| Wednesday, November 24th - Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 |
This Week
Tue, November 23rd - Tue, November 30th: His Holiness Gunagrahi Goswami visits Dallas Thursday, November 25th: TKG Academy Thanksgiving Fundraiser Upcoming Saturday, December 4th: Vyasa Puja for His Holiness Radhanath Swami Thursday, December 16th: Gita Jayanti - The Advent of the Bhagavad Gita
  |
| | | | | | | | | From Srila Prabhupada: We want to be happy, with so many ideas. Everyone is making his own idea, "Now this is the..." But the rascals, they do not know that, what is the actual process for getting happiness, that is Krsna. That they do not know...You, you can see in your country, they are trying so many things, so many skyscraper buildings, so many motor cars, so many big, big cities, but there is no happiness. Because they do not know what is missing. That missing point we are giving. Here is, "You take Krsna and you will be happy." This is our Krsna consciousness. Krsna and the living entity, they are very intimately connected. Like father and son, or friend and friend, or master and servant, like that. We are very much intimately connected. But because we have forgotten our intimate relationship with Krsna, and trying to become happy in this material world, therefore we have to undergo so much tribulations. This is the position -- "Very Initmately Connected," Srimad Bhagavatam 1.15.1, New York, November 29th, 1973 |
| | | | | | A Deeper Understanding - Gunagrahi Goswami His Holiness Gunagrahi das Goswami joined ISKCON in Buffalo, NY, in November of 1969 and was initiated by His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1971. He accepted the order of Sannyas in 1983. In 1997, he accepted leadership responsibilities in Argentina and Uruguay, and presently oversees those countries as Zonal Secretary. He travels widely in North and South America to counsel, teach, and present Krishna Consciousness. He is based at the ISKCON temple in Buenos Aires. The following is from his blog.  December 18, 2009: I have been thinking a lot about the subject matter that we discussed in the last post (Nov. 19th) and would like to present a few more thoughts that could help us go deeper.
I have seen over the years that our personal progress and the progress of our movement is often checked due to our inability to cope properly with our negative emotions towards each other. On the other hand, I have also experienced how, when resentment and other ill feelings show their face in our day-to-day lives, if they are handled with spiritual maturity, they can be turned into a powerful source of positive transformation for all of us. And in this way our movement can go forward as it is meant to. If you take the time to again read the quote by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur included in the post below on forgiveness, and if you compare it to Prabhupada's purport of BG 12.12-13 presented here, you will see that much of the message is identical. Prabhupada says: "A pure devotee is never disturbed in any circumstances. Nor is he envious of anyone. Nor does a devotee become his enemy's enemy; he thinks, "This person is acting as my enemy due to my own past misdeeds. So it is better to suffer than to protest." In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.8) it is stated: tat te'nukampam su samiksamano bhunjana evatma kirtam vipakam. Whenever a devotee is in distress or has fallen into difficulty, he thinks that it is the Lord's mercy upon him. He thinks, "Thanks to my past misdeeds I should suffer far, far greater than I am suffering now. So it is by the mercy of the Supreme Lord that I am not getting all the punishment I am due. I am just getting a little, by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Therefore he is always calm, quiet and patient, despite many distressful conditions. A devotee is also always kind to everyone, even to his enemy. Although I had read the above words many times, when I recently came across them they had more meaning to me than ever before. Perhaps I needed to read the quote by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur first to bring Prabhupada's points further home. Not only are we being taught by them that adversity brought upon us by others comes about because of our own misdeeds - not theirs - but also that that adversity is being greatly minimized due to Krsna's mercy. Thus we should try to come to the point of feeling relief and gratitude for what is taking place, not frustration and resentment. Just like when a judge helps us understand that we are clearly guilty of an infraction but tells us that, because of our good behavior, he will only charge a fraction of the fine we would ordinarily have to pay. There is another valuable understanding we can gain from being treated badly or offended. It might be difficult to incorporate into our daily lives, but if we do, we will be able to feel great joy and relief: when thinking of those who have shown us animosity, we should try to feel compassion towards them, knowing that their inimical behavior towards us will cause them the same suffering that we are now undergoing due to our identical ill behavior in the past. Our goal should thus be to cast out any resentment towards such persons and have sympathy for them, thus fulfilling our mandate to be a kind friend to everyone, even our enemy. Our only enemy, then, is the enemy within, our own ignorance, which causes us to act and think in so many destructive ways, bringing on so much future pain. If we recongnize and focus on that, our enmity towards others will soon go away and leave the door wide open for love to fill our hearts, regardless of anyone's actions or mentality towards us. Kirtan Standards The following link is an article from Gunagrahi Goswami's website regarding kirtan standards. |
Tuesday, November 23rd- Tuesday, November 30th: H.H. Gunagrahi Goswami visits Dallas, accompanied by his devotee Ajamil Prabhu
Program Schedule: Wednesday, 11/24: Kirtan, Bhajans and Bhagavad Gita class in the Temple room, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, 11/26: Srimad Bhagavatam Study course at Bonthala's home Address: 14695 Daneway Dr Frisco TX 75035 Phone: 214-509-0991
Saturday, 11/27: Kirtan Home Program at Sakshi Gopal Prabhu's home Address: 2401 Brycewood Ln. Plano, TX 75025 Phone: 848-248-0743 Monday, 11/29: Home program at Megharupa & Abhimanyu's Address: 5412 Gurley Ave., Dallas, TX 75223 Phone: 212-518-7278 Everyone is invited for these programs. Please kindly RSVP and let the host know if you will be going. |
Thursday, November 25th: TKG Academy Thanksgiving Fundraiser TKG Academy will be hosting a grand Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday, November 25th. The menu will consist of curd bird and all the trimmings. The feast will begin at 1:00 p.m. and take place in the upstairs hall. Tickets are $5 for children 3-10, and $10 for those 10 and up. Children under 2 years can eat for free. |
Thursday, November 25th: Kirtan Home Program There will be a kirtan program at Rasakeli & Rasaraja's home at 5415 Gurley Avenue on Thursday, November 25th starting at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is invited. |
Sunday, November 21st: Class Series on Nectar of Instruction Continues It's not too late to join the class. It will be an 11-week series studying Rupa Goswami's Nectar of Instruction conducted by Nityananda Prabhu. One verse will be covered each week. The class will be held in the upstairs darshan room from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. For more information, please contact Nityananda at 214-448-3403. |
Upcoming: Saturday, December 4th - Vyasa Puja for H.H. Radhanath Swami We will be celebrating the Vyasa Puja (birthday) of His Holiness Radanath Swami on Saturday, December 4th. Everyone is invited. Program schedule to be as follows: 10:00 a.m. Kirtan 10:30 a.m. Video
11:00 a.m. Offerings by devotees
11:45 a.m. Pushpanjali
12:00 p.m. Guru Puja and Arati
1:00 p.m. Please contact Rasakeli at 214-454-3949 if you would like to volunteer to do something.
