THE AIM OF LIFE
→ GITA COACHING
http://vedabase.com/en/bg/2/2
Websites from the ISKCON Universe
BY GOLOKA CANDRA DASA
KUALA LUMPUR - Industrialised cities and factories are the opposite of what Srila Prabhupada desired and preached: "Simple Living, HighThinking". Srila Prabhupada said that these cities and factories would be eventually finished and he wanted the devotees to undertake farming and cow protection, and teach the people how to live on the land and practice Krishna-consciousness. Unfortunately too many of our members themselves are entangled in working in factories etc to even think about changing that kind of life. Perhaps they will be jolted to think out of the box by news like this, that Detroit, one of America's biggest and most industrialised cities, has gone bankrupt and its people are moving away in droves to re-settle elsewhere. It serves to remind us that it is always better to put our faith in Srila Prabhupada's instructions than in the mundane material system. Hare Krishna!
Detroit has lost a quarter of a million residents in the past decade. Continue reading the main story
The US city of Detroit in Michigan has become the largest American city ever to file for bankruptcy, with debts of at least $15bn (£10bn).
State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr asked a federal judge to place the city into bankruptcy protection.
If approved, he would be allowed to liquidate city assets to satisfy creditors and pensions.
Detroit stopped unsecured-debt payments last month to keep the city running as Mr Orr negotiated with creditors.
He proposed a deal last month in which creditors would accept 10 cents on the dollar of what they were owed. Mr Orr suggested at the time there was a 50-50 chance of the city needing to file for bankruptcy.
In a letter accompanying Thursday's filing, Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, said he had approved the request from Mr Orr to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
Gov Snyder said: "Only one feasible path offers a way out," adding that residents needed a clear exit from the "cycle of ever decreasing services".
"The only way to do those things is to radically restructure the city and allow it to reinvent itself without the burden of impossible obligations.
"It is clear that the financial emergency in Detroit cannot be successfully addressed outside of such a filing, and it is the only reasonable alternative that is available".
Mr Orr has said that the city's long-term debt could actually be between $17bn and $20bn.
The former manufacturing powerhouse's finances have struggled for some time, driven by a number of factors, including a steep population loss.
The city government has also been hit by a string of corruption scandals over the years.
Declining investment in street lights and emergency services have made it difficult to police the city.
The city lost 250,000 residents between 2000-10.
Mahavishnu Swami Morning Lecture Before Gothenburg Ratha Yatra
1. Cook White rice and keep it aside
2. Have some raw corn, green peas and spinach ready
3. Heat pan with some oil
4. Crackle black mustard seeds
5. Add Hing
6. Add Turmeric
7. Add the 3 veggies and cook (don’t overcook and make it all mushy!)
8. Towards the end, throw in the cooked rice along with salt
9. Add butter too – it’s good !
10. Serve with crispy poppadums if you have any.
Takes about 10 mins to make.
“Krishna is present in my heart. That means he has the best vantage point to catch all the wrongs that I do.” If such fears bother us, that’s usually because we have mistakenly divorced Krishna’s inner presence from his overall purpose.
Such a mistake may happen because we may carry into our devotional life past conceptions of God as a strict judge. Or we may project on to Krishna our past unpleasant experiences with a nagging elder.
To prevent such misconceptions, Gita wisdom integrates the fact of Krishna’s indwelling presence into an endearing vision of God as the supremely loving and lovable person. Krishna loves us so much that he descends repeatedly for inviting us to his personal abode for a life of eternal love. And he share Gita wisdom to explain the supreme glory of divine love and the ultimate futility of everything else.
To help us assimilate this message of love he becomes our constant inner companion, as the Bhagavad-gita (15.15) indicates. His purpose is not to catch us when we do wrong, but to coach us for doing right. He desires the best for us – even more than we desire it for ourselves. The only catching he looks forward to do is to protect us when we fall, just as a loving parent expertly catches a beloved child who is about to fall.
He coaches us through flashes of inspiration and through the voice of conscience regularly. More importantly, when we show him our intention to love him, he transforms life into a living classroom wherein the events of daily life become demonstrations of spiritual truths.
Life with such a loving coach is a life of ever-growing wisdom and ever-deepening devotion – a life worth cherishing, not at all a life worth fearing.
***
I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.
From Aravind P
West Virginia is hurdling towards local foods. The day is coming when grocery store shelves will be stocked with blueberries from Beckley rather than Beijing. Kudos to the ag. economists, policy makers in state government, NGO think tanks (like The Hub) and the growing numbers of pioneer-spirited, small scale farmers and gardeners statewide. That's the good news.
