krsna

Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past.

-- Tyron Edwards

"According to social conventions, it is said that one can speak the truth only when it is palatable to others. But that is not truthfulness. The truth should be spoken in such a straight and forward way, so that others will understand actually what the facts are. If a man is a thief and if people are warned that he is a thief that is truth. Although sometimes the truth is unpalatable, one should not refrain from speaking it. Truthfulness demands that the facts be presented as they are for the benefit of others. That is the definition of truth."

~ Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. Ch 10:4

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>North Korea: An insoluble problem?

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IBYL --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=416 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>By Paul Reynolds

World Affairs Correspondent, BBC News website

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<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> North Korean leader Kim Jong-il: always in confrontation

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The test firing by North Korea of its new Taepodong-2 missile shows that it remains predictably unpredictable.

As diplomats from the region and the United States scurried to react, the Security Council was called into session and sanctions were imposed or threatened, the conclusion has to be that no solution to this problem is in sight.

There have been apparent agreements and breakthroughs before but, in the end, the North Koreans always managed to take the defiant course.

The nature of the regime almost requires that it remains in confrontation with the outside world.

In 2003, it chose to launch a missile hours before the inauguration of South Korea's new president.

This one coincided with US Independence Day.

The confrontation however has a dangerous edge.

North Korea has left the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has declared that it has nuclear weapons. Now it is developing a long-range missile, which in theory could reach Alaska.

Failure of new missile

The only thing to give some comfort to North Korea's nervous neighbours and the United States is that the Taepodong-2 failed after 40 seconds while still in its first stage.

Five other missiles were also launched in the sequence, but these appear to have been mostly well-proven Scuds. Then, in another gesture, a further missile was fired the next day.

According to Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the Scuds were fired in order for the North to cover itself in case of a failure by the Taepodong-2.

"They were there simply to cause a bang," he told the BBC News website.

"The North had several objectives in this launch. One was to test the design of the new missile to show themselves and potential customers that it would work. That has obviously failed. Now they will have to go back to the drawing board.

<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbg> The people will no longer support aid to North Korea in case of a missile launch

South Korean adviser Song Min-Soon

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"The others were for Kim Jong-il to demonstrate to his people and everyone else that he is not going to be pushed around. The North wants to gain attention and show that it cannot be bullied. It feels under pressure especially after the United States started imposing financial controls to crack down on its money laundering and money making operations using Far East banks."

Pressure points

The defiance by North Korea does not mean that its neighbours and others have no means of applying real pressure to it. Some at least of that pressure will now be mobilised but it is doubtful whether it will really change very much.

In the Security Council, Japan, the United States and Britain drew up a draft resolution condeming North Korea, calling on it to return to talks and on other countries to deny it goods and technology that might help its nuclear development.

Japan has cancelled ferries and charter flights, pinpricks really, and is likely to stop remittances being sent to North Korea from expatriate workers in Japan. That would hurt more. So would a reduction in Japanese trade.

The Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has suffered a setback in that he persuaded North Korea to agree a declaration in 2002 in which it agreed to continue a moratorium on missile launching "in and after 2003". That was another example of how the North says one thing and does another.

South Korea has spoken of cutting aid, of which rice is a key element.

"The people will no longer support aid to North Korea in case of a missile launch," said South Korea's senior security adviser Song Min-Soon, who is in Washington for talks with the Bush administration.

Washington is sending an envoy to the region but it is unlikely to agree to direct talks as the North has demanded, preferring to stay with the six party framework that has carried negotiations, currently suspended, until now.

Much will depend on China, which must have been annoyed at the launch, though publicly it has simply talked of its "regret". China supports North Korea with food and energy so has a hold over it.

However China is still unwilling to do much about the North. It is worried about a collapse there, precipitating a flood of refugees into China.

Beyond that, it presumably prefers to have a known factor on its doorstep rather than risk a united, democratic and prosperous Korea which might develop from the demise of the North.

Kissinger doctrine

Possibly the only realistic approach, given that an attack on North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities could provoke a war from this highly militaristic state, is to follow the advice of the former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

He has written recently that a return to the principles of the Cold War might be appropriate when dealing with states regarded as a threat. The principles, he said, were to contain the activities of such states abroad and work or wait for their eventual collapse at home.

