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INTRO
YOGI WALKS ON WATER ©1
16Rounds to Samadhi 16Rounds is published: ● To propagate spiritual knowledge and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world. ● To bring people closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler and more natural way of life. ● To expose the faults of materialism. ● To bring about the well-being of all living entities. 16Rounds is an independent magazine compiled, written, and published by a few Hare Krishna monks. It is produced in an attempt to benefit its readers, for our own purification, and for the pleasure of our spiritual grandfather, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakti vedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder and spiritual guide of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The first copy is free. Additional copies of the same issue are $10 each. © 2014 16 Rounds to Samadhi. All rights reserved.
16Rounds Staff: Editor: Mahat Tattva Dasa In 1995, at the age of twenty, instead of opting for college, Mahat chose the monastic life and education. Ever since he’s taught and guided hundreds of new monks. Layout: Bhismadeva Dasa Bhismadeva has been a monk since 2008 and is currently serving at the ashram of the Hare Krishna community in San Diego. English editor: Matthew McManus Born and grew up in Los Angeles. Graduated from San Diego State University in 2011. Currently a monk at the ISKCON ashram in San Diego.
Based on story told by Srila Prabhupada
One person
w a s traveling away from home for ten years, and he went to the Himalayas to find a yogi who could give him some perfection.
It is quite natural that any person who achieves some success wants to show it off before friends, relatives, and countrymen. So, after ten years, he came back to his village. All the villagers assembled and were very anxious to know what had happened to him. "My dear friend, for ten years you have been searching, trying to learn yoga perfections. So what have you learned? Please let us know."
He said, "I have achieved the laghimasiddhi perfection. That means I have learned how to become the lightest." CONTACT: 16rounds@gmail.com www.16ROUNDS.com Call/text 858-405-5465 facebook.com/16roundstosamadhi ADVERTISE www.16rounds.com/advertise Call/text Mahat at 858-405-5465. SUBSCRIPTIONS 10 issues = $25 www.16rounds.com/subscribe DISCLAIMER: Views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors.
And what is the result? He said, "I can walk on water."
So everyone was very anxious because people are very inquisitive and curious. So they requested him, "Let us have some demonstration. Please show that you'll walk over the river." "All right, I shall show you tomorrow morning."
In the village lived an old man. He said to the yogi, "My dear such-andsuch, after working for ten years, you have learned something that is two cents worth." The yogi was very angry. "Oh, it is two cents worth, you think?" "Yes, I think it is two cents worth." "Why?"
"Because you'll walk over the river, but I shall pay the boatman two cents and I too will cross over the river."
So these things are two cents worth in comparison to Krishna consciousness. Don't be after them. Real yogic perfection means to achieve liberation from material existence by developing spiritual, Krishna consciousness. One may attain one of the eight yogic perfections such as becoming smaller than the smallest or heavier than the heaviest, and make a wonderful show of material nature, but because such a mind is still on the material platform, such a person will still have to stay in the cycle of repeated birth, death, old age, and disease. Bhagavad-gita (6.47) reiterates this point: “And of all yogis, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.”�
MEANING OF “16ROUNDS”
Photo Credits
Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means “union” or “linking.” Meditation is a process of yoga by which the spiritual practitioner achieves union with the Divine. The recommended process of meditation for the age we are currently living in is mantra meditation. This process involves chanting of mantras. The Upanishads, the classical spiritual texts of ancient India, say that the best mantra is the Hare Krishna mantra: hare krishna, hare krishna, krishna krishna, hare hare, hare rama, hare rama, rama rama, hare hare.
Thank you to the following artists for letting us print their art.
A “Mala” is a set of 108 beads strung on a thread, sort of like a rosary. The spiritual practitioner prayerfully and with great concentration recites/chants the whole mantra once for each bead of the mala. The mala or the string of beads is held in the fist of the right hand and is meant to help us count how many times we chanted the mantra. It also helps engage the sense of touch in the process of meditation. Once we have chanted the mantra 108 times, or once for each bead, we have completed “one round.” Serious practitioners of this spiritual discipline take a vow to chant at least sixteen times round the mala every day; thus the name “16 Rounds.”
©1 flickr.com/infiniteache ©2 flickr.com/oter ©3 flickr.com/thinkidentical ©4 flickr.com/lenastinke ©5 flickr.com/61932398@N00 ©6 flickr.com/leannesurfleet ©7 flickr.com/demibrooke ©8 flickr.com/leiaspeia ©9 flickr.com/lapolab ©10 flickr.com/fredr ©11 flickr.com-kjgarbutt ©12 flickr.com-light_seeker ©13 flickr.com-jenik ©14 flickr.com-adagnino ©15 flickr.com-xtianyves
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COVER STORY ©2
SUICIDE OF THE SOUL Squirt Guns, Yogis, and Moksha
By Vic DiCara
There are many
possible motives for suicide. Saintly people, for example, sometimes commit suicide to atone for some serious mistake or as an involuntary expression of some extremely deep emotion.
