Baltimore Mayor Proclaims Rathayatra Day 2007

BY: SUNANDA DASA

May 29, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (SUN) — This year marks the Fifth Annual Rathayatra in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.. However, the special significance of this years’ festival is that Baltimore Mayor, Sheila Dixon, officially proclaimed this day, May 19th, Rathayatra Day. The Proclamation reads, in part, as follows:
WHEAREAS, this day is sponsored by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a non-profit organization that promotes the well-being of human society by teaching spiritual principles and values, and is expected to draw several thousand people and be a day of fun and education for the entire family.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, SHEILA DIXON, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF BALTIMORE, do hereby proclaim May nineteenth as “HARE KRISHNA CHARIOT PARADE & FESTIVAL OF INDIA DAY” IN BALTIMORE, and do urge all citizens to join in this celebration. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set the Great Seal of the City of Baltimore to be affixed this nineteenth day of May, two thousand seven.

The festival actually began two weeks prior at Lord Jagannatha’s Snana Yatra (bathing ceremony) at the Baltimore temple, attended by over 150 devotees from throughout the area eager to bathe Their Lordships. Following the deities’ bathing pastime, They go into Their two week period of seclusion known as Anavasara Kala.

Then, on Saturday, May 19th, the deities came out of seclusion and were escorted to Their Rathayatra chariot at Baltimore’s famous Inner Harbor where They were greeted by devotees blissfully chanting the maha mantra. By 12:30pm hundreds of devotees from as far as New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina had arrived and began to pull the 30’ tall Rathayatra cart. “King Prataparudra” swept the way before the cart, and rosewater and flower petals were strewn about. Devotees danced jubilantly to the beat of expert mrdanga and karatal players, as Their Lordships glanced lovingly in all directions bestowing Their mercy on all souls. Participants pulling the Lords’ chariot enthusiastically chanted, “Haribol, Haribol”.

For 1 Ѕ hours the transcendental procession continued, gathering more and more devotees along the way. Onlookers gazed with amazement at the spectacle and even the police officers escorting the cart appeared to have attained their eternal svarupa. Finally arriving at Their festival site, the deities were carried to Their altar for darshan and pujas throughout the afternoon.

At this time, verbal presentations and Citations of Appreciation were offered to ISKCON of Baltimore by a delegation of representatives from the Indian Embassys’ office, the Governors’ office, two State Senators’ offices, two Delegates’ offices and the Baltimore County Councils’ office, beginning with the reading of the Mayors’ Rathayatra Day Proclamation. Hundreds of devotees and participants were amazed at the praises being extended to ISKCON. Senator Ben Cardins’ representative, Reverend Jerome Stephens, so enthusiastically chanted Hare Krishna three times both before and after his reading, that he was almost induced to lead the kirtan afterwards.

Following the introductory presentations, the afternoon was filled with transcendental dramas, dance performances, and ecstatic kirtans and bajans led by various devotees. During the course of the day over 2500 plates of Jagannatha prasadam and hundreds of Srila Prabhupada’s books were distributed. Participants and passersby got an opportunity to view the various Festival of India exhibits on Srila Prabhupada, Bhagavad Gita, Reincarnation, Vegetarianism, and India Another World, and receive information about ISKCONs’ Food For Life, Cow Protection, and Bhaktivedanta Hospital programs.
All were inundated with the waves of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhus’ sankirtan movement and experienced, if only for a brief moment, the true nature of love of Godhead.

JAYA JAGANNATHA!
Rathayatra Makes Devotees

By Ian SomervilleSubmitted by Sunanda das, Baltimore ISKCON
Hello, my name is Ian Somerville. I am a devoted young man in search of true enlightenment. Throughout the course of my life I have personally studied and practiced many world religions. But the one that ignited that withered flame was Krishna consciousness.

During my spiritual journey I have read many religious texts, but none can compare to the Bhagavad Gita. This book is not a Shakesperean playwright or a book of dreamy poetry, but a book in which Krishna, the supreme being, god of all gods, truly shows us how we can gain a life of spiritual perfection. Within the boundaries he has set in place for us He shows how to separate our material and spiritual worlds. Without a spiritual world, there can be no material world.

Let me give you a brief tour into a recent miraculous event that occurred for me. Recently, I had checked out a copy of Bhagavad Gita from the library. Following that I prayed “God, please give me a sign that this is the path I should pursue”. Two days later I happened to be walking down the Baltimore Inner Harbor and as I turned around I saw a sign that read, “Festival of India”. So I walked to the event, turned around, and before my two eyes I saw the sign, “Bhagavad Gita”! My prayers were answered almost immediately.
Everyone who has grown up has to find an identity, not only that but a personal faith. May Krishna bless all.

Don’t ever forget to chant:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

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Source ...

Sampradaya Sun

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Guiding Spirit

By: Rashmi Kumar

A rickety autorickshaw is seldom pitched as the perfect place to hold a conversation on cosmic questions. But one day 30-something Shanti Rao realised it could very well be. Her evening commute had taken a metaphysical turn when the autorickshaw driver suddenly turned back and asked her in an unexpected mix of English and Hindi — “Aap koi supreme power mein believe karti hain?” As he swiveled his vehicle through the maze of rush hour, he talked about Karma Yoga through his straggly beard and chanted verses from the Bhagavad Gita . As Rao marvelled, he revealed the rahasya: he is a regular at a Gita class.

Plebeians and professionals are all attending the free Bhagavad Gita classes that are cropping up in the nook and corner of the city. Even as the classes cater to an assortment of people, some have gone hi-tech, with Krishna and Arjun speaking through PowerPoint presentations and robotic shows.

Lakshmi Narayanan, a 36-year-old engineer-turned-Gita teacher, mixes PowerPoint with the points of the ancient text. “I teach my students ancient wisdom but place it in a contemporary context,” says Narayanan, who holds classes at the Vedanta Institute at Aurobindo Marg and Vasant Kunj.As he chants, “Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O winner of wealth, abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga”, a packed class of 70-80 people listens intently. Who thought doctors, engineers and even a smattering of foreigners would find solution to their professional worries in Verse 48 of Chapter 2 of the Gita? But they say they have. Most of them have been fed on Chicken Soup and have gotten tired of it. For others, Paulo Coelho has been like Spirituality 101 and are ready for the advanced wisdom in the Sanskrit verses.

