Next day in Swansea. This morning I was again (at the last minute) requested to give the Caitanya Caritamrita class. I somehow managed to speak something, but wished I had had more time to prepare.
Then, after a very light breakfast, having learnt my lesson from a few days ago, intensive yoga training. We started off with a new style of kundalini yoga that Karana Karana wanted to try out. I liked it. It involved lots of sun salutes synchronized with various mantras. I think it would be more accessible than the standard kundalini weird breathing stuff (though there was, of course, plenty of weird breathing in this set as well).
After the kundalini work-out came a full power yoga session taught by the aspiring yoga teachers. The students took turns to teach a few asanas each. Judgement: they were good. Really good! A little meek and unsure of themselves, but with a little bit more practice, Atma Yoga will soon have 10 new expert yoga teachers added to its ranks.
After the power yoga session came another power yoga session. Whew! This one was thankfully a little shorter than the last, but my body was nevertheless starting to rebel.
After the mega-yoga bonanza we had a late lunch. During lunch a devotee came up to me and asked if I wanted to give the Sunday Feast class (due to start in 15-minutes). They wanted to give their congregation a break from hearing from the usual two speakers, not to mention those usual speakers were still out on harinam and unlikely to be back in time. So I hesitantly agreed, not having a clue what I would talk about.
I decided to speak on a verse I really like: BG9.2. By popular request, here is a recording of the class (sorry about the terrible sound quality. I blame it on the cheap, piece-of-junk MP3 player that was used to make the recording. So please: never buy the cheapest electronics products, they are junk!).
(notice the new feature: this blog now has a build-in MP3 player)
After the class I served out the feast to the guests (not wanting to eat so soon after having lunch). Then, when everyone had taken, I also ate some prasadam ??¦ a short while afterwards I collapsed in a chair, exhausted both in body and in mind. Next stop: bed.
Thursday in review:
Rose: 4am
Japa: Inattentive. All chanted before 7am. Mind mostly focused on financial matters. (Imagine how much more of a distraction it would be if my financial worries involved a wife and children...full respect to anyone who can chant attentively with such serious responsibilities)
Sloka's: Recited all Gita slokas.
Morning Programme: Attended in full. Lead Guru-vandanam
Reading: 2 1/2 hours. Again, one hour of Bhagavad-gita, 1/2 of Nectar of Devotion and one hour of Krsna book. Finally getting a small taste for Krsna book.
Seva: 3 hours of book distribution. Cooked dinner. Managed accounts and drew up an analysis to see if we can actually afford for four of us to do this teachers training course. I think we will make it. Adjusted book acounts.
Exercise: 1/2 of yoga.
Rest: 8:20 pm
Reflections: If I can keep my mind focused on simple, humble service, perhaps I'll make some good progress in this life.
The pride issue is constantly present. I need to work on that. It always causes problems in terms of devotee relations.
Thursday in review:
Rose: 4am
Japa: Inattentive. All chanted before 7am. Mind mostly focused on financial matters. (Imagine how much more of a distraction it would be if my financial worries involved a wife and children...full respect to anyone who can chant attentively with such serious responsibilities)
Sloka's: Recited all Gita slokas.
Morning Programme: Attended in full. Lead Guru-vandanam
Reading: 2 1/2 hours. Again, one hour of Bhagavad-gita, 1/2 of Nectar of Devotion and one hour of Krsna book. Finally getting a small taste for Krsna book.
Seva: 3 hours of book distribution. Cooked dinner. Managed accounts and drew up an analysis to see if we can actually afford for four of us to do this teachers training course. I think we will make it. Adjusted book acounts.
Exercise: 1/2 of yoga.
Rest: 8:20 pm
Reflections: If I can keep my mind focused on simple, humble service, perhaps I'll make some good progress in this life.
The pride issue is constantly present. I need to work on that. It always causes problems in terms of devotee relations.
Wednesday, 26 July, 2006
Rose: 4am
Japa: All sixteen, in one sitting, before 7am. While I was attentive occasionally, over all I think this sessions fits into 'good idea' japa, where my mind just went wild thinking through aspects of philosophy, and how to present it properly. I think this was a result of putting in the extra time before bed studying to give Bhagavatam class. I must have re-written my whole class three times over in my mind during japa. This seems like a regular occurance on days that I have to give classes, especially if it's morning classes. I don't really know what the solution is. It's not like I can not prepare for them...because even then just knowing what the verse and purport are I seem to think about them. I guess I could do what Ravindra-svarupa Prabhu suggests. Sometimes you just have to trick the mind. He tells his mind "Look, I know you can focus clearly now on these points, but if you would just focus on the Holy Name now you would be ensured that throughout the rest of the day you will be clear from unneccesary thoughts anyway, and be just as focused as now. And being in that state of consciousness you could just think through all this same stuff. So for now, just listen." Maybe I'll try that next time.
Sloka's recited: All Bhagavad-Gita sloka's recited for memories sake.
Morning Programme: Attended in full. Even lead Gurvastakam, Nrsmha Prayers and gave class.
Reading: 2 1/2 hours. 1 hour of Bhagavad-Gita, 1/2 of Nectar of Devotion, 1 hour of Krsna Book. Fairly good quality and attentiveness.
Seva: 2 hours of book distribution. Still very tired. Managemental/accounting things done. Vacuumed, and cleaned the toilet. Had a meeting about the upcoming teacher training course and how we will be able to afford it.
Exercise: 1/2 hour of yoga. I hope I can continue to have the energy to do this daily.
Rest: 8:30 pm.
Reflections:
-I have noticed that since starting this regular sadhana record keeping, using my blog, I have actually reflected more often during the day on how to improve my over all sadhana. Previously I would often think of things to write in my blog, and now all of those thoughts are based around improving sadhana. I think if nothing else, this little exercise is successful simply because of that one point.
-I have tried to learn from the other day, to always beg Krishna for help before approaching a devotee to talk or ask questions. In some cases yesterday I remembered. Today, however, I made a comment on a question in Bhagavatam class, which though not wrong, seemed to me to be an expression of my pride. I realised then that I hadn't begged for Krishna to help me properly associate with devotees. I hope that one day I can be constantly mindful of the fact that I need devotee association to make my life successful, and I also need Krishna's mercy to keep devotee association.
Wednesday, 26 July, 2006
Rose: 4am
Japa: All sixteen, in one sitting, before 7am. While I was attentive occasionally, over all I think this sessions fits into 'good idea' japa, where my mind just went wild thinking through aspects of philosophy, and how to present it properly. I think this was a result of putting in the extra time before bed studying to give Bhagavatam class. I must have re-written my whole class three times over in my mind during japa. This seems like a regular occurance on days that I have to give classes, especially if it's morning classes. I don't really know what the solution is. It's not like I can not prepare for them...because even then just knowing what the verse and purport are I seem to think about them. I guess I could do what Ravindra-svarupa Prabhu suggests. Sometimes you just have to trick the mind. He tells his mind "Look, I know you can focus clearly now on these points, but if you would just focus on the Holy Name now you would be ensured that throughout the rest of the day you will be clear from unneccesary thoughts anyway, and be just as focused as now. And being in that state of consciousness you could just think through all this same stuff. So for now, just listen." Maybe I'll try that next time.
Sloka's recited: All Bhagavad-Gita sloka's recited for memories sake.
Morning Programme: Attended in full. Even lead Gurvastakam, Nrsmha Prayers and gave class.
Reading: 2 1/2 hours. 1 hour of Bhagavad-Gita, 1/2 of Nectar of Devotion, 1 hour of Krsna Book. Fairly good quality and attentiveness.
Seva: 2 hours of book distribution. Still very tired. Managemental/accounting things done. Vacuumed, and cleaned the toilet. Had a meeting about the upcoming teacher training course and how we will be able to afford it.
Exercise: 1/2 hour of yoga. I hope I can continue to have the energy to do this daily.
Rest: 8:30 pm.
Reflections:
-I have noticed that since starting this regular sadhana record keeping, using my blog, I have actually reflected more often during the day on how to improve my over all sadhana. Previously I would often think of things to write in my blog, and now all of those thoughts are based around improving sadhana. I think if nothing else, this little exercise is successful simply because of that one point.
-I have tried to learn from the other day, to always beg Krishna for help before approaching a devotee to talk or ask questions. In some cases yesterday I remembered. Today, however, I made a comment on a question in Bhagavatam class, which though not wrong, seemed to me to be an expression of my pride. I realised then that I hadn't begged for Krishna to help me properly associate with devotees. I hope that one day I can be constantly mindful of the fact that I need devotee association to make my life successful, and I also need Krishna's mercy to keep devotee association.
Tuesday, 25 July, 2006
Rose - 4:15
Japa - All sixteen rounds in one sitting. As I said yesterday, they were rather distracted at the end specifically, though better then the previous day.
Sloka recitation - All Bhagavad-Gita sloka's that I know were recited. 3/4 were done before I started my rounds.
Reading - 3 hours. 40 min of Bhagavad-Gita, 50 minutes of Nectar of Devotion, 1 1/2 hours of Krishna Book. Total nectar.
Seva - 2 hours of book distribution, very difficult on the body, still recovering. Kitchen cleaning was down morning and evening. I also spent a couple hours preparing for Bhagavatam class, which I gave this morning. I didn't have much energy at all, so reading and studying made up most of my days engagements.
Rest - 8 pm. I pushed myself too much last week, and considering I have just been sick for the last two months straight, I still have a bit of recovery work to do before getting back to a normal pattern of sleeping I think.
Other stuff - I need to try and use what energy I do have in a more regulated and planned way. Part of the reason I wanted to start keeping a regular record of my saddhana is so that I can start to plan my days saddhana better. That way I can control the mind and senses easier. If you know exactly what you are doing, and when, it's easier to tell the mind to shut up when it starts to present it's own confused desires.
I need to work more on begging Krishna for help when it comes to associating with devotees. I noticed a couple of situations yesterday where I tried to ask a question, or inquire about something, and did so in a way that came out challenging, even though I didn't really mean it that way. Even little offenses like that can affect attentiveness in japa. The best attitude is to develop a mood of constant prayerfulness, because without the mercy of Krsna we can't do anything right! I know for a fact that if I just rely on my own skills, especially when dealing with devotees, I will always just make offenses, and screw up big time.
Action plan - Make a more concrete day to day plan for all activities. I think this will heap give my mind more free space to develop a mood of constant prayerfulness, and also to control the mind and senses in general. Uncontrolled mind and senses leads to distracted japa, which leads to devotee offenses, which leads to inattentive and dry japa.
Tuesday, 25 July, 2006
Rose - 4:15
Japa - All sixteen rounds in one sitting. As I said yesterday, they were rather distracted at the end specifically, though better then the previous day.
Sloka recitation - All Bhagavad-Gita sloka's that I know were recited. 3/4 were done before I started my rounds.
Reading - 3 hours. 40 min of Bhagavad-Gita, 50 minutes of Nectar of Devotion, 1 1/2 hours of Krishna Book. Total nectar.
Seva - 2 hours of book distribution, very difficult on the body, still recovering. Kitchen cleaning was down morning and evening. I also spent a couple hours preparing for Bhagavatam class, which I gave this morning. I didn't have much energy at all, so reading and studying made up most of my days engagements.
Rest - 8 pm. I pushed myself too much last week, and considering I have just been sick for the last two months straight, I still have a bit of recovery work to do before getting back to a normal pattern of sleeping I think.
Other stuff - I need to try and use what energy I do have in a more regulated and planned way. Part of the reason I wanted to start keeping a regular record of my saddhana is so that I can start to plan my days saddhana better. That way I can control the mind and senses easier. If you know exactly what you are doing, and when, it's easier to tell the mind to shut up when it starts to present it's own confused desires.