Cota Haridās drowned himself in a sacred river as an expression of spiritual grief. Sanātana Goswāmī planned to kill himself under the juggernaut-wheels of a huge sacred cart.
Raghunātha Goswāmī attempted suicide by leaping from the cliff of a sacred hill.
Śiva’s wife, Sati, for example, committed suicide out of grief of being related to her father, who had disrespected her husband.
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The result of suicide, like everything, depends
COVER STORY next life, the being has to exist for a while without a physical form, only in an emotional “body” – a very troubled emotional body.
People tend to experience such beings as “ghosts” and so on. Often, people who commit suicide have many, many unresolved issues with their life, thus it is quite frequent that suicide produces what many people call “ghosts.” Another problem is that suicide most often leaves behind unfulfilled responsibilities. This is a serious karmic problem incurred by committing suicide. If a person is old, legitimately renounced, or somehow has fulfilled or never incurred many familial and social responsibilities, this may not be an issue.
Eventually (it can take centuries) the ghost forgets his or her negative ties to the previous life and drifts slowly towards another birth. In that next birth they will have to again deal with what they wanted to escape: being alive in a painful world.
on the motive. Sati’s result was that she became Parvatī, married Śiva again and was free from her inglorious previous family/father. This shows that suicide does not always have a negative result.
Almost always, however, suicide is an unrecognized expression of the desire for moksha (spiritual liberation). The pains and depressing, inescapable realities of existence become too great to bear; they vastly outweigh the joys and pleasures of life – one decisively prefers not to exist at all, rather than exist amidst such unbearable circumstances. Since the desire for moksha is unrecognized, the individual seeks to end their existence by some physical means – a bullet, a pill, a blade, a steep drop, etc. If the desire were recognized as a desire for moksha the individual would instead recourse to nihilistic spiritual disciplines to extinguish his or her existence altogether – a much more effective form of suicide – since it destroys not just the physi-
cal self, but also the emotional self.
What destination is attained by a person who physically kills themselves? It depends on their consciousness at the time of death. yat yat vāpi smaran bhāvam tajantyante kalevararam - “Whatever your heart is absorbed in when you die will become the general condition of your next birth.” (Bhagavad Gita 8.6)
Not always, but most often the consciousness of a person committing suicide is tragic and filled with negative emotions. Therefore most often, the destination of those who commit suicide is tragic. It is not always the case, but it is arguably the norm. When a person dies with a lot of unfinished, unresolved emotional ties to people, places, and things in their life, they will find themselves unable to move on to their next birth. A suicidal person, specifically, will also be loathe towards the proposal of starting the whole depressing cycle over again in another birth. When the mind is paralyzed from moving on to the
If a person recognizes the suicide impulse as the desire for moksha and fulfills that impulse not by physical suicide, but by “spiritual” nihilism – what is the result? Another type of “ghost” – really.
They extinguish their false existence, which is good, but they do so with a sense of disgust, disdain, frustration, or repulsion. These negative motives invariably generate negative results. The result of such moksha is to obliterate one’s false being, but not attain any true being – a type of ghostly existence in a sense, in between falsehood and truth, and neither of either. Like a ghost, they exist for sometime without any tangible existence. Eventually, the negative, unresolved emotional ties to the false world will again pull them into subdividing their consciousness into negative existence and they will again acquire a material birth. In the end, suicide of either type fails to solve the problem. You eventually have to actually face your problems and solve them. The problem is suffering. Self-centered existence is the root of suffering. Selfless existence is the end of suffering and the root of joy. “Selfless existence” means an existence of pure love. Pure love is realized in its most perfect zenith when the beloved is absolutely pure and real
- focused on the absolute reality as the supreme beloved.
The only real way to end suffering is love - bhakti. Practice of
bhakti is the only way to accomplish what suicide would like to accomplish, but cannot. �
WHY DO WE MISIDENTIFY WITH THE MIND
Cont'd from pg. 7
lust or pride or anger or some similar unwholesome desire. Though the voice may be insistent, we still have the awareness that it is different from us; the mind is still speaking in the second person. However, if we listen to the proposals of the mind, we give it the chance to cast its ventriloquistic spell on us. With frightening swiftness, it projects its voice on us. Soon, sometimes in a matter of moments, the mind starts speaking in the first person: “I want to enjoy that.” But because we have been taken in by its ventriloquism, we no longer realize that it is the mind speaking; we mistake its voice to be our own. Once we take ownership of the mind’s desires, then all our inner safeguards crumble and we fall. Let’s understand this process in the light of the eight stages to fall down, outlined in the Bhagavad-gita (2.62-63): Contemplation (dhyayato) Attraction (sanga) Obsession (kama)
Irritation (krodha)
Delusion (sammoha)
Oblivion (smriti-bhramashad) Stupefaction (buddhi-nasho) Destruction (pranashyati)
From the stage of contemplation to the stage of obsession, the mind’s voice keeps getting louder and more demanding. But it is still speaking in the second person: “Why don’t you enjoy that? It looks so promising.” From the stage of irritation; however, the mind starts speaking in the first person; we start identifying with its desire and start feeling angry at whatever obstacle blocks us: “Who can stop me from enjoying?” Hereafter the mind’s ventriloquism makes a complete fool out of us; we cast aside our
values and binge. We get ourselves in trouble.
