Happy Thanksgiving! - To everyone!

Hello Everyone! Wanted to wish a Happy, Happy thanksgiving to everyone here!

Well thanks, and the same to you. We don't do Thanksgiving here(in UK) we're so ungrateful

Funny - is there any kind of day that people there give thanks?

Dandavats. All glories to the Vaisnavas.

If only those in the US made such a day about being Thankful.... somehow even such a day can't escape the commercialism that plagues our culture. It is especially bothersome considering how they market such a holiday to Children. "Oh yes the thankful Indians and Pilgrims got together to share food and give thanks...". Funny how we made our own historical holocaust into something so warm and fuzzy.

You can’t really explain all of this to a 7 and 2 year old. So we are having a family day. Cooking some Tofurky, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry relish, corn on the cobb and cupcakes (my youngest son Caitanya says that Krsna likes his cupcakes with extra sprinkles!). Of course before we feast we will witness the newest Sponge Bob Square Pants movie!

The good news is that we received word this morning that our arrangements for our three week stay in Vraja are confirmed. Now that is something to be thankful for!

I hope everyone here at Gaudiya Discussions is doing well. I am thankful and humbled by all of your association and I look forward to seeing many of you in a few weeks in Vraja and associating with the rest of you via our virtual community for years to come.

Jai Radhe! All glories to the Vaisnavas,

Aspiring to serve the Vaisnavas,
Rasaraja dasa

When we celebrated Govardhan Puja, we kind of took it as a Thanksgiving feast. It felt a lot like that--family mood.

In Canada, Thanksgiving is October 24. Don't ask me why. Probably because winter comes earlier.

Perhaps it's a remnant of some harvest festival kind of thing. But really these days in the west so many live comfortably enough to skip the thanks, or just take it for granted. I guess we should be thankful for the elements at our desposal that nature provides to sustain our bodies. When I get Krsna's grace, that will be my thanksgiving day

Its incredible that we have this time, place and circumstances to do good and be good! To Love God and be loving, compassionate and kind to ourselves and others. Hooray - that is what I most celebrate and am thankful for!

Light Preaching on Thanksgiving

I’m just coming back from a “Living for Peace Gathering” which was organized in a Quaker’s Church in Bethlehem, PA. Local Vegans and Vegetarians groups formed it.

Just happened that I shared the table with Yoga Teacher, Mel Rosenthal and others. Almost at the end I suggested to the teacher to chant the mantra AUM in a circle with holding-hands. The organizer, Pat Judge, really liked the idea, “ after seven years, this is the very first time we will do something like that”, she said.

Everyone agreed with the idea; stood- up, hold hands; the Yoga teacher made a brief presentation of the mantra, and we all chanted the AUM mantra for 3minutes. The organizer and the teacher thanked the suggestion and said, “from now on we will chant mantras in this gathering”.

Another detail, Revati’s nice pakoras (Radharamana’s prasada) were well accepted!

By Srila Jiva Goswami in his description of the alphabetical constituents of the mantra as follows;

a-karenocyate krsnah sarva-lokaika-nayakah
u-karenocyate radha ma-karo jiva-vacakah

"Om is a combination of letters, A,U,M. The letter 'A' refers to Krishna. The Letter 'U' refers to Radha, and the letter 'M' refers to the jivasoul."

AUM


Happy Thanksgiving!

As I said to my wife this morning.. 'Dear Indians, thank you for taking care of the land until we got here'
Way OT, but since this is when you can get ToFurky, that stuff makes great Turkey Pot Pie. Just grab any traditional recipe for TPP & substitute chopped up ToFurky & the relatives will never know!

Gah.. I'm so jealous...
Any a really happy Thanksgiving to everyone here!

I celebrated Thanksgiving with Native Americans of whom I learned celebrate Thanksgiving everyday. People of many different tribes were together and it was inspiring to see people who have been treated so harshly by the dominant culture to have such a radiance coming from their being of joy and love!

While Thanksgiving for many in the west has an aspect of counting one's blessings and giving thanks, in these people, I felt it was a state of grace where one's heart is open to recieve love and too, to give love.

I wish everyone the experience of time spent among the native peoples of the Americas who have returned to their hallowed traditions as for them who are open to recieve their reverence for God and all life, your life will be changed anew.

And too, I learned its ok if a vegetarian for reasons of concerns of mistreatment of animals and violence to animals to eat the American bison or buffalo since the buffalo volunteers to be eaten and because it volunteers to be eaten, there is no violence. "The Bison gives itself so the People may live." Lakota Sioux