Feeling Freely
~by Pranada Comtois
Yasoda looked at Krsna, who had the complexion of a delicate blue sapphire. All her senses became eyes to worship his exquisite form of abundant sweetness. She became stunned, ecstasy surged throughout her body, and affectionate tears streamed down her face. On hearing of Krsna’s birth, Nanda jubilantly dashed from the cowshed toward the birth room. Rohini greeted him at Yasoda’s door. When he saw Krsna’s face – with large eyes sweeping toward his ears, with his cherry red lips, button nose, and perfect ears – Nanda became motionless, filled with the intoxicating presence of supreme bliss incarnate. Rohini waited for Nanda to come back to his senses, then had him sit down, and gently placed Krsna on his lap. Nanda tenderly held his son like a priceless jewel, tasting the beauty of his form, drinking the pleasing nectar of his face, smelling the fragrance of his head with its black curly locks. The affection Nanda had for his son and his bliss astonished everyone present.Word of Krsna’s birth and his parent’s unprecedented happiness spread rapidly in Gokula. Women, who had abandoned their jewelry in grief because Yasoda had been childless for so long, now adorned themselves with their finest pieces and hurried toward the new mother. Many of them converged on the road, laughing and sharing exclamations of wonder as they left a trail of fragrant flowers that fell from their decorated dancing braids. And the men came too, rushing forward. All of them vibrant with spontaneous love for precious Krsna, their very life.Everyone filled their eyes with delight by lifting the blanket on Krsna and touching him while smiling. One, two, four, or eight people, alone or in pairs, in groups or many groups, youths and elders entered the house to see baby Krsna. They joined together in Nanda’s courtyard and sprinkled each other with ghee, yogurt, and turmeric. They danced and sang with joyous abandon. Soon they began exuberantly showering each other with milk. Then some men threw other men into large pots of yogurt and everyone laughed heartily overcome with ecstasy in welcoming Krsna. Hearing of this unrestricted merriment and abundant jubilation, I submerged in their broad, boundless joy and was seized with a desire to know Krsna; to love Krsna. I marveled at the cowherds’ liberal emotions. I wanted to freely feel, safely feel like that. Mostly I’m afraid of my feelings; they’ve gotten me into lots of trouble. And attachment to matter is not only the cause of my bondage, but it’s agonizing.I felt a twinge of envy. The residents of Vraja are able to safely feel, I thought. They’re able to fully express emotions without concern that their attachment–their all-consuming, mind-numbing attachment–will drag them into the separateness of dark self-interest and samsara. I was possessed of a desire to feel freely and drown in the joy of that pure love. To feel freely, to feel safely, to feel truly, we must consciously choose our object of love. We require a perfect object of love. We know what happens when we don’t love the Supreme Person. Our love never flames into a blaze or it withers on the vine before it blooms its delicacy or we’re betrayed or abused or neglected or left. To experience that giving is receiving we must repose our love in Krsna, the perfect object of love. This is the thing. Krsna wants our very self. Everything. Krsna loves much; he exists to love and immerses himself completely in loving relationships. He gives himself fully to those who love him. Giving to Krsna is always receiving because he gives more than we have to offer him. Just looking at him sends intense waves of ecstasy throughout the devotee’s body. Imagine the ecstasy of having daily exchanges of love with such a person! But to have his love, to own him in love, we have to give everything. Our very self. Nothing held back. He is all in; he expects the same of us. We must come to this: I will love unbridled; I will love Krsna unrestrained without selfish motivation, without interruption.And “that’s the rub.” We look at attractive Krsna and say, “I’m not so sure.” (We’re probably not thinking clearly about what Death will allow us to hold onto.)And life looks at us and says, “Let me help you with that.” And proceeds to nip at us here, tear at us there, wear on us under here, saw on us over there. And our loves look at us and say, “I’m not so sure,” and heartbroken we look for the next love.These negative impetuses can impel us toward pure love of Krsna–if we simultaneously engage in the Bhakti practice of keeping company with those who are developing their love for Krsna, and we allow Krsna to take birth in our hearts by hearing about, reading about, speaking about, and singing about Krsna, who is an ocean of unlimited good qualities, who is the very form of truth and beauty, who is the supreme lover, who is our undying friend, who is happy in giving joy to others, who weaves his overture as the charming flute-player – who is waiting for us.
Pranada Comtois is a devoted pilgrim and award-winning author of Wise-Love: Bhakti and the Search for the Soul of Consciousness. Her writing sheds light on bhakti’s wisdom school of heartfulness. At sixteen she met her teacher A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami and began her lifelong study and practice of bhakti. Her writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications and she is a featured speaker in the film “Women of Bhakti.” Her second book, Bhakti-Shakti: The Goddess of Divine Love is due out in 2022 through Mandala Publishing. Connect with Pranada here.
Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
~by Rukmini Walker
Wednesday, March 3rd is the holy Appearance Day of Srila Prabhupada's beloved Guru Maharaj, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Maharaj.He was the brilliant son of the eminent Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, who pioneered Krsna Bhakti in the Western world by sending his book, The Life and Precepts of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to scholars and universities in the West.Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was a powerful acarya (great teacher), and a genius as an author and orator in English, Bengali and Sanskrit. He was also a revolutionary and a saint. He was famous as the “simha guru”, or lion guru, because of his fearless cutting down of sectarian caste-conscious opposition and intolerance to the broad-minded and inclusive path of Bhakti, as taught by his own father and by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.Particularly of interest to our readers will be his cogent and egalitarian thoughts on Krsna conscious marriage. Writing perhaps a hundred years ago, in the context of India at that time, how revolutionary his words sound today…“The cardinal principle of grhastha asram (Krsna conscious marriage) 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 the service of the Lord. Similarly, the sole object of everyone’s service as the only master, only friend, only son, and only consort is Krsna.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 Krsna. The wife is not an object of enjoyment of the husband, nor vice versa…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.” (quoted from The Harmonist, “Relations Between the Sexes”)
All the best,Last Night The Grim Reaper Came For Me
A Gift That Was and Wasn't a Gift at the Same Time
~by Jagattarini Devi Dasi
Today a big box arrived. From my window I heard the radio in the postman's van blaring. I wondered who had ordered something that was now appearing. I stopped for a moment to reflect on whether it was something for me.Now that in itself is an interesting topic I will share later.When I came downstairsI saw that there was a large brand new cardboard box sitting neatly on the table. I looked to see who was the fortunate receiver of this gift. It wasn't me, so I proceeded on with my day.But this small event remained with me.Every day I do some prayers and simple worship. I help another member of our community to make an offering. My role is to collect flowers and decorate the small space meant for devotional worship. As I stepped outside to pick the late summer flowers from our garden I noticed the roses which are in full bloom, brilliant orange, white, pink and crimson. It is as if the rose bush is extending these gifts towards me, saying "Please! I have no legs to move myself, so can you give my rose as a gift to the Supreme?"And I reach out with my fingers, which are also a gift, to pick the blooms and place them in my small basket.Then I bring them inside. All gifts from the earth to the plant and the plant to me. I know our ardent analytical physics students might explain things differently, but to me they are gifts of the earth. No more information required.As I came into my place of devotion with the roses, I offered a gift from the earth and the rose bush and most importantly a gift from me.I could not keep my meditation for long but it was long enough to express gratitude to everyone including the post man who came this morning and began the train of thought.-------------------Yes, well here's another reflection seeing the box on the table.It wasn't for me. A small part of me chirped up..."Oh I wish a box that big would come for me."The practical part responded."It can and will. All you have to do is buy something and a box will pop up with your name on it.""But" Another part of my talkative brain responded. "I don't need anything right now.""NO. That's not true!" replied a small voice. " You always need things. Plus it is important to buy things to support the economy."Well that's enough. Why was I even listening to such a silly conversation in the form of thoughts?For a moment when I first saw the big box I mistook it for a gift. But it was far from a gift. It was a transaction. Someone had to pay for it. They brought it. A gift is something that is given not paid for.Hmm.That 's interesting. There's a difference between a transaction and a gift. You can buy as many things as you want, yet when they arrive at your front door they're not gifts. They might be useful but gifts are much more heart touching. Is it love or transactions that you are after? They are very different so don't confuse the two.You cannot buy love. You can buy attention, even sweet words, but love is a gift and it comes from love.-------------------------Now here's another reflection from the post man bringing a big box this morning.I saw it and my spirits momentarily lifted thinking it may be for me. It wasn't,but as I proceeded with my daily routine, I was thoughtful.Here in my hands are the items I use everyday. I am very familiar with them. Here are my routines, that I perform in this way. I can do these tasks quickly, without thinking, while listening to a song. After all efficiency is essential.But is it?Imagine if when I offered my routine service I did so as if I was bringing that big box, full of wonderful surprises and gifts [I mean real gifts not transactions!] and I was fully aware as I was giving them. Imagine if every day was completely different and exciting? A new box lovingly given with focused care. Wow that postman really made my day today!Just the thought that the "known and predictable" could transform into the "new and undiscovered" restored magic to an otherwise formulaec routine.I always welcome such moments. They are made of solid gold.
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.
Our Loyal and Fallible Soldiers
~by Rukmini Walker-
To listen to Rukmini narrate this post in an audio format, please click on the "play" button below:
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There’s a story about a loyal Japanese soldier who was still posted, poised and ready to attack any intruder on a remote island in the Philippines, some thirty years after the end of World War II.
A young Japanese adventurer somehow found him there. He tried to convince him that the war had ended long ago. He had done his duty to his country, and he could now go home. But the loyal soldier refused to accept his word on the matter. He was so dedicated to the cause of his country. He said he would only accept what he said if he heard it from his commanding officer himself.
Somehow, that senior officer was still alive, and the young man brought him there to convince the soldier of the truth, that the war was indeed over. But they needed some way to validate his service, to celebrate him and bring him home as a hero. Although after wartime, he’d been killing anyone who came upon him up there in his outpost. He needed to now be rehabilitated and given a new service.I’ve been thinking that I also have my own loyal soldiers within me. That knee-jerk default inner voice that rears up when I hear something I don’t like. That negative, defensive or offensive voice, the inner judge, jury and executioner… The one who places a judgement before I can even ponder what I really desire, or believe, or might wish to reply. Who are your loyal soldiers? Are there old hankerings, lamentations, or judgements that no longer serve you well? An old lingering desire or relationship that now exists only in your mind? Can we thank them for their dedicated service and now say goodbye? Can their loyalty be reengaged in ways that better serve us today? Srila Prabhupada calls them fallible soldiers. My body, mind, relatives, money, beauty, or education - all are fallible soldiers. None of them can actually save me in my final moments of death. My dear loyal and fallible soldiers! Please just call out the name of Krsna, in these moments of life and at death!Thakur Bhaktivinode implores us:
So push thy onward march, O soul,
Against an evil deed,
That stands with soldiers Hate and Lust-
A hero be indeed.
