"When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be"
-- John Lennon
Sound Familiar?
Sound Familiar?
→ Servant's Report
"When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be"
-- John Lennon
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be"
-- John Lennon
Happiness Without Fear
→ Servant's Report
“In the liberated state of affairs, the full-fledged affection for the Lord is awakened. As such, there is an unlimited flow of everlasting happiness, without the fear of its being broken as we have experienced here in the material world. The relationship with the Lord is never broken; thus there is no grief and no fear” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.47 purport).
I remember whenever I would experience some sort of happiness, when things would start to go well in my life, immediately the fear of loss would rush into my consciousness. “When is this going to end?” I knew it would. It always did. After some time of experiencing this duality of gain and loss the fear would take over. This happened with relationships, this happened with school and work, even (or especially) on drugs. I would be high as a kite, oblivious to the world, but then came the comedown. Even the onset of comedown would bring fear and grief. Why does it have to end? Why can’t I be like this forever? And sometimes those comedowns were extremely hard. From so high to so low, just like that.
Because of this fear we may not want to enter into any sort of relationships. Why go through all of the trouble if it will simply end sooner or later? Then we become a bitter hermit who hides from the world (I speak from experience here too). But this will not solve the problem. We have to have relationships. We have to have real love. And as the above quote states, that real ever-lasting relationship exists between the soul and God. Only in that relationship do we never have to fear loss, for it is eternal. Even without our knowledge the relationship still exists, as God is within our heart always watching over us. And when we turn our love back to Him then we experience this “everlasting happiness” which we are all searching for.
I remember whenever I would experience some sort of happiness, when things would start to go well in my life, immediately the fear of loss would rush into my consciousness. “When is this going to end?” I knew it would. It always did. After some time of experiencing this duality of gain and loss the fear would take over. This happened with relationships, this happened with school and work, even (or especially) on drugs. I would be high as a kite, oblivious to the world, but then came the comedown. Even the onset of comedown would bring fear and grief. Why does it have to end? Why can’t I be like this forever? And sometimes those comedowns were extremely hard. From so high to so low, just like that.
Because of this fear we may not want to enter into any sort of relationships. Why go through all of the trouble if it will simply end sooner or later? Then we become a bitter hermit who hides from the world (I speak from experience here too). But this will not solve the problem. We have to have relationships. We have to have real love. And as the above quote states, that real ever-lasting relationship exists between the soul and God. Only in that relationship do we never have to fear loss, for it is eternal. Even without our knowledge the relationship still exists, as God is within our heart always watching over us. And when we turn our love back to Him then we experience this “everlasting happiness” which we are all searching for.
Happiness Without Fear
→ Servant's Report
“In the liberated state of affairs, the full-fledged affection for the Lord is awakened. As such, there is an unlimited flow of everlasting happiness, without the fear of its being broken as we have experienced here in the material world. The relationship with the Lord is never broken; thus there is no grief and no fear” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.47 purport).
I remember whenever I would experience some sort of happiness, when things would start to go well in my life, immediately the fear of loss would rush into my consciousness. “When is this going to end?” I knew it would. It always did. After some time of experiencing this duality of gain and loss the fear would take over. This happened with relationships, this happened with school and work, even (or especially) on drugs. I would be high as a kite, oblivious to the world, but then came the comedown. Even the onset of comedown would bring fear and grief. Why does it have to end? Why can’t I be like this forever? And sometimes those comedowns were extremely hard. From so high to so low, just like that.
Because of this fear we may not want to enter into any sort of relationships. Why go through all of the trouble if it will simply end sooner or later? Then we become a bitter hermit who hides from the world (I speak from experience here too). But this will not solve the problem. We have to have relationships. We have to have real love. And as the above quote states, that real ever-lasting relationship exists between the soul and God. Only in that relationship do we never have to fear loss, for it is eternal. Even without our knowledge the relationship still exists, as God is within our heart always watching over us. And when we turn our love back to Him then we experience this “everlasting happiness” which we are all searching for.
I remember whenever I would experience some sort of happiness, when things would start to go well in my life, immediately the fear of loss would rush into my consciousness. “When is this going to end?” I knew it would. It always did. After some time of experiencing this duality of gain and loss the fear would take over. This happened with relationships, this happened with school and work, even (or especially) on drugs. I would be high as a kite, oblivious to the world, but then came the comedown. Even the onset of comedown would bring fear and grief. Why does it have to end? Why can’t I be like this forever? And sometimes those comedowns were extremely hard. From so high to so low, just like that.
Because of this fear we may not want to enter into any sort of relationships. Why go through all of the trouble if it will simply end sooner or later? Then we become a bitter hermit who hides from the world (I speak from experience here too). But this will not solve the problem. We have to have relationships. We have to have real love. And as the above quote states, that real ever-lasting relationship exists between the soul and God. Only in that relationship do we never have to fear loss, for it is eternal. Even without our knowledge the relationship still exists, as God is within our heart always watching over us. And when we turn our love back to Him then we experience this “everlasting happiness” which we are all searching for.
Honest food guide
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What foods should you eat?
Is this question really that difficult to answer? Lots of people seem to think so. Indeed, from what I see people all around me eat, it would seem there is a huge need for some basic common-sense food education.
This website has a free downloadable easy-to-read guide that distinguishes foods that cause disease and foods that are good for health. It is very nicely presented. I agree completely (except for the thing about fish oils; not because they aren't healthy, but because I don't want to get the karma from killing the fish).
So, have a heart and be healthy and happy!
Honest food guide
→ Home
What foods should you eat?
Is this question really that difficult to answer? Lots of people seem to think so. Indeed, from what I see people all around me eat, it would seem there is a huge need for some basic common-sense food education.
This website has a free downloadable easy-to-read guide that distinguishes foods that cause disease and foods that are good for health. It is very nicely presented. I agree completely (except for the thing about fish oils; not because they aren't healthy, but because I don't want to get the karma from killing the fish).
So, have a heart and be healthy and happy!
Devamrita Swami: How much Krishna consciousness do you want to bite off?
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There is a force that makes us act in the material world, even though we do not know what we are doing, or why we are doing it. We propose a new standard of intelligence: someone who can see this temporary material energy acts is a truly brilliant scientist. Not someone who can merely create some brilliant technology.
We need to understand that we should give the best of our lives to Krishna.
So, how much Krishna consciousness do you want to bite off?
We need to overhaul our lifestyle.
Who gives the best advice? What is the "absolute"? Where do you go to get knowledge of your true identity?
Please say: "give me the Bhagavad-Gita"
Conditioned life means denying Krishna - in a variety of ways. Some people have a fear that by focusing too much on Krishna they become limited or sectarian.
Where did personalism come from? Who is the best (unlimited) person? As soon as we acknowledge someone as a person that means there is personal obligation. We have calculated that the best way we can get on with our enjoyment program is to ignore the person Krishna. We have ourselves brainwashed into thinking: "I have no time"
We must have a progressive plan how to go forward in Krishna consciousness, otherwise the material world will pull us back.
Questions:
- But I don't have enough disciple to practice all of Krishna consciousness.
- I see disciple as just following the teaching, not some victorian thing imposed upon us.
- Will I appreciate Krishna consciousness if I just subject myself to it?
- It seems like we should just read to enjoy the verse, not thinking "if I read this verse it is going to make me x,y,z". We should be attached to the result, right?
- Will our freedom always be limited?
- You say that real religion does not require you to believe in anything, but can be experienced in the laboratory, but then you say some faith must be there in the beginning?
- Vivekananda said that it is very good to be born in a church, but it is very bad to die in it, because you do need some kind of system when you are at the embryonic stage until you can stand alone.
- Perhaps she is talking about when you come to the spiritual platform from the material platform?
- Isn't it up to you to find you path? How can you say that somebody else's path is not valid?
- There are so many maps by so many different religions, all claiming to be valid.
- It really winds me up when I'm told "whatever you do, it has to go to Krishna". How do I do it? Do I have to go all the way into the laboratory, since I can't talk to Krishna directly? I can also misinterpret what I hear.
- Surely you can chant someone's glories by talking about him, not just by chanting?
- I want to be convinced that this is the path.
- In the Bible it says "in the beginning was the word", but the translation of the original greek is "logos" which means "conversation", like the Bhagavad-Gita's conversation between Krishna and Arjuna.
- I think in the Indian mentality there is a lot of thinking "I can be God", but in the Christian world people don't consciously think that. Also, a Muslim is always thinking that the best position is to be a servant of God. Not how he can become God.
- Do we not believe in Advaita? Becoming one with God does not mean wanting to be God.
- If you become realized you are a part of the whole is that still duality? Is the thing that is left after the body decays is not the whole?
- We need sat-sanga discussion to understand what we are reading, otherwise there will be so many misconceptions.
Devamrita Swami: How much Krishna consciousness do you want to bite off?
→ Home
There is a force that makes us act in the material world, even though we do not know what we are doing, or why we are doing it. We propose a new standard of intelligence: someone who can see this temporary material energy acts is a truly brilliant scientist. Not someone who can merely create some brilliant technology.
We need to understand that we should give the best of our lives to Krishna.
So, how much Krishna consciousness do you want to bite off?
We need to overhaul our lifestyle.
Who gives the best advice? What is the "absolute"? Where do you go to get knowledge of your true identity?
Please say: "give me the Bhagavad-Gita"
Conditioned life means denying Krishna - in a variety of ways. Some people have a fear that by focusing too much on Krishna they become limited or sectarian.
Where did personalism come from? Who is the best (unlimited) person? As soon as we acknowledge someone as a person that means there is personal obligation. We have calculated that the best way we can get on with our enjoyment program is to ignore the person Krishna. We have ourselves brainwashed into thinking: "I have no time"
We must have a progressive plan how to go forward in Krishna consciousness, otherwise the material world will pull us back.
Questions:
- But I don't have enough disciple to practice all of Krishna consciousness.
- I see disciple as just following the teaching, not some victorian thing imposed upon us.
- Will I appreciate Krishna consciousness if I just subject myself to it?
- It seems like we should just read to enjoy the verse, not thinking "if I read this verse it is going to make me x,y,z". We should be attached to the result, right?
- Will our freedom always be limited?
- You say that real religion does not require you to believe in anything, but can be experienced in the laboratory, but then you say some faith must be there in the beginning?
- Vivekananda said that it is very good to be born in a church, but it is very bad to die in it, because you do need some kind of system when you are at the embryonic stage until you can stand alone.
- Perhaps she is talking about when you come to the spiritual platform from the material platform?
