Newsletter Number #172  ( End February issue 2006 A.D. Gaurabda 519 )
http://www.hknet.org.nz/index.htm
http://welcome.to/hknetworks

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ki jaya

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Please Accept My Respectful Obeisances (cyber pranams) & Best Wishes To All

_0____,

All Glories To Srila Prabhupad.

\o/
(_)
/ \    All Glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Welcome to the latest edition of the on-line HKSRNewsletter, and our humble attempt to render some service to the devotee community. The format of this newsletter is that of a continuous scroll, please see the table of contents where everything is hyper-linked on-line, we hope it's now easier for you all. This newsletter still goes out to way over 2508 receivers. We trust that all is well with everyone by the Mercy of the Lord. However, if anyone would like to be removed please just send us a message requesting me to do so, and we will do it promptly. If you are receiving this from a friend, and would like to be added directly to the mailout please also let us know and we will do the needful there too. Removal and Subscription details at the very end of this newsletter.

Hare Krishna. =>B-) JTCd

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"May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Sri Krishna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him."(Srimad Bhagavatam 5:18:9.)

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The Nectar in this Issue 

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From time to time articles and shlokas (verses) included in this newsletter may require the Balaram font in order to view them nicely. If you don't have the Balaram font installed on your system you can download it for free from our fonts page.

See the events on Interactive Calendar site for details:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2002-2003.html
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2003-2004.html
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2004-2005.html

The present year's Vaishnava Calendar for 2005-2006
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2005-2006.html
(some selected locations are available already below)

...Download the Vaishnava Calendar software VCAL 4.01
...Ekadasi Information - fasting - breakfast times

Local temples
...Newsletters & Blogs

Words of Wisdom - Shastra & Shastrakaras speak:
... (Srila Prabhupad & the previous Acharyas)
... Coming Festivals
... Local temples
... Verses from Shastra
... Hare Krishna Maha Mantra
... Hare Krishna as ancient religion - NOT a cult
... Vaishnava Songs
... Samskaras and Agama Tantra
... Articles - topical
... Other Topical links - etc
... Vedik revival - Vedik World Heritage

Advertisements - what's on where: check them out...
... Cyber Community Notice Board
...lastest important news items !!!!
Mayapur Gaura Purnima 2006 Offerings Now Online

... Hare Krishna School in Auckland
... Ayurvedic health - and seminars - Radiance Ayurved has new site
... Fire Safety - Water Safety - Internet Safety
... Singles - Hare Krishna Singles - Vegetarian Singles - Marriage Compatibility checking
... FREE CD Rom
... Sri Shalagram Tirtha Pradarshini web-site and new newsletter
... Vegetarianism and Beyond site gets re-vamped
... Gaura Yoga - Wellington
... The Loft Auckland
... The new Auckland Temple now open

... and much more

At Grass Roots: Topical stuff
... Seasonal Greetings.....Happy 2006
... Have a Happy Year - Gaurabda 519

Prasadam Recipes: To slake the thirst of body, mind & soul
...World Vegetarian Day & World Vegetarian Awareness Month of October links
... Religious Stands on Vegetarianism (Vaishnava - Hindu, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism)
... some really useful Vege links and support
... inspiring Vegetarian articles
... Eggless cooking - baking - cakes
... Vegetarian Cheeses - new page (try the Tuxford range...)(updated August 2004)
... Vegetarian clubs
... Hare Krishna Food For Life - local and international food relief
... check out the new Ekadasi recipes link
... 101 reasons to be a vegetarian
... Meat substitutes - Tofu - Soy - TVP - tempe recipes
... White Sugar free from bone char in NZ
... FREE Meet your Meat CDRoms
... How to offer your food to God
... You mean that's in the Bible?
... visit our Vegetarianism and Beyond Award winning web-site
... Kurma's new web-site
... The Meatrix
... Holiday Season & Xmas survival recipes

Krishna conscious - Vedikly acceptable jokes:
... cut loose have a laugh
... serious therapy in humour !!!
... did U ever wonder -  Ways of the world - Strange but true

Thanx 2 our sponsors and supporters:
... sponsorship and support
... add or remove - sub or unsub
... HELP !!!
... donations welcome

Now you can view the FULL years 1999-2000 & 2000-2001 & 2001-2002 & 2002-2003 & 2003-2004 & 2004-2005, and 2005-2006.
All Calendar entries are explained - Appearance or Disappearance days, festivals, fasts, feasts, etc.

View previous years festival dates on the Calendar:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2001-2002.htm
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2002-2003.html
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2003-2004.html
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2004-2005.html
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2005-2006.html
The coming year's Vaishnava Calendar for 2006-2007
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2006-2007.html

Fasting on Suddha Ekadasi for Bhaimi Ekadasi - (Fasting from Beans and Grains - 9th February 2006  in NZ)

10th February 2006 Friday  Dvadasi

Sri Varaha Dvadasi - Appearance of Lord Varaha deva
 (The fast is observed till noon on the Ekadasi.) (Feasting is done today.)

11th February 2006 Saturday
Sri Nityananda Trayodasi - Appearance of Nityananda Prabhu  (Fasting till noon)

Sri Krsna Madhura utsava
Srila Narottama Das Thakur - Appearance - Avirbhav
Kumbha Sankranti (Sun enters Aquarius)

18th February 2006 for the following:
Sri Purusottama Das Thakur - Disappearance - Tirubhav
HH Gour Govinda Swami -- Disappearance - Tirubhav
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupad - Appearance - Avirbhav - (Fasting till noon)

Fasting on Suddha Ekadasi for Vijaya Ekadasi - (Fasting from Beans and Grains - 25th February 2006  in NZ)

Sripad Isvara Puri - Disappearance - Tirubhav

Sri Shiva Ratri - Appearance Day of Lord Shiva (27th February 2006 in NZ)

 1st March 2006 for the following:
Srila Jagannatha Das Babaji - Disappearance - Tirubhav
Sri Rasikananda - Disappearance - Tirubhav
HH Tamal Krishna Goswami  - Disappearance - Tirubhav
HG Vrindavaneswari devi dasi - Disappearance - Tirubhav

Sri Purusottama Das Thakur - Appearance - Avirbhav

Fasting on Suddha Ekadasi for Amalaki vrata Ekadasi - (Fasting from Beans and Grains - 10th March 2006  in NZ)

Sripad Madhavendra Puri - Disappearance - Tirubhav

15th March 2006 (Wednesday)  Holika Purnima        (Holi)
Sri Krishna Chaitanya (Gauranga) Mahaprabhu - Appearance - Avirbhav
*** Gaura Purnima *** (Fasting Ekadasi style untill moonrise)  (Moonrise in Auckland NZ is 7:51pm including Daylight Savings time)

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse (do not cook, eat, etc. Only Chant Hare Krishna) see eclipses-page

Mina Sankranti (Sun enters Pisces)

16th Mar 2006 Festival of Srila Jagannatha Misra

Sri Srivas Pandit - Appearance - Avirbhav

Fasting on Suddha Ekadasi for Papamocani Ekadasi - (Fasting from Beans and Grains - 26th March 2006  in NZ)

Sri Govinda Ghosa - Disappearance - Tirubhav

29 Mar 2006 Wednesday daytime =  Amavasya
Total Solar Eclipse (do not cook, eat, etc. Only Chant Hare Krishna) see eclipses-page

Sripad Ramanujacarya - Appearance

Sri Rama Navami: Appearance of  Lord Ramacandra (Fasting till sunset)

Fasting on Suddha Ekadasi for Kamada Ekadasi - (Fasting from Beans and Grains - 9th April 2006  in NZ)
 (Damanaka-ropana dvadasi )

Sri Balarama Rasayatra - Purnima
Sri Krsna Vasanta Rasa
Sri Vamsivadana Thakur - Appearance - Avirbhav
Sri Syamananda Prabhu - Appearance - Avirbhav

Mesa Sankranti (Sun enters Aries)
Beginning of Shalagram and Tulsi Jala Dan

Sri Abhiram Thakur - Disappearance - Tirubhav

Srila Vrindavana Das Thakur - Disappearance - Tirubhav

Fasting on Suddha Ekadasi for Varuthini Ekadasi - (Fasting from Beans and Grains - 24th April 2006  in NZ)

Sri Gadadhara Pandit - Appearance - Avirbhav

Aksaya Tritiya, Candana Yatra starts, continues for 21 days

Jahnu Saptami

Srimati Sita Devi (consort of Lord Rama) - Appearance - Avirbhav
Sri Madhu Pandit - Disappearance - Tirubhav

Srimati Jahnava Devi - Appearance - Avirbhav

Mother's Day (NZ, Aus, USA, UK)

Fasting on Suddha Ekadasi for Mohini Ekadasi - (Fasting from Beans and Grains - 9th May 2006  in NZ)

Srimati Rukmini Dvadasi

Sriman Jayananda Prabhu - Disappearance - Tirubhav

Sri Nrsimha Caturdasi -  Appearance of Lord Nrsimhadeva (Fasting till dusk) (Friday 12 May in NZ)

Krsna Phula Dola, Salila Vihara - Purnima
Sri Paramesvari Das Thakur - Disappearance - Tirubhav
Sri Sri Radha Ramana Devji - Appearance - Avirbhav
Sri Madhavendra Puri - Appearance - Avirbhav
Sri  Srinivasa Acarya - Appearance - Avirbhav

Buddhadev Purnima - Buddha Jayanti - Lord Buddha's Appearance day

This year's full panjikam also now available for viewing:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2005-2006.html
The coming year's Vaishnava Calendar for 2006-2007
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2006-2007.html

All Calender information HERE
http://www.hknet.org.nz/CalendarWhosWho-page.htm

http://panjika.pagehere.com/

Check out the Ekadasi pages with links to every Ekadasi:
(also find out from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada what is, and what constitutes a mahadwadasi)
Find out about Dwadasi and Mahadwadasi here:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/dvadasi.htm

NEW EKADASI RECIPES:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/ekadasi-page.htm

kasmad ekadasi jata tasyah ko va vidhir dvija
kada va kriyate kim va phalam kim va vadasva me

ka va pujyatama tatra devata sad-gunarnava
akurvatah syat ko dosa etan me vaktum arhasi

"Oh Gurudeva! When did Ekadasi take birth and from whom did she appear? What are the rules of fasting on the Ekadasi? Please describe the benefits of following this vow and when it should be followed. Who is the utmost worshippable presiding deity of Sri Ekadasi? What are the faults in not following Ekadasi properly? Please bestow your mercy upon me and tell about these subjects, as you are the only personality able to do so."

Find out what was said HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/ekadasi-page.htm
 

Download yourVaishnava Calendar and make a hard copy for this
All Vaishnava Calendar Information HERE (Downloads, Glossary, Calendars, Eclipses etc)

A New Face Lift for the old VCAL program - info page

Vaishnava Calendar Reminder Services
http://www.vaisnavacalendar.info/programs.htm

GBC Vaishnava Calendar Committee - Vaisnava Calendar Calculation
http://vcal.iskcongbc.org/

The present year's Vaishnava Calendar for 2005-2006
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2005-2006.html
(some selected locations are available already below)

Now available:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Calendar2006-2007.html

or if you can't do that and you'd like a Calendar for your longitude, latitude and time zone ANYWHERE in the world I can do that for you and e-mail it to you - FREE    Vaishnava Calendar Software 4.01

Vaishnava Calendar Program Vcal 4.01 FREE Download, and make your own Calendar:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/vcal401.zip

MAKE YOUR OWN CALENDAR FOR YOUR LOCATION,
no more dodgy calendars/panchangas/panjikas from India

...some already made for you http://www.hknet.org.nz/Cals2005-2006-World.html

Vaishnava Calendar maker for your region - on-line:
http://www.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/vcalndx.pl

Astrologically/Astronomically Accurate and FREE

Please download the software from:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/vcal401.zip

How to use the VCAL calendar program:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/VcalHow2use.html

mailto:jtcd@xtra.co.nz

Vaishnava Calendar maker for your region - on-line:
http://www.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/vcalndx.pl

Free Vaisnava Calendar Email Reminder Service
Website URL:  http://www.vaisnavacalendar.info

New service just launched - a Free Vaisnava Calendar Email Reminder Service (BETA) where devotees can sign up and receive automated location sensitive reminders of ekadasi's, festivals, appearance and disappearance days via email.

Festivals on the Vrindavan Calendar
http://www.naturalnirvana.com/Braja-Mandala/Braja-Mandal-Files/Braja-Vrindavan-Festivals.htm

Time Zones and Countries World-wide:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
Free Downloadable Vaishnava Reminder for your Desktop
This Vaishnava Calendar Reminder is so simple, so nice and so practical
It has a huge data base of Towns to choose from, and facility to add towns too.
This can be used in conjunction with all other software and URLs mentioned above.

"This software aimed to be a personal information manager of anyone in Krishna's devotee community. Did you ever miss Ekadasi? With Vaishnava Reminder it will not be so easy - it alerts you about fasting days. Also it has built-in vaishnava calendar generator, to-do tasks, custom events, diary and panchang. And it is 100% free - just visit http://www.vreminder.tk and download it. It quietly sits in the system tray and alerts you when needed."

Vaisnava Reminder v.0.501a setup - 520 kb
http://vreminder.gauranga.in/setup-vr0501a.zip

Once you've downloaded it and installed it, you'll never want to be without it.

Here's a few Vaishnava Calendar locations around the World friends asked for us to post !!

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 14 - 15th March 2006

                  Penumbral Eclipse of the Moon

                      AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
                            o  '    o  '
                         E174 46, S36 52

                   Zone: 13h East of Greenwich

           * Eclipse not visible from this location * http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/LunarEclipse.html

The best information about the eclipse is on the NASA web-site http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/image1/LE2006Mar14-Fig1.GIF

Some clear graphics are also there.

UT time means at Greenwich in the UK (UT = Universal Time), so for us down here in the Southern Hemisphere, for NZ we are 13 hours behind that time (including Day light saving time), as the Moon moves West to East unlike the Sun which moves East to West. Only Western Australia may see part of it.

In the Northern Hemisphere the Eclipse begins at 21:21 (09:21pm) on 14th March and goes through until 02:13am on the 15th March.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere we will not be able to see the eclipse of the Moon as it will be daytime here 10:21am through until 15:13 (3:13pm) all on the 15th which is Gaura Purnima day here.

For other Eclipse information see our page
http://www.hknet.org.nz/eclipses-page.htm

Newsletters:
Do you get the Hare Krishna Newsletter from Auckland?
If not send a message to Mother Madri to add yourself to their list:
mailto:madri@pamho.net
mailto:harekrishnanews_auck-owner@yahoogroups.com

See Auckland's latest newsletter HERE:

Christchurch Temple Times:
mailto:nitail@zfree.co.nz

Wellington Temple Newsletter:
mailto:jagjeevandas.mvgm@paradise.net.nz

Gaura Yoga Centre (Wellington) newsletter:
mailto:gaurayoga-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

...and across the ditch in Aus': 
Brisbane temple newsletter
to subscribe - mailto:brisbane@pamho.net

Melbourne temple blog - Hare Krishna movement:
http://www.iskcon.net.au/

Sydney Temple Newsletter:
http://www.iskcon.com.au/Mailing_list.html

Other Journals, Newsletters, & KC WeBlogs:
Aisvarya prabhu's 'blog:
http://www.livejournal.com/~icemonger/

Aniruddha's blog: There's more comes out of the beadbag than just the finger...
http://www.iskcon.net.au/aniruddha/

Bala Gopala's Mrdanga (formerly Ekendra's Mrdanga)
http://www.gopala.org/
This is my new journal where I hope to contribute something worth reading to the world. The inspiration for this comes from Nectar of Devotion wherein it is stated that to reveal one's mind in confidence is one of the loving exchanges between Vaisnavas. Ekendra dasa.

CafeKrishna.com run by devotees from Pandava sena in the UK
http://cafekrishna.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Candidasa dasa' Deltaflow Blog
http://www.deltaflow.com/index.php

The Conch newsletter - Radha Giridhari temple Auckland
http://www.hknet.org.nz/TheConch-newsletter.html (old)
http://www.iskconnz.com (The Auckland temple new site)
The Conch Newsletter is a subscription newsletter that is sent out in PDF format either as a printable attached file through e-mail, or hard-copy by snail mail. The newsletter is monthly, and compiled by Amrita-pani devi dasi in conjunction with the editorial advisor HH Mukunda Goswami.

Gauranga Sundara prabhu in Leicester (UK) Newsletter can be found at:
Current issue http://www.gauranga.org/files/newsletter_06.PDF
Back issues and all future issues can be found at: http://www.gauranga.org/newsletter_backissues.htm

Gopala Guru prabhu's blog on MSN - Religious Worship; Ever wonder what's it like to live the life of a Hare Krishna monk?
Visit this Space to find out.:
http://whatsyourstory.msn.com/
http://spaces.msn.com/members/gopalaguru/PersonalSpace.aspx

Indradyumna Swami's "Diary of a Travelling Preacher" blog:
http://blog.worldsankirtan.net/IDS/

Kavichandra Swami's Blog
http://www.kavicandraswami.info/

Kurma prabhu's Travel Diary Blog:
Hello there ! I have a new Blog (weblog) Travel Diary. Follow my very latest culinary travels: http://www.kurma.net and click on the blog link right side of page.
Hope all is well with you. Happy cooking, Kurma

Prahladananda Swami's Health blog: On the road, Journal, Audio, Health, Photos etc
http://prahladanandaswami.net/blogs/index.php

Rati Manjari mataji - Every Town & Village - newsletter, which consists of a collective contribution from preachers throughout the UK. To view or download it click the link below:
http://www.gauranga.org/files/etav_02.PDF

You may need to install the latest version of Adobe's Acrobat Reader:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Sit Properly dot com - go to extras 4 the blog - lots of useful info especially for new devotees throughout site
http://www.sitproperly.com/index2.html

From the virtual pen of Sita-pati dasa http://blog.worldsankirtan.net/sitapati/
News and views from Sita-pati dasa in Brisbane Australia.

