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.
We spent a good deal of time last year on this blog and in public meetings discussing the common good. We talked about defining the common good in Dallas. We talked about the...
(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed; works best w/Firefox)
Will I survive or perish?
Fighting for each step
on the road of cleansing —
howling wind-spirits push me
flaming tongues burn my feet
the abyss beneath beckons
lusty beings offer temptations
demons create obstructions
relief is promised if I give up.
Grasping the sword of Truth
I move the demons backward
ignoring obstacles surrounding me
slowly progressing toward freedom
if only I can stay awake
keeping...
Ever hear the phrase, “The long arm of the law”? Most of you probably have. But just in case you haven’t, this phrase refers to the tendency for legal authorities to always, “Get their man”. Well in my experience Lord Krishna’s “arm” is much longer than the law, and He has extended it through His beloved representative Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada’s faithful servants, to reach out to devotees in every circumstance of life. And that includes those fortunate souls who practice Krishna...
Closing a year of ecstatic preaching and opening a new one is very exciting. More opportunities to serve the sweet lotus feet of Prabhupada and Krsna!
This year I am hoping for more volunteers to correspond with the many inmates reaching out for support and guidance. Below is some more nectar from the inmates as well as an overview of the activities of IPM in 2012.
New Inmate Letter Excerpts
How I came to Krsna
by Bhakta Ben
Allow me to share with you how I came to become a bhakta. I am...
[Gaurangi Priya Gopal photo credit above]
On New Year’s Day my wife and I drove two hours to the Hillsborough NC temple to attend a wedding reception for a new couple, Amala Harinam and Nadiya Mani Darling. Amala, who we have known for years, is the brother of a dear friend (Gaurangi Priya), and we are also close with their parents, so we really desired to go. The actual wedding took place a while back in England (since Nadiya is British), but they wanted to have something in the US for Amala...
A curious confection: The British ‘Stick of Rock’ is made entirely of pink and white coloured sugar and has the name of the seaside town where it is sold running all the way through it. No matter where you slice it, or suck it, you’ll always get the same name, the same sweet taste. So it is with the Vaishnava tradition. The sampradaya is sweet all the way through as is the Name of God. And the stick – the parampara – is the structure that delivers it.
The words sampradaya and parampara are...
A curious confection: The British ‘Stick of Rock’ is made entirely of pink and white coloured sugar and has the name of the seaside town where it is sold running all the way through it. No matter where you slice it, or suck it, you’ll always get the same name, the same sweet taste. So it is with the Vaishnava tradition. The sampradaya is sweet all the way through as is the Name of God. And the stick – the parampara – is the structure that delivers it.
The words sampradaya and parampara are...
A curious confection: The British ‘Stick of Rock’ is made entirely of pink and white coloured sugar and has the name of the seaside town where it is sold running all the way through it. No matter where you slice it, or suck it, you’ll always get the same name, the same sweet taste. So it is with the Vaishnava tradition. The sampradaya is sweet all the way through as is the Name of God. And the stick – the parampara – is the structure that delivers it.
The words sampradaya and parampara are...
(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed)
Part 2—The Interior Castle
We want the same things:
to be loved, understood, valued
it’s only a question of degree—
are we spiritually/psychologically healthy
satisfied in sadhana and who we are,
or needy from a dysfunctional past
meeting intense cravings unhealthily
unable to uncover the soul’s joy in service?
Desiring to share our inner life
to be accepted for our dreams, even darkness
but prevented by mutual walls and...
22 weeks 1 day agoDallas 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. We spent a good deal of time last year on this blog and in public meetings discussing the common good. We talked about defining the common good in Dallas. We talked about the...0 Comment(s)198 Reads
22 weeks 1 day ago(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed; works best w/Firefox) Will I survive or perish? Fighting for each step on the road of cleansing — howling wind-spirits push me flaming tongues burn my feet the abyss beneath beckons lusty beings offer temptations demons create obstructions relief is promised if I give up. Grasping the sword of Truth I move the demons backward ignoring obstacles surrounding me slowly progressing toward freedom if only I can stay awake keeping...2 Comment(s)404 Reads
23 weeks 1 day agoEver hear the phrase, “The long arm of the law”? Most of you probably have. But just in case you haven’t, this phrase refers to the tendency for legal authorities to always, “Get their man”. Well in my experience Lord Krishna’s “arm” is much longer than the law, and He has extended it through His beloved representative Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada’s faithful servants, to reach out to devotees in every circumstance of life. And that includes those fortunate souls who practice Krishna...0 Comment(s)280 Reads
24 weeks 22 hours agoA curious confection: The British ‘Stick of Rock’ is made entirely of pink and white coloured sugar and has the name of the seaside town where it is sold running all the way through it. No matter where you slice it, or suck it, you’ll always get the same name, the same sweet taste. So it is with the Vaishnava tradition. The sampradaya is sweet all the way through as is the Name of God. And the stick – the parampara – is the structure that delivers it. The words sampradaya and parampara are...0 Comment(s)294 Reads