I need to work more on begging Krishna for help when it comes to associating with devotees. I noticed a couple of situations yesterday where I tried to ask a question, or inquire about something, and did so in a way that came out challenging, even though I didn't really mean it that way. Even little offenses like that can affect attentiveness in japa. The best attitude is to develop a mood of constant prayerfulness, because without the mercy of Krsna we can't do anything right! I know for a fact that if I just rely on my own skills, especially when dealing with devotees, I will always just make offenses, and screw up big time.
Action plan - Make a more concrete day to day plan for all activities. I think this will heap give my mind more free space to develop a mood of constant prayerfulness, and also to control the mind and senses in general. Uncontrolled mind and senses leads to distracted japa, which leads to devotee offenses, which leads to inattentive and dry japa.
"'Kathy, I'm lost,' I said, though I knew she was sleeping"
"'Kathy, I'm lost,' I said, though I knew she was sleeping"
The next day in Swanseas Govinda??(TM)s Vegetarian Restaurant / ISKCON Temple I was asked (ropped into) giving the morning Caitanya Caritamrita class.
It was day for the Mantra Tantric session of the yoga teacher??(TM)s training course. Tantra by the way, just means ??oepractice??. The word has all kinds of negative connotations, but the original meaning is simply to practice mantra chanting. Simple.
The Mantra Tantra session goes as follows: students pair up and sit cross-legged about one metre from each other, staring to each others eyes while repeating a mantra. The mantra is also running as a tape in the background. Everyone in the room chants in unison. The intense gaze of the other person forces one to be attentive to the chanting. One can??(TM)t ??oespace-out?? as the other person would immediately notice and make one feel guilt.
We chanted a total of seven different mantras. The first and last for 30 minutes and the other five for 1 hour each (with 15 minute breaks in between).
Mantras included:
jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda
jaya advaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrinda
vancha-kalpa-tarubhyash ca
kripa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo
vaisnavebhyo namo namah
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Haraya nama Krishna yadavaya namah
gopala govinda rama sri-madhusudana
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Hari haraya namah
Govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami
It is a serious austerity. For some people it was the most difficult part of the teacher training. Physical austerity is one thing, but this kind of serious meditation really messes with one??(TM)s mind. It??(TM)s not easy. However, if one is committed to the process and ensures the austerity one derives great personal benefit. Proper austerity always results in increased personal power. Atmananda (the founder of Atma Yoga) says that one Mantra Tantric session gives as much benefit as 1000 Power Yoga classes.
I was paired up with the only other male yoga student. We did well. Still, my mind would be kicking and screaming as the hour long chanting session progressed. However, gradually it became more and more peaceful. The first 2 hours were the most difficult. Also, sitting in one place the whole day was somewhat painful. I felt that the next day.
Many hours later ??¦ we were rewarded with a very nice feast. Haribol!
A gallery of pictures of the events may be found here.
The next day in Swanseas Govinda??(TM)s Vegetarian Restaurant / ISKCON Temple I was asked (ropped into) giving the morning Caitanya Caritamrita class.
It was day for the Mantra Tantric session of the yoga teacher??(TM)s training course. Tantra by the way, just means ??oepractice??. The word has all kinds of negative connotations, but the original meaning is simply to practice mantra chanting. Simple.
The Mantra Tantra session goes as follows: students pair up and sit cross-legged about one metre from each other, staring to each others eyes while repeating a mantra. The mantra is also running as a tape in the background. Everyone in the room chants in unison. The intense gaze of the other person forces one to be attentive to the chanting. One can??(TM)t ??oespace-out?? as the other person would immediately notice and make one feel guilt.
We chanted a total of seven different mantras. The first and last for 30 minutes and the other five for 1 hour each (with 15 minute breaks in between).
Mantras included:
jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda
jaya advaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrinda
vancha-kalpa-tarubhyash ca
kripa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo
vaisnavebhyo namo namah
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Haraya nama Krishna yadavaya namah
gopala govinda rama sri-madhusudana
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Hari haraya namah
Govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami
It is a serious austerity. For some people it was the most difficult part of the teacher training. Physical austerity is one thing, but this kind of serious meditation really messes with one??(TM)s mind. It??(TM)s not easy. However, if one is committed to the process and ensures the austerity one derives great personal benefit. Proper austerity always results in increased personal power. Atmananda (the founder of Atma Yoga) says that one Mantra Tantric session gives as much benefit as 1000 Power Yoga classes.
I was paired up with the only other male yoga student. We did well. Still, my mind would be kicking and screaming as the hour long chanting session progressed. However, gradually it became more and more peaceful. The first 2 hours were the most difficult. Also, sitting in one place the whole day was somewhat painful. I felt that the next day.
Many hours later ??¦ we were rewarded with a very nice feast. Haribol!
A gallery of pictures of the events may be found here.
Monday, I didn't start my rounds until about 7:30 or so, as I didn't manage to get out of bed until about 7 am. The weekend really wore me out. What I find especially tiring is giving Sunday feast classes. A Sunday feast class is one hour (well...one hour when Balagopala and myself speak, we always go over time...) of focused talking to a group of 50 or more people. So, combining the fact that I pushed myself too much over the last week, and then gave the Sunday feast class, along with Balagopala, the result was that I was totally exhausted on Monday. And that, for me, meant sloppy rounds. I don't even know if I heard the Holy Name once during my whole two hours of chanting. What I think compounded the problem was the fact that I had only done a combined total of 1 hour and five minutes reading over the whole weekend. A lack of serious sadhana always effects my rounds. But I did chant all 16 rounds without physical interruption, in other words without stopping to do anything else. That is always important.
The fact that I had a late night on Friday night also meant a late morning on Saturday, so my time was crunched, thus my reading just didn't happen. And on Sunday Balagopala and myself had to use practically every spare moment to put the finishing touches on our class, and to practice it. Giving a 'tag-team' Sunday feast class takes alot of preparation. You can't just totally wing it. Anyway, enough excuses.
So, my japa was sloppy. I didn't manage to get in my sloka recitation at all, which I normally do before my rounds, starting from the moment I get out of bed. Nor did I attend any part of the morning programme. I did manage to just get my two hours reading in. I found that I was attentive to the majority of my reading, and noticed some very interesting things. I read mostly from Krishna Book (1h 20min) and Nectar of Devotion (40min), as these are the two books that I plan to focus my reading on for the next few months, as I have totally neglected them previously. I am finding that my taste for these books is slowly growing.
In terms of my service yesterday, I didn't manage to do all the cleaning I wanted to do, or had planned, mainly because I was too exhausted. I just couldn't get the energy together to do it at all. I did my weekly accounting things, and cleaned the downstairs toilet. I also had a meeting with Balagopala to go over our class from Sunday and decide what was good and what wasn't so good. We both agreed that one joke I told was a little below the belt.
Anyway, the real test of yesterday's splayed out sadhana, as always, is the next days rounds. I noticed this morning that although my rounds were better then yesterday (still not great) and I was attentive more often, my final few rounds were distracted. And not just distracted, but they were distracted by something I had read yesterday on the internet. So, the associated realisation is that if something effects ones rounds, and it actually has nothing to do with the service given by ones Guru, then it should be avoided at all costs. We can't make up services for ourselves, nor put our attention into things which are totally unrelated to our services. If we understand that our morning japa is the most important thing in our life, we can get a proper perspective on every situation, and then better judge how much mental energy to put into something. So, my meditation today is Bhagavad-Gita 16.23 "One who discards scriptural injunctions, and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination."
Monday, I didn't start my rounds until about 7:30 or so, as I didn't manage to get out of bed until about 7 am. The weekend really wore me out. What I find especially tiring is giving Sunday feast classes. A Sunday feast class is one hour (well...one hour when Balagopala and myself speak, we always go over time...) of focused talking to a group of 50 or more people. So, combining the fact that I pushed myself too much over the last week, and then gave the Sunday feast class, along with Balagopala, the result was that I was totally exhausted on Monday. And that, for me, meant sloppy rounds. I don't even know if I heard the Holy Name once during my whole two hours of chanting. What I think compounded the problem was the fact that I had only done a combined total of 1 hour and five minutes reading over the whole weekend. A lack of serious sadhana always effects my rounds. But I did chant all 16 rounds without physical interruption, in other words without stopping to do anything else. That is always important.
The fact that I had a late night on Friday night also meant a late morning on Saturday, so my time was crunched, thus my reading just didn't happen. And on Sunday Balagopala and myself had to use practically every spare moment to put the finishing touches on our class, and to practice it. Giving a 'tag-team' Sunday feast class takes alot of preparation. You can't just totally wing it. Anyway, enough excuses.
So, my japa was sloppy. I didn't manage to get in my sloka recitation at all, which I normally do before my rounds, starting from the moment I get out of bed. Nor did I attend any part of the morning programme. I did manage to just get my two hours reading in. I found that I was attentive to the majority of my reading, and noticed some very interesting things. I read mostly from Krishna Book (1h 20min) and Nectar of Devotion (40min), as these are the two books that I plan to focus my reading on for the next few months, as I have totally neglected them previously. I am finding that my taste for these books is slowly growing.
In terms of my service yesterday, I didn't manage to do all the cleaning I wanted to do, or had planned, mainly because I was too exhausted. I just couldn't get the energy together to do it at all. I did my weekly accounting things, and cleaned the downstairs toilet. I also had a meeting with Balagopala to go over our class from Sunday and decide what was good and what wasn't so good. We both agreed that one joke I told was a little below the belt.
Anyway, the real test of yesterday's splayed out sadhana, as always, is the next days rounds. I noticed this morning that although my rounds were better then yesterday (still not great) and I was attentive more often, my final few rounds were distracted. And not just distracted, but they were distracted by something I had read yesterday on the internet. So, the associated realisation is that if something effects ones rounds, and it actually has nothing to do with the service given by ones Guru, then it should be avoided at all costs. We can't make up services for ourselves, nor put our attention into things which are totally unrelated to our services. If we understand that our morning japa is the most important thing in our life, we can get a proper perspective on every situation, and then better judge how much mental energy to put into something. So, my meditation today is Bhagavad-Gita 16.23 "One who discards scriptural injunctions, and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination."
I arrived in Swansea early evening and was received very nicely. After taking prasadam and chatting to some of the devotees for a while, I joined in with Karana Karana??(TM)s (back from Auckland, New Zealand for the occasion) ongoing Atma Yoga teachers training course. She had 10 eager and qualified students she was moulding into expert yoga teachers. Not only that, by the way Atma Yoga is designed, these students were also slowly becoming devotees of Krishna (which is of course, the original point of yoga; indeed, it is the very meaning of the word).
So I joined in a Slow-Deep Strength yoga class, suffered a bit due to having not fully digested the food I just ate, got a lift to the ashram, found my room and had a good night??(TM)s rest.
I arrived in Swansea early evening and was received very nicely. After taking prasadam and chatting to some of the devotees for a while, I joined in with Karana Karana??(TM)s (back from Auckland, New Zealand for the occasion) ongoing Atma Yoga teachers training course. She had 10 eager and qualified students she was moulding into expert yoga teachers. Not only that, by the way Atma Yoga is designed, these students were also slowly becoming devotees of Krishna (which is of course, the original point of yoga; indeed, it is the very meaning of the word).
So I joined in a Slow-Deep Strength yoga class, suffered a bit due to having not fully digested the food I just ate, got a lift to the ashram, found my room and had a good night??(TM)s rest.
I have decided to radically change my usage of this journal. What I'm going to do now is use this as a general sadhana record, as well as including my realisations for the day. Part of the benefit of doing this online is that I open myself up to external positive criticism and support. If you can see that I'm getting slack, you can correct me on it. Anyway, I'm just going to experiment with it for a while, see if I can keep it up and see if it actually does have positive influence on my overall sadhana.
This weekend was kind of a blow-out in terms of my sadhana, so I'm gonna start tomorrow analysing todays' sadhana etc.
