March 2014

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( previous issue's cover )

INTRO

SEVERING ATTACHMENTS Sharp Words for Truth Seekers 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.

By Srila Prabhupada

If, through

yoga, the mind can be trained, then the mind is our friend. But if the mind is left untrained, then there is no possibility of leading a successful life. For one who has no idea of spiritual life, the mind is the enemy. If one thinks that he is simply the body, his mind will not be working for his benefit; it will simply be acting to serve the gross body and to further condition the living entity and entrap him in material nature. If, however, one understands one's position as spirit soul apart from the body, the mind can be a liberating factor. In itself, the mind has nothing to do; it is simply waiting to be trained, and it is best trained through association. Desire is the function of the 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.

mind, and one desires according to his association; so if the mind is to act as a friend, there must be good association.

The best association is a sadhu or one who is striving for spiritual realization. There are those who are striving for temporary things. Matter and the body are temporary, and if one only engages himself for bodily pleasure, he is conditioned by temporary things. But if he engages in self-realization, then he is engaged in something permanent.

Obviously if one is intelligent he will associate with those who are trying to elevate themselves to the platform of self-realization through one of the various forms of yoga. The result will be that those who are sadhu, or realized, will be able to sever their attachments to material association. This is the great advantage of good association. For in-

stance, Krishna spoke Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna just to cut off his material attachments. Because Arjuna is attracted to things that are impeding the execution of his duty, Krishna severs these things.

To cut something, a sharp instrument is required; and to cut the mind from its attachments, sharp words may be required. The sadhu or teacher will sometimes use sharp words to sever the student's mind from material attractions.

By speaking the truth uncompromisingly, he is able to sever the bondage. If we actually want detachment from this material world, we should be willing to accept cutting words from the spiritual master. Compromise and flattery have no effect where strong words are required. ■

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/idrb62 ©2 flickr.com/crispyfried ©3 flickr.com/sovietuk ©4 flickr.com/mario-mancuso ©5 flickr.com/hummy ©6 flickr.com/matthigh ©7 flickr.com/anapenelope ©8 flickr.com/ivanmcclellan ©9 flickr.com/39873796@N06 ©10&11 flickr.com/emhc ©12 flickr.com/jiuck ©13 flickr.com/jpereira_net ©14 flickr.com/117939877@N08 ©15 flickr.com/djgarage ©16 flickr.com/lyntally ©17 flickr.com/sugarmeloncom ©18 flickr.com/michaelcr

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SOCIETY

DANGEROUSLY STUPID High rises Lead to High Rise in Disease

By Matthew McManus

The

number of cancer patients who are diagnosed annually is expected to nearly double in the next two decades, according to a recent report by the World Health Organization. The projected increase will be from 14 million new cases annually to 25 million new cases annually worldwide.

Carcinogens are all around us today. They are in the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat, in the cupboard of chemicals you use to clean your home with, in the makeup your wife/girlfriend puts on, etc. In the past, one may have had to make an effort to come in contact with them; now it is hard, perhaps even impossible, to avoid.

Those who are concerned over this tiding and intelligent, undiluted by the mood of docility and fear in society, may have asked why this is happening, who is responsible, how can it be counteracted….

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Despite clearly making imprudent decisions, modern society still fails to learn or fails to keep up with the learning curb of Mother Nature. Inside the closed door boardrooms of our leaders, decisions are made which impact the entire world, but which are meant to benefit only a minority. Their apologies for misbehavior and promises of change are pleasing to the ear only, and do not carry enough integrity to right a wrong.

These are the twilight times of the industrial ‘devolution’; and problems for everyone on this planet have been cataclysmically increasing since its incep-

tion. Indeed, by trying to control nature due to greed and lust for more of nature’s resources, more problems have been created with only very limited, and fleeting success.

Perhaps most horrific about the future of the universal problems the modern humanoid has to deal with today, is that they come from individuals, the frontiersmen of a new tomorrow, who had good intentions.

They used their intelligence to innovate something which they believed would be helpful. They believed in their own subjective version of the utopian dream (i.e. the belief that what’s good for me is ultimately good); and under this presumption, those people who are lionized as ambitious, progressive, and downright normal are selfishly engaged at trying to titillate their senses better than ever at the cost of the welfare of all other living entities.

When will the next seemingly pious innovator ‘help’ us by adding one more nail to our coffins?

They are just giving more rope by which people are tirelessly hanging themselves on – a society of babies that try to chew on whatever shiny new toy is given to them.

