I have created a proposal to create a new Question & Answer website for Hare Krishna devotees and need your help.
The proposed website will be built on the same software as stackoverflow.com, a hugely popular site where over seven million computer programmers help each other with difficult programming problems. On Stack Overflow the audience votes for [...]

I recently gave a talk at the Krishna Fest at Gaura Yoga on the “Vedic System of Self-Development”. Thanks to Sivarama Swami for the inspiration for this talk.
You can view the talk synchronized with slides here:

or download the source AAC file vedic system of self-development.m4a
or download the source MP3 file vedic system of self-development.mp3

I was listening to the following podcast:
Darrel Rhea: Marking During an Economic Meltdown
The title is deceptive. It is more about analyzing a market or activity holistically and reinventing it to taking into account the complete picture. With a complete view of all the factors, motivations, desires, side-effects and intentions, one can transform into a truly [...]

I just got back from a 10-day Christmas retreat. Most of the Hare Krishna devotees in New Zealand attended this festival of inspiration, rejuvenation and association. Over 100 devotees were there, in total.
The retreat was held in the Otaki region of New Zealand (1 hour North of Wellington). We rented out two retreat centers: Riverslea [...]

Visnumaya recently gave a talk at Gaura Yoga on cow protection, ecology and sustainability. She has posted the talk and the presentation slides on her website. Much recommended. Check it out:
“Holy Cow Protection” eco-talk at Gaura Yoga

I have been taking some pictures in and around Gaura Haven / New Gupta Vraja, a retreat center recently acquired by Gaura Yoga, located in Otaki (about an hour’s drive outside of Wellington). Here is a gallery the best photographs, the so-called “glory shots”.
I’m relatively new to landscape photography. So, advice and suggestions are welcome.

Additionally, [...]

On the weekend of the 25th of October, 2008 the majority of practitioners of Krishna consciousness in New Zealand (and a few from Australia) went to a retreat center in Inglewood, NZ called Vertical Horizon. There we celebrated the Vyasa-Puja (birthday of the spiritual master) of Devamrita Swami.
It was a grand festivals. Nearly 100 devotees [...]

In this talk at Gaura Yoga in Wellington, New Zealand I discuss a topic that has confounded many statesmen, philosophers and theologians. Why do bad things happen to good people and why do good things happen to bad people? I give an overview of different so-called answers that people try to give to this question. [...]

In this talk at Gaura Yoga I give some practical advice on how to give an interesting and inspirational Krishna conscious presentation.

Download the talk as an enhanced podcast (slides synced to audio) in AAC/M4A format (35 minutes). This file is playable in iTunes or on iPods.
Or, if you can’t play or don’t like Apple’s media [...]

This PhD degree has been the greatest austerity I’ve ever undertaken. It was often frustrating, demotivating, felt like it would never end, caused my body to frequently fall ill and resulted in a huge amount of worry and pain.
However, the austerity of this PhD have been child’s play compared with what a sage named Markandeya [...]

There are so many different religions and spiritual systems out there. Which should you choose and why?
In this talk at the Gaura Yoga centre in Wellington, New Zealand I give some criteria by which one can judge how bona fide a spiritual system is. I conclude by explaining how well Krishna consciousness does when judged [...]

I have now been in Wellington, New Zealand for exactly one month. It is great!
I have uploaded a photo album of some of the pictures I have taken here over the last month. The images are of the events, activities and prasadam (food) in and around the Gaura Yoga center.
All shots were taken with a [...]

I have moved from Manchester, United Kingdom to Wellington, New Zealand. Last Sunday I gave the Krishna Fest presentation at the Gaura Yoga center here in Wellington. The topic was the “Science of Happiness” (analyzed using the teachings on the three modes of material nature from the Bhagavad-Gita: As it Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami [...]

Every living entity on the planet (and beyond) needs to sleep. Rats, die if they are deprived of sleep for 5 days (they also die if they are deprived of food for 5 days). Why this is, no one knows. It is one of the great unsolved mysteries of science. Wouldn’t it be better if [...]

It is well known that the aging population of the western world is increasingly placing a huge burden on all nations’ health-care systems. Medicine is finding better and better (and more expensive) ways of stopping people from dying. As medicine finds new ways of curing the existing diseases, people’s bodies find newer and newer ways [...]

I hosted what will probably be the last of my Saturday Feasts in Manchester yesterday. There were a total of eight people present (much to my surprise everyone I invited came and some people brought friends along - and there was just enough prasadam to satisfy everyone). On the menu:

cumin basmati rice
chickpea, roast potato, tomato [...]

I have been reading an excellent booklet entitled “Taking Care of Krishna’s Devotees” by H.H. Niranjana Swami. It outlines his experience and advice regarding the counseling system successfully used in Chowpatti Temple, as well as in many parts of Russia. The following is a summary of some of the book’s presentation. I recommend reading the [...]