Planet ISKCON

“Prabhupada: Practically that is real silence. If you simply engage yourself in activities of Krsna consciousness, then automatically your activities in maya become silent. Just like the same example I have given. Here is a glass. If you want to fill up with milk, the water will go automatically. You have to throw away the water. You cannot put the water and the milk at the same time in this glass.

“Similarly, if you become active in Krsna consciousness, you automatically become silent in material activities. Without any separate endeavor. It is so nice. And if you try artificially to stop, to become silent from material activities, it will not be possible. You may meditate for fifteen minutes or for fifteen hundred minutes or fifteen thousand years, it will not be possible. The mind is very strong. Mind’s business is to accept and reject, accept and reject. You accept something, you reject something.”

Bhagavad-gita 3.1-5 — Los Angeles, December 20, 1968

“If there is no silence beyond and within the words of doctrine, there is no religion, only religious ideology. For religion goes beyond words and actions, and attains to the ultimate truth in silence. When this silence is lacking, where there are only the “many words” and not the One Word, then there is much bustle and activity, but no peace, no deep thought, no understanding, no inner quiet. Where there is no peace, there is no light.

“The mind that is hyper-active seems to itself to be awake and productive, but it is dreaming. Only in silence and solitude, in the quiet of worship, the reverent peace of prayer, the adoration in which the entire ego-self silences and abases itself in the presence of the Invisible God, only in these “activities” which are “non-actions” does the spirit truly awake from the dream of a multifarious and confused existence. “

Thomas Merton. Honorable Reader: Reflections on My Work. Edited by Robert E. Daggy (New York: Crossroad, 1989): 115.]

For the week of July 14th-20th, 2008

Grab a shovel, plow it into some dirt, and smash it into a tire. Then you’ll know it’s time for our weekly update on the Small Farm Training Center here at New Vrindaban Dham.

(Apologies for the late post this week. A heavy-duty lightning strike wiped out our servers for a few days.)

Despite the electricity, we learned that…

The Earth’s compassion is based on a selfless love that is but a twinkle of Krsna’s divine love, and we should respect and return the favor to our blue, globular Mother by appreciating her gifts and using them in a way that keeps the cycle going and growing.

Unfortunately, it seems as if it will take some kind of comfort-shaking crisis for us all to begin to realize that that we are giving our Mother Earth more than she can tolerate. When she reaches that point, which may certainly come sooner rather than later, she will let us know by her grace and will. But she will be quick to forgive and continue to give if we can show we are willing to continue on in a more respectful, organic, spiritual, natural, and dynamic way.

Click here to head on over to the Club 108 blog to read more

In the Nectar of Devotion it is said too much austerity makes one hard hearted. That is an important point to keep in mind. But you know how it is, you go to the South Coast and you just do it to yourself- you allow them to do it to you- with enthusiasm, you reciprocate fully with whatever is brought and you just pack it in! After the pizza, comes the wafers with the ice creams and surrounded by fresh cream and lots of syrup on top and you go for the seconds then the third and even a forth one- you woof it down- and the next day …you are in comatose condition- if you are not on a drip! Suddenly, suddenly, unexpectedly such and such fell ill! “Just see fate! Just see the nature of karma! The devotee is on a drip now! It’s amazing! We never thought this could…” anyway, even if it doesn’t get to such extreme on both ends- even if it doesn’t get to four wafers and even if it doesn’t get to the drip the next day, then there is something in-between called totally spaced out. It’s called the zombie stage of chanting japa! It’s like where from the first mantra till the very last, not one, not one has properly registered! But somehow or other as if you’re waning through waves of spaghetti that have been soaked in sugar syrup and very sticky, somehow or other you have to wane through that and chant the holy name, “Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna…(dramatic)” you’ve made it through the sixteenth mark round! “Thank God! Let’s have some breakfast and get rid of the hang over of yesterday!”

So at times there are advantages to go for the simple, steamies with a mild chaunce and a few lettuce leaves, not to have all the cream on top in the dressing- “You want some dressing on your salad?” you throw the dressing immediately- the weight of that bowl increases ten-fold! The amount of calories that have entered…for one leaf of salad it was 20 and with the dressing- 4000calories! In this way, “would you like a little dressing?” No dressing! Just a little oil and lemon juice. That’s all, thank you. At one point one actually realizes one can do more preaching if you just take it simple. And that preaching is of course very valuable because that preaching is the one thing that is described as the life of transcendental knowledge. That is one thing that makes this spiritual life adventurous. When we see the mercy going to others, spiritual life becomes an adventure. If there’s no mercy going out, spiritual life can be a little dry at times. But when we actually see people becoming Krsna conscious, to us suddenly we become so Krsna conscious, we surprise ourselves. We think, “Is that me?” That’s what happens when we give out mercy. So this is the one thing we have to do, the one thing we have to do. And if we go too much for all the authorized sense gratification- you know what I mean, all the stuff that’s not outside the four regs- “Is this in the four regs?” yes it is! “Alright, let’s have it!” “Yes, let’s have it too…”

