As it is natural for some fishes to live deep in water and for some, on the top of it, it is natural for some kind of devotes of God serve to the Lord in Countryside Monastery environment and for other kind of Devotees – in midst of massive city. It is not the optional, it is essentially necessary, for those Devotees, who not yet come to the level of Holy Sage (mahabhagavata, paramahamsa, avaduta) and by their nature more fragile and more sensitive to external environment. If we just swap over these two groups of fish or devotees, they just day, as per they psycho-physical nature they are different. As at present in Europe Continent are hundreds of monasteries and toughens of monks in different Spiritual Practices, our Vaishnava sociality ISKCON naturally growing up to the next step – create, develop and maintain “Sustainable and Long-Lasting Vaishnava Monastery and Spiritual Farm Community in Europe” according to principles given by Srila Prabhpada and explained by Radhanath Swami in seminar “Serving Vaishnavas” given in Moscow at 2, 3, 4 Dec 1997.

            Right now on average, as all Europe Continent ISKCON communities together, we are losing at least 5-10 possible ISKCON future leaders, who was-are need for firs 5-7-10 years special Devotee Care in order to let go old destructive experience (as broken family, child abuse, sexual abuse, broken relationship etc) and destructive lifestyle (as alcohol, drags, gambling, sexual misuse, crime etc) and regain balanced and healthy lifestyle and internal role – servant of servant of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna and all sociality. If right now we will not create, develop and maintain special Devotee Care structure, programs and trained staff, churning rate in ISKCON Europe will increase and we will lose more and more present devotees and recruit less and less new dedicated devotees for Srila Prtabhupada mission.

            To deal with above shared concerns, International Vaishnava Monastery in Europe team, under His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj and His Holiness Bhakti Vijnana Goswami Maharaj direct guidelines and SSRG temple leaders supervision we committed to create, develop and maintain such “Sustainable and Long-Lasting Vaishnava Monastery and  Farm Community” according to principles given by Srila Prabhpada and explained by Radhanath Swami in seminar “Serving Vaishnavas” given in Moscow at 2-4 Dec 1997.

           To support our commitment Sri Sri Radha Krishna give vision to land owner Atis Prabhu, that on his owned land are blooming International Vaishnava Monastery and Farm Community, where monks daily Chant Holy Names of Lord as Hare Krishna maha mantra and daily Glorifying, Serve and Worshipping Supreme Personality of Godhead, and guide and couch sociality leaders and individuals souls, who looking for lost relationships with Supreme Personality of Godhead. For that he offered this land to Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Bhakta Samaj trust at 12 May 2013 to legally receive this whole land and as real landowner, guide, supervise and administer take responsibility, that for rest of this universe eternity on this land will daily enthusiastically serve monks who Chant Holy Names of Lord as Hare Krishna maha mantra and daily Glorifying, Serving and Worshiping Supreme Personality of Godhead.

            In future we envision International Vaishnava Monastery servants serving primarily ISKCON all Europe Continent communities, then ISKCON India, ISKCON world and all people worldwide in general as instruments of compassion to genuinely reach people’s hearts with the grace of Krishna. According to the time, place and people we committed to balance both our traditional methods with creative intelligence to connect people with the grace of our parampara.

            More detail of our Project Vision given in Radhanath Swami in seminar “Serving Vaishnavas” given in Moscow at 2, 3, 4 Dec 1997 and latest “Vaishnava Monastery Project in Europe” – Vision Project.

On behalf of all project team Your humble servants BVG Janaka dasa das

Please Join us and Create Our Monastery for Sri Radha and Sri Krishna Pleasure :-)

"The most important thing - it's taking care of the devotees. We should surround with care and attention to every devotee who comes to the temple to give him all the necessary spiritual training. In other words - to take care of devotional at all levels, according to all his needs related to the devotional service, so that he was always happy and devoted to the lotus feet of Krishna and never wanted to leave the association of devotees and Srila Prabhupada. " ~ His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj.

We are here for this purpose, as shared by His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj in Moscow from 2 till 4 December 1997,  to create such Krishna Community - Monastery in Europe, where to take care of devotional at all levels, according to all his needs related to the devotional service, so that he was always happy and devoted to the lotus feet of Krishna and never wanted to leave the association of devotees and Srila Prabhupada.

