it shows that Krsna is suffering. It is not we who are suffering. No, it is Krsna who is suffering. Here, the Lord, who is the complete enjoyer, feels incomplete. When there is still one living being in the material world, even although there is an ocean of transcendental nectar which is eternally increasing, it is still incomplete.

 

Krsna’s sweetness
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 10 July 2013, Serbian Summer Camp, Fruska Gouranga, Seminar Part 2)

radhastami bliss (17)I remember, one year I was with Sacinandana Maharaja and a whole group of devotees on a boat, sailing in Danish waters. Maharaja gave this seminar about Krsna’s sweetness. It was all about Krsna being so sweet, looks so sweet… and this sweet and that sweet… and at one point, it just got too sweet for me.

Having a bad character and being not sweet myself, when things get too sweet, I cannot handle the sweetness. So, I spoke after Maharaja and I said, “Well, I very much appreciate the presentation of Sacinandana Maharaja but I have one little question. Why is it that in the Middle ages, one third of the world population died of the Black plague? Why is that just a decade ago, in three days, five million people were killed in Rwanda? In one night in Bangladesh, five hundred thousand people drowned? Where is your sweet Krsna in the middle of all that? Is that sweet also?“

So I asked him, how is Krsna so sweet? I remember that he rolled-up the sleeves of his sweater and he even loosened his scarf. He was getting serious and philosophically explained how even this is sweet, bitter sweet! Because ultimately, the sweetness of Krsna means that Krsna will leave no stone unturned. Krsna is not a passive Lord who is just seated on a throne, accepting our offerings – another golden plate with beautiful fruits, “Bless, bless…” No. That is not Krsna. Krsna is the one who, out of his sweetness, is destroying our material life. As death he destroys everything. He acts as a destroyer – very sweet. Simply because Krsna cannot wait.

This point, that I’ve just reached now, is a very difficult theological point in our philosophy. Because we are the living beings who said to Krsna, “No, I want to go to the material world.” Even when Krsna wanted us to stay in spiritual world we said, “No, thank you. I want to try it, to see what it is like to be the Lord and master, to be an enjoyer.”

And here we are, trying hard but why is it that Krsna’s put sand in the sweet rice? It is not fair! Why did he put suffering in the material energy, just when we are enjoying. Why did he not give us independence to enjoy when we wanted to? Why did he have to create suffering in the material world, active suffering?

radhastami bliss (1)Passive suffering means the suffering of missing Krsna. That is alright; that was logical if we have left the spiritual world – so some suffering, some home sickness. But why is there active suffering if Krsna is sweet? If he is not cruel? Why does someone gets squashed under a car? I have seen it, so much suffering; I have seen with my own eyes. Wars – some people here are from Sarajevo and they can tell you stories about the dead bodies in the street. So how about that, is that sweet? Why this extra suffering? Why…

That is Krsna’s sweetness. It shows how deep Krsna’s love is. He cannot tolerate it. Krsna is like a parent who has a rebellious son that says, “It is my life! I’ll do what I want and I’m leaving home,” and he goes in the wrong direction, with the wrong friends. The parents say, “Yes, we let you free to do whatever you want,” but meanwhile, they are making all kinds of plans how to spoil his so called freedom so that he would learn a lesson and come back home soon because they are suffering.

So, actually, it shows that Krsna is suffering. It is not we who are suffering. No, it is Krsna who is suffering. Here, the Lord, who is the complete enjoyer, feels incomplete. When there is still one living being in the material world, even although there is an ocean of transcendental nectar which is eternally increasing, it is still incomplete.

 

My Story
→ Seed of Devotion

Last night in a circle of people, Tukuram Prabhu asked me, "So what's your story?"

I drew a blank. "My story? Uh, what do you mean?"

"Your story. Whatever that means to you."

My mind flew with images of which tack I could take. Being born and raised a Hare Krishna? No. My path to finding a guru? No. My professional career path? Nah. How I have come to the Bhakti Center here in New York City?

None of them seemed to tell MY story completely.

The conversation within the group of people kept pivoting and shifting, and Tukuram must have asked me 3 or 4 times, "What's your story?"

I was vague. I changed the topic. I kept asking him to clarify.

Finally he said, "Okay, look, I'm going to tell your story."

"Whoah, whoah, I didn't even say anything!"

"But how you've spoken already is enough,"

"But, but - "

"Hey, I might be wrong. But hear me out, it's like getting your fortune told."

I felt dubious. "Ooookay..."

