An unofficial, eclectic, mostly tangential, view of aspiring devotee life. Best viewed with Sense of Humor 8.0 or higher. The cows may come, the cows may go, but the bull is always here.
As always, too many things to write about and too little possibility of really capturing the spirit of it. Mostly I just hang out and talk to devotees.
One was Yadubara, who was set up selling his DVD series, Following Prabhupada. From the website:
“In October 2006, ISKCON Cinema released the first DVD in the digitally restored set entitled “Following Srila Prabhupada”. The films are presented chronologically, beginning with the first film of Srila Prabhupada at Dr. Misra’s Ananda Ashram, and ending with his last days in Vrindavan. There are three audio tracks, which include a kirtan and live audio track, a lecture track and a remembrances track with commentary of those who appear in the films.
“Included in the set will be several newly discovered films of Srila Prabhupada in Germany, Italy, Mayapur, Sweden, Detroit and Los Angeles. One DVD will be released every three to four months up to a total of 11, each approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours in length. DVD 8 was released December 15, 2008.”
Even I, who rarely to never buys DVDs, bought DVD 8 because he has a Festival of Inspiration super special price of $5.
To the joy of his many fans who are subscribed to the series, DVD 9 is available at the FOI.
The evening was chock full of entertainment. Besides the scheduled events going on in the main tent, there was a sweet bhajan going on in the temple room, and a hormone kirtan was raging in the yajnashalla outside in the sitkirtan style.
After the scheduled performers were through in the main tent and most of the crowd dispersed, musician after musician got up on the stage and played for another hour or more, including both local and imported talent.
Tonight is the big show with ISKCON rock star performer TK who has put together a band since arriving here a week early. Bhakta Raghava Swami is also here and will be putting on a play.
Besides the snack bar and the fast moving lines for the regularly served prasadam, there were several other prasadam vendors so no one at any time was suffering from the whip of hunger.
Anyway, I feel compassion for those who are missing it, maybe next year for you guys. I could write more but prefer to go to the temple to catch more of the nectar.
Krishna lunch at the University of Florida means more than just grabbing a quick bite to eat; for some students, it has become a tradition.
The Krishnas have been there, in the same spot at the plaza, for more than 38 years.
Every day, rain or shine, students can enjoy a healthy vegetarian, all- you- can- eat buffet, for a donation of $4. Students can also buy lunch cards, which drop the price to a mere $3.33.
Krishna Temple president Kalakantha das says the lunches are a part of their tradition. ” Our tradition is centered around the idea of sacrament in everything one eats, and so preparing, eating and serving that sacred food is part of us.”
Wednesdays are, by far, the busiest day at the Krishna line. They serve a popular pasta on that day and some students find it quite addicting.
“I truly think it’s because they put addictive substances in the sauce,” UF student Alex Jaditian jokes. “Either that, or it’s so delicious that it has become addictive on its own.”
Good Food and Companionship
Jaditian says he will stay in line for hours, if need be, but he adds he comes here for more than just the lunch itself.
“It’s not only the food that tastes good. You get to eat under good weather, you have your good friends with you.” Kumar Vasudevan and Franco Alvaredo agree with Jaditian. “It’s outside and it’s really nice to seat with a lot of friends and eat the lunch.”
Vasudevan also likes the convenience and price. “I’m a vegan and it’s all you can eat food for $3.33, and I don’t think I can have a good nutritious meal for this price anywhere else.”
“We make sure our food is nutritious too. Vegans sometimes lack Vitamin B, so we try to supplement that need,” Kalakantha das said.
Eating Krishna food can also lessen a diner’s carbon footprint, he said. “We feel this is a God-centered activity and by being so, we feel that we are helping everyone involved in it. Not to mention the ecological impact of people eating less red meat and helping with the lessening of global warming.”
Feeling the Financial Pinch
Unfortunately, the Krishna are not immune from the economic crisis. In the past two months, the number of lunches served increased 20 percent from its level in 2008, but donations have fallen 15 percent.
“Because we are not a business and we serve very generously, people that may be having a hard time are bypassing contributions, or getting one plate and many forks,” Kalakantha das said. “We would feed the whole world if we could. ” But “we might have to include some ways of policing to make sure all helped the cost of their meals.”
Between 600 and 1,000 students eat the Krishna lunch every day. The last time the prices were raised on the meals was November 2007. Kalakantha das said he is trying not to raise the price again.
Split on Cost
The students are split on the issue. “It depends on how much more. I feel like at a certain level of expense I wouldn’t be willing to spend that much because I could cook my own food,” Vasudevan said.
Jaditian, on the other hand, is willing to accept price increases. “If they keep raising the prices it I would still eat it. It is just so convenient and healthier than other alternatives,” he said.
For those students who are hard on cash, the Krishnas offer volunteering opportunities. Students can help cook, set up and clean up in exchange for food.
They are asking students to help out right now by avoiding waste and donating again if taking food home for a later meal.
Students have made this lunch line so popular it is now featured in the Official UF Book of Traditions. It ranks almost as high as going to a football game. ” It’s more than just lunch,” Jaditian said as he is about to take his first bite. “It’s a social experience.”
I was running around Moundsville, our nearest town, the other day doing errands. At about 4 different places, waiting in line or chatting with acquaintances, I was making casual conversation about local news.
The latest was a 3 story apartment building that burned rapidly during the night. A woman’s cats woke her up and she was able to alert other residents so everyone got out without any deaths, although 5 were rescued from windows and 2 had to jump, one from a second story window and one from the third story. The third story jumper broke both his arms and legs.
Because of the broken limbs he was in the hospital and missed a court date. The court date was a result of another local news story from a couple of months ago and here is where it gets interesting. The reason he was going to court was for throwing a cat out of that same third story window.