- Isn't it up to you to find you path? How can you say that somebody else's path is not valid?
- There are so many maps by so many different religions, all claiming to be valid.
- It really winds me up when I'm told "whatever you do, it has to go to Krishna". How do I do it? Do I have to go all the way into the laboratory, since I can't talk to Krishna directly? I can also misinterpret what I hear.
- Surely you can chant someone's glories by talking about him, not just by chanting?
- I want to be convinced that this is the path.
- In the Bible it says "in the beginning was the word", but the translation of the original greek is "logos" which means "conversation", like the Bhagavad-Gita's conversation between Krishna and Arjuna.
- I think in the Indian mentality there is a lot of thinking "I can be God", but in the Christian world people don't consciously think that. Also, a Muslim is always thinking that the best position is to be a servant of God. Not how he can become God.
- Do we not believe in Advaita? Becoming one with God does not mean wanting to be God.
- If you become realized you are a part of the whole is that still duality? Is the thing that is left after the body decays is not the whole?
- We need sat-sanga discussion to understand what we are reading, otherwise there will be so many misconceptions.
Gurudeva stopover: day 1 + 2
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My spiritual master, Devamrita Swami, recently visited my humble little abode. Not much to report. I was so busy serving and arranging things that I didn't ask him any questions. Actually, all the many worries, doubts and concerns that had been on my mind evaporated in his association. I ended up not needing to ask him anything.
Hitesh was traveling with Guru Maharaja. He is due to get initiated at the Ukraine festival sometime very soon (or perhaps it has happened already). It was nice to see old gloomy Manchester resident Hitesh (judging by his old passport photo) literally glowing in his saffron robes. Krishna consciousness creates happiness. No question about it (Lilamayi Subhadra also thinks so).
The two of us worked together nicely cooking for the Guru. Here is what we prepared on the two (and a half) days:
Day 1:
- Salad with radishes and carrots
- Basmati rice with wild rice
- Tomato soup with zucchini
- Stir fried broccoli and sweet potato subji
- Organic corn on the cob (which he really liked; it was the first time I found organic corn in the local ASDA supermarket)
- Wholemeal easy apple pie with vegan custard
Day 2:
- Salad with cherry tomatoes and cucumber
- Yellow basmati rice with wild rice
- Oven roasted vegetables with rosemary
- Spicy spinach and tomato subji
- Split mung dal soup
- Wholemeal carrot and sunflower seed cookies
Day 3:
- Cauliflower and pea samosas for the flight (which weren't quite spicy enough, apparently)
Gurudeva stopover: day 1 + 2
→ Home
My spiritual master, Devamrita Swami, recently visited my humble little abode. Not much to report. I was so busy serving and arranging things that I didn't ask him any questions. Actually, all the many worries, doubts and concerns that had been on my mind evaporated in his association. I ended up not needing to ask him anything.
Hitesh was traveling with Guru Maharaja. He is due to get initiated at the Ukraine festival sometime very soon (or perhaps it has happened already). It was nice to see old gloomy Manchester resident Hitesh (judging by his old passport photo) literally glowing in his saffron robes. Krishna consciousness creates happiness. No question about it (Lilamayi Subhadra also thinks so).
The two of us worked together nicely cooking for the Guru. Here is what we prepared on the two (and a half) days:
Day 1:
- Salad with radishes and carrots
- Basmati rice with wild rice
- Tomato soup with zucchini
- Stir fried broccoli and sweet potato subji
- Organic corn on the cob (which he really liked; it was the first time I found organic corn in the local ASDA supermarket)
- Wholemeal easy apple pie with vegan custard
Day 2:
- Salad with cherry tomatoes and cucumber
- Yellow basmati rice with wild rice
- Oven roasted vegetables with rosemary
- Spicy spinach and tomato subji
- Split mung dal soup
- Wholemeal carrot and sunflower seed cookies
Day 3:
- Cauliflower and pea samosas for the flight (which weren't quite spicy enough, apparently)
Only Him
→ Servant's Report
He looks at her from across the meadow. Her brownish hair waves in the wind as she dances and smiles, but not at him. He realizes she has no interest in him as much as he longs for her. It was always like that with every girl. The one he liked could care less. Is that why he liked them? To torture himself? Just then he noticed another looking in his direction, with that same expression of want. But this time, he was the one who did not reciprocate. “Why is it that we always are looking for the one who is looking for someone else?” he wondered. “Why can’t we find the one who could fully repose our love?” Then it hit him, it’s only Krishna who could do that. Only Krishna who loves everyone, unconditionally. Only He who no matter how many turn toward Him can truly satisfy their feelings. Only Him.
Only Him
→ Servant's Report
He looks at her from across the meadow. Her brownish hair waves in the wind as she dances and smiles, but not at him. He realizes she has no interest in him as much as he longs for her. It was always like that with every girl. The one he liked could care less. Is that why he liked them? To torture himself? Just then he noticed another looking in his direction, with that same expression of want. But this time, he was the one who did not reciprocate. “Why is it that we always are looking for the one who is looking for someone else?” he wondered. “Why can’t we find the one who could fully repose our love?” Then it hit him, it’s only Krishna who could do that. Only Krishna who loves everyone, unconditionally. Only He who no matter how many turn toward Him can truly satisfy their feelings. Only Him.
My Father’s New House
→ Servant's Report
I’m staying at my father’s new house in Gainesville. He’s finally done it, after all these years. Bought his own house and moved back to his favorite place. And I’m happy for him. Of course, to tell you the truth, when I first found out that he was planning to do this I was a bit surprised and maybe even a little disappointed. After all, he is almost 58, which in Vedic culture is a time to be winding down one’s material responsibilities and preparing for the final exam of leaving this world, not accumulating a mortgage and tons of debt. One is supposed to have gone through the full life experience and now, children grown, pass things off to them and have time and energy to fully focus on one’s spiritual life.
But he has sacrificed much of his life for service. This is the first time he’ll have owned property in his entire life, which is more surprising given the fact that he’s been a successful attorney for the past 25 years. He sacrificed his youth to living in and running a temple, for the first couple years barely able to pay for food. He worked tirelessly in that position, and then even more so when he became a lawyer. Instead of making a healthy living, he worked mostly for the movement, losing much income to preserve and protect the mission his spiritual master had given him. We were never in want, but we didn’t have the most comforts either. Mostly we lived modestly and the sometimes embellishments were brought about by his going into debt.
So now he has this house and he deserves to enjoy. He still has hopes for service in a new field and maybe will be able to serve more now than he ever has. But he also has to worry about paying that mortgage and the many other bills associated with it. And he’s not getting any younger. Where will he get the energy? What if he starts developing serious health problems? I guess we can’t let these kinds of questions stop us from taking risks in life. Otherwise, we would never be able to do anything.
But when I look at my own life, I wonder about the future and how much I want to become invested in this society. In “getting my share”. In other words, going about the normal routine of job, home, family and the rest. How long will this society continue? When will a major war take place? When will economic collapse occur? When will a hurricane or earthquake come along and destroy everything? Or simply when will death come? Once again, we can’t think about these questions all the time and plan our life accordingly, living in bomb shelters or germ-free biospheres. I recently heard that the reason BV, my former gurukula (spiritual boarding school) folded was because it bought the land based on small initial payments and then a balloon payment five years down the road. They agreed to this deal thinking that a war would come by then and therefore they wouldn’t ever have to pay it.
However, at the present rate I don’t think this society can last much longer. So how could I just go about my life as if nothing were wrong? I have to do something meaningful to help change take place. I can’t just worry about my socio-economic position. I saw a couple of nice documentaries last night. One was called The Corporation, a vivid expose of the utter power and nightmarish effects the modern corporations have upon us all. I didn’t watch the whole thing, but saw enough to get the point. Hopefully I’ll be able to watch it in full another time. The other, I can’t remember the name, was about a lady named Helen Kolnukaff?, who at one point 25 years ago became one of the leaders of the anti-nuclear arms movement by giving up her profession as a medical doctor to travel all around the world and write books about the horrors and politics of nuclear war. In this doc she has written a new book all these years later and struggles to bring people back to the issues in a changing environment of corporate control and mass media and the overall apathy of people today. Although going through many obstacles, she connects on a grassroots level and gradually through her optimistic mentality begins to spark the movement again. She said at one point that a cynic is simply an optimist who has given up.
In seeing these I validated my understanding of the terrible circumstances we face today in society and the great need for change. And I also realized that with determination and faith in God one person can make a difference. But can I be that person?
But he has sacrificed much of his life for service. This is the first time he’ll have owned property in his entire life, which is more surprising given the fact that he’s been a successful attorney for the past 25 years. He sacrificed his youth to living in and running a temple, for the first couple years barely able to pay for food. He worked tirelessly in that position, and then even more so when he became a lawyer. Instead of making a healthy living, he worked mostly for the movement, losing much income to preserve and protect the mission his spiritual master had given him. We were never in want, but we didn’t have the most comforts either. Mostly we lived modestly and the sometimes embellishments were brought about by his going into debt.
So now he has this house and he deserves to enjoy. He still has hopes for service in a new field and maybe will be able to serve more now than he ever has. But he also has to worry about paying that mortgage and the many other bills associated with it. And he’s not getting any younger. Where will he get the energy? What if he starts developing serious health problems? I guess we can’t let these kinds of questions stop us from taking risks in life. Otherwise, we would never be able to do anything.
But when I look at my own life, I wonder about the future and how much I want to become invested in this society. In “getting my share”. In other words, going about the normal routine of job, home, family and the rest. How long will this society continue? When will a major war take place? When will economic collapse occur? When will a hurricane or earthquake come along and destroy everything? Or simply when will death come? Once again, we can’t think about these questions all the time and plan our life accordingly, living in bomb shelters or germ-free biospheres. I recently heard that the reason BV, my former gurukula (spiritual boarding school) folded was because it bought the land based on small initial payments and then a balloon payment five years down the road. They agreed to this deal thinking that a war would come by then and therefore they wouldn’t ever have to pay it.
However, at the present rate I don’t think this society can last much longer. So how could I just go about my life as if nothing were wrong? I have to do something meaningful to help change take place. I can’t just worry about my socio-economic position. I saw a couple of nice documentaries last night. One was called The Corporation, a vivid expose of the utter power and nightmarish effects the modern corporations have upon us all. I didn’t watch the whole thing, but saw enough to get the point. Hopefully I’ll be able to watch it in full another time. The other, I can’t remember the name, was about a lady named Helen Kolnukaff?, who at one point 25 years ago became one of the leaders of the anti-nuclear arms movement by giving up her profession as a medical doctor to travel all around the world and write books about the horrors and politics of nuclear war. In this doc she has written a new book all these years later and struggles to bring people back to the issues in a changing environment of corporate control and mass media and the overall apathy of people today. Although going through many obstacles, she connects on a grassroots level and gradually through her optimistic mentality begins to spark the movement again. She said at one point that a cynic is simply an optimist who has given up.