It is no wonder, from a perspective of common sensibility (perhaps ‘uncommon’ sensibility is more apropos here), that malefic causes such as GMOs, fluoride, the meat packing/slaughterhouse industry, etc. result in malefic effects. The cause and effect cannot be divorced because of some romantic or utopian dream of a happier world.

Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a saint and social reformer, commented on this in the 1970’s,

before the vast industrialization of the East as we know it today.

“Simply a little high standard of living and they think this is advancement. And the Western civilization is influencing all other parts of the world in that way… There is no improvement, but it is maya [illusion]; they are thinking, ‘This is improvement… The progress is that they have got motorcar, and they have progressed how to die quickly… Formerly they were satisfied by tilling the ground, getting food grains. Now they have started factories. At the cost of thousands of men's labor, some director is getting money and enjoying life.’”

If we want to make true advancement in the way of human life, we need to progress in the highest human sentiment – the human consciousness.

Then true happiness and peace comes. But how much benefit does one accrue by living in a luxury high rise building but having the mentality and diseases of a rat? Indeed, to speculate and justify that our unending personal motivations for an ever-increasingly sweeter material lifestyle will not duly cause harm to us or to those around us is dangerously stupid. ■

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SOCIETY most will instinctively grab their phone in a drastic attempt to engage their mind. To see someone sitting and doing absolutely nothing is rare! Even more unusual is to be with another person and not say anything. It feels awkward and uneasy. Yet silence is imperative – it forces us to understand, assimilate, reflect and think deeply about what is actually going on.

Oftentimes, however, in order to frantically fill those redundant moments we often end up generating substandard content to share with the world: meaningless, speculative and shoddy communication. ©4

FREE SPEECH SMS Your Cares Away?

By Sutapa Dasa

We live in an

over-communicated world. Good etiquette insists we reply to all text messages within 10 minutes, be mindful of the mountain of emails building up in our inbox, and unfailingly return all ‘missed calls’ on our phones. Don’t forget to regularly post something witty on

Facebook, follow your best friends on twitter and utilize all the free airtime minutes on your contract!

It is, after all, good to talk. But what is the net result of this web of exchange? Does it bring a greater sense of relationship and community? Is it a case of being more connected, but further apart?

Silence, it’s said, is the art of conversation. We often struggle with a quiet moment. When it does arise,

Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely room for chitchat, niceties, and light-hearted exchange between humans. It would be unnatural to jump to the other extreme of strictly regulating our every word. The Bhagavad Gita, however, offers the over-arching model to guide speech. Words, Krishna recommends, should be truthful, pleasing and beneficial. How much of our written and verbal communication would make it through this filter? Along with freedom of speech, it may be worthwhile to remind people of their longstanding right to freedom of thought.

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something” (Plato). ■

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LOST MONEY: WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Cont'd from pg. 9 the world, i.e. its actual controller.

When one is able to recognize the source, such a person tries to always see and employ everything in service to that Supreme Absolute Truth. At that point, such a person becomes known as a “devotee of the Absolute Truth”.

In the devotional approach, there is simultaneous personal spiritual identity with practical activity, and detachment from exploiting matter. For example, one may take the lost money, or in this case the material resources, but only with the purpose of connecting them back to their source. One may use the things given to us in this world, but only exclusively in the spirit of service to the Absolute Truth, the cause of all causes from which all things, material and spiritual, emanate.

This is the essence of the devotional approach: connecting to that Supreme Origin of all life by means of devotional service. The state of consciousness that one attains by this method is known as Krishna Consciousness.

In India, we see this when the residents offer respect to the river Ganges. During the time of prayer many people will grab a palmful of water from the Ganges River and, with a few prayers, slowly pour it back into the Ganges as an offering of love. The idea is that energy taken from the source is offered with love back to the source.

To become Krishna Conscious means to see that everything in this world is owned and controlled

by Krishna, the Absolute Truth.

Everything in this cosmic manifestation emanates from Krishna, and when the devotee offers all of his/her material possessions, and personal working energy back to that original source, a complete life circle is made.

We are not the owners of this world. We have only stumbled upon it. ■

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LIFESTYLE

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something which opposes that belief structure also comes up in one’s spiritual quest. As a sincere spiritual seeker there are constant challenges to face. When we are confronted with certain spiritual truths or principles which necessitate giving up certain activities or taking on new ones, are we ready to align ourselves?

PRETENTIOUS SPIRITUALISTS Leave Your Duplicity at the Cash Register A short time

ago while walking I found a badly wounded heron bird. Realizing I was right by a nature and wildlife preserve center I hurriedly and gently grabbed the bird in my sweater and headed towards the building. As I approached I thought, “Ah, how perfect, this center is actively protecting the wildlife every day. They will definitely want to help.”

