Tribute to Kadamba Kanana Maharaj
Hare Krishna dear friends,
Here is a beautiful tribute to Kadamba Kanana Maharaj by my dear friend Radhacaran Prabhu, who is now an initiating guru and preaching in China:
A Great Vaisnava has left this world today*, with so much inspiration and enough to keep us focused on service to Srila Prabhupada.
Maharaj was known all over the world for many things: his lectures, his kirtans, his preaching and his powered energy.
But let us also remember that he was the mastermind behind Srila Prabhupada samadhi. He was also behind the construction of Srila Prabhupada samadhi in Mayapur. He also risked his life to secure the land adjacent to the KB Mandir. But wait, there is more. He was the general manager for the KB Mandir in the 80s. BB Govinda Swami was the temple president and I was made the head cook. That was 1983.
When I took up my service, Kadamba Kanana Maharaj said, “Follow me.” We went to the top floor of the gurukula building. He gave me a set of keys to a room that was full with dozens of tins of 10kg pure ghee. “Use it wisely,” he said.
Kadamba Kanana Maharaj never missed a mangal arati and loved to sing Vibhavari Sesa. Did you know he spoke fluent Hindi?
You may recall how he always had his sleeves rolled up. He was always ready to get to work to make things happen. Basically, he never stopped. Thank you Maharaj.
I did not personally know Kadamba Kanana Maharaj, but last year at Rathayatra in New York, he walked by me, and I saw him, and I must have had such a sad face, knowing his condition, and he looked at me with a big smile, and said “Rukmini! Why the funeral face?!“
This great devotee, who walked in our midst, has shown us how to live, and how to leave this world in pure Krishna, consciousness, with a big smile!
May we all be blessed to realize and follow your example, dear respected Maharaj! You will be embraced by Lord Sri Krishna, when you arrive!
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
Dear Friends,
February 10th is the holy Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, the beloved guru of our beloved Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur was a lifelong celibate, first as a brahmacari, and then a sannyasi, a brilliant scholar and author, and known for his uncompromising devotion to speaking the truth, even among those who opposed him and even threatened his life. He was also amazingly progressive in his views on utilizing everything of the modern world in the service of the Lord.
In the following excerpt from his Harmonist newspaper, he expresses such progressive views on relationships between a husband and wife, in a spiritual relationship, which is called the grihastha ashram. The following article is entitled, “Relations Between the Sexes”.
“The cardinal principle of grihastha ashram is that no one may be the owner of any property or service of another. Everyone is only a servant whose activities are ever in service of the Lord. Similarly, the sole object of everyone’s service as the only master, only friend, only son, and only consort is Kṛṣṇa.
Marrying and giving in marriage do not give rise to any rights of a master either to the husband or to the wife. Men and women are joined in wedlock for the purpose of serving each other in the performance of the joint service of Kṛṣṇa. The wife is not an object of enjoyment of the husband, nor vice versa. They do not marry for gratifying their sexual appetites. They marry for pleasing the Lord, not for pleasing themselves.
They choose for their partners only such persons who serve God better than themselves. They offer themselves to be accepted by their partners for the favor of being allowed to share in their superior service of Hari. Neither the husband nor the wife should claim the services of his or her partner on their own account. Both of them are only to offer their services if and when their partner is pleased to permit them to share their service of Hari. None of them can force their partners to serve them…
The reason why the guru does not ordinarily ask any person to enter the state of wedlock is that it is very rare to find anyone in this world who is willing to regard his or her wife or husband as worthy of his or her unconditional services. This is, however, exactly the only relationship between husband and wife that alone can be sanctioned by the guru.”
Can we also strive to extend such unconditional loving service to each other, and all others we meet as we try to share the teachings of Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa through this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement?
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
Living in the Season: Fall
Here's a deep and sensitive meditation on living in the season of Fall. Written by my sister, Susan, who is a five-element acupuncturist (susanacupuncture.com), and her artist husband, George Mason (georgemasonart.com). "Can we struggle less with what is inevitable, and accept that there is a time to release and let ourselves fall, trusting, into the arms of the unknown?" ~All the best, Rukmini Walker
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Living in the Season: Fall
~by Susan Weiser Mason
Here in Damariscotta Mills, there have been a few big blows that have shaken down the deadwood, and the lawn is now strewn with kindling. I see muted colors melding all around me, creating a warm-toned blanket on the landscape of Fall. I admire the poise of this season as it goes about the task of letting go, squarely facing the inevitable, secure in the appropriateness of surrender.Sunlight angles more sharply and with great articulation. The architecture of trees is increasingly evident. In this season the fundamentals are revealed. What warmth remains is appreciated, in part because this could be the last gentle day before Winter sets in. We receive these final offerings with a degree of reverence distinct to this time of year.The harvest is in. Has there been one for you; real or metaphoric? Is the garden put to bed? Is the wood in? Are you ready?The season is patient but precise. Our intellect may wish to negotiate, to extend, but the Fall is not really negotiable. If it were there would be no renewal.It is easy to become rigid in this season, focusing on what’s been left undone, the many ways we are unprepared, and how the impending season is not secure. We may feel we have not put our house in order, and it is hard to let go. We may ache for the health of the planet and insist on remaining ever vigilant.Yet the wisdom of the in-flight attendant rings true; ‘Place the mask over your own face and then help place the mask over the face of your loved one’. We must care for ourselves if we are to care for those we love. The unattended tasks will not be resolved over the weekend. This is, after all, a marathon and not a sprint. Conserve for the work ahead. Prepare by taking into account the need for rest and renewal. The season’s message is to let go, and to trust that letting go is not giving up. We are part of the cycle of the seasons, and that includes the great shake down of Fall. And decline and stillness are the mothers of Spring.Think seasons, not news cycles. The brittle, anxious, fearful, ungrounded quality of the time can leave us vulnerable to manipulation. This cacophony lives alongside the steady flow of our rivers, the breathing of the tides, and the supple swaying of trees. The natural world is a prayer, and we belong to it. Our drama can obscure the reality of how the planet functions with a unitary wisdom.We are not exempt from natures logic or consequences. We are no different than the leaves that settle in a halo of warm-tones on the ground. The challenge for us is to follow the lead of the tree, noting how its leaves let go at the right time, effortlessly. Can we struggle less with what is inevitable and accept there is a time to release and let ourselves fall, trusting, into the arms of the unknown.
