atma

I'll let you know. I need to go to zzzzzzzzzzzzz

I won't be waving from the temple, I have to focus on their Lordships, maybe one day I'll wave at you from the street, the camera outside the buffet. Deal?

I was waving at you LE.

I just heard that 2 devotees suffered heart attacks today and both are in critical condition. One is Purushottama prabhu from Orange County. The other devotee is Hansadutta prabhu, Prabhupada's disciple. His condition is very bad because his heart stopped for a while before the paramedics could do something and now he is in a coma. My prayers are with both of them. I spoke with Hansadutta less than a month ago, he came to Srila Prabhupada's festival and brought his eldest daughter with him. Puroshotama prabhu has a big family too.

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE - "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning!" My mother taught me RELIGION - "You better pray that will come out of the carpet." My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL - "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!" My mother taught me LOGIC - "Because I said so, that's why." My Mother taught me more LOGIC - "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me." My mother taught me FORESIGHT - "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident." My mother taught me IRONY - "Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about." My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS - "Shut your mouth and eat your supper!" My mother taught me about CONTORTIONIST - "Will you "look" at the dirt on the back of your neck!" My mother taught me about STAMINA - "You'll sit there 'till all that spinach is finished." My mother taught me about WEATHER - "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room." My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS - "If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you; would you listen THEN?" My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY - "If I've told you once, I've told you a million times - Don't Exaggerate!!!" My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE - "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out." My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION - "Stop acting like your father!" My mother taught me about ENVY - "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!" My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION - "Just wait until we get home." My Mother taught me about RECEIVING - "You are going to get it when we get home!" My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE - "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way." My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD - "If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job." My Mother taught me ESP - "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you're cold?" My mother taught me HUMOR - "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me." My mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT - "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up." My Mother taught me about GENETICS - "You're just like your father." My Mother taught me about my ROOTS - "Do you think you were born in a barn?" My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE - "When you get to be my age, you will understand." And my all time favorite... JUSTICE - "One day you'll have kids ... and I hope they turn out just like you!"

Here at Govinda's they sell chocolate and carob cookies, and everything is offered.

Here at Govinda's they sell chocolate and carob cookies, and everything is offered.

reading your post my eyes filled up with tears.Unfortunately here in Los Angeles HDG Puri Maharaja couldn't have darshan of Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakadish. One of Maharaj's servants called the temple in advance informing the authorities that maharaj wanted to take darshan of the deities and Srila Prabhupada's quarters because this was his last visit to the West due to his advanced age. When Maharaja arrived mid-morning, the locals informed him that he couldn't take darshan because they were working in the temple and the doors were closed. It was true that for a week or so some work was going on but they always opened the doors for aratiks. I don't understand why they couldn't open the doors for Maharaj. He couldn't take darshan of Srila Prabhupada's rooms also, I don't know the reason. It was very unpleasant and offensive. On the bright side, the day he was leaving for Mexico I had Maharaja's darshan. It was very sweet and spiritual. We entered a little room and Maharaja was sitting on the bed reading from the scriptures,I don't know in what language. He didn't even noticed us because he is having problems hearing. One of his disciples spoke very loudly on his ear about giving darshan and Maharaja inmediately looked at us and gave us a big smile. His servant introduced us reminding him about me in Vrindavan with my kids and I pushed forward my devotee friend who never met him before and he gave an envelope with a donation and I gave mine too and Maharaja told us to write our names on it. He is building a temple in Jagannath Puri and the laxmi will be utilized for that purpose. Later he called us forward and we kneeled in front of him and he blessed us with his hand on our heads while chanting slokas at the same time. We couldn't stay any longer and Maharaja was leaving for the airport. I really hope in Mexico the reception was better. I know that 2 years ago they treated him very well over there. Some devotees from here that heard about the offence called India and some of the devotees in Vrindavan, Mayapur and Bombay will apologize to Maharaja when he goes back to India. If I remember correctly in the Lilamrita is recorded when Srila Prabhupada was touring India with his disciples and they stopped for few days in Visakhapatnan and they stayed in Puri Maharaj's temple. Madhavananda remembers very well Prabhupada's chastisement because he didn't paid obeisances to Puri Maharaj. If I'm not mistaken when Prabhupada left family life before taking sannyas one of the ashrams where he took shelter was one of Puri Maharaja's in Bengal and he was there for a while. I can't recall the name of the place at this moment. I think that was my last darshan with Puri Maharaj. Very sweet, and I'll never forget all the inspiration he gave me in Vrindavan, Mayapur, Visakhapatnam and here. I'm blessed. I'm remembering all those darshans in Vrindavan and tears are falling because so many Prabhupada's disciples who were completely out came back to devotional service because of Maharaja's inspiration. I had seen Maharaj choking and crying praising Srila Prabhupada's efforts. I'm blessed.