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What the West Needs to Know

Main Idea

Virtually every major Western leader has over the past several years expressed the view that Islam is a peaceful religion and that those who commit violence in its name are fanatics who misinterpret its tenets. This claim, while widely circulated, rarely attracts serious public examination. Relying primarily on Islam’s own sources, this documentary demonstrates that Islam is a violent, expansionary ideology that seeks the destruction or subjugation of other faiths, cultures, and systems of government.

Content

The documentary consists of original interviews, citations from Islamic texts, Islamic artwork, computer-animated maps, footage of Western leaders, and Islamic television broadcasts. Its tone is sober, methodical, and compelling.

Outline of the Documentary

Introduction

We hear from prominent Western leaders that Islam is peaceful and that those who commit violence in its name are heterodox fanatics.

Part 1: ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet’

Our interviewees affirm their belief that Islamic violence is entirely orthodox behavior for Muslims and stems directly from the teachings and example of the Prophet Muhammad and the commands of the Koran. We learn that the example of Muhammad is one of a violent warlord who killed numerous people. The Koran – the verbatim words of Allah – prescribes violence against non-Muslims and Muhammad is the perfect example of the Koran in action.

Part 2: The Struggle

We learn that jihad, while literally meaning 'struggle', in fact denotes war fought against non-Muslims in order to bring the rule of Islamic law to the world. Violent death in jihad is, according to the Koran, the only assurance of salvation. One of our interviewees tells of his personal involvement in terrorism and his leaving Islam.

Part 3: Expansion

Following the death of Muhammad, his 'rightly-guided' successors carried his wars to three continents, fighting, enslaving, and massacring countless Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, and others. Islam did not spread through evangelism or through its natural appeal, but through aggressive wars of conquest. The Crusades were largely a belated response on the part of Christian Europe to rescue Christians in the Holy Land suffering under Muslim oppression. The Muslim world today, while no longer the unified empire of the Caliphs, is exceptional for being responsible for the vast majority of conflicts around the world and for almost all of international terrorism.

Part 4: ‘War is Deceit’

A great problem with Western efforts to understand Islam is due to the Islamic principle of 'religious deception', which enjoins Muslims to deceive non-Muslims in order to advance the cause of Islam. Muslim groups today in the West employ deception and omission to give the impression that 'Islam is a religion of peace', an utter fiction.

Part 5: More than a Religion

The most important characteristic of Islam not understood by the West is that it is more a system of government than a personal religion. Throughout its history, Islam has never recognized a distinction between the religious and the secular/political. Islamic law governs every aspect of religious, political, and personal action, which amounts to a form of totalitarianism that is divinely enjoined to dominate the world, analogous in many ways to Communism.

Part 6: The House of War

Islamic theology divides the world into two spheres locked in perpetual combat, dar al-Islam (House of Islam - where Islamic law predominates), and dar al-harb (House of War - the rest of the world). It is incumbent on dar al-Islam to fight and conquer dar al-harb and permanently assimilate it. Muslims in Western nations are called to subvert the secular regimes in which they now live in accordance with Allah's command. Due to political correctness and general government and media irresponsibility, the danger posed by observant Muslims in the West remains largely unappreciated.

The smile of the Pure Devotee can melt your stony heart !

AS the story of Durvasa Muni and Ambarisha Maharaja instructs, there is no way to appease Lord Vishnu without appeasing the vaisnavas one has offended.

So who is going to get forgiven from those offenses from departed Vaisnavas?

<TABLE cellSpacing=10 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=titlestory width=329>RS 1.78 CRORE SWISS GIFT TO PURI TEMPLE

by Sandeep Mishra, The Times of India

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=maintext>Starved of resources, the Jagannath temple at Puri could not have got a better gift a month ahead of the annual rath yatra: a Swiss woman has donated a whopping Rs 1.78 crore to the 12th century shrine.

And while she may have donated the biggest ever sum to the 800-year-old shrine, ironically, she cannot enter it as she is not a Hindu.

Elizabeth Ziggler, said to be around 45 years old, has donated over US $4 lakh (Rs 1.78 crore approximately) to the temple, the temple's chief administrator Suresh Mohapatra said, "The woman, a practising lawyer based at Geneva in Switzerland, has deposited the money in one of our bank accounts, opened under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act.

"She wants us to spend the money on different temple activities including festivals," he told TOI on Tuesday. A few months ago we received Rs 10 lakh from an unknown person, but by far Ziggler's is the highest donation ever received by the Jagannath temple.

