Krishna is ATTACHED! (Verse 3 of Caturślokī Bhāgavatam)
→ The Enquirer

Continuing from verse two – here is the third of the the essential, four-śloka core of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam – recorded in the Second Canto, Chapter Nine, Text Thirty-Five. (Large text is direct, literal translation, small text incorporates the Gaudiya Sampradaya commentaries.)

yathā mahānti bhūtāni
bhūteṣūccāvaceṣv anu
praviṣṭāny apraviṣṭāni
tathā teṣu na teṣv aham

Brahmā: How do you interact with the realities that your magic generates?

Hari: I am within them, yet outside them, too.

Brahmā: Can you give an example to help me comprehend this apparent contradiction?

Hari: The primordial elements of the universe are beyond everything within the universe. Yet they are also within everything in the universe, great and small, because everything has evolved from them. Similarly I am beyond yet within all perceptions of reality.

Brahmā: I know that your phrase “I am within them, yet outside them, too.” must have many meanings.

Hari: Yes, listen:

“I am within everything, but beyond everything.” One important meaning is this: the fact that I am spread throughout all of reality does not mean that I cannot also localize myself and display my individual name, form, qualities, and activities. I can be within all things, but also have my own transcendent individuality distinct from them.

You can also take the phrase as, “I am within some  things, but beyond other things.” This reveals another important meaning: Although factually I am everywhere, my presence is not tangibly obvious within the illusory reality of māyā. My presence is tangibly direct within the reality revealed by yoga-māyā. So I am within the spiritual reality of yoga-māyā, but beyond the material “reality” of māyā.

You can also take the phrase as, “I invest myself into some things, but remain univested from others.” I am everywhere in all realities, but I am very detached from the affairs within the so-called realities of māyā. I merely facilitate everyone’s dreams of independence and self-importance, and I do so in an utterly neutral and dispassionate manner. I “do not invest myself” in those “realities.” Yet I thoroughly and absolutely invest myself in the realities revealed by yoga-māyā. I am extremely attached and passionate to serve the perceptions of the spiritual individuals existing therein. I give myself to them, wholeheartedly and emotionally. I offer my divine beauty simply to serve their divine vision, decorating myself and dancing for them. I offer the divine sound of my flute and my voice to their divine hearing, playing music that delights them, and playfully conversing with them day and night. Thus I enter into their vision and hearing, saturating their eyes and ears. So too do I passionately long to drift into their noses as my intoxicating fragrance, to enwrap their skin with my velvet-silk embrace, and to fill their mouths with the nectar flavor of my kisses. So, my heart is detached from the affairs of māyā, yet passionately attached to the affairs of yoga-māyā.

rasalila painting 1


Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day
→ KKS Blog

Prabhupada morning walk chadar(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 November 2013, Vrindavan, India, Lecture: Damodar Lila)

This is the month of Kartik and I was asked to speak on the month of Damodar but although Damodar is so much on my mind, even more than that is the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada actually.

We will have arati in Srila Prabhupada’s room, by his bed. At the end of the arati, Srila Prabhupada’s chadar goes around, the big grey woollen chadar and it is heavy. When I felt that heavy chadar, I felt the weight of responsibility – now we have to do something; we have to do something to take up this mission!

It is up to us now. See, we have inherited it. Now what are we going to do for Srila Prabhupada’s mission to make the whole world Krsna conscious. I feel that on my head with that chadar. So, we do not need to look at our hearts and do deep psycho-analysis to see whether we can find a trace of the six enemies: lust, anger and greed, madness and envy – don’t worry, it is there! But somehow or other, embrace the service of Srila Prabhupada – if you do that and if we do something to make others Krsna conscious, he will surely look in our direction. He will shower us with mercy and that will save us!

Because of Srila Prabhupada…
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 November 2013, Vrindavan, India, Lecture: Damodar Lila)

srila prabhupada_1When I came to this Krsna Balaram mandir, initially I noticed how much present Krsna was but then I noticed that Prabhupada was even more present than Krsna. That is a fact; that is actually true because Srila Prabhupada has extended the mercy of Krsna and made it more available to us.

Last year, Brahmananda gave this lecture here. He was talking about Prabhupada and someone had a question and said, “In the early days, those were the very intimate days with Prabhupada and later, there was a bigger movement. Do you feel that something changed in the relationship with Prabhupada?”

Brahmananda said, “Well, you know, when you’re a child, your father is your father. And when you’re a grown-up, your father is still your father. So what has changed… Nothing has changed. Still the same!”  