The Gita is a Hindu religious text but for these students, it is more self-help than spiritual. Says Narayanan: “The Gita appeals to those who are religious as well as the not-so-spiritual professionals.”

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON ) has gone a step ahead in giving high-tech lessons: it has robotic light-and-sound shows to explain the sacred text.

While earlier bored housewives and saffron-clad seekers of the soul thronged the Gita classes, now they have been replaced by 25-35-year-olds. Nikhilananda Saraswati, who has been teaching the Gita at the Chinmaya Mission on Lodhi Road for the past 22 years, says, “Now youngsters are taking a keen interest in the Gita.”Nilofer Diwan, a 27-year-old freelance copywriter who has been attending the Gita class at the Vedanta Institute at Aurobindo Marg, claims she has had an inner metamorphosis.

“It has offered answers to many questions and has given me inner peace,” she says. Fifty-year-old Malchand Tiwari agrees. “I would have been an angry man had it not been for the soothing effect the Gita had on my life,” says Tiwari, an executive member of the Sahitya Akademi, who has been conducting Gita classes at Yoga Life at Defence Colony.

The Chinmaya Mission plans to organise a youth camp called Right Click in Himachal Pradesh in June where the Gita will be taught. Meanwhile, pocket editions, translations, commentaries and interpretations of the Gita are flying off bookshelves. Priyanka Malhotra, publisher of Full Circle, says, “Copies of Bhagavad Gita for Busy People by Swami Sivananda and Search the Gita by Swami Prabhupada have been selling like hot cakes.” There is more in store, including Ramesh Menon’s interpretation to be published by Rupa.Submit to: Del.icio.us .........Digg It

Source... Utah Krishnas
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Vrndavan Devotee Needs Emergency Support

By: Devamrita das & Srestha das

A Russian devotee at the Krishna Balaram Temple in Vrndavan requires financial support for his emergency medical care. Adiras das has been doing 24-hour kirtan seva for more than ten years and is a very serious, renounced brahmachari. While visiting Radha Kund, he awoke in the night and walked out onto the roof of a three-storey building. He fell from the roof and sustained head injuries and a broken thigh.

Adiras prabhu has been in an intensive care unit of the hospital for a week now and is still in a coma. He has had major head surgery to stop the internal bleeding. So far the bills are about Rs.100,000 (US $2500 or 1850 Euros). Adiras prabhu has no money with him. He will require more surgery; he will need a steel rod inside his thighbone and still faces other problems resulting from the head injury. We humbly urge members of Srila Prabhupad's devotional family to support us in this critical cause, so that he can survive.

Donations in any amount are appreciated. You can pay by credit card at our website http://www.iskconvrindavandonation.com/donation.htm. Within India you may deposit at the ICICI Bank, account 027401000335, for Mathura Branch, UP, ISKCON account.

The community of the Vrindavan temple will be always grateful for your cooperation.

Nrsimha Kavaca Boston Visit

Deity Worship at Home

Wednesday May 30, 2007 * 6:30 p.m.

Please join us as we welcome H.G. Nrsimha Kavaca Prabhu to New Gundicha. Nrsimha Kavaca Prabhu is the Minister of Deity Worship for ISKCON's Governing Body Commission.

More Information... ISKCON Boston

BUS TOUR - REPORT FESTIVAL 2007

Dear Devotees and friends:

This year Festival of India have been traveled with over 40 youths in the main cities of Peru and Bolivia. We have been in Cusco, Puno, Uros Island, La Paz, Oruro and Cochabamba.
Festival of India is a program that started 3 years back in South America with a huge success.This program is been directed by youth from all over South America, that in spirit of devotion, traveled in many countries preaching Krishna Consciousness in a cultural way, on favor of World Peace and Against Drug Abuse.

This last 3 years we have been done over 30 festivals in the main cities of Perú, Bolivia and Ecuador. We have been in Lima, Arequipa, Puno, Cusco, Chiclayo, The Uros, La Paz, Oruro, Cochabamba, Guayaquil, Montanita y Cuenca. We have distributed: Over 50 thousand plates of free meals, Over 15 thousand literatures of Srila Prabhupada, we have been in the main TV channels, Radio Channels of this countries, we have been participating in a meeting with the mayor of Cusco, one of the main tourist Cities of the World and we have been given 5 different seminars.We have invested between all the youth and the selfless help of the donors OVER 80 THOUSAND AMERICAN DOLARS!!!

From the year 2008, Festival of India, will began to work more closer with the Congregational Development Ministry, by giving them our data base, over 10 thousand new contacts a year to be cultivated by the different Yatras. We want to have for the year 2012 over 70 thousand new contacts to cultivate.

Also Festival of India Cultural Bus Tour, will help with donations to the Congregational Development Ministry, by paying a devotee that will be in charge of cultivating all those new people by internet.

Temples like La Paz, Puno, Cochabamba, have been declare that with this program, over 100 new people join the temple program. For example, in Cochabamba, 60 new people came to the Sunday feats after the Tour finished.

A big number of our youths alter participated in this programs have taken the responsibility of the first and second initiation. We want to congratulate, Devaki mayi dd, Viracandra Nitai das, Vrajesvari Vijaya dd (Bhakti Sastri, MIHE with honors), Madhavi Kamala dd, Nitai das, Radha Kishori Sundari dd, Radha Kunja dd and Tulasi Kunja. Eight of our youths that have been demonstrated a lot of responsibility and have been inspired with this Tour.

These festivals also have been a way of inspiration for the youths to create a ministry in South America, create meetings and help each others.

Festival of India, together with all the youths, have been helping the Congregational Development Ministry, during all the festivals that the Ministry did during 2005-06, with different stage programs.

The Bus Tour, World like to give a special thanks to Divya Priya dd, Visnu Gopala das, Tirtharaja das, Tirthatma Nitai das, Eka Gauranga das, devotos de Balarama Desha, Manu das (ISKCON Youth Ministry), Sarva Sakti dd and to all the devotees that every year makes these festivals to happen.Our new Web Site www.indiacultura.org have been possible with the help of Tirtharaja das (Asutralian GBC & Reginal Secretary for Chile ) Eka Gauranga das, Bhakti devi and Tirthatma Nitai das, there you can see all the festivals, pictures and videos of the tour.

