New Vrindaban Bloggers

by Steffan Antonas

… However we have heard very few stories about Zuckerberg and the inspiration behind Facebook during the period prior to February 4th, 2004, the day he launched Facebook from his Harvard dorm room. In this post we tell that story. …

You may be surprised to hear that while Harvard was fertile ground for the launch of Facebook, the seed of the concept was likely planted in Zuckerberg in high school. You never hear about Zuckerberg’s alma mater Phillips Exeter Academy in stories because Harvard was where the action really started (and the Harvard name, to some extent, validates Zuckerberg’s smarts and makes for a more sensational story). But in fact, the time that Zuckerberg spent at the academy from 2000 to 2002 likely had more influence on the name and initial concept of Facebook than any of his classmates at Harvard.

Phillips Exeter Academy (or “Exeter”) is a private boarding school for grades 9 to 12, located in Exeter, New Hampshire. The prestigious prep school is a member of the Ten Schools Admission Organization, which includes such famous boarding schools as Phillips Andover, Deerfield Academy, St. Paul’s, and Choate Rosemary Hall. Like the other “Big Tens,” Exeter has a tight-knit boarding community that lives on campus full time. Students refer to themselves as “Exonians” and have a strong group identity rooted in a rich culture of customs and tradition. …

An Exonian for two years, Zuckerberg had plenty of time to observe and participate in the social culture and rhythms ingrained in Exeter’s boarding lifestyle. Every year, the school says goodbye to a few hundred students and welcomes a few hundred more. Zuckerberg enrolled in the fall of his junior year and, like every new and returning student, received his own copy of Exeter’s student directory, “The Photo Address Book,” which students affectionately referred to as (you guessed it!) “The Facebook.”…

But the story doesn’t end there. In Zuckerberg’s senior year, the student council, headed by student body president Kris Tillery, successfully lobbied the administration to have the school’s IT department put the full contents of Exeter’s Photo Address Book online. By the time Zuckerberg graduated, the website was put up at http://student.exeter.edu/facebook, with the URL directory (i.e. “facebook”) named after the students’ pet name for the physical book and effectively shortened to something useful. …

Read full article here

Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever

Nitai das, a young devotee who was manifesting a fresh vision of preaching in today’s society, was snatched from our midst a couple of days ago along with two of his companions in a car wreck.  He was beloved by many including his guru, Radhanath Swami with whom he had traveled extensively.

He was the broad thinker behind Krishna Kitchen, a prasadam distribution network that distributed at festivals of forward thinking individuals. He was most famous for feeding a 1000 people a day at Burning Man.

The day we heard, there was an gathering at the temple in the evening which I attended. During the arotik when the ghee lamp came out and was taken around the crowd, the etiquette of first offering it to the Prabhupada disciples was being observed.

I noted the first one was in a motorized wheelchair, and the second had a pair  of crutches laying on the floor besides him.  The thought crossed my mind that if  a Prabhupada disciple had passed away, certainly there would be sadness and a sense of loss, but not the shock that accompanied the news that Nitai had left his 31 year old body.

Death for a Prabhupada disciple is getting to be an age appropriate activity. You don’t expect it  in a bright young life.

After the arotik was finished, a slow bhajan was held in a minor key. Here is a rendition of the song.

“Je anilo” is a trtaditional Bengali bhajan sung for departed vaisnavas.

Here is the English translation:

1) He who brought the treasure of divine love and who was filled with compassion and mercy–where has such a personality as Advaita Acarya gone?

2) Where are my Svarupa Damodara and Rupa Gosvami? Where is Sanatana? Where is Raghunatha Dasa, the savior of the fallen?

3) Where are my Raghunatha Bhatta and Gopala Bhatta, and where is Krsnadasa Kaviraja? Where did Lord Gauranga, the great dancer, suddenly go?

4) I will smash my head against the rock and enter into the fire. Where will I find Lord Gauranga, the reservoir of all wonderful qualities?

5) Being unable to obtain the association of Lord Gauranga accompanied by all of these devotees in whose association He performed His pastimes, Narottama Dasa simply weeps.

