Removing Our Masks
A dear friend of mine, who works for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is currently residing in Prishtina, Kosovo, and she invited me to join her. So, here I am writing you from lovely Kosovo, which is in the Balkan region, in what was once the Socialist state of Yugoslavia.
Formerly, Yugoslavia consisted of six constituent republics: Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Serbia had two autonomous provinces: Kosovo and Vojvodina. So now you may have some idea where I am, if you can pull up Google Maps.
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]Winston Churchill once said that the Balkans produce more history than they can consume![/perfectpullquote]
USAID had a guide take us around the city to give us the lay of the land, and a bit of history. Kosovo is 90% Muslim, our guide is a Muslim, but he said that he knows that his family was once Catholic and then Orthodox Christian over different periods of time.
Most of the Muslim majority of the two million people of Kosovo consider themselves Albanian first, and Muslim second. But they are Kosovar Albanians. Albania is another country altogether, west of Macedonia, and east of Greece. (Not to be confused with the Macedonia that’s a region in Greece.) The history is very complex.
They are very fond of Americans here because in 1999 President Bill Clinton convinced NATO to intervene with bombings after the civil war and “ethnic cleansing” killed 10,000 of their people. They actually have a statue of Bill Clinton in downtown Prishtina that he came here to inaugurate.
So what does all this have to do with a blog about Bhakti Yoga?
Since I’ve been here, I’ve been thinking about designations. The masks, the layers of identities we wear that cover our real selves. In particular, I’ve been thinking of this verse from the Caitanya Caritamrita:
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] “Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord." (Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya Lila 19. 170) [/perfectpullquote]
In Kosovo—or wherever we’re from—after innumerable births and deaths in this material world, we all have more layers, more masks, more designations than we’re able to consume. In fact, we are ourselves consumed by these masks that cover our true identities as eternal pure spirit, having the intrinsic qualities of joy and full knowledge. By nature, we’re meant to be loving servants of God, or Krishna.
So one of the first functions of serving in Bhakti, or devotional service, is that these masks start being removed, for they are only designations that block the flow of attraction to Krishna.
We have been tricked, duped by the false ego, that these masks, these layers upon layers of designations are me: this is my country, this is my family, this is my race, this is my gender, even, this is my species. And if I’m this, than I must mistrust “the Other”, who is “that”.
We—and our tribes over the centuries—invent images of who we are, and then we begin to serve those images, instead of seeing that we are all of the same spiritual nature, all tiny parts of the same original Source of all life, Krishna, or God.
It’s a kind of idolatry, and we worship the idol that we ourselves create.
I pray, that by serving and seeing in Bhakti, that the masks that cover my vision be removed. I pray to see the interconnectedness of all beings, by comparison to my own self, in our mutual connectedness to the Supreme Whole, Sri Krishna.
I leave you with this poem I wrote last night just before bed:
Prishtina's Moon
[/perfectpullquote]
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
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Particles of Dust
I'm very happy to introduce the readers of Urban Devi to the poetry of one of my dearest friends, Ananda Vrindavan. In addition to being a beautiful poet, she is the community president of ISKCON of DC. Please visit their website at iskconofdc.org Please watch for her poems to be regularly appearing on our Urban Devi website. -- Rukmini
Particles of Dust
By Ananda Vrindavan Devi Dasi
If a genius could count them
Those little particles of dust
All across the earth and universe
And then tried to count
The qualities of Sri Krishna
It would not be possible
As the qualities of Krishna
Are never ending
And more numerous
And nicer
Than all the dust
Ever blown around
This dusty, dank
Dangerous and dead
Excuse for life
This material universe
Is or tries to be.
A Gift from the Sea
Last week we took our three grandchildren to the beach; something we try to do at least once in a year. The three children are each growing into their own lives.
We, as grandparents—whose childhoods were in another century—try to act as tender shepherds to them. We attempt to guide them lightly, to honor their needs for fun, and hugs, and individual growth, alongside sharing our own spiritual perspectives with them, on the world as we see it, as much as we’re able to.
My husband is more up for fun: throwing around a ball on the beach, sharing rides at Funland, and having his own unlimited capacity for ice cream.
I try to be fun as well, I guess, in my own ways. But meanwhile, I found a dear old friend, from many years ago. There at the one lone bookstore, amidst the dozens of tee shirt and candy shops at the beach, the familiar book caught my eye.
Have you ever read, Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh? It’s a treasure of a summer read, a journal written by a deep and thoughtful woman, for herself first of all.
