ISKCON Desire Tree's Posts (18146)

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Morning Chanting Magic

5
Author: 
 Karnamrita Das

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For spiritual practice, the early morning
quietness, calm, lack of fruitive action
more than quantity, time’s has a quality
like fragrant gold and pure magic
morning facilitates hearing, contemplation.

Like a blanket, darkness accentuates sound
we better hear the holy name, Hare Krishna
mind is less active, the newness of the day
at any age the morning is our excited youth
full of potential, promise, highest aspirations.

Habits are our friend or enemy—
if you create the habit of rising early
(against the world’s current, & being "cool")
it facilitates the soul, improves life’s worth
the morning sets the tone for the day.

Several hours before dawn
as the world dreams in sleep, I rise—
an ungodly hour?—NO—not for the wise:
it’s meant for waking us from ignorance
with my beads, humbly, I call out to God.

Meditative steps, as I pace back and forth
the knot of material existence loosens;
traveling around my beads with attention
I leave the cycle of birth and death behind
one bead, one mantra, one step at a time.

Our morning focus will become our life
the hours, days, months, and years add up
becoming what we focus on & hanker for
as our desires and attachments impel acts—
the holy name, a touchstone, changes us.
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I believe Srila Prabhupada really knew what he was talking about and had a close personal relationship with Krishna. I choose the bliss he has offered to anyone willing to serve and worship Lord Krishna and His devotees’ lotus feet.

I feel very low and unfit to approach Krishna on my own strength so I will make the attempt through service to His devotees. “The servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord.”

My faith in Prabhupada and Krishna is set in stone and all the devotees I have had the gift of association with since I found out about ISKCON in 1999 has given me a very good foundation to stand on. Krishna has truly blessed me with His mercy in this life. He came into my life at a time when I was searching for truth and a time I needed to find answers to my questions. He has given me a sense of family through the ISKCON devotees association; through letters and in person to person contact.

I will serve to the best of my ability with the time left to me in this body and hope to continue in the next. Jaya Prabhupada!

I have been helping some inmates here to learn about Krishna. I believe one has written to you, Mr. Van Peterson. He’s a recovering heroin addict and is only eighteen or nineteen years old. He is in my cell. I share books with him and taught him how to chant on a Catholic rosary I got from the chaplain. I have made arrangements with the chaplain for inmates here to be allowed to have japa malas for chanting rounds.

My social worker here, Elizabeth, is very interested in Krishna Consciousness and I have given her some BTGs. I plan to leave the books you sent to me with her to use in her AODA groups. She feels it will relieve the high level of stress her inmates deal with. Elizabeth asked me to give a group presentation on Krishna Consciousness and the Hare Krishna mantra before I leave here. I told her I would do it. Say a prayer for me that Prabhupada will not be disappointed with my attempt and that Krishna will give me His mercy and guidance. I feel very unfit to do this but it will be a way to spread the teachings of Krishna in the prison setting.

My goal is this: I will talk a little then explain the Hare Krishna mantra; how to say it (call and response). Then I will get the inmates from my cell to join me in a demonstration of sankirtan. Then I will make a request that everyone present rise and join in chanting and dancing the Hare Krishna mantra together.

This will be done during our community meeting part of programming. We have about twenty-five inmates in this program so it will interesting to see if I can get them all to stand and raise their hands and voices in praise to Krishna!

Wouldn’t that be something! Maybe the first actual kirtan performed in a Wisconsin prison by a large group of inmates. Wow.

I plan to be back to sending books to the Prison Ministry inmates as soon as I can. That service is important to me and I will put it ahead of other things I do once I’m out.
Hare Krishna!
Your humble servant,
Bhakta Kevin C.
Milwaukee, WI

POEM

Eternally Grateful
In the darkness of ignorance, so blind,
Longing for light, darkness no longer to bind.
Since time immemorial, wandering aimlessly along the way –
Silently searching for Krsna’s pure devotees, to hear what they have to say.
Desperate and downtrodden, crying for their company
Humbly begging for mercy, dear devotee, kindly help me to see
Submissively I pray, please impart the truth, as you have realized it within.
May you mahatmas free me from material life…
From within the heart compassionately teach me how to eradicate the sin.
Indeed I admit to being a rascal, no more than a poor fool –
Unworthy and unqualified though this fallen soul be, still here I am
Humbly begging of you…please rescue me from this material pool.
My heart is open and I have a little faith, but not much more
Hear me knocking, Haribol! Haribol! Haribol! Please open the door.
There is hope for me to gradually surrender, hearing you speak about Krsna’s fame
Yes, attentively listening to lectures, hearing the pure chanting of Krsna’s holy name.
The glorious gif of Krsna Consciousness, ever sweet and sublime, eternally grateful that you gave
For us conditioned souls to see the light, for Krsna’s pleasure we truly live.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
To all of the very dear pure devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna!
Jai! Jai!
Your Humble Servant,
Bhakta Jason M. –Columbia, SC

This article is just a small part of the bi-monthly IPM NEWS, an electronic newsletter. If you wish to receive it in your inbox, simply email me at iskconprisonministry@gmail.com with "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. Thank you!

To read more excerpts of inmate letters and to see some of their artwork, please visit our website atwww.iskconprisonministry.org

To support this prison program, please contact Mukunda Dasa or Bhakti-lata Dasi at:

ISKCON Prison Ministry
3759 McCreary's Ridge Road
NBU #46
Moundsville, WV 26041

IskconPrisonMinistry@gmail.com
www.iskconprisonministry.org

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Contributing to the Family of the Earth

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Author: 
 Karnamrita Das

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[Reposted and revised from March 3rd 2009]
What can I contribute to the family of the Earth, divided by gender, mentality, nationality, religion, or ethnic tradition?

By spiritual constitution we are all one--individuals of the same nature and family of God. By living in the material world we accept a false ego that tells us we are the material body, mind, intelligence and emotions, and that we should act for this limited self-interest. Our general conditioning is to believe we must compete with others for what we perceive as scare resources and facilities for survival and enjoyment.

At times we may feel like this: "How pitiful that although I believe in my own and everyone's spiritual identity, and have experience of myself beyond the perishable body, I am still affected by the same selfishness." Of course, it is a question of degree in how much selfishness we have, yet we are wired for survival, and have to learn the benefits of giving and then strive to increase our kindness. However, we can be confident that we are making spiritual progress by constant endeavor, focus, prayer, and practice in giving to others, though at times it is--or may seem to be--painfully slow. After so many years of spiritual practice (sadhana) we sometimes forget how we have changed. Remembering our ignorant and painful past can help us understand that our soul is gradually awakening. Regardless, today we can practice gratitude and appreciation for our blessings, and see how we can be of service. These practices are an easy and quick way to change our state of mind for the better, and by doing this, our life improves.

