Archive for May, 2007
Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Voice of the Garden
by Will Lewis
We have been very busy in the garden the last couple of weeks, trying to catch up from the bad weather and all. Mostly what we have been doing is getting the beds ready for planting, planting, weeding, mulching, manuring, tilling, and a little bit of harvesting.
In the educational garden we have […]
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Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Reading the Landscape (after Barry Lopez)
field
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Ms. Rural
Saturday, May 26th, 2007
White Pine (Pinus strobus)
white pine seedling:
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Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Sightings
broken, brown-speckled, tiny blue eggshell
first grasshopper of the season
first raccoon of the season
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Friday, May 25th, 2007
Radhanath Swami in NYC Part 3
Unfortunately I don’t have much to report today. Yesterday Maharaja did not have any scheduled preaching programs, the only thing on the agenda was a meeting with his editor which lasted eight hours. The brahmacaris were hoping that Maharaj would be able to meet with us as a group but seeing how his meeting lasted all day it was not possible. I am also personally waiting for a chance to speak with Maharaj, he said that he would meet with me, but then again Krishna did say that he would return to Vrindavan.
ahus ca te nalina-nabha padaravinda
yogesvarair hrdi vicintyam agadha-bodhai
samsara-kupa-patitottaraavalambam
geham jusam api manasy udiyat sada nah
The gopis spoke thus: Dear Lord, whose navel is just like a lotus flower, Your lotus feet are the only shelter for those who have fallen into the deep well of material existence. Your feet are worshiped and meditated upon by great mystic yogis and highly learned philosophers. We wish that these lotus feet may also be awakened within our hearts, although we are only ordinary persons engaged in household affairs. Srimad Bhagavatam 10.82.48
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Friday, May 25th, 2007
In Blossom
   Multiflora rose and blackberry bushes are blooming. The fragrance of the multiflora combines with the locust blossoms to perfume the air.
“I am the original fragrance of the earth.”
—-Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, Ch. 7: Text 10
(trans. by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Ms. Rural
Friday, May 25th, 2007
A New Day
ATTITUDE
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and
noticed she had only three hairs on her head. “Well,” she said, “I think
I’ll braid my hair today.” So she did and she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Friday, May 25th, 2007
Manhattan Impressions
Reporting from the center of the Universal Capital of Maya, Manhattan, USA….
Every part of one’s individual nature gets bombarded the moment you exit the Holland Tunnel. The senses begin to jump and shout, the mind suffers from whiplash as the eyes desperately yank it from one visual “delight” to the next, and the body suffers from foul odors, car horns, and the threat of imminent termination due to whatever today’s social-political situation happens to be.
I’m beginning to lose my wide-eyed stare towards NYC. I begin to realize and agree with Caitanya’s opinion that this whole gigantic artificial apparatus is simply not good for one’s health.
However, the soul gets solace as well. Of that, there can be no question, because I’m surrounded by the best group of brahmacaris in the world, the Manhattan Ashram All-Stars.
As we hit the steaming streets for harinama, bringing the Holy Names of the Lord to where they are needed most, so many impressions take me. I think about all this city has had to go through in the last six years, and how these citizens, shell-shocked from falling skyscrapers and the usual traffic jams, actually have a tremendous, merciful openness to the sound of the Lord.
Hare Krsna is part of the fabric of this city. The dust of Prabhupada’s footsteps is embedded in the concrete. Our robe-wearing, funny-haircut, booming-drum parade of misfits is actually a welcome sight for nine out of ten New Yorkers. From street-sleeper to soccer-mom, we are greeted with smiles, folded palms, and those two magic words….Hare Krsna.
But there is little time for romance. All around us, The Beast rises, whispering that we are too late, that the time of devouring of all that is pure and holy is near at hand. Maybe if we hadn’t spent twenty years devouring ourselves as a society….The Beast wants to test our faith….I think The Beast is very ignorant of who he’s up against.
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Prabhupada writes that “Unless one is convinced of a better life after renunciation of the present life, one cannot stick to the renounced order of life simply by artificial dress or staying out of the home.”
All at the same time, being in America’s most first-class ashram whilst being in the middle of raging passions unencumbered, I realize I’m not quite convinced of this better life yet, but that looking outside, I can see whatever attachments I still have give off a temporary, noisy stench, and that the more I chant Hare Krsna for myself and for the benefit of others, the more I’ll actually become something more than just an American boy pretending in Vaisnava clothes.
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Bhakta-Chris
Friday, May 25th, 2007
Continuing Our Photographic Journey Through the FOI
Continuing with our photographic journey through the 2007 Festival of Inspiration, today we gaze upon some of the sweetly expressive faces and deeds of the transcendental personalities whose dust we were all lucky to walk upon throughout the entire Festival weekend.
DEVOTEES PAR EXCELLENCE
Did I say sweetly expressive faces?…As I have said, in the week […]
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Thursday, May 24th, 2007
Radhanath Swami in NYC Part 2
Last night was another amazing program with Radhanath Swami. This time the program was at Second Ave, and it was an invitation only program primarily for college students and new devotees. There was around 50 new people there and about twenty devotees as well.
There were only a few devotees allowed to attend, but Chaitanya Prabhu somehow convinced Radha Vallabha Prabhu to let us come, but only if we came “undercover” dressed as college students.
