Theology as if Animals Mattered

“Gracefully combining balanced scholarship with personal witness, animal activists Annika Spalde and Pelle Strindlund have written a book that will enable Christians of all denominations to rediscover the powerful tradition of creaturely compassion that runs throughout their religious history.”

—Reverend Gary Kowalski, author of The Souls of Animals and The Bible According to Noah: Theology as if Animals Mattered

“Many books about animals, diet, and Christianity have been written for a general audience, but this one is now the best. The authors mix personal stories with Biblical insight and passionate argument to produce a book that is as creative as it is earnest and focused. This book is beautifully written and carefully argued. It would be the perfect book for a Bible study or church study group. Warning: it is an enjoyable read, but it might change your life.”

—Stephen H. Webb, Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Wabash College, author of Good Eating and On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals

For more information about Christianity and vegetarianism, please visit the Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA) website.

UF Homecoming Day Parade 2009

A year without words? I suppose it is time to fess up. I've caught a mild form of a highly contagious disease called avyarta kalatvam. Symptoms include: running around like a crazy woman, singing at the top of your lungs, washing pots at midnight, going to sleep way too early when others your age are just getting ready to go out, and saying words like "benediction moon." As you can see, this disease has rendered me utterly useless and miserable. Please pray for me.

They call it Mellow Yellow?

Does your Pepsi lack pep? Is your Coke not the real thing? India's Hindu nationalist movement apparently has the answer: a new soft drink made from cow urine.

By Matthias Williams, Reuters

NEW DELHI - A hardline Hindu organization, known for its opposition to "corrupting" Western food imports, is planning to launch a new soft drink made from cow's urine, often seen as sacred in parts of India.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or National Volunteer Corps, said the bovine beverage is undergoing laboratory tests for the next 2 to 3 months but did not give a specific date for its commercial release.

The flavor is not yet known, but the RSS said the liquid produced by Hinduism's revered holy cows is being mixed with products such as aloe vera and gooseberry to fight diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

Many Hindus consider cow urine to have medicinal properties and it is often drunk in religious festivals.

The organization, which aims to transform India's secular society and establish the supremacy of a Hindu majority, said it had not decided on a name or a price for the drink.

"Cow urine offers a cure for around 70 to 80 incurable diseases like diabetes. All are curable by cow urine," Om Prakash, the head of the RSS Cow Protection Department, told Reuters by phone.

Prakash, who is based in Hardwar, one of four holy Hindu cities on the river Ganges where the world's largest religious gathering takes place, said the product will be sold nationwide but did not rule out international success.

"It is useful for the whole country and the world as well. It will be done through shops and through corporates," he said.

The Hindu group has campaigned against foreign imports such as Pepsi and Coca Cola in the past, which it sees as a corrupting influence and a tool of Western imperialism.

The RSS was temporarily banned after a Hindu mob tore down a mosque in 1992 which lead to bloody religious riots.

The Shiv Sena, a hardline Hindu political party also known for attacking what it sees as threats to Indian culture such as Valentine's Day, started a similar initiative last year to appeal to its powerbase in Mumbai.

To promote the food of the native Marathi culture, the Shiv Sena said it was "making a chain like McDonalds" to sell a popular local fried snack.

Krishna Camp @ Burning Man 2009

"I love going to Burning Man but it's too much hassle to pack up food for a week in the desert. Last year, I ate nothin' but playa until I ran into Krishna Camp. Ya'll saved my life!"

This year's gonna be even better...

Thinking about going to Burning Man? Save yourself the hassle and hit up the 24-hour kitchen. Register now for only $151 and receive an entire week of transcendental goodness!

Hare New Year!

Why, I suppose, I've fallen in love...

I'm not sure when exactly it happened. Perhaps somewhere in between the countless planning meetings for Srila Acharyadeva's 60th Birthday Party (Vyasa Puja), or when chanting in unison the Siksastaka Prayers at 5am. Maybe it was after pulling off a rock star, 30-prep Thanksgiving dinner or while scrubbing the temple floor together and complaining about the mysterious sticky substance that won't come off. Maybe it was during lunch kirtan or at 1am after a legedary Friday night kirtan. I don't know how or when, but somehow, I've fallen desperately in love with my new community.

It is an amazing thing to fall in love. It's as if you could be in the ugliest city in Florida, but if you have a good friend by your side, there isn't a more beautiful place you'd rather be.

It startles me how many people there are in this world and how little time I have to met them all. What if I never came to Gainesville. Would my life be as complete as it is now?

Unselfish love is hard to come by. I think it has to be taught. Maybe it comes naturally in the beginning, but after the layers of hurt, disappointment, anger, greed, and selfishness add up, our hearts are miserably filthy, thick with fear and anxiety. I've been told that chanting Hare Krishna cleanses the heart of all unwanted ignorances that bind this natural loving propensity.

Which 80's metal band put it so perfectly? Love hurts. But true love is unconditional. Love can not be broken. And yet who amongst us know what love really is? If these bodies are temporary but love is eternal, where do we all go to play out this epic romance novel?

I suppose love means taking time to help others understand what love is, and doing so, better understand yourself. I've read that real love is Krishna Consciousness, thus love can not be exclusive.

Real love goes beyond the body. I love your guts! I hate your guts! I love your guts! Just kidding. Your love for others is as sincere as your smile.

Real love means recognizing that we don't know everything about love and that we need to find qualified teachers who can help us better understand the details. Love is not cheap. Love means sacrifice. A sacrifice to obtain it at any cost, except the cost of hindering each other's pursuit of it.

Love does not grow old. It matures with age and, yet, it remains eternally youthful. The faith in pure love is what keeps us young at heart.

When will we realize that everything we do, everything we eat, and everything we offer or give away needs to be done in full consciousness in order to experience the highest ecstasies of love. Have we lost our taste? Content with average, with just enough? Content with what our parents had?

The search must continue and never be stopped. Love can not be contained in one relationship. Love must be a collective experience. Love left unrequited is love never given in the first place. Love is seeing every living being as important as ourselves.

Can only a mother know what real love means? It may be one of the best ways to start. If only her compassion and sentiment could extend to all living beings. If only her love wasn't contained to her family unit, her community, to her country, her species, her planet.

I may be experiencing the beginning symptoms of love, but I want more. This is my desire. To learn how to and what it means to love Krishna even if I drive myself (and others?) crazy during my journey. Logic leads me to love God as the most complete form of love because He is all-inclusive. No other relationship can claim all-inclusivity. You can't actually love your father without loving your mother. You can't love your mother without loving your brothers and sisters. You can't claim to love your brothers and sisters without loving their babies. And if you really love your mother, you'll even, genuinely, love her dog.

My body lies over the ocean.

Nature break. I know, it's not the ocean nor the sea. But, even better, it's a natural spring.

Florida boasts the largest number of cold water springs in the western hemisphere and we found one of her finest. These springs maintain an average temperature of 72 degrees year round and manatees can be found in many of them once the temperature of the Gulf starts cooling down.

Welcome to Rainbow Springs, located one hour SW of Gainesville, and, yes, the water is actually this color.

The whole family came alone this time. An who would miss this opportunity? We were kayaking in t-shirts in the middle of November! After the ride, we all decided to go swimming.

That's right, it's a web. We're part of a chain. We're in this together. Hello people! Hello!

And here he is. The introspective vegetarian/sage/peace activist. Chanting Hare Krishna to save the environment. Chanting Hare Krishna to find his heart in the depths of his intelligence.