Planet ISKCON

Pretty picture ;0)

This album was requested some time ago and I’ve been meaning to get around to it. It wasn’t the easiest to clean up, but now that it’s finished, it really does sound great! I hope you enjoy it. Happy downloading. Haribol!

Vrindavana
Parampara Productions
RPI 102

The Vrindavana LP, released by Parampara Productions, is tied for my favorite Classic ISKCON record with Temple Radha Krsna, also released by Parampara. It’s got almost everything you could want, including an amazing rendition of “Kesava Kali Mala” by Acyutananda Swami.

Sure, if you wanted to, you could see this as the poor-man’s Radha Krishna Temple (the George Harrison-produced LP that everyone has). Vrindavana seems to be trying mimic Radha Krishna Temple to a large degree. Most of the instruments are traditional, save a bass guitar and an often haphazardly played flute.

To me, however, the Radha Krishna Temple LP has always seemed over-produced. It’s too slick in many places and while a beautiful album, it doesn’t capture what you’d hear in the temple. Vrindavana pretty well fills that gap. It’s fairly well produced, but keeps enough of the temple spirit to satisfy my uselessly picky tastes.

Unlike many of the other records, there’s nothing weird or overly mysterious about this release. I have two copies of it and it’s obvious that they’re different pressings, but nothing too wacky.

The pressing from Holland has a purple stripe around the cover image. The French one has a blue stripe. Holland’s back cover gives a bit more information about the songs and places captions on the pictures (albeit, in Dutch). The Holland release came with an insert containing lyrics and purports (again in Dutch), while the French release (at least my copy of it) didn’t.

If I could find one odd thing about this release it’s that each country’s release is a completely different pressing. The French vinyl is of higher quality and much thicker. Holland’s label is the same as the French label, except they printed some copyright and “Made in Holland” info around the outer edge (probably for legal reasons specific to Holland).

The mixes are the same on each release, though the French release has two songs (the last songs on each side) that were mixed a bit too high, clipping a good deal of the vocals. Luckily, I was able to lift those two songs from the Dutch release. My copy of the French release was in much better shape than my copy of the release from Holland, which is why I chose one over the other.

There’s also a Spanish release from 1978 on the Producciones Govinda label. I don’t have that one though.

As interesting as I’m sure this is, let’s get to the songs themselves.

Kant A / Face A
1. Sri Rupa Manjari (6′30″) par Kausalya dasi
A beautiful flute and sitar accompany the beautiful voice of Kausalya dasi. I’ve never heard of her before, but she’s a great singer. This is a pretty mellow piece and a fine way to start a great album.

2. Manasa deha geha (5′) par Manibandha das
The first of two “Manasa deha geha”s. This is slow, but kind of funky too. There’s definitely a bit of swank going on here. Especially with the bass guitar and the what is probably an autoharp. The flute adds to the swankiness, especially during the flute-freak-out towards the end.

3. Bhaja hunre mana (5′) par Achyutananda Swami
It’s Achyutananda Swami! There’s some pretty steady sitar work going on here. This is very Indian. Even more so than Achyutananda Swami’s bhajans usually are. This is practically a song ripped straight from a Bollywood movie. You can almost picture some chubby and sweaty Indian guy patting his chest and doing a well-choriographed dance while inexplicably kicking piles of colored dust.

4. Gopinatha (4′30″) par Manibandha das
Very slow and mellow. There’s a great rolling rhythm to this. Something very bassie about it. Maybe it’s just the bass guitar. There’s a lot going on here. The kartalas seem to be playing in a 3/4 meter (like “Damodarastakam”) while the rest of the music is in 4/4. Not totally sure about this, but it works.

Kant B / Face B
1. Srita kamala (4′30″) par Kausaya dasi
Back with Kausaya dasi! A very sweet voice, twice overdubbed. It’s quite nice.

2. Kesava kali mala (3′20″) par Achyutananda Swami
Hey now! This is just funky! Totally worth the price of admission right here. Again, nearly Bollywood in its swankiness. Is that a bongo drum I hear? No idea, but it’s great. Check out the kartalas! And yet again with the funky flute. Please listen to this. There are maracas!

3. Manasa deha geha (7′30″) par Kausalya dasi
Kausalya dasi gives “Manasa deha geha” a try. This is a very mellow, yet menacing take on this classic. It works, even with the oddly placed bass guitar.

4. Hare Krsna kirtana (4′30″) les bhaktas assembles
Let’s all get together and chant Hare Krishna! Kausalya dasi leads and everyone follows. This is the same melody that’s used on the Radha Krishna Temple.

As I said before, my copy of the French album was in pretty ok shape – better than my copy of the Dutch album. Still, this was a tough one to clean up. Some of the pops were probably from the source tapes as they didn’t sound like vinyl pops. I fixed what I could and I think you’ll really enjoy this one.

The Vrindavana LP is my friend Rati’s favorite and I’m really happy that I can offer it to her in a much better quality than it was before. Vaisnavas should always leave a record cleaner than they found it! Hopefully they’ll play it for their beautiful deities, Nitai-gauracandra.

I’m unaware that any of these songs were ever officially rereleased by ISKCON (or anybody else for that matter). The album itself isn’t too difficult to track down. Some copies are selling for $100ish, but I see others for less than $10. This is definitely one you’d want to pick up.

And as always, this LP is available as high quality mp3s and as “lossless” FLAC files. For most of you, the MP3 at 320kbps will be more than sufficient.

Fairly high-quality scans of the album covers, records and insert are included as well (and as usual).

Just click on the button and it’ll take you to a page where you can download the zip file. Then open the zip file with WinZip (or whatever program you use to open zip files). Add to your MP3 library or burn it to a CD-R. Easy as pie!

Download the FLAC files, if you like: Part One, Part Two

Technical Information:
Media Used:
Vinyl LP from my personal collection.

Hardware Used:
Turntable: Audio Technica PL-120A
Cartridge: ATP-2XN (Stock)
TCC TC-750LC Audiophile Phono Preamp
Soundcard: Roland Edirol UA-1EX USB external soundcard

Software Used:
Audacity 1.3.7 on Linux Mint 7
-Digital recording from soundcard
-Editing and splitting of tracks

Gnome Wave Cleaner 0.21-10
-Manual and automatic click/pop removal

SoundConverter 1.4.1
-Converted WAV to 320kbps MP3 and FLAC

Artwork Scanned from Original @ 300 dpi with XSane .996
Edited and Restored Using GIMP Image Editor 2.6.6

October was another good month here at Pandavas Paradise. The rains came, the flowers bloomed, and our garden provided many delicious items for offering to our beautiful deities of Sri Yoga Nrsimha and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. In our modern … Continue reading →

Let’s move back to some Srila Prabhupada bhajans, shall we? Next in the series of high quality rips of Classic ISKCON records is a double LP (in a gatefold sleeve!) of nothing but Srila Prabhupada. Enjoy!

