The lives of everyone in the global community have been moving faster over the past so many years. Gone are the days of peaceful contemplation. Instead, the average person’s life is filled with small and large projects, most of them unessential. We’re flooded with information, news, conversation, jobs, activities, commitments, duties, relationships, meetings, travel, and we have too much access to the internet. As our lives speed by, the list of things we think we have to do seems to only get longer and create more stress.

Can anyone please tell me what answering millions of e-mails and doing all the many other things that steal energy, bring little happiness, and are based on a small vision have to do with the purpose of the human form of life?

Yet thousands of such things demand our attention. If we’re not careful these things can so totally occupy us that they suffocate our ability to think and feel deeply.

I once met a monk who carefully stored all his possessions in a single small travel bag. With an open smile on his face he told me one day, “If I don’t look through this bag every three months and throw out what’s unnecessary, my bag will either burst or I will have to buy a second one.” After a pause, he added, “We have to do the same thing in our lives. We have to regularly clean the house. If we don’t, we’ll either explode or live out our lives and then get a new body with even more entanglement attached to it.

I think all of us know what the monk means. His message is simple: prioritize, concentrate on what is essential and empowering, and know that if you don’t, trouble awaits.

Do you know how circus animal trainers drill dangerous beasts? They paralyze the animals’ willpower. The trainer enters the cage where a hungry and powerful tiger crouches. The trainer carries with him a chair that has four identical legs. The tiger is paralyzed. Why? Because it can’t prioritize; it can’t decide which of the four legs it should attack first. This gives the animal trainer an edge of authority and control. Gradually, the tiger is taught that even to eat it must please the trainer.

Many of us are similarly paralyzed, overwhelmed by the one thousand urgent things on our list, each of which seems equally important. We can’t decide what to do first, or even what we should simply ignore. Lack of prioritizing causes paralysis. When we lose the natural ability to discriminate between the important and the less important, our life’s foundation seems off and we become lost. The first thing that we forget and therefore fail to act on is that we are an eternal blissful part of God, and that from the perspective of eternity, nothing in this world, good or bad, is worth becoming a slave to.

How to Identify Priorities
The Srimad-Bhagavatam gives us some interesting spiritual advice on prioritizing by instructing us on what comes first: “There is no stronger obstruction to one’s self-interest than thinking other subject matters to be more pleasing than one’s own self-realization.” (SB 4.22.32) Srila Prabhupada clarifies in his purport to this verse that by “self-realization” the Bhagavatam is referring to realizing one’s individual self along with the Self of the self, Sri Krsna.

There are two simple techniques I use to help me find my own priorities:

I ask myself again and again: “What is the one activity I am presently not doing but know I should be doing - an activity that will change my life for the better?”

When I find an answer, perhaps relating to my spiritual practice, I then turn to other areas such as health or relationships and ask the question again. I find the results of this technique amazing and inspiring.

I mentally visit the end of my life and then look back from there. When we are in the midst of one thousand small things, we tend to see only what is directly in front of us. We’re like a person who takes a walk in the beauty of nature but who stares only at the path directly before us - until we smash our head on a low-hanging branch. When I look back at my life from the standpoint of death, however, I find myself caring only about the big things: relationships, selfless service, moments that allow me to forgive or to feel spiritually fulfilled or to express compassion.

These are the things we should concentrate on while we have the strength, intelligence, and open heart to do so. These types of bigger-picture accomplishments are the essential and energy-filled projects we should prioritize out of the millions of opportunities to act that life gives us. And we should do them now - because one thing you notice when you’re dying is that there really is only the “now.”

The Benefit of Prioritizing
Prioritizing gives birth to two types of strength in us:

The strength to say no to all that is unimportant and to throw it out like the unnecessary junk that it is.

The strength to do what is important and to reach our ultimate spiritual goal.

I wish all of us (myself included) the mercy and energy that comes from two types of nectarean fruit:

samsara-visa-vrksasya dve hy eva rasavat phale
kavyamrta-rasavadah sangamah saj-janaih saj-janaih saha

“On the poisonous tree of this world of repeated birth and death, there are only two tasty and sweet fruits: nectarean poetical compositions [like the Srimad-Bhagavatam] and association with saintly people.”
(From the Kavya literature, specific source unknown)

These two sources of nectar - saints and holy books - help us stop the waves of material desires that flood our lives and wash our attention to our real self-interest: service to the lotus feet of the Lord. Those lotus feet are the suitable boats for crossing the dangerous ocean of material illusion.

Let me end with an old poem of mine, which expresses my point in a helpful way:

Don’t Trust Me

O my Lord
I think You know that I love only You,
although I pretend to love other people and things.
I think You know that when I am sad
it’s because I feel separated from You,
although if I am asked
I would give other reasons.
When I cry, it’s always because of missing You,
although my tears carry other names.

I think You also know
that I am only looking for You,
although I seem to be looking for other persons and things.

Yes, I am a divided soul,
searching for something in the east,
while going west.
I am a helpless soul,
forced by some other agent long ago
to play the double life of a devotee and a cheater.

But do You know why I am writing You this?
It’s because I want Your special mercy.
Don’t believe my acts,
don’t trust my words,
but look deep into my heart
and You will see Your own beautiful image.

Sacinandana Swami

Under the Banyan Tree is a regular column featuring the writing of Sacinandana Swami.

Related Posts: More from Sacinandana Swami

December 29, 2009
Sri Vrindavana

This morning I got the news that my dear god-sister, Her Grace Rasajna devi dasi, passed away from this world. I will miss her dearly. I can’t remember where I heard the saying, but it goes something like, “One will be remembered more for how one made others feel than for what one has accomplished.” I think of Rasa in this way. It’s not that she didn’t have significant accomplishments, but whatever she accomplished is over-shadowed by the simple fact that there was just nothing bad in her heart. I can’t say that about many; I certainly can’t say that about myself. I can say that, however, about her. It is rare to know such a person. I feel grateful that I did.

She was a regular listener on my sanga classes twice a week and her
contributions were always thoughtful. I learned a lot from them. She was always
on the side of compassion over law, essence over form, but all couched in
unflinching faith in the words of Srila Prabhupada over every thing else. And
because of that unswerving faith and because of her pure heart, there is no
doubt about her eternal destination at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada.

I just wrote Ekacakra yesterday that I would be visiting Austin as soon as I
came from India so that I might see Rasa before she left. Today he wrote me
that she left. I feel sad that I won’t see her again, but relieved that her
Lordships took Rasa quickly to be with Them and to free her from any more pain.

I need to thank you, Rasa, for giving your love, example, and intimate
friendship to so many of my students and friends. It is a very significant and
prominent part of their spiritual lives. I am indebted to you for that.

Thank you for your desire to hear about Krishna and thus engaging me in talking
about Him. The most important sign of spiritual advancement is the desire to
hear about Krishna. You were thus a very elevated soul that will be missed
dearly by all.

Thank you for your encouragement and support in my own devotional service from
the thoughtful birthday cards to the kind donations. We all need to be
encouraged in devotional service, especially from those senior and more
elevated than us. I pray that I may follow your example of empowerment,
kindness, and reciprocation.

I am writing this early in the morning in Sri Vrindavana on the day after she
left. When I finish this I will chant for several hours and pray that whatever
little benefit comes from my chanting here this morning in Sri Vrindavana Dhama
will be transferred to her soul. I realize, however, that I am probably doing
this more for myself. I have little doubt that she has already achieved what I
am only aspiring for, the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha-Shyamasundara.

The column Greetings From Vrindavan is Dhanurdhara Swami’s journal regarding the joys and challenges of the devotional path. A book of his journal entries, spanning the years 2000-2003, has been published with the same title and is available here.

For those still unfamiliar, NAMRUPA is a Internet magazine (with the option for print on demand) featuring well written articles and beautiful photography related to all varieties of Indian thought and culture. Of all the yoga related publications I’ve come across, NAMARUPA stands out as one of the most interesting and authentic. The latest issue (issue 10 volume 5) features a review of Radhanath Swami’s book The Journey Home by Rachael Stark, an article about the Polish humanitarian and Hindu Swami Maurice Frydman by Abdi Assadi and a National Geographic article from December 1905 entitled “The Parsees & The Tower of Silence at Bombay”. To go directly to the article about The Journey Home click here, although I would encourage everyone to visit the namarupa.org home page to peruse all of their issues and consider subscribing. In this month’s issue the article about Radhanath Swami and the National Geographic article are both free downloads.

Kaustubha das

I was both delighted and disappointed by Sita Sings the Blues. Delighted by its creativity, but disappointed by its narrow understanding of the ancient story of Sri Rama. Sita Sings the Blues is an award winning¹, 80 minute film, written, directed, produced and animated by artist Nina Paley. It is her personal retelling of the Ramayana. Sita Sings the Blues has a captivating beauty of its own. But the Ramayna’s beauty, traditionally exemplified in the character of Rama, is often displaced by Paley’s resentment toward her ex-husband.

With this observation, I am not engaging in psychoanalysis at a distance. The connection is clear in the film itself. Paley’s narrative of Rama and Sita is cleverly interwoven with the narrative of her own painful divorce. Speaking of her marriage, Paley says, “the way that it fails is uncannily similar to the way Rama and Sita’s [relationship fails].”² Similar maybe, but there are obvious relevant differences as well. And in failing to recognize the differences, Paley allows the character of Rama to morph from the Ramayana’s hero into its villain.

But before elaborating on this criticism, I’d like to share some of what I found to be so great about Sita Sings the Blues. Unlike other animated Ramayanas which have been presented as children’s cartoons, Sita Sings the Blues is a mature artistic achievement. Its often fast paced progression is bursting with the colors and styles of India. It dazzles with wit and charm. From beginning to end, I was astonished with Paley’s cleverness. She masterfully combines several styles of animation. Shaded, squiggly drawn figures and collage style photography are combined to illustrate Paley’s own story. The bulk of the Ramayana story is animated with several styles of Indian painting as well as something resembling Betty Boop cartoons. Traditional South Asian shadow puppets with Indian voices are used as informal narrators. As they struggle to recall the details of the Ramayana story, and chuckle at the ones they find implausible, a variety of Hindu images enter and exit the screen illustrating their discussion. The result is not only captivating and humorous, but also brilliant as it considers some of the most puzzling questions about the Ramayana in a way that feels like a casual chat amongst friends sitting in a restaurant waiting for their masala dosas to arrive.

Then, of course, there is the music. From time to time, the story breaks to allow Sita to sing of her love and woe to the tune of 1920’s jazz singer Annette Hanshaw. Mirroring my feelings about the entire film, I found these segments to be both exceptionally clever and often unbefitting the subject matter. As a Westerner with an interest in art and music, I found the choice of these unfamiliar songs to fit perfectly with the style and humor with which the story was being told. Paley’s dusting and polishing of these old gems allowed me to gain an appreciation for a style and era of music to which I’ve never given much thought. But as a sadhaka who has devoted decades of contemplation and reflection to understanding the profound meaning of the Indian epics, this portrayal of Sita had my eyes rolling. I’ve always known Sita as the embodiment of beauty, grace, and virtue. I would never associate her pain, which I believe can only be understood by penetrating into the esoteric subject of bhakti-rasa ³, with that of a speakeasy crooner lamenting the loss of her man.

I understand that an artist should be free to express themselves according to their inspiration. And I decry the kind of backlash that Paley has received from Hindu fundamentalists that see no merit in her work.⁴  And while I embrace much of the feminist platform, I believe that to try to understand the Ramayana through the lens of feminism, particularly that which is fueled by resentment, is to miss its true value. While such an approach may be appropriate for interpreting an Alanis Morisette song, applying it to the Ramayana results in a very warped retelling. The greatness of the character of Rama, his heroism, kindness, wisdom, honor and the tenderness of his love for Sita, which are fundamental to the Ramayana, are entirely missed by Paley. Essentially, Paley takes parts of the Ramayana’s story and uses them to express her own feelings of pain and redemption. She is admirably frank about this: “I didn’t set out to tell the Ramayana, only my Ramayana. I wanted to be very clear about my point of view, my biases”. ⁵

In his review of Sita Sings the Blues, film critic Roger Ebert, who admittedly knows nothing of the Ramayana, writes “It tells the story of a brave, noble woman who was made to suffer because of the perfidy of a spineless husband…It is about a prince named Rama who treated Sita shamefully, although she loved him and was faithful to him.” A narrow and skewed idea of Rama, to be sure. But for one unfamiliar with the Ramayana, Paley’s film can lead to no other conclusion.

Paley has written that “I understand this project treads a fine line between entertainment and offense”. ⁶ It does, and so I’ve consciously cut her some slack and set aside my traditional understanding of the Ramayana, to appreciate her otherwise fantastic film. But I can’t help but see some humor in all this. I find Sita Sings the Blues to be fairly vivid example of how our our own experiences tend to color our perception, sometimes to ridiculous extremes. I’m reminded of the Siendfeld episode where Jerry describes the colored perception of his uncle Leo: “He’s one of these guys that anything goes wrong in life, he blames it on anti-Semitism. You know what I mean? The spaghetti’s not al dente? Cook’s an anti-Semite. Loses a bet on a horse. Secretariat? Anti-Semitic. Doesn’t get a good seat at the temple. Rabbi? Anti-Semite.”

Now in all fairness, there are elements in the Ramayana which can be easily be interpreted as cruelty towards Sita. But then what to make of Rama’s evident virtue? How to reconcile the apparent contradiction in his character? His manifest virtue is indeed the reason that Sita’s banishment is such a problematic issue. There would be no confusion were he merely a narcissistic, selfish man. According to Paley “the question that I asked, and the question people still ask is, “Why”? Why did Rama reject Sita? Why did my husband reject me? We don’t know why, and we didn’t know 3,000 years ago. I like that there’s really no way to answer the question, that you have to accept that this is something that happens to a lot of humans.”

Here I have to disagree. Traditionally, to get answers to these kind of questions, one would approach someone who’s devoted themselves to understanding the subtleties of India’s great devotional literature. Ideally that person would not only have gained an academic grasp of the subject, but also lived a holy life and walked the path that these books lay-out. Someone who has repeatedly alternated between study, inquiry, contemplation and back again and who, in quiet moments has allowed the literature to speak to them and clarify its message. It’s a process in which one very consciously tries to set aside the biases developed though his or her own experiences and open oneself up to the possibility of coming in touch with a timeless truth.

The subject of Rama’s banishment of Sita has been questioned, contemplated and commented on by a variety teachers and holy people over the course of the history of the people of India. People existentially committed to the texts and whose questions are motivated by deep, living concern. The answers range from the exoteric (often involving the need for a leader to sacrifice for the good of their followers or for their character to be beyond reproach), to the esoteric (usually dealing with the depth of emotion experienced through love in separation). One such explanation can be found in the article previously published on The Bhakti Collective entitled “Radhanath Swami on Sita’s Banishment”.

Sita Sings the Blues will remain for me a film of interest, even an inspiration, but not as a genuine telling of the Ramayana. It’s narrow and irreverent approach leaves me feeling a bit estranged.  Still, I don’t want to come off as too stuffy. I really enjoyed Sita Sings the Blues and I’ll definitely be watching it again. And while it had its moments of disappointment, there were far more moments of delight.

I‘ve included a slideshow with stills from the film (below) as well as the film itself (above). (By clicking the box in the bottom right corner you can expand the film to full screen.) I encourage you to watch it and to share your thoughts below.

Jaya Sita-Ram

Kaustubha das

Related Posts: Radhanath Swami on Sita’s Banishment

Inspiration and instruction are just two of the ways in which sravanam purifies the mind. The following is an analysis of seven ways (including inspiration and instruction) in which hearing sacred bhakti texts purifies the mind of an aspiring bhakta:

• 1. As yoga: “Yoga” means to restrain the mind. When one attentively hears bhakti-sastra (sacred bhakti texts) the mind becomes concentrated with single pointed attention and neglects all other mental impulses. Sravanam is thus (bhakti) yoga.

• 2. As very effective yoga: The efficacy of a particular yoga process is gauged in its ability to facilitate absorption in the object of one’s meditation. When hearing, sastra (sacred texts), which is replete with appealing stories and philosophy about the all-attractive Divine, one’s mind spontaneously flows to the object of meditation. Hearing sacred texts is thus a far more riveting meditation than controlling the mind by one’s will power alone.

• 3. As an object of meditation with potency: Absorption in an object serves as a conduit to imbibe the qualities of that object, just as an iron rod absorbed in fire becomes fire-like. Sastra is sabda-brahman, divinity in its sound form. Meditation on sastra thus makes one divine-like.

• 4. As a source of knowledge: We have unlimited mental imprints (samskaras), many of them bad, which degrade our consciousness. Sacred texts elucidate dharma, the science of responding to the world to elevate the general tenor of the mind.

• 5. As effective teaching: Sastra exposes illusion and promotes detachment. In bhakti-sastra this challenge is often placed carefully within charming stories and illustrated by memorable examples, helping the reader to more effectively imbibe spiritual wisdom.

• 6. As a source of role models: The most powerful way to invoke positive self-transformation is the emulation of appropriate role models. Even adolescents who imitate the bravado of their favorite athletes, or follow the sensuous appeal of their favorite popular musician or movie star, gradually become like them. Similarly by sincerely hearing about the exemplars of devotion from bhakti-sastra, one naturally emulates their life and absorbs their devotion.

• 7. As a process where one’s spiritual attainment is not limited to the fruits of one’s endeavor: The Divine is naturally responsive to devotion. Thus by attentively hearing with devotion about the Divine (which is the subject of bhakti-sastra), the obstacles to one’s focus and meditation are naturally removed by Divine grace. This phenomenon—how the process of sravanam bears fruit beyond the limits of one’s effort by grace—is described in the bhakti-sastras themselves: “Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted. (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.17)

The column Greetings From Vrindavan is Dhanurdhara Swami’s journal regarding the joys and challenges of the devotional path. A book of his journal entries, spanning the years 2000-2003, has been published with the same title and is available here.

Sri Ramanuja is one of the great teachers of karmayoga, the discipline which unites action and contemplation. In his commentary on the Bhagavad-gita, Ramanuja argues that karmayoga is essential for all yogins, and is especially important in preparing oneself for higher practices of bhakti. I have translated the following commentary, which provides insight into a central feature of karmayoga, seeing oneself as an instrument of God. Elsewhere, Ramanuja describes that the self has agency (kartritva) which is under God’s will. But here, he stresses seeing God as the agent or doer of all actions. Words that Ramanuja quotes directly from the verse are in boldface.

MD

Bhagavad-gita 3.30

Resigning all of your acts unto me, through a spiritually focused
mind; without hankering or possessiveness, fight, free of disturbance.

Ramanuja’s Commentary

Unto me: unto the lord of all, who exists as the inner self of all beings. Resigning all of your acts through a spiritually focused mind, without hankering, without possessiveness, and without disturbance, perform all of those acts which are enjoined, like fighting in the war. A mind which is focused upon the self is a spiritually focused mind. The import is that it becomes focused by means of the knowledge provided by hundreds of shruti texts which propound the true nature of the self.

The ruler, who has entered within, and is the self of all. . .who has entered within and is the doer. (Taittiriya Aranyaka )

The one who is dwelling in the self and who, within the self, is unknown to the self, whose body is the self, who is within all selves, who regulates the self from within—he is your inner controller, the immortal self. (Brihad-aranyaka Upanisad 3.7.22)

The shruti texts thus declare that this self [the individual self] is actuated by the supreme being, being the body of the supreme person, and that the supreme person is the actuator. Such is also proclaimed by smriti texts.

He governs all. (Manu Smriti 12.122)

Later, Krishna will say the following:

I am seated in everyone’s heart. (Gita 15.15)

The lord of all sits in everyone’s heart, causing, by his power, all beings to wander as if on a machine. (Gita 18.61)

[Ramanuja restates the import of the verse, in the voice of Krishna:] Thus, resigning all of your acts unto me, the supreme person, in the mindset that everything is done by me alone, since the individual self which exists as my body is essentially actuated by me; performing all actions to worship me; becoming free from desire for the fruit of labor, by which you will also be without possessiveness, you must perform acts like fighting in the war without disturbance.

Be free from possessiveness toward actions, contemplating the following: “The doer is the supreme person, the lord of all, the proprietor of all, and he causes all of his actions to be done himself, for the purpose of his own worship, by means of his own acts the individual self, which belongs to him.” Be free from the feverish disturbance of thoughts like “what will become of me, given the endless accumulation of karmic sin, generated from time immemorial.” Simply perform karmayoga happily, remembering that the supreme person, who is worshiped by such acts will liberate you from fetters.

The Lord’s lordship and proprietorship over all is established in shruti texts like the following:

To him who is the highest amongst lords, the great lord, and highest amongst gods, the Divine. (Shvetashvatara Upanishad 6.7)

He is the lord of the universe. (Maha-narayana Upanishad 11.3)

He is the lord of all lords. (Shvetashvatara Upanishad 6.8)

Related Posts: Matthew Dasti, Sri Sampradaya

[In a article for Whitewall Magazine, Meenakshi Thirukode reviews Construction of the Exotic, a recent photo series, by BhaktiCollective.com contributing writer Michael Bühler-Rose. Enjoy the article below. The entire series can be viewed at his website Michael Bühler-Rose. Kaustubha das]

Whitewall’s South Asian Art Expert, Meenakshi Thirukode, looks at Michael Buhler Rose’s recent photo series, “Constructing the Exotic.” Find out if his work is merely the continuation of the Orientalist fixation or the embracement of another culture?