Initially, she was surprised how it resonated with other women. And this, as the 50th Anniversary Edition, still speaks with wisdom so needed today.
She compares the different stages of a woman’s life to different shells she finds during her solitary walks on the beach. She writes of simplicity, and of the art of shedding: how little one can get along with…
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]“I shall not need much. I shall ask into my shell only those friends with whom I can be completely honest. I find I am shedding hypocrisy in human relationships. What a rest that will be! The most exhausting thing in life, I have discovered, is being insincere. That is why so much of social life is exhausting; one is wearing a mask. I have shed my mask.”[/perfectpullquote]
She writes about living “in grace”, to her, meaning, “an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be translated into outward harmony”. Quoting Socrates when he said, “May the outward and inward man be at one.”
I will leave the rest to your exploration. Whether you find yourself this summer at the beach, the mountains, or, for now, surviving the city heat.
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
Beginning Steps to an Authentic Love
by Rukmini Walker
Today, although I didn’t mean to—and it was the furthest thing from my mind and intention—I hurt the soft and tender heart of a very dear friend.
Life gets busy, and we are so often focused elsewhere, and not on the quality of our precious relationships at each moment. So often I unknowingly trample on those who are dearest to me, because I’m thinking of tomorrow. Or, even worse, sometimes in distraction or abstraction, I’m thinking of a higher realm of love to which I have little access at this point in my realization.
I love this piece by Persian poet Hafiz c. 1320 to 1389, although I cringe to think that the man in the story could be me. Could he be you sometimes also?
Becoming Human
Once a man came to me and spoke for hours about
“His great visions of God” he felt he was having.
He asked me for confirmation saying
“Are these wondrous dreams true?”
I replied, “How many goats do you have?”
He looked surprised and said,
“I am speaking of sublime visions
And you ask
About goats?”
And I spoke again saying
“Yes, brother- how many do you have?”
“Well, Hafiz, I have sixty-two.”
“And how many wives?”
And he looked surprised, then said,
“Four.”
How many rosebushes in your garden?
How many children,
Are your parents still alive,
Do you feed the birds in winter?
And to all he answered.
Then I said,
“You asked me if I thought your visions were true
I would say that they were if they made you become
More human,
More kind to every creature and plant
That you know.”
~Hafiz~
Lessons From Geese
Sermon by Dr. Robert McNeish, 1972.
‘But ask the animals, and they will teach you,or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know,that the hand of the Lord has done this?’
The Bible. Job 12:7-9
Have you ever wondered why geese fly in V formation? As with most animal behavior, God had a good reason for including that in their instincts. As each bird flaps it wings, it creates uplift for the bird following. In a V formation, the whole flock adds 71% more flying range than if each bird flew alone. Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone and quickly gets back into formation.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]Like geese, people who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier than those who try it alone.[/perfectpullquote]When a goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at the point position.If people had as much sense as these geese, they would realize that ultimately their success depends on working as a team, taking turns doing the hard tasks and sharing the leadership.Geese in the rear formation honk to encourage those up front to up their speed. It is important that our ‘honking’ from behind be encouraging. Otherwise, it is just honking.When a goose gets sick or wounded, two other geese drop out of formation two other geese follow it down to help and to provide protection. They stay with the unhealthy member of the flock until it is either able to fly again or dies. They then launch out again with another passing flock or try to catch up with their own.May we be so sacrificial that we may be worthy of such friends in our time of need. We don’t have to be scientists to learn from God’s marvelous creation; you need only stop long enough to observe and let God reveal his wonders to you.
