The Global Farmland Rush
→ The Yoga of Ecology





OVER the last decade, as populations have grown, capital has flowed across borders and crop yields have leveled off, food-importing nations and private investors have been securing land abroad to use for agriculture. Poor governments have embraced these deals, but their people are in danger of losing their patrimony, not to mention their sources of food.

According to Oxfam, land equivalent to eight times the size of Britain was sold or leased worldwide in the last 10 years. In northern Mozambique, a Brazilian-Japanese venture plans to farm more than 54,000 square miles — an area comparable to Pennsylvania and New Jersey combined — for food exports. In 2009, a Libyan firm leased 386 square miles of land from Mali without consulting local communities that had long used it. In the Philippines, the government is so enthusiastic to promote agribusiness that it lets foreigners register partnerships with local investors as domestic corporations.

The commoditization of global agriculture has aggravated the destabilizing effects of these large-scale land grabs. Investors typically promise to create local jobs and say that better farming technologies will produce higher crop yields and improve food security.

However, few of these benefits materialize. For example, as The Economist reported, a Swiss company promised local farmers 2,000 new jobs when it acquired a 50-year lease to grow biofuel crops on 154 square miles in Makeni, Sierra Leone; in the first three years, it produced only 50.

The Passing of Ruci’s Father – 2 of 2 Parts
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das



As it turned out Al had three cancerous tumors in his brain. They were spreading rapidly. It was terminal. In the hospital, at the bedside, our family doctor told him that he didn’t have much time left. I was surprised when Al asked if he could get two or three more years. And after all those times when he said that he was ready to go. I guess, we never give up the desire to stay alive. 

Actually, his condition was sever. The doctor thought that he had less then two weeks.  Fortunately, a bed was available at a local hospice center called Liza’s Place. The ambulance took him there the next day. He settled in and  spent several happy days there attended to by Ruci and her two siblings who had quickly arrived.

On one of the days Al just said, “I have five days left.” It was a casual remark. The nurses took it seriously. They said that patients often knew when they would depart. Then his conditioned worsened rapidly. At that time, when Ruci would say “Hare Krishna” to him, Al responded with “Hare Krishna.” Ruci’s brother and sister had to leave. Ruci prayed that she would be there when her father passed, to attend to him and guide him.  Al’s “Hare Krishna” became feebler and finally there was no response at all. He had also started picking at the thin air with his finger tips.

That Friday Al went into what the hospice people refer to as Stage Four. It was the finally stage. Barely conscious. Eyes open, but no eye contact. The patient is not communicative in the least. The last days. But we and the hospice people knew that hearing is the last sense to go. Ruci spent all day Friday chanting to him and telling him that we would all be OK if he wanted to leave his body.

The next morning, Gopa drove Ruci to the hospice and she  was back at her father’s bedside by 10. I had a leisurely morning. It was all too intense for me with my own heart condition.  I went down to the temple for lunch. I also got a flower garland from the altar and a little caritamrita (the Lord’s bathwater).

When I arrived at the hospice Ruci put some drops of caritamrita on his tongue (Al’s mouth was open, breathing heavily and his head stretched back – also a sign of Stage Four).  I placed the flower garland on his chest.  Ruci  brought one of the flowers to his nose and then dabbed it along his forehead and on his eyes.

Ruci took a break and I stayed with Al, chanting to him. After a few minutes I wondered what it was like to be in his position.  I imagined he felt alone and fearful. I spoke to him. “Krishna is your friend. There’s nothing to worry about. Krishna is our father, our mother, our eternal guide, our dearmost friend. You’ve lived a good life. Now just remember Krishna. Think of Krishna. Krishna will help you. Krishna will guide you. You can easily cross over. It’s OK. We’re fine. Thank you for all you’ve done for us.  Don’t be afraid. Krishna will wash away all of your fears. Just remember Krishna and he will be with you on your journey.”

When Ruci came back she was torn about what to do. She didn’t want to leave, but she was emotionally and physically exhausted.  She prayed to be there for his departure. She tried to find his pulse but couldn’t. She hadn’t been able to find his pulse for hours. She went out to the nurse’s desk and asked them to come and check for his pulse. She went back to the room and continued chanting. After five minutes no one had come in.  And as she chanted the Holy Name, quite suddenly and uneventfully, Al took three final breaths and left his body. Then no breathing. Nothing.  

Outside the room the nurse and two attendants were speaking together. Ruci peeked her head out the door and calmly  told them that she thought her father had passed away. They all rushed into the room and hovered over the bed. Then Al let out one last great sigh and was gone.  “He’s a fighter,” the nurse said.  I had stepped out of the room for a few minutes and returned after Al’s departure. Ruci and the three of them standing around the bed in a hallowed silence.   It had been about 25 minutes since Al received the Deities’ garland and water. 

After the two attendants left tearfully, expressing their condolences, the nurse looked at us. You could see she was trying to put things together: how Ruci calmly mentioned that her father had passed. That there had been no struggle on Al’s part. The whole atmosphere was calm. We were calm. She noticed our bead bags. Finally she asked, “What religion are you?”

Ruci and I explained to her that we are devotees of Krishna. That we lived at the Hare Krishna community.  She sincerely asked questions and for a few moments we spoke to her about Krishna Consciousness. She thanked us and quietly left to make arrangements.

Krishna had fulfilled Ruci’s desire to assist her father at the moment of death. She was sad but grateful. It also turned into an opportunity to tell people about Krishna. I think Al will get the benefit for arranging that.  And Al hit it close to the mark. He went into Stage Four on the fifth day and departed on the sixth.

  


The Passing of Ruci’s Father – 2 of 2 Parts
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das



As it turned out Al had three cancerous tumors in his brain. They were spreading rapidly. It was terminal. In the hospital, at the bedside, our family doctor told him that he didn’t have much time left. I was surprised when Al asked if he could get two or three more years. And after all those times when he said that he was ready to go. I guess, we never give up the desire to stay alive. 

Actually, his condition was sever. The doctor thought that he had less then two weeks.  Fortunately, a bed was available at a local hospice center called Liza’s Place. The ambulance took him there the next day. He settled in and  spent several happy days there attended to by Ruci and her two siblings who had quickly arrived.

On one of the days Al just said, “I have five days left.” It was a casual remark. The nurses took it seriously. They said that patients often knew when they would depart. Then his conditioned worsened rapidly. At that time, when Ruci would say “Hare Krishna” to him, Al responded with “Hare Krishna.” Ruci’s brother and sister had to leave. Ruci prayed that she would be there when her father passed, to attend to him and guide him.  Al’s “Hare Krishna” became feebler and finally there was no response at all. He had also started picking at the thin air with his finger tips.

That Friday Al went into what the hospice people refer to as Stage Four. It was the finally stage. Barely conscious. Eyes open, but no eye contact. The patient is not communicative in the least. The last days. But we and the hospice people knew that hearing is the last sense to go. Ruci spent all day Friday chanting to him and telling him that we would all be OK if he wanted to leave his body.

The next morning, Gopa drove Ruci to the hospice and she  was back at her father’s bedside by 10. I had a leisurely morning. It was all too intense for me with my own heart condition.  I went down to the temple for lunch. I also got a flower garland from the altar and a little caritamrita (the Lord’s bathwater).

When I arrived at the hospice Ruci put some drops of caritamrita on his tongue (Al’s mouth was open, breathing heavily and his head stretched back – also a sign of Stage Four).  I placed the flower garland on his chest.  Ruci  brought one of the flowers to his nose and then dabbed it along his forehead and on his eyes.

Ruci took a break and I stayed with Al, chanting to him. After a few minutes I wondered what it was like to be in his position.  I imagined he felt alone and fearful. I spoke to him. “Krishna is your friend. There’s nothing to worry about. Krishna is our father, our mother, our eternal guide, our dearmost friend. You’ve lived a good life. Now just remember Krishna. Think of Krishna. Krishna will help you. Krishna will guide you. You can easily cross over. It’s OK. We’re fine. Thank you for all you’ve done for us.  Don’t be afraid. Krishna will wash away all of your fears. Just remember Krishna and he will be with you on your journey.”

When Ruci came back she was torn about what to do. She didn’t want to leave, but she was emotionally and physically exhausted.  She prayed to be there for his departure. She tried to find his pulse but couldn’t. She hadn’t been able to find his pulse for hours. She went out to the nurse’s desk and asked them to come and check for his pulse. She went back to the room and continued chanting. After five minutes no one had come in.  And as she chanted the Holy Name, quite suddenly and uneventfully, Al took three final breaths and left his body. Then no breathing. Nothing.  

Outside the room the nurse and two attendants were speaking together. Ruci peeked her head out the door and calmly  told them that she thought her father had passed away. They all rushed into the room and hovered over the bed. Then Al let out one last great sigh and was gone.  “He’s a fighter,” the nurse said.  I had stepped out of the room for a few minutes and returned after Al’s departure. Ruci and the three of them standing around the bed in a hallowed silence.   It had been about 25 minutes since Al received the Deities’ garland and water. 

After the two attendants left tearfully, expressing their condolences, the nurse looked at us. You could see she was trying to put things together: how Ruci calmly mentioned that her father had passed. That there had been no struggle on Al’s part. The whole atmosphere was calm. We were calm. She noticed our bead bags. Finally she asked, “What religion are you?”

Ruci and I explained to her that we are devotees of Krishna. That we lived at the Hare Krishna community.  She sincerely asked questions and for a few moments we spoke to her about Krishna Consciousness. She thanked us and quietly left to make arrangements.

Krishna had fulfilled Ruci’s desire to assist her father at the moment of death. She was sad but grateful. It also turned into an opportunity to tell people about Krishna. I think Al will get the benefit for arranging that.  And Al hit it close to the mark. He went into Stage Four on the fifth day and departed on the sixth.

  


Easy Journey to Other Planets
→ TKG Academy

In the Month of January, we started an Astronomy Unit with the Upper Elementary class.  Using our Abeka Science books for 3rd to 6th grade, we learned all the technical terms for the different parts of the cosmos and what has been discovered in the past hundreds of years.

It is also important that we understand the Vedic perspective of Science as presented by Srila Prabhupada in his many teachings.   This fosters much discussion in our classrooms about the demigods, the creation, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Shiva and the cosmos as is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam.  It is amazing to see the students faith and interest in connecting what they are learning to what they already know about Krishna’s universe.

We started our course learning about the Sun.  Read about it in detail here!

The next week brought the study of the Moon, Chandra deva.  We did a moon phases project and discussed the journey of the Astronomers to the Moon and the Vedic perspective.  Take a look at our delicious healthy Moon Charts.

Our third week was spent doing study on all the planets of the Solar System and creating a Solar System in Art Class.

In the fourth week, we learned the differences between the Constellations in the night sky, read about Dhruva Maharaj’s planet the Pole Star, and made Constellations patterns shine through the window.

The Unit culminated in an incredible Field Trip to the Planetarium in UTA, where we saw the night sky and planets come to life in the IMAX theater presentation.  The Field trip ended with a really cool science magic show.

The fifth week we did Review and Tests of all the information that the students had learned about the universe.   This cemented the knowledge learned and showed us how much they had retained.

That Other Forest
→ Devamrita Swami's Facebook notes

The Forest of Material Enjoyment offers meager and miserly, stingy and mingy sexual gratification in return for our constant struggling with its immense obstacles and exasperating deficiencies. 

You see, on the material platform, living a "balanced life" is impossible, because the uncontrolled mind and senses dictate the whole temporary show.

The other option? Krishna's supreme playground, the Vrindavana forest, infinitely attracts all five senses. There, purely spiritual sense objects nourish each spiritual sense of the spiritual body. Krishna, of course, leads the way in purely blissful forest adventures. But eternally emember the crucial distinction: He enjoys directly, whereas we, His parts, enjoy by serving and relishing His enjoyment. 

Just by our hearing of how Krishna enjoys the Vrindavana forest brings us precious relief from the blazing forest fire of material existence. What's more, simply hearing attentively of how Krishna enjoys gradually brings us the supreme dynamic of life: spotless love for Krishna.

Eyes: the stunning beauty of Vrindavana's forest scenery—trees, flowers, lakes, rivers—gladdens the sense of sight.

Nose: the omnipresent fragrance of lotus flowers enlivens the sense of smell.

Ears: the sounds of birds, bees, and other forest animals enchant the sense of hearing.

Tongue: delightful flavours from the sweet water of transparent lakes, transported by the forest breezes, enliven the sense of taste.

Touch: cooling droplets of water carried from those same forest lakes by those same breezes stimulate the tactile sense.

Krishna feels pleased by the atmosphere of the Vrindavana forest. The Supreme Personality of Pleasure, He personally appreciates how the forest strives to serve Him with pleasure.

Let's go there.

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead looked over that forest, which resounded with the charming sounds of bees, animals and birds, and which was enhanced by a lake whose clear water resembled the minds of great souls and by a breeze carrying the fragrance of hundred-petaled lotuses. Seeing all this, Lord Krishna decided to enjoy the auspicious atmosphere." (S. bhag. 10:15:3)


That Other Forest
→ Devamrita Swami's Facebook notes

The Forest of Material Enjoyment offers meager and miserly, stingy and mingy sexual gratification in return for our constant struggling with its immense obstacles and exasperating deficiencies. 

You see, on the material platform, living a "balanced life" is impossible, because the uncontrolled mind and senses dictate the whole temporary show.

The other option? Krishna's supreme playground, the Vrindavana forest, infinitely attracts all five senses. There, purely spiritual sense objects nourish each spiritual sense of the spiritual body. Krishna, of course, leads the way in purely blissful forest adventures. But eternally emember the crucial distinction: He enjoys directly, whereas we, His parts, enjoy by serving and relishing His enjoyment. 

Just by our hearing of how Krishna enjoys the Vrindavana forest brings us precious relief from the blazing forest fire of material existence. What's more, simply hearing attentively of how Krishna enjoys gradually brings us the supreme dynamic of life: spotless love for Krishna.

Eyes: the stunning beauty of Vrindavana's forest scenery—trees, flowers, lakes, rivers—gladdens the sense of sight.

Nose: the omnipresent fragrance of lotus flowers enlivens the sense of smell.

Ears: the sounds of birds, bees, and other forest animals enchant the sense of hearing.

Tongue: delightful flavours from the sweet water of transparent lakes, transported by the forest breezes, enliven the sense of taste.

Touch: cooling droplets of water carried from those same forest lakes by those same breezes stimulate the tactile sense.

Krishna feels pleased by the atmosphere of the Vrindavana forest. The Supreme Personality of Pleasure, He personally appreciates how the forest strives to serve Him with pleasure.

Let's go there.

