| Wednesday, July 21th - Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 |
This week: Wednesday, July 21st: Sayana Ekadasi (fast from grains and beans), break the fast the following morning between 6:34-11:13. Upcoming:
Tuesday July 27th, 7pm, Community of Inquiry by Mother Ananda Vrindavanesvari
Wednesday, September 1st, Sri Krishna Janmastami   |
| | | | | | | | | | | | From Srila Prabhupada: The importance of chanting is so nice. So do not give up chanting. Then Krsna will protect you. This is the example. "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna," you practice. Naturally, when you are in danger, you will say, "Hare Krsna." This much do. If you are practiced to do something, chant Hare Krsna, then you are safe. So it is not difficult. Sincerely chant. Try to avoid offense. -- "Krishna is Very Tricky," Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1.28, Philadelphia, July 13th, 1975 |
| | | | | | | | | His Holiness Prahladananda Swami - Health
 H.H. Prahladananda Swami is the Minister for Health for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He yearly publishes a magazine,"I Hope This Meets You In Good Health" (click here). The following is his 2000 Vyasa Puja offering to Srila Prabhupada regarding the title, and how health relates to spiritual life.
nama om viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhu-tale/śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine/namas te sārasvate deve gauravāṇī-pracāriṇe/ nirviśeṣa-śunyavādipāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe At the end of his letters Śrīla Prabhupāda often wrote, "I hope this meets you in good health." Some people may be surprised that a transcendental personality such as Śrīla Prabhupāda would be concerned with something that might seem as mundane as a person's health. Śrīla Prabhupāda, however, gave Kṛṣṇa conscious reasons why he was concerned about our health.
Although the body is material, since it is being used in Lord Kṛṣṇa's service it now belongs to Lord Kṛṣṇa and should be taken care of nicely: "We should always remember that our body is not for sense gratification; it is for Krishna's service only. And to render very good sound service to Krishna we should not neglect the upkeep of the body. We learn from an instance of Sanatana Goswami. He was sometimes very much sick on account of eczema, and he was therefore sometimes bleeding. But whenever Lord Caitanya met Sanatana Goswami, He used to embrace him in spite of Sanatana's request for Him not to touch him. Because of this. Sanatana Goswami later on decided to commit suicide so Lord Caitanya would not embrace him in his bloody condition. This plan was understood by Lord Caitanya, and He called Sanatana Goswami and said to him, "You have decided to end this body, but don't you know that this body belongs to Krishna? You have already dedicated your body to Krishna so how can you decide to end it?" So you must not neglect the upkeep of your body. This is the lesson we get from Lord Caitanya and Sanatana Goswami. Try to take care of your health in the best possible way. [Letter to Rāyarāma dāsa, 9 February 1969]" Service to the body and mind may also be service to Lord Kṛṣṇa:"Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura warns us in this connection that we should not mistakenly think that the idea of giving up everything implies the renunciation of duties necessary in relation to the body and mind. Even such duties are not sense gratification if they are undertaken in a spirit of service to Kṛṣṇa. [Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.170, purport)" By maintaining one's health nicely one can do nice service for Lord Kṛṣṇa: Keep your health in good condition and work very hard for Krishna. That is our motto of life. [Letter to Rāyarāma dāsa, 6 March 1969}" Śrīla Prabhupāda understood that ill health could hinder one's devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa: "If you are willing to offer your medical services to my students, when it is required, that will be very nice. It is important to keep the body fit and healthy so that we will not meet the obstacle of ill health while serving Krishna. Ill health may hinder one's service, so, we want to avoid it as much as possible. [Letter to Dr. W.D. Currier, 19 June 1975]" Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted his disciples to live a long time to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness: "Be careful about your health first. This information is not only for you but all my noble sons. I am an old man. I may live or die it does not matter. But you must live for long time to push on this Krishna Consciousness movement. [Letter to Rāyarāma dāsa, 21 December 1967]" To maintain one's health doesn't have to be difficult: "Regarding your question about maintaining your body nicely, I think that if you follow our regulations of diet, sufficient sleeping, and keep to the prescribed rules of cleanliness, two baths per day,* then you will be able to keep yourself in proper health. Of course, disease will always be there at some time while there is this material body, but this we must tolerate and not be very much agitated by. Actually, the Vaisnava who knows that he is not this body, he does not therefore neglect his body, but he takes very nice care so that he may utilize his body in the service of Krishna. Just like a man may know that he is not his car, so he does not therefore neglect his car, but he will take care of it so it will be able to render service to him. So we must take sufficient care to provide our bodies with its demands, but when disease or other necessary inconveniences arrive, we do not become disturbed because such troubles are simply temporary manifestations. [Letter to Balabhadra dāsa, 12 May 1969] *at least one Regarding your fasting, if you are sick, then fasting is the best medicine. For disease and unwanted guests, if you do not give them food, they will go away. [Letter to Revatīnandana Swami, 16 January 1975]" The ultimate protection comes from Lord Kṛṣṇa: "Regarding Syama Dasi's health, it is to be understood that so long we have got this material body there must be some trouble. Actually, medicine is not the remedial measures for our bodily troubles unless we are helped by Krishna. Therefore, whenever there is bodily trouble we may adopt the prescribed methods of medical science and depend upon Krishna for His Mercy. The best remedy, not only for Syama Dasi but for everyone, is to consult some approved