I rushed through the front door and was met with an older woman dressed in her uniform sitting behind a desk. She looked begrudgingly at the heron and sat impatiently through my story of how I came to find the bird. After I finished, she imperiously looked away and back again and replied rather colorlessly, “Sorry, but we don’t deal with that here.” I was then shooed out the front and told to “google” another solution.

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It seems to be a common trend in society for persons to take on various external duties, but when a situation arises that requires a genuine call-of-action; one may not have the inner conviction to sincerely follow through.

Have you ever gotten to the checkout stand at a store and been given the routine question, “Hi, did you find everything all right?”

When really the cashier is thinking: when will my shift be over and I can go home?! If you answer anything other than a compliant “Yes,” you will get a bewildered look and a reluctant answer.

Also, maybe it’s just a southern California thing, but how many times have you ran into someone you knew and in a disoriented manner, greeted and exchanged phrases such as, “dude, we should totally hang out,” “yeah, totally, let’s do it!” “I’ll have to call ya,” “For sure, can’t wait!” And nothing ever manifests from that exchange. We may feign, “Oh I miss you!” but

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never make any attempt to contact the “missed” person. Youth culture today is definitely saturated with such aforesaid flakiness and superficiality. Do we really mean what we say? Actions speak louder than words.

These are a few small scale examples, but if you open up any newspaper you will find countless large scale versions of the same principle. We are living in a duplicitous world of hypocrisy, where what we say fails to align with our inner world and external actions.

It may seem like a daunting task - as it is said, “old habits die hard.”

But actually, great pleasure can be found in aligning with higher spiritual principles. In fact, great yogis and aspiring spiritualists accept such challenges with great ecstasy.

The Bhagavad Gita gives a beautiful gem of wisdom in this regard.

There are two different types of pleasure. One is like poison in the beginning but like nectar at the end. And one is like nectar in the beginning but ends up just like poison.

The latter is happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects. In other words, eating three bowls of ice cream is

THE INVISIBLE ANCHOR

Once you can distinguish between these two different types of pleasure then you must be honest with yourself. What kind of pleasure are you looking for in life?

That which inevitably depletes you or that which gives renewed strength and inner satisfaction?

Then when you are honest, you can begin to gauge whether your actions are actually representing the convictions you claim. Otherwise it’s like having a boat with the anchor down below while trying to paddle forward. It just doesn’t work; you will never get anywhere like that! We shouldn’t adapt our spiritual path to our level of comfort; rather, we should adjust ourselves so as to become spiritually fit to paddle forth.

To embark on the spiritual quest means to pull up this anchor of hypocrisy and accept personal change in order to reach your desired destination. ■

OLD HABITS DIE HARD

As I reflect deeper, I have to ask: what is hypocrisy and am I guilty of it?

The definition according to google dictionary is: “the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.” In modern language we can say, one who does not “walk their talk.”

This tendency to have a certain belief structure, while doing

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DID YOU FIND EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT?

By Jessica Robbins

In order to accomplish such a task, dedication to truth over relative comfort and gratification is compulsory. It is not enough to merely say or “believe” in something without acting on it. If you put on the dress of a police officer; yet don’t protect and serve the citizens, but instead cause them harm, then what good are you doing for yourself and for others? Such duplicity only produces confusion and distress. On the contrary, building our character and spiritual integrity actually offers the greatest benefit to all.

pleasurable in the beginning, but in the end you feel horrible! Contrast that to the former, which is a type of happiness that comes from the process of self-realization and character development. For example, say you are beginning the path to living a pure life, but you’re addicted to cigarettes. To give that up in order to continue on the path of purity can be extremely difficult and feel awful. But once you rid yourself from that habit, much joy and benefit is reaped.

LIFESTYLE "You can bring a man to knowledge, but you can’t make him think?"

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”

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PHILOSOPHY

LOST MONEY What Would You Do?

By Giriraja Gopala Dasa

Many of us

have spotted some lost money while walking about. If you see $5 or $20 and there is no potential owner in sight, you may consider that it is not a serious loss. In that case, you’ll slip it into your pocket while singing the familiar childhood tune of “Finder’s keepers, loser’s weepers.”

That is one kind of scenario, but what if you stumble upon a really big pile of cash? Now, this can pose a bigger dilemma for some people.

do the right thing; still, even for the “morally-sound” there might be a mental tug-of-war before the heart caves in as you start thinking of some sweet old lady out there weeping for the loss of her entire life savings.

What you would do really boils down to what kind of person you are. More importantly, it comes down to your philosophical approach to life.

