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

Birthday recipes

Parotta kurma

Blueberry Orange Bundt Cake

I made blueberry orange bundt cake for my wife on her birthday. I took the recipe from here. In the recipe I substituted eggs with egg replacer and also milk with orange juice (1 cup). I made a blueberry glaze by simply adding few bluberries, sugar (half cup), half cup water and table spoon corn starch. Heat them all together in low to medium heat and you will get the glaze.

I also made Parotta and kurma. It is a south indian delicacy found on road side shops. I took the recipe from here for parotta and here for kurma.

Hare Krishna

at the time of death...

At the time of death we should leave this body just as we leave our stool behind after evacuation.

Hare Krishna

21st century River Yamuna

River Yamuna is one of the most sacred rivers in India. The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Himself performed many pastimes in this holy river in the land of Vrindavan. Unfortunately this river has been exploited to such an extent that even before it enters the land of Vrindavan, all the water is taken up by the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and what enters Vrindavan is just the sewage and chemical pollutants from Delhi and nearby areas- so much so, that it has been officially declared as a dead river after Delhi. Like you more than 8 crore pilgrims visit Vrindavan every year and take a bath and sip water from what they think is River Yamuna, but land up becoming sick or even die drinking this polluted water.

Issues:

1. At Hathini Kund Barrage, out of the 82 cumecs of original natural water flow, only 2.7 cumecs is left to flow on Yamuna bed.
2. Before Delhi, whatever little mixed flow of water remains is then totally taken away by the city and hence the river ceases to exist.
3. The Yamuna bed in Delhi stretch is used as a sewage canal to carry its waste water upto Agra canal at Okhla Barrage.
4. The dry bed beyond Okhla barrage is fed with shahdara canal sewage and polluted water of Hindon river.
5. What reaches Vrindavan-Gokul-Mathura is a cocktail of various polluted waters.

Hare Krishna

Not a blade of grass moves without the sanction of God

Unless Kṛṣṇa desires, unless He allows, we cannot do anything. We cannot do any... This is the fact. So tattva-vit... Tattva-vit means one who knows the truth. He thinks like that, that "I cannot do anything. I am always dependent on Kṛṣṇa. I cannot..." Mahatma Gandhi he used to say that "Not a blade of grass moves without the sanction of God." It is a fact. It is a fact. Nothing can be done without His sanction.

Then you can ask, "Then why somebody is doing bad work and why somebody is doing good work? In both ways Kṛṣṇa has sanctioned?" Yes, in both ways Kṛṣṇa has sanctioned. Without sanction he cannot do it. But how both ways Kṛṣṇa has sanctioned? Now Kṛṣṇa has sanctioned in this way. He has given you liberty. He has given you independence. Not full independence, but... You cannot become full independent. But you have got independence. He does not touch on your independence. That is there. Because otherwise, if you, if you are bereft of your independence, if you are without independence, then you have no meaning as living entity. Every living entity has got his minute share of independence. So Kṛṣṇa has given every one of you independence to make your choice. Now why you are...? Somebody is doing bad work or somebody is doing good work, and Kṛṣṇa giving sanction? How is that? That sanction is like that, that when I want to do something and I desire, I pray, "Oh, this thing may be done." It may be bad or good, that is a different thing. It may be... I am very much anxious. So when he's bent upon doing so, Kṛṣṇa gives him sanction, "Yes, you do it. You do it." He gives him facility. But one who has dovetailed himself into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, Kṛṣṇa gives him better consult, that "You do like this. Then you come to Me."

So sanction is always there. Sanction is always there. Without sanction, nothing can be done. So one who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he knows. He's tattva-vit. Tattva-vit means one who knows the truth, that "I cannot do anything without Kṛṣṇa's sanction."

-Srila Prabhupada lecture BG 5.7-13 – New York Aug 27, 1966

Up to 12 million girls aborted in India over last 30 years

Up to 12 million girls were aborted over the last three decades in India by parents that tended to be richer and more educated, a large study in India found, and researchers warned that the figure could rise with falling fertility rates.

Read rest of the story here

So much for Indian Vedic Culture!! It is indeed sad to see once upon time pristine culture going to ruins. The age of Kali is fast moving!

Hare Krishna

Should God be blamed for bad things of this world?

Is God to be blamed when bad things happen to us individually or on a global scale. Please read the explanation below given by Srila Prabhupada.

Na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ
Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone's sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge - BG 5.14

Now you can ask that "If Kṛṣṇa is giving sanction, then He is responsible for my bad work also. Good work, of course, He is responsible. So bad work He is also responsible." Now, here the answer is na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ. Prabhu. Prabhu means the Lord. The Lord does not create work for you, neither He creates the result for you. Na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ svabhāvas tu pravartate. Svabhāvas tu pravartate. As you have acquired your characteristics, so you create your own work and you create your result of own work and you become entangled. It is not the creation of God. You create. "How I create? If it is sanctioned, if it is controlled by God, then how I create?" The question may be. Yes. The answer is very simple.

You can understand that a person who is criminal, who is condemned. Now he's condemned to death or he is condemned to be imprisoned. Now he makes appeal that "Oh, excuse me, what was done(?)." But the judge puts him into the jail or condemns to life. So he thinks that "The judge has condemned me to death or the, he has put me into jail." But is the judge enemy of a particular person that he puts somebody into the jail and condemns to death? No. I have created. I have created my jail life before. The judge is simply giving me the direction. "Oh, you have done this. Now you have to go." He is not responsible. Similarly God is not responsible for my work, neither He creates my work. It is my nature, it is my characteristic, which, by which I create my work, I create the result and I suffer. God simply gives direction because He is the supreme director.

So He is not responsible. I am responsible. I am responsible. But if I become Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if I act on His account and completely becoming dependent on Him then He is responsible for everything happening. That is the principle.

-Srila Prabhupada conversation - New York, August 27, 1966