Forum postings email by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Saturday, 31 January 2009, 10:06 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I have not received any forum post emails these dew days. Let me know if you do not send them out anymore or if it's a technical problem. Thank you very much Prahbu! With Love and all respect, Tulsidasananda Sunday Satsang 2/1/2009: Vyabhicāri-Bhāvas by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 31 January 2009, 08:53 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This Sunday Satsang will be a continuation of last week's, where we talked about devotional symptoms and emotions (vyabhicāri-bhāvas). This time we'll discuss garva (pride), śaṅkā (apprehension), trāsa (fear), āvega (agitation) and unmāda (madness due to extreme bliss). These are all wonderful transcendental symptoms of ecstasy, and every devotee should be familiar with them. As usual the Satsang will be at 12 noon Santiago time, or 10 AM EST, 9 AM CST, 7 AM PST or 3 PM UT. Here's the link, please join us: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com/portal/JoinForm.action?meetingRoomName=davidbrucehughes love, Baba garva Pride The disregard for others that occurs due to one’s own good fortune, beauty, youth, qualities, obtainment of the supreme refuge (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) or attainment of one’s desired object, is called garva. The symptoms of garva are disdainful speech, not answering another simply to amuse oneself, displaying one’s limbs, concealing one’s intention and not listening to another’s words. śaṅkā Apprehension The apprehension of calamity arising from having stolen something that belongs to Kṛṣṇa, from committing an offense or from the viciousness of others (that is, the enemies of Kṛṣṇa), is called śaṅkā The symptoms of śaṅkā are drying of the mouth, change of color, looking here and there, and hiding. trāsa Fear The fear that arises suddenly or unexpectedly due to lightning, a fearsome creature or a fearful sound is called trāsa. The symptoms of trāsa are taking shelter of nearby objects, becoming stunned, horripilation, trembling and perplexity. āvega Agitation Agitation, excitement, tremendous outburst of emotion and bewilderment of the heart are called āvega. This āvega arises from eight causes: (1) priya-vastu (a pleasing object), (2) apriya-vastu (a displeasing object), (3) agni (fire), (4) vāyu (wind), (5) varśā (rain), (6) utpāta (an unusual or startling event or calamity), (7) gaja (an elephant) and (8) śatru (an enemy). Each one of these causes gives rise to different symptoms. In priya-vastu-āvega there is horripilation, comforting words, fickleness and standing to welcome the beloved. In apriya-vastu-āvega there is falling on the ground, screaming and dizziness. In āvega arising from fire there is disorderly movement, trembling, closing the eyes and shedding tears. In āvega arising from wind there is covering of the body, rapid movement and wiping the eyes. In āvega arising from rain there is running, taking an umbrella and contracting the body. In āvega arising from calamity there is change of facial color, astonishment and trembling. In āvega arising from an elephant there is running, trembling, fear and looking behind oneself repeatedly. In āvega arising from an enemy there is putting on armor, taking up weapons, and leaving home to go to another place. unmāda Madness Bewilderment of the heart that arises from extreme bliss, calamity or acute separation is called unmāda. The symptoms of unmāda are loud laughter, dancing, singing, futile action, incoherent speech, running, shouting and behaving in a contrary manner. Evening Darshan 1/31/2009: Kirtan and Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantras by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 31 January 2009, 08:35 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We continue the Darshan series with a melodious kīrtan led by Kānāi dās. He is really making good progress, especially since he got a little MIDI keyboard and hooked it up to his computer. This is followed by a nice class on Śrī Īśopaniṣad, mantras 6-11 led by Bhakta Neville. kīrtan(MP3 audio) class(MP3 audio) love, Baba Epistemology - the question of 'how do we know'? by Neville Clemens - Thursday, 29 January 2009, 09:33 AM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Some recent events jogged my memory of this past discussion thread, in which we discuss the very important subject matters of epistemology, ontology, ontological commitment and the relationship between all these. If these sound like big words, don't be discouraged. Just look them up and/or post questions on this thread. It starts with a great question posed by Samantha (her name no longer shows up because her account expired, but she is referred to in subsequent posts so don't get confused) and what follows are several nice responses that outline the subject matter. This is an example of the kind of great discussions that are buried in the archives here. The students back then were a different set, so I thought it would be re-posting the thread to elicit more discussion. Love, Neville Re: Epistemology - the question of 'how do we know'? by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 29 January 2009, 11:25 AM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Last night on our walk we were talking about the process of building the Bridge, and the discussion you link to was an important part of that. The idea of the Bridge is to build a link from the understanding of contemporary people to the standard Vedic philosophy and culture. Since the beginning of our site I have posted many discussions on modern science and its relation to Vedic culture and philosophy, ontology and epistemology, just to show this Bridge and lead people along it. Also our Vedānta-sūtra goes deep into this discussion. Someday someone should research and collect all these discussions and compile them into a book called The Bridge. Actually I think it would be possible to compile several books from the questions and answers we have posted so far on this forum. There are thousands of words on a wide variety of subjects. If one of our literary-minded students wanted to take up this research project as a service, it would be very valuable. love, Baba Re: Epistemology - the question of 'how do we know'? by Michael Jones - Friday, 30 January 2009, 09:17 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Although my only experience of writing are the research papers and essays for school, if it is ok by you I would love to take up this service. It may take a while due to work along with the Bhakta degree, but if time is not an issue then please sign me up. I figure that I could read a few threads a day starting from the very beginning and compile each one as a html file into different folders according to the subject. Along the way I will also read deeper into some of the subjects and compile some other writings for more sources, etc. I could also make a rough outline of the book as I get more familiar with the subjects and then by the time I have raised the money I need to visit, I will be set to put together and write the first draft. I was thinking that categories on Modern Science, Philosophy, Religion (How the Vedic teachings connect to all the mainstream religions. This has been something I have wanted to research deeper into for a while, just need to get the time. I know there is a goldmine on Christianity here and I also noticed a book about Islam on the site), Archeology and whatever categories that arise from reading the posts/what you or other students suggest would make good categories. I know it is a long way from this stage of planning but what were you thinking in terms of style? The full conversations or more of a prose. e.g. A discussion on ontology and then "Carl Clemens gives this example in response to ....." If there is someone more qualified or with more time who would like to do it, please feel free. If you need help researching, I would love to help compile/research these things so that I can get a deeper understanding of the subject matters. Love Mike Re: Epistemology - the question of 'how do we know'? by Michael Jones - Friday, 30 January 2009, 09:22 AM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you for posting this thread. It was a very interesting read. I started going through old posts a while ago but for some reason stopped. This has inspired me to start going through them again. Did Samantha stick around after that or was that her last post? She seemed quite intelligent so its a shame she couldn't get around her doubting. I posted a response although the thread hasn't come up on the main page of the forum. Anyone have any ideas why? Does this mean it will not be in the main archives? (i.e. you have to search specifically for it). Love Mike Re: Epistemology - the question of 'how do we know'? by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 30 January 2009, 09:53 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I also noticed that someone posted and then the post did not show up on the forum page. Maybe the server burped or something. Anyway, thank you very much on the offer to compile some of the early posts into a book. I think for starters, all we need is to go through and categorize the threads or posts into broad topics. Later when we see what we have, we can do more detailed editing. Take your time, this is not a high priority project, but it could produce something very useful in the long run. love, Baba Re: Epistemology - the question of 'how do we know'? by Neville Clemens - Friday, 30 January 2009, 01:05 PM Dear Mike, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I'm glad you found it a useful and informative read. That's why I re-posted it. That was Samantha's last post. We never heard back. It's very difficult to tell who will stick around and who will walk away. I read your response on that thread and it was really nice. A great compilation of quotations there, and I'm sure it will be a very useful place to point students to if they come up against that obstacle. Love, Neville Re: Epistemology - the question of 'how do we know'? by Michael Jones - Friday, 30 January 2009, 01:19 PM Dear Neville and All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you very much for reviving this topic, it was a very interesting and enlightening read. I have always had an inner feeling of some of the topics such as the fact that we can only think within our "box" and that there is so much that we don't realize due to our limited thinking. When one takes hallucinogenics for example, the world is seen and felt in such a different way, but the sensory input is no different. I have never been able to put my strong feeling of God into words, especially words as scientific as this, and never really investigated further while growing up to be able to do so. Although I can't add a great deal as this topic has been discussed so wonderfully (I really like the Mp3 example by Carl), nor can I pretend I understand everything at this stage (lots of things I need to look up), I'll add some things that opened my eyes more to the scientific argument during what I believe was the start of my spiritual awakening. It was Around October/November 2007 and the reason I see it as the start of my awakening is that I experienced the symptoms of mild paranoid that Babaji described in a previous post. I didn't know what it was at the time and for a while I thought I was going crazy but something inside me stopped me seeking professional help. I have always had a habit of observing myself and trusted my instincts. At the same time I started a science course as an elective. It was classed as a physics course but really it was the "art of science," giving the history of a lot of recent theories (such as evolution, nuclear physics, etc) as well as showing that scientists are like you or me and make mistakes. I already had doubts about the extent of credibility that scientists have but this course made me realize fully how little we know. It was confirming so many of the things I was unsure about and the professor was a very entertaining, open minded person. He wasn't trying to indoctrinate, rather tried to make us think about these things. For anybody who is new to this teaching and comes from a scientific background, I fully recommend reading the textbook if you can get hold of it. It will really open your eyes to the truth given in this thread about science and also the many problems with it when trying to reach the absolute truth. Here is a description: The result of an unusual collaboration between a physicist with a strong interest in the histories of art and science, and a philosopher with a broad knowledge of science as a human activity, The Art of Science gives readers an appreciation of the activities of science: the hands-on work of experimentation, the struggle to convince people of the validity of novel findings, and the excitement of "eureka" moments. In so doing, the book shows how scientific knowledge is made, and occasionally unmade. The Art of Science steers a course between two important and contradictory images that have a myth-like status: that of the scientist as computer, and that of the scientist as genius. If we abandon these images to focus on what scientists really do, we see that the sciences are also arts. To show the artistry of science, text and images are woven together, so that the book makes its arguments not just through stories of science, but through vibrant and arresting illustrations that help to bring the activity of science to life. The Art of Science shows science not as austere and other-worldly, but as textured and wonderfully human. I could write pages and pages on this book and its relation to this thread but I will just post a few of the quotes (in italics) I feel will contribute the most. "Like artists, some scientists have thrived on changing modes of representation: altering the focus, turning background into foreground, and framing knowledge differently. Logic is no more important to science than it is to any other activity." As has been explained so many times, context is very important for content. We have to remember that science doesn't provide certainty, rather it only provides a representation. One which continues to change. The context (political, scientific, ecological, etc) for certain theories inevitably changes and as a result, the content also ends up being changed. So we can see that this is not absolute truth. To get there scientifically, we need an unchanging context. "Science thrives on changes of perspective [such as the early twentieth-century representation of the atom]. Reconceptualizations create new problems and new areas of research." "Faithful representations do not necessarily make features of the natural world more comprehensible, and they are in no sense mere copies of their subject matters." If we try to reach truth via the deductive method, we can see that we probably never will. Whenever there is a new discovery in science, we have millions of questions to answer and so the areas of research increase exponentially. If we recieve knowledge inductively then we are getting all that we need and other truths can be derived from that absolute truth which saves so much time and effort. When the atom was first being conceptualized, the representation changed several times, so we can see that it was not a fact that an atom looked like the first representation, rather that was the best copy we could produce with our limited knowledge. If we receive truth from the source of truth then we can see that we are not getting a copy of the subject but the truth, the way it actually is. "What once may have been blasphemous representationally becomes faithful to another perception of things. A good representation is true, but truth can only be expressed in human terms." Here is an important point in terms of our ontology. Everything is about perception. The fact that one animal sees the world in infra-red while another doesn't, does not mean either is seeing the world falsely. Rather, the representation of what is actually being sensed is the only one available to the sense organs of that animal. So just because science gives a good representation of the world in human terms, we have to remember that we did not create the world, nor are we the only ones perceiving the world, and so what we are representing is not absolute truth but rather relative truth. If you change your ontology from seeing the world as a human being and instead can fully realize that you are a spirit-soul, you will see the world as it really is, from the absolute platform. "By using a theory or a fact in a variety of different contexts, students can come to understand how it applies to those contexts, and can transfer their problem solving skills to other contexts. ...... In using a theory, students come to understand the range of applicability for what they have learned...... Once a person has learned to perceive in terms of theoretical concepts, he or she has learned much of what it means to reason with those concepts." Again, important for ontology. If you are only working within a certain theoretical construct, then it is hard to see things outside of that construct. you might be able to apply your "knowledge" to other contexts, but not the full context, the absolute context. You work within a limited framework. So it is important to widen the range of your framework of reasoning and this requires changing your ontology. "Scientists have to find patterns of reasoning that work for particular types of cases, that depend upon learning the important features of those cases. Then they try to extend those patterns to new types of cases, which requires understanding or discovering what remains the same between the old and new cases. It also requires learning what the important features of the old pattern are, to be able to apply those features in novel contexts. In this way patterns of reasoning may be revised, and even rejected. In all of this, logic is almost never at issue: most people agree about what logic is, even while they may disagree about what is reasonable." So because many patterns of reasoning are revised and rejected, the framework that the scientists are working with is obviously not complete. Their ontology is limited as many phenomena do not fit in with their previous patterns of reasoning. " Scientific knowledge is importantly not what individuals believe, but what communities believe. Communities, however, do not always arrive at consensus without a struggle. ... During controversies scientists pick apart each others evidence, reasoning, and conclusions: almost everything can be called into question. Thus controversies afford onlookers a glimpse into how uncertain scientific claims can disintegrate or solidify into taken-for-granted knowledge." So scientists are not unified in their belief of certain theories. Rather, what the scientific community agree on is what are presented as knowledge, but we know that this knowledge can and does change when more evidence is brought into light. "The things that scientists find most useful, and pass on to their students and colleagues, survive in the scientific canon. A claim will be useful if, among other things, it stands a good chance of being noticed and accepted by other scientists .... not every idea or skill will survive in science: because existing scientific knowledge has been accepted by most of the community, novelty has to meet many constraints." "Scientists are very thoroughly socialized. Years of training result in broad agreement. ... Textbooks in particular contain what the scientific community considers objective knowledge." This is very important. The knowledge that created the ontology of scientists in the first place has been passed down inductively. So if that knowledge was limited in the first place, then how can they explain or perceive things outside of that framework? There may be a novel claim which is true, but if the community does not accept it, then that idea will not be passed to future generations. What is considered objective is what is in the textbooks but this does not mean it is truth. Again, the framework is limited. For example, Eskimos have many more words for snow than westerners. Studies have been done that show Eskimos can actually perceive different types of snow (where the difference is subtle), whereas westerners do not see the different types. This is due to their larger framework, or ontology of snow. Similarly, Scientists do not have room for spiritual matters and so only textbook is seen as knowledge. This does not mean they are right. They just cannot see anything else. "The social nature of science contributes to scientific objectivity. Which claims, arguments, and methods are accepted is not a subjective matter, because success is not based on one individual's opinions and objectivity is the product of minimizing subjectivity. Although that is not quite the form of objectivity envisaged in the rationalist model of science, it is as good as any real-world science can hope for." "The only crucial experiments are ones that enough of the relevant community decide to call crucial - the ones that they decide not to question indefinitely." So actually science is not really objective. It is only less subjective than it would be if only one person did the experiment. Objectivity is what the community decides is objective. Self realization is also an experiment. By scientific standards, if more than one person says they saw Krsna (let us take Srila Prabhupada and Babaji) then that is also objective. But that is not considered a crucial experiment by the scientific community for various reasons when in fact it is the most important experiment one could do. Further, although two people may agree that they had a spiritual experience, by its nature, spirituality is subjective. Therefore, although you may get varied results from someone else, it doesn't make the experience any less true. A side note: scientists also get varied results. "To deal with the uncertainty, unpredictability, and messiness of the natural world, experimenters create the most unnatural environment they can by purifying, sterilizing, standardizing, and enhancing their subjects and tools ... [they then] combine substances in odd ways, pushing those substances to their limits and beyond. These manipulations allow experimenters to arrive at clean and neat results, the sort of results that theoreticians can build on." So the results that the theories are built on aren't actually the real world in the first place so it is quite a claim to say science will lead to absolute truth when it doesn't actually get truth of the "real" physical world, but rather an approximation based on standardized tests. "The artificiality of the laboratory suggests a problem for turning science into technology, because what works under rarified scientific conditions may not work in the messier conditions of the outside world. Interestingly, technologists usually respond to this challenge by working as well to make the outside world more like the laboratory: building temperatures are controlled, the terrain is flattened or sculpted, people are trained to behave more predictably, and so on." We can see this happening with cities, etc. However, because these things are not based on God's science, but rather science done in the lab, inevitably we are seeing negative results from these changes to the natural world. "Theoretical work in science aims not simply to copy nature. Experimental work is held up as anchoring theory to reaity. But, while experimental science rests in reality, it is no mere copy of nature, either. If anything, it is more profoundly a human creation than is theory." Again, science is not a copy of nature, but rather the limited perception of nature in the human mind. "There can be no science without constant infusions of resources. To obtain funding, scientists turn to governments, to industry, to foundations. They have to offer at least the potential of something in return: useful knowledge, expertise, a product of economic value, or a prestigious intellectual achievement. "The time when individuals, unconnected to any institution could routinely make significant contributions to scientific knowledge now seems to be past." "As networks increased in size, more and more formal restrictions would have to be placed on who could contribute to knowledge. For this reason the Ph.D. has become almost universally required for research science, and gaining a Ph.D. has become an increasingly standardized process." "As more resources are needed for research, governments and industry are increasingly able to demand that their goals be met when they fund research." These quotes are very important for understanding why the scientific experiments on this site are not in mainstream science (but if you look for some research papers on some scholar websites you will find them). Science is expensive. Therefore you have to look at who is funding the experiments in the first place. Do they have an ulterior motive? For example, if an extremist anti-cannabis movement funds a study to investigate the effects of cannabis on the brain, can you really fully trust the results? How about if a KKK funded study finds that black people are actually inferior to white people? Extreme examples but the point is, it is dangerous just to accept each and every study put forward without seeing the full research report that should accompany the study (of course they don't give much concern to these things in the news). So if the only experiments being done are funded by people who want results within this limited framework, is it any wonder we don't get results outside of it (or if we do, the importance is minimized). "Nobel laureate David Baltimore says that 'Science is much better at solving problems of its own devising than those it is asked to solve.'" I think the current state of the world speaks for this quote. "While theories and results at lower levels can be useful, they rarely can be used to do the work of theories and results at higher levels." And what could be higher than absolute truth? If you read some of Babaji's essays/posts, not only does he speak from a higher ontological platform, but he is also able to encompass the theories at lower levels (such as physics). the converse would not be true. "Among other things, the fundamentalist assumes that theories and laws are fully things of the natural world, that they are structures inhering in the natural world. Theories and laws are not imposed on the world, but, even when they are true, they are human descriptions of how things that interest us behave. To see those descriptions in the world is to make a category mistake, to mistake representation for what it represents. That is not to say that theories and laws are simply made up or that they are false. On the contrary, a true theory or law describes some domain, as a good representational painting depicts something in the world." Carl's mp3 example is a brilliant analogy to explain this. It is not that all scientific theories are false, but rather they are incomplete and do not encompass the whole of experience. Further, when we try and reason from the material platform, we make a category mistake, which is why we need to change our ontology to be able to reason from the transcendental platform. "The fundamentalist forgets that science is a human activity. Concepts, theories, models, and laws are constructed because they enable people to understand particular domains. A truth about one domain does not have in it all of the details of all the other connected domains. An excellent photograph when enlarged becomes grainy. Those grains are little many-coloured lies, artifacts of the limitations of the equipments. On the one hand, those limitations make for a more versatile, more useful camera. And on the other, it is not at all obvious that a camera without those limitations would always, or even ever, take better pictures." I really like this analogy. The grains are "many-coloured lies." As human beings, we are limited. Nobody can deny that. However, if we are able to reach absolute truth, then this will also have the details of all the other domains. The processes on this site give you the tools to do the experiment to see if it is actually possible to reach absolute truth. Surely that experiment is more important than trying to use our limited intelligence to figure out how to connect all the many-coloured lies. That takes too much effort, and what is achieved by doing so? "Science is an art because it produces representations. Representations are not part of nature, but descriptive of it. Scientific theories are not intuited directly, but are developed. Thus, during revolutions there are large changes in perspective, changes in styles of representation and interaction." However, absolute truth never changes. It does not need to be represented. It is experienced, intuited directly. So if one reaches it, you won't need to struggle with figuring out how to include all your other theories about the world. There will no longer be theories. "Scientific reasoning is not computation. Reasoning is a social product. Scientific communities learn how to think in useful and structured ways about their subject matters." But only reasoning within a limited framework. And because it is a social product, it is hard to expand those frames without backlash. "Experimentation is hard work that involves considerable skill, not simply sitting back and observing what happens. Experiments are interactions of people and nature. The knowledge that results from experiments is not merely knowledge of the surfaces of nature, but knowledge of structure of possibility." "Science takes place in the real world. The work of research is inextricable from the work of convincing agencies to fund the research and the work of convincing others to pay attention to ideas." Again, who is funding the experiments? How do you convince the public of an extraordinary discovery if they have been conditioned by the community you are a part of to believe what you have discovered is impossible? "Revoking public myths regarding science should allow science to gain, not lose authority. While the end of public faith might mean the end of science, the end of an ideology only means the end of blind faith, which is always a too fragile basis on which to build foundations." No one expects blind faith here. Rather, it is expected you will do the experiment. If you accept the big bang theory without recreating the circumstances then you are accepting on blind faith. Similarly, if you accept all the things on this site without experimenting then you are also accepting on blind faith. However, if you try the process and it does something, you can confirm for yourself that there is some truth to the experiment. Then it just depends on how important you think absolute truth is. Science as we know it will only provide knowledge which will disappear from your consciousness when you die. Sure, the same could be said for the knowledge on this site, but the difference is that if you keep progressing, you will feel it intuitively within yourself and that should be proof enough. And then if you manage to get to the absolute, you will be liberated from suffering eternally. You will have lost nothing, but rather will have gained. What prize is there for accepting scientific knowledge which you have not fully experimented with for yourself? At the end of the day, we can discuss the chemical composition of different drugs, their symptoms, etc, but unless one tries the drug they cannot know the full extent of the experience. Material science does the former, Vedic science does both the former and the latter. Love Mike Re: Epistemology - the question of 'how do we know'? by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 31 January 2009, 01:03 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We can get all wound up into a complicated discussion, but the real essence of this question is that we have two alternatives: we can guess or we can hear from higher authorities. The scientists like to guess (hypothesize) and then experiment to see which guess was right. Usually none of the guesses were exactly right, and the guessing process goes on. This is called āroha-panthā, the ascending path or inductive logic. The devotees accept knowledge from the śāstra and from the authorities in the line of disciplic succession. This is called avaroha-panthā, the descending path or deductive logic. There is no guesswork or experimentation required, because the transcendental knowledge is already perfect. But if you do experiment, you will see that it is right every time. So better to save time by simply accepting. Most of science and philosophy is based upon certain axioms or assumptions, and these assumptions are assumed to be absolutely true. Then the guesswork begins relative to these assumptions. The problem is that the assumptions are themselves relative truths, so the whole business is on very shaky ground. The Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas is based on one assumption: that whatever is stated in the Vedas is Absolute Truth. And if test it according to the criteria given in the Esoteric Teaching itself, we find that it really is the Absolute Truth. nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ ubhayor api dṛṣṭo 'ntas tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ "Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.16] love, Baba On being chosen by a spiritual master by don gaiger - Friday, 30 January 2009, 10:59 AM Jaya Sri Krshna Jaya Srila Prabhupada Jaya Babaji Jaya devotees please accept my humble obeisances    I am sutapadas and was for a while with the temple in the U.K.    Babaji you allowed me to connect with your site some weeks past.I have unsuccessfully tried participating no doubt due to my own faults in reading or following instructions,if this is this case i have not intended offence.     I have been reading your book Babaji Here be wisdom......in the prelimanaries you say that the neophyte is not able to choose the teacher on account of insufficient knowledge,at least this is how i have understood this..... So my question is...though i think i now see the answer....just how is this acheived via the web communication.      When i first came upon your you tube videos i felt you were the Master i am seeking and that i was guided to your site by Sri Krshnas mercy......but as i say ....,i feel   ..... see the answer to my own question ,in as much as this may be so,i understand it is still your choice to make .           I sincerely hope i have at last approached appropriately             With love to you all.....Sutapadas     Hare Krshna                    Re: On being chosen by a spiritual master by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 30 January 2009, 11:14 AM Dear Sutapa, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." [Bhagavad-gītā 4.34] From the Purport: ...One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned... Our test is the Esoteric Teaching site itself. At first one looks over the Esoteric Teaching website, and realizes that this is the authentic teaching of the Vedas. Usually then one tries to approach the subject matter independently, but quickly becomes overwhelmed by its tremendous scope and depth. We can give the student some pointers but ultimately, one must take shelter of the guidance of the spiritual master and the devotional community. To make this easier, we have introduced the concept of the Bridge Community and the University of Higher Knowledge. One who sincerely wants to approach the Esoteric Teaching through our school should register for the courses and accept the personal guidance of our teachings and methods, gradually become qualified and earn the various degrees and varṇāśrama designations, serve and receive the benefits of spiritual training over a considerable length of time. We cannot guide and encourage many students, especially over the Internet, without some kind of structure. Therefore we have created the University of Higher Knowledge and courses. When you are on a course you get a weekly personal live web conference with one of our advanced disciples or myself. This personal spiritual counseling is far more valuable than the nominal donation we ask for the course. So if you really want to advance by means of our association, then please register or the Bhakta Degree Program and go through the process like all our sincere students. love, Baba Re: On being chosen by a spiritual master by don gaiger - Friday, 30 January 2009, 03:56 PM Jaya Sri Krshna  Jaya Srila Prabhupada Jaya Babaji jaya Devotees please accapt my humble obeisances      Thankyou for your reply and instruction in this matter.....i do realize the  Bhakta programme is the way to enter the path and community,i hope in fact to do so.I am aware the contribution is more than fair for the course but it will in fact take me a week or two to free up the required funds....so i thank you for the instruction and will reconnect when my finances are freed.I shall though carry on studying in so far as i can the sanskrit words and meanings.      Just the word Bhagavan has been absorbing     my attention......the matter that strikes me is how complete the meanig is   the one word so comprehensive     Bha .......,The One who fully maintains......Guardian,these meanings so perfectly interchangable and so beautifull in the description of the completeness of the LOrd .......ga......guide as in spiritual leader master....creator,thus obviously .....the knower of the creation thus able to fully maintain.......The only true guardian of the path to the spiritual the gateway to the spiritual realm.......and then van.......The One in whom all exist .and The One Who Exists in all.....just so perfect.      So Babaji and blessed devotees because of you and one of your lessons i have the joy of opening just a little yet so much in understanding.           With love and thanks Sutapadas   Hare Krshna Re: On being chosen by a spiritual master by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 30 January 2009, 06:21 PM Dear Sutapa, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In his Bhagavat-sandarbha, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states: "The complete conception of the Absolute Truth is realized in the Personality of Godhead because He is almighty and possesses full transcendental potencies. The full potency of the Absolute Truth is not realized in the brahmajyoti; therefore Brahman realization is only partial realization of the Personality of Godhead. O learned sages, the first syllable of the word bhagavān (bha) has two meanings: the first is 'one who fully maintains,' and the second is 'guardian.' The second syllable (ga) means 'guide,' 'leader' or 'creator.' The syllable vān indicates that every being lives in Him and that He also lives in every being. In other words, the transcendental sound bhagavān represents infinite knowledge, potency, energy, opulence, strength and influence—all without a tinge of material inebriety." [Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 16 Purport] Looking forward to seeing you on the course. love, Baba Re: On being chosen by a spiritual master by don gaiger - Saturday, 31 January 2009, 05:05 AM All glories to Krshna The Parampara Srila Prabhupada To YOu Babaji and the Devotees.    Thankyou for your reply Babaji....yes i have realized the light i see inside is the Brahmayoti light and that the Krshna truth lies beyond,in considering the Daoist philosophy i became aware that the personal aspect of god was lacking,this  is why i maintained chanting and a small Krshna alter.      again thankyou Babaji            With love Sutapdas Evening Darshan 1/16/2009: Kirtan by Neville by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 17 January 2009, 08:18 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is a nice kīrtan led by Neville Prabhu. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/16/2009: Kirtan by Neville by Devesh Pant - Saturday, 17 January 2009, 04:35 PM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Very nice and serene. I liked the entire program. thanks Devesh  Re: Evening Darshan 1/16/2009: Kirtan by Neville by Michael Jones - Friday, 30 January 2009, 02:45 PM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. I have just gotten around to listening to this kirtan and it was wonderful. I especially enjoyed the Dvadasaksara kirtan at the end. Like Uddhava said, that one would be great for dancing. I envisioned a nice party of a close family, the kind you see in Indian and Eastern European villages. Love Mike Re: Evening Darshan 1/16/2009: Kirtan by Neville by Neville Clemens - Friday, 30 January 2009, 08:11 PM Dear Mike, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for the appreciation. If you notice, for a large portion of the kirtan we're singing a tune that's somewhat catchy but fairly monotonous. Kanai mentioned later that evening that it almost sounded like Buddhist chants, and Babaji gently pointed out that Vaisnava (especially Bengali style) kirtans tend to have more melodic lines. In music, melody is the mode of goodness. Something for me to keep in mind for my offerings to the Lord... Love, Neville Fork in the Road by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 26 January 2009, 08:27 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! For some time we have been planning our Bridge Community and trying to understand how to attain our objectives. It has been a very difficult piece of work, but that planning process is just about complete. Now we have a very good understanding about how to proceed, honed to a fine edge by many confidential discussions here at the āśram. For myself personally, as I approach the time when Kṛṣṇa takes me back to the spiritual world, I want to have less and less to do with management issues and the problems of the mundane world. To my great satisfaction, I have already solved these problems in my own existence; and while I can help a few others, my capacity is limited. I am not Śrīla Prabhupāda, but just an old hippie musician who somehow by necessity was placed in the position of having to take action to preserve our great Esoteric Teaching for the next generation. I have done my best, and considering my lack of qualifications for the job, the result has been remarkable. So now my personal goal is to help my direct disciples in the celibate order to attain personal self-realization, and to structure the Bridge Community and University of Higher Knowledge to pass that knowledge on to others effectively. That goal is very much attainable now, after many years of work. But if we are to be successful in attaining that goal in the limited time left to us, out of practical necessity I must focus my efforts. Realistically, I have limits; I can't try to be everything to everyone, or I will very quickly dissipate my energy and wind up being nothing to no one. Therefore I feel it is appropriate to announce my intention to retire from public preaching by May of this year. I know I have said this before, but this time I really mean it. I have written hundreds if not thousands of pages of answers to every possible question on spiritual life in these Forums. All the basic questions are answered; there remains only the task of putting them into practice. Therefore I will gradually withdraw from answering questions on this forum and pass that responsibility on to my advanced disciples. Students who want to interact with me will have to take the University Degree Programs: Bhakta, Bhakti-śāstrī etc. or attend the Sunday Satsang program online. I will also continue to respond to questions on the Naimiṣāraṇya Forum. After much discussion and some testing, we have decided to limit the offer of Bridge Community Life Membership to those who have finished the Bhakti-śāstrī I Degree Program and accepted Hari-nāma initiation. Initiation is a lifetime commitment to serving a spiritual master, and Bridge Community Life Membership is our lifetime commitment to our students. It is only fair that the commitment be both ways. Graduating from the Bhakti-śāstrī I Degree Program is a way of establishing your sincerity and steadiness in the practice of the Esoteric Teaching. Otherwise it is very risky to initiate someone. In addition, until we have a functional Gṛhastha-āśram, we will only accept Life Membership applications from single men. Everyone is welcome to take our courses, but until some advanced married couple comes forward to manage the Gṛhastha-āśram, we cannot accept a commitment of lifetime maintenance to householder couples. It is not appropriate to have celibate monks in charge of householder families. Until we have the resources, facilities and personnel to care for householders nicely, it is better that we focus our efforts on the renunciants. I think that we have built a very dynamic preaching program and spiritual education community, and I look forward to seeing my dear disciples expand it more and more. I also look forward to focusing on training our most sincere and advanced students to approach Kṛṣṇa and attain personal self-realization, and also to enjoying my own spiritual life a little more. Getting to this milestone has been a lot of hard work, and I have the scars to prove it. But I don't regret any of it; I only wish that I was able to give more, but we all must work within our limitations. Please continue with the great task of learning and spreading the Esoteric Teaching, and offering pure devotional service to Kṛṣṇa with love. love, Baba Re: Fork in the Road by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 01:28 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thanks for sharing your intentions with us. Although I have a neophyte understanding, from my point of view your decision to retire seems to be the best way forward. As you say, it is better to focus your energy on those who have committed their lives to you. Further, you more than deserve some time to enjoy your own spiritual life more. I'm sure I don't speak for myself when I say you have helped transform lives from confusion, to a clear goal to be attained. If it wasn't for you I would not have even had contact with Prabhupada's books, nor would I be trying to pursue spiritual life, and cannot thank you enough for that. But as you say, there are so many answers available that much of the time it wastes your time when people ask the same questions over, especially when it is something they have not tried experimenting with yet many others have. If someone is sincere, then they will get to the stage where they can associate with you or your disciples personally, no matter how long it takes to get to that stage. I can understand the reason for making the Bhakti-śāstrī I Degree Program a requirement for life membership as you want the most qualified people to be carrying this project forward. It will make sure the foundation for the community is strong. I will be signing up for the Bhakta degree within the next two weeks and look forward to studying under you and Neville. I was wondering if one could still visit before obtaining the Bhakti-śāstrī I Degree? I hope to be able to save the money needed by the time I have completed the Bhakta degree. Although I would not be eligible to be a life member, would I be able to visit for a little bit while studying for the Bhakti-śāstrī Degree and then if needs be come home until I have completed the degree? Anyways, thanks again for all the work you have done, and I hope you enjoy the time you have for yourself (and Krsna). Love Mike Re: Fork in the Road by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 01:54 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you very much for your understanding and appreciation. In life, one has to know when he has reached the time to let go of action in the world and go home. I have just about reached that point, and I am well aware of it. If I try too hard to continue on the same path, it would just lead to failure and defeat, and what is the use of that? One must pick one's battles carefully. I have some sense that our work has helped many more people beyond those who have come close to me; that gives me reassurance that our mission is actually more successful and influential than the size of our āśram might suggest. The answers to all the questions and problems of life are here on the site somewhere, though it might take some time and effort to dig them up. Life is complicated and we cannot put the Esoteric Teaching in a linear sequence, for its nature is multidimensional. Our policy is that one should finish or at least be making nice progress on the Bhakta Degree Program to visit here. Of course, you can continue your studies here and they will be enhanced by being here. The Bhakti-śāstrī I degree is a requirement for first initiation, because we want to establish that someone is steady before we make a mutual commitment. By the way, we are planning to move somewhere near the beach for the winter (April-October). When were you thinking of visiting? love, Baba Re: Fork in the Road by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 03:28 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Yeah there's no doubt the mission has been very successful. The youtube numbers speak volumes, what to say of the other places people watch. As you say, it is up to us to take that knowledge and run with it now. You have provided an amazing, easy to use resource to help us with that task. By the beach eh? That sounds awesome, a great place for spiritual life I am sure. At the moment I aim to have the money needed between June and August. I should be starting work sometime within the next month and then I estimate it will take until June to save the money needed for both a futures contract and plane ticket as well as some emergency money. I intend to start the Bhakta degree within the next two weeks and because it will be my main priority outside of work, hopefully I will have it completed (or close to) by the time I am able to come. I feel that if I am able to associate daily with devotees then it will make things a lot easier when studying for the Bhakti-śāstrī. I have spoken to Uddhava a few times on MSN but have not been on for a while due to a heavy workload and so good association (apart from these forums) is something I lack. When I am done with my material degree I intend to be online a lot more, and I may also visit a temple for some Kirtan so that I can increase my association, as well as to try to get to know other devotees a lot better. I think the weekly update/association in the degree will also be a huge benefit to spiritual life. When I start earning money, I have no problem giving the donation needed for a futures contract, even if I am not able to be guaranteed life membership as I believe in time I will show my sincerity and complete the degree needed. And even if things do not work out for whatever reason, I couldn't think of a worthier cause that I want to donate money to. I don't have a family to support (nor do I intend to have one, at least if I can stay strong/steady on this path), and thanks to you I do not spend it on alcohol/weed etc, and so apart from feeding myself, the money would just sit there. I will keep you updated if things change, though I don't see why they would. I look forward to closer association with you and the other devotees through the Bhakta degree. Love Mike Re: Fork in the Road by Devesh Pant - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 10:01 PM Respected Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I can say this with conviction that you have changed my life and a lot many more lives. I think your decision to retire is a personal one and I am pretty sure even after you retire there will not be anything that will get overlooked or a serious request or a prayer unheard. I am sure your decision comes with your confidence in your desciples who will take the reigns from you and carry the mission forward. With warm regards Devesh Re: Fork in the Road by James Boling - Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 08:17 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Although I have only known you for about 2 weeks, they have been 2 wonderful weeks. Thank you for bringing back so much truth to me. I appreciate all you have done to make these teachings available to all. I hope to continue to learn from you and your website. Your work at spreading the teachings will no doubt be with me for the rest of my life. I also want to thank you for answering all of my questions with such wisdom and compassion. It has meant the world to me. Any words I come up with can't express the depth of gratitude I feel for your wisdom and kindness! I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Much luck in your transition. I will keep you in my prayers. Love, James Re: Fork in the Road by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 29 January 2009, 03:44 PM Dear Mike and All, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! There are different seasons in life, and we come to know them especially well through Jyotish. One who struggles against them only reaps unhappiness. For me, after many struggles and finally success, it is coming time to concentrate my energies on those who have drawn close to me and the Esoteric Teaching. My success is not building a great worldwide movement like Śrīla Prabhupāda, but finding a way for that movement to attain its highest purity and still survive in its original form, even in a contaminated world when most sources of the teaching have become corrupted. evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa "This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost." [Bhagavad-gītā 4.2] When Śrīla Prabhupāda was teaching, unfortunately his students did not implement his plan properly. Actually they took shelter in politics instead of spiritual life, and as a result everything became spoiled. His organization is still going on, but only as a shadow of its former greatness. Our success is that we have formulated a plan for a sustainable transcendental community that can survive in the West. Undoubtedly it is not perfect, and it will have to adapt to changing conditions, but it provides three very important benefits: a means of implementing the varṇāśrama-dharma social system in its original form the University of Higher Knowledge and its Degree Programs a robust means of preventing the corruption of the current economic system from affecting the community I have to give credit to Aśtottara-ṣata Prabhu for that last one, but the other two are all our own work. My success is simply to create this plan; the success of my students will be to implement it and duplicate it in several locations. That is the task I am engaging them in. All of you please cooperate to make this great project a success. The future of our paramparā depends on it. No one else is doing this work. In the beginning of spiritual life, one is concerned with his own problems. But once the problems of life are solved, it is natural to want to help others solve their problems. The Bridge Community plan and the University of Higher Knowledge are my legacy gifts to Humanity. Please take it very seriously, read the community planning documents, implement the plan carefully and with enthusiasm. The future of the Esoteric Teaching is in your hands. love, Baba Re: Fork in the Road by Michael Jones - Friday, 30 January 2009, 09:51 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. You have left a lot for humanity. The website/forum alone is a goldmine so the bridge community plan is icing on the cake. I think the bridge community/university will be a huge success. There is so much info on the site/Prabhupada's books that there is no question of what shall we do. Rather, it is a case of finding the right way to put the plans into action (such as being economically independent, making sure the initial community leaders remain free from contamination). I think when it has been implemented, after some trial and error it is going to be a huge success. You have given a very detailed map. The other advantage we have is that because of your expertise and experience with ISKCON, we know what to look out for. Your devotees have two things going for them. They have your guidance, and also they are very sincere. I don't know them intimately, but my conversations with Uddhava and watching Kanai's videos, you can see their sincerity. I haven't interacted with Neville or Andrej as much but I am sure they are the same to be able to have your association. They know what went wrong in ISKCON and know that they will be affected in their spiritual life if they do not follow your instructions fully (like what went wrong with some of Prabhupadas devotees). Therefore, as long as anybody who becomes part of the community is as sincere as they are, then the Esoteric Teaching will continue for a long time without the need for it to be reintroduced. Personally, as far as I am concerned, as soon as I have handed in my final paper, everything I do will be to try and learn and implement this teaching. From earning money to help fund it, to serving you and the other devotees in whatever way you need me to to help make it a success. I feel blessed to even have the opportunity to be a part of this project. I got a lot of joy while researching for the community and I can feel internally that this is the right thing to do. Most of my personal material aspirations have gone. There is no doubt I still am very self involved in the fact that I want spiritual advancement myself, and I guess the main reason I want to serve this project so much is that I know it will help me personally in spiritual advancement. Further, I really want to come join you guys but, again, admittedly it is for my own benefit as I know being here affects my ability to stay focused on the path 24/7. But I hope as I become more mature I will be able to come to the stage where I am not just thinking of my own spiritual life but can use spritual life for others as I know that that is what this philosophy is about. Service to Krsna and others. With your current devotees though I am sure the plan will be implemented carefully (they know the standards you expect) and I hope I can serve them in doing so. Thanks for providing the map (and keeping the mango safe as it was passed from Prabhupada to you). Love Mike Re: Fork in the Road by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 30 January 2009, 11:02 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Many of my Godbrothers have commented, often bitterly, on the problems and failings of ISKCON; but few if any have investigated deeply enough to find the real cause of the problem, and thus come up with a viable solution. The solution is not to adjust the political structure or even the leaders; the problem is that there is a political structure at all. Just like the solution of the current economic problem is not to change the rules and structures of the corporations; the problem is that there are such things as corporations at all. Simply changing the color and shape of the illusion will not remove the problem; the problem is the illusion itself. By emphasizing politics over the spiritual teachings, ISKCON went from a bona fide esoteric school to a religion. The spiritual teachings are offered lip service, but the actual management decisions are taken by political considerations. Yes, it's a religion based on the Vedic teachings, but a religion cannot bestow authentic self-realization on anyone. So we have seen that even the big ISKCON gurus have gradually become just like mundane personalities, writing science-fiction novels, watching football games, etc.—how pathetic. Yet some kind of structure is needed to make a strong spiritual community that can survive in the hostile environment of the material world; the only possible structure is daivī-varṇāśrama. Daivī-varṇāśrama is fundamentally different from ordinary varṇāśrama, what to speak of the materialistic caste system. "The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the natural commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra and offers solid education on how to conduct life perfectly. In recent ages the smṛti texts have become prominent and influenced human thought and action. All these scriptures fully support the varṇāśrama system of four social and four religious orders. But what is today being labeled varṇāśrama is an atheistic concept totally unsupported by the scriptures. Real varṇāśrama is based not on birth but on people's qualities and activities. One cannot reach the goal of the scriptures by practicing today's demoniac caste system. Only the introduction of daivī-varṇāśrama, the transcendental varṇāśrama system, will serve the purpose of the scriptures. This will move humanity toward liberation." [Renunciation Through Wisdom, 5.1] The caste system based on birth was introduced into India by foreigners as a means to destroy the actual varṇāśrama system. Foolish people in material consciousness accept this system, therefore Indian society has become a disaster; but the real purpose of varṇāśrama is to engage everyone in devotional service: "The followers of the varṇāśrama institution accept the regulative principles of the four social orders and four spiritual orders. However, if one carries out the regulative principles of these orders but does not render transcendental service to Kṛṣṇa, he falls into the hellish condition of material life." [Caitanya-sikṣāmṛta by Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur] Our insight was to link the four varṇas (śūdra, vaiśya, kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa) or occupational divisions to the progressive systematic cultivation of spiritual training and education (the University of Higher Knowledge). That is the link between the University of Higher Knowledge and the Bridge Community. It is essential that people have the training to perform the actual occupational duties of their varṇāśrama designations; otherwise the whole scheme disintegrates into false designations of empty words, and political nonsense is the only result. I could see very clearly as soon as I joined ISKCON that the leaders were unqualified. I had read in Bhagavad-gītā about the three modes of material nature and the qualifications of the varṇas, and it was obvious that the leaders were mostly vaiśya, or kṣatriya quality at best. The devotees with brahminical qualities or real intelligence were systematically discouraged until they gave up and left. This was very depressing, just as Śrīla Prabhupāda declared about his treatment in Gauḍīya Math: "All along my godbrothers gave me only depression, repression, compression..." [letter to Gurudas, 8/29/72] The only way out of this political quagmire is to institute real daivī-varṇāśrama. In this system one's occupational duty is determined by his personal qualities and most important, by his ability to assimilate spiritual education and training. So your intention to pursue spiritual education as your goal in life is very nice. If you readily assimilate this training, you will gradually become a qualified brāhmaṇa and be able to teach others effectively. One day if you continue to apply yourself, you may become a sannyāsī and even a guru. I became guru by default; none of my Godbrothers were following the process given by Śrīla Prabhupāda in his instructions, most have fallen down into materialistic life, and even the ones that haven't are hopelessly mired in a political organization that bears little resemblance to a real esoteric school. I had to step up to the plate and succeed where they had failed. Please avoid this trap and continue to cultivate authentic Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To do this you not only have to gather knowledge of Kṛṣṇa from the scriptures, you have to think deely about the nature and function of consciousness. Only then can you really say that you have realized "Kṛṣṇa consciousness." love, Baba Re: Fork in the Road by Michael Jones - Friday, 30 January 2009, 03:39 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. It is a shame both you and Prabhupada have experienced this discouragement. It stands as a testament to your determination to get to the truth though. I guess these conditions are expected in this Iron age. I pray we are able to create the bubble that is not affected by these depressing political behaviors. Gurus watching football games??? You know things are bad when that's happening. I mean, I'm not even sudra and I'd pick Krsna over the Cowboys anyday. Thank you very much for your kind words of encouragement. I will continue to pray and apply myself so that I may oneday become a qualified brahmana (and if it is in my nature/abilities, to go further). I will follow your instructions and continue to cultivate Krsna consciousness, however long it takes. Whatever position I am able to attain though, I will certainly continue to try and help implement this daivī-varṇāśrama. When I read the community document last month, I couldn't believe what I had access to. In my hands was a solution to so many problems. And the more I read about this system, the more I can see not only its greatness for spiritual life, but also how just it is materially as well. It seems that things would run so smoothly in society if things were like this. Before I came to this teaching I was always against one state government due to being caught up in conspiracy theory. However, the more I learn about Maharaja Yudishtira and the benefits of this system when the King is actually there to serve the people, the more I see that there really is no other form of government that would work. There are so many things that will make this work if implemented properly and it will mean a truly just prosperous society. Thanks for opening our eyes. Love Mike Response to a New Student by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 30 January 2009, 11:21 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I recently made this reply to some questions from a student, but the answers are relevant for everyone: Thanks for your questions. I will respond one by one. What is the difference between gambling and business? Knowledge and competence. If someone has knowledge of a particular line of business, they can make a profit. But if they go into business without this knowledge, it is gambling or speculation and most likely, they will lose. This is true of any business, whether stock trading or real estate or baking bread. Why do 80% of restaurants fail? Why do 90% of stock traders lose? Why do most real estate brokers go out of business? Insufficient knowledge or competence. Why do most people fail to attain self-realization? The same. We also see that gambling, in the sense of games of chance like casinos, are a hub of sinful activity, therefore better to avoid that bad association. The Vedas are one, but there are different communities of followers of the Vedas. Just like the impersonalists and the personalists, or the speculators and the devotees. They both claim to follow the Vedas, but the impersonalists claim that Śrīla Vyāsadeva made a mistake, and that his conclusion of personalism and devotional service expressed in the 3rd and 4th Adhyāyas of Vedānta-sūtra is wrong. So they speculate some impersonal conclusion, and this has confused many people, both in India and all over the world. So "literature in pursuance of the Vedic version" means philosophical or spiritual literature that agrees that Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the compiler of the Vedic literature, that God is a person and is best worshiped by the method of bhakti, as described in Vedānta-sūtra, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā and other original Vedic works. In contrast with impersonalism, the Vaiṣṇava lineage is based on the simple, literal meaning of the scriptures. We do not try to force a different conclusion out of the teachings of Vyāsadeva. We follow the instructions of the Vedas exactly, neither adding nor taking away anything. We do make some adjustments in our presentation because most Westerners have no Vedic cultural background, but we never change the standard core philosophy. Unfortunately Maharshi follows the impersonal conclusion that God is just energy and not a person. Actually this philosophy is very difficult to understand because it is self-contradictory. For example in Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says plainly that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Maharshi and his line disagree with that conclusion, saying that Vyāsadeva and Kṛṣṇa are in error; but then they base their teachings on a convoluted interpretation of the Vedas, claiming that the actual meaning of the Vedic literature is different from the author's stated intentions. How is that possible? That's sort of like sitting on a branch of a tree and then sawing it off. And we see that every energy has a source or a reservoir, for example the sun is the source of light and the ocean is the reservoir of water. So even if God is energy, where is the source or reservoir of that energy? They cannot answer this question, and if you ask it they start arguing in circles. As far as the followers, the number of followers of a line of knowledge or philosophy is not a very good indicator of its truth or value. One of Kṛṣṇa's principles expressed in Bhagavad-gītā is "detachment from the general mass of people." In general, if we want the best in anything, we have to walk a different path from the masses. The masses want the illusion of spiritual salvation without changing their lives or activities in any way or making any kind of sacrifice, therefore religions like Christianity are very popular. Christianity says that you can get salvation just by believing, but this is very cheap. In spiritual life as in life generally, you get what you pay for. So the cheap salvation just for the price of belief may be very attractive to the masses, but is entrance to the spiritual world really so easy? If so, then why are there so many living entities stuck in this material world? Similarly, there are so many problems with Mahrashi's teaching. He is only giving the mūla-mantras or seed mantras; he is not giving the complete mantra which must include a Holy Name of the Lord. This is not approved in the pañcarātrīkī-vidhi or the portion of the Vedic scriptures that regulates religious practices. For example, the dvādaśākṣara-mantra, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, includes both the seed mantra oṁ, and the name of the Lord, Vāsudeva, therefore it is a complete mantra. As a new student of the Esoteric Teaching, it may take some time for you to truly appreciate the astonishing scope and depth of this philosophy. I am a little intelligent, but still it took me over 20 years to understand it completely, and another 15 years to actually realize it. Please take the time to go through our main writings, and don't try to make a snap decision based on a superficial knowledge or comparison with other teachings. Before committing to my guru I spent over a decade researching every spiritual path, including TM, and there is nothing like this Esoteric Teaching in the whole wide world. love, Baba Bruce Sterling on 2009 by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 30 January 2009, 07:17 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This morning an article by futurist Bruce Sterling called 2009 the Year of Panic. Writing in Seed Magazine, he said, "...a delusion that lasts for decades is not a delusion. It's an institution. And these, our institutions, are what now fail us. People no longer know what they value. They don't know what to believe. And unfortunately, it's part of the human condition to believe and invest in things that are demonstrably not true." So people are heavily invested in The Big Lie; the corporate ripoff that has gradually acquired all the real wealth, leaving individuals with little or nothing. Why are the streets full of homeless people? Why are tent cities and shanty towns growing all over the world? Because of the corporate ripoff. But now the ripoff itself is going to be ripped off. Ripoff-squared! Welcome to 2009, when all the false beliefs propagated by the corporate ripoff artists will be exposed. Wouldn't you rather be safe in the Bridge Community? love, Baba insanity. by Sean Lildharrie - Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 05:50 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada & Swami Babaji! i'm going insane. It all started when I watched your video "Aurveda part 1", the part when you were explaning about the movement of consiousness,and what soal is. Here is the question,and I'm going insane trying to figure it out: How do I know if I realy have a soal? Love, Sean Lildharrie ~Jai Sri Radha Krsna!!! Re: insanity. by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 29 January 2009, 01:43 PM Dear Sean, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca saṁśayātmā vinaśyati nāyaṁ loko 'sti na paro na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ "But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next." [Bhagavad-gītā 4.40] love, Baba Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantras by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 08:43 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is a nice recording of the Mantras of Śrī Īśopaniṣad by Bhakta Neville. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/25-28/2009: Kirtans and Sanskrit Classes by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 05:28 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I've been so wound up with developing courses for our University of Higher Knowledge that I haven't posted our Evening Darshan recordings for few days. Here's a mix of nice kīrtans and classes, including all the mantras of Śrī Īśopaniṣad: Evening Darshan 1/25/2009(MP3 audio) Evening Darshan 1/26/2009(MP3 audio) Evening Darshan 1/27/2009(MP3 audio) Evening Darshan 1/28/2009(MP3 audio) love, Baba New Bhakta Degree Course on Study by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 15 January 2009, 07:58 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! If I haven't posted much lately, it's mainly because I have been focused on creating the next course in the Bhakta Degree Program, "How to Learn Effectively." This is quite a challenging course, but anyone who masters it will get a tremendous benefit: they will effectively rehabilitate their entire education and get the ability to teach themselves anything they want to learn. The course is big, with lots of material and multimedia. Maybe you have seem some of the videos on our YouTube channel. The learning course is the next step after the Intro Course, and we want all our students to take it. I created these courses because I want to please my spiritual master Śrīla Prabhupāda, and he desired a Varṇāśrama University. I have also perceived a need among the students here for a structures approach to learning the Esoteric Teaching. When I became a devotee, it was 'sink or swim'; you simply jumped into the ocean of transcendental knowledge, associated with devotees intensively, and hopefully something rubbed off or was absorbed by osmosis. Now for preaching on the Internet we need a much more structured approach to make the best use of everyone's time. For a long time I resisted a courseware site, because I felt that people should be able to go through the material according to their own desire. But over time I came to see that many were getting lost in the abundance of material. Also I got a big insight a little while back about the structure of our community and the University. Guiding people though a structured program takes skill and time, and I am training up Neville as our first Teacher, so please give him your enthusiastic cooperation. I hope you all can take this new course, and that it leads to your getting the greatest benefit of human life: full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. love, Baba Re: New Bhakta Degree Course on Study by Devesh Pant - Thursday, 15 January 2009, 09:31 PM Respected Bābāji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! It feels so nice after having enrolled for the course. I just watched the video "Misunderstood Terminology" that was fresh off the video camera on youtube. In fact I want to quote one of the sentences from what was being read “Lastly our senses are imperfect”. I am sure I was (or maybe I still am, somewhere deep inside) very proud of whatever I know and think about my senses. Anyways, I have read before Bābāji talking about misunderstood terms, but never took it this seriously even though I have been trying to complete the homework assignments and looking up the words etc. This gives a new perspective to my approach of getting the homework done. I think the homework was just getting done for the heck of it or to score some points from Peter . I went back and read the post from Michael with the same subject and it refers to an informative (and scary ) Satsang. I think after posting this I am going back to listen to that Satsang. I missed that one and never went back to listen to it. It is really an eye opener that these misunderstood terms can cause unconsciousness to the actual reality. A mild trauma caused with every misunderstood term makes me feel really really concerned as you have stated Bābāji. No wonder we all have these difficulties in learning but due to our imperfect senses, we overlook them or feel that we do not have any difficulty in learning. Maybe all we understood till now is a complete misunderstanding and may require starting to learn again or maybe unlearn and then learn again. Looking forward to starting the course under Neville Prabhu. With warm regards, Devesh Re: New Bhakta Degree Course on Study by Bruce Moore - Thursday, 15 January 2009, 11:32 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Nitayananda! Gauranga! Jaya Babaji! Jaya Srila Prabhupada! Gurudeva, I have every intention on taking each and every course. It has been one of my deepest hopes for nearly fifteen years. Tomorrow, when I return home from work, I'll sign up for the first course. And I can't wait to have Neville Prabhu as my first teacher. Always, Bruce Re: New Bhakta Degree Course on Study by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 16 January 2009, 06:29 AM Dear Devesh, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, behind every neurosis, behind every offensive act, behind every trauma you will find misunderstood words and symbols. Clearing our misunderstood terms is scary only because of the emotional charge attached to the process. We have suffered so much, and caused so much suffering in others, because of our misunderstood terms. Try to understand this deeply. I don't want to get obsessed or hung up on this subject, but I do want all of our students to accept it and make clearing misunderstood terms a normal part of their study routine. A couple of years ago we had a deep discussion of semantics and ontology on the site, and this misunderstood term technique is based on the conclusions of Transontology. "Imperfect senses" means that our model of reality is defective, and that includes our concepts of the meanings of the words and symbols we use for communication. When a person experiences a trauma, the therapist takes them back through the trauma with understanding. This is therapeutic because the person is not alone, and re-experiences the traumatic experience against the background of knowledge. A traumatic experience is one containing pain and/or unconsciousness; therefore the unconsciousness experienced because of misunderstood terms is also traumatic. Only mildly, but in school we build up thousands of these mild traumas, and the result is a crippled intelligence and a permanent antipathy to learning. To recover our zest for learning, all we need to do is clear up our misunderstood terms. This may be painful at first, because of the emotional charge accumulated around certain misunderstood terms, especially relating to grammar and syntax. Most people never understood these terms in school, and now after many years of hearing language that they really do not understand, looking up the actual meanings of adverbs and subjunctive clauses is the last thing they want to do. But we have to look them up and clear them, otherwise we do not even really understand our own language. Actually I will be the Teacher for this course. Neville is still working on the misunderstood terminology process himself. His education was pretty good though; at least he was taught to look things up. I promise everyone will have numerous "Aha!" experiences by taking this course. love, Baba Re: New Bhakta Degree Course on Study by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 07:16 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I am attempting to register and donate the full $501 amount for the course but it only gives me an option for paypal. How can I pay with credit card or I can transfer the donation to your bank account. With Love and all respect, Tulsidasananda Re: New Bhakta Degree Course on Study by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 07:27 PM Dear Tulsidasananda, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We use PayPal for anything under US$1000. It's very reliable; in fact we have had less trouble with PayPal than with our regular Citibank account. PayPal accepts all major credit and debit cards. Go to PayPal.com and click on Send Money Online. Then fill out the form with my email address das.dasanudas@gmail.com, your email and the amount, click Continue and follow the prompts. Fill in your credit or debit card info and when I receive the payment, I'll send you your course keys. Thanks for signing up for the Bhakta Degree Program! love, Baba Re: New Bhakta Degree Course on Study by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Thursday, 22 January 2009, 06:59 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I am going to use my fathers account and he said it will take 3 to 5 days to transfer money from his bank account to paypal, then I can send the donation and register. Just wanted to let you know. With Love and all respect, Tulsidasananda Re: New Bhakta Degree Course on Study by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 07:38 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! would u please tell me what sort of paypal account you have whether it is personal or premiere because when i called them, they told me that if the person who is receiving the money has a personal account then there will be no charge at all up to $500 to that person. But, I know they charge receivers who have premiere accounts as we have been charged. Maybe you already know this. So please let me know and I cant wait to sign up for the bhakta degree program. So basically from what they told me if I send the money(under $500) with my fathers paypal account that has just receieved the transfered money from his bank account to your personal account then they will not charge you. With Love and all respect, Tulsidasananda Re: New Bhakta Degree Course on Study by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 07:42 PM Dear Tulsidasananda, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We have a premiere account because we are a non-profit religious corporation. I don't know why you have made this so complicated. All you had to do was go to the PayPal site and use your debit card. love, Baba problem. by thomas evans - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 10:24 AM hare krsna all glories to srila prabupada! just the other day i bumped into a iskon devotee on the street, we talked for about 30 minutes and she said that i should chant the hare krsna mantra instead of the om namo bhagavata vasudevaya chant due to the fact that the hare krsna mantra contains the mantra, also she said that i should chant hare krsna even if im causing offences as these will reduce the more i chant. also she said that prabupada set the target of 16 rounds a day and that we should'nt chant 64 rounds. Also she said that the 'mini' golden age within the iron age started 500 years ago with the appearance of lord chaitanya. she knew nothing about the 2012 phenomenon, is'nt this the begining of the 'mini' golden age? i dont know what to do,and at the moment im not chanting at all due to confusion and who i should trust and listen to. with love thomas. Re: problem. by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 11:09 AM Dear Thomas, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You will always get confused by dealing with ISKCON devotees. They do not know the philosophy very well. Was this lady self-realized? Has she seen Kṛṣṇa face-to-face? If not, then how does she know? Consider this instruction: "For an ordinary man, worship of Śrī Caitanya and Nityānanda Prabhu or the Pañca-tattva is easier than worship of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Unless one is very fortunate, he should not be induced to worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa directly. A neophyte student who is not sufficiently educated or enlightened should not indulge in the worship of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa or the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Even if he does so, he cannot get the desired result. One should therefore chant the names of Nitāi-Gaura and worship Them without false prestige. Since everyone within this material world is more or less influenced by sinful activities, in the beginning it is essential that one take to the worship of Guru-Gaurāṅga and ask their favor, for thus despite all his disqualifications one will very soon become qualified to worship the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa vigraha." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 8.31] But because the ISKCON devotees have not read Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, but only go out and collect money all day, they do not know this. Consequently the commit so many offenses and fall down, even the gurus. love, Baba Re: problem. by Luciano Macchiavello - Tuesday, 27 January 2009, 11:11 AM Dear Thomas, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We are in maya so confusion will rein here always, cleansing your heart is the way out of maya and following the 4 principles and chanting is the way forward. And obviously listening to Babaji (as he is the Guru) and putting in practice what he says, chant om namo bhagavata vasudevaya. Chant for sometime (maybe weeks or more) then listen to your Heart. It can do you no harm. And you will not be offending anyone. Well I am a very neophyte devotee but nonetheless a very blessed one as I have in contact with our Babaji. May times I do not understand every thing Babaji says and I doubt but i listen to my heart and ask for guidance. My heart led me to Babaji so its only natural that my heart helps me when in doubt. As a Neophyte i thinks its normal to doubt, its part of the obstacle we need to over come and building up strength of character as a devotee is part of the exercise. This is my personal experience and i share it so it may be of use to you or not. I am apologise if i cannot backup with quotes from scripture but i am on my desk at this moment working and its my 10 minute break. Take care Love and respect Luciano Macchiavello Sunday Satsang 1/25/2009: Bhāva-rupa, Ecstatic Emotions by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 24 January 2009, 05:43 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Tomorrow's Sunday Satsang will be on bhāva-rupa, or the ecstatic emotions of devotional service. There are 5 sthāyi-bhavas, 33 vyabhicāri-bhavas and innumerable ecstatic moods and symptoms. All of them are saturated with ecstatic transcendental bliss. This is the nectar of devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Sunday Satsang will be at 12 noon Santiago time, or 10 AM EST, 9 AM CST, 7 AM PST or 3 PM UT. Please join us a few minutes early at the following URL: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com/portal/JoinForm.action?meetingRoomName=davidbrucehughes love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 1/25/2009: Bhāva-rupa, Ecstatic Emotions by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 25 January 2009, 01:36 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I was very happy to see so many students participating in the Sunday Satsang today. The discussion is always so much more lively when there are ten or more devotees logged in. Here is the explanation of the terms we discussed in today's Satsang. These definitions are taken from the Śrī Biṇḍu-vikāśinī-vṛtti commentary on Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu-biṇḍu by Raghunāth dās Gosvāmī. vyabhicāri-bhāva An emotion that intensifies the sthāyi-bhāva The vyabhicāri-bhāvas are thirty-three in number. Because they are specifically directed towards and offer special assistance to the sthāyi-bhāva, they are known as vyabhicāri-bhāvas. The word vyabhicāri here has a special technical meaning. It can be broken down into three parts: vi (distinction or intensification), abhi (towards) and cāri (going). In other words an emotion that moves distinctively in the direction of the sthāyi-bhāva and that serves to intensify it is called vyabhicāri-bhāva. The vyabhicāri-bhāvas are made known by one’s speech, by the limbs such as the eyes and eyebrows, and by sattva, or in other words, by the anubhāvas arising from sattva. All these vyabhicāri-bhāva move towards the sthāyi-bhāva; therefore they are also called sañcāri-bhāvas. The word sañcārin means moving. The vyabhicāri-bhāva are like waves which emerge from the nectarean ocean of the sthāyi-bhāva and cause it to swell. Then they merge back into the ocean and disappear. nirveda Self-disparagement The first of the 33 vyabhicāri-bhāvas. To reproach oneself, considering oneself to be fallen and worthless is called nirveda. Nirveda arises from great distress, feelings of separation, jealousy, nonperformance of duty and performance of non-duty. In nirveda, anxiety, tears, change of color, feelings of worthlessness, heavy sighing and other anubhāvas are manifest. viṣāda Despondency or depression The second of the 33 vyabhicāri-bhāvas. This arises from nonattainment of one’s desired object, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, from inability to complete some endeavor that was begun for Kṛṣṇa, due to the appearance of some calamity that befalls Kṛṣṇa, or due to committing an offense. The symptoms of viṣāda are seeking a remedy and assistance, anxiety, crying, lamentation, breathing heavily, change of color and drying of the mouth. dainya Wretchedness or humility The third of the 33 vyabhicāri-bhāvas. To consider oneself despicable and unworthy is called dainya. Dainya arises from distress, fear and offenses. The symptoms of dainya are speaking words of adulation, awkwardness (incompetence of the heart), gloominess, anxiety and inertia of the limbs. glāni Physical and mental debility The fourth of the 33 vyabhicāri-bhāvas. The principle of vital energy and action throughout the body is called oja. The weakness that arises due to the waning of this vital energy, brought about by excessive labour (śrama), by mental oppression or by conjugal activities, is called glāni. The symptoms of glāni are trembling, inactivity, change of color, weakness and restlessness of the eyes. śrama Fatigue or exhaustion The fifth of the 33 vyabhicāri-bhāvas. Fatigue or exhaustion accompanied by perspiration which arises from vigorous movement in pursuit of Kṛṣṇa (like Mother Yaśodā running to catch Kṛṣṇa), dancing and conjugal activities is called śrama. The symptoms of śrama are sleep, perspiration, yawning and heavy sighing. mada Intoxication The sixth of the 33 vyabhicāri-bhāvas. The delight or exuberance that extinguishes knowledge is called mada. This mada arises from drinking honey and from excessive conjugal agitation. The symptoms of mada are stumbling movements, tottering, stammering speech, rolling the eyes and redness of the eyes. love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 1/25/2009: Bhāva-rupa, Ecstatic Emotions by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 25 January 2009, 11:03 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The video is available and you can watch it here. watch This video is also available on YouTube. love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 1/25/2009: Bhāva-rupa, Ecstatic Emotions by Jennifer Lawrence - Monday, 26 January 2009, 03:41 PM Dearest Babaji & Devotees, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Babaji! I was wondering if the Transcendental Mantras document, that was displayed this Sunday on DimDim, had been uploaded to the forum. Could someone direct me to its location, if so? Many thanks! With love, Jennifer Re: Sunday Satsang 1/25/2009: Bhāva-rupa, Ecstatic Emotions by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 26 January 2009, 04:53 PM Mantras.pdf Dear Bhaktin Jennifer, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! No problem, here is the file attached to this message. We are also looking into a solution to the sound problems we had on the Satsang. Because we are on a wireless connection, the location of the computer is critical. We are trying different locations to test the best setup. Stay with us! love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 1/25/2009: Bhāva-rupa, Ecstatic Emotions by Jennifer Lawrence - Monday, 26 January 2009, 05:57 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Babaji! Thank you so much for uploading that and for looking into a fix for the sound issues. I really appreciate all your efforts and those of all the devotees. With love, Jennifer Homework Assignment #7 by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 25 January 2009, 05:22 PM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Jaya Bābājī! If you are reading this, then do the homework! Don't be an esoteric benchwarmer. Be a useless geek, not busy foolish. To sucessfully complete this assignment, you will need access to a good English dictionary and a Sanskrit dictionary:   http://joomla.esotericteaching.org/joomla/seminars/vedic-scriptures/sanskrit/600-sanskrit-english-dictionary http://www.pratyatosa.com/SanskritDiacriticTextConversion.htm http://www.dictionary.com    1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā or Śrī Īśopaniṣad. Write down the verse. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanskrit equivalent. Please use the following format for easy reading: Sanskrit Word Bhagavad-gita translation Other dictionary meanings original english word definition used in a sentence   3. Make an origional, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. 4. Now, write down a short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with your preliminary understanding. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? Thank you, love, peter   PS-  EXTRA CREDIT!!!   What is this? http://www.flickr.com/photos/apratimsaha/2900655709/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kolkataboy/485738863/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/apratimsaha/2901493660/in/photostream/ Which incarnation of Visnu is this? Sixth Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 08:22 PM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Jaya Bābājī! If you are reading this, then do the homework! Don't be an esoteric benchwarmer. Be a useless geek, not busy foolish. To sucessfully complete this assignment, you will need access to a good English dictionary and a Sanskrit dictionary: http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ http://joomla.esotericteaching.org/joomla/seminars/vedic-scriptures/sanskrit/600-sanskrit-english-dictionary http://www.pratyatosa.com/SanskritDiacriticTextConversion.htm   1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā or Śrī Īśopaniṣad. Write down the verse. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanskrit equivalent. Please use the following format for easy reading: Sanskrit Word Bhagavad-gita translation Other dictionary meanings original english word definition used in a sentance   3. Make an origional, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearely defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? Thank You Love, peter PS-  EXTRA CREDIT!!!   What is this? Re: Sixth Homework Assignment by Michael Jones - Saturday, 24 January 2009, 10:05 AM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Here is this weeks homework on Śrī Īśopaniṣad. 1. Pick one verse. Write down the verse. Mantra Two kurvann eveha karmāṇi jijīviṣec chataṁ samāḥ evaṁ tvayi nānyatheto ’sti na karma lipyate nare TRANSLATION One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no alternative to this way for man. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. If somebody recognizes that all things belong to the Lord, and as a result they do not work to gain the results of their work (fruitive work), then they can live and work for a very long time without worrying about the consequences as the law of karma will not effect them. Actually this is the only way one should work as otherwise they will have to face the consequences of their actions. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit Word Śrī Īśopaniṣad translation Other dictionary meanings kurvan doing continuously doing, acting, • acting as a servant, agent, • present, actual eva thus so, just so, exactly so • indeed, truly, really iha during this span of life in this place, here • to this place • in this world • in this book or system • in this case • now, at this time karmāṇi work connected with or being in the action karman act, action, performance, business • office, special duty, occupation, obligation • work, labour, activity • product, result, effect • former act as leading to inevitable results, fate (as the certain consequence of acts in a previous life) jijīviṣet one should desire to live ... jijīviṣā desire to live jīv • to live, be or remain alive • to revive • to live by śatam one hundred • any very large number samāḥ years a year • a half-year • season, weather • a day evam so living •(probably connected with 1.evá), thus, in this way, in such a manner, such, evam may imply likeness (so) • sameness of manner (thus) • affirmation (certainly, indeed, assuredly) tvayi unto you ... tvayata given by thee, thy, your, na no not, no, nor, neither (as well in simple negation as in wishing, requesting and commanding) anyathā alternative otherwise, in a different manner (with atas, itas, or tatas = in a manner different from this • inaccurately, untruly, falsely, erroneously • from another motive ; in the contrary case, otherwise itaḥ from this path in a manner different from this (See the meaning of anyathā) asti there is • existent, present na not not, no, nor, neither (as well in simple negation as in wishing, requesting and commanding) karma work (in comp. for kárman above) lipyate can be bound ... lip to smear, besmear, anoint with, stain, soil, taint, pollute, defile • to inflame, kindle, burn to be smeared • to be attached to, stick, adhere • to cover • to cast blame on any one nare unto a man ... nara a man, a male, a woman, a person (pl. men, people) 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Original English Word Definition Used in a sentence One -pronoun any person indefinitely; anyone One should look both ways before crossing the road may –auxiliary verb used to express opportunity or permission You may sit down if you'd like aspire –verb to long, aim, or seek ambitiously; be eagerly desirous, esp. for something great or of high value I aspire to chant without offensives to -preposition used for expressing aim, purpose, or intention I am going to eat some prasadam live –verb to continue to have life; remain alive You will live for the amount of time you are destined to for -preposition during the continuance of This road goes on for miles hundreds -noun a number between 100 and 999 There are hundreds of people in this room of - preposition From the total or group comprising At least some of the world is waking up years -noun a period of 365 or 366 days One should study this for years if -conjunction in case that; granting or supposing that; on condition that If you seek, you shall find he –pronoun anyone (without reference to sex); that person He who asks, receives continuously –adjective uninterrupted in time; without cessation I aspire to chant continuously goes -verb Third person singular present tense of go This world goes on changing, no matter what we try to do to stop it go to continue in a certain state or condition on -–adverb with continuous activity Chant on my friend, chant on working –adjective doing some form of work or labor We are all working in some capacity in –preposition used to indicate limitation or qualification, as of situation, condition, relation, manner, action, etc. I am talking in a friendly tone that –adjective (used to indicate a person, place, thing, or degree as indicated, mentioned before, present, or as well-known or characteristic) I will go down that road way –noun manner, mode, or fashion This is the way in which to perform service , the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. I learn a lot from this exercise, especially the sanskrit dictionary section for –conjunction seeing that; since I am happy, for I have seen the light that –adjective (used to indicate a person, place, thing, or degree as indicated, mentioned before, present, or as well-known or characteristic) That was the way we used to do things sort -noun a particular kind, species, variety, class, or group, distinguished by a common character or nature This sort of music is very nice of –preposition used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category That sort of food is also very nice work –noun exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil. The best kind of work is karma-free will –auxiliary verb am (is, are, etc.) capable of; can Speculation will not do very much for you not –adverb used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition) I am not going to give in to Maya bind -verb to unite by any legal or moral tie The law will bind you to your duties him –pronoun the objective case of he, used as a direct or indirect object If you attack someone's material body, it will not effect him he –pronoun anyone (without reference to sex); that person to -preposition used for expressing attachment or adherence I am attached to chanting my rounds the –definite article used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an This is the book I wanted to read law –noun a divinely appointed order or system This is God's law of –preposition used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category The Vedanta is the writing of Vyasadeva karma action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation I need to shed my karma . A period indicating the end of a sentence. This is a sentence. There –pronoun (used to introduce a sentence or clause in which the verb comes before its subject or has no complement) There lives a divine nature within all of us is -verb The third person singular of the substantive verb be, in the indicative mood, present tense There is a lifetime of contemplation in the Vedas be To exist in actuality; have life or reality no –adjective not a (used before a noun to convey the opposite of the noun's meaning) There is no chance of self realization through intoxication alternative –noun a possible or remaining course or choice Serving the material energy is the only alternative to –preposition used for indicating the indirect object of a verb, for connecting a verb with its complement, or for indicating or limiting the application of an adjective, noun, or pronoun You have no choice to serving the Lord really this –adjective used to indicate a person, place, thing, or degree as present, near, just indicated or mentioned, or as well-known or characteristic I really like this way –noun manner, mode, or fashion It is the way in which you must act for –preposition suiting the purposes or needs of This is for your advancement man –noun the human individual as representing the species, without reference to sex; the human race; humankind It is time that man woke up . A period indicating the end of a sentence. This is the end. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. We can continue in our activities without fear of consequences, nor fear of our future position if we always work with the knowledge that everything belongs to God and that we should not desire for more than Krsna provides us. He is in full control of what we get and so we will only get it if Krsna grants it to us. kurvan means both acting/doing, as well as acting as a servant. We are always acting as a servant, and always of the Lord, whether we realize it or not. If we act in the actual way we should, consciously as a servant of the Lord then we can work for eternity without negative reactions. Even if we do not, we are still serving the Lord in the form of his material and illusory energy. Iha means "during this span of life. It also means now, at this time, in this case, in this world. However, most interestingly, it also means "in this book or system." Not only does this suggest that there is another system, but also that this span of life is just a book, part of a larger work. It is a story, something which will be over when it has been read. It is not real life, it is not eternal life. Therefore we need to find the way to work in real life. this instruction has been given in the previous mantra. By working this way, we will not be bound to the law of karma. Another meaning of lipyate is stain, soul, defile. When we are under the control of the Law of Karma then we are actually "defiled," "polluted," as our original position is transcendental to the Law of Karma. We are in a lower state of consciousness. So when we work in the required way we unpollute ourselves of the sickness. Another meaning is "cover," and indeed we are covered from seeing our true nature as we are too busy trying to deal with all the previous karmic effects along with creating new ones. If we work in the recommended way we will not be bound to these effects. na anyatha means there is not an alternative from working this way. That means that any motive other than to please the Lord and use what you have been given in His service is actually "inaccurate." Not only is it wrong, but it is actually "untrue" it is "false." We are eternally servants but when we work in a way other than taking what we are given (without desire for more) and using it in the service of the Lord, we are actually living in illusion, living falsely. Although we are still eternally a servant of the Lord, it is this illusion that makes us suffer. Therefore, there truly is no other alternative. Either we only take what we have been given or we desire for more. The Lord is still in charge of whether we will get that as He still owns it. The only difference is we will also suffer due to our ignorance. We should serve the Lord personally, not his inferior energy. Either way though, there does not exist another path. Love Mike Re: Sixth Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 25 January 2009, 03:10 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. prahlādaś cāsmi daityānāṁ kālaḥ kalayatām aham mṛgāṇāṁ ca mṛgendro ’haṁ vainateyaś ca pakṣiṇām TRANSLATION Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda; among subduers I am time; among the beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa, the feathered carrier of Viṣṇu. PURPORT Diti and Aditi are two sisters. The sons of Aditi are called Ādityas, and the sons of Diti are called Daityas. All the Ādityas are devotees of the Lord, and all the Daityas are atheistic. Although Prahlāda was born in the family of the Daityas, he was a great devotee from his childhood. Because of his devotional service and godly nature, he is considered to be a representative of Kṛṣṇa. There are many subduing principles, but time wears down all things in the material universe and so represents Kṛṣṇa. Of the many animals, the lion is the most powerful and ferocious, and of the million varieties of birds, Garuḍa, the bearer of Lord Viṣṇu, is the greatest. Bg10.31 English words Among in the midst of, so as to influence Lord Caitanya jumped into the ocean so he could associate among the lowest of mankind. the used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect Learning this esoteric teaching is the Vedic way. daitya the demons, son of Diti, by whom the demons, of the demons, I am surrounded on all sides by danavas, daityas, mlecchas, mudhas, raksasas, yavanas, and chandalas. demons An evil supernatural being Fasting, prayer, and chanting will help repel the demons.  Demons: Strike him-chop him-stick him-pierce him-kill him!!! I the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. I am time, the destroyer of the worlds! am used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense I am a nonsense rascal. the used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect Lord Siva can hardly wait to destroy the demons. devoted Feeling or displaying strong affection or attachment; ardent Lord Siva is devoted to Govinda. Prahlada The pious son of the greatest demon in the universe, Hiraṇyakaśipu. The assistants of Hiraṇyakaśipu struck Prahlāda with sharp weapons, threw him under the feet of elephants, subjected him to hellish conditions, threw him from the peak of a mountain and tried to kill him in thousands of other ways, but they were unsuccessful. ; Among in the midst of, so as to influence Among brahmanas I am Lord Caitanya, among trees I am the kalpa-vṛkṣa, among cows I am the surabhi. subduers To render submissive; to bring under command; to reduce to mildness or obedience; to tame; as, to subdue a stubborn child; to subdue the temper or passions. Śrī Rāma and Śrī Lakṣmaṇa are the ultimate subduers of the Raskasas. I the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. I am in maya. am used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense time the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other, as past, present, or future; indefinite and continuous duration regarded as that in which events succeed one another. Time is present in the material world so everything does not happen all at once. ; to separate closely related independent clauses Some people are blessed; Some people are cursed. among in the midst of, so as to influence Hirayakasipu was the greatest among the demons. the used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect beasts An animal other than a human, especially a large four-footed mammal. The beasts roaming the African savannah terrified the antelopes. I the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. am used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense the used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, lion a large, usually tawny-yellow cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa and southern Asia, having a tufted tail and, in the male, a large mane. Lord Nrsimha has the head of a lion but a body of a Visnu with slight lion-like characteristics. , the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. and used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses among in the midst of, so as to influence Why hide among the crowd of nonsense rascals? birds Any of various warm-blooded, egg-laying, feathered vertebrates of the class Aves, having forelimbs modified to form wings. The birds fly through the air like a fish does the water. I the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. am used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense Garuda Garuḍa, the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu, is not a vegetarian. He eats big snakes. No snakes are safe from Garuda. , the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. the used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, Lord Śiva shouted, "O wicked one, stay! Stay!," and the gods and his companions quickly shouted, "Victory! Victory!" feathered clothed, covered, or provided with feathers, as a bird or an arrow. “Just by seeing the peacock-feathered fan, Mukunda dāsa became absorbed in ecstatic love of Godhead and fell from the high platform onto the ground. carrier a person or thing that carries. Eager to hear Sūta’s discourse, Lord Śiva mounted his vahana, or carrier, the bull Nandi, and left his abode. Nandi was slow, and Lord Śiva became increasingly impatient. Stopping at the abode of Lord Brahmā, Śiva swapped his bull for Brahmā’s much swifter swan-carrier, and on that he swooped down onto Navadvīpa in time to eagerly drink with his ears the nectar of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes. of used to indicate possession, connection, or association Red is the color of Lord Siva, NOT BLUE! Visnu Viṣṇu is the expansion of Kṛṣṇa, so the Viṣṇu forms appeared before Brahmā All the Viṣṇu forms were of bluish color and dressed in yellow garments; all of Them had four hands decorated with club, disc, lotus flower and conchshell. On Their heads were glittering golden helmets inlaid with jewels; They were bedecked with pearls and earrings and garlanded with beautiful flowers. On Their chests was the mark of Śrīvatsa, Their arms were decorated with armlets and other jewelry, and Their necks were just like conchshells. Their legs were decorated with bells, Their waists with golden belts, and Their fingers with jeweled rings. Brahmā also saw that upon the whole body of each Lord Viṣṇu, from the lotus feet up to the top of the head, fresh tulasī leaves and buds had been thrown. Another significant feature of the Viṣṇu forms was that all of Them were looking transcendentally beautiful. Their smiling resembled the moonshine, and Their glancing resembled the early rising of the sun. Just by Their glancing They showed Themselves to be the creators and maintainers of the modes of ignorance and passion. Viṣṇu represents the mode of goodness, Brahmā represents the mode of passion, and Lord Śiva represents the mode of ignorance. Therefore as the maintainer of everything in the cosmic manifestation, Viṣṇu is also the creator and maintainer of Brahmā and Lord Śiva. . A period indicating the end of a sentence. Jaya. Sanskrit words prahlādaḥ—Prahlāda Mahārāja Prahlāda, Prahlāda Mahārāja  Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja says not only mūḍha but vimūḍha; viśeṣa-mūḍha especifical. ca—also and, as well as, and also understand "These six kinds of ātmārāmas engage in the loving service of Kṛṣṇa. The varieties of service are indicated by adding ca, and they also bear the meaning of api, ’indeed.’ asmi—I am am prabhā asmi—I am the light daityānām—of the demons of all the demons; among the sons of Diti, the demons We are all daityānām. kālaḥ—time inevitable time, eternal time, time, the time, parts and parcels, duration of time, ultimate death, favorable time, the time factor, parts of the plenary portions, consideration of time Even great sages like Markandeya were temporarily bewildered by the lords illusory potency-- kalah intertwined with the material nature.  kalayatām—of subduers of all masters, of those who exert control Krsna is the king kalayatām in the universe. aham—I am I, the wrong mental conception, I myslef, false identity, false identity, I am the material body, as far as I am concerned Aham Brahmasmi! mṛgāṇām—of animals animals The mūḍhas take Lord Varaha to be mṛgāṇām. ca—and and, as well as, and also understand The sanskrit word 'ca' is much like the english joining word, 'and'. mṛgendraḥ—the lion a lion The impudent raksasa was eaten by the flying mṛgendraḥ. aham—I am I, me, myself ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ vainateyaḥ—Garuḍa Garuda The pastimes of vainateyaḥ include eating many snakes. ca—also and, as well as, and also understand pakṣiṇām—of birds From my understanding, both Garuda and Sukadeva Goswami are paksinam. Krsna is the greatest in any situation or class of living entities.  There are numerous realms and spheres of existence, and Krsna descendes to each and every-one to give his superior trancendental association to guide and assist the vimudhatma jivas.  Krsna is the supreme mystic, the supreme aescetic, the supreme power.  He is controlling everyones actions; No one is independent of his supreme will, not even himslef.  Krsna can make the impossible possible and the possible impossible. love, peter Bhakta Degree Program Progress by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 25 January 2009, 08:21 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yesterday two new courses went live: Vocational Training and Sanskrit Pronunciation. Within a few days we will have two or three more. There are currently 9 registered students, and they are making nice progress. We are very happy with the progress and will continue developing more courses and helping our students to progress through them. My goal is to get the courses developed through Bhakti-vaibhava by May of this year. Actually we can develop courses far faster than anyone can complete them! Also we currently have five Life Members: Uddhava Prabhu Kānāi Prabhu Bhakta Neville Bhakta Andrej Bhaktin Christina Ashford Who will be the next? love, Baba Where is Everyone? by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 17 January 2009, 07:41 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Where is everyone? Participation in the Forum is at a real low ebb. Yesterday we had only seven logins. Are you all overloaded from too many posts? Lost interest? What's up? Talk to me! love, Baba Re: Where is Everyone? by David Lugan - Saturday, 17 January 2009, 03:25 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I watched your latest videos on how to learn. It is clear that you have very high academic standards and I appreciate that. I haven't released my homework because I want it to be perfect. I recognize that perfectionism leads to inaction and I'm working to correct this. Last week you read my astrological chart and I was amazed at how accurately you described my past. In order to counteract the negative events you described as my potential future I'm taking more control of my senses and increasing my chanting routine. I have been waking up at 4 a.m. My goal is to chant 64 rounds daily. Love, David Re: Where is Everyone? by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 17 January 2009, 03:36 PM Dear David, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Good to hear from you. I was wondering how you're doing and how your reading has impacted your spiritual life. Generally we follow the 80/20 rule: the last 20% of the work takes 80% of the time. We have to know when our work is 'good enough' so that we can keep making progress and not get caught up in trivial details. I generally shoot for 80-90% and if I find myself obsessing over details, take a break and try to see the big picture. Especially, at this stage of our work we are trying to sketch out a comprehensive plan for a future civilization based on Vedic wisdom. By necessity our work is incomplete and probably faulty in many respects; but then future generations of devotees will have their work cut out for them refining our vision and getting all the details right. The whole point at this stage is to establish the right frame of reference, then the details will sort themselves out over time. Jyotish is a very powerful and penetrating way to see through the material energy. I joke about knowing my Jyotish clients better than their own mothers, but actually it's true. Like so many things in Vedic culture, the more you study Jyotish, the more astonishing it gets. The main thing is chanting the Holy Name without offenses; then everything will follow from that. Don't try to increase your chanting too much suddenly, or you may have to cut back due to over-endeavor. Better to increase gradually. But if you can sustain 64 rounds that will be very good for you. Are you going to join our Bhakta Degree Program? love, Baba Re: Where is Everyone? by Michael Jones - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 08:04 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. My apologies for not being very visible. This week I have been immersed in my material work so that I can dedicate myself to spiritual life steadily everyday. I checked in for a little bit most days but have not had chance to give sincere replies to the threads. I have been a little overwhelmed with all the things I have had to do, especially as inside all I want to do is study the Vedic texts/bhakta degree, etc. I have reluctantly been putting off listening to the darshans as well as I really want to improve my sanskrit. The good news is that I have finally completed all the essays (except for some final editing which will take very little time). I now only have my final paper to do and I should be done with material education for good then. I have also been looking at jobs/sorting my resume out, and thankfully it seems Krsna already has his plans for that. A friend of mine is a supervisor for a company who will be hiring in February. When he found out I was looking for a job, he said he could give me a recommendation to his managers. According to him, this means I will not have to go through the application process and as long as the phone interview goes well then I will have no problem getting the job. I was hoping to get a job this month but I feel this is a blessing as it gives me time to completely finish my final paper before starting work. Further, the pay is higher than the other jobs I have been looking at, and the hours are such that I can have a nice devotional life without the job getting in the way. I will likely be quite quite on the forums over the next week or so while I get the bulk of my final paper done. Once that is done though I will be able to give the majority of my time to the Bhakta degree, extra devotion (in addition to what I already do daily), and earning money to help support the community, and so will likely be around a lot more (with a lot more questions). Love Mike Re: Where is Everyone? by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 08:35 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Good to hear from you. Mercury is retrograde for the next two weeks, so it's no surprise that people are busy fixing up the loose ends in their lives and preparing to get on with things in February. We are too; but there have been so few posts in the last week or so, I started to wonder what's wrong. This is wonderful news! Just see how Kṛṣṇa protects and helps His devotees. ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham "But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have." [Bhagavad-gītā 9.22] Anyone who becomes a devotee, even if he does not complete the ordinary duties of material life, is never a loser, nor is he wasting his time. Indeed, without endeavor he gets many opportunities to better himself in ways that would never have happened by his own efforts. This is the mysterious work of the Lord. We have been on quite a roll lately, and have churned out an amazing quantity of material. It's not a problem if you or anyone else can't keep up; we can barely keep up ourselves! But it makes up for the time in November and December when we were very quiet because we were working on things internally. Now that Kṛṣṇa has given the big structural insights we talked about earlier, we are free to go ahead and create the University based on them. That work is going breathtakingly quickly, and we're very excited about the quality of the courses. I hope you get a chance to participate once you catch up with your school work. love, Baba Re: Where is Everyone? by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 12:29 PM Dear Baba, Please accept my humble obesiances.  Hare Kṛṣṇa!  All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for the concern.  I am still here and in school still finishing my  ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā degree.  But, it really burns me going to university because I am really starting to realize how bad people are getting cheated.  It is not education at all.  Nothing made this more clear than your recent youtube post about 'misunderstood terminology'.  This post really yanked back the curtain of maya and reveals how little we actually really know. Its not too bad I suppose, at least I can learn art better and dovetail this in devotional service.  This is what I keep telling myself.  Its the only way I dont just drop out completely.  Thank you for the correspondence. Love, peter Re: Where is Everyone? by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 01:19 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, the materialistic education is a cheating business. Śrīla Prabhupāda called it a slaughterhouse. "No they say, they simply give primary education (indistinct) they can read, that's all. And (indistinct). They don't send because everyone knows that sending boys to the school means spoil them. That's all. I have seen intelligent boys, they go to school and he is spoiled. Yes, spoiled. He learns how to smoke, how to have sex, how to talk nonsense, how to use knife, how to fight, these things. At least at the present moment. Yes. Simply slaughterhouse, this so-called school is called slaughterhouse. Yes, slaughterhouse." [Room Conversation 7/9/73, London] So if you are getting some art training, that is good. We need artists to illustrate our books and websites. If you can draw lifelike people and animals, then you can illustrate so many stories of Kṛṣṇa and philosophical points, and show people in a picture more than what can be explained with words. That would be very valuable. Some time ago you were planning to join us in Mexico, but we felt that your understanding was not sufficiently mature. Now you seem much more self-disciplined and mature, so keeping up college has been good for you. Why not come and visit us next summer during vacation? Let's think about that. When is your school year finished? love, Baba Re: Where is Everyone? by Christina Ashford - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 03:05 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!  I received all of your books! I am so excited! I already finished reading "The Absolute Truth". This book definitely expanded my knowledge further. I am going to read it again for sure. It left me wanted to know more. I just started reading The Book of Gethsemane today. I am really not happy that I am not able to join in the Sunday Santsang. Sundays are my busiest days at work unfortunately. I always watch it on youtube later that day. I know that this is a requirement for the Bhakta Degree. Am I not going to be able to graduate? There is something that I was curious about. Why are there 2 separate mantras? Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevya and the Hare Krsna mantra. Is the first mantra for the Candidates and the Hare Krsna for the Initiates? Love, Christina PS: Please let me know if the wire went through. Re: Where is Everyone? by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 03:51 PM Dear Christina, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for posting. I'm glad to hear you received the books so quickly, and that you find them interesting. They are all written from my own personal experience of self-realization. Of course we prefer that our University students attend the Sunday Satsang, but if you have a prior commitment, that's understandable. It's really for your benefit so that you can hear and participate. But if you can't make it, that won't stop you from graduating. This is why we have a personal connection with our students, so that we can negotiate individual requirements according to time and circumstance. Yes, the dvādaśākṣara-mantra, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, is for newer students who may not be as strict in their practice. The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra accepts offenses, so if someone is not strictly following and they try to chant it, they can damage their spiritual life instead of helping it. love, Baba PS: No sign of the wire. Citibank may have an account freeze in effect. Re: Where is Everyone? by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 07:42 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! WOOOOT!  Thank you Babaji!  This definetly makes my month!    Jaya! I will post some pictures of what I have been working on.  I was planning on  attempting to illustrate some scripture this semseter in the form of canvas painting. Is there any slokas you would recommend for beginners that would be easy to visualize?  I have a few ideas, but I want to see if anything stands out in your mind that you could recommend.  I need something easy and simple to start with so I dont get bogged down. love, peter Re: Where is Everyone? by David Lugan - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 11:04 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for the message. I look forward to taking the Bhakta Degree Program once I can donate. In the meantime I'll be doing my homework and studying. As you said in my Jyotish reading, my family does not understand me. I won't visit them as much since I get too much resistance when I chant and watch the Sunday Satsang. I will attend the next Satsang from my place. Love, David Re: Where is Everyone? by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 19 January 2009, 08:52 AM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You're Peter; I'm Babaji. Who's on first? How about this: pūṣann ekarṣe yama sūrya prājāpatya vyūha raśmīn samūha tejo yat te rūpaṁ kalyāṇa-tamaṁ tat te paśyāmi yo 'sāv asau puruṣaḥ so 'ham asmi "O my Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the universe, O regulating principle, destination of the pure devotees, well-wisher of the progenitors of mankind, please remove the effulgence of Your transcendental rays so that I can see Your form of bliss. You are the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, like unto the sun, as am I." [Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 16] You could show a devotee looking toward the Lord, first as the Brahman effulgence, and then in His Viṣṇu form. love, Baba Re: Where is Everyone? by Peter Turanec - Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 07:39 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my obesiances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I dont know who's on first, all i know is that 'what' is on second . Thank you for the input. Ok, I visualize this in a portrait format not landscape. Ok, so we have a devotee in the foreground at the bottom of the page with their back towards us.  He is looking slightly upwards at the Brahman effulgence which is situated in the middle.  At the top there is the Narayana four handed form of Visnu. So, Visnu is standing there on a lotus type thing at the top of the page.  What a coincidence, I found the most awesome form of Visnu a couple days ago on youtube here.  Notice here this deity is slightly different from what you usually see- the eyes have a mysterious slant.  I like this particluar form because it is very pleasing to look at.  The only problem I see with this deity is that the arms are not long enough.  I am pretty sure the arms should come down to the knees.  From what I understand this deity looks pretty good, but it should have a body structure more like the photo below. Is this Naranaya Visnu? This is the best one Ive found so far.  What do you think?  Should I just copy this one? I have more questions of course, but I will wait for your reply. love, peter PS- this is a statue of Visvanatha Kasi Shambhu Ganga Hara Hara Mahadeva Siva Sankara, not Visnu : )    ...I just included it here because it shows proportion very well. Re: Where is Everyone? by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 07:34 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well I'm a little surprised about your lack of response to being invited to visit next summer. Do you or don't you? Will you or won't you? The arms should come down to the knees. Otherwise that's a pretty Deity, but He looks more like the Sun-god or Kārttikeya than Viṣṇu. Oh and dig the cool light show, man. love, Baba Re: Where is Everyone? by Peter Turanec - Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 07:55 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my obesiances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Of course Im coming!!!  Are you kidding?  I get out of school in the beginning of May.  I am very excited you have no idea.  Sorry if I didnt make things more clear, I need to work on my communication skills-  this is one of my weaknesses. Sorry about the lack of response, Ive been busy with a lot of things.  Ah I hate saying that, sounds like an excuse or something. Yes, I am coming.  I am very excited and am trying to contain myself. OK? Thank you Baba!!! love, peter Re: Where is Everyone? by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 08:10 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Got it! May sounds good, that's the middle of autumn here. love, Baba Re: Where is Everyone? by Michael Jones - Friday, 23 January 2009, 03:33 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. You have indeed been on a roll, I am miles behind. I have been collecting the Kirtans though and am looking forward to going through them. I have listened to a few of them and they are beautiful. The devotees are getting really skilled. Thanks guys! Krsna does indeed respond. I can't thank you enough for the kind replies you have given to my problems in the past. My faith has continued to develop because of them (as well as my ability to cope in the material world without going crazy...well not too crazy at least) and I am feeling the benefits from Krsna more and more. I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am very excited to do the degree courses. I estimate that I will be able to sign up in the second week of February at the very latest so it won't be long now. Thanks for this opportunity. Love Mike Re: Where is Everyone? by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 23 January 2009, 04:47 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes the devotees are on a roll, they're recording another kīrtan as I write this. I like to stay in touch with all our students and encourage everyone. My time is stretched very thin these days between answering so many messages, futures trading, course development, community planning and so on. Good to hear you intend to do the course, I'm sure you will get a lot out of it. love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/22/2009: Kirtan and Conversation by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 22 January 2009, 08:04 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Tonight's Darshan is in two parts: a nice kīrtan led by Uddhava in his favorite tune, and a conversation later during prasādam. This is quite a wide-ranging discussion about all kinds of things related to our community. We want to maintain very high standards, especially in the beginning when we are establishing our core community. We are trying to build an alternative civilization that will last at least 1,000 years; so what really matters is to get the plan right before taking action. kīrtan(MP3 audio) conversation(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/22/2009: Kirtan and Conversation by Uddhava das - Friday, 23 January 2009, 02:36 PM Dear Devotees, Please accept my humble obeisances, In particular this kirtan tune is very complicated, it uses intervals which are very uncommon in western music, and thus very hard to replicate even after hearing many times. I was trying to sing slowly and as clear as possible, but without desired results. Why choose a melody like that for kirtan ? oh well, sometimes we are ambitious in our service. We really need much more spiritual advancement to be able to chant this melody to its full potential. With Love, Uddhava dasa Homework Assignment #5 by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 11 January 2009, 01:17 PM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Jaya Bābājī! If you are reading this, then do the homework! Don't be an esoteric benchwarmer. Be a useless geek, not busy foolish. To sucessfully complete this assignment, you will need access to a good English dictionary and a Sanskrit dictionary: http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ http://joomla.esotericteaching.org/joomla/seminars/vedic-scriptures/sanskrit/600-sanskrit-english-dictionary http://www.pratyatosa.com/SanskritDiacriticTextConversion.htm Homework Assignment #5 Due: Saturday Jan. 17 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā or Śrī Īśopaniṣad. Write down the verse. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanscrit equivalent. Please use the following format for easy reading: Sanskrit Word Bhagavad-gita translation Other dictionary meanings original english word definition used in a sentance   3. Make an origional, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearely defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? Thank You Love, peter PS-  EXTRA CREDIT!!!   1.  Who is this a statue of? 2.  What is his pastime? Re: Homework Assignment #5 by Michael Jones - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 03:50 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Here is this weeks homework on Śrī Īśopaniṣad. 1. Pick one verse. Write down the verse. Mantra one: īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam TRANSLATION Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. Everything that exists belongs to the Lord so we should not falsely accept ownership and use things for our own enjoyment. This includes both material and spiritual things. Rather, we should engage the things we have kindly been provided with by the Lord in His service. We should not think that we control the material things we have as the Lord controls them. Similarly, we should not think we control what will happen in our lives/ the amount of happiness we obtain, etc, as these things are also controlled by the Lord who provides us fairly with happiness and suffering depending on what our past actions were. If we are provided with riches we should use them in the Lords service and not seek to double them, and if we are only given food to eat we should also be satisfied with that. Both the things we are provided with and us ourselves belong to the Lord and we should not think otherwise. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit Word Śrī Īśopaniṣad translation Other dictionary meanings īśa by the Lord owning, possessing, sharing • one who is completely master of anything • capable of • powerful, supreme • a ruler, master, lord • faculty, power, dominion āvāsyam controlled ... āvāsya to be inhabited by, full of idam this known, present • this earthly world, this universe sarvam all all living beings sarva whole, entire, all, every • 'everything' • of all sorts, manifold, various, different • altogether, wholly, completely, in all parts, everywhere yat kiñca whatever ... yad who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that kiṃcid • (kiṃcit) (with the pron. ya preceding) whatever jagatyām within the universe See jagat jagat all that is animate or inanimate moving, movable, locomotive, living • the earth • people, mankind • the world, universe tena by Him in that direction, there • in that manner, thus • on that account, for that reason, therefore tyaktena set-apart quota ... tyakta left, abandoned tyaj to leave, abandon, • to leave a place, go away from • to let go, dismiss, discharge • to give up, surrender, resign, part from, renounce • to give away, distribute, offer (as a sacrifice or oblation to a deity) • to set aside, leave unnoticed, disregard • to except bhuñjīthāḥ you should accept bhuj to enjoy, use, possess, enjoy a meal, eat, eat and drink, consume • to make use of. utilize, exploit • to suffer, experience, undergo, be requited or rewarded for • to be of use or service to mā do not not, that not, lest, gṛdhaḥ endeavor to gain ... gṛdh • ind. p. gṛddhvā: to endeavour to gain • to covet, desire, strive after greedily, be desirous of or eager for gṛddha desirous of, eagerly longing for kasya svit of anyone else ... svid • káḥ svid: 'whoever', 'any one' • similarly with yad e.g. yad svid dīyate, 'whatever is given' dhanam the wealth ... dhana the prize of a contest or the contest itself (lit. a running match, race, or the thing raced for • booty, prey • any valued object, (esp.) wealth, riches, (movable) property, money, treasure, gift 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Original English Word Definition Used in a sentence Everything -pronoun every thing or particular of an aggregate or total; all. Everything is emanated from the Lord animate -adjective alive; possessing life: animate creatures. Frankenstein's monster became animate once hit by lightning or -conjunction (used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives) The water can be hot or cold inanimate -adjective not animate. Not having the qualities associated with active, living organisms. The dead body is inanimate that -pronoun used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as pointed out or present, mentioned before, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis Everything that I can see is from Krsna is -verb The third person singular of the substantive verb be, in the indicative mood, present tense -verb The third person singular of the substantive verb be, in the indicative mood, present tense Everything is here because God desired it -be: to occupy a place or position within –preposition inside of; in The living entity is within the body the –definite article (used to mark a proper noun, natural phenomenon, ship, building, time, point of the compass, branch of endeavor, or field of study as something well-known or unique) The mountain stood tall universe –noun the totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm. The size of the universe cannot be comprehended, what to speak of the spiritual world is -verb The third person singular of the substantive verb be, in the indicative mood, present tense Krsna is a loving person be used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject controlled -verb (used with object) to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command. The materialistic society is controlled by selfish idiots and –conjunction (used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses) along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; also; moreover Chanting is soothing and enlightening owned verb To have or possess as property The crown is owned by the King by preposition through the agency, efficacy, work, participation, or authority of Today this teaching is being given by Babaji the –definite article (used to mark a proper noun, natural phenomenon, ship, building, time, point of the compass, branch of endeavor, or field of study as something well-known or unique) The Guru can give us knowledge Lord –noun the Supreme Being; God; Jehovah. The Lord knows everything about you . A period indicating the end of a sentence. This is the end. One –pronoun any person indefinitely; anyone One should look both ways before crossing the road should –auxiliary verb must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency You should aim for self-realization therefore –adverb in consequence of that; as a result; consequently I stubbed my toe, therefore I have a limp accept –verb (used with object) to take or receive (something offered) I will accept a candy. Thanks dude. only –adverb no more than; merely; just I only want to live humbly those -adjective Plural of that Those cars are very noisy that Being the one singled out, implied, or understood things -noun personal possessions or belongings These are my things necessary -adjective being essential, indispensable, or requisite Oxygen is necessary to keep us alive for –preposition intended to belong to, or be used in connection with This is for the pleasure of Krsna himself –pronoun an emphatic appositive of him or he One should be aware of himself and his actions he anyone (without reference to sex); that person , the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. I like Ice cream, especially the chunky kind, and popcorn which –pronoun The one or ones previously mentioned or implied specifically: Used as a relative pronoun in a clause that provides additional information about the antecedent Good music is that which touches something deep inside of you are -verb Second person singular and plural and first and third person plural present indicative of be. These things are on the table be to occupy a place or position set aside -idiom to put to one side; reserve I have set aside my work for today set -verb (used with object) to put (something or someone) in a particular place aside -adverb in reserve; in a separate place, as for safekeeping; apart; away as -adverb thought to be or considered to be This is being given to you as your birthday present his -pronoun the possessive form of he A persons spiritual success is his wealth he anyone (without reference to sex); that person quota –noun the share or proportional part of a total that is required from, or is due or belongs to, a particular district, state, person, group, etc. This rice is your quota for the week , the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. You should clean the car, with both the bucket and sponge, and when your done I have some more jobs for you to do. and -conjunction (used to introduce a consequence or conditional result) I like apples and so I will eat one one -pronoun any person indefinitely; anyone One should try his best at whatever he does should -auxiliary verb must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency) I said one should try his best not –adverb (used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition) This is not my real identity accept -verb to take or receive (something offered); I will accept another candy. Thanks man, you're real generous today. other –adjective additional or further I don't want other theories, only truth. things –noun some entity, object, or creature that is not specifically designated or precisely described These things are yours. , the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. Krsna is the strongest, the most knowledgeable, the most beautiful, the wealthiest, the most powerful, and the most renounced knowing –adjective that knows; having knowledge or information The Lord is all knowing well -adverb with great or intimate knowledge He knows us well to -preposition (used for expressing the object of a right or claim) I gave this to you for Christmas whom –pronoun the objective case of who With whom are you going? who the person that or any person that (used relatively to represent a specified or implied antecedent) they -pronoun Used to refer to the ones previously mentioned or implied. They are going with you are they? belong -verb To have in one's possession. Often used with to To whom does this book belong? . A period indicating the end of a sentence. Now I am done. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. We should be happy with what we have been given and not try to gain more than we need. God provides us with all we need and it is a waste of time to try and get more than that. The Lord controls everything and knows what it is we desire. The word āvāsya means both controlled and inhabited. The Lord inhabits everything as the supersoul and so He controls everything directly and indirectly. He controls both the material energy and the individual soul according to his desires. From the material mindset, the body is inhabited by the soul and so we control it (this is material because those with true knowledge know that actually the Lord controls the material body according to our desires). Similarly, and in absolute truth, the Lord inhabits everything and so He controls everything. Therefore whatever we will receive as our quota comes from Him. Isa is used as not only as possessing but also sharing. The Lord is so kind that although He owns these things, he shares them with us. He doesn't have too, yet He does, so we shouldn't be greedy and try to take more than we have been given. Tena is translated as "by Him." Other meanings are: "in that direction, there, in that manner, thus, on that account, for that reason, therefore." So on account of the fact that everything is controlled and owned by Him, we should take only what He has directed we should take. Tyaktena is translated as set apart quota. Other meanings are "to leave, abandon, to part from, to set aside, to except." Therefore we should only except the quota set apart for us. The Lord can have everything He wants, after all He owns it. However, He allows us to have parts of His energy to sustain ourselves, such as food, relationships etc. The Lord leaves these, He does not need them (after all He is the master of renouncement). He distributes them to us according to our merits and we can do what we like with them. Another meaning of Tyaktena is "offer," and so if we are wise, not only will we only accept our designated quota, but we will also offer it back to the Lord to enjoy first. He doesn't need us to do this, after all He decided to give this quota up to us, but it is our duty to do so. The following word is bhuñjīthāḥ which means we should accept. Bhuj has several meanings concerning how we use the quota we accept. The choice is ours how we use it. We can enjoy, possess, consume, exploit and ultimately suffer for the way we use our quota. Or we can make use of our quota, utilize it in the service of the Lord, and we will ultimately be rewarded with Krsna by doing so. The word gṛdhaḥ means "endeavour to gain." Othe meanings are "to covet, desire, strive after greedily, be desirous of or eager for." We are warned not to endeavour to gain more than we need. But also we should not desire to gain more. Rather we should be happy with our quota and desire only Krsna. This is especially shown in the final word of the sloka: dhanam. This means wealth but it also means the prize of a contest. Todays materialistic society is known as the rat race: everyone is trying to work harder, smarter, more cunningly than the next man to try and gain a bigger prize: more and more sense enjoyment. However, as stated before, the wealth being desired is owned by Krsna. Krsna chooses who each part of the wealth is set apart for. So when we desire or try and endeavour for more than the next man, we are not going into competition with them, but rather we are going into competition with Krsna for his wealth. This is a contest we can never win and so it is best to be happy with what we are given and use it only in the owners service. Krsna decides what happens to the worlds resources, not us. We should trust we will get what we require for living. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? I have a much deeper understanding than before, especially thanks to looking up the Sanskrit words. Babaji speaks the truth when he says one word has a wealth of meaning. From looking up these meanings I have been given a lot more meaning to the reason we should not endeavour to gain more than we are given. Love Mike Re: Homework Assignment #5 by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 08:04 PM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Jaya Bābājī! This week I will do BG 9.11 avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūta-maheśvaram avajānanti—deride; mām—Me; mūḍhāḥ—foolish men; mānuṣīm—in a human form; tanum—body; āśritam—assuming; param—transcendental; bhāvam—nature; ajānantaḥ—not knowing; mama—Mine; bhūta—everything that be; maheśvaram—supreme proprietor. Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be. sanskrit word bhagavad-gita translation other definitions avajānanti deride disrespect, neglect mūḍhāḥ foolish men foolish, rascal, unintellegent, bewildered, confused, foolish mānuṣīm in a human form the human, just like a human being tanum body form, a body āśritam assuming directed, absorbed, taking shelter of, composed, accepted param trancendental the supreme, superior, beyond, absolute, the highest bhāvam nature Lord Siva, indication, existence, mentality, ecstacy, devotional service, pure love, ecstatic absorption, loving service, position ajānantaḥ not knowing without knowing, without spiritual knowledge, mama mine my, to me, of mine, unto me, mine personally bhūta everything that be of creation, GHOSTS, living entities, JINN(a particular species of ghosts-- born from fire), elements, created, body, material elements, maheśvaram supreme proprietor The supreme lord original english definition used in a creative sentence fools One who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding Only fools are addicted to sense gratification. deride to laugh at in scorn or contempt; scoff or jeer at; mock Mūḍhās deride saintly people at their own peril. me the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. A great personality told me to always remember Krnsa. when at the time or in the event that You should start chanting when the sun goes down and when it comes up. I the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. I am thinking about when I will transcend maya. descend to appear or become manifest, as a supernatural being, state of mind, etc. We all descend from the spritual world to come here. in used to indicate inclusion within space, a place, or limits The actual spoken words of Krsna are in the Bhagavad Gita. the used before adjectives that are used substantively, to note an individual, a class or number of individuals, or an abstract idea Ice cream make the teeth cold. human of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or having the nature of people Most people on this planet that appear human really are not. form external appearance of a clearly defined area, as distinguished from color or material; configuration Lord Siva has many different forms. . A mark of punctuation used to end all sentences apart from questions or those requiring an exclamation. If you serve Krsna, he will reciprocate with you. They people in general They want to see world peace, but do nothing about it. do behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself We do not understand what is happening in our own body. not used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition Why not defeat the rascals? know to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty Those who truly know rarely teach. My the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. My mind is currently uncontrollable. trancendental being beyond ordinary or common experience, thought, or belief; supernatural.  [spiritual] I wish I was completely transcendental. nature the sum total of the forces at work throughout the universe Krsnas nature is sat, cit, ananda-- eternal, full of knowledge, and blissful. and used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses A horse and a cart go together. My the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. Lord Nityananda broke Lord Caitanyas daṇḍa over the lucky devotees head. supreme highest in rank or authority; paramount; sovereign; chief Krsna is supreme. dominion the power or right of governing and controlling; sovereign authority. The Raksasa dominion is currently all around us. over above in authority, rank, power, etc., so as to govern, control, or have jurisdiction regarding In the materialistic point of view, one person is over another. all the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration Vaikuntha is superior to the material world in all respects. that used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as pointed out or present, mentioned before, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis This is the wrong way and that is the right way. be to take place; happen; occur When the horseman comes, thats when the Kali-yuga judgement day will be. So, Krsna appears in a human form to teach us how to come back to him.  We deserted Krnsa like a child running away from its grandmother after doing something naughty.  Much like an infant fleeing from its protector, the child usually doesnt get very far without help and proper guidance. paramaṁ yo mahat-tejaḥ paramaṁ yo mahat-tapaḥ paramaṁ yo mahad brahma paramaṁ yaḥ parāyaṇam “Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is supremely powerful and splendid, and the sun and other luminaries derive their splendor and heat from Him. He is partially manifest as the Brahman effulgence. He is the ultimate shelter of all living entities. Kṛṣṇa is also the supreme mystic, so externally appearing like a human being is not at all difficult for him.  But in fact, the form Kṛṣṇa is not a manifestation of his external energy but his internal energy.  Mūḍhās think that Kṛṣṇa resembles a human being, but it is actually human beings who resemble Kṛṣṇa.  Kṛṣṇa is the origional, we are the dim reflection. love, peter EXTRA CREDIT: Not enought people did the homework yet, so do some more detective work and I will update this in a few days.  Re: Homework Assignment #5 by Peter Turanec - Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 09:29 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Jaya Bābājī! Why did no one do the homework?  I feel like I shook up a can of coca-cola, opened it, watched it explode soda pop everywhere and now theres none left for me to drink. I know whats wrong! I should have bought a 12 liter and not just a single can.  Dag nabbit!  Anyways... EXTRA CREDIT: I am sure everyone is in total suspense as to who this is a sculpture of.  This is a very interesting sculputre from the 5th century CE.  It is a mixed incarnation of Siva and Vamana.  Unfortunately, I cant find anything in the Vedabase about this particular personality.  Very esoteric. http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/NorthIndia/Delhi/Museum/Sivavaman.jpg http://www.molon.de/galleries/India/Delhi/Museum/img.php?pic=3 PS-  YES, that is the most awesome sculpture I have ever seen! Who is it?  love, peter Re: Homework Assignment #5 by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 22 January 2009, 02:00 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Don't worry, I directed everyone to go over mantras from Śrī Īśopaniṣad because they will be doing it on the Bhakta Degree Program. And anyway, the main point was to develop a high standard of study so we can continue it in the courses themselves. Scrutinizing study of the scriptures is very important: "So we have to become Kṛṣṇa conscious by scrutinizing, studying, this authoritative book, Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, without having fashionable interpretation, as it is. What Kṛṣṇa says, He says for all the time. It does not change." [Class, NYC 8/5/66] Scrutinize means "to examine carefully or in minute detail." You cannot read the scriptures like a novel. If you do, you will miss 90% of the deep meaning. So now we have established this standard and method for scrutinizing study, and we will continue it in the Bhakta Degree Program and other courses. I am just designing the curricula now, and this form of study will be an important part of it. So this was a very important contribution to our work. love, Baba Re: Homework Assignment #5 by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 22 January 2009, 03:10 PM Dear Students , Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Baba 1.Pick one verse from the Śrī Īśopaniṣad. Write down the verse. Śrī Īśopaniṣad INVOCATION oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate SYNONYMS oṁ—the Complete Whole; pūrṇam—perfectly complete; adaḥ—that; pūrṇam—perfectly complete; idam—this phenomenal world; pūrṇāt—from the all-perfect; pūrṇam—complete unit; udacyate—is produced; pūrṇasya—of the Complete Whole; pūrṇam—completely, all; ādāya—having been taken away; pūrṇam—the complete balance; eva—even; avaśiṣyate—is remaining. TRANSLATION The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. God is perfect and whole. He emanates everything from Himself and remains Perfectly complete. Because we are created by God we are also perfectly complete. God never looses anything of Himself in emanating all His creation. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit Word Vedabase Other dictionary meaning oṁ the Complete Whole Whenever a Vedic hymn or the holy name of the Supreme Lord is uttered, oṁ is added. Oṁ, or the oṁkāra, is Kṛṣṇa. Many people are fond of chanting oṁkāra. That is also nice, because oṁkāra is Kṛṣṇa. If we simply remember, “This oṁkāra is Kṛṣṇa,” then we become perfect, because the goal is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.. pūrṇam perfectly complete adaḥ that eating, compassion the form of the puruṣa pūrṇam perfectly complete idam this phenomenal world this earthly world , this universe Pūrṇāt from the all perfect from him who is completely full pūrṇam complete unit udacyate is produced pūrṇasya of the Complete Whole for Him who is full, to the perfectly complete Lord Pūrṇam completely, all Ādāya having been taken away taking , seizing. having taken with , along with Pūrṇam the complete balance Eva. even Avaśiṣyate is remaining remains 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. English Translation Definition Used in a sentence The Used to indicate uniqueness The Emperor has nothing on. Personality 1. The quality or condition of being a person. 2. The totality of qualities and traits, as of character or behavior, that are peculiar to a specific person. He has the most wonderful personality, you'll see. of Derived or coming from; originating at or from The love of Kṛṣṇa comes from within. God a. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions. b. The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being. 2. A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality. Just Worship God ,how hard can that be? head The foremost or leading position Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme personality of Godhead is Third person singular present indicative of be. Kṛṣṇa is Love. perfect 1. Lacking nothing essential to the whole; complete of its nature or kind. 2. Being without defect or blemish Kṛṣṇa is perfect and Together with or along with; in addition to; as well as. Used to connect words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical function in a construction. Kṛṣṇa is perfect and complete. complete Having all necessary or normal parts, components, or steps; entire Kṛṣṇa is complete and perfect . , the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. It is also used to separate items in a list, to mark off thousands in numerals, to separate types or levels of information in bibliographic and other data, and, in Europe, as a decimal point. Krsna is wonderful, you will see and Together with or along with; in addition to; as well as. Used to connect words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical function in a construction. Worship and Love Kṛṣṇa because For the reason that; since, on account of the fact that Love Kṛṣṇa not because He is God but because He's Kṛṣṇa. He Used to refer to the man or boy previously mentioned or implied He Loves us all so much is Third person singular present indicative of be. First and third person singular past indicative was  Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of pleasure completely As above Im completely in Love with Him. perfect As above Only perfect love comes from Kṛṣṇa , As above all Being or representing the entire or total number, amount, or quantity All I can do is Love and serve Kṛṣṇa and the devotees. emanations Something that issues from a source; an emission emit: To give or send out (matter or energy) Even with so many emanations Kṛṣṇa is still perfectly complete. from Used to indicate a specified place or time as a starting point We all fell from the spiritual world and fell further into maya, we must get back home. Him The objective case of he1. 1. Used as the direct object of a verb Kṛṣṇa Loves us and we Love Him. such Of this kind It's such an honor to be here with good pure souls. as For instance (conjunction) (used correlatively after an adjective or adverb prec. by an adverbial phrase, the adverbial as, or another adverb) to such a degree or extent that When my chanting goes nicely Im as happy as a kid at Christmas. this Used as an emphatic substitute for the indefinite article This is the only way to be. phenomenal Of, relating to, or constituting phenomena or a phenomenon An occurrence, circumstance, or fact that is perceptible by the senses This phenomenal world may look pleasant at times but it's not where we belong. world The earth. The universe This World is for rascals and I'm trying to less of a rascal. , As Above are Second person singular and plural and first and third person plural present indicative of be. The Devotees are the fines kind of soul. perfectly In a perfect manner or to a perfect degree. To a complete or full degree or extent; wholly I'm perfectly happy here, I could think of anywhere else I'd rather be. equipped To supply with necessities such as tools or provisions. The devotee stood his ground, equipped with the Holy Name, he was ready for anything the rascals would throw at him. as To the same extent or degree; equally The Devotee was prepared as for the rascals they didn't even know what was going on. complete As above The rascal was in complete fear while the devotee just thought of Kṛṣṇa. wholes Containing all components; complete The whole of the universes are under Kṛṣṇa control. ( . ) A punctuation mark ( . ) indicating a full stop, placed at the end of declarative sentences and other statements thought to be complete, and after many abbreviations. You have to wake up, there is no other way full stop message ends. Whatever Everything or anything that Whatever is said in the Vedas is the truth the Absolute Truth. produced To create by physical or mental effort Whatever is produced by man that has no relationship with Kṛṣṇa is nonsense and should be ignored or used for Kṛṣṇa, after all it's all His. also In addition; besides Kṛṣṇa is inside everything and also He is outside of everything, That gets you thinking. complete As above Kṛṣṇa is complete, I am a tinny part of that completeness but never completely complete. in Within the limits, bounds, or area of: In the Ashram you live on the spiritual platform. itself Used reflexively as the direct or indirect object of a verb or the object of a preposition Devotional service itself is a joy. even Adverb used to suggest that the content of a statement is unexpected or paradoxical I should see every living soul as a part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa even the demons, I have a lot to learn. though Despite the fact that; although Though I have not yet seen Kṛṣṇa, I know I will. so To the amount or degree expressed or understood; to such an extent So just surrender unto a spiritual master and render service unto him he will impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth. many Being one of a large indefinite number; numerous There are many cheaters out there ready for any innocent soul to mislead and misguide . units a single thing. quantity assumed as a standard of measurement. How many units of Gee can a cow make in one week? These question will become very important in the next few years....I cant wait emanate To come or send forth, as from a source You can almost see the Love of Godhead emanate from Babaji when he speaks of Kṛṣṇa. from Used to indicate a specified place or time as a starting point From Kṛṣṇa come the Vedas and from the Vedas comes the Truth and from the Truth come liberation and Kṛṣṇa. Him The objective case of he I Love Him, Kṛṣṇa. remains Noun, pl All that is left after other parts have been taken away, used up, or destroyed When all the nonsense is cleaned away all that remains is Kṛṣṇa. balance noun A state of equilibrium or parity characterized by cancellation of all forces by equal opposing forces Devotional live is like walking a razor blade If you loose you balance you can get very badly cut. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. 4.Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance. The personality of Godhead is perfect and complete When first reading this you think well yes of course I can understand that God is perfect Kṛṣṇa created all of this and it's all perfect too. If a perfect artist creates a piece of work you can be sure the work will be prefect, well, perfect in human terms that is. You read this as a no brainier, a given. Yes God is perfect and everything He creates is perfect and not only perfect it's also totally complete, and it continues that He has emanated so many perfectly complete units and He is still complete, He looses none of His completeness in these creations. This is a bit of a stretch for us feeble minded humans in our experience if you create something, then something has to be taken from something for the created something to exist. Eg. you want to build a wooden chair, you take wood cut it to size shave it, shape it and nail it together and you now have a chair and a bit less wood and nails than you had at the start, do this enough time and you will run out of wood and nails it's natural on this material plane but God can create complete whole units, from himself (emanates) and yet He still remains whole this is where our minds have problems and there is no amount of research or deep thinking that can solve this for us, we are just not capable of understanding this because we are contaminated with material ontology and Krsna has made us forget . A fire emanates heat and light, but eventually the fire will die down and the heat and light will also fade until it's finished. But Kṛṣṇa has unlimited energy, this concept gets jarred in the thought process of a materially processing human. This is where thinking out side our box comes into play this is when we have to stretch. So everything we see is emanated Kṛṣṇa, this computer is Kṛṣṇa's energy shaped my Human intelligence. This body I use the same applies, the soul behind these eyes, Part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Then you get an aha moment and realize that perfectly complete means eternity, no beginning and no end. So you can easily take the complete whole from the complete whole and still have the complete whole. It's a head spinner and not to be taken lightly this sets us up straight away in the right frame of mind the read the rest of the Śrī Īśopaniṣad. Everything is perfect, everything come from Kṛṣṇa, and is creating it all, He looses none of Himself in doing so. Kṛṣṇa remains the complete balance. In the material world we see all the atrocities' and evil of this world and we may think Evil is winning the darkness is spreading but it is all part of Kṛṣṇa, it's all in the balance, it's all resting in the Lord. There is no good and bad there is just the play of karma, souls finding their own balance. A weighing scales has two sided up, down, Good, bad. Kṛṣṇa is the complete balance He is both sides of the scales He is the scales. It's not like Kṛṣṇa is on one side of the scales and the material world is on the other, No Kṛṣṇa is everything so everything is balanced perfectly. Ok next the Bhakta Degree Program. Love, Kanai Dasa Evening Darshan 1/20-21/2009: Nice Kirtans by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 07:10 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The devotees have been doing nice kīrtans every night while I am working on the courses. They are taking turns leading and each one is getting stronger. Especially Kānāi, when he first came could not hit even one note, and now his svāras are so sweet. Anyway here is a sample of what we hear every night at the āśram. 1/20/2009(MP3 audio) 1/21/2009(MP3 audio) love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/19/2009: Kirtan by Uddhava by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 20 January 2009, 09:07 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is a nice kīrtan led by Uddhava Prabhu. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Offering Food by Neville Clemens - Monday, 19 January 2009, 02:20 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I was recently reminded of a short prayer that Visnujana Swami composed for recitation as a supplement to the mantras while offering food to Krsna and the spiritual master. I thought I'd share it on here, because it's nice and everyone can use it when they offer food everyday: “Oh my Lord, what am I, and what is my value? I, who am eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, have falsely identified with this body which is temporary, full of ignorance and misery. And what is the value of these things we have offered you? They are also of the same temporary nature. But You, dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, are the most expert mystic, and as such, You can enter into anything and change matter into Spirit as You like. And as You are always anxious to accept the offerings from the hands of Your pure devotees, so we have offered these nice foodstuffs unto the hands of Your most pure devotee, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Please, therefore accept, and if You are satisfied, then we are satisfied.” Love, Neville Re: Offering Food by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 19 January 2009, 02:42 PM Dear Neville and All, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is actually a free translation of a prayer written by Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur, Prasāda-sevāya: śarīra avidyā-jāl, jadendriya tāhe kāl jīve phele viṣaya-sāgare tā'ra madhye jihvā ati-, lobhamay sudurmati, tā'ke jetā kaṭhina saṁsāre kṛṣṇa baḍa dayāmay, karibāre jihvā jay, sva-prasādānna dila bhāi sei annāmṛta pāo, rādhā-kṛṣṇa-guṇa gāo, preme ḍāko caitanya-nitāi "O Lord, this material body is a lump of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths to death. Somehow, we have fallen into this ocean of material sense enjoyment, and of all the senses the tongue is most voracious and uncontrollable; it is very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world. But You, dear Kṛṣṇa, are very kind to us and have given us such nice prasādam, just to control the tongue. Now we take this prasādam to our full satisfaction and glorify Their Lordships Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and in love call for the help of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda." love, Baba Sunday Satsang 1/18/2009: Anubhāva (Devotional Ecstasies) by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 17 January 2009, 12:20 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Tomorrow's Sunday Satsang is going to be on anubhāva or devotional ecstasies. Anubhāva occurs naturally when a devotee chants the Holy Name without offenses. Every devotee has had at least a taste of anubhāva, but we will discuss it in detail. We want as many devotees as possible to participate in the Sunday Satsang program, so please make a time in your schedule for it, every Sunday at noon Santiago time. That is 10 AM EST, 9 AM CST, 7 AM PST or 3 PM UT. Here's the link: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com:80/portal/JoinForm.action?meetingRoomName=davidbrucehughes love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 1/18/2009: Anubhāva (Devotional Ecstasies) by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 07:03 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is some study material on anubhāva: Anubhāva From Nectar of Devotion The particular type of ecstatic loving sentiment that develops within the heart of a particular devotee is considered to be vibhāva. And the resultant manifestations such as moving of the eyebrows, fear, astonishment and smiling, which have been explained hereinbefore, are called anubhāva. The different causes for developing anubhāva and vibhāva are called steady ecstasy, or sañcāri-bhāva. Whenever there is a recitation of poetry or a dramatic play on the different pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, the audience develops different kinds of transcendental loving service for the Lord. They enjoy different types of vibhāva, anubhāva and sañcāri-bhāva. No one, while remaining on the material platform, should discuss these different descriptions of bhāva and anubhāva by quoting different statements of transcendental literatures. Such manifestations are displays of the transcendental pleasure potency of the Lord. One should simply try to understand that on the spiritual platform, there are many varieties of reciprocal love. Such loving exchanges should never be considered to be material. In the Mahābhārata Udyama-parva it is warned that things which are inconceivable should not be subjected to arguments. Actually, the transactions of the spiritual world are inconceivable to us in our present state of life. Great liberated souls like Rūpa Gosvāmī and others have tried to give us some hints of transcendental activities in the spiritual world, but on the whole these transactions will remain inconceivable to us at the present moment. Understanding the exchanges of transcendental loving service with Kṛṣṇa is possible only when one is actually in touch with the pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord. The bodily symptoms which are manifested by a devotee in expressing ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa are called anubhāva. Practical examples of anubhāva are as follows: dancing, rolling on the ground, singing very loudly, stretching the body, crying loudly, yawning, breathing very heavily, neglecting the presence of others, drooling, laughing like a madman, wheeling the head and belching. When there is an extraordinary excess of ecstatic love, with all of these bodily symptoms manifested, one feels relieved transcendentally. These symptoms are divided into two parts: one is called śīta, and the other is called kṣepaṇa. When there is yawning, it is called śīta, and when there is dancing it is called kṣepaṇa. Dancing While watching the rāsa dance performed by Lord Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs, Lord Śiva beheld the beautiful face of Kṛṣṇa and immediately began to dance and beat upon his small ḍiṇḍima drum. While Lord Śiva was dancing in ecstasy, his eldest son, Ganeśa, joined him. Rolling on the Ground In the Third Canto, 1st Chapter, 31st verse, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Vidura inquires from Uddhava, "My dear friend, is Akrūra in an auspicious condition? He is not only a learned scholar and sinless, but he is also a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He has such ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa that I have seen him rolling upon Kṛṣṇa's footprints in the dust as if bereft of all senses." Similarly, one gopī gave a message to Kṛṣṇa that Rādhārāṇī, because of Her separation from Him and because of Her enchantment with the flavor of His flower garlands, was rolling on the ground, thereby bruising Her soft body. Singing Loudly One gopī informed Kṛṣṇa that when Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was singing about His glories, She enchanted all of Her friends in such a way that they became stonelike and dull. At the same time, the nearby stones began to melt away in ecstatic love. Stretching the Body When there was stretching of the body of Nārada Muni from chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, he chanted so loudly that it was apprehended that Lord Nṛsiṁha had appeared. Thus all the demons began to flee in different directions. It is also said that sometimes when Nārada, the carrier of the vīṇā, remembers his Lord Kṛṣṇa in great ecstasy, he begins to stretch his body so vigorously that his sacred thread gives way. Crying Loudly A gopī once said to Kṛṣṇa: "My dear son of Nanda Mahārāj, by the sound of Your flute Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has become full of lamentation and fear, and thus, with a faltering voice, She is crying like a kurobi bird. It is described that by hearing the vibration of Kṛṣṇa's flute Lord Śiva becomes very puzzled and begins to cry so loudly into space that the demons become vanquished and the devotees become overwhelmed with joy. Yawning It is said that when the full moon rises, the lotus petals become expanded. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa used to appear before Rādhārāṇī, Her face, which is compared with the lotus flower, would expand by Her yawning. Breathing Heavily As far as breathing heavily is concerned, it is stated: "Lalitā [one of the gopīs] is just like a cātakī bird, which only takes water falling directly from the rain cloud and not from any other source." In this statement Kṛṣṇa is compared to the dark cloud, and Lalitā is compared to the cātakī bird seeking only Kṛṣṇa's company. The metaphor continues to say, "As a heavy wind sometimes disperses a mighty cloud, so the heavy breath from Lalitā's nostrils caused her to miss Kṛṣṇa, who had disappeared by the time she recovered herself." Neglecting the Presence of Others As far as neglecting the presence of others is concerned, the wives of the brāhmaṇas who were performing sacrifices at Vṛndāvana left home as soon as they heard that Kṛṣṇa was nearby. They left their homes without caring for their learned husbands. The husbands began to discuss this amongst themselves: "How wonderful is the attraction for Kṛṣṇa, that it has made these women leave us without any care!" This is the influence of Kṛṣṇa. Anyone who becomes attracted to Kṛṣṇa can be relieved from the bondage of birth and death, which can be compared to the locked-up homes that were neglected by the wives of the brāhmaṇas. In the Padyāvalī there is a statement by some devotees: "We shall not care for any outsiders. If they should deride us, we shall still not care for them. We shall simply enjoy the transcendental mellow of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and thus we shall roll on the ground and dance ecstatically. In this way we shall eternally enjoy transcendental bliss." Drooling As an example of the running down of saliva from the mouth, it is stated that sometimes when Nārada Muni was chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, he remained stunned for a while, and saliva oozed from his mouth. Laughing like a Madman When a devotee laughs very loudly like a madman, it is done out of an extraordinary agitation of ecstatic love within the heart. Such mad laughing is an expression of the condition of the heart, which is technically called aṭṭa-hāsa. When a devotee becomes affected with this mental condition, his love is expressed through the lips. The laughing sounds, coming one after another, are compared to flowers falling from the creeper of devotion which grows within the heart of the devotee. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta devotional service to the Lord is also compared to a creeper which rises up to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa in Goloka Vṛndāvana. Wheeling of the Head One gopī told her friend: "It appears that Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of the demon Agha, has released from His mouth a whirlwind which is acting on your head and is gradually proceeding to do the same to the other lotus-eyed gopīs." Belching Sometimes belching also becomes a symptom of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. There is evidence of this in Paurṇamāsī's address to one crying associate of Rādhārāṇī: "My dear daughter, don't be worried because Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is belching. I am about to offer a remedial measure for this symptom. Do not cry so loudly. This belching is not due to indigestion; it is a sign of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. I shall arrange to cure this belching symptom immediately. Don't be worried." This statement of Paurṇamāsī is evidence that ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa is sometimes manifested through belching. Sometimes trembling of the whole body and hemorrhaging from some part of the body are also manifested in response to ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, but such symptoms are very rare, and therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī does not discuss any further on this point. Examples Ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, which is known as anubhāva, is symptomized by the following signs: one becomes engaged exclusively in the service of the Lord, being attentive to carry out the orders of the Lord faithfully; one becomes undisturbed and non-envious in full transcendental loving service to the Lord; and one makes friendship with the devotees of the Lord who are situated in faithful service to Him. All of these symptoms are called anubhāva, ecstatic love. The first symptom of anubhāva, or engagement in a particular type of service, is exemplified by Dāruka, a servant of Kṛṣṇa who used to fan Kṛṣṇa with a cāmara, a bunch of hair. When he was engaged in such service, he was filled with ecstatic love, and the symptoms of ecstatic love became manifest in his body. But Dāruka was so serious about his service that he checked all of these manifestations of ecstatic love and considered them hindrances to his engagement. He did not care very much for these manifestations, although they automatically developed. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, 86th Chapter, 27th verse, there is a statement of how Śrutadeva, a brāhmaṇa from the country called Mithilā in northern India, would become so overpowered with joy as soon as he saw Kṛṣṇa that immediately after bowing to the Lord's lotus feet, he would stand up and began to dance, raising his two arms above his head. One of the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa once addressed Him in this manner: "My dear Lord, although You are not a professional dancer, by Your dancing You have so astonished us that we can understand that You are personally the master of all dancing. Certainly You must have learned this dancing art directly from the goddess of love." When a devotee dances in ecstatic love, there are manifestations of symptoms which are called sāttvika. Sāttvika means that they are from the transcendental platform. They are not symptoms of material emotions; they come from the soul proper. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, 85th Chapter, 30th verse, Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells Mahārāj Parīkṣit that after surrendering everything unto the lotus feet of Vāmanadeva, Bali Mahārāj immediately caught hold of the lotus feet of the Lord and pressed them to his heart. Being overwhelmed with joy, he manifested all the symptoms of ecstatic love, with tears in his eyes and a faltering voice. In such expressions of ecstatic love there are many other subsidiary symptoms, such as jubilation, withering, silence, disappointment, moroseness, reverence, thoughtfulness, remembrance, doubtfulness, confidence, eagerness, indifference, restlessness, impudence, shyness, inertness, illusion, madness, ghastliness, contemplation, dreaming, disease and signs of death. When a devotee meets Kṛṣṇa, there are symptoms of jubilation, pride and perseverance, and when he is feeling great separation from Kṛṣṇa, the symptoms of ghastliness, disease and the signs of death become prominent. It is stated in the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 11th Chapter, 4th verse, that when Lord Kṛṣṇa returned from the battlefield of Kurukṣetra to His home at Dvārakā, all the residents of Dvārakā began to talk with Him, as a child talks lovingly to his father after the father's return from foreign countries. This is an example of jubilation. When Bahulāśva, the King of Mithilā, saw Kṛṣṇa at his palace, he decided to offer his respects by bowing down before Him at least a hundred times, but he was so overcome by feelings of love that, after bowing down only once, he forgot his position and could not rise up again. In the Skanda Purāṇa a devotee tells Lord Kṛṣṇa: "My dear Lord, as the sun evaporates all the water on the ground by its scorching heat, so my mental state has dried away the luster of my face and body, due to separation from You." This is an example of withering in ecstatic love. An expression of disappointment was made by Indra, the King of heaven. When he saw the sungod, Indra told him, "My dear sungod, your sunshine is very glorious because it reaches unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of the Yadu dynasty. I have thousands of eyes, but they have proved to be useless because not even for a moment are they able to see the lotus feet of the Lord." Reverential devotion for the Lord gradually increases and transforms itself into ecstatic love, then affection and then attachment. In the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 38th Chapter, 5th verse, Akrūra says: "Because I am going to see Lord Kṛṣṇa today, all symptoms of inauspiciousness have already been killed. My life is now successful because I shall be able to offer my respects unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead!" Another devotee in ecstatic reverential affection once said, "When will that glorious day in my life come when it will be possible for me to go to the bank of the Yamunā and see Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa playing there as a cowherd boy?" When there is no diminishing of this ecstatic love and when it is freed from all kinds of doubt, that stage is called steady love for Kṛṣṇa. In this stage all expressions of unhappiness by the devotee are called anubhāva, or ecstatic loving symptoms. The symptom of ecstatic affection with reverence felt by Bali Mahārāj was expressed as follows: "My dear Lord, You have simultaneously punished me and showed me Your causeless mercy. My conclusion is that when I have taken shelter of Your lotus feet I shall never be disturbed in any condition of life. Whether You give me the opportunity to enjoy all the yogic perfections, or You put me into the most abominable condition of hellish life, I shall never be disturbed." Kṛṣṇa Himself, after seeing Bali Mahārāj, told Uddhava, "My dear friend, how can I express the glorious characteristics of Bali Mahārāj, the son of Virocana? Although the King of the suras [demigods] was cursed by this son of Virocana, and although I cheated him in My incarnation as Vāmana, taking away his dominions throughout the universe, and although I still criticized him for not fulfilling his promise, I have just now seen him in his kingdom, and he feelingly expressed his love for Me."* When such a feeling of love becomes intensified, it is called affection. In that affectional stage no one can bear separation from Kṛṣṇa even for a moment. One devotee told Dāruka, the servant of Kṛṣṇa: "My dear Dāruka, when you become like wood because of your separation from Kṛṣṇa, it is not so wonderful. Whenever any devotee sees Kṛṣṇa, his eyes become filled with water, and in separation any devotee like you would become stunned, standing just like a wooden doll. That is not a very wonderful thing." There is a statement about Uddhava's symptoms of love. When he saw Lord Kṛṣṇa his eyes filled with tears and created a river which flowed down toward the sea of Kṛṣṇa to offer tribute, as a wife offers tribute to her husband. When his body erupted with goose-pimples, he appeared like the kadamba flower, and when he began to offer prayers, he appeared completely distinct from all other devotees. When affection is symptomized by direct happiness and distress, that is called attraction. In such an attracted state of ecstatic love, one can face all kinds of disadvantages calmly. Even at the risk of death such a devotee is never bereft of the transcendental loving service of the Lord. A glorious example of this ecstatic love was exhibited by King Parīkṣit when he was at the point of death. Although he was bereft of his entire kingdom, which spread over all the world, and although he was accepting not even a drop of water in the seven days remaining to him, because he was engaged in hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Lord from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, he was not in the least distressed. On the contrary, he was feeling direct transcendental ecstatic joy in association with Śukadeva Gosvāmī. One devotee has confidently expressed this opinion: "If a drop of Lord Kṛṣṇa's mercy can be bestowed upon me, then I shall feel completely carefree, even in the midst of a fire or an ocean. But if I become bereft of His causeless mercy, then even if I became the King of Dvārakā, I would be simply an object for pinpricks." Devotees such as Mahārāj Parīkṣit and Uddhava are all situated in ecstatic attraction on the basis of affection, and in that state of affection a feeling of friendship becomes manifest. When Uddhava was freed from all material contamination, he saw the Lord, and his throat became choked up, and he could not speak. By the movements of his eyebrows alone he was embracing the Lord. Such ecstatic love has been divided by great scholars into two groups-addition and subtraction. If a devotee is not directly associated with the Lord, it is called subtraction. In this state of love, one is constantly fixed with his mind at the lotus feet of the Lord. A devotee in this state becomes very eager to learn of the transcendental qualities of the Lord. The most important business of such a devotee is attaining the association of the Lord. In the Nṛsiṁha Purāṇa there is a statement about King Ikṣvāku which illustrates this state of ecstatic love. Because of his great affection for Kṛṣṇa, King Ikṣvāku became greatly attached to the black cloud, the black deer, the deer's black eyes and to the lotus flower, which is always compared to the eyes of the Lord. In the Tenth Canto, 38th Chapter, 9th verse of the Bhāgavatam, Akrūra thinks, "Since the Lord has now appeared to diminish the great burden of the world and is now visible to everyone's eyes in His personal transcendental body, when we see Him before us, is that not the ultimate perfection of our eyes?" In other words, Akrūra realized that the perfection of the eyes is fulfilled when one is able to see Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, when Lord Kṛṣṇa was visible on the earth by direct appearance, everyone who saw Him surely attained perfection of sight. In the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta written by Bilvamaṅgala Thākur there is this expression of eagerness in ecstatic love: "How miserable it is, my dear Kṛṣṇa, O friend of the hopeless! O merciful Lord, how can I pass these thankless days without seeing You?" A similar sentiment was expressed by Uddhava when he wrote a letter to Kṛṣṇa and said, "My dear Supreme King of Braja, You are the vision of nectar for the eyes, and without seeing Your lotus feet and the effulgence of Your body, my mind is always morose. I cannot perceive any peace under any circumstance. Besides that, I am feeling every moment's separation to be like the duration of many, many long years." In the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta it is also said, "My dear Lord, You are the ocean of mercy. With my arms placed upon my head, I am bowing down before You with all humility and sincerity. I am praying unto You, my Lord. Would You be pleased just to sprinkle a little of the water of Your glance upon me? That will be a great satisfaction." A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa said, "When even Śaśiśekhara [Lord Śiva] is unable to see You, what chance is there for me, who am lower than an ordinary worm? I have only committed misdeeds. I know that I am not at all fit to offer my prayers to You, but because You are known as Dīnabandhu, the friend of the fallen, I humbly pray that You will kindly purify me by the beams of Your transcendental glance. If I become thoroughly bathed by Your merciful glance, then I may be saved. Therefore, my Lord, I am requesting You to please bestow upon me Your merciful glance." love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 1/18/2009: Anubhāva (Devotional Ecstasies) by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 05:18 PM Dear Devotees, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The video is now ready. watch It is also available on YouTube. love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/15/2009: Uddhava's Kirtan Tune by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 15 January 2009, 08:01 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This evening's Darshan features Uddhava Prabhu leading kīrtan with an original tune that he wrote while we were in Veracruz. It's very beautiful and haunting. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/15/2009: Uddhava's Kirtan Tune by Devesh Pant - Thursday, 15 January 2009, 09:56 PM Dear Uddhava, Please accept my humble obeisances. Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Very beautiful tune for the Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahamantra. It brings out the viraha rasa of gopis when Kṛṣṇa left Vṛndāvan. thanks a lot Devesh Re: Evening Darshan 1/15/2009: Uddhava's Kirtan Tune by Uddhava das - Saturday, 17 January 2009, 07:26 AM Dear Devesh, Please accept my humble obeisances, Thank you for your comments, it is very important for all of us to develop our musical or artistic skills, this will help us a lot in expressing our feelings for Kṛṣṇa. I believe that everyone that is interested in participating in the community, should practice vocal training, so they can chant nicely when we are together. So far it has been a process that only starts when devotees are here, but it would be much better if the learning process is started before. For vocal training we recommend programs like Sing & See for PC, or Vocal Lab for Mac. With Love, Uddhava dasa (Edited by David Bruce Hughes - added links) Re: Evening Darshan 1/15/2009: Uddhava's Kirtan Tune by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 17 January 2009, 07:24 AM Dear Uddhava, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I agree. We are planning to include these training methods and software in the University of Higher Knowledge Bhakta Degree Program course on chanting the Temple songs and mantras. love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/15/2009: Uddhava's Kirtan Tune by Devesh Pant - Saturday, 17 January 2009, 04:06 PM Dear Uddhava, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for the information. I will try to use the link and practice some music. regards Devesh Re: Evening Darshan 1/15/2009: Uddhava's Kirtan Tune by Michael Jones - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 08:10 AM Dear Uddhava dasa, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you very much for posting these training programs. I have been meaning to work on my vocals for a long time but I keep letting other things get in the way. I am going to incorporate vocal training into my daily routine and these programs will help keep me motivated to stick at it. Thanks. Love Mike Evening Darshan 1/17/2009: Kirtan and Prema-dhvani Prayers by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 18 January 2009, 07:20 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This Evening Darshan opens with a nice kīrtan led by Kānāi dās, then a Sanskrit class by Neville on the Prema-dhvani Prayers that we recite at the end of every kīrtan. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/12/2009: Nice Kirtan by Uddhava by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 15 January 2009, 12:55 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here's a nice kīrtan led by Uddhava dās: listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/12/2009: Nice Kirtan by Uddhava by Neville Clemens - Thursday, 15 January 2009, 12:39 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! The link to the darshan is not working. I think there is a /content missing. Love, Neville Re: Evening Darshan 1/12/2009: Nice Kirtan by Uddhava by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 15 January 2009, 12:57 PM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for pointing that out. It should be OK now. The file takes a few seconds to get started. love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/14/2009: Kīrtan and Sanskrit Class by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 14 January 2009, 08:43 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Tonight's Darshan was a kīrtan led by Kānāi dās, followed by a Sanskrit class led by Neville Prabhu concentrating on some longer words. listen(MP3 audio) Here is the answer to the assignment: listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/14/2009: Kīrtan and Sanskrit Class by Neville Clemens - Thursday, 15 January 2009, 08:12 AM sanskrit_practice_090114.html Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Attached to this post is the list of words and slokas that we went over during the class. You can use it as a a pronunciation assignment - the solution is recorded in the audio file that Babaji posted above. Love, Neville Bhakta Degree Program by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 09:03 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The development of the Esoteric Teaching University of Higher Knowledge is coming along nicely. Neville and I are working almost full-time on the courses. Here is a sample of the material: Congratulations on your commitment to the Esoteric Teaching Bhakta Degree Program. This is the first step on the path to becoming a pure devotee of the Lord. mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā bodhayantaḥ parasparam kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca "The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered to Me, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss enlightening one another and conversing about Me." [Bhagavad-gītā 10.9] The Bhakta Degree Program consists of the following courses: Introduction/Orientation How to Study Chanting and Regulative Principles Beginning Sanskrit Pronunciation Cooking and Offering Prasādam Śrī Īśopaniṣad How to Live as a Devotee in the Material World Temple Songs and Mantras Kṛṣṇa Book, Part 1: Braja-līlā The Esoteric Teaching Bridge Community Vocational Training: Śudra-varṇa Final Examination These cover the basic skills you need to be a devotee, a student of the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas and a member of the Esoteric Teaching Bridge Community. Each course contains video, audio, links to reading material, assignments, exercises and questions to build and then demonstrate your mastery of the material. Real mastery of a subject means the ability to apply it in a variety of circumstances. So the actual goal of this course is that you are able to apply the principles and practices of bhakti in your life. sa evāyaṁ mayā te 'dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ bhakto 'si me sakhā ceti rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam "That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend; therefore you can understand the transcendental mystery of this science." [Bhagavad-gītā 4.3] Welcome Video (YouTube) Introduction/Orientation Before beginning any endeavor it is important to set goals and determine your intentions. The expectations you create at the beginning of this course will determine to a great extent what you get out of it. Therefore let us begin by fixing our minds on our spiritual masters, Bhakti-sarvabhauma Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī and His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Śrīla Prabhupāda. They are giving the all-important instructions by which we can attain the goal of human life, lift ouselves out of the pool of material suffering and attain the lotus feet of the Lord. bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛta-cetasām vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate "In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination of devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.44] The beginning of any endeavor is a good time to set your goals and expectations. Take these goals and make a resolute determination to attain them. By the time you graduate from this course, you will be able to: Study effectively, teach yourself any subject and be able to apply it in practice. Chant your japa-mantra nicely and follow the regulative principles of spiritual life. Read transliterated Sanskrit and chant Sanskrit ślokas and songs with proper pronunciation. Cook and offer nice vegetarian dishes to the Lord with love and devotion, and honor the remnants as prasādam, the mercy of the Lord. Chant and understand the meaning of the Vedic scripture Śrī Īśopaniṣad, which is the basis of varṇāśrama spiritual society and the Vaiṣṇava faith. Live comfortably as a devotee in the material world. Understand the unique structure and benefits of the Esoteric Teaching Bridge Community and your role in it. Understand the nature and character of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic scriptures. Chant and sing the regular Vaiṣṇava temple songs and prayers easily and tunefully. Understand the structure and purposes of the Esoteric Teaching Bridge Community and University of Higher Knowledge, and how your personal qualities and aspirations fit into this program to reinvent human society. All the material for the course is already publicly and freely available on our website. Then why do we ask for a donation? Because it takes a lot of time and skill to guide the students through the course and monitor their progress. We ask for a donation both to offset the resources that we have to dedicate to the courses, and also because that will help you, the student, value what you learn here. love, Baba Re: Bhakta Degree Program by Michael Jones - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 07:47 AM Dear Babaji and All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thanks for posting this sample, I am looking forward to getting engaged into this and it has helped motivate me to work harder to complete my other work as soon as possible. The hardest part is deciding which parts to do first so I will probably have to do it in the order given here. I thought it would be apt to post something which I came across while browsing a link given in a Kevin Kelly update. The comments in parentheses are mine. Some rules and hints for teachers and students. By Corita Kent Whole Earth Catalog Spring 1980 RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile. [most of us here are fortunate to be engaging in this rule already] RULE TWO: General duties of a student - pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students. [Due to the sheer amount of material already provided, it is hard to do this, but we can continue to try] RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher - pull everything out of your students. [I'm sure most would agree that Babaji certainly does this] RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment. [Lets crack out our transcendental goggles. Most of us are doing this experiment] RULE FIVE: Be self-disciplined - this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way. [I don't think I need to point out the wise or smart person we are following] RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail, there's only make. [As long as you are sincere then there is no mistake, nor is there a fail. Babaji recently said that most of our early service is practice and so we keep trying until we get it right. The mistakes are part of leading us to perfection. There is a win though, not in the competitive sense, but in the sense we get the ultimate prize when we have practiced to perfection. Peter made a great post comparing the path to practicing a martial art here]. RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It's the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things. [So what are we waiting for?] RULE EIGHT Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes. [So do the work, create for Krsna, etc, but also make sure to take some time to reflect on your progress, mistakes, etc separate from be engaged in work] RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It's lighter than you think. [Such as when you are chanting or singing Krsna's names. Only enjoy in relation to Krsna though. It is the best enjoyment] RULE TEN: "We're breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities." (John Cage) [We have so many material rules, social rules, rules that we have been conditioned to accept as true. We even make our own rules through speculation. It is time to break all of those rules and follow the truth. They may seem like rules but actually they are truth. What need is there for rules on the highest platform? How do we break these rules? By leaving room. Read what Neville recently posted on making space in this thread] HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies [the videos on this site] carefully, often. Save everything - it might come in handy later. http://www.wholeearth.com/issue/1220/article/282/some.rules.and.hints.for.teachers.and.students Love Mike Re: Bhakta Degree Program by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 08:39 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Great, thanks. I knew you would be interested in the Bhakta Degree Program, and I think you can make a great contribution to the course with your responses. I think we will appropriate these principles (they are too broad to be rules) for the Orientation part of the course. I had seen that the complete Whole Earth materials were now available online, bookmarked the link but had not got around to looking through them yet. There's some real gems there. A note about breaking rules: first you have to know and understand the purpose of the rules, then you can break them. A lot of beginning students try to remix the rules before they have even mastered them. This usually turns out to be a mistake. For example in music, there are certain ways of training in the beginning that seem very boring to the typical impatient young whippersnapper. But if you try to do it any other way, you will create bad habits that will require you to go all the way back to the beginning and start all over again, or you will get stuck at that point. And that is exactly why most musicians are mediocre; they do not have the guts to go back and start from scratch to eradicate the bad habits they developed from being too impatient at the beginning. Even very advanced artists have to do this; recently there was an article on Freddie Hubbard where he talked about having to start all over again to build his embouchure after 40 years of professional playing, because he was abusing his lip by not warming up properly before his performances. I have had to go back to the very beginning of devotional service and the scriptures and start all over again many times. Maybe that's the only way to get it right. We all want to be a master and have creative license right from the beginning; but it turns out that that license is extraordinarily difficult to earn. If we try to exercise it too soon, we will ruin our progress because guess what: those rules are there for a good reason. They are to prevent you from making stupid mistakes that will stop your progress later on. 10,000 hours... love, Baba Re: Bhakta Degree Program by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 09:12 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Someone wrote me privately wondering about the relevancy of the Whole Earth Catalog to our community. The Whole Earth Catalog was a pioneering effort to use media for alternative education and social change. It was a major publication by a private non-profit foundation that had nothing to do with the global corporate agenda. Many Internet pundits consider it the first blog, because of the way it was laid out and edited. We may take it for granted now, but when it first came out it was a breakthrough. Every hippie worth his beads had one on the dashboard shelf of his VW bus. It also contains and links to lots of material on self-sufficiency and rural living, wisdom that is completely lost to most city-dwellers. If we are going to make it through 2012 we will need that knowledge. The Whole Earth Catalog is a very valuable resource. love, Baba Re: Bhakta Degree Program by Bruce Moore - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 08:58 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Nityananda! Gauranga! Jaya Srila Babaji! Jaya Srila Prabhupada! Gurudeva, perhaps I might have misunderstood the complete reason this person sent you a private email to inquire about said catalog. And I realize that since the content of the email was not available to read, I am writing from a marginal context. But, I think it is important that people should not send you private email unless absolutely necessary. If people can just send private emails to Babaji, then what is the function and purpose of these forums, which was originally created with the twin notion of open dialogue and devotee interaction. Babaji, I am willing to be honest by saying: when the disclosure of the email is found to be a frivolous subject, I do not care for it. It seems best for all involved to hold steadfast to established methods, which have proven themselves time and time again to promote open and honest dialogue. Babaji, I know you are a realized soul. So please show me the error of my thought. Always, bruce Re: Bhakta Degree Program by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 09:11 PM Dear Bruce, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well if one person is scratching their head trying to figure out why we would be interested in something as apparently mundane as the Whole Earth Catalog, then maybe others who do not have the courage to post here are also asking themselves the same question. He is new, so he does not yet have trust or faith in the community. Why not write me directly? If I ever become inaccessible to newcomers, then Kṛṣṇa help us. I do not ever want to be insulated from reality by a 'saffron curtain'. I of all people have to be in touch with what people are thinking and feeling about our community, so I can set our policies properly. I will have to retain that role until we have devotees who are mature enough to form a competent Managing Body as described in our community plan. love, Baba Re: Bhakta Degree Program by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 09:14 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The first section of the Bhakta Degree Program is now open for Beta test. Hardy volunteers who would like to test it out can register by going here. love, Baba Re: Bhakta Degree Program by Michael Jones - Sunday, 11 January 2009, 09:08 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Unfortunately I am unable to test it at the moment due to lack of funds, but I have found a few jobs which I will be applying for next week so by Krsna's grace I will be able to afford it come February. Love Mike Re: Bhakta Degree Program by Jennifer Lawrence - Monday, 12 January 2009, 04:32 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and to Babaji. Thank you for the confirmation that I am signed up for the introductory course. My next question is where is the course material located? I hope this isn't a stupid question. I haven't seen anything new in the drop downs or a different section in the forums for the program. I hope it is ok that I asked. Thank you very much and I am excited to get started! With love, Jennifer Re: Bhakta Degree Program by Neville Clemens - Monday, 12 January 2009, 04:56 PM Dear Jennifer, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for signing up for the Introduction/Orientation Course for the Bhakta Degree Program. Clicking on the link should take you to the course page where you should be able to log in at the bottom using the "key" that you were given upon enrollment. This is the first course in the Degree program and is designed for the student to do some soul-searching to better understand their current situation, their aspirations and intentions in the context of being a devotee - and student here. From our side, it gives us a better understanding of the student, which helps in personalizing our instruction for the rest of the program. There should be a number of writing assignments that show up when you log into the Intro course. Please let us know if you are still having trouble accessing the course material and assignments. Love, Neville Re: Bhakta Degree Program by Jennifer Lawrence - Wednesday, 14 January 2009, 01:39 PM Dear Babaji & Students, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Babaji! I just wanted to comment that I love the format of the Bhakta Intro course. It is so easy to use and organized so well that it really excited me to realize that I can get through this material if I put forth the appropriate effort. So this is a big THANK YOU to all of you that put this together! With love, Jennifer Re: Bhakta Degree Program by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 14 January 2009, 02:05 PM Dear Jennifer, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You're welcome, and the Intro section is just the beginning. The course really takes off in the "How to Study Effectively" section. It has tons of videos and other cool stuff. We're working hard on it now, and our target is to have it go live by this weekend. love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/13/2009: Kīrtan and Sanskrit Class by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 08:24 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In this Darshan, Neville Prabhu leads a melodious kīrtan and a class on Sanskrit vocabulary. listen(MP3 audio) In the supplement, he gives the answers to the class exercise. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/13/2009: Kīrtan and Sanskrit Class by Neville Clemens - Wednesday, 14 January 2009, 09:04 AM short_sanskrit_words.html Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Attached to this post is the list of short Sanskrit words that we were going over in this Darshan as an exercise in pronunciation. Babaji has posted the supplemental audio recording of the pronunciation of these words, so you can read along with it and practice your Sanskrit pronunciation. Love, Neville Sunday Satsang 1/11/2009: Constant Cultivation and Community by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 11 January 2009, 05:48 PM Dear Uddhava, Please accept my humble obesiances. Hare Krnsa. Could you please leave the Dim Dim meeting room open for a little while after the satsang? This is practically the only association I get all week and it helps me to see what other people are up to. Usually chatting with the devotees a few minutes after the satsang helps encourage me throughout the week. I would just use Gmail, but Dim Dim is better simply because everyone is gathered together in one place. thank you, love, peter (Edited by David Bruce Hughes - original submission Sunday, January 11, 2009, 01:48 PM) Re: Sunday Satsang 1/11/2009: Constant Cultivation and Community by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 03:42 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This Sunday Satsang is about anuśilanam and kārya-rūpa, constant cultivation of devotional service leading to the perfection of bhāva, transcendental ecstatic emotion. Anuśilanam is one of the svarūpa-lakṣaṇa of bhakti. Once begun, cultivation of bhakti continues until it reaches fruition. This process of cultivation has two main divisions: sādhana-rūpa, including both vaidhī and rāgānuga-sādhana; and kārya-rūpa, effects that manifest upon attainment of the stage of bhāva. Kārya-rūpa is the mature stage of bhakti and the effects that manifest upon attainment of the stage of bhāva, including the eight sāttvika-bhāvas, such as crying and standing of the hairs on end, and the anubhāvas such as singing and dancing. Our Bridge Community is the best deal in the universe. It is based on the principle of membership: a membership share is based on the price of a Dow eMini futures contract, at the moment US$3438. For this you get a lifetime place to live, a piece of agricultural land, free food, access to all community facilities, including the Temple, free spiritual education at the University of Higher Knowledge, a set of all our books, and lifetime devotional service and association with pure devotees. How can we do it? Your share is put into an invesment account and we invest it in the futures market, so your share of $3400 is really like $34,000 or more. We want as many devotees as possible to participate in the Sunday Satsang program, so please make a time in your schedule for it, every Sunday at noon Santiago time. That is 10 AM EST, 9 AM CST, 7 AM PST or 3 PM UT. Here's the link: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com:80/portal/JoinForm.action?meetingRoomName=davidbrucehughes watch This video is also available on YouTube. love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 1/11/2009: Constant Cultivation and Community by Uddhava das - Monday, 12 January 2009, 07:03 AM Dear Peter, Please accept my humble obeisances, The policy i have been following is that i close the room until everyone is left, or there is only one person that is not responding. Last time, you were the only one left in the room, and not responding. I also support the idea of devotees having conversations after the meeting. With Love, Uddhava dasa Re: Sunday Satsang 1/11/2009: Constant Cultivation and Community by Jennifer Lawrence - Monday, 12 January 2009, 04:17 PM Dear Uddhava, Please accept my humble obeisances. There is another service called BlogTV that might serve as a good way for devotees to connect with each other outside the Sunday Satsang. Just thought I would share that in case it is of any value. With love, Jennifer The result by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 12:07 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. I understand through Bhakti-Yoga, self-realisation or pure love of Krsna is attained, which give rise to rasas, in whatever mood suited to the individual. Ive noticed that chakras are not talked about but the Vaisnava process develops these just as any other yoga system, the sense control develops the lower 3 chakras; no meat eating, no intoxication, no gambling, no illicit sex. I imagine these four regulative principles are common in all yoga practises. Then there is the process of enquiring into Krsna and constant chanting to immerse the self in Krsna through mind, sight and speech, developing the upper 3 chakras; by aligning the lower 3 and upper 3 the heart chakra is developed. All this gives rise to the Kundalini rising through the chakras and giving that explosion, the quantum leap into Krsna consciousness after years of training, permanent communication with the Absolute is obtained. I understand there are 3 levels of realisation according to Srimad Bhagavatam:- vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate TRANSLATION Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. PURPORT The Absolute Truth is both subject and object, and there is no qualitative difference there. Therefore, Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān are qualitatively one and the same. The same substance is realized as impersonal Brahman by the students of the Upaniṣads, as localized Paramātmā by the Hiraṇyagarbhas or the yogīs, and as Bhagavān by the devotees. In other words, Bhagavān, or the Personality of Godhead, is the last word of the Absolute Truth. Paramātmā is the partial representation of the Personality of Godhead, and impersonal Brahman is the glowing effulgence of the Personality of Godhead, as the sun rays are to the sun-god. Less intelligent students of either of the above schools sometimes argue in favor of their own respective realization, but those who are perfect seers of the Absolute Truth know well that the above three features of the one Absolute Truth are different perspective views seen from different angles of vision. ... SB1.2.11 Prabhupada says here the three levels of realisation are all qualitatively the same, but then says Bhagavan is the last word of the Absolute Truth. Prabhupada says, "Less intelligent students of either of the above schools sometimes argue in favor of their own respective realization.." What am I missing here? Also are rasas achieved in all three of the realisations? Love, Keiju       Re: The result by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 12:52 PM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I am not certain exactly what your question is. Our philosophy is acintya-bhedābheda-tattva: inconceivably, simultaneously one and different. Therefore it is no problem if Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavan realizations are qualitatively the same in terms of their transcendental nature, but quantitatively different in terms of the level of Absolute Truth. Here is a post I made some time ago on this subject, but since it was on Naimiṣāraṇya it might not be so easy to find: Jesus is famous for saying: "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and the world." [Matthew 6.24] To make any tangible spiritual advancement, we have to choose between serving God's values or the world's values; between serving Absolute Truth or one's own mind; between serving the spiritual master (the representative of God) or our false ego (the illusory material bodily conception of identity). We often meet very proud people who claim to be 'advanced.' But after a little discussion we find that they have not realized even the first introductory chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, or the simple concepts of Śrī Īśopaniṣad. "The very beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, the First Chapter, is more or less an introduction to the rest of the book; and in the Second and Third Chapters, the spiritual knowledge described is called confidential. Topics discussed in the Seventh and Eighth Chapters are specifically related to devotional service, and because they bring enlightenment in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are called more confidential. But the matters which are described in the Ninth Chapter deal with unalloyed, pure devotion. Therefore this is called the most confidential. One who is situated in the most confidential knowledge of Kṛṣṇa is naturally transcendental; he therefore has no material pangs, although he is in the material world. In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu it is said that although one who has a sincere desire to render loving service to the Supreme Lord is situated in the conditional state of material existence, he is to be considered liberated. Similarly, we shall find in the Bhagavad-gītā [10.7] that anyone who is engaged in that way is a liberated person." [Bhagavad-gītā 9.1 Purport] There is a clear progression of spiritual concepts enunciated in the Vedic scriptures, beginning with Bhagavad-gītā: introductory, confidential, more confidential and most confidential. And Bhagavad-gītā is just the introduction to and summary of the much more detailed study of the same topics in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu is the ontological analysis of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta shows the practical application of spiritual values in a perfect life of pure devotion, as demonstrated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. All of us will have to walk that path, beginning from disgust and disenchantment with the evils and limitations of material existence, through the search for the Absolute Truth and surrender to a bona fide spiritual master situated in the disciplic lineage of the Vedas, through performance of bhakti-sadhana both in the vaidhi (regulated) and raganuga (spontaneous) stages, to the three phases of realization of Godhead: Brahman, Paramatma and at last, Bhagavan the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the process, our conceptions will change from the temporary platform of false ego and fruitive work in the modes of material nature, to the eternal platform of working in pure goodness as a sacrifice to God and transcendental love of the Supreme Lord in our original spiritual form. Throughout that long spiritual path and complex inner transformation, the Holy Name of the Lord shall remain our most faithful companion and guide. The scriptures insist that the Holy Name is identical in quality and potency with the Lord Himself; we need only to take full and offenseless shelter of the Holy Name to realize this in practice. But to make any advancement on this path, we have to make a firm choice. vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo 'vyavasāyinām "Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched." [Bhagavad-gita 2.41] The materialistic speculative philosophers will accuse us of being closed-minded; the mundane religious wranglers will call us sectarian and narrow; the weak-minded fools will brand us as arrogant or afraid to think for ourselves. The real truth is that we are none of these. God makes the rules—both the laws of material nature and the eternal principles of spiritual life—and we who choose to please Him simply follow them as a matter of duty. If Krsna's opinion is that we must develop vyavasāyātmikā buddhi—one-pointed determination—to advance in spiritual life, then it is clear He agrees with Jesus Christ that we must make a firm choice of what we want out of life, and be willing to hold unflinchingly to that commitment. So we are not closed-minded nor sectarian nor exclusionist; we are sincere followers of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We follow His ideas and opinions, for extensive experience over many generations of intelligent sadhus has shown His conception to be correct. When we follow His principles we advance, and when we follow our own imperfect conceptions, we languish in material corruption and foolish, self-centered ignorance. The way out of material confusion, the impermanence of relative truth and the false identity of corporeal existence is to firmly commit to the eternal spiritual values of the Vedas. No other source of spiritual knowledge embodies so clearly and consistently the essential ontological distinction between material and spiritual, temporary and eternal, as explained in the second chapter of Bhagavad-gita: nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ ubhayor api dṛṣṭo 'ntas tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ "Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both." [Bhagavad-gita 2.16] From this it is clear that our imperfect, changeable material mind and intelligence can never deliver firm conclusions of Absolute Truth. We must choose, and our choice must be for the eternal, since any other alternative is temporary and therefore ultimately meaningless. That truth without beginning or end, unconditioned and universal, is only given in the Vedas, and Krsna is the ultimate source of the Vedas. sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham "I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas." [Bhagavad-gita 15.15] Therefore let us be known as staunch followers of Him who spoke Bhagavad-gita, the great Gitopanisad, the summary of all Vedic truth, while acting as the chariot driver of His friend Arjuna. We fully accept Him, and we reject anyone whose opinion differs from His. That is our firm policy. And I can tell you from experience that this policy brings greater peace, happiness and enlightenment than words alone can describe. If someone has a million dollars, all his ten-dollar problems become insignificant. So when a man receives a great inheritance, he quits his low-paying job and applies himself to its management. Similarly when one receives the great legacy of the Vedic lineage from a bona fide spiritual master, he automatically rejects the insignificant wages of the speculative mode of thought and a separatist mentality based on false ego. This is not sectarianism or closed-mindedness, but the only sane practical choice. One cannot taste the sweetness of honey by licking the outside of the jar. Similarly, those who have never actually studied this path in a bona fide esoteric school cannot even imagine, what to speak of explain, its profound benefits. They may claim to have read Bhagavad-gita or other Vedic scriptures, but their foolish words and reveal the poverty of their conception; they have not understood it at all. Only those who have made the irrevocable choice to accept the Lord, whose stated policy is to reveal His Esoteric Teaching through His bona fide representative, as Master of his life, can understand the mystery of Bhagavad-gita. So just as the topics in Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can be divided into confidential, more confidential and most confidential, also the subjects of Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavan realization can be divided according to the exaltation of their respective subjects. love, Baba Re: The result by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 02:44 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for your reply. I have some more confusion. I dont understand how the Absolute Truth can be divided, if the Lords name, form and pastimes are the same, how can they be viewed from different angles, either they have seen and can see the Absolute Truth or they can not. How can one say, I know the Absolute Truth partially, this just means he does not know. My understanding was that there is only one truth, the Absolute Truth, anything less is not the Absolute Truth, so then Brahman and Paramatma would still be on the level of relative truth as it can change. Love, Keiju Re: The result by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 02:57 PM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You are still applying material ontological attributes to the Absolute Truth. You should go carefully through our podcast series on transcendental logic. The sun is one, but the sunshine, sun planet and the demigod of the sun are distinct parts of the sun. In the beginning the student of the sun may see only the dazzling sunlight, but when he become more advanced, he can see the other parts as varieties within oneness. There is no contradiction between the Absolute Truth being one, and also having varieties within Him. Kṛṣṇa is one person, the Ādi-puruṣa, but He has many varieties of expansions and energies, all different from one another. Just like to my family and materialistic people I am known as David Bruce Hughes, and they see my qualities in a materialistic way; but to my Godbrothers I am Dāsānudās, the guy who never fit in to ISKCON; to my students I am Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī their guru, and to still others I am "Hey, you!" I am one person, but people see me differently according to their point of view. So if that variety within unity is possible for me, certainly it is also possible for Kṛṣṇa. love, Baba 1,000 Subscribers! by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 12 January 2009, 12:42 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well we finally made it: 1,000 YouTube subscribers! It took a few days longer than we thought because of the infamous "Holiday Slump"; everyone is so busy partying around Christmas and New Years that they don't visit our site as much. Here you can see how our site visits trended down and back up around the holidays: Our YouTube views also were affected by the slump, but now they're back up: (What looks like zero views the last two days is just the delay in compiling the stats.) love, Baba Re: 1,000 Subscribers! by Devesh Pant - Monday, 12 January 2009, 04:54 PM Respected Bābāji Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Congratulations!! Hope this will continue and we will have more and more people who are aware. regards Devesh Re: 1,000 Subscribers! by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 12 January 2009, 05:24 PM Dear Devesh, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks, but it takes a long time to build a group like this. As marketing guru Seth Godwin says, "It takes 2-3 years of hard work to make an overnight success." It may take even longer for us to reach a tipping point, because of the esoteric nature of our work. As Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ "Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth." [Bhagavad-gītā 7.3] But things are looking up: we now have four Life Members and already have three University students. I think the Bhakta Degree Program is going to be one of our most popular offerings. love, Baba The Real Cause of the Financial Crisis by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 11 January 2009, 02:12 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I posted this link [183 KB PDF] before, and I don't think anyone read it. But you should, because it accurately and completely describes in clear, nontechnical language the exact causes of the current economic crisis, and why we will not get over it. This is a permanent change. As much as I like Obama, his economic stimulus program is not going to fix things, because that strategy can't work in the present situation. We are at the end of the industrial economy. The kind of economic reasoning presented in the linked document is very, very important to the success of our Bridge Community. Everyone involved in management of the Bridge Community will have to understand this theory forwards and backwards. From the article: The unsustainability of the old corporate framework is most apparent in the culture industries. The copyright-centered business model of the old corporate dinosaurs simply cannot survive in an environment where the basic capital equipment for recording and sound editing, podcasting, software design, and desktop publishing are affordable on an individual basis, and in which bittorrent and strong encryption make copyright obsolete. The US "information economy" plan represents betting the farm on the business model described above. But don't get me started, because every paragraph in this essay is as pithy and quotable as the above. Please read the link and then let's discuss it here. love, Baba Fourth Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 11:05 AM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Jaya Bābājī! If you are reading this, then do the homework!  Don't be an esoteric benchwarmer.  Be a useless geek, not busy foolish. To sucessfully complete this assignment, you will need access to a good English dictionary and a Sanskrit dictionary: http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ http://joomla.esotericteaching.org/joomla/seminars/vedic-scriptures/sanskrit/600-sanskrit-english-dictionary http://www.pratyatosa.com/SanskritDiacriticTextConversion.htm Homework Assignment #4 Due: Saturday Jan. 10  1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā.  Write down the verse. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanscrit equivalent.  Please use the following format for easy reading. Sanskrit Word Bhagavad-gita translation Other dictionary meanings catur-vidhāḥ four kinds of four forms , manners , kinds , sorts bhajante render service serve , honour , revere , love , adore mām unto me unto me janāḥ persons many people, a common person , one of the people sukṛtinaḥ those who are pious righteous , virtuous, well-doing , good or correct conduct ārtaḥ the distressed fallen into (misfortune) , struck by calamity , afflicted , pained , disturbed jijñāsuḥ the inquisitive desirous of knowing , inquiring into , examining , testing artha-arthī desirous of wealth (artha) substance , wealth , property , opulence , money jñānī one who knows things as they are (jJAna) knowing , becoming acquainted with , knowledge , (esp.) the higher knowledge 3. Make an origional, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Original English Word Definition Used in a sentence Sañjaya Charioteer and minister to King Dhṛtarāsṭra [CM] Sañjaya was given the power to see from a distance by Vyāsa. said To utter or pronounce; speak [DIC] I said to the class, let's figure this out together. O King One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere [DIC] There was a King in the Bible named David. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause [DIC] Good day everyone, thank you for being here. after Later in time than [DIC] After we fix the boat then we can go sailing. looking To employ one's sight, especially in a given direction or on a given object [DIC] We are looking for a new video. over Completely through; from beginning to end [DIC] We went over all of the documents in detail. the Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular specified persons or things [DIC] We drove to the store. army A large body of people organized and trained for land warfare [DIC] The army is one of the branches of the military. gathered To cause to come together; convene [DIC] We gathered in the park to have a birthday party. by [DIC] the Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular specified persons or things [DIC] We drove to the store. sons One's male child [DIC] The family had 2 sons and 1 daughter. of Used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category [DIC] The central park is one of the places I go for a walk. pāṇḍu A great king of the Kuru dynasty, and the father of the Pāṇḍavas, Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva [CM] Pāṇḍu was the younger brother of Dhṛtarāsṭra. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause [DIC] Good day everyone, thank you for being here. King One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere [DIC] There was a King in the Bible named David. Duryodhana The eldest son of Dhṛtarāsṭra and chief rival of the Pāṇḍavas. He made many attempts to cheat the Pāṇḍavas of their right to the Kuru throne After arrogantly ignoring the good advice of Bhishma, Drona, and Kṛṣṇa he perished with his ninety-nine brothers in the Kurukśetra battle. The bad guys in the Kurukśetra war were lead by Duryodhana. went Past tense of go [DIC] I went to the store last week. to In front of [DIC] I went to the mailbox. his Used to indicate that one or ones belonging to him [DIC] His shoes untied. teachers Person who educates [DIC] My favorite teacher was in engineering. and Used to indiate result [DIC] Do me a favor and wash the dishes please. spoke Past tense of speak [DIC] He spoke the truth. the Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular specified persons or things [DIC] We drove to the store. following Coming next in time or order [DIC] The show is following this advertisement. words Discourse or talk; speech [DIC] The teacher had inspiring words for the class. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearely defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? Thank You  Love, peter Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 10:53 AM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Don't forget the nice dictionary plugin for Firefox. You all should be using Firefox 3 by now anyway. We don't even bother to develop for IE anymore. Anybody with a brain uses Firefox. It's open-source and has lots of cool plugins. By the way, this level of study is part of the Bhakti-śāstrī Degree Program. If you plan to do the Bhakta program first, you may want to get a head start by applying the same study method to the mantras of Śrī Īśopaniṣad. Also when using the Sanskrit Diacritic Text Conversion Utility, after clicking the From Balaram button, also click the Compress button so the text renders properly on Macs. love, Baba Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 12:21 PM Dear everyone, Jaya! Please use the following format for easy reading: Sanskrit Word Bhagavad-gita translation Other dictionary meanings   Sorry I did not include this properly in the previous post, my apologies. love, peter Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 01:25 PM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. BG 4.11 ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ TRANSLATION All of them—as they surrender unto Me—I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā. PURPORT Eveyone is searching for Kṛṣṇa in the different aspects of His manifestations. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is partially realized in His impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence and as the all-pervading Supersoul dwelling within everything, including the particles of atoms. But Kṛṣṇa is only fully realized by His pure devotees. Consequently, Kṛṣṇa is the object of everyone’s realization, and thus anyone and everyone is satisfied according to one’s desire to have Him. In the transcendental world also, Kṛṣṇa reciprocates with His pure devotees in the transcendental attitude, just as the devotee wants Him. One devotee may want Kṛṣṇa as supreme master, another as his personal friend, another as his son, and still another as his lover. Kṛṣṇa rewards all the devotees equally, according to their different intensities of love for Him. In the material world, the same reciprocations of feelings are there, and they are equally exchanged by the Lord with the different types of worshipers. The pure devotees both here and in the transcendental abode associate with Him in person and are able to render personal service to the Lord and thus derive transcendental bliss in His loving service. As for those who are impersonalists and who want to commit spiritual suicide by annihilating the individual existence of the living entity, Kṛṣṇa helps also by absorbing them into His effulgence. Such impersonalists do not agree to accept the eternal, blissful Personality of Godhead; consequently they cannot relish the bliss of transcendental personal service to the Lord, having extinguished their individuality. Some of them, who are not situated even in the impersonal existence, return to this material field to exhibit their dormant desires for activities. They are not admitted in the spiritual planets, but they are again given a chance to act on the material planets. For those who are fruitive workers, the Lord awards the desired results of their prescribed duties, as the yajṣeśvara; and those who are yogīs seeking mystic powers are awarded such powers. In other words, everyone is dependant for success upon His mercy alone, and all kinds of spiritual processes are but different degrees of success on the same path. Unless, therefore, one comes to the highest perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all attempts remain imperfect, as is stated in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāradhīḥ tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param "Whether one is without desire [the condition of the devotees], or is desirous of all fruitive results, or is after liberation, one should with all efforts try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead for complete perfection, culminating in Kṛṣṇa consciousness." (Bhāg. 2.3.10) ye—all of them; yathā—as; mām—unto Me; prapadyante—surrender; tān—unto them; tathā—so; eva—certainly; bhajāmi—do I reward; aham—I; mama—My; vartma—path; anuvartante—do follow; manuṣyāḥ—all men; pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; sarvaśaḥ—in all respects. All of them—as they surrender unto Me—I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā. English word definition Used in a sentence All every member or individual component of All of the birds flying through the sky are aerodynamic. of used to indicate inclusion in a number, class, or whole Lord Sesa is the king of snakes. them the objective case of they, used as a direct or indirect object Lord Siva blissfully deystroyed all of them. --   In place of brackets or commas   The Colour Of Magic — the first of the series — was written in 1989. as to the same degree, amount, or extent; similarly; equally A brahmana uses the pillar of truth to elevate himself. they people in general The massive herds of people-- they are not serving Krsna. surrender to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress Every time you surrender yourself to your senses (indriya), you create a dangerous result. unto used for expressing motion or direction toward a point, person, place, or thing approached and reached, as opposed to from The powerful wildebeest pranced unto the deep green south african savanna and repelled the demonic forces. me used instead of the pronoun I in the predicate after the verb to be Eating diseased, dead animals is not me. I the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. He said that I have been waiting for a long time. reward to recompense [ to repay; remunerate; reward, as for service, aid] or requite [ to make return to (a person, group, etc.) for service, benefits] for service, merit, achievement, etc. If one acts in ignorance, his reward will be untold amounts of pain, suffering, delusion, and maddness. accordingly. in accordance; correspondingly [to be similar or analogous; be equivalent in function, position, amount] If you offend a brahmana, a ksatriya will beat you accordingly to the severity of your offense. everyone every person; everybody Everyone in the material world is rascal. follows To act in agreement or compliance with; obey A railroad car follows the path of the railroad tracks. my the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself.  Who knows the inner workings of my brain? paths a course of action, conduct, or procedure: the path of righteousness. The 4 vedas were spoken by the singular being Lord Brahma, which contains both the right and left hand paths. in used to indicate inclusion within something abstract or immaterial  The Fish was bedecked in silken garb and a golden helmet, and smiled handsomely. all the greatest possible (used in referring to quality or degree  Krsna is the most magnanimous personality in all the three worlds. respects a particular, detail, or point (usually prec. by in): to differ in some respect.  The asram was Vaikunthaloka in all respects. ,   a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence.   Hey, who are you looking at? O used before a name in direct address, esp. in solemn or poetic language, to lend earnestness to an appeal  O scion of Bharata! son a male child or person in relation to his parents  The son of a sailor! of used to indicate derivation, origin, or source  He was the best of the asuras. Pṛthā One of the five daughters of King Śūra. The five daughters of King Śūra, named Pṛthā, Śrutadevā, Śrutakīrti, Śrutaśravā and Rājādhidevī, were Vasudeva's sisters. Śūra gave Pṛthā to his friend Kunti, who had no issue, and therefore another name of Pṛthā was Kuntī.   ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ sanskrit word bg definition other meanings ye all of them  who, those who, persons who, whatever yathā as  as much as, just as, how, as it is mām unto Me  me prapadyante surrender  acheive, surrender fully tān unto them  to decorate tathā so  as well as, to, thus, similarly, in the same way, also eva certainly  indeed, truly, really, exactly so, in this manner only bhajāmi do I reward  reward, worship, offer obesiances aham I  I am, myself mama my  to me, of mine, by me personally vartma path  his polices, way, path(of devotional service) anuvartante do follow  follow, would follow manuṣyāḥ all men  mankind, the person, human being, men, a person pārtha O son of prtha.  Arjuna, of Arjuna, son of Pṛthā (Kuntī), My dear Arjuna sarvaśaḥ in all respects  all, altogether, all around, all kinds of Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 01:11 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Pretty good, except you left out the definitions of the commas, and Pārtha means 'the son of Pṛthā'. love, Baba Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 01:44 PM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Thank you for pointing that out Baba;  I just went back and fixed it. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. I just wanted to conclude that Kṛṣṇa is not a dull stone.  He is extremely intellegent, and is expert at relationships.  This is what gives Kṛṣṇa the most pleasure-- relationships. Naturally he wants to have a relationship with us, and responds to us according to our degree of sincerety and our devotion to him. If we treat Kṛṣṇa like a friend, he will treat us like a friend.  If we treat him like a dog, he will treat us like a dog.  If we try to kill Kṛṣṇa, he will try and kill us. If we act like he does'nt exist and try to ignore him, he will ignore us.  If we deny his existence, he will deny our existence.  Kṛṣṇa is not just some bright light in the sky, he is a tangible personality. So, if we treat Kṛṣṇa like a great personality, giving him dignity, respect and love, he will give us the same back.  If we keep giving, he will keep giving to us.  This creates a feedback loop and the door to the infinite is opened. love, peter Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by Michael Jones - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 02:43 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. I decided to take Babaji's advice and start doing these homeworks on Śrī Īśopaniṣad. 1. Pick one verse. Write down the verse. Invocation oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. There is no such thing as incompleteness. Incompleteness is as illusory as the thought that I am this body. In all of the material creation, as well as the spiritual world, there is perfect completion. There is nothing lacking and everything is as perfect as the source it comes from. The source, Krsna is perfect and so anything that comes from Krsna is perfect. Everything comes from Krsna so everything is perfect and complete; it is the way Krsna wants it. Even though everything is emanated from Krsna, including us, He is never depleted because he is complete. To be depleted would mean He is no longer complete. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit Word Śrī Īśopaniṣad translation Other dictionary meanings oṁ The Complete Whole om appears first in the Upanishads as a mystic monosyllable, and is there set forth as the object of profound religious meditation, the highest spiritual efficacy being attributed not only to the whole word but also to the three sounds a, u, m, of which it consists om is usually called praṇava, more rarely akṣara, or ekākṣara, and only in later times oṃkāra akṣara imperishable, unalterable ekākṣara the sole imperishable thing pūrṇam perfectly complete ... pūrṇa filled, full, filled with or full of, abundant, rich, fulfilled, finished, accomplished, complete, all, entire, satisfied, contented, strong, capable paripūrṇa completely filled or covered with, occupied by, accomplished, perfect, whole, complete, fully satisfied, content adaḥ that ... ada chiefly idaṁ this phenomenal world this earthly world, this universe, this fire which burns on the earth pūrṇāt from the all-perfect ... pūrṇānanda full delight, of the Supreme Being pūrṇārtha one who has attained his object, whose wishes have been realized pūrṇam complete unit see above udacyate is produced ... ude arise from, to move out, come out of, go out, to arise, be produced pūrṇasya of the Complete Whole see pūrṇa pūrṇam completely, all see above ādāya having been taken away taking, seizing, having taken, with, along with pūrṇam the complete balance see above eva even indeed, truly, really, just, exactly, very, same, only, alone, merely, immediately on, still, already avaśiṣyate is remaining to be left as a remnant, remain, left, remaining 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentance with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Original English Word Definition Used in a sentence The (definite article) used with or as part of a title The King of Bhārat Personality (noun) the quality of being a person; personal identity My personality is who I am of (preposition) used to indicate derivation, origin, or source The laughter of Krsna sounds like beautiful music Godhead (noun) the essential being of God; the Supreme Being Everything that exists comes from Godhead is (verb) Third person singular present indicative of be. The material world is full of suffering be (verb) To have or show a specified quality or characteristic perfect (adjective) entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings The world is perfect if you see it with the right eyes and (conjunction) (used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses) along or together with; as well as Milk and honey taste good complete (adjective) having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full Life is only complete when serving Krsna , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. This exercise provides many skills, many meanings of words, and a deeper insight in spiritual matters and (conjunction) used to introduce a consequence or conditional result I sang kirtan and so I am smiling because (conjunction) for the reason that; due to the fact that I am smiling because I am joyful He (pronoun) the male person being discussed or last mentioned; that male Babaji is teaching us. He is the guru. is (verb) Third person singular present indicative of be The Bridge Community is the future of the world be (verb) To have or show a specified quality or characteristic completely (adverb) to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent I am completely indebted to the spiritual masters perfect (adjective) entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings I long to perform perfect devotional service , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. When you decide to serve yourself, you decide to serve Maya. all (adjective) the whole number of I love all the expansions of the Lord emanations (noun) That which issues, flows, or proceeds from any object as a source The beautiful scent was an emanation from the lotus flower from (preposition) used to indicate source or origin I come from the spiritual world Him (pronoun) the objective case of he, used as a direct or indirect object We must serve Him with all our energy , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. I don't know who I am, but I will. such as (idiom) of the kind specified I like devotional songs such as "Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava" this (adjective) used to indicate a person, place, thing, or degree as present, near, just indicated or mentioned, or as well-known or characteristic I love this philosophy phenomenal (adjective) an occurrence, or circumstance observed or observable The moon illuminates the night sky with a phenomenal glow world (noun) The universe The size of the world is incomprehensible , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. Although I chant, sometimes I act like a rascal. are (verb) Second person singular and plural and first and third person plural present indicative of be. You are getting closer to the truth each day be (verb) To have or show a specified quality or characteristic perfectly (adverb) completely; fully; adequately You must perfectly define the meanings to understand this equipped (adjective) provided or fitted out with what is necessary or useful or appropriate I am ready to go walking now that I am equipped with my boots, beads, and prasadam. as (conjunction) (used correlatively after an adjective or adverb prec. by an adverbial phrase, the adverbial as, or another adverb) to such a degree or extent that I am hot as the sun complete (adjective) having all the required or customary characteristics, skills, or the like; consummate; perfect in kind or quality Prabhupada's books are complete and do not need changing wholes (noun) the whole assemblage of parts or elements belonging to a thing; the entire quantity, account, extent, or number The whole of humanity needs this teaching . A mark of punctuation used to end all sentences apart from questions or those requiring an exclamation. This is an example of the full-stop in use. Whatever (pronoun) anything that We should do whatever pleases Krsna is (verb) Third person singular present indicative of be. The universe is going to be annihilated one day be (verb) to take place; happen; occur: produced (verb) to bring into existence; give rise to; cause The cows have produced milk of (preposition) Derived or coming from; originating at or from The scent of the flower the (definite article) used to mark a proper noun, natural phenomenon, ship, building, time, point of the compass, branch of endeavor, or field of study as something well-known or unique The sun is shining Complete (adjective) having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full The circle is complete Whole (noun) A number, group, set, or thing lacking no part or element; a complete thing. The whole universe is small compared to the spiritual world is (verb) Third person singular present indicative of be. The Earth is a globe be (verb) To have or show a specified quality or characteristic also (adverb) likewise; in the same manner The material world is also from God. complete (adjective) having all the required or customary characteristics, skills, or the like; consummate; perfect in kind or quality The Earth has complete facility for the life it sustains in (preposition) used to indicate inclusion within space, a place, or limits The Earth is in the solar system itself (pronoun) used as the object of a preposition or as the direct or indirect object of a verb The world is not sustained by itself . A mark of punctuation used to end all sentences apart from questions or those requiring an exclamation. I think there is only one more full stop needed. Because (conjunction) for the reason that; due to the fact that I am in the material world because I have ignored Krsna, which was silly.... He (pronoun) the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male. ..because He... is (verb) Third person singular present indicative of be. ...is great be (verb) To have or show a specified quality or characteristic the (definite article) used to mark a proper noun, natural phenomenon, ship, building, time, point of the compass, branch of endeavor, or field of study as something well-known or unique The years are going by quicker Complete (adjective) having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full This verse has the word complete in it many times. If it had one less then it wouldn't be complete Whole (noun) the whole assemblage of parts or elements belonging to a thing; the entire quantity, account, extent, or number The whole Vedic literature is exalted , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. Therefore, although it'll take a while, you should try to read it even (adverb) used to suggest that something mentioned as a possibility constitutes an extreme case or an unlikely instance I am feeling the best I have in ages, even with all the drama in my life though (conjunction) notwithstanding that; in spite of the fact that; although I am not hungry though I have been fasting so (adverb) to the extent or degree indicated or suggested I am so tired of fruitive work many (adjective) constituting or forming a large number; numerous There are many planets in the universe complete (adjective) having all the required or customary characteristics, skills, or the like; consummate; perfect in kind or quality The meal I have cooked is now complete units (noun) a single thing or person A finger is a unit of the body emanate (verb) to flow out, issue, or proceed, as from a source or origin; come forth; originate. The light is starting to emanate from the bulb from (preposition) used to indicate source or origin The light emanates from the sun Him (pronoun) the objective case of he, used as a direct or indirect object Actually the light emanates from Krsna. Everything emanates from Him. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. This is because He is inconceivable, amazing, and very powerful. He (pronoun) the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male. He is the source of the entire world. remains (verb) to continue in the same state; continue to be as specified Until I see Krsna, my ignorance remains. the (definite article) used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an Lord, You are the light of my life complete (adjective) having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full The use of the word complete is now complete. Phew! balance (noun) a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc. Karma keeps actions and reactions in balance. . A mark of punctuation used to end all sentences apart from questions or those requiring an exclamation. Yep, I was right. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Things may seem incomplete because of our lack of knowledge, but that is just ignorance. When we obtain the complete knowledge, we see that there is no incompleteness in anything. One of the terms for oṁ is akṣara which describes the complete whole very well. There may seem like changes and alterations in the world but only due to our lack of knowledge. The complete whole, oṁ, is imperishable, unalterable. It is perfectly complete, so there is no need in it changing. Also, anything which comes from this unchangeable source is also completely perfect. Anyone living in Kali Yuga (the present time) may say that resources are depleted, such as food and water, and conclude that the Earth has not been made to be completely perfect. However, this is ignorance. In Satya-yuga, the time of goodness, the Earth was plentiful and fresh water could be drunk in most if not all places on Earth. As we have degraded into ignorance, we have taken less care of these resources and so our water supply has become polluted and we are not living sustainably. This is our fault, not an imperfection in design. Further, it is not true that there isn't enough resources. We have the intelligence to not only clean up the water sources if we so choose, but we can also filter any polluted water, as well as create new sources such as wells. So we still have resources. Only those lacking the knowledge of water filtiration/treatment believe we will run out of water due to pollution and that the world is not perfect because it is lacking these resources. There is a related point concerning the definition of the word complete. Complete can mean "having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full " which would describe Krsna, the source, as He is lacking nothing and is always complete, even when things are emanated from Him. Another meaning of complete is "having all the required or customary characteristics, skills, or the like; consummate; perfect in kind or quality." This would be the kind of completeness that those things which emanate from Krsna have. They may not be "whole" as they are only fragments, but they certainly have all the required characteristics. They are not lacking anything. The ages also come from Krsna and so the polluted water is due to the age of Kali-yuga. It has changed from the previous abundance in satya yuga due to time, but the abundance will be back when Kali Yuga ends. There is not a lack of resource but rather the required characteristics of these resources in these times are pollution and scarcity (just like our minds are polluted and spiritual knowledge is rare). Krsna has desired things be this way in these times. Both the material world, and the effects of Kali-yuga come from pūrṇāt or the all-perfect. pūrṇārtha means "one who has attained his object, whose wishes have been realized," so the pollution and scarcity of certain resources are in line with the all-perfect's wishes. Someone may then argue that we come from Krsna and there is incompleteness in our knowledge so everything is not complete. However, we desired to be away from Krsna. We have not lost our knowledge, we eternally have complete perfect knowledge due to our status as spirit souls. However, this knowledge has been covered by illusion due to our desire to not want to know Krsna. So our knowledge has all the required characteristics for the desires we have; the desire to be in illusion. It is complete. If we decide to serve Krsna again, then we will clear the illusion according to the amount of work we put in. The system is just and so the incomplete knowledge many people have is actually perfectly complete for the desired purpose. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? At first I found it hard to see how someone may be complete if their knowledge is coming from Krsna yet their knowledge is incomplete. Looking up the meanings of the word complete cleared up any misunderstandings and I no longer am confused about the seemingly incompleteness of an emanation from the complete whole. Love Mike Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 02:40 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you. The first meaning of 'phenomenal' is not appropriate; the second is the correct meaning: an occurrence, or circumstance observed or observable. love, Baba Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by Michael Jones - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 02:47 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thanks for clearing that up, that certainly makes the most sense. Love Mike Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 03:32 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Phenomenal and noumenal are philosophical antonyms referring to the objective, external world of the senses and the subjective, internal world of consciousness, respectively. jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ yaj jñātvā neha bhūyo 'nyaj jñātavyam avaśiṣyate "I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge both phenomenal and noumenal, by knowing which there shall remain nothing further to be known." [Bhagavad-gītā 7.2] "Phenomenal and noumenal knowledge" therefore pretty much covers everything. Kṛṣṇa goes on from this verse to describe His energies, His self and the devotees who realize part or all of this. The interesting thing is that noumenal has a technical meaning: "in the philosophy of Kant, an object as it is in itself independent of the mind, as opposed to a phenomenon. Also called thing-in-itself." In other words, the actual nature of a thing apart from our imperfect conceptions or ideas about it. So the phenomenal world is the world as perceived by the senses and mind, as opposed to the noumenal world, which only Kṛṣṇa and His self-realized devotees can know. love, Baba Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by Devesh Pant - Friday, 9 January 2009, 11:47 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Bābāji! 1.Pick one verse. Write down the verse. īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam SYNONYMS īśa—by the Lord; āvāsyam—controlled; idam—this; sarvam—all; yat kiñca—whatever; jagatyām—within the universe; jagat—all that is animate or inanimate; tena—by Him; tyaktena—set-apart quota; bhuñjīthāḥ—you should accept; mā—do not; gṛdhaḥ—endeavor to gain; kasya svit—of anyone else; dhanam—the wealth. TRANSLATION Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. This entire universe is pervaded by the Lord. He alone is independent and is the owner of everything that exists, which essentially is the manifestation of His various energies. For this reason, accept whatever is given to you by Him, and do not forcibly seek any other kind of material or physical desire. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each English word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit Word Śrī Īśopani ṣad translation Other dictionary meanings īśa by the Lord Lord, O Lord In Bhaviṣya Purāṇa used to address Lord Brahma āvāsyam controlled living everywhere idam this A demonstrative- There are four different demonstratives in Sanskrit: tat, etat, idam, and adas. etat indicates greater proximity than tat. While idam is similar to etat, adas refers to objects that are more remote than tat. sarvam all Everything, all that be, the sum total yat kiñca whatever Whatsoever; The conjunction yat is an ablative form and here with kiñca gives the meaning as expressed kiñca   Moreover, some more jagatyām within the universe In this world, everywhere jagat all that is animate or inanimate World, Universe tena by Him By that, by, with that, tyaktena set-apart quota; Allotted, granted, given bhuñj īthāḥ you should accept do experience, enjoy mā do not Never, let it not be g ṛdhaḥ endeavor to gain crave for, seek kasya svit of anyone else Kasya + svid kasya   Belonging to whom svid   To be anointed, perspired, to melt dhanam the wealth money 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Original English Word Definition Used in a sentence Everything (pronoun) All things or all of a group of things. Everything in this world belongs to the Lord animate (adjective) alive; possessing life All living beings have pr āna and as a result are animate creatures or (conjunction) used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives Day or night stay focussed inanimate (adjective)spiritless; sluggish; dull. Most inanimate things belong to  Māyā that (adjective) used to indicate a person, place, thing, or degree as indicated, mentioned before, present, or as well-known or characteristic . That is a good thought is (verb) to exist or live What is the ultimate truth ? within ( adverb) in or into the interior or inner part; inside. Who lives within your body ? the (definite article) with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an The blessings from Lord are infinite universe (noun) the totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm. God created the universe is (verb) to take place; happen; occur Tomorrow is Friday controlled (verb) to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command. We are all controlled by the divine power and (conjunction) (used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses) along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; also; moreover We are all parts and parcels of God owned (verb) To have or possess as property When confronted with the evidence the rascal owned up his ignorance by (preposition) near to or next to The guidance is given by the Guru the (definite article) with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an The Esoteric Teaching is the king of education Lord (noun) The supreme being; God Lord Caitanya appeared 500 years ago . A mark of punctuation used to end all sentences apart from questions or those requiring an exclamation.   The End. One (pronoun) (with a defining clause or other qualifying words) a person or a personified being or agency One who renounces the material pleasure, has started his path to realization. should ( auxiliary verb) must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency) You should not do that. therefore (adverb)in consequence of that; as a result; consequently We think, therefore we are accept (verb) to take or receive Acce pt food as prasādam from God only (adverb) without others or anything further; alone; solely; exclusively Esoteric Teaching is only for a true seeker those (pronoun) plural of that - used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark Those whose minds are distorted by material desires can not attain Krishna consciousness things (noun) pl. material objects without life or consciousness I have a lot of things to do necessary (adjective) being essential, indispensable, or requisite It is necessary to follow the four principles in life for (preposition) with the object or purpose of; intended to belong to These things are for study himself (pronoun) an emphatic appositive of him or he He is all by himself , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the Yes, that is it. which used to represent a specified antecedent The pen with which I wrote are (verb) pres. indic. plural and 2nd pers. singular of be We are friends set (verb) to put or to place in a particular position or place This place has been set aside for worship aside (adverb) on or to one side; to or at a short distance apart; away from some position or direction to move the chair aside. as (adverb) to the same degree, amount, or extent; similarly; equally I am doing this, as a disciple of the Esoteric School his (pronoun) the possessive form of he; belonging to him It is his duty to follow the instructions from the teacher. quota (noun) the share or proportional part of a total that is required from, or is due or belongs to There is no quota for enrollment to the Bridge University. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the At last, he found the path. and (conjunction) (used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses) along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; also; moreover Day and night we work for God. one (adjective) being a person, thing, or individual One has a free will. should ( auxiliary verb) must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency) One should follow the teachings of our spiritual Masters. not ( adverb) used to express negation, denial To be, or not to be. accept (verb) to take or receive Please accept my humble obeisances. other (adjective) different or distinct from the one mentioned or implied He lives in some other town. things (noun) pl. material objects without life or consciousness These things are very common in life. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the He is a strong, healthy man. knowing (adjective) that knows; having knowledge or information; intelligent Knowing what I know now, I can only do so much. well (adverb) in a good or satisfactory manner He knows it well that this road does not take him where he wants to go to (preposition) used for expressing motion or direction toward a point, person, place, or thing From North to South whom (pronoun) the objective case of With whom did you stay ? they (pronoun plural) nominative plural of he she and it They know what they are doing belong (verb) to be proper or due; be properly or appropriately placed, situated, etc. We all belong to the Esoteric School Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Lord is the sole proprietor of everything in this world. He is the sole enjoyer of all the pleasures and whatever one has or gets in the world has to be accepted as his grace. All that one receives from God is whatever has been set aside for them. One should not cultivate desires for acquiring things and wealth and should be happy and content by offering service and devotion to God. This day of Kali Yuga has people running after acquiring material wealth and the term success has been given a new meaning in this world full of Māyā. It has become a measure of one’s success to acquire property, wealth and other material objects for pleasure of one’s own self. Greed is increasing by the day and one can see people lying, stealing and trying to consume as much as they can for their own gratification. All this is out of ignorance towards the Supreme Being, the God. All that is, belongs either to His inferior energy (aparā prakṛti) or to the superior energy (parā prakṛti). As a result The Supreme Personality of Godhead, being the complete person with perfect intelligence adjusts everything by means of His different potencies. He thus remains the ultimate controller, owner and dictator of everything that is perceivable or unperceivable. With this understanding, one should therefore accept only those things that are set aside by the Lord as his quota. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? By completing this exercise of writing down the meanings of words, I found a lot of different meanings to the words. However a better understanding of the verse cam about only when I read the Purport a few times to get the context of the content. With regards Devesh Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by Michael Jones - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 07:06 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thanks for clearing up that misunderstanding, a lot more makes sense now; especially the meaning of noumenal. I had seen the Kant meaning but your explanation really helped put it in relation to the absolute truth. Love Mike Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by Uddhava das - Sunday, 11 January 2009, 07:31 AM Untitled Document Dear Devotees, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Babaji! I also followed Babaji's advice, and did this homework on Śrī Īśopaniṣad, verse 6. 1. Pick one verse. Write down the verse. Invocation yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtāny ātmany evānupaśyati sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁ tato na vijugupsate He who sees systematically everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. When one becomes a devotee, the question changes from "how can i use this for my enjoyment?" into "how can i use this for Kṛṣṇa's enjoyment?". And after more advanced stages in the Bhakti-Yoga process, everything and everywhere Kṛṣṇa is seen, as the Supersoul, the doer, acompanying every living entity in the heart. Usually a neophyte devotee strongly dislikes people that are in the modes of ignorance, although the same devotee was used to live in similar ways. After some time, the devotee realizes that he was in the same position, and then the strong dislikeness becomes compassion, which eventually leads to greater spiritual realization. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit Word Śrī Īśopaniṣad translation Other dictionary meanings yas he who not found tu but but sarvāṇi all sarva: of all sorts, various bhūtāny living entities living entities that are born, all of this material manifestation ātmany in relation to the Supreme Lord in the self, unto the Supersoul evānupaśyati only observes in a systematic way eva: certainly, anupasyati: one tries to see through authority sarva-bhūteṣu in every living being sarva: of all sorts, bhutesu: in all beings ca and and atmānaṁ the Supersoul the Self tato thereafter tatah: thereafter na not not, no, nor, neither vijugupsate hates anyone not found 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentance with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Original English Word Definition Used in a sentence He used to refer to the man or boy previously mentioned or implied. He is very shy. who What or which person or persons Who is the source of all pleasure ? sees discern or deduce mentally after reflection He sees that you have good intentions. systematically done according to a fixed plan or system I will solve this problem systematically. everything All things or all of a group of things. Everything Kṛṣṇa does is beautiful. in Within the limits, bounds, or area of He is in the state of Florida. relation A logical or natural association between two or more things; relevance of one to another; connection Singing and dancing are related when perfoming sankirtana. to In a direction toward so as to reach. I am going to chant all day. the Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular, specified persons or things He is the person we were talking about. Supreme Greatest in power, authority, or rank; paramount or dominant. His flute playing is supreme. Lord, A man of renowned power or authority. Who is the Lord of everything ? who What or which person or persons. Who am I ? sees discern or deduce mentally after reflection I think he sees the whole thing incorrectly. all Being or representing the entire or total number, amount, or quantity. All devotees are chanting and dancing today at noon. living Posessing Life This plant is still living, although it seems dried up. entities Something that exists as a particular and discrete unit Every person is considered a single entity. as To the same extent or degree; equally He acts as a friend to everyone. His Used to indicate the one or ones belonging to him His life is succesful. parts A portion, division, piece, or segment of a whole. We are going to need more spare parts to repair this harmonium. and Together with or along with; in addition to; as well as. Used to connect words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical function in a construction. You and I will be always together. parcels, A quantity or amount of something This amount is but a tiny parcel of the amount available. and Together with or along with; in addition to; as well as. Used to connect words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical function in a construction. You and I will be always together. who What or which person or persons Who is the source of all pleasure ? sees discern or deduce mentally after reflection He sees that you have good intentions. the Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular, specified persons or things He is the person we were talking about. Supreme Greatest in power, authority, or rank; paramount or dominant. His dancing is supreme. Lord A man of renowned power or authority. Who is the Lord of everything ? within In or into the inner part; inside. Within this box there is a cat. everything All things or all of a group of things. Kṛṣṇa is the source of everything. never Not ever; on no occasion; at no time: I will never forget you. hates To feel hostility or animosity toward. He hates it when the dogs bark all day. anything Any object, occurrence, or matter whatever. Please let me know if i can do anything to help you. or Used to indicate an alternative, usually only before the last term of a series Are you vegetarian or not ? any One, some, every, or all without specification Any option is good for me. being. The state or quality of having existence We are beings from another world. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. When one becomes a devotee, the question changes from "how can i use this for my enjoyment?" into "how can i use this for Kṛṣṇa's enjoyment?". And after more advanced stages in the Bhakti-Yoga process, everything and everywhere Kṛṣṇa is seen, as the Supersoul, the doer, acompanying every living entity in the heart. Usually a neophyte devotee strongly dislikes people that are in the modes of ignorance, although the same devotee was used to live in similar ways. After some time, the devotee realizes that he was in the same position, and then the strong dislikeness becomes compassion, which eventually leads to greater spiritual realization. This is accomplished by following the spiritual authorities systematically, by constant association with them, through scriptures, direct service, etc. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? When reading the English translation only, i did not get the feeling of the word anupaśyati (to observe in a systematic way) and that word adds so much more weight to the verse. Of course, Prabhupada nicely talks about this word in his purport, but if i had just read the english translations i would have an incomplete understanding at a very basic level. So, in my case, whenever i'm reading scripture, i will be more concious of the importance of each sanskrit word. Hare Rama ! Uddhava dasa Re: Fourth Homework Assignment by Kānāi Dāsa - Sunday, 11 January 2009, 08:28 AM Dear Devotees, , Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Babaji. Next week I will also pick a verse from Śrī Īśopaniṣad 1.Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. Write down the verse. klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayy upapadyate kṣudraṁ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa SYNONYMS klaibyam—impotence; mā sma—do not; gamaḥ—take to; pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; na—never; etat—this; tvayi—unto you; upapadyate—is befitting; kṣudram—petty; hṛdaya—of the heart; daurbalyam—weakness; tyaktvā—giving up; uttiṣṭha—get up; param—tapa—O chastiser of the enemies. TRANSLATION O son of Pṛthā, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. Arjuna has forgotten who he really is this is part of Kṛṣṇas plan, and now Arjuna is lamenting like Sudra. Kṛṣṇa is pretending to be disgusted with Arjuna. Telling him that these weaknesses do not suit the once brave Arjuna. He once knew who he was he once knew the truth but now he is pathetic Kṛṣṇa tells him to get these small weaknesses out of his heart and to get up and be who he is the chastiser of the enemy. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit Word Bhagavad-gītā Other dictionary meaning klaibyaṁ impotence unmanliness , weakness , timidity , cowardice mā sma do not Mā a particle of prohibition or negation sma a particle perhaps originally equivalent to " ever " , " always " gamaḥ take to Vedabase: go to pārtha O son of Pṛthā Vedabase: Pārtha means the son of Pṛthā. Arjuna's mother's name was Kuntī, Pṛthā; therefore he is sometimes addressed by the Lord as Pārtha. Kṛṣṇa's another name is Pārtha-sārathi. Pārtha-sārathi because He accepted the post of chariot driver of Pārtha, therefore His name is Pārtha-sārathi na never not , no , nor , neither etat this Etad: this , this here , here (especially as pointing to what is nearest to the speaker e.g. eṣa bāṇaḥ , this arrow here in my hand ; eṣa yāti panthāḥ , here passes the way tvayi unto you for You, in You, on Your Upapadyate is befitting to become , be suitable, is to be found, attains, is deserved kṣudram petty on grass, very little hṛdaya of the heart the heart (or region of the heart as the seat of feelings and sensations ; hṛdaye- √kṛ , " to take to heart ") , soul , mind (as the seat of mental operations daurbalyam weakness weakness , impotence tyaktvā giving up uttiṣṭha get up Uttiṣṭha. Uttiṣṭha means "Please get up." param—tapa— O chastiser of the enemies. 3. Make an origional, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. English Translation Definition Used in a sentence O Used before the name of or a pronoun referring to a person or thing being formally addressed O Kṛṣṇa How I Love You!! son One's male child The son of God came to Earth to teach us the Truth. of Derived or coming from; originating at or from We are of humble thoughts. Pṛthā Vedabase: Pārtha means the son of Pṛthā. Arjuna's mother's name was Kuntī, Pṛthā; therefore he is sometimes addressed by the Lord as Pārtha. Kṛṣṇa's another name is Pārtha-sārathi. Pārtha-sārathi because He accepted the post of chariot driver of Pārtha, therefore His name is Pārtha-sārathi The son of Pṛthā bravely picked up his bow and faced the enemy. , the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. It is also used to separate items in a list, to mark off thousands in numerals, to separate types or levels of information in bibliographic and other data, and, in Europe, as a decimal point. I'm sitting her thinking of a nice sentence to write with a comma but I just can't think of one, not one. do to perform or execute Did you do your tasks nicely? not In no way; to no degree. Used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition: I will not fall down, I will NOT. yield a. To give over possession of, as in deference or defeat; surrender. b. To give up (an advantage, for example) to another; concede. You must yield all your nonsense activities and surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. to Towards I pray to Lord Kṛṣṇa every day this Used to refer to the person or thing present, nearby, or just mentioned I want to sing this Kirtan degrading lacking honor or integrity; deserving dishonor; "dishonorable in thought and deed" Without the truth people live very degrading lives. impotence The quality or condition of being impotent. impotent. 1. Lacking physical strength or vigor; weak. 2. Lacking in power, as to act effectively; helpless I must cut down on Krsna Prashadam in this heat for I suffer great impotence afterwards. . the point or character (.) used to mark the end of a declarative sentence, indicate an abbreviation, etc.; full stop. 11. a full pause, as is made at the end of a complete sentence; full stop. I Love Kṛṣṇa. It Used to refer to that one previously mentioned Taking part in a Kirtan is great, it brings us so much joy. does Third person singular present tense of do Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa does feel wonderful. not In no way; to no degree. Used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition I will not speak anymore nonsense. become To grow or come to be When will the rest of the world become Kṛṣṇa conscious? you Used to refer to the one or ones being addressed You are a nice devotee. . the point or character (.) used to mark the end of a declarative sentence, indicate an abbreviation, etc.; full stop. 11. a full pause, as is made at the end of a complete sentence; full stop. I Love Kṛṣṇa. Give up To cease to do or perform: gave up their search. To desist from; stop: gave up smoking. To part with; relinquish Give up yous sinful ways and live in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. such Of this kind Before my life was such a mess. petty Of small importance; trivial Most people are involved with their petty problems to really see the big picture. weak Lacking physical strength, energy, or vigor; feeble “I can't give up meat I just can't.” This is what weak people say. of Caused by; resulting from The taste of Prashadam. heart a. The vital center and source of one's being, emotions, and sensibilities. b. The repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs His heart just wasn't in it. and Used to indicate result Just try the process, and you will see the results. arise To move upward; ascend You have been sleeping for much too long you must arise. , the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. It is also used to separate items in a list, to mark off thousands in numerals, to separate types or levels of information in bibliographic and other data, and, in Europe, as a decimal point. Im sitting her thinking of a nice sentence to write with a comma but I just can't think of one, not one. O Used before the name of or a pronoun referring to a person or thing being formally addressed O Kṛṣṇa How I Love You!! chastiser To punish, as by beating If the demons step out of line Kṛṣṇa is the best chastiser of Centering on; directed toward Bringer of good news. the Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular, specified persons or things Is this the Path back home to Godhead? enemy One who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another; a foe On the spiritual path Maya is the enemy. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. O son of Pṛthā, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy. 4.Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Kṛṣṇa has made Arjuna forget who he really is so that we, the conditioned souls, can understand what is happening. Arjuna is being used here to represent all of us and how we are covered by maya. His lamentations are ours, his confusion is ours, his grief and weakness ours. We are impotent and pathetic like Arjuna here because we have forgotten our true selves. Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that these emotions do not befit him, the him Kṛṣṇa is referring to is the eternal spirit soul who is an eternal servant to Kṛṣṇa these family members Arjuna wants to protect are also eternal servants whos purpose is to serve and give pleasure to Kṛṣṇa but Arjuna wants to protect them for his own sense gratification . Arjunas heart has become sentimental and weak and this has clouded his true self. Kṛṣṇa tell Arjuna that he is a chastiser of the enemy he is a warrior a fighter not a soppy family man he is a ksatriya and he should start acting like one. Kṛṣṇa is disgusted with his friends emotional weakness but we know this is simple part of His teaching for all of us. Love, Kanai Dasa Evening Darshan 1/10/2009: Kirtan and Sanskrit Class by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 11 January 2009, 07:27 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Last night Kānāi led kīrtan and then Neville led the group in Sanskrit class. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba The Evils of Economic Centralization by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 01:22 PM Bridge_Community_Project_Description_V2.pdf Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! There's an interesting essay by one of my favorite writers, Ran Prieur, where he says: I hope you can all find the time to read this 26-page pdf essay by Kevin Carson (thanks David), Industrial Policy: New Wine in Old Bottles. Here's a post summarizing it, The Economic Benefits of Localization. If I were to make the same argument, I would start with the Luddites. The word has come to mean knee-jerk opposition to technology, but the original Luddites had a position so sophisticated that modern industrialized people would have trouble understanding it. They opposed a specific technology that replaced skilled artisans, working autonomously at home and making good money, with unskilled workers making poverty wages in oppressive factories. This is the kind of change that the industrial revolution brought everywhere: the people who did the work lost skill, money, participation in power, and quality of life, while the owners of the machines gained wealth and power in obscene and corrupting quantities. Now, the evil capitalist will say: all that repression and suffering was necessary for progress, because factories were more efficient than autonomous home industry, and they always will be. Here's where Carson comes in, arguing that factories and giant centralized industry were only more efficient for a few decades. With the spread of electricity, small electric motors, and small engines, it became more efficient to manufacture stuff in a decentralized network of home industries. Monolithic corporate production has kept itself going for more than a century through deceit and violence, and now it's finally breaking down. It's breaking down on the demand end because it's running out of humans to forcibly convert to consumerism, and it's breaking down on the supply end because it's running out of resources. Energy decline will force a switch to more efficient local, networked, and peer-to-peer structures. The end of economic growth will force a switch to businesses that don't need to grow, that can stay the same size for many years on small incomes. In hard economic times, businesses that have to pass most of their profits to wealthy speculators will be out-competed by businesses whose few owners have modest needs. With decreased supplies of everything, producers that must create demand for ever-growing supply will fail, and producers that can scale down to match real needs will survive. Here's an excerpt from the linked article: Communities of locally owned small enterprises are much healthier economically than communities that are colonized by large, absentee-owned corporations. For example, a 1947 study compared two communities in California: one a community of small farms, and the other dominated by a few large agribusiness operations. The small farming community had higher living standards, more parks, more stores, and more civic, social and recreational organizations. (L. S. Stavrianos. The Promise of the Coming Dark Age (San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1976), p. 41.) Bill McKibben made the same point in Deep Economy. Most money that’s spent buying stuff from a national corporation is quickly sucked out of the local economy, while money that’s spent at local businesses circulates repeatedly in the local economy and leaks much more slowly to the outside. According to a study in Vermont, substituting local production for only ten percent of imported food would create $376 million in new economic output, including $69 million in wages at over 3600 new jobs. A similar study in Britain found the multiplier effect of ten pounds spent at a local business benefited the local economy to the tune of 25 pounds, compared to only 14 for the same amount spent at a chain store. The argument that industrialization enables more efficient production of commodities is incomplete: the real truth is that industrialization enables more efficient concentration of capital in the hands of people who own the means of production of commodities. Because industrial-scale machines are expensive, that means only the factory owners can afford them. That enables them to profit from the value of the labor of their workers more efficiently, and enrich themselves at the workers' expense. This ripoff extracts a terrible tool from the workers, who must labor their whole lives with essentially nothing to show for it; almost their entire future income is already spent on maintaining themselves fit to continue working, and paying off loans on their homes, cars and luxuries. The evil of both capitalism and communism is that they both concentrate capital in a way that makes it inaccessible to the people who create it: the workers. Capitalism concentrates capital in the hands of the capitalists, and communism concentrates it in the state. Either way the workers get ripped off, and become slaves, completely dependent on the system. Historically, as Immanuel Wallerstein argued, capital has relied upon its superior bargaining power to set the boundary between the money and social economies to its own advantage. Its attitude toward the household and informal economies has been ambivalent. It is in the interest of the employer not to render the worker totally dependent on wage income, because without the ability to carry out some reproduction functions through the production of use value within the household subsistence economy, the worker will be “compelled to demand higher real wages….” (Immanuel Wallerstein and Joan Smith, “Households as an institution of the world-economy,” in Smith and Wallerstein, eds., Creating and Transforming Households: The constraints of the world-economy (Cambridge; New York; Oakleigh, Victoria; Paris: Cambridge University Press, 1992), p. 16. [3-23]) On the other hand, too large a household meant that “the level of work output required to ensure survival was too low,” and “diminished pressure to enter the wage-labor market.” (Immanuel Wallerstein, “Household Structures and Labor-Force Formation in the Capitalist World Economy,” in Joan Smith, Immanuel Wallerstein, Hans-Dieter Evers, eds., Households and the World Economy (Beverly Hills, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1984), p. 20.) Here is the economic rationale for the corporate attack on the family unit. Large families form a small local economy in which capital is reinvested, making everyone's life easier. The same is true of a cooperative or spiritual community like ours. This is why there is so much propaganda and economic policy discouraging big families, coops and communes: they weakens the bargaining power of the corporations by making life too easy for their members. so there's no reason to become a wage slave. “We are now experiencing a revolutionary shift in competitive advantage from wage labor to the informal economy, far beyond anything the propertied classes of two hundred years ago could have imagined in their worst nightmares. The rapid growth of technologies for home production in the twentieth century, based on small-scale electrically powered machinery and new forms of intensive cultivation, has radically altered the comparative efficiencies of large- and small-scale production. This was pointed out by Ralph Borsodi almost eighty years ago, but the potential of cheap desktop machine tools like the multi-machine shifts the balance even further. So the balance of forces between the two economies will not be anywhere near as uneven as the distribution of property rights might indicate. As labor is withdrawn from the corporate economy and makes efficient use of the productive resources available to it, we will move increasingly toward a society where most of what the average person consumes is produced in a network of self-employed or worker-owned production, and the owning classes are left with large tracts of empty land and understaffed factories that are almost useless to them because it’s so hard to hire labor at a profitable wage. At that point, the correlation of forces will have shifted until the corporate capitalists are islands in a cooperative sea–and their land and factories will be the last thing to fall, just like the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. We’re experiencing a singularity in which it is becoming impossible for capital to prevent a shift in the supply of an increasing proportion of the necessities of life from mass produced goods purchased with wages, to small-scale production in the informal and household sector. The upshot is likely to be something like Gupta’s “Unplugged” movement, in which the possibilities for low-cost, comfortable subsistence off the grid result in exactly the same situation, the fear of which motivated the propertied classes in carrying out the Enclosures: a situation in which the majority of people can take wage labor or leave it, if it takes it at all, the average person works only on his own terms when he needs supplemental income for luxury goods and the like, and (even if he considers supplemental income necessary in the long run for an optimal standard of living) can afford in the short run to quit work and live off his own resources for prolonged periods of time, while negotiating for employment on the most favorable terms. It will be a society in which workers, not employers, have the greater ability to walk away from the table. It will, in short, be the kind of society E. G. Wakefield lamented in the colonial world of cheap and abundant land: a society in which labor is hard to get on any terms, and almost impossible to hire at a low enough wage to produce significant profit.” In our Bridge Community, the capital created by labor is concentrated in the community and used to enhance the quality of life of the members by investing in shared tools of production, building community facilities like the University, Temple, etc. and infrastructure improvements to reduce the community's dependence on outside resources. This is all explained in detail in our Project Plan, attached to this message. Please read it, and let's discuss it on this thread. love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/8/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet - Vowels by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 07:02 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This Darshan begins with a lively kīrtan and then a Sanskrit class led by Neville Prabhu focusing on vowel pronunciation. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/8/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet - Vowels by Devesh Pant - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 10:06 PM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji! Having installed the plugin for the first time I could not make use of using it properly as a result the greetings are missing in my post on yestersday's darshan. My sincere apologies. I searched around and found that The vowel ḷ is pronounced like the le in able and you have also mentioned while teaching that it sounds like a double l. Kirtan was very rasik. Hope I could listen to the ending of the class regards Devesh Re: Evening Darshan 1/8/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet - Vowels by Neville Clemens - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 12:10 PM Dear Devesh, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The whole class is recorded on the attached mp3. You were not able to access the ending of the class? Love, Neville 2012 News by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 10 January 2009, 09:09 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This morning I was reading urbansurvival.com and found this: "Problematic" 2012? Something caught my eye t'other day in an email from the time monks up at www.halfpasthuman.com. They sent along this really interesting story out of Belgium that began... "20-tal Belgen vluchten" BRUSSEL - 8 januari 2009 - Een groep Belgische individuen zijn van plan hun maatschappelijke status en materiële verworvenheden achter zich te laten, en plannen een ultieme vlucht op het internet. De groep bestaat uit zowel mannen als vrouwen tussen de 20 en 40 jaar. Which is their way of saying something like... "Some 20 Belgians plan their escape" BRUSSELS - January 8th, 2009 - A group of Belgian individuals plan to leave their social and material status behind, according to their ultimate escape plan they prepare on the internet. The group consists of man and women between 20 and 40 age old." Ah..bogslife (beyond organizational & governmental structures is going global...is that my point, you're thinking? Or, that 'survivalism' is a contagious way of thinking? Well, yes...and no. The 'no' part gets scary because the part that really dropped my jaw was this: "Today NASA keeps precise track of the North pole traveling South, and they admit that the speed of the North Pole´s acceleration increased dramatically the last few years. Furthermore, NASA recently confirmed there will be a `problematic weakening´ of the Earth's protective magnetic field around 2012.." Whoa, Cowboy! Say what? I started to scratch my head and wonder "What do they mean by a problematic weakening"? "...around 2012..."??? Go with me on this: This 'problematic 2012' weakening seems to be something the insiders know about and this could be just the leading edge of a disclosure of something much m uch bigger coming down the timeline towards us. And then I about fell over today when I happened across the FoxNews story headlined "Powerful Solar Storm could shut down U.S. For Months". I don't claim to be a 'dot connector' extraordinaire, but seems to me that this could be the tipping of the elite's hand a bit to the watchful observer. Play it through as many times as I have in my mind, I don't see a solar event shutting down the 'U.S. For Months" as any kind of a happy, peaceful, vacation kind of event. I got to thinking about about the impacts on transportation, energy, and food production, possibly right down to the farm-level, and I thought "You know, this preparedness stuff makes sense at some level if you want to maintain personal independence doesn't it?" For now this 2012 stuff is problematic (Which I'd take to mean debatable). But, as we've seen in many disclosures in the past, this is how a leading edge of a big change-state could be introduced into the thinking of society, so we'll have some degree of focus on the way this rolls out. Food for thought... love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/9/2009: Sweet Kirtan and Nṛsiṁha Prayers by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 9 January 2009, 09:02 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is a very nice kīrtan and Nṛsiṁha Prayers led by Neville and Uddhava Prabhus, respectively. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Esoteric Teaching Seminars, Inc. 2008 Financial Statement by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 9 January 2009, 02:43 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is our 2008 Balance Sheet and Investment Strategy: Category Income From Investment Account $2,000.00 Cash Back Bonus $23.19 Debit Card Credits $229.85 Donations Received $9,938.01 eChecks Received $8,088.00 Payments Received $4,363.90 Web Payments Received $584.60 TOTAL $25,227.55 Expense ATM Withdrawals -$5,457.76 Card Purchases -$9,124.98 Debit Card Purchase -$2,413.57 eBay Payments -$833.74 Express Checkout Payments -$1,006.29 Domain Name Payments -$214.35 Web Payment Sent -$689.67 To Investment Account -$7,750.00 TOTAL -$27,490.36 Investment Account $4,864.00 Investment Plan Assumptions: Plan: Month Principal # of Contracts Actual: Principal P/L 20 Trading days per month 1 $3,500 1 Dec 1, 2008 $3,500 $1,364 Trading eMini Dow futures @ $3,438 each 2 $5,219 1 Jan 1, 2009 $4,864 3 $6,938 2 Feb 1, 2009 4 $10,376 3 Mar 1, 2009 5 $15,533 4 Apr 1, 2009 Approximate annual profit 600% 6 $22,409 6 May 1, 2009 Monthly profit 50% 7 $32,723 9 Jun 1, 2009 Daily Profit 2.50% 8 $48,194 14 Jul 1, 2009 Daily profit per Contract $85.95 9 $72,260 21 Aug 1, 2009 Daily Profit in Points 17.19 10 $108,359 31 Sep 1, 2009 11 $161,648 47 Oct 1, 2009 12 $242,441 70 Nov 1, 2009 13 $362,771 105 Dec 1, 2009 14 $543,266 158 Jan 1, 2010 15 $814,868 237 Feb 1, 2010 16 $1,222,271 355 Mar 1, 2010 17 $1,832,516 533 Apr 1, 2010 Thanks to everyone for their support and looking forward to a great 2009, love, Baba, Uddhava, Kānāi, Neville & Andrej Evening Darshan 1/7/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet Drill by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 7 January 2009, 06:16 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is a class at our Santiago āśram conducted by Neville Prabhu on the Sanskrit alphabet and some ślokas from Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/7/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet Drill by Devesh Pant - Wednesday, 7 January 2009, 10:10 PM Respected Babaji, Pranām! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! What a pleasure it is to hear the students under Neville learning Sanskrit. This University is going to be a very desirable place for people form all over the world. Just wanted to provide input on the single and double single vertical lines that came up in the class. The single vertical line is called ardha virama or dīrgha virama ( meaning a half stop or a short stop) while the double lines is the pūrṇa virama ( meaning full stop) Also the visarga ḥ that was explained well. In most cases pronounced only at the end of the shloka the fourth line before the pūrṇa virama. Because in between it sometimes gets in a sandhi with other following vowels or consonants or follows a different rule. We can discuss those rules at some other time. Right now it will be nice to focus on the basics. A visarga ḥ also known as the voiceless h in Sanskrit which repeats echo-like the preceding vowel after itself. It is not a complete vowell by itself but is based on the preceding vowell or consonant and at times is based on the following vowell or consonant. Visarga following a vowel : In most cases if the visarga ḥ follows a vowel it adds the vowel after it as well. like pūruṣaḥ - will end as ah paṇḍitāḥ - will end as āha ( this does not add ā at the end though) patiḥ - will be pronounced as patihi with a ihi at the end cakṣuḥ – will be pronounced as cakṣuhu with a uhu at the end another exception to this is the ai vowel where the visarga is pronounced as aihi guṇaiḥ - will be pronounced as guṇaihi In the middle of a sentence a visarga is not emphasized but is pronounced with a very short h without the above rules of preceding vowels. There are many more rules for a visarga preceding a vowel or a consonant and in that case sandhi comes into play. The long Sanskrit words are formed due to sandhi of various types. With best wishes and regards Devesh Re: Evening Darshan 1/7/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet Drill by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 7 January 2009, 10:20 PM Dear Devesh, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for your comments. Yes, Neville is very talented in teaching and knows his Sanskrit well. We are looking forward to many more nice classes from him. He may want to respond to your message too. love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/7/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet Drill by Neville Clemens - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 08:22 AM Dear Devesh, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for writing in. I have minimal knowledge of Sanskrit; I'm familiar with the pronunciation mostly because I grew up in India where many of the languages have the same sounds as Sanskrit. I also took Sanskrit in high-school but unfortunately I was never interested in it and so didn't really learn anything - barely picked up conjugations, never understood declensions and forgot all the sandhi rules . But for what it's worth, I'm trying to help out with basic pronunciation and reading the roman unicode transliteration. After that we may go into learning the script etc, but I can't go very much further than that as a teacher - unless I learn it myself first. If we record and post more such sessions, please continue to chip in with comments and suggestions - and also clear up any mistakes I may make. You will find me saying "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" very often . Have you ever come across the vowel "ḷ" ( ऌ) ? I've never seen it anywhere and so I usually skip it because I don't know it. Also, this recorded session was not very nicely structured. We weren't really planning to record it; we were just gathering around for a general practice session when Babaji came and placed the recorder there. So that's why it's kind of all over the place. If we do this more often in the future, I think we'll get better and better and structuring and presenting the information. Eventually, for our university courses we should have some very nice and professionally made recordings (audio or video) for the students and that will of course be followed up by 1-on-1 guided practice over skype or similar web-chat applications. Love, Neville Re: Evening Darshan 1/7/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet Drill by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 10:21 AM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I thought it was a good idea to record the lesson, not only for sharing with our forum members to give them a better idea what we're doing here, but also so you could review and evaluate it for teaching value. Regarding Sanskrit transliteration, we follow Śrīla Prabhupāda's example and use the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST). This is an academic standard used by serious scholars that allows people to study Sanskrit and other Indic languages without having to learn Devanagari. The vowel ḷ does occur once in Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma, śloka 140: eko viṣṇur mahad bhūtaṁ pṛthag bhūtāny anekaśaḥ trīḷ lokān vyāpya bhūtātmā bhuṅkte viśva-bhug avyayaḥ "Lord Viṣṇu is the original cause of all causes. He is the chief living entity, eternally an individual different from all other living entities. He is present everywhere in all three planetary systems, and He is beginningless and perfect. He accepts offerings made with love and devotion, and He is the protector of the universe. He is unchanging and eternally the same." The more you do these informal sessions, the more your teaching and presentation technique will improve; and the other devotees are getting a lot of benefit, so please continue. love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 1/7/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet Drill by Devesh Pant - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 07:01 PM Dear Neville, The class was great! and as you can see it got me started writing and posting on the forums. It was a great idea to record it, actually I liked it the way it was. In fact the old gurukuls where all the Vedas were taught, I am sure were not structured the way we have the modern day extremely regimented schools. A lot has already been written in our forums on the public school system that we have today. Although discipline is something I agree a very important aspect for a successful school. With Babaji’s presence and guidance, that will be taken care of in the āśrama. In fact I did not even give much thought to the structure, my attention was on what you all did. I can clearly see all our brothers are getting better at it. That vowel ḷ was a tough one. Only Babaji can find something like that and provide you. Jaya Babaji! I have recently revived my love for Sanskrit and have tried to get back to firm up again what I already knew. It all was cooking for sometime now but really happened once I joined esotericteachings.org and with all the material and guidance provided here, it all fell in place and I feel making some progress. These days there are a lot of Sanskrit blogs on the web which I try to read. The one below is good and has many more links on it. http://learnsanskrit.wordpress.com/ this may only be useful for people who are familiar with Devanāgarī. I think this one - Wikner Sanskrit introductory course can be useful for all of us is the and we can work on getting something together like it ( not too extensive for the beginners) for our students. I found it to be pretty useful. Like you, I also grew up in India and took Sanskrit in 6th, 7th and 8th grade and at that time was not interested in it at all. The only thing additional was that my grandfather knew Sanskrit and used to speak Sanskrit. Some of my father’s cousins still speak Sanskrit in their family, so I have a little understanding of uccāraṇa ( pronunciation ) The vowel ḷ is like the le in able and is rarely used. E.g. in kḷp the bija word or the seed word for kalpa. With warm regards Devesh Re: Evening Darshan 1/7/2009: Sanskrit Alphabet Drill by Neville Clemens - Friday, 9 January 2009, 08:21 AM Dear Devesh, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you very much for researching the vowel ḷ. I looked up the word "kḷp" and you're right. Please continue to chip in with suggestions and additional comments. Like you, I am also finding this a very useful exercise since I have to go back and revise all these things. I'm finding that this is a very nice way of learning myself. As Babaji says, I'm like the teacher who is one page ahead of the students . Love, Neville Jyotish Readings Available Again by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 8 January 2009, 10:50 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I just posted this article on the front page of the site: Jyotish (Vedic Astrology) is the esoteric key to self-knowledge and spiritual advancement. You can have a personal spiritual Jyotish reading by an advanced Vedic Astrologer, spiritual teacher and self-realized soul, David Bruce Hughes (Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī). You will learn what kind of karma you brought with you into this life, your level of spiritual advancement and your prospects for attaining final enlightenment (mokṣa) in this lifetime. We also cover family, career and the other usual issues, but always in the context of your spiritual life. If you have never had an astrology reading before, maybe this service is not for you. On the other hand, if you have tried various different astrologers and felt disappointed, as if the reading was about someone else, or seemed to miss the point, maybe you should try this service. Normally, Bābājī only reads for his personal spiritual students. He is very busy and it is not easy for him to find the time to do readings. You may have to schedule your reading some time in advance. But we guarantee that you will be pleased with the result. Here's what one client had to say: "Finally a reading that makes sense. "I would like to publicly thank you Baba for the time you spent with me, explaining my chart. Your reading really set things in order between my heart and mind. You see without this reading my mind would no doubt keep some speculation in view. But with your authoritative reading my mind is now pacified and I can move forward with my spiritual life with enthusiasm. "I have had many so-called charts done, and interpreted in the past. Unfortunately they left me sometimes more confused. I now see a clear path to expect and be aware of, without confusion as you pointed out nicely. You were able to recognize things in my chart and interpret exactly what my heart was already telling me. Thank you for this confirmation. I really do appreciate it. My small donation for this valuable service is a shame because this knowledge pacifies my restless mind and that is priceless." — MMd Babaji uses the Bṛhad Parāśara Horā Śāstra, the original source of Vedic astrological wisdom, in his work. He also teaches Jyotish to his advanced students at the Esoteric Teaching University of Higher Knowledge as part of the Bhakti-vaibhāva Degree Program. Babaji does Jyotish readings over the Internet, communicating by Skype or DimDim web conferencing services. He can optionally record the reading and mail you a CD. You must know your date, accurate time and place of birth. A basic, 90-minute reading is a US$150 suggested minimum donation. You can use the PayPal form at the bottom of the page. Make sure to include your birth information and that the donation is for a reading. Babaji will email you to schedule the reading at a mutually convenient time. love, Baba Evening Darshan 1/6/2009: The 500-year Insight by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 08:36 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Tonight's Darshan is about the tremendous insight that we have been blessed with, how to realize Śrīla Prabhupāda's dream of a varṇāśrama University. The key is that the Vedic knowledge must be held in the proper context of a real varṇāśrama society where there is no economic exploitation. For the complete explanation, take 50 minutes and listen (MP3 audio) love, Baba University of Higher Knowledge by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 02:06 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! International University of Higher Knowledge Curriculum Basic Curricula Major Description Spiritual Degree Scriptural Training Vocational Training Ācārya Initiating Guru Bhakti-sarvabhauma Vedānta-sūtra Transontology, Self-realization Sannyāsa Instructing Guru Bhakti-vedanta Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Spiritual Teaching Brāhmaṇa-varṇa Teacher Bhakti-vaibhava Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Teaching, Deity Worship Kṣatriya-varṇa Administrator Bhakti-śāstrī Bhagavad-gītā Community Management Vaiśya-varṇa Tradesman Bhakti-śāstrī Bhagavad-gītā Business Development Śūdra-varṇa Craftsman Bhakta Śrī Īśopaniṣad Farming, Labor, Service Specialized Curricula Major Description Spiritual Standard Specializations Available Ācārya Initiating Guru 64+ rounds, 4 regs Individualized Program Sannyāsa Instructing Guru 64 rounds, 4 regs Scriptural Exegesis Brāhmaṇa-varṇa Teacher 32 rounds, 4 regs Academics, Sanskrit, Jyotiṣa, Writing, Translation Kṣatriya-varṇa Administrator 16 rounds, 4 regs Administration, Economics, Martial Arts, Diplomacy Vaiśya-varṇa Tradesman 16 rounds, 4 regs Farming, Manufacturing, Trade, Business Management, Banking, Entrepreneurship Śūdra-varṇa Craftsman Daily temple program and kīrtan Music, Dance, Graphic Design, Architecture, Construction, Food Service, Clothing, etc. The purpose of the University of Higher Knowledge is to train members of the Bridge Community to participate in Vedic civilization. Students are assumed to have basic skills in reading. There are no particular age limits; students may enroll at any time. Periods of study and education alternate with periods of practical application, employment and apprenticeship. Study may be full or part-time. Everyone begins at the Śūdra-varṇa level, because in Kali-yuga everyone is born śūdra (kalau śūdra saṁbhavā). After studying, passing the Bhakta examination and accepting Harināma Initiation, students take vocational training in a specialty of their interest by apprenticeship, or if there is no practicing Craftsman in their area of interest in the Bridge Community, by study and practice under the guidance of a Teacher. Then they practice their specialty for some time in an actual business environment under the supervision of a graduate Vaiśya Tradesman. After demonstrating good behavior, spiritual steadiness and improvement in skill for some time, some students may wish to return to the University to pursue a higher degree. Candidates for the Vaiśya-varṇa must show the ability to maintain their personal sādhana at the level required for second (Gāyatri) initiation: daily temple program, 16 rounds and 4 regulative principles. After studying and passing the Bhakti-śāstrī examination, students specialize in an area of business development according to their interest and talents. Then they organize and run an actual small business under the direction of a graduate Kṣatriya Administrator. Students qualified demonstrating competence may return to the University for advanced training in the Kṣatriya-varṇa and Brāhmaṇa-varṇa degrees, or even higher once they become qualified. The idea here is that anyone in a position of authority has direct personal experience performing the work of the people he is supervising. We expect that 90% of the community will remain Śūdras, but the exceptional 10% must have the experience of working as a Śūdra, so they can manage Śūdras compassionately. Śūdra, Vaiśya, Kṣatriya and Brāhmaṇa are material occupational designations; there is nothing stopping anyone in any of the occupational divisions from attaining complete self-realization. Anyone, regardless of their material position, can increase their level of sādhana and become fully self-realized. Although most of the Sannyāsīs will come from the ranks of the Brāhmaṇas, the Sannyāsa Order is open to anyone who can demonstrate the spiritual qualifications. Sannyāsīs are, however, expected to teach and also contribute some original literary works to the lineage; so their academic training should also be on a high standard. love, Baba Re: University of Higher Knowledge by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 11:19 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I notice no one replied to this thread. But we are very serious about establishing a spiritual university and granting certificates in Bhakti-śāstri etc. Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted this, but his disciples never implemented his instructions, so we have to do it. The Bhagavad-gītā study we have been doing, scrutinizingly analyzing one verse at a time, is a preparation for the first Bhakti-śāstri course. So gradually we are going to transform this site into the first University of Higher Knowledge. love, Baba Re: University of Higher Knowledge by Bruce Moore - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 01:39 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Babaji! Jaya Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Srila Bhaktivinoda, Sri Sri Nitai-Gaura Bhakta Vrnda and Sri Sri Radha-Krishna! I can not speak for everyone, but I have been waiting for the new year with such anticipation with the hopes that you, Gurudeva would establish the University this year. So, I'm so glad, and I have been working hard for the past 6 months studying the Bhagavad-gita. The laughable situation of this new blessing is that I have the website established on my bookmark as the forum, and so it keep coming up that the site was not found. Funny! Well, such is life. Hare Rama Bruce Re: University of Higher Knowledge by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 02:04 PM Dear Bruce, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, we are going to systematize the study of the scriptures, beginning with Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Bhagavad-gītā and so on. The standard will be high, even higher than Śrīla Prabhupāda's original plan: To: All Governing Body Commissioners Re: Examinations for awarding titles of Bhakti-sastri, Bhakti-vaibhava, Bhaktivedanta and Bhakti-sarvabhauma. Your response is requested immediately by Srila Prabhupada. Dear Prabhus, Please accept my most humble obeisances. Srila Prabhupada has requested me to write you in regard to the above examinations which he wishes to institute. Here in India many persons often criticize our sannyasis and brahmanas as being unqualified due to insufficient knowledge of the scriptures. Factually, there are numerous instances when our sannyasis and brahmanas have fallen down often due to insufficient understanding of the philosophy. This should not be a point of criticism nor a reason for falldown, since Srila Prabhupada has mercifully made the most essential scriptures available to us in his books. The problem is that not all the devotees are carefully studying the books, the result being a fall down or at least unsteadiness. His Divine Grace therefore wishes to institute examinations to be given to all prospective candidates for sannyasa and brahmana initiation. In addition he wishes that all present sannyasis and brahmanas also pass the examination. Awarding of these titles will be based upon the following books: Bhakti-sastri - Bhagavad-gita, Nectar of Devotion, Nectar of Instruction, Isopanisad, Easy Journey To Other Planets, and all other small paperbacks, as well as Arcana-paddhati (a book to be compiled by Nitai Prabhu based on Hari-bhakti-vilasa on Deity worship) Bhakti-vaibhava - All of the above plus the first six cantos of Srimad-Bhagavatam Bhaktivedanta - All of the above plus cantos 7 through 12 of Srimad-Bhagavatam Bhakti-sarvabhauma - All the above plus the entire Caitanya-caritamrta Anyone wishing to be initiated as a brahmana will have to pass the Bhaktisastri exam and anyone wishing to take sannyasa will have to pass the Bhaktivaibhava examination as well. This will prevent our Society from degrading to the level of so many other institutions where, in order to maintain the Temple, they accept all third class men as brahmanas. Any sannyasis or brahmanas already initiated who fail to pass the exams will be considered low class or less qualified. Anyone wishing to be 2nd initiated will sit for examination once a year at Mayapur. Answers will be in essay form and authoritative quotations will be given a bigger score. During the exams books may not be consulted. Srila Prabhupada wishes to begin this program at this year's Mayapur meeting. He requests that you all send your opinions and comments here immediately so that everything may be prepared in time. Hoping this meets you in the best of health and Krsna Consciousness. [letter of 1/6/76] So Śrīla Prabhupāda also established his plan for a spiritual university in January. I think it's a great way to start off the New Year, and get ready to produce lots of qualified disciples for the pleasure of His Divine Grace. love, Baba Re: University of Higher Knowledge by Devesh Pant - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 11:29 PM Respected Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisansces. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! While chanting today, Kānāi's beautiful art work was in my mind and somehow the word "Setu" which also means bridge in Sanskrit, came to my  mind and I thought I would suggest you to have the word Setu somehow be used to the name of the University if possible. with warm regards Devesh   Re: University of Higher Knowledge by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 4 January 2009, 07:42 AM Dear Devesh, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The name should have meaning for the local people; therefore our community in Chile is called El Puente. When we establish our branch in Bhārata then we can call it Setu-bandha Vedic University after Hanuman. love, Baba Re: University of Higher Knowledge by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 5 January 2009, 11:21 AM Dear Bruce, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Neville and I are already hard at work on the Bhakta Degree Program. Soon we will publish the course and everyone who wants can take it. We highly recommend this course for all our students. All of our disciples here at the āśram will be required to pass it. The Bhakta degree is a prerequisite for initiation and Bridge Community membership. love, Baba Re: University of Higher Knowledge by Jennifer Lawrence - Monday, 5 January 2009, 11:47 AM Dear Babji: Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Babaji! Thank you so much for continuing to expand the teachings to those of us far away. My family and I have been working on chanting consistently. Even our boys, age 8 and 5 are chanting daily. My husband and I have been reading the Sri Isopanisads, so I am very excited about a course being developed. I cannot thank everyone enough for all the contributions to this site and the ever increasing sense of hope it brings. With graditude, Jennifer Re: University of Higher Knowledge by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 5 January 2009, 12:27 PM Dear Jennifer, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Good to hear that you and your family are chanting regularly. That is the most powerful secret of spiritual success. But study is also important, or how do we know why we are chanting or who we are chanting to? Śrī Īśopaniṣad is a good place to start. Thanks for your interest in the Esoteric Teaching Bhakta Degree Program. This is the first step on the path to becoming a pure devotee of the Lord. The Bhakta Degree Program consists of the following courses: Introduction/Orientation How to Study Chanting and Regulative Principles Beginning Sanskrit Pronunciation Cooking and Offering Praṣādam Śrī Īśopaniṣad How to Live as a Devotee in the Material World Temple Songs and Mantras Kṛṣṇa Book, Part 1: Braja-līlā The Esoteric Teaching Bridge Community Final Examination These cover the basic skills you need to be a devotee, a student of the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas and a member of the Bridge Community. Each course will contain at least one video or podcast, links to reading material, exercises and questions to demonstrate your mastery of the material. Real mastery of a subject means the ability to apply it in a variety of circumstances. So the actual goal of this course is that you are able to apply the principles and practices of bhakti-yoga in your everyday life. love, Baba Re: University of Higher Knowledge by Michael Jones - Monday, 5 January 2009, 04:36 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. This looks awesome, I look forward to studying for this degree. I will be finishing my material degree soon and it will be great to get studying for a degree that actually matters. The courses look interesting, and I can't wait for the cooking/offering Praṣādam. Judging from your previous videos, that section is going to be delicious, at least the application of it in a variety of circumstances . I made the pasta source you posted recently and it was very tasty. Love Mike Re: University of Higher Knowledge by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 5 January 2009, 05:12 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks, you are one of our good students, your homework and other contributions have been very valuable. We will include those cooking videos, and several others we have planned. As time goes on we will add more and more, but you will always have access to the course. The videos will also be available on YouTube to help promote the course. What do you think an appropriate donation would be? love, Baba Re: University of Higher Knowledge by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 02:34 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you for your encouragement, I hope I am able to continue to meet your standards. This time last year I had not even heard of the Vedas so you have been a great teacher; I can't thank you enough. I do not feel qualified to answer that question but I will try and give my two cents. I think it is great that the videos will be free for everybody as it is important that anybody who wants access to the knowledge can have it, but also agree that donations are important. You, Neville, and the other devotees are putting a lot of hard work into making this possible. Further, it helps instills the importance of donating to devotees (even though this donation isn't charity as we are receiving something of great value). Maybe something could be added into the course about the importance of karma yoga/charity/donating to a worthy cause? Tuition for a "good" university/college course is usually between $900 and $1500. This degree is obviously worth a lot more than they are (especially as it is more than one course) but other factors have to be taken into consideration. I am thinking that somewhere between $250 and $1000 would be the right amount for a minimum donation. If it is set too high, many people won't bother to get it and one would assume that those who value it just because it is a very high price are the wrong people for the course. Further, many sincere people are going to have trouble paying for the course, especially because of the financial meltdown and so it shouldn't alienate those who cannot afford it, but are willing to put the time in to study. If the price is in the higher region, an idea might be to give some people a reduction. For example, if the material is free, people can get online and study independently. But then to get the certificate (as well as the benefit of personalized feedback) they must have donated the required amount. If, however, someone really cannot afford to donate that amount (maybe they have many children to support), they can contact you and you can decide on a case by case basis to waive the fee or reduce the amount if they are sincere. To avoid rascals trying to get this reduction when actually they can acquire the required funds, maybe a promise is made whereby the student can pay at a later date when they are able to (and maybe they promise to chant/listen to Sri Visnusahasranama daily until then). If somebody does not keep this promise, not only will they face the karmic reactions but they will not be able to join the physical community, nor get any further degree, so they will have only hurt themselves. It is unlikely that many people who have become eligible for the degree will try to get the donation reduced though, unless they are truly in financial hardship, so these measures may not need to be taken. Also, maybe as an incentive, the donation also goes towards a futures contract. So lets say the fee is $500, then that will be taken off of the price of a futures contract when the student is able to donate the required amount to join the physical community. I've never had any experience in setting a price, never mind something of this caliber, so I may be way off the mark. I hope this is useful nonetheless. I look forward to getting started in this degree, thank you for providing this opportunity. Love Mike Re: University of Higher Knowledge by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 03:28 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for your sensible analysis. We are and will be putting a lot of work into the course and monitoring the students. I think around US$500 is a reasonable donation for the course. It represents a lot of value. By June we should have a US Federal tax exemption and the entire amount will be deductible. I also think that making donations count towards a Bridge Community share is a great idea in general. Conversely, those who have already contributed a share should get lifetime free tuition. Those who have financial hardship can make an affordable weekly donation, and their continued enrollment can be contingent upon keeping their agreement. What do the other devotees think of this? love, Baba reply from Chenna Krishna (AVR) by sri guru - Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 04:56 PM All glories to Srila Prabhupada and obeisances to Srila Madhavacharya, Pranadeva, SriHari Just enjoying reading the level of education that the University is offering. Probably the first and most unique that Srila Prabhupada would have loved to have started in the 70s. Most Indians today do not care or understand...they are by birth from Punya-Bhoomi but live without even a basic understanding of Gayatri and Harinama The Brahmana-Varna is very sublime by its qualities what to say of higher levels. This is just great work. Once the knowledge of offerings and the sublime quality is understood, the demand will have only one way to go...up and higher. HariBol! Chenna(AVR) Re: reply from Chenna Krishna (AVR) by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 06:48 PM Dear Chenna, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for your appreciation and encouragement. The world has needed a spiritual educational institution like this for a long time. We have had the knowledge for some time now; understanding how to structure it properly has been the problem. The key insight was the relationship between the Vedic social structure and economics on one hand, and the varṇas (Śūdra, Vaiśya, etc.) occupational duties and the spiritual levels (Bhakta, Bhakti-śāstrī etc.) on the other. This insight came out of the socioeconomic theory we developed for our Bridge Community. So just as we have always maintained, the Vedic spiritual knowledge acquires its proper meaning in the context of the Vedic social community. Now the material is flowing, the courses are coming together and the programs will be established very quickly. love, Baba How the City Hurts Your Brain by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 12:34 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Interesting article, but does it really require 'scientific research' to figure that out? love, Baba The Impossible Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Monday, 15 December 2008, 05:12 PM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa!  All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!  Please accept my very humble obesiances.  Jaya Bābājī! In yesterdays sunday satsang, Bābājī gives us our first official homework assignment!  If you are reading this, then do the homework!  Don't be an esoteric benchwarmer.  Ok, so now I will post the instructions for the assignment.  