A Facebook page to share memories of Nitai has been set up and you are invited to visit.

A fund has been set up for the final expenses of the three devotees by KMA so please consider making a donation here.

Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever, Poetry

Phosphate deficiency can be the limiting factor for crop production in our soils here in New Vrindaban

Chemical fertilizer is commonly referred to as NPK –Nitrogen Phosphate and Potassium. These are the main necessities for plant growth.

Organically, you can get nitrogen from manure, nitrogen fixing green manures, or supplemental fertilizers that are composed of things like soybean meal, whatever.

The soils here are naturally high in potassium and it can be supplemented with wood ashes, which are valuable for trace minerals as well.

What the soils are lacking here is phosphate.  We supplement this with soft rock phosphate

“Phosphorus, an essential macronutrient

“Phosphorus (P) is one of the most important elements for plant growth and metabolism. It plays key roles in many plant processes such as energy metabolism, the synthesis of nucleic acids and membranes, photosynthesis, respiration, nitrogen fixation and enzyme regulation (Raghothama, 1999). Adequate phosphorus nutrition enhances many aspects of plant development including flowering, fruiting and root growth. ”

 http://www.enhanceability.com/whitelupinacclimation/introduction/nutrition.html

Rock phosphate is not easily found locally. Mostly you will find super phosphate which is the chemical version.

We have bought a pallet of rock phosphate from Ohio Earth Food and trucked it here.

 http://www.ohioearthfood.com/fertilizers.htm

We are making this available to devotees for $15.50 per 50 pound bag.

They recommend applying at the rate up to 1000 pounds per acre.That amounts to about 2# per 100 square feet.  50 pounds will cover about 2500 square feet. Talk to your friends and share a bag if you have a smaller area. I will split small amounts as a favor for devotees until the end of Feb but after that I am too busy.

As this is a slow release material, one application is good for 10 years.

Please contact Madhava Gosh for how to get this.

FYI, this also has a slight neutralizing effect like an equivalent amount of lime.

Please tell your friends who don’t have internet access.

Please come and help us celebrate the glorious Appearance Day of Lord Nityananda Prabhu.

ABHISHEKA FROM 5:30 TO 6:30 PM

ARATI AT 7:00 PM

AT 7:30 AM DEITY GREETING ON LORD NITYANANDA’S APPEARANCE DAY, SUNDAY MORNING FEB 5, COME AND SEE THE WONDERFUL NEW BACKDROP FOR THE DEITIES PAINTED BY A RESIDENT ARTIST, MAHATI DASI.

Please note that the abhisheka will be held on the altar so only second initiates will be invited to bathe their Lordships directly. Therefore any second initiates who would like to help prepare abhisheka ingredients are invited to please come to the pujari room altar, clean, at 5:15 pm or earlier.

Bhajan and lecture schedule to follow.

Please bring your offerings from home and have them in the pujari room by 6:00 PM. Thank you very much.

All Glories to Lord Nityananda!

This Saturday February 4th 2012 , Once again we present the Super Saturday Kirtan for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha Vrindavan Chandra

Chant Chant Chant, & Bring everyone together, relishing the holy names of KRISHNA

Come! Participate and Get Purified !

4pm – 9 pm

Contact : Rasikananda pr, Bhakta Garrison pr or Gaur Natraj Das

HARE KRISHNA

We started a “Remembering Nitai Das” Facebook page, the url is: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Remembering-Nitai-Das-Elisha-Drury/235531963197470?v=wall

From Barry Estabrook at The Atlantic

Given that current production systems leave nearly one billion people undernourished, the onus should be on the agribusiness industry to prove its model, not the other way around

"We all have things that drive us crazy," wrote Steve Kopperud in a blog post this fall for Brownfield, an organization that disseminates agricultural news online and through radio broadcasts. Kopperud, who is a lobbyist for agribusiness interests in Washington, D.C., then got downright personal: "Firmly ensconced at the top of my list are people who consider themselves experts on an issue when judging by what they say and do, they're sitting high in an ivory tower somewhere contemplating only the 'wouldn't-it-be-nice' aspects."