* * *
Reflections from Rukmini Walker:
Divertimento ~ Mantra Mumbo Jumbo
by Sravaniya DiPecoraro
Sanskrit seems to be making a comeback. Individuals are getting Oṁ symbols tattooed on their shoulders, chests and elsewhere, and are chanting verses at the beginning of their yoga workouts. Congregational singing accompanied with instruments (kīrtan) is arriving on the scene as a social activity. This can be a good thing, or a bad one.A curious conversation occurred at a rehearsal for kīrtan which I attended. When a yoga instructor was sharing a chant to Lord Śiva that she enjoyed singing, a leader of the group, a young brahmacārī, or celibate monk, who had lived and studied for a considerable time in his guru’s yoga ashram, corrected her pronunciation. “Hara means Śiva,” he said. “Hari means Krishna and Hare means Rādhā. It should be Hara, not Hari.” She hesitated, then came out with “Well…this is the way I learned it.” Her reply was simple but dismissive. It seemed she was not interested in taking on board what he was saying, as if chanting any which way was fine. This is a teacher, mind you — someone who is supposed to guide and correct her students in their yoga practice.“It’s all the same anyway,” chimed in a devotee of an Advaita swami, who beamed a most politically correct smile, as if we should all be nice children and get along. The brahmacārī sniffed, readjusted his position at the harmonium and looked down at his notes. The matter slipped through the cracks in the floor and that was that.This is nothing new. In kīrtan performances I have heard the egalitarian proclaiming with happy conviction: “It doesn’t matter what the meaning of the chant is. It’s all one…we are all one. So just join in.” This is extremely seductive.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]If Sanskrit changes your consciousness, shouldn’t you, like… read the label on the mantras, so to speak, and make sure they are okay? [/perfectpullquote]But people take everything so casually and do whatever they feel like under the banner of free self-expression. In the US, the bastion of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, even convicted murderers and rapists get their day or special mini-series playing rock music on national cable television, never mind how the survivors of their crimes or their families feel about it. Artistic expression is sacred and nobody is allowed to throw a monkey wrench into the works. So chanting Sanskrit incorrectly is fine, too. We all know what happens if we spell an email address incorrectly, but chanting mantras any which way doesn’t matter, right? From the pinnacle of my admittedly modest fund of knowledge after more than forty years of study, let me say this: Everything manifests from the subtle level to the gross. The mind is the cause of the body. Sound influences consciousness. It can elevate or it can degrade the mind. Sanskrit, in particular and distinguished from all other languages, is the seed of form.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]What you chant changes your consciousness and will manifest eventually in form.[/perfectpullquote]This is the reason why I consider it essential for a yoga teacher to be able to pronounce the Sanskrit names of the poses; their students will hear and then through cultivation and practice manifest the form correctly. I have seen this happen.Sanskrit has been called the language of the gods. It summons them, supplicates and glorifies them. There are other incantations, however, that summon other beings and have also been used for centuries.It is better to be careful what you chant and, for that matter, what you hear. Find out what it means first. You can’t afford not to. Anyone involved in teaching so-called spiritual practices who is really vague or doesn’t explain what they are doing is either poorly trained or trying to pull a fast one. Either way, they are not looking out for you.
~*~
This is an excerpt from the author's book Basic Bhagavad-Gita: An Introduction of Bhagavat Vedanta, available here.
Sravaniya DiPecoraro has been an initiated disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada since 1971. She was instrumental in getting Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-Gita As It Is translated into Chinese. A Yoga Alliance E-RYT 500 instructor, she has also taught hatha yoga in the Far East since 1983 and in the early 90s was the first professional yoga teacher in Hong Kong. Sravaniya has also been an astrological and psychic consultant since 1992 and her clients include people from all walks of life and diverse cultures. She has been featured in a variety of publications including The Asian Wall Street Journal, the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Standard, HK Magazine and others, and has appeared on CNBC as well as local television and radio. Learn more about her on her website or Facebook page, Barefoot Philosopher.
Ode to the Holy Name
by Jahnavi Harrison
Whisper it beneath the summer oakswhile swallows dive aboveShout it in your morning shower,share it with the ones you love.Sing it loud, groups of ten,three or seventy-five,brand it on your beating chest andkeep your heart alive.In the garden, on the bus,before exams and interviews,at joyous birth and bitter death,sing this name, loud and true.Call it when your days are long,breathe it in and out with heavy head,cry it over your morning tea,and into your pillow before bed.Wash this name through every fibre,rinse and repeat, rinse and repeatsing with everything you have,soft, sweet, subtle, deep.
