BELGIUM REPORTS HEAD-ON RAIL COLLISION

BRUSSELS TRAINS CRASH HEAD-ON, COST 25 LIVES
AND MANY INJURED AT BELGIAN DEADLY TRAIN CRASH

HALLE, Belgium (Reuters) - At least 18 people died and 162 were hurt when two trains collided in Halle on Monday, a government spokeswoman said. Two commuter trains crashed head-on near Brussels during the morning rush hour on Monday, killing at least 25 people. The trains collided in snowy conditions at the village of Buizingen, near Halle, 15 km (9 miles) southwest of the Belgian capital, causing the cancellation of services to France and Britain. Some passengers were still trapped inside one wrecked carriage in freezing temperatures several hours after the disaster, which occurred at about 8:30 a.m. Apparently, one of the trains, a local service from Leuven, had gone past a red light and plowed into an express train bound for Liege running about 10 minutes late. However, train operator SNCB said it was too early to speculate about the cause of the accident. It said between 250 and 300 people were traveling in the two trains at the time. The two trains were crushed against each other, their ends suspended in the air. Overhead power lines were badly damaged. The crash took place during morning rush hour when people were on their way to work.

The injured were being treated at a sports center near the scene of the accident. Fifty-five of the injured were taken to 14 separate hospitals in and around Brussels, while more than a hundred others had minor injuries. The crash caused disruption to parts of the wider rail network in northern Europe. Eurostar said its services between Brussels and Britain would remain suspended all day on Tuesday. It would operate a reduced service between Britain and Lille in France.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

There is no person in this world who doesn't fear. If you want to be fearless you must worship Krishna. You must serve Krishna. You must repeat the Namam of Krishna. And he will give you happiness. He will destroy all your calamities. He will destroy all your sufferings. He will destroy everything not wanted to you. So you repeat always, in day and night, in the summer, in the rainy season, in the cold season. Always. In day always. In night always. … Utilize your time, utilize your maximum time in the service of the Lord. … Because always there are dangers.

Śrīla Bhakti Vaibhava Purī Mahārāj :
Lecture: “Navada Bhakti”
Slovenia, summer 1998.
Śrī Krishna Chaitanya Mission.

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2010

SUNDAY, FEB 14, CHINESE NEW YEAR 2010
CHINESE ZODIAC: THE YEAR OF THE TIGER

BEIJING (Sun) - Millions of Chinese visited families and sent text messages to friends on Sunday, the first day of the Year of the Tiger, with a traditional love of wordplay taking on a political twist in some telephone text greetings. Streets were quiet on New Year's Day, as Chinese gathered at home to eat foods whose names are homonyms for words associated with prosperity, fortune and long life. The Chinese New Year does not follow the western calendar and the fist day of the Chinese lunar New Year can be any day between late Jan and mid-Feb. It is said that the Chinese Zodiac which designates the lunar New Year cycle was introduced by Emperor Huang Ti in 2600 BC. Thus the year 2010 on the western calendar is the Chinese lunar year 4708. By tradition, there is a Spring festival that lasts 7 to 15 days to start the new year. The biggest event is on the New Year eve. All members of a family try come together, no matter how far away they are, to have dinner and the Spring Festival together to celebrate the New Year. Dishes are often the best of the year a family can prepare. In old China, people do not have much money to buy good foods and they would save money throughout the year and then prepare the best for the big dinner. Pork, chicken, fish and soy products are often seen on the dinner table. There can be 10 to 15 dishes on a table. The holiday starts from that dinner.

Nowadays most people often watch TV after dinner. In old days, older people go to sleep early and children stay up all night playing. On the first day of the Chinese New year, people often stay home. On the second day some people like newly wed couples may go visit the wives' families. And on the third day, most people - often times family members go together visit relatives and friends. In poor areas of old China, people might simply bring with them a few pounds of white cane sugar, which was a good gift at that time. In return, the hosting families will give visitors particularly young children a little paper money wrapped in red paper.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

China is one of the oldest countries in the world. During the period of Bharata War (Kuruksetra), Vagadatta of Pragyotispur joined the Kurus and we find that the Chinese people sided with Vagadatta, the king of Pragyotispur. It is also found that Vagadatta was present in Yudhisthira's court with many Kirāt, Chin, and other soldiers. The connection between China and India was of a very ancient standing, and we find in “The Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan” - written by Lt. Col. James Todd (1822) - that the genealogists of China and Tartary declare themselves to be the descendants of Āyu, son of the Hindu king Purūravā.