A strikingly beautiful young woman of European descent dressed in Bharatanatyam (a classical dance form that originated in Tamilnadu, in the south of India) costume sits poised on an ashen colored rock, the softness of her expression jarringly in contrast to the insentient stone. In another, two women attend to a young child. All three are dressed in traditional south Indian silk sarees, adorned with what are typical dancers jewelry – from the Nethi Chutti with its pendant like piece falling over the forehead to the Suryan (sun) and Chandran (moon), a pair of hair pins that sit on either side of the Neth Chutti. These are just two works from a series of photographs, titled “Construction of the Exotic,” by Michael Buhler Rose. One might think that from my point of view this could have come across as a white male artist continuing the Orientalist fixation of the “other.” It certainly crossed my mind, I wont argue against that. However, having grown up in Madras I, like most children, was initiated into the world of Bharatnatyam and Carnatic music classes by my parents, just as an American family might enroll their kids in ballet or piano lessons. There it wasn’t uncommon to see Westerners, coming from far away lands to learn and embrace our way of life. It is a community unto its own. So at the opposite end of my spectrum of interpretation, Rose’s women reminded me of just that.

When I met with the artist at his studio to discuss his work I came to realize that there was a key factor that had to be known to truly understand what his work entailed. Rose became a Gaudaya Vaishnava, popularly known as the Hare Krishna Movement in the West, when he was 14. The women in the series also belong to this community. He explains, “The women are second generation members of the Hare Krishna Community, some were born or raised in India, or somehow have inherited its cultural-religious heritage. They are for, the most part, of European descent and now live in a community in North Central Florida, just outside of Gainesville.” Representation and identity then become important in Rose’s work. The postures and compositions are carefully constructed and are reminiscent of the works of the 19th century artist Raja Ravi Varma, an artist that Rose is inspired by. In fact, the seated girl I first described was influenced by one of Ravi Varma’s paintings, Sakuntala (1898). This historical connection seems far more fascinating than a connection with Orientalism or exoticism within Western art history. What is interesting in this context is that in 1892 as the artist representing India at the International Exhibition in Chicago, Ravi Varma decided that it was his duty to show the Western world “the charm and sophistication of the Indian people whom ill-informed accounts had often made out as a primitive people and the white man’s burden,” (Venniyoor, E.M.J, Raja Ravi Varma, (Trivandrum: The Government of Kerala, 1981), Pg 30.).

The idea of identity has a long history within Indian art and is a large part of both Ravi Varma and Rose’s practice. In light of the societal metamorphosis that humanity has undergone, we live within a perspective that creates an efficacious tension within Rose’s work. In Ravi Varma’s time, the world was unabashedly clear in its biases and pre-conceived notions of different cultures. It certainly exists today but in an altogether different vein. Being far more of a heterogeneous realm today, we are constantly trying to be politically correct. What that creates is a sense of having a certain idea about people only to realize that your way off mark. That’s what Rose’s work does and it’s engaging. The artist belongs to a community and has embraced a certain culture and its ideology that is different from what he was born into.

The power of the image is important to Rose. He sees it within the religious and spiritual enquiries that exist as a precondition to his aesthetics in “how we read it, how it fits into history, and how we ritualize it.” For Rose, the religious is as important as his academic and artistic background. He makes regular visits to India, and has learned Sanskrit as well as philosophy, while focusing on particular ritualistic traditions, “For me and my particular faith, imagery plays a very important role, and because of that there is a lot of complex thought that surrounds the same questions I am asking in my artistic practice.”

In early works of still life’s he uses objects found in Indian stores that dot the geography of America  – from DVD’s of old Bengali films to the mass produced pictures of the Hindu pantheon of gods and goddesses. The image of a deity, be it on a piece of paper or within the sanctum sanctorum of a temple, holds the same kind of power to the mass. The person who possesses this image finds that it reasserts whatever he might construct to be his faith. In much the same way Rose seems to play with that idea by taking an image and presenting it as art.

How these works are received has a lot to do with the context they are shown in. Of much more importance is what pre-conceived notions viewers will come with. With work such as this that has culturally specific influences there is the chance that many would make obvious assumptions. We have seen artists of Indian origin working as internationally recognized artists who feel completely uncomfortable being talked of from the perspective of their ethnic background or their denial to accept that their work has specific, non-Western influences. Rose has no such discomfort. However, the reasons for that are far more complicated. No matter what, if a South Asian artist was to be exploring this idea, it would most likely be called too “localized.” Rose doesn’t fit that description and in turn faces the possibility of criticism that’s easy and literal – occidental fascination of the other. That would mean the danger of walking away from it having gained nothing at all.

- Meenakshi Thirukode

Related Posts: Morning Rituals: Waking

Sometimes called the national anthem of Vrindavan, here is Sri Sri Radha-kripa-kataksha-stava-raja (The King of Prayers which Petitions the Merciful Sidelong Glance of Srimati Radharani) from the Urdhvamnaya-tantra. Spoken by Lord Shiva and composed in a lovely meter, this exceptional prayer is daily sung in a charming melody by many Brijabasis (Vrindavan residents). The  translation is by Kusakratha dasa and the painting above is by B.G. Sharma. In the final verse Lord Shiva mentions “Upon hearing this most astonishing prayer of mine being recited by a devotee, may Sri Vrishhabhanu-nandini (Radha) constantly make him the object of Her most merciful sidelong glance. At that time all his karmic reactions - whether mature, fructifying, or lying in seed - will be completely destroyed, and then he will gain entrance into the assembly of Nandanandana’s (Krishna’s) eternal loving associates.” May this prayer complement and enrich your experience of this holiest of days.

Kaustubha das

Sri Sri Radha-kripa-kataksha-stava-raja

(The King of Prayers which Petitions the Merciful Sidelong Glance of Srimati Radharani)

Text 1
munindra-vrinda-vandite triloka-shoka-harini
prasanna-vaktra-pankaje nikunja-bhu-vilasini
vrajendra-bhanu-nandini vrajendra-sunu-sangate
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess worshiped by the kings of sages, O goddess who remove the sufferings of the three worlds, O goddess whose face is a blossoming lotus, O goddess who enjoy pastimes in the forest, O daughter of Vrishhabhanu, O companion of Vraja’s prince, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 2
ashoka-vriksha-vallari-vitana-mandapa-sthite
pravala-vala-pallava-prabharunanghri-komale
varabhaya-spurat-kare prabhuta-sampadalaye
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess staying in a vine-cottage by an ashoka tree, O goddess whose delicate feet are as splendid as red blossoms, O goddess whose hand grants fearlessness, O abode of transcendental opulence’s, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 3
ananga-ranga-mangala-prasanga-bhangura-bhruvam
sa-vibhramam sa-sambhramam drig-anta-bana-patanaih
nirantaram vashi-krita-pratiti-nandanandane
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess who, playfully shooting the arrows of Your glances from the curved bows of Your auspicious, amorous eyebrows, have completely subdued Nanda’s son [Krishna], when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 4
tadit-suvarna-campaka-pradipta-gaura-vigrahe
mukha-prabha-parasta-koti-sharadendu-mandale
vicitra-citra-sancarac-cakora-shava-locane
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess whose form is as splendid as champaka flowers, gold, and lightning, O goddess whose face eclipses millions of autumn moons, O goddess whose eyes are wonderful, restless young chakora birds, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 5
madonmadati-yauvane pramoda-mana-mandite
priyanuraga-ranjite kala-vilasa-pandite
ananya-dhanya-kunja-rajya-kama-keli-kovide
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O young girl intoxicated with passion, O goddess decorated with cheerful jealous anger, O goddess who passionately love Your beloved Krishna, O goddess learned in playful arts, O goddess expert at enjoying amorous pastimes in the kingdom of the peerlessly opulent forest groves of Vrindavana, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 6
ashesha-hava-bhava-dhira-hira-hara-bhushite
prabhuta-shatakumbha-kumbha-kumbhi kumbha-sustani
prashasta-manda-hasya-curna-purna-saukya-sagare
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess decorated with a pearl necklace of bold amorous hints, O goddess as fair as gold, O goddess whose breasts are great golden waterpots, O ocean of happiness filled with the scented powders of gentle smiles, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 7
mrinala-vala-vallari-taranga-ranga-dor-late
latagra-lasya-lola-nila-locanavalokane
lalal-lulan-milan-manojna-mugdha-mohanashrite
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess whose arms are lotus stalks dancing on the waves, O goddess whose dark eyes are dancing vines, O playful, beautiful, charming goddess, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 8
suvarna-malikancita-trirekha-kambu-kanthage
tri-sutra-mangali-guna-tri-ratna-dipti-didhiti
salola-nila-kuntala-prasuna-guccha-gumphite
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess who wear a golden necklace on the three-lined conchshell of Your neck, O goddess splendid with three jasmine garlands and three jewelled necklaces, O goddess whose moving locks of dark hair are decorated with bunches of flowers, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 9
nitamba-bimba-lambamana-pushpa-mekhala-gune
prashasta-ratna-kinkini-kalapa-madhya-manjule
karindra-shunda-dandikavaroha-saubhagorake
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess who wear a sash of flowers on Your curved hips, O goddess charming with a sash of tinkling jewelled bells, O goddess whose beautiful thighs punish the regal elephant’s trunk, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 10
aneka-mantra-nada-manju-nupurarava-skhalatsamaja-
raja-hamsa-vamsha-nikvanati-gaurave
vilola-hema-vallari-vidambi-caru-cankrame
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess whose anklets’ tinkling is more beautiful than the sounds of many mantras and the cooing of many regal swans, O goddess whose graceful motions mock the moving golden vines, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 11
ananta-koti-vishnu-loka-namra-padmajarcite
himadrija-pulomaja-virincija-vara-prade
apara-siddhi-riddhi-digdha-sat-padanguli-nakhe
kada karishyasiha mam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam

O goddess worshiped by Brahma, O goddess to whom countless millions of Vaishnavas bow down, O goddess who give blessings to Parvati, shaci, and Sarasvati, O goddess whose toenails are anointed with limitless opulence’s and mystic perfections, when will You cast Your merciful sidelong glance upon me?

Text 12
makheshvari kriyeshvari svadheshvari sureshvari
triveda-bharatishvari pramana-shasaneshvari
rameshvari kshameshvari pramoda-kananeshvari
vrajeshvari vrajadhipe sri-radhike namo ’stu te

O queen of Vedic sacrifices, O queen of pious activities, O queen of the material world, O queen of the demigods, O queen of Vedic scholarship, O queen of knowledge, O queen of the goddesses of fortune, O queen of patience, O queen of Vrindavana, the forest of happiness, O queen of Vraja, O empress of Vraja, O Sri Radhika, obeisance’s to You!

Text 13
iti mamadbhutam stavam nishamya bhanu-nandini
karotu santatam janam kripa-kataksha-bhajanam
bhavet tadaiva sancita-trirupa-karma-nashanam
bhavet tada vrajendra-sunu-mandala-praveshanam

Upon hearing this most astonishing prayer of mine being recited by a devotee, may Sri Vrishhabhanu-nandini constantly make him the object of Her most merciful sidelong glance. At that time all his karmic reactions - whether mature, fructifying, or lying in seed - will be completely destroyed, and then he will gain entrance into the assembly of Nandanandana’s eternal loving associates.

Some highlights: Chapter 2 contains an argument against the thesis that mind can be equated wholly with brain states, a fairly common attitude amongst modern professional philosophers. Such materialism, Phillips argues, militate against the yoga thesis that there is “top-down” causal influence from mind to matter, as evinced in a yogin’s increasing control over her psycho-physical functioning by means of yoga practice. In support of his thesis, Phillips argues against materialism, while drawing from the yoga traditions for a positive view of the self. In Chapter 3, Phillips provides a nuanced interpretation of the notion of karma, and focuses on its moral and psychological ramifications. Chapter 4 argues for a view of rebirth which supports trans-life yoga practice. Chapter 5 takes up what is to my mind a very under-appreciated question, the ethical underpinnings of the yogic life. While “ahimsa” is a fairly common by-word amongst yogins, how it is an integral and holistic part of a life dedicated to yoga is not always clear. Phillips tries to  make it clear with a notion of compassion to everyone including one’s “future self”, which should inspire spiritual practice now. The appendices ground the earlier philosophical theorizing with original translations of select passages of the Gita, the Yoga-sutra, the Hatha yoga-pradipika, and Kashmiri Tantric texts.

I’d like to mention briefly two of the merits of Phillips’ book. First, by trying to consider both classical and modern objections to core yogic principles, Phillips is admirably recognizing that those dedicated to yoga should not escape into pockets of intellectually isolated thought-bubbles. We live in this world right now, and if we are truly committed to yoga practice and think that yoga teachings are true, we should be able to articulate our beliefs in a way that is sensitive, charitable to opposed views, and rationally respectable. At the same time, Phillips argues that yogins need not be unduly cowered by the overwhelming materialistic sentiment of modern intellectual life. In doing so, Phillips’ book nicely draws on the ancient and medieval Indian thinkers, illustrating their own philosophical genius.

Second, Phillips (61ff) rightly criticizes the trenchant world-denying escapism often attributed to classical Yoga, illustrating that it is both philosophically and yogically problematic. He rather embraces what is best in tantric thought: the idea that yoga practice is not merely meant for escape, but at best, to positively transform the world (especially ourselves as parts of the world). To this end, he notes the bhakti traditions as aspects of the broad “tantric turn.” In Bhakti too, emotion and beauty are not to be rejected (as opposed to the classical Samkhya and Yoga view that they are elements of prakriti to be ultimately shunned). Rather they are to be purified by being developed in relation to God.

One of the merits of the book, its wide engagement with many Indian traditions, helps acquaint the reader with much of the best of India’s adhyatmic (spiritual) traditions. Occasionally, the book’s breadth of engagement does engender all-too-brief discussions of important topics which would ideally receive more detailed treatment. I think that the discussion of bhakti, for example, tends to treat it merely as yet another kind of tantra, perhaps not doing complete justice to the notion of God-centeredness and transcendent devotion which are at the root of bhakti. But that said, such is usually inevitable in a book which strives to be both informative and readable to non-specialists.

In short, I think that philosophically inquisitive and thoughtful readers will benefit from reading (and rereading) Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth, which is a unique contribution to the burgeoning literature on yoga.

MD

Related Posts: More from Matthew Dasti

“There is more love in separation than in union, for in union the beloved is found in one place only, while in separation the beloved is found everywhere.” Braja poet Nanda das

[One can not estimate the influence of the Ramayana on India’s culture and art or it’s importance to the panorama of India’s religious and spiritual traditions. Rich in the teachings of ancient Hindu sages, the Ramayana’s 24,000 Sanskrit verses follow the life of the Vishnu avatar Rama, from his childhood as prince of Ayodhya, to his youth amongst the sages, his marriage to Sita, their exile to the forest, the kidnapping of Sita to Lanka, the rescuing of Sita and their triumphant return to Ayodhya. But then Rama, who had throughout the epic professed his unending love for Sita, upon hearing an ordinary washer-man’s doubts about Sita’s chastity during her captivity in Lanka, banishes Sita from the kingdom. For the reader, having endured the ample sorrow of their separation due to the kidnapping, Sita’s banishment is not only heartbreaking, but can also be the source of confusion or even enmity towards Rama. How could Rama, the embodiment of all virtue, who had pinned for Sita in her absence and risked so much to retrieve her, suddenly become so callus and cruel. This question has been the subject of debate for millennia, and in the minds of some, can overshadow all the beauty, wisdom and adventure that precedes it. A recent example of a telling of the Ramayana which is almost entirely colored by the pain of Sita’s banishment is filmmaker Nina Paley’s “Sita Sings the Blues” . Recently I had the good fortune to be present when the question of Sita’s banishment was brought to the Vaishnava sannyasin and spiritual leader Radhanath Swami. His answer deals with the subject of vipralambha-bhava or the spiritual emotion of the love felt in separation from the beloved. You can read his esoteric explanation of Sita’s banishment below. I have lightly edited it for clarity.]

Kaustubha das

“There is a place called Chitrakuta, a beautiful forest on the banks of the Mandakini River.  I once met a great saint there named Balarama Maharaja. He was a devotee of Rama.  I happened to ask him this question,  “What is the justification for Rama banning Sita to the forest?”  He told me something that was so deep and so esoteric that it can not be fully appreciated by those who are looking at things merely at an external, superficial level.  So one may or may not appreciate this answer but it completely fulfilled my heart.”

“Vipralambha means separation, and separation intensifies the experience of love. Just like in music, compare how many songs there are about being happy together to the number of songs about having a broken heart. Which are there more of?  Why is it that there are so many songs about the pain of separation?  Because music is an art, and art is an expression, and the expression of love in separation is a very deep absorption.  When somebody is with us we are absorbed in a certain way, but when our loved one is away it increases our remembrance, thoughts and absorption in that person. It is true that when ones beloved is away one is always thinking of their beloved and searching for them. When Rama was with Sita he was seeing her in one place. But when Rama was away from Sita and Sita was away from Rama he would see Sita in the trees and she would see Rama in the clouds, everywhere. When we are together the love of our heart goes out towards the beloved. In separation that love goes deeper and deeper and deeper into the very core of our heart.  And it is intensified.  On the spiritual platform love is not determined by our physical proximity.  Our connection to God or Rama is to the degree that we are internally absorbed in the thought of Rama.  And when our love is intense, the Lord accepts it from within our heart.  That love may be intense when the Lord stands before us, but it is even more intense when the Lord is not standing before us. When there is that longing, that deep deep absorption, then the Lord is embracing us and reciprocating with us from within.”

“So we read from the Vedas, Puranas and Bhagavatam that this love in separation is very special and deep and that it’s a direct personal relationship with God.  If you have read Srimad Bhagavatam, the Gopis, they are considered the highest devotees of the Srimad Bhagavatam as their love for Krishna was so deep.  Krishna lived with them for about twelve years.  And then he left and went to another place.  The Gopis were in deep separation as Krishna was living in Dwarka and they couldn’t see him for a long time.  Krishna revealed His heart and said that the reason I am separate from them is because their love in separation for me it is so intense, so internalized, that their love and my reciprocation with that love in their hearts cannot be any more.  If I were to stand before them it would only interrupt the intensity of that love that we are having within the hearts of each other. Still he went, but after some time.”

“So Sita is God.  We have to understand the philosophical principle that according to Vedic sidhanta (conclusion) God is both female and male equally.  There is the sakti (energy) and the saktiman (energetic source). Gods female  aspect as Laxmi, Sita, Radha, or Parvati is the compassionate side of God.  Krishna, Rama, Narayana, and Shiva are very powerful, lordly manifestations of God. The feminine aspect of God is the reservoir of love.  And the masculine side of God is the ultimate object of love.  And those two aspects together are God.  Perhaps in western religion, because there is so much emphasis on the masculine side of God, religious people can sometimes become very egoistic and attached to power and control. They can lose their compassionate essence.

So this is the one God.  God is never separate. Sita and Rama can never be separate in essence.  In their lila in this world they lived together and enjoyed love in union.  But Rama wanted to experience for himself, as well as have Sita experience, that even deeper,  intensified experience of love in separation.  In their hearts of hearts they could never be separated.  So therefore Rama banished Sita, but really he was blessing her by giving her a higher experience of internal union and he also experienced that union. So the great devotees of Rama, the great yogis, they understand it in this way.”

“Externally the lesson that a king should be beyond suspicion, and that a leader should be willing to make sacrifices even of him or herself for the sake of the people, is taught through this lila. Rama banished Sita in order to remove all doubts  in him as a leader with integrity, by proving that he was willing to make the greatest sacrifice, the sacrifice of the person he loved most.  Sita, being very much an integral part of everything Rama was doing for the citizens, shared in that sacrifice for the welfare of others. This is the superficial lesson from this story. It’s what most people talk about when discussing this lila, but it is only the external reason for Sita’s banishment.  Internally Rama and Sita wanted to share a deeper and deeper experience of love for each other from the core of their hearts.”

“This banishment of Sita, amongst people who have gone deep into the subject, is a very profound meditation on the loving exchange between her and Rama. This conclusion that I am speaking has been passed down for millennia.  And how God and Goddess, male and female aspects, how they shared the ecstasy of love for each other is not limited by our ability to comprehend it. This is what they choose to do and we understand that is what they really want to do. They go through the whole lila in such a way that is very traumatic and brings about such emotions in all of us. But there is a beautiful verse in the Upanishads.”

Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet

“To learn that transcendental subject matter, one must approach a spiritual master.” (Mundaka Upanisad 1.2.12)

“To understand the essence of the scriptures we really need to have a teacher to explain them. Otherwise we can so easily become confused or bewildered by apparent contradictions based on how we feel it should be and all of that.  So I am repeating the words of one great guru who spoke these words to me.”

Radhanath Swami

Related Posts: Sita Sings the Blues, More From Radhanath Swami, Feeling Separation from Krishna

Aug 13, 2009 marks the celebration of Sri Krishna Janmastami (the Birth of Lord Krishna). On this day it is a common practice to chant 108 names of Krishna. Below you will find a particular collection of 108 names composed by Srila Rupa Goswami which is included in his most beautiful collection of prayers named Stava-Mala (A Garland of Devotional Prayers). He entitled it Premendu-sagarakhya Shri Krishna-namashtottara-shata (The Ocean of the Moon of Pure Love - 108 Names of Sri Krishna) and poetically  set it in the form of a gopi pining for the vision of Lord Krishna. I’ve provided the transliterated Sanskrit texts, the word for word translation and the verse translations, all by Sriman Kusakratha dasa (unfortunately I’m unable to provide the diacritical marks). In the final verse Srila Rupa Goswami begs “O learned readers, with the Mandara Mountain of your tongues please lovingly churn this ocean of the moon of pure love (premendu-sagara), which contains 108 names of Lord Krishna”. I humbly join him in his request.