(This poem originally appeared in Bhakti Blossoms: A Collection of Contemporary Vaishnavi Poetry, Published in August 2018, with Golden Dragonfly Press)
Expectations
Have you heard it said these days that the secret to happiness is to lower your expectations? It makes sense, doesn’t it? We often put so much pressure on ourselves or each other, due to our unnecessary or overblown expectations.But the other day I read a statement from the great Bhakti teacher, Bhaktivinode Thakur. He lived and taught in the 19th Century. He was an esteemed district magistrate under the British Raj; he had twelve children; he slept little and wrote prolifically in Bengali, Sanskrit and English. So, he was not a slacker.Understanding his position, I found what he said to be astounding, and I’ve been pondering it ever since:[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]Bhaktivinode Thakur said that humility means to have no expectation. To me, most amazing![/perfectpullquote]We live in an achiever’s culture, a culture of the American Dream, a culture of Great Expectations, handed down from Dickens, perhaps, but from the British, most certainly. Conventional wisdom tells me that whatever I want to achieve can be mine, if I only work hard enough and pull myself up by my own bootstraps.Counterintuitively, the culture of Bhakti is a receiver’s culture. I serve, aspiring to offer my whole heart, expecting grace to come of its own sweet will, if and when He (the divine masculine, Sri Krsna) and She (the divine feminine, Sri Radha) so choose to send the waters of Their mercy down to me. Yes, expectation of divine grace.But so often we have undue expectations of the mortals who share our lives. But they are just like me, so often in their brokenness, unable to come up to the high bar they set for themselves, or that I or others like me, impose on them. I sometimes have undue expectations of my partner, my friends, my children, my employees, my boss, my students, or teachers- it goes on and on.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]It seems to me that this lowering the bar of expectation could invoke quite a shift, could usher in a kinder, more compassionate world.[/perfectpullquote]
There’s proverbial bird in Sanskrit literature, called the Cataka bird. Perhaps it’s the same as the Native American thunderbird. This bird will not drink from the ground, not from a pond or a river, or the ocean. Always looking up, it chooses to remain thirsty until the monsoon rains pour from the raincloud above. That’s a lot of patience, often about nine months of the year!Maybe this outlook could correct our victimhood or, on the other hand, the pride of entitlement we so often live by. Maybe our lives would be different if we could become, so internally awake in our outlooks as to have no expectations of others, but to be aspiring to love and serve in humility, expecting, one day, those cooling drops of grace from above.All the best,Rukmini Walker
Lost in Stories
I'm very happy to introduce the readers of Urban Devi to the poetry of one of my dearest friends, Ananda Vrindavan. In addition to being a beautiful poet, she is the community president of ISKCON of DC. Please visit their website at iskconofdc.org Please watch for her poems to be regularly appearing on our Urban Devi website. -- Rukmini
Lost in Stories
By Ananda Vrindavan
We are deeply imbedded in this world
In story after story after story
Some ours, some others, some we
Shouldn’t even care about, but we do.
Some we were a lifetime searching for
And when we put the pieces together
It turned out to be a story we didn’t want to know
But now do, and have to work it in and out of our lives.
Where there is life, there is story
And where there is life around God there is more story.
But we are afraid of that
We can be people of story but not Him
We can laugh and sing and dance and cry
But who wants God to be an ordinary man of stories?
It’s too close to the bone.
But listen - His story is like the incredible night sky that
Wraps it’s glorious starry blanket around the earth
And those asleep upon it. His story contains us all
But we don’t want our part.
We are busy in the small screens of our own lives, lost in our own story.
Deepening my Relationship with The Goddess
Pranada Comtois
It’s the nature of spiritual practice, or sadhana, to move from head-to-heart to become harmonized. This is why it took me several years after I began my practice of Bhakti yoga, nearly fifty years ago, to really internalize certain concepts beyond theory and let them find a deep place in my being. This isn’t surprising since one such concept, and perhaps one of the most provocative, is that -according to Bhakti Theology- all souls (whether in a male or female body) are feminine!Ironically, females were oppressed in the Bhakti community where I lived and in response, for a while, I tried to suppress my own femininity. Even though we had all been taught that we are not our physical bodies, gender seemed to become an issue in many Bhakti temples. Throughout those struggles I absorbed myself in japa and kirtan,the main practices of Bhakti yoga. Quietly to myself, and out loud in groups, respectively, I chanted the ancient Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which addresses the Supreme Divine as both male and female.Although, at first my focus was on Krishna – the divine masculine – as my meditation progressed through the decades, Radha – the divine feminine and supreme Goddess—came to the forefront of my heart and awareness. Soon, pleasing her, serving her, and seeing her became my passionate, cherished goal.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]As my practice continued, Radha revealed her beautiful qualities to me. She is patient, grave, affectionate, compassionate, gentle, grateful, merciful, respectful, etc. In fact, all souls possess the same goddess-like qualities at their spiritual cores. How I longed to awaken these within myself![/perfectpullquote]