I have decided to radically change my usage of this journal. What I'm going to do now is use this as a general sadhana record, as well as including my realisations for the day. Part of the benefit of doing this online is that I open myself up to external positive criticism and support. If you can see that I'm getting slack, you can correct me on it. Anyway, I'm just going to experiment with it for a while, see if I can keep it up and see if it actually does have positive influence on my overall sadhana.
This weekend was kind of a blow-out in terms of my sadhana, so I'm gonna start tomorrow analysing todays' sadhana etc.
"...Therefore, having come into this temporary, miserable world, engage in loving service unto Me."
Bhagavad-gita 9.33
"...Therefore, having come into this temporary, miserable world, engage in loving service unto Me."
Bhagavad-gita 9.33
I've got a busy day today, which is the start of what is likely going to be a busy week. Mondays are always busy days for me, partly because of the fact that I ussually end up getting up later than usual, as a result of the late night Sunday feast endeavours.
I'm relishing the Sunday feasts more and more each week. It's totally amazing watching people as they get their first taste of Krsna consciousness. Every week it's the same thing, after the class the second kirtana starts, and Balagopala introduces the 'Swami Step' dance, and everyone follows, with enthusiasm. Then, as the kirtana moves on, everyone starts moving, it's like they can't help it even if they tried. I've watched people try to not dance, but their toes just start tapping to the mrdanga, and they can't help but sing along. Then, the kirtana picks up, and as soon as the mrdanga and karatalas step up to the double time beat, everyone in the entire room practically goes wild, jumping and twirling. When I am sitting down playing karatala's with the bhajana band, I get a perfect view every time. We skip into double time, and I can look and see everyone's feet leaving the ground. It's actually totall amazing, mainly because the majority of people dancing have never in their lives had any contact with Krsna consciousness prior to their coming to the Loft for Krsna Fest, yet still they dance with the greatest joy and enthusiasm, and they are always left feeling completely satisfied after, a feeling rarely achieved in this world.
And then, we move on to the feast. Everyone raves about the feasts at the Loft. My Gurudeva demands that we present 'knock-out prasadam' to the guests. It has to leave a lasting impression, it has to be better than anything else on offer anywhere else in the city. Actually that's not hard, but it does mean the cooks have to be creative.
And after chanting, listening to a lecture, dancing enthusiastically, and letting the tongue taste Krsna prasada for likely the first time in their lives, everyone is totally blissful and purified, and they start to ask questions about the philosophy. Last night I sat at a table with three German tourists, one New Zealander and one Indian. I couldn't believe just how receptive the Germans were to Krsna conscious philosophy. Actually, there were a total of 6 Germans present last night. Two of them were the most enthusiastic dancers of the night. The three I talked to were the most inquisitive Loft guests I've sat with for ages. They were talking to one devotee breifly, and somehow started talking about the four regulative principles. Because the Mataji they were talking to is very new, she couldn't remember all the principles, so they asked me about them. Anyway, that lead to a conversation about meat eating, gambling, illicit sex and intoxication. At first I was a little apprehensive about it, as I generally don't tell people all the things that they should stop doing when I first meet them. Prabhupada would always first give people the positives before the negatives. "Chant Hare Krsna, associate with devotees, read Bhagavad-gita" things like that. But as the conversation carried on, I realised these were the most receptive people I've talked to for ages. After explaining to them that real love is impossible in a relationship with sexual activity is carried out without restriction, they all agreed. When I told them that we are not these bodies, and that identifying with these bodies will only ever lead to disatisfaction, and that because of the intense material pleasure that sex life provides it automatically forces one to identify with the body, therefore leading to more and more suffering, they were all nodding in agreement. One said "I never thought about that before, but it's totally true!"
There must be something very special going on in Germany at the moment. All six Germans present last night were totally amazing, and totally ready for Krsna consciousness. And it was a random selection, none of them knew eachother before coming to this country, they weren't from the same group of friends, or sub-culture, they were just a random selection of Germans. The classic example is that you can judge a pot of rice by checking just one grain, so if these six Germans are anything to go by, Germany is prime to recieve the science of Krsna consciousness in a big way.
Also, Ravi and his wife Bhavani were both at the Loft last night. They are a nice couple from India. I've had a few heavy conversations with them in the past, and they seem to have thus become very attached to me. They gave me a cell phone on Gaura Purnima this year. They heard last week that I would be moving soon. When Ravi asked about my moving last night his eyes started to water. I told him I would miss him too. And I will. The first night I met him, I convinced him to start chanting Hare Krsna, and he bought some beads for himself. He always has questions to ask about Krsna consciousness. I look forward to seeing him again when I return.
I've set my moving date for the 25th of July. I have to give the Sunday feast class next week with Balagopala, and I will need a day to recover before heading down to Wellington. I have yet to book my flight, but I'll do that later today. I'm looking forward to the chance to work on myself while in Wellington, to try and re-align my desires with those of my Gurudeva, and to try and get more serious about book distribution and preaching in general. I hope I can fulfill my plans in this regard.
Anyway, I have to vacuum the asrama, get in my 2 hours of reading, meet with Balagopala to plan the class for next week, and have an asrama meeting...and then clean up the kitchen, re-do the roster to make room for our new resident, Bhakta Matt...and probably another 30 things I can't remember at the moment...
I've got a busy day today, which is the start of what is likely going to be a busy week. Mondays are always busy days for me, partly because of the fact that I ussually end up getting up later than usual, as a result of the late night Sunday feast endeavours.
I'm relishing the Sunday feasts more and more each week. It's totally amazing watching people as they get their first taste of Krsna consciousness. Every week it's the same thing, after the class the second kirtana starts, and Balagopala introduces the 'Swami Step' dance, and everyone follows, with enthusiasm. Then, as the kirtana moves on, everyone starts moving, it's like they can't help it even if they tried. I've watched people try to not dance, but their toes just start tapping to the mrdanga, and they can't help but sing along. Then, the kirtana picks up, and as soon as the mrdanga and karatalas step up to the double time beat, everyone in the entire room practically goes wild, jumping and twirling. When I am sitting down playing karatala's with the bhajana band, I get a perfect view every time. We skip into double time, and I can look and see everyone's feet leaving the ground. It's actually totall amazing, mainly because the majority of people dancing have never in their lives had any contact with Krsna consciousness prior to their coming to the Loft for Krsna Fest, yet still they dance with the greatest joy and enthusiasm, and they are always left feeling completely satisfied after, a feeling rarely achieved in this world.
And then, we move on to the feast. Everyone raves about the feasts at the Loft. My Gurudeva demands that we present 'knock-out prasadam' to the guests. It has to leave a lasting impression, it has to be better than anything else on offer anywhere else in the city. Actually that's not hard, but it does mean the cooks have to be creative.
And after chanting, listening to a lecture, dancing enthusiastically, and letting the tongue taste Krsna prasada for likely the first time in their lives, everyone is totally blissful and purified, and they start to ask questions about the philosophy. Last night I sat at a table with three German tourists, one New Zealander and one Indian. I couldn't believe just how receptive the Germans were to Krsna conscious philosophy. Actually, there were a total of 6 Germans present last night. Two of them were the most enthusiastic dancers of the night. The three I talked to were the most inquisitive Loft guests I've sat with for ages. They were talking to one devotee breifly, and somehow started talking about the four regulative principles. Because the Mataji they were talking to is very new, she couldn't remember all the principles, so they asked me about them. Anyway, that lead to a conversation about meat eating, gambling, illicit sex and intoxication. At first I was a little apprehensive about it, as I generally don't tell people all the things that they should stop doing when I first meet them. Prabhupada would always first give people the positives before the negatives. "Chant Hare Krsna, associate with devotees, read Bhagavad-gita" things like that. But as the conversation carried on, I realised these were the most receptive people I've talked to for ages. After explaining to them that real love is impossible in a relationship with sexual activity is carried out without restriction, they all agreed. When I told them that we are not these bodies, and that identifying with these bodies will only ever lead to disatisfaction, and that because of the intense material pleasure that sex life provides it automatically forces one to identify with the body, therefore leading to more and more suffering, they were all nodding in agreement. One said "I never thought about that before, but it's totally true!"
There must be something very special going on in Germany at the moment. All six Germans present last night were totally amazing, and totally ready for Krsna consciousness. And it was a random selection, none of them knew eachother before coming to this country, they weren't from the same group of friends, or sub-culture, they were just a random selection of Germans. The classic example is that you can judge a pot of rice by checking just one grain, so if these six Germans are anything to go by, Germany is prime to recieve the science of Krsna consciousness in a big way.
Also, Ravi and his wife Bhavani were both at the Loft last night. They are a nice couple from India. I've had a few heavy conversations with them in the past, and they seem to have thus become very attached to me. They gave me a cell phone on Gaura Purnima this year. They heard last week that I would be moving soon. When Ravi asked about my moving last night his eyes started to water. I told him I would miss him too. And I will. The first night I met him, I convinced him to start chanting Hare Krsna, and he bought some beads for himself. He always has questions to ask about Krsna consciousness. I look forward to seeing him again when I return.
I've set my moving date for the 25th of July. I have to give the Sunday feast class next week with Balagopala, and I will need a day to recover before heading down to Wellington. I have yet to book my flight, but I'll do that later today. I'm looking forward to the chance to work on myself while in Wellington, to try and re-align my desires with those of my Gurudeva, and to try and get more serious about book distribution and preaching in general. I hope I can fulfill my plans in this regard.
Anyway, I have to vacuum the asrama, get in my 2 hours of reading, meet with Balagopala to plan the class for next week, and have an asrama meeting...and then clean up the kitchen, re-do the roster to make room for our new resident, Bhakta Matt...and probably another 30 things I can't remember at the moment...
And now for a review of the various hardware features that make an Apple Macbook notebook computer stand out. All these are reasons to purchase a Macbook or Macbook Pro instead of a standard, run-of-a-mill PC.
No viruses or spyware: no need to run a virus scanner, spyware removal tool, or third-party firewall. Macs just don't get computer viruses (note: they might in the future, but for the moment there are zero viruses on the Mac platform).
Super-fast dual core processor: no slow down. By far the fastest computer I've ever used. Two processors means that while the computer is busy doing a processor intensive operation, there is no interface slow-down. The other processor turns on and helps out. The net-effect is a computer that is nearly double as fast as an older laptop equipped with the Pentium-M processor (which often still retail for around the same price as Macs). According to systemshoot, my 2.16 Ghz MacBook Pro is equivalent to a hypothetical 5.2 Ghz Pentium 4 processor. Don't be fooled by the Mhz-myth. Higher clock-rate number does not necessarily mean faster computer. Don't be ripped off by last year's significantly slower processor technology.
Front-row remote control: a tidy, simple, 6-button, infrared remote control comes with the Mac. It can be used to remote control presentations, music playback, DVD playback, show photo slideshows and adjust the volume. A special enlarged interface flies out from the screen at the press of a button, so you can see all the controls from across the room.
Sudden motion sensor: in built-gyroscope that detects if the computer is dropped and secures the hard drive in mid-air to prevent any damage or data-loss.
In-built iSight camera: high-resolution built-in video camera that can be used for video chat over the Internet and taking pictures of oneself (with Apple's fun little Photobooth application). It also works surprisingly well in low light. Much better than any other webcam I've used.
ATi Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card: a super-powerful graphics card that can easily drive the nice 3D graphic effects of the operating systems. It can also easily drive a 30-inch external display (resolutions up to 2560 x 1600 pixels). It can also handle any modern, graphics-intensive game you can throw at it. Downside of all this power is that the graphics card eats battery power. If Apple had gone with a less powerful graphic card, the computer would probably last an hour longer when running on battery.
MagSafe power connector: the power connector attaches magnetically. Just move it near the edge of the computer and it snaps into place by itself. Much better than any clumsy plug-in connector. It also removes just as easily, so accidentally tripping over the power cord won't send the computer flying off the table. It also has a little light on the connector that tells you instantly if the battery is still charging, or fully charged.