To save ourselves, we need to be alert and catch the mind when it is speaking in the second person: “Ah! That’s the mind speaking. I am not going to listen to it.” Though the mind may still prod and push us, just by disowning it we can win a major part of the battle. And we can win the battle fully if we immediately focus on something engaging, illuminating, empowering – some devotional activity like chanting the holy names, reading a specific scriptural passage or repeating a relevant meaning-packed verse or sentence, for example. Once we get engrossed in something constructive, we are not allured by the mind’s destructive proposals and it is forced to fall back, whimpering and defeated.
Our daily spiritual disciplines are the background training for the battles with the mind. In my spiritual tradition, the daily disciplines center on scriptural study and mantra meditation. Scrutinizing scriptural study makes us intellectually convinced that we are different from the mind and equips us with strategies for protecting ourselves from it. Determined mantra meditation in which the mind frequently distracts us demonstrates to us how the mind is actually different from us; it also habituates us to persevering in the spiritual focus, irrespective of what the mind says. Both these disciplines keep us informed about the mind’s shenanigans and prepare us to catch it whenever it tries to hoodwink us. To summarize, by becoming informed about the mind’s ventriloquistic tricks and by staying alert to detect its tricks in their incipient stages, we can avoid misidentifying with the mind. �
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LIFESTYLE high thinking. Produce your own food; keep cows, milk. If there is food grains and milk there is no necessity. And you can produce your cloth also if you produce cotton. We are trying in Mayapura to produce our own cloth. So we require our own cloth, own food, and time saved for advancing in Krsna consciousness. That is required.
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VILLAGE LIFE A Digital Leap Back to the Basics By Srila Prabhupada
Extracts
from Arrival Lecture – Hawaii, May 25, 1975
The glaring attraction of city, that is maya. In the modern age people are more attracted by the city life, but we should know city life... Not for the devotee; generally, people in general like city life, but that is maya. Maya means "which is not fact." We are thinking that this way we shall be happy, but that is not fact. This is called maya. Ma-ya -- "it is not." You are thinking that in this way you will be happy, but it is not. This is called maya. One English poet also said, Cowper, that city is made by man but village is made by God.
So if you can stick to this village life and be satisfied whatever you produce... You can produce your necessities; there is no difficulty. If we keep cows and grow food grains, fruits, vegetables, then we can live very peacefully like that. There is no need of going to the city. That is the plan of God, Krsna. Krsna personally exhibited. Vrn-
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davana is village; it is not city. We are trying to go to the village of Krsna -- Vrndavana. And He was Himself, although He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He was taking care of the calves and cows when He was child, although Nanda Maharaja was king, village king. King means he had many cows -- nine hundred thousand cows.
Formerly one was considered to be rich man if he possessed many cows: dhanyena dhanavan gavaya dhanavan. Now, artificially, they have made such a plan that if you can possess some papers written only -- hundred dollars, five hundred dollars, fifty dollars -- then you are rich. But actually that is not wealth. When there is no food, you cannot eat this paper -- it may be hundred dollars, five hundred dollars. But if you possess grains and cows, then you will never starve. The city people, they are getting supplies from remote villages, and they have got money...
Money means paper. They are cheating. The whole process is
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cheating. There is no money, but they have made economic condition in such a clever way that we are accepting these papers as money. Real riches is actually the grains and milk. That is real riches. According to Vedic civilization it is said, dhanyena dhanavan gavaya dhanavan.
That is actual civilization. This is not civilization; this is demoniac civilization. So although you are all European and American, these things are practically..., you are not accustomed. But if you develop this kind of civilization -- plain living and high thinking -- save time for advancing Krsna consciousness, that is real profit of life. It is real profit. We should not be attracted by the so-called material bodily comfortable life. This is also comfortable. Simply we imagine that city life, having many cars and many skyscraper buildings, big, big roads, that is comfortable. Comfortable means without anxiety. That is life. Real life is without anxiety. That is comfortable living. And if you are living, sleeping in a very high skyscraper building and full of anxieties, is that comfortable life? That is not comfortable life. Comfortable life means... Canakya Pandita has said that a comfortable, happy man is he who does not go out of his home and who is
So our Krsna consciousness movement is basically that we should not be attracted by the false thing. W e should not be attracted by the false thing. The reality -- vedyam vastavam atra vastu [SB 1.1.2]. Real reality not false reality.