One text describes: “Radha is the full power, and Krishna is the possessor of full power.” Gradually Radha, the Divine Feminine, showed me the formidable power of the feminine, for her love conquers the all-powerful Krishna!This divine vision of Goddess Radha overpowering God through love – knocking him off his throne – astonished me. I realized that the Goddess not only shares the throne at the summit of reality, she demurely controls it, as well as he who owns it! And she does so with the deepest compassion and pure love: a love that drives God mad.Each day my relationship with Radha – and understanding how powerful the feminine can be – deepens. Meditating on Goddess Radha has unlocked transcendental reflections in me as I begin to understand the awesome implications in declaring all souls as feminine: that we all have these qualities and this power of spiritual love, regardless of our biological genders. What a different world it would be if all people imbibed these powerful, divine qualities!We experience masculine and feminine in this world – however imbalanced – because they have a pure state in the spiritual world. Unfortunately, our experiences of masculine and feminine energies are but impoverished reflections of their spiritual source and oftentimes the world subjugates the female and accentuates the male.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]The Goddess teaches us how to do away with inebriated concepts of gender by empowering ourselves with her divine qualities and her overpowering, pure love through service to our Divine Other.[/perfectpullquote]
This is the path of Bhakti, which I call “The Way of the Feminine Divine.” It is the means by which we achieve our full potential as spiritual beings. It is the way of the Goddess of Wise-Love, Radha, unto whom I offer my life each day in the service of helping others call Radha into their lives.Goddess Radha is the exemplar lover and the shelter of all affection. For me, she’s the transcendent goal. Whether in a male or female body and whichever gender we identify with, in our spiritual perfection – according to Bhakti – we’re all servants of the Supreme Goddess Radha!And what happens when we become servants of the divine goddess in the truest sense? We become spiritual lovers. We conquer God! We conquer our Divine Other with our love. Is there any greater potential for the soul? Not as I see it.This essay was originally published in GODDESS, When She Rules: Expressions by Contemporary Women, (Golden Dragonfly Press, Jan.2018)______________________________________________
Pranada Comtois is a devoted pilgrim, teacher, 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 with a focus on how to culture wise-love in our lives and relationships so we can experience the inherent, unbounded joy of the self. At sixteen she met her teacher A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami and began her lifelong study and practice of bhakti. The wisdom of her teaching grows from living for twenty years as a contemplative in bhakti ashrams, and another twenty years raising a family and running two multi-million dollar businesses. Pranada is an activist in women’s spiritual empowerment. She was the first to speak up for gender harmony in the modern bhakti tradition and successfully organized global steps against gender injustice. Her writing has appeared in Integral Yoga, Rebelle Society, Elephant Journal, Tattooed Buddha, and the books Journey of the Heart, Bhakti Blossoms, and GODDESS: When She Rules. She is a featured speaker in the film Women of Bhakti.Her debut, award-winning book, Wise-Love: Bhakti and the Search for the Soul of Consciousness is available here. Connect with Pranada on her website here.
You are a Sacred Spark of the One Supreme Whole
Rukmini Walker
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[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] "Comparison is the thief of joy." Theodore Roosevelt [/perfectpullquote]
Most of us spend at least some of our waking energy comparing ourselves to others: our work output, our capabilities of various sorts, our intelligence, our beauty, our education, our agility in yoga, our financial stability, even our detachment from all of these things. Sometimes after comparing ourselves to another we feel appreciation for them, but at other times we feel jealousy.
When we can pause and appreciate someone’s good qualities we become enriched by them. When enviousness or jealousy rears their ugly faces, a door can open to the dark side, leading, perhaps, we know not where.
I love this quote from Mother Teresa, who worked so selflessly, along with her sisters, for so many years caring for the needs of the poor in the mean streets of Kolkata. She said:
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.
But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
~Mother Teresa~ [/perfectpullquote]
In other words, we are tiny as innumerable, infinitesimal jiva souls: we are insignificant. But yet, as a sacred spark of the Supreme Whole we can tell ourselves: “I am sacred, I am worthy, and my contribution, however small, is seen, is recognized, and is accepted by the One Supreme Whole, Sri Krishna.” He is the One who sits in our hearts, the One who sees all things, and hears every word that’s spoken, even in a whisper.
Each one of us possesses an original constellation of qualities—each of us unique like a snowflake. How can one be compared to another?!?
Each offering I make—each offering you make—is unprecedented in its uniqueness. No other person can, or will do it (whatever that may be), exactly the same way you or I will do it. And that’s our beauty, given to us by Krishna, that’s the beauty given to us to offer back to Lord Krishna.
And when each of us from each of our unique perspectives can appreciate that beauty, then we all become enriched.