Kaustubha das

Realated Posts: Sri Krishna Janmastami, Radha Govinda Temple / Photos by Robert Stoetzel, Nine Symptoms of Advanced Bhakti

Premendu-sagarakhya Shri Krishna-namashtottara-shata
The Ocean of the Moon of Pure Love  108 Names of Shri Krishna

Text 1

kalahantaritavritta
kacid ballava-sundari
virahottapa-khinnangi
sakhim sotkantham abravit

kalaha - by a quarrel; antaritavritta - separated; kacit - one; ballava-sundari - beautiful gopi; virahottapa-khinnangi - afflicted with separation; sakhim - friend; sotkantham - with longing; abravit - said.

Separated from Krishna by a lover’s quarrel, and overwhelmed by the pain of separation and the desire to again meet Her lover, a certain beautiful gopi said to Her friend:

Text 2

hanta gauri sa kim ganta
panthanam mama netrayoh
shri-krishnah karuna-sindhuh
krishno gokula-vallabhah

hanta - indeed; gauri - O fair-complexioned one; sa h - He; kim - whether?; ganta - will go; panthanam - on the path; mama - of me; netrayoh - of the eyes; shri-krishnah - Lord Krishna; karuna-sindhuh - an ocean of mercy;  krishnah - Krishna; gokula-vallabhah - dear to Gokula.

O fair-complexioned friend, will He ever again walk on the pathway of My eyes, He who is 1. all-attractive, 2. an ocean of mercy, 3. dark-complexioned, 4. dear to Gokula,

Text 3

govindah paramanando
nanda-mandira-mangalam
yashoda-khani-manikyam
gopendrambodhi-candramah

govindah - he who pleases the land, cows, and senses; paramanandah - He who is full of transcendental bliss; nanda-mandira-mangalam - the auspiciousness of Nanda’s house; yashoda - of Yashoda; khani - of the mine; manikyam - the jewel; gopendra - of the king of the gopasambodhi - the ocean; candramah - the moon.

5. the pleasure of the cows, land, and senses, 6. supremely blissful, 7. the auspiciousness of Nanda’s palace, 8. the jewel taken from the mine of Yashoda, 9. the moon risen from the ocean of the king of the gopas,

Text 4

navambhodhara-samrabdha-
vidambi-ruci-dambarah
kshipta-hataka-shautirya-
patta-pitambaravritah

navambhodhara - of the new raincloud; samrabdha - thundering; vidambi - mocking; ruci - splendor; dambarah - abundance; kshipta - thrown;  hataka - of gold; shautirya - the pride; patta - silk;  pitambaravritah - wearing yellow garments.

10. whose bodily splendor mocks the thundering monsoon clouds, 11. who wears yellow silk garments that eclipse the pride of gold,

Text 5

kandarpa-rupa-sandarpa-
hari-pada-nakha-dyutih
dhvajambhoruha-dambholi-
yavankusha-lasat-padah

kandarpa - of the god of love; rupa - of the form; sandarpa - the pride; hari - removing; pada - of the feet; nakha - nails; dyutih - splendor; dhvaja - flag; ambhoruha - lotus; dambholi - thunderbolt; yava - yava; ankusha - rod for controlling elephants; lasat - splendid; padah - feet.

12. the splendor of whose toenails removes the pride of Kamadeva, 13. whose feet are splendid with the marks of the flag, lotus, thunderbolt, yava, and rod for controlling elephants,

Text 6

pada-panjara-sinjana-
manju-manjira-khanjanah
masara-samputakara-
dhari-janu-yugojjvalah

pada - ofthe feet; panjara - cage; sinjana - tinkling;manju - charming; manjira - anklets; khanjanah - khanjana birds; masara - sapphire; samputa - jewel case; akara - form; dhari - holding; janu - knees; yuga - two; ujjvalah - splendor.

14. whose feet are a cage and whose sweetly tinkling anklets khanjana birds, 15. whose splendid knees are two sapphire cases,

Text 7

shaunda-stamberamoddanda-
shunda-ramyoru-saushtavah
mani-kinkini-sankirna-
vishankata-kati-sthalah

shaunda - mad; stamberama - elephant; uddanda - powerful; shunda - trunk; ramya - handsome; uru - thighs; saushtavah - excellent; mani - jewels; kinkini - bells; sankirna - mixed; vishankata - broad; kati-sthalah - hips.

16. whose splendid thighs are graceful as the trunks of wild elephants, 17. whose broad hips are decorated with a belt of jewelled bells,

Text 8

madhya-madhurya-vidhvasta-
divya-simha-madoddhatih
garutmata-giri-grava-
garishthoras-tatantarah

madhya - of the middle; madhurya - sweetness; vidhvasta - destroyed; divya - heavenly; simha - lion;  madoddhatih - pride; garutmata - of sapphires; giri - mountain; grava - slab; garishtha - great; urah-tatantarah - chest.

18. whose handsome waist destroys the pride of the lions of heaven, 19. whose chest is as great as a sapphire mountain,

Text 9

kambu-kantha-sthalalambi-
mani-samrad-alankritih
akhandala-mani-stambha-
spardhi-dor-danda-candima

kambu - conchshell; kantha - neck; sthala - place;  alambi - suspended; mani - of jewels; samrad - the king; alankritih - ornament; akhandala - sapphire; mani - jewel; stambha - pillar; spardhi - rivalling; doh - of arms; danda - club; candima - greatness.

20. whose conchshell neck is decorated with the king of jewels, 21. the intense splendor of whose arms rivals the sapphire column,

Text 10

khanditakhanda-kotindu-
saundarya-mukha-mandalah
lavanya-lahari-sindhuh
sindura-tulitadharah

khandita - broken; akhanda - full; koti - millions;  indu - moons; saundarya - handsomeness; mukha - face;  mandalah - circle; lavanya - handsomeness; lahari - waves; sindhuh - ocean; sindura - sindura; tulita - equal; adharah - lips.

22. Whose face breaks the beauty of millions of full moons, 23. who is an ocean filled with waves of handsomeness, 24. whose lips are like red sindura,

Text 11

phullaravinda-saundarya-
kandali-tundilekshanah
gandanta-tandava-krida-
hindan-makara-kundalah

phulla - blossoming; aravinda - lotuses; saundarya - beauty; kandali - fresh; tundila - wide-open; ikshanah - eyes; gandanta - cheeks; tandava - dancing; krida - pastimes; hindat - moving; makara - shark; kundalahearrings.

25. whose eyes are as handsome as newly blossomed lotuses, 26. on the edge of whose cheeks shark-shaped earrings playfully dance,

Text 12

navina-yauvanarambha-
jrimbhitojjvala-vigrahah
apanga-tungitananga-
koti-kodanda-vikramah

navina - new; yauvana - of youth; arambha - the beginning; jrimbhita - opening; ujjvala - splendor; vigrahah - form; apanga - sidelong glances; tungita - great; ananga - of gods of love; koti - millions; kodanda - of bows; vikramah - power.

27. Whose transcendental body shines with the splendor of youth, 28. whose sidelong glances are as powerful as the bows of millions of gods of love,

Text 13

sudha-niryasa-madhurya-
dhurinodara-bhashitah
sandra-vrindatavi-kunja-
kandharagandha-sindhurah

sudha-niryasa - of the best nectar; madhurya - sweetness; dhurina - bearing; udara - pleasing; bhashitah - words; sandra - dense; vrindatavi - of the forest of Vrindavana; kunja - the grove; kandhara - caves; agandha-sindhurah - a wild elephant.

29. whose pleasing words are as sweet as nectar, 30. who is a wild elephant in the jungles and caves of Vrindavana,

Text 14

dhanya-govardhanottunga-
shringotsanga-navambudah
kalindanandini-keli-
kalyana-kalahamsakah

dhanya - opulent; govardhana - of Govardhana Hill; uttunga - lofty; shringa - peaks; utsanga - in the midst;  navambudah - a new lotus; kalindanandini - in the Yamuna;  keli - transcendental pastimes; kalyana - handsome; kalahamsakah - swan.

31. who is a new lotus flower on the lofty peak of grand Mount Govardhana, 32. who is a handsome swan playing in the Yamuna,

Text 15

nandishvara-dhritanando
bhandira-tata-tandavi
shankhacuda-harah krida-
gendu-krita-girishvarah

nandishvara - in Nandishvara; dhritanandah - bliss; bhandira - in Bhandiravana; tata - on the surface; tandavi - dancing; shankhacuda - Shankhacuda; harah - the killer; krida - pastimes; gendu - into a toy ball; krita - made; girishvarah - the king of mountains.

33. who is happy in the village of Nandishvara, 34. who dances in Bhandiravana forest, 35. who killed Shankhacuda, 36. who made the king of mountains into a toy ball,

Text 16

varindrarbuda-gambhirah
parindrarbuda-vikrami
rohininandananandi
shridamoddama-sauhridah

varindra - of oceans; arbuda - millions; gambhirah - deeper; parindra - of lions; arbuda - millions; vikrami - more powerful; rohininandana - of Balarama; anandi - the bliss; shridama - of shridama; uddama - strong; sauhridah - friendship.

37. who is deeper than millions of oceans, 38. who is stronger than millions of lions, 39. who is the delight of Baladeva, 40. who is the dear friend of Shridama,

Text 17

subala-prema-dayitah
suhridam hridayangamah
nanda-vraja-janananda-
sandipana-maha-vrati

subala - of Subala; prema-dayitah - the dear friend; suhridam - of His friends; hridayangamah - staying in the hearts; nanda - of Nanda; vraja - of Vraja; jana - of the people; ananda - the bliss; sandipana - increasing; maha - a great; vrati - taking a vow.

41. who is the dear friend of Subala, 42. who stays in the hearts of His friends, 43. who has taken a vow to increase the happiness of the people in Nanda’s Vraja,

Text 18

shringini-sangha-sangrahi-
venu-sangita-mandalah
uttunga-pungavarabdha-
sangarasanga-kautuki

shringini - of the cows; sangha - the community; sangrahi - gathering; venu - of the flute; sangita - music; mandalah - circle; uttunga; great; pungava - of the blulls; arabdha - begun; sangarasanga-kautuki - playful fighting.

44. who calls the cows with the music of His flute, 45. whose playing imitates the fighting of great bulls,

Text 19

visphurad-vanya-shringarah
shringarabhishta-daivatam
udancat-piccha-vincholi-
lanchitojjvala-vigrahah

visphurat - splendid; vanya - from the forest; shringarah - decoration; shringara3of conjugal love; abhishta-daivatam - the deity; udancat - splendid; piccha - peacock feathers; vincholi - many; lanchita - decorated; ujjvala - splendid; vigrahah - form.

46. who is decorated with splendid forest flowers, 47. who is the great deity of conjugal love, 48. whose glorious form is decorated with peacock feathers,

Text 20

sancarac-cancarikali-
panca-varna-srag-ancitah
suranga-rangana-svarna-
yuthi-grathita-mekhalah

sancarat - wandering; cancarikali - by the bees; panca - five; varna - colors; srak - garland; ancitah - deocrated; suranga - with suranga flowers; rangana - rangana flowers; svarna - svarna; yuthi - yuthi flowers; grathita - strung; mekhalah - belt.

49. whose five-colored flower garland is worshiped by the wandering bees, 50. whose belt is decorated with suranga, rangana, and svarna-yuthi flowers,

Text 21

dhatu-citra-vicitranga-
lavanya-lahari-bharah
gunja-punja-kritakalpah
keli-talpita-pallavah

dhatu - mineral; citra - colors; vicitra - deocrated; anga - form; lavanya - of handsomeness; lahari - waves; bharah - manifesting;  gunja - of gunjapunja - an abundance; kritakalpah - decorated; keli - pastimes; talpita - bed;  pallavah - flowers.

51. who, His limbs decorated with colorful pictures drawn in mineral pigments, is flooded with waves of handsomeness, 52. who is decorated with gunja, 53. who rests on a pastime bed of leaves and flowers,

Text 22

vapur-amoda-madhvika-
vardhita-pramada-madah
vrindavanaravindakshi-
vrinda-kandarpa-dipanah

vapuh - form; amoda - fragrance; madhvika - madhvika; vardhitaincreased; pramada - of the gopis; madah - madness; vrindavanaravindakshi - of the lotus-eyed girls of Vraja; vrinda - of the multitude; kandarpa - amorous desires; dipanah - arousing.

54. the madhvika fragrance of whose transcendental form maddens the gopis, 55. who arouses the amorous desires of the lotus-eyed girls of Vrindavana,

Text 23

minanka-sankulabhiri-
kuca-kunkuma-pankilah
mukhendu-madhuri-dhara-
ruddha-sadhvi-vilocanah

minanka - with amorous dersires; sankula - agitated; abhiri - gopis; kuca - of the breasts; kunkuma - kunkuma; pankilah - anointed; mukha - face; indu - moon; madhuri - sweetness; dhara - manifesting;  ruddha - held; sadhvi - pious girls; vilocanah - eyes.

56. who is anointed with kunkuma from the breasts of the passionate gopis, 57. the sweetness of whose moonlike face is grasped by the eyes of the pious gopis,

Text 24

kumari-pata-lunthakah
praudha-narmokti-karmathah
amanda-mugdha-vaidagdhya-
digdha-radha-sudhambudhih

kumari - of the girls; pata - the garments; lunthakah - stealing; praudha - bold; narmokti - joking words; karmathah - expert; amanda - great; mugdha - bewildered; vaidagdhya - skill; digdha - anointed; radha - of Shrimati Radharani; sudhambudhih - with nectar.

58. who stole the garments of the young girls, 59. who expertly teased them with outrageous jokes, 60. whose bewildering expertise plunged Shri Radha into an ocean of nectar,

Text 25

carucandravali-buddhi-
kaumudi-sharad-agamah
dhira-lalitya-lakshmivan
kandarpananda-bandhurah

caru - beautiful; candravali - of Candravali; buddhi - intelligence; kaumudi - moonlight; sharat - autumn; agamah - arrived; dhira-lalitya - of amorous charm; lakshmivan - possessing the opulence; kandarpa - of amorous pastimes; ananda - with the bliss; bandhurah - charming.

61. who is the arrival of autumn for the moonlight of beautiful Candravali’s intelligence, 62. who is playful and happy, 63. who is charming with the bliss of amorous pastimes,

Text 26

candravali-cakorendro
radhika-madhavi-madhuh
lalita-keli-lalito
vishakhodu-nishakarah

candravali - of the moonlight of Candravali; cakorendrah - the king of cakora(t1 birds; radhika - of Shri Radhika; madhavi - madhavimadhuh - nectar; lalita - of Lalita; keli - pastimes; lalitah - charming; vishakha - od Vishakha; udu - of the star; nishakarah - the moon.

64. who is the king of cakora birds drinking the moonlight of Candravali, 65. who is madhvika nectar for Shri Radhika, 66. who enjoys playful pastimes with Lalita, 67. who is a moon shining beside the star Vishakha,

Text 27

padma-vadana-padmalih
shaibya-sevya-padambujah
bhadra-hridaya-nidraluh
shyamala-kama-lalasah

padma - lotus; vadana - face; padma - of padma; alih - a bee; shaibya - by Shaibya; sevya - served; padambujah - lotus feet; bhadra - of Bhadra; hridaya - in the heart; nidraluh - asleep; shyamala - pf Shyama; kama - amorous; lalasah - yearning.

68. who is a bumblebee at Padma’s lotus flower mouth, 69. whose lotus feet are served by Shaibya, 70. who naps in Bhadra’s heart, 71. who yearns to enjoy amorous pastimes with Shyamala,

Text 28

lokottara-camatkara-
lila-manjari-nishkutah
prema-sampad-ayaskanta-
krita-krishnayasa-vratah

lokottara - extraordinary; camatkara - wonder; lila - of pastimes; manjari - of blossoming vines;  nishkutah - garden; prema - of love; sampat - the treasure; ayaskanta - magnet; krita - done; krishnayasa - iron; vratah - devoted.

72. who is a garden filled with the flowering vines of extraordinary wonderful pastimes, 73. who is iron irresistably attracted to the magnet of pure love,

Text 29

murali-caura-gaurangi-
kuca-kancuka-luncanah
radhabhisara-sarvasvah
sphara-nagarata-guruh

murali - of the flute; caura - thieves; gaurangi - golden-complexioned girls; kuca - breasts; kancuka - garments; luncanah - taking; radha - with Radha; abhisara - meeting; sarvasvah - the be-all and end-all; sphara - great; nagarata - of cleverness; guruh - the teacher.

74. who took the bodices of the fair-complexioned girls who stole His flute, 75. for whom a meeting with Radha is the be-all and end-all of His life, 76. who is the teacher of the arts of cleverness and wit,

Text 30

radha-narmokti-shushrusha
virun-niruddha-vigrahah
kadamba-manjari-hari-
radhika-rodanoddhurah

radha - of Radha; narmokti - the joking words; shushrusha - eager to hear; virut - in the vines; niruddha - hidden; vigrahah - form;kadamba - kadambamanjari - blossom; hari - taking; radhika - of Radha;  rodana - prohibition; uddhurah - arrogant.

77. who yearns to hear Radha’s playful jokes, 78. who arrogantly forbade Radha to pick the kadamba flowers,

Text 31

kudunga-kroda-sangudha-
radha-sangama-rangavan
kridoddamara-dhi-radha-
tatankotpala-taditah

kudunga - of the forest grove; kroda - in the middle;  sangudha - hidden; radha - with Radha; sangama - meeting; rangavan - yearning; krida - pastimesuddamara - arrogant; dhi - heart; radha - of Radha; tatankotpala - by the lotus earring; taditah - struck.

79. who longed to meet Radha, who hid from Him in the forest, 80. whom playfully arrogant Radha struck with a lotus earring,

Text 32

ananga-sangarodgari-
kshunna-kunkuma-kankatah
tribhangi-lanimakaro
venu-sangamitadharah

ananga - amorous; sangara - battle; udgari - manifested; kshunna - broken; kunkuma - kunkuma;  kankatah - armor; tribhangi - bending in three places; lanima - graceful; akarah - form; venu - flute; sangamita - meeting; adharah - lips.

81. who broke Radha’s kunkuma armor in the amorous battle, 82. whose handsome form bends in three places, 83. who places the flute to His lips,

Text 33

venu-vistrita-gandharva-
sara-sandarbha-saushthavah
gopi-yutha-sahasrendrah
sandra-rasa-rasonmadah

venu - by the flute; vistrita - manifested; gandharva - musical; sara - best; sandarbha - composition; saushthavah - excellence; gopi - of the gopis; yutha - community; sahasra - of thousands; indrah - the king; sandra - intense; rasa - of the rasa dance; rasa - by the nectar; unmadah - maddened.

84. whose flute melodies are the best of all music, 85. who is the king of thousands of gopis, 86. who becomes maddened by drinking the sweet nectar of the rasa dance,

Text 34

smara-panca-shari-koti-
kshobha-kari-drig-ancalah
candamshu-nandini-tira-
mandalarabdha-tandavah

smara-panca-shari - of arrows from the god of love;  koti - millions; kshobha - agitation; kari - creating;  drik - of the eyes; ancalah - the corners; candamshu-nandini - of the Yamuna; tira - on the shore; mandala - the circle; arabdha - begun; tandavah - dance.

87. whose sidelong glances are agitating as millions of arrows from the god of love, 88. who dances on the shore of the Yamuna,

Text 35

vrishabhanu-suta-bhringi-
kamadhuk-kamalakarah
gudhakuta-parihasa-
radhika-janita-smitah

vrishabhanu - of Maharaja Vrishabhanu; suta - of the daughter; bhringi - the bee; kamadhuk - fulfilling all desires;  kamalakarah - pond o0f lotuses; gudhakuta - with hidden meaning; parihasa - jokes; radhika - of Radha; janita - born; smitah - smile.

89. who is the lotus pond that fulfills the desires of the bumblebee Radha, 90. who smiles at the jokes of Radha, who has a hidden intention behind Her joking,

Text 36

nari-vesha-nigudhatma-
vyudha-citta-camatkritih
karpuralambi-tambula-
karambita-mukhambujah

nari - of a woman; vesha - in the dress; nigudhatma - disguised; vyudha - expanded; citta - in the heart; camatkritih - wonder; karpura - camphor; alambi - with; tambula - betelnuts; karambita - mixed;  mukhambujah - lotus mouth.

91. who disguised Himself as a woman, 92. who fills the heart with wonder, 93. whose lotus mouth contains a mixture of camphor and betel nuts,

Text 37

mani-candravali-duti-
klpta-sandhana-kaushalah
chadma-ghatta-tati-ruddha-
radha-bhru-kuti-ghattitah

mani - proud; candravali - of Candravali; duti - messenger; klpta - arranged; sandhana - meeting;  kaushalah - expert; chadma - on a pretext; ghatta-
tati - at the toll-station; ruddha - stopped; radha - of Radha; bhru - of the eyebrows; kuti-ghattitah - knitting.

94. with whom the gopi messenger of proud Candravali has arranged a meeting, 95. whose knitted eyebrows stopped Radha as She approached the toll-station,

Text 38

daksha-radha-sakhi-hasa-
vyajopalambha-lajjitah
murtimad-ballavi-prema
kshemananda-rasakritih

daksha - expert; radhaRadha; sakhi - friend; hasa - laughter; vyaja - tricks; upalambha - taunts; lajjitah - embarrassed; murtimat - personified; ballavi - of the gopis; prema - love; kshema - auspicious; ananda - bliss; rasa - of nectar; akritih - the form.

96. who is embarrassed by the laughter, tricks, and taunts of Radha’s clever messenger, 97. who is the personified love of the gopis, 98. who is the personified nectar of the auspicious and blissful mellows of transcendental love,

Text 39

abhisarollasad-bhadra-
kinkini-ninadonmukhah
vasa-sajji-bhavat-padma-
prekshyamanagra-paddhatih

abhisara - at the place of meeting; ullasat - splendid;  bhadra - of Bhadra; kinkini - of anklets; ninada -  - for the sound; unmukhah - eagerly waiting; vasa-sajji - carefully decorated; bhavat - being; padma - Padma; prekshyamana - seen; agra - at the end; paddhatih - of the path.