It is even in excess of the total donations of about Rs 1.3 crore that we collect every year," an elated Mohapatra said. Temple officials believe Ziggler donated the money by mobilising funds from friends and other philanthropists.

Interestingly, it's not for the first time that Ziggler turned good samaritan to the temple, considered one of the most important Hindu shrines in India.

"Between 2001 and 2003 she had donated around US $45,000 (Rs 20 lakh) and asked us to use it to feed 101 Brahmins on ekadashis, tie bana (flag) atop the temple on December 11 (a date she specified), and distribute clothes among the poor people, along with other things," Suresh Mohapatra said.

Source link

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Krsna is incompetent to absolve us of such offenses directed at other Vaisnavas; only those Vaisnavas whom we have offended can offer absolution.

So my question is what if that Vaisnava leaves this world before you get a chance to beg for forgiveness?

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Nation´s largest Hare Krishna community in Alachua

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By Megan Davis

For The Herald

ALACHUA — With each choreographed step, the ankle beads adorning their bare feet jingle in sync, creating a rhythmic beat. Wide eyes heavily lined in black dart back and forth, and rosy red lips frequently grin as each face portrays the emotions behind the transcendental music.

The facial expressions and elaborate hand gestures tell a story as the girls spin and dance to the sound of drums, cymbals and chanting.

These teenage girls perform a traditional Indian dance to worship the deities. Each wears a brightly colored sari in shades such as magenta or turquoise that wraps loosely over the left shoulder and around the waist and legs.

Gold bracelets and belts accent the spiritual clothing. Their long hair is tied back in a bun or braid, and that draws attention to the natural-colored Tulasi beads circling their necks.

Dancing shows their love for God, whom they call Krishna, as does nearly every other Hare Krishna action from eating to making money.

The worldwide Krishna movement, founded in 1966 by Srila Prabhupada, teaches a simple, natural life of worshiping the supreme lord. The goal is to achieve inner peace and happiness through an eternal commitment to Krishna.

Devotees in Alachua County wanted to share their way of life with the public by hosting the Love Thy Neighbor Festival at their Alachua temple and 127-acre farm on Oct. 1. The Hare Krishna community of more than 330 families, which is the largest in North America, provided an extensive display of what it means to be a devotee.

“The main misconception people have is that we’re some new religion, and they label it a ‘cult,’” said Emily Partin, the festival organizer and a devotee of 35 years.

In reality, the Krishna traditions have ancient roots dating back 5,000 years, making the religion older than Christianity.

And no one enforces a strict standard of living, Partin said. An individual’s level of devotion is a personal choice.

Save Cows, Eat More Vegetables

Next to their love for God, vegetarianism is the glue that holds the Krishna community together.

Partin explained it is the one guideline that members follow almost universally.

“Most devotees don’t have a problem being a vegetarian,” said Partin, who chose to give up meat, fish and eggs about the time she became Krishna conscious. “I think it’s because we have such great recipes.”

The “Kitchen Religion,” as it has been called, prides itself on sharing good food with not only God but the community as well. Devotees of the Gainesville branch have served more than one million free vegetarian meals at the University of Florida since the lunch program began in 1971.

“We’re vegetarians because whatever we eat, we offer to God first,” Partin said.

The Scriptures indicate that God wants to eat fruit, vegetables, grain and milk products, so that is what Hare Krishnas eat, she said.

“If I find out what you like, and I give that to you, that’s an expression of love,” Partin said.

Krishnas used to get their milk fresh from the 40-some cows kept in a pasture on the Alachua farm. However, the cows are retired now and spend their days grazing. Devotees buy milk just like everyone else.

Shalini Kovie, who was raised Hindu in India, became a devotee in 1990 when she first came to the United States and tasted the Krishna food at a temple in Boston.

“I went to a Sunday feast, and that was it. I started going every Sunday,” said Kovie, who ate meat until 1990.

Prasadam, the term for food that means “the Lord’s Mercy,” is cooked and then presented to God before anyone else can taste it.

“We eat the remnants of the Lord, and the food is now free of every sin,” Kovie said.

For every meal, devotees make up a plate containing only a portion of each type of food prepared. They leave it in front of a picture or statue of Krishna so he can sanctify the entire meal.

“It’s like a grain of rice — if one is good, all of them are good,” Kovie said.

Rules to Live By

No eating of meat, fish or eggs is just one of the four regulative principles. Devotees also strive to avoid gambling, illicit sex and intoxicants.