An Aristocratic Lady
Dear Friends,I was recently at Bhakti Center in New York where we have our monthly Urban Devi group. We are working with Visakha Dasi's book, Five Years, Eleven Months, and a Lifetime of Unexpected Love. We discussed Chapter Seven, An Aristocratic Lady: Her metaphor for the awakening of faith in her heart.Visakha wrote:"The faith I had in the unbelief, skepticism and suspicion I'd inherited from my parents was becoming a noxious squatter who lived in my heart as if it owned me. Spiritual faith, I discovered, could not be trifled with. She was like an aristocratic guest in my home. If I was hospitable, if I made her feel welcome, if I respected her, she'd gladly stay and offer me a life so filled with varieties of loving relationships it was beyond my imaginings. But neglected or taken for granted or in the company of unpleasant people, she was gone- along with a sense of how small things depend on great things and how I cannot comprehend much in this world. When faith left, my sense of the mystical left with her.Yet, faith was more than a house guest- she was a permanent resident within me who'd long ago receded to an inner room. As she slowly emerged, doubt was edged out along with his tasteless and flagrant decor. Faith began decorating with tenderness and beauty, warmth and impeccable good taste. A child's candor and wonder began to return to me- the unspoiled vulnerability and verve of innocence."(Excerpt from Five Years, Eleven Months, and a Lifetime of Unexpected Love, Our Spiritual Journey Press, February 2017)
Find more books written by women in the Bhakti tradition, by clicking here!All the best,Rukmini Walker
Mantra: Sounds Into Silence
The DC premiere of the film, Mantra, Sounds into Silence is on Sunday, July 8th. My son, Gaura Vani was interviewed in the film and he will be leading kirtan at the theater after the film. There are a few tickets still left. I hope you can join us! Click here for ticket for the Silver Spring, Maryland showing.If you do not live near by, click here to schedule a showing in your own town! 
Appreciation
I attended a talk a few nights ago at Bhakti Center (bhakticenter.org) given by Vaisiseka Das. An exemplary, happy devotee of Krsna. It seems that his effusive happiness springs from an overflowing well of gratitude in his heart. Gratitude for what he's received, gratitude for what he's been gifted to share. I think this is a great key to happiness, to transformation.
I have a personal practice of collecting quotes about gratitude. Living it, dwelling in a childlike sense of wonder is quite another thing. A realized thing. I think we overlook the simple, looking always over its head for the abstract or complex. To remember Krsna as the taste of water each time we drink; to see Him in the light of the sun and moon. What did William Blake say about seeing infinity in a grain of sand?
Vaisiseka Prabhu quoted Voltaire who said that appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. He quoted Srila Prabhupada's purport to a verse in Srimad Bhagavatam where he says that gratitude becomes more developed in the human form of life. What does that mean, really? Animals are just going on, eating grass, eating other animals, standing or pouncing on others in a field. When my consciousness becomes awakened that all that I have has come to me as a gift, that's the beginning of my awakening, the beginning of human life. Taking everything for granted, living as though on automatic pilot, as though it will always be there, as though I will always be here, this is an unexamined life, a life that has not yet evolved to being an awakened human.
UPCOMING EVENTS
July
August
September
October
November
January 2019 - India Adventure
Vaishnavi Retreat Oct 5-7
VAISHNAVI RETREAT
A BHAKTI INSPIRED RETREAT FOR WOMEN, BY WOMEN
OCT 5-7 | Cobb, CA
A 3-day interactive retreat to celebrate and connect with other women of Bhakti and spiritual seekers alike in a refreshing, supportive environment. Through illuminating classes and seminars, meditative japa and kirtans and spirited festivities, this retreat’s purpose is to inspire you to progress in your spiritual journey back to Godhead. Both body and soul will be nourished with pure Krishna prasadam, sanctified vegetarian meals prepared and offered with love.
Visit https://www.vaishnaviretreat.com/ for more information and to register.
Building Beloved Bhakti Community
- To align the internal community of voices within myself.
- To honor the immediate community that exists between ourselves and others.
- And finally, our world view, and actions as Global Citizens.