So I am very glad that you are living here. So kindly stick to this place and make an ideal island so that others may see also: plain living, ©8
not a debtor. He is happy. But just see: in the city everybody is a debtor, and one has to go fifty miles, hundred miles for earning his livelihood. Is that comfortable? The bank is ready to give you money -- "Purchase motorcar. Purchase this. Purchase this." And at the end of month after working hard when you get salary, the whole money is taken by the bank. Again you have to work. So you are debtor and full of anxiety -- is that comfortable life? No, that is not comfortable life. Com-
PHILOSOPHY vinoda Thakura said, jada-vidya saba mayara vaibhava tomara bhajane badha. This material way of life, material advancement of material civilization, means giving advantage to maya to increase her influence over us.
©6
So be satisfied with this humble life in the village and be advanced in Krsna consciousness. That is the real profit of life. Don't be misled by the glaring, dazzling situation of the city. That is not worth it. There is no difficulty. If you cooperate, everything will be all right. Don't be anxious. �
WHY DO WE MISIDENTIFY WITH THE MIND? A Ventriloquist's Show By Caitanya Charan Das
fortable life means no anxiety.
©7
So you have got this land; develop it. Don't go away. Develop it. That is my instruction. Keep cows, as many cows as possible. You don't require practice. Produce your own food, own milk -- save time; chant Hare Krsna. This is perfect. You don't require technical education and this education, that education, wine, meat. This is raksasa civilization. This is not human civilization. Human civilization: peacefully living, saving time for Krsna consciousness, and then at the time of death you remember Krsna. You are immediately delivered within a second, back to home, back to Godhead.
Read thoroughly, produce your own food, live peacefully. What is the use of going to the city? Bhakti-
A PART OF YOU
Cont'd from pg. 17 nance among the modes of nature? Most spiritual disciplines, which integrate the process of yoga, give the yoga practitioner the singular opportunity to elevate their reality from the lower modes of nature to a higher level of existence by doing just that- cultivating the mind. How? By dealing directly with this reciprocal relationship of focusing the mind on that which is in goodness or even spiritual goodness, and molding one’s life and activities in such a way that one’s mind can focus more attentively on this reality without distraction (i.e. living a disciplined lifestyle); culminating to the point when one is living every moment in pure goodness. In this way one can cultivate one’s life without so much precariousness from the vexing material nature. So, here’s a new perspective on the dynamics of life. The choice is in many ways ours. �
V
entriloquism is the art of projecting one’s voice so that it seems to come from another source, say a dummy. Those unaware of ventriloquism mistakenly think that the inanimate dummy is speaking, but those aware can figure out what’s actually happening.
The mind is a most crafty ventriloquist. While ordinary ventriloquists may perform a show for us to see, the mind makes us its show. Ordinary ventriloquists may project their voices to inanimate objects for the entertainment of onlookers, but the mind projects its voice
©8
onto us and makes us believe that its voice is our voice. Because we are often unaware of the mind’s insidious tactics, we fall prey to its ventriloquism and act out its selfish desires, assuming that they are our desires. Only later when the short-lived pleasure of acting out ends and the consequences start becoming evident do we ask in dismay: “Why did I do that? It was so against my values. I never wanted to do that. Yet I did it. Why?” It was due to the mind’s deceitful ventriloquism. How do we protect ourselves?
By stopping the mind when it is speaking in the second person (“you do this a n d
enjoy”) and not letting it take on the first person voice (“I want to do this and enjoy”). To understand this, let’s explore the ventriloquism metaphor further. When ventriloquists make a dummy speak, they have to be present somewhere nearby; the voice can’t be projected over long distances. If onlookers are informed and alert, they can, as soon as they hear the dummy speaking, look around, spot the ventriloquist and say, “That’s you speaking.” By thus catching the ventriloquism in the act, they can avoid getting deluded. Similarly, the mind has to be in our vicinity before it can make us misidentify with it. Of course, ontologically speaking, the mind is always in our vicinity; it exists inside us. But functionally speaking, the mind is not always aroused and active with its nefarious schemes; it’s not always a ventriloquist in the act.
When the mind becomes captivated by some unhealthy fancy and wants us to act it out, it initially has to speak in the second person: “Why don’t you do that? You will enjoy it. You need a break; you need some fun.” At this stage, we sense that something within us is prompting us to indulge in
Cont'd on pg. 5 ›››
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SOCIETY
THE APPEARANCE OF MATERIAL ADVANCEMENT Good Things Come Slow and to Stay By Srila Prabhupada
The modern
civilization of industrialism and capitalism is no material advancement. It is rather material exploitation. When one gets the basic necessities of life, namely peaceful home, sumptuous eating, some ro-
mantic life, and feeling of security, that constitutes material advancement. In the absence of such four preliminary necessities of life, there is not question of material advancement.
