Practice makes a man perfect

We all have heard the common aphorism “practice makes a man perfect”. The ultimate perfection of life is to constantly practice to meditate on God. We can practice this meditation daily for all activities of life even to apparently mundane chores. For example, we are waiting in line to buy a train ticket, we can meditate on Krishna, or say the same line does not move forward and there is a problem, we may naturally get frustrated but even in that frustration we can meditate on Krishna for support. The idea is that we practice to meditate on Krishna for all things in life – be it good or bad, big or small, fix or no fix, we practice to meditate on Krishna to give us the strength and support to live our daily lives. This practice will keep us humble and relaxed in all circumstances of life knowing well who the ultimate controller is. Ultimately, at the time of death, the same practice will come naturally and we will meditate on Krishna at the final moment of this life.

In order for us to engage in this practice of meditating on Krishna for all things requires a sense of attachment to Him. This attachment comes from faith that Krishna will help us and this faith can be cultivated by chanting His Holy Names. Therefore by regularly chanting we can cultivate faith and attachment which will help us at the time of need.

Chant Hare Krishna!

Hare Krishna

H.H.Radhanath Swami meets the President

H.H.Radhanath Swami (my spiritual master) has recently met the President of the USA Barack Obama in a private meeting in Florida. This happened on June 13 2011. More information can be found here.

It is said in the scriptures that a moment's association with a pure soul can award one liberation from birth and death. Even by the action of touching a pure soul, one advances spiritually. We can see Mr. Obama touching H.H.Radhanath Swami. I hope Mr.Obama took advantage of this meeting.

Hare Krishna

Humility

Humility means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others .. Unless one is humble and meek, one cannot qualify to sit at the lotus feet of the Lord.

- Srila Prabhupada

Superbug in cattle

A new strain of the MRSA "superbug" has been found in the milk of British cows and is believed to be infecting humans. Experts have ruled out any general threat to the safety of milk or dairy products. But they point to "circumstantial" evidence of the bacteria passing between cattle and humans. The discovery has fuelled controversy over intensive farming methods and the way antibiotics are used to protect livestock.

In the relentless drive for increased per animal productivity... dairy systems are becoming ever more antibiotic dependent - Soil Association director Helen Browning

The Soil Association called for a complete ban on routine use of the drugs, which is said to promote the development of drug-resistant bacteria. It also urged an end to the continuing economic pressure on farmers to cut costs and maintain low prices. Soil Association director Helen Browning said: "This new evidence confirms our long-held view of the importance of absolutely minimizing the use of antibiotics especially those closely related to antibiotics used by people.

This requires excellent husbandry, and much reduced stress on our animals. In the relentless drive for increased per animal productivity, and under acute price pressure, dairy systems are becoming ever more antibiotic dependent. We need to get farmers off this treadmill, even if that means that milk has to cost a few pennies more. That would be a very small price to pay for maintaining the efficacy of these life-saving drugs.

The Cambridge University veterinary scientist, who led the research, spoke of the tremendous financial pressure placed on farmers by the purchasing power of big supermarkets. Dr Mark Holmes and his team stumbled on the new MRSA bug while investigating mastitis, a serious and potentially lethal disease which affects dairy cows. The research has been published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a drug-resistant form of a usually harmless common bacterium, which can be deadly when it infects wounds.

The bug, often found in hospitals, was linked to 1,593 deaths in 2007 but since then the number of suspected fatal cases has fallen dramatically. There were 1,290 deaths in 2008 and 781 in 2009.

- Sky News

Hare Krishna

Spiritual life is our duty not hobby

The price of Krishna consciousness is sincerity. A sincere person does not consider difficult or easy. A sincere person considers whether it is right or wrong. When a mother is sleeping, in the middle of the night when the baby is crying is it easy for her to get up and take care of the baby? Is it easy? Very difficult! But does she do it…every mother who has some sincerity to become a mother, even if it is the most difficult thing in the world, she will get up and take care of the child. There is no consideration - easy or difficult. There is only one consideration - whether it is right or wrong.

Do you go to work every day? Do you love your work every day? Is there a day sometimes where you wake up and do not want to go to work? When people you have to deal with you don’t like even to see - your boss. Sometimes it is the last thing in the world that you want to face these people. Does that mean you do not go? Do you even consider you like it or don’t like it whether it is easy or difficult. You only consider one thing it is my duty, I must do it, It is correct.

For common matters for survival we constantly do things we don’t like to do because it is correct, it is the truth. In the spiritual realm, we are not following Guru’s order because we like it or we are not following guru’s order because it is easy. We are following guru’s order because it is truth and if it is truth we must do it. As long as you are thinking I like and I don’t like or it is easy or not easy that means we are not very sincere. Sincerity means is it correct or is it not, is it the truth or is it not. Is this my duty and responsibility as a human being to follow this instruction or is it not, if it is I do it under any mind or condition of mind or senses.

Spiritual life is a responsibility. It is not a hobby. Hobby, you do when you like. Responsibility, you do it no matter what. Do you pay your taxes? Do you like to pay your taxes? Why do you do it? Why don’t you tell your government that I don’t like this, I am not going to pay. It’s difficult to pay taxes, forget it I am never going to pay again. Why do you not tell them like that? Why you tell your guru that. You won’t tell the Government that. Because it is not your hobby to pay taxes but it is your duty. Spiritual life is not a hobby it is the sacred duty of the soul. The Government does not give a damn whether you like it or not. They don’t care if it is difficult or not. It is your responsibility as a citizen of this country that you must pay. So it is our sacred duty to God to surrender to Him and we surrender by following the orders of Gurudev. It is the only way. There is no other process of surrender.

It is the duty of every human being to surrender to the order of Guru. A sincere person who accepts his responsibility does not consider easy or difficult.

-H.H.Radhanath Swami

Pride before fall

As they say Pride cometh before the fall.

How to NOT fall prey to pride?

We have to resist the temptation of being glorified and recognized at all levels at all times.

Hare Krishna