The following was spoken by Suta Goswami and taken from the Book Ekadasi compiled by Krsna Balaram Swami. (please forgive any typos)

Benefits of observing Ekadasi:

Arjuna the son of Prtha asked the Lord O Janardana what are the pious benefits of complete fasting, eating only supper, or eating but once at midday on Ekadasi, and what are the regulations for observing the various Ekasasi days, Kindly narrate all this to me.

Please listen as I now describe the results obtained by one who observes Ekadasi in this way. Neither the merit one receives by taking a bath in the sacred place of pilgrimage known as Sankhodara, where the Lord killed the Sankhasura demon, nor the merit one receives upon seeing Lord Gadadhara directly is equal to one sixteenth of the merit one obtains by fasting on Ekadasi. It is said that by giving charity on monday when the moon is full, one obtains a hundred thousand times the results of ordinary charity. O winner of wealth, one who gives charity on the day of the sankranti (equinox), attains four hundred thousand times the ordinary result. Yet simply by fasting on Ekadasi one obtains all these pious results as well as whatever pious results one gets at Kuruksetra during an eclipse of the sun or moon. furthermore, the faithful who observes complete fasting on Ekadasi achieves a hundred times more merit than one who perfoms an Asvamedha yajna (horse sacrifice). One who observes just a single Ekadasi perfectly earns the same merit as one who feeds a hundred thousand mendicants each day for 60 thousand years. And a person who properly observes Ekadasi just once earns ten times more merit than a person who gives a thousand cows in charity to a brahmana learned in the Vedas.

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Cows & Sattva Guna

by Kurma Rupa dasa

Cows Influence us to be Good

Bhagavad-gita explains that material nature is composed of three modes ― goodness, passion and ignorance ― and that when the living entities, who are spiritual, come in contact with nature they become conditioned by these modes.

Of these three, the mode of goodness (sattva guna) is superlative as it conditions one to develop peace and clarity of mind, illumination, wisdom and furthermore frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in the mode of goodness experience a sense of happiness and knowledge.

The mode of passion (rajo guna) inspires an endless flow of uncontrollable desires and longings: attachment to possessions, self-indulgence, self-promotion, oneupmanship, elitism, consumerism, and other forms of fruitive activity. As all these can never be fully accomplished, those situated in the mode of passion are characterized by frustration and misery.

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HARE KRSNA- EVERY MORNING THESE DAYS, DURING AND AFTER MONGOL AROTIK, THE DAIRY COWS ACROSS THE ROAD COME AND HEAR ME SING, RING THE BELLS,AND THEN I OFFER AROTIK TO THEM ALL. SOMETIMES THEY ARE RIGHT UP AGAINST THE FENCE LOOKING THIS WAY, WONDERING WHAT IS GOING ON OVER THERE. SOMETIMES I FEED THEM PURIS AND HALAVA, BUT MOST OF THE TIME I JUST CHANT TO THEM. THIS IS WONDERFUL AND AUSPICIOUS HAVING THEM ACROSS THE ROAD. SOMEDAY, BY KRSNA’S MERCY, I WILL AGAIN HAVE COWS OF MY OWN……

DAMAGHOSA DAS

Glories of Mother Cow (Vedic Quotes) … FROM SAVE THE COW WEBSITE

Krishna and a cow

Gopal Krishna

All glories to Krishna, the son of Mother Yasoda, the cowherd boy Gopal, Govinda who gives pleasure to the cows! All glories to the conqueror of Cupid, Lord Hari, who takes away all inauspiciousness, who is unlimited, and the awarder of liberation!

(Gitavali, Sri Krishner Vimsottara-Sata-Nam, Song 6, Verse 1 Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Trans. Dasaratha-suta dasa. Nectar Books, 2002.)

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakshmis orgopis.

(Sri Brahma-samhita 5.29, translation and purport by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami. Los Angeles: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1989.)

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For the third year in a row, we chanted down the main streets of our rural town which was seen by thousands of people. This time was quite different than the past years, in that Maya presented herself…

Below are two youtube videos of our third year at the loggerodeo 4th july parade in Sedro Woolley Wash USA

What did YOU do on this Independance day ( for celebrations??)

Hare Krsna

damaghosa das

This human form of life is so so short, we have to take advantage of it….

https://youtu.be/YPDg-FsqXjU

https://youtu.be/nwTXZMR2a0o

this was shot about a month ago. corn and beans

this shot today July 2 2015-corn is about 4-5 feet high, beans getting to 5 feet now. There are over 300 corn plants here
more than enough for fresh corn on the cob daily for two months and the rest we will dry for flour later.

DSCN7175

740602mw.gen Conversations 364211/530501
Prabhupada: Wasteful, yes. Therefore I say they have no brain. All,
they are rascals. Rascal leaders. A little labor in agriculture will
be sufficient to produce the family’s food stock for the whole year.
You can stock. You work only three months, and you get sufficient food
for your whole family. And less nine months, you chant Hare Krsna. But
these rascals will not do that. They will work hard like ass simply
for eating. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya
aprnoti. They will not accept easy life.

740527mw.rom Conversations
Prabhupada: No, no. These varieties… Suppose you grow half a dozen
different types of vegetables. So from this half a dozen you can make
three dozen varieties. If you are a good cooker. So the varieties of
enjoyment will be fulfilled. We have got some desire of different
quality of varieties. That you can make. From milk, vegetable, grains,
the three things, you
can make three hundred varieties.

740524r2.rom Conversations
… Yes, naturally. If this man is fed up with this industry, he can
go back to village and produce his own food. But he is attached to
this industrial activity because he is thinking that “We are getting
more money for wine and woman and meat. Let me enjoy.” That is the
perfect, imp… But if he chants Hare Krsna maha-mantra, his
consciousness will be purified and he will be made not interested this
kind of work. He will go back to village and
produce food.

One of many miraculous encounters we’ve had whilst out touring the country distributing Srila Prabhupada’s Books. James Bird, who is from the sunny south coast of England explains to us how his entire…

Hare Krsna to all

Below is a video link of our early summer gardens out back.

4th july parade is coming this weekend-all are invited to take part and then
picnic out back afterwards.

Parma Vijayte Sri Krsna Sankirtan !!
Srila Prabhupada ki Jaya !!

damaghosa das

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-X5xkm9emk&feature=youtu.be

Below we have a short segment of one conversation where Srila Prabhupada tells TKG and Satsvarupa NOT
to criticize important well known people-especially done in writing, in a book. This will only
create enemies, of which we already have many.

When these people open their mouths we immediately can tell if they are Krsna
Conscious or not. We say what Krsna says, and never what rascals say. And we do not give these people any importance by saying we “know of them”. We say, never heard of them, which means ,they are not that important.
But Krsna/God–everybody has heard of.. And winning first place for the books of the Bhaktividanta Book Trust at the annual national library convention –THAT he said– was our “triumph”!!

Hare Krsna
damaghosa dasa
——————————–

Vrndavna July 5 1977
Tamala Kṛṣṇa: The karmīs. They don’t know what is what. They don’t know what is good for them. If they have their choice, they won’t immediately talk with a devotee. But we are like the doctors. We don’t consider what the patient says. Somehow we have to administer the medicine because we know it will be good for them. There’s a letter that just came from Satsvarūpa. ….