physician. But ultimately we have to depend on the Mercy of Krishna, so we should chant regularly, pray to Krishna to give us a chance to serve Him, and, if required, we may adopt the approved method of treatment. [Letter to Kīrtanānanda Swami, 14 February 1969]" Although Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted the devotees to be healthy, he also wanted them to tolerate the inevitable miseries of material life: "So long we have got this material body, the miseries will be coming and going, simply we have to tolerate them and try to make advancement in Krishna Consciousness as best we can. [Letter to Pradyumna dāsa, 23 March 1968]" The order of importance: "In some of the Vedic literatures, it is said that Atmanan Sarvato Rakshet, that means one should give first protection to the soul. Then he should take care of his particular type of faith, then he should take care of the material things, namely this body, and anything in relation with this body, or wealth. [Letter to Toṣaṇa Kṛṣṇa dāsa, 7 October 1968]" Śrīla Prabhupāda's eternal servant,
Prahlādānanda Swami |
Appreciating Kalachandji's Community: Pics from Community Garden
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| School is My Second Home from GPT Children's Voices [Issue 1]:
by Brajasundari Hausner (9 years old)
I am in fourth grade at the Bhaktivedanta Academy in Alachua, which is like my second home. Growing up in a big community with lots of devotees and going to a Krishna conscious school make me feel very fortunate because not many devote children have this rare opportunity. At my school I am free to talk about Lord Krishna, have deities, chant japa, and read Krishna's pastimes with my friends, without being criticized by classmates or teachers. No matter what day it is, all the classes do Krishna conscious activities, which make every one feel happy. All the teachers at the school are devotees and they care so much about both our spiritual and material life. They want to teach us all they can. It makes me feel so lucky that they care so much about me and all the other students. If I were attending a non-devotee school, I would feel very uncomfortable with the atmosphere and not being able to talk about Krishna.
I feel that it is necessary to open gurukulas near temples for the benefit of both the children and the parents because it makes the parens happy that there child can go to a Krishna consicouss school and have devote friends they can associate with. Also, having a school right on the temple property has many advantages. I can hear the arati going on while having lunch outside. I can even get up early to go to the temple for kirtan and arati to see the Lord. When the kirtan is finished, I can walk from the temple to the school with my friends.
Having gurukulas is very important because it gives parents relief knowing that their children are having a Krishna Conscious education. Srila Prabhupada himself very much wanted this. He once wrote "Gurukula is our most important project. If the children are given a Krishna Conscious education from early childhood then there is great hope for the future of the world." He was very determined to establish schools because he wanted devotee children to have a Krishna conscious education. He knew that if the children go to schools that are not Krishna conscious, they may start to go away from spiritual life, forget about Krishna, and be engaged in bad activities. However, if they go to a Krishna conscious school instead of going away from Krishna they will be with Him at school some way all the time.
I am praying that Krishna will shower His mercy and let us open more beautiful gurukulas for the benefit of many more children around the world. |
| Missing Equipment
Last Sunday Rupa Madhurya & Gopi Gita lost their bag that had some recording equipment. The bag had a video camera battery, a battery charger, and a small mic stand and possibly some other items as well.
The bag was simple black reusable shopping bag with "Dallas Laser Dentistry" written on the side.
Since several weeks we have been missing a cherry wood stand that was in the front of the temple in the hall with a picture of Shivananda Prabhu
There was Ayurveda Seminar DVD in the Congregational office that went missing a week ago.
If you have any knowledge of these items please inform us so they may be returned.
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Ratha Yatra DVD Available for SaleA DVD of this year's Ratha Yatra parade, the initiation by H.H. Giriraja Swami & H.H. Rtadhvaja Swami, as well as all of the dancing and entertainment afterwards is available. This is a 2-DVD set. To purchase a copy, please go to Rupa Madhurya's blog. |
Recipe Corner Second in a series of three: Mayonnaise II PREPARATION TIME: a few minutes
SETTING TIME: 10 minutes
YIELD: about 21/4 cups 1 cup evaporated milk (unsweetened)
1 cup safflower oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon honey (optional)
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon mustard powder Place the evaporated milk in a blender. While the blender is on, gradually add the oil until the mixture slightly thickens. Add the salt, optional honey, lemon juice, and mustard powder. Continue blending until the mixture thickens further. Allow the mayonnaise to set for a further 10 minutes in the refrigerator. | Contact Information | Main Temple phone: 214-827-6330, Congregation Services: 214-827-6330 x 216
Email for general questions and information
To schedule a tour, home or school program: Nityananda Chandra 214-669-3369, or email him
To place an item in next week's bulletin, please send it by Monday each week |
| | July/Aug Feast Sponsorships July 4th Pravin Chhatbar Nita Patel July 11th Paankhuri Gupta Deepak Parikh July 18th Divyes/Ankita Rana Ram Reddy Kanthibhai & Amritbhai Mistry 1 Sponsorship Available
Aug 1st
Talati family in memory of Umesh Talati & Ganga Ba
1 Sponsorship Available
Kindly come forward and sponsor a feast |
Sincere thanks to all our Monthly Sponsors |
Sri Krishna Janmastami Wed, Sept. 1st, 2010 We Invite all of you to take part in the festivities Available
Sponsorpships 1) Deity Dresses (4 in #) $2,501 2) Kalash Abhisheka $2,501 $1,001 $501 3) All Day Festivities $2,501 4) Flowers $1,001 5) Prasadam $501 Please kindly come forward to help us celebrate Sri Krishnas Appearance in a grand celebration To sign up call 214 454 5267 Email |
call 214 454 5267 214 827 6330 x 216 |
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