New Vrndavan, USA: Tuesday, October 11 – First day of Karttik

PLANET ISKCON

 

"Planet ISKCON" - 39 new articles Jahnavi, UK: Lady of the Lake ISKCON New York, USA: Damodarastakam sung by Nandanandana prabhu ISKCON New York, USA: Celebrate Sharad Purnima Festival (Autumn Moon Festival) Akrura das, Gita Coaching: TEN BENEFITS OF PERSONAL COACHING Akrura das, Gita Coaching: THE GOALSGUY KNOWLEDGE CENTER Akrura das, Gita Coaching: GOAL SETTING MODEL Akrura das, Gita Coaching: HOW TO BE EFFECTIVELY DEPRESSED ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kadamba Kanana Swami New Vrndavan, USA: Tuesday, October 11 – First day of Karttik Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: A moments assciation Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: What is the Seed? Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: The Inside Story Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: And they lived happily ever after or did they ? Kirtans in Oxford, UK: October Kirtan Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters Srila Prabhupada's Letters H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): SDG Vyasa Puja 2011 H.H. Sivarama Swami: Bhakta David asks Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: The basic principle of our life in Vrindaban will be cow keeping Gaura-shakti Kirtan, Toronto, CA: "An Evening of Bhakti" takes place on Saturday, October 22, 11! Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: A Freewrite Poem for my Spiritual Master H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Poem for October 9 H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Selected Writings ISKCON Desire Tree: Vaishnava Calender - Sri Krsna Saradiya Rasayatra,Laxmi Puja,Sri Murari Gupta-Disappearance Japa Group: Glories Of The Holy Name Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: The Coming Decline And Fall Of Big Coal Dandavats.com: Hari Das Prabhu with Srila Prabhupada Dandavats.com: Announcing Chapter A Day (CHAD) for Kartik 2011! Gouranga TV: Ratha Yatra 2011 Riga, LATVIA Dandavats.com: HH Radhanath Swami @ HSBC Clip Dandavats.com: First Ever Ratha Yatra of Victorville, California Dandavats.com: Vraj Mandal Praikrama 2011 schedule Dandavats.com: Krishna Center - 43,000 Students Waiting For Prasadam H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Monday 10 October 2011--Ecstatically Harmonized with Ultimate Reality--and--Is There Really a Hell? More Recent Articles Search Planet ISKCON Prior Mailing Archive Jahnavi, UK: Lady of the Lake After the Kirtan festival ended I got to stay an extra day at Ananda ashram. I grabbed the opportunity for some extra lake time. To sit, to chant, to think, to play violin, to sail across – there’s nothing like a good lake! Every time I come to one, all my lake memories float up – fishing for tadpoles after school at Bhaktivedanta Manor; skimming flat stones across Bala Lake in north Wales as bats screeched overhead; swimming in lily filled Canadian ones on the Krishna youth summer tour; early morning talks with dear friends before the water, blanketed with summer mist in upstate NY. The one here took me back to Vrindavan – to Govinda Kund, the sacred lake where Sri Gopal would visit Madhavendra Puri, a great saint. Acting like a normal village boy, he would bring him nourishing pots of milk, saying ‘No one goes hungry in my village!’ It’s a story I have always loved – so sweetly illustrating Krishna’s loving kindness and totally personal care. I experience that care every day. Somehow no matter how confused I get about whether I’m doing the right thing in the right way, I continue to learn and be blessed. I spoke to a new friend about this today who shared with me that she has learned to appreciate those blessings especially which come in the form of the hardest life lessons – those which strip you from your husk and mash you, because as she put it – ‘You are worthy – you are meant for something great so your struggles must be great. Krishna only sends you what he knows you can handle.’ Knowing the life she’s had, it was humbling to hear and I can only hope that I can reach a similar point of gravity and gratitude as I traverse my own path. This is my new lake meditation.   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON New York, USA: Damodarastakam sung by Nandanandana prabhu   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON New York, USA: Celebrate Sharad Purnima Festival (Autumn Moon Festival) Dear Devotees and Friends, We cordially invite you to celebrate: Sharad-Purnima Festival (Festival of the Autumn Moon) on Tuesday October 11, 2011 starting @ 7pm This is the first night of the Month-long Damodara Festival, during which devotees get to offer small lamps to Lord Damodara. This is also the first night of Lord Krsna’s Rasa dance. This special month, known as Kartika, is very auspicious for practicing Bhakti-yoga.  The Deities will be wearing white clothes to reflect the light of the full moon as they perform the Rasa dance. Tuesday’s schedule: 7:00pm – Arati and Kirtan 7:30pm – Readings and Bhajans 8:30pm – Damodarastakam prayers 9:00pm – Prasadam feast ** Damodarastakam Schedule ** At Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, for the special month of Kartika (which will continue till November 10th), the chanting of the Damodarastakam bhajans and offering of lamps (or candles) will be observed as follows: Evenings (at 8:30pm, except Sunday) Sundays at 6:00pm We hope to see you and have your association during this special time. Your servants, NY ISKCON www.radhagovinda.net www.radhagovinda108.com   • Email to a friend • • Akrura das, Gita Coaching: TEN BENEFITS OF PERSONAL COACHING goalsguy.com 1.  