Planet ISKCON

Time, time again for another consultation with Philip Weeks. My digestion was starting to degrade again. A few (actually quite a large amount of) acupuncture needles sorted that out. The healing effect of the needles seems to require a "boost" ever so often.

I also had developed a weird cramp in my jaw. I could hardly open my mouth without a painful spasm shooting through my jaw bone near my ear. Speaking wasn't a problem, but yawning and eating was a little difficult.

Philip used about four needles in the side of my face to release the cramp (or whatever it was). He said these kinds of things are quite common if one grinds one's teeth while sleeping. I obviously wouldn't know if I do. In any case, it is better now. Still not completely gone, but much improved.

Dr. Weeks then also stuck needles into my feet, shins, thumb joints and the side of my nose (!) (which was kind of weird). He explained that a meridian runs all the from the thumb up to the jaw. If one sticks a needle the correct place, one can remove someone's teeth without them feeling a thing.

My body responds well to acupuncture. I would do well to find a good acupuncturist wherever destiny might take me next. However, sorting the good from the demoniac is difficult for the ignorant (i.e. me). According to Philip most of the really good acupuncturists stay in China and only the mediocre to incompetent ones are allowed to leave the country and "heal" westerners. He kindly offered to vet any potential doctor I might find in a foreign country to see if their style matches his own.

Time, time again for another consultation with Philip Weeks. My digestion was starting to degrade again. A few (actually quite a large amount of) acupuncture needles sorted that out. The healing effect of the needles seems to require a "boost" ever so often.

I also had developed a weird cramp in my jaw. I could hardly open my mouth without a painful spasm shooting through my jaw bone near my ear. Speaking wasn't a problem, but yawning and eating was a little difficult.

Philip used about four needles in the side of my face to release the cramp (or whatever it was). He said these kinds of things are quite common if one grinds one's teeth while sleeping. I obviously wouldn't know if I do. In any case, it is better now. Still not completely gone, but much improved.

Dr. Weeks then also stuck needles into my feet, shins, thumb joints and the side of my nose (!) (which was kind of weird). He explained that a meridian runs all the from the thumb up to the jaw. If one sticks a needle the correct place, one can remove someone's teeth without them feeling a thing.

My body responds well to acupuncture. I would do well to find a good acupuncturist wherever destiny might take me next. However, sorting the good from the demoniac is difficult for the ignorant (i.e. me). According to Philip most of the really good acupuncturists stay in China and only the mediocre to incompetent ones are allowed to leave the country and "heal" westerners. He kindly offered to vet any potential doctor I might find in a foreign country to see if their style matches his own.

No one came.

No one came.

When will the magic happen, when will it happen?
Can magic be made to happen?
Or is it happening and I just don’t see it?

When will the magic happen, when will it happen?
Can magic be made to happen?
Or is it happening and I just don’t see it?

What do sankirtan and street photography have in common? Quite a bit actually. Techniques from one apply very much for the other.

I was listening to a podcast over at the Radiant Vista website. Craig Tanner was talking about the way he does street photography. He gives tips on how to overcome the fear of approaching people one does not know, how to stop them by being the most high-energy person on the street, how to build a rapport with them and finally how to ask to take their picture. When the transaction is complete he thanks the person and gives them a gift (the picture he just took). Sound familiar?

Listen to the complete podcast for a different angle on sankirtan (and to improve your photography skills).

What do sankirtan and street photography have in common? Quite a bit actually. Techniques from one apply very much for the other.

I was listening to a podcast over at the Radiant Vista website. Craig Tanner was talking about the way he does street photography. He gives tips on how to overcome the fear of approaching people one does not know, how to stop them by being the most high-energy person on the street, how to build a rapport with them and finally how to ask to take their picture. When the transaction is complete he thanks the person and gives them a gift (the picture he just took). Sound familiar?

Listen to the complete podcast for a different angle on sankirtan (and to improve your photography skills).

Just one person for Vedicsoc. It was exam time, so a low turnout was to be expected.

I taught a simple but grueling slow-deep aerobic yoga class. 16 minutes of aerobic exercise were, according to the one guest, "the most difficult thing he had ever done".

We then discussed a wide variety of topic, all referencing the Bhagavad-Gita. From the four regulative principles of freedom to the three modes of nature. It was fun.

Just one person for Vedicsoc. It was exam time, so a low turnout was to be expected.

I taught a simple but grueling slow-deep aerobic yoga class. 16 minutes of aerobic exercise were, according to the one guest, "the most difficult thing he had ever done".

We then discussed a wide variety of topic, all referencing the Bhagavad-Gita. From the four regulative principles of freedom to the three modes of nature. It was fun.

Google PageRank measures how important a website by how many other websites link to it. The more people link to a website, the more important it is. If no one is linking to a given website it will have a PageRank of 0, if practically everyone on the entire World Wide Web is linking a website it will have a PageRank of 10.

The more important a website, the more likely it is to appear higher up in the list of search results in Google. The higher a site is in the list of search results, the more people find and visit it. So, PageRank gives a good idea of how much impact a website is having.

(You can check the PageRank of any website using this tool.)

I've compiled a list of the various Krishna conscious blogs over the Internet with a Google PageRank score of 5. Five is the highest PageRank of any KC blog I've found. A few non-blog websites like Krishna.com and Iskcon.com have a PageRank of 6, but that's about it.