“The Rig Vedic Culture and the Indus Civilization”
Vedic Connections – Ancient Vedic World
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/connections/Eastern-Asia.php

JYOTI: THE TWO-FOOT TEENAGER

JYOTI AMGE FROM INDIA IS
THE TINIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD

(The News Chronicle) - Jyoti only weighs 5.25 kgs and she is 1 foot, 11 inches tall ... so she is dubbed the “world’s tiniest girl.” Jyoti was born on December 16, 1993 in India. She is turning 17 this year, but she still looks smaller than her neighbor’s baby. Doctors believe Jyoti is a pituitary dwarf but have never been able to pinpoint her condition. Such dwarfism is caused when the body fails to produce enough growth hormone. Specialists have told her she will remain the same size for the rest of her life. “When I was three I realised that I was different to the rest of the kids,” she said. “I thought that everyone was bigger and I should get bigger too.” Despite her size she insists on living as normal a life as possible in her home town of Nagpur in India. “When I first went to school everyone was so big I used to get scared but I'm okay now, I like it. I have a different desk and chair that were made for me ... I'm a normal student.”

Jyoti attends high school with her classmates, who she says don't treat her any differently. She has her own mini grey uniform and school bag and even a tiny desk, made especially for her. Although she looks so much different from other normal people, Jyoti appears to be not so bothered with her unique condition. Her body is tiny but her dreams are as big as those of her friends. Weighing 12lb - only 9lb more than her weight at birth, Jyoti dreams of becoming an actress. She is also like any other teenage girl. “I have a huge collection of dresses. I like to shop for more. Everyone in my family gets things for me ... I love make-up and like dressing up like beautiful models. I would like to be an actress when I grow up. My dream is to do films, she explains.”

Jyoti has already had a taste of fame in a pop video for Indian star Mika Singh. In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, she said, “I am proud of being the smallest girl. I love all the attention I get. I'm not scared of being small, and I don't regret being small.” She added, “I am sure there are many people in this world who are dwarfs like me. I'm just the same as other people. I eat like you, dream like you. I don't feel any different.” Kishanji Amge, her father, said, “I can’t separate myself from her even for a single day. I love her very much. She makes me proud. Lots of gurus come to see and bless her. They pray for her happiness and long life.” Jyoti is to be featured in Channel 4's Bodyshock series, which goes out 2day.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Our situations in this world are liable to change like fogs and mists. ... This external body will be changed and also our present situations. But we have got a transcendental frame. As soon as we will learn that the transcendental frame is working in us, this mortal coil will cease to trouble. ... The soul is wrapped by the gross and subtle material bodies. They are meant for the use of the soul for a certain period. ... But the soul is the real entity. ... The material things will change. This change sometimes gives us facilities and sometimes hinders our progress. But the soul does not change and cannot be destroyed.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thākura Prabhupāda :
“The Correct Angle of Vision”
Conversation with Major Rana N. J. Bahadur
Originally published in “The Harmonist” (Vol. XXXI, No.21 - 1935)

HAPPY MAHA SHIVRATRI 2010!

YESTERDAY PEOPLE IN INDIA PAID OBEISANCE
TO LORD SHIVA ON OCCASION OF SHIVARATRI

LUDHIANA (Times) - Yesterday, people in India were celebrating the auspicious festival “Maha Shivaratri”. The Shivratri Festival or the “The Night of Lord Shiva” is celebrated in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the deities of the Hindu Trinity. Shivaratri falls on the moonless 14th night of the new moon in the Hindu month of Phalgun, which corresponds to the month of February - March in English Calendar. Celebrating the festival of Shivaratri devotees observe day and night fast and perform ritual worship of the Shivalingam to appease Lord Shiva. Right since early morning, people started gathering in the city’s temples. Police were on high alert outside major temples to avert any mishap. In major city temples including Sangla Shivala, Durga Mata Mandir and Dandi Swami, police and traffic personnel were appointed so that traffic jams or stampedes caused by a huge number of devotees coming to the temple could be avoided. Mangalore city which has a judicious mix of Shiivas and Vaishnavas celebrate the Mahashivarathri with religious gaiety and traditional pomp. The main event happens at Kudroli Gokarnanatha Kshetra where the huge Shivalingam consecrated by the reformer saint Narayanaguru swamiji of the 20th century.

People offered fruits and milk, paid obeisance and offered prayers to the deity at the shrines. The festival is principally celebrated by offerings of Bael (Bilva) leaves to the Lord Shiva, all day fasting and an all night long vigil. According to Puranas, this is the favourite day of Lord Shiva. After creation was complete, Parvati asked Lord Shiva which rituals pleased him the most. The Lord replied that this night of the new moon, during the month of Maagha, is his most favourite day. Parvati repeated these words to her friends, from whom the word spread over all creation.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Once upon a time, the cowherd men of Vrindavan, headed by Nanda Maharaja, desired to go to Ambikavana to observe the Shivaratri ceremony ... which is especially observed by the Śaivites, or devotees of Lord Śiva. Sometimes the Vaishnavas also observe this ceremony because they accept Lord Śiva as the foremost Vaishnava. ... They very devotedly began to worship the deity of Lord Śiva and Ambikā (or Durgā) ... After reaching Ambikāvana, the cowherd men of Vrindāvana first bathed themselves in the river Sarasvatī. ... After taking a bath, they worshiped the deities and then distributed charity in the holy places.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“Krishna Book” - Chapter 34.
“Vidyādhara Liberated and the Demon Śankhāsura Killed”