Krsna Meditation
Radha Krsna Productions
RKP 1003 (also covers RKP 1005)

There aren’t many Krishna-related double LPs out there. And only one that is fully Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna Meditation was released by the Radha Krsna Productions label. That label’s first release was Acyutananda Swami’s India LP. Their third was this double LP of Srila Prabhupada, Krsna Meditation ( I still don’t know what their second release was).

Though it’s a very long record, it contains only six songs, the first five seemingly recorded at the same session. Those five tracks feature Srila Prabhupada (here called A.C. Bhaktivedanta Gosvami Prabhupada) on vocals and harmonium and Hansadutta dasa Adhikari on mrdanga drum (and not vocals). A tampura and a couple of kartalas are in the mix as well.

Unlike the Acyutananda Swami release, there’s nothing really mysterious about this one. No odd cross-record label antics, no strange cut-out markings, no bootleg quality recordings. This is a very straight forward Srila Prabhupada record. That is, until the last song rolls around. More on that in a bit.

One of the cool things about double LPs is that they often have gatefold covers. Krsna Meditation is no exception. The inside of this gatefold sports a huge picture taken during the recording session of Srila Prabhupada in the studio with Hamsadutta, Haimavati and, I assume, Cakravarti or Purijit das brahmacari (the latter three played kartalas on this record).

A paragraph appears on the lower left corner of the gatefold. It reads:

The singing of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Gosvami Prabhupada is pure devotional music in praise of Krsna – Meditation, Srila Prabhupada explains, is not inactive, impersonal or void. Meditation is the awakening of the soul’s eternal relationship with the Supreme Person, Krsna. One who has experienced such an awakening cannot stop meditating on Krsna even for a moment, just as a young boy who has fallen in love with a young girl cannot stop thinking of her at any time. One can sing for Krsna, dance for Krsna, cook for Krsna, think for Krsna, work for Krsna or even fight for Krsna. In this way doing everything for Krsna, in the end one returns to Krsna.

By Hearing the spiritual sound vibrations of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Gosvami Prabhupada, the listener is immediately elevated to the platform of Krsna meditation which brings supreme peace and bliss within the heart.

This mixing on this album is interesting. Srila Prabhupada’s vocals are up front and in both channels, as you’d expect. The kartalas are in both as well. The tampura is lurking somewhere in the right channel while the mrdanga’s small, higher head pops up in the left channel as the larger, bass head hangs out in the center – an fun idea that works nicely.

Here’s the track listing…

Krsna Meditation Part I
Side A
1) Prayers to the Six Gosvamis

Side B
1) Gaura Prahun
2) Sri Krsna Caitanya Prabhu

Krsna Meditation Part II
Side A
1) Jaya Radhe Jaya Krsna

Side B
1) Yasomati-nandana
2) Cintamani

My copy of this album is in very near mint condition. The cleaning up process that I do was amazingly easy. The few stray pops and clicks that I had to deal with were no problem at all (except for the beginning of track two). The first three and a half sides of this double LP were a relative breeze to complete. That leaves “Cintamani,” with oodles of pops, clicks, weird flutters and lower volume as a bit of an anomaly.

But it was no mystery. Acyutananda Swami’s India LP was the same way. The record was in near mint condition, yet the whole thing was full of pops, clicks and general noisiness. And so just like the India LP, “Cintamani,” the last song on Krsna Meditation is a recording recorded directly off another record. The pops and clicks don’t come from my copy, but from someone else’s dusty, dirty copy of some other record that apparently featured Srila Prabhupada singing “Cintamani.”

While the rest of the album has cleaned up very well, there are still quite a few blemishes within “Cintamani.” I did what I could and it’s not at all hard on the ears. It features Srila Prabhupada on vocals and harmonium with a devotee or two on kartalas and a very buried mrdanga. No tampura here. This comes from a completely different recording session.

Two releases later, Radha Krsna Productions took Part I – Side A and Part II – Side B of this record and released it as Krsna Meditations (RKP-1005). Same title, same exact front album cover and nearlyidentical back cover, but half the music. Even the matrix etching reads: RKP-1003-A for the first side and RKP-1003-D for the second, just like RKP-1003, the subject of this post, indicating that RKP’s fifth release used the same plates to press the vinyl as their third release (which means that the shoddy sound quality of “Cintamani” is still there).

Sometime later, a record label calling itself Radha Govinda Productions threw together a hodge podge of recordings from other records and used a ten minute edit of “Prayers to the Six Gosvamis” from Krsna Meditation. That was mysteriously punctuated “Prayers to the Six: Gosvamisos.”

Krsna Meditations is one of the few records that was ever (partially) made available on cassette and CD under (basically) the same name. It was released by Bhaktivedanta Book Trust as Krishna Meditations in the late 80s as Timeless Meditations And then later, in the mid-90s as Krishna Meditations, part of the “Gold Series.” Both rereleases, however, lops off the last song (the noisy “Cintamani”) and seem to have edited “Prayers to the Six Gosvamis” (the first song) down to less than eight minutes (it’s original is just under 18 minutes). Also, the song titles on the newer release are changed to their more “proper” titles. “Prayers to the Six Gosvamis” becomes “Sri Sri Sad-gosvamy-astaka,” while “Sri Krsna Caitanya Prabhu” becomes “Savarana-Sri-Gaura-pada-padme.” This edited down CD is still available.

As for “Cintamani,” I’ve searched through the Srila Prabhupada Vintage Series recordings and found no trace of this version of “Cintamani” (which is usually renamed “Brahma-samita”). Where this came from and where it’s gone is beyond me and seems to be only available on this album (and it’s smaller re-release – #1005).

So, why settle of rehashes and edits when you can get the whole thing right here!

This Double LP is available as high quality mp3s and as “lossless” FLAC files. For most of you, the MP3 at 320kbps will be more than sufficient.

Just click on the button and it’ll take you to a page where you can download the zip file. Then open the zip file with WinZip (or whatever program you use to open zip files). Add to your MP3 library or burn it to a CD-R. Easy as pie!

Download the FLAC files, if you like: Part One, Part Two, Part Three

Technical Information:
Media Used:
Vinyl Double LP from my personal collection.

Hardware Used:
Turntable: Audio Technica PL-120A
Cartridge: ATP-2XN (Stock)
TCC TC-750LC Audiophile Phono Preamp
Soundcard: Roland Edirol UA-1EX USB external soundcard

Software Used:
Audacity 1.3.7 on Linux Mint 7
-Digital recording from soundcard
-Editing and splitting of tracks

Gnome Wave Cleaner 0.21-10
-Manual and automatic click/pop removal

SoundConverter 1.4.1
-Converted WAV to 320kbps MP3 and FLAC

Artwork Scanned from Original @ 300 dpi with XSane .996
Edited and Restored Using GIMP Image Editor 2.6.6

Here we are at the third (and final?) 7″ release by Hare Krsna Records out of Germany. This one tacks on “Amsterdam” behind the usual “Hare Krsna Festival.” There is, of course, no explanation as to why it’s called “Amsterdam.”

