We depend very much on taste in our spiritual life, we’re all looking for that because without it, the years begin to count and it becomes difficult to maintain our spiritual purity and status etc. In the beginning, okay, it’s easy because one is conquering, one is going forward, one is feeling that he’s advancing with huge jumps forward to the spiritual world and then with time it’s, ‘My God! Is it a long way? Will we ever get there? Probably not! At least not this life time!’…kind of mood tends to come. And at that state, we are really beginning to appreciate more that we are dependent on so many things. We begin to see that we are not so strong in our Krsna consciousness and with time we begin to see that we depend on many, many factors for our support: we begin to value the devotees more because we realize these are the few people that are also into Krsna consciousness: ‘They may be a little different than I am but anyway, let’s just accept them.’ In the beginning one might think, ‘well, mmm…this one’s strange, that one-no…’ But with time one becomes more appreciative for vaisnava relationships, one becomes more careful. I also, in the beginning I used to think, well…when there was a difference of opinion, I thought, well if I’m right then I’m right and then the other person has to accept. Now I may be wrong, so let me check it with other people. And if other vaisnava’s say I’m right, well if they confirm it, then I must be right. It seems right to me, others confirm it’s right, then it must be right. So in that way then, I’m right and it was just a confrontation. But nowadays I’m more careful of that because I notice that with all these confrontations, some people didn’t like me. Some people still don’t like me because of the confrontations of so many years ago! Anyway, if there’s anybody here- sorry for that! Trying to change now! What to do! We are trying to appreciate every vaisnava for whatever contribution that vaisnava is making because we know we’re depending on the vaisnava’s.
So sometimes we take it that our activities of sadhana are like that- to kind of pump up our fading enthusiasm, our fading determination and we have to pump again and again or we’re going to bloop! But that’s on the lower end really. I’m looking here more at the other side of the hearing and chanting: that we just get into the mood of tasting very nice things in Krsna consciousness, one after another, just keep on taking the sweets and well, a salty in between as well- it doesn’t matter. But just go on and on and on as much as we can, and this is actually the process. So therefore, the process of breaking through from struggling in spiritual life to being inspired in spiritual life, is not a matter of just struggling and struggling and waiting for the day that we’ll wake up in an ecstatic mood. Rather, it must come to the point where we actively begin to taste the nectar that all the acaryas are tasting and that all the great devotees are always tasting. Whether we have so much taste for it or not- who cares! Just taste it! Let us just embrace it and go for it! And well, even if there’s not so much taste, little taste may come.
HH Kadamba Kanana Swami has initiated two devotees on the 13th of August in the temple in Radhadesh, Belgium.
Bh Rembert became Gopinath Acarya das, 1st and 2nd Initiation
Bhn Eliane became Astasakhi devi dasi, 1st Initiation.
At Oreilly.com they have reviewed the new Edirol R09HR and M-Audio Microtrack v2 field recorders.
What’s New, Pussycat?
Here’s a quick rundown on some of the physical changes in the new models. Both M-Audio and Edirol continue to upgrade their products via free firmware updates. Visit their sites (M-Audio; Edirol/Roland) to make sure you have the latest.
MicroTrack II vs. MicroTrack
New color: Black
48V phantom power
Analog limiter
Improved battery with longer life and faster charging
Selectable One Touch or Record Ready/Record operation
Extended input range
Records files larger than 2GB
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed transfer
Monitor S/PDIF input via headphones while recording
Add markers while recording
Edirol replaced the rickety battery door on the original R-09 with a sturdier hatch.
Edirol R-09HR vs. R-09
Case covered in black silicone rubber
Wireless remote
Supports up to 96kHz WAV files
Improved microphones
Isolated Adaptive Recording Circuit (I.A.R.C.; separates audio and power circuitry to reduce noise)
Lighting is very important for recording a good quality video. When I look at the videos I’ve recorded and uploaded, it is very easy to tell the difference between when I’ve used my own lighting and when I’ve relied on the ambient temple lighting.
