Archive for August, 2007
Monday, August 27th, 2007
Radhanath Swami in Alachua
As always it has been a wonderful to see Maharaj. The Saturday evening program at Sesha prabhu’s house was wonderful. Maharaj spoke on Srila Rupa Goswami, focusing on the quality of his life, especially his humility, that is what attracted Mahaprabhu to bestow his full mercy upon Rupa Goswami, that is what makes him the leader of our sampradaya.
Then at the Sunday feast program Maharaj again spoke on the character of a vaishnava by telling a story from the Shri Vaishnava tradition. It is a long story but essential the main quality of a vaishnava is humility. The kirtan after the lecture was absolutely incredible. It was the most ecstatic kirtan I have been in all summer. Everyone was completly intoxicated dancing like madmen. It was so hot and humid that there was literally a puddle of sweat on the marble floor. Sounds kind of gross but it was actually wonderful.
Maharaj’s association is always an emotional roller coaster.
There are indescribable highs. Syamsundara Prabhu said that being with Srila Prabhupada was the most addicting drug. I couldn’t agree more, Maharaj’s association is certainly like an intoxicating addiction drug.
Along with joy there is deep gratitude, intimacy, friendship, hope, and love.
But in addition to all these there are painful lows because being in maharaj’s association exposes my own anarthas, my desires to be glorified and worshiped, my propensities to criticize, my duplicity, my lust, my total absence of a service attitude, and along with the realization of my own fallen condition comes shame, fear, guilt, doubt, and insecurity.
Firday night I was feeling all of this and I found this vyasa puja offering,
Dearest Radhanath Maharaj,Please accept my humble obeisances unto your lotus feet on this most blessed event of your Vyasa Puja.
Please accept our deepest gratitude for all you have given us.
Please accept our greatest love for all that you mean to us.
Please accept our sincere apologies for being what we are – shackled to our bad habits and conditionings.
Please accept our fervent prayer that we may shed our anarthas and surrender at Krishna’s lotus feet.
Pleases accept our unfinished attempt at glorifying you for what you are – the most loving compassionate soul in our otherwise meaningless existence.
Your Insignificant Servant,
Prema Bhakti Devi Dasi
Here are a few pictures, I didn’t take too many I am always really nervous to take picutres of Maharaj.
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Monday, August 27th, 2007
Best Vacation Ever…
I had the opportunity to spend much of the our Janmastami Festival weekend with two devotees from Toronto, Jaganatha Misra and Rajasuya Prabhus. They came with their families to New Vrindaban dhama to bathe the Lord, get association from the Vaisnavas and chant the holy name.
On Saturday morning we all walked up to Sri […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Arya
Monday, August 27th, 2007
For Parvati
A blue jay shrieks, echoed in the distance
Between the spice bushes a glimpse
of silent deer moving away
from the snap of twigs
as Shiva passes
Riding his bull, trident held high
unblinking eyes of the snake
gaze from his shoulder
moves thru jasmine
soaked air
Crematory ashes gray His body
His topknot held erectly
overhead vultures
ride thermals
He emits
His mount stops, grazes soft grass
He alights […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
For “Honor”
It struck me like a sad little song. The article was only a measly paragraph, giving the bare facts, not saying much about the victim nor her killers. Maybe any more would have been just too much to bear. The piece, on page 6 of the July 27 NY Times, told of an ‘honor killing.” The culprit was a 70 year old grandmother of 16. I guess she thought she was doing right by her family. It was a Sikh family living in London, and grandma had arranged the murder of her daughter-in-law “because she was having an affair and wanted a divorce.” The victim, Surjit Athwal, was 27 and had been married for 11 years.
We periodically hear about these killings in the news. They probably happen more often than reported. Usually the killer is thinking that they are simply acting as God’s agent in the sorted affair, whether to punish a wayward family member or a suicide bomber against the infidels or the blowing up of an abortion clinic. I’m sure that in a court of law one of them somewhere has brought up the point that the sectarian state has no jurisdiction over them in the matter because they are doing God’s bidding.