Maintain thy post in spirit world
As firmly as you can,
Let never matter push thee down-
O stand heroic man!
O Saragrahi Vaisnava* soul,
Thou art an angel fair,
Lead, lead me on to Vrndavan,
And spirit’s power declare.
There rests my soul from matter free
Upon my Lover’s arms-
Eternal peace and spirit’s love
Are all my chanting’s charms.
All the best,
Rukmini Walker*A Saragrahi Vaisnava is a devotee of the Lord who always seeks the essence of love and wisdom within all things.
Love in the Dark Matter of the Universe
~by Pranada Comtois
*To listen to an audio version of this blog, spoken by Pranada Comtois, please click on the "play" button
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Holding a book in my hands, the author beckons me, “Imagine feeling more love from someone than you have ever known.” Yes! I muse and settle in for a journey with the 300-page book. The line on the back cover “love is a state of being” had garnered my full attention.I read on, “This lover doesn’t need anything from you . . . only wants your complete fulfillment.” Two paragraphs later, I’m introduced to the lover, “It’s the subatomic texture of the universe, the dark matter that connects everything.”Whoa, can we back up a second? The “someone” on the first page just became an “it.” Then onto the next sentence, “When you tune into that flow you will feel it in your own heart . . . ” Well, now I have love as a vague flow; a lover that is an it.Maybe the author needed a better editor, I think, and I brave my way forward. After several chapters I set the book down disappointed. When did our experience of love and loving manifest as an amorphous mass? Have we ever loved an indescript, indeterminate, shapeless something/nothing? Can we talk or share our heart with dark matter? How might we sculpt subatomic texture so we can embrace it? Will the unnamed flow receive our gifts and send a thank you note?To confirm I’m not asking more from the author than ought to be expected, I turn to the dictionary: “Love; a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.”This reassures me. Love is what I thought it was: an exchange between two people. When love is used colloquially in a statement like, “I love sunsets,” we use love loosely—imprecisely—to mean a liking. We’re not talking about the nuanced relationship we can experience with another person.Even love of oneself, though genuine love, is not a full expression of love. What give and take of thoughts, emotions, and gifts take place with oneself? The exchange is one-sided and thus limited. The full face of love involves two sentient beings.A “state of being” refers to a condition of the self that exists eternally. Such a state isn’t modified by time or space, what to speak of lesser influences like moods or shifts of opinion. When we go inward we can make contact with the eternal self, whose nature is described by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (2.16):Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.The self, or the soul, is a unit of consciousness, a spiritual substance, comprised of Being (sat), Knowing (chit), and Loving (ananda). In short, the self exists, knows, and loves. In her original condition—in her eternal state of being—she is a knowing, joyful lover. That original state is called wise-love.Since we are not experiencing wise-love as a state of being now, how can we achieve it? The Bhakti texts describe that when the self connects with her Source, the Supreme Person (from whom she garners her characteristics of Being, Knowing, and Loving) in love and service through a practice of Bhakti, she can wake from the current dream that has her believing she is either the male or female body she is currently inhabiting.Waking from the dream of the false ego to the real self through a Bhakti yoga practice of hearing and chanting about the Supreme’s name, personality, and activities, she finds wise-love as a state of being. Such pure love flows ever-fresh and ceaselessly from her heart toward other souls and her Significant Other. In that illumined dance of love she can hold her Supreme Beloved – who is infinite gorgeousness itself – in her real arms and gaze upon the unmatched beauty of her Beloved’s face with the soul’s real eyes.
Pranada Comtois is a devoted pilgrim and award-winning author of Wise-Love: Bhakti and the Search for the Soul of Consciousness. Her writing sheds light on bhakti’s wisdom school of heartfulness. At sixteen she met her teacher A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami and began her lifelong study and practice of bhakti. Her writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications and she is a featured speaker in the film “Women of Bhakti.” Her second book, Bhakti-Shakti: The Goddess of Divine Love is due out in 2021 through Mandala Publishing. Connect with Pranada here.