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead looked over that forest, which resounded with the charming sounds of bees, animals and birds, and which was enhanced by a lake whose clear water resembled the minds of great souls and by a breeze carrying the fragrance of hundred-petaled lotuses. Seeing all this, Lord Krishna decided to enjoy the auspicious atmosphere." (S. bhag. 10:15:3)


The Passing of Ruci’s Father – 1 of 2 Parts
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das



Ruci’s father, Al Iannuzzi – aged 98,  passed away last month, just about a month shy of his 99th birthday. Ten months earlier, his wife Ruth passed away at 95  (see my articles from last year about that). They had moved in with us in 2004. They said they wanted to spend the last years of their lives with us here in New Vrindaban. They had started their yearly visits to the community in the late 70’s shortly after my wife and I moved here.  After Ruth’s death, Al soldiered on surprisingly well.  They had been together for 75 years and he often expressed how he missed his wife tremendously.

At 98, Al didn’t look his age. He was in pretty decent health, and was mentally sound. During his last couple of years Al  had this thing about God and religion. There was so much fighting in the name of religion. Why would God allow that? And all the injustices that took place in the name of God. It didn’t make any sense to him. Still he acknowledged that he had a good life and that he couldn’t complain. Al was a good  and kind man. Even though there were problems along the way, things always seemed to work out. He was quite happy that he and Ruth had come to live with us. Over the years they often enjoyed going to the temple to talk with devotees and guests. Al really enjoyed meeting different types of people and he especially liked talking with devotees, and the devotees were kind and respectful to him.

In his last months, he rarely left the house. His condition went downhill in November. His left arm suddenly grew weak. He noticeably started to forget things. We suspected he had a mini-stroke. On a doctor’s visit the doctor wanted to run some tests and blood work to get a better understanding of his condition. “What for?” Al said, “I’ve lived long enough. I’m ready to go.”

After that, as the days passed, each morning in the kitchen Al would say how lousy he felt.  It became a morning ritual. Every morning he would say “What’s the purpose of living this long? It’s unnatural.” He advised against it. “I’m ready to go,” he would say.  Ruci and I tried to nudge him toward meditating upon Krishna’s name, but he just shrugged his shoulders. Not that he was against Krishna Consciousness. He often joked that when he reached his 100th birthday the devotees could come and sing to him – and he would sing along  too. Maybe, in his own way, he was petitioning Krishna to live to 100.

Then one morning in the beginning of January, he didn’t show up in the kitchen. Later in the morning I went to see him. I found him in his easy chair, barely able to move. Al said that he had a bad night. That he had been in pain. He was reluctant to admit it, but he finally said he was still in pain. And when he stood up he wobbled.  But he was stubborn.  He didn’t want to take my help and  Ruci was with her class. It took me almost two hours to convince  him to go to the ER.  I was exhausted. My son drove in from town to help Al get to the car. He was still reluctant to go but we finally left for the ER. 

The Passing of Ruci’s Father – 1 of 2 Parts
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das



Ruci’s father, Al Iannuzzi – aged 98,  passed away last month, just about a month shy of his 99th birthday. Ten months earlier, his wife Ruth passed away at 95  (see my articles from last year about that). They had moved in with us in 2004. They said they wanted to spend the last years of their lives with us here in New Vrindaban. They had started their yearly visits to the community in the late 70’s shortly after my wife and I moved here.  After Ruth’s death, Al soldiered on surprisingly well.  They had been together for 75 years and he often expressed how he missed his wife tremendously.

At 98, Al didn’t look his age. He was in pretty decent health, and was mentally sound. During his last couple of years Al  had this thing about God and religion. There was so much fighting in the name of religion. Why would God allow that? And all the injustices that took place in the name of God. It didn’t make any sense to him. Still he acknowledged that he had a good life and that he couldn’t complain. Al was a good  and kind man. Even though there were problems along the way, things always seemed to work out. He was quite happy that he and Ruth had come to live with us. Over the years they often enjoyed going to the temple to talk with devotees and guests. Al really enjoyed meeting different types of people and he especially liked talking with devotees, and the devotees were kind and respectful to him.

In his last months, he rarely left the house. His condition went downhill in November. His left arm suddenly grew weak. He noticeably started to forget things. We suspected he had a mini-stroke. On a doctor’s visit the doctor wanted to run some tests and blood work to get a better understanding of his condition. “What for?” Al said, “I’ve lived long enough. I’m ready to go.”

After that, as the days passed, each morning in the kitchen Al would say how lousy he felt.  It became a morning ritual. Every morning he would say “What’s the purpose of living this long? It’s unnatural.” He advised against it. “I’m ready to go,” he would say.  Ruci and I tried to nudge him toward meditating upon Krishna’s name, but he just shrugged his shoulders. Not that he was against Krishna Consciousness. He often joked that when he reached his 100th birthday the devotees could come and sing to him – and he would sing along  too. Maybe, in his own way, he was petitioning Krishna to live to 100.

Then one morning in the beginning of January, he didn’t show up in the kitchen. Later in the morning I went to see him. I found him in his easy chair, barely able to move. Al said that he had a bad night. That he had been in pain. He was reluctant to admit it, but he finally said he was still in pain. And when he stood up he wobbled.  But he was stubborn.  He didn’t want to take my help and  Ruci was with her class. It took me almost two hours to convince  him to go to the ER.  I was exhausted. My son drove in from town to help Al get to the car. He was still reluctant to go but we finally left for the ER. 

A Story of Devotion
- TOVP.org

One devotee’s account of how he was inspired to donate to the TOVP

I came in touch with Krishna Consciousness in 2004 when I joined the Government Polytechnic College in Coimbatore. An ISKCON temple was near my college. I very much got inspiration from the lectures of HH Bhakti Vinode Swami Maharaj, who was at that time HG Sarveswara Prabhu, temple president of ISKCON, Coimbatore. I am always in debt to Maharaj and the Coimbatore devotees.

Around May 2010, I joined some college friends on a tour to Mayapur Dham for one spiritual camp from the VOICE (Student wing of Pune) program. At this time, I was completing my B.Tech and planned to do my MBA. My desire was to earn an MBA so I would be able to contribute to ISKCON a little more. The construction of the temple had started and when something is made gorgeously for God, it attracts me very much. I desired to take part in it. As far as I recall, that day was Bhisma Ekadasi. In May, by the mercy of the devotees, I was able to observe nirjala fasting. The next morning one devotee was describing the glories of Ekadasi. Prabhuji also informed us that if somebody asks something from the Lord after observing and before breaking the fast, the Lord fulfills his desire. So, before breaking the fast I prayed in the dham that I may take part in this wonderful project. At that time I didn’t know the glories of this magnanimous project (even now I also don’t know properly), I didn’t know that HG Ambarisha Prabhu was the chairman of this project.

I joined VIT in the same year. After few days of joining, I was walking on the footpath of our campus. Suddenly it came in my mind to invite HG Ambarish Prabhu for a visit. Fortunately I received Prabhuji’s mail id. One day I prayed to Prabhupada intensely before writing the letter. After sending the mail, I slept. I was almost sure I would not get any reply because it is easily understood that he is a very busy personality. After half an hour I woke up and wished to check the mail. When I opened the mail, there was a reply! I got an invitation to visit him on 1st November, 2010. The next day (another Ekadasi), we got his darshan during Mangal Aratik. Then I went to his office, from there one devotee showed me where he stays. Later I came to know that the devotee who showed us the way was our dear HG Sadbhuja Prabhu. I was feeling very nervous when I met Ambarisha Prabhu because I was aware that I am not qualified to meet him. We started communicating through mail after this meeting. HG Ambarish Prabhuji’s kind replies were so inspiring. It showed me that if there is love, duty automatically follows. He is so reserved I understood he would never glorify himself. When the time came for him to visit my university and I was preparing his bio data, I didn’t ask him anything. I came to know the struggle he tolerated for the TOVP as a service to Srila Prabhupada and for the welfare of humanity. His love and dedication to Srila Prabhupad are unbelievable. We can never repay him. I love him and honor him as my own father.

I had some laxmi in my hand before joining my company, Rs 60,000. One of my devotee friends from the Pune temple said they needed laxmi. I also heard that HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj desired to inaugurate the temple as early as possible. So, as we are in the shelter of Maharaj and Radheshyam prabhu, I felt it is my basic duty to serve the devotees and to fulfill Maharaja’s desire. I donated Rs.25,000 to the Pune temple and the remaining money I kept to offer Ambarisha Prabhu as my little service to Prabhupad and Prabhuji. I was very much interested to contribute from my first job and salary to the TOVP, but due to my salary limitation I was unable to do much. I use to get in hand Rs.13,000-14,000 per month max. My company timings were also hectic for my sadhana. I had to start at 11am at the office and use to return at nearly 11pm. And for mangal arati I used to get up at 3-3:30am. So, in average I used to sleep 3-4hours max. I wished to donate 1 lakh by October, the time when Prabhuji planned to visit India with his family. When I was leaving the company and got my last salary, altogether it just touched 1 lakh!! Krishna fulfilled my desire. Externally it may seem to be a little tedious but I felt great joy within and when I offered this little laxmi to Prabhuji, I felt so happy. So, if we can take Krishna consciousness and encourage others, it will be the real help to the needy. The secret of happiness is to offer to Krishna whatever we have to serve Him and His devotees rather than serve ourselves, ultimately we will only become happy and there is nothing to lose.
I wish rapid progress for the TOVP and beg blessings from all the Vaishnavas for my family and for me so that I may become eligible to serve and please HG Ambarisha Prabhu and all the Vaishnavas.

Thank you very much.

Your aspiring servant,

Saptarshi

why?
→ kirtaniyah sada hari

As some of you may know, I've taken on the challenge of writing on a verse of the Gita daily (www.gitaasitis.com). That's why I haven't been writing as regularly as I would like to here. That being said, today I wrote some reflections on Chapter 2, Verse 10 of the Bhagavad-gita and thought I'd share it here.

Verse 2.10: O descendant of Bharata, at that time Kṛṣṇa, smiling, in the midst of both the armies, spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna.

On the surface, this verse seems pretty astonishing. Krsna is smiling at Arjuna's grief? What kind of God is this? Someone who takes pleasure in others' suffering?

Firstly, let's clear one thing up. Krsna is not smiling at Arjuna's grief. Krsna is smiling because his dear friend has now taken shelter of him. He is smiling because Arjuna wants to let go of the material suffering he is experiencing, as a result of identifying with his body, and instead wants to understand what reality is all about. Now that puts things in a whole different perspective, doesn't it? Just like a parent who may smile with compassion and understanding when their child comes to them in a heartbroken state and asks for help, Krsna too is smiling because this dear soul is now turning to him.

Arjuna is putting all his faith and trust in Krsna, a lesson we can all take inspiration from. Oftentimes, when things don't go the way we want, when we lose loved ones and when we see someone else getting something we think we "deserve", we blame God. C'mon, if you are in any way religious, spiritual or just believe in a higher force or entity, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Our problem is that we have been burned by the material energy so often. Not just in this lifetime but in previous lifetimes. Although we may not remember those previous lifetimes, what we carry with us are the impressions from those lifetimes. Having been hurt, disappointed, misled, and betrayed, it is no wonder that we have such a hard time trusting one another, what to speak of God.

God doesn't work by "our rules", which by the way are often different for every single living entity. He gives us what we need. And what is that need? Normally it's not the red Porsche, million dollar book deal or perfect relationship. No, often those things will just drive us away from him since we will feel we don't need anything but material temporary pleasures. What we do need is a reminder that our trust and faith should be put in that person who will never let us down - God.

But we forget this and keep questioning "Why? What did I ever do to deserve this?" Thing is, we cannot remember everything we've done to deserve what we're receiving now, but Krsna does. The law of karma states that for every action, there is an equal reaction. Because we tend to live our lives thinking that nothing comes before or after this lifetime, this truth doesn't often bring solace to the heart. But, if we were to actually remember this, things won't affect us as strongly as they do.

Krsna only wants us to come back to him. So everything that happens to us, whether good or bad, is actually an opportunity to remember that. Anyone who is aspiring to reconnect with God will go through this. "But why?" we may ask and the answer is actually quite simple. To make us stronger. To deepen our faith.

Growth only occurs when there is some pressure. Whether it be a weight-lifter, academic or aspiring bhakti yogi, we grow the most in difficult conditions. Not conditions that will break us, but those that will stretch us. God loves us more than we can even fathom, so the next time you pose the question "Why?" remember that. The answer is because we need to grow and he's giving us the opportunity to come closer to him.

why?
→ kirtaniyah sada hari

As some of you may know, I've taken on the challenge of writing on a verse of the Gita daily (www.gitaasitis.com). That's why I haven't been writing as regularly as I would like to here. That being said, today I wrote some reflections on Chapter 2, Verse 10 of the Bhagavad-gita and thought I'd share it here.

Verse 2.10: O descendant of Bharata, at that time Kṛṣṇa, smiling, in the midst of both the armies, spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna.

On the surface, this verse seems pretty astonishing. Krsna is smiling at Arjuna's grief? What kind of God is this? Someone who takes pleasure in others' suffering?

Firstly, let's clear one thing up. Krsna is not smiling at Arjuna's grief. Krsna is smiling because his dear friend has now taken shelter of him. He is smiling because Arjuna wants to let go of the material suffering he is experiencing, as a result of identifying with his body, and instead wants to understand what reality is all about. Now that puts things in a whole different perspective, doesn't it? Just like a parent who may smile with compassion and understanding when their child comes to them in a heartbroken state and asks for help, Krsna too is smiling because this dear soul is now turning to him.

Arjuna is putting all his faith and trust in Krsna, a lesson we can all take inspiration from. Oftentimes, when things don't go the way we want, when we lose loved ones and when we see someone else getting something we think we "deserve", we blame God. C'mon, if you are in any way religious, spiritual or just believe in a higher force or entity, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Our problem is that we have been burned by the material energy so often. Not just in this lifetime but in previous lifetimes. Although we may not remember those previous lifetimes, what we carry with us are the impressions from those lifetimes. Having been hurt, disappointed, misled, and betrayed, it is no wonder that we have such a hard time trusting one another, what to speak of God.

God doesn't work by "our rules", which by the way are often different for every single living entity. He gives us what we need. And what is that need? Normally it's not the red Porsche, million dollar book deal or perfect relationship. No, often those things will just drive us away from him since we will feel we don't need anything but material temporary pleasures. What we do need is a reminder that our trust and faith should be put in that person who will never let us down - God.

But we forget this and keep questioning "Why? What did I ever do to deserve this?" Thing is, we cannot remember everything we've done to deserve what we're receiving now, but Krsna does. The law of karma states that for every action, there is an equal reaction. Because we tend to live our lives thinking that nothing comes before or after this lifetime, this truth doesn't often bring solace to the heart. But, if we were to actually remember this, things won't affect us as strongly as they do.

Krsna only wants us to come back to him. So everything that happens to us, whether good or bad, is actually an opportunity to remember that. Anyone who is aspiring to reconnect with God will go through this. "But why?" we may ask and the answer is actually quite simple. To make us stronger. To deepen our faith.

Growth only occurs when there is some pressure. Whether it be a weight-lifter, academic or aspiring bhakti yogi, we grow the most in difficult conditions. Not conditions that will break us, but those that will stretch us. God loves us more than we can even fathom, so the next time you pose the question "Why?" remember that. The answer is because we need to grow and he's giving us the opportunity to come closer to him.