Coaching for Results increases productivity, improves communication, and reinforces commitment and loyalty. 2.  Coaching for Results assists individuals to decrease levels of stress and tension and to find creative outlets for managing those situations. 3.  Coaching for Results helps you to adjust to new organizational realities and not just survive, but to thrive. 4.  Coaching for Results can help prevent loss of focus. In fact, coaching serves as an insurance policy on your ability to remain focused. 5.  Coaching for Results helps you develop better interpersonal skills. Some common reasons for conflict include people being too abrasive, too controlling and too isolated. Coaching helps to explore these behaviors, to recognize and regulate these self-defeating beliefs, assumptions and actions. 6.  Coaching for Results helps you to think and plan more strategically, to manage risk more effectively, to create and communicate vision and mission. 7.  Coaching for Results aids in developing a culture of trust, commitment and personal responsibility both internally and with the external world of clients and customers. 8.  Coaching for Results enables you to leverage your personal power more effectively. 9.  Coaching for Results helps to uncover and develop those leadership qualities that have been empirically proven to be associated with success. These include: cognitive capacity, social capacities, personality style, motivation, knowledge and expertise. 10.  Coaching for Results creates a strong sense of accountability, which serves as a constant reminder to reinforce agreed upon standards, behaviors and expectations.    • Email to a friend • • Akrura das, Gita Coaching: THE GOALSGUY KNOWLEDGE CENTER Click here for many resources for your success: http://www.goalsguy.com/Knowledge/index.html Gary Ryan Blair is President of The GoalsGuy. He helps business owners, corporate executives and sales professionals manage their time, set their priorities, and stay focused so they can achieve their goals, grow their business, and be more successful. Gary can be reached for speaking, coaching and media requests at 877-462-5748 or by sending an email to Gary@GoalsGuy.com   • Email to a friend • • Akrura das, Gita Coaching: GOAL SETTING MODEL Click here for more: http://www.goalsguy.com/About/gs_model.html   • Email to a friend • • Akrura das, Gita Coaching: HOW TO BE EFFECTIVELY DEPRESSED Did you know that depression is a choice? It may be unconscious choice, but it is still a choice. Somehow or other, we choose to be depressed. We convince ourselves that it is right to feel bad. And we do it.   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kadamba Kanana Swami Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.15 - We should see the big picture of our life and see how Lord makes arrangements to get the mercy (...guru krsna prasade paye bhakti lata bija).   • Email to a friend • • New Vrndavan, USA: Tuesday, October 11 – First day of Karttik   Tomorrow (Tuesday, October 11) is the first day of Karttik.  We will sing the Damodarastakam prayers and offer candles to Lord Damodar every morning and evening through November 10.  Please attend if you can! Here is the schedule: 7:45 am – following Guru Puja 8:30 pm – final darshan   • Email to a friend • • Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: A moments assciation Last week I was at University of Toronto trying to hand out books to people and suddenly this young man stopped and started to talk to me about Srila Prabhupada and glorifying his books. He was a practicing Muslim who had recieved a Bhagavad Gita a while ago and was very appreciative of what Srila Prabhupada had to say. So I showed him a Krishna book and started to explain the various pictures. He was very attracted and immediately took the book. He started to explain to me how he was appreciative of what Srila Prabhupada said about Islam and later sent me an email. I also mentioned that I accept and have great respect for Swami Prabhupada and Chaitanya Vaisnavism as a valid path to God, especially in this dark time of which we see so much quantity over quality... Once again, I am glad to meet others who spend the majority of their time invoking the Divine Name, even if a different form then the Islamic. I hope to come for a visit with some friends to the temple on Sunday in the future. Thanks again for the book and your time. I had forgotten all about it but a series of sankirtan events today made me realize that there is no such thing as a chance meeting on sankirtan. I was walking on Yonge Street when I met a guy who was initially not interested but later agreed to get a SSR and requested me to wait for 10 minutes while he got some laxmi. I really did not want to wait as I was late but 9 minutes in, as I was about to leave I see the same man from University of Toronto cross the street and walk towards me. He started to talk like we were old friends and was appreciating the sankirtan effort. He lived in the same building as my friend and in conversations today it came out that a few years ago as he had entered the elevator of the building there was a Hare Krishna swami in the building and when a little later he returned, the swami had entered the elevator again. The picture was distinct in his mind and I could trace it back as I knew who he was talking about. We had a really nice second conversation within the same week and I started to realize that perhaps the sankirtan chain of events and a moments association with a Hare Krishna Swami is too hard for us to trace back and calculate the impact of!   • Email to a friend • • Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: What is the Seed? At last I have published a page on my blog to describe the philosophy of the "seed of devotion." Below is the new text. *** The morning that I was born I was given the name Bhakti lata bij which, in the ancient Sanskrit language, translates as "the seed of the vine of devotion." This bhakti lata bij is very special and rarely given. It is described in ancient scriptures that the living entity has been wandering the universe for millions of years, so very, very lost, so heartsick in his search for love. But somehow, by the grace of the Lord and a loving spiritual master, the living entity receives within his heart the bhakti lata bij, the seed of devotion. This seed of devotion must be tended to with great care. One must water the seed by serving the Lord and His devotees. One must receive proper sunlight through the chanting of the holy name. One must dig out all of the unwanted weeds within the heart - pride, lust, envy, and so many others. Spiritual initiation is a special Vaishnava tradition that allows one to make formal vows before the Lord and the world and receive a spiritual name. In 2010, by the grace of my spiritual master Radhanath Swami, he gave me the name Bhakti lata. I hope this means that I am now growing from the seed into a vine! I find it very curious and very profound that the plant in this metaphor of devotion is not a stately banyan tree or a divine lotus. It is a vine. And what is the most important feature of a vine? It must always rest upon something else to grow. In this metaphor, that "something else" is the Vaishnavas, the devotees of the Lord. Then with proper cultivation, love, and grace, resting upon the strength of the devotees, this vine of devotion may wind up and up and up to at last reach the feet of the Lord Himself. *** brahmanda brahmite kona bhagyavan jiva guru krsna prasade pay bhakti lata bija "According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Krishna. By the mercy of both Krishna and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service." (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 19.51) Subscribe   • Email to a friend • • Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: The Inside Story Are power-hungry underground groups like the Illuminati plotting to rule mankind by establishing the New World Order? Was 9-11 an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack, or did the Bush administration help orchestrate the entire incident to justify military policy in the Middle East? Half a century ago, did the US government cover up a UFO landing and alien interaction at Roswell, New Mexico? Was the Aids virus created by the KGB as a means to reduce world population? Was Shakespeare, English language's greatest writer, really responsible for the body of works that bear his name, or were they actually authored by other people? We could go on, but suffice it to say that the modern world is riddled with conspiracy theories which seem to multiply by the day. As the plot thickens, how do we know what to believe? Will our painstaking research lead to any concrete conclusions? Who knows, the theories themselves could even be part of a bigger conspiracy to confuse people and make us doubt everything! On the other hand, even if they are true, what can we do to change the state of affairs? If the higher echelons of society are directing the future of the world in smoke-filled rooms, it's unlikely that our whistle-blowing will be taken that seriously. Having said that, there is an argument for the necessity of critical thinking in a world which we could label "the cheaters and the cheated." There is, however, one conspiracy that we can all be sure of. It's a conspiracy a little closer to home, and a conspiracy which has been going on since our first breath in this world. The Bhagavad-gita explains that the uncontrolled mind, the lower nature within, is conspiring against us on a moment-to-moment basis. Tempting and distracting us while simultaneously posing as a friend, our lower nature, which you can identify as the 'devilish voice within,' is actually conspiring to divert us from the most progressive, pragmatic and fulfilling path in life. Krishna explains that only through spiritual acumen and unbreakable determination can we transform that lower nature, and bring the mind under control such that it becomes our best friend. This brings true freedom, where one is guided by intelligence instead of instinct. The project to conquer the mind requires focus, tenacity, perseverance and incredible drive. It's a lifetime's mission, and we need to utilize all the time we have. This is the inside story, the story of the enemy within, the story of the conspirator that we may well have forgotten about.   • Email to a friend • • Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: And they lived happily ever after or did they ? Often when offering a book to someone on Sankirtan, they may say 'I am good'. I have often thought about this and wondered what makes people think they are good in material life – what could give this sense of comfort. Sometimes, at outreach engagements, people will debate the point about 'happiness in the material world'. Think seriously – what's the best material life can offer? What activities and options of endless joy, which is the real hankering of spirit soul, does material life offer? Srila Prabhupada summarizes it in a lecture on BG 4.18, April 7 1974 "Of course, in this material world there is no enjoyment. But with the hope of enjoyment, we agree to suffer. And that is called enjoyment." Still due to a lack of knowledge the goal of human life as understood by most people is money and attempts at sense gratification. How can one ever satisfy oneself without the knowledge of self, Supreme self and our loving connection with the Supreme self. Even if we seem to be successful at bagging the cheap thrills of material life – without knowledge and real experience of our loving connection with Krishna, it is good for nothing. Simply chewing the chewed can only grant bewilderment, not satisfaction – punah punah charvita charvanam(SB 7.5.30). A recent article in Times of India, described how a young couple, in India's dream vacation destination Goa, having lived an eventful life of sense gratification decided to end it. Their reason "We have lived a very eventful and happy life together. We've travelled the world, lived in different countries, made more money than we ever thought possible, and enjoyed spending as much of it as we could on things that brought us joy and satisfaction. We believe in the philosophy that our life belongs to us and only us, and we have the right to choose to die as much as we have the right to live." They had lived the 'materialistic dream' but the end should make us think. Not only did they commit material suicide, they also lost the precious chance of human form of life. Without the knowledge of Bhagavad Gita little do people understand by that one push they hurled themselves, once again, into the abyss of repeated birth and death. So it is our duty, of course, as servant of Krishna, to awaken everyone to Krishna consciousness by this process of sankirtana movement   • Email to a friend • • Kirtans in Oxford, UK: October Kirtan We begin our new season of kirtans this Sunday, 16th October. We're sorry for the long wait - we had to cancel last month due to unforseen circumstances. But we are very happy to be starting up again after the summer break and look forward to seeing you there! We have a new kirtaniya amongst us, this year, a PhD student at Oxford University, who will be taking part, and we also have our old, tried and trusted singers who will be joining us in the months to come. So - much in the way of jolly chanting coming up!   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1966 October 10: "Are you still interested in starting the Rupanuga Para Vidya Pitha? The construction can now be taken up by my American disciples. They are eager to do something in Vrndavana according to my direction. Now here is the opportunity to reconstruct the temple compound of Sri Sri Radha Damodara Jeu." Prabhupada Letters :: 1966   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1968 October 10: "Here the Kirtana party is doing very nicely. They are selling Back To Godhead, sometimes more than a 100 copies, minimum 50 copies, and collecting donations, 30 to 50 dollars everyday. So are you getting some collection by holding Kirtana in different places of London?" Prabhupada Letters :: 1968   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1968 October 10: "This is the secret of success in Krishna Consciousness - unflinching faith in Krishna and in the Spiritual Master enlightens a devotee in the progressive march of Krishna Consciousness. Keep this attitude, and I am sure Krishna will give you sufficient intelligence to make your life successful." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1968 October 10: "We should not allow anyone to hold any function in our temple other than on Vaisnava principle. There cannot be any separate distribution of foodstuff save and except Krishna Prasadam according to our own principles." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1966 October 10: "Since I have come to America I have not heard anything from you. How is your mother and your wife, and how is your father. I hope everything is alright with you by Grace of Sri Sri Radha Damodara Jeu." Prabhupada Letters :: 1966   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1966 October 10: "At Gopinatha Bazar almost in front of Mahaprabhu's Temple, there is a Bengali gentleman's shop for selling Pan and pictures. I want one dozen each of Sri Radha Krsna and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu dancing." Prabhupada Letters :: 1966   • Email to a friend • • Srila Prabhupada's Letters 1968 October 10: "You write to say, 'I opened the temple on Thursday and am in the process of fixing it up.'It is so much pleasing to me and what can I give you?! I can simply pray for your long life and prosperous service to Krishna." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): SDG Vyasa Puja 2011 ..will be held on Dec.3 and 4 near his asrama in New York State. The space is limited so we ask that only disciples attend... SDG Vyasa Puja 2011 is a post from: EVERY DAY   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Sivarama Swami: Bhakta David asks Why in ISKCON women are dressing the deity of Srila Prabhupada and Russian disciples ask whether women worshipping deities is bonafide at all?   • Email to a friend • • Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: The basic principle of our life in Vrindaban will be cow keeping “I think I have replied your former letter also, which I hope you have received by this time, and I am so glad to learn that you are feeling very happy in New Vrindaban. "The basic principle of our life in Vrindaban will be cow keeping. If we can keep cows sufficiently and grow our necessary foodstuffs, then we shall show a new way of life to your countrymen . . . completely spiritual life in healthy atmosphere in divine consciousness. "And you will have ample opportunity to educate children and write books for them because there is sufficient matter for publishing such books from the Puranas, Mahabharata, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and many other allied literatures. There are thousands of ideal historical events, which if we can put with suitable pictures, it will be a great idea and people will like to have such literature. "I have got many ideas for developing the new Vrindaban scheme and if Krishna gives me opportunity I may be able to show something very wonderful in your country. " Letter to: Satyabhama — Hawaii 30 March, 1969 Filed under: Cows and Environment   • Email to a friend • • Gaura-shakti Kirtan, Toronto, CA: "An Evening of Bhakti" takes place on Saturday, October 22, 11! While we have all become accustomed to seeing the typical images  that are conjured up when we think of yoga, it can be an heart-opening experience to learn of bhakti-yoga - the yoga of love.  We invite you to come and dive into an evening full of divine chants as you learn more about the ancient teachings of the yoga of the heart. The premise of the "Evening of Bhakti" is to hold a spiritually-soaked event for you. Whether you are completely new to the concept of bhakti-yoga or a seasoned veteran, you can expect an incredible evening of chanting, wisdom, dancing and more, followed by a vegan dinner.  Our special guest speaker for this Evening of Bhakti will be Uttama Shloka das, who spends his time conducting courses, seminars and programs on bhakti-yoga in over 20 countries on four different continents around the world.  Hosted at beautiful Govinda's Dining Hall in Toronto's historic Hare Krishna Centre (243 Avenue Road), we warmly invite your for an evening that will feed the mind, body and soul!  Entrance: $15 See you on Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 7pm! :) Please register at: http://tinyurl.com/evening-of-bhakti   • Email to a friend • • Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: A Freewrite Poem for my Spiritual Master Thank you I would be stumbling stumbling stumbling in the jungles of my mind searching searching frantically searching for love My soul would be weeping weeping every day weeping Thank you for giving me a reason to live a way to die at peace I would be so lost so lost searching for love in all the wrong places sinking in quicksand sinking I would be trying to capture the moon in a mirror I would be clawing at my face searching for beauty I would be so lost so lost seeking guidance in a broken compass I am weeping weeping knowing that your love gives me strength to live I am humbled by your love. Thank you.  Subscribe   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Poem for October 9 4:28  A.M. Poem for October 9 After accepting the sannyasa order, Lord Caitanya started for Vrndavana. However He mistakenly wandered about in a trance for three days. Nityananda Prabhu played a trick on the Lord and directed Him to the pathway of the Ganges. Advaita Acarya and Lord Nityananda tricked Lord Caitanya and requested Him  [...] Poem for October 9 is a post from: EVERY DAY   • Email to a friend • • H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): Selected Writings From Shack Notes: Moments While at a Writing Retreat "Self-Centered "The subject of self-centeredness generates a lot of energy. It appears to be split into two interpretations. The common meaning of 'self-centered' makes me cry out,  'Bad! Bad! Wrong! Maya!' No one likes a self-centered, selfish brute. 'Conceited,' as we used to say as kids. [...] Selected Writings is a post from: EVERY DAY   • Email to a friend • • ISKCON Desire Tree: Vaishnava Calender - Sri Krsna Saradiya Rasayatra,Laxmi Puja,Sri Murari Gupta-Disappearance <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:YwkR-u9nhCs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=YwkR-u9nhCs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?i=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?i=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:KwTdNBX3Jqk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?i=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?i=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=oqeCzenRDBA:B8VePNuFzDc:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> </div>   • Email to a friend • • Japa Group: Glories Of The Holy Name Hare Krsna dear devotees. Today I would like to share a text from the Harinama Cintamani by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur. "The Puranas say that anyone who chants the holy name, whether