Then the devotee said, “I can see that you are accepting Prabhupada as God.”

srila prabhupadaThen Brahmananda was getting quite strong and he said, “Oh no, that was a mistake! In 1970, I made that mistake that I thought Prabhupada was God. Prabhupada is not God – he is as good as God! But these days, I think Prabhupada is better than God because he came to the Lower-East Side to save me!” And then, Brahmananda started to cry!

So that was something. That was definitely something that touched my stone-like heart! I thought, “That’s right!” That is the position for all of us. Brahmananda may see it; others may see it; you and I may not see it but the fact of the matter is that we are here because of Srila Prabhupada.

We did not only come to Vrindavan because of Srila Prabhupada; we are able to stay here because of Srila Prabhupada, because of his prayer, because of his directions and are only able to catch a glimpse of the dham through him.

 

 

 

Lou Reed 1942-2013
→ View From a New Vrindaban Ridge

I was a big fan of Lou Reed in the late 1960s for all the wrong reasons so news of his death from complications following a liver transplant (see the pattern?) was sad to hear.

Most people spent the 60s listening to R+B or San Fransisco sound and when I mention Lou Reed they give me a puzzled look until I mention his one venture into the Top 40 “Walk on the Wild Side.”

Another song of his that got a lot of covers was “Sweet Jane” most notably by the Cowboy Junkies.

The irony is that I just heard a Lou Reed song in a car commercial for the first time “It’s Such a Perfect Day.” I was a little puzzled who their target demographic was.

Although never a Top 40 success he was  extremely influential amongst musicians and arguably the Grandfather of punk rock.


Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever

Saturday, November 2nd, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

The Actor

Brampton, Ontario

Early this morning I met the most amazing actor. He looked wholesome and was stylish in attire. At the time, he was very much in the enjoying mode before he got fearsome.

To be more specific, when on my japa meditation walk at 5 AM in the quiet suburbs of Toronto, I stumble upon an opossum. It’s the first one I had ever seen in Canada. He’s a hairy guy, he had in his possession an apple which he had been chewing on. The reason for me calling him an actor was because he was faking it – dead. Like the saying goes, ‘play possum’, referring to lay low and play dead. This little guy pulled it off real well. He was rather motionless, laying partially to the side, yet I could tell by some jaw movement he was very much alive. His stoic posture is his defense method. It’s instinctive, if not genius.

I wanted to let him know that he had nothing to worry about when meeting a veggie monk. I was able to get close enough and let him catch the sound of the mantra. I proceeded to walk with the intent to come back a few minutes later, and sure enough, I found him gone, his partially eaten apple missing as well. Perhaps he’s found a tree to suspend himself from by means of his powerful tail. I’d say he’s quite professional at what he does. I was reminded of the Gita statement, “I am the ability in all.” Wherever talent lies, it all emanates from Him.

Later in the evening I was proudly engaged in the grand opening of a new facility for VEC, an acronym for Vedic Educational Centre, sponsored by ISKCON. This facility will function as a temple on Sunday while on other days of the week will hold Gita classes, kirtan, cooking demos, Odissi classes of dance lessons, perhaps even South Indian martial arts.

To celebrate its opening at 6 George Street in downtown Brampton, we staged a drama, Gita: Concise. It was performed by our own local actors who are very sincere. They did splendid. They helped me to reflect on the expert marsupial little fellow, the opossum, and the opossum reminded me of Him.

May the Source be with you!

8 KM

The secret of the Hare Krsna movement
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 23 July 2013, Durban, South Africa, Lecture: Journey of faith)

srila prabhupada_2During my stay at the Krsna Balaram mandir, initially I was very impressed by the deities and the temple. But gradually it began to dawn on me that Prabhupada was even more prominently present in Vrindavan than Krsna. Krsna is so much present in Vrindavan – everywhere! But I realized that in the Krsna Balaram mandir, Prabhupada is even more present and that by satisfying Prabhupada’s desire, we will attain Krsna. That became very apparent to me.

And suddenly, I understood the secret of the Hare Krsna movement. I understood that the sincerity, the dedication that I had mistaken for fanaticism, was actually found in the devotees love for Prabhupada. Because at the time when I joined, the movement consisted of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples. They were very sincere and dedicated simply because of their love for Prabhupada.

That was a unique feature. That is the one thing this movement had over others, and we see that it brought about much greater changes in peoples’ lives.