By doing this, we can see how many students are actively participating in the sunday satsang program in the manner of feedback.  Anyone that turns in their assignment gets a big glittering star sticker.  In the spirit of John Taylor Gattos teaching methods, you will not recieve a numerical or letter grade.   To sucessfully complete this assignment, you will need access to a good English dictionary and a Sanscrit dictionary: [ http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ ] Impossible Homework Assignment #1 Due: Saturday Dec 20 Here are the instructions in sequential order: 1.  Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā.      a)  Write down the verse.      b)  Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanscrit meanings corrolating with one another.  Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanscrit equivalent.  3.  Make an origional, creative, and meaningful sentance with each English word.  This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. 4.  Now read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge.  You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearely defined all the terms. 5.  Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one.    Ask yourself:      a)  Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse?       b)  How do I now understand this verse better?      c)  What is the significant meaning of this verse?    What makes this verse significant?      d)  Why is this specific verse in the Bhagavad-gītā?  Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this?  6.  Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, does this change your view on Bhagavad-gītā?  Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process?  Try and imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-gītā.  Do you think this is possible for you to do?  Why not?  Do you lack patience?  Do you lack motivation? Now that you have finished the assignment, please post your assignment on this link to get credit.  Remember, if you post your work here then not only you can benefit, but others can also.      love, peter Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 15 December 2008, 08:13 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Great idea! Actually it's not impossible at all. Anyone with good intelligence can do it. Now the next thing you need to do is learn how to spell 'Sanskrit.' love, Baba Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Friday, 19 December 2008, 05:33 PM Dear Babaji and everyone, Please accept my very humble obesiances.  All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!  Hare Kṛṣṇa! I just wanted to post my homework assignment.  I wrote the following write-up to encourage everyone to post their homework assignment simply because this will help others learn.  Remember, its not that hard-- just a little english and sanskrit put together.  So, if you are reading this then post your homework assignment because this will help people learn. My homework is on BG 18.54, so lets set the stage.  I will start at BG 18.45 to save space.         .... By following his qualities of work, every man can become perfect. Now please hear from Me how this can be done. By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection. It is better to engage in one’s own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another’s occupation and perform it perfectly. Prescribed duties, according to one’s nature, are never affected by sinful reactions. Every endeavor is covered by some sort of fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work which is born of his nature, O son of Kuntī, even if such work is full of fault. One can obtain the results of renunciation simply by self-control and by becoming unattached to material things and disregarding material enjoyments. That is the highest perfectional stage of renunciation. O son of Kuntī, learn from Me in brief how one can attain to the supreme perfectional stage, Brahman, by acting in the way which I shall now summarize. Being purified by his intelligence and controlling the mind with determination, giving up the objects of sense gratification, being freed from attachment and hatred, one who lives in a secluded place, who eats little and who controls the body and the tongue, and is always in trance and is detached, who is without false ego, false strength, false pride, lust, anger, and who does not accept material things, such a person is certainly elevated to the position of self-realization. One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me. One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God. Though engaged in all kinds of activities, My devotee, under My protection, reaches the eternal and imperishable abode by My grace.         .... 1.   I am doing my homework assignment on Bhagavad-gītā 18.54. a)   Translation: One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me. b)  My first summary of this verse:  When an individual spirit soul realizes his true position, being freed from the three modes of material nature-- sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa-- he then realizes the supreme spirit or the quantum wave function.  Being thus freed from the three modes of material nature, he is freed from from desire, lamentation and illusion.  Being thus freed from material bondage he realizes ahaṁ brahmāsmi, and understands that every living entity including himslef is eternal spirit which can never be destroyed.  In this state he sees everything as spirit, trancends the material matrix, and becomes situated in equanimity.  In this exalted ontological state of consciousness, he is finally able to correctly perform devotional service to Kṛṣṇa with no desire for any 'material' results.  When one becomes trancendentally situted, he enters the spiritual world while still existing in his gross and subtle body, which he realizes is a a spiritual tool.  In this state one realizes that everything is spiritual. 2.  brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā      na śocati na kāṅkṣati      samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu      mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām     brahma-bhūtaḥ—being one with the Absolute     prasanna-ātmā—fully joyful     na—never     śocati—laments     na—never     kāṅkṣati—desires     samaḥ—equally disposed     sarveṣu—all     bhūteṣu—living entity     mat-bhaktim—My devotional service     labhate—gains     parām—transcendental a)   one- (–pronoun)  Any person indefinly; anyone. One may say that Master Yoda says that all is one      who-  used relatively in restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses to represent a specified antecedent, the antecedent being a person or sometimes an animal or personified thing. The garbage man, who is qulaified at driving a garbage truck, honked at me.      is- (–verb)  3rd person.  Who is that person looking through my window?      thus- accordingly; consequently The silver object when thrown into the sky thus resembles a flying disk.      transcendentally- transcendent (transcending the universe, time, etc.; spiritual- eternal, blissful and full of knowledge; beyond the three modes of material nature) surpassing, or superior; spiritual. The great Sages and Rsis were thus trancendentally situated when Lord Brahma appeared before them all.      situated- placed in a particular position or condition, esp. with reference to the possession of money. The car went flying down the road and crashed, which situated the driver in the nearby river.      at-  used to indicate a method or manner.  When meditating on the Supreme Lord, one sometimes feels like they are at a new location.      once- even a single time; at any time; ever. I was lamenting thus so because the Lord of Vaikuntha revealed himself to me only once, and then he disappeared.      realizes- To obtain or achieve, as gain or profit.      When one fully realizes the spiritual world, he never comes back to the temporary material world.      the-  (–definite article)  used to mark a proper noun, natural phenomenon, ship, building, time, point of the compass, branch of endeavor, or field of study as something well-known or unique. The Raksasas chanted the Vedic mantras.      Supreme- highest in rank or authority; paramount; sovereign; chief. These sentences are Supreme nonsense.      Brahman- Indestructible and eternal. When one realizes that he is no better than a tree he is said to have attained the first step in spiritual life, Brahman realization.      and- used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses) along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; also. Krsna and Arjuna had a nice conversation before starting their joyous pastimes.      becomes- To grow or come to be. One becomes sober and wise by studying the Vedas in most cases.      fully- entirely or wholly. It is good to fully immerse yourself in Sankirtan!      joyful- full of joy, as a person or one's heart; glad; delighted.  Showing or expressing joy, as looks, actions, or speech. The joyful followers of Krsna ecstatically hid under Govardhana hill.      He- the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male      never- not at all; absolutely not. I feel like I am living a never ending story.      laments- To express grief for or about; mourn. To regret deeply. Why lament over temporary illusions?      or- used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives. When thirsty, one can drink water or water.      desires- To wish or long for; want.  To express a wish for; request. Spiritual desires will lead one to great gain and fame.      to- used for indicating the indirect object of a verb, for connecting a verb with its complement, or for indicating or limiting the application of an adjective, noun, or pronoun.      have- to hold, possess, or accept in some relation, as of kindred or relative position.      anything- (–noun ) a thing of any kind.      He- the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male.      is- (-verb) 3rd person.       equally- in an equal or identical manner.      disposed- to give a tendency or inclination to; incline.      toward- with a view to obtaining or having; for.      every- all possible; the greatest possible degree of.      living- having life; being alive; not dead.      entity- something that has a real existence.      In- in or into some place, position, state, relation.      that- used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as pointed out or present, mentioned before, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis.      state-  the condition of a person or thing, as with respect to circumstances or attributes.      he- that male.      attains- To arrive at, as by virtue of persistence or the passage of time.      pure- free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter: pure gold; pure water.      devotional- profound dedication; the act of consecrating; dedication to the service and worship of a deity.      service- an act of helpful activity; help; aid: to do someone a service.      unto- to.  In contact with; against: their faces pressed to the windows.   In front of: face to face.      Me-  This is in upper case and refers to the personality speaking, who is Kṛṣṇa himself. b)  brahma-bhūtaḥ—(being one with the Absolute-  The state or quality of having existence, being a single entity, unit, object, or living being   accompanying the Pure, Complete and Perfect in quality and nature.)     prasanna-ātmā—(fully joyful-  entirely or wholly glad and delighted)      na—(never-  not at all; absolutely not.)     śocati—(laments-  To express grief for or about or to mourn )     na—(never-  not at all; absolutely not.)     kāṅkṣati—(desires-  To wish or long for)     samaḥ—(equally disposed-  in an equal or identical manner and to give a tendency or inclination to)     sarveṣu—(all-  representing the entire or total number, amount, or quantity)     bhūteṣu—(living entity-  having life; being alive and something that has a real existence.)     mat-bhaktim—(My devotional service-   Kṛṣṇas profound dedication and helpful activity; help; aid)     labhate—(gains-   To come into possession or use of; acquire)     parām—(transcendental-  spiritual, with the qualities of eternality, blissfullness and full of knowledge.  Beyond the three modes of material nature.)      brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā      na śocati na kāṅkṣati      samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu      mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me. love, peter      Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by Michael Jones - Friday, 19 December 2008, 04:59 PM Dear Babaji, Peter, and All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Here is my homework: 1a) Bhagavad-gītā 3.4 na karmaṇām anārambhān naiṣkarmyaṁ puruṣo ’śnute na ca sannyasanād eva siddhiṁ samadhigacchati na—without; karmaṇām—of the prescribed duties; anārambhāt—non-performance; naiṣkarmyam—freedom from reaction; puruṣah—man; aśnute—achieve; na—nor; ca—also; sannyasanāt—by renunciation; eva—simply; siddhim—success; samadhigacchati—attain. Translation: Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection. 1b) Summary 1: Even if somebody gives up work completely, they will still have reactions, they can not be free from these reactions. If somebody gives up work, this is still an action, namely the action of giving up work. Therefore they will have to face the consequences of these actions, whether the fact that they may not be able to feed themselves or some other unforeseen circumstance that results from not doing work. We all have to work to maintain ourselves. Similarly, even if one renounces all material things, this may not automatically lead to perfection. It may just mean the person has given up the material objects. If they do it for the wrong reasons, without trying to attain perfection, then they will not become perfect. Renunciation is just part of the process, not the complete process. 2/3) Sanskrit: na: not , no , nor , neither, that not, lest, for fear lest karmaṇām: No matches found karman: act, action, performance, business, office, special duty, occupation, obligation, any religious act or rite, work, labour, activity, action consisting in motion, anārambhāt: no matches found anārambha: absence of beginning, non-commencement, not attempting or undertaking naiṣkarmyam: no matches naiṣkarmya: inactivity, abstinence or exemption from acts and their consequences puruṣah: no matches puruṣa: a man, male, human being (pl. people, mankind), a person, (pumān puruṣaḥ, a male person aśnute: no matches aś: to reach, come to, reach, come to, arrive at, get, gain, obtain to master, become master of na: not , no , nor , neither, that not, lest, for fear lest ca: and , both , also , moreover , as well as sannyasanāt: no matches saṃnyasana: throwing down, laying aside, giving up, resignation, renunciation of worldly concerns eva: so, just so, exactly so indeed, truly, really (in its most frequent use of strengthening the idea expressed by any word, eva must be variously rendered by such adverbs as) just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely, immediately on, still, already siddhiṁ: no matches siddhi: accomplishment, performance, fulfilment, complete attainment (of any object), success the hitting of a mark supreme felicity, bliss, beatitude, complete sanctification (by penance &c.), final emancipation, perfection understanding, intellect saṃsiddhi: complete accomplishment or fulfilment, perfection, success perfect state, beatitude, final emancipation the Iast consequence or result fixed or settled opinion, the last or decisive word natural state or quality samadhigacchati: no matches samadhigam: to go towards together, come quite near, approach to acquire. obtain. to go completely over, surpass samadhigata: gone quite near to, approached samadhigatadhigama: thoroughly understanding, perceiving English: Not: adverb 1. (used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition): You will not succeed without this process. By: preposition 13. in consequence, as a result, or on the basis of: You will not attain liberation by twiddling your thumbs Merely: adverb 1. only as specified and nothing more; simply: You cannot run a marathon by merely eating a healthy diet. Abstaining: To refrain from something by one's own choice: I am abstaining from smoking marijuana. From: preposition 3. (used to express removal or separation, as in space, time, or order): I am staying away from demonic people. Work: noun 1. exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil: I have to work to maintain my body. Can: auxiliary verb 1. to be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to: I can chant Govinda with a smile on my face. One: adjective 6. a certain (often used in naming a person otherwise unknown or undescribed): One is able to chant nicely with practice. Achieve: verb (used with object) 2. to get or attain by effort; gain; obtain: I'd like to achieve self-realization Freedom: noun 6. exemption from the presence of anything specified (usually fol. by from): I'd like freedom from this material mind-set. From: preposition 4. (used to express discrimination or distinction): Please free me from this material world Babaji. Reaction: noun 3. action in response to some influence, event, etc: War is likely a reaction to mass cow killing Nor: conjunction (used to continue the force of a negative, as not, no, never, etc., occurring in a preceding clause): I don't eat meat, nor do I want to. By: 13. in consequence, as a result, or on the basis of: I said you will not attain liberation by twiddling your thumbs (stop twiddling). Renunciation: noun an act or instance of relinquishing, abandoning, repudiating, or sacrificing something, as a right, title, person, or ambition: Giving up the material world in mind and body is real renunciation. Alone: adverb 5. only; exclusively: You cannot attain self-realization by reading alone Can: auxiliary verb 1. to be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to: I can understand this stuff if I put the work in. One: adjective 6. a certain (often used in naming a person otherwise unknown or undescribed): One is disturbed when one forgets Krsna. Attain: verb (used with object) 1. to reach, achieve, or accomplish; gain; obtain: Will I attain you Lord? Perfection: noun 2. the highest degree of proficiency, skill, or excellence, as in some art: To see Krsna is to attain the perfection of human life. 5) Summary 2: If one stops any kind of labour, they will still have to face the reactions from this abstaining. Giving up work will not stop reactions, but will create a reaction in itself. Maybe a doctor stops working, but by doing so they may be letting someone die who they could have saved. So even their abstaining from work led to a negative consequence and so the doctor will have to accept the reaction. So if one wants to avoid reactions then they must do more than give up work. Similarly, if somebody wants to achieve perfection or the goal of human life, then they must do more than give up the material world. Renunciation may help in the path to perfection but one must do more than just renounce the world. 5a) Yes b) I could see more deeply why giving up work will still create a reaction. Also, I could understand that perfection cannot be achieved just by renouncing the world, even if perfection is the goal of the renunciation. c) The significant meaning is that a lot more is needed than just renouncing the world. Even if you try to avoid accumulating Karma, you still won't achieve perfection, namely liberation from the material world of actions and consequences. The significance is that more is needed. If somebody wants to attain perfection then they must renounce the world for Krsna. Similarly, because work cannot be avoided, they should work for Krsna. This is true renunciation, as the material conception is renounced even though it seems like one is still using material objects. d) Krsna spoke this verse as Arjuna has asked why he should engage in war if intelligence is better than fruitive work. Krsna is showing Arjuna that avoiding work is not an option if one wants to attain perfection. True intelligence is realizing this and working for Krsna. his verse is in the Gita as Krsna wants to make it clear that renunciation alone is not enough for liberation. Many people are misguided into thinking that just by renouncing the world they will achieve enlightenment (as does Arjuna in his bewildered state). Krsna is setting the record straight. 6) My view has changed as I have realized that a deeper understanding is indeed possible, even from one verse, if it is given deeper contemplation rather than just reading it and moving onto the next verse. I am able to see why Krsna spoke these things, not just that he did speak these things. I enjoyed it, though the sanskrit definitions were quite time consuming due to some words not being recognized. I feel I could do this for the whole Bhagavad-gita although it will take quite a long time (likely years). While I am completing my school work it is unlikely I will find the time everyday, but once I have finished that I intend to try and make time to study one verse a day on a deeper level. In the meantime, I will continue to read with the dictionary at hand. Love Mike Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 19 December 2008, 05:16 PM Dear Peter and Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Very good! Thanks for posting your work. You see, looking up words is not so bad after all, and it leads to deep insight into the meaning of the verse. uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ "A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well." [Bhagavad-gītā 6.5] So if the mind is properly trained to accurately identify the meaning of words and symbols, then it is possible to understand the real meaning of the Vedic Esoteric Teaching. Otherwise, one is speculating and can easily misunderstand. The main reason that we have trouble applying knowledge that we have read is that we do not know the real meanings of the words. Once we learn how to clear definitions, we can teach ourselves anything that we want to know. Of course, the best thing that we can learn is the science of self-realization according to the Esoteric Teaching. This is the solution to all problems and the highest goal of human life. love, Baba Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Saturday, 20 December 2008, 11:30 PM Dear everyone, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my very humble obesiance. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Translation: One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me. Summary #2 When one is placed or located in a spiritual (eternal) atmosphere he at once realizes the Personal aspect of Sri Kṛṣṇa, the supreme all-attractive personality of God.  In this supreme ontological state of existence, one loses all lust, hankering, and false desires that arise from contact with the material senses.  When one actually attains the spiritual platform and starts to develop his internal consciousness, his external consciousness becomes numb, grey, dull, and lacking in significance.  In this exalted state of consciousness, one sees all living entities as equal, much like Lord Siva-- who views all living entities as neither being very good nor very bad.  In this state, one realizes that the living entities are qualitatively identical with the Supreme Lord, but quantitatively different from the Supreme Lord. By attaining this spiritual (eternal) ontology, one is able to directly discharge a unique, important and helpful duty to the Supreme Lord face to face with profound dedication. In conclusion, I have learned much by going through this verse with a fine-tooth comb.  By deeply analyzing the meaning of each word, I am able to extract significant meanings and shades of meanings I was unable to see before. The most significant thing I have noticed deals with the fact that when one attains the state of pure devotional service to the Supreme Lord, he is able to discharge this service personally and directly to the Supreme Lord.  Just imagine offering the Lord something face to face;  This is a very exalted state of consciousness. Another significant meaning that floated to the top of the lotus pond is the fact that the service we perform for the Supreme Lord is not mundane.  By this I mean that the service we directly discharge to Krnsa is important, unique, and needed by Him.  Our direct devotional service to Krsna is not something someone else can do in our place, but something that is unique to our position.  We all have a very unique role in the spiritual world and our service is extremely unique and important.  love, peter Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by David Lugan - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 05:01 AM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you Bābājī for this assignment. "O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me--the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute." Bhagavad-gita 7.16 O   Used before a name in direct address.  O people of America, please learn the truth. best   of the highest quality, excellence, or standing  We have the best software in the world. among   In, into, or through the midst of; in association or connection with; surrounded by.  He was among those chosen for the group. the   Used especially before a noun with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an  The house was built well. Bharatas   Descendants of Bharata. Arjuna was a Bharata. four   A set of this many persons or things.  I have four close friends. kinds   A group of individuals or instances sharing common traits; a category or sort: different kinds of furniture; a new kind of politics.  I have four kinds of bread in the kitchen. of   Used to indicate qualities or attributes.  They were one of the wise man. pious   Having or showing a dutiful spirit of reverence for  God or an earnest wish to fulfill religious obligation.  The monks on the hill were pious. men   The human individual as representing the species.  For the good of all men we will teach the truth. render   To do.  We render computer services in our area. devotional   Relating to worship.  I give devotional service to the Creator. service   An act of helpful activity.  I service our customers needs. unto   To.  I give unto you the key to the door. me   The objective case of I, used as a direct or indirect object.  Me and Karen went out. the   used especially before a noun with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an  The house was built well. distressed   Affected with or suffering from distress.  The woman seemed distressed about her car not starting. the   used especially before a noun with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an  The house was built well. desirer   One who wishes for or longs for.  She was the desirer of my body. of   Used to indicate qualities or attributes.  They were of Indian descent. wealth   A great quantity or store of money.  He was a man who was focused on increasing his wealth. the   used especially before a noun with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an  The house was built well. inquisitive   Given to inquiry, research, or asking questions.  The medical student was inquisitive during the lecture. and   Used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses.  The blue car and green house did not look good together. he   Anyone (without reference to sex).  He who takes care of himself will tend to have better health. who   Used relatively in restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses to represent a specified antecedent, the antecedent being a person or sometimes an animal or personified thing.  The man who was wearing a white jacket is the employee. is   Origin.  She is cool. searching   Examining closely or thoroughly.  I am searching for my paper. for   Used to indicate  the object, aim, or purpose of an action or activity.  I am doing this for the Creator. knowledge   The state or fact of knowing.  I would like to increase my knowledge of the scriptures. of   Used to indicate material, component parts, substance, or contents.  This  Toyota is one of the best cars I have seen. the   Used especially before a noun with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an  The house was built well. Absolute   Free from imperfection; complete; perfect.  I seek the Absolute Truth. Next time I will include the Sanskrit terms. This is a useful process for understanding and recalling the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Love, David Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by Neville Clemens - Wednesday, 24 December 2008, 08:22 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is my submission. nirmāna-mohā jita-saṅga-doṣā adhyātma-nityā vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukha-duḥkha-saṁjñair gacchanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaṁ tat One who is free from illusion, false prestige, and false association, who understands the eternal, who is done with material lust and is freed from the duality of happiness and distress, and who knows how to surrender unto the Supreme Person, attains to that eternal kingdom. [Bhagavad-gita 15.5] PURPORT The surrendering process is described here very nicely. The first qualification is that one should not be deluded by pride. Because the conditioned soul is puffed up, thinking himself the lord of material nature, it is very difficult for him to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should know by the cultivation of real knowledge that he is not lord of material nature; the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Lord. When one is free from delusion caused by pride, he can begin the process of surrender. For one who is always expecting some honor in this material world, it is not possible to surrender to the Supreme Person. Pride is due to illusion, for although one comes here, stays for a brief time and then goes away, he has the foolish notion that he is the lord of the world. He thus makes all things complicated, and he is always in trouble. The whole world moves under this impression. People are considering that the land, this earth, belongs to human society, and they have divided the land under the false impression that they are the proprietors. One has to get out of this false notion that human society is the proprietor of this world. When one is freed from such a false notion, he becomes free from all the false associations caused by familial, social, and national affections. These fake associations bind one to this material world. After this stage, one has to develop spiritual knowledge. One has to cultivate knowledge of what is actually his own and what is actually not his own. And, when one has an understanding of things as they are, he becomes free from all dual conceptions such as happiness and distress, pleasure and pain. He becomes full in knowledge; then it is possible for him to surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. =============================== Now we'll take the sanskrit and look at it very carefully. In the right-most column I have also typed out the words in the format that can be used to query this sanskrit dictionary. (They call this format the HK format, though I'm not sure yet what that stands for.) Sanskrit Word Bhagavad-Gita As It Is translation Other dictionary meanings nir-māna without-respect (later edited to "without false prestige") (nirmAna) without: self-conceit , arrogance , pride moha illusion (moha) loss of consciousness , bewilderment , perplexity , distraction , infatuation , delusion , error , folly jita having conquered (jita) won , acquired , conquered , subdued; given up , discontinued saṅga association (saGga) sticking , clinging to , touch , contact with; relation to , association or intercourse with; addiction or devotion to , propensity for doṣāḥ faulty (as a noun - doSa) fault , vice , deficiency , want , inconvenience , disadvantage; damage , harm , bad consequence , detrimental effect adhyātma spiritual (adhyAtma)the Supreme Spirit; own, belonging to the self nityāḥ eternity (as adj - nitya) continual , perpetual , eternal vinivṛtta associated (later edited to "disassociated") (vinivRtta)turned back , returned , retired , withdrawn; turned away or averted or adverse from; freed from; desisting from, having abandoned or given up, disappeared , ended , ceased to be kāmāḥ lusts (as a noun - kAma) wish , desire , longing; love , especially sexual love or sensuality; pleasure , enjoyment dvandvaiḥ with duality -could not find - vimuktāḥ liberated unloosed , unharnessed; set free , liberated (esp. from mundane existence) , freed or delivered or escaped from sukha-duḥkha happiness and distress saṁjñaiḥ named a name , appellation , title , technical term; to know well , understand; (many other meanings too) gacchanti attains -not found- amūḍhāḥ unbewildered not infatuated , not perplexed padam situation a footing , standpoint; position rank station , site , abode , home; avyayam eternal not liable to change , imperishable , undecaying tat that for Now that's interesting. The literal Sanskrit doesn't have any mention of surrender - yet Prabhupada adds in the phrase "knows how to surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Some people will look at this and make accusations of interpolation, but the intelligent will this phrase that Prabhupada adds binds the parts of the words together in a final summation; that all these aspects spoken of here - freedom from illusion, false pride, conquering bad association etc etc they all contribute to giving a person a clear understanding of how to surrender. This is not an adulteration of the spirit of the Gita, but an enhancement of it. The value of seeing the Gita like this through the eyes of a pure devotee is immense. ============================== Below are the english meanings: One: any person indefinitely; anyone: as good as one would desire. One who lives in a glass house must not throw stones who: the person that or any person that is : To have or show a specified quality or characteristic. He is determined. free (from): exempt or released from something specified that controls, restrains, burdens, etc. (usually fol. by from or of). He is free from the pain of his past illusion: something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.The illusion of permanency is strong false: based on mistaken, erroneous, or inconsistent impressions, ideas, or facts . My estimate was false. prestige: Widely recognized prominence, distinction, or importance. He has a lot of prestige in this organization. association: a social or business relationship. The associations I maintain keep me out of trouble understands: to be thoroughly familiar with; apprehend clearly the character, nature, or subtleties of. He understood the proof the:used to mark a proper noun. The King of Bharat eternal: Metaphysics. existing outside all relations of time; not subject to change. Is time itself eternal? done with: to break off relations or connections with; stop. I am done with the hollow nature of corporate employment material: pertaining to or characterized by an undue interest in corporeal things; unspiritual. He was distracted by the material considerations of maintaining a family lust: a passionate or overmastering desire or craving. He gave in to his lust duality:being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses. The duality of american politics is ridiculous of: used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category. The power of love happiness : An agreeable feeling or condition of the soul arising from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind; the possession of those circumstances or that state of being which is attended enjoyment; My happiness knew no bounds distress: great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering; affliction; trouble. He was inconsolable in his distress knows: To have a practical understanding of, as through experience I know how to tie my shoelaces how: in what way or manner; by what means to: Used before a verb to indicate the infinitive It is good to exercise surrender: to give oneself up, as into the power of another; submit or yield. Surrender to God unto:To; -- now used only in antiquated, formal, or scriptural style. Supreme: highest in excellence or achievement; greatest in status or authority or power. His mastery of the piano was supreme Person: an individual of distinction or importance. He is a person of strong character attains to: To arrive at, as by virtue of persistence or the passage of time. Of all animals, the cat alone attains to the contemplative life. that: used to indicate a person, place, thing, or degree as indicated, mentioned before. Yes, that is what I meant. kingdom: A realm or sphere in which one thing is dominant The kingdom of God ============================== Prabhupada's purport is, as usual, packed with meaning in every sentence. I spent a good deal of time reading it several times - even aloud - to let it sink in. Sometimes it seems like there are so many verses in the Gita that contain the whole Gita; like some kind of fractal work. In this exercise I enjoyed the sanskrit dictionary lookups. It made me more familiar with the language and by the end of it I knew the Sanskrit verse by memory. It's also interesting to see the different connotations of the various sanskrit words - here I have only mentioned those that were most related to Prabhupada's translation. I didn't find the english lookup as helpful an exercise for this verse. But just the act of pausing at each word and dwelling upon it for a while has an effect of really giving a lot of attention to what's in there. That manner of reading is a very different experience than casually skimming over it. I also used this method while studying the purport - and it has similar effects. Why is Krsna saying this to Arjuna? Well all these characteristics are directly pertinent to Arjuna's situation on the battlefield. He is bewildered, in illusion, has some false ideas of his position, is overcome by the dualities of happiness and distress and maintains false association of family and so on. So they are directly aimed at those knots, cutting them to pieces. Of course, many of us also have these same knots and if we take this as Krsna speaking directly to us then we know exactly where those knots are. Ditto with Prabhupada's purport. I have only recently started this careful study of the Bhagavad-Gita, and I am finding it very very helpful. It's almost like I'm reading a new book! And now I am taking each verse and linking it to my current situation, my current problems and looking at things in that perspective. Krsna is my shrink . The advice may not always be palatable, but if I dwell on it this closely I begin to appreciate the transcendental, timeless dimension of this philosophy. Love, Neville Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 25 December 2008, 09:06 AM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is my submission. 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ SYNONYMS ye—all who; yathā—as; mām—unto Me; prapadyante—surrender; tān—them; tathā—so; eva—certainly; bhajāmi—reward; aham—I; mama—My; vartma—path; anuvartante—follow; manuṣyāḥ—all men; pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; sarvaśaḥ—in all respects. TRANSLATION As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā. (Bg4.11) b) Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. Those souls who realize their true position, who know that serving God is their rightful place, depending on how much they surrender and serve God, He repays them based on the quality of their service. Even those souls who yet don't know who or what they are, are still living in accordance to Gods laws even if they are playing God themselves and lording it over the material world they are still bound by the ties of karma and will have to live out their choices in the next life and the next and so on until they find the truth of who they are and what their purpose is. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each English word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. • ye—all who • yathā: as, for instance, namely (also tad yathā, 'as here follows') • mām unto Me • prapadyante— prapad— to fall or drop down from (abl.) , throw one's self down (at a person's feet) • tān—them • tathā—so • eva indeed, truly, really (often at the beginning of a verse in conjunction with other particles, as id, hi) RV.(in its most frequent use of strengthening the idea expressed by any word, eva must be variously rendered by such adverbs as) just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely, immediately on, still, already, &c. (e.g. tvam eva yantā nânyo'sti pṛthivyām, thou alone art a charioteer, no other is on earth, i. e. thou art the best charioteer • bhajāmi —reward • aham—I • mama—My • vartma—path • anuvartante—follow •manuṣyāḥ—all men • pārtha—O son of Pṛthā • sarvaśaḥ—in all respects As— since; because: As you are leaving last, please turn out the lights. all — the whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively): all students. surrender — to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress: to surrender the fort to the enemy; to surrender the stolen goods to the police. unto— to (in its various uses, except as the accompaniment of the infinitive). Me, the objective case of I, used as a direct or indirect object: I— the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. reward — something given or received in return or recompense for service, merit, hardship, etc. them — the objective case of they, used as a direct or indirect object: accordingly— in accordance; correspondingly . Everyone — every person; everybody follows — To come or go after; proceed behind: My —(a form of the possessive case of I used as an attributive adjective) path — a course of action, conduct, or procedure: the path of righteousness. in — (used to indicate inclusion within something abstract or immaterial): all — the greatest possible (used in referring to quality or degree) respects — a particular, detail, or point (usually prec. by in) O — (used before a name in direct address, esp. in solemn or poetic language, to lend earnestness to an appeal) son — a male child or person in relation to his parents of — (used to indicate derivation, origin, or source) Pṛthā.— Arjuna's Mother's name. Kṛṣṇa s aunt. 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. As— As I chant Krsnas name I feel very happy and content. all — All the devotees gather to take prashadam surrender — It's so easy just surrender to Kṛṣṇa and He will take care of you. unto— I offer my all respects unto all Vaisnavas Me — Some day Krsna will come to me and that day will be the happiest moment of my life. I— I Love Kṛṣṇa. reward — Kṛṣṇa will reward you if you serve his devotees nicely. them — I love the devotees All of them. accordingly— Kṛṣṇa Loves us and due to our service to Him and the devotes He shows us more love accordingly. Everyone — Everyone should Love Kṛṣṇa. follows — One who follows the path of Bhakti is surly to find their way back to Kṛṣṇa. My — My goodness that was a lovely Kirtan. path — The path of Bhakti is narrow and has many pitfalls. in — in the past I was a blind rascal now Ive changed my direction and I'm bathing in light. all — Chant the Holy name that's all you have to do. respects — I offer my respects unto Babaji he has removed the blinker that prevented me from seeing the truth. Jaya Babaji. O —O Krsna O Krsna O Krsna O Krsna O Krsna O Krsna where are you???? O Krsna O Krsna O Krsna son —I thought I was the son of Pat Ryan now I know that no one belongs to anyone except Lord Kṛṣṇa. of — Oh Devotee of Kṛṣṇa I off you my humble obeisances. Pṛthā.— The son of Pṛthā loves Kṛṣṇa 4. Now read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. check 5. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Let me see. Everyone follows Kṛṣṇa s path even the rascals. There is no escaping who we are. Kṛṣṇa made us and he knows us very well. Just because you can't see Him doesn't mean that He isn't there. So even those who think they are God are still following Kṛṣṇas path. And if and when you surrender to Kṛṣṇa He will reward them with His Love and the more they surrender the more love they will feel.You take one step Kṛṣṇa takes ten. Next Time I should pick a longer verse verse. I think what strikes me is that everyone is on the path, Kṛṣṇa is the doer. The Evil, the nasty, the sick minded are all wanting to do their evil deeds and Kṛṣṇa allows them to do it, He's actually doing it for them and for a neophyte this is a very difficult idea to understand Why would Kṛṣṇa allow people to do these things? because they are on this planet to learn from their mistakes, and suffer the consequences of their misguided actions. They can do what they want down here, it's up to them, Kṛṣṇa doesn't want to force anyone to do anything He wants us to surrender of our own free will this surrender is much sweeter that if we are made to surrender. The idea of surrendering does not appeal to Materialists but if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa you get more than you could ever dream of. Ask yourself: a) Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? It took a while but after three days it soaked in, I was talking to Andrej and he was telling me that it was like an iceberg on the surface it's big and impressive but once you go a bit deeper it bigger than you could ever imagine and it part of other icebergs you can see on the surface they are all connected. I thought I went deeper but still couldn't see the connections this morning after chanting and reading Neille's post and pondering on Andrej's words I think my head just submerged it's self into the water and I can see the bigger formation. Phew I thought I was broken. b) How do I now understand this verse better? Much Better. Kṛṣṇa is very subtle, the mind reads the verse and says “yeah yeah I know it I know it, next”. It wants to press on, it wants to keep moving, what's around the next bend in the road? but the real secret is not to rush, to take more time than you think necessary. What are you rushing for? this is eternal, you will never get to the end of it so why rush? just savor and relish the verses the experiences the knowledge that is stored inside them. Do a little scratching and you will start to notice things you didn't notice and before you know it your scratching will turn the digging and all the treasures will be found. c) What is the significant meaning of this verse? What makes this verse significant? That the more you surrender the more you get, the idea of surrender in the material world means to give up something to loose something, but if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa you get something, something very wonderful. He preserved what we have and carries what we lack. d) Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? Arjuna wanted to know what he should do he wanted guidance and Kṛṣṇa told him just to do what He asks, surrender unto Him and win or loose you win, if your surrendered to Kṛṣṇa and do as he asks then everything will go nicely. 6. Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, does this change your view on Bhagavad-gītā? Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? Try and imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Do you think this is possible for you to do? Why not? Do you lack patience? Do you lack motivation? I was very frustrated with looking up the Sanskrit words. The dictionary isn't or didn't seem to be is alphabetical order but I now realize that is is in Order, Sanskrit alphabetical order . Could I do it for the whole gītā? I have to! no question of could I see myself do it, I have to. If I were back in Ireland surrounded by rascals this project would be great to do, I could throw myself in to it big time. But here with the increase of chanting and on going projects, I am always engaged and could not apply my self as deeply to the project as would have liked. I know that this is the way to really learn and when I do it 100% I want to do it with pen and paper these computer are way too easy. Copy and Paste just not the same and look and write. Hare Kṛṣṇa With Love Kānāi Dāsa. Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by Carl Clemens - Thursday, 25 December 2008, 02:06 PM Dear Babaji and Peter, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Here is my submission - I choose the first verse quoted in Prabhupada's Introduction. Bhagavad-gita 4.1 -  imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt Translation: "I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku." 1. Meaning on first reading: The Lord is explaining to Arjuna the descent of the Bhagavad-gita, through parampara. He states that this is a science, it is imperishable, and it is about yoga. He names three important personalities through whom this science descended to humanity in this cycle of time: Vivasvan, Manu, and Iksvaku. Vivasvan is the sun-god. Manu is the father of mankind. Iksvaku is the first enlightened king with whom the spiritual welfare of mankind was entrusted by the Lord. 2. Sanskrit word lookup: imam - declined from " idam "; this , this here , referring to something near the speaker; known , present. vivasvate - unto Vivasvan, the sun-god. vivasvan - One who administers the ability to shine forth, dawn, illumine. Also, one who administers a change of abode, clothes, etc. yogam - Declined from yoga, the science of one's relationship to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. proktavan - from pra + vac; was spoken to, in front of; was instructed. aham - I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; according to Madhvacarya, it is related to aheyam , that which is ontologically indispensable to the existence of other things. avyayam - imperishable, immutable, not liable to decay and loss; opposite of vyaya , from vi + aya , not going, not turning, or going wrong, wrong turning. manave - unto Manu, the father of mankind. Manu - thinking, wise, intelligent; Vedic name for the father of mankind; the Man par excellence; the first to have instituted religious sacrifices and ceremonies; used in Veda as being opposed to evil spirits. praha - from pra + aha ; to cast forward a command; to say or interject forcefully; aha is a particle implying reproof, so praha is severe reproof. iksvakave - unto Iksvaku, first king of the solar dynasty in Ayodhya, a son of Manu. abravit - past of bru ; when used with the genitive or locative case for the hearer, it means to tell or relate anything to. 3. English translation word lookup, and usage in sentences - I - (1) the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself; I am not the sofa ; (2) special usage in Metaphysics: the self, the ego. instruct - (1) to furnish with orders or directions; direct; order; command ; to furnish with information; inform (see below); apprise; (2) different in meaning from "educate" (see next); Derivation - < late ME < L instructus ptp. of instruere to equip, train, set in order, equiv. to in + struc- (var. s. of struere to put together). The Guru instructed the students in how to study a subject. educate - from L. educatus, pp. of educare "bring up, rear, educate," which is related to educere "bring out," from ex - "out" + ducere "to lead". It is better to educate oneself out of lust, rather than repress it. inform – (1) to give or impart knowledge of a fact or circumstance to: He informed them of his arrival; (2 ) to give evident substance, character, or distinction to; pervade or permeate with manifest effect: A love of nature informed his writing; (3 ) to animate or inspire; Derivation - ME informen < L infōrmāre to form, shape this - used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as present, near, just mentioned or pointed out, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis. Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is to be understood. imperishable - not subject to decay; indestructible; enduring; Derivation of perish - < ME perissen < OF periss-, long s. of perir < L perīre to perish, lit., go through, spend fully. Nothing material is imperishable. science - Derivation - prp. of scīre, to know; systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation. According to Korzybski, psycho-mathematical systematization of knowledge helps in learning, but science must continue to break through its current abstractions. of - (1) used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category: the city of Chicago; thoughts of love; (2) used to indicate material, component parts, substance, or contents: a dress of silk; an apartment of three rooms; a book of poems; (3) used to indicate possession, connection, or association: the king of France; the property of the church yoga - union of the self with the Supreme Being or ultimate principle. Yoga means religion. to - (1) used for expressing direction or motion or direction toward something, in the direction of; toward: from north to south; (2) used for expressing contact or contiguity: on; against; beside; upon: a right uppercut to the jaw; Apply varnish to the surface; (3) used for expressing aim, purpose, or intention: going to the rescue; (4) used for expressing a resulting state or condition): He tore it to pieces the - used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. The president of the US. sun - the star that is the central body of the solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat; Derivation note - One of the Sanskrit verses for sun is sūnu , which means one who urges or incites; also one who extracts the juice from something, especially the soma juice. There is only one celestial sun. god - (1) ( lowercase ) one of several deities, esp. a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs: t he god of wind and rain. (2) ( often lowercase ) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the god of mercy. Derivation note - related to Sanskrit huta , one to whom a sacrifice is offered. it - used to represent a concept or abstract idea understood or previously stated: It all started with Adam and Eve. He has been taught to believe it all his life. father - (1) any male ancestor, esp. the founder of a race, family, or line; progenitor; Babur is the father of all Indian Moghul emperors. (2) a man who exercises paternal care over other persons; paternal protector or provider; The Guru is a father to his disciples. (3) a person who has originated or established something: the father of modern psychology; (4) a precursor, prototype, or early form: The horseless carriage was the father of the modern automobile; (5) a priest; He confessed his sins to father Pius. (6) special usage in Theology: the Supreme Being and Creator; God. Krsna is the seed-giving father of all living entities. and - (1) along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; moreover; He had rice and dahl. (2) then, subsequently in time; He bathed and sat down for japa. (3) also, at the same time; He bathed and chanted a prayer to cleanse himself internally. (4) used to introduce a consequence or conditional result: He felt sick and decided to lie down for a while. Say one more word about it and I'll scream. in turn - "in" used adverbially; having the turn to play, as in a game. 4. Meaning on second reading: The Lord is describing the nature of the Bhagavad-gita and its descent to mankind. Krsna defines the content of the Bhagavad-gita as not being subject to decay or distortion. It is a science by nature, a science of yoga. Yoga is the process of realizing one’s relationship with the Supreme Being. Therefore the Bhagavad-gita is the knowledge of how to know things existing, and their inter-relationships. This knowledge is gained scientifically, i.e., by study, experiment and successive systematizations. Krsna says that He Himself ordered and informed Vivasvan with the Bhagavad-gita by His own direct speech. Sriman Vivasvan is the cosmological sun-god, who administers the dawning and illumination of things existing, the incitement of transformations in them, and the abtraction of their juice. In turn, Vivasvan injected this command into Manu, probably with a spirit of reproof and warning about deviation and its consequences. Vivasvan was shaped (informed) by the Lord’s direct speech, but Manu was commanded it in a spirit of reproof and warning by Vivasvan. So Manu’s will was somewhat independent and liable to err. Manu is the progenitor of mankind. He is the archetype of the perfect human being. He is differentiated by his ability to think and have wisdom. He is directly in touch with the demigods, and distinct from evil spirits. Therefore he is qualified for priesthood. Because he cares as a father for all humankind, he institutes sacrifices, religious ceremonies and codes of living. In turn, Sriman Manu related the Bhagavad-gita to a chosen son, Iksvaku. Iksvaku is the first king of the Solar Dynasty in Ayodhya, and a son of Manu. He is also the forefather of the subsequent Raghu dynasty. The Supreme Lord Himself once descended as a king in the Raghu dynasty, as Sri Ramacandra. This was in the Treta yuga. This was a direct benediction and approval for this dynasty at that time. While the descent can be traced out cosmologically, it is also true in historical time. In the purport, Srila Prabhupada quotes the Mahabharata to point out that the transmission from Vivasvan to Manu happened in the Treta yuga. This is the second of the four yugas, after the Satya yuga. I was thinking about why it wasn’t given in the Satya-yuga itself. Then when I was reading the introductions written by different acaryas, they all repeated one thing – The Bhagavad-gita is the essence of all four Vedas. Moreover, it is a knowledge by which one can attain the highest spiritual potential, because it gives a way from any of the four purusarthas (dharma, artha, kama and moksa) to realize one’s relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Further, the Bhagavad-gita lays out this knowledge in a way that makes it possible not only for those born with a certain qualification, but even for those without a qualification to read the Vedas directly! This includes sudras, ladies, etc. In the satya-yuga, there was only one varna, and all of them had Vedic qualification. But beginning from the second yuga, Treta, there was a “division bell” by which humanity started unfolding into various lower varnas, until now in Kali-yuga everyone is basically sudra. Therefore, the Bhagavad-gita descended with its amazing grace from the second yuga onwards. 5. Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? Yes. 6. How do I now understand this verse better? By looking deeper into words and their inter-relationships, one finds deeper meaning in the underlying interstices. This does seem time-consuming in the beginning, but very soon one gets automatically “tuned” to the most relevant meaning in any context, and then reading proceeds really fast. I find that to understand any one verse, we have to understand all verses. So, if we can start by devoting a lot of time and energy to studying just one verse, then we find that other things snap into place very fast later on. 7. Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? No, it was absorbing, and many things hanging loosely in my understanding clicked together. This procedure restored the simple joy of reading. Hare Krsna! Yours in service, Carl Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by Devesh Pant - Friday, 26 December 2008, 10:57 AM Respected Babaji and all, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is my submission: 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā.   BG 12.1 evaṁ satata-yuktā ye bhaktās tvāṁ paryupāsate ye cāpy akṣaram avyaktaṁ teṣāṁ ke yoga-vittamāḥ SYNONYMS evam—thus; satata—always; yuktāḥ—engaged; ye—those; bhaktāḥ—devotees; tvām—unto You; paryupāsate—properly worship; ye—those; ca—also; api—again; akṣaram—beyond the senses; avyaktam—unmanifested; teśām—of them; ke—who; yoga-vittamāḥ—the most perfect.   TRANSLATION   Arjuna inquired: Which is considered to be more perfect: those who are properly engaged in Your devotional service, or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?   b) Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning.   Arjuna is asking a question to Lord about the difference in the worship of impersonal Brahman and the worship of the personal form of the Lord himself. There are many kinds of devotees – some who worship Bhagawan and some who claim that the formless god is the ultimate. Here Arjuna by asking the question wants to hear from Kṛṣṇa himself the answer to this question.   1.Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each English word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. evaṁ = in this way , in such a manner, thus satata = constant, perpetual, always  yuktāḥ = occupied with, connected, engaged  ye = those  bhaktāḥ = one who worships,devotees  tvām = unto You  paryupāsate = properly worship, worship perfectly  ye = those  ca = also  api = again  akṣaram = beyond the senses, indestructible  avyaktam = unmanifested  teśām = of them  ke = who  yoga-vittamāḥ = uttam ( better) + yogavetta (knower of yoga)   1.Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned.   thus - The devotees chanted for years in devotion, thus Lord gave them Darśana perpetual - Soul is perpetual, and needs to be understood by a seeker of true knowledge.   connected - A person should be connected to the service of God realization.   those -Those who chant everyday make progress in their journey to God   devotees - All the devotees assembled and had a nice kirtan   unto You - I give unto You my Lord, all that I have.   Worship properly - By worshipping out deities properly, we get the nectar of their grace on us.   those - Those who do not recognize God are loosing their opportunity to get out of their ignorance   also - Not only do we need the knowledge, we also need to engage in the service of God.   again - By chanting again and again we firm up our commitment thus untying the bondages.   indestructible - Our soul is indestructible   unmanifested - We have heard that God is unmanifested, but this word unmanifested needs a lot of thinking to understand it deeply.   them - What can you ask of them who do not understand the love and existence of God   who - I am trying to understand - who am I ?   better - What is better for a person, the material comforts or the path to self realization ?   Knower of yoga – These days we find a lot of people claiming that they know yoga. But how many of them really are true knowers of yoga ?   1.Now read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. Done   1.Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one.   There are many proponents of knowledge and a lot of people have made it a profession to guide others to the path of God realization. The question is – which one is a better path. One where you worship the impersonal God or the one in which God is a person ? Who better to answer such a question than Kṛṣṇa himself. As a result, Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa to make it very clear to himself and as a result to everyone who will read Bhagavad-gītā the answer to the question of impersonalism and personal form of God worship.   Ask yourself: a) Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? I have tried my best to try understanding the meaning but I am sure there will be more revealing meanings as I move further in this path.   b) How do I now understand this verse better?   By explaining each and every word, looking them up in the dictionary gives a better understanding and makes us do some original thinking. When I tried constructing sentences out of the words, I found my thinking getting clearer and things that I know coming out in the form of sentences.   c) What is the significant meaning of this verse? What makes this verse significant?   This verse brings up an intersting question that all the seekers of consciousness need to ask and understand. The answer to this question comes form Kṛṣṇa himself in the following verses. This question was asked by Arjuna, the friend and closest of all to Lord. So, the answer to this question is something that is something that all of us need to understand very clearly.   d) Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this?   Arjuna asked this question to clear his confusion about the idea of an impersonal God and to get clear directions from Lord as to which is better – worshipping the impersonal from or the personal form. By reading this part of Bhagavad-gītā one whould get a clear understanding of the personal form of God.   1.Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, does this change your view on Bhagavad-gītā? Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? Try and imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Do you think this is possible for you to do? Why not? Do you lack patience? Do you lack motivation?   Answer to the question is yes and no. Yes, by doing this homework my views on Bhagavad-gītā have firmed up and now I want to learn this way more and more. And no, my overall view ( in the bigger picture) has not changed, I still regard it to be one of the greatest source of knowledge ever. I liked doing the homework was wide awake the whole time and even more alert after finishing it. Doing the entire Bhagavad-gītā will be a very time consuming work but it can be done if I bring up my level of motivation and patience. with regards Devesh         Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by Jennifer Lawrence - Monday, 5 January 2009, 05:47 PM Dear Students and Babaji: Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Upon receiving this assignment I immediately went to it and discovered my huge lack of knowledge in just trying to understand basic sentence structure. My difficulties continued until I was so upset by my lack of knowledge and frustration that I decided to come back to it when I calmed down. I have always learned better when I am able to ask questions and get answers from an individual. I have never done well trying to learn on my own. Obviously to be a successful part of the Bridge Community this is a battle I have to fight and win. I then decided because I don’t know how to diagram even a simple sentence that I would at least start the assignment where I am at and keep learning about sentence structure as I go along so I don’t feel so defeated that I fall into inaction and never make any progress. I am frustrated by the system of so called education I participated in that has now left me in such a ridiculous situation. I am grateful that my sons are being better educated than I am. I hope this is approach is acceptable. I haven’t read the other assignments as I didn’t want to become over whelmed and feel like I would never get any of them completed. Thank you for the opportunity to share my position and I am looking forward to gaining the ability to actually learn something! 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-Gita. Chapter 2 Text 52 yadā te moha-kalilaṁ buddhir vyatitariṣyati tadā gantāsi nirvedaṁ śrotavyasya śrutasya ca yadā—when; te—your; moha—illusory; kalilam—dense forest; buddhiḥ—transcendental service with intelligence; vyatitariṣyati—surpasses; tadā—at that time; gantāsi—you shall go; nirvedam—callousness; śrotavyasya—all that is to be heard; śrutasya—all that is already heard; ca—also. TRANSLATION When your intelligence has passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard. a. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. When your knowledge and experience has transformed from an incomplete form to an true one, then any previous information or future information will not contaminate your new understanding of truth. 1.Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each English word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. English Definitions When At what time or period your A form of the possessive case of you used as an attributive adjective intelligence Capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc. has Singular present tense of have. To possess; own; hold for use; contain; accept in some relation passed Having completed the act of passing. out Away from, or not in, the normal or usual place, position, state, etc. of Used to indicate distance or direction from, separation, deprivation, etc. the Used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an dense having the component parts closely compacted together; crowded or compact forest a large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush; woodland of in respect to delusion A false belief or opinion , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. you the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case shall will have to, is determined to, or definitely will become to come, change, or grow to be (as specified) indifferent having no bias, prejudice, or preference; impartial; disinterested to used for expressing a resulting state or condition; into a state of consciousness; out of unconsciousness all the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration); everything that used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as pointed out or present, mentioned before, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis has to hold in mind, sight, etc. been to take place; happen; occur heard to learn by the ear or by being told; be informed of; to listen to; give or pay attention to and (used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses) along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; also; moreover all the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration) that used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as pointed out or present, mentioned before, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis is Third person singular present indicative of be: to occupy a place or position to used for expressing aim, purpose, or intention; be to take place; happen; occur heard to learn by the ear or by being told; be informed of; to listen to; give or pay attention to . the point or character (.) used to mark the end of a declarative sentence, indicate an abbreviation, etc.; full stop. Sanscrit Definitions yadā when te your moha- illusory kalilaṁ dense forest buddhir transcendental service with intelligence vyatitariṣyati surpasses tadā at that time gantāsi you shall go nirvedaṁ callousness śrotavyasya all that is to be heard śrutasya all that is already heard ca also 1.Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. When When do I need to offer my food? your To discover absolute truth is your duty. intelligence My intelligence is growing. has My opinion has changed. passed I passed through the temple doors. out I want out of the cycle of birth and death. of I came out of the house. the The temple is beautiful. dense The temple was dense with devotees singing to Krshna. forest The forest is home to many animals. of I want to be free of material suffering. delusion Your delusion will end by studying the Esoteric Teaching. you You can obtain self-realization. shall I shall never eat meat again. become I will become self realized. indifferent I am indifferent to material desires. to I want to meet Babaji someday. all We are all spirit souls. that I understood that this assignment was important. has Has the Satsung begun yet? been I have been chanting my rounds. heard I heard Srila Prabhupada’s kirtan. and Chant and be happy. all We all need a little bit of faith. that That assignment was worth all the effort. is Babaji is an amazing teacher. to I offer my humble obeisances to you. be The Bridge Community will be an amazing community. heard I heard about the past times of Lord Krshna. 4. Now read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. When your intelligence has passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard. 5. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Your understanding of truth will allow false beliefs to end and you will become uninterested in the mundane material existence that you have been or could be living. a. Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? I think so. b. How do I now understand this verse better? I think my understanding has room to increase tremendously as I understand sentence structure more and my vocabulary increases. c. What is the significant meaning of this verse? What makes this verse significant? I think the significance is the being unattached leads to an escape from these material misconceptions, such as I am this body. d. Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? To explain to Arjuna that with intelligence comes the ability to let go of misconceptions and mistruths. 6. Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-Gita, does this change your view on Bhagavad-Gita? Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? Try to imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-Gita. Do you think this is possible for you to do? Why not? Do you lack patience? Do you lack motivation? I think this exercise was very beneficial. I realized that each word in every verse is important and significant. The Bhagavad-Gita is much more complex than I ever realized and I can appreciate all the hard work Shrila Prabhupada put into all of his purports. This assignment showed me how much I don’t know, so that was good but also I am worried about my ability to absorb all the information needed. I felt mostly stressed that I would make a mistake more than anything. I think it is possible to have every person study like this and is the only real way to understand any of the scriptures, the main thing is doing the work and having feed back to make sure the information you think you have is correct. Finding time to study like this is also difficult with working full time. I pray that I can figure out a schedule to study, chant,spend time with family, take care of my home (cooking and cleaning), and work . It is the study part that I haven’t really found time to fit in. At least this is a start! With love, Jennifer (Edited by David Bruce Hughes - removed MS Word style cruft) Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 5 January 2009, 05:50 PM Dear Jennifer, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is very nice, a wonderful surprise. My only comment is if you are going to use MS Word as an editor, please Save As your document as an HTML file, then open it with your browser (I hope you use Firefox, it has a great dictionary plugin) and paste the text into the post editor. That will be much easier and not leave any redundant style code. love, Baba Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by Jennifer Lawrence - Monday, 5 January 2009, 06:41 PM Dear Babaji: Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Babaji! Thank you for the suggestion about posting using MS Word. I will do that in the future. I do use Firefox and love it. I was so nervous about posting for this assignment. Thank you for your encouragement. I now need to start on the second assignment. Thank you for your patience. I know my post was much later than the other students. With love, Jennifer Re: The Impossible Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 5 January 2009, 06:48 PM Dear Jennifer, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I appreciated your post because it was thorough and clearly laid out. Don't worry about making mistakes; the whole point is go deeply into Bhagavad-gītā and get Kṛṣṇa's association. Study at your own pace; this is not a race or competition. That may be true of material academics but in our work the whole point is to generate spiritual impressions that change our consciousness. The most important study habit is to be regular, even if it's only a few minutes a day. Keep up the good work. love, Baba re: Tip of Advise by Sean Lildharrie - Monday, 5 January 2009, 05:28 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,and Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī The same exact thing that you said will happen, happened. Because, I didn't follow your advise,and chose to live on the materialistic "illusion" side of life, I have lost all of my spiritual qualifications,and common sense. My life has now become very lonesome, pity full. I'm also suffering through bodily discomforts. It's so horrible I feel like a little demon. And the worst part of it is, I returned to listen to stupid reggae music because,I thought listening to rastafarians will get me some where to spiritual life,and help me defend my faith to know whats right from wrong. I'm sorry I chose to live the foolish side of life. All I desire is just to develop pure love for Sri Radha- Krsna. Unfortunately, being in this house surrounded by blasphemy,and ignorance just makes it so hard. Which is why I chose to give up the esoteric teaching temporarily until I turned the age of eighteen. Now I don't want to give up! I want to love krsna like I used to back in the months of July,and August. What do I do I'm tired of fantasizing the incorrect interpretations of spiritual life , eating meat, and being an obstacle to myself,and others. I don't want to be scheming,cunning or deceitful all I want is freedom from these negative traits,and illsion. To accept reality. What can I do now? Love, Sean Lildharrie ~Jai Sri Radha-Krsna!!! Re: re: Tip of Advise by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 5 January 2009, 05:44 PM Dear Sean, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Frankly, I don't know what to tell you. You've been hanging around this community for almost a year now; I've given you my best advice again and again, but you don't seem willing or able to accept it. You have not contributed anything to this community, just taken up time, space and energy with your excuses, complaining and lamenting. From my point of view, it looks like you're immature or insincere—maybe both. Kṛṣṇa's first 'tip of advice' to Arjuna is to stop uselessly lamenting: śrī-bhagavān uvāca aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ The Blessed Lord 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 the dead." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.11] That would be a good start. love, Baba Third Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Monday, 29 December 2008, 10:40 PM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Jaya Bābājī! If you are reading this, then do the homework! Don't be an esoteric benchwarmer.  Anyone that turns in their assignment gets a big glittering star sticker. In the spirit of John Taylor Gattos teaching methods, you will not recieve a numerical or letter grade. To sucessfully complete this assignment, you will need access to a good English dictionary and a Sanskrit dictionary: [ http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ ] Homework Assignment #3 Due: Saturday Jan. 3  1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā.  Write down the verse. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanscrit equivalent. 3. Make an origional, creative, and meaningful sentance with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearely defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Ask yourself:  How do I now understand this verse better? Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? Thank You  Love, peter Re: Third Homework Assignment by Kānāi Dāsa - Wednesday, 31 December 2008, 03:49 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Jaya Bābājī! 1.Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. śrī-bhagavān uvāca kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam arjuna SYNONYMS śrī—bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; kutaḥ—wherefrom; tvā—unto you; kaśmalam—dirtiness; idam—this lamentation; viṣame—in this hour of crisis; samupasthitam—arrived; anārya—persons who do not know the value of life; juṣṭam—practiced by; asvargyam—which does not lead to higher planets; akīrti—infamy; karam—the cause of; arjuna—O Arjuna. TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy. [Bg2.2] b) Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. Lord Kṛṣṇa is asking Arjuna why is he feeling this way Arjuna is ready to do battle but before they engage Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa to ride out between the two armies to see who is there. When he sees that his kins men are among the opposition he gets very upset and doesn't want to fight his family, he says that he would rather lose to them than fight them, Arjuna being a mighty warrior tells Kṛṣṇa the he refuses to fight. This is not very fitting for a great fighter and even worse coming from Arjna. Kṛṣṇa is asking him what has happened to his mind , how could these thoughts creep into him.? He was once a man who knew the value of life he knew what the purpose of life was, and now the thoughts inside him are dragging him down. These thoughts are not going to help him achieve perfection in life. In fact just the opposite will happen he will be looked down on by his family and peers and they will ridicule him. 2.Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each English word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. śrī—bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said kutaḥ—wherefrom from where? whence? RV. &c tvā—unto you kaśmalam—dirtiness idam—this lamentation viṣame—in this hour of crisis samupasthitam—arrived anārya—persons who do not know the value of life juṣṭam—practiced by asvargyam—which does not lead to higher planets akīrti—infamy karam—the cause of arjuna—O Arjuna • :My : (a form of the possessive case of I used as an attributive adjective) • dear : beloved or loved: a dear friend. • Arjuna, Arjuna is a constant companions of the Lord, and whenever the Lord incarnates, the associate • • • • devotees also incarnate in order to serve the Lord in different capacities. Arjuna is one of these devotees, and in this verse it is understood that when Lord Krishna spoke The Bhagavad Gita to the Sun-god Vivasvan, Arjuna in a different capacity was also present there-some millions of years before. But the difference between the Lord and Arjuna is that the Lord remembered the incident, whereas Arjuna could not remember. That is the difference between the part and parcel living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. • How : for what reason; why • Have to hold in mind • These Used to refer to the person or thing present, nearby, or just mentioned: • Impurities he quality or state of being impure. Impure not pure; mixed with extraneous matter, esp. of an inferior or contaminating nature: • Come : to occur to the mind • Upon in or into complete or approximate contact with, • You the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case • They plural pronoun, possessive their or theirs, objective them. • Are –verb • Not at all : one's whole interest, energy, or property • Befitting: suitable; proper; becoming: planned with a befitting sense of majesty. • A not any particular or certain one of a class or group • Man an adult male person, as distinguished from a boy or a woman. • Who what person or persons • Knows To perceive directly; grasp in the mind with clarity or certainty. • The used to mark a proper noun, natural phenomenon, ship, building, time, point of the compass, branch of endeavor, or field of study as something well-known or unique) • Value relative worth, merit, or importance: • Of used to indicate derivation, origin, or source • Life. the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally. • Lead to go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort • Higher a high or the highest point, place, or level; peak • Planets In the traditional model of solar systems, a celestial body larger than an asteroid or comet, illuminated by light from a star, such as the sun, around which it revolves. • But on the contrary; yet • To (used for expressing motion or direction toward a point, person, place, or thing approached and reached, as opposed to from) • Infamy. extremely bad reputation, public reproach (disgrace, discredit, or blame incurred) , or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act: 4.Now read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. 5. The looking up of the words didn't help this time but going over the verse again and again did bring new parts of it to light. 5.Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy. For a person reading the Bhagavad-gītā for the first time Arjunas refusal to fight his family and friends does not seem like such an impure idea. It's sounds quite reasonable really, no body wants to fight with their family and friends or kill them for that matter. It's a great start to the Bhagavad-gītā the stage is set the warriors have gathered the heroes take their positions and one of the main characters throws down his weapons and says “I'm not doing this it's crazy these are my kinds men I'm cant , no I wont kill them”. And the charioteer (Kṛṣṇa) turns around and tells the mighty warrior behind him “how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy.” For the reader with no ontology of this scripture this comes as a very big shock. “Wait ...to kill you family and friends and teachers will bring you to the heavenly planets ? Am I missing something here?” It's the first head spin in the Bhagavad-gītā and a great one. It brings in all the problems of life. The Warrior Arjuna knew the value but it seems according to Kṛṣṇa that he has forgotten it and with this knowledge of the perfect knowledge he would have happily gone into battle against his own family, this logic will not make sense to a beginner How is Kṛṣṇa going to spin this around to where perfect knowledge will bring one to doing something so terrible and ghastly? What kind of think would allow some one to do this? It starts of with a serious kick in the face that materialist value so much. Family Friends peers all these people we think we Love we grow up with and share intimate life moments with, the thought of doing battle with these people goes against humanoid nature. We are supposed idly meant to protect those we love and defend. The Bhagavad-gītā is telling us “NO Kill your family Kill your Friends “ You kinda of get to thinking what kind of horror book have I just opened. And how can killing people bring you to the higher planet how can it lead you to perfection? Surly “Thou shall not kill” means something? And if he doesn't Kill those he loves it will bring him shame and people will call him a coward and he will loose all reputation. This is such a great start to the Bhagavad-gītā. So Kill family = go to heaven. Don't Kill family= no elevation to heaven and shame brought on to you. This is the exact opposite that most people think. “I'm good person, I don't kill anyone, pass me the KF used to be C” This will get everyones belief system and toss it out the window. What I mind spinner.   Ask yourself: a) Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? Do I ? you betcha. b) How do I now understand this verse better? I put myself in Arjunas shoes Of course Kṛṣṇa made Arjuna forget who he was, so his shoes fit quite well. And I pictured all those Who I thought I loved and still do in my neophyte mind. And holding a bow and arrow in my hands and told to fire into the body of my family I would reject it, Spit on the idea, Snap the arrows in half and walk off the field. The idea is revolting to us, it goes against our primal animal instinct you protect what you love not take up arms against it. Then again they were also armed up and ready to do battle but still the idea is evil. At the start of this dilemma we are on Arjunas side we are thinking the same and Kṛṣṇa tells him that his ideas are impure and “are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life”. The value of life? Arjuna wants to protect “Life” it seems that Arjuns knows the “value of life” from the material platform where most people reading Bhagavad-gītā in. How is Killing, valuing life? Kṛṣṇa must have some very strange ideas on the concept of Life. And from the material platform He does. This verse takes every day givens and turns them on their head. It's wonderful. “Everything you think you know is Wrong!” Family, Friends, Life, Death, Birth, Good, Bad, Up, Down. All Wrong. When I firstI read this verse and moved on......Wow! I moved on? I was reading it a as a novel like “War and Peace” and I was straight into the War part. So Neophyte Bg 2..2 and were talking about Killing Family. And I moved on? Now just reading it again I'm “gob smacked” (Gob in my brogue language means mouth and smacked means hand hit mouth hard and fast making a smack sound) I've heard Babaji talk about this scene so many time but only now does it actually sink in. And I'm only just beginning. What treasures lie hidden for me to uncover. c.What is the significant meaning of this verse? What makes this verse significant? That we have no idea of who we are or what we are meant to do here. We think we know right and wrong but we are so very covered by maya. d.Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? To remind him of who he is , a servant of Kṛṣṇa, not his family or friends. That the thoughts he has now are impure and he must clear them away. These thought however good they may seem to someone in illusion are only going to bind him more to the material world. He will not advance if he sees his family and peers as allies if they stand in the way of Kṛṣṇa. His mission is to fight and if he does not fight he will not advance. He will fall. 6.Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, does this change your view on Bhagavad-gītā? Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? Try and imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Do you think this is possible for you to do? Why not? Do you lack patience? Do you lack motivation? . Did change my view Yes it did. Bhagavad-gītā is so crammed full of transcendental knowledge So packed that it's very easy to skim over these vast verses of knowledge. Doing the English words was a drag I think next time I will just do the words I'm not sure on like impure, infamy and befitting. I enjoyed writing about my new understanding of this verse and in this verse the whole Bhagavad-gītā in turn grew in my mind. When the Bhagavad-gītā was posted in the mail to me and I opened it from its packing it fit nicely into my hands doing this in dept analysis it still fits into my hand but it fills my brain. I don't know if all the verses will be this deep but when I started this I had no idea how deep just two verses would take me. Tearing out the old and replacing it with new reinforced steel. With Love Kānāi Dāsa Re: Third Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 08:08 AM Dear Kānāi, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, each and every śloka of Bhagavad-gītā and every Vedic scripture is packed full of the same transcendental knowledge. If you go deeply enough into it, you will find the whole Esoteric Teaching and Śrī Kṛṣṇa there in every śloka. I would encourage you to look up the exact meaning of each and every English and Sanskrit word, because a misunderstood term is a word that you think you know the proper definition, for, but in fact do not. It's usually the small words like the ones in this list that Mike posted definitions for some time ago that trip you up. So look up each word, that is the assignment! I know it's a lot of work but you will be rewarded by a much clearer understanding of English. love, Baba Re: Third Homework Assignment by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 08:39 AM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I'm having problems finding any Sanskrit words in the dictionary It feels like needle in haystack the list is huge and I don't know the order of the Sanskrit alphabet, where ever I look they always separate it into vowels and consonants. and the other site never gives any answers. I will keep searching every word as you recommend. This's is a very rewarding process. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Love Kānāi. Re: Third Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 08:49 AM Dear Kānāi, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The Sanskrit alphabetical order is here. Don't be lazy; learn it! a, ā, i, ī, u, ū... If you have a question you can always ask me. love, Baba Re: Third Homework Assignment by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 08:56 AM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you! so am I correct in thinking that the alphabetical order starts with all the vowels first and then the consonants? With Love Kānāi. Re: Third Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 09:20 AM Dear Kānāi, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, and the Sanskrit dictionary on our site is easier to use because it lists all the words beginning with each letter on one big page; then you can use your browser's find feature to find the exact word form. love, Baba Re: Third Homework Assignment by Andrej Kazancev - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 11:17 AM Dear Bābājī, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is my homework. Bhagavad-gītā 2.2 TRANSLATION The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy. 1) a) śrī-bhagavān uvāca kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam arjuna a) Arjuna became impure in his thoughts, by lamenting he completely forgot what his duty is. Krsna reminded him that these impurities are not going to be any benefit to Arjuna, since he is suppose to know the value of life. This lamenting does not lead to higher planets but only to infamy. 2-3 SYNONYMS çré—bhagavän uväca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; kutaù—wherefrom; tvä—unto you; kaçmalam—dirtiness; idam—this lamentation; viñame—in this hour of crisis; samupasthitam—arrived; anärya—persons who do not know the value of life; juñöam—practiced by; asvargyam—which does not lead to higher planets; akérti—infamy; karam—the cause of; arjuna—O Arjuna. a) The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an) -The hero fights extraordinary. Supreme- highest in rank or authority -The Supreme law is affect. Personality- a person as an embodiment of a collection of qualities -The personality of a Tiger Of- used to indicate apposition or identity -Is that person of a warrior not fighting again. Godhead- the Supreme Being -He who is Godhead of all the universes, regardless of material or spiritual, is supreme. Said- to utter or pronounce -He said that I am just a soul. My- pronoun -My old mother is cured. Dear- adjective -My dear mother, why did you go there? Arjuna-pure devotee How- adverb -in what way or manner; by what means -How did he become so perplexed? Have- auxiliary verb -How could they have come to you? These- pronoun- (used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as present, near, just mentioned or pointed out, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis) Impurities- the quality or state of being impure. -The impurities which occur in the water. Come- How did he come to be so efficient? Upon- preposition -Arjuna came upon the absolute knowledge when looking for something else. You- the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case -You came along way to this conclusion. They- nominative plural -They have meaning when using in this way. Are- verb -You are one of those mighty worriers. Not- adverb -What did not occur has no value at the present. At- Idioms -This place is not at all adventurous. All- Idioms -After all what happen, he came back. Befitting- adjective -This state of mind was not befitting a scholar who knew about the secret. a- indefinite article -A man who came yesterday. Man- noun(an adult male person, as distinguished from a boy or a woman) Who- pronoun; possessive whose; objective whom Knows- To perceive directly The- definite article -The open concept that will improve during a period of time. Value- relative worth, merit, or importance -The value of this car is nothing. Of- used to indicate derivation, origin, or source -The maturity of knowledge does play a big role. Life- a mode or manner of existence, as in the world of affairs or society. -The experience of Life comes after many years. They- used to represent an inanimate thing understood, previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context) Lead- to influence or induce; cause. -These causes lead him away from the truth. Not- noun -You shall not pass. To- used for expressing motion or direction toward a point, person, place, or thing approached and reached, as opposed to from -To this day I have not understood the reality. Higher- situated above the ground or some base. -On the higher platform, it is much easier to see. Planets- In the traditional model of solar systems, a celestial body larger than an asteroid or comet, illuminated by light from a star, such as the sun, around which it revolves. -The upper planets are enormous. But- conjunction -Nothing can rescue us but the transcendental knowledge. To- used for expressing motion or direction toward a point, person, place, or thing approached and reached, as opposed to from -To this day I have not understood the reality. Infamy- extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act. -She used to live in infamy for a long time. b) śrī-bhagavān uvāca kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam arjuna śrī-bhagavān uvāca- the Supreme Personality of Godhead said kutas- from where, from whom. Tvā- thy , your Kaśmalam- dirtiness idaṁ- this lamentation viṣame- in this hour of crisis samupasthitam-arrived anārya- persons who do not know the value of life juṣṭam- practiced by asvargyam- a-svargyá mfn. not leading to heaven akīrti- infamy karam- the cause of arjuna- O Arjuna 4) The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Kṛṣṇa is the creator, maintainer and annihilator of all the material world. When he desires to create or annihilate, it happens automatically by his various energies. When he desires to create the material manifestation, along with it the false ego is also being created. The false ego means( I and mine). (I) means the body and (mine) means, it belongs to me. So Arjuna started to identify himself with the body and was very much attached to the body. He became sentimental towards his kinsmen and family by forgetting who he really is. Being in the material consciousness, he was not able to see what the absolute truth is and thus became impure in his train of thought by lamenting. Every living entity has their own prescribed duties to fulfill, wheatear he likes it or not. In this case Arjuna is a warrior and must fight. This is expected from him. If someone fulfills their duty perfectly, in most cases he will be rewarded. But Kṛṣṇa wants Arjuna to fight without any attachment or lamentation for the results, and offer everything unto him in servitude. In this case the reward is pure devotional service. Hare Kṛṣṇa! With love and respect, Andrej Re: Third Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 12:32 PM Dear Andrej, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Very nice, but the Sanskrit is still in Balaram format. When you post Sanskrit on the Web it needs to be converted to UTF-8 or Unicode format. There is a utility here that does the job. love, Baba Re: Third Homework Assignment by Andrej Kazancev - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 02:27 PM Dear Bābājī, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for reminding me. I've should of known better. Hare Kṛṣṇa! With love and respect, Andrej Re: Third Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 02:37 PM Dear Andrej, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Also, after clicking the From Balaram button, you have to click the Compress button, or the Unicode characters don't display properly on Macs. love, Baba Re: Third Homework Assignment by Andrej Kazancev - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 03:06 PM Dear Bābājī, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for pointing out the details. I will make sure to follow these instructions as a matter of habit. Hare Kṛṣṇa! With love and respect, Andrej Re: Third Homework Assignment by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 1 January 2009, 04:43 PM Dear Bābājī, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I went over the Sanskrit again with a finer toothed comb. Śrī— The word śrī is frequently used as an honorific prefix (= 'sacred', 'holy') to the names of deities (e.g. Śri-Kṛṣṇa, Śrī-Rāma), and may be repeated two, three, or even four times to express excessive veneration. (e.g. Śrī-śrī-Durgā &c.) • it is also used as a respectful title (like 'Reverend') to the names of eminent persons as well as of celebrated works and sacred objects (e. g. Śrī-Jayadeva. ŚrīBhāgavata), and is often placed at the beginning or back of letters, manuscripts, important documents &c bhagavān—Bhagavān means aiśvaryasya samagrasya, the master of all wealth within the creation. That is Bhagavān. Not that millions or trillions of dollars, but all the wealth. Aiśvaryasya samagra. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram: [Bg. 5.29] "I am the enjoyer and proprietor of all the planets." That is Bhagavān. Aiśvaryasya samagra. Vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ. He's the master of all strength; He's all-famous. Kṛṣṇa five thousand years ago appeared on this planet, but still He's famous. His worship is going on still. In India there are hundreds and thousands of temples like this. Not only in India, now outside India there are least hundreds of temples like this. He's so famous. That is Bhagavān. He's not a cheap Bhagavān: "I have become Bhagavān by meditation." No. He's real Bhagavān. Bhagavān is Bhagavān. He doesn't require to meditate. Just like Kṛṣṇa, when He was three months old, He's Bhagavān. Pūtanā came to kill Him, but Pūtanā was killed by Him. That is Bhagavān. At the age of three months what meditation He could do? So this meditation Bhagavān and this Bhagavān is different. Bhagavān is always Bhagavān. Either He's three months old or 125 years old. When He was in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra His age was 125 or little less. He was a great-grandfather. So his Bhagavān is not this Bhagavān. Bhagavān cannot be manufactured by meditation factory. No. Therefore it is said bhagavān uvāca. uvāca—Bhagavān uvāca means that is the perfect version. There is no mistake. If some ordinary says, there will be so many defects and cheating, because ordinary person has no perfect knowledge. He may be very, very advanced scholar, but that does not mean he is perfect. Perfection is different thing. Perfection means there should be no mistake, no illusion, no cheating, and no imperfections of the senses. That is perfection. And therefore it is said here, bhagavān uvāca kutah or yátas ind. (fr. 3. ya , correlative of tátas , and often used as abl. or instr. of the relative pron.) from which or what , whence , whereof , wherefrom RV. &c (yáto yataḥ , " from whichever " , " from whatever " , " whencesoever " ; yatas tataḥ , " from any one soever " , " from any quarter whatever " ; yata eva kutaś ca , " from this or that place " , " whencesoever ") r ") tvā—unto you kaśmalam—dirtiness kaśmala mf(ā, or ī)n. foul, dirty, impure Dhūrtas • timid, pusillanimous • (am), n. dirt, filth Subh • impurity, sin L • (as, am), m. n. (ifc. f. ā) consternation, stupefaction, faintheartedness, pusillanimity MBh • dejection of mind, weakness, despair MBh. BhP idam—this lamentation viṣame—in this hour of crisis " anything active " , poison , venom , bane , anything actively pernicious samupasthitam—arrived mf(ā)n. approximated , approached , come to (teṣām agrato nadī samupasthitā = " they came upon a river ") arisen anārya— mfn. not honourable or respectable , vulgar , inferior [L=5632] destitute of āryas juṣṭam—practiced by asvargyam—which does not lead to higher planets, not leading to heaven akīrti—infamy/ ill-fame , disgrace. karam—the cause of mf(ī , rarely ā)n. (for 2. » [p= 254,3]) ( √1. kṛ) , a doer , maker , causer , doing , making , causing , producing arjuna—m. of indra VS. S3Br. , of the third of the pāṇḍava princes (who was a son of kṛtavīrya who was slain by paraśurāma) Neville helped me out with the Sanskrit Dictionary If you don't know how to use it go to the help tab and the link ten lines down give a very nice explanation on how to type the word you want into the search box eg uvāca is typed, uvAca. the view chart gif will help you in choosing the correct type. With Love Kānāi Dāsa Re: Third Homework Assignment by Devesh Pant - Friday, 2 January 2009, 11:36 PM Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!   I am starting right after Kanai’s verse   klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayy upapadyate kṣudraṁ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa [BG 2.3] Synonyms klaibyam—impotence; mā—do not; sma—take it; gamaḥ—go in; pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; na—never; etat—like this; tvayi—unto you; upapadyate—is befitting; kṣudram—very little; hṛdaya—heart; daurbalyam—weakness; tyaktvā—giving up; uttiṣṭha—get up; parantapa—O chastiser of the enemies. Translation O son of Pṛthā, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy. [BG 2.3] b) Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. Lord Kṛṣṇa goes on further and tells Arjuna this verse who after looking at his relatives, Guru and grandfather etc. gets dejected and feels like leaving the battlefield. Here Lord who is not only the closest friend of Arjuna, but is also related to Arjuan and addresses him by calling him “O son of Pṛthā”. Pṛthā being the sister of Kṛṣṇa’s father Vasudeva. Here the effort is to make Arjuna understand that he is a warrior and an act of impotence is not befitting his feeling at that time. He should not show a weak heart and leave the battleground. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each English word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. klaibyam—impotence; unmanliness mā—do not sma—take it gamaḥ—going , course pārtha—O son of Pṛthā na—never etat—this tvayi—unto you upapadyate—approach, attack, arrive at, come to kṣudram—insignificant hṛdaya—heart daurbalyam—weakness, impotence tyaktvā—except for, other than uttiṣṭha—get up, wake up parantapa—O killer of the enemies O - interj. An exclamation used in calling or directly addressing a person or personified object son - noun - a male child or person in relation to his parents. of - preposition - used to indicate derivation, origin, or source Pṛthā – noun- another name of Kunti do – verb - to perform not – adverb – express negation yield - to give up, as to superior power or authority to – preposition - used for expressing aim, purpose, or intention this – used to indicate a state degrading - lowering in dignity or estimation impotence - the quality of lacking strength or power It – pronoun - used to represent an inanimate thing does - a Third person singular present tense of do not - used to express negation, denial become - to come into being you - something or someone closely identified with or resembling the person Give up -  to desist from; renounce such – adjective - being as stated or indicated petty - of little or no importance or consequence weakness - an inadequate or defective quality of - used to indicate apposition or identity heart - the center of emotion and - used to connect alternatives arise - to result or proceed, to awaken O - interj. An exclamation used in calling or directly addressing a person or personified object chastiser - punisher of - used to indicate qualities or attributes the - used to mark a noun enemy - an armed foe; an opposing military force Lord is addressing Arjuna as the great slayer of the enemies and at the same time letting him know that his cowardly act of giving up and running away is not something that is expected of a Kṣatriya - that he was one of the greatest. He told him that the act was not befitting his personality and as a result he should not think in that direction. I definitely understand the verse better after searching for each and every word in Sanskrit and English dictionaries. The more you stay connected to the verse the more it reveals itself. I am amazed how much depth each one of these have within such short verses. Devesh Re: Third Homework Assignment by Neville Clemens - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 02:27 PM Dear Babaji and All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is my homework assignment: 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. Write down the verse. catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛtino 'rjuna ārto jijṣāsur arthārthī jṣānī ca bharatarṣabha O best among the Bhāratas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute. [Bhagavad-gita 7.16] Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. Of the people who turn to God in a favorable, service attitude there are four basic types - those who are in distress, those who want material benefits, those who are curious about the various questions of life and those who are sure the know what they are looking for - the Absolute Truth. All these four kinds of people are considered pious. We all know various people who fall into each of these categories. I'm not sure which of the last two I fall into - I can't recall if I was merely being inquisitive or if my own philosophical speculations on the meaning of life at that time could be considered as one who was searching. Also, I'm not clear on the difference between the one who is inquisitive about the questions of life and one who is searching for the absolute truth. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit Word Bhagavad-gita translation Other dictionary meanings catur-vidhāḥ four kinds of four forms , manners , kinds , sorts bhajante render service serve , honour , revere , love , adore mām unto me unto me janāḥ persons many people, a common person , one of the people sukṛtinaḥ those who are pious righteous , virtuous, well-doing , good or correct conduct ārtaḥ the distressed fallen into (misfortune) , struck by calamity , afflicted , pained , disturbed jijñāsuḥ the inquisitive desirous of knowing , inquiring into , examining , testing artha-arthī desirous of wealth (artha) substance , wealth , property , opulence , money jñānī one who knows things as they are (jJAna) knowing , becoming acquainted with , knowledge , (esp.) the higher knowledge 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentance with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. O - Used in direct address. "O fellow students..." best - Surpassing all others in excellence, achievement, or quality "This essay was the best" among - In the group, number, or class of "He is a giant among intellectuals" the - Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular, specified persons or things "The rabbits moved fast" four - The cardinal number equal to 3 + 1. " I want four cookies" kind - A particular variety; a sort. "What kind of cookies do you like?" of - belonging to; situated in or coming from; " I am a resident of the material world" pious - Having or exhibiting religious reverence; earnestly compliant in the observance of religion; devout; Commendable; worthy "His pious acts will serve him well." men - plural of man "Three men came by our house" render -To submit or present, as for consideration, approval, or payment: "render a bill".To give or make available; provide;To give what is due or owed: render thanks; rendered homage. "I rendered my homework to Babaji" devotional - Of, relating to, expressive of, or used in devotion, especially of a religious nature. "His artwork is very devotional" service - Active devotion to God, as through good works or prayer. "Service is our eternal occupation" unto - to "I offer this unto thee" Me - Used as the indirect object of a verb "They offered me a ride." distressed - in Anxiety or mental suffering "I was very distressed during my imprisonment" desirer - one who wishes or longs for "A desirer of knowledge must find an authority to learn from" of - Centering on; directed toward "Love of God is completely transcendental" wealth - An abundance of valuable material possessions or resources; riches. "The prosperous kingdom had wealth" inquisitive - Inclined to investigate; eager for knowledge. "the inquisitive student learns more than the passive student" he - any (male) person "He who lives in a glass house should change in the basement" who - Used as a relative pronoun to introduce a clause when the antecedent is a person or persons or one to whom personality is attributed "The person who cooked this meal is very talented" is - To have or show a specified quality or characteristic "This diamond is brilliant" searching - To make a thorough examination of; look over carefully in order to find something; explore. "I am searching for my keys" for - concerning "I am looking for love" knowledge - specific information about a subject "His knowledge of computers is vast" of - Centering on; directed toward Absolute - Something regarded as the ultimate basis of all thought and being. Used with the. "We are all searching for the Absolute" Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearly defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. There are many people in this world who lead pious lives - who are generally reverent to God and religious rites etc. They live moral lives according to scripture. Yet, not all of them render service to the Lord. They may be respectful, but don't always approach the Lord to render some service to Him. The ones that DO come to this stage of approaching the Lord and offering some personal service - they come through one of four basic circumstances: - they want material benefits - they are in some trouble, anxiety, some problem they are not able to solve and so offer service to the Lord in the hope that He will take away their troubles - they are curious to actually know what God is like for real, after having lived a pious life in general. Piety is somewhat distanced. These people want to get up close and see if this piety is really based on something factual, if the Lord really does reciprocate. - they have studied scriptures and texts about the Absolute Truth and have become convinced of the position of the Lord and His eternal relationship with them. Thus, they have come to the conclusion by study, that rendering service to the Lord gives the highest benefit. Apart from the pious people, there are what Prabhupada calls "miscreants" who don't even lead pious lives - what to speak of approaching the Lord to serve Him. But Prabhupada says that even some of such miscreants can come to the platform of devotional service in the association of a pure devotee. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? 1. It was an interesting insight to realize that our actions are heavily influenced by our circumstances. Putting ourselves into, or finding ourselves in certain kinds of circumstances can lead us to God. This leads to the question - how do circumstances come about? Well, they come about by the arrangement of the Lord according to His desire, mercy and our karma. 2. I also realized that I actually fall into neither of these 4 categories because I was what Prabhupada calls a "miscreant" - until I came into contact with Prabhupada through his writings, and then later on with Babaji through his writings and the esotericteaching.org forums. Now I am at least leading a somewhat pious life and cultivating knowledge and slowly coming to the platform of service. But even if I was leading a pious life, I would at most come under the category of one who is curious because I certainly wasn't "searching" for truth as the dictionary defines it. Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? Arjuna's last question before this was in the previous chapter (6) about the fate of the unsuccessful yogi - what happens to him if he ends this life without reaching the perfection of life? Krsna answers this question and then in the 7th chapter begins to tell Arjuna confidential knowledge about Himself, the Absolute. He then begins to speak about how maya is difficult to overcome - but those who have surrendered to Krsna can easily overcome it.This ties back with the issue of the unsuccessful Yogi, since it deals with the difficulties of the Path. It is in this context that Krsna speaks about the kinds of people that approach Him in the beginning stages of surrender - rendering devotional service unto Him. This is directly relevant to Arjuna, because Arjuna is playing the part of one of these types of pious persons - the kind that turn to Krsna in distress. Of course, Arjuna is a pure devotee and is only temporarily put into this state of ignorance on the platform of an ordinary pious man who turns to Krsna for help in distress. This has been a helpful exercise. I found that once I decided to try and understand this verse better, Krsna threw a lot of helpful clues my way and kind of nudged me along. Love, Neville Re: Third Homework Assignment by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 05:54 PM Hare krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is my homework assignment #3: 1a. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. Write down the verse. tvam akṣaraṁ paramaṁ veditavyaṁ tvam asya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam tvam avyayaḥ śāśvata-dharma-goptā sanātanas tvaṁ puruṣo mato me "You are the supreme primal objective; You are the best in all the universes; You are inexhaustible, and You are the oldest; You are the maintainer of religion, the eternal Personality of Godhead" (Gita 11.18) 1b. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning In this verse Arjuna is expressing the absolute greatness of Lord Krishna. He expresses to Lord Narayan as Sri Krishna that He is the ultimate and absolute purpose or meaning to existence. That no entity is greater and that He is the oldest which implies that he is the most knowing, the Alpha. It is because of Him that religion is where it is and contains within great knowledge and He is the maintainer. Lastly, Arjuna states boldly that his best friend and Guru Sri Krishna is the eternal Personality of Godhead which means there is none more exalted. 2a. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanscrit equivalent. tvam—You akṣaram—inexhaustible paramam—supreme veditavyam—to be understood tvam—You asya—of this viśvasya—of the universe param—supreme nidhānam—basis tvam—You are avyayaḥ—inexhaustible śāśvata-dharma-goptā—maintainer of the eternal religion sanātanaḥ—eternal tvam—You puruṣaḥ—Supreme Personality mataḥ me—is my opinion. You- the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case. Are- 2nd person singular present and 1st, 2nd, 3rd person plural present of "be". The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. Supreme- Greatest in power, authority, or rank; paramount or dominant. Primal- Of first importance; primary. Objective- something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish. You- the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case. Are- 2nd person singular present and 1st, 2nd, 3rd person plural present of "be". The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. Best- Surpassing all others in excellence, achievement, or quality; most excellent. In- used to indicate inclusion within space, a place, or limits. All- Being or representing the entire or total number, amount, or quantity. The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. Universes- All matter and energy, including the earth, the galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space, regarded as a whole You- the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case. Are- 2nd person singular present and 1st, 2nd, 3rd person plural present of "be". The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. Inexhaustible- not exhaustible; incapable of being depleted, cannot be entirely consumed or used up. And- Together with or along with; in addition to; as well as. Used to connect words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical function in a construction. You- the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case. Are- 2nd person singular present and 1st, 2nd, 3rd person plural present of "be". The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. Oldest- Having lived or existed for a relatively long time; far advanced in years or life. You- the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case. Are- 2nd person singular present and 1st, 2nd, 3rd person plural present of "be". The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. Maintainer- to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain. Of- used to indicate derivation, origin, or source. Religion- sacred or pious action or custom , divine law , faith , divine truth. The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. Eternal- without beginning or end; lasting forever; always existing, existing outside all relations of time; not subject to change. Personality- The totality of qualities and traits, as of character or behavior, that are peculiar to a specific person. The quality of being a person. Of- used to indicate derivation, origin, or source. Godhead- the essential being of God; the Supreme Being. 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. You- You are the fastest runner in this school. Are- People are always afraid of the unknown. The- Akesha is the best writer for the New York Weekly. Supreme- What God has spoken in the Gita is supreme. Primal- My primal goal in life is self-realization. Objective- Attaining Uttama Bhakti is a most honorable objective. You- you seem to be tired. Are- Teenagers are generally unstable. The- The ones who know do not talk. Best- Your basketball team is the best in the country. In- The pencil is in this room. All- All devotees of Lord Krishna also acknowledge his past incarnations. The- You are the greatest artist in this contest. Universes- All the Universes are under the control of the Supreme Lord. You- You must remember to pay your bills. Are- Your friends are joyous individuals. Inexhaustible- God's Love is inexhaustible. And- The Divine Mother is most compassionate and also more beautiful than any woman. You- You are the youngest person in this group. Are- Your sins are forgiven when you take refuge at The Lord's feet. The- The wisest person in a group is not always the oldest. Oldest- The Vedas are the oldest religious texts. You- You are very enthusiastic at work. Are- Animals are our brothers and sisters. The- The babe is crying. Maintainer- Lord Vishnu is the maintainer of our world. Of- The difficulty of human relationships comes from ego. Religion- The religion of the vedas is absolute. The- The car I bought is a Honda. Eternal- The words that the Lord speaks in the Bhagavad-Gita is eternal. Personality- Your description of Saint Augustine is contradictory to his personality, Of- Obama is the current President of The United States of America. Godhead- All manifestations of this world comes from Godhead. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. In this verse, Arjuna is glorifying bhagavan Krishna and expressing to Him the greatness of his best friend and master. Arjuna tells krishna that He is the aim of all created beings. That He is the only true goal in life and the first in all things to be seeked after and attained. Arjuna says that He is the best in all the universes, so He is the most excellent and absolutely better than anything or anyone in all that is. He is boundless and continuous. He is inexhaustible love and all the qualities are never ending in Him. His love, mercy, kindness, intelligence, joy, and every other quality knows no bounds. Arjuna says that He is the oldest and that means the Lord is the alpha and that He is what was before anything else. He is Omniscient! Arjuna tells The Supreme Lord Krishna that He is the maintainer of religion. He is Vishnu and it is by him that not only the eternal truths are preserved and revealed but also everything else. In Conclusion, Arjuna says that Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is whom many call the "Father" and he is Father to all. He is Father even to Lord Brahma and the demigods. Bhagavan Krishna is the most glorified Lord Narayan himself. Arjuna has realized Sri Krishnas supremacy and declares all these eternal truths in this verse. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? Doing this homework assignment was a wonderful meditation and I enjoyed it more than I did the first homework. I feel that I have understood and realized this verse and its true beauty exceedingly more than by just reading it. There is so much one can understand from each word when applying it. For example, Being the oldest means he is the most knowledgeable, most experienced, and wisest. We can look so deep into each statement made by Arjuna and this is a most blessed gift. Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? Arjuna spoke this because I imagine that he felt an extremely strong urge to speak such glorifying words to his most beloved friend and eternal guru. He was bursting inside and wanted to express himself outwardly with words as we do to others but in front of him is God himself, the most compassionate, the Truth, the most loving and the Lord knows Arjuna completely and truly just as he knows us for we emanate from him and are in existence because of his presence within. Bhagavan Krishna Ki! Jai! Hare Bol! With Love, Tulsidasananda Re: Third Homework Assignment by David Lugan - Sunday, 4 January 2009, 06:28 AM Homework Assignment #3 Here are the instructions in sequential order: 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. Bg1.2 Write down the verse. TEXT 2 sañjaya uvāca dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ vyūḍhaṁ duryodhanas tadā ācāryam upasaṇgamya rājā vacanam abravīt TRANSLATION Sañjaya said: O King, after looking over the army gathered by the sons of Pāṇḍu, King Duryodhana went to his teacher and began to speak the following words: Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. Sañjaya told Dhṛtarāsṭra that after the Pāṇḍu army gathered, King Duryodhana began to speak the following to his teacher. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each English word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit word (as defined) Bhagavad-Gitā As It Is translation Other dictionary meanings Sañjayaḥ Sañjaya Charioteer and minister to King Dhṛtarāsṭra [CM] uvāca said L=7194 reciting, reading L=7195 lecture dṛśṭvā after seeing tu but L=85706.2 and, .3 or, still pāṇḍavānīkaṁ the soldiers of the Pāṇḍavas Soldiers of the five pious ksatriya brothers Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakala, and Sahadeva. vyūḍhaṁ arranged in military phalanx duryodhanas king Duryodhana tadā at that time L=82170 then, in that case Ācāryam the teacher A spiritual master who teaches by his own example, and who sets the proper religious example for all human beings [CM] upasaṇgamya approaching nearby rājā the king Rule or sovereignty. Used to describe British rule; king or prince [CM] vacanam words abravīt spoke [CM] http://www.causelessmercy.com/Glossary.htm L= http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ [DIC] http://www.dictionary.com 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Original English Word Definition Used in a sentence Sañjaya Charioteer and minister to King Dhṛtarāsṭra [CM] Sañjaya was given the power to see from a distance by Vyāsa. said To utter or pronounce; speak [DIC] I said to the class, let's figure this out together. O King One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere [DIC] There was a King in the Bible named David. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause [DIC] Good day everyone, thank you for being here. after Later in time than [DIC] After we fix the boat then we can go sailing. looking To employ one's sight, especially in a given direction or on a given object [DIC] We are looking for a new video. over Completely through; from beginning to end [DIC] We went over all of the documents in detail. the Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular specified persons or things [DIC] We drove to the store. army A large body of people organized and trained for land warfare [DIC] The army is one of the branches of the military. gathered To cause to come together; convene [DIC] We gathered in the park to have a birthday party. by [DIC] the Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular specified persons or things [DIC] We drove to the store. sons One's male child [DIC] The family had 2 sons and 1 daughter. of Used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category [DIC] The central park is one of the places I go for a walk. pāṇḍu A great king of the Kuru dynasty, and the father of the Pāṇḍavas, Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva [CM] Pāṇḍu was the younger brother of Dhṛtarāsṭra. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause [DIC] Good day everyone, thank you for being here. King One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere [DIC] There was a King in the Bible named David. Duryodhana The eldest son of Dhṛtarāsṭra and chief rival of the Pāṇḍavas. He made many attempts to cheat the Pāṇḍavas of their right to the Kuru throne After arrogantly ignoring the good advice of Bhishma, Drona, and Kṛṣṇa he perished with his ninety-nine brothers in the Kurukśetra battle. The bad guys in the Kurukśetra war were lead by Duryodhana. went Past tense of go [DIC] I went to the store last week. to In front of [DIC] I went to the mailbox. his Used to indicate that one or ones belonging to him [DIC] His shoes untied. teachers Person who educates [DIC] My favorite teacher was in engineering. and Used to indiate result [DIC] Do me a favor and wash the dishes please. spoke Past tense of speak [DIC] He spoke the truth. the Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular specified persons or things [DIC] We drove to the store. following Coming next in time or order [DIC] The show is following this advertisement. words Discourse or talk; speech [DIC] The teacher had inspiring words for the class. 4. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearely defined all the terms. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Ask yourself: Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? How do I now understand this verse better? I have the same overall understanding of the verse although more information about what each word actually means. The purport does give more insight into Dhtarastra and Duryodhana's background. 5. Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, does this change your view on Bhagavad-gītā? I look forward to learning the entire Bhagavad-gīta through careful study. Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? It was a good exercise of understanding more in detail what the common english words really mean in this context. Try and imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Do you think this is possible for you to do? Yes for this text it is worth doing this level of careful study. Why not? Do you lack patience? Do you lack motivation? I like to have a comprehensive understanding of important subjects and I can't think of a more worthy subject to know. Now that you have finished the assignment, please post your assignment on this link to get credit. Remember, if you post your work here then not only you can benefit, but others can also. Re: Third Homework Assignment by Michael Jones - Monday, 5 January 2009, 04:28 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. B.g. 5.5. sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ ekam apy āsthitaḥ samyag ubhayor vindate phalam sāṅkhya—analytical study of the material world; yogau—work in devotional service; pṛthak—different; bālāḥ—less intelligent; pravadanti—do talk; na—never; paṇḍitāḥ—the learned; ekam—in one; api—even though; āsthitaḥ—being situated; samyak—complete; ubhayoḥ—of both; vindate—enjoys; phalam—result. TRANSLATION Only the ignorant speak of karma-yoga and devotional service as being different from the analytical study of the material world [sāṅkhya]. Those who are actually learned say that he who applies himself well to one of these paths achieves the results of both. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. Summary 1: Devotional service is not different from analytical study of the material world and the same result can be obtained by both. If one performs devotional service/ karma yoga, not only are they performing the goal of life, but Krsna also gives knowledge to the devotee in proportion to the service performed. Those who study the material world analytically will eventually see the "soul of existence" or Visnu. Then, realizing this, they will perform service for Visnu. So although the results come in different order, the results are the same and it is foolish to think that these processes are different. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit: sāṅkhya—analytical study of the material world (Could find the term in any dictionary I tried). yogau—work in devotional service; yoga: the act of yoking, joining, attaching, harnessing. • a yoke, team, vehicle, conveyance fixing a remedy, cure a means, expedient, device, way, manner, method it is the second of the two Sāṃkhya systems, its chief aim being to teach the means by which the human spirit may attain complete union with I7śvara or the Supreme Spirit pṛthak—different; widely apart, separately, differently, singly, severally, one by one bālāḥ—less intelligent; (Couldn't find) bālaka: young, childish, not yet fullgrown • a fool, simpleton L. pravadanti—do talk; pravadana pra-ḍvadana n. a proclamation, announcement na—never; not, no, nor, neither paṇḍitāḥ—the learned; paṇḍitaka paṇḍitaka mfn. wise, learned, pedantic paṇḍitāya paṇḍitāya, to become learned or wise ekam—in one; ekamati ○mati f. concentration of mind, Bhp • (mfn.) unanimous ekamaya ○maya mf(ī)n. consisting of one, uniform api—even though; api is often used to express emphasis, in the sense of even, also, very • e.g. anyad api, also another, something more • adyâpi, this very day, even now • tathâpi, even thus, notwithstanding • yady api, even if, although • yadyapi tathâpi, although, nevertheless āsthitaḥ—being situated; ā-sthita mfn. staying or sitting on, dwelling on, abiding MBh. R. BhP. Kathās. &c • come or fallen into • one who has undertaken or performed MBh. R. Mn. Śiś. &c • being, existing BhP. Hit. • acknowledging, believing Sarvad. • stayed, dwelt, inhabited • ascended Ragh. BhP. • undertaken, performed MBh. R. [Page 161, Column 3] • brought, carried to samyak—complete; samyak in comp. for samyañc samyaktva ○tva n. id. MBh • completeness, perfection Śatr. (kṣāyika-s○, 'that perfection in which material existence is destroyed' W samyañc samy-áñc mfn. (fr. sami = 2. sam + 2. añc Pāṇ. 6-3, 93 • nom. samyán, samīcī́, or samī́cī, samyák) going i, long with or together, turned together or in one direction, combined, united (acc. with √dhā, to unite or provide with' acc. or dat. of pers. and instr. or acc. of thing), entire, whole, complete, all (samyañcaḥ sarve, 'all together') RV. Br. ŚāṅkhŚr • turned towards each other, facing one another RV. VS. Br • lying in one direction, forming one line (as foot steps) ŚBr • correct, accurate, proper, true, right BhP • uniform, same, identical W ubhayoḥ—of both; ubhaya: both, of both kinds, in both ways, in both manners vindate—enjoys; vindate Pot. vindyāt, often = vidyāt vid: to find, discover, meet or fall in with, obtain, get, acquire, partake of, possess to feel, experience vidyāt, 'one should know', 'it should be understood' vidyātas ○tas ind. in consequence or by virtue of knowledge phalam—result. phala n. the fruit or reward of good works -phala n. the result of it phala n. the fruit or result of human effort English translations (with original sentences): Only: (adverb): And no one or nothing more besides; solely "Only Krsna is supreme." The: (determiner): Used to make a generalized reference to something rather than identifying a particular instance (used with an adjective to refer to those people who are the type described). "The wise feel happy." Ignorant (adjective): Lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated. "Ignorant people don't believe that there is a possibility of life on other planets." speak (Verb): Say something in order to convey information or to express a feeling. "I like to hear Babaji and Prabhupada speak." of: (preposition): used to indicate the objective relation, the object of the action noted by the preceding noun or the application of a verb or adjective "I'm tired of working without Krsna Consciousness." -speak of: mention or discuss in speech or writing karma-yoga: (noun): The discipline of selfless action as a way to perfection. " Karma yoga is but one step in the full journey to perfection." and: (conjunction): Used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses, or sentences, that are to be taken jointly. "Chanting and Prasadam are brilliant." devotional: (adjective): characterized by devotion. devotion (noun): love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person or activity "I am developing devotion to Krsna." service: (noun): the action of helping or doing work for someone. "I will perform service to the bridge community." as : (conjunction): used to indicate by comparison the way that something happens or is done " This prasadam is as tasty as the Lord's mercy" being: (noun) substance, nature, essence " He foolishly saw the prasadam as being regular food" different: (adjective): not the same as another or each other; unlike in nature, form, or quality. "The Lords name is not different to the Lord himself." from: (preposition) Indicating a distinction "You are different from your body" the: (determiner): used to point forward to a following qualifying or defining clause or phrase. "You are not the same as your body." analytical: (adjective): relating to or using analysis or logical reasoning. analysis: (noun): Detailed examination of the elements or structure of something. "To understand these verses properly we must be analytical when reading." study: (noun): a detailed investigation and analysis of a subject or situation. "I like to study the Esoteric Teaching" of: (preposition): used to indicate the objective relation, the object of the action noted by the preceding noun or the application of a verb or adjective "I said I'm tired of not being Krsna Conscious." the: (determiner): used to point forward to a following qualifying or defining clause or phrase "I am in the lower modes at the moment." material: (adjective): denoting or consisting of physical objects rather than the mind or spirit. "The mind is actually material although it is subtle." world: (noun): everything that exists; the universe; the macrocosm "He has the whole world in His hands." Those: plural form of that That: pronoun: used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as pointed out or present, mentioned before, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis "Those that don't do the experiment are in ignorance." who: (pronoun): Used to introduce a clause giving further information about a person or people. "He who dares wins" are: Second person singular and plural and first and third person plural present indicative of be. "They are great souls" actually: (adverb): as an actual or existing fact; really. "I think the universe is actually Krsna's energy, not some random splooge" learned: (adjective): of or showing learning or knowledge; well-informed "Babaji is learned in this philosophy" say (verb): to state as an opinion or judgment "They say your best friend must be God" that: (conjunction): used to introduce a subordinate clause as the subject or object of the principal verb or as the necessary complement to a statement made, or a clause expressing cause or reason, purpose or aim, result or consequence, etc "Those that try will never fail" he: (pronoun): anyone (without reference to sex); that person "He who tries wins." who: (pronoun): Used to introduce a clause giving further information about a person or people. "Those who chant feel bliss" applies: (verb): To devote (oneself or one's efforts) to something "When one applies their energy, they will feel the results." himself: (pronoun): used as the object of a preposition or as the direct or indirect object of a verb "He who propels himself, moves forward." well: (adverb): thoroughly, carefully, or soundly "If you are going to do something, do it well" to: (preposition): used for indicating the indirect object of a verb, for connecting a verb with its complement, or for indicating or limiting the application of an adjective, noun, or pronoun "Connect yourself to the supreme." one: (adjective): being a particular, unique, or only individual, item, or unit "This is one of many mantras" of: (preposition): used to indicate the objective relation, the object of the action noted by the preceding noun or the application of a verb or adjective "I'm tired of the city...urgggh." these: plural of this this: (pronoun): used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as present, near, just mentioned or pointed out, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis "These techniques are great" paths (noun): a course of action, conduct, or procedure "You must follow the path of the previous self-realized souls" achieves: To attain with effort or despite difficulty " He who puts in the effort, achieves" the: the: (determiner): used to point forward to a following qualifying or defining clause or phrase "You will attain the supreme" resultsnoun): a desirable or beneficial consequence, outcome, or effect "Put in the work and get the results." of: (preposition): used to indicate the objective relation, the object of the action noted by the preceding noun or the application of a verb or adjective "Get the best of all things" bothadjective): one and the other; two together "I love both Krsna and Radha." 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Summary 2: Those who do not know the truth about life and the universe cannot see the way to achieve the goal of life. They see devotional service and analytical study as two completely different things. This is due to their ignorance, they have not developed their spiritual sight. Those who have developed their spiritual sight, namely the learned, can see the truth. They see that there is not actually a difference between the two paths as the result of both is the same, pure love of God. Further, not only is the end result the same, but the results along the path are also the same. If one takes to analytical study, when they become learned, they will see that the world is actually emanated from Krsna and so will take to performing devotional service. Similarly, those who take to devotional service will have the same knowledge imparted to them by Krsna. The end result of both is pure love. When they achieve this end result, they have become perfect and their desire is the same, to serve the truth. In the early stages it may seem like one is serving the quest for knowledge and another is serving God personally. But the person who has enthusiasm for the absolute truth will come to realize that the truth is a person and then also serve and love the personal form of the absolute truth. Eventually the paths merge. They are non-different. When they achieve this, they no longer suffer as they have achieved the remedy to material nature; linking with the supreme. This is the consequence of the knowledge they have obtained. However, because the same knowledge is obtained through devotional service, it is better to follow this path as the person who analytically studies will eventually come to the platform of devotional service anyway. Devotional service is both the path and the result, but only in the pure stage can one attain the pure love of Godhead. Ask yourself: How do I now understand this verse better? I realized so much more in the verse than I had before, especially from looking up the sanskrit meanings. For example, the word yoga alone contains a wealth of information in relation to the Bhagavad gita. Here it is translated as work in devotional service. But it contains so much more. When we perform devotional service, we are linked/attached to Krsna. So this devotional service is also a vehicle to travel to the spiritial world. It is the means, the way, the method to arrive at the absolute truth. Further, it is not only the way to absolute truth, it is a necessity if we want to get rid of our sufferings. So yoga is also called a remedy, a cure; the disease? Material consciousness. Another example is the use of the word bālāḥ which is translated as less intelligent. The word bālaka also means fool, simpleton, as well as young, childish, not yet fullgrown. Well this is the perfect description, as the ignorant make speculations yet they don't really have a clue as to the truth. So this is acting as a child. Deeper than this though is that we are all children/ not fully grown in the beginning. So even the ignorant have the chance to develop into the learned and then they will be able to see what the learned can see. The unity in the two paths. I found this with most of the words.This exercise unravels so much of the verse and am going to try to do it at least once a week. Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? Arjuna had asked Krsna which was better, work in devotion or renunciation. Krsna proceeds to answer this, stating that although both are good, work with devotion is best and is in fact itself renunciation. In his explanation, He speaks this verse to give another example as to why devotional service is best, although the same result can be obtained by other methods (e.g. analytical study). The final result is devotional service anyways and Krsna wanted to make this clear. Love Mike So You Think the Financial Crisis will be Over Soon? by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 4 January 2009, 08:05 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! If you do, then you haven't read the trio of companion editorials in today's New York Times: "The End of the Financial World As We Know It" "How to Repair a Broken Financial World" RISK Mismanagement The system is broken, so broken that even though experienced traders and financial analysts know how to fix it, they are doing nothing because they have no financial incentive to do anything. This is unlikely to change, because after all, the people making the most egregious mistakes are the people with the money and political power to buy autonomy and immunity. Santiago is lovely this time of the year... love, Baba Sunday Satsang 4 January 2009: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in a Nutshell by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 07:07 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Kṛṣṇa Himself summarizes the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in four ślokas spoken to Lord Brahmā at the beginning of creation. This is the origin of the acintya-bhedābheda philosophy of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the beginning of our lineage of the Esoteric Teaching: aham evāsam evāgre nānyad yat sad-asat param paścād ahaṁ yad etac ca yo 'vaśiṣyeta so 'smy aham "Brahmā, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who was existing before the creation, when there was nothing but Myself. Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead. ṛte 'rthaṁ yat pratīyeta na pratīyeta cātmani tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ "O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness. yathā mahānti bhūtāni bhūteṣūccāvaceṣv anu praviṣṭāny apraviṣṭāni tathā teṣu na teṣv aham "O Brahmā, please know that the universal elements enter into the cosmos and at the same time do not enter into the cosmos; similarly, I Myself also exist within everything created, and at the same time I am outside of everything. etāvad eva jijñāsyaṁ tattva-jijñāsunātmanaḥ anvaya-vyatirekābhyāṁ yat syāt sarvatra sarvadā "A person who is searching after the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, must certainly search for it up to this, in all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indirectly." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.9.33-36] This will be the topic for this coming Sunday Satsang; please read all four ślokas and their Purports in preparation. Then we can discuss them intelligently on Sunday. As usual, the webcast will be accessible via this link: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com/portal/JoinForm.action?confKey=davidbrucehughes Use this map to calculate your local time: Please make an effort to attend. These Satsangs are much better when more students are online. love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 4 January 2008: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in a Nutshell by Bruce Moore - Friday, 2 January 2009, 08:31 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Babaji! Jaya Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Srila Bhaktivinoda, Sri Sri Nitai-Gaura Bhakta Vrnda and Sri Sri Radha-Krishna! In the last satsang, unfortunately there were such few devotees in attendance which prompted you to make two statements. The first statement was: In order to have a good kirtan, we need at least ten people. Secondly, you said, if people were not going to show up, what is the sense in having these satsangs? In my eyes, Gurudeva, you are Krsna here on earth in human form, and so as Krsna representative I wanted to give you the complete respect of which you are entitle too. Therefore, I want to express the fact that I will not be able to attend this sunday's satsang because I will be returning from visiting family on the Amtrak. Nevertheless, I will make every effort to attend. Hare Rama, Bruce Re: Sunday Satsang 4 January 2008: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in a Nutshell by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 2 January 2009, 08:52 AM Dear Bruce, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for your appreciation. Actually we do quite a bit of work to prepare for the Satsangs: setting up cameras, mics and equipment, preparing the program, etc. We are getting over 200 views of the Satsang videos on YouTube, so it's not like people don't appreciate them at all. I just wonder why more of our students don't make an effort to attend. I am certainly not Kṛṣṇa, just a very insignificant devotee of the Lord, but I am making some effort to repeat His instructions as revealed by my spiritual master Śrīla Prabhupāda. By Kṛṣṇa's grace we are meeting with modest success. sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyaṁ sādhūnāṁ hṛdayaṁ tv aham mad-anyat te na jānanti nāhaṁ tebhyo manāg api "Saints are My heart, and only I am their hearts. They do not know anyone but Me, and therefore I do not recognize anyone besides them as Mine." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.4.68] love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 4 January 2008: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in a Nutshell by David Lugan - Friday, 2 January 2009, 09:13 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please update the title of this thread to be 2009. I will listen to the January 2, 2009 Evening Darshan and set a loud alarm for Sunday's Satsang. See you there. Love, David Re: Sunday Satsang 4 January 2009: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in a Nutshell by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 4 January 2009, 06:57 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Uddhava figured out a way of recording video that does not require so much processing, so the video is available already. watch The video is also available on YouTube. love, Baba The Bridge Transcendental Community Concept Artwork by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 11:32 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is a fantastic piece of artwork from Kānāi Prabhu showing the concept for our Bridge Community. I made a small copy for the post, but you can download the full-resolution [2000 x 1080 px] version here. love, Baba Re: The Bridge Transcendental Community by David Lugan - Friday, 2 January 2009, 09:35 PM Dear Kānāi, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Good work. The city doesn't look that bad, yet. The Bridge Community looks how I imagined it minus the crop fields. Here is the definition of the phrase above the city entrance: "Arbeit macht frei" is a German phrase meaning "work brings freedom" or "work shall set you free/will free you" or "work liberates" and, literally in English, "work makes (one) free". The slogan is known in the English speaking world for being placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. [Arbeit macht frei on Wikipedia] Love, David Re: The Bridge Transcendental Community by Bruce Moore - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 01:18 PM Dear Kanai, Please accept my humble obeisances. Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Babaji! Jaya Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Srila Bhaktivinoda, Sri Sri Nitai-Gaura Bhakta Vrnda and Sri Sri Radha-Krishna! I want to let you know that I appreciate your artistic work. You and Peter inspire me to create a new poem to glorify both Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga. The contrast in the painting is what makes the statement so poignant. And what is statement? That Lord Gauranga has paved the way the Land of milk and honey. Upon enlarging this painting what I noticed was the fact that you have Babaji and yourself painted into the picture. Beautiful! Hare Rama, Bruce Re: The Bridge Transcendental Community by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 01:11 PM Dear David, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Of course the irony of that, as we know, is that material work is precisely what entangles us in material existence: yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara "Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.9] love, Baba Re: The Bridge Transcendental Community by Kānāi Dāsa - Sunday, 4 January 2009, 06:30 AM Dear Bruce , Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Thank you for the kind words. I did paint Babaji and the rest of us into the picture but I didn't think you could see us because we are in the temple having an ecstatic kirtan. Love Kanai Dasa Voluntary Creative Simplicity by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 03:03 PM How we went from $42,000 to $6,500 and lived to tell about it! By L. Kevin & Donna Philippe-Johnson As a middle class American, it's been difficult for me to understand how we are supposed to make a living when there are so many things working against us. How can we go on day after day with the rising cost of food, fuel, utilities, car insurance, taxes and health care, while dealing with the insecurity of unemployment? In the past, whenever I considered these things, I felt a hopeless sense of impending doom in the pit of my stomach. There is so much talk about how to solve these issues, but nothing ever seems to stop the downward spiral of struggle and stress that millions of folks are experiencing. Like many working people, my life went along fine during the 1980s. I had a good paying job ($42,000 a year) and though I didn't enjoy the kind of work I was doing as an industrial draftsman, receiving a steady paycheck every week kept me going without much complaint. But then came the Gulf War in the 1990s and after that point I faced nine layoffs over the span of 10 years. By the time September 11 happened, I hadn't been able to maintain steady employment in the petrochemical industry for over a decade. I would work about three or four months, then back again to the unemployment line. It was at this point that I realized that something was wrong. The life strategy I had grown up to believe in was no longer working and there didn't seem to be any answers. Obviously no one was going to get me out of this, so I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands and figure out a way to redefine my basic approach to living. Lucky for me, I have an adventurous wife. She was on the same page with me and was willing to make some drastic changes in our lifestyle. As a committed team, we decided to figure out another way to survive despite these uncertain, hard economic times. Since we didn't have a lot of money and because it was getting harder to find steady employment, we decided to rethink our basic values in order to create a life for ourselves where we could be independent and free of needing a career or a full-time job. And for us, that meant first and foremost, moving to the country. If we were going to be poor, we thought, at least it would be better to be poor in the country. That way we could grow our own food and reduce our expenses. Eventually we discovered that there were others who felt the same way we did. Today there is a small, but growing movement in this country towards a lifestyle we call "Voluntary Creative Simplicity." We decided to start over, to shake loose from all the things holding us down. We got rid of all the stuff we didn't need and worked on paying off debt. Then canceling our credit cards and using cash, we followed an efficient financial plan that taught how to track every penny. By doing this we were able eventually to save a little bit of money. (See the book entitled, Your Money or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin.) Also, we wanted to be strong and healthy to do the work required for this basic lifestyle so we changed our eating habits. We broke away from the standard American fast food, pre-packaged supermarket diet in favor of organically grown whole grains, raw fruits and vegetables, fermented dairy, nuts, seeds and sprouts and eliminated all junk foods and prescription drugs. We started exercising regularly by walking, practicing yoga, and gardening. Since we no longer wanted to pay health insurance premiums, we decided to start a special savings account ($1,000) just for emergency first-aid treatment. And of course we got rid of the cell phone, cable television and Internet bills and greatly minimized our use of air conditioning. The beginning of the path to the simple life was a process of elimination in every aspect of our lives. Eventually we found 2-1/2 acres of land, 35 miles out of the city. Inspired by our new vision, one summer we said goodbye to the city, permanently moved out to our new place and set up a dome tent to live in. We happily lived in our tent that summer while clearing the land and constructing a rustic 10' by 12' room with a sleeping loft. We did this on a "pay-as-you-go" plan, hauling all the materials in the back of our old pickup truck. Never having built anything before, we worked hard and gained the skill of building our own shelter. As the tiny outbuilding took shape, next came the installation of an underground cistern for collecting rainwater, and finally, the construction of our three-room (500 square foot) cabin. Since we had to borrow $9,000 to purchase the property, I continued to take whatever jobs I could find (drafting, clerk work, courier, dishwasher, bakery assistant, etc.) while Donna stayed busy working on our organic garden, planting fruit trees and composting. She enjoys learning about native plants and healing herbs that she can grow. Over the next few years, while working toward our goals of self-reliance and independence, we became stronger, healthier and more confident in our ability to rely on our own skills. It was quite an empowering experience. We learned how to build things, grow our own food, take responsibility for our own health, and best of all, we learned how to laugh and have fun again. The simple joys and true pleasures of fresh, home-grown food, watching everything grow and prosper in harmony, working with our own hands and spending quality time together replaced all of the costly false values that had occupied our time before. Gradually we paid off the land, finished the cabin and succeeded in minimizing our basic utility costs. We began to notice that our expenses were decreasing as the quality of our life was increasing. As long as we stayed home and didn't travel to a steady job we really didn't need very much money. The lifestyle of voluntary creative simplicity was resulting in compounding efficiency and improvement in every area of our lives. Soon, we saw the proof of the inefficiency of working a full-time job. After figuring in the work-related expenses of one job, I realized that my take home pay was only $3 an hour! At that point I was convinced that it was far more cost effective to stay home, grow our own food, split our own firewood and bake our own bread than it was to travel to a job day after day. Yet we still needed some form of income. Though we had reduced the amount we needed to around $540 a month (way below the poverty level in America), we still had to find a way to generate that income without relying on full-time employment. Once we had succeeded in drastically reducing the amount of money we needed, I knew it would be easy to earn this income by working odd jobs such as building rustic furniture, playing guitar for tips, simple carpentry, part-time drafting, office work, plumbing, etc. However, there was one thing I really loved to do...bake handmade whole-grain sourdough bread in an outdoor wood-fired clay oven! I had always shared my bread with friends and family, but it never really occurred to me to do it as a way to earn extra money. We soon discovered that there was no authentic, handmade sourdough bread being produced in our area, and little by little, people began asking if they could trade or buy from us. Within a year we had enough bread customers to generate the supplemental income needed to meet our modest expenses. And now there is even more demand and a waiting list of neighbors and friends who want our bread regularly. They know our bread is special because the organic wheat is freshly hand milled, the loaves are lovingly made entirely by hand and baked in our outdoor clay oven. (See our article, "A Homemade Clay Oven and Naturally Fermented Sourdough Bread," in the July/August 2005 issue of COUNTRYSIDE.) We want to let others know there is a wide open market for this kind of specialty bread, even in very small towns like ours, because so many people, for various reasons, are unable or unwilling to make it for themselves. In fact, there is such a demand for this unique artisan bread that many people are perfectly willing to pay us $4.50 a loaf! Anyone who wants to earn a little extra cash, say $50-$100 a week or more, should consider learning this valuable skill, then educating and sharing in their local community. We continuously hand out educational material about the health benefits of sourdough bread, offer informative presentations in our local community and give out free bread samples. Our system of distribution is arranged like a "bread co-op." There are regular customers who buy a batch of six loaves at a time, which we deliver fresh to them once a month. An added bonus of learning this skill is the inexpensive, incredibly delicious, wholesome bread that we make for ourselves, which helps reduce our food bill. This is just an example of how a valuable skill such as this can be financially supportive when you are living and thinking small. While the key to the lifestyle of voluntary simplicity, is "thinking small," many people still believe the opposite is true-"bigger is better." For example, people often tell us we should invest in a commercial bakery and produce more sourdough bread. But in order to expand and make a career out of baking and selling bread, we would have to go into debt to purchase commercial mixers, freezers and large ovens, work longer hours and face the mountain of bureaucratic permits, codes, fees and restrictions. As a result, the simple, authentic handmade artisan bread that our customers love would have to be sacrificed in favor of expanding volume and making more money. Everybody loses but the bankers and the bureaucrats. We would fall right back in the same old trap, getting into debt and sacrificing our freedom and quality of life for a job. This is an example of compounding inefficiency. The downfall of many people who would like to break the bonds of stress and financial enslavement to the system is their tendency to think too big. But we must realize that this has been programmed into us by the industrial society and loan institutions, all attempting to excite and feed our insatiable desires. Friends, it takes a lot of mindful awareness to break free of all these traps. It also requires an ability to improvise and adapt towards an alternative model. The lifestyle of voluntary simplicity is one option and the resulting benefits are transformational. The point I'm making is this: many of us can no longer think in terms of having a lifetime career anymore. For whatever reason, things are changing in this country. Outsourcing and cheaper labor costs in other countries will continue to eliminate jobs in the United States. And though the opportunity still exists to work, we must understand that it may be only temporary. While continuing to work at a job or career one should be wise and set up a plan to survive without steady employment for certain periods of time if necessary. This could mean storing some supplies, purchasing a piece of property where a small shelter, tent or tipi can be erected if necessary, or getting out of the city and into the country where one can provide food for themselves. My old Grandpa used to say, "all the troubles in this country began when people stopped growing their own food." And he was right. The younglings of this modern age don't even know what real food is, much less how to grow or prepare it! This has to change. (That's another reason we promote sourdough bread baking. It is time to start a "slow-food" movement). Thinking small is one of the most intelligent and powerful things one can do. Consciously reducing one's life down to the simple basics is the secret to happiness. And it is so easy. What is the solution? This is our advice, especially to young people: "Don't get in debt, don't think in terms of a career (work at a job for one reason only, to get paid so you can buy a place to live and grow some food), live in a small shelter, unload unnecessary stuff, reduce monthly expenses, extract yourself from the enslavement of modern technological materialism, stay healthy by exercising, eat a simple, wholesome diet, develop some practical skills, practice your art or trade and serve your local community. Teach your children to value true pleasures. Real wealth is perishable: food, health, trees, flowers, herbs, healthy soil, clean water, fresh air, friends and art. Learn to value and appreciate these above all else." Of course we realize that everyone has to creatively work out their own unique plan according to their particular circumstances, especially if there are children to raise. (We have six grown children.) But with "small thinking," so many opportunities open up and the more one can release, the more freedom there is to experience with each passing year. If someone would have suggested to us ten years ago that there was a way for the two of us to live on much less, build our own little hut, buy our freedom, give up steady employment, work fewer hours, become happy, healthy, debt free, self-reliant, and live fearlessly without health insurance, I would have told them they were crazy. This has been an incredible, radical journey for us, but now we know from first hand experience that with vision, patience, self-discipline and courage, it is possible to create such a reality. Creative voluntary simplicity expands faster than inflation. For those who can do it, instead of thinking too big and chasing after more money to find happiness and security, the answer can truly be summed up in the words of the Greek philosopher, Diogenes: "True freedom is in the minimum of needs." Re: Voluntary Creative Simplicity by David Lugan - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 07:31 PM Dear Bābājī, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for sharing this wonderful article. I'm going to email this to everyone. Love, David Tip of advise by Sean Lildharrie - Wednesday, 5 November 2008, 06:29 AM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,and Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī During the past month,I have been slacking off with spritual work.I haven't been chanting. I'm aslo not a pure vegtarean any more for the major fact of my parent's disagreements,and my levels of determination. Another thing, ever since I had told my mother about the dream of krsna,she agreed for me to chant the kavacha you recomened at first, but then after words, she doubted me,Thinking I was lying,and the reason why the dream occured was because, of me "being crazy",and some exuse just to chant.Because of this, I wasn't aloud to chant the kavacha. Ever since that event, I felt that my love for him is just....being held back by some force. What's going on with the love? Did Krsna realy apear to me in sleep? I oplogize for not posting this earlier. Love, Sean Lildharrie ~Jai Sri Radha-Krsna!!! (Edited by David Bruce Hughes - original submission Monday, November 3, 2008, 09:45 AM) Re: Tip of advise-BABAJI ONLY by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 3 November 2008, 10:51 AM Dear Sean, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Your parents are insane, they are demoniac they are bullying and abusing you just like Hiraṇyakaṣipu abused his son Prahlāda, and you are so weak that you are allowing them to get away with it. Because you are hearing their offensive statements and not fighting back, you are implicated in their offenses and consequently you are losing your feelings of love for Kṛṣṇa. kateka śuniba prabhu tomāra nindana nā pāri sahite, ebe chāḍiba jīvana “How long can we tolerate the blasphemy by Your critics against Your conduct? We should give up our lives rather than hear such blasphemy." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi 7.50] PURPORT One of the most important instructions by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu regarding regular Vaiṣṇava behavior is that a Vaiṣṇava should be tolerant like a tree and submissive like grass. tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ “One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.” [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 17.31] Nevertheless, the author of these instructions, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, did not tolerate the misbehavior of Jagāi and Mādhāi. When they harmed Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, He immediately became angry and wanted to kill them, and it was only by the mercy of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu that they were saved. One should be very meek and humble in his personal transactions, and if insulted a Vaiṣṇava should be tolerant and not angry. But if there is blasphemy against one’s guru or another Vaiṣṇava, one should be as angry as fire. This was exhibited by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One should not tolerate blasphemy against a Vaiṣṇava but should immediately take one of three actions. If someone blasphemes a Vaiṣṇava, one should stop him with arguments and higher reason. If one is not expert enough to do this he should give up his life on the spot, and if he cannot do this, he must go away. While Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in Benares or Kāśī, the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs blasphemed Him in many ways because although He was a sannyāsī He was indulging in chanting and dancing. Tapana Miśra and Candraśekhara heard this criticism, and it was intolerable for them because they were great devotees of Lord Caitanya. They could not stop it, however, and therefore they appealed to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu because this blasphemy was so intolerable that they had decided to give up their lives. You are in an intolerable situation. If you were an adult I would certainly advise you to leave immediately, but you cannot do that because you are still a child. I don't know why you let your parents control you; my parents certainly never were able to dominate me like that. love, Baba Re: Tip of advise-BABAJI ONLY by Sean Lildharrie - Tuesday, 4 November 2008, 04:52 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,and Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī Well, You certainly pin pointed the problem great I thank you for posting that story of Sri Caitanya. Only, what can I do to get real infinite love for Sri Visnu & Krsna? Godly love is eternal isn't it? Love, Sean Lildharrie ~Jai Sri Radha Krsna! Re: Tip of advise by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 4 November 2008, 05:43 PM Dear Sean, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please do not put BABAJI ONLY in the title. There are several advanced devotees who are competent to give spiritual advice from the scriptures. Don't disrespect them or advertise your pride by demanding that I alone answer your posts. Your difficulties are insignificant compared to what other devotees have gone through. And you are also missing the point. As long as you are hearing blasphemy and your devotional activities are being interfered with, how can you attain anything? Hearing offensive talk is itself an offense, so by not taking a hard line with your parents, you are losing all your spiritual qualifications. I never did like eating meat; it was so gross, it made me gag. I used to feed it to the dog under the table. When I turned 16 I said, "I am now a vegetarian." Period. I just refused to cook or eat anything with meat in it, and my family had to get used to it somehow or other. So I don't have much sympathy with using your tender age as an excuse to tolerate interference with your spiritual life. