Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi's Posts (72)

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Shivaram Maharaj at Govardhan

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 26, 2010 at 10:14am



Shivaram Maharaj at Govardhan.

Last night I went for a walk along Girirja. There are many pilgrims doing parikrama under the full moon. When I stopped for a while an old babaji appoached and asked "Where are you from?" I said "Hungary. In East Europe". He asked "Are there devotees of Krsna there?" I replied "There are many." He inquired "Do they chant japa like you and accept austerities?" I said, "They chant japa and every day 200 devotees, men and women, go out in minus weather, in the snow and sell Bhagavad-gitas and Bhagavatams." He did pranams and asked "What do they pray for?" I replied "Nija nikata nivasam dehi goverdhanas tvam!" Then the baba offered full dandavats,saying "vanca kalpa..." and I to him. He then got up and said "Offer my dandavat pranams to those great souls. They must certainly get Radhika's full mercy very quickly." Then he left.
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Potency of Damodara-lila Pastime

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 10, 2010 at 2:33pm



Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes in Krishna-samhita that in each of the pastimes of Krishna where confrontations come, like with either demons or in some cases with Indra or Brahma, Krishna is removing the obstacles on the path of bhakti. In this case of Damodara-lila with Nalakuvera and Manigriva, Krishna is removing the pride and arrogance coming from the feeling that one has an aristocratic birth and is wealthy. Just exactly as Narada described in his contemplation, this kind of pride gives rise to cruelty. This cruelty manifests in various ways - cruelty to innocent animals, cruelty in the form of lust for women, indulgence and intoxication etc. In that condition, once that pride takes root, then all kinds of uncontrolled habits can form, like hard heartedness, shamelessness, and all sorts of disgraceful activities.

Krishna does not like that. If that happens in the heart of a devotee who is practicing, ie. if there is pride in the heart, Krishna will remove that pride in the heart. In this case, He did so by the Damodara-lila, as reasoning with them would not have worked as they were in an intoxicated state. They were instead deprived of that opulence and position that had made them proud. So, that can happen. If some opulence is taken away from our life, "so be it", as far as a devotee is concerned.

Hearing this pastime, as well as the Govardhana-lila pastime in which the pride of Indra is crushed, has the potency to remove pride from the heart. The pastimes themselves have that potency. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura describes in Hitopadesh this way, "One may have a pride in a particular opulence. One camel has a nice big bell. He says to another camel who does not have a bell that he can't associate with him as he can't lose his caste. He thinks, he is the camel with the bell caste. But as the camel walks in the forest, the tiger hears the bell ringing and the camel with the bell looses his life".

So, we can pray to Krishna that, as through the association of Narada, the pride of Nalakuvera and Manigriva were removed from their hearts and they became pure devotees, may the pride that is in our hearts also be taken away by the association of those in pure devotion and bearing the message of pure devotion, by Krishna's mercy.

From a lecture by HH Romapada Swami on 'Damodara Lila Part 2', Hyderabad, Oct 2008


-Vrajesvari dd
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Grand opening of the Five Star Hilton for Krishna cows

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 10, 2010 at 2:24pm



*Grand opening of the 'Five Star Hilton' for Krishna cows*

**
On 6th November His Holiness Bhakti Cari Swami and Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP, the Attorney General for the British government opened the new farm complex, called New Gokul, at Bhaktivedanta Manor. Other dignitaries present included ISKCON author Rachor Prime, His Excellency Dr. Suresh Chandra Chalise the Ambassador of Nepal, Lord Dolar Popat, Joyce D'Silver from Compassion in World Farming and many others.


Praising Gokul farm for its excellence in the husbandry of cattle Mr Grieve said, “I am delighted to have been asked by Bhaktivedanta Manor to be here to commemorate the opening of the Gokul farm’s new facilities. These provide a sustainable sanctuary for cattle and a means whereby visitors can come and see for themselves the workings of a traditional farm where animals and nature are given the highest respect.”


Hailed as a blue-print for the future of farming, The Independent and the Daily Telegraph described the *New Gokul* project as being the “Hilton of all farms”.


The care received by the 44 cows and bulls is unparalleled . For example, relaxing music is played to the cows as they are hand-milked, and they are allowed to live their full natural life-span.


“This premium milk, presently used in many products available in our Temple shop, will offer visitors the chance to avoid buying from an industry which is based around slaughter and suffering, and instead buy from a fresh, new and compassionate alternative,” said Sita Rama das, Director of the Lotus Trust. The milk has been commercially branded *Ahimsa Milk*, meaning milk produced without harm to any living being.

“In Vedic culture cows are respected as representatives of the goddess of the earth, Mother Bhumi. Therefore it is the duty of every devotee to be conscious of the kind of milk they are drinking,” added Bhaktivedanta Manor’s Temple President Srutidharma das, “they should at least buy organic milk which is free from GM cattle feed, routine antibiotic treatments and synthetic pesticides.”

The opening of the £2.5 million New Gokul project included a huge fire yajna.

New Gokul's main features are its oak build, ox power in the fields and treadmill, ox cart rides, hand milking and humane treatment of cows and the full viewing facility so that all visitors can see the working of the farm. Already the farm has a wide range of visitors, of which ten of thousands of school children and public visit the farm annually.


*Facts and Figures*
New Gokul

* 40 tonnes of milk per year
*Cows are hand-milked and sacred music played in the background
*Bullocks pull the plough and harrow and other farm equipment to cultivate the land without the use of tractors. Also bullock-cart rides
* This will achieve Bhaktivedanta Manor’s day to day needs of fresh milk
* 44 cows (20 bulls and 24 cows)
* Only 6 milking
*1000 litres of milk a week are produced
* 8 staff attend the cows
* Milking time is 4.30am and 2pm everyday
*Cost per cow (in terms of sponsorship) is £351 per year
* £3.00 litre of milk: cost to produce
* We make our own panneer, yoghurt an ghee (for the lamps and cooking)
* The cows require 105 acres of land (53 extra acres are rented)
* Favorite foods of the cows include cabbage, carrots and jagari (raw sugar cane)
*We never put down a cow. We are nursing one cow for one year
*4 calves at the moment
*New Gokul farm cost £2.5 million
*When cows die a nice ceremony is conducted
* 8 acres of land are dedicated to the communities developing horticulture project.


**


*The blue-print for future milk branding: ‘Ahimsa Milk’*

Most farms in the UK will slaughter their cows for human or domestic animal consumption after about five years of their milking life. However, the Ahimsa campaign is looking to collaborate with farms to take care of their cows until they die naturally. A pilot scheme has been launched where people can purchase Ahimsa milk.

You can learn more about Ahimsa milk on the website: * http://www.ahimsamilk.org/** *

Ahimsa Slaughter Free Standard:

*No slaughter of cows, calves or bulls
* Open grazing policy *Protected herd for life - Pension scheme and hospice for non-productive cows and bulls


After consultation organization such as the OMSCo (The Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative), we chose to separate issues of organic and non-organic with high welfare standards, we felt it was better to just have a very clear succinct approach for the present. It may develop further in the future.