|
 Gita Jayanti Sign Up
Sign up while you can to read a chapter of the Bhagavad Gita on Gita Jayanti. December 16th Thur 3pm
Contact Nityananda Chandra Das at 214-669-3369
|
TKG Academy Website and Blog
TKG Academy's website is up and running, so please give it a look over. Here is the link to their blog, with academic and festival news, which is updated frequently. |
Why don't devotees eat garlic and onions
From Kurma.net, blog of the world famous chef
  We have all your cookbooks, and eagerly await the next one. We have always meant to ask you - why don't you use garlic and onions?
(Belinda and Peter Hanrahan, Oxford, UK)
 Dear Belinda and Peter,
You may know that onions and garlic are botanical members of the Allium family - along with leeks, chives and shallots. According to Ayurveda, India's classic medical science, foods are grouped into three categories - sattvic, rajasic and tamasic - foods in the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Onions and garlic, and the other Alliums are classified as rajasic and to some extent tamasic, which means that they increase passion and to some degree ignorance.
Those that subscribe to pure brahmana-style cooking of India, including myself, and Vaishnavas - followers of Lord Vishnu, Rama and Krishna - like to only cook with foods from the sattvic category. These foods include fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, dairy products, grains and legumes, and so on. Specifically, Vaisnavas do not like to cook with rajasic or tamasic foods because they are unfit to offer to the Deity.
Rajasic and tamasic foods are also not used because they are detrimental to general health, meditation and devotions. Of course some of the Alliums have specific health benefits - garlic is respected as a natural antibiotic - but it is avoided because it stimulates the central nervous system and disturbs meditation.
You may be aware that strict Buddhists also do not eat any of the Alliums for the same reasons as adherents of India's Ayurveda - they disturb meditation. If you visit any strict vegetarian Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, or Japanese restaurant anywhere in the world you will find no Alliums in any of the cooking.
One reason is because in ancient Buddhist Tao writings, one sage (Tsang-Tsze) described the Alliums as the "five fragrant or spicy scented vegetables", and that each have a detrimental effect on one of the following five organs - liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and heart.
Tsang-Tsze said that these pungent vegetables contain five different kinds of enzymes which cause "reactions of repulsive breath, extra-foul odour from perspiration and bowel movements, and lead to lewd indulgences, enhance agitations, anxieties and aggressiveness," especially when eaten raw.
That in a nutshell is why I don't cook with garlic and onions.
For a more extensive article ranging from how the toxic effect of garlic desynchronizes brain waves to how it destroys beneficial stomach bacteria see here @ Kurma.net |
Pumpkin Soup · 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
· 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
· ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
· ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
· 1 teaspoon cumin powder
· 1 teaspoon coriander powder
· 4 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cubed
· 3 cups water
· 1 400 ml tin coconut cream
· ½ teaspoon cinnamon
· 1 teaspoon of salt
· 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1. In a pot heat olive oil, when hot drop in ginger and black pepper
and sauté for 1 minute.
2. Add asafoetida powder, stir then add cubed pumpkin, cumin
powder, and coriander powder, stir till pumpkin is covered in
spices and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the water and bring to boil.
Cook until pumpkin is very tender.
3. Add coconut cream and cinnamon and stir through. Turn off heat
and blend soup till smooth and creamy.
4. Put soup back on heat and simmer for a few minutes and season
with salt.
Serve soup hot, garnished with fresh chopped parsley. |
| 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 |
| | November Feast Sponsorships
Nov 7th
Manishkumar V Soni Harish & Gita Bhimani Radha Kuppa
Kosha,Dipti,&
Hitendra Jaiswal
Nov 14th Anonymous Anant & Vedant
Nov 21st
| Karthik & Kothai Karuppiah | | |
|
call 214 454 5267 214 827 6330 x 216 |
| | | | | |