Hare Krishna Cultural Journal - Krishna-Kirti dasa in USA - A commentary on the culture, views and progress of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
http://siddhanta.com/weblogs/culture/

The International Society for Education in Krsna Consciousness http://www.isekc.com/ has a Blog called Vaishnava Sanga which one can access from the ISEKC home page.

News stories, articles, comment, insights, features, and Vaisnava perspectives available on-line from http://www.iskcon.com/new/

Vraj journal
http://www.vrajajournal.com/

Srimad Bhagavad Gita AS IT IS

Bhagavad Gita:  Chapter 5 -  Karma-yoga : Action in Krsna Consciousness

TEXT 19
                         ihaiva tairjitah sargo
                        yesam samye sthitam manah
                        nirdosam hi samam brahma
                       tasmad brahmani te sthitah

   WORD FOR WORD

   iha--in this life; eva--certainly; taih--by them; jitah--conquered;
   sargah--birth and death; yesam--whose; samye--in equanimity;
   sthitam--situated; manah--mind; nirdosam--flawless; hi--certainly;
   samam--in equanimity; brahma--like the Supreme; tasmat--therefore;
   brahmani--in the Supreme; te--they; sthitah--are situated.

TRANSLATION

   Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have
   already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are
   flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in
   Brahman.

PURPORT by HDG Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad

   Equanimity of mind, as mentioned above, is the sign of
   self-realization. Those who have actually attained to such a stage
   should be considered to have conquered material conditions,
   specifically birth and death. As long as one identifies with this
   body, he is considered a conditioned soul, but as soon as he is
   elevated to the stage of equanimity through realization of self, he
   is liberated from conditional life. In other words, he is no longer
   subject to take birth in the material world but can enter into the
   spiritual sky after his death. The Lord is flawless because He is
   without attraction or hatred. Similarly, when a living entity is
   without attraction or hatred, he also becomes flawless and eligible
   to enter into the spiritual sky. Such persons are to be considered
   already liberated, and their symptoms are described below.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with permission.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - http://www.asitis.com/

Bhaktivedanta Vedabase - Bhagavad Gita on-line http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gita As It Is  http://vedabase.net/bg/en

Bhagavad Gita Multi Media Web-version http://chantandbehappy.com/gita/

Listen to Bhagavad Gita on line - http://www.Gitamrta.org

View our Bhagavad Gita Overview:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/BG.html

Archive: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~vivek/btg/archive/
Home Page: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~vivek/btg/

Join Bhagavad Gita eGroups HERE
mailto:bhagavad_gita-owner@egroups.com

Prabhupada Uvacha:
(here's some nectar, sometimes it comes in the form of Srutakirti prabhu's diary, other times from Govinda dasi's diary, Hari Sauri prabhu's Transcendental Diary, or sometimes from a letter, or other related source, but still nectar...)

But if you don't live religiously, that is animal

Out on the beach in the fresh morning sea air Prabhupada described how swiftly human beings can descend into animalism when spiritual culture is lost. He recalled that in the concentration camps during World War II people were forced to eat their own stool.

Dr. Patel admitted that as an honorary Colonel for the British he knew that they had a regulation allowing soldiers to drink their urine. "But," he said, "they were not allowed to eat stool."

Prabhupada shook his head in wonder. "Just see, 'I am making law. You can drink urine.' Just see!" He turned to us, his eyes wide open, as everyone laughed incredulously.

Dr. Patel offered his medical opinion that urine has many properties essential to the body, and therefore isn't so bad.

"So you are advising your patients to go and drink?" Prabhupada asked.

"No, I don't say. But that is not so bad because it convinced the hormones..."

Prabhupada broke out laughing, and Dr. Patel became annoyed.

"It does convince the hormones. I mean, it has been analyzed like that, scientifically. It is not to be joked about!"

Prabhupada proffered some humorous agreement, "Ne. It is analyzed. And stool is full of hydrophosphates."

The devotees were all laughing by now, and Dr. Patel became a little indignant. "Our Mr. Desai, Morarji, who lost his premiership of India, he is drinking his own urine."

"Accha! Why?" Prabhupada asked.

Ignoring Prabhupada's response, Dr. Patel continued, "And look at him! He's so, I mean, so absolutely healthy. I mean it is ... we should not laugh about it, but there is something right in it."

"No, no. I don't laugh; I am surprised!"

Prabhupada decided to save Dr. Patel from further embarrassment. He moved on, proceeding at a steady pace down the flat sands, changing the subject to speak about the good fortune of taking birth in India.

Dr. Patel, now again at ease, verified the benefits of such a birth by citing the example of his mother who died while gazing at a picture of Lord Krsna.

Srila Prabhupada also recalled an incident of an old man in Delhi who requested a picture of Radha-Krsna a few minutes before his death. He died just as it was placed before him.

Dr. Patel mentioned that his mother had also chanted Bhaja Govinda as she died.

Prabhupada turned to the devotees and remarked appreciatively, "Oh! Just see. Govinda."

Unfortunately, nowadays many Indians are leaving behind their spiritual tradition, in pursuit of modern materialistic advancement. Sravanananda said that one well-known "spiritual mission" in Madras had a slogan above a school playing field entrance that read like an epitaph to Vedic education: "The playing of football will bring one closer to heaven than the study of the Gita."

He said they had refused to rent the field to ISKCON devotees for a program. They were told that the cricket season was coming up soon, and the school did not want the turf to be ruined. Officials frankly said that they did not have time for spiritual training, only physical.

The rapid decline of spiritual culture is especially visible here, where Bombayaites seem especially intent on imitating Western culture. Srila Prabhupada commented, "A person born in a brahmana family, he is claiming 'I am brahmana.' Similarly, even though born in Aryan family, without any culture they are claiming, 'I am Aryan.'

"Krsna observed it in Arjuna, and therefore he chastised him, 'This kind of proposal is anarya-justam, from the non-Aryans. You are forgetting your duty.' That is the beginning of loss of culture. A small beginning, it creates havoc.

"Yuddha -- everything must be religious. Why yuddha? Your ordinary living must be also religious. Otherwise, animal. Animal also lives. But if you don't live religiously, that is animal. If you live like human being, that human being means dharma. We cannot expect any dharma in the animal society. It is meant for the humans. Canakya Pandita says that a flower without smell and a man without education -- the same thing. A flower without smell, similarly, a man without education."

Like an old flower that has lost its fragrance, this city in particular has become a veritable bastion of materialistic consciousness. Evidence of cultural imposition abounds. At the beach, big hotels stand brazenly as crass reminders that modern Indian society is swiftly degenerating, becoming increasingly dedicated to sensuality.

That Srila Prabhupada has had to fight so strenuously with the Bombay municipality simply to build a Krsna temple at Juhu is disturbing testimony. Two hundred years of British colonial rule has systematically re-educated the Indian people into thinking that the simple and natural God-conscious way of life they once enjoyed is backward and primitive. Bombay is obviously the one place in India that has achieved graduate status in the school of materialism.

Yet, now Westerners are coming here to study and adopt a culture India is trying so hard to lose. By the strength of Srila Prabhupada's love for Krsna and his profound knowledge, he is reversing this trend.

- From the "A Transcendental Diary Vol 1" by HG Hari Sauri dasa

To receive little snippets of nectar like this on a daily basis subscribe HERE: or If you want to introduce anyone else in reading Srila Prabhupada Nectars, please send their eMail addresses to mailto:krpamaya_gauranga@hotmail.com

Please Chant:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Listen to Srila Prabhupad on-line
....a different lecture, morning walk, conversation or class daily.

"Love--Perverted And Pure"

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Evening Darsana -- July 13, 1976, New York

Listen to the entire lecture on-line:
http://prabhupadavani.org/Conversations/m3u/CNV107.m3u

Pusta Krsna: Yes.

Prabhupada: That they do not know. That point is missing that there is another life which is eternal, blissful, life of knowledge. But they have no idea that we can eternally live without birth, death, old age, and disease. There is no information, neither education, but there is a life very... If you get eternal life, then the tribulations of material life no longer are there: birth, death, old age, and disease. But they have no idea or information because there is no intelligent man to understand that there is another life which is eternal, and life of bliss and knowledge. There is no information. That is the defect of the modern civilization, they are living like animals. No intelligence. So actually human life is meant for purifying our existential condition so that we may not be subjected to birth, death, old age, and disease. That they are missing. They do not know, neither there is any education, nor university. This Krsna consciousness movement is trying to educate people on that line. It is not a sentimental religious system, it is an educational system. How one can transfer himself to eternal blissful life. Satsvarupa is there?

Hari-sauri: Yes.

Prabhupada: Let him come in. When you have come?

Satsvarupa: A few hours ago.

Prabhupada: So, everything's all right?

Satsvarupa: Yes.

Prabhupada: Explain to them about eternal life.

Pusta Krsna: Eternal life?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Pusta Krsna: Eternal life is described by Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita: ajo nityah sasvato 'yam puranah.

na jayate mriyate va kadacin

nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah

ajo nityah sasvato 'yam purano

na hanyate hanyamane sarire

 [Bg. 2.20]

Eternal means without a beginning and without an end. So this body, this human form of life, or tree form of life, or animal form of life, aquatic form of life, it has a beginning and it has an end. But the person, the soul, has no beginning or end. This is described by Krsna that: dehino 'smin yatha dehe, kaumaram yauvanam jara [Bg. 2.13]. We've experienced in our practical lifetime that we were very tiny, youth, we had a small body, child's body: kaumaram yauvanam. Then youthful body, then we're having old man, old woman's body, like this. So practically speaking, this body is constantly changing. Although Krsna gives this example because He is trying to explain a very fine point of understanding, namely transmigration of the soul: that in reality the body that we have is changing at every moment, at every instant. But we can not see that because our consciousness is not so sharp to pick up when there's change of body. But Krsna explains, "You can see that you had a small body, now you have a youthful body, now you have an old man's body." Actually there is a continuum of change at every moment. So this is the changing material body, and the mind likewise is changing, but the soul, the living entity, is not changing. And this is experienced practically by the fact that in spite of so many changes of body that we had we've still the same person. Just like we can remember when we were young children playing in the park or at the streets, and then older, older, older; going to school; older, family life; older, now retired; now like this (indistinct). So like this the body is changing in so many ways but still I'm the same person. This can be practically experienced. Everyone has this understanding: different bodies but you're still the same person. So this spiritual identity should be the real concern, athato brahma jijnasa. This should be the real concern of the human society, not this temporary changing body. The whole human society is presently geared how to satisfy the demands of this temporary body. So we can see practically that this is fruitless. Ultimately we have to give up this body; ultimately we have to give up our connection with society, with family, with everything. So everything should have its proper place naturally, but the real focus of human life should be on the soul. This is Krsna consciousness, not only the soul, but the relationship of the soul with God. So practically speaking, Krsna consciousness is a spiritual movement. We're trying to come to the platform, as Prabhupada has been speaking in class in the mornings about sat-dharma: eternal religion or eternal activity of the soul. Sat means eternal. Here in this material world everything is temporary. By accident you may be born in America or in India or in Japan or in a human form or in a cat form, but it's temporary. But the soul is eternal and there is also a place: paras tasmat tu bhavah anyah [Bg. 8.20]. Another place beyond this material world which is called the spiritual world. And that place is sanatana, that place is eternal, and Krsna also is eternal. So, sat, sat-dharma or eternal occupation of the soul, eternal religion is that the living entity should be in this place, this eternal place where there's no change of body. That you have to take a body and then give it up, and then according to your work, take another body and then give it up, revolve in the cycle of birth and death unnecessarily. Go to the sanatana atmosphere, and there the sanatana Lord is there, and there the soul is in its natural environment, and the exchange of love that takes place in this spiritual world, this is Sat-dharma. So this temporary world of birth and death, this is asat. Krsna says, duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. It's asat: it's a temporary place. We're taking it to be real just like in a dream we take that the dream is all in all. But by chanting this mantra, we will awaken from this maddening materialistic way of life which is simply binding us up more and more to this false conception of attachment for this body. Practically we know that we have to give up this body, but still because everyone in the material world... Prabhupada explained this morning, it's just like a mad-man. People are attached... just like if you are attached to your clothes and you're thinking that if my clothes are finished, I am finished. So this is a mad proposition. You can always get another set of clothes. Similarly we are different from this body. So to be overly attached to this body or even attached at all is a form of madness. That's a fact. We analyze this soberly.

Guest (1): You mentioned an exchange of love in the spiritual world.

Pusta Krsna: Yes.

Guest (1): Could you explain that more?

continued.......................

Quotes from Vaishnava smriti compilation Hari Bhakti Vilas of Srila Gopal Bhattar Goswami, and the Dikdarshini Tika of Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhupada on Shiva and Shiva Ratri.

SIVA RATRI VRTAM KRSNA CATUR-DASYANTU PHALGUNE
VAISNAVER API TAT KARYAM SRI KRSNA PRITAYE SADA

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 14/187 from GAUTAMIYA TANTRA)

 On the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Phalguna (February-March), for the pleasure of Lord Sri Krsna, a Vaisnava should always take a vow to fast. (It is called Siva Ratri, or the night of Lord Siva.)

PARAT PARATARAM YANTI NARAYANA PARAYANAH
NATE TATRA GAMISYANTI YE DVISANTI MAHESVARAM

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 14/189 from KURMA PURANA the Supreme Lord speaks to Bhrgu
Muni)

 (One who avoids fasting on Siva Ratri or the "night of Lord Siva", he becomes very offensive. Whatever offenses one accumulates by not fasting on Siva Ratri day is explained here.) The destination of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Narayana, is certainly in the spiritual world. But if one is envious of Lord Sri Siva, he does not attain the spiritual world.

YANI KANY ATRA LINGANI STHAVARANI CARANI CA
TESU SANKRAMATE DEVAS TASYAM RATRAU YATO HARAH
SIVARATRIS TATAH PROKTA TENA SA HARI VALLABHAH

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 14/200 from SKANDA PURANA, NAGARA KHANDA)

 Whatever genital deities of Lord Siva that can be found on this earthly planet, on the night of this fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Phalguna, Lord Siva, who is a leading demigod, enters into them. For this reason, this day is called Siva Ratri. For this reason, this day is very dear to Lord Sri Hari.

SRI KRSNE VAISNAVANANTU PREMA BHAKTI VIVARDHATE
KRSNA BHAKTI RASA SARA VARSI RUDRA ANUKAMPAYA

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 14/221 from SKANDA PURANA)

Srila A.C.Bhaktiveanta Swami Prabhupadas comments of Shiva Ratri and its observance:

Demon Çaìkhacüòa Killed - taken from Krsna Book

Once upon a time, the cowherd men of Våndävana, headed by Nanda Mahäräja, desired to go to Ambikävana to observe the Çiva-rätri ceremony. The räsa-lélä was performed during the autumn, and after that the next big ceremony is Holi, or the Doläyäträ ceremony. Between the Doläyäträ ceremony and the räsa-lélä ceremony there is one important ceremony called Çiva-rätri, which is especially observed by the Çaivites, or devotees of Lord Çiva. Sometimes the Vaiñëavas also observe this ceremony because they accept Lord Çiva as the foremost Vaiñëava. But the function of Çiva-rätri is not observed very regularly by the bhaktas, or devotees of Kåñëa. Under the circumstances, it is stated in Çrémad-Bhägavatam that Nanda Mahäräja and the other cowherd men “once upon a time desired.” This means that they were not regularly observing the Çiva-rätri function but that once upon a time they wanted to go to Ambikävana out of curiosity. Ambikävana is somewhere in the Gujarat province, and it is said to be situated on the river Sarasvaté. Yet we do not find any Sarasvaté River in the Gujarat province, although there is a river named Savarmaté. In India, all the big places of pilgrimage are situated on nice rivers like the Ganges, Yamunä, Sarasvaté, Narmadä, Godävaré and Käveré. Ambikävana was situated on the bank of Sarasvaté, and Nanda Mahäräja and all the other cowherd men went there.

 They very devotedly began to worship the deity of Lord Çiva and Ambikä. It is the general practice that wherever there is a temple of Lord Çiva, there must be another temple, of Ambikä (or Durgä), because Ambikä is the wife of Lord Çiva and is the most exalted of chaste women. She doesn’t live outside the association of her husband. After reaching Ambikävana, the cowherd men of Våndävana first bathed themselves in the river Sarasvaté. If one goes to any place of pilgrimage, his first duty is to take a bath and sometimes to shave his head. That is the first business. After taking a bath, they worshiped the deities and then distributed charity in the holy places.(SP - Krsna Book. Ch 34.)