I was hesitant to acquiesce, this would be the first time I would go before Maharaj dressed in “karmi” clothes but of course it would be worth it to hear from Maharaj and have the chance to see him interacting with the youth of America.
As soon as I got there I felt very really uncomfortable, especially around all the devotees who were used to seeing me as a brahmacari. It was a nice lesson to see how attached I am to the image of myself as a brahmacari.
Maharaj gave a nice introductory lecture on Krishna Consciousness, Everyone really liked the the stories of his travels on his spiritual quest. He told one story that he had never told before.
When he was in Hrsikesh he decided to venture into the forest so he walked across the the Laksmana Jula bridge into the forest. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by a large mob of lepers all screaming “Bhakshis!” Some of them had hands without fingers, some had faces without noses, some had open wounds oozing blood and they were all in extreme pain, and suffering terribly with food, clothing, or shelter. And they were expecting Maharaj to give them a donation, but he didn’t have anything to give them. It was a very confusing situation, on one hand he was completely repulsed by the grotesque features of these lepers, and he was also afraid because he knew that leprosy was contagious, and he was also feeling very compassion to the people who suffering so terribly. Eventually after about twenty minutes of harassing him they finally realized that he really didn’t have anything to give them so they let him pass. As he was leaving and wondering why God had put him in this situation he saw an old lady in her sixties or seventies who had a very advanced case of leprosy, as she was lying there on her deathbed she raised her hands, and although she had no fingers left, she joined her palms to offers respects to Maharaj. Maharaj was so moved by this gesture of love. Here was this destitute old woman on her death bed, suffering terribly from leprosy, and she was reaching out to him trying to find someone to reciprocate her love. He went closer to her and knelt down next to her. She placed what was left of her hand on his head and rubbed his head saying “May God bless you my son. May God bless you my son.” And as she spoke tears poured from her eyes. At this time he realized what the true need of the soul is, love. Everyone in this world looking for someone who they can perfectly reciprocate love with.
And later in Vrindaban Maharaj found the perfect source of and object of all love, the divine couple, Shri Shri Radha-Gopinath.
After the lecture it was wonderful to see Maharaj meeting with all the students and to see how he was able to melt their hearts and attract them to Krishna.
The whole evening Maharaj didn’t say anything about my dress but I really felt uncomfortable, then as he was leaving I went outside to put his prasadam in the car, when he came outside and was about to get in the car he pointed at me in the direction of my pants. I began to apologize, “I’m sorry Maharaj, they asked me to dress like this.” And he replied, “You’re not wearing any shoes, it’s cold out. What would you mother say?” I was taken back, he didn’t notice the fact that I was wearing pants instead of my usual saffron dhoti but he did notice the fact that I wasn’t wearing shoes, and that concerned him.
It was a really reminder about the consciousness of a devotee, he was concerned about me, not my dress.
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Thursday, May 24th, 2007
‘Rasslin
There are a few legitimate Vedic sports, and wrestling is one of them. This is what happens when five brahmacaris are cooped up in our very small Honda Civic Dasa for hours on end.
All I know after getting beat senseless is not to mess with THE JUGGERNAUT (AKA THE JAGANATOR)!!
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Bhakta-Chris
Thursday, May 24th, 2007
I Had a Bad Day
Got demoralizing news yesterday. The surgeon won’t reduce my Prograf. I have been tolerating the sides and the thought of the potential for long term damage with the clear idea that once I made it to a year, the dose would be lowered and danger averted, and sides minimized. That hope is now shattered.
I […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Thursday, May 24th, 2007
New Vrindaban Forest Scene
“The control of the Lord is everywhere, and if the Lord is pleased, every part of nature will be pleased. The river will flow profusely to fertilize the land; the oceans will supply sufficient quantities of minerals, pearls and jewels; the forest will supply sufficient wood, drugs and vegetables, and the seasonal changes will effectively […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by mg
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
5 New Arrivals
The barn was definitely the place to be this morning. After the arrival of five new Jersey cows yesterday, the devotees were anxious to see their new neighbors. Bhakta Will, Jaya Sri Prabhuji, and Bhakta Emmanuel were in attendance along with us regulars, Jaya Prabhupada Prabhuji and myself. The new girls were […]
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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
Radhanath Swami in NYC
On the way over to the program last night I had this intense feeling that Krishna Consciousness is poised to once again explode in New York. Everyone was so positive to the Harinam party, one random lady at the gas station called out “Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!” as we passed.
The feeling kept building until we reached our destination, a large yoga studio in the Bowery. As we ascended the tall narrow staircase I could hear a large kirtan above and as soon as I walked in my instinct was confirmed as I saw around two hundred people crowded into the large room that served a yoga studio and Ganesh temple.
This room was almost five times larger than the space at 2nd ave, where we normally have the programs, and the yoga studio venue allowed for many new people to attend and feel comfortable.
Radhanath Maharaj enchanted everyone with his sweet kirtan, and he spoke very beautifully about how kirtan is the ultimate means of self realization and the only way to save the world from the imminent environmental destruction that we are currently facing.
The last kirtan was absolutely amazing and then Maharaj met with people until 1:00 am.
There will be another program there on Friday, and then on Saturday and Sunday at Shri Shri Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn.