Art & Words Duet: Day 6Being Held(To know more about this Duet, click here.)On Friday mornings I bathe, offer puja, and dress Chota (“Little”) Radha Murlidhara. After I had set up all the tables and materials for worship, I stepped on the alta…
Author Archives: Bhakti lata
Being Held
Green
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(To know more about this Duet, click here.)Art by Rukmini PoddarArt & Words Duet: Day 5Green”I’m so nervous, Gigi,” Amanda said, gripping her best friend’s arm tightly.”Honey, you’re cutting off my circulation,” Gigi said.”Oh, yes, sorry,””You…
The Enigmatic Smile
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(To know more about this Duet, click here.)Art by Rukmini PoddarArt & Words Duet: Day 4The Enigmatic Smile”Mrs. Donahue, mother of Lalita, requested a chaplain.”I glanced at my clipboard. “Okay, I’ll see her. When?””Now.””Will do,” I nodded an…
The Glass Heart
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(To know more about this Duet, click here.)Art by Rukmini PoddarArt & Words Duet: Day 3There’s a man who takes walks in the morning with a giant red ball of silk sashes. He whistles and smiles at the neighbors who jog by. They don’t smile back…
Escape
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(To know more about this Duet, click here.)Art by Rukmini PoddarArt & Words Duet: Day 2EscapeAll day I wash pots, scrub floors, and cook for a family who sneers at me when I walk through a room. I change diapers and sing lullabies for a pair of twi…
Art and Words Duet: Day 1
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Sometimes art begs for written words. Sometime written words beg for art. My friend Rukmini and I have teamed up for an 8-day challenge: when I write, she will share art. When she shares art, I will write.For the first four days, Rukmini will first off…
Hungry for Love
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I get it. I get why the worldwide Hare Krishna movement began in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York.It’s the people. I’ve noticed that in New York City, everyone is hungry. Hungry for money, hungry for power, hungry for fun, hungry for meaning,…
Courage to Change
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[The Serentiy Series is based upon this prayer: God grant me the courage to change the things I can, the serenity to accept the things I can’t, and the wisdom to know the difference.] Ghanashyam and I bought tickets back in March to visit Ala…
Wake Up to Love
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What am I going to do with my life?Sheez, what a heavy question.Last night in a pool of light from my bedstand, I was scrawling away in my journal. I’m facing the fact that suddenly I’m unsure what I’m going to do for a meaningful career or servic…
Reminder
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I rarely listen to live recorded kirtans. It’s just not my thing for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, there are some live recordings that I listen to at times, and one particular kirtan I listen to is when I myself have lead the kirtan. This particu…
An Inevitable Occasion
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Inevitably, that day will come.
All that mattered was the holy name. I felt so loved unconditionally. Even though all of these offenses that can be committed to the holy name are there in my heart, somehow none of them mattered at the time of death. NONE of them. None. Krishna was there for me. It was an amazing experience how the holy name was all that existed and I felt safe.
I had no idea what was coming next, but that was okay. I felt no fear. I felt so loved, that was the surprising thing. No matter what I’d done or said or in my life, Krishna’s holy name was there. If at my time of death I can chant the holy name, then my life is complete.
And if I can’t chant, the holy name will come for me.
“My dear Lord Krishna, how will it be possible for me to remember You at the time of death, when my throat will be choked up with mucus, bile, and air? O my Lord, may I leave this world at this very moment when I am healthy and conscious; let the royal swan of my mind enter the tangled stems of the lotus of Your feet.” – Prayers by King Kulashekhara
The Power of Prasad
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I believe in the power of prasad.My dad has been telling me for the past several years, “Prasadam, prasadam!! You must serve prasadam always; if someone eats prasadam their lives will change forever.”He’s not exaggerating.My father and mother would fre…
Gems
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For the Kirtan Connection course that I teach, we have a private blog where students write a post every week and comment on their fellow students’ posts. This week our topic was kirtan etiquette and pride. I just finished commenting on every post.I fee…
Certain Uncertainty
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[Serenity Series for May]It just hit me today: Soon I will be living out of a suitcase for two or three months. Soon I will move out of my room here in Brooklyn. Not exactly sure where I’m moving to.For at least the next year, my living situation will …
Birthday of a Great Soul
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Dear Indradyumna Swami,Please accept my respects. All glories to our beloved Srila Prabhupad.This morning I tuned in to the Alachua radio and got to hear you speak so beautifully on Srimad Bhagavatam. When I meditate upon your mood of service and love …
Whats in a Name?
