HOW TO BE POSITIVE IN A KRSNA CONSCIOUS WAY?

Many success teachers advice us to be positive in various ways.

It may be affirmations, self-love, seeing good in others, seeing opportunities in problems, etc.

For a devotee of Krsna, being positive means first of all to see Krsna in everything: in every situation, in every person, in both good and bad experiences.

As soon as we are Krsna conscious, everything becomes positive and auspicious, because Krsna (God) is the supremely positive person.

HOW TO PREACH EFFECTIVELY?

Make sure that whatever you are trying to explain makes sense to a person in front of you.

3 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HUMANS AND GOD

According to the modes of material nature, there are three kinds of relationships between human beings and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Those who are in the modes of ignorance and passion are averse to the existence of God, or else they formally accept the existence of God in the capacity of an order supplier.

Above them are those who are in the mode of goodness. This second class of men believe the Supreme Brahman to be impersonal. They accept the cult of bhakti, in which hearing of krsna-katha is the first item, as a means and not the end.

Above them are those who are pure devotees. They are situated in the transcendental stage above the mode of material goodness. Such persons are decidedly convinced that the name, form, fame, qualities, etc., of the Personality of Godhead are nondifferent from one another on the absolute plane. For them, hearing of the topics of Krsna is equal to meeting with Him face to face. According to this class of men, who are situated in pure devotional service to the Lord, the highest goal of human life is purusartha, devotional service to the Lord, the real mission of life.

The impersonalists, because they engage in mental speculation and have no faith in the Personality of Godhead, have no business hearing the topics of Krsna. Such persons are pitiable for the first-class pure devotees of the Lord. The pitiable impersonalists pity those who are influenced by the modes of ignorance and passion, but the pure devotees of the Lord take pity on them both because both waste their most valuable time in the human form of life in false pursuits, sense enjoyment and mental speculative presentations of different theories and goals of life.

Srimad Bhagavatam 3.5.14 Purport

HAPPY RESULTS

Happy results of Gita Coaching are seen when a devotee taking part in the Gita Coaching process has a shift:

- From hopelessness to hope
- From discouragement to encouragement
- From confusion to clarity
- From doubts to faith
- From weakness to strength
- From seeing problems to seeing opportunities
- From fear to courage
- From where s/he is - to where s/he wants to be

KRSNA ENCOURAGES ARJUNA TO TAKE ACTION

O son of Kunti, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom. Therefore, get up with determination and fight.

Therefore get up. Prepare to fight and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasaci, can be but an instrument in the fight.

DADDHI IN SCHOOL

Yesterday Daddhi was in his (public) school and his teacher said:

"Children, the animals are in extinction!"

And children said: "Ooooh!"

Then Daddhi said: "That´s why I am a vegetarian."

SERIUOSLY

Take your service seriously but do not take yourself too seriously.

WE HAVE A GREAT HOPE!

Devotional service to Krsna never goes in vain.

Since Krsna is eternal, intelligence applied in His service or anything done in His service is permanent.

Such transcendental service accumulates birth after birth, and when the devotee is fully matured, the total service counted together, makes him eligible to enter into Krsna's association.

Such accumulation of devotional service to God is never lost, but increases more and more - until fully matured.

DADHI SPEAKS ABOUT KRISHNA IN SCHOOL

When Daddhi´s school classes started at the same the TV started broadcasting the films about Little Krishna. Daddhi was very happy and excited and in school he told his teacher and school mates to see Krishna on a TV.

His teacher, when she saw me, she asked me who is Krishna, because Daddhi was always so happy speaking about Krishna  to everyone, and she wanted to understand who is Krishna.

I spoke a little about our philosophy and the next day Daddhi brought to the school the Bhagavat Gita for childreen, a present from a devotee named Nityananda Prabhu, and everyone saw it. 

Nowadays everyone in his class knows Krishna and some of them play with Daddhi Krishna lilas.

Govinda Mohini devi dasi

DADHI AND SCHOOL LUNCH

By Govinda Mohini devi dasi

Last year when Daddhi started school, we faced a challenge. The school did not allow him to bring food from home, and there they did not serve vegetarian food. So we started to look at several private schools that allow him to take lunch at home during the lunch break.

I shared this situation with a friend of mine, Jenny, our yoga teacher, and she told her daughter ate vegetarian lunch in the public school, and she told me to go again to his school and try to resolve it. Then I thought, if I prayed to Krishna to help me in this situation, probably He is speaking through Jenny.

So me and Daddhi went to school and they told it was very difficult because they don't accept food cooked in school. But I could try to speak with the person in charge and they gave me her address. We walked for 25 minutes and always chanting Hare Krishna. And Daddhi said to me: "Mum, Krishna is going to help me, I know that!"

