Archive for August, 2008
Friday, August 15th, 2008
Cloud Gazing
‘The peacocks became festive and cried out a joyful greeting when they saw the clouds arrive, just as people distressed in household life feel pleasure when the pure devotees of the infallible Supreme Lord visit them.’
Srimad Bhagavatam 10.20.20
Houses are much bigger than they used to be. People used to live outdoors and sleep indoors. Now […]
Comments Off - Posted in Cows and Environment, Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Thursday, August 14th, 2008
Following An Apple
Yesterday I followed an apple. The round kind that grows on trees, not the consumer goods kind.
The passenger side electric window on the Astro van had been operating slower and slower, then finally stopped working at all. I went to the junkyard and got a used lift motor. When I installed it the window would […]
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Thursday, August 14th, 2008
Paw-Paw Loka
A semi-secret spot just outside of Glendale reveals itself-after a lengthy uphill tromp through the dense foliage-to be Pawpawloka, home of the delicious Paw Paw fruit, indigenous to these parts of the woods. There you can find the presiding curator of this fantastic natural paradise, HG Soma Prabhu.
Here are some recent pics of the first […]
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by bc
Thursday, August 14th, 2008
The Brahmans are Home!!
Dad and I left for Texas on Wednesday the 6th of August to pick up the calves. We had 1456 miles and six states to pass through from West Virginia. As we were getting closer, we were getting more and more excited to see and meet these new members of our family. It was totally worth the whole craziness of driving that distance when we met them for the first time. They just stole our hearts as soon as we laid eyes on them.
The weather was extremely hot, 98 degrees and a high humidity factor. We were sweating the whole time we were there even at seven o’clock in the morning. One of the qualities of Brahmans is that they can tolerate extreme temperatures. “A factor which contributes to the Brahman’s unique ability to withstand temperature extremes is a short, thick, glossy hair coat which reflects much of the sun’s rays, allowing them to graze in midday sun without suffer¬ing. In severe winters, Brahmans grow a protective covering of long, coarse hair beneath which a dense, downy, fur-like undercoat can be found. An abundance of loose skin, characteristic of the breed, also aids in its ability to withstand warm weather by increasing the body surface area exposed to cooling. In cold weather the skin is contracted, increasing the thickness of the hide and density of the hair, which aids in retaining body heat. A special feature of the Brahman breed is their ability over other breeds to sweat freely, which contributes greatly to their heat tolerance.” www.brahman.org
Meeting Amrita, Priya and Sri
Balabhadra meeting the new team, Priya & Sri
Oswald, son of Bullzilla, is the father of the babies
William Fenn saying goodbye
The Fenns were such great hosts and friendly people. They have been breeding Brahman cows for three generations. The calves were actually staying at William Fenn’s parents home. It was a great pleasure meeting the Fenn family and spending time with them. They went out of their way in taking really great care of us. After spending a day with them and the calves, we said goodbye and started the trip back home. With our new truck and trusty trailer, which we acquired back in the early nineties, the calves had a plenty of room and a secure ride. Two days later, we arrived home late in the evening and the following morning introduced them to their quarters in the barn.
Bringing Brahmans to a cold climate will be a first for a cow protection program in North America. The New Vraja Dhama cow protection farm in Hungary just also acquired a bull calf of a similar breed. They have a climate like ours. Bringing the calves to our farm was time sensitive, as we wanted them to come in the warmest weather season so they could have a good chance to acclimate gradually as the weather got colder.
Greeting Daddy at one of the rest stops
Meeting Mommy and totally stealing her heart
Madhava asking “Got Brahmans?” (got to do a t-shirt like that)
Backing into their new home
Can’t wait to get out, just waiting for the door
Nice fresh well water at the grown up tank
The babies did very well on the trip, no fussing or complaining. The boys Sri and Priya sure love to lick my arms, neck and try for my face. Priya loves to try to eat hair. With Brahmans, you have to have lots of patience and move slow getting to know them. As a breed, they are standoffish and shy, but once they know and love you, they love receiving attention. The boys very quickly let us touch them, rub them and pet them. Things are moving slow with Amrita, but she is letting us touch her and she likes smelling us. One trick is to let them come to you on their own speed. They will come because they are curious; you just have to have patience.
Having breakfast at their new home
Checking out the barn
The babies have not met the rest of the herd yet. The herd has not come into the big barn yet for water, but they know the babies are here and will come and meet them in their own sweet time.