Power supply cable ties: two little "feet" flip out from the power supply and can be used to wrap the power cord up quickly and tidily.
Slot-loading DVD drive. Just push the disk in and the drive sucks it in. No breakable pop-out tray to take care of. No delicate laser lens to get smudged.
Ambient light sensor: A sensor under the speaker grills detects the amount of ambient light and adjusts the screen brightness accordingly. The computer won't blast you with an ultra-bright screen if it's not necessary, saving both your eyes and battery life.
Bright screen: the screen is really clear, crisp and bright.
Instant sleep and restore: close the lid and the computer reliably goes to sleep. Open the lid and two seconds later the computer is read to use again, wireless Internet working, music playing, etc. It just works. The system also automatically saves the contents of the memory to disk (hibernate / safe-sleep) in case the battery power runs out, or someone removes / swaps the battery.
Magnetic / disappearing latch: the MacBook Pro has a disappearing latch. No ugly hook on the top of the lid, the latch retracts into the case when not in use. The MacBook takes this even further: it has no latch whatsoever, but secures the lid using a magnet. No moving parts to break (the latch is one of the things that frequently breaks on laptops).
Silent operation: makes almost no sound. Even when the fan comes on it is quieter than my old laptop running without its fan.
Hot swappable battery: put the computer to sleep by closing the lid, flick the spring-loaded levels on the bottom of the laptop and remove the battery. Put in a replacement battery, open the lid, wait a few seconds and continue working right where you left off. No need to save work, no need to reboot. Each battery also has a little read-out that displays how much charge it carries, so one can check the state of a battery without plugging it in.
Scrolling trackpad: using two fingers on the trackpad allows one to scroll the window. This may not sound like much of a feature, but is really useful. It's very intuitive to just scroll with two fingers. No more hunting for the tiny scroll bar on the side of the window.
Built-in microphone: a microphone is built in to the case somewhere, so audio chat just works, without the need for an extra external mic. Very good quality, too. Apples own iChat application even does perfect echo cancellation, so one does not even need a headset for audio chats. Unfortunately, Skype has not yet figured out how to do this, so chatting using that is not quite as perfect an experience.
Bluetooth (2.0) that actually works: a friend's IBM laptop has bluetooth, but it doesn't actually work because Windows messes up the driver. Bluetooth headsets, bluetooth mice, bluetooth keyboards, bluetooth phone synchronization (so you can, for example, write text messages on the Mac and send them using the phone, or go online through the phone's wireless connection); it all just works. Extra bonus is version 2.0 of bluetooth gives three times faster data transfer rates, better battery life and stereo audio support (though Apple has not yet implemented that feature).
Wifi: good wireless range in spite of the metal case and super easy configuration on any wireless network. The wireless antenna is on the hinge connecting the display to the bottom-case, which greatly improves reception from the previous generation Apple Powerbooks.
Firewire port: to plug in digital video cameras and download films directly onto the computer. Most PCs don't have this connector.
Optical 5.1 audio in/out: headphone and mic input that support up to 6 channels of simultaneous audio.
Good keyboard: nice responsive keyboard with sturdy keys that don't appear like they're about to fall off at any moment (unlike my old Dell laptop).
Works well with the iPod: synchronizes flawlessly and quickly with the iPod MP3 player.
Single hinge design: the entire back panel of the computer is one continuous hinge. No cheap plastic hinge that can break off easily (something that has happened to me on every other laptop I've owned).
Attractive durable case design: the MacBook Pro's aluminum case looks very beautiful. Great design. No frankenstein-like case with ports, buttons and connectors jutting out of everywhere. There is not even a visible fan air exhaust hole in the case. Apple has cleverly hidden the cooling fan slots under the display's hinge, making them all but invisible. The casing is also more durable than the typical plastic case. Metal doesn't tend to chip, split, scratch, or crack. The MacBook is made out of polycarbonate plastic (the same stuff that bullet proof glass is made out of), making it even more resilient than the MacBook Pro.
Super thin: only one inch thin. Every other laptop looks fat and clunky in comparison. The Macbook Pro is at least an inch thinner than most competing laptops.
Ultra-light weight: at 5.6 pounds (2.54 kg) the MacBook Pro is about 1 kg lighter than the equivalent Dell laptops. It is surprisingly lightweight for the size of the machine.
Gigabit ethernet: wired LAN networking that has 10 times faster file transfers than the usual 100 megabit network that is standard on most PCs.
Potentially low EMF radiation: the all metal body may reduce the EMF radiation emitted by the computer, though I have not been able to test this as of yet.
Stable: hardly ever crashes. No random restarts. No performance degradation over time. The Mac OS X operating system keeps itself in running order without user intervention.
Good tech support: Apple support is rated the best in the industry (and Dell isn't doing too well lately). You can also walk into any of the world-wide Apple stores, or many authorized service provider shops and get support from the so-called "Mac Geniuses" there.
Automatic external display configuration: plug an external display or projector in and the computer auto-detects it and configures the correct display setting automatically.
Runs windows: can use a software called Parallels to run Windows XP in a window from inside the Mac operating system, or can use Apple's own free Boot Camp software (recently updated) to reboot into Windows and use the Mac just like any other (really fast) Windows computer (and, for those Unix hacker out there: it does Linux, too).
Runs Microsoft Office. Microsoft make Word, Excel and Powerpoint for the Mac operating system.
iLife: the best suite of digital lifestyle applications out there. iPhoto stores digital camera pictures, iMovie is a full-blown movie editor, iDVD makes making professional looking DVD film disks easy, iWeb allows easy authoring of websites, iTunes stores and organizes MP3s, GarageBand makes podcast production easy and is the perfect software for recording one's own band (and all these applications work together seamlessly).
iWork: the Pages word processor is faster and easier to use than Microsoft Word and allows one to produce much more stylish looking printed pages. The Keynote presentation software is in a different class altogether from Powerpoint. Much easier to use, professional looking slides and transitions and some unique, cool and useful features.
Easy to use, elegant, feature filled Mac OS X operating system. No other operating system even comes close. It's like night and day going from Windows to Mac OS X: it just works. USB devices recognized instantly, drag and drop works between every application, can zoom into a portion of the screen for magnified reading, or detailed editing, can tile each window using a tool called Expos?© to quickly switch between applications, near instant full-text searching of every file on the hard drive, a dashboard of useful little widget utilities (currency converter, language translator, dictionary, world clock, calendar, calculator, notepad, etc) can be called up at a touch of a button, built-in voice recognition (to control the computer by talking to it) and screen-reader, automatic as-you-type spell-checker in every application, the list of useful features and nice little touches goes on and on and on ...
Price: only slightly ($100 - $200) more expensive than a PC from HP or Dell with the same basic hardware configuration. Though, of course, those computers don't come with any of the extras I've just listed.
Negatives can be summed up in two issues: heat and battery life.
This thing gets hot, really hot. It may be because the metal case conducts heat more easily, it may be that the invisible cooling fan slots impedes airflow, it may be that the fan is set to come on at too high a temperature, or it may just be because the computer is so darn thin. Whatever the cause, the Macbook Pro (and, to a lesser extent, the Macbook) can be very hot to the touch / lap. It's fine when just writing emails, but as soon as the computer has to work hard at some calculation the temperature really becomes noticeable. Apple even warns: don't put the "laptop" on your lap. It might burn you.
Then there is battery life. The bright screen, powerful graphics card and speedy processor certainly take their toll on the battery. On top of that comes the super-thin case, which does not allow for a large hulking battery. So, while Apple is using the latest high-tech lithium-polymer battery, the battery life sucks! I get only 2 - 3 hours of battery power (wifi on, normal screen brightness, moderate use, no sound playing).
Unfortunately, some faults have occurred with this machine: the fan occasionally makes a ratcheting noise, like a piece of card being stuck in the spokes of a bike's wheel; the computer makes the infamous whining noise when on battery power (though that might now be solved); and my battery has died on me. However, Apple support was quick, friendly and forthcoming with repairs (apart from the whine - I'm still going to hassle them about that), so no hard feelings. Still, one gets the impression that there are still a few bugs to work out with the hardware.
All in all: I recommend the MacBook to everyone. In my opinion, there is no reason whatsoever that anyone should buy anything other than an Apple notebook computer. The MacBook Pro is the ultimate power-user machine. The MacBook is a really great deal (cheaper even than the equivalent dull Dell) and almost as powerful as the Pro.
(and here a picture gallery of the MacBook Pro)
And now for a review of the various hardware features that make an Apple Macbook notebook computer stand out. All these are reasons to purchase a Macbook or Macbook Pro instead of a standard, run-of-a-mill PC.
No viruses or spyware: no need to run a virus scanner, spyware removal tool, or third-party firewall. Macs just don't get computer viruses (note: they might in the future, but for the moment there are zero viruses on the Mac platform).
Super-fast dual core processor: no slow down. By far the fastest computer I've ever used. Two processors means that while the computer is busy doing a processor intensive operation, there is no interface slow-down. The other processor turns on and helps out. The net-effect is a computer that is nearly double as fast as an older laptop equipped with the Pentium-M processor (which often still retail for around the same price as Macs). According to systemshoot, my 2.16 Ghz MacBook Pro is equivalent to a hypothetical 5.2 Ghz Pentium 4 processor. Don't be fooled by the Mhz-myth. Higher clock-rate number does not necessarily mean faster computer. Don't be ripped off by last year's significantly slower processor technology.
Front-row remote control: a tidy, simple, 6-button, infrared remote control comes with the Mac. It can be used to remote control presentations, music playback, DVD playback, show photo slideshows and adjust the volume. A special enlarged interface flies out from the screen at the press of a button, so you can see all the controls from across the room.
Sudden motion sensor: in built-gyroscope that detects if the computer is dropped and secures the hard drive in mid-air to prevent any damage or data-loss.
In-built iSight camera: high-resolution built-in video camera that can be used for video chat over the Internet and taking pictures of oneself (with Apple's fun little Photobooth application). It also works surprisingly well in low light. Much better than any other webcam I've used.
ATi Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card: a super-powerful graphics card that can easily drive the nice 3D graphic effects of the operating systems. It can also easily drive a 30-inch external display (resolutions up to 2560 x 1600 pixels). It can also handle any modern, graphics-intensive game you can throw at it. Downside of all this power is that the graphics card eats battery power. If Apple had gone with a less powerful graphic card, the computer would probably last an hour longer when running on battery.
MagSafe power connector: the power connector attaches magnetically. Just move it near the edge of the computer and it snaps into place by itself. Much better than any clumsy plug-in connector. It also removes just as easily, so accidentally tripping over the power cord won't send the computer flying off the table. It also has a little light on the connector that tells you instantly if the battery is still charging, or fully charged.
Power supply cable ties: two little "feet" flip out from the power supply and can be used to wrap the power cord up quickly and tidily.
Slot-loading DVD drive. Just push the disk in and the drive sucks it in. No breakable pop-out tray to take care of. No delicate laser lens to get smudged.
Ambient light sensor: A sensor under the speaker grills detects the amount of ambient light and adjusts the screen brightness accordingly. The computer won't blast you with an ultra-bright screen if it's not necessary, saving both your eyes and battery life.
Bright screen: the screen is really clear, crisp and bright.
Instant sleep and restore: close the lid and the computer reliably goes to sleep. Open the lid and two seconds later the computer is read to use again, wireless Internet working, music playing, etc. It just works. The system also automatically saves the contents of the memory to disk (hibernate / safe-sleep) in case the battery power runs out, or someone removes / swaps the battery.
Magnetic / disappearing latch: the MacBook Pro has a disappearing latch. No ugly hook on the top of the lid, the latch retracts into the case when not in use. The MacBook takes this even further: it has no latch whatsoever, but secures the lid using a magnet. No moving parts to break (the latch is one of the things that frequently breaks on laptops).