"This nothing is very much something”
~by Denise Mihalik
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Namaste Sound Friends!
I’m excited to be finishing my first book—and about learning to be a writer. It’s a completely different experience from all that I’ve already done. It’s immersive, vulnerable, fun and maddening. When my eyes, body and brain can take no more, I journey to the pond a few blocks away and immediately become mesmerized by the simple and profound ecosystem, both seen and unseen, beautiful and unsightly.
The tadpoles flutter to the surface for a quick nibble before returning to the shallow leafy murk, while the frogs’ wide eyes peek at the sun. The turtles float like a shadow, and the green backed heron, with its three young ones, learn how to fish.
Along the banks, two baby raccoons rustle the leaves while four ducklings hustle into the water, following their mother’s cue.
Located at an active intersection, I stand peering over the bridge, honoring the contrast of concrete and mud. For a few moments, I’m sucked into mother nature’s resilience, and the traffic disappears into the background.
It’s a very special pause and one that fills me with freshness.
The mind, however, is a funny thing. Often, one of my mental characters awakens and scoffs, “Enough, you’re wasting precious time just standing here doing nothing. Go do something productive.”
I almost succumb to the pressure until something deep within responds, “This nothing is very much something.”
Now, more than ever, with continued mounting world stress, taking pause is needed.
In this pause, we can catch our breath.We can notice, see and appreciate the precious gift of living that for some is over way too soon. We can find the clarity to move forward in an inspired and informed presence.In this nourished pause, we can discover how to truly help others.
“This nothing is very much something.”
Please let me know how you like to take pause, and have a nourished weekend
With gratitude, love and Light,Denise
Why Does There Have To Be Violence?
~by Rukmini Walker
The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart. ~Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Why does there have to be violence? Why do there have to be bullies on my child’s playground? Why do people cheat on their wives or husbands? Why do leaders invade the borders of other countries? Why does there have to be war? Why does evil exist in the world?In this earthly sphere, this nether world between heaven and hell, we choose our direction, by our own free will.We have freedom, but freedom bears responsibilities as well. Each moment we choose to lean in, toward doing the righteous thing, toward goodness, toward dharma; or we choose to lean out in the ways against dharma, or right action- manipulating or massaging our own greed or ego or self aggrandizement.
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.This is the in-between world where we have a chance to transform, and reform our consciousness and our hearts. But that can never be forced. Some choose to love God, and to love others as themselves; others choose the degradation of hate.If we want to live in a world without violence, then we have to seek, and help others seek that transformation of the heart. Being ever cautious not to encroach, taking more than my share.As Isopanisad advises us, “… knowing well to Whom all things belong.”Living in the simplicity of righteous dharma, or right action, offering each of my actions to Krsna, or the Divine by any name, helps us learn step by step how to one day transfer beyond this world to the eternal world of selfless loving exchanges.
My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there… ~Rumi
On this Nrsimha Caturdasi, we can each try to emulate and follow the path of the simple, faithful child saint, Prahlada Maharaj. Or we can ignore that higher dictation and succumb to the path of anger and greed following his wayward father, Hiranyakasipu.Why does there have to be violence? It depends which way we lean, which way we choose, each day, each moment.----
All the best,Rukmini Walker
Beyond Duality
All the best,Rukmini Walker
To listen to an audio recording of Sudharma devi dasi's piece, Beyond Duality,
please click on the play button below:
[audio mp3="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Beyond-Duality-A-Deeper-View-to-Life.mp3"][/audio]
On Ice
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Click below to hear the audio version of this musing.
**To view a special video compilation of the musing, please scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the video image to watch!
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Under the changing winter sky, ice and snow cover the ground today. Colder at night, all things contracting in the darkness.
Then, during the daytime, the sun shines to expand to crack and melt the ice.
Isn’t this the way nature works? A little opening, and then contraction going inside to gain strength. And then again, a little opening to try, to trust once again.
Always, but especially in winter. Intentions like seeds, rooting deeper, penetrating unseen under the surface. My aloneness, going within, then later feeds my connections with others. Like giving birth a contraction, going deeper, and then- an expansion to manifest something new, something never seen before.
“Practicing attentive self-awareness, we may start to see that there is life in a planted seed working hard under the soil. And we may notice that the trees less likely to break are those that are able to sway with the wind. We may discern that the easy path isn’t always the right path. And everyone and everything can become our teacher. Children and strangers teach us. Animals teach us. When we are truly awake, even an ordinary moment teaches us something.” Joanne Cacciatore
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B89ehpsnejI[/embed]
Welcoming the Cycles of Life
Below is a beautiful and inspiring reflection by Dhayana Masala to ring in the new year. May it also be an inspiration for setting your own intentions. All the best, Rukmini Walker
I truly believe that what will ultimately satisfy us is a deeper connection to our Self (+ our Source). I can spend so much time and so much energy trying to fill a void or "become" someone. I can cultivate so many things and make so much money, spending so much time focusing my attention out there, thinking that once it's all a certain way then I can relax; then I'll be successful; then I'll be beautiful, worthy, okay.
I spend so much time trying to fix, change and alter the world outside of me that I forget that if I don't feel worthy, nothing outside of me will make me feel worthy. If I don't feel beautiful, connected, lovable... nothing outside of me will affirm these things. If I don't feel anchored into a part of me that knows how to trust, feel, love and believe - then I am hardly living at all.