When we got there, the person was a friend of a big friend of mine and she recognized me!!! I explained our situation and she said to me to send her an email and everything will be ok. In 10 minutes Krishna resolved our situation and protected His little devotee.

On the way back home we chanted again to thank Krishna. We enjoyed a lot that day!!!

GITA COACHING IN SOFIA

GITA COACHING PROGRAMS IN SOFIA, BULGARIA,
20-23 April 2012

Programs include:
Personal consultations
Kirtan
Presentations that include the following success principles and points:
- Getting less bad karma than we deserve
- Turning problems into opportunities
- Expanding our options
- Seeing more possibilities
- Asking effective questions
- Potential of the soul
- Choosing what to focus on wisely
- Personal skills and resources inventory
- Gratitude
- Being proactive
- The story of the Avanti Brahmana
- Excuses or results
- Similar challenges that people face all over the world

WHEN DADHILOBHA WAS THREE

By Govinda Mohini devi dasi

Once when Daddhi was three years old we went to a dinner in some friends' house. They are not vegetarians, so we brought some prasadam.

One of them, his name is Hugo, started to show us his aquarium and his beautiful fish. He explained how he takes care of his fish, and we, especially Daddhi, understood how he cared for and loved it, and how he is so sensitive to it. Then we took prasadam, and Hugo continued telling us stories about his fish ... and fishing. 

He used to dive. So he was telling us that once he was diving and he had an adventure with an octopus. He saw it and he described it like a beautiful and big one. His description was so beautiful that we were enchanted with it.

Then he told us how he caught up the octopus and how it was so difficult to him to do it. And he brought it home to make a dinner. We were Shocked but we didn´t express it. Then Daddhi asked him: Do you love fish? Do you love octopus?" 

Hugo said : "Yes,yes!" Then Daddhi said: "If you love it why do you kill it and eat it?"

Hugo said : "I don´t know."

GITA COACHING PROCESS

Gita Coaching process:

1. Turns desires or problems into goals
2. Turns goals into action
3. Turns action into result

It helps you achieve your goals in a way you feel good about, even if it is not always easy.

WHY I AM ON A RAW FOOD DIET?

(this looks a bit like me - without glasses)

For the past two years I am doing this experiment and ...

... it's controversial
... people tease me
... try to convert me
... tell me how they have also tried raw food diet
... tell me their reasons why not
... etc., etc.

To be honest, before I started with this diet I always felt a bit like a pig, eating so many things and so much.

I stopped having that feeling since ...

Now I feel more like a cow ... which I guess is an improvement ... isn't it?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE INTELLIGENT?

Srila Prabhupada taught us what does it mean to be intelligent:

1. One who knows what he is, what is this world, what is God, what are the interrelations.
2. Becoming Krsna conscious.
3. Linking with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
4. Going back home, back to Godhead.
5. To inquire, "Where is the reality? Where is the eternal substance behind the illusion?"
6. To know about the spiritual world.
7. One who knows, who has got sufficient knowledge ... even up to the understanding of the Absolute Truth.
8. To understand that we are all eternal.
9. To know that "I am the part and parcel of the supreme consciousness, pure soul. I am not this body."
10. One who does not waste time.
11. To know how to go back to home, back to Godhead. 
12. To find out Krsna.
13. Be inquisitive about the goal of our life.
14. To take knowledge from a man who is better intelligent than us.
15. To find out where there is no danger ... where there is real happiness.
16. One who surrenders.
17. "I do not want something, but it is being forced upon me. How to check it?"
18. To have knowledge.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT?

Q: What is the benefit of giving charity, support, etc.?
A: Our heart is purified of bad qualities.

Q: What is the benefit of forgiving someone?
A: Our heart is purified of bad qualities.

BOW AND ARROW

click the image to enlarge

The Vedic mantra pranava is the bow, the pure living entity himself is the arrow, and the target is the Supreme Being.

The living entity tries to be happy within this material world, not understanding the target of his life. When he is purified, however, he gives up his bodily conception of life and his false identity as belonging to a certain community, a certain nation, a certain society, a certain family and so on (sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]). Then he takes the arrow of his purified life, and with the help of the bow -- the transcendental chanting of pranava, or the Hare Krishna mantra -- he throws himself toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

If with the arrow of chanting the holy name of the Lord one pierces Lord Vishnu's lotus feet, by dint of performing this heroic activity of devotional service one receives the benefit of returning home, back to Godhead.

Srimad Bhagavatam

CHANGE WHOM?

Why we want others to change?
That is none of our business.
We are put on this earth so we can change ourselves.
Everything is already under control of the Supreme.
We do not have to worry too much about changing the world.
We need to change ourselves.
If we want our life to get better, WE need to get better.
We need to become the change we want to see in this world.
We need to become the change we want to see in others.