We can also think of the pure devotees of the spiritual world. They are our inspiration and pure example--who we want to become like--though at times, their position seems unattainable. This is material thinking of course, and though due to circumstances we may embrace it due to the lower modes of nature affecting us, we have to throw it off by taking shelter of Krishna and his pure devotees. We can remember, "This too will pass," and that we can be possibility thinkers that by Krishna's grace, all things are possible. Expectations or a vision for the future tend to be realized and set the tone for our day and our lives. I have found that by making empowering intentions as soon as I wake up in the morning and throughout the day, I am able to act in a higher capacity than if I just react to my surroundings.
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Without faith in God and aspiring for spiritual advancement we are imprisoned in the illusory world of Maya or illusion. This is the negative impetus for the practice of bhakti:

We can study how conditioned souls want to be excited by what is actually the tasteless, boring world of no substance in comparison to the blissful life of the soul. Due to the fact that the material world is a reflection of the spiritual world, there are hints here of happiness and promises of fulfillment. However, this is something like a post dated check in a closed account. There is no possibility of realizing the money, though the promise of the future money drives us onward. Material happiness and fulfillment seem to be right around the corner, over the next mountain, just up ahead. We think we need to just keep moving toward our goal.

This promise is just like the proverbial carrot before donkey--always within reach, though never really achieved. And there is no unadulterated material happiness or peace. It is like sweet rice (kheer) mixed with sand. There is some sweetness, but it is spoiled and temporary.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, we look to movies and T.V. for the life we would rather live--a life with everything we don't have now. We would rather watch someone else's exciting life, then live our often humdrum existence--or heaven forbid, to make an endeavor to change our paradigm. Even if we seem to be successful in the short term in finding happiness, we still have to die, and begin anew, forgetful of our past, yet still trying another life with slightly different circumstances to find fulfillment. This is the soul's eternal search for its home life of spirit channeled through the temporary fleshy body. Like a fish out of water, our soul is out of its natural spiritual element.
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The positive and realistic spiritual impetus for bhakti:

When we are working to truly satisfy Krishna--and we succeed even partially--all our needs will be fulfilled. We remember that Krishna is our maintainer and protector. As a young devotee under Shrila Prabhupada's desire and physically inspiring presence we served together, out of love, or duty, or some combination of material and spiritual necessities. Most of us were unable to maintain that standard of "do the needful" for the mission, and we were thus forced to follow our need for fulfilling what I call our personal "karmic mission," with the hope and prayer to connect that to the service of Lord Chaitanya, the avatar for this age.

Presently, most of Prabhupada's disciples (the deputed first generation pioneers of bhakti in the modern world) are in their late 50's and 60's with grown up children, and some are again trying to revive their previous mood of surrendered service--this time with the maturity that comes from living and working in the world and trying to see Krishna in all circumstances. Our "preaching" is now the outgrowth of our experience. One's shared experience is a powerful testimonial for the effectiveness of our Krishna consciousness process. For many of us, it is our hope and prayer that we can inspire others to come to Krishna and stay the course of a lifetime of devotional activities, and take up the goal of Krishna prema, or pure love for Krishna.

If we are successful in using our time for Krishna's service, that is a manifestation of mercy. Practice and prayer makes perfect. We want to keep on keeping on with determination, and give this one life to Krishna--in old or young age, or wherever we begin our journey. Our life in this body is very short, but long enough to make significant spiritual progress if we are determined and humble. At the same time we have to be patient. Krishna will help us more than we can imagine. If we are helping others become Krishna conscious as well, we become very dear to Krishna.

The world will change one person at a time, and we leave the bigger picture to God. Every person who truly becomes spiritually advanced, or Krishna conscious, displays naturally increasing good qualities. This helps the world be a better place by the devotees practice of kindness, thoughtfulness, compassion, and sharing spiritual and practical wisdom, as appropriate. We can't save others if we loose ourselves in the process, so charity begins at home with each one of us. This is why our personal spiritual practices (sadhana) are so important. They also include introspection to discover both our skills and shortcomings. We endeavor to be the best person we can in relationship to other living beings and just our normal interaction with the world. By our positive outlook and honest self-assessment we see and retire our remaining bad habits of thinking and acting. God helps those who help themselves and pray like anything! This is the basic spiritual practice of bhakti: to accept what is favorable for bhakti and to let go of what isn't. We teach by example and who we have become, not just by our words.

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Dallas Morning News,

Each two weeks we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.

So many people are running for president this year that it’s hard to get your voice heard unless you do something outrageous. Donald Trump got the party started by suggesting that the U.S. deport every unauthorized immigrant, then let the “good ones” back.
Republican Ben Carson amped up the insanity with his comment that a Muslim shouldn’t be president, and he reportedly raised more than $500,000 after making that remark. Carson has since backtracked, saying that he could support a Muslim if he or she would swear to uphold the Constitution over Shariah law. (Carson, by the way, is a Seventh Day Adventist, a denomination that has faced criticism from people who believe it’s a cult.)
How important to you is the religion of a presidential candidate?
The Constitution states that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any government office. Are you more likely to vote for someone who is the same religion or denomination as you? Or is a presidential candidate’s faith a secondary issue or no issue at all to you?


NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas 

Religious affiliation is unimportant in relation to how spiritually enlightened an individual may be. A highly spiritually enlightened individual may be found in any bona fide tradition, whereas a spiritual ignoramus may be found steeped in religious belief and ritual. However, religion and metaphysics should not be outside of the political dialogue. One’s metaphysical outlook informs and drives one’s decisions. For example, President George W. Bush stated after being out of office, that his campaign in the Middle East was motivated by his religious convictions. He even used the word crusade.


By nature, if a politician must not speak about his religious beliefs then he/she must be in that sense, dishonest rather than giving a full view of his political outlook.

To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.

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[Republished from 09-09-09] 
I thought of this blog while offering mangal arotik (early morning public worship ceremony) at the Temple this morning which I do twice a week. During the years I lived in Temples I was mainly a pujari (priest who looks after the Temple Deities or forms of God) and cook. After so many years, I am quite comfortable in this arena and love the beauty of the altar, the Deities and their opulent paraphernalia, and of course the many services like bathing and dressing them. I also don't mind being in front of people, which pujaris often are, as in doing arotik and other public ceremonies like bathing of the Deities or abhishek. Whatever service I do, I try to do it on behalf of the devotees, praying for ever increasing devotion. I feel the years I spent in what was a very focused and intense service has given me much of my spiritual foundation, and "staying power" as a devotee.

At the same time there were things about it that were very challenging. For instance, trying to recruit devotees to assist with the worship could be time consuming, and discouraging, since few wanted to help, being busy with other services. This meant I often had an over-abundance of service which ideally would have been shared by many devotees. Fortunately I didn't become resentful or blame anyone, though it was a path to "burn out" as very few can major in "emergency devotional service". And being on the altar, one often hears the chanting of devotees "japa"--both new and older devotees--perhaps more then they do! All kinds of strange holy names or pronunciation could be heard, and also devotees "nodding out," or falling asleep. This could be an opportunity to criticize devotees, or think badly of them. Realistically, this is always a challenge we may face among any group of people.