Now the bad news. Most West Virginians aren't paying attention. They reside in urban and rural food deserts where affordable healthy food is out-of reach. They suffer from junk food malnutrition, buy inexpensive processed food, drink large amounts of soda and are reducing their life expectancy. Their diseases--chiefly diabetes and obesity--are not preventable without lifestyle change from the bottom-up.Simply stated, the local foods movement is out-flanked and out-financed by the titans of the fast food industry. Following Big Tobacco's lead, fast food advertising is targeting youth, the poor and the uninformed. No number of feasibility studies or private foundation grants can usher-in a local food economy from the top down. Why? Because the food choices and self destructive eating addictions that drive West Virginia's health crises are the result of policies favoring commodity-based agriculture over community-based agriculture. It currently takes approximately 25 acres of land to satisfy the average West Virginian's appetite for an animal-centric diet.Our vision of the future? Home economics classes returning to the public school curricula. Small scale organic "farmetts" dotting the suburban, city and small town horizons. Food mentors, not armed guards, in every school, every day-care and every housing project with the skills to teach every child the basics of a healthy-food lifestyle.
Our mission is to build a local food production and distribution system that saves energy, creates jobs and circulates more money into the local economy. We partner with local farmers, community gardeners, schools and businesses to make fresh food available and easily available. We are Wheeling's green future.
West Virginia is hurdling towards local foods. The day is coming when grocery store shelves will be stocked with blueberries from Beckley rather than Beijing. Kudos to the ag. economists, policy makers in state government, NGO think tanks (like The Hub) and the growing numbers of pioneer-spirited, small scale farmers and gardeners statewide. That's the good news.
Now the bad news. Most West Virginians aren't paying attention. They reside in urban and rural food deserts where affordable healthy food is out-of reach. They suffer from junk food malnutrition, buy inexpensive processed food, drink large amounts of soda and are reducing their life expectancy. Their diseases--chiefly diabetes and obesity--are not preventable without lifestyle change from the bottom-up.Simply stated, the local foods movement is out-flanked and out-financed by the titans of the fast food industry. Following Big Tobacco's lead, fast food advertising is targeting youth, the poor and the uninformed. No number of feasibility studies or private foundation grants can usher-in a local food economy from the top down. Why? Because the food choices and self destructive eating addictions that drive West Virginia's health crises are the result of policies favoring commodity-based agriculture over community-based agriculture. It currently takes approximately 25 acres of land to satisfy the average West Virginian's appetite for an animal-centric diet.Our vision of the future? Home economics classes returning to the public school curricula. Small scale organic "farmetts" dotting the suburban, city and small town horizons. Food mentors, not armed guards, in every school, every day-care and every housing project with the skills to teach every child the basics of a healthy-food lifestyle.
Our mission is to build a local food production and distribution system that saves energy, creates jobs and circulates more money into the local economy. We partner with local farmers, community gardeners, schools and businesses to make fresh food available and easily available. We are Wheeling's green future.
From Hari Katha P:
Thank you for your nice reply but some where I feel the answer is still missed that whether Lord Buddha's mention was prophecy or history. In this regard, I have done little research and found that According to Srila Jiva goswami- the present known Buddha is not the same Lord Buddha mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam (purport of Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.37). The actual lord Buddha appeared in different kali yuga.There are three types of Buddha. the prince Siddharth Gautam (Gautam title from gautam rishi kul) obtained "buddhatva" through meditation. I have even more references from Madhvacharya and Gaudiya Sampradaya. If you permit I can post it or send to your e mail.
From Ashutosh P
How and Who decides that the involvement in the stock market is cautious and won't effect the mind? I can get involved thinking I am quite careful but in reality it may be just opposite. So how to define it??
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 19 April 2013, Stockholm, Sweden, Bhagavad-gita 10.9)
Nothing could ever distract the mind of Prahlada. Prahlada always remained fixed on the Supreme Lord, even in difficulty. It is said that at one point, Hiraṇyakaśipu, his father, did not like that Prahlada was becoming a devotee and showing interest in Krsna and so on. Therefore, his father took action against him and decided that it was time to remove this ‘poisonous element’ from his family. Just as a rotten tooth has to be pulled out – it is a little painful but it must be done. Therefore, Hiraṇyakaśipu decided that Prahlada needed to be eliminated and tried various ways to do so. One of the ways was to throw Prahlada into a pit of snakes! Prahlada passed that test of being in the pit with snakes in an amazing way. Prahlada was never for a moment distracted. Never for a moment was Prahlada distracted from remembering the Supreme Lord!
Now, any of us also might also remember Krsna when we are in a pit of snakes but our mood might be different to that of Prahlada. We might also be chanting but probably out of total fear! Once I had that experience myself on a tiny little plane which had a nickname The cigar. I was on the cigar, flying, and we had bad weather. And that plane was thrown to the sky like anything! It was a one-hour flight and I chanted sixteen rounds in that hour. I never did that again but I did on that plane – sixteen rounds in one hour! I mean I was so scared!
But Prahlada was transcendental. Prahlada was not affected. And therefore, Prahlada left his destiny entirely on the Supreme Lord. If he was meant to die by snakebite then let it be so as that is the desire of the Lord!