BOY DADHILOBHA

By Govinda Mohini devi dasi

The second service that Daddhi made to Krishna was about his diet . When he was born and I started to feed him breast-milk, some people advised me to stop my vegetarian diet and eat fish, because here in Portugal there is a myth that to have a good milk mothers should eat fish. Usually my answer was that I didin´t know that the cows have to eat fish to have milk. 

The time was passing on ... and Daddhi was growing ... and he was very big in that time for his age and the people, instead of talking about the fish, realized that perhaps the vegetarian diet has all the ingredients for giving milk to a child and keep him healthy. 

Daddhilobha drank mother´s milk until he was four years old, and then we stopped because we made that option,  not because the milk dried. Now the people around us have more respect for our diet, and we can give an example to give to others mothers and fathers, who may be vegeterian but unsure. It´s a wonderful service.

When  Daddhilobha was two years old, he started to realize that his friends in school eat meat and fish. He was very shocked, and he cried when he was thinking about it. He used to say: "Mum, look, they eat octopus, how can they do it? Its one of my favorites."

We tried to calm him, but he started to reject friends who were not vegetarian, because they were not animals' friends, if they ate them. He started to ask who ate meat, to see who was his friend. I remember that he was very happy when I told him that some were vegetarian or started to be. It was so beautiful to see his happiness. 

One day he asked his grandfather what kind of diet he had, because he was so friendly to the animals and he understood that he could hurt his grandson so he said he was vegetarian . So he never eat meat with Daddhi, only vegetarian food. Nowadays we think Daddhi is still thinking his grandfather is vegetarian. 

HAPPY BY NATURE

Everyone is trying to be happy because, as explained in the previous verse, sukham asyatmano rupam sarvehoparatis tanuh: when the living entity is in his original spiritual form, he is happy by nature. There is no question of miseries for the spiritual being. As Krsna is always happy, the living entities, who are His parts and parcels, are also happy by nature, but because of being put within this material world and forgetting their eternal relationship with Krsna, they have forgotten their real nature. Because every one of us is a part of Krsna, we have a very affectionate relationship with Him, but because we have forgotten our identities and are considering the body to be the self, we are afflicted by all the troubles of birth, death, old age and disease. This misconception in materialistic life continues unless and until one comes to understand his relationship with Krsna.

SB 7.13.28 Purport

GITA COACHING TIP

Become a giver - and you will never be in scarcity.

SUNDAY PROGRAM AT ISKCON LISBON

SUNDAY PROGRAM AT ISKCON LISBON

8 April 2012



Lecture title: Divine Eyes

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HARE KRSNA MOVEMENT IN EX-YUGOSLAVIA

Recorded in Lisbon, 10 April 2012

SUNDAY FEAST IN MADRID

SUNDAY FEAST PROGRAM AT ISKCON MADRID

15 April 2012

- Kitan
- Lecture "Every soul is amazing" (BG 2.29)

ISKCON Madrid Photos
http://es-es.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.229609657119310.58120.207073646039578&type=3

WHAT IS YOUR "WHY"?

Do you know your Purpose in life? In business?

By answering no, you are in the majority. Particularly in light of the current economic environment, most people are focusing on survival, and the idea of giving serious thought to our purpose is not where their energy is directed.

It seems that recognized success experts are telling us otherwise. Their messages are consistent – whether you call it your purpose, your why, your meaning, or your motivation, it all comes to the same conclusion.

We need to take responsibility for our lives, here, today, right now, if we want to positively influence our future. Whether it is in our personal lives, business lives or community, we need to step into our own strengths and influence our future rather than falling victim to the ‘wait and see’ mentality.

If you are ready to get serious about positively influencing your future, stepping into your strengths and taking responsibility for your life, then this message is for you. Yes, you can bring your purpose to light and to life.

And Gita Coaching can help!

COOL PROJECTS: KIRTAN ASRAMA FOR RETIRED ISKCON WOMEN

http://www.kirtanashram.com/

GIRIRAJA SWAMI

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.38 on Saturday morning in Dallas, Texas:

Know that Lord Krishna sees everything. He is with us at every moment. He is within our hearts as the Supersoul.

He is within every atom and in the space between the atoms. He is everywhere. So we are never alone. And if we surrender to Him, we have His merciful protection wherever we are. We have to have that faith. Otherwise there will be a disconnect between our practical lives and Krishna’s lila.

We think Krishna’s pastimes are very nice stories. We get the children’s versions and read them to our little ones, and it is all very sweet. But in our practical lives we may not actually have faith that Krishna is with us, that He will protect us, that He will maintain us. We are worried — who will protect me? Who will maintain me? — because we are not fully cognizant of Krishna’s opulence.

We are not conscious that Krishna is everywhere, all- pervading, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, and above all, that He is our best, well-wishing friend.