So then - behold - here the list of those Krishna conscious blogs with the most world-wide impact (according to Google):

• A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's letters posted each day in a blog format
  http://sangalog.blogspot.com/
• Blog of the Atma Yoga center in Brisbane, Australia
  http://www.atmayoga.com.au/
• Balarama Chandra Dasa's blog about the Krishna Camp at the Rainbow Gathering
  http://www.krishnacamp.com/
• Candidasa dasa's blog, the one you are reading right here
  http://www.deltaflow.com
• Devamrita Swami's blog about his travels
  http://www.devaswami.com/
• Blog of the Gaura Yoga center in Wellington, New Zealand (although there is only one entry so far)
  http://www.gaurayoga.co.nz/
• Kurma dasa's blog about cooking and his travels
  http://www.iskcon.net.au/kurma/
• Lilamayi Subhadra devi dasi's blog about a her activities in South Africa
  http://lsd.deltaflow.com/
• Blog of the Loft in Auckland, New Zealand
  http://www.theloft.org.nz/
• Satoxi's blog about life as a Hare Krishna girl
  http://satoxi.wordpress.com/
• Visnumaya devi dasi's blog about her activities in New Zealand
  http://www.visnumaya.info/

(if you have a PageRank of 5, but are not on the list, please comment or email me and I'll add you).

Google PageRank measures how important a website by how many other websites link to it. The more people link to a website, the more important it is. If no one is linking to a given website it will have a PageRank of 0, if practically everyone on the entire World Wide Web is linking a website it will have a PageRank of 10.

The more important a website, the more likely it is to appear higher up in the list of search results in Google. The higher a site is in the list of search results, the more people find and visit it. So, PageRank gives a good idea of how much impact a website is having.

(You can check the PageRank of any website using this tool.)

I've compiled a list of the various Krishna conscious blogs over the Internet with a Google PageRank score of 5. Five is the highest PageRank of any KC blog I've found. A few non-blog websites like Krishna.com and Iskcon.com have a PageRank of 6, but that's about it.

So then - behold - here the list of those Krishna conscious blogs with the most world-wide impact (according to Google):

• A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's letters posted each day in a blog format
  http://sangalog.blogspot.com/
• Blog of the Atma Yoga center in Brisbane, Australia
  http://www.atmayoga.com.au/
• Balarama Chandra Dasa's blog about the Krishna Camp at the Rainbow Gathering
  http://www.krishnacamp.com/
• Candidasa dasa's blog, the one you are reading right here
  http://www.deltaflow.com
• Devamrita Swami's blog about his travels
  http://www.devaswami.com/
• Blog of the Gaura Yoga center in Wellington, New Zealand (although there is only one entry so far)
  http://www.gaurayoga.co.nz/
• Kurma dasa's blog about cooking and his travels
  http://www.iskcon.net.au/kurma/
• Lilamayi Subhadra devi dasi's blog about a her activities in South Africa
  http://lsd.deltaflow.com/
• Blog of the Loft in Auckland, New Zealand
  http://www.theloft.org.nz/
• Satoxi's blog about life as a Hare Krishna girl
  http://satoxi.wordpress.com/
• Visnumaya devi dasi's blog about her activities in New Zealand
  http://www.visnumaya.info/

(if you have a PageRank of 5, but are not on the list, please comment or email me and I'll add you).

The Apple iPhone: Apple's amazing entry into mobile phone market. It blows away any other phone on the market in terms of form, flexibility, features and functionality (and also has a price tag to match: $500 with a 2-year contract).

The iPhone has an amazing design. The front is occupied by a large 3.5-inch multi-touch screen rimmed with silver. The back is also silver, but there is a black stripe along the bottom. It looks kind of strange, but is certainly memorable. Everyone will be able to tell the iPhones from other smartphones when people walk around with them held up against their heads.

(image courtesy of AppleInsider.com)
However, I think there is more to this black stripe than just trying to be different. It has to do with the golden ratio. I blogged about the golden ratio in the iPod design a while ago. The rectangle of the iPod is closer to the golden ratio than any other MP3-player. This no-doubt factors into to it's immense appeal.

The iPhone is however far too long to be a golden ratio rectangle.

The 5th-gen iPod's measurements: 103.5 x 61.8 x 11.0 mm
The Apple iPhone's measurements: 115.0 x 61.0 x 11.6 mm

5g iPod ratio: 1.67 : 1
iPhone ratio: 1.88 : 1
Golden ratio: 1.62 : 1

So, has Apple lost its design touch?

No. Judging from the pictures I estimate the silver section along the back of the iPhone is about 95 mm high and the black is 20 mm. This works out to:

iPhone silver sub-section ratio: 1.56 : 1

Pretty close to the golden ratio. The black stripe is barely noticeable next to the polished silver. So, someone looking at the phone from the back will see a near golden ratio rectangle and will be instantly bedazzled by its beauty.

Why is it not exactly the golden ratio? My guess is that because the iPhone has rounded edges, it appears to be less high than it actually is, so, to the human eye, it actually does look exactly like a perfect golden ratio.