99. who waited at the place of rendezvous, eagerly listening for beautiful Bhadra’s jingling anklets, 100, whom carefully dressed and decorated Padma saw in the path,

Text 40

utkanthitarta-lalita-
vitarka-padavim gatah
vipralabdha-vishakhoru-
vilapa-bhara-vardhanah

utkanthitarta - anxious; lalita - Lalita; vitarka - of speculation; padavim - on the path; gatah - gone; vipralabdha - cheated; vishakha - of Vishakha; uru - great; vilapa - lament; bhara - burden; vardhanah - increase.

101. who entered the path of yearning, distressed Lalita’s speculations, 102. who made cheated Vishakha cry,

Text 41

kalahantarita-shyama-
mrigyamana-mukhekshanah
khanditoccanda-dhi-shaibya-
roshokti-rasikantarah

kalaha - by a quarrel; antarita - separated; shyama-
- by Shyama; mrigyamana - sought; mukha - of the face; ikshanah - the sight; khandita - cheated; uccanda - angry; dhi - at heart; shaibya - Shaibya; rosha - of anger; ukti - words; rasika - tasting nectar;  antarah - within.

103. whose face Shyama, separated from Him by a lover’s quarrel, longed to see, 104. whose heart relished Shyama’s angry condemnation of His unfaithfulness,

Text 42

vishlesha-viklavac-candra-
vali-sandesha-nanditah
svadhina-bhartrikotphulla-
radha-mandana-panditah

vishlesha - by separation; viklavat - anguished; candravali - of Candravali; sandesha - by a letter; nanditah - delighted; svadhina-bhartrika - a girl who controls her lover; utphulla - blossomed; radha - of Radha; mandana - decoration; panditah - expert.

105. who was happy to read the letter of Candravali, who was unhappy to be separated from Him, 106. who is very expert at decorating jubilant Radha, who has Him completely under Her control,

Text 43

cumba-venu-glaha-dyuta-
jayi-radha-dhritancalah
radha-prema-rasavarta-
vibhrama-bhramitantarah

cumba - a kiss; venu - the flute; glaha - prizes;  dyuta - the gambling match; jayi - winning; radha - of Radha; dhrita - held; ancalah - edge of the garment; radha - of Radha; prema - of love; rasa - of nectar; avarta - swiftly moving stream; vibhrama - pastimes; bhramita-antarah - moving within.

107. the edge of whose garment was clutched by Radha, who won the dice game where Her kiss and His flute were wagered, and 108. whose heart contains the swiftly moving nectar stream of love for Shri Radha.

Text 44

ity eshonmatta-dhih premna
shamsanti kamsa-mardanam
sphurantam puratah prekshya
praudhanandotsavam yayau

iti - thus; esha - she; unmatta-dhih - maddened at heart; premna - with love; shamsanti - glorifying; kamsa-mardanam - Lord Krishna; sphurantam - manifesting; puratah - in the presence; prekshya - seeing; praudhanandotsavam - a great festival of transcendental happiness; yayau - attained.

In this way, her heart maddened with pure love, the gopi glorified Lord Krishna, the killer of Kamsa. She then saw Krishna appear before her and she rejoiced with great bliss.

Text 45

premendu-sagarakhye ’smin
namnam ashtottare shate
vigahayantu vibudhah
pritya rasana-mandaram

premendu-sagara - premendu-sagara; akhye - named; asmin - in this; namnam - of names; ashtottare shate - 108; vigahayantu - churn; vibudhah - O learned readers; pritya - with love;  rasana - of the tongue;  mandaram  - the Mandara Mountain.

O learned readers, with the Mandara Mountain of your tongues please lovingly churn this ocean of the moon of pure love (premendu-sagara), which contains 108 names of Lord Krishna.

My only serious complaint would be that a work of this size (692 pages) would have been well served by a comprehensive index. My hunch is that many readers will remember reading something and may struggle to re-locate it the text. But in terms of content, the book is most useful, and, given the occasional abstruseness of the topic, easy to read. It is an extensively researched, clearly written, and deeply informative treatment of the Yoga Sutra and its principle commentaries.

MD

Order The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali here.

Related Posts: Ishvara in the Yoga Sutras, Yoga Psychology

Behind every ritual should be meditation. Below one can read a short excerpt from the article My Studies With Sri Krishnamacharya by Srivatsa Ramaswami which originally appeared in NAMARUPA magazine. It is a description of the care his teacher showed, both externally and within, in folding his palms to offer prayer (anjali-mudra). Sri Krishnamacharya, (1888-1989), taught many of the key figures in modern-day yoga, including B.K.S. Iyengar (founder of Iyengar Yoga), the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (the founder of Ashtanga Yoga), the late Indra Devi, T.K.V. Desikachar (his son), as well as the article’s author Srivatsa Ramaswami. One can read the entire article here.

Kaustubha das

“There would always be a Purva-shanti (beginning peace invocation), and following tradition, class would always end with a peace chant called Uttara-shanti, normally the surrender shloka to Lord Narayana found in Vishnu-sahasranama, and the forgiveness or ksamapana-stotra, if it was Vedic chanting class. The way my guru maintained anjali-mudra while saying the prayer was a point of study. He said that in this mudra the palms should be slightly cupped while keeping the hands together. There should be a hollow between the palms sufficient to hold an imaginary lotus or your heart in a gesture of loving offering to the dhyeya, the object of your meditation. The arms should be close to the body but not touching the body, and the folded hands, inclined by about thirty degrees, should be held in front of the heart or the sternum. With a straight back and head slightly bowed, Sri Krishnamacharya would be a dignified picture of peace and devotion.”

Related Articles: My Studies With Krishnamacharya

Kaustubha das

The Journey Home can be ordered from Mandala Publishing.

Below is a review of the book by Steven J. Rosen.

The Journey Home is a spiritual memoir—the real-life, autobiographical account of an exceptional countercultural youth who leaves America in search of himself. Trying desperately to access the continent within, he sets out first for Europe, visiting cathedrals, holy places, and hippie hotspots. With little more than a seeker’s heart and a blues harmonica, he leaves few avenues unexamined, as his overland journey takes him through the Middle East and beyond. Western religious ideals and the models who exemplify them are his first natural guideposts and ports of call. He is open, nonsectarian and, most of all, earnest.

Ultimately, he arrives in India by the end of 1970, where he finds himself living the life of a wandering sadhu, a mendicant, with little money and fewer resources. His travels lead him in many directions, both geographically and philosophically, and the reader watches him age with the wisdom of centuries. In a few months, his young world is augmented by experience and realization. We accompany him into a magical land of yoga, meditation, and soul-stirring revelations. At various points in his journey, he meets deformed lepers and frightening Naga Babas, contemplative Buddhists and mystic yogis—even old friends from the West and angelic devotees.

Through the author’s personal encounters, the reader is introduced to many of the prominent yogis, monks, and gurus of the era—Swami Shivananda, Swami Rama, Swami Satchidananda, Swami Chidananda, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Ananda Mayi Ma, Neem Karoli Baba, Muktananda, even the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa—either directly or through their legends and teachings. We meet many nameless luminaries as well, and those whose names, if not for Radhanath Swami, we would have never heard. Our blossoming seeker meditates under the original Bodhi Tree—the Buddha himself meditated and achieved enlightenment here!—and studies with masters and saints.

Each experience inches him closer to his goal. We witness, with him, the burning of dead bodies in Benares and fascinating pilgrimages to ancient cities (and inner worlds) where life takes on new meaning, high in the Himalayas, Tibet, and in holylands innumerable. He lives in caves, deep in forests, under trees, and moves throughout the subcontinent with a thirst for “the truth” that is rarely seen—anywhere.

The book is replete with touching, heartwarming (and sometimes heart-rending) episodes—like when he rejects the advances of a beautiful woman for the sake of his quest, or when he feelingly and with tears bids his harp goodbye, throwing it, once and for all, in the River Ganges, or when he meets his eternal guru. All such scenes are recreated for the reader with deep emotion and storytelling expertise. Both descriptive writing and perceptive analysis are plentiful in this book, making it a precious gem that will enrich the reader with its shining brilliance.

The meeting with his eternal guru is, in many ways, the pivotal episode in the book. It was on this momentous occasion that all he had learned would suddenly gel for him. The Indian print of Lord Krishna our young seeker had carried with him for numerous months, uncontrollably attracted to it, now had personality, definition—it was the Supreme Lord as evoked in the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra. This sacred chant, too, was something he had carried around for many moons, having mystically received it through the grace of the Ganges River. But now, by his guru’s grace, he was able to connect the form with the mantra, the Godhead with His spiritual sound vibration. It all came together, like the three rivers—the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the Sarasvati—in Prayaga. Still, his quest continued, even after meeting his master, just so he could be sure that he had left no stones unturned.

But it was in his master’s eyes that he found his way home. This is where he discovered the true depth of the Ganges and the ultimate meaning of the Himalayan masters; the value of lineage holders and the wisdom of the Vedas; the secrets of mysticism and the heart of devotion. His master’s very being spoke of purpose, mission, and unending love. Home, too, was in Vrindavan, Lord Krishna’s holy playground, which embodied his master’s essence.

Throughout this work, we find the author’s culminating realizations, as well as correspondence written to family from distant lands, set apart from the rest of the text, both with italics and with inset block quotes. These are often pithy and rich, thought-provoking and even profound. In fact, the block quotes, along with the book’s picture sections, showing the author as a youth, with family and friends—so one can visualize the main players in his life—and with spiritual “celebrities,” such as the Dalai Lama and others, add immeasurably to the book’s overall effect.

After trekking for months through hostile lands, often barely escaping with his life, he approaches the threshold of an eternal and magical realm where, realizing that he has at last reached the precipace of his spiritual goals, of Bhakti, or devotional mysticism, he makes the astonishing and almost anticlimactic decision to leave. He returns back to the world from which he came in order to share what he has learned.

It is an extraordinary choice, given what he survived to get there: a journey filled with bizarre and often dangerous characters; mystical, life-altering experiences; treacherous encounters that left permanent marks on him and on those around him. The narrative of that journey unfolds as an engaging tale, a love story, and an education in spiritual reality in all its forms. We are with him through solitude; when he stumbles upon saintly and accomplished teachers; and as he experiences moments of splendor and enlightenment. The fact that he graphically and effectively conveys all this is quite an achievement for a first-time author.

The act of turning back, of potentially denying one’s own salvation so that the world may benefit, holds a revered place in most wisdom cultures. Bodhisattvas, the “enlightened beings” of Buddhism, are motivated by such a wish and forego their own entrance into nirvana, the state of enlightenment, in order to work for the progress of society. In the Jewish faith, the tzaddikim or “righteous” men and women (tzidkanit) are great souls who strive to uplift the oppressed and establish justice. The history of Christianity bears testimony to the price paid by Christian mystics, apostles and martyrs who served as conduits for the spirit of God in the world. And in India the title sadhu is awarded to learned spiritualists who embody the holy life and serve as teachers and guides.

Not all sadhus risk their spiritual attainment to help others.

In traditional India, there are basically two types of sadhus. One type is called bhajananandi. These are sadhus who shun society and live in forests or caves, where they devote all their days to intense penance, rigid study, and sing bhajans, sacred hymns. They remain aloof from money matters, their diet is austere, and for most seekers of enlightenment their path is impossible to follow. The other sadhus are known as goshtananandi. These sadhus travel to populated cities to give everyone a chance to hear about God and the principles of a holy life. Their path requires them to confront one of the greatest challenges of the divine call, namely how to live a holy life in utterly unholy surroundings. They show it is possible to remain egoless in an ego-driven environment. Simply put, their teaching is as follows: how to be both in the world and yet not of it.

According to a brief Author’s Note at the back of his book, Radhanath Swami emerged from his years of travel wanting to explain for others the beauty and mystery of what he had discovered, and therein lay a dilemma. Judging by this very intimate account, he is a shy soul who finds it uncomfortable when a spotlight is focused on him. Writing an autobiography was just not his style, but he undertook the exercise in response to appeals made by a number of his admirers. One friend in particular, Bhakti Tirtha Swami (1950–2005), was an African-American guru who had risen from an impoverished childhood to become a Princeton graduate, civil rights activist, High Chief in the Warri kingdom of Nigeria, and a spiritual leader with students on five continents. He was also one of the few people in the world who knew the full scope of Radhanath’s odyssey. In 2005 as Bhakti Tirtha Swami lay dying from cancer, he made a request. He asked Radhanath to set aside his reservations and write the story of his journey to God. At first Radhanath refused, saying that writing about his own life would be “sheer arrogance.”

“Don’t be miserly,” Bhakti Tirtha told him. “Share what has been given to you.” He passed away two days later.

In some ways, Radhanath Swami’s hesitation over coming back into the world after his discovery of Bhakti was justified. After all, having gone through the numerous experiences related in this book, his was now the peaceful and fulfilling life of an accomplished recluse; why take backsteps into the drudgery of material life? Associating with those focused on sense gratification, he knew, would engender the worst of risks. But his ultimate choice, in terms of path and teacher, tells the story. At this point, we can let the name be known: By selecting Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896–1977), a pure devotee—an activist, who lived only to help others—as his guru (after declining offers of initiation from several yogis and other adepts in the Himalayas and elsewhere), Radhanath Swami cast his fate to the wind, cut his matted locks, and bought a ticket back to America. More than a symbolic gesture of moving away from the mindset of physically renouncing the world, these were first steps toward an “engaged” form of devotion. This contemporary strain of the Bhakti tradition maintains that people who are aware of their spiritual identity must help to reduce suffering in the world around them. They must share what they’ve been given.

Every recent generation has had its bestselling mystic guidebook, often focusing on the life of an exemplary seeker. The 1940s gave us works on the lives of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda as well as Paramahansa Yogananda’s now classic Autobiography of a Yogi. Thomas Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain, detailing the Trappist monk’s quest and accomplishment, came soon after that. The following decades produced a slew of mystic accounts, prominent among them are Carlos Castaneda’s series on Yaqui shaman Don Juan Matus and the cult classic Miracle of Love: Stories About Neem Karoli Baba. The Ochre Robe, an autobiography written by Agehananda Bharati, dominated the genre in the ‘80s, but there were others.

These first autobiographical books, as listed above, focused on Shaktas or the neo-Hinduism associated with Advaita Vedanta, or on yogis, as in the case of Yogananda. For a Christian hagiography, Merton was decidedly more modern in his approach. Biographical tales of Yaqui shaman mysticism and of Neem Karoli Baba, both, were tinged by the psychedelic mode of the ‘60s and by generic Hinduism. Agehananda was a Dasanami sannyasi, following the philosophical conclusions of Shankara.

The next generation belongs to The Journey Home. Like its predecessors, it offers readers an intimate look into a true seeker’s life, and into the tradition he ultimately chose to follow. But what is unique here is that the tradition of choice is Vaishnavism. The books mentioned above, and so many others like them, invariably sidestep the Vaishnava tradition. There may, of course, be many reasons for this: Those focusing on Western spirituality need not look at the Vaishnava sages and their theological background at all. It simply doesn’t figure into their survey. But the Eastern texts are another story. With Vaishnavism accounting for the vast majority of “Hindu” practitioners in the world today—a statistic that was initially brought to light by Agehananda Bharati himself—its omission in the pages of the world’s spiritual biographies is inexcusable.

That being said, the time has finally come for Vaishnavism to be given its due, and there is hardly a more worthy representative than Radhanath Swami. Indeed, he has learned from and appreciated every single religious leader and tradition that has crossed his path. He views reality in an unabashedly pluralistic way, never discounting the value and merits of any genuine form of esoteric spirituality. He is nonjudgmental in the best, most enlightened way—as a Saragrahi Vaishnava, one who looks to the essence, seeing all religion as just so many roads to the same goal, which is, of course, God. This makes him a superlative Vaishnava, indeed. Thus, The Journey Home stands tall in the long line of spiritual classics mentioned above—and it richly deserves to be there. It, too, has found a home.

Steven Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa) is an initiated disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He is also founding editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies and associate editor for Back to Godhead. He has published twenty-one books in numerous languages, including the recent Essential Hinduism (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008) and the Yoga of Kirtan: Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting (FOLK Books, 2008).

Related Posts: Finding Selflessness Amidst Mumbai’s Sorrow, Radhanath Swami: A Few More Thoughts About Terror in Mumbai, Flower Shower, Flower Festival In Mumbai!/SLIDESHOW

To celebrate Gaura Purnima - the holy appearance of Sri Caitanya, I will share some verses of the book Sri Caitanya Candramrita by Sri Prabhodhananda Saraswati. Please forgive the lack of the original Sanskrit as well as my ignorance of the translator (Kushakrata dasa?) and the artist of the painting above. The verses below, Texts 57 through 79, comprise the Seventh Chapter of Sri Caitanya Candramrita entitled Upasya Nistha (Resolute Devotion to the Worshipable Lord). They are a beautiful example of Sri Prabhodananda Saraswati’s vivid and dramatic style.

Kaustubha das

Chapter Seven - Upasya Nistha

57. O foolish mind, please take shelter of Lord Gauranga, who is the Lord, who is hidden from the view of the Vedas, and who with His own transcendental potency plunged the entire world into the great nectar ocean of love for the lotus feet of Lord Krsna.

58. If someone can attain the supreme goal of life by devotedly hearing about, meditating upon, or glorifying Lord Murari, then that is very good for him. Let him do it. For myself, however, I shall only worship the hidden sweetness that fills the great shoreless nectar ocean of pure love of Krsna that flows from Lord Gauranga.

59. Some may worship the Lord with the hope to attain the four goals of life (material piety, sense gratification, economic development and liberation). Others may reject all other objects of worship and simply become the servants of Lord Krsna. For myself, my mind is greedy to attain the great secret of pure love of Krsna, and for this reason I take shelter of the feet of Lord Caitanyacandra.

60. My faith in Vedic and ordinary duties, my embarrassment to sing, dance, and laugh, and my natural tendency to be absorbed in material activities, have all been stolen away by a very powerful golden-complexioned thief.

61. Who is this divine person showering millions of nectar oceans of intensely blissful, splendid, and sweet pure love of Krsna from the corners of His eyes, glistening with mercy? Who is this person whose fair-complexioned form is as splendid as a golden young plantain tree? Who is this person who has suddenly made my heart become so ardently devoted to His feet?

62. His complexion as fair as molten gold, and His form filled with the splendid and blissful nectar of pure transcendental love, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has mercifully appeared in the town of Navadvipa. In Navadvipa every home celebrates great festivals in honor of Bhakti-devi, the goddess of devotion. Navadvipa is sweeter than Vaikuntha. My heart finds its happiness in the transcendental abode of Navadvipa.

63. Let the Vedic scriptures say whatever they like! Let the learned logicians comment as they like! Whatever they say, the nectar of Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet shall always remain my life and soul.

64. If the rare mystic perfections were to fall into my hand, if the demigods approached to become my servants, and if my form became the four-armed form of a resident of Vaikuntha, my mind would still not swerve from Lord Gauracandra for even a moment.

65. Let me live in a terrible cage of fire! I shall never associate with those averse to Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet! My heart has no desire to go to Vaikuntha or any other auspicious place if for a single moment I could not taste the pollen of the lotus flower of Lord Caitanya’s feet.

66. I may become famous in this world, or I may attain wonderful mystic powers, or by worshipping Lord Visnu I may attain a handsome four-armed spiritual form like His. Still, if these things separated me from devotional service to Lord Gaura, my heart would not love them.

67. O Lord Caitanya, O merciful one, O supremely generous one, O Lord who fills the hearts of the living entities with the different mellows of devotional love, O wonderfully splendid Lord, O golden-complexioned Lord, O ocean of transcendental virtues, O personified nectar of devotional service, O Lord who is fond of chanting His own holy names, I pray that without ever becoming fatigued I may pass my life always chanting Your holy names in this way.

68. O Lord Krsna, Your golden form is the life of the devotees. It is the philanthropist that gives in charity the nectar of pure love of God. When shall I whole-heartedly love this golden form? When, because I have finally understood the secret of this golden form, will the splendor of Srimati Radharani’s jewel toenails shine in my heart?

69. I meditate on the Lord, who bears the name Caitanya. He wears a garland of fully blossomed damanaka flowers. He pleases everyone. He enjoys pastimes in a secluded garden. He continually chants the holy names of Lord Krsna. He is the abode of compassion. His fair complexion is as effulgent as gold.

70. I pray that my mind may always remember Lord Gauranga, the sannyasi whose eyes are like two bumblebees drawn to the glistening lotus flower of Lord Jagannatha’s face in the festive city of Nilacala, who is tossed by great waves of ecstatic love of God, and who is the same Lord Krsna who appeared like Cupid to the doe-eyed girls of Vraja.

71. I take shelter of Lord Gaura Hari, who has accepted the saffron garment of a sannyasi, whose bodily hairs stand up in ecstasy, and whose handsome form is decorated with pearl-like tears flowing from His lotus eyes.

72. When will Lord Gaura Hari, who is more handsome than Cupid, more purifying than the celestial Ganges, more cooling than the moon, more sweet than madhvika nectar, more generous than the desire creeper, and more affectionate than a mother, appear in my meditation, and lovingly place His lotus feet in my heart?

73. I pray that the merciful Lord, whose complexion eclipses the splendor of millions of lightning flashes, whose hips are covered with a charming manjistha flower colored saffron cloth, and who delights this universe by again and again flooding it with the sweetest nectar of pure love of Krsna, may become very dear to me.

74. Will Lord Gaura, whose splendor condemns millions and millions of Cupids, whose handsome face eclipses millions and millions of rising autumn moons, and whose generosity makes millions and millions of desire trees seem insignificant, place His lotus feet in my heart after I have accumulated pious deeds in millions and millions of births?