Read More of Bus Tour.....
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Radha Natabara

More pictures of Radha Natabara: ISKCON Columbus

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Festival of India - June 09 2007 - Ratha Yatra - New York

By NY ISKCON

Dear Devotees and Friends,

The 32th Annual Jagannath Ratha Yatra Parade & Festival of India will be celebrated on SATURDAY, JUNE 09, 2006, from 11:00 AM onwards. Please mark this date on your calendars.

Here at Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, we are working fervently to make this festival one of the best ever celebrated here in New York City. This year, we have invited many senior devotees including, HH BB Govinda Swami to come and chant for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath and all the devotees. Our own “New Vaikuntha Players” are working feverishly to present wonderful dramas at the festival in the park and at the temple. Many Hare Krishna youth from all over the world will be making their way to New York, to celebrate this Ratha Yatra festival.

Many devotees are required to render service to Lord Jagannath as follows:

1. Spreading the word: we have 10,000 postcards which need to be distributed all over New York. Please come to the temple and request a stack of cards, and distribute them to your friends, colleagues, local businesses, and the people you meet on the street.

2. Those devotees who normally contribute towards the expenditures of this festival are requested to submit their checks sooner, than later, so that the monies can be used for Lord Jagannath’s service immediately. If you would like to contribute towards a specific aspect of the festival (the feast, or advertising, etc.) please contact the temple ASAP.

3. Many devotees come forward to render physical service towards the maintenance and renovation of the temple, so that all of the facilities are in top-shape to handle the crowds of devotees and pilgrims anticipated to visit the temple during the Ratha Yatra Festival weekend. If you are capable to render service in this way, please contact the temple ASAP.

4. Hosting Devotees: Many more devotees visit the Mandir, for the Festival, and our Temple cannot accommodate them all. If you are able to host a few devotees in your home, please contact the temple so that we can make the appropriate arrangements for our visiting pilgrims.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas, please contact ISKCON New York follows:

Temple President (718) 875-6127; Temple Office @ (718) 875-0633; or Front Desk (718) 855-6714

or visit the festival website @ http://www.festivalofindianyc.com

Sri Jagannath Swami Ki Jai!
Your servants,
NY ISKCON

Tritiya-Prakriti: People of the Third Sex

By Amara Das Wilhelm

Introduction

Let me first offer my respectful obeisances unto my beloved gurudeva, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Mindful of his desire to see all classes of human society included within the Vedic system of spiritual upliftment, I humbly attempt to write this book. It is also my desire to help steer readers away from the pitfalls of discrimination and hate based upon bodily distinctions, so often the trap of mundane religionists.

In modern times, there has been much controversy concerning the position and rights of gay and other third-gender groups within society. Should they be feared and eliminated as a harmful, corruptive force within our midst? Should they be ignored and hidden away, being denied the basic rights and privileges that other citizens enjoy? Or should they be welcomed as simply another color within the rainbow of human variety? The answer to these questions can be found in the ancient Vedic literatures of India, which have thoroughly analyzed and recorded all aspects of human behavior and knowledge since time immemorial.

After the Vedas were issued forth from Brahma at the beginning of creation, Manu set aside the verses concerning civic virtues and ethics, thus compiling the Dharma Shastra. Similarly, Brhaspati set aside the verses concerning politics, economy, and prosperity to compile the Artha Shastra. Nandi, the companion of Lord Siva, set aside the verses concerning sense pleasure and sexuality, thus compiling the Kama Shastra.1 The great sage, Vyasadeva, put this Kama Shastra into writing approximately five thousand years ago along with all other Vedic literatures.2 It was then subsequently divided into many parts and almost lost until recompiled by the brahmana sage, Vatsyayana, during the Gupta period or about 300 A.D.3 The result was the famed Kama Sutra or “codes of sensual pleasure.” Although commonly presented to Westerners in the format of an erotic sex manual, the actual unabridged Kama Sutra gives us a rare glimpse into the sexual understandings of ancient Vedic India.

Three Categories of Gender

Throughout Vedic literature, the sex or gender of the human being is clearly divided into three separate categories according to prakriti or nature. These are: pums-prakriti or male, stri-prakriti or female, and tritiya-prakriti or the third sex......

galva108 Read More...

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Talks with HH Hanumatpresaka Swami

BY: PAYONIDHI DASA

May 24, MARYLAND, USA (SUN) — One of the highlights at Baltimore Ratha Yatra for me was to meet Hanumat Prsaka Maharaja again. I had not seen him in 10 years or so. I also saw Umapati Swami, who I had not seen in a similar amount of time.

At the end of the Ratha Yatra parade I had some talks with Hanumat Prsaka Maharaja. One thing I asked him about was an article of a lecture I had read by Maharaja in which he had mentioned that when Srila Prabhupada went into samadhi in Gorakpur in India while chanting Radha Madhava, Srila Prabhupada had had some very deep discussions with Hanuman Prasad Poddar about Sri Sri Radha Madhava (that started the "Gita Press", the biggest distributor of religious books in India). That was very interesting.

We also talked about the importance of chanting better rounds and chanting a steady and increased amount of rounds regularly, and trying for 64 rounds daily -- never having less than 16. Maharaja emphasized that one should stick to the increased number one chants. We talked about Narayana Maharaja and how we can't neglect him, as he was Srila Prabhupada's friend for many years and spent so many years serving in Mathura/Vrindavan. Maharaja cautioned also about not leaving ISKCON, but at the same time sait not to disrespect him, being that after all, he is not an ordinary devotee. I really liked Maharaja's balanced view on Narayana Maharaja.
We talked with Maharaja about vegan and vegetarian diet for devotees, and I told Maharaja it seems to be better for devotees only taking vegan prasadam, as most milk in the US is spoiled with D3, fish oil. Maharaja insisted that milk was important and it was important to get quality milk (although it is hard in the US.)

Then one of the highpoints was we talked about Sri Vrindavan Dham and the importance of spending time there. One of the important books that glorifies Sri Vrindavan is Vrindavan Mahimamrita by Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati, who tells us to never leave Sri Vrindavan. We talked about how we can remember Vrindavan even while not living there by remembering the many places of Krsna's pastimes there. Maharaja suggested to daily sing "Jaya Radha, Jaya Krsna, Jaya Vrindavan" and remember these places. I found out we both like to go and pay obeisances to Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati Thakura's samadhi in Vrindavan (close to Kaliya ghat, near the kadambha tree Krsna jumped from into the Yamuna, to punish Kaliya), and to read something from his books.