Apple design is yet again triumphant: the iPhone miraculously manages to combined the best of both worlds: looking more like a traditional candy-bar phone while simultaneously maintaining an appealing golden ratio shape. Jonathan Ives definitely knows his stuff.

The Apple iPhone: Apple's amazing entry into mobile phone market. It blows away any other phone on the market in terms of form, flexibility, features and functionality (and also has a price tag to match: $500 with a 2-year contract).

The iPhone has an amazing design. The front is occupied by a large 3.5-inch multi-touch screen rimmed with silver. The back is also silver, but there is a black stripe along the bottom. It looks kind of strange, but is certainly memorable. Everyone will be able to tell the iPhones from other smartphones when people walk around with them held up against their heads.

(image courtesy of AppleInsider.com)
However, I think there is more to this black stripe than just trying to be different. It has to do with the golden ratio. I blogged about the golden ratio in the iPod design a while ago. The rectangle of the iPod is closer to the golden ratio than any other MP3-player. This no-doubt factors into to it's immense appeal.

The iPhone is however far too long to be a golden ratio rectangle.

The 5th-gen iPod's measurements: 103.5 x 61.8 x 11.0 mm
The Apple iPhone's measurements: 115.0 x 61.0 x 11.6 mm

5g iPod ratio: 1.67 : 1
iPhone ratio: 1.88 : 1
Golden ratio: 1.62 : 1

So, has Apple lost its design touch?

No. Judging from the pictures I estimate the silver section along the back of the iPhone is about 95 mm high and the black is 20 mm. This works out to:

iPhone silver sub-section ratio: 1.56 : 1

Pretty close to the golden ratio. The black stripe is barely noticeable next to the polished silver. So, someone looking at the phone from the back will see a near golden ratio rectangle and will be instantly bedazzled by its beauty.

Why is it not exactly the golden ratio? My guess is that because the iPhone has rounded edges, it appears to be less high than it actually is, so, to the human eye, it actually does look exactly like a perfect golden ratio.

Apple design is yet again triumphant: the iPhone miraculously manages to combined the best of both worlds: looking more like a traditional candy-bar phone while simultaneously maintaining an appealing golden ratio shape. Jonathan Ives definitely knows his stuff.

I've captured and subsequently liberated a mouse that was camping out in my flat. It was there ever since I got back to my flat after the Christmas break. The mouse had been feasting on a plastic bag full of oat meal it had chewed itself into. However, removing the oat meal and supplying a bait of peanut butter (offered to Krishna) in a steel mousetrap caught me one scared little mouse. So, I took the little guy for a walk down the street and let him out into a bush. The mouse was, of course, super scared, hiding in the trap's doorway and refusing to come out for the longest time. But, after about 5 minutes of chanting at it, it finally shot out of the trap and, like a greased lightning, vaulted itself into the bush.

I've captured and subsequently liberated a mouse that was camping out in my flat. It was there ever since I got back to my flat after the Christmas break. The mouse had been feasting on a plastic bag full of oat meal it had chewed itself into. However, removing the oat meal and supplying a bait of peanut butter (offered to Krishna) in a steel mousetrap caught me one scared little mouse. So, I took the little guy for a walk down the street and let him out into a bush. The mouse was, of course, super scared, hiding in the trap's doorway and refusing to come out for the longest time. But, after about 5 minutes of chanting at it, it finally shot out of the trap and, like a greased lightning, vaulted itself into the bush.

Today I accidentally dropped my MacBook Pro.

I had it open on a stand on a desk with some headphones plugged into it. I took the headphones off my head, got up out of my chair, caught my foot on the (overly long) headphone cord and, as I walked away, the mac came crashing to the floor, yanked off the desk by the headphone cord.

*crash*
*bang*

So, I picked it up, dusted it off and opened the lid (which had snapped shut during the fall). Much to my surprise, it came right back out of sleep as if nothing had happened. Inspecting the case there was no damage, not even a dent. The only sign of the incident is that now pressing down a specific part of the case makes a slight squeaking noise.

Impressive, most impressive. The aluminum clad MacBook Pro is one tough, sturdy, well-built, resilient, solid piece of computing equipment that knows how to take a punch and keep on going.

As a comparison: I once dropped my old Dell Inspiron 4150 from a similar distance while it was turned off and inside a protective laptop bag (Kensington Saddlebag). It still worked after the crash, but the plastic case was cracked and severely warped, the DVD-drive wouldn't fit anymore and several keys popped out. Dell, to their credit, later repaired the damage under warranty when the motherboard died.

However, if you have a habit of dropping your laptop it's probably a good idea to have an external backup, and for even more security you can protect your files with an online backup. A good place to start for choosing an online backup is to read a few just cloud reviews to get an idea of the services and features typically offered for protecting your files online.

(The hard drive on the MacBook Pros is protected during falls by a sudden motion sensor. There is a gyroscope built into the Mac which detects if it is accelerating too fast for its own good and then, in mid flight, quickly moves the hard drive into a protective "parked" position so it isn't damaged by the inevitable impact.)

Today I accidentally dropped my MacBook Pro.

I had it open on a stand on a desk with some headphones plugged into it. I took the headphones off my head, got up out of my chair, caught my foot on the (overly long) headphone cord and, as I walked away, the mac came crashing to the floor, yanked off the desk by the headphone cord.