reading your post my eyes filled up with tears.Unfortunately here in Los Angeles HDG Puri Maharaja couldn't have darshan of Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakadish. One of Maharaj's servants called the temple in advance informing the authorities that maharaj wanted to take darshan of the deities and Srila Prabhupada's quarters because this was his last visit to the West due to his advanced age. When Maharaja arrived mid-morning, the locals informed him that he couldn't take darshan because they were working in the temple and the doors were closed. It was true that for a week or so some work was going on but they always opened the doors for aratiks. I don't understand why they couldn't open the doors for Maharaj. He couldn't take darshan of Srila Prabhupada's rooms also, I don't know the reason. It was very unpleasant and offensive. On the bright side, the day he was leaving for Mexico I had Maharaja's darshan. It was very sweet and spiritual. We entered a little room and Maharaja was sitting on the bed reading from the scriptures,I don't know in what language. He didn't even noticed us because he is having problems hearing. One of his disciples spoke very loudly on his ear about giving darshan and Maharaja inmediately looked at us and gave us a big smile. His servant introduced us reminding him about me in Vrindavan with my kids and I pushed forward my devotee friend who never met him before and he gave an envelope with a donation and I gave mine too and Maharaja told us to write our names on it. He is building a temple in Jagannath Puri and the laxmi will be utilized for that purpose. Later he called us forward and we kneeled in front of him and he blessed us with his hand on our heads while chanting slokas at the same time. We couldn't stay any longer and Maharaja was leaving for the airport. I really hope in Mexico the reception was better. I know that 2 years ago they treated him very well over there. Some devotees from here that heard about the offence called India and some of the devotees in Vrindavan, Mayapur and Bombay will apologize to Maharaja when he goes back to India. If I remember correctly in the Lilamrita is recorded when Srila Prabhupada was touring India with his disciples and they stopped for few days in Visakhapatnan and they stayed in Puri Maharaj's temple. Madhavananda remembers very well Prabhupada's chastisement because he didn't paid obeisances to Puri Maharaj. If I'm not mistaken when Prabhupada left family life before taking sannyas one of the ashrams where he took shelter was one of Puri Maharaja's in Bengal and he was there for a while. I can't recall the name of the place at this moment. I think that was my last darshan with Puri Maharaj. Very sweet, and I'll never forget all the inspiration he gave me in Vrindavan, Mayapur, Visakhapatnam and here. I'm blessed. I'm remembering all those darshans in Vrindavan and tears are falling because so many Prabhupada's disciples who were completely out came back to devotional service because of Maharaja's inspiration. I had seen Maharaj choking and crying praising Srila Prabhupada's efforts. I'm blessed.

Somebody told me you were asking for me because I'm not spending that much time in the internet lately, just answering personal e-mails. After work and family I hardly have time for anything and I had to set priorities. Internet or sleep, that was the question /images/graemlins/smile.gif I'm doing a maha clean up of the house and amazes me how much junk I accumulated. Two years ago when we entered this house, we had only 3 or 4 suitcases with clothes on it and that's was all. We slept on the floor for a while because we had nothing and now we had so many unnecessary things, getting rid of them is taking some time. It may take me 2 more weeks to finish clearing my space. I'm just going a drawer for day. After that I'll have some free time to participate in the forums again. I miss you too LE. Haribol

Remember that book distribution and seva in the temples didn't stop in November 77. Even after that date thousands of devotees did sankirtan and many of them are still going out. I think the deal should be for everybody in the sankirtan movement, meaning not only the books distributors. Theist, are we going to fall in the "only the ones who were initiated when Srila Prabhupada was present in the planet?" I hope not. Many others did lots of seva and austerities.