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī renounced his family life at an early age and took sannyāsa directly from Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: mahāprabhura priya bhṛtya—raghunātha-dāsa sarva tyaji' kaila prabhura pada-tale vāsa "Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, the forty-sixth branch of the tree, was one of the most dear servants of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He left all his material possessions to surrender completely unto the Lord and live at His lotus feet." The forefathers of Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī were all Vaiṣṇavas and were very rich men. His spiritual master at home was Yadunandana Ācārya. Although Raghunātha dāsa was a family man, he had no attachment for his estate and wife. Seeing his tendency to leave home, his father and uncle engaged special bodyguards to watch over him, but nevertheless he managed to escape their vigilance and went away to Jagannātha Purī to meet Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 10.91 Purport] kṛpā-guṇair yaḥ kugṛhāndha-kūpād uddhṛtya bhaṅgyā raghunātha-dāsam nyasya svarūpe vidadhe 'ntaraṅgaṁ- śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanyam amuṁ prapadye "With the ropes of His causeless mercy, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu employed a trick to deliver Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī from the blind well of contemptible family life. He made Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī one of His personal associates, placing him under the charge of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. I offer my obeisances unto Him." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 6.1] You should read the chapters describing Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī's escape from the dark well of family life. Maybe it will give you some solace, and some hope. love, Baba Re: Tip of advise by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 5 November 2008, 06:26 AM Dear Sean, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I do not think that you are exercising enough determination and creativity. If you want to say your kavacha, just find a quiet place away from home, and then who can stop you? Go to some empty lot, park or woods, hide in the bushes and just chant. love, Baba Re: Tip of advise by Sean Lildharrie - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 06:47 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,and Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī The same exact thing that you said will happen, happened. Because, I didn't follow your advise,and chose to live on the materialistic "illusion" side of life, I have lost all of my spiritual qualifications,and common sense. My life has now become very lonesome, pity full. I'm also suffering through bodily discomforts. It's so horrible I feel like a little demon. And the worst part of it is, I returned to listen to stupid reggae music because,I thought listening to rastafarians will get me some where to spiritual life,and help me defend my faith to know whats right from wrong. I'm sorry I chose to live the foolish side of life. All I desire is just to develop pure love for Sri Radha- Krsna. Unfortunately, being in this house surrounded by blasphemy,and ignorance just makes it so hard. Which is why I chose to give up the esoteric teaching temporaraly until I turned the age of eighteen. Now I don't want to give up! I want to love krsna like I used to back in the months of July,and August. What do I do I'm tired of fantasizing the incorrect interpretations of spiritual life , eating meat, and being an obstacle to myself,and others. I don't want to be scheming,cunning or deceitful all I want is freedom from these negative traits,and illsion. To accept reality. What can I do now? Love, Sean Lildharrie ~Jai Sri Radha-Krsna!!! re: Homework by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 25 December 2008, 10:40 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I very much appreciate your posting your homework assignments. This is very good work, and leads to establishing the academic standard for the Bhakti-śaṣtri Degree that will be offered by our University of Higher Knowledge. Every devotee should study Bhagavad-gītā scrutizingly. Those who have taken the trouble to do this for even one verse of Bhagavad-gītā uniformly report gaining a level of insight far beyond what they had before. This was exactly my point in making the assignment. Western forced education has ruined everyone's taste for knowledge. After being forced to accept and regurgitate someone else's opinions for so many years, we have forgotten how wonderful it is to look deeply into a subject and discover something we never saw before. This is the joy of knowledge, and I invite everyone to rediscover it for themselves by following our program of deep study. love, Baba Re: re: Homework by Peter Turanec - Friday, 26 December 2008, 03:55 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I think I have found something out by completing my previous homework assignment.  I have theorized that by fully understanding even one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā you can understand the whole thing.  (I am using the word 'theorized' as meaning a very primitive, preliminary realization.)  It seems to me that one part of the Bhagavad-gītā can be used to unzip the rest. I feel that if there was a world-wide nuclear war and all books and knowledge were deystroyed except for one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, a self realized soul could come along and take this one small verse and derive the entire Bhagavad-gītā from it.  This is how I understand the Absolute Truth-- one part can be used to derive the rest.  Its like the Absolute Truth is an interwoven web of spiritual information which is all connected in one way or another, much like how all rivers eventually flow into the ocean. Does this make any sense? love, peter Re: re: Homework by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 26 December 2008, 06:12 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You are absolutely right. If you realize even one verse, you will understand everything. All of Kṛṣṇa's qualities are in any part of Him; this is the deep meaning of the acintya-bhedābheda-tattva philosophy taught by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. love, Baba Re: re: Homework by Devesh Pant - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 11:12 PM Respected Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I have seen explanation on acintya-bhedābheda-tattva  and I have a little understanding of it. If it is not too time consuming, could you elaborate a little more on the inconcievable, qualitative oneness and quantitative difference between atma and Paramatma. This will help us all I think. I defintiely understand the personal form of God is the ultimate - Bhagavān and is distinct from the atman or jiva. Just googled the Advaita( Shankaracharya) and found Vishishta-Advaita ( Ramanujacharya), Dvaita ( Madhavacharya) and  acintya-bhedābheda (    Lord Chaitanya). Since we are from the lineage of Lord Chaitanya, I want to make sure I understand it completely to its depth, hence this request. with regards Devesh Re: re: Homework by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 11:39 PM Dear Devesh, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His partial representation, measuring not more than nine inches as Supersoul, expands by His potential energy in the shape of the universal form, which includes everything manifested in different varieties of organic and inorganic materials. The manifested varieties of the universe are therefore not different from the Lord, just as golden ornaments of different shapes and forms are nondifferent from the original stock reserve of gold. In other words, the Lord is the Supreme Person who controls everything within the creation, and still He remains the supreme separate identity, distinct from all manifested material creation. In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.4-5) He is therefore said to be Yogeśvara. Everything rests on the potency of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and still the Lord is different from and transcendental to all such identities. In the Vedic Puruṣa-sūkta of the Ṛg mantra, this is also confirmed. This philosophical truth of simultaneous oneness and difference was propounded by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it is known as acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Brahmā, Nārada and all others are simultaneously one with the Lord and different from the Supreme Lord. We are all one with Him, just as the gold ornaments are one in quality with the stock gold, but the individual gold ornament is never equal in quantity with the stock gold. The stock gold is never exhausted even if there are innumerable ornaments emanating from the stock because the stock is pūrṇam, complete; even if pūrṇam is deducted from the pūrṇam, still the supreme pūrṇam remains the same pūrṇam. This fact is inconceivable to our present imperfect senses. Lord Caitanya therefore defined His theory of philosophy as acintya (inconceivable), and as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā as well as in the Bhāgavatam, Lord Caitanya's theory of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva is the perfect philosophy of the Absolute Truth. Acintya-bhedābheda-tattva is very deep; you cannot understand it by study alone. Although it would be instructive to look up the term in the Vedabase—and I do recommend that you do it—reading about it will not reveal a whole lot. Rather, this truth has to be studied on a broader level, and revealed by realization. I recommend that you go through Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam carefully and systematically, from the beginning. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam lays out the case for acintya-bhedābheda-tattva in the form of histories of the pastimes of the Lord and His devotees. There is really no shortcut to this understanding, for acintya-bhedābheda-tattva is the deepest truth in our Esoteric Teaching. love, Baba Re: re: Homework by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 02:36 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! After seeing the great progress everyone who attempted the homework has made, I am very enthusiastic. This is definitely the standard of academic excellence that Śrīla Prabhupāda desires his students and disciples to have. I think we will make this kind of study the basis of the University courses that we are planning. I am very grateful to all our students who took the trouble to go through this challenging assignment. If nothing else we have realized how deep Bhagavad-gītā is, and how the entire philosophy is expressed in each and every verse. love, Baba Bridge Community Socioeconomic Theory by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 22 December 2008, 12:37 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Our socioeconomic theory outlines a three-stage program to wean the community off the present petroleum-based industrial economy and establish an independent self-sufficient village economy using appropriate technology. People make decisions and take action based on individual incentive founded in self-interest, as they perceive it. People cannot be expected to selflessly ignore their own benefit for the good of the whole for any great length of time. To assume otherwise would be self-delusion. Any idealistic socioeconomic theory that ignores this fact must fail. Therefore our theory is firmly based on the dynamics of individual economic, social and spiritual growth. The current economy fosters dependence on a global corporate system; we will build independence based on a local economic system. Instead of a global currency, we will value the labor of our members in a local currency based on the production of the field. Rather than compete with industrial producers on the other side of the planet, we will encourage members to make their own goods from locally produced materials and trade them within the community. This socioeconomic model is based on the work of E.F. Schumacher, Mohandas Gandhi and his followers, and the wisdom of the Vedic scriptures as revealed by our spiritual master Śrīla Prabhupāda. The essence of these approaches has been synthesized into the Village Self-Reliance (VSR) economic model by Alexander Petroff, and we will adapt that model to the unique needs of our project. The VSR model relies on the Labor Theory of Value (LTV) for its economic analysis, due to the superior explanatory power, logical consistency, and the mountain of empirical evidence supporting this theory. The VSR model starts from the assumption that all value comes from human labor, rather than from the exploitation of resources. This assumption means that economics is not a zero-sum game, where if one player has more wealth, others necessarily must have less. Value can always be added by labor, even without resources. For example, knowledge is also valuable, and knowledge can be generated by labor in the form of intellectual work: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” In our adaptation of the VSR model, there are three stages: Establishment Transition Self-reliance The initial or Establishment Stage of VSR is modeled after the company town, where a corporate entity provides the initial land, capital and infrastructure for development of a village. Despite its reputation of worker exploitation, the company town is one of the few successful models of rapid development. A fixed amount of capital is developed into a local economy by the addition of the labor of the community members, and the members become the beneficiaries of that value. This motivates them to work very hard to create their future prosperity. Once the village and its economic infrastructure are established, the transition stage begins. In this stage the resources established by the corporate entity are privatized by encouraging individual entrepreneurs to take over its economic functions. Training, management consulting and financing programs offered to the local entrepreneurs by the founding corporation promote local business development. The objective is the self-reliance stage: a completely independent, sustainable, locally owned and managed village powered by the incentive and energy of its members and stakeholders. The VSR model uses a protectionist trade policy to limit imports from external sources and create a strong incentive for producing for the local market. All external trade passes through the founding corporation as a matter of policy. This protective shield allows local businesses to develop by being able to compete within the local economy. We also create a local currency based on the sustainable production of staple food. The exact commodity we use depends on the characteristics of the land and the crops it will support: wheat, rice, quinoa or dairy products, for example, may serve as the basis for a local currency. Animal traction (ox teams) are used for agricultural production, fertilizer and gas generation. Land ownership rights will be given to members who complete suitable vocational training in our University. They will be able to pass this land to their descendants, but not sell it or allow it to lay fallow. This policy is designed to reduce speculation, promote initiative by stability and pride in ownership, and encourage sustainable increases in productivity. Our goal is full employment by encouraging meaningful engagement, even if their labor is not considered productive labor in the strictest sense. Thus the economic structure of the village model is set up so as to insure that all people are employed in a meaningful activity. Conditions for the worker are a major consideration, and as much as possible work should be a source of satisfaction, not drudgery. The Bridge village model includes a strong focus on vocational education. Thus the centerpiece of our strategy is the International University of Higher Knowledge, with departments in spiritual, administrative, economic and vocational education. Education is not just the key to increasing workers’ productivity but also their satisfaction. Thus education is not so much viewed as a cost but a right. The village administration ensures that all members are properly trained in their vocation—whether as an intellectual, administrator, tradesman or craftsman—and to create a smooth-functioning civic order which is in harmony with the natural environment. This advanced educational system is actually the centerpiece of our village development plan. For it develops and encourages ambitious students to develop similar communities, and even provides capital and management assistance for them to do so. In this way the character of human civilization can be transformed from an exploitive global colonial structure to a network of beneficial spiritual cooperatives that add value to the planet and its people instead of consuming them. love, Baba Re: Bridge Community Socioeconomic Theory by Kānāi Dāsa - Monday, 22 December 2008, 06:18 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I remember last year sitting in the jungles somewhere in Thailand thinking to my self I really want to get out of this trap I want to live in the country and grow my own food and not have to deal with the material world anymore. I knew I couldn't do in Thailand because of the people were very materialistic driven and at the time I had only just started on the Esotericteaching website and there was no talk of the Village Self-Reliance project. I was chanting a few rounds at this time. I searched around Ireland for like minded people but there was always an angle. And I came here with no idea that we were going to start the foundations for the next civilization. Krsnas plan, I'm dovetailing, I'm dovetailing. What an honour to be involved with something so monumental and necessary. Through Thick and thin. Love Kanai Dasa Re: Bridge Community Socioeconomic Theory by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 22 December 2008, 07:02 PM Dear Kānāi, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well I never thought that I would be a spiritual master, what to speak of establishing a foundation for a new civilization. My idea of a happy old age was sitting on a beach in Hawaii, collecting Social Security and composing nice music for Kṛṣṇa. However Kṛṣṇa had something else in mind. No one else was doing what needed to be done to please Śrīla Prabhupāda. I saw this and wanted to take some responsibility. I started preaching, one thing led to another, and now here we are. The thing is, I am and have always been a systems thinker. Systems thinking means that if you solve the special case of a problem, then you also have the solution for the general case. Just like Einstien's Special Theory of Relativity automatically led to the General Theory a few years later. So if you can build one car, you can also build a thousand; if you establish one varṇāśrama community, you can establish any number, at least in theory. The trick is asking the right questions so that the solution scales. Not "How can I become happy?" but "How can the whole world become happy?" Not "How can we make a little farm community?" but "How can we make farm communities everywhere?" It turns out that just by making one and then using it to motivate many people and teach them the method, you can make as many as you want. Remember, our real product is not temples or communities or even devotees. It is a special kind of transcendental knowledge, the Absolute Truth; and the power of Absolute Truth is that you can use it to create anything, and anything you create will be pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa is pleased, then everyone is automatically pleased. So we are simply doing our duty, trying to please Śrīla Prabhupāda and Kṛṣṇa. We should not think it wonderful or surprising that by solving this special case, then automatically the general case of how to please everyone is also solved, because Kṛṣṇa is the root of everything. mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva "O conquerer of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread." [Bhagavad-gītā 7.7] love, Baba Re: Bridge Community Socioeconomic Theory by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 27 December 2008, 09:13 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Just a note as to why we need to base our community on a socioeconomic theory. The present materialistic society has a socioeconomic theory, and it begins from the idea that value comes from exploitation of material resources. Because of this assumption, our whole system of values emphasizes material objects, and minimizes the importance of human labor and quality of life. Businesses are optimized for profit, meaning that they give as little compensation to the workers as possible. Instead of investing their profits back into their workers, they distribute them to the shareholders. So the workers are cheated and ultimately destroyed by the corporations. This is the real cause of the economic meltdown you read about in the news every day. The multinational corporations (just another word for colonialism) have sucked as much value out of their Third-world workers as they can without destroying the ability of the workers to continue their labor. Thus the whole system is teetering on the verge of collapse. Our theory is much more humane, because it considers the source of all value to be human labor multiplied by knowledge. Resources are just the raw materials for the process of value creation, and without labor and knowledge they are useless. Consider the example of a gold mine. The gold ore is in the ground, but without the knowledge and labor of the expert geologist it cannot be found; without the knowledge and labor of the expert miner it cannot be dug out of the ground; without the knowledge and labor of the expert metallurgist the pure gold cannot be extracted from the ore. Pure gold is valuable, but its value is the product of labor and knowledge. Gold may have some intrinsic or potential value, but both labor and knowledge are necessary to realize it. If both labor and knowledge are the sources of value, then we will value human beings far more than material things. And since the value of knowledge is not additive, but multiplies the value of labor, we will value human beings with knowledge most of all. The value of knowledge is not quantitative, but qualitative; in other words, it is not how much you know, but how much your knowledge is based on Absolute Truth that determines its value. Thus the work of a pure devotee whose consciousness is rooted in Absolute Truth is the most valuable of all, because he can save the whole human race from the suffering of material existence. This work deserves our support and investment far more than the armchair capitalists. love, Baba Re: Bridge Community Socioeconomic Theory by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 3 January 2009, 01:34 PM Bridge_Community_Project_Description_V2.pdf Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We have continued to expand and refine our socioeconomic theory based on the Vedas and on Gandhian economics. This year we will continue to develop our economic cooperative in Santiago and raise funds for buying land for our farm community and University. The University courses will be posted online here and you will be able to take the introductory courses and qualify for the Bhakta degree. Higher degrees will require residence at the community for certification. I have attached the latest version of the Project Plan to this message. Please read it and let's discuss it at the Sunday Satsangs. love, Baba Evening Darshan 2 January 2009: The Catuḥ-Śloki by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 2 January 2009, 07:04 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In this Darshan we go over the four essential Sanskrit ślokas that summarize the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [2.9.33-36] that we will study in depth in the next Sunday Satsang on January 4. Please listen carefully to this Darshan and read the ślokas and Purports to prepare yourself for Sunday's Satsang, otherwise you won't have the slightest idea what we're talking about. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba The Secret Teachings of Jesus by Vinny Francesco - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 07:05 AM Dear Babajj, Devotees and Students. I am very fond the youtube videos, and after watching your Ayurveda seminars a feel i have gained some valuable spiritual knowledge. Ive also seen the brief video on the secret teachings of Jesus, and afterwards i was left with curiosity and wanted to pursue the subject further. I followed the link on the page and read the theology section but the forum and "book of Gethsemane (sp)" links were broken. In part 29 of the Ayurveda seminars you discussed Apocrapher (sp) and the dead sea scrolls, aswell as the Sanskrit writings of jesus. Ive done some searching but i cant find much information at all, especially the scriptures themselves. So i was wondering if you could help me out. Thanks - Vinny Re: The Secret Teachings of Jesus by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 07:28 AM Dear Vinny, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for your message. You really should introduce yourself on the Āśrama Forum, as recommended in the Required Reading for ALL Students. The Book of Gethsemane is now here. The Apocrypha are the books of the Bible that were cut out by Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE. The Dead Sea Scrolls are writings of the Essenes, the mystical cult to which Jesus and his family members belonged, and which expected his coming. Nowadays they are more widely known as the Nag Hammadi scrolls or writings, after the community where they were found. As far as we know, Jesus himself did not produce any writings. But he is mentioned in the Sanskrit scriptures, especially the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, where he is known as Īṣa. Īṣa is another name for Lord Brahma, the first-created being in the universe born directly from the transcendental body of the Lord. So he is the son of God in every way. love, Baba Re: The Secret Teachings of Jesus by David Lugan - Tuesday, 30 December 2008, 11:26 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Is there a verse in the Bible that says killing an animal is like killing a man? Love, David Re: The Secret Teachings of Jesus by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 31 December 2008, 06:52 AM Dear David, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, "He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man." It's somewhere in the Old Testament, there are any number of Bible search sites where you can look it up. love, Baba Question of Action and Reaction in this life time. by inci mutlu - Wednesday, 31 December 2008, 04:40 AM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna, All Glories to Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my humble obesiances, Thank you very much for your response. In that case, Are the results of our pious activities, passionly activities, ignorant and sinful activities, create their equivalent results in this life time day by day, while those activities are also creating the situation of our next birth under the operation of karma-bandhana? (my understanding): Actually our life is a continuous and eternal process because we are eternal, so all the results of our activites are also happening continuously, day by day, so when the body don't function anymore, we had to born again to continuously face the results of our activities. Is it like, action and reaction in this material life time? 1N action, creates 1N of that reaction in this life time day by day and in our next life, actually it is a continous process. While karma-yoga activities are 0 N. No weight, no force, because they are not physical and they are transcedental, spiritual. Love, inci PREVIOUS MESSAGES ABOUT THE TOPIC: Dear Inci, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Both 1 & 2 in your message are karma-bandhana. Karma-yoga is when we work as a sacrifice for Kṛṣṇa: śrī-bhagavān uvāca loke 'smin dvi-vidhā niṣṭhā purā proktā mayānagha jñāna-yogena sāṅkhyānāṁ karma-yogena yoginām The Blessed Lord said: "O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes of men who realize the Self. Some are inclined to understand Him by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others are inclined to know Him by devotional work." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.3] Kṛṣṇa goes on to describe karma-yoga more precisely in contrast with ordinary work: yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara "Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.9] love, Baba Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna, Please accept my humble obesiances! All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! In that case, are there two types of karma-yoga? 1)The vikarma, karma, and akarma that we have created in this life time and we are getting the results immediately in this life time like action-reaction theory. 2) The the vikarma, karma and akarma that we have accumulated in this life time, which determines our next birth. Also the 1st one is operated by karma-bandhana? love, inci Re: Question of Action and Reaction in this life time. by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 31 December 2008, 06:49 AM Dear Inci, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! My understanding is that the karma from the previous lifetimes creates this body and its circumstances; that is the basis of astrology. Of course, our present actions also create karma, and it is hard to say whether that karma creates reactions in this lifetime or the next. The science of karma is so complex that it is beyond human comprehension. So what is the benefit of such detailed inquiries? It is really impossible to know whether a particular reaction is from this life or a previous life. Better to stop material activities completely by bhakti-yoga, then there will be no more karma. love, Baba Sunday Satsang 28 December 2008: Elements of Bhakti Part 2 by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 09:05 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This Sunday Satsang is the second based on our new series, Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti. We will discuss the definitions of the essential terms describing the path of pure bhakti, devotional service to the Lord. How can we describe or discuss bhakti if we don't have a vocabulary of terms that names its elements? Please review the posts of Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti: Part 1 Part 2 Then we can discuss them intelligently today at 12 Noon Santiago time. As usual, the webcast will be accessible via this link: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com/portal/JoinForm.action?confKey=davidbrucehughes love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 28 December 2008: Elements of Bhakti Part 2 by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 29 December 2008, 10:26 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In this Sunday Satsang, we talk about svarūpa-lakṣaṇa or the intrinsic characteristics and taṭastha-lakṣaṇa, the extrinsic characteristics or the boundary conditions of pure bhakti. Similarly the living entity or soul has parallel intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics. We had a camera crash due to setup error, and the sound became unsynchronized, and we were unable to fix it during editing. Sorry about that. watch This video is also available on YouTube. love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 28 December 2008: Elements of Bhakti Part 2 by David Lugan - Wednesday, 31 December 2008, 04:43 AM Dear All, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In the last month I realized that I have been mostly developing jñāna. While watching this Satsang I decided to stop the video and have a sincere talk with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. I let Him know that I want to have prema and give uttama-bhakti all the time, I just need to know how to do this. Soon after I had the following thoughts: Śrī Kṛṣṇa is my eternal best friend. He knows all about me and will always be there for me. He is right here with me now. How can I show my love to my perfect friend? He enjoys listening to me chant His Holy Name. He likes tasty vegetarian food. He likes it when I lead other souls back to Him. I'm approaching sādhana-rūpa and look forward to our next Satsang. Love, David Re: Sunday Satsang 28 December 2008: Elements of Bhakti Part 2 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 31 December 2008, 06:40 AM Dear David, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is the right approach. And just see how Kṛṣṇa immediately reciprocates from within when you approach Him as friend. Because we preach on the Internet, in the beginning there is bound to be a bias toward jñāna; it is due to the nature of the medium. That is why we do so much video and stress the personal nature of the Absolute Truth. Still, knowledge is important; after all, how can we approach Śrī Kṛṣṇa unless we first know about Him? śreyān dravya-mayād yajñāj jñāna-yajñaḥ parantapa sarvaṁ karmākhilaṁ pārtha jñāne parisamāpyate "O chastiser of the enemy, the sacrifice of knowledge is greater than the sacrifice of material possessions. O son of Pṛthā, after all, the sacrifice of work culminates in transcendental knowledge." [Bhagavad-gītā 4.33] So first get the knowledge, and then the realization that He is our best Friend will follow through practice of that knowledge. That is sādhana-bhakti. Then when you realize how much Kṛṣṇa loves you, then you will become independent of the so-called love of this material world, because you will be completely emotionally satisfied. This is prema-bhakti. love, Baba Namokar Mantra. by Sean Lildharrie - Tuesday, 30 December 2008, 02:49 PM Dear Babaji and the advanced devotees, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,and Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī! I know nothing of this mantra What exactly does it mean for real? and is it a bonified spiritual mantra? Love, Sean Lildharrie ~Jai Sri Radha-Krsna!!!! Re: Namokar Mantra. by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 30 December 2008, 03:08 PM Dear Sean, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is not a bonafide mantra. It contains the fault technically known as rasābhāsa. Where is it found in the Vedas? If it not from Vedas then it is a product of some nonsense limited human intelligence. Don't you understand anything after all this time? Why do you keep going to these weird sources of so-called spiritual knowledge? Why don't you just accept Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and teachings? Why do you keep speculating? See, this is the effect of dietary impurity. love, Baba 2012 Theme Heating Up by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 30 December 2008, 09:31 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! As you know, for some time we have been using the 2012 theme in our preaching and promotion. This theme is heating up, with a major motion picture and other productions coming out. We anticipate getting a lot of inquiries next year as the US economy gets worse. Of course, we are not giving an exact date for the coming changes, because the Vedic sources we follow do not tie their predictions to exact dates. But we do know that the changes will be extensive, and reaching a climax in the next few years. love, Baba New Video: The Child in the Womb by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 04:26 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We have posted a new video on YouTube, The Child in the Womb. The child in the womb is in a terrible suffering condition. Forget what you have been told about it; the Vedic scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam tell us the truth. This is verified by research in intensive regression therapy when people re-experience their prenatal traumas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHsnBTNBGiQ The full-resolution version is here . love, Baba Re: New Video: The Child in the Womb by bri hall - Tuesday, 30 December 2008, 12:08 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada! This has really opened my eyes to the pains of birth. I am going to do all I can to never have to experience that again Love, Bri Re: New Video: The Child in the Womb by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 30 December 2008, 07:10 AM Dear Bri, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I was present at the births of both my children, and it certainly was not a pleasant experience for anyone involved, especially them. When I hear people extol "the wonders of birth" and so on, I wonder what they're smoking. Birth is hard, and my experience in intensive therapy brought out the influence of prenatal traumas on personality structure. After all that, it's a wonder that anyone can become sane and attain self-realization. The fact that they can is a tribute to the potency of devotional service. karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ padaṁ gacchanty anāmayam "The wise, engaged in devotional service, take refuge in the Lord, and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death by renouncing the fruits of action in the material world. In this way they can attain that state beyond all miseries." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.51] love, Baba Am I off to the right start? by Joshua Grimes - Friday, 26 December 2008, 10:27 PM Hello Babaji and fellow students, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Sri Prabhupada! I've been a member of this site for a little while now but i hav'nt been been very active in discussions or anything, but i want to change that by at least starting off with telling you all my status. I've started chanting Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, but not on prayer beads because i hav'nt gotten any yet. I sometimes find myself saying the words to myself in my mind while at work. I'm trying hard to follow the regulations of no meat eating and such but i'm finding it to be pretty dificult to break that habit. i have broken the habit of smoking though so thats a good thing. I guess I'm slowly making progress. The reading material says to start with Sri Isopanisad and then go on to Bhagavad Gita. So I'm starting an in depth study in the Sri Isopanisad by looking up the words and writing notes on what it teaches. So here is what I have gathered from the invocation of Sri Isopanisad. Please let me know if there's any flaws or anything important that i missed from the invocation..... The Complete Whole is the Complete Personality of Godhead called Krishna. Krishna is the sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. Sat means eternity. Cit means knowledge. Anandameans bliss. Vigraha means form. Therefore Krishna is the eternal form of knowledge and bliss. Everything that comes from the Supreme Personality of Godhead is complete because he is complete. He is a supreme person because if he were anything less than his creation he would not be complete. The Complete Whole cannot be formless because He is the source of all forms. Only realization of an impersonal God is incomplete knowledge of the Absolute Truth or Complete Whole- Krishna. Everything is complete and therefore if we feel incomplete it's because we have incomplete knowledge of the Complete Whole. We therefor try to make ourselves complete through material sence gratification. Matterial attachment cannot satisfy spiritual incompleteness. The only way to satisfy our spiritual incompleteness is to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the Complete Whole and surrender unto Him.  Soo that's what i've learned just from the invocation, next i'll be moving on to the first mantra of Sri Isopanisad. But i need advice allso on lifestyle changes and not only on scripture. thank you  with love Josh Re: Am I off to the right start? by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 27 December 2008, 07:38 AM Dear Josh, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for your introduction and welcome to the site. That's a good start, but it is essential that you stop eating meat, or all this study will not lead to actual realization. In all my years of being a devotee and teaching this Esoteric Teaching, I have never seen anyone understand even the beginning of this philosophy without quitting meat. The karma of meat-eating is very heavy, because even if you are not killing the animals yourself, then you are hiring someone else to do it by paying the store. In any case, by eating meat, you become responsible for killing, and how can a murderer become self-realized? love, Baba Re: Am I off to the right start? by Peter Turanec - Saturday, 27 December 2008, 10:35 AM Dear Josh, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for the introduction. Actually, eating meat is not difficult to give up.  Just imagine, everytime you eat meat, doing all the dirty work yourself-- raising the animal from a young age, feeding it, giving it shelter, and then cutting its throat.  "Thou shalt not kill."  But how many 'christians' dont even follow the first commandment? The west is crazy, because people are more than happy to eat cheeseburgers everyday, while at the same time worshipping their pet dog.  Actually, pigs and cows are much much more intellegent than dogs, so why not just eat your dog?  As we see in the west, practically speaking, dogs get better medical treatment than people-- if you can foot the bill that is.  It is very interesting, that people are more positively inclined towards dogs than other people.  I wonder why? love, peter Re: Am I off to the right start? by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 27 December 2008, 10:52 AM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda agrees with this point of view: "Our philosophy is simple. We educate people to understand that there is God. This is a godless civilization. So we say that there is God. Try to understand, and love Him, that's all. This is our philosophy. Then you'll be happy. And so long you do not love God, you simply love dog, you'll never be happy. That is our philosophy. You have diverted your loving spirit to the dog. You change it. Instead of loving dog, you love God. Then dog will be loved and everyone will be loved. If you simply love dog, then your love will be simply in dog. But if you love God, then you'll love God and dog also. Just like you are eating. So the eatable is going to the stomach. If you distribute this eatable to the eyes, to the ears, to the nose—there are nine holes—it will be uselessly spoiled. And if you give this foodstuff to the stomach, the energy will be immediately distributed to the ears, to the eyes, to the nose, to the... Similarly, if you have got a propensity to love, you love God, your love will be distributed everywhere. And if you fix your love to the dog, then it is uselessly spoiled. That is going on. They have manufactured love for country, for this, that, so many things. But without love of God. Therefore the disturbance is going on. However big nationalist you may be, you cannot make happy anyone. That is not possible. Take for example our Mahatma Gandhi. He's recognized nationally, but he was killed by his countrymen. That's a fact. That means he could not make happy anyone. So we have got some loving propensity. If we love... That is our natural position. If we love God, then our love for others will automatically be done. And on account of loving God, our life will be perfect." [Evening Darshan, 8/11/76] love, Baba Re: Am I off to the right start? by inci mutlu - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 04:58 AM Hare Krsna! I offer my humble obesiances, All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! But unfortunately, Srila Prabhupada is also killed by his godbrothers due to envy and unsatisfaction. Love, inci Re: Am I off to the right start? by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 06:01 AM Dear Inci, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, politics is vicious, and turns human beings into animals. The difference is that 'mahatma' Gandhi was breaking the rules of the scriptures, sleeping with his young nieces, and he got a reaction to these sinful activities. Śrīla Prabhupāda was a perfect human being, but his incredible success aroused burning envy in the contaminated hearts of his Godbrothers and so-called disciples, and when he tried to discipline them they poisoned him "for the good of ISKCON." Fools and rascals, now they are getting their reaction. love, Baba Re: Am I off to the right start? by inci mutlu - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 03:35 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna, Please accept my humble obesiances! All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! In that case, are there two types of karma-yoga? 1)The vikarma, karma, and akarma that we have created in this life time and we are getting the results immediately in this life time like action-reaction theory. 2) The the vikarma, karma and akarma that we have accumulated in this life time, which determines our next birth. Also the 1st one is operated by karma-bandhana? love, inci Re: Am I off to the right start? by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 04:09 PM Dear Inci, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Both 1 & 2 in your message are karma-bandhana. Karma-yoga is when we work as a sacrifice for Kṛṣṇa: śrī-bhagavān uvāca loke 'smin dvi-vidhā niṣṭhā purā proktā mayānagha jñāna-yogena sāṅkhyānāṁ karma-yogena yoginām The Blessed Lord said: "O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes of men who realize the Self. Some are inclined to understand Him by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others are inclined to know Him by devotional work." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.3] Kṛṣṇa goes on to describe karma-yoga more precisely in contrast with ordinary work: yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara "Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.9] love, Baba Gaza Air Strike by inci mutlu - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 04:52 AM Hare Krsna! Dear Babaji, All Glories to Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my humble obesiances. If possible I would like to hear your comments on the events of Gaza, where more than 270 people including civilians are killed by air strikes. Love, inci Re: Gaza Air Strike by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 06:08 AM Dear Inci, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! What can I say? This is a feud between two sides of a family, thousands of years old, going all the way back to Abraham and his sons Cain and Abel. Abraham means 'not a brāhmaṇa,' and they have proved it with this endless unprincipled fratricidal war among the Semites. In the process they have become animals, killing civilians instead of holding civilized and honorable battles between military units only. This is the most terrible disease of Kali-yuga, that innocent people are killed in war. Both sides are guilty of it. So how can they ever have peace? Those idiots will be fighting forever. love, Baba Second Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 05:06 PM Dear students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Jaya Bābājī! In todays sunday satsang, Bābājī gives us our second official homework assignment! If you are reading this, then do the homework! Don't be an esoteric benchwarmer. Ok, so now I will post the instructions for the assignment. By doing this, we can see how many students are actively participating in the sunday satsang program in the manner of feedback. Anyone that turns in their assignment gets a big glittering star sticker. In the spirit of John Taylor Gattos teaching methods, you will not recieve a numerical or letter grade. To sucessfully complete this assignment, you will need access to a good English dictionary and a Sanscrit dictionary: [ http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ ] Impossible Homework Assignment #2 Due: Saturday Dec 27 Here are the instructions in sequential order: 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. Write down the verse. Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanscrit meanings corrolating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanscrit equivalent. 3. Make an origional, creative, and meaningful sentance with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearely defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Ask yourself: Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? How do I now understand this verse better? What is the significant meaning of this verse? What makes this verse significant? Why is this specific verse in the Bhagavad-gītā? Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? 5. Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, does this change your view on Bhagavad-gītā? Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? Try and imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Do you think this is possible for you to do? Why not? Do you lack patience? Do you lack motivation? Now that you have finished the assignment, please post your assignment on this link to get credit. Remember, if you post your work here then not only you can benefit, but others can also.   love, peter PS- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyfKD68lx7s (Edited by David Bruce Hughes - original submission Sunday, December 21, 2008, 02:32 PM) Re: Second Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 05:11 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This homework assignment is not at all impossible, just as the last one was not impossible. It only seems impossible because people are lazy, and also they have a lot of emotional charge on misunderstood words. I went through the entire Bhagavad-gītā and looked up all the Sanskrit and English words that I had the slightest doubt about, and the result is that now I understand the Bhagavad-gītā very clearly. Therefore I recommend that everyone should study Bhagavad-gītā scrutinizingly. In transcendental life, as in most things, you get what you pay for. If you are lazy and procrastinating, your understanding of the Esoteric Teaching will be very vague and you will have a hard time applying it. If you do the work without fear, laziness or lamentation, it will become crystal-clear and you will be able to live according to Kṛṣṇa's instructions. love, Baba Re: Prologue to the Second Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Monday, 22 December 2008, 11:58 AM Dear Babaji, All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. Thank you for the encouragement.  Actually, I learned very much from doing the last homework assignment.  I can still hear the verse echoing in my head.  It seems that defining all the words makes the verse permanantly patina the brain.  It has a nice effect. [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug6S9O5Rchg&feature=channel_page ] I will do this weeks homework assignment on the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā.  Now, I will set the stage and then dive into the english/sanskrit definitions. - Chapter 10 - The Opulence of the Absolute All wonderous phenomea showing power, beauty, grandeur or sublimity, either in the material world or in the spiritual, are but partial manifestations of  Kṛṣṇa's divine energies and opulence. As the supreme cause of all causes and the support and essence of everything,  Kṛṣṇa is the supreme object of worship for all beings. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Listen again, O mighty-armed Arjuna. Because you are My dear friend, for your benefit I shall speak to you further, giving knowledge that is better than what I have already explained. Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin or opulences, for, in every respect, I am the source of the demigods and sages. He who knows Me as the unborn, as the beginningless, as the Supreme Lord of all the worlds—he only, undeluded among men, is freed from all sins. Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy—all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone. The seven great sages and before them the four other great sages and the Manus [progenitors of mankind] come from Me, born from My mind, and all the living beings populating the various planets descend from them. One who is factually convinced of this opulence and mystic power of Mine engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt. I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts. The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me. To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance. Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest. All the great sages such as Nārada, Asita, Devala and Vyāsa confirm this truth about You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me. O  Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the demigods nor the demons, O Lord, can understand Your personality. Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own internal potency, O Supreme Person, origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, Lord of the universe! Please tell me in detail of Your divine opulences by which You pervade all these worlds. O Kṛṣṇa, O supreme mystic, how shall I constantly think of You, and how shall I know You? In what various forms are You to be remembered, O Supreme Personality of Godhead? O Janārdana, again please describe in detail the mystic power of Your opulences. I am never satiated in hearing about You, for the more I hear the more I want to taste the nectar of Your words. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Yes, I will tell you of My splendorous manifestations, but only of those which are prominent, O Arjuna, for My opulence is limitless. I am the Supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings. Of the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marīci, and among the stars I am the moon. Of the Vedas I am the Sāma Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness]. Of all the Rudras I am Lord Śiva, of the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas I am the Lord of wealth [Kuvera], of the Vasus I am fire [Agni], and of mountains I am Meru. Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Bṛhaspati. Of generals I am Kārtikeya, and of bodies of water I am the ocean. Of the great sages I am Bhṛgu; of vibrations I am the transcendental oṁ. Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa], and of immovable things I am the Himālayas. Of all trees I am the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I am Nārada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila. Of horses know Me to be Uccaiḥśravā, produced during the churning of the ocean for nectar. Of lordly elephants I am Airāvata, and among men I am the monarch. Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am the surabhi. Of causes for procreation I am Kandarpa, the god of love, and of serpents I am Vāsuki. Of the many-hooded Nāgas I am Ananta, and among the aquatics I am the demigod Varuṇa. Of departed ancestors I am Aryamā, and among the dispensers of law I am Yama, the lord of death. Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa. Of purifiers I am the wind, of the wielders of weapons I am Rāma, of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges. Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the self, and among logicians I am the conclusive truth. Of letters I am the letter A, and among compound words I am the dual compound. I am also inexhaustible time, and of creators I am Brahmā. I am all-devouring death, and I am the generating principle of all that is yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience. Of the hymns in the Sāma Veda I am the Bṛhat-sāma, and of poetry I am the Gāyatrī. Of months I am Mārgaśīrṣa [November-December], and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring. I am also the gambling of cheats, and of the splendid I am the splendor. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong. Of the descendants of Vṛṣṇi I am Vāsudeva, and of the Pāṇḍavas I am Arjuna. Of the sages I am Vyāsa, and among great thinkers I am Uśanā. Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom. Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being—moving or nonmoving—that can exist without Me. O mighty conqueror of enemies, there is no end to My divine manifestations. What I have spoken to you is but a mere indication of My infinite opulences. Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor. But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe. love, peter Re: Prologue to the Second Homework Assignment by Uddhava das - Monday, 22 December 2008, 03:30 PM Dear Dear Bābājī, Please accept my humble obeisances, I am trying to do my past due homework, but even the first word i can't find on the Sanskrit dictionary. adhyeṣyate ca ya imaṁ dharmyaṁ saṁvādam āvayoḥ jñāna-yajñena tenāham iṣṭaḥ syām iti me matiḥ [Bhagavad-Gita 18.70] I have tried Neville's and the website dictionary, with no success, any ideas where else i could find that is bonafide? With Love, Uddhava dasa Re: Prologue to the Second Homework Assignment by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 23 December 2008, 06:49 AM Dear Uddhava, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I found the word in the Sanskrit dictionary on our website. adhyeṣyamāṇa adhy-eṣyamāṇa mf(ā)n. (fut. p.) intending to study, about to read Mn Notice that as I suggested, this is a compound of adhy and eṣyamāṇa. Adhy means beyond (found in Vedabase, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.32) and the verbal root eṣya means eṣya 1 êṣya mfn. ( the last) to be striven after, to be sought for So what is the difficulty? I think you gave up too easy. love, Baba Re: Prologue to the Second Homework Assignment by Uddhava das - Tuesday, 23 December 2008, 04:48 PM Dear Dear Bābājī, Please accept my humble obeisances, Thanks for your help, so finally, here is my homework: 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. a) Write down the verse. adhyeṣyate ca ya imaṁ dharmyaṁ saṁvādam āvayoḥ jñāna-yajñena tenāham iṣṭaḥ syām iti me matiḥ b) Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. "And I declare that he who studies this sacred conversation worships Me by his intelligence." When one is focused in scrutinizing study the Bhagavad Gita, one can find deep meaning in each word. By doing this deep analysis, one finds so much beauty, that the study naturally becomes worship, and leads to progress in the path of Bhakti. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each english word correlates to the sanskrit equivalent. adhyeṣyate—will study adhyeṣyamāṇa - adhy-eṣyamāṇa mf(ā)n. (fut. p.) intending to study, about to read Mn ca—also ca ind. and, both, also, moreover, as well as. yaḥ—he yo yaḥ, 'whatever man' imam—this imáthā ind. in this way or manner dharmyaṁ—sacred just , virtuous , righteous saṁvādam—conversation saṃvāda m. speaking together, conversation āvayoḥ—of ours to Us two, you and me jñāna—knowledge Knowledge yajñena—by sacrifice Yajña Sacrifice tena—by him tena - with that aham—I iṣṭaḥ—worshiped 1. iṣṭá sacrificed, worshipped with sacrifices iti—thus it going, going towards me—My ma - máhyam or me matiḥ—opinion. mati - opinion, notion, idea, belief, conviction, view, creed And - along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; also; moreover: pens and pencils. I - the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. declare - to make known or state clearly, esp. in explicit or formal terms: to declare one's position in a controversy. that - (used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as pointed out or present, mentioned before, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis): That is her mother. After that we saw each other. he - the male person being discussed or last mentioned; that male. who - the person that or any person that (used relatively to represent a specified or implied antecedent): It was who you thought. studies - application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading, investigation, or reflection: long hours of study. this - (used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as present, near, just mentioned or pointed out, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis): This is my coat. sacred - devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religious purpose; consecrated. conversation - informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy. worships - Ardent devotion; adoration Me - the objective case of I, used as a direct or indirect object: They asked me to the party. Give me your hand. by - according to; in conformity with: This is a bad movie by any standards. his - he possessive form of he (used as an attributive or predicative adjective): His coat is the brown one. This brown coat is his. Do you mind his speaking first? intelligence - capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc. 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentance with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. And: Kṛṣṇa loves me and everyone else also. I: I love Kṛṣṇa. declare: I declare that if you have no spiritual master, you are in an undesirable condition. that: That is my way of loving Kṛṣṇa. he: He loves me too. who: Who am i ? studies: Do you think he should chant the Holy name, or continue with his studies ? this: This is beautiful. sacred: There are many sacred scriptures in the world. worships: Everybody worships someone. Me: Would you like to see me ? by: I can chant 64 rounds by the grace of Bābājī his: His face is beautiful. Intelligence: Some people have no intelligence because they don't worship Kṛṣṇa. 4. Now read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearely defined all the terms. 5. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Kṛṣṇa is speaking to everyone, in this verse, saying that this conversation is very special, and that if you study it, you will worship him by making good use of your intelligence. Ask yourself: a) Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? Yes, definitely b) How do I now understand this verse better? The most important difference was viewing the sentence in the proper context, not just referring to me, or only to devotees, but to everyone. c) What is the significant meaning of this verse? What makes this verse significant? Kṛṣṇa is expressing openly how valuable is the Bhagavad Gita. d) Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? It was almost near the end, making the final conclusions. 6. Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, does this change your view on Bhagavad-gītā? Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? Try and imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Do you think this is possible for you to do? Why not? Do you lack patience? Do you lack motivation? This did change my view, i started depending only on external sanskrit dictionaries, but couldn't find more than 50%, so by using the same Vedabase to confirm and clear terms made it much easier. I could do this many more times, i find it very useful, but it is no possible to execute in the short term because of lack of time. With Love, Uddhava dasa Re: Prologue to the Second Homework Assignment by Andrej Kazancev - Tuesday, 23 December 2008, 06:12 PM Dear Bābājī, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is my homework. Bhagavad-gītā 7.19 1) a) Translation: After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare. b) The living entity transmigrates from one body to another. Every time he changes the body, he becomes more mature in terms of consciousness. The living entity becomes aware of himself and his nature, and thus realizes his constitutional position which is the service to Kṛṣṇa. By pure devotional service, the living entity also realizes that Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything there is. But to completely surrender and practice pure devotional serivice, the living entity must be completely detached from material desires, and must be attached to the transcendental service of Kṛṣṇa, which is raely the case. 2-3) bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ bahūnām—many janmanām—repeated births and deaths ante—after jñāna—vān—one who is in full knowledge mām—unto Me prapadyate—surrenders vāsudevaḥ—the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa sarvam—everything iti—thus; saḥ—that mahā-ātmā—great soul su-durlabhaḥ—very rare to see a) after- subsequent to and in consequence of. After a great deal of time he came to the realization. many- amounting to or consisting of a large indefinite number. After many tries, he became self situated. births- the emergence and separation of offspring from the body of the mother. The material energy gives births to many forms. and-used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses. Babaji and Srila Prabhupada are great scholars. deaths- The act of dying; termination of the body. People in general are in shock when they see so many deaths. he- pronoun That person who service Kṛṣṇa, will become free. who- pronoun Whoever will come to me will learn the secret. is- (-verb) 3rd person. actually- adverb as an actual or existing fact; really in- in or into some place, position, state, relation. knowledge-noun- the body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time. I am in knowledge of the absolute truth. surrenders- to give up in favor of another. He surrenders all his existence to the Lord. unto- preposition Me- pronoun He assisted me. knowing -to perceive or understand as fact or truth. Knowing how to add the ingredients. Me- pronoun He assisted me. to- adverb He came to the conclusion. be- (used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject) To be or not to be? the- (used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an) I am known as the bullet. cause- a person or thing that acts, happens, or exists in such a way that some specific thing happens as a result I am the cause of your happiness. of- used to indicate cause, motive, occasion, or reason) I am indicator for that action. all- used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration All the significant things. causes- The one, such as a person, event, or condition, that is responsible for an action or result I am the cause of only two causes. and- used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses He created the universe and went on enjoying. all- used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration All the significant things. that- Idioms (by way of explanation, clarification, or an example) is- Idiom Such- being the person or thing or the persons or things indicated Such an occurrence is very rare. a- indefinite article a man. great- noun(a person who has achieved importance or distinction in a field) soul- the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body, and commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part is-Idiom very- adverb In a very rare situation, he sees the truth. rare- uncommons This is rare knowledge. b) bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ bahūnāṁ- many janmanām- repeated births and deaths ante-after jñāna-knowledge vān-to conquer , win , become master of , possess māṁ- unto Me prapadyate- surrenders vāsudevaḥ- the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, and proprietor of everything, material and spiritual sarvam- completely iti- in this manner , thus sa- Ved. and ep. also mah- to elate , gladden , exalt , arouse ātmā- the self (refers sometimes to the body, sometimes to the soul, and sometimes to the senses) su- never , by no means durlabhaḥ- very difficult to be obtained 4) Translation: After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare. Through the transmigrations of many animal species, and especially many human bodies, the living entity becomes mature and purifies his existence. By doing so, he is able to perceive the message of pure spiritual knowledge. Without any entanglement or any material attachment, the living entity comes to the conclusion that Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything, the seed giving father of all the universes. By realizing this spiritual knowledge, the living entity surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa completely. But since the material energy is very strong, only the living entities that are situated in pure Bhakti are able to completely surrender unto Kṛṣṇa. Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? -Yes, every time I read this verse, it gives a deeper meaning; the scope of understanding becomes larger. How do I now understand this verse better? -The spiritual knowledge is very difficult to realize when you are still in material consciousness. Even if you have a fling of material desire or even thoughts, the spiritual path is checked. So to achieve the process of pure bhakti, one has to engaged 100% in the service of Kṛṣṇa and his pure devotees. What is the significant meaning of this verse? What makes this verse significant? -This verse contains all the spiritual knowledge when put into the right context. Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? - Kṛṣṇa wanted Arjuna to be completely surrendered unto him. Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, does this change your view on Bhagavad-gītā? Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? Try and imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Do you think this is possible for you to do? Why not? Do you lack patience? Do you lack motivation? Yes it did. Each verse contains deep and complete spiritual knowledge. I did enjoy it. It is time consuming, but I think that it is possible to do one verse every week. Hare Kṛṣṇa! With love and respect, Andrej Re: Second Homework Assignment by Peter Turanec - Friday, 26 December 2008, 05:28 PM Dear Babaji, All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please accept my very humble obesiances. I decided to do my homework assignment on Bhagavad-gītā 10.15. svayam evātmanātmānaṁ vettha tvaṁ puruṣottama bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate TRANSLATION Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own potencies, O origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, O Supreme Person, Lord of the universe! This verse caught my attention becasue it hints to the fact that only Kṛṣṇa can understand himself. It is reassuring to know that at least someone can understand Krnsa, even if it is himself. We as fragmental parts of Krsna, are unable to fully understand Krsna's unlimited qualities. Krnsa is eternal and is expanding himself eternally in innumerable forms. Krsna has always been expanding his energies eternally, so there is not telling how big he's got by now. Actually, He is outside of time on a higher dimension, and then a higher dimension, and then a higher one, and a higher one, etc. Krsna has been expanding eternally, so mere words can not descirbe the sheer depth and scope that Krsna has attained already. Even by material designations, we can conclude that Krsna has attained a very large size by now. Another thing that stands out is that we can not fully understand Krsna, but he can understand himself. I feel that this is a very important point. Krsna, the unlimited supreme inconceviable personality can actually understand and comprehend himself. Only Kṛṣṇa can understand his own incomprehensible position, we can not. The next idea that stands out is Arjuna saying that Krsna is the causeless beginning of everything. This means that Krsna is the supreme controller of the demigods, demons, and all spiritual and material phenomena. Krsna is the Lord of the entire universe, fom Pātāla to Goloka Vṛndāvana. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Indeed- in fact; in reality; in truth; truly (used for emphasis, to confirm and amplify a previous statement, to indicate a concession or admission, or, interrogatively, to obtain confirmation) Indeed, the torchlight of knowledge burns hotter and brighter than the sun. You- the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed. You rascal, you! alone- unique; unequaled; unexcelled. In the suberbs-- nowhere is the dreamer or the mystic so alone. know- to understand from experience or attainment. to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty: By gaining spiriutal knowledge, we now know the result of our present bondage. Yourself- That one identical with you. When did you travel all by yourself to the moon? by- through the agency, efficacy, work, participation, or authority of. This entire spiritual manifestation is created by Kṛṣṇa. Your- a form of the possessive case of you used as an attributive adjective. I watched your dog chase its own tail and spin in a circle. own- (used as an intensifier to indicate oneself as the sole agent of some activity or action, prec. by a possessive) The passionate rākṣasa was insistent upon his own style of worship and defied all codes of morality. potencies- power; authority. One of Lord Śivas potencies includes the ability to deystroy the enitre material creation, which he does so in ecstatic bliss. O- (used before a name in direct address, esp. in solemn or poetic language, to lend earnestness to an appeal) O king of kings, lord of lords, kindly glance upon all the living entities and remove from them all obstacels to obtain your association. origin- something from which anything arises or is derived; source; fountainhead. Kṛṣṇa is the primeval origin of all that is, all that has been, and all that will be. of- (used to indicate derivation, origin, or source) The word Rāma means the highest of all pleasure, or unlimited enjoyment in real happiness. all- the entire universe. Kṛṣṇa is the best friend of all. Lord- a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler. Lord Śiva is known as the greatest vaiṣṇava. of- (used to indicate derivation, origin, or source) all- the whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively) Kali yuga has all people under its umbrella of ignorance. beings- A person. There are 400,000 different species of human beings throughout the material universe as stated by Vedic literature. God- the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. Lord Brahma is the God of this particular material manifestation. of- Derived or coming from; originating at or from. The lotus is the flower of flowers. gods- A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality. The will of the gods molds and shapes our daily life. O- (used before a name in direct address, esp. in solemn or poetic language, to lend earnestness to an appeal) Supreme- highest in rank or authority; paramount; sovereign; chief. Person- a self-conscious or rational being.Lord- a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler. of- Derived or coming from; originating at or from. the- (used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an) universe- the totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm. The Supreme Lord is within and without every created universe. svayam evātmanātmāna vettha tvaṁ puruṣottama bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate svayam- personality eva-O Lord of the entire universe. ātmanā— by your self ātmānam— yourself vettha— know tvam— you puruṣottama—  O greatest of all persons bhūta-bhāvana— O origin of everything bhūteśa— O lord of everything deva-deva— O lord of all demigods jagat-pate— O Lord of the entire universe         Re: Prologue to the Second Homework Assignment by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Friday, 26 December 2008, 05:07 PM Dear Babaji and All, Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is my homework assignment: viṣayendriya-saṁyogād yat tad agre ’mṛtopamam pariṇāme viṣam iva tat sukhaṁ rājasaṁ smṛtam "that happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion." (18.38 Bhagavad-Gita) The actions that we undertake to bring fourth a desired result of satisfying the senses really only feel "good" in that moment but you soon receive negative results and this is of the nature of passion(rajas) in which you are constantly striving and never arriving. A person in this mode is just another slave to the senses. Viṣaya—objects of sense Indriya—senses; Saṁyogāt—combination Yat—that Tat—which Agre—in the beginning Amṛta-upamam—just like nectar Pariṇāme—at the end Viṣam iva—like poison Tat—that Sukham—happiness Rājasam—in the mode of passion Smṛtam—is considered. That- (used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as pointed out or present, mentioned before, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis). Happiness- The quality or state of being happy. Pleasure. Which- The one or ones previously mentioned or implied, specifically. Is- Idiom Derived- To receive or obtain from a source or origin. From- used to indicate source or origin. Contact- the act or state of touching; a touching or meeting, as of two things or people. Of- Used to indicate cause, motive, occasion, or reason. The- Used before singular or plural nouns and noun phrases that denote particular, specified persons or things Senses- Any of the faculties by which stimuli from outside or inside the body are received and felt, as the faculties of hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste, and equilibrium. With- In some particular relation to (esp. implying interaction, company, association, conjunction, or connection). Their- A form of the possessive case of they used as an attributive adjective. Objects- Something perceptible by one or more of the senses. And- used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses. Which- The one or ones previously mentioned or implied, specifically. Appears- To have the appearance of being; seem; look: to appear wise. Like- Having the same, or nearly the same, appearance, qualities, or characteristics; resembling; similar to; similar; alike; -- often with in and the particulars of the resemblance; as, they are like each other in features, complexion, and many traits of character. Nectar- 1. the saccharine secretion of a plant, which attracts the insects or birds that pollinate the flower. 2. the juice of a fruit, esp. when not diluted, or a blend of fruit juices: pear nectar; tropical nectar. 3. Classical Mythology. the life-giving drink of the gods. Compare ambrosia. 4. any delicious drink. At- used to indicate a location or position, as in time, on a scale, or in order: at zero; at noon; at age 65; at the end; at the lowest point. First- the beginning. But- On the contrary; yet. Poison- Something destructive or fatal. That which taints or destroys moral purity or health. At- used to indicate a location or position, as in time, on a scale, or in order: at zero; at noon; at age 65; at the end; at the lowest point. The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. End- final result, outcome. Is- Idiom Said- Named or mentioned before To- used for expressing motion or direction toward a point, person, place, or thing approached and reached, as opposed to from Be-To exist in a certain manner or relation, -- whether as a reality or as a product of thought; to exist as the subject of a certain predicate, that is, as having a certain attribute, or as belonging to a certain sort, or as identical with what is specified, -- a word or words for the predicate being annexed; as, to be happy; to be here; to be large, or strong; to be an animal; to be a hero; to be a nonentity; three and two are five; annihilation is the cessation of existence; that is the man. Of- Used to indicate cause, motive, occasion, or reason. The- used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an. Nature- the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized. Of- Used to indicate cause, motive, occasion, or reason. Passion- a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything: a passion for music. That: that pencil is broken. Happiness: I want to experience true happiness. Which: This feeling which you are experiencing is temporary. Is: Your eagerness is shared with others. Derived: Your intention was derived from the ego. From: Everything originates from the Lord. Contact: Pleasure arises when your memory is triggered from certain olfactory stimuli. Of: To help you must be of good intention. The: you will sleep when the doctor gives you this drug. Senses: The senses are tricky. With: Orange juice combined with cranberry juice is a good combination. Their: the husbands with their wives make a good team. Objects: You are the object of my desire. And: I love the world and all the people in it. Which: You speak of something which is profound. Appears: The president appears to be a relatively honest person. Like: This cake tastes like the one I used to eat at my grandmothers house. Nectar: You have not yet tasted Lord's nectar. At: At the beginning of time Christ existed. First: First you will learn self-control. But: Marriage is good at first but soon you will see it turning sour. Poison: Food cooked by a person who is angry and very depressed is like eating poison. At: I will see you at the end of the meeting. The: The end of this age is approaching. End: You will soon see the end of this present society. Is: That is a compelling argument. Said: I am said to be quite talkative. To: to understand the esoteric teaching you must open your heart. Be: His will be done. Of: you speak of great things. The: Thats the truth which your really seeking. Nature: He is courageous by nature. Of: That is the truth of life. Passion: The thief was motivated by passion. The pleasure that comes from the material world penetrates through a lie and that lie makes you believe that it will produce a desired result but it actually only temporarily brings fourth a pleasurable moment and soon you realize the essence of it and you are left with several negative manifestations both psychologically and physically. This action is known to originate from the state of passion which comes in different forms. I feel that I have acquired a deeper understanding in the verse by analyzing the words independently and then putting them together. Even when I have done this it still seems that it can be applied to different situations and therefore interpreted as such. This verse is just as significant as any other in my opinion. It depends on the context and who is looking at it and in what situation it is being applied to. Bhagavan Krishna spoke this verse for liberation of humankind. This verse itself is needed to make an affirmation of what can be found from within. The supreme Lord breaks it down precisely and gets right to the core of it. It is a perfect science in the deepest sense. I can not say that it changes my view on the Gita but it does put a "stamp" on what I feel. I enjoyed this homework assignment. It did take long hours to complete even though there were several references such as dictionary.com which I found to be most helpful. I thank you for this assignment and I plan to study the Gita in this way as well as other scriptures. Hari Bol! With Love, Tulsidasananda Re: Second Homework Assignment by David Lugan - Sunday, 28 December 2008, 05:28 AM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. Homework Assignment #2 Here are the instructions in sequential order: 1. Pick one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. Bg1.1 Write down the verse. TEXT 1 dhṛtarāsṭra uvāca dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kim akurvata sañjaya TRANSLATION Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: O Sañjaya, after assembling in the place of pilgramageat Kurukṣetra, what did my sons and the sons of Pāṇḍu do, being desirous to fight? Briefly read the verse and give a short explanation/summary of the meaning. Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to describe what is going on at the battlefield of Kurukṣetra. 2. Look up each word in the dictionary and clearly define each word, with complete English and Sanskrit meanings correlating with one another. Try and understand how each English word correlates to the Sanskrit equivalent. Sanskrit word (as defined) Bhagavad-Gitā As It Is translation Other dictionary meanings dhṛtāsṭra (dhṛtāsṭraḥ) King Dhṛarāṣṭra the father of the Kauravas [CM] uvāca said dharma-kṣetre in the place of pilgramage kuru-kṣetre in the place named Kurukṣetra samavetā (samavetāḥ) assembled (pl.) not all assembled [MW] yuyutsavaḥ desiring to fight māmakāh my party (sons) Pāṇḍavāś (pāṇḍavāḥ) the sons of Pāṇḍu The five sons of Pāṇḍu [CM] caiva (ca) and caiva (eva) certainly Indeed, truly, really [MW] kim what What? How? Why? [MW] akurvata did they do sañjaya O Sañjaya Charioteer and minister to King Dhṛtarāsṭra [CM] [CM] http://www.causelessmercy.com/Glossary.htm [MW] http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/ [DIC] http://www.dictionary.com 3. Make an original, creative, and meaningful sentence with each English word. This will help us clearly define the verse in English and will clear up all our misunderstood terms as far as English is concerned. Original English Word Definition Used in a sentence Dhṛtarāṣṭra the father of the Kauravas [CM] Dhṛtarāṣṭra attempted to take the kingdom without legal authority. said To utter or pronounce; speak [DIC] I said to the class, let's figure this out together. O Sañjaya Charioteer and minister to King Dhṛtarāsṭra [CM] Sañjaya was given the power to see from a distance by Vyāsa. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause [DIC] Good day everyone, thank you for being here. after Later in time than [DIC] After we fix the boat then we can go sailing. assembling To bring together or gather into one place, company, body, or whole [DIC] We are assembling a team of engineers to design the system. in Used to indicate including within space, a place, or limits [DIC] Let's play in the sandbox. the Used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect [DIC] The sky was light blue today. place A particular portion of space, whether of definite or indefinite extent [DIC] The corner bike shop is the place for getting your tire fixed. of Used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category [DIC] The central park is one of the places I go for a walk. pilgramage A journey, esp. a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion [DIC] We made a pilgramage to Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka. at Used to indicate a location or position [DIC] There was a sale at the nearby grocery store. Kurukṣetra “The holy field of the Kurus,” where in ancient times the members of that dynasty performed sacrifices. [CM] Kuruṣetra was holy ground. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause [DIC] Good day everyone, thank you for being here. what Used interrogatively as a request for specific information [DIC] What time is it? did To perform [DIC] We did the dishes. my A form of the possesive case of I used as an attributive adjective [DIC] My tie is in the closet. sons One's male child [DIC] The family had 2 sons and 1 daughter. and Used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses [DIC] The cable channels and the internet were included in the package. the Used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect [DIC] The sky was light blue today. sons One's male child [DIC] The family had 2 sons and 1 daughter. of Used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category [DIC] The central park is one of the places I go for a walk. pāṇḍu A great king of the Kuru dynasty, and the father of the Pāṇḍavas, Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva [CM] Pāṇḍu was the younger brother of Dhṛtarāsṭra. do To perform [DIC] We need to do the dishes before going out. , a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause [DIC] Good day everyone, thank you for being here. being Since; because; considering that [DIC] This sign was created being that people were driving too fast. desirous Feeling desire, eagerly wishing, solicitous [DIC] The board had a desirous attitude towards taking the deal. to Used for expressing aim, purpose, or intention [DIC] We are going to bring the car back. fight Any contest or struggle [DIC] The kids wanted to fight in the alley. ? A mark indicating a question [DIC] Are you still reading this? Read the verse again incorporating your new found knowledge. You should understand the verse at a new level now that you have clearely defined all the terms. 4. Now, write down another short explanation/summary of the verse you have chosen, and then compare your new summary of the verse with the first one. Dhṛtarāsṭra asks Sañjaya what is happening after his sons and the sons of Pāndu showed up on the battlefield wanting to fight. Ask yourself: Do I now have a deeper meaning of the verse? Yes. I realized that I didn't quite understand this English 1972 translation sentence until I read the 1998 translation by The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust which is paraphrased above. Since I would like to keep the original intent of Śrīla Prabhupāda I will start with the 1972 translation first and reference other translations if necessary for understanding. How do I now understand this verse better? By reading the purport I now have a better understanding of the history of the characters involved and also the setting of what is happening. What is the significant meaning of this verse? What makes this verse significant? Why is this specific verse in the Bhagavad-gītā? Why did Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna speak this? This verse introduces two of the characters and raises an important question of what happens next after the two families show up on the battlefield. 5. Now that we have fully and properly analyzed one verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, does this change your view on Bhagavad-gītā? Yes. I would like to be able to pronounce correctly and know every Sanskrit word from the Bhagavad-Gitā. Did you enjoy doing this homework assignment or were you falling asleep during the process? This exercise made me think about what Śrīla Prabhupāda did while translating the Bhagavad-Gitā. I also enjoyed typing all of the Sanskrit letters using the Open Office Sanskrit macro. My body was getting sleepy since it was bedtime. Try and imagine doing this same process for the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Do you think this is possible for you to do? Yes. I will study the Bhagavad-gitā verse by verse. Why not? Do you lack patience? Do you lack motivation? This text provides clear answers to the Absolute Truth of reality. That is plenty of motivation to study this intimately and to apply it's truths. Now that you have finished the assignment, please post your assignment on this link to get credit. Remember, if you post your work here then not only you can benefit, but others can also. Love, David Christmas Present by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 20 December 2008, 06:49 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We are getting a cool Christmas present: Neville is coming to join us on Christmas day! It was very difficult for him to get a visa for Chile; Kṛṣṇa kept him in Mexico City for a while, then he went to Washington DC and applied again, and this time he got it. He also did a lot of important service for our mission of establishing a self-sufficient farm community. So let's congratulate Neville on getting his visa and joining the saṅga again! love, Baba Re: Christmas Present by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Saturday, 20 December 2008, 09:06 AM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Love, Keiju Re: Christmas Present by Michael Jones - Saturday, 20 December 2008, 10:45 AM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Congratulations again. Best present ever (well other than self-realization). Safe travels. Love Mike Re: Christmas Present by Neville Clemens - Saturday, 20 December 2008, 12:51 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well if there's anything I've learnt in the last 3 months, it's not to count my chickens before they hatch! So I'll believe I will get to Chile when I actually get to Chile . The other thing is that no matter what plans I might make, they're really irrelevant and unless aligned with Krsna's plans. The third thing I understood is the story of the Chinese farmer that Babaji mentioned in a recent Darshan. Actually all these three things are different aspects of the same lesson, and with some more such experiences and contemplation maybe I'll learn something about equanimity... I'm looking forward to some warm weather! Love, Neville Re: Christmas Present by Devesh Pant - Friday, 26 December 2008, 11:16 AM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Babaji! Congratulations on getting to Chile! Please write all your experiences the way you wrote your daily diary from DC to Catameco. It was very informative and eduactional apart form being very interesting. With best wishes to you and all of our folks in Chile Devesh Re: Christmas Present by Neville Clemens - Friday, 26 December 2008, 01:20 PM Dear Devesh and All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well I'm finally here, for real . At least for now. There are undoubtedly more ups and downs to come, but I may be better prepared now. I'll try and update a journal occasionally. There's a good deal that I learned from these last 3 months, but I'm still working through it and I have preferred to keep it between myself and Babaji while I continue to work things out and grow. But I'll try and share interesting things now and then. Love, Neville The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 17 December 2008, 06:17 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here's the next part: Chapter nineteen TULASI RETURNS TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD When Lord Hari stopped speaking, Tulasi left her physical body, assumed a celestial form and went to Vaikuntha. There she remained in the heart of Sri Hari, as did Goddess Laksmi. Lord Hari also went with her to Vaikuntha. As soon as Tulasi Devi quit her physical body, this body became the Gandaki River; and Lord Hari manifested Himself as the mountain on the bank of that river, giving spiritual merit to the people. The worms on that mountain cut and fashion, i.e. construct, various kinds of stones. Those that fall into the river and assume the color of clouds, without a doubt, yield results; but those that drop onto the dry land become brown by the sun's rays and unfit for worship. Lord Hari duly honored Tulasi and began to sport with her along with Goddess Laksmi. He elevated Tulasi to the rank of Laksmi, making her blessed and glorious. Laksmi and Goddess Ganga allowed and tolerated this new union of Lord Narayana and Tulasi. However, Goddess Sarasvati became angered and could not tolerate Tulasi's elevated position. Once, in the presence of Lord Hari, the dignified Sarasvati quarreled with Tulasi and hurt her. Tulasi, humiliated and insulted, disappeared. Then, out of anger, the wise and adept Tulasi became invisible even to Lord Hari. When Lord Hari did not see Tulasi, he appeased Sarasvati and, obtaining her permission, proceeded to the Tulasi forest--Vrndavana. He was very much disturbed by separation from her. There, he took a bath; then, with proper rites, he worshiped the chaste Tulasi with His whole heart, and then meditated on her with devotion, and uttered, "Obeisances to Tulasi Devi, Queen of Vrndavana forest." During the worship, Tulasi was offered a lighted ghee lamp, frankincense, sandal flowers and sacrificial offerings. Anyone who worships Tulasi in this way will achieve complete perfection. The Lord then began to praise His glorious devotee. "The Tulasi trees collect in many groups, thus the pandits call it Vrinda. I praise that dear Tulasi. Long ago she appeared in the Vrindavana forest and is thus known as Vrindavani. I adore that auspicious and glorious one. She is always worshiped in countless universes and so is known as Visvapujita--one who is worshiped throughout the world. I worship that Visvapujita. "Countless universes are made pure and holy by her contact. She is therefore called Visvapavani--one who purifies the whole universe. Remembering her, I am suffering from separation from her. Though other flowers be heaped upon the demigods, they are not satisfied unless Tulasi is offered. Thus she is considered the essence of all flowers and is called Puspasara. Now I am anguished and troubled and very eager to see her--she who is purity incarnate. I crave the favor of that goddess. Because attainment of her brings faith and joy, she is called Nandini. O may she be pleased with Me. In the whole world she is incomparable, thus she is called Tulasi. I take refuge of that dear Tulasi. Very chaste and dear, she is the life of Krsna and so is known as Krsnajivani. O may that goddess save my life." After Lord Hari finished the ceremony and prayers, Tulasi was pleased and came out of the tree. She immediately took refuge at Lord Hari's lotus feet. He blessed her by saying, "O Tulasi, you will be worshiped by all throughout the world. Dearest, I will hold you on my head and in my heart; and all the demigods will hold you on their heads." When Lord Hari saw that the dignified Tulasi was weeping because her feelings had been hurt by Sarasvati, He clasped her to His breast, took her to Sarasvati and reconciled their differences. Then He blessed Tulasi, saying, "You will be worshiped by all, honored by all and respected by all. And all will carry you on their heads. I also will worship, honor and respect you and carry you on My head." Tulasi was now very happy. Sarasvati then embraced her and seated her by her side. Laksmi and Ganga, smiling, also hugged her, and then took her home. love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by Kānāi Dāsa - Wednesday, 17 December 2008, 03:48 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for posting this, it's very beautiful and because you posted in easy to bite installments I could read it at my easy, I would not have gotten around to reading this story unless you posted it here. While in Mexico it was my honour to care for Tulasi, water her, replant her, weed around her. Now we are here in Chile and we forgot the Tulasi seeds I miss taking care of her, talking to her and offering her to the deities. Before in my more neophyte stage I just saw her as a plant, regular old basil bush, but the more I tended to her, the more I grew to understand. Soon we will have a Tulasi forest. With Love, Kānāi Dāsa Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 17 December 2008, 04:32 PM Dear Kānāi Prabhu, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, Śrīmatī Tulāsī Mahārāṇī's position is most exalted. Soon She will be coming here to Chile! love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Wednesday, 17 December 2008, 05:52 PM Dear Kānāi, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I can not understand even a little of this, I am not even attracted to reading about her! Even though Babaji has kindly posted it chapter by chaper. I have realised that I am not even neophyte. Śrī-guru-padāśraya is the first of the 64 limbs of bhajana. Without taking shelter at the lotus feet of a sad-guru it is impossible to enter into the realm of bhagavad-bhajana. All this time I thought I was advancing but I had not even advanced past the first stage! I can only pray that by Krsna' mercy, one day, I can come to atleast a little understanding of Tulasi's status. With love and respect, Keiju Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 17 December 2008, 07:56 PM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You would feel Tulāsī-prema if you had done service for Tulāsī, watered Her, planted and cared for Her, offered Her leaves to Kṛṣṇa, tasted Her purity, danced around Her during kīrtan and felt the effects of Her association. These are the benefits of personal association, which you cannot get in any other way. The same is true of Kṛṣṇa; without personally serving Him, there is no way to understand Him, what to speak of loving Him. How can you love someone that you have never met? In general, we cannot understand things that are outside of our experience. That is why the guru is so important: he has the direct experience of Kṛṣṇa, and by hearing from him and serving him we get that taste too. love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Thursday, 18 December 2008, 02:55 PM Dear Babaji Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for replying to my email so promptly. This was the first time that I have heard of the skype program. I do not have a personal computer. However, I will try to get the program and buy a microphone. I am also looking to purchase a laptop which I can bring with me to Chile. Let me know if your aware of any good laptops no more than $600 that I can purchase. I had a Tulsi plant in Germany and It grew to be absolutely beautiful. I miss her and also Ladu Gopal who was the main deity of the temple. You can truly feel the Divine Mothers presence when you offer her Puja or just spend time with her. Her beauty and heavenly scent encouraged me and I felt that Krishna was pleased with me. I would like to inform you that I am available during the day now because I have quit my job. Just let me know when you would be able to talk, I can defenetly make time from 8am-11pm Los Angeles Time. Also, I have a bag full of Tulasi seeds and I will defenitly bring them when I come(This time I wont tell them that I have seeds in my bag because they took my Tulasi seeds coming here from Germany). I read this same story of Tulasi Devi when I was given my name but even after reading it again, I really need help to interpret it correctly because I am confused at some parts of the story which I can only imagine is meant to be taken symbolically. I appreciate all your seva and I am very thankful for having access to such a soul as yourself. Hare Bol! With Love, Tulsidasananda Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 18 December 2008, 04:37 PM Dear Tulsidasananda, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Skype is a free download from skype.com. It installs on any computer. We have a laptop with a German keyboard that you can use, if you come. We need to discuss everything on a Skype call. Please send me your date, time and place of birth for a Jyotish chart. Our time is 5 hours ahead of PST, and the best time to call is 6-9 PM. Please email me first to confirm. The Vedic stories are not symbolic but historical. Prabhupāda: These are not legends. They are fact. Those who are not intelligent, they take it as legend. There are so many descriptions which is not within our experience—we take it as legend. Now, I gave some gentleman the example that the coconut tree, on the tree there are coconut and there are one-kilo water. Now, how the water is transported there? Where is the pipe? Where is the pumping? Because you have got experience if you want to get water high, you have to pump and you must have pipe. So where is the pipe and where is the pumping machine? Indian man (1): In the tree. Prabhupāda: So as you see, actually it is packed up nice, two pounds of water, very nice... And so nicely packed. How it has happened? What is the explanation of the scientists? According to their calculation, there must be pipe. There must be pumping. Somebody must be pumping. Where are all these? Then is it legend? It is fact. Now you explain how it is happening. If you are scientist, you explain how it is happening. Or you do that. Simply observation will not do. You must make experiment. [Conversation with the Mahārāja and Mahārāṇī of Indore, 12/11/70] Similarly if we make experiment, if we actually follow the Vedic process, then we get the result. It is not symbolic, not legend or mythology; it is history, science. Just because it is outside your experience does not mean that interpretation is required; faith is required. love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Friday, 19 December 2008, 07:34 AM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I was browsing the esotericteaching site and came across the Ayurveda section, then I see something about Tulasi:- We grow our own Tulasi and other exotic healing herbs using pure organic techniques. I was like what, healing herb? http://www.chailounge.co.uk/other/Tulsi23Jul03.pdf WOW! had no idea lol, this would take care of most if not all medical needs. I suppose these qualities are simply the effects of Her exalted status, these stories explain to us how She became so exalted. Also to stress the importance of treating Tulasi with due respect, otherwise She will simply not want to be in our presence! She has completely evaded the association of the demoniac societies. It would seem I have done something wonderful to come into this knowledge, now I must be careful not to offend Her. Love, Keiju Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 19 December 2008, 08:00 AM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, it is really true that if one takes Tulāsī daily, all physical, mental and spiritual needs are met. We keep saying that this Esoteric Teaching is the one necessity for all the problems of life; but people are so used to a fragmented existence that they cannot understand it is really true. vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo 'vyavasāyinām "Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.41] Just become a devotee, surrender unto Kṛṣṇa, follow the process and instructions, and you will remain healthy, wealthy and wise in all ways, for the rest of your days. The solutions to all problems—economic, social, political, mental, emotional, spiritual, artistic, even scientific—are found in the Esoteric Teaching. It is a comprehensive, scientific system for the respiritualization of the entire human society, and if we take it up with enthusiasm, we will discover that these apparently outrageous claims are actually quite conservatively stated. love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Monday, 22 December 2008, 08:26 PM Dear Babaji Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I have downloaded the skype program. I will be able to call on December 25th at 1pm (6pm in your time). Let me know if this is ok with you and give me the number please. I realized that you think I speak German but I do not because I was only there for a few months and did not have time. I was born in Abovyan which is a city in the country of Armenia and that is my ethnicity. I was born on october 1st, 1986 at 5am. My family and I came to the U.S. in 1992. I would really like to know what my chart says because I am only a bit familiar with the western and chinese zodiac and not at all with the supreme Vedic calender. I pray to Srimati Vrinda Devi and Sri Krishna to strenghthen my faith and grant me humility in order to fully accept all parts of the Vedic events as what they truly are. Love, Tulsidasananda Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 22 December 2008, 09:31 PM Dear Tulsidasananda, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! That is pretty tight, because Neville is due to arrive that evening. I would feel time pressure because we would have to leave. Can you call an hour or two earlier? I will cast your chart and we can discuss it. love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Tuesday, 23 December 2008, 01:45 PM Dear Babaji Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I can call 2 hours before which would be at 11pm(4pm your time). Let me know if this is convenient and if not I can call at other times and days. Of course, the sooner the better. Just in case, If you do not receive a call within 15 minutes of the time decided then some technical problem has occured but I doubt that such will occur. Hope to speak with you soon. Hare Bol! Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 23 December 2008, 02:58 PM Dear Tulidasananda, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, that's OK. Talk with you then. love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 19 by Tulsidasananda Tulsidasananda - Thursday, 25 December 2008, 02:25 PM Dear Babaji Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I was not able to call with Skype. I don't know what the problem is but the program keeps quitting when I click to call. I tried using the sound test call and it still keeps quitting also. I will try to fix the problem soon and email you. Merry Christmas to you dear Babaji and all the Prabhus and Matajis! Sri Jesus Christ ki! Jai! Miriam Mata ki! Jai! Hari Bol! Offering food in Sacrifice by Omar González - Thursday, 21 June 2007, 07:46 PM Dear Babaji, My obeisances to you. I would like to ask you, how could I offer in sacrifice the meal I recive everyday, or the water I drink. I remember you telling me to put the Image of Lord Krsna and my Guru infront of the meal/water and chant a Mantra, but I still do not know which Mantra should I chant and where can I get the Divine Image of Lord Krsna. Thank you very much for your enlightment Yours, Omar Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 25 December 2008, 07:43 AM Dear Omar, Please accept my blessings. Thanks for your questions. Please find attached two pictures you can print out and use for offering food, and a document of mantras you can use for offering pure vegetarian food. Generally we set aside one very nice plate for the Lord. When we cook we do not taste the food. Then we offer the first serving by placing the plate before the pictures of guru and Krsna, bowing down and reciting the mantras. After giving them a few minutes to eat, then we distribute the maha-prasadam to everyone or merge it back into the cooking pots, and serve everyone. It is very nice that you want to offer your food to God. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to write, call or post them here on the Forum. love, Baba (Edited by Uddhava das - original submission Thursday, 21 June 2007, 08:37 PM) Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 22 June 2007, 05:31 AM Here are the mantras.: Transcendental Mantras Guru-praṇati nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale śrīmate gaurahari dāsānudāsa bhaktisiddhārtha iti nāmine namas te prabhupāda-deve gaura-vāṇī-pracārine nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-nāra-jagatāya-tāriṇe “I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Śrīla Gaurahari Dasanudas Bābājī Bhaktisiddhārtha, who of all people on this earth is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken complete shelter at His lotus feet. Our respectful obeisances unto you, O Master Teacher, devotee of Śrila Prabhupāda. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanya all over the world, delivering people from impersonalism and voidism.” Śrī Paṇca-tattva Mahā-mantra (jaya) śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda "All glories to the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, His plenary expansion Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, His incarnation Śrī Advaita Prabhu, His internal potency Śrī Gadādhara Prabhu, and His marginal potency Śrīvāsa Prabhu. Dvadasākṣara-mantra oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya "O my dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O divine son of King Vasudeva, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You." Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Saturday, 1 September 2007, 05:23 AM Dear babaji, my obeisances to you. I would like to start offering food to Lord Sri Krsna but I have some questions. You wrote: "Then we offer the first serving by placing the plate before the pictures of guru and Krsna, bowing down and reciting the mantras." 1)Do we recite the mantras while we are bowing down or after it while standing upright? 2)Do you allow me to consider you as my spiritual master? It would be a pleasure for me to offer my obeisances and food also unto you using the Guru-pranati you reciteted above. Thanks in advance Love and light Hare Krsna florian Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 1 September 2007, 08:34 AM Dear Florian, Please accept my blessings. We offer the prayers while bowing down. It would be very kind of you to consider me your spiritual master, as long as you are chanting the Holy Name regularly every day and following four regulative principles: pure vegetarian diet and refraining from intoxication, gambling and illicit sex. love, Baba Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Saturday, 1 September 2007, 10:44 AM Dear Babaji, my obeisances to you. Thank you for your answer. I follow these principles and I will follow them in future. Love and light Hare Krsna florian Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Sunday, 2 September 2007, 08:53 AM Dear Babaji, my obeisances to you. I´m sorry to ask you so many questions... But I need to know something about the practise of offering food in sacrifice. The meal which is to be offered should not be tasted. Well, that`s clear- but what about this: I usually cook only for myself(, because the other members of the household I live in aren`t willing to eat nice vegan food.) It is much more economic to save the remnants of the meal and keep it save in the refrigerator -the parts of it that stayed in the cookingpot of course. But when I do so I have already tasted the meal which I offered and ate first. So what about when I gently warm these remnats up the next day- am I allowed or should I as well offer this meal? Thank you for clearance Love, Light and Respect Hare Krsna florian Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 2 September 2007, 08:58 AM Dear Florian, Please accept my blessings. Your questions show that you are serious about learning. I deliberately don't try to explain everything so that I can see who is actually learning, and their stage of understanding, by their questions. Once the food is offered, then it cannot be offered again. So if your intention is to offer all the food in the pot, then just heat up the remnants the next day. Also, it is best if you can get a separate refrigerator so that you do not have to keep it in the same place as nonvegetarian food. love, Baba Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Sunday, 2 September 2007, 11:40 AM Dear Babaji, my obeisances to you. Thank you for your answer. The problem with the refrigerator will soon be solved- I will then have a seperate one to store my food in. Thank you for this advise. Love, Light and Respect Hare Krsna florian Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Friday, 7 September 2007, 03:28 AM Dear Babaji, my obeisances to you. Please allow me a question. The other deiti on the picture above - right beside Krsna - Is that Maha-Lakshmi? Thank you in advance. Love, Light and Respect Hare Krsna florian Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 7 September 2007, 06:08 AM Dear Florian, The picture is of Sri-Sri Radha-Syamasundar at the ISKCON Krsna-Balaram Vrndavan temple. The two female Deities at either side of Their lotus feet are the gopis Lalita and Visakha. I used to serve Them as pujari when I was in Vrndavan. Here's another spectacularly beautiful picture showing the entire altar. love, Baba Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Friday, 14 September 2007, 01:27 PM Dear Babaji, I offer humble respects and all glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for these mantras, I have been using them to the best of my abilities, but I'm a little uncertain about my pronounciation on the guru-pranati. Would it be possible for you to provide an audio recording? Also, when you say bowing down, what exactly is appropriate? Should we be kneeling, or prostrate, or....? Thank you in advance Steve Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 14 September 2007, 03:03 PM Dear Steve, Please accept my blessings. It's wonderful that you are offering your food to Krsna with love and devotion before eating. There is a recording of all the mantras in the Mangalacaranam section of the Introduction to Jyotish course. You can listen to it here(MP3 audio) . love, Baba Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Saturday, 29 September 2007, 05:54 AM Dear Babaji, please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! I listened to your Podcast "Controlling the tongue" out of the Bhagavad-gita series. I fully understand the need to offer everything we are going to consume to the Lord. I offer all of my food to Krsna, aswell tea, when I cook larger portions in a pot. So I am feeling the wish to offer really everything that touches my tongue in the porpuse of consumption to Krsna, this includes also the water I use for smaller portions of tea. How is the best way to offer water? I thought about buying the nicest three glass-bottles I can find in the city. I also thought that it might be a good idea to decorate them with mantras or holy symbols. I could draw or write those to a folio and stick them onto the bottles. Is this a good idea? Do you know mantras I could use for this purpose? Thank you very much in advance. Love, Light and Respect Hare Krsna florian Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Saturday, 29 September 2007, 06:11 AM Dear Babaji, please accept my humble obeisances. I also have another question referring to offering food in sacrafice: In the German version of "The Science of Self-Realization" there is an appendix in the end, where one can find information about the practise of Bhakti at home. There it says one has to offer the food and then has to wait at least 10 minutes, better would be 15 minutes. I use to offer my food and then I sing the Maha-mantra ten times, that means I really take my time to sing it nicely. Then I wait a few moments, take the offered food away chanting the Maha-mantra . - Then I mix it into the meal and go into the kitchen to wash Krsna`s plate. Is this insufficient? Is there really a fixed time one should follow? When this is so - How long should one wait before taking the offered food away from the altar? I am sorry to ask so many questions. Thank you in advance. Love, Light and Respect Hare Krsna florian Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 29 September 2007, 09:11 AM Dear Florian, These are nice questions. We offer the final preparation, not the ingredients. So there is no need to offer the water, just the tea. We use nice stainless steel containers and implements. One set of dishes, utensils and containers are especially Krsna's. When a preparation is complete, we put a little in His dish, set it before Him and offer some prayers. Krsna eats by glancing over the food, so there is no need for Him to take a long time. If one is doing an elaborate ceremonial meal, with big Deities of Radha-Krsna, then perhaps it would make sense to wait ten minutes. I don't know where they got this instruction. Informal home worship is different—simpler and more intimate—than formal temple worship. love, Baba Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Saturday, 29 September 2007, 10:01 AM Dear Babaji, please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you very much for your answers. Where would we be without you? Love, Light and Respect Hare Krsna Your Servant florian Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by Omar González - Sunday, 30 September 2007, 04:17 PM Dear Florian, Jaya Babaji, All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I follow the instructions of Babaji singing the Mangalacaranam-mantra when offering food, and recently I've ordered a nice arotik paraphernalia from KrsnaCulture website http://www.krishnaculture.com/ It is very nice to spend time with devotees like you, and even nicer to get instructed by such a great Guru. Your servant, Ṛddha dāsa Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by Kānāi Dāsa - Tuesday, 30 October 2007, 12:37 PM Dear Baba  We dont taste the food before offering. OH NO ,all good chefs must taste the food they are cooking ,what if it need more salt?.  Okay that was a light hearted one liner, Bum Bum.  Offering to Krsna is very beautiful. I did this in Thailand today and everyone looked at me and asked who the extra plate was for, I told them its for Krsna. They all laughed and asked if he was hungry, I said no but I am and Im asking him to share with me. they then all looked around to look for him and laughed again hes not hungry. The lovely minds of children. The salads Im make are basic but my my, tasty tasty. Im better at cooking than I thought. Pleace and love to us all  Conor Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Sunday, 4 November 2007, 08:25 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! Uddhava pointed me to a site which contains Srila Prabhupadas commentaries and instructions on prasadam. I want to follow some of these instructions (in fact, I would like to follow all of them, but this is not possible at the moment...), so I chose to begin honoring the Lord´s prasadam. Unfortunately the version of the suggested mantras presented on this site doesn´t show the diacritics needed for correct pronunciation. It would be very kind of you to post the correct version, or show us the correct way of honoring the Lord´s prasadam, if this should be insufficient. Thank you very much in advance. Love and Respect Hare Krsna florian "HONOURING THE LORD'S PRASADA One should respect the prasada of the Lord by first offering one's obeisances to it, then singing its glories, then chanting the maha-mantra and uttering the prema-dvani to the spiritual master, acaryas, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Radha-Krsna and all the assembled Vaisnavas. The Glorification of the Lord's Prasada naivedyam jagadisasya anna-panadikam ca yat bhaksyabhaksya-vicaras ca nasti tad-bhaksane dvijah brahmavan-nirvikaram hi yatha visnus tathaiva tat vikaram ye prakurvanti bhaksane tad dvijatayah kustha-vyadhi-samayuktah putra-dara-vivarjitah nirayam yanti te vipras tasman navartate punah "O brahmanas, in the eating of food such as rice and water, etc., which has been tasted by the Lord of the universe, Sri Krsna, there is no consideration of whether it is eatable or uneatable. Just as Lord Visnu is spiritual and is not subject to mundane transformation, so in the same way His prasada is spiritual and untransformable. Those brahmanas, who consider that in the eating of visnu-prasada there is some mundane transformation of its spiritual qualities and thus it can become contaminated by contact with someone's mouth or hands, become afflicted with leprosy, become bereft of their sons and wife, and go to hell, never again to return from that place." (Visnu Purana) maha-prasade govinde nama-brahmani vaisnave svalpa-punya-vatam rajan visvaso naiva jayate (Mahabharata) "O king, for those who have amassed very few pious activities, their faith in maha-prasada, in Sri Govinda, in the Holy Name and in the Vaisnava is never born." " Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 4 November 2007, 10:10 AM Dear Florian, Please accept my blessings. Of course you should honor prasadam nicely. However the mantras you posted were never taught by Srila Prabhupada. Rather, they were taught by Prabhupada's Godbrothers and imported from the Gaudiya Math. I have never heard them recited in ISKCON. Looking at the link you posted, Srila Prabhupada did give the first two verses of Prasada-sevaya by Bhaktivinoda Thakur. He did not teach us to recite the whole thing. Prabhupada wanted us to honor prasadam, not spend all day reciting prayers! We have to find a balance between using ritual to create a sacred atmosphere and inhibiting the human spirit and initiative by too much ritual. Besides, you never want to find yourself between a bunch of hungry devotees and their prasadam! Here are two(MP3 audio) recordings(MP3 audio) of Acyutananda Swami singing the prasada-sevaya prayers with excellent pronunciation. love, Baba Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 4 November 2007, 11:19 AM Dear Florian, Here is the prasadam prayer with the original translation by Srila Prabhupada: Prasāda-sevāya From Gītāvalī by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura śarīra avidyā-jāl, joḍendriya tāhe kāl, jīve phele viṣaya-sāgore tā’ra madhye jihvā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati, tā’ke jetā kaṭhina saṁsāre kṛṣṇa baḍo doyāmay, karibāre jihvā jay, sva-prasād-anna dila bhāi sei annāmṛta pāo, rādhā-kṛṣṇa-guṇa gāo, preme ḍāko caitanya-nitāi O Lord, this material body is a place of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths leading to death. Somehow we have fallen into this ocean of material sense enjoyment, and of all the senses the tongue is the most voracious and uncontrollable. It is very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world. But You, dear Kṛṣṇa, are very kind to us and have given us such nice prasādam just to control the tongue. Now we take this prasādam to our full satisfaction and glorify You—Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa—and in love call for the help of Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda. love, Baba Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by - Monday, 5 November 2007, 02:54 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! Thank you very much for this bona fide method of honoring the Lord´s prasadam. Love and Respect Hare Krsna florian Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by Kānāi Dāsa - Wednesday, 7 November 2007, 09:59 AM Dear Baba, Thank you for all this light,  In offering the food to Krishan, Trying to get the words in the origional tongue correct is ...well its not going to come out right , I would need to sit down with a native speaker and learn them over a day or two ...more even, can we offer prayer in our tongue? and learn the original bit by bit. If not Im going to go hungry for a few days At the moment I offer with pure heart and positive feelings, thanking Krsna  for all his gifts, am I assuming too much in hoping that positive thought are enough?  Thank you  Love  Conor  Re: Offering food in Sacrifice by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 7 November 2007, 10:52 AM Dear Conor, You're welcome; I am just doing my duty and sharing all the blessings I was given by my own Guru Maharaj, Srila Prabhupada. The pronunciation for the Mangalacaranam prayers are given in this recording(MP3 audio) Anyway it's the intention that counts and not the particular words, so the prayer may be in any language. The important thing is that we're not just thanking Krsna, but first we are offering the food for His enjoyment. It's a different concept from Christian Grace, where they are engaging God as supplier for their sense gratification. We are giving the food and Krsna is enjoying it, then we are taking the remnants. love, Baba Sunday Satsang 21 December 2008: Elements of Bhakti by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 20 December 2008, 10:53 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The next Sunday Satsang will be based on our new series, Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti. We will discuss the definitions of the essential terms describing the path of pure bhakti, devotional service to the Lord. How can we describe or discuss bhakti if we don't have a vocabulary of terms that names its elements? Please review the posts of Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti: Part 1 Part 2 Then we can discuss them intelligently on Sunday. As usual, the webcast will be accessible via this link: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com/portal/JoinForm.action?confKey=davidbrucehughes Use this map to calculate your local time: Please make an effort to attend. These Satsangs are much better when more students are online. love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 21 December 2008: Elements of Bhakti by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 24 December 2008, 12:39 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The video is finally ready. Here it is: watch It is also available on YouTube. love, Baba "How must we celebrate Christmas?" by Graciela Ruiz - Wednesday, 24 December 2008, 10:08 AM Dear Bābājī, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! These days most people celebrate the birth of Christ by eating meat and drinking alcohol. How must we celebrate this occasion of the birth of a pure devotee of Krsna? With Love, Grace Re: "How must we celebrate Christmas?" by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 24 December 2008, 10:33 AM Dear Grace, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In the usual way, with chanting of the Holy Name, ecstatic dancing and feasting on delicious praṣādam. Hare Kṛṣṇas! love, Baba Community Project Mission/Vision Statement, Elevator Pitch by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 05:03 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here are the concise descriptions of our El Puente (Bridge) Community Project: Mission To reinvent human civilization by implementing and propagating a culture based on scientific transcendental wisdom and harmony with nature, humankind and God. Vision An example self-sufficient rural community with an International University of Higher Knowledge for developing leadership in spiritual training and sustainable agricultural and economic principles. Elevator Pitch The Esoteric Teaching El Puente (Bridge) Community project combines a self-sufficient sustainable agricultural economy with an International University of Higher Knowledge. It implements a 3-stage spiritual and macroeconomic solution to the transition from a global corporate industrial consumer culture to a local transcendental tribal village society. Our model combines the best of Schumacher’s economic principles, Gandhi’s social principles and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s spiritual principles for a balanced community in harmony with nature, humankind and God. As you can see these are quite broad and ambitious challenges. I myself have only seen clearly in the last couple of days what a big job they are, at least conceptually. It is not enough to get some money together, buy some land and put some devotees on it. Other organizations have done that, and failed spectacularly. To succeed we will have to operate from a well-thought-out spiritual, political and economic theory. That way we know what to do when something unexpected happens: consult the theory. And the theory better be robust and comprehensive enough to deal with it. The root cause of the error in all other attempts at a Vaiṣṇava farm community was the failure to predict and allow for change. They assumed that the present conditions would remain, and that vision was too limited. That is also the root cause of the failure of the present materialistic society, so in the final analysis those communities were also material. We have to plan, or at least allow for the social and economic growth of the community and the individual members, or it will become stagnant and social rot will set in. The vision of the founders must foresee every way the community can fail, and structure it to prevent them. I see our community as a series of layers. The layers on the outside protect and nourish the layers within. Macroeconomic theory allows the community to interface with, and function within, the corrupt ugra-karma society arount it. Sustainable agriculture lets the community feed itself and provide other basic needs like clothing and shelter. Varṇāśrama society engages everyone in service according to their qualities and keeps unqualified people from getting too much influence. Brahminical training gives everyone the gift of Kṛṣṇa consciousness according to their capacity to absorb it. The Vedic Absolute Truth in the form of the scriptures and self-realized souls protect everyone from ignorance The ultimate purpose is to make a safe place for pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness to exist and grow. Please use the Mission/Vision Statements and Elevator Pitch above to present and explain our community to others in a consistent and accurate way. As we grow, it is very important to have a standard image and terminology and present our community accurately. Then the people who are aligned with our vision will automatically be attracted. love, Baba Re: Community Project Mission/Vision Statement, Elevator Pitch by Neville Clemens - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 05:26 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is very nicely presented, especially the concept of the layers. That also is an important reference in decision-making, by clearly mentioning the order of importance to consider in all decisions. It helps assign the proper value to the different aspects of the community. Love, Neville The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Conclusion by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 18 December 2008, 06:55 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the conclusion: Chapter twenty WORSHIP OF TULASI DEVI Whoever worships Tulasi Devi with her eight names and their meanings--Vrinda, Vrindavani, Visvapavani, Visvapujita, Tulasi, Puspasara, Nandini, and Krsna Jivani--and properly sings this hymn of eight verses, acquires the merit of performing an Asvamedha (horse) sacrifice. Because Tulasi was born on the lunar day of the full moon in the month of Kartika, Lord Hari prescribed this day for her worship. Whoever worships her on this day will be freed from all sins and go to Vaikuntha. Whoever, out of reverence, gives Lord Visnu a Tulasi leaf in the month of Kartika, will gain the same benefit obtained by giving the gift of ten million cows. By hearing or recalling the Tulasi hymn, a son will be born to the sonless woman, a wife will be obtained by the wifeless man, health will be restored to a diseased person, freedom will be given to a prisoner, fearlessness will be bestowed upon the terrified, and salvation will be given to the sinners. In the Kanva Sakha branch of the Vedas, the method of worshiping and meditating on Tulasi Devi is described. Without invoking the goddess, one can reverentially meditate on her and adore her with sixteen ingredients in the following way: "Of all flowers, Tulasi is the best. She is worshipable and beautiful, and burns up the fuel of sins like a flame of fire. Of all the goddesses, she is the most sacred. Because no one can compare to her, she is called Tulasi. I worship this goddess who is entreated by all. She is placed on the heads of all, desired by all, and makes the universe holy. She bestows liberation from this world and devotion to Lord Hari. I worship her." After this meditation and worship, the wise should read her praises and bow down to her. love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Conclusion by Michael Jones - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 07:43 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you for posting this series. I listen to the prayers to Tulasi most mornings (on the Prabhupada morning program), and sometimes try chanting along, but i had no idea of the significance of the prayers. All I knew was that Tulasi was an exalted personality. Now I can have a better context for the prayers and it feels more personal when hearing them. Love Mike Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Conclusion by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 08:25 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All the Tulāsī prayers—Śrī Tulasī-praṇāma, Śrī Tulasī-pūjā-kīrtana and Śrī Tulasī Pradakṣiṇa Mantra—are in the Vedabase, in the Song, Prayers and Verse Books section, under Temple Mantra Guide. We will start growing and worshiping Tulāsī as soon as we get the seeds we ordered. Here is the text of Śrī Tulasī-pūjā-kīrtana: namo namaḥ tulasī kṛṣṇa-preyasi namo namaḥ rādhā-kṛṣṇa-sevā pābo ei abilāṣī 1) O Tulasī, beloved of Kṛṣṇa, I bow before you again and again. My desire is to obtain the service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. ye tomāra śaraṇa loy, tara vāñchā pūrṇa hoy kṛpā kori' koro tāre vṛndāvana-vāsi 2) Whoever takes shelter of you has his wishes fulfilled. Bestowing your mercy on him, you make him a resident of Vṛndāvana. mora ei abhilāṣa, vilāsa kuñje dio vāsa nayana heribo sadā yugala-rūpa-rāśi 3) My desire is that you will also give me a residence in the pleasure groves of Śrī Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Thus within my vision I will always behold the beautiful pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. ei nivedana dhara, sakhīra anugata koro sevā-adhikāra diye koro nīja dāsī 4) I beg you to make me a follower of the cowherd damsels of Vraja. Please give me the privilege of devotional service and make me your own maidservant. dīna kṛṣṇa-dāse koy, ei yena mora hoy śrī-rādhā-govinda-preme sadā yena bhāsi 5) This very fallen and lowly servant of Kṛṣṇa prays, "May I always swim in the love of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Govinda." love, Baba Community Project Summary by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 07:45 AM ET_Community_Project_Summary_V1.html Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please find attached to this message our preliminary Community Project Summary compiled by Neville. Please read it completely and carefully. This is just the preliminary draft, and I encourage everyone to use this thread for their observations, suggestions and discussion on the topic. love, Baba Re: Community Project Summary by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 08:59 AM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The document so far is very good. I think we need to add a section on our financial model. While the Working Villages model relies on charity-type fundraising, we will have to capitalize our community from the members or residents themselves. We will do this by offering shares in the community. Our concept is that anyone who wants to join this community contributes at least one share, which is the current value of one futures contract. Right now a futures contract is about US$3500. The price varies from time to time with market risk, the value of the dollar, and other factors. These funds are pooled and invested in the futures market according to a proprietary algorithm. As the pool increases in value, the original share multiplies. In other words, suppose a member contributes one share. At the time, the entire pool consists of ten shares. Later on, the value of the pool doubles to 20 shares. The member who contributed one share now has two shares. A share carries the benefit of lifetime residence and maintenance in the community for one person, according to the self-sufficient spiritual lifestyle established in the community. The idea is that commitment of the individual member and the value he contributes is reciprocated by the commitment and value of the community. Because of network effects, the more members contribute, the more valuable each share becomes; this give members an incentive to recruit others. Shares are non-refundable charitable donations but they are transferable: a member may sell, trade or give a share to someone else, who perhaps has valuable skills needed by the community but cannot afford to contribute a share of his or her own. We anticipate that community shares will increase in value with time, particularly as the collapse of the present system accelerates. We will screen prospective members for possible sociopathic behavior by Jyotish analysis and personal interviews before they can contribute a share. A community this size also will require some kind of justice system, above and beyond the local legal system, for handling ethical and spiritual problems and correcting difficult individuals. Creating and implementing these policies will be the responsibility of the executive body (see below). There also needs to be a section on consensus management. My vision for consensus management is that we create an executive body and a community body. The executive body consists of exceptionally qualified and experienced individuals with the qualifications of brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas as described in Bhagavad-gītā. It consists of 10-20% of the total members. The original executive body is appointed by the spiritual master, and afterward chooses its members by consensus. The spiritual master is Chairman, and has veto power over decisions of the executive body. It is understood that this veto power will be used very judiciously, and only in extraordinary circumstances. The executive body creates management policies, and empowers individual members with limited executive powers for specific tasks. That way the executive body does not have to consider and reach consensus on each specific decision and action, but maintains a high-level overview of the project. All decisions of the executive body must be unanimous. The general rule is that one person or a small group cannot withhold consensus against an overwhelming majority, unless they can propose a demonstrably superior and convincing alternate solution. This is intended to encourage deep discussion of issues based on good research before they are made into policies. The community body consists of all community members. The community body meets regularly to hear reports on the deliberations and decisions of the executive body, discuss community issues and most importantly, to ensure that everyone's voice is heard and factored into community decisions. This is the most important management principle. In general, the determining factor in every policy, decision and action must be the spiritual welfare of those who will be most affected by it. Both the community body and the executive body must actively solicit and seriously consider the spiritual consequences of their decisions on the affected individuals, or the community will devolve into another centralized power structure, nullifying the purpose of its existence. We have seen this disaster happen in ISKCON, and it must not happen in our community; that is why we are committed to the consensus-management model. Everyone's input must be considered, all voices must be heard and factored into every decision. I personally will ensure that the executive body implements this policy rigidly. We also want to add a section, or at least an item, on splitting the community into multiples after reaching a certain size. At this point we don't know what that size is, but it would be somewhere beyond the threshold of self-reliance. love, Baba Re: Community Project Summary by Neville Clemens - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 12:33 PM ET_Community_Project_Summary_V2.html Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for editing this to make it look so much better. I have updated the document to add in your comments in the above post, and attached the updated document to this post as version 2. Another thought that struck me was incorporating family housing in the community when it can accommodate them. In the beginning when we're a small group working, the whole community will be like a large family of monks. However as it grows and families move in, we can construct separate large houses in which several families can live together, with separate quarters for the men and women. They will share resources and this will cut down on necessary infrastructure. Everybody doesn't need a house of their own. Similarly, I thought we could also have communal living quarters for the brahmacaris and brahmacarinis in the community - separately, of course. Just an idea I'm throwing in for consideration on this thread. Love, Neville Re: Community Project Summary by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 01:07 PM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for the revision and your suggestions. I think the sequence of development will have to be something like the following: Monastery Temple Guest quarters Family housing Community hall Classrooms/office This doesn't include necessities like bathing and sanitary facilities, kitchens, farm buildings and infrastructure. Those details will have to wait until the property is selected and we see what we have to work with. The issue of family housing is potentially complex. Western families are used to having their own space, and generally are uncomfortable with sharing. They are also used to the materialistic romantic nuclear family model, instead of the Vedic extended family with strict separation between men & women. We will have to deal with those issues before we can plan a specific model for family housing. Some experimentation with different models may be necessary, and there may be more than one acceptable solution. Certainly the family devotees will have to be involved in determining the solution. I would like to see a gṛhastha-brahmacarī style community, where the association of men and women is strictly regulated. The big danger of unrestricted association is that men and women will lose their unique qualities, and also unwanted and unplanned pregnancies will occur. This is very dangerous because the children born from such unions would be in the lower modes of material nature. We have seen the havoc this created in the ISKCON communities, where 'devotee' children often had strong demoniac tendencies due to being conceived while their parents were lusty, intoxicated, etc. I could tell you all kinds of horror stories; we do not want to have to deal with this problem. Marriage is not a license for illicit sex; in Vedic society, it is more like a very cautious permission for regulated association and the use of the garbhādāna-saṁskāra ceremony to bring exalted devotee souls into the world. The biggest challenge will be transitioning existing families from the materialistic model to the Vedic relationship style, or from the modes of ignorance and passion to the mode of goodness. Many of these issues, such as the justice policies, cannot be resolved in the planning stage. They will remain for the executive body to debate, consult with the members and arrive at consensus policies. The early members of the executive body will certainly be in a position of strong influence over these policies. But we must remain open to experimentation and learning from experience; after all, we are exploring uncharted territory. I don't think that crime will be a significant problem, but people having difficulties with the spiritual principles definitely will be. So we will have to figure out how to deal with ethical and discipline issues in a loving and spiritually beneficial manner. love, Baba Re: Community Project Summary by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 01:37 PM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Another very important point, while I'm thinking about this, is that a fundamental reason for our community's existence is to inspire and encourage the development of similar communities everywhere. The crash of the US economy will create shock waves all over the world; there will be a huge need to restructure the whole food production and distribution from a centralized global corporate system to a decentralized local tribal system. And this will have to happen quickly to avoid mass starvation. In fact, I would go so far as to single this out as our most valuable final product, and the ultimate measure of our success: how many similar projects our community can inspire and assist in creating. So an important plank in our community platform is a program of information sharing, education, consulting and even financial assistance (such as development loans) for new similar projects. The whole point is that each rural self-sufficient community should be as independent and self-reliant as possible; therefore we are not interested in empire-building, corporatizing or franchising our concept because that would be a contradiction in terms (Independence Farm©, a division of McKarma's® Farm Communities International, Inc.™ ). But we certainly want to stimulate the formation of many similar communities in any way possible. We must never lose sight of this ultimate goal. One of the best means of doing this is to carefully document each stage of planning and building the community, so other like-minded people can follow in our footsteps. Sharing information generously on open-source principles is another key policy. Once we have a bona fide non-profit organization, we should publish our financials. We should strive for complete transparency in our executive body. All documents such as photos, videos, planning documents, archetectural plans, materialis lists etc., should be openly available and shared on the web under a Creative Commons license. love, Baba Re: Community Project Summary by Neville Clemens - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 12:18 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! After tomorrow's satsang, I will take notes and add these in along with other ideas that are discussed during the satsang. Yes, I agree that documentation is key. Even though it may take a little extra effort, we should strive to document and archive everything carefully - even ideas that were researched but discarded later for some reason or the other. We never know when they may come of use. The Working Villages project is also setting up a portal along similar lines of information sharing, a place where people can visit to get direct, step-by-step do-it-yourself community building information. There are undoubtedly many other like minded groups that we can network with. In our mission statement we have included the phrase "freely disseminate information". Regarding your comments on consensus management, it appears that any community built on this model would need to have a resident spiritual master for overseeing things and having veto power. Given the scarcity of bona fide spiritual masters, how is this setup scaleable? Wouldn't communities run the risk of setting up a political post and calling it "spiritual master", and all the trouble that comes with that kind of thinking? Grihastha life and the issues that belong in that context can seem a little strange to those who are not (and have not been) householders. It would probably help if there were mature and realized grihasthas in the community to help with such issues. I agree with your comment about finding ways to deal with community issues such as discipline and spiritual problems in a sensitive way that produces spiritual advancement for all parties concerned. I've read enough about un-self-realized community leaders going on power trips and dealing with sensitive issues in a militant manner that caused much havoc. On the other hand we can't run the risk of being mushy and compromising spiritual principles. The problem is mitigated as long as we have a resident self-realized spiritual master . If not, I guess we have to somehow learn as we go? - and we have to keep chanting... In any case, these issues are still a long way from cropping up in the development of this project. Love, Neville Re: Community Project Summary by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 06:48 AM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We had a long talk last night about consensus management and how it automatically prevents the most egregious abuses of authority by requiring everyone to agree on important decisions, by exposing executive actions to peer review, and by requiring a concrete, convincing counterproposal so holdouts can't filibuster the consensus process. We also talked about screening applicants, and how if later on we feel that we have to kick someone out, it means that our filtering process is broken. We don't want to develop a social environment that has to kick people out so that the leaders feel comfortable. We want people to feel secure, not that they might be kicked out anytime. It's much easier to screen out sociopathic people in the beginning. I agree that householder issues are complex, messy and strange. Heck, I was married, and I don't understand them! Fortunately I escaped. For example, how will we handle kids that were conceived in material consciousness before their parents became devotees, and consequently are in the lower modes of nature? I have seen a single sociopathic kid drag down a dozen other kids into materialistic nonsense. Again, effective screening is the answer. We also talked about cloning or spawning other similar communities; how there is an optimum size for any group and past that, there is a natural process that brings out a splinter group with its own leadership that can naturally develop into another similar community. If this process is encouraged and not artificially suppressed, it can lead to explosive growth in the number of communities. We must encourage people with leadership qualities by offering the possibility of starting other similar communities, and train them by giving them progressively more responsibility. I agree with your point that actual spiritual qualifications can easily degrade into mere political posts. This is a great danger and as always, the only answer is spiritual knowledge and advancement. I have been careful in managing our āśram to create an atmosphere where I am not a dictator, but we are all cooperators in a consensus process. I trust that if people have genuine spiritual knowledge and realization, they will automatically do the right thing. The power of consensus management is that when you have a pure environment, anyone who is an impure state of consciousness shows up immediately. It is very obvious when someone is agitated or in the lower modes. The group consensus goes against such a fallen individual immediately. If we keep the standard of spiritual practice high, then there will not be a problem with power-mad people trying to take over. They would have to usurp the good judgment of the entire group and win their approval, and I don't think that can happen. Sociopathic types can flourish only if they can take over powerful centralized executive posts, and we will not have those by design. The executive body may designate executive posts, but those will be on a project-by-project basis. No one person, including myself, will ever have total administrative control of the entire project. If anyone wants to go on a power trip, they will have to convince the entire executive body, and I don't think that is going to happen. The executive body is the servant of the community as a whole. They have to report periodically to the community body and get the consensus agreement of the community body to continue. This is another check on the power of the executive body. If the executive body goes wrong, then the consensus of the community body can override it. You can't have chiefs without the agreement of the indians. love, Baba Re: Community Project Summary by Michael Jones - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 08:21 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you for sharing the detailed plans with us. Even before I was a devotee I had always wanted to live in a society where things were done on consensus for the good of all people, rather than the current system. I just never knew how that would be possible though. Reading through your plans about the committees and such, the answer has been provided. I believe that in any area of life, if all decisions were made this way we would arrive at much better solutions. Thank you for giving us hope that these things are indeed possible. I look forward to breaking out of this system and serving you to help with a truly just and free society (I feel the red pill has been taking its time to digest but is starting to spread throughout my body at a faster rate). I have not yet had chance to read the plan but plan to read it before satsang. See you there. Love Mike Three Modes of Material Nature by David Lugan - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 04:39 PM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thanks for creating this project summary. At today's Satsang Uddhava provided a link to the "Three Modes of Material Nature": http://joomla.esotericteaching.org/joomla/jyotish/introduction-to-jyotish/499-review-the-three-modes-of-material-nature The "Laws of Karma" PDF file at the link above was very useful for me to understand and accept the four divisions of social order. I think it should be described or linked in the project summary. As of today I'm 3/4 in the mode of goodness and 1/4 in the mode of passion and I have decades of improvements to make. Have a nice day. Cheers, David Re: Community Project Summary by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 05:21 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for your understanding and participation. I'd like to make a distinction in terminology between a committee and consensus body. A committee is a form of the centralized system, where responsibility and accountability are delegated from some authority, and distributed so no one has to take the full responsibility for any decision. A committee functions by majority vote, so it can easily be corrupted. As a result nothing really important gets done, but it's OK because at least no one individual can be blamed. Someone once joked that a camel is a horse designed by a committee; that about nails it, LOL. A consensus body is completely different, as decisions are made by unanimous agreement. If any individual or part of the group is unconvinced, then a discussion has to take place to convince everyone to agree. This ensures that everything gets discussed in depth before any decisions are made. In a centralized power structure, the committees rule the individuals, but in consensus management, the executive body's role is to serve the membership body, the community as a whole. If the executive body becomes corrupt and starts acting against the interest of the entire community, the membership body can agree by consensus to disband it and form another one. These principles of consensus management will be written into the bylaws and charter of our non-profit corporation, and made clear to all prospective members. I have seen these principles in operation in a mature community, and I was very impressed at how the mood of the community was so loving and caring. Every voice was heard, every point of view was discussed threadbare and either accepted or rejected by the whole group. In the beginning these discussions take a lot of time, but the deep trust and understanding that builds up in the group is unobtainable any other way. After a while the decisions are actually faster than in an authoritarian system, because of the high level of trust. We still have to work out the justice principles, and I think these will have to be considered on a case-by-case basis as our community grows. I mean, we can't plan everything in advance, or there won't be anything for the executive body to do. love, Baba Re: Community Project Summary by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 07:25 AM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Krsna has led me to several ebooks which should help with this project. I haven't read all of them in depth but have skimmed through them all and believe we will find something useful in all of them. Farming/Self-sufficient community The complete book of self sufficiency: This contains a wealth of information concerning self sufficiency. It includes diagrams as well. Just a few of the subjects are farming (including things like putting up fences, etc), how animals can help, crops and food (including storage), making bread, looking after cows, making butter, cream, and cheese, keeping bees for honey, natural energy from wind, sun, water, and waste, crafts (e.g. pottery and weaving), making bricks and tiles, making household items (e.g. paper: which could be good to preserve the Vedic books if we lose the use of electronic forms). (Please be warned, pages 106 - 129 and 198 - 207 contain information on using animals for food which also includes diagrams). Encyclopedia of country living: Another large book of information. There is information that might help with buying the land, construction ideas, cookers, clothing along with many other subjects. Intensive Gardening For Profit And Self-Sufficiency: Contains a lot of information on soil and gardening. Village Technology Handbook: Also a goldmine. Includes developing water sources, sanitation, agriculture and more. An Old Fashioned Farm: Contains many tips on sustainable and organic farming. Organic Gardeners Composting Tools for homesteaders gardeners and small-scale farmers Biogas and related Using A Biogas Digester: Easy reading on Biogas Biogas And Liquid Biofuels: From same author as above. Build Your Own Biogas Generator: It is a small one but may be useful in the early stages of building. Five Earth Friendly Cooking Technologies: Does as it says on the tin. Mud Stoves: About mud stoves used in Africa. Water Water Techniques: Small handbook containing diagrams of various water systems. Ecological Sanitation Ecological Sanitation: These two links provide information and ideas on ecological sanitation. Wastewater Treatment: This is from an army course which gives an overview of wastewater treatment. There may be some stuff we can use in this. Waste-Water-Treatment and Use in Agriculture Biotechnology for Waste and Waste Water-Treatment Wastewater Treatment: Also from the army. A dryer read, and maybe not useful for our purposes but I thought someone with more intelligence in this area might be able to find some use from it. Food and Agriculture wastewater treatment: Again may or may not be good for our purposes, figured I'd post it just in case. Waste water part 1 and part 2: Oriented more toward a city treatment but again it may contain information/ideas we find useful. Construction Building Design and Construction Handbook: Massive books but could contain a lot of things we could use. I will continue to research, and was thinking of going further into the first few books (i.e. farming/self-sufficiency) to try and take out what we could use in early stages. I hope you find these useful and if there is something you would rather me go deeper into (rather than the farming) please let me know. If anyone has trouble downloading the ebooks, I will be happy to email you them. Love Mike Re: Community Project Summary by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 08:36 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Wow, what a treasure-trove of practical wisdom! Everyone who is interested in natural self-sufficient living should download and study these books. Scribd.com is a wonderful resource. I just created an account and uploaded all my books. love, Baba Re: Community Project Summary by Neville Clemens - Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 09:20 AM Dear Mike, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for this wonderful collection of resources. I shall add them all in to the "references and resources" section of the project summary document. Love, Neville Re: Community Project Summary by Neville Clemens - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 10:23 AM ET_Community_Project_Summary_V3.html Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Attached to this post is our latest version of the project summary, incorporating the comments and suggestions in this thread. In the document, there is a section that outlines several tasks that can be delegated to people interested in helping out. We are looking for volunteers to pick tasks like these and chip in with summary reports. They need not be too detailed, but just something high level at this point to give us a good feel of what's involved. For example someone may prepare a report on Biogas digesters, what they are, what are the different kinds, hi-tech or low-tech options, the cost incurred and time taken to build or make these various options, a comparison of the pros and cons of our options, some photographs, maybe a link to a helpful video etc. All this can be compiled into, say, a 5-page document and then we can start clipping these on to our main Project document as appendices. Love, Neville Re: Community Project Summary by Michael Jones - Saturday, 20 December 2008, 10:43 AM Dear Neville and All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. As I said in email, I would like to take the tasks of researching biogas and sanitation/water techniques. I should be able to get this done over the next few weeks. If anybody else had their heart set on one of these parts, I don't mind splitting some of the task. Just let me know which part you wanted. Love Mike Re: Community Project Summary by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 20 December 2008, 10:51 AM Dear Mike and All, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Very good. From now please transfer your communications about the project to our project management site so we have all the information in a central repository. This forum will be for public announcements about the project, but the project business itself will be on that site, because it is set up for project management. love, Baba Re: Community Project Summary by Michael Jones - Sunday, 21 December 2008, 07:40 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. My apologies, I hadn't looked at the site when I posted. I will keep further discussion there. Love Mike Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti Part 5: 64 Limbs of Bhakti con't. by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 19 December 2008, 04:04 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the next part: Term English Definition saṅkīrtanam Congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy name Saṅkīrtanam is the thirty-third of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. When many faithful devotees following under the guidance of mahāpuruṣas assemble together and loudly chant the holy name of the Lord for the pleasure of Śrī Bhagavān, it is called saṅkīrtana. Of the various processes of sādhana, especially in Kali-yuga bhagavan-nāma-saṅkīrtana is the most excellent. If one performs nāma-saṅkīrtana free from offenses he will certainly attain the most valuable wealth of kṛṣṇa-prema. japaḥ Utterance of the holy name and mantras Japaḥ is the thirty-fourth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. To utter bhagavan-nāma or mantras is called japa. This utterance (uccāraṇa) is of three kinds: (1) verbal (vācika), to perform japa with clear, audible enunciation of the mantra; (2) in a whisper (upāṁśu) with very soft pronunciation, with only a slight movement of the lips, and can only be heard by one’s own ears; and (3) within the mind (mānasika) is called mānasika-japa. Those who are desirous of obtaining unlimited varieties of spiritual bliss should always perform japa, meditation (dhyāna), singing (gīta) and kīrtana of the topmost names of Śrī Hari. stava-pāṭhaḥ Recitation of songs or hymns in praise of the Lord Stava-pāṭhaḥ is the thirty-fifth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other scriptures, and in the books composed by the Six Gosvāmīs, there are many useful stavas and stotras, hymns of praise that are saturated with the mood of prayer offered to Śrī Guru, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrīmatī Rādhikā, Śrī Vṛndāvana-dhāma, Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma, Śrī Girirāja-Govardhana, Yamunā, Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa and so on. The sādhaka should recite these with great love and devotion. mahā-prasāda-sevā Honoring the remnants of food offered to the Deity Mahā-prasāda-sevā is the thirty-sixth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. Food items and beverages offered to the Lord are called mahā-prasāda. It is the duty of the devotees to honor mahā-prasāda. By honoring mahā-prasāda, anarthas are easily destroyed and bhagavad-bhakti is augmented. Bhagavad-bhaktas accept only mahā-prasāda, therefore the remnants of their prasāda is called mahā-mahā-prasāda, which is a greatly powerful medicine for effecting the growth of bhakti within the heart. vijñaptiḥ Submissive prayer or entreaty Vijñaptiḥ is the thirty-seventh of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. To make known one’s prayer at the lotus feet of Śrī Bhagavān is what is meant by vijñapti. To describe one’s miserable condition, deceitfulness, attachment to material existence, helplessness and so on, and to pray in a despairing voice for deliverance as well as attainment of the service of the Lord’s lotus feet is called vijñapti. Vijñapti is of three kinds: (i) samprārthanātmikā, prayer with wholehearted submission of mind, body and everything to the Lord; (ii) dainyabodhikā, making known one’s insignificance and worthlessness; and (iii) lālasāmayī, yearning for the personal service of the Lord. caraṇāmṛta-pānam Drinking the nectar used to wash the lotus feet of the Lord Caraṇāmṛta-pānam is the thirty-eighth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. After the Deity of the Lord has been bathed with various substances, the nectar is collected from the Lord’s feet and is thus called caraṇāmṛta. Sādhakas should regularly and with great faith drink that caraṇāmṛta and reverentially bear it on their heads. By doing so their bhakti is developed. dhūpa-mālyādi-saurabha-grahaṇam Smelling fragrant articles offered to the Lord Dhūpa-mālyādi-saurabha-grahaṇam, smelling the fragrance of incense and flower garlands offered to the Lord, is the thirty-ninth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. śrī-mūrti-darśanam Seeing the Deity of the Lord Śrī-mūrti-darśanam is the fortieth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. Sādhakas should take darśana daily of the Deity of Bhagavān, either in the temple or in one’s own home. By doing so devotees directly taste the sweetness of the Lord. śrī-mūrti-sparśanam Touching the Deity of the Lord Śrī-mūrti-sparśanam is the forty-first the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. Touching the deity of Bhagavān while serving Him is also counted as a limb of bhakti. ārātrika-darśanam Seeing the ārati offered to the Lord Ārātrika-darśanam is the forty-second of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. The sādhaka should take darśana of the ārati eremony offered to the Deity of Bhagavān at the three junctions of the day: morning, noon and night. śravaṇam Hearing Śravaṇam is the forty-third of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. To hear descriptions of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s nāma, rūpa, guṇa and līlā is called śravaṇa. Such descriptions are non-different from Him; all the potencies of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself have been invested in them. Śrī Bhagavān enters the heart of the listener through the medium of hearing līlā-kathā, destroys all anarthas situated in the heart, and transmits prema-bhakti there. By hearing the līlā-kathā of Śrī Bhagavān, all misfortunes of the jīvas are dispelled. Those who possess an ardent desire to obtain unalloyed prema-bhakti at the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa must certainly hear His līlā-kathā repeatedly and incessantly. tat-kṛpāpekṣaṇam Anticipating the mercy of the Lord Tat-kṛpāpekṣaṇam is the forty-fourth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. Without the mercy of Bhagavān one cannot obtain bhakti, nor is the performance of sādhana and bhajana possible. The bhakti-sādhaka is always dependent on the mercy of the Lord. He should perceive the mercy of Kṛṣṇa everywhere. smaraṇam Remembering Smaraṇam is the forty-fifth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. To contemplate Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s nāma, rūpa, guṇa and līlā with the mind is called smaraṇa. dhyānam Meditation Dhyānam is the forty-sixth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. Very thorough meditation upon the rūpa, guṇa, līlā and sevā of Bhagavān is called dhyāna. The meaning of sevā-dhyāna is worship or service that is performed within the mind. dāsyam Servitude Dāsyam is the forty-seventh of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. The pure constitutional disposition (ṣuddha-svarūpa) of the jīva is to be a servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Because the jīva’s vision is diverted from Śrī Kṛṣṇa his pure constitutional nature becomes covered by Māyā. By virtue of some great fortune, the jīva may come to learn of his true identity by the association of saintly devotees. The sādhaka should then always think, “I am a servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa”. This attitude is called dāsya. There are two kinds of dāsya: (1) in its beginning form, dāsya means to offer all one’s activities to the Lord and (2) to render all kinds of services to the Lord with the feeling that, “I am a servant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and He is my master”. This attitude is called kaiṅkarya. sakhyam Friendship Sakhyam is the forty-eighth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. Sakhya is of two kinds: (1) that which is based on faith (viśvāsa) and (2) that which is based on an attitude of friendship (maitrī). Draupadī expressed her faith in Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the following words: “Śrī Kṛṣṇa will certainly protect me.” This is an example of sakhya-bhāva that is based on faith. In Vrndāvana, Kṛṣṇa's age, His beauty, His bugle, His flute, His conchshell and His pleasing attitude all provoke love in friendship for Him. His exceptional joking abilities, exhibited sometimes by His pretending to be a royal prince, or even the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also give impetus to devotees developing love for Kṛṣṇa in friendship. ātma-nivedanam Dedication of the self Ātma-nivedanam is the forty-ninth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. The word ātmā refers to ahaṁtā (egoism), or in other words the sense of “I” pertaining to the body, as well as mamatā (possessiveness), or the sense of “mine” that is related to the body. To offer both of these to Kṛṣṇa is called ātma-nivedana. One should give up the conceptions of “I” and “mine” and adopt the conception that, “I am a servant of Kṛṣṇa, I accept only the remnants of Kṛṣṇa’s prasāda and this body is an instrument suitable for the service of Kṛṣṇa”. To maintain the body exclusively with this mentality is called ātma-nivedana. nija-priya-vastu-samarpaṇam Offering one’s own dear objects Nija-priya-vastu-samarpaṇam is the fiftieth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. The things in this world that one likes best should be accepted and offered to Kṛṣṇa, considering them to be related to Him. This is what is meant by offering one’s dear objects to Kṛṣṇa. One should offer to Kṛṣṇa those things which are dear to other persons and which are also dear to Kṛṣṇa. Those items which are dear to others, dear to Kṛṣṇa and dear to the sādhakas also are especially fit to be offered to Kṛṣṇa. Those objects give the most pleasure to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa items which are dear to people in general but are not dear to Kṛṣṇa, or those things which are dear to Kṛṣṇa but are not dear to people in general, should not be offered to Kṛṣṇa. kṛṣṇārthe samasta-karma-karaṇam Performing all activities for the sake of Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇārthe samasta-karma-karaṇam is the fifty-first the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. To make all activities, whether worldly duties or those directly related to vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti, favorable for the service of Lord Hari is to perform all activities for the sake of Kṛṣṇa. sarvathā śaraṇāpattiḥ Full self-surrender Sarvathā śaraṇāpattiḥ is the fifty-second of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. There are six symptoms of self-surrender: (1) ānukūlyasya saṅkalpa – fully surrendered sādhakas should accept only those things which are favorable for prema-bhakti. (2) Prātikūlya-vivarjana – they should completely reject those things which are unfavorable to prema-bhakti. (3) Rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāsa – they have firm faith that Kṛṣṇa is their only protector, that there is no protector other than Kṛṣṇa and that one cannot obtain protection by any other activity. (4) Goptṛtve varaṇa – surrendered devotees have absolutely no doubt that Kṛṣṇa is their only guardian and maintainer. (5) Ātma-nikṣepa – offering the self to the Lord is expressed in this attitude: “I am incapable of doing anything independently. Unless Kṛṣṇa desires, no one can do anything.” Devotees who are without any other resort have this kind of faith. (6) Kārpaṇya – humility is expressed as follows: “I am very fallen and insignificant.” Unalloyed devotees are possessed of this very firm and simple faith. To possess all these attitudes is called śaraṇāpattiḥ. tulasī-sevā Serving tulasī Tulasī-sevā is the fifty-third of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. The service of tulasī has already been described within the tenth limb of bhakti: offering respect to banyan trees, tulasī, myrobalan trees, cows, brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. vaiṣṇava-śāstra-sevā Serving Vaiṣṇava scriptures Vaiṣṇava-śāstra-sevā is the fifty-fourth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. The vaiṣṇava-śāstras like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā and so on propound ananya-bhakti, exclusive devotion unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Those who keep such scriptures in their home and worship them with great respect are freed from all sins. Even the demigods offer prayers to such persons. Those who hear the vaiṣṇava-śāstras from the mouths of pure devotees and who regularly study them on their own are truly blessed in this world. Śrī Kṛṣṇa becomes pleased with them. The restoration of, careful keeping of, publishing and propagation of vaiṣṇava-śāstras are all included within śāstra-sevā. mathurā-maṇḍale vāsaḥ Residing within the district of Mathurā Mathurā-maṇḍale vāsaḥ is the fifty-fifth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. One should hear about, glorify and remember the glories of Mathurā. By desiring to go to Mathurā, by seeing Mathurā, by touching the land of Mathurā, by living there and by serving Mathurā, the aspiration for bhakti is fulfilled. The term mathurā-vāsa refers to Śrī Vṛndāvana, Gokula, Nandagāoṅ (Nanda-grāma), Varṣāṇā, Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa and other places within Mathurā-maṇḍala. It also refers to Śrī Māyāpura. vaiṣṇava-sevana Service of Vaiṣṇavas Vaiṣṇava-sevana is the fifty-sixth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. Vaiṣṇavas are very dear to the Lord. By rendering service to the Vaiṣṇavas one obtains bhakti towards Bhagavān. In the scriptures it is said that the worship of Viṣṇu is superior to the worship of all the demigods; but the worship of His servants, the Vaiṣṇavas, is even better than the worship of Viṣṇu. In the Ādi Purāṇa Śrī Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna: “O Pārtha, those who claim to be My devotees are not My actual devotees; those who are devotees of My devotees are My true devotees.” yathā-śakti dolādi-mahotsava-karaṇam Celebration of festivals related to the Lord in accordance with one’s ability Yathā-śakti dolādi-mahotsava-karaṇam is the fifty-seventh of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. To collect articles in accordance with one’s ability and celebrate festivals in the temple of the Lord such as the Lord’s birth ceremony, ratha-yātra and hiṇḍola (the swing festival), and to serve the pure Vaiṣṇavas after first offering service to the Lord is called a mahotsava. In this world there is no festival greater than this. kārttika-vratam Observing the vow of Kārttika Kārttika-vratam is the fifty-eighth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. The Lord considers a very small practice of bhajana performed with a respectful attitude in the month of Dāmodara to be very great and bestows the invaluable wealth of bhakti towards Bhagavān Śrī Dāmodara. To observe vows related to bhakti for the pleasure of the Lord in the month of Kārttika is called niyama-sevā. To persons who perform sādhana in places outside of Vraja-maṇḍala and without strong attachment to Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān certainly awards bhukti and mukti but He does not award bhakti, for by bhakti the Lord becomes bound to His devotee. But if a person who is otherwise devoid of sādhana worships Śrī Dāmodara even once in Vraja-maṇḍala in the month of Kārttika, he very easily obtains the rarest hari-bhakti. sarvadā harināma-grahaṇam To chant the holy name at all times Sarvadā harināma-grahaṇam is the fifty-ninth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. To always utter the holy name in all circumstances is known as harināma-grahaṇa (to take harināma). One can chant harināma in any condition, whether eating or drinking, sleeping or rising, moving about, pure or impure. Regardless of time or place, one who chants the holy name, even while eating or sleeping, attains all perfection. śraddhā-pūrvaka-śrī-mūrti-sevā Serving the Deity with faith Śraddhā-pūrvaka-śrī-mūrti-sevā is the sixtieth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. In the service and worship of the Deity it is essential to have enthusiasm saturated with love. Unto those who worship and serve the deity with great enthusiasm, Śrī Kṛṣṇa gives not only the insignificant fruit of mukti but the supreme fruit of bhakti. rasikaiḥ saha śrī-bhāgavatārthāsvādaḥ Tasting the meaning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the association of rasika Vaiṣṇavas Rasikaiḥ saha śrī-bhāgavatārthāsvādaḥ is the sixty-first of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. The delightfully sweet essence (rasa) of the wish-fulfilling tree of Vedic literature is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In the association of persons who are estranged from that rasa there can be no tasting of the rasa of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; rather there can be only aparādha. One should taste the rasa of the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the association of pure devotees who are thoroughly versed in understanding the rasa of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and who are possessed of deep yearning to taste the rasa of kṛṣṇa-līlā. Śuddha-bhakti does not arise by hearing or reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in an assembly of ordinary persons. sajātīya-snigdha-mahattara-sādhu-saṅgaḥ Association of like-minded, affectionate, advanced devotees Sajātīya-snigdha-mahattara-sādhu-saṅgaḥ is the sixty-second of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. To associate with saintly devotees who are more advanced than oneself, who are of the same disposition (sajātīya), who taste the meaning of rasa (rasika) and who are affectionate (snigdha), is what is signified by this limb of bhakti. Sādhu-saṅga is the root cause of kṛṣṇa-bhakti. There can be no progress of bhakti by associating with nondevotees who have merely adopted the designation of “sat-saṅga”. The devotees’ only aspiration is to obtain the service of the aprākṛta-līlā of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Those who have such a desire can be called bhaktas. The development and growth of bhakti takes place in such devotees by associating with devotees who are more advanced than themselves. By failing to do so, the advancement of bhakti is checked and one’s disposition or nature will be of the exact same level as those devotees whose association one keeps. nāma-saṅkīrtanam Loud congregational chanting of the holy name Nāma-saṅkīrtanam is the sixty-third of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. The holy name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is supramundane and fully sentient rasa, aprākṛta-caitanya-rasa. Nāma, the holy name, and nāmī, Śrī Kṛṣṇa or He who possesses the name, are a mutually non-differentiated reality (abheda-tattva). Therefore all the divine qualities of nāmī Kṛṣṇa are also present in His name. Nāma is always a fully accomplished truth (pūrṇa-tattva). There is no touch of anything material in harināma. Nāma is eternally liberated because it is never bound by the illusory modes of nature. Nāma is Kṛṣṇa Himself; therefore it is the concentrated form of all sentient rasa. Nāma is cintāmaṇi; it is competent to deliver all that is requested of it. There is no trace of anything material in it. When the sādhaka-jīva engages himself in a devout manner in the service of the Lord, Śrī Nāma automatically manifests Himself on the tongue and other senses that have been purified by bhakti. The holy name cannot be grasped by the material senses. Therefore one should always perform nāma-saṅkīrtana by oneself and in the company of others. śrī-vṛndāvana-vāsaḥ Residing in Śrī Vṛndāvana Śrī-vṛndāvana-vāsaḥ is the sixty-fourth of the 64 limbs of bhakti-bhajana. Śrī Vṛndāvana-dhāma is super-excellently glorified because it is the eternal abode of the divine and charming pastimes of Svayam Bhagavān Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the embodiment of rasa and the complete personification of majesty and sweetness. Śrī Vṛndāvana is anointed with the sublime pastimes of Mahābhāva-mayī Śrīmatī Rādhikā and Rasarāja Śrī Kṛṣṇa. By residing there and performing sādhana and bhajana, sādhakas may easily obtain manifestation of these transcendental pastimes within their hearts. love, Baba Evening Darshan 17 December 2008: Bhagavad-gītā 2.59 by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 18 December 2008, 06:18 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This Evening Darshan is a class on Bhagavad-gītā 2.59: viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ rasa-varjaṁ raso 'py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate "The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness." The conditioned soul is suffering in material relationships and activities, but he thinks that he has no other source of enjoyment. But the self-realized soul knows that there is a superior source of enjoyment in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 17 December 2008: Bhagavad-gītā 2.59 by Neville Clemens - Thursday, 18 December 2008, 06:07 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! The link to the Darshan is missing. Love, Neville Re: Evening Darshan 17 December 2008: Bhagavad-gītā 2.59 by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 18 December 2008, 06:19 PM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Details, details! love, Baba Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti Part 4: 64 Limbs of Bhakti con't. by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 18 December 2008, 01:58 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here's the next part: Term English Definition devatāntara-nindā-tyāgaḥ Giving up blasphemy and disrespect of demigods Devatāntara-nindā-tyāgaḥ is the seventeenth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. It is essential to have exclusive and undivided devotion towards Śrī Kṛṣṇa (ananya-bhakti). Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the mūla-devatā or original God of all gods. No one should consider the demigods as independent from Śrī Kṛṣṇa and thus offer separate worship to them. But one should not disrespect the demigods upon seeing other persons worshipping them. One should know all the demigods as servants of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and thus offer respect to them. However, one should incessantly meditate upon and remember only Śrī Kṛṣṇa. prāṇī-mātre udvega-tyāgaḥ Giving up harassment of other living entities Prāṇī-mātre udvega-tyāgaḥ is the eighteenth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. Śrī Kṛṣṇa becomes very quickly satisfied with those who maintain an attitude of compassion towards other living entities and do not create any kind of anxiety for them either by body, mind or words. Mercy is the fundamental dharma of the Vaiṣṇavas. sevāparādha-nāmāparādha-tyāgaḥ Giving up all offenses in regard to sevā and nāma Sevāparādha-nāmāparādha-tyāgaḥ is the nineteenth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. Devotees should be very attentive to avoid committing sevāparādha in relation to the worship of the Deity (arcana) and nāmāparādha in relation to bhakti in general. There are thirty-two kinds of sevāparādha such as entering the temple of the Lord on a palanquin or wearing shoes. There are ten kinds of nāmāparādha such as blasphemy of devotees or disrespect of the spiritual master. Offenses of both these kinds should certainly be avoided. guru-kṛṣṇa-bhakta-nindā-sahana-tyāgaḥ One should not tolerate blasphemy of Śrī Guru, Śrī Kṛṣṇa or the devotees Guru-kṛṣṇa-bhakta-nindā-sahana-tyāgaḥ is the twentieth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. To blaspheme Śrī Gurudeva, Śrī Bhagavān or the devotees is an offense. Similarly to hear blasphemy of them is also a great offense. If one is capable he should give suitable punishment to such offenders. If one is unable, he should cover his ears, leave that place and take bath with his clothes on. By hearing blasphemy the active principle (vṛtti) of bhakti becomes withered. vaiṣṇava-cihna-dhāraṇam Adopting the outward signs of a Vaiṣṇava Vaiṣṇava-cihna-dhāraṇam is the twenty-first of the 64 limbs of bhajana. To wear three strings of tulasī beads around the neck, to adorn the body in twelve places with tilaka and so on is called vaiṣṇava-cihna-dhāraṇam, to adopt the outward signs of a Vaiṣṇava. A sādhaka must certainly adopt these Vaiṣṇava markings. Tulasī is supremely pure and very dear to Bhagavān. Therefore by wearing a tulasī-mālā the body, mind, words and soul become pure, and the inclination towards bhakti begins to manifest spontaneously. harināmākṣara-dhāraṇam To wear the letters of the Lord’s holy name Harināmākṣara-dhāraṇam is the twenty-second of the 64 limbs of bhajana. To stamp the principal limbs of the body with candana (sandalwood paste) forming the letters of the Lord’s holy names such as the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the Pañca-tattva mantra or other such names, is known as wearing the letters of the Lord’s holy name. nirmālya-dhāraṇam To accept the remnants of articles used by the Deity Nirmālya-dhāraṇam is the twenty-third of the 64 limbs of bhajana. To accept articles offered to the Deity of the Lord such as clothes, garlands, sandalwood paste, scents, ornaments and other similar items is known as nirmālya-dhāraṇam, wearing the remnants of the Deity. By doing so one easily conquers over Māyā and enters into bhagavad-bhakti. nṛtyam Dancing before the Lord Nṛtyam is the twenty-fourth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. Sādhakas should dance before the deity of the Lord with a devotional attitude. Those who dance before the Lord with exuberant hearts and overwhelming devotional feelings completely destroy all their sins performed in hundreds of manvantaras. daṇḍavat-praṇāmam Prostrated obeisances Daṇḍavat-praṇāmam is the twenty-fifth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. One should offer daṇḍavat-praṇāma to the deity of Bhagavān, keeping one’s left side to the Lord. One should offer daṇḍavat-praṇāma to Śrī Gurudeva directly facing him. One should offer sāṣṭāṅga-daṇḍavat-praṇāma (obeisances with eight limbs) by extending both arms forward and falling on the ground like a stick (daṇḍa). The eight limbs referred to in this type of praṇāma are the hands, the feet, the knees, the chest, the forehead, the mind, vision and speech. abhyutthānam Rising from one’s seat in honour of the Lord Abhyutthānam is the twenty-sixth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. When one comes before Śrī Bhagavān for darśana at the time of the Lord’s touring the city in a ratha (chariot) or palanquin, or when one sees Śrī Gurudeva or the Vaiṣṇavas approaching, one should stand courteously and offer respectful salutation. This is called abhyutthāna, rising from one’s seat in honor of the Lord. By doing so Bhagavān is pleased and bhakti flourishes. anuvrajyā To follow behind the Deity of the Lord Anuvrajyā is the twenty-seventh of the 64 limbs of bhajana. To faithfully follow behind, beside or in front of the ratha-yātrā procession of Śrī Bhagavān at the time of His touring the city is known as anuvrajyā, to follow behind the deity of the Lord. One should also follow Śrī Gurudeva and the Vaiṣṇavas at the time of their arrival or departure. If even a caṇḍāla (dog-eater) follows behind, at the side of or in front of the ratha cart of Śrī Bhagavān, he becomes as worshipable as Viṣṇu Himself. śrī-mūrti-sthāne gamanam To visit the place where the Deity is established Śrī-mūrti-sthāne gamanam is the twenty-eighth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. One should visit the temple and pastime places of Śrī Bhagavān and offer respectful salutation by taking darśana, offering praṇāma and reciting prayers. The two feet that journey to the holy tīrthas of Śrī Hari are praiseworthy because by doing so they enable one to cross over the desert of this material existence. parikramā Circumambulation Parikramā is the twenty-ninth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. One should perform parikramā of the mandira of Śrī Bhagavān, the places associated with His pastimes, tulasī, Śrī Girirāja-Govardhana and so on, keeping one’s right side to them. In general one should circumambulate four times. Those who perform parikramā of Śrī Viṣṇu again and again while keeping their right side to the Lord (pradakṣiṇā) carry out their final rotation, for they will not have to rotate again in the cycle of repeated birth and death. pūja or arcana Worship of the Deity Pūja or arcana is the thirtieth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. To worship the deity with various kinds of articles (upacāra) is called pūjana or arcana. Worship of the Lord with five articles is called pañcopacāra-pūjana. The five items employed in such worship are as follows: (1) sweet scents (gandha), (2) flowers (puṣpa), (3) incense (dhūpa), (4) a lamp (dīpa) and (5) offering of eatables (naivedya). Worship of Śrī Bhagavān with sixteen articles is called ṣoḍaśopacāra-pūjana. The sixteen items are as follows: (1) a sitting place (āsana), (2) welcoming or inviting the deity (svāgata), (3) sipping water for purification (ācamana), (4) water for washing the feet of the deity (pādya), (5) water for washing the deity’s mouth (arghya), (6) an oblation of honey, ghee, milk, yoghurt and sugar all mixed together (madhuparka), (7) sipping water for purification again (ācamanīya), (8) bathing the deity (snāna), (9) clothes (vasana), (10) ornaments (ābharaṇa), (11) sweet scents (gandha), (12) flowers (puṣpa), (13) lamp (dīpa), (14) incense (dhūpa), (15) eatables (naivedya) and (16) sandalwood (candana). Those who worship Bhagavān Śrī Viṣṇu attain to the supreme abode of Viṣṇu, which is eternal and full of transcendental bliss. paricaryā Service or attendance upon the Lord Paricaryā is the thirty-first of the 64 limbs of bhajana. To serve Kṛṣṇa like a king is called paricaryā (attendance upon the Lord). This service is of two kinds: (1) cleansing and purifying the articles to be offered in the worship of the Lord and (2) to render service to Śrī Vigraha by waving the cāmara (yak-tail whisk), holding the umbrella over the Deity, playing musical instruments and other such services. gītam Singing Gītam is the thirty-second of the 64 limbs of bhajana. The bhakti-sādhakas should sing the songs of the mahājanas in front of the deity of Bhagavān. Such songs are steeped in prayer expressing the moods of surrender to the Lord (śaraṇāgati), yearning for the personal service of the Lord (lālasāmayī) and other transcendental sentiments. love, Baba Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti Part 3: 64 Limbs of Bhakti by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 18 December 2008, 01:57 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is part 3, beginning the explanation of the 64 limbs of bhakti: Term English Definition śrī-guru-padāśraya taking shelter at the lotus feet of a bona fide guru Śrī-guru-padāśraya is the first of the 64 limbs of bhajana. Without taking shelter at the lotus feet of a sad-guru it is impossible to enter into the realm of bhagavad-bhajana. Therefore, out of all the limbs of bhakti, sad-guru-padāśraya has been cited as the first. One who is expert in explaining the purport of the Vedas, who has direct experience of the Supreme Brahman, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and who is devoid of all material expectations and requirements should be accepted as a genuine spiritual master. The guru’s internal, spiritual mood of service to Śrī-Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is conveyed to the disciple through the medium of a mantra. Everything is given in seed form within the mantra. At first the disciple will not be able to understand; but by performing sādhana and bhajana under the guidance of Śrī Gurudeva and by meditating on the mantra given by him, gradually everything will be revealed. Gurus are of three kinds: sravaṇa-guru is a person from whom one hears knowledge of the bhaktas, bhakti and bhagavat-tattva; the śikṣā-guru, out of many competent sravaṇa-gurus, is one who gives instructions in bhajana which are just suitable to the bhāva of the sādhaka; and the dīkṣā-guru formally initiates the disciple into a mantra for worship according to the rules and regulations of scripture. The dīkṣā-guru should possess the symptoms of a mahāpuruṣa and sad-guru. śrī kṛṣṇa-dīkṣā-śikṣādi receiving initiation and spiritual instructions Śrī kṛṣṇa-dīkṣā-śikṣādi is the second of the 64 limbs of bhajana. It is essential to accept dīkṣā and śikṣā from a guru in order to gain entrance into bhagavad-bhajana. Therefore a faithful sādhaka will dedicate his entire self to the lotus feet of Śrī Gurudeva, offer praṇāma unto him and take dīkṣā from him by receiving a Vaiṣṇava mantra in accordance with the rules and regulations of the scriptures. prīti-pūrvaka-guru-sevā Serving Śrī Guru with love Prīti-pūrvaka-guru-sevā is the third of the 64 limbs of bhajana. All those anarthas which cannot be removed even by very rigid practice of sādhana are easily destroyed by serving Śrī Gurudeva without duplicity. If a disciple has the mercy of Śrī Guru but somehow displeases Bhagavān, the spiritual master will take responsibility for the disciple’s action and ensure that Bhagavān is pleased. But if the spiritual master is displeased then Śrī Bhagavān will never forgive such an offender. Therefore, considering the spiritual master to be one’s supreme friend, one should serve him with great love. sādhu-mārgānusāraḥ Following the path of sādhus Sādhu-mārgānusāraḥ is the fourth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. One should pursue the very same path by which the previous mahājanas attained the Lord. The reason for this is that the path which has already been chalked out by the mahājanas is free from all distress and hardship, and it is the cause of all auspiciousness. bhajana-rīti-nīti-praśna Inquiry about the procedures of bhajana Bhajana-rīti-nīti-praśna is the fifth the 64 limbs of bhajana. Sādhakas should inquire in the association of devotees about those procedures which the sādhus have adopted to attain the Lord. To inquire with great persistence in order to understand those procedures is called inquiry about sad-dharma. kṛṣṇārthe akhila-bhoga-tyāga Renunciation of material enjoyment for the sake of Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇārthe akhila-bhoga-tyāga is the sixth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. To enjoy material pleasure through activities such as eating, drinking, sleeping and mating is called bhoga (material enjoyment). A person attached to sense enjoyment is like a person addicted to intoxication. He becomes so engrossed in the enjoyment of material pleasure that he cannot perform pure bhajana. This bhoga is principally opposed to bhajana. Bhajana becomes easily accessible by giving up such material enjoyments for the sake of kṛṣṇa-bhajana. tīrtha-vāsaḥ tīrtha-māhātmya-śravaṇaṁ ca To live in a sacred place and to hear the greatness of such places Tīrtha-vāsaḥ tīrtha-māhātmya-śravaṇaṁ ca is the seventh of the 64 limbs of bhajana. By living in close proximity to a holy river like the Gaṅgā or Yamunā that is connected to the Lord’s pastimes, or by living in sacred places where the Lord appeared and enacted various pastimes, niṣṭhā is awakened. This can be a tīrtha or traditional place of pilgrimage, or in a Viṣṇu temple where the Lord’s ārca-vigraha appears. Those who are incapable of living at a holy place can hear the glories of those places and, by doing so, a strong desire will arise to live there. When the time is ripe, they may then obtain the good fortune to reside at a holy place. Sva-bhakti-nirvāhānurūpa-bhojanādi-svīkāram Accepting only what is required for the sustenance of bhakti Sva-bhakti-nirvāhānurūpa-bhojanādi-svīkāram is the eighth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. Sādhakas who are fit for vaidhī-bhakti may earn wealth by honest means prescribed in accordance with varṇāśrama-dharma in order that they may sustain their existence. It is beneficial for them to accumulate wealth only in proportion to their needs. If one is anxious to seize more than he requires, attachment will arise, which will systematically destroy his bhajana. If one accepts less than he needs it will also be detrimental because, by doing so, one will be in scarcity and his bhajana will dwindle. Therefore, until one has earned the qualification to become completely desireless (nirapekṣa), he should practice śuddha-bhakti and accept wealth only in a proportion appropriate for the maintenance of his existence. śrī-ekādaśī-vrata Observing the ekādaśī vow Śrī-ekādaśī-vrata is the ninth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. When the ekādaśī-tithi begins one aruṇodaya period (at least 96 minutes) before sunrise on a particular day, and continues until sunrise of the following day with no overlapping of tithis, this is known as śuddhā-ekādaśī or pūrṇā-ekādaśī. If, however, the daśamī-tithi extends even one second within the aruṇodaya period before sunrise, the tithis are said to overlap and this is called pūrva-viddhā ekādaśī. In such a case the dvādaśī-tithi that follows will be known as mahā-dvādaśī, and the ekādaśī-vrata should then be observed on that day. To honor ekādaśī properly one should observe celibacy the day before. Then on ekādaśī one should fast even from water and remain awake throughout the night, performing continuous bhajana. On the next day one should maintain celibacy and break the fast at the appropriate time. Fasting from water means that one must also refrain from taking any mahā-prasāda. For those who are incapable of observing complete fasting throughout the day, may accept suitable prasāda in the evening. All types of grains are unacceptable. Foods that are considered suitable include fruits, sesame, milk, water, clarified butter, the five articles derived from the cow (namely milk, yoghurt, ghee, cow urine and cow dung) or simply air. Each of these is considered progressively better than the one preceding it. Eating grains on ekādaśī is equated with the sin of eating cow flesh. One should observe methodically the two ekādaśīs that occur every month (one during the dark phase and one during the light phase of the moon). aśvattha-tulasī-dhātrī-go-brāhmaṇa-vaiṣṇava-sammānam Offering respects to the aśvattha tree, tulasī, the myrobalan tree, the cows, brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas Aśvattha-tulasī-dhātrī-go-brāhmaṇa-vaiṣṇava-sammānam is the tenth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. The sins of men are destroyed by worshipping, meditating upon and offering obeisances to the aśvattha or banyan tree, tulasī, the myrobalan or cherry plum tree, cows, the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. They should worship, meditate upon and offer respect to all of these. By such auspicious activities they can protect their existence. One especially should serve tulasī in nine ways: by seeing, touching, meditating, offering obeisances, performing kīrtana, hearing her glories, planting, watering and offering worship. And three things are possessed of great potency for sādhakas: the dust from the lotus feet of the devotees, the water that washes their feet and the remnants of their prasāda (which also refers to the words flowing from their mouths). By honoring these three, bhakti very easily makes its appearance in the heart of the sādhaka. asādhu-saṅga-tyāgaḥ Giving up the association of non-devotees Asādhu-saṅga-tyāgaḥ is the eleventh of the 64 limbs of bhajana. It is essential to renounce association that is opposed to bhakti. The word saṅga, meaning association, implies attachment. Therefore proximity to others or conversation with them is not called saṅga. Saṅga occurs when attachment arises in others’ proximity or in conversation with them. The association of four kinds of persons who are diverted from the service of the Lord is strictly forbidden: (1) sensualistic persons who are devoid of kṛṣṇa-bhakti and attached to material enjoyment; (2) strī-saṅgī, those who are attached to the association of women; (3) those whose hearts are infected with the faults of atheism and impersonal māyāvāda philosophy; and (4) those who are entrenched in karma. One should keep a safe distance from the association of these four kinds of persons. bahu-śiṣya-karaṇa-tyāgaḥ Renouncing the desire to recruit many disciples Bahu-śiṣya-karaṇa-tyāgaḥ is the twelfth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. To make many disciples in order to accumulate wealth and increase one’s pride and prestige is one of the principal obstacles on the path of bhakti. One should not accept many unqualified persons as disciples, even for the purpose of expanding the sampradāya, Bahu-ārambha-tyāgaḥ Renouncing excessive undertakings Bahu-ārambha-tyāgaḥ is the thirteenth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. Pompous and showy enterprises or enormous festivals are called excessive undertakings (bahu-ārambha). They should be avoided under all circumstances. The purport of this is that while accepting whatever little is necessary to maintain one’s existence one should engage in bhagavad-bhajana. By taking up grandiose enterprises one becomes so attached to them that one cannot fix the mind in bhajana. Therefore the prescription has been given to renounce excessive undertakings. bahu-śāstra-vyākhyā-vivādādi-tyāgaḥ Renouncing the study of many scriptures to make novel explanations and arguments Bahu-śāstra-vyākhyā-vivādādi-tyāgaḥ is the fourteenth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. In taking instructions on some particular subject it is best to study the śāstras related to that subject from beginning to end and by thorough examination. By reading only a little of many different śāstras, one does not obtain full knowledge of any subject. One's study should be focused on the bhakti-śāstras, for if one does not apply the mind and study with careful consideration, then one’s intelligence will not become impregnated with sambandha-tattva-jñāna. vyavahāre kārpaṇya-tyāgaḥ Giving up miserly behavior Vyavahāre kārpaṇya-tyāgaḥ is the fifteenth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. If endowed with sufficient competence and capability, one should not be miserly in regard to the service of the Lord, the service of the Vaiṣṇavas, festivals commemorating the appearance day of the Lord and other such activities. One should be satisfied with whatever one obtains and carry on with one’s activities of service to the Lord. śoka-krodhādi-tyāgaḥ Giving up lamentation, anger, etc. Śoka-krodhādi-tyāgaḥ is the sixteenth of the 64 limbs of bhajana. Śrī Kṛṣṇa does not appear in the heart that is filled with lamentation, fear, anger, greed and envy. Lamentation and illusion may arise due to separation from friends and relatives, and due to obstacles arising in the fulfillment of one’s desires. However, one should not fall under the sway of such lamentation and illusion. love, Baba Sunday Satsang 14 December 2008: Secret of Realization by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 15 December 2008, 06:47 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please join us tomorrow at 12 Noon Santiago time for Sunday Satsang. Here is the link to the live webcast: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com:80/portal/JoinForm.action?confKey=davidbrucehughes Use this map to calculate your local time: love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 14 December 2008 by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 15 December 2008, 06:46 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This Satsang is based on Bhagavad-gītā 2.55: śrī-bhagavān uvāca prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha mano-gatān ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ sthita-prajñas tadocyate The Blessed Lord said: "O Pārtha, when a man gives up all varieties of sense desire which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness." If someone is really self-realized, they have no more desire for material sense enjoyment. But we see that most of the so-called gurus created through some political process fall down. This is because they can't find satisfaction in the self, because they don't actually understand the meaning of self, or consciousness. They may be able to repeat the words in the scriptures, but they don't really understand them. The key to real understanding is in the definitions. To actually attain self-realization, first we have to deeply understand what self-realization is. That requires scrutinizing study of the scriptures, meaning that we have to look up every word in a good dictionary. Yes it's a lot of work, but that's the only way to duplicate the knowledge in scriptures like Nectar of Devotion, that actually describe the deep meaning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is some problem uploading the video, so for now please watch it on YouTube. love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 14 December 2008 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 17 December 2008, 08:08 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We fixed the problem and the video is now available watch love, Baba Mantra questions, prasad by Jennifer Hill - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 04:50 PM Dear Babaji, Devotees, and Students: Hare Krishna! All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! I am having friends over to see a few downloads of Babaji's Teachings. We will be having a meal together and I need to know how to "create" prasad: is there a formal protocol? Is this something I would do myself, or the group would perform together? I would also like to share the Dvadasaksara mantra: I would like to share the exact meaning of the Sanscrit words. Is chanting this mantra the same in intention as chanting the Holy names of God: Krishna, Jesus Christ? In Babaji's Secret Teachings of Christ, he gave the Jesus Christos mantra - is there an English language version of this? I realize that many things must be in perfect alignment ( pronunciation, meter, number of syllables etc,) to be considered spiritually potent . Can a Jesus Christ mantra be constructed in English that is spiritually viable? (Senor = what???) Are there forces that attempt to derail our learning about Truth? I have had so much technological difficulty trying to access the Teachings lately, ( not to mention other difficulties in life) that I am beginning to feel there are such negative forces at work. Chanting would be the best remedy for this - correct? I apologize if the informaion is "right under my nose" here on the web site, but I have only begun to scratch the suface of all it contains. I am also experiencing a number of technology issues, ( which were not there earlier,)for some reason. PLease point me in the right direction - and hope I can access the site. Babaji - thank you for your assistance: the new password is working. Hopefully I will once again start receiving the daily forum postings. Hare Krsna! Jenny Hill Re: Mantra questions, prasad by Neville Clemens - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 07:07 PM Dear Jennifer, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Using the search function of the forums (top right corner of the forums page) is the key to a wealth of information. Here is the thread where we discuss the offering of food. It can be done by one person, and it is nice if this is explained to all people present. "Prasada" means "the mercy of the Lord". It is even nicer if everyone present is engaging in kirtan during the offering, but I assume your guests are new to this culture and so that takes time. For the english version of the Jesus mantra, replace "Señor" with "Lord" and "Christo" with "Christ". Don't expend too much worry-energy about forces keeping us from the truth. There are a variety of ways to contact the Truth so if circumstances are blocking one, there are many other things we can do to stay in touch with it. And nothing can stop us from chanting and being in direct contact with Truth. Love, Neville  Misunderstood terms by Michael Jones - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 02:51 PM Dear Babaji and All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you for an informative (and scary ) Satsang. When I read, I will usually look up the words I think I know but have a vague idea of meaning. For the most part though I don't look up most words as my false ego tells me, "You already know that, don't waste your time." This is especially true of the relation words. To rectify this I have decided to continue with the dictionary nearby but also make a printout of the relationship words you mentioned, along with their several meanings from dictionary.com to avoid having to go through the dictionary when these words come up (which is quite frequently, plus the dictionary I use does not have all the meanings on dictionary.com). I will add it here (Probably tomorrow or Tuesday) so that if anyone else who reads away from the computer would like to use it they can. These are the words I have so far: and, thus, if, such, that, which, this, up, though, but, or, nor, yet, so, for, either, neither, whether before, after, since, while, when, unless, until because, although, since, as, to, they, it, shall, will, should, would can, could, may, might am, is, was, were, be, being, been had, has, have, do, does, did If anyone else has words they think would be good to have in a quick-look dictionary please add here and I'll add them also. This is just meant as a supplement to the actual dictionary as they are frequent words of misunderstanding. Love Mike Re: Misunderstood terms by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 15 December 2008, 10:21 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Now you're cookin'! Pretty good list. Not half so scary to do it as to think about it. Please add to the list: the, a, an then, now, when, up, down, once, when, as, over, in, into, out, of if ... then, such ... that, the more ... the more [other pairs] the parts of speech [noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition etc.] the elements of syntax [subject, object, modifier, clause, phrase, etc.] common punctuation marks [ . , : ; ! ? / | \ apostrophe, single and double quotes, various kinds of parentheses, spaces, ellipsis, asterisk, hyphen, en-dash and em-dash] (they each have several meanings!) Once [oh there's another one!] you post the list of definitions we can make it into a resource page. love, Baba Re: Misunderstood terms by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 03:51 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Here are the dictionaries. I hope they help you in clearing up terms. Who would have thought that 'up' would have so many definitions? Dictionary A: -indefinite article 1. not any particular or certain one of a class or group: a man; a chemical; a house. 2. a certain; a particular: one at a time; two of a kind; A Miss Johnson called. 3. another; one typically resembling: a Cicero in eloquence; a Jonah. 4. one (used before plural nouns that are preceded by a quantifier singular in form): a hundred men (compare hundreds of men); a dozen times (compare dozens of times). 5. indefinitely or nonspecifically (used with adjectives expressing number): a great many years; a few stars. 6. one (used before a noun expressing quantity): a yard of ribbon; a score of times. 7. any; a single: not a one. -preposition each; every; per: ten cents a sheet; three times a day. After: -preposition 1. behind in place or position; following behind: men lining up one after the other. 2. later in time than; in succession to; at the close of: Tell me after supper. Day after day he came to work late. 3. subsequent to and in consequence of: After what has happened, I can never return. 4. below in rank or excellence; nearest to: Milton is usually placed after Shakespeare among English poets. 5. in imitation of or in imitation of the style of: to make something after a model; fashioned after Raphael. 6. in pursuit or search of; with or in desire for: I'm after a better job. Run after him! 7. concerning; about: to inquire after a person. 8. with the name of; for: He was named after his uncle. 9. in proportion to; in accordance with: He was a man after the hopes and expectations of his father. 10. according to the nature of; in conformity with; in agreement or unison with: He was a man after my own heart. He swore after the manner of his faith. 11. subsequent to and notwithstanding; in spite of: After all their troubles, they still manage to be optimistic. –adverb 12. behind; in the rear: Jill came tumbling after. 13. later in time; afterward: three hours after; happily ever after. –adjective 14. later in time; next; subsequent; succeeding: In after years we never heard from him. 15. Nautical, Aeronautics. a. farther aft. b. located closest to the stern or tail; aftermost: after hold; after mast. c. including the stern or tail: the after part of a hull. –conjunction 16. subsequent to the time that: after the boys left. —Idiom 18. after all, despite what has occurred or been assumed previously; nevertheless: I've discovered I can attend the meeting after all. Although: -conjunction in spite of the fact that; even though; though. Am: -verb. First person singular present indicative of be. An: –indefinite article the form of a before an initial vowel sound (an arch; an honor) and sometimes, esp. in British English, before an initial unstressed syllable beginning with a silent or weakly pronounced h: an historian. And: -conjunction 1. (used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses) along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; also; moreover: pens and pencils. 2. added to; plus: 2 and 2 are 4. 3. then: He read for an hour and went to bed. 4. also, at the same time: to sleep and dream. 5. then again; repeatedly: He coughed and coughed. 6. (used to imply different qualities in things having the same name): There are bargains and bargains, so watch out. 7. (used to introduce a sentence, implying continuation) also; then: And then it happened. 8. Informal. to (used between two finite verbs): Try and do it. Call and see if she's home yet. 9. (used to introduce a consequence or conditional result): He felt sick and decided to lie down for a while. Say one more word about it and I'll scream. 10. but; on the contrary: He tried to run five miles and couldn't. They said they were about to leave and then stayed for two more hours. 11. (used to connect alternatives): He felt that he was being forced to choose between his career and his family. 12. (used to introduce a comment on the preceding clause): They don't like each other—and with good reason. 13. Archaic. if: and you please. Compare an 2 . –noun 14. an added condition, stipulation, detail, or particular: He accepted the job, no ands or buts about it. 15. conjunction (def. 5b). —Idioms 16. and so forth, and the like; and others; et cetera: We discussed traveling, sightseeing, and so forth. 17. and so on, and more things or others of a similar kind; and the like: It was a summer filled with parties, picnics, and so on. As: -adverb 1. to the same degree, amount, or extent; similarly; equally: I don't think it's as hot and humid today as it was yesterday. 2. for example; for instance: Some flowers, as the rose, require special care. 3. thought to be or considered to be: the square as distinct from the rectangle; the church as separate from the state. 4. in the manner (directed, agreed, promised, etc.): She sang as promised. He left as agreed. –conjunction 5. (used correlatively after an adjective or adverb prec. by an adverbial phrase, the adverbial as, or another adverb) to such a degree or extent that: It came out the same way as it did before. You are as good as you think you are. 6. (without antecedent) in the degree, manner, etc., of or that: She's good as gold. Do as we do. 7. at the same time that; while; when: as you look away. 8. since; because: As you are leaving last, please turn out the lights. 9. though: Questionable as it may be, we will proceed. 10. with the result or purpose: He said it in a voice so loud as to make everyone stare. 11. Informal. (in dependent clauses) that: I don't know as I do. 12. Midland and Southern U.S. and British Dialect. than. –pronoun 13. (used relatively) that; who; which (usually prec. by such or the same): I have the same trouble as you had. 14. a fact that: She did her job well, as can be proved by the records. 15. New England, Midland, and Southern U.S. who; whom; which; that: Them as has gets. –preposition 16. in the role, function, or status of: to act as leader. —Idioms 17. as … as, (used to express similarity or equality in a specified characteristic, condition, etc., as between one person or thing and another): as rich as Croesus. 18. as far as, to the degree or extent that: It is an excellent piece of work, as far as I can tell. 19. as for or to, with respect to; in reference to: As for staying away, I wouldn't think of it. 20. as good as, a. equivalent to; in effect; practically: as good as new. b. true to; trustworthy as: as good as his word. 21. as how, Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. that; if; whether: He allowed as how it was none of my business. I don't know as how I ought to interfere. 22. as if or though, as it would be if: It was as if the world had come to an end. 23. as is, in whatever condition something happens to be, esp. referring to something offered for sale in a flawed, damaged, or used condition: We bought the table as is. 24. as it were, in a way; so to speak: He became, as it were, a man without a country. 25. as long as. long 1 (def. 39). 26. as of, beginning on; on and after; from: This price is effective as of June 23. 27. as regards, with regard or reference to; concerning: As regards the expense involved, it is of no concern to him. 28. as such, a. as being what is indicated; in that capacity: An officer of the law, as such, is entitled to respect. b. in itself or in themselves: The position, as such, does not appeal to him, but the salary is a lure. 29. as well. well 1 (def. 18). 30. as well as. well 1 (def. 19). 31. as yet, up to the present time; until now: As yet, no one has thought of a solution. Be: verb and auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person am, 2nd are or (Archaic) art, 3rd is, present plural are; past singular 1st person was, 2nd were or (Archaic) wast or wert, 3rd was, past plural were; present subjunctive be; past subjunctive singular 1st person were, 2nd were or (Archaic) wert, 3rd were; past subjunctive plural were; past participle been; present participle be⋅ing. –verb (used without object) 1. to exist or live: Shakespeare's “To be or not to be” is the ultimate question. 2. to take place; happen; occur: The wedding was last week. 3. to occupy a place or position: The book is on the table. 4. to continue or remain as before: Let things be. 5. to belong; attend; befall: May good fortune be with you. 6. (used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject): Martha is tall. John is president. This is she. 7. (used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences): Is that right? Be quiet! Don't be facetious. –auxiliary verb 8. (used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense): I am waiting. 9. (used with the present participle or infinitive of the principal verb to indicate future action): She is visiting there next week. He is to see me today. 10. (used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice): The date was fixed. It must be done. 11. (used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense): He is come. Agamemnon to the wars is gone. Because: -conjunction 1. for the reason that; due to the fact that: The boy was absent because he was ill. —Idiom 2. because of, by reason of; due to: Schools were closed because of heavy snowfall. Been: Past participle of be. Before: -preposition 1. previous to; earlier or sooner than: Phone me before noon. 2. in front of; ahead of; in advance of: his shadow advancing before him; She stood before the window. 3. ahead of; in the future of; awaiting: The golden age is before us. 4. in preference to; rather than: They would die before surrendering. 5. in precedence of, as in order or rank: We put freedom before wealth. 6. in the presence or sight of: to appear before an audience. 7. less than; until: used in indicating the exact time: It's ten before three. 8. under the jurisdiction or consideration of: He was summoned before a magistrate. 9. confronted by; in the face of: Before such wild accusations, he was too stunned to reply. 10. in the regard of: a crime before God and humanity. 11. under the overwhelming influence of: bending before the storm. 12. without figuring or deducting: income before deductions. –adverb 13. in front; in advance; ahead: The king entered with macebearers walking before. 14. in time preceding; previously: If we'd known before, we'd have let you know. 15. earlier or sooner: Begin at noon, not before. –conjunction 16. previous to the time when: Send the telegram before we go. 17. sooner than; rather than: I will die before I submit. Being: -noun 1. the fact of existing; existence (as opposed to nonexistence). 2. conscious, mortal existence; life: Our being is as an instantaneous flash of light in the midst of eternal night. 3. substance or nature: of such a being as to arouse fear. 4. something that exists: inanimate beings. 5. a living thing: strange, exotic beings that live in the depths of the sea. 6. a human being; person: the most beautiful being you could imagine. 7. (initial capital letter) God. 8. Philosophy. a. that which has actuality either materially or in idea. b. absolute existence in a complete or perfect state, lacking no essential characteristic; essence. –conjunction 9. Nonstandard. since; because; considering that (often fol. by as, as how, or that): Being it's midnight, let's go home. Being as how you cooked supper, I'll do the dishes. But: -conjunction 1. on the contrary; yet: My brother went, but I did not. 2. except; save: She was so overcome with grief she could do nothing but weep. 3. unless; if not; except that (fol. by a clause, often with that expressed): Nothing would do but that I should come in. 4. without the circumstance that: It never rains but it pours. 5. otherwise than: There is no hope but by prayer. 6. that (used esp. after doubt, deny, etc., with a negative): I don't doubt but he will do it. 7. who not; that not: No leaders worthy of the name ever existed but they were optimists. 8. (used as an intensifier to introduce an exclamatory expression): But she's beautiful! 9. Informal. than: It no sooner started raining but it stopped. –preposition 10. with the exception of; except; save: No one replied but me. –adverb 11. only; just: There is but one God. –noun 12. buts, reservations or objections: You'll do as you're told, no buts about it. —Idioms 13. but for, except for; were it not for: But for the excessive humidity, it might have been a pleasant day. 14. but what. what (def. 24). Can: auxiliary verb and verb, present singular 1st person can, 2nd can or (Archaic) canst, 3rd can, present plural can; past singular 1st person could, 2nd could or (Archaic) couldst, 3rd could, past plural could. For auxiliary verb: imperative, infinitive, and participles lacking. For verb (Obsolete): imperative can; infinitive can; past participle could; present participle cun⋅ning. –auxiliary verb 1. to be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to: She can solve the problem easily, I'm sure. 2. to know how to: He can play chess, although he's not particularly good at it. 3. to have the power or means to: A dictator can impose his will on the people. 4. to have the right or qualifications to: He can change whatever he wishes in the script. 5. may; have permission to: Can I speak to you for a moment? 6. to have the possibility: A coin can land on either side. –verb (used with object), verb (used without object) 7. Obsolete. to know. Could: -verb 1. a past tense of can 1 –auxiliary verb 2. (used to express possibility): I wonder who that could be at the door. That couldn't be true. 3. (used to express conditional possibility or ability): You could do it if you tried. 4. (used in making polite requests): Could you open the door for me, please? 5. (used in asking for permission): Could I borrow your pen? 6. (used in offering suggestions or advice): You could write and ask for more information. You could at least have called me. Did: -verb past tense of do Do: verb and auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person do, 2nd do or (Archaic) do⋅est or dost, 3rd does or (Archaic) do⋅eth or doth, present plural do; past singular 1st person did, 2nd did or (Archaic) didst, 3rd did, past plural did; past participle done; present participle do⋅ing; noun, plural dos, do's. –verb (used with object) 1. to perform (an act, duty, role, etc.): Do nothing until you hear the bell. 2. to execute (a piece or amount of work): to do a hauling job. 3. to accomplish; finish; complete: He has already done his homework. 4. to put forth; exert: Do your best. 5. to be the cause of (good, harm, credit, etc.); bring about; effect. 6. to render, give, or pay (homage, justice, etc.). 7. to deal with, fix, clean, arrange, move, etc., (anything) as the case may require: to do the dishes. 8. to travel; traverse: We did 30 miles today. 9. to serve; suffice for: This will do us for the present. 10. to condone or approve, as by custom or practice: That sort of thing simply isn't done. 11. to travel at the rate of (a specified speed): He was doing 80 when they arrested him. 12. to make or prepare: I'll do the salad. 13. to serve (a term of time) in prison, or, sometimes, in office. 14. to create, form, or bring into being: She does wonderful oil portraits. 15. to translate into or change the form or language of: MGM did the book into a movie. 16. to study or work at or in the field of: I have to do my math tonight. 17. to explore or travel through as a sightseer: They did Greece in three weeks. 18. (used with a pronoun, as it or that, or with a general noun, as thing, that refers to a previously mentioned action): You were supposed to write thank-you letters; do it before tomorrow, please. 19. Informal. to wear out; exhaust; tire: That last set of tennis did me. 20. Informal. to cheat, trick, or take advantage of: That crooked dealer did him for $500 at poker. 21. Informal. to attend or participate in: Let's do lunch next week. 22. Slang. to use (a drug or drugs), esp. habitually: The police report said he was doing cocaine. –verb (used without object) 23. to act or conduct oneself; be in action; behave. 24. Slang. to rob; steal from: The law got him for doing a lot of banks. 25. to proceed: to do wisely. 26. to get along; fare; manage: to do without an automobile. 27. to be in health, as specified: Mother and child are doing fine. 28. to serve or be satisfactory, as for the purpose; be enough; suffice: Will this do? 29. to finish or be finished. 30. to happen; take place; transpire: What's doing at the office? 31. (used as a substitute to avoid repetition of a verb or full verb expression): I think as you do. –auxiliary verb 32. (used in interrogative, negative, and inverted constructions): Do you like music? I don't care. Seldom do we witness such catastrophes. 33. Archaic. (used in imperatives with you or thou expressed; and occasionally as a metric filler in verse): Do thou hasten to the king's side. The wind did blow, the rain did fall. 34. (used to lend emphasis to a principal verb): Do visit us! –noun 35. Informal. a burst of frenzied activity; action; commotion. 36. Informal. a hairdo or hair styling. 37. British Slang. a swindle; hoax. 38. Chiefly British. a festive social gathering; party. —Verb phrases 39. do by, to deal with; treat: He had always done well by his family. 40. do for, a. to cause the defeat, ruin, or death of. b. Chiefly British. to cook and keep house for; manage or provide for. 41. do in, Informal. a. to kill, esp. to murder. b. to injure gravely or exhaust; wear out; ruin: The tropical climate did them in. c. to cheat or swindle: He was done in by an unscrupulous broker. 42. do over, to redecorate. 43. do up, Informal. a. to wrap and tie up. b. to pin up or arrange (the hair). c. to renovate; launder; clean. d. to wear out; tire. e. to fasten: Do up your coat. f. to dress: The children were all done up in funny costumes. 44. do with, to gain advantage or benefit from; make use of: I could do with more leisure time. 45. do without, a. to forgo; dispense with. b. to dispense with the thing mentioned: The store doesn't have any, so you'll have to do without. —Idioms 46. do a number on (someone). number (def. 39). 47. do away with, a. to put an end to; abolish. b. to kill. 48. do one proud. proud (def. 11). 49. do one's number. number (def. 40). 50. do one's (own) thing. thing 1 (def. 19). 51. do or die, to make a supreme effort. 52. do out of, Informal. to swindle; cheat: A furniture store did me out of several hundred dollars. 53. dos and don'ts, customs, rules, or regulations: The dos and don'ts of polite manners are easy to learn. 54. do time, Informal. to serve a term in prison: It's hard to get a decent job once you've done time. 55. do to death. death (def. 15). 56. have to do with. have (def. 37). 57. make do, to get along with what is at hand, despite its inadequacy: I can't afford a new coat so I have to make do with this one. Does: -verb a Third person singular present tense of do Down: -adverb 1. from higher to lower; in descending direction or order; toward, into, or in a lower position: to come down the ladder. 2. on or to the ground, floor, or bottom: He fell down. 3. to or in a sitting or lying position. 4. to or in a position, area, or district considered lower, esp. from a geographical or cartographic standpoint, as to the south, a business district, etc.: We drove from San Francisco down to Los Angeles. 5. to or at a lower value or rate. 6. to a lesser pitch or volume: Turn down the radio. 7. in or to a calmer, less active, or less prominent state: The wind died down. 8. from an earlier to a later time: from the 17th century down to the present. 9. from a greater to a lesser strength, amount, etc.: to water down liquor. 10. in an attitude of earnest application: to get down to work. 11. on paper or in a book: Write down the address. 12. in cash at the time of purchase; at once: We paid $50 down and $20 a month. 13. to the point of defeat, submission, inactivity, etc.: They shouted down the opposition. 14. in or into a fixed or supine position: They tied down the struggling animal. 15. to the source or actual position: The dogs tracked down the bear. 16. into a condition of ill health: He's come down with a cold. 17. in or into a lower status or condition: kept down by lack of education. 18. Nautical. toward the lee side, so as to turn a vessel to windward: Put the helm down! 19. Slang. on toast (as used in ordering a sandwich at a lunch counter or restaurant): Give me a tuna down. –preposition 20. in a descending or more remote direction or place on, over, or along: They ran off down the street. –adjective 21. downward; going or directed downward: the down escalator. 22. being at a low position or on the ground, floor, or bottom. 23. toward the south, a business district, etc. 24. associated with or serving traffic, transportation, or the like, directed toward the south, a business district, etc.: the down platform. 25. downcast; depressed; dejected: You seem very down today. 26. ailing, esp., sick and bedridden: He's been down with a bad cold. 27. being the portion of the full price, as of an article bought on the installment plan, that is paid at the time of purchase or delivery: a payment of $200 down. 28. Football. (of the ball) not in play. 29. behind an opponent or opponents in points, games, etc.: The team won the pennant despite having been down three games in the final week of play. 30. Baseball. out. 31. losing or having lost the amount indicated, esp. at gambling: After an hour at poker, he was down $10. 32. having placed one's bet: Are you down for the fourth race? 33. finished, done, considered, or taken care of: five down and one to go. 34. out of order: The computer has been down all day. –noun 35. a downward movement; descent. 36. a turn for the worse; reverse: The business cycle experienced a sudden down. 37. Football. a. one of a series of four plays during which a team must advance the ball at least 10 yd. (9 m) to keep possession of it. b. the declaring of the ball as down or out of play, or the play immediately preceding this. 38. Slang. an order of toast at a lunch counter or restaurant. 39. Slang. downer (defs. 1a, b). –verb (used with object) 40. to put, knock, or throw down; subdue: He downed his opponent in the third round. 41. to drink down, esp. quickly or in one gulp: to down a tankard of ale. 42. Informal. to defeat in a game or contest: The Mets downed the Dodgers in today's game. 43. to cause to fall from a height, esp. by shooting: Antiaircraft guns downed ten bombers. –verb (used without object) 44. to go down; fall. –interjection 45. (used as a command to a dog to stop attacking, to stop jumping on someone, to get off a couch or chair, etc.): Down, Rover! 46. (used as a command or warning to duck, take cover, or the like): Down! They're starting to shoot! —Idioms 47. down and out, down-and-out. 48. down cold or pat, mastered or learned perfectly: Another hour of studying and I'll have the math lesson down cold. 49. down in the mouth, discouraged; depressed; sad. 50. down on, Informal. hostile or averse to: Why are you so down on sports? 51. down with! a. away with! cease!: Down with tyranny! b. on or toward the ground or into a lower position: Down with your rifles! Either: -adjective 1. one or the other of two: You may sit at either end of the table. 2. each of two; the one and the other: There are trees on either side of the river. –pronoun 3. one or the other: There are two roads into the town, and you can take either. Either will do. –conjunction 4. (a coordinating conjunction that, when preceding a word or statement followed by the disjunctive or, serves to emphasize the possibility of choice): Either come or write. –adverb 5. also; too; as well; to the same degree (used after negative clauses coordinated by and, or, or nor, or after negative subordinate clauses): He's not fond of parties, and I'm not either. If you don't come, she won't come either. For: -preposition 1. with the object or purpose of: to run for exercise. 2. intended to belong to, or be used in connection with: equipment for the army; a closet for dishes. 3. suiting the purposes or needs of: medicine for the aged. 4. in order to obtain, gain, or acquire: a suit for alimony; to work for wages. 5. (used to express a wish, as of something to be experienced or obtained): O, for a cold drink! 6. sensitive or responsive to: an eye for beauty. 7. desirous of: a longing for something; a taste for fancy clothes. 8. in consideration or payment of; in return for: three for a dollar; to be thanked for one's efforts. 9. appropriate or adapted to: a subject for speculation; clothes for winter. 10. with regard or respect to: pressed for time; too warm for April. 11. during the continuance of: for a long time. 12. in favor of; on the side of: to be for honest government. 13. in place of; instead of: a substitute for butter. 14. in the interest of; on behalf of: to act for a client. 15. in exchange for; as an offset to: blow for blow; money for goods. 16. in punishment of: payment for the crime. 17. in honor of: to give a dinner for a person. 18. with the purpose of reaching: to start for London. 19. contributive to: for the advantage of everybody. 20. in order to save: to flee for one's life. 21. in order to become: to train recruits for soldiers. 22. in assignment or attribution to: an appointment for the afternoon; That's for you to decide. 23. such as to allow of or to require: too many for separate mention. 24. such as results in: his reason for going. 25. as affecting the interests or circumstances of: bad for one's health. 26. in proportion or with reference to: He is tall for his age. 27. in the character of; as being: to know a thing for a fact. 28. by reason of; because of: to shout for joy; a city famed for its beauty. 29. in spite of: He's a decent guy for all that. 30. to the extent or amount of: to walk for a mile. 31. (used to introduce a subject in an infinitive phrase): It's time for me to go. 32. (used to indicate the number of successes out of a specified number of attempts): The batter was 2 for 4 in the game. –conjunction 33. seeing that; since. 34. because. Had: -verb past tense and past plural of have. Has: -verb Third person singular present tense of have Have: verb and auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person have, 2nd have or (Archaic) hast, 3rd has or (Archaic) hath, present plural have; past singular 1st person had, 2nd had or (Archaic) hadst or had⋅dest, 3rd had, past plural had; past participle had; present participle hav⋅ing, noun –verb (used with object) 1. to possess; own; hold for use; contain: He has property. The work has an index. 2. to hold, possess, or accept in some relation, as of kindred or relative position: He wanted to marry her, but she wouldn't have him. 3. to get, receive, or take: to have a part in a play; to have news. 4. to experience, undergo, or endure, as joy or pain: Have a good time. He had a heart attack last year. 5. to hold in mind, sight, etc.: to have doubts. 6. to cause to, as by command or invitation: Have him come here at five. 7. to be related to or be in a certain relation to: She has three cousins. He has a kind boss. 8. to show or exhibit in action or words: She had the crust to refuse my invitation. 9. to be identified or distinguished by; possess the characteristic of: He has a mole on his left cheek. This wood has a silky texture. 10. to engage in or carry on: to have a talk; to have a fight. 11. to partake of; eat or drink: He had cake and coffee for dessert. 12. to permit or allow: I will not have any talking during the concert. 13. to assert, maintain, or represent as being: Rumor has it that she's going to be married. 14. to know, understand, or be skilled in: to have neither Latin nor Greek. 15. to beget or give birth to: to have a baby. 16. to hold an advantage over: He has you there. 17. to outwit, deceive, or cheat: We realized we'd been had by an expert con artist. 18. to control or possess through bribery; bribe. 19. to gain possession of: There is none to be had at that price. 20. to hold or put in a certain position or situation: The problem had me stumped. They had him where they wanted him. 21. to exercise, display, or make use of: Have pity on him. 22. to invite or cause to be present as a companion or guest: We had Evelyn and Everett over for dinner. He has his bodyguard with him at all times. 23. to engage in sexual intercourse with. –verb (used without object) 24. to be in possession of money or wealth: There are some who have and some who have not. –auxiliary verb 25. (used with a past participle to form perfect tenses): She has gone. It would have been an enjoyable party if he hadn't felt downcast. 26. to be required, compelled, or under obligation (fol. by infinitival to, with or without a main verb): I have to leave now. I didn't want to study, but I had to. –noun 27. Usually, haves. an individual or group that has wealth, social position, or other material benefits (contrasted with have-not ). —Verb phrase 28. have at, to go at vigorously; attack: First he decided to have at his correspondence. If: -conjunction 1. in case that; granting or supposing that; on condition that: Sing if you want to. Stay indoors if it rains. I'll go if you do. 2. even though: an enthusiastic if small audience. 3. whether: He asked if I knew Spanish. 4. (used to introduce an exclamatory phrase): If only Dad could see me now! 5. when or whenever: If it was raining, we had to play inside. –noun 6. a supposition; uncertain possibility: The future is full of ifs. 7. a condition, requirement, or stipulation: There are too many ifs in his agreement. Is: -verb Third person singular present indicative of be. In: -preposition 1. (used to indicate inclusion within space, a place, or limits): walking in the park. 2. (used to indicate inclusion within something abstract or immaterial): in politics; in the autumn. 3. (used to indicate inclusion within or occurrence during a period or limit of time): in ancient times; a task done in ten minutes. 4. (used to indicate limitation or qualification, as of situation, condition, relation, manner, action, etc.): to speak in a whisper; to be similar in appearance. 5. (used to indicate means): sketched in ink; spoken in French. 6. (used to indicate motion or direction from outside to a point within) into: Let's go in the house. 7. (used to indicate transition from one state to another): to break in half. 8. (used to indicate object or purpose): speaking in honor of the event. –adverb 9. in or into some place, position, state, relation, etc.: Please come in. 10. on the inside; within. 11. in one's house or office. 12. in office or power. 13. in possession or occupancy. 14. having the turn to play, as in a game. 15. Baseball. (of an infielder or outfielder) in a position closer to home plate than usual; short: The third baseman played in, expecting a bunt. 16. on good terms; in favor: He's in with his boss, but he doubts it will last. 17. in vogue; in style: He says straw hats will be in this year. 18. in season: Watermelons will soon be in. –adjective 19. located or situated within; inner; internal: the in part of a mechanism. 20. Informal. a. in favor with advanced or sophisticated people; fashionable; stylish: the in place to dine; Her new novel is the in book to read this summer. b. comprehensible only to a special or ultrasophisticated group: an in joke. 21. well-liked; included in a favored group. 22. inward; incoming; inbound: an in train. 23. plentiful; available. 24. being in power, authority, control, etc.: a member of the in party. 25. playing the last nine holes of an eighteen-hole golf course (opposed to out ): His in score on the second round was 34. –noun 26. Usually, ins. persons in office or political power (distinguished from outs ). 27. a member of the political party in power: The election made him an in. 28. pull or influence; a social advantage or connection: He's got an in with the senator. 29. (in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) a return or service that lands within the in-bounds limits of a court or section of a court (opposed to out ). –verb (used with object) British Dialect. 30. to enclose. —Idioms 31. be in for, to be bound to undergo something, esp. a disagreeable experience: We are in for a long speech. 32. in for it, Slang. about to suffer chastisement or unpleasant consequences, esp. of one's own actions or omissions: I forgot our anniversary again, and I'll be in for it now. Also, British, for it. 33. in that, because; inasmuch as: In that you won't have time for supper, let me give you something now. 34. in with, on friendly terms with; familiar or associating with: They are in with all the important people. Into: -preposition 1. to the inside of; in toward: He walked into the room. The train chugged into the station. 2. toward or in the direction of: going into town. 3. to a point of contact with; against: backed into a parked car. 4. (used to indicate insertion or immersion in): plugged into the socket. 5. (used to indicate entry, inclusion, or introduction in a place or condition): received into the church. 6. to the state, condition, or form assumed or brought about: went into shock; lapsed into disrepair; translated into another language. 7. to the occupation, action, possession, circumstance, or acceptance of: went into banking; coerced into complying. 8. (used to indicate a continuing extent in time or space): lasted into the night; far into the distance. 9. (used to indicate the number to be divided by another number): 2 into 20 equals 10. 10. Informal. interested or absorbed in, esp. obsessively: She's into yoga and gardening. It: pronoun, nominative it, possessive its or (Obsolete or Dialect) it, objective it; plural nominative they, possessive their or theirs, objective them; noun –pronoun 1. (used to represent an inanimate thing understood, previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context): It has whitewall tires and red upholstery. You can't tell a book by its cover. 2. (used to represent a person or animal understood, previously mentioned, or about to be mentioned whose gender is unknown or disregarded): It was the largest ever caught off the Florida coast. Who was it? It was John. The horse had its saddle on. 3. (used to represent a group understood or previously mentioned): The judge told the jury it must decide two issues. 4. (used to represent a concept or abstract idea understood or previously stated): It all started with Adam and Eve. He has been taught to believe it all his life. 5. (used to represent an action or activity understood, previously mentioned, or about to be mentioned): Since you don't like it, you don't have to go skiing. 6. (used as the impersonal subject of the verb to be, esp. to refer to time, distance, or the weather): It is six o'clock. It is five miles to town. It was foggy. 7. (used in statements expressing an action, condition, fact, circumstance, or situation without reference to an agent): If it weren't for Edna, I wouldn't go. 8. (used in referring to something as the origin or cause of pain, pleasure, etc.): Where does it hurt? It looks bad for the candidate. 9. (used in referring to a source not specifically named or described): It is said that love is blind. 10. (used in referring to the general state of affairs; circumstances, fate, or life in general): How's it going with you? 11. (used as an anticipatory subject or object to make a sentence more eloquent or suspenseful or to shift emphasis): It is necessary that you do your duty. It was a gun that he was carrying. 12. Informal. (used instead of the pronoun its before a gerund): It having rained for only one hour didn't help the crops. –noun 13. (in children's games) the player called upon to perform some task, as, in tag, the one who must catch the other players. May: auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person may, 2nd may or (Archaic) may⋅est or mayst, 3rd may; present plural may; past might. 1. (used to express possibility): It may rain. 2. (used to express opportunity or permission): You may enter. 3. (used to express contingency, esp. in clauses indicating condition, concession, purpose, result, etc.): I may be wrong but I think you would be wise to go. Times may change but human nature stays the same. 4. (used to express wish or prayer): May you live to an old age. 5. Archaic. (used to express ability or power.) Might: -auxiliary verb 1. past tense of may 2. (used to express possibility): They might be at the station. 3. (used to express advisability): You might at least thank me. 4. (used in polite requests for permission): Might I speak to you for a moment? -noun 1. physical strength: He swung with all his might. 2. superior power or strength; force: the theory that might makes right. 3. power or ability to do or accomplish; capacity: the might of the ballot box. Neither: -conjunction 1. not either, as of persons or things specified (usually fol. by nor): Neither John nor Betty is at home. 2. nor; nor yet; no more: Bob can't go, and neither can I. If she doesn't want it, neither do I. –adjective 3. not either; not the one or the other: Neither statement is true. –pronoun 4. not either; not one person or the other; not one thing or the other: Neither of the suggestions will do. Neither is to be trusted. Nor: -conjunction 1. (used in negative phrases, esp. after neither, to introduce the second member in a series, or any subsequent member): Neither he nor I will be there. They won't wait for you, nor for me, nor for anybody. 2. (used to continue the force of a negative, as not, no, never, etc., occurring in a preceding clause): He left and I never saw him again, nor did I regret it. 3. (used after an affirmative clause, or as a continuative, in the sense of and not): They are happy, nor need we worry. 4. Older Use. than. 5. Archaic. (used without a preceding neither, the negative force of which is understood): He nor I was there. 6. Archaic. (used instead of neither as correlative to a following nor): Nor he nor I was there. Now: -adverb 1. at the present time or moment: You are now using a dictionary. 2. without further delay; immediately; at once: Either do it now or not at all. 3. at this time or juncture in some period under consideration or in some course of proceedings described: The case was now ready for the jury. 4. at the time or moment immediately past: I saw him just now on the street. 5. in these present times; nowadays: Now you rarely see horse-drawn carriages. 6. under the present or existing circumstances; as matters stand: I see now what you meant. 7. (used to introduce a statement or question): Now, you don't really mean that. 8. (used to strengthen a command, entreaty, or the like): Now stop that! –conjunction 9. inasmuch as; since: Now you're here, why not stay for dinner? –noun 10. the present time or moment: Up to now no one has volunteered. –adjective 11. up-to-the-minute; encompassing the latest ideas, fads, or fashions: the now look; the now generation. —Idioms 12. now and again, occasionally. Also, now and then. 13. now that, inasmuch as; since: Now that she is rich and famous, she is constantly being besieged by appeals for aid. Of: -preposition 1. (used to indicate distance or direction from, separation, deprivation, etc.): within a mile of the church; south of Omaha; to be robbed of one's money. 2. (used to indicate derivation, origin, or source): a man of good family; the plays of Shakespeare; a piece of cake. 3. (used to indicate cause, motive, occasion, or reason): to die of hunger. 4. (used to indicate material, component parts, substance, or contents): a dress of silk; an apartment of three rooms; a book of poems; a package of cheese. 5. (used to indicate apposition or identity): Is that idiot of a salesman calling again? 6. (used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category): the city of Chicago; thoughts of love. 7. (used to indicate possession, connection, or association): the king of France; the property of the church. 8. (used to indicate inclusion in a number, class, or whole): one of us. 9. (used to indicate the objective relation, the object of the action noted by the preceding noun or the application of a verb or adjective): the ringing of bells; He writes her of home; I'm tired of working. 10. (used to indicate reference or respect): There is talk of peace. 11. (used to indicate qualities or attributes): an ambassador of remarkable tact. 12. (used to indicate a specified time): They arrived of an evening. 13. Chiefly Northern U.S. before the hour of; until: twenty minutes of five. 14. on the part of: It was very mean of you to laugh at me. 15. in respect to: fleet of foot. 16. set aside for or devoted to: a minute of prayer. 17. Archaic. by: consumed of worms. Once: -adverb 1. at one time in the past; formerly: I was a farmer once; a once powerful nation. 2. a single time: We ate there just once. We go to a movie once a week. 3. even a single time; at any time; ever: If the facts once become known, it will be just too bad. 4. by a single step, degree, or grade: a cousin once removed. –adjective 5. former; having at one time been: the once and future king. –conjunction 6. if or when at any time; if ever. 7. whenever; as soon as: Once you're finished, you can leave. –noun 8. a single occasion; one time only: Once is enough. —Idioms 9. all at once, a. simultaneously: The children were running, screaming, and throwing things all at once. b. suddenly: All at once the rain came down. 10. at once, a. at the same time; simultaneously: Don't all speak at once. b. immediately; promptly: Tell him to come at once! 11. once and again, repeatedly: He has been told once and again not to slam the door. 12. once and for all, decisively; finally: Let's settle this problem once and for all. Also, once for all. 13. once in a while, at intervals; occasionally: She stops in to see us once in a while. 14. once or twice, a very few times; infrequently: I've seen her in the elevator once or twice. 15. once upon a time, at some unspecified past time, esp. a long time ago: Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a prince and princess. Or: -conjunction 1. (used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives): books or magazines; to be or not to be. 2. (used to connect alternative terms for the same thing): the Hawaiian, or Sandwich, Islands. 3. (used in correlation): either … or; or … or; whether … or. 4. (used to correct or rephrase what was previously said): His autobiography, or rather memoirs, will soon be ready for publication. 5. otherwise; or else: Be here on time, or we'll leave without you. 6. Logic. the connective used in disjunction. Out: -adverb 1. away from, or not in, the normal or usual place, position, state, etc.: out of alphabetical order; to go out to dinner. 2. away from one's home, country, work, etc., as specified: to go out of town. 3. in or into the outdoors: to go out for a walk. 4. to a state of exhaustion, extinction, or depletion: to pump a well out. 5. to the end or conclusion; to a final decision or resolution: to say it all out. 6. to a point or state of extinction, nonexistence, etc.: to blow out the candle; a practice on the way out. 7. in or into a state of neglect, disuse, etc.; not in current vogue or fashion: That style has gone out. 8. so as not to be in the normal or proper position or state; out of joint: His back went out after his fall. 9. in or into public notice or knowledge: The truth is out at last. 10. seeking openly and energetically to do or have: to be out for a good time. 11. not in present possession or use, as on loan: The librarian said that the book was still out. 12. on strike: The miners go out at midnight. 13. so as to project or extend: to stretch out; stick your tongue out. 14. in or into activity, existence, or outward manifestation: A rash came out on her arm. 15. from a specified source or material: made out of scraps. 16. from a state of composure, satisfaction, or harmony: to be put out over trifles. 17. in or into a state of confusion, vexation, dispute, variance, or unfriendliness: to fall out about trifles. 18. so as to deprive or be deprived: to be cheated out of one's money. 19. so as to use the last part of: to run out of gas. 20. from a number, stock, or store: to point out the errors. 21. aloud or loudly: to cry out. 22. with completeness or effectiveness: to fill out. 23. thoroughly; completely; entirely: The children tired me out. 24. so as to obliterate or make undecipherable: to cross out a misspelling; to ink out. –adjective 25. not at one's home or place of employment; absent: I stopped by to visit you last night, but you were out. 26. not open to consideration; out of the question: I wanted to go by plane, but all the flights are booked, so that's out. 27. wanting; lacking; without: We had some but now we're out. 28. removed from or not in effective operation, play, a turn at bat, or the like, as in a game: He's out for the season because of an injury. 29. no longer having or holding a job, public office, etc.; unemployed; disengaged (usually fol. by of): to be out of work. 30. inoperative; extinguished: The elevator is out. Are the lights out? 31. finished; ended: before the week is out. 32. not currently stylish, fashionable, or in vogue: Fitted waistlines are out this season. 33. unconscious; senseless: Two drinks and he's usually out. 34. not in power, authority, or the like: a member of the out party. 35. Baseball. a. (of a batter) not succeeding in getting on base: He was out at first on an attempted bunt. b. (of a base runner) not successful in an attempt to advance a base or bases: He was out in attempting to steal second base. 36. beyond fixed or regular limits; out of bounds: The ball was out. 37. having a pecuniary loss or expense to an indicated extent: The company will be out millions of dollars if the new factory doesn't open on schedule. 38. incorrect or inaccurate: His calculations are out. 39. not in practice; unskillful from lack of practice: Your bow hand is out. 40. beyond the usual range, size, weight, etc. (often used in combination): an outsize bed. 41. exposed; made bare, as by holes in one's clothing: out at the knees. 42. at variance; at odds; unfriendly: They are out with each other. 43. moving or directed outward; outgoing: the out train. 44. not available, plentiful, etc.: Mums are out till next fall. 45. external; exterior; outer. 46. located at a distance; outlying: We sailed to six of the out islands. 47. Cricket. not having its innings: the out side. 48. of or pertaining to the playing of the first nine holes of an 18-hole golf course (opposed to in ): His out score on the second round was 33. –preposition 49. (used to indicate movement or direction from the inside to the outside of something): He looked out the window. She ran out the door. 50. (used to indicate location): The car is parked out back. 51. (used to indicate movement away from a central point): Let's drive out the old parkway. –interjection 52. begone! away! 53. (used in radio communications to signify that the sender has finished the message and is not expecting or prepared to receive a reply.) Compare over (def. 52). 54. Archaic. (an exclamation of abhorrence, indignation, reproach, or grief (usually fol. by upon): Out upon you! –noun 55. a means of escape or excuse, as from a place, punishment, retribution, responsibility, etc.: He always left himself an out. 56. a person who lacks status, power, or authority, esp. in relation to a particular group or situation. 57. Usually, outs. persons not in office or political power (distinguished from ins ). 58. Baseball. a put-out. 59. (in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) a return or service that does not land within the in-bounds limits of a court or section of a court (opposed to in ). 60. something that is out, as a projecting corner. 61. Printing. a. the omission of a word or words. b. the word or words omitted. 62. Northern British Dialect. an outing. –verb (used without object) 63. to go or come out. 64. to become public, evident, known, etc.: The truth will out. 65. to make known; tell; utter (fol. by with): Out with the truth! –verb (used with object) 66. to eject or expel; discharge; oust. 67. to intentionally expose (a secret homosexual, a spy, etc.). —Idioms 68. all out, with maximum effort; thoroughly or wholeheartedly: They went all out to finish by Friday. 69. be on the or at outs with, Informal. to be estranged from (another person); be unfriendly or on bad terms with: He is on the outs with his brother. 70. out and away, to a surpassing extent; far and away; by far: It was out and away the best apple pie she had ever eaten. 71. out for, aggressively determined to acquire, achieve, etc.: He's out for all the money he can get. 72. out from under, out of a difficult situation, esp. of debts or other obligations: The work piled up while I was away and I don't know how I'll ever get out from under. 73. out of, a. not within: out of the house. b. beyond the reach of: The boat's passengers had sailed out of hearing. c. not in a condition of: out of danger. d. so as to deprive or be deprived of. e. from within or among: Take the jokers out of the pack. f. because of; owing to: out of loyalty. g. foaled by (a dam): Grey Dancer out of Lady Grey. 74. out of it, Informal. a. not part of or acceptable within an activity, social group, or fashion: She felt out of it because none of her friends were at the party. b. not conscious; drunk or heavily drugged. c. not alert or clearheaded; confused; muddled. d. eliminated from contention: If our team loses two more games, we'll be out of it. 75. out of sight. sight (def. 25). 76. out of trim, Nautical. (of a ship) drawing excessively at the bow or stern. Over: -preposition 1. above in place or position: the roof over one's head. 2. above and to the other side of: to leap over a wall. 3. above in authority, rank, power, etc., so as to govern, control, or have jurisdiction regarding: There is no one over her in the department now. 4. so as to rest on or cover; on or upon: Throw a sheet over the bed. 5. on or upon, so as to cause an apparent change in one's mood, attitude, etc.: I can't imagine what has come over her. 6. on or on top of: to hit someone over the head. 7. here and there on or in; about: at various places over the country. 8. through all parts of; all through: to roam over the estate; to show someone over the house. 9. to and fro on or in; across; throughout: to travel all over Europe. 10. from one side to the other of; to the other side of; across: to go over a bridge. 11. on the other side of; across: lands over the sea. 12. reaching higher than, so as to submerge: The water is over his shoulders. 13. in excess of; more than: over a mile; not over five dollars. 14. above in degree, quantity, etc.: a big improvement over last year's turnout. 15. in preference to: chosen over another applicant. 16. throughout the length of: The message was sent over a great distance. 17. until after the end of: to adjourn over the holidays. 18. throughout the duration of: over a long period of years. 19. in reference to, concerning, or about: to quarrel over a matter. 20. while engaged in or occupied with: to fall asleep over one's work. 21. via; by means of: He told me over the phone. I heard it over the radio. –adverb 22. beyond the top or upper surface or edge of something: a roof that hangs over. 23. so as to cover the surface, or affect the whole surface: The furniture was covered over with dust. 24. through a region, area, etc.: He was known the world over. 25. at some distance, as in a direction indicated: They live over by the hill. 26. from side to side; across; to the other side: to sail over. 27. across an intervening space: Toss the ball over, will you? 28. across or beyond the edge or rim: The soup boiled over. The bathtub ran over. 29. from beginning to end; throughout: to read a paper over; Think it over. 30. from one person, party, etc., to another: Hand the money over. He made the property over to his brother. 31. on the other side, as of a sea, a river, or any space: over in Japan. 32. so as to displace from an upright position: to knock over a glass of milk. 33. so as to put in the reversed position: She turned the bottle over. The dog rolled over. 34. once more; again: Do the work over. 35. in repetition or succession: twenty times over. 36. in excess or addition: to pay the full sum and something over. 37. in excess of or beyond a certain amount: Five goes into seven once, with two over. 38. throughout or beyond a period of time: to stay over till Monday. 39. to one's residence, office, or the like: Why don't you come over for lunch? 40. so as to reach a place across an intervening space, body of water, etc.: Her ancestors came over on the Mayflower –adjective 41. upper; higher up. 42. higher in authority, station, etc. 43. serving, or intended to serve, as an outer covering; outer. 44. remaining or additional, surplus; extra. 45. too great; excessive (usually used in combination): Insufficient tact and overaggressiveness are two of his problems. 46. ended; done; past: when the war was over. –noun 47. an amount in excess or addition; extra. 48. Military. a shot that strikes or bursts beyond the target. 49. Cricket. a. the number of balls, usually six, delivered between successive changes of bowlers. b. the part of the game played between such changes. –verb (used with object) 50. to go or get over; leap over. 51. Southern U.S. to recover from. –interjection 52. (used in radio communications to signify that the sender has temporarily finished transmitting and is awaiting a reply or acknowledgment.) Compare out (def. 53). —Idioms 53. all over, a. over the entire surface of; everywhere: material printed all over with a floral design. b. thoroughly; entirely. c. finished: The war was all over and the soldiers came home. 54. all over with, ended; finished: It seemed miraculous that the feud was all over with. 55. over again, in repetition; once more: The director had the choir sing one passage over again. 56. over against. against (def. 13). 57. over and above, in addition to; besides: a profit over and above what they had anticipated. 58. over and over, several times; repeatedly: They played the same record over and over. 59. over the hill. hill (def. 11). 60. over there, Informal. (in the U.S. during and after World War I) in or to Europe: Many of the boys who went over there never came back. 61. over with, finished or done: Let's get this thing over with, so that we don't have to worry about it any more. Shall: auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person shall, 2nd shall or (Archaic) shalt, 3rd shall, present plural shall; past singular 1st person should, 2nd should or (Archaic) shouldst or should⋅est, 3rd should, past plural should; imperative, infinitive, and participles lacking. 1. plan to, intend to, or expect to: I shall go later. 2. will have to, is determined to, or definitely will: You shall do it. He shall do it. 3. (in laws, directives, etc.) must; is or are obliged to: The meetings of the council shall be public. 4. (used interrogatively in questions, often in invitations): Shall we go? Should: -auxiliary verb 1. past tense of shall. 2. (used to express condition): Were he to arrive, I should be pleased. 3. must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency): You should not do that. 4. would (used to make a statement less direct or blunt): I should think you would apologize. Since: -adverb 1. from then till now (often prec. by ever): He was elected in 1978 and has been president ever since. 2. between a particular past time and the present; subsequently: She at first refused, but has since consented. 3. ago; before now: long since. –preposition 4. continuously from or counting from: It has been warm since noon. 5. between a past time or event and the present: There have been many changes since the war. –conjunction 6. in the period following the time when: He has written once since he left. 7. continuously from or counting from the time when: He has been busy since he came. 8. because; inasmuch as: Since you're already here, you might as well stay. So: -adverb 1. in the way or manner indicated, described, or implied: Do it so. 2. in that or this manner or fashion; thus: So it turned out. 3. in the aforesaid state or condition: It is broken and has long been so. 4. to the extent or degree indicated or suggested: Do not walk so fast. 5. Informal. very or extremely: I'm so sad. 6. very greatly: My head aches so! 7. (used before an adverb or an adverbial clause and fol. by as) to such a degree or extent: so far as I know. 8. having the purpose of: a speech so commemorating the victory. 9. for this or that reason; hence; therefore: She is ill, and so cannot come to the party. 10. (used as an affirmative to emphasize or confirm a previous statement) most certainly: I said I would come, and so I will. 11. (used as an emphatic affirmative to contradict a previous statement) indeed; truly; too: I was so at the party! 12. likewise or correspondingly; also; too: If he is going, then so am I. 13. in such manner as to follow or result from: As he learned, so did he teach. 14. in the way that follows; in this way: The audience was seated, and so the famous speech began. 15. in the way that precedes; in that way: So ended the speech, and the listeners arose and cheered. 16. in such way as to end in: So live your life that old age will bring you no regrets. 17. then; subsequently: and so to bed. –conjunction 18. in order that (often fol. by that): Check carefully, so any mistakes will be caught. 19. with the result that (often fol. by that): He checked carefully, so that the mistakes were caught. 20. on the condition that; if. –pronoun 21. such as has been stated: to be good and stay so. 22. something that is about or near the persons or things in question, as in number or amount: Of the original twelve, five or so remain. –interjection 23. (used as an exclamation of surprise, shock, discovery, inquiry, indifference, etc., according to the manner of utterance.) –adjective 24. true as stated or reported; conforming with reality or the fact: Say it isn't so. —Idioms 25. only or just so many, being a limited or small number or amount: I can eat only so many pieces of fruit. 26. only or just so much, being a limited amount or quantity; up to a certain point or maximum: I can eat only so much fruit; just so much that one can do in such a case. 27. so as, a. with the result or purpose: to turn up the volume of the radio so as to drown out the noise from the next apartment. b. Older Use. provided that: I like any flower, just so as it's real. 28. so much, a. something, as an amount or cost, that is not specified or determined: The carpeting is priced at so much per yard. b. all that is or needs to be said or done: So much for the preliminaries, let's get down to the real issues. 29. so much as, even: He doesn't so much as say hello to me. 30. so to speak. speak (def. 22). 31. so what? what (def. 25). Re: Misunderstood terms by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 03:54 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Such: -adjective 1. of the kind, character, degree, extent, etc., of that or those indicated or implied: Such a man is dangerous. 2. of that particular kind or character: The food, such as it was, was plentiful. 3. like or similar: tea, coffee, and such commodities. 4. (used with omission of an indication of comparison) of so extreme a kind; so great, good, bad, etc.: He is such a liar. 5. being as stated or indicated: Such is the case. 6. being the person or thing or the persons or things indicated: If any member be behind in his dues, such member shall be suspended. 7. definite but not specified; such and such: Allow such an amount for food and such an amount for rent. –adverb 8. so; very; to such a degree: such pleasant people. 9. in such a way or manner. –pronoun 10. such a person or thing or such persons or things: kings, princes, and such. 11. someone or something indicated or exemplified: He claims to be a friend but is not such. —Idioms 12. as such. as 1 (def. 30). 13. such as, a. of the kind specified: A plan such as you propose will never succeed. b. for example: He considers quiet pastimes, such as reading and chess, a bore. That: -pronoun 1. (used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as pointed out or present, mentioned before, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis): That is her mother. After that we saw each other. 2. (used to indicate one of two or more persons, things, etc., already mentioned, referring to the one more remote in place, time, or thought; opposed to this): This is my sister and that's my cousin. 3. (used to indicate one of two or more persons, things, etc., already mentioned, implying a contrast or contradistinction; opposed to this): This suit fits better than that. 4. (used as the subject or object of a relative clause, esp. one defining or restricting the antecedent, sometimes replaceable by who, whom, or which): the horse that he bought. 5. (used as the object of a preposition, with the preposition standing at the end of a relative clause): the farm that I spoke of. 6. (used in various special or elliptical constructions): fool that he is. –adjective 7. (used to indicate a person, place, thing, or degree as indicated, mentioned before, present, or as well-known or characteristic): That woman is her mother. Those little mannerisms of hers make me sick. 8. (used to indicate the more remote in time, place, or thought of two persons, things, etc., already mentioned; opposed to this): This room is his and that one is mine. 9. (used to imply mere contradistinction; opposed to this): not this house, but that one. –adverb 10. (used with adjectives and adverbs of quantity or extent) to the extent or degree indicated: that much; The fish was that big. 11. to a great extent or degree; very: It's not that important. 12. Dialect. (used to modify an adjective or another adverb) to such an extent: He was that weak he could hardly stand. –conjunction 13. (used to introduce a subordinate clause as the subject or object of the principal verb or as the necessary complement to a statement made, or a clause expressing cause or reason, purpose or aim, result or consequence, etc.): I'm sure that you'll like it. That he will come is certain. Hold it up so that everyone can see it. 14. (used elliptically to introduce an exclamation expressing desire, a wish, surprise, indignation, or other strong feeling): Oh, that I had never been born! —Idioms 15. at that, a. in spite of something; nevertheless: Although perhaps too elaborate, it seemed like a good plan at that. b. in addition; besides: It was a long wait, and an exasperating one at that. 16. that is, (by way of explanation, clarification, or an example); more accurately: I read the book, that is, I read most of it. Also, that is to say. 17. that's that, Informal. there is no more to be said or done; that is finished: I'm not going, and that's that! 18. that way, Informal. in love or very fond of (usually fol. by about or for): The star and the director are that way. I'm that way about coffee. 19. with that, following that; thereupon: With that, he turned on his heel and fled. The: -definite article 1. (used, esp. before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect, as opposed to the indefinite or generalizing force of the indefinite article a or an): the book you gave me; Come into the house. 2. (used to mark a proper noun, natural phenomenon, ship, building, time, point of the compass, branch of endeavor, or field of study as something well-known or unique): the sun; the Alps; the Queen Elizabeth; the past; the West. 3. (used with or as part of a title): the Duke of Wellington; the Reverend John Smith. 4. (used to mark a noun as indicating the best-known, most approved, most important, most satisfying, etc.): the skiing center of the U.S.; If you're going to work hard, now is the time. 5. (used to mark a noun as being used generically): The dog is a quadruped. 6. (used in place of a possessive pronoun, to note a part of the body or a personal belonging): He won't be able to play football until the leg mends. 7. (used before adjectives that are used substantively, to note an individual, a class or number of individuals, or an abstract idea): to visit the sick; from the sublime to the ridiculous. 8. (used before a modifying adjective to specify or limit its modifying effect): He took the wrong road and drove miles out of his way. 9. (used to indicate one particular decade of a lifetime or of a century): the sixties; the gay nineties. 10. (one of many of a class or type, as of a manufactured item, as opposed to an individual one): Did you listen to the radio last night? 11. enough: He saved until he had the money for a new car. She didn't have the courage to leave. 12. (used distributively, to note any one separately) for, to, or in each; a or an: at one dollar the pound. -adverb 1. (used to modify an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree and to signify “in or by that,” “on that account,” “in or by so much,” or “in some or any degree”): He's been on vacation and looks the better for it. 2. (used in correlative constructions to modify an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree, in one instance with relative force and in the other with demonstrative force, and signifying “by how much … by so much” or “in what degree … in that degree”): the more the merrier; The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Then: -adverb 1. at that time: Prices were lower then. 2. immediately or soon afterward: The rain stopped and then started again. 3. next in order of time: We ate, then we started home. 4. at the same time: At first the water seemed blue, then gray. 5. next in order of place: Standing beside Charlie is my uncle, then my cousin, then my brother. 6. in addition; besides; also: I love my job, and then it pays so well. 7. in that case; as a consequence; in those circumstances: If you're sick, then you should stay in bed. 8. since that is so; as it appears; therefore: You have, then, found the mistake? You are leaving tonight then. –adjective 9. being; being such; existing or being at the time indicated: the then prime minister. –noun 10. that time: We have not been back since then. Till then, farewell. —Idioms 11. but then, but on the other hand: I found their conversation very dull, but then I have different tastes. 12. then and there, at that precise time and place; at once; on the spot: I started to pack my things right then and there. Also, there and then. They: plural pronoun, possessive their or theirs, objective them. 1. nominative plural of he, she, and it. 2. people in general: They say he's rich. 3. (used with an indefinite singular antecedent in place of the definite masculine he or the definite feminine she): Whoever is of voting age, whether they are interested in politics or not, should vote. This: -pronoun 1. (used to indicate a person, thing, idea, state, event, time, remark, etc., as present, near, just mentioned or pointed out, supposed to be understood, or by way of emphasis): This is my coat. 2. (used to indicate one of two or more persons, things, etc., referring to the one nearer in place, time, or thought; opposed to that): This is Liza and that is Amy. 3. (used to indicate one of two or more persons, things, etc., implying a contrast or contradistinction; opposed to that): I'd take that instead of this. 4. what is about to follow: Now hear this! Watch this! –adjective 5. (used to indicate a person, place, thing, or degree as present, near, just indicated or mentioned, or as well-known or characteristic): These people are my friends. This problem has worried me for a long time. 6. (used to indicate the nearer in time, place, or thought of two persons, things, etc.; opposed to that). 7. (used to imply mere contradistinction; opposed to that). 8. (used in place of an indefinite article for emphasis): I was walking down the street when I heard this explosion. –adverb 9. (used with adjectives and adverbs of quantity or extent) to the extent or degree indicated: this far; this softly. —Idiom 10. with this, following this; hereupon: With this, he threw down his glass and left the table. Though: -conjunction 1. (used in introducing a subordinate clause, which is often marked by ellipsis) notwithstanding that; in spite of the fact that; although: Though he tried very hard, he failed the course. 2. even if; granting that (often prec. by even). –adverb 3. for all that; however. —Idiom 4. as though, as if: It seems as though the place is deserted. Thus: -adverb 1. in the way just indicated; in this way: Stated thus, the problem seems trivial. 2. in such or the following manner; so: Thus it came to pass. 3. accordingly; consequently: It is late, and thus you must go. 4. to this extent or degree: thus far. 5. as an example; for instance. To: -preposition 1. (used for expressing motion or direction toward a point, person, place, or thing approached and reached, as opposed to from): They came to the house. 2. (used for expressing direction or motion or direction toward something) in the direction of; toward: from north to south. 3. (used for expressing limit of movement or extension): He grew to six feet. 4. (used for expressing contact or contiguity) on; against; beside; upon: a right uppercut to the jaw; Apply varnish to the surface. 5. (used for expressing a point of limit in time) before; until: to this day; It is ten minutes to six. We work from nine to five. 6. (used for expressing aim, purpose, or intention): going to the rescue. 7. (used for expressing destination or appointed end): sentenced to jail. 8. (used for expressing agency, result, or consequence): to my dismay; The flowers opened to the sun. 9. (used for expressing a resulting state or condition): He tore it to pieces. 10. (used for expressing the object of inclination or desire): They drank to her health. 11. (used for expressing the object of a right or claim): claimants to an estate. 12. (used for expressing limit in degree, condition, or amount): wet to the skin; goods amounting to $1000; Tomorrow's high will be 75 to 80°. 13. (used for expressing addition or accompaniment) with: He added insult to injury. They danced to the music. Where is the top to this box? 14. (used for expressing attachment or adherence): She held to her opinion. 15. (used for expressing comparison or opposition): inferior to last year's crop; The score is eight to seven. 16. (used for expressing agreement or accordance) according to; by: a position to one's liking; to the best of my knowledge. 17. (used for expressing reference, reaction, or relation): What will he say to this? 18. (used for expressing a relative position): parallel to the roof. 19. (used for expressing a proportion of number or quantity) in; making up: 12 to the dozen; 20 miles to the gallon. 20. (used for indicating the indirect object of a verb, for connecting a verb with its complement, or for indicating or limiting the application of an adjective, noun, or pronoun): Give it to me. I refer to your work. 21. (used as the ordinary sign or accompaniment of the infinitive, as in expressing motion, direction, or purpose, in ordinary uses with a substantive object.) 22. Mathematics. raised to the power indicated: Three to the fourth is 81 (34 = 81). –adverb 23. toward a point, person, place, or thing, implied or understood. 24. toward a contact point or closed position: Pull the door to. 25. toward a matter, action, or work: We turned to with a will. 26. into a state of consciousness; out of unconsciousness: after he came to. Unless: -conjunction 1. except under the circumstances that: I'll be there at nine, unless the train is late. –preposition 2. except; but; save: Nothing will come of it, unless disaster. Until: -conjunction 1. up to the time that or when; till: He read until his guests arrived. 2. before (usually used in negative constructions): They did not come until the meeting was half over. –preposition 3. onward to or till (a specified time or occurrence): She worked until 6 p.m. 4. before (usually used in negative constructions): He did not go until night. 5. Scot. and North England. to; unto. Up: -adverb 1. to, toward, or in a more elevated position: to climb up to the top of a ladder. 2. to or in an erect position: to stand up. 3. out of bed: to get up. 4. above the horizon: The moon came up. 5. to or at any point that is considered higher. 6. to or at a source, origin, center, or the like: to follow a stream up to its source. 7. to or at a higher point or degree, as of rank, size, value, pitch, loudness, brightness, maturity, or speed: to move up in a firm; to pump up a tire; to turn a lantern up; Prices are going up. Speak up! Hurry up! 8. ahead; in a leading position in a competition: He managed to get up on his opponent by three points. 9. in continuing contact, esp. as reflecting continuing awareness, knowledge, etc.: to keep up with the latest developments in mathematics. 10. into or in activity, operation, etc.: to set up vibrations. 11. into a state of emotional agitation or distress: His insults left her all roiled up. 12. into existence, visible form, etc.: His sample was worked up in the studio. 13. into view, prominence, or consideration: The lost papers have turned up. 14. into or in a place of safekeeping, storage, retirement, etc.: to lay up riches; to put up preserves. 15. into or in a state of union, contraction, etc.: to add up a column of figures; to fold up. 16. to the required or final point: to pay up one's debts; burned up. 17. to a state of completion; to an end: She finished it all up. 18. to a halt: The riders reined up and dismounted. 19. Baseball. being the player or team batting; at bat. 20. (used as a function word for additional emphasis, sometimes prec. by it): Go wake your father up. What plugged it up? We laughed it up. 21. ahead of an opponent or opponents in points, games, etc.: The golfer was two strokes up on his nearest competitor. 22. each; apiece: The score was seven up in the final quarter. 23. (of machines or equipment, as computers) working; in working order or in operation. 24. Informal. without the addition of ice; straight up: Bring me a martini, up. 25. Nautical. toward the wind: Put the helm up. –preposition 26. to, toward, or at an elevated place on or in: They went up the stairs. The cat is up the tree. 27. to, toward, or at a high or higher station, condition, or rank on or in: He is well up the social ladder. 28. at or to a farther point or higher place on or in: She is up the street. I'm going up the street. 29. toward the source, origin, etc., of: up the stream. 30. toward a particular direction or in the interior of, as a region or territory: The explorers were up north. 31. in a course or direction that is contrary to that of: to row up the current. –adjective 32. moving in or related to a direction that is up or is regarded as up: the up elevator; the up train traveling north; the up platform of a railroad station. 33. informed; familiar; aware (usually fol. by on or in): She is always up on current events. 34. concluded; ended; finished; terminated: The game is up. Your hour is up. 35. going on or happening; taking place; occurring: What's up over there? 36. having a high position or station: He is up in society. 37. in an erect, vertical, or raised position: The gate at the railroad crossing is up. The tent is up. 38. above the earth or ground: The corn is up and ready to be harvested. 39. in the air; aloft: The meteorological balloons are up. The airplanes are up for their reconnaissance flights. 40. (of heavenly bodies) risen above the horizon: The sun is up. 41. awake or out of bed: to be up with insomnia. 42. mounted on horseback: He knows which jockeys are up in every race. 43. (of water in natural bodies) high with relation to the banks or shore: The tide is up. 44. built; constructed: The new museum is up and open to the public. 45. facing upward: He is resting and his face is up. 46. sunnyside up. 47. (of roads, highways, etc.) having the surface broken or removed (usually used in combination): a torn-up road. 48. in revolt, mutiny, or rebellious agitation: Many territories were up and preparing to send troops against the government. 49. in a state of agitation: Beware of him when his temper is up. 50. Informal. cheerful or optimistic; high-spirited; happy; exuberant; upbeat. 51. Informal. productive, favorable, or profitable: a string of up months for the company. 52. afoot or amiss: Her nervous manner told me that something was up. 53. in a state of enthusiastic or confident readiness (usually fol. by for): The team was definitely up for the game. 54. bound; on the way: She was on a ship up for Australia. 55. resolved in an unfavorable or undesired way: They knew that their game was up. 56. higher than formerly in cost, amount, degree, etc.: The price of meat was up. 57. (of age) advanced (usually fol. by in): He is rather spry for a man so up in years. 58. active: The captain wished to set sail as soon as the wind was up. 59. in a legal proceeding as defendant: He is up for murder. 60. in operation or ready for use: The theater's lights are up. 61. (of points or other standards used to determine the winner in a competition) ahead; in advance: He won the game with two points up over his opponent. 62. considered or under consideration: a candidate up for reelection; a bill that is up before Congress. 63. wagered; bet: He won all the money up in the game. 64. living or located inland or on elevated ground: They live in a village two miles up from the coast. 65. (used with a preceding numeral to indicate that a score is tied in a competition): It was 10 up at the end of the first half. 66. ahead of an opponent or opponents: They scored three times in a row to go two up. –noun 67. an upward movement; ascent. 68. a rise of fortune, mood, etc. 69. a time of good fortune, prosperity, or happiness: He has had more ups than downs in his career. 70. an upbound means of public transportation, as a train or bus. 71. Informal. a feeling or state of happiness, exuberance, or elation. 72. Slang. upper (def. 10). 73. a person or thing that is in a favorable position of wealth, fortune, etc.: People who were ups in the business world suffered losses in the economic depression. 74. an upward slope; elevation. 75. an upward course or rise, as in price or value: The landlord promised his tenants there would be no further ups in the rent this year. 76. Slang. upper 2 . –verb (used with object) 77. to put or take up. 78. to make larger; step up: to up output. 79. to raise; go better than (a preceding wager): to up the ante. –verb (used without object) 80. Informal. to start up; begin something abruptly (usually fol. by and and another verb): Then he upped and ran away from home. 81. (often used imperatively or hortatively) to rise up: Up, men, and fight until all the enemy are defeated! —Idioms 82. all up with, at or approaching the end of; with defeat or ruin imminent for: He realized it was all up with him when the search party began to close in. 83. go up in one's lines. line 1 (def. 70). 84. on the up and up, Informal. frank; honest; sincere: He seems to be on the up and up. Also, on the up-and-up. 85. straight up. straight (def. 34). 86. up against, faced or confronted with: They were up against formidable obstacles. 87. up against it, in a difficult situation, esp. in financial straits: There was no one to help him when he was up against it. 88. up and around, recovered from an illness; able to leave one's bed. Also, up and about. 89. up and doing, Informal. actively engaged; alert; busy: During her convalescence she longed to be up and doing. 90. up and down, a. back and forth; backward and forward: He paced up and down. b. from top to bottom or head to toe: She looked me up and down before replying. 91. up for, considered as eligible or as a possibility for (something): The child is up for adoption. Three actresses are up for the role. 92. up to, a. as far as or approaching (a certain part, degree, point, etc.): She went wading up to her knees. I am up to the eighth lesson. b. in full realization or attainment of: He worked up to president of the company. c. as many as; to the limit of: The car will seat up to five persons. d. having adequate powers or ability for; capable of; equal to: He didn't think I was up to the job. e. the duty or responsibility of; incumbent upon: It's up to you to break the news to him. f. engaged in; contriving; doing: What have you been up to lately? Was: -verb First and third person singular past indicative of be Were: -verb 1. Second person singular and plural and first and third person plural past indicative of be. 2. Past subjunctive of be. When: -adverb 1. at what time or period? how long ago? how soon?: When are they to arrive? When did the Roman Empire exist? 2. under what circumstances? upon what occasion?: When is a letter of condolence in order? When did you ever see such a crowd? –conjunction 3. at what time: to know when to be silent. 4. at the time or in the event that: when we were young; when the noise stops. 5. at any time; whenever: He is impatient when he is kept waiting. 6. upon or after which; and then: We had just fallen asleep when the bell rang. 7. while on the contrary; considering that; whereas: Why are you here when you should be in school? –pronoun 8. what time: Till when is the store open? 9. which time: They left on Monday, since when we have heard nothing. –noun 10. the time of anything: the when and the where of an act. Whether: -conjunction 1. (used to introduce the first of two or more alternatives, and sometimes repeated before the second or later alternative, usually with the correlative or): It matters little whether we go or stay. Whether we go or whether we stay, the result is the same. 2. (used to introduce a single alternative, the other being implied or understood, or some clause or element not involving alternatives): See whether or not she has come. I doubt whether we can do any better. 3. Archaic. (used to introduce a question presenting alternatives, usually with the correlative or). –pronoun Archaic. 4. which or whichever (of two)? —Idiom 5. whether or no, under whatever circumstances; regardless: He threatens to go whether or no. Which: -pronoun 1. what one?: Which of these do you want? Which do you want? 2. whichever: Choose which appeals to you. 3. (used relatively in restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses to represent a specified antecedent): The book, which I read last night, was exciting. The socialism which Owen preached was unpalatable to many. The lawyer represented five families, of which the Costello family was the largest. 4. (used relatively in restrictive clauses having that as the antecedent): Damaged goods constituted part of that which was sold at the auction. 5. (used after a preposition to represent a specified antecedent): the horse on which I rode. 6. (used relatively to represent a specified or implied antecedent) the one that; a particular one that: You may choose which you like. 7. (used in parenthetic clauses) the thing or fact that: He hung around for hours and, which was worse, kept me from doing my work. 8. Nonstandard. who or whom: a friend which helped me move; the lawyer which you hired. –adjective 9. what one of (a certain number or group mentioned or implied)?: Which book do you want? 10. whichever; any that: Go which way you please, you'll end up here. 11. being previously mentioned: It stormed all day, during which time the ship broke up. While: noun, conjunction, preposition, verb, whiled, whil⋅ing. –noun 1. a period or interval of time: to wait a long while; He arrived a short while ago. 2. Archaic. a particular time or occasion. –conjunction 3. during or in the time that. 4. throughout the time that; as long as. 5. even though; although: While she appreciated the honor, she could not accept the position. 6. at the same time that (showing an analogous or corresponding action): The floor was strewn with books, while magazines covered the tables. –preposition 7. Archaic. until. –verb (used with object) 8. to cause (time) to pass, esp. in some easy or pleasant manner (usually fol. by away). —Idioms 9. all the while, at or during this time; all along: She realized all the while that the cake would fall. 10. worth one's while, worth one's time, trouble, or expense: The art exhibition that opened yesterday isn't worth your while. Will: auxiliary verb and verb, present singular 1st person will, 2nd will or (Archaic) wilt, 3rd will, present plural will; past singular 1st person would, 2nd would or (Archaic) wouldst, 3rd would, past plural would; past participle (Obsolete) wold or would; imperative, infinitive, and present participle lacking. –auxiliary verb 1. am (is, are, etc.) about or going to: I will be there tomorrow. She will see you at dinner. 2. am (is, are, etc.) disposed or willing to: People will do right. 3. am (is, are, etc.) expected or required to: You will report to the principal at once. 4. may be expected or supposed to: You will not have forgotten him. This will be right. 5. am (is, are, etc.) determined or sure to (used emphatically): You would do it. People will talk. 6. am (is, are, etc.) accustomed to, or do usually or often: You will often see her sitting there. He would write for hours at a time. 7. am (is, are, etc.) habitually disposed or inclined to: Boys will be boys. After dinner they would read aloud. 8. am (is, are, etc.) capable of; can: This tree will live without water for three months. 9. am (is, are, etc.) going to: I will bid you “Good night.” –verb (used with object), verb (used without object) 10. to wish; desire; like: Go where you will. Ask, if you will, who the owner is. -noun 1. the faculty of conscious and especially of deliberate action; the power of control the mind has over its own actions: the freedom of the will. 2. power of choosing one's own actions: to have a strong or a weak will. 3. the act or process of using or asserting one's choice; volition: My hands are obedient to my will. 4. wish or desire: to submit against one's will. 5. purpose or determination, often hearty or stubborn determination; willfulness: to have the will to succeed. 6. the wish or purpose as carried out, or to be carried out: to work one's will. 7. disposition, whether good or ill, toward another. 8. Law. a. a legal declaration of a person's wishes as to the disposition of his or her property or estate after death, usually written and signed by the testator and attested by witnesses. b. the document containing such a declaration. –verb (used with object) 9. to decide, bring about, or attempt to effect or bring about by an act of the will: He can walk if he wills it. 10. to purpose, determine on, or elect, by an act of will: If he wills success, he can find it. 11. to give or dispose of (property) by a will or testament; bequeath or devise. 12. to influence by exerting will power: She was willed to walk the tightrope by the hypnotist. –verb (used without object) 13. to exercise the will: To will is not enough, one must do. 14. to decide or determine: Others debate, but the king wills. —Idiom 15. at will, a. at one's discretion or pleasure; as one desires: to wander at will through the countryside. b. at one's disposal or command. Would: -verb 1. a past tense. and past plural. of will 1 . 2. (used to express the future in past sentences): He said he would go tomorrow. 3. (used in place of will, to make a statement or form a question less direct or blunt): That would scarcely be fair. Would you be so kind? 4. (used to express repeated or habitual action in the past): We would visit Grandma every morning up at the farm. 5. (used to express an intention or inclination): Nutritionists would have us all eat whole grains. 6. (used to express a wish): Would he were here! 7. (used to express an uncertainty): It would appear that he is guilty. 8. (used in conditional sentences to express choice or possibility): They would come if they had the fare. If the temperature were higher, the water would evaporate. 9. would have, (used with a past participle to express unfulfilled intention or preference): I would have saved you some but Jimmy took it all. Re: Misunderstood terms by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 03:55 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Parts of Speech There are eight categories which form the parts of speech. Each part of speech explains not what the word is, but how the word is used. Noun: A noun is a word used to refer to people, animals, objects, substances, states, events and feelings. Nouns can be a subject or an object of a verb, can be modified by an adjective and can take an article or determiner. Nouns may be divided into two basic groups: Countable Nouns have plural forms (e.g. cows) and Uncountable Nouns do not (e.g. milk). Pronoun: A pronoun is a word that substitutes a noun or noun phrase. There are a number of different kinds of pronouns in English. TYPES OF PRONOUN: 1. Demonstrative Pronoun: Substitute nouns when the nouns they replace can be understood from the context. - this, that, these, those 2. Personal Pronoun: They are used to substitute the names of the people or things that perform actions. - I, you, he, she, etc.. 3. Possessive Pronoun: Used to substitute a noun and to show possession or ownership. - mine, yours, his, etc.. 4. Reflexive Pronoun: Reflexive pronouns are used when the complement of the verb is the same as the subject. - myself, yourself, etc.. 5. Interrogative Pronoun: A Wh- question word, when it acts as a pronoun substituting the person or thing being asked about - who, what, where, etc.. 6. Negative Pronoun: - nothing, no, nobody, etc.. 7. Reciprocal pronoun Show that an action is two-way: - each other, one another, etc 8. Relative Clause: Used to introduce clauses in sentences - who, whose, which, that, etc.. 9. Quantifier: Expresses quantity. - some, any, something, much, many, little, etc. Verb: Verbs are one of the major grammatical groups, and all sentences must contain one. Verbs refer to an action (do, break, walk, etc.) or a state (be, like, own). The verb tense shows the time of the action or state. Aspect shows whether the action or state is completed or not. Voice is used to show relationships between the action and the people affected by it. Mood shows the attitude of the speaker about the verb, whether it is a declaration or an order. Verbs can be affected by person and number to show agreement with the subject. Auxillary verb !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Adverb: Most adverbs in English are formed by adding -ly to an Adjective. An adverb is a word that modifies the meaning of a Verb; an Adjective; another adverb; a Noun or Noun Phrase; Determiner; a Numeral; a Pronoun; or a Prepositional Phrase and can sometimes be used as a Complement of a Preposition. Adjective: An adjective modifies a noun. It describes the quality, state or action that a noun refers to. ADJECTIVE RULES: i) Adjectives can come before nouns e.g. a new car ii) Adjectives can come after verbs such as be, become, seem, look, etc. e.g. that car looks fast iii) They can be modified by adverbs e.g. a very expensive car iv) They can be used as complements to a noun e.g. the extras make the car expensive Preposition: A preposition is a word that links a noun, pronoun or gerund to other words. They can have a variety of meanings: Direction- He's going TO the shops Location- It's IN the box Time- He left AFTER the lesson had finished Possession- The Government OF Italy Some prepositional phrases can function like single word prepositions; next to, in front of, etc., called complex prepositions. A complex preposition is a group of words that functions as a single preposition e.g. IN FRONT OF Conjunctions: A conjunction is a word like AND, BUT, WHEN, OR, etc., which connects words, phrases or clauses. Interjection: An interjection is a word or short phrase used in speech to gain attention, to exclaim, protest or command. Interjections can be used to show emotion such as surprise or shock. Interjections are often found at the beginning of a sentence, especially in speech, and are commonly followed by an exclamation mark or a comma. Love Mike Re: Misunderstood terms by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 03:57 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. The Elements of Syntax Syntax is the study of the rules governing sentence structure, the way words work together to make up a sentence. Clause: A Clause is a part of a sentence that usually contains a Subject and a Verb. It is usually connected to the other part of the Sentence by a Conjunction. It is not a complete sentence on its own. Complement: A complement is the part of a Sentence that comes after the Verb and is needed to make the sentence complete. The following are the most important types of complement used in English: SUBJECT COMPLEMENT E.g. He's a surveyor. (The Subject is completed by the complement to the verb) OBJECT COMPLEMENT E.g. She sent him the fax. (The sentence is completed by telling us what she sent to him.) ADJECTIVAL COMPLEMENT E.g. They'll be happy. (The sentence is completed by the Adjective; this could be extended further, they'll be happy to see us, etc..) PREPOSITIONAL COMPLEMENT E.g. They talked about what needed doing. (The sentence is completed by the Phrase linked to the verb by the Preposition.) Modifier: A word, phrase, or clause that limits or qualifies the sense of another word or word group. Object: The object of a verb is created, affected or altered by the action of a verb, or appreciated or sensed by the subject of the verb. E.g. He wrote the book. ('book' is the object, created by the action of writing) E.g. I saw the film. ('film' is the object, sensed by the subject seeing it) Phrase: A phrase is a group of words that go together, but do not make a complete sentence. Predicate: A simple sentence can be divided into two parts; the subject and the predicate, which is the verb and any complement of the verb, which can include the object, adverbial,etc. Subject Predicate: E.g. She laughed. She wrote a book. Sentence: A sentence is a group of words beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full-stop, exclamation or question mark in written language, containing a main verb. Subject: The subject or of a sentence is the noun, pronoun or noun phrase that precedes and governs the main verb. E.g. He is a really nice guy. ('He' is the subject of the sentence, controlling the verb and the complement. E.g. My dog attacked the burglar. ('My dog' is the subject, controlling the verb and the rest of the sentence.) Love Mike Re: Misunderstood terms by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 03:58 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Punctuation Apostrophe: ' - Used to indicate possession 1) With nouns (plural and singular) not ending in an s add 's. e.g.the children's books, the people's parliament, a Mother's pride 2) With plural nouns ending in an s, add only the apostrophe. e.g. the guards' duties, the Nuns' habits, the Joneses' house 3) With singular nouns ending in an s, you can add either 's or an apostrophe alone. e.g. the witness's lie or the witness' lie (be consistent) Exception: ancient or religious names. e.g. Jesus' strength, Achilles' heel 4a) For common possession, only add 's to the last name. e.g. Janet and Jane's house 4b) Where possession is not common, add to each. e.g. Janet's and Jane's homes - Pronouns With the exception of one's, pronouns (its, his, hers) do not require an apostrophe. -To indicate contractions Where letters or numbers have been omitted. e.g. the summer of '69, the house wasn't at its best, that isn't the right way, it's not bad Asterisk: * A star-shaped figure (*) used chiefly to indicate an omission, a reference to a footnote, or an unattested word, sound, or affix. Comma: , Between a list of three or more words To replace the word and for all but the last instance. e.g. Up, down, left and right. Before a conjunction 1) When but or for are used. e.g. I did my best to protect the camp, but the bears were too aggressive. 2) When and or or are used the comma is optional. e.g. The flag is red, white, and blue. [known as the Oxford comma] The sizes are small, medium or large. To give additional information 1) To indicate contrast. e.g. The snake was brown, not green, and it was quite small. 2) Where the phrase could be in brackets. e.g. The recipe, which we hadn't tried before, is very easy to follow. 3) Where the phrase adds relevant information. e.g. Mr Hardy, 68, ran his first marathon five years ago. 4) Where the addition is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence. e.g. Mr Hardy, who enjoys bird watching, ran his first marathon five years ago. 5) Where the main clause of the sentence is dependent on the preceding clause. e.g. If at first you don't succeed, give up. e.g. Though the snake was small, I still feared for my life. For opening phrases, conjunctive verbs, etc. 1) Introductory or opening phrases. e.g. In general, sixty-eight is quite old to run a marathon. e.g. On the whole, snakes only attack when riled. 2) Conjunctive verbs. e.g. Unfortunately, the bear was already in a bad mood e.g. and, furthermore, pink wasn't its colour. 3) Following for example, that is, etc e.g. You should use commas, for example, around 'for example'. e.g. There are some exceptions: namely, when using abbreviations. Where a pause is required 1) To make the reading more natural. e.g. Whatever happens, don't panic. 2) To avoid confusion. e.g. To Margaret, Jenny left her favourite book. In address or quotation 1) When addressing someone by name. e.g. So, Murray, I'm sending you to Outer Mongolia. 2) When quoting direct speech. e.g. And then the boss said, "I'm sending you to Outer Mongolia." To indicate the omission of a word or phrase Use too much sugar and the mixture will be sweet, [use] too little and it will be sour. Colon: : Before a list, summary or quote 1) Before a list. e.g. I could only find three of the ingredients: sugar, flour and coconut. 2) Before a summary. e.g. To summarise: we found the camp, set up our tent and then the bears attacked. 3) Before a quote. e.g. As Jane Austen wrote: it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. to complete a statement of fact. Where the colon is used in place of the following or thus. e.g. There are only three kinds of people: the good, the bad and the ugly. Double quotation mark: " " Used for direct speech. e.g. Janet asked, "Why can't we go today?" Ellipsis: ... A punctuation mark (...) used most often within quotations to indicate that something has been left out. e.g. If we leave out parts of the above definition, it can read: “A punctuation mark (...) used most often ... to indicate... Dash: — For emphasis e.g. The book was great — a really good read. For explanation or addition In place of brackets or commas. e.g. The Colour Of Magic — the first of the series — was written in 1989. Em-dash: — The em dash (—), or m dash, m-rule, etc., often demarcates a parenthetical thought—like this one—or some similar interpolation. The em dash is used in much the way a colon or set of parentheses is used: it can show an abrupt change in thought or be used where a full stop (or "period") is too strong and a comma too weak. Em dashes are sometimes used in lists or definitions, but that is a style guide issue; a colon is often recommended for use instead. En-dash: – The en dash, or n dash, n-rule, etc., (–) is roughly the width of the letter n. It is half the size of an em dash. The en dash is used in ranges, such as 6–10 years, read as "six to ten years". Exclamation mark: ! Add emphasis to the statement by using an exclamation mark. e.g. I loved the play! Full-stop: . End all other sentences with a full stop. e.g. Here endth the lesson for today. Hyphen: - With some prefixes and suffixes 1) To avoid multiple letters. e.g. re-evaluate [reevaluate] 2) If the root word is capitalised. e.g. pre-Christmas, anti-European 3) With specific prefixes and suffixes. e.g. self-sacrificing, all-seeing, ex-wife, vice-chairman, president-elect 4) To avoid ambiguity or awkward pronunciation. e.g. un-ionised [unionised], re-read 5) Where a list of words each have the same prefix or suffix. e.g. pre- and post-recession, over- and under-weight To form compound words 1) For clarity. e.g. sit-in, stand-out, Mother-In-Law 2) In compound adjectives that modify what they precede. e.g. blue-chip company, devil-may-care attitude, up-to-the-minute news With fractions, numbers and initial letters 1) With fractions and numbers between 21 and 99. e.g. one-half, sixty-four, twenty-eight and three-quarters 2) Words that start with a capital letter e.g. X-ray, T-shirt, U-Turn Also used to divide words at the right hand margin. Parentheses: [ ] For additional information or explanation 1) To clarify or inform. e.g. Jamie's bike was red (bright red) with a yellow stripe. 2) For asides and comments e.g. The bear was pink (I kid you not). Use square brackets for editorial information, etc 1) To amend or supplement the given details e.g. His first book [The Colour Of Magic] was written in 1989. 2) To replace phrases for clarity or brevity e.g. [The treaty] decreed that no bear should be painted pink. Question Mark: ? End direct questions, requiring a response, with a question mark. e.g. May I borrow your copy of the book? What did you think of the play? Semi-colon: ; To link two separate sentences that are closely related e.g. The children came home today; they had been away for a week. In a list that already contains commas e.g. Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry; Babylon 5, by JMS; Buffy, by Joss Whedon; and Farscape, from the Henson Company. Single quotation mark: ' ' For quotes inside quotes, use single quotation marks. e.g. Billy said, "So then John told her 'I don't want to go today' and Janet cried." For words that are defined, that follow certain phrases or that have special meaning 1) Stating a definition. e.g. 'Buch' is German for book. 2) Following phrases such as entitled, marked and the term. e.g. The book was signed 'Terry Pratchett'. 3) Special meanings, noting inaccuracies or misnomers, etc. e.g. The 'free gift' actually cost us forty pounds. Love Mike Re: Misunderstood terms by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 04:31 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I love it! Very good work Mike. Now everyone, please use this material in your studies of Bhagavad-gītā and other scriptures. love, Baba Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti Part 2 by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 03:03 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the next group of terms: Term English Definition bhāva-bhakti devotional service in ecstasy Devotional service performed in bhāva (transcendental ecstasy) is called sādhya-bhāva. Practice of sādhana-bhakti gradually brings about the manifestation of bhāva-bhakti. The limbs of bhakti such as śravaṇa, kīrtana and so on that are performed in the stage of bhāva-bhakti, or in other words that are undertaken as byproducts or anubhāvas of bhāva-bhakti, are also known as bhāva-bhakti. prema pure love of Kṛṣṇa Prema is the mature or highly intensified condition of bhāva. Prema, pure love of Kṛṣṇa, is an eternally established reality; it is not brought about by sādhana. It always exists in the eternal associates (nitya-parikaras) of Bhagavān. This nitya-siddha-bhāva manifests itself from the Lord’s eternal associates into the heart of the purified jīva. It automatically manifests itself in the heart purified by the performance of the various limbs of bhakti such as śravaṇa, kīrtana and so on. śraddhā transcendental faith Firm, decisive faith that simply by performing bhakti unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa all obligations of this human form of life will be fulfilled is called śraddhā. Śraddhā implies firm belief in the meaning of the bhakti-śāstras such as Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Such transcendental faith appears by hearing the śāstras, the Vedic Esoteric Teaching. sādhu-saṅga association of devotees Upon the appearance of śraddhā, one again obtains sādhu-saṅga and, in the association of devotees, begins to receive instructions regarding the methods for executing bhajana. This sādhu-saṅga is not obtained coincidentally. It is the result of sukṛti, pious activities accumulated over many, many lifetimes. Sukṛti that gives rise to bhakti arises from contact with places such as a temple or holy place, holy times or days, or objects related to bhakti or sādhu-saṅga. When heaps and heaps of sukṛti that yields bhakti accumulate over countless lifetimes, bhakti makes its appearance through the via medium of sādhu-saṅga. bhajana worship of the Lord Performing the process of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master. Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. anartha-nivṛtti disappearance of unwanted things Anarthas (unwanted material qualities and activities) gradually disappear by constant engagement in bhajana in the association of devotees. This elimination of anarthas takes place in successive stages. niṣṭhā steadiness As one becomes progressively freed from anarthas he attains niṣṭhā or freedom from all distractions (vikṣepa). At this stage one-pointedness (ekāgratā) characterized by incessant striving in bhajana arises. See also āsakti. ruci taste A transcendental emotional state characterized by intense hankering for and deep enjoyment of bhajana. See also āsakti. āsakti attachment When ruci becomes very deep it is called āsakti. The difference between niṣṭhā and āsakti is that niṣṭhā involves application of the intelligence, whereas āsakti is spontaneous. In the stage of niṣṭhā, even if the mind is not attracted, by one’s intelligence one remains devoted to the performance of bhajana. However, when one comes to the stage of āsakti, he has no more dependence on any kind of reasoning by the faculty of the intelligence. At that stage he is deeply immersed in the spontaneous performance of bhajana. After the stage of āsakti, bhāva makes its appearance. anartha unwanted material qualities Anarthas are of four kinds: (1) svarūpa-bhrama (illusion about spiritual identity), (2) asat-tṛṣṇā (thirst for that which is unreal; that is, material enjoyment), (3) aparādha (offenses) and (4) hṛdaya-daurbalya (weakness of heart). There are four additional varieties of anartha: (1) duṣkṛti-uttha (arising from past sins), (2) sukṛti-uttha (arising from previous pious activities), (3) aparādha-uttha (arising from offenses) and (4) bhakti-uttha (arising in relation to bhakti). svarūpa-bhrama illusion about spiritual identity Svarūpa-bhrama is of four kinds: (1) sva-tattva- or jīva-svarūpa-bhrama (illusion about one’s own spiritual identity), (2) paratattva-bhrama (illusion about the spiritual identity of the supreme absolute truth), (3) sādhya-sādhana-tattva-bhrama (illusion about sādhana-bhakti, the means of spiritual perfection, and sādhya, the object to be obtained by such sādhana, or in other words prema-bhakti) and (4) māyā-tattva-bhrama (illusion about the Lord’s external energy, māyā). asat-tṛṣṇā thirst for material enjoyment Asat-tṛṣṇā is of four types: (1) varieties of desires for material enjoyment in this world, (2) desires for enjoyment in the higher planetary systems of Svargaloka, (3) desires for the attainment of the eight mystic siddhis and the riches of Kuvera and (4) the desire for mukti. aparādha offenses Aparādha is of four kinds: (1) offenses towards Śrī Kṛṣṇa, (2) offenses towards kṛṣṇa-nāma, (3) offenses towards Kṛṣṇa-svarūpa (the deity form of the Lord) and (4) offenses towards the tadīya-cit-kaṇa-jīvas (living entities who are infinitesimal particles of spirit belonging to the Lord). hṛdaya-daurbalya weakness of heart Hṛdaya-daurbalya is of four kinds: (1) tuccha-āsakti (attachment for useless things), (2) kūṭī-nāṭī (deceitful behavior, doing wicked deeds or doing that which is forbidden), (3) mātsarya (envy) and (4) sva-pratiṣṭhā-lālasā (desire for one’s own fame and prestige). duṣkṛti-uttha arising from past sins Duṣkṛti-uttha anarthas arising from past sinful activities refer to five types of kleśa or distress, which are (i) avidyā (ignorance or forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa), (ii) asmitā (the false egoism arising from the conceptions of “I” and “mine” in relation to the material body), (iii) rāga (attachment for the objects of sense gratification), (iv) dveṣa (hatred or aversion to unpleasant, disagreeable or adverse situations) and (v) dur-abhiniveśa (attachment for or absorption in sinful activities). sukṛti-uttha arising from previous pious activities Anarthas caused by various kinds of material enjoyment arising from the pious activities of one’s previous birth. aparādha-uttha arising from offenses Anarthas caused by suffering arising from nāmāparādha and other types of offenses. bhakti-uttha arising in relation to bhakti Anarthas caused by desires for lābha (material gain), pūja (worship) and pratiṣṭhā (prestige) arising from the performance of sakāma-bhakti or sopādhika-bhakti (conditional devotional service) love, Baba Temple Flythrough Video by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 08:39 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is a nice video rendered by Kānāi Prabhu of the preliminary design for the temple in our rural farm community in Chile. Watch it on YouTube. love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 18 by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 16 December 2008, 06:15 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The next part: Chapter eighteen BLESSINGS OF THE SALIGRAM Lord Hari continued... "As for Me, by your curse, I will become a stone and remain close to the bank of the Gandaki River. Millions of Vajrakita worms, with their sharp teeth, will make convolutions or rings in the stones there, representing Me. These will be known as Saligrams or sacred stones. "Those stones which have one entrance hole, four rings, are marked with a garland of wild flowers, and look like a fresh rain cloud, will be known as Laksmi-Narayana murtis or forms. "Those stones that have one entrance hole, four rings, look like fresh rain clouds but have no garland mark will be called Laksmi-Janardana chakras. "Those that have two entrance holes, four rings, are impressed with the marks of cow-hooves but have no garland mark, will be called Raghunatha chakras. "Those that are very small, have two rings, look like fresh rain clouds but have no garland mark will be called Vamana chakras. They shall be auspicious to householders. "Those stones that are very small, have two rings and a garland mark will be called Sridhara chakras. They will bring prosperity to householders. "Those stones that are large, circular, have two rings but no garland mark will be known as Damodara chakras. "Those that are medium-large, have two rings, have the marks of arrows and quivers will be known as Rana-rama chakras. "Those that are medium-sized, have seven rings, and have the marks of an umbrella and ornaments will be called Rajarajesvaras (king of kings) chakra, and give royal prosperity to the people. "Those that are large, have fourteen wheels, look like fresh rain clouds will be called Ananta chakras. They will bestow the fourfold fruits--artha, kama, dharma and moksa (wealth, pleasure, righteousness and liberation). "Those that are spherical, beautiful, medium-large, have two rings, look like rain clouds, and are marked with cow hooves will be called Madhusudana chakras. "Those that have one ring will be called Sudarsana chakras. "Those that have their rings hidden will be called Gadadhara chakras. "Those that have two rings and the face of a horse will be called Hayagrivas. "Those that have two rings, their mouths very wide and extended, and look very terrifying will be called Narasimhas. They will bestow detachment on their worshipers. "Those that have two rings, extended mouths and garland marks (elliptical) will be called Laksmi Narasimhas. They will bestow blessings on the householders who worship them. "Those that have, near their doors, two rings that are of equal size and beautiful, with manifested marks, will be known as Vasudevas. They will fulfill all desires. "Those that have a thin ring, look like fresh rain clouds, and have many fine holes within their wide gaping facets will be called Pradyumnas. They will give happiness to all householders. "Those whose rings are united and whose backs are capacious will be called Sankarsanas. They will always bestow happiness to householders. "Those that look yellow, round and very beautiful will be known as Aniruddhas. They also will give happiness to householders. "Wherever there are Saligrama stones, Lord Hari Himself exists. And wherever Lord Hari is, Goddess Laksmi and all the holy places also exist. "By worshiping the Saligrama sila (stone), one destroys the sin of having killed a brahmana and any other type of sin. "By worshiping Saligrama stones of the following shapes, the following effects take place: "If the stone looks like an umbrella, one may obtain a kingdom. "If the stone looks round, great prosperity. "If it is cart-shaped, miseries. "If its ends are spear-shaped, death. "If its facets are distorted, poverty. "If it is yellow, evils and afflictions. "If its rings look broken, diseases. "If its rings are split into fragments, certain death. "If one observes vows, offers gifts, consecrates a temple, performs sraddha or funeral ceremonies, or worships the demigods before the Saligrama sila--all these acts become highly exalted. "If one worships the Saligrama sila, one acquires the merits of bathing in all the tirthas (holy rivers) and being initiated into all the Vedic sacrifices. "Furthermore, one acquires all the merits acquired by performing all the Vedic sacrifices by visiting all the holy places, by fulfilling vows, by practicing all austerities and by reading all the Vedas. "Whoever performs his abhiseka (bathing) ceremony always with Salagrama water--being sprinkled with this water at the initiation and installation ceremonies--acquires the spiritual merits gained by offering all sorts of gifts and walking around the entire earth. "Without a doubt, the demigods are pleased with the person who daily worships the Salagrama sila. He becomes so holy that even all the holy places desire his touch. He becomes a jivanmukta (liberated while in his physical body) and very godly. Ultimately he goes to Vaikuntha and serves Lord Hari there eternally. Any sin, such as the killing of a brahmana, flies away from him just as snakes flee at the sight of Garuda (Lord Visnu's eagle carrier). The earth is consecrated by the dust of his feet. By his birth, he redeems one hundred thousand of his ancestors. "Anyone who, while dying, drinks the Salagrama sila water, will be freed from all his sins and go to Vaikuntha. He becomes completely freed from the effects of karma (material action and reaction) and, without a doubt, becomes forever absorbed in the vision of Lord Visnu's feet. "Anyone who lies while holding the Saligrama in his hands goes to Kumbhipaka hell for as long as Lord Brahma is alive (311 trillion and 40 billion earth years). "If one breaks his promise while holding the Saligram in his hand, he goes to the Asipatra hell for one hundred thousand manvantaras. "He who worships the Saligram sila without offering Tulasi leaves on it, or who separates the leaves from the stone, will have to suffer separation from his wife in his next birth. "And if one does not offer the Tulasi leaves in a conch, he remains without his wife for seven births and becomes diseased. "He who maintains the Saligrama sila, the Tulasi, and the conch in one place, becomes very dear to Lord Narayana. "It is painful for a person to separate from his beloved, whose company he once enjoyed. You were the dearmost of Sankhacuda for one manvantara, so it is now very difficult for you to separate from him. love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 16 by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 08:03 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! OK here's the next chapter: Chapter sixteen TULASI CURSES LORD VISNU Meanwhile, at the palace, Tulasi Devi was still lying on the bed with Lord Visnu, who was still disguised as Sankhacuda. She suddenly realized that there was a distinct difference in the way her husband had expressed his affection to her in the past from the way he had just expressed it. This made her suspicious, and she began to wonder whether the man with whom she had just been intimate was really her husband. Then, not feeling the same happiness, affection and attraction, she looked at him distrustfully and said, "You're--you're not--" Realizing in the core of her heart that He was not her husband, she asked, "Who--who are you?" Tulasi Devi became angry. "Yes, who are you? I want to know immediately. For I know you have deceived me to enjoy me! You have outraged my modesty! For this I shall curse you!" Lord Visnu then assumed His own true beautiful form. Tulasi saw the Lord of the demigods before her. His complexion was deep blue, like fresh rain clouds, His eyes were like autumnal lotuses, and He was decked with jewels and ornaments. His smiling face looked very gracious, and He wore a yellow robe. Seeing Vasudeva's handsome form, Tulasi fainted. A few moments later she regained consciousness and said, "O Lord, you are like a stone! You are merciless! You violated my chastity by deception. And by this means you have killed my husband. O Lord, you are merciless! Yes, Your heart is like a stone. Therefore, I curse you to become a stone. Those who call you holy are doubtlessly wrong. Your devotee committed no offense and yet, for the sake of others, You killed him! Why?" Overpowered with grief and sadness, Tulasi cried loudly and repeatedly lamented. Seeing her so upset, Narayana, who is an ocean of mercy, tried to console her according to dharmic rules. He said, "O exalted one, you performed austerities for a long time to get Me as your husband. And Sankhacuda also performed austerities for a long time to get you as his wife. By that austerity, he fulfilled his wish. It was then necessary for Me to fulfill your wish. For this reason, I did what I did. Now leave your earthly body and assume a spiritual body--and be married to Me. Be like Laksmi. Your body will become a famous river known as Gandaki, a virtuous, pure and transparent river in this holy land of India. Your hairs will be transformed into holy trees; and since the trees will be born of you, they will be known as Tulasi trees. All the residents of the three worlds will perform worship with the leaves and flowers of this tree. Thus, you, Tulasi, will reign as the best among trees and flowers." love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 16 by Kānāi Dāsa - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 08:15 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Oh!! we got to get some Tulasi for the ashram, I miss her. Love Kanai. Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 16 by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 08:45 PM Dear Kānāi, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You're right, I'll order some seeds tonight. I can't believe that we left our collection of seeds behind in Catemaco. Duh... love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 16 by Kānāi Dāsa - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 09:02 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Love Kanai. Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 16 by manomani mano,mani - Monday, 15 December 2008, 10:12 PM Thank you Baba, now I come to know how this plant tulsi came about and my reverence and awareness of its advent is made possible thru you. Ananda manohari Lean and Mean by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 15 December 2008, 08:34 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I occasionally read business sites and blogs for management pointers. Since I am actually an artist by temperament, I have no real taste or talent for management. Since I am well aware of this, I am trying to educate myself in management principles and structure our community so that management decisions are made by consensus. That way, our community will go on, with me or without me. Anyway, today I was reading this: ...a Ford Motor Company employee drove today from Cadillac, Michigan to Louisville, Kentucky for a one-hour meeting on Monday morning, following which he will drive back to Michigan. That’s a 1000 mile round trip drive taking about 15 hours, maybe 40 gallons of gas, and $110 overnight motel charge, all for a one-hour meeting. This is the same Ford Motor Company presently asking taxpayers for a bazillion dollars to save their pitiful finances. Hello? Has the Ford Motor Company not heard of telephones? Or, dimdim.com? Ford is now on the verge of bankruptcy, and maybe that is why: they have been so fat for so long, they have created a corporate culture of wastefulness. Of course there was no need for a guy to drive overnight for a one-hour meeting. But it got him out of the office, away from home and it's allowed under his expense account rules, so why not? Why not? For the same reason that it's a waste of money having rock-star so-called gurus flying around the world, putting on elaborate shows at ISKCON centers, initiating disciples, taking donations and then leaving town. Their poor disciples have no way to personally interact with their 'guru' except in the most formal, scripted ways. He cannot act as guru, because he is inaccessible. The prospective disciple has no way to test his future guru, and must accept him totally on faith. “It is advisable, therefore, that before accepting a spiritual master one should carefully choose the right person. The spiritual master must be a pure devotee of the Lord. The scriptures recommend that both the spiritual master and the disciple place each other under strict scrutiny before mutual acceptance. This precludes the kula-guru or traditional family guru. Of course, if the kula-guru is qualified, it is of immediate convenience to accept him; but in the case that he is not saintly, a pure devotee should be searched out and taken as the spiritual master. Since even ordinary household items are tested before acquisition, it is only an unfortunate fool who will fail to go through a testing period in the selection of his true spiritual master, who is the best friend of the living entities. The unqualified kula-guru should be offered due respect and devotion and, after begging permission to leave him, a person must seek a qualified spiritual master. The point is that one must not bring upon himself the calamity of having to reject his spiritual master. If one is prudent, he can avoid such a situation. One must watchfully avoid committing any offenses against a pure devotee guru. This is disastrous and will ruin both men and demigods alike." [Śrī Harināma Cintāmaṇi, 6] There is little difference between a kula-guru or traditional family guru, and an organizational guru. They are both selected on the basis of material considerations instead of real transcendental qualifications. As I pointed out in yesterday's Satsang, they do not know and cannot explain the meaning of consciousness, yet they claim to be able to initiate people into 'Kṛṣṇa consciousness.' But it has become an organizational cultural standard that since Śrīla Prabhupāda flew all around the world, his so-called successors must do the same, regardless of whether it is a waste of valuable funds, energy and time that could be applied better elsewhere. This pactice also leads to their disciples rejecting their institutional gurus, and often also Kṛṣṇa consciousness, feeling that they were cheated. This is another example of the same corporate culture of waste that is sinking the big car companies. It benefits no one except the big false egos of the corporate 'gurus.' We cannot afford such waste, because we operate on the slimmest of budgets; therefore, we have been forced to innovate and find cheaper alternatives from the very beginning. For example, last year we used WebEx for Sunday Satsangs and online meetings, but it was over US$100 per month; now we use dimdim.com, Google Video Chat and Skype, which are free. Sometimes I wonder whether pulling up our roots in Mexico and moving to Chile was a wise move; but it was the consensus of the group, and here we are. So without a good reason to move again, here we stay. Even if our investment research program is wildly successful (and it looks like it will be), there is no reason to change our frugal ways. Śrīla Prabhupāda was famous as a transcendental penny-pincher; even when there was lots of money, he was very careful about how it was spent. This parsimony is a natural quality of one who knows that all energy, including money, belongs to Kṛṣṇa and should be used for His pleasure. So our community will always stay lean and mean. love, Baba Re: Lean and Mean by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 15 December 2008, 04:40 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Another point regarding management is that we like being small. Small teams have certain advantages in the Internet age: But in the late twentieth century something changed. It turned out that economies of scale were not the only force at work. Particularly in technology, the increase in speed one could get from smaller groups started to trump the advantages of size. Instead of being dominated by a few, giant tree-structured organizations, it's now looking like the economy of the future will be a fluid network of smaller, independent units. It's not so much that large organizations stopped working. There's no evidence that famously successful organizations like the Roman army or the British East India Company were any less afflicted by protocol and politics than organizations of the same size today. But they were competing against opponents who couldn't change the rules on the fly by discovering new technology. Now it turns out the rule "large and disciplined organizations win" needs to have a qualification appended: "at games that change slowly." No one knew till change reached a sufficient speed. Large organizations will start to do worse now, though, because for the first time in history they're no longer getting the best people. An ambitious kid graduating from college now doesn't want to work for a big company. They want to work for the hot startup that's rapidly growing into one. If they're really ambitious, they want to start it. [Paul Graham, The High-Res Society] I go looking for management tips from people like Paul, Kevin Kelly and Seth Godin who specialize in advising small, high-tech Internet-based software and marketing startups—because that's basically what we are. For example, one of Kevin Kelly's essays started me thinking about how one of our most important products is trust. This led to consciously thinking about how people perceive us in terms of trust, and how to reinforce their perceptions of us as trustworthy. Similarly, Paulk Graham is an erudite essayist whose work I enjoy both because of its solid startup management tips and also because he writes very well. Seth Godin is one of the premiere web marketers, and his work helped us develop our community-building program. I don't know where we'd be without this good advice; certainly not as far along as we are today. Anyway, the point here is that in our particular line, being small is very advantageous. We can run rings around any big organization in terms of responding to the changing needs of our public. Materialistic society is always changing, but the Absolute Truth is eternally the same. Our job is to construct a bridge that connects where people are today with the Vedic philsophia perennis. One of our important principles is always to keep our team small and agile. Even if you become successful, find a way to split up large groups into small, intimate ones. Don't grow big and fat and become a dinosaur. love, Baba 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 08:09 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Our YouTube channel is generating some surprising statistics. It is likely we will have 400,000 video views, 20,000 channel views and 1,000 subscribers by the end of 2008. Currently we are getting about 700 views a day by 400 unique users: So we will hit 400K within a matter of days. Subscribers are harder to predict, but we are getting about 10 new subscribers a day. If that rate holds, then we will be over 1,000 by year's end. These stats are encouraging, but I still wonder why so few get serious about becoming devotees. Any ideas? love, Baba Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 05:20 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! It is probally hard for a self-realised soul to consider but most people do not even realise that they are conscious! They are listening but can not hear, watching but can not see. Only the most fortunate can become devotees, most have accumulated much sin, it is not possible to see and hear with such dirty ears and clouded eyes. sarva-guhyatamaṁ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṁ vacaḥ iṣṭo ’si me dṛḍham iti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam "Because you are My very dear friend, I am speaking to you the most confidential part of knowledge. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit." [Bhagavad Gita 18.64] PURPORT The Lord has given Arjuna confidential knowledge of the Supersoul within everyone’s heart, and now He is giving the most confidential part of this knowledge: just surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the end of the Ninth Chapter He has said, “Just always think of Me.” The same instruction is repeated here to stress the essence of the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā. This essence is not understood by a common man, but by one who is actually very dear to Kṛṣṇa, a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. This is the most important instruction in all Vedic literature. What Kṛṣṇa is saying in this connection is the most essential part of knowledge, and it should be carried out not only by Arjuna but by all living entities. Love, Keiju Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Michael Jones - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 07:45 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. I think for a lot of people it takes time. I realize time is running out, but from many people's perspective, especially those who are new to these things, time is not running out as fast as it actually is. Personally I found the podcasts around April and started visiting the site more often (nearly daily) in June. Even then, I did not post so much and took it very slowly adding new practices into my life. It is quite a life changing process and not something anybody wants to rush. What makes it especially harder is the huge difference to the ontology we have been conditioned to. For example, I needed much explanation and contemplation as to why I'd give up sex life. I had been taught that it was normal, I even did a course on Human Sexuality that promoted sex life. Although I now am happier without it, it did take much time to get to that point. I think that although these people are visiting, they are still trying to incorporate the practices into their daily lives and change their ontology. This takes some time. Even though I was convinced in July that I wanted to serve God to the best of my ability in all aspects of my life, I was still unsure whether that meant becoming a devotee in an organization or whether I could do it in the association I already had. It took much trial and error before I realized I needed cut out the negative association I had. Finishing Bhagavad-gita helped a lot in making the firm decision that I wanted to be a devotee but I am guessing a lot of people haven't gotten that far yet. Similarly, even those who are serious about pleasing Krsna, people have to trust that you really are leading them right/ representing Krsna, just like you have to trust anyone you let into the group. It took me quite a bit of time to come to that point. It wasn't that you seem untrustworthy, but as with anything on the internet, much time is needed to build that. Especially for those who know nothing about Vedic culture in the first place. The same build up of trust was needed before I fully accepted Prabhupada's books. I now realize Prabhupada was one of the greatest devotees ever. When I first came into contact with him, he was just another Indian spiritual teacher and I wasn't trusting his word more than anyone elses. I needed to get deep into the books/history of the teaching before I came to that point. Now looking back I realize how much of a fool I was. If people are sincere, they will get to know you. They will read the forum posts, watch old Satsangs, watch your other videos, etc, and then realize that you are trustworthy and that you are a bonafide spiritual master. Then, in my opinion, they will get to the point where they are ready to get serious about becoming devotees. Hopefully that time is not too far away. Love Mike Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 08:00 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for your observations. Yes, building trust takes time and there is really no shortcut there. The same with changing one's ontological orientation. But from where I sit, once you accept the basic concept that you are a spiritual being, everything follows from there. The thing is, people have been trained by modern education to accept and hold contradictory ideas in their mind, even though they are disharmonious and agitating. So they don't see that accepting the spiritual platform makes it necessary, for example, to eliminate meat-eating and sex life. This can lead to all kinds of nonsensical behavior that hurts, even nullifies their spiritual progress. Even after accepting the spiritual platform, I had to work hard for many years to eliminate the disharmonious, contradictory thoughts from my mind. But the resulting inner harmony and intellectual integrity I achieved is well worth the struggle. We need the guidance of self-realized souls like Śrīla Prabhupāda. Otherwise, how can we understand the real result of spiritual practice? Only by his example have we seen the actual standard of self-realization, and understood how much work we need to do on ourselves. The thing is, we are putting out so much information but generally not getting detailed reports back. Students like you are the exception rather than the rule. So a lot of the time it's difficult to gauge the actual effects of our work. It sometimes seems that we are "whistling in the dark." So it is very good to hear that you are getting help and encouragement from our hard work. love, Baba Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 08:20 AM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, it's hard for me to imagine not being conscious of consciousness. Impossible, actually. People are like animals, caught in a network of sensual impressions and activities. "Conditioned human beings are expert at dealing with this material body and mind. These gross materialists, who cannot see beyond materialistic activities, find it impossible to believe that besides our material universe, a spiritual universe exists. Completely identifying with the body, such materialists are like animals, simply eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. They are so captivated by these four animalistic propensities that they lose the power to discriminate between sinful and pious activities. They tirelessly endeavor for a little sense gratification, but all their efforts end in futility. Many modern scientists have taken up the role of priests facilitating such gross activities, which are unbeneficial and fatal. These scientists have made available a variety of products meant simply to titillate the senses, thus creating a deadly competitive mood among the materialists, which has in turn caused an obnoxious atmosphere in society. People think they become free and independent through such sensual activities, but factually they become more tightly bound up in chains. The greater their accumulated wealth, the greater their anxiety and depravity. As much as they try to usurp the Supreme Lord's position of being the only enjoyer, that much and more are they drawn into the jaws of a horrible death. And these activities make a Herculean task out of such a simple and basic activity as sustaining the body, which needs a little nourishment only." [Renunciation Through Wisdom, 17] The so-called freedom in the material world is only a choice of which style of sense enjoyment one pursues. The scientists and corporations have created a whole universe of useless products for sense gratification, and a flood of glittering advertisements to sell them to stupid people, but none of their hard work has advanced their consciousness one inch. They may have so much money and power but they cannot understand even the simplest thing about the soul. Meanwhile, the devotees really know the constitution and position of the living entity, the nature and power of God, and are doing their best to convince others to take up the path of spiritual life, but very few people are listening. That is definite proof of the aberrating and delusive influence of material culture. People are so caught up in material sense gratification that they have no time for, or interest in the message of Godhead and the self-realized souls, which is meant for their eternal benefit. love, Baba Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Michael Jones - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 03:10 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. You're welcome, I am sorry for not providing feedback before. I didn't really think about the fact that from where you are sitting it seems like we are frozen. You certainly aren't whistling in the dark. I don't know where I'd mentally/spiritually be right now if I hadn't been directed to you. Your work is amazing and I find the more I read/listen, the more confidence I gain in the teaching. Whenever I am going through a struggle, if I watch a Satsang I'll have some light provided and the darshans were the the best part of my summer. Great MP3 material. Thanks for all your hard work and I'm sure more people will soon start confirming the encouragement you are providing them in their spiritual lives, especially with those youtube figures. Love Mike Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 04:35 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, we need the feedback. I mean, we think what we are putting out is great stuff and will help people, but sometimes it's good to hear from someone like yourself that you're getting excited about it and it is really doing people some good. When you think about it, you can read these same books and find similar thoughts in many places online; the unique value we are providing is a framework for spiritual relationships of trust. We are real people, engaged in a radical transformation of transcendental consciousness. We are experiencing incredibly wonderful effects from this teaching and want to share it, but we also know that there are many people posing as devotees for political, financial and who-knows-what other reasons. So by exposing our everyday thoughts and activities through video, audio and numerous forum posts, we want to build a relationship of trust: that these media reflect the way we really are; that we are not acting, this is really how we live our lives; we're not trying to make a buck off you, we're trying to learn to trade futures so we don't have be dependent on donations; we don't get off on the guru act, or bossing people around, so we are committed to consensus management. A lot of what we do and how we do it is based on the idea of building trust: trust that you won't be exploited, trust that we are giving the real Vedic tradition in a world full of bogus copies, trust that this community won't turn out to be a bust like so many others but will provide an enduring source of spiritual value to the participants. For us to stay motivated, that relationship of trust has to be bidirectional: we need to have confidence that people are taking our work more or less in the same way that we intend it, that they appreciate our efforts, that they are making progress and experiencing the results of this Esoteric Teaching. So we need regular communication from you, just as you need regular communication from us to stay motivated. How are you doing? How are we doing? This spiritual community is a two-way street. Talk to us. love, Baba Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 05:46 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Inspiration hit me while cutting the veggies yesterday and this thread seem like the best place to put it. The Voice from the Light I was looking for answers, didn't know where to go. I was Looking for answers, couldn't enjoy the show. People they told me not to waste my time, just have an other glass of this red ruby wine. The years they come and the years they go, but the questions still haunt me, What truths don't I know? Keep all distractions and the mind engaged, and bury the questions along with the grave. But I needed the answers and the problems solved, but no one was sharing, I was alone. So much darkness, I needed some light, like a blind man fighting, What's wrong? What's right? Through the cold pouring rain, I heard a voice for the pain. The love that it carried darkness could not remain. All questions were answered, all doubt was pushed out. Like a bolt of pure light, I regained all my sight. Those who now see and know what is right, we sing out the glories of the voice from the light. Babaji you saved us, you took us all in, now we offer obeisance and will follow, thick or thin. End. Every now and then I get a reality check of where I am and what I'm doing and it's the most amazing feeling. I am actually living. It is a wonderful feeling. The Words "Thank you" are not enough to express my feelings. If I wasn't here I shudder the think where I'd be. With over brimming Love Kānāi Dāsa Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 07:22 PM Dear Kānāi, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you, this is very nice. Yes, spiritual inspiration is independent of everything material. It also comes with its own energy, so we can act on it. This spiritual love will actually sustain us, because we are spiritual beings. We need the spiritual nourishment of Absolute Truth, then we can be strong and happy. So we see that when we are properly engaged in spiritual service, then happiness, knowledge and all other good things come automatically. When the spiritual master sees that his disciples are happy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he is happy. This transcendental happiness is the real result of cultivating the Esoteric Teaching. love, Baba Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Michael Jones - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 11:39 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. I'm sorry for not providing more feedback up until now. In both school and Uni I was always the type of learner who would sit in the back and got more when I went over the stuff outside of the classroom context. Although I learn better that way, unfortunately it meant that I didn't provide feedback/was not so vocal during class. I never made comments in class, not due to shyness, but more because I didn't want to talk on something I hadn't grasped (and usually didn't until I had gone over the stuff myself outside the classroom). It is now tough trying to put into practice the providing of the feedback which is needed in this type of relationship: i.e. Guru - Student. Although I get so much from this teaching, and have come a long way from when I started, I realize that you can't know that unless I provide this feedback. I guess in my rascal mind I presume it is just me being proud of my progress if I post it for everyone to see. Further, I have developed so much confidence in this teaching, both yours and Prabhupada's material, that even if I have a question and it hasn't already been answered, I have faith that the answer will be revealed in due time with continuing studies. I have felt that I would be wasting your time to post things without giving time for the answer to be revealed, especially due to my neophyte status. I know that this is a problem with my ontology (the western school system doesn't help) and so it is something I will work on. As I say, this has always been the way I have learnt and I have not taken into account that this is more than a teacher-student relationship. I will try to provide more feedback, whether through the forums or email. To give you an update on the progress though: -I have been chanting 16 rounds everyday since Rama Ekadasi (24th October). If I missed some one day, I made them up the next. My chanting has varied in that some days I can be reallly concentrated but I do have some rounds where the mind wanders. - Since Rama Ekadasi (actually a week or two before) I have fallen down just once in the problem I mentioned before. I feel it was Krsna showing me that it really wasn't worth falling down over and to show me for the next time my mind had those thoughts that it is best to direct the attention elsewhere with the tips you gave me. It was not even a temporary satisfaction. - Apart from that I have been quite steady in the principles for a few months. - I have been listening to Sri Visnusahasranama on most days for the last 3 months. I started trying to chant it myself about a month ago and so most days I either chant along with you or by myself. There are a few slokas I need to practice more (can be tongue-twisting) but overall I can pronounce it inline with your recording. -Most typical days go like this (though there are variations sometimes): -I try to get up at about 5 (though I do have days where I get up later). I listen to Prabhupada's morning program and sometimes chant along (using the mantras on causlessmercy). Then I'll do some yoga/the Surya Namaskar. Then I'll shower. I'll chant 16 rounds and then offer my breakfast. During and after Prasadam I will read Srimad Bhagavatam. Then I will have a quick check of emails/etc and start my uni work. At about 2ish I'll make Krsna's main meal and read some more Bhagavatam. Then I'll do some more uni work before checking the forums (I have a quick read in the mornings too sometimes). Then at about 5/6 I will offer incense and chant Sri Visnusahasranama. Some nights I will read, some I will go for a walk, and some I will just try breathing meditation (in front of pictures of Krsna of course). Then I will practice Mrdanga and either read before bed or go straight to sleep (with some spiritual music on in the background). -Sometimes things will be added/taken away but most days go along those lines. - Internally I feel less agitated and the time my mind plays up is usually when I have been doing something outside of my normal routine/I go to bed later than usual and so am tired. For the most part though I feel pretty good though and even though the only person I speak to regularly is my mum, I don't really feel lonely. I hope this feedback was appropriate here and as I say I will try to keep you updated more. You have been a great teacher and I would not be on this path if it wasn't for you. When I first started this in April/May, I smoked pot most days, sex was a normal thing, and although I believed in God I wasn't so sure there was a path by which one could come to him. Chanting one round was effort, and my devotional service literally consisted of one round and listening to a podcast in the night and in the morning. Thank you for watering this seed, I thought I was dried up like the desert earth. Love Mike Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Michael Jones - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 11:42 AM Dear Kānāi, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. You told me you couldn't rhyme. That is beautiful. Thanks for sharing your feelings toward Babaji in lyrical form. Love Mike Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 12:43 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well you certainly have made some nice progress! That's right, how can I advise you if I don't know how you're doing? Here in the āśram I get to see everyone multiple times during the day, so I can always get a feel for how they're doing. You might be surprised, though, how much time we spend alone in our rooms, working on our various projects. It's not like I hover over everyone's shoulder micromanaging them. I have too much of my own stuff to do! Anyway, if you just maintain this standard for some time, you will become very strong. According to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, personal salvation is relatively easy to attain. The really high levels are pure devotional service, Kṛṣṇa-prema and most difficult of all, helping others to become devotees, sometimes known as preaching. love, Baba Made it! by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 03:41 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We made it! Thanks to all. love, Baba Re: Made it! by Neville Clemens - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 04:23 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! This is great to hear! I also only just noticed the number of subscribers - 930! And that's up from 923 just a few days ago. So there's 930 people (and counting!) out there who are taking these videos seriously enough to subscribe to them, that want to be kept in the loop on things. I also only recently realized that there are quite a few people who view the satsang recordings on youtube! So the net has been cast far and wide. As Uddhava says, there will probably be a tipping point soon. I would think that there will be some kind of event that tips things over, after which all these hundreds of people will stop treating this as a hobby and get serious about it. Love, Neville Re: Made it! by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 04:50 PM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The views are up to 400,084 already and the subscribers to 931. The more views and subscribers we get, the more visible our channel becomes in searches. So it tends to snowball. Of course, it also helps that we have 250 videos about a very diverse set of topics. Yes, we have the same feeling of a tipping point. I think any serious problem, especially in the US, would push a lot of people into giving up their mood as spectator and getting serious about doing something. I hate to say it, but the worse the economic situation gets, the better for us in the sense that more people will be moved to act. Any real disaster such as an earthquake would really get people moving. People have been trained up as spectators, even of their own lives. They think that everything will ultimately be OK. Maybe this comes from Hollywood movies where the good guy always wins. But real life runs according to Kṛṣṇa's rules, not Hollywood's. love, Baba Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Steven Lawrence - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 07:22 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. I have to thank you for being so intuitive with your questions to us. How do you know what is going on in our lives unless we tell you? I think we feel that since we watch you on video that somehow you were there too! I have to agree with Mike's sentiment regarding our progression into serious devotees. It is much like a snake shedding it's skin; It cannot be rushed. For me, I have been having more difficulty with my rational mind. I was raised in a Protestant church most of my life and married a youth pastor. Before that marriage ended I had no question that Jesus was the Way the Truth and the Life. There was no other way to Heaven but through Him. Now, some years later, all that has been turned on it's head and so many years of conditioning are not easy to change. It is through your knowledge of Jesus' place in the whole of God's plan that has brought me to begin to be open to this Esoteric Teaching. It's a heavy conditioning that I've been through and really, it hasn't been a serious problem until now. It's not until you seriously start thinking about death that you begin to worry about what you believe. At least this is true for me. So I ask myself, do I really believe that God is a bluish person named Krsna? Not yet. So much resonates for me in the teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam, but honestly it's the same problem I had with the stories in the Bible; did they really happen? I completely agree with the teachings and wisdom but it's the characters I have a hard time believing existed. They don't match my current paradigm. Hopefully this is appropriate questioning in this forum as I am aware of your strict rules. I am not testing religions or faith here, I am just being as honest as I can be in giving you feedback. So where am I at now? Completely vegetarian for the past year and everything eaten is offered. Chanting is almost non-existant but amazing when it happens. Sex life is still there although no intoxication and no gambling. I watch many of the videos here and resonate with the teachings. My hope is that I can move past my blocks with faith and belief. I am a Virgo in every sense of the word and am almost completely analytical. This has been a bane in my life but it is what it is. Any guidence would be immensely appreciated and I hope I didn't offend or break any of the rules for posting here. Steven Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 07:56 PM Dear Steven, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Good to hear from you; you have been one of the quiet ones in the back of the room that I knew were there, but rarely hear anything from. Regarding the integrity of the Vedic disciplic succession, if you do an ontological and epistemological analysis of the Bible versus the Vedas, the results are completely different. I found out about the edits made by Emperor Constantine to the Bible and the incorporation of Aristotelian philosophy in the theology of the Church in the library of a Catholic Seminary. It's no secret, it's clearly mentioned in all the better histories of the Catholic Church. Then there is the checkered history of the Popes, who are supposed to be apostolic successors but are elected by committee, and many have been politically involved, even alcoholics and homosexuals. Somehow the Christians rationalize all this nonsense because they think they have no other alternative. The conditioning, propaganda and suppression of outside views has been very effective. The Vedic history is completely different. There were no editorial committees, no emperors with heavy political agendas or suppressed recensions of the texts. In fact there is an elaborate checksum system that keeps the original texts from being altered. The originals are stored in four archives in widely separated locations, and periodically compared to eliminate copying and publishing errors. The members of the four authorized disciplic lineages of the Vedic Esoteric Teaching are all self-realized saints of the highest caliber, not voted in by committee but selected directly by Kṛṣṇa. There really is no comparison with the Christians at all. If God can send His son to this earth to perform service for Him, then who is to say that He cannot come Himself? God can do anything, even the impossible, simply by desiring it. He is all-powerful, and He Himself is the origin of the Vedas. Therefore we accept the Vedic literatures like Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Vedānta-sūtra without any change or editing. The knowledge of the Vedas is perfect because the Lord is perfect; therefore any knowledge He gives is automatically perfect. You cannot realize any of this as long as you have intimate connection with material existence. Chanting the Holy Name of God is the most important part of the process. You should try to chant daily, first thing in the morning. If you make it a regular habit then your whole life will go so much better; ask any of our students. If you have an attraction for analytical thinking, then you should study Sanskrit or our scientific books like Transontology. That will keep that rascal mind engaged! love, Baba Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Peter Turanec - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 08:09 PM Dear Babaji and everyone, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Well, thats a lot of youtube views everyday!  Congratulations! I feel very fortunate and blessed to have found this site when I did.  Ive been following the site right before the 2012 videos got posted, a little over a year now, and in that short period of time an exposion has occured on the site and in my day to day life.  I feel very lucky to have witnessed first-hand the progress of the site and the many projects contained therein.  Thank you Babaji, Uddhava and everyone else for making all of this possible.  Thank you so much for keeping everything transparent and unedited.  The mere fact that you didnt edit the videos to make them more "presentable" really means a lot to me.  Its like getting this inside scoop on spirituality with the raw footage.  The way you have presented things is very trusting, and creates an atmosphere of trust.  This is how I feel. The thing that is most frustrating to me about the current state of affairs of people, is that people have intellegence and potential, but they are misusing their intellegence and wasting everything. The people have intellegence, but their intellegence is rascal intellegence.  The people have knowledge, but their knowledge has been pirated by illusion, and consequently is of no use (māyayā apahṛta-jñānā).  Just like you might have a painting worth millions of dollars in your home, but a thief comes and steals it, and now you are left empty handed. Prahupad: ... There is a normal instruction that a so-called gentleman, nicely dressed in the assembly of human society, may appear to be very nice so long he does not speak. But he's, if he speaks nonsense, without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, immediately he becomes the lowest of the mankind. If he proves by his speaking that he has no knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he's simply well dressed, that's all... That we are finding all over the world. They are very nicely dressed, they have got very nice car, but if we ask him about God consciousness, they say, "Sir, after finishing this body, everything is finished." This is their knowledge. Therefore they are the lowest of the mankind. Lowest of the mankind means that in the human form of life he was supposed to know that life is eternal and the soul is changing different types of bodies on account of karma, different types of activities. But although the gentleman is well dressed, he does not know. He does not know what is going to happen in his next life. Neither he believes in the next life. This is the position of the modern civilization. So anyone in that ignorance is called the lowest of the mankind, narādhama. If you say, "How I can say this gentleman, nicely dressed gentleman, lowest of the mankind? He has already passed his university education. He has got big, big degrees. And how I can say that he's the lowest of the mankind?" the answer is given by Kṛṣṇa. I do not require to answer. The answer is given there: māyayā apahṛta-jñānā. Māyayā. Certainly he's educated. He has got degrees. That's all right. But the essence of his knowledge has been taken away by māyā. Māyayā apahṛta-jñānā asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. Essence of knowledge is Kṛṣṇa. That he has no idea, what is Kṛṣṇa. This is the position of asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ.  ... -721019AKVRN “However, the real consideration—apart from such caste etiquette—is that one who knows Kṛṣṇa in truth, being realized in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, should be accepted by the sincere disciple as a bona fide guru. The disciple should to surrender to a guru of this primary qualification. Brāhmaṇas who are proud of their high status in this caste conscious material world may prefer to accept a spiritual master who is also a brāhmaṇa, thus finding it easier to accept such a high caste guru as superior. However, the actual truth is that any properly qualified devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is a bona fide guru. “The scriptures have also described a preliminary time of mutual testing between the guru and the disciple. The guru should see that the disciple has become eligible to enter the path of śuddha-bhakti by his sincerity, faith and respect. In addition, the disciple by his examination should develop the faith in his heart that the guru is truly a qualified pure devotee of the Lord. Seeing the faith and respectful behaviour of the sincere disciple, the bona fide spiritual master then bestows his mercy. “There are two categories of gurus: the dīkṣā-guru, initiating guru; and the śikṣā-guru, instructing guru. The disciple accepts dīkṣā from the dīkṣā-guru and from him learns the process of arcana. The dīkṣā-guru is one and one only, but there can be numerous śikṣā-gurus. The dīkṣā-guru may also give śikṣā to his disciple as a śikṣā-guru.” Vijaya, “The scriptures forbid giving up the dīkṣā-guru. However, if he is incapable of imparting proper knowledge of devotion and of Vaiṣṇava etiquette, how can he be in a position to teach?” Raghunātha dāsa Bābājī, “Before a person accepts formal initiation from a guru, he must test the guru as to whether he is well-versed in the Vedas and in the science of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Only such a bona fide guru is indeed able to instruct his disciple in all matters. -The Scientific Basis for Krsna Consciousness. Chp 7 Guru and disciple must test one another “The spiritual master must be strict with his disciples. He must correct a prospective disciple before initiating him, and punish the wayward initiated ones. A disciple's spiritual life is rendered useless if he serves and worships an unqualified guru. But as long as the relationship between the spiritual master and the disciple is stable (i.e. each remains qualified in his position) then there is no question of one rejecting the other. “The gurudisciple relationship is eternal. If both maintain their pure positions and are bona fide, their eternal relationship is never jeopardized. However, if the spiritual master is later exposed as perfidious, the disciple must immediately repudiate him. The same is to be done by the spiritual master if the disciple is similarly exposed. If such repudiation is not carried out by both parties when it is necessary, then they stand to be doomed. “One who disrespects the bona fide pure Vaisnava spiritual master is a reprobate and fit to be shunned by all. It is advisable, therefore, that before accepting a spiritual master one should carefully choose the right person. The spiritual master must be a pure devotee of the Lord. The scriptures recommend that both the spiritual master and the disciple place each other under strict scrutiny before mutual acceptance. This precludes the kula-guru or traditional family guru. Of course, if the kula-guru is qualified, it is of immediate convenience to accept him; but in the case that he is not saintly, a pure devotee should be searched out and taken as the spiritual master. Since even ordinary household items are tested before acquisition, it is only an unfortunate fool who will fail to go through a testing period in the selection of his true spiritual master, who is the best friend of the living entities. The unqualified kula-guru should be offered due respect and devotion and, after begging permission to leave him, a person must seek a qualified spiritual master. The point is that one must not bring upon himself the calamity of having to reject his spiritual master. If one is prudent, he can avoid such a situation. One must watchfully avoid committing any offenses against a pure devotee guru. This is disastrous and will ruin both men and demigods alike. -Sri Harinama Cintamani Thank you Babaji, love, peter Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Neville Clemens - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 08:22 PM Dear Steven, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! One seeing your post about finding it hard to accept the narrations and descriptions of the Vedic scriptures as they are, I was reminded of a lecture by Prabhupada that as was watching on youtube just a few days ago. I just can't seem to find the link to that video again, but I did manage to find the transcript of the lecture in the Vedabase. I think the following excerpt may help put things in proper perspective, after which the way we approach this transcendental knowledge will change: Devotee (2): Śrīla Prabhupāda, when it is cited in the scriptures that Lord Brahmā rides on a swan, a haṁsa, is this, are we to take this to mean it is a real swan, or is it something symbolic? Prabhupāda: Not symbolic, it is fact. Why do you say symbolic? Devotee (2): It's rather unusual. Prabhupāda: Unusual? What experience you have got? You have no experience. Have you got any experience of other planetary system, what is there? Then? Your experience is very teeny. So you should not calculate Brahma's life and other things by your teeny experience. Now, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the duration of life of Brahma, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ... [Bg. 8.17]. Now, Brahma's life, it is stated in the śāstras. We have already explained that we accept the authoritative statement of śāstra. Now, Brahma's life is stated there. Arhat means his one day is equal to our four yugas. Four yugas means 4,300,000 years, and multiply it by one thousand, sahasra-yuga-paryantam. Sahasra means one thousand. And yuga, yuga means the 4,300,000 years makes a yuga. And multiply it by one thousand: that period is Brahma's one day. Similarly, he has got one night. Similarly, he has got one month. Similarly, he has got one year. And such hundred years he will live. So how you can calculate? How it is within your experience? You will think something mysterious. No. Your experience is nothing. Therefore you have to take experience from the perfect person, Kṛṣṇa. Then your knowledge is perfect. That I have already said. Don't try to understand with your teeny experience everything. Then you will be failure. [Lecture, Melbourne, May 22 1975] I found that a striking lesson for me, and so thought I'd share it. Love, Neville Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Peter Turanec - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 09:08 PM Dear Steven, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Yes, Neville is right.  We must follow a higher authority. What is unique about Vedic knowledge is that we can realize all of this stuff ourselves.  This is not something imaginary.  Some things might seem quite strange or far-out at first, but when we become advanced then we can actually realize and know these things to be true.  We should not be gullible, but not overly sceptical either.  We must have balance and use the Vedas to guide our own personal inner vision. BTW, I listened to that audio above just a few days ago.  We can not use Dr. Frog phisosophy to understand the Vedas.  Only by some unseen grace can we even begin to approach this great fortune, what to speak of actually seeing these things for ourselves.  The answer is, we must become qualified.  Whatever we are qualified to see or know, Krsna will make sure we see or know that thing.  If we are qualified to know something, you better believe it Krsna will see to it that we get the info. Prabhupāda: It is explained there. He does not reveal Himself. Why He shall reveal Himself to an unqualified person? That is Kṛṣṇa's prerogative. If He likes He will reveal. If He does not like He will not reveal. You cannot by force see Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, first of all be qualified, then try to see Kṛṣṇa. He is not exposed. Even a big man, if you want to see him, he may refuse: "No, I will not see." What can you do? If you think that "This man is third-class man, why shall I see him?" Even in ordinary human society that is going on. So why people are eager to see Kṛṣṇa without being qualified? Why these rascals say, "Can you show me God?" First of all you become fit to see God. They'll not become fit. They'll do all nonsense, and want to see God. Kṛṣṇa is addressed, pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān. He is the supreme pure, and we are impure, and you want to see the supreme pure. You see? What audacity! I am not fire. I want to enter into the fire. You see? What will be the result? You'll be burned into ashes. First of all be fire. Increase your temperature to the same temperature, then it will automatically. He is paraṁ brahma, so you realize yourself as brahma. You are realizing yourself as American, Indian, this, that, and you want to see paraṁ brahma? The foolish people will do. And one has to become purified, sarvopādhi vinirmuktaṁ [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. One has to be free from all designations. Everyone, we give more prominence to the designations: "I am this, I am this." So how can you see God like that? First of all you become designationless. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, that "I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaiśya"—everything He denied. So purify yourself and you'll see God. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to become purified.                              -750506ed.per To a gross materialist this kingdom of God, Vaikuṇṭha, is certainly a mystery. But to an ignorant man everything is a mystery for want of sufficient knowledge. The kingdom of God is not a myth. Even the material planets, which float over our heads in the millions and billions, are still a mystery to the ignorant. Material scientists are now attempting to penetrate this mystery, and a day may come when the people of this earth will be able to travel in outer space and see the variegatedness of these millions of planets with their own eyes. In every planet there is as much material variegatedness as we find in our own planet. This planet earth is but an insignificant spot in the cosmic structure. Yet foolish men, puffed up by a false sense of scientific advancement, have concentrated their energy in a pursuit of so-called economic development on this planet, not knowing of the variegated economic facilities available on other planets. According to modern astronomy, the gravity of the moon is different from that of earth. Therefore one who goes to the moon will be able to pick up large weights and jump vast distances. In the Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumān is described as being able to lift huge weights as heavy as hills and jump over the ocean. Modern astronomy has confirmed that this is indeed possible. The disease of the modern civilized man is his disbelief of everything in the revealed scriptures. Faithless nonbelievers cannot make progress in spiritual realization, for they cannot understand the spiritual potency. The small fruit of a banyan contains hundreds of seeds, and in each seed is the potency to produce another banyan tree with the potency to produce millions more of such fruits. This law of nature is visible before us, although how it works is beyond our understanding. This is but an insignificant example of the potency of Godhead; there are many similar phenomena that no scientist can explain. Everything, in fact, is inconceivable, for the truth is revealed only to the proper persons. Although there are varieties of personalities, from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant, all of whom are living beings, their development of knowledge is different. Therefore we have to gather knowledge from the right source. Indeed, in reality we can get knowledge only from the Vedic sources. The four Vedas, with their supplementary Purāṇas, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa and their corollaries, which are known as smṛtis, are all authorized sources of knowledge. If we are at all to gather knowledge, we must gather it from these sources without hesitation. Revealed knowledge may in the beginning be unbelievable because of our paradoxical desire to verify everything with our tiny brains, but the speculative means of attaining knowledge is always imperfect. The perfect knowledge propounded in the revealed scriptures is confirmed by the great ācāryas, who have left ample commentations upon them; none of these ācāryas has disbelieved in the śāstras. One who disbelieves in the śāstras is an atheist, and we should not consult an atheist, however great he may be. A staunch believer in the śāstras, with all their diversities, is the right person from whom to gather real knowledge. Such knowledge may seem inconceivable in the beginning, but when put forward by the proper authority its meaning is revealed, and then one no longer has any doubts about it. -Adi5.15 love, peter Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Steven Lawrence - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 10:25 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you so much for your sincere reply. You hit the nail on the head regarding my participation. In person I am the same way, very quiet at first and once comfortable, I will increase my participation. I agree that the conditioning and the propaganda have been very effective on me. That combined with the length of time I was steeped in it does not help. Not to paint a picture that I am far from becoming a serious devotee. On the contrary, I feel that I am really on the brink of it. Systematically we've been decreasing our desires and attachments to material things. What needs to happen now is the action. Now I understand the need to move to that platform whereby I can understand these transcendental subjects better. It is clear that I need to begin chanting consistently. Steven Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Steven Lawrence - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 10:33 PM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for your reply. I haven't seen this teaching from Śrīla Prabhupāda. It is very helpful in that it tells me that I need to get down to chanting consistently. This has been the story of my spiritual seeking, all theory and no practice!! Steven Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Steven Lawrence - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 10:57 PM Dear Peter, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for your reply. This is a really good lecture you posted. It is so true that we do have to become qualified before we can understand these transcendental qualities. I realize this now. Growing up here in the U.S. I've hardly been around many qualified souls. (Evidence of Kali-yuga?). The less materialistic I become, the more absurd this culture in the West seems. Although I have to say, even though I agree that we need to follow a higher authority, I have become more skeptical in doing so. As the veneer wares off the face of "democracy" here in the U.S. we are all feeling duped. Following anything makes me a bit wary as it feels like we (the non-elites) are being led down an age long business plan to keep us enslaved. Did this plan include the use of religion (including Vedic) to guide us to our own demise? What is the religion of this so called elite? Free-Masonry? Steven Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Neville Clemens - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 11:32 PM Dear Steven, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Throwing the baby out with the bathwater is not quite the solution. Instead, we should use our intelligence for proper discrimination, which is what intelligence is meant for. If we give in to frustration then that's the end of our intelligence and we'll simply get drawn into a negative spiral. I direct you to a really fantastic lecture by Visnujana Swami. We have the recording of it somewhere on this site but after the restructuring of the website I can't access it anymore. I will paste below here a very relevant excerpt that I hope you read and consider very, very carefully: Don't become dull-headed. Don't become lethargic. Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita [3.30] that He wants service without egoism and without lethargy. What does that mean? Egoism, as Prabhupada defines, means personal desire for sense gratification, personal motive. No personal motive—only to satisfy Krishna—that should be the motive. And no lethargy. In the material world we have so many frustrating experiences, and due to frustration only, people give up. You see? They become lethargic, they simply give up. We have so many philosophers around the world giving up—“Not this, not this, not this. Renounce the world, give up everything.” This has become a popular mania in society—that frustrated persons are trying to give up. So we see now, we are traveling amongst the young people around the country, and even in some places they become so saturated with drugs and sex life, now they want to simply give it up and they are speaking of practicing celibacy and this and that. Alternating—sense gratification and renunciation. This will not help. But if we actually come to the platform of being prepared to inquire from our spiritual master how we can get out of this lethargic condition of frustration, then that's what it means—to be inquisitive how to advance in Krishna consciousness. Everyone is suffering from painful experiences in this material world, you should know that. Everyone is suffering from painful experiences. You can't meet anyone in this material world hardly who has not suffered from material relationships. Therefore, everyone to some degree or other is suffering from this lethargy, this fear of activity. They are fearful of their own spiritual identity and their own spiritual relationship with God. That's a fact. There are many persons in that condition, and it's a great stumbling block on the path of devotional love for God. So we have to come over this stage of fearfulness, of frustration, lethargy, and come to the stage of inquiry. Chanting Hare Krishna will give us that strength. Chanting Hare Krishna will make you forget the wounds of material relationships. And chanting Hare Krishna will give you the pure cognition that actually this whole material phantasmagoria is only a passing dream of material nature. So, people take it very seriously, this materialistic dream life. But actually it is jagat—it is going on, but it is not permanent. It's temporary, it's being destroyed moment by moment. So all this lamentation, all this hankering in the material world, it's all dream-like, mirage-like. It has no actual substance. The substance is our desire, and when we are freed from frustration, from materialistic desire, then we can be positively engaged in practical spiritual inquiry, spiritual desire. “I want to know what is my relationship with Krishna. I don't want to remain in darkness.” This is what spiritual inquiry is. “What am I? What is this body? What are all these personalities, all these different varieties of bodies? What is this world? Who is controlling it? What is the nature of love? What is the nature of all these moods and tastes of affection and love in this material world? What is the mood and taste in the spiritual world?” All these inquiries. This means not to be dull-headed, to be inquisitive to know about Krishna and Krishna's manifestation. [Visnujana Swami Lecture on the Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 6. April 30, 1973, Los Angeles] I will try and find a link to the recording of this talk so you can download it and listen to the whole thing. Hearing Visnujana Swami's voice and his emotion behind these words adds about 200% in meaning, when compared to just reading the transcript. Love, Neville Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Lugan - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 01:54 AM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. The question is asked at the beginning of this video: UNDERSTAND GOD!!! NOT JUST EAT, SLEEP, SEX AND DEFEND!!! - 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrwheXLV1g8 Love, David Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 09:28 AM Dear Steven, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! It is good to be very cautious about acccepting new information.  It is like downloading new computer softare on our pc, we need to make sure the source of download is trustworthy, or we run the risk of downloading viruses with the software.  If we download viruses along with good software, then it corrupts this software and we have to clear out the system and start all over again.  When we think twice about saying something or doing something, then we are using our intellegence. Actually, we should be willing to start this spiritual process over again at any time.  This might be a foreign idea to anyone who has not dedicated much time to any one thing.  Growing up as a child, I did karate for 6 years, rollerbladed like a monkey for about 12 years, and have been doing art on and off this whole time.  From experience I have learned that after doing a certain thing, move, or motion for many years-- we get used to doing one thing a certain way and this limits our growth.  For example, in shotokan karate, it takes about ten years to get your black belt.  But when you actually achieve this, It is only the beginning.  It is funny, because after doing karate for ten or so years, when you finnaly achieve a blackbelt you are taught to forget everything you have learned and learn everything all over again.  It is funny, because, you learn how to puch all over again from scratch.  This is a very hard thing to explain.  The only way you can understand this is if you have experienced this yourself by being dedicated solely to one thing.  And by learning and re-learning that thing, you make real progress.  Just like if you want to build a mansion, you can't start with the foundation that is used for a shack.  When we want to create something at a higher quality than what we already have, we must demolish everything and re-lay the foundation properly.  Then the foundation will withstand what it is intended to withstand and not buckle under pressure. So, if we are living in a shack and we want to build a house, we must demolish everything and start with building a foundation that is suitable for a house.  When we are living in a house and we want to build a mansion, we must demolish everything and start with a solid foundation that will support a large structure such as a multi-floor mansion.  When we live in a mansion but decide to build a skyscaper building, we must again demolish everything, and dig down deep underground and attach solid metal bars to the rockbed;  Then our skyscraper building will withstand earthquakes and rogue airplanes.  From my understanding, this is how we learn and re-learn. love, peter Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Michael Jones - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 09:55 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you for your encouragement, it certainly gives me the confidence to keep progressing. Although it is comforting to know personal salvation is easy, that will not be enough for me. I'd like to reach the preaching stage as I know that is what you'd want, Prabhupada would want, and Kṛṣṇa would want. I figure I am quite young so I have the opportunity to dedicate as much time as I can at this stage in devotional service so that when I am mature enough to teach I will be have a good background behind me. If I don't try now, I will look back and wonder "What if?" My goal at the moment is to reach the stage where I can join you and the other devotees in your āśram. If I am unable to though (whether because you feel I'm not ready/ transporation has shut down in the run-up to 2012/ or some other unforseen circumstance) then I still am going to try and reach the highest stage possible. I'll pray I find other devotees, or worse comes to the worse I'll get a small job to make enough to support myself and dedicate the rest of my time to learning/trying to follow your's and Prabhupada's teachings. There is nothing else I want to do with my life at this point as I know if I don't try and make it all the way, I will always regret my decision. What's one lifetime in the full time of the universe anyways. I feel Kṛṣṇa guided me here for a reason. So I will continue to keep this standard the best I can (although when I get a job in January some of it may be reduced depending on hours) and keep aspiring to serve you in person. Thanks for the opportunity. Love Mike Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Michael Jones - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 10:03 AM Dear Peter, Neville, and Steven, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you for your wonderful quotes. Like Steven, I used to wonder about the more colorful aspects like Krsna's forms and the swans, etc. But hearing these quotes from Prabhupada really get to the truth: Our brains are tiny. Steven, I fully recommend reading Life comes from Life. It is a small book but it contains many arguments that really helped me settle some of the doubts I had in the beginning about these things. Love Mike Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Peter Turanec - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 11:20 AM Dear Steven, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Being skeptical is the norm nowadays.  We have been cheated so many times that it is impossible to be at least a little bit skeptical. Yes, religion is one of the largest tools for population control.  By corrupting religion, the demons have gained control over what people have faith in, what they spend their money on, their rites of worship, and their overall means of livelihood.  Religion is very important, because through this one sole institution you can control money, thought, public opinion, and peoples activities in general. The religion of the so-called elite is esoteric.  They are basically worshiping in the mode of darkness or ignorance.  This occult religion centers around black magick, witchcraft, and impersonal mystic illumination.  The demons have been in control of the planet for about five thousand years now, ever since Krsna apparently left this planet.  The demons are usually devotees of Lord Siva or Lord Brahma like Hiraṇyakaśipu.  The demons are usually selfish and do austerities and penances to gain some personal benefit, such as attaining some siddhi or power to defeat their enemies. A black-caped figure stares out from the cover of Time, the world’s largest news magazine. “The Occult Revival: Satan Returns” announces the latest news, as though Satan has ever left us. In the news story that follows, Satanism and witchcraft are identified as substitute faiths with a large following amongst the bourgeoisie in America and Europe. The cults are found not only to be popular among hippies and easily identifiable eccentrics, but among college educated, split-leveled suburban-homed Americans. A definite wave of fascination with Satanism, witchcraft and other varieties of occultism is reportedly on the rise. It is as though a culture, which has succeeded for so long in suppressing its basic character, has decided to unveil. Paradoxically the veiled Satan on the magazine’s cover is probably the first really unveiled figure to appear. He is the very image of ourselves staring out at us, our animal nature telling us, “Well, here we are together, spinning around on this planet and enjoying ourselves one hell of a lot.” He is indeed the image of our own fiery world consciousness, which is now busily and systematically destroying the earth. He is not only the image of Kali, the great demonic spirit who rules the universe in this age, but the image of our own pathetic selves striving to be God. Beneath all of the Satanic cults is a basic purpose: the deification of the human race. Both occultists and critics admit that it is the promise of power that attracts people to Satanism and witchcraft. Satanism is an expression of our soul’s desire to persist in attempting to control as God. It is no wonder that magic is intimately connected with Satanism, for it is through magic that we attempt to become God by mastering the world around us. Magic can manifest itself in a subtle form—as in spiritual healing, prophecy and witchcraft—or in a gross form, as in science. In any case, whether we attempt to master the world through science or witchcraft, we are expressing this same basic desire to be God. This is at the core of Satanism, and it gives rise to all the demonic activities of man. Although Christ emerges victorious, the temptation certainly gives Satan a certain prominence as the ruler or viceroy of the world. Christ explicitly says, “My kingdom is not of this world,” which implies that as far as he is concerned, this material world is Satan’s domain. A man’s faith or religion is also determined by the three gunas. If a person is in the mode of goodness, he worships God and those devoted to God (the demigods). In the mode of passion, he worships demons, and in the mode of darkness he worships the dead and ghosts of the dead. Thus the guna or quality ruling the heart of a man can be perceived through his activities and religion. Those practicing Satanism actually evince all symptoms of passion and ignorance, as can be seen in their gospels, which are simply inversions of the sayings of Christ: “Blessed are the strong, for they shall possess the earth. If a man smite you on one cheek, smash him on the other.” Much of the blame for man’s Satanic image is now being placed at the altar of traditional Christianity. Men in another age would have turned to the church for relief from their spiritual anxieties and for the much needed mystical element in life. Unfortunately, today the church has become identified with a mundane power. In short, it is as much a part of the establishment as the Bank of America. The youth especially distrust orthodox religions, feeling that the churches have betrayed the messages of their great founders who have always pointed away from world consciousness to the spiritual world beyond. Because man’s desire for the spiritual demands satisfaction, he turns from orthodox religion to occultism, Satanism and witchcraft. In a sense, the occult revival is a response to the failure of science and human reason to supply a purpose for living. We cannot live as men, as human beings, without a spiritual goal; we can only live as animals. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore supplying an alternative—a scientific and proven path to spiritual life. Simply by hearing the pure sound vibrations of Bhagavad-gītā, one can understand the nature of Yogeśvara, the master of all mystic powers, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavad-gītā is the song of God sung to man in answer to all of man’s questions regarding existence. It sheds light on God Himself and on man’s relation to God. It tells man who he is and where he is going, and by it man can emerge as his own best friend. The self is the friend of the self when he listens to that sublime song, which coaxes: “Give up all types of religion and just surrender unto Me. I will protect you from all sins. You have nothing to fear.” (Bg. 18.66) The philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not maintain that the apparent nature of man is evil. Quite the contrary—according to Vedic literatures, man is originally God conscious and divine. -Satan, Witches and homemade Gods by Hayagrīva dāsa Adhikārī And so, in the thirteenth century, Church authorities recorded that many Christians were throwing off the Augustinian burden of guilt and giving in totally to forbidden sense pleasures. To discipline his flock, Pope Gregory IX launched the tyrannical Inquisition. The next century saw the rise of the Flagellants who whipped themselves bloody in the streets, frenzied as they were by a sinfulness that clung to them no matter what redemptive measures they took. In the fifteenth century, many thousands of Europeans came to the conclusion that the road to salvation shown by the Church was too narrow, steep and strewn by stumbling blocks. These hopeless souls, seeing themselves too sinful to be saved, took to witchcraft and Satanism—partly to defy Church authority, and partly because these “alternative religions” encouraged carnal pleasures unburdened by guilt.         -Dimensions of Good and Evil 17 The inhabitants of Rāvaṇa’s palace were terrified to hear Hanumān’s roar, along with the crash of trees and the cries of frightened animals. The Rākṣasīs, who had been buried in sleep, woke with a start. They saw Hanumān standing at the gate of the garden like a towering hill. Some of them had already noticed that Sītā was speaking to a monkey and they questioned Her about his identity. “How should I know anything about this wonderful being?” She replied. “You are the ones skilled in sorcery and magic. Why then can you not ascertain for yourselves the nature of this creature?” Some of the Rākṣasīs ran in fear to Rāvaṇa. They reported to him that the monkey had entirely destroyed the beautiful gardens, leaving only the large simshapa tree under which Sītā lay. -Rāmāyaṇa 2.14 After consulting with his demonic ministers, Kaṁsa instructed a witch named Pūtanā, who knew the black art of killing small children by ghastly sinful methods, to kill all kinds of children in the cities, villages and pasturing grounds. Such witches can play their black art only where there is no chanting or hearing of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. It is said that wherever the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is done, even negligently, all bad elements—witches, ghosts, and dangerous calamities—immediately disappear. And this is certainly true of the place where the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is done seriously—especially in Vṛndāvana when the Supreme Lord was personally present. Therefore, the doubts of Nanda Mahārāja were certainly based on affection for Kṛṣṇa. Actually there was no danger from the activities of Pūtanā, despite her powers. Such witches are called khecarī, which means they can fly in the sky. This black art of witchcraft is still practiced by some women in the remote northwestern side of India. They can transfer themselves from one place to another on the branch of an uprooted tree. Pūtanā knew this witchcraft, and therefore she is described in the Bhāgavatam as khecarī. Pūtanā entered the county of Gokula, the residential quarter of Nanda Mahārāja, without permission. Dressing herself just like a beautiful woman, she entered the house of mother Yaśodā. She appeared very beautiful with raised hips, nicely swollen breasts, earrings, and flowers in her hair. She looked especially beautiful on account of her thin waist. She was glancing at everyone with very attractive looks and smiling face, and all the residents of Vṛndāvana were captivated. The innocent cowherd women thought that she was a goddess of fortune appearing in Vṛndāvana with a lotus flower in her hand. It seemed to them that she had personally come to see Kṛṣṇa, who is her husband. Because of her exquisite beauty, no one checked her movement, and therefore she freely entered the house of Nanda Mahārāja. Pūtanā, the killer of many, many children, found baby Kṛṣṇa lying on a small bed, and she could at once perceive that the baby was hiding His unparalleled potencies. Pūtanā thought, "This child is so powerful that He can destroy the whole universe immediately." -Krsna Book chp6 TRANSLATION Jaḍa Bharata used to work only for food. His stepbrothers took advantage of this and engaged him in agricultural field work in exchange for some food, but actually he did not know how to work very well in the field. He did not know where to spread dirt or where to make the ground level or uneven. His brothers used to give him broken rice, oil cakes, the chaff of rice, worm-eaten grains and burned grains that had stuck to the pot, but he gladly accepted all this as if it were nectar. He did not hold any grudges and ate all this very gladly. PURPORT The platform of paramahaṁsa is described in Bhagavad-gītā (2.15): sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so 'mṛtatvāya kalpate. When one is callous to all duality, the happiness and distress of this material world, one is fit for amṛtatva, eternal life. Bharata Mahārāja was determined to finish his business in this material world, and he did not at all care for the world of duality. He was complete in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and was oblivious to good and evil, happiness and distress. As stated in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Cc. Antya 4.176): 'dvaite' bhadrābhadra-jñāna, saba-'manodharma' 'ei bhāla, ei manda',—saba 'bhrama' "In the material world, conceptions of good and bad are all mental speculations. Therefore, saying, 'This is good and this is bad,' is all a mistake." One has to understand that in the material world of duality, to think that this is good or that this is bad is simply a mental concoction. However, one should not imitate this consciousness; one should actually be situated on the spiritual platform of neutrality. TRANSLATION At this time, being desirous of obtaining a son, a leader of dacoits who came from a śūdra family wanted to worship the goddess Bhadra Kālī by offering her in sacrifice a dull man, who is considered no better than an animal. PURPORT Low-class men such as śūdras worship demigods like goddess Kālī, or Bhadra Kālī, for the fulfillment of material desires. To this end, they sometimes kill a human being before the deity. They generally choose a person who is not very intelligent—in other words, an animal in the shape of a man. TRANSLATION The leader of the dacoits captured a man-animal for sacrifice, but he escaped, and the leader ordered his followers to find him. They ran in different directions but could not find him. Wandering here and there in the middle of the night, covered by dense darkness, they came to a paddy field where they saw the exalted son of the Āṅgirā family [Jaḍa Bharata], who was sitting in an elevated place guarding the field against the attacks of deer and wild pigs. TRANSLATION The followers and servants of the dacoit chief considered Jaḍa Bharata to possess qualities quite suitable for a man-animal, and they decided that he was a perfect choice for sacrifice. Their faces bright with happiness, they bound him with ropes and brought him to the temple of the goddess Kālī. PURPORT In some parts of India, animalistic men are still sacrificed before the goddess Kālī. However, such a sacrifice is only performed by śūdras and dacoits. Their business is to plunder the wealthy, and to become successful they offer an animalistic man before the goddess Kālī. It should be noted that they never sacrifice an intelligent man before the goddess. In the body of a brāhmaṇa, Bharata Mahārāja appeared deaf and dumb, yet he was the most intelligent man in the world. Nonetheless, being completely surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he remained in that condition and did not protest being brought before the deity for slaughter. As we have learned from the previous verses, he was very strong and could have very easily avoided being bound with ropes, but he did not do anything. He simply depended on the Supreme Personality of Godhead for his protection. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura describes surrender unto the Supreme Lord in this way: mārabi rākhabi—yo icchā tohārā nitya-dāsa-prati tuyā adhikārā "My Lord, I am now surrendered unto You. I am Your eternal servant, and if You like You can kill me, or, if You like, You can protect me. In any case, I am fully surrendered unto You." TRANSLATION After this, all the thieves, according to their imaginative ritual for killing animalistic men, bathed Jaḍa Bharata, dressed him in new clothes, decorated him with ornaments befitting an animal, smeared his body with scented oils and decorated him with tilaka, sandalwood pulp and garlands. They fed him sumptuously and then brought him before the goddess Kālī, offering her incense, lamps, garlands, parched grain, newly grown twigs, sprouts, fruits and flowers. In this way they worshiped the deity before killing the man-animal, and they vibrated songs and prayers and played drums and bugles. Jaḍa Bharata was then made to sit down before the deity. PURPORT In this verse the word sva-vidhinā (according to their own ritualistic principles) is very significant. According to the Vedic śāstras, everything must be done according to regulative principles, but here it is stated that the thieves and rogues devised their own process for killing an animalistic man. The tamasic śāstras give instructions for the sacrifice of an animal like a goat or buffalo before the goddess Kālī, but there is no mention of killing a man, however dull he may be. This process was manufactured by the dacoits themselves; therefore the word sva-vidhinā is used. Even at this time there are many sacrifices being conducted without reference to the Vedic scriptures. For instance, in Calcutta recently a slaughterhouse was being advertised as a temple of the goddess Kālī. Meat-eaters foolishly purchase meat from such shops, thinking it different from ordinary meat and taking it to be the prasāda of goddess Kālī. The sacrifice of a goat or a similar animal before the goddess Kālī is mentioned in śāstras just to keep people from eating slaughterhouse meat and becoming responsible for the killing of animals. The conditioned soul has a natural tendency toward sex and meat-eating; consequently the śāstras grant them some concessions. Actually the śāstras aim at putting an end to these abominable activities, but they impart some regulative principles so that gradually meat-eaters and sex hunters will be rectified. TRANSLATION At this time, one of the thieves, acting as the chief priest, was ready to offer the blood of Jaḍa Bharata, whom they imagined to be an animal-man, to the goddess Kālī to drink as a liquor. He therefore took up a very fearsome sword, which was very sharp and, consecrating it by the mantra of Bhadra Kālī, raised it to kill Jaḍa Bharata. TRANSLATION All the rogues and thieves who had made arrangements for the worship of goddess Kālī were low minded and bound to the modes of passion and ignorance. They were overpowered by the desire to become very rich; therefore they had the audacity to disobey the injunctions of the Vedas, so much so that they were prepared to kill Jaḍa Bharata, a self-realized soul born in a brāhmaṇa family. Due to their envy, these dacoits brought him before the goddess Kālī for sacrifice. Such people are always addicted to envious activities, and therefore they dared to try to kill Jaḍa Bharata. Jaḍa Bharata was the best friend of all living entities. He was no one's enemy, and he was always absorbed in meditation on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He was born of a good brāhmaṇa father, and killing him was forbidden, even though he might have been an enemy or aggressive person. In any case, there was no reason to kill Jaḍa Bharata, and the goddess Kālī could not bear this. She could immediately understand that these sinful dacoits were about to kill a great devotee of the Lord. Suddenly the deity's body burst asunder, and the goddess Kālī personally emerged from it in a body burning with an intense and intolerable effulgence. PURPORT According to the Vedic injunctions, only an aggressor can be killed. If a person comes with an intent to kill, one can immediately take action and kill in self-defense. It is also stated that one can be killed if he comes to set fire to the home or to pollute or kidnap one's wife. Lord Rāmacandra killed the entire family of Rāvaṇa because Rāvaṇa kidnapped His wife, Sītādevī. However, killing is not sanctioned in the śāstras for other purposes. The killing of animals in sacrifice to the demigods, who are expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is sanctioned for those who eat meat. This is a kind of restriction for meat-eating. In other words, the slaughter of animals is also restricted by certain rules and regulations in the Vedas. Considering these points, there was no reason to kill Jaḍa Bharata, who was born in a respectable, highly exalted brāhmaṇa family. He was a God-realized soul and a well-wisher to all living entities. The Vedas did not at all sanction the killing of Jaḍa Bharata by rogues and thieves. Consequently the goddess Bhadra Kālī emerged from the deity to give protection to the Lord's devotee. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that due to the Brahman effulgence of such a devotee as Jaḍa Bharata, the deity was fractured. Only thieves and rogues in the modes of passion and ignorance and maddened by material opulence offer a man in sacrifice before the goddess Kālī. This is not sanctioned by the Vedic instructions. Presently there are many hundreds and thousands of slaughterhouses throughout the world that are maintained by a puffed-up population mad for material opulence. Such activities are never supported by the Bhāgavata school. TRANSLATION Intolerant of the offenses committed, the infuriated goddess Kālī flashed her eyes and displayed her fierce, curved teeth. Her reddish eyes glowed, and she displayed her fearsome features. She assumed a frightening body, as if she were prepared to destroy the entire creation. Leaping violently from the altar, she immediately decapitated all the rogues and thieves with the very sword with which they had intended to kill Jaḍa Bharata. She then began to drink the hot blood that flowed from the necks of the beheaded rogues and thieves, as if this blood were liquor. Indeed, she drank this intoxicant with her associates, who were witches and female demons. Becoming intoxicated with this blood, they all began to sing very loudly and dance as though prepared to annihilate the entire universe. At the same time, they began to play with the heads of the rogues and thieves, tossing them about as if they were balls. PURPORT It is evident from this verse that the devotees of goddess Kālī are not at all favored by her. It is goddess Kālī's work to kill and punish the demons. Goddess Kālī (Durgā) engages in decapitating many demons, dacoits and other unwanted elements in society. Neglecting Kṛṣṇa consciousness, foolish people try to satisfy the goddess by offering her many abominable things, but ultimately when there is a little discrepancy in this worship, the goddess punishes the worshiper by taking his life. Demoniac people worship goddess Kālī to obtain some material benefit, but they are not excused of the sins performed in the name of worship. To sacrifice a man or animal before the deity is specifically forbidden. TRANSLATION When an envious person commits an offense before a great personality, he is always punished in the way mentioned above. TRANSLATION Śukadeva Gosvāmī then said to Mahārāja Parīkṣit: O Viṣṇudatta, those who already know that the soul is separate from the body, who are liberated from the invincible knot in the heart, who are always engaged in welfare activities for all living entities and who never contemplate harming anyone are always protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who carries His disc [the Sudarśana cakra] and acts as supreme time to kill the demons and protect His devotees. The devotees always take shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord. Therefore at all times, even if threatened by decapitation, they remain unagitated. For them, this is not at all wonderful. PURPORT These are some of the great qualities of a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. First, a devotee is firmly convinced of his spiritual identity. He never identifies with the body; he is firmly convinced that the spirit soul is different from the body. Consequently he fears nothing. Even though his life may be threatened, he is not at all afraid. He does not even treat an enemy like an enemy. Such are the qualifications of devotees. Devotees are always fully dependent on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Lord is always eager to give them all protection in all circumstances. -5.9.11-.20 Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Ninth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Supreme Character of Jaḍa Bharata." love, peter Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 01:50 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, this is very good. I have lost count of the times that I got deep into Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, only to encounter something that made me realize that I had a completely wrong mental model, and go back again to the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā and start all over again. People groan when I tell them to study Bhagavad-gītā by looking up every word; but I did it, and it was very good for me. I did the same thing many times as a musician. I would get into bad habits or just get frustrated with music in general, stop practicing for a while, then go back to the very beginning and just play one note for days until it felt right, then start practicing two notes, articulations etc. and gradually build up a new set of better habits. In general, being expert at something requires a willingness to start all over again and again, until one gets it right from the beginning. However, you can't know how wrong habits will hold you back until you become somewhat advanced; then you can go back to the beginning, knowing that if you take a shortcut at that stage, how it will stop your progress later on down the road. Anyone who has attained mastery of any subject has traveled this path over and over. love, Baba Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Steven Lawrence - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 04:59 PM Dear Peter, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for the explanation. I am finding that I am at that relearning point. Although I have to be careful as I can burn myself out very quickly. I tend to be extreme when I undertake a new venture. Steven Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Steven Lawrence - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 05:07 PM Dear Neville, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for sharing the lecture. I would like to hear the whole thing if you find it. I have heard Visnujana speak before and he is very inspiring. Steven Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Neville Clemens - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 05:55 PM Dear Steven, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I've found the lectures (and other recordings) on this webpage. There are two full-size lectures on there, with filenames visnujana_730430.mp3 and visnujana_730508.mp3. Both those lectures are fantastic and I usually listen to them every few weeks - and learn something new each time . Enjoy... Love, Neville Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 06:17 PM Dear Neville and All, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Viṣṇujana Swami was one of the few devotees who read Nectar of Devotion, and he read it avidly, day after day. He is also the only one besides Śrīla Prabhupāda who could give a class on it. I consider it one of the most important books, because it reveals the inner structure of the relationships between the devotees and Kṛṣṇa. In other words, other books talk about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but NOD describes what Kṛṣṇa consciousness is and how it works in detail. love, Baba Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by Peter Turanec - Monday, 15 December 2008, 03:22 PM Dear Babaji, Steven and everyone, Hare Kṛṣṇa!  All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!  Please accept my very humble obesiances.  Thank you for the reply Babaji and Steven. This process of learning and re-learning is difficult to explain.  Words can not do the actual process justice.  You just have to have experience and these things appear. This explanation of the process of learning and re-learning gives more meaning to the idea that a devotee is expert.  So, what does expert mean?  I have concluded that one of the results of being expert at something means that we have learned how to learn.  This is it.  This is the benefit we recieve from being expert at any one thing.  This experience gives us an ontology that enables us to walk a path, whatever it may be, and learn as we go. Prabhupad: [...] Expertness is you just try to do which is easily performed by you. You don't accept anything heavy task because Kṛṣṇa does not want that you have to do this heavy task. Whatever you know, you just apply it. You dovetail it in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa does not say that you have to become like this, like that, like that, then you can serve Him. Does not say. Just like this cow. Just see. What does it know? He's an animal. You see? But the calf knows to brush his head and tongue like this, in love. It is doing and Kṛṣṇa accepting, "Yes." That is expert. First of all find out what is easily done by you. Don't take anything which is not easily done by you. You find out what is your occupation, what you can very nicely and easily perform, and do it for Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Is that clear? Expert? This is expert. -680716rc.mon Also, I have concluded from Babaji's experience that when we start this process over again correctly and expertly, we become self realized in 6 months or a relatively short period of time.  So, we should be willing to start this process over and over again, at least every couple of years, or as many times it takes to get the result.  When we really do the process expertly, we get true results in a short period of time.  It might only take 6 months to become self realized, but to get to this point we have to start the process over and over again many many times.  So, we should not hesitate to start over again at any time;  Starting over again will make us advance slower in the short run, but in the long run it will enable us achieve a much higher goal. As Babaji has taught us from his own experience, he obtained the result in a relatively short period of time when he finally demonlished everything and started building the Vaikuntha mansion correctly. love, peter ps- Here's a nice picure of the path we need to walk;  It is symbolic of course.  The real path looks more like a dark cavernous labyrinth with narrow hallways, blind turns, pitfalls, dead ends, giant rolling boulders, invisible bridges, poison arrows, vicious animals, hostile natives, angry Rākṣasas and esoteric riddles.  Re: 400,000 Views / 1,000 Subscribers? by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 15 December 2008, 03:24 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I would say that is an accurate assessment. Six months if you are doing everything almost perfectly. So you must learn how to learn, and be willing to start all over again until you get it right. Another definition of expert is: Any person who can quickly execute a very difficult task is called expert. About the expertise of Kṛṣṇa there is a statement in the Tenth Canto, Fifty-ninth Chapter, verse 17, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, wherein Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells Mahārāja Parīkṣit, "O best of the Kurus, Śrī Kṛṣṇa cut to pieces all the different weapons used by different fighters." Formerly, fighting was done by releasing different kinds of arrows. One party would release a certain arrow, and the other party had to defeat it by counteracting it with another arrow. For example, one party might release an arrow which would cause water to pour from the sky, and to counteract this the opposing party would have to release an arrow which could immediately turn the water into clouds. So from this statement it appears that Kṛṣṇa was very expert in counteracting the enemy's arrows. Similarly, at the rāsa dance, each and every gopī requested that Kṛṣṇa individually become her partner, and Kṛṣṇa immediately expanded Himself into so many Kṛṣṇas in order to be coupled with each and every gopī. The result was that each gopī found Kṛṣṇa by her side. [Nectar of Devotion, 21.16] So Kṛṣṇa is very expert because He can effortlessly perform tasks that are completely impossible for others. An expert musician easily plays music that is difficult or impossible for others. He can do this because of his complete mastery of the fundamentals. I know this from experience. The beginner or amateur expends great effort trying to perform an impressive piece, but the real expert does it better without effort. Similarly in the beginning we may make some advancement in devotional service by great effort, but we cannot maintain it and then we fall down. This means that we have not sufficiently mastered the fundamentals. From my perspective, loving Kṛṣṇa is the easiest and most natural thing in the world—it is our very nature. But it may seem very difficult for others because they still maintain some psychological residue from conditioned consciousness. There is no shortcut to the expert stage, but requires that we practice again and again until we get it right by accumulating many, many impressions on the pure spiritual platform. One of the secrets of my spiritual success was that I always put the satisfaction of my spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa first, before the satisfaction of anyone else. My Godbrothers hate me for it, but I never regarded their opinions very highly. I could see from the beginning that their consciousness was covered by the modes of passion and ignorance, so I never took them seriously. I am very pleased that our conversation is now reaching the point where I can say these things and you can easily understand. These are the true secrets of the path of spiritual perfection. If you can understand these things from the very beginning, then you will have a tremendous advantage over my Godbrothers. Hopefully we have learned from their mistakes and can do better this time around. love, Baba Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti Part 1 by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 15 December 2008, 02:13 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This new series is a list of definitions for the terms used in the Bhakti[Gaudiya] ontology in my book Transontology. When it is finished it will be sorted into alphabetical order and become an Appendix to that work. love, Baba Śrī Bhakti-Nirukti A Lexicon of Devotional Service Term English Definition uttama-bhakti pure devotional service The cultivation of activities that are meant exclusively for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa, or in other words the uninterrupted flow of service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, performed through all endeavors of the body, mind and speech, and through the expression of various transcendental sentiments (bhāvas), which is not covered by jñāna (knowledge aimed at impersonal liberation) and karma (reward-seeking activity), and which is devoid of all desires other than the aspiration to bring happiness to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. svarūpa-lakṣaṇa intrinsic characteristics Bhakti involves the cultivation of activities favorable to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This is said to be the svarūpa-lakṣaṇa of uttama-bhakti because it reveals the inherent nature or svarūpa of bhakti. taṭastha-lakṣaṇa boundary characteristics Uttama-bhakti is devoid of all desires other than to please Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and is free from jñāna and karma. These are called the taṭastha-lakṣaṇa because they define the limits of pure bhakti by specifying the characteristics that are not part of the nature of bhakti. anuśīlanam constant cultivation One of the svarūpa-lakṣaṇa of bhakti. Once begun, cultivation of bhakti continues until it reaches fruition. This process of cultivation has two main divisions: sādhana-rūpa, including both vaidhī and rāgānuga-sādhana; and kārya-rūpa, effects that manifest upon attainment of the stage of bhāva. sādhana-rūpa bhakti in practice The stage of preliminary cultivation of bhakti, including both vaidhī and rāgānuga-sādhana-bhakti. Sādhana-rūpa is further divided into pravṛtti-mūlaka, based on performance of positive action, and nivṛtti-mūlaka, based on avoidance of negative action. kārya-rūpa mature bhakti The mature stage of bhakti and the effects that manifest upon attainment of the stage of bhāva, including the eight sāttvika-bhāvas, such as crying and standing of the hairs on end, and the anubhāvas such as singing and dancing. anubhāva subsequent ecstasy The bodily symptoms manifested by a devotee in expressing ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. Symptoms of bhakti, such as singing and dancing, are expressions arising from the mind that is constituted of viśuddha-sattva (supremely pure goodness). viśuddha-sattva supremely pure goodness Completely free from the contamination of the material modes of nature. The state of consciousness in which in which the Personality of Godhead is revealed. sādhana-bhakti bhakti in practice The stage of preliminary cultivation of bhakti, including both vaidhī and rāgānuga-sādhana-bhakti. Sādhana-rūpa is further divided into pravṛtti-mūlaka, based on performance of positive action, and nivṛtti-mūlaka, based on avoidance of all activities performed with body, mind and speech that cause offenses in service (sevāparādha), to the holy name (nāmāparādha) and to the holy places (dhāmāparādha). bhāva-rūpa ecstatic emotions Bhāva-rūpa may be divided into sthāyibhāva-rūpa, the devotee’s permanent sentiment in one of the five primary relationships of śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya or mādhurya, and sañcāri-bhāva rūpa, the internal transitory emotions that arise like waves from the ocean of the sthāyibhāva and enhance it. There are 33 sañcāri-bhāvas, such as viṣāda (despondency), dainya (depression) and nirveda (self-disparagement). sthāyibhāva-rūpa permanent ecstatic emotion A devotee’s permanent sentiment in one of the five primary relationships: śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya or mādhurya. Sthāyibhāva-rūpa is again divided into premāṅkura-rūpa (the sprout of prema) namely rati or bhāva, and prema-rūpa or prema itself, which develops through the stages of sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga, bhāva and mahābhāva. anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam exclusively for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure Without desires other than those for the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, or without material desires (such as those for meat-eating, illicit sex, gambling and addiction to intoxicants). This same idea is expressed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.3.31 as bhaktyā sañjātayā bhaktyā: “Bhakti is produced only by bhakti.” In other words, śravaṇa, kīrtana and other forms of bhakti-sādhana are to be done only for the sake of bhakti, and one should be devoid of all other desires. jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam not covered by jñāna or karma The cultivation of bhakti should be free from the covering of jñāna, karma and so forth. There are three divisions of jñana: (1) tat-padārtha-jñāna, knowledge of the constitutional identity of Bhagavān (2) tvaṁ-padārtha-jñāna, knowledge of the constitutional identity of the jīva and his relationship with Bhagavān and (3) jīva-brahma-aikya-jñāna, or knowledge of the oneness of the jīva and Brahman. In addition all nitya-naimittika-karma (daily and occasional duties) mentioned in the smṛti-śāstras as well as all types of karma-miṣra-bhakti and jñāna-miṣra-bhakti are forbidden. These mixtures of knowledge and fruitive activities with bhakti may be useful in the very beginning stages of spiritual life, but in higher stages are completely transcended. Also phalgu-vairāgya (renunciation that is not helpful to bhakti), aṣṭāṅga-yoga (the eightfold yoga system), the practice of abhyāsa-yoga (frequent and repeated meditation on abstract spirit) as cited in the sāṅkhya-śāstra, and other practices unrelated to bhakti are prohibited. ANOTHER New Book: Transontology by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 10:06 AM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well I dumped all the Transontology material into a standard book format, and surprise surprise, it's over 100 pages! So I'm writing a little Foreword, editing the material a little, and should have another book out in a few days. Thanks for the suggestion! love, Baba Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 07:59 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is good news, looking forward to it! I think the material on transontology is a good bridge for many so called "scientific" minded people but can not make the link with the vedic texts. If only they knew! Certainly a good way to display your intelligence concerning their current scientific jargon, that they have come up with nothing new and the vedas have far surpassed them, it is the highest authority. Love, Keiju Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 10:04 AM Dear Keiju and Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well here it is! Already available from Lulu.com for only US$12.95. Download the PDF [760 KB]. love, Baba Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Monday, 15 December 2008, 10:00 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Wow! lol, the cover looks so nice too. sāyaṁ prātar upāsīta gurv-agny-arka-surottamān sandhye ubhe ca yata-vāg japan brahma samāhitaḥ At both junctions of day and night, namely, in the early morning and in the evening, he should be fully absorbed in thoughts of the spiritual master, fire, the sun-god and Lord Viṣṇu and by chanting the Gāyatrī mantra he should worship them. [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.12.2] Love, Keiju (Edited by David Bruce Hughes - corrected the śloka link) Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 11:54 AM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The eye candy on the cover is a 4-dimensional fractal generated by William Rood. Beautiful śloka. love, Baba Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by Luciano Macchiavello - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 07:37 AM Dear Babji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Way to go!!! Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by Michael Jones - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 12:12 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thanks for bringing these out. I think my mum might actually give The Book of Gethsemane a read. I am going to order these after Christmas when I have some money. Love Mike Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 01:17 PM Dear Babaji & students Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! That site by William Rood was fun to play around with , not sure how you worked out using it to get a particular sloka. I looked up this word "śloka", which translates to verse, sound, noise, frequency, praise, glory. One way or other I was led to this video about vedic sound vibrations and its affect on the brain which I thought was helpful in understaning why it is important to chant in a particular manner just how Babaji advises, the frequencies have to be right in order for it to have full affect, every bit of advise from Babaji has a very specific reason. Wouldnt pay too much attention to their explanation of anything else, not sure where their coming from, just the parts about mapping the brain activity. Part 1- Vedic Sound and Brain Wave Coherence harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā " ’In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.’ [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta: Ādi-līlā 17.21] Its best to just take the medicine on prescription by the doctor because he is expert, a famous story told by Buddha:- "It's just as if a man were wounded with an arrow thickly smeared with poison. His friends & companions, kinsmen & relatives would provide him with a surgeon, and the man would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know whether the man who wounded me was a noble warrior, a priest, a merchant, or a worker.' He would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know the given name & clan name of the man who wounded me...until I know whether he was tall, medium, or short...until I know whether he was dark, ruddy-brown, or golden-colored...until I know his home village, town, or city...until I know whether the bow with which I was wounded was a long bow or a crossbow...until I know whether the bowstring with which I was wounded was fiber, bamboo threads, sinew, hemp, or bark...until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was wild or cultivated...until I know whether the feathers of the shaft with which I was wounded were those of a vulture, a stork, a hawk, a peacock, or another bird...until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was bound with the sinew of an ox, a water buffalo, a langur, or a monkey.' He would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was that of a common arrow, a curved arrow, a barbed, a calf-toothed, or an oleander arrow.' The man would die and those things would still remain unknown to him. Love, Keiju Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by Neville Clemens - Monday, 15 December 2008, 09:50 AM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! As I go through the Transontology book, I was collecting short excerpts from there that really jumped out at me. I thought I would share them here for everyone else. In a few places I've put in some comments of my own in parantheses, for the benefit of my own understanding: Ontology in essence is about the meaning of meaning, and there is no meaning to our existence until and unless our language and science develop a transcendental dimension. Transontology is important because it is the only way of giving appropriate meaning to the transcendental aspects of human consciousness, experience and life. (Without that, these fundamental parts of our existence are considered meaningless and nonexistent, fictitious at best) Vedāntic consciousness theory provides a workable interface between the individual and the Universal Quantum Wave Function, which contains all possibilities of all possible universes. Through this interface, one can enter into a direct personal relationship with the Infinite and engage in an eternal, ecstatic dance of mutual reciprocation. If it seems that the parameters of this universe are fine-tuned to the needs of human beings, it is precisely because the nature of our senses and consciousness decrees that we will bring exactly that kind of universe into manifestation from the ‘quantum soup’ of all possible manifestations of the primordial Universal Quantum Wave Function. If the universe we observe seems tailor-made for us, it is because the universe we observe is the one that we bring out of the universal wave function by our very nature and state of consciousness. (We are in the material world because we have a material consciousness. As Prabhupada said, if you want to enter into the fire, you must become fire; if you want to enter into the spiritual world, you must become fully spiritualized - then we will decohere the spiritual world.) The Absolute Truth: The unconditioned, infinite, immanent and unknowable source and context of everything; the ground against which everything exists, is measured, and finds its destiny. (Refer Bhagavad-gita 7.7) [...]to attain the optimum state of being and full enjoyment of life requires full acceptance of our qualitative identity with Brahman, the transcendental source of all energies The methodology for changing our consciousness is also given in the literature of Vedānta: it is constant engagement of the attention and awareness in subjects of transcendental quality. Constantly hearing, repeating, remembering and serving the Vedānta philosophy itself and the sacred subjects in relation to it is the prime methodology for advancing in the transcendental science. Therefore Vedānta is supremely self-referential, another quality that we would expect from a truly transcendental science; it does not require any knowledge outside of itself for its complete implementation and realization. This satisfaction may be intellectual at the outset, but it gradually spreads throughout our minds until it permeates our entire consciousness at every moment. In this advanced stage of practice there is a complete cessation of the material suffering, desire and regret concomitant with the relative state of consciousness, and a spontaneous arousal of detachment, transcendent knowledge and causeless bliss. [...]This exalted state of consciousness is called mokṣa, or liberation. And it is attainable by anyone who learns the science of Absolute Truth and applies its principles in his life. This is the actual aim of Vedānta and the ultimate purpose of yoga and meditation. The quality of consciousness is absolute; it is not an effect of any relative phenomenon. When we realize this, we are at the doorstep of Absolute Truth. (Consciousness is causeless. Why do I exist? that question is not applicable because consciousness is eternal and hence beyond causation and hence absolute, independent.) When consciousness realizes its own source, full self-realization occurs and the illusory state of relative existence is fully revealed. Realize Re"al*ize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Realized; p. pr. & vb. n. Realizing.] [Cf. F. r['e]aliser.] 1. To make real; to convert from the imaginary or fictitious into the actual; to bring into concrete existence; to accomplish; as, to realize a scheme or project. 2. To cause to seem real; to impress upon the mind as actual; to feel vividly or strongly; to make one's own in apprehension or experience. Love, Neville The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 17 by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 15 December 2008, 06:50 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here's the next chapter: Chapter seventeen BLESSINGS TULASI DEVI WILL BESTOW Lord Narayana continued... "The sanctifying Tulasi tree will grow in Goloka, on the coast of the Viraja River, on the rasa-dance site, in the forests of Vrndavana, Bhandira, Champaka, Chandana, and in the groves of Madhavi, Ketaki, Kunda, Mallika and Malati. You will live in sacred places and bestow the highest religious merit. All the holy spots will converge and reside at the root of the Tulasi tree, and thus spiritual merits will accrue to all. O fair one, all the demigods and I will wait there to gather the falling Tulasi leaves. "Whoever will be moistened or anointed with the water that has been sanctified by Tulasi leaves, will reap the benefits of having bathed in all the sacred rivers and performed all kinds of sacrifices. "Lord Hari will not be as pleased with the gift of a thousand jars of honey as with one Tulasi leaf. "Offering one such leaf as a gift will bring the same reward obtained by offering millions of cows. "If one offers Tulasi leaves during the month of Kartika, he gets the same rewards as those just mentioned. "If, at the time of death, one drinks or gets the Tulasi-leaf water, one will be freed of all his sins and proceed to Vaikuntha. "Whoever drinks the Tulasi-leaf water daily will be redeemed in his lifetime and receive the benefit of a dip in the Ganges. "Whoever plucks a Tulasi leaf, keeps it on his person, and then leaves his body in a holy place, will go to Visnuloka. "Anyone who worships Me with this leaf daily will reap the blessings of a hundred thousand horse sacrifices. "Anyone who leaves his body holding a Tulasi leaf in his hands will be saved from all sins. "Anyone who wears a necklace composed of Tulasi wood, will surely, at every step, get the reward of a horse sacrifice. "Whoever breaks his promise while holding the Tulasi leaf will go to the Kalasutra hell for as long as the sun and moon last. "Anyone who gives false evidence in the presence of the Tulasi leaf, will go to the Kumbhipaka hell for as long as the lifespans of fourteen Indras. "Whoever at the time of death drinks or gets a little Tulasi-leaf water will certainly proceed to Vaikuntha, leaving in a jeweled airplane. "Lord Hari will decapitate that person who, on the day of the new moon or the full moon, or on the twelfth or last day of the lunar month, or after being anointed with oil just before taking a bath, or at noon, night, daybreak or sundown, or in a state of impurity or in one's night dress--will cull or pluck the Tulasi leaf. "O chaste one, even if such a leaf is kept for three nights and becomes dry, it can still be employed in connection with funeral ceremonies, vows, gifts, consecration of temples and the worship of demigods. "If Tulasi leaves that were offered to Lord Visnu have fallen on the ground or on water are then properly washed, they may still be used for other sacred purposes. "You will always be the presiding deity of the Tulasi plant here on Earth, and at the same time you will always sport with Sri Krsna in solitude in Goloka. You will also be the presiding deity of the Gandaki River, and thereby shower India with religious merit. You will further be the wife of the ocean of salt, which is My partial expansion. O chaste goddess, you will always remain personally by My side and enjoy My company, as Laksmi does. love, Baba SURPRISE! Another new book: Search for the Absolute Truth by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 05:16 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well we are on a tear, and just can't seem to stop bringing them out. This is a reprint of the old 1998 edition. You can buy it here for only US$12.95. What next? "ONCE upon a time, not so long ago, there lived an intelligent, adventurous young man in a very dull small town. The people in this town did nothing but follow the ordinary rules and conventions of materialistic society. The citizens were interested only in money, eating, sleeping, family affairs and of course, the usual mundane gossip and politics of any small town. However, our young man was not satisfied with this stultifying existence—he wanted to see and explore the entire world, and eventually achieve his greatest heart’s desire: to meet God face-to-face. Naturally everyone tried their best to convince him that these things were impossible; or if possible, uselessly impractical..." Thus begins one young man's adventure in search of the Absolute Truth. love, Baba Re: SURPRISE! Another new book: Search for the Absolute Truth by Luciano Macchiavello - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 07:35 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! And when that young man that went on his adventure did he think he would one day be teaching it to others? Love and Respect Luciano Re: SURPRISE! Another new book: Search for the Absolute Truth by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 14 December 2008, 08:13 AM Dear Luciano, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Maybe he had that ultimate goal in the back of his mind; but his full attention was on the glory of his excellent adventure. A man must find a transcendental cause of high adventure in which to engage his youthful passion. Otherwise, he wastes his youth and energy chasing after the ephemera of the material world, which seems to vanish even as he tries to possess it. Then in old age, although still lusty for material enjoyment he feels defeated by life, which is terrible because he cannot do anything about it; thus is born the desire for another life in this prison of the material world. There is story that a king's guru told him, "You should pursue spiritual realization now, while you are still youthful and strong." The king objected, "No, now it is time for material enjoyment, then when I am old and the desire for material enjoyment passes away, I shall dedicate myself to spiritual progress." "No," the guru replied, "first of all, spiritual life is arduous and difficult, and requires youth and strength. Second, the lusty desire for material enjoyment does not at all diminish with age." The king doubted, "But when the body grows old and the senses become dull, surely the fire of lust will cool." But the wise man declared, "Perhaps the expression of lust is inhibited by age. But if one's consciousness does not change, he remains lusty but frustrated." The king was not convinced, so the guru said, "I shall prove this to you. Give me a few days to arrange everything." "So be it," said the king. A few days later the guru beckoned to the king to come with him. They went to a room in the palace where one of the king's subjects lay dying. The king and his guru entered and stood on one side of the bed, conversing with the old man. The guru whispered in the king's ear, "Now watch closely." Suddenly the king's daughter, a very beautiful young girl, entered the room and stood on the other side of the old man's bed. Even though the king and his guru were standing right there talking with him, the old man's full attention went to the princess, and he could not take his eyes off of her. Finally, the king was convinced that lust remains in the heart even in old age. "I do not want to die like that, helplessly tortured by lust," he said. "I accept your instruction and will begin daily sādhana now." Therefore one should begin the ultimate adventure, transcendental realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, while one is still young and strong. That way one has time to recover from his mistakes and attain the goal before it is too late to help others. Śrīla Prabhupāda used to say, We should always be enthusiastic to try for shooting the rhinoceros. That way, if we fail, everybody will say "Never mind, nobody can shoot a rhinoceros anyway," and if we succeed, then everyone will say, "Just see, what a wonderful thing they have done." [Letter to Balavanta, 12/22/71] love, Baba Farmers Predict Food Shortages in 2009 by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 06:36 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Check this out: Last week I received a very concerned call from South Dakota farmer and agronomist Bryan Lutter. "Neal, we're out of propane!" I figured this was personal distress – he and his family farm over three square miles of land and I know this has been a tough year for many people. He promptly corrected my misconception when I tried to console him. "No, everybody is out, all three grain elevators, we can't get fuel for the bins, and we're coming in real wet this year." I started digging into the details and unless I'm badly mistaken people are going to be starving in 2009 over causes and conditions being set down right now. It's a complex, interlocking issue, and I hope I've done a good job explaining it below ... Read the whole article here. love, Baba Re: Farmers Predict Food Shortages in 2009 by Laura Harrison - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 06:01 PM Beloved Babaji, Thank you for finding and sharing this most important information. While many companies continue their mega holiday sales just to get you in the door all the while trying to keep from filing for bankruptcy, grocery prices continue to rise. People in the US are already going hungry and 2009 is no doubt going to bring absolute horror. This article is the first I've heard about the problems with the coming spring crops and I don't understand why Obama isn't openly addressing the issue. There is such focus on the auto industry, war, and financial bailouts. Telling people that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better is a broad statement. One would think Obama would be a bit more definitive than that, especially when we're talking about people starving to death. We were warned about Y2K and many prepared. This situation is far worse, and real. Hopefully all of the students have been storing as much dry goods as they can. With much love and respect, Laura   Re: Farmers Predict Food Shortages in 2009 by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 06:58 PM Dear Laura, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Y2K was a nonsense scam. I was working in a computer store on Guam just before Y2K, and the local TV station called to interview someone about the story. I did the spot and told everyone there was nothing to worry about (Microsoft had patched Windows months before). I actually got threatening phone calls! Anyway, I was right, it was a non-event. So I am not afraid to call BS when something is off, like Y2K or the so-called 'Harmonic Convergence.' But this is the real thing; listen up people! Don't whine and complain next year when a loaf of stale bread is going for $10. Don't make me say "I told you so, why didn't you prepare." love, Baba Evening Darshan 10 December 2008: Bhagavad-gītā 13.8-12 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 08:26 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In five wonderful ślokas, Kṛṣṇa sums up the entire Esoteric Teaching and the authentic path of spiritual life. Bhagavad-gītā 13.8-12 are a capsule summary of Vedānta, the ultimate conclusion of Vedic Absolute Truth. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Re: Evening Darshan 10 December 2008: Bhagavad-gītā 13.8-12 by David Lugan - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 01:06 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for this lesson. I like how it is so clear what we must do. Before discovering this school I found my way to many of these habits and now they are confirmed in this Bhagavad-gītā passage. What do you think about the validity of Ramakrishna's nirvikalpa samādhi and his multiple samādhi experiences? Love, David Re: Evening Darshan 10 December 2008: Bhagavad-gītā 13.8-12 by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 07:07 AM Dear David, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Ramakrishna was a meat-eating worshiper of Goddess Kālī, the horrible ghastly form of the material nature, who thought that he was God. What is the use of any teaching coming from a source like that? So here it is said that rāma-kṛṣṇāv iti [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.23]. God appeared as Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. There are some foolish persons who are misled by another imitation Ramakrishna. You see? But those who are intelligent... This rascal Ramakrishna said that "I am the same Rāma-Kṛṣṇa." Another rascal believed, "Oh, he is Rāma-Kṛṣṇa." Why I say rascal? Because here it is said, rāma-kṛṣṇāv iti bhuvo bhagavān aharad bharam: ["The Lord advented Himself as Lord Balarāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa in the family of Vṛṣṇi, or the Yadu dynasty, and by so doing He removed the burden of the world."]. There must be symptoms of Rāma-Kṛṣṇa. Anyone will say, "I am Rāma-Kṛṣṇa," and he becomes Rāma-Kṛṣṇa? How? What is the test? The test is bhagavān aharad bharam. When Kṛṣṇa and Rāma appeared, Balarāma, He killed so many demons to make the world peaceful. The beginning of killing was their maternal uncle Kaṁsa. Not only that beginning. From the beginning of Kṛṣṇa's birth, Pūtanā, Aghāsura, Bakāsura, the Keśī, and so many asuras... Every day, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma used to go in the forest and some asura would come to disturb Them, to kill Them, and Kṛṣṇa will finish them. And the friends will come at home and narrate the story to their mothers, "Mother, Kṛṣṇa is so wonderful. Such a big demon came and He killed immediately in this way and that way." That is Kṛṣṇa. Not that because one has got some so-called meditation, He becomes Kṛṣṇa without any test. But what is the proof that he is Rāma-Kṛṣṇa? But they do not take the proof. They simply pose a bogus man as Rāma-Kṛṣṇa. So this Rāma-Kṛṣṇa is different from this bogus Ramakrishna. Rāma-Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān. They are actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and They proved it. Not that Rāma-Kṛṣṇa is dying out of cancer disease. Yes. We are not after such kind of Ramakrishna. Besides that, when there is real Rāma-Kṛṣṇa, why I shall go to the false and imitation Ramakrishna? They say the same Rāma-Kṛṣṇa. That's all right, the same, but I don't find any proof that the same. So why shall I take to this imitation Ramakrishna? Why not take this real Rāma-Kṛṣṇa? So we should be intelligent enough. We should not be bluffed. Kṛṣṇa yei bhaje sei baḍa catura: "Anyone who takes to devotional service is exalted, whereas a nondevotee is always condemned and abominable." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya 4.67] Without being very intelligent, nobody surrenders to Kṛṣṇa. bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ "After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." [Bhagavad-gītā 7.19] So anyone who has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, He is the most intelligent man, jñānavān. Kṛṣṇa says, unless one is fully wise, after many, many births, after many, many births. Because everyone is trying to place a competitor of Kṛṣṇa. Just like I have said it... "Oh, why that Rāma-Kṛṣṇa? Here is another with big beard, Ramakrishna." So... But he is not wise? That kind of Ramakrishna is for the foolish man, and those who are presenting, he is also foolish. But bahūnām... In this way, foolishly accepting something as God... When one actually becomes wise, after many [births], if he is actually searching after God... catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛtino 'rjuna ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha "O best among the Bhāratas, four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute." [Bhagavad-gītā 7.16] [Class on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.23, Los Angeles 9/28/72] So what to speak of being God, Ramakrishna is not even accepted as being a bona fide devotee. He posed himself as God, and his foolish followers accepted and propagated this nonsense. Then when his disciple Swami Vivekananda presented this bogus philosophy at the World Convention of Religions in Chicago in 1915, it created a sensation: "Oh great, we can also become God." There was no bona fide Vedic teacher there to defeat this nonsense. So in that way, a completely wrong misconception of yoga and meditation became established among foolish people, that "I can do some mystic meditation and realize that I am God," and this nonsense is still going on today under the banner of the new-age philosophy. We have to be intelligent to understand who is actually God. To be accepted as an incarnation of God there are three requirements: certain esoteric symptoms on the body, prophetic statements in the scriptures, and superhuman activities. Ramakrishna displayed none of these symptoms, yet foolish people still accept him as God just out of sentiment—because the rascals think, "Oh, he is just a rascal like me, and if this rascal can be accepted as God, then so can I." love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 15 by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 13 December 2008, 07:02 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is part 15: Chapter fifteen THE FINAL BATTLE At this time, on the battlefield, King Sankhacuda approached Lord Siva without his armor. The latter seized his blazing trident to slay the demon. The trident's name was Vijaya, and it was as bright as a hundred summer suns. The front of it was presided over by Lord Narayana, the middle by Lord Brahma, the root by Lord Siva and the edge by Time. It was bright like the fire of devastation at the end of the world--dauntless, irresistible, fixed and destructive in its aim. In brilliance it equaled the Sudarsana Chakra, and it was the topmost of all weapons. No one but Lord Visnu or Lord Siva could wield it, and all but them were afraid of it. The trident was 14,000 cubits long and 100 cubits wide. One could not tell from where and how it proceeded. By its own will, this trident could destroy all the worlds. Lord Siva raised the trident high, aimed and hurled it at Sankhacuda. Seeing it coming, the demon king dropped his bow and arrows, collected his mind, sat down in a yoga posture, and meditated on the lotus feet of Lord Krsna with great devotion. The trident whirled around Sankhacuda's head for a while. Then, at Lord Siva's command, it smashed into the demon's head and burned him and his chariot to ashes. Thereafter, the trident returned to Lord Siva, and then left for the airways at the speed of the mind, and finally returned with force and gladness to Lord Narayana. In the heavens, the celestials beat their drums, the Gandharvas and Kinnaras sang, the sages and demigods chanted eulogies and all the damsels danced. Flowers continuously rained down upon Lord Siva, and Lord Visnu, Brahma, Indra and other notables praised him. Out of compassion, Lord Siva tossed the demon's bones into the sea and these bones became transformed into all the conches in the world. They are always considered very holy and favorable in the worship of the demigods. The water in the conch is also considered very sacred and satisfying to the demigods--as sacred as the water in any holy river. It can be offered to all the demigods but not to Lord Siva. Wherever the conch is blown, Laksmi dwells there with great delight. If one bathes with the conch water, this is equivalent to bathing in all the holy rivers. Wherever the the conch is placed, Lord Hari and Goddess Laksmi live there, and all inauspicious things disappear from that place. However, wherever the females and sudras blow the conch, Goddess Laksmi becomes annoyed and, out of fear, travels to other places. Lord Siva then mounted his bull carrier and, with all his followers, returned to his own residence. All the demigods also returned to their abodes with great joy. Before leaving, Lord Siva favored Sankhacuda by releasing him from his curse, and thus he regained his original form as the cowherd boy Sudama. Adorned with jewels, holding a flute, mounted on a divine chariot, and surrounded by numerous cowherd boys from Goloka Vrndavana, Sankhacuda then flew to the spiritual sky, Goloka, which is full of devotees of Lord Krsna who have various transcendental relationships with Him. When Sudama saw Srimati Radharani and Sri Krsna, he bowed down to Their lotus feet with devotion. Seeing him, the Divine couple were filled with love for him and, with kind faces and joyful eyes, lifted him up and took him on Their laps. love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 14 by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 12 December 2008, 08:22 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The next part: Chapter fourteen LORD VISNU APPEARS Sankhacuda threw mystic missiles at Lord Siva. He also, like a cloud pouring rain, showered arrows on him. He used different kinds of illusory methods that were invisible and bewildering to the demigods and Lord Siva's followers. Seeing this, Lord Siva released his supernatural Mahesvara missiles and these quickly destroyed the illusions, divesting them of their brilliance. Then the powerful Lord Siva suddenly grabbed his trident--a trident that could not be withstood even by great persons--so as to slay Sankhacuda. But to stop him, an unembodied heavenly voice boomed, "O Siva, do not throw the trident now. Listen to this request...There is no doubt that you are able to destroy the universe in a second. So what would be the difficulty in destroying this one Danava, Sankhacuda? Still you should not ignore the rules of the Vedas. O great one, rather make it truthful and fruitful. Understand that Lord Brahma has stated that as long as Sankhacuda wears the armor of Lord Visnu --namely, the amulet around his neck--and as long as his wife maintains her marital faithfulness, he can neither die nor grow old. He is under these boons. Therefore, please make these boons truthful by not violating them." Lord Siva replied, "So be it." At that moment Lord Siva desired to see Lord Visnu, and so Lord Visnu appeared there. Lord Siva told Him what he desired and Lord Visnu agreed to help him. So, dressed as an aged brahmana, Lord Visnu, foremost in mystic power, approached Sankhacuda and requested, "O King of the Danavas, please grant my request. You give away in charity all kinds of wealth and riches, so please grant me what I desire. I am a quiet, peaceful, aged brahmana. I am very hungry and thirsty. But first make your promise, and then I will tell you what I want." The king, with a kind face and a pleasing eye, swore to Him that he would give Him whatever He asked for. So the brahmana said affectionately, "I would like your amulet." Sankhacuda, a well-wisher of the brahmanas who spoke the truth, thus handed over to the disguised Lord Visnu his divine amulet. Then Lord Visnu assumed the form of Sankhacuda and went to Tulasi Devi's palace. When He approached the entrance, He created the appearance of a victory homecoming, causing others to beat their drums and to shout "Victory". Tulasi Devi was awakened from sleep. On hearing the sounds, the chaste woman was ecstatic. She eagerly peeped through the windows onto the road. When she realized that her husband had returned, she observed all auspicious rites and offered cash gifts to the brahmanas. Then she beautified herself. Lord Visnu went to Tulasi's apartment. When she saw the Lord and thought He was her husband, she was gladdened. She bathed His feet, offered obeisances to Him, and sobbed. Then she had Him sit on the jeweled throne and handed Him the auspicious betel leaf that had been made fragrant with camphor. She said, "Today my life has become happy. For my beloved, who went to fight, has now returned home." Drinking him in with wide eyes and a smiling face, Tulasi Devi sweetly asked him about the events of the battle. "My lord, how did you do in the battle with Lord Siva? He is the protector of the demigods and the annihilator of countless universes. You have returned cheerfully after defeating the great lord. How did you beat him? Tell me all about it." Lord Visnu laughed and said sweetly, "When I reached the battlefield, there was a terrible clamor. A big battle then followed. The demigods fought the demons, and each side was eager for victory. The demigods defeated the demons. But then I fought the powerful demigods. Those whom I defeated sought shelter of Lord Siva. Then Lord Siva, to help them, fought me for a long time. My dear wife, Lord Siva and I fought continuously for a year. All the demons were killed. Then Lord Brahma made us agree to peace. Thus, at Lord Brahma's order, the powers of authority were re-assigned to the demigods...So, I have come home and Lord Siva has gone to Sivaloka. All have returned to health and normalcy. Thus the trouble has ended." Lord Visnu then lay down on the bed with Tulasi devi and became close with her. love, Baba New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 12 December 2008, 09:49 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We have a new book available from Lulu.com, The Book of Gethsemane. This would make a great Christmas gift for your friends and family members coming from a Christian background. I wrote this book while I was on Kaua'i on my six-month solitary chanting retreat in 2001. Also, please don't forget our other books on the Esoteric Teaching. From the first chapter: Most people have heard the story of Jesus and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. The core teaching of this familiar account from the New Testament is that when in difficulty, one should approach the spiritual Master Teacher or God to pray for advice and inspiration. The Lord will respond, either directly or through the spiritual Master Teacher, resolving the sincere disciple’s difficulty. This tenet is actually an integral part of the Esoteric Teaching from which all the bona fide religions in the world are derived. Therefore it is universally relevant to all Godly people, regardless of their doctrinal orientation or level of attainment in self-realization. However, this pastime also contains a much more profound meaning. There is a clue to its deeper layer of significance in the fact that Jesus’ disciples could not remain awake while he prayed. The unenlightened person can hardly appreciate the personal presence of God or the timeless Esoteric Teaching He reveals when He appears in this world. As the Lord stated in the Esoteric Teaching, “The time of awakening for the self-realized soul is night for ordinary beings.” Therefore, although a spiritual event of universal significance was happening right before them, the neophyte disciples who would later chronicle of Jesus’ life in the Gospels and found the original Christian religion could not remain alert. They slept despite the fact that God was present, engaged in an intense personal dialog with His son and intimate disciple Jesus Christ. This inattention is revealed in the Gospels; or rather, in what is omitted from the Gospels. After all, the writers could not possibly have recorded what was happening while they were asleep. Therefore in the Gospels’ version of the story, Jesus goes from protesting “My Father, all things are possible for You, take this cup from me,” to capitulating, “Yet, not as I will, but as You will,” in a single verse. A great soul like Jesus does not so easily doubt the order of the Lord, which is his life and soul. If Jesus had doubts (“Take this cup from me”), they must have been significant. Significant doubts are not easily erased. One gets the feeling that a lot of dialog is absent from the narration; indeed, the Lord’s side of the conversation is completely missing. Except for a brief mention of the appearance of the Lord of Heaven to Jesus, only statements and actions of Jesus appear in the Gospels. This is consistent with the observation that the disciples were inattentive and unaware of God’s presence. They were dozing, and only half awoke when Jesus cried out to his Father in prayer. Alas, the Gospels, for all their beauty and value, are not perfect. They contain many omissions. Another glaring dereliction is the entire story of Jesus’ young manhood. The Gospels narrate a few precious pastimes of Jesus as a child, and then suddenly skip to his preaching activities as a grown man. Twenty years or so are utterly missing from the Gospels’ account of Jesus’ life. However, this is not the case with other records. The Esoteric Teaching narrates Jesus’ early travels throughout the ancient world, notably to Egypt and India, where he took instruction and received initiation and recognition from many spiritual authorities. Not surprisingly, the Esoteric Teaching contains a similar, but more complete version of the Gethsemane story as well. love, Baba Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Friday, 12 December 2008, 12:08 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I will add this to my collection of hard copies, although most "christians" will not have the intelligence to understand:- Yogeśvara: So… Shall I explain that one? What the good Pastor—are they called Pastor?—describes is that in order for there to be a dialogue, we have to respect each others’ positions, not that we will try to convert the other. He says just as we respect you have an absolute faith in the Vedic philosophy, so also there must be respect that the Christian interpretation of the life of Lord Jesus and his death… Prabhupāda: Oh, I think I have better respect than him to Jesus Christ. I say he does not die. He says he dies. (French) So far respect is concerned, I have more respect than them. They want to see Jesus Christ dead. I don’t want to see him dead. [Room Conversation with devotees about Twelfth Canto Kali-yuga, and Conversation with Guest His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda June 15, 1974, Paris] They are not interested in Absolute truth, merely defending beliefs.... I have come across positions as above many times, I say its knowledge but they do not know what is knowledge, it is not possible to discuss Krsna with the insane, further down on that room conversation, there is an American man.. that insanity is quite common, "God is Light" ok.. "God cannot be described" ok... "Everything is light" ok... "I did not say God is light" ok... please leave lol. I wonder if you have ever thought about writing a book on transontology, or simply collect all the information together from the website and into book format? Not that your current collection of books is insufficient, but just surprised since you have enough information on the transontology site. Love, Keiju Re: New Book: The Book of Gethsemane by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 12 December 2008, 12:27 PM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well, the Christians are hypocrites. He had nothing and went everywhere on foot, but the priests who claim to represent him live in ornate palaces and ride around in big black Cadillac limos. Their followers are so dull, they don't see the contradiction in this. Hmm, a Transontology book is a good idea. Well, I did need something to do this afternoon... love, Baba St. Issa by David Lugan - Friday, 12 December 2008, 12:34 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. This is a very good book that shows why the Vedas are necessary to truly understand the nature of the soul and our relationship with God from a Christian perspective. Was Jesus named St. Issa while he was in India? If so then why wouldn't he continue to call himself Jesus? Love, David Re: St. Issa by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 12 December 2008, 01:17 PM Dear David, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You are not aware of how words change as they propagate from one language and historical period to another. "Issa" is a clumsy transliteration of Īśa, which means 'the first.' Just as Christ is etymologically derived from Kṛṣṇa: [Kṛṣṇa (Sanskrit) → Kṛṣṭa (Farsi) → Kristos (Greek) → Kristus (Latin) → Christ (English)] Jesus is etymologically derived from Īśa: [Īśa (Sanskrit) → Yeṣa (Farsi) → Iesos (Greek) → Iesus (Latin) → Jesus (English)] Īśa is one of the names of Lord Brahma, who is the first created being in the universe, and incidentally the first guru in our lineage of the Esoteric Teaching. Lord Brahma is born directly from the transcendental body of Lord Viṣṇu. So when the Lord (the Father) sent His one and only direct son (Lord Brahma) to this planet to save His devotees and destroy the Jews for their blasphemy of declaring themselves God, he appeared as Lord Jesus Christ. love, Baba Jyotish Predictions for 2009 by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 12:14 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Vedic Astrologer Joni Patri's predictions for 2009 are now online. "The astrological trends of events and the social climate in this world, particularly in America, are moving us toward destruction." Let's use this thread to discuss them. love, Baba Re: Jyotish Predictions for 2009 by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Friday, 12 December 2008, 07:08 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Joni:- This spiritual revolution is not based on religious beliefs. It is based on releasing the need to be right. In the Course of Miracles, the saying, “Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?” couldn’t be clearer for the simple choice we must make. This is a marvelous time for a spiritual awakening! What a contradictory statement! If everybody was right then everybody would be happy, the problem is that almost nobody is right lol, at least that desire to be right or the desire for the Absolute truth is there. The problem is not the desire to be right, it is their lack of desire to be right! For one reason or other people do not care if they are right, they would rather sleep and defend their beliefs rather than try to be right... their life of sense gratification is tiring, our energy is limited:- Interviewer: Here’s the second question: “The traditional charge against Vedic culture is that it is fatalistic, that it makes people slaves to the belief in predestination, and that it therefore inhibits progress. How far is this charge true?” Śrīla Prabhupāda: What is that progress? Is a dog’s jumping progress? Is that progress? A dog is running here and there on four legs, and you are running here and there on the four wheels of the automobile. Is that progress? That is not the Vedic system. According to the Vedic system, the human being has a certain amount of energy, and since the human being has better consciousness than the animals, the energy of the human beings is more valuable than the energy of the animals. Interviewer: Probably no one would dispute that the human being has more freedom or, I suppose, responsibility than the animals. Śrīla Prabhupāda: So human energy should be utilized for spiritual advancement, not that the energy should be employed to compete with the dog. The saintly person is not busy like the dog. Today people think that “dog-ness” is life, but actual life is spiritual progress. Therefore, the Vedic literature says, tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ tal labhyate duḥkha vad anyataḥ sukhaṁ kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā “Persons who are actually intelligent and philosophically inclined should endeavor only for that purposeful end which is not obtainable even by wandering from the topmost planet [Brahmaloka] down to the lowest planet [Pātāla]. As far as happiness derived from sense enjoyment is concerned, it can be obtained automatically in the course of time, just as in the course of time we obtain miseries, even though we do not desire them.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.18) [The science of self realisation 6] I understand that you respect Joni's knowledge of vedic astrology, but this person is certainly not self-realised! Her contradictory statements are everywhere on her site. So just as you have advised us Babaji, we should be careful to read anyones interpretation of vedic astrology who hasnt attained self-realisation. My impression of Joni is that she is materialistic, her astrology is mostly used for materialistic purposes. However:- "March is a monumental month for change! Radical shifts and explosive events! The economy, the government, the stock market…everything will reach a bottom or an extreme. There may be a major attack that will be a shock to hit our nation and the world. This is the turning point, for things will never be the same after this month. The summer months will be chaotic culminating into more shifts and transformations in July and August. The July solar eclipse will produce massive changes again that will promote great fear. The government is in shambles and cannot recover from the devastating downturns of the economy and radical means are taken. Political leader’s lives are threatened." These I think are very true. I have seen on a predictive linguistics site posted on here, independcejournal.com, they constantly mention the Feb-March 09 date for the start of the hyper inflation, and they call the summer months "the summer of hell", seems her predictions are in line with them anyway. Also seems to fit into the general direction the major news corporations are reporting, albeit very biased and watered down versions of it. This also fits with the food shortages post you made recently. All in all, the material world is crumbling for sure... will the majority be able to make an advancement in consciousness within a few months... Do you think the events currently going on are planned Babaji? Ive done some research on the controlling powers and it would appear that they have enough influence to turn the world into a staged play to achieve whatever agendas they have, either way I have managed to divert my consciousness away from these demons wasting everybodys time, the news channels these days are pretty comical. kruddhasya yasya kampante trayo lokāḥ saheśvarāḥ tasya me ’bhītavan mūḍha śāsanaṁ kiṁ balo ’tyagāḥ "My son Prahlāda, you rascal, you know that when I am angry all the planets of the three worlds tremble, along with their chief rulers. By whose power has a rascal like you become so impudent that you appear fearless and overstep my power to rule you?"  [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.8.6] PURPORT The relationship between a pure devotee and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is extremely relishable. A devotee never claims to be very powerful himself; instead, he fully surrenders to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, being confident that in all dangerous conditions Kṛṣṇa will protect His devotee. Kṛṣṇa Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.31), kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “O son of Kuntī, declare boldly that My devotee never perishes.” The Lord requested Arjuna to declare this instead of declaring it Himself because sometimes Kṛṣṇa changes His view and therefore people might not believe Him. Thus Kṛṣṇa asked Arjuna to declare that a devotee of the Lord is never vanquished. Hiraṇyakaśipu was perplexed about how his five-year-old boy could be so fearless that he did not care for the order of his very great and powerful father. A devotee cannot execute the order of anyone except the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the position of a devotee. Hiraṇyakaśipu could understand that this boy must have been very powerful, since the boy did not heed his orders. Hiraṇyakaśipu asked his son, kiṁ balaḥ: “How have you overcome my order? By whose strength have you done this?” Love, Keiju Re: Jyotish Predictions for 2009 by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 12 December 2008, 07:07 AM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, Joni is a fairly competent Vedic mundane astrologer; her track record of predictions is pretty good, but her philosophy is lightweight new-age fluff. When she says “Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?” of course this refers to people in material consciousness who are trying to understand why they are unhappy, even though they are doing all the 'right' things. Maybe they are right according to the material ontology, but that whole system is actually wrong because it does not include the direct observation of consciousness. Earlier I observed that the Vedic astrology culture in the West is broken, because they follow the grand-disciple Jaimini and try to predict material things, instead of following the original master Parāśara and stick with the understanding that consciousness is supreme. They have so many clients asking material questions, like "Will I get a better job?" "How can I find happiness?" "Will my wife beat her cancer?", while the real questions of life go unasked: "How can I overcome my karma and find God?" "Will I meet a real spiritual master?" "How can I realize the Absolute Truth?" Real Vedic astrology focuses on the latter questions. But to attain this higher stage of astrology requires brahminical qualifications, and no one in the West wants to give up their so-called material enjoyment. Once some sannyāsī disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvatī went to England and met with a member of the House of Lords. He was intrigued that they offered to initiate him as a Vedic brāhmaṇa. "What do I have to do?" he inquired. "Oh, give up eating meat, all intoxication including tea and coffee, illicit sex life not meant to produce children, and gambling; and chant the Holy Name of the Lord 64 rounds daily." His reply: "Impossible!" Just like recently, VP Dick Cheney commented that of all the political deals on the table, "The American lifestyle is non-negotiable." In other words, "We are willing to drive the entire world into poverty and war over oil, rather than give up our SUVs, video games and malls." Now the financial crisis caused by such unmitigated greed will force them to become austere, whether they like it or not. The materialistic system will always fail, because it is based on false premises. As a non-materialistic devotee of the Lord, I have often seen the huge cars and energy-wasting houses full of pampered, spoiled materialistic people, and wondered how these rascals have so much time, money and energy to spend on complete nonsense. They do not know that all this is simply fruitless labor, and dooms them to repeat the painful experience of material existence again and again. Whether we use astrology or not, material work is dangerous. Why can't people understand this? It is taught in every scripture in the world. Meanwhile, the predictions of mundane astrologers can help us chart our course in an often dangerous world. To remain fit for devotional service, we have to at least have the basic necessities of life. Otherwise we will be thinking of our empty stomachs instead of God. But we should neve confuse such mundane speculations with real knowledge. love, Baba The Most Wonderful Thing in the World by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 07:56 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yamarāja once asked Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, "What is the most wonderful thing within this world?" Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira replied (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.116): ahany ahani bhūtāni gacchantīha yamālayam śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti kim āścaryam ataḥ param "Hundreds and thousands of living entities meet death at every moment, but a foolish living being nonetheless thinks himself deathless and does not prepare for death. This is the most wonderful thing in this world." Everyone has to die because everyone is fully under the control of material nature, yet everyone thinks that he is independent, that whatever he likes he can do, that he will never meet death but live forever, and so on. So-called scientists are making various plans by which living entities in the future can live forever, but while they are thus pursuing such scientific knowledge, Yamarāja, in due course of time, will take them away from their business of so-called research. [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.2.57 Purport] Prabhupāda: ...moha janmani.(?) This world is anitya; you cannot stay here. That is sure, and still we are attached. We make so many arrangements... Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, a man sees that his father has died—everyone is dying—why does he believe that he will not die? Prabhupāda: That is the wonderful thing. Kim āścaryam ataḥ param. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja said. He was asked, "What is the most wonderful thing in this world?" So he replied, "This is the most wonderful thing, that everyone sees that everyone is dying, he's thinking 'I shall not die.' This is the most wonderful thing." Bali-mardana: But the hedonists, they say that "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you will die." Prabhupāda: No, he knows that he'll die, but still he does not prepare, because he's foolish. Pramattaḥ tasya līlānāṁ paśyann api na paśyati. [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.1.4] Pramattaḥ, mad, crazy. He sees that everyone dies, "I am also dying," but he does not know what is after death. Bali-mardana: He does not know what to do to prepare. Prabhupāda: That is ignorance. So this education, this civilization is so dangerous that everyone is kept in the darkness. And when he dies, this everything is finished, he's going to accept. Whatever body nature gives him, he has to accept. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Sometimes people criticize us that we are talking too much about death. Prabhupāda: Because we are not fool like you. Because "as sure as death." But you are so fool you do not think of it. So we are not rascal like you. This is the difference. We take practical reality, but you are such a fool you don't care for the reality. So we are not so fool like you are. [Morning Walk Conversation, 7/11/76, New York] To me, one of the most wonderful and amazing things in the world is that every day we get about 700 views of the videos on our YouTube channel; every day people download about 40 of our videos and Darshan recordings from our blog; every day there are more than 1000 hits on our website; and yet, so few people are becoming students of the Esoteric Teaching and following the eternal spiritual practices that will free them from all suffering. This reminds me of an autistic child, who when you talk to him about one thing, responds by talking about something completely different. To me, it is not an appropriate response. Quite frankly, it seems foolish and a bit nutty. Another really strange thing is that even after all this time, none of our students seem to be preaching. We have made it so easy by publishing so many video and audio recordings. You don't even have to preach yourself; just collect some people, show them a Sunday Satsang video and discuss! Yet somehow it doesn't happen. What's going on with that? Don't you want to help others get the same benefits that you are enjoying? na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ "All men are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.5] yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara "Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.9] Every day you are working and performing so many activities. Each action you perform that is not an act of sacrifice for Viṣṇu binds you to this material world by creating karmic reactions. This is not my idea; it is stated on every page of the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas. If you want to be free from karma and rebirth, you have to find a way to link everything you do with the spiritual purpose of existence by offering it to Kṛṣṇa. The spiritual master guides his students to live a karma-free life by constant engagement devotional service to the Lord. Attaining the platform of pure devotional service requires expert training and instruction; that's why we recommend that everyone dedicate several years of their lives to a monastic life of service, and get the training that will free you from material existence. But even the greatest spiritual master can't help you unless you surrender. love, Baba Re: The Most Wonderful Thing in the World by David Lugan - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 05:59 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thanks for posting this discussion. I regularly talk with my friends and family about the Esoteric Teaching. The variety of belief systems I interact with include Materialism, Buddhism, Orthodox Christian, and Catholicism. I find that not everyone watches the Youtube video and more are open to a conversation about the true nature of reality. Love, David Re: The Most Wonderful Thing in the World by Michael Jones - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 07:24 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. I wanted to respond to this: Another really strange thing is that even after all this time, none of our students seem to be preaching. We have made it so easy by publishing so many video and audio recordings. You don't even have to preach yourself; just collect some people, show them a Sunday Satsang video and discuss! Yet somehow it doesn't happen. What's going on with that? Don't you want to help others get the same benefits that you are enjoying? I know it might seem like none of your students are preaching but please know that some of us are trying to with the best of our ability at this time. I personally have not posted these things before on the forum as I am not looking for commendation, rather I believe we should be doing it out of service to you, Prabhupada, and Krsna. However I wanted to show that there are students preaching, even if you can't see it. I recently gave many people in my life print outs of the podcast transcriptions, along with links and the books Sri Isopanisad and Life comes from Life. I have only had one person inquire with questions (whom I will hopefully be meeting soon, the ball is in his court) but you said not to become attached to the results so I have not. The rest is in their hands. I also have started posting videos on youtube and have many more planned to try and get people interested in exploring this site. I don't know how I could do much more, at least until I have got the main chunk of my school work done. As I mentioned before, I am trying to get the majority of my degree done before Christmas so that I can contribute more in both time and financially. You gave me your blessings to do this. Most of the time not spent cramming in my work is spent chanting, reading, learning mrdanga (though I have slacked over the last week), praying, or exercising. My computer room is really cramped so I try to spend as little time in here as possible. I no longer really have a social life both online and offline because of these things. I am actually happier though because I have gotten to spend a lot more time with Krsna and I feel most things I do in a day are related to Him. Even my course allows me to learn about various cultures and their perspectives on Him. I intend to make a series of videos relating each religion to the Vedic teachings as well. When I have been in a situation to talk to people about these things, one thing I find is that many people aren't interested in religion. Although the people on this site know that this isn't another religion, many outsiders see it that way. Either it's seen as another religion or a cult and most aren't prepared to see it any other way. This is what makes The Bridge such a great concept. It leads people slowly which unfortunately is what a lot of people need these days (at least the people I have experienced, including myself). As you have said before, I think we just have to wait on Krsna for the popcorn to actually pop. It will happen. I hope I haven't been offensive. If I have I beg for your forgiveness. My intention with this post was not to be antagonistic but to point out that we are preaching, just the results so far have not been so favourable. I am still a neophyte and am still learning myself. I hope this post has helped, Love Mike Re: The Most Wonderful Thing in the World by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 07:48 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Wow, great to hear that some of our students are trying their best to get the word out. Yes, if no one is reporting on their preaching progress then how are we going to know about it? Speak up! I can tell you from experience that preaching is a long, lonely road in the beginning. But once you find a way to connect with like-mined people, then you will have better relationships and friendships than you ever had before. Relationships on the spiritual platform are so much more robust and real than relationships on the material platform. All I can say is: keep up the good work! The real struggle of establishing this school of the Esoteric Teaching is not finding students or followers, but training and motivating them to become teachers. If you start from the beginning with this orientation, then you will find it much easier to teach later on. Just make sure to balance your teaching progress with substantial progress in your personal self-realization. Then your teaching will not be mere imitation but authentic, from your own experience. love, Baba Re: The Most Wonderful Thing in the World by Michael Jones - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 03:01 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thanks for the encouragement. My apologies for not speaking up before, I just didn't want to be overtaken by pride. False ego has been one of my biggest struggles. Thank you for your advice. You are a great teacher and I hope I can stay motivated to get to the platform I need to be to teach like you. At the moment I try to stick to the intro stuff and the stuff I have experienced as I wouldn't dare go into the things I am still new to. Mostly I try to direct people here or to Prabhupada's books. Thanks for this opportunity. Love Mike The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 13 by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 06:38 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here's the next part: Chapter thirteen LORD SIVA ENTERS THE BATTLE After hearing the goddess' report, Lord Siva, versed in the highest knowledge, went with his entire retinue into battle. He sat on his great bull and was encircled by Virabhadra and others, as well as the Bhairavas and the Ksetrapalas, all equal to him in valor. As Lord Siva entered the battle ground, he assumed a heroic form and shone well as the incarnation form of the destroyer. When Sankhacuda saw him, he alighted from his aerial chariot and offered obeisances to him by lying flat on the ground. Then he got up, quickly returned to his chariot, and, seizing his bow and arrows, readied himself for the fight. The fight lasted for a year. The two heroes showered arrows fiercely on one another the way clouds continuously pelt the earth with rain. When Sankhacuda playfully shot dreadful arrows, Lord Siva split them all with his own arrows. Lord Siva hit the demon's limbs with various weapons. Sankhacuda then grabbed his sword and shield, hastened toward Lord Siva's sacred bull and hit it on the head. Seeing this, Lord Siva smashed that sword and the shining shield by his Ksurapra weapon. Then the demon threw his spear but Lord Siva shot an arrow at it and split it in half. Sankhacuda, now infuriated, flung a discus, but Siva punched it with his fist and splattered it. The demon threw his club vigorously at Lord Siva, however Siva split it apart and reduced it to ashes. Grabbing an ax, Sankhacuda rushed toward Lord Siva, but Siva released such a volley of arrows at him that he fell unconscious. The Danava quickly regained consciousness and mounted his beautiful chariot. Covering the whole sky, he shone resplendently with his mystic weapons and arrows. When Lord Siva saw him coming toward him, he pounded his drum with enthusiasm and twanged his bowstring with a loud sound. Siva filled all four quarters with the sound of his horn and then, roaring loudly, frightened the demons. Next, the noble bull bellowed thunderously, filling the sky, earth and eight quarters and shaming the proud trumpeting elephants. Lord Siva surpassed all previous sounds by clapping the earth and the sky. The warriors emitted a raucous laughing sound, portending ill for the asuras. Siva also roared in that mighty battle. The demons were frightened by these piercing and dreadful sounds. However, the Danava king became extremely angry. Lord Siva shouted, "O wicked one, stay! Stay!," and the gods and his companions quickly shouted, "Victory! Victory!" Sankhacuda then hurled at Lord Siva his awesome flame-shooting spear; as it traveled, it blazed brilliantly like a mighty fire. However, one of Lord Siva's followers shot a meteor at it and stopped it. As the battle between Lord Siva and the demon king continued, the heavens, earth, mountains, oceans and rivers shook and trembled. Lord Siva split apart hundreds and thousands of Sankhacuda's arrows, and the king did the same to Lord Siva's shafts. Then the infuriated Siva hit Sankhacuda with his trident and knocked him unconscious. But quickly regaining consciousness, he grabbed his bow, discharged some arrows and hit Lord Siva and his assistants. Then, by means of magic, the asura assumed ten thousand arms and quickly surrounded Lord Siva with ten thousand discuses. But Lord Siva shot wonderful arrows at them and split them all apart. Sankhacuda next seized his mace and, accompanied by a massive army, charged Lord Siva with the intention of destroying him. However, Lord Siva split the mace, making the Danava furious. The demon then seized a spear that, to the enemy, blazed unbearably; as he neared Lord Siva, the latter hit him in the chest with his trident. Then, a huge, valorous being came out of the demon's chest and said, "Stand by, stand by." Lord Siva laughed loudly and, with his sword, cut off the fearsome head that was emerging, and it fell to the ground. Spreading her mouth wide open, Kali angrily consumed countless demons, crushing their heads with her fierce fangs. The enraged Ksetrapala consumed many other demons, and Lord Siva shot missiles at some and killed them. Others were just wounded. Virabhadra and Nandisvara destroyed many other demons. Thus a major portion of Sankhacuda's army was killed while many of his terrified troops cowardly fled the battlefield. But Sankhacuda stood firm and said to Lord Siva, "I'm here, ready to fight with you. Come on. So what if many of my men have been killed. Fight me, face to face!" love, Baba Brahmacārya (Celibacy) by David Lugan - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 08:54 PM Hi All, Please accept my humble obeisances. I would like to update everyone on my progress. I have been chanting the name of Christ and studying the required reading. Thursday I'm visiting the local farmer's market to inquire about sustainable farming. Neville will get back with me after he meets with the founders of Working Villages. I'm continually purifying myself. Recently I gave up eggs, movies, and any websites that do not help my spiritual life. On Monday I fasted and it was a good experience. Next time I'll go for 3 days for greater detoxification benefits. For those who practice spotless chastity I recommend reading "Practice of Brahmacharya" by Swami Sivananda: http://www.dlshq.org/download/brahmacharya.htm Have a nice day. Cheers, David Re: Are We Boring You? by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 05:58 AM Dear David, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Sounds like you are doing well. I don't know how much the local farmers can tell you about sustainable farming. It's a pretty specialized subject. You would probably find out more by searching online for authorities on the subject and contacting them directly. As Vaiṣṇavas we fast twice a month on the 11th day of the moon: that's 11 days from the new moon and 11 days after the full moon. These are the best fasting days for purification. Be careful about reading anything by Svāmī Śivānanda, he is an impersonalist. Keep up the good work and best of luck. Have you started reading and studying Bhagavad-gītā yet? How about our Book of Gethsemane? love, Baba Celibacy by David Lugan - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 04:08 PM Hi Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. Thanks for providing the best fasting days. I noticed Svāmī Śivānanda included some impersonalist ideas and remembered you said the Vedas condemned impersonalism as atheistic. On the topic of maintaining spotless chastity I learned that it takes serious dedication and I had to seperate myself from common media habits. It is worth it to experience closeness to God, unparalleled peace and joy (bliss), a soothing and powerful voice, and excellent health. I'm finishing the Book of Gethsemane and read the introduction of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Have a nice day. Cheers, David Re: Celibacy by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 04:34 PM Dear David, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Babaji! Would you say "Hi" to Srila Prabhupada? I didn't think so. Go over these pages Required Etiquette, Guidelines, and Forum Rules to see how to properly post on the forum. It's a little detail but if we all keep to it then things will go nicely. With Love Kānāi Post Guidelines by David Lugan - Friday, 5 December 2008, 02:34 PM Dear Kānāi, Please accept my humble obeisances. I apologize for not following the recommended post format. Aside from changing my "Hi" to "Dear" please let me know what else is required. Also if you could share the contents of the "recommended format" post from the "Required Etiquette, Guidelines, and Forum Rules" since I do not have permission that would be appreciated: http://www.esotericteaching.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=619 Have a nice day. Cheers, David     Re: Post Guidelines by Kānāi Dāsa - Friday, 5 December 2008, 03:43 PM Dear David Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Babaji. Sorry about that, maybe this link will work. http://moodle.esotericteaching.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=619. We have to keep the standard. With Love Kānāi Re: Are We Boring You? by lance roehrig - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 12:54 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Am I correct than that the next fasting days that are recommended are Dec. 23 and Jan 9? "As Vaiṣṇavas we fast twice a month on the 11th day of the moon: that's 11 days from the new moon and 11 days after the full moon. These are the best fasting days for purification. " My question in this is that I am ready to begin the venture into celibacy, and I thought it was recommended that fasting along with scripture and japa was cleansing. I would also be interested in any links as to understanding the reasoning behind these significant dates for fasting, as i was unable to discover this in my searching on the site. thank you for your thoughts, warm regards, lance Re: Are We Boring You? by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 11 December 2008, 06:31 AM Dear Lance, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We fast twice a month on Ekadasi, the 11th day after the new moon and full moon. You should download and use the Vaisnava Reminder software to calculate these fasting days in your location. If you use the forum search feature to look up Ekadasi, you will find so many posts. love, Baba Fascinating Study of Time-reversed Consciousness Phenomena by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 10:17 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well it's time to get out the old thinking cap again, warm it up and check this out: Honorton and Ferrari surveyed the English-language scientific literature to retrieve all experiments reporting forced-choice precognition tests. They found 309 experiments, reported in 113 articles published from 1935 to 1987, and contributed by 62 different investigators. The database consisted of nearly 2 million individual trials by over 50,000 subjects. The methods used in these studies ranged from the use of ESP cards to fully automated, computer-generated symbols. The future targets were selected with quasi-random methods, like the average daily low temperatures recorded in a large group of world cities, or via dice -tossing or card shuffling, or through the use of tables of pre-printed random numbers, or numbers generated by electronic random number generators (RNG). The time intervals between the guesses and the future targets ranged from milliseconds to a year. The overall statistical result of the 309 studies was odds against chance of 1025 to one (that is, ten trillion trillion to one). If you'd like to go further, Dr. Dean Radin's 2000 paper "Time-reversed human experience: Experimental evidence and implications" should be on your reading list. We know that the future influences the past, just as the past influences the future. This is one of the principles of astrology, and it is corroborated by modern physics as well: "People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." – Albert Einstein According to the Vedas, time is circular or cyclical, and is therefore represented by Lord Viṣṇu's invincible cakra weapon. kāla-cakraṁ bhrami tīkṣṇaṁ sarvaṁ niṣkarṣayaj jagat svatantram abudhasyeha kim asat-karmabhir bhavet "The wheel of eternal time moves very sharply, as if made of razors and thunderbolts. Uninterrupted and fully independent, it drives the activities of the entire world. If one does not try to study the eternal element of time, what benefit can he derive from performing temporary material activities?" PURPORT This verse explains the words kṣaura-pavyaṁ svayaṁ bhrami [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.5.8], which especially refer to the orbit of eternal time. It is said that time and tide wait for no man. According to the moral instructions of the great politician Cāṇakya Paṇḍita: āyuṣaḥ kṣaṇa eko 'pi na labhyaḥ svarṇa-koṭibhiḥ na cen nirarthakaṁ nītiḥ kā ca hānis tato 'dhikā "Even a moment of one's lifetime could not be returned in exchange for millions of dollars. Therefore one should consider how much loss one suffers if he wastes even a moment of his life for nothing." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.5.19] Living like an animal, not understanding the goal of life, one foolishly thinks that there is no eternity and that his life span of fifty, sixty, or, at the most, one hundred years, is everything. This is the greatest foolishness. Time is eternal, and in the material world one passes through different phases of his eternal life. Time is compared herein to a sharp razor. A razor is meant to shave the hair from one's face, but if not carefully handled, the razor will cause disaster. One is advised not to create a disaster by misusing his lifetime. One should be extremely careful to utilize the span of his life for spiritual realization, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa says that He is time three times in Bhagavad-gītā: kālaḥ kalayatām aham "Among subduers I am time" [Bhagavad-gītā 10.30] aham evākṣayaḥ kālo "I am also inexhaustable time" [Bhagavad-gītā 10.33] kālo 'smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho lokān "Time I am, destroyer of the worlds, and I have come to engage all people." [Bhagavad-gītā 11.32] No material phenomenon can occur without the influence of time, and time is measured by movement or change. Therefore time or its symptom change is the fundamental property of the material existence. If we can predict change, then we have an advantage over the blind materialist who cannot, mainly because he thinks that it is impossible. The easiest change to predict is that everyone who is born will also die; whatever has a beginning also has an end. Therefore according to the Esoteric Teaching we should use our time wisely and invest it in becoming fully Kṛṣṇa-conscious. love, Baba Re: Fascinating Study of Time-reversed Consciousness Phenomena by Neville Clemens - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 04:09 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is an interesting paper. As he states, most of us have had some experience of synchronicity, deja-vu or similar phenomena that give us a glimpse of non-linear time. You also posted this fascinating article once, about Philip K. Dick's experience. In this paper, the author mentions two concepts- time reversal phenomena (where current events are influenced by an event in the future) and the other was psychokinesis (where someone wills a certain event in the future before it happens). As you point out, the former is what we're familiar with in terms of the principles of astrology. So since we know that there is a Golden Age of Lord Caitanya coming up, there will be events taking place in order to make that happen.  But what about this idea of psychokinesis? It's a fairly popular notion among the new-age impersonalists and I was wondering how it fits into our ontology. What is its domain of validity? Love, Neville Re: Fascinating Study of Time-reversed Consciousness Phenomena by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 04:24 PM Dear Neville, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The address by Phillip K. Dick is here. It still makes fascinating reading, even after all these years. Foreknowledge of future events is consistent with our Vedic ontology. Since the future is certainly known to Kṛṣṇa, He can easily reveal it to the soul through His presence in the heart as Paramātmā. As the paper points out, there is no functional difference between knowing what will happen in the future (precognition) and willing it to happen (psychokinesis). But we do know that the Lord is the doer, and not the living entity. So we can at most be desirers and cooperators with the Lord. Also since time is cyclical, we know that there are a limited—though perhaps very large—number of possible futures for each living entity. We see the same stories of action and reaction according to the laws of karma and the modes of material nature again and again in the lives of people we know and hear about. Human life on planet earth is quite predictable, since actions in the modes of nature give standard results. So if you know someone's activities, you can know in advance what will probably happen to them, at least in a general way. Having foreknowledge of the Golden Age of Lord Caitanya, we can easily draw certain conclusions about the changes necessary to get from the present situation to the future. It is obvious that a majority of the world's economic, political and social structure will have to change—that is, be destroyed—to make way for a Vedic renaissance. Other prophecies, like the Native Americans, can help us understand the time frame of these changes. And other Vedic sources, like Brahma Vidya, can help us understand that these changes are beginning right now. love, Baba Re: Fascinating Study of Time-reversed Consciousness Phenomena by Neville Clemens - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 04:59 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! If I understand you correctly, precognition is when Kṛṣṇa as Paramātmā reveals something about the future to the individual soul; psychokinesis is when the soul desires a future event AND that desire is aligned with Kṛṣṇa's desire, resulting in an apparent "intention manifestation"...which is then misinterpreted as "we are the doers" or "we are God". Is that a correct understanding? Love, Neville Re: Fascinating Study of Time-reversed Consciousness Phenomena by Peter Turanec - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 06:26 PM Dear Babaji, Neville and Everyone, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is very deep.  Thinking about time is one of my favorite subjects.  Actually, everyone can directly experience this aspect of non-linear time everyday.  All you have to do is pay attention! I am particularly fascinated with this that Babaji posted above, "Time is eternal, and in the material world one passes through different phases of his eternal life."  I have concluded in my short time studying the esoteric teaching, that there is no such thing as the material world.  Actually, everything is spiritual.  What we call the "material" world is just the part of the spiritual world that is constantly changing, and undergoing constant transformation. This is very interesting, because the spiritual world is eternal and unchanging, but it is not static.  It is dynamic, meaning that there are series of events happening.  It is funny because, at first glance, when I would think of the spiritual world I would feel like I was 'frozen' in time.  It is more difficult to think about something that is eternal, but still houses different activities.  It is totally like a fractal, which has parts both decreasing and increasing.  The increasing spirals are approaching infinity in a very grand way, while the decreasing spirals of the fractal are also approaching infinity in a slightly lesser way.  So actually, there is no decreasing;  Everything is increasing and approaching infinity, Krsna.   Even the decreasing part of a fractal is increasing. This is impossible to understand with material logic;  Many great scientints and mathematicians have literally gone totally insane trying to understand subjects such as non-linear time, fractal infinity and infinity in general.  Actually, it is sad that these people have gone insane because they were trying to use material logic to understand something spiritual and they just wound up short-circuiting their brain.  I find this very interesting because by learning about what has made these high mathematicians go totally insane can give us an inside look at how the material mind functions.  When our mind has the ontology of Aristotelian logic, materialistic logic, (if I can't see it it is not real, etc.) then this puts up a horrible barracade made of sharp razor wire that you can not cross without killing yourself.  The answer is:  drop the materialistic ontology and adopt a spiritual one.  Then we won't go insane and commit suicide trying to understand these basic spiritual truths. I am referencing this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdR7_vUQe-0 Dont waste your time watching it, (or just watch the first 2 minutes) just know that it is real;  These people really went crazy trying to use material logic to understand something inherently spiritual.  This really will fry your brain! ... The time is very powerful.  It changes. That is the... Time means it changes, kills the original position. You have got experience. You purchase one anything. It is very fresh, new.  But time will kill it. It will become shabby. It will be useless at a time, in due course of time.  So time is fighting.  This material time, it is called kāla.  Kāla means death.  Or kāla means the black snake.  So black snake destroys. As soon as touches anything, it is destroyed.  Similarly, kāla... This kāla is also another form of  Kṛṣṇa.  So kalena mahata.  Therefore it is called mahata.  It is very powerful.  It is not ordinary thing.  Mahata.  Its business is to destroy.  Sa kālena iha nasta.  So by due course of time... Because how the kāla can destroy?  As soon as kāla sees that you are distorting, then it will be lost.  So don't try to understand Bhagavad-gita from persons who are under the influence of kāla—past, present, future.  Don't try to understand Bhagavad-gita from so-called rascal philosophers, commentators, and... They will write Bhagavad-gita in a distorted way. Somebody will say, "There was no  Kṛṣṇa. There was no Mahabharata." Somebody says, " Kṛṣṇa stressed on this point," " Kṛṣṇa stressed on that point."   ... -740322bg.bom love, peter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=15024&id=1374780998 http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=183194&id=1374780998 Re: Fascinating Study of Time-reversed Consciousness Phenomena by Neville Clemens - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 08:50 PM Dear Peter, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for your nice post. It gave me something to think about. I also ended up watching the whole documentary that you linked to, because the history and lives of mathematicians and scientists is something that I used to read up on a lot as a hobby. This documentary was nicely relevant to the thread as well as to me personally, because it highlighted something that I in particular need to work on - understanding the limitations and the proper domain of systematization, order and logic. Babaji once advised me to study music as a cure for that tendency, in order to nurture the experiential aspect of knowing as opposed to the mental aspect. Love, Neville The most important questions EVER!!! by Peter Turanec - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 07:53 PM Dear Everyone, Please accept my very humble obesiances.  All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!  Hare Kṛṣṇa! These are the most important questions you could ever ask.  All in one place too!   This barrage of questions are from the Mahabharata.  The context in which these questions exist is very significant.  The Pandavas were approaching their final year in exile in the forest.  They were all ksatriyas disguised as brahmanas, conclealing their identity.  Such was the terms of the deal made before their exile.  As the brothers were in the forest, a distressed Brahmana approached Yudhisthira because a deer had somehow entangled its horns in the brahmins paraphenelia for worship.  So, Yudisthira and his brothers went to track the deer.  Unable to catch the mystically moving deer, Yudisthira, Arjuna, Bhima, Sahadeva and Nakula discussed the dilemna that now faced them.  As they rested in the forest, Nakula went to a nearby lake to fetch some water for the parched brothers. Nakula approached the lake, and as he was about to take a drink he heard a voice that warned him not to drink any water.  Not paying any attention to the disembodied voice due to overwhelming thirst, Nakula disreguarded the mysterious warning, drank some water and immediately fell down dead. Some time passed and Yudisthira became worried.  He sent Sahadeva to the lake to find Nakula.  He approached the lake and saw his brother lying there motionless.  He was shocked and thirsty, and attempted to drink some water.  Right after he knelt down he heard the same disembodied voice say, "Do not drink the water of my lake. First of all answer my questions and then you may drink.”  Sahadeva disreguarded the order of the occult voice and drank anyway; He immediately fell down dead like a stone. After an hour Yudhsthira became worried again.  This time he sent Arjuna, with weapons drawn proceeding with caution.  Arjuna arrived at the lake and was shocked at the site before him.  There was no sign of a fight or a struggle, so Arjuna was initially bewildered.  He then attempted to drink some water and heard an ominous voice resounding from the sky saying, “O Partha, do not attempt to drink this water by force.  It is mine and you may only take it after answering my questions.”  This immediately offended Arjuna so he released a barrage of mystic weapons, arrows, darts and javelins charged with divine mantras.  The voice told Arjuna his attempt was useless.  If he drank the water he would die.  Arjuna did not believe the voice, so he drank the water and fell down dead. Then Yudisthira sent Bhima.  Bhima approached the site and could immediately recongnize the works of a raksasa.  He prepared himself for the  battle by drinking some water and fell down dead. So now, Yudhsthira approached the lake alone.  He noticed that the lake seemed to had been transported from Indras abode due to the unusual beauty contained therein.  Seeing his brothers laying motionless disturbed him greatly.  After he regained his composure he dove into the mysterious lake.  He then heard the voice say, “O child, do not take this water. This lake belongs to me and if you want to drink, you must first answer my questions.”  Yudhsthira looked around and noticed a crane sitting nearby talking to him.  (my commentary ends here) Yudhisthira looked about in astonishment. He saw the crane on a tree bough near the lake.  “Are you Siva or the foremost of the Vasus? Or are you a Marut? It is not possible for a bird to have killed these four mountain-like heroes. O strongest of all those endowed with strength, you have achieved what even the gods, Gandharvas and Asuras could not do. I do not know who you are or what is your intention, but I am curious to know these things––and I am also terrified. My heart is troubled and my mind confused. Please tell me why you stay here and what you desire.” Yudhisthira then saw the crane transform into a huge, fearful-looking being. His large red eyes were pointed and he blazed like the sun.  Roaring like a thundercloud, he said, “I am a Yaksa, not a bird.  Hail to you!  It was I who killed your energetic brothers for their own faults.  Although forbidden to drink, they disregarded me.  If one loves life, he should not attempt to take this water by force.  The lake is mine and one may take its water only after answering my questions.” “O Yaksa, I do not wish to take what is yours.  I shall try to answer your questions to the best of my ability. Please ask me what you will.” The Yaksa began to place questions before Yudhisthira: “What makes the soul rise out of his entanglement in matter? Who keeps him company, who is his guide on that spiritual journey, and on what is he established?" “It is knowledge of the Supreme Lord which makes the soul rise. Godly qualities are his companions, dharma is his guide, and he is established on truth.” “What makes one learned? How does one attain to that which is most exalted? How does one acquire a second self, and by what, O King, does one become wise?” “One becomes learned by studying the Vedas. By asceticism one attains what is most exalted. Intelligence is like a second self, and serving one’s elders makes one wise.” The Yaksa then asked about all kinds of subjects, ranging from worldly wisdom to knowledge of religion to spiritual matters. Yudhisthira answered them all without hesitation. Finally the Yaksa said, “I am satisfied. Answer my last four questions and I will restore one of your brothers to life. Who in this world is happy? What is the most wonderful thing? What are the tidings of this world, and how can one find the eternal path of religion?” With folded palms Yudhisthira replied, “He who is neither in debt nor exiled and who lives simply, eating simple food in his own home, is happy. The most wonderful thing is that although every day innumerable creatures go to the abode of death, still a man thinks he is immortal. The tidings are that in this world––which is like a cauldron with the sun as its fire, days and nights as its fuel, and months and seasons as its wooden ladle––all creatures are being cooked by time. The eternal religious path is found only in the heart of great mystics.” The Yaksa smiled. “You have rightly answered every question. Tell me which of your brothers you wish to have restored to life?” “O Yaksa, let Nakula, as tall as a sal tree and endowed with a broad chest and long arms, be brought to life.” The Yaksa was surprised. “Bhimasena is surely more important to you than Nakula, O King, and Arjuna is your chief support. Why do you ask for Nakula to be revived?” “He who sacrifices virtue is himself destroyed,” replied Yudhisthira, “and he who preserves virtue is in turn preserved by it. I am therefore careful to always observe virtue. For me, great virtue lies in refraining from cruelty; it is superior to all worldly gain. Thus I ask for Nakula. Both Kunti and Madri are the same to me. In myself Kunti still has one son, but Madri now has none. With a desire to behave equally toward my two mothers, I ask for the life of Nakula.” “Since, O Pandava, you consider abstention from cruelty superior to both profit and desire, then let all your brothers be restored to life.” As the Yaksa spoke, the four brothers rose from the ground as if from a sleep. They felt refreshed and free from hunger and thirst. Yudhisthira then asked the Yaksa, “Who are you, O great being, who assumes the form of a crane? Tell me in truth your identity. Are you a god? Perhaps you are my father himself.” Yudhisthira had guessed correctly and the Yaksa replied, “I am indeed your father, O best of the Bharatas. Know me to be Dharma. I have come here with the intention of meeting you. Fame, truth, self-control, purity, simplicity, charity, modesty, steadiness, asceticism and celibacy are my limbs. I am reached by abstention from cruelty, impartiality, peacefulness, asceticism, purity and humility. You possess all these qualities, dear son. By good fortune you have conquered your mind and senses and practice virtue. I wanted to test you and I am fully satisfied. Ask me for boons and I will bestow them. Those who are ever devoted to me need never experience misfortune.” Yudhisthira bowed respectfully before his father and said, “My first desire is that the Agnihotra of the Brahmin whose fire-sticks were lost not be destroyed.” “O son of Kunti, it was I in the form of the deer who carried away those sticks. I shall return them to you. Ask for some other boon.” Yudhisthira thought carefully and said, “The twelve years of our forest life are now complete. For the thirteenth year we must live incognito. Please grant that no man will recognize us during that time.” “So be it. Even if you wander about in the world as your actual selves, you will not be recognized. Through my favor you will lead a secret, incognito life in the city of Virata. Now take these fire sticks and ask from me another boon. I am not satisfied with conferring only these two favors. O Yudhisthira, you should know that I begot you. Vidura, your friend and well-wisher, is also a part of myself.” Dharma handed the sticks to Yudhisthira, who replied, “O god of gods, it is enough for me that I have seen you. To please you, however, I will accept one further boon. O lord, grant that I may always overcome avarice, folly and anger, and that my mind be always inclined toward charity, asceticism and truth.” Dharma smiled and said, “By nature you are gifted with these qualities, O Pandava. You are already the embodiment of virtue. But I grant your desire.” The god then disappeared, leaving the five Pandavas standing together on the shore of the lake. In wonder they returned to their hermitage with the Brahmin’s fire-sticks. - Mahabhararta 1.34 The Lake of Death love, peter The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 12 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 06:56 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here's the next part: Chapter twelve KARTIKKEYA AND KALI ENTER THE BATTLE The demigods returned to Lord Siva and sought refuge in him. Disturbed, they cried out, "O Lord, please save us! Save us!" Lord Siva, noting the demigods' defeat and hearing their fearful cries, became greatly enraged. Glancing at the demigods sympathetically, he assured them of his protection. He ordered his son, the great hero Kartikkeya, to attack the enemy. Fighting courageously with the hosts of demons, Kartikkeya shouted angrily and roared heroically, killing one hundred aksauhinis in the battle. Then Kali, her eyes like a red lotus, chopped off their heads, drank their blood and rapidly ate their flesh. She fought in many ways, frightening both the demigods and the demons. Wherever she went, she drank the Danavas' blood. With one hand she grabbed ten million elephants and ten million men and playfully shoved them into her mouth. Thousands of headless bodies appeared to be dancing on the battlefield. All the cowards were terrified by the overwhelming tumult. Kartikkeya again became furious. Showering countless volleys of arrows, he struck thousands of demon leaders within a few seconds. Terrified, many of the Danavas fled, but those who stayed were slain. The demons Vrsaparvan, Vipracitti, Danda and Vikampana fought with Kartikkeya by turns, and all of them were wounded by his spear. Kali assisted Kartikkeya, and together they won the battle. In the heavens, the celestials pounded their drums and showered down flowers. Sankhacuda saw the appalling spectacle wrought by Kartikkeya and Kali; it appeared as terrible as the final dissolution of the world. Furious, he prepared for battle. Accompanied by many heroes, he climbed into his diamond-studded airplane, which was equipped with weapons and missiles. This enlivened and encouraged his men, especially when Sankhacuda, sitting in the middle of the plane, drew his bowstring to his ear and discharged volleys of arrows. The shafts were terrifying and could not be endured. They resembled a shower of rain and covered the battlefield with intense darkness, relieved only by occasional flashes of fire. At this, Nandisvara and the other demigods fled, however, Kartikkeya stayed. Then the Danava king showered mountains, serpents, pythons and trees so horrendously that they could not be resisted. Thus Kartikkeya looked like the sun covered by thick sheets of frost. Sankhacuda broke Kartikkeya's car, cut to pieces his bow, chariot and horses, and shattered his peacock carrier. Then he hurled his effulgent spear at Kartikkeya's chest, and the force of the blow caused him to fall unconscious. Quickly regaining consciousness, Kartikkeya mounted his sturdy, bejeweled chariot, took up his weapons and missiles and fought awesomely. Using his mystic weapons, he furiously split the weapons that had been hurled at him, namely, the serpents, mountains, trees and rocks. Then he put out a fire with his water weapon, split apart the demon's bow and chariot, and killed his charioteer. Roaring and shouting repeatedly like a hero, he split Sankhacuda's armor and crown, and then hurled his blazing spear at the demon's chest. Sankhacuda collapsed unconscious. But within a second that powerful asura regained consciousness and, with the strength of a lion, got up and roared. The demon grabbed another bow and more arrows and mounted another chariot. Foremost in the use of mystic powers, the demon caused a tremendous downpour of arrows on Kartikkeya that completely enshrouded him. Then the demon grabbed an invincible iron spear, which was filled with Lord Visnu's energy; it was radiant like a hundred suns and looked like the vast fire that occurs at the end of the world. Sankhacuda hurled it at Kartikkeya and it hit him with the impact of a massive fireball, causing him to drop unconscious. Kali immediately went to him, lifted her son to her breast and carried him to Lord Siva. By virtue of his deep knowledge, Lord Siva revived Kartikkeya and endowed him with inexhaustible strength. He then got up full of vigor but remained guarded by Lord Siva. Kali, followed by Nandisvara, the Gandharvas, the Yaksas, the Raksasas and the Kinnaras, returned to the battlefield. Hundreds of war drums were pounded and hundreds of persons carried wine. When Kali began to roar like a lioness, the demons fainted. Seeing this, she burst into cackles of laughter repeatedly, boding ill to the asuras. Then Kali drank wine and danced on the battlefield, and the Yoginis, Dakinis and the demigods also drank, roaring and reveling. When Sankhacuda saw Kali, he hastened to the field. Though his men were frightened by her, he assured them of his protection. Kali then hurled a fire weapon and it shot over the field like the fire that manifests when the world is about to come to an end. of final devastation; but the king shot a water weapon at it and quickly extinguished it. Kali hurled the Varuna weapon at him but he baffled it with the Gandharva weapon. Kali threw the Mahesvara weapon, but he destroyed it with his Vaisnava weapon. Then, after uttering some mantras, Kali discharged the Narayana weapon. Seeing it coming at him, the king jumped off his chariot and bowed down to it, causing the weapon to zoom upwards like the fire of final dissolution. The demon, full of devotion, fell prostrate on the ground. The goddess recited a mantra and hurled a Brahmastra at him, but he baffled it with his own Brahmastra. Then she threw a weapon at him that was eight miles long, but Sankhacuda cut it to pieces with his celestial weapon. Infuriated, the demon discharged celestial missiles at the goddess but she merely opened her mouth wide, swallowed them and roared with loud laughter. This terrified the demons. Sankhacuda then hurled a weapon at her that was eight hundred miles long, but she shattered it into a hundred pieces with celestial missiles. He flung the Vaisnava missile at the goddess but she blocked it with a Mahesvara missile. The fight continued for a long time and all the demigods and demons stood watching it. Kali was now infuriated. Just as she readied herself to throw the Pasupata weapon, a heavenly voice from the sky cried out, "O Goddess! Do not throw this missile at Sankhacuda. So long as Lord Hari's amulet remains on his neck and his wife's chastity is not violated, the king cannot be killed--even by the never-failing Pasupata weapon. Lord Brahma gave him this boon." Kali heeded the voice and desisted from hurling the weapon. But out of hunger she devoured millions of demons. She then hastened to devour Sankhacuda but he resisted her with his sharp celestial weapons. She next aimed a scimitar at him that flashed like the noonday sun but the king cut it to pieces. So she ran after him to swallow him. But the skillful demon prevented her by expanding his body. Highly enraged, the dreadful goddess smashed his chariot, killed his charioteer, and hurled a terrible spear at him--one that looked like the awesome fire that occurs when the world is about to end. But the king caught it with his left hand. The goddess then angrily struck him with her fists and caused the demon enough pain to make him reel and fall unconscious for a moment. Regaining consciousness, he got up, but he would not engage in hand-to-hand combat with Kali. Rather, he bowed down to her. The goddess then threw other weapons at Sankhacuda, but he partly cut them down and partly took them up and absorbed them, rendering them futile. Regarding her as his mother, he did not aim any weapons at her. Then Kali caught hold of him, whirled him around repeatedly and angrily flung him into the sky. The demon came down with a tremendous crash, but he he immediately got up and bowed to the goddess. Next, he gladly climbed up onto another stunning jeweled chariot and, feeling no fatigue at all from the battle, continued fighting. Then Kali, feeling hungry, began drinking the blood and eating the fat and flesh of the demons. After this the goddess returned to Lord Siva and described to him in detail the progression of the war--from beginning to end. Hearing about the demise of the demons, Lord Siva laughed. Kali remarked that the only demons alive were the ones who crawled out of her mouth while she was chewing them, which amounted to about one hundred thousand. "And when I took hold of the Pasupata weapon to kill Sankhacuda, an invisible celestial voice cried, " He cannot be killed by you." Then the powerful demon stopped hurling weapons at me. All he did was shatter those which I hurled at him." love, Baba Clay Shirky: A Group is its Own Worst Enemy by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 8 December 2008, 08:53 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We have been discussing the structure of our proposed community, and of course communities follow certain dynamic laws. I have not come across a better summary of these principles than Clay Shirky's essay, A Group is its Own Worst Enemy. It's a little long, but I promise that if you read it, you will understand a lot more about why we have to have rules in our online community and our real-time community, and why we even have to have rules about how we make those rules, such as consensus management and so on. Because if we don't have rules, our community will tear itself apart, as so many have done before us. Any social group is a conversation, and every conversation follows certain dynamics. Shirky has managed to compress his understanding of group dynamics into three assumptions: You cannot completely separate technical and social issues. Members are different than users. The core group has rights that trump individual rights in some situations. and four principles: Design for handles the user can invest in. Design a way for there to be members in good standing. You need barriers to participation. You have to find a way to spare the group from scale. If you read this essay (highly recommended) then you will see that we do all of these things in our online community, and we also are planning to do the same things in a different way in our proposed farm community. Let's discuss the essay and your responses in this thread. love, Baba Re: Clay Shirky: A Group is its Own Worst Enemy by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 10:34 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The way I see it is like putting up the barriers on a bowling lane so noone can actually miss the pins... theoretically the barriers are not required if the group consists of spiritually advanced members, these rules are then to safe guard against the materialistic tendencies the members are bound to display given a certain period of time. This is very nice considering the firm foundation required for a stable community, only drawback is the limitation it imposes on the spirtually advanced members, the greatest limitation being imposed on the spirtual master himself but I know you have mentioned certain veto powers to overcome this. In my view the nature of Krsna consciousness is such that it is never rigid, so rules that keep a rigid framework is imposing a certain materialistic element I think, introducing laws that are not in actual fact laws of reality, it is in a sense limiting the person from throwing the bowling ball in a certain manner, no curve balls, no exceeding certain speed limits, so the rules are saying the ball must be thrown in this manner at this speed. However the nature of bowling requires different throws for different situations. It makes it harder to distinguish between members, introducing a certain element of "equality" when in fact there is no actual equality, at least while we are in these materialistic bodies. Basically I think It makes it easier for bad players and harder for good players, so the gap is closed off depending on how limiting the rules are. I think also to keep in mind the general type of community this person was writing about differs much from a spiritual community, the writer is not Krsna conscious, nor is he aware of Krsna consciousness, nor was it intended for a community striving for Krsna consciousness. I suppose a lot depends on the screening process and the actual members that you end up with, you may find with the quality of members the rules will not really have to be imposed and things will literally flow in a telepathic way. In the absence of a spiritual master.... then the most strictest of rules are required I think, make it impossible to miss the pins, but in the presence of a spiritual master how can we possibly miss? You mentioned somewhere that you try to avoid the dictator role, but I see it as Krsna --> Śrīla Prabhupāda --> Babaji --> Me, so then I am being dictated by Krsna..  this means everything will be perfect, a spiritual dictator so to speak. What good is giving a voice to someone who will only contribute imperfections? They should first be perfected then given a say I think. Design for handles the user can invest in. Design a way for there to be members in good standing. You need barriers to participation. All of these points are a little materialistic? The only investment worthwhile is the investment in self-realisation, for members to be in good standing means to have a rigid position in society not based on current performance but past materialistic achievements, if the person has made spiritual achievements these members will be in good standing anyway, barriers to participation means sometimes avoiding a good idea due to a particular rule despite the fact that it is a good idea. Im finding it difficult to make the statements Id like to with this language, it seems I may have made some apparent contradictions but its part of the point im trying to make, although strict rules will avoid apparent contradictions, these apparent contradictions are best for optimum performance. The whole playbook may have to be re-written as this community is the first of its kind in a time like never before. As I mentioned before, its completely dependant on the type of members within the community I think, different rules for different communities. To quote from the article posted:- "The normal experience of social software is failure. If you go into Yahoo groups and you map out the subscriptions, it is, unsurprisingly, a power law. There's a small number of highly populated groups, a moderate number of moderately populated groups, and this long, flat tail of failure. And the failure is inevitably more than 50% of the total mailing lists in any category. So it's not like a cake recipe. There's nothing you can do to make it come out right every time. " Which means the rules must be tailor made to the community. Hopefully I said something of use. Love, Keiju Re: Clay Shirky: A Group is its Own Worst Enemy by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 01:35 PM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In one sense, there are no rules in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is only Kṛṣṇa's desire. In the spiritual world where everyone is self-realized, there is no need for rules. But most of Kṛṣṇa's desires never change, so we can formulate some principles to guide everyone who is not yet self-realized. Especially for our online community, there have to be rules to control irresponsible posters, trolls and troublemakers. For example, there have to be persistent handles because if everyone logged in with whatever username they wanted, there would be no continuity to establish an online identity. No one would know who was speaking. For example we had to delete one user's account because she tried to impersonate Florian. We have to have rules to determine who is a member in good standing, to define those who are not in good standing or who require discipline. Similarly, barriers like registration deter the small-minded and foolish from creating havoc. When the community is small and everyone is very committed, the rules are less important. These rules will become more important as the community grows and by necessity includes less-committed people. Most devotee sites and online groups fail because they do not establish clear rules and principles. Thus they cannot create a strong enough ethic of belonging to deter parasites and troublemakers. So either they require strong moderation, or everyone loses interest. But notice that besides registration we put no barriers to our forum. Anyone can register and anyone can post without moderation; yet the forums remain surprisingly free from flaming and nonsense. This is because we establish and strictly enforce a clear policy of who is—and is not—a member in good standing. So we actually follow all the principles described by Shirky, only we do it in such a way as to create a Kṛṣṇa-conscious online community environment. When we have a growing rural community, the rules and principles will become all the more important to create a stable social context. We like to be spontaneous but we can't have the goal posts moving on someone's whim. Therefore the consensus of the whole community is required to make any major changes. Similarly there has to be room for spontaneity and individual initiative, and it is up the executive body to determine and maintain the delicate balance between structure, the good of the whole, and openness and the benefit of the individual. On the other hand the barriers to entry ensure that everyone who joins, does so with similar values and expectations. This condition is required for consensus management. If there are people with widely divergent views and goals, they cannot reach consensus. So for consensus management not to deteriorate into endless argumentation, everyone has to be on the same page. krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati rāga-dveṣa-vimuktais tu viṣayān indriyaiś caran ātma-vaśyair vidheyātmā prasādam adhigacchati "From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool. But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.62-63] These principles may seem obvious or redundant, but unless we make them clear and explicit there is a danger that those who come after us will have to relearn them by painful experience. We would rather save them the trouble by expressing everything clearly. We had to go through so much trouble in ISKCON, and we would rather save our disciples and grand-disciples that pain by avoiding the same mistakes. A mechanic does not expect to use all the tools in his kit on every job, but he still needs to have them for the time when they are required. Similarly the core group has to have executive privileges, because they are taking more responsibility and are accountable to the community as a whole. If they are intelligent they will not misuse this power. The executive body should not be going around with a magnifying glass, looking for rule violations and kicking people out; if they think they have to, then they have done a poor job of screening and qualifying prospective members. The rules are there to regulate and correct people who, for one reason or another, cause a disturbance in the community. No, that would not be necessary if everyone were perfectly self-realized, but we are in the material world and need to structure our community for success in a hostile, turbulent environment. I don't want to be a dictator; it's against my nature and also a feature of the old authoritarian system. The guru is naturally an authority, but that does mean that he has to be authoritarian. Being guru is not about giving orders; rather, it is about giving people the transcendental wisdom of the Esoteric Teaching so they naturally come to conclusions and perform actions that are pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. Rules and orders are needed only when that process fails or is not yet mature. love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 11 by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 01:35 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the next part: Chapter eleven THE WAR BEGINS Sankhacuda quickly got up, bowed down to Lord Siva, and ascended his chariot with his ministers. Lord Siva ordered his army to be ready immediately, and Sankhacuda did the same. Musical instruments blared out, formally announcing the start of war. There was a great clamor along with the cries of the warriors. Then the fight between the demigods and demons began, and both sides fought righteously. Indra fought with Vrsaparvan, Bhaskara (the sun god) with Vipracitti, Nisakara (the moon god) with Dambha, Fire with Gokarna, Kuvera with Kalakeya, and Visvakarma with Maya. Mrtyu (the death god) battled with Bhayamkara, Yama with Sambara, Vayu with Bala, Varuna with Vikamka, Budha with Dhritapristha, Sani with Raktaksa, Jayanta with Ratnasara, the Vasus with the groups of Varchasas, the two Asvini Kumaras with the two Diptimans, Nala-kuvara with Dhuma, and Dharma with Dhurandhara. Mangala contended with Ganakaksa, Vaisvana with Sobhakara, Mammatha with Pipita, the twelve sun gods with Gokamukha, Curna, Khadga, Dhumra, Samhala, Visva and Palasa. The eleven Rudras fought with eleven terrible and powerful asuras, Mahamani fought with Ugracanda and others, and Nandisvara and the rest fought with the leading demons. Lord Siva, the goddess Kali and their son Kartikkeya encamped at the root of the holy fig tree. King Sankhacuda, adorned with gems and surrounded by millions of demons, sat down on a beautiful jeweled throne. Then a great battle ensued. Many mystical and supernatural weapons were hurled, and numerous demigods and demons were killed. Maces, long and short swords, Pattisas, Bhusundis, Mudgaras (different types of iron clubs), javelins, spears, axes and other weapons glowed in the soldiers' hands. Fighting with these weapons, the jubilant warriors roared and cut off each other's heads. Elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers, along with their drivers and passengers were hit and torn apart. Arms, thighs, hands, hips, ears and feet were cut off. Flags, arrows, swords, coats of mail and beautiful ornaments were split apart. From the tussle, glowing heads with earrings as well as elephantlike thighs were strewn about the earth. Severed arms with their ornaments and weapons were scattered about like honeycombs. Warriors running on the battlefield saw several headless bodies that jumped and which were still holding their weapons. The warriors discharged so many arrows at each other that the sun became obscured and it appeared as if the rainy season had arrived. Heroes roared like lions, blew conches loudly and fought furiously. Though the combat was terrible and tumultuous, it was pleasurable to the fighters. Then the demigods were defeated. Many were wounded by weapons and missiles, and, frightened, they fled the battlefield. love, Baba Chemical Pollutants Cause Feminization in Mammals, Humans by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 8 December 2008, 01:35 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! From The Independent: The male gender is in danger, with incalculable consequences for both humans and wildlife, startling scientific research from around the world reveals. The research – to be detailed tomorrow in the most comprehensive report yet published – shows that a host of common chemicals is feminising males of every class of vertebrate animals, from fish to mammals, including people. Backed by some of the world's leading scientists, who say that it "waves a red flag" for humanity and shows that evolution itself is being disrupted, the report comes out at a particularly sensitive time for ministers. On Wednesday, Britain will lead opposition to proposed new European controls on pesticides, many of which have been found to have "gender-bending" effects. It also follows hard on the heels of new American research which shows that baby boys born to women exposed to widespread chemicals in pregnancy are born with smaller penises and feminised genitals. "This research shows that the basic male tool kit is under threat," says Gwynne Lyons, a former government adviser on the health effects of chemicals, who wrote the report. Wildlife and people have been exposed to more than 100,000 new chemicals in recent years, and the European Commission has admitted that 99 per cent of them are not adequately regulated. There is not even proper safety information on 85 per cent of them. Many have been identified as "endocrine disrupters" – or gender-benders – because they interfere with hormones. These include phthalates, used in food wrapping, cosmetics and baby powders among other applications; flame retardants in furniture and electrical goods; PCBs, a now banned group of substances still widespread in food and the environment; and many pesticides. The report – published by the charity CHEMTrust and drawing on more than 250 scientific studies from around the world – concentrates mainly on wildlife, identifying effects in species ranging from the polar bears of the Arctic to the eland of the South African plains, and from whales in the depths of the oceans to high-flying falcons and eagles. It concludes: "Males of species from each of the main classes of vertebrate animals (including bony fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) have been affected by chemicals in the environment. "Feminisation of the males of numerous vertebrate species is now a widespread occurrence. All vertebrates have similar sex hormone receptors, which have been conserved in evolution. Therefore, observations in one species may serve to highlight pollution issues of concern for other vertebrates, including humans." Fish, it says, are particularly affected by pollutants as they are immersed in them when they swim in contaminated water, taking them in not just in their food but through their gills and skin. They were among the first to show widespread gender-bending effects. Half the male fish in British lowland rivers have been found to be developing eggs in their testes; in some stretches all male roaches have been found to be changing sex in this way. Female hormones – largely from the contraceptive pills which pass unaltered through sewage treatment – are partly responsible, while more than three-quarters of sewage works have been found also to be discharging demasculinising man-made chemicals. Feminising effects have now been discovered in a host of freshwater fish species as far away as Japan and Benin, in Africa, and in sea fish in the North Sea, the Mediterranean, Osaka Bay in Japan and Puget Sound on the US west coast. Research at the University of Florida earlier this year found that 40 per cent of the male cane toads – a species so indestructible that it has become a plague in Australia – had become hermaphrodites in a heavily farmed part of the state, with another 20 per cent undergoing lesser feminisation. A similar link between farming and sex changes in northern leopard frogs has been revealed by Canadian research, adding to suspicions that pesticides may be to blame. Male alligators exposed to pesticides in Florida have suffered from lower testosterone and higher oestrogen levels, abnormal testes, smaller penises and reproductive failures. Male snapping turtles have been found with female characteristics in the same state and around the Great Lakes, where wildlife has been found to be contaminated with more than 400 different chemicals. Male herring gulls and peregrine falcons have produced the female protein used to make egg yolks, while bald eagles have had difficulty reproducing in areas highly contaminated with chemicals. Scientists at Cardiff University have found that the brains of male starlings who ate worms contaminated by female hormones at a sewage works in south-west England were subtly changed so that they sang at greater length and with increased virtuosity. Even more ominously for humanity, mammals have also been found to be widely affected. Two-thirds of male Sitka black-tailed deer in Alaska have been found to have undescended testes and deformed antler growth, and roughly the same proportion of white-tailed deer in Montana were discovered to have genital abnormalities. In South Africa, eland have been revealed to have damaged testicles while being contaminated by high levels of gender-bender chemicals, and striped mice from one polluted nature reserved were discovered to be producing no sperm at all. At the other end of the world, hermaphrodite polar bears – with penises and vaginas – have been discovered and gender-benders have been found to reduce sperm counts and penis lengths in those that remained male. Many of the small, endangered populations of Florida panthers have been found to have abnormal sperm. Other research has revealed otters from polluted areas with smaller testicles and mink exposed to PCBs with shorter penises. Beluga whales in Canada's St Lawrence estuary and killer whales off its north-west coast – two of the wildlife populations most contaminated by PCBs – are reproducing poorly, as are exposed porpoises, seals and dolphins. Scientists warned yesterday that the mass of evidence added up to a grave warning for both wildlife and humans. Professor Charles Tyler, an expert on endocrine disrupters at the University of Exeter, says that the evidence in the report "set off alarm bells". Whole wildlife populations could be at risk, he said, because their gene pool would be reduced, making them less able to withstand disease and putting them at risk from hazards such as global warming. Dr Pete Myers, chief scientist at Environmental Health Sciences, one of the world's foremost authorities on gender-bender chemicals, added: "We have thrown 100, 000 chemicals against a finely balanced hormone system, so it's not surprising that we are seeing some serious results. It is leading to the most rapid pace of evolution in the history of the world. Professor Lou Gillette of Florida University, one of the most respected academics in the field, warned that the report waved "a large red flag" at humanity. He said: "If we are seeing problems in wildlife, we can be concerned that something similar is happening to a proportion of human males" Indeed, new research at the University of Rochester in New York state shows that boys born to mothers with raised levels of phthalates were more likely to have smaller penises and undescended testicles. They also had a shorter distance between their anus and genitalia, a classic sign of feminisation. And a study at Rotterdam's Erasmus University showed that boys whose mothers had been exposed to PCBs grew up wanting to play with dolls and tea sets rather than with traditionally male toys. Communities heavily polluted with gender-benders in Canada, Russia and Italy have given birth to twice as many girls than boys, which may offer a clue to the reason for a mysterious shift in sex ratios worldwide. Normally 106 boys are born for every 100 girls, but the ratio is slipping. It is calculated that 250,000 babies who would have been boys have been born as girls instead in the US and Japan alone. And sperm counts are dropping precipitously. Studies in more than 20 countries have shown that they have dropped from 150 million per millilitre of sperm fluid to 60 million over 50 years. (Hamsters produce nearly three times as much, at 160 million.) Professor Nil Basu of Michigan University says that this adds up to "pretty compelling evidence for effects in humans". But Britain has long sought to water down EU attempts to control gender-bender chemicals and has been leading opposition to a new regulation that would ban pesticides shown to have endocrine-disrupting effects. Almost all the other European countries back it, but ministers – backed by their counterparts from Ireland and Romania – are intent on continuing their resistance at a crucial meeting on Wednesday. They say the regulation would cause a collapse of agriculture in the UK, but environmentalists retort that this is nonsense because the regulation has get-out clauses that could be used by British farmers. love, Baba Re: Chemical Pollutants Cause Feminization in Mammals, Humans by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Monday, 8 December 2008, 03:36 PM Dear Babaji & students Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Heh.. just to add to the chemical poisoning, Fluoride is a big one, usually in the form of sodium fluoride, generally used as a rat poison and pesticide, governments around the world are making outrageous lies to put this stuff in the tap water, something like 43 states in America have fluoride in their tap water, they started putting it in the water here in UK, A quick introduction to the dangers of fluoride:- http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ys9q1cvKGk If you start looking into it, you'll quickly get an idea of how ridiculous the situation is. Research around the world concludes this chemical reduces IQ, causes fluorosis, causes cancers and many other serious conditions. Apparently the first time fluoride was introduced in the drinking water was back in Nazi Germany in their concentratin camps, they found that it made the people dumber/slower/complacent, generally easier to dominate without resistance, this complements the feminisation chemicals very nicely.. Check to see if your council is putting fluoride in the tap water, toothpaste, mouth wash, fizzy drinks, you cant avoid it completely as its infiltrated the whole food industry but its best to cut it out as much as possible as this chemical is cumulative and can take up to a decade before its released from the body. This is why the self-sufficient community as proposed by Babaji is so critical, the situation is going to get worse and worse. Love, Keiju Re: Chemical Pollutants Cause Feminization in Mammals, Humans by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 06:21 AM Dear all, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! To follow up on my post, good counters for fluoride is:- Vitamin B http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_b & Vitamin C http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_c  Also I mentioned that it can cause cancer, to be more specific, it seems all cancers are of the same type, carcinogens, fluoride, radiation simply determine the area that it occurs in, "cancers" occur in the body all the time but we have natural defenses against it. It is a malfunction of the healing process, it has been known for a long time that cancers are caused by Vitamin B17 dificiency, there have been thousands of cases where people were treated by Vitamin B17 and cured. Hemp oil is also known to cure cancer, I assume it has a high dose of Vitamin B17. With a good amount of Vitamin B17 in your diet, cancer can be avoided completely for the entire duration of your life. http://www.worldwithoutcancer.org.uk/ Video:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO0I2jWthko In the end what good is curing cancer if only to prolong material suffering. Chanting the holy name for a permanent cure to spiritual disease is the only benefit to be attained. This was to highlight the huge Karma we accept for associating with a demoniac society, everything is contaminated.. even their so called help/treatment Love, Keiju lost and bewildered by thomas evans - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 03:27 PM hare krsna! all glories to srila prabupada. i feel quite lost at the moment, being mentally ill ive been pushed away from the esoteric teaching and the perfection of life. ive never felt so alone. ive been seeing doctors about my condition for about 5 years, that diagnosis being scizophernia. i dont know if there is a cure. if not it seems that this life is doomed as without your personal guidance i feel bewildered and unsure what to do. As its presented in the vedic texts i must find a spiritual teacher but now its seems that my condition will make me drown in the tsunami of change leading to 2012. If i did get better and be cured is there any chance of joining your school, in person, or will my troubled history decide this?  Is there any hope left for me? can i still become self realised? i just want to serve krsna but i feel like im lost on a desert island unable to escape. more problems asial me as im unemployed (dont know what jobs in this materialistic society are krsna consious) and have rising debt this im told can be helped by chanting the 1,000 holy names of god. is there a cd recording that i can play, as i dont always have access to a computer, and need help with my pronouciation. im just trying to make my life successful will anybody be able to help me. your insignificant servant and beggar, please have mercy on me, love thomas. harebol. Re: lost and bewildered by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 04:21 PM Dear Thomas, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! First of all you should control your mind and stop lamenting. Lamentation never helps to solve problems; it just wastes our time and energy, and that makes things worse. If you accept that you are mentally ill, then you are in the bodily conception of life. Actually you are a spirit soul: perfect, immortal and indestructible. Nothing in this temporary world of illusion can hurt or destroy you. So stop lamenting. The purpose of our community is to teach spiritual life. We are basically declaring war on Māyā; therefore everyone involved in our community must be fit to fight the illusion of material existence. How can you fight if you are weak and lamenting? When soldiers join the army, they go through very tough training to get them ready for battle. Do you think that you could get through our training in your present condition? We are in an emergency condition because my Godbrothers did not do their duty. They did not follow Śrīla Prabhupāda's instructions and create self-reliant farm communities. So now we are almost out of time, therefore if we are going to be successful we can take only the strongest people. We need people who are officer material. Once we are well-established, maybe then we can think about helping weaker people who have serious problems. But if we try to accept anyone and everyone in the beginning, then the whole thing will fail. ISKCON had so many problems because they accepted people who were sociopathic, power hungry, child molesters, criminals, homosexuals and others in the lower modes of nature. And then in 1972 when Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed them to stop recruiting and train the devotees up to a high standard, they refused to obey him. We cannot afford to make that mistake. I'm sorry if it means that you have to wait, but there are so many things you can do until our community is strong and well-established enough to help you. You can read and chant; you can download the MP3 of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma and burn it to a CD. You can download the text and print it out. If you can't figure out how to do these simple things, then how are you going to make it in our community? If you are suffering, it because of the karma from your past activities. You have to change your activities before your condition is going to improve. You are the only person who can really help you. As soon as you start to follow the principles of spiritual life, your condition will improve. Once you get into a condition of strength, you will be fit to associate with devotees and help us in the battle against Māyā. So stop lamenting stop complaining, stop your material activities and get busy hearing and chanting the Holy Name. The more you concentrate your energy in hearing and chanting, the sooner Kṛṣṇa will help you solve all the problems of life. love, Baba Re: lost and bewildered by Earl White - Monday, 8 December 2008, 10:10 PM Dear Thomas, Please accept my humble obeisances, "Yes,"  there is hope for you,  you must see a good doctor, and take your medication everyday at the same time,  to keep it in your system. "And," you are not a beggar or insignificant,  you are a child of God. And yes, you can become self realized,  because you have a spirit and God lives in your heart. Without mercy or love no one will see God. Babaji,  if you are self realized, you should show a little kindness towards others,  that you feel are beneath you. Kind words, gives hope for another day. It helps to lead "All" to God Head. Hare Krisna, Love, Earl, Re: lost and bewildered by Seamus Keiju Bourke - Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 04:49 AM Dear Earl, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Your missing the point, noone suffers for no reason, that is the Karma, if with all the help on this site he cant understand:- 1. The reason for his suffering 2. The means to relieving the suffering 3. Patience and persistance, actual practical work to achieve the result Then no amount of material comforting is going to help, your type of comforting is material, it does no good at all, what is most beneficial for Thomas is the truth, in fact what is most beneficial for anyone is always the truth. Babaji is a spiritual master, which means he is the master of truth, he knows the truth thus he knows what is most beneficial, his words are most beneficial. Your comments are filthy from my point of view Earl... detrimental even.. putting people further into illusion, your words will only lead people away from the truth, master of illusion. Your intention may be "good" but your material consciousness can only give material (illusory) help. Love, Keiju Re: lost and bewildered by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 05:44 AM Dear Keiju, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for the kind words of support. You are right, materialistic sentimentalism does not help anyone; in fact it is the means by which we fall into illusion. lokaḥ svayaṁ śreyasi naṣṭa-dṛṣṭir yo 'rthān samīheta nikāma-kāmaḥ anyonya-vairaḥ sukha-leśa-hetor ananta-duḥkhaṁ ca na veda mūḍhaḥ "Due to ignorance, the materialistic person does not know anything about his real self-interest, the auspicious path in life. He is simply bound to material enjoyment by lusty desires, and all his plans are made for this purpose. For temporary sense gratification, such a person creates a society of envy, and due to this mentality, he plunges into the ocean of suffering. Such a foolish person does not even know about this." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.16] PURPORT The word naṣṭa-dṛṣṭiḥ, meaning "one who has no eyes to see the future," is very significant in this verse. Life goes on from one body to another, and the activities performed in this life are enjoyed or suffered in the next life, if not later in this life. One who is unintelligent, who has no eyes to see the future, simply creates enmity and fights with others for sense gratification. As a result, one suffers in the next life, but due to being like a blind man, he continues to act in such a way that he suffers unlimitedly. Such a person is a mūḍha, one who simply wastes his time and does not understand the Lord's devotional service. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā 7.25: nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ mūḍho 'yaṁ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam "I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yogamāyā]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible." In the Kaṭha Upaniṣad it is also said: avidyāyām antare vartamānāḥ svayaṁ dhīrāḥ paṇḍitaṁ manyamānāḥ. Although ignorant, people still go to other blind men for leadership. As a result, both are subjected to miserable conditions. The blind lead the blind into the ditch. We are not refusing help and encouragement to people like Thomas and Earl; but our responsibility is first to establish a strong community that can ensure the survival of the lineage of the Esoteric Teaching through the coming chaos. Once that primary responsibility is taken care of, then we can address other issues and causes. We can't accept everyone, especially in the beginning, because we are in an emergency condition as explained earlier. We need officer material, great heroes of transcendental life. Then once The Bridge is ready, so many will be able to walk across it. love, Baba Architecture and Site Plan by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 08:57 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is an example site plan, and the architecture that we find attractive and also practical because it is both cheap, sustainable and very strong. love, Baba Re: Architecture and Site Plan by Neville Clemens - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 10:51 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! There are videos on youtube that briefly show the construction procedure for such houses. Just do a search for "Cal Earth" or "Calearth" on youtube and browse through some of their videos. Love, Neville Re: Architecture and Site Plan by Laura Harrison - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 06:58 PM Beloved Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! On the site plan there are two exterior baths. The ecodome plan includes baths, so what do you have in mind for the extras? Speaking of the ecodomes, these are fantastic and I'd almost forgotten about the earth home idea from the 60's and 70's. That was one we let go too soon. Many thanks to Neville Prabhu for sending us to YouTube to watch how simply these are constructed in comparison to a regular home. A house will crumble in an earthquake, but not an ecodome. Also do you have any idea as to how many acres there might be for the field? The only thing I see missing other than the outsheds of course is the barn and I'm supposing that would be located in the lower right-hand corner of your diagram for obvious reasons. Thank you so much for giving me a bit of a visual of not only what is to come, but I can already see myself working in the barn and in the field. Much love and respect, Laura Re: Architecture and Site Plan by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 08:13 PM Dear Mother Laura, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The site plan is just a very rough guesstimate. A lot depends on the specific property we get and how we develop it. In Vedic culture the bathrooms and showers are separate from the living quarters, kitchen and temple for sanitary reasons. In this mild climate there is no need for a barn, just a shelter without walls will do—and even that is more for the devotees than for the cows. Cows are amazingly implacable, tough and adaptable creatures, and can deal with most weather conditions without skipping a cud-chew. Generally in a temperate climate with fertile land you need about one acre per person to have self-sufficiency. In less ideal conditions, more are required. If the land has been abused, it may not support a sufficient variety of crops to permit self-sufficiency. This is one reason why we need to attract an expert agronomist to advise our site selection process. I loved those eco-domes at first sight. I'll never forget the first time I went to India, we flew on Afghani Air (never again!). One of the many stops was Abu Dhabi. In those days the area near the airport was full of exotic-looking domed earthen houses. That's when it really hit me how far from the US I was. Getting the land will take a while. First we will need to identify regions of interest, then travel to them and inspect, visit available properties and get the soil tested, and then the process of buying the land, moving, building... Whew! You can see yourself working in the barn and field? Does that mean you're coming to join us? love, Baba Re: Architecture and Site Plan by Laura Harrison - Monday, 8 December 2008, 03:17 PM Beloved Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! Although I hold no degree in Economics, let me just say that the US is sinking like the Titanic and is taking on water fast. We as a country are going to have to go the whole way down before we will even consider a means to save ourselves. People here don't want to make a solution but want one made for them as always. I would submit that the US not be considered at this time as a place of interest for this project. Have there been other regions discussed, or are we strongly staying within the bounds of Chile at this time? Waiting to attract an agronomist might take forever, but if those of you that are in the planning part of the project could make contact with the agricultural dept. from the local university, this indeed might get the answers in the pre-planning stages. By the Mercy of Srila Prabhupada I have been led to you Babaji and the Esoteric Teachings. It is my duty to serve him and you with devotion. In whatever humble way that I might aid in his instructions for this project, then that I will do.  Yes, of course I wish to join the community. I have three hold-ups which I suppose will not take too much longer. Firstly there is coming off the remainder of my meds, second is selling all of my furniture, and third.... removing myself from the Western addiction to T.P. With love and respect, Laura  Re: Architecture and Site Plan by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 8 December 2008, 04:18 PM Dear Laura and Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the preliminary design for the temple. There will be three altars, with Śrī-Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Śrī-Śrī Gaura-Nitāi and Bhagavān Nṛsiṁhadeva. All the buildings will share a similar architectural style. We are working on a 3D visualization of the farm and temple. I'm very happy to hear that you want to come. Yes, you do need to get rid of the meds, excess possessions and toilet paper first. Water works better anyway. Then we have to work out the timing, because right now we do not have a brahmacāriṇī āśram. love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 10 by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 8 December 2008, 07:12 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is Chapter 10: Chapter ten LORD SIVA'S COUNSEL When the demon arrived there, he saw Lord Siva sitting in a yogic meditation posture at the root of a fig tree. Looking as bright as a million suns, Lord Siva was smiling. He appeared as though the Infinite Light were radiating from every pore of his body. He was wearing a tiger skin and holding a trident and ax, and his head was covered with bright bunches of matted hair. He had five faces and three eyes in each, and there were sacred snakes coiled around his neck. He was the death of death, the destroyer of the world and a powerful lord. His face was serene and beautiful. He immortalizes his devotees, awards the fruits of asceticism and is a source of prosperity. He destroys the world and rescues sinners from hell. Upon seeing Lord Siva, Sankhacuda got down from his chariot and, with his entire army, bowed low to him. He also saluted Bhadrakali, who was on Lord Siva's left side, and Kartikkeya, who was in the front. In response, they bestowed blessings on him. Nandi and other devotees of Lord Siva got up and greeted him in a suitable manner. Sankhacuda spoke cordially to them and then sat down beside Lord Siva, who greeted him cheerfully and said, "O King, Lord Brahma, the creator of the world and the father of religious duty, had a Vaisnava son named Marici, who begat the virtuous Kasyapa. Daksa, another son of Lord Brahma, bowed to Kasyapa and gave him his thirteen daughters in marriage. Of these daughters, Danu, who was very blessed and chaste, gave birth to forty sons. They were all very spirited and known as Danavas. Amongst them, Vipracitti was prominent--he was most valorous, pious and devoted to Lord Visnu. His son's name was Dambha and he obtained Sukracarya as his guru. Following his teacher's advice, he worshiped Lord Krsna at Puskara by reciting the Krsna mantra for one hundred thousand years. Consequently, by Lord Krsna's boon, he was able to get a son like yourself. "In your former birth, in Goloka, you were very religious and were the chief cowherd friend of Lord Krsna. By Radha's curse you have become lord of the demons here. But you are also a Vaisnava. And a Vaisnava regards everything--from the form of Lord Brahma down to the form of a blade of grass--as very illusory. Even if the four kinds of liberation are offered to him, namely, Salokya, Sarsti, Sayujya and Samipya (to live on the same planet as Lord Visnu, to have the same opulences as Lord Visnu, to merge with Lord Visnu and to have have equal association with Lord Visnu, respectively), he does not care at all for them; for he is only interested in serving Lord Visnu. Nor does he care to have the position of Indra, Kuvera or Brahma, for he thinks them all insignificant. He only cares to worship and serve Lord Krsna. Now you are a true Krsna devotee. Therefore, why do you care for those things that belong to the demigods and which are false to you? Better return to the demigods their kingdoms and please me by this act. Let the demigods be reinstated in their own positions and you govern your own kingdom happily. You are all descendants of Kasyapa Muni. So it is not desirable for relatives to feud. In fact, the sin committed by killing a brahmana is not even one sixteenth as great as that of creating hostilities amongst one's relatives. "O King, pause. If you think that by restoring to the demigods their kingdoms, you will lose prestige, you should also consider that no one's position is stable or unchanging. When the world is completely dissolved, even Lord Brahma disappears; then, by the will of God, he subsequently reappears. And later, by virtue of his knowledge, he again creates everything. But the type of knowledge, intellect and memory that people receive depends on the amount of austerity they practiced in their previous births. "Also, consider this: truth is the support of dharma or virtue. In the Satya-yuga (golden or truthful age), virtue is complete; in the Treta-yuga (silver age), it is reduced by one fourth; in the Dvapara yuga (copper age) by one half; and in the Kali yuga (iron age or age of quarrel), by three fourths; and at the end of the Kali yuga, virtue becomes reduced even more, like the moon on the dark-moon night. "Or consider the sun: in the summer its light is very intense; but not so in the winter. At noon, the sun is very hot; but not so in the morning and evening. In time, the sun rises; in time, it becomes powerful; and in time, it sets. By the working of time, it is obscured by clouds. "Then consider the moon: when the moon is devoured by Rahu (as in a lunar eclipse) it trembles; when it is released, it becomes bright again. In the full-moon night it becomes full, but does not remain so. In the bright fortnight it waxes daily, but in the dark fortnight it wanes daily. In the bright fortnight, the moon looks healthy and rich but in the dark fortnight it looks decreasingly thinner, as if afflicted by consumption. Thus at one time the moon looks powerful and at another time it looks weak and pale. "Similarly, Bali Maharaja is presently living in Patala loka (one of the planets beneath the earth) but at another time he will become lord of the demigods. At one time the earth is lush with grains and is the resting place of all beings, but at another time it becomes covered with water. The entire world, including everything moving and nonmoving, appears at one time and disappears at another. "Only Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, remains the same. It is by His grace that I obtained the name Mrtyunjaya (the Conqueror of Death). I have witnessed many dissolutions of the world and I shall continue to witness them. Lord Krsna is both material nature and the Supreme Being. He is the individual soul as well as the Supreme Soul. Though He assumes many forms, He is beyond those forms. Whoever repeats His name and sings His glories can conquer death; he does not come under the influence of birth, death, disease, old age and fear. Lord Krsna has created Brahma, the creator; Visnu, the preserver; and me, the destroyer. By His will we possess those potencies and influences. O King! I have delegated Kala, Agni and Rudra to do the work of destruction, whereas I myself only repeat His name and sing His glories incessantly, day and night. For this reason I am called Mrtyunjaya, and by my knowledge, I have conquered death. I am fearless. When death sees me, he flies away just as snakes flee when they see Garuda." King Sankhacuda thanked and praised Lord Siva repeatedly, and replied modestly. "What you have said is quite true. But please allow me to say a few words. Kindly listen...You have just said that fighting with one's relatives is a great sin. Then why did the Lord, on behalf of the demigods, take away all of Bali Maharaja's possessions and send him down to Patala? And why did the Lord, for the same reason, kill Hiranyaksa, Hiranyakasipu, Sumbha and other Danavas (demons)? Long ago the demons and the demigods worked hard together churning the ocean to obtain nectar from it; but why did the Lord give the nectar to the demigods? O lord, this universe is the sporting ground of Lord Krsna; and anyone He favors with fortune and glory obtains them. The quarreling between the demigods and the demons is eternal. Victory and defeat come to each party alternately. So it is improper and unnecessary for you to interfere in our quarrel. For you, O great lord, are both my relative and my friend. And your nature is of the Highest Self. To you, the demigods and the demons are equal. So it is certainly shameful for you to become our opponent and favor the demigods. If you win this battle, the glory and fame you would gain would not be as great as if we win. And if we defeat you, the disgrace and infamy you would earn would be much greater than that which we would if we were defeated: for we are small and you are great. Lord Siva smiled and gently said, "O King, you have descended from a Brahman family, so if I am defeated by you, how shall I incur shame? In former days the Lord fought with Madhu and Kaitabha as well as Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa. And I fought with Tripura. And the universal mother, Durga Devi, fought with Sumbha and other demons. But none of the demons just mentioned, who were killed in the war, can be compared to you in prowess. You are the best of Lord Krsna's attendants. The demigods have sought Lord Hari's protection, so He has sent me on their behalf to approach you. If I am defeated by a sublime person like yourself, how can I be disgraced? But I'm surprised to hear you talk of disgrace and infamy. There is no point in continuing this useless talk. Now, either return to the demigods their kingdoms or prepare to fight with me. I am firm in my determination." love, Baba Sunday Satsang 7 December 2008: Community Management by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 8 December 2008, 05:38 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Tomorrow's Sunday Satsang will be a community meeting and discussion about the Community Project Summary in this post. Please download it, read it completely and carefully, and let's discuss it on that thread and in tomorrow's Satsang. As usual, the Satsang videocast will be at 12 noon Santiago time. Here's a time zone map: Here is the videocast link: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com:80/portal/JoinForm.action?meetingRoomName=dasanudas Of course we will post the video on this thread as soon as possible after the videocast. But please join us live if at all possible; this is a very important Satsang. love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 7 December 2008: Community Management by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 8 December 2008, 05:42 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Great Satsang! That was a very stimulating discussion and the best attendance that we have had in some time. Let's see if we can maintain this level of community participation. watch The video is also available on YouTube here. love, Baba Chat with Neville about Karma-yoga by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 04:24 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The following is a chat Neville and I had today concerning some important issues for our whole community. It is self-explanatory. Neville: Hare Krsna Babaji. Please accept my humble obeisances. Babaji: Hare Kṛṣṇa ... Neville: Have we already started raising money? Babaji: We're almost ready to go live [with the trading bot] Neville: I had told Kapila Prabhu that we don't have anything lined up yet Babaji: you mean for raising funds? Neville: yes Babaji: well that's not really true; we collected quite a bit in donations last year Neville: yes, I told him we depend on donations for now. but the other option was to say that we have something lined up but I can't share it Babaji: [You can say,] "We're working on an innovative fundraising method. That's all I'm allowed to say. We want to keep it quiet until we get some tangible results." Neville: OK. Has the bot been running real-time and making money? In paper-trading i mean Babaji: Won 2 lost 1 so far today; it's very choppy today. And I made a bit paper trading manually the same strategy Neville: ok Babaji: I have become really cautious in my old age Neville: but so far it hasn't been anything that's clearly a winner? cautious? that's my job! Babaji: Winner? Well, I just won $426 on a paper trade in 3 minutes Neville: manual or automatic? Babaji: manual; it went too fast for the bot to pick it up Neville: “went too fast” means that according to the bot logic it wasn't dependable enough, right? Babaji: well no, the bot is very sensitive, so we also put some delaying logic to keep it from going in too early and save it from bad trades, but on a day like today that can work against it by making it miss trades. We are working on a collection of strategies for different market conditions Neville: i worry that as soon as it gets manual there's risk of trading being influenced by passion Babaji: well of course, that's why bots are so great; but you have to trade and get a feel for what works and not Neville: okay, what is our performance threshold after which we feel we can let the bot loose? Babaji: defined by UTM: 80% hit rate and 3:1 profitability ratio. we're already beyond that, but only in certain market conditions Neville: well not in real-time Babaji: yes, we're running [the bot] in real time. RT performance is consistent with our simulations more than 90% of the time Neville: so right now if we let the bot run real-time for a week, it'll give us UTM results? Babaji: it depends on market conditions; if every day is like today, then no Neville: but if not UTM then at least some marginal profit? Babaji: the strategy we have now is great for days when there are big strong moves. So we're working on another strategy for days like today, when there are lots of consolidations followed by tentative moves, started and terminated by contrarian signals Neville: I feel it's better to be cautious about rolling out with a bot; plenty of testing Babaji: that's exactly what we are doing, since we have the time there's no rush Neville: Also, why tell people on the forum to invest when we haven't rolled out with a final bot yet and seen it work with our existing money? Babaji: to make a point. Anyway we're more than 90% sure that we have a winning bot. Also I wanted to point out how even if you offer people lifetime security, they are so dull they can't take it up Neville: but that's the thing - they won't believe that it's a reliable lifeline until they see us working it with our own resources first Babaji: have we ever misled them? have we ever lied? have we ever said we were going to do something and then didn't do it? Neville: but this is not something within our control. i don't think they doubt our intentions - just whether this idea will work Babaji: what is not under our control? Neville: how the bot will perform when it turns loose Babaji: of course it's under our control: we don't trade with real money when the market conditions are unsuitable for the strategies we have. Neville: the natural reaction when people hear stock market is "uncertain" Babaji: Heck, even getting out of bed in the morning is uncertain Neville: "people lose money there. I've heard tons of stories" etc etc Babaji: because of ignorance and incompetence Neville: well yes, and we don't yet have a proven track record Babaji: proven to whom? How? What do you mean no track record? We have built the present mission out of nothing in less than two years Neville: by performance. if we trade with real money and double it, then that's proof Babaji: do you think we are going to show our financial records to everyone? Neville: we're not? Babaji: duh... of course not! Either people trust us and take us at our word, or it is useless anyway Neville: then how do we convince them that it's a safe investment? Babaji: see above Neville: got it Babaji: how do the Africans trust Astottara-sata? Neville: they have nothing to lose Babaji: exactly Neville: but our online students usually have comfy lives actually we should be telling them that if they join then they'll lose all that . that's the benefit of joining. :D Babaji: LOL you will lose your sinful life Neville: if we tell them that it's a good material investment then it'll attract opportunists Babaji: you still don't get it: Even with our statement that it is a good material investment, they still don't want to come Neville: because they don't believe it yet Babaji: they are so dull that even if we offered them $50K, they would not come. By the time they believe it, they won't be able to afford it Neville: by the time they believe it, we won't need their money Babaji: that's another way of looking at it; still we should charge something, because our net worth will be so much more by then Neville: yeah Babaji: those who join us now will have 'sweat equity'; it wouldn't be fair to let people in for free Neville: well everyone who joins will be working in some way, in some service capacity Babaji: but who will pay for them? if those with vision who invested early and see their investment grow get a huge return on their faith, then those who come later should by all rights pay even more because their faith is so much less Neville: ok Babaji: now do you get it? Neville: but why give them the idea that the return on their faith is material? Babaji: it's not material; it is in terms of karma-yoga. Remember we are teaching from Bhagavad-gītā chapter 3 now Neville: ok Babaji: you cannot do karma-yoga when you have to buy all your food from some meat-selling corporation Neville: right Babaji: we have to create an alternative economy that is based on devotional service, not ugra-karma Neville: and we're doing that Babaji: that is the biggest challenge Neville: I think this is going to happen Babaji: it is the future; it is happening anyway by Kṛṣṇa's will Neville: yes Babaji: we are just surfing on the wave Neville: yeah If someone joins, i would think it's a lot more wholesome if they join because they want to be a part of such an endeavor, rather than a calculated investment Babaji: right, but the investment is just one more incentive and right now we need the capital to get started, AND it's more fair to all those who have contributed everything from the start, like Uddhava and Kānāi Neville: But I'm still not fully on board with putting pressure saying 'chip in now before it's too late' – when we haven't had success with our own funds yet. I know I would think twice about that deal, if I was still in a material mindset Babaji: we are not making an offer on the material platform; our offer is on the platform of karma-yoga. The point is that most of our so-called students are still in material consciousness and would not join us even if we paid them Neville: aha. I think I follow. They should chip in regardless of whether the investment works out or not - that's karma-yoga. Babaji: ¡exactamente! Neville: then we should just say that: we need money to get this off the ground. chip in and perform karma-yoga. Babaji: I've been preaching about karma-yoga for months now. Where is everybody? Neville: of course then people will think that we're using scripture to trick them out of their money Babaji: that's why the trust/faith issue is pivotal Neville: they will only trust when they see results. even I will only believe the bot works when it actually makes us money consistently. Babaji: I'm looking at it make money right now. It just made $250 on a nice little trade Neville: well over a period of a week, I'd say Babaji: didn't you see that chart I posted? It made good gains over two weeks Neville: but that was historical data Babaji: what's the difference? Neville: the bot was built on that data? Babaji: yes, of course! It is designed and built for today's market, not last year's market Neville: right, but if we tweak a bot for optimal performance on some data then naturally it'll do well. The test is when we run it on a new set of data Babaji: That's why we do back testing and forward testing. We analyzed every transaction and designed a strategy that would avoid bad trades in today's market conditions. you are being far too critical without understanding the process of strategy design. Please stop wasting my time and yours Neville: Sorry about that. Was just chipping in with my current understanding. Babaji: for example we tried training an AI strategy on a month's worth of data, and it failed. But when we make a bot that wins over the last week's data, it wins today as well Neville: okay Babaji: after you've spent a couple hundred hours looking at and analyzing the market, then tell me about strategy development Neville: so it will be periodically re-trained? Babaji: we will always be developing new and better strategies. But my point is that if we have 80% / 3:1 performance after a month of development, what are we going to have after six months? Neville: okay Babaji: faith and the desire to follow Kṛṣṇa's instructions, no matter what the result, is the core of karma-yoga. Working as one is obligated by duty, without attachment to results, is the essence of karma-yoga Neville: Yes, I follow Babaji: somehow we have to please Śrīla Prabhupāda. This is something no other devotees have done so far: self-reliant farm communities and varṇāśrama brahminical college. It is the cutting edge, the brave frontier of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the West Neville: we'll do our best Babaji: we don't want to be dependent on big donors, organizations and governments. All those are fallible soldiers. Kṛṣṇa and the intelligence He gives His pure devotees will get us through Neville: okay Babaji: think about it: what is reliable? Our intelligence is limited and fallible. Both the successful strategies we developed were inspired by Kṛṣṇa. Do you think He is going to let His pure devotee down? Neville: no, i'm not worried about that Babaji: then why are you arguing the role of the skeptic? Neville: because I feel that you and Uddhava are always overly optimistic and so I feel the need to argue the opposite end--not because I'm worried but because I'm only trying to illuminate parts that might not be illuminated Babaji: do you think that Uddhava & I would have invested hundreds of hours in developing strategies if we didn't think that we would be successful? Only unreasonably optimistic and unshakably determined people accomplish great things Neville: yes, I agree Babaji: if we left you to yourself you would spend the rest of your life working for karmis Neville: yup, probably. Babaji: so you are already saved by Kṛṣṇa's mercy Neville: yes, and yours Babaji: don't you think the same intelligence can also save others? Thinking outside the box of material consciousness is the only solution to the current situation Neville: I do. And they'll be saved even if all this doesn't work out materially Babaji: right. The whole point is to be fully engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. So we are trying everything, even financial schemes, just to engage everyone in Kṛṣṇa's service Neville: ok Babaji: we have to press on. Our faith is not blind, but informed by our experience and the knowledge of what is coming. Kṛṣṇa has to offer a solution; it is never hopeless, but it will not be within the bounds of the old system, and it takes great intelligence to see that Neville: Yes, and courage Babaji: we are indestructible spirit souls; nothing can hurt us, except being captured by Māyā Neville: yeah Babaji: I would like to publish this conversation. I think there are some important points here for our whole community Neville: okay, that’s a good idea love, Baba Re: Chat with Neville about Karma-yoga by Jennifer Lawrence - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 05:28 PM Dear Babaji: Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! Thank you so much for posting this thread. Thank you for these amazing possibilities. I know my families' goal is to get back to Godhead. We are just beginning on the path. As for a family coming and joining the community, like we are, we haven't found a solution to be able to leave the US. Until then we will be following your instructions to the best of our ability and keep praying for your continued guidance. I hope there is an understanding that not everyone can leave where they are at now, but are looking for ways to do so in the future. Where it may take an individual 6 months to be able to get there, a family may take four times as long without entanglements. Please accept my support of the Chili community. To a brave new future! Love and respect, Jennifer Re: Chat with Neville about Karma-yoga by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 06:47 PM Dear Jennifer, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You're welcome; I am trying to penetrate to the essence of the issue facing our community, and by now I am certain that it is the issue of theory versus practice, and underlying that is the issue of trust. Everyone is fine as long as we just engage in a theoretical discussion of high philosophy; but as soon as we want to give that philosophy a practical dimension—as Kṛṣṇa does in the Third Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā—then most people get weak knees. Thus the sudden hush on the forum when folks realized that "Omigod, he really wants us to do something about this Esoteric Teaching stuff!" We did not speculate or manufacture this path; it comes directly from Kṛṣṇa. As long as we follow His advice, everything goes well. As soon as we resist and try to evade surrendering, we get in deep trouble. This is the essence of a lifetime of experience in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If our mission is doing well, it is because we follow Kṛṣṇa's advice and try to apply everything He suggests in a practical way according to the intelligence that He supplies. So when we talk about a self-reliant, independent community, we have to find some creative way to finance it so that we are not entangled with organizational politics, rich donors, ecclesiastical committees or government agencies. As soon as our community was well-established from a spiritual point of view, I remembered my background in trading and a little research confirmed that trading futures is a valid option. (excuse the pun ) The devotees coming in the beginning will be brahmacarīs (celibate monks) because we only have facility for one āśram right now; but as soon as we get land, we will build guest quarters that can facilitate families. Our rules will be strict, even for family life, with separate quarters and no cohabitation between men and women except to perform garbhādāna-saṁskāra ceremony for conceiving a child. That was Śrīla Prabhupāda's standard, and we intend to maintain it because we want first-class children conceived in spiritual consciousness. Until we reach a high state of self-reliance, some monetary input will be a necessity. Everyone seemed to understand that while we were completely dependent on donations; why should it suddenly become a problem now that we are trading? How else will we be able to raise US$1 million or more to buy and develop a farm? Even if we could get someone to donate the entire amount, this would not be very practical because then the donor would want too much control. But anyone can scrape together US$3400 for an options contract, invest it in our pool, and become a shareholder of our community. The thing is, as the US economy unravels, this will become more and more difficult. If we don't make a consistent policy, that would be unfair to the devotees who gave everything they had to get this mission going: Uddhava, Kānāi and Neville. So maybe you can't come and join us for some time, but the time to invest in the community is now, because the trillions of new dollars being poured into the collapsing financial system mean that the dollar will be devalued. Deflation followed by rapid inflation is the inevitable result. If you throw in one futures contract now, by the time you are ready to move here, your share will be worth 5-10 shares. That will easily maintain your family for the rest of your lives. Why is that so hard to understand? love, Baba Re: Chat with Neville about Karma-yoga by Jennifer Lawrence - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 08:00 PM Dear Babaji: Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! That was all the clarification my husband and I needed. We are so pleased that we can sign up now for such a small amount and let it grow just as our faith and devotion will grow with the necessary work and attention. Be assured that we will be saving for this right now! As I read your post all my doubts and fears subsided knowing that my family will have an opportunity to join a real community based on the absolute truth! I can not thank you enough for this amazing opportunity. Hare Krshna! With love and respect, Jennifer Re: Chat with Neville about Karma-yoga by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 5 December 2008, 05:43 AM Dear Jennifer, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you so much for you vote of confidence. We are trying so hard to communicate about a subtle, complex subject and sometimes we wonder if anyone is getting it. Somehow by Divine Grace, Kṛṣṇa has revealed Himself to us; and we want others to have a chance to receive the same benediction. We are happy, so naturally we want to share our happiness with others. But advancement in self-realization requires certain conditions that are not easily available in materialistic sodiety; therefore Śrīla Prabhupāda included in his objectives: 1.To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world. 2.To propagate a consciousness of Krishna (God), as it is revealed in the great scriptures of India, Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. 3.To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna). 4.To teach and encourage the sankīrtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. 5.To erect for the members and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the personality of Krishna. 6.To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of life. 7.With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings. So we are trying to approach these objectives as far as possible considering our limited resources. Our consideration is that with the extraordinary facility of the Internet available, city temples are no longer necessary; we can skip that phase of development and go directly to the next, where we get land and create a farm community. The farm community will also include the Varṇāśrama University and provide the brahminical training that is the real core of Vedic civilization. So the real aim is to create sort of a 'time capsule' that will carry the Vedic culture through the coming changes and into the next era, the Satya Chakra of the Kali-yuga. Now from a Western point of view, we talk about the Singularity and 2012 as a reason for organizing a community, but these are just convenient conceptual hooks. The real truth is that we're doing it because it is Śrīla Prabhupāda's desire. We have found so far that every time we do something to please Śrīla Prabhupāda, it gives us tremendous benefit; so why should following his instruction to create farm communities be any different? I'm very happy that you see the wisdom of this, and trust our vision enough to embrace our plan. We are struggling to find a way to express our whole strategy succinctly. Neville is working on the mission statement and project plan, but I still don't have my 'elevator pitch' together. I'm glad that you 'get it' and want to participate. Don't worry, you will get the benefit. Kṛṣṇa says, ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham "But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have." [Bhagavad-gītā 9.22] We have experienced this over many years of effort, first to reach perfection in Kṛṣṇa consciousness ourselves, and then to preach the same path to others. Anyone who tries sincerely to please their spiritual master and serve Kṛṣṇa is never at a loss. We have to make this propaganda because we are servant of Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa orders, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam: "Farming, cattle raising and business are the qualities of work for the vaiśyas" [Bhagavad-gītā 18.44]. So we must take to agricultural work to produce food and give protection to the cows. And if there is excess product, we trade. This simple thing we must do. Therefore I'm anxious to take outside Paris this center. Our people should live there peacefully, produce food grains, give protection to the cows, and work hard. And if there is excess product, you can make money also. With ghee, you can start so many restaurants. That I have already... I have discussed on this point. We can make good money. We'll not be loser. Kṛṣṇa conscious men, they'll be never loser by following the instruction of Kṛṣṇa. They'll live comfortably without any material want, and tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti: "He does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world" [Bhagavad-gītā 4.9], and after leaving this body, go to, directly to God. [Room conversation, 6/11/74, Paris] When the economy crashes and the food distribution system fails, so many people will be inconvenienced. But we will have land and cows. And even if this does not take place, we will be in a position to make a nice restaurant business in any nearby town. Just see Śrīla Prabhupāda's clear vision: raise food and sell retail, not to middleman but direct to the public. No middleman, direct distribution; this is a very intelligent plan. The simple plan is always best. We can do this, but it will take some capital. We have a plan to raise the capital by trading. We have already made enough progress in strategy development that I am confident we will be successful. Now we have to do the work and that will take some time. Then we will see how Kṛṣṇa arranges the next step. love, Baba Re: Chat with Neville about Karma-yoga by Michael Jones - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 08:13 AM Dear Babaji and All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you very much for posting this conversation, it really helped clear some things up in my mind. Like Neville, although I have faith in you, Krsna, and the mission, I did feel a little worried about the overly optimistic attitude. This was a cognitive dissonance in myself though as this optimistic attitude has always been something I have subscribed to to accomplish things. I was missing the point that I should have unwavering faith in you and that if you weren't as optimistic as you are, then things would not be progressing as fast as they are. This conversation helped highlight that problem within myself. I urge everyone to think about why we should put as much as we are able to into this project. Firstly, as Babaji pointed out, this is guided by Krsna so if we don't have faith in it then we don't believe Krsna can arrange great things to happen. Admittedly it took me some time to come to this point but I feel so much freer and determined since I have. Also, even if everything ends anyways, lets just say a giant meteorite hits earth in 2012, there is nothing we can do about it. But all the energy and money we have put into this project counts as spiritual benefit for us, which is eternal. Even if you have not accepted Babaji as your personal spiritual master, if your intention is to please Krsna then He can see this in your heart and you will be rewarded spiritually for at least trying to help spread his message, even though the end result materially may not matter. However, if the end result does matter, then not only have you gained spiritual benefit, but your material needs are also already taken care of in the future. Look how much has been achieved by a very small number of people in the last 4 years or so. Imagine with the rest of us on board how much more will be accomplished. Love Mike Re: Chat with Neville about Karma-yoga by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 09:08 AM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, the main thing is that everyone is engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service with their entire energy and attention. Then no matter what happens, they will be saved from material consciousness and rebirth. If we can also cooperate to help others, that is really great. yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara "Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.9] We are faithful and optimistic because we directly experience the power of karma-yoga. We are free and happy, secure in Kṛṣṇa's protection, because we have surrendered everything. For example just as I predicted, the investment strategy has continued to improve, and we are now looking at a tremendous breakthrough in that area. We are at least an order of magnitude ahead of where we were, even two days ago. Kṛṣṇa is driving this and inspiring us, and the more research we do, the more potential we can see. It is just like a person who goes prospecting and discovers a fabulous gold mine. He can come excitedly running up to you and report his discovery, but you cannot believe it because it sounds too good to be true. You have to personally hike up into the hills under his direction, and go look at the mine. Only then you will believe it and become wildly optimistic yourself. Then you still have to work the mine and extract the gold before you can realize its value. We are at the point where we know where the gold mine is, and even how to extract the ore. So now we are building the tools and the equipment to do the work. I'm not going to give any more specifics, because the real point is that we have to build a relationship of trust. That trust has to be in both directions; members are trusting us with a significant amount of cash, and we are also trusting them with the value of the whole community. You might think that it's a big deal to go flying halfway across the planet to join a community of devotees you have never met face-to-face; but consider how we feel about accepting someone we have never met face-to-face into our āśram, giving them the keys to the house, access to our network and so forth. So there has to be an enormous amount of trust and confidence on both sides for this to work. Look at our track record. Have we ever said we were going to do something, and not followed through? I have been in training for this mission my whole life. My exalted guru gave me his full blessings, but I was not convinced that I was qualified. Once I attained self-realization and got Kṛṣṇa's blessings, I started to teach with confidence. It still took some time before I met my first sincere disciple, Uddhava. Since we started working together, the mission has taken off. It may look slow to you, but the beginning stages of an exponential curve always look slow. We know that we have a tiger by the tail; we can feel the energy. All we have to do is hang on somehow or other, and great things will happen. Once after winning the Battle of Kurukṣetra, King Yudhiṣṭhira wanted to perform a great sacrifice, but he needed a large amount of gold. All the wealth of the kingdom has been spent on the battle, and there was not enough gold for the sacrifice. Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers approached Kṛṣṇa, and He told them where to find a mountain of gold hidden in the Himalayas. So we are like King Yudhiṣṭhira; we want to perform a great sacrifice for Kṛṣṇa, but we need a large quantity of gold. Do you think Kṛṣṇa is a poor man, or that He cannot show us where the gold is hidden? All great movements and events start slowly, but after some time they reach a tipping point; once their momentum is established, they take off like a rocket. We are now far enough along the curve that we can see the tipping point ahead; that is why we are so apparently unreasonably optimistic. If you knew what we know, you would be optimistic too; but from our point of view, it is not unreasonable at all. It is just a matter of building the tools to get at the gold that we know is there. love, Baba Re: Chat with Neville about Karma-yoga by Michael Jones - Sunday, 7 December 2008, 04:04 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Personally you don't have to give me specifics. I am confident your intentions are right and there is not another movement I would want to dedicate my life to. I came to this a while ago, especiallyy after talking to Uddhava. I have faith that if Krsna wants it to succeed then it will. I no longer see it that big a deal flying across the world to join devotees as I figure Krsna will guide me right and if I am not meant to be there then I will be guided to come home. When I have followed your instructions so far I have gained a lot so I don't see that happening. Admittedly I don't have any assets/family though so it may be tougher for others to be able to come to that as easily. I fully understand the trust issues, especially after Florian. Personally I trust you as there has not been any reason for me not to so far. I know you don't have as much contact with me as I have with you, but I figure that by the time I am able to save the money needed, I will have been around longer and hopefully have shown my sincerity through the forum/youtube/online chats. Time will tell. Thanks for an informative Satsang, Love Mike The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 9 by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 05:15 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is part 9: Chapter nine SANKHACHUDA PREPARES FOR WAR At Brahma Muhurta (before sunrise), Sankhacuda got up from his flower-strewn bed. He discarded his night clothes, bathed in pure water, put on freshly washed clothing, and smeared his body and forehead with bright tilaka markings. He performed his necessary rites and worshiped his personal Deity. He then saw such auspicious things as curd, ghee, honey, parched rice, etc., and, as usual, distributed to the brahmanas the best jewels, pearls, clothing and gold. To make his departure for war favorable, he gave to his guru some pearls, gems and diamonds, and he gave to the poor some horses, elephants and cows. He then gave to the brahmanas a thousand storehouses, three lakhs (300,000) of towns and seven lakhs (700,000) of villages. He installed his son Suchandra as the acting king and entrusted to him the care of his family, kingdom, treasury, subjects, wealth, storehouses and conveyances. Sankhacuda dressed himself for war and armed himself with bow and arrows. The king ordered the armies to gather, so three hundred thousand horses, one hundred thousand elephants, ten thousand chariots, three crores of archers (30 million), three crores of armed soldiers and three crores of trident holders readied themselves for battle. After counting his forces, the king appointed a maharatha, an expert in the science of warfare, as commander-in-chief over three lakh aksauhini forces (300,000). [An aksauhini is a whole army consisting of 109,000 foot soldiers, 65,610 horses, 21,870 chariots and 21,870 elephants]. Ordering three aksauhinis to beat war drums, he remembered Lord Hari and emerged from the pavilion. Sankhacuda rode on a fine chariot and, headed by his guru and his elders, left for Lord Siva's place. Lord Siva at that time was staying on the banks of the Puspabhadra River at Siddhasrama. This holy place was known to enable sadhus to easily attain perfection in yoga. It was here that Lord Kapila practiced asceticism, and thus devotees of Lord Kapila went there and did the same. The place was bounded on the west by the western sea, on the east by the Malaya mountain range, on the south by the Sri Saila mountain and on the north by the Gandha-madana mountain. The Puspabhadra River was forty miles wide and four thousand miles long. This auspicious river offered great spiritual merit, and was always full of transparent, sparkling water. She is the favorite spouse of the Lavana (salt) ocean and is indeed very sacred. This river issues from the Sarasvati in the Himalayas and, keeping the Gomati River on her left side, she eventually merges with the western ocean. love, Baba Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā Study Guide—Part 18 by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 05:13 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the final part: In conclusion, Bhagavad-gīta is a transcendental literature which one should read very carefully. It is capable of saving one from all fear. nehābhikrama-nāśo 'sti pratyavāyo na vidyate svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt "In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear." (Bhagavad-gītā 2.40) If one reads Bhagavad-gītā sincerely and seriously, then all of the reactions of his past misdeeds will not react upon him. In the last portion of Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa proclaims: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ "Give up all varieties of religiousness, and just surrender unto Me; and in return I shall protect you from all sinful reactions. Therefore, you have nothing to fear." (Bhagavad-gītā 18.66) Thus the Lord takes all responsibility for one who surrenders unto Him, and He indemnifies all the reactions of sin. One cleanses himself daily by taking a bath in water, but one who takes his bath only once in the sacred Ganges water of the Bhagavad-gītā cleanses away all the dirt of material life. Because Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one need not read any other Vedic literature. One need only attentively and regularly hear and read Bhagavad-gītā. In the present age, mankind is so absorbed with mundane activities that it is not possible to read all of the Vedic literatures. But this is not necessary. This one book, Bhagavad-gītā, will suffice because it is the essence of all Vedic literatures and because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is said that one who drinks the water of the Ganges certainly gets salvation, but what to speak of one who drinks the waters of Bhagavad-gītā? Gītā is the very nectar of the Mahābhārata spoken by Viṣṇu Himself, for Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original Viṣṇu. It is nectar emanating from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Ganges is said to be emanating from the lotus feet of the Lord. Of course there is no difference between the mouth and the feet of the Supreme Lord, but in our position we can appreciate that the Bhagavad-gītā is even more important than the Ganges. The Bhagavad-gītā is just like a cow, and Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is a cowherd boy, is milking this cow. The milk is the essence of the Vedas, and Arjuna is just like a calf. The wise men, the great sages and pure devotees, are to drink the nectarean milk of Bhagavad-gītā. In this present day, man is very eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion, and one occupation. So let there be one common scripture for the whole world—Bhagavad-gītā. And let there be one God only for the whole world—Śrī Kṛṣṇa. And one mantra only—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare | Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. And let there be one work only—the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Study Guide Part 18: Conclusion love, Baba The Voice within by Offir ... - Friday, 5 December 2008, 09:27 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna, Please accept my humble obesiances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. how to differiciate from my own internal mind voice with its layers of subconscious thoughts and from the voice of my own true higher self and from voice of krishna -as the paratma? in case i'm at that moment "not dirctly" conncted with him as in  a mystical expireance visions and so on....but active in my daily activites - and in need for a good advice from him! Re: The Voice within by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 05:08 AM Dear Offir, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The difference is that the voice of Paramātmā will only give advice from the Vedas. Our mind will always disagree with the Vedas. love, Baba holy names of nitai by Offir ... - Friday, 5 December 2008, 09:08 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna, Please accept my humble obesiances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. what is the complete name of nitai? because i was  compelled  to chant the name of him as nityananda and after a while it changed  in to "nityananda rama" (i have heard a  very joyful inner voice lovingly telling me to add rama) Re: holy names of nitai by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 05:05 AM Dear Offir, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You should read about Lord Nityānanda in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā Chapter 5. love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 6 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 07:56 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the next part: Chapter six LORD VISNU HELPS THE DEMIGODS Sankhacuda enjoyed his kingdom for one Manvantara (4,320,000 years) and, during that period, gained control over all the Devas, Danavas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras and Raksasas. He dispossessed the gods of their realms and privileges, deprived them of their rights with respect to worship and offerings, and seized their weapons and ornaments. Consequently, they wandered about the universe like helpless beggars. Finally, they united in a group and went to Lord Brahma's assembly. Sobbing, they related the whole story of how Sankhacuda had oppressed them. Lord Brahma took them to Lord Siva's realm and related to Siva the details of the case. Lord Siva then took them all to the highest place, Vaikuntha, where there is neither old age nor death. As they approached the first gate, they saw the watchmen guarding the gate and sitting on jeweled seats. The watchmen had beautiful dark blue bodies and looked effulgent. They had smiles on their faces, lotuslike eyes, and four arms--each hand holding a conch, mace, disc and lotus. They wore yellow garments, were decorated with jeweled ornaments, and were garlanded with forest flowers. Lord Brahma asked them for admittance and they nodded their approval. Then, after passing through sixteen gates, the group finally arrived before Lord Narayana. The assembly hall was filled with saints and four-armed attendants who resembled Narayana and were wearing Kaustubha jewels. The assembly hall was so brilliant with rays of light that it appeared as though the moon had just arisen. By Lord Narayana's mercy, there were diamonds, gems and necklaces of jewels placed in various areas. In some spots there were rows of pearls that shed their splendor and brilliance, and in other spots there were mirrors arranged in a circle. In certain areas there were jewels called Padmaragas which were artistically arranged to appear like lotuses spreading their radiant beauty everywhere. There were rows of steps made of Syamantaka jewels. Throughout the hall were wonderful pillars built of Indranilam jewels. There were sandal leaves strung high from pillar to pillar. There were also golden jars full of water. All around were parijata-flower garlands, sweet-scented sandal trees, and saffron and musk; the whole atmosphere was permeated with sweet fragrances. The Vidyadharas were dancing in one area. The assembly hall measured eight thousand miles in circumference. All over, numerous servants were engaged in various services. Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and other demigods saw Lord Hari (Narayana) sitting in the center on a precious jeweled throne; He looked like the moon surrounded by many stars. He was wearing a crown on His head, earrings, a wildflower garland round His neck and sandal paste on His body. Holding a lotus in His hand, He was smiling, watching the dancers and listening to the music. He looked very tranquil. Laksmi was gently holding His feet and He was chewing the sweet-scented betel she had given Him. Ganga was fanning Him devotedly with a white chamara, and others were singing hymns to Him with their heads lowered in devotion. Lord Brahma and the other gods offered their obeisances to Lord Visnu. As they did, their hairs stood on end, tears flowed from their eyes and their voices were choked with emotion. Then Lord Brahma, his hands clasped and his head bowed, informed the Lord about Sankhacuda's doings. Lord Hari smiled and said, "O lotus born! I know all about Sankhacuda. In his previous birth he was my great devotee, a very energetic cowherd boy in Goloka. I will tell you something about him which is quite sanctifying. His name was Sudama and he was my chief attendant. He is now a Danava because in Goloka Radha pronounced a terrible curse on him. Here is how it happened... "One day I left Radha's company and went to the rasa dance area with the gopi named Viraja. Radha soon heard from one of Her maidservants that I had flirted with Viraja. Blinded with fury, She hastened there with Her attendants to see if this were true. Seeing that it was, Radha immediately converted Viraja into a river. I myself disappeared, so Radha rushed home angrily with Her attendants. "Later, when I was with Sudama and She saw me, Radha rebuked me very much. However, I remained silent. But Sudama could not tolerate this, so he rebuked Radha in My very presence. This was quite intolerable to Her dignity. Her eyes became red with anger and She immediately ordered thousands of Her attendants to drive him away. Sudama then trembled with fear. As Radha's attendants tried to drive him away, he resisted and repeated his reproaches against Her. When She heard them, She cursed him, saying, `May you be born in the womb of a Danavi (demon woman)!' "Sudama bowed down to Me and, crying, began to leave. But Radha, who is quite merciful, began to melt. Weeping, she tried repeatedly to stop him from leaving. "Wait!" She called. "Wait! Where are you going? You don't have to go. Please come back." She became distressed, and Her attendants and the cowherd boys began to weep. I then explained to them, `In about a half a moment Sudama will return, having fulfilled the conditions of the curse. Of course a half moment here is equal to about one Manvantara (4,320,000 years) on Earth.' I then called to Sudama. `O Sudama, when the curse expires, please come back here!' "O demigods, that expert mystic and devotee Sankhacuda will return to Goloka. Therefore, O gods, take My trident and go quickly to India. Lord Siva will kill the Danava with the trident. The demon is wearing My auspicious amulet around his neck. It is called the "Conqueror of the World." As long as he keeps wearing it, no one can kill him. So I will go to him disguised as a Brahman and beg the amulet from him. But you have granted him the boon that he cannot die unless his wife's chastity is violated. I will take care of this as well. Then he will surely die. Later, when his wife leaves her body, she will become my dearest wife." Narayana then gave Lord Siva his trident. love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 6 by Offir ... - Friday, 5 December 2008, 09:22 PM dear baba - why srimati radharani is so brutal in her dealings with her co gopis as in the case of  viraja? Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 6 by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 6 December 2008, 05:02 AM Dear Offir, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You do not understand the transcendental pastimes of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. A rebuke from Rādhā is like a benediction. It is all a play, transcendental sport. If you understand from a material perspective you will make offenses. Be careful. love, Baba Reading Question by lance roehrig - Friday, 5 December 2008, 11:02 PM Hello All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I have been reading the BG and ordered a copy of Iso Panishad to read next, although it read on the reading list that i should have reversed it....ooops I am curious as to Srila Prabhupada's other books and have ordered a few, one that i have had for quiet some time is "Light on Bhagavata", and i have ordered "Coming Back" and "Easy Journey to other Planets" My question is in reading would it be best to complete Iso Panishad then move to other books by Srila Prabhupada as i have quickey discovered your warning in jumping around too much can lead to confusion. Another question is Where does "Light on Bhagavata" place in ones reading list... any information on this book would be helpful... My order on " Easy Journey to other PLanets," was from reading, BG 3:24 "If I did not perform prescribed duties, all these {worlds } would be put to ruination. I would be the cause fo creating unwanted population, and I would thereby destroy the peace of all living beings." "WORDLS.." caught my attention as i have read many books that have stated that within the vedas they discribe much knowledge that science is just now proving, such as quantum physics as well as The Big Bang theory and life on other planets.... (if this above statement is true i have yet to find within my limited vedic research yet if these statements are true,) but this was my motivation in ordering "Easy Journey..." What is the implication of the word "worlds," and what is the Vedic thought on other planets as i feel i read references quiet often. thank you so much ... it has been some time since i posted last but have been diligently and thoughtfully reading and absorbing information in a slow pace that i have enjoyed and relished as it gives me time to ... Live what i read. Warm regards, Lance Status by Swati Agrawal - Friday, 5 December 2008, 11:50 AM Revered Babaji, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I am sorry to inform you that I have taken a few steps back in my spiritual journey. I could not keep my false ego in check and as a result of that, for no good reason, I have squandered away the progress that I had made on this path. For last 6 Ekadashi or so, I was doing nirajala upavasa. By Krsna's grace, I had more energy on those days than other days. I forgot to check the calendar on the last Ekadashi and missed it. It has been a rapid downhill since then. I had completely stopped eating out, I broke that and ate onions on top of it. I had stopped watching TV for entertainment, I reversed on it. I was celibate for about 3 months. I only chant in car now. Reading all the forum posts, I get the feeling that I may have offended you by not 'walking the walk'. I am truly sorry for that. For whatever it is worth, I admire your passion to help others, and your willingness to try creative ways to accomplish those goals. If 'not giving up' is what it takes to get to the goal, I don't want to give up. However, If you would allow that, I would like to keep a low profile in the community and continue to advance spiritually at a slow rate. with love and gratitude, Swati Re: Status by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 5 December 2008, 12:11 PM Dear Swati, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is typical; we have seen this particular dance so many times. When you made a suggestion on the other forum about our preaching work, you didn't get the response you wanted, and out of pride you became angry. That was the offense. Don't you think that Kṛṣṇa knows your heart? Missing Ekādaṣī and so forth was part of the reaction, not the cause. Yes, like Jay, if you have an idea for service or preaching, it is your inspiration from Kṛṣṇa; so it is your responsibility to put it into action. Don't expect anyone else to do it for you, and certainly don't become angry if they don't. Kṛṣṇa has given that inspiration to you; now, if you express it and other devotees encourage you, or even are enthusiastic about helping you, that's fine. But don't expect them to take the responsibility for your inspiration. Only you can do that. My having that realization is what led to the creation of this saṅga. Even though I had the order, I was reluctant to take the responsibility. Kṛṣṇa had to personally appear to encourage me to do it. Now just see the result. love, Baba Are We Boring You? by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 30 November 2008, 05:58 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! How come we have so many visitors but nobody is posting? Are we boring you with all this talk of Bhagavad-gītā and transcendental subjects? Maybe we need another post about kitty-cats... love, Baba Re: Are We Boring You? by inci mutlu - Sunday, 30 November 2008, 08:20 AM Dear Babaji, Hare Krsna, Please accept my humble obesiances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Babaji, you are a great teacher, that's why i don't ask questions. After the self realisation- the ontology is situated firmly in mind, Then while regularly reading your posts, listening the sunday satsangs and evening darshans, and reading your books all the answers reveales consequently. But it is very important to follow consequently the posts and the events. Because since 3 months whenever a question is created in my mind in the following satsang or post or darshan, you always give the answer. I get used to that. I am not surprised anymore. While you are preaching you never left an open door. There is always an explanation. If it doesn't come at the moment, the answer comes in a week. This is what is really happening. Maybe you don't see me, hear me, but i am listening to you and i am thinking of you everyday and i am saying guru pranati everyday. Love, inci Re: Are We Boring You? by Jay Rattan - Monday, 1 December 2008, 07:12 AM Dear Babaji Namaste, Shree Ganeshaaya Namah, I find that a lot of the messages are jumbled, in that we move from one subject to another sometimes without purpose. I think that there are too many answers that are given by various devotees, all-be-it in an innocent way, that are adding to the confusion. This is what I am thinking: that there should be more order in the craft and that only authorised lessons and responses should be given. This should be from a single source after it has gone through, for example, a committee. This will will avoid confusion and verbosity. It is OK to say: go to the vedabase and everything is there. I think that if we are going to follow or study a particular string of thought (e.g. studying the BG, then it should be orderly, continuous, focused, have a start and finish time eyc.) from beginning to end. The format as I see it, rightly or wrongly, is that everything is in the forum discussion format i.e. everything is thrown into the pot and what comes out is verily a soup. I think that you might say that this is only for initiates. Yes, but it is at the expense at the people at the grass root level and whom are likely to be future initiates. Thess are just my thoughts for now. Jai Shree Krishna Jay Rattan Re: Are We Boring You? by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 1 December 2008, 09:57 AM Dear Jay, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! So of course given your expertise in transcendental education, you would be happy to submit a detailed lesson plan? love, Baba Re: Are We Boring You? by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 07:25 AM Dear Inci, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well thank you for being steady. But during the past week, the silence on the forum has been deafening. We had a nice warm community discussion going for a while there, but now it has just dried up. One possible cause is the black propaganda program of my Godbrothers. I don't know how many email addresses were harvested by those rascals, or how many members received the emails. But even the knowledge that such a thing can happen is chilling to many people, and I don't blame them. I myself would not want to join a community at war, where senior teachers that should be respected can be used as political footballs in a vicious propaganda war. I hate that political nonsense myself; that's why I take great pains to distance myself from ISKCON and from devotees who use the same tactics. But they manage to affect us sometimes anyway. love, Baba Re: Are We Boring You? by Jay Rattan - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 10:13 AM Shree Ganeshaaya Namah, Namaste Babaji, Those were just my thoughts. I have no expertise in transcendental education and therefore would not be submitting a detailed lesson plan. Babaji, you are the expert and I am just finding out how to learn. If I do not understand then I will make enquiries. Others may have a different opinion to me. We will need to see what the devotees want and then mold lessons accordingly. I see you are, I see you be, I see you are, too wise for me. No plan from me then as I am no expert. Sometimes things are hidden from open discussion and people are happy to suppress same for their own convenience. The Lord situated in each and every heart knows everything and is aware of these hidden agendas. The sad thing is that the very people who suppress open discussions, is aware of therir deeds which lives with them. So it doesn't really go away because one would wish it to. Knowledge is never lost. After dissolution the Lord Reincarnate again at the appropriate time to deliver the real knowledge. Jai Shree Krishna Jay Rattan Re: Are We Boring You? by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 10:41 AM Dear Jay, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, this is my point: if you want to "talk the talk," then you have to be ready to "walk the walk." Otherwise you wind up having to back down and "eat your hat." If we separate theory from practice, then anyone can become an instant armchair expert, regardless of qualification or lack thereof. Opinions without action are useless politics. For example my Godbrothers have all kinds of opinions about our work and community, but they cannot show by practical preaching results that they have a better idea. So they can make all kinds of noises and maybe scare some of our weaker students, but can they offer a better practical alternative? Not really. So this is just empty criticism with no real benefit for anyone. We are ready to accept any constructive critical suggestions from anyone, but they better be ready to back them up with action. Otherwise it is simply an attempt to become guru in the presence of guru, which is offensive and useless. All the gurus in our line are united in purpose, opinion and method, because we follow Kṛṣṇa's instructions. There is no conflict because we serve the central point. It is very difficult to create one curriculum for a group like this because everyone has different needs. The Vedic scriptures themselves do not present their ideas in a gradient succession, because any audience is mixed and some people will be bored while others will be lost completely. The linear idea of education is Western and as such, an arbitrary superimposition on reality. One must hear very patiently from a self-realized soul for a long time, and also put his instructions into practice. Only then can one understand the transcendental science. Application of the method of duplication, understanding, contemplation and realization as discussed in my book Search for the Absolute Truth will provide good results. Always strive for practical application of the knowledge given in the Esoteric Teaching, harmonize your words and deeds, and very quickly you will become self-realized. love, Baba Re: Are We Boring You? by Uddhava das - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 06:45 AM Dear Jay and Devotees, Please accept my humble obeisances, I have just experienced both sides recently. In Jay's position, he is thinking, "i am doing service", because he's giving "new ideas" that might help. But, try to understand, how offensive it is, just to talk, say that guru is not succesful in his execution, and then do nothing. I stopped doing that. Now everytime i say something, its because i'm willing to put time and effort to improve it. Please try to hear Bābājī with a humble mindset, these things are very subtle, but deadly in the long run. It is very important to root these weeds out. With Love, Uddhava dasa Re: Are We Boring You? by Laura Harrison - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 06:08 PM Beloved Babaji, There is nothing here that is boring to me as much as there is "a lot" on the forum from which to study. Currently I am working on the very nice Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It is, with each of your introductory notes to go with. This is a big task for me at the moment. My eyes start to fuzz over after about two hours of reading. After Monday the 8th, I will have one eyeball functioning and the following Monday the other. By the Mercy of Krsna there will be vision. As I find the Study Guide very helpful, I wanted to go through it thoroughly and read the Introduction to the Gita a couple of more times before I posed questions on the thread(s). There still ain't enough hours in the day, unfortunately. Much love and respect, Laura Re: Are We Boring You? by Jay Rattan - Friday, 5 December 2008, 07:25 AM Shree Ganeshaaya Namah Dear Uddhava Dasji, Namaste, I hear what you say but I am not convinced. My own feeling is that you are all doing a great job. Much of what you are doing is in line with my thinking. There are areas where I feel much of the vedic essence is missing e.g. there is no talk of he Ramayana. Raama is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, just as Shree Krishna. Other things also worry me in that, it seems to me, the disciplic succession is watered down. BG as it it listed about 32 of these. The real guru as I see it it Swami Prabhupada of ISKCON. The number of New Gurus that sprand up since seems to be getting larger and larger. Some are obscure and difficult to fathom. These things confuse me. Like you said I need to root these things out. I need to reflect on things much more. Jai Shree Krishna Jay Rattan Re: Are We Boring You? by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 5 December 2008, 10:12 AM Dear Jay, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, you are confused, because you have no association of bona fide guru. If you did, then everything would be clear. We already told you: if you want to talk the talk, then walk the walk. If you want to glorify Lord Rāma, then you need to start a series of posts on Rāmāyana. Don't just criticize because no one else is doing what you want; you take the responsibility and initiative, and you do it. Don't just sit on the sidelines and criticize. niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ karma jyāyo hy akarmaṇaḥ śarīra-yātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ "Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. A man cannot even maintain his physical body without work." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.8] Our lineage is coming from Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; Rāmāyana is in a different line. We have immense respect for all of the Vaiṣṇava lineages; but we are not initiated into that particular lineage. The pastimes of Rāma-līlā are described in the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in summary form. But we concentrate on Bhagavad-gītā and Kṛṣṇa-līlā because that is our lineage. If you want to participate in this school, then you have to be willing to study and follow Kṛṣṇa's instructions in Bhagavad-gītā. These instructions are nondifferent from Lord Rāma's instructions in Rāmāyana, but they are more practical and accessible for people today; after all, Lord Rāma appeared in the Treta-yuga about 1.6 million years ago, and Lord Kṛṣṇa spoke Bhagavad-gītā about 5,000 years ago. You do not understand the principle of guru-paramparā. The 32 gurus in the disciplic succession listed in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is are our Brahma-Madhva-Gauḍīya sampradāya. Each one of these gurus has made a profound contribution to the heritage of the lineage, and we benefit from their contributions to this day. Now tell me, what profound original contribution has any of the official ISKCON committee-appointed gurus made to the heritage of the lineage? Have any of them translated or made an original commentary on any of the important books of the Vaiṣṇava tradition? Out of the 11 original ISKCON self-appointed gurus, already 10 have fallen down, resigned, been kicked out, been murdered, died in violent car crashes, been assaulted, gone mad, or otherwise met an undistinguished end; and the same is true of the vast majority of their committee-manufactured gurus. This leads to the question, "Who is really an ācārya?" The complete answer demands a deep understanding of guru-tattva; but the simple answer is, "Whoever receives the blessing and confidential order of the previous ācārya." For example, it is narrated in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta that Śrīla Īśvāra Purī received the blessings of Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī because of his sincere and unflinching menial devotional service to his guru. In Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya 8.28-31 it is stated: īśvara-purī gosāñi kare śrī-pada sevana sva-haste karena mala-mūtrādi mārjana nirantara kṛṣṇa-nāma karāya smaraṇa kṛṣṇa-nāma kṛṣṇa-līlā śunāya anukṣaṇa tuṣṭa hañā purī tāṅre kaila āliṅgana vara dilā kṛṣṇe tomāra ha-uka prema-dhana sei haite īśvara-purī premera sāgara "At the last stage of his life Śrī Mādhavendra Purī became an invalid and was completely unable to move, and Īśvara Purī so completely engaged himself in his service that he personally cleaned up his stool and urine. Always chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and reminding Śrī Mādhavendra Purī about the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the last stage of his life, Īśvara Purī gave the best service among his disciples. Thus Mādhavendra Purī, being very pleased with him, blessed him, saying, 'My dear boy, I can only pray to Kṛṣṇa that He will be pleased with you.' Thus by the grace of his spiritual master, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, Īśvara Purī became a great devotee, an ocean of ecstatic love of Godhead." Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī states in his Gurv-aṣṭaka prayer, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi: "By the mercy of the spiritual master one is blessed by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master one cannot make any advancement." Similarly, Śrīla Prabhupāda received the confidential blessing of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvatī at Rādhā-kund during their final meeting. This is the authorized process to become guru in any authentic Vaiṣṇava lineage. Can any of the present ISKCON or other gurus show or testify that they received a direct personal order from Śrīla Prabhupāda to become guru after his disappearance form this world? Actually there is a long gap, from January to June 1977, where there are no published room-conversation recordings of Śrīla Prabhupāda. The reason is because Śrīla Prabhupāda was trying to discipline his sannyāsī disciples, and he intended to terminate the sannyāsa order in ISKCON because of their independent spirit, politics and other nonsense. Anxious to hold on to their leadership positions, the sannyāsa disciples led by Tamal Kṛṣṇa suppressed the recordings of those conversations. Under the circumstances, it is hardly likely that Śrīla Prabhupāda then changed his mind and ordered them to become gurus one month later in July 1977 as they claim. The July 9th letter itself is very inconclusive; it only orders them to become ṛtvik priests under Śrīla Prabhupāda's direction. By definition, the ṛtvik can only officiate at a sacrifice for a person who is present; there is no example on the Vedic tradition of a ṛtvik acting for a person who has left this world. We discuss this point with evidence in this post. Try to understand: they have taken a political solution to the spiritual problem of the guru succession. They have not waited and given Kṛṣṇa a chance to reveal His own chosen representative. Sensing a political opportunity, they impatiently rushed into the gap and created havoc by establishing a false political standard for who can become guru. The same is true of other gurus as well. Nārāyaṇa Mahāraja's guru Śrīla Keśava Mahārāja (who is also Śrīla Prabhupāda's sannyāsa-guru) once explicitly instructed him never to become a guru. As far as I can see, of the Gauḍīya gurus Govinda Mahārāja is the only one who attained his position legitimately, by appointment of Śrīla Śrīdhāra Mahārāja. So almost all the so-called gurus are in defiance of the orders of their spiritual masters. If ISKCON were picking stock trades, and 10 out of their first 11 picks were losers, would you continue to follow their advice? With such a track record, is it any wonder there is so much confusion over the question of who is actually guru? Our disciples are not in confusion because every day they experience directly the association of a self-realized soul. We do not try to force anyone to accept us by political means; there is ample evidence on this website of our preaching activities during the last several years, since by some unimaginably great good fortune we obtained the mercy of Kṛṣṇa in 2002. You may believe or not believe, it makes no difference to us; but it makes a huge difference to your future spiritual prospects. śraddhāvāl labhate jñānaṁ tat-paraḥ saṁyatendriyaḥ jñānaṁ labdhvā parāṁ śāntim acireṇādhigacchati ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca saṁśayātmā vinaśyati nāyaṁ loko 'sti na paro na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ "A faithful man who is absorbed in transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace. But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next." [Bhagavad-gītā 4.38-39] In our experience, those who doubt the scriptures, the lineage or the self-realized soul are just trying to make excuses for their own inability to control their senses and follow the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If you are taking meat, garlic and onion, indulging in illicit sex life, and if you are not chanting at least an hour every morning, then you will never have the purified intelligence necessary to understand this Esoteric Teaching properly. First you have to walk the walk; then you get to talk the talk. That is the real meaning of guru. love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 8 by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 5 December 2008, 07:18 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! And now for chapter 8: Chapter eight SANKHACHUDA CONSOLES TULASI At the palace, the mighty Sankhacuda went to the women's quarters and informed Tulasi about the imminent war. Hearing this, her palate, lips and throat became dry. With a sorrowful heart, she said to him, "O my lord, my friend, my master! Stay for a moment and sit within my heart. Fill me with life for a moment. Please satisfy my human desire. Let me gaze at you fully so that my eyes may be satisfied. My breathing is very agitated now. For at the end of night I had a very bad dream. Therefore, I feel a burning within myself." The king finished his meal and, in truthful and beneficial words, said to Tulasi, "O my queen, when it is time to reap the results of one's past acts, one experiences good and evil, pleasure and pain, fear and sorrow. In time, trees grow, branches develop, flowers blossom and fruits appear. In time, the fruitful tree decays. Similarly, in time, human beings grow and decline. In time, the creator creates, the preserver preserves and the destroyer destroys. This is the law of creation, preservation and destruction. Therefore, you should always adore Lord Krsna, as He is the Lord of Brahma, Visnu and Siva; He is the creator, maintainer and destroyer, He has no beginning nor end, and He does not depend on material nature. Lord Krsna, by His own will, has manifested nature with its animate and inanimate objects. "All things, from Lord Brahma down to a blade of grass, are artificial and temporary. In time, they grow and decay. Thus it would be better for you to adore Radha's consort, Lord Krsna, who is distinct from the three modes of material nature, who is the Supersoul within all and the Lord of all. Take shelter of Krsna, for it is by His command that the wind blows swiftly, the sun radiates heat, Indra pours rain, death visits human beings, fire burns, and the moon travels through the sky. Seek the Supreme Krsna, who is the death of death, the time of time, the creator of the creator, the preserver of the preserver and the destroyer of the destroyer. Take refuge in Him. My dearest, no one is a friend of anyone, but Lord Hari (Krsna) is the friend of all. Therefore, pray to Him and serve Him. "My love, who am I and who are you? By our karma, Providence has united us. Providence will also separate us. When danger comes, only fools are disturbed. The wise are never thus shaken. Like wheels, pleasure and pain always revolve. In Badarikasrama you absorbed yourself in austerities to obtain Lord Narayana as your husband. Surely you will get Him. I myself practiced austerities to obtain you as my wife. And by Lord Brahma's grace I have gotten you. Very soon you will get Govinda in Goloka Vrndavana. And when I leave my demoniac body, I too shall go there. In that realm we will regularly see one another. By Radha's curse I was born in the precious land of India. But I will return to Goloka. Therefore, my dear, do not worry about me. You too will quit your human form and assume a spiritual form and go to Lord Hari. So you need not sorrow." Tulasi was thus consoled. Sankhacuda spent the night with Tulasi in the temple of gems, which was lit by diamond lamps. They rested on a nicely decorated bed that was strewn with flowers and anointed with sandal paste. Then Tulasi, who had not eaten any food and thus looked thin, became overwhelmed with grief and began weeping. The king, who knew the truth about life, clasped her to his chest and again appeased her in various ways. The spiritual instructions he had received in Bhandira forest from Lord Krsna, which were capable of destroying all sorrows and delusions, he now carefully conveyed to Tulasi. Upon receiving them, her joy knew no bounds, for she realized that everything in this world is temporary. She and her husband then spent the remainder of the night in loving exchanges. love, Baba Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā Study Guide—Part 17 by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 5 December 2008, 07:16 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is part 17: The process of quitting this body and getting another body in the material world is also organized. A man dies after it has been decided what form of body he will have in the next life. Higher authorities, not the living entity himself, make this decision. According to our activities in this life, we either rise or sink. This life is a preparation for the next life. If we can prepare, therefore, in this life to get promotion to the kingdom of God, then surely, after quitting this material body, we will attain a spiritual body just like the Lord. As explained before, there are different kinds of transcendentalists, the brahmavādi, paramātmāvādi and the devotee, and, as mentioned, in the brahmajyoti (spiritual sky) there are innumerable spiritual planets. The number of these planets is far, far greater than all of the planets of this material world. This material world has been approximated as only one quarter of the creation. In this material segment there are millions and billions of universes with trillions of planets and suns, stars and moons. But this whole material creation is only a fragment of the total creation. Most of the creation is in the spiritual sky. One who desires to merge into the existence of the Supreme Brahman is at once transferred to the brahmajyoti of the Supreme Lord and thus attains the spiritual sky. The devotee, who wants to enjoy the association of the Lord, enters into the Vaikuṇṭha planets, which are innumerable, and the Supreme Lord by His plenary expansions as Nārāyaṇa with four hands and with different names like Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Govinda, etc., associates with him there. Therefore at the end of life the transcendentalists either think of the brahmajyoti, the Paramātmā or the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In all cases they enter into the spiritual sky, but only the devotee, or he who is in personal touch with the Supreme Lord, enters into the Vaikuṇṭha planets. The Lord further adds that of this "there is no doubt." This must be believed firmly. We should not reject that which does not tally with our imagination; our attitude should be that of Arjuna: "I believe everything that You have said." Therefore when the Lord says that at the time of death whoever thinks of Him as Brahman or Paramātmā or as the Personality of Godhead certainly enters into the spiritual sky, there is no doubt about it. There is no question of disbelieving it. The information on how to think of the Supreme Being at the time of death is also given in the Gītā: yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ "In whatever condition one quits his present body, in his next life he will attain to that state of being without fail." (Bhagavad-gītā 8.6) Material nature is a display of one of the energies of the Supreme Lord. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa the total energies of the Supreme Lord as Viṣṇu-śaktiḥ parā proktā, etc., are delineated. The Supreme Lord has diverse and innumerable energies which are beyond our conception; however, great learned sages or liberated souls have studied these energies and have analyzed them into three parts. All of the energies are of Viṣṇu-śakti, that is to say they are different potencies of Lord Viṣṇu. That energy is parā, transcendental. Living entities also belong to the superior energy, as has already been explained. The other energies, or material energies, are in the mode of ignorance. At the time of death we can either remain in the inferior energy of this material world, or we can transfer to the energy of the spiritual world. In life we are accustomed to thinking either of the material or the spiritual energy. There are so many literatures which fill our thoughts with the material energy—newspapers, novels, etc. Our thinking, which is now absorbed in these literatures, must be transferred to the Vedic literatures. The great sages, therefore, have written so many Vedic literatures such as the Purāṇas, etc. The Purāṇas are not imaginative; they are historical records. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta there is the following verse: māyā mugdha jīver nāhi svataḥ kṛṣṇa-jñāna jīvera kṛpāya kailā kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 20.122) The forgetful living entities or conditioned souls have forgotten their relationship with the Supreme Lord, and they are engrossed in thinking of material activities. Just to transfer their thinking power to the spiritual sky, Kṛṣṇa has given a great number of Vedic literatures. First He divided the Vedas into four, then He explained them in the Purāṇas, and for less capable people He wrote the Mahābhārata. In the Mahābhārata there is given the Bhagavad-gītā. Then all Vedic literature is summarized in the Vedānta-sūtra, and for future guidance He gave a natural commentation on the Vedānta-sutra, called Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We must always engage our minds in reading these Vedic literatures. Just as materialists engage their minds in reading newspapers, magazines and so many materialistic literatures, we must transfer our reading to these literatures which are given to us by Vyāsadeva; in that way it will be possible for us to remember the Supreme Lord at the time of death. That is the only way suggested by the Lord, and He guarantees the result: "There is no doubt." (Bhagavad-gītā 8.7) tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mām evaiṣyasy asaṁśayaḥ "Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me, and at the same time you should continue your prescribed duty and fight. With your mind and activities always fixed on Me, and everything engaged in Me, you will attain to Me without any doubt." He does not advise Arjuna to simply remember Him and give up his occupation. No, the Lord never suggests anything impractical. In this material world, in order to maintain the body one has to work. Human society is divided, according to work, into four divisions of social order—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. The brāhmaṇa class or intelligent class is working in one way, the kṣatriya or administrative class is working in another way, and the mercantile class and the laborers are all tending to their specific duties. In the human society, whether one is a laborer, merchant, warrior, administrator, or farmer, or even if one belongs to the highest class and is a literary man, a scientist or a theologian, he has to work in order to maintain his existence. The Lord therefore tells Arjuna that he need not give up his occupation, but while he is engaged in his occupation he should remember Kṛṣṇa. If he doesn't practice remembering Kṛṣṇa while he is struggling for existence, then it will not be possible for him to remember Kṛṣṇa at the time of death. Lord Caitanya also advises this. He says that one should practice remembering the Lord by chanting the names of the Lord always. The names of the Lord and the Lord are nondifferent. So Lord Kṛṣṇa's instruction to Arjuna to "remember Me" and Lord Caitanya's injunction to always "chant the names of Lord Kṛṣṇa" are the same instruction. There is no difference, because Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name are nondifferent. In the absolute status there is no difference between reference and referent. Therefore we have to practice remembering the Lord always, twenty-four hours a day, by chanting His names and molding our life's activities in such a way that we can remember Him always. How is this possible? The ācāryas give the following example. If a married woman is attached to another man, or if a man has an attachment for a woman other than his wife, then the attachment is to be considered very strong. One with such an attachment is always thinking of the loved one. The wife who is thinking of her lover is always thinking of meeting him, even while she is carrying out her household chores. In fact, she carries out her household work even more carefully so her husband will not suspect her attachment. Similarly, we should always remember the supreme lover, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and at the same time perform our material duties very nicely. A strong sense of love is required here. If we have a strong sense of love for the Supreme Lord, then we can discharge our duty and at the same time remember Him. But we have to develop that sense of love. Arjuna, for instance, was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa; he was the constant companion of Kṛṣṇa, and at the same time he was a warrior. Kṛṣṇa did not advise him to give up fighting and go to the forest to meditate. When Lord Kṛṣṇa delineates the yoga system to Arjuna, Arjuna says that the practice of this system is not possible for him. arjuna uvāca yo 'yaṁ yogas tvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana etasyāhaṁ na paśyāmi cañcalatvāt sthitiṁ sthirām Arjuna said, “O Madhusūdana, the system of yoga which you have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady." (Bhagavad-gītā 6.33) But the Lord says: yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ "Of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga, and is the highest of all." (Bhagavad-gītā 6.47) So one who thinks of the Supreme Lord always is the greatest yogī, the supermost jñānī, and the greatest devotee at the same time. The Lord further tells Arjuna that as a kṣatriya he cannot give up his fighting, but if Arjuna fights remembering Kṛṣṇa, then he will be able to remember Him at the time of death. But one must be completely surrendered in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. We work not with our body, actually, but with our mind and intelligence. So if the intelligence and the mind are always engaged in the thought of the Supreme Lord, then naturally the senses are also engaged in His service. Superficially, at least, the activities of the senses remain the same, but the consciousness is changed. The Bhagavad-gītā teaches one how to absorb the mind and intelligence in the thought of the Lord. Such absorption will enable one to transfer himself to the kingdom of the Lord. If the mind is engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, then the senses are automatically engaged in His service. This is the art, and this is also the secret of Bhagavad-gītā: total absorption in the thought of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Modern man has struggled very hard to reach the moon, but he has not tried very hard to elevate himself spiritually. If one has fifty years of life ahead of him, he should engage that brief time in cultivating this practice of remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This practice is the devotional process of: śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam These nine processes, of which the easiest is śravaṇaṁ, hearing Bhagavad-gītā from the realized person, will turn one to the thought of the Supreme Being. This will lead to niścala, remembering the Supreme Lord, and will enable one, upon leaving the body, to attain a spiritual body which is just fit for association with the Supreme Lord. The Lord further says: abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena cetasā nānya-gāminā paramaṁ puruṣaṁ divyaṁ yāti pārthānucintayan "By practicing this remembering, without being deviated, thinking ever of the Supreme Godhead, one is sure to achieve the planet of the Divine, the Supreme Personality, O son of Kuntī." (Bhagavad-gītā 8.8) This is not a very difficult process. However, one must learn it from an experienced person, from one who is already in the practice. The mind is always flying to this and that, but one must always practice concentrating the mind on the form of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa or on the sound of His name. The mind is naturally restless, going hither and thither, but it can rest in the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa. One must thus meditate on paramaṁ puruṣaṁ, the Supreme Person; and thus attain Him. The ways and the means for ultimate realization, ultimate attainment, are stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, and the doors of this knowledge are open for everyone. No one is barred out. All classes of men can approach the Lord by thinking of Him, for hearing and thinking of Him is possible for everyone. The Lord further says: māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim kiṁ punar brāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā bhaktā rājarṣayas tathā anityam asukhaṁ lokam imaṁ prāpya bhajasva mām "O son of Pṛthā, anyone who will take shelter in Me, whether a woman, or a merchant, or one born in a low family, can yet approach the supreme destination. How much greater then are the brāhmaṇas, the righteous, the devotees, and saintly kings! In this miserable world, these are fixed in devotional service to the Lord." (Bhagavad-gītā 9.32-33) Human beings even in the lower statuses of life (a merchant, a woman or a laborer) can attain the Supreme. One does not need highly developed intelligence. The point is that anyone who accepts the principle of bhakti-yoga and accepts the Supreme Lord as the summum bonum of life, as the highest target, the ultimate goal, can approach the Lord in the spiritual sky. If one adopts the principles enunciated in Bhagavad-gītā, he can make his life perfect and make a perfect solution to all the problems of life which arise out of the transient nature of material existence. This is the sum and substance of the entire Bhagavad-gītā. Study Guide Part 17: Thinking of Kṛṣṇa at Death love, Baba Andrej is Here! by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 04:54 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Andrej arrived today from Canada, and he is in good shape considering the long trip. We'll have updates later on with pictures. love, Baba Re: Andrej is Here! by Andrej Kazancev - Sunday, 30 November 2008, 04:16 PM Dear Babaji and Students, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrila Prabhupāda! Finally I am here. It is an honor to be here and serve Babaji and his disciples. The flight was long, about 16 hours, but my mood did not change. I was still much exited to see Babaji and his disciples. Babaji and Uddhava picked me up at the airport. Unfortunately they had to wait for about three hours. I was held up by Customs for bringing in seeds, and finally I was charged a small fee for not letting them know. Those rascals The frist day Uddhava and I went shopping for the necessary things, like a dresser and materials for building an office desk, which consist of four bricks and a door. This is the biggest desk I have ever had in my entire life. I am very happy with it. The atmosphere here in the Ashram is very spiritual. I have noticed the second day when Kanai and I went to the local grocery store. The outside area is very much influenced by Maya, it seemed that we were going into a different dimension, but when you are inside the Ashram, It feels completely different, Maya has no affect at all in the inside. The energy here is so spiritual and peaceful, I love it. The first day I woke up late, and chanted only 20 rounds, and the second day 35 rounds. In the third and fourth day I have been chanting 40 rounds. I will keep this as a minimum for a couple of months, until my existence will be more purified. It has been very easy for me to chant that much at once, just because of the association of pure devotees. I feel very lucky to have such an association where everything is so peaceful and spiritual. I probably did many auspicious things in my previous life TRANSLATION O Sūta, those great sages who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord can at once sanctify those who come in touch with them, whereas the waters of the Ganges can sanctify only after prolonged use. (SB1.1.15) Pure devotees of the Lord are more powerful than the waters of the sacred river Ganges. One can derive spiritual benefit out of prolonged use of the Ganges waters. But one can be sanctified at once by the mercy of a pure devotee of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that any person, regardless of birth as śūdra, woman, or merchant, can take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and by so doing can return to Godhead. To take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord means to take shelter of the pure devotees. The pure devotees whose only business is serving are honored by the names Prabhupāda and Viṣṇupāda, which indicate such devotees to be representatives of the lotus feet of the Lord. Anyone, therefore, who takes shelter of the lotus feet of a pure devotee by accepting the pure devotee as his spiritual master can be at once purified. Such devotees of the Lord are honored equally with the Lord because they are engaged in the most confidential service of the Lord, for they deliver out of the material world the fallen souls whom the Lord wants to return home, back to Godhead. Such pure devotees are better known as vicelords according to revealed scriptures. The sincere disciple of the pure devotee considers the spiritual master equal to the Lord, but always considers himself to be a humble servant of the servant of the Lord [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. This is the pure devotional path. Here is also the link to the video I made. That is the first video I produced in my life, so please do not criticize it too much, I am still learning. Also the quality on youtube is not that good. Hare Krsna With love and respect, Andrej Re: Andrej is Here! by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 04:19 PM Dear Andrej, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Congratulations on your big move. Reading about your experience makes me want to join that spiritual atmosphere even more. What else have you been doing in the new dimension? I hope everything is going well and thanks for the video. The ashram looks more beautiful than most city houses. Love Mike Re: Andrej is Here! by Andrej Kazancev - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 02:18 PM Dear Michael, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Yes the atmosphere here is very spiritual. It reminds me on what I have read in Srimad Bhagavatam. TRANSLATION My dear King, in this way, after hearing the transcendental messages of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees from the great sage Maitreya, Vidura was overwhelmed with ecstasy. With tears in his eyes, he immediately fell down at the lotus feet of his guru, his spiritual master. He then fixed the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the core of his heart. PURPORT This is a sign of associating with great devotees. A devotee takes instructions from a liberated soul and is thus overwhelmed by ecstasy from transcendental pleasure. As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja: naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiṣcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat (Bhāg. 7.5.32) One cannot become a perfect devotee of the Lord without having touched the lotus feet of a great devotee. One who has nothing to do with this material world is called niṣkiṣcana. The process of self-realization and the path home, back to Godhead, means surrendering to the bona fide spiritual master and taking the dust of his lotus feet on one’s head. Thus one advances on the path of transcendental realization. Vidura had this relationship with Maitreya, and he attained the results. SB4.31.28 I had some problems with my Laptop, It is made for Vista only, but I installed winxp on it, and it gave me lots of problems. But I have it figured it out. I put Vista back onto the Laptop Also I am doing some research on people who are searching for the absolute truth for the http://www.hackyourbrain.info/ site. You see; Krsna explains that there are four kinds of people who are coming to him. The people who are inquisitive, the distressed, want for money, and the fourth category is who are searching for the absolute truth. These are the four categories we need to concentrate on. Uddhava had the idée to make videos on these four categories. The videos need to be made so, so they address specifically these four categories. They should contain the basic teachings of the Vedas, many examples, and should capture the interest of the audience. So we need three more people to do the rest, or if someone wants to team up, that is even better. Uddhava dasa did a complete presentation on depression and what the cure is, if someone wants to do the topic on the distressed category, they can request more information from Uddhava dasa. Hare Krsna With love and respect, Andrej Re: Andrej is Here! by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 02:40 PM Dear Andrej and All, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! So the śloka you are referencing is this one: catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛtino 'rjuna ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha "O best among the Bhāratas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute." [Bhagavad-gītā 7.16] So the video preaching for the distressed could be based on Uddhava's depression program; the preaching for those in need of money is the investment co-op and community program; the preaching for the inquisitive and those in search of the Absolute Truth is already what we are doing. Sounds like we've pretty much got it covered! love, Baba Re: Andrej is Here! by Andrej Kazancev - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 02:57 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Thanks for pointing out the sloka. Now we just need to shoot the vidoes and present it in a very attractive way. Hare Krsna With love and respect, Andrej Re: Andrej is Here! by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 03:08 PM Dear Andrej, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Besides making storyboards and shooting the videos, please also start working on the architectural roughs for the community buildings. Do you have the software you need? love, Baba Re: Andrej is Here! by Andrej Kazancev - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 06:57 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I am still looking for a good software. Most of the software out there use a standart square floor plan. I will need to find one which can also design round floor plans. If anyone has any idees, please let me know. Hare Krsna With love and respect, Andrej Re: Andrej is Here! by Jennifer Lawrence - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 04:36 PM Dear Andrej: Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Babaji! My husband and I did an afternoon Cob workshop in Oregon last year, we are not experts but are aware of how Cob is used in building. Our goal is to build a green house for growing food in the winter months. It is an easy building technique to learn once taught and provides flexibility in your floor plan for curves and scale with the benefit of using the soil at your building site. Here are some references to different reading materials about building with Cob. The Hand-Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage: The Real Goods Solar Living Book - Ianto Evans Building With Cob: A Step-by-step Guide - Adam Weismann The Cob Builders Handbook: You Can Hand-Sculpt Your Own Home - Becky Bee YouTube has some great building with Cob videos as well. I hope this is the kind of information you were looking for. I am not sure if there is an existing Cob movement in Santiago, but if so that would be key in getting practice in before it is time to start building. Hare Krshna! Respectfully, Jennifer Re: Andrej is Here! by Andrej Kazancev - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 08:33 PM Dear Jennifer, Please accept my humble ebeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Babaji! Thank you for the information. I will check it out on you tube. It is similar to what we already discovered. it is called calearth, here is the link. With this technique you can build a big house, up to 600 square feet or a big dome or a temple. We will receive the DVD shortly, so I am all exited to chesck it out. Hare Krsna With love and respect, Andrej Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Laura Harrison - Monday, 19 May 2008, 10:52 AM Dear Students, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! My question has specifically to do with Secret Teachings of Jesus, Preview 2 Part 2, Transcription, pgh 6: "Everything has these three modes. For example colors: dark colors, muddy colors, these are in the mode of darkness, ignorance. Very bright colors, bold patterns and primary colors, are in the mode of passion. Light colors are in the mode of goodness. So, we often see that spiritual people are wearing light or white clothes, because they influence our consciousness toward the mode of goodness. Like the people in the motorcycle gangs, wear black leather clothes, because they are in the mode of ignorance. Always intoxicated, criminal activities. So, the type of clothes the person wears influences their consciousness towards some mode I mentioned." Whereas it is easy for the man to dress in either dhoti and kurta in white, or kurta and just white yoga pants, it is not so for the female. If any have noticed the colours of the sari are in the mode of passion. They are bright, and boldly patterned.  