When he threw the cat out, some kids were walking by and reported him to the police. He was arrested. The cat was taken to the pound but its injuries were too severe and it had to be put down. This had enraged all the cat lovers and even people who eat dead cows love cats, so it was quite the buzz.
The most interesting thing to me was as I was relating this story, which most people were already familiar with, twice the response was the same, from two different people I had never met before, “Karma.”
Both gave the same unsolicited, unelaborated response. The first time I thought it was unique, but the second time I had to see it as a pattern, how Vedic culture has started to permeate Western culture to the extant that 2 people out of 4 groups in Moundsville, WV, not usually considered a cosmopolitan place, came to the same conclusion. That it was karma for a guy who threw a cat out a window to later be forced to jump from that same window.
Soma and I have set a goal of getting a 1000 fruit and nut trees planted in New Vrindaban in the next ten years. Here is an article related to that concept:
What could be more delightful than to be able to pluck and eat fruit from a tree that you also admire for its beauty?
Every quality valued in a landscape tree — whether it’s textured bark, fall leaf color, bright flowers, even decorative fruits — can also be found in some trees bearing edible fruits.
FIRST, A REALITY CHECK
When it comes to “luscious landscaping” with fruit trees, special considerations are needed. Think twice before planting an especially bountiful tree near a terrace or driveway. Excess dropped fruit could create a mess.
And producing fruit — especially high-quality fruit — demands an extra measure of energy from a tree, so also pay attention to choosing a site with sun and soil that suits it.
Pests might present a problem when landscaping with fruit, which can be as attractive to pests as to us humans. Yet trying to spray one fruit tree nestled among other plants or growing near a terrace brings its own set of problems. You don’t want pesticides to fall on nearby plants or in areas where people — especially children — play or lounge outdoors.
The best way to avoid the need for spraying is to do something else before you even plant: Choose an appropriate tree for your region, one that is handsome and pest resistant, and bears tasty fruits.
Fortunately, in every region of the country there are plenty of handsome trees that yield edible fruits without the need for spraying or, in some cases, even pruning. And some fruit trees are adaptable just about everywhere.
LARGE,
LUSCIOUS FRUITED,
ORNAMENTAL TREES
Among larger trees, for example, consider American persimmon (Diospyros americana) and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis).
Persimmon has gracefully arching limbs, checkered bark and slightly bluish leaves. The rich, sweet fruits of American persimmon have the taste and texture of wet, dried apricots that have been dipped in honey along with a dash of spice. They dangle like Christmas ornaments from the branches well into fall.
Hackberry is related to American elm and has a similarly pleasing, vase-shaped growth habit. The real beauty of this plant is more subtle, though, and that is its bark, which is gray and punctuated with corky ridges that cast crisp shadows reminiscent of a lunar landscape. The fruits, ripening in late summer and fall, are small, round and as sweet as dates, although the flesh is admittedly sparse.
FRUITS FROM
MEDIUM-SIZE TREES
Two examples of medium-size ornamental trees bearing edible fruits are cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) and pawpaw (Asimina triloba).
Cornelian cherry is mostly planted as an ornamental only because people don’t realize that the fruit is edible. The fruits look and taste very much like tart cherries.
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a lush tree whose large, dark green leaves would look perfectly at home in a tropical forest. The fruit has a creamy texture and flavor much like banana, along with hints of pineapple, avocado and mango. Despite its tropical airs, pawpaw happily survives frigid winters where temperatures dip well below zero.
SMALL, PRETTY
TREES BEARING
TASTY FRUITS
If you lack the space to plant a large or medium-size tree, there are a number of small trees that are pretty and bear tasty morsels.
Juneberry (Amelanchier spp.), for example. This tree is a cloud of white blossoms in spring, and fiery purple, orange and yellow leaves in fall. Even in winter, juneberries liven the landscape subtly with their smooth, gray bark and neat form. The blueberry-size fruit is sweet and juicy, with the richness of sweet cherry and a hint of almond.
Medlar (Mespilus germanica), another small tree, has large white or pinkish blossoms, each handsomely framed by a whorl of dark green leaves. The fruits that follow are interesting, if not attractive, resembling small, russeted apples, tinged yellow and flared open at the end opposite the stem. After harvest, the fruits soften to the texture and flavor of old-fashioned applesauce, brisk and winy.
The trees mentioned above represent only a slice of the pie of what’s available for landscaping with fruit trees. There are many others: quince, Korean pine, mulberry and the rare shipova, to name a few.
With only minimal effort on your part, mostly in selecting the right plant for beauty, adaptability and flavor, you can have your cake (the tree) and eat it (the fruit), too!
Write about a radish
Too many people write about the moon.
The night is black
The stars are small and high
The clock unwinds its ever-ticking tune
Hills gleam dimly
Distant nighthawks cry.
A radish rises in the waiting sky.
A devotee should not see anything as being separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Ether, fire, air, water, earth, the sun and other luminaries, all living beings, the directions, trees and other plants, the rivers and oceans -- whatever a devotee experiences he should consider to be an expansion of Krsna.
Thus seeing everything that exists within creation as the body of the Supreme Lord, Hari, the devotee should offer his sincere respects to the entire expansion of the Lord's body.
Chaitanya Caritamrta Adi 1.106:
"Essential truth spoken concisely is true eloquence."
Rabindranath Tagore:
A mind all logic
is like a knife all blade.
The hand that uses it will bleed.
Albert Einstein:
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
Marcel Proust:
The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes but in having new eyes.
Claude Debussy:
Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art.
Thomas Merton:
There comes a time when it is no longer important to prove one’s point, but simply to live, to surrender to God and to love.
Albert Einstein:
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Jack Rebney (the Winnebago man):
I don't want any more bullshit from anyone and that includes me.
Great Book To Have
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