Rising Up and Sinking Down
~by Rukmini Walker
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[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]"There is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it. If only we are brave enough to be it."--Amanda Gorman[/perfectpullquote]
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Personally, I was in awe hearing the 22 year old Amanda Gorman read her poem last week at the US Presidential Inauguration. A slight African American woman, the Youth Poet Laureate of the US, she grew up with a speech impediment, like President Joe Biden. First Lady Jill Biden, who is a teacher, is the one who found her. The First Lady invited Gorman to the inauguration where she read a poem she composed specially for the event called, The Hill We Climb.To me, and to so many others, it was a profound milestone to see someone like her rise up, and be uplifted by eminent others. Someone who, as a black woman in our society, might have endured being demeaned, denigrated and discriminated against.Another milestone was celebrated as the new US Vice President Kamala Devi Harris, who is half black, and half Indian American has smashed the long-standing glass ceiling.On the path of Bhakti, what does it mean to rise up? Is there a place for ambition on the path of Bhakti? In Bhakti, should gender roles be rigidly defined, or can they be more fluid according to one’s God-given talents and abilities?We tend to think of chauvinism as thinking oneself to be the king of the hill, or king of the castle, and feminism as wanting to smash glass ceilings, and abolish gender discrimination.I believe that the path of Bhakti can harmonize these controversies as we begin to see ourselves as spirit, as eternal individuals (even feminine by nature!) and as tiny parts of the Supreme Spirit whole, the Personality of Godhead.During this Covid lockdown, my son, Gaura Vani, has enjoyed learning to bake bread. He kneads the bread by the work of his hands, and somehow by the mysteries of yeast and grace, it rises. Bhakti rises in our hearts when our sincere efforts become coupled with Krsna’s grace.Last year when we traveled in India, we visited an ancient temple in the conservative state of Gujarat. I was so interested to see there that men and women together were devoutly sitting and stringing garlands for the Deity, as apparently they’d done for centuries. When the Deity’s doors opened, all the ladies came up to stand in the front. Of course, this makes sense, doesn’t it? They are usually the shorter ones…I believe that Bhakti means sinking down into the depths of prayer and humility. Then allowing grace to lift us up, to reveal how our talents may be used in sincere service, and yes, how even our dreams may one day rise up to become a reality. All the best,Rukmini Walker
Cycling in Balance
~by Rukmini Walker
1.19.2021
My friends Anita and Robert live and work in Washington, DC. Most days they’re out cycling around the national monuments on their bikes, or to and from work.No cycling in the next few days though, since 25,000 National Guard troops are in DC now to secure the US Capitol for the President’s Inauguration tomorrow. That’s in addition to the thousands of US Secret Service, Capitol Police and DC police that will be out in full force for the event. The capital city is in a surreal lockdown.I was thinking this morning how we cycle through repeated birth and death, how we cycle through our own strongly held opinions. And sometimes we are ready to fight and die for those beliefs.I was remembering how Gandhi sacrificed his life for his country, and then at the end he was shot and killed by one of his own Hindu countrymen. US Vice President Pence dedicated four years working by the side of President Trump, and then last week, he and his colleagues were nearly killed when their own “supporters” created a riot at the Capitol Building.Riding a bike requires cycling in balance. Living in balance requires honoring others, and other points of view, those that differ from the way I think, the way I look, and the way I live. Finding the common ground that we all share, and seeing the spirit that animates us all.Time moves in cycles, life travels in cycles, but extremist views create a centrifugal force that throws us and our world out of balance.In politics, in religion, in our daily lives we can choose to cling tightly to adamantly held beliefs that objectify and malign others as evil, or dangerous.Or we can choose to cycle through our lives in balance, honoring all living beings as sacred and beloved parts of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna.All the best,Rukmini Walker
Commitment Leads Us To Freedom
~by Rukmini Walker
To listen to an audio version of this blog read by Rukmini, please click on the audio link below:
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"The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and fulfill the desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That complete freedom is achieved when he meets the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead." (Bhaktivedanta purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.8)
I’ve been thinking a lot about freedom recently. People these days want to be free to do anything they want, to say anything they want, and to even alter truth, if they feel like it.The spirit soul has a natural longing for freedom. But how counterintuitive it is, that the more we indulge our wild minds and senses, the more we become imprisoned by them!When an alcoholic commits to no longer drink, she becomes free from her addiction to the bottle. When a student commits to apply herself to her studies, she gains greater freedom in her future academic pursuits. When we commit to the daily regimen of a job, we gain the freedom of financial security.When we commit to show up each day for our spiritual practice, we begin to free ourselves from the temporary. We begin to see ourselves as spirit, to never again be dissolved by death.Commitment enables us to hear the voice within that beckons us to the free light and the spirit. We begin to taste the eternal. That commitment leads us to one day meet the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead.Commitment leads us to freedom.All the best,Rukmini Walker
What We Live For, What We Die For
~by Rukmini Walker
1.7.2021
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I live in the suburbs of Washington, DC, about eighteen miles from the center of government of the United States. Yesterday, supporters of the President who’d lost his bid for re-election stormed the US Capitol Building, violently breaking windows and forcibly entering the building while a session of Congress was in session.
What’s in the past been a mere ritual of officially confirming the next president, was disrupted yesterday by violence and aggression. A woman was shot and later died. Today we heard that an additional three people had died. Our time in this world is so fragile.
Each of us chooses from moment to moment what we decide to live for, and what to die for. Moments strung together become days, then years, and then a life. Intention matters, consciousness matters, and each creates our destiny.
Human life is a rare gift in an evolution through millions of lives. Can this gift of life be offered back to The Giver of life, in a way that outlasts this temporal existence? Tiny moments offered with loving intention take on an eternal quality.
What do I choose to live for? What do I choose to die for?
