Sat 19 May 2012
Posted by ls under Life In New Vrindaban
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Sat 19 May 2012
Posted by mg under Announcements
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Dear Devotees,
According to the Marshall Count Sheriff, Route 88 will be Closed Sunday from 10 AM till 5 PM from Route 250 to the intersection of Route 86.
Route 86 is Butch’s Corner.
There are NO Signs at Bethlehem indicating that Rt. 88 will be Closed from 10:00 AM Till 5:00 PM.
Several miles from the main intersection at Bethlehem on the way to N.V., there a sign stating the fact that the road will be closed.
Also there is no sign at the intersection of Rt. 88 and 250, instead the sign has been placed some distance down the road, just past the intersection of Pine Hill Road.
This will be a major inconvenience for the guests, as this weekend is Victoria Weekend (Canada’s equivalent to Memorial weekend), and several guests should be expected.
The Guest Lodge and Congregational Development devotees should be fully aware of this fact and communicate it to everyone concerned.
Being adequately prepared with the appropriate alternative routes for all those guests phoning for reservations, and also any/all of those guests stuck in traffic and endeavoring to arrive here will help considerably.
Sat 19 May 2012
Posted by Madhava Gosh under Thomas Merton
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“brahmanyadaya karmani sangam tyaktva karoti yah
lipyate na sa papena padma patram iva ambhasa
“One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.”
Bhagavad Gita 5.10
“Walking down a street, sweeping a floor, washing dishes, hoeing beans, reading a book, taking a stroll in the woods-all can be enriched with contemplation and with the obscure sense of the presence of God.”
Thomas Merton. The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation. William H. Shannon, editor (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2003): 66.
Thought for the Day: “One is not worried about the results of what is done.”
The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation: 66.
Fri 18 May 2012
Posted by ls under art, bhajans, bluehome, chanting, festival, inspiration, Life In New Vrindaban, Music, New Vrindaban, new vrindavan, yoga
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Festival of Inspiration a Success!
by Lilasuka dasi
Every Festival of Inspiration is more ecstatic than the last. The twelfth annual Festival of Inspiration has come and gone, but the excitement still lingers on in the hearts and minds of those who participated.
Many people helped to make the Festival a grand success, under the expert guidance of Mother Malati. The intricate details of organization, once again, made things go smoothly. Different guests share their variegated experiences.
One newer resident remarked: “I somehow felt very enlivened with the association of so many of the Srila Prabhupada disciples all in one place. Their bright smiles, filled with deep understanding and compassion were very encouraging to me.”
One guest remarked: “The bathrooms were, for the most part, clean and well stocked. That’s important.”
Another visitor declared, “I had wonderful accommodations since a devotee opened their home for me and my family. The prasadam was healthy and tasty. Bhaktimarga Swami’s drama about Maharaj Dhruva was my favorite part. The Saturday night dance was also fascinating.”
Some people were also talking about the talented devotees at the rocking kirtan which was part of the Saturday night entertainment.
It seemed to some that both the temple and the front lawn kirtans transported you out of this world. One guest related how she is from a small temple, so the wonderful kirtans at the Festival, led by a variety of empowered devotees, young and old, were a very special treat for her.
The workshop presentations were stimulating and well- presented from the “Dealing with Sexual Desire” seminar to the “One Chord Wonder” workshop on harmonium.
The outdoor vendors provided a variety of fun shopping. Many guests also browsed and shopped at the newly opened “BlueHome Artworks”, a shop that boasts the many arts, music, books and crafts talents of devotees and friends.
The association alone was worth coming for, according to one young lady, who declared: “The association at this Festival was very important to me. Cooking in the kitchen with the “2nd generation” devotees and others was the most uplifting part. The cooks saw to the minutest details and even put icing and garnishes on gingersnap cookies as if they were cooking for one special guest in a gourmet restaurant, instead of 1,000 cookies for a big Festival! In conclusion, I can say that before the Festival, I just wasn’t feeling connected. But as a result of this Festival of Inspiration, I was reminded that I am part of a dynamic, vibrant movement.”
Fri 18 May 2012
Posted by Madhava Gosh under News, Ramblings or Whatever
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While at the Festival of Inspiration I spend most of my time talking to devotees. So many interesting people. Simply standing in a line for prasadam I struck up a conversation with a guy and turns out he works at a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in the St Louis area that has 125 shares.
We had a nice conversation about that project and how it worked as well as other topics about gardening. While discussing tomato varieties, he was recommending Sungold, a cherry tomato, which I am trying for the first time this year as it turns out. He predicted I would be quite pleased with it.