Hare Krsna Festival Amsterdam
Hare Krsna Records
HKR-2003

Both of the songs on this release are sung by Hansadutta das Adhikary. One thing to take note of on all of these records is who is attributed to writing the song. The writing credits are usually listed in parentheses under the song titles. In this case, since a “traditional” song is being sung, the writing credit would read “(Traditional).” However, for some reason “Hans Kary” is credited as writer. Hans Kary is the legal name of Hansadutta. Hansadutta didn’t write either the Hare Krishna mantra or the lyrics to “Vande Ham,” he arranged the song. The writing credits should have read “(Traditional – arr. by Hans Kary).”

It’s a trifling matter, but also a bit telling at the same time.

Side A gives us Hansadutta’s take on “Vande Ham.” This was also on the last 7″ that I posted (HKR-2002). Though this version is pretty nice and mellow. It’s a good version, though not as pleasing to the ear as Avinas Chandra’s version on the last release. Recording it again seems almost unnecessary. “Vande Ham” was recorded on many of these records by many different people (including several versions by Srila Prabhupada). You almost never hear it these days.

“Jaya Radha, Jaya Krsna” is our B-side. It’s a really sweet song, no matter who is at the helm. Hamsadutta hogs it a bit, but not enough to really ruin it. A female devotee’s voice (Krsna Premi’s?) floats in and out of this recording and that adds quite a bit to it. I really like her vocals. This time, the main vocals start in the center, but after about a minute, they slide to the left channel, leaving the reverb in the right channel with the the responses. It’s an interesting touch. I love this song. There are better versions of it out there, but this will do in a pinch. It’ll be in my head all day.

Side A
Vande Ham

Side B
Jaya Radha, Jaya Krsna

For the first side of this 7″, everything went along smoothly. The record is clean and relatively click/pop-free. But the second side was complete chaos. First, the source recording’s vocal track is clipping. It’s not really bad enough that the casual listener would notice it, but trying to de-click/pop this, it made for a rough morning.

On top of that, somehow the record got a skip in it. This is bad. Very bad. And it’s my fault. Click and pops I can usually take care of. Skips, on the other hand, I can’t. It literally skips over one whole rotation of the record. Nearly a second of music was gone.

My first thought was to dig up my old recording of this and just patch it up. But when I listened to that old recording, I found it to be completely unusable. It didn’t even sound like the same record.

So what I did was sort of like a skin graft. I lifted a very very similar part of the song and grafted it over the skip. It took about an hour to get the timing right, but it matches up almost perfectly. You will not notice it. I just thought I’d mention this, in the spirit of geeky full disclosure.

This 7″ is available as high quality mp3s and as “lossless” FLAC files. For most of you, the MP3 at 320kbps will be more than sufficient.

Just click on the button and it’ll take you to a page where you can download the zip file. Then open the zip file with WinZip (or whatever program you use to open zip files). Add to your MP3 library or burn it to a CD-R. Easy as pie!

Download the FLAC files here.

Technical Information:
Media Used:
Vinyl 7″ from my personal collection.

Hardware Used:
Turntable: Audio Technica PL-120A
Cartridge: ATP-2XN (Stock)
TCC TC-750LC Audiophile Phono Preamp
Soundcard: Roland Edirol UA-1EX USB external soundcard

Software Used:
Audacity 1.3.7 on Linux Mint 7
-Digital recording from soundcard
-Editing and splitting of tracks

Gnome Wave Cleaner 0.21-10
-Manual and automatic click/pop removal

SoundConverter 1.4.1
-Converted WAV to 320kbps MP3 and FLAC

Artwork Scanned from Original @ 300 dpi with XSane .996
Edited and Restored Using GIMP Image Editor 2.6.6

Just a couple of things happening lately.

Arrived in Mayapur a few days ago, Spiritual energy flows here like ...i dont even know.

I took a morning walk by the side of Govardhana the other morning and have never felt so peaceful... will put up some pictures later.

One thing on my mind lately is about the importance of passing down clear transparent Knowledge. I've been following the editing of Srila Prabhupada's books online at www.bbtedit.com and have gained a deeper respect for th eeditors. It i svery hard to sit and read Srila Prabhupada's books because of the deep subject matter, so imagine having to proofread, edit for strength and clarity, layout and publish, etc etc. Srila Prabhupada's whole mission rests on his books, and in order to work on these books, one must be very strict in his devotionla practice. I know some of the editors and I must admit, I couldn't naturally wake up at 2am, give clear concise lectures, be jolly like molly- on a daily basis. My conclusion, there must be a God somewhere, and he's guiding these devotees to help fulfil the desire of his devotee, Srila Prabhupada.
Check out the website and see what it takes to be a spitirual editor.

Just a couple of things happening lately.

Arrived in Mayapur a few days ago, Spiritual energy flows here like ...i dont even know.

I took a morning walk by the side of Govardhana the other morning and have never felt so peaceful... will put up some pictures later.

One thing on my mind lately is about the importance of passing down clear transparent Knowledge. I've been following the editing of Srila Prabhupada's books online at www.bbtedit.com and have gained a deeper respect for th eeditors. It i svery hard to sit and read Srila Prabhupada's books because of the deep subject matter, so imagine having to proofread, edit for strength and clarity, layout and publish, etc etc. Srila Prabhupada's whole mission rests on his books, and in order to work on these books, one must be very strict in his devotionla practice. I know some of the editors and I must admit, I couldn't naturally wake up at 2am, give clear concise lectures, be jolly like molly- on a daily basis. My conclusion, there must be a God somewhere, and he's guiding these devotees to help fulfil the desire of his devotee, Srila Prabhupada.
Check out the website and see what it takes to be a spitirual editor.

Introduction The Devi Ashram is a new International Vaishnavi Training and Retreat Centre in Brazil that will offer ladies of all ages an opportunity to come and learn or teach all aspects of a Krishna conscious lifestyle, or just relax … Continue reading →

Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits and the Mayapuris are currently touring all around Australia. Our hosts have provided free live streaming audio from all the events. To listen, sign in at WorldSankirtan.net.

The Mridunga – Our Favorite Drum

If there wasn’t the Mrdunga, there would be no such thing as the Mayapuris. We feel that it’s the best drum in the whole universe, especially for kirtan. That is our happy bias. Today we play other instruments, like tabla, flute, harmonium, etc, but the mridunga was the first instrument each of us, the Mayapuris, learnt to play. Actually, my mother played mridunga often when she was pregnant with me, so I began to learn the rhythms from within the womb. The first mridunga I played was a nicely decorated Quaker Oatmeal box, with a strap attached to it. Kish practiced on a wooden block for years, because his little arms couldn’t reach both sides of the mridunga. In fact, Kish’s dad remembers him playing on one side, ti ti ti, then crawling to the other side, ta ta ta.