YOU CAN BE THE GIVER NATION

In big meeting I told him that "I have not come here to beg. I have come here to give."

Everyone goes from ... Even the Prime Minister goes - beg. All beggars. And it is known as "beggars' nation" (India).

But you can be the giver nation. You have got so much potency.

- Srila Prabhupada

I NEVER ASKED THEM ANY MONEY

Why do you not contribute this science to the whole world as India's contribution? They need it. Why you go beg? Give something.

In Berkeley University, one Indian student, "Swamiji, what this hari-kirtana will do? We require now technology." So I replied, "Yes, you have come to beg here (technology). I have come to give something. I am not a beggar like you." So we are working ...

Of course, we are Indian, we are poor. That is another thing. But I never went to beg something from them. I never asked them any money. I never asked them. They give me money because they understand that I am giving something.

- Srila Prabhupada

CAN YOU PEACEFULLY EAT CHOCOLATE AS A DEVOTEE AFTER READING THIS?

The Human Cost Of Chocolate
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/19/the-human-cost-of-chocolate/

WHY JESUS OR KRSNA OR BUDDHA OR MUHAMMAD HAVE COME?

Our material comforts, standard of material comforts, are already settled up by the body which you have got. Therefore our business is: if you are not in the bodily concept of life, then our business is how to make spiritually advanced. Bodily comforts of life, we cannot improve. That is not possible. We can improve our spiritual advancement of life. That is given to us.

Therefore all the sastras, all the Vedic literatures, all the great saintly persons, they come. They simply come to give you hint how you can make spiritual advancement of life. They do not come here to say how you can make very comfortable material life. They never say.

Either you say Jesus Christ or Krsna or Lord Buddha or Hazrat Muhammad or anyone, all of them have come to give you information for spiritual advancement of life, not for any material advancement of life. That is intelligence.

Material advancement of life, you should be satisfied. Whatever God has given you, you be satisfied with that. Don't waste your time, that is not possible.

Therefore your occupational duty should be... The highest occupational duty is suggested here, yato bhaktir adhoksaje. If you engage yourself in such occupational duties by which you can increase your devotional service for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

- Srila Prabhupada

CANDLES

" Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. " 
Buddha

OBVIOUS - BUT NOT SEEN

Few days ago I was at the Lisbon airport waiting to board the flight to Madrid.

When the announcement came to start boarding many people hurried to stand in a queue, hoping to get better seats on the aircraft, on a flight with no numbered seats.

Often an airport bus takes passengers to the aircraft, so first everyone has to get onto a bus before entering the aircraft. Thus being first in a queue does not guarantee you will get onto the aircraft first.

In fact, if you are last to enter the bus, you will be the first to exit the bus and enter the aircraft first.

It is obvious, but many people do not see it.

GITA AND COACHING

We can link our bodily, mental, and spiritual challenges to the points in the Bhagavad-gita.

When we coach someone and they present their problem or goal, we can ask:

What  Bhagavad-gita verse or purport can help us work on this?

Then go and find it.

There is a spiritual solution to every problem. There is a spiritual way to every goal.

FOCUS ON ONE THING

(instructions to myself ... you can use them too if you like)

Simplify your life.

Choose the most important relationships and tasks and focus on them.

Do one thing at a time.

Concentrate well and put your heart into it.

Do your absolute best every single time.

These strategies will bring you better results and more satisfaction.

ADVENTURES OF A LITTLE BOY DADHILOBHA

By Govinda Mohini dasi (his mother)

Govinda Mohini, Dadhilobha and Jnana Sakti (his father)

("Dadhilobha" is the name of Krsna's pet monkey in Vrndavana.)

My son Dadhilobha started preaching since he was born and he made a good service to Lord Krishna. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and during the five ours before he was born I spoke about spirituality with a nurse in the hospital, and the mode of goodness was installed.

He was the last baby to be born on that day, and everyone was so curious to see him. When the time came there were more people then usual, just because they wanted to see him. I thought, so many came people to say hello to him. He is very fortunate.

Then he was born, and we had a nice surprise, of the last 14 births during the last 24 hours or more, Dadhi was the biggest baby. The doctor that accompanied me in his birth was so proud that she showed Dadhi to all doctors and nurses and said to them: 

"Just look, he's so big and he is a vegetarian baby!" 

Everyone loved him and he got famous in the hospital were he was called by the vegetarian baby. That was the first preaching of Dadhi's. With his example, he showed to the world that being vegetarian is a good diet option and healthy and make the babies stronger.

Dadhilobha (left), Akrura and Dadhilobha's friend Miguel

To be continued ...