While alcohol and drugs obviously classify as intoxicants, other stimulants like coffee and tea also fall into this category because of their caffeine content. However, there are ways to skirt this rule, such as drinking decaf coffee or herbal, decaf tea.

The idea is to purify the mind and uncover the natural happiness that exists within.

Consuming unnatural products like caffeine and even listening to non-spiritual music is considered a distraction from Krishna consciousness, but it is hard to escape such elements in an industrialized country like the U.S.

Radhanatha Payini, who has been a devotee since birth, leads a more relaxed Krishna lifestyle.

He and his wife, Ana, do not live simple lives devoted to working for the temple as many outsiders commonly assume of devotees. In fact, nearly all members of the Alachua community have regular jobs, ranging from retail professions to doctors and lawyers.

Payini is a photographer who does mostly freelance work. Ana, 27, teaches Indian dance to about 40 Krishna children of all ages at the Alachua temple. A dancer since age 5, she has studied traditional Indian dance in South India and is one of the few from the West recognized there as a dancer.

The couple loves movies, watches television and even enjoys an occasional cup of tea or coffee in the morning, Payini said. The only thing they are “fanatical” about is vegetarianism.

“We make the people at Subway change their gloves before they make our vegetarian sandwiches,” he said, laughing.

The Temple

A sweet aroma of honeysuckle and incense fills the large, rectangular room as the breeze blowing in through the French doors carries the scent across the hand-laid black and white marble floor.

Just a few chairs lean against one sea green wall. Furniture is unnecessary; those who come to worship kneel on the floor or stand.

Three devotees dressed in saris sit together near the center of the room, playing the drum, cymbals and harmonium while chanting. The rhythmic music travels through the temple and out the open doors.

Each Sunday, devotees come here to worship and feast. Some also come most mornings before work or school to pray and chant to the deities.

Partin’s husband, whose spiritual name is Jnanagamya Das, drew the architectural plans for the Alachua Temple, which was constructed in 1995. The one-story, cream-colored building is surrounded by numerous, intricately carved columns and topped with a dark red roof.

One end of the inside houses a stage with red velvet curtains. When drawn, they reveal a small, pale pink room with an elaborate display of statues of Krishna and other demi-gods. The hand-carved figures made of marble or brass wear intricate, hand-beaded clothing in shades of baby pink and green.

Fresh flowers, plants and pictures of more demi-gods surround them as they sit atop white marble.

Facing the stage on the opposite side of the temple sits an almost life-size statue of the main Guru, Prabhupada, on a red velvet throne. He is cast from a mold and made of resin, a material that comes from a plant.

Becoming a Hare Krishna

New devotees are initiated by a spiritual master who subsequently becomes their guru. He is worshipped just like God because he teaches his followers the love of God.

Along with about 5,000 others worldwide, Emily Partin’s guru is Prabhupada. His main contribution to the religion was translating and publishing about 50 books on Krishna consciousness from Sanskrit to English.

This helped spread the Krishna movement and made it easier to read and understand.

Even though he died in 1977, Partin still exercises her commitment to him.

“The soul is eternal, so he is eternal,” she said.

Another important tradition occurs when an individual becomes a devotee. He or she is given a spiritual name. Every name is followed by a suffix — dasi for women and das for men — that means servant.

Partin’s spiritual name is Mahamaya Dasi, which means servant of the illusory energy of God. People face many illusions in the material world but one in particular is emphasized by Krishna consciousness, Mahamaya Dasi said.

“The main illusion is that we identify with our bodies,” she said. “But we’re not the body; we’re the soul.”

Devotees express their love for God by chanting the many names of the Lord and praying. The Hare Krishna chant is called the Maha-Mantra. It consists of three words: Hare, Krishna and Rama, repeated in a particular order for 16 syllables.

Anyone from any religion or background can chant to cleanse the mind and become happy, devotees said.

In hosting the Love Thy Neighbor festival Saturday, Partin and the rest of the Alachua Krishna community hoped to make others feel welcome by giving them a glimpse into the traditions and practices of Hare Krishnas, ranging from the Indian dancing and chanting to the vegetarian recipes and the spiritual clothing.

Partin said being Krishna conscious and following the process of a devotee produces results — a desired state of being.

“The first word that comes to mind is blissful,” she said.

Any Maha Bhagavatas in cyber space?

