Archive for March, 2009
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
GBC Farm Resolutions
We wish to thank all the ISKCON farms that fulfilled the farm surveys that we sent out. About 30 farms responded. The information gleaned from these surveys were the facts and figures that made up the body of the power point presentation given to the GBC body. The GBC farm resolutions were left for voting at this time. Syamasundara prabhu (European Minister for Cow Protection and Agriculture and head of the Bhaktivedanta Manor Goshalla) developed the presentation and gave it in Balabhadra’s absence. Due to illness, Balabhadra could not attend the GBC meetings. In future blogs we will present some of facts and figures from the farm surveys.
310. GBC Participation in Farm Projects [Guideline]
Whereas ISKCON farms and farmers often struggle to make their operations viable;Whereas ISKCON farms, cow protectors, farmers, and those engaged in rural development often feel unsupported by ISKCON management;
Whereas the successful establishment of varnasrama and rural life was a key concern of Srila Prabhupada;
Whereas the Vedic system is supportive of agricultural and rural communities;Whereas there has been a global decline in the general status of farm projects;
Whereas ISKCON farm projects in which GBC members put energy are often successful;
RESOLVED:That all GBC members, as far as possible, commit themselves to spend 10% of their time helping to develop farm projects:
by giving 10% of their classes on the importance of farm development and cow protection
and/or by spending 10% of their time on a farm or farms to encourage the farm devotees
311. Purchasing from ISKCON Farms and Farmers [Guideline]
Whereas ISKCON farms and farmers often struggle to make their operations viable;Whereas the majority of temples and centers do not buy produce from their local farm, farmers, or goshalla;
Whereas in times of global economic crises, by not buying from our local farms there is danger of high prices and food shortage due to dependence on outside sources which are in turn dependent on oil-consuming transport companies;
Whereas other religious groups successfully purchase from their own projects thereby presenting an ecologically-friendly, self-sufficient lifestyle to the world; Whereas it was Srila Prabhupada’s desire that we, ISKCON, present an ecologically-friendly, self-sufficient lifestyle to the world “independent from outside help;”
Whereas the Vedic system was supportive of agricultural and rural communities;Whereas there has been a decline in the development of ISKCON farms and most remaining farms are struggling;
RESOLVED: That all ISKCON Deity kitchens, temples, restaurants, and relevant projects should purchase, wherever possible, produce, flowers, and milk products from ISKCON farms in their local region up to a ceiling of their current purchases, provided they are of reasonable quality and can be afforded. Where practical, the ISKCON temples, restaurants, or projects concerned will explore the possibility of purchasing land and making it available to farmers to cultivate. Additionally, temples should make available, at a reasonable cost, space for farm produce to be sold.
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Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
What Srila Prabhupada Wanted…
Another first-class testimonial about the success of the devotees in New Vraja Dham, Hungary, under the guidance of HH Sivarama Swami, in fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s desire for self-sufficient, spiritually sound rural communities.Click here to read a…
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Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
Monk In The City
MONK IN THE CITYby Chris Fici, NYC, 2009Living as a monk in the cityI walk concrete, praying for my soulAnd yours, to light, to dance awayTones and basslines, brass and dirt, jazz of the heartA monk in the cityThelonious, smoky gr…
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Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
“Mulberry Tree Dreaming” by David Malouf
Parachute silk comes spooling out of the mouths
of a silkworm factory; rumbustious breath
of the big tree’s rebel stillness rocks the house.
Invisible rip-cords jerk, sing, take the strain,
and new light mushrooms skyward, a ceremony
of change that no hands work; eyelids fatten,
creep, from spirit, its actual meat, shape strange
cosmologies that hold. Lords of […]
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Monday, March 30th, 2009
Email From the Red River Flood Area
There is flooding along the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota. I have been getting email updates from relatives who are living there in the flood areas. Here is one from my sister who lives in Fargo, where so far the dikes are holding, that I want to share:
Hi, all - Southpointe clinic […]
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Monday, March 30th, 2009
Going nuts for trees!
Thanks to the inspiration of Soma prabhu, we are embarking on a very practical project that has long lasting benefits for our community – planting nut and fruit trees. Of course, over the years, devotees have planted apples, blueberries etc some of which are still around today.
Talking to Soma, who is a very gentle soft […]
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Monday, March 30th, 2009
A Visit To The Temple Barn
by Bhaktin Kyra
If your eyes led you to this, you’ll be reading about my new adventures or discoveries of sorts as a baby devotee living in the dham. My point of view… I do not feel qualified to share this with you but see it as a service by doing so.
Since the weather has been […]
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Sunday, March 29th, 2009
Liberating the Mulberries
“Why they have accepted this sort of civilization? Because they are led by blind leaders. Now, suppose we are conducting this Krsna consciousness movement. Nobody is interested. Very few interested. But if we give some false hope that “If you follow this path, then within six months you will become God and you will be […]
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Sunday, March 29th, 2009
The Soul of Merton 3-29-09
Inspired by my readings of “Contemplative Prayer” and “Contemplation In A World Of Action” by Thomas MertonRecently, whilst minding the wares at our Starving Students dinner program at 26 Second Avenue, I met a young gentleman who walked in a little di…
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Saturday, March 28th, 2009
Correlation
http://xkcd.com/552/
Posted in Jokes 
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Friday, March 27th, 2009
Terracing For Berries
We have been still able to keep doing some gardening. I have more energy than in several years and it is enjoyable for me to be able to do some real physical work.
I got some peas planted. I would have planted them when I did the other veggies but the place I bought the peas […]
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Friday, March 27th, 2009
Darwin Is Dead!-Fitting Together
If you would like to contribute to our year-long “celebration” of Darwin’s 200th birthday, please send your articles, editorials, or any other creative and informative pieces to nvclub108@gmail.comHG Sita-Pati Prabhu, inspiration and living force behin…
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Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Food, Inc.
Sounds like “Food, Inc.” is going to be a real consciousness raising movie about how industrial food, supermarket food, is produced.
From Hare Krishna dd:
What are factory farmers supposed to say when a popular movie implicates them in hellish practices of cow slaughter?
Dairy Herd Alert gives them tips in the article below.
This link to […]
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Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
Library Meeting
There will be an open meeting to discuss the Radha Vrndavana Candra Temple Library.
The history, location, facilities, management and its functioning as an asset for both devotees and guests are the agenda topics.
The meeting will be held on March 30, Tuesday evening at 6 pm in the main prasadam hall.
Prasadam will be served […]
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Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
Under an Indian Sun
Can an upstart Indian DVD maker beat Google to the punch in solar energy?
by Jason Overdorf, GlobalPost
New Delhi, India [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]
Ratul Puri, the 35-year-old executive director of Moser Baer India, looks like Adrian Brody’s kid brother and talks like he swallowed the last four volumes of the Harvard Business Review. But he’s […]