CHINESE COURT DENIES APPEAL BY JAILED ACTIVIST

BEIJING COURT REJECTS APPEAL AND UPHOLDS
INITIAL SENTENCE OF DISSIDENT LIU XIAOBO

BEIJING (Xinhua) - A court in Beijing denied an appeal by one of China’s best-known democracy advocates on Thursday and upheld his 11-year prison sentence, human rights activists said. The Higher People's Court of Beijing rejected Liu Xiaobo's appeal and upheld the first trial's verdict of agitation aimed at subverting the government. Beijing's First Intermediate People's Court sentenced Liu to 11 years in prison on Dec. 25, 2009. "Liu's verdict is sound on legal basis and factual proof," said Prof. Gao Mingxuan, president of the International Association of Penal Law China Branch. Although freedom of expression is an extremely important right of Chinese citizens and protected by China's Constitution and laws, Gao said citizens could not exercise the right without any restrictions whatsoever. According to China's Constitution, Chinese citizens' exercise of their freedoms and rights should not infringe upon the interests of the state, of society, or the collective, or upon the lawful freedoms and rights of other citizens. Gao said that freedom of expression may be subject to certain lawful restrictions necessary for the respect of the rights or reputations of others and the protection of national security and public order. He said Liu had published a number of articles which exceeded the boundaries of freedom of expression. Liu had spread anti-government rumors and slanders, and had organized and persuaded other people to join activities aimed at overturning the current government, Gao said, adding that his conduct was dangerous to the country.

According to the Court, Liu spread his agitation through the Internet by using the network's speed and its ability to grab vast public attention. He also organized and induced others to sign the petition, which has been widely linked to, republished and browsed on the Internet. Liu's wife, Liu Xia, said she was not surprised by the court decision. She said the only thing her husband said inside the court during the appeal hearing was "I am innocent." Liu co-wrote "Charter 08," an unusually direct appeal to China's authorities calling for expanded political freedoms and the end to Communist Party dominance. More than 300 people, including some of the country's top intellectuals, signed it before it was made public in December 2008.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

To determine the root-cause of unrest we ought first to determine the meaning of the self. I strongly believe, that ignorance of our real-self is the cause of unrest, discord and anxiety. ... It has already been stated that differences in the individuals are unavoidable as they are conscious units. Now the problem is to find a common ground and interest for the solution of these differences. A sense of common interest can be fostered among individuals, if they know that they are inter-connected, are parts of one Organic System and are the sons and daughters of one Father.

Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Madhava Mahārāja :
“Realistic Solution for Diverse Humanity”
Speech at a ‘Spiritual Summit Conference’ - 1968 Calcutta.
http://www.sreecgmath.org/scgmtimes/scgmsbdm.php

FAMOUS FRENCH PHILOSOPHER FALLS FOR HOAX

PHILOSOPHER BERNARD HENRI-LÉVY
CAUGHT OUT BY A LITERARY PRANK

PARIS (AP) - The celebrity French philosopher Bernard Henri-Lévy—he of the unbuttoned white shirts and coiffed hair—has backed up the arguments in his latest book, "On War in Philosophy", by citing the work of a fake philosopher. In arguing that Imanuel Kant was a madman, Henri-Lévy quoted from the lectures of Jean-Baptiste Botul—the creation of the journalist Frédéric Pagès. Botul has a rabid following—which recognizes that he’s not real—and debates his metaphysics of flab and his ideas on cheese, sausages, women’s breasts, and the transport of valises in the 1930s. In "De la Guerre en Philosophie", Levy cited a quotation from a book ostensibly written by Jean-Baptiste Botul, a fictional creation of journalist Frederic Pages. The gaffe, which was revealed by the Web site of Le Nouvel Observateur newsweekly this week, sparked a storm of Internet posts poking fun at Levy, France's superstar intellectual par excellence. Lévy quotes the fine insights of a French writer named Jean-Baptise Botul on the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant. But Botul, it turns out, is not a real person — he's a fictional character created five years ago by Frédéric Pagès, a journalist at the French satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné. Using Botul as a pseudonym, Pagès published a verbose book on Kant in 1999, which was intended to be a playful dig at French intellectuals.