Podcast 008 – Rasasthali sings the Maha Mantra
→ Oxford Kirtan

This is a recording of Rasasthali Devi singing the maha mantra at an Oxford kirtan in 2009.  Rasasthali, an Oxford DPhil student at the time, was a regular kirtan leader in Oxford. She is an accomplished musician and her tunes often hinted at her Polish origins.

She gained her doctorate in Oxford and moved, with her husband to the great state of Mississippi, USA, where they are both in University employment. They have expanded the population of the world with the birth of their baby boy. Happy chanting to all of them.

Podcast 008 – Rasasthali sings the Maha Mantra
→ Oxford Kirtan

This is a recording of Rasasthali Devi singing the maha mantra at an Oxford kirtan in 2009.  Rasasthali, an Oxford DPhil student at the time, was a regular kirtan leader in Oxford. She is an accomplished musician and her tunes often hinted at her Polish origins.

She gained her doctorate in Oxford and moved, with her husband to the great state of Mississippi, USA, where they are both in University employment. They have expanded the population of the world with the birth of their baby boy. Happy chanting to all of them.

Podcast 008 – Rasasthali sings the Maha Mantra
→ Oxford Kirtan

This is a recording of Rasasthali Devi singing the maha mantra at an Oxford kirtan in 2009.  Rasasthali, an Oxford DPhil student at the time, was a regular kirtan leader in Oxford. She is an accomplished musician and her tunes often hinted at her Polish origins.

She gained her doctorate in Oxford and moved, with her husband to the great state of Mississippi, USA, where they are both in University employment. They have expanded the population of the world with the birth of their baby boy. Happy chanting to all of them.

UTA Planetarium Field Trip
→ TKG Academy

Everything we had learned the past month came to life in our UTA Planetarium Field Trip!  Students got to see an IMAX size presentations of all the planets, go on a very dizzying roller coaster ride sitting right in the auditorium seats and pinpoint all the constellations that they had previously learned.

As an added bonus, we had scheduled a science Magic Show, where they saw styrofoam cups melt away, flowers turn into crisp icicles with liquid nitrogen, chemicals emitting flames, “elephant” toothpaste, and many more exciting science experiments!

How Can I Become a Peacemaker?
→ Matsya Avatar das adhikari


Part I 


Peace is the result of coordinated efforts and persevering attitude, but first of all it is the result of deep awareness of the concept of peace, in all its countless nuances and implications. The acquisition of this kind of awareness implies a broad-minded vision of all the dynamics implied that is in fact an indispensable way to start, in order to find in every circumstance the correct way of action, the one able to provide for a concrete development of peace at all levels (individual, familiar, social, political, economical).
Science and religious traditions of all times, agree by stating that there are universal laws which govern the universe (in Greek the word is cosmos, its meaning is either ‘order’ or ‘universe’). Such laws rule and support the whole creation and every manifestation of life, from mankind to the microscopic insect, and are the expression of an order that the modern quantum physics defines as “implicit order”, which is beyond mere appearance; a veiled, subtle reality from which derives “the explicit order” visible through natural phenomena.
In the Vedic Vaishnava tradition, this order is found by the reunion of life and the world and is known with the word dharma, from the Sanskrit root dhr which means ‘hold, support’, or else with the noun rtam, defined as "fixed or settled order, rule, divine law or truth” which derives from the Sanskrit root  ṛ- "to move, rise, tend upwards" that, in this case means  “regular flowing of things”.
By being really interested to build a world of peace we intend to be interested with knowledge and harmonization of these universal laws, which the religious tradition of all times consider the expression of a superior Intelligence, the cosmic Consciousness, God. Peace means to synchronize one’s own inner dynamics with the cosmos’ dynamics; by learning to move in harmony with that universal order which already exists (there is no need to make it up),  and whose infraction is the cause of unsteadiness, wounds, conflicts, within us and outside. Peace is not a need for a  moral order, it is an indispensable factor for man whose life, in order to live in harmony, is tightly connected to the whole universe and all the creatures in it. Without such awareness, the value of peace becomes a meaningless concept designed to remain ambiguous and prompt to be jeopardized by those who persevere in other purposes. In the name of such kind of peace, all the crimes committed in the present and the past, testify it as true.

How Can I Become a Peacemaker?
→ Matsya Avatar das adhikari


Part I 


Peace is the result of coordinated efforts and persevering attitude, but first of all it is the result of deep awareness of the concept of peace, in all its countless nuances and implications. The acquisition of this kind of awareness implies a broad-minded vision of all the dynamics implied that is in fact an indispensable way to start, in order to find in every circumstance the correct way of action, the one able to provide for a concrete development of peace at all levels (individual, familiar, social, political, economical).
Science and religious traditions of all times, agree by stating that there are universal laws which govern the universe (in Greek the word is cosmos, its meaning is either ‘order’ or ‘universe’). Such laws rule and support the whole creation and every manifestation of life, from mankind to the microscopic insect, and are the expression of an order that the modern quantum physics defines as “implicit order”, which is beyond mere appearance; a veiled, subtle reality from which derives “the explicit order” visible through natural phenomena.
In the Vedic Vaishnava tradition, this order is found by the reunion of life and the world and is known with the word dharma, from the Sanskrit root dhr which means ‘hold, support’, or else with the noun rtam, defined as "fixed or settled order, rule, divine law or truth” which derives from the Sanskrit root  ṛ- "to move, rise, tend upwards" that, in this case means  “regular flowing of things”.
By being really interested to build a world of peace we intend to be interested with knowledge and harmonization of these universal laws, which the religious tradition of all times consider the expression of a superior Intelligence, the cosmic Consciousness, God. Peace means to synchronize one’s own inner dynamics with the cosmos’ dynamics; by learning to move in harmony with that universal order which already exists (there is no need to make it up),  and whose infraction is the cause of unsteadiness, wounds, conflicts, within us and outside. Peace is not a need for a  moral order, it is an indispensable factor for man whose life, in order to live in harmony, is tightly connected to the whole universe and all the creatures in it. Without such awareness, the value of peace becomes a meaningless concept designed to remain ambiguous and prompt to be jeopardized by those who persevere in other purposes. In the name of such kind of peace, all the crimes committed in the present and the past, testify it as true.

The TOVP Architecture and Design Department
- TOVP.org

What have we done in 2012?

The Inspiration

As the clocks tick and calendars turn pages, the verdict of Lord Nityananda manifests into a tangible reality. Weaving the thread between then and now is Srila Prabhupada’s instruction to our beloved Ambarisa Prabhu, who has laudably carried it in his heart for over 30 onerous years.

While Sadbhuja Prabhu ingeniously puts the works into motion, Bhavananda Prabhu creatively reflects– what would Srila Prabhupada like? The three form a fascinating team of directors on an onward journey and an intimate guiding force for the TOVP Architecture & Design Department.

Nested in the city of Pune, this department has become the design development centre of the TOVP, assisting Sadbhuja Prabhu to create the Architecture and Construction Drawings.

Achievements

2012 has been a year of success for us in various ways, as we have completed the items below.

  1. Construction Drawings (over 120 drawings):
    1. All the Staircase Towers
    2. Main Wing
    3. Planetarium Wing
    4. Narsimhadeva Wing
    5. Ramps
  2. Finishing Drawings (75 drawings and still ongoing):
    1. Decorative Interior Columns and Arches
    2. Flooring Pattern Working Drawings
    3. Decorative Railing
    4. Door, Window details
    5. All decorative details
  3. Research Building Materials and Agencies (Ongoing):
    1. Blue Tile
    2. Gold Tile
    3. Specialized Glass for the big domes
    4. Glass Reinforced Concrete
    5. Elevator, Escalator Agencies
    6. Special Acoustic Material
  4. Landscape Layout concept

Design Development

From an architect’s perspective, the temple is designed to facilitate the performance of devotional service by crafting constructional elements into a stage, in which the link between building elements and participants is direct and unmitigated. The architecture is aimed to serve either as a prop or at other times, a focus of devotion to aid the spiritual exercise. In essence, it is a direct catalyst of the experience.

A significant milestone in our design process has been achieved by modifying the proportions of the columns in the Main Temple interior elevation consisting of 3 gallery floors. As a backdrop to the altars, it now strikes the optimum balance between the splendor and the anthropomorphic scale – an architectural intent of poise and elegance, ushering the vision towards the Proprietor of the TOVP residing in the altars.

The Team

  1. Vilasini dd (Varsha Sharma)– Architectural Co-ordinator, TOVP
    (M. Arch, The University of Arizona, Tucson)
  2. Anupama Gore– Architect (Proprietor, Piankh Designing Spaces, Pune)
    (B.Arch, MMCA, Pune)
  3. Devendra Dhere– Architect (Partner, DD Architects, Pune)
    (B. Arch, BVP, Navi Mumbai M. Tech, Urban Planning, COEP, Pune)
  4. Vrushali Dhere– Architect (Partner, DD Architects, Pune)
    (B. Arch, DYP, Kolhapur)
  5. Sandeep Khapte– Architect (Proprietor, Tanishqaa Architects & Planners)

    (B. Arch, BKPS, Pune)
  6. Anup Shah – Architect (Director, Medialab, India)
    (M. Arch, The University of Arizona, Tucson)
  7. Atul Jagtap – Office Boy

Anupama Gore overlooks the drawings released on the site and facilitates internal communication between the architects, at the same time acting as our ‘fireman’. Devendra Dhere and Vrushali Dhere, the architect couple complement each other in a way where one conducts the research of various suppliers and manufacturers while the other thoughtfully implements them on drawings and design research. For most of 2012, we also had Sandeep Khapte who tackled the challenging Staircase Towers, Kalash and other technical aspects of the building. Anup Shah, through his design and 3-D visualization skills, has facilitated in envisioning the temple interiors through experiential design process.

I am grateful for this team’s sincerity and attentiveness to the ‘mood’ of the TOVP.

Spiritual Melting Pot
→ Tattva - See inside out

It wasn’t planned, but it was a great opportunity. I threw together a few essentials, jumped on a rickety Indian bus, scrambled for one of the last remaining seats, and sat through a violently bumpy twelve-hour overnight journey. It was a tad uncomfortable but I accepted it as part of the experience. As we arrived at 6.00am in a chilly Allahabad, the thick fog began to disperse, and the sun rose to reveal one of the greatest congregations of human beings in any one place: “Kumbha Mela”. Held every 12 years, the festival attracts faithful pilgrims, inquisitive spiritual seekers, destitute beggars, famed yoga masters, and extreme ascetics rarely seen by the rest of civilisation. This year, over 80 million people will be magnetically drawn to this spiritual melting pot. No other religious gathering comes close to it in terms of scale.

The focal point of the entire site is the triveni-sangam, the meeting place of three sacred rivers: the Ganges, Yamuna and the subterranean Sarasvati. By bathing in the confluence at astrologically auspicious periods, lifetimes of karmic baggage can be destroyed, and one can free themselves from the complex meshes of action and reaction. Thus, one can transcend the temporal world of perpetual rebirth and open the doors to liberation. Needless to say I capitalised on the opportunity. It was a powerful experience. This human spectacle, however, has also become renowned as a forum to exchange spiritual values, religious ideas and moral codes. Above and beyond the exotic mysticism that can attract and capture one’s attention, these festivals offer the golden opportunity to meet saintly and self-realised people. This is the essence of Kumbha Mela.

But who is a true saint? The Bhagavad-gita explains that such persons are not stereotyped. They may be recognised by many people and famed in spiritual circles, or maybe not. They may be erudite, scholarly and philosophically astute, or maybe not. They may be renounced, austere and free from worldly responsibility, or maybe not. The one essential quality of the truly saintly person, however, is their enthusiastic, dedicated and unwavering conviction to selflessly serve. They exist to give happiness to others. It is those souls who we have to seek out, for the sacred truths of dharma are hidden within their hearts. As I head towards London Heathrow, I reflect on the many saintly people I have met on this trip. Over the years I have become more and more convinced that saints are not just personalities of the past, but that saints are also living in our midst. We walk and talk with spiritually evolved people more often than we may appreciate. I sincerely hope these special souls will remember me. I’ll surely be blessed if they do.

Spiritual Melting Pot
→ Tattva - See inside out

It wasn’t planned, but it was a great opportunity. I threw together a few essentials, jumped on a rickety Indian bus, scrambled for one of the last remaining seats, and sat through a violently bumpy twelve-hour overnight journey. It was a tad uncomfortable but I accepted it as part of the experience. As we arrived at 6.00am in a chilly Allahabad, the thick fog began to disperse, and the sun rose to reveal one of the greatest congregations of human beings in any one place: “Kumbha Mela”. Held every 12 years, the festival attracts faithful pilgrims, inquisitive spiritual seekers, destitute beggars, famed yoga masters, and extreme ascetics rarely seen by the rest of civilisation. This year, over 80 million people will be magnetically drawn to this spiritual melting pot. No other religious gathering comes close to it in terms of scale.

The focal point of the entire site is the triveni-sangam, the meeting place of three sacred rivers: the Ganges, Yamuna and the subterranean Sarasvati. By bathing in the confluence at astrologically auspicious periods, lifetimes of karmic baggage can be destroyed, and one can free themselves from the complex meshes of action and reaction. Thus, one can transcend the temporal world of perpetual rebirth and open the doors to liberation. Needless to say I capitalised on the opportunity. It was a powerful experience. This human spectacle, however, has also become renowned as a forum to exchange spiritual values, religious ideas and moral codes. Above and beyond the exotic mysticism that can attract and capture one’s attention, these festivals offer the golden opportunity to meet saintly and self-realised people. This is the essence of Kumbha Mela.

But who is a true saint? The Bhagavad-gita explains that such persons are not stereotyped. They may be recognised by many people and famed in spiritual circles, or maybe not. They may be erudite, scholarly and philosophically astute, or maybe not. They may be renounced, austere and free from worldly responsibility, or maybe not. The one essential quality of the truly saintly person, however, is their enthusiastic, dedicated and unwavering conviction to selflessly serve. They exist to give happiness to others. It is those souls who we have to seek out, for the sacred truths of dharma are hidden within their hearts. As I head towards London Heathrow, I reflect on the many saintly people I have met on this trip. Over the years I have become more and more convinced that saints are not just personalities of the past, but that saints are also living in our midst. We walk and talk with spiritually evolved people more often than we may appreciate. I sincerely hope these special souls will remember me. I’ll surely be blessed if they do.

In Energy Taxes, Tools to Help Tackle Climate Change
→ The Yoga of Ecology





The erratic weather across the country in the last couple of years seems to be softening Americans’ skepticism about global warming. Most New Yorkers say they believe big storms like Sandy and Irene were the result of a warming climate. Whether climate change is directly responsible or not, the odd weather patterns have underscored the risk that it poses to all of us.

What’s yet to be seen is whether this growing awareness of the risks will translate into sufficient political support to address climate change, especially after we figure out the costs we will have to bear to do so.

In his inaugural address, President Obama wove Hurricane Sandy and last year’s drought into a stirring plea to address climate change. “The failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” the president said.