Naturally, the Manor goshalla goes well beyond the Standard by choosing to hand milk cows and afford much higher care.



--
ys
Radha Mohan das
Bhaktivedanta Manor Communications
Secretary
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Srila Prabhupada: be straightforward

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 10, 2010 at 9:31am



I recently sent out a sankirtan story by Madhumangala Prabhu called 'coming back.' When I first read it I felt a little uncomfortable about sending it out because it seemed to be a little shady. However, the exchange seemed to end alright so I sent it out. Then I received this letter from an old friend, Jayarama Prabhu, a devotee in Florida:

"All glories to all book distributors, but I'm not so sure Madhumangala dasa's transcendental trickery is the way to change hearts. Brian could very likely have felt that he was cheated. Being direct, and depending on Krishna, instead of one's own shrwedness is the best to do things. Leave guile out of sankirtana."

I think he's correct. In the past I saw so much trickery in book distribution and we paid for it by having a horrible reputation for many many years, but it's getting better now.

Srila Prabhupada said we should be known as perfect gentlemen. A gentleman is straightforward in his dealings. When people walk away from us after they've had an interaction we want them to feel that they have had a good experience. This is very important both for the people we speak to and ourselves.

I'm sure Madhumangala Prabhu doesn't regularly use this style of book distribution, he's a very nice devotee and a dedicated book distributor. Krishna arranged this so that we can all stand back and think about how we want to be viewed.

Your servant,
Vijaya das

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Coming Back

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 9, 2010 at 12:07pm



This morning, after a harinam on a Diwali procession here in Durban, South Africa, I waited with the other the devotees in the party in front of a busy supermarket for Vibhu Caitanya Prabhu to pick us up and take us back to the temple. I noted that there were a lot of shoppers entering and leaving the store. While the devotees went in to get some cold drinks, I stayed outside and distributed books to people waiting in their cars and to the shoppers.

I approached a young lady who had just pulled up and used my regular mantra for people who smoke -- but this lady was just not going to take a book. So I gave her an invitation card and asked where her friend was from, the one who had just a moment earlier gotten out of the car and gone into the store. She told me his name was Brian, he was from Johannesburg, and he was purchasing some charcoal. I asked her what type of work he did for a living. She said that he was an engineer. I said goodbye and told her it was a pleasure meeting her.

I went into the store to see if I could find Brian, but I couldn't. After about five minutes I saw him at the checkout counter. So I went outside and waited to approach him as he came out of the store. As he came out I stopped him and said, "Brian, is that you? Goodness gracious me! I can't believe I'm seeing you again. It's been such a long, long time. How are you?"

He looked at me with puzzled amazement. I said, "You're an engineer, right? And you live in Johannesburg."

"That's amazing," he replied. "How did you know that?" he asked with extreme astonishment.

"Oh, I knew you many lifetimes ago. This isn't the first life we've lived. We've lived many lives before this one."

He couldn't speak a word. I told him I had something to give him that would explain what I'd just told him. I dug into my sankirtan bag and handed him a "Coming Back." Just then from the car his girlfriend honked for him to hurry up. He asked me again how I knew him.

"It was your friend in the car over there," I admitted, as he gave me a nice donation. "I just wanted to see your reaction. Well, now that you have the book, don't forget to utilize the knowledge in it."

He turned around, holding in his hands a bag of charcoal, a liter of Coke, the weekend newspaper, and "Coming Back."

"Thanks for taking the book, Brian. Till I see you next time in another life."

Srila Prabhupada ki jay!

Yours in the service of Lord Sri Krsna and His devotees,
Hare Krsna,
Madhumangala das
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Pictorial Presentation of Srila Prabhupada Memories

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 9, 2010 at 11:03am
Srila Prabhupada's Former family


Radharani De; Srila Prabhupada holding eldest son Prayag Raj; Gaura Mohan De; other family members


Srila Prabhupada, his brother, and three of his children-Prayag Raj, Mathura Mohan and Sulaxmana.



A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami-Chippiwada Delhi 1964-5


Srila Prabhupada's original typewriter

Planning the journey at Srila Rupa Goswami Samadhi side



Meeting Sumati Morarji - owner of the steamship company




Ato Tompkins Square Park - New York



Prabhupada’s Passport



Here’s Srila Prabhupada’s entry stamp for his second visit to Australia on April 1 1972


1971 continued: This is a special entry:



top right: Srila Prabhupada's entry and exit stamps from his one and only historic visit to Moscow
The entry is 20/06/71 and the exit is 25/06/71
Here some interesting entries into Srila Prabhupada’s passport. It was issued in 1971 and expired in 1974.



Srila Prabhupada's 1971-1974 passport




Note that on the page on the right Srila Prabhupada lists his father as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

Prabhupada's first visit to Australia is stamped May 9 1971




Here’s a black and white of Srila Prabhupada installing Radha Gopinath in Sydney at the old Paddington temple on his first visit to Australia in 1971

Next to Prabhupada, dressing the Deity of Gopinatha is Bali Mardan prabhu, the first person to bring the Hare Krishna Movement to Australia. On the far right is Dipak das, a Texan and one of the early recruits.





Srila Prabhupad Horoscope










Your Servant In the Service Of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev,

Chant:Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.& be Happy

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New Gokul farm at Bhaktivedanta Manor to officially open

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 8, 2010 at 8:21am



At £3 a litre, New Gokul will be selling the most expensive milk in the UK. However, demand is already outstripping supply. Hailed as a blue-print for the future of farming, the cows at the New Gokul project have been described as living in the “Hilton of farms”.

The care received by the 44 cows and bulls, mostly dairy Short Horns and Meuse-Rhine-Yssel is unparalleled . For example, relaxing music is played to the cows as they are hand-milked, and they are allowed to live their full natural life-span.

“This premium milk will offer consumers the chance to avoid buying from an industry which is based around slaughter and suffering, and instead buy from a fresh, new and compassionate alternative,” said Sita Rama das.

The milk has been commercially branded Ahimsa Milk, meaning milk produced without harm to any living being.

On Saturday 6th November, from 10am, the opening of a fully sustainable farm project will be performed by thirty priests who will be chanting Vedic mantras . New Gokul, a farm on which no animal will be killed or harmed, stands as an iconic venture which protects both the animals and the environment.

The innovative concept of the farm which is part of Bhaktivedanta Manor, is regarded as a blue print for future sustainable farming. At its core is the ethos that treats animals and the environment with the highest respect. Having taken over five years to complete, it stands as a feat of accomplishment for the community. The project demonstrates the community’s respect of the earth and those with whom we share it.

New Gokul’s main features are its oak build, ox power in the fields and treadmill, ox cart rides, hand milking and humane treatment of cows and the full viewing facility so that all visitors can see the working of the farm. Already the farm has a wide range of visitors, of which ten of thousands of school children and public visit the farm annually.