We talked about fasting on the Lord's Appearance Days and agreed that fasting all day long on Janmastami feast and having a huge grain feast (as some temples do) was not good for health, and that devotees following Srila Prabhupada's instructions should take ekadasi prasadam. (Maharaja mentioned Srila Prabhupada encouraged a huge feast for regular people with grains, etc., but I have never seen these letters Maharaja was referring to.)

Sadhu-sanga is such a wonderful thing. Ratha Yatra time is just another opportunity to get sadhu-sanga, and at the same time we can chant Hare Krsna, distribute Srila Prabhupada's books, take prasadam with devotees and be happy... Srila Prabhupada has given us Ratha Yatra even in the west, and lately we were thinking, why not go to Puri for Ratha Yatra. But Ratha Yatra in Baltimore is just perfect too... personally we can't ask for more. And Ratha Yatra is in the mood of taking Krsna back to Vrindavan (though He never leaves Vrindavan). Srila Prabhodananda writes about Vrindavan (Sataka 1, verse 4-7):

4. Day and night I glorify Vrndavana, which is filled with the wonder of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna's pastimes, the wonder of the greatest sweetness, the ultimate nectar of Lord Hari, the sweetest, most beautiful auspiciousness and a flood of virtues Ananta-sesa, Siva, and a host of others cannot cross.

5. Think of Vrndavana with love. Roll in its dust. Love it ardently. Please its moving and non moving residents. Worship Sri Radha's birthplace. With all your heart take shelter of Sri Vrndavana, the best of all holy places.

6. If the Vedanta does not directly describe Vrndavana, why should that matter to me? If the faulty logicians, who are like serpents living in the Vedic literatures, ignore Vrndavana, why should I care? If even the devotees of the Lord do not understand the glories of Vrndavana, how does that affect me? Even if my heart were pierced by thousands of thunderbolts. I would never leave Vrndavana.

7. I meditate on Vrndavana, where the cuckoos sing the fifth note, the flute plays splendid melodies, peacocks sing and dance, vines and trees bloom, splendid and charming forests are wonderful with many birds and deer, and there are many splendid lakes, streams and hills.

Source...

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Authorization

By: Vyapaka Dasa

Dear Romapada Swami, Obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you for writing and having the attached message forwarded. There are some points in your email which I would like to address.

Firstly, your claim that the GBC doesn't have control over the temple board because it appoints only two members is misleading. Your proposed bylaws state the following:

BOARD OF DIRECTORS (Article 7, Board of Directors Section 2 Number): The corporation shall have five (5) directors and collectively they shall be known as the Board of Directors. The five (5) directors shall consist of the following:

(a) Two (2) elected members;

(b) Two (2) members appointed by the GBC Representative for the corporation (added emphasis), or if he or she is unable or unwilling, then by the Executive Committee of the International GBC; and,
(c) The Temple President

TEMPLE PRESIDENT (Article 8 Officers, Section 3 Appointment) The officers of the corporation shall be appointed in the following manner:

President - The President of the corporation is to be considered the highest spiritual authority in the corporation. The local GBC representative, after consultation with the Board of Directors, will recommend a candidate to serve as the President to conduct the spiritual and managerial business and the correspondence of the corporation (added emphasis), and to carry out such other duties as shall be delegated to him by the Board of Directors, the local GBC representative, and the GBC.

The stranglehold on the temple presidency, and the movement, is further defined in the following proposed bylaw:

SECTION 3. GBC ADHERENCE

Although ISKCON of _____________, Inc. is legally, financially, and managerially independent, all activities and powers of the corporation shall be carried out and executed in accordance with the teachings and instructions of Srila Prabhupada, as construed and applied by the GBC. The corporation shall not conduct itself in any way contrary to the ecclesiastical policies of the GBC (emphasis added).

D. Removal of a Temple President in emergency situations

(b) Rebellion against the authority (emphasis added) of Srila Prabhupada or the ecclesiastical authority of the GBC (emphasis added).

Therefore, your suggestion that the GBC doesn't have control of the Board and temple seems grossly inaccurate. The local GBC member and/or Executive Committee of the International GBC Body has firm control over a majority of the voting positions on the Board of Directors. It seems clear that your proposed bylaw changes resemble a grab for legal control over not only the assets of the various Iskcon North American chapters, but as well, attempts to exercise control over siddhanta. Cynically-put, you want to be the Pope!

The next point in your letter which is particularly distressing is the revelation that there is no GBC Resolution authorizing your changing the bylaws and that the effort was "undertaken by a number of TPs, GBCs, conscientious individuals concerned about property protection, as well as multiple attorneys in America..."

This should be of great concern to the devotees. Firstly, you admit to have no mandate from the International GBC Body and seemingly no rules of governance have been established such as what constitutes your authority, quorum, definition of members' responsibilities, etc. What is distressing is that this ad hoc, ill-defined structure is adopted to conceive and strictly implement management directives, resulting in a monopoly of secular and ecclesiastical power over local temples by what appears to be a rogue group of devotees. Doesn't this seem somewhat hypocritical? Do as I say but don't do as I do seems to be your motto.

Since you distrust the temple congregations and management, as illustrated by these new bylaws, why should your group and the GBC be reciprocated any greater level of trust from the devotional community? Your workings resemble more the elements of a coup d'etat, a drug cartel or the Costra Nostra than those of an august body directing a worldwide religious movement. Never has there been a clearer example of the GBC establishing rules for their own benefit, but never intended to be followed personally. It is striking that your proposed bylaws pose only GBC authority but with no responsibility for the body to the congregation.

Unfortunately, this situation appears to mark the disintegration of the GBC as Srila Prabhupada structured it. The new bylaws reveal that the GBC is bankrupt both morally and spiritually. You have been unable to lead the movement using guru, sadhu and sastra so now must attempt to secure secular power in a vain and desperate attempt to remain valid.

Further illustration is your claim of attempting to protect assets. Certainly this is a factor but more a of symptom than the cause. Incompetency and neglect of GBC responsibilities is very much at the heart of the matter. Two different unrelated and unsolicited sources have informed me that you very rarely visited the Long Island temple before this 'crisis.' If you had been more attentive to your GBC mandate, how could the direction of the temple have changed so dramatically and so quickly? Greater scrutiny of all facets of this situation is required before a knee-jerk reaction is undertaken by a seemingly rogue element of the GBC. If the information regarding your neglect is accurate, many could conclude that these bylaw amendments are as much an attempt to mask GBC neglect and incompetency, as they are to protect the assets of Srila Prabhupada's movement.