Basically, there are three routes that a person can take to deal with a situation like this:

While many would

The materialistic & selfish approach. A person decides to become the money’s new owner.

T h e

callous & detached approach. A person walks away, not considering the person who lost the money; not wanting to risk any trouble that it may bring from succumbing to the temptation of taking what is not their own.

The truthful & devoted approach. A person sacrifices their time and takes the opportunity to find the real owner.

You may see how these are actually different philosophical outlooks on life itself. Let me explain.

AN ABUNDANCE OF SENSE OBJECTS

We all take our birth in this world, and find before us a great sum of money. Because from the day we open our newly developed eyes, we see before us vast wealth in the form of material objects produced from nature.

All of the elements and resources of this planet are actually the basis for what we consider wealth and abundance. The resources of this planet are the things of real value that money is supposed to represent; the various gifts of Mother Nature herself.

These resources include fabrics for clothing like cotton, silk, and wools; fine gems for jewelry, like sapphire, rubies, and diamonds; precious metals like gold and silver, an abundance of vegetation and spices for preparing fine foods, and land for living; from animals, such as cows that produce milk, to wood and earth for building houses, and so on.

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To be born in this world means encountering an abundance of wealth in the form of various resources that material nature is pro-

viding.

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The tricky part here is that in contrast to our example of lost money, it appears that no one owns the stuff this world is made of. It seems like these natural resources are just there for the taking; like we live in a world that automatically abides by that same childhood tune of “Finder’s keepers, loser’s weepers,” except with a lot more drones, tanks, and guns to keep it all in place.

Considering the value of the resources of this world, let us again look at the three different approaches. But this time, in light of life itself.

THE MATERIALISTIC APPROACH

When we approach the wealth of this world as an enjoyer, we actually live in the consciousness of a thief, because none of us can honestly claim to have produced any of this wealth. Yet we go on, acting like we are its true owners.

This mentality is akin to the corporations of the world who steal resources from the Earth by claiming self-ownership, slapping on their logo and charging others a fee; it could manifest as something like WATER™ brought to you by “BRAND X®”.

Neither did BRAND X® create WATER™, nor will it ever be possible for them to own a substance like water. Why? Because, duh!

The existence of water, and even the material to make the plastic

bottles, preceded the existence of its so-called owners!

So, the materialistic approach to enjoying life is like this. We look at the material things of this world, and we falsely consider ourselves to be the owners and controllers.

To see the world’s objects as ours means to live in a selfish, egoistic state of consciousness. It means to live ignorantly, not caring to understand reality. Although the majority of humans choose to live and think like this, this kind of thinking cannot be considered elevated. Basically, it is an approach to life governed by deep ignorance of very obvious facts about the world.

THE DETACHED APPROACH

When we are frustrated in making attempts to enjoy a temporary experience in this temporary world, we have the unique opportunity to begin to see what the materialistic person fails to see; namely, the impossibility of owning and controlling matter. Thus, we take an entirely different approach to life - the path of detachment.

Many different types of spiritual seekers fit this bill, such as different types of yogis, Buddhists, and meditators who are all convinced of the frailty of enjoyment based on materialistic pursuits, and thus they begin to practice the negation of such entanglements. This is known

PHILOSOPHY to attain a state completely free from desire and want.

In fact, there is an impersonalist Sanskrit mantra that says “Brahma satya jagan mithya,” which means, “only consciousness is real; the world is false.”

as the path of detachment.

Their objective is to become callous to all temptations that the illusory world provides, by the practice of stilling the mind via silent meditation. They close their eyes and sit in a lotus pose, hoping to “shut out” the distraction of the outer world. They hope to extricate themselves from an endless game of unsatisfied lust, wanting

Those who follow this path consider that the only way to real peace is to eliminate the very ego from which desires spring. They attempt to end the suffering that they feel is born of a duality between oneself and God. Thus, many catch phrases are born, like “Become ONE with the Light”, “Merge into the Totality”, and last but not least, “It’s ALL LOVE (brother).”

Therefore, the greatest folly of this approach is the attempt to artificially repress one’s natural life force – the soul. This is because the soul is eternally an individual person! The immutable nature of every being is that of a self, wanting to express its cognitive nature in the form of some pleasurable

activity. Thus, in the attempt to become detached, one’s heart becomes very hard due to acts of selfdenial.

THE DEVOTIONAL APPROACH

The superior approach is now described. When one can understand both facts: the futility of materialistic pursuit, and acknowledge the soul’s real need for pleasurable activity, one becomes qualified for the path of devotion.

An intelligent person can see that although this world is temporary, it is not necessarily false.

Since the beauty of this world appears to have real intrinsic value to us, a thoughtful person will inquire, “What is the origin of such beauty and wealth?”

