2009

Wishing you all a Happy Krishna Conscious New Year 2009!

Hare Krishna

Evidence Krishna

ARCHAEOLOGISTS CONVINCED NEW FINDS DEPICT KRISHNA

Bhama Devi Ravi/TNN

Chennai: The Conch and the Sudarsana Chakra are unmistakable. Although the figures doesn't match popular images of Krishna, archaegologists are convinced that the coins depict Krishna, revered as an avatar of Vishnu.

"These square coins, dating back to 180-BC, with Krishna on one side and Balram on the other, were unearthed recently in Al Khanoun in Afghanistan and are the earliest proof that Krishna was venerated as a god, and that the worship had spread beyond the Mathura region," says T K V Rajan, archaeologist and founder-director, Indian Science Monitor, who is holding a five day exhibition, 'In search of Lord Krishna,' in the city from Saturday.

Having done extensive research in Brindavan, Rajan is convinced that a lot of the spiritual history of ancient India lies buried. "Close to 10,000 Greeks, who came in the wake of Alexander the Great, were Krishna's devotees. There is an inscription by Helidorus, the Greek ambassador at Takshila, which reads 'Deva, deva, Vasudeva. Krishna is my god and I have installed this Garuda Pillar at Bes Nagar (now in Bihar),' says Rajan.

According to him, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has unearthed many sites that throw fresh light on the era of Krishna. "ASI is expected to release the full findings next year: The findings may show that Krishna's life was the dividing line between India's spiritual history and the society's gradual shift towards a materialistic one," says Rajan.

Interestingly, a lot of what has been uncovered closely resemble the narration in the texts of Mahabharatha and the Bhagavatham, " he adds.

The advent of thermoluminous study (TL) has helped dating of artifacts. Tholavira near Dwaraka, from were many artifact were unearthed, is mentioned as the capital city in the opening chapters of Bhagavatham. Rajan points to an image of a plough, made of wood, which is mentioned in the Bhagavatham.

The findings could lay a trail to understanding Krishna's life (said to be 5,000 years ago) and times, a a historical fact, says Rajan. The exhibition will be open till Dec 31 at Sri Parvathy Gallery, Eldams Road.

-Times of India (Chennai Edition), on Saturday the 27th December 2008

Forbidden Archaeology

Essence of the four Vaisnava philosophies

[Gauracandra to Nimbarka:]“`Later, when I begin the sankirtana movement, I Myself will preach the essence of the four Vaisnava philosophies.

From Madhva I will receive two essential items: his complete defeat of the Mayavada philosophy [kevale-advaita-nirasana], and his service to the Deity of Krsna, accepting the Deity as an eternal spiritual being [krsna-murti-sevana].

From Ramanuja I will accept two great teachings: the concept of bhakti unpolluted by karma and jnana [ananya-bhakti], and service to the devotees [bhakta-jana-seva].

From Visnusvami's teachings I will accept two main elements: the sentiment of exclusive dependence on Krsna [tadiya-sarvasva-bhava], and the path of raga-bhakti [raga-marga].

And from you [Nimbarka] I will receive two excellent principles: the necessity of taking shelter of Radha [ekanta-radhikasraya], and the high esteem for the gopis' love of Krsna [gopi-bhava].

-'”Sri Bhaktivinod Thakur "Navadvipa-dhama Mahatmya", Chapter Sixteen

soup and bread

My wife made kale (purple) & vegetable soup and eggplant side and I made naan. The naan came out a little flaky than I expected neverthless very tasty. The soup and the side came out perfect per our like.

The eggplant dish is a simple gravy dish. It has sauted eggplant, cauliflower, green pepper and tomotaes with cream added at the end. It was finally garnished with finely chopped cilantro leaves.

The soup is a simple mixture of kale, cooked white bean, carrot, cauliflower and green beans. In order to give the soup some chunkiness, we added cooked vegetable pasta at the end.

I googled searched the naan recipe...it is pretty straight forward.

