15.03 – As long as we desire to bring matter under our captivity, we remain in its captivity
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Our bad habits, our attachments to base material things, are often extremely difficult to give up. The resulting struggle may raise the question: “I am a soul who being conscious am superior to unconscious matter. How then can inferior matter bind me?”

Because our consciousness is captivated by inferior desires, answers Gita wisdom.

The Bhagavad-gita (13.22) indicates that we become entangled in matter due to the desire to enjoy material things (karanam guna-sangasya). This desire disconnects our consciousness from the spiritual reality to which we belong, thereby depriving us of the unending happiness we relish there in loving Krishna. We cannot live without happiness. When we lose our link to spiritual fulfillment, the urge for happiness propels our consciousness to control matter according to various culturally-induced fantasies with the hope of gaining happiness.

However, all material things are ephemeral, whereas our longing for happiness is perennial. That’s why the enjoyment from manipulating matter can never substitute for the fulfillment from reciprocating love with Krishna. Though we feel dissatisfied, we unfortunately misdiagnose its cause: “I haven’t been able to control matter well enough. Let me get the really good material things that I haven't yet got. Then I will enjoy.” This false hope makes us seek pleasure more fervently in the very matter that has taken us away from pleasure. Thus, the more we desire to bring matter under our captivity, the more we go into its captivity.

The way to freedom is through detachment, as the Gita (15.03: asanga) indicates. This detachment becomes easier to cultivate when we complement it by cultivating  attachment to Krishna, for that restores our access to devotional joyfulness.

When we practice devotional service diligently and let ourselves become captivated by Krishna’s beauty, then matter can no longer captivate us.

***

15.03 - The real form of this tree cannot be perceived in this world. No one can understand where it ends, where it begins, or where its foundation is. But with determination one must cut down this strongly rooted tree with the weapon of detachment.

Saturday, July 27th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Kale Conquers

Colborne, Ontario

Kale – a miracle food full of nutrients and enzymes, took second position after Krishna today. Our KCAT group had the pleasure of visiting Adrian Quinn and family in Colborne. He is an entrepreneur who has capitalized on this green vegetable as a marketable and spiritualized edible. He built up a factory and went real organic on this hearty veg. He grows it right there on his land, harvests it, and takes the product to the dehydrator after dipping it in a sauce of cashew and sunflower seeds, then consecrates it and finally packages it before it hits the shelves in the health food stores. He now has a growing number of employees from the local area to see that all is executed. He also loves talking about this family business and how the endeavour is a step towards making the world a better place one kale chip at a time.

I felt that this stop on our trip would provide an educational dimension to our group’s collective experience. Adrian, also known as Arjuna, took a risk at this new venture, and the dream flowered into reality. Like any project, in order for success to play into it, there must be a dream and then there must be a team. Adrian is a firm believer in God’s mercy. For him, that is the final factor and also the original factor in achieving a result of substance.

Thank you, Adrian, for taking us to the field and showing us your crop of wonder – Kale

4 KM

Sunday, July 28th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

The Look At The Week

Ottawa/Montreal

We received our first serious rain this week, but the downpour didn’t really come until our last member of the group completed the course on the zip lining activity at Gatineau Park in Quebec. This activity was also scheduled as our last outdoor event before putting a cap on our trip.

We popped into the Ottawa ISKCON Centre for a meal and then kirtan before the 2 hour drive to Montreal, this was our destination to present our youth fest. I asked Philippe to orchestrate a rehearsal, a drum demo and then a kirtan while I gave a talk to the congregation on the simplicity of bhakti, devotion. I was so proud of the group’s presentation, it almost brought me to tears.

Here are some of the evaluations by the participants of KCAT (Krishna Canadian Adventure Tour) after completing a week of travel and devotion:

Emily (20):

“Living together in a van is a way to get to know somebody quickly.”

Attreya (13):

“I love the zip line place, also all the kirtan we had.”

Radhika (14):

“I learned how to be more patient.”

Philippe (22):

“Relished the association and every single fun-filled day.”

Ganga (14):

“We learned so much, like for example how to be together as a group. I really want to do it again.”

Aravinda (15):

“This tour was personal, thank you Kapil, thank you Maharaja.”

Devala (19):

“It kept my mind engaged. I think it would be nice to contribute in some way to the management of the tour.”

Hiten (12):

“After having this awesome time, it will not be my last one.”

Rsab (18):

“This trip helped me increase my japa (chanting on meditation beads) and gave me an exciting week of doing outdoor activities which I greatly enjoyed.”