*crash*
*bang*

So, I picked it up, dusted it off and opened the lid (which had snapped shut during the fall). Much to my surprise, it came right back out of sleep as if nothing had happened. Inspecting the case there was no damage, not even a dent. The only sign of the incident is that now pressing down a specific part of the case makes a slight squeaking noise.

Impressive, most impressive. The aluminum clad MacBook Pro is one tough, sturdy, well-built, resilient, solid piece of computing equipment that knows how to take a punch and keep on going.

As a comparison: I once dropped my old Dell Inspiron 4150 from a similar distance while it was turned off and inside a protective laptop bag (Kensington Saddlebag). It still worked after the crash, but the plastic case was cracked and severely warped, the DVD-drive wouldn't fit anymore and several keys popped out. Dell, to their credit, later repaired the damage under warranty when the motherboard died.

However, if you have a habit of dropping your laptop it's probably a good idea to have an external backup, and for even more security you can protect your files with an online backup. A good place to start for choosing an online backup is to read a few just cloud reviews to get an idea of the services and features typically offered for protecting your files online.

(The hard drive on the MacBook Pros is protected during falls by a sudden motion sensor. There is a gyroscope built into the Mac which detects if it is accelerating too fast for its own good and then, in mid flight, quickly moves the hard drive into a protective "parked" position so it isn't damaged by the inevitable impact.)

I finished re-reading the Caitanya Caritamrita over Christmas. That makes it the second time I've read the Srimad-Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritamrita all the way through. Nevertheless, I feel like I know nothing. There is so much knowledge in those books that even a lifetime of study will just scratch the surface. And even if, by some miracle, I were able to absorb all the knowledge, there is still many, many lifetimes of realization locked up in the Vedic literature. And even if I fully understand all the points, it will take a long time to actually apply them in my life.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to keep reading. I'll get there eventually. Good thing that the books get better and better every time I read them. It even says so: Krishna consciousness is joyfully performed (and scientific) (BG 9.2 and 10.9). So what if it takes a long time? I certainly don't have anything better to do.

So then, time to once again dive into the wonderful, fascinating, thrilling, treasure-trove of transcendental knowledge: the 1st Canto of the Bhagavatam.

I finished re-reading the Caitanya Caritamrita over Christmas. That makes it the second time I've read the Srimad-Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritamrita all the way through. Nevertheless, I feel like I know nothing. There is so much knowledge in those books that even a lifetime of study will just scratch the surface. And even if, by some miracle, I were able to absorb all the knowledge, there is still many, many lifetimes of realization locked up in the Vedic literature. And even if I fully understand all the points, it will take a long time to actually apply them in my life.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to keep reading. I'll get there eventually. Good thing that the books get better and better every time I read them. It even says so: Krishna consciousness is joyfully performed (and scientific) (BG 9.2 and 10.9). So what if it takes a long time? I certainly don't have anything better to do.

So then, time to once again dive into the wonderful, fascinating, thrilling, treasure-trove of transcendental knowledge: the 1st Canto of the Bhagavatam.

I’m winding down the last days of 2006 living in my Volvo, scrounging for different bathrooms and places to plug in the computer, not to mention finding free internet signals. Yes, this is homelessness for the new century.

For me, it’s a chance to finally be out on my own. No dependence on family or temples. No comfort to make me fat and lazy. Just out there, on the road, meeting different people, having different unique adventures and experiences. It forces me to distribute books too, for it’s my only way to make money for gas and food. And in order to distribute you have to be Krishna conscious. Keep the sadhana going and be regularly reading the books. For it is not a mundane affair, that if you just have some business sense or a sales person mentality you can do it. No, you gotta be on a higher plane, or at least seriously aspiring towards that.

But you may think that perhaps I’m going backwards. After all, I’m supposed to be heading for the life of responsibility. And I was to some degree. Did some work for my father and took the job at the mall. Passed the CBEST and all I had to do was put in the applications and maybe I could have gotten a job as a sub. But something has been stopping me, and I’m not sure what it is. Fear of that life. Fear of settling, compromising on my dreams (whatever they are). Fear of being ordinary.

So maybe I am going backwards. But sometimes it’s needed to go forward again, this time in the proper direction. Not simply based on what society expects of you.

I’m winding down the last days of 2006 living in my Volvo, scrounging for different bathrooms and places to plug in the computer, not to mention finding free internet signals. Yes, this is homelessness for the new century.

For me, it’s a chance to finally be out on my own. No dependence on family or temples. No comfort to make me fat and lazy. Just out there, on the road, meeting different people, having different unique adventures and experiences. It forces me to distribute books too, for it’s my only way to make money for gas and food. And in order to distribute you have to be Krishna conscious. Keep the sadhana going and be regularly reading the books. For it is not a mundane affair, that if you just have some business sense or a sales person mentality you can do it. No, you gotta be on a higher plane, or at least seriously aspiring towards that.

But you may think that perhaps I’m going backwards. After all, I’m supposed to be heading for the life of responsibility. And I was to some degree. Did some work for my father and took the job at the mall. Passed the CBEST and all I had to do was put in the applications and maybe I could have gotten a job as a sub. But something has been stopping me, and I’m not sure what it is. Fear of that life. Fear of settling, compromising on my dreams (whatever they are). Fear of being ordinary.