Levy himself acknowledged his mistake, owning up to the error with lighthearted grace. "I learned today through the Internet ... it was a hoax," he told Canal Plus television on Monday. Levy congratulated Pages, saying he had long found his 1999 book "La Vie Sexuelle d'Emmanuel Kant" (The Sexual Life of Emmanuel Kant) — penned under the pseudonym Botul — "marvelous." "Vive Frederic Botul, vive Frederic Pages," Levy concluded, mixing up the names of the journalist and his creation. Levy, with his trademark wind-swept hairstyle, perma-tan and starched white shirt left largely unbuttoned, is an instantly recognizable public figure. He is known as much for his jet-setting lifestyle as for his work.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Almost everyone, including scientists, religionists and philosophers, are engaged in a noble search for truth. Yet, what is truth and how do we find it? ... Let us ask the question, “What is real knowledge?” The most generally accepted method of receiving knowledge is by direct perception, pratyaksa. Although often used in scientific quests, this method is subject to the four defects from which all mankind suffers: bhrama, pramāda, karanāpātava and vipralipsā. That is, all humans are subject to illusion, have imperfect senses, make mistakes and have a tendency to cheat.

Śrīpad Bhakti Bhāvana Vishnu Mahārāja :
Krsna Talk 90: In Search of Truth
http://www.gosai.com/krishna-talk/90-in-search-of-truth.html

AFGHANISTAN: AVALANCHES KILL 165

MORE THAN 160 PEOPLE KILLED BY MASSIVE
AVALANCHES NEAR SALANG MOUNTAIN TUNNEL

AFGHANISTAN (Reuters) - Heavy winds and rain set off 17 avalanches that buried more than two miles of highway at a high-altitude pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range, entombing hundreds of cars and cutting off Kabul’s heavily traveled link to northern Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday. Local officials said days of heavy snow led to avalanches that buried part of the mountain pass that connects Kabul to the northern city Mazar-i-Sharif. A series of massive avalanches have killed at least 165 people on Afghanistan’s busiest highway, officials said yesterday, as rescuers struggled to free more than 1,500 people trapped deep inside the Hindu Kush. Hundreds of cars, buses and lorries were jammed bumper to bumper in the path of the advancing snow, witnesses told The Times, after bad weather brought the two-mile pass to a halt before the avalanches struck. Dozens of cars were swept off a treacherous mountain pass on Monday when snowfalls caused more than three hours of avalanches near the Salang tunnel. Rescuers have already recovered 165 bodies from the Salang Pass and 135 have been injured. The calamity began Monday at the southern approaches of the 12,000-foot-high Salang Pass, just south of a tunnel through the mountains, which connects Kabul with northern Afghanistan. Officials said that snow buried more than two miles of road.

The interior minister, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, said a storm with heavy wind and rain blew in suddenly during the afternoon, setting off a series of avalanches above the highway, which is cut into mountainsides and often runs high above a river gorge. Nearly a mile of the highway remained buried as of Tuesday evening.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The three modes of material nature is material energy called ‘Maha-Maya’ and is responsible for the material activities like creation and destruction. As long as the living entity is engrossed in sense gratification; till then he comes under this influence of illusory energy. He is able to escape from this abominable material energy only on realization of his innate blissful spiritual identity in relation with transcendence. ... Lord Krsna is the master of this material energy while the living entity can be subjugated by this material energy.

Śrīla Bhakti Promode Puri Mahārāja :
“Essence of Pure Devotion – Bhakti Siddhanta Sara”.
Part VIII – ‘Yoga Maya and Maha Maya’.
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library - http://bvml.org/SBPPG/index.htm

CHINA FINDS TONS OF TAINTED MILK POWDER

CHINA RECALLED 170 TONS OF MILK POWDER
TAINTED WITH THE CHEMICAL MELAMINE

HANGHAI (China Daily) - Chinese authorities say they are trying to track down nearly 100 tons of milk powder tainted with the industrial chemical melamine as the government struggles to prevent a recurrence of the large-scale milk contamination that killed six children and sickened about 300,000 others in Sept 2008. The hunt for the adulterated milk powder, distributed by a dairy company in the northern region of Ningxia, follows reports of other batches of melamine-tainted products across the country in recent months. The government last week started emergency inspections to get contaminated goods off store shelves. More than a year after the toxic chemical first was discovered to be widespread in baby formula and other dairy products, China's problems with melamine contamination remain. Since the extent of melamine adulteration became apparent in 2008, the central government has fought to reassure consumers that it can protect them. Courts imposed harsh penalties on people involved: Two were executed in November. The scandal also helped speed up the passage of a comprehensive new food-safety law last year. But gaps clearly still remain – and are apparently being exploited by unscrupulous business people, according to local authorities. In some cases, local police say they believe the melamine-laced milk powder they have discovered was recalled after it was found to be contaminated in 2008 and then repackaged and sold again.

Dairy farmers and milk traders started adding melamine-laced powder to raw milk in an effort to fool dairy-company quality checks. Melamine, which is high in nitrogen, mimics the presence of protein in some lab tests. In high enough quantities it can cause serious kidney problems in people. How far the melamine-laced powder from Ningxia spreads through the food chain will depend on recall efforts as well as on how it is used. Milk powder can be used as a raw material in baked goods and candy as well as in baby formula and other dairy-based products.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

When men walk on the path of truth, they are simple and honest. When men’s actions are a collection of lies, their hearts are full of cunning, their deeds are sins, and their words are empty flattery. That is your “civilization”. True civilization is not like that. In true civilization men are honest and sincere. Nowadays people merely hide the wickedness in their hearts, and that hiding they call “civilization”. The true meaning of ‘civilization’ is ‘honesty and goodness’. What you call “civilization” is only cheating and wickedness. Civilization that is sinless is found only among the Vaishnavas.