When we begin anything new, or in the first stage of a relationship with someone, there is often a "honeymoon" stage when we are carried along by the newness, and our beginning tendency to project our ideal, and overlook the faults or shortcomings. If Krishna hadn't created this energy of "newness" we would likely never try anything new, or have loving relationships with others. From this angle of vision, the "honeymoon" energy is a good thing, though it doesn't last.

Yet to continue a relationship to a person or a path, we have to be able to make the transition when we are not just carried along by material emotion based on a kind of illusion, but rather choose to continue out of duty and deeper realization. This is where the concept of "Love is a choice" comes from, which is spoken about in many books. This means we choose to be loving even when we might not feel the intensity of love as we might have before. When we are infatuated with a person, i.e., "fallen in love", the logical and fear parts of the brain shut down. This explains why people may do crazy things or take incredible risks for "love". Any reason we come to Krishna is a good reason, but eventually, we have to understand our path, and the standard of pure, materially unmotivated devotion.

To persevere on the path of devotion requires continual study of the scriptures and realization of their meaning through years of selfless service and prayer. It can be easy to think we're much more advanced then we actually are. The material ego wants to feel inflated and special, and this is much easier to do when we are alone. When we are around other devotees, however, we may become aware of our tendency to criticize, and put others down. We may see some devotee who we don't like (i.e. their conditioning) and notice all their shortcomings. Hopefully we can reflect on what this means.

Our challenge is to be able to step back and look at our own conditioning--our reaction to them says more about us than them. Is our critical attitude really the symptom of a devotee? Are we like the fly looking for sores, or the bee looking for the nectar? Are we really that advanced? Even if we may be relatively more advanced--at least superficially, or externally since it is quite difficult to know someone's heart--we can remember Krishna's eternal associates, which puts our position into perspective. And if we were spiritually advanced, we wouldn't be focused on seeing another's deficiencies.

Our not liking someone or putting them down, means we think we are better then they are, and keeps them out of our heart. They are an "other" or a thing--like not part of Krishna, or our concern. Where is our compassion, and kindness to help others--which is really the symptom of spiritual advancement? We may not be able to associate or be friends with some people or devotees, yet at least we want to wish them well and have no animosity toward them. If we see their struggles and shortcomings, let us pray for their spiritual advancement, instead of condemning them, knowing that we may have the same problems at least to some degree.
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Being a devotee and having accepting a guru, means on the one hand realizing our ineligibility to be a devotee and practice Krishna consciousness, and on the other, that by the grace of our guru and Krishna, we can do anything! Real humility is a long development. We have to begin where we are, so false humility may be our start. False humility means when we are think we are our body and doubt our abilities, feeling inept, depressed and withdrawn from life and others. Or after a short time of being a devotee, we may think we are more advanced then many others, making a planned public display of humility. However, real humility comes from realization of Krishna's greatness, and is an impetus for service, where we are joyful, not depressed or inactive, or proud!

Basically we have to always remember that we are "mercy cases" absolutely dependent on the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and Nityananda, and their mercy agents, our gurus and the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. We are unqualified, but very blessed. So this implies that we have to be absorbed in gratitude at our good fortune in coming to Krishna and being allowed to be on the path of devotion. We can meditate daily on what we are grateful for, as in the holy name, scriptures, good association, health, opportunities, relationships, etc.

Actually, whatever our situation is, even in difficulty or reverses, we have to see these as Krishna's mercy to help us take shelter of him. That is all we have actually, our dependence on him, and love for him. Materialistic people think they are dependent on so many material things, or facilities of their mind, body, relationships, or possessions. They don't realize that Krishna is the source of everything, and worldly things can be taken away at any moment. Then what is left for us?

For devotees of Krishna, we pray to always feel exclusively dependent on the mercy of the Lord. This will carry us to Krishna, or to more and more love and service for him, life after life, into eternity. We are mercy cases, not the greatest or the least. We are insignificant souls, who by mercy are gradually becoming happy to serve Krishna and the devotees, to hear and chant about him, and in making gradual spiritual progress toward the love of our life, Shri Krishna. This is our life's aspiration.
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October 20. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Robert Nelson (one of Prabhupada’s first young sympathizers in New York): I went to one of Dr. Mishra’s services and Dr. Mishra talked. Swamiji was sitting on a bench and then all of a sudden Dr. Mishra stopped the service and he gets a big smile and says, ‘Swamiji will sing us a song.’ I think Dr. Mishra wouldn’t let him speak. Somebody told me Dr. Mishra didn’t want him to preach. Years later Srila Prabhupada remembered the situation of the early days of 1965 in a conversation with his disciples. I used to sit in the back and listen to his meetings silently. He was speaking all impersonal nonsense and I kept my silence. Then one day he asked if I would like to speak and I spoke about Krishna consciousness. I challenged that he was speaking manufactured philosophy and all nonsense from Sankaracarya. He tried to back out and said he was not speaking, Sankaracarya was speaking. I said, ‘You are representing him. That is the same thing.’ He then said to me, ‘Swamiji, I like you very much, but you cannot speak here.’ But although our philosophies differed and he would not let me preach, he was kind and I was nice to him. Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#20

October 20. ISKCON 50 – Srila Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Robert Nelson (one of Prabhupada’s first young sympathizers in New York): I went to one of Dr. Mishra’s services and Dr. Mishra talked. Swamiji was sitting on a bench and then all of a sudden Dr. Mishra stopped the service and he gets a big smile and says, ‘Swamiji will sing us a song.’ I think Dr. Mishra wouldn’t let him speak. Somebody told me Dr. Mishra didn’t want him to preach. Years later Srila Prabhupada remembered the situation of the early days of 1965 in a conversation with his disciples. I used to sit in the back and listen to his meetings silently. He was speaking all impersonal nonsense and I kept my silence. Then one day he asked if I would like to speak and I spoke about Krishna consciousness. I challenged that he was speaking manufactured philosophy and all nonsense from Sankaracarya. He tried to back out and said he was not speaking, Sankaracarya was speaking. I said, ‘You are representing him. That is the same thing.’ He then said to me, ‘Swamiji, I like you very much, but you cannot speak here.’ But although our philosophies differed and he would not let me preach, he was kind and I was nice to him.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#20

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By Padmapani das

Chrissie Hynde, lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist of the legendary rock group The Pretenders, has just published her memoir entitled “Reckless: My Life as a Pretender.” In her book, Ms. Hynde writes candidly about her “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” lifestyle. Despite so much excess in her youth, Chrissie Hynde has gone from reckless to Krishna conscious. While describing her rebellious teenage years growing up in suburban Akron, Ohio, she states the following:

“Even posters were a new thing, formerly the domain of Hollywood, show business and the circus. Now, any bedroom could be transformed into a hippie palace with a few posters, lava lamps and a radio. Black light optional. When we weren’t out watching local bands, of which there were at least a few in every city in America, we congregated in hippie pads, dorm rooms or biker hangouts, surrounded by antiwar slogans, ‘Hallelujah the Pill!’ freelance posters and psychedelic multi-band concert announcements from places like Fillmore West and the Avalon Ballroom. Posters that promised spiritual healing, poetry and rock music:

KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS COMES WEST
SWAMI BHAKTIVEDANTA * ALLEN GINSBERG
THE GRATEFUL DEAD * MOBY GRAPE
BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY
MANTRA * ROCK DANCE
SUNDAY JAN. 29 AVALON BALLROOM 8 PM”

After describing a hard-fought climb to the pinnacle of success in the male-dominated world of rock ‘n’ roll superstardom, Chrissie Hynde reflects thoughtfully in the final pages of her epilogue:

“I think it’s easy to see that the moral of my story is that drugs, including tobacco and alcohol, only cause suffering … Philosophically, I’ve kept an ongoing relationship with the Bhagavad Gita, the glory I bask in, always finding answers for everything and solace.”