According to the Vedic civilization, one is considered rich when one has got sufficient grains and cows. In the modern civilization
we have neither sufficient grains or cows, but we have plenty of paper that we call money. When a catastrophe takes place, this bunch of papers will neither supply milk or grains and people will starve. Real money are provisions for real needs. Thus the saying, “One who has grains and cows is rich.” �
FARMER? ©9
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PHOTOCOMIC
JEFF VS.IPAD T
HERE ARE SO MANY RAD STORIES OUT THERE - BUT, THIS WAS JEFF'S TALE. JEFF WAS A SIMPLE BRO - JEFF KEPT IT REAL - JEFF DIDN'T GET TOO CAUGHT UP IN THE RAT RACE OF MODERN LIFE - IN FACT HE DIDN'T GET OUT MUCH AT ALL...
Jeff liked to skate.
UNTIL ONE DAY...
COME IN?
! K C
jeff liked to read. JEFF POLLICK & OTTO COCINO PHOTOGRAPHY: MAHAT-TATTVA DASA CREATIVE COORDINATOR: BHISMADEVA DASA CAST:
Jeff liked to try and play guitar.
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PHOTOCOMIC HEY JEFF YOU HERM IT
! I THOUGH T I WOU LD FIND YOU HERE.
-BRO!
BRO!-
YOU GET TO0 LOCKED UPCOME ON WE'RE GOING TO GET A DRINK!
PLEASE, GET OUT
MORE
LEARN TO LIVE A LITTLE.
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!
PHOTOCOMIC
JEFF BRO-
I HAVE A GIFT FOR YOU. IT'S AN
IPAD!
TRIP OUT!
AN U ME O Y E T DO N'T HAV WHA O ? D ! YOU CEBOOK A FA
YOU CAN PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE & SOCIALLY NETWORK-. FACEBOOK / YOUTUBE.. YOU WILL LOVE IT!
THERE YA GO MANSEE HOW EASY IT IS!?
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PHOTOCOMIC Social Rebirth/Bliss ...
!?T IT F T '
... until the day it broke.
...NO... ...WAY!
KILL ME NOW.. WILL I EVER LOVE AGAIN?
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W
N ? WO ON Y N WH TUR
JEFF VS. IPAD Oh, For The Love of Stuff!? By Bhismadeva Dasa
Ok
folks, the time may be coming. This world may be a bit kookie; some of the methods we use for communication, and even a few of the “normal” societal values we raise arms over may not be the most progressive. One quick question we should ask ourselves is: “Do I posses things or do they posses me?” You know, the type of question we encourage our kids to shut up about. But hey, why not raise the question? Do our so-called “modern problems” actually differentiate in quality from other problems throughout history? What solutions are on the modern factory workbench to meet with the imbalances of the soul? The next iPad? Unlock-
ing the holy grail of smart phone apps? The next, next myspace? It seems that rather than continuing to find solutions through different arrangements of matter, no matter how glossy-sweet they may be, it may be wiser to seek a more holistic approach. We don’t need a modern, complicated lifestyle to bring us satisfaction. Lasting happiness will not be found by our rush to touch, taste, or smell any one of the colorful varieties of sensations effectively calibrated to distract us. Neither is lasting happiness found by running away from the world. We have to act in this world, but the key is to act in a way that is congruous to our true identity as spirit, and not matter – two categorically different phenomena that we oftentimes fail to accurately discriminate. �
TWENTY MILES PER HOUR By Mahat Tattva Dasa
Descending into the city from a mountain. Nature is characterized by goodness. Cities tend to shelter
good dozes of restlessness and ignorance. Path to ignorance, like the ignorance itself, is crooked and difficult to navigate. Those who are used to ignorance have become attached to the very source of their own pain. �
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SOCIETY ©9
©1
0
PANOPTICON The Perverted Desire to be Omnipotent By Mathew McManus
Since time
i m memorial, there has been espionage and surveillance. Spies, in various forms and nuances, have always been used to gather informa-
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tion on undiscerning specimen(s). Now, with the advancement of technology, spying has shifted from the traditional/iconic Mr. John Smith persona, who acted like your ally but was in cahoots with the enemy, to impersonal machines hacking information via wireless networks by people in isolated rooms anywhere in the world for motives both benign and malevolent. In modern day espionage, there is the growing notion of having mass surveillance of people for the purpose of controlling and gathering intelligence; in©1 0 deed, a future reminiscent of Orwell’s pro©1 phetic 1984. 1
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One example of modern surveillance in its nascent form is the Panopticon. In 1791, Jeremy Bentham, an English philoso-
pher and abolitionist, designed and published his ideas for surveillance in prisons through a structure he dubbed the ‘Panopticon’. The Panopticon is an architectural design in which a circular structure encircles a single observer tower at the center. Within the circular structure are the prison cells, which are shielded so that the inmates cannot see the observer tower, but the observer within the tower can see into every cell in the prison; hence, the prisoners are unable to know if they are being watched while the observer can very easily monitor all of the prisoners. Bentham’s innovative idea of how to observe a mass group of people, both individually and collectively, is touted for being the catalyst for the modern surveillance systems of tomorrow. However, what was originally intended to be in prisons only has escaped its shackles to include society in general. With the invention of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in the 1940’s, Bentham’s idea reached its potential. Now cameras could be placed anywhere; people could be very eas-
ily monitored and, with the advent of more sophisticated computer systems later on, very easily identified. It is now a curious phenomenon just how much we are being spied on every day – at intersections, stores, public squares, via cell phones, internet, texting, e-mail, and wherever else we don’t know….