Śrīla Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thākura :
“Jaiva-dharma (The Universal Religion)”
Chapter Nine : “Eternal Religion and Modern Science-Civilization”

EATING PORK SPICE UP YOUR SEX LIFE

"A DIET RICH IN PORK IS BETTER THAN VIAGRA"
SAID ARGENTINE PRESIDENT CRISTINA KIRCHNER

BUENOS AIRES - Argentina's president thinks eating pig meat is really sexy. Eating pork is better than popping a Viagra pill to spice up your sex life, according to Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, who claims to have tested the theory. Many people in this beef-loving nation reacted with surprise last week after Cristina Fernandez promoted pork in a speech during which she not only said pork is better than Viagra, but suggested she's personally proven it. "I didn't know that eating pork improved sexual activity," Fernandez said in a meeting with representatives of the swine industry. She even joked that "it was all good" after she enjoyed some pork with her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner. "Pork consumption improves sexual activity," Kirchner informed a surprised gathering of business people at a meeting at the presidential palace. "This is not a small detail," she said at the gathering to announce a reduction in the price of pork. "Besides, some nicely grilled pork is much more gratifying than taking Viagra." Kirchner said she ate some roasted pork over the weekend with her husband, former president Nestor Kirchner, at the couple's retreat in Argentina's bucolic southern Patagonia region, with "impressive" results. "We were in high spirits the whole weekend," she said, smiling. "I'm a pork fanatic," she added, "and I'm not saying this just to impress you, or for self-promotion." The president's half-joking speech in which she announced subsidies for the pork industry won prominent play on television and radio stations, prompting discussions on whether Argentines should add more pork to their diet.

The approved subsidies will intend to keep the price of pork low despite inflation, and her government has also recently subsidized red meat producers after beef supplies sharply declined in the South American country. Argentines are among the world's biggest consumers of red meat, and most people here stubbornly reject the idea of replacing beef with chicken, pork or other meats. Argentines are great voracious beef eaters, with an annual per capita consumption of between 68 and 73 kilos, and despite Argentina is lying along rich South Atlantic fisheries, seafood is rarely seen on dinner tables.

The video can be watched in
http://pariksit.net/consejos-de-la-presidenta-118.html

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

It is understood that as people learn more about Krishna, they will want to change their lives in ways that will be more conducive to the culture of love for Him. … Srila Prabhupada did make some concessions in introducing Krishna consciousness to people in western countries. Regarding vegetarianism, he was careful to make sure the diet was rich and delicious by any standard so that his followers would feel no compunction to return to a carnivorous diet.

Śrīla Bhakti Vedanta Tripurari Mahārāja :
“Spiritual Life is about Change”
Śrī Caitanya Sanga - Vol. VI, No. 1 - Jan. 4, 2004.
http://www.swami.org/pages/sanga/

RECONCILIATION AND NOSTALGIA OF GOD

THE POPE PROPOSES TRUE RECONCILIATION,
REVITALIZE FAITH AND END WITH "NOSTALGIA"

SPAIN (www.cope.es) - The dictionary defines “nostalgia” like pain to see yourself away from the mother country or the relatives or friends, and also as the melancholic sadness originated by the memory of a lost happiness. The English poet John Milton wrote “the lost paradise” in 1667, about the primitive state of the man according to the book of the Genesis - the friendship with God. Last December, Benedicto XVI spoke about the “nostalgia” of God which exists in all man. The Pope highlighted the Church as the family of God, the importance of the reconciliation and the unit between evangelisation and the human promotion. “All together ones we are the family of God, brothers and brothers by virtue of a unique Father”. The Church proposes the true reconciliation without which peace does not exist ... and what the reconciliation consistsm of? In recovering the concord and friendship with God, with yourself, the others and the creation. This implies, first, “the capacity to recognize the fault and to apologise: to God and the other” (to abandon the idea of see yourself as innocent); second, “the availability to the penance, to suffer until the bottom by a fault and to leave themselves to be transformed”; and third, the gratuity, that is to say, “the availability to go beyond the necessary thing, not to request accounts, but to go beyond from which the simple legal conditions demand”. Gratuity is the “availability to take the first step. To go to the encounter the other in the first place, to offer reconciliation to him, to assume the suffering that implies the resignation to be right”. All this was made first by Jesus in the cross.