Kapil (27, driver and organizer):

“Being in a smaller van it was easier to pack and drive. I noticed that everyone enjoyed all the activities and were able to bond amongst each other.”

10 KM






Inspirations from Chanting, July 27, Goleta, California
Giriraj Swami

07.27.13_01.Goleta07.27.13_02.Goleta

———————————————————————————————————
“One should practice bhakti-yoga with firm determination and faith and not be disturbed if there is a little delay in achieving the desired goal. In Srila Prabhupada’s commentary he quotes the verse:

utsahan niscayad dhairyat
tat-tat-karma-pravartanat
sanga-tyagat sato vritteh
shadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati

We have to be enthusiastic, and we have to be determined and patient. As we patiently chant the holy name — like we were doing tonight, it was wonderful. If you just let yourself be absorbed in the holy name, it is vey nice. We will get that higher taste. The higher taste comes slowly but surely. We just need to be patient. Patience is something that takes a little time to develop. And the determination — dridha-vrata — is only to chant the holy names of the Lord constantly.” — Rtadhvaja Swami

Rtadhvaja Swami
Giriraj Swami

Everything is mercy!
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 June 2013, Vrndavana, India, Srimad Bhagavatam 6.16.34)

MERCIFUL GOVINDAIn the tenth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, the word for mercy is prasad. Every time you read the word mercy, it means prasad. Of course, it is an advanced stage where everything becomes prasad. You have to be quite advanced to appreciate everything as prasad. We are still kind of selective.

So by the mercy of the Lord, gradually we appreciate that the mercy of the Lord is at the centre of everything, because the mercy is his love. His beauty is simply another aspect of his mercy, of his love and of his nature to capture. So behind it is all his love and mercy actually.

 

Conscious Revolution
→ Tattva - See inside out

Corporate powerhouses continue to grow, media giants maintain their muscle, and political alliances invariably dominate the landscape. Society is advancing at breakneck speed toward deeper-rooted worldliness, and it seems unstoppable. Our humble efforts to penetrate this complex network and implant a spiritual message can sometimes feel futile and ineffectual. Ancient prophecies and saintly commentators, however, beg to differ. They unequivocally state that the teachings of Bhagavad-gita will eventually revolutionise modern thinking and activate a paradigm shift in the world.

It’s a hard one to stomach. In all honesty, we don’t really seem to be having a significant impact on the world. Most view the Krishna movement in a kind-hearted way: happy and harmless folk who bring some colour to the street. They struggle, however, to appreciate the gravity and substance of the spiritual message. If this theological canon encapsulates the comprehensive truth of life, the universe and everything, why is it not prominently shining forth in the world? Why isn’t this movement affecting mass numbers of people in a profound way? Even though the teachings have been made available, why do most of the populace remain uninterested and apathetic?

Audience – maybe people are not ready. Immediate popularity is not a reliable measure of the relevance, importance and long-term effect of something. Just see what hits the headlines and you’ll catch my point.

Negligence – maybe the carriers of the message have neglected to present it in a pure and dynamic way. Every spiritualist is charged with the task of preserving their principles, while simultaneously adapting to the modern world around them. You have to be relevant.

Patience – maybe the spiritual revolution is brewing, but hasn’t yet reached the explosive point. The greatest religious traditions took decades and centuries before they were universally recognised and widely adopted.

Influence – maybe the institution is small, but the influence is widespread. Numerous philosophical tenets of the Bhagavad-gita have been embraced by the modern world: the futility of materialism, meditation, reincarnation, the law of karma, vegetarianism etc. These are the core beliefs of many people, who won’t necessarily affiliate themselves with a particular spiritual movement.

My conclusion: sincere spiritualists are surely making a huge difference. That said, there’s lots more work to be done.

21 Tons
→ travelingmonk.com

This afternoon we unloaded 21 tons of foodstuffs from several semi-trailer trucks for cooking at Woodstock. The transcendental breakdown was as follows: 2.2 tons of sugar, 6.5 tons of peas, 2 tons of semolina, 2.2 tons of butter, 1 ton of oil, 4.2 tons of rice,1.5 tons of frozen vegetables, 1 tons soya, 500 kilos [...]

Stormy Weather
→ travelingmonk.com

Forty-eight hours before Woodstock a huge storm front has descended on the region. With so much at stake we pray that Lord Nrsimhadeva will protect our humble efforts to share Krsna consciousness with hundreds of thousands of conditioned souls this coming week.