THE ACID TEST OF LEADERSHIP

If you were stripped of your title, would they still follow you?

http://www.leadershipnow.com/minute0002.html

COOL KIDS: ADVENTURES OF DADHI LOBHA

Dadhi Lobha

Dadhi Lobha is a 7 year old son of Govinda Mohini dasi and Jnana Shakti dasa from Mem Martins, near Lisbon, Portugal. A couple of days ago I played football with him and he beat me 7:1 in half-an-hour. Some amazing stories about him coming soon ...

 Dadhi Lobha and Akrura on a beach near Lisbon

 Dadhi Lobha and his parents Govinda Mohini and Jnana Sakti

GERMS, WORMS, COCKROACHES ...

If you are chanting within this room and if you find nobody is coming to participate in the kirtana, don't be disappointed. There are many germs, worms, cockroaches, within this room -- they are being benefited. ...

You cannot find any place without any living entities. You just find out one hole. You will see, hundreds of ants are coming out. So living entities are in the air, in the water, in the holes, everywhere. And this vibration...

Everyone, every living, entity has got his ear. So this sound is so powerful because it is spiritual that it will act even on the ants and the trees and birds and the bees, what to speak of human being.

- Srila Prabhupada

THERE IS NO QUESTION OF DISAPPOINTMENT

So why one should be disappointed?

We say that "You come to the spiritual platform. You will be happy." We want to deliver him from the platform of disappointment.

Sometimes one, being very disappointed, he commits suicide. But will anybody recommend that, that "You are so disappointed. Now you commit suicide"? Nobody will do so.

So similarly, the skepticism is disappointed. We say, "Why you are disappointed? You come to the spiritual platform, and you will be happy." That is our version. So we are not going to accept his philosophy, skepticism, but we want to deliver him from this fallen condition. That is our mission.

He is in false conception, that disappointment. Why? Our Vedic literature says, anandamayo 'bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). The living entity, the spirit soul, is by nature happy. There is no question of disappointment.

You see Krsna's picture anywhere, how they are happy. The gopis are happy, the cowherd boys are happy, Krsna is happy. Simply happiness. Where is disappointment?

So you come to that platform. Then you will be also happy. You come to Krsna. Dance with Krsna. Eat with Krsna. And that is information we are giving. Where is the question of disappointment?

- Srila Prabhupada

SMALL SCALE OR BIG SCALE

So there are two kinds of mahatma. One is renounced order. They are preaching all over the world for the benefit of the society.

And the grhastha, he may not be preaching... He can preach. Amongst his relatives, member, children, he can also preach, friends.

So preaching cannot be stopped. You do small scale or big scale.

- Srila Prabhupada

GITA COACH TRAINING IN MEM MARTINS

GITA COACH TRAINING IN MEM MARTINS, NEAR LISBON, PORTUGAL
7 April 2012

Overview of the 4 Roles, 4 Mindsets, 4 Skills and 4 Steps of Gita Coaching

4 Roles: Example, Support, Guidance, Challenge
4 Mindsets: Best interest at heart, Belief in devotee, Faith in Bhagavad-gita, Curiosity
4 Skills: Listening, Inquiry, Expanding options, Promoting action
4 Steps: Goals, Ideas, Test, Action (GITA Model)

Practice: Asking questions that will help a devotee you coach succeed

I was playing a role of a client. 3 devotees made and asked me questions that will help me succeed in my goal of taking regular time to learn from the scriptures and professional resources in order to improve my coaching services to devotees. I had valuable insights while answering their useful questions. These are the questions:

1. Why do you want to learn more?
2. Where would you place learning on your priorities list?
3. How much time will you dedicate to it each week or day?
4. What will be your practical commitment?

1. What specifically do you want to learn?
2. Do you need an extra or different motivation in order to do it?
3. Have you thought about BE-DO-HAVE approach?
4. Are you extending yourself too much by travelling to many places and thus perhaps being ineffective?

1. What is lacking in your coach toolbox?
2. What are the few skills you want to develop?
3. Have you prayed to Krsna for more spirit of service and giving?

WHAT TO DO WHEN WE MAKE A MISTAKE?

Something has dropped in the water, in the river, you cannot see the things dropped within the water by agitating the water. Just stand still for sometimes. As soon as the water is settled up, you'll see the things as they are.

So as soon as our enthusiasm is agitated, it is better to sit down in any temple suitable and chant Hare Krsna. There is no question of being disappointed.

After all, we commit so many mistakes. That is human nature. To err is human. That is not fault. But try to rectify with cool head.