In seeing these I validated my understanding of the terrible circumstances we face today in society and the great need for change. And I also realized that with determination and faith in God one person can make a difference. But can I be that person?
My Father’s New House
→ Servant's Report
I’m staying at my father’s new house in Gainesville. He’s finally done it, after all these years. Bought his own house and moved back to his favorite place. And I’m happy for him. Of course, to tell you the truth, when I first found out that he was planning to do this I was a bit surprised and maybe even a little disappointed. After all, he is almost 58, which in Vedic culture is a time to be winding down one’s material responsibilities and preparing for the final exam of leaving this world, not accumulating a mortgage and tons of debt. One is supposed to have gone through the full life experience and now, children grown, pass things off to them and have time and energy to fully focus on one’s spiritual life.
But he has sacrificed much of his life for service. This is the first time he’ll have owned property in his entire life, which is more surprising given the fact that he’s been a successful attorney for the past 25 years. He sacrificed his youth to living in and running a temple, for the first couple years barely able to pay for food. He worked tirelessly in that position, and then even more so when he became a lawyer. Instead of making a healthy living, he worked mostly for the movement, losing much income to preserve and protect the mission his spiritual master had given him. We were never in want, but we didn’t have the most comforts either. Mostly we lived modestly and the sometimes embellishments were brought about by his going into debt.
So now he has this house and he deserves to enjoy. He still has hopes for service in a new field and maybe will be able to serve more now than he ever has. But he also has to worry about paying that mortgage and the many other bills associated with it. And he’s not getting any younger. Where will he get the energy? What if he starts developing serious health problems? I guess we can’t let these kinds of questions stop us from taking risks in life. Otherwise, we would never be able to do anything.
But when I look at my own life, I wonder about the future and how much I want to become invested in this society. In “getting my share”. In other words, going about the normal routine of job, home, family and the rest. How long will this society continue? When will a major war take place? When will economic collapse occur? When will a hurricane or earthquake come along and destroy everything? Or simply when will death come? Once again, we can’t think about these questions all the time and plan our life accordingly, living in bomb shelters or germ-free biospheres. I recently heard that the reason BV, my former gurukula (spiritual boarding school) folded was because it bought the land based on small initial payments and then a balloon payment five years down the road. They agreed to this deal thinking that a war would come by then and therefore they wouldn’t ever have to pay it.
However, at the present rate I don’t think this society can last much longer. So how could I just go about my life as if nothing were wrong? I have to do something meaningful to help change take place. I can’t just worry about my socio-economic position. I saw a couple of nice documentaries last night. One was called The Corporation, a vivid expose of the utter power and nightmarish effects the modern corporations have upon us all. I didn’t watch the whole thing, but saw enough to get the point. Hopefully I’ll be able to watch it in full another time. The other, I can’t remember the name, was about a lady named Helen Kolnukaff?, who at one point 25 years ago became one of the leaders of the anti-nuclear arms movement by giving up her profession as a medical doctor to travel all around the world and write books about the horrors and politics of nuclear war. In this doc she has written a new book all these years later and struggles to bring people back to the issues in a changing environment of corporate control and mass media and the overall apathy of people today. Although going through many obstacles, she connects on a grassroots level and gradually through her optimistic mentality begins to spark the movement again. She said at one point that a cynic is simply an optimist who has given up.
In seeing these I validated my understanding of the terrible circumstances we face today in society and the great need for change. And I also realized that with determination and faith in God one person can make a difference. But can I be that person?
But he has sacrificed much of his life for service. This is the first time he’ll have owned property in his entire life, which is more surprising given the fact that he’s been a successful attorney for the past 25 years. He sacrificed his youth to living in and running a temple, for the first couple years barely able to pay for food. He worked tirelessly in that position, and then even more so when he became a lawyer. Instead of making a healthy living, he worked mostly for the movement, losing much income to preserve and protect the mission his spiritual master had given him. We were never in want, but we didn’t have the most comforts either. Mostly we lived modestly and the sometimes embellishments were brought about by his going into debt.
So now he has this house and he deserves to enjoy. He still has hopes for service in a new field and maybe will be able to serve more now than he ever has. But he also has to worry about paying that mortgage and the many other bills associated with it. And he’s not getting any younger. Where will he get the energy? What if he starts developing serious health problems? I guess we can’t let these kinds of questions stop us from taking risks in life. Otherwise, we would never be able to do anything.
But when I look at my own life, I wonder about the future and how much I want to become invested in this society. In “getting my share”. In other words, going about the normal routine of job, home, family and the rest. How long will this society continue? When will a major war take place? When will economic collapse occur? When will a hurricane or earthquake come along and destroy everything? Or simply when will death come? Once again, we can’t think about these questions all the time and plan our life accordingly, living in bomb shelters or germ-free biospheres. I recently heard that the reason BV, my former gurukula (spiritual boarding school) folded was because it bought the land based on small initial payments and then a balloon payment five years down the road. They agreed to this deal thinking that a war would come by then and therefore they wouldn’t ever have to pay it.
However, at the present rate I don’t think this society can last much longer. So how could I just go about my life as if nothing were wrong? I have to do something meaningful to help change take place. I can’t just worry about my socio-economic position. I saw a couple of nice documentaries last night. One was called The Corporation, a vivid expose of the utter power and nightmarish effects the modern corporations have upon us all. I didn’t watch the whole thing, but saw enough to get the point. Hopefully I’ll be able to watch it in full another time. The other, I can’t remember the name, was about a lady named Helen Kolnukaff?, who at one point 25 years ago became one of the leaders of the anti-nuclear arms movement by giving up her profession as a medical doctor to travel all around the world and write books about the horrors and politics of nuclear war. In this doc she has written a new book all these years later and struggles to bring people back to the issues in a changing environment of corporate control and mass media and the overall apathy of people today. Although going through many obstacles, she connects on a grassroots level and gradually through her optimistic mentality begins to spark the movement again. She said at one point that a cynic is simply an optimist who has given up.
In seeing these I validated my understanding of the terrible circumstances we face today in society and the great need for change. And I also realized that with determination and faith in God one person can make a difference. But can I be that person?
Its Own Accord
→ Servant's Report
"You have to be a man of action," they say. "Don't wait for things to come to you. For maybe they never will." Yet I look toward the sky dreamily thinking about a mystical destiny and gain coming of its own accord. How long will I look?
Its Own Accord
→ Servant's Report
"You have to be a man of action," they say. "Don't wait for things to come to you. For maybe they never will." Yet I look toward the sky dreamily thinking about a mystical destiny and gain coming of its own accord. How long will I look?
Changes
→ Servant's Report
So many opinions, what to do and what not. Mistakes to learn from, new systems discovered. Am I really going there, back again? Didn’t I run from this once before? Feelings I forgot were there. Interesting it is, but the mind can only think about so many things. Do I want this going during japa, during puja? What happened to Krishna?
Changes
→ Servant's Report
So many opinions, what to do and what not. Mistakes to learn from, new systems discovered. Am I really going there, back again? Didn’t I run from this once before? Feelings I forgot were there. Interesting it is, but the mind can only think about so many things. Do I want this going during japa, during puja? What happened to Krishna?
AppleCare MacBook Pro repair experience
→ Home
My MacBook Pro needed a repair. So then, here is a first hand account of my experience with the AppleCare tech support.
The first problem I had was the battery malfunctioning. It would continually display a battery life estimate of 55 hours (which would have been nice, if true), even when empty. So, I phoned Apple and the tech support person ran me through a long list of trouble-shooting steps. She concluded that the battery was indeed faulty and arranged to send me a new battery. The new battery arrived two days later. With the battery came a prepaid UPS box to send the faulty battery back (Apple took my credit card number, so if I did not returned the old battery they will bill me for it).
Then I decided to complain about the infamous "whine" problem. The MacBook Pros make a faint, high-pitched whining/buzzing noise when running idle while on battery power. Apple had been denying the problem until last month when they announced a fix. I again phoned Apple support and (after about 45 minutes of running through every possible other thing that might be causing the noise) the tech support person arranged for the MacBook to be picked up for repair. The very next day a box for the computer arrived by UPS. UPS collected the computer a few hours later that same day.
Now the trouble started. It seems that since practically all MacBook Pros had this "whining noise" problem, everyone on the planet decided to send their laptop into Apple for repair at the same time. The result was that Apple was very short on the part (motherboard/logicboard) needed for the repair. To cut a long story short, after 4 weeks of my repair being "on hold - in queue for part" I phoned Apple and told them I critically needed my laptop. 3 days later it arrived in the post fully repaired and in good working order.
Tech support staff were always friendly, expert and helpful. The longest I was on hold for was about 3 minutes. They explained the situation with the long queue for the part, saying that repairs normally will take no longer than 7 days. They then upgraded the priority of my repair so it would "jump the queue".
I learnt the key words to say when talking to an Apple tech support person. They are "critical" and "unacceptable" . The staff are trained to agree to repair almost any complaint, however small, if you say it is "unacceptable". If you say the use of your computer is "critical", the priority of the repair gets boosted and it is completed in record time.
Apple recently has won a whole load of tech support awards. They are generally rated equally to Lenovo (both got grade A). In this particular review of computer tech support the other manufacturers scored as follows:
- Apple: A
- IBM/Lenovo: A
- Fujitsu/Siemens: A-
- Dell: B+
- Gateway: B+
- Sony: B
- HP: B
- Acer: C
- Toshiba: D-
(also check out PCMag's recent consumer satisfaction survey. Yup, Apple comes first there, too.)
AppleCare MacBook Pro repair experience
→ Home
My MacBook Pro needed a repair. So then, here is a first hand account of my experience with the AppleCare tech support.
The first problem I had was the battery malfunctioning. It would continually display a battery life estimate of 55 hours (which would have been nice, if true), even when empty. So, I phoned Apple and the tech support person ran me through a long list of trouble-shooting steps. She concluded that the battery was indeed faulty and arranged to send me a new battery. The new battery arrived two days later. With the battery came a prepaid UPS box to send the faulty battery back (Apple took my credit card number, so if I did not returned the old battery they will bill me for it).