But, in the Bible, God declares “Vengeance is Mine.” That means He wants to take care of it. And God has certainly had lots of practice. He’s been killing off people (the good, the bad and the ugly) since time in memorial. But we foolishly think that God’s inept, that He can’t handle it or that He’s too busy with other things and that maybe He’ll forget. So we think, “I have to take care of it -why bother God? And I’ll get brownie points and it will look good on my resume when I get to heaven. I’ll have bragging rights.” This mindset only shows that one has very little faith. God is very capable of dispatching sinners and miscreants in His own way and in His own time.
Anyway, in this age, if He were to kill the sinners, He’d have to kill us all. So in this age, God has wisely developed an alternative plan. He’s appeared in the form of His Holy Name. The weapon of the Name is very subtle. Like an expert physician removing a cancerous tumor, the Name can destroy the miscreant mentality without having to killing the physical body. So yes, God wants assistants; not, however, to kill, but to spread love and mercy through the Holy Name. Like the Beatles sang: “take a sad song (the plight of the conditioned soul) and make it better.” It is written in the ancient texts: “In the age of quarrel and pretense (that’s this age – the kaliyuga) chant the Holy Name, chant the Holy Name, chant the Holy Name. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.”
So to any would-be avenger reading this: don’t worry your pretty little head. God is on top of it. No one is going to get away with anything.
“The Blessed Lord said: Time I am, destroyer of the worlds. I have come to engage all people.” Gita 11:32
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
24 Hour Kirtan Report
by Visvambhar
On August 18th, the first 24 Kirtan festival was held in New Vrndavan.
Hundreds of participants flocked from all corners of the east coast, driving as far as 15 hours, to attend this historical event. There are no hard and fast rules for chanting the holy names, no specific time or place is required, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by ATD
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
Sannyox Initiation Postponed
Three brahmacaries pensively contemplate in the shade of the new loafing shed by the temple barn. They were waiting for the vet to arrive for the sannyox initiation.* Unfortunately, he was called away on emergencies and had to reschedule for Monday.
While I know Kesava and Madhava will be there, I am not sure that […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Saturday, August 25th, 2007
Two Days+ To Unload Face Cord of Wood
From the wonderful world of “I’m not old, I’m just sick” fantasies, here is an update on my non idle sporting life.
Ruci and Sankirtan donated some firewood to us. Vidya went up and loaded a face cord worth into the van and left it parked by the wood pile. When it comes to stacking wood, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Four more days of swinging…
This evening we began the celebration of Jhulana Yatra. Devotees are welcome to come at Gaura arati time and offer some love-tugs for the most beautiful trascendental couple. It will go on only four more days.
See you there!
YS,
Arya Siddhanta dasa
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Arya
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Well to do…
Janaka Mahajana invited me down to Sri Sri Radha Vrindabancandra’s water and sewage treatment facility, just a short way down the road from the temple. We met up with Tejo Maya Prabhu and his son Gopal, who have been maintaining these services for quite some time.
It was amazing to see how much energy was put […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Arya
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Best Green Technology is You!
Food for Life at Burning Man 2007: The Green Man
Burning Man is described by organizers as an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance. The event draws tens of thousands of activists, environmentalists, techies, and alternative thinkers.
2007 marks the first year corporations have been allowed a presence at Burning Man, but only those sporting […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Krishna Camp
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Desire or Ambition?
Radhanath Swami is coming! I am excited to once again be with Maharaj in Alachua, so many memories of very sweet association here, but I can’t help but feel apprehensive. The last thing Maharaj said to me was I’ll see you in India. I have this deep rooted insecurity that Maharaj will reject me or not be happy to see me, or that I will not live up to his expectations.
Of course in Athens he said “I won’t see you again this year unless you come to India.” And when I mentioned that to him in LA he just laughed and said, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
So as Ananta Govinda Prabhu advised me I am just trying to take every opportunity that I can to get Maharaj’s association.
I was somewhat reassured when on my first day in Alachua when Gadagraja Prabhu gave me a signed copy of a Radhanath Swami Vyasa Puja book from the mid nineties. These are very rare because Maharaj no longer allows his disciples to publish a vyasa puja book, and of course the fact that it is autographed makes it very very rare. This gave me the hope that I was not bereft of Maharaj’s mercy.
Of course my excuse for coming down here is to visit other devotees because it has been almost two years since I’ve visited and it will be at least another year and maybe much longer before I will be able to return for another visit.