There is a mridunga pranam mantra that I learnt from my teacher, Bablu Mashai, whom I studied under from the age of ten. We would chant thismantra before each class to offer respects. The mantra begins by offering respects to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the founder of kirtan, who also invented the mridunga five-hundred years ago. Earlier they played big heavy wooden drums. Instead, the mridunga makers used the clay from the nearby banks of the Ganga to create a light-weight drum. “Mrid” means clay and “anga” is body, so literally clay-body. It’s the primary instrument in Gaudiya Vaishnava kirtan, the kirtan of Western India, the style that our music is rooted in. Bhaktivinode Thakur, a scholar and poet from the Gaudiya tradition, says, “When I hear the sounds of the mridunga, all my worries, all my problems and sorrows fly away like crows at the sound of thunder, and my heart dances in ecstasy.”

Another interesting point of the mridunga is the range from the small, high side to the larger, low side. There is a symbolism inherent here as well; the sweet sound of the high side represents the feminine energy, or Radhe, and the low, bass side is the masculine energy, Shyam. Practically speaking, it’s a very dynamic drum. It can be played very softly and sweetly with lots of intricacies, and also very loudly with full vigor and passion. You can sit with it, dance with it, walk, and twirl with it. It’s the heart-beat of the kirtan.

- Vishvambhar

The kirtan movement was inaugurated in Mayapur, which lies along the banks of the Ganga in West Bengal, India. This special place is very close to our heart. My brother Bali and I studied and lived in the ashram there, Vish lived there with his family, and Vrinda was four the first time her parents brought her all the way from Sweden. Even now when we go to Mayapur, there is a feeling of having gone back in time, five-hundred years ago, to the time when Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced in kirtan through the villages. The story of how kirtan started is one we relate to quite a bit. Initially, the kirtan movement started surreptitiously. The doors were open only to Caitanya’s intimate associates who gathered together blissfully singing the night through. They dove deep into the essence of the holy names. This was the secret “nocturnal school of kirtan.” Eventually, Caitanya, full of compassion for the lost souls in the world, brought kirtan out into the streets of Mayapur and eventually all of India. Everyone was encouraged to join in this kirtan, which caused quite a revolution in the caste-divided India.

We love the history of kirtan because we’ve been singing at home and in our temples for many years before the idea of becoming kirtan-musicians even crossed our minds. Unknowingly, we’ve spent all our life doing kirtan, preparing in a sense to do what Mahaprabhu did, go out into the world and share this singing, this dancing, this happiness!

We were also quite inspired early on by the Manipuri drummers from Manipur, who have a well-developed style of dancing and seemingly flying with their drums. Once we had our mridunga-techniques down, we spontaneously began dancing with our drums, and the name “Mayapuris” manifested from this joint love of the mridunga-dance and the place Mayapur.

-Kishor

The story behind our first official photoshoot is actually pretty funny. To see the entire picture story click on the link below. (Read along each photo so you get the full picture=)

http://www.facebook.com/mayapuris?v=photos&ref=profile#/album.php?aid=106470&id=134692904547

Profile Page: facebook.com/mayapuris

Fan Page: facebook.com/The Mayapuris

The month of Kartik is just a few days away (beginning on Saturday, October 3rd). This auspicious month also marks the one year anniversary of this blog! I am currently working on some new posts that will hopefully be ready soon. As always any suggestions for content are always welcome.

As a special treat, you can view a wonderful animation of the Damodarastakam prayers (complete with lyrics and translation) below:


Animation from my other blog: http://www.torontokrishna.com/

The month of Kartik is just a few days away (beginning on Saturday, October 3rd). This auspicious month also marks the one year anniversary of this blog! I am currently working on some new posts that will hopefully be ready soon. As always any suggestions for content are always welcome.

As a special treat, you can view a wonderful animation of the Damodarastakam prayers (complete with lyrics and translation) below:


Animation from my other blog: http://www.torontokrishna.com/

I am currently working toward establishing a unique and exciting new project for ISKCON: the Devi Ashram, an International Vaishnavi Training and Retreat Centre. Based in the beautiful natural environment of Pandavas Paradise (Paraíso dos Pândavas, Brazil), the Devi Ashram … Continue reading →

I'm taking a seminar on Bhakti this semester. Part of the course involves reading the Bhagavad Gita's twelfth chapter and commentaries by the four Vaisnava sampradayas. The translation we are using is by someone who hails from a branch of the Sri Sampradaya. It's much better than the standard nirvisesas and sunyavada renderings that permeate the academy, so i'm not grumbling. But, still, i always go back to Prabhupada's Gita so that i can understand what is being said. Even on the simple level of just being clear about what each verse of the Gita means, Prabhupada's translations and purports far surpass any others that i have read.

I'm taking a seminar on Bhakti this semester. Part of the course involves reading the Bhagavad Gita's twelfth chapter and commentaries by the four Vaisnava sampradayas. The translation we are using is by someone who hails from a branch of the Sri Sampradaya. It's much better than the standard nirvisesas and sunyavada renderings that permeate the academy, so i'm not grumbling. But, still, i always go back to Prabhupada's Gita so that i can understand what is being said. Even on the simple level of just being clear about what each verse of the Gita means, Prabhupada's translations and purports far surpass any others that i have read.

lei·sure: : freedom provided by the cessation of activities; especially : time free from work or duties

I have been missing this little noun for eons now. Finally I've caught a hold of this elusive little thing today - today being a holiday for Eid. This is such an interesting definition of leisure. Are we ever free from activity? The very nature of the soul is to be active so where do you draw the line between activities that count as work and activities that count as pleasure? When we engage in activies of pleasure, it becomes leisure.

In yesterday's program, Yadav prabhu made such beautiful points. He mentioned that one of the Radha raman pujaris from Vrindavan once said that, "Krishna gives himself to us in our old age, if we give him our youth".

And then I realized how I'm slowly crossing this stage of 'youth'. After my wedding in December, my day is just going to get busier. I will have officially become an adult with so many responsibilities to juggle. How to juggle? How do I immerse myself in the Lord's name, pastimes, service with a household to take care of? How am I going to give my youth to Krishna, when I am struggling with paperwork, phonecalls etc from dawn to dusk?

Well, here is where I get lucky :) Even though the world seems to get too big to handle, my day seems filled with meangingless phonecalls and paperwork - offering all this to Krishna makes it seem so much lighter at the end of the day. Leisure? Well, who needs it when you are blissful in your busy day anyway. Trick is to link my meaningless paperwork to Krishna.......well not so successful sometimes, but I'm getting there. It's going to get easier to do this when I have a half hour of kirtan together with family to look forward to. Or 15 minutes of Bhagavatam reading. And really, the light at the end of the tunnel - Mayapur.

Thank you Nitai. For everything. :)

lei·sure: : freedom provided by the cessation of activities; especially : time free from work or duties

I have been missing this little noun for eons now. Finally I've caught a hold of this elusive little thing today - today being a holiday for Eid. This is such an interesting definition of leisure. Are we ever free from activity? The very nature of the soul is to be active so where do you draw the line between activities that count as work and activities that count as pleasure? When we engage in activies of pleasure, it becomes leisure.