So maybe I am going backwards. But sometimes it’s needed to go forward again, this time in the proper direction. Not simply based on what society expects of you.

In the last Vedicsoc session before the christmas break we talked about the controversial topic of human origins.

I talked about the established theory of Charles Darwin and why it (seemingly) makes a lot of sense. We then watched a part of the Mysterious Origins of Man documentary and I gave examples of some other archeological discoveries and so-called paranormal physical phenomena from Michael Cremo's books: Hidden History of the Human Race and Human Devolution: a Vedic alternative to Darwin's theory

We then discussed why the concept of the "knowledge filter" which prevents idea that radically contradict established ideas from being taken seriously. People naturally think:

"Modern humans, millions of years old? No, that is clearly impossible, otherwise I would have learnt about it in school. There must be some mistake. Let me ignore the evidence."

We concluded by discussing the Vedic alternative explanation: humans aren't ascended apes, instead we are actually fallen angels. The Vedas contain detailed genealogical records documenting human origins from "angels" (sophisticated living entities living on other planets and/or in other dimensions). But those are just absurd children's stories, right ... ?

The result: (much to my surprise) everyone attending the session agreed. "Wow, yes, the Vedic version makes a lot more sense."

In the last Vedicsoc session before the christmas break we talked about the controversial topic of human origins.

I talked about the established theory of Charles Darwin and why it (seemingly) makes a lot of sense. We then watched a part of the Mysterious Origins of Man documentary and I gave examples of some other archeological discoveries and so-called paranormal physical phenomena from Michael Cremo's books: Hidden History of the Human Race and Human Devolution: a Vedic alternative to Darwin's theory

We then discussed why the concept of the "knowledge filter" which prevents idea that radically contradict established ideas from being taken seriously. People naturally think:

"Modern humans, millions of years old? No, that is clearly impossible, otherwise I would have learnt about it in school. There must be some mistake. Let me ignore the evidence."

We concluded by discussing the Vedic alternative explanation: humans aren't ascended apes, instead we are actually fallen angels. The Vedas contain detailed genealogical records documenting human origins from "angels" (sophisticated living entities living on other planets and/or in other dimensions). But those are just absurd children's stories, right ... ?

The result: (much to my surprise) everyone attending the session agreed. "Wow, yes, the Vedic version makes a lot more sense."

Guru Maharaja asked Frank-Peter what the most memorable part of our trip was. Answer: the Swami's lectures and the spiritual feeling of nourishment in the heart from devotee association.

Bits of advice from the Guru:

• Marriage, whether you know the person or not, is difficult. However, if you stick to it until you're over 45, the passions die down, and you start to work together very well. The problem is that few couples can weather the storm for that long.
• German ISKCON was famous around the world as the epicenter of extremism and fanaticism.
• Women need to decide: do they want to surrender to the nest, or do they want to become Krishna conscious career women?
• Mellow husbands are okay, but passionate men are in for a shock when they are no longer the number one baby of the family. For every child you have the attention you get from your wife goes down by at least 33%.
• You want to get things done, you ask a busy person.
• Service defines everything: you have to stay at an appropriate level of fitness for executing your service. Its very easy to ignore your health.
• Germans are probably the most direct persons on the Earth. They are tough. You can tell them things straight-on. They appreciate it, too. You are not wasting their time.
• A good manager/executive like Dina Sharana is defined not so much by what they do, rather they are defined by what they do not do.

Also, check out the pictures from the trip.

Guru Maharaja asked Frank-Peter what the most memorable part of our trip was. Answer: the Swami's lectures and the spiritual feeling of nourishment in the heart from devotee association.

Bits of advice from the Guru:

• Marriage, whether you know the person or not, is difficult. However, if you stick to it until you're over 45, the passions die down, and you start to work together very well. The problem is that few couples can weather the storm for that long.
• German ISKCON was famous around the world as the epicenter of extremism and fanaticism.
• Women need to decide: do they want to surrender to the nest, or do they want to become Krishna conscious career women?
• Mellow husbands are okay, but passionate men are in for a shock when they are no longer the number one baby of the family. For every child you have the attention you get from your wife goes down by at least 33%.
• You want to get things done, you ask a busy person.
• Service defines everything: you have to stay at an appropriate level of fitness for executing your service. Its very easy to ignore your health.
• Germans are probably the most direct persons on the Earth. They are tough. You can tell them things straight-on. They appreciate it, too. You are not wasting their time.
• A good manager/executive like Dina Sharana is defined not so much by what they do, rather they are defined by what they do not do.

Also, check out the pictures from the trip.

I just listened to a talk by Dr. Philip Weeks on various aspects of natural medicine. Wow, it was really interesting. (Dr. Weeks was instrumental in helping my body recover from Ulcerative Colitis / Crohn's Disease.)

He talks about how he cured blood poisoning in his own leg using echinacea. He tells the story of one of his patients who had lethal radiation poisoning and was due to die in 6 months, but was completely cured by doing an intense juice fast. He talks extensively about amalgam dental fillings (50% mercury) causing auto-immune diseases, cardiovascular problems, high cholesterol, Alzheimer's disease and general insanity. Plus, heavy metal poisoning in general.