- Srila Prabhupada

GITA COACHING WORKSHOP IN BRAGA

GITA COACHING WORKSHOP IN BRAGA, PORTUGAL
30 March 2012

Compassionate Communication
- Observation
- Understanding feelings
- Understanding needs
- Clear requests (not demands) for desired behavior
- Connecting on the level of the soul
- Negative behavior as a gift

EMPOWERING CONFIDENCE

Gita Coaching is meant to empower confidence in Krsna and in yourself as a spirit soul.
That is spiritual confidence, and it is more important than material confidence.
Material confidence is the confidence in our material abilities (physical, mental and intellectual), but those abilities are temporary.
Spiritual confidence is faith in  Krsna's protection and our own sincerity on a deepest level.
Our sincerity in relation to God and His devotional service.
Gita Coaching does not boost your false ago but it encourages your soul to connect to Krsna and serve Him boldly and sincerely.
It facilitates the spiritual growth and a material well-being of individuals and communities based on the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, while sometimes using various professional resources, based on the yukta vairagya principle.

GITA COACHING INTERVIEW AT ISKCONCONGREGATION.COM

http://www.iskconcongregation.com/node/178

Q: What is Gita Coaching?

A: Gita Coaching is devotee care and guidance in action. Gita Coaching is a process of personal assistance meant to empower spiritual heroes. Within every devotee there is a spiritual hero, but he is now sleeping. Gita Coaching process helps that hero to wake up. According to the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, every soul is amazing (Bg 2.29). That means that especially every devotee is amazing.

Q: How did you start this service?

A: I started 10 years ago when I learned about coaching from the professional books and audio programs. I got professional coach training in England and now I am using it to help devotees succeed. I mainly use the success principles from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is to coach devotees. I started because it was painful for me to see that many of our devotees are not happy, although we have the best process and the best philosophy on the planet. I believed that it is possible to help devotees become more happy and more productive if we provide better support, care, guidance and inspiration.

Q: How would you call yourself in relation to your devotee care service?

A: Devotees' Success Coach.

Q: Why?

A: Because my service is helping devotees succeed in all areas of their lives. It is based on a Vedic principle sarve sukhino bhavantu, that we learned from Srila Prabhupada. He said that leader's duty is to make everyone under his leadership happy. I am not a leader, but I do serve as a spiritual guide and the same principle applies.

Q: Which devotees do you coach?

A: I coach devotees of all ages and genders, from 5 to 95 years of age. Some of them are leaders, preachers, managers, spiritual guides, coaches, and parents. I welcome anyone who wants to stop whining and start winning, or go from victim to victor.

Q: What inspires you to serve the devotees in this way?

A: I think I have been blessed by Krsna to like His devotees, or anyone who is trying to approach Him in some way. I think they are rare on this planet and they are special. So it is my honor and pleasure to assist them on their journey back to Krsna. I also like other people, because ultimately everyone is a child of God, and everyone is dear to Him. But those who are already trying to come closer to Him especially inspire me to serve them.

Q: How do you see the future of ISKCON (The International Society for Krsna Consciousness)?

A: I think it is very bright, because devotee care and guidance is becoming increasingly important in more and more places, temples and yatras. The devotee care approach will create more servant leaders or spiritual guides that we really need in order to have caring communities. I believe that only a caring community can flourish in all respects.

Q: Could you give us some success principles from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is?

A: Srila Prabhupada's Gita is an ocean of success principles, ideas, tools and solutions. I read it daily and use it daily in helping devotees succeed. Gita is a holistic success book. It gives many principles of success for all areas of life. How to attain peace of mind, clarity, and confidence. How to see what happens to you more intelligently and how to react wisely. It gives health, nutrition and balance tips for the body. It enlightens us about quality relationships. It teaches us how to speak and communicate. It advocates uplifiting of our thinking, feeling and willing – the main functions of the mind. There are many, many more.

Q: What is preventing devotees to benefit from these principles?

A: They don't read the Gita enough, or they don't read it in a structured way. You can do a topical study in the Gita and become an expert in the very thing that is your current challenge or a problem. Then instead of having that problem, you will help others with it. This is called a turnaround expert – you turn a problem into an opportunity. Devotees also don't use the Gita to solve their problems or achieve their goals. Either they don't see the connection or they don't know how. Gita Coaching helps you apply the Gita more effectively.

Q: What excites you the most about helping devotees succeed?

A: When I see that they get a new hope, new determination , fresh perspective and a powerful personal strategy to keep moving forward in their lives – closer to Krsna. This usually happens when they stop blaming anyone and start taking responsibility and being grateful for what they have. What excites me the most is when they become caring leaders, preachers, spiritual guides, coaches or some kind of caregivers.

Q: How do you know what to say and what principle or a tool to give them, that will best help them succeed?

A: I learn a lot all the time, both from the sastra and from the professionals. Preparation brings inspiration. The more I know, the more I believe Krsna will inspire me from within to say the right thing. And also, when you love someone, God gives you intelligence how to benefit them in an optimal way. It is a highly intuitive service. Many times they discover what will help them the most, and I just facilitate that process.