Then I decided to complain about the infamous "whine" problem. The MacBook Pros make a faint, high-pitched whining/buzzing noise when running idle while on battery power. Apple had been denying the problem until last month when they announced a fix. I again phoned Apple support and (after about 45 minutes of running through every possible other thing that might be causing the noise) the tech support person arranged for the MacBook to be picked up for repair. The very next day a box for the computer arrived by UPS. UPS collected the computer a few hours later that same day.
Now the trouble started. It seems that since practically all MacBook Pros had this "whining noise" problem, everyone on the planet decided to send their laptop into Apple for repair at the same time. The result was that Apple was very short on the part (motherboard/logicboard) needed for the repair. To cut a long story short, after 4 weeks of my repair being "on hold - in queue for part" I phoned Apple and told them I critically needed my laptop. 3 days later it arrived in the post fully repaired and in good working order.
Tech support staff were always friendly, expert and helpful. The longest I was on hold for was about 3 minutes. They explained the situation with the long queue for the part, saying that repairs normally will take no longer than 7 days. They then upgraded the priority of my repair so it would "jump the queue".
I learnt the key words to say when talking to an Apple tech support person. They are "critical" and "unacceptable" . The staff are trained to agree to repair almost any complaint, however small, if you say it is "unacceptable". If you say the use of your computer is "critical", the priority of the repair gets boosted and it is completed in record time.
Apple recently has won a whole load of tech support awards. They are generally rated equally to Lenovo (both got grade A). In this particular review of computer tech support the other manufacturers scored as follows:
- Apple: A
- IBM/Lenovo: A
- Fujitsu/Siemens: A-
- Dell: B+
- Gateway: B+
- Sony: B
- HP: B
- Acer: C
- Toshiba: D-
(also check out PCMag's recent consumer satisfaction survey. Yup, Apple comes first there, too.)
Janmastami 2006 in Cardiff and Swansea
→ Home
I attended Krishna's birthday in Wales.
I took a train down to Cardiff, walked to the Soul Centre and felt like I was going to faint from the strain of the long trip and fasting. Some fruit helped restore my body.
I then took some pictures of the Soul Centre. It is a very stylish urban spiritual centre, don't you think?
The devotees went out on harinam in Cardiff for two and a half hours. It was great! After about an hour of chanting while walking around the city centre we spread out some blankets and spent the rest of the time sitting down and chanting.
Just as we were preparing the seated area a group of about five young people came up to me and asked me what "all this" was about. I briefly started to explain when one of them asked if we believed in the Bible. I said "yes, we do". Somewhat surprised, the guy started to ask some more questions. By this time I started to realize that these were rather fanatical (though respectful and inquisitive) Christians I was talking to.
Soon the kirtan had started and was going on in full-force, purifying the surrounding atmosphere. Oh well, I thought, I might as well take the opportunity to talk to these evangelical Christians about Krishna while they hear the holy name.
They presented all kinds of doubts and attacks against the notions of reincarnation, salvation outside of solely following Jesus, karma, vegetarianism (apparently, it says in the Bible that God wants us to eat meat). I explained the Krishna conscious perspective on all these point. One young man was surprised to hear the sensible KC viewpoints. The others however were closed-minded. They strained their brains to come up with something that "this heathen Hare Krishna" could not answer.
However, little did they know that all knowledge comes from Krishna, especially on his birthday. With Krishna on my side I could answer all their points. After we had talked for quite some time they asked me what distingishes a bona-fide religion from a bogus one. I answered that one aspect of a bona-fide religion is that it has a disciplic succession, like catholicism, for example.
I was very much surprised when they shoot back:
Catholics are not Christians!!
They argued that the catholic church has changed aspects of the literal meaning of the Bible. It also believes that we can go to heaven simply by following a mechanical process without surrendering our heart (which is actually true: someone can, for example, go to Gandarvaloka, which resembles the Christian idea of heaven, just by following the necessary rules and regulations of pious life; though, of course, that isn't the perfection of life).
I now realize that the lack of a disciplic succession is the main fault in evangelical Christianity. It takes the Bible as literally true. Too literally true. Without a chain of teachers coming down from the original teacher it is very easy to misinterpret the teacher's teachings and loose the true meaning (BG4.2). That is exactly what these poor Christians have done. They follow the exact words of the Bible without taking into account time, place, circumstance and intent. It is not just Chistians however. There are so many bogus interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gita which distort the true meaning.
Later, returning to Swansea, we sang bhajans until late into the night. Suki-Krishna expertly led the most amazing chanting on the harmonium. We also watched a documentary about Indradyumna Swami's amazing Festival of India tour. It is such an inspiring series of festivals! The film made me want to go to Poland and help out (but I won't because my body couldn't handle the intense austerity of the tour).
At midnight, the time of Krishna's appearance, over 100 different preparations were offered to the deity. The devotees then partook in the obligatory feast. As usual, I couldn't eat more than about two preparations because of dietary restrictions. So is life. On the bright side: my body held up surprisingly well. I even managed to chant 54 rounds throughout the day.
Janmastami 2006 in Cardiff and Swansea
→ Home
I attended Krishna's birthday in Wales.
I took a train down to Cardiff, walked to the Soul Centre and felt like I was going to faint from the strain of the long trip and fasting. Some fruit helped restore my body.
I then took some pictures of the Soul Centre. It is a very stylish urban spiritual centre, don't you think?
The devotees went out on harinam in Cardiff for two and a half hours. It was great! After about an hour of chanting while walking around the city centre we spread out some blankets and spent the rest of the time sitting down and chanting.
Just as we were preparing the seated area a group of about five young people came up to me and asked me what "all this" was about. I briefly started to explain when one of them asked if we believed in the Bible. I said "yes, we do". Somewhat surprised, the guy started to ask some more questions. By this time I started to realize that these were rather fanatical (though respectful and inquisitive) Christians I was talking to.
Soon the kirtan had started and was going on in full-force, purifying the surrounding atmosphere. Oh well, I thought, I might as well take the opportunity to talk to these evangelical Christians about Krishna while they hear the holy name.
They presented all kinds of doubts and attacks against the notions of reincarnation, salvation outside of solely following Jesus, karma, vegetarianism (apparently, it says in the Bible that God wants us to eat meat). I explained the Krishna conscious perspective on all these point. One young man was surprised to hear the sensible KC viewpoints. The others however were closed-minded. They strained their brains to come up with something that "this heathen Hare Krishna" could not answer.
However, little did they know that all knowledge comes from Krishna, especially on his birthday. With Krishna on my side I could answer all their points. After we had talked for quite some time they asked me what distingishes a bona-fide religion from a bogus one. I answered that one aspect of a bona-fide religion is that it has a disciplic succession, like catholicism, for example.
I was very much surprised when they shoot back:
Catholics are not Christians!!
They argued that the catholic church has changed aspects of the literal meaning of the Bible. It also believes that we can go to heaven simply by following a mechanical process without surrendering our heart (which is actually true: someone can, for example, go to Gandarvaloka, which resembles the Christian idea of heaven, just by following the necessary rules and regulations of pious life; though, of course, that isn't the perfection of life).
I now realize that the lack of a disciplic succession is the main fault in evangelical Christianity. It takes the Bible as literally true. Too literally true. Without a chain of teachers coming down from the original teacher it is very easy to misinterpret the teacher's teachings and loose the true meaning (BG4.2). That is exactly what these poor Christians have done. They follow the exact words of the Bible without taking into account time, place, circumstance and intent. It is not just Chistians however. There are so many bogus interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gita which distort the true meaning.
Later, returning to Swansea, we sang bhajans until late into the night. Suki-Krishna expertly led the most amazing chanting on the harmonium. We also watched a documentary about Indradyumna Swami's amazing Festival of India tour. It is such an inspiring series of festivals! The film made me want to go to Poland and help out (but I won't because my body couldn't handle the intense austerity of the tour).
At midnight, the time of Krishna's appearance, over 100 different preparations were offered to the deity. The devotees then partook in the obligatory feast. As usual, I couldn't eat more than about two preparations because of dietary restrictions. So is life. On the bright side: my body held up surprisingly well. I even managed to chant 54 rounds throughout the day.
Management technique: eat together
→ Home
Joel from the popular 'Joel on Software' blog, talks about the The Identity Management Method of managing a team. His advice: eat together to stay together!
A method I??(TM)m pretty comfortable with, is eating together. I??(TM)ve always made a point of eating lunch with my coworkers, and at Fog Creek we serve catered lunches for the whole team every day and eat together at one big table. It??(TM)s hard to understate what a big impact this has on making the company feel like a family, in the good way, I think. In six years, nobody has ever quit
Management technique: eat together
→ Home
Joel from the popular 'Joel on Software' blog, talks about the The Identity Management Method of managing a team. His advice: eat together to stay together!
A method I??(TM)m pretty comfortable with, is eating together. I??(TM)ve always made a point of eating lunch with my coworkers, and at Fog Creek we serve catered lunches for the whole team every day and eat together at one big table. It??(TM)s hard to understate what a big impact this has on making the company feel like a family, in the good way, I think. In six years, nobody has ever quit
Vidyapati dasa is no one special. 2006-08-17 08:21:26
→ Vidyapati dasa is no one special.
I've had a busy time since arriving in Wellington. I'm certain that the only way I've been able to keep functioning is solely by the mercy of the devotees here.
On Tuesday I went to see Dr. Dan, who is primary reason I am in Wellington. He did a few tests, said that in some areas it looks like the treatment he gave me last time I visited had been fairly successful. He did a few other tests, one that somehow measures energy, and he said that I seemed to have 1/2 the amount of energy that I should have, which I kinda of agreed with. Then, he hooked me up to some machine, which measured...something, i'm not really sure... I don't realy know exactly what he was doing...but my Gurudeva said that in terms of my health I have to use whatever saw is available to cut the wood, so I'm just gonna surrender to Dr. Dan and see what happens. He practices heaps of different alternative medical systems. He has put me on some homeopathic stuff, which he says will help me with my revolutionary tendencies. He thinks that this might be part of my health problems. We'll see what happens.
Tuesday night we read Krsna book together, and sang some bhajana's, to prepare ourselves for the next day.