"In this verse Lord Çiva is described as méòhuñöama, the best of the benedictors. He is also known as Äçutoña, which indicates that he is very quickly satisfied and very quickly angered. It is said in Bhagavad-gétä that less intelligent persons go to the demigods for material benedictions. In this connection, people generally go to Lord Çiva, and because he is always quickly satisfied and gives benedictions to his devotees without consideration, he is called méòhuñöama, or the best of the benedictors. Materialistic persons are always anxious to get material profit, but they are not serious about spiritual profit.
    Sometimes, of course, it so happens that Lord Çiva becomes the best benedictor in spiritual life. It is said that once a poor brähmaëa worshiped Lord Çiva for a benediction, and Lord Çiva advised the devotee to go to see Sanätana Gosvämé. The devotee went to Sanätana Gosvämé and informed him that Lord Çiva had advised him to seek out the best benediction from him (Sanätana). Sanätana had a touchstone with him, which he kept with the garbage. On the request of the poor brähmaëa, Sanätana Gosvämé gave him the touchstone, and the brähmaëa was very happy to have it. He now could get as much gold as he desired simply by touching the touchstone to iron. But after he left Sanätana, he thought, “If a touchstone is the best benediction, why has Sanätana Gosvämé kept it with the garbage?” He therefore returned and asked Sanätana Gosvämé, “Sir, if this is the best benediction, why did you keep it with the garbage?” Sanätana Gosvämé then informed him, “Actually, this is not the best benediction. But are you prepared to take the best benediction from me?” The brähmaëa said, “Yes, sir. Lord Çiva has sent me to you for the best benediction.” Then Sanätana Gosvämé asked him to throw the touchstone in the water nearby and then come back. The poor brähmaëa did so, and when he returned, Sanätana Gosvämé initiated him with the Hare Kåñëa mantra. Thus by the benediction of Lord Çiva the brähmaëa got the association of the best devotee of Lord Kåñëa and was thus initiated in the mahä-mantra, Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
(Sria A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srimad Bhagavatm 4:7:7. purport.)

Prabhupäda: ...observing Çiva-rätri, Nanda Mahäräja and all the cowherds men, they increased their attachment for Kåñëa. That is wanted.

"Glory to the Sri Krishna Samkirtan which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years together. Thus the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death, is extinguished. The Samkirtan Movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction Moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge, it increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it helps us to have a taste of the full nectar for which we are always anxious."

(Every Town & Village, album cover)

On-line Virtual Arati to Sri Sri Gaura Nitai - check it out
http://www.in2-mec.com/GNpuja.html

http://www.hknet.org.nz/harernam-page.htm
http://Harinam/rulestheweb.com

What's So Special About Chanting Hare Krishna?
By Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandan dasa ACBSP):
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/chanting_hare_krishna.htm

Hare Krishna is NOT "a Cult":
Is ISKCON a Cult or part of the "Hindu Culture" or Something Else?
http://www.hknet.org.nz/not-a-cult.html

Hare Krishna is NOT a Cult letter by Kunti dd editor of Hare Krishna World:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/HK-no-cult.html

40+ Years of Krishna Consciousness through Iskcon.........
http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa081201a.htm

Very nice articles and numerous links on the About Hinduism web-site.

What is ISKCON ???
http://www.iskcon.org/main/twohk/iskcon/what.htm

Is Iskcon a Cult?
http://www.hknet.org.nz/not-a-cult.html

Iskcon and Hinduism
http://www.hknet.org.nz/IskconHinduism.html

New to Krishna Consciousness - these topics 4 you
http://harekrishnaworldnews.blogspot.com/2005/08/new-to-krishna-consciousness.html

For those who are new to the Krishna Conscious philosophy,
here are a series of FLASH presentations introducing the philosophy to beginners.

What is Krishna Consciousness? (172k)
How can we become Krishna Conscious? (144k)
What is the Soul? (412k)
What is Yoga? (396k)
What is the Maha mantra? (216k)
What is Sanskrit? (64k)
What is the syllable Om? (312k)
Who is the girl with Krishna? (200k)
What are the Incarnations of the Lord (1.2mb)

http://www.iskcon.com.au/New_to_Krishna.html

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SONGS AND MANTRAS by Vaishnava spiritual masters:
http://web.tiscali.it/no-redirect-tiscali/gopala/Vaishnava-Songs/index.html

Vaishnava Song Book:
http://www.iskcon.org/sastra/f_vs.html
http://www.iskcon.org/sastra/vs_other.html

Vedic Art Publications
http://www.vedicarts.net/catalogmain.html

Vrindavan Art
http://www.vrindavanart.com/index.php?gallery=gal14

Mayapur Darshans

http://www.mayapur.com
http://www.photo.net/photos/Vrindavan Lila
http://www.maphoto.tk
http://www.mayapur-katha.tk
http://www.dipika.org/mainpages/contributors/vrindavan.lila.dd.htm
http://www.geocities.com/mayapurkatha1

Radhastami photo-gallery:
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=528023

Nrisimha Deva's photo-gallery:
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=500789

Also we are sending out mailing lists with regular postings of video clips,
photos and PDF jornals.

to SUBSCRIBE to our FREE MAILING LISTs:

- MAYAPUR KATHA for web-magazines (PDF) send request to
  "Mayapur Katha Magazine" <Mayapur.Katha.Magazine@pamho.net>

- MAYAPUR DARSAN, video clips of Mayapur, send reqest to
  "Mayapur Darshan" <Mayapur.Darshan@pamho.net>

- Second SUNDAY MAILING LIST - photos of Mayapur, send request to
  Padmalochan.ACBSP@pamho.net / vrindavanlila@photo.net

Iskcon Mayapur are looking at starting a new WWW web-site, and are looking for a sponsor
if you are interested is assisting this great project please contact
Padmalochan.ACBSP@pamho.net or his wife vrindavanlila@photo.net
 

 

Listen to or download Prabhupad lectures and bhajans
http://chantandbehappy.com/prabhupada/index.html

Devotional Bhajans and kirtans
http://chantandbehappy.com/bhajans/index.html

Hundreds of devotional songs by various artists - singers - performers - and many more coming soon:
http://www.radiokrishna.com/modules.php?name=NukeView&file=index&query=http://www.radiokrishna.com/rkc_archive_new/index2.php

Download songs
http://www.harekrsna.cz/mp3/folk/

Krishna Vision of Krishna Prema dasa ACBSP Sound Track Vol. 4 samples:
http://www.krisnavision.narod.ru/

Sydney temple Audio page
http://www.iskcon.com.au/Audio.html

Leicester Temple UK Audio page - many bhajans and kirtans
http://www.gauranga.org/audio_page.htm

Listen to Krishna Radio on various subjects on-line:
http://www.krishna.com/newsite/main.php?id=260

Hare Krishna Media Library
http://www.harekrishna.org.au/

Iskcon Podcast live classes
http://www.podcast.net/tag/iskcon

Agama Tantra and the Vaishnava Samskaras as a way of life:

Recently I was asked, "Don't you find it an inconvenience to always be checking to see when is the right time to do this or the best time for that?"

In simple terms my answer was and still is; if you go to the bus or railway station or airport it is probably an intelligent venture to enquire about the times and routes of vehicles than to just hope that one will be along soon, or one is going in your direction.

There are subtle influences in the Universe that, for thousands of years gone by, advanced cultures have honoured, respected and utilised. Before the corruption of the Vedik literatures by the Christian and Moslem invaders to India all these things were used; Ayurvedik Medicine; Vedik Astrology; etc. Today there's a rennaisance among many to revive these arts.

We have been trained and studied to be able to provide these services. See some of my sites:

http://www.hknet.org.nz/jtcd-samskaras.html
http://www.iskcon.net/nz-namahatta/jtcd/1-homepage.html

or contact me directly: mailto:jtcd@xtra.co.nz

aham kratur aham yajnah
svadhaham aham ausadham
mantro 'ham aham evajyam
aham agnir aham hutam

"But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb,
the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering."(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita 9.16)

Krishna conscious affirmations:

 Always remember Krishna and never forget Him

Join and receive Krishna conscious affirmations:
mailto:Sravana.SPGTSI@pamho.net

By popular demand - Looking for a devotee husband or wife?
&
Marriage Synastry

Devotee Meeting-Place Web site - FREE Service:
http://www.angelfire.com/ab7/devoteesmeet/home.html 

or HERE

BHAKTI YOGA SINGLES:
This list is for Bhakti Yoga singles. Those who practice Bhakti Yoga are known as Vaisnavas.
This list is therefore called Vaisnava Singles.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vaisnavasingles

Post a Message: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vaisnavasingles/post

Vegetarian Singles:
This list is for vegetarian singles. I know it can be difficult to get to know someone. There may not be anyone who can help us to get to know that special someone. We've got the computer now. So signup and start letting people know you're lonely.
Don't keep it a secret any longer.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vegetariansingles

Post a Message:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vegetariansingles/post

Post your singles ads here.
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/devoteesingles

.....think you've found someone special......
Marriage Compatibility Checking - Synastry

For marriage compatibility analysis bookings
http://www.hknet.org.nz/3-synastry.html

For more information about the system of analysis - the Vedik Kuta system
http://www.hknet.org.nz/synastry9page.htm

For more information about Vedik Marriage Compatibility
http://www.hknet.org.nz/MarriageSynastry4U.html

......and the process of Vaishnava Vivaha - sacred marriage

Kayastha Matrimonial
http://www.Kayasthatokayastha.org

We Have the largest Collection of well educated Kayastha
brides and grooms from all over India and other
countries including US, UK, Canada, Australia etc. The
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contact Rani Srivastav
kayastha_marriage1@yahoo.com

Gurukuli.com
A positive, safe environment to meet and chat
http://youth.rupa.com

BRITish CREW - Gurukuli forum
http://britcrew.com

Young F.O.L.K.
Young Friends Of Lord Krishna
 http://www.hknet.org.nz/YoungFOLK.htm

ete cäàça-kaläù puàsaù
kåñëas tu bhagavän svayam
indräri-vyäkulaà lokaà
måòayanti yuge yuge

“All the lists of the incarnations of Godhead submitted herewith are either plenary expansions or parts of the plenary expansions of the Supreme Godhead, but Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28)

rämädi-mürtiñu kalä-niyamena tiñöhan
nänävatäram akarod bhuvaneñu kintu
kåñëaù svayaà samabhavat paramaù pumän yo
govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi

“I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Kåñëa], who is always situated in various incarnations such as Räma, Nåsiàha and many subincarnations as well, but who is the original Personality of Godhead known as Kåñëa, and who incarnates personally also.” (Brahma samhita 5:39.)

Hindu Gods, Goddesses & Devas Wallpaper - 22 different ones, and screensavers too.
http://coolbuddy.com/wallpapers/Religious/hindu_god_home.htm

The Devotee List - Iskcon and Gaudiya math(s):
(It's still being developed, and a lot of devotees are not here......)
http://devotee.s5.com/index.html

Mail box full - over quota - newsletters bouncing.......

Still waiting for an internet company to come forward
and give you a massive mailbox for FREE like it's been rumoured for months.

HELP IS HERE AT LAST.

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Vedik World Heritage pages

Read enlivening articles
See pictures of exhumed relics
Understand conspirital deceptions...
Join the renaissance to rebuild the Golden Age in the Kali-yuga
Find out about Vedik heritage items all around the world.....

Send in your articles and news:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWH.html

See more similar pages and links http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWH.html and http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-Vedik.htm

Vedik Culture list
 mailto:vediculture-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

A selection of interesting Krishna conscious articles from New Panihati - Atlanta temple USA:
http://newpanihati.tripod.com/NewsGroup/KCNectar/KCNectarMain.htm

Paradigms - where things are not all they seem

Krishna conscious Dramas and plays:
A collection of 88 transcendental dramas assembled and presented for the pleasure of
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
http://www.cedarpost.com/krsnaconsciousplays/default.htm

Wonderful modern Krishna conscious plays:
http://www.cedarpost.com/krsnaconsciousplays/TableOfContents.htm

These are great for Sunday feasts, or school programs or street presentations, or just for our own understanding.

Read here what Prabhupad says about such plays and dramas:
http://www.cedarpost.com/krsnaconsciousplays/PlaysP2SPquotes.htm

Click on this link to see how really short life is.

http://www.sastradana.com/video/lifeisshort.wmv

thanx again Shyam'

Hare Krsna!

In the download section of my website  http://tinyurl.com/9er95 you will find a copy of Ganguly's complete English translation of the Mahabharata (originally in 13 hardback volumes) in HTML format. It is in a 7.5 MB zipped file.

The Mahabharata explains by example how Lord Krsna's Vedic culture and Varnashrama Dharma are meant to work. Where the Manu Smriti is a concise book of laws for Mankind the Mahabharata shows how those laws are applied. The Mahabharata along with the Ramayana have been the main foundation for the continuation of Vedic culture because they are easily accessible to the masses. The Mahabharata was actually written for the unfortunate people of the Kali Yuga to help uplift them. A close study of the Mahabharata and Ramayana in conjunction with the Manu Samhita would serve as a good guide on how to implement Varnashrama Dharma. And, in conjunction with the Srimad Bhagavatam, insight into Daivi Varnashrama Dharma. The Mahabharata is thus an essential text for anyone interested in implementing VAD.

The Mahabharata is a vast treasure house of Brahminical knowledge and as the Mahabharat itself says: "What is found in the Mahabharata may be found in other texts; whatever is not found in the Mahabharata is not found anywhere."

You will also find a PDF copy  of a canto of Agnivesa's Caraka Samhita (an Ayurvedic text) entitled Sarirasthana, a fascinating account of how the body is formed starting with philosophical details, conception, karmic details, embryology etc. I once gave this text to an obstetrician to read while she was waiting to see me and she was astounded at how much knowledge was contained in such an ancient text. Size 14 MB

Yours faithfully,

Shyamasundara Dasa

http://www.ShyamasundaraDasa.com
"krsnas tu bhagavan svayam"

The Formidable Audio page - Bhajans, Kirtans, Lectures many Iskcon devotees:
http://www.iskcon.com.au/Audio.html

and

Bhajans and Kirtans
http://chantandbehappy.com/bhajans/index.html

and

Download latest Real Player for Free:
http://software-dl.real.com/22e4968a89f121132020/windows/mrkt/AUN03D/RealOnePlayerV2GOLD.exe

Listen to audio and view videos on-line here:
http://www.prabhupada.org/prabhupadadesh/a_deposito_oggetti/Archivio_Audio-Video/index.php?q=t&t=EN
http://www.prabhupada.org/prabhupadadesh/a_deposito_oggetti/Archivio_Audio-Video/index.php?q=f&f=%2FAudio
There's literally hundreds of bhajans, kirtans and videos segments to check out.............try all the folders too.......

Devotional bhajanas, kirtans and mantras:
http://www.sudarshana.org/

Nectar for kids and adults alike:
http://www.rasa-music.com/Bodies/body-shop.html

...........more Audio sites linked HERE

Topical Articles:
Abortion - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-abortion.htm
Genetic Engineering ( GE or GM ) - http://www.hknet.org.nz/GE.html
Environment - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Environment.htm
Encroachment - http://www.hknet.org.nz/WE-Day2004.html
Cloning - http://www.hknet.org.nz/cloning.htm
Science - http://www.hknet.org.nz/science2KC.html
Cow Protection - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Cow-protection.htm
The Four Regulative Principles of Freedom - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Regs-4page.htm
seX-files - http://www.hknet.org.nz/seX-files.htm
Mundane Knowledge - http://www.hknet.org.nz/mundaneknowledge.html
Death (Yamaduttas - Terminal Restlessness etc)- http://www.hknet.org.nz/death.html
Near Death Experience - http://www.hknet.org.nz/NDE.htm
Ghosts - http://www.hknet.org.nz/ghosts.htm
Reincarnation again here - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Reincarnation-page.htm
Gain some insights in the TV culture  - http://www.hknet.org.nz/television.html
The aweful Truth about softdrinks - http://www.hknet.org.nz/theREALthing.html
Changing the face of the Earth - http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1390/index.html
UFOs - http://www.hknet.org.nz/UFOs.html
Vegetarianism & Beyond - http://turn.to/Vegetarianism
Articles for newcomers to Krishna consciousness - http://www.krishna.com/newsite/main.php?id=87
Self Help and Motivational pages - Deals and Affiliate programs: - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-selfhelp.html
Myth of the Aryan invasion by Dr. David Frawley: - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Aryan-invasion-mythDF.html

The Peace Formula - (By HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceFormula.html

.........many other articles - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-articles.htm

and from there go to the Main Index http://www.hknet.org.nz/index.htm

Iskcon News Articles now available - many topical insights
http://www.iskcon.com/new/index.html

Secret of Krsna consciousness
http://www.utahkrishnas.com/main/page.asp?id=427

This is my favorite story from the biography of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (1874-1937, the guru of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) from by Bhakti Vikasa Swami. It shows how bhakti-yoga works. One could also call it 'a zen story of teaching by non-teaching'.