If I get stuck in the idea that if I don't do, nothing will happen... I have forgotten that there is a Source much greater than myself that I can be fully and wholly held by - that is orchestrating a life for me beyond my wildest dreams. If I can let go of my need to control and micro-manage my life, I can surrender to a much greater force that is always there in the background, guiding me. I can actually trust. And I can actually listen.
I remember that the real work is always within -
- in anchoring into a part of myself that is steady, as the world around me inevitably changes.
- in remembering to remember: to take the time to actually slow down enough to listen. To quiet my thoughts. To know who I really am, beyond my mind, my roles and my position.
- to know my innate worthiness and innate value, because I am a spark of His splendor, and here with a divine purpose that I will only touch if I am present enough to actually be in my life.
I want to stop missing it.
Stop missing my life because I'm trying to fix, change or control it.
And that's my intention for the year.
First, letting go.
And then we'll see what life asks of me.
I am open.
Sending all of my love.
Dhyana
Dhyana Masla was born to a family of Bhakti Yoga practitioners, with the practices and teachings of Ayurveda weaved seamlessly throughout her life. Growing up around her father's retreat center, she was trained in all of the healing modalities that he offers, and witnessed, first hand, the profound healing that happens when the principles of Ayurveda are applied in one’s daily life.
She received her degree in Yoga & Psychology at Naropa University, and in 2011, along with her sister and father, founded YogaVeda; the Yoga Alliance certified school for uniting the philosophy, lifestyle, and sciences of Yoga & Ayurveda.
She is the author of Ayurveda Mama and an Ayurveda Health Counselor and educator, specialized in guiding groups and individuals on transformative and healing journeys. Through her Yoga and Ayurveda trainings, she empowers countless individuals to become healers in their own homes and to live a life of real meaning.
You can follow Dhyana on her website www.thesisterscience.com and on Instagram @dhyana.Masla
November Feelings
My favorite month of the year (not just because I’m a Scorpio) but because of the “in between” space it represents for me.The holiday season comes and with it - excitement and exhaustion. The year is nearly over - but there’s still a little more surprise left for me. There is longing in the air and a space to feel grief - but also romance and love. I seek comfort but also wisdom through the lessons of the trees.It’s a month of depth. It’s also a month of chaos and festivities (and birthdays!). It’s a not-quite-the-end of the year that fills me with eager anticipation to enter a new chapter and also the strong desire to savor every last day of this year.What about you? What feelings does November bring you?
This Little Light of Mine, This Little Life of Mine
**To listen to the audio version of this piece, please click on the "play" button below:
[audio m4a="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/This-Little-Light-of-Mine-This-Little-Life-of-Mine.m4a"][/audio]
~by Rukmini Walker
This year as we joyfully approach Diwali, the beautiful festival of lights that ushers in the New Year for Hindus and other friends, perhaps we can pause to reflect.In this world, every light has its shadow. Sometimes the light, the voice, or the face of minorities in our countries are not seen or heard as we celebrate our joy, our abundance, or our safety and security in our various nations.In the past few days, minority Hindus in Bangladesh have been attacked and killed, and their temples and Deities have been destroyed.In countries where one religious community or another, is in the majority, we often turn a blind eye when minorities in our countries are maligned, persecuted or harmed in various ways. Yet Lord Krsna Himself says in Bhagavad Gita that He is the seed-giving father of all species of life, and that our births in this world have been made possible by His grace, and by His will. (BG 14.4)Where is my right to harm, or look the other way when one of these beloved living beings is harmed? However different they may be from me, still their lives and their existence is sacred to the One Who is the origin of us all.God is said to have a “still small voice” that is difficult for ordinary people like us to hear or to discern. Yet we know from every scripture of the world that His grace and compassion is available for anyone who turns toward Him in devotion.Minorities in our world also have voices that often go unheard, and faces that are so often unseen.This Diwali and on into the new year, can we not shine our lights a little more boldly? Can we honor others who believe differently than we do? Can we open our hearts to see those unseen faces and hear those unheard voices?In 1946, the German Pastor Martin Neimoller, after the seeing the horrors of the Nazis, wrote:First they came for the CommunistsAnd I did not speak outBecause I was not a Communist.Then they came for the SocialistsAnd I did not speak outBecause I was not a Socialist.Then they came for the trade unionistsAnd I did not speak outBecause I was not a trade unionist.Then they came for the JewsAnd I did not speak outBecause I was not a Jew.Then they came for meAnd there was no one leftTo speak out for me.Wishing a very Happy Diwali to all!Rukmini Walker
One Who Completely Controls the Six Bad Qualities
In honor of Srila Prabhupada's disappearance day on Sunday, November 7, 2021.