Silent operation: makes almost no sound. Even when the fan comes on it is quieter than my old laptop running without its fan.
Hot swappable battery: put the computer to sleep by closing the lid, flick the spring-loaded levels on the bottom of the laptop and remove the battery. Put in a replacement battery, open the lid, wait a few seconds and continue working right where you left off. No need to save work, no need to reboot. Each battery also has a little read-out that displays how much charge it carries, so one can check the state of a battery without plugging it in.
Scrolling trackpad: using two fingers on the trackpad allows one to scroll the window. This may not sound like much of a feature, but is really useful. It's very intuitive to just scroll with two fingers. No more hunting for the tiny scroll bar on the side of the window.
Built-in microphone: a microphone is built in to the case somewhere, so audio chat just works, without the need for an extra external mic. Very good quality, too. Apples own iChat application even does perfect echo cancellation, so one does not even need a headset for audio chats. Unfortunately, Skype has not yet figured out how to do this, so chatting using that is not quite as perfect an experience.
Bluetooth (2.0) that actually works: a friend's IBM laptop has bluetooth, but it doesn't actually work because Windows messes up the driver. Bluetooth headsets, bluetooth mice, bluetooth keyboards, bluetooth phone synchronization (so you can, for example, write text messages on the Mac and send them using the phone, or go online through the phone's wireless connection); it all just works. Extra bonus is version 2.0 of bluetooth gives three times faster data transfer rates, better battery life and stereo audio support (though Apple has not yet implemented that feature).
Wifi: good wireless range in spite of the metal case and super easy configuration on any wireless network. The wireless antenna is on the hinge connecting the display to the bottom-case, which greatly improves reception from the previous generation Apple Powerbooks.
Firewire port: to plug in digital video cameras and download films directly onto the computer. Most PCs don't have this connector.
Optical 5.1 audio in/out: headphone and mic input that support up to 6 channels of simultaneous audio.
Good keyboard: nice responsive keyboard with sturdy keys that don't appear like they're about to fall off at any moment (unlike my old Dell laptop).
Works well with the iPod: synchronizes flawlessly and quickly with the iPod MP3 player.
Single hinge design: the entire back panel of the computer is one continuous hinge. No cheap plastic hinge that can break off easily (something that has happened to me on every other laptop I've owned).
Attractive durable case design: the MacBook Pro's aluminum case looks very beautiful. Great design. No frankenstein-like case with ports, buttons and connectors jutting out of everywhere. There is not even a visible fan air exhaust hole in the case. Apple has cleverly hidden the cooling fan slots under the display's hinge, making them all but invisible. The casing is also more durable than the typical plastic case. Metal doesn't tend to chip, split, scratch, or crack. The MacBook is made out of polycarbonate plastic (the same stuff that bullet proof glass is made out of), making it even more resilient than the MacBook Pro.
Super thin: only one inch thin. Every other laptop looks fat and clunky in comparison. The Macbook Pro is at least an inch thinner than most competing laptops.
Ultra-light weight: at 5.6 pounds (2.54 kg) the MacBook Pro is about 1 kg lighter than the equivalent Dell laptops. It is surprisingly lightweight for the size of the machine.
Gigabit ethernet: wired LAN networking that has 10 times faster file transfers than the usual 100 megabit network that is standard on most PCs.
Potentially low EMF radiation: the all metal body may reduce the EMF radiation emitted by the computer, though I have not been able to test this as of yet.
Stable: hardly ever crashes. No random restarts. No performance degradation over time. The Mac OS X operating system keeps itself in running order without user intervention.
Good tech support: Apple support is rated the best in the industry (and Dell isn't doing too well lately). You can also walk into any of the world-wide Apple stores, or many authorized service provider shops and get support from the so-called "Mac Geniuses" there.
Automatic external display configuration: plug an external display or projector in and the computer auto-detects it and configures the correct display setting automatically.
Runs windows: can use a software called Parallels to run Windows XP in a window from inside the Mac operating system, or can use Apple's own free Boot Camp software (recently updated) to reboot into Windows and use the Mac just like any other (really fast) Windows computer (and, for those Unix hacker out there: it does Linux, too).
Runs Microsoft Office. Microsoft make Word, Excel and Powerpoint for the Mac operating system.
iLife: the best suite of digital lifestyle applications out there. iPhoto stores digital camera pictures, iMovie is a full-blown movie editor, iDVD makes making professional looking DVD film disks easy, iWeb allows easy authoring of websites, iTunes stores and organizes MP3s, GarageBand makes podcast production easy and is the perfect software for recording one's own band (and all these applications work together seamlessly).
iWork: the Pages word processor is faster and easier to use than Microsoft Word and allows one to produce much more stylish looking printed pages. The Keynote presentation software is in a different class altogether from Powerpoint. Much easier to use, professional looking slides and transitions and some unique, cool and useful features.
Easy to use, elegant, feature filled Mac OS X operating system. No other operating system even comes close. It's like night and day going from Windows to Mac OS X: it just works. USB devices recognized instantly, drag and drop works between every application, can zoom into a portion of the screen for magnified reading, or detailed editing, can tile each window using a tool called Expos?© to quickly switch between applications, near instant full-text searching of every file on the hard drive, a dashboard of useful little widget utilities (currency converter, language translator, dictionary, world clock, calendar, calculator, notepad, etc) can be called up at a touch of a button, built-in voice recognition (to control the computer by talking to it) and screen-reader, automatic as-you-type spell-checker in every application, the list of useful features and nice little touches goes on and on and on ...
Price: only slightly ($100 - $200) more expensive than a PC from HP or Dell with the same basic hardware configuration. Though, of course, those computers don't come with any of the extras I've just listed.
Negatives can be summed up in two issues: heat and battery life.
This thing gets hot, really hot. It may be because the metal case conducts heat more easily, it may be that the invisible cooling fan slots impedes airflow, it may be that the fan is set to come on at too high a temperature, or it may just be because the computer is so darn thin. Whatever the cause, the Macbook Pro (and, to a lesser extent, the Macbook) can be very hot to the touch / lap. It's fine when just writing emails, but as soon as the computer has to work hard at some calculation the temperature really becomes noticeable. Apple even warns: don't put the "laptop" on your lap. It might burn you.
Then there is battery life. The bright screen, powerful graphics card and speedy processor certainly take their toll on the battery. On top of that comes the super-thin case, which does not allow for a large hulking battery. So, while Apple is using the latest high-tech lithium-polymer battery, the battery life sucks! I get only 2 - 3 hours of battery power (wifi on, normal screen brightness, moderate use, no sound playing).
Unfortunately, some faults have occurred with this machine: the fan occasionally makes a ratcheting noise, like a piece of card being stuck in the spokes of a bike's wheel; the computer makes the infamous whining noise when on battery power (though that might now be solved); and my battery has died on me. However, Apple support was quick, friendly and forthcoming with repairs (apart from the whine - I'm still going to hassle them about that), so no hard feelings. Still, one gets the impression that there are still a few bugs to work out with the hardware.
All in all: I recommend the MacBook to everyone. In my opinion, there is no reason whatsoever that anyone should buy anything other than an Apple notebook computer. The MacBook Pro is the ultimate power-user machine. The MacBook is a really great deal (cheaper even than the equivalent dull Dell) and almost as powerful as the Pro.
(and here a picture gallery of the MacBook Pro)
I was catching a bus home from Sankirtana today. Well...it wasn't exactly sankirtana, as I'm still incredibly exhausted from all these illnesses I've had lately, but I tried my best. At the moment I still have a nasty cough which is keeping me awake at night. Anyway, I went to the bus stop to catch a bus, thinking that I would have to catch one to New Market, and another home from there, or something like that, something expensive. But just then I saw the 011 bus, which from memory goes right past our house. I ran to get on, and I asked the driver if I was right, if he did actually go down Mountain View Drive. He replied with a straight "Nope!". I asked him where it was that his bus went, and he replied with an angry "Ponsonby!". So, I was a little concerned, and I asked where it went on the way to Ponsonby. He got kind of upset about that question, and just sat there, ignoring me.
Anyway, I got on the bus anyway, and paid for 4 sections. I realised that this man wasn't trying to be mean actually, but I could see that he was really a simple character, and actually he didn't know personally where it was exactly that he was driving, what streets he was taking, he just knew where to turn, and when to stop. And because there was pride in his attitude he wasn't willing to admit that actually he didn't really know the names of the street he was taking, he just knew how to get there, and the fact that I was challenging his intelligence upset him abit.
It is surprising just how much humility it takes just to say the words "I don't know." I had to do it twice today, and both times it took me alot of endeavour just to get those words out of my mouth. I gave class this morning, my first time in a while, without preparing, which is rare for me. Afterwards Vamsidhari Prabhu asked a question about how to explain the concept of parampara to a philosophy student. I just couldn't think of a good answer at the time, and ussually I would just bluff my way through it, but I actually replied "I don't really know at the moment." Then, on the way out on sankirtana Balagopala asked me the meaning of a word, 'myopic'. Usually I take great pride in giving words meanings and definitions, but I actually didn't know the meaning of the word, and without speculating I had to say "I don't know". And at first, both times I had to say this, I actually felt my pride take a bit of beating. It was actually tuff.
I'm getting sick of having to battle with pride practically 24 hour's a day. I hope that one day I can actually bust through this anartha and get into real Vaisnava humility.
I was catching a bus home from Sankirtana today. Well...it wasn't exactly sankirtana, as I'm still incredibly exhausted from all these illnesses I've had lately, but I tried my best. At the moment I still have a nasty cough which is keeping me awake at night. Anyway, I went to the bus stop to catch a bus, thinking that I would have to catch one to New Market, and another home from there, or something like that, something expensive. But just then I saw the 011 bus, which from memory goes right past our house. I ran to get on, and I asked the driver if I was right, if he did actually go down Mountain View Drive. He replied with a straight "Nope!". I asked him where it was that his bus went, and he replied with an angry "Ponsonby!". So, I was a little concerned, and I asked where it went on the way to Ponsonby. He got kind of upset about that question, and just sat there, ignoring me.
Anyway, I got on the bus anyway, and paid for 4 sections. I realised that this man wasn't trying to be mean actually, but I could see that he was really a simple character, and actually he didn't know personally where it was exactly that he was driving, what streets he was taking, he just knew where to turn, and when to stop. And because there was pride in his attitude he wasn't willing to admit that actually he didn't really know the names of the street he was taking, he just knew how to get there, and the fact that I was challenging his intelligence upset him abit.
It is surprising just how much humility it takes just to say the words "I don't know." I had to do it twice today, and both times it took me alot of endeavour just to get those words out of my mouth. I gave class this morning, my first time in a while, without preparing, which is rare for me. Afterwards Vamsidhari Prabhu asked a question about how to explain the concept of parampara to a philosophy student. I just couldn't think of a good answer at the time, and ussually I would just bluff my way through it, but I actually replied "I don't really know at the moment." Then, on the way out on sankirtana Balagopala asked me the meaning of a word, 'myopic'. Usually I take great pride in giving words meanings and definitions, but I actually didn't know the meaning of the word, and without speculating I had to say "I don't know". And at first, both times I had to say this, I actually felt my pride take a bit of beating. It was actually tuff.
I'm getting sick of having to battle with pride practically 24 hour's a day. I hope that one day I can actually bust through this anartha and get into real Vaisnava humility.
For some reason, over my devotional life, I have really shyed away from giving much time to the Nectar of Devotion, and Krsna Book. So, my plan is to at least spend the four months of Caturymasya (and likely the rest of this year) making an extra effort to study these two books, and really develop a taste for reading them. The fact that the asrama in Wellington is about to start an indepth Bhakti-sastri study of the Nectar of Devotion is certainly going to help along with this.