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Flashback Friday: September 23rd, 2001 (age 14)I haven’t realized it before, but I’m actually named after it: Bhakti – transcendental service to Krishna… this is perfect happiness. To give and give and give and receive nothing in return. At least mat…
Waking Up to My Will
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Serenity Series: March”I’ve wanted to be a high school English teacher since I was 12.”I’ve been reciting this line for the past decade or so. This aspiration has driven my endeavors in university, travel, and then ultimately to graduate school. I’ve r…
Glorious Moment
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I have sat in front of the deities of Radha and Krishna many, many times with only the walls as witness. I would sit in front of the harmonium and sing the holy name or a bhajan in a random way, just let the notes flow like a river and take me on a jou…
Clicking In
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Ghanashyam’s mother lives in a small town in New Jersey, and we decided to visit her for a couple days. This morning we took a stroll. Every so often we would pause to gaze in wonder at a dried leaf that shone golden in the sun, or the bright purple, b…
Jaded
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One morning when I was 21, I was in Mumbai, India, listening to Radhanath Swami give a spiritual discourse to several hundred people all packed tightly into a temple. At the end of the discourse, he asked if there were any questions. Being me, I shot m…
Weathering the Weather
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Serenity Series: FebruaryIce falls from the sky. The road and the sidewalks are smothered in ice, puddles, and blackish snow. All is dark, and headlights from oncoming cars rush towards me in big SWISH SWISHes.I’m on my way to work at 6:30am. I tightly…
Getting Tested
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Serenity Series 1: Getting Tested (January) It was my second day of work at University Prep High. I had rehearsed over and over in my head my duties and responsibilities in regards to administering 9th and 10th grade midterm exams. I was nervous b…
Serenity Series Intro
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“To the extent that I’m disconnected from conscious living, to that extent I get absorbed in drama.” – David Wolf / Dhira Govinda dasa I’m tired of drama. The last several months of 2014 there were many bouts of times when I was swimming in drama,…
Little Pot to Big Pot
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We broke up into two smaller groups to discuss. In the group I was in, one girl mentioned how everyone seems to be in their own little groups. She formed her hands into a circle, “A panelinha,” she said.
“Panelinha?”
“It means ‘clique,'” said the girl who was translating.
“Oh really?” I lifted my brows.
“Yes, it means ‘little pot,'”
I laughed. Then all the girls laughed to see that I got it. Oh yes, I thought to myself, there were many little pots simmering on the stove of this Camp.
“Let’s be more open,” the first girl explained in Portuguese, and other girls nodded in assent. Ultimately, all of the girls agreed to explore being open today.
The analogy became a running joke – any time there were little groups of girls, some would yell out, “panelinha, panelinha!!” and either break it up or say, “Hey, wanna join my panelinha?”
With each day, the fire became hotter and hotter in this camp. What can one expect when you get 19 girls all living in the same house day after day? We were serving each other prasad every day, getting up early for morning programs, we rode horses, hiked, offered a performance at a senior home, we had a dance party… Let’s just say that many tears were shed – from pain in the body, pain in the heart, from gratitude, and from joy.
The final morning of the camp, we each offered appreciation for one other person. When the meeting concluded, spontaneously everyone moved throughout the room, embracing each other, tears flowing and flowing. From my years of saying goodbye on Bus Tours, I knew that never again would we all be in the same room again.