The whole circle of people went utterly quiet and listened to what Tukuram told me what my story was. He described me as affable and easy to get along with, but actually a very private person who doesn't open up much. "When I ask people this question, most people are ready to simply tell me a story, but you? You kept avoiding the question,"

Okay then.

You wanna know my story?

I'll tell you my story of love.

As a child, I always felt this loneliness, this hole in my heart. God was my friend - familiar but not too serious. I had a difficult time growing up with parents that I experienced as not very present in my life. When I was 13, I developed a chronic illness and began to search for a spiritual path that I could own. I began the journey of finding a spiritual master and of healing my relationship with my parents. I have had several romantic experiences that have challenged me to go to the core of my heart to be a woman of honor and integrity. Most of all, I have learned to embrace who I am, just as I am, and to let myself laugh when I trip and fall.

As time goes on, I am finding that nothing of this world fills the hole in my heart. Nothing, no one. Only God, only Krishna, only His devotees.

That's my story.


Subscribe

10.11 – Ignite the light that makes the inner world bright and right
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Whenever power goes off, the resulting darkness makes us tentative, insecure, even paralytic.

No wonder we constantly strive to keep our outer world well lit. Yet we rarely strive to keep our inner world similarly lit.

In fact, we frequently don’t even realize that our inner world is often shrouded in a disturbing and distressing darkness. Out of that darkness sometimes suddenly some specters spring forth to haunt us – nasty desires, negative thoughts or needless worries that strain and drain us. If one of these specters hijacks the entire territory of our consciousness, it deludes us into believing that our inner world has become clearly lit. It makes us believe with a senseless certainty that doing its bidding and getting some particular thing will make us happy. But the specter eventually disappoints and betrays us, for nothing material ever grants lasting fulfillment. What initially seemed to light the inner world ends up darkening it further.

Gita wisdom urges us to illumine our inner world with the power of love – love for Krishna, the all-attractive Supreme who is our greatest wellwisher. The Bhagavad-gita (10.11) indicates that Krishna personally lights with the torchlight of knowledge the hearts of sincere devotees. When we direct our love towards him, we ignite the light that makes our inner world bright and right. Bright because the supreme wisdom bestowed by Krishna progressively shines on the darkest recesses of our heart, exposing the hidden harmful desires to be enemies. And right because that wisdom energizes our dormant desires to love Krishna and guides us to integrate our life’s various aspects with our service to him.

With our inner world thus made bright and right, we make the best choices in our outer world for gaining worthwhile achievement materially and eternal fulfillment spiritually.

***

10.11 - To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Retreat In Our Hometown
→ Mayapuris.com

photo Thanksgiving_2013_poster_02.jpg

As we travel around the world sharing kirtan, people often ask us what we do ‘normally’, when we’re at home. The only easy way to answer that question is “this is what we do”. Whenever we get together, we do kirtan, or we talk about going deeper into kirtan, and we eat good food after a ‘fired up’ kirtan. Whether it’s at an evening get together around the bonfire, or at the temple, we jam out to the names of Hari. That’s just what we love to do!

We’d love to share our lives and our home with you. Located in North Central Florida, 15 miles from Gainesville, our hometown of Alachua has been called “The Kirtan Capital”. There are so many devotees of Krishna living within a 20 mile radius that there’s a kirtan going on somewhere every night! At the heart of this vibrant community is a beautiful 100 acre farm and temple with stunning deities of Radha Krishna. And just down the road are exquisite clear fresh water springs that refresh the mind and body after a ‘smoking’ kirtan. Doesn’t this sound divine?

Mayapuris are inviting you to join us at home for our Annual Thanksgiving Retreat, Nov 27-Dec 1, 2013.

The retreat will include:

-Healthy vegetarian meals

-Daily yoga/pranayama class

-Workshops on Bhakti and Kirtan

-River excursion down the crystal-clear Ichetucknee river

-Accommodations

-Festival of the Holy Name (2 days of 12 hour kirtan!)

-And of course lots of ‘ripping’ kirtan!

& Special Guest Yogi Charu!

photo photo.jpg

Please join us for Thanksgiving as we give thanks for our growing family of kirtan-lovers!

You have the option to Pay in Full or make a Deposit.
& Due to delayed posts on my behalf the Early Bird Cut off Date has moved to August 2nd!

Pay in Full or Deposit





Registration & Questions: mayapuris@gmail.com
Kish Rico – 352 213 6412

Savoring Team Work
- TOVP.org

Diversity is one of the greatest strengths for the human work force. The TOVP has a team of 6 architects, who come together under one banner. The etymology of this team spirit cascades from the team of 3 directors, who remind us of the higher purpose – vision of our founder acharya, Srila Prabhupada, and the fecundity of the Supreme Lord’s mercy.