A sincere spiritual seeker, having some attraction to objective truth, will devote one’s life energy to seek and find out the real source of

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WHEN ONE CAN UNDERSTAND BOTH FACTS: THE FUTILITY OF MATERIALISTIC PURSUIT, AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE SOUL’S REAL NEED FOR PLEASURCont'd on pg. 5 ››› ABLE ACTIVITY, ONE BECOMES QUALIFIED FOR THE PATH OF DEVOTION.

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COVER STORY

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COVER STORY

WASTELAND Overproduction and Freeganism "Economic concerns are for sure very important. No one wants to be hungry and destitute. Since vertiginous earning and spending is the way to keep up the economy, materialism becomes a virtue and a measure of morality. God help us."

By Mahat Tattva Dasa

Our economic

system has crated a culture of overconsumption and overproduction.

It seems that for a currency to maintain its value in today’s economy, the users of that currency need to circulate their money; the faster the better. In other words, in order to be good patriots and contributors to their country’s economic development, citizens need to earn and then quickly spend money.

The faster they go through this cycle, the better the local economy. As the cycle of earning and spending money slows down, the economy of the land diminishes. That is a reason why we, the residents of the US, were publicly encouraged via the media in 2001, during the December shopping season, to show our patriotism by going out and spending money, as opposed to staying at home and feeling fear and depression possibly caused by the demolition of the World Trade Center in New York.

producing more than necessary.

Rob Greenfield is an interesting fella I met in San Diego a few years ago. He is educated and has a solid means of income; yet, he has decided to subsist only on refuse. Specifically, in order to tell the world how much we are overproducing, Rob took a vow to eat only what people put in the trash and thus live the life of a freegan.

Freeganism is the practice of reclaiming and eating food that has been discarded.

Freegans and Freeganism are often seen as part of a wider "anti-consumerist" ideology, and freegans often employ a range of alternative living strategies based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources.

To be inspired to make money, people need to have good reasons for spending money. To inspire constant consumption, people are exposed to ceaseless advertising. Whether one is driving, walking, resting, waiting in line, jogging in a park… no matter what one might be doing or where one might be, one’s attention is constantly being distracted by advertisements. As a matter of fact, there is a war raging out there, a war for our attention.

Rob’s initial inspiration was triggered by Tristram Stuart, a 2011 winner of the international environmental Sophie Prize and the “Observer Food Monthly Outstanding Contribution Award” for his ongoing campaign to solve the global food waste scandal.

Tristram, who is also an author of the book Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, lives in England. In December 2009 he launched an anti food-waste campaign by organizing "Feeding the 5000" in London's Trafalgar Square. To raise awareness for reducing food waste, 5,000 people were served free curry, smoothies, and fresh groceries from cast off vegetables and other food that otherwise would have been wasted.

What does overconsumption and overproduction mean? Overconsumption means that we are consuming more than necessary.

Similarly, overproduction means that we are

According to Tristram and Rob, America produces four times the amount of food needed to feed the entire American popula-

Economic concerns are for sure very important. No one wants to be hungry and destitute. Since vertiginous earning and spending is the way to keep up the economy, materialism becomes a virtue and a measure of morality. God help us.

Rob says he focuses on America because that is where he lives and where he can have the most impact. He also believes that many world problems are caused by what is being done on the American soil and by Americans. Thus activism in America can go a long way.

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COVER STORY tion. It appears that we throw away 90 billion pounds of food annually, the cost of which is about 165 billion US dollars. Rob’s studies show that 50% of food in markets, restaurants, and private homes is wasted, while an average American family of four annually wastes $2,270 worth of food.

Considering the statics above, how should we feel about the fact that one in six Americans lack a secure supply of food to their tables?

For an entire week Rob eats nothing but dumpster food and shows that he can eat more deliciously and nutritiously on waste than many Americans do from the store aisles. To show just how much waste there is, Rob fills an entire fridge and a few cupboards, feeds the homeless, and hosts big, classy dumpster parties at his home.

I went out one afternoon with Rob to see it all for myself. In one hour we visited three dumpsters, each located behind a large store.

During that short hour, to my absolute surprise, we found an amazing abundance of perfectly good food. Many of the food items were even sealed air-tight. In these dumpsters we found a large bag of fresh bread, a case of almond milk, organic bananas, vegetables, etc.

Rob’s large refrigerator, his porch, and storage are packed with perfectly good food that had been discarded.