75. I pray that the splendid moonlight of Lord Caitanyacandra, which violently uproots the darkness in the hearts of the entire world, which brings limitless tidal waves to the nectar ocean of the bliss of pure love of Krsna, and which brings coolness to the universe burning day and night in the threefold miseries of material existence, may shine in our hearts.

76. Plunged into Radha’s lamentation in separation from Krsna, at one moment He would become emaciated and devastated. Thinking that Lord Krsna had appeared before Him, at another moment He would become chubby with happiness, at another moment shed tears of joy, at another moment smile, and at another moment become very cool. Burning in the fire of separation from Lord Krsna, at another moment He would become feverish. Thinking that He saw Lord Krsna in the distance, at another moment he would run after Him. Considering that he had just touched Krsna, He would become stunned with bliss. At one moment He would talk as if Krsna were present, and at another moment He would become silent. I pray that Lord Gaura, the golden form of the Lord, may appear in my heart.

77. He does not consider whether a person is qualified or not. He does not see who is His own and who is an outsider. He does not consider who should receive and who not. He does not consider whether it is the proper time. The Lord at once gives that nectar of pure devotional service that is difficult to attain even by hearing the message of the Lord, seeing the Deity, offering obeisances, meditating, or following a host of spiritual practices. That Lord Gaurahari, is my only shelter.

78. Even the greatest sinners, even the lowest of men, even men of the basest character, even those in the vanguard of sinful acts, even the dog eaters, even those whose hearts are filled with sinful desires, even those born or residing in sinful countries, and even those destroyed by bad company have all been rescued by the mercy of Lord Gaura. Let me take shelter of Lord Gaura.

79. Leaving the charming forest on the bank of the Yamuna and entering a flower garden by the shore of the salt-water ocean, rejecting His yellow garment and accepting a saffron cloth, Lord Hari has now concealed His own bodily luster and manifests a golden complexion. Let me take shelter of that golden Lord Hari.

Related Posts

Even as the world celebrates the eight Oscars that “Slumdog Millionaire” took home tonight - including the coveted Best Picture and props to A.R. Rehman’s infectious soundtrack - in its native Mumbai, the film remains a hotbed of controversy and a musical metaphor for India’s conflicted view of itself. It is hailed for shedding light on Indian slums, and yet condemned for exoticizing them. It calls Indians to cheer in pride (a film about our slums WON at the OSCARS!), while simultaneously hanging their heads in shame (a film about OUR SLUMS won at the Oscars!). It is either proof that India has finally arrived in the mainstream, or evidence of the film industry’s neo-colonialist agenda. Like the very city it depicts, “Slumdog Millionaire” is a land of contradictions.But to get mired in the “is-it-or-isn’t-it pro-India” debate misses the forest for the trees, and robs the film of its subtle but powerful spiritual message. At its heart, “Slumdog” owns the paradox and discovers meaning in the contradictions. At its core, it is the story of miracles hidden in those contradictions¸ of choosing to see a divine author’s hand behind the writing on the wall. It is God - or, according to “Slumdog”, *destiny* - in the details.

How does Jamal Malik know all the answers? They’ve been there all his life, waiting for him to notice. And that is the beauty of “Slumdog Millionaire.” It calls us to embrace hope in the face of the hopeless, to recognize purpose in the seemingly senseless. “For one who sees Me in everything and everything in Me,” Lord Krishna says in the sacred Bhagavad Gita, “I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.” Oscar wins or not, that is worth celebrating.

Vineet Chander is the Coordinator for Hindu LIfe at Princeton University and communications director for ISKCON.

This post previously appeared on the website Beliefnet.

On February, 23 the celebration of Maha Shivaratri was observed at the ancient Temple of Gopishwara Mahadeva in Vrindavan. Vaishnava’s honor the various Devas, seeing them as exemplar devotees of Lord Vishnu or Krishna. So in Vrindavan, the holy town of Krishna bhakti, Krishna devotees, following the edict of Srimad-bhagavatam, Vaishnavanam yatha shambhu,¹ worship Lord Shiva as a Krishna devotee in his form of a gopi (Gopishwara Mahadeva).

It is said that, desiring to witness Krishna’s dance with the gopis (the Rasa-lila), Lord Shiva approached Vrindavan, but was barred entrance by the gopi Vrinda devi. She explained that Lord Krishna was the only male allowed to enter the arena of the dance. But, seeing Shiva’s intensely heartfelt desire, he was instructed to bath in the Yamuna River. He emerged from the Yamuna in a female form, that of a gopi, and was given the service of guardian of the dance. Since then, Gopishwara Mahadeva has been seen as the gatekeeper of Vrindavan. Those who seek to enter Vrindavan, not merely physically, but in spirit, approach him for blessings. In this mood, the Vaishnava saint Vishvanth Chakravarti Thakur prayed in his book Sankalpa Kalpadruma (text 103):

Vrindavanvani-pate jaya soma soma

maule sanandana-sanatana-naradeya

gopishvara vraja-vilasi-yuganghri-padme

prema prayaccha nirupadhi namo namas te

“O Shiva, O gatekeeper of Vrindavan! O you who are accompanied by Uma (Parvati)! O you who carry the moon in your hair! O lord worshiped by Sananda-kumar, Sanat-Kumar and Narada Muni! O Gopishwara, the worshipable deity of the gopis! Desiring that you bestow upon me love for the divine couple, Sri Sri Radha Madhava, (Radha and Krishna) who perform joyous pastimes in Vraja, I offer my obeisances unto you again and again.”

During the day, Gopishwara Mahadeva appears as a large Shiva lingam, and in the evening he is dressed as a gopi, with a colorful sari and ornaments. On Maha Shivarati many thousands gather to bath Lord Shiva with milk and water, and make offerings of bael leaves and flowers. I was fortunate to attend this year and take part in the devotional, and somewhat wild, festivities. Here are some photos I managed to take.

Kaustubha das

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patram pushpam phalam toyam / yo me bhaktya prayachati
tad aham bhakty-upahritam / ashnami prayatatmanah

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.”

Bhagavad-gita 9.26

On January 31, 2009 photographer Stephan Crasneanscki shot the annual Pushya Abhishek Festival at the Radha Gopinath Temple in Mumbai. Below are some of the photos as well as an excerpt of the inaugural talk given by H.H. Radhanath Swami Maharaja.

Kaustubha das

Excerpt From the Inaugural Talk

“This wonderful festival is a festival of devotion. Please don’t see just with your eyes, see through your heart. Through the wisdom we receive from the Holy Scriptures and the great saints. It is a shower of our combined intent to please Krishna, to purify our own hearts and ultimately to be instruments of love in every aspect of our life.”

“The world is in turmoil, economically, ecologically, emotionally, psychiatrically. According to the World Health Organization depression, mental illness, is the number three disease that causes pain and death. Why? Externally we have so much, but internally so little. The jewels of divine love within our hearts have been plundered by the thieves of greed, envy, anger, arrogance, selfish passion and illusion. Driven by those thieves, enemies within us, even the pure soul creates havoc within this world. There is a great need to understand what is really of value. Things like character, integrity, humility, self- control, a selfless spirit of compassion towards other living beings, which are all part and parcel of love for God. These are the greatest needs within this world.”

“Today hundreds and hundreds of devotees have been plucking flower petals. It is really beautiful to see, and to really appreciate it you have to know the people. There are simple taxi drivers, simple waiters who work in restaurants, simple people who are unemployed, living in little huts. And they are sitting next to multi, multi millionaires who are industrialists with international corporations. And together they are just plucking the petals. Little children are sitting next to PhD, IIT graduate engineers. Anyone can do it. We are all united in our combined efforts to just offer this very, very simple service to the Lord. It is said that all people are created equal. On the spiritual level we are all created equal but as long as we think ourselves American, Russian, European, or any of these other things, we are not equal. As long as we think ourselves man or woman, young or old we are not equal. There are no two snowflakes, since the beginning of time, that are identical. There are no two cats, two dogs or two human beings that are the same. We all have our karmas, conditionings, and attributes. Real equality is on the spiritual platform. In our devotion to the Lord we are equal. It was beautiful to see this.”

“India has been condemned because of its caste system, which is a perverted conception as it is lived and understood today. On the spiritual platform we are all servants of God and we can be united in that love, on a real level, not just a sentimental level. So we are all together plucking flowers and the result is baskets and baskets of flower petals, more than one ton. How beautiful! How much does the flower petal weigh? The endeavor to get so much made everyone so happy. People go to Bollywood movies, people work so hard to get a Mercedes Benz, or good clothes. They go to the gyms to get strong. Nothing against these things, but as far as happiness is concerned, none of these could compare to plucking the flower petals. Why? Because it awakens such ecstasy in our hearts if we do it with the right intent. And we really all become brothers and sisters, united. And the culmination of so many people plucking is that, although not one of them is getting paid, they are happy because they are doing it out of love in the spirit of service.”

“The culmination is that we get to see every single tiny flower petal made an offering of our united devotion. Our meditation while offering these flower petals is that we are making a prayer for the purification of our own hearts, for the awaking of the love that is dormant within us. We are praying for the blessing of the Lord within all living beings. We are praying for the spiritual prosperity of every living being. That is the mood of the offering of each of those millions and millions of petals. And after the offering there will be the festival where of all the maha prasada flower petals showered upon all of us.”

H.H. Radhanath Swami Maharaja

Click here to hear the entire talk, and for more photos and descriptions of the festival.

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On January 31, I was fortunate to be present at the Radha Gopinath Temple in Mumbai for their annual Pushya Abhishek, a devotional festival in which the temple congregation comes together to profusely decorate the deities of Radha and Krishna with flowers, and then offer them an extended shower of over a ton of fresh flower petals.

In the early morning devotees gathered to pluck the petals from millions of fragrant flowers. In the evening 2000 devotees squeezed into the temple as thousands more gathered in the temple courtyards to watch via video screen.

Radhnath Swami, the spiritual head of the congregation, inaugurated the event with a touching talk about the meaning of the festival. Then, with great anticipation, conch shells were blown and to the sweet tune of kirtan, the doors to the temple’s alter were opened for the darshan of Radha Gopinath (Radha and Krishna) dressed in outfits and ornaments made of flowers. Next, the abhieshek (bath) began. From behind the alter, temple priest rained down flower petals, first pink, then red, then white, yellow, orange. With each new color the crowd roared with approval. As the kirtan slowly grew in intensity, the pile of petals climbed from Radha Gopinath’s feet, to their waists, to their necks and then began to cascade to the alter floor, sometimes like a waterfall, sometimes like an avalanche.

Next, temple priests, on their hands and knees entered the pile of petals and began to toss them in the air creating a constant shower of multi-colored petals. The visual effect was stunning as the fragrance of the flowers began to permeate the entire temple. At this point, it would be hard to describe the experience other than to say it was a continual state of astounded joy to watch and sing. As the kirtan went on, behind the shower of petals, more and more petals were poured directly upon Radha Gopinath. It seemed the supply would never end.

As some priests, frolicking in the pile, continued to throw petals in the air, others collected the petals in large wicker baskets. These baskets were taken up to the temple’s balconies. And after what must have been a couple of hours of this, when it seemed as though the ecstasy could go no further, suddenly a rain of petals began to pour upon the crowd from above. This brought everyone to their feet as a joyful dance under a rain of fragrant flower petals commenced. It was ecstasy. It was surreal. It was astounding as the petals began to pile thick like snow up to the ankles. All that was left to do, as the kirtan thundered on, was to reach down, grab huge handfuls of petals and bless each other by gleefully tossing the flower balls at each other. Everyone became like children playing in snow, dancing and seeking out dear friends in the crowd to make sure they had the chance to bless them with a fragrant flower petal explosion on their head. The merriment went on and on. Clothes were ruined with stain. No one cared. The kirtan went on and the flowers kept flying.

I left with some friends when, overcome with exhaustion, and with flower petals smeared over our clothes and bodies, we could take no more. We retired to the temple garden, enjoyed a nice meal and shared our appreciation of the event as it continued to roar on in the distance.

Below you can find a slideshow of photos from the event. The photos are by my friend Barry Silver, taken on his simple compact Nikcon camera. I’ve also included the talk by Radhanath Swami which can be listened to on this sight or downloaded as a podcast. In the Featured section of the sight you can find another slideshow of photos by my friend, and professional photographer Stephan Crasneanscki entitled “Flower Shower“.

Kaustubha das

Below is a recording of Radhanath Swami’s inaugural talk.

Listen On This Site

Right-click to Download as Podcast

Here are the pics.

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What the punctuation in the title indicates:

Quotation marks: Draping the word God in quotation marks indicates that we are first concerned with the signifier, not the signified. (Compare these two sentences: I am interested in God. I am interested in “God.”)

Question mark: The mark of interrogation backstopping “God” points us next to questions concerning the concept or idea of God. What does it mean? Aren’t there many different meanings? Isn’t the meaning often vague or ambiguous?

The mark directs us further to questions concerning the existence of God. Is there any real entity denoted by the word God? Is there any way to conclusively answer this question?

A Lesson in Vedanta

The conception of God and the conception of Absolute Truth are not on the same level. The Srimad Bhagavatam hits on the target of the Absolute Truth. The conception of God indicates the controller, whereas the conception of the Absolute Truth indicates the summum bonum or the ultimate source of all energies. There is no difference of opinion about the personal feature of God as the controller because a controller cannot be impersonal. . . . Because there are different controllers for different managerial positions, there may be many small gods . . . with various specific powers, but the Absolute Truth is one without a second. This Srimad Bhagavatam designates the Absolute Truth or the summum bonum as the param satyam.

The author of Srimad Bhagavatam , Srila Vyasadeva, first offers his respectful obeisances unto the param satyam (Absolute Truth), and because the param satyam is the ultimate source of all energies, the param satyam is the Supreme Person. The gods or the controllers are undoubtedly persons, but the param satyam from whom the gods derive powers of control is the Supreme Person. The Sanskrit word ishvara (controller) conveys the import of God, but the Supreme Person is called the parameshvara, or the supreme ishvara . The Supreme Person, or parameshvara, is the supreme conscious personality, and because He does not derive any power from any other source, He is supremely independent.

—Shrila Prabhupada, Introduction to Srimad Bhagavatam

Where does everything come from?
Everything comes either from something or from nothing.

When the answer is nothing, it sometimes turns out to be a very special, hyper-potent kind of nothing. Not just nothing but Nothing. In other words, a unique kind of something (after all).

When the answer is nothing, it sometimes turns out to be a special inscrutable something, beyond all possible modes of understanding or investigation. Nothing is really a “No Trespassing” sign. (Or: “You don’t belong in the physics department; you should go to the religion department.”)

When the answer is nothing, it sometimes turns out that the “everything” that (seemingly) comes from it is really nothing also. Nothing makes no things: No problem!

Vedanta settles for something. A special unique something: param satyam or brahman “the ultimate source of all energies.”janmadyasya yatah (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.2)

In the Upanishads, this ultimate source is described as so complete or full (purnam) that however much is taken away from it, it remains complete.

By contrast, I am not purna. I am a dependent, contingent being. I require regular supplies—each day so much food, water, air, light, heat, and so on. If I trace back the supply chain I will reach (according to the Vedas) the empowered universal supply agents, the devas—lords of the sun, moon, wind, rain, soil, and so on. As they distribute, their own stores becomes depleted, and they themselves need resupply. Following back the chain of dependence, we reach finally a singular and unique being who produces endless supplies and who never needs resupply, remaining full. This the self-sustaining sustainer of all others is the param satyam.

(Think of the param satyam as something like a hotel with infinite rooms, all occupied—purna, “No Vacancy.” At noon, the guest occupying Room 1 checks out. As he leaves, the bellboy blows a whistle. All the rooms’ doors open: The guest in Room 2 moves into Room 1, the guest in Room 3 moves to Room 2, and so on, ad infinitum. Thus, even though a guest checked out, the hotel remains full. It will remain full if ten, a hundred, a thousand , a million, or even an infinite number of guests check out.)

This is the “concept of the Absolute Truth,” that from which everything comes. It differs from the concept of ishvara or “god.” Ishvara means a controller. In that sense, even local controllers—the CEOs of SEPTA, PECO and Comcast, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, the mayor of Philadelphia, the governor of Pennsylvania, and so on—are all minor ishvara , teeny gods with minuscule controlling power. And, according to the Vedas, there are superior gods who administer the universe—not petty bureaucrats but mighty cosmocrats.

Whatever we see here, in the effect, must also be there, in the ultimate cause. The param satyam has produced myriad personal controllers. Therefore the ultimate personal controller, the parameshvara, is in the Absolute Truth itself. The Upanishads describe the param satyam as simultaneously personal and impersonal.

Prabhupada coined the phrase “Supreme Personality of Godhead” to express more accurately the concept of Krishna. The word “god” by itself is, strictly speaking, inadequate. A “god” is a being that may or may not exist. “Godhead” however, denotes the Absolute Truth, param brahman, the uncreated, self-sustaining origin of everything. “Personality of Godhead” denotes the personal feature of the unlimited Godhead. The one Personality of Godhead exists simultaneously in many transcendent forms—Krishna, Rama, Nrisimha, Narayana, Vamana and so on.

Some argue that the limitless nature of the Absoute Truth precludes personhood, since personhood or individuality entails limits and boundaries. They forget to consider that it would also be a limitation to exclude personhood. There must be somehow pesonality without limitation. For this reason, Vedic thought understands the one Personality of Godhead to be ananta rupam, expanded in unlimited forms simultaneously.

Among all these forms, Krishna is particularly denoted “the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

One last consideration: Should I find myself wondering whether the Personality of Godhead exists or not, then I should understand that I do not grasp the concept of the Absoute Truth. I am thinking of Godhead as if it were simply one more contingent, dependent being: like me, or my laptop, or my city. My Dell laptop exists, but it might not; Ravindra Svarupa dasa exists, but might very well not; this City of Brotherly Love exists but might not have. My current controllers—Mayor Nutter, Governor Rendell, President Obama, Lord Indra, Lord Brahma—are all there, but might not have been. But the final controller, the Personality of Godhead, the ultimate source of all energies, exists in a different way from all these other beings. He exists so fully or truly that he has not even the possibility of not existing.

If we simply understand the concept of the Absolute Truth, we must recognize that its mode of existence—existing without even the possibility of not existing—is different from ours.

(Perhaps some readers have recognized in the last paragraphs a version of “the ontological argument for the existence of God.” This argument has generated much controversy, yet it seems to me that Prabhupada’s distinction between the concepts of God and of the Absolute Truth clarifies the argument and helps resolve some of the controversy. When one understands the argument as dealing with the concept of Godhead or Absolute Truth, rather than the concept of God, its particular force becomes more evident, at least to me. To me, there are sound and persuasive arguments that there must be an Absolute Truth, and that the Absolute Truth must be a person. I’ve outlined them above. That the person is blue-complexioned, flute-playing, peacock-feather-wearing Krishna—or any expansions—cannot be shown by reason and logic. Only pareshanubhava, direct perception of the Lord, will disclose these concrete particulars. On the other hand, if one studies the Supreme Personality of Godhead as encountered by Narada, Vyasa, Uddhava, Caitanya, and so on, one can say: “This is our idea of the supreme person. Can anyone offer a description of any greater?”)

(This article has been previously published on Ravindra Svarupa Dasa’s weblog So It Happens, and has been used here with his kind permission.)

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[EDITORS NOTE: On December 26th I arrived in Mumbai and have been the fortunate guest of Radhanath Swami and the many wonderful Vaishnavas of the Radha Gopinath Temple. Having seen my previous article "Finding Selflessness Amidst Mumbai’s Sorrow", Radhanath Swami kindly shared some of his written thoughts about the Mumbai terrorist attacks. I'll share them with you below.

Kaustubha das]

It was a balmy autumn night in Mumbai. Over a hundred close friends were gathered for a reunion on a tenth floor rooftop garden near the sea. Along the terrace border, small trees and leafy bushes blossomed with campak, mogra and night queen flowers. Their fragrances merged with the salty sea breeze, cooling us from the heat of the day. The moon shone brightly above while waves crashed upon the rocky shore below.

We shared our hearts with laughter and affectionate tears. Suddenly- an explosion shook the earth. It didn’t have the jarring affect of a firecracker. Not at all. The blast resonated in a low bass pitch. It was an eerie, ghastly sound. My stomach sickened. Not knowing what it could be, as anything strange could happen in a massive metropolis like Mumbai, we continued speaking. Five minutes later, another explosion, just a few blocks away.

Terrorists had begun their siege. For the next three days the city was gripped with fear, anger and wrenching sorrow, as the world watched, calling it India’s 9-11.

With each day, person after person came to me, traumatized. It was like a flashback of the terrorist train bombings in Mumbai just three years before when our hospital was lined with the mutilated and the dead, filling all the beds and practically every inch of our floor space. But this time, the elite were among those targeted.

Some told me how their relatives or friends were brutally slaughtered. Others had witnessed the carnage, escaping only after slipping through puddles of blood and tripping over fresh corpses, as the smiling terrorists sprayed innocent crowds with the ripping bullets of their assault rifles and hurled hand grenades, like it was play.

The carnage took an emotional toll on everyone, the rich, the poor, the powerful and the weak. Shaken from their routine lives, questions burned in many minds. The same questions people have asked since the beginning of time. Why such suffering? If there is a God, how could He allow this? What is this fragile thing called life? Do I exist beyond death? Is there a meaningful purpose beyond this rat race?

A week later I came back to the home where I grew up forty years before, twenty-five miles north of Chicago. From the back room that my father built back in 1954, paneled with old growth redwood and heated by a crackling log fire in a brick fireplace, I gazed out a window into our small back yard. A blanket of snow covered the grass that I once frolicked upon as a child. In the cold of winter, only the squirrels were out that day.