Unfortunately, your solution to the problem is to provide more power to an already ill-functioning and inept GBC system. This seems an illogical path for the movement to follow.
I do not want to act as an apologist but it should be noted that the institutions in question (Long Island and Bangalore) continue to follow Srila Prabhupada's programs in most or all respects which further sharpens the focus that the main issue is really about not following GBC initiation policy. That does not seem significant enough to change the system that Srila Prabhupada demanded be put in place. You and your cadre are obviously at odds with Srila Prabhupada's instructions regarding centralization which puts you at zero on the spiritual scale.

Last but not least, is that the GBC has NO secular authority to either demand or request these bylaw changes. Each individual temple is separately incorporated and the GBC has never been given such far-reaching powers by Srila Prabhupada. It is Srila Prabhupada who defined and created the GBC Body along with decentralized temple management. You have no validity beyond Srila Prabhupada's instructions and you, your bylaw team and the GBC body are not more intelligent, better devotees or better managers than His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. In this case it would be more prudent to follow Srila Prabhupada's instructions rather than speculate what Srila Prabhupada would do in these new circumstances.

GBC responsibilities are partially defined in his Will where he stated:

1. The Governing Body Commission (GBC) will be the ultimate managing authority of the entire International Society for Krishna Consciousness 2. Each temple will be an ISKCON property and will be managed by three executive directors. The system of managment will continue as it is now and there is no need of any change (added emphasis).

So if you want to implement these changes, please summon your ecclesiastical shakti and present us a case where Srila Prabhupada requested this centralization. Until then you seem to be acting in a dastardly fashion and no ISKCON centre has the obligation to follow your unbonafide speculation.

However, if this assertion is incorrect, please provide the devotees with appropriate references from Srila Prabhupada teachings authorizing this course of action. Please do so within two weeks of today's date; otherwise, we will consider you and your partners incapable of validating your efforts.

I hope this is meeting you well.

Hare Krsna,
Vyapaka dasa

----- Original Message ----- From: Bhaktimargaswami @ aol.com To: vyapaka @ nexicom.net Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 2:35 PMSubject: Authorization
Dear Canadian Leaders,Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I received an inquiry from a member of the Canadian Yatra requesting information re. the GBC Resolution authorizing the bylaws changes which the NA leaders are requesting the temples in NA to adopt.

There is no GBC Resolution coming from Mayapur mandating or authorizing this effort.
Rather, the recommended bylaws modifications have been a product of an extended effort over a period of time by a number of TPs, GBCs, conscientious individuals concerned about property protection, as well as multiple attorneys in America, and others who are quite knowledgeable in this field.

The purpose of the bylaws revisions is property protection.
Bhaktimarg Swami has communicated that the Canadian TPs will carefully examine these bylaws per Canadian law before their implementation. This is just as was originally intended for Canada.

If the Canadian TPs make a specific request, I am sure that your GBC will be more than willing to consult with the GBC Executive Committee to determine if this specific effort of property protection requires a GBC Resolution.

You may wish to know that bylaws being recommended for our NA temples indicates the number of GBC and/or GBC appointed members of the Board of Directors to be 2 of 5, thus preserving local control of the Board and thus local control of the corporation.

your servant,

Romapada Swami

The Hare Krishna Movement: Forty Years of Chant and Change

This groundbreaking book is written by a mixture of influencial devotees and reputed scholars in the field of Religion, which examines the changes and developments which have shaped ISKCON in the past 40 years and explores a wide range of issues and themes. It tracks the history ISKCON's history, membership patterns, recruitment strategies, pedagogical and social factors, the importances of ritual and dreams in the lives of devotees, and even the Movement's evolving self-perception.

I am happy to announce that by the beginning of this June this publication will be available. There is a special discount for ISKCON temples, centres and book companies - only £5 per each (plus postage and packaging).Recommended retail price is £8.99 per copy and all profits go to ISKCON. The book is also £8.99 for individuals.

Click here to find out more about percentage discounts for obtain the paperback in bulk
To order:Enclose a cheque/ international money order made payable to 'Graham Dwyer'and send this to: Graham Dwyer and Radha Mohan das, Bhaktivedanta Manor, Hilfield Lane, Aldenham, Watford, Herts, WD25 8EZ, UK. Books will be posted within three days of receipt of payment.

BOOKS REVIEWS:

"...an essential review and timely update on the growing and maturing phenomenon of worldwide Krishna-devotionalism. For storytracking the Hare Krishna movement as an important focal point in today's increasingly varied landscape of spiritual practices and aspirations, this collection is a welcome resource."-by Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Ksetra das), Research Fellow, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

"...the book reveals a whole new intellectual landscape and puts a refreshing new perspective on our understanding the Hare Krishna phenomenon."-by E. Burke Rochford, Jr., Professor of Sociology and Religion, Middlebury College, and author of Hare Krishna Transformed.

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Was Hitler Really a Vegetarian?

I received a letter this morning from a reader of my blog who wishes to remain anonymous. She had been told that Hitler was a vegetarian, and wondered if it was true. I did a bit of research and found this very interesting letter from Rynn Berry, Historial Advisor to the North American Vegetarian Society.

"To the Editor: I must take issue with Mr. Rothstein's glib characterization of Hitler and his Nazi henchmen, Hess, and Himmler, as vegetarians, in his review of Tristram Stuart's The Bloodless Revolution (February 25).

As the historical advisor to the North American Vegetarian Society, I am constantly being taxed with having to explain Hitler's alleged vegetarianism. In researching the matter, I discovered that Hitler was not a true vegetarian. I presented my findings in a book entitled Hitler - Neither Vegetarian Nor Animal Lover (Pythagorean Publishers, 2004).

In my book, I cite numerous primary sources that attest that Hitler was not a thoroughgoing vegetarian. Here are a few examples:

For instance, one of his closest friends, Frau Hess, asserted that Hitler was a strict vegetarian except for Liver Dumplings. "From that moment on, Hitler never ate another piece of meat, except for liver dumplings." (His habitual eating of liver dumplings is an important exception that disqualifies Hitler as vegetarian.)