From where did you get it LE? How much?

I just saw your reply gHari and for the last few days I was very upset because even thought here in the community they have empty apartments for reasonable rent, the authorities won't give me one because I'm a single woman with 2 kids. It will be such a relief for me to have a temple apartment because the rent is cheap and I won't have to keep a roomate to afford the rent where I'm now. My roomate drives me crazy, she is not only dirty but once in a while she said something offensive. They are giving the apartments to men. My fault is that I'm unmarried. They know I work very hard to mantain my kids because they see me going to work in the mornings and coming back at night 6 days a week but I guess to work hard to mantain your family and be able to pay the rent it's not a qualification. I don't feel to participate in the community, I feel like an outcast but I have to keep a happy face because I don't want my girls to feel alienated because they are females.

Why only Srila Prabhupada's disciples? I would love to have vedabase but I can't afford it and even if I get one I don't think the computer have enough space. One kid asembled the computer from bits and pieces and gave it to my daughter but it's very old and just for internet purposes. It would be nice if all devotees get vedabase, devotees with means should give donations to the archives and everybody else should pay an affordable price,$50 seems reasonable to me. I don't agree with the distinctions made to third world countries, even here are many devotees just surviving. $95 is still a high price to most devotees in the third world and most of them don't have computers. Whatever service and austerities I did while I lived in the temples was out of love and desire for purification. I try not to expect anything in return for all those years of my life otherwise it is not devotional service but of course I would be very happy if I get an original vedabase for a reduced price. I heard the "pirated" version had lots of bugs and other problems.Is that true? Or just propaganda?

"I asked,'Prabhupada,sometimes I have problems and the spiritual master isn't there and it's too detailed for the scriptures. What should I do?' He said,'If you chant Hare Krishna very nicely, all the answers will come from within.'"

1. If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it will always be yours. If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with. But, if it just sits in your living room, messes up your stuff, eats your food, uses your telephone, takes your money, and doesn't appear to realize that you had set it free....... You either married it or gave birth to it. 2. Reason to smile: Every 7 minutes of every day, someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring. 3. They keep telling us to get in touch with our bodies. Mine isn't all that communicative but I heard from it the other day after I said, "Body, how'd you like to go to the six o'clock class in vigorous toning?" Clear as a bell my body said, "Listen fatty....do it and die." 4. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely. 5. The best way to forget all your troubles is to wear tight shoes. 6. The nice part about living in a small town: When you don't know what you're doing, someone else always does. 7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today. 8. Amazing! ! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks two sizes! 9. Sometimes I think I understand everything, then I regain consciousness. 10. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day.

Malati: Little by little,we learned who and what was the spiritual master. In so many cases Srila Prabhupada was challenged by our ignorance, by our lack of spiritual education. For example, after one lecture a young woman raised her hand and said, "Swamiji, I don't agree that we shouldn't have illicit sex. I don't think there is such thing as illicit sex. Sex is a good way to know God." Prabhupada tried to speak to her reasonably, but she was adamant. Finally Prabhupada said, "All right. But I have brought only one medicine, so please take it," and he began kirtan.

Kirtanananda: Prabhupada told us,"If you brush your teeth with mustard seed oil and salt, you won't get cavities. Even if you have a bad tooth, if you brush it with mustard seed oil and salt the worm will come out, and that will be the end of it."

Shyamasundar: Srila Prabhupada always made you feel like you were his friend. He listened to what you had to say and took your puniest achievements. First at all he overlooked all your glaring outrages and took your puniest achievements and made them very big. I'll never forget this. I had worked hard in this Bury Place for several months, doing all the building and carpentry. In those days were only three or four of us and a couple of new English boys. So it was pretty much a one-man job. I was going to stick to the standard I set out when I designed it, even thought Prabhupada was in England pushing me day and night to finish this thing. But he respected the fact that I wanted it done just right because we were going to be a central showplace in which what was then the most happening city in the world, and right on the main street. And the people who saw it should see something perfect. I was determined to make it that way. Prabhupada went along for months, despite his discomfort. One day after it was finished and the Deities had been inaugurated, we took a walk in the park one morning. We were walking back, and Prabhupada looked at the front of the temple. He looked it up and down, and he motioned to either Gurudas or Mukunda and said,"You shall put a plaque on the front of this door(he showed with his cane beside the door where he wanted the plaque), a brass plaque, and you will put in that plaque,'This temple has been built by the hard labor of Shyamasundar das Adhikary.'" [breaks up crying.]

