PLAN FOR 2011

What will you start doing in 2011?

What will you stop doing in 2011?

What will you continue doing in 2011?

CATCH A FISH

There is a Bengali proverb that states: “I’ll catch the fish, but I will not touch the water.” That type of intelligence is required.

In America we see many old men on the beach who have retired from their business to waste their time trying to catch fish. They are not very cautious, and they touch the water.

However, we have to live in this material world in such a way that we do everything for Kṛṣṇa but do not touch the water of the material world. In this way, we will have no attachment to things of this material world.

We may have many great temples, but we should not be attached to them. It is for Kṛṣṇa’s sake that we construct temples, but we must understand that the temples are Kṛṣṇa’s property. Our mission is to teach people that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Only a thief will occupy something belonging to another and claim it to be his.

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement preaches that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa and that everything should be utilized for Kṛṣṇa’s benefit. He is the beneficiary of everything, and it is to our benefit that we come to this knowledge.

Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam. If one realizes that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, one becomes the greatest mahātmā. Being a mahātmā does not mean that one wears a big beard and a particular type of dress. No, this awareness must be there. Whatever we have should be offered to Kṛṣṇa.

- Srila Prabhupada

AWESOME COMMUNICATION QUOTES

These quotes are from The Heart Of Innovation blog:

www.ideachampions.com/weblogs

1. "The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said." - Peter Drucker

2. "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." - George Bernard Shaw

3."Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people." - William Butler Yeats

4. "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak." - Epictetus

5. "Speak when you are angry -- and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret." - Laurence Peters

6. "In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do." - Stephen Covey

11. "Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing." - Rollo May

15. "Two monologues do not make a dialogue." - Jeff Daly

16. "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

18. "Any problem, big or small, within a family, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn't listening." - Emma Thompson

19. "When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." - Ernest Hemingway

20. "You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time." - Scott Peck

24. "Give me the gift of a listening heart." - King Solomon

BETTER

It is better do do something - imperfect, than nothing - perfect.

TWO KINDS OF PRODUCTION

There are two kinds of production: material production and spiritual production.

Arthadam. Artha means factual profit. So there are two kinds of profit.

Those who are materialists, they calculate profit by dollars, and those who are spiritualists, they calculate profit: "How much I have advanced today in spiritual or Krsna consciousness?" Both of them are profits.

So either make this profit or that profit, but don't waste your time. That is the proposal. But the best profit is, for human form of life, to advance in Krsna consciousness.

- Srila Prabhupada

"IF ONLY" BLUES

If only leaders would be more empowering
If only my wife would be more supportive
If only my daughter would be more obedient
If only people would follow what I say
If only
If only
If only
If only others would be perfect, I would be happy

Are you sure?

I thought that you would be happy if YOU become perfect

GURU

Guru is a person who helps you understand the essence of things and who always brings you back to basics.

MOVE FORWARD

1. Befriend yourself
2. Clarify what you want
3. Take responsibility
4. Take action

The Generosity of King Rantideva

The Royal Road to Krsna

From the Srimad-Bhagavatam, translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. (Adapted by Drutakarma dasa.)

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Yet even a king -- the richest man -- can enter into God's kingdom if he knows the science...

For himself, King Rantideva was always satisfied and depended completely on the Lord's providence. At the same time, when guests came to his palace the generous king would personally look after their every comfort, as if it all depended not on providence but on him.

Once King Rantideva fasted for forty-eight days, but he never complained or made any attempt to get food. On the morning of the forty-ninth day, he received a sizeable quantity of well-prepared food. But just as he was about to take his meal, a learned brahmana priest arrived as a guest.

King Rantideva was very advanced in spiritual knowledge, so he could see that the Supreme Lord Krsna dwells in the heart of every living being. As a result, he received his guest with faith and respect and gave him a share of the food. The brahmana ate to his satisfaction and went away.

Now King Rantideva again prepared to break his long fast, but just as he was about to take his first bite, a low-class laborer entered the palace. King Rantideva could also see Krsna dwelling in the heart of this sudra, so he gave him a portion of the food as well.