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 19 April 2013, Stockholm, Sweden, Bhagavad-gita 10.9)
Nothing could ever distract the mind of Prahlada. Prahlada always remained fixed on the Supreme Lord, even in difficulty. It is said that at one point, Hiraṇyakaśipu, his father, did not like that Prahlada was becoming a devotee and showing interest in Krsna and so on. Therefore, his father took action against him and decided that it was time to remove this ‘poisonous element’ from his family. Just as a rotten tooth has to be pulled out – it is a little painful but it must be done. Therefore, Hiraṇyakaśipu decided that Prahlada needed to be eliminated and tried various ways to do so. One of the ways was to throw Prahlada into a pit of snakes! Prahlada passed that test of being in the pit with snakes in an amazing way. Prahlada was never for a moment distracted. Never for a moment was Prahlada distracted from remembering the Supreme Lord!
Now, any of us also might also remember Krsna when we are in a pit of snakes but our mood might be different to that of Prahlada. We might also be chanting but probably out of total fear! Once I had that experience myself on a tiny little plane which had a nickname The cigar. I was on the cigar, flying, and we had bad weather. And that plane was thrown to the sky like anything! It was a one-hour flight and I chanted sixteen rounds in that hour. I never did that again but I did on that plane – sixteen rounds in one hour! I mean I was so scared!
But Prahlada was transcendental. Prahlada was not affected. And therefore, Prahlada left his destiny entirely on the Supreme Lord. If he was meant to die by snakebite then let it be so as that is the desire of the Lord!
From: Trivikrama Das
When I do so much hearing of lectures from teachers, I often find that I cannot recollect all that has been heard by me. (infact many things). How to best engage in the hearing process so that it can be recollected and reproduced at all times. Does it mean that so much hearing is of no use? Can you recommend a hearing process that can best benefit the student?
I spotted this coffee cup at the edge of a table and decided to draw it out.
I see all around me in the working world people say that the best way to start a day is to have a good coffee. Actually, the best way to start a day is by chanting and meditating early in the morning before sunrise. The kick is rich, strong and tastes better!
Generally people think that one should act very piously in order to be relieved from misery, but this is not a fact. Even though one engages in pious activity and speculation. he is nonetheless defeated. His only aim should be emancipation from the clutches of maya and all material activities. Speculative knowledge and pious activity do not solve the problems of material life.
(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed; works best with Firefox or Explorer)
Reflecting on my life and the lives of those I know and read about, I see how much we all struggle with our material natures and tendencies, and how these can negatively impact our relationships with others. Even though we suffer on account of identifying with our bodies and minds, we remain attached to our limited perspectives or biased lenses, finding it difficult to accept that our entire problem of life is physicality. Ignorance is bliss runs the material world, and since we have invested so much time and energy in trying to enjoy worldly happiness, we don’t want to admit our folly in its pursuit. This is why spiritual knowledge is so essential, and even more so, realization of these truths.
Stated another way, many people may casually understand that they “have” a soul, but few try to act as one, or make realizing their soul and its relationship with God their life’s true quest. Genuine spiritual paths are meant to give us tools to realize our spiritual nature. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, chanting the holy name and engaging in pure devotion (shuddha bhakti) are the means to uncover our soul and let it shine in love of Krishna. Material consciousness is muddy consciousness, while soul consciousness is like pure mountain water. This is why we speak often of “purification” when speaking about the effect of spiritual practices. Purification means taking away the mud of matter from our consciousness, so our real nature as willing instruments for divine purpose will gradually manifest.
The basics of bhakti are frequently repeated since the fundamentals need to be mastered before higher stages are obtained. While devotees of Krishna accept the fact that the ABC’s of spiritual life involve realizing that “we are not the body,” this isn’t so easy, even after many years of practice.
(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed; works best with Firefox or Explorer)
Reflecting on my life and the lives of those I know and read about, I see how much we all struggle with our material natures and tendencies, and how these can negatively impact our relationships with others. Even though we suffer on account of identifying with our bodies and minds, we remain attached to our limited perspectives or biased lenses, finding it difficult to accept that our entire problem of life is physicality. Ignorance is bliss runs the material world, and since we have invested so much time and energy in trying to enjoy worldly happiness, we don’t want to admit our folly in its pursuit. This is why spiritual knowledge is so essential, and even more so, realization of these truths.
Stated another way, many people may casually understand that they “have” a soul, but few try to act as one, or make realizing their soul and its relationship with God their life’s true quest. Genuine spiritual paths are meant to give us tools to realize our spiritual nature. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, chanting the holy name and engaging in pure devotion (shuddha bhakti) are the means to uncover our soul and let it shine in love of Krishna. Material consciousness is muddy consciousness, while soul consciousness is like pure mountain water. This is why we speak often of “purification” when speaking about the effect of spiritual practices. Purification means taking away the mud of matter from our consciousness, so our real nature as willing instruments for divine purpose will gradually manifest.
The basics of bhakti are frequently repeated since the fundamentals need to be mastered before higher stages are obtained. While devotees of Krishna accept the fact that the ABC’s of spiritual life involve realizing that “we are not the body,” this isn’t so easy, even after many years of practice.
Fruška Gora is a mountain in north Syrmia. Most part of it is located within Vojvodina, Serbia, but a smaller part on its western side overlaps the territory of Croatia. Sometimes, it is also referred to as jewel of Serbia, due to its beautiful landscape protection area, nature and its picturesque countryside
more pictures here.