Chef Dione Lucas, who used routinely to prepare meals for him into the early 1930s, actually published Hitler's favorite recipes in her cookbook, The Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook (1964, p. 89) "I learned the recipe when I worked as a chef before World War II, in one of the large hotels in Hamburg, Germany. I do not mean to spoil your appetite for stuffed squab, but you might be interested to know that it was a great favorite with Mr. Hitler who dined at the hotel often. Let us not hold that against a fine recipe though." (His habitual eating of stuffed squab disqualifies Hitler as a vegetarian.)

In the New York Times of May 30 1937, in an article entitled "Where Hitler Dreams and Plans," Times reporter Otto D. Tolschuss wrote, "It is well known that Hitler is vegetarian and does not drink or smoke. His lunch and dinner consist, therefore, for the most part of soup, eggs, vegetables and mineral water, although he occasionally relishes a slice of ham and relieves the tediousness of his diet with such delicacies as caviar, luscious fruits and similar tidbits." (His occasional eating of sliced ham and caviar disqualifies Hitler as a vegetarian.)

Hitler biographer, Thomas Fuchs, in his book, A Concise Biography of Adolf Hitler (New York: Berkeley, 2000, p.78), also confirms that Hitler was not a vegetarian. "A typical day's consumption included eggs prepared in any number of ways, spaghetti, baked potatoes with cottage cheese, oatmeal, stewed fruits and vegetable puddings. Meat was not completely excluded. Hitler continued to eat a favorite dish, leberkloesse (liver dumplings)."

To be sure, Hitler professed to be a vegetarian (in section 66 of Hitler's Table Talk, 1941-44), but the primary sources that I have cited in my book show that while he paid lip service to vegetarianism, he was not consistent in his practice of the diet.

"Vegetarian" - which means, (according to the standard dictionary definition) "the practice of eating only vegetables and refraining from eating meat, fish, or other animal products" - is like that other V word, Virgin: you either are one, or you are not. By that criterion, Hitler was a quasi vegetarian, a would-be vegetarian, or a flexitarian. He was decidedly not a true vegetarian.

With regard to Rudolf Hess, the Fuhrer's fawning deputy, Hess may have been a vegetarian for a brief space - perhaps as a result of his faddish interest in Rudolf Steiner's bio-dynamic agricultural theories.

In fact, Hess's biographer, Wulf Schwarzwaller, in his book, Rudolf Hess the Last Nazi (Bethesda, MD: National Press, 1988), suggests (pp. 157, 161) that Hess's flirtation with biologically dynamic vegetarian foods was just that - a dietary experiment prescribed by a Steinerian doctor. By the time Hess was in Spandau prison in the 1940s, he was back to eating animal flesh with gusto. Schwarzwaller (p. 278) quotes him as complaining to the prison doctor, "The sausages are much too spicy."

Mr. Rothstein's statement that Heinrich Himmler, the architect of the Final Solution, was a vegetarian advocate ["Himmler was an advocate,"] is preposterous and utterly without foundation in fact.

Nowhere in the biographical literature on Himmler does it state that he was ever a practicing vegetarian. In fact, in the definitive biography of Himmler, Peter Padfield's Himmler, (New York: Henry Holt, & Co., 1990, p. 352), Padfield writes that Himmler despite his queasiness about the hunting of animals, "was not a vegetarian."

Finally, to suggest with Tristram Stuart, as Mr. Rothstein does, that many Nazis were vegetarians, ["Many Nazis, as Stuart suggests were either vegetarians or interested in related issues."] is a gross distortion of the facts. The truth is that not one Nazi was a thoroughgoing vegetarian - not even Hitler himself.

I hope that you will be fair-minded enough to print this letter so that readers may judge for themselves whether Hitler, Hess and Himmler were vegetarians. I'm afraid Mr. Rothstein's review is just one further instance of a pundit's publicly relishing the (false) paradox that a triumvirate of genocidal tyrants should have been the followers of a Gandhian diet."

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Ratha Yatra - ISKCON Otawa

The Festival of Ratha Yatra is a commemoration of a pastime of Lord Sri Krishna during His advent 5000 years ago in India. During a lunar eclipse, Lord Sri Krishna along with His elder brother Sri Balaram and their younger sister Srimati Subhadra, together in Their chariots, traveled from Dvaraka to Kurukshetra.

According to Vedic culture, whenever there is an eclipse, people take bath in sacred rivers for purification since eclipses are considered contaminating. So Sri Krishna along with His family members went to Kurukshetra (a sacred place) for sacred bath. The Gopis (inhabitants of Vrindavan and dear most devotees of Sri Krishna) receiving this news, went there to see Him with the ultimate desire of taking Him back to Vrindavan, Krishna’s most beloved home.

This Festival has been observed for thousands of years in Jagannath Puri, India. During this Festival, the deity forms of Lord Jagannatha (Sri Krishna, the Lord of the Universe), Baladev (Sri Balaram) and Subhadra are paraded through the streets in magnificently decorated chariots (rathas by millions of devotees lovingly re-enacting the scene that took place 5000 years ago when Krishna was personally present. During this procession, the atmosphere is filled to capacity with the transcendental sound vibration) of the Lord’s holy names in the form of the Hare Krishna maha mantra and Jagannatha’s mercy is freely distributed to everyone in the form of His maha prasadam (sanctified food).

Five hundred years ago, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna appeared as Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (the actual inaugurator of the chanting of Krishna’s holy names) and again participated in this festival while he resided in Jagannatha Puri. Lord Chaitanya predicted that His name will be spread to every town and village in the world by one of His dear most devotees.That extraordinary devotee, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Founder of the Hare Krishna Movement) fulfilled this prediction. Srila Prabhupada at a very advanced age came to the West on the order of his spiritual master to preach the message of Lord Chaitanya to all. In 1966, He established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York, which since its inception spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world. He staged the first ever Ratha Yatra festival in the west in 1967 in San Francisco, USA, and since then it has spread to every major city on the planet.

Due to the mercy and guidance of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, this festival can be appreciated by millions of people around the world in places such as Bombay, Delhi, London, Paris, New York, Melbourne, Toronto, Durban, Mexico City and so many other cities across the globe. Srila Prabhupada said that the Lord of the Universe is not limited to the people of Jagannath Puri only, since this would not do justice to the meaning of His name (Jagannatha: Lord of the Universe). All peoples, irregardless of caste, creed, colour, ethnicity or location should be given the unique opportunity to receive God’s causeless and infinite mercy through this festival of Lord Jagannatha.