"The vice-chancellor of the Benares Hindu University, a very famous man of his time, named Madan Mohan Malaviya came to the Gaudiya Math and had some intricate, philosophical questions to present to Sarasvati Thakura. Sarasvati Thakura said, "I won't answer you, but you should ask the devotees who are washing the arati paraphernalia." The scholar then said, "No. I am asking very difficult questions on Vedanta: They won't be able to answer!" However, Sarasvati Thakura insisted that he go and ask those pujaris, who were cleaning the Deity paraphernalia at that particular time.

So, being submissive to the will of Sarasvati Thakura, he went to ask them. When he approached them, they said, "Well now we're busy washing these plates, but please help us, and when we've finished then your question will be solved." Even though he was such a famous, respectable man, he agreed to join in and help do this humble service. After all the brass was cleaned, he returned to Sarasvati Thakura without saying anything more to the pujaris. Sarasvati Thakura then asked him, "Did you get the answer to your questions?" Madan Mohan Malaviya replied, "Yes, even without discussion. When I was helping clean the arati paraphernalia the answers automatically came in my mind."

Sarasvati Thakura then replied, "Yes. The philosophy of Krsna consciousness can be understood by a service attitude, not by any amount of intellectualism. 'Sevonmukhe hi jihvado...' Just by reading books and reciting slokas - that won't help you. Serving God will give us all the answers to the questions in the sastras. My guru, Gaura Kisora Das Babaji, was not literate, not a pandit, but all the slokas and siddhantas came to his mouth, because he was sevonmukha - inclined to serve Krsna."

If you'd like to find out more about this wonderful process of rendering service in Krishna consciousness, contact your local temple or community.

Destiny and endeavor
http://www.prabhupada.org/rama/?p=1490

People often wonder that if destiny is all powerful, then what is the importance of endeavor? If one is pre-destined to enjoy or suffer as ordained by fate, then why must one exert needlessly? Why do bad things happen to good people and why do evil people flourish? Is it just by dint of their effort, in which case what is then the law of karma?

These questions have haunted thoughtful men for long, and have been addressed authoritatively in the Vedic scriptures. At the dawn of creation, Satyavrata Manu inquires of Lord Matysa, “Oh Lord, which is superior - fate or one’s own exertion and effort? I have got doubts on this, kindly solve them.” The answer to this question by the Lord has been recorded in the Matsya Purana.

The Lord explains that there are three elements that conjointly bear fruits. These are fate, effort and time. The situation is explained by the example of a farmer. First, he must prepare his field, ploughing it, sowing the seeds and making every thing ready. Then he waits for the rains to fall. He has no control on the rain, and if they do not fall then all his efforts are in vain. However even if the rains fall, and he has not prepared the field, there will be no crop. Finally there is time, even if he has prepared the fields, and the rains have fallen, he must wait for Nature to take its time and the crops to grow.

This example clearly brings forth the three basic elements that are at any given time deciding our situation. Based on our past and present activities, we must suffer and enjoy the results. That is the infallible law of karma, and every one performing fruitive activities is bound by them. However, destiny only provides us opportunities. Therefore, how much we enjoy or suffer the results of our destiny is now dependant on how we use or misuse these opportunities. And then there is the inexorable cycle of time, that is processing these two factors and serving us its results.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna further expands this field of action into five agents. These are Isavara (God), Jiva (living entity), Kala (time), Karma (destiny) and Prakriti (material nature). God is eternal and all-powerful, but He does not concern Himself with the sufferings or the enjoyment of people involved in fruitive action. The jiva is also eternal, but is infinitesimal as opposed to the infinite God.

The jiva has been given a limited amount of free will. Time is also eternal and brings forth the results of one’s past and present activities. Karma is the field of action that a person has performed or is performing and according to the Vedic injunctions may be sanctioned as good or bad. And finally there is Prakriti, material Nature, which is also eternal, even though it may be cyclical, that is manifesting itself in one of the three modes: goodness, passion and ignorance.

The scriptures explain that each one of us is suffering from three kinds of miseries. adhyatmika (inflicted by oneself), bhautika (by other people) and daivika (by divine providence). These three types of miseries are generated by a confluence of destiny, effort and time. People in the mode of goodness are addicted to performing pious activities, and are thus awarded the results. In the mode of passion, people are very attached to the fruits of the activity and strive very hard to achieve them. In the mode of ignorance, people are bewildered, in a state lethargy and inaction, and thus suffer the results of this.

Lord Matysa further explains, effort is superior to destiny. Without effort, one will never be able to avail of the opportunities offered by destiny. And with proper effort one can secure the future, and even the present. A person carrying an umbrella on a hot day can alleviate his personal discomfort to some extend, though not change the weather. Similarly by effort one can soften the effects of fate, if not fate itself. Each one of us has that free will to use for or against ourselves.

This seems to imply that destiny is changeable. This is a fact and is confirmed by Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Gita. Of the five agents elaborated, Isvara, jiva, kala, karma and prakriti, only karma (destiny) is not eternal, the other four our eternal. Fruitive activities performed in one of the three modes of material Nature will always yield actions, good or bad. That is the intrinsic nature of these, and in that respect they are eternal. However when one performs activities in devotional service, the cycle of action and reaction, suffering and enjoyments ceases. Externally one may continue to perform the prescribed activities, but internally if there is a renunciation of results to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, such activities become devotional service and transcend the three modes of material nature. The destiny of a person performing pure devotional service is controlled by Sri Krishna Himself and is not subject to the laws of karma.

Superior to destiny is endeavor, for one has to engage in activity simply to sustain one self. Superior to any whimsical activity is the performance of prescribed activity as per the scriptural injunctions, performed in the mode of goodness. But surpassing all this is devotional service that frees one from the cycle of material duality and takes one back home, back to Godhead.

Bungle-ore
The Asian Age India | H.Y. Sharada Prasad
http://www.asianage.com/?INA=2:175:175:201114

As a born Bangalorean I have been asked what I think of the plan to change the name of the city into B-E-N-G-A-L-U-R-U. With due respect for the most articulate Kannadiga of the day, U.R. Ananthamurthy, and other literary men who have agitated for the change, I think it is not a very grown-up idea.

From time to time authors get the urge to prove their political relevance. And politicians want to demonstrate that culture matters to them. Many historical (and some geographical) changes have occurred as a result of such convergence — Linguistic States, for example. Their formation had a logical inevitability, but linguistic states did not resolve all of border disputes. Many such disputes persist and agitations flare up from time to time. Territoriality is a powerful sentiment. Electoral politics keeps many home fires burning.

Then we have this big urge to change names. It is indulged in, I think, because some people can find nothing better to do. It brings in a good deal of media attention at little cost. It demands no blood, toil and tears. So Bombay becomes Mumbai, Madras turns into Chennai and Calcutta begins calling itself Kolkata.

It is possible to invoke the support of solid reasons for some of the changes. Tamils had always called their main city Chennai or Chennapattinam. Even Andhras, who formed more than 30 per cent of the population of the capital of undivided Madras Presidency, referred to it as Chennapuri. As for Bombay, the rise of the jingoistic and communal Shiv Sena, and the resentment of the sons of the soil against intruders who were doing them out of their jobs, made it inevitable that the city should be shown as deriving its name from the goddess Mumbadevi for whom there is a temple.

The old theory that Bombay was derived from two Portuguese words which meant "good bay" or "pleasant harbour" was jettisoned. In the case of Calcutta, it is not so much a change of name with a wholly different reference point but only an orthographical change reflecting the curvature preferences of Bengali tongues while negotiating vowels.

These are not the only cities which changed their nameplates. Many did it out of pride in their ancestry. Some felt impelled to repudiate their British connection. Poona had a Blimpish ring, while Pune brought back memories of the Peshwas and their gallant Sardars. Simla was Indianised by just the addition of an "h". Kanpur conveys a wholly different mental picture from Cawnpore. Udhagamandalam is ages away from Ooty.

The game seems to have begun in Kerala. Calicut, by changing its name to Kozhikode, has almost erased the memory of Vasco da Gama. The romantic Quilon has become plain-Jane Kollam. Thiruvananthapuram does not announce itself with the same emphasis as Trivandrum. In Andhra Pradesh the big change was when Bezwada became Vijayawada, but Gopala Reddy remained loyal to Bezwada. Another Andhra city which lost its buzz is Vizagapatam which has become Visakhapatnam.

The reason advanced for changing the spelling of Bangalore is that it should conform to the way it is pronounced in Kannada. Folk etymology has it that a chieftain of the area lost his way while hunting and an old woman earned his gratitude by giving him some boiled beans to assuage his hunger. And the name of the village was changed to "Benda Kaalu Ooru" or "Bengaalu Ooru" (Town of Boiled Beans). There are two holes in this theory. It doesn't explain how and when the second vowel "aa" got shortened to "a" contrary to all the Kannada grammatical rules. It also doesn't tell us how an old document mentions a Bengalooru (with a short "a" in the second syllable) in the same location several centuries before the king lost his way while hunting.

There is yet another flaw in the new form that has been prescribed. And it is a substantial one. Even if the changeover is accomplished, the sound "l" in the third syllable will be different from the consonant which occurs in the Kannada original. Phonetically the English "l" is an alveolar fricative whereas the Kannada "l" (which, for convenience, I have indicated through "L") that occurs in BengaLuru is a cacuminal or retroflex fricative. Kannada and the Dravidian languages, as well as Marathi and Gujarati, have two l's, the softer alveolar one which is pronounced with the upper tip of the tongue placed at the ridge behind the upper incisor, and a heavier cacuminal "L" with the tongue tip curled up towards the hard palate. English doesn't have this sound at all. Even classical Sanskrit does not have this sound, although we encounter it in Vedic Sanskrit. In fact, the very first line of the Rig Veda — Agnim eeLe purohitam — contains the sound. A scholar familiar with Panini says even the great grammarian, who does not give a place to "L" in his alphabet, finds it hard to advance a convincing explanation of how it is acceptable to the Vedas.

Marathi people, when writing the name of Lokamanya Tilak, use the alveolar "l" in the honorific and the cacuminal "L" in the middle of the surname. The cacuminal "L" sound is also found in many regional forms of Hindi such as Malwi, Rajasthani, Haryanvi and Pahadi.

This linguistic detour should show that the change will not fully serve the avowed purpose. It does replace the first syllable, "ban" by "ben", but is it wise to expend so much of money and energy for this ego trip?

There are some well-known cities whose names are written in two ways, the local form and an international form, for example Moskva and Moscow, Wien and Vienna, Praha and Prague, Bucuresti and Bucharest, Gèneve and Geneva. The international form is not a mutilation of the local name. The successive rulers of these cities have not insisted that the international form be abandoned. Should not Bangalore, which is just becoming an international city, adopt an adult attitude?

H.Y. Sharada Prasad was adviser to Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi

http://www.asianage.com/?INA=2:175:175:201114
© 2006 The Asian Age

Heh - whatever Aussies spend on alcohol, here are the latest stats on gambling, via news.com.au (link will expire in one week):

SPENDING on gambling is growing fast, with Australians forking out a whopping $51.8 billion on gambling over the last thee months of 2005, figures released today show.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its estimates on the component of gambling within the overall retail sector of the economy.

Retail growth over the 12 months to December fell to its lowest level since the recession of the early 1990s ­ but it is a different story for the gambling sector.

The bureau said between December 2003 and the December 2005 quarter, total retail turnover had increased 7.7 per cent to $51.8 billion.

But over that same period, gambling net proceeds grew 22.1 per cent to almost $2 billion. Turnover through hotels and licensed clubs was up 12.1 per cent to more than $4.8 billion.

Gambling now accounts for 40 per cent of total turnover in the nation’s pubs and licensed clubs.

See our Gambling page here:

Give up alcohol - save money.......
http://www.urbanmissionary.info/?p=843

The other night at the Loft over dinner one guest was talking about the amount of money spent by Australians each week on alcohol. Given that there are 20.5 million people in Australia, how much do you think is spent each week on alcohol? Let’s say that half of them drink - that’s 10 million. Let’s say they spend $40 each on alcohol each week (a lot? too little?) - that would be AU$400 million.

Well, according to this guest, Australians spend $840 million per week on alcohol. Various anecdotal stories followed this over the dinner table over the next few days (it became a topic of conversation), including one story of two people who drank $3000 of alcohol between them in one week. Apparently a single cocktail drink at a nightclub on a night out in a major Australian city can set you back $15-$20.

I haven’t been able to find a solid reference for the $840 million figure, but I did find this interesting discussion paper on the average alcohol consumption per year (http://www.odyssey.org.au/latest_info/opinion/2005-01_yearlyconsumption.asp), which contains the factoid that 85% of Australian adults drink alcohol (or as they put it - 15% don’t). I also found this piece from the Gastroenterological Society of Australia on alcohol consumption (http://www.gesa.org.au/consumer/publications/alcohol/index.htm), which states that Australians spend an average of $400 each on alcohol per year (which would be $153 million per week).

Either way, imagine how much money could be saved by giving up drinking alcohol…

See our page on forms of Intoxication here

By HG Rohininandana Dasa

Five centuries ago Lord Caitanya who is the Supreme Lord, Krsna, Himself and the founder of the Hare Krsna movement, predicted that in every town and village around the globe God’s holy names would be heard. Twenty-four years ago His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a devoted follower of Lord Caitanya, journeyed from India to the West and began to vigorously introduce Krishna Consciousness.

As a result, people everywhere have encountered “the Hare Krsna experience” in the form of this Back to Godhead magazine; Srila Prabhupada’s books; devotees of Krsna exuberantly chanting and dancing on the streets; devotees preaching in homes, schools, and colleges; festivals; beautiful temples; and prasadam, delicious vegetarian food that’s been offered to Krishna.

Despite wide exposure to the Krsna consciousness movement, which historians and religious writers like Thomas J. Hopkins have called an ancient “social system” and a “cultural tradition,” people often think that to become a member of this Society requires extreme renunciation and disinterest in the world. People tend to stay away from Krsna consciousness because of apprehension about the position of women, marriage, and family life. Many times I have been timidly asked, “Canyou get married in Krishna consciousness?” when, in fact, these days you might find yourself looking overyour garden wall to see a Krsna conscious couple playing with their children.

This raises more questions: If Hare Krsna devotees do get married and begin living alongside more “normal” members of society, do the devotees stop their fervent life of prayer and preaching? Is the serious practice of Krsna consciousness meant for just a few Hare Krishna devotees privileged (or condemned, as some think) to live in a few temples? And is it to be expected that most others will visit the temple in between watching TV, playing golf, or going to parties? How important is Krsna consciousness in the daily affairs of the ordinary family?

According to the Vedic literature, the age in which we are living is known as Kali-yuga, or the age of quarrel, a time of tension, disagreement, and stress. The Srimad-Bhagavatam, written five thousand years ago, predicts for Kali-yuga an atmosphere of spiritual ineptitude and consequent social decay. Things will gradually deteriorate with time, but already personal relationships are becoming fraught with difficulties. Fulfilling the dream of a happy home poses a challenge not easily met. “Burdens of love” are burdensome. Rarely do homes foster openness, good communication, respect, obedience, loyalty, and joy. Even persons who are competent outside the home find the simplest domestic problems insurmountable.

The solution to these problems lies in knowing the underlying cause of family strife: lack of a clear understanding of the goal of human life.

“But there is no goal,” a mother of two once insisted to me. “There is no meaning to life.”

“No meaning at all?” I queried.

“Well, the only meaning in my life is my children.”

“But if your life is meaningless, how can your children make it any more meaningful?”

Of course, in daily life we do find meanings and goals to occupy and motivate us. When we awaken each morning we are flooded with considerations of wife, husband, lover, children, job, money career, housework, or simply breakfast.

Because we are embodied souls, tend to think of our own or others’ bodily affairs as our first and foremost duty. But the Vedas say, “No. There is a much greater goal! Human life is meant for sel realization. If you occupy your days an nights with thoughts of your body an things related to it, you will waste an invaluable opportunity. And the subsequent anxiety, strain, and agitation wil cause your loving relationships to disintegrate. Only the suffering will remain.”

The Vedas suggest that efforts to help others that are based on the bodywill only aggravate the problems, and the Vedas therefore strongly recommend renunciation. Not just for a few monks either-for everyone.

“Wait a moment! What if everybody renounced the world and became a Hare Krishna? How would things go on.

“Things would not go on,” Srila Prabhupada used to retort, “at least not as you might think they should.”

Yet Srila Prabhupada did not teach that everyone should move into a temple, but simply that we should renounce our tendency for selfish and vicious activities and begin practicing spiritual life at home, or wherever we may be.

“But how can renunciation help with our family problems? As I see it there’s not enough attachment bonding the husband to the wife and children.”

Yes! Not enough spiritual attachment. As much as we are attached to selfish sensual pleasures, we will remain selfish in our relationships. Selfish sensuality will prevent me from being able to appreciate my partner as a person distinct from a machine to gratify my senses, and will tend to destroy our relationship, because my partner’s body is limited and my desires are unlimited. Sooner or later, I will be driven by those desires to seek out another partner with a different body and the promise of fresh pleasure.

The remedy is to awaken my spiritual understanding that a person is actually a soul, who can never be satisfied by any amount of sensual pleasure, and who needs to awaken a loving relationship with the supreme soul. As it is said, a family that prays together stays together. The more materially detached we beome, the more we will be able to properly care for others.

Watering the root of a tree nourishes the entire tree. Similarly, when the members of the family seek out the source of everyhing-God-and try to please Him, they will find their relationships nourished with peace, unity, and joy.