Please Join us and Create Our Monastery for Sri Radha and Sri Krishna Pleasure :-)

More info about this  Bramacharie Asram project: OurMonastery.wordpress.com

Today we received the testimony of the experts from Kemerovo State University, Russia. As it should have been expected, it is highly negative. We uploaded the petition. It is self-explanatory, and formulated in such a way that not only ISKCON devotees can vote. Please feel free to share this link. http://www.petitions24.com/gita

Please find below the text of the petition. On the site it is both in Russian and English. Bhagavad-gita As It Is, one of the most respected holy scriptures of the world today, is under the threat of being banned in Russia. The court proceedings will resume in Siberian city Tomsk, Russia, on Monday 19th. The persecutors in Tomsk suggest that the widely distributed book translated and commented upon by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada should be included in the Justice Ministry’s list of banned extremist literature. Bhagavad-gita As It Is is translated in more than 80 languages. Over 100 million copies of this book was distributed to date all over the world! Millions of people in the world today consider it as the main book in their life. The persecutors with great determination and vigor are pushing through this absurd case.

During the first three court hearings, the testimony of the Tomsk experts upon which the persecutors built their case for the court was recognized as «inadequate». However, the Persecutor’s office ordered the new testimony.

Noteworthy, that the testimony was requested not from the well-known experts of Hinduism from Moscow, but from some unknown experts from Kemerovo State University. This move clearly suggests that the court decision is already predestined. This practice brings to memory the Middle Age Inquisition, Witch hunting, burning of books and the persecution of the dissidents during Soviet period of Russian history. Tomsk Ombudsperson, eminent scholars of Hinduism, the members of the Public Chamber of Russian Federation, representatives of Indian community in Russia, and people belonging to different religious denominations in Russia have already expressed their perplexity and outrage caused by the activities of Tomsk persecutors. We demand to stop the court over the Holy Scripture! These initiatives of the Tomsk Persecutor’s Office offend the religious sentiments of all the followers of Hinduism and bring disgrace to the country of Russia. Once you sign the petition - you will receive e-mail asking you to confirm your vote. This is very important - otherwise it will be canceled. And please share this link to your friends.

Your servant Bhakti Vijnana Goswami
18 December 2011
http://www.petitions24.com/gita
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita_trial_in_Russia

by H.H. Bir Govind Maharaj at 4^th May 2007

I mentioned that I would write about living longer in the present body. In order to understand this topic one has to understand the larger topic of how the material energy affects the bodies and minds of devotees, whether or not they are aware of it, or even in denial of it.

If we had the siddhis that yogis have, such as laghima, becoming light enough to float on a sunbeam, or mahima, becoming very big or heavy—and I am not talking about getting fat—or prapti, being able to reach out and grab something from a distant locale, we could definitely ignore certain aspects of the material nature. But since we don't have these siddhis, it behooves us to be aware of how the material nature affects our bodies.

It is amazing to me how devotees are often-times in denial of this: in our diet, sleeping habits, use of spiritual paraphernalia, eating habits, safety procedures, etc. There are certain laws of nature (of course Krishna is the Supreme law giver who has made these laws).

There is the law of gravity for example. Whether you are a devotee or not, if you jump from a twenty story building you will end up on the ground with a splat. There are some notable exceptions to this though, such as the yogis I mentioned previously and special devotees like Prahlad Maharaja, who was thrown off a cliff and saved by the Lord. But I assure you, if you try this, Krishna will not catch you. You will wake up in a brand new body with the same problems and lack of Krishna consciousness that you have in this life, with the additional bad karma of killing yourself. Don't do or try it!

There is a story that one time devotees were driving all night long and got into a car accident where several devotees died. Prabhupada was asked whether or not this was Krishna's mercy, and he replied that it was not Krishna's mercy, rather it was the devotees' foolishness and they would have to take birth again. Then Prabhupada gave the order that devotees should not be driving more than 1 hour after their normal bed time.

I am here in New Orleans and about a year and half ago we had devotees who were driving all night long, coming back from Los Angeles after the Ratha-yatra. They had a disastrous accident in Texas, the result of which was that one devotee passed away, two devotees were severely injured, and the rest lightly injured. Those who were severely injured and the devotee who passed away were not wearing seat belts. Had they been wearing seat belts they wouldn't have been so badly injured, or we would not have had the death of that one devotee.