with faith or neglect, attracts the mercy of Lord Krsna. The holy name is the purest form of knowledge; it is the best of all vratas or vows and the highest meditation; it gives the most auspicious fruits; it is the greatest renunciation; it gives incomparable peace; it is the most pious of holy works; it is the supreme path of self realization; it is the greatest liberation and goal; it is the topmost destination; it is the best devotional service; it is the purest inclination; it gives love of Godhead and is the essence of remembrance of the Lord; it is the cause of all causes, the Supreme Absolute Truth; it is the most worshipable object and acts as the supreme spiritual master." I wish you a blessed week of chanting and nice realisations from the sound vibration of the mantra. your servant, Aruna devi   • Email to a friend • • Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: The Coming Decline And Fall Of Big Coal From Jeff Goodell at Rolling Stone AP ran a great story yesterday about the coming decline of the coal industry in Appalachia that I fear is not going to get nearly the attention it deserves.   Because if you think about this story seriously for more than 30 seconds, you will come to see that it has huge implications not only for future U.S. energy policy but also for the coming presidential election. The AP story captures, in brief, what journalists who cover the Appalachian coal industry (like Ken Ward Jr. of theCharleston Gazette, whose blog, Coal Tattoo, is a must-read), have been saying for a long time: the coal industry as we know it today is a dead man walking.  All the high-quality, easy-to-get coal is gone, and what's left is increasingly expensive and difficult to mine.  In the last couple of decades, coal operators have dealt with this by shifting to cheap but highly destructive ways of getting coal out of the ground, such as blasting away the mountains above the coal with explosives (a practice known as mountaintop-removal mining).  But now the remaining coal seams are so deeply buried and so thin that even that isn't working anymore.  As the AP story points out, the U.S. Department of Energy projects that in a little more than three years, the amount of coal mined in Appalachia will be just half of what it was in 2008.  After that, the downward spiral will continue.  There is no magic remedy, no quick fix: when the coal is gone, it's gone. The implications of this are profound and far reaching – and not only for the people who live and work in the coal fields.  As the AP story points out, there were about 37,000 coal industry employees in Central Appalachia in 2008, accounting for anywhere from 1 to 40 percent of the labor force in individual counties.  "We are going to see declines in labor and jobs, and it's going to happen rapidly" in West Virginia, said Rory McIlmoil, who helped draft a recent report (PDF) on the future of coal in Appalachia. West Virginia is also expected to see a decline of over $100 million in the taxes coal operators pay to mine in the state, which means dramatic cuts in social services and education that people in the region can ill afford.  The end of coal in Appalachia doesn't mean that America is running out of coal (there's plenty left in Wyoming).  But it should end the fantasy that coal can be an engine of job creation – the big open pit mines in Wyoming employ a tiny fraction of the number of people in an underground mine in Appalachia.  And for a variety of reasons – railroad congestion among them – Wyoming coal is never going to ramp up production enough to have a meaningful impact on job creation.  For better or worse, the bulk of coal industry jobs are in Appalachia – and when that coal is gone, so are the jobs. More important, the decline of Appalachian coal means it's time for every political candidate with national aspirations to stop kissing the industry's ass in important swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.  The future of these states depends on their ability to re-invent their economies, not preserving a relic of the past.  The relevant questions now are: How do we move beyond coal?  How do we bring new jobs to the coal fields and retrain coal miners for other work?   How do we inspire entrepreneurialism and self-reliance in people whose lives have been dependent on the paternalistic coal industry? It also means it's time to stop letting Big Coal spike every conversation about climate and energy policy.  For decades, climate and energy policy has been held hostage by bullshit arguments from the coal industry that any attempts to reduce greenhouse gas pollution or shift to renewable energy will bring economic ruin to America.  Well, the decline and fall of the coal industry shows that just the opposite is true: Our future is not dependent on burning more coal, but on getting off it as quickly as possible and creating a new economy based on clean, renewable energy.  It may be too late for West Virginia to save itself from the ravages of Big Coal.  But it's not too late for America   • Email to a friend • • Dandavats.com: Hari Das Prabhu with Srila Prabhupada By Premanjana Dasa This story has been written by Premanjana Dasa (Pranjal Joshi) on the basis of a conversation that took place between him and His Grace Hari Das Prabhu at the 'Hare Krishna Land' (ISKCON Temple) at Juhu, Mumbai in the months of August and September 2011 in the room of Haridas Prabhu