In yesterday's program, Yadav prabhu made such beautiful points. He mentioned that one of the Radha raman pujaris from Vrindavan once said that, "Krishna gives himself to us in our old age, if we give him our youth".

And then I realized how I'm slowly crossing this stage of 'youth'. After my wedding in December, my day is just going to get busier. I will have officially become an adult with so many responsibilities to juggle. How to juggle? How do I immerse myself in the Lord's name, pastimes, service with a household to take care of? How am I going to give my youth to Krishna, when I am struggling with paperwork, phonecalls etc from dawn to dusk?

Well, here is where I get lucky :) Even though the world seems to get too big to handle, my day seems filled with meangingless phonecalls and paperwork - offering all this to Krishna makes it seem so much lighter at the end of the day. Leisure? Well, who needs it when you are blissful in your busy day anyway. Trick is to link my meaningless paperwork to Krishna.......well not so successful sometimes, but I'm getting there. It's going to get easier to do this when I have a half hour of kirtan together with family to look forward to. Or 15 minutes of Bhagavatam reading. And really, the light at the end of the tunnel - Mayapur.

Thank you Nitai. For everything. :)

Nice to see another Hare Krishna temple blog! Welcome to the blogging world, ISKCON Utah! Ping us if you would like to chat! (Your Friends at the ISKCON Toronto Blog)

Nice to see another Hare Krishna temple blog! Welcome to the blogging world, ISKCON Utah! Ping us if you would like to chat! (Your Friends at the ISKCON Toronto Blog)

Tomorrow marks one year since the passing of His Grace Sadaputa Prabhu. To honor this occasion I have decided to share some of my memories of him. About 10 years ago, after finishing my master’s degree in astrophysics, I took … Continue reading →

Two monsters

I begged, borrowed and stole
that mercy caused by serving your lotus feet
Undeserving, I blissfully swam in that ocean
drinking in and savoring the taste of spiritual bliss

Carelessness. Ungratefulness.
The two ugly monsters that dwell within
Devoured the little mercy that came my way
Not a glimpse of the spiritual bliss they reveal
Those horrible monsters shadow everything

People say, "Its the thought and love that counts"
A friend said, "True love ensures its perfection that counts"
Perfection does not happen when endeavors
are tainted with those monsters of mine
Prabhupad gave us the panacea - Chant!

Lamentably this vicious cycle entangles me
What to do if my endeavor to chant
is also shadowed by these ugly monsters?
Hence my plea to you Gopinath....

Focus, concentration and sincerity.
Slowly but steadily the monsters will be slain
if your names are chanted with
Focus, concentration and sincerity,

O gopinath,
Help me chant
Help me purify myself
Help me slay these monsters
Help me my dear Gopinath....

"...another kind of distraction occurs when one is too eager to complete the fixed number of holy names even at the sacrifice of quality. One must therefore always insure that he chants his rounds sincerely. Also, one should better improve the quality of his chanting rather than try to increase his daily number of rounds for show. The name of the Lord should be always be pronounced distinctly. Only by the grace of the Lord can this be achieved. Thus one should pray to the Lord that he never falls victim to the wiles of the illusion of distraction, and that he can continue to taste the full nectar of the holy name." - Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Sri Harinama Cintamani

Two monsters

I begged, borrowed and stole
that mercy caused by serving your lotus feet
Undeserving, I blissfully swam in that ocean
drinking in and savoring the taste of spiritual bliss

Carelessness. Ungratefulness.
The two ugly monsters that dwell within
Devoured the little mercy that came my way
Not a glimpse of the spiritual bliss they reveal
Those horrible monsters shadow everything

People say, "Its the thought and love that counts"
A friend said, "True love ensures its perfection that counts"
Perfection does not happen when endeavors
are tainted with those monsters of mine
Prabhupad gave us the panacea - Chant!

Lamentably this vicious cycle entangles me
What to do if my endeavor to chant
is also shadowed by these ugly monsters?
Hence my plea to you Gopinath....

Focus, concentration and sincerity.
Slowly but steadily the monsters will be slain
if your names are chanted with
Focus, concentration and sincerity,

O gopinath,
Help me chant
Help me purify myself
Help me slay these monsters
Help me my dear Gopinath....

"...another kind of distraction occurs when one is too eager to complete the fixed number of holy names even at the sacrifice of quality. One must therefore always insure that he chants his rounds sincerely. Also, one should better improve the quality of his chanting rather than try to increase his daily number of rounds for show. The name of the Lord should be always be pronounced distinctly. Only by the grace of the Lord can this be achieved. Thus one should pray to the Lord that he never falls victim to the wiles of the illusion of distraction, and that he can continue to taste the full nectar of the holy name." - Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Sri Harinama Cintamani

We just finished Nrsimha Arati and were sitting down to eat our prasad, plan our next kartal lesson, exchanging tunes, enjoying some Maha prasad and so on when Sri Vallabh prabhu with his commanding presence walked in.

"Are we all ready to start our Janmastami meeting?" his voice resounded in Flat 607.

We all quickly finished whatever was left of our sandwiches and meekly sat down on one side in a group of 10 eagerly anticipating what sevas we would get to do on one of the most auspicious days in our Vaishnava calendar.

"So what can the youth get into? " And Sri vallabh prabhu started suggesting a few sevas. And in his usual humorous manner he encouraged us,
"All you youth should take up everything, get into it and takeover. Let us baldies and oldies take a seat back. What say everyone? Shouldn't we let the youth takeover?"

And then came the damper on our enthusiasm and eagerness, "Prabhu, I don't think they are ready yet, they need to be held back a little. Their sins need to be purified first"

Honestly, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Thankfully Sri Vallabh prabhu immediately retorted with, "They are held by Krishna and by doing seva they will automatically get cleansed. We cannot wait for the waves to stop before going for a swim."

I feel extremely sorry that we have potrayed such an image.
I feel sorry that I have such a big false ego which got a blow.

There are so many sincere souls in the youth who deserve to be encouraged and nurtured in KC rather than be discouraged. I humbly request senior devotees to take the time to find out about so many of us who have the spark of KC and just need a little fanning

I offer my obeisances to all of the youth from who I learn something new every week as I associate with them:

Laxmi - her devotion to her deities ? She is a perfect example of a true pujari. Her eagerness to serve, to cook for the devotees, to preach to all the youth, her passion to learn kirtans and sing........

Samiksha - who started chanting 16 rounds since she's been back from Mayapur. Who shed tears as she was leaving....how many of us can shed a tear for the holy dham in seperation?

Natasha - who voluntarily transcribes Radhanath Swami's lectures online for iskcondesiretree.com. How much nectar does she absorb by doing this service?? Who is so eager for a kirtan program, to chant to advance in KC to serve, to preach...

Namrata (chotrani) - who tirelessly arranges for prasadam EVERY week for the youth class... who is everready to serve in whatever way she can....

Namrata (keshwani) - on whose mind Krishna constantly dances :) in the form of kirtans, quotes , you tube videos ...... someone whose enthusiasm rubs off on me when I see her.....

Ashish - who has taken up to KC and chanting like lighting fire to dry wood. In the short few months, he's already handling the book table, accounts ...learning Mrdanga from Yadav prabhu (oh yeah we're getting our band ready :)) been to Mayapur.......

Vicky prabhu - who tirelessly comes to class every Friday just to enthuse all of us in kirtan and share his wonderful knowledge.

Sneha aka Bunty :) - who never misses associating with us, responsibly handles her seva and tirelessly calls up every one of us every week to attend programs

Pavan - who is our little pujari :) His love for Radha Madhav - something I need to get an ounce of. I still remember how excited and ecstatic he was when I got him some Tulasi from the feet of Madhava from Mayapur....

Simi - who has gone through a lot of harships materially and has constantly been attracted to Krishna and is another example of fire to dry wood...

Roshni - who always keeps the class alive by asking questions :) Her excellent presentations and videos... Her sincerity to read Prahbupad's books and gain knowledge....

Keshavi - who has definitely been a devotee in her past life :) She grasps playing instruments and singing kirtans so easily!

and of course the backbone of our class - H.G Vasudev Gopal Das :) who at the age of 12 was the only boy in children's class who did not raise his hand up when Sri Vallabh prabhu asked everyone, "who wants to be liberated and go back to Krishna?"
why?
"Because..." He answered, "If all the devotees go back to Krishna then who will stay back and tell about Krishna to others?"
My full dandavats to you VGD for contantly working to preach to spread Prabhupad's movement among us disillusioned youth in Dubai.

And my gratitude goes out to Sri Vallabh prabhu, Nand Prabhu and ESPECIALLY Shuba mataji for creating this opportunity for all of youth to come together every week and inspire each other to progress in KC.

Dandavats!

P.S: I've written this in one shot and apologize to all the youth whom I have left out! If I have left you out then please come and do seva for youth class and Janmastami so your name will be up there right next to VGD ;)

We just finished Nrsimha Arati and were sitting down to eat our prasad, plan our next kartal lesson, exchanging tunes, enjoying some Maha prasad and so on when Sri Vallabh prabhu with his commanding presence walked in.

"Are we all ready to start our Janmastami meeting?" his voice resounded in Flat 607.

We all quickly finished whatever was left of our sandwiches and meekly sat down on one side in a group of 10 eagerly anticipating what sevas we would get to do on one of the most auspicious days in our Vaishnava calendar.

"So what can the youth get into? " And Sri vallabh prabhu started suggesting a few sevas. And in his usual humorous manner he encouraged us,
"All you youth should take up everything, get into it and takeover. Let us baldies and oldies take a seat back. What say everyone? Shouldn't we let the youth takeover?"

And then came the damper on our enthusiasm and eagerness, "Prabhu, I don't think they are ready yet, they need to be held back a little. Their sins need to be purified first"

Honestly, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Thankfully Sri Vallabh prabhu immediately retorted with, "They are held by Krishna and by doing seva they will automatically get cleansed. We cannot wait for the waves to stop before going for a swim."

I feel extremely sorry that we have potrayed such an image.
I feel sorry that I have such a big false ego which got a blow.

There are so many sincere souls in the youth who deserve to be encouraged and nurtured in KC rather than be discouraged. I humbly request senior devotees to take the time to find out about so many of us who have the spark of KC and just need a little fanning

I offer my obeisances to all of the youth from who I learn something new every week as I associate with them:

Laxmi - her devotion to her deities ? She is a perfect example of a true pujari. Her eagerness to serve, to cook for the devotees, to preach to all the youth, her passion to learn kirtans and sing........

Samiksha - who started chanting 16 rounds since she's been back from Mayapur. Who shed tears as she was leaving....how many of us can shed a tear for the holy dham in seperation?

Natasha - who voluntarily transcribes Radhanath Swami's lectures online for iskcondesiretree.com. How much nectar does she absorb by doing this service?? Who is so eager for a kirtan program, to chant to advance in KC to serve, to preach...

Namrata (chotrani) - who tirelessly arranges for prasadam EVERY week for the youth class... who is everready to serve in whatever way she can....

Namrata (keshwani) - on whose mind Krishna constantly dances :) in the form of kirtans, quotes , you tube videos ...... someone whose enthusiasm rubs off on me when I see her.....

Ashish - who has taken up to KC and chanting like lighting fire to dry wood. In the short few months, he's already handling the book table, accounts ...learning Mrdanga from Yadav prabhu (oh yeah we're getting our band ready :)) been to Mayapur.......

Vicky prabhu - who tirelessly comes to class every Friday just to enthuse all of us in kirtan and share his wonderful knowledge.

Sneha aka Bunty :) - who never misses associating with us, responsibly handles her seva and tirelessly calls up every one of us every week to attend programs

Pavan - who is our little pujari :) His love for Radha Madhav - something I need to get an ounce of. I still remember how excited and ecstatic he was when I got him some Tulasi from the feet of Madhava from Mayapur....

Simi - who has gone through a lot of harships materially and has constantly been attracted to Krishna and is another example of fire to dry wood...

Roshni - who always keeps the class alive by asking questions :) Her excellent presentations and videos... Her sincerity to read Prahbupad's books and gain knowledge....

Keshavi - who has definitely been a devotee in her past life :) She grasps playing instruments and singing kirtans so easily!

and of course the backbone of our class - H.G Vasudev Gopal Das :) who at the age of 12 was the only boy in children's class who did not raise his hand up when Sri Vallabh prabhu asked everyone, "who wants to be liberated and go back to Krishna?"
why?
"Because..." He answered, "If all the devotees go back to Krishna then who will stay back and tell about Krishna to others?"
My full dandavats to you VGD for contantly working to preach to spread Prabhupad's movement among us disillusioned youth in Dubai.

And my gratitude goes out to Sri Vallabh prabhu, Nand Prabhu and ESPECIALLY Shuba mataji for creating this opportunity for all of youth to come together every week and inspire each other to progress in KC.

Dandavats!

P.S: I've written this in one shot and apologize to all the youth whom I have left out! If I have left you out then please come and do seva for youth class and Janmastami so your name will be up there right next to VGD ;)

“Don’t eat meat, ride a bike, and be a frugal shopper.” – Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change in a press conference in January 2008

“As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seeds of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.” – Pythagoras

In the wider world of environmental activism it is no longer a secret that animal-protein rich diets and the global animal industry it has spawned are one of the major causes of agricultural inefficiency, environmental degradation and unsustainable natural capital depletion. Our diets are a very practical way to express our compassion and how much we actually care about the environment. ISS therefore promotes a diet which is organic, vegan/vegetarian and locally produced and consumed.