But even as he put global warming at the top of his agenda, he avoided dwelling on how much it would cost to address. And nowhere in his speech did he allude to the most powerful tool to address the problem: a tax on the use of energy.

In Energy Taxes, Tools to Help Tackle Climate Change
→ The Yoga of Ecology





The erratic weather across the country in the last couple of years seems to be softening Americans’ skepticism about global warming. Most New Yorkers say they believe big storms like Sandy and Irene were the result of a warming climate. Whether climate change is directly responsible or not, the odd weather patterns have underscored the risk that it poses to all of us.

What’s yet to be seen is whether this growing awareness of the risks will translate into sufficient political support to address climate change, especially after we figure out the costs we will have to bear to do so.

In his inaugural address, President Obama wove Hurricane Sandy and last year’s drought into a stirring plea to address climate change. “The failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” the president said.

But even as he put global warming at the top of his agenda, he avoided dwelling on how much it would cost to address. And nowhere in his speech did he allude to the most powerful tool to address the problem: a tax on the use of energy.

Designer Forests
→ Devamrita Swami's Facebook notes

Which forest do you like? Life for me is a choice of two forests. Let's meet the options. First, the forest of material enjoyment—familiar territory to us all. As described in the Fifth Canto, Srimad-bhagavatam, this woodland beckons to us with material opportunities, acquisitions, and sense objects—all for me and mine.

Our enjoying spirit produces the bodily conception of life: "I've got to have it!" And then, "Got to get more." Like merchants seeking valuable commodities or nations probing the Earth for oil and strategic ores, we trudge deeper into the forest—sense gratification, achievement, and exploitation on our mind. After all, we are the predominators, the enjoyers, right?

Pitiably, though, what we planned as a profitable outing turns into a nightmare of entanglement, for the pure spirit soul. The summary of Chapter 13 tells us:

"In this forest there are plunderers (the six senses) as well as carnivorous animals like jackals, wolves and lions (wife, children and other relatives) who are always anxious to suck the blood from the head of the family. The forest plunderers and the carnivorous blood-sucking animals combine to exploit the energy of a man within this material world. 

"In this forest there is also a black hole, covered by grass, into which one may fall. Coming into the forest and being captivated by so many material attractions, one identifies himself with this material world, society, friendship, love and family.

"Having lost the path and not knowing where to go, being harassed by animals and birds, one is also victimized by many desires. Thus one works very hard within the forest and wanders here and there. He becomes captivated by temporary happiness and becomes aggrieved by so-called distress. Actually one simply suffers in the forest from so-called happiness and distress.

"Sometimes he is attacked by a snake (deep sleep), and due to the snakebite he loses consciousness and becomes puzzled and bewildered about discharging his duties. Sometimes he is attracted by women other than his wife, and thus be thinks he enjoys extramarital love with another woman. He is attacked by various diseases, by lamentation and by summer and winter. Thus one within the forest of the material world suffers the pains of material existence.

"Expecting to become happy, the living entity changes his position from one place to another, but actually a materialistic person within the material world is never happy. Being constantly engaged in materialistic activities, he is always disturbed. He forgets that one day he has to die. Although he suffers severely, being illusioned by the material energy, he still hankers after material happiness. In this way he completely forgets his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Now that was just from the chapter summary. Just think what the full chapter of verses and purports is like! And then because the audience didn't grasp the full import of this forest allegory given in Chapter 13, the speaker further elucidates, in the next chapter. 

Tell me, how can we go wrong, with all this crucial information, patience, and thoroughness at our fingertips? Yes, maya makes us crazy. We work, struggle, and exhaust ourselves, just to live a lie. Humans are madly deforesting the Earth, but unaided by Krishna, there's one they'll never clear: the forest of material enjoyment.

But what about the other choice of forest? We'll get to that next.

 

Chowpatty Festival, Mumbai © 2013 Michelle Haymoz

Chowpatty Festival, Mumbai © 2013 Michelle Haymoz

Designer Forests
→ Devamrita Swami's Facebook notes

Which forest do you like? Life for me is a choice of two forests. Let's meet the options. First, the forest of material enjoyment—familiar territory to us all. As described in the Fifth Canto, Srimad-bhagavatam, this woodland beckons to us with material opportunities, acquisitions, and sense objects—all for me and mine.

Our enjoying spirit produces the bodily conception of life: "I've got to have it!" And then, "Got to get more." Like merchants seeking valuable commodities or nations probing the Earth for oil and strategic ores, we trudge deeper into the forest—sense gratification, achievement, and exploitation on our mind. After all, we are the predominators, the enjoyers, right?

Pitiably, though, what we planned as a profitable outing turns into a nightmare of entanglement, for the pure spirit soul. The summary of Chapter 13 tells us:

"In this forest there are plunderers (the six senses) as well as carnivorous animals like jackals, wolves and lions (wife, children and other relatives) who are always anxious to suck the blood from the head of the family. The forest plunderers and the carnivorous blood-sucking animals combine to exploit the energy of a man within this material world. 

"In this forest there is also a black hole, covered by grass, into which one may fall. Coming into the forest and being captivated by so many material attractions, one identifies himself with this material world, society, friendship, love and family.

"Having lost the path and not knowing where to go, being harassed by animals and birds, one is also victimized by many desires. Thus one works very hard within the forest and wanders here and there. He becomes captivated by temporary happiness and becomes aggrieved by so-called distress. Actually one simply suffers in the forest from so-called happiness and distress.

"Sometimes he is attacked by a snake (deep sleep), and due to the snakebite he loses consciousness and becomes puzzled and bewildered about discharging his duties. Sometimes he is attracted by women other than his wife, and thus be thinks he enjoys extramarital love with another woman. He is attacked by various diseases, by lamentation and by summer and winter. Thus one within the forest of the material world suffers the pains of material existence.

"Expecting to become happy, the living entity changes his position from one place to another, but actually a materialistic person within the material world is never happy. Being constantly engaged in materialistic activities, he is always disturbed. He forgets that one day he has to die. Although he suffers severely, being illusioned by the material energy, he still hankers after material happiness. In this way he completely forgets his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Now that was just from the chapter summary. Just think what the full chapter of verses and purports is like! And then because the audience didn't grasp the full import of this forest allegory given in Chapter 13, the speaker further elucidates, in the next chapter. 

Tell me, how can we go wrong, with all this crucial information, patience, and thoroughness at our fingertips? Yes, maya makes us crazy. We work, struggle, and exhaust ourselves, just to live a lie. Humans are madly deforesting the Earth, but unaided by Krishna, there's one they'll never clear: the forest of material enjoyment.

But what about the other choice of forest? We'll get to that next.

 

Chowpatty Festival, Mumbai © 2013 Michelle Haymoz

Chowpatty Festival, Mumbai © 2013 Michelle Haymoz

We Did It!
→ Toronto Sankirtan Adventures


Our apologies for missing in action on our blog for almost a month! No we haven't been hibernating...there's been lots going on! We smashed our target for 2012 on the most celebrated boxing day! We had our 4th Annual Devotee Appreciation Day, our 1st MSF of 2013 and lots of planning for the year ahead! Stay tuned for some updates from the last month. Here's a glimpse in to the magical moment from Prabhupada Marathon 2012, right after we met our target at Yonge and Dundas Square on Dec 26th! 


It was one of the coldest days of the year so far, but as has been a tradition, devotees headed out at 6:30am to catch the early shoppers and stayed on till about 4:00pm when we met our target. There was constant kirtan for the entire duration we were out and many many devotees came by to participate throughout the day. At the end of the day, we had distributed about 350 books on the street. from the Toronto Sankirtan Adventures Diary 

We Did It!
→ Toronto Sankirtan Adventures


Our apologies for missing in action on our blog for almost a month! No we haven't been hibernating...there's been lots going on! We smashed our target for 2012 on the most celebrated boxing day! We had our 4th Annual Devotee Appreciation Day, our 1st MSF of 2013 and lots of planning for the year ahead! Stay tuned for some updates from the last month. Here's a glimpse in to the magical moment from Prabhupada Marathon 2012, right after we met our target at Yonge and Dundas Square on Dec 26th! 


It was one of the coldest days of the year so far, but as has been a tradition, devotees headed out at 6:30am to catch the early shoppers and stayed on till about 4:00pm when we met our target. There was constant kirtan for the entire duration we were out and many many devotees came by to participate throughout the day. At the end of the day, we had distributed about 350 books on the street. from the Toronto Sankirtan Adventures Diary 

Vedic Discourse on "The perfect investment in devotional service & the duty of the human being" by His Grace Hayagrīva Das
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG


Sunday Feast, February 3rd @ 11:00am 

Join us this Sunday for a blissful kirtan lead by Bhakta Jeff. The program consists of arati, kirtan (devotional chanting), philosophical discussion and prasadam.  Please come, get inspired and inspire others through your desire to share Krsna Consciousness!

Program Schedule:
11:00 am - 11:30 am Guru Puja
11:30 am - 12:00 pm Arati & Kirtan
12:00 pm – 12:05 pm Narasingadev Prayers
12:10 pm - 1:00 pm  Vedic Discourse on "The perfect investment in devotional service & the duty of the human being"
                                by His Grace Hayagrīva Das
1:05 pm - 1:20 pm Tulasi Puja
1:20 pm - 2:00 pm Prasadam (Vegetarian feast)

The 2013 Vaisnava Calendar is still available at ISKCON Brampton. Please come and pick up  your copy!


Upcoming events:

ISKCON Brampton Youth Program - Friday February 8th 2013 @ 7:00pm

Everyone is welcomed to come and participate. The program will  start at 7:00pm sharp! So please try to make it at around 6:45pm. Sumptuous Prasadam will also be served at 9:00pm.

This event is absolutely free, but donations to the temple are always accepted.
Anyone that would like to help out with prasadam, or has any questions/queries please contact Sukhavak Das at sukhavakdas@hotmail.ca.

Saturday February 23rd - Lord Nityananda's Appearance Day

Celebrations at ISKCON Brampton starting 11:00am. Please mark your calendar for this date. More details of the program will be sent in the following weeks.

Vedic Discourse on "The perfect investment in devotional service & the duty of the human being" by His Grace Hayagrīva Das
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG


Sunday Feast, February 3rd @ 11:00am 

Join us this Sunday for a blissful kirtan lead by Bhakta Jeff. The program consists of arati, kirtan (devotional chanting), philosophical discussion and prasadam.  Please come, get inspired and inspire others through your desire to share Krsna Consciousness!

Program Schedule:
11:00 am - 11:30 am Guru Puja
11:30 am - 12:00 pm Arati & Kirtan
12:00 pm – 12:05 pm Narasingadev Prayers
12:10 pm - 1:00 pm  Vedic Discourse on "The perfect investment in devotional service & the duty of the human being"
                                by His Grace Hayagrīva Das
1:05 pm - 1:20 pm Tulasi Puja
1:20 pm - 2:00 pm Prasadam (Vegetarian feast)

The 2013 Vaisnava Calendar is still available at ISKCON Brampton. Please come and pick up  your copy!


Upcoming events:

ISKCON Brampton Youth Program - Friday February 8th 2013 @ 7:00pm

Everyone is welcomed to come and participate. The program will  start at 7:00pm sharp! So please try to make it at around 6:45pm. Sumptuous Prasadam will also be served at 9:00pm.

This event is absolutely free, but donations to the temple are always accepted.
Anyone that would like to help out with prasadam, or has any questions/queries please contact Sukhavak Das at sukhavakdas@hotmail.ca.

Saturday February 23rd - Lord Nityananda's Appearance Day

Celebrations at ISKCON Brampton starting 11:00am. Please mark your calendar for this date. More details of the program will be sent in the following weeks.

Культурно многообразны, духовно едины
→ Traveling Monk

Глава 8

 

Ваше Величество король Гудвил Зветилини, Ваше Превосходительство президент Джейкоб Зума, глубокоуважаемый премьер-министр Квазулу-Натала д-р Звели Мкизе, уважаемые министры и члены правительства, дамы и господа!

Благодарю вас за возможность выступать сегодня перед вами. Я перейду сразу к делу. Нет необходимости подробно описывать социальные беды Южной Африки: каждый из нас в той или иной степени испытал на себе репрессии и агрессию и разочаровался в нашем обществе, разделенном по этническим, племенным, религиозным, экономическим и политическим признакам. В глубине души все мы желаем, чтобы это общество было поистине сплоченным: чтобы люди в нем уважали права других и трудились сообща, как единое целое.

Мое сегодняшнее скромное предложение основано на учении древнеиндийских священных писаний, где говорится, что социальное единство возможно, только если мы перестанем обращать внимание на наши различия, и поймем, в чем мы схожи. Что же у всех нас есть общего в этой стране, где один радикально отличается от другого – по языку, экономическому положению, религии или цвету кожи? Общее у нас то, что все мы созданы одним Богом. Задумайтесь на мгновение: если все мы созданы Богом, значит у нас – общий отец. Когда у двух человек общий отец, они – брат и сестра. Когда у четверых общий отец, они – братья и сестры. И когда у пятидесяти миллионов человек общий отец, они – братья и сестры. Что я хотел подчеркнуть, так это то, что все мы здесь, в Южной Африке, – братья и сестры. Бог-Отец – вот общий знаменатель и объединяющий фактор для всех жителей этой страны.

Можно задаться вопросом: какой именно Бог – наш общий отец? Христианский Бог? Мусульманский Бог? Индуистский Бог? Иудейский Бог? Нет. Подобно тому, как одно и то же солнце в разных частях света называется по-разному, так и Бог известен под разными именами, такими как Христос, Аллах, Адонай, Кришна и Ун-кулун-кула*. Очень важно это понять: для того, чтобы достичь настоящего единства общества, мы должны подняться надо всеми, даже религиозными, различиями. Другими словами, мы должны объединиться на духовном уровне, осознавая, что все мы – части и более огромной семьи, семьи Бога. Есть такая пословица о семейных узах: «Кровь гуще воды». Если мы поймем, что Бог – это Верховный Отец и все мы – Его дети, ничто не сможет разрушить наши узы.

Еще один важный момент: если мы осознаем идентичность друг другу, то наши различия будут не разделять нас, но дополнять. В симфоническом оркестре отдельные инструменты явно отличаются, но стоит им заиграть вместе под управлением дирижера, эффект – просто удивительный. Если все мы, – и африканцы, и белые, и цветные, и индийцы, – научимся уважать друг друга и осознаем ту нашу общую особенность, что все мы – вечные слуги верховного дирижера, Бога, – тогда в Южной Африке будет социальная сплоченность.

Движение Харе Кришна пытается продемонстрировать этот принцип единства, пропагандируя публичное воспевание имен Бога. Как результат, по всей стране в любом нашем центре есть мини-сообщества африканцев, белых, цветных и индийцев, живущих в полном согласии друг с другом. Мы хотим поделиться нашей удачей с другими и пытаемся ломать социальные барьеры практически, в повседневной жизни. Например, на протяжении последних двадцати четырех лет наше Движение распространило десятки миллионов тарелок горячей сытной пищи в бедных пригородах и деревнях Квазулу-Натала. И сегодня мы обещаем сотрудничать с другими, чтобы добиться ни многого, ни малого – «Свободной от голода Южной Африки». Когда дети этой страны накормлены, они могут сосредоточиться на учебе, а за образованием последует карьера и стабильность. Когда жизнь граждан стабильна, преступность и насилие идут на спад, люди становятся более открытыми друг к другу, великодушными и способными увидеть, в чем они похожи.