“And yes some exercise is needed, so sooner or later in this modern society we have to do some exercise- we sit too much. So, some do yoga and others play cricket! I mean what’s wrong with it? I mean, it’s for the cholesterol! So it’s our duty to preserve our health so that we can prolong our service to the Lord! Hare Krsna! ‘Out! Out! Out! (cricket match)’” So these things are all part of spiritual life. It’s a matter of being balanced you see, one has to find balance. All right, that’s very good. When I speak about balance, I present it like three balls that we are juggling around. And these three balls- one is the ball of personal well-being. So personal well-being is if you never have that pizza and you never have the ice cream, then the mind becomes sour- more sour than a lemon! What is more sour than a lemon? “The mind of a devotee who never has pizza!” Well done, good answer! So that must be there- personal well-being. We spoke about the “aerobics” required for the cholesterol! So something must be part of the whole personal well-being. If you’re mentally fried- difficult to apply yourself with love in serving Krsna. “Love Krsna…” it’s difficult. So, okay the first ball- personal well-being. Second ball- good sadana, really being absorbed in it, bhajan, being absorbed in hearing, chanting, remembering Krsna, and nice. And then the third ball- do something for the mission, something, something. So I like to compare it to balls that are being juggled because that means that when you have the balls, sometimes you have one ball in the hand, other times you have another ball in the hand. Sometimes one ball is in the air and then it is in the hand. So sometimes the ball of personal well-being is in the air. It means like, “To hell with all that. Let’s just push beyond the limits because we have the ball of preaching and bhajan in the hand and ecstasy is there and it’s all going on! And personal well-being and mind and body- nah, who cares about that! That ball is in the air!” But then we catch that ball and crash on our bed and realize, “Well maybe, a little bit of personal well being is appropriate at the moment; let’s invest a little bit in this ball…”

So the three balls of preaching, personal well-being and sadana must be given attention- all of them, some attention and all the time. We always have our eyes on them but some might get a little more attention than the other, depending on the situation. This is balance…

(H.H Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, 2 July ‘08, Durban, South Africa)

Q & A sessions with KKS: 

…The Krsna consciousness movement immediately, immediately appealed to me, I must say, because there is so much life, there is so much taste. And we are here in the middle of this Ratha Yatra festival; we have relished the whole pastimes of Lord Jagannatha, Who can take so much service. Lord Jagannatha somehow or other knows how to make us work hard and go beyond our limits. So we did go beyond our

limits again- I did at least - and I think most of us, but that is the satisfying part. Because gradually we learn that the taste in Krsna consciousness is in making a sacrifice for Krsna. Even in this world it is like that; if you do something for someone else- completely voluntarily and you just really do something nice and you help somebody who needs it, you feel good that you did something good. So in Krsna consciousness, when we are serving Krsna, then everything is for the pleasure and for the glory of Krsna. And that in itself is our reward! There is no reward from the service; we do the service and we don’t get anything. We don’t get any special benefits. “What if you do this yajna?

What are you getting Swamiji?” No special benefit. “But there must be something…” No, no, no, what you’re getting is the yajna itself! The yajna was the benefit. “The yajna was the benefit? We thought the yajna was the work and then it starts raining golden coins from the sky or something like that! We find jewels in the garden or whatever may happen…or a beautiful marriage! Whatever…” no, no temporary results. The result is the service itself! But within that there is all the taste and the happiness and that is most wonderful. So in the beginning, like in everything, we take a few hesitant steps… “Well…I’ll try it…” like a toddler trying to walk but very soon we start to dance, because we begin to relish how nice it is to serve Krsna. And with time, you just can’t say no anymore…one cannot say no, ‘No’ is not there in the book of bhakti. When service is asked it is, “Yes!” how? I don’t know! Can you give a donation? “Yes!” pockets emptied! “I don’t know how, but yes, yes, yes, I will give” and then if we have this spirit, Krsna will arrange, Krsna will send, Krsna will send us everything! 