Q: Apart from Gita Coaching, what else are you doing?

A: I am teaching common sense that is not a common practice and I am showing the obvious that people do not see. I recommend devotees to choose to be creative instead of confused, and impressed instead of depressed. I claim that happiness is 95 percent your choice and 5 percent circumstances. And I like to ask devotees:

If not you – who? If not now – when?

COOL PROJECTS: HAPPY COOKIES

Dne 04. april 2012 07:48 je Mukunda Das<mukunda.sdhs@gmail.com> napisal/-a:

Happy Cookies is a pilot project of Food for Life. 

Food for Life gives Happy Cookies, Hot Meals and Healthy Cooking Books to Shelters for women and childern. They receive Learn to Read sets by dr. Edith Best and attend Healthy Cooking Courses. We also have Pizza Effect project in primary schools and Tea Time Cookies for elderly.   

Paris, Amsterdam, Liege, Trieste, Ljubljana, Maribor, , Sri Lanka, Varshana, Govardhan, Johanesburg, New York 

www.ffl.si

www.ffl.org

www.happycookies.org

paypal: veseliprojekti@ffl.si

Food for Life follows the principle that it is necessary to help the eldery, women, mothers and children. Happy cookies are a symbol for the care we want to show, helping them find themselves in life again and build their self confidence and spiritual self. 

Food for Life Global distributes 2.000.000 nutritious meals per day in more then 70 countries.

You can HELP in many ways

You can become a volunteer.

Donate to us, more on www.happycookies.org 

Send us original empty cartridges / toners for recycling

You can help in organizing projects and administrating projects

Send us your ideas TheCookies@happycookies.org, info@ffl.si

Put our  banner on your website

Become part of the program Food for Life - Social Entrepreneurship

You can employ unemployed persons involved in our programs

Enable us to use your premises for our activities and projects

Enable us to use a piece of land for cultivation and growing of vegetables and fruits

Ass a volunteer you can be a part of:

-distribution of nutritious meals, happy cookies, cakes and packages

-preperation and baking of our vegan and vegetarian cookies, bread sticks, cakes

-childcare for the participants of workshops

-preperation and implementation of workshops, cookery courses

-writing posts for our homepage

- help in our international humanitarian aid projects

Contact: 00 386 70 806 108

TheCookies@happycookies.org

info@ffl.si 

HAPPY COOKIES

Dear gentlemen,
please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

www.happycookies.org

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Happy-Cookies/132844963505185

https://www.causes.com/causes/661614-happy-cookies/

We have started Happy Cookies project in Trieste, Ljubljana and it continued to Paris, Liege and Amsterdam, where we distribute Happy Cookies to Shelters for Women and Children and we would like to do this in New York also. There is Caitanya mataji from Slovenia in New York that could assist and also few of my close friends are there that would like to donate and help the project to begin.

It is simple, once a month we give some Happy Maha prasadam Cookies or Sweets and Cakes to Shelters for Women and Children all over Slovenia, in Paris, Liege and Amsterdam.

Probably you can find an adress nearest to you with the help of http://www.wave-network.org/. They like our Happy Cookies also.

The programme is endorsed by Food for Life and is a pilot project of Food for Life.

And we also invite those ladies to Vegetarian Prasadam Cooking Courses where they can learn to cook and gain self confidence. There is lots more to be said, but let it be enough for now.

You can also contact me on skype mukundasdhs and on mobile 0038670801108.

Jay Hanuman Purnima,

ys,
Mukunda das

GITA COACHING WORKSHOP IN LISBON

GITA COACHING WORKSHOP AT ISKCON LISBON: HELPING EACH OTHER SUCCEED - MUTUAL COACHING IN ACTION

6 April 2012

- Kirtan
- Personal Questions: Intro, demonstration and practice in pairs
- Feedforward: Intro and practice in pairs
- Kirtan

PRINCIPLES AND STEPS OF MUTUAL COACHING
- Sincere desire to help each other succeed
- Confidentiality and building trust
- Coach asks you your own question about your own chosen area
- Commit to action
- Evaluation: How will you know you are making progress?
- Mutual accountability with regular reports

HUNT FOR THE BRIGHT SPOTS

Most people I have met in my life are conditioned to be negative in one way or the other.
We can break that tradition.
We can change the tape that goes on in the mind about what is wrong.
And we can start hunting for the bright spots.
When you focus on what's working, it is easier to sort out what is not working.
Start discovering and appreciating what is already going well in any situation or relationship.
Try it and let me know on:
akrura@gmail.com

SRILA PRABHUPADA'S CARE

"You write that our society should provide some medical facility, insurance
or personnel to handle devotees who become chronically ill and thus
ostracized from our society. Of course this kind of management of affairs is
better handled by the GBC which I have created for this purpose, I cannot be
expected to handle problems of this sort while at the same time writing my
books.