Especially under the safety blanket of war on terrorism and scare tactics, governments have tried to broaden their control on the population through mass surveillance. The National Security Agency (NSA) was exposed earlier this year for their mass surveillance of US citizens. They are collecting various categories of metadata from phone calls and deciphering it using information mining filters to collect intelligence that is deemed noteworthy.
Meanwhile, technologists, at the behest of governments worldwide, are hard at work advancing the processing speed by which faces can be identified. Governments and military are using the same filtering system they use to recognize voice and text, but now are integrating it with Facebook’s technology of identifying and tagging people in pictures, which they can then apply to live video surveillance. There are already databases of biometrically analyzed pictures that people post of themselves and others on Facebook. Mass surveillance, although unscrupulously deemed by some as necessary for safety, has a great
possibility for abuse. How far should surveillance go and personal freedoms forfeited, before one starts to feel like a prisoner in the Panopticon? The Bhagavad-gita teaches that only Krishna, or God, can be the true observer of all living entities. His presence is completely benevolent, without any tinge of mundane self-interest or corruption. In the purport to Bhagavad-gita 5.15 it says:
“The Lord is the constant companion of the living entity as Paramatma, or the Supersoul, and therefore He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the flavor of a flower by being near it. Desire is a subtle form of conditioning for the living entity. The Lord fulfills his desire as he deserves: Man proposes and God disposes. The individual is not, therefore, omnipotent in fulfilling his desires. The Lord, however, can fulfill all desires, and the Lord, being neutral to everyone, does not interfere with the desires of the minute independent living entities.”
CONT'D When those in power imitate having the powers of God, but failing to have the same benevolence as God, neglect the people’s welfare for their own selfish interests, a scary situation is born. Attempting to imitate the Supreme Being is one of the major diseases of an unhealthy soul, and everyone in their sphere of influence is affected. “Similarly, the living entity… starts his own business to compete with the Lord. There are many competitors out to attain the Lord's position, but to become like the Lord is not at all possible. Thus there is a great struggle for existence with the material world as different parties try to imitate the Lord. No one can become one with or equal to God. To imagine this is to continue one's bondage in material existence.” – Srila Prabhupada �
cycles of breath, and then push self up to seated.
RESTORE AFTER HOLIDAY SEASON WITH YOGA Cont'd from pg. 18 by the wall. Sit on the bolster or blankets sideways, with your side hip touching the wall and knees bent. Scoot in close to the wall as you turn so that your legs are vertically up the wall. Your lower back/ lower torso is resting on the bolster or blankets, your upper back, shoulders, and head are resting on the ground, and your legs are vertically against the wall so that you are in an L shape. This pose can also be done without blankets or bolsters – simply lie in an L shape with your torso on the ground and legs up against the wall. The bolster simply gives added support.
Arms can be by your sides or overhead. If there is any back discomfort, adjust the bolster’s proximity to the wall, remove it, or come out of the pose. Once in the pose, close your eyes, soften the face and jaw, and observe the breath. Halfway through the pose, you can try a variation by widening your legs against the wall in straddle position. If having your legs fully up against the wall is not comfortable, rest bent legs on a chair instead, as you lay your torso on the ground. Hold for 2- 15 minutes. Exit the pose by bending knees and rolling onto right side. Rest there for a few
This pose relieves pain or stress in the legs and feet, eases back pain, and calms the mind. It can also help with insomnia. As it is a semi inversion (since you are partially upside down), its benefits includes those of other inversions such as reduction of anxiety, low or high blood pressure, headaches, mild depression, and cramps (when done regularly). As it is a mild inversion, anyone with glaucoma or other eye pressure related problems should avoid this pose.
3) SUPPORTED SAVASANA (final resting pose)
– any yoga practice ends with savasana (corpse pose).
In a restorative practice, savasana is taken with props. Have one blanket folded very thinly underneath your head only (not your neck). Place a yoga bolster, rolled up blanket, or pillow underneath your knees as you lie down. Arms
are at a 45 degree angle between your legs and upper body, with palms facing up. Allow feet to relax to the sides. This is called corpse pose, so the body should be as still as a corpse, but the mind awake. To relax, try squeezing and tensing up the muscles from head to toe with an inhale, and then release the tension with an exhale. Once settled into savasana, close eyes, breathe normally, and quiet the mind by observing the breath, the thoughts, and sensations in the body. Have the room dark and silent if possible, and rest for 5-15 minutes.