Sri Uddharan Datta Thakur
Priyavrata
Sri Uddaran Datta Thakur, formally WF40, was named by Jimmy & Terry Devine of MN. There is a description about Sri Uddharan Datta Thakur in a book called Sri Chaitanya: His Life & Associates. We are going to be calling him Sri. He has on the top of his head, where his horns would be coming out, some red hair. Sometimes we call him Mr. Red; he is very outgoing and loving.
Priyavrata, formally WF41, was named by Anonymous C. He is so sweet and loves kisses. He loves licking and trying to eat hair and maybe licking the face, but arms will do if he can’t have anything else. Both he and Sri are supposed to be grey like their Daddy Oswald when they get older.
Her Royal highness, Amrita
Amrita checking out the feed aisle
Amrita, formally WF42, was named by Vrajavadhu dasi. Amrita means nectar of the Gods. She is the queen of the group; the boys follow her around even though she is the youngest. She was the first one into the trailer and the first one out. She is letting us touch her a little bit and getting friendlier everyday.
So far, they are adjusting well. We will keep you informed as the time goes on as to their progress.
Praying that this letter finds you well,
Sincerely,
Lakshmi Devi Dove
Some of the cows have come to meet the babies.
Big Shyam meeting Amrita
Amrita, Sri and Priya, with Balaram and Krishna looking on
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by Balabhadra das
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
This Week’s Farm Circle
Join the Earthlings of The Dham for our weekly gathering on all things natural, as we meet, discuss, and inspire each other to bring about Srila Prabhupada’s vision of self-sufficiency here at New Vrindaban.
This week we’ll meet Thursday, August 14th at The Teaching Garden, across the street from the RVC Temple at 630 pm. The […]
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by bc
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
“The Gift Of San Shin” by Kaz Maslanka
(Note from Gosh: I am exploring the realm of mathematical poetry, where operators like multiplication and division, as above, are used to express relationships of concepts)
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
“Japa Man” At 2008 Festival of Inspiration
See a video of a play performed at this year’s Festival of Inspiration called “Japa Man.”
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by mg
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
Critter Damage Prevention
It used to be you could just go out and plant a garden in New Vrindaban and only be concerned with fertility, weather, diseases, weeds, and insects. Over the last couple of decades the parameters have shifted and now it is mostly about getting to those problems past the destructive and voracious habits of ground […]
Comments Off - Posted in Cows and Environment, Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Monday, August 11th, 2008
HH Radhanath Swami’s post-24 Hour Kirtan Class Transcript and Audio
Date: June 22, 2008 (immediately after the 24 Hour Kirtana)
Verse: Nectar of Instruction, Text 8
Speaker: HH Radhanath Swami
Location: New Vrindaban, WV, USA
Courtesy of Ekendra Prabhu, you can download the audio file (19MB but […]
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by ATD
Monday, August 11th, 2008
Simple Living, High Thinking Issue #10
This is Govind….He is hungry….Hungry to find out about all the wonderful seva going on this week in the Small Farm Training Center here at New Vrindaban Dham.
There’s tasty morsels like this…
This week our Farm Crew took part in a maha-harvest of our green bean crop up top at the Garden of Seven Gates. For […]
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by bc
Monday, August 11th, 2008
Happy Janmastami
A senior devotee in New Vrindaban calls his son in New York and says, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing. Thirty-five years of misery is enough.”
“Pita, what are you talking about?” the son screams.
“We can’t stand the sight of […]
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
Prabhupada Letter April 18, 1970 K
April 18 1970
My Dear Kirtananda Maharaj,
Please accept my blessings. I am so glad to receive your letter dated 14th instant, along with a cheque for $50. Your travelling all over the country is giving me so much happiness, and I am praying to Krsna to enthuse you more and more in these activities. As […]
Comments Off - Posted in The Old Days, Contributors by mg
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
Three Hundred Words On The Hidden Sickness
Vegetarianism and voluntary nonconsumption are the pillars of Krishna conscious lifestyle. Hence more on the theme of affluenza and spiritual dehydration from a Christian blogger:
It’s got to start with the small things. The details. That’s where the devil is. You can’t just go after the big, obvious signs. For example, preachers and evangelists here in […]
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
Inside the Farm Circle #2
Thursday, August 7th, 2008
This week we enjoyed the pleasant late summer breezes surrounded by blooming vines and leafy stalks in the Small Farm Teaching Garden, as Tapahpunja shared words on the security of our food and water supply here at New Vrindaban, and Adi-Guru shared the village vibes of his simple upbringing on his family […]
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by bc
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
Each Day Is Precious
“As the sun rises and sets, it snatches away the balance of our life-span. Thus as each day passes, each one of us loses some of life’s duration. It is therefore said that the duration of one’s life cannot be saved. But if one is engaged in devotional service, his time cannot be taken away […]