Recently the Managing Director, Sadbhuja Prabhu had come all the way from Mayapur to Pune to meet with the team of architects. His presence within us is very vital for meeting project milestones, and keeping the inspiration alive. Several critical issues were brought to the table, discussed and strategized. Other than the set of finishing drawings, an entire set of material research was discussed, in order to ornament this visionary project in the best possible aesthetic manner coupled with quality and longevity.

Celebrating the birthday of Sadbhuja Prabhu was a fondly remembered interim period, which served as an expression of respect and affection from his team towards him. The birthday cake was custom made with the imitation of the TOVP design, which everybody savored. Sadbhuja Prabhu, may you live a hundred years!

Do you want to be shackled or liberated?
→ Servant of the Servant

There are two types of people. An enlightened soul and a soul in ignorance. Externally speaking, both of them look alike. Both of them can be wearing the dress of a sadhu and speaking Vedanta. But once they start speaking, whether they are enlightened or ignorant will be revealed. As listeners we need to know the criterion for what makes one individual enlightened or ignorant.

An ignorant fool will think like this...



An enlightened soul meditate on this...



The ignorant fool thinks he is the body and his entire philosophy of living life is based on that fact - "I am this body" and "everything related to this body is mine"...so let me enjoy my life to the fullest. His entire culture, religion, and the company he keeps will also be so he can enjoy his body and mind to the fullest. Such a man will be proud of his family, attached to his past laurels and future goals, will approach God in a sentimental manner devoid of knowledge. In essence, a man on the bodily concept of life will increasingly promote enjoyment of people, relationships and things of this world (as the picture suggests). Doing so such a man becomes bound more and more to the shackles of Maya and will continue to suffer within the cycle of samsara - birth and death.

An enlightened soul will also live in the same world but will not take it seriously. He will be like a water on a lotus petal performing his duties dedicating his activities, consciousness and relationships in the service of God Krishna. Such a man will also have family but will not be proud that his family is part of his creation, he will not be attached to his past activities or future goals. His goal in life will not be to enjoy life but to serve God Krishna. Such a man will meditate on the Greatness of God Krishna at all times and try his best to use his family, money, intelligence, and energy in the service of God Krishna. Doing so, such a man becomes enlightened from within and forever liberated from the miseries of birth and death and transcends to the spiritual kingdom of God Krishna. The second picture illustrates the beginning of genuine spiritual life.

Do you want to be shackled or liberated?

Hare Krishna

Appearance of Bhaktivinoda Thakur & HH Bhakti Charu Swami
→ Mayapur.com

Please view the full gallery here: Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s Appearance Yesterday here in Sri Mayapur we had a combined festival and glorification of HH Bhakti Charu Swami, and Bhaktivinoda Thakur. They honored the auspicious day of the appearance of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur. Everyone gathered in the temple for bhoga offering and pushpanjali followed by arati. Various Guadiya Math’s […]

Choose Life
→ Tattva - See inside out

It’s easy to (often subconsciously) separate our spiritual life from our day-to-day routine. A student can easily mistake their academic endeavours as being unrelated to their divine pursuit. A worker may view their everyday profession as a means of survival; a call of duty which adds little value to their internal development. We may conduct our worldly relationships on the basis of ‘getting things done’, unaware that every interaction leaves a mark on our consciousness. It’s clear that our core spiritual practices and focused times of reflection bolster our spiritual consciousness, but could the things we do outside of those times be just as influential?

If a student is undisciplined, lackadaisical, and irresponsible in their academic life, that mentality could possibly carry over to their spiritual practices. If a worker is dishonest, exploitative and avaricious in their worldly affairs, they may well see the same proclivities haunting their spiritual endeavours. If one is inconsiderate, judgmental and impersonal with family, friends, and the average Jo, they might begin treating their spiritual associates in the same way. As we learn of the spiritual reality it’s easy to begin neglecting what we may see as temporary, mundane and inconsequential social intercourse. We may consider such things to be unimportant in relation to the ‘bigger picture.’

The Bhagavad-gita offers the perfect balance: remain rooted in eternal truths, and simultaneously inject a healthy amount of care and attention in the 'worldly' aspects of life. Yoga is the art of connecting all of our activities, responsibilities and relationships to God. It’s easy to perpetually see these things as an obstacle, distraction and diversion from our real calling. Unfortunately, such an approach usually ends up in frustration, confusion and stagnation. More progressive is to understand that all such aspects of life have the potential to add spiritual value. The best recourse, therefore, is to choose life, accept life and make the best of life. After all, what’s on the inside is what really counts.

