Merry Christmas? Posted in: Articles

At Christmas time the expectations for increased enjoyment are high, but how many of us actually experience more happiness during the holiday? Financial strain, endless shopping, the pressures of entertaining, and the general stress of the season can all contribute to a rather less than merry Christmas for many. Anyone who watches TV over the Christmas period will be used to seeing helpline details frequently flash across the screen. Depression is an all too common problem…

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A Poverty of Spirit Posted in: Articles

Research figures just released reveal an alarming rise in the number of impoverished households in the UK. The Poverty and Social Exclusion project, based on interviews with more than 14,500 people in Britain and Northern Ireland has reported: • More than 500,000 children live in families who cannot afford to feed them properly • 18 million people cannot afford adequate housing conditions • 12 million people are too poor to engage in common social activities…

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Ancient tale to a modern beat Posted in: Video

How do you compress 100,000 verses into a 4 minute song? You can’t. But we tried to hit some of the main points of the epic Indian work. Featuring clips from the Ravi Chopra TV series (1988).

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Feeding the real hunger Posted in: Articles

One of the main problems of life we all face is filling our bellies. We have to eat and this hard fact forces most of us out of bed and off to work every day. However, while almost a billion people worldwide are struggling to solve the eating problem and are suffering malnutrition, here in the affluent West many of us have found a new predicament in the shape of too much food. Eating disorders…

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Grow food not factories Posted in: Articles

  Recently Prince Charles, an avid advocate of organic farming, took his holistic message to India. On a visit to the Punjab he promoted his own “New Food Foundation” and inaugurated its Indian equivalent, the ‘Bhumi Vardaan Foundation”. Brightly garlanded with marigolds, and to the accompaniment of a cacophony of assorted instruments, he strolled about in the hot Punjabi sunshine sharing his thoughts on agriculture with local organic farmers. Some might see a certain irony…

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Who am I? Posted in: Broadcasts

Pause for Thought  on BBC Radio 2 My spiritual master Srila Prabhupada was once asked to speak to a group of school children. “Who is the most intelligent student here?” he asked. A sea of modest blank faces stared back but eventually one child was thrust forward by his obliging friends and Prabhupada said to him, “Please point to your head.” The bemused boy, expecting a sterner examination of his intellectual powers, duly complied. His…

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Lessons from Life Posted in: Broadcasts

Pause for Thought, BBC Radio 2, Sun 4th May Recently I took delivery of a new mobile phone. Quite a complex affair, boasting a range of amazing new features. Being a typical male with a stubborn resistance to being told how to do anything, I tossed aside the instruction manual and set about figuring it all out. Soon I had managed to have a conversation with the phone itself, take a close-up photo of my…

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Sri Jagannathastakam Posted in: Poetry, Vaishnava songs

1) kadacit kalindi-tata-vipina-sangitaka-ravo mudabhiri-nari-vadana-kamalasvada-madhupah rama-sambhu-brahmamara-pati-ganesarcita-pado jagannathah svami nayana-patha-gami bhavatu me With songs and sweet music, strolling gaily through groves, by the Kalindi. A bee seeking nectar from the lotus-like faces of the gopis. Praising him are Shiva, Brahma, Indra, Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi. Jagannatha Swami, Lord of all beings, be visible to me. 2) bhuje savye venum sirasi sikhi-puccham kati-tate dukulam netrante sahacara-kataksam vidadhate sada srimad-vrndavana-vasati-lila-paricayo jagannathah svami nayana-patha-gami bhavatu me Sporting fine silken cloth,…

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