Wednesday, of course, was Janmastami. I woke up at 2:30, with a bit of a sore tummy, but full of energy. I got up, along with boddhi, my new room mate extraordinaire, and chanted as much as I could before the morning programme started. It was supposed to start at 4:30, but Mahavana was rather sick, so we just stuck to the regular 7am programme. After I finished my first set of 16 rounds for the day, Mother Khadiravana, Mahavana's wife, asked if I could give bhagavatam class as Mahavana couldn't. So, although I had planed on chanting more, I surrendered, and went to prepare for a class. There were about 13 devotees who showed up at the asrama in the morning. It was nice to see them all, especially Martin who was a very dear friend of mine, but who had a momentary break in his practice of Krsna consciousness. As soon as I finished that class, which was about an hour long, I was asked again by Mother Khadiravana if I would also be able to fill in for Mahavana Prabhu at the Janmastami celebrations, as he was supposed to give class there as well. That was abit more of a surrender. It meant spending much of the day going through the class Mahavana had prepared, getting my head around it, and working my way through the powerpoint he had set up for it. The result was that I didn't get to chant as much as I had hoped to that day. I have yet to actually fulfill my desire to chant 64 rounds on Janmastami. Perhaps next year I'll be able to do that.
I had a surprising amount of energy for the whole day. I think it may have been a result of the one treatment that Dr. Dan gave me. As a result I managed to fast the whole day, till midnight, only taking a small plate to break fast. It was a great festival. Festival days are the mothers of devotion. I tried my hardest to be prayerful all day. My constant prayer was based on a verse in the sixth canto of the Bhagavatam, spoken by Ajamila. It's one I meditate on often. The first line is my favourite "I am such a sinful person." Humility is a good way to start a prayer.
During the festival I was asked by Bhakta Sam to speak to a friend of his, who was a philosophy student, going for his masters degree. It was a huge auterity talking to him, it was so dry. I'm not into philosophy that doesn't have practical application...whats the point? In life I want happiness and success that completely fulfills the deepest desires of my heart, not some process of disecting and analysing arguments for not real purpose other than to enjoy some mental pleasure temporarily.
We broke fast, and got home about 2 am I think. As the following day was Prabhupada's appearance day, I was asked to help cook the feast, which meant waking up at quarter to five...not alot of sleep. It also meant that I missed out on the whole celebration, as I was in the kitchen. I didn't get to read out my offering either. But the feast was good. I finished my rounds at about 6 pm or something like that.
Because I didn't get to read out my offering, I decided to place it on here, so that I can prove that I actually did write one...though it is a fact, I didn't put much effort into it at all. I was too busy preparing classes yesterday to do it.
------------
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to your lotus feet.
Srila Prabhupada, in your most wonderful book, KRSNA, you explain so perfectly what makes Krsna so special. You explain that all of Krsna's activities, from the very moment of His birth are entirely unparralleled. They are completely beyond compare.
Srila Prabhupada, making an analysis of your life, it appears that in many ways, so many of your activities are also unparralleled. Your coming to the west, with the intense desire to serve the instructions of your Gurumaharaja is completely unparralleled. There is no one in the history of the world who endeavoured in this way with so much determination, and faith in the words of their guru. In this way you are unparralleld. Your ability to make thousands and thousands of first class devotees out of so many degraded personalities, turning hippies into happies, is completely unparralleled. You possess an amazing ability to explain the highest spiritual truths, the highest concepts of love of Godhead, in such a way that people from any background are able to grasp the concepts you explain. This is unparralleled. Not only that, but you formulated the perfect progamme of devotional engagement perfectly suited to the nature of passionate westerners. This is totally unparralleled. This is your unparralleled position as founder/acarya extraordinaire.
Srila Prabhupada, I am such a sinful person, but somehow or other, I have now gotten this most wonderful opportunity, by your grace. On this most auspicious day, I beg for your special mercy so that I can completely control my mind, life and senses, and always engage in devotional service, so that I may not fall again into the deep darkness and ignorance of material life. Please grant me this determination, so that my life will be successful.
Please help me to fully appreciate the complete perfection that you have given the whole world through your unparralleled books. I beg today for the eagerness to dedicate my life to your books, and their distribution. At least in some way or another may I always be in direct contact with the distribution of your books, and may I take every opportunity to encourage everyone I meet to take your books seriously in their lives. May I always be a servant of your ISKCON, which is the greatest shelter available in this dark period of the world.
your aspiring servant,
Vidyapati dasa
On Tuesday I went to see Dr. Dan, who is primary reason I am in Wellington. He did a few tests, said that in some areas it looks like the treatment he gave me last time I visited had been fairly successful. He did a few other tests, one that somehow measures energy, and he said that I seemed to have 1/2 the amount of energy that I should have, which I kinda of agreed with. Then, he hooked me up to some machine, which measured...something, i'm not really sure... I don't realy know exactly what he was doing...but my Gurudeva said that in terms of my health I have to use whatever saw is available to cut the wood, so I'm just gonna surrender to Dr. Dan and see what happens. He practices heaps of different alternative medical systems. He has put me on some homeopathic stuff, which he says will help me with my revolutionary tendencies. He thinks that this might be part of my health problems. We'll see what happens.
Tuesday night we read Krsna book together, and sang some bhajana's, to prepare ourselves for the next day.
Wednesday, of course, was Janmastami. I woke up at 2:30, with a bit of a sore tummy, but full of energy. I got up, along with boddhi, my new room mate extraordinaire, and chanted as much as I could before the morning programme started. It was supposed to start at 4:30, but Mahavana was rather sick, so we just stuck to the regular 7am programme. After I finished my first set of 16 rounds for the day, Mother Khadiravana, Mahavana's wife, asked if I could give bhagavatam class as Mahavana couldn't. So, although I had planed on chanting more, I surrendered, and went to prepare for a class. There were about 13 devotees who showed up at the asrama in the morning. It was nice to see them all, especially Martin who was a very dear friend of mine, but who had a momentary break in his practice of Krsna consciousness. As soon as I finished that class, which was about an hour long, I was asked again by Mother Khadiravana if I would also be able to fill in for Mahavana Prabhu at the Janmastami celebrations, as he was supposed to give class there as well. That was abit more of a surrender. It meant spending much of the day going through the class Mahavana had prepared, getting my head around it, and working my way through the powerpoint he had set up for it. The result was that I didn't get to chant as much as I had hoped to that day. I have yet to actually fulfill my desire to chant 64 rounds on Janmastami. Perhaps next year I'll be able to do that.
I had a surprising amount of energy for the whole day. I think it may have been a result of the one treatment that Dr. Dan gave me. As a result I managed to fast the whole day, till midnight, only taking a small plate to break fast. It was a great festival. Festival days are the mothers of devotion. I tried my hardest to be prayerful all day. My constant prayer was based on a verse in the sixth canto of the Bhagavatam, spoken by Ajamila. It's one I meditate on often. The first line is my favourite "I am such a sinful person." Humility is a good way to start a prayer.
During the festival I was asked by Bhakta Sam to speak to a friend of his, who was a philosophy student, going for his masters degree. It was a huge auterity talking to him, it was so dry. I'm not into philosophy that doesn't have practical application...whats the point? In life I want happiness and success that completely fulfills the deepest desires of my heart, not some process of disecting and analysing arguments for not real purpose other than to enjoy some mental pleasure temporarily.
We broke fast, and got home about 2 am I think. As the following day was Prabhupada's appearance day, I was asked to help cook the feast, which meant waking up at quarter to five...not alot of sleep. It also meant that I missed out on the whole celebration, as I was in the kitchen. I didn't get to read out my offering either. But the feast was good. I finished my rounds at about 6 pm or something like that.
Because I didn't get to read out my offering, I decided to place it on here, so that I can prove that I actually did write one...though it is a fact, I didn't put much effort into it at all. I was too busy preparing classes yesterday to do it.
------------
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to your lotus feet.
Srila Prabhupada, in your most wonderful book, KRSNA, you explain so perfectly what makes Krsna so special. You explain that all of Krsna's activities, from the very moment of His birth are entirely unparralleled. They are completely beyond compare.
Srila Prabhupada, making an analysis of your life, it appears that in many ways, so many of your activities are also unparralleled. Your coming to the west, with the intense desire to serve the instructions of your Gurumaharaja is completely unparralleled. There is no one in the history of the world who endeavoured in this way with so much determination, and faith in the words of their guru. In this way you are unparralleld. Your ability to make thousands and thousands of first class devotees out of so many degraded personalities, turning hippies into happies, is completely unparralleled. You possess an amazing ability to explain the highest spiritual truths, the highest concepts of love of Godhead, in such a way that people from any background are able to grasp the concepts you explain. This is unparralleled. Not only that, but you formulated the perfect progamme of devotional engagement perfectly suited to the nature of passionate westerners. This is totally unparralleled. This is your unparralleled position as founder/acarya extraordinaire.
Srila Prabhupada, I am such a sinful person, but somehow or other, I have now gotten this most wonderful opportunity, by your grace. On this most auspicious day, I beg for your special mercy so that I can completely control my mind, life and senses, and always engage in devotional service, so that I may not fall again into the deep darkness and ignorance of material life. Please grant me this determination, so that my life will be successful.
Please help me to fully appreciate the complete perfection that you have given the whole world through your unparralleled books. I beg today for the eagerness to dedicate my life to your books, and their distribution. At least in some way or another may I always be in direct contact with the distribution of your books, and may I take every opportunity to encourage everyone I meet to take your books seriously in their lives. May I always be a servant of your ISKCON, which is the greatest shelter available in this dark period of the world.
your aspiring servant,
Vidyapati dasa
Vidyapati dasa is no one special. 2006-08-17 08:21:26
→ Vidyapati dasa is no one special.
I've had a busy time since arriving in Wellington. I'm certain that the only way I've been able to keep functioning is solely by the mercy of the devotees here.
On Tuesday I went to see Dr. Dan, who is primary reason I am in Wellington. He did a few tests, said that in some areas it looks like the treatment he gave me last time I visited had been fairly successful. He did a few other tests, one that somehow measures energy, and he said that I seemed to have 1/2 the amount of energy that I should have, which I kinda of agreed with. Then, he hooked me up to some machine, which measured...something, i'm not really sure... I don't realy know exactly what he was doing...but my Gurudeva said that in terms of my health I have to use whatever saw is available to cut the wood, so I'm just gonna surrender to Dr. Dan and see what happens. He practices heaps of different alternative medical systems. He has put me on some homeopathic stuff, which he says will help me with my revolutionary tendencies. He thinks that this might be part of my health problems. We'll see what happens.
Tuesday night we read Krsna book together, and sang some bhajana's, to prepare ourselves for the next day.