During the opening ceremonies there will be ancient costumes, traditional dances, ox power demonstrations and cart rides, and devotional singing to the accompaniment of Indian drums and cymbals. Guests of honour include His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami, Dominic Grieve QC MP the Attorney General, MPs, Mayors and representatives from the faith, environment and farming communities.

For more information, contact

For all enquiries before day of event:

Radha Mohan das (Secretary of Communications)

01923 851003 (w)

Radha.mohan@krishnatemple.com

Additional Notes

The blue-print for future milk branding: ‘Ahimsa Milk’

Most farms in the UK will slaughter their cows for human or domestic animal consumption after about five years of their milking life. However, the Ahimsa campaign is looking to collaborate with farms to take care of their cows until they die naturally. A pilot scheme has been launched where people can purchase Ahimsa milk.

You can learn more about Ahimsa milk on the website:
http://www.ahimsamilk.org/
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Hungary`s Krishna Valley Devotees Elected to Local Mayor’s Council

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 6, 2010 at 8:04am



Since 1998—for the past three elections—one of the seven people on the Mayor’s council in the village of Somogyvamos in Hungary has been an ISKCON devotee.
This year, there will only be four people on the Mayor’s council, as well as the newly elected Mayor Mrs Marianna Dekanyne Karoly—and three of them will be devotees.
Krishna Valley, a sustainable community and one of ISKCON’s most successful rural projects, is situated within Somogyvamos. The tiny village, one of over three thousand such settlements in Hungary, is home to only 850 people. 150 of these are the inhabitants of Krishna Valley, while another fifty devotees live in the village itself.
“It was always natural that we played a part in the local government, since everyone understood that Krishna Valley was here to stay, and that we had a major role in developing the village,” says Radha Krishna Dasa, who became Deputy Mayor at the recent elections.
He explains that Somogyvamos is a very small village in a cul-de-sac, consisting of two churches, the mayor’s office, two pubs, two grocery stores, and around 300 houses. Before Krishna Valley, there were almost no jobs in the village, and many people had left to get work in the cities.
Since Krishna Valley’s establishment, however, the situation has improved. “We draw a lot of tourism, and have became the largest employers in the village, if not the area,” says Radha Krishna. “We employ people to maintain our botanic garden, farm and the different parks and attractions. Some devotees also brought businesses with them when they moved here, such as Tulasi Cosmetics and Yamuna Cosmetics.”
As Krishna Valley grew, so did the devotees’ involvement in their village. So it wasn’t a major surprise when three devotees joined the Mayor’s council during the elections on October 3rd, 2010: Radha Krishna das (Zoltan Hosszu), Partha das (Vilmos Pocze), and Radhakanta das (Attila Barsi).
“We were discussing the possibility of getting involved in developing Somogyvamos,” Radha Krishna says. “We first selected Partha Prabhu to run for office, as he was on the Mayor’s council two elections prior. Radha Kanta Prabhu we selected because he manages agriculture and construction at Krishna Valley, and because he is well-kown in the village as one of the bigger employers. And since I’m the director of the Eco Valley Foundation, and my main service is to establish sustainable communities and villages, I seemed a good choice too.”
These three set about making pamphlets describing who they were and what they would do for the village, and distributing them to every household.
Partha Dasa stated that he would develop the infrastructure in the village, including its waste water treatment system, its road system, and internet accessibility. He would also develop employment and a better working model. And he would work on introducing more renewable energies and helping the village to become more self-reliant.
Radhakanta Dasa, meanwhile, pledged to develop local agriculture and production, and to provide homes and opportunities for young families to settle down in the village.
Finally, Radha Krishna Dasa’s contribution would be to work for more job opportunities, developing tourism, developing local services, and attracting investments.
When the elections came, both devotees and villagers voted. As it happened, all three devotees were elected to the mayor’s council, with Radha Krishna Dasa as deputy mayor.
“The question arose, what is the role of the deputy mayor in such a small village?” he says. “Previously, it was just a formal position. But we explained to the mayor that we would like to have an active role, to put a lot of effort into developing the village.”
Radha Krishna Dasa, whose first day in office was October 27th, says he has plenty of hard work ahead of him. “More than fifty per cent of the local population is inactive, meaning they are either children, senior citizens, or unemployed,” he explains. “In the support system of the past, the unemployed received plenty of money to live off of from the government. Now that has changed, and they’re receiving only a small amount. But they are not used to working full-time, since they didn’t have to for so many years. So mobilizing people to work and to develop the village won’t be easy.”
Radha Krishna Dasa will also put Radhakanta and Partha’s efforts into motion, discussing with them how to develop areas such as tourism, settlement development and infrastructure. He will also communicate with the villagers—his office next to the Mayor’s will have set open hours.
Mayor Dekanyne Marianna Karoly herself—Somogyvamos’ deputy mayor for the past four years and principal of the elementary school in the village prior to that—is, of course, supportive of the devotees. Not everyone, however, shares her sentiment.
“As always, there are those villagers who really like us, and those who really do not like us,” Radha Krishna Dasa says honestly. “But they have all seen what we could achieve in seventeen years in Krishna Valley—turning a sheep run into the spiritual world. And many really hope that we can do something miraculous with their village too, and turn it into a paradise.”
Having seen much promised and little change in previous elections, however, the villagers are looking forward to seeing results, rather than just talk. And the devotees are determined to deliver.
“Given enough time, the village will definitely grow,” says Radha Krishna. “More devotees will be likely to move here from the cities, and to bring businesses with them. That will mean more jobs for the villagers, and a more liveable facility for devotees who would like to live in a peaceful settlement.”
Devotees hope their involvement in local government will continue to develop. “I’m sure we will continue to be involved in the future, but that would depend on how well we do for the next four years,” says Radha Krishna Dasa, who has re-organized his many other services so that he can spend half of his time at the mayor’s office. “So we’ll see.”


Read More:
http://news.iskcon.com/node/3227/2010-10-30/hungarys_krishna_valley_devotees_elected_to_local_mayor_s_council
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Why does my child do Sanskrit?

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 4, 2010 at 9:40am
Rutger Kortenhorst, a Sanskrit teacher in John Scottus School (JSS) in Dublin, speaks to parents on the value of teaching Sanskrit to children, based on his own experience with the language.

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, we are going to spend an hour together looking at the topic ‘Why does my child do Sanskrit in John Scottus?’ My bet is that at the end of the hour you will all have come to the conclusion that your children are indeed fortunate that this extraordinary subject is part of their curriculum.

Firstly, let us look at Why Sanskrit for my child? We are the only school in Ireland doing this language, so this will need some explaining. There are another 8 JSS-type schools around the world that have made the same decision to include Sanskrit in their curriculum (they are all off-shoots from our School of Philosophy).

Secondly, how is Sanskrit taught? You may have noticed your son or daughter singing Sanskrit grammar songs in the back of the car just for the fun of it on the way home from school. I’ll spend some time telling you HOW we approach teaching Sanskrit now since my year in India.