This is not the first time Ms. Hynde has extolled the virtues and glories of the Gita. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper on September 14, 2014, she commented:

“My favourite book is the Bhagavad Gita. It’s a 700-verse Hindu scripture and I love the verse that says your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You can either pull yourself down or lift yourself up.”

In December of the same year, the travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, asked Hynde what she packs first when going on a trip or vacation. She replied:

“A copy of the Bhagavad Gita, which is considered the jewel in the crown of Ayurvedic literature. It’s just a good book to have on hand; you can read a passage of it every morning and it’s quite illuminating. It’s something I’d never like to leave home without — well, that and my American Express card.”

And closer to home, Ms. Hynde has written a preface to Ranchor Prime’s book, “Cows and the Earth: A Story of Kinder Dairy Farming,” promoting cruelty-free farming. She also helped to launch the book by making an appearance with Ranchor in London along with two of Bhaktivedanta Manor’s oxen, Sukadeva and Sahadeva.

If that isn’t enough, Chrissie Hynde is famous for her animal activisim around the globe. She has attended and led demonstrations against animal cruelty on a number of continents and has even been arrested more than once for her fearless protests against meat-eating, slaughterhouses, Indian leather products and other forms of animal abuse.

Chrissie Hynde is no shrinking violet and no stranger to controversy, but she always speaks her truth with boldness and conviction. Ms. Hynde is a force to be reckoned with, and a modern day spiritual hero.

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CHASTITY – WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY MEAN?

On the 26th of July we welcomed 40 ladies in Kharkov/Ukraine, who had traveled all the way from Moscow, Minsk, Moldova, Crimea and various corners of Ukraine to participate in the two-week course for ladies entitled “Exploring the Roots of Spiritual Culture”. As every year we had arranged for their accomodation in a nearby hostel of a ladies’ college. Our youngest participant was ten years of age and the oldest mid fifty, and everyone was excited to embark on this transformational journey. Each and every participant received a colorful folder with printed materials and articles. We had a tight schedule with a three hours’ session in the mornings, and another 2 hours in the afternoon. Every morning we began the lessons with a role play demonstrating the topics of the previous day’s discussions. Whenever ten-year old Manjari took part, the role plays were especially heart moving and sweet.

One of the many captivating topics was chastity – what exactly does it mean? These days we often have a very shallow and superficial understanding of this most important quality, and since women in materialistic culture don’t aspire for it at all, the term is therefore almost lost and forgotten today. I distinctly remember how I was preaching at a Sunday program many years ago in Sydney, Australia, and I mentioned this term ‘chastity’ to some newcomers. One of the ladies exclaimed with a thousand question marks written all over her face: “Chastity? What’s THAT??” Also in the German language the term chastity (Keuschheit) sounds like something from the Middle Ages.

 
The two main tools for a woman to cultivate chastity are tolerance and shyness. Unless a woman is tolerant, she will demand, complain, answer back, get disturbed at the slightest provocation and inconvenience, and can easily leave her husband and walk out. Tolerance is a most important quality within spiritual practice. It is the main criterion in order to measure a devotee’s advancement and spiritual strength. Tolerance indicates that the false ego is subdued and reduced. Prahlada Maharaja and Haridas Thakur are always famous examples for the topmost level of tolerance. Also Devahuti serves as a wonderful example of a wife following her husband in utter tolerance and submission. And she received such outstanding rewards— great opulences in the flying mansion which Kardama Muni created, and finally giving birth to the Supreme Lord Himself! What more would a woman desire?! She received those wonderful benedictions by paying the price of serving her husband in tolerance and submission. The main tools for cultivating tolerance however are humility and firm faith in Krsna. Unless these two elements are there, it will be impossible for a person to be tolerant.

Of course, in material life tolerance is not given any credit at all, in fact, it is seen as weakness. Very often we hear people say: “I’m not going to tolerate this. Who do you think I am….!?” and “How long should I tolerate this nonsense?!” It is considered to be a sign of strength and victory not to tolerate. However, within spiritual life the values are the diametric opposite. To perform tapasya is of greatest importance for spiritual progress–not only for men, but also for ladies. There are many purports where Srila Prabhupada describes the purifying effects of tapasya. All great personalities such as Dhruva Maharaja, Lord Brahma, the Pracetas received great mercy and empowerment by performing tapasya. For a woman, the field of tapasya is within marriage and family life. This is her ksetra to engage in tapasya and cultivate tolerance, and if she does so she will become spiritually strong and very powerful.

The quality of shyness is also commonly misunderstood in a rather shallow and superficial way. We often confuse shyness with mentalness and being on the bodily platform. As a rule when a woman is “too shy” to say anything, it is rather her being too self-conscious and on the mental platform, fearing to make a fool out of herself. But this actually is not shyness.

In the purport to SB.1.9.27. Srila Prabhupada very nicely describes the quality of shyness as follows: “As far as women class are concerned, they are accepted as a power of inspiration for men. As such, women are more powerful than men. Mighty Julius Caesar was controlled by a Cleopatra. Such powerful women are controlled by shyness. Therefore, shyness is important for women. Once this control valve is loosened women can create havoc in society by adultery….”

The analogy of shyness being a control valve is simply excellent. And this control valve is meant to keep the powerful feminine energy within and stop it from bursting out into the world. Shyness means to resist the temptation of enjoying the effects of one’s powerful feminine energy–even on the most subtle levels. It means a woman resists the temptation to show off. This is shyness. And as Srila Prabhupada describes, once this control valve is loosened, women can create havoc in human society. This is what is going on in these modern days. Any woman can bewilder any man if she tries hard enough–such is the power of the feminine energy. Therefore it has to be controlled through shyness. Today women as a rule have lost this quality, and shyness is rarely to be found – even within ISKCON.