Мы стараемся достичь социального единства, организуя во время пасхальных каникул в конце марта на набережной Дурбана грандиозное культурное событие, Фестиваль колесниц. Тема этого фестиваля схожа с темой нашей сегодняшней программы: «Культурно многообразны, духовно едины». Мы приглашаем все этнические и религиозные группы принять участие в семинарах и выступить на главной сцене. Король Гудвил уже милостиво принял наше приглашение.

В заключение я бы хотел сказать следующее: давайте и с уважением относиться к нашим различиям, и осознавать, что все мы связаны одними узами, будучи детьми Бога, – чтобы действительно стать “радужной нацией”, страной, в которой люди разного цвета кожи и разных культур объединены на платформе духовности. Есть такая пословица: «По краям каждой радуги есть горшочек с золотом». В такой стране, как Южная Африка, благословленной таким многообразием культур и религий, горшочком золота поистине станет проявляемое друг к другу уважение и чувство гордости за нацию, которое охватит нас, если мы, наконец-то, осознаем, что все мы – братья и сестры.

Победив социальные недуги Южной Африки, жители этой великой страны однажды объединятся в пример всему миру. Это возможно. Это не какая-то мечта. Это не фантазия, ибо Веды говорят: вашудхайва кутумбакам: “Весь мир – это одна семья”.

Да благословит вас всех Господь. Да благословит Господь Южную Африку.

Харе Кришна.

_________________

 

* “Бог” на языке зулусов ( прим. перев.)

* * *

26 марта 2013
Претензия

Сэр,

Надеюсь, что пишу о своих беспокойствах по адресу. Я связан с ИСККОН и во многом разделяю взгляды преданных. Следя за тем, что пишет на Facebook Индрадьюмна Свами, я отметил, что он в Южной Африке. Я увидел, что фото, которые он разместил на своей странице 23 марта 2013 г., явно пропагандируют ANC и президента Зума. Весьма расстроен тем фактом, что Индрадьюмна Свами/ИСККОН поддерживает политическую партию, – думаю, ни один Духовный Лидер не должен с трибуны наставлять политические партии или пропагандировать их. Реклама ANC слишком явная.

Буду признателен за ответ,
с уважением, …

************************

Сэр,

Спасибо за ваше письмо. Пишу в ответ на возникшие у вас беспокойства.

В древности, согласно Ведической культуре, у царя – который в те времена и являл собой правительство – всегда был консультативный совет из священников-брахманов, которые помогали ему принимать решения. Брахманы эти не были политически ангажированы. Они были нужны, только чтобы помогать царю в выполнении его основного долга, который заключался в том, чтобы содействовать духовному высвобождению общества, которым он правил. В противовес ситуации со светскими правительствами нашего времени, тогда священники помогали царю, чтобы быть уверенными: в царстве практикуются принципы религии (чистота, правдивость, милосердие и аскетичность). Брахманы не говорили людям, какой религии им следовать, но поддерживали универсальные принципы религии. Без этих принципов люди в обществе лишены своей истинной цели жизни.

К духовным личностям предъявляется это требование – помогать править обществом. Поэтому, до некоторой степени, они и вовлечены в политику. Политика – это средство управления, и во времена Вед правление влекло за собой две фундаментальных обязанности: помогать людям жить в этом мире и помогать им выбраться из него, т.е. отправиться обратно в их изначальный дом в духовном небе. Царь это понимал, но ему напоминали об этих принципах духовного правления.

Это явно видно из слов Господа Кришны в Бхагавад-гите:

evam parampara praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata
yogo nasta parantapa

«Эта высшая наука передавалась по цепи ученической преемственности, и так познавали ее праведные цари. Со временем эта цепь была нарушена, и потому сущность знания кажется сейчас утраченной».
[БГ 4.2]

В свете этого на мое общение с правящей партией (ANC) надо смотреть не как на амбиции политика или поддержку мной какой-то политической программы. Я, следуя линии Ведической культуры, присутствовал на их недавнем съезде с намерением действовать как брахман, советник. Во вступительной молитве я написал:

«Стоим перед Тобой сегодня, как один народ. Хотя мы родились разными – черными, белыми, индийцами и мулатами, христианами, индуистами, мусульманами, иудеями и последователями духовных традиций Африки, – нас связывает то, что все мы – Твои дети. Пусть же эта изначальная духовная истина будет тем путем, которым мы достигнем гармонии в обществе, который объединит нас в единую нацию с демократическими свободами и равными для всех возможностями».

Это подводит нас к другому важному моменту: правительство и сейчас пытается найти решения для достижения социального единства, но до сих пор безуспешно, несмотря на долгие годы усилий. Потому что выход из этой проблемы – не в области политики. Что бы ни говорили, но существует идеальное духовное решение: перестать сражаться из-за наших явных различий и постараться увидеть, что у нас общего. Что же у нас общего? То, что все мы сотворены одним и тем же Богом. Имея много имен, Бог – один. Поскольку все мы – каждый из нас – сотворены Им, по сути дела, все мы братья и сестры. Если у всех нас один Отец, мы братья и сестры.

Политикам необходимо услышать это. Они принимают и отменяют законы. Но без знания и осмысления – благодаря брахманам – вселенских законов Бога, как они могут эффективно править? Это основная проблема современных политиков: по большей части люди предпочитают Бога игнорировать. Так что, безотносительно к тому, кто у власти, что за партия правит, долг тех, кто знает духовные истины – это направлять лидеров. Если это подразумевает посещение их съездов, чтобы поделиться знанием на их открытии – что же, пусть так.

Я и раньше делился этими истинами с демократами, социалистами, коммунистами и царями. Я не состою в ANC. Но как преданный Господа я связан обязательством общаться с этими людьми и смиренно стараться убедить их понять, как именно выправить социальные болезни, с которыми мы сегодня сталкиваемся. Мой духовный учитель, Шрила Прабхупада, как-то сказал одному моему духовному брату: «Напиши книгу «Духовное решение материальных проблем».

Если лидеры не приходят к нам, мы должны идти к ним. Это ясное наставление моего духовного учителя. Он написал в 1972:

«Что касается твоих идей о влиянии на лидеров общества, – да, это нужно делать. Если на лидеров можно повлиять и проповедовать в наших интересах, это поможет нам как-то на деле распространять сознание Кришны, – это лучшее служение».

Так что, по сути дела, я использовал трибуну съезда ANC, чтобы поделиться с присутствующими идеалами духовного правления. И должен также сказать, что мы, преданные, были любезно приглашены членами этой организации и приняты со всем уважением и почтением, за что очень благодарны.

В результате моего общения с ANC городской совет Дурбана предоставил нам разрешение провести Фестиваль колесниц на престижной городской набережной. Это позволит познакомить с сознанием Кришны сотки тысяч людей.

Фотоальбом же, сопровождающий мою речь на заседании ANC – это просто запечатление того факта, что мы там были, чтобы поделиться духовными идеалами, чтобы напомнить лидерам об их высочайшей ответственности и чтобы вдохновить их поддержать наш фестиваль на побережье. Если через десять лет у власти будет другая политическая партия, я сделаю то же самое. Пожалуйста, не смотрите на это так, что преданные встречаются с политиками и продвигают политическую партию, – ANC или любую другую. Мы продвигаем Кришну. Мы не сможем это сделать, сидя дома. Надо выходить и быть активными, ради Кришны.

«Я рад, что ты вхож к политикам. Это хорошая возможность широко проповедовать, продавать нашу литературу, так что воспользуйся этим преимуществом». [письмо Шрилы Прабхупады Балаванте дасу, 1972]

Харе Кришна,
С наилучшими пожеланиями,
Индрадьюмна Свами

 

 

 

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
→ TKG Academy

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… how I wonder what you are..

An early preschool song that many of my students had learned when they were itty bitties..

Now they no longer needed to wonder!  With our week of studying the Constellations, students were able to identify Orion’s Belt, the Great Bear, Leo the Lion, The Big Dipper and many other stars.

And lets not forget the most important: The Pole Star – Dhruva’s star.  Also known as Polaris, North Star, Bethlehem’s Star.  All the other stars, and indeed the entire solar system according to the Srimad Bhagavatam, rotates around this one bright star.

We pricked black construction paper with pushpins and created our own night sky, by taping the ‘star pictures’ up onto the bright window.  Check out our project!

Calling theists for debate
→ OppositeRule

During my very recent two-year denial of Krsna consciousness, I was invited to a large community of atheists on Google+, presumably because I seemed like one.  Oddly enough, it was about the time when I had become frustrated with atheistic reasoning (which seems to be thoroughly ignorant of Krsna conscious philosophy), so I turned out to be somewhat of a misfit there.  I’m used to that.

Anyway, the atheist group has about 17,000 members last I saw, and recently a sub-group was created for organized debating with theists about various subjects.  However it’s very lopsided, so the group owner asked for folks to put out the word inviting theists.  That’s what I’m doing now.  The first debate topic is about to be chosen.

If anyone is interested, let me know, and I will arrange to get you in.

I hope that there are devotees who are expert at this sort of thing and would be willing to get involved.  IMHO, preaching to the converted is lame by comparison.  Let’s see some courage!  If my understanding of Krsna conscious philosophy is insufficient, then I may go back to the other side.  Sometimes I think that’s what Krsna wants.

I would also be interested in discussing strategy here for debating against atheists on various topics. 

Travel Journal#8.24: New York City and Albany
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk


Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 8, No. 24
By Krishna-kripa das
(December 2012, part two)
New York City and Albany
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on January 30, 2013)

Where I Went and What I Did

When Yadunandana Swami came to serve Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami on December 19, I left my guru’s personal service to go to New York City to chant in Union Square Park with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party. For the rest of the month I lived in our Brooklyn temple, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, attended the morning program there, and spent two hours afterward chopping vegetables for the temple and its weekday restaurant program, Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch. Every afternoon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. I would chant with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, consisting of from three to seventeen devotees, at Union Square Park, or on the cold days, in various subway stations at Union Square, Grand Central, Times Square, and Columbus Circle. Sometimes, especially on weekends, we would begin at 3 p.m. or even 2 p.m., and still continue till 8:00 p.m. I took a two-day break for Christmas Eve and Christmas, when I visited my family, my Quaker meeting, and my initiating spiritual master, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, along with a few of his disciples including Yadunandana Swami.

I was happy to be visiting New York City at the same time as Radhanath Swami, and I include some notes from his lectures, in addition to some material from Srila Prabhupada directly.

At the end I summarize my activities in the year 2012 and include my annual financial statement and thank my donors. I also talk about what to do differently in 2013.

The Christmas Story Seen from a Hare Krishna Perspective

Twice on Christmas Eve I encountered the story of the appearance of Lord Jesus Christ in this world, once at my Quaker meeting and once reading a book with my relatives, which had become a family tradition at Christmastime since I lived at home, called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Living as a Hare Krishna monk for the last thirty years, I naturally viewed both encounters from the Hare Krishna perspective. Lord Jesus Christ is seen by Hare Krishnas as a realized son of God, and as such, his appearance in and disappearance from this world are spiritual and transcendental, and one advances spiritually by coming in touch with narrations of them. In the Quaker meeting, as newly recruited players from the audience dramatized the script of the event and the congregation sang appropriate songs, I did feel a kind of transcendental joy coming from being in touch with the account and the songs glorifying God and His son. And although it is repeated every year there is a certain freshness and wonder in it.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, written by Barbara Robinson in 1971,told of another interesting feature, the transforming power of such narrations. The book is summarized aptly on Wikipedia: “It tells the story of Imogene, Claude, Ralph, Leroy, Ollie, and Gladys, six delinquent children surnamed Herdman. They go to church for the first time after being told that the church offers snacks. Despite protests from other church members, they are given roles in the Sunday school’s Christmas play, in which they tell the Christmas story in a nonconventional fashion.” [Buck, Jerry (1983-12-03). “Meanest kids in town make the best pageant”. The Free-Lance Star.] The interesting feature of that story is that the character of the children changes from demonic to divine as a result of hearing the narration of the appearance of Lord Jesus and from acting it out. Hearing the story the first time, the delinquent Herdmen kids, instead displaying their usual mentality of taking pleasure in causing others to suffer, show sympathy for Mary having to give birth to baby Jesus in such an unsuitable environment as a manger, and in a land ruled by a demonic king. Although the kids previously took pleasure in stealing and destroying property, in the course of enacting Christmas story they end up giving charity, without even desiring anything in return. It all calls to mind a few verses from the ancient India spiritual classic Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), namely verses 1.2.17–19 which describe how narrations concerning God and his pure devotee, such as Lord Jesus Christ, cleanse the heart of demonic qualities, such as lust, greed, and anger, bring one up to the platform of goodness. It occurred to me that it was the best Christmas pageant ever because it demonstrated the divine power of the spiritual narration to transform the character from demonic to divine, which really is what religion is all about, not just some dogma one claims to have faith in, but narrations with uplift our consciousness to the plane of loving God and all his children, our brothers and sisters. It also calls to mind another verse, our verse for the week in the Gainesville Krishna House, about the pastimes of the Supreme Lord Himself, which was spoken later in Bhagavatam by His most intimate devotees, “The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one’s sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.31.9)

Harinamas in New York


Rama Raya Prabhu, playing harmonium above, who was part of Aindra Prabhu’s 24-hour kirtana in Vrindavan for many years, is focusing his attention on steadily doing harinama each day in Manhattan for at least four hours between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and I had the good fortune to join his party for three and a half weeks in December 2012 and January 2013. He has been going out since the end of March 2012. Each day for the last two or three hours we would regularly have around eleven people, and sometimes as many as seventeen!



When it was in the 40s (5-10 C) we would chant in the parks, mostly Union Square but sometimes Washington Square.


But when it was in the 30s or less (below 5 C) we would chant in the subway stations, which were warmer.


We had a beautiful Hare Krishna maha-mantra sign that was decorated and lighted.


Whoever gave some coins or just expressed interest got a Krishna Reservoir of Pleasure or an On Chanting Hare Krishna pamphlet.


Whoever gave a dollar got a small book. If they gave five or more, they got a Bhagavad-gita.


Sometimes people would dance with us.




I would dance at one end of our party.

Almost every day on harinama something special happens, that is something in addition to thousands of people becoming from free from karma and taking a step toward Krishna, which are in themselves pretty amazing wonders.

At the Union Square market, one young man who was loading a truck came up to me and said our incense smoke was blowing down to his work site and making it difficult to breathe. He asked if we could put out the incense for an hour until he was finished. I complied as incense is not an important part of our function. To devotees who were upset I joked that Lord Caitanya did not advent Himself to distribute maha-incense. A few minutes later the man came back with two packages of organic sprouts as a donation. Deva Madhava Prabhu suggested we give them to Radha-Govinda so the donor would make great spiritual benefit, and so we did.