Why can some people drink, smoke, eat junk food and still never get sick, while others are constantly getting sick from the smallest bit of unhealthy living? Philip answers this question (hint: genetical strength/resilience has a lot to do with it).

He talks about the "mandate of heaven" and how to optimize our bodily constitution and mental/emotional well-being.

Listen the audio of his talk at the Fresh Festival October 2006. Also, check out his comprehensive website.

I just listened to a talk by Dr. Philip Weeks on various aspects of natural medicine. Wow, it was really interesting. (Dr. Weeks was instrumental in helping my body recover from Ulcerative Colitis / Crohn's Disease.)

He talks about how he cured blood poisoning in his own leg using echinacea. He tells the story of one of his patients who had lethal radiation poisoning and was due to die in 6 months, but was completely cured by doing an intense juice fast. He talks extensively about amalgam dental fillings (50% mercury) causing auto-immune diseases, cardiovascular problems, high cholesterol, Alzheimer's disease and general insanity. Plus, heavy metal poisoning in general.

Why can some people drink, smoke, eat junk food and still never get sick, while others are constantly getting sick from the smallest bit of unhealthy living? Philip answers this question (hint: genetical strength/resilience has a lot to do with it).

He talks about the "mandate of heaven" and how to optimize our bodily constitution and mental/emotional well-being.

Listen the audio of his talk at the Fresh Festival October 2006. Also, check out his comprehensive website.

Krishna is like the sun, sometimes unmanifest like the sun at night, sometimes manifest.

Krishna has a right to do whatever he wants, but we don't like that.
We want things done our way. However, Krishna does things his way and thereby creates subject matter for eternal conversation.

Story of my father educating me in the real point of life: leave some footprints in the sand when you're gone.

Where are the former leader of the DDR's (E. Honiker) footprints? Ever place has its local heroes. In Weimar they are Schiller, Goethe and Liszt, but in other parts of the world no one has ever heard of them.

Mysterious: the Lord wants to take his own Yadu dynasty away from the world. The reasons are that some of his family members where becoming too powerful, familiar and proud, less intelligent people would automatically consider someone born in that dynasty spiritually qualified and that they were so attached to him that they couldn't have handled the feelings of separation from him.

Brahmanas curse the Yadu dynasty. Maharaja Pariksit is confused as to why and asks Sukadeva Goswami.

Yadu boys play a joke on the great sages and get cursed to give birth to an iron club that will destroy the entire dynasty. They told there family members and King Ugrasena had the club ground up and thrown into the ocean. These turned into iron reeds that the Yadus used to beat each other to death.

Krishna let all this happen. He wanted to reduce the prestige of the material world. Just like the death of Jimi Hendrix caused DS to loose faith in material glory.

Understanding Krishna is the greatest career goal.

Questions:

• Duryodana is a partial incarnation of Kali. Why does Balarama love him so much?
• Caitanya said we should be very humble, but I often feel angry at other people's disinterest in Krishna consciousness. What is the proper attitude?
• What happened to the larger piece of iron from the ground up club that the fish swallowed?

Krishna is like the sun, sometimes unmanifest like the sun at night, sometimes manifest.

Krishna has a right to do whatever he wants, but we don't like that.
We want things done our way. However, Krishna does things his way and thereby creates subject matter for eternal conversation.

Story of my father educating me in the real point of life: leave some footprints in the sand when you're gone.

Where are the former leader of the DDR's (E. Honiker) footprints? Ever place has its local heroes. In Weimar they are Schiller, Goethe and Liszt, but in other parts of the world no one has ever heard of them.

Mysterious: the Lord wants to take his own Yadu dynasty away from the world. The reasons are that some of his family members where becoming too powerful, familiar and proud, less intelligent people would automatically consider someone born in that dynasty spiritually qualified and that they were so attached to him that they couldn't have handled the feelings of separation from him.

Brahmanas curse the Yadu dynasty. Maharaja Pariksit is confused as to why and asks Sukadeva Goswami.

Yadu boys play a joke on the great sages and get cursed to give birth to an iron club that will destroy the entire dynasty. They told there family members and King Ugrasena had the club ground up and thrown into the ocean. These turned into iron reeds that the Yadus used to beat each other to death.

Krishna let all this happen. He wanted to reduce the prestige of the material world. Just like the death of Jimi Hendrix caused DS to loose faith in material glory.

Understanding Krishna is the greatest career goal.

Questions:

• Duryodana is a partial incarnation of Kali. Why does Balarama love him so much?
• Caitanya said we should be very humble, but I often feel angry at other people's disinterest in Krishna consciousness. What is the proper attitude?
• What happened to the larger piece of iron from the ground up club that the fish swallowed?

"How sophisticated is human design? How many humans can walk out into a meadow and with their left hand scrape away a little dirt and with their right hand put something into the ground that starts to make oxygen, sequester carbon, fix nitrogen, distill water, provide habitat for hundreds of species, build soil, accrue solar energy as fuel, generate complex sugars and food, change color with the seasons, create micro-climates and self-replicate?"

From a talk by William McDonough on Cradle to Cradle Design.

"How sophisticated is human design? How many humans can walk out into a meadow and with their left hand scrape away a little dirt and with their right hand put something into the ground that starts to make oxygen, sequester carbon, fix nitrogen, distill water, provide habitat for hundreds of species, build soil, accrue solar energy as fuel, generate complex sugars and food, change color with the seasons, create micro-climates and self-replicate?"