Though our society’s food consumption and production habits are far from reaching this standard, there are inspiring initiatives from all over the world that are raising awareness about the indispensable role our diets play in the quest for a sustainable society. Last week ISS was involved in one such initiative. In conjunction with Students for a Sustainable Planet, ISS helped start a Meat Free Mondays program which launched the Victoria University of Wellington’s Environment Week on the 20th of July. Click on the gallery to view photos from the event.

Recently we have divided some land into 10 plots for devotees to live in Pandavas Paradise. The designated land is in-between the temple and the waterfalls, with about 10 minutes walk either way. GD and I are hoping to build … Continue reading →

Back in May, New Vrindaban hosted another visit from the Global Leadership Project at Ohio University. Student groups from OU have been visiting for several years, staying overnight, and interviewing devotees, each time focusing on a different topic of study. Several of the students even came back for the 24 hour kirtana in June. Below are excerpts from 2-3 page reflections of most, but not all (just didn't get around to it), of the students on their visit in May. It's always interesting to get a glimpse into what visitors think about the community.

***

“What I experienced at New Vrindavan was entirely different than what I expected…. Because it’s part of the Krishna religion to be evangelists, I thought that the devotees would be extremely pushy in showing their beliefs to us. I found most of them to be extremely understanding and they were not pushy at all.”

“It was fun dancing at the service although I was afraid I would do something wrong… The next morning I went to the 7:30 service. Once again I was shocked at the dancing and liveliness from everyone in the temple, especially it being that early in the morning…We had a session where many devotees told their stories of how the came to the Hare Krishna religion…. It was definitely an interesting experience and very unique.”

“Tapapunja, the gardener, was very knowledgeable regarding organic gardening and made a whole lot of sense…In comparison to Catholicism, the religion I grew up in, I felt that the Krishna religion was so much more exciting and enjoyable… I wirily dug my spoon into the meal and was pleasantly surprised. The food tasted so pure and natural… My New Vrindavan experience will be two days in my life that I will never forget.”

“I have never seen such jubilance and happiness in any religious ceremony… I definitely want to include kirtan into my religious practices….I love the whole idea of ‘simple living, high thinking’…. I realized that constructing a spiritual community is very difficult and carries with it much responsibility and care.”

“It was an experience filled with spiritually evoking thoughts accompanied by a tranquil external environment. Before visiting New Vrindavan, I could not remember the last time where I was at peace with the world and not concerned about the stresses of school and work…. The prasadam meals are the most fresh and delicious meals I have ever had…. The devotees are more that willing to answer questions and engage in meaningful conversation…. Almost every aspect of New Vrindavan has something to offer spiritually….I will remember this trip for the rest of my life.”

“Before arriving, I envisioned New Vrindavan as a place of tranquil meditation and communal living…. I could not figure out the spiritual relevance of the huge concrete elephant…the call of the peacocks served as a reminder to the celibate monks that sex is an integral part of nature,,,,, the sights and sounds of New Vrindavan were similar to that of a circus equipped with a semi-religious theme…Is a remote controlled swam boat related to Prabhupada’s ‘simple living , high thinking’ standard?…. It seemed that college educated devotees were placed at a higher level of the hierarchical system and asserted control over the others.”

“Before the trip, I was most excited to interact with the devotees and try to understand their lives and their devotion to their beliefs. I’m not sure I was able to achieve the level of understanding I initially hoped for…. To an extent I wish I knew more about why certain things were being done and what they meant…Sankirtana gave us a tour of the Palace also gave us additional background knowledge that I had been looking for throughout the trip….I found it easy to take any of their religious stories or practices, no matter how ‘bizarre’ and draw a comparison to my own beliefs.”

“What I enjoyed most about being there was the feeling of being transported to another world that was so different from the everyday reality of life in Athens … I saw a fascinating religious community that was sincere in its pursuit of Hare Krishna consciousness….Hari Bhakta, the devote we interviewed, was one of the coolest and most interesting people I have ever met….My time at New Vrindavan was a very positive experience.”

“I always thought that the life of a Christian seemed intense…The devotees are so strict in their eating and drinking intake. I could not believe that so many people were happy at 5AM without caffeine!…. One of the most surprising aspects of New Vrindavan was the kindness of the children. I am used to children being frightened of strangers and uncomfortable with anyone who is not in their family. This is not the case at New Vrindavan….While I do question some aspects of New Vrindavan, my overall experience was quite impacting.”

“I tried to have an open mind when I went to New Vrindavan…The ceremonies were fascinating. It was like watching a documentary film…I thought there would be more people around at the ceremonies…My favorite part was learning about the garden and cows…I found all the food really good. The people were friendly, even if some were a little pushy…I am not sure I would visit again.”

“The chanting started slowly, but by the time the ceremony was over all the devotees and students were dancing like crazy…. This was very memorable. I was thinking the culture we were studying was going to be very basic and austere. I was happy to discover that they were such a vibrant and animated religious society which sees dancing and having fun as a way to worship God… To finish off the day we were served a fantastic dinner.”

“In the temple the chanting began and soon transitioned into a harmonious melody. Soon I was taping my feet to the rhythm and slightly muttering the chant…Before I realized, one devote took my hand and dragged me into the middle of the dancing….I was dancing with every move I had in my arsenal, and the devotees were accepting me for who I was… At dinner I dug in and thought ‘Wow. This is amazing’… We interviewed Madhava Ghosh, his wife and son. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I didn’t expect our interview to be three hours long… He is an extremely intelligent man, and I’m glad I had the privilege of meeting him…. The trip opened my eyes to a different belief system and a different outlook on life. Meeting the devotees is an experience I will never forget.”

“Prior to my research, my concept of the Hare Krishnas was that it is a cult of oblivious people with shaved heads who dance and sing Hare Krishna for most of the time…. I was surprised to see just a few people around the temple partaking in the daily events… The worship ceremony was not as uncomfortable as I thought it might be. Most ceremonies involve sitting quietly for long periods of time. The Krishna ceremony incorporated music and dance. The worship was actually a more spiritual experience and probably my favorite aspect of the Krishna practice.”

“I wonder how they can be so certain that their religion is the correct one. So much so that they dedicated their lives to it. To me it almost seems a little naïve. But maybe they are right, and I should read Bhagavat Gita and join the enlightenment.”

Back in May, New Vrindaban hosted another visit from the Global Leadership Project at Ohio University. Student groups from OU have been visiting for several years, staying overnight, and interviewing devotees, each time focusing on a different topic of study. Several of the students even came back for the 24 hour kirtana in June. Below are excerpts from 2-3 page reflections of most, but not all (just didn't get around to it), of the students on their visit in May. It's always interesting to get a glimpse into what visitors think about the community.

***

“What I experienced at New Vrindavan was entirely different than what I expected…. Because it’s part of the Krishna religion to be evangelists, I thought that the devotees would be extremely pushy in showing their beliefs to us. I found most of them to be extremely understanding and they were not pushy at all.”