Why Sanskrit?
But first of all: why Sanskrit? To answer that we need to look at the qualities of Sanskrit. Sanskrit stands out above all other languages for its beauty of sound, precision in pronunciation and reliability as well as thoroughness in every aspect of its structure. This is why it has never fundamentally changed unlike all other languages. It has had no need to change being the most perfect language of Mankind.

If we consider Shakespeare’s English, we realize how different and therefore difficult for us his English language was although it is just English from less than 500 years ago. We struggle with the meaning of Shakespeare’s English or that of the King James Bible. Go back a bit further and we don’t have a clue about the English from the time of Chaucer’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ from around 700 AD. We cannot even call this English anymore and now rightly call it Anglo-Saxon. So English hadn’t even been born! All languages keep changing beyond recognition. They change because they are defective. The changes are in fact corruptions. They are born and die after seven or eight hundred years –about the lifetime of a Giant Redwood Tree- because after so much corruption they have no life left in them. Surprisingly there is one language in the world that does not have this short lifespan. Sanskrit is the only exception. It is a never-dying constant.

The reason for the constancy in Sanskrit is that it is completely structured and thought out. There is not a word that has been left out in its grammar or etymology, which means every word can be traced back to where it came from originally. This does not mean there is no room for new words either.
Just as in English we use older concepts from Greek and Latin to express modern inventions like a television: ‘tele [far] – vision [seeing]’ or ‘compute –er’. Sanskrit in fact specializes in making up compound words from smaller words and parts. The word ‘Sams – krita’ itself means ‘completely – made’.

So what advantages are there to a fundamentally unchanging language?

What is advantageous about an unchanging friend, say? Are they reliable? What happens if you look at a text in Sanskrit from thousands of years ago?

The exceptional features of Sanskrit have been recognised for a few enturies all over the world, so you will find universities from many countries having a Sanskrit faculty. Whether you go to Hawai, Cambridge or Harvard and even Trinity College Dublin has a seat for Sanskrit –although it is vacant at present. May be one of your children will in time fill this position again?

Although India has been its custodian, Sanskrit has had universal appeal for centuries. The wisdom carried by this language appeals to the West as we can see from Yoga and Ayurvedic Medicine as well as meditation techniques, and practical philosophies like Buddhism and most of what we use in the School of Philosophy. It supports, expands and enlightens rather than conflicts withlocal traditions and religions.

The precision of Sanskrit stems from the unparalleled detail on how the actual sounds of the alphabet are structured and defined. The sounds have a particular place in the mouth, nose and throat that can be defined and will never change. This is why in Sanskrit the letters are called the ‘Indestructibles’ [aksharáni]. Sanskrit is the only language that has consciously laid out its sounds from first principles. So the five mouth-positions for all Indestructibles [letters] are defined and with a few
clearly described mental and physical efforts all are systematically planned: [point out chart] After this description, what structure can we find in a, b, c, d, e, f, g.? There isn’t any, except perhaps that it starts with ‘a’, and goes downhill from there.

Then there is the sheer beauty of the Sanskrit script as we learn it today. [Some examples on the board]

You may well say: ‘Fine, but so why should my son or daughter have yet another subject and another script to learn in their already busy school-day?’ In what way will he or she benefit from the study of Sanskrit in 2010 in the Western world?

The qualities of Sanskrit will become the qualities of your child- that is the mind and heart of your child will become beautiful, precise and reliable.

Sanskrit automatically teaches your child and anybody else studying it to pay FINE attention due to its uncanny precision. When the precision is there the experience is, that it feels uplifting. It makes you happy. It is not difficult even for a beginner to experience this. All you have to do is fine-tune your attention and like music you are drawn in and uplifted. This precision of attention serves all subjects, areas and activities of life both while in school and for the rest of life. This will give your child a competitive advantage over any other children. They will be able to attend more fully, easily and naturally. Thus in terms of relationships, work, sport– in fact all aspects of life, they will perform better and gain more satisfaction. Whatever you attend to fully, you excel in and you enjoy more.

By studying Sanskrit, other languages can be learnt more easily; this being the language all others borrow from fractionally. The Sanskrit grammar is reflected in part in Irish or Greek, Latin or English. They all have a part of the complete Sanskrit grammar. Some being more developed than others, but always only a part of the Sanskrit grammar, which is complete in itself.

What Sanskrit teaches us that there is a language that is ordered, following laws unfailingly and as they are applied your child gets uplifted, not only when they grow up, but as they are saying it! This means they get an unusual but precise, definite and clear insight into language while they are enjoying themselves.

They learn to speak well, starting from Sanskrit, the mother language of all languages. Those who speak well run the world. Barack Obama makes a difference because he can speak well. Mahatma Gandhi could move huge crowds with well-balanced words. Mother Theresa could express herself with simple words which uplift us even now. The language of the great Master Teachers of mankind from times past is all we have got after centuries and millennia, but they make all the difference. We can enter the remarkable mind of Plato through his words. If your daughter or son can express themselves well through conscious language they will be the leaders of the next generation.

Sanskrit has the most comprehensive writings in the world expressed through the Vedas and the Gítá. The Upanishads –translated by William Butler Yeats have given people from all over the world an insight into universal religious feelings for more than one century now. To know these well expressed simple words of wisdom in the original is better than dealing with copies or translations as copies are always inferior to originals. We really need clear knowledge on universal religion in an age faced with remarkable levels of religious bigotry and terrorism arising from poorly understood and half-baked religious ideas.


Culture

Vivekananda, a great spiritual leader from India revered by all in the World Religious Conference of 1880 said: You can put a mass of knowledge into the world, but that will not do it much good. There must come some culture into the blood. We all know in modern times of nations which have masses of knowledge, but what of them? They are like tigers; they are like savages, because culture is not there. Knowledge is only skin-deep, as civilization is, and a little scratch brings out the
old savage. Such things happen; this is the danger. Teach the masses in the vernaculars, give them ideas; they will get information, but something more is necessary; give them culture.

Sanskrit can help your child to express universal, harmonious and simple truths better. As a result you will really have done your duty as a parent and the world will reap the benefits in a more humane, harmonious and united society. Sanskrit can do this as it is the only language that is based in knowledge all the way. Nothing is left to chance.

Just think for the moment how confusing it is for a child to learn to say ‘rough’, but ‘dough’. And why does the ‘o’ in ‘woman’ sound like an ‘e’ in ‘women’? How come the ‘ci’ in ‘special’ is different from the ‘ci’ in ‘cinema’? Teachers may well say ‘Just learn it’ as there is no logical explanation, but it only demonstrates to a child that it is all a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. What else does this randomness in the fundamental building-blocks of language teach a child about the world? That it’s just a
confusing, random chance-event? How can this give anyone any confidence?

Now go to a language where everything is following rules. Where nothing is left to chance from the humble origin of a letter to the most sophisticated philosophical idea. How will that child meet the world? Surely with confidence, clarity and the ability to express itself?