At the top of that heap, Kopperud put Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle, a contributor to Atlantic Life and the author of Food Politics, the title of both her most well-known book and her daily blog.

"There's a huge chunk of reality missing from Dr. Nestle's academic approach to life," Kopperud wrote. "The missing bit is, quite simply, the answer to the following question: How do you feed seven billion people today and nine billion by 2040 through organic, natural, and local food production?" He then answers his own question. "You can't."

What is notably lacking in the "conventional" versus organic debate are studies backing up the claim that organic can't feed the world's growing population.

As a journalist who takes issues surrounding food production seriously, I too have things that drive me crazy.

At the top of my list are agribusiness advocates such as Kopperud (and, more recently, Steve Sexton of Freakonomics) who dismiss well-thought-out concerns about today's dysfunctional food production system with the old saw that organic farming can't save the world. They persist in repeating this as an irrefutable fact, even as one scientific study after another concludes the exact opposite: not only that organic can indeed feed nine billion human beings but that it is the only hope we have of doing so.

"There isn't enough land to feed the nine billion people" is one tired argument that gets trotted out by the anti-organic crowd, including Kopperud. That assertion ignores a 2007 study led by Ivette Perfecto, of the University of Michigan, showing that in developing countries, where the chances of famine are greatest, organic methods could double or triple crop yields.

"My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you can't produce enough food through organic agriculture," Perfecto told Science Daily at the time.

Too bad solid, scientific research hasn't been enough to drive that nail home. A 2010 United Nations study (PDF) concluded that organic and other sustainable farming methods that come under the umbrella of what the study's authors called "agroecology" would be necessary to feed the future world. Two years earlier, a U.N. examination (PDF) of farming in 24 African countries found that organic or near-organic farming resulted in yield increases of more than 100 percent. Another U.N.-supported report entitled "Agriculture at a Crossroads" (PDF), compiled by 400 international experts, said that the way the world grows food will have to change radically to meet future demand. It called for governments to pay more attention to small-scale farmers and sustainable practices -- shooting down the bigger-is-inevitably-better notion that huge factory farms and their efficiencies of scale are necessary to feed the world.

Suspicious of the political motives of the U.N.? Well, there's a study that came out in 2010 from the all-American National Research Council. Written by professors from seven universities, including the University of California, Iowa State University, and the University of Maryland, the report finds that organic farming, grass-fed livestock husbandry, and the production of meat and crops on the same farm will be needed to sustain food production in this country.

The Pennsylvania-based Rodale Institute is an unequivocal supporter of all things organic. But that's no reason to dismiss its 2008 report "The Organic Green Revolution" (PDF), which provides a concise argument for why a return to organic principles is necessary to stave off world hunger, and which backs the assertion with citations of more than 50 scientific studies.

Rodale concludes that farming must move away from using unsustainable, increasingly unaffordable, petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides and turn to "organic, regenerative farming systems that sustain and improve the health of the world population, our soil, and our environment." The science the report so amply cites shows that such a system would

• give competitive yields to "conventional" methods
• improve soil and boost its capacity to hold water, particularly important during droughts
• save farmers money on pesticides and fertilizers
• save energy because organic production requires 20 to 50 percent less input
• mitigate global warming because cover crops and compost can sequester close to 40 percent of global CO2 emissions
• increase food nutrient density

What is notably lacking in the "conventional" versus organic debate are studies backing up the claim that organic can't feed the world's growing population. In an exhaustive review using Google and several academic search engines of all the scientific literature published between 1999 and 2007 addressing the question of whether or not organic agriculture could feed the world, the British Soil Association, which supports and certifies organic farms, found (PDF) that there had been 98 papers published in the previous eight years addressing the question of whether organic could feed the world.

Every one of the papers showed that organic farming had that potential. Not one argued otherwise.
The most troubling part of Kopperud's post is where he says that he finds the food movement of which Pollan and Nestle are respected leaders "almost dangerous." He's wrong. The real danger is when an untruth is repeated so often that people accept it as fact.

Given that the current food production system, which is really a 75-year-old experiment, leaves nearly one billion of the world's seven billion humans seriously undernourished today, the onus should be on the advocates of agribusiness to prove their model can feed a future population of nine billion -- not the other way around.
Image: Marykit/Shutterstock.