We offered it to Lord Jagannath and relished the prasada.

Hare Krishna

Hyper- reality

People like to fantasize but even that fantasizing has some reality attached to it. The fantasy can be about human beings ability to fly in space and experience a world beyond or the fantasy can be about man dealing with mysterious phenomenon or super-human acts etc etc. Some how our fantasy is tied with a human experience in some form or other. These fantasies become very close to our minds when we can realize them through our eyes and ears. Based on this, fantasy story lines are created in motion pictures and draw a large audience. Movies such as Jurassic Park, ET, Star Wars, Matrix, The Lord of the Rings etc etc are fantasy pictures that relate to human feelings and is realized through the eyes and ears. The human experience is enhanced all the more to the degree the fantasy is depicted in a “real” way. The gaming industry is also trying to achieve that perfection of reality in virtual space so man can be controllers in a “real” way within a virtual environment. Hence fantasy is based on reality.

The Vedic literatures, however, state that reality is based on fantasy. The reality that we are caught up in this cycle of birth and death is based on the fantasy that we are this body. Because we eat, interact, evacuate, sleep, and perform myriad of functions thinking we are this material body, we are conditioned to the point that we cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality. Our memories, feelings and emotions are shaped to fit this fantasy. Imagine…we watch Jurassic Park movie so many times to the point where we think we are actually living with dinosaurs. What will happen if we mold our lives thinking we are living with dinosaurs? What will happen if everyone thinks the same? How will our “reality” be transformed based on imaginary dinosaurs? We will be living in a constant fear of being attacked by dinosaurs and naturally create an environment to suit this imaginary fear. Our personal, cultural, social and political environment will change to suit this “realized fantasy” or “hyper-reality” and when the same fantasy is stretched for generations…people will have adapted themselves to the fantasy of living with “imaginary dinosaurs” as reality.

This inability to distinguish between what is reality and fantasy has created so many problems and sub-problems. Sustainable living cannot be achieved based on a “hyper-reality”. It will eventually fail. Our complex system of education and intelligent thinking is based simply on the manipulation of knowledge rooted in this fantasy. Because our reality (all aspects of our practical lives) is based on a fantasy, we are not able to experience the happiness we are desperately searching after. At the end of the day, our quality of life is dependent simply on one thing – our ability to be continuously happy. When we snap out of this fantasy that we are living with imaginary dinosaurs and reshape our lives, we will no longer have fear of dinosaurs attacking us. Similarly, when we snap out of this bodily concept of life and reshape our lives to the fact that we are spirit souls who are part and parcel of the supreme Spirit Krishna, then we no longer have to fear the dinosaurs of material life attacking us in the form of birth, old age, disease and death. We will for ever live in reality of eternal (sat), knowledge (chit) and bliss (ananda) with Krishna.

Hare Krishna

an eternal Brijbasi

On November 29, 1971, the Chairman of the Vrindavan Municipality, itsmembers and secretaries, and the citizens of Vrindavan Dhama offered thefollowing words of praise to Srila Prabhupada:"O great soul! Today we, the inhabitants of Vrindavan, known as Brijbasis,all combined offer our humble welcome to Your Holiness in this holy place ofVrindavan and in doing so feel very proud. For many years you stayed at theRadha-Damodara Temple and worshiped Her Majesty Srimati Radharani in ameditative mood, and thus you now have the transcendental vision to deliverthe entire world. As proof of your perfection, we can see these foreigndisciples before us, and we feel very proud to see how you have transformedthem. We take it for granted that you are one of us in Vrindavan. We aresure that wherever you travel, you must carry with you the impression of SriVrindavan Dhama. The culture, religion, philosophy, and transcendentalexistence of Sri Vrindavan Dhama travel with you.

"Through the great message Your Holiness carries, all the people of theworld are now becoming very intimately related with Vrindavan Dhama. We arecertainly sure that through your preaching alone the transcendental messageof Vrindavan will spread all over the world."