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
Darkness in the Season of Light
*Please click here to listen to an audio narration of this blog by Rukmini Walker
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“A difficulty is a light, an insurmountable difficulty is a sun.”- Paul Valery
For many, these darkest days of the year have traditionally been celebrated as the Season of Light, or Advent, or Hanukah. Yet during this time of global pandemic, many of us are feeling and observing a collective unconsciousness in our world - a heavy or negative energy surrounding us. Some are experiencing a paralyzing fear; for some a trail of tears. Conflict and contention seem to be everywhere. Life and death seem separated by a thinner, more transparent space than usual, and no one knows what tomorrow may bring. But by our intention, by our consciousness, each day, each moment, we can shelter in grace, pulling around ourselves a chrysalis of sacred energy in the form of sound. Sacred sound can repel the negative, and attract and generate blessings.We can cover ourselves with this armor, a shining cloak of mantra that deflects fear by generating love outward from within, by keeping the mantra on our lips and in our hearts - synchronizing sacred sound with our breathing, and our heartbeats. We live in this world together, yet by consciousness we each occupy a different realm. Two of us can be standing or sitting together, and one can be experiencing a living hell, while one is sheltering in light. This is our freedom, to lean into the shelter of light, or to turn away, leaning into fear and darkness. My own little light may feel dim right now, but I can always choose to lean in to the light of God, Krsna, and His holy names. I can choose to anoint myself and others in sacred mantra as I sit or walk down the street. Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, My dear Lord, I am Yours! We are all Yours!Wishing you light as you share your light,Rukmini Walker
How Our Actions and Choices in Everyday Life Affect Our Chanting
~from an online lecture by Sacinandana Swami on May 3, 2020
Similar to what we are experiencing today with the internet, everything you do in this world is being ‘recorded’ and it stays there for as long as this manifestation of the world exists. It creates an impression, a samskara, which then informs your future actions and reactions. This is how by your choices, by your activities, you develop a certain pattern of action, choices and response – it is based on deep samskaras. Sometimes we call it habit or conditioning. This can affect your relationship with the Holy Name, because all our perceptions and experiences are affected by the ‘spectacles’ through which we look at the world. For this reason, devotees follow a few rules that help them to avoid those impressions which can distract you in a harmful way. On the other hand, we do things like for instance associating with devotees and reading sacred scriptures that affect us in a positive way, which cause positive samskaras that in turn affect our relationship with the Holy Name.
Just One Spoon
~ by Ananda Vrindavan Devi Dasi
Making his way towards the car with boxed lunch in hand
I began to say goodbye but he stopped and said
“Just going to get my metal spoon!”
And I thought, just one spoon
A simple act of consideration for Mother Earth
And what can one spoon do, really?
Why would he bother to walk all the way
In the opposite direction, to get a little spoon
But he did because he cared, and wanted to do his part
His one small part, to honor the earth upon which we walk
And by whom we are all nourished and sustained
I marveled at his consciousness, as I too am careful
But all too often give into laziness, or next time, or others are doing it
Or in the future, or one spoon, or plastic bag, is no big deal
But it is a big deal and “just one spoon” is the mantra for now
The call to urgency for each and everyone of us to be careful
To go out of our way to protect Mother Earth
In this very moment of choice, in this small act of mine
Can I rise to the occasion, can I make the extra effort?
I hope so, or all loving of Mother Earth seems empty
And walking our talk in Bhakti seems barely begun
*Taken from Ananda's Blog on September 4, 2020 from ISCKON of DC
Breathless Time
~by Denise Mihalek
“You gave me my breath back,” a student told me with tears in her eyes. Wow! My eyes also welled up with tears. Her sincerity momentarily stole my breath. This adult is a cancer survivor and had attended yoga, meditation and sound healing classes to assist with her recovery. Now, on the other end of treatments, she realized that the wind had been knocked out of her on so many levels, yet now her breath was back. I, however, didn’t do it. She actually did it as she was willing to explore specific techniques to remember that which she already so deeply knew. Sometimes we just need a little guidance and support.
There is no doubt that this is a breathless time. Fortunately, there are techniques to help us regain our footing and breath so that we can walk in clarity and strength.Please consider joining me for some of the offerings (see below) including the September link for Thursday evenings. Be well dear friends.
With Gratitude, Love and Light,Denise
Denise Mihalik is a Certified Sound Healing Practitioner, Voice Teacher, Yoga and YogaVoice Instructor, Classical Singer, Kirtaniya, and Bhakti Yogi. Denise has been immersed in sound exploration since early childhood. The sounds of nature and the world of music have greatly influenced her life. She has been practicing yoga for the past 16 years and is a certified yoga and YogaVoice Instructor. You can connect with her at her website https://www.soundawakenings.biz/
Sound Healing Thursdays with Denise!! 7:00pm-7:30pm EDTDonation based Free-will donations can be made atwww.soundawakenings.com
REGISTER HERE Meeting ID 822 9682 1896 Password 543015*** Please share this information with your friends! ***
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The Holy Appearance Day of Srimati Radharani
Tuesday, August 25th is the holy Appearance Day of Srimati Radharani, the original feminine goddess and internal pleasure potency of Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Together They unite as the original divine feminine and masculine, and we unlimited jiva souls are expanded from Them. We can find joy in excavating our sacred connection with Them in love and service.
Srila Prabhupada explains that if you offer your sincere prayer into the hand of Sri Radha, she will recommend you to Him, saying, “this devotee is better than me, please accept her!”
Here are a few drops from the deep ocean of her qualities:
“Vrndavan’s queen brings limitless pure bliss to He whose face is Vrndavan’s splendid moon risen from the nectar ocean of bliss and love. She fills Vrndavan with nectar and she makes her beautiful friends again and again shed tears, and their bodily hairs stand erect in wonderful ecstatic love like her own.” --Vrndavan Mahimamrita
“I, a distressed soul, belonging to you, beg you with sweet words while rolling on the banks of the Yamuna!
Although I am unfit, an offender with a crooked mind, please bestow on me a fragment of the gift of service to you. This unhappy soul is not fit to be neglected by you, for you have a butter soft heart that melts constantly by the warmth of your compassion.” -- Srila Rupa Goswami, Stava-mala
Happy Radhastami!