Wednesday, of course, was Janmastami. I woke up at 2:30, with a bit of a sore tummy, but full of energy. I got up, along with boddhi, my new room mate extraordinaire, and chanted as much as I could before the morning programme started. It was supposed to start at 4:30, but Mahavana was rather sick, so we just stuck to the regular 7am programme. After I finished my first set of 16 rounds for the day, Mother Khadiravana, Mahavana's wife, asked if I could give bhagavatam class as Mahavana couldn't. So, although I had planed on chanting more, I surrendered, and went to prepare for a class. There were about 13 devotees who showed up at the asrama in the morning. It was nice to see them all, especially Martin who was a very dear friend of mine, but who had a momentary break in his practice of Krsna consciousness. As soon as I finished that class, which was about an hour long, I was asked again by Mother Khadiravana if I would also be able to fill in for Mahavana Prabhu at the Janmastami celebrations, as he was supposed to give class there as well. That was abit more of a surrender. It meant spending much of the day going through the class Mahavana had prepared, getting my head around it, and working my way through the powerpoint he had set up for it. The result was that I didn't get to chant as much as I had hoped to that day. I have yet to actually fulfill my desire to chant 64 rounds on Janmastami. Perhaps next year I'll be able to do that.
I had a surprising amount of energy for the whole day. I think it may have been a result of the one treatment that Dr. Dan gave me. As a result I managed to fast the whole day, till midnight, only taking a small plate to break fast. It was a great festival. Festival days are the mothers of devotion. I tried my hardest to be prayerful all day. My constant prayer was based on a verse in the sixth canto of the Bhagavatam, spoken by Ajamila. It's one I meditate on often. The first line is my favourite "I am such a sinful person." Humility is a good way to start a prayer.
During the festival I was asked by Bhakta Sam to speak to a friend of his, who was a philosophy student, going for his masters degree. It was a huge auterity talking to him, it was so dry. I'm not into philosophy that doesn't have practical application...whats the point? In life I want happiness and success that completely fulfills the deepest desires of my heart, not some process of disecting and analysing arguments for not real purpose other than to enjoy some mental pleasure temporarily.
We broke fast, and got home about 2 am I think. As the following day was Prabhupada's appearance day, I was asked to help cook the feast, which meant waking up at quarter to five...not alot of sleep. It also meant that I missed out on the whole celebration, as I was in the kitchen. I didn't get to read out my offering either. But the feast was good. I finished my rounds at about 6 pm or something like that.
Because I didn't get to read out my offering, I decided to place it on here, so that I can prove that I actually did write one...though it is a fact, I didn't put much effort into it at all. I was too busy preparing classes yesterday to do it.
------------
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to your lotus feet.
Srila Prabhupada, in your most wonderful book, KRSNA, you explain so perfectly what makes Krsna so special. You explain that all of Krsna's activities, from the very moment of His birth are entirely unparralleled. They are completely beyond compare.
Srila Prabhupada, making an analysis of your life, it appears that in many ways, so many of your activities are also unparralleled. Your coming to the west, with the intense desire to serve the instructions of your Gurumaharaja is completely unparralleled. There is no one in the history of the world who endeavoured in this way with so much determination, and faith in the words of their guru. In this way you are unparralleld. Your ability to make thousands and thousands of first class devotees out of so many degraded personalities, turning hippies into happies, is completely unparralleled. You possess an amazing ability to explain the highest spiritual truths, the highest concepts of love of Godhead, in such a way that people from any background are able to grasp the concepts you explain. This is unparralleled. Not only that, but you formulated the perfect progamme of devotional engagement perfectly suited to the nature of passionate westerners. This is totally unparralleled. This is your unparralleled position as founder/acarya extraordinaire.
Srila Prabhupada, I am such a sinful person, but somehow or other, I have now gotten this most wonderful opportunity, by your grace. On this most auspicious day, I beg for your special mercy so that I can completely control my mind, life and senses, and always engage in devotional service, so that I may not fall again into the deep darkness and ignorance of material life. Please grant me this determination, so that my life will be successful.
Please help me to fully appreciate the complete perfection that you have given the whole world through your unparralleled books. I beg today for the eagerness to dedicate my life to your books, and their distribution. At least in some way or another may I always be in direct contact with the distribution of your books, and may I take every opportunity to encourage everyone I meet to take your books seriously in their lives. May I always be a servant of your ISKCON, which is the greatest shelter available in this dark period of the world.
your aspiring servant,
Vidyapati dasa
On Tuesday I went to see Dr. Dan, who is primary reason I am in Wellington. He did a few tests, said that in some areas it looks like the treatment he gave me last time I visited had been fairly successful. He did a few other tests, one that somehow measures energy, and he said that I seemed to have 1/2 the amount of energy that I should have, which I kinda of agreed with. Then, he hooked me up to some machine, which measured...something, i'm not really sure... I don't realy know exactly what he was doing...but my Gurudeva said that in terms of my health I have to use whatever saw is available to cut the wood, so I'm just gonna surrender to Dr. Dan and see what happens. He practices heaps of different alternative medical systems. He has put me on some homeopathic stuff, which he says will help me with my revolutionary tendencies. He thinks that this might be part of my health problems. We'll see what happens.
Tuesday night we read Krsna book together, and sang some bhajana's, to prepare ourselves for the next day.
Wednesday, of course, was Janmastami. I woke up at 2:30, with a bit of a sore tummy, but full of energy. I got up, along with boddhi, my new room mate extraordinaire, and chanted as much as I could before the morning programme started. It was supposed to start at 4:30, but Mahavana was rather sick, so we just stuck to the regular 7am programme. After I finished my first set of 16 rounds for the day, Mother Khadiravana, Mahavana's wife, asked if I could give bhagavatam class as Mahavana couldn't. So, although I had planed on chanting more, I surrendered, and went to prepare for a class. There were about 13 devotees who showed up at the asrama in the morning. It was nice to see them all, especially Martin who was a very dear friend of mine, but who had a momentary break in his practice of Krsna consciousness. As soon as I finished that class, which was about an hour long, I was asked again by Mother Khadiravana if I would also be able to fill in for Mahavana Prabhu at the Janmastami celebrations, as he was supposed to give class there as well. That was abit more of a surrender. It meant spending much of the day going through the class Mahavana had prepared, getting my head around it, and working my way through the powerpoint he had set up for it. The result was that I didn't get to chant as much as I had hoped to that day. I have yet to actually fulfill my desire to chant 64 rounds on Janmastami. Perhaps next year I'll be able to do that.
I had a surprising amount of energy for the whole day. I think it may have been a result of the one treatment that Dr. Dan gave me. As a result I managed to fast the whole day, till midnight, only taking a small plate to break fast. It was a great festival. Festival days are the mothers of devotion. I tried my hardest to be prayerful all day. My constant prayer was based on a verse in the sixth canto of the Bhagavatam, spoken by Ajamila. It's one I meditate on often. The first line is my favourite "I am such a sinful person." Humility is a good way to start a prayer.
During the festival I was asked by Bhakta Sam to speak to a friend of his, who was a philosophy student, going for his masters degree. It was a huge auterity talking to him, it was so dry. I'm not into philosophy that doesn't have practical application...whats the point? In life I want happiness and success that completely fulfills the deepest desires of my heart, not some process of disecting and analysing arguments for not real purpose other than to enjoy some mental pleasure temporarily.
We broke fast, and got home about 2 am I think. As the following day was Prabhupada's appearance day, I was asked to help cook the feast, which meant waking up at quarter to five...not alot of sleep. It also meant that I missed out on the whole celebration, as I was in the kitchen. I didn't get to read out my offering either. But the feast was good. I finished my rounds at about 6 pm or something like that.
Because I didn't get to read out my offering, I decided to place it on here, so that I can prove that I actually did write one...though it is a fact, I didn't put much effort into it at all. I was too busy preparing classes yesterday to do it.
------------
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to your lotus feet.
Srila Prabhupada, in your most wonderful book, KRSNA, you explain so perfectly what makes Krsna so special. You explain that all of Krsna's activities, from the very moment of His birth are entirely unparralleled. They are completely beyond compare.
Srila Prabhupada, making an analysis of your life, it appears that in many ways, so many of your activities are also unparralleled. Your coming to the west, with the intense desire to serve the instructions of your Gurumaharaja is completely unparralleled. There is no one in the history of the world who endeavoured in this way with so much determination, and faith in the words of their guru. In this way you are unparralleld. Your ability to make thousands and thousands of first class devotees out of so many degraded personalities, turning hippies into happies, is completely unparralleled. You possess an amazing ability to explain the highest spiritual truths, the highest concepts of love of Godhead, in such a way that people from any background are able to grasp the concepts you explain. This is unparralleled. Not only that, but you formulated the perfect progamme of devotional engagement perfectly suited to the nature of passionate westerners. This is totally unparralleled. This is your unparralleled position as founder/acarya extraordinaire.
Srila Prabhupada, I am such a sinful person, but somehow or other, I have now gotten this most wonderful opportunity, by your grace. On this most auspicious day, I beg for your special mercy so that I can completely control my mind, life and senses, and always engage in devotional service, so that I may not fall again into the deep darkness and ignorance of material life. Please grant me this determination, so that my life will be successful.
Please help me to fully appreciate the complete perfection that you have given the whole world through your unparralleled books. I beg today for the eagerness to dedicate my life to your books, and their distribution. At least in some way or another may I always be in direct contact with the distribution of your books, and may I take every opportunity to encourage everyone I meet to take your books seriously in their lives. May I always be a servant of your ISKCON, which is the greatest shelter available in this dark period of the world.
your aspiring servant,
Vidyapati dasa
KC Blogger in Cardiff
→ Home
And while I'm at it: check out this other blog (been going for a while). It is written by Rishi Prabhu. He is a University student in Cardiff, Wales. Also much recommended reading.
KC Blogger in Cardiff
→ Home
And while I'm at it: check out this other blog (been going for a while). It is written by Rishi Prabhu. He is a University student in Cardiff, Wales. Also much recommended reading.
In the windy city
→ Vidyapati dasa is no one special.
I am now officially in Wellington. Indra greeted me by sending a rainy, windy day, typical of Wellington.
On Sunday, I took my last trip for a few months to Aucklands Radha-Giridhari Mandira, for deity greeting, guru-puja and Bhagavatam class. Although I had gotten up late that morning, as a result of a late night the previous night, and a tuff final day of teachers training studies, I was asked by Abhay-caran Prabhu to give the Bhagavatam class. The verse was awesome, it dealt with the effects of time, and inevitable death. Death can really come at any second, but when we are nearer the fag end of life, when death is emminent, our bodies are so useless that it is so difficult to make the proper preparations to die.