In the Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya Lila, Chapter 7), there is a description of Lord Caitanya’s method of preaching while He traveled as a sannyasi (itinerant monk) in South India. He influenced the people to chant the holy names and converted them to Vaisnavism, the worship and service of the Supreme Lord, Krishna. In one village a Vedic brahmana (priest) named Kurma invited Lord Caitanya to his home and begged, “My dear Lord, kindly show me favor; let me go with You. I can no longer tolerate the waves of misery caused by materialistic life.”

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, “Don’t speak like that again. Better to remain at home and chant the holy name of Krsna always.”

Srila Prabhupada comments, “It is not advisable in this age of Kali to leave one’s family suddenly, for people are not trained as proper brahmacaris [celibate students] and grhasthas [spiritually-minded householders]. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised the brahmana not to be too eager to give up family life. It would be better to remain with his family and try to become purified by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra regularly under the direction of a spiritual master. This is the instruction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If this principle is followed by everyone, there is no need to accept sannyasa. In the next verse Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised everyone to become an ideal householder by offenselessly chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and teaching the same principle to everyone he meets.

The next verse states, “Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Sri Krishna as they are given in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.”

“This is the sublime mission of the Intemational Society for Krishna Consciousness. Many people come and inquire whether they have to give up family life to join the Society, but that is not our mission. One can remain comfortably in his residence. We simply request everyone to chant the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If one is literate and can read Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Srimad-Bhagavatam that is so much the better. These works are now available in an English translation and are done very authoritatively to appeal to all classes of men. Instead of living engrossed in material activities, people throughout the world should take advantage of this movement and chant the Hare Krishna maha mantra at home with their families. One should also refrain from sinful activities - illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling, and intoxication.

To begin one’s path to perfection at home, one must simply recognize that God is the owner of the home. Thinking my wife,” “my husband … .. my children,” my job, money, and career, or even “my breakfasf’ is a mistake.

When Srila Prabhupada introduced the Krishna consciousness movement in New York City in 1966, many young people came forward to move into the single ISKCON temple. Yet even then Srila Prabhupada was speaking about practicing Krishna consciousness at home:

“According to the Vedic system, a house holder works for the satisfaction of God by establishing the Deity, or form of the Supreme Lord, either as a picture or a statue. In India there are many families still (including myself when I was a family man) who installed the Deity of Radha and Krishna in a room called “God’s room” As a daily duty the family members rise early in the morning open the door of God’s room, offer the Lord some prayers and songs, and cleanse the room before beginning their daily affairs of taking breakfast and going to work.”

The point is that the proprietor of the house is the Supreme Lord, and all the family members are His workers or servants. When a man goes to his office or other place of work to earn the money necessary for running the household affairs, he may think, “Money is required lest God’s service be stopped-” So even when earning money a householder can be God conscious and situated in yoga by working out of duty without attachment.

And when he goes to the market, he can think, “Oh, this is a very nice thing; it can be offered to Lord Krishna”. Just as you may lovingly bring some fruits or flowers to a friend’s house, you can think of bringing things for God. Our life should be so formed that in every activity there is such God consciousness.

When the husband brings home the cooking ingredients and gives them to his wife, she thinks, “I am cooking this for Lord Krishna,” and she keeps the kitchen extra clean because it’s for Krishna’s service. As she cooks she does not try to enjoy the preparation by tasting or even smelling it. The children are also trained not to think of eating anything unless it has been first offered to Krishna. Of course, after the meal is cooked and offered, everyone may eat as much as he likes.

Working and cooking will always go on anyway, but by learning the simple technique of doing things for the pleasure of the Lord, one’s God consciousness will develop very nicely. And as one progresses in this mode of thinking, one can learn how to eat and sleep in order to keep one’s body fit for the service of the Lord.

“A person may wonder if this is not the bodily platform of life. But no, it is the spiritual platform because one sees that the body belongs to Lord Krishna. If we can understand this small technique and act upon it, we will be liberated and attain spiritual perfection.”

Thus, with a little guidance we can easily add Krishn consciousness to our lives. We can begin serving Krishna as the Deity in small ways, and later, should we choose, we can gradually introduce more features to our worship - we can offer incense and flowers, sing, play instruments, and dance. Everyone in the family can participate. It’s great fun to worship Krishna together, sing His glories, and hear about Him. And it’s a potent reminder of life’s ultimate goal. Lf we do this regularly, as the first business of our day, we will find that the influence of Kali-yuga stays outside our walls, and everything inside become most agreeable. Try it and see !

The sankirtana movement is a social movement. Association with devotees is essential for our devotional service to Krishna to properly develop and mature. We should therefore invite devotees to our homes. When one of Srila Prabhupada disciples got married, he asked for some special instruction. Prabhupada told him “Whenever you take prasadam, have guests.” Inviting devotee guests helps Krishna consciousness stay alive in the domestic world. The whole family can be busy preparing for their reception and entertainment. It’s a Vedic tradition that a householder invite guests for the main meal of the day. If perchance no guests come, he may go into the street and call out, “If anyone is hungry, please come and dine with us!”

If we extend ourselves to others like this, we won’t be disturbed by the “I, me, mine” syndrome of today’s nuclear families, which tends to obliterate happy relationships and destroy the potential for spiritual perfection.

I once saw a couple of Chinese illustrations of heaven and hell. In heaven many people were sitting around, each with a bowl of rice and chopsticks, and they were happily feeding each other. In hell they just fed themselves.

The devotees in the Krsna consciousness movement follow a calendar that’s full of festival days. Especially on major holy days, the home can be a flurry of activity, with everyone taking part in some way. Cleaning, cooking, decorating, preparing relevant Krsna conscious pastimes or games with the children-the atmosphere can become surcharged with spiritual energy. One can either invite friends or go to their house. Everyone will be touched by a happy mood of cooperation. After all, who doesn’t like festivals with good music, food, dance, song, dramas, stories, recitals, games, and loving friends to share it all?

By inviting guests for festivals, we will find our hearts becoming soft and large out of a giving spirit, and our relationships with our family members and friends will become smooth and pleasing. When we understand more clearly how our homes with their cars, babies, and gardens actually belong to Lord Krishna, and how we are really guests in His house, we will feel a joyous, festive mood of Krsna consciousness every moment of every day. Thus the fulfillment of Lord Caitanya’s prediction-that the chanting of the holy names will be heard in every town and village-will bloom like a white lotus flower in our homes and in our hearts.

There are many other ways we can place Krsna in the center of our lives and so live together in the absolute pleasure of remembrance of Him. If you like, you can get more information on these topics by visiting or writing to any Hare Krishna temple.

Christian Missionaries Accused of Enticing Earthquake Victims to Convert

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1413859.cms

SRINAGAR, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA, February 14, 2006: The detention of Christian missionaries, who were allegedly trying to convert earthquake-affected people of Uri Tehsil in Jammu and Kashmir under the garb of providing relief, has once again brought to light the role of missionaries in the state under scanner. The missionaries, claiming to be members of the Bible Society of India, had to shut their shop in quake-hit areas of Uri following complaints from locals that they were luring people to Christianity by offering monetary incentives, official sources said. A senior police official said the police had warned the missionaries to stop conversion move failing which a case would be registered against them. The group of missionaries from the Kashmir chapter of the Bible Society of India had been visiting Madian village in Uri sector and had distributed gas cylinders, water bottles, audio cassettes and a copy of the New Testament in Urdu to 230 families of the village, the official said.

Courtesy of Hinduism Today http://www.HinduismToday.com

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Daily there are 5-10 articles including letters to the editor being written about Intelligent Design.  Mostly people write against it but polls show that majority of people is USA do not believe in Darwinism.

Here is a nice article giving a synopsis of the whole controversy.  There is actually a VERY IMPORTANT court case going on as to what should be taught in the public schools in USA.
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http://tinyurl.com/dxgrp
Evolution of intelligent design

By Lisa Anderson Tribune national correspondent
Sun Oct 30, 9:40 AM ET

Fictional presidential candidate Matt Santos on NBC's "The West Wing" recently discussed it, as did real-life President George Bush in the White House, not to mention "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, more than three dozen Nobel laureates and numerous school boards across the country.

A decade ago most Americans had never heard of intelligent design, or ID. But, in the last year, the term has surfaced repeatedly in politics, media and education as the rallying point for religious conservatives in the culture war over the teaching of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Although polls show about half of Americans still don't recognize the expression, the background and meaning of ID are focal points of a landmark 1st Amendment case unfolding here in Pennsylvania's capital.

A very old phrase that gained new currency about a decade ago, ID presents itself as an alternative scientific theory to evolution. It posits that some aspects of the natural world that are not yet explained by Darwin suggest design by an unnamed intelligent agent.

The prime engine propelling the dissemination of ID is the Discovery Institute, a Seattle think tank whose $4 million budget is heavily funded by conservative Christian donors. Discovery's Center for Science & Culture, which used to be the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture, laid out its goals in a 1999 fundraising document called "The Wedge Strategy."

Determined to drive a "wedge" into the tree trunk of "scientific materialism," it said, "Design theory promises to reverse the stifling dominance of the materialistic worldview, and to replace it with a science consonant with Christian and theistic convictions."

John West, associate director of the Center for Science & Culture, pointed out that the wedge proposal was a plan, not a scholarly document.

"That document was about more than intelligent design. It was about the larger cultural context and the anti-religious agenda of some people in the name of science," he said.

Indeed, the document went beyond the scientific debate, extending the argument into the world of politics. It equated Darwin with Karl Marx and others whom it described as viewing humans not as "spiritual beings but as animals or machines who inhabited a universe ruled by purely impersonal forces and whose behavior and very thoughts were dictated by the unbending forces of biology, chemistry and environment."

This materialistic conception "eventually infected virtually every area of our culture, from politics and economics to literature and art," the document said.

The Center for Science & Culture's five-year plan, much of which already has been achieved, called for funding research fellows at major universities, publishing numerous articles and books on ID, generating significant media coverage and getting 10 states to include ID in science curricula.

Discovery says it doesn't want schools to mandate the teaching of ID, but to "teach the controversy."

Most scientists say there is no controversy.

Pennsylvania is the first state to see ID included in a school district's curriculum, but Ohio and Minnesota and at least one district in New Mexico include critical analysis of evolution in their science standards. Kansas is expected to do so this fall. More than 24 state and local authorities have considered similar changes to their science curricula over the last year, according to the National Center for Science Education, a California-based non-profit group dedicated to defending the teaching of evolution in public schools.

A week ago, intelligent design made its European debut in Prague, Czech Republic, at an international scientific conference drawing some 700 people from Europe, Africa and the U.S., according to The Associated Press. Many who spoke at "Darwin and Design: A Challenge for 21st Century Science" were from the Discovery Institute, including Stephen Meyer, the Cambridge University-educated director of the Center for Science & Culture.

Of the Discovery Institute's strategy, Jerry Coyne, a professor in the ecology and evolution department at the University of Chicago, said, "They're smart people, in general, with respectable academic positions and degrees. . . . It's their media savvy, combined with their money. And they have learned a lot of lessons from the old creationists, that is to be much less evangelical."

Critics call theory `Neo-Creo'

Because ID makes no mention of the Bible or the divine, some critics call it "Neo-Creo," that is, a new version of creationism's adherence to the Genesis account of creation.

They view its secular language as a tactic to skirt the Supreme Court's 1987 decision finding creationism a religious belief and banning it from public school classrooms as a violation of the constitutional separation of church and state.

Proponents of ID particularly criticize the mechanisms of random mutation and natural selection, by which all life, including humans, evolved from a common ancestor over some 4billion years, according to Darwin's theory, which most scientists laud as the cornerstone of modern biology.

Every major U.S. scientific organization and the aforementioned group of Nobelists dismiss ID and say there is no credible controversy over evolution. They consider ID a new bottle with a high-tech label for the old wine of natural theology, creationism and scientific creationism, serial concepts based to some degree on the biblical account of creation.

ID is "creationism in a cheap tuxedo," according to Leonard Krishtalka, director of the Kansas Museum and Biodiversity Research Center at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

Not so, said William Dembski, a Discovery fellow and leading ID proponent, who directs the Center for Science and Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.

"Creationism was consciously trying to model the science on a certain interpretation of Genesis. You don't have anything like that in intelligent design," said Dembski, who holds doctorates in mathematics from the University of Chicago and in philosophy from the University of Illinois and a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary.

`Watchmaker' argument

Long before evolution, creationism or ID, there was natural theology, a
popular concept based on reason and observation rather than Scripture.

In his 1802 book "Natural Theology," British theologian and philosopher William Paley made his famous "watchmaker" argument. Paley said that if one stumbled across a watch, one rationally would conclude it was designed. So, too, he said, one can look at aspects of nature and infer that they had a designer and that the designer is God.

But after Darwin's 1859 publication of "On the Origin of Species," Dembski said, "The sense that you needed a watchmaker disappeared. The watch could put itself together."

More than a century later, Richard Dawkins, Oxford University's Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, played on Paley's analogy to champion evolution in his 1986 book, "The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design."

After Darwin's publication, the term "creationism" arose in opposition to the popularity of so-called Darwinism. It asserted the biblical account of creation. But creationism suffered damaging ridicule after Tennessee's Scopes "Monkey Trial" in 1925.

Eventually, it morphed into "scientific creationism." Henry Morris, founder of the Institute for Creation Research in San Diego, advanced the concept. It makes scientific claims for the six-day creation account in Genesis, an Earth age of less than 10,000 years, the simultaneous creation of all things, Noah's global flood and the non-evolutionary creation of humans.

Scientific creationism points to gaps in the fossil record, geological evidence of the effects of global flood and examples in nature that give the appearance of design, such as the human eye, as refutation of evolution. It has many supporters: In a recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, 53 percent of adults surveyed said "God created humans in their present form exactly the way the Bible describes it." And polls consistently show a majority of Americans favor teaching both evolution and creationism.

But after the Supreme Court ruling in 1987, creationism couldn't be taught in public schools.

And it was around that time that the current ID movement began to emerge. It uses a term attributed to British philosopher Ferdinand C.S. Schiller. In his 1903 book "Humanism," he wrote, "It will not be possible to rule out the supposition that the process of evolution may be guided by an intelligent design."

Whether ID is a scientific theory or a religious belief is at the heart of the 1st Amendment case Kitzmiller vs. Dover Area School District in central Pennsylvania, the apparent inspiration for "The West Wing" script earlier this month.

Parents of Dover students sued the district and school board over a requirement that 9th-grade biology students be informed of ID as a scientific alternative to evolution. The parents, who claim that ID is creationism in disguise, contend that such a requirement is religiously motivated, thus violating the constitutional separation of church and state and the Supreme Court's ban on creationism in public schools.

Attorneys for the school district argue ID is not a religious belief but a valid scientific theory and that the school district intended only to expose students to views critical of and differing from evolution. The case, in its sixth week, may influence how biology is taught in public schools around the country.
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lbanderson@tribune.com

See our Darwin - Evolution - Creationism - Intelligent Design - The Divine Watchmaker" pages
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Darwin-out-page.htm

Of Mice and Meat
http://www.gopala.org/index.php/2004/11/07/of_mice_and_meat

by Dwarakadhisa-devi Dasi:

Consider for one moment the plight of the carnivorous beast. Skulking about the forest brush, sniffing and listening with intense concentration, hunger gnawing at his belly and burning his eyes, he searches for prey. His meditation is single-pointed in hopes of a kill. But, his task is difficult: to find his prey inattentive and unwary. He must be ready - for whenever the opportunity comes- and his attack must be swift, fearless and lethal. And at last it does come - the kill: the fearful eyes of the victim, the screams of pain and terror, and the stench of fresh blood. For us this would certainly be a repulsive task simply for the business of eating. And this sort of act - this barbarity, this furtive slaughter - marks the difference between civilized and bestial existence.

For animals, however, this gross violence is acceptable, without any consideration of right or wrong. The anguish and suffering of hepless prey is hardly the concern of predators in the animal kingdom. And, of course, the killer incurs no sin. For us human beings, however, even to witness such brutal killing is painful, because we are endowed with the quality of compassion. If necessity suddenly forced us to prowl the jungle for creatures to leap on, kill, and devour, most of us would starve. Our bodies, when pitted against the prowess of the animal kingdom, are frail. Our intelligence facilitates devising other means of nourishment, and our philosophical vision and capacity for empathy lead us to regard the feelings of others.

Nevertheless, so-called civilized society promotes the slaughter of animals as a necessary element of modern living. We may not have to see the brutality behind those neatly wrapped and ordered packages of red meat displayed under lights in our local supermarkets, but the savage slaughter was there, just as surely as it was in the jungle. Although our modern approach to getting food may appear civilized, in essence, it is inhuman. Thanks to our superior intelligence, our approach is more sophisticated and controlled, and we feel sufficiently removed from the ghastly carnage by the intervention of industry and commerce. Most of us will never see the throngs of cows herded into the slaughterhouse, or hear their pitiful cries, or witness their anguish.