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
Vyasa Puja Offering to Srila Prabhupada
~by Rukmini Walker
Vyasa Puja Offering
2020
namah om visnupadaya krsnapresthaya bhutale
srimate bhaktivedanta svamin iti namine
namaste sarasvate deve gauravani pracarine
nirvisesa sunyavadi pascatya desatarine
Dear Srila Prabhupada,Today as we ‘shelter in place’ due to the corona virus, we must bow at your feet again and again and thank you for the unprecedented shelter you have given us. You have created our good fortune, and good fortune for a misguided world, that without you, remained baffled.Just as Hanuman, the great servant of Lord Ram, slipped into Lanka, the kingdom of Ravana, unnoticed in a tiny form and set the whole city on fire, while the evil Ravana prepared to wage war…
In the same way, you entered New York City, the Kingdom of Kali, anonymously, as a penniless, elderly Indian swami—as our government waged war on Vietnam, and we, the youth, waged war on our government. We wanted to create a revolution against the system, but the revolution you sparked…“…full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization…” (SB 1.5.11)…has changed the course of human history, beyond anything we could have fought for, or imagined.Without the shelter of your compassion, and your sheltering words of wisdom, we, the youth of the 1960’s counter-culture, were perhaps the most impious and misdirected the world had ever seen.The revolution you sparked has been noted by renowned scholars as well. Professor A.L. Basham writes in his, A Cultural History of India:A new aspect of the counter-attack from the East is the importation not only of the mystical gnosis of India, but also her simple faith. This is chiefly the work of what is generally called the Hare Krishna movement, founded by Swami Prabhupada. This society now has branches in many of the larger cities of the West and its adherents follow the rituals of the devotional Vaisnavism of the Chaitanya Sect of Bengal…The movement…is historically very significant, for now, for the first time since the days of the Roman Empire, an Asian religion is being openly practiced by people of Western origin in the streets of Western cities.The simple faith he refers to is the revolutionary faith you bestowed upon us and upon the world: that we are immutable spirit, beyond this world of matter, and existing eternally as Krsna’s loving servants.
Under your shelter, inspired by the pinnacle of your example, the deathless nectar of Krsna’s name, form, qualities, and pastimes is being tasted and shared all over the world.Under your shelter, the people of the world are experiencing a revolution in consciousness: realizing the purpose of life, ending their suffering, and reawakening joy in consciousness of Krsna.You warned us that this world is a place of danger. Now, at a time when the whole world is sheltering in fear of the corona virus, we hold your lotus feet to our hearts as our only real and fearless shelter.Aspiring to be an eternal servant of your revolutionary and divine instructions,Rukmini Devi Dasi
Krsna Janmastami
The Appearance Day of Lord Sri Krsna is called Krsna Janmastami and will be celebrated Tuesday, August 11th. Lord Krsna is called the Supreme Personality of Godhead although He contains within Himself both personal and impersonal aspects. As Brahman, He is the undifferentiated oneness that exists everywhere; as Paramatma, He is the Supersoul within each of our hearts; and finally as Bhagavan, He is that supreme personality Who is full in all opulences, which are listed as all strength, all fame, all wealth, all knowledge, all beauty and all renunciation.Still the greatest of His qualities is considered to be His nature as Bhakta Vatsala, that He is beloved to His devotees.Here is a beautiful prayer that celebrates Lord Sri Krsna as the one Who is the foremost of thieves, Who steals the hearts of His devotees.
Chor Astakam
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I offer pranams to that foremost of thieves - Who is famous in Vraja as the butter thief and He Who steals the gopis clothes, and Who for those who take shelter of Him, steals the sins which have accrued over many lifetimes.
I offer my pranams to the foremost of thieves, Who steals Srimati Radhika’s heart, Who steals the dark luster of a fresh raincloud, and Who steals all the sins and sufferings of those who take shelter of His feet.
He turns His surrendered devotees into paupers and wandering, homeless beggars - Aho! Such a fearsome thief has never been seen or heard of in all the three worlds.
Mere utterance of His name purges one of a mountain of sins - such an astonishingly wonderful thief I have never seen or heard of anywhere.
O Thief! Having stolen my wealth, my honor, my senses, my life and my everything, where can You run to? I have caught You with the rope of my devotion.
You cut the terrible noose of Yamaraja. You sever the dreadful noose of material existence, and you slash everyone’s material bondage, but You are unable to cut the knot fastened by Your own loving devotees.
O stealer of my everything! O thief! Today I have imprisoned You in the miserable prison house of my heart which is very fearful due to the terrible darkness of my ignorance, and there for a long time, You will remain receiving appropriate punishment for Your crimes of thievery!
O Krsna! Thief of my everything! The noose of my devotion remaining forever tight, You will continue to reside in the prison house of my heart because I will not release You for millions of aeons.
I wish you all a very Happy Krsna Janmastami!
All the best,A Letter To Our Future Selves
This piece is being featured in "The Emergence of Women's Voices in ISKCON" a written documentary of the voices of the first-generation pioneer women of ISKCON. Thirty-three authors speak about their relationships with Srila Prabhupada, what women bring to Krishna consciousness, and the importance of women's voices in ISKCON. My "Letter to our Future Selves" is featured in this book and book launch. Please scroll to bottom of this posting to learn more about this effort. Here is the link to the event on Facebook August 22-23: https://www.facebook.com/
A Letter to our Future Selves
by Rukmini Walker
written on June 20th, 2020
Click here to listen to the audio version of this piece.
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Dear Vaisnavis of the future,
My deepest respects to you all. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Several years ago I attended a conference in Geneva, sponsored by the Global Peace Initiative of Women. A woman who was a high court judge in India spoke and explained a powerful metaphor.