For the last few months or so I have really been thinking about the scientific explanation of the stages of sadhana-bhakti given by Rupa Goswami in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (of which the Nectar of Devotion is a study guide). Rupa Goswami lays out the different stages concisely, so that we don't make any mistakes, and so that we can use his statement like a road map, we will always know where we are in the process if we are attentive. By knowing what lays ahead we can make a plan for our lives, we can make long term goals and see how, throughout our lives, we actually can stand a good chance of becoming Krsna conscious. It's actually important to do that, because it keeps us fixed in the right direction, determined to try our hardest. If we know where we are, and where we want to go, and what we need to do to get there, it is much easier to stay determined.
Anyway, looking at my life in the light of Rupa Goswami's directions to prema has increased my determination. One interesting thing I've noticed lately is that I have started feeling life to be like a marathon race. I don't know if anyone ever had to run a marathon, or a cross country run. I've never done a proper marathon, not one of those extended ones that you see on TV. But I do remember once taking part in a high school organised cross country run. I think it was a 3 hour run through the hills of Ohope Beach in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty. The thing about this run was that once you started, you really had to finish it if you were going to end up somewhere. I mean, you can't just stop halfway through the bush and give up. Even if you give up, you have to put in alot of effort just to get somewhere worthwile. You have to either walk all the way back, or all the way forward. And actually, if you did give up and just leave, not finishing, then you were bound to get a detention anyway, if not worse. For some strange reason I was determined to at least finish the race, regardless of the fact that I was the most unfit kid in the school. This is strange because I ussually just didn't even go to school on these kinds of days. I ran (walked quickly) up and down hills, through streams, over logs. Finally I made it back to the school, finishing 3rd to last...
The endeavour through the stages of Krsna consciousness can kind of be like that, except with a much better goal at the end. We have to put in the hard yards to make it. And if we do decide to just give up, we really have to put in the hard yards to get back into materialistic ways of living, and then we most certainly and seriously suffer the consequences.
Actually, it's sometimes described by my Gurudeva that the stage of anartha-nivritti alone is the mother of all battles. We've started on this path, this fact alone is glorious, as stated by Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (2.40), and if we keep going we are guaranteed the most glorious prize giving ceremony ever. But it means determination, and struggling through tough situations. And we do have a time limit, in a sense, this one life-time. I personally don't want to risk not making it. Certainly we can restart where we left off in our next life, but that doesn't give that much insurance. For example, Bilvamangala Thakura attained the stage of Bhava in his previous life, but still he ended up very much attached to a prostitute, so much so that he actually went through some of the worst conditions possible for her association. He suffered so much because of his lusty desires that he decided to pluck out his eyes with a pin to solve the problem. Sure we can quickly reach our previous attained spiritual qualities, but not without the suffering of material distress and not even with any certain guarantee that we won't make the same mistakes next time.
I have an incredibly long way to go yet, since I'm struggling enough to keep to the platform of bhajana-kriya, carrying out devotional service...but I know that with enthusiasm, determination and patience I can make it through. By the strength of Srila Prabhupada's books, Gurudeva's instructions, devotee association and the Holy Name, it's very much possible to make it through the mother of all battles and actually really revive ones love for Krsna in this on lifetime. Anyway, please wait for me at the finishing line. I promise I'll make it there, sometime.
For some reason, over my devotional life, I have really shyed away from giving much time to the Nectar of Devotion, and Krsna Book. So, my plan is to at least spend the four months of Caturymasya (and likely the rest of this year) making an extra effort to study these two books, and really develop a taste for reading them. The fact that the asrama in Wellington is about to start an indepth Bhakti-sastri study of the Nectar of Devotion is certainly going to help along with this.
For the last few months or so I have really been thinking about the scientific explanation of the stages of sadhana-bhakti given by Rupa Goswami in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (of which the Nectar of Devotion is a study guide). Rupa Goswami lays out the different stages concisely, so that we don't make any mistakes, and so that we can use his statement like a road map, we will always know where we are in the process if we are attentive. By knowing what lays ahead we can make a plan for our lives, we can make long term goals and see how, throughout our lives, we actually can stand a good chance of becoming Krsna conscious. It's actually important to do that, because it keeps us fixed in the right direction, determined to try our hardest. If we know where we are, and where we want to go, and what we need to do to get there, it is much easier to stay determined.
Anyway, looking at my life in the light of Rupa Goswami's directions to prema has increased my determination. One interesting thing I've noticed lately is that I have started feeling life to be like a marathon race. I don't know if anyone ever had to run a marathon, or a cross country run. I've never done a proper marathon, not one of those extended ones that you see on TV. But I do remember once taking part in a high school organised cross country run. I think it was a 3 hour run through the hills of Ohope Beach in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty. The thing about this run was that once you started, you really had to finish it if you were going to end up somewhere. I mean, you can't just stop halfway through the bush and give up. Even if you give up, you have to put in alot of effort just to get somewhere worthwile. You have to either walk all the way back, or all the way forward. And actually, if you did give up and just leave, not finishing, then you were bound to get a detention anyway, if not worse. For some strange reason I was determined to at least finish the race, regardless of the fact that I was the most unfit kid in the school. This is strange because I ussually just didn't even go to school on these kinds of days. I ran (walked quickly) up and down hills, through streams, over logs. Finally I made it back to the school, finishing 3rd to last...
The endeavour through the stages of Krsna consciousness can kind of be like that, except with a much better goal at the end. We have to put in the hard yards to make it. And if we do decide to just give up, we really have to put in the hard yards to get back into materialistic ways of living, and then we most certainly and seriously suffer the consequences.
Actually, it's sometimes described by my Gurudeva that the stage of anartha-nivritti alone is the mother of all battles. We've started on this path, this fact alone is glorious, as stated by Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (2.40), and if we keep going we are guaranteed the most glorious prize giving ceremony ever. But it means determination, and struggling through tough situations. And we do have a time limit, in a sense, this one life-time. I personally don't want to risk not making it. Certainly we can restart where we left off in our next life, but that doesn't give that much insurance. For example, Bilvamangala Thakura attained the stage of Bhava in his previous life, but still he ended up very much attached to a prostitute, so much so that he actually went through some of the worst conditions possible for her association. He suffered so much because of his lusty desires that he decided to pluck out his eyes with a pin to solve the problem. Sure we can quickly reach our previous attained spiritual qualities, but not without the suffering of material distress and not even with any certain guarantee that we won't make the same mistakes next time.
I have an incredibly long way to go yet, since I'm struggling enough to keep to the platform of bhajana-kriya, carrying out devotional service...but I know that with enthusiasm, determination and patience I can make it through. By the strength of Srila Prabhupada's books, Gurudeva's instructions, devotee association and the Holy Name, it's very much possible to make it through the mother of all battles and actually really revive ones love for Krsna in this on lifetime. Anyway, please wait for me at the finishing line. I promise I'll make it there, sometime.
I switched to using an Apple Macbook Pro about a month ago. What follows is an in-depth review of some of the software I've been using on the Mac.
Positives
Parallels Desktop for Mac OS X is simply amazing. It seems to run Windows better than a Windows PC does. If given enough RAM, it can launch Windows XP in 10 seconds flat! How long does Windows take to boot on your PC, I wonder? You can have Windows running in one Window on the Mac and simply move the mouse into that and use it as you would any other application. You can also set it to rotate the screen between the operating systems with a cube effect: so Windows is running on one side of a cube and Mac OS X on the other. Applications run at almost full speed (although they can only use one of the two processors at a time). No slowdown whatsoever from what I could tell. You can also copy and paste text between the two operating systems. Finally, Windows can access any of the Mac hardware and filesystem (if you let it), even though they are completely different systems (of course, some Mac specific features, such as tracking file creation time, don't work when creating files in the Mac filesystem using Windows). Network connections can either be shared, or the guest operating system can appear as a separate computer. All in all, everything just works. Very nice. Want more info? Ars Technica has posted a very detailed review.
Presentation software: Keynote is an application from Apple for creating jaw dropping presentation. It is much, much (!) better than Powerpoint. Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO, uses it for all his famous presentations. Al Gore used it for his presentation on global warming which was recently made into a feature length film (An Inconvenient Truth). I haven't seen it, but its getting rave reviews and has made $10 million at the box office so far. Pretty good given that the film is basically just a video of Gore giving a Keynote presentation using his Apple notebook computer.
Aside: it is becoming easier and easier to create quality presentations/videos. Now everyone's doing it. For example: Angela Merkel, the new German Chancellor, has just started giving a weekly video podcast. Aim: "Directly addressing the people", "appeal to the youth", etc. etc.
Rosetta emulation is good, but not great. Almost all emulated software runs fine. However, if you attempt to open and edit a Word document that contains lots of images the computer grinds to a halt. Word is otherwise okay to use. There is a very slight, but noticeable delay before every action, but it is still perfectly usable (just not with images in a document). Of course, there are plenty of other word processor alternatives that will also read (and save) Word documents. However, none are however as fully featured / bloated as Word. Grammar checking, for example, is not included in any of them.
The Ecto blog writing software I use is really good. It makes it very easy to write blog entries offline and post them with a touch of a button. You can even include pictures and set them to upload with the main article. Lots of options, lots of features. It does however currently still runs in Rosetta emulation, but you'd never know. It's lightning quick.
Endo is a brilliant little RSS reader. I was previously using Bloglines, but Endo has replace it. It makes reading loads and loads of RSS feeds fast and easy. RSS is different from email. I scan RSS quickly for something that might interest me, while I read and respond to email in detail. Endo allows me eat through loads of feeds in practically no time at all.
Apple's Mail app is great. Fast (really fast), simple and uncluttered, yet can do almost everything that Outlook can. It's spam filter is also quite good. It can learn from what you label as spam or not-spam. Over time it will learn to catch most spam and never label something that isn't spam as such. Some spam will always slip through the net, of course.
iPhoto is a great photo management application. It completely replaces the traditional folder structure for pictures with a much more useful interface. Unlike similar tools on the PC (Photoshop Elements or Picasa), there are lots of plug-ins available that enable you to directly and easily export pictures into online galleries (flickr, coppermine, gallery, etc.). iPhoto can automatically handle all the resizing, re-naming and uploading. Simple.
SuperDuper! is the best backup software I've ever used. I wouldn't have thought that creating a backup is so difficult, but SuperDuper seems to be the only software in the world that that is easy to use and does fast, accurate and smart hard drive synchronization. The process for backing up my 120 GB hard drive is: plug in external hard drive, launch SuperDuper, press the "backup now" button, wait 20 minutes, done (the software only copies the changed files and removes any deleted files). You can, should your computer's hard drive fail, plug in the backup drive, boot the computer via USB and carry-on working, as if nothing had happened. Mac OS X has a special feature that you can seamlessly boot from and use an external drive as the main system drive.
Bonuses
No need for virus checker, anti-spyware tool, or third-party firewall needed. Zero viruses and spyware on the Mac. A good firewall is built into the operating system.
Real plug and play. For example: the process for using a new, unknown printer is: Plug in, press print. No hunting for drivers, no millions of pop-up boxes telling you that the new hardware is being recognized. It just works (Apple has included about 2 GB of common drivers with the OS).
Lots and lots of little things. Every time I've wished: "if only it could do that", I've found that it actually could do that. The Mac platform just oozes with attention to detail.
Negatives
Software sometimes crashes. That will always be there. Nothing disastrous, just annoying. I expect better from Apple! The entire operating system has even hung and/or crashed on me a few times. It seems that Apple is still struggling to get rid of some of the glitches in the new Intel hardware.
Firefox is not as good on the Mac as it is on Windows (not bad, of course, just has a few quirks). There are however plenty of alternative web-browsers: Camino, Safari, Shiira, Opera and Omniweb and (cough) Internet Explorer. You can pick the one that you like best.