Anyway, in my class I talked about my experience in nursing training, as I did part of a nursing course. I did my practical experience in a rest home, looking after an 83 year old man, with one leg, named Jack. That experience really changed my outlook on life. I decided firmly then that I didn't want my life to end up like that. I didn't, and don't, want to end up an old man, laying in bed all day, crying out of intense desire to engage in activities that my body is just no longer able to carry out. Every day I saw Jack he would cry for at least half the day, lamenting that he couldn't be with his family, that he couldn't go fishing, or stay at his batch in Whangamata. It was really heart breaking to watch.
Anyway, the thought of death has been heavy on my since the class. Really, what guarantee do we have that we won't die today, or during the night? Death is certain, actually, it's gonna hit you some time. It's not something you can think of entirely as being an event of the future, it could happen on your walk down the street, or on your flight down to Wellington.
Of course I didn't die on my way to Wellington, but I did spend most of the flight chanting, contemplating the reality that I am not ready to die successfully yet. Death is certainly coming some day, and I have a heck of a lot of work to be down before I can face that obstacle with determination. But if I can stick, with faith and conviction, to the instructions of my Gurumaharaja, then I have nothing to fear whatsoever. If I can remain (become) free from whimsical mindsets and activities, then perhaps I have a chance at perfection in this life. Otherwise, if I do stick to a whimsical attitude, Krsna makes the results clear "na sa siddhim avapnoti, na sukham na param gatim", no attainment of perfection, nor happiness nor the supreme destination.
note to self: you have to write an offering to Srila Prabhupada before Thursday...
On Sunday, I took my last trip for a few months to Aucklands Radha-Giridhari Mandira, for deity greeting, guru-puja and Bhagavatam class. Although I had gotten up late that morning, as a result of a late night the previous night, and a tuff final day of teachers training studies, I was asked by Abhay-caran Prabhu to give the Bhagavatam class. The verse was awesome, it dealt with the effects of time, and inevitable death. Death can really come at any second, but when we are nearer the fag end of life, when death is emminent, our bodies are so useless that it is so difficult to make the proper preparations to die.
Anyway, in my class I talked about my experience in nursing training, as I did part of a nursing course. I did my practical experience in a rest home, looking after an 83 year old man, with one leg, named Jack. That experience really changed my outlook on life. I decided firmly then that I didn't want my life to end up like that. I didn't, and don't, want to end up an old man, laying in bed all day, crying out of intense desire to engage in activities that my body is just no longer able to carry out. Every day I saw Jack he would cry for at least half the day, lamenting that he couldn't be with his family, that he couldn't go fishing, or stay at his batch in Whangamata. It was really heart breaking to watch.
Anyway, the thought of death has been heavy on my since the class. Really, what guarantee do we have that we won't die today, or during the night? Death is certain, actually, it's gonna hit you some time. It's not something you can think of entirely as being an event of the future, it could happen on your walk down the street, or on your flight down to Wellington.
Of course I didn't die on my way to Wellington, but I did spend most of the flight chanting, contemplating the reality that I am not ready to die successfully yet. Death is certainly coming some day, and I have a heck of a lot of work to be down before I can face that obstacle with determination. But if I can stick, with faith and conviction, to the instructions of my Gurumaharaja, then I have nothing to fear whatsoever. If I can remain (become) free from whimsical mindsets and activities, then perhaps I have a chance at perfection in this life. Otherwise, if I do stick to a whimsical attitude, Krsna makes the results clear "na sa siddhim avapnoti, na sukham na param gatim", no attainment of perfection, nor happiness nor the supreme destination.
note to self: you have to write an offering to Srila Prabhupada before Thursday...
In the windy city
→ Vidyapati dasa is no one special.
I am now officially in Wellington. Indra greeted me by sending a rainy, windy day, typical of Wellington.
On Sunday, I took my last trip for a few months to Aucklands Radha-Giridhari Mandira, for deity greeting, guru-puja and Bhagavatam class. Although I had gotten up late that morning, as a result of a late night the previous night, and a tuff final day of teachers training studies, I was asked by Abhay-caran Prabhu to give the Bhagavatam class. The verse was awesome, it dealt with the effects of time, and inevitable death. Death can really come at any second, but when we are nearer the fag end of life, when death is emminent, our bodies are so useless that it is so difficult to make the proper preparations to die.
Anyway, in my class I talked about my experience in nursing training, as I did part of a nursing course. I did my practical experience in a rest home, looking after an 83 year old man, with one leg, named Jack. That experience really changed my outlook on life. I decided firmly then that I didn't want my life to end up like that. I didn't, and don't, want to end up an old man, laying in bed all day, crying out of intense desire to engage in activities that my body is just no longer able to carry out. Every day I saw Jack he would cry for at least half the day, lamenting that he couldn't be with his family, that he couldn't go fishing, or stay at his batch in Whangamata. It was really heart breaking to watch.
Anyway, the thought of death has been heavy on my since the class. Really, what guarantee do we have that we won't die today, or during the night? Death is certain, actually, it's gonna hit you some time. It's not something you can think of entirely as being an event of the future, it could happen on your walk down the street, or on your flight down to Wellington.
Of course I didn't die on my way to Wellington, but I did spend most of the flight chanting, contemplating the reality that I am not ready to die successfully yet. Death is certainly coming some day, and I have a heck of a lot of work to be down before I can face that obstacle with determination. But if I can stick, with faith and conviction, to the instructions of my Gurumaharaja, then I have nothing to fear whatsoever. If I can remain (become) free from whimsical mindsets and activities, then perhaps I have a chance at perfection in this life. Otherwise, if I do stick to a whimsical attitude, Krsna makes the results clear "na sa siddhim avapnoti, na sukham na param gatim", no attainment of perfection, nor happiness nor the supreme destination.
note to self: you have to write an offering to Srila Prabhupada before Thursday...
On Sunday, I took my last trip for a few months to Aucklands Radha-Giridhari Mandira, for deity greeting, guru-puja and Bhagavatam class. Although I had gotten up late that morning, as a result of a late night the previous night, and a tuff final day of teachers training studies, I was asked by Abhay-caran Prabhu to give the Bhagavatam class. The verse was awesome, it dealt with the effects of time, and inevitable death. Death can really come at any second, but when we are nearer the fag end of life, when death is emminent, our bodies are so useless that it is so difficult to make the proper preparations to die.
Anyway, in my class I talked about my experience in nursing training, as I did part of a nursing course. I did my practical experience in a rest home, looking after an 83 year old man, with one leg, named Jack. That experience really changed my outlook on life. I decided firmly then that I didn't want my life to end up like that. I didn't, and don't, want to end up an old man, laying in bed all day, crying out of intense desire to engage in activities that my body is just no longer able to carry out. Every day I saw Jack he would cry for at least half the day, lamenting that he couldn't be with his family, that he couldn't go fishing, or stay at his batch in Whangamata. It was really heart breaking to watch.
Anyway, the thought of death has been heavy on my since the class. Really, what guarantee do we have that we won't die today, or during the night? Death is certain, actually, it's gonna hit you some time. It's not something you can think of entirely as being an event of the future, it could happen on your walk down the street, or on your flight down to Wellington.
Of course I didn't die on my way to Wellington, but I did spend most of the flight chanting, contemplating the reality that I am not ready to die successfully yet. Death is certainly coming some day, and I have a heck of a lot of work to be down before I can face that obstacle with determination. But if I can stick, with faith and conviction, to the instructions of my Gurumaharaja, then I have nothing to fear whatsoever. If I can remain (become) free from whimsical mindsets and activities, then perhaps I have a chance at perfection in this life. Otherwise, if I do stick to a whimsical attitude, Krsna makes the results clear "na sa siddhim avapnoti, na sukham na param gatim", no attainment of perfection, nor happiness nor the supreme destination.
note to self: you have to write an offering to Srila Prabhupada before Thursday...
New blog: Lilamayi Subhadra in South Africa
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Hare Krishna! Check out this new blog. It is written by Lilamayi Subhadra devi dasi. She is a disciple of Jayapataka Swami and expert pilates teacher. Her blog is about her efforts to spread Krishna consciousness in South Africa. Much recommended reading.
New blog: Lilamayi Subhadra in South Africa
→ Home
Hare Krishna! Check out this new blog. It is written by Lilamayi Subhadra devi dasi. She is a disciple of Jayapataka Swami and expert pilates teacher. Her blog is about her efforts to spread Krishna consciousness in South Africa. Much recommended reading.
Interview with Pope Benedict XVI
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I came across this rare interview with Pope Benedict the 16th. He was speaking to the German news media in preparation for his upcoming Germany tour. Here is a summary of some of what he said (I translated parts of the interview into English). I thought he made a lot of sense:
God is less prominent in the world. Water comes out of the tap, not from the spring. We no longer see God so much in every day situations.
Papst Benedikt XVI is visiting his old home in southern Germany. He wants to once again see the region that branded him has he grew up.
Themes on his tour: we need to rediscover God. That can unite the people, families, cultures and world. We can't go forward without direction from above.
Young people want to do something "good". I want to encourage that. However, young people are afraid of committing themselves to anything. Be it marriage or religion. But exactly that kind of surrender gives us strength. Young people need to have the courage for long term surrender.
Without God we cannot have ethical values, nor can we be happy as his creations (not just some random throw-away product of evolution).
Christianity is not just a collection of rules and regulations. I like to encourage a positive message. First we need to understand what we want then the rules and regulations start to make sense. For example: (regarding homosexuality) we need to see man and woman are made for each other. Abortion is forbidden in the commandment "though shalt not kill". Life starts at conception and ends at death. We can understand that automatically when we understand the positive things we desire from religion.
The problem in 3rd world countries like Africa is that technological progress is moving much faster than education in the "heart" matters. Without proper spiritual education we just get AIDS and war. We need a second dimensional in education beyond pure technology.
We need to develop more dynamic preaching programs. Not just focus on maintaining the ever shrinking status quo. African and Asian people are afraid of a cold analytical/rational religion. Catholicism is perceived as such.
There are lots of useful places in the church for women. Not everyone needs to be a priest. Being a priest is not the only great thing to do for the the church. We can find so many nice and valuable services for women.
Germans have become more open to the world, happier and more tolerant. The German mentality has grown into the world culture. We have become spontaneous, happy and welcoming and no longer have the stereotypical cold, punctual and efficient personality we had in the past.
Humour is very important to me. I'm not one for making many jokes, but life shouldn't be taken too seriously. There is an old saying:
angels can fly because they don't take themselves too heavy and seriously.