"I don't really want to eat food from dumpsters. For me dumpster diving is a way to draw attention to the food crisis in America and create an opportunity to talk about solutions,” says Rob. Rob also offers a few actions our readers could possibly resort to. Here is a partial list:

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TO SHOW JUST HOW MUCH WASTE THERE IS, ROB FILLS AN ENTIRE FRIDGE AND A FEW CUPBOARDS, FEEDS THE HOMELESS, AND HOSTS BIG, CLASSY DUMPSTER PARTIES AT HIS HOME. • Boycott wasteful systems, especially industrial farming.

• Shop locally. Buy from less wasteful sources such as small farmers, farmers markets, and the co-ops.

• Don’t waste your own food. Buy only what you need.

• Eat plant based diet, avoid meats.

To see the rest of the list please

see Rob’s website www.greenfieldadventures.org/.

Ultimately we could ask ourselves what is wrong with wasting. If we ascribe moral values to the act of wasting, we are saying that one act is better than the other one and that some acts are sacred while their opposites are offensive.

It logically follows that that which is real and natural holds value. That which opposes it, makes for dishar-

COVER STORY mony and impermanence. However, we see that in the world of matter, hardly anything has endurance.

For that reason the thoughtful have always, while dwelling in the impermanent world, endeavored for the permanent results. In the Christian tradition it is advised that we do not store treasures on Earth, but in “heaven” where things do not decay and where there is no destruction. For where our treasure is, our heart will be also. In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna teaches (2.16) that that which is impermanent is in a sense nonexistent while that which is permanent is real.

Srila Prabhupada wrote (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.20.2): “The main function of the time factor, which is a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is to destroy everything. The materialists, in material consciousness, are engaged in producing so many things in the name of economic development. They think that by advancing in satisfying the material needs they will be happy, but they forget that everything they have produced will be destroyed in due course of time. From history we can see that there were many powerful empires on the surface of the globe that were constructed with great pain and great perseverance, but in due course of time they have all been destroyed. Still the foolish materialists cannot understand that they are simply wasting time in producing material necessities, which are destined to be vanquished in due course of time. This waste of energy is due to the ignorance of the mass of people, who do not know that they are eternal

Cont'd on pg. 15 ›››

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::WARNING:: THE "NORM" MAY BE NUTS

By Ellen Goodman

"NORMAL IS GETTING DRESSED IN CLOTHES THAT YOU BUY FOR WORK, DRIVING THROUGH TRAFFIC IN A CAR THAT YOU ARE STILL PAYING FOR, IN ORDER TO GET TO A JOB THAT YOU NEED SO YOU CAN PAY FOR THE CLOTHES, CAR AND THE HOUSE THAT YOU LEAVE EMPTY ALL DAY IN ORDER TO AFFORD TO LIVE IN IT."

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LIFESTYLE

READING: A Spiritual Tool

By Molly Davidson

Reading.

How often do we think of this as a spiritual tool? Yoga class, meditation, and chanting mantras get all the play.

And they’re powerful for real. But what about just READING, like, the thing you learned to do in first grade?

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Reading is also a spiritual tool, and a powerful one.

By reading, we can connect with a teacher; someone who remembers more of the truth than we do, and shares it with us. We need teachers, and sometimes they aren’t around physically.

Through reading, we can harness the power of the mind and senses. The mind and senses usu-

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ally harness us, with ego, judgments, grasping. However, they can be put to positive use. The mind and senses help move information towards the soul. When we give them wisdom to absorb, they become the helpers of the soul, assisting its growth and advancement.

Reading can turn a mundane environment into a holy environment. Whether it’s the office,

LIFESTYLE apartment, parent’s house, airplane, or doctor’s office - we’re often in places that don’t feel wholly nurturing. A good book can serve as an oasis.

So, sometimes my sadhana, or spiritual practice, is just ... reading. Book, couch, ginger tea, Molly.

Done.

Of course, the next question is: What to read?

True, I’m not reading the Twilight series (anymore... ha). To read as sadhana, we should choose high quality information. But what is high quality and what is not?

When I look for what to read, instead of wandering the aisles of Barnes and Noble, I take a shortcut and look to my role models. What are they reading?

By this analytical process, I eventually came to read Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam. I don’t know if I’m qualified to read either of these books, but I’m really grateful for

the blessings they’ve bestowed on me.

Perhaps the most attractive benefit of all that comes from reading is: results. Words are powerful; they tangibly affect our lives.

I remember when I was a kid, my grandmother would have dessert, and she would sigh and say, “Oy. On the lips is on the hips.” I probably heard this little rhyme 25 times.

And still I remember it clearly to this day. Oh yes, words are powerful, they get in there so think about when we hear positive truths and mantras. Life can change! Paradigms can shift! All those pages on the true nature of the soul, the purpose of human life - they too have affected me, like powerful astringent herbs loosening deeply lodged toxins, and mentalities.