I have seen myself and others growing in such qualities, because of our contact with Sanskrit. I have just spent a year in India. Though it felt a bit like camping in a tent for a year, it was well worth it.

For many years, we taught Sanskrit like zealots i.e. with high levels of enthusiasm and low levels of understanding, to both adults in the School of Philosophy and children in John Scottus School. We did not perhaps inspire a lot of our students and may have put a number of them off the study of Sanskrit. It felt to me like we needed to go to the source. Sanskrit teachers worth their salt need to live with people whose daily means of communication is in Sanskrit. I had already spent three summers near Bangalore doing just that and becoming less of an amateur, but it really needed a more thorough study. So I moved into a traditional gurukulam for
the year. This meant living on campus, eating lots of rice and putting up with a few power-cuts and water shortages, but by December 2009, I made up my mind that I would step down as vice-principal of the Senior School and dedicate myself to Sanskrit for the rest of my teaching life. It felt like a promotion to me as quite a few could be vice-principal but right now which other teacher could forge ahead in Sanskrit in Ireland? [Hopefully this will change before I pop off to the next world.] With Sanskrit I’m expecting my mind to improve with age even if my body slows down a little. Sanskrit is often compared to the full-time teacher, who is there for you 24/7 whereas the other languages are more like part-timers. The effects of studying Sanskrit on me have been first and foremost a realistic confidence. Secondly, it meant I had to become more precise and speak weighing my words more carefully. It also taught me to express myself with less waffle and therefore speak more briefly. My power of attention and retention has undoubtedly increased.


Teaching method

Now, let me explain for a few minutes, HOW Sanskrit is taught. To my surprise it is not taught well in most places in India. Pupils have to learn it from when they are around age 9 to 11 and then they give it up, because it is taught so badly! Only a few die-hards stick with it, in time teaching the same old endings endlessly to the next generation. This is partly due to India having adopted a craving to copy the West and their tradition having been systematically rooted out by colonialism.

For learning grammar and the wisdom of the East, I was well-placed in a traditional gurukulam, but for spoken Sanskrit I felt a modern approach was missing.

Then I found a teacher from the International School belonging to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. His name is Narendra. He has developed a novel, inspiring and light method to teach grammar, which doesn’t feel like you do any grammar at all. At the same time it isn’t diluted for beginners so you don’t end up with partial knowledge. I also followed a few Sanskrit Conversation camps, which all brought about more familiarity.

Narendra says he owes his method to Sri Aurobindo and his companion The Mother who inspired him to come up with the course we now follow in Dublin.
This is one of the many things The Mother said to inspire him: "Teach logically. Your method should be most natural, efficient and stimulating to the mind. It should carry one forward at a great pace. You need not cling there to any past or present manner of teaching."

This is how I would summarize the principles for teaching Sanskrit as we carry it out at present:

1. Language learning is not for academics as everyone learns to speak a language from an early age before they can read and write and know what an academic is. So why insist in teaching Sanskrit academically?

2. The writing script is not the most fundamental thing to be taught. A language is firstly made of its sounds, words and spoken sentences. [The script we use -though very beautiful- is only a few hundred years old.]

3. Always go from what is known to what is new.

4. Understanding works better than memorisation in this Age. Learning by heart should only take up 10 percent of the mental work, rather than the 90 percent rote learning in Sanskrit up to the recent present.

5. Don’t teach words and endings in isolation; teach them in the context of a sentence as the sentence is the smallest meaningful unit in language.

6. Any tedious memory work which cannot be avoided should be taught in a song.

7. Do not teach grammatical terms. Just as we don’t need to know about the carburetor, when we learn to drive a car.

8. The course should be finished in two years by an average student according to Narendra. This may be a little optimistic given that we are a little out of the loop not living in India, which is still Sanskrit’s custodian. At present I would say it is going to be a three-year course.

9. Language learning must be playful. Use drama, song, computer games and other tricks to make learning enjoyable.

We have started on this course since September and it has certainly put a smile on our pupils’ faces, which makes a pleasant change. I now feel totally confident that we are providing your children with a thorough, structured and enjoyable course. Our students should be well prepared for the International Sanskrit Cambridge exam by the time they finish -age 14/15- at the end of second year. We will also teach them some of the timeless wisdom enshrined in various verses. At present we are teaching them: "All that lives is full of the Lord. Claim nothing; enjoy! Do not covet His property"- in the original of course.


The future

Let us look at the 500-year cycle of a Renaissance. The last European Renaissance developed three subjects: Art, Music and Science to shape the world we live in today. It had its beginning in Florence. The great Humanist Marsilio Ficino made Plato available to the masses by translating it from Greek to Latin. We live in exciting times and may well be at the beginning of a new Renaissance. It also will be based on three new subjects: Some say that these will be Economics, Law and Language.

Language has to become more universal now as we can connect with each other globally within seconds. NASA America’s Space Program is actively looking at
Sanskrit in relation to I.T. and artificial intelligence.

Sri Aurobindo said “.at once majestic and sweet and flexible, strong and clearly-formed and full and vibrant and subtle.”.

What John Scottus pupils have said:
It makes your mind bright, sharp and clear.
It makes you feel peaceful and happy.
It makes you feel BIG.
It cleans and loosens your tongue so you can pronounce any language easily.


What Sanskrit enthusiasts have said:

It gives you access to a vast and liberating literature.

It can describe all aspects of human life from the most abstract philosophical to the latest scientific discoveries, hinting at further developments.

Sanskrit and computers are a perfect fit. The precision play of Sanskrit with computer tools will awaken the capacity in human beings to utilize their innate higher mental faculty with a momentum that would inevitably transform the mind. In fact, the mere learning of Sanskrit by large numbers of people in itself represents a quantum leap in consciousness, not to mention the rich endowment it will provide in the arena of future communication. NASA, California

After many thousands of years, Sanskrit still lives with a vitality that can breathe life, restore unity and inspire peace on our tired and troubled planet. It is a sacred gift, an opportunity. The future could be very bright. Rick Briggs [NASA]

You may well have a few questions at this stage after which I would like to introduce you to a plant in the audience. A parent turned into a blazing ball of enthusiasm over Sanskrit grammar: John Doran. I would like him to wrap up.

I’ll give NASA’s Rick Briggs the last word from me: One thing is certain; Sanskrit will only become the planetary language when it is taught in a way which is exiting and enjoyable. Furthermore it must address individual learning inhibitions with clarity and compassion in a setting which encourages everyone to step forth, take risks, make mistakes and learn. Rick Briggs [NASA]
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MICROWAVE OVEN

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 3, 2010 at 10:00am
Below is a science fair project presented by girl. In it she took filtered water and divided it into two parts. The first part she heated to boiling in a pan on the stove, and the second part she heated to boiling in a microwave. Then after cooling she used the water to water two identical plants to see if there would be any difference in the growth between the normal boiled water and the water boiled in a microwave. She was thinking that the structure or energy of the water may be compromised by microwave. As it turned out, even she was amazed at the difference..