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~by Rukmini Walker
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Srila Prabhupada as Vijita-Sad-Guna
One Who Completely Controls the Six Bad Qualities
Srila Prabhupada in his pastimes and dealings with every strata of person in the many cultures he visited, exhibited the most exemplary divine qualities. His life was fully engaged in the service of his beloved Lord Sri Krsna. Sometimes though, his dealings were also misunderstood.The six bad qualities are described as: lust (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), illusion (moha), madness (mada), and envy (matsarya).The process of bhakti, as taught by Srila Prabhupada, and those great teachers who came before him in disciplic succession, is the process of transforming lust into love. Iron and gold are both metals, but iron is a base metal, whereas gold is precious, a noble metal. The transformative practice of bhakti is a mystical alchemical process. By redirecting our base iron-like desires to gratify our own senses by seeking to please the senses of Krsna, those same material senses become uplifted and sanctified as spiritual senses. Krsna, Who is known as Hrishikesh, is the actual Lord and owner of our senses. By redirecting our intentions and our actions, we can gradually transform our lust into pure love, as the mystics sought to turn iron into gold.How did Srila Prabhupada exhibit this alchemical transformation? Once he was asked if he could show some miracle. He responded by gesturing toward his Western disciples who were sitting in the room near him. He said, “These are my miracles!” He explained that our hearts, our actions, and the goals of our lives had been transformed from material addictions and pursuits (lust, or kama) to the goal of trying to love and please Krsna (love, or prema). By his association, by hearing from, and serving such a rare and pure devotee of the Lord, the desires of our hearts were mystically being transformed from iron into gold, from lust into love. Regarding anger, Hanuman, the perfect exemplar of service to Lord Sri Ram, perfectly deployed his anger in service to his beloved Lord. Hanuman lit the entire city of Lanka on fire in order to chastise the evil king Ravana for abducting Sita Devi, the divine consort and wife of Lord Sri Rama.On the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, Lord Sri Krsna spoke the seven hundred verses of Bhagavad Gita to incite his dear friend, Arjuna, to fight. Arjuna used his anger against those who were inimical to the divine plan of the Lord, that the righteous Yudhisthira be enthroned as king.Srila Prabhupada also occasionally exhibited the righteous use of anger. That is, anger engaged in the service of the Lord. Often this was misunderstood. During the time before Partition, when Gandhi was working for India’s independence from British rule, he regularly held prayer meetings in the evenings. A popular Hindi bhajan called, Vaisnava Janatho was often sung to close those meetings. After the assassination of Gandhi, this bhajan became all the more famous as it regularly played on the radios throughout India. It begins with the beautiful phrase: “One who is a Vaisnava knows the pain of others…” And closes with the words, “…a Vaisnava has renounced lust and all types of anger.”Because this bhajan was so well known to Hindi-speaking audiences, sometimes in India, people became alarmed when Srila Prabhupada occasionally exhibited appropriate anger. Anger can sometimes be deployed by someone in pure consciousness when an offense is committed to the Lord or His devotees, as was exhibited by both Hanuman and Arjuna, in their service to the Lord. When someone would expound a cheating philosophy, or behavior, or speak to deny the transcendental nature of the Lord, Srila Prabhupada could become like Hanuman’s fire that ravaged the city of Lanka.One night at a pandal festival in Mumbai, the kirtan had ascended to an ecstatic pitch. The devotees on the stage were all chanting, dancing, and jumping high in the air. On the following night, one of the organizers, a man standing at the front of the stage was trying to reproduce the previous night’s ecstatic mood by grabbing the feet of the ladies on the stage to force them to jump.Srila Prabhupada swooped down like a lion, deploying his kartals like a chakra to keep the man from grabbing the feet of the women disciples.Srila Prabhupada had not become a victim of his anger, nor was he being controlled by anger, as was misunderstood by those who don’t know the heart of a pure Vaisnava. Rather, he expertly mobilized his anger as an astra, a weapon for protecting his women disciples and teaching us all.Selfish greed, or lobha, for material things must be rejected, in addition to greed of the mind for prestige or position. But intense greed to acquire the treasures of bhakti is the actual price for attaining it. Srila Rupa Goswami has instructed us that if Krsna consciousness is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay. Srila Prabhupada took tremendous risks to share Krsna consciousness with the world, at great personal sacrifice and inconvenience. He could spend any amount of money for the glorification of Krsna, but he would not tolerate a single farthing being wasted. He did not remain in Vrndavan, he did not stop at the border of India. He wanted to offer all the people of the world to the lotus feet of his beloved Lord Sri Krsna. One could say that this is the perfect transformation of greed. Illusion (moha) and madness (mada) must be given up by one on the spiritual path. But sometimes a great mahabhagavat devotee like Srila Prabhupada becomes overwhelmed by spiritual emotions that he is unable to check. Out of deep humility, a realized devotee tries to never exhibit his internal ecstasies. But sometimes…
“…As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly or cries or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion.” (SB 11.2.40)
Sometimes Srila Prabhupada would dance, to the delight of all those present, sometimes he would be overwhelmed with tears, or his voice would choke up so he was unable to continue speaking. Once, at the temple in Brooklyn, New York, after gazing at the Deities of Sri Sri Radha Govindaji, as he began to bow before Them, I (as the pujari standing near him) saw tears shoot out of his eyes, like a syringe bathing the congregation on the other side of the room.Envy (matsarya) causes a person to be unhappy to see others’ good fortune, and to be happy to see others’ failure. Sisupala approached Krsna in envy, but his contact with Krsna purified him. As we try to approach Krsna ourselves, it’s best to not emulate his poisonous mentality.Srila Prabhupada engaged people of every color, on every continent, from every community in serving Krsna together. The deeply realized equal vision he exemplified and taught us is the best antidote for the disease of envy in the heart.Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur prays in his Saranagati to the Vaisnava Thakura, like Srila Prabhupada:O Vaisnava Thakura, O ocean of mercy, be merciful to me, your servant, and purify me by the shade of your lotus feet. Please teach me to control these six bad qualities. I beg you, please be merciful, and with a particle of faith, give me the great treasure of the holy name of Krsna!