After the sudra had gone away, a bearded and bedraggled man surrounded by a pack of dogs arrived before King Rantideva. "O King," he said, "my company of dogs and I are very hungry. Please give us something to eat." With great respect King Rantideva gave what was left of his food to the dogs and their master.

Now only some drinking water remained, and there was only enough for one person. When the king was just about to drink it, a candala (a dog-eater, the lowest of men) appeared before him and said, "O King, although I am lowborn, kindly give me some drinking water."

Touched by these pitiable words, the good-hearted King Rantideva said, "By offering water to maintain the life of this poor candala, I shall not be the loser -- by this act of charity I shall free myself from all hunger, thirst, fatigue, and illusion.

"I do not pray to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna for the powers of mystic yoga, nor for salvation from repeated birth and death in the material world. I want only to stay on this earth among all the living creatures and suffer all their pains for them. In that way they may be freed from all distress."

The ravages of hunger and thirst had brought King Rantideva to the verge of death, and yet he gladly gave even his last drop of water to the wretched candala. Just then Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, and other great demigods appeared before the king and revealed that it was they who had presented themselves as the brahmana, the sudra, the candala, and the man with the dogs.

The demigods were very pleased with King Rantideva and wanted to bestow great wealth and opulence upon him. But the king had no desire to enjoy such things. He simply wanted to keep his mind focused on the lotus feet of Lord Krsna and render devotional service unto Him.

Rantideva knew that Krsna is the eternal master of all the demigods and that the demigods' gifts are temporary -- they pass away with the passing of time. A pure devotee, King Rantideva cared only about his eternal loving relationship with the Supreme Lord.

BEING BORED

One who is bored must be a boring person.

Have you ever seen an interesting person being bored?

I haven't.

Being bored also means: why the world is not dedicated to entertaining me.

Hmm ... are you a little god?

WHAT IS COACHING?

Coaching is a series of deep conversations that positively transform your life.

In coaching you discover principles and tools that you can use for the rest of your life - to your own lasting benefit.

Srila Prabhupada’s Example Of Care

ISKCON Devotee Care | Srila Prabhupada’s Example

The Heart of Innovation: Two Wolves

The Heart of Innovation: Two Wolves

QUESTION YOUR THOUGHTS

"We suffer when we believe the thoughts that are not true."

Question your thoughts with these four questions:

1. Is it true?

2. Can you absolutely know that it's true?

3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?

4. Who would you be without the thought?

Turn around the concept you are questioning, and be sure to find at least three genuine, specific examples of each turnaround.

- Byron Katie

CREATIVITY IN KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS

An Artist Speaks

Navayauvana: What is your background as an artist?

Jayarama: I can say that my painting started off with music, because as a child I studied music more than I studied art. I spent most of my time practicing and playing the piano. When I reached sixteen or seventeen I started to become more interested in visual arts, and I began drawing quite a bit.

Then I went to study drawing at Washington University, In St. Louis, at the school of fine arts there. I studied under one teacher for two years, and in my third year I was majoring in painting.

A lot of problems came up, because my idea of painting and the idea of the teachers was entirely different. They were into very contemporary trends, and I guess they thought of me as a reactionary, because all my paintings were full of detail and mostly visionary. They thought my work was too insubstantial; it wasn't outrageous enough.

So I spent my whole third year in college fighting it out with these teachers. Finally I just left, about six weeks before the end of that year, and I went to Europe to see the museums and all the great paintings that I'd been studying for years.

Then I came back and kept painting. I went to live in an isolated little spot in Arkansas for awhile so that I could paint in a more peaceful atmosphere. Then I went back to St. Louis, where I started finding out about Krsna consciousness - going to the temple now and then, and learning about Krsna. I was always looking for beauty in art, truth in art, and I always appreciated art that pointed in a high direction.

I was looking for beautiful form, and when I started to hear about Krsna, His form was something I naturally became interested in. So I read the Bhagavad-gita As It Is and got to know a few devotees. It was all very attractive. It made a lot of sense to me, and I turned toward Krsna consciousness for inspiration in my art work.