I have known for years that the problem with microwaved anything is not the radiation people used to worry about, It's how it corrupts the DNA in the food so the body can not recognize it. So the body wraps it in fat cells to protect itself from the dead food or it eliminates it fast. Think of all the Mothers heating up milk in these 'Safe' appliances. What about the nurse in Canada that warmed up blood for a transfusion patient and accidentally killed them when the blood went in dead. But the makers say it's safe. But proof is in the pictures of living plants dying.




FORENSIC RESEARCH DOCUMENT
Prepared By: William P. Kopp
A. R. E. C. Research Operations
TO61-7R10/10-77F05
RELEASE PRIORITY: CLASS I ROO1a



Ten Reasons to Throw out your Microwave Oven
From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, we will conclude this article with the following:

1). Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term - permanent - brain damage by 'shorting out' electrical impulses in the brain [de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue].

2). The human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in microwaved food.

3).. Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods.

4). The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual [long term, permanent] within the human body.

5). Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.

6). The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in microwave ovens.

7). Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumors]. This may explain the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in America.

8). The prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood.

9). Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations.

10). Eating microwaved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.

Have you tossed out your microwave oven yet? After you throw out your microwave, you can use a toaster oven as a replacement. It works well for most and is nearly as quick. The use of artificial microwave transmissions for subliminal psychological control, a.k.a. 'brainwashing', has also been proven. We're attempting to obtain copies of the 1970's Russian research documents and results written by Drs. Luria and Perov specifying their clinical experiments in this area.



Thanks to Asha Prasanna > BMJayakar

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kurma Dasa also writes about Microwave Oven in his famous article:


Microwave exposure causes significant decreases in the nutritive value of foods researched. The following are the most important findings:

1. A decrease in the bioavailability [capability of the body to utilize the nutriment] of all Vitamin C, Vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotropics in all foods;

2. A loss of 60-90% of the vital energy field content of B-complex vitamins, in tested foods;

3. A reduction in the metabolic behavior and integration process capability of alkaloids [organic nitrogen based elements], glucosides and galactosides, and nitrilosides;

4. A destruction of the nutritive value of nucleoproteins in meats;

5. A marked acceleration of structural disintegration in all foods.

Also it was found that microwave ovens caused:

6. Creation of a "binding effect" to radioactivity in the atmosphere, thus causing a marked increase in the amount of alpha and beta particle saturation in foods;

7. Creation of cancer causing agents within protein hydrolysate compounds* in milk and cereal grains [*these are natural proteins that are split into unnatural fragments by the addition of water];

8. Alteration of elemental food-substances, causing disorders in the digestive system by unstable catabolism* of foods subjected to microwaves [*the metabolic breakdown process];

Also:

9. Due to chemical alterations within food substances, malfunctions were observed within the lymphatic systems [absorbent vessels], causing a degeneration of the immune potentials of the body to protect against certain forms of neoplastics [abnormal growths of tissue];

10. Ingestion of microwaved foods caused a higher percentage of cancerous cells within the blood serum [cytomas - cell tumors such as
sarcoma];

11. Microwave emissions caused alteration in the catabolic [metabolic breakdown] behavior of glucoside [hydrolyzed dextrose] and galactoside [oxidized alcohol] elements within frozen fruits when thawed in this manner;

12. Microwave emission caused alteration of the catabolic [metabolic breakdown] behavior of plant alkaloids [organic nitrogen based elements] when raw, cooked, or frozen vegetables were exposed for even extremely short durations;

13. Cancer causing free radicals [highly reactive incomplete molecules] were formed within certain trace mineral molecular formations in plant substances, and in particular, raw root-vegetables; and,

14. In a statistically high percentage of persons, microwaved foods caused stomach and intestinal cancerous growths, as well as a general degeneration of peripheral cellular tissues, with a gradual breakdown of the function of the digestive and excretive systems.

More good reasons to revert to good old home-style slow cooking in the way nature intended!


by Kurma at August 16, 2008 09:03 PM

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Puspa-Samadhi of Padmalochan Das

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on November 1, 2010 at 8:35am



The day after tomorrow, on Sunday 31 October, devotees headed by Jananivasa Prabhu (from Mayapur) will be making puspa-samadhi of Padmalochan Das, at ISKCON Govardhan.

The puspa-samadhi program on Sunday will be as follows:

In the morning around 8-9 am Jananivasa prabhu with Mayapur sankirtan brahmacharis, and any other devotees wishing to attend will make the puspa-samadhi of Padmalochan Das at ISKCON Govardhan, near the place of Krishna's tax pastimes with the gopis. There will be some prasadam distributed to assembled vaisnavas (sweets as I understand). At 2 pm there will be a feast for Srila Prabhupada disciples at ISKCON Govardhan. (I am not arranging this personally, so this is the information I was given by my friends, who arrange the program)

On the same day in Mayapur around 9am devotees will assemble for kirtan & prasad program in Sruti-Bhavan bld (former Youth Forum) near Gosala, in the rooms where Prabhu was taken from to join Prabhupada-nitya-lila, seven months ago.

His life's work is Govardhan guide (book Madhurya Dhama) he spent 20 years of his life in Vrindavan, researching the Dham on the order of Srila Prabhupada, who gave him personal instruction to write books about Holy Dham.
It is his research and work that have became basis of knowledge of Vraja-parikrama and pastime places for devotees these days.

Padmalochan Das has very special place in Vraja, Govardhan in particularly (it is so wheither there is a physical samdhi or not).

Jananivasa Prabhu, his best friend, will be personally doing the puspa-samadhi installation at Govardhana with Mayapur sankirtan brahmacharis, brijabasis and all other vaishnavas who wish to come there to participate.

I have made 2 blogs for my husband (work in progress): http://brijabasi.blogspot.com/ http://padmalochan.wordpress.com/

If any of devotees reading this would like to share personal memories of Padmalochan das, I would much appreciate - just write whatever your true expirience of him was - to give a better perspective of his personality. I would like to write a book about him aventually where this memories will be included, but for now will be published in his blog.