…This multi-dimensional existence that we are facing is an important topic and why it is an important topic? Because we are living in it and somehow or other we go from one dimension to another and our aim in spiritual life is to invest some energy to put some towards that spiritual dimension. In the beginning we do that through philosophy, in the beginning we cannot access the spiritual level through direct experience. So we must do it through philosophy…but we tend to become caught up again in the material dimension- in the smaller material world, in the sneeze, the snivel in the price of petrol, in the problems in the world, in the problems in the family, in the problems at work or the little pleasures- “We got a tax return! Party! Let’s have a cake!” so causes for celebration, causes for lamentation in our smaller dimension. So in this way we get so caught up that we forget the bigger picture. It is that bigger picture that is really important. But by hearing we are awoken to the idea and then by chanting we begin to act in that dimension- we begin to glorify Krsna. When we begin to glorify Krsna, then we are acting on the pure spiritual platform. Anything to do with the glorification of Krsna is actually awakening the soul from its slumber here in the embodied stage. And gradually, when the soul becomes completely awakened, it becomes completely blissful and becomes completely alive…so therefore we must chant Hare Krsna to take us to that other dimension, so that we can truly realize the multi dimensional beings that we are and not just remain stuck in this small, little dimension called, our back yard! “My own back yard!” eventually there will be a cross on it and that will be the end! “My own back yard”- No, that little dimension is like a little pool, a little pool. We belong in an unlimited dimension of transcendental bliss!

Battlefield Bhajans Vol. 14

Dedicated to my Spiritual Master, HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, who is so kind and merciful to keep me engaged in devotional service everyday.

Cure of birth and death in the material world.

 I just returned from Balad Air Base in Iraq. I had to have some surgery performed there. As it seems after doing this service for so long, and the austerities that go along with it, I contracted a rare infection and needed immediate surgery to correct it. The doctor who saw me thought it might have been when I was in the human sewage in Baghdad or maybe a result of a kidney stone that caused the infection. So on the day of my surgery I showed up and was admitted. I brought a small bag, containing a Bhagavad-Gita, my japa mala and a photo of Srila Prabhupada. After the procedure, I was admitted to the intermediate care ward with others. I could not leave the bed by the doctors orders, so I began to read the Gita, when a nurse and a male airman came up and asked my what I wanted to eat. I explained that I was a strict vegetarian to which the man replied,” I am also, I got you covered”. And he ran off, as I was waiting for my meal, the nurse asked me what I was reading.  I explained to her that I was reading a sacred text that will do something no hospital in the world could do. Curious, she asked what that was, and my reply was simple. ” Ma’am it will save you from birth and death in the material world.” She explained that in her ward she sees many trauma patients and often wonder what the goal of life was.  She knew there was a higher purpose, but she explained she had to get going because she had other patients. I thanked her for the talk. 

    A little but later the man returned with a small paper plate of cute fresh fruits and bread. We started talking and he was asking why I am a vegetarian, I explained that we are suppose to be the well wishers of all living entities, and that animals have souls, and to eat them is a grave mistake. He was very interested, but about this time the pain was getting to much for me. While talking with him, I was praying to my Salagram SIla’s ” my Lords, please allow me to ignore this material pain for a little longer to assist you in reawakening this souls lost love for You.” And as we talked more and more about Krsna, about devotional service and about the purpose of this life and about the glories of the Holy Name, his eyes showed a new life. Like a sponge he was soaking up all this Absolute Knowledge. After one hour of speaking,  I said to him, I need to take some rest because I am in too much pain, but before he went I had a gift for him. I picked up my Bhagavad- Gita and the photo of Srila Prabhupada and placed it in his hands and let him know, his seed of devotional service is planted and this wonderful sacred text will sow it and by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy it will grow into a wonderful tree. His hands were trembling as he accepted them and I could see the look in his eyes, that look of determination to accept this process into his heart.

Sadhana:

Japa: because of health reasons, I could not follow my standard of 25 rounds or 64 on Sunday. But this was ok in my opinion. It is better for me this week. Due to the pain from the surgery, I am feeling my japa as a cure for my material suffering. My rounds take a lot of my energy but I am being careful and resting plenty. 

Reading the Cc and Srila Prabhupada Siksmrta: since I my energy is down while i am recovering, I am using this time to increase my reading time and to careful read Srila Prabhupada’s books and make notes from each purport and letter. With this notebook of nectar, I can find inspiration at anytime from any page. 

Sankritan: Just one book this week. But even one of Srila Prabhupada’s books is like a transcedental time bomb. At any moment it can blow you out of the material world. Still I look forward to when my health is better and I can give my self again to this service.

We are at 24 days left and counting, please pray for us that our health fully recovers before we leave and that our material desires are destroyed so we can help more souls in this material world. Our only desire in this body is to help others find the beauty and love that only Krsna can give.