Interview with Pope Benedict XVI
→ Home
I came across this rare interview with Pope Benedict the 16th. He was speaking to the German news media in preparation for his upcoming Germany tour. Here is a summary of some of what he said (I translated parts of the interview into English). I thought he made a lot of sense:
God is less prominent in the world. Water comes out of the tap, not from the spring. We no longer see God so much in every day situations.
Papst Benedikt XVI is visiting his old home in southern Germany. He wants to once again see the region that branded him has he grew up.
Themes on his tour: we need to rediscover God. That can unite the people, families, cultures and world. We can't go forward without direction from above.
Young people want to do something "good". I want to encourage that. However, young people are afraid of committing themselves to anything. Be it marriage or religion. But exactly that kind of surrender gives us strength. Young people need to have the courage for long term surrender.
Without God we cannot have ethical values, nor can we be happy as his creations (not just some random throw-away product of evolution).
Christianity is not just a collection of rules and regulations. I like to encourage a positive message. First we need to understand what we want then the rules and regulations start to make sense. For example: (regarding homosexuality) we need to see man and woman are made for each other. Abortion is forbidden in the commandment "though shalt not kill". Life starts at conception and ends at death. We can understand that automatically when we understand the positive things we desire from religion.
The problem in 3rd world countries like Africa is that technological progress is moving much faster than education in the "heart" matters. Without proper spiritual education we just get AIDS and war. We need a second dimensional in education beyond pure technology.
We need to develop more dynamic preaching programs. Not just focus on maintaining the ever shrinking status quo. African and Asian people are afraid of a cold analytical/rational religion. Catholicism is perceived as such.
There are lots of useful places in the church for women. Not everyone needs to be a priest. Being a priest is not the only great thing to do for the the church. We can find so many nice and valuable services for women.
Germans have become more open to the world, happier and more tolerant. The German mentality has grown into the world culture. We have become spontaneous, happy and welcoming and no longer have the stereotypical cold, punctual and efficient personality we had in the past.
Humour is very important to me. I'm not one for making many jokes, but life shouldn't be taken too seriously. There is an old saying:
angels can fly because they don't take themselves too heavy and seriously.
no gold = no wealth
→ Home
A devotee named Radha Mohana das asked a question in class that got me thinking:
What is the largest amount of gold you have ever seen?
I realized that the largest amount of gold I had ever seen was a single 5 kg gold bar. Even that was at a friend's house many years ago (in the 80s).
Society is so degraded! Wealth nowadays is simply a number in a bank account. It doesn't actually exist. One computer glitch and it's all gone.
The governments of the world have slowly decoupled the value of money from gold reserves and linked it to real estate instead. The United States has a reserve of 8000 tones of gold (the weight of about 10 modern train locomotives). The price of gold today is about $20,000 per kilogram. That makes the gold reserve worth about $160 billion, which is quite a bit, of course, but not nearly enough to cover the $600 billion in circulation.
Things get more interesting when we look at the historic price of gold. In the mid 1970s the price of gold increased dramatically. In 1970 a kg of gold cost a mere $1000. It seems someone decided gold was no longer going to be the standard to measure wealth by. Indeed, more profit can be made if the money does not actually exist!
Yep, practically speaking money today has no real value at all. This is confirmed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.16.20. The Bhagavatam also describes entire palaces made out of solid gold. Some of the great ritual sacrifices that were performed in ancient times would require more gold than was available on the entire planet today. We are such poor buggers these days. You think the 8000 tones of the American gold reserve is a lot? Think again. That amount of gold is a mere 7.5 metre cube (7.5m x 7.5m x 7.5m or 20m x 20m x 1m).
From another point of view even "real" gold wealth is unreal. It is just temporary matter. Actual real wealth is spiritual knowledge. That contributes to one's eternal benefit. It is not taken away when the body is slain. As the saying goes: "the last shirt has no pockets".
Still, some gold would be a good start.
I wonder, what is the largest amount of gold you have ever seen? (please comment)
no gold = no wealth
→ Home
A devotee named Radha Mohana das asked a question in class that got me thinking:
What is the largest amount of gold you have ever seen?
I realized that the largest amount of gold I had ever seen was a single 5 kg gold bar. Even that was at a friend's house many years ago (in the 80s).
Society is so degraded! Wealth nowadays is simply a number in a bank account. It doesn't actually exist. One computer glitch and it's all gone.
The governments of the world have slowly decoupled the value of money from gold reserves and linked it to real estate instead. The United States has a reserve of 8000 tones of gold (the weight of about 10 modern train locomotives). The price of gold today is about $20,000 per kilogram. That makes the gold reserve worth about $160 billion, which is quite a bit, of course, but not nearly enough to cover the $600 billion in circulation.
Things get more interesting when we look at the historic price of gold. In the mid 1970s the price of gold increased dramatically. In 1970 a kg of gold cost a mere $1000. It seems someone decided gold was no longer going to be the standard to measure wealth by. Indeed, more profit can be made if the money does not actually exist!
Yep, practically speaking money today has no real value at all. This is confirmed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.16.20. The Bhagavatam also describes entire palaces made out of solid gold. Some of the great ritual sacrifices that were performed in ancient times would require more gold than was available on the entire planet today. We are such poor buggers these days. You think the 8000 tones of the American gold reserve is a lot? Think again. That amount of gold is a mere 7.5 metre cube (7.5m x 7.5m x 7.5m or 20m x 20m x 1m).
From another point of view even "real" gold wealth is unreal. It is just temporary matter. Actual real wealth is spiritual knowledge. That contributes to one's eternal benefit. It is not taken away when the body is slain. As the saying goes: "the last shirt has no pockets".
Still, some gold would be a good start.
I wonder, what is the largest amount of gold you have ever seen? (please comment)
Cardiff Rathayatra 2006
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I attended the Cardiff Rathayatra 2006 and took many, many pictures, as usual.
It was a nice peaceful festival. It was also, of course, much smaller than the London Rathayatra. After the street procession there was a festival in Coopers Fields park. Unfortunately, there was a rock festival going on nearby on the same day which probably kept some people from attending the festival. Nevertheless, it was very nice. Everyone was so happy (see the pictures)!
I met up with Joe, an old friend from Southampton University. He has since given up on the PhD he was pursuing. He has however achieved a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu (the martial art I also used to practice). He showed me some moves. Conclusion: I still know a bit, but I'm super-rusty.
Someone guessed my age and estimated me to be about 5 years younger than I am. It happens to me all the time. It is common that practitioners of Krishna consciousness look younger than they are. Or actually: we look our true age, but so-called "normal" people have abused their bodies with so much sense gratification that it prematurely ages.
The final kirtan with Janananda Prabhu and Candramauli Swami (who actually looked younger than I remembered him) was wonderful. I couldn't get enough of it. It was like frosted ecstatic cake with sugar on top, but without any of the side-effects. I thoroughly recommend it for everyone.
Cardiff Rathayatra 2006
→ Home
I attended the Cardiff Rathayatra 2006 and took many, many pictures, as usual.
It was a nice peaceful festival. It was also, of course, much smaller than the London Rathayatra. After the street procession there was a festival in Coopers Fields park. Unfortunately, there was a rock festival going on nearby on the same day which probably kept some people from attending the festival. Nevertheless, it was very nice. Everyone was so happy (see the pictures)!
I met up with Joe, an old friend from Southampton University. He has since given up on the PhD he was pursuing. He has however achieved a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu (the martial art I also used to practice). He showed me some moves. Conclusion: I still know a bit, but I'm super-rusty.
Someone guessed my age and estimated me to be about 5 years younger than I am. It happens to me all the time. It is common that practitioners of Krishna consciousness look younger than they are. Or actually: we look our true age, but so-called "normal" people have abused their bodies with so much sense gratification that it prematurely ages.
The final kirtan with Janananda Prabhu and Candramauli Swami (who actually looked younger than I remembered him) was wonderful. I couldn't get enough of it. It was like frosted ecstatic cake with sugar on top, but without any of the side-effects. I thoroughly recommend it for everyone.
Balarama’s Appearance Day
→ Vidyapati dasa is no one special.
I took a few photos of our day. I'm not a very brave cameraman, so I didn't get any photos' of the abhiseka, as I didn't want to stand in front of everyone.
Jhulan-Yatra
Jhulan-Yatra
One of the kirtana's of the day.
Trivikrama leads it up.
Krsna Book reading outside Tulasi-devi's house, in the memorial garden.
Ramadas deep meditation on Balarama's pastimes.
Bhakti Matt reading. He's just moved up a few weeks ago, just taking to brahmacarya, and already everything he has is orange!
Atul-krsna Prabhu relishing every moment of Lord Balarama's extraordinary usage of kusa grass to remove Romaharsana from the vyasasana. He is in town heading up the teachers training courses we are doing.
Jhulan-Yatra
Jhulan-Yatra
One of the kirtana's of the day.
Trivikrama leads it up.
Krsna Book reading outside Tulasi-devi's house, in the memorial garden.
Ramadas deep meditation on Balarama's pastimes.
Bhakti Matt reading. He's just moved up a few weeks ago, just taking to brahmacarya, and already everything he has is orange!
Atul-krsna Prabhu relishing every moment of Lord Balarama's extraordinary usage of kusa grass to remove Romaharsana from the vyasasana. He is in town heading up the teachers training courses we are doing.
Balarama’s Appearance Day
→ Vidyapati dasa is no one special.
I took a few photos of our day. I'm not a very brave cameraman, so I didn't get any photos' of the abhiseka, as I didn't want to stand in front of everyone.
Jhulan-Yatra
Jhulan-Yatra
One of the kirtana's of the day.
Trivikrama leads it up.
Krsna Book reading outside Tulasi-devi's house, in the memorial garden.
Ramadas deep meditation on Balarama's pastimes.
Bhakti Matt reading. He's just moved up a few weeks ago, just taking to brahmacarya, and already everything he has is orange!
Atul-krsna Prabhu relishing every moment of Lord Balarama's extraordinary usage of kusa grass to remove Romaharsana from the vyasasana. He is in town heading up the teachers training courses we are doing.
Jhulan-Yatra
Jhulan-Yatra
One of the kirtana's of the day.
Trivikrama leads it up.
Krsna Book reading outside Tulasi-devi's house, in the memorial garden.
Ramadas deep meditation on Balarama's pastimes.
Bhakti Matt reading. He's just moved up a few weeks ago, just taking to brahmacarya, and already everything he has is orange!
Atul-krsna Prabhu relishing every moment of Lord Balarama's extraordinary usage of kusa grass to remove Romaharsana from the vyasasana. He is in town heading up the teachers training courses we are doing.