- Vrindavan Lila Dasi
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Kondaveedu to be developed as major tourist spot

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on October 30, 2010 at 8:09am


Efforts are being made to realize the immense tourist potential of the state by developing places of historical importance, chief minister K.Rosaiah said here after performing the consecration ceremony of ISKCON Golden temple project at chengishkhan pet village on 22nd Friday.
The chief minister lighted the lamp to mark bhoomi puja amid chanting of Vedic hymns of devotees of ISKCON. The temple would be constructed at a cost of Rs.150 crore in an alloted area of 75 acres in the first phase by the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh.
Complementing ISKCON for taking up the initiative for taking up Kondaveedu Spiritual Heritage Revival Project, a global spiritual training recreation and rural development, Dr Rosaiah said though vagaries of time have taken a heavy toll on the Kondaveedu fort, few remnants of its historical glory have been preserved for posterity.
He went down the memory lane and recollected his student days in 1950’s, when he used to trek the hill all the way to the Kondavedu fort.
He said the state government would be developing the fort as a major tourist destination. A ghat road extending to 14.5 km would be laid to the hill top and the archaeological, tourism and panchayat raj departments would be involved in the development of the fort, Endowment minister Shri Gade Venkat Reddy, Union Minister of State for Textiles Panabaka lakshmi, Forest Minister Shri P. Ramachandra Reddy, Housing board minister Shri Silpa Mohan Reddy, Educational minister D. Manikya Vara Prasad, and other MLA’s were present. Revathi Raman Das, Zonal Secretary ISKCON Andhra Pradesh, Satya Gopinath Das, Project Director and Ram Murari Das, project coordinator were present. District Collector B. Ramamjaneyulu presided over the function.


http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/article844834.ece


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Offer a Lamp in Karthik month

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on October 29, 2010 at 9:16am
Karthik Masa or Damodar month is beginning from Oct 22nd 2010. Please read the glories of this month and take time to offer lamp to Krishna in this auspicious month. We will be offering lamps to the lord every evening after 6.30 pm arti in the CHANDIGARH Hare Krishna Dham, Sector 36-B, everyday till 21 Nov 2010, which is the last day of the Damodar month. Please come and join us for one of most beautiful offering to Krishna, (but if u cannot make it to temple, please offer a lamp with prayers to Krishna at home). If u don't knowdamodarashtak (prayers by Satyavrat Muni to please Lord Krishna in his Damodar form), I am including in the email in audio and in text format, please make use of it and somehow or other attract the mercy of the most merciful Lord Krishna in this month.
Take time to offer a Lamp in Kartik Month (22nd Oct – 21st Nov 2010)

(Sri Radha Damodarji at Sri Vrindavan)

Just as there is no yuga equal to Satya-yuga, no scripture equal to the Vedas, and no place of pilgrimage equal to the Ganges, so there is no month equal to Kartika. Even unserious persons who execute devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Karttika, and within the jurisdiction of Mathura (or Vrindavana) in India, are very easily awarded the Lord's personal service". During the Kartika month millions of devotees worship Damodara Krishna with ghee lamps and devotional bhajans, glorifying His playful childhood pastime of stealing yogurt. (H.H. Mahanidhi Swami)


"When one offers a lamp during the month of Karttika, his sins in many thousands and millions of births perish in half an eye blink."


"Please hear the glories of offering a lamp during pleasing to Lord Kesava. O King of brahmanas, a person who offers a lamp in this way will not take birth again in this world."


"By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one attains a pious result ten million times greater than the result obtained by bathing at Kuruksetra during a solar eclipse or by bathing in the river Narmada during a lunar eclipse."


"O Tiger among sages! For a person who thus offers a lamp burning with ghee or sesame oil, what is the use of performing an asvasmedha-yajna? "


"Even if there are no mantras, no pious deeds, and no purity, everything becomes perfect when a person offers a lamp during the month of Karttika."



"A person who during the month of Karttika offers a lamp to Lord Kesava has already performed all yajnas and bathing in all holy rivers. "


"The ancestors say: When someone in our family pleases Lord Kesava by offering to Him a lamp during the month of Karttika, then, by the mercy of the Lord who holds the Sudarsana-cakra in His Hand, we will all attain liberation."


"By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one burns away a collection of sins as big as Mount Meru or Mount Mandara. Of this there is no doubt."


"A person who offers a lamp during the month of Karttika attains a result that cannot be obtained with even a hundred yajnas or a hundred pilgrimages."


"Even a person addicted to all sins and averse to all pious deeds who somehow offer a lamp during Karttika becomes purified. Of this there is no doubt."


"O Narada, no sin exists anywhere in the three worlds that will not be purified by offering a lamp to Lord Kesava during Karttika."


"A person who offers a lamp to Lord Krishna during Karttika attains the eternal spiritual world where there is no suffering."


"As fire is present in all wood and may be extracted by friction, so piety is always present in the offering of a lamp during the month of Karttika. Of this there is no doubt."


"O King of brahmanas, when someone offers Him a lamp on the full-moon day of the month of Karttika, Lord Krishna, finding that He does not have sufficient money to repay that gift, gives Himself in exchange for that lamp."


"One who offers a steady lamp to Lord Hari during the month of Karttika enjoys pastimes in Lord Hari's splendid spiritual world."


Even one who never performs religious rituals or even the worst sinner will surely be purified by this offering. O Narada, in the three worlds there is no sin that can stand before this Kartika dipa. In fact, by presenting this dipa before Lord Vasudeva, the eternal abode can be reached without obstruction.


"All the results acquired by donating grains during pitri-paksha or by distributing water in the hot months of Jyeshtha or Ashadha are easily gained in the course of Kartika merely by reviving (relighting) a dipa offered by someone else."


All glories to beautiful Lordship Sri Sri Radha Damodarji!
All glories to Kartik Masa!


"In Kartik month, after bathing in the morning, one should worship Lord Damodara. At night, one should light brilliant lamps filled with either ghee or sesame-seed oil, and place them in these places - in the Lord's temple, around the base of tulasi plants, and in the sky. During the month of Kartika, one should eat only vegetarian foodstuffs and Bhagavan's prasad remnants. There should be incessant harinama-kirtana and smarana. The sole activity to be done during the observance of Damodara-vrata is the worship of Sri Sri Radha-Damodara." – Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura





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Srila Prabhupada's challenge: devotee-preachers surpass yogis

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on October 25, 2010 at 8:30am



I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated January 1, 1973, and I am very glad to hear from you the wonderful news of travelling party inEngland. I think the people of that place are becoming more and more
inclined for this Krishna Consciousness movement, they are inviting you to stay at their houses, they are taking books, becoming sometimes devotees -- all of these are very encouraging signs to me. If you simply go on in this way, stopping in every village and city of England-Scotland, or if there are other places like Ireland, simply stop for some time, distribute books and hold Sankirtana procession, answer their questions, give some leaflets or small informations freely, distribute prasadam wherever possible, at least some small thing, and if there is genuine interest being shown, then request the townspeople to arrange some engagements for speaking in their schools, or in someone's home, or a hall, like that. In this way remain always without anxiety for destination and comfortable situations, always relying only on the mercy of Krishna for your plan, just go on preaching His message and selling His books, wherever there is interest. We shall not waste time if there is no interest or if the people are unfriendly, there are so many places to go. But I understand from your letter that practically
everyone is taking some interest. That means you are presenting the thing in a very nice manner, they can detect that here are some persons who are actually sincere and nice, let me hear them, let me purchase one
book. So I can understand that it is not an easy matter to travel extensively over long periods of time without proper food, rest, and sometimes it must be very cold there also, and still, because you are getting so much enjoyment, spiritual enjoyment, from it, it seems like play to you. That is advanced stage of spiritual life, never attained by even the greatest yogis and so- called jyanis. But let any man see our devotees working so hard for Krishna, then let anyone say that they are not better than any millions of so-called yogis and transcendentalists, that is my challenge! Because you are rightly understanding through your personal realization this philosophy of Krishna Consciousness, therefore in such a short time you have surpassed all the stages of yoga processes to come to the highest point of surrendering to Krishna. That I can very much appreciate, thank you very much for helping me in this way.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Prabhavisnu -- Bombay 3 January, 1973