ECOV Board Meeting Minutes 7-14-2013
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

ECOV Logo

ECOV Board Meeting Minutes 7-14-2013

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

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

Participating Project Managers: Rafael

1. Project Manager’s Report

Deity Flower garden / Trees & berries

Projects are going smoothly from Rafael’s perspective. He is working on creating quick-compost piles. He also has an idea to start a permaculture bed in the Garden of Seven Gates as a new project (companion plants, cardboard pieces rather than plastic to prevent weed growth, etc.), for which he will request additional funding. (The project will likely involve planting taro and, upon suggestion from Gosh, asparagus.)

Rafael informed everyone that he will be out of New Vrindaban from October through April, so we will need to address this management gap.

G7G prototype cabin

The unit still needs insulation, a sink and flooring. A grand opening is scheduled for the fall. Krpamaya suggested we invite a local eco-friendly dignitary and Gosh suggested that Tapahpunja knows such folks and may be able to help in this regard.

2. Water bottles

The ECOV-produced stainless steel water bottles are available at the temple gift shop, the palace gift shop, and Blue Home gifts. Krishna’s Attic is willing to carry them, and we have yet to investigate if the lassi barn/new snack bar will carry them as well.

Krpamaya spoke with the various retailers, and they are willing to post small wall-mounted signs advertising the bottles. Padmavati, the designer of the bottle logos, is working on the poster.

Krpamaya will also place informational posters about the virtues of reusable bottles at the various filling stations.

The filling stations outside Govinda’s Restaurant and at Srila Prabhupada’s Palace are still planned but not in the immediate future.

3. Monitoring progress of approved projects

We went through the list of all approved projects, assigning a reporting frequency to each. For future meetings, Navin Shyam will review the list and place any projects that are due for a report on the agenda. The purpose of the updates is three-fold:

a) Keep the Board Members informed of what ECOV is involved with.

b) Trigger final project reports and financial audits for completed projects.

c) Trigger review and possible cancellation of projects not making reasonable progress.

Here are selected updates on projects that were discussed:

• Brickyard building: Only painting the exterior remains

• Promotion: We may have Laxmi Honest work a table at Sunday Feasts.

• Microloans: Chaits is working on a checklist for documents we would need to collect from applicants.

• Sustainability posters: Krpamaya is trying for a permanent display of these in the back lobby of the palace.

• Temple foundation garden beds: Gosh has taken charge of this project.

• Farm vehicle: A hitch still needs to be installed.

4. Second cabin at the Garden of the Seven Gates

Gosh proposed that we purchase a pre-fabricated Amish cabin for $5K for this season’s volunteers. After discussion, the motion was withdrawn and it was decided that a second cabin similar to the first could be built in time for next season. (Specific voting on this was moved to the next meeting.)

05.20 – The biggest battle in life is to keep the biggest battle the biggest battle
→ The Spiritual Scientist

 Life is like a battle. Each day we have to overcome obstacles to achieve our goals.

Among these daily battles, the biggest battle is in ensuring that we give our best energy to fighting our biggest battle. Otherwise, irritation occurring in small battles can make us bungle in big battles.

A reckless driver cuts across our path during our drive to the office and disrupts our rhythm. The problem is small, but the resulting foul mood can mess our key presentation during a critical office meeting. Knowing this danger, we fight an inner battle to evict the small problem from our head.

Our ability to win these many battles in our head significantly determines our ability to win our bigger battles in life.

This principle also applies to our spiritual life. We are souls who have been suffering for many lifetimes in material existence. Finally now we have the opportunity to attain Krishna if we just practice devotional service and battle against our lower desires determinedly. This is our biggest battle, for the stakes are the biggest – eternal happiness if we win and many lifetimes of misery if we don’t. Comparatively, even the biggest battles of our material life are small battles.

But unfortunately, we let our focus in this biggest battle be sabotaged by irritation over small battles. This happens especially during our meditation time when small issues squat over an outrageously huge space in our head. Evicting such upstart thoughts uncompromisingly and untiringly is our biggest battle. The Bhagavad-gita (05.20) assures that those who refuse to be unduly disturbed by worldly ups and downs attain spiritual intelligence and existence.

If we thus battle to keep the biggest battle the biggest battle, we will duly attain life’s biggest victory – everlasting life with Krishna.

***

A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.