My visit just happens to coincide with Maharaj’s visit, like my visit to my mothers just happened to coincide with Maharaj’s visit to LA. I try to justify it in that way so I don’t feel like I am following Maharaj around just for my personal sense gratification.
Thus far it has been quite a nice visit. It has been to nice to just catch up with people. In the course of my conversations one question always comes up. It always goes something the along the lines of, “So, what are your plans?” or “How’s everything going?” I can always tell by the way they ask the question that they want to know if I am planning on getting married or if I want to remain as a brahmacari. Because I always find indirect questions annoying I ask them, “Are you asking me if I want to get married?” Then they usually get a slightly embarrassed look as if they probably shouldn’t be prying into someone’s private life in that way. But I always reassure them that there is nothing wrong with the question.
It is a somewhat difficult question for a number of reasons. One is that I don’t want to come across as being proud or arrogant and secondly I don’t want to be proud or arrogant. And it requires a lot of philosophy to really explain the answer properly. I have to explain how unqualified I am and how much I am dependent on the mercy of guru and Gauranga etc. etc., and the other issue that desire is a tricky concept.
When someone asks me “Do you have any desire to get married?” who are they speaking to? My body and mind, my intelligence, or me, the spirit soul.
One friend, Hanuman asked me, “So, do you have any ambition for marriage?” I was happy to hear the question phrased in that way. For one thing he very clearly asked what he wanted to know, and secondly the word he chose to use, ambition, is the right word.
In the English language the word desire usually refers to sensual desires, but ambition refers more to the function of the soul.
The soul has separate desires from the body as explained by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur:
The awakened soul says in effect to the mind and body, “I am not identical with you. I don not want what you require. I have so long believed that I was identical with yourselves and that our interests were the same. But I now find that I am really and categorically different from you. I am made wholly of the principle of self-consciousness while both of you are made of dead matter. Being matter you act and be acted upon by matter under the Laws of Nature. Nature makes and unmakes you but she has no power over me. I am not benefited by your growth or harmed by your decay. You grow and decay by the laws that govern your relationships with this physical universe. Falsely identifying myself with you, I find myself compelled to suffer pain and pleasure due to physical vicissitudes that overtake you. I find myself unnaturally yoked to your functions such as eating, drinking, producing thought etc. etc. and am forced to believe them to be my own functions by which I am benefited. I shall of course have to stay with you as long as it is intended by Providence that I should suffer the consequences of this unnatural alliance with you. I shall permit you to do only what I consider to be necessary for my well-being viz. getting back into my natural position of free conscious existence unhampered by the unnatural domination by longing for material enjoyment. I refuse to be any more a slave of the sensuous inclinations of the mind and body.”
The desires that we experience as our own are the product of our identification. As long as we identify with the body and continue to act in such a way as to strengthen our identification with the body we will continue to experience the desires of the body as our own. But if we perform activities that strengthen our identification as spirit soul, eternal servant of the servant of the Lord of the gopis, then we will experience the desires of the soul as our own.
ps. Here is a short essay I wrote last year during Kartika. It was originally written for a brahmacari email group but why not share the nectar? In Krishna consciousness everyone, not just the brahmcaris and sanyasis, is supposed to be on the path for cultivating pure devotional service free from all material motives. And Kartik is fast approaching once again.
Bhagavad Gita 2.70
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires — that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still — can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.
Purport
Although the vast ocean is always filled with water, it is always, especially during the rainy season, being filled with much more water. But the ocean remains the same — steady; it is not agitated, nor does it cross beyond the limit of its brink. That is also true of a person fixed in Kr?s?n?a consciousness. As long as one has the material body, the demands of the body for sense gratification will continue. The devotee, however, is not disturbed by such desires, because of his fullness. A Kr?s?n?a conscious man is not in need of anything, because the Lord fulfills all his material necessities. Therefore he is like the ocean — always full in himself. Desires may come to him like the waters of the rivers that flow into the ocean, but he is steady in his activities, and he is not even slightly disturbed by desires for sense gratification. That is the proof of a Kr?s?n?a conscious man — one who has lost all inclinations for material sense gratification, although the desires are present. Because he remains satisfied in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he can remain steady, like the ocean, and therefore enjoy full peace. Others, however, who
want to fulfill desires even up to the limit of liberation, what to speak of material success, never attain peace. The fruitive workers, the salvationists, and also the yog?s who are after mystic powers are all unhappy because of unfulfilled desires. But the person in Krishna consciousness is happy in the service of the Lord, and he has no desires to be fulfilled. In fact, he does not even desire liberation from the so-called material bondage. The devotees of Kr?s?n?a have no material desires, and therefore they are in perfect peace.