Navayauvana: Previous to this, were there any influences in your art work?

Jayarama: I've always been influenced by Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo's work -- the more I study it, the more real it become to me. His landscapes are so endlessly deep and mysterious. They're full of a vital, creative energy that's always pulling upwards. Also, Fra Angelico, as far as devotional painters go -- to me he's the greatest.

He said that before he would even pick up a paintbrush he'd pray, and as he was painting the face of Christ he would be crying. For him Christ was a very real experience. That devotion he felt for Christ can be seen in his compositions.

Everything he painted was glowing with devotion and simplicity. It's the sort of simplicity that reflects higher truths, right in the line and right in the color. Also, I've always like Indian sculpture, because it's the finest example of perfect form and ideal beauty. The, too, there's always the symmetry of a leaf, or the color of sky.... All these things influence me as an artist.

Navayauvana: Now that you're painting for Krsna, do you find any difference in your role as an artist?

Jayarama: I've always felt a kind of need to glorify God in my work, because painting is something He's given me. And now I have that desire even more. I'm mostly interested in trying to show how beautiful Krsna is. He's great and H's beautiful; He's kind and He's compassionate.

I just want to try to remind people that God is actually a very beautiful and kind Person. Whether it takes me ten years to do a painting or ten days, I have to glorify Krsna the best I can. Anything less than that I consider very unsatisfactory and very frustrating.

Navayauvana: Did you ever want to become a great artist?

Jayarama: I don't care if I'm a ‘great artist' or not. I just want my art to point toward the mysteries and the beauties of the truth, that's all. Whether it comes into the context of being great or famous, that doesn't matter so much If I feel that it evokes the desire to understand something higher and to appreciate a higher beauty, that's what I care about -- because that's the experience I have with it, and that's the experience I would like to share. And if it becomes ‘great,' fine; if it doesn't, fine. That doesn't matter, as long as I can somehow point toward that higher direction.

Navayauvana: How has chanting Hare Krsna affected your work?

Jayarama: Well, I can just follow my own progression. My conception of form, my standards of beauty - they've all become so much higher since I've taken chanting seriously.

Navayauvana: Specifically, I'd like to know how the chanting affects your creativity.

Jayarama: I guess a lot of people think that it limits individuality and kind of groups everyone together, right? Because everyone's chanting in the same place, doing the same thing, externally it seems very uninteresting. But, internally, I know if you take it seriously... I mean, I don't take chanting nearly as seriously as I should... but when I do take it seriously, there's nothing but very positive results.

Chanting is a link with God, and we're eternally individual parts of God - whole, complete parts. When you chant, your completeness, your individuality, becomes more manifest. And as your individual personality begins to come out, your higher perceptions begin to open up. It's a spiritual vibration, so naturally spiritual vibrations are going to open up all those higher channels of consciousness.

And chanting can also manifest itself in form. Not that I've experienced this directly myself, but indirectly I've experienced it within my work - a spiritual sense of beauty, color, and form. Chanting opens a new spiritual dimension.

Navayauvana: In other words, rather than restricting your creativity, chanting does just the opposite.

Jayarama: Oh, definitely. Anyone who can think that chanting is restricting creativity doesn't know anything about chanting.

Navayauvana: So overall, creativity seems to have an important role in your devotional life.

Jayarama: I think creativity should be there in all aspects of life. Why be uncreative? Krsna is the most creative person, and we all come from Him. So why not be creative? We can create beautiful things and give them back to Krsna.

Navayauvana: In what ways do you think Krsna conscious art is unique?

Jayarama: It's unique in that it's presenting a clear understanding of what truth is, a clear understanding of the original person, Krsna - what He looks like, what He does, how He relates to people... When we talk about truth, until we talk about Krsna we're missing so much.

Even if Krsna is not mentioned, there are still high forms of art. But art remains incomplete until it contains an awareness of Krsna. Then art can express the highest aspects of truth.

Navayauvana: Do you have any personal goals as an artist?

Jayarama: Oh, yes. I just want to become more honest and sincere in my work. Hopefully, that will give some pleasure to my spiritual master and anyone else who sees it.