A Night in the Museum
Krishna Kshetra Swami (16-08-21)
(an ekphrastic piece)
All visitors—the curious, the would-be art critics, the kids on school assignments—all have left the art museum. It’s closing time. Lights are out, doors are locked and the last watchman has left for home. The high and wide walls of precious paintings and ponderous tapestries are silent, their populations of battling warriors, primly posing princesses, sorry sailors on sinking ships, plump nude beauties, still-lifes of rotting pomegranates and abstractions of no-thing-in-particular have all turned inward to themselves, resigned to their brush-stroked and framedor meticulously woven nocturnal destinies. All rooms are dark, except one. From where this light shines forth? Over here, on this side? Yes, I might have known! Krishna, baby Krishna, is that you being your self-luminous playful kid-self again? Is this your brilliant bluish raincloud complexion lighting up my vision of you? Is that reassuring light flashing across the framed vestibule the full moon just prior to your servant Indra’s bringing on his stormful clouds? Well well! It’s a grand show you have in the making, but no one’s awake to see:The nameless guards slumped in drunken stupor are as good as dead, and it’s good they’re so, aiding your play,for you are fully alive, fresh-born and faultless, bouncing merrily out in your father’s confident armsas you show him the way out, eager to meet your beloved Yamuna. But what’s the story with this gigantic multi-headed serpent? He must be a key player in your fun. Does Vasudeva know he’s there? Vasudeva, whatever you do, don’t turn around! Just keep walking swiftly…swiftly, but oh, so softly! Don’t wake that little tiger (the guard’s pet cat?), and for God’s sake (for Krishna’s sake!) don’t trip over that guard’s left foot! Fresh-born Krishna, you know perfectly well where you are going, and you know the best way how to get there. You also know just how to inspire an artist to paint your clever escapade, giving him those mysterious skills of eye and hand to turn paint into magic emerging from his heart. So it’s no surprise: you know how to give me the eyes to see you in his painting, and how to make the museum watchmen absent-minded enough to leave me here, just to have your undisturbed darshan in complete silence (careful not to trip the museum’s alarm system). But did your artist know that you would end up confined here in this museum, even as he painted your great prison break? And did you tip him off that I would be captured by your carefree countenance, as Vasudeva cradles you in his strong arms? The museum guards returning routinely tomorrow morning, turning on the lights and finding me here will demand, in anxious tones, to know my means of access, my purpose,my identity. I will smile at them in reply and gesture toward you, baby Krishna; and as they look over to you, you—this little blue bundle of sat-cit-ānanda in Vasudeva’s arms guarded by the Unlimited Remainder (Ananta Śeṣa)—will bless them. Or will you be already gone by then, hastening to meet your friends in Vrindavan?
Choice
~by Rukmini Walker
To listen to an audio recording of this blog, please click here or on the play button in the image below.
"The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny." -Heraclitus
Every moment I make a choice: How will I respond to this moment, to this circumstance? Can I choose to contemplate: what is the highest good for myself and all concerned in this situation? Do I choose despair, fear, judgement or my own attempts to manipulate or control, instead of deep listening and leaning in to grace? In the past days, weeks, months and year there’s been immense suffering on so many fronts. Yet we are eternal souls on a temporal sojourn here in this world. All is meant to teach us. All things are a test of how we choose to respond.The poet, John O’Donohue says:As the air intensifies the hunger of fire,May the thought of death,Breathe new urgencyInto our love of life.We are all interconnected, we are all beloved souls coming from the same divine Source. What will be my choice? How will I respond to your suffering, or my own? With the mentality of a victim, or the mentality of a compassionate co-creator of an awakened and uplifted world?What is my choice at this very moment?All the best,Rukmini Walker [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcxKoUrQ54s[/embed]
Wealth or Poverty?
~by Rukmini Walker
**To watch or listen to the video recording of this reading, please click on this link: or on the image below.**
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When we think of wealth and poverty so much seems to hinge on whether we live in a mentality of scarcity; or a consciousness of abundance, that there is enough in the world for everyone.Gandhi once said that the world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed. It seems so true… But why is that? Why does that seem to resonate as true?Is there some kind of Super Consciousness out there that is (or perhaps, Who is…) keeping track? Or calculating whether I’m consuming too much energy, taking up too much space, hoarding possessions or property, or perhaps even eating too much ice cream? Does it really matter? If I come by what I have honestly, if I’m not stealing the possessions I’ve acquired, if I’m not harming anyone by enjoying the things I have, does it really matter if I live in a bigger house than someone else, or drive a more expensive car, or take lavish holidays, or eat what I please?There’s another saying that’s often attributed to Gandhi, but was actually spoken by an American woman saint named St. Elizabeth Seton. She said that we should live simply, so that others may simply live.There seems to be a resonance between those who try to face inward both from the East and the West.Those who try to live a more conscious life, feel an interconnectivity, and connection between our individual lives and the lives of others in the world. Is it possible to create more universal harmony by our conscious proactive efforts to take less, and give more? Can we even gain some innate satisfaction by just trying to live more simply in gratitude, and endeavoring to live with less greed and accumulation?We read so much about the earth’s ecological imbalance due to too much drilling of oil, irresponsible water use and over-production by various industries. We’ve seen during this Covid pandemic that when factories shut down for some time, the air quality in polluted cities became clear for awhile, and previously unseen wildlife and plant life began to roam freely and grow lavishly once again just by a slight reduction of our human footprint. If we again turn east and look toward the ancient wisdom of the Upanisads, we can hear a voice that sounds amazingly prescient to us in our lives right now. Sri Isopanisad speaks this holistic harmonious wisdom in its Mantra One:
"Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for oneself, which are set aside as one’s quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong."
Who is the real owner and controller of all things? If I come here empty-handed and leave empty-handed, is there someone or something greater than me who possessed all things before I arrived on the scene and for all eternity?During the height of the pandemic, I read a story written by a Portuguese woman who had tragically lost her father to Covid. She wrote about how her father had been a billionaire and had immense wealth in the bank. But as he was dying, and gasping for air, which is free to everyone everywhere. His billions in the bank could not save him… Can any of us purchase a few more moments of life, or a few more breaths of oxygen with the money we have in the bank? Sri Isopanisad asks us to redirect our consciousness and our energy toward a life of simplicity and gratitude. In fact, if I take more than I need, without recognizing the true owner of a thing, is it really mine to use or misuse as I please? Who is the true owner of the earth, the water, and all things of this world before I arrived here, and after I’m gone?All the best,Rukmini Walker[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b4Q4pKmQM4[/embed]
Cicadas
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~by Rukmini Walker
“For everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1
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I live in suburban Washington, DC. Every seventeen years in this area, around this time, a cousin of the cricket, called a cicada, emerges from below the ground by the billions.