Come out of your restorative practice slowly, by wiggling fingers and toes, taking a deeper breath, and rolling onto your right side with knees bent. Rest there for a few cycles of breath, and then push yourself up to a sitting position. Take some time to observe the effects of your practice on your body and mind, and perhaps end by chanting OM. Drink water, and move slowly until ready to resume your regular activities. �
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PHILOSOPHY
A PART OF YOU Three Modes of Material Nature By Matthew McManus
In the
Bhagavad-gita is a description of the modes of material nature, which are described in detail and divided into three categories of ignorance, passion, and goodness. The modes of material nature can be empirically observed and they can influence every part of our lives from what we think, to how we feel, to how we act. When one is learned, conscious, and conscientious of how material nature is working in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life, one can choose how to live life from a more informed, realistic perspective. Š1
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As a doctor can determine a disease by analyzing the symptoms of the patient; so, material nature can be studied in a similar way by observing its unique characteristics.
For instance in the Bhagavad-gita, the mode of goodness is described to be that which is illuminating in knowledge and free of bad reactions or karma. When one acts in goodness they become conditioned to knowledge and a sense of happiness. Passion is described as associated with great attachment, great endeavor, activity for the purpose of enjoying the results, and uncontrollable desire and hankering. Acting in passion brings one misery. Finally, ignorance is associated with madness, inertia, illusion, and darkness, which bring foolishness. Just as the three primary colors, when combined in different ways, can be used to produce a colorful, multidimensional piece of art; similarly, these modes of nature are dynamic and can combine in
PHILOSOPHY a seemingly unlimited number of ways to generate what we perceive to be reality. That is what we are most oftentimes observing in our environments – a matrix of various, seamless combinations of goodness, passion, and ignorance.
Contemporary scientific studies have indirectly confirmed the pervasive influence that the modes of material nature have on us. One such field of science that gives credence to the phenomenon is the breakthrough research on studies of the human brain and its reactions to external stimuli. By studying the brain, neurologists have identified structural and neurochemical differences in patients that were conditioned to environments of goodness, passion, and/ or ignorance. According to researchers in conjunction with the United States Department of Human and Health Services, neurochemical changes are experienced by infants who are exposed to various traumatic events and such changes can affect the outcome of one’s entire life. There is a chronic stimulation in the brain’s fear response which simultaneously stultifies the brain’s region for complex thought and abstract cognition when it is overly activated. This may permanently affect the brain’s development and alter its ability to use serotonin, a chemical responsible for “producing” happiness. Martin Teicher, a researcher at Harvard University, reported that child abuse can reduce brain volume in the hippocampus, making the child susceptible for drug abuse and depression later in life. Furthermore, MRI studies on the brain have revealed that brain waves are altered
when the patient is shown anxietyproducing images.
On the reverse spectrum, when one cultivates peace and stability, the brain also reflects these stimuli. University of Madison psychologists have shown through fMRI scans, after studying monks who were engaged in daily meditation for years, that the insula region of the brain was higher in activity than a normal person’s. The insula region is special for its ability to detect emotions and identify bodily responses to emotions, i.e. heart rate, blood pressure, etc. These monks, both through the brain study and by observing their lives of mediation, show a greater tendency for compassion, on average, than those who live a more hectic and competitive lifestyle. Even though one may be born with brain deficiencies that steer one towards acting in impious or inappropriate ways, through proper cultivation by one’s surroundings and behavior, one has the possibility to change these tendencies. Scientists have proven that although one may be born with abnormal levels of serotonin, which is believed to put one at risk for psychopathy; if one is brought u p in a positive environment during childhood, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex can open up to more readily take in the environment, possibly redirecting the course of that person’s future behavior. From the research, it can be surmised that behavior and environ-
ment play a large role in the formation of the quality of one’s life. Those who were in abusive situations and possible harbingers of future abuse based on these brain studies were in contact with qualities distinctive of passion and ignorance. Conversely, those who cultivated a sense of deeper peace and well-being were observed to have a greater sense of happiness and satisfaction in their lives according to their brain activity, and were living in goodness. Therefore it can be concluded that everything one does, from what they eat, to how they interact with others, etc. influences us in profound and unseen ways as evinced by studies on the human brain. Whatever mode we cultivate - goodness, passion, and ignorance – will surely inure us to a condition that is symptomatic of that quality of material nature and the longer one stays in that condition, the more these qualities become pronounced in the person on a subtle and gross level. Hence, it is a reciprocal relationship between one’s mind and one’s environment and activities. However, a self-reflective person may ask: how is it possible to cultivate the mind when we are subject to a constant struggle for predomi-