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As I've been pondering this topic for the last few weeks while preparing for our retreat, I had an interesting exchange with a mechanic. I drive a 2006 Toyota Prius with 135,000 miles on it. At this point it needs some work, it needs parts. A friend of ours who sells used cars gave us the name of a mechanic. The mechanic said, "You're not going to use those old junk parts that your friend uses in the cars he sells, are you?"As I thought about it, this became a metaphor for community building for me. If I'm trying to become a component of an authentic, vibrant community, how well will that community function if its components are, well, junk? In all humility, I need to cultivate a daily personal practice in order to become my best self, if I'm even a tiny cog in the mechanism of a community of trust. Connecting with Krsna, with Divinity through my chanting, my meditation before running out each day is essential for me, but it also uplifts the quality of my interactions with others in the world in equally essential ways.What are my responsibilities to that immediate community that exists between myself and others? Recently, I read this interpretive translation of a text from the Talmud:
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.[/perfectpullquote]
And finally, what is the vision of a Global Citizen? Bhagavad Gita instructs us in samadarshan, or equal vision: "The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle wise person, a cow, an elephant, a dog, or even one who likes to eat a dog." (Bg 5.18)Beyond the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, or all declarations of human rights, is this inclusive vision of every living being as a sacred part of the One Supreme Whole.And also iccha, that in our actions, we always have a choice how we may choose to respond. During WWII, Victor Frankl was a psychiatrist imprisoned in a concentration camp. He observed some people who, although starving themselves, were willing to give their last crust of bread to another person. He writes:"They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Man's Search for Meaning[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] Three aspects of Building a Beloved Bhakti Community:
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- To align the many voices within myself into a community of one, conscious loving person
- To see and act in dharma, or right action, between myself and the immediate others I meet in my day
- And, ultimately, to see myself as a true Global Citizen who holds a sacred vision of the connectivity of the earth, and all the lives she holds.
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If you're of the feminine gender, please join us at Bhakti Center on Sunday, June 17th for our next Urban Devi Sanga from 2-4 PM. We'll be working with Visakha Dasi's book, Five Years, Eleven Months, and a Lifetime of Unexpected Love, Chapter Seven, An Aristocratic Lady.In September, please join us at Supersoul Farm in Chatham, New York for our second annual Urban Devi Retreat, September 28-30.And January 14-27, please join my son, Gaura Vani and I on our second annual India Kirtan Adventure in Puri, Odissa; the UNESCO green travel destination, Govardhan Eco Village, and the ecstatic Flower Festival at Radha Gopinath Temple in Mumbai. Click here for more details.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]⭐️ SIGN UP BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30TH AND GET AN EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT OF $200! ⭐️ [/perfectpullquote]Last year was magical... Please join us!
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
Living in the Season
by Susan Weiser Mason
Here in Damariscotta Mills, the alewives have returned, the star magnolias are in full bloom, and a delicate halo of yellowish green is emerging in the hardwood canopy. The arrival of Spring brings a welcome and magnificent surge of energy that speaks confidently of renewal. And not a moment too soon! So now that we are here, what is the invitation of this season?[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]Spring is a really good time to initiate. What do you want to clear out, internally and externally? What would you like to see happen this year? Spring invites a new start.[/perfectpullquote]We make a plan and we begin to implement. There is, for instance, the decision to plant, and then we put the seed into the ground. Literally or metaphorically, this is what Spring is asking of us. Be assured, the energy of this season will support you in your push to begin, your desire to engage, whether it is trying new things or making changes.Some of us may feel we just don’t have the get up and go to meet this dramatic shift after Winter, but waking up to Spring is really worth the effort! Not planting the real or metaphoric seed now has a ripple effect throughout the entire year. There may not be time for the germinated seed to mature in the full expansion of summer, or for it to ripen and be ready by Fall. So then there may not be a harvest. Without having secured a harvest, it is difficult to let go into the winter, as we are called to do. Lack of reserves undermines our ability to embrace the opportunity that Winter offers; rest and rejuvenation. So when Spring finally does come around again, is it any wonder that many feel depleted, and are challenged to marshal reserves of our own? No season is more important than any other. They are all completely interdependent, with each season having its own emphasis, voice, and requirements.[perfectpullquote align="left" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]Spring’s clarion call is to begin. Coming into balance with this season, is one way to experience what health actually looks like.[/perfectpullquote]
Trees are anchored by strong roots that support upward growth. They flower, leaf out, and express themselves in all their glory. This is the emphatic energy of Spring. Winds may blow, rains may pour down, but trees are irrepressible, and determined to grow upward. We too are like a tree reaching towards the sun. What do you need to help you grow right now; to fully express yourself? What has been just waiting and longing to be changed? On another note, many folks are reporting feeling anxious these days. Part of this may have to do with a political climate that is unsettled, and the confrontational way groups are relating to one another. But whatever the reason may be, this anxiety is affecting our overall communal health. Being attentive and responsive to Nature’s guidance, especially now, is deeply grounding, and can help dispel feelings of resignation.In closing, a little Spring cleaning is in order. Its time to let go of the heavier diet of winter, and replace it with a lighter one with lots of Spring bitters like dandelion greens, spinach and arugula, scallions and chives. All of these foods help cleanse the body and support Spring renewal. And last but not least, what a wonderful time to rise early and take a walk, being nourished by the promise of this season.____________________
Susan Weiser Mason has been practicing Traditional Acupuncture in Midcoast Maine for twenty seven years. Susan earned a Master's of Acupuncture degree from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute (now called Maryland University of Integrative Health). In 1986, she opened her Traditional Acupuncture private practice in Bath, Maine and moved to Nobleboro in 1989. She earned an advanced degree from the College for Traditional Acupuncture in England in 1989. Susan served on the board of the Maine Association for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for many years and was involved in drafting the Maine Acupuncture Law in 1990. Since 1998, she has served on the teaching faculty of the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Gainsville, Florida. Learn more about her on her website here.