Last September, during the trip to the Czech Republic, it was also an occasion for the Pope to deepen on the faith and the attitude of the nonbelieving, agnostic Christians also before or atheistic ones. “When we spoke of a new one perhaps evangelisation, these people are scared. They do not want to see themselves turned into mission object, nor to resign to his freedom of thought and of will. To sum up, the reconciliation is condition to be able to live in the realism of the faith and to invite to others to discover because of its life, releasing to them of the fear, the disinterestedness or the apparent comfort of not considering what is more important for all.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Back to God, back to home. Back to the center. Fortunately the agents from the high level come to our relief. By various means, with or without us being aware of it, they inject some special news, which, when accumulated, creates such energy in us that, “I must go back to my home!” ... So, we are fortunate if we receive guidance of the conscious friends of our life, who endeavor of recruit us to that domain: “Come to your senses. Come to your normal position. Come to your home.” You will have to go inside. Home is necessary.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
Article: “Searching the Solution”
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library - www.bvml.org/SBRSM/

TEENAGER BURIED ALIVE IN HONOR KILLING

TEENAGE GIRL LIKELY VICTIM OF ‘HONOR KILLING’
BURIED ALIVE IN TURKEY FOR TALKING TO BOYS

ISTANBUL (BBC News) - A 16-year-old girl has been buried alive by her relatives in a gruesome honour killing in Turkey as punishment because she reportedly befriended boys. Acting on a tip-off, police discovered 16-year-old Medine Memi's body in a six-feet-deep hole outside her house in the Turkish province of Adiyaman, 40 days after she went missing. Officers then visited Memi’s house, and found her body “in a hole, newly covered with concrete, next to the hen-house,” the BBC reports. She was found dead with her hands tied behind her back and minor bruises on her body. A post mortem revealed that she had soil in her lungs and stomach, meaning that she was buried alive, forensic experts told Turkish media. "According to our findings, the girl - who had no bruises on her body and no sign of narcotics or poison in her blood - was alive and fully conscious when she was buried." An anonymous specialist said: "The autopsy result is blood-curdling. Her father is said to have been angry the girl had male friends, and her grandfather had reportedly beaten her in the past for interacting with boys, according to a Turkish newspaper. Medine's father and grandfather have been arrested and jailed pending trial over her killing, local media claimed. The father is reported to have said in his testimony that the family was unhappy Medine had male friends. Medine Memi may have been the victim of an “honor killing.” Memi lived in Kahta, Turkey, a heavily conservative and religious south-east town.

While many “honor killings” are carried out by Muslims in Turkey, the practice has more to do with the regional customs of this Kurdish town than with religion. Apparently, if a female child is seen even speaking to a boy, there is “strong peer pressure from the community on the male members of the family to restore their honor.” An “honor killing” takes place after one family member commits an act that serves to dishonor the rest of the family. Members of the family then kill the one who committed the act, as defense of honor is seen as a justifiable reason for murder.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Activities which lead to heavenly enjoyment are called “punya” (piety) and activities which lead to hellish suffering are called “pāpa” (sin). … Sin is not a constitutional factor of the jiva, but rather takes shelter of the jiva in the conditioned state. Some actions or states (pāpas) are contradictory to the natural qualities (punyas) of the jiva: hatred, lying, cruelty, lust, envy, injustice. Cruelty may be directed towards human beings or animals. If a person acts cruelly towards other men he creates a disturbance to the world. A world devoid of mercy means a world filled with cruelty.

Śrīla Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thākura :
“Śrī Caitanya Śiksamrta: The Nectarean Teaching of Śrī Caitanya”
Second Chapter: “Punya karma - Meritorious Action”

WIDESPREAD DISGUST WITH BRITISH POLITICIANS

SCANDAL: BRITISH MPS HAVE BEEN ORDERED
TO REPAY MORE THAN £1 MILLION IN ALLOWANCES

LONDON (Telegraph) - British politicians have been ordered to repay more than £1 million in expenses after an investigation into a scandal that tarnished the image of UK MPs at home and abroad. Thomas Legg, who carried out the review, found that more than half of all members of parliament had made inappropriate or excessive claims, including Gordon Brown, the prime minister. He said on Thursday that a "culture of deference" and a "prevailing lack of transparency" were to blame for the scandal, which saw MPs claiming expenses on second homes, gardening and cleaning. Legg said that between 2004 and 2009 senior figures in parliament had been more focused on furthering the "immediate interests of MPs" than "propriety in public expenditure". This scandal about repayments demanded for illegitimate claims has happened because MPs failed to observe the propriety in handling public money that they, as legislators, demand from every other part of the public service. It was not a failure of a system or a process; it was a failure by individual MPs to behave honestly.