I recently stumbled upon this verse in again and it was like discovering a lost treasure. I was especially appreciating Srila Prabhupada’s wonderful purport. I think that sometimes we have a tendency to become discouraged in the face of what seems to be an insurmountable mountain of material desires, but I think it is very important to understand these desires in the proper perspective. As Srila Prabhupada explains as long as we have a material body we will continue experience desires connected to the body, but he draws a very important distinction between different types of desire. He says, “Desires may come to him like the waters of the rivers that flow into the ocean, but he is steady in his activities, and he is not even slightly disturbed by desires for sense gratification.” So it is possible to have desires and simultaneously not have desires. What this means is that there will always be some desires arising from the body, but we as spirit souls also have a choice as to what to desire. We can desire to fulfill the desires of the body and the mind or we can desire to surrender fully to Krishna and serve Him with our body mind and words. So this is really the key to spiritual advancement, and the key to overcoming material desires. We must desire to serve Krishna. As spirit souls part and parcel of Krishna we cannot be without desire, Krishna has desires and we also have desires, so we must purify our desires.
This means we must cultivate positive desires to serve the Lord, we must replace our material exploitative desires with positive desires to serve the Lord and His devotees.
In the beginning of Krishna Consciousness we must cultivate a strong desire to serve the mission of Guru and Gauranga. This provides positive engagement and for the conditioned soul. But simultaneously one must also begin to cultivate a strong desire to participate in the Lord’s eternal lila in the spiritual world.
And, Kartika is a wonderful time of year to enter in to a deeper meditation on many of the wonderful lilas of the Lord, and cultivate a deeper desire and attraction to participate in these wonderful exchanges of love.
And this is the most powerful means of curing the disease of the heart. The whole Srimad Bhagavatam is aimed at this, so much time is spent in various ways explaining how we can become liberated, but then in the conclusion of the whole Bhagavatam, the Rasa Dance Sukadeva Goswami finally reveals the real way that we can be free of this disease of the heart, “Anyone who faithfully hears or describes the Lord’s playful affairs with the young gop?s of Vr?nd?vana will attain the Lord’s pure devotional service. Thus he will quickly become sober and conquer lust, the disease of the heart.”
Krishna’s pastimes are not simply meant for advanced devotees, they are meant for everyone. Srila Prabhupada gave us Krishna Book in the very early days of Krishna Consciousness movement. It is true that only pure devotees can fully relish the nectar of Krishna wonderful activities but everyone can benefit from hearing them. And they can be of great help in turning our desires towards Krishna and away from the perversity of material enjoyment.
In Sri Sankalp Kalpadruma, which is meditation on the eight fold pastimes that Radha and Krishna perform throughout the day, Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur says, “My mind and heart are covered with hundreds of faults. But at the same time, all these intense pure desires for service have taken birth in my heart. Just see how much difference there is between these two directions.” From this prayer we can clearly see that this is a book meant for sadhakas who are not completely free from material contamination, of course the subject matter is very elevated and we should not be sahajiyas and take things cheaply, but we must understand the importance of cultivating this desire to attain Krishna. After all Rupa Goswami explains that pure devotional service cannot by had by executing the rules and regulations of bhakti yoga even for thousands of lifetimes, but that it is only by developing intense greed can one achieve pure devotional service.
So we must not under estimate the importance of this aspect of our Krishna consciousness. Especially for those who are renunciates or aspiring renunciates. One time a brahmacari disciple of Srila Prabhupada was reading a copy of Gita Govinda by Jayadeva Goswami and he told Srila Prabhupada, “I don’t think this book is for brahmacaris.” and Prabhupda responded, “No, it is only for brahmacaris.” Srila Bhaktivinode Tahkur sings Ami ghare no jaibo vane pravesibo, o lilera rasa tare, for the sake of relishing the mellows of Radha and Krishna’s pastimes I will not go home, I will go to the forest. Traditionally this is the role of the renounced order of life in Gaudiya
Vaishnavism, one renounces all material connection in order to practice internal meditation on the name, form, qualities and pastimes of the Lord. So we must not overlook this aspect of our spiritual practice.
Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur ends Sri Sankalp Kalpa Druma by encouraging us on this path by saying, “O my thoughts, Give up all other desires and worship Vrindaban, the bestower of Krishna prema. Even if you cannot now taste the sweet nectar for the ocean of Radha Govinda’s pastimes, please do not give up the longing to taste it. You will quickly attain perfection by taking shelter of this desire tree of sweet aspirations.”
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Remembering Madhuvana Part 2
Another time, Sankirtana, newly arrived to New Vrindavana, was very thoroughly and devotedly washing the Deity plates after the noon offering and dumping the water down what he thought was a regular sink drain….and washing his own feet in astonishment. You could frequently hear his distinctive voice calling from the kitchen for Ruci to bring […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by mg
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Vegansexual
by Lucy Middleton, Researcher
You meet the person of your dreams. They move in for the first kiss. The moment you’ve been waiting for. And then… What’s that? A bit of animal flesh stuck between their teeth? If so, it’s as good as game over. If you’re a vegansexual that is.
Heterosexuality, homosexuality, transsexuality, not […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
by U.S. Green Building Council
What is LEED®?
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
LEED provides a roadmap for measuring and documenting success for every building type and phase of a building lifecycle. Specific LEED programs include:
New Commercial Construction and Major Renovation projects
Existing Building Operations and Maintenance
Commercial Interiors projects
Core and Shell Development projects
Homes
Neighborhood Development
Guidelines for Multiple Buildings and On-Campus Building Projects
LEED for Schools
LEED for Retail
USGBC is also developing LEED for Healthcare, and LEED for Labs.
We also have the LEED Resources page which has informative PowerPoint presentations, brochures, and case studies, as well as LEED News and LEED-Online sample credit templates.
How is LEED Developed?
The LEED Rating System was created to transform the built environment to sustainability by providing the building industry with consistent, credible standards for what constitutes a green building. The rating system is developed and continuously refined via an open, consensus-based process that has made LEED the green building standard of choice for Federal agencies and state and local governments nationwide. Click here for more information on the LEED Development Process.
What is LEED Certification?
The first step to LEED certification is to Register your project. A project is a viable candidate for LEED certification if it can meet all prerequisites and achieve the minimum number of points to earn the Certified level of LEED project certification. To earn certification, a building project must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks (”credits”) within each category. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification depending on the number of credits they achieve. This comprehensive approach is the reason LEED-certified buildings have reduced operating costs, healthier and more productive occupants, and conserve our natural resources.
Note for Product Manufacturers and Service Providers:
Although USGBC does not certify, promote, or endorse products and services of individual companies, products and services do play a role and can help projects with credit achievement. (Note that products and services do not earn projects points.) Learn more here about how you and your company can help advance green building, while also achieving your own environmental and economic goals.
Who Can Use LEED?
Everyone: Architects, real estate professionals, facility managers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, lenders, government officials…
The LEED program also includes a full suite of training workshops and a Professional Accreditation program to develop and encourage green building expertise across the entire building industry.
Questions?
Visit the LEED Help section of our website.
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by AR
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
Live from the Palace of Gold, its the 24-Hour Kirtan Festival!
This past weekend at New Vrindaban, we hosted the first annual 24-Hour Kirtan Festival, featuring some of America’s most ecstatic kirtaniyahs from NYC, Alachua, and Potomac, highlighted by the live Western debut of HG Madhava Prabhu from the Vrndavana 24-Hour Kirtan Party.
Being somewhat daring, I decided to get my fragile self out of my cozy spot on the floor at the ripe hour of 2am to head up to Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold where the 24-Hour Kirtan was pleasing everyone in the three worlds. The highlight for me was a wonderful mangala-arati where I could really see that Prabhupada was pleased to see and be with his very talented and devoted grandchildren. It was quite an explosion of the Holy Name all weekend, and an event to be cherished and repeated often.
Jaya Jagannath in the aftermath