As I gazed up at a leafless tree, I contemplated the nature of life and inevitable death. The lessons I had learned my beloved guru filled my mind as I watched a seemingly endless shower of snowflakes swirling in the Chicago wind.

Within every human heart there is the potential to realize ones own essence. We are by nature divine, eternal full of knowledge and bliss. With the key of spiritual practice and the blessings we receive, we can unlock the treasure of spiritual love from within the heart and live as instruments of that love for the world.

Or by our free will we can choose to utilize our God given resources to cultivate the selfish ego and its counterparts of envy, greed, anger, lust, arrogance and illusion. By that choice we become to greater or lesser degrees instruments of maya or the illusory energy. We all have that choice, at each moment.

To some it seems that evil is conquering the world. Evil is a symptom of extreme illusion. When the human intellect falls prey to such evil, it can justify anything to suit its purpose, even in the name of God and ultimate goodness.

Truth is eternal and characterized by wisdom, love and compassion. It is compared to the sun. Illusion with all of its counterparts is compared to the darkness of a shadow. It cannot cover the sun of truth but it can cover our perception. Darkness can only be overcome by light. The light that is within all of us, an infinitely resplendent spark of the source of pure beauty, knowledge and love, the ultimate truth, Krishna. Bhakti is the science of channeling our thoughts, words and actions toward awakening the inner beauty of the soul.

Radhanath Swami

Related post: Finding Selflessness Amidst Mumbai’s Sorrow

In Bhagavad-gita (5.22) Krishna says this about enjoyment of the senses:

ye hi samsparsha-ja bhoga duhkha-yonaya eva te

“The pleasures that arise from contact between the senses and their objects are in truth the sources of all suffering.”

The Sanskrit word bhoga (with the long ‘a’ of the plural) means ‘pleasures’ or ‘enjoyments’. What kinds? The pleasures born (ja) from samsparsha, ‘the bringing into contact’—implicitly, the contact of the senses with their appropriate objects.

This is what we mean by “sense gratification”: enjoying the pleasures that arise when the eyes, or nose, or tongue, the hands, skin, or genitals comes together with their particular objects.

Krishna says something about those pleasures startlingly counter-intuitive: the enjoyments thus obtained (te) are the birth places or origins (yonaya) of suffering (duhkha).

There seems to be an allusion to sexual enjoyment contained in this line. Yonaya literally means “vaginas,” or “wombs,” a word that connects with the word ja, birth, earler in the line. The allusion would be appropriate, for sexual pleasure is, as Freud pointed out, “the prototype of all pleasure.”)

All such sensual pleasures, Krishna asserts, are the causes of suffering.

As if anticipating the immediate denial of his hearer, Krishna fortifies his laconic utterance with two words of emphasis: hi (surely, certainly) and eva (truly, really). I’ve tried to convey the force of these with the words “in truth” and with the word “all” modifying “suffering.”

The word duhkha is often used to indicate the generic suffering of material existence itself. Buddha used the word in this way in the first of his “Four Noble Truths:

This is the noble truth of suffering [duhkha]: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering . . . .

The second Truth declares that the origin of this suffering is desire or craving (trishna).

(By the way, we can see that these statements of Buddha mirror the Bhagavad-gita’s teaching. It is well known that Buddha rejected the authority of the Vedas, yet we see here that he clearly retained some fundamental principles of Vedic teaching. Interestingly, early in the Gita, Krishna rejects those who, bewildered by the “flowery language” of the Vedas, devote themselves exclusively to Vedic rites in order to obtain worldly opulence and enjoyment. In other words, Krishna rejects the same understanding of the Vedas that Buddha does. Yet Krishna, still accepting Vedic authority, expounds what he considers the ultimate Vedic teaching, making open in the Gita what was previously exclusive or hidden knowledge.)

But here there is no disagreement: “Those pleasures that arise from the contact of the senses with their objects are in truth the sources of all suffering.”

Krishna reveals that the world actually works in precisely the opposite of the way we suppose. From our very birth we began to enjoy sense pleasure. Finding delight in every such experience, we naturally assume that the path of happiness—obviously— lies in multiplying, perpetuating, and intensifying those pleasures as far as possible.

Yet the world misleads us. And so, our worldly experience as a whole is described as a kind of maya or illusion.

The illusion is all-pervading and ever-deepening. Krishna’s warning has been issued by many saints and sages of the past, like Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha, Moses, Plato, and Plotinus, but nowadays we dismisses their teachings.

Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
(from W.B. Yeats, “Sailing to Byzantium”)

Why then should we heed those traditional religions and moralities, with their negations and restrictions imposed by those decrepit, youth-hating, life-denying patriarchs, their lips curled in disgust? There is such a thing as progress. It has liberated us from the guilt and inhibitions inherited from the past; let us fully explore and exploit all the potentials of the world. So the illusion grows deeper, lays the very foundation of our modern culture.

In 1851—in the early days of the modern project—Mathew Arnold composed the celebrated poem “Dover Beach.” There, where the waves loudly pound the pebbled shore beneath the chalk cliffs, the sound of the ebbing tide reminded the poet of the “melancholy, long, withdrawing roar” of the once full “Sea of Faith.” Contemplating our new condition, Arnold concluded:

. . . for the world, which seems_To lie before us like a land of dreams,_So various, so beautiful, so new,_Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,_Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;_And we are here as on a darkling plain_Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,_Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Did Arnold nail it? After so many more years of progress, we can watch on hi-def, large-screen satellite TV the current clashing of the current armies of the night, and the current brilliant talking heads analyzing the current global economic collapse and the current unchecked advance of man-made global climatic disaster. All of this news comes richly larded with—and paid for by—expensively produced commercial messages that urge us to spend and enjoy more and more and more.

What could have gone wrong?

Or what if the television commercials miraculously told the truth? Enjoy Cancun or Paris, enjoy Schlitz or Heinekens, enjoy Toyota or Lexus—and you will really suffer!

Of course, some total marketing lies have been famously exposed, and products have fallen into disgrace. Enjoy Luck Strikes, Camels, and Chesterfield—we know you will suffer. You will suffer chronic obstructive lung disease, heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer, and die.

What Krishna is telling us—what the consumers have yet to realize—is that all sense gratification is a cigarette. Sense gratification is the cause of death.

(This article has been previously published on Ravindra Svarupa Dasa’s weblog So It Happens, and has been used here with his kind permission.)

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divyad-vrndaranya-kalpa-drumadah
srimad-ratnagara-simhasana-sthau
sri-sri-radha-srila-govinda-devau
presthalibhih sevyamanau smarami

In a temple of jewels in Vrndavana, underneath a desire tree, Sri Sri Radha Govinda, served by Their most confidential associates, sit upon an effulgent throne. I offer my humble obeisances unto Them. [Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 1.16]

The Radha Govinda Temple is seen as one of the most impressive examples of North Indian architecture. It sits in the middle of the Yogapitha, the sacred place where Radha and Krishna would meet.

The deity of Govinda, believed to have been established thousands of years ago by Krishna’s grandson Vajranaba, was rediscovered by Srila Rupa Goswami in the 16th century. The construction of the temple was begun under the direction of Raghunath Bhatta Goswami and his disciples, headed by Raja Man Singh (a general in the Army of Emperor Akbar) and was completed in 1590. Jiva Goswami praised Emperor Akbar in his Govindam Mandir Astakam (Eight Prayers in Glorification of the Govinda Temple), which is carved into the temple’s stone. The inscription reads “Emperor Akbar is a very kind-hearted person and a Vaishnava. I give my blessings to Emperor Akbar. In his kingdom all the Vaishnavas are living very peacefully.”

Less than 100 years later Emperor Aurangzeb ordered the temple’s destruction. Before his soldiers arrived the deities of Radha and Govinda were moved. They now reside in the grand Govindaji temple in Jaipur.

Before its destruction the temple stood seven stories high. Just two stories remain. Still, the Radha Govinda Temple remains a towering monument to Lord Govinda and a place where one can feel a connection to the great saints of the past and the history of Krishna devotion in Vrindavan.

Kaustubha das

Robert Stoetzel is a New York based photographer traveling and photographing in India trough March 2009.

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]]> http://bhakticollective.com/2008/12/22/radha-govinda-temple-photos-by-robert-stoetzel/feed/ http://bhakticollective.com/2008/12/22/radha-govinda-temple-photos-by-robert-stoetzel/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bhakticollective/~3/FEym1MzS0eo/ http://bhakticollective.com/2008/12/18/kirtan-podcast-4-karnamrita-the-story-of-pingala/#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:26:17 +0000 bhakticollective@gmail.com (Bhakti Collective) http://bhakticollective.com/?p=694 PODCAST: A brilliant recording of "The Story of Pingala" from Karnamrita's CD Dasi-Prayers by Women.]]>

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Among all the kirtan singers out there, it would be hard to find one with a voice more pure or beautiful than Karnamrita. She’s been singing kirtan since her early childhood and was trained in Indian classical vocals in Vrindavan. This track, “The Story of Pingala”, is from the CD Dasi–Prayers by Women, a compilation of songs and prayers by or about great women in the Krishna Bhakti Traditions. This brilliant and exciting recording is composed of verses taken directly from a section of the Srimad-bhagavatam’s 11th Canto known as the Uddhava-gita.

The Uddhava-gita is a rich resource of teachings on bhakti. Responding to Uddhava’s request for instructions on renunciation, Krishna relates an avadhuta‘s account of his twenty-four gurus. These twenty-four gurus are an eclectic group of people, animals and other natural phenomena – for instance, the earth, the wind, the sky, the moon, the python, the moth, etc. The avadhuta’s account shows how one can develop wisdom and conviction in bhakti through observing one’s surroundings.

One of the guru’s, the prostitute Pingala, is the subject of this song. These verses are an expression of her frustration with sensual pursuits and her joyous awakening of detachment and devotion.

I’ve included the Srimad-bhagavatam verses below, both in the original Sanskrit and the English translation. I highly recommend the CD which has a variety of beautiful songs.

Kaustubha das

To Purchase the CD Dasi - Prayers by Women Click Here

The Story of Pingala From the CD Dasi - Prayers by Women

Vocals: Karnamrita
Melody composed by: Yuddhistira and Karnamrita
Tablas: Yuddhistira
Kartals: Chaitanya Nitai
Hand Claps: Ron Marinelli
Produced by Karnamrita and Ron Marinelli
Mixed and mastered by Ron Marinelli

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From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11th Canto, Chapter 8

11.8.30
pingalovaca
aho me moha-vitatim
pasyatavijitatmanah
ya kantad asatah kamam
kamaye yena balisa

The prostitute Pingala said: Just see how greatly illusioned I am! Because I cannot control my mind, just like a fool I desire lusty pleasure from an insignificant man.

11.8.31
santam samipe ramanam rati-pradam
vitta-pradam nityam imam vihaya
akama-dam duhkha-bhayadhi-soka-
moha-pradam tuccham aham bhaje ‘jna

I am such a fool that I have given up the service of that person who, being eternally situated within my heart, is actually most dear to me. That most dear one is the Lord of the universe, who is the bestower of real love and happiness and the source of all prosperity. Although He is in my own heart, I have completely neglected Him. Instead I have ignorantly served insignificant men who can never satisfy my real desires and who have simply brought me unhappiness, fear, anxiety, lamentation and illusion.

11.8.37
nunam me bhagavan prito
vishnuh kenapi karmana
nirvedo ‘yam durasaya
yan me jatah sukhavahah

Although I most stubbornly hoped to enjoy the material world, somehow or other detachment has arisen in my heart, and it is making me very happy. Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu, must be pleased with me. Without even knowing it, I must have performed some activity satisfying to Him.

11.8.38
maivam syur manda-bhagyayah
klesa nirveda-hetavah
yenanubandham nirhritya
purushah samam ricchati

A person who has developed detachment can give up the bondage of material society, friendship and love, and a person who undergoes great suffering gradually becomes, out of hopelessness, detached and indifferent to the material world. Thus, due to my great suffering, such detachment awoke in my heart; yet how could I have undergone such merciful suffering if I were actually unfortunate? Therefore, I am in fact fortunate and have received the mercy of the Lord. He must somehow or other be pleased with me.

11.8.39
tenopakritam adaya
sirasa gramya-sangatah
tyaktva durasah saranam
vrajami tam adhisvaram

With devotion I accept the great benefit that the Lord has bestowed upon me. Having given up my sinful desires for ordinary sense gratification, I now take shelter of Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

11.8.40
santushta sraddadhaty etad
yatha-labhena jivati
viharamy amunaivaham
atmana ramanena vai

I am now completely satisfied, and I have full faith in the Lord’s mercy. Therefore I will maintain myself with whatever comes of its own accord. I shall enjoy life with only the Lord, because He is the real source of love and happiness.

[Translation from Srimad-bhagavatam, courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. Used with permission.]

When we see innocent people running our city streets, scrambling for shelter from acts of violence committed in God’s name, whether in Manhattan or Mumbai, it’s a good time to ask ourselves whether our religion is making us more divine or deranged. On the verge of 2009, it’s become all the more apparent that the first decade of the new millennium will, in many ways, be defined by the impact of religious terrorism on our nations, communities, families and minds. Times like these call for us to examine how our faith affects our reasoning.

Unfortunately, religious endeavor is as easily corrupted as any other human pursuit. It makes as little sense to ask whether religion is good or bad, as it does to ask whether things like parenthood, sexual love or medical care are good or bad. As with all activities, good or bad depends on a variety of factors. Any useful examination of them requires nuance and subtlety. Crass critiques of religious thought, like Bill Maher’s film “Religulous”, may provide a few laughs for skeptics, but fail to shed much light on the relation between religion and violence.

The most relevant questions about religion will address how we approach it. Religion, as a method of self-transformation (or yoga), can purify the heart, free us of unworthy instinct and compulsion, and nurture the best in us. A pure heart is fit to receive God’s grace in the form of wisdom, contentment and compassion. Conversely, a superficial approach sees religion as merely a ticket to salvation via membership to a group endowed with the favor of God. It can result in just the opposite, fostering pride, sectarianism and hate. It can become an instrument for the expression of exactly that which we need to be purified of. Which brings us to the real enemy: not Islam, not even extreme fundamentalist Islam.

Yogic literature speaks of six enemies (Ari-shad-vargas) which bind the soul: kama, (lust); krodha, (anger); lobha, (greed); mada, (madness); moha, (illusion); and matsarya, (hate and envy). True religion aims at uprooting these terrorists. The sincerity of ones purpose in their approach to religious practice weighs heavily in determining ones success. Will the soul be purified or putrefied?

The Vaishnava saint Rupa Goswami (1489-1564) spoke of the need for selflessness in religious life. He noted that bhakti (religious devotion) of the best kind is grounded in selflessness (anyabhilashita-shunyam).¹ Free from various selfish motivations, genuine devotion is centered on service.

I believe that a large part of the purpose of human experience is to uncover the selflessness at our very core. Isn’t it the times of our lives most consumed in selfless service that we find the most meaningful? That selflessness which makes our hearts a worthy offering for God and a fit vessel for God’s grace is the real substance of peace. It fosters that upon which peace depends: forgiveness and empathy.

And so, I’ve found one silver lining sewn to the dark cloud of terrorism. That, in the midst of the ugliest of human acts we can find exceptionally selfless demonstrations of human benevolence. In New York we were moved by the images of firemen rushing into the World Trade Center towers as they were about to crumble. In Mumbai we hear of Taj Hotel employees building barricades with their own bodies to shield their guests from gunfire.

A recent interview on “Charlie Rose” features Michael and Anjali Pollack, husband and wife. Both were trapped in the Taj Hotel.

Aiming for a response which would capture a lesson from their experience, Charlie Rose asks: “When you look back at this, what do you want to tell your kids? What do you want to tell your parents?”

Michael Pollack’s reply: “The real gift, beyond the second chance at life, is to have seen the selfless nature of others at a time of absolute mayhem and barbarity, and to see how selfless human beings can really be, and pull together as a community in these periods. It’s something that Anjali and I can only hope to emulate in the future.”

So along with tears of sorrow for the deaths of innocents, come tears of love for strangers - ordinary people who, through their selfless sacrifice, show us something about the beauty and decency of humanity as well as the spiritual potential that lies within us all.

I would like to share with you the interview with Michael and Anjali Pollack as well as some audio clips from a dear friend. Radhanath Swami is an American born Vaishnava guru and monk in the bhakti tradition. He leads a wonderful congregation at the Radha Gopinath Temple in Mumbai. The Radha Gopinath Temple has one of Mumbia’s largest Hindu congregations, among who are Taj Hotel employees who witnessed the massacre, and others who lost relatives. In his talk, recorded just after the attacks, Radhanth Swami addresses the congregation and speaks of the six enemies mentioned above, those terrorists within each of us who threaten to kill that which we should ultimately value the most: our ability to love, serve, and commune with God and humanity.

Kaustubha das

Charlie Rose: Interview with Michael and Anjali Pollack

Radhanath Swami Addresses the Congregation of the Radha Gopinath Temple in Mumbai. Recorded November 30, 2008 [19.17mins.]

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Note: This recording is a collection of short segments from a longer talk, spliced together.

Related Post: Radhanath Swami: A Few More Thoughts on Terror in Mumbai

As the busy month of Kartik¹ reaches it’s end, the crowds of pilgrims in Vrindavan gradually thin. December’s cold brings a thick fog and with the change in ambiance comes a change in mood. The spirit shifts. It feels like Vrindavan is calling the soul to move from festive celebration to hushed, solemn contemplation and prayer. In the mornings one can circle the path around the town visiting holy spots veiled in haze.

Early in the morning, Keshi Ghat, usually lively with pilgrims and sadhus bathing in the holy Jamuna, becomes a lonely place. Boats sit idle on the bank. Beautifully carved sandstone piers invite you to rest a moment, take a few drops of holy water on your head, gaze up river toward the Madan Mohan Temple, and offer a prayer in silence.

This is the place where Krishna killed the horse demon Keshi who represents false pride, an obstacle on the path of bhakti. In the Bhagavad-gita Arjuna refers to Krishna as Keshi-nishudana (slayer of Keshi). His hope was that, by his divine instructions, Krishna would slay the doubts which hindered his spiritual conviction. At this spot, Krishna bhaktas have been offering similar prayers for thousands of years.

Kaustubha das

Robert Stoetzel is a New York based photographer traveling and photographing in India trough March 2009.

Related Posts: Gopurams in Sepia / Portraits from the Kunds of Govardhan / Murals of the Krishna Balaram Temple

Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a nineteenth century religious reformer in the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. He was a prolific author, songwriter, poet and proponent of Krishna bhakti. The following is from his article “The Temple of Jagannath at Puri” written on September 15, 1871.

Kaustubha das

“We do not mean to say that Reason is a foolish principle. On the contrary we do not find better admirers of Reason than our humble selves. We hold that man’s superiority amongst all created beings consists in man’s possessing the noble gift of Reason.”

“What we maintain is this, that independent of this noble principle there is another higher gift in man which goes by the name of Love. Reason helps Love to maintain its proper bounds in the Spiritual world. Love often tends to degrade itself by exercising its function on objects other then God and converts itself into lust for women, wine, meat and gold. Here Reason advises her to rise higher till she reaches her proper sphere above.”

“Thus we find that the object of Reason is to help Love and not to create it. Reason may be properly styled as the servant of Love and must always be subject to her in all her hopes, aspirations, and holy works.”

“The Rationalist on the contrary considers Reason as all and all! This is a degradation of humanity! The progressive Rationalist, on the other hand, believes in the principle of love, but attempts to make her the maid-servant of Reason! This is another error! He makes spiritual love sometimes a prisoner in the jails of Reason! Love wants to soar on her spiritual wings to a realm where the Jailor (Reason) cannot go and the latter is sure to tie up her wings for fear lest she goes to an unworthy place!”

“Love utters sounds of a spiritual character peculiar to herself, but Reason, having no previous experience of it, mistakes it for a disease and administers medicine for her cure!! Thus it is that the natural strength of the Queen of our Soul is crippled by artificial administration of the dry principle of Reason and she rests in us as if a bird taken in a cage! Oh! What a havoc doth Reason commit by abuse of his power. Oh! Shame to the Rationalist! God help the man!!”

“Theist take care of those amongst you who mix with you only by assuming the name of Theist but are in fact Rationalists of a very dry character. They are divisible into two classes vis. the designing and the dupes. The designing Theist is he who is in fact a Rationalist but by assuming the name of Theist wants to degrade the sincere by his bad influence. He that calls himself a Theist in order to get rid of the name of Rationalist but still holds Love in subjection to Reason is a dupe because he is unable to find out his own position. The sincere Theist should however take care of both of them and preserve the sovereignty of Love over Reason and his comrades.”

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May your vision be blessed
with calming glances of compassion
as you see the many souls all around
suffering in the heat of their silent sufferings,
for by thinking about the true welfare of others,
your own problems will automatically leave you
and you will prosper and blossom.

May your mind be blessed
by the divine touch of the Lord’s presence
so that you gain the strength
to turn your challenges into opportunities
and your failures into impulses
that bring out your best.

May your heart be blessed
with soft waves of gratitude and love for the divine couple
that heal you inside and out
and awaken your true self
from the unconscious slumber
in which it has dozed since time immemorial.

May all your efforts be blessed
so that you may reach the land of divine love,
conquering the relentless cycle
of birth and death in this world.

And may your feet be blessed
always to carry you into good association,
where all these and many more blessings
can be experienced and nurtured.

Yes, may the winds of blessings carry your entire being forward
like a ship sailing on the ocean of time.
And should your ship experience difficulties
that make your heart tremble,
do not worry, there is hope:
Call upon the names of the Lord
with deep feelings of yearning.
He will rush to your aid
and give you the required strength of heart.

All the best and lots of spiritual strength,
Sacinandana Swami

Under the Banyan Tree is a regular column featuring the writing of Sacinandana Swami.