Yogeshvara: I said to Srila Prabhupada, "I must have fallen in maya." Srila Prabhupada said, "You are always in maya, but sometimes you fall into Krishna."

So eternally I want to remain your guide provided you want to accept me. You mentioned that your pathway has become filled with stumbling blocks, but there are no stumbling blocks. I can kick out all those stumbling blocks inmediately provided you accept my guidance. With one stroke of my kick I can kick out all the stumbling blocks. You are always welcome. All of your doubts will be cleared up either personally face-to-face or by correspondence with me. I am going to Los Angeles, you can come to live with me and all your doubts will be erased. In the beginning there were no doubts, but by bad association you have now got doubts. Letter to Krsna dasa September 9,1972

Abhiram: We used to get some nice letters of "get well" and "good wishes" for Srila Prabhupada, and we would read them to him. Once at the Manor, Prabhupada was lying in bed, and I was standing near him, reading a card from our godbrother Sidhaswarupa. Sidhasvarupa had been a bit of an iconoclast in Iskcon. He stayed apart from most of his godbrothers, and he had his own unique style and perspective. By this time Siddhasvarupa had gone back to his own establishment in Hawaii, althought he was still a devotee of Prabhupada. His card said, "Dear Srila Prabhupada, I am praying for your health" and so forth, and on one line he wrote, "I am a resident of Hawaii, and I hope that if you sometimes think of Hawaii you may also think of me." At that point, Prabhupada suddenly chocked up and burst into tears. I looked up from the card to Prabhupada's face, and tears were halfway down his cheeks. He said, "I am always thinking of you. I can never forget." This is indicative of the way he was at that time. Any nice thought brought tears of deep apreciation.

Pradyumna:Once in Hyderabad, Iasked Prabhupada about astrology. I was interested in Indian astrology, and I was trying to understand how one's life is determined or not determined, what you can and can't read in a chart, what was there and not there spiritually. I asked Prabhupada, "What about astrology? Is it part of Vaishnavism? Do we use astrology? Because Nilambara Chakravarti, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's father, did an accurate chart for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and Bhaktivinoda Thakur also knew astrology very well. What's its validity?" Prabhupada said,"The vaishnava attitude and siddhanta is, whatever may come, may come. We don't care. But, if you know it's going to rain, it's better to have an umbrella." Again, he repeated it, "So our philosophy is, as Maharaja Kulashekar says,'Whatever may come by Your mercy, let it come' That's our philosophy, that's our siddhanta. But, if you know it's going to rain, then it's better to take an umbrella."

Bhavananda: This is one that really doesn't make me feel good, but I have to tell you. Late one night, three or four days before Prabhupada passed away, I was sitting on a chair in the room with him. He was resting, and there was a dim light on. At that point Prabhupada wasn't able to see very clearly. He woke up and said, "Who is there?" I said, "It's Bhavananda, Prabhupada." He said, "Oh, Bhavananda. Don't ever leave me. Stay with me forever." Now, how do you think that makes me feel? I think about that a lot. It was so extraordinary. "Don't ever leave me. Stay with me forever."

Bhavananda:When I was in Mayapur,in the mornings Prabhupada would walk on the little raised banks between the rice fields. One morning when we were leaving the back of the building Prabhupada said,:"Bhavananda [accent on the second syllable]. Do you know what Bhavananda[accent on the second syllable]means?" Gargamuni Maharaj said,"Yes, it means one who is absorbed in the ecstasy of bhava [accent on first syllable]." Prabhupada said,"No, that's Bhavananda [accent on first syllable], but his name is Bhavananda [accent on second syllable]" Prabhupada said,"It means one who takes endless enjoyment in this material world." I should have taken that as a warning. I said,"Prabhupada!" He said, "Yes, but that is because 'bhava'[accent on second syllable] means 'birth in this world'.That is a devotee. A devotee takes endless enjoyment in this material world because it offers endless oportunities for preaching."