Namahatta group Mukunda Murari celebrates the day of Srimati Radharani with Abhishek, Kirtan, Prasadam in Moscow, Russia (141 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

What is Nama-hatta? Nama-hatta is the most traditional of the congregational programs and mirrors the organization of a regular ISKCON temple with the leader and his assistants in the center. There is no membership limit and some groups become quite large. Groups function under the direct supervision of ISKCON preachers responsible for the area. Minimally experienced devotees can serve as group leaders. Training of existing members and recruitment of new ones depend largely on the group leader’s initiative and inspiration by visiting preachers. Read more ›

Can the level of language in Gita-daily articles be made simpler?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From Man Mohan P

Thank you very much for providing BG articles for free.
I have one request,if the English vocabulary used in articles can be made simple (normal or common vocab as in Srila Prabhupada’s books),it may be more understood by common people having normal English background like me without the help of dictionary.

Please forgive me for my offenses.

Answer Podcast

Sample of Gita-daily article's use of literary devices:

18.32 - When the conscience is dumbed and numbed and dumped…[C1] 

A security provider[C2]  who has protected us for millennia from ourselves has now been branded as outdated and unneeded[C3] ; its very right to existence is being questioned.

That beleaguered battler [C4] is, of course, our conscience, the voice within who cautions us when we do wrong and commends us when we do right.[C5]

When we blatantly displayed sexual obscenity on TV, our conscience protested. We hit it on the mouth with a rock on which was emblazoned “the right to enjoy beauty.” The impact made the conscience dumb. That our “right” started erasing the difference between human society and animal society didn’t matter; the right was what mattered.[C6]

When we piled up tons of explicit content on the internet, our mute conscience expressed shock with its eyes. Not tolerating its audacity, we gave it an injection on which was embedded “the right to sexual freedom.” The jab left it numb. That our “right” led to the skyrocketing of horrendous sexual abuses like rape, incest and pedophilia didn’t matter; the right was what mattered.

When we legalized the murder of the infant by the mother, our conscience, though dumb and numb, still shuddered. Not wanting to see even its face, we threw it out of the door using a bouncer whose T-shirt roared [C7] “the right to moral relativism.”  That our “right” to choose which morality, if any, to follow bred psychopaths whose “morality” told them that nothing was wrong in massacring innocent people didn’t matter; the right was what mattered.

The Bhagavad-gita indirectly predicts our getting the rights wrong [C8] when it states (18.32) that intelligence in the mode of ignorance perceives everything topsy-turvy (sarvarthan viparitams ca).

Does our dumbed, numbed, dumped [C9] conscience have any chance of survival?

Only if we dare to ask ourselves a hard question: without it do we have any chance of survival?[C10]

 

 [C1]Literary Device (LD) called assonance that uses rhyming sounds in proximate words (Here last three-letters of four-letter words are nearly similar “umb”, “umb” and “ump”)

Also another LD called polysyndeton that uses “and” repeatedly in a list to create a musical effect and stimulate contemplativeness. Eg. Saying “here and there and everywhere”, instead of simply saying “here, there and everywhere”.

 [C2]LD called anthropomorphism that treats a concept (here “conscience”) as a human being to help readers connect with it emotionally – instead of just intellectually, as would be the case without the use of this figure of speech.

 [C3]Rhyming endings: “ed”

 [C4]LD consonance – a type of alliteration involving repletion of consonants (here the “b” sound)

 [C5]LD Parallel structure using “when we do” in both clauses and having both clauses starting with a consonance (words starting with c – cautions and commends)

 [C6] [C6]LD involving use of the same words to conclude this and the next two paragraphs. The parallel structure increases emotional impact and intellectual comprehension.

 [C7]LD called personification, ascribing life to a non-living thing to bring about an emotional connection; LD anthropomorphism treats as a human being ; personification, as any form of life, as conveyed by using the word “roared” for a T-shirt

 [C8]LD that is a variant of antithesis – bringing two contrasting concepts adjacent to surprise and stimulate.

 [C9]LD called asyndeton that accelerates the pace and heightens the impact by avoiding the concluding “and” that is normally present in a series. Eg the well-known 3R formula of ecologists: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

 [C10]Modified version of LD called chiasmus. Similar to Kennedy’s famous “Ask not what the nation has done for you; ask what you have done for the nation” Here it is a variant of “Does it have any chance of survival? Without it, do we have any chance of survival?