Many times I have been in cars with devotees and I have been told by them that seat belts are maya and that we should depend on Krishna. My reply is that Krishna has given us seat belts and the intelligence to use them. If we don't use them we are in one sense rejecting Krishna—the facility and intelligence He has given us.

Prabhupada tells the story of a man who was a great devotee of God and always dependent on His protection. One day there was a big flood, the water was rising and threatening to engulf his home. A boat with the rescue squad came by and he was invited to jump in. He refused and told them that God was protecting him. Then the waters rose higher and higher, and the man was forced to take shelter on the roof of his house. A helicopter came by, lowered a rope so that he could grab it and be taken to safety. He refused again, stating that the Lord was his only protection. Finally the waters rose so high that the many was left without any place to stand and he was washed out to sea where he died.

After his death, his soul went to God and asked Him: "Why didn't you save me? You promised in the Gita that you would always protect me, and that I should not fear." God replied: "You fool! Didn't you see the boat and helicopter I sent to save you?"

The point is that God has given us plenty of facility—intelligence, strength, knowledge, etc — for understanding how to live in this material world. We should use these facilities to take care of this body which belongs to Krishna.

Now comes the controversial part where I attempt to explain how many of our habits (that we confuse with Krishna consciousness) or activities may be harming us, or at least not contributing to our health.

Let's take eating for example. Most of us were brought up in Krishna consciousness eating tons of halvah, sweet rice, fried foods, etc. We thought: "It's prasadam, so how can it be bad for our bodies?" Well, I got news for you: a saturated fat or sugar, even if it offered to Krishna, has the same affect on our arteries, kidneys, liver, etc., that a saturated fat has when it is not offered to Krishna.

This may be a radical statement, but it is true. Ask any devotee who is suffering from high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, whether it is true or not. Ask an Ayurvedic physician about saturated fat, high sugar diet, and see what he says. He will advise you to avoid this type of diet. Even in the face of all this evidence we may deny reality.

Another example is most of the kirtans that we have in our ISKCON temples and programs. We think that because we are chanting the holy name no ear damage will occur, even the sound level is high enough to freak out a regular disco club customer.

Now we have many devotees with tinnitus (constant ringing of the ears) or partial deafness. As we know, the ears are the most important sense in Krishna consciousness, so we need to keep them functioning properly.

I now carry a decibel (sound level) meter with me and have seen that it a rare kirtan in ISKCON that falls within the safe level (below 90 dB) or is softer than the sound of a jet taking off from 50 ft away.

Another example is that we ignore the fact that the byproducts of combustion (incense, etc.) may cause cancer or lung disease even if it is spiritual combustion or even if the ingredients are completely natural and organic.

Interestingly enough, we often-times ignore even Ayurvedic injunctions in the name of religion — but the Ayurveda has been given to us by Krishna.

For example one Ayurvedic injunction is that one should wait at least six hours between heavy meals. Nowadays in ISKCON (it wasn't like that in the early days) devotees will load up on a super heavy meal for breakfast (that is usually eaten too late due to a much too long morning program), then eat lunch four hours later (10 AM to 2 PM is four hours for you non-mathematicians).

There are many other examples of devotees ignoring reality such as sleeping habits, safety habits, etc., but my intention is not to attack those things that are near and dear to you (habits that you may have confused with Krishna consciousness), but to help you understand how to live longer in the present body so that you can serve Krishna and Prabhupada with more energy for a longer period of time.

I state these things simply out of a desire to serve the Vaisnavas. It pains me to see devotees unnecessarily suffering or leaving their bodies. I have seen too many of my fellow devotees succumb to illnesses that could have been prevented by lifestyle adjustments.

So, please do not be in denial of reality in the name of religion.

I am not going to prescribe a diet or lifestyle for you, but I am going to advise you to do some research into Ayurveda and common sense nutrition. Don't do things because "that's the way we always did things," or, "that's the way I was taught to do things."

A number of years ago my health was declining because of improper lifestyle habits. My diet was full of saturated fats — I loved cheese on everything and also foods fried in ghee — tons of salt, etc. I got a wake-up call when I collapsed one day with heart pain. (It wasn't an attack but some indication.) I had high blood pressure: 180/108—an auspicious number!.