Medium of sound

It is 11.45am here and the sun is shining bright in the sky brightening up the already existing snow on the ground. What’s wrong with this picture? Well…not so fast we are predicted to get an ice storm in 4 hours.

The weather media in the past couple of days has already created such a frenzy that schools are already closing, and people already leaving home early even before the storm is here. People and the institutions are already in hyper-mode in expectance of the storm. So, whether the storm actually creates a problem or not is a moot point but we are already mentally conditioned to believe the storm will create havoc…thanks to the weather media for creating a hyper-situation. It is not wrong to be well prepared before a potential dangerous storm but people already believe that the storm will cause havoc. In other words, our mind has already been coded with the idea that the storm will actually be bad and hence even if the storm outcome is mediocre…still we will speak from habituated memory versus the facts.

This is the power of sound. Sound when repeatedly said can either spoil or enlighten the mind. Hence in the Vedic scriptures, the power of sound has been stressed in more places than one. Mantra chanting, listening from a bonafide guru and reading aloud are recommendations given so the mind is filled with transcendental subject matter and this medium of sound will facilitate our transition to the spiritual world.

Therefore the secret to always remembering Krishna and never forgeting Him is by always attentively listening to sound waves filled with Krishna and his pastimes from the lips of a pure devotee!

Hare Krishna

Rare photo = $150,000

Rare Marilyn Monroe photo sells for nearly $150,000- yahoo news (not the one shown)

Only if my photo can sell for so much…oh well I am not Monroe!

But when we come along and talk about the fact that we are not the body then we will be seen as crazy because people like Monroe’s body and by spending so much they can pretend to possess something valuable.

Therefore, the problem is not that the body-soul philosophy is less convincing but it is just that modern man is blindly attached to the body though intuitively we know we are not just merely made of blood, flesh and bones.Why then this obsession?

Perhaps…just this one time for Monroe??

Hare Krishna

never forget wicked mind!

On His disappearance day, I wanted to post something on Maharaj but I forgot. This is a nice quote to meditate on and strive for with all enthsuiasm as this I think is the essence of being a Vaishnav

"This wicked mind, which is never to be trusted, should be broom-sticked every morning with such warning as, "Be not anxious to find fault with others, or to proclaim thyself as a true, sincere, bonafide devotee, which certainly thou art not" - from a lecture in Calcutta -(Year - 1914)

Hare Krishna

Is Hedonism real happiness?

Ann Ryand one of the biggest proponents of egoism theory states

“whatever makes one happy" as a guide to action means: to be guided by nothing but one's emotional whims. Emotions are not tools of cognition. . . . This is the fallacy inherent in hedonism--in any variant of ethical hedonism, personal or social, individual or collective….”

Ann Ryand equates happiness to hedonism. Oxford dictionary defines hedonism as “the pursuit of pleasure or sensual self-indulgence as the highest good and proper aim of human life”. By this definition, pretty much the entire culture of modern man is based on hedonistic philosophy. Modern scholars, therefore, equate sense-pleasure to happiness and propound that the purpose of human life is the pursuit of maximum sense-pleasure thinking it will give us happiness. As a result, from religion to politics to environmental exploitation, this philosophy is man’s underlying motivating principle – hedonism! Anyways…this is a topic for a different post.

Is hedonism, therefore, the same as happiness? I think so…NOT! In other words, by fulfilling our sensual demands, are we happy? If we look around the world and make an objecting analysis, we have to only conclude that happiness actually cannot be derived from sensual pleasure. I come to this conclusion by seeing man’s state of living of constant oscillation between happiness and distress like a swinging pendulum. One day we are happy only to become sad or distressed the next day. Why then do we relentlessly pursue a life of sensual pleasure as our sole purpose and thinking it will make us happy always? For example, when I buy a nice car per my desire, I am fulfilling one of my sensual pleasures and this indeed gives me happiness. Then why do I not feel happy always at least to the point till I possess my car? Therefore, happiness I derive from possessing a car is temporary even if I still continue to own it. Then our logical conclusion should be that the car actually does not give me real and continued happiness. If the car is a proxy for a hedonistic principle then happiness is not hedonism. Indeed happiness cannot be derived by simply fulfilling our sensual and mental needs…it is deeper!