First of all, there is not question of a devotee becoming ostracized because
he has become ill, nor do I think this is being widely practiced. Who has
been ostracized? One of the symptoms of a devotee is that he is kind, so if
our Godbrother becomes ill it is our duty to help him get the proper
medicine and treatment so that he can recover. Recently our Giriraja became
chronically ill in India and had to return to the U.S. for proper medical
treatment. There, in our Los Angeles center, he was given his own room, and
was able to recuperate comfortably, and now he has returned to his full
duties in Bombay.

Now Tamala Krsna Goswami has just had a successful hernia
operation which was arranged free of charge at one of the most modern
hospitals, and there is also a girl devotee undergoing operation there also.
Tamala Krsna is now living in a room at our temple; the devotees see that he
gets all facility, a hospital bed, proper prasadam, and personal care and
visiting. So there is no question of ill treating of our own Godbrothers
simply because they are sick, nor should you allow such neglect to go on. So
long we have this material body there will be sickness, but we have to
remain on the transcendental platform nevertheless.

As far as a centralized medical plan for the whole society, no such plan or
facility or insurance has seemed practical as yet. The best thing is to work
it out locally, try to find the services of a free medical facility in
Seattle, or some way that sick devotees can be cared for; that is your
responsibility. I think further questions of this sort can be handled by the
GBC."

Srila Prabhupada letter to Sukadeva, April 5, 1974

WHY PEOPLE ARE NOT HAPPY?

Q: Why people are not happy?

A: Because they don't know how.

THE ART OF FORGIVENESS

The Art of Forgiveness - A Course by my friend Bhuta Bhavana dasa in London

“The material world is full of embarrassing and irritating situations, and unless one is inclined to be very much forgiving, he will become infected by a vindictive mentality, which spoils one's spiritual consciousness.”
Srila Prabhupada.

How badly do we want to hold on to our resentment?

Please join us for a liberating seminar where we will explore the art of forgiveness.

Many of us live with the scars and wounds of past hurt and the resentment that this generates. This often impacts on our lives, creating anger, lack of enthusiasm to serve, distrust, and a host of other barriers to our spiritual progress and general well being. This seminar will help us to release these negative emotions that we may be holding onto due to those past experiences.

We will explore the price we pay when we do not forgive and learn how forgiveness can be one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves. Forgiveness is like an elixir that can rejuvenate our lives, if we allow it to take effect. We can come out of the forgiveness process renewed and re-energized. Furthermore, discovering new attitudes and perceptions in relation to this subject can transform our future by helping us to deal with such challenges in a far more progressive way.

Lets be clear: forgiveness does not mean that we turn ourselves into a punching bag so that others can continuously throw blows at us.

In this seminar, we will …

Look at what forgiveness actually is, and expose the misconceptions about forgiveness
Understand how not forgiving others can and does impact upon us
Look at statements from the scriptures on the topic of forgiveness and its importance for spiritual progress
Learn to view forgiveness in a way that makes it easier to forgive
Gain a deeper perception of our past which can help us to let go of resentment
Learn about the karmic laws related to criticism and blame
Understand how to know when we have actually forgiven someone and let go of that past hurt
Look at how we can respond to challenging situations in a healthier, more noble and ultimately spiritual way

Perhaps one of the greatest gifts of forgiveness is that we no longer allow our present or future to be shaped by the resentment of the past. We then become more able to joyfully live in the present, making healthy choices that are not clouded by past negative influences.

Please join us in developing the art and culture of forgiveness, a powerful life affirming gift that can help us propel our spiritual life by removing the anchor of resentment, and guarding us against the negative responses we often make when challenged by testing behaviour.

GITA COACHING PROGRAMS AT THE GOVINDA SHAKTI YOGA STUDIO

GITA COACHING PROGRAMS IN SINTRA, NEAR LISBON (PORTUGAL), AT THE GOVINDA SHAKTI YOGA STUDIO.

2-4 April 2012

www.govindashakti.com

Photos:
www.govindashakti.com/?page_id=2

KIRTAN
PRESENTATION: HOW TO GET SUCCESS THROUGH KNOWING YOURSELF
- Developing a success mindset
- Personal mission, roles, goals and action
- Creating your Personal Mission Statement
http://gitacoaching.blogspot.pt/2011/08/personal-mission-statement.html
KIRTAN AND DANCE
INDIVIDUAL COACHING SESSIONS

GITA COACHING PROGRAM IN VIANA DO KASTELO, PORTUGAL

GITA COACHING PROGRAM IN VIANA DO KASTELO, PORTUGAL
At the village home of our kind host Isabel.

31 March 2012

- Kirtan
- Presentation on Holistic Success
- Kirtan and dance