Choose carefully what you read.

While we still do the yoga, meditation, and chanting, it’s also important to take regular-life-things, like reading, and use them to our spiritual advantage. ■

WASTELAND Cont'd from pg. 13 and that they have an eternal engagement also. They do not know that this span of life in a particular type of body is but a flash in the eternal journey. Not knowing this, they take the small flash of life to be everything, and they waste time in improving economic conditions.”

As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities.

(Bhagavad Gita 4.37)

As I see it, people are, generally speaking, products of the environment in which they live. If peeps live in a materialistic environment, they tend to think, feel, and act like materialists. If the materialistic element is reduced, people have a much better chance to be intrigued by the spiritual quest, a quest into permanence. I am convinced that reducing the materialistic fever that is currently manifested as overproduction and overconsumption is a good thing, in terms of permanence and impermanence. ■

FACTORY SEALED BOTTLE OF ALMOND MILK. THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN IN DECEMBER OF 2013. THE EXPIRATION DATE IS MARCH 2ND, 2014.

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PHILOSOPHY

SEGMENTS OF LIFE Looking At Death Under Another Perspective

By Marco Ferrini, PhD.

Nowadays,

the great innovations of medicine and science can maintain patients alive, even those who in the past were given no hope to survive. These innovations can artificially prolong the patient’s existence even though they will never regain acceptable health and life conditions.

This situation is commonly called over-medication. Since the 1960s, there has been developments in transplant surgery because of how doctors are now able to handle cerebral death. Before that time, the extraction of organs from a patient with a heartbeat was deemed a felony.

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There are many crucial questions regarding this polemical topic.

Up to which point is it morally right to keep a body alive that is worn out and unable to grant a minimum of dignity to the person? What is the line that marks the decisive boundary between unavoidable medical assistance and over-medi-

cation?

The story of Eluana Englaro and other similar stories, such as those of Piergiorgio Welby and Terry Schiavo, brought this topic to the forefront of public attention.

The incomparable value of freedom, sacredness, dignity of life, and respect to all creatures should be a common patrimony in every social body, regardless of its scientific or individual religious orientation.

This should be true not only toward human beings but also toward every living being. Life must be protected in each of its manifestations.

In the complex human, social and scientific context, it is becoming ever more important and urgent to offer information and teaching on the process of dying. It is also important to offer information on life after death in accordance with the medical-scientific perspective and spiritual, humanistic and existential perspectives. It should be done by operating with sincerity so that each person can build, without in-

PHILOSOPHY trusion or cultural prejudices, a clear vision of his will and give an explicit and clear indication of his will. Indeed, we can have better opportunities to self-determine our present and our future if we open ourselves to a deeper comprehension of death phenomena by detaching ourselves from various taboos and societal prejudices that may hamper a mature analysis. In fact, only by growing in consciousness can we grow in responsibility and freedom.

The Vedic tradition can significantly extend our perception and conception of the individual and of death. Let’s not only wonder what to do with the organs of a dead body.

Let’s also think of the future of that person that lived in the body, and who, in accordance with the Vedic perspective, will continue to exist after leaving the body. How can we help that person still imprisoned in that suit that is now worn-out? How can we stimulate him to prepare himself to abandon it?

How can we orient the evolutionary journey that will begin after his clinical death is confirmed?

The answer to these questions is important not only for those that work in the medical field but also for every individual. Welcome, assistance, and accompaniment are three key concepts in this area.

To welcome another person means not only opening our arms to him/her but also our hearts and minds. Assisting someone means intervening with sensitiveness by becoming emphatic and listening to the modalities and the needs of others.

Accompanying means helping the patient reach his destination by providing warmth, goodness, empathy, compassion, and mercy.

The Vedic tradition doesn’t’t use psychotherapeutic techniques, but instead gives invaluable teachings about the development of a cosmic vision of life, man, and the world that doesn’t concentrate on the resolution of psychological discomfort but on the elevation of a global consciousness.

This allows those who apply it, to rediscover the entirety of their nature on the bio-physical-spiritual level and express all of their most noble potentialities and aspirations by facing death in an inner-peace state.

Why does death exist? Who or what dies? How can we prepare ourselves?

What does dying consist of? How can we assist a terminally ill person?

How can we interact with his family and with medical personnel? By asking ourselves these questions, we can reach surprising revelations.

Bhagavad-Gita (II.20) says: “The living being is not born, nor will he die.