About two inches long, they have black and green bodies, orange veins on their wings, red bulging eyes, and six legs. Above ground, they live for only a few weeks. They mate and then die. An organ on their bodies allows them to amplify the noise they make. Their collective sound can be so deafening, that if you stand near them for some time, it can damage your eardrums. If there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven, what is the purpose of a creature like a cicada? In the rhythm and harmony of all existence, they prune the trees, aerate the soil, and once they die, their bodies are a source of nitrogen for growing trees. But really, they are a mystery.And what is my purpose? Is it also a mystery? Am I meant to live and die with little purpose like an insect?My time here is also finite. Now that I’ve surfaced in this awakened human form, can I offer my finite time, my finite love to align with the infinite? Can I align with that beloved Supreme Person, Lord Sri Krsna, Who is the source of all creatures great and small?All the best,Rukmini Walker
Nrsimha Caturdasi
~by Rukmini Walker
5.25.2021
Today is the holy Appearance Day of the unprecedented, fearsome half-man, half-lion form of Lord Nrsimhadev. His appearance was frightening to every living being in the universe, including the great sages and demigods on higher planets.The only one person who was not afraid was the child saint, Prahlada Maharaj, for whom the Lord had appeared. The father of Prahlada Maharaj had been tormenting him, trying to kill him in so many ways. Until finally, that evil father was killed by the sharp nails of Lord Nrisimhadeva. You can read this great history in the seventh canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. But in the fifth canto, there are two powerful prayers spoken by Prahlada Maharaj. For your celebration of this holy day, here are those prayers for you:I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nrsimhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demon-like desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Sri Krsna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him. (Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.8,9)A very happy Nrsimha Caturdasi to you!All the best,Rukmini Walker
Be Good - and Shrewd
In honor of Ram Navami, the Appearance Day of Lord Ram, which is Wednesday. Here is a beautiful tribute to His beloved eternal consort, Sitadevi. All the best, Rukmini Walker
~by Chaitanya Charana Dasa
Few things cause us as much agony as when our good intentions backfire on us. When we try to do something good for someone but that very person exploits our goodness and hurts us, we feel betrayed, enraged, shattered.Such was the situation that led to the abduction of Sita Devi. While she was living in a forest cottage with Lord Ramachandra and His brother Lakshmana, she became the victim of a conspiracy hatched by the demon-king Ravana. With the aid of the shape-changing wizard Marica, Ravana had Sita’s two protectors sidetracked. Then he approached her in a garb that would lower her guard: the garb of a sadhu. By asking Sita for alms in that garb, he cynically exploited her service attitude and her respect for sages.When Sita saw a sage asking for alms, she folded her hands in respect and said, “O venerable one, please take a seat on this log. My husband will soon return and offer you food.”Ravana replied, “O fair lady, I am hungry. Please give me whatever alms you have right away.”Sita had been warned by Lakshmana, “Don’t go out of this protective circle I am drawing around the cottage.”He had infused the circle with mystical power so that anyone who tried to step over it would be burnt.Remembering Lakshmana’s words, Sita said, “O sage, I can’t come out of this circle. Please wait.”Impatient Ravana tried to step over the circle and was immediately scalded by flames. Stepping back in alarm, he paused and decided to exploit Sita’s tender sensibilities.“Will you let a sage die of hunger? If you don’t step out and serve me some food, I’ll leave, and you will have offended a sage. Do you want to do that?”In traditional dharmic cultures, offending a sage was among the worst things one could do; it could lead to severe reactions. Virtuous people were trained to respect sages and avoid offending them at all costs. Naturally, Sita became apprehensive on hearing the sage’s words. Thinking, “I can’t become the cause of Rama’s having to suffer the reactions of offending a sage,” she stepped across the protective circle. And Ravana pounced on her and abducted her.Ravana played ugly. Suppose two boxers are engaged in a boxing match. If one of them plays according to the rules and the other plays loose with the rules, then the rule-abiding nature of the first boxer makes him vulnerable to his opponents’ dirty tricks. A referee is meant to catch anyone who breaks the rules. And in the game of life, the law of karma acts as a referee, giving everyone their due, but often karma gives people their due in its own time. In the meantime, we might suffer at the hands of unprincipled opponents if they are manipulative and we are naive. If a player is known to be unprincipled and cunningly cheats behind the referee’s back, then the opponent needs to carefully guard against such tricks.And what makes us especially vulnerable to such manipulation is our vices. If we have vices such as lust or greed, we can be easily manipulated by those who promise to gratify our base desires. We are all fighting a war against the forces of illusion, which try to delude, degrade, and destroy us. In this war our vices are like enemy strongholds inside our consciousness. If we don’t want to be sabotaged from within, we need to be cautious about not pandering to our vices. Fostering such cautiousness, the Vedic literature contains many directives and narratives about how dangerous even a minor pandering to vices can be.But what we often overlook is that we may be vulnerable because of our virtues too. When we act virtuously, we usually expect to be appreciated, not manipulated. Even if we are not ego-driven, we expect that our good actions will produce good results for us and for others. But the world is a cruel place – it can take advantage of our goodness. It is good if we are charitable, but if we give charity indiscriminately, then people may exploit us by milking us for money. We may end up poor, with our wealth being exploited and abused by those who abused our charitable nature.Therefore we need to be on guard not just when dealing with our vices, but also when dealing with our virtues.