 

2013 Govardhan Puja at ISKCON Atlanta, Georgia (Album 47 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Welcome to the Atlanta Hare Krishna Temple, a spiritual home cultivating and inspiring people of all religions, nationalities and cultures in devotion of God, Krishna. We have several programs focused on glorifying God through singing, dancing, worship of the lord(arati), discussing philosophy, and finally having vegetarian prasadam (sanctified food/food offered to the Lord) together. We believe in developing loving relationships, guiding, encouraging, and inspiring each other in spiritual practices and spreading the message of God. Read more ›

338. Racing away with life
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

Yesterday was the Melbourne cup – a day when the best of horses compete with one another to help make their owners rich and famous. For many years, thousands of dollars are spent on each horse to make them “function” at their optimum. After all – only if you invest will you get the best results. Horses need great care – best of food, trainers, medicine, stable etc. Until they fall over and fracture a leg that is.

Yesterday, one of the horses broke her leg and her “team” decided to “put down” the horse. One of the common reasons given by vets, trainers, their owners and supporters with limited knowledge is – “Horses can’t really survive for too long on 3 legs. So, we are doing it a favour by taking it’s life”.

This is how we should read this analysis of theirs – “We have no more use of the horse, can’t bother spending time and money on something which will eventually die, so lets just kill it, remove the problem and get another horse we can focus on”

Some questions -
- Why wouldn’t they let the horse have a natural death?
- Why won’t they continue to spend money on this animal that gave them so much money, fame and hope? Care means birth through to death.
- Why not have the sporting organizers set aside a fund to treat injured horses? Its not hundreds of horses that you have to pay for but a few here and there. These horses would not have run so much in their lives like they do in these races. So, the owners/sport/spectators have had a direct role to play in their injury.
- If a jockey had a fracture from a fall or any athlete for that matter was injured seriously, would they be put down too?
- If one’s dog or cat was injured, aren’t they given much love and care?
- Why do we continue to mistreat animals this way in the name of sports? Don’t we have enough sports already with which we can enjoy?

If you still want a race, the best one is for humans to race with another in developing a character of compassion and forgiveness. Everyone will end up as a winner and no life will have to be taken away.


Illusion & Reality [Verse 2 of Caturślokī Bhāgavatam]
→ The Enquirer

Continuing from verse one, I will try to explain in English as clearly and simply as possible the second of the four verses that are the essential core of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.

ṛte ‘rthaḿ yat pratīyeta
na pratīyeta cātmani
tad vidyād ātmano māyāḿ
yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ

Brahmā: I want to understand how your potencies create reality.

Hari: My magic can make the unreal seem real, and the real seem unreal. It hides reality from anyone whose heart dislikes it, granting unreal perceptions instead.

Brahmā: So, you create “reality” by generating illusions?

Hari: That is how my magic creates the unreal, “material” world.

Brahmā: How do you manifest the real world?

Hari: My same magic reveals the truth of real things and the falsity in unreal things, for those whose who are so inclined.

Brahmā: I see! By māyā you create an illusory reality for those who desire illusion, and by yoga-māyā you manifest factual reality to those who so desire.

Hari: Not only is this how I create the “worlds,” it is also how I create your sense of individuality. For those who require illusion, my magic hides their true identity and reveals the false self they desire. For those who embrace truth, my magic hides any false individuality and reveals their true identity.

Brahmā: Your magic seems to be like both light and darkness.

Hari: My magic is like light because it reveals things to the consciousness. When light shines directly on an object, you see it as it is. But when light glares nearby, the object is cast into shadow and cannot be perceived as it is. This darkness is made all the more impenetrable by the dazzling glare nearby, misdirecting the consciousness and contracting the pupil. Thus the light of my magic can both reveal and hide reality; it can both create and dispel illusions.

Large text, above, represents direct translation, smaller text represents useful explanatory comments or setup.

Day_63_or_Glare_by_Morpuddypond


Strange Pursuits
→ Load Film in Subdued Light

Camera: Imperial Savoy Film: FujiChrome Provia 100D RDP (expired mid 90s)

Camera: Imperial Savoy
Film: FujiChrome Provia 100D RDP (expired mid 90s)

Many travelers along Route 66 have stories about Harley and Annabelle, the “Mediocre Music Makers” from Erick, Oklahoma. Thousands have searched them out to experience a drop of their outlandishness – and for good reason. But when I rode through Erick on an incredibly rainy day in 2008, I had never even heard of them.

I saw their building and tried to take a few pictures through the downpour. A frail blond woman peeked her head out and asked if I wanted to come in an warm up. I said no at first, but her smile convinced me otherwise. We talked for an hour, interviewing each other about the road, life, spirituality and general vulgarity. And then they sang for me – which you can watch here (I was tired and shy).

On my most recent trip through Erick, they weren’t around. I know that Annabelle has been sick lately, and anything she needs to do to get better is worth it, but still, it was a bummer to miss them.

–

Flickr