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Sometime in the 1730’s, a young Scottish philosopher tried, and failed, to find himself. David Hume reflected upon this experience in his first book, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739). The passage is much quoted and anthologized. I encountered it frequently as an undergraduate philosophy major, for my teachers regarded it as a watershed in Western philosophy. They revered David Hume—progenitor of the hard-nosed, no-nonsense style of empiricism they professed—and they amused their classes by reproducing in a Scottish burr a famous remark by the great philosopher’s mother: “Oor Davie’s a fine, good-natured crater, but uncommon wake-minded.”

Well, sons are sometimes hard on mothers, too. That was why I had the afternoon last fall to take my two grandsons in a search for the self, some 260 years after Davie had looked in vain. This Saturday my harried daughter needed a break, so my wife and I were at her house trying to load Paramesvara (age five), Bhaktivinoda (three and a half), and all their weekend gear into our car. In the midst of a great deal of coming and going, Paramesvara and I found ourselves at one point alone together in the car. We chatted. I was struck once more by how bright this lanky, tow-headed boy was, and I wondered how much of the philosophy of Krishna consciousness he understood. I decided to begin with what Srila Prabhupada called the “first lesson.”

Making sure I had his attention, I said, “Paramesvara, do you know you’re not your body?”

“I’m not?” he exclaimed in amazement. He looked at me expectantly, awaiting explanation.

“That’s right. You’re not. You’re the soul, the spirit soul.”

He knew plenty of Krishna stories, but, it seemed, no philosophy. Was he too young? His astonishment told me he was ready—my statement didn’t just go past him or bewilder him. Yet how could I get him to understand the soul? I did not want him simply reciting stock, catechistic responses that had no meaning for him.

Before I could go any further we were interrupted: “Jaga! Jaga! Help me!”

This was Bhaktivinoda, stranded on the sidewalk with a spill of paraphernalia, calling his older brother, whose in-house name is “Jaga” or “Jaga-bear.” (I can’t tell you why.) After we had packed the trunk and settled back-seat territorial disputes, Jaga went back inside to look for the trip snack-bag, leaving me alone with Bhaktivinoda, or, conveniently, “T-Node.” T-Node is a rolly-polly kind of kid with a pale, circular face that’s surrounded by a sunburst of curly hair so blonde it’s nearly white. A toddler’s lisp overlays his low, gravelly voice.

I had him alone: How would someone this young respond? Would he be interested at all?

“T-Node,” I asked in a serious voice, “do you know you’re not your body?”

“I’m not?” he exclaimed at once, his eyes wide with astonishment. He looked up at me, waiting.

“No, you’re not. When Jaga comes back I’ll explain it.” I began making plans.

My wife agreed to drive, and by the time we made the turnpike I was ready. I had remembered how Srila Prabhupada had taught some schoolchildren and decided to try it.

I twisted around to face the boys in the back seat. “Now I’ll show you that you’re not your body. First stick your pointing finger out straight, like this. OK? Good. Now just do what I tell you. Ready?”

They were; they were into it.

“Now: point to your nose!” I pointed to my nose, Jaga to his, T-Node to his.

“Now point to your belly!” We all did. I led them through a sequence: elbow, eye, foot, knee, chest …

(Once they got going I stopped pointing.) I hammed it up a bit and gradually gained speed until I reached the punchline: “Now point to your self!” Consternation. Pointing fingers waved about aimlessly, eyebrows knit together in bafflement. They laughed … “What? What?” Jaga said, his finger looping around like a bottled-up fly.

“See!” I said. “You can’t point to yourself. That’s because you are not your body! You’re the soul.”

T-Node was thunderstruck; he had clearly undergone an intellectual breakthrough. His face was lit up with the wonder of discovery.

“Do it again! Do it again!” T-Node begged. We went through the sequence a few times, and each time it worked to both boys’ satisfaction. “I’m not my body,” I heard T-Node saying to himself. “I am the soul.” It seemed to sound right to him.

But I felt an unease, a mental chill, almost a presence. It was the ghost of David Hume. With suave, measured tones that nicely set off a hint of contempt, I heard the words of the Treatise announcing the position about to be demolished:

“There are some philosophers who imagine we are every moment intimately conscious of what we call our self. …”

But where, Hume asks, could we get the idea of a self from? All real ideas are based on “impressions”—on sensations, passions, or emotions. We must be able to analyze or dissect ideas down to show ultimately the impressions that produced them. If we cannot, then the so-called idea is meaningless. What impression, Hume asks, is responsible for the idea of a single, simple, enduring, changing self?

If any impression gives rise to the idea of self, that impression must continue invariably the same, through the whole course of our lives; since self is supposed to exist after that manner. But there is no impression constant and invariable. Pain and pleasure, grief and joy, passions and sensations succeed each other, and never all exist at the same time. It cannot therefore be from any of these impressions, or from any other, that the idea of self is derived; and consequently there is no such idea.

Yet don’t we need a self to possess or unify all our particular impressions? Well, where is it?

For my part, when I enter most intimately into what I call myself, I always stumble on some particular perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure. I never can catch myself at any time without a perception, and never can observe anything but the perception.

A person may attest that he perceives “something simple and continued, which he calls himself,” Hume says, “though I am certain there is no such principle in me.” Setting such “metaphysicians” aside, Hume affirms that humans “are nothing but a bundle or collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement.”

Haunted by Hume, I kept on conversing with the metaphysicians in the back seat while the Pennsylvania croplands poured away behind them. They were learning to discriminate between matter and spirit. I held a rubber ball in my hand and beat it with a fist.

“See? I can hit it over and over again—hard—and it never goes ‘Ow!’ It never cries. But if I hit you”—they bobbed away from my slow-motion punch—”you’ll feel it. You’ll cry. That’s because there is a soul—you—in your body. But there’s no soul in this ball.”

“This morning Jaga hit me and made me cry,” T-Node said.

“If you hit a cat or dog, it feels it,” Jaga quickly put in. “It is also a spirit soul.”

“Even ants or spiders,” I added.

T-Node looked down guiltily. He’s been known to step on ants on purpose.

How could Hume have missed himself? Was he being willfully obtuse? Imagine him conducting an inventory of his mental contents, like an auctioneer appraising the contents of an estate up for sale. He walks through each room, examining each object. Picking it up, setting it down. Looking for something in particular. “Is this myself? Is this? Is this?” After an exhaustive search, he reports—truthfully enough—that he didn’t find it.

But who is looking? Who is inspecting this memory, this joy, this love, this fear, this regret, this ambition, this or that train of thought? David, you could not find your self in all that because none of that, taken separately or all together, is your self. The self is not the seen but the seer, not the experience but the experiencer. You are not even David Hume, but rather the experiencer of being David Hume.

Teaching my grandsons had given me a new insight into the Treatise. Like T-Node and Jaga, David Hume had been playing the pointing game. T-Node and Jaga played by pointing to different parts of their bodies, while David played by pointing to different parts of his mind—the subtle body. I could take Davie through it point by point, running through the inventory of mental goods, until: “Point to your self!” And the indexical Human finger wavers, finding no object. “See!” I’d say. “You’re not your mind. You’re the spirit soul.”

For we are no more to be identified with our minds than with our bodies. The mind belongs to the category of the not-self as much as the body does. Both mind and body are material, the former being merely finer or subtler than the latter. Vedic seers know this, but Western philosophers have conflated the spiritual and the mental; “mind” and “soul” are synonymous. David Hume discovered in the Treatise that the mind was not the self, but he drew a false conclusion: there was no self, no soul, at all.

My grandsons were doing better:

“What happens if I attack the soul with ninja swords?”

“Nothing! It can’t be cut!”

“What happens if I drop a huge rock on it?”

“It can’t be smashed!”

“What happens if I put a blowtorch to it?”

“It can’t be burnt!”

“How can I kill the soul?”

“You can’t! You can’t kill the soul!”

They were good students. They made me wish I had Davie in my class along with them. I thought about that. Since the presence of such a great philosopher might intimidate me, I would want his mother along too. She sounded like a formidable woman, and she seemed to know her son.

Raindra Svaraupa dasa

The previous article was first published in Back to Godhead magazine in 1991.

(This article has been previously published on Ravindra Svarupa Dasa’s weblog So It Happens, and has been used here with his kind permission.)

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Sri Pillai Lokacarya (1217-1323) was a great teacher in the Sri Sampradaya who authored several works important to his Vaishnava bhakti lineage including the eighteen rahasya granthas known together as Ashtadasa Rahasya and Gadyatraya Vyakhyanam. In his Srivachana Bhushan (308-310), Pillai Lokacharya, points out three reprehensible delusions which must be avoided by the guru at all costs. Sobering words for one who would accept the role or title of guru and useful also for one who seeks a genuine guru.

1. The delusions of ‘preceptorship’ - thinking of oneself as the preceptor - a guru should think of himself as simply a conduit of the Lord’s Grace and not as a teacher of sacred lore, this awareness prevents the guru from developing the egotistical notion of being a great and learned person and having custodianship of spiritual knowledge.
2. The delusions about the role of the disciple - thinking of the disciple as one’s own personal adherent - the disciple should rather be thought of as a co-disciple of the same acharya. Thus the guru avoids the potential for exploitation inherent in the relationship.
3. The delusions arising from the process of instruction of a sisya (student or disciple) - these are of four categories-

a. seeking to gain financially from the disciple, either by tuition fees or dakshina.
b. the delusion that one is actually facilitating the liberation of the disciple.
c. the delusion that one is assisting the Lord in his salvific agenda.
d. seeking or expecting social companionship or service from disciples.

My source for this article was Kripamoya Das of The Vaishnava Voice, and I believe he may have sourced it from Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari’s article “Acharya-abhimanam — Resorting to a Preceptor”.

Kaustubha das

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Vrindavan is a town of literally thousands of Krishna temples, some small and mostly unnoticed, some popular and festive. Many date back hundreds or even thousands of years and new ones are always springing up. Among the most visited is the Krishna Balaram Mandir (temple) which was personally established by Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami in 1975. The temple is situated in Raman Reti, Vrindavan, where it is said that Lord Sri Krishna displayed His lilas 5,000 years ago. Sri Krishna and his brother Balaram would herd their cows at Raman Reti near the Yamuna River.

Approaching the temple, one passes under a grand marble archway connecting the samadhi (sacred tomb) of Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami, with a matching structure used for greeting and feeding guests. Next, one descends a few steps to enter through the temples large ornate doorway and, passing over the checkered marble floor, one comes to a sunken, open courtyard which provides a charming space for celebrating festivals or for simply resting and taking in the divine atmosphere. Past the courtyard, one steps into the temple itself where kirtan is held and scripture is discussed at the foot of the three magnificent alters dedicated to, on the left, Sri Caitanya and Nityananda, in the center Sri Krishna and Balaram, and on the right Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundara (Radha and Krishna).

Around the courtyard are large panels which serve as frames for murals depicting, on the left, the lilas of Sri Krishna and, on the right, the lilas of Sri Chaitanya. Other murals are squeezed into corners or fill open spaces. Collected here are photos of just some of the murals, to give the viewer an idea of the temples beauty and spirit of devotion. The photos are by Gitapriya dasi and unfortunately I don’t know the identity of the artists who painted the murals. If any viewer has information about the artists please feel free to leave a comment. I’ve included verses, relating to the lilas depicted in the murals, as captions.

For more photos and video of the Krishna Balaram Temple one can follow the links below.

Kaustubha das

Photos of the Krishna Balaram Temple

Video of the Krishna Balaram Temple

Related Posts: Gopurams in Sepia / Portraits from the Kunds of Govardhan

yugayitam nimesena caksusa pravrsayitm

sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me

“O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, a moment feels like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.’ (Sri Siksastaka, Verse 7)

Inspirations

For devotees of Krishna, the world feels empty in the absence of their beloved Lord. In affairs of love there is no substitute for the beloved—no other person, toy, or material object can replace one’s beloved. Without Krishna the world seems like a playroom filled with meaningless toys—toys that hold no fascination. A devotee wants only Krishna.

Because the devotees desire Krishna intensely, they cry tears. There are two kinds of tears—hot, angry tears and cool, happy tears—but the tears devotees shed when crying for their Lord are of a different type. These tears have a special potency because they wash away whatever contaminations remain over the eyes that block them from seeing Krishna. These tears actually make the devotees’ eyes clear so that they can always see Krishna. So what are we to make of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s wonderful verse that he composed while experiencing the highest ecstasy? Will we forever close our ears and hearts to his urgent message, fearing that we will never ourselves be able to experience exclusive longing? While it is, of course, a mistake to imitate exalted Krishna-conscious states, it is certainly favorable when we hanker for the day when we too will enter the mood of separation from Krishna. When we feel separation in this world, we feel only abject misery. We feel forsaken, forlorn, depressed. But if we can feel separation from Krishna, this separation will create the highest ecstasy in us. How? If we think of Krishna, Krishna will be present. Thoughts of Krishna are identical with Him. If we can think only of Krishna, intensely, then Krishna will be with us intensely. Truly feeling separated from Him and wanting nothing except His association certainly qualifies as intense thoughts of the Lord. In his Padyavali Srila Rupa Goswami cites this verse:

“If I have to choose between union with Krishna and separation from Him, I would choose separation, because when I am with Krishna I see only one Krishna, but when I am separated from Him, then I see Krishna coming toward me from every corner of the universe.”

If while in this world we can actually awaken to the fact that we are now separated from Krishna, we will not feel relaxed about our state. Especially when we are chanting Hare Krishna with an awareness of how we are separated we will begin to feel a deep necessity to reconnect with Him.

In 1969 Srila Prabhupada instructed the devotees to cry prayerfully for Krishna while chanting His name:

“So we are addressing, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna: ’O the energy of the Lord, O the Lord, please accept me.’ That’s all. ’Please accept me.’ We have no other prayer. ’Please accept me.’ Lord Caitanya taught that we should simply cry, and we shall simply pray for accepting us. That’s all. So this vibration is simply a cry for addressing the Supreme Lord, requesting Him, ’Please accept me. Please accept me.’”

It is said that separation is the best mood in which to perform bhajan. Srila Prabhupada once said,

Actually, meeting Krishna is possible through the attitude of separation taught by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When the feeling of separation becomes very intense, one attains the stage of meeting Sri Krishna. (Caitanya Caritamrita. Adi 4.108, purport) Many of you know how difficult it is to instruct the mind to think something particular. It is just as difficult to instruct the emotions what to feel. When we are unable to feel separation from Krishna and we either think we are doing all right or we remain disturbed by our material problems – that is, we do not long for Krishna – we should know something’s wrong with us. Sri Krishna is the source of all life and happiness. Why don’t we hanker to attain Him? Even a tree feels thirst when it does not rain and an animal feels hunger when there is no food. Isn’t God more to the soul than the food and drink that sustain the gross body? Still, there is hope on the horizon. The realized words of the great acharyas form a stream of sweet water to refresh our tired hearts and awaken in us feelings of devotion. Let us eagerly listen to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his song Kabe ha’be bolo as he makes his appeal:

1. Please tell me, when, o when, will that day be mine when my offenses will come to an end and a taste for the pure holy name will be infused in my heart by the power of divine grace?

2. Feeling myself lower than a blade of grass, welcoming the quality of forbearance into my heart, giving honor to all living beings, and becoming free of false pride, when will I taste the essence of the liquid nectar of the holy name?

3. Wealth, followers, beautiful women as described in worldly poetry—I do not want these bodily pleasures. O Lord Gaurahari! Please give me unmotivated devotion to Your lotus feet birth after birth.

4. When, while articulating the divine name of Sri Krishna, will my body thrill with ecstatic rapture, my words choke with emotion, and my body lose color and tremble ecstatically? When will streams of tears flow constantly from my eyes?

5. When, in the land of Navadvipa, on the banks of the celestial Ganga, will I run about innocently calling out, “O Gaura! O Nityananda’? Dancing and singing, I will wander about like a madman, giving up all consideration of proper social behavior.

6. When will Lord Nityananda be merciful to me and release me from the illusion of worldliness? When will he give me the shade of his own lotus feet and bestow on me the qualification necessary to enter the marketplace of the holy name?

7. Somehow or other I shall buy or steal the mellows of the name of Lord Hari. Becoming thoroughly intoxicated by those liquid mellows I will become stunned. By touching the feet of those great souls who are expert in relishing those mellows I will be constantly immersed in the sweet nectar of the holy name.

8. When will there be an awakening in me of compassion for all fallen souls? Then this Bhaktivinoda will forget his own happiness, and with a meek heart he will set out to propagate by humble solicitation the sacred order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

I once met a devotee to whom I confessed the hard state of my heart: “I never feel any longing for Krishna. Rather, I feel satisfied with the present state of my life. What can you recommend so that I can enter the world of spiritual feeling?” The devotee’s answer surprised me: “If you cannot hanker for Krishna, then hanker that one day you will hanker for Krishna. If you cannot hanker for that day, then hanker for the day when one day you will hanker for Krishna.” He went on until his point was clear: start somewhere.

Sacinandana Swami

Under the Banyan Tree is a regular column featuring the writing of Sacinandana Swami.

In Bhagavad-gita 10.20 Krishna says

I am the self, Arjuna, dwelling in all beings.

In his commentary on this text Ramanuja suggests that a self relates to a body in three ways. First, it supports a body. The self is suporter (adhara), while the body is supported (adheya). Second, it controls a body. The self is controller (niyatri) while the body is controlled (niyamya). Finally, a self is the purpose-giving end which is served by a body. Here, the self is the principal (sheshin) and the body, the accessory (shesha).

Let’s consider these three relations in order. The first, between supporter and a supported thing, may be fairly evident already. In classical notions of reincarnation, a self is what supports the continued existence of a body as a unified, enduring substance. Should the self leave the body, the body would be left unsupported and slowly break down into more basic matter. Departing a bit from the obvious meaning of “support”, we may note that a self provides a body with a kind of holistic integrity. A body is composed of innumerable smaller components and sub-mechanisms. Yet, they all act in concert as an organic whole. This is due to the self’s supporting the body, informing the body such that its integrity remains.

I think that the controller/controlled relation is also fairly clear. The self is, so to speak, the master of the body. This mastery is limited much of the time. The control is often indirect and imprecise—much of the body’s function is beyond the willful control of the self. Nevertheless, the self often controls the body by means of volition. I choose to move my arm. I choose to exercise, etc.

The final relation, principal/accessory, is ambiguous because the Sanskrit terms involved do not admit of easy translation. The idea of a shesha, accessory is described by Ramanuja as follows:

The nature of an accessory (shesha) is to exist as having a use for something else. It exists to support the purposes of the principal (shesin) which transcends it. (Paraphrase from Vedartha-sagraha 121)

Given the above discussion, it seems fairly clear how the world may relate to God as a body relates to a self. Ramanuja quotes from a host of sacred texts to substantiate this idea, including Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.7.15.

This self of yours who is present within but is different from all beings, whom all beings do not know, whose body is all beings, and who controls all beings from within—he is the inner controller, the immortal. (Translation by Olivelle)¹

There are a number of interesting consequences to the notion of the world as God’s body. I will close by discussing one, which Ramanuja thinks central to his entire theological project. Commonly, he suggests, we refer to a self through a body. The terms which describe a particular being like a man or a god primarily denote the embodied self which is supports the body of the man, god, etc. If I say “she is a good person” while pointing to the woman in my office, Ramanuja would suggest that I am ultimately referring to the self which is the truest essence of the woman, by pointing to her body. In short, references to the self often take place by referring to the body. Ramanuja concludes that in the same way, the primary referent of all denotative language is God, whose existence supports and informs the existence of both matter and the individual selves which populate it. This conception of denotative language provides a powerful tool to understand and contemplate the Upanishadic teachings which indicate the presence of Brahman by indicating a feature of the world which participates in Brahman. As it is a kind of ignorance which allows us to think of and refer to bodies without considering the indwelling individual self, it is a similar kind of ignorance which allows us to refer to anything without cognizance of its dependence on the universal self.

MD

Related Posts: The Yoga Chikitsa of Krishna’s Names

The song is sung by the bhajana group Spiritual Skyliner, which was a traveling group of Vaishnava brahmacaris from Germany. The angelic lead singing is by Gadadhara Das. Musically this song is unique in that each verse is sung in a different melody. Mama Mana Mandire appeared on the cd Spiritual Skyliner: Sacred Mantras. More of their music can be found here and here.

Kaustubha das

Mam Mana Mandire
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Mama Mana Mandire

by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

(1) mama mana mandire raha nisi-din
krsna murari sri krsna murari

Please abide in the temple of my heart
both day and night, O Krsna Murari, O Sri Krsna Murari!

(2) bhakti priti mala candan
tumi nio he nio krsna-nandan

Devotion, love, flower garlands, and sandalwood- please accept them,
Delighter of the Heart!

(3) jivana marana tava puja nivedan
sundara he mana-hari

In life or in death I worship You with these offerings,
Beautiful One, O Enchanter of the Heart!

(4) eso nanda-kumar ar nanda-kumar
habe prema-pradipe arati tomar

Come, son of Nanda, and then, O Son of Nanda
I will offer Your arati ceremony with the lamplight of my love.

(5) nayana jamuna jhare anibar
tomara virahe giridhari

The waters of the Yamuna river cascade incessantly from my eyes
in your separation, O Holder of Govordhana Hill!

(6) bandana gane tava bajuk jivana
krsna murari sri krsna murari

May I pass my life absorbed only in songs of Your praise, O Krsna Murari, Sri Krsna Murari!