She said that traditionally in India, most people lived in a joint family home. There was usually a courtyard space in the center facing inward, and a veranda around the perimeter facing out. The men would usually be on the veranda, talking about finance, politics, science, and the problems and affairs of the outside world.
The women would be in the courtyard cooking together, talking together, dealing with domestic problems, and healing the family’s illnesses with herbal remedies.
Some are trying to lead by facing out, looking for solutions from outside; and some are looking to lead, and heal community by facing in…
Of course, today, there are many women in leadership - in government, in finance, in science, and many other fields as well. In ISKCON, in the US today, there are six women temple presidents. In other countries, there are also women leading in different capacities, in different services. It seems that often women and also men who are spiritually advanced, have an ability to lead in a supportive, empathic way, rather than a controlling or domineering way.
It seems to me that this sort of introspective leadership would mean to lead as a sort of path smoother, or servant leader, trying to truly hear others and deeply appreciate each and everyone’s unique and diverse contribution to the whole. This inward-facing community-centered leadership seems to be a formula for developing what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr called, “the beloved community”.
He defined that beloved community, first of all, as one that offers radical hospitality to everyone; an inclusive family rather than an exclusive club; recognizing and honoring the image of God in every human being. Of course, we would extend that to include every living being.
I’m fond of a certain story about Srila Prabhupada. In the early days, a new devotee, who was also very young at the time, had a chance to serve Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada was staying for a few days in a house near New Vrindavan, and this young man was given the task of guarding the house from outside at night. It began to rain outside and the young man came into the attached garage to do his guarding service from there.
In a few moments, he felt a presence behind him in the garage. He turned around, and there was Srila Prabhupada standing behind him. He fell down and offered his obeisances. Then he rose and asked, “Is there any service I can do for you, Srila Prabhupada?”
Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes. You can go where I will not go!” The young man was bewildered. Srila Prabhupada had just come from Chicago; Dallas; Caracas, Venezuela; San Francisco, and before that Tokyo; soon he would be going on to New York, London, Paris, and Germany…
He asked, “But where is it that you will not go, Srila Prabhupada? You are going everywhere!”
Srila Prabhupada replied, “To the future! And by the way you treat the people there, they will know how much Krsna loves them.”
In other words, Krsna cares for us, for all living beings. He patiently travels with us as the Supersoul in our lost wanderings as we try to fulfill our separatist desires in so many species of life. When we feel distress, Krsna feels compassion for our suffering. "Tat te 'nukampam...", "anukampam" means “to tremble with” (SB 10.14.8). And He gives us the understanding by which we can come to Him.
As His aspiring devotees, how can we make our consciousness more like His, in the sense of loving and caring for others? What will enhance our Krsna consciousness and help us go deeper in experience and realization? What parts of ourselves do we want to carry into the future?
What kinds of interactions in our communities and beyond can grow into deep loving exchanges that sustain and build faith and trust?
On the path of Bhakti, we learn that at the center of all existence, there is a love affair, a dance between Radha and Krsna. The divine masculine - Sri Krsna, loving the divine feminine - Sri Radha, who is expanded from Him. She is His own pleasure potency. In effect, this is God loving God. And we are being invited to join that dance, to live and dance in harmony along with Them in eternity. To live in Bhakti, means to live in harmony with this “Rta,” or divine cosmic order.
Once, Srila Prabhupada gave an example: If you’re sitting on the bank of a still lake and you throw a pebble into the center of the lake, then harmonious concentric circles will radiate outward from that center where you threw your pebble. If you throw another pebble, and another one, and yet another one into that same center, they will all create harmonious circles generating out from that center. But if I throw a pebble to this side or that side, and you throw your pebble here or there, then so many interference patterns will form and begin to clash with each other.
In other words, if we act in this world, loving Krsna and serving Him in the core of our hearts, and at the center of our lives, then as many interests, goals or pursuits as we may have, can all be harmonized in peace and sustainability in Krsna. We can have community, family, art, music, intellectual pursuits, environmentalism, or so many other “isms” all offered into the center point of loving Krsna. And if we act out of self-centered ego, then we will clash - within ourselves, between ourselves and others, and in the world.
How does Srila Prabhupada describe the formula for peace? To understand that everything is owned and controlled by Krsna, that everything is meant for His pleasure, and that He is our dearest friend. (BG 5.29)
In his purport to Bhagavad Gita 4.24, Srila Prabhupada explains that,
Everything that exists is situated in the brahmajyoti, but when that jyoti is covered by illusion (maya) or sense gratification, it is called material. The material veil can be removed at once by Krsna consciousness… the Absolute Truth covered by maya is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality. Krsna consciousness is the process of converting the illusory consciousness into Brahman, or the Supreme. When the mind is fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness, it is said to be in samadhi, or trance.
How can we bring this mood of harmony into our hearts, into our communities, and into the world? We are eager to preach, but are we eager to appreciate and to truly hear others?
We are members of an institution meant for giving compassion to others, but are we each individually acting with compassion in our personal dealings? Or are we remaining on the neophyte platform judging and criticizing others? Offending others and becoming offended by petty things, making assumptions, taking things personally, and acting out of false ego? Are we trying to grow the seeds of Bhakti but instead getting tangled up in the weeds?