No saris or the like are made with those light colours mentioned. May we just wear a kurta style light coloured shirt and yoga pants?  I know I can find the light to white this way. Any suggestions here are much appreciated. love Laura Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by - Monday, 19 May 2008, 11:53 AM Dear Laura, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! "Books are the basis. Purity is the force. Preaching is the essence. Utility is the principle." Srila Prabhupada This is what Srila Prabhupada used to say. And so I think we should keep things practical. We here in Mexico don´t wear the traditional clothes. We bought a few meters of cloth to make some short dhotis out of it, which we wear on hot days around the house. But when we are going into the village or in to town we always wear western clothes: light trousers and a shirt, both white. We don't wear kurtas, or turbans or any of that traditional clothing. So I think you shouldn't worry too much about these issues. Just wear what you can get and wear easily. I have also noticed, that in the store in the ISKCON-temple in Mexico City all of the women's dresses and saris are in heavy passionate colors... If you can easily get white yoga-pants and some nice shirts, you should just wear those. Love and Respect Hare Krsna florian Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Laura Harrison - Monday, 19 May 2008, 01:07 PM Dear Florian Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! Thank you kindly for helping me with that one. Along with clearing the offensive chanting, now I also am made aware of the colours around me that raise the level of one's consciousness. Oh what major clean out have I to do!  My apartment is in bold Indian prints and colours, and my clothes are half passion and half ignorance. All glories to Babaji, without who's transcendental love and willingness to teach us the Absolute Truth we would be lost! love, Laura Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 05:02 PM Dear Babaji and students, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. I have a weird question though it's something I have wondered about. If we are wearing mainly white, does wearing black boxer shorts or socks have a detrimental effect on our consciousness? Is it down to the clothing we can see or any clothing in touch with our body? Love Mike Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 05:45 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Light pastel colors and especially white are colors in the mode of goodness; bright, saturated colors are in the mode of passion and dark, muddy tones are in ignorance. I have underwear in various colors but I bleached them all until they are pastels. Still I prefer white, soft, comfortable cloth whenever I can get it. love, Baba Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Michael Jones - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 04:02 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you for your answer. I guess I will have bleaching day for Krsna sometime soon. I'll crack out the Kirtans and pastelize those socks. I just hope none of my rascal relatives get me socks for xmas after I have done the bleaching . Love Mike Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 04:03 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Put white sox on your list! love, Baba Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Kānāi Dāsa - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 08:08 PM Dear Mike, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Just a little advice from a past bleacher. Make very sure that all the bleach is rinsed out totally, I mean rinse it until it feels that you are just rinsing water, Over Do it! Cause if you don't you will get a nasty rash, my wrists got a sore rash when I was in Ireland so make sure it's all gone esp if your bleaching your under garments Yikes. With Love Kānāi Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Laura Harrison - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 09:06 AM Dear Students, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! All Glories To Babaji! I have a bleaching question. As most of you from colder climates are aware, they lightest shade of sweat pants and hoodies they sell at this time of year is grey. Before I purchase these I need to know if they are colour-fast or will they bleach out? Unfortunately my only choice is dark colours or some sports team logo. Much love and respect, Laura Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Gosia (Malgorzata) Kazimierska - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 11:26 AM Dear Mike, You can also buy a natural eco-friendly bleach (in any health food stores) that is quite as effective but without harmful side-effects on your body or on environment. You can google for home made natural bleaches, I think one of them is mixing hydrogen peroxide with water in certain proportion. love, Gosia Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Jennifer Lawrence - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 11:28 AM Dear Laura: Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! All Glories To Babaji! Many brands now are color stay, but if you look up the manufacturer it should say on their web site. My husband and I found white hoodies and shirts at some large retailers but no white sweat pants. Our solution was to look at a place that sells medical scrubs for the white pants. If you layer them with thermals that would help through the winter. I have very few sari's that are light in color. I totally understand. I am also looking for long light colored skirts as another alternative. Hare Krshna! Love, Jennifer Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 01:06 PM Dear Students, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Babaji! There you go now Mike lots of advice re bleaching your clothes, sadly when Babaji give advice re the future it goes unnoticed and falls on deaf or stunned ears. The door is opening wide people, all you have to do is step through. Why be like dinosaurs. The door wont stay open, take this golden opportunity. Evolve. With Love Kanai Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 01:14 PM Dear Kānāi, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ "What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.69] What more can I say? love, Baba Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Laura Harrison - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 02:59 PM Dear Kanai, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! All Glories To Babaji! Kindly forgive my neophyte ignorance as I had a question that I believed was in following with this thread. Your response to Mike made me think that it was alright to ask about the bleaching considering you are a senior devotee participating in the conversation. It is not clear to me why you chose this mundane thread to chastise us on such a significant topic, but since you are a senior devotee and I a neophyte, my clarity is not required in the matter. Unless there are a lot of what I call "suits" here on the site, folks are neither deaf nor are they stunned Prabhu. They're broke. People are too proud to admit they've had their house foreclosed on or they've lost their job and are now having to live on whatever savings they had. Maybe I'm wrong and there are many people here with liquid cash in hand. At any rate I humbly apologize for asking the stupid question about clothes. Respectfully with love, Laura Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Michael Jones - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 03:26 PM Dear All, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Thank you all very much for your advice, it will help a lot. Kānāi, after that rash story, there is no doubt I am going to rinse the clothes as if they are my mind and the water is the Maha-mantra. Love Mike Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 03:57 PM Dear Laura, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! All Glories To Babaji! Oh I'm not chastising anyone, I'm simple crying out to fellow survivors to climb upon Babaji's life raft. Mike has respond to Babaji's post very favorably (the only response to the post) and is planning to join us in six months. He is a broke student but has his eyes on the prize and is aiming for it. I'm sure there are other students who could pull things together and get out of the US or where ever they are and start in the direction of personal association. tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." [Bhagavad-gītā 4.34] How are we going to approach Babaji if we are on the couch? Whenever the subject is on mundane topics like cats and cloths everyone posts like crazy, but when the real point is mentioned, when the real purpose of this site is there for all to see, it feels like everyone just shy's away. Why are we on this site? Is it not to reach for that goal that we eternally created for. Time for talk is over, action is now the game plan. They will be even more broke if they don't do something. Please understand the severity of the situation. Let's all get out of here it's a big raft. With Love Kānāi Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Laura Harrison - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 04:49 PM Dear Kanai, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! All Glories To Babaji! Thank you very much for taking your precious time to clarify for me your answer. You are right in saying people shy away from money topics. People have also shied away when the topic of surrendering has come up. These two go together. Let me share an analogy: If this were Srila Prabhupada laying out this opportunity and saying "Come", how long would it take for everyone to sell their last piece of furniture, stash a duffle bag of clothes and get to the airport? My guess is no more than a week, and not that long if you got a personal invitation. Srila Prabhupada's gift of mercy to us is our Beloved Babaji. We can't get another Prabhupada physically, but we have the self realized soul he's left to carry on this mission. Everyone of us must get rid of our last doubts. Mostly the doubts are fear of ourselves and if we can cut it or not. Let's all find a way to get there! Much respect and love, Laura Re: Wearing Light Colours For Higher Consciousness by Kānāi Dāsa - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 06:06 PM Dear Kanai, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! All Glories To Babaji! Getting rid of your last doubts may not give you enough time to get out. I say come even with your last doubts and watch them dissolve away when you step through the door. Don't lament whether you can cut it or not, do it and you will see. No need to find a way, ācāryas have made the path for us. We simply follow. tarko ‘pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu continued, “‘Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated, self-realized person. Consequently, as the śāstras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahājanas advocate.’”[Cc. Madhya 17.186]. You simply follow great personalities, how they have achieved success. So our, this Vaiṣṇava philosophy is to follow the great personality, just like Kṛṣṇa or Caitanya Mahāprabhu or ācāryas of His succession, to take shelter of authority and follow. That is recommended in Vedas, that you follow great authorities. [1969 Room Conversations with John Lennon and Yoko Omo and George Harrison] Simply follow. With Love Kānāi The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 1 by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 28 November 2008, 12:15 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I found this wonderful story about Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī Chapter One THE APPEARANCE OF TULASI DEVI Narada Muni asked Lord Narayana, "O Bhagavan! How did the pure, chaste Tulasi Devi become Your wife? Where was she born? Who was she in her previous birth? What family did she come from? And what austerities did she perform to get You as her husband--You, who are above the material energy, not subject to change, the Cosmic Self, the Supreme God, the Lord of all, omniscient, the cause of all, omnipresent, container and preserver of all. And how did Tulasi Devi, Your chief goddess, become a tree? O You who resolve all doubts, my mind is curious to know all about these points; therefore, it compels me to ask you these questions. Kindly remove these doubts from my mind." Lord Narayana then related the following account... Manu Daksa Savarni was a partial expansion of Lord Visnu. He was extremely virtuous, devoted to the Lord, and very famous for his good deeds. Daksa Savarni's son, Dharma Savarni, was also extremely virtuous. Dharma Savarni's pious son was called Visnu Savarni, and his son, who was a great Vaisnava, was known as Raja Savarni. However, Raja Savarni's son, Vrisadhvaja, was fanatically devoted to Lord Siva. Lord Siva lived in Vrisadhvaja's house for three celestial yugas (ages) and loved him more than his own sons. Vrisadhvaja did not revere Lord Narayana, Goddess Laksmi or any of the demigods. He abolished the worship of Laksmi in the month of Bhadra (Aug., Sept.) and the worship of Sarasvati in the month of Magha (Jan., Feb.). He did not participate in the sacrifice and worship performed out of respect for Lord Visnu (Narayana) and criticized them rather severely. The demigods did not curse him because they feared Lord Siva. However, Surya, the sun god, no longer able to restrain his wrath, cursed him: "O King, just as you are completely devoted to Lord Siva and only to Lord Siva, and just as you do not recognize any of the other demigods, I declare that you will now lose your wealth and prosperity!" When Lord Siva heard this curse, he became angry. Seizing his trident, he ran after Lord Surya. Afraid, the sun god went with his father, Kasyapa Muni, to Brahmaloka, the highest material planet, to take shelter of Lord Brahma. But Lord Siva pursued him there. Lord Brahma, also afraid of Lord Siva, took Lord Surya and Kasyapa Muni to the region of Vaikuntha, the spiritual or eternal world. There, with throats parched due to anxiety, they took refuge of Lord Narayana, the Lord of all. They offered obeisances to Him and praised Him repeatedly and finally explained why they were so apprehensive. Lord Narayana bestowed His mercy on them and granted them the power to be fearless. He said, "O fearful ones, be consoled. How can you be afraid of anyone while I am here? If anyone remembers Me when he is in danger, wherever he may be, I hurry to him with my Sudarsan disc in my hand and save him. O demigods! I am always the creator, preserver and destroyer of this universe. In the form of Visnu, I am the preserver; in the form of Brahma, the creator; and in the form of Siva, the destroyer. I am Siva, I am you, and I am Surya. I assume numerous forms and preserve the universe. So go back to your respective places. You have nothing to be afraid of. All will be well. "From this day on, you have nothing to fear from Lord Siva. He is the shelter of the pious, is easily pleased, is the servant and lord of his devotees, and is great minded. Lord Siva and the Sudarsana cakra are dearer to Me than My life. In the world of valor, they excel all. Lord Siva can easily create ten million Suryas and ten million Brahmas. For him, nothing is impossible. He is not conscious of the external world. Meditating on Me, his heart centered, he is absorbed day and night. From his five faces he repeats My mantra with devotion, and he always sings My glories. Day and night, I also always think of his welfare. To whatever degree one worships Me, to that degree I favor one. The nature of Siva is all-auspiciousness." While Lord Narayana was speaking, Lord Siva arrived. His eyes red, and he was sitting on his bull carrier holding his trident. He dismounted quickly and humbly offered obeisances with devotion to the Lord of Laksmi, the tranquil Supreme Being. Lord Narayana, Visnu, was sitting on His jewel-studded throne. He was decorated with a crown, earrings, and a garland, and was holding His disc. His form was extremely beautiful, and His complexion like a fresh blue rain cloud. Each of His attendants had four arms and was fanning Him with four hands. His body was anointed with sandal paste and He was wearing a yellow garment. Lord Visnu, who shows kindness to His devotees, was chewing betel nut that had been offered to Him by His wife Laksmi. Smiling, He was watching and listening to the dancing and singing of the Vidyadharis. After Lord Siva bowed down to Lord Narayana, he bowed to Lord Brahma. Lord Surya and Kasyapa Muni respectfully saluted Lord Siva. Then Lord Siva worshiped Lord Visnu, the Lord of all, and seated himself on a throne. The attendants of Lord Narayana began to fan Lord Siva with white whisks to relieve him of the fatigue of his journey. Lord Siva, because of being in contact with Lord Visnu's virtues, then assumed a cheerful disposition and adored the Eternal Being with his five mouths. Lord Narayana was highly gratified. With sweet, nectarean words, He said, "O Lord Siva, you are the symbol of all good and welfare. Thus, to ask about your welfare would be foolish. I would ask you only out of respect for the rules of society and the method prescribed in the Vedas. One who yields fruits of devotion and gives all prosperity should not be asked about his austerities or material prosperity. Since you preside over knowledge, it would be useless to ask if you are increasing in knowledge. It would be equally useless to ask a conqueror of death if he is free from all danger. But you have come to my residence for a reason. What is it? Have you become angry over something?" "O Lord Visnu!," Lord Siva began. "King Vrisadhvaja is my great devotee. Lord Surya has cursed him and that has made me angry. Out of affection for my son, the king, I was about to kill Surya. But Surya sought shelter of Lord Brahma, and now both of them have sought Your protection. Those who are distressed and take shelter of You, either by speaking about You or by remembering You, become completely safe and free from danger. They overcome death and old age. What to speak of those who come personally to You and take shelter. When one remembers You, his dangers disappear. All good comes to him. O Lord of the world! What will become of my foolish devotee who, by the curse of Lord Surya, has lost his fortune and prosperity?" Lord Visnu replied, "O Lord Siva! A half hour has elapsed here in Vaikuntha. In that time, twenty-one celestial yugas have passed away. Therefore, King Vrisadhvaja, through the revolution of irresistible and dreadful time, is dead. His son, Hamsadhvaja, in the course of time, also died. Hamsadhvaja begot two noble sons named Dharmadhvaja and Kusadhvaja. They are both great Vaisnavas but, because of Lord Surya's curse, they have become luckless. They lost their kingdoms, including all property and prosperity. But they are now engaged in worshiping Goddess Laksmi, who is pleased with their efforts. Therefore, She has agreed to descend to Earth and expand Herself partially by taking birth from the wives of those two kings. Then, by the favor of Goddess Laksmi, Dharmadhvaja and Kusadhvaja will become prosperous, mighty kings. O Lord Siva! Your devotee Vrisadhvaja is dead, so return to your abode. O Lord Brahma, Lord Surya and Kasyapa Muni--you also should return your realms." Bhagavan Visnu then went with His wife to the inner apartments. The demigods went cheerfully to their own abodes, Lord Siva continuing his practice of austerity. Dharmadhvaja and Kusadhvaja performed harsh asceticism and worshiped Goddess Laksmi. Thereafter, they separately obtained the blessings they desired. By Goddess Laksmi's favor, they again became the rulers of the earth. They acquired great spiritual merits, were married, and begot children. King Dharmadhvaja was married to Madhavi. After some time, she became pregnant with a partial incarnation of Goddess Laksmi. However, the infant remained in Madhavi's womb for one hundred celestial years. Day by day Madhavi's luster increased. Then, on an auspicious day and moment, when there was a full moon, in the month of Kartika, on a Friday, she gave birth. The grace of the Goddess of Fortune, Laksmi, manifested through the baby. There were marks of the lotus flower on the infant's feet. Her face looked like the autumnal moon, her eyes resembled blooming lotuses, and her lips appeared like ripe bimba fruit. Her palms and the soles of her feet were reddish, her navel was deep, and just above it were three folds. Her buttocks were round, and her body was delightfully warm in the winter and cool in the summer--very pleasant to touch. Her breast was firm and her waist thin, and the light shining from her body surrounded her like a halo. Her complexion was white, like a Champaka flower, and her hair looked beautiful. Because her beauty was incomparable, the sages called her Tulasi. (to be continued) love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 1 by Jennifer Lawrence - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 05:37 PM Dear Babaji: Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I wanted to thank you for posting the story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī. I am excited to read this at bedtime to my boys. I will post any questions or realizations that may come up. Love and respect, Jennifer Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā Study Guide—Part 16 by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 07:54 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is Part 16: The Lord suggests that we attain the spiritual world in the following manner: nirmāna-mohā jita-saṅga-doṣā adhyātma-nityā vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukha-duḥkha-saṁjñair gacchanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaṁ tat That padam avyayam or eternal kingdom can be reached by one who is nirmāna-moha. What does this mean? We are after designations. Someone wants to become a son, someone wants to become Lord, someone wants to become the president or a rich man or a king or something else. As long as we are attached to these designations, we are attached to the body because designations belong to the body. But we are not these bodies, and realizing this is the first stage in spiritual realization. We are associated with the three modes of material nature, but we must become detached through devotional service to the Lord. If we are not attached to devotional service to the Lord, then we cannot become detached from the modes of material nature. Designations and attachments are due to our lust and desire, our wanting to lord it over the material nature. As long as we do not give up this propensity of lording it over material nature, there is no possibility of returning to the kingdom of the Supreme, the sanātana-dhāma. That eternal kingdom, which is never destroyed, can be approached by one who is not bewildered by the attractions of false material enjoyments, who is situated in the service of the Supreme Lord. One so situated can easily approach that supreme abode. Elsewhere in the Gītā it is stated: avyakto 'kṣara ity uktas tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim yaṁ prāpya na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama Avyakta means unmanifested. Not even all of the material world is manifested before us. Our senses are so imperfect that we cannot even see all of the stars within this material universe. In Vedic literature we can receive much information about all the planets, and we can believe it or not believe it. All of the important planets are described in Vedic literatures, especially Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the spiritual world, which is beyond this material sky, is described as avyakta, unmanifested. One should desire and hanker after that supreme kingdom, for when one attains that kingdom, he does not have to return to this material world. Next, one may raise the question of how one goes about approaching that abode of the Supreme Lord. Information of this is given in the Eighth Chapter. It is said there: anta-kāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvam yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ "Anyone who quits his body, at the end of life, remembering Me, attains immediately to My nature; and there is no doubt of this." (Bhagavad-gītā 8.5) One who thinks of Kṛṣṇa at the time of his death goes to Kṛṣṇa. One must remember the form of Kṛṣṇa; if he quits his body thinking of this form, he approaches the spiritual kingdom. Mad-bhāvaṁ refers to the supreme nature of the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha—eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. Our present body is not sac-cid-ānanda. It is asat, not sat. It is not eternal; it is perishable. It is not cit, full of knowledge, but it is full of ignorance. We have no knowledge of the spiritual kingdom, nor do we even have perfect knowledge of this material world where there are so many things unknown to us. The body is also nirānanda; instead of being full of bliss it is full of misery. All of the miseries we experience in the material world arise from the body, but one who leaves this body thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at once attains a sac-cid-ānanda body, as is promised in this fifth verse of the Eighth Chapter where Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "He attains My nature." Study Guide Part 16: How Do We Approach the Lord? love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 7 by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 4 December 2008, 07:53 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the next part: Chapter seven AN ENVOY SENT TO SANKHACHUDA Lord Brahma and the other demigods returned to their respective abodes. Later, to gain victory for the demigods, Lord Siva pitched his big tent and camped on the banks of the Chandrabhaga River under a beautiful fig tree. He then sent Puspadanta, the leader of the Gandharvas, as a messenger to Sankhacuda. When Puspadanta arrived at Sankhacuda capital, he noticed that it was more beautiful than Indra's realm and more opulent than Kuvera's. The city was 40 miles wide and 80 miles long. It was built of pearl and jewel crystals, and on all sides there were roadways. Seven inaccessible moats, one after another, surrounded the city. There were hundreds of shops full of trade articles and marketable commodities. Palatial buildings of traders and merchants were all over. Thousands and thousands of beautiful buildings, constructed with scarlet gems, inlaid with various ornaments and decorated with fancy articles, gave the place a boundless charm. The Gandharva chief saw that Sankhacuda's palace was spherical like the moon. Four successive moats with fiery flames encircled it. On top of the palace were ramparts, made of jewels, that touched the sky. The palace was inaccessible to enemies but offered no hindrance to friends. The twelve gates, decorated with lotuses, jeweled mirrors, paintings and statues, were guarded by twelve gatekeepers. On all sides the place was protected by very powerful, graceful, well-dressed and richly adorned demons who were holding heavenly weapons in their hands. When Puspadanta approached the first gate, he saw that it was guarded by a man who had a hideous face, copper complexion and tawny eyes, and who was smiling and holding a trident in his hand. Puspadanta explained to him the purpose of his mission--that he was a war ambassador--and the guard allowed him to pass inside; the other gatekeepers did the same. At the last gate he said to the guard, "O guard, quickly inform your king that a war is about to occur." The guard did so and, obtaining Sankhacuda's permission, ushered the messenger inside. There, the Gandharva saw the well-formed, handsome demon seated in the center of the royal assembly on a golden throne. One attendant was holding a jeweled umbrella over the king's head while other attendants were fanning him with white chamaras (whisks). Countless demons surrounded him and armed guards walked here and there. Sankhacuda was beautifully dressed in heavenly garments, covered with garlands, and anointed with fragrance. Seeing all this, Puspadanta was thunderstruck and said to Sankhacuda, "O King, I am a messenger of Lord Siva and my name is Puspadanta. My lord has ordered me to tell you the following: The demigods have sought the protection of Lord Hari. So you had better restore to them their kingdoms and rights. Lord Hari has given His own trident to Lord Siva and asked him to wage war against you if necessary. Presently, Lord Siva is residing under the shade of a fig tree on the bank of the Puspabhadra River. Either you must return to the demigods their property or you must be ready to fight with Lord Siva...What shall I tell my lord is your reply?" The demon laughed loudly and said, "You had better leave. I shall go to him in the morning." The messenger returned to Lord Siva and conveyed the demon's message. In the meantime the following group of persons appeared before Lord Siva: Kartika, Nandi, Mahakala, Bana, Manibhadra, the eight Bhairavas, the eleven Rudras, the eight Vasus, the twelve Adityas, Indra, Agni, Chandra, Visvakarma, the two Asvini-kumaras, Kuvera, Yama, Jayanta, Nala-kuvara, Vayu, Varuna, Budha, Mangala, Dharma, Sani, Kama, Ugra-chanda, Kottari, the hundred-armed Bhadrakali, as well as many other personages. Bhadrakali was seated on an excellent chariot. Her paraphernalia, clothing, garland and sandal paste were red. Inspiring her devotees with courage and infusing fear into the enemy, she began dancing, laughing and singing. Her rolling tongue and the skull she held in her hand were each eight miles in circumference. She carried a trident, an iron spear, conches, a wheel, mace, lotus, bow, arrows, dumbbells, a scimitar, thunder, the weapons of Visnu and Varuna, a snake noose, the weapons of Agni, Narayana, Brahma, Gandharva, Garuda, Pasupata, a pestle, shield, staff, as well as other irresistible weapons. This fearsome goddess was accompanied by millions of devotee Yoginis and Dakinis, and also countless ghosts, goblins and demons known as Bhutas, Pretas, Pisachas, Kusmandas, Brahma Raksasas and Raksasas, as well as Yaksas and Kinnaras. Then Kartikkeya arrived and he bowed down to his father Lord Siva, who asked him to sit on his left side and help him. The army remained there in battle array. love, Baba Growth of our Community by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 01:39 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! If you have been following the development of our community, then you know that we are planning a rural agricultural project in Chile. I'd like to bring you up to date on our progress to date, which is quite significant. Ultimate Trading Machine For some time now we have been developing automated index futures trading strategies based on the OmniTrader professional platform. We are members of the Nirvana Club, which is dedicated to the development of the "Ultimate Trading Machine," defined as follows: The Ultimate Trading Machine is the end goal of The Nirvana Club. The original definition of UTM was "a machine that is so accurate it can trade the market automatically." When we launched the Club, we refined it as "any mechanical Strategy that generates 80% accuracy and a 3-to-1 Reward:Risk ratio (average profit divided by average loss greater than 3.)" Assuming trades last 1 week and the average win is 3% (average loss 1%) this performance will grow an account about 200% a year without using margin. Well, I am pleased to announce that Uddhava and I have developed an automated trading strategy that is far more successful than that. We invested about US$10,000 in hardware and software, and weeks of research and testing work, and we are now in the final stages of development and debugging a strategy that wins about 80% of the time. If you know anything about trading, you can understand that is phenomenally successful. We are just a few days away from turning this bot loose on the market to raise funds for our project. We want to thank our donors for the generous contributions over the past two years that enabled us to get to this point. We especially want to thank Uddhava, Kānāi, Neville and Andrej for their selfless contributions to our mission, enabling us to be far more effective and make much more progress than we ever could by working alone. But attaining financial security doesn't mean the end of our preaching work; in fact it is just the real beginning. Our Work so Far So far our spiritual teaching work has been based on the 1st and 2nd chapters of Bhagavad-gītā; we have extensively discussed the ontological position and implications of consciousness and devotional service. And we have presented standard traditional methods that give anyone the ability to attain self-realization in this lifetime. But this is not enough, because our community members still remain physically isolated and must work within an exploitive materialistic social and economic system. Now we will begin teaching based on the 3rd chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, Karma-yoga. You should read it if you haven't already, or you won't know what we're talking about. Karma-yoga means practical activities in spiritual consciousness. When we work for ourselves in a materialistic context, we have to accept the karmic reactions of our work. Whether we work in the mode of goodness, passion or ignorance, we have to accept another material body to receive these reactions to our activities. But when we sacrifice the results of our work to Kṛṣṇa, we are freed from the karmic reactions by the process of sacrifice described in Bhagavad-gītā. Future Direction This means that we will give our presentation of the Esoteric Teaching a tangible shape and form, so that many people can come and taste the bliss of a natural spiritual lifestyle. Also at this time there are many changes coming that will make self-sufficient agricultural communities a necessity. So our community will be a monastery, but also a family village and an educational institution for simple living and high thinking. By "high thinking," we mean the complete presentation of the Esoteric Teaching, from the introductory stages of Śrī Īśopaniṣad and Bhagavad-gītā to the highest levels of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and Nectar of Devotion, in both theoretical and practical form. Our University of Higher Knowledge will offer Bhakti-śāstrī, Bhakti-vaibhāva and Bhakti-vedānta degrees as desired by Śrīla Prabhupāda. And by "simple living," we mean the pure, austere life of a sādhu or expert saintly person in a natural rural environment; a self-sufficient agricultural community where the highest standards of spiritual life are attainable for everyone, based on land and cows. We will host international conferences in self-sufficient agricultural community development taught by world-renowned experts. Both the theory and the practical process of building and managing this community will be extensively documented in video, audio and writing. This information will be available freely on the Web, so that by following our work, anyone in any part of the world can create a similar community. This is the legacy we want to leave to the world, so that everyone can survive the coming changes and also attain the highest spiritual realization. You Are Free Now that the economic problem is solved, there is no need to continue working in an exploitive material system. We now can announce that anyone can invest a reasonable amount in our investment co-op, and the income produced by our proprietary investment methods will maintain them indefinitely. The income from one futures contract—a little less than US$4,000—will provide lodging in association with pure devotees, sumptuous daily praṣādam or sacred food offered to the Lord, the purchase of a suitable piece of land, building a permanent dwelling, and all other maintenance for one person for life. This also includes a complete spiritual education and training, interesting and healthful work according to one's interest and qualification, and the possibility to become a guru upon completion of the process of spiritual education, practice and self-realization. So there is no reason to hold back. You can invest in our community, come and stay with us, and live the rest of your life in spiritual freedom. We have done the hard work; now the choice is up to you. love, Baba Re: Growth of our Community by Michael Jones - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 04:13 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. Congratulations on your achievements. Although I have only been following your work since around May, I have read up old forum posts/articles/etc and your progress from the podcasts has been phenomenal. If this is how far you have come since then one can only imagine how far the next few years will take you, especially with the likelihood that the rate of change/growth is going to skyrocket. I hope and pray I am able to join you within the next 6 months. As I discussed in an email before, it is just dependent on me saving the required money and then I will be able to serve in full capacity. Until then unfortunately I have to stay an armchair devotee (though I am working on some videos for youtube). This is my only goal though as I realize the importance of a spiritual community for real progress with minimal hindrances. I have had much drama from other people the last few days and I certainly felt a detriment to my consciousness, especially because before that I was indulged in some sort of spiritual practice for most of my days. Knowing that this light you have provided us is shining ever brighter I feel like the prisoner who knows his parole is around the corner. I hope all sincere students (including myself) can take the leap the other devotees have taken to help make this community the thriving Kṛṣṇa-love-fest we know it will be. Love Mike Re: Growth of our Community by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 06:37 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thanks for your heartfelt sincere appreciation; I'm sure that Kṛṣṇa will bless you to be able to join us soon. I feel like we have turned a certain very important corner, and that from this point onward there will be few obstacles to achieving our intentions. Money is a big deal in this world, and for most people it is a very powerful form of māyā. But money is actually just a symbol for value, an abstraction. A pure devotee does not care about money except in terms of how he can use it to please his spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. Real wealth is spiritual knowledge, consciousness and renunciation, humility and piety; all other value is generated from these most valuable things. Try your best to understand this. Uddhava always says when he is working on the investment strategies he feels like he is "hacking Māyā." And indeed the stock market is manipulated in such a way as to make it very difficult for a small investor to succeed. The same commonsense strategies that we use to minimize risk in ordinary dealings actually make it certain that one will fail in the stock market. You have to observe for a long time and try different approaches until you learn by experience how the market thinks and responds in different situations. Only then can you invest successfully, and then transfer your expertise to a computer program that can do the same thing automatically, tirelessly, day after day. That is, in essence, what we have done. The result of this valuable knowledge—and it has cost us hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to gain the expertise we now have—is that the economic problem is solved. As long as the stock market is functioning, we will be able to support our āśram and our preaching mission. Soon we will be able to afford land and cows, and have real independence from the system. All without soliciting donations from the public or engaging in any outside business, becoming politically entangled with rich donors or making compromising deals with government authorities. Those who join us will also be freed from the necessity of doing anything but pure devotional service, and thus their spiritual progress will accelerate. The other side of this breakthrough is that by removing all the monetary obstacles to joining our community, it highlights the real reasons why people do not: lack of faith, misunderstanding of the philosophy, independent spirit, attachment to material sense gratification. Now that money is no longer an excuse, it focuses everyone's attention on the fact that most of our students have other intentions and motivations besides pleasing their spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa says, vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo 'vyavasāyinām "Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.41] As long as we invest our faith, time and energy in activities other than devotional service, we will never be able to attain complete success, because Kṛṣṇa demands complete surrender: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." [Bhagavad-gītā 18.66] The neophyte stage of materialistic religion is perhaps the greatest obstacle to attaining the platform of pure devotional service. yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ kāmātmānaḥ svarga-parā janma-karma-phala-pradām kriyā-viśeṣa-bahulāṁ bhogaiśvarya-gatiṁ prati "Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.42-43] They may say, "Well, I am following the path of devotional service as far as I am able, but there is so much to do to maintain my family and household, advance my education and career, etc. etc." But all temporary material work simply dilutes our devotional service. dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam "The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.8] We need the association of devotees to give us the pure environment and the emotional and spiritual support to engage in devotional service 24/7. Until we reach the actual standard of pure devotional service, Kṛṣṇa will not be pleased and will not grant His full mercy. Therefore one should hear the Esoteric Teaching directly from a self-realized soul in the association of devotees: tatrānvahaṁ kṛṣṇa-kathāḥ pragāyatām anugraheṇāśṛṇavaṁ manoharāḥ tāḥ śraddhayā me 'nupadaṁ viśṛṇvataḥ priyaśravasy aṅga mamābhavad ruciḥ "O Vyāsadeva, in that association and by the mercy of those great Vedāntists, I could hear them describe the attractive activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa. And thus listening attentively, my taste for hearing of the Personality of Godhead increased at every step." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.26] The problem with ISKCON and other similar organizations is that they created a layer of middle management between the spiritual master and his disciples. This is not the process given in the Esoteric Teaching; rather one should hear and inquire directly from one's fully self-realized spiritual master. Then there is every chance of success. love, Baba Re: Growth of our Community by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 08:46 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well I must say that we are very surprised at the response to this announcement—or rather the lack thereof. Everyone complains about having to work so hard for a living, but now we are offering the solution: just save up a little cash, invest it in our spiritual community, stay with us and we will take care of you for the rest of your life. You'd think there would be people lined up at the door, piggy-bank in hand, begging to be let in on the bargain of the century. But no; instead except for one who is awake, there is a deafening silence. So I was right; the reason people do not join our community is not lack of money, but lack of faith, commitment and general intestinal fortitude. Or as Śrīla Prabhupāda would say, weakness of heart. O ye of little faith, do you think this bargain-basement deal on lifetime spiritual community and financial security is going to stay around forever? No; because the more we earn in the market, the more our net worth grows and the more we invest in land, infrastructure, cows and our devotees, etc., the more we will have to charge the people who come to join us. That's only fair. Plus the dollar's value is due to decline next year, and we'll have to factor that in too. Joining our community will never be this easy or cheap, ever again. And just so you know that we are not dreaming, we keep working on our bot and our latest tests are even better than the chart posted above. I'm not going to say how much better; in fact, I'm never going to say anything about our investment strategies again on this forum. Yesterday Neville met in Washington DC with the Ambassador of Bolivia to the US, who very sincerely inquired if we are available to manage a self-sufficient farm community in Bolivia. Intelligent government planners all around the world are quite aware of peak oil, global warming and 2012. They know they are going to have to restructure their economies as the US falls apart in the coming years. They do not want crowds rioting in the streets demanding bread—or their heads. They know they will need an alternative community, economic strategy and food-production system in the near future. So they are quietly checking out alternatives; wouldn't you? We are about to surface after years under the radar. What we are doing is big, and those who join us now will be in a very good position later on. Historically, the most successful endeavors, like Microsoft and Google, were started during economically lean times. The time to get in on any big trend is early, while it's still small and apparently insignificant. By the time it becomes visible to the mainstream, it has grown exponentially and the leaders have already been determined. In other words, the time to take action is now. There. Now you can't say I never offered you the world on a silver platter. love, Baba Evening Darshan 3 December 2008: Bhagavad-gītā 2.52 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 08:11 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! yadā te moha-kalilaṁ buddhir vyatitariṣyati tadā gantāsi nirvedaṁ śrotavyasya śrutasya ca SYNONYMS yadā—when; te—your; moha—illusory; kalilam—dense forest; buddhiḥ—transcendental service with intelligence; vyatitariṣyati—surpasses; tadā—at that time; gantāsi—you shall go; nirvedam—callousness; śrotavyasya—all that is to be heard; śrutasya—all that is already heard; ca—also. TRANSLATION "When your intelligence has passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard." [Bhagavad-gītā 2.52] In this Darshan we discuss the three divisions of the Vedas: the karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa; or pious activities leading to religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation; the cultivation of empirical speculative knowledge; and cultivation of spiritual self-realization by devotional service leading to actual liberation from material existence. These three sections are the Vedas, Upaniṣads, and finally the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Vedānta-sūtra. The devotees are only interested in the upāsanā-kāṇḍa, because they have no desire for fruitive activities, mystic power or liberation because they are already in a liberated condition by virture of pure spiritual Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is kevala-bhakti, pure devotional service. listen(MP3 audio) love, Baba Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā Study Guide—Part 15 by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 08:00 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here's the next part: The abode of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, Fifteenth Chapter, sixth verse: na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama "That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. And anyone who reaches it never comes back to this material world." (Bhagavad-gītā 15.6) This verse gives a description of that eternal sky. Of course we have a material conception of the sky, and we think of it in relationship to the sun, moon, stars and so on, but in this verse the Lord states that in the eternal sky there is no need for the sun nor for the moon nor fire of any kind because the spiritual sky is already illuminated by the brahmajyoti, the rays emanating from the Supreme Lord. We are trying with difficulty to reach other planets, but it is not difficult to understand the abode of the Supreme Lord. This abode is referred to as Goloka. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is beautifully described: Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ. The Lord resides eternally in His abode Goloka, yet He can be approached from this world, and to this end the Lord comes to manifest His real form, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. When He manifests this form, there is no need for our imagining what He looks like. To discourage such imaginative speculation, He descends and exhibits Himself as He is, as Śyāmasundara. Unfortunately, the less intelligent deride Him because He comes as one of us and plays with us as a human being. But because of this we should not consider that the Lord is one of us. It is by His potency that He presents Himself in His real form before us and displays His pastimes, which are prototypes of those pastimes found in His abode. In the effulgent rays of the spiritual sky there are innumerable planets floating. The brahmajyoti emanates from the supreme abode, Kṛṣṇaloka, and the ānandamaya-cinmaya planets, which are not material, float in those rays. The Lord says, na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama. One who can approach that spiritual sky is not required to descend again to the material sky. In the material sky, even if we approach the highest planet (Brahmaloka), what to speak of the moon, we will find the same conditions of life, namely birth, death, disease and old age. No planet in the material universe is free from these four principles of material existence. Therefore the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā, ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna. The living entities are traveling from one planet to another, not by mechanical arrangement but by a spiritual process. This is also mentioned: yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ. No mechanical arrangement is necessary if we want interplanetary travel. The Gītā instructs: yānti deva-vratā devān. The moon, the sun and higher planets are called svargaloka. There are three different statuses of planets: higher, middle and lower planetary systems. The earth belongs to the middle planetary system. Bhagavad-gītā informs us how to travel to the higher planetary systems (devaloka) with a very simple formula: yānti deva-vratā devān. One need only worship the particular demigod of that particular planet and in that way go to the moon, the sun or any of the higher planetary systems. Yet Bhagavad-gītā does not advise us to go to any of the planets in this material world because even if we go to Brahmaloka, the highest planet, through some sort of mechanical contrivance by maybe traveling for forty thousand years (and who would live that long?), we will still find the material inconveniences of birth, death, disease and old age. But one who wants to approach the supreme planet, Kṛṣṇaloka, or any of the other planets within the spiritual sky, will not meet with these material inconveniences. Amongst all of the planets in the spiritual sky there is one supreme planet called Goloka Vṛndāvana, which is the original planet in the abode of the original Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. All of this information is given in Bhagavad-gītā, and we are given through its instruction information how to leave the material world and begin a truly blissful life in the spiritual sky. In the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, the real picture of the material world is given. It is said there: ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit The Supreme Lord said: “There is a banyan tree which has its roots upward and its branches down, and the Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas." (Bhagavad-gītā 15.1) Here the material world is described as a tree whose roots are upwards and branches are below. We have experience of a tree whose roots are upward: if one stands on the bank of a river or any reservoir of water, he can see that the trees reflected in the water are upside down. The branches go downward and the roots upward. Similarly, this material world is a reflection of the spiritual world. The material world is but a shadow of reality. In the shadow there is no reality or substantiality, but from the shadow we can understand that there is substance and reality. In the desert there is no water, but the mirage suggests that there is such a thing as water. In the material world there is no water, there is no happiness, but the real water of actual happiness is there in the spiritual world. Study Guide Part 15: The Eternal Sky love, Baba Satisfying other people's senses by Michael Jones - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 03:53 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Babaji. I was wondering if we get negative karma when we provide sense gratification to others. If so how are we able to counter this karma while we are still neophytes and do not have Kṛṣṇa constantly in our minds while we act in this way. For example, if we are engaged in conversation (lets just say with a work colleague or shop keeper) and we make light jokes to make the other person feel more comfortable, does this count as gratifying their senses? Similarly, if we are comforting someone who is distressed, I figured this would be good as we are caring for another spiritual being, yet we may not be able to engage them in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in that comfort. Also if we feed a pet, e.g. a guinea pig, with a carrot as a treat above their usual store bought food. Love Mike Re: Satisfying other people's senses by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 04:09 PM Dear Mike, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In general you should use your own intelligence to figure out these little details. Research the scripture and figure it out; it's not that hard. A certain amount of sense gratification is necessary to maintain the body; the problem is that people have become used to much more than they need. Consequently no one has any spiritual discipline, humility or submissiveness. The Vedas are not short of comfort for the distressed, but these qualities are necessary to receive their relief. For example the Vedas provide the teaching of the eternality of the soul as an antidote to the lamentation of grief. But if someone is a total materialist, they cannot accept this cure for their suffering. No amount of sense gratification can erase the suffering of material existence, but if we become self-realized, then we can transcend it because all suffering is related to the body and sense perception, and by cultivating spiritual life we realize that we are not the body. So devotional service and self-realization really are the cure for all suffering, but we have to become qualified to receive them. love, Baba Association by Bryant Svetadvipa - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 12:41 AM Dear Devotees, I have an initial question that i would like to have answered from sastra. "Is association with devotees that follow the Rtvik philosophy good association or detrimental?" Can i have a difinitive answer on this from yourself Babaji, the devotees and Shastra. Hare Krsna, Bryant Re: Association by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 06:15 AM Dear Bryant, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This is a very important question. As usual, the answer is right there in Bhagavad-gītā: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." [Bhagavad-gītā 4.34] How are you going to approach Śrīla Prabhupāda? Dictionary.com defines the verb approach as follows: 1.to come near or nearer to: The cars slowed down as they approached the intersection. 2.to come near to in quality, character, time, or condition; to come within range for comparison: As a poet he hardly approaches Keats. 3.to present, offer, or make a proposal or request to: to approach the president with a suggestion. 4.to begin work on; set about: to approach a problem. 5.to make advances to; address. 6.to bring near to something. Which if these definitions do you think matches the usage of the word approach in Bhagavad-gītā 4.34? Is it possible to apply this meaning to approach Śrīla Prabhupāda at the present time? Can you inquire from him? 1.to seek information by questioning; ask: to inquire about a person. 2.to make investigation (usually fol. by into): to inquire into the incident. Certainly one can associate with and learn from Śrīla Prabhupāda through his books, recordings, videos etc. and you can serve him by following his instructions, but you cannot inquire from him. He cannot act as a śīkṣa-guru except in the most elementary way by providing the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas in literary form, but he cannot respond to inquiries; and he certainly cannot act as dikṣa-guru because he is not physically present to give initiation. If you investigate the usage of the word ṛtvik in the Vedic literature, its most common meaning is a brāhmaṇa priest who performs a Vedic sacrifice for a kṣatriya king. Even in this usage, the king is physically present, as in the following śloka. "Lord Viṣṇu appeared before King Nābhi with four arms. He was very bright, and He appeared to be the best of all personalities. Around the lower portion of His body, He wore a yellow silken garment. On His chest was the mark of Śrīvatsa, which always displays beauty. He carried a conchshell, lotus flower, disc and club, and He wore a garland of forest flowers and the Kaustubha gem. He was beautifully decorated with a helmet, earrings, bangles, belt, pearl necklace, armlets, ankle bells and other bodily ornaments bedecked with radiant jewels. Seeing the Lord present before them, King Nābhi and his priests [ṛtvik] and associates felt just like poor people who have suddenly attained great riches. They received the Lord and respectfully bent their heads and offered Him things in worship." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.3.3] I do not know of any description in the Vedas of a sacrifice performed by a ṛtvik priest for someone who has left the physical body. The only example that is anywhere close is the śraddha ceremony, where food is offered to Viṣṇu in honor of a departed relative and the praṣādam is offered to the departed soul. But even though a brāhmaṇa priest is often used in the śraddha ceremony, we never see the word ṛtvik used in that context. Śrīla Prabhupāda's mood was never to create any new system of religion: "Presently it has become fashionable to manufacture a new system of religion, but Kapiladeva, like Kṛṣṇa, does not manufacture anything new. This system is not new, but very old (purā). Kṛṣṇa also says the same in Bhagavad-gītā (4.2), evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ: "This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way." Thus Kṛṣṇa and Kapiladeva are not teaching anything new. They are simply repeating the same message because, in the course of time, the knowledge has been lost." [Teachings of Lord Kapila, 14] There are many, many quotes like this throughout Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and conversations. So Śrīla Prabhupāda is not going to change or add a new form of initiation to the ancient Vedic tradition. Rather, his mood was that all of his disciples should become guru: "We simply repeat. That is our business. We are not learned scholars. But our mission is to repeat the words of Kṛṣṇa. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's order. He says, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa: [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 7.128] "You become guru." "Now, how shall I become guru? I am neither learned nor Vedantist, neither sannyāsī. How can I become guru?" "No, no, you have no difficulty. You, on My order, become guru simply..." Yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 7.128]. Bas. "You become guru. Whomever you meet, you simply try to convince him what Kṛṣṇa has spoken. Then you become guru." So we request everyone the same thing. And become guru. It is very urgently necessary. I... People are becoming godless, atheist, nonbelievers, and they are suffering. So every village, every home, every neighborhood, they require guru. But who will be guru? One who repeats the instruction of Kṛṣṇa." [Evening Darśana 5/12/77] So this order has been coming down from Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His direct disciples. There is no need to change it now or ever. All the disciples of a bona fide spiritual master should become guru, according to their capacity. But ISKCON and similar organizations changed the meaning of guru, from a self-realized spiritual preceptor with whom one has a direct personal relationship, to a political figure who manages a huge organization. Guru is one thing; religious political leader is a completely different thing. As soon as the requirement is there that a 'guru' must also be political leader, then the whole thing is changed. Spiritual master gives the Absolute Truth, but a political leader must compromise among different sides and factions. So a politician can never be a guru. But the big organizations require leadership, and those leaders have declared themselves guru, even though they are involved in so much politics. That is cheating, and it has given the very idea of guru a bad name. So naturally there is a reaction against it, and the ṛtvik-vadīs are the most extreme reactionary group. But they cannot find any justification for their views in śāstra; it is simply a reactionary movement against the abuse and misuse of the position of guru by the political religious leaders. Both the false political gurus and the reactionary ṛtvik-vadīs will prove to be unable to maintain the disciplic succession in the long run. The politicians are changing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books to make them more 'politically correct,' and the ṛtviks do not have anyone from whom they can inquire on philosophical questions. Therefore both factions have a very weak understanding and realization of the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedic scriptures. love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 4 by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 1 December 2008, 05:53 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is a the next part: Chapter four TULASI DEVI TESTS KING SANKHACHUDA Tulasi saw Sankhacuda approaching in his jeweled airplane and noticed that he was in the prime of his youth. He was handsome like Cupid, white-complexioned like the Champaka flower and decorated with gems. His face resembled the full moon of autumn, his eyes looked like lotuses in full bloom, and his cheeks flashed with the glow of his earrings. A Parijata flower garlanded his neck, musk and saffron anointed his body, and sandal paste perfumed his person. As he came closer, Tulasi hid her face in her shawl and smiled at him with sidelong glances. Blushing at the thought of this first meeting, she bowed her head nervously and eagerly drank in with her eyes the lotus of his face. Sankhacuda also gazed at Tulasi, seated as she was on a lovely bed strewn with flowers and sandalwood. Her teeth shown like pearls, her lips were like Bimba fruit, her nose was graceful and her complexion golden. She resembled the autumnal moon. Adding to her grace, just below the parting of her hair, was the mark of sandal paste and musk; and, just below them, a mark of vermilion. She had a low yet deep navel, and below it, three lovely abdominal folds. Her palms were reddish, her fingernails were glowing, and her feet were radiant and crimson, colored with lac-dye. Her glowing toenails surpassed the glow of the autumn moon, giving her an unrivaled beauty. Tulasi was adorned with lovely jingling ornaments, and the knot of hair at the back of her head was decorated with a jasmine wreath. Shark-shaped earrings adorned her cheeks while a diamond necklace beautified her breast. She wore gorgeous bangles of conch on her arms and wrists, as well as precious jewels on her fingers. Sankhacuda sat down and said to her, "O beautiful girl, whose daughter are you? And how have you come to this forest? You look most fortunate and blessed. Indeed, you are the personification of heavenly joy--the best of women! You are a model of loveliness and can certainly bewilder even the saints!" When Tulasi gave no reply, he asked, "O gracious one, why don't you speak? I am your servant, so please greet me with the melody of your speech." Her head lowered, her face smiling, the beautiful-eyed Tulasi said, "I am the daughter of King Dharmadhvaja and have been practicing asceticism here. But who are you? And why are you talking to me? If a noble man sees a virtuous woman alone, he does not talk to her. So go away--wherever you please." But Sankhacuda did not move. Tulasi continued. "The sastras say that only a degraded man desires a woman. At first a woman is sweet to a man, but later proves fatal. Though her mouth rains honey, her heart is like a jar of poison. She uses sweet words but her heart is sharp like a razor. To achieve her own selfish ends she is submissive to her husband; otherwise, she is unsubmissive. While her face looks cheerful, her heart is dirty. Even the Vedas and the Puranas cannot fathom her character. A wise man never trusts a base woman. She has no friend or enemy; for all she wants are new lovers. When a woman sees a well-dressed man, she inwardly desires him, but outwardly she appears chaste and modest. She is naturally passionate, attracts men's minds, and eagerly engages in sex. Though outwardly she hides her lust and appears modest, when she meets her lover in secret, she is ready to swallow him up. When she does not have sex with him, she feels offended, her body burns with anger, and she begins to quarrel. When her passions are fully satisfied, she becomes cheerful; when unsatisfied, morose. "A woman likes a good lover more than sweet foods or refreshing drinks; she likes him even more than her own son; he is dearer to her than her life. But if the lover becomes impotent or aged, she regards him as an enemy. Quarrels and anger ensue. Then she devours him as a snake eats a rat. She is rashness personified and a mine of vices. A woman is hypocritical, obstinate and unfaithful. Even Lord Brahma and other gods are deluded by her. She is a hindrance on the path of austerity, an obstacle to liberation, an impediment to developing faith in Lord Hari, a refuge of all delusion and a living chain that binds men to the world. She is like a magician and is as false as dreams. She appears to be very beautiful, but is she is a bucket of stool, urine, gas and blood. When God created her, he arranged that she should become the spirit of delusion to the deluded and poison to those who desire liberation. Thus, on no account should a woman be desired, and by all means she should be avoided." Sankhacuda smiled and then answered, "O goddess, what you have said is not completely false. It is partly true and partly false. From the Creator have come chaste and unchaste women. One is praiseworthy, the other isn't. Examples of chaste women are Laksmi, Sarasvati, Durga, Savitri and Radha. Women who are expansions of them are auspicious, glorious and very commendable, such as Satarupa, Devahuti, Svadha, Svaha, Daksina, Anasuya, Ganga, Diti, Aditi, Vedavati, etc. In every yuga cycle these women are excellent. The heavenly prostitutes are also expansions and partial expansions of the above women, but they are not praiseworthy because they are unchaste. Women who are in the mode of goodness are virtuous and pure. The sages declare them to be excellent. But those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance are not so praiseworthy. The passionate ones are fond of sense pleasures, indulge in them, and always want to fulfill their selfish goals. Such women are usually insincere, deluded and irreligious. Generally, they are unchaste. But woman in the mode of ignorance are considered the worst. They are irresistible. "A virtuous man would never court another man's wife in either public or private. But I have come to you by Lord Brahma's command--to marry you according to the Gandharva rite. (In this, the bride and bridegroom meet each other of their own accord and consummate their meeting in sexual union. No sacred rituals are necessary. "My name is Sankhacuda. When the demigods see me, they flee in fear. In my previous birth, I lived in Goloka and was a cowherd boy named Sudama. I was a close friend of Sri Krsna's, one of His attendants. I was one of the eight celebrated cowherds. Then Srimati Radharani cursed me to be born in India in a demon family. By Krsna's grace and by His mantra, I am a jatismara, that is, I know the history of my previous birth. You also are a jatismara. So you know that in your previous birth, in Goloka, when Radharani caught you alone with Krsna, she became angry and cursed you to be born here, in India. In Goloka I very much wanted to consort with you; but because I feared Radharani, I did not do so." Sankhacuda stopped talking. Then Tulasi smiled and cheerfully said, "Persons like you are famous in this world and good women desire such husbands. You have defeated me in argument. A man who is conquered by a woman is very impure and condemned by people in general. The forefathers and the demigods regard men who are conquered by women as low and contemptible. Even their fathers and mothers mentally despise them. The Vedas say that when a child is born or a relative dies, the brahmanas are purified in ten days; the ksatriyas in twelve days; the vaisyas in fifteen days; and the sudras as well as other low classes in twenty-one days. But a man conquered by a woman always remains impure. Only when his body is burned to ashes does he become purified. Neither the ancestors nor the demigods accept from him offerings of cakes, flowers, etc. Men whose hearts are totally conquered by women acquire no fruits from their knowledge, austerities, japa, fire sacrifices, worship, learning or fame. "I tested you to determine how strong you are in knowledge. One should choose one's husband by examining a man's merits and defects. If one gives his daughter in marriage to a man devoid of all good qualifications, to an old man, to a man who is ignorant or poor, illiterate, diseased, ugly, wrathful, harsh, lame, limbless, deaf, dumb, inactive, or impotent--this sin is equivalent to the sin of murdering a brahmana. But if one gives his daughter in marriage to a young Vaisnava who is learned, well-qualified and peaceful, one acquires the fruits of performing ten horse sacrifices. If one raises a daughter and then sells her out of greed for profit, he falls to the hell known as Kumbhipaka. There, for a period equal to fourteen of Lord Indra's lifespans, such a sinner has to drink his daughter's urine and eat her stool as well as be bitten by worms and crows. When this period ends, he has to be born in this world as a diseased person and earn his livelihood by selling and carrying meat." love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 4 by Kānāi Dāsa - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 04:49 PM Dear Babaji, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! In the second last paragraph it says "The Vedas say that when a child is born or a relative dies, the brahmanas are purified in ten days; the ksatriyas in twelve days; the vaisyas in fifteen days; and the sudras as well as other low classes in twenty-one days. But a man conquered by a woman always remains impure." Could you please explain to us how the brahmanas, the ksatriyas, the vaisyas and the sudras as well as other low classes can be purified when a child is born or a relative dies. Thank you Love Kanai. Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 4 by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 05:52 PM Dear Kānāi Prabhu, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! It means they become impure because childbirth and death are in the material bodily conception of life. So they have to shave their heads, chant and perform other purificatory processes for that amount of time afterward to become purified again. These are rules for the karma-kāṇḍa, or nondevotee Vedic family life. But pure devotees are never in the bodily conception, so even although they may observe these ritual practices externally, they are not required. love, Baba Book on daily practise? by Brian Scanlon - Thursday, 27 November 2008, 11:56 PM Dear Guru and students, I am currently reading the "Thousand names" of Lord Nrsimha, and "Nectar of Devotion". Could anyone suggest a book that explains our daily physical devotional rituals we should practise, their times for practise, including prasadam? Like the...Vaishnava handbook of sorts. Love Brian Re: Book on daily practise? by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 28 November 2008, 05:15 AM Dear Brian, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Sounds like your studies are progressing. Of course, Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma and Śrī Nṛsiṁsahasranāma are meant not just to be read, but to be chanted aloud. The recordings are helpful for learning the pronunciation. The problem with daily routines is that different people's needs and activities vary so much, it's very hard to cast it in stone. Some people like a strict daily program, others can wing it. If you have downloaded the VedaBase software [a 400 MB zip file] (and you should) in the Handbooks and Reference section, Pañcarātra-Pradīpa gives an overview of the daily duties of a devotee. But unless you're really into Deity worship and have little else to do, you'll probably find that it's too much. The basics are chanting on beads in the early morning, offering one's food, studying the scriptures and association with devotees. One should begin devotional activities by bowing down and reciting the guru-pranāma-mantra, and before chanting one should recite the Pañca-tattva-mahā-mantra. When offering food one should also offer incense and flowers, and recite nice prayers. That will be sufficient for one's personal salvation. If you can also do some preaching and share the good fortune of being a devotee, that is very nice. love, Baba Re: Book on daily practise? by Brian Scanlon - Friday, 28 November 2008, 08:56 PM Dear Guru, Please accept my service. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you. That is very helpful. I have had you chanting the 1000 names of Śrī Nṛsiṁsahasranāma going in the background for three straight days. It has....leveled out the negative situation into a tame lion cub. Giving me the solitude to do what I have to, so I can move on. I am gradualy aborbing the patterns, from listening to it, so I can start chating along with you.  But its a bit overwhelming at 38 Minutes!!! My short term goal is to add Prasadam into my daily experiance, as the next step of learning about expressing true love and devotion to Vishnu. The Food thing has been a huge challenge to me. Mainly due to poor western education and stardands for living and eating, that Ive indulged in. But I am gradualy over coming this with Lord Vishnus help. Even though Ive given up a meat eaters diet, I fear I still do not follow Vaishnava standards, as I intake ALOT of cows Milk, Cheese and Eggs.  Since starting my studies, I have some natural inclination or attraction to Nrsima. And so spend frequent time with the Narayana Kavacha as I promised you I would. I also perform Achama and apply "Water Tilac" daily (Until I pick up real Tilac). As always Guru, Thank you for your help. Love Brian Re: Book on daily practise? by Kānāi Dāsa - Sunday, 30 November 2008, 05:24 PM Dear Brian, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. You wrote "I fear I still do not follow Vaishnava standards, as I intake ALOT of cows Milk, Cheese" Hey! Take more of that. No problem this cows milk or cheese unless it's made with animal by-products (rennet) then put it back on the shelf and walk away. Cut out the eggs and you will be following Vaishnava standards very nicely. Nothing like warm milk and honey and an evening darshan. Ahhhh!! Krsna. with Love Kanai Re: Book on daily practise? by Brian Scanlon - Monday, 1 December 2008, 02:43 PM Dear Brother Kanai dasa, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. All praise to Lord Nrshima the true remover of all obstacles. Wow you look healthy!  You have a glow. Travel to Guru has more than paid off!! Excellent!  I was raised on Cows milk. That is actualy what motivated me to give up partisipating in the killing of Cows, as I came to realize, I was betraying something very beautful, that helped give me life and health. I think I might have confused Vaishnava diet standards with Vegan. I lack education in the dietary aspect of training, so its been the slowest part to come around. Honey and Milk is one of my favorite drinks especialy if Im really hungry, as the honey naturaly curbs my appetite. Thanks for bringing "Rennet" to my attention. I will avoid that at all cost. Love Brian Re: Book on daily practise? by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 1 December 2008, 03:11 PM Dear Brian, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Cow's milk is very important for developing transcendental knowledge: "The cow is the most important animal for developing the human body to perfection. The body can be maintained by any kind of foodstuff, but cow's milk is particularly essential for developing the finer tissues of the human brain so that one can understand the intricacies of transcendental knowledge. A civilized man is expected to live on foodstuffs comprising fruits, vegetables, grains, sugar and milk. The bull helps in the agricultural process of producing grain, etc., and thus in one sense the bull is the father of humankind, whereas the cow is the mother, for she supplies milk to human society. A civilized man is therefore expected to give all protection to the bulls and cows." [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.5.7, Purport] As to the argument of the vegans that the cruelty to cows in the modern dairy farms makes it ethically unsupportable to drink milk, that is not very intelligent. They do not understand that by offering our food for Kṛṣṇa's pleasure, all the karma is removed: yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin." [Bhagavad-gītā 3.13] So while the dairy farmers are certainly responsible for their cruelty to the animals, the devotees are released from this karma by offering their milk products for Kṛṣṇa's pleasure. Better to use this most wonderful food for developing good intelligence. love, Baba Re: Book on daily practise? by Gosia (Malgorzata) Kazimierska - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 11:12 AM Dear Brian, If you want to contribute to better conditions for farm cows you can always buy organic milk. It is a bit more expensive but these cows are much better fed and treated, and usually they have better living conditions so they do not get so sick and they need much much less medication as a result. This is also better for us as medicated and highly frustrated cows produce milk with so many toxic residues. Preferably buy raw milk; here in Canada we are very unfortunate in this aspect as there is a government ban on selling raw milk !!! But many states in US do allow the sale of raw milk. Love, Gosia The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 5 by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 06:06 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the next part: Chapter five TULASI MARRIES SANKHACHUDA When Tulasi Devi stopped speaking, Lord Brahma suddenly appeared there. After Sankhacuda and Tulasi offered him their respects, Lord Brahma said, "O Sankhacuda! Why are you wasting your time in such empty talks with Tulasi? Marry her now by the Gandharva rites. As you are a gem among males, she is a gem among females. When a clever couple marry, the union is very happy. And who would abandon happiness when it is at hand? Anyone who would do so is worse than a beast. And you, Tulasi! Why are you testing this noble and qualified person who can subdue both the gods and the demons? Marry Sankhacuda, just as Laksmi is married to Narayana, Radhika to Krsna, my Savitri to me, Saci to Indra and Aditi to Kasyapa. Stay with the handsome Sankhacuda for a long time and, as you like, wander with him to various places. When Sankhacuda leaves his body, you will return to Goloka and get Krsna as your husband." Lord Brahma then blessed them and returned to his own abode. Sankhacuda then married Tulasi by the Gandharva rite. Glorifying the marriage, the demigods sounded their drums and showered flowers on them from the sky. Sometimes the newly married couple would go to a flower grove and at other times to a river bank. There they would sleep on flower beds smeared with sandal paste and enjoy marital pleasures. Tulasi easily stole the heart of her husband, and Sankhacuda also attracted Tulasi's heart. After Tulasi garlanded her husband with parijata flowers, which prevent disease and old age, she placed a precious jeweled ring on his finger and offered him rare beautiful gems. Bowing down to his feet with devotion, she repeatedly said, "I am at your service!" Sankhacuda smiled. He then presented Tulasi with clothes he had obtained from Lord Varuna's house; he also gave her a precious necklace of jewels, an armlet he had gotten from Svaha (Agni's wife), armlets from Chhaya (the sun god's wife), earrings from Rohini (the moon god's wife), finger rings from Rati (Cupid's wife), conch ornaments from Visvakarma, as well as excellent bedding adorned with pearls and jewels. After further adorning her, he placed her feet on his chest and said, "I am your servant." They left the hermitage and began to travel to various places. They went to different mountains, flower gardens, caves, beaches, riversides and forests. Wherever they went, they enjoyed each other's company with great satisfaction, never tiring of one another. Sankhacuda then brought Tulasi to his own kingdom and there they continued to delight in each other's company. love, Baba Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā Study Guide—Part 14 by David Bruce Hughes - Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 06:05 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is Part 14: When Sanātana Gosvāmī asked Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu about the svarūpa of every living being, the Lord replied that the svarūpa or constitutional position of the living being is the rendering of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we analyze this statement of Lord Caitanya, we can easily see that every living being is constantly engaged in rendering service to another living being. A living being serves other living beings in two capacities. By doing so, the living entity enjoys life. The lower animals serve human beings as servants serve their master. A serves B master, B serves C master and C serves D master and so on. Under these circumstances, we can see that one friend serves another friend, the mother serves the son, the wife serves the husband, the husband serves the wife and so on. If we go on searching in this spirit, it will be seen that there is no exception in the society of living beings to the activity of service. The politician presents his manifesto for the public to convince them of his capacity for service. The voters therefore give the politician their valuable votes, thinking that he will render valuable service to society. The shopkeeper serves the customer, and the artisan serves the capitalist. The capitalist serves the family, and the family serves the state in the terms of the eternal capacity of the eternal living being. In this way we can see that no living being is exempt from rendering service to other living beings, and therefore we can safely conclude that service is the constant companion of the living being and that the rendering of service is the eternal religion of the living being. Yet man professes to belong to a particular type of faith with reference to particular time and circumstance and thus claims to be a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or any other sect. Such designations are non-sanātana-dharma. A Hindu may change his faith to become a Muslim, or a Muslim may change his faith to become a Hindu, or a Christian may change his faith and so on. But in all circumstances the change of religious faith does not effect the eternal occupation of rendering service to others. The Hindu, Muslim or Christian in all circumstances is servant of someone. Thus, to profess a particular type of sect is not to profess one's sanātana-dharma. The rendering of service is sanātana-dharma. Factually we are related to the Supreme Lord in service. The Supreme Lord is the supreme enjoyer, and we living entities are His servitors. We are created for His enjoyment, and if we participate in that eternal enjoyment with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we become happy. We cannot become happy otherwise. It is not possible to be happy independently, just as no one part of the body can be happy without cooperating with the stomach. It is not possible for the living entity to be happy without rendering transcendental loving service unto the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā, worship of different demigods or rendering service to them is not approved. It is stated in the Seventh Chapter, twentieth verse: kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante 'nya-devatāḥ taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā "Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures." (Bhagavad-gītā 7.20) Here it is plainly said that those who are directed by lust worship the demigods and not the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. When we mention the name Kṛṣṇa, we do not refer to any sectarian name. Kṛṣṇa means the highest pleasure, and it is confirmed that the Supreme Lord is the reservoir or storehouse of all pleasure. We are all hankering after pleasure. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt: (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12) The living entities, like the Lord, are full of consciousness, and they are after happiness. The Lord is perpetually happy, and if the living entities associate with the Lord, cooperate with Him and take part in His association, then they also become happy. The Lord descends to this mortal world to show His pastimes in Vṛndāvana, which are full of happiness. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was in Vṛndāvana, His activities with His cowherd boy friends, with His damsel friends, with the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana and with the cows were all full of happiness. The total population of Vṛndāvana knew nothing but Kṛṣṇa. But Lord Kṛṣṇa even discouraged His father Nanda Mahārāja from worshiping the demigod Indra because He wanted to establish the fact that people need not worship any demigod. They need only worship the Supreme Lord because their ultimate goal is to return to His abode. Study Guide Part 14: What is our Eternal Occupation? love, Baba Sunday Satsang 11/30/2008: A Challenging Topic by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 30 November 2008, 08:13 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! This Sunday Satsang is about the challenge before us, to create a model self-sufficient rural agricultural community that can be duplicated in any part of the world to deal with the coming changes. Some of the weaker students are freaking out because we do not just sit around and philosophize, but we want to serve Kṛṣṇa in a very active way. Real spiritual things are eternal and material things are temporary; that is given in Bhagavad-gītā 2.16: "Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation." This verse and Bhagavad-gītā 2.13 have been the core of our preaching work since 2004. Now we are moving forward into the explanation of karma-yoga in Chapter 3 of Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore we are stressing practical service based on our transcendental philosophy of the Esoteric Teaching. This may come as a shock to those who are only comfortable with armchair philosophy, but Kṛṣṇa recommends actions of devotional service as superior to theoretical knowledge. Work that is offered in sacrifice to the Supreme is free from karma, so that one can work without becoming entangled in the material world. But it is very difficult to work in this way without the support of a spiritual community and the direction of a self-realized soul. So we are creating a community model based on the Esoteric Teaching of Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā, where we can remain safe and free from anxiety even during the change from the materialistic culture to the succeeding spiritual culture. We invite our students to join us in this great adventure. Take courage and live your life as a sacrifice to a great cause. Those who join us now will become the spiritual leaders of a great new civilization. watch love, Baba Re: Sunday Satsang 11/30/2008: A Challenging Topic by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 1 December 2008, 08:44 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! The meeting provider, Dim Dim, changed their settings, and now the new URL for meetings is: http://webmeeting.dimdim.com:80/portal/JoinForm.action?meetingRoomName=dasanudas love, Baba Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā Study Guide—Part 13 by David Bruce Hughes - Monday, 1 December 2008, 05:51 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Hare is the next part: Therefore, sanātana-dharma does not refer to any sectarian process of religion. It is the eternal function of the eternal living entities in relationship with the eternal Supreme Lord. Sanātana-dharma refers, as stated previously, to the eternal occupation of the living entity. Rāmānujācārya has explained the word sanātana as "that which has neither beginning nor end," so when we speak of sanātana-dharma, we must take it for granted on the authority of Śrī Rāmānujācārya that it has neither beginning nor end. The English word "religion" is a little different from sanātana-dharma. Religion conveys the idea of faith, and faith may change. One may have faith in a particular process, and he may change this faith and adopt another, but sanātana-dharma refers to that activity which cannot be changed. For instance, liquidity cannot be taken from water, nor can heat be taken from fire. Similarly, the eternal function of the eternal living entity cannot be taken from the living entity. Sanātana-dharma is eternally integral with the living entity. When we speak of sanātana-dharma, therefore, we must take it for granted on the authority of Śrī Rāmānujācārya that it has neither beginning nor end. That which has neither end nor beginning must not be sectarian, for it cannot be limited by any boundaries. Yet those belonging to some sectarian faith will wrongly consider that sanātana-dharma is also sectarian, but if we go deeply into the matter and consider it in the light of modern science, it is possible for us to see that sanātana-dharma is the business of all the people of the world—nay, of all the living entities of the universe. Non-sanātana religious faith may have some beginning in the annals of human history, but there is no beginning to the history of sanātana-dharma because it remains eternally with the living entities. Insofar as the living entities are concerned, the authoritative śāstras state that the living entity has neither birth nor death. In the Gītā it is stated that the living entity is never born, and he never dies. He is eternal and indestructible, and he continues to live after the destruction of his temporary material body. In reference to the concept of sanātana-dharma, we must try to understand the concept of religion from the Sanskrit root meaning of the word. Dharma refers to that which is constantly existing with the particular object. We conclude that there is heat and light along with the fire; without heat and light, there is no meaning to the word fire. Similarly, we must discover the essential part of the living being, that part which is his constant companion. That constant companion is his eternal quality, and that eternal quality is his eternal religion. Study Guide Part 13: Sanātana-dharma love, Baba Dalai Lama on Sex Life by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 29 November 2008, 05:55 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! From a recent news story: The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader, on Friday said sex spelt fleeting satisfaction and trouble later, while chastity offered a better life and "more freedom." "Sexual pressure, sexual desire, actually I think is short period satisfaction and often, that leads to more complication," the Dalai Lama told reporters in a Lagos hotel, speaking in English without a translator. He said conjugal life caused "too much ups and downs. "Naturally as a human being ... some kind of desire for sex comes, but then you use human intelligence to make comprehension that those couples always full of trouble. And in some cases there is suicide, murder cases," the Dalai Lama said. He said the "consolation" in celibacy is that although "we miss something, but at the same time, compare whole life, it's better, more independence, more freedom." Considered a Buddhist Master exempt from the religion's wheel of death and reincarnation, the Dalai Lama waxed eloquent on the Buddhist credo of non-attachment. "Too much attachment towards your children, towards your partner," was "one of the obstacle or hindrance of peace of mind," he said. We have always had great respect for the Dalai Lama; views like these are why. love, Baba Re: Dalai Lama on Sex Life by inci mutlu - Saturday, 29 November 2008, 06:52 PM Hare Krsna! I offer my humble obesiances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. Dear Babaji, I see the news, but while he is presenting his views, he actually is not mentioning the holy name of God, so this information don't give the real meaning. It will be perceived by milions as one of the many speculative philosophies of material world. Why? Because there is no Holy Name in this view. This view of Dalai Lama is destined to not be understood at all. Because missing element is the Holy Name. Is this comment of Dalai Lama gives answers to these questions? "...in that case whom i will worship and love?" "...in that case who will love me?" "...how can i have a peace of mind without love?" No. It doesn't give the answer. So, this comment of Dalai Lama is not complete and will never be complete without the Holy Name of God. In addition, this information could be considered misleading. Because according to Vedas, it is possible to create holy families with love of Krsna and it is possible to gave birth to godconscious children if we could live within the regulations of Vedas. Love, inci Re: Dalai Lama on Sex Life by Brian Scanlon - Sunday, 30 November 2008, 03:18 PM Dear Inci, Please accept my brotherhood in the name of Lord Vishnu. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. All Praise to Lord Nrshima the true Obstacle remover! Please consider something.  If Guru, hadnt see merit within the words of the current Dali Lamas statement, he wouldnt have posted it.  We try to absorb his lessons not critique them. Additionaly Tibetan Buddhism and the posts of Dali Lama and the Pan Chin Lama represent a very ancient Esoteric Tradition. And who is Lord Gautama Buddha ? He is no other than our loving Lord Vishnu the pervader. I understand you were specificaly refering to the context of the post, but the Vidya Mantra as found in Esoteric Buddhism, uses several "God Name" Mantras, from the Vedic Esoteric system. Love Brian Vedic Astrology Predictions for December by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 30 November 2008, 01:50 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Please see Joni Patri's site for her December predictions. love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 3 by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 30 November 2008, 05:54 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the next part: Chapter Three THE BIRTH OF SANKHACHUDA The sage Kasyapa was the son of the prajapati (forefather) Marici and the grandson of Lord Brahma, and was very learned. Daksa, another prajapati, gave him thirteen of his daughters in marriage. One of Kasyapa Muni's wives was known as Danu. She was very attractive and chaste, and Kasyapa cared for her with love and devotion. Danu bore many mighty sons, one of whom was Vipracitti, who was exceedingly powerful and courageous. His son Dambha was self-controlled and a great devotee of Lord Visnu. But he could not beget a son, so he became anxious. Therefore, to improve the situation, he went to Puskara forest and performed severe austerity for a hundred thousand years. There, sitting in a steady posture and uttering the Krsna mantra, he practiced japa. While practicing, an intolerable effulgence shot out from Dambha's head and spread everywhere. It was so hot that all the demigods, sages and Manus were scorched by it. Thus, with Indra leading, they all sought shelter of Lord Brahma. Arriving at Lord Brahma's abode, they praised him and then informed him of the situation. After hearing about it, Lord Brahma, to relate the problem to Lord Visnu, led them to Vaikuntha. There, with palms joined reverentially, they praised the great savior and Lord of the three worlds. The demigods then asked, "O Lord, we do not know what has caused this. Please tell us. What is that light by which we have been scorched?" Lord Visnu laughed and lovingly said, "O demigods, do not be afraid; remain calm and unshaken. No flood will occur and it is not the time of universal dissolution. The asura Dambha, one of my devotees, is performing asceticism to obtain a son. I shall soon bless him and that will quiet him." Encouraged by this, Lord Brahma and the other demigods returned to their own realms. Lord Visnu then went to Puskara where Dambha was practicing austerity. Seeing that Dambha was repeating His name, the Lord consoled him and asked, "What blessing do you want Me to grant you?" Dambha offered his obeisances with great devotion and praised the Lord repeatedly. Then he said, "O Lord of lords, O lotus-eyed one, obeisances unto You. O Lord of Laksmi, O Lord of the three worlds, please be merciful to me. Please give me a powerful and courageous son who will be Your devotee, be invincible to the demigods, and be the conqueror of the three worlds." Lord Visnu asked Dambha to stop his austerity, granted him the blessing, and disappeared. As the Lord vanished, Dambha offered obeisance in that direction and returned home. Within a short while his blessed wife became pregnant. She radiated an effulgence that illuminated the inner apartment of her residence. The soul residing in her womb was Sudama, one of Lord Krsna's leading cowherd companions who had been cursed by Srimati Radharani. When Dambha's chaste wife gave birth to a radiant-looking son, Dambha invited the sages to his place and had the post-natal rites performed. There was great jubilation and, on a favorable day, the father named him Sankhacuda. The son grew up in his father's residence like the moon in its bright half. In his childhood he learned all the traditions, customs, injunctions and prohibitions, and became resplendent. Engaging in childhood play, he delighted his parents and became the favorite of all the family members. Later on, to obtain a boon from Lord Brahma, Sankhacuda performed an austerity in Puskara for a long while. He concentrated his mind, restrained his senses and organs of action, and chanted a mantra that his preceptor, Jaigisavya, had imparted to him. Finally, Lord Brahma went to Sankhacuda to grant him a blessing. Lord Brahma asked, "Tell me what boon you want." Seeing Lord Brahma, the Danava king bowed to him humbly and praised him with devotional words. Then he said, "Please make me invincible to the demigods, and also enable me to marry Tulasi. "So be it," Brahma replied. Then he gave Sankhacuda the Divine amulet of Lord Sri Krsna. This amulet, called Sarvamangalamaya (Conqueror of the World), was considered the most auspicious of all auspicious things in the world, for it guaranteed victory everywhere. Brahma continued, "Now you should go to Badarikasrama. Tulasi Devi is performing penance there by her own will. You should marry her there. She is the daughter of King Dharmadhvaja." Lord Brahma then disappeared. Sankhacuda, whose austerity had now borne fruit at Puskara, tied that most precious amulet round his neck. He then set out for Badarikasrama, his face beaming with joy. love, Baba Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā Study Guide—Part 12 by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 30 November 2008, 05:50 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is Part 12: That destination is called the sanātana sky, the eternal spiritual sky. In this material world we find that everything is temporary. It comes into being, stays for some time, produces some by-products, dwindles and then vanishes. That is the law of the material world, whether we use as an example this body, or a piece of fruit or anything. But beyond this temporary world there is another world of which we have information. This world consists of another nature which is sanātana, eternal. Jīva is also described as sanātana, eternal, and the Lord is also described as sanātana in the Eleventh Chapter. We have an intimate relationship with the Lord, and because we are all qualitatively one—the sanātana-dhāma, or sky, the sanātana Supreme Personality and the sanātana living entities—the whole purpose of Bhagavad-gītā is to revive our sanātana occupation, or sanātana-dharma, which is the eternal occupation of the living entity. We are temporarily engaged in different activities, but all of these activities can be purified when we give up all these temporary activities and take up the activities which are prescribed by the Supreme Lord. That is called our pure life. The Supreme Lord and His transcendental abode are both sanātana, as are the living entities, and the combined association of the Supreme Lord and the living entities in the sanātana abode is the perfection of human life. The Lord is very kind to the living entities because they are His sons. Lord Kṛṣṇa declares in Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-yoniṣu...ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā: "I am the father of all." Of course there are all types of living entities according to their various karmas, but here the Lord claims that He is the father of all of them. Therefore the Lord descends to reclaim all of these fallen, conditioned souls to call them back to the sanātana eternal sky so that the sanātana living entities may regain their eternal sanātana positions in eternal association with the Lord. The Lord comes Himself in different incarnations, or He sends His confidential servants as sons or His associates or ācāryas to reclaim the conditioned souls. Study Guide Part 12: Temporary Matter and Eternal Spirit love, Baba The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 2 by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 29 November 2008, 05:58 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Chapter Two TULASI PERFORMS AUSTERITIES As soon as she was born, Tulasi resolved to go to the mountainous region of Badarinatha to practice severe austerities. Though many persons tried to dissuade her, no one was able to; for she was determined to stay and pray in the forest till Lord Krsna appeared and agreed to become her husband. During a period of one hundred thousand celestial years, she endured the following: In the summer, she exposed herself to four fires around her and the sun above; in the winter, she submerged herself in the icy waters; and in the rainy season, she subjected herself to heavy downpours at the funeral grounds. For 20,000 years, she subsisted on fruits and water; for 30,000 years, she chewed dry leaves; for 40,000 years she lived only on air; and for 10,000 years she ate nothing and just stood on one leg. Finally, she saw Lord Brahma in the sky, riding on his swan carrier and sweeping down towards her. Believing that he had come to grant her a boon, she bowed down low to him. Lord Brahma said, "O Tulasi, ask me for a boon. Whether it be devotion to Lord Hari or servitorship to Him or freedom from old age or freedom from death--I will grant it." "Yes, O Lord, I will ask. Please listen. I will not hide my desires out of fear or shame, since you are all-knowing. My name is Tulasi. Formally I was a cowherd girl in Goloka, and there I served Radharani, the beloved of Sri Krsna. I am a partial expansion of Radharani and was her favorite companion. But one day in the place where the rasa dance had occurred, Krsna became intimate with me and I fainted from excessive joy. While I was lying there, Radharani suddenly appeared and saw me in that condition. She was not at all pleased. Blinded with fury, she first reproached Krsna and then cursed me. She said, `O vile one! Go! And take birth as a human being!' "Then Krsna said to me, `When you take birth in India, if you practice austerities, Lord Brahma will grant you a blessing. He will arrange for you to marry the four-armed Narayana, who is an expansion of Myself.' Then Krsna disappeared. And out of fear of Radharani, I left Goloka and was born in this world...So please grant me that boon. I want to have that handsome and peaceful Narayana as my husband." Lord Brahma replied, "O Tulasi, Sudama was a partial expansion of Krsna and was one of Krsna's cowherd boyfriends in Goloka. As a result of a curse by Radharani, he is presently living on earth among the Danavas (demons). His name is Sankhacuda. He is very energetic and no one can compare with him in strength. While living in Goloka, he was very attracted to you and wanted to marry you. But because he feared Radharani, he did not make any overtures. "Just as you are a jatismara--that is, one who knows her previous births--Sankhacuda also is. Remembering his past desire to be close to you, he has performed severe austerities to obtain you as his wife. I now wish to grant his desire. Therefore, O beautiful one, please agree to wed him. However, later on, by the special arrangement of Providence, you will get the beautiful Narayana as your husband. But after that, He will curse you and you will be transformed into the world-purifying Tulasi plant (holy basil). You will be the best of flowers and dearer to Narayana than His own life. No one's worship will be complete without your leaves. You will remain as a tree in Vrndavana and will be widely known as Vrndavani. The cowherd men and women will worship Lord Hari with your leaves. As the presiding deity of the Tulasi plant, you will always enjoy the company of Krsna, the best of cowherd boys." Tulasi Devi smiled and gladly said to Lord Brahma, "O Father, I will be honest with you. I am not as devoted to the four-armed Narayana as I am to the two-armed Krsna. For in Goloka, my close encounter with Krsna was suddenly interrupted, leaving me still longing for Him. Thus, it was only because Krsna had asked me that I have been praying to get Narayana for my husband. But now it appears certain that by your grace I will again get Krsna, who is very difficult to attain. However, O lord, please grant me the following boon: that I lose my fear of Radharani." Lord Brahma replied, "O child, I shall now give you the sixteen-lettered Radha mantra. By this boon you will be as dear to Radharani as Her life, and She will approve of Your intimate dealings with Krsna." Lord Brahma initiated Tulasi Devi into to the sixteen-lettered mantra, the hymn, and the mode of worship of Sri Radha. Then, blessing her, he disappeared. As directed, Tulasi engaged herself in worshiping Srimati Radharani and, after twelve years, attained success. Obtaining the desired boon, she reaped the fruits that were unattainable by others. As the pangs of her austerities ended, she became cheerful. When one gets the fruits of one's labor and then considers the difficulties experienced in attaining them, the difficulties then seem pleasurable. Tulasi was in the prime of her youth and she longed for the company of Sri Krsna. Finishing her food and drink, she lay down on a beautiful bed decorated with flowers and perfumed with sandal paste. She went to sleep with a happy heart. But while she slept, Kamadeva, the god of love, shot five arrows at her--arrows that were meant to enchant her. Consequently, though she was anointed with cooling sandal paste and slept on a bed strewn with flowers, her body began to feel as though it were on fire. Out of joy, the hairs on her body stood on end, her eyes reddened and her body began to tremble. One moment she looked thin and at another moment she grew restless or drowsy. Sometimes she became agitated or warm with desire, at other times she fainted, then recovered, then sorrowed. Sometimes she got up from the bed, walked this way and that way, sat down or lay down. This abnormal condition of her body and mind increased daily; so much so that her soft bed felt like a bed of thorns; delicious fruits and water tasted like poison; her house seemed like a desert; her soft delicate cloth felt hot like fire; and the vermilion mark on her forehead pained like a boil. In her dreams she saw a nicely dressed, smiling, jolly youth. He was adorned with jewels, besmeared with sandal paste and garlanded with flowers. Gazing at her face, he spoke to her affectionately, and embraced and kissed her repeatedly. One moment he went away; the next moment he returned; then she cried out, "O Lord of my heart, where are you going? Please don't go!" When she awakened, she wept again and again. In this way Tulasi Devi passed her days at Badarikasrama. love, Baba Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 2 by Neville Clemens - Saturday, 29 November 2008, 09:23 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Thank you for sharing this. Is this story excerpted from one of the Puranas? I look forward to more! Love, Neville Re: The Story of Śrīmatī Tulāsī-devī, Chapter 2 by inci mutlu - Saturday, 29 November 2008, 06:05 PM Hare Krsna! Dear Babaji, All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! We are looking forward for the next chapter. I hope i am taking care of her as she deserves. love, inci Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā Study Guide—Part 11 by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 29 November 2008, 06:00 AM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here's the next part: All Vedic knowledge is infallible, and Hindus accept Vedic knowledge to be complete and infallible. For example, cow dung is the stool of an animal, and according to smṛti or Vedic injunction, if one touches the stool of an animal he has to take a bath to purify himself. But in the Vedic scriptures cow dung is considered to be a purifying agent. One might consider this to be contradictory, but it is accepted because it is Vedic injunction, and indeed by accepting this, one will not commit a mistake; subsequently it has been proved by modern science that cow dung contains all antiseptic properties. So Vedic knowledge is complete because it is above all doubts and mistakes, and Bhagavad-gītā is the essence of all Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge is not a question of research. Our research work is imperfect because we are researching things with imperfect senses. We have to accept perfect knowledge which comes down, as is stated in Bhagavad-gītā, by the paramparā disciplic succession. We have to receive knowledge from the proper source in disciplic succession beginning with the supreme spiritual master, the Lord Himself, and handed down to a succession of spiritual masters. Arjuna, the student who took lessons from Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, accepts everything that He says without contradicting Him. One is not allowed to accept one portion of Bhagavad-gītā and not another. No. We must accept Bhagavad-gītā without interpretation, without deletion and without our own whimsical participation in the matter. The Gītā should he taken as the most perfect presentation of Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge is received from transcendental sources, and the first words were spoken by the Lord Himself. The words spoken by the Lord are different from words spoken by a person of the mundane world who is infected with four defects. A mundaner 1) is sure to commit mistakes, 2) is invariably illusioned, 3) has the tendency to cheat others and 4) is limited by imperfect senses. With these four imperfections, one cannot deliver perfect information of all-pervading knowledge. Vedic knowledge is not imparted by such defective living entities. It was imparted unto the heart of Brahmā, the first created living being, and Brahmā in his turn disseminated this knowledge to his sons and disciples, as he originally received it from the Lord. The Lord is pūrṇam, all-perfect, and there is no possibility of His becoming subjected to the laws of material nature. One should therefore be intelligent enough to know that the Lord is the only proprietor of everything in the universe and that He is the original creator, the creator of Brahmā. In the Eleventh Chapter the Lord is addressed as prapitāmaha because Brahmā is addressed as pitāmaha, the grandfather, and He is the creator of the grandfather. So no one should claim to be the proprietor of anything; one should accept only things which are set aside for him by the Lord as his quota for his maintenance. There are many examples given of how we are to utilize those things which are set aside for us by the Lord. This is also explained in Bhagavad-gītā. In the beginning, Arjuna decided that he should not fight in the Battle of Kurukṣetra. This was his own decision. Arjuna told the Lord that it was not possible for him to enjoy the kingdom after killing his own kinsmen. This decision was based on the body because he was thinking that the body was himself and that his bodily relations or expansions were his brothers, nephews, brothers-in-law, grandfathers and so on. He was thinking in this way to satisfy his bodily demands. Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by the Lord just to change this view, and at the end Arjuna decides to fight under the directions of the Lord when he says, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava: "I shall act according to Thy word." In this world man is not meant to toil like hogs. He must be intelligent to realize the importance of human life and refuse to act like an ordinary animal. A human being should realize the aim of his life, and this direction is given in all Vedic literatures, and the essence is given in Bhagavad-gītā. Vedic literature is meant for human beings, not for animals. Animals can kill other living animals, and there is no question of sin on their part, but if a man kills an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste, he must be responsible for breaking the laws of nature. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly explained that there are three kinds of activities according to the different modes of nature: the activities of goodness, of passion and of ignorance. Similarly, there are three kinds of eatables also: eatables in goodness, passion and ignorance. All of this is clearly described, and if we properly utilize the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā, then our whole life will become purified, and ultimately we will be able to reach the destination which is beyond this material sky. Study Guide Part 11: The Vedas are Infallible love, Baba December Jyotisha Predictions. by Sean Lildharrie - Friday, 28 November 2008, 05:15 PM Dear All, Hare Krsna! Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada,and Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī! Though I know nothing of jyotisha, I just thought these December predictions may help us be aware of what's upcoming. Love, Sean Lildharrie ~Jai Sri Radha Krsna!!! Re: December Jyotisha Predictions. by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 28 November 2008, 05:27 PM Dear Sean, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! You don't have to know anything about Jyotish to see that those predictions are for December 2008! love, Baba Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā Study Guide—Part 10 by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 28 November 2008, 12:17 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Here is the next section: We shall find, therefore, in this Bhagavad-gītā that the complete whole is comprised of the supreme controller, the controlled living entities, the cosmic manifestation, eternal time, and karma, or activities, and all of these are explained in this text. All of these taken completely form the complete whole, and the complete whole is called the Supreme Absolute Truth. The complete whole and the complete Absolute Truth are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. All manifestations are due to His different energies. He is the complete whole. It is also explained in the Gītā that impersonal Brahman is also subordinate to the complete. Brahman is more explicitly explained in the Brahma-sūtra to be like the rays of the sunshine. The impersonal Brahman is the shining rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Impersonal Brahman is incomplete realization of the absolute whole, and so also is the conception of Paramātmā in the Twelfth Chapter. There it shall be seen that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Puruṣottama, is above both impersonal Brahman and the partial realization of Paramātmā. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is called sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. The Brahma-saṁhitā begins in this way: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ/anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam: "Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes. He is the primal cause, and He is the very form of eternal being, knowledge and bliss." Impersonal Brahman realization is the realization of His sat (being) feature. Paramātmā realization is the realization of the cit (eternal knowledge) feature. But realization of the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is realization of all the transcendental features: sat, cit and ānanda (being, knowledge, bliss) in complete vigraha (form). People with less intelligence consider the Supreme Truth to be impersonal, but He is a transcendental person, and this is confirmed in all Vedic literatures. Nityo nityānām cetanaś cetanānām. As we are all individual living beings and have our individuality, the Supreme Absolute Truth is also, in the ultimate issue, a person, and realization of the Personality of Godhead is realization of all of the transcendental features. The complete whole is not formless. If He is formless, or if He is less than any other thing, then He cannot be the complete whole. The complete whole must have everything within our experience and beyond our experience, otherwise it cannot be complete. The complete whole, Personality of Godhead, has immense potencies. How Kṛṣṇa is acting in different potencies is also explained in Bhagavad-gītā. This phenomenal world or material world in which we are placed is also complete in itself because the twenty-four elements of which this material universe is a temporary manifestation, according to Sāṅkhya philosophy, are completely adjusted to produce complete resources which are necessary for the maintenance and subsistence of this universe. There is nothing extraneous; nor is there anything needed. This manifestation has its own time fixed by the energy of the supreme whole, and when its time is complete, these temporary manifestations will be annihilated by the complete arrangement of the complete. There is complete facility for the small complete units, namely the living entities, to realize the complete, and all sorts of incompleteness are experienced due to incomplete knowledge of the complete. So Bhagavad-gītā contains the complete knowledge of Vedic wisdom. Study Guide Part 10: The Absolute Truth is Personal love, Baba Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by Gosia (Malgorzata) Kazimierska - Tuesday, 24 June 2008, 11:57 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I have a question. Is it possible to download Om namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya 417.fol-18 and 420.fol-17 from your online mp3 player? I would like to make a mix CD for myself to listen to the dvadasaksara mantra. I really like your version but the other one is very beautiful, too. Thank you, love and respect, Gosia Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 25 June 2008, 07:11 AM Dear Gosia, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! All the recordings on the site are available for download here. love, Baba Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by Laura Harrison - Wednesday, 25 June 2008, 08:14 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! I'm not certain if this should have been added here or over in the technical problems section, but I've gone to that link and all it lets me do is play the song. There is no screen that comes up to allow me to save it to file. Of course I've got the Quicktime and the funny little grey bar comes across the screen and plays the song, but there is no way to save the file. Any ideas? love, Laura Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by Neville Clemens - Wednesday, 25 June 2008, 08:31 PM Dear Laura Mataji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! To download the files, right-click on the file name and choose "save link as" or "save target as", depending on your browser. Then you can save the file to any location on your computer. This works for downloading all kinds of files from the internet. Love and respect, Neville Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by Laura Harrison - Thursday, 26 June 2008, 06:00 AM Dear Neville Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada! Thank you for correcting my goof. I was going the old way of left click, right click. We used to have to do it that way.... honest. I promise to make every effort in the future not to ask such stupid questions. Boy, that was stupid even for me. All apologies. love, Laura back after a while by thomas evans - Thursday, 26 June 2008, 09:12 AM hare krsna baba all glories to srlia prabupada! just wondered a few months ago i had a go of the 'are you a self realised soul' and you told me i was 'another moksha kakraka' ive been reviewing your videos again and find them intriging. unfortuantely i misunderstood your advice on chanting the om namo bhagavata vasudevaya chant and soon afterwood fell ill(both mentally and phsically), had to quit my job (wasnt agreeeing with me anyway) and ended in the mental health ward for the 3rd and 4th time(for about 6 weeks). after i got out of hospital i went over your videos again and realised that chanting with offences can be very dangerous, boy, you said it! i wont do that again. still i am currently following the 4 prescribed duties apart form, wait fot it, smoking tobacco which im finding differcult to give up. should i chant the hare krisna mantra intead? will i hurt myself further if i smoke and chant hare krsna? apart from that i hope your doing well and i read the catemaco moving in report that part of mexico looks pretty, and what an adventure. one last thing i did ask whether if you had time you could have a full astrological profile done if you can help me i would be eternally grateful. thankyou for your time. harebol tom. Re: back after a while by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 26 June 2008, 10:34 AM Dear Thomas, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well, sorry to hear you've been having a rough time. You must be very careful to avoid sinful activities when chanting Vedic mantras. The mantra is nondifferent from the Lord, so you are inviting the Lord to come and dance on your tongue. If your tongue is contaminated with impure things, then He will be offended, and there will be a reaction. Especially, do not chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa maha-mantra if you are breaking any of the regulative principles. I don't know how many times I have given this instruction, and people still think they can get away with it. ISKCON has been responsible for promoting this point of view very widely, and this has simply led to people making unneccary offenses against the Holy Name. For Śrīla Prabhupāda says: "For an ordinary man, worship of Śrī Caitanya and Nityānanda Prabhu or the Pañca-tattva is easier than worship of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Unless one is very fortunate, he should not be induced to worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa directly. A neophyte student who is not sufficiently educated or enlightened should not indulge in the worship of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa or the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Even if he does so, he cannot get the desired result. One should therefore chant the names of Nitāi-Gaura and worship Them without false prestige. Since everyone within this material world is more or less influenced by sinful activities, in the beginning it is essential that one take to the worship of Guru-Gaurāṅga and ask their favor, for thus despite all his disqualifications one will very soon become qualified to worship the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa vigraha." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Adi-lila 8.31 Purport] This verse and its Purport are very instructive. So first you need to chant the Pañca-tattva Mantra: (jaya) śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda Then you can chant the dvādaśākṣara-mantra—Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya—without any problems. Giving up smoking is very difficult. Nicotine is more addictive than heroin. Usually one has some emotional addiction, such as an anger-management problem, and is using the nicotine to cover it up. Unless and until the underlying psychological problem is resolved, it will be impossible to give up the nicotine intoxication. If I did a full astrological profile for everyone who wanted it, I would be doing nothing but free astrolofical counseling. If you have a specific question, I can take a look, but you also have to contribute something to our community. love, Baba Re: back after a while by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 26 June 2008, 10:36 AM Dear Thomas, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Well, sorry to hear you've been having a rough time. You must be very careful to avoid sinful activities when chanting Vedic mantras. The mantra is nondifferent from the Lord, so you are inviting the Lord to come and dance on your tongue. If your tongue is contaminated with impure things, then He will be offended, and there will be a reaction. Especially, do not chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa maha-mantra if you are breaking any of the regulative principles. I don't know how many times I have given this instruction, and people still think they can get away with it. ISKCON has been responsible for promoting this point of view very widely, and this has simply led to people making unnecessary offenses against the Holy Name. For Śrīla Prabhupāda says: "For an ordinary man, worship of Śrī Caitanya and Nityānanda Prabhu or the Pañca-tattva is easier than worship of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Unless one is very fortunate, he should not be induced to worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa directly. A neophyte student who is not sufficiently educated or enlightened should not indulge in the worship of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa or the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Even if he does so, he cannot get the desired result. One should therefore chant the names of Nitāi-Gaura and worship Them without false prestige. Since everyone within this material world is more or less influenced by sinful activities, in the beginning it is essential that one take to the worship of Guru-Gaurāṅga and ask their favor, for thus despite all his disqualifications one will very soon become qualified to worship the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa vigraha." [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Adi-lila 8.31 Purport] This verse and its Purport are very instructive. So first you need to chant the Pañca-tattva Mantra: (jaya) śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda Then you can chant the dvādaśākṣara-mantra—Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya—without any problems. Giving up smoking is very difficult. Nicotine is more addictive than heroin. Usually one has some emotional addiction, such as an anger-management problem, and is using the nicotine to cover it up. Unless and until the underlying psychological problem is resolved, it will be impossible to give up the nicotine intoxication. If I did a full astrological profile for everyone who wanted it, I would be doing nothing but free astrological counseling. If you have a specific question, I can take a look, but you also have to contribute something to our community. love, Baba Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by Gosia (Malgorzata) Kazimierska - Thursday, 26 June 2008, 08:59 PM Dear Babaji, Please accept my respectful obeisances.All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Thank you so much for the link! love, Gosia what to do? by thomas evans - Friday, 27 June 2008, 05:32 AM Dear baba, hare krsna! all glories to srila prabupada! thankyou for your kind input i am still determined to give up smoking. just wondered what kind of contributing acts i could give to your community. i say i completed high school (secondary school in England) but failed university. i am not sure what skills i have that would be useful to you. i have never known since i was a child what i really wanted to do with my life, bombaded with opportunities though never really feeling comfortable or 'fitting in' with any crowd for long. unemployed at the moment and living in my dads attic, i have no money, indebt infact. At the moment feel lost and unsure where to turn next, and after what you have commented about the problems in iskon not sure whether to visit my local temple (i live just outside watford, near bhaktividanta manor). everything i do seems mundane and awkward, will astrology answer any questions? my main question being what will i be suited, career wise, in life. so i can earn money in the best situation. Again in giving something for this answer i am willing to give anything i have, as i am eager to find a spiritual master though i have nothing economically i do have a sincertiy to progress in spiritual life, and if i save some money eventually i could come to mexico and visit your community. thanks again for your time. kind regards tom. Re: what to do? by David Bruce Hughes - Friday, 27 June 2008, 07:57 AM Dear Thomas, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Poverty is a symptom of the mode of ignorance. If you're suffering from poverty, the cure is to cultivate the mode of goodness and perform devotional service to accumulate pious activities. You don't need astrology as much as chanting, studying Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, and performance of pious activities. Specifically, you need to read Bhagavad-gītā and understand your position in the modes of material nature. That is key to getting out of your difficult situation. Neville has also recently made some posts about the modes of material nature in the Kuruksetra Forum that may be helpful to you. Everyone in material consciousness is more of less insane, because they are thinking that they are this material body. Sanity, real sanity means to realize oneself as a spirit soul, a transcendental being different from the body and more closely related to God than to this world. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: "The problems of material existence—birth, old age, disease and death—cannot be counteracted by accumulation of wealth and economic development. In many parts of the world there are states which are replete with all facilities of life, which are full of wealth, and economically developed, yet the problems of material existence are still present. They are seeking peace in different ways, but they ean achieve real happiness only if they consult Kṛṣṇa, or the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—which constitute the science of Kṛṣṇa—or the bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa, the man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If economic development and material comforts could drive away one's lamentations for family, social, national or international inebrieties, then Arjuna would not have said that even an unrivalled kingdom on earth or supremacy like that of the demigods in the heavenly planets would not be able to drive away his lamentations. He sought, therefore, refuge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that is the right path for peace and harmony. Economic development or supremacy over the world can be finished at any moment by the cataclysms of material nature. Even elevation into a higher planetary situation, as men are now seeking a place on the moon planet, can also be finished at one stroke. The Bhagavad-gītā confirms this: kṣīṇe puṇye martyalokaṁ viśanti "When the results of pious activities are finished, one falls down again from the peak of happiness to the lowest status of life." Many politicians of the world have fallen down in that way. Such downfalls only constitute more causes for lamentation. Therefore, if we want to curb lamentation for good, then we have to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, as Arjuna is seeking to do. So Arjuna asked Kṛṣṇa to solve his problem definitely, and that is the way of Kṛṣṇa consciousness." So study this great Esoteric teaching, take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and make a definite, permanent solution to the problems of life. love, Baba Re: what to do? by thomas evans - Saturday, 28 June 2008, 06:05 AM hare krsna baba, all glories to srila pabupada. i have been reading bhagavad gita for the 3rd time now still i am having some differculty understanding a little of it though the vast majority is making perfect sense. the srimrad bhagavatam on the other hand im finding very differcult to understand. how should i perform devotional service? should i visit my local temple even though you warn me about iskon? i will continue reading and watching your youtube videos they are giving me ecstacy-like feelings. thanks again for your time. peace and love tommy. Re: what to do? by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 28 June 2008, 07:49 AM Dear Thomas, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Bhagavad-gītā is the introduction to the science of devotional service, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the graduate level of the same subject. If you're having difficulty understanding anything, then you should post your specific questions here one by one, and we can discuss them. love, Baba Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by Peter Turanec - Saturday, 28 June 2008, 11:19 AM Dear Thomas, All glories to Prabhupad! I know how you feel.  The first time I tried reading Srimad Bhagavatam it did not make any sense and I had to stop reading it.  It took me about a year of studying this material to make the first bit of sense out of it. I would recommend that you watch ALL of Babaji's videos on the site, (the youtube site is a good place to start, but these are merely promotional videos) listen to all the podcasts, and try and get through reading all the posts, especially the ones on the Kuruksetra Forum.  When you get through all of this, read Bhagavad Gita, and listen to Babaji's Sri Isopanisad recordings.  Then you should have a preliminary understanding of Srimad Bhagavatam. One of the things that helped me become interested in this Vedic knowledge was just going to Causelessmercy.com or opening the Vedabase and searching for anything and everything that peaked my interest or aroused by rascal curiosity.  I dont want to give you any hints here about what to search for, ( I want you to think for yourself so I don't rob you of any discoveries) but any and all subjects are there, even paranormal ones. : ) Remember, Srimad Bhagavatam is not an ordinary book.  It is a book about ontology.  More specifically, its about the different types of ontology we can adopt so we can make sense about the crazy world around us.  If you are still not clear about ontology, go here: http://www.transontology.org/ I know this seems like an overwhelming amount of information, but it is necessary to undo all the nonsense preconcieved ideas we already have about sprituality.  Remember, everything you know is wrong.  I bet thats what scares most people away, they are attached to their present ontology. Hopefully I have understood this clearly.  If I have not, someone please correct me.  Dont let all this information overwhelm you, take your time.  There is enough here to read for the rest of our lives. Thank you, Love, Peter Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by David Bruce Hughes - Saturday, 28 June 2008, 12:06 PM Dear Peter, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Very nice explanation. I can tell this is coming from your personal experience. When after studying this Vedic literature for many years, you are on top of the mountain of self-realization, you will look back and wonder how you every lived without this exalted understanding of life and consciousness. In the beginning it is very difficult, but as you become more experienced it gets easier. Kṛṣṇa says: "O best of the Bhāratas, now please hear from Me about the three kinds of happiness which the conditioned soul enjoys, and by which he sometimes comes to the end of all distress. That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar, and which awakens one to self-realization, is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness. That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion. And that happiness which is blind to self-realization, which is delusion from beginning to end and which arises from sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance." [Bhagavad-gītā 18.37-39] So happiness in the mode of goodness does not give immediate results, but takes some time to cultivate and mature before its full impact is perceptible. We have discussed in many places how in the beginning of spiritual life, the mind is full of impressions of material consciousness. So we have to work to create new impressions of spiritual quality to overcome the inertia of the material conditioning. This process must be continued for a long time—years, actually—before you get the complete result. But I am here to tell you that it is more than worthwhile; material consciousness will become so distasteful that you will wonder how you ever tolerated it, even for a moment. love, Baba thankyou by thomas evans - Sunday, 29 June 2008, 12:26 PM hare krsna all glories to srila prabupada! thanks baba and peter for your help much appreciated! just a few questions for today wondered if i could join your sunday satsang only i tried to join today but it didnt work, the message kept saying that the meeting hadnt started yet, im GMT (london) also im currently unemplyed at the moment but would gladly donate some money to your community when i have money as your works have provided so much to me in such a short time. love Tommy Re: thankyou by David Bruce Hughes - Sunday, 29 June 2008, 03:35 PM Dear Thomas, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! We are in the GMT -5 time zone, so if the Satsang is at 11 AM our time, it will be at 4 PM GMT. That is unless you have Daylight Saving time, then it would be at 5. Generally we open the meeting at 10:30 so if you can't login, try again an hour or so later. Today's Satsang was really great, too bad you missed it. If money comes, then engage it in Kṛṣṇa's service. But generally poverty is due to lack of pious credits. So you should perform devotional service, such as chanting and offering your food, and then wealth will come as you become qualified. love, Baba Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by Gosia (Malgorzata) Kazimierska - Thursday, 27 November 2008, 01:00 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! In your post from June 25th, 2008 you gave the link to your site for free downloads; I used to use the link with no problem but now it says that the site is forbidden(?). Do you still have a site with free downloads with all the devotional music (also from India) ? Thank you for your time, love, Gosia Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by David Bruce Hughes - Thursday, 27 November 2008, 05:38 AM Dear Gosia, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Unfortunately we had to restrict access to that folder because commercial sites in China were linking to it and stealing lots of bandwidth from our server. You can still hear our music from here. Why is it that every time you post, it's to complain about something? love, Baba Re: Om namo bhagavata Vasudevaya by Gosia (Malgorzata) Kazimierska - Friday, 28 November 2008, 11:35 AM Dear Babaji, Please accept my humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Thank you for your reply. I'm truly surprised that you regard my simple question as a complaint ??? Love, Gosia Black Propaganda by David Bruce Hughes - Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 01:54 PM Dear Students, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! It has come to my attention that some members of our community have received anonymous black propaganda emails. The sender hides behind a spoofed or deleted email address, so no one can trace, reply or debate his poisonous nonsense. I know who is doing this; he told me directly in a personal email that he was going to do it. The rest of this message is the exchange of emails between us leading up to the present cowardly attack, followed by my analysis. It's a little long but extremely revealing as to his motives. 8/14/2008 from me to Sun: Dear Devotees, Please accept our obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! It is our great privilege and pleasure to announce the publication of a new complete edition of Sri Vedanta-sutra, with the commentary of Baladeva Vidyabhusana, and additional commentary and editing by David Bruce Hughes (Sri Gaurahari Dasanudas Babaji). The three-volume set includes the original sutras and commentary originally translated into English by Sripad Kusakratha das Brahmacari, with full Sanskrit diacritics, professionally edited and with all errors and omissions corrected. Additional material, expanded excerpts from the Upanisads and clarification of subtle philosophical issues have been drawn from "The Vedantasutras of Badarayana with the Commentary of Baladeva" by Srisa Chandra Vasu, the only other English edition of Vedanta-sutra with the Govinda-bhasya now extant. Additional original commentary has been added to connect the profound spiritual issues raised by Srila Vyasadeva with contemporary themes such as the discoveries of materialistic science. A reader says, "I just received the Adhyayas 1 & 2. This was the first time I had ordered from Lulu.com. Every step of the process was just right. Their website was straightforward and easy to use. The registration, cart handling and the rest of the ordering process was streamlined correctly. They even offered to pay by PayPal, so we don't have to share the credit card info. They offered media mail shipping, which works out much cheaper than UPS. In my particular case it took only 5 business days to get these 2 books in my hand. The books were packaged first in a thin foam and then in a 3-fold cardboard cover that was custom-sized for the books - unlike some other online giants that use a big box and then a lot of packing material. The books themselves are printed really well. The cover prints are very nice and the paper and print quality is excellent. The font size and the ink darkness are good. Soft cover allows these large size books to open properly. I don't have enough words to describe how I felt reading the contents. The expanded commentary is written in a language that we can follow and understand, not some kind of circular logic. A lot of supporting quotations are provided from a variety of Vedic literature to expand upon and prove the point. The experience of reading a book in hand was so much better than reading on the computer screen that I just couldn't put it down." -- Swati Agrawal The 688-page, 8.5 x 11" perfect bound three-volume paperback edition can be ordered singly or as a set of three books, along with our other books from our online store. There is also a PDF download edition for only US$14.95 complete. The full text of the books is available online at our website. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Devotees are encouraged to quote from the work, host it on their websites and even create derivative works, as long as an attribution and link to the original is included. The details of the licensing terms are included in the books themselves. With respect and love, Esoteric Teaching Seminars http://www.esotericteaching.org om namo bhagavate vasudevaya 8/14/2008 from Sun to me: Dear Prabhu, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. We would be happy to review a copy of your book if you wish, and would need to do so in advance of running this news story. This is our regular editorial policy whenever we're asked to promote sastra purported by individual devotees. Hare Krsna. your servants, Sun Staff 8/21/2008 from me to Sun: Dear "Sun Staff", Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! I would like to know how your review is progressing. My intention is to make these books available to the devotees in honor of Janmastami. Will you be able to publish this story by then? Also, who am I actually corresponding with? "Sun Staff" is a bit impersonal. love, Baba 8/21/2008 from Sun to me: Dear "Baba", Hare Krsna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for your follow-up email. Your manuscript is in the queue of books to be reviewed. It's hard to guess when we'll get to it, but surely not by Janmastami. Today, you're talking with Jahnava. We sometimes sign 'impersonally' as Sun Staff because the content is an admin or housekeeping detail likely to be passed from person to person. It's sometimes easier to keep the exchange generic. your servant, Jahnava 8/26/2008 from me to Sun: Dear Rocana Prabhu, Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. This is written directly to my Godbrother Rocana Prabhu, to be read and replied to by him personally. I am very concerned about the tone and editorial policy expressed in the preceding emails of this conversation. I know from personal experience that if I submit some material critical of ISKCON, it gets published on your site within a few days without any fact-checking. But now that I am submitting an article about something of great positive value to all Vaiṣṇavas, namely my recent publication of Śrī Vedānta-sūtra, suddenly there is a long wait required before publication, for reasons that are never quite clearly or completely explained. When I left New Talavan you were very curious to know all the details. Why don't we see the same level of interest in this subject? A few days ago you published an article about the Large Hadron Collider that contained many factual and philosophical errors. Why did you miss them? And that article never really gets around to presenting the Kṛṣṇa-conscious viewpoint on the subject. Who does fact-checking for these 'scientific' and political articles? If you answer that the readers will respond if there is anything wrong, then why don't you publish my article and let the readers respond? I have a lot of criticisms of the LHC article, but frankly I have better things to do than nit-pick an article on quantum physics. Studying Vedānta-sūtra, for example. Another concern is that many of the topics in my work are quite technical. About four years ago I did six months of research at the post-doctorate level at the then cutting edge of symbolic ontology. This led to some very deep insights into the nature of the reality of consciousness described in the Vedic scriptures. These have been incorporated into my commentary on Vedānta-sūtra. All this work is still available in its original form for critical review and verification on my site transontology.org. My concern is that a reviewer without the necessary technical background might reject the work simply because of not understanding or worse, misunderstanding my points. After all, if your reviewer missed the factual errors in the LHC article, they are almost certain to miss the philosophical points in my commentary on Vedānta-sūtra. I also have some concerns about the version of Vedānta-sūtra that was serialized on your site a few months back. The diacritics were missing, making it impossible to chant the Sanskrit mantras accurately, with the result that it is almost impossible to realize the elevated subject matter. Also there was much missing and incorrectly labeled material, even whole chapters. I have corrected all these problems in my edition, at great personal labor over a significant span of time. Considering all these points, perhaps your site's motto should be "The bad news we print immediately; the good news has to wait. And wait." Finally, if you really believe in transparency, I request that you publish this email exchange and make this discussion public. All glories to Śrī Guru and Gauraṅga, Śrī Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī 8/26/2008 from Sun to me: Dear Śrī Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I don't know what you found problematic in the tone of our previous emails. Your harsh comment about our supposed 'instant publication' of anything critical is simply wrong. We receive a great deal of anti-ISKCON material that we reject. So if you're here to ask us to render some service to you, you might want to rethink your approach. Starting out by wrongly criticizing us doesn't grease the wheels. You say that your new books is of great positive value to all Vaiṣṇavas", which frankly I find to be a rather pretentious statement. Our reasons for delaying publication were clearly stated: we wish to review the book in advance. What is not clear about that, prabhu? Our policy on promoting books written by Srila Prabhupada's followers who put themselves forward as being commentators or purporters of sastra, we ALWAYS review before publishing. In fact, we don't even publish reviews of such books, let alone the manuscript itself, without first reviewing it. We were curious about your departure from New Talavan because from our reading of your own websites and writings, we had gotten indications that your philosophy had perhaps gone rather far afield from that given by Srila Prabhupada. We knew Bir Krishna had supported your work there, so we were curious about the parting of ways. Our concerns about your philosophical conclusions and presentations are all the more reason we'll be interested in reviewing your siddhantic books before promoting them. As for the Hadron Collider article, it was presented as a piece written by a mundaner. That fact alone informs the devotees that it is to be taken with a grain of salt. And our policy in the Sun has long been to encourage the devotees to preach and write about Darwinism and science from a Vaisnava viewpoint. That was the purpose of the article – to inspire response. There is a great difference between an article written by a karmi, and an article written by one appending 'das' to his name. We would not publish an article about Vaisnava philosophy written by a karmi, nor will we publish articles, without vetting them, wherein devotees put themselves forward to write like acaryas. So we did not fact check, nor did we miss erroneous statements in the Hadron article. As for the likelihood that we will not be advanced enough to understand and judge your elevated writings, of course that's always possible. We can only work up to the limits of our abilities… just like any other news site you might approach. As for your closing comments, I refer back to my opening remarks. And this is not an exchange we're interested in publishing. your servant, Rocana dasa 11/20/2008 from me to Sun: Dear Rocana das, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Yes, now I understand everything. What brought it into perspective was some conversations with my students about your website. Their consensus was, "It's a good thing we found your website before we started reading Sampradaya Sun, or we never would have become devotees." The Sampradaya Sun paints a very clear picture of a religious community in decline. The vicious internal politics of ISKCON and similar organizations are revealed in stark detail. Who would want to join a community at war within itself? Your site is actually a very effective anti-Kṛṣṇa-consciousness propaganda machine. Whether you realize it or not, you are doing great preaching against the cause of Śrīla Prabhupāda and all sincere devotees. You publish so many articles proving that devotees are politically-minded, corrupt, fallen, deviant, dishonest rascals. So naturally you would not publish our Vedānta-sūtra or other works by sincere devotees who actually are following Śrīla Prabhupāda's instructions, or link to our website. You claim that we have deviated from Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings, but of course do not present any evidence to support your claim. Your claims of transparency are similarly bogus. Not that it makes any difference really, nor is it worth discussing or debating with you; like most of our unfortunate Godbrothers you have lost all your intelligence due to political involvement. It would be far better for us simply not to be associated with your website at all. Therefore I request that you kindly delete any and all articles written by me published on your website presently or at any time in the past. I never signed any release of rights, and therefore still hold the copyright on all material written by me. I hereby withdraw any expressed or implied permission to use my name or my work on your site. This is to inform you that if you do not delete all my articles on Sampradaya Sun within 24 hours, I will file an official DMCA takedown notice with your hosting provider, and they will take your site offline until you comply. Thank you very much for your prompt cooperation. Hare Kṛṣṇa, David Bruce Hughes (Gaurahari Dāsānudās Bābājī) 11/20/2008 from Sun to me Dear Gaurahari prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for your letter. Yes, many of the articles in the Sun depict ISKCON as a religious community in decline, because that's precisely what ISKCON is. Under the circumstances, we do not believe that Srila Prabhupada would hesitate to call a spade a spade in this regard, any more than he hesitated to call his own Spiritual Master's mission the very same thing – a matha degenerated into a religious institution. Srila Prabhupada taught us that the Absolute Truth shines through all the mundane, and that one is always free to tell the truth about a thing, without failure. Those who are seeking the truth will find it in the Sun, in the many positive (including ISKCON positive) and sastric articles we print. They will also find truth in the heavy, contentious articles we publish, which almost always offer an alternative view – writers point out the dirt and dysfunction and asiddhanta, and simultaneously describing how things would look if they actually worked. We think this has great value. Your preaching strategy may be to buffer your students from the reality of circumstances in and around ISKCON, but that is not our strategy. We also preach to many newcomers, both online and at programs in our asrama. At first, they struggle to understand the much talked about downsides in ISKCON. In our experience, all it takes to make them understand is good preaching. If you can't apply the philosophy to explain the Kali-yuga manifestation – even in our ISKCON movement – then what good is having the philosophy? In fact, the difficult circumstances in ISKCON and the degree to which they're publicized can be an excellent springboard for preaching, because it forces one to explain the fundamental philosophy, stripped free of sentiment, pretense, warm fuzzies, and religious rhetoric. The material world is a hellish place, and the devotees of ISKCON are not immune. We all struggle, and the worst of Kali yuga can be found in our ranks. Also found here are the writings of those pure, simple, humble souls who exemplify Vaisnava tradition and devotional service. New candidates need to understand all sides of this reality, and they might as well get it right up front, rather than having someone (like you) encourage them to build up a big illusion in their minds as they head for huge disappointment a few years down the road, when the truth of the matter gets through to them anyway, as it inevitably will. How do we know that our preaching strategy works? That fact is evident in the devotees we have preached to over the years. They get a solid philosophical platform under their feet, they learn how to navigate through the ISKCON milieu without getting eaten alive by opportunistic gurus, they develop real love and affection for Srila Prabhupada, and they love his ISKCON mission, seeing it for what it really is. Some of them go on to become Life Members of ISKCON… they serve in the temples, giving laksmi and time. They take their non-devotee family members to ISKCON temples. They preach and distribute Srila Prabhupada's books. So don't try to tell me that you can't introduce newcomers to Krsna consciousness even through an environment like the Sun, and have them successfully become devotees of Sri Krsna and followers of the Sampradaya Acaryas. As for your personal mood, Baba, I find it disappointing, and I am sorry for you. You came to us with a request, we told you what the process was, and you instantly got nasty, critical, offensive and demanding. It's obvious that you don't understand that our willingness to serve the devotees by publishing the Sun is our personal choice. We are not required to serve those who kick dirt in our face while at the same time demanding, 'please serve me right now! You write: "So naturally you would not publish our Vedānta-sūtra or other works by sincere devotees who actually are following Śrīla Prabhupāda's instructions, or link to our website." In making this statement, you show us that you are simply a fool or a liar. To say that we will not publish "other works by sincere devotees" is complete nonsense. We do it all the time, and the site is full of such content. It's just that other devotees aren't so puffed up that they insult us while simultaneously demanding our publication services, nor do they strut and preen as you do, stating that your work 'must be published because it will be an enormous help to all the Vaisnavas in the world'. This sort of pretension almost always indicates just the opposite – unless the speaker is a pure devotee, which you clearly are not. "You claim that we have deviated from Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings, but of course do not present any evidence to support your claim." Again, complete and abject nonsense. This is a crazy statement. The Sun and the HareKrsna.com site are full to the brim with such evidence. "Therefore I request that you kindly delete any and all articles written by me published on your website presently or at any time in the past." We'll be happy to, as soon as you provide us with a list of URL's for the articles you wish to have removed. That is your responsibility, as the DMCA clearly states. We will be happy to accept service of your list of URL's and request for their deletion by email, although the Act requires you to give us hard copy service. Your servant, Rocana dasa 11/20/2008 from me to Sun: My name is Babaji. Oh I see, your pride is hurt. Well don't worry, I'm sure most of the people who read your site are as clueless and offensive as you are. 11/20/2008 from Sun to me: Be advised that we plan to put up an article one day critiquing you, your book, and your version of presenting the philosophy. We'll include many excerpts from your correspondences with us that illustrate your real persona and mentality. And that 's an article you won't be able to remove from the archives. It will stay in perpetuity, so all parties interested in you can get a sampling of your "transcendental mood". We've saved up quite a little collection of these gems. It should provide an interesting read for all the clueless and offensive devotees who read the Sun. My analysis of Rocana's site is that whether he is aware of it or not, he is making very strong propaganda against the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement begun by Śrīla Prabhupāda. It is in essence an admission that the whole thing is a failure. He is a perfect example of the majority of devotees, who do not understand the Vedic philosophy very well, so instead of discussing philsophically on the basis of śāstra they accept a false replacement of political means to decide questions that are actually spiritual. Of course this leads to many mistakes and foolish, self-destructive moves. We have a better way, and we have always been outspoken against the rascals that portray themselves as big devotees, but all they do is engage in politics. Just see how angry and offensively overbearing Rocana becomes after I criticize his site. Yet he poses as someone who believes in transparency and open discussion of issues. Then why would he not publish our complete email exchange, as I am doing here? Now he is sending black propaganda emails from dead-drop email addresses. This is an intelligence trick, right out of the psyops playbook. This reinforces my suspicion that Rocana is actually not a devotee at all, but an agent making propaganda to discourage people from taking up the Vedic path. How is he funded? Apparently he doesn't work, but spends his full time making politics. So how does he fund his expansive website and other activities? No transparency on that subject! Anyone who takes seriously what they read in the Sampradaya Sun is not a candidate for our community anyway. So let him publish anything he wants. Actually, the material he says is supposedly from me was spoofed by philosophical opponents on the old alt.religion.vaisnava Usenet newsgroup after I exposed some of them as being professional intelligence agents. Spoofing is a way of posting messages on a newsgroup that impersonates another user, so the post appears to come from one person or address even though it is sent by another. Check out this article: Basic Email Forgery (Taken from Technotronic) It's all too simple to create a new email identity--or assume someone else's. Try this: Go to the preferences section of your browser or email software. In Netscape Navigator, for example, select Options/Mail And News Preferences. Once there, simply reset the header information in your email preferences, establishing a false address at a nonexistent domain. For example, try forger@forgery.com. Now send yourself an email to your real address. Check your mail. You should have received a message from forger@forgery.com. How can you recognize a forged email message? If you've received a piece of nasty, obscene, or otherwise annoying email, look at it closely. If the sender's address is familiar, but the message sounds out of character, check the message header to make sure that all of the information--the sender's name, Internet service provider (ISP) address, and domain name--agree. If they don't, it's an indication that you may be the recipient of a forgery. The first step in trying to find the person actually responsible is to send an email inquiry to the purported sender. Don't use the Reply button to do this. Inexperienced forgers will often neglect to change the Reply To field when composing a false message, meaning that your reply will go directly to the forger rather than to the person whose email was forged. Type in the mail address of the supposed sender, asking in the message field whether he or she sent you a message. Basic Email Forgery using Telnet and older versions of sendmail You need a telnet program like NETTERM or a UNIX shell account. Replace www.somedomain.com with the ISP of your choice. Replace forger@forgery.com with any email address you would like. Send the email to your actual email address as a test. Check the header information. Results will vary depending on the Send Mail Program. telnet www.somedomain.com 25 You should get something like this: Trying 129.24.96.10... Connected to www.somedomain.com. Escape character is '^]'. 220 www.somedomain.com Smail3.1.28.1 #41 ready at Fri, 12 Jul 96 12:17 MDT Port 25 moves email from one node to the next across the Internet. It automatically takes incoming email and if the email doesn't belong to someone with an email address on that computer, it sends it on to the next computer on the net, eventually to wind its way to the person to who this email belongs. helo forger@forgery.com 250 www.somedomain.com Hello forger@forgery.com mail from:forger@forgery.com 250 ... Sender Okay rcpt to:youractualemailaddress@yourisp.com 250 ... Recipient Okay data 354 Enter mail, end with "." on a line by itself It works!!! . 250 Mail accepted Basic Usenet Post Forgery Using Telnet: The Usenet port usually is open only to those with accounts on that system. So you will need to telnet from your ISP shell account back into your own ISP as follows: telnet news.myISP.com 119 where you substitute the part of your email address that follows the @ for "myISP.com." With my ISP I get this result: Trying 198.59.115.25 ... Connected to myISP.com. Escape character is '^]'. 200 myISP.com InterNetNews NNRP server INN 1.4unoff4 05-Mar-96 ready (posting) Now when we are suddenly in a program that we don't know too well, we ask for: help And we get: 100 Legal commands authinfo user Name|pass Password|generic article [MessageID|Number] body [MessageID|Number] date group newsgroup head [MessageID|Number] help ihave last list [active|newsgroups|distributions|schema] listgroup newsgroup mode reader newgroups yymmdd hhmmss ["GMT"] [] newnews newsgroups yymmdd hhmmss ["GMT"] [] next post slave stat [MessageID|Number] xgtitle [group_pattern] xhdr header [range|MessageID] xover [range] xpat header range|MessageID pat [morepat...] xpath MessageID Report problems to