Can we actually pray for each other if we are not 100% pure devotees?

Why would Krsna hear my prayers?

Criticism

<!-- the main section of the post goes here -->Although most persons generally do not appreciate others’ criticism of them, the Vedic literatures say that tolerating and forgiving our critics is beneficial.

Forgiving our critics is a course recommended in the Bible, the Koran and other religious traditions. Yet, what happens to the critic? The English writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley has described:

“The effects that follow the constant and intense concentration upon evil are always disastrous. Those who crusade, not for God in themselves, but against the demons in others, never succeed in making the world better…. No man can concentrate his attention on evil, or even the idea of evil, and remain unaffected. To be more against the demon than for godliness is exceedingly dangerous. Every crusader is apt to go mad. He is haunted by the wickedness that he attributes to his enemies; it becomes sort of a part of him.”

The following are some verses describing the Vedic teachings on this point:

Whoever indulges in praising or criticizing the qualities and behavior of others will quickly become deviated from his own best interest by his entanglement in illusory dualities.

(Krishna to Uddhava. Bhag. 11.28.2)

Throughout his life, a brahmana should consider material prestige to be like poison and dishonor to be like nectar. After all, if one learns to tolerate dishonor, then his agitation will subside and he will happily sleep, happily wake, and happily move about. The person who insults him will, because of his sin, become regretful, and his happiness in this and the next life will be vanquished.

(Manu-samhita 2.162-163. Quoted by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur in Brahmana O Vaisnava.)

The ignorant seek to injure the wise by malice and back-biting; by doing so the critic takes upon himself the load of the wise man’s sins, which he, the wise man, casts off by forgiving the ignorant.

Vidura to Dhritarastra. (Mahabharata, udyoga parva 34.74)

A person being criticized should not criticize in retaliation, for the pain felt upon receiving criticism, if endured, will itself consume the critic and bring in exchange the results of his good deeds.

(Dattatreya to the Saddhyas. Mahabharata, udyoga parva 36.5)

One who remains tolerant, not becoming angry, certainly attains the abuser’s pious credits. Indeed his own sins are transferred to that wrathful person.

(Bhishma to Yudhisthira. Mahabharata Santi-parva 115.3)

A person who praises someone in his presence, but criticizes him behind his back, is no better than a dog. His chances for elevation to higher planets are completely spoiled in this world.

(Bhishma to Yudhisthira. Mahabharata, Santi parva 115.11)

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The Night Dream And The Day Dream

</CENTER><HR>Once a king summoned his ministers in the early morning hours and asked them,

“Last night, I had a very vivid dream. I was a butterfly, going from flower to flower, drinking honey. My dream was so clear and real that I have a grave doubt: Am I a king who was dreaming that he was a butterfly or am I a butterfly now dreaming that I am a king?”

After so many years of chanting Hare Krsna are you still caught up in the modes ' in Maya'

or are you now caught up in the ecstasy of ' love of Godhead'?

SRI SWARUP DAMODAR GOSWAMI

<!-- the main section of the post goes here -->SRI SWARUP DAMODAR GOSWAMI

Sri Swarup Damodar is the eternal associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. His previous name was Sri Purusottam acarya and he resided at Navadwip. He was always present with Mahaprabhu. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited His pastimes of accepting sannyasa, Swarup Damodara became like a madman and, journeying to Baranasi he also accepted sannyasa from one sannyasi named Caitanyananda. His sannyasa guru ordered him that, “You should yourself study the Vedanta and also teach it to others.” Sri Purusottama acarya didn’t accept the garments of sannyasa, but simply gave up his sikha and brahmana thread. Therefore his name became Swarup (a brahmacari name).

Thereafter, by the order of his guru, he came to Sri Nilacal, where he again met Mahaprabhu. Then one day, Swarup Damodar, who was very intimate with Mahaprabhu, and an ocean of the mellows of devotion, came to Sri Jagannath Puri. His previous name was Purusottam acarya and he resided at Navadwip, at the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu. Seeing that Mahaprabhu had accepted sannyasa, he became like a madman and also accepted sannyasa at Varanasi. [C. C. Mad.10.102].

Though his scholarship was practically unlimited, he spoke very little with others and preferred to remain alone. Thus very few were aware of his actual position. He was completely conversant with the understanding of the mellows of devotion to Sri Krsna and his body was fully imbued with love for Him. He was as though a second Mahaprabhu. Whenever anyone wanted to present to Mahaprabhu some book, verse or song that they had composed, Swarup Damodar would first hear what they had written before it could be presented to Mahaprabhu.