In SB.1.10.16 Srila Prabhupada gives another detailed elaboration on the quality of shyness: “Out of loving desire to see the Lord, the royal ladies of the Kurus got up on the top of the palace, and smiling with affection and shyness, they showered flowers upon the Lord.” Purport: “Shyness is a particular extra natural beauty of the fair sex, and it commands respect from the opposite sex….This incident from the Mahabharata period proves definitely that the ladies of the palace observed strict parda (restricted association with men), and instead of coming down in the open air where Lord Krsna and others were assembled, the ladies of the palace went up on the top of the palace and from there paid their respects to Lord Krsna by showers of flowers. It is definitely stated here that the ladies were smiling there on the top of the palace, checked by shyness. This shyness is a gift of nature to the fair sex and it enhances their beauty and prestige, even if they are of a less important family or even if they are less attractive. We have practical experience of this fact. A sweeper woman commanded the respect of many respected gentlemen simply by manifesting a lady’s shyness. Half-naked ladies in the street do not command any respect, but a shy sweeper’s wife commands respect from all…Shyness is a check to the unrestricted mixing. It is nature’s gift and it must be utilized.”

As we know, men become very powerful when they resist the temptation to enjoy the effects of their powerful energy of procreation on a gross level. If they keep their semen within, they become very effulgent, with sharp memory and intelligence, good health and vitality. Every serious sportsman knows the glories of celibacy. A similar principle is there for ladies–on a more subtle level. If she keeps her powerful energy within, she can use it on higher levels and thus becomes spiritually very powerful and extraordinarily attractive — indeed even fascinating. But when this feminine energy is wasted for sexual attraction and sense enjoyment, even in a more subtle way such as showing off her beautiful body, the control valve is loosened, which then can create disturbances, and ultimately she becomes contaminated and spiritually weak. However, when this powerful feminine energy is kept within through the control valve of shyness, a woman can use it on higher levels for spiritual practice, poetry, arts and music, and she will bring about good fortune, fame, wealth and all auspiciousness. She will become the auspicious source of energy to men–a minute representation of Laxmi Devi, the Goddess of Fortune. And she will manifest a forever fascinating womanhood for her husband.

These deep secrets to the extraordinary strength and beauty of a woman are unfortunately lost and forgotten today–even amongst us ISKCON devotees. Once we understand more deeply the importance of shyness, it becomes very clear that a truly chaste woman would for example never even want to be in the front of a harinam parade, showing off her feminine beauty. Such practices, even for preaching purposes, bring about a subtle change to a woman’s consciousness by increasing the bodily identification, and thus contaminate her. Therefore ISKCON leaders of some yatras have passed a national resolution that the ladies are not meant to be in the front of the harinam procession but should go behind the men, protected by a couple of grhastha men who walk right in the back behind them.

The same principle is upheld when a woman covers her head. It has a subtle yet very powerful and transformational effect on her consciousness. It helps her to cultivate shyness, humility and submissiveness–qualities which are so important for a woman in order to happily progress in Krsna consciousness. Interestingly enough, in all spiritual cultures we find that women should cover their head. In Ukraine a woman cannot even enter a Russian Orthodox Church unless she covers her head with something–at least a little hankerchief. These days, we are deeply influenced and conditioned by materialistic propaganda around us, which measures a woman’s success by how sensually attractive her body is. This conditioning takes very subtle forms and easily creeps into our spiritual practice. Only when I started to preach in Bangladesh could I understand what Canakya Pandit means when he says that the beauty of a woman is in her chastity. Still today the Bangladeshi ladies have this quality of chastity deeply ingrained in their hearts. It keeps the atmosphere within society very pure, and makes the ladies almost a different species of women–with extraordinary beauty and spiritual strength.

In our closing ceremony the course participants shared heartwarming realizations which moved many of us to tears. I had requested everyone to bring a wrapped up little gift which I then re-distributed, so we all offered a gift and received one as well…..

For further information please visit www.therootsofspiritualculture.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Three Basic Views of the World

October 16, 2015

radhanath SwamiThere are three basic views of the world we live in. One is the very materialistic view wherein people see this world as the only real reality. Another is that world is an entirely an illusion, and the third is the best of view, that the world is the scared property of God. It is real but it is temporary in its manifestations.

Now the conception that the world is the only true reality leaves one with the consciousness that it really doesn’t matter what we do as long as we get what we want. If we hurt people, if we trample on moral values, ethical principles, if we get money, fame, power, sensual and emotional pleasures, its all justified because as that saying goes, “eat drink and be merry because tomorrow may never come”. When we believe that this world is the only reality then even our so called moral principles are built on a very weak foundation because when temptation and fear come, why not break our moral and ethical values if I can get something better. Then we become victimized by greed, envy, lust, anger, arrogance and illusion. We see it so prevalent in the world today. This conception that if it feels good now it doesn’t really matter what else. What matters is me. So much is based upon what makes me happy, what can I acquire what I can call “mine”. In other words, its a world that is so much conquered by this tendency of selfishness and egoism, and so much of that is born from the conception that the world is the only reality.

Another conception is that the whole world is nothing but an illusion. It doesn’t actually even exist. The truth is real but the whole world is an illusion. For those who are thinking like this it is a good impetus for liberation after death because if the world is an illusion it doesn’t matter if we live or die, what matters is that somehow or other we get out of it as soon as possible. Now the environmental and ecological conditions of the world today is extremely precarious. This philosophy that this world is an illusion, if we see all these environmental issues happening, who cares. It doesn’t exist. Let everyone pollute the rivers and air because this world is an illusion. Our impetus is to just get out of this crazy contaminated condemned world and what we really leave behind doesn’t really matter because this world is an illusion. Where is the call for action within the world we live. The call of action is only to get out.

But then we have the Vaisnava philosopy of Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,VallabhacaryaRamanujacaryaMadhvacharya, all these great souls taught. They taught om purnam adah purnam idamaccording to Sri Isopanisad. The Absolute Truth is the source of everything that exists. It is perfect and compete and everything eminating from the Absolute Truth is all perfect and complete. The material world and the spiritual world – everything is coming from Krishna. Sarvaloka mahesvaram, Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita, this whole world is God’s property. If we see it in this way we are free from that greed, envy, lust and anger because we understand I am not the proprietor, I am the caretaker. If we see someone else doing well we celebrate their good fortune because we understand we are all brothers and sisters, we are all spirit souls, children of God. We are not envious. Exploitation is the symptom of the disease of the selfish egoistic heart. Compassion is the symptom of a person who has actually found inner fulfillment within their hearts.

So this is so important for the world to understand today – that we must build our lives and relationships with other living beings, humans and other species of life, with Mother Earth and the environment on the principle that everything is sacred.

Maya means the energy of God and maya is categorized in two ways: mahamaya and yogamaya. It’s the same energy. This whole material world is God’s energy. All the manifestations within this energy are under the influence of time and therefore are temporary and under the three modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. The spiritual energy is sat-cit-ananda, eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. But what is the difference between these energies? It really is under the basis of our perception. If we see this world as God’s energy, as Krishna’s property then we are seeing it in its true spiritual nature. But if we don’t see it in relationship to God then we see it as” this is mine, this is yours”. This results in so much conflict. But true religion is meant to unite people not divide people. These religions are all manifestations of God’s grace on humanity to come to this earth to give us an understanding how we are all children of God. Wherever there is life there is a sacred child of God. Everything is the property of God and we are meant to be a family to utilize it properly.