Video Skype has not yet materialized. It is definitely being worked on, but no fruits so far.
Synchronization software for Windows Mobile 5 (for my T-mobile MDA Vario smartphone) has also not yet materialized. The two companies (missing sync and pocketmac) that make this kind of software have had about a year to work on it already, but, once again, no fruits as of yet.
Some older hardware does not work. I could not, for example, format my backup drive for the Mac. I had to use a different, older, PowerPC-based Mac computer to do that. Also, my digital camera can't directly connect to the Mac (it can however connect to Windows running in Parallels and, in that round-about way, transfer files). I usually just use an external card reader.
Some relearning required: things work differently on the Mac. Keyboard shortcuts are different (but actually make sense), windows have different buttons, the equivalent of the Windows-explorer is not quite as intuitive. It all takes some getting used to, but is worth it, in the end.
I switched to using an Apple Macbook Pro about a month ago. What follows is an in-depth review of some of the software I've been using on the Mac.
Positives
Parallels Desktop for Mac OS X is simply amazing. It seems to run Windows better than a Windows PC does. If given enough RAM, it can launch Windows XP in 10 seconds flat! How long does Windows take to boot on your PC, I wonder? You can have Windows running in one Window on the Mac and simply move the mouse into that and use it as you would any other application. You can also set it to rotate the screen between the operating systems with a cube effect: so Windows is running on one side of a cube and Mac OS X on the other. Applications run at almost full speed (although they can only use one of the two processors at a time). No slowdown whatsoever from what I could tell. You can also copy and paste text between the two operating systems. Finally, Windows can access any of the Mac hardware and filesystem (if you let it), even though they are completely different systems (of course, some Mac specific features, such as tracking file creation time, don't work when creating files in the Mac filesystem using Windows). Network connections can either be shared, or the guest operating system can appear as a separate computer. All in all, everything just works. Very nice. Want more info? Ars Technica has posted a very detailed review.
Presentation software: Keynote is an application from Apple for creating jaw dropping presentation. It is much, much (!) better than Powerpoint. Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO, uses it for all his famous presentations. Al Gore used it for his presentation on global warming which was recently made into a feature length film (An Inconvenient Truth). I haven't seen it, but its getting rave reviews and has made $10 million at the box office so far. Pretty good given that the film is basically just a video of Gore giving a Keynote presentation using his Apple notebook computer.
Aside: it is becoming easier and easier to create quality presentations/videos. Now everyone's doing it. For example: Angela Merkel, the new German Chancellor, has just started giving a weekly video podcast. Aim: "Directly addressing the people", "appeal to the youth", etc. etc.
Rosetta emulation is good, but not great. Almost all emulated software runs fine. However, if you attempt to open and edit a Word document that contains lots of images the computer grinds to a halt. Word is otherwise okay to use. There is a very slight, but noticeable delay before every action, but it is still perfectly usable (just not with images in a document). Of course, there are plenty of other word processor alternatives that will also read (and save) Word documents. However, none are however as fully featured / bloated as Word. Grammar checking, for example, is not included in any of them.
The Ecto blog writing software I use is really good. It makes it very easy to write blog entries offline and post them with a touch of a button. You can even include pictures and set them to upload with the main article. Lots of options, lots of features. It does however currently still runs in Rosetta emulation, but you'd never know. It's lightning quick.
Endo is a brilliant little RSS reader. I was previously using Bloglines, but Endo has replace it. It makes reading loads and loads of RSS feeds fast and easy. RSS is different from email. I scan RSS quickly for something that might interest me, while I read and respond to email in detail. Endo allows me eat through loads of feeds in practically no time at all.
Apple's Mail app is great. Fast (really fast), simple and uncluttered, yet can do almost everything that Outlook can. It's spam filter is also quite good. It can learn from what you label as spam or not-spam. Over time it will learn to catch most spam and never label something that isn't spam as such. Some spam will always slip through the net, of course.
iPhoto is a great photo management application. It completely replaces the traditional folder structure for pictures with a much more useful interface. Unlike similar tools on the PC (Photoshop Elements or Picasa), there are lots of plug-ins available that enable you to directly and easily export pictures into online galleries (flickr, coppermine, gallery, etc.). iPhoto can automatically handle all the resizing, re-naming and uploading. Simple.
SuperDuper! is the best backup software I've ever used. I wouldn't have thought that creating a backup is so difficult, but SuperDuper seems to be the only software in the world that that is easy to use and does fast, accurate and smart hard drive synchronization. The process for backing up my 120 GB hard drive is: plug in external hard drive, launch SuperDuper, press the "backup now" button, wait 20 minutes, done (the software only copies the changed files and removes any deleted files). You can, should your computer's hard drive fail, plug in the backup drive, boot the computer via USB and carry-on working, as if nothing had happened. Mac OS X has a special feature that you can seamlessly boot from and use an external drive as the main system drive.
Bonuses
No need for virus checker, anti-spyware tool, or third-party firewall needed. Zero viruses and spyware on the Mac. A good firewall is built into the operating system.
Real plug and play. For example: the process for using a new, unknown printer is: Plug in, press print. No hunting for drivers, no millions of pop-up boxes telling you that the new hardware is being recognized. It just works (Apple has included about 2 GB of common drivers with the OS).
Lots and lots of little things. Every time I've wished: "if only it could do that", I've found that it actually could do that. The Mac platform just oozes with attention to detail.
Negatives
Software sometimes crashes. That will always be there. Nothing disastrous, just annoying. I expect better from Apple! The entire operating system has even hung and/or crashed on me a few times. It seems that Apple is still struggling to get rid of some of the glitches in the new Intel hardware.
Firefox is not as good on the Mac as it is on Windows (not bad, of course, just has a few quirks). There are however plenty of alternative web-browsers: Camino, Safari, Shiira, Opera and Omniweb and (cough) Internet Explorer. You can pick the one that you like best.
Video Skype has not yet materialized. It is definitely being worked on, but no fruits so far.
Synchronization software for Windows Mobile 5 (for my T-mobile MDA Vario smartphone) has also not yet materialized. The two companies (missing sync and pocketmac) that make this kind of software have had about a year to work on it already, but, once again, no fruits as of yet.
Some older hardware does not work. I could not, for example, format my backup drive for the Mac. I had to use a different, older, PowerPC-based Mac computer to do that. Also, my digital camera can't directly connect to the Mac (it can however connect to Windows running in Parallels and, in that round-about way, transfer files). I usually just use an external card reader.
Some relearning required: things work differently on the Mac. Keyboard shortcuts are different (but actually make sense), windows have different buttons, the equivalent of the Windows-explorer is not quite as intuitive. It all takes some getting used to, but is worth it, in the end.
According to one lecture by Mother Urmila, which is on my list of lectures that I listen to again and again, Krsna generally has a few ways that He starts pointing out anarthas and offensive attitudes to us, and they get progressively more obvious as they carry on. And our ability to pick up on these pointers early rests on our attentive japa. First, Krsna will allow us the chance to glimpse something that shouldn't be there, like pride. We'll do something, and Krsna will give us the intelligence to say "Hey! That was just an act of pride!" Of course, if our japa isn't very attentive, we will easily pass over this realisation, or quickly forget it without rectification.
According to Mother Urmila, the next likely event will be that we will get subtle pointers during Bhagavatam class, or in conversations. Someone may bring up a point about pride in a class that perfectly fits our situation. Or perhaps someone in a brief conversation will talk about something they have read about pride, or maybe even we will read such a quote ourselves. Then, perhaps, if we don't pick up on that hint, Krsna will send someone to directly say to us "Prabhu, you're just proud." Of course, if we are really really proud we might just punch the messenger in the nose...
And if we still aren't able to pick up on the pointers and rectify the situation, chances are a very embarrassing situation will arise which forces it into our view. Of course still, we can ignore it, and likely will if our chanting is very slack.
Anyway, I had an ongoing example of this recently. And although I was aware of it practically when I did it first, I didn't rectify the situation. But now, having enough pointers, conversations and realisations, I think it's time I dealt with it abit.
Basically, I have committed a ridiculous amount of offenses through my use of this blog. I've acted like I actually know something about devotional service, Krsna consciousness and how to fix devotional problems. Actually, who the heck am I anyway? I'm just some young hooligan who can't chant with attention, can't walk down the street without lusting after every second person, and can't even properly carry out the service he's been given. Only a few short years ago I was engaged in some of the most abominable activities imaginable, and had some of the most embarrassing and shameful moments possible. Practically speaking, I'm in no position to tell anyone anything about Krsna consciousness. And yet, through this journal I have done just that. And to make matters worse, sometimes I even tried to instruct senior devotees through this medium. That is incredibly shameful.
I am incredibly sorry for anyone that I offended by anything I wrote over the past six months. I beg your forgiveness. Please excuse me for my immature mentality.
Having said that, I have a general announcement. Because my health has been progressively decaying over the past little while, which isn't so good because it sucked before anyway, my Gurumaharaja has suggested that I move down to Wellington and see a very good natural healer down there who happens to chant Hare Krsna, and associate with the devotees. I have just gotten back from a preliminary trip down to see the doctor and sort out living arrangements. I will be moving as soon as possible to live in the asrama run by my very dear senior Godbrother, Mahavana Prabhu. I look forward very much to his awesome association, and the opportunity to serve all the devotees down there. Sadly I am going to have to leave the association of the devotees at the Auckland brahmacari asrama. I recently sent a letter to my Gurumaharaja saying that I would consider my life incredibly blessed if I could spend the rest of it in service to these devotees in the asrama in Auckland. Unfortunately it appears that Krsna has other ideas...
I am begging all the devotees for their mercy, so that I will be able to cope with this change, make the most of it for my spritual life, and that I may be able to continue to practice brahmacarya strictly while in Wellington.
According to one lecture by Mother Urmila, which is on my list of lectures that I listen to again and again, Krsna generally has a few ways that He starts pointing out anarthas and offensive attitudes to us, and they get progressively more obvious as they carry on. And our ability to pick up on these pointers early rests on our attentive japa. First, Krsna will allow us the chance to glimpse something that shouldn't be there, like pride. We'll do something, and Krsna will give us the intelligence to say "Hey! That was just an act of pride!" Of course, if our japa isn't very attentive, we will easily pass over this realisation, or quickly forget it without rectification.
According to Mother Urmila, the next likely event will be that we will get subtle pointers during Bhagavatam class, or in conversations. Someone may bring up a point about pride in a class that perfectly fits our situation. Or perhaps someone in a brief conversation will talk about something they have read about pride, or maybe even we will read such a quote ourselves. Then, perhaps, if we don't pick up on that hint, Krsna will send someone to directly say to us "Prabhu, you're just proud." Of course, if we are really really proud we might just punch the messenger in the nose...
And if we still aren't able to pick up on the pointers and rectify the situation, chances are a very embarrassing situation will arise which forces it into our view. Of course still, we can ignore it, and likely will if our chanting is very slack.
Anyway, I had an ongoing example of this recently. And although I was aware of it practically when I did it first, I didn't rectify the situation. But now, having enough pointers, conversations and realisations, I think it's time I dealt with it abit.
Basically, I have committed a ridiculous amount of offenses through my use of this blog. I've acted like I actually know something about devotional service, Krsna consciousness and how to fix devotional problems. Actually, who the heck am I anyway? I'm just some young hooligan who can't chant with attention, can't walk down the street without lusting after every second person, and can't even properly carry out the service he's been given. Only a few short years ago I was engaged in some of the most abominable activities imaginable, and had some of the most embarrassing and shameful moments possible. Practically speaking, I'm in no position to tell anyone anything about Krsna consciousness. And yet, through this journal I have done just that. And to make matters worse, sometimes I even tried to instruct senior devotees through this medium. That is incredibly shameful.
I am incredibly sorry for anyone that I offended by anything I wrote over the past six months. I beg your forgiveness. Please excuse me for my immature mentality.