One young Oriental man came up to me and said, “Didn’t I see you in Soho (London) giving the lunch program lecture?” And it was true. I gave lectures there this summer and fall. It is a small world! He said he would be in New York City for ten days and asked about our local programs, and I gave him invitations and details about them all. He said he would come to the Bhakti Center Thursday night kirtana the next day. Another day he came by Union Square to listen to the harinama for half an hour and dance a bit.

One young Christian man stopped by and danced for a while, and then came up to talk to me. He told me how he had just come to New York a week ago and that by the grace of Lord Jesus Christ he had money, a place to stay, and a replacement water bottle for one he recently lost. I told him in the course of our conversation that we accept the Biblical idea that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, that the best spiritual practice was to sing the glories of the Lord congregationally, and that dancing was an expression of love of God. He seemed to be getting into the kirtana, so I invited him to play an instrument, and he sat down and picked up some karatalas and played a beat of his own that was in time with the music, and he stayed in the kirtanafor fifteen minutes.

One young lady with dog on a leash passed our party, and the dog was focused on the chanting devotees the whole time. Even after his owner had passed us, he continued looking back toward us, coming as close as his leash would permit. I had see children often looking backward toward the devotees as their parents pulled or carried them onward, but never a dog.


Young children are often attracted by the chanting, and some of the parents are very open to let them investigate it. We have some small shakers just for kids to use to play along with the music. Some children live in the neighborhood of Union Square, and their parents regularly bring to the park, and some spend fifteen minutes or even half an hour with us. We have smiling Jagannatha stickers for the kids whose parents give donations. Occasionally the kids dance and attract a crowd.


Once several kids, probably all under ten years old, were sitting with us on our mats, playing the different extra instruments like shakers that we brought for people to play. One boy tried playing every instrument we had a least once, demonstrating a lot of natural rhythm as he did so. The kids seemed happily engaged, and seeing them, passersby were attracted. Thanks to Rasika Gopi Devi Dasi and Bhakta Alex of the Bhakti Center for their beautiful photographs on the Manhattan harinamas.

At Union Square, one couple came up to me, and said, “Are you from Gainesville?” I replied, “Yes.” Turns out they were Tiffany and Joshua, occasional attenders at the Krishna House programs. When they saw the Hare Krishnas, they glanced at the chanters looking for Rasaraja Prabhu, who they knew from Krishna House and who came to New York for the break, and then they saw me. I suggested that Rasaraja would probably be at the Bhakti Center Thursday night kirtana at 7:00 p.m. and they might find him there, and so they did.

At Grand Central Station one young man asked how many of the ten or fifteen people chanting were from Gainesville, and I looked at our party, and seeing Rasaraja Prabhu, told him two. He mentioned how he had Krishna Lunch for four years there, and he really missed it. I told him that we have Krishna Lunch in Brooklyn, and he was overjoyed to hear it, and so I gave him an invitation to the Brooklyn temple and its weekday lunch program.

Also at Grand Central I met a guy from India who knew Hare Krishna and even Radhanath Swami from there, and so I invited him to Radhanath Swami’s Sunday lecture at the Bhakti Center.

Again at Grand Central, one lady exclaimed with joy, “Great! You guys are back! I haven’t seen you in 30 years.”

One young lady smiled and watched us the entire time she was walking past. I asked her how she knew about Hare Krishna. She said, “I just know you from this, but I am attracted to what I see.”

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2 in Johannesburg on October 22, 1975:

The aim should be how to become a friend of God.

Radhanath Swami:

The spirit in which something is spoken and received needs to be understood to have more than a theoretical understanding.

We do not have to experience the extreme situations that Pariksit and Arjuna experienced to learn from their experience.

Maharaja Pariksit would not be rude to an insect but this world is so arranged that despite all good intentions, we make mistakes, and due to circumstances, we make people miserable although we desire to make people happy. This happens to everyone, and so it happened to the King [who when thirsty was so frustrated due to a meditating sage’s neglect to offer him water, he garlanded the sage with a dead snake and was cursed by the sage’s son to die in seven days].

Krishna can reciprocate everyone’s love simultaneously and fully satisfy them.

Due to false ego we become upset if someone is doing something better than us, or even if they are not doing something better than us, but they are getting more credit for it.

Sometimes when people are good at something you can not get them all together in the same room.

In the early 1970s, eight hundred yogis joined together for the first time for a conference. There had never been such an opportunity before or has there been since. At the end, the main sages and yogis each had 2 minutes to speak. I was in ecstasy. I had hitchhiked to India to encounter enlightened beings, and here was a whole stage full of them. The first person spoke ten minutes, the next person about fifteen minutes. As time went on, about a dozen of them were literally fighting over the microphone. It is on film. It was a great embarrassment—so many ‘enlightened’ people acting in such a way. However at Naimisaranya, the sages unanimously agreed that Sukadeva Goswami would speak. He was not arrogant but asked for the blessings of others.

We talk about it as a curse [that he would die in seven days], but Pariksit saw it as a blessing.

When we see this life as all in all, we see everything in one way, but when we see this is just one of many lives, we see it all differently.

One sage said this life is one point in a line that goes on infinitely. When we understand that, then we can harmonize the blessings and curses we receive. We can focus on the opportunity to advance spiritually.

You say you didn’t make castles out of sand as a kid, but your whole life is probably making castles out of sand.

You see the tide is coming in, and you try to build walls to protect your castle. The parents laugh. Why are you taking your castles so seriously? But the enlightened souls see all that we are doing in Washington and Wall Street to be like castles of sand.

The great sages were not concerned that they speak, but rather that some competent person was speaking nicely.

Pariksit. although cursed to die in seven days, was the happiest man in that glorious assembly of sages with such a great opportunity.

Stokakrishna, my disciple in India, at age 32 was diagnosed with one of the most fast acting forms of cancer. When I came to see him he was paralyzed and emaciated. He said, “Why am I so fortunate that I could chant Lord Krishna’s name so many times in this life? Why did I get to hear so many classes on Srimad-Bhagavatam? I did not deserve that. Why did I get the association of such nice devotees? Why did I get to be part of Srila Prabhupada’s movement?” Because he was so consistently happy in such an externally miserable situation some originally doubtful brahmacaris concluded that he must have a higher realization.

If something is inevitable, we might as well see it as a blessing.

Some friends who were brijbasis [residents of the sacred land of Krishna’s childhood pastimes, Vrindavana] happened to visit America, and I invited them to come to chant at Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s deathbed. One of them, Madana Mohan Brijbasi, was singing so simply and so sweetly, tears poured from Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s eyes in a way that his disciples had never seen. Bhakti Tirtha Swami said that because he could not go to Vrindavana, Vrindavana had come to him in the form of these devotees from Vrindavana. Madana Mohan Brijbasi was also there to chant for my disciple Stokakrishna at the end of his life.

We have to deal with the material world responsibly but keep it in perspective and remember our ultimate spiritual aim.

If when we are fasting, we think, “I am so austere, and look at these people, they are eating,” then our body is fasting but our false ego is feasting. Fasting is meant to humble us and meant to help us to take shelter of Krishna. Then we are really fasting.

Unless we prepare for the exams along the way we will not be prepared for the final exam of death.

When the tests come we have to apply all we learned from previous struggles.

To overcome pride, we have to watch from a detached point of view. If we see ourselves thinking “I am better than others,” that is the weed of pride, which impersonates the creeper of devotion and induces us to water it instead. If we see that we are envying others that is also a manifestation of pride.

Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami was selected by the great Goswamis of Vrndavana to write Sri Caitanya-caritamrita because of his great realization, scholarship, and humility.

The title The Journey Home [Radhanath Swami’s autobiography] was selected at last moment. The working title was Autobiography of a Worm in Stool, but the publishers would not accept it.

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

From Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name, quoted in online in his Viraha Bhavan:

“Here is a quote from an initiation lecture by Srila Prabhupada in July 1970 in Los Angeles. Srila Prabhupada spoke on each of the ten offenses and then said, ‘Then, what is next?’

“Devotee: ‘To become inattentive while chanting Hare Krishna.’
“Prabhupada: ‘Yes, when you are chanting, you should hear Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare. You should hear at the same time. Then the mind and the senses are compact. That is samadhi. That is perfection of yoga. This yoga is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita.Yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantar-atmana. So everyone, by chanting he should hear.’”

A Summary of the Year 2012

I started the year being part of a 12-hour in our Mexico City temple. At that time, we were on the Vaishnava Youth winter bus tour to Mexico and were blessed by the association of Madhava Prabhu, who takes great pleasure sharing Lord Krishna’s name with others in a mood of complete concentration. A 6-hour kirtana in Dallas, and a final kirtanaby Madhava in Alachua finished off the youth tour, which was the best event I had been part of in the months of December and January. The rest of January I spent assisting Krishna House in Gainesville, and the new weekly programs the devotees started in Jacksonville. In February I visited Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and our temples in Manhattan and downtown London, on my way to India to attend the Kirtana Mela in Mayapur. After a wonderful Gaura Purnima, bathing in the Ganges and reciting verses about Lord Caitanya’s appearance with Danavira Goswami and some of his followers, I joined Navina Nirada, Ekalavya Prabhu, and others at the Bhakti Experience, a two-week Krishna outreach program in Rishikesh in March. We met some interested people and took down contact information for fifty of them. Some even later visited Vrndavana, although previously they had not known of Krishna. Then I returned for more harinama in Mayapur, after an ecstatic Delhi Ratha-yatra and three days on the 24-hour kirtana party in Vrindavana on the way.

I returned to Europe in April, catching the tail end of a Chennai temple opening enroute, for Kadamba Kanana Swami’s Vyasa-puja and the amazing Queen’s Day harinama in Amsterdam. After Queen’s Day we traveled with Leipzig devotees from Belgium, through Luxembourg and Germany to the Nrsimha farm for Nrsimha Caturdasi, doing harinama in several cities on the way. After that, we spent the rest of May and the beginning of June with Janananda Goswami and his followers, based in Newcastle, England, and doing harinama three hours each day. Janananda Goswami greatly encouraged me in my service of harinama by giving me a wonderful amplifier, money for travel, and assistants to chantwith, as well by as his personal example of complete dedication to harinama and by wisdom shared through lectures. On the way to London for Ratha-yatra I attended the monthly harinama in Manchester, nama-hatta programs in Leeds and Sheffield, and the UK brahmacari conference. For me, the attendance of the brahmacaris in the devotee procession in the Borehamwood Carnival (parade), adding lots of extra energy, was a high point. After London Ratha-yatra, I did harinama in London for a few days with some followers of Janananda Goswami, then attending the Stonehenge Solstice festival, where we chant from midnight to 6 a.m. and distribute prasadam. I was invited to a nonexistent weekend warrior program in Croydon, where I chanted for three hours and distributed flyers for the next day’s Ratha-yatra by myself anyway, collecting 27 GBP for the Soho St. temple sankirtana office. On the way back to Newcastle, Sri Gadadhara and I did the Sunday program in Leeds, and nine devotees from the congregation went with us on harinama afterward, causing us to think perhaps post feast program harinamas may be introduced elsewhere. After all Kharkov, Ukraine, does them every week, even in the winter. After two weeks in Newcastle, I returned to the Manchester area for more harinamaand more nama-hatta programs on the way to Ireland. Ananta Nitai Prabhu traveled with me from Dublin to Belfast, to Govindadvipa, where we chanted at a couple nearby towns, and back to Dublin, where by his inspiration we had organized a 12-hour harinama. He and I both did over eleven hours and other people joined for some of the time. We felt it was so successful that we decided to organize more in the future.

Next I flew to France for three days of harinama in Paris, and then to Switzerland for an evening program in Langenthal and two Jhulan Yatras and a harinama in Zurich. Then by train to Berlin and then Kostrzyn for the Polish Woodstock festival where hundreds of thousands of people hear the holy name and take prasadam. Our harinama at the Kostrzyn train station for the those returning home after the festival was the best ever, and the officials were so pleased with the calming effect the chanting had on the tired crowds they asked us to do it next year. I did a few days harinama in Prague and then on to the kirtana mela in Spain, and three harinamas there, two of which directly inspired people to come to our local temples. Then to Trutnov, Czech Republic, for the Czech Woodstock, where we did lots of kirtana late into the night, and a harinama as well, with our guest, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Guru Das Prabhu. Next I attended a brief Polish padayatra which gave some transcendental experiences to the residents of the towns near our New Shantipur farm, where we had a weekend nama-hatta festival afterward. Then onward to travel with Janananda Goswami doing harinamas and evening programs in Slovakia and one in Czech Republic. After that, we went with Dhruva, Trevor, and Vamana to the Wroclaw Ratha-yatra, and then the German Kirtana Mela, with three harinamas embedded in it, and followed by the wonderful Leipzig Ratha-yatra. Trevor and I then joined the Nitai Gouranga harinama bus tour for a day from Leipzig to Wroclaw where we did a beautiful three-hour harinama in the square where we had Ratha-yatra the week before. We stayed in Wroclaw and did harinama there, next traveling to Bydgoszcz, where we did harinama and an Ekadasi evening program. Then back to Czech Republic for evening kirtana programs in Trutnov and Prague, and a nama-hatta program in Slovakia. Then on the the Ukraine festival (Bhakti Sangama) with lots of seminars and great three-hour evening kirtanas. Then to Warsaw for Radhastami, and then Simhachalam, the German Nrsimha farm, for the festival for the 30thanniversary of the Prahlada-Nrsimha’s installation, with a few small harinamas on the way. That festival ended with the first ever Passau Ratha-yatra.

Then I returned to the UK to travel with Janananda Goswami in The North of England for the World Holy Name Festival, ending with a harinama and an eight-hour kirtana in Edinburgh, Scotland, a new city and country for me. Dhruva Prabhu and I then went to Belfast, where we were joined by Ananta Nitai for more harinama there, and in the cities of Enniskillen, Dublin, and Bray. Ananta Nitai, inspired by the July 12-hour harinama, planned for a 12-hour harinama on Saturday, followed by the Sunday feast, and a 12-hour kirtana in the temple on Monday. The program was successful enough that he wants to do it the first week of every month. Then I went back to Newcastle for a week or so, and then nine days worth of evening lectures beginning there and including all the nama-hattas nearby Manchester, my third swing through there this year, as opposed to my usual one. We preceded the Bolton nama-hatta with the monthly harinamaand were encouraged to see several local children enthusiastically taking part for forty-five minutes. Back to London for a few days with more harinama and lectures, including four hours of harinamaon Halloween, while waiting for New York airports to be reopened after hurricane Sandy.