“It was fun dancing at the service although I was afraid I would do something wrong… The next morning I went to the 7:30 service. Once again I was shocked at the dancing and liveliness from everyone in the temple, especially it being that early in the morning…We had a session where many devotees told their stories of how the came to the Hare Krishna religion…. It was definitely an interesting experience and very unique.”

“Tapapunja, the gardener, was very knowledgeable regarding organic gardening and made a whole lot of sense…In comparison to Catholicism, the religion I grew up in, I felt that the Krishna religion was so much more exciting and enjoyable… I wirily dug my spoon into the meal and was pleasantly surprised. The food tasted so pure and natural… My New Vrindavan experience will be two days in my life that I will never forget.”

“I have never seen such jubilance and happiness in any religious ceremony… I definitely want to include kirtan into my religious practices….I love the whole idea of ‘simple living, high thinking’…. I realized that constructing a spiritual community is very difficult and carries with it much responsibility and care.”

“It was an experience filled with spiritually evoking thoughts accompanied by a tranquil external environment. Before visiting New Vrindavan, I could not remember the last time where I was at peace with the world and not concerned about the stresses of school and work…. The prasadam meals are the most fresh and delicious meals I have ever had…. The devotees are more that willing to answer questions and engage in meaningful conversation…. Almost every aspect of New Vrindavan has something to offer spiritually….I will remember this trip for the rest of my life.”

“Before arriving, I envisioned New Vrindavan as a place of tranquil meditation and communal living…. I could not figure out the spiritual relevance of the huge concrete elephant…the call of the peacocks served as a reminder to the celibate monks that sex is an integral part of nature,,,,, the sights and sounds of New Vrindavan were similar to that of a circus equipped with a semi-religious theme…Is a remote controlled swam boat related to Prabhupada’s ‘simple living , high thinking’ standard?…. It seemed that college educated devotees were placed at a higher level of the hierarchical system and asserted control over the others.”

“Before the trip, I was most excited to interact with the devotees and try to understand their lives and their devotion to their beliefs. I’m not sure I was able to achieve the level of understanding I initially hoped for…. To an extent I wish I knew more about why certain things were being done and what they meant…Sankirtana gave us a tour of the Palace also gave us additional background knowledge that I had been looking for throughout the trip….I found it easy to take any of their religious stories or practices, no matter how ‘bizarre’ and draw a comparison to my own beliefs.”

“What I enjoyed most about being there was the feeling of being transported to another world that was so different from the everyday reality of life in Athens … I saw a fascinating religious community that was sincere in its pursuit of Hare Krishna consciousness….Hari Bhakta, the devote we interviewed, was one of the coolest and most interesting people I have ever met….My time at New Vrindavan was a very positive experience.”

“I always thought that the life of a Christian seemed intense…The devotees are so strict in their eating and drinking intake. I could not believe that so many people were happy at 5AM without caffeine!…. One of the most surprising aspects of New Vrindavan was the kindness of the children. I am used to children being frightened of strangers and uncomfortable with anyone who is not in their family. This is not the case at New Vrindavan….While I do question some aspects of New Vrindavan, my overall experience was quite impacting.”

“I tried to have an open mind when I went to New Vrindavan…The ceremonies were fascinating. It was like watching a documentary film…I thought there would be more people around at the ceremonies…My favorite part was learning about the garden and cows…I found all the food really good. The people were friendly, even if some were a little pushy…I am not sure I would visit again.”

“The chanting started slowly, but by the time the ceremony was over all the devotees and students were dancing like crazy…. This was very memorable. I was thinking the culture we were studying was going to be very basic and austere. I was happy to discover that they were such a vibrant and animated religious society which sees dancing and having fun as a way to worship God… To finish off the day we were served a fantastic dinner.”

“In the temple the chanting began and soon transitioned into a harmonious melody. Soon I was taping my feet to the rhythm and slightly muttering the chant…Before I realized, one devote took my hand and dragged me into the middle of the dancing….I was dancing with every move I had in my arsenal, and the devotees were accepting me for who I was… At dinner I dug in and thought ‘Wow. This is amazing’… We interviewed Madhava Ghosh, his wife and son. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I didn’t expect our interview to be three hours long… He is an extremely intelligent man, and I’m glad I had the privilege of meeting him…. The trip opened my eyes to a different belief system and a different outlook on life. Meeting the devotees is an experience I will never forget.”

“Prior to my research, my concept of the Hare Krishnas was that it is a cult of oblivious people with shaved heads who dance and sing Hare Krishna for most of the time…. I was surprised to see just a few people around the temple partaking in the daily events… The worship ceremony was not as uncomfortable as I thought it might be. Most ceremonies involve sitting quietly for long periods of time. The Krishna ceremony incorporated music and dance. The worship was actually a more spiritual experience and probably my favorite aspect of the Krishna practice.”

“I wonder how they can be so certain that their religion is the correct one. So much so that they dedicated their lives to it. To me it almost seems a little naïve. But maybe they are right, and I should read Bhagavat Gita and join the enlightenment.”

There are a few things about Krishna that just hold me in complete fascination that I just start gushing about my fascinations and discoveries about Krishna's personality and pastimes to everyone! If you've met me and known me for a decent period of time, then you've probably heard this from me already.

When Madhavi first told me this on the altar, I just exclaimed ! "How adorable!" So what every Radha Krishna pujari would know and most other devotees would not know is that, the Lord of the Universe, the controller of everything moving and non-moving, THE Supreme personality of Godhead......sleeps with his flute under his pillow! :)

i.e The pujari who puts the deities to sleep at night usually takes Krishna's flute and keeps it under his pillow physically. I've heard a couple of reasons for this but the official ones from Jananivas prabhu are:

1) The flute is sooo dear to Kanha that he does not want to be separated from it since it is with the flute that he controls the gopis

2) The gopis know that with this flute Kanha controls them so they are always looking to steal his flute. He keeps it under his pillow for protection

Endearing!

There are a few things about Krishna that just hold me in complete fascination that I just start gushing about my fascinations and discoveries about Krishna's personality and pastimes to everyone! If you've met me and known me for a decent period of time, then you've probably heard this from me already.

When Madhavi first told me this on the altar, I just exclaimed ! "How adorable!" So what every Radha Krishna pujari would know and most other devotees would not know is that, the Lord of the Universe, the controller of everything moving and non-moving, THE Supreme personality of Godhead......sleeps with his flute under his pillow! :)

i.e The pujari who puts the deities to sleep at night usually takes Krishna's flute and keeps it under his pillow physically. I've heard a couple of reasons for this but the official ones from Jananivas prabhu are:

1) The flute is sooo dear to Kanha that he does not want to be separated from it since it is with the flute that he controls the gopis

2) The gopis know that with this flute Kanha controls them so they are always looking to steal his flute. He keeps it under his pillow for protection

Endearing!