If not, how then can we explain celebrity people claim to live lonely lives or divorce a beautiful spouse or for that matter even attempt suicide. Material opulence leads to a hedonistic lifestyle…then should not all materially opulent people be continuously happy? On the other hand, we also see people who are materially less opulent live happy lives. We can only conclude that hedonistic pursuits and happiness are independent of each other. To put it in statistical jargon...their relationship is insignificant.

If hedonism is not real happiness then pursuing a sensual self-indulgence as the highest good and proper aim of human life is counter productive to our efforts. Our purpose, then, should be to seek happiness not in hedonistic ways…but How? The answer to this question can be found in the profound knowledge that is contained within the Vedas.

The Vedas declare that living entities by nature are anandamayo 'byasat – that is by nature living entities seek ananda or happiness. Vedas gives us a clear pathway to a state of existence where happiness does not dwindle with time but explodes exponentially with time without ceasing. This exponential ananda or happiness, the Vedas declare, can be achieved by seeking that object which is the reservoir of such endless happiness. That, the Vedas say, to be Lord Sri Krishna.

Therefore, when we repose our efforts in pursuit towards Krishna and not in pursuit towards self indulgence…we can be eternally be happy even without trying…something like becoming warm when we approach fire.

One such practical method in pursuance of Krishna, per the Vedas, is to practice yoga in bhakti (devotion) towards Krishna. The yoga of chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare will solve our problem of temporary happiness and give us eternal happiness in Krishna Consciousness.

Please chant and be Happy!

Hare Krishna

Srila Prabhupada glories!

Theory of Change

A human being is a part of the whole called by us 'the universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection of a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty - Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein touches on certain aspects of achintya bheda abheda tattva; the fact that this material world and mind is a prison house, and that we are delusioned (in illusion) by it.

The only way to fulfill Enistein's task is by taking shelter of the Supreme Object of attraction Sri Krishna. As Krishna Himself says BG 7.14

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāḿ taranti te

This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.

Hare Krishna

Dear Srila Prabhupada

Dear Srila Prabhupada....I offer my humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet! All glories unto you!

Hare Krishna

How Lord Jesus prevailed?

Let us Preach to Please Krishna and for that we have to become purified, our senses should be purified, our mind should be free from false ego, our active organs should be free from lust, and desire for recognition. When our consciousness is fixed on Krishna, mind fixed on Krishna, and free from false-prestige when we speak about Krishna even if unsophisticated from a philosophical or practical standpoint, Krishna will be pleased. Ultimately this type of preaching will please Krishna. If this is our purpose, then purification is our primary purpose and true preaching is simply a natural byproduct of our purification. Therefore, on the juncture of a new year, to my fellow bloggers and all the Krishna aspirants out there, we should take a vow, an austerity, to take this process of internal purification sincerely for the pleasure of the Lord. This is our true calling, an opporunity the Lord has granted us, to show Him we are not messing around here but are actually serious in our journey back to Godhead by simply reqlinquishing our desire for recognition and fasle prestige. Then, we will actually open the lid and taste the honey of Krishna Con.

Please read below Srila Prabhupada's quote.

Eternal Inspiration for those who give the message of pure bhakti to others

Pradyumna: "What if people don't want to hear our message?"

Srila Prabhupada: People might not understand our message, but Krsna will be pleased, and that is our mission. They thought Jesus Christ's mission was stopped. They killed him. But his mission was attained. He preached three years only, but so many followers. He pleased Krsna. We must not be disappointed that no one is hearing Krsna consciousness. We will say it to the moon and stars and all directions. We will cry in the wilderness,"Serve Krsna, worship Krsna!" Because Krsna is everywhere, He will hear us.We want to get a certificate from Krsna that "This man has done something for Me." Not popularity. If a pack of asses says you are good, what is that? We have to please Krsna's senses with purified senses."