Then back home to America for a week on harinama in Manhattan with Rama Raya and Ekalavya Prabhus, some days on a book production marathon for Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s The Story of My Life, and a brief visit to my family in Albany. Then I flew to Jacksonville where I chanted on the campus for two hours, meeting a couple people I who had come to our programs back in January and a nice Indian man who started coming to our Jacksonville programs as a result. Then I caught the end of a beautiful ceremony in honor of Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance in Alachua with a wonderful feast. The next several days were many evening kirtanas leading up to the 24-hour kirtana, the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was great to hear Madhava Prabhu so much. The 24-hour kirtana was special this year with guests Niranjana Swami and Agnidev Prabhu. Dravida Prabhu led for two hours on a wonderful harinama in Tallahassee that Saturday at the last football game of the season. Then a couple weeks at Gainesville’s Krishna House, and another evening at our Jacksonville program on the way to fly north for Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Vyasa-puja in December in Stuyvesant, where I cooked breakfast and lunch for him for nine days afterward, punctuated by a harinama in Hudson and a day trip to New York City to see Niranjana Swami and do kirtana and harinama. Then we ended the year with eleven days of four hours of harinama in Manhattan, with two-day visit to my family for Christmas in the middle.

Niranjana Swami advised I go to fewer places and stay longer and try to increase the devotional service in those places, and reading the above account where I travel to fifteen countries, it sounds like I was a dismal failure. I did, however, spend 53 days in Newcastle, England, 43 days in Gainesville, 39 days in The Northern UK and Ireland, and 18 days doing harinama in New York City. Successes include new people coming to the temple from the harinamas in Newcastle, Belfast, Sheffield, and Jacksonville, a new popular program, the back-to-back 12-hour harinama and 12-hour temple kirtana in Dublin, and a string of nine evenings of lectures in a different cities in England each night. By the inspiration of Janananda Goswami, we also went to towns where devotees rarely if ever to harinama, so new people got exposure to the recommended spiritual practice of the age. Incidentally, the guy who came from harinama to the Belfast temple bought four books. The best comment on harinama was “seeing your party was the best part of my trip to Dublin” by a girl from Seattle.

With the blessings of my advisers Niranjana Swami and Janananda Goswami, I hope to increase my focus and continue to try to spend more time in fewer places, trying to bring people to a higher level of devotion, including myself. I am thinking of just spending one month in Europe in the summer instead of two, and going to the Lithuanian festival instead of the Ukraine festival so I can return to England and New York sooner.

Financial Statement for 2012

Srila Prabhupada taught his followers to keep careful records of expenditures. People always wonder how devotees get their money and how they spend it. Here is a summary for me for 2012. If for some reason, you want more details, let me know.

INCOME
donations
book sales

total income

EXPENSES
travel
gifts to temples, swamis, etc.
maintenance (clothes, medicine)
internet, phone, computer, etc.
festival fees
loans
food (bhoga, prasadam)
rent
unaccounted for expenses

total expenses

balance

4107.59
18.32
--------
4125.91


3360.59
277.06
88.54
72.25
63.00
50.00
39.25
24.75
130.41
--------
4105.85

-20.06

I would like to thank all the very kind and generous people and organizations who contributed to my expenses so I could share the congregational chanting of the holy name with people in fifteen countries this year. These include, with those contributing the most listed first, GN Press, Kalakantha Prabhu, Kaliya Krishna Prabhu, the devotees in Manchester (England), my mother (Pat Beetle), Rama Raya Prabhu, Paramesvara Prabhu and his congregation in Modra (Slovakia), Bhakta Clive, Ali Krishna dd, Janananda Goswami, Touchstone Publishing, Vrajendralal Prabhu, Bhakta Andy (Gainesville), Bhakta Steve (Belfast), Dr. Dina Bandhu Prabhu, Raj Sharma, the congregation in Leeds, Balarama Prabhu (Opole, Poland), the Nama-hatta leaders in Poland, the devotees in Langenthal (Switzerland), the JPS office in Mayapur, Prema Sankirtana Prabhu of Newcastle, Ramai Prabhu of Sunderland, Sidharth from Michigan (who bought me some very nice boots for cold weather harinamas), Pandava Prabhu, Govinda Prabhu from Scotland, Bhakta Andrzej, Bhakta Doug, Bhakta Sumit, Bhakta Suresh, Parananda Prabhu, Gaura Karuna Prabhu, Tara Prabhu, Adi Karta Prabhu, Kishore Prabhu, Bhaktin Padma, Ramiya Prabhu, the over twenty people who donated less than twenty dollars each, and all the people who bought books on harinama. I hope Lord Caitanya blesses them all with some of the transcendental merit from our sharing the congregational chanting of the holy name with the people in general.

-----

yei yahan tahan dana kare prema-phala
phalasvade matta loka ha-ila sakala

“The fruit of love of God is so delicious that wherever a devotee distributes it, those who relish the fruit, anywhere in the world, immediately become intoxicated.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 9.48)



Travel Journal#8.24: New York City and Albany
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk


Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 8, No. 24
By Krishna-kripa das
(December 2012, part two)
New York City and Albany
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on January 30, 2013)

Where I Went and What I Did

When Yadunandana Swami came to serve Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami on December 19, I left my guru’s personal service to go to New York City to chant in Union Square Park with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party. For the rest of the month I lived in our Brooklyn temple, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, attended the morning program there, and spent two hours afterward chopping vegetables for the temple and its weekday restaurant program, Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch. Every afternoon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. I would chant with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, consisting of from three to seventeen devotees, at Union Square Park, or on the cold days, in various subway stations at Union Square, Grand Central, Times Square, and Columbus Circle. Sometimes, especially on weekends, we would begin at 3 p.m. or even 2 p.m., and still continue till 8:00 p.m. I took a two-day break for Christmas Eve and Christmas, when I visited my family, my Quaker meeting, and my initiating spiritual master, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, along with a few of his disciples including Yadunandana Swami.

I was happy to be visiting New York City at the same time as Radhanath Swami, and I include some notes from his lectures, in addition to some material from Srila Prabhupada directly.

At the end I summarize my activities in the year 2012 and include my annual financial statement and thank my donors. I also talk about what to do differently in 2013.

The Christmas Story Seen from a Hare Krishna Perspective

Twice on Christmas Eve I encountered the story of the appearance of Lord Jesus Christ in this world, once at my Quaker meeting and once reading a book with my relatives, which had become a family tradition at Christmastime since I lived at home, called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Living as a Hare Krishna monk for the last thirty years, I naturally viewed both encounters from the Hare Krishna perspective. Lord Jesus Christ is seen by Hare Krishnas as a realized son of God, and as such, his appearance in and disappearance from this world are spiritual and transcendental, and one advances spiritually by coming in touch with narrations of them. In the Quaker meeting, as newly recruited players from the audience dramatized the script of the event and the congregation sang appropriate songs, I did feel a kind of transcendental joy coming from being in touch with the account and the songs glorifying God and His son. And although it is repeated every year there is a certain freshness and wonder in it.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, written by Barbara Robinson in 1971,told of another interesting feature, the transforming power of such narrations. The book is summarized aptly on Wikipedia: “It tells the story of Imogene, Claude, Ralph, Leroy, Ollie, and Gladys, six delinquent children surnamed Herdman. They go to church for the first time after being told that the church offers snacks. Despite protests from other church members, they are given roles in the Sunday school’s Christmas play, in which they tell the Christmas story in a nonconventional fashion.” [Buck, Jerry (1983-12-03). “Meanest kids in town make the best pageant”. The Free-Lance Star.] The interesting feature of that story is that the character of the children changes from demonic to divine as a result of hearing the narration of the appearance of Lord Jesus and from acting it out. Hearing the story the first time, the delinquent Herdmen kids, instead displaying their usual mentality of taking pleasure in causing others to suffer, show sympathy for Mary having to give birth to baby Jesus in such an unsuitable environment as a manger, and in a land ruled by a demonic king. Although the kids previously took pleasure in stealing and destroying property, in the course of enacting Christmas story they end up giving charity, without even desiring anything in return. It all calls to mind a few verses from the ancient India spiritual classic Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), namely verses 1.2.17–19 which describe how narrations concerning God and his pure devotee, such as Lord Jesus Christ, cleanse the heart of demonic qualities, such as lust, greed, and anger, bring one up to the platform of goodness. It occurred to me that it was the best Christmas pageant ever because it demonstrated the divine power of the spiritual narration to transform the character from demonic to divine, which really is what religion is all about, not just some dogma one claims to have faith in, but narrations with uplift our consciousness to the plane of loving God and all his children, our brothers and sisters. It also calls to mind another verse, our verse for the week in the Gainesville Krishna House, about the pastimes of the Supreme Lord Himself, which was spoken later in Bhagavatam by His most intimate devotees, “The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one’s sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.31.9)

Harinamas in New York


Rama Raya Prabhu, playing harmonium above, who was part of Aindra Prabhu’s 24-hour kirtana in Vrindavan for many years, is focusing his attention on steadily doing harinama each day in Manhattan for at least four hours between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and I had the good fortune to join his party for three and a half weeks in December 2012 and January 2013. He has been going out since the end of March 2012. Each day for the last two or three hours we would regularly have around eleven people, and sometimes as many as seventeen!



When it was in the 40s (5-10 C) we would chant in the parks, mostly Union Square but sometimes Washington Square.


But when it was in the 30s or less (below 5 C) we would chant in the subway stations, which were warmer.


We had a beautiful Hare Krishna maha-mantra sign that was decorated and lighted.


Whoever gave some coins or just expressed interest got a Krishna Reservoir of Pleasure or an On Chanting Hare Krishna pamphlet.


Whoever gave a dollar got a small book. If they gave five or more, they got a Bhagavad-gita.


Sometimes people would dance with us.




I would dance at one end of our party.

Almost every day on harinama something special happens, that is something in addition to thousands of people becoming from free from karma and taking a step toward Krishna, which are in themselves pretty amazing wonders.

At the Union Square market, one young man who was loading a truck came up to me and said our incense smoke was blowing down to his work site and making it difficult to breathe. He asked if we could put out the incense for an hour until he was finished. I complied as incense is not an important part of our function. To devotees who were upset I joked that Lord Caitanya did not advent Himself to distribute maha-incense. A few minutes later the man came back with two packages of organic sprouts as a donation. Deva Madhava Prabhu suggested we give them to Radha-Govinda so the donor would make great spiritual benefit, and so we did.

One young Oriental man came up to me and said, “Didn’t I see you in Soho (London) giving the lunch program lecture?” And it was true. I gave lectures there this summer and fall. It is a small world! He said he would be in New York City for ten days and asked about our local programs, and I gave him invitations and details about them all. He said he would come to the Bhakti Center Thursday night kirtana the next day. Another day he came by Union Square to listen to the harinama for half an hour and dance a bit.

One young Christian man stopped by and danced for a while, and then came up to talk to me. He told me how he had just come to New York a week ago and that by the grace of Lord Jesus Christ he had money, a place to stay, and a replacement water bottle for one he recently lost. I told him in the course of our conversation that we accept the Biblical idea that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, that the best spiritual practice was to sing the glories of the Lord congregationally, and that dancing was an expression of love of God. He seemed to be getting into the kirtana, so I invited him to play an instrument, and he sat down and picked up some karatalas and played a beat of his own that was in time with the music, and he stayed in the kirtanafor fifteen minutes.

One young lady with dog on a leash passed our party, and the dog was focused on the chanting devotees the whole time. Even after his owner had passed us, he continued looking back toward us, coming as close as his leash would permit. I had see children often looking backward toward the devotees as their parents pulled or carried them onward, but never a dog.


Young children are often attracted by the chanting, and some of the parents are very open to let them investigate it. We have some small shakers just for kids to use to play along with the music. Some children live in the neighborhood of Union Square, and their parents regularly bring to the park, and some spend fifteen minutes or even half an hour with us. We have smiling Jagannatha stickers for the kids whose parents give donations. Occasionally the kids dance and attract a crowd.


Once several kids, probably all under ten years old, were sitting with us on our mats, playing the different extra instruments like shakers that we brought for people to play. One boy tried playing every instrument we had a least once, demonstrating a lot of natural rhythm as he did so. The kids seemed happily engaged, and seeing them, passersby were attracted. Thanks to Rasika Gopi Devi Dasi and Bhakta Alex of the Bhakti Center for their beautiful photographs on the Manhattan harinamas.

At Union Square, one couple came up to me, and said, “Are you from Gainesville?” I replied, “Yes.” Turns out they were Tiffany and Joshua, occasional attenders at the Krishna House programs. When they saw the Hare Krishnas, they glanced at the chanters looking for Rasaraja Prabhu, who they knew from Krishna House and who came to New York for the break, and then they saw me. I suggested that Rasaraja would probably be at the Bhakti Center Thursday night kirtana at 7:00 p.m. and they might find him there, and so they did.

At Grand Central Station one young man asked how many of the ten or fifteen people chanting were from Gainesville, and I looked at our party, and seeing Rasaraja Prabhu, told him two. He mentioned how he had Krishna Lunch for four years there, and he really missed it. I told him that we have Krishna Lunch in Brooklyn, and he was overjoyed to hear it, and so I gave him an invitation to the Brooklyn temple and its weekday lunch program.

Also at Grand Central I met a guy from India who knew Hare Krishna and even Radhanath Swami from there, and so I invited him to Radhanath Swami’s Sunday lecture at the Bhakti Center.

Again at Grand Central, one lady exclaimed with joy, “Great! You guys are back! I haven’t seen you in 30 years.”

One young lady smiled and watched us the entire time she was walking past. I asked her how she knew about Hare Krishna. She said, “I just know you from this, but I am attracted to what I see.”

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2 in Johannesburg on October 22, 1975:

The aim should be how to become a friend of God.

Radhanath Swami:

The spirit in which something is spoken and received needs to be understood to have more than a theoretical understanding.

We do not have to experience the extreme situations that Pariksit and Arjuna experienced to learn from their experience.

Maharaja Pariksit would not be rude to an insect but this world is so arranged that despite all good intentions, we make mistakes, and due to circumstances, we make people miserable although we desire to make people happy. This happens to everyone, and so it happened to the King [who when thirsty was so frustrated due to a meditating sage’s neglect to offer him water, he garlanded the sage with a dead snake and was cursed by the sage’s son to die in seven days].

Krishna can reciprocate everyone’s love simultaneously and fully satisfy them.

Due to false ego we become upset if someone is doing something better than us, or even if they are not doing something better than us, but they are getting more credit for it.

Sometimes when people are good at something you can not get them all together in the same room.

In the early 1970s, eight hundred yogis joined together for the first time for a conference. There had never been such an opportunity before or has there been since. At the end, the main sages and yogis each had 2 minutes to speak. I was in ecstasy. I had hitchhiked to India to encounter enlightened beings, and here was a whole stage full of them. The first person spoke ten minutes, the next person about fifteen minutes. As time went on, about a dozen of them were literally fighting over the microphone. It is on film. It was a great embarrassment—so many ‘enlightened’ people acting in such a way. However at Naimisaranya, the sages unanimously agreed that Sukadeva Goswami would speak. He was not arrogant but asked for the blessings of others.

We talk about it as a curse [that he would die in seven days], but Pariksit saw it as a blessing.

When we see this life as all in all, we see everything in one way, but when we see this is just one of many lives, we see it all differently.

One sage said this life is one point in a line that goes on infinitely. When we understand that, then we can harmonize the blessings and curses we receive. We can focus on the opportunity to advance spiritually.