If these compositions contained any points which were in contradiction to the superior position of bhakti, as concluded in scriptures, then hearing these writings would not be a source of transcendental pleasure for Mahaprabhu. Therefore Swarup Gosai would first examine what had been composed and if it was untainted then it could be presented to Mahaprabhu. Usually he would recite Sri Gita Govinda, and the writings of Candidas and Vidyapati, for the transcendental happiness of Mahaprabhu. In music and singing he was like a Gandharva and in knowledge of the shastras he was like Brhaspati.

There was no one to compare with him in talent and intelligence. He was extremely dear to Sri Advaita and Nityananda Prabhu and was the life and soul of devotees like Srivas and others. When Sri Swarup Damodar arrived in Puri from Kasi (Baranasi) he recited this sloka in praise of Mahaprabhu: “Oh You, who are the personification of mercy - Sri Caitanya. That which very easily causes grief to retreat far away, and which is spotlessly pure; which causes the appearance of the highest happiness, and by whose appearance disputation over the intricacies of scriptural statements ceases; that which causes the spirit to become extremely agitated in ecstatic love, by a shower of grace and beauty; may that extremely expansive and auspicious mercy by its sweetness and dignity shine its rays upon me.” (Sri Caitanya Candrodoy Natak.)

Seeing that Swarup Damodar was offering his dandavats to Him, Mahaprabhu picked him up and as He embraced him he said, “I saw in a dream this morning that you had come. Just as a blind man finds unlimited happiness by regaining his eyesight, so I am feeling by regaining your association.” Swarup Damodar replied: “Prabhu, please forgive me. By leaving You and running off to Baranasi, I made a great mistake. I don’t have even a hint of attachment to your lotus feet, and I have actually become a great sinner by leaving you and going to a distant country. I gave up your association, but You didn’t give me up. Binding the rope of mercy around my neck You brought me again to Your lotus feet.” [C. C. Mad 10] Hearing these words of Swarup Damodar, spoken in such humility, Mahaprabhu again embraced him and said: “Krsna is very kind.

He has very mercifully brought us together again.” Mahaprabhu kept Swarup Damodar close to Him. Whenever Mahaprabhu became immersed in a particular ecstatic emotion, Swarup Damodar would perform a kirtan in that particular mood. During this period Sri Ray Ramananda also arrived from Vidyanagar in South India. Thus the two of them, Swarup Damodar and Ramananda Ray would enhance the ecstatic moods of Mahaprabhu by singing different songs and reciting various poetic verses. During the day, Mahaprabhu would engage in his pastimes of sankirtan with His devotees, and at night He would taste the mellows of the ecstatic love of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna in the company of these two.

As Lalita and Visakha were very intimate with Srimati Radharani, Ray Ramananda and Swarup Damodar were similarly intimate with Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Swarup Damodar’s place of residence in Puri was the “Satasan Math”. This is located near Bhaktivinode Thakur’s “bhakti kutir”, near the ocean at Svarga Dwar. Mahaprabhu entrusted him to look after and instruct Raghunath Das Goswami. Swarup Damodar Goswami disappeared on the second day of the bright fortnight in the month of Asar.

Americans Start Taking a New Look at the Ethics of Meat Eating

www.nytimes.com

UNITED STATES, June 25, 2006: This month Whole Foods announced that it would no longer sell live lobsters, saying that keeping them in crammed tanks for long periods doesn't demonstrate a proper concern for animal welfare. The Chicago City Council recently outlawed the sale of foie gras to protest the force-feeding of the ducks and geese that yield it. California passed a similar law, which doesn't take effect until 2012, and other states and cities are considering such measures. All of these developments dovetail with a heightened awareness in these food-obsessed times of what we eat: where it came from, what it was fed, how it was penned, and how it perished, says this insightful and informative article. If the success of best sellers like "Fast Food Nation" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and stores like Whole Foods is any indication, more Americans are spending more time mulling the nutritional, environmental and ethical implications of their diets. They prefer that their beef carry the tag "grass fed," which evokes a verdant pasture rather than a squalid feed lot, and that their poultry knew the glories of a "free range."