Indeed, what we often see of the meatpacking industry is cartoons of smiling cows, chickens, and pigs dancing across the TV screen, inviting us to relish their tasty flesh. Our language buffers us from suspicions about the origin of our prized sirloin steak, as we regularly eye slabs of rotting carcasses and refer to them as "cuts of meat", or "tender, aged beef". Mothers encourage their little one to eat their hotdogs, which are stuffed with toxins and intestinal wastes, and smiling waitresses serve hamburger patties comprised of the most repulsive organs of the cow and often containing such substances as earthworms and decayed rodents. Yet, most of us are convinced that our daily quota of meat is not only safe, but necessary for our nutritional well-being, a conviction we maintain even when confronted with the most gruesome details of animal slaughter and meat-eating.

Recent investigations into the practices of a meatpacking plant in the western USA provide a strong challenge to such false security regarding the sanctity or red-blooded American diet. Its owner is now facing charges for alleged discrepancies in the cleanliness and purity standards at his plant. The company was a big supplier of meat to the US Defense Department, fast-food restaurants, and local supermarkets. Larry Andrews, a former employee, testifies: " He told us not to throw away anything, to use every bit and piece, even the blood clots." The company was accused of regularly bringing in already dead animals and even animals known to be diseased to mix in with the ground meat products. In defense, the lawyers acknowledged: " Yes, these things happened - like they do at every other plant in the USA."

Certainly, these statements suggest a nasty business full of cheating at the expense of the customer, and you may find yourself viewing your next hamburger with a new wariness. But, even without these horrid details, if we think about it objectively, where is the consideration of any real cleanliness or purity when dealing with carcasses? The meat that people are purchasing for their family's dinners is nothing more glorious than contaminated slices of flesh, slashed from animals ruthlessly killed after their brief, miserable, diseased-ridden existence, which ended in violence and terror. To ignore the suffering of the animal from whose very body your steak or cutlet has been obtained, and to romanticize the business of animal slaughter as healthy, sanitary, and necessary, is a kind of madness. What you're getting is simply a package of decaying flesh, toxins, and wastes, and in exchange, you implicate yourself in the most horrible kind of violence imaginable.

Human beings possess a higher intelligence, and a finer sensitivity that allows for moral judgments. To witness the death of an animal such as a cow, therefore, would be painful for us. That's our natural, human compassion. And yet we eat the flesh of the cow without any qualms of conscience. The heinous act of slaughter may be out of sight and out of mind, but, by eating the flesh, we become implicated in sin.

According to the strict laws of karma, every human being is responsible for his actions. These actions create reactions, which propel each of us into particular circumstances of happiness or distress. In the case of animal slaughter, a grievously sinful act for one with human discretionary resources, the reaction is that the offender is forced to accept an animal body in his next birth, and to suffer the same horrible life and death.

Our meat eating isn't as bloody as that of the animal hunting in the forest, but in light of our superior understanding suffering and death, it's far more horrible. We don't need to eat the flesh of animals to survive, and to remove this violence from our lives would create immediate improvements in consciousness. Being vegetarian may not be the perfection of human life, but it is one of the first steps on the path of perfection.

Hamburgers cause asthma, NZ research says
http://www.utahkrishnas.com/main/page.asp?id=490

Monday December 26, 2005  - 08.11.05 1.00pm
By Kent Atkinson

Eating hamburgers more than once a week nearly doubles the risk of asthma attacks and wheezing in children, according to research carried out on 1300 New Zealand school pupils.

Other takeaway food and fizzy drinks also increase the chances of getting asthma, doctors found.

Youngsters who eat at least one hamburger a week are 75 per cent more likely to have asthma and almost 100 per cent more likely to suffer wheezing problems, according a study published yesterday in the international scientific journal Allergy.

The investigation of the extent to which fast foods are a risk factor for asthma was led by Dr Kristen Wickens of the Wellington Asthma Research Group, based at the Wellington Medical School.

The group -- investigating the role played by lifestyle changes over the past 30 years in a large increase in allergic disease -- linked the consumption of fast food to the prevalence of asthma and allergy.

They used 1321 children in Hastings, aged between 10 and 12 years, and recorded their diet, as well as checking asthma and asthma symptoms as part of an international study of asthma and allergies in childhood known as ISAAC.

After adjusting for lifestyle factors, including other foods and how fat the children were in comparison with children who never ate hamburgers, they found frequent consumption of hamburgers was linked to asthma symptoms.

The higher the consumption of hamburgers, the higher the incidence of asthma.

Dr Wickens said diets containing junk foods which are high in salt could be contributing to the problem.

"The high salt content in hamburgers may increase the risk of wheezy illness," she said.

Asthma is worst in developed countries, which tend to have about 6 per cent of their population affected. New Zealand has the highest incidence in developed countries at 20 per cent.

A greater proportion of teenagers in New Zealand than in other countries suffer from asthmatic symptoms, such as wheezing, breathlessness and tight-chestedness.

Some theories have blamed Western diets, higher standard of living, falling levels of exercise rates, and increased dustmites and pollution.

But Tokyo, with higher pollution than Wellington has only one fifth of the asthma incidence, while the Scottish island of Skye has the highest incidence of asthma in Britain and almost no pollution.

See our World Vegetarian Day Newsletters 2004 - 2005 - World Vege Day

See similar articles at Vegetarianism & beyond:
http://turn.to/Vegetarianism

Indian identity in American schools
By C. Alex Alexander
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=117&page=20

Although I have been in the US since 1962, I seem to have remained unaware of how American schools are imprinting concepts of Indian identity and Hinduism on the minds of American youth including children born to Indian parents. It was probably because I never had children of my own. My recent inquiries of Indian parents about this issue revealed that not many Indian parents are fully cognizant of the extent of misinformation that is being parlayed to young Americans, not just about India but about most non-European civilizations.

After availing of an early retirement from our professional lives, my wife and I spent a year studying Art History after which we became volunteer docents at a local art museum. In our roles as docents we came in contact with elementary and high school students who visited the museum to augment their knowledge of world history and ancient civilizations. After a year's experience of interacting with school kids I have become convinced that something needs to be done, especially with regard to the way non-Judeo Christian communities are being portrayed in the text books that our students use and the manner in which their teachers are trained to deal with Asian, African, Latino and Native American traditions.

India, in my opinion receives the worst treatment of all at the hands of our teachers of world history. China and Japan fare a lot better. My African-American colleagues with whom I often talk about India's image in the US greet me with their "welcome to the club" slogan. They remind me that Indians "have to fight the battles like they themselves had to struggle with in order to make the white Americans concede at least partly that Africa is more than a mere continent that sent them their slaves". Those who have resided in the US since the early 1960s may recall the debates that when the US Nobel Laureate William Shockley and his friend, Professor Arthur Jensen began to popularise their (now-discredited) theories of racial inferiority of African-Americans. It took nearly four decades of systematic challenges by the black community to correct the distorted stereotyping of blacks, some of which continue even today in a subtle fashion.

Likewise, during the last three or four decades, the negative images of India and Hinduism in particular have been promoted by our movies and talk show pundits (Indiana Jones, Oprah Winfrey, 60 Minutes et al). These have contributed to the inability of many of our school teachers to present a balanced portrayal of the Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh traditions to their students. Hinduism seems to fare the worst at the hands of our school systems. The average American teacher's knowledge of Hinduism, which is the core component of India's cultural heritage, is often stilted by the sensational portrayals of that faith by our mass media. Though a few inquiring Indian parents seem to be aware of these problems, I am unaware of organised efforts in most states of our land (except in Virginia and California) undertaken by the Indian community to address this issue. I also realise that the extent of such prejudiced portrayals of India may vary from state to state, the worst being in our Bible belt in the South.

This issue was recently highlighted at the 5th International Conference of the World Association of Vedic Studies (WAVES) held on July 9-11, 2004 at the Shady Grove Campus of the University of Maryland by a paper presented by Yvette C. Rosser of the University of Texas at Austin and titled "Stereotypes in Schooling: Negative Pressures in the American Educational System on Hindu Identity

Formation". That study found that "stereotypes about India and Hinduism when taught as facts in American classrooms may negatively impact students of South Asian origin who are struggling to work out their identities in a multicultural, and predominantly Anglo-Christian environment". Rosser's work is based on surveys of both teachers who teach world history in our classrooms and Indian students who are being taught by these teachers.

The study found that the teachers devoted only seven per cent of their preparation time to Asia of which most of it was consumed by Japan and China. Latin America received six per cent, Middle East four per cent and Africa three per cent. Eighty per cent of their learning time was devoted to European history! The amount of time spent in class instruction of these cultures reflected a similar distribution of effort. The students who were interviewed by Rosser were all of Indian descent. They were often befuddled by the contradictions that resulted from what they learnt about Indian culture and Hinduism through their teachers vs. what they derived from interacting with their Indian parents and Indian friends of non-Hindu faiths.

This is a serious issue with implications for the formation of both identity and character of not only the Indian youth but also of their non-Indian counterparts with whom they will have to interact socially and live with for the rest of their lives. Aren't we after all "one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all"? Our great seal proclaims "e Pluribus Unum", "out of many, one"! Neither American's cultural identity nor his/her roots should be demeaned owing to the ignorance of our teachers, especially when we the taxpayers are paying their salaries!

This article showcases the pathetic situation of Hindu portrayal in the US textbooks and why edits have to be made for fair portrayal. In a nutshell, the textbooks are full of negative and disparaging portrayal of Hinduism and paints a very positive picture of other religions.

My own interactions with my adult American friends lead me to conclude that most of them appear to have got their entire education about India and Hinduism either from the television and newspapers, or magazines like the National Geographic and Readers Digest or through visits to museums. This is particularly so with regard to their knowledge of Hinduism.

Most of them know about India's three Cs: Caste, Curry and Cows and the three Ps: Polytheism, Poverty and Population! They know little or nothing about the distinctions between polytheism and pantheism. The more "sophisticated" ones know a little about Gandhi, mostly through Richard Attenborough's movie. They are also the ones who are more likely to ask you about "sati", "bride-burning" and "the Kashmir" problem.

With more than a million practicing Hindus now in the US and with nearly 800 Hindu temples and ashrams here, there is no reason why Hindu temples in each state (a la the African-American churches) cannot take leadership roles in systematically examining the high school textbooks that the children of their worshippers use in schools. Should they find factually incorrect or demeaning characterisations of India and its Hindu, Jain, Buddhist or Sikh religious traditions in these textbooks, they should bring them to the attention of their local school boards with requests to rectify them.

Not doing so will surely affect the identity and character formation of both Indian and non-Indian youth who are the future citizens of this nation. In order to do all that, there needs to be a united voice of Indians of non-Abrahamic traditions in every community. I believe that the temples of the Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist faiths are uniquely suited to perform such functions. It is indeed both sad and surprising that Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist temples in the US have not yet formed at least a web-linked and non-dues paying national council or association or consortium to discuss and resolve problems that affect the identity of future generation of Indians here who want to remain as adherents of their faiths into which they were born. The monotheistic faiths (Judeo-Christian & Islamic) in the US have their own separate linkages that inform each other of important issues facing their respective faith communities. They do so with lightning speed whenever they suspect that their images or reputations are being distorted. I believe that the Hindu temples (due to their large numbers) are uniquely suited to take a lead in the development of such a consortium, council or association to tackle issues concerning representations of their religious traditions in our school systems.

Not too long ago, there were many articles in the US and Indian media about the denigration of Ganesha, Ramakrishna Paramahans, Shivaji etc by the sophomoric writings of euro-centric American professors associated with US schools of divinity. Complaints about such writings were lodged by both Indian scholars in India as well as scholars from among the NRI communities here in the US and UK. But the latter (critics) were often unfairly caricatured by a few Judeo-Christian as well as Indian "intellectuals" characterising the critics as Hindu fundamentalists or ignoramuses who are unfamiliar with our Bill of Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression.

It was even more baffling for me to learn that some of these American (Judeo-Christian) professors who routinely defame Hinduism and its deities and heroes through their writings are frequently invited by Hindu groups and even given honoraria and garlanded and feted for their "contributions". Most Hindu hosts seem to be unaware of the fact that their "distinguished lecturers" who often identify themselves primarily as professors of "Eastern religions" at reputable universities are in actuality serving as principal faculty of their respective schools of divinity. These schools of divinity have ulterior motives in offering degrading interpretations of non-Abrahamic faiths.

Rosser reported in her study that one Indian student said that he was asked in a class discussion why Indians always worshipped rats, fed them and allowed them to multiply when it is well-known that they can harbour vectors capable of spreading bubonic plague.

They have no interest what so ever in teaching any student the virtues of India or its predominant Hindu civilization, which has contributed, to the evolution of Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Hinduism's core value of pluralism and its tolerance of all faiths are seldom highlighted, nor discussed as more conducive to the preservation of world peace than our monotheistic Abrahamic faiths can ever hope to be if the latter remain wedded to its exclusivist religious philosophy steeped in their respective beliefs of infallibility.

You should not be surprised if you had heard from your children that they had not heard anything good about India or its many religious traditions from any of their teachers. I wonder how many of them were told by their teachers that India is the largest democracy in the world with a secular form of government, that it is a country that has never had a military coup, never invaded another country, allowed Christianity to thrive even before it spread to Europe, gave haven to Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians when they fled from the onslaughts of Islam, and gave birth to Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. They also may not have heard from their teachers that India is the seventh most industrialised country in the world, and that it contributed a great deal to ancient mathematics, astronomy, bronze casting, surgery, and vaccination, Yoga, Ayurveda etc.

But, your children may have been asked inane questions by their classmates based on a sensational TV or magazine account of some weird practice going on somewhere in India as it happens everywhere, even in our own, viz., the United States of America.

For example, Rosser reported in her study that one Indian student said that he was asked in a class discussion why Indians always worshipped rats, fed them and allowed them to multiply when it is well-known that they can harbour vectors capable of spreading bubonic plague.

This occurred after a TV show aired an item concerning veneration of rats in a temple in Rajasthan. I too recall someone asking me whether that practice was typical of Hinduism. My response was that it was no more typical of Hinduism than it is of Christianity if we were to infer that all Christians handled rattlesnakes in their Sunday worship as some congregations in West Virginia or the Boot Heel of Missouri still do in order to test and affirm their own "sinless" lives since their last worship in that church!

The Judeo-Christian, African-American and Latino parents (Latinos less vigorously than the former two groups) exercise constant vigilance to ensure that the facts about their respective cultures are not degraded or slandered by any teacher. If they do, their representatives on the school boards promptly take them to task. Now, it is the turn of Asian-Indian parent's here, particularly Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist parents to find out from their children what they are learning about India and its many religions and their traditions. And, if they find that their schools are not offering a balanced account of India's history, its achievements and its religious traditions, I do believe that the parents have an obligation to seek remedial action from the administrators of their schools.

At least for posterity's sake, they must act. If they do not, they are in my humble opinion, short-changing their own commitment to Sanatana Dharma. They are also missing a golden opportunity to highlight the ancient wisdom of the Hindu traditions as codified in Sanatana Dharma, which celebrates religious pluralism and diversity. I know of no other faith other than Hinduism or an ancient land other than the pre-Mughal and the pre-Colonial Indian subcontinent which permitted the thriving of multiple faiths and demonstrated its hospitality to all those who came to its shores seeking refuge from religious persecution or trading opportunities.

The extent of such prejudiced portrayals of India may vary from state to state, the worst being in our Bible belt in the South.

Even in recent times, India has provided refuge to Tibetans fleeing from persecution in their own homeland. More than two thousand years before our Founding Fathers in this Nation envisaged a country which shall become that "shining city on the Hill" where religious pluralism and diversity shall thrive so that we can remain an example for the rest of the world, the Indian subcontinent was practicing it! India continues to remain as that "shining" land mass of religious tolerance even despite the relentless provocations of the arrogant factions of the monotheistic faiths.

It is not a well-appreciated fact here in this country that India's Sanatana Dharma had always espoused such a pluralistic tradition as befitting the peoples who inhabited that subcontinent. Middle East too was a haven for pluralism with its pre-Christian Semitic and African cultures as well as the very early Christian churches of the first four centuries of the Common Era. They were all destroyed consequent to the bastardization of the ancient eastern Judeo-Christian faiths when these essentially "eastern Jewish and Orthodox.

Eastern Christian faiths" were hijacked nearly 1700 years ago by the Western imperialist powers to convert them into exclusivist creeds and make them become tools in their quests for world domination. Unfortunately, the Islamic rulers embraced the same fervor for co-opting religion in the service of expanding political power. The follies of all such perversions, past and present are now becoming more obvious in recent years with the resurgence of militancy among the ignorant minorities of the Abrahamic faiths who are either willing to maim and kill for proving their exclusivist superiority and nearness to God or belittle and ridicule those who perceive God differently. In that context, the parents of our Indian-American children have a stellar opportunity to show their neighbours of Abrahamic faiths the redeeming values and traditions of Sanatana Dharma and the latter's intrinsic nearness to the true tenet of the American creed, EPLURIBUS UNUM!

(Dr. Alexander is a US citizen and has retired from the medical profession. He has held several executive medical positions in the US Department of Affairs, US Department of Defense, US Army Medical Corps, Reserve Components and has held professorial appointments at several medical schools during his 40 years of medical career in the United States.)
<http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=117&page=20>

Vedic World Heritage links:

See our pages supporting these views HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWH.html (Vedik World Heritage)
Western Indologists been exposed page:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/WesternIndologists-page.htm
How British Misguided the World on Vedic History
http://www.hknet.org.nz/MotiveBritishRajMissionaries.html

World Smoke Free Day
31st May Every Year 

http://www.be-free.org/b-media/market-bfree03/cinema.php

yeah kick the butt
...and remember from 10th December 2004 no more smoking in public places in New Zealand by law

Snake and the frog
By Manju Gupta
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=117&page=19

In a pond lived a number of frogs that were friendly with one and all in the forest. As they had no enemies, they jumped and frolicked in the pond the whole day. Even the King Frog and Queen Frog had a whale of a time, doing nothing but playing and prancing about.