For over 30 years, Ratha Yatra festivals have been held in major cities across Canada, including Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. This year, Canada’s capital, Ottawa, will hold its 3rd annual Ratha Yatra festival on June 16th. Join us in chanting the holy names of Krishna (Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare) along the parade, and more activities, including Jagannatha prasadam, to follow at the park. Jagannatha Swami Ki Jaya!

Read More... ISKCON Ottawa

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Varna Asrama Dharma

By: Astottara-sata Prabhu

Please join us as we welcome Astottara-sata Prabhu to Boston Sunday May 27, 20074:30 p.m.

About Working Villages International


The idea for Working Villages International came about in 2004, when Alexander Petroff, a Hampshire College student, was studying economic development in rural east Africa. In a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in March of that year, Alexander fell in love with the Ruzizi Valley in the eastern part of that country.
Working with Congolese friends, he had met in Uganda, Alexander realized that the Ruzizi Valley was the ideal location to implement the Gandhian vision of self-sufficient, sustainable development. Therefore, he returned to the U.S., and, in the spring of 2005, he founded Working Villages International, and began raising funds to launch a project in Ruzizi.

A year later, in April 2006, Alexander returned to Ruzizi and after registering his project with the Congolese government, he began work with local leaders and villagers in the valley at a place called Itarah, located just outside the village of Luvungi.

After seeing the success and mission of the project, Fiston Malago, a Congolese agronomist working for the United Nations, was inspired to leave his post with the U.N. and become WVI’s project manager. Fiston proved to be not only a great agronomist, but also an inspiring leader and organizer, working with local leaders and villagers to make WVI’s project in Congo thrive.


for more information please go to WorkingVillages.org

and ISKCON Boston

Himalayan Festival June 2

The 6th Annual Himalayan Performing Arts Festival will be held Saturday June 2nd. at the Krishna Temple one mile south of Spanish Fork on Main St. Performing artists will take the stage, and present a menu of folk dance, classical Indian dance, drama, music and songs, according to the following stage schedule.

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Rasalila started her journey into the world of dance when she was 6 years old. She completed the National Choreography School of Bulgaria and then received the prestigious Scholarship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to study Indian Classical Dance and music under the renowned Guru Padmashri Saroja Vaidyanathan. She spent 7 productive years in India's Capital, New Delhi, imbibing all the nuances of the rich and ancient Vedic culture. Rasalila traveled to perform dance dramas in all the major dance festivals in India along with the troupe of her school.

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Shashi Kalaskar- is from Pune, India, a great cultural center. Great artists from all over India came to perform in prestigious music festivals in Pune. These events influenced him deeply, and formed the basis of music he plays. He learned sitar from Pandit Sachhdanand Phadake. He has performed at various cultural events and concerts here in the US and in India.

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Puja Allepalli is not only acclaimed for the perfection of her dance but also for the vibrant energy she radiates on the stage. Her personal style blends clean geometric lines, perfect hand gestures with accuracy and brisk footwork. She has performed extensively in India and in the US. Her performances have received wide acclaim by the eastern and western audiences. Having dedicated her life to this art form she founded 'Shivanjali'- a center for Indian Classical dance in Denver.

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Shatakshi Goyal, 16 years old, has been learning Bharat Natyam dance from Sudha Vasudevan for last 7 years. She will perform Dasavatara in the rhythms Ragam Revathi and Thalam Adi. Shatakshi is a junior in Electrical Engineering at Boise State University, Boise, Idaho and has performed at several cultural events worldwide.

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*Shreyas Hoskere is a disciple of Vidwan Sri S.A. Shashidhar - a disciple of Vidwaan Dr N Ramani. Shreyas has been performing professionally since 6 years and has given concerts in the UK, US and several prestigious stages in India. He plays the bamboo flute - the musical instrument of choice of Lord Krishna and also plays the saxophone in the traditional south indian (Carnatic) classical style.

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Braj is a certified Iyengar Yoga instructor, with a combined teaching experience of over 12 yrs. He studied under the direct tutelage of the Iyengar family at the prestigious RIYMI institute in Pune india in 2002, and had successfully completed the certification process in the U.S. He has taught Yoga internationally including Mayapur, India ; Odessa, Ukraine; Sofia- Bulgaria; and other place in the U.S. Currently he teaches at the Govinda's Yoga studio in West Los Angeles.

Read More...

Seeking Pujari From Asuncion - Paraguay

Dear Prabhus,

We are seeking a devotee for the position of Head Pujari for theAsuncion, Paraguay Temple.

Who we are looking for:

Mature Male/Female devotee - could be Grihasta couple (Brahmacari -Grihastas, no children) Second InitiationPujari Experience - Please send devotional historyCan relate well with others (both guests and devotees)Ability to preach at certain minimum levelsNon political - main interest must be serviceSpanish language skills are important but not exclusive (we will pay forlessons)

Job description:

-Full time service serving Their Lordships Sri Sri Goura Nitai

-Since the devotional community is comprised mainly of devotees who areliving outside, practically the devotee we are looking for will have theTemple all to themselves, except on weekends when some devotees will alsobe staying at the Temple.

-To give the devotee in this position time to study and have general freetime, some congregational members will be assisting in the puja.

-There will be a renumeration paid for expenses, according to the particularvalue of the devotee applying for the position. It will be between 12-15million Guaranies (local currency) yearly, free of living expenses (roomand board).

- The devotee will have his own room. In the case of a Grihasta couple theywill each have separate rooms.

Devotees seeking more information concerning the position, please write to Jagajivana dasa Jagajivan.das.ACBSP@pamho.net

PROTEST

CC Adi-lila 17.141 text and partial purport

"The loud sound of the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra certainly made the Kazi very much afraid, and he hid himself within his room. Hearing the people thus protesting, murmuring in great anger, the Kazi would not come out of his home."

The Kazi's order not to perform sankirtana could stand only as long as there was no civil disobedience. Under the leadership of the Supreme Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the chanters, increasing in number, disobeyed the order of the Kazi. Thousands assembled together and formed parties, chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and making a tumultuous sound of protest. Thus the Kazi was very much afraid, as naturally one should be under such circumstances.