Having said that, I have a general announcement. Because my health has been progressively decaying over the past little while, which isn't so good because it sucked before anyway, my Gurumaharaja has suggested that I move down to Wellington and see a very good natural healer down there who happens to chant Hare Krsna, and associate with the devotees. I have just gotten back from a preliminary trip down to see the doctor and sort out living arrangements. I will be moving as soon as possible to live in the asrama run by my very dear senior Godbrother, Mahavana Prabhu. I look forward very much to his awesome association, and the opportunity to serve all the devotees down there. Sadly I am going to have to leave the association of the devotees at the Auckland brahmacari asrama. I recently sent a letter to my Gurumaharaja saying that I would consider my life incredibly blessed if I could spend the rest of it in service to these devotees in the asrama in Auckland. Unfortunately it appears that Krsna has other ideas...
I am begging all the devotees for their mercy, so that I will be able to cope with this change, make the most of it for my spritual life, and that I may be able to continue to practice brahmacarya strictly while in Wellington.
Another day, another Saturday Feast with the Vedicsoc crew.
Lots of people this time (for my standards): We had J. N. F. B. T. and H.
We discussed the first verse of the Upadesamrta (Nectar of Instruction) by Rupa Goswami. It points out that unless there is control of the senses, there cannot be spiritual success, nor can their be material success. Only someone with controlled senses is eligible to instruct disciples. That is, one should not learn from someone who can not even control of their own speech, thoughts, temper, hunger and lust (i.e. don't listen to the "good advice" of most people).
The verse also gives quite a heavy analysis of the uselessness of Mayavadi philosophy and materialistic life.
In the end, it recommends the nice, easy and tasty (!) process of taking prasadam to control the tongue. Then all the other senses can easily be controlled. Sense control begins with the tongue.
Naturally, we engaged in some of that style of practical sense control. On the menu:
- Quinoa Tabbouleh salad
- Spicy Bengali potatoes
- Green beans with cauliflower, carrots and eggplant
- Tomato relish
- Fennel basmati rice
- Gluten-free vegan carrot and walnut cake
- Old fashioned homemade lemonade
Another day, another Saturday Feast with the Vedicsoc crew.
Lots of people this time (for my standards): We had J. N. F. B. T. and H.
We discussed the first verse of the Upadesamrta (Nectar of Instruction) by Rupa Goswami. It points out that unless there is control of the senses, there cannot be spiritual success, nor can their be material success. Only someone with controlled senses is eligible to instruct disciples. That is, one should not learn from someone who can not even control of their own speech, thoughts, temper, hunger and lust (i.e. don't listen to the "good advice" of most people).
The verse also gives quite a heavy analysis of the uselessness of Mayavadi philosophy and materialistic life.
In the end, it recommends the nice, easy and tasty (!) process of taking prasadam to control the tongue. Then all the other senses can easily be controlled. Sense control begins with the tongue.
Naturally, we engaged in some of that style of practical sense control. On the menu:
- Quinoa Tabbouleh salad
- Spicy Bengali potatoes
- Green beans with cauliflower, carrots and eggplant
- Tomato relish
- Fennel basmati rice
- Gluten-free vegan carrot and walnut cake
- Old fashioned homemade lemonade
I got a paper accept at the ER2006 conference! That's the 25th International Conference on Conceptual Modeling to be held in Tucson, Arizona, USA from November 6 - 9, 2006 (ER stands for Entity Relation - the age-old method of conceptual modeling in databases).
My paper on "Representing Transitive Propagation in OWL" was accepted in peer-review process. A total of 158 papers were submitted and only 37 were accepted (23.4% acceptance ratio).
I got high marks for Originality and Presentation, but low marks for Significance (when I say "low", that means a "neutral = 4" rating, rather than a "accept = 6" rating; ratings were out of 7). That is fair enough. This research isn't the main, innovative, ground-breaking trust of my PhD. It is just something interesting that came up as a side-idea.
The paper is available in the academic section of this website.
I got a paper accept at the ER2006 conference! That's the 25th International Conference on Conceptual Modeling to be held in Tucson, Arizona, USA from November 6 - 9, 2006 (ER stands for Entity Relation - the age-old method of conceptual modeling in databases).
My paper on "Representing Transitive Propagation in OWL" was accepted in peer-review process. A total of 158 papers were submitted and only 37 were accepted (23.4% acceptance ratio).
I got high marks for Originality and Presentation, but low marks for Significance (when I say "low", that means a "neutral = 4" rating, rather than a "accept = 6" rating; ratings were out of 7). That is fair enough. This research isn't the main, innovative, ground-breaking trust of my PhD. It is just something interesting that came up as a side-idea.
The paper is available in the academic section of this website.
I attended the glorious London Rathayatra a few weeks ago. It was just great!
The Rathayatra is an age old festival that involves taking Krishna in his super-happy, happy, happy form of Jagannatha comes out for a rid on a huge cart. It has been observed in the Indian city of Puri for thousands of years. By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada it is now also held is most major cities around the world.
Now for some interesting things that happened to me throughout the day:
There was constant chanting and dancing going on. Huge kirtan parties were going wild. So many senior devotees were singing and jumping here, there and everywhere.
I got the opportunity to pull some of the carts, which was surprisingly hard work, considering the amount of people that were pulling. Krishna is heavy! I also got a quick turn at sweeping the road in front of one of the carts. Just like the King of Orissa traditionally sweeps the road for Jagannatha, the mayor of London traditionally comes out and takes a turn sweeping, as well.
As I was walking along a disheveled, homeless-looking person can and asked me for a light for his cigarette. Instead, I gave him a prasadam sweet someone had pushed into my hand a few minutes before. The guy went wild. I thought he was going to jump with joy. He started shouting, gave me a big hug and started playfully punching me in the chest. I was a bit taken aback by the sudden outburst and quickly disentangled myself from him. As I looked back he was still yelling and waving.
I met a young book distributer while walking along. He asked if I wanted to try to distribute some books myself. I hadn't done so for quite some time, but thought, what the heck, I'll give it a go. With such a huge festival going it was easy. I sold the two books he gave me within a few minutes.
Arraying at Trafalgar Square in central London there were so many people. The weather was really hot and sunny, so lots of people had come to see and enjoy. I meet so many old friends.
After queuing for about an hour for prasadam we finally got some. It was surprisingly expertly prepared, especially considering the many thousands of people that they had to feed. The menu consisted of:
- Coldslaw salad
- Coconut and potato subji
- Eggplant, curd and tomato subji
- Popadoms
- Cashew nut rice
- Raisin halava
- Frreshly pressed juice
Our group from Manchester walked to Soho Street temple for a brief visit, aiming to depart from there back home. We got the good fortune to be there for Lord Jagannatha's return from his cart (in expensive cars). Everyone had a kirtan and helped unload the various maha-prasadam from the cars.
We then walked back to Hyde Park, where the procession had begun, climb aboard our mini-bus and departed for a long journey back to Manchester.
My body was totally exhausted. I could hardly walk anymore. Still, in spite of being very tired and suffering from hay-fever throughout the day, the Rathayatra was a day of perfect happiness.
Check out the huge number of pictures I took.
I attended the glorious London Rathayatra a few weeks ago. It was just great!
The Rathayatra is an age old festival that involves taking Krishna in his super-happy, happy, happy form of Jagannatha comes out for a rid on a huge cart. It has been observed in the Indian city of Puri for thousands of years. By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada it is now also held is most major cities around the world.
Now for some interesting things that happened to me throughout the day:
There was constant chanting and dancing going on. Huge kirtan parties were going wild. So many senior devotees were singing and jumping here, there and everywhere.
I got the opportunity to pull some of the carts, which was surprisingly hard work, considering the amount of people that were pulling. Krishna is heavy! I also got a quick turn at sweeping the road in front of one of the carts. Just like the King of Orissa traditionally sweeps the road for Jagannatha, the mayor of London traditionally comes out and takes a turn sweeping, as well.
As I was walking along a disheveled, homeless-looking person can and asked me for a light for his cigarette. Instead, I gave him a prasadam sweet someone had pushed into my hand a few minutes before. The guy went wild. I thought he was going to jump with joy. He started shouting, gave me a big hug and started playfully punching me in the chest. I was a bit taken aback by the sudden outburst and quickly disentangled myself from him. As I looked back he was still yelling and waving.
I met a young book distributer while walking along. He asked if I wanted to try to distribute some books myself. I hadn't done so for quite some time, but thought, what the heck, I'll give it a go. With such a huge festival going it was easy. I sold the two books he gave me within a few minutes.
Arraying at Trafalgar Square in central London there were so many people. The weather was really hot and sunny, so lots of people had come to see and enjoy. I meet so many old friends.
After queuing for about an hour for prasadam we finally got some. It was surprisingly expertly prepared, especially considering the many thousands of people that they had to feed. The menu consisted of:
- Coldslaw salad
- Coconut and potato subji
- Eggplant, curd and tomato subji
- Popadoms
- Cashew nut rice
- Raisin halava
- Frreshly pressed juice
Our group from Manchester walked to Soho Street temple for a brief visit, aiming to depart from there back home. We got the good fortune to be there for Lord Jagannatha's return from his cart (in expensive cars). Everyone had a kirtan and helped unload the various maha-prasadam from the cars.
We then walked back to Hyde Park, where the procession had begun, climb aboard our mini-bus and departed for a long journey back to Manchester.
My body was totally exhausted. I could hardly walk anymore. Still, in spite of being very tired and suffering from hay-fever throughout the day, the Rathayatra was a day of perfect happiness.
Check out the huge number of pictures I took.
The last session of the term. That's it. Vedicsoc is over for the year.
Some statistics:
24 sessions
400 people subscribed to email list
~50 different people chanted the maha-mantra and took prasadam
Several sets of beads distributed (I didn't count)
15 small books distributed
5 big books distributed
In the last session we discussed "happiness". V. has written an essay for on the topic for her philosophy course: "The nature of happiness ??" whether happiness is a psychological state". We talked about how material happiness is indeed a state of mind, while spiritual happiness is transcendental to any mental joy or sorrow. With Krishna consciousness you can be happy regardless external circumstance. The body and mind will endlessly yo-yo: happiness/distress, pleasure/pain, joy/sorrow; but Krishna (and his part and parcels, the surrendered devotees) are always happy (sukhi).
The last session of the term. That's it. Vedicsoc is over for the year.
Some statistics:
24 sessions
400 people subscribed to email list
~50 different people chanted the maha-mantra and took prasadam
Several sets of beads distributed (I didn't count)
15 small books distributed
5 big books distributed
In the last session we discussed "happiness". V. has written an essay for on the topic for her philosophy course: "The nature of happiness ??" whether happiness is a psychological state". We talked about how material happiness is indeed a state of mind, while spiritual happiness is transcendental to any mental joy or sorrow. With Krishna consciousness you can be happy regardless external circumstance. The body and mind will endlessly yo-yo: happiness/distress, pleasure/pain, joy/sorrow; but Krishna (and his part and parcels, the surrendered devotees) are always happy (sukhi).
Initially only F. came. We discussed several things what were on her mind. In particular she mentioned, and gave me a copy of, a conversation with Sankaracharya (the current one, not the original teacher) in which he glorifies A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
T. arrived after some time to join us. We discussed the various divisions explained in the 17th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita. People in different modes of nature eat different types of food, perform different types of sacrifice, austerity, penance and give different charity. I explained how to perform all those activities in the best way (goodness).
The guests literally devoured the vanilla flavored almond cookies I made. Between the two of them they almost finished the entire batch. Prasadam is powerful.
We ended the session with some chanting of the maha-mantra while a crazy punk-rocker next door was jamming on his electric guitar and singing (badly). However, amazingly, we did not notice his music playing at all while we were chanting. As soon as we finished we were all amazed at the sudden loudness of the electric guitar.