Cont'd on pg. 7 ›››
SUN REVEALS GARBAGE By Mahat Tattva Dasa
It is a
beautiful view from this hill. I took this shot when traveling south on highway 5. When I first pulled into this lot, it was dark. When the
sun rose, it revealed heaps of garbage. Similarly, those who are starting on the transcendental path may at first think themselves purer than they really are. As they practice Krishna consciousness, the sun of Krishna eventually may reveal some garbage. �
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LIFESTYLE
RESTORE AFTER THE HOLIDAY SEASON WITH YOGA Restorative Yoga Postures By Sara Bock
The holiday
season, from Thanksgiving through New Years, can be a time of great joy, family gatherings, feasting, and fun. This season can also leave our energy drained after dealing with the stress of traveling, shopping, cooking, late night gatherings, overload of sweets and other foods, and general sensory overstimulation. When we become drained of energy, sometimes we look for a quick fix – a cup of coffee or other forms of caffeine for example, or we ignore our bodies’ run down feeling and keep pushing ourselves to be on the go. If you are feeling signs of low energy after the holidays (fatigue, easily irritable, falling sick often, trouble concentrating, and low energy in general), then it is important that you take time to rest and restore. Restorative yoga postures are simple poses, usually done with props (blankets, bolsters, straps, and blocks), held for
long periods of time to deeply benefit and restore the nervous system, immune system, and overall state of wellbeing. Ideally, a restorative yoga practice should be done weekly. However, for those who do not practice regularly, at least taking some time after the holidays or when energy is drained is recommended for healing, and overall good health. Restorative yoga poses reset the body’s systems back to a state of equilibrium or balance. When holding restful poses for a long time, the body begins to heal itself deeply from within. If we are constantly on the go, depleting our inner resources, we are not giving our bodies the quiet time needed to heal and reenergize. Restorative poses also work by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (the resting system as opposed to the sympathetic “fight or flight” mode), and thus help us feel more relaxed and in control. Besides the physical benefits, restorative yoga poses can help one feel calmer and better equipped mentally to deal with life’s daily stressors. A l -
though restorative yoga is usually done with yoga props, you can substitute blankets, towels, and pillows to practice from home.
Following are three simple restorative poses you can try when fatigued. To maximize the benefits, each pose should be held for a minimum of 2 minutes, but ideally for 5-15 minutes each. Start with a yoga mat or comfortable lying place, and a few blankets and pillows. If you wear eyeglasses, best to remove them so that your eyes can relax.
Prepare for your practice with 2-5 minutes of silence and deep breathing. Sit comfortably (either cross legged on the floor, on a pillow for support, or in a chair with back straight and both feet on the floor). Ground your tailbone down while reaching crown of the head upwards to lengthen your spine. Lift chest and collarbones, and relax shoulders down the back. Breath is slow, long (at least a count of 4 seconds for each inhale and exhale) and even (inhales same lengths as exhales). Relax the forehead, area around the eyes, and jaw, and soften the belly and any other tense areas. If you like, you can chant OM three times to help focus the mind. Now you are ready for your practice.
1) SUPTA BADDHA KONASANA (Reclined
Bound Angle ©1 Pose) Use yoga 0 bolster and 2 blocks, or use pillows and blankets.
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1) SUPTA BADDHA KONASANA
Sit on the floor and bring soles of the feet together in butterfly position. Have a stack of 2-3 neatly folded blankets (or yoga bolster) right behind your bottom to lie back on (lengthwise so they will support your entire spine and head). Keeping your feet in the butterfly position, lie back onto your support.
2) VIPARITA KARANI
3) SUPPORTED SAVASANA Your bottom should be on the floor, but your entire back and head will be resting on the blankets or bolster. Place one yoga block, rolled up blanket, or pillow underneath each knee or thigh for added support and deeper relaxation. Arms can be resting by your sides with palms facing up, or you can place one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Close your eyes and quietly observe the breath and mind. Breath should be natural, not forced, during a restorative practice. Keep softening tense areas on your exhales, and gently bring the mind back to observing the breath when the mind wanders. Hold for 2-15 minutes. If you feel any knee pain, readjust the support under your knees, or come out of the pose. If you feel lower back pain, lower the height of the support for your back, or come out of the
pose. A slight stretching sensation is welcome, but pain should not be tolerated in any yoga practice. Exit the pose by using hands to bring knees back up together, and then rolling onto your right side with knees bent. Rest there a few cycles of breath, and then push yourself up to sit. This pose improves circulation, stimulates the ovaries, prostrate, bladder, and kidneys, and stretches inner thighs, groin, and knees. This pose can help ease the discomfort of menstrual cramps and menopause.
2) VIPARITA KARANI
(Legs up the wall pose) You will need a wall, and yoga bolster or 2 thickly folded blankets.
Place your bolster or stacked and folded blankets horizontally
Cont'd on pg. 15 ›››
LIFESTYLE
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