When Good Intentions Are Not Good Enough
Sita’s virtue that made her vulnerable was her uncritical service attitude, a desire to serve not regulated by caution. To understand how something as noble as a desire to serve can backfire, let’s consider a medical metaphor.Suppose a doctor is treating patients in an epidemic area. She may have the best of intentions to treat the patients, but if she gets infected, then she can’t help anyone. In fact, care-givers who could have helped the patients will have to spend their time and energy in caring for the doctor. Lack of caution on the doctor’s part ends up reducing a giver of help to a needer of help. No matter how urgent the patients’ needs are, the doctor must first get the necessary protection such as vaccines or masks. A doctor who doesn’t temper compassion with caution won’t be able to show any compassion in the future.Similar was Sita’s situation. Her service attitude was laudable. Still, it was important for her to remember that she was alone in a dangerous forest, and that danger could come from the most unexpected of places. Not so long ago, she had the experience of danger coming from unexpected places. While she and Lord Rama had been in the seeming safety and prosperity of Ayodhya, Rama’s stepmother Kaikeyi had suddenly turned inimical and had them exiled. In the light of that experience and in the context of her present vulnerable situation in the forest, for her to step over the protective circle was inadvisable, even if it was for serving a sage.Of course, the point here is not to blame Sita. “Victim blaming” is reprehensible. Those who exploit and abuse others need to be condemned and punished in the strongest possible way. And Rama did just that by ending Ravana’s reign and life. Sita’s abduction was because of Ravana’s viciousness and deviousness.Simultaneously and regrettably, the world will always have vicious and devious people. Law enforcers need to regulate and, when necessary, even eliminate such evil elements. Still, some other people will become evil. Evil people can’t be entirely eradicated from society; that’s why virtuous people need to be cautious.For example, the police have the duty to prevent robbery. But some people will still be looking for an opportunity to rob. A wealthy man walking along a lonely, dark street with a lot of currency notes bulging out of his pocket is likely to be mugged. Suppose he is on that dark street on a mission of compassion – say, to give money in charity for the treatment of a poor person on the verge of death. Still, a mission of compassion doesn’t alter the disposition of those without compassion. Robbers will still rob. And when that charitable person is robbed, the culpability lies with the robbers. The police need to catch the robbers, punish them, and recover the money. Simultaneously, the police would advise the kindhearted man to not walk again on that street with so much money showing so visibly.The point to learn from Sita’s abduction is that just being good is not good enough; we need to be good and shrewd. Here I use “shrewd” in its positive sense of having a clever awareness or resourcefulness, especially in practical matters, not in its negative sense of being disposed to artful and cunning practices. If we aren’t shrewd enough to make sound judgments, good actions can lead to bad results.When we learn to complement good engagement with good judgment, our good intentions are more likely to be translated into good results.
Developing Good Judgment by Respecting Boundaries
When Sita was abducted, multiple factors contributed to that tragedy: Ravana’s conspiracy to send Marica in the form of a deer, thereby getting Rama out of the picture; the confrontation between Sita and Lakshmana, which resulted in Lakshmana’s departing to aid Rama, leaving Sita defenseless; Ravana’s assumption of the garb of a holy man; and Sita’s stepping over the protective circle.Among these factors, Sita’s stepping over was the tipping point. Again, the aim here is not to blame her, but to understand what we can do to prevent unnecessary problems in our life. There is enough unavoidable trouble in life; if we can ensure that we don’t compound it with avoidable trouble, we can go through our life with less trauma and tragedy.We can compare the protective circle drawn around the hermitage to the regulatory guidelines given in scripture. Lakshmana can be compared to the guru who provides us scriptural guidelines that can best protect us. Sita can be compared to the soul prone to be overpowered by demonic forces, represented by Ravana. If we respect the boundaries that are meant to protect us, we are more likely to be safe.While danger exists everywhere in the world, it is more in some places than others. Consider walking on a road. On the footpath we may be hit by a drunk driver, but if we are walking in the middle of the road without considering the vehicles, we are much more likely to be hit. The traffic rules that regulate walking on the streets are meant to protect us. If we respect the rules meant to protect us, we stay protected. The same applies to ethical and spiritual guidelines. Indeed, this is the mood of a celebrated aphorism from the Mahabharata: dharmo rakshati rakshitah, “Those who protect dharma are protected by dharma.” Echoing this theme, Lord Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita (16.24) that if we mold our lives according to the guidance of scripture, we can create a better future for ourselves.Apart from the standard ethical and spiritual guidelines given in scripture, we can consider what boundaries we require, given our particular vulnerabilities. First we need to recognize the need for boundaries, then we need to construct them, and then we need to respect them. For example, an essential boundary for a recovering alcoholic would be “Don’t go to a bar, and don’t keep alcohol readily accessible.”Boundaries to avoid bad things are easy to understand, but boundaries in doing good things require more contemplation to understand. For example, suppose we are euphoric and promise something to someone. Our euphoria may cloud our judgment and make us do things we later regret. That’s what happened to Dasharatha when in the joy of Rama’s upcoming coronation, he promised Kaikeyi that he would fulfill any desire she had. When she asked that Rama be exiled and her son, Bharata, be installed instead, Dasharatha was left shocked and shattered.Ultimately, boundaries are most effective not when they restrict, but when they connect. Put another way, we can best stay within boundaries when we find something so relishable inside the boundaries that we no longer crave what lies outside them. And if the boundaries help us connect more with what lies inside them, that’s even better. If a couple is happily married, then the boundaries of marriage help them connect better with each other and don’t seem restrictive.The same principle applies to our eternal bond as souls with the supreme soul. Various ethical and spiritual guidelines are ultimately meant to help us become better connected with the Lord. As He is the source of all pleasure, connecting with Him devotionally enables us to access the supreme pleasure. When we thus find inner fulfillment in our connection with the Lord, we don’t feel inclined to transgress any protective boundaries, for we no longer crave the things that lie outside them.