From a talk by William McDonough on Cradle to Cradle Design.

As we drove from Berlin to Leipzig I noticed that wind power generators were everywhere. Every few km there was a patch of about 15 windmills. Germany is the world's greatest producer of wind power. It generates double the amount of wind power than the next runner up (which is France, I think). A good thing too: German has instituted a law that requires that all nuclear power plants are shut down in the next 50 years. The 40% of the country's power that those generate needs to be replaced with renewable energy.

The East Germans are quite hearty people. More so than their western breatheren. They seem more emotional and personable.

Guru quotes:

The TV is the greatest destroyer of Krishna conscious family life and time for chanting

The prasadam in Berlin is very good. When there is good prasadam, the mind is peaceful.

As we drove from Berlin to Leipzig I noticed that wind power generators were everywhere. Every few km there was a patch of about 15 windmills. Germany is the world's greatest producer of wind power. It generates double the amount of wind power than the next runner up (which is France, I think). A good thing too: German has instituted a law that requires that all nuclear power plants are shut down in the next 50 years. The 40% of the country's power that those generate needs to be replaced with renewable energy.

The East Germans are quite hearty people. More so than their western breatheren. They seem more emotional and personable.

Guru quotes:

The TV is the greatest destroyer of Krishna conscious family life and time for chanting

The prasadam in Berlin is very good. When there is good prasadam, the mind is peaceful.

If you just make 10% of the population of Berlin Krishna conscious the whole country will change. Krishna can do the seemingly impossible. Don't buy into the Hare Krishna folk tales. In spite of material failure, going on and on in Krishna's service is always successful.

How long will it take to get to Leipzig? Frank-Peter is Germany's safest and most mellow driver. Driving with him is like driving on a bed of feathers.

The exclusiveness of devotional service should always be discussed. It is not sectarianism.

Real sustainable human economic development doesn't exist today, nor does sense gratification that doesn't kill you in the process, let alone religiosity, that can't deliver any genuine information about God. Everyone knows everything, except what they should know.

Why do we worship someone's feet? A speck of dust from Krishna's lotus feet can situate you beyond liberation.

Krishna forces pleasure onto the devotee. Don't worry about your own pleasure.

Who had gotten a letter from the mayor thanking you for serving Krishna? There is no support, no fame and no appreciation from materialist society.

Talk it up about serving Krishna. That is the highest position in reality! How to increase? How to serve better? Krishna appreciates this.

If you follow the so-called great people of today's society you'll go crazy. It's not that having precise spiritual knowledge in optional.

Germany has changed a lot since the 80s. The under 45s are open to everything. However, then one must understand: what is the best thing? Everyone is saying their thing is the best. Are all cars the same? Is a Mercedes as good as a Hyundai?

In the material world it's not enough to be a nice guy, you need to be
smart: you need knowledge. Bhagavatam is the topmost knowledge. See for yourself.

Questions:

• I still cannot understand the violence of Balarama towards Romaharsana Suta. We talk so much about love and peace, so why did Balarama have to kill him.
• How to engage our weak women's sentimentalism in devotional service?
• Many people say this movement is not very sentimental at all, no emotion, unlike e.g. Christians.

If you just make 10% of the population of Berlin Krishna conscious the whole country will change. Krishna can do the seemingly impossible. Don't buy into the Hare Krishna folk tales. In spite of material failure, going on and on in Krishna's service is always successful.

How long will it take to get to Leipzig? Frank-Peter is Germany's safest and most mellow driver. Driving with him is like driving on a bed of feathers.

The exclusiveness of devotional service should always be discussed. It is not sectarianism.

Real sustainable human economic development doesn't exist today, nor does sense gratification that doesn't kill you in the process, let alone religiosity, that can't deliver any genuine information about God. Everyone knows everything, except what they should know.

Why do we worship someone's feet? A speck of dust from Krishna's lotus feet can situate you beyond liberation.

Krishna forces pleasure onto the devotee. Don't worry about your own pleasure.

Who had gotten a letter from the mayor thanking you for serving Krishna? There is no support, no fame and no appreciation from materialist society.

Talk it up about serving Krishna. That is the highest position in reality! How to increase? How to serve better? Krishna appreciates this.

If you follow the so-called great people of today's society you'll go crazy. It's not that having precise spiritual knowledge in optional.

Germany has changed a lot since the 80s. The under 45s are open to everything. However, then one must understand: what is the best thing? Everyone is saying their thing is the best. Are all cars the same? Is a Mercedes as good as a Hyundai?

In the material world it's not enough to be a nice guy, you need to be
smart: you need knowledge. Bhagavatam is the topmost knowledge. See for yourself.

Questions:

• I still cannot understand the violence of Balarama towards Romaharsana Suta. We talk so much about love and peace, so why did Balarama have to kill him.
• How to engage our weak women's sentimentalism in devotional service?
• Many people say this movement is not very sentimental at all, no emotion, unlike e.g. Christians.

Krishna is the master of masters of yoga, so any understanding of him is the highest kind of mystic yogi.

How far can you take your spiritual life living in a big city?