One day an old and decrepit snake happened to pass by the pond and stopped on seeing the frogs jumping and dancing in the pond. The snake said to himself, “Gosh, what a feast I can have here! Just see the number of frogs that are present which I can swallow in one go. But, what to do, I am so old and weak. I would have to devise some way of trapping them on the sly.”

Having decided on the plan, the snake quietly slithered towards the pond and lay dead still under the tree.

Two young Prince Frogs, who were very naughty and playful, on seeing the snake lying absolutely still, decided to draw near the snake and find out what was wrong with the snake. Prince Frogs drew near and touched the body of the snake; it moved under the touch as if in reflex action. The Prince Frogs immediately withdrew. The snake, however, continued to lie absolutely still.

One of the Prince Frogs said to the other, “How come we did not see the snake ever before?”

Replied the other Prince Frog, “I think it is dead and therefore it is lying absolutely still.”

At this, the snake opened his eyes and whispered softly, “Do not be alarmed. I am too old to do anything. As I am under a curse, you can jump on to me and I shall be your royal mount. From today onwards I will carry you everywhere you want.”

Initially the Prince Frogs looked suspiciously at the snake but soon they hopped on to the snake’s back and the latter took them for a ride.

Meanwhile King Frog called out to them. “Children, where are you? Come back to the palace soon.”

The Prince Frogs ran away quickly to the palace while the snake, after taking the frogs for a ride, began to pant as he was tired after carrying the frogs on his back.

Meanwhile, the young Prince Frogs rushed excitedly to their Queen Mother to relate their experience with the snake. Queen Frog was horrified to hear their story and told them not to do so again. She then told King Frog about their children’s experience at which King Frog and Queen Frog told their children to show them the snake.

Prince Frogs went to the snake and pleaded with him to give them another ride on his back. Soon the snake took even the King Frog for a ride on his back. On seeing this, all the other frogs warned King Frog, “Please desist from doing this. The snake can never be our friend. It will kill us all some day.”

But Queen Frog replied haughtily, “Since the snake is not taking you all for a ride, you are feeling jealous.”

Now it became a daily routine for the royal frogs to ride on the snake and roam around the lake.

One day, the snake felt very weak to carry the royal frogs on its back so King Frog asked, “What is the matter with you? You are very sluggish today.”

The snake replied, “I have been serving you as the royal mount for the last so many days. But I have not had anything to eat. I feel very weak now.”

King Frog asked the snake, “What is it that you want to eat?”

The snake replied, “There are so many frogs in your kingdom. I would like to eat one a day to feed my hunger.”

For a moment, King Frog was taken aback at his strange request but realising that there were so many of his subjects jumping daily in the pond, he decided to relent. This way the snake got one frog to eat daily. Soon it became very strong and the strength of the frogs began to deplete in the pond.

By now, the snake had become so used to eating a frog per day that when it found no more frogs in the pond, it devoured first the Prince Frogs and then King Frog and Queen Frog too.

The pond was left with no living creature in it now. No longer could one hear the croaking of the frogs.

Moral:
The senses are a network leading to death if we allow the senses to be unbridled then they will devour everything. As stated in Bhagavad Gita 2:62 - 67

See similar inspirational snippets HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/parables.htm

ohu vaha ho
ohu vaha ho
ohu vaha ho.....oh how wonderous

Congratulations to Ganadhiraja prabhu and Indira mataji in Tauranga on the birth of their Twin boy "Rays of Vishnu" born on 17th February 2006 at Tauranga hospital.

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Here is our Twins boys first baby was delivery naturally around 1.30am
yesterday morning my wife had a epidural as contractions were wicked ....
and had to have emergency ssection for the secound one... however both
babies are fine and in special care ... very handsome little guys...baby1
was 8 pound 5 and baby 2  6 pound 2

I hope all is well with your family.

Your servant,
Ganadhiraja Dasa

Our condolences to Ann Nand surviving wife of one of Auckland's long standing congregational devotees, Sada Nand who passed away in the association of devotees conscious of his surroundings and devotees thereby, hearing the Holy name of the Lord. Devotees from Auckland temple had been with Sada in his last days performing all rites and helping him through the final stages of his brain tumour. They were always at every program and Sunday feast for decades at the old and new Auckland temple and always blissfully absorbed in Krishna consciousness. Sada will be greatly missed.
 

Obituary from Prana dasa - Auckland temple:

The passing of (Alan) Sada Nand of Mangere Bridge, Auckland was definitely a victory for his soul. He had the good fortune of devotee association until his last breath. For the final week of Sada’s life her in this material world he heard continuously the holy names either chanted by devotees in japa, kirtan or on CD  by Srila Prabhupada.

His last words were “Hare Krishna” and his departing darshan was that of Radha Giridhari. Just days before his departure he offered flowers and worship to Giri Govardhan with intense devotion and concentration. He appeared to be very conscious throughout his final days, deeply focused on the name and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sada was blessed with some dedicated and persistent helpers namely Madri, Archana, Candrakoti & Padma Sambhava along with many other devotees, family members and well wishers. Most importantly his wife Anne was a constant source of strength reassuring Sada and family members that the goal of life is to die with dignity surrounded by devotees chanting the holy name of the Lord.

Sada was a long time supporter of The Radha Giridhari Mandir in Riverhead. He and his wife Anne were our very first congregational members. Today the congregation has grown to many thousands. The devotees of Radha Giridhari offer their heartfelt condolences to Anne and Sada’s family and pray for the continued good fortune of his soul.

väsäàsi jérëäni yathä vihäya
naväni gåhëäti naro ’paräëi
tathä çaréräëi vihäya jérëäny
anyäni saàyäti naväni dehé

“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones”. (Bhagavad Gita 2:22.)

The body is just like an outer dress. When a suit becomes old, we give it up and accept another suit; similarly the soul is changing dresses according to desire and necessity

na jäyate mriyate vä kadäcin
näyaà bhütvä bhavitä vä na bhüyaù
ajo nityaù çäçvato ’yaà puräëo
na hanyate hanyamäne çarére

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying, and primeval. The soul is not slain when the body is slain.” “The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind”. (Bhagavad Gita 2:23.)

“It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:25.)

That is why we have such a method of sanctified disposal of the body according to religious principles.

“In this material nature, everything is created, it stays for some time, produces some by-products, dwindles, and finally vanishes. Our bodies are created at a certain moment by sexual intercourse. The semen of the father emulsifies and takes a pea (seed like) form, and the living entity, or soul, takes shelter in that form, and because it takes shelter, it develops hands, legs, eyes, etc. This development is complete in the seventh month, and in the ninth month the human being comes out of the womb. It is because the soul is present that the child develops. If the soul is not present, there is no development, and the child is born dead. We can take this dead body and preserve it in chemicals, but it will not develop. Development means change of body. All of us have had baby bodies, but those bodies are no longer existing. The body of a baby develops into the body of a child, and that body develops into the body of a boy (or girl), and that body develops into a youth’s body, which eventually turns into an old man’s (old Woman’s) body. Finally the body completely vanishes.”.(SSR 7. Exploring the Spiritual Frontier.)

I’m sure we can all recollect. But who is it that who recollects? The soul. The body is changed. It is not we, the soul, who has changed, only the external covering the body. The body is changed, but the soul is the same and therefore any one of us, all of us can recollect.

“Unlike the bodily changes, there is no change in the soul.”(B.G. 2:25 purport.) For the soul is spiritual by nature.

jätasya hi dhruvo måtyur
dhruvaà janma måtasya ca
tasmäd aparihärye ’rthe
na tvaà çocitum arhasi

“One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:27.)

“One has to take birth according to one’s activities of life. And after finishing one term of activities, one has to die to take birth for the next. In this way one is going through one cycle of birth and death after another without liberation.” (B.G. 2:27. Purport ex.)

avyaktädéni bhütäni
vyakta-madhyäni bhärata
avyakta-nidhanäny eva
tatra kä paridevanä

“All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?” (Bhagavad Gita 2:28.)

“Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:29.)

That person, who we loved so dear, is different from the body, which we again commit to the elements, and so we should not lament. The body is animated by life, given by our eternal Father, God. The only difference between a live body and that of a dead one is the absence of the life force – that is who we miss. Otherwise we would take home these bodily remains, and keep them in her favourite chair…….

The person is sometimes compared to the air (for both are invisible to the untrained eye). As air passes over different situations it collects some of the attributes of that which it associates. Sometimes air smells fragrant when it passes over a bed of roses, or some nice cooking, and other times it does not smell nice.

Similarly the soul, by association with different qualities, the things he or she chooses to do, becomes known as either a good or bad person.

In this temporal world all beings are like the flotsam and jetsam on the sea’s shore, for some time we come together, we stay, make our families, and then again depart. As we come into this world with nothing, also we take nothing but our lessons, experiences, and feelings with us. Everything that we’ve accumulated in this lifetime remains here. Further proving that we are not of that, nor is that the main thing in life.

But as I’ve tried to convey here, there is no need to lament for such an eternal being.

Rather, we need to wish them well. Pray for their salvation, that they may receive proper guidance and help, to send them on their way, to more favourable circumstances by which he/she/they may have the opportunity to understand the meaning of life, having given up this old situation in peace.

So, now as we send him on their way, let us wish them well, let there be no harboured ill feelings, or grudges, and let us remember, and treasure all the good things that we will continue to love them for, and wish them well for their future.

So doing in the name of Lord, we humbly ask for His blessings.

Srila A.C, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada writes in Srimad-Bhagavatam 7:9:52 purport : ". ....It is not very extraordinary that the Lord offered His devotee all benedictions. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said in effect, 'I fulfill the desires of everyone. Since you are My devotee, whatever you want for yourself will naturally be given, but if you pray for anyone else, that prayer also will be fulfilled.' Thus if we approach the Supreme Lord or His devotee, naturally we will automatically achieve the benedictions of the Supreme Lord...."

Sri Ishopanishad - Mantra Seventeen - Psalm

 väyur anilam amritam
 athedam bhasmäntam sharnram
 om krato smara kritam smara
 krato smara kritam smara

"Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the ultimate beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for You."

Dear Prabhus,

  Please accept our respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 With thankfulness to our Founder Acharya Srila Prabhupada, Sri Gaura-Nitai, and the inspiration of all of you, we announce the Grand Opening of "NECTARBOOKS.COM". This website contains rare, wonderful Krishna Literature by our Vaisnava Acharyas, beautifully and carefully translated by Dasaratha Suta Prabhu, a scholarly disciple of Srila Prabhupada, long known for his translation work.

It was a desire of Srila Prabhupada to give all of us, his children and grandchildren, the entire Vaisnava Library of devotional writings, and we are  blessed by His Divine Grace to recieve some of this literature with which to further water our creepers of devotion.

Please consider forwarding this email to your address list in the mood of going for the mercy of Lord Chaitanya by assisting His missionary desires.

http://www.nectarbooks.com

Your aspiring servants at NectarBooks.Com

Dasaratha-suta Dasa and Dina Sharana Dasa

********
Letter to: Hayagriva
Tokyo April 27, 1972

.. It is my serious desire to devote the fag end of my life to translating Srimad Bhagavatam and so many other Vaisnava literatures so by assisting me in this regards you will be performing the highest service to Krsna....

HG Amal Bhakta dasa ACBSP
http://www.amalbhakta.com/

(the late) HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami
http://www.btswami.com/ (UK)
http://www.ifast.net/  (Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology)
http://home.iprimus.com.au/naractl/Biographys/ISKCON_Gurus/Bhakti_Tirtha_Swami.html#mod (Perth Aus)

HH Bhakti Vikas Swami
http://www.bvks.com/

HH Bir-Krishna Goswami
http://www.bkgoswami.com/

HH Devamrita Swami
http://www.devaswami.com/main.php
http://www.devaswami.com/main.php?&displayPage=home

HH Gopal Krishna Goswami:
http://www.geocities.com/gopalkrsna/

HH Indradyumna Swami
http://www.traveling-preacher.com/
http://www.harekrishna.asn.au/speakers/indradyumna_swami/indradyumna_swami.htm

HH Jayapataka Swami
http://www.hearjps.com/
http://www.jpsoffice.com/
http://www.harekrishna.asn.au/speakers/jayapataka_swami/jayapataka_swami.htm
http://www.victoryflag.com/
Many lectures by HH Jayapataka Swami and HH Radhanath Swami
http://www.radiokrishna.com/rkc_archive_new/

HH Kadamba Kanana Swami
http://www.geocities.com/kksaudioministry/

HH Prabhavishnu Swami
http://home.iprimus.com.au/naractl/Biographys/ISKCON_Gurus/Srila_Prabhavisnu_Swami_Biography.html#Prabhu

HH Prahladananda Swami
http://home.iprimus.com.au/naractl/Biographys/ISKCON_Gurus/Prahladananda_Swami_Maharaja.html#mod

HH Romapada Swami
http://www.prastha.com/cgi-bin/uncgi/renderphilo.pl?ndx=2

HH Sacinandan Swami
http://www.saranagati.net/

HH Sivaram Swami:
http://www.sivaramaswami.com/

HH Sridhar Swami (the late Sridhar swami formerly in Bombay)
http://www.jollyswami.net/home.php

HH Suhotra dasa Tapa Vanacharin
http://www.suhotraprabhu.com/

HH Trivikram Swami
http://www.tvswami.sotiko.pl/

HG Vaiyasaki dasa Adhikari
http://www.kirtan.org/index.html

If you know of any other senior Iskcon devotee web-sites please send their URL to us to share with others through this media mailto:jtcd@xtra.co.nz

See the Blogs above also for some interesting reads:

Here's a short list with some links - sadhu sanga ki jaya
http://krisna-volgy.hu/sadhu/

What's Going On Where &Adds

FESTIVAL EVENTS AND VENUES:


 

Mayapur Gaura Purnima Offerings Now Online

Devotees around the world can now make offerings to Sri Gauranga in Mayapur on Gaura Purnima by visiting http://www.Gaurapurnima.com and joining the Gaura Purnima Offering of Service.

This facility has been especially set up for those who are unable to come for the festival itself. Devotees everywhere can participate as a sponsor at the level of their choice and enjoy the benefit of having a variety of sevas performed on their behalf.

Donations start at just $21 for offering a Silver Lamp and include a variety of Kalash abhishek sponsorships for donations of $51 and more. In addition to the opportunity of offering personal service to Sri Gauranga donors receive a packet of special gifts including their offered item, photographs, and other benefits according to the level of contribution.

Proceeds from these offerings are used to fund the Mayapur Gaura Purnima festival, providing the prasadam, seminars, entertainment and festivities for nearly 4000 devotees from all over the world as well as hundreds of thousands of visiting pilgrims.

Any surplus funds will go to the Sri Mayapur Project Annual Fund to provide much-needed resources for a variety of programs and services like teacher training, expanded curriculum resources for the schools, development of various sites along the parikrama path, developing new programs for cow protection, beautifying and enhancing the Mayapur Gardens, and many more important projects.

One special project that is expected to be funded through this appeal is the installation of a webcam in the temple to provide constant darshan of the deities worldwide.

The web site also provides facilities for sponsoring prasadam meals for the devotees and pilgrims as well as other festivities.

In addition, devotees who would like to assist in this appeal can register as a volunteer sevak. Volunteers are provided with their own personal web site and many special tools to reach out to their friends, family and associates to invite them to join in this offering.

For nearly 10 years now the festival has been funded exclusively by the donations from visiting devotees and supporters from around the world.  This year through www.Gaurapurnima.com the opportunity for offering this service is extended to all devotees, friends and well-wishers of ISKCON around the world.

This online facility has made it extraordinarily easy for everyone to take part in this campaign with just a few clicks of the mouse. Visitors to http://www.Gaurapurnima.com have a choice of making their own personal offering, sponsoring the devotees prasadam and other events, and registering as a volunteer sevak to help expand the reach of this appeal.

Visit this site to take advantage of the opportunity to simultaneously offer your personal seva to Sri Chaitanya on His most auspicious appearance day and in His holy dham, and to see the power of your gift extend to the service of His devotees and His mission both during the festival and throughout the year.

For more information contact visit http://www.Gaurapurnima.com or write to Mayapur Donor Services at donorservices@mayapurfoundation.org

Body Mind Spirit   FESTIVAL  4th – 5th March 2006

 Greetings all,

The next Body Mind Spirit Festival is scheduled for March 4 - 5, 2006.

Join us for a weekend gathering of like-minded people who take a holistic approach to life - promoting wellbeing of the total self... Explore a range of alternate lifestyle options by sitting in on a free workshop or talking with any one of over one hundred carefully selected exhibitors. Relax over a coffee, an organic lunch, and some fine music; devote a little time to yourself...

When we took over the Festival earlier this year, we were given a list of some 1500 email addresses to contact regarding the festival. We expect that some of these will no longer be valid.