Respected Devotees:

His Grace Nitai dasa, beloved husband and dearest friend of Mandali devi dasi and nephew of Nityo Dita Prabhu, departed this world in a vehicular accident on the night of Jan. 31 outside of Jacksonville, FL along with two other young men, Yadu and B. Tim.

Please pray for Nitai and his young friends on this grievous occasion.

Please pray for Mandali devi and the parents of Nitai that they will consoled by Krishna’s mercy.

Nitai dasa was one of the movements bright loving souls whose presence will be deeply missed. Further information and a memorial will be announced shortly.

yr, malati dd

http://www.facebook.com/people/Nitai-Das/724282453

FYI, the auto link to his Employer on his Info page is incorrect. Here is the correct link to Krishna Kitchen.

 My latest essay at the World Faith Blog

Just a few more yards and we’re there.

The drywall is about to be hoisted up to the second floor of the asrama, where renovations are well under way. The drivers received maha cookies for their efforts.

 

Beam me up!

Not only are the oxen learning how to weave in and out of obstacles but the teamster is learning how to maneuver through an obstacle course. Madhava is watching from a distance.

Take look at the January ISCOWP e-newsletter

By James Montgomery, News Editor, Photovoltaics World

New Hampshire, USA — Researchers at MIT and Germany’s RWTH Aachen U. have devised a new way to set up a concentrated solar power (CSP) project that both increases the system’s efficiency and reduces the land footprint — all thanks to inspiration from Mother Nature.

Filed under: Cows and Environment

Wed. Jan. 25, 2012 under the Lodge

We had some special guests at our recent Community Vision and Planning Team presentation on Wed. evening, Jan. 25.  There were three teachers and seven students from  (Morgantown) WV University.

Their Community Design Team , coordinated by Jenny Selin, will be working closely with our Vision and Planning Team to make the Master Plan dream come true. Her husband, Steve Selin, is a professor and an active participant. Jenny will  bring in interested professors and their students, with  individual levels of expertise in community development and conservation, including landscape architects, rural health practitioners, economists, engineers, parks and recreation experts, forestry majors, and public policy analysts.  

The meeting began with Jaya Krsna welcoming everyone, and  introducing the seven team leaders or their substitutes, followed by an overview by Gaura Sakti, who let us know that the plan is due to be completed and presented to the Board of Directors by Gaura Purnima on March 8, 2012.  Gaura read to us the overall Vision for New Vrindavan Community, which is:

“New Vrindavan is an intentional spiritual community centered around the practice of Bhakti Yoga, expressed as the Brijbasi Spirit, emphasizing simple living and high thinking, vegetarianism, agriculture, cow protection, places of pilgrimage and the propagation of the teachings of the founder-acharya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.”

Gaura mentioned the Master Plan team is following the instructions that Srila Prabhupada gave for New Vrindavan, along with general guidelines.  This process focuses on two parts, namely HOW to prepare a master plan and WHAT to include.

In this regard, there is a good report from Gaura Shakti from Aug. 2011 when he was just beginning to put together the Master Planning concept.  I am quoting from this report below as it clearly covers the HOW and WHAT concept mentioned above, and anyone who is interested can easily refer to the related documents.

“Together we have decided to use Srila Prabhupada’s specific instructions for developing New Vrindavan as our “laws” for planning.  Additionally, we are using a document developed by the state of New Hampshire entitled “How to develop a master plan for your community” as the framework.  This guidebook can be downloaded by any of you at: http://www.nh.gov/oep/resourcelibrary/referencelibrary/m/masterplan/preparingamasterplan/

“This is a rather extensive document.  I encourage each and every one of you to carefully read and understand it, as this describes in simple language the methods we will employ to develop ours.  As this document was specifically developed for the state of New Hampshire, there are topics and laws that will not apply to us.  Skip these, but get a strong understanding of the process, as this will be our guide.