 

 

Early impressions
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 23 July 2013, Durban, South Africa, First grain ceremony)

grain ceremony_23 july 2013Growing up in a family of devotees, it is mentioned in the scriptures, is someone who is finishing something from a previous life; one resumes devotional service! The early impressions in life are the most powerful. Whatever the impressions are of a child for the first three years, they influence their whole life. This is actually the most important time. The child gets a lot of love, support and Krsna consciousness because that is Krsna consciousness. It is based on loving Krsna and Krsna loves all living beings. Krsna consciousness will only conquer the heart of a child if it is given with love; one cannot give it with discipline. We, ourselves, must be very Krsna conscious otherwise how can we really give Krsna with love. Arguments don’t convince so deeply. Love for Krsna is what convinces us the most so our children make us Krsna conscious!

In this way, everyone blesses everyone else and this is a wonderful aspect to all of this. The ritual in a sense is secondary. The essential thing of a gathering like this is the blessings of all the devotees. We come together; we take the opportunity of the first grains (ceremony) to get some blessings.

Culture is very nice because all these things are part of the rites of passage which give meaning at different junctions in life; just as when one first goes to school or gets married and so on… all these things are to be observed with a nice ceremony so that it makes a deep impression. She (the child) may not remember but we all do. When she reached to the Bhagavatam, then everyone smiled…

It says that to bring up a child, it doesn’t just take the parents, it takes a village. So this is our village here – the community of devotees.

 

Mistaking spiritual focus as old-fashioned is unfortunate
→ The Spiritual Scientist

If people are advised not to collect too many goods, eat too much or work unnecessarily to possess artificial amenities, they think they are being advised to return to a primitive way of life. Generally people do not like to accept plain living and high thinking. That is their unfortunate position.

Human life is meant for God realization, and the human being is given higher intelligence for this purpose. Those who believe that this higher intelligence is meant to attain a higher state should follow the instructions of the Vedic literatures. By taking such instructions from higher authorities, one can actually become situated in perfect knowledge and give real meaning to life.

Nectar of Instruction purport 2

Fill the Hole
→ Seed of Devotion

Yesterday I was walking to Whole Foods Market to drink a kombucha and write in my journal. I felt tired, aimless. My chest felt cold and empty, like a hearth where the fire has gone out.

"Bhakti, hey, nice to see you!"

I looked up and saw Hema, a beautiful young lady I got to be acquainted with at the Bhakti Center.

I smiled. "Oh, Hema! Nice to see you, too," I replied.

"Hey, are you tired? Sad?"

I laughed sardonically. "Not tired. More... aimless."

"Yes, that's it, that's what I see on your face. Well, I'm headed over to Atma's evening program over at 26 2nd Avenue, you want to come with me?"

I hesitated. "What's the program?"

"I wasn't even going to go, but a friend of mine asked if I was coming. She said there was a special speaker tonight. There'll be kirtan,"

"And prasadam?"

"Yes, and prasadam,"

I grinned, "Okay, let's go,"

We set off to the small storefront that was the place where the International Society for Krishna Consciousness all began. I felt like a newbie off the street, coming to this whole Krishna world for the first time.

We walked into the packed room and wove our way to the front. Romapada Swami was the special guest, but sigh, just our luck he had just finished speaking. Kirtan soon began. I felt skeptical, a little dry. Amazing how I felt like a newcomer.

Different singers came forward to sing, and with each kirtan I paid more and more attention. Then, the last kirtan was lead by a spunky lady and yoga teacher here in the city. Somehow her raw kirtan just pierced right to the emptiness in my heart. I sang in response and the words kept passing like signs through my mind, "Fill the hole, fill the hole,"

I felt the hole get filled. Actually. For those couple minutes with closed eyes singing the holy name, I felt the hole get filled.

After the kirtan, I helped serve prasadam and I interacted so lovingly with other seekers of God.

Within another hour or so, though, my heart emptied out again.

This is my life lately. Emptiness. Then the hole fills with the next kirtan. Or conscious bite of prasadam. Or the moment I tuck the deity form of the Lord into bed. Or a soul-moving conversation with a devotee. Each time this happens, I just pause in wonder and awe. Then, soon after, my heart empties.

Crazy how in New York City I feel this raw, raw need for God as a person in my life.

[I just saw this picture and it seems to capture the essence of the title of this post.]

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Good Association Is King
→ Japa Group


Today I was speaking with an old devotee friend....recently he is struggling with Japa but after talking with him for awhile, wants to change that situation.

I was telling him that I get inspiration from hearing about Japa and told him about some Japa retreats I listened to recently - he immediately wanted the links.

By the Lord's mercy we can associate with each other in spiritual life....talk about the Lord, about our struggles and help to inspire one another to make progress - this is real association and very very precious in this world.