In the present day also, people all over the world may join together in the Krsna consciousness movement and protest against the present degraded governments of the world's godless societies, which are based on all kinds of sinful activities. Srimad-Bhagavatam states that in the Age of Kali, thieves, rogues and fourth-class people who have neither education nor culture capture the seats of governments to exploit the citizens. This is a symptom of Kali-yuga that has already appeared. People cannot feel secure about their lives and property, yet the so-called governments continue, and government ministers get fat salaries, although they are unable to do anything good for society. The only remedy for such conditions is to enhance the sankirtana movement under the banner of Krsna consciousness and protest against the sinful activities of all the world's governments.

The Krsna consciousness movement is not a sentimental religious movement; it is a movement for the reformation of all the anomalies of human society. If people take to it seriously, discharging this duty scientifically, as ordered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the world will see peace and prosperity instead of being confused and hopeless under useless governments. There are always rogues and thieves in human society, and as soon as a weak government is unable to execute its duties, these rogues and thieves come out to do their business. Thus the entire society becomes a hell unfit for gentlemen to live in. There is an immediate need for a good government-a government by the people, with Krsna consciousness. Unless the masses of people become Krsna conscious, they cannot be good men. The Krsna consciousness movement that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu started by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra still has its potency. Therefore people should understand it seriously and scientifically and spread it all over the world.

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Jalebi Music

JALEBI Music is when BOLLYWOOD meets MOTOWN! Traditional Indian music blends with soul, gospel, blues and futuristic musical technology to produce a unique sound and space. A sound and space where East joyfully meets West creating a listening experience that transcends them all! Enjoy! MiraBai Devi Dasi (Shirley Marie Bradby ): lead singer, songwriter,English lyrics..... and Soul sister! : ) Ramananda Roy Das: bass player....and the joyful heart of JALEBI! Yasodanandana Das: guitar, synthesizer, composer, and food expert!

Read more... Jalebi Music

North American Temple Presidents/GBC Meetings in Houston

North American Temple presidents and GBC (Governing Board Commission) meetings were held in Houston Thursday thru Saturday. I went to the first day and a half.Shyamsunder Das (Hasmukh Patel) is the President of a community of householders who are building a very large temple. The new temple is literally arising above over and around the present smallish structure. Because it holds the Deities this building cannot be torn down at present. Opening is expected some time next year.The meetings were held in Gauranga Hall, which is a large cultural and meeting hall on the couple of acres land.

Featured the first day was a temple Presidents meeting without the GBC (unless they were also TPs like Anuttama (Washington) and Ravindra Svarup (Philadelphia). Not having met separately as a body for many years it took quite a while to elect a chair (Svavas (Los Angeles) and decide an agenda.In the end the agenda was pretty much going around the room and hearing from each of the 35 Presidents of their successes. The session was an eye opener for me, as there is a lot more going on than I thought. Most inspiring was Nanda Suta of Seattle, another young Gujarati man, who is building a 12,000 square foot temple in Issaquah, an exclusive suburb of Seattle. Nanda Suta is a brilliantly competent person with whom I spent a lot of time. His efforts in jumping through all the municipal hoops to get a building permit were nothing short of Herculean. Our permit for the temple in Spanish Fork, being in Utah County, took five minutes and cost $ 20.00. Nothing is as simple or cheap as that in a big city. I believe Nanda Suta had to put up around $ 800,000 in bonds among other requirements. According to him the temple will be completed in 8 months.Other exciting temple construction projects just beginning are with Badrinarayana (San Diego), Madhupati and Samik Rishi, both in New Jersey.

Now that the domes are finished for our temple here, Vaibhavi and I are thinking of giving the manufacturers the nod to continue making them, and our putting them up for sale to anyone who would like to incorporate them into their own temple design. We believe we can make the same offer for the arches and columns. We simply need to talk to the manufacturers about prices. As Kalakantha (he is thinking of a smaller version of our temple for Gainesville) said on a recent visit. “It’s a lot easier to raise funds for the domes, arches etc., than it is to start from scratch.”

Though I enjoyed hearing from all the TPs of their programs and successes, I would hope next time to have less of laundry lists than each President describe in detail just one or two “best practices” which could then be discussed in depth. This would be far more instructional to the body, but what transpired was certainly inspiring and a good start. We arranged to stay in touch through an e-mail group and agreed to the principle of conference calls to keep the fires burning.Friday morning Amarendra, the attorney, explained the drafting of bylaws in progress designed to protect temple properties. That occasioned a lot of discussion, but I think most devotees saw the wisdom.By the time Ramabhadra (New York) made a fund raising appeal for the youth fund and Kuladri (New Vrndavan, W. Va.) did the same for a temple support office, I had to leave for my flight to SLC. My hat is off to those sincere souls who can sit through three whole days of meetings.

Posted by: Caru das Utah Krishnas

How do we get to Heaven?

Fox TV 13 News: How do we get to heaven? Max Roth interviews Caru Das at the Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah. A segment of this interview aired on Mothers' Day, 2007.

Here is the link to the video on our web site. http://www.utahkrishnas.com/main/page.asp?id=2032

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BHAKTIVEDANTA INSTITUTE

Synthesizing Science and Spirituality Since 1974

Organizing conferences on science and religion

Over the last three decades , Bhaktivedanta Institute has been organizing international conferences and local symposiums on science and religion. The most recent international conference entitled "Life and Its Origin: Exploration from Scientific and Spiritual Traditions" was held last year in Rome, Italy.

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Interviewing scientists and scholars around the world

The Director of Bhaktivedanta Institute, Dr. T. D. Singh, visits universities and research centers around the world and interviews leading scientists on the relation between their research and the absolute reality. He has interviewed many prominent Nobel Laureates, and scholars including Templeton Prize winner Dr. Charles Townes, and the pioneering physicist Sir Roger Penrose.

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Publishing books on emerging fields at the confluence of science and religion

Conference proceedings, interviews with Nobel Laureates, the Institute's research work and journal Savijnanam: Scientific Exploration for a Spiritual Paradigm are published on an ongoing basis presenting and preserving important thoughts and quality dialogue beneficial for the exploration into the nature of reality.

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Performing outreach

Bhaktivedanta Institute conducts many outreach programs to promote dialogue between science and religion. Perhaps the most unique is "Bhaktivedanta Institute on Wheels" - a team of students traveling in two buses to campuses across India educating both students and faculty on the importance of proper stewardship of science's accelerating influence, through multimedia presentations, seminars and publications.

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Synthesis of Science and Spirituality
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