In the Dwarka pastimes: Krishna has just gotten rid of Shalva, Dantavakra and Vidura and ended his mission of annihilating the miscreants. Balarama was going on pilgrimage while the battle of Kuruksetra was going on. When visiting the sagas at the forest of Namasuranya he was offered respect by everyone expect Romaharsana Suta who was sitting on the vyasasana.

Lord Balarama became angry. His mission was to annihilate hypocrites.
Romaharsana was not humble, not self-controlled, and just pretending to be a great sage and therefore needed to be terminated. He killed him with a single blade of kusa grass.

The sages cry out: abscheulich (alas, alas). They request Balarama to seat Romaharsana's son in his father's place, kill the demon Bhalva and tour all the holy places as atonement.

Thereafter Balarama saw Bhima and Duryodhana fighting, told them they should give up their anger and stop trying to kill each other. They didn't and Balarama left the scene, assuming it was destiny/Krishna's arrangement.

Yesterday in Weimar someone asked me: you may have knowledge, but still act in the opposite way. How is that the topmost thing? But real knowledge is realized, it is shown in actions, like a fire that burns.
That is what Romaharsana lacked. True, real knowledge!

Each pastime of Krishna's has deeper and deeper realization within it.
Think about it and understand the two-sided reality. Everything Krishna does can fascinate you endlessly. That is being the most powerful urban mystic.

Questions:

• Krishna normally acts to set an example to the ordinary people, but sometimes he acts immorally, like when he tells Arjuna to kill Asvatarma. Why?
• Do you have some practical advice on how to practice Krishna consciousness in such a disturbing environment as a big city?
• I heard you were preaching in the East before the Wall came down. Do you have any trilling stories from that time?

Krishna is the master of masters of yoga, so any understanding of him is the highest kind of mystic yogi.

How far can you take your spiritual life living in a big city?

In the Dwarka pastimes: Krishna has just gotten rid of Shalva, Dantavakra and Vidura and ended his mission of annihilating the miscreants. Balarama was going on pilgrimage while the battle of Kuruksetra was going on. When visiting the sagas at the forest of Namasuranya he was offered respect by everyone expect Romaharsana Suta who was sitting on the vyasasana.

Lord Balarama became angry. His mission was to annihilate hypocrites.
Romaharsana was not humble, not self-controlled, and just pretending to be a great sage and therefore needed to be terminated. He killed him with a single blade of kusa grass.

The sages cry out: abscheulich (alas, alas). They request Balarama to seat Romaharsana's son in his father's place, kill the demon Bhalva and tour all the holy places as atonement.

Thereafter Balarama saw Bhima and Duryodhana fighting, told them they should give up their anger and stop trying to kill each other. They didn't and Balarama left the scene, assuming it was destiny/Krishna's arrangement.

Yesterday in Weimar someone asked me: you may have knowledge, but still act in the opposite way. How is that the topmost thing? But real knowledge is realized, it is shown in actions, like a fire that burns.
That is what Romaharsana lacked. True, real knowledge!

Each pastime of Krishna's has deeper and deeper realization within it.
Think about it and understand the two-sided reality. Everything Krishna does can fascinate you endlessly. That is being the most powerful urban mystic.

Questions:

• Krishna normally acts to set an example to the ordinary people, but sometimes he acts immorally, like when he tells Arjuna to kill Asvatarma. Why?
• Do you have some practical advice on how to practice Krishna consciousness in such a disturbing environment as a big city?
• I heard you were preaching in the East before the Wall came down. Do you have any trilling stories from that time?

We travelled to Berlin with Maitreya-Muni das, a very nice disciple of Pritu Prabhu. It was a very nice sunny day with hardly any traffic. A very nice ride up to Germany's capital city (4 million people live in Berlin).

The temple itself was a bit of a shock. Located off a main street in an old courtyard of sorts, it had a run-down DDR-look to it, but at the same time was extremely peaceful. None of the noises from the busy road penetrated in. Dieties of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra shone brightly. Supremely excellent prasadam was served upon our arrival. I've rarely seen Guru Maharaja chant so much while taking a meal. The food was most definitely out of this world.

I met Bhakta Andr?©, an expert photographer who took off in his Krishna consciousness while visiting New Zealand. In Wellington he met Devamrita Swami and married his long-term girlfriend.

The Saturday Feast started off with an hour of super-sweet bhajans. The singing, harmonium and mrdanga playing was expert.

We travelled to Berlin with Maitreya-Muni das, a very nice disciple of Pritu Prabhu. It was a very nice sunny day with hardly any traffic. A very nice ride up to Germany's capital city (4 million people live in Berlin).

The temple itself was a bit of a shock. Located off a main street in an old courtyard of sorts, it had a run-down DDR-look to it, but at the same time was extremely peaceful. None of the noises from the busy road penetrated in. Dieties of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra shone brightly. Supremely excellent prasadam was served upon our arrival. I've rarely seen Guru Maharaja chant so much while taking a meal. The food was most definitely out of this world.

I met Bhakta Andr?©, an expert photographer who took off in his Krishna consciousness while visiting New Zealand. In Wellington he met Devamrita Swami and married his long-term girlfriend.

The Saturday Feast started off with an hour of super-sweet bhajans. The singing, harmonium and mrdanga playing was expert.