Hare Krishna

Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines (from 200 BC to about 600 AD) are giant sketches drawn in the desert of western Peru by ancient peoples. The drawings were created on such a large scale is such that the shapes can be readily discerned only from the air, leading to a variety of theories about their purpose.

If you are interested...you can google the word "nazca lines" and you will find many returns.

How is this connected to Krishna Consciousness...well...Krishna Con is mysterious and so is Nazca lines...there I made the connection!!

Hare Krishna

Absurd is the word!

"To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjustingthe focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light,and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could havebeen formed by natural selection, seems, I confess, absurd in the highestdegree" CHARLES DARWIN (1809-82) - The Origin of Species (1859)

a thought!!

Wave 3 survey requires input from local sites. We need IRB requirements to be done locally versus have a centralized process. What is the…and then suddenly from the phone conference a flash of thought...

It is not difficult…it is not easy…it is what it is…JUST DO IT- Chant Hare Krishna.

Ok…I think I am really running out of ideas for the blog!

Hare Krishna

mumbai massacre or eternal truth?

India is mourning for the bloodshed that happened in the past week. Personally, I was upset as well…not sure why but this is reality. Death…whether it comes in the form of raging hate bullets or in the form of time…either way we have to face it. Along with the proposition of death is the thought of fear of death. So, more than the actual death…it is the fear that causes immense anxiety. The fear of losing everything that we hold as sacred. The fear of the unknown after death. Our cultural conditioning of attachment to family, friends and material life. All this combined causes an upset in our tummy and manifests as fear.

So whether we are mourning for the horrific incident or whether we are mourning about the harsh reality of death is hard to tell. As devotees we should be prepared always…at least this is the teachings of our previous acharyas. Our sadhana (devotional practice) will be surely tested at the time of death. Our unalloyed love for Krishna or our love to our own ego and mind will be surely tested. If by practicing Krishna Consciousness we do not cultivate true knowledge of detachment and renunciation of ego and mind and practice attachment towards Krishna…then we will have fear in our hearts while approaching death. In other words, the fact that we have fear is an indication that our sadhana is poor.

Therefore, Krishna is eternally teaching us through world incidents such as the one last week and through personal life incidents that what our purpose on this planet is? If we diligently submit to the teachings of Guru and Krishna we can cross over this miserable condition called material life…if not we are on our own!

We have to practice to die before dying!

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
aśocyān anvaśocas tvaḿ
prajñā-vādāḿś ca bhāṣase
gatāsūn agatāsūḿś ca
nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead- BG 2.11

Hare Krishna

Plastic...beware!!!

I got this in the mail....thought I should share this. It is crazy!

Did you ever drink from a plastic bottle and see a triangle symbol on the bottom with a number inside?

Do you know what the number stands for?

Did you guess that it's just for recycling?

Then you are WRONG !!!!!!

THE NUMBER TELLS YOU THE CHEMICAL MAKE UP OF THE PLASTIC.....

1) Polyethylene terephalate (PET)

2) High density polyethylene (HDPE)

3) Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (UPVC) or Plasticised polyvinyl chloride (PPVC)

4) Low density polyethylene LDPE

5) Polypropylene (PP)

6) Polystyrene (PS) or Expandable polystyrene (EPS)

7) Other, including nylon and acrylic

What you aren't told is that many of the plastics used are toxic and the chemicals used to create a plastic can leach out of the plastic and into the food / drink.

Think about it, how many times have you or a friend said "I don't like this, it taste like the plastic bottle ..... "

THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE TASTING THE PLASTIC

Did you know chemical released by plastic water bottles can cause cancer

(It is not the water that affecting you but the chemical releasing from the bottle)

The WORST ONES are Nos: 3, 6, and 7 !!!

DO NOT USE THESE NUMBERS if stated at the bottom of the bottle) !!!

And animals have no soul...hmm!!??