If you shoot mostly during the day and the temple has lots of windows then you may not need to add lighting. This was the case when I did my recording at the Laguna Beach temple. The dallas temple is just the opposite. There is mostly just mood lighting and all the temple pillars and other features are dark.
On-Camera Video Light
The easiest lighting option is a video light. This is a light that connects to the hot-shoe on your camcorder and lights up whatever subject is directly in front of the camera. These are generally cheap. Find one that uses LEDs for lighting to extend the life of your batteries. I’ve used the Sima SL-10L in the past. These sell on ebay for around $20 to $30.
But watch out. The light is quite intense (due to it’s small size) and is directly in line with the camcorder. This can be quite annoying. Also, the light is only so bright and so both it and the camcorder must be close to the subject. I found this fairly useless for recording a lecture since the speaker would be disturbed by the bright light directly in their line of sight to the people sitting in the temple room.
Traditional Video Lighting
Traditional video lighting is bulky, power consuming and very very hot. Recognize these lights by their use of a halogen, tugsten or quartz bulb. The quality of the lighting is incredible — there is a reason they are used in professional settings. Your subject probably won’t be too happy being lit by these for a 40minute class though due to their heat.
Fluorescent Lighting
With the right bulbs, fluorescent lighting is a good compromise between light quality, heat, and cost. I use the SP2700 Professional Photo Umbrella by Square Perfect ($140). This kit comes with two sets of lights, light stands, and umbrellas. I’ve been very happy with this light kit. The bulbs are large/powerful fluorescent bulbs that operate at 5500K (nice clear white). I’ve had very little issues with color balance. Using the light stands, I can position the lights above the line of sight of the speaker. I generally just use one light which is plenty. I only have two reservations with the kit. If I get real close, I can hear a quiet buzz from the lights. This hasn’t been an issue for me but may be an issue for other users. My other complaint is that the bag is completely soft. So, I keep each piece of equipment in it’s original cardboard container which provides the necessary structure to keep the bag stiff.
LED Lighting
If you have money to burn, check out LitePanels. These are flat panels with many LED lights and are meant to be used in studio lighting. A single 1 square foot light runs about $2000. Quite a bit outside of my budget — that is for sure.
Conclusion
Get the right lighting for your budget. Play around with it and see how the lighting improves the video captured by your camcorder. If your subject is already well lit then skip the lights.
A decent resource for reading up on lighting is at mediacollege.
We depend very much on taste in our spiritual life, we’re all looking for that because without it, the years begin to count and it becomes difficult to maintain our spiritual purity and status etc. In the beginning, okay, it’s easy because one is conquering, one is going forward, one is feeling that he’s advancing with huge jumps forward to the spiritual world and then with time it’s, ‘My God! Is it a long way? Will we ever get there? Probably not! At least not this life time!’…kind of mood tends to come. And at that state, we are really beginning to appreciate more that we are dependent on so many things. We begin to see that we are not so strong in our Krsna consciousness and with time we begin to see that we depend on many, many factors for our support: we begin to value the devotees more because we realize these are the few people that are also into Krsna consciousness: ‘They may be a little different than I am but anyway, let’s just accept them.’ In the beginning one might think, ‘well, mmm…this one’s strange, that one-no…’ But with time one becomes more appreciative for vaisnava relationships, one becomes more careful. I also, in the beginning I used to think, well…when there was a difference of opinion, I thought, well if I’m right then I’m right and then the other person has to accept. Now I may be wrong, so let me check it with other people. And if other vaisnava’s say I’m right, well if they confirm it, then I must be right. It seems right to me, others confirm it’s right, then it must be right. So in that way then, I’m right and it was just a confrontation. But nowadays I’m more careful of that because I notice that with all these confrontations, some people didn’t like me. Some people still don’t like me because of the confrontations of so many years ago! Anyway, if there’s anybody here- sorry for that! Trying to change now! What to do! We are trying to appreciate every vaisnava for whatever contribution that vaisnava is making because we know we’re depending on the vaisnava’s. 
LED Lighting