This conception understands that everything in this world is meant to be used for the purpose of seva, or unselfish service. It is our sacred duty to God to honor and respect everything in this world as his sacred property and to use it in a spirit of service. If you own a business, own a house, have a family, have wealth, property, it’s all the property of God and used in harmony with God’s will which is to keep it all very very pure as far as possible. So in order to engineer a better world it has to begin by engineering a proper preceptive and realization of the world. Engineering our own inner consciousness to the degree we actually understand the beauty and the love and the greatness of Krishna, to that degree we will actually love Krishna and we will see everything in this world as a beautiful opportunity to serve Krishna and to elevate people’s lives and consciousness. – Radhanath Swami

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Relationships ARE complicated

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One of the qualities of a devotee is kṣamā which means forgiveness.  In this world, every relationship must begin with that because, after all, nobody is pure. If we were all perfectly pure then we would have no faults but because we do, there must be a spirit of forgiveness in relationships.

So we say, “Okay, you have to some faults and I will simply accept it. We should simply try to work them out together and I am not going to attack you for the faults or condemn you. If they are not major then we are not even going to mention them. But if they are major then maybe they need to be brought up.”

The willingness to accept people with their limitations, is the beginning of relationships but it is most difficult to do. It is very easy to fully accept a pure devotee but to accept someone’s false ego, someone’s weaknesses, is difficult!

Then, I think that another element is that we have to be a servant. A devotee is a servant. So, in a relationship, you should take the attitude of a servant instead of a master because if you are both the master in the relationship then you have a competition as to who is going dominate. Then there will be constant competition in the relationship; a constant tug-of-war. That is the attitude of the master.

The attitude of the servant is, “How can I do something for others?” And if that is the spirit within the community then it becomes a very nice community and even in a one-on-one relationship this works. But being a servant is something difficult and requires a certain amount of humility. It is not part of the modern culture. In modern culture, humility is seen as a weakness and you have to be assertive and have self-esteem.

Personally, we are not very qualified but we have received a great gift and therefore we have something valuable. So, one can have self-esteem and be humble. Devotee relationships require that. Yet in so many relationships, there is pride and you get the battle of the egos. Marriages are like that and at work too. Some bosses are unnecessarily bossy.

Relationships are so complicated. I do not think that devotees can just solve it overnight and get practical knowledge. This is the theory and the practical part is a work-in-progress. If you can commit to some of these common standards which I have mentioned, then things might improve.

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By Govinda Dasi

Shortly after Prabhupada sent Gaurasundar and me to Hawaii in 1969, I had to go out and get a job so we could open a temple. After many interviews I landed a prestigious and well paying job as an executive secretary. I really focused on this job, working for the vice president of the firm and at the same time getting up at 4:30 a.m. and chanting all my rounds. We had been in Hawaii less than two months and now on the job for a week and a half when I received a telegram from Prabhupada. It stated that he would arrive in Hawaii in a few days. My first thought was that I had to quit my job. There was no one to take care of him. I had just been with him for over a year, cooking, doing the housework, being his secretary and what not, and now I had to drop my job and go back to the role that I had before, and one that I never wanted to leave. However, I was very upset because I felt that he was coming too soon. Being on the job for such a short time, all we had were two wretched aluminum pots. I was accustomed to giving Prabhupada the best of Alta Dena milk, the nicest of everything. We had nothing.
When we picked Prabhupada up at the airport in our funky old orange Ford truck, I would not speak to him. Gaurasundar was driving and Srila Prabhupada was in the middle. I was livid. Hard to believe, I know. I was so upset. I thought, “How could he do this?” I wasn’t ready. I was polite but not particularly welcoming. My mood was I wasn’t ready and his arrival was premature. And Prabhupada knew because he always read my mind. This was a mystic opulence of Srila Prabhupada’s.


Once he wrote me a letter from India, “I know your mind.” He told me that because the spiritual master is with Krishna at all times, Krishna is in the heart of all living entities and according to what Krishna wants him to know, he can keep up with his disciples in that way. He said that if you think of him, he will think of you. In other words, he can’t be limited. He can’t be limited like an ordinary person. If the yogis had siddhis (mystic opulences), what to speak of a mahabhagavata like Srila Prabhupada.


After about a day and a half everything clicked back to our usual schedule. Prabhupada would get up in the early morning and translate. I would fix the breakfast and then he would go for his walk at the beach park. Even though I was upset, life went on and his schedule never missed a beat. It was also our custom that in the evening Gaurasundar and I would sit and chant japa in front of the deities. One particular evening I was sitting right by the altar with Prabhupada’s Radha-Krishna deities and Prabhupada was way in the back corner of the fairly large room. I knew my consciousness was still not quite right and Prabhupada knew it too. As I was sitting there chanting japa and looking at his deities, all of a sudden a huge wave of realization came over me, a feeling of bhakti, of love, of wanting to serve, of divine love. It just washed over me and flooded my consciousness. With tears pouring down my face I realized I had lost the essence of bhakti. Although I was chanting all the rounds and following all the principles, I had lost the feeling. You can be doing the external stuff and lose the connection. I then realized it was because I had started thinking I was the doer. I was starting to think, “You’ve got to work hard to succeed in this world.” I felt I am the doer and this is a philosophy that’s promulgated throughout our society: it’s all about you, and you’ve got to do it. This had actually poisoned my consciousness. Krishna had left my consciousness without my even knowing it. And all of these realizations were flooding my mind and my heart, and all of a sudden I realized also this is why Srila Prabhupada came to Hawaii. He was fishing me out again. Because he could see from Los Angeles, where he was, he could see what was happening so he came to save me.


In the meantime, Prabhupada is way in the back of the room behind me and of course he can’t see my face. I slowly turned my head around to look at him and he was looking at me very intensely. He didn’t say a word but he just nodded his head as if he had read my mind and was confirming my realizations. That’s all. Not a word was ever spoken. That’s a divine transmission. That’s what an acharya can do. He can enter into your mind and your heart and completely rewire you. That’s the most incredibly mystic experience I ever had with Srila Prabhupada.