From the Back To Godhead magazine (1977)

ASSUMPTIONS AND BELIEFS

Are you open enough to question your assumptions and beliefs?

THE HEIGHTS

The heights charm us, but the steps do not; with the mountain in our view we like to walk the plains.

- Goethe

THE TURN OF THE TIDE – THE FOUR PRESCRIPTIONS

Arthur Gordon shares a wonderful, intimate story of his own spiritual renewal in a little story called “The Turn of the Tide.” It tells of a time in his life when he began to feel that everything was stale and flat. His enthusiasm waned; his writing efforts were fruitless. And the situation was growing worse day by day.

Finally, he determined to get help from a medical doctor. Observing nothing physically wrong, the doctor asked him if he would be able to follow his instructions for one day.

When Gordon replied that he could, the doctor told him to spend the following day in the place where he was happiest as a child. He could take food, but he was not to talk to anyone or to read or write or listen to the radio. He then wrote out four prescriptions and told him to open one at nine, twelve, three, and six o’clock.

“Are you serious?” Gordon asked him.

“You won’t think I’m joking when you get my bill!” was the reply.

So the next morning, Gordon went to the beach. As he opened the first prescription, he read “Listen carefully.” He thought the doctor was insane. How could he listen for three hours? But he had agreed to follow the doctor’s orders, so he listened.

He heard the usual sounds of the sea and the birds. After a while, he could hear the other sounds that weren’t so apparent at first. As he listened, he began to think of lessons the sea had taught him as a child—patience, respect, an awareness of the interdependence of things. He began to listen to the sounds—and the silence—and to feel a growing peace.

At noon, he opened the second slip of paper and read “Try reaching back.” “Reaching back to what?” he wondered. Perhaps to childhood, perhaps to memories of happy times. He thought about his past, about the many little moments of joy. He tried to remember them with exactness. And in remembering, he found a growing warmth inside.

At three o’clock, he opened the third piece of paper. Until now, the prescriptions had been easy to take. But this one was different; it said “Examine your motives.”

At first he was defensive. He thought about what he wanted—success, recognition, security, and he justified them all. But then the thought occurred to him that those motives weren’t good enough, and that perhaps therein was the answer to his stagnant situation.

He considered his motives deeply. He thought about past happiness. And at last, the answer came to him.

“In a flash of certainty,” he wrote, “I saw that if one’s motives are wrong, nothing can be right. It makes no difference whether you are a mailman, a hairdresser, an insurance salesman, a housewife—whatever. As long as you feel you are serving others, you do the job well. When you are concerned only with helping yourself, you do it less well—a law as inexorable as gravity.”

When six o’clock came, the final prescription didn’t take long to fill. “Write your worries on the sand,” it said. He knelt and wrote several words with a piece of broken shell; then he turned and walked away. He didn’t look back; he knew the tide would come in.

NOT INSPIRED

You are not inspired because you do not have clear goals.

INSPIRATION

Who inspires you most in Krsna consciousness?
How can you have more of his or her association?

What inspires you most in Krsna consciousness?
How can you have more of it?

One way to always be inspired is to always inspire others.

GENTLEMAN

A gentleman is one who always gives at least a little more than he receives.

HELPING EACH OTHER SUCCEED

We had an exercise at the program at Mother Gita's home in Split. We wrote a problem at the top of the page and each devotee wrote an advice for that problem. And everyone did it for everyone else.

My problem was attentive chanting. This is the 9 tips I got:

Organize your time.

Before chanting read a verse from the BG or SB.

Consult with experienced devotees if sastra cannot help.

Read the book „Nectarean Ocean Of The Holy Name“ by Sacinandana Swami and chant more in the association of devotees.

Try to reduce everything that is not Krsna consciousness.

Attentive chanting is not the problem. The problem is innatentive chanting. Hold on to the holy name by hook or by crook, as if it were your life breath.

Over time, chanting gets better and better.

The more I chant the better.

Try to chant at least 10 rounds in one go while hearing attentively.