Last year's exposure of politicians' expense claims showed how legislators manipulated housing rules for profit and attempted to bill the public for items including porn movies, horse manure and an ornamental duck house. However, this does not apply to all MPs. Sir Thomas has found that roughly half the House had “no issues” to answer, although voters will note their collective failure to speak out against abuses. But the other half took advantage of a “flawed” system, which they themselves created. The scandal, which touched every political party, provoked outrage in Britain and undermined support for the country's three main parties. Many MPs whose reputations have been damaged are expected not to stand again, while those that do risk being punished by voters.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

You have seen the picture of Vyasadeva. He's writing books just near a cottage only … he was leading very simple life, in a cottage. Even, say, 2,000 years ago or little more, there was Canakya Pandita. He was a brahmana, but great politician. … And because he was a great politician, diplomat, under his name in our India, in New Delhi, the capital, there is a neighborhood which is called Canakya Puri. So he was a great politician. But still, he was living in a cottage. He was not accepting any salary because he was brahmana. … The sudra accepts salary. “I serve you, you pay me.”

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“Steel-framed Hearts”
Class on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.3.24
Los Angeles, USA - June 22, 1972

OSCAR THE CAT CAN SMELL DEATH

A CAT NAMED OSCAR IS SAID TO
POSSESS THE ABILITY TO PREDICT DEATH

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A cat detects when nursing home patients have just hours to live has accurately predicted up to 50 deaths. He spends his days pacing from room to room at the nursing home where he lives and refuses to spend any time with the elderly residents unless they are close to death. The unsociable cat, now five, was adopted as a kitten at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, Rhode Island. His unusual gift was first revealed in 2007, and staff at the home are now so confident of Oscar's ability that they alert family members if he shows an interest in a patient. When Oscar was about six months old the staff noticed that he would curl up to sleep with patients who were about to die. So far he has accurately predicted about 50 deaths. Oscar curls up next to dying patients and scratches at their door if staff try to stop him from being near them. In his book, "Making rounds with Oscar: the extraordinary gift of an ordinary cat", Dr David Dosa, a geriatrician at Brown University, offers no solid scientific explanation for the cat's behaviour. Dosa recounts one instance when staff was convinced of the imminent death of one patient but Oscar refused to sit with that person, choosing instead to be on the bed of another patient down the hallway. Oscar proved to be right. The person he sat with died first, taking staff on the ward by surprise.

Dr. Dosa said there is no scientific evidence to explain Oscar's abilities, but he thinks the cat might be responding to a pheromone or smell that humans simply don't recognize. Dosa suggests that - like dogs - Oscar is able to detect ketones, which are biochemicals given off by dying cells. "I don't think Oscar is that unique, but he is in a unique environment. Animals are remarkable in their ability to see things we don't, be it the dog that sniffs out cancer or the fish that predicts earthquakes. Animals know when they are needed." he said. Scientists said research work on such phenomenon has already been going on and it is focused on harnessing the talents to serve humankind.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The scientists feel that animals have no real brain, no intelligence. … Animals may follow intuitive knowledge, and so they can work unconsciously. And we can see that intuition can go above brain calculation. So many birds and beasts can understand that an earthquake is coming, but so far, no human calculation can understand precisely when an earthquake will come. There are many things that our brain cannot feel, cannot catch, whereas even the animals can get some clue about them beforehand. And after a long and deep research, men cannot find what is beyond their reason.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
“The Loving Search for the Lost Servant”
Seventh Chapter: “Knowledge-Free Devotion”
http://www.scsmath.com/docs/books.html

CHINA FURIOUS AT US ARMS SALES TO TAIWAN

OLD CONFLICT BETWEEN CHINA-TAIWAN
AFFECTS US-CHINA FUTURE RELATIONS

BEIJING - TAIPEI (Reuters) - China has expressed fury at Washington's announcement of a new arms package for self-ruled Taiwan, saying it threatens the task of peaceful reunification between the two sides. China suspended military exchanges with Washington after the plan was announced. It has not yet said what sanctions it might impose on the firms, which are supplying Taiwan with missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, information systems and two mine-hunters. China's state media has accused the United States of "arrogance" and "double standards" in pursuing arms sales to Taiwan. China has warned of "serious harm" to relations between the two powers, the suspension of military contact and sanctions against the firms involved. An American law, the Taiwan Relations Act 1979, requires any administration "to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character". This is a red line between China and the US. If Washington ever sold clearly offensive weapons to Taiwan - such as cruise or ballistic missiles - China would be seriously angered and Taiwan might be actually threatened. A key point to remember about US arms sales to Taiwan is that they are designed to be defensive. China, the world's third-largest economy and a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, claims sovereignty over ethnically Chinese Taiwan and has not renounced the use of force to bring the proudly democratic island under its control.

So, China maintains its right to threat of force if Taiwan seeks independence. On the other hand, the US declares its right to defend Taiwan while accepting that it cannot be an independent state. China has suspended military talks with the US, and it is also threatening those US companies involved in the sale with a ban on sales in China. Chinese government has talked of the damage to co-operation on international and regional problems due to US plans to sale arms to Taiwan last week.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The duty of the government or king is not to increase military power unnecessarily; the real duty of the government is to see that the people of the state advance in Krishna consciousness. ... Everyone must understand Krishna's activities (“janma karma ca me divyam” [Bg. 4.9]). If one understands the purpose of Krishna's coming to this earth and performing His activities, one is immediately liberated. This liberation is the purpose of the creation and Krishna's descent upon the surface of the earth.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam”
Purport in Canto 9 - Chapter 24 - Verse 59.

FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS PILGRIMS

IRAQ: 54 KILLED BY FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER
JOINED SHIITE PILGRIMS MARCHING TO HOLY CITY

BAGHDAD (EFE) - A female suicide bomber detonated a vest rigged with explosives among a crowd of Shiite Muslim pilgrims Monday in northeast Baghdad, killing 54 people and wounding 109, the latest in a string of attacks that have unnerved the city as pivotal elections loom next month. For several years, sectarian violence has plagued the pilgrimage that marks the death of a revered Shi'ite figure. Iraqi authorities say the bomber joined the pilgrims as they walked through a Shi'ite neighborhood in the capital. The bomber hid the explosives under her voluminous black abaya, or cloak, and detonated them among pilgrims gathered at a hospitality tent in the neighborhood of Bab al Shams. The dead included five women employed to search female pilgrims for bombs, police said. The pilgrims were among hundreds of thousands walking to the shrine city of Karbala to mark Arbaeen, the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a 7th century figure revered by Shiites. The dead and wounded were among the hundreds of thousands of Shi'ites from Iraq, Iran and elsewhere in the region who make the journey to Karbala, 80 kilometers south of Baghdad, to mark the end of a religious mourning period.

Traditionally, residents set up hospitality tents to serve refreshments to the pilgrims. Such public displays of Shiite religiosity were banned during Saddam Hussein's rule. Since his fall from power in 2003, millions have been making the journey on foot to the Karbala shrine. Just as regularly, insurgents have attacked them along the way, and Monday's bombing echoed one a year earlier in which a suicide attacker killed 40 pilgrims, also at a hospitality tent. This suicide bombing attack was the fifth in Baghdad in just a week.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

There is an outbreak of conflagration of group clashes throughout the world. Nowhere you will find peace. I am worried to read in newspapers the news of bomb explosions and disturbances. A section of people have become so violent and barbarous that they do not hesitate in committing heinous crimes in assassinating innocent persons to fulfill their political ends. All humanitarian considerations have been relinquished. They are now seeking justifications in committing such great sins.

Śrīla Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Mahārāja :
“Strongest Spiritual Force on Earth”
Statements at a press conference, 12-29-2000, Mumbai.
Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math - http://www.sreecgmath.org

UN PUT A CURB ON 'RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR'

BAN KI-MOON HORRIFIED BY THE USE OF
"RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR" IN AFRICA

ADDIS ABABA (BBC) - UN Secretary General announced measures to fight the use of rape as a weapon of war in Africa. Ban Ki-moon on Saturday called on the support of African leaders to give new impetus to his campaign to halt violence against women on the continent. Attending an African Union summit in Ethiopia, Mr Ban told leaders he would be appointing a special representative to help stop sexual violence against women in conflict zones. Ban Ki-moon on Sunday said he intended to make Sweden's Margot Wallstrom his special representative tasked with combating sexual violence against women and children in conflicts. During a speech at the opening of the African Union's 14th summit in Addis Ababa, Ban announced he wanted to appoint Margot Wallstrom the 55-year-old outgoing vice-president of the European Commission as his special representative to intensify efforts to end sexual violence against women and children in conflict situations. "We will continue efforts to end the conflicts in the east (of the Democratic Republic of Congo), restore state authority, facilitate the return of refugees, and protect civilians against all forms of violence including sexual violence," Ban said. "I'm horrified and outraged by the use of rape as a weapon of war," he said. "We must spare no effort to end this once and for all. In this regard, I have informed the Security Council of my intention to intensify efforts to end sexual violence against women and children."

Margot Wallstrom, said Sunday she would lobby for sexual violence in war to be recognised as a war crime, attacking what she said was a tendency to explain the abuse of women as "cultural." "I say this is not cultural. It is a crime under international law and it is also a war crime," she told Swedish radio. The long-running conflicts in Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - where abuses against women and children are rife - are expected to top the agenda of the AU summit, which winds up on Tuesday. The UN denounced the systematic rape by warring parties in the DRC, where some 5,000 conflict-linked rapes were reported during the first half of 2009.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

“The brāhmanas, the cows and the defenseless creatures are My own body.” (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.16.10) - The defenseless creatures, according to Brahma-samhitā, are the cows, brāhmanas, women, children and old men. ... Just as children are taken care of by the parents, women as a class should be taken care of by the father, husband or grown-up son. Those who are helpless must be taken care of by their respective guardians, otherwise the guardians will be subjected to the punishment of Yamarāja, who is appointed by the Lord to supervise the activities of sinful living creatures.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam”
Purport in Canto 3 - Chapter 16 - Verse 10.