I refused to take medication but chose to change my lifestyle: no salt, more exercise, even some sports, more rest. I was able to reduce my BP to 118/76 which is completely normal and even great for a person of my age.

About two years ago, when I was suffering from some allergic reactions, I decided to reduce the saturated fat (fried foods, pan fried foods, heated oil, cheese, paneer) in my diet. Now the reactions are gone and my body feels ten years younger.

I am not saying that my lifestyle is the ideal for everyone, nor am I prescribing it for you. I know this body is temporary, but it does belong to Krishna and Prabhupada, not me, therefore I have to take care of it nicely as a service.

Material from website http://premabhakti.wordpress.com 

As many of us are convinced by Srila Prabhupada, “Simply by cleansing the cage of the bird, one does not satisfy the bird.” SB 1.2.8p Then natural question arises, “Can one simply by not cleansing the cage of the bird, satisfy the bird?”

Unfortunately this is not just joke, this is sad reality, what we are facing in so many situations by studying the real cases of Sri Sri Radha’s Krishna’s Beloved Devotees. Even Lord Sri Krishna is sad to feel this from inside and see this from outside, who we are consciously and unconsciously ruining in our care given Sri Krishna’s body and mind.

By Srilas Prabhupada’s desires expressed through so many His disciples, we are developing educational and training system in order to practically help Sri Sri Radha’s Krishna’s Beloved Devotees to improve Sadhana, physical and mental health by “Balanced and Healthy lifestyle” which is so helpful carrier Back Home, Back to Godhead. Can we blame Sri Krishna, when we consciously and unconsciously ruined this carrier in half way through, which is so carefully designed, created and given by Sri Krishna? This carrier is designed by Sri Krishna in such a way, where any human being can drive straight Back to Goloka Vrindavan in one lifetime. Our responsibility is to try our best to be conscious and wise, humble and tolerant at least in the mode of goodness. “The devotee is neither foolish nor passionate. The harmful, foolish and passionate cannot be devotees of the Lord, however they may advertise themselves as devotees by outward dress.” SB 1.2.9p

Our approach, philosophy, aims, tools, desires etc in more detail way explained in such articles as ”The Balanced and Healthy lifestyle attracts Prema Bhakti”, “The Scientific base of Personal Development” and “Mechanical living of Life come from Mechanical thinking of Mind”*.

Now let us see in more detail way, what we mean by word, ”By walking softly, breathing deeply, drinking enough water we can attract Prema Bhakti in our life.” Prema Bhakti includes Sadhu, Guru and ultimately Sri Sri Radha’s Krishna’s mercy.

As we describe in mentioned articles, bare minimum, what we can get by honestly practising Sadhana Bhakt which mean “Balanced and Healthy lifestyle” is shanti shanti shanti – peace, contentment, satisfaction, simplicity, meaningful life, Balanced and Healthy body, mind and all kind of relationships as relationships with Guru/Sadhu/Shastras, friends, wife, husband, children, parents, relatives, co-workers, society in large etc in other word Balanced and Healthy life is mode of goodness.

Practical hints, tips and recipes, who we can walk, breath and drink

Our intention is not to say, actions in raja or tama guna, like walking noisy, breathing trough mouse or drinking dirty water is bad, unhealthy, dirty, condemned, abominable, prohibited etc. All aspects created by God have its own time, place and role to play. Our intention is to say, all our actions invoke consequences and reactions. By Walking, Breathing and Drinking in certain gunas, we are invoked in all our life more and more qualities, actions, moods, temperaments etc in that guna, which is more often used by us.

Summary. In this small piratical article we try our best to show connections between our Walking, Breathing and Drinking action and Sadhana Bhakti, which for sure will more and more attract or reject Prema Bhakti and satisfaction, simplicity, sincerity, humbleness, and tolerance, in our day-to-day life. In order to Chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare and be Happy, Let us individually and collectively for Sri Sri Radha’s Krishna’s pleasure Healthy Balance and Harmonise our Sadhana Bhakti practice by increasing our conscious actions in Satva guna and living Balanced and Healthy lifestyle.