I was recently listening to a lecture given by Srila Prabhupada where he was comparing the practice of beginning or sadhana, vaidhi Bhakti to jumpstarting the engine of a car. We try to give our internal battery a jump by our daily practice. But real Bhakti begins when we develop a spontaneous taste for the practice, or when the car engine kicks in and begins to run on its own power.
If we want to carry these sacred teachings into the future, we must ourselves develop the taste for authentic Krsna consciousness. So many religious communities of different traditions exist on a kanistha, or beginner’s platform… judging or criticizing others over petty differences of understanding, or class or race or practice.
If we remain on this beginner’s platform, how are we any different? Perhaps we have an extraordinary theology, but if we don’t practice it with realization, how are we any better? How will we communicate to them how much Krsna loves them if we are not living and showing that love between ourselves and others?
Recently, we attended a funeral ceremony for a beloved devotee who had taken his own life. It has been a tragedy in this community. In the first days after the suicide, there were naturally many unanswered questions: “Why? How could this happen?” As well as much blame and finger pointing to others in leadership that, sadly, also extended out onto social media.
I feared that this mood of negativity would continue at his memorial ceremony. And yet after those first painful days, there seemed to be a shift. At his ceremony, each person spoke of him with such appreciation, telling stories of how kind, selfless, and lovingly serving he had always been. How he treated everyone of every community, both Indian and Western, young and old, new and seasoned members with such affection.
After the ceremony, there was such a sense of peace, of the community having come together. Afterwards, one older god brother of mine, said to me, “Why did we have to wait until after his death to appreciate him so much? Why didn’t we let him know while he was alive, how much we all loved him? Maybe this tragedy could have been averted, if we had let him know…”
We so often speak about higher levels of rasa, of brava and prema. But this kind of love is impossible to realize without first learning to act with appreciation and gratitude in this world. Our acarya, Srila Prabhupada was always so grateful. Even Lord Krsna is so grateful for any tiny service rendered.
In conclusion, dear Vaisnavis, I suggest that gratitude and appreciation are the two doors to the palace of Bhakti… and there is no back door. Can we be the change that creates the future and show the people there how much Krsna loves them?
Hare Krsna,
Your sister in service,
Rukmini Devi Dasi
The Emergence of Women's Voices in ISKCON is a written documentary of the voices of the first-generation pioneer women of ISKCON. In this anthology they pass the torch of wisdom and lessons learned to future generations. Thirty-three authors speak about their relationships with Srila Prabhupada, what women bring to Krishna consciousness, and the importance of women's voices in ISKCON. They tackle difficult issues with philosophy, reason, common sense, decades of personal experience, and Krishna consciousness.
The essays in this anthology will bring light to ISKCON members around the world. They are as applicable today as they were yesterday and can be used as a road map to move into the future. Many senior devotees have poured out their wise hearts here, having thought deeply about this topic. They knew Srila Prabhupada and lived under his roof."A must-read. Emergence opened a floodgate of emotion and gave me solace and wisdom." --Mathura Mandala devi dasi
Life out of Balance
by Ananda Vrindavan Devi
There is a great verse in the Bhagavad-gita that speaks to balance. “He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.” [Ch.6.17]
And we know from practical experience that when things are out of balance they don’t function well - a car on empty won’t budge, an unclean filter causes the heating system to shut down, a top heavy building will collapse. We are surrounded by the need to keep things in balance for basic functionality.
And so too for our human body. When we get out of balance at one point it just becomes too hard to maintain. We eventually collapse. We become overloaded in one part of our life and drained in the other. We begin to feel pain, we push on - ignoring, masking, keeping up with our roles and goals. But eventually the unbalance will erupt and we will be forced to stop.
Pain, in this way, is a good thing. It’s a message to say - ‘you are way off balance and need to reset.’ If we are honest with ourselves, we mostly know why we are suffering. We have a sense of where the unbalance is. We may have put off dealing with it, hoping to get away with it, until now. The pause, the pain, the sudden stop is the immediate invitation to change.
The current Covid-19 has brought collective pain, fear, and unexpected difficulties. We have to ask - what is out of balance? We have to ask - where can we as human citizens take a good look at how we live, how we treat the earth upon which we live, and the animals with whom we live? We have to hope that we can make the needed changes, not only to contain the virus, but to stay in balance as individuals and as a global community as we go back to a more normal everyday life.
We are limited as living beings - in terms of our time on earth, our capacity to understand, our ability to work together. But we need to be more conscious of who we are, more grateful for what we have, and we need to learn how to take care of it better. To keep it all in balance we need to work with Krishna and his teachings - so that when it’s time for us to leave this body we now have, we can do so fearlessly, having done our best to honor and care for this temporary world and all that’s in it, and that we haven’t lost our soul, and our sweet and deep relationship with Krishna, in the process.
Disappearance Day of His Holiness Bhaktitirtha Swami
~ by Rukmini Walker
Today is the Disappearance Day of His Holiness Bhaktitirtha Swami, the world's first African American Vaisnava (that is, the Bhakti path...) swami. Disappearance Day means the day he passed away from this world, in full consciousness of divinity, in full consciousness of Krsna. Someone in the full consciousness that he possessed does not leave this world the way ordinary people or animals leave this world, in ignorance of who they are.Here is a most moving dialogue about racism, Black Lives Matter, and the Krishna Consciousness Movement with two of his dearmost disciples and caretakers until the end. They are joined by two other devotees, one that grew up in the movement and one that came to Krishna Consciousness later in life.
Please click on this link to listen to the discussion, and allow your heart to be melted with a desire to make a change in our troubled world.
All the best,