Forgive us for any offenses we made

your servant in Srila Prabhupada’s mission

Partha-sarathi dasa

ISKCON Iraq

Thus perplexed by various anxieties and bound by a network of illusions, they become too strongly attached to sense enjoyment and fall down into hell.

Kadamba is a fragrant and beautiful solid flower, which is round in shape. The flower especially grows in Vrindavan and Mayapur. Recently, a week ago in Mayapur, sweet fragrance of Kadamba flowers filled the air. As you walk around the campus, Kadamba trees full of beautiful round white flowers like snow balls is a scenic delight. For the divine pleasure of the Lord, devotees lovingly offer Kadamaba garlands and bouquets. Kadamba flowers can be seen only for few days in a year. Krishna enjoys His rasa dance underneath the kadamba tree.

read more

Kripamoya Prabhu explains history and development of book distribution follow-up strategies in the UK. This online-book contains the following articles:

• Book Distribution Follow Up Strategies: The Mail Order Miracle
• Book Distribution Follow Up Strategies: Meet the Monks!
• Book Distribution Follow Up Strategies: Market Place Festivals

The articles have been posted originally on his blog, The Vaishnava Voice. If and when Kripamoya Prabhu writes more on this subject, I'll include it here.

You can download the whole series as a pdf-file, too.

• General Content

Today I did the Strengths Finder 2.0 Test. To do this test you need to purchase the Strengths Finder book which gives you an access code to the online test. I found the test very accurate and it is helping me to determine my future focus in terms of study, career and service. I would recommend the test to anyone who wants to identify and hone their unique fields of strength for maximum effectiveness.

The test takes about half an hour and produces a ranked list of your top 5 areas of strength, along with explanations and suggestions on how to maximize and capitalise upon them.

Here are my top five themes of talent, ranked in the order revealed by my responses to the Clifton StrengthsFinder.

Ideation, Activator, Communication, Strategic, Learner

Here are the explanations of each of these categories:

Ideation


You are fascinated by ideas. What is an idea? An idea is a concept, the best explanation of the most events. You are delighted when you discover beneath the complex surface an elegantly simple concept to explain why things are the way they are. An idea is a connection. Yours is the kind of mind that is always looking for connections, and so you are intrigued when seemingly disparate phenomena can be linked by an obscure connection. An idea is a new perspective on familiar challenges. You revel in taking the world we all know and turning it around so we can view it from a strange but strangely enlightening angle. You love all these ideas because they are profound, because they are novel, because they are clarifying, because they are contrary, because they are bizarre. For all these reasons you derive a jolt of energy whenever a new idea occurs to you. Others may label you creative or original or conceptual or even smart. Perhaps you are all of these. Who can be sure? What you are sure of is that ideas are thrilling. And on most days this is enough.




Activator


“When can we start?” This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. You may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down you know that only action is real. Only action can make things happen. Only action leads to performance. Once a decision is made, you cannot not act. Others may worry that “there are still some things we don’t know,” but this doesn’t seem to slow you. If the decision has been made to go across town, you know that the fastest way to get there is to go stoplight to stoplight. You are not going to sit around waiting until all the lights have turned green. Besides, in your view, action and thinking are not opposites. In fact, guided by your Activator theme, you believe that action is the best device for learning. You make a decision, you take action, you look at the result, and you learn. This learning informs your next action and your next. How can you grow if you have nothing to react to? Well, you believe you can’t. You must put yourself out there. You must take the next step. It is the only way to keep your thinking fresh and informed. The bottom line is this: You know you will be judged not by what you say, not by what you think, but by what you get done. This does not frighten you. It pleases you.




Communication


You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. This is your Communication theme at work. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them. You take the dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors. You believe that most people have a very short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your information—whether an idea, an event, a product’s features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson—to survive. You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in. This is what drives your hunt for the perfect phrase. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is why people like to listen to you. Your word pictures pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them to act.




Strategic


The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path—your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike.




Learner


You love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered—this is the process that entices you. Your excitement leads you to engage in adult learning experiences—yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables you to thrive in dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on short project assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the “getting there.”

"As you may know, the Clifton StrengthsFinder measures the 34 themes of talent determined by The Gallup Organization as those that most consistently predict outstanding performance. The greater the presence of a theme of talent within a person, the more likely that person is to spontaneously exhibit those talents in day-to-day behaviors.

Focusing on natural talents helps people build them into strengths and enjoy personal, academic, and career success through consistent, near-perfect performance.

To learn more about your strengths and to discover your Top 5, visit http://sf2.strengthsfinder.com."