Related Posts: Kirtan Podcast: As Kindred Spirits / Kirtan Podcast 2: Aindra Das

suddha-sattva-viseshatma
prema-suryamsu-samya-bhak
rucibhis citta-masrinya-
krid asau bhava ucyate

“‘When bhakti is executed on the transcendental platform of pure goodness (suddha-sattva), it is like a sun-ray of love for Krishna. At such a time, bhakti causes the heart to be softened by various tastes, and one is then situated in bhava (ecstatic emotion).” Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.3.1)

kshantir avyartha-kalatvam
viraktir mana-sunyata
asa-bandhah samutkantha
nama-gane sada rucih
asaktis tad-gunakhyane
pritis tad-vasati-sthale
ity-adayo ‘nubhavah syur
jata-bhavankure jane

“When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Krishna fructifies, the following nine symptoms manifest in one’s behavior: forbearance, concern that time should not be wasted, detachment, absence of false prestige, hope, eagerness, a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord, attachment to descriptions of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and affection for those places where the Lord resides — that is, a temple or a holy place like Vrindavana. These are all called anubhava (subordinate signs of ecstatic emotion). They are visible in a person in whose heart the seed of love of God has begun to fructify.” Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.3.25-26)

Rupa Goswami’s Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu is one of the foundational texts in the Chaitanya-vaishnava lineage of bhakti-yoga. It is an assimilation of the teachings that Rupa Goswami received from Sri Chaitanya in a ten day discussion held on the bank of the Ganga at Dasasvamedha-ghata in Pryaga. Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu elaborates on the nature, practices and gradations of bhakti as well as the components of bhakti-rasa (the experience of pure devotion).

The above verses discuss bhava (devotional ecstacy), the eighth of nine stages of advancement in bhakti, culminating in prema (pure love of God). Bhava is seen as the preliminary, budding stage or sprout of prema. Verse 1.3.1 reveals both the primary and secondary characteristics of bhava. The primary characteristic is suddha-sattva-viseshatma, one’s heart, or one could say one’s consciousness, becomes influenced by the touch of suddha-sattva (pure goodness), which is the direct influence of the Lord’s potency. This implies that one is no longer held under the sway of the gunas (sattva, rajas, and tamas). The secondary characteristic of bhava is the softening of the heart which gives rise to various devotional tastes or experiences. One who is situated on the stage of bhava will be easily moved by devotional stimulus such as kirtan, hearing the recitation of devotional texts, ect.

Verses 1.3.25-26 reveal nine symptoms which can been seen in the character of one who has achieved the stage of bhava. These symptoms are seen as excellent criterion for determining advancement in bhakti, as opposed to other types of displays which may be easily imitated.

Kshanti: perseverance. Remaining tolerant and patient, even amid disturbance.
Avyartha-kalatvam: utilization of time. Refers to constant engagement in devotional seva (service).
Virakti: detachment. Completely indifference to the objects of sense gratification.
Mana-shunyata: absence of false prestige or pridelessness. To feel humble, free from the longing for being shown respect.
Asha-bandha: hope. To be always certain that Krishna will bestow His mercy on oneself.
Samutkanta: An intense eagerness to achieve or ardent desire for attaining one’s desired supreme object (prema).
Nama-gane sada ruci: Thirst arising out of affection for constantly chanting the Lord’s holy names.
Asaktis tad-gunakhyane: A natural attachment to describe the Lord’s most sweet qualities, pastimes and so on.
Pritis tad-vasati-sthale: The desire to reside in the places of the Lord’s pastimes such as Vrindavana.

Kaustubha das

Rupa Goswami (1489-1564 CE) is a teacher, poet, and philosopher from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Bhakti-yoga. Along with his brother Sanatana Goswami he was considered the leader of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan - a highly influential group of acetic disciples of the Vaishnava saint/avatar, Sri Chaitanya. Rupa Goswami wrote a number of important books in Sanskrit on bhakti philosophy, poetics, drama and dramaturgy. He is also credited with uncovering various holy places associated with the life of Krishna in Vrindavan.

The heroes of my youth were the great healers of humanity. While it’s true that in those days I could be seen with other American boys paying homage to the likes of Elvis Presley and Joe DiMaggio, I rendered them only lip service. My real—if somewhat secret—devotion was reserved for a pantheon of great medical pioneers like Edward Jenner, discoverer of the smallpox vaccination; Robert Koch, who identified the tuberculosis bacillus; and Ignaz Philipp Semmelweise, who crusaded to save women from childbirth infection by teaching doctors to disinfect their hands. I avidly studied the life stories of these saviors and dreamed of becoming like them by slaying some modern scourge—leukemia, say, or coronary thrombosis. In my eyes there was no higher calling than to wage war on behalf of humanity against disease and death.

I entered college intent on medical studies, but a little over a year later abandoned that aim. I had not been fatally disheartened by my encounter with other pre-med students, profiteers eager to mint gold from disease. A book, rather, had destroyed my vocation and my faith.

Mirage of Health: Utopia, Progress and Biological Change is a pioneering study of medical history written in the late fifties by a physician named Rene Dubos. His conclusion devastated me: Progress toward some utopia of health is an illusion. Disease will never be “conquered.” Disease is so inescapable a part of our human condition that today’s remedies inevitably become the agents of tomorrow’s ills.

Using an abundance of historical evidence, Dubos shows how the diseases we suffer from arise out of the complex social, political, and economic dynamics of our particular society; as society changes, our ills change with it. Some diseases fade away, and others, out of the inexhaustible bounty of material nature, rise to take their place.

In modern industrial societies, as Dr. Dubos points out, we no longer suffer and die from smallpox, typhus, typhoid, diphtheria, and the other microbial plagues of the past. We have made “progress”: We suffer and die instead from cancer, coronary heart disease, emphysema, and mental disorders (with their attendant drug abuse and suicide).

According to Dubos’ analysis, even my boyhood heroes, those unswerving foes of deadly microbes, had little to do with the disappearance of infectious diseases. These afflictions were retired mainly by the social and economic reforms that followed industrialization. At the same time, that same process was ushering in a whole new set of scourges. And even those old diseases are by no means “conquered,” Dubos warns. They are merely held at bay (at a high price), and they can reenter human history any time the conditions are right.

I was undone by Dr. Dubos’ lesson. Medicine at once underwent a catastrophic devaluation in my eyes. I wondered why that should be. Dubos, of course, never claimed that medicine was useless, a waste of time. True, it may not save humanity, but it can save humans. That ought to be enough, I argued with myself. I could still live by ideals, modest though those ideals might be. Surely, real heroism lies in doing humbly what little good one can, without some fantasy of wide-screen, Hollywood heroics, soundtrack booming in the background. Be realistic: There are no saviors of humanity, because humanity will not be saved, and that’s that.

Still, I could revive no enthusiasm for medicine. The truth of the matter was that at heart I badly wanted to be saved from disease and death altogether, and I had possessed a real faith that scientific progress would, at the end of its struggle, win just that for all of us. To me it had been a foregone conclusion that through science and technology nature would be eventually conquered and tamed, made entirely serviceable to us, and we would live without worries in a man-made paradise on earth. Although I had never spelled out this conviction to myself, it had insensibly become my true faith, my religion.

How was it a religion? Religion and science—like faith and knowledge—are supposed to be opposites. Yet somehow science itself had become a religion—call it “scientism”—an ardent faith that progress in science and technology will so improve upon man and nature as to rid earthly life of all ills. This religion was—and still is—the true faith of America, the spiritual motor that drives its enterprises.

Where had I absorbed this religion? I had bowed before no altar, recited no creed, sung no hymns, enacted no rites. However, this religion does not need special buildings or ceremonies. As the true religion of America, it is woven completely into the fabric of life. I had absorbed it all along from my parents and teachers and friends, from the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts, from museums and theme parks, from My Weekly Reader and Reader’s Digest and Life and Post and Popular Mechanics. I had soaked it in from “Meet Mr. Wizard” and the unending iteration of corporate commercial slogans (”Progress is Our Most Important Product” and “Better Things For Better Living Through Chemistry“), from the biographies of my medical heroes, not the least from my hoard of science fiction paperbacks.

The faith that formed America was a creation of the so-called Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. Eager to extend Newton’s success in describing nature in rational, mathematical form, a coterie of European thinkers battled to dethrone traditional religion and morality and replace them with empirical science and natural reason as the valid guides for human activity.

Unenlightened and superstitious Christians believed in a future millennium, a thousand-year kingdom of God on earth that would start with the prophesied second coming of Christ. That belief had to go. Yet the savants of the Enlightenment replaced it with their own secularized faith, their man-made millennium: Steady progress in science and enlightened reason would gradually bring the natural and human world totally under rational scientific control. Nature and society will be consummately engineered. Free from drought and flood, poverty and crime, disease and even death, man will have established on earth the kingdom of God—without God.

This was my faith, and I had lost it. Science would not save us; there was no “progress.” That explained my strong reaction to Mirage of Health.

In the years since I read that book I have come to recognize the striving for release from material nature, the struggle against disease and death, as profoundly and essentially human. It’s a struggle we cannot avoid. Even though we may be unwaware of it, it drives and shapes our lives. For this reason, even popular culture is about serious things. It is not mere whimsy that leads people to describe Joe DiMaggio as a baseball “Immortal,” or makes them believe that Elvis Presley could not possibly have died. Operating with more sophistication, Enlightenment thinkers set themselves against religion, but they merely replaced salvation through Christ with salvation through science. They could not free themselves from the desire for transcendence, the urge to go beyond the limits of nature into everlasting life.

We are all transcendentalists at heart. The problem is that most of us are foolish ones, whose various schemes for liberation are doomed from the outset. We persist in worshipping idols and gods that fail. We engineer projects for salvation that only increase our bondage. Nature can send mile-high sheets of ice flowing over continents and level cities with a twitch, yet we embark on a quixotic war to conquer her. An anthill has as good a shot at it as “advanced civilization.” Or consider this: Survival is the primal urge of life, and for millions of years all organisms have struggled for survival, just as we now struggle. Now, look at the record. Where are the winners? In all of history, has anyone survived? The death rate is one hundred percent. It is a foredoomed attempt, but we cannot help ourselves.

We must be transcendentalists, but what makes us invest and reinvest in foolish, impractical schemes? Let me suggest the reason. At the root of our foolishness lies a dumb insistence in trying to actuate a self-contradiction, make real an absurdity: We want to transcend material nature, become free from her control, while at the same time we want to continue to enjoy and exploit her.

This was the answer I discovered. After my crisis of faith, I studied philosophy and religion for years; it was, in effect, a quest for successful transcendentalists. And I thought that I had finally discovered them at the vital center of the great spiritual traditions of the world. In spite of their differences in culture and style, they seemed unanimous in this: They agreed that to succeed in transcendence we must become free from the mentality of enjoyment and exploitation. All of them recognized the systematic endeavor to gain mastery over the mind and senses, to extinguish material desires, as necessary for real salvation or liberation of the spirit. These successful transcendentalists understand very well that material nature binds and controls us precisely through our desire to enjoy and exploit her. That desire is, therefore, our ultimate disease. Cure that disease, we shall become free from disease and death altogether.

Eight years after Dr. Dubos destroyed my faith in material progress, Srila Prabhupada initiated me into the path of bhakti-yoga, transcendental devotional service. I was attracted by the magisterial way Srila Prabhupada exposed what he called “the illusory advancement of civilization.” On the street a Krishna devotee had handed me a tract containing these simple but impressive words of Srila Prabhupada:

We are trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we are ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by revival of our eternal Krishna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada hadn’t done the research of a Dr. Dubos, but somehow he understood it all. His clarity astonished me.

Attacking the idols of scientific progress and other ersatz religions, Srila Prabhupada did not compromise in presenting the truth—if we want transcendence, we must become free from material desires. He was the only contemporary transcendentalist I’d encountered who did not offer any cheating religion, an accommodation with material ambitions for cheap popularity among the foolish.

My heroes still are those saviors who wage war on behalf of humanity against disease and death: Srila Prabhupada, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Rupa Goswami, Thakura Haridasa, Madhvacarya, Narada Muni and many others form my pantheon. These heroes have won the war against death because they have mastered the actual science of transcendence and delivered it to humanity.

In the meantime I credit Dr. Dubos with a good deal of prescience. Events have proven him uncannily accurate. Even as researchers in high-tech laboratories feverishly sought the “magic bullet” to destroy cancer, a brand-new plague erupted, surprising almost everyone. Studies predict that Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome will have claimed about 400 million lives by the middle of the next century. Like horror films that spawn even more ghastly sequels, some old-fashioned diseases have begun staging spectacular revivals: A new, drug-resistant version of Koch’s bacillus threatens a tuberculosis epidemic in North America, where a remake of the scarlet fever microbe is implicated in a run of deadly cases of sudden, massive septicemia. Pediatricians report a steady rise in children with chronic bronchitis and asthma, apparently the result of pollution. Indeed, a family of new afflictions of the immune system, all apparently related to man-made chemicals in the environment, has led to the establishment of a new medical specialty called clinical ecology. Some studies show that in the industrial nations up to forty percent of all diseases are “iatrogenetic.” That means “caused by physicians.”

In Pittsburgh recently, a man survived seventy-one days on an implanted baboon’s liver, which was still in good shape at autopsy. Transplant technicians are planning farms where genetically engineered animals will grow crops of organs for use in humans; biomedical engineers are machining body parts out of space-age plastics and microchips. They’re promising immortality by the end of the next century.

This article was originally published in Back to Godhead magazine in 1993. Edifying hyperlinks added.

(This article has been previously published on Ravindra Svarupa Dasa’s weblog So It Happens, and has been used here with his kind permission.)

Whenever I stay in Vrindavan, I make a point of spending every evening in the Krishna Balaram Temple with hundreds of bhaktas singing in kirtan led by Aindra Das. An American who moved to Vrindavan in the early 8o’s, Aindra das leads a group of kirtaniyas who maintain kirtan 24 hours a day, everyday in the temple. He lives simply, he’s learned in the teachings of bhakti and he is deeply devoted to kirtan. One can always witness and experience the most amazing things at his kirtans, not just occasionally, but every evening. Here’s one example. It’s a fifteen minute recording that starts slow and gradually builds. The rhythms may feel unfamiliar at first, but if you relax and give it a little time I think you’ll find a special treasure here.

Kaustubha das

Aindra Das Kirtan
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A realization I recently gained from astrology about the importance of motherhood increased this appreciation more. In jyotisha (vedic astrology) different planets and different houses are the karakas, or main indicators, for the different prominent aspects of one’s life. For example, we can look to the position of the sun and the strength of the ninth house for the nature of one’s relationship with the father. The tenth house deals with one’s occupation, and Jupiter one’s wisdom, guru or religiosity. In the same way, the moon and fourth house indicate one’s mother.

What struck me is that the moon and the fourth house are also the indicators of the mind. As the mother and the mind have the same karaka, astrology shows that the strength of one’s relationship with one’s mother, the nurturing aspect of one’s life, is also the main determining factor for one’s strength of mind.

When we say “mind” in this context, we are also referring simultaneously to what we call the heart. A strong mind thus means that one can both freely express one’s feelings and, when needed, control them. In other words, people that have good minds are open-hearted and secure, but not overwhelmed by mood swings. They can thus control their mind, make decisions, and think clearly. So a good mind (heart) is the foundation of properly relating, communicating, and learning, and these are the emblems of culture.

An interesting incident last year reinforced this realization about the correlation between the mother and the mind. His Holiness Radhanatha Swami asked me to accompany him to place his mother’s ashes in the Yamuna. From the soberness and attentiveness he gave to this task, I could sense his gratitude and strong relationship with his mother, although he had left his family to become a monk and is certainly a detached person. I was also told later about the positive influence his mother had on his life. As I reflected on the nature of his good heart, his ability to be open hearted and loving, the strength of his mind, and his ability to remain fixed and undisturbed, I further saw the strong connection between the nature of one’s mind and the quality of the nurturing influences in one’s early life.

Observing those lacking in formative nurturing influences has further confirmed this understanding. Years ago I was dealing with a person in Vrindaban who had all the signs of serious clinical depression. He was gradually losing touch with reality and needed serious mental health care. It took me months of pushing to finally get the ashram authorities to seek professional consultation. Afterwards, I spoke to one of the leaders, a very cultured Indian, and told him frankly that he could never understand the need for psychiatric care because he had a loving mother at home who fed him. I also knew his mother and how close they were. He was startled by my statement, and told me I was absolutely right. He related to me that when he would sometimes read in the newspaper how the rich and famous had clinical depression, he would say to himself “What is this depression?” because he had no personal frame of reference through which to understand it. We then discussed how much the sense of being loved in a family is transferred through the serving and taking of meals affectionately prepared by a loving mother, and especially how children are inoculated against insecurity and depression by the love and security impressed within them by this loving exchange. Since a person’s real success draws from strength of mind, there is, in a sense, a mother behind every successful man. As the strength of a society lies in the character of its people—the nature of their hearts and minds—we can also gauge how essential motherhood is to the proper development of society. Thank you, mothers!

Note: Although the nurturing influences in one’s life is the most significant factor in the development of ones mind (heart), even if this is lacking it can be compensated for, or rectified, by other factors, like training and other forms of personal development, especially by cultivating a loving relationship with God and His devotees. Similarly, even if those nurturing influences are there, the mind can be disturbed by other factors such as sinful reactions from bad karma or traumatic experiences. However, the effect of the appropriate nurturing in childhood on the development of one’s mind cannot be underestimated. Also there is a difference between proper nurturing and co-dependence and other forms of over-indulgence.

Dhanurdhara Swami

The column Greetings From Vrindavan is Dhanurdhara Swami’s journal regarding the joys and challenges of the devotional path. A book of his journal entries, spanning the years 2000-2003, has been published with the same title and is available here.

Related Posts: Windows to the Material World / Kirtan and Humility or: Scrambled Thoughts on Grass / Japa Thoughts I

The Art of “Retreating”

In this retreat I would like to go deep into myself, leaving all the different layers behind. I know that deep down in the very bottom of my heart a treasure is waiting for me. I can find it by the process of “spiritual archaeology.” I feel that this treasure will give me the strength required to deal with the compromises I make in my life that keep me in the so-called comfort zone. It is a dangerous zone that gets darker each time I act in a way contrary to what I know to be true.

Spiritual Archaeology

Once a boy only sixteen years old went to his two brothers. He said to them: “It is my desire to take you to a mysterious place, a place where you shall learn the truth about yourself.”

But his brothers were afraid. “Please, let´s stay home. We already have had enough adventures with you.”

But the young boy told them: “Either you come with me or I will never speak to you again.” In this way he forced them to come along. They walked for a long time and arrived later the same day. They found themselves at the side of a deep well.

The boy told his oldest brother: “I want to put a rope around your waist and lower you into the well. Look carefully at what you find at the bottom.” When the oldest brother was only one-third down the well he began to scream and cry. Fear to face the darkness and loneliness inside the well attacked him from all sides: “I’m dying! I’m dying!” Hearing his cries, the young boy pulled him out because he saw what kind of person his oldest brother was.

Next the middle brother was hoisted down into the well. He went halfway down and then he also began to scream, “Help! Help! Save me! Bring me up!” The youngest brother, seeing what kind of person his middle brother was, pulled him up. When the youngest brother’s turn came he said, “Listen. Even though I may cry and scream, don´t pull me up. Lower me down into the well until you feel there is no weight on the end of the rope— then you will know that I have reached the bottom.” His brothers pleaded with him: “You are our youngest brother. Why do you want to leave us?” But the boy was firm, and they lowered him by the rope until he reached the bottom of the well.

I first heard this story from my grandfather when I was a young boy of sixteen years, and I remember that I became intrigued. I wanted to know how the story would end. But my grandfather surprised me. He looked deep into my eyes and said,“It’s not just a nice story about someone else. It should become your story. What will you find, when you go down that well to the bottom of your heart?” Shortly afterward, I decided to move into a temple to seriously start my spiritual journey.

We have become expert at filling our lives with the noise of ten thousand little things. We are always surrounded by a hum of activity coming from our fast lives. Even if there is nothing going on around us, our psyche continues to vibrate from the joys and frustrations we experience. The modern person finds it very difficult, therefore, to be alone with himself. He always needs some diversion; some TV, some music, some talk, etc.

The French mathematician Blaise Pascal once wrote: “All man´s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.” That was the problem of the two brothers. They felt scared when they had to go deeper and separate themselves from the usual noise of their busy lives.

Our spiritual journey will bring us through lonely places—places we have never been to before. Sometimes these inner regions are so lonely that we may not immediately find recognizable sign posts to tell us which way to go. At that time, we have to struggle to orient ourselves and sometimes, even when we think we finally have found the sign posts, we might find that we can’t read them. When that happens, we have to turn to the Lord in all seriousness.

The Cave of the Heart

About ten years ago I went on a pilgrimage accompanied by three other devotees into the solitude of the Himalayas. We visited a place near Badrinatha and went to the historic cave in which King Muchukunda, after being awakened from his long sleep, met Lord Krishna. This cave is high in the mountains and we could only find it with the help of an experienced guide. When we arrived I immediately wanted to go inside but the guide warned us, “Don’t go there, there are dangerous snakes at the bottom of the cave.” This intrigued me even more (smile). So I told him we would find our way back to Badrinatha alone, gave him his money and sent him on his way. My temptation was hightened because I remembered the story of my grandfather and how he said, “Go deep and you will find your treasure.”

In Sanskrit the heart is sometimes metaphorically referred to as ´guha´, meaning a cavern, cave or a deep and secret place. With this in mind we turned to the cave and began our descent. One of us waited outside. King Muchukunda physically went into a cave in the Himalayas where he rested his battle-tired body and waited for the Lord to appear. After a long sleep he finally awoke to find Lord Krishna standing before him, illuminating the cave with His effulgence. Overwhelmed with gratitude Muchukunda prayed: “With your effulgence you dispel the darkness of this mountain cave, and with your jewel like knowledge you destroy the darkness of ignorance in my heart.” (Sharartha-darshini 10.51.29).

In much the same way, anyone who goes to the bottom of the heart-cave will meet the Lord there. He is described as “sitting unseen within the cave of