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Photos from the GBC Plenary (Album with photos) Photographs of the first day of the GBC meetings on Organizational Development matters. To ensure that as ISKCON grows, its organizational systems and process remain relevant to a growing ISKCON, the Organizational Development Committee (or Org Devt) was established. While remaining loyal to Srila Prabhupada’s directions, Org Dev was tasked to study any necessary structural developments and enhancements in order to meet the needs of our expanding movement. Find them here: https://goo.gl/AuVQDa

Photos from the GBC Plenary (Album with photos)
Photographs of the first day of the GBC meetings on Organizational Development matters.
To ensure that as ISKCON grows, its organizational systems and process remain relevant to a growing ISKCON, the Organizational Development Committee (or Org Devt) was established. While remaining loyal to Srila Prabhupada’s directions, Org Dev was tasked to study any necessary structural developments and enhancements in order to meet the needs of our expanding movement.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/AuVQDa

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A recent paper entitled “Life and Consciousness – The Vedāntic View” has been published in the Journal Communicative & Integrative Biology
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Life and Consciousness – The Vedāntic View 
(DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2015.1085138)
Journal: Communicative & Integrative Biology (Read Paper as: HTML || PDF
Publication date – 09 Oct 2015 (Online) 
Author:  Bhakti Niskama Shanta (ORCID-0000-0002-2039-3249)
Summary (Bhakti Niskama Shanta (2015) Life and consciousness – The Vedāntic view,Communicative & Integrative Biology, 8:5, e1085138; DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2015.1085138):
This paper serves as a critique to the ontological view of the organism as a complex machine. In the seventeenth century, the French philosopher René Descartes claimed that only the human body has a soul, and all other organisms are mere automatons made of meat and bones. Influenced by such a line of thought, most of the scientists were also thinking that only humans are conscious and all other creatures are not. Based on empirical evidence, our published paper presents a case for ubiquity of consciousness in all living organisms. Not only the unicellular organisms (say, bacteria) display cognitive behavior, but that even individual cells in the multicellular organisms exhibit individual cognitive behavior. The scientific confirmation of the existence of consciousness in unicellular organisms and plants certainly establishes that the brain is not the source of consciousness. In modern science, it is generally assumed that matter existed before the universe came to be. However, the dominant materialistic or reductionistic view in modern science cannot explain how matter acquired cognitive features like thinking, feeling and willing. A reductionistic analysis is just a pretension to study life, but in actuality it only deals with the study of dead matter, which is devoid of consciousness. In our paper we termed such types of studies in science as abiology, because a study devoid of cognitive analysis of reality is not a biology proper. On the other hand, the Vedāntic view states that the origin of everything material and non material is sentient and absolute (unconditioned). Thus, sentient life is primitive and reproductive of itself – omne vivum ex vivo – life comes from life. This is the scientifically verified law of experience. Life is essentially cognitive and conscious. And, consciousness, which is fundamental, manifests itself in the gradational forms of all sentient and insentient nature.
Even though in both artifacts (machines) and living organisms, the ends are determined by purpose (a cognitive act), the difference is that in the case of artifacts, the purpose (designer) is outside the system (external teleology), and in the case of a living organism, the purpose is within (internal teleology). Following a linear logic in the case of artifacts, parts are produced and combined into a whole by the designer. On the other hand, following a circular logic, the body of the living organism appears from another living organism by a developmental process (cell division) and not by the linear accumulation of parts – design. Therefore, proposals like “artificial life”, “artificial intelligence”, “sentient machines” and so on are only fairytales because no designer can produce an artifact with the properties like internal teleology (Naturzweck) and formative force (bildende Kraft). In other words, a machine will never do things for its own internal purpose and it cannot build itself. Although the attempt towards mechanization of nature served as an important driving force behind the scientific revolution, it also unfortunately created an image of a clockwork universe set in motion by an intelligent first cause. Such machine analogy is also applied to living organisms. However, the view that a supernatural being, God, is external to living organisms and that He imposes form on matter from the outside (intelligent design) is also reductionistic, and shows a logical fallacy. The logic of extrinsically purposive systems (machines) cannot be applied to intrinsically purposive systems (living organisms). The Vedāntic view offers a scientific alternative (The invocation of Śrī Īśopaniṣad provides the concept of ‘Organic Wholism’: oḿ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaḿ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate): “‘Organic Wholes’ produces ‘organic wholes’ and an ‘organic whole’ cannot arise from parts that have to be mechanically assembled. The process of externally assembling parts can only produce inorganic, mechanical machines or chemical processes, not living organisms.” Empirical evidence shows that every living cell comes from a living cell and there is no single evidence that shows a case where a living cell appears from the external assembly/accumulation of biomolecules. According to Vedānta: “janmādy asya yataḥ” – the origin of everything is “abhijñaḥ svarāṭ” – the unitary Supreme Cognizant Being. Twenty first century biology teaches us that we should not inflict our ideas on nature; let nature reveal herself to us.
The rapid progress in molecular and cellular biology is becoming more and more incompatible to Darwinian line of thinking and thus offering challenges from various angles to refute the core of Darwinism. In Darwinism, organisms are often assumed as optimally designed machines blindly engineered by natural selection. However, the cognitive view of life in 21st Century offers a significant challenge to this blind presumption. Living organisms exhibit many overtly noticeable goal-oriented or teleological activities (self-determination, self-formation, self-preservation, self-reproduction, self-restitution and so on), which make them distinct from insentient mechanical and chemical systems. Darwin’s Origin of Species invokes natural selection to explain the goal-driven activities of the living organisms, but the Darwinist insists that random mutations are exclusively responsible for the gradual but steady appearance of more complicated organisms. This irrational inability to scientifically explain how novel body types arise in study of life and its evolution is the major deficiency of Darwinism. In contrast to the idea of objective evolution of bodies, as envisioned by Darwin and followers, Vedānta advocates the idea of subjective evolution of consciousness as the developing principle of the world. In Vedānta, the reincarnation theory is based on the subjective evolution of consciousness and the Darwinian objective evolution theory of bodies is a perverted representation of this ancient wisdom. In Darwinism, evolution means transformation of bodies, and in Vedāntic view evolution means transformation of consciousness. In this paper, an attempt has been made to highlight a few relevant developments supporting a sentient view of life in scientific research, which has caused a paradigm shift in our understanding of life and its origin.
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How I met and accepted Srila Prabhupada as my Spiritual Master. Shyamasundar das: Mukunda met Prabhupada first in the Lower East Side of New York. One of the very first disciples was Mukunda. He came out west to meet me and, at that time, my girlfriend, Melanie, who later became Malati. He convinced us by his example that Srila Prabhupada, who was just called Swami then, was his spiritual master. And knowing Mukunda and Yamuna so well and seeing them so convinced by one man was impressive, but I didn’t accept immediately. I spent about three months skeptically watching them. They had given up meat eating, drugs, intoxication, gambling, and sex. They had given up everything. And I was still doing all of that stuff. I was just waiting for their armor to crack so that I could say, “Ah, you see; he wasn’t the right guy after all.” But after three months of that, I just had to throw in the towel and say, “Hey, if this guy is happy all the time doing what he’s doing and I’m always unhappy, why not give it a try?” So, I accepted Prabhupada through my friend. But the moment I saw Prabhupada I knew that I made the right choice. My first personal interaction with Prabhupada was the day after that dance at the Avalon ballroom. He was living in an apartment above the temple on Frederick Street. Prabhupada had asked Mukunda, I think, “Who has put on this dance? Who was responsible for this dance?” And he said, “Sam.” “Oh, bring him here,” Prabhupada said. So he introduced me at that time. And Prabhupada said, “You have made this money? How much money did you make last night?” I told him I thought it was about $2,000. I wasn’t sure. That was really Melanie’s department. She collected the money at the gate. And he said, “Oh!” In those days that was a lot of money, especially for the Hare Krishnas. And he said, “Well, then, those who make the money should know how to spend it. Do you know bookkeeping?” I said, “The rudiments, not much.” Prabhupada said, “Then I will teach you. Every day you come here.” First he had me come over and sit beside him on his vyasasana, and he had Mukunda bring some paper, and he began to show me double entry bookkeeping—expenses and costs. And meticulously he would have me bring the books up every day. And if they missed by a few pennies, he would be on my case. [Laughs.] He could see my heart wasn’t really into bookkeeping or being a treasurer at all. I’m a spendthrift when it comes to money. But that was his practical aspect. He always associated with us or brought us into his charm, charmed us in a practical way, employed us in Krishna’s service however he could. And sometimes he tricked us, just to get us to do some service.