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Krishna Often Surprises Us

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on October 23, 2010 at 8:30am


With the devotees from the San Diego temple I was distributing books at a table at Mesa College recently when a person who was apparently a rabbi came over and began looking at the pictures I had on display --
the famous picture of the man with a cow's head about to slaughter a cow with a man's head, along with a reincarnation picture and a meditation picture. As he studied the pictures I thought, "What's going to come
of this? Is he going to tell me how far I am from the truth and make a scene, or what?" He was decked out in Orthodox garb, with a yarmulke (little hat), strings hanging down the side of his body, strands of
hair on the side of his head, and black clothes -- a serious man of faith. Then he looked at me and said, "Is that the Bhagavad-gita you have on the table?"

I said, "Well, yes it is. Have you heard of it?"

"I've read some of the Mahabharata, and there is mention of it there. Are you selling it?"

"We ask a donation for it."

"I've wanted to have the book for many years. Would $20 be OK?"

"Yes, that would be fine."

Krishna surprised me.

An hour later, as I was talking to two students, a middle-aged lady walked up and began listening. When I distribute, I tell a few jokes to put the people at ease. As I made the presentation, the students laughed and found the book interesting. The lady, however, was very grave. She had a hard look -- even scary. I thought, "She definitely won't take a
book." So I handed a book to each student. But they had no money, so I gave them some free literature and they left.

Then I heard the lady say, "Would fifteen dollars be enough?"

I said, "Sure, that's fine."

She turned out to be a really nice lady and happily walked away with her Bhagavad-gita.

Surprised again.

I guess the moral is: You can't judge a book-buyer by his or her cover.

Your servant,
Vijaya das

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ISKCON's Hare Krishna Temple in Quetta, Pakistan

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on October 22, 2010 at 11:49am


(Photo : Sri Sri Radha Natha of Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan)

USA : According to CIA Report submitted to President of United States, Hinduism is the fastest growing religion in the world. Due to the hard work of various Hindu organisactions and math’s we have succeeded in popularizing Hinduism in America as well as Europe and Australia. Now in all countries we have at least 1% of that respective countries population who openly tells that they are practicing Hindu’s. In United States itself, we have 20 lakh Hindu’s.

In June , 2007, ISKCON, an organisaction founded by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, opened a Krishna Temple, called Sri Sri Radha Radha Nath Bhawan, in Pakistani city of Quetta. Quetta is the largest city as well as provincial capital of Balochistan Province of Pakistan.

On 17th. 18th and 19th of June, 2010 hundreds of Krishna devotees gathered at Quetta’s Hare Krishna Temple to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the installation of the Temple.

The three-day program included kirtan, lectures and public stage performances. Some of the main speakers were Sarvabhauma Das, who has been playing a major role in ISKCON`s activities in Pakistan for over twenty five years, and Radhika Kripa Dasi from New Delhi, who was in charge of bringing the deities from Jaipur to Quetta, and prepared the installation ceremony three years ago.
The program also provided the community with a good opportunity to glorify devotees for their outstanding service. On behalf of the ISKCON Pakistan leadership, Madan Mohan Das presented awards to Karuna Sindhu Das for his skillfully translating and printing Prabhupada`s books, to Visnu Loka Das for his wonderful kirtanist performances, and to Ram Yagya Das for his successful missionary activities all over Pakistan.
We are attaching the photographs of deities of Radha and Krishna installed at the Quetta Hare Krishna Temple.
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Iskcon to manage 2 laddu counters at Tirumala

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on October 21, 2010 at 1:00pm



TIRUMALA: Two of the laddu counters in the Laddu Prasadam Complex beside the Srivari temple on Tirumala were formally entrusted to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) today.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, with a view to streamlining the maintenance of the laddu counters which are being maintained by the TTD and banks, decided to avail the services of Iskcon and entrusted two counters to it on an experimental basis.
Only Iskcon’s volunteers will man the counters and issue laddus to devotees as per the tokens and will not be involved in any other activity. The counters were inaugurated by Iskcon Tirupati chapter president Revathi Ramana Das in the presence of TTD joint executive officer(Tirumala) K Bhaskar, CVSO MK Singh and Iskcon Tiruapti vice-president Rupesh Prabhu. Ramana Das said Iskcon devotees would voluntarily man the counters with dedication and in the firm belief that serving devotees is serving the Lord. TTD officials said they entrusted the two counters to Iskcon for better transparency in laddu sale.
The TTD also permitted Iskcon to maintain a small refreshment stall at the 7th Mile Point on the footpath to Tirumala. The food will be provided at subsidised prices to devotees.
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ISKCON Pune’s Art Competition Breaks World Record

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on October 19, 2010 at 8:49am

Image: Hemangi Oza
Radheshyam Dasa (in orange), Temple President of ISKCON Pune, stands with participants (l to r) Pranali Zamje, Nikhil Dhamnaskar, and Sangram Shelar.


An art competition organized by ISKCON Pune has found a place in GUINESS WORLD RECORDS™ by becoming the Largest Art Competition in the World.

In its Guinness World Records™ attempt for Largest art competition, the painting competition organized by ISKCON Pune on Dec 14, 2009 received record participation of 1,41,918 students that broke the earlier record of Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs of Germany by over 18976 paintings as it had 122,942 entries from the children in Germany.

The certification confirming this new record was recently received by ISKCON Pune. All the students who participated will be awarded with a certificate of participation during the coming Janmashtami celebrations at ISKCON Pune, and the participating schools will be informed about it in the due course of time.

The purpose of the competition was to encourage students to discover their hidden talents in terns of imagination and creativity through the medium of painting. It also aimed at creating awareness amongst the children about many social pressing issues such as environmental protection, cow protection, importance of friendship and appreciating and preserving nature’s beauty. Lord Krishna was the central theme of this competition.




Read more:http://news.iskcon.com/node/2869/2010-06-03/iskcon_pune_s_art_competition_breaks_world_record#ixzz0q2mDyYEv
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Sevak

Just see the effect of Srila Prabhupada's books

Posted by Pusta Gopika Devi Dasi on October 18, 2010 at 9:30am



From Srila Prabhupada:

Thank you so much for your kind appreciations. I am so much grateful that you have enjoyed studying my books. Many young intelligent persons such as yourself are studying these books in the colleges and universities all over the world. Actually anyone who tries to understand these books will become a great realized devotee of Lord Krishna gradually. The original potency of the sastra remains in these books because I have not added or opinionated anything of my own. I have simply presented the scriptures such as Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam as they are. Therefore just see the effect they have on the world.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Miss Nedungadi, Bombay 19 March, 1975
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