You say you didn’t make castles out of sand as a kid, but your whole life is probably making castles out of sand.

You see the tide is coming in, and you try to build walls to protect your castle. The parents laugh. Why are you taking your castles so seriously? But the enlightened souls see all that we are doing in Washington and Wall Street to be like castles of sand.

The great sages were not concerned that they speak, but rather that some competent person was speaking nicely.

Pariksit. although cursed to die in seven days, was the happiest man in that glorious assembly of sages with such a great opportunity.

Stokakrishna, my disciple in India, at age 32 was diagnosed with one of the most fast acting forms of cancer. When I came to see him he was paralyzed and emaciated. He said, “Why am I so fortunate that I could chant Lord Krishna’s name so many times in this life? Why did I get to hear so many classes on Srimad-Bhagavatam? I did not deserve that. Why did I get the association of such nice devotees? Why did I get to be part of Srila Prabhupada’s movement?” Because he was so consistently happy in such an externally miserable situation some originally doubtful brahmacaris concluded that he must have a higher realization.

If something is inevitable, we might as well see it as a blessing.

Some friends who were brijbasis [residents of the sacred land of Krishna’s childhood pastimes, Vrindavana] happened to visit America, and I invited them to come to chant at Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s deathbed. One of them, Madana Mohan Brijbasi, was singing so simply and so sweetly, tears poured from Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s eyes in a way that his disciples had never seen. Bhakti Tirtha Swami said that because he could not go to Vrindavana, Vrindavana had come to him in the form of these devotees from Vrindavana. Madana Mohan Brijbasi was also there to chant for my disciple Stokakrishna at the end of his life.

We have to deal with the material world responsibly but keep it in perspective and remember our ultimate spiritual aim.

If when we are fasting, we think, “I am so austere, and look at these people, they are eating,” then our body is fasting but our false ego is feasting. Fasting is meant to humble us and meant to help us to take shelter of Krishna. Then we are really fasting.

Unless we prepare for the exams along the way we will not be prepared for the final exam of death.

When the tests come we have to apply all we learned from previous struggles.

To overcome pride, we have to watch from a detached point of view. If we see ourselves thinking “I am better than others,” that is the weed of pride, which impersonates the creeper of devotion and induces us to water it instead. If we see that we are envying others that is also a manifestation of pride.

Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami was selected by the great Goswamis of Vrndavana to write Sri Caitanya-caritamrita because of his great realization, scholarship, and humility.

The title The Journey Home [Radhanath Swami’s autobiography] was selected at last moment. The working title was Autobiography of a Worm in Stool, but the publishers would not accept it.

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

From Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name, quoted in online in his Viraha Bhavan:

“Here is a quote from an initiation lecture by Srila Prabhupada in July 1970 in Los Angeles. Srila Prabhupada spoke on each of the ten offenses and then said, ‘Then, what is next?’

“Devotee: ‘To become inattentive while chanting Hare Krishna.’
“Prabhupada: ‘Yes, when you are chanting, you should hear Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare. You should hear at the same time. Then the mind and the senses are compact. That is samadhi. That is perfection of yoga. This yoga is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita.Yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantar-atmana. So everyone, by chanting he should hear.’”

A Summary of the Year 2012

I started the year being part of a 12-hour in our Mexico City temple. At that time, we were on the Vaishnava Youth winter bus tour to Mexico and were blessed by the association of Madhava Prabhu, who takes great pleasure sharing Lord Krishna’s name with others in a mood of complete concentration. A 6-hour kirtana in Dallas, and a final kirtanaby Madhava in Alachua finished off the youth tour, which was the best event I had been part of in the months of December and January. The rest of January I spent assisting Krishna House in Gainesville, and the new weekly programs the devotees started in Jacksonville. In February I visited Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and our temples in Manhattan and downtown London, on my way to India to attend the Kirtana Mela in Mayapur. After a wonderful Gaura Purnima, bathing in the Ganges and reciting verses about Lord Caitanya’s appearance with Danavira Goswami and some of his followers, I joined Navina Nirada, Ekalavya Prabhu, and others at the Bhakti Experience, a two-week Krishna outreach program in Rishikesh in March. We met some interested people and took down contact information for fifty of them. Some even later visited Vrndavana, although previously they had not known of Krishna. Then I returned for more harinama in Mayapur, after an ecstatic Delhi Ratha-yatra and three days on the 24-hour kirtana party in Vrindavana on the way.

I returned to Europe in April, catching the tail end of a Chennai temple opening enroute, for Kadamba Kanana Swami’s Vyasa-puja and the amazing Queen’s Day harinama in Amsterdam. After Queen’s Day we traveled with Leipzig devotees from Belgium, through Luxembourg and Germany to the Nrsimha farm for Nrsimha Caturdasi, doing harinama in several cities on the way. After that, we spent the rest of May and the beginning of June with Janananda Goswami and his followers, based in Newcastle, England, and doing harinama three hours each day. Janananda Goswami greatly encouraged me in my service of harinama by giving me a wonderful amplifier, money for travel, and assistants to chantwith, as well by as his personal example of complete dedication to harinama and by wisdom shared through lectures. On the way to London for Ratha-yatra I attended the monthly harinama in Manchester, nama-hatta programs in Leeds and Sheffield, and the UK brahmacari conference. For me, the attendance of the brahmacaris in the devotee procession in the Borehamwood Carnival (parade), adding lots of extra energy, was a high point. After London Ratha-yatra, I did harinama in London for a few days with some followers of Janananda Goswami, then attending the Stonehenge Solstice festival, where we chant from midnight to 6 a.m. and distribute prasadam. I was invited to a nonexistent weekend warrior program in Croydon, where I chanted for three hours and distributed flyers for the next day’s Ratha-yatra by myself anyway, collecting 27 GBP for the Soho St. temple sankirtana office. On the way back to Newcastle, Sri Gadadhara and I did the Sunday program in Leeds, and nine devotees from the congregation went with us on harinama afterward, causing us to think perhaps post feast program harinamas may be introduced elsewhere. After all Kharkov, Ukraine, does them every week, even in the winter. After two weeks in Newcastle, I returned to the Manchester area for more harinamaand more nama-hatta programs on the way to Ireland. Ananta Nitai Prabhu traveled with me from Dublin to Belfast, to Govindadvipa, where we chanted at a couple nearby towns, and back to Dublin, where by his inspiration we had organized a 12-hour harinama. He and I both did over eleven hours and other people joined for some of the time. We felt it was so successful that we decided to organize more in the future.

Next I flew to France for three days of harinama in Paris, and then to Switzerland for an evening program in Langenthal and two Jhulan Yatras and a harinama in Zurich. Then by train to Berlin and then Kostrzyn for the Polish Woodstock festival where hundreds of thousands of people hear the holy name and take prasadam. Our harinama at the Kostrzyn train station for the those returning home after the festival was the best ever, and the officials were so pleased with the calming effect the chanting had on the tired crowds they asked us to do it next year. I did a few days harinama in Prague and then on to the kirtana mela in Spain, and three harinamas there, two of which directly inspired people to come to our local temples. Then to Trutnov, Czech Republic, for the Czech Woodstock, where we did lots of kirtana late into the night, and a harinama as well, with our guest, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Guru Das Prabhu. Next I attended a brief Polish padayatra which gave some transcendental experiences to the residents of the towns near our New Shantipur farm, where we had a weekend nama-hatta festival afterward. Then onward to travel with Janananda Goswami doing harinamas and evening programs in Slovakia and one in Czech Republic. After that, we went with Dhruva, Trevor, and Vamana to the Wroclaw Ratha-yatra, and then the German Kirtana Mela, with three harinamas embedded in it, and followed by the wonderful Leipzig Ratha-yatra. Trevor and I then joined the Nitai Gouranga harinama bus tour for a day from Leipzig to Wroclaw where we did a beautiful three-hour harinama in the square where we had Ratha-yatra the week before. We stayed in Wroclaw and did harinama there, next traveling to Bydgoszcz, where we did harinama and an Ekadasi evening program. Then back to Czech Republic for evening kirtana programs in Trutnov and Prague, and a nama-hatta program in Slovakia. Then on the the Ukraine festival (Bhakti Sangama) with lots of seminars and great three-hour evening kirtanas. Then to Warsaw for Radhastami, and then Simhachalam, the German Nrsimha farm, for the festival for the 30thanniversary of the Prahlada-Nrsimha’s installation, with a few small harinamas on the way. That festival ended with the first ever Passau Ratha-yatra.

Then I returned to the UK to travel with Janananda Goswami in The North of England for the World Holy Name Festival, ending with a harinama and an eight-hour kirtana in Edinburgh, Scotland, a new city and country for me. Dhruva Prabhu and I then went to Belfast, where we were joined by Ananta Nitai for more harinama there, and in the cities of Enniskillen, Dublin, and Bray. Ananta Nitai, inspired by the July 12-hour harinama, planned for a 12-hour harinama on Saturday, followed by the Sunday feast, and a 12-hour kirtana in the temple on Monday. The program was successful enough that he wants to do it the first week of every month. Then I went back to Newcastle for a week or so, and then nine days worth of evening lectures beginning there and including all the nama-hattas nearby Manchester, my third swing through there this year, as opposed to my usual one. We preceded the Bolton nama-hatta with the monthly harinamaand were encouraged to see several local children enthusiastically taking part for forty-five minutes. Back to London for a few days with more harinama and lectures, including four hours of harinamaon Halloween, while waiting for New York airports to be reopened after hurricane Sandy.

Then back home to America for a week on harinama in Manhattan with Rama Raya and Ekalavya Prabhus, some days on a book production marathon for Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s The Story of My Life, and a brief visit to my family in Albany. Then I flew to Jacksonville where I chanted on the campus for two hours, meeting a couple people I who had come to our programs back in January and a nice Indian man who started coming to our Jacksonville programs as a result. Then I caught the end of a beautiful ceremony in honor of Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance in Alachua with a wonderful feast. The next several days were many evening kirtanas leading up to the 24-hour kirtana, the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was great to hear Madhava Prabhu so much. The 24-hour kirtana was special this year with guests Niranjana Swami and Agnidev Prabhu. Dravida Prabhu led for two hours on a wonderful harinama in Tallahassee that Saturday at the last football game of the season. Then a couple weeks at Gainesville’s Krishna House, and another evening at our Jacksonville program on the way to fly north for Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Vyasa-puja in December in Stuyvesant, where I cooked breakfast and lunch for him for nine days afterward, punctuated by a harinama in Hudson and a day trip to New York City to see Niranjana Swami and do kirtana and harinama. Then we ended the year with eleven days of four hours of harinama in Manhattan, with two-day visit to my family for Christmas in the middle.

Niranjana Swami advised I go to fewer places and stay longer and try to increase the devotional service in those places, and reading the above account where I travel to fifteen countries, it sounds like I was a dismal failure. I did, however, spend 53 days in Newcastle, England, 43 days in Gainesville, 39 days in The Northern UK and Ireland, and 18 days doing harinama in New York City. Successes include new people coming to the temple from the harinamas in Newcastle, Belfast, Sheffield, and Jacksonville, a new popular program, the back-to-back 12-hour harinama and 12-hour temple kirtana in Dublin, and a string of nine evenings of lectures in a different cities in England each night. By the inspiration of Janananda Goswami, we also went to towns where devotees rarely if ever to harinama, so new people got exposure to the recommended spiritual practice of the age. Incidentally, the guy who came from harinama to the Belfast temple bought four books. The best comment on harinama was “seeing your party was the best part of my trip to Dublin” by a girl from Seattle.

With the blessings of my advisers Niranjana Swami and Janananda Goswami, I hope to increase my focus and continue to try to spend more time in fewer places, trying to bring people to a higher level of devotion, including myself. I am thinking of just spending one month in Europe in the summer instead of two, and going to the Lithuanian festival instead of the Ukraine festival so I can return to England and New York sooner.

Financial Statement for 2012

Srila Prabhupada taught his followers to keep careful records of expenditures. People always wonder how devotees get their money and how they spend it. Here is a summary for me for 2012. If for some reason, you want more details, let me know.

INCOME
donations
book sales

total income

EXPENSES
travel
gifts to temples, swamis, etc.
maintenance (clothes, medicine)
internet, phone, computer, etc.
festival fees
loans
food (bhoga, prasadam)
rent
unaccounted for expenses

total expenses

balance

4107.59
18.32
--------
4125.91


3360.59
277.06
88.54
72.25
63.00
50.00
39.25
24.75
130.41
--------
4105.85

-20.06

I would like to thank all the very kind and generous people and organizations who contributed to my expenses so I could share the congregational chanting of the holy name with people in fifteen countries this year. These include, with those contributing the most listed first, GN Press, Kalakantha Prabhu, Kaliya Krishna Prabhu, the devotees in Manchester (England), my mother (Pat Beetle), Rama Raya Prabhu, Paramesvara Prabhu and his congregation in Modra (Slovakia), Bhakta Clive, Ali Krishna dd, Janananda Goswami, Touchstone Publishing, Vrajendralal Prabhu, Bhakta Andy (Gainesville), Bhakta Steve (Belfast), Dr. Dina Bandhu Prabhu, Raj Sharma, the congregation in Leeds, Balarama Prabhu (Opole, Poland), the Nama-hatta leaders in Poland, the devotees in Langenthal (Switzerland), the JPS office in Mayapur, Prema Sankirtana Prabhu of Newcastle, Ramai Prabhu of Sunderland, Sidharth from Michigan (who bought me some very nice boots for cold weather harinamas), Pandava Prabhu, Govinda Prabhu from Scotland, Bhakta Andrzej, Bhakta Doug, Bhakta Sumit, Bhakta Suresh, Parananda Prabhu, Gaura Karuna Prabhu, Tara Prabhu, Adi Karta Prabhu, Kishore Prabhu, Bhaktin Padma, Ramiya Prabhu, the over twenty people who donated less than twenty dollars each, and all the people who bought books on harinama. I hope Lord Caitanya blesses them all with some of the transcendental merit from our sharing the congregational chanting of the holy name with the people in general.

-----

yei yahan tahan dana kare prema-phala
phalasvade matta loka ha-ila sakala

“The fruit of love of God is so delicious that wherever a devotee distributes it, those who relish the fruit, anywhere in the world, immediately become intoxicated.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 9.48)



Tues 4th Feb
→ Bhakti Lounge - The Heart Of Yoga in Wellington

Banner_Tues

She’s back!
Shyam Gauri the famous, loved & missed “Tuesday Night Challenge”
teacher is visiting Bhakti Lounge! Shyam is trained in Ashtanga and
Power Yoga and has been teaching since 2005 in New Zealand, Australia
and India. She used to run Yoga-2-Work corporate Yoga in Wellington,
as well as teaching at Bhakti Lounge.

Her once a month Yoga classes/workshops will be themed around
different postures. First class kicks-off on Tuesday 4 February with a
“Level 2 Vinyasa class leading up to funky headstand and side-crow
variations”. Come early to grab a space!

75 minute class starting at 6pm, followed by dinner, $18 or $15 students with ID.