He is eternal. He doesn’t die when the body is destroyed.” Tagore writes that “we walk when we lift our foot, just as much as when we put it down. Like daybreak prepares the new day that will later reach the sunset; [similarly] the sunset, through the night, will lead to a new daybreak.”

Life goes on incessantly and if we understand its transcendental meaning, we can overcome even the greatest fear, the fear of death, and realize our immortality. When this is realized, we experience authentic freedom and happiness. ■ Marco Ferrini, PhD. :

matsyavatara.blogspot.it

centrostudibhaktivendanta/en

facebook.com/matsyavataraprabhu

The first question to ask ourselves is: when medication is no longer effective, what can we do to take care of the person? Can we transform a traumatic even such as death into an evolutionary experience? The answer is, yes!

The phenomena of death is usually experienced by the person dying as the end of everything, with tonalities that go from resigned to dramatic, all the way to desperate. However, according to the Vedic spiritual tradition, death doesn’t exist as an entity, but only as a concept or a moment of transaction from one segment of life to another. Through a development of one’s consciousness, every human being can learn to “live” by perceiving that his identity is different from his body, thereby discovering a new phase of his eternal existence.

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LIFESTYLE

TADASANA The Mountain Pose

By Krodhasamani Devi Dasi

The different

yoga poses serve different purposes such as energizing and revitalizing the organs of the body as well as helping to free the body’s flow of energy.

Knowledge of the yoga asanas can help us learn how to maintain equilibrium in the body. This is part of the knowledge of maintaining balance in everyday life, as explained in the science of Ayurveda.

Each yoga asana works on specific areas of the body such as the joints, liver, kidneys, and heart. Different movements and extensions of the body in the postures, including the positioning of the inner organs in the inverted sequences, profoundly affect the functions of the bodily parts. By properly performing the asanas there are many beneficial effects, like the body becoming decongested, rested, and oxygenated with healthy blood. Stamina, heart performance, muscle tone, circulation, and respiration all improve as well.

The foundation behind the postures is correct spinal alignment.

If the spine is properly aligned and the muscles surrounding the spine are balanced and strong, this will help us sit, stand, and walk correctly.

The first posture in the standing pose sequence is Tadasana.

Tada means mountain, and asana means posture; so, ‘tadasana’ denotes the firmness and openness of the posture. When we learn to stand correctly, the feet, knees, and hips are aligned, and enough space is created in the upper torso to keep the internal organs healthy.

Tadasana should be practiced daily, or whenever you feel the need for alignment and lightness of the body.

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THE HEAD ©14

TADA MEANS MOUNTAIN, AND ASANA MEANS POSTURE; SO, ‘TADASANA’ DENOTES THE FIRMNESS AND OPENNESS OF THE POSTURE. THE POSTURE The Feet Take your awareness to the feet.

This is your base. It’s how your body lifts up from the ground. Keep the feet together with the toes and heels in line; keep the weight even on the inner and the outer edges of both feet; lift the inner arches and be observant of how you stand on the earth.

The Legs

Begin to strengthen the legs by lifting the knee caps and pulling the thigh muscle up, right to the top of the thighs. The kneecaps should be lifted and the backs of the knees extended. This creates firmness and strengthens the legs and feet.

Observe if you are extending the inner side of the legs as evenly as the outer side of the legs; the front of the legs should be extended as evenly as the back of the legs.

As we move upward, lift the hips, which should create space between the thighs and the trunk.

Move the abdominal organs up and back without creating tension.

Move the kidneys further into the body.

Upper Trunk

Now move your attention to the upper part of your body. Lift the diaphragm and the ribcage. Open the diaphragm and the floating ribs outward. The shoulder blades move in. Feel the internal opening of the chest. You should understand at this point how these ac-

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tions create space in the body, thus allowing the heart and lungs more freedom.

Relax the shoulders and draw them downward. Widen them horizontally at the front, away from the neck. Extend the arms towards the earth. Extend the inner arms and outer arms evenly.

Stretch the neck up from below the shoulder blades. Lift the sternum and extend the front of the neck. Do not tense the throat or neck.

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UPPER TRUNK ©17

The Head

Lift the back of the skull away from the neck to make the head light. Keep the head straight, the chin level, and the ears vertical.

Imagine that there is a string running through the center of the body, and you are being lifted from the crown of the head.

THE LEGS

Although this pose appears to be complicated, it is important because one can experience how to hold the body in alignment. This will bring equilibrium to the body, a sense of lightness, and a sense of being centered.

A devotee knows that the body belongs to God. The science of yoga can help us live a more sattvic, peaceful life and serve the Supreme with more vigor and balance. ■

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THE FEET

LIFESTYLE

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