Whilst updating our records we have decided to make two lists, one of people who are interested in having a stall and another for those who wish to hear when and where our Festivals will be held.

Should you want to be included in our list of possible STALLHOLDERS, please reply to this email by writing ‘stall’ in the subject line and we will email you a Booking Form and any accompanying information for each Festival.

Should you want to be included in the other list, those wanting Festival DETAILS, please reply to this email by writing ‘info’ in the subject line. We will then send you the relevant details as they become available.

In the case that you'd rather opt out of any communication regarding the festival, please just ignore this email. If we do not hear back from you, we'll remove you from our database.

Please note that you can be moved from one list to another at any time should you wish.

We don’t expect you to write anything in the body of the email but if you’d like to include any comments then please feel free to do so - we really do appreciate hearing from you with your thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

Thanks for your time.

Regards

Deryn and Glen

Deryn Tregurtha & Glen Tregurtha
Body, Mind & Spirit Festival
PO Box 26 030, North Avon, Christchurch
tel: 03 385 2453
fax: 03 386 2453
mob: 021 161 5861
eml: deryn@inet.net.nz

Seven hundred plates of free prasadam (food offered to the Lord) were distributed to an appreciative public and to 50 devotees who took part in a central city Harinam (chanting in the streets).

By the mercy of Guru, Gauranga and Radha Krishna, (after our first bhajan album Bhajanamrtam) we have managed to produce a new CD entitled "Bhaktivinoda", a collection of bhajans of Saccidananda Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur and other Vaisnava acaryas in Orissi classical ragas.

The CD includes 8 bhajans and a 12-page booklet with all lyrics and a translation of the songs:
Gurudeva! Kabe Mora Sei Din Habe
Hari Hari, Kabe More Hoibe Sudina
Kabe Sri Caitanya More
Radha-Kunda-Tata
Narada Muni
Janama Saphala Ta'ra
Brajendranadana, Bhaje Jei Jana
Kabe Ha'be Bolo

Price, inclusive of shipping, is 15 Euros per CD. If you want to order this CD, please transfer the amount to the following account (and send us your shipping address by mail or email):

Account number 3125628, Ashok Jagram, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Bank details: Postbank, Foreign operations, P.O. Box 1800, 1000 BV Amsterdam [Swiftcode: PSTB NL2]

- HEALTHY ISSUES - Ayurveda:-
Visit Vaidya Yolande Manson's Ayurvedic practice - in Hamilton:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/YM-Ayurved.html

dhanvantaris cha bhagavan svayam eva kirtir
namna nrnam pururujam ruja asu hanti
yajne cha bhagam amrtayur avavarundha
ayusya vedam anusasty avatirya loke

"The Lord in His incarnation of Dhanvantari very quickly cures the diseases of the ever diseased living entities simply by His fame personified and only because of Him do the demigods achieve long lives. Thus the Personality of Godhead becomes ever glorified. He also exacted a share from the sacrifices, and it is He only who inaugurated the medical science or the knowledge of medicine in the universe." (Srimad Bhagavata Purana 2.7.22 )

Sacred Vegetarian Recipes - Prasadam

World Vegetarian Day 1st October each year

World Vegetarian Awareness Month - October

http://www.hknet.org.nz/VegeWVD.html

see what's already happened last year http://www.hknet.org.nz/VegeWVD2004.html

see what we hear is to be happening this year

See our previous World Vegetarian Day issue of the newsletter for a wide range of Vegetarian issues
2005 World Vegetarian Day newsletter
Shaligram Tirtha Pradarshini newsletter October 2005 - Theme Prasadam

Vege update:
Social scientists and law enforcement officials have identified animal abuse as a symptom of emotional illness and a precursor to violent crimes against human beings. To allow individuals guilty of perpetrating such cruel acts to go unpunished or not sufficiently punished would be to sanction these horrific crimes and would permit them to go on to possibly commit violent crimes against humans.

The Animal Spirit Newsletter - Issue #2 -  4/21/03-4/27/03

This list is about vegetarian kitchen crafts. This list is created for postings regarding back to basics vegetarian kitchen crafts. When we say vegetarian we mean no meat, fish or eggs. When we say back to basics, we mean tips on making yeast, bread, gluten, tofu, sprouts and so forth. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vkcrafts   Post a Message: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vkcrafts/post
 

Carrots Vichy

A delicious classic French dish of tender carrots in a sticky buttery glaze.
Note: this has no relation to "Vichy" former TP of Bhaktivedanta Manor in the late 1970s other than the obvious that he may have liked it if he ever tried it....but we don't know that.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
700g/1lb 8oz carrots, sliced into fingers
350-450ml/12-16fl oz vegetable stock or water
1 tsp molasses sugar
generous lump of butter
fresh chopped thyme (optional), to garnish
salt and fresh ground black pepper

Method:
1. Put the carrots in a saucepan with enough stock or water to half cover them. Add the molasses sugar, butter and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then cook briskly for about 45 minutes until all that is left of the liquid is a thick buttery coating.

2. Shake the carrots to distribute the coating evenly. Tip into a warm serving dish and sprinkle with chopped fresh thyme if you like.

Crisp Roast Potatoes

The perfect accompaniment to any roast meal - golden crisp potatoes with a steamy centre for mopping up vege juices.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
900g/2lb floury potatoes, such as King Edwards or Maris Piper are the best. If in NZ Rua are okay - tolerable
150ml Olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper
 Fresh Rosemary

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.

2. Peel the potatoes, cutting them into chunks if they are large. Put in a large saucepan, cover with water, add salt, and bring to the boil. Simmer briskly for about 5 minutes, until barely tender. Drain in a colander and allow to dry. Ruffle the edges with a (suchih) fork.

3. Pour the olive oil into a roasting pan large enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer. Put the pan in the oven for a few minutes until the oil is very hot.

4. Tip the potatoes into the pan, spreading them out and turning to coat with the hot oil. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with heaps of fresh Rosemary.

5. Roast for about 1 hour, turning every 20 minutes, until evenly browned and crisp.

6. Transfer to a warmed serving dish.

 Pav-Bhaji Recipe

Recipe type: Low fat, cholesterol free
Preparation time: 25 minute
For 4 persons

Ingredients:
Potato, 2, boiled and mashed
Carrot, 2 medium size, grated
Cabbage (patta gobhi), 3 cups, finely chopped (of which 2 cups is for chawnk)
Broccoli or cauliflower, 1 cup, finely chopped
Beans (any type), 1 cup, finely chopped
Green peas, 1/2 cup
Tomatoes, 2, finely chopped
Capsicum (Green pepper/banana pepper), 1/2 cup finely chopped
Ginger, 1 inch, finely chopped (or equivalent ginger paste)
Green chilies, 2, finely chopped
Lime/lemon juice, 1 tsp fresh
Coriander, 1 Tbsp finely chopped

Olive oil, 1 tsp
Water, 2 cup

Spices:
Red chili powder, 1.5 tsp
Coriander powder, 2 tsp
Turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp
Garam masala, 1 tsp
Cumin (jeera)seeds, 1/2 tsp
Amchur (mango powder) 1 tsp
Cloves, 5, cut into fine pieces
Hing (Asafoateda), 1 small grain or powder 1.5 tsp
Salt to taste

Preparation

Heat a deep nonstick skillet and pour oil and make a chawnk. Add cumin and let it splutter. Add hing, 2 cups grated white cabbage heart, ginger and green chili and stir for 5 minutes on medium heat or till cabbage turns little brown.
Add Tomatoes and stir, mesh the tomatoes stirring with a spoon pressing it against the walls of the skillet.
Add all the remaining ingredients (except the potato and the spices) and the water. Cook for 10-15 minutes with occasionally stirring. Add potato and spices, and stir. Remove from heat after 5-7 minutes.
Serve with pav (long burger buns) with or without low fat butter.

Note

This recipe is good to use any small quantities of uncooked vegetables left in your kitchen.
You can use any additional vegetables in the recipe.
This bhaji is very tasty even with roti/naan, bread, etc.

Parmesan Popovers

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 tble spoons yogurt
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Oregano or Italian Seasoning (Sweet Basil, Mint, Oregano, Paprika)

Directions
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. In a buttered muffin tin, fill each cup half full.
Place in a cold oven and put temperature on 450 'F degrees for 15 minutes.
Turn oven down to 350 'F for another 15 minutes.
Serve hot with butter. They are better than biscuits!

Recipe makes 10 popovers.

Spicy Nectarine and Corn Salsa

It's a good idea to wear rubber gloves when working with spicy habanero chiles.

Ingredients:
3   medium ripe nectarines, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch dice  (about 2 1/2 cups)
1   ear fresh corn, husks and silk removed, and kernals cut from cob (about 2/3 cup)
1 tablespoon hing
1   small habanero chile, seeds and rib removed, then minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1-2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime
small bunch coriander
Table salt
Sugar

In medium bowl, toss together nectarines, corn, chile, 1 tablespoon lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand at room temperature to blend flavors, 15 to 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning with additional lime juice and salt, and add sugar if nectarines are tart; stir in coriander and its ready to offer and serve.

Makes about 3 cups.

Pickled Habanero Chiles

To insure the best pickled chiles, choose only the freshest ones and those with no blemishes. Bruised fruits will produce "mushy" chiles. You can also soak the chiles overnight in a brine of 3 cups water and 1 cup pickling salt to crisp them before pickling. Be sure to rinse them well to remove excess salt before processing. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients:
3 dozen fresh habanero chiles or enough to fill the jars
2 sterilized pint jars

Pickling Solution:
3 cups 5 to 6 percent cider vinegar
3 cups water
1 ½ teaspoons pickling salt

Poke a couple of small holes in top of each chile and pack them tightly in sterilized jars leaving 1/4-inch head space.

Combine the vinegar, water, and salt. Bring the solution to a boil and pour over the chiles. Remove trapped air bubbles by gently tapping on the sides of the jars. Add more of the pickling solution if needed; close the jars.

Store for 4 to 6 weeks before serving. Yield: 2 pints  -  Heat Scale: Extremely Hot
 

Scottish Petticoat Tails

A traditional shortbread biscuit (cookie) which I personally love to eat with a nice cup of tea or other hot drink.

Makes 2 rounds
Ingredients:
8oz (225g) flour
4oz (110g) cornflour or rice flour
4oz (110g) butter
4oz (110g) icing (confectioners) sugar
caster (refined granulated) sugar for dredging

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4. Butter a baking sheet.

2. Cream the butter and icing sugar together in a bowl.

3. Sift in the flours and work into a smooth dough (if the dough is too dry add a little water or milk to moisten).

4. Divide into two, roll out on a floured surface and shape into two thin rounds.

5. Place on the sheet and prick all over with a fork. Mark each round into 6 triangles.

6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until pale golden in colour. Sprinkle with the caster sugar while still warm. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
 

Banana Tarte Tatin

A classic French upside-down tart made with wonderfully sticky caramelized bananas scented with rosemary.

Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
200g (7oz) caster (refined granulated) sugar
25g (1oz) butter
a few small fresh rosemary sprigs
4 - 6 bananas
375g (13oz) ready-to-roll puff pastry
flour, for dusting
500ml (17fl oz) vanilla ice cream, to serve

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.

2. To make the caramel put the sugar in a wide ovenproof frying pan. Heat gently without stirring until it turns golden brown. Remove from the heat, add the butter and stir in gently together throwing in a few rosemary sprigs.

3. Peel the bananas and slice into chunks (not too small or they will break down during cooking). Arrange in the caramel to cover the surface.

4. Place the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Cut out a circle slightly larger than the pan. Place the pastry circle over the bananas and caramel mixture. Tuck the edges down the side of the pan around the bananas.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is brown.

6. Remove the tart from the oven and leave to rest for 4 minutes.

7. Place a large plate on top of the pan, and invert so that the tart slips out, pastry to the base, bananas on top.

8. Serve hot with the vanilla ice cream.

The Animal Spirit Newsletter - Issue #2 -  4/21/03-4/27/03

The book "Living a Good Life" normally selling at $21.95 is now going at the $14.95 price, .http://vegsoc.wellington.net.nz/livingGd.htm

 Krishna Conscious - Vedikly acceptable Jokes

Healing with humour: Taking better care of ourselves  =>;-))
http://www.hknet.org.nz/healthNhumour.html
Visit our Hasya Rasa pages

Laughter Therapy - its no joke:
http://www.healthlibrary.com/reading/yod/march98/news.htm

To read more about Hasya visit our pages

FOR YOUR INTEREST: This one is not a joke but I thought you might like to know. These are the names of Lord Caitanya taken from the book "Sri Caitanya Sahasra Nama Stotra", i.e. "A Thousand Names of Lord Caitanya" by Srila Kavi Karnapura (as translated by HG Kusakratha Prabhu from the Krsna Institute)...

Cool Head, Warm Legs

Here is a Prabhupada pastime that came to mind yesterday: During a press conference attended by several reporters Srila Prabhupada was being questioned by a young female reporter who had asked a string of questions in a very challenging manner. After a number of questions she asked: “Why do you shave your heads?” Srila Prabhupada, having patiently answered her queries up to this point now responded, without batting an eyelid: “Why do you show your legs?” in reference to her short mini skirt of the 1960s era. The reporter was caught completely off guard and was speechless. The question hung in the air for a moment, and then His Divine Grace continued: “We think it is better to have warm legs and a cool head,” with a big smile. Everyone in the room, including the young lady reporter laughed at Srila Prabhupada’s incredibly quick and disarming humour, completely free from malice.

Swami Beyondananda - political humour, new age humour, political satire
http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/

An American decided to write a book about famous religious places of worship around the world, so he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to Orlando, Florida, thinking that he would start by working his way across the USA from South to North.

On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read "$10,000 per call." The American, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by what the telephone was used for.

The priest replied that it was a direct line to Heaven and that for $10,000 you could talk to God. The American thanked the priest and went along his way.

Next stop was Atlanta. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he saw in Orlando, and asked a nearby nun what its purpose was. She told him that it was a direct line to Heaven and that for $10,000 he could talk to God.

"OK, thank you," said the American. He then travelled to Indianapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston and New York. In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same $10,000 per call sign under it. The American, upon leaving Vermont, decided to travel far and visit NEW ZEALAND to see if New Zealanders had the same phone in their churches.

He arrived in Auckland, and again, in the first church he entered, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read "40 cents per call." The American was surprised so he asked the priest about the sign.

"Father, I've travelled all over America and I've seen this same golden telephone in many churches. I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but in the US the price was $10,000 per call.

"Why is it so cheap here?"

The priest smiled and answered: You're in New Zealand now, Godzone son. . .it's a local call."

Dedicated To All The Teacher's Out There ~ WHAT TEACHERS MAKE

The dinner guests were sitting around the table having coffee and discussing various subjects when one man, a CEO of a local company, decided to explain the problem with education.

He complained,  "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He then proclaimed to the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about Teachers:
"Those who can...do. Those who can't, teach."

To corroborate his statement, he addressed another guest: "You're a teacher, Marilyn,  Be honest. What do you make?"

Marilyn, who has a reputation for honesty and frankness, replied, "You want to know what I make? "
"I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could."
"I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face if the student did not do his or her very best."
"I can make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence."
"I can make parents tremble in fear when I call home"

You want to know what I make?"
"I make kids wonder."
"I make them question."
"I make them criticize."
"I make them apologize and mean it."
"I make them write."
"I make them read, read, read."

"I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, and definitely beautiful over and over and over again, until they will never misspell either one of those words again."

"I make them show all their work in math and hide it all on their final drafts in English."

"I make them understand that if you have the brains, then follow your heart... and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you pay them no attention."

You want to know what I make?"

"I make a difference."

What's your religion?

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge,
about to jump off. I immediately ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!"

"Why shouldn't I?" he said.

I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"

"Like what?"

"Well ... are you religious or atheist?"

"Religious."

"Me too! Are you Christian or Jewish?"

"Christian."

"Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"

"Protestant."

"Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"

"Baptist."

"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"

"Baptist Church of God."

"Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist
Church of God?"

"Reformed Baptist Church of God."

"Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or
Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"

"Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"

To which I said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off.

From http://www.utahkrishnas.com/main/page.asp?id=279

LAW OF  THE BATHROOM: When the body is immersed in water, the telephone rings.

LAW OF THE THEATRE: People with the seats at the furthest from the aisle arrive last.

LAW OF BIOMECHANICS: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

LAW OF THE TELEPHONE: When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged (busy) one.

LAW OF THE  WORKSHOP: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

LAW OF THE RESULT: When you try to prove to someone that a  machine won't work, it will.

LAW OF MECHANICAL REPAIR: After your hands become coated with grease,your nose will begin to itch.

LAW OF  VARIATION: If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you
are in now.

LAW OF THE ALIBI: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the Next morning
you will have a flat tire.

LAW OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with
someone you don't want to be seen with.

LAW OF COFFEE: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something
which will last until the coffee is cold no matter how hot is your coffee is.

.......and always remember (don't forget...)

You might like to check out Krishna-conscious jokes - http://vedaveda.com/anglais/joke/deux.html
Also check out the Humour section of the Main Index: http://www.hknet.org.nz/index.htm

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A special thanx for the devotees who are sponsoring the site over 2004-2005, and to Yagnesh Rajani prabhu for taking it up to 2007

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