- From Back to Godhead March/April 2021
Chaitanya Charana Dasa is a disciple of His Holiness Radhanath Swami. He holds a degree in electronic and telecommunications engineering and serves full time at ISKCON Mumbai. He is the author of twenty-two books. To read his other articles or to receive his daily reflection on the Bhagavad-gita, "Gita-daily," visit thespiritualscientist.com.
The Mystery of Forgetfulness
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~by Rukmini Walker
"Love is who you are. When you don’t live according to love, you are outside of being. You’re not being real. When you love, you are acting according to your deepest being, your deepest truth. You are operating according to your dignity." --Fr Richard Rohr
How is it possible to forget the One we love the most? How could an all-loving Lord allow us to slip into the dangerous clutches of forgetfulness in material life?If love is the most powerful force in existence, where is mercy, if I can fall into such a remorse of illusion?But love must be freely given, otherwise how is it love?Our only freedom, really, is our freedom to desire - do I desire to remember the Supreme Object of all love? Or would I prefer to forget, keeping my own body and mind as an illusory center of this world, as though all things rotate around little me?Such a mystery… How could such a tiny thing as my desire to forget, set into motion such a complete shift in my existence and fall from grace?Because of my indifference to the Supreme Being, I’ve become covered by an illusion that I am the Master, and center of existence.But when we begin to pray to the Lord, in the mood that, “Please accept me, I am Yours”, then the merciful Lord begins to remove the curtain of our forgetfulness. Our amnesia begins to dissipate, and we begin to regain the memory of our true selves as His servants, friends, or lovers.All the best,Rukmini Walker
Deep Listening
~by Rukmini Walker
click here to listen to the audio version of this blog spoken by Rukmini
[audio m4a="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/9711-Skyhill-Way-4.m4a"][/audio][perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] Listen twice. Listen to what’s been said. Then listen again to what has not been said. -- Sacinandana Swami [/perfectpullquote]In the Springtime, it seems as though all life has come alive again, after the long sleep of Winter. The birds are chirping, and the fragrance of the awakening earth is everywhere. “I am the original fragrance of the earth…”, (Lord Krsna says in Bhagavad Gita 7.9)Here in the Washington DC area, new colors appear each day in Spring, as yellow forsythia, white flowering pears and cherry trees of different hues of pink and red once again explode in their annual cycle of beauty. Again, in Bhagavad Gita, Krsna says “…of seasons I am the flower-bearing Spring.” (Bhagavad Gita 10.35) His presence can be seen in the best of all things, in the best of all seasons.In his translation of the love poems of Mirabai, the scholar Andrew Schelling observes that the cry of the heart, “Where is my beloved?” is the wildest, most innate question of every living being.The birds, the animals, we humans- we look for food each day, we look for shelter, we fear, but ultimately, we look for love. It’s said that we will hear Krsna in His holy name before we see Him. In His name, in the words of those who know and love Him, and in the dictation our hearts, guiding us to take each next step toward Him. There are three kinds of deep listening- listening to our Source, listening to sadhus, and listening to our own inner selves, our own inner voice.I am not very adept at listening. But I am trying to enter into a practice of deep listening. Trying to listen deeply to others in my life, to my own inner voice, and to Krsna in His holy name. Can I become present to each syllable of Krsna’s holy name? That, “I welcome You. I am here to receive You. I chant Your name for Your pleasure.”What are the greatest gifts we can give a beloved person? Our attention, our affection, our appreciation, our affirmation, and our allowing them to be fully present in their own true selves.Deep listening is a rumbling of thunder, a cry of the heart, “Where is my beloved?”All the best,Rukmini Walker
The Scientist and the Saint
~by Jagattarini Devi Dasi
They met one day in 1973. The scientist was interested in nature and the joy of discovery while the saint wanted to inform him that there was something far more important to discover.There was a young girl in the group who attended my talk last night on this topic. She was, self composed, calm and serious. She'd come with her mother clearly a thoughtful person like herself. After the talk, Holly, herself a scientist, wanted to speak with meThe saint, who spoke to the scientist so many years before had criticized him for his study of grass telling him that grass grew unaided without his help, and so he was wasting time with his study.Now sitting before me Holly, wanted to politely object to this perspective."Studying grass can be useful in so many ways."As we spoke I reminded her of the final wise words of the saint. He said.It is far more important to study yourself. This is real study, and it is deeply urgent.On this point we fully agreed. Yet real self-study goes beyond yoga, therapy, psychology, biology....The saint's vision was far more penetrating than that. He spoke of the eternal being who occupies a body, who is self forgotten in our busy daily active life.The self who is beyond both the outer physical covering or even thoughts.Without self knowledge it is true that all our external studies and degrees and Nobel prizes pertain to different aspects of matter while the spiritual self is not considered.Just to make the point very very clear, at the end the saint provided an example for the scientist of a man who jumps into the river to save a drowning man and swims back to shore grasping only his shirt and coat thinking he has saved him when factually he left the man to drown.How profound.Holly and I sat looking at each other and agreed. The saint was correct. Without understanding ourselves perhaps all our studies are actually a waste of time?Simple point, yet deeply profound.
Jagattarini Devi Dasi joined ISKCON in 1970 when she traveled to Los Angeles and met Srila Prabhupada. She had been a well known actress and had been in a movie with Mick Jagger. After meeting Srila Prabhupada there, she gave up her lucrative acting career and decided to dedicate her life in service of the mission of her guru. In 1970, she and her husband, Bhurijan Prabhu opened a temple in Hong Kong. Later, at the Gita Nagari Farm in Pennsylvania, US, she used her talents to create puppet shows, which were produced on ISKCON Television. She and her husband later served at the Bhaktivedanta Gurukula in Vrndavan, India where she studied the culture of the district of Vraj, or Vrndavan. Since 1996, they have lived in her native home of Perth, Australia. In 1998, she began creating miniature dioramas in an exhibition called, Gopinatha Dham depicting Krsna's pastimes in Vrndavan.