My Mother Wants a New Body by Rukmini Walker
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Rukmini Walker (May 2018)
India Kirtan Adventure 2019
Join me and my son, Gaura Vani, for our next India Kirtan Pilgrimage! Jan 2019. Click here for more details.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]⭐️ SIGN UP BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30TH AND GET AN EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT OF $200! ⭐️ [/perfectpullquote]
Karuna-Sindhu: Oceans of Compassion
At the heart of our own humanity is our ability to be sensitive to the feelings of others. When—upon seeing others suffering—we feel our own heart ache, and reach out to soothe their pain, we are living up to our highest human potential. This kindness, as I understand it, is compassion in action: the unsupportable urge to relieve another of their wounds.When I reminisce on my life, the regret that makes my stomach churn the most is that of not having treated others with more kindness. But regrets cripple compassion. So, instead of wallowing in them, I make a conscious, daily effort to use my old regrets as inspiration to be kinder today. Sometimes this warrants summoning the compassion goddess within me.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]The quality of compassion was so revered by ancient eastern traditions, that they gave it divine status, ascribing it to merciful goddesses who ferried souls from states of suffering into states of enlightenment. From Sri Radha to Kuan Yin, Hindu and Buddhist texts alike, consider most worthy of worship those who hear and respond to our cries.[/perfectpullquote]But what happens when our own cries are so loud that we become irresponsive to the cries of others? It’s not uncommon for our own compassion to falter when we ourselves are struggling. Suffering can overwhelm us to the point that we disconnect from our own kind nature. Sanskrit texts refer to this phenomenon as the impossibility of a drowning person to rescue another drowning person.Compassion then enters as one who has transcended the sea that drowns us, and descends from above. The Buddhist tradition depicts such a compassionate one as Avalokitesvara, or “that lord, or ruler who gazes down upon the world”. For looking upon the suffering of this world with compassion is inseparable from successful lordship or governance. Leaders, or guides in our lives, that can elevate us past feelings of anger, fear and anxiety inspire us to move toward the best versions of ourselves: owners of compassionate hearts.
Cultures that cultivate karuna, or compassion, thrive. This includes extending compassion toward animals as well. This is one of the basic tenets of Eastern traditions. Compassion becomes like nourishment for society. It is easy to feel compassion for an orphaned child, a homeless person, or a little bird that has fallen out of a nest. Our hearts are tested, however, when life invites us to extend compassion even toward those who may be hurting us, or others. What does this kind of compassion look like?The form compassion takes in each of our lives differs from person to person. For me it begins with trying not to take the aggressions of others personally. I find that when I do, I may slip into the very feelings that are fueling oncoming attacks.Deep hurts can all too easily move into anger. People who are hurting all too often become hurtful. In becoming sensitive to my own wounds and those of others (and whatever triggers them), I more readily access the compassion in my own heart.In the Jain tradition, compassion is regarded as one of the “four reflections” of universal friendship, as there is no hope of cultivating true friendships, without the ability to empathize and feel compassion toward others. Compassion thus becomes a sturdy bridge between hearts. Even two wounded hearts.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]When we surround ourselves with those in whose presence we feel heard, kindly treated, and most loved, we are extending compassion toward ourselves. Within compassionate communities everyone feels safe, respected and honored. Such sangas become the backbone of nations in which love reigns supreme.[/perfectpullquote]In the Bhakti yoga tradition, those who spontaneously give rise to such sangas are seen are valuable leaders, teachers or gurus. Such inspiring people are referred to as karuna-sindhu, or “oceans of compassion”, for their sensitivity toward others never expires. In meditating on extending compassion outward into the world— that is as deep and broad as the sea—we’ll find ourselves effortlessly connecting with our own compassionate heart. Only when we allow ourselves to be governed by thoughts, words and behavior that flows from this sea of compassion, will our world be at peace. I find comfort in knowing there are such souls on this planet