How I met and accepted Srila Prabhupada as my Spiritual Master.
Shyamasundar Das: Mukunda met Prabhupada first in the Lower East Side of New York. One of the very first disciples was Mukunda. He came out west to meet me and, at that time, my girlfriend, Melanie, who later became Malati. He convinced us by his example that Srila Prabhupada, who was just called Swami then, was his spiritual master. And knowing Mukunda and Yamuna so well and seeing them so convinced by one man was impressive, but I didn’t accept immediately. I spent about three months skeptically watching them. They had given up meat eating, drugs, intoxication, gambling, and sex. They had given up everything. And I was still doing all of that stuff. I was just waiting for their armor to crack so that I could say, “Ah, you see; he wasn’t the right guy after all.” But after three months of that, I just had to throw in the towel and say, “Hey, if this guy is happy all the time doing what he’s doing and I’m always unhappy, why not give it a try?” So, I accepted Prabhupada through my friend. But the moment I saw Prabhupada I knew that I made the right choice. My first personal interaction with Prabhupada was the day after that dance at the Avalon ballroom. He was living in an apartment above the temple on Frederick Street. Prabhupada had asked Mukunda, I think, “Who has put on this dance? Who was responsible for this dance?” And he said, “Sam.” “Oh, bring him here,” Prabhupada said. So he introduced me at that time. And Prabhupada said, “You have made this money? How much money did you make last night?” I told him I thought it was about $2,000. I wasn’t sure. That was really Melanie’s department. She collected the money at the gate. And he said, “Oh!” In those days that was a lot of money, especially for the Hare Krishnas. And he said, “Well, then, those who make the money should know how to spend it. Do you know bookkeeping?” I said, “The rudiments, not much.” Prabhupada said, “Then I will teach you. Every day you come here.” First he had me come over and sit beside him on his vyasasana, and he had Mukunda bring some paper, and he began to show me double entry bookkeeping—expenses and costs. And meticulously he would have me bring the books up every day. And if they missed by a few pennies, he would be on my case. [Laughs.] He could see my heart wasn’t really into bookkeeping or being a treasurer at all. I’m a spendthrift when it comes to money. But that was his practical aspect. He always associated with us or brought us into his charm, charmed us in a practical way, employed us in Krishna’s service however he could. And sometimes he tricked us, just to get us to do some service.

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Three Basic Views of the World

Three Basic Views of the World Radhanath Swami: There are three basic views of the world we live in. One is the very materialistic view wherein people see this world as the only real reality. Another is that world is an entirely an illusion, and the third is the best of view, that the world is the scared property of God. It is real but it is temporary in its manifestations. Now the conception that the world is the only true reality leaves one with the consciousness that it really doesn’t matter what we do as long as we get what we want. If we hurt people, if we trample on moral values, ethical principles, if we get money, fame, power, sensual and emotional pleasures, it’s all justified because as that saying goes, “eat drink and be merry because tomorrow may never come”. When we believe that this world is the only reality then even our so called moral principles are built on a very weak foundation because when temptation and fear come, why not break our moral and ethical values if I can get something better. Then we become victimized by greed, envy, lust, anger, arrogance and illusion. We see it so prevalent in the world today. Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/S8zBTD

Three Basic Views of the World
Radhanath Swami: There are three basic views of the world we live in. One is the very materialistic view wherein people see this world as the only real reality. Another is that world is an entirely an illusion, and the third is the best of view, that the world is the scared property of God. It is real but it is temporary in its manifestations.
Now the conception that the world is the only true reality leaves one with the consciousness that it really doesn’t matter what we do as long as we get what we want. If we hurt people, if we trample on moral values, ethical principles, if we get money, fame, power, sensual and emotional pleasures, it’s all justified because as that saying goes, “eat drink and be merry because tomorrow may never come”. When we believe that this world is the only reality then even our so called moral principles are built on a very weak foundation because when temptation and fear come, why not break our moral and ethical values if I can get something better. Then we become victimized by greed, envy, lust, anger, arrogance and illusion. We see it so prevalent in the world today. 
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/S8zBTD

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October 18. ISKCON 50–S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Manhattan: At the Port Authority Bus Terminal, a student of Dr. Mishra’s met Prabhupada as he arrived from Philadelphia and escorted him directly to an Indian festival in the City. There Prabhupada met Dr. Mishra, as well as Ravi Shankar and his brother, the dancer Uday Shankar. It may have been a bit of a shock for Prabhupada to plunge into New York City for the first time and be immediately brought to a non-religious Indian festival where he met the impersonalists, Dr. Mishra, the world famous sitarist Ravi Shankar and his dancer brother. They were not exactly like-minded pure devotees of Krishna. But Prabhupada was not only a pure Vaisnava; he was a former hometown “Calcutta man” and a businessman for many years. He knew how to deal with worldly people in intense city life. He associated with these people like a lotus on the water; without getting wet. After the Indian festival, Prabhupada accompanied Dr. Mishra to his apartment at 33 Riverside Drive, beside the Hudson River. The apartment had large windows overlooking the River. Dr. Mishra gave Prabhupada a room to himself. Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#18

October 18. ISKCON 50–S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Manhattan: At the Port Authority Bus Terminal, a student of Dr. Mishra’s met Prabhupada as he arrived from Philadelphia and escorted him directly to an Indian festival in the City. There Prabhupada met Dr. Mishra, as well as Ravi Shankar and his brother, the dancer Uday Shankar. It may have been a bit of a shock for Prabhupada to plunge into New York City for the first time and be immediately brought to a non-religious Indian festival where he met the impersonalists, Dr. Mishra, the world famous sitarist Ravi Shankar and his dancer brother. They were not exactly like-minded pure devotees of Krishna. But Prabhupada was not only a pure Vaisnava; he was a former hometown “Calcutta man” and a businessman for many years. He knew how to deal with worldly people in intense city life. He associated with these people like a lotus on the water; without getting wet. After the Indian festival, Prabhupada accompanied Dr. Mishra to his apartment at 33 Riverside Drive, beside the Hudson River. The apartment had large windows overlooking the River. Dr. Mishra gave Prabhupada a room to himself. Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#18

 
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