I also met an artist who was selling his work. Turns out he and another family just bought a farm in Kentucky. If you are interested in getting in on supporting or being part of a new project on the ground floor, here is your chance. From their website (which includes a blog):
The Bhagavat Commune is a project started by a group of Vaisnavas who wish to implement Vedic culture into their lives and undergo a simpler life focused on spiritual growth without having to maintain various material activities in order to be able to support themselves.
As the years slip by, we slowly realize that while “doing the needful” we are missing out on what is truly important. Maintaining family and loved ones is certainly necessary, but there are so many activities that we can engage in which will serve that purpose as well as contribute more directly to our spiritual advancement.
At the Bhagavat Commune, devotees will grow their own food, build their own houses, and provide goods and services to the Vaisnava community around the world in order to produce the necessary income for any other necessities and expenses. Aspects of this project include, but are not limited to, an institute for Sastric study, a Vaisnava retreat, a self-sufficient community, and production and distribution of multi-media devotional arts.
Most importantly, the devotees who live at the commune will center their lives around Krsna and create a more peaceful and satvic environment conducive to spiritual growth. In such an environment, not only will the residents make rapid spiritual advancement, but the visitors will also get a more accurate taste of what our ISKCON society has to offer.
Srila Prabhupada wanted his followers to adhere to the philosophy of simple living and high thinking. He also wanted his followers to scrutinize his books and present our philosophy and culture to the general public. In 1972 Srila Prabhupada instructed his disciples to “boil the milk”, which means that the quality of ISKCON members is more important than the quantity of ISKCON members. If we have a lot of people who follow a little of the philosophy, we are sending the wrong impression and not giving an accurate representation of this important mission.
There are a several communities around the world who are dedicated to live up to these instructions, and this is our humble attempt to do the same.
Please check out the different phases of this project by clicking the links at the top of this page to check out our progress blog, and if you would like to contribute to this project in any way, please let us know how you would like to help, or how we can help you.
thank you.
Thu 17 May 2012
Posted by rp under Blog, Feeds, Temple Barn
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A baby bull was born to Jamuna in the early morning hours of May 15th. When Jaya Prabhupada came to milk the cows Tuesday morning, he found the bull already standing and sucking milk from his mother. The calf is healthy and tall and has a little tuft of hair on his right ear to distinguish him.
There was a drawing to name the calf and many New Vrindaban brijabasi’s submitted name suggetions. On Wednesday morning, Jaya Prabhupada drew HH Varsana Swami’s name suggestion, and announced the bull’s name… ”Dharma”. Please welcome little Dharma to the world, and come by to visit and make friends with him and his attentive mother, Jamuna.
Thu 17 May 2012
Posted by Madhava Gosh under Cows and Environment
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Retail giant Walmart said it plans to install solar panels on top of about half of its roughly 50 Massachusetts stores as early as August as part of an expansion of solar power in the state.
The installations for the 27 stores are still in the engineering phase, and local permits must be obtained, Walmart officials said. But once the projects are done, they will be capable of generating a total of about 10.5 megawatts worth of energy, enough to power up to 2,600 homes.
“On average, the systems we’ll be using in Massachusetts will provide from 10 to 15 percent of each store’s power requirements,’’ said David Ozment, Walmart’s director of energy programs. “We’re very optimistic that we’re going to save some dollars over time.’’
Wed 16 May 2012
Posted by Madhava Gosh under poetry
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Did you hear that lonesome whippoorwill?
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
I’m so lonesome, I could cry
I’ve never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind a cloud
To hide its face and cry
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
That means he’s lost the will to live
I’m so lonesome, I could cry
The silence of a falling star
Light’s up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
I’m so lonesome, I could cry
This has sometimes been called the saddest song ever written. Though Monday night when I was at a kirtan with Radhanath Swami he announced that a plane had crashed in Nepal, and 8 devotees had left their bodies, including 7 known to him from his home temple in Chowpatty, one of them a child.
He dedicated the kirtan to them and the start of that kirtan was pretty sad.
Naturally Hank Williams sings this song best.
It is a country standard, so you can hear any number of versions, including this one by Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
Even rockers take it on occasionally. Here is a version by Volbeat.
And who could sing any song more sadly than the Cowboy Junkies.
The bagpipes by themselves tend to sadness. Here is a version by Me First and the Gimmes with bagpipes.
Here Electric Black does a version with animation that “focuses on the sentiment of modern alienation captured by the song.”