I didn’t say anything, only looked each girl in the eyes and felt my heart overflow. What an insane adventure.
We had transformed from a bunch of panelinhas to one panelón – little pot to big pot.
New Year’s Night
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I went from the concrete world of New York City to the emerald world of New Gokula. I’m breathing in jasmine, cow dung, the river, and now the rain. I can feel it all on my skin, in my lungs. The day was hot and sweet, and now the night and rain is fal…
That´s a Wrap!
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Your Shore
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Below is a poem I wrote several years ago. These words came to me very strongly this evening, and I have been deeply absorbed in what it truly means to return once more, once more, once more to my spiritual teacher and my spiritual path. Subscribe…
A Lovely Evening
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In the hot summer evening, I stepped onto the cool marble. The cavernous, circular hall echoed with the soft tones of Bengali. Pillars ringed the hall, and the ceiling vaulted high, high up. I lifted my gaze up to the domed ceiling, which was decorated…
A Long-Awaited Bath
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June 20th, 2013I lived in the holy village of Mayapur, India for 8 months and I had never taken a sacred bath in the waters of the River Ganga. My very last day in Mayapur, I was on a mission to submerge my chanting beads in the Ganga. I had thought th…
Journey of Service
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Last year when I was living in the holy village of Mayapur, I would visit Srila Prabhupad’s samadhi and pray, pray to be of service. I passed many evenings of prayer in that great marble hall surrounded by the glory of Srila Prabhupad’s life. The whisp…
Snapshots and Huge Pictures
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Have you ever noticed that I tend to write on my blog about “snapshot” experiences that somehow impact my heart?Have you ever noticed that I rarely write about the “huge picture” experiences that impact my heart?Maybe it’s because the “snapshot” experi…
Bhakti lata At A Glance
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This was my homework assignment today for one of my English classes:Draft your own autobiographical poem and follow this structure:The first line is your first name, followed by a line of three words that describe you to yourself. The next line is some…
Every Day Just Write
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On August 1st, 2014, I began a 30 day x-ray (30dayxray.blogspot.com). This is a challenge to write every single day for one month. I took it to 60 days.Then 90 days.This Friday, I concluded the 90 day x-ray.90 days, a blog post every single day. I…
The Awesomest
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Tonight I went to Bhagavad Gita class at the Bhakti Center, and we are in the midst of the 10th chapter, which describes the opulence of God.This is God:I am adventure. I am the beginning, the middle, the end. Of bodies of water, I am the oce…
Chant the Holy Name
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*name has been changed in this post for privacy”May I help you in some way?” I asked the customer who had just walked into La Maison du Chocolat.”Sure,” she replied, “I’m looking for a gift for a friend,””Okay, sure, what would you be looking for? Your…
Room Without A Roof
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Images from yesterday’s wedding play through my mind in snippets of magic.The mysticism of the ceremony,the tears of those present,Jai’s sober expression as he vowed to protect Syama,the grins of pure joy of everyone (yes, everyone) dancing in kirtan,S…
Live on Purpose
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I read the above sign on the train when I sat down. The message registered as barely a blip, like all other advertising in New York City. Then I opened my book and began to read; the train picked up speed, heading to the next stop.Suddenly, two uniform…
Krishna-shaped Hole
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For as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little girl, I have always had this longing for something or someone. Something or someone is missing from my life. It’s either new clothes, a temple, a community, adventurous travels, friends, a husban…
A Month in the Life
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The month of August, 2014, has been a crazy one indeed. Amazing and crazy. I thought instead of telling you I’d simply show you. I got to dress Sri Radha Govinda, the worshipful Lords of Mother Kaulini. I moved into my new place in Brooklyn, …
God’s Temple
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Several years ago, in the evening a whole busload of devotees all went swimming in the ocean, and I was in bliss! Ah, the ocean! It had been almost a year since I’d frolicked in the waves. I then went on a very long, dancing and frolicking walk along t…