But the concerns are riddled with intellectual inconsistencies and prompt infinite questions. Are the calls for fundamental changes in the mass production of food simply elitist, the privilege of people wealthy enough to pay more at the checkout counter? Does fretting about ducks give people a pass on chicken? "Foie gras and lobster are not at the heart of the real tough issues of animal welfare, which are feed lots and pigs and cattle and chickens and how billions of animals are treated," said Michael Pollan author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," which traces the messy back story of our meals. "On the other hand, the fact that we're having this conversation at all--that we're talking about ethics in relation to what we're eating every day--strikes me as a very healthy thing," he said last wee k.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=770 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=450>Hare Krishna Mahamantra

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</TD></TR><TR><TD width=129> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD width=5 bgColor=#ffffff> </TD><TD vAlign=top width=445 bgColor=#ffffff><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=445 border=0><TBODY><TR class=NewsMain><TD vAlign=top><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="main_content" -->Srila Prabhupada once announced, „The chanting of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's name is more essential than the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.“ (1) One smart devotee then inquired whether we should therefore chant rounds of the Panca-tattva mantra to which Srila Prabhupada replied, „No – because Lord Caitanya's in­struction was to chant Hare Krishna.“

• The Hare Krishna „maha-mantra“ is a very simple „mantra“ consisting of only three words: Hare, Krishna, and Rama.
  
• Hare means unto Mother Hara (i.e. Lord Krishna's personal pleasure potency, Srimati Radharani).
  
• Krishna means the all-attractive Lord.
  
• Rama means the source of all enjoyment.
  
• When we chant Hare Krishna we are praying: „O energy of the Lord (Hare), O Lord (Krishna and Rama) please engage me in Your service!“
  
• Maha-mantra means it is the Great Mantra Of Deliverance.

Lord Caitanya and the Vedas both recommend this process:

The sixteen words of the Hare Krishna mantra are especially meant for counteracting the contaminating influence of the age of Kali. After searching through all the Vedic literature, one cannot find a better method.

Footnote

() There are offenses to be considered in chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, but there are no such considerations in chanting the names of Gaura-Nityananda. Therefore, if one chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra but his life is still full of sinful activities, it will be very difficult for him to achieve the platform of loving service to the Lord. But if in spite of being an offender one chants the holy names of Gaura-Nityananda, he is very quickly freed from the reactions to his offenses. Therefore, one should first approach Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, or worship Guru-Gauranga, and then come to the stage of worshiping Radha-Krishna.

One should first take shelter of Gaura-Nityananda in order to reach, ultimately, Radha-Krishna. . It should be noted in this connection that the holy names of Lord Krishna and Gaurasundara are both identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not consider one name to be more potent than the other. Considering the position of the people of this age, however, the chanting of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's name is more essential than the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most magnanimous incarnation and His mercy is very easily achieved. Therefore one must first take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting Sri-Krishna-Caitanya Prabhu Nityananda Sri Advaita Gadadhara Srivasadi Gaura Bhakta-Vrnda. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi 8.31 purport)

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So there is no need of very, becoming very learned man, Vedantist and...

Simply these things are required: you become innocent, accept the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, and fall down at His lotus feet. Everything is

complete. This is wanted, simplicity. Simplicity. Believe in Krsna. As Krsna

said, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhanan... [bg. 7.7], believe it!

There is no more superior authority than Krsna.

And He says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [bg. 18.65].

This is the instruction. This is the substance of all instruction. Believe

Krsna, the Supreme Personality. Here is Krsna. Believe that there is Krsna.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.5 -- Mayapur, February 25, 1977

"Chant Hare Krsna. Always think of Krsna. That's all.":pray:

 

 

 

Is Krsna partial?

Doe Krsna hold a grudge against you?

Does Krsna NOT want you Back to Godhead?

Are all His promises in the Bhagavad Gita ONLY meant for all others except you?

Are you really the most fallen and incorrigible jiva soul who really can NOT get Lord Caitanya's mercy of love of Krsna?

Has Krsna run out of Bonafide Gurus to save you from material life?

Are your anarthas so much stronger than Krsna's causeless mercy in the form of the chanting of the Holy Names?

Did my taking drugs, engaging in illicit sex

and rock & roll exhaust me in order to come to understand the frustrations of material life and therby come to Krsna Conciousness???

Or was all simply the causeless mercy of Guru and Krsna?

"Because you are My very dear friend, I am speaking to you My supreme instruction, the most confidential knowledge of all. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit. Always think of Me and become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.