“Additionally, we will use Srila Prabhupada’s specific statements regarding his visions and desires for his New Vrindavan community.  The Vaishnava website vanipedia.org has many letters that Srila Prabhupada wrote about New Vrindavan.  They can be viewed here: http://vaniquotes.org/wiki/Category:New_Vrndavana

“This is a very nice compilation of 59 pages of quotes by His Divine Grace regarding his New Vrindavan community.  I urge you all to carefully read each of them, and try to gain an understanding of his vision.  This will be our guide for this master plan.” Open Letter from Gaura Sakti das Aug. 13, 2011.”

Then, one by one, each of the seven team leaders presented the one year, three year and ten year plans for their group.  The seven groups and the devotees who spoke, as well as each official team leader, are listed below. If anyone would like details of any of the committees’ goals and visions, please contact these people directly: 

COMMITTEE                                                                                 PRESENTER                           LEADER

1 AGRICULTURE, COWS AND SELF-RELIANCE …              Jaya Krsna                                           Jaya Krsna

2 EDUCATION, ARTS AND CULTURE                                       Jayadevi                                              Krpamaya

3 COMMUNITY DESIGN AND FACILITIES                            Gopisa                                                 Gopisa

4 REVEALING THE DHAMA                                                        Gaura Sakti                                         Varsana Swami

5 DEVOTEE CARE AND RELATIONS                                         Gaura Sakti                                         Sukavaha

6 OUTREACH, PREACHING & PILGRIM CARE                     Yugal Kisora                                        Yugal Kisora

7 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT                                                     Jaya Krsna                                           Jaya Krsna

After the seven presentations, the WVU students individually introduced themselves and expressed the aspects of our Master Plan in which they are interested.  Their responses were very positive and they all seem eager to participate.  

Finally, the meeting was opened up to questions and a lively yet friendly discussion ensued. Some of the questions that came up were:

Who will prioritize and decide which of our goals are to be met and which ones pushed until a later date? 

Is there an interest in reviving old New Vrindavan?

Will we be developing educational and historical walking trails throughout the community? And, if so, how will we deal with neighbors who may try to cut into our land? 

We’re looking forward to the ongoing improvements and developments according to the Master Plan, and hope everyone will be engaged more and more in meaningful devotional service, Bhakti Yoga, thus fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental vision for New Vrindavan.

My wife had the kids she teaches split into two groups. Their assignment was to write about Advaita Acarya and also to come up with a refrain to use throughout their poem. Here are their very heart felt offerings for His appearance day.


O CHAMPION

Writing Team:
Visakha (Leader -age 13) & Joshua ( age 7)

O Champion of devotees, O Advaita
You pleaded for the Lord to incarnate.
By your grace He came
As the Golden Volcano of divine love.

O Champion of devotees,
O compassionate Savior,
By your grace we have been rescued
From the ocean of misery
By this lifeboat of the holy name.

O Champion of devotees,
We should teach everyone to chant Hare Krsna,
And stop this cycle of samsara.

O Champion of devotees,
Although Paramatma’s in the heart of all,
We must uncover Him by melting away their sins
With the warmth of the Golden Volcano
Of divine love, Lord Caitanya.

O Champion of devotees, O Advaita,
Let the holy name be heard in every town and village.
Let the world relish the holy name.

O Champion of devotees,
By your explosion of compassion,
You melted our sins with the glorious holy name.

For that we thank you.
We are eternally indebted to you,
O Champion.



COMPASSION

Writing Team:
Brinda (Leader - age 9) & Balaji (age 6)

Advaita Acarya felt immense compassion
because no one was chanting the Holy Name.

Advaita Acarya felt enormous compassion
because everyone was engrossed in material activities.

Advaita Acarya felt tremendous compassion
because no one was serving Krsna.

Advaita Acarya felt vast compassion
for the people because no one wanted
to hear about Krsna.

Advaita Acarya felt humongous compassion
for the people,
so he called on Lord Krsna to appear.

Advaita Acarya felt great compassion
for the people,
so he offered Tulasi leaves and Ganges water
to please Lord Krsna.

And because Advaita Acarya offered
Tulasi leaves and a palmful of water,
Lord Caitanya appeared
and liberated all the conditioned souls.