Last Saturday I went with friends to Daytona Beach to take part in the Ratha-yatra festival; throughout the spring and summer months there are several such festivals that take place in Florida. I’d taken my car and a few ladies rode with me. One of my passengers had a pack of stickers to pass out (with a Bhagavad-gita verse on them) and she shared them with me. That gave me a way to interact with the passersby in a low-key way; I could simply give them the sticker, read the verse with them (or...
Very often, the only link an inmate has with the outside world is his correspondence with the IPM devotees. Some are fortunate enough to have supportive family or friends, but most are not. I am realizing more and more how important the relationship the inmates develop with their devotee pen pal(s) is for them.
A few weeks ago I received a letter from inmate Bhakta Terry H. from Bessemer, Alabama. He is new to Krsna consciousness. Terry is in solitary confinement, which means that he...
A friend sent me a link to an intriguing article, “How Religions Change Their Mind,” (click here for the full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22250412). On reading it, I mulled over the concept of remaining true to the essence of a teaching, while making it relevant for the current audience. The original inaugurator of the Hare Krishna movement was Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who upset the caste brahmanas of His time by going straight to the essence of the Vedic teachings and giving...
Who is the real Spider-man? Who is the man behind the mask of maya?
Narada thought that it might be Brahmā.
Nārada says to Brahmā
SB 2.5.5 — As the spider very easily creates the network of its cobweb and manifests its power of creation without being defeated by others, so also you yourself, by employment of your self-sufficient energy, create without any other’s help.
SB 2.5.6 — Whatever we can understand by the nomenclature, characteristics and features of a...
Dallas Morning News,
Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.
That thought came to me after reading a recent New York Times piece that questioned whether kidswho are being diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder may...
Monday, May 20th is the death anniversary of my mom. I usually post the blog I wrote a few days after she “left her body” (as devotees call death of the physical body, since the soul moves on) three years ago. Although, I’ll give some links for a whole series of blogs I wrote around that time, I would like to express some thoughts for your consideration, and perhaps, for thinking of your own mom, or your relationship to your parents in general. One of the questions I am thinking about is: “How...
In the course of a day here at BTG/Krishna.com, I was asked by my manager to go through some old BTGs. Doing so brought back a flood of memories. Here’s one: in 1976, in July, there was a special issue focused on the theme that America was celebrating its bicentennial, having declared its independence from England on July 4, 1776. The cover showed a festive arrangement with the original American flag in the background, and a bright-faced young devotee in the foreground, singing. The caption...
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This was originally the introduction for Give to Live, but we decided to cut it, since the size of the front matter and whole book, had to be reduced. Still, I think it gives a good introduction for the book for those of you who don’t have a copy. Adding further to the mystery of this piece of writing is that somehow it disappeared after being posted last week. So I am reposting it again....
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Restrictions, limitations, impositions
though my heart doesn't like them
the rules of the body and mind
embodied by suffering souls
with difficult pasts and issues
my own and others combined
bring me pain and regret
that they can’t deal with me.
Forcing me to walk the tightrope
since conditioning rules identity
even for devotees in bhakti
endeavoring to spiritually awaken
Kali yuga...
3 weeks 1 day agoLast Saturday I went with friends to Daytona Beach to take part in the Ratha-yatra festival; throughout the spring and summer months there are several such festivals that take place in Florida. I’d taken my car and a few ladies rode with me. One of my passengers had a pack of stickers to pass out (with a Bhagavad-gita verse on them) and she shared them with me. That gave me a way to interact with the passersby in a low-key way; I could simply give them the sticker, read the verse with them (or...0 Comment(s)95 Reads
3 weeks 2 days agoVery often, the only link an inmate has with the outside world is his correspondence with the IPM devotees. Some are fortunate enough to have supportive family or friends, but most are not. I am realizing more and more how important the relationship the inmates develop with their devotee pen pal(s) is for them. A few weeks ago I received a letter from inmate Bhakta Terry H. from Bessemer, Alabama. He is new to Krsna consciousness. Terry is in solitary confinement, which means that he...0 Comment(s)93 Reads
4 weeks 18 hours ago0 Comment(s)117 Reads
4 weeks 2 days agoMonday, May 20th is the death anniversary of my mom. I usually post the blog I wrote a few days after she “left her body” (as devotees call death of the physical body, since the soul moves on) three years ago. Although, I’ll give some links for a whole series of blogs I wrote around that time, I would like to express some thoughts for your consideration, and perhaps, for thinking of your own mom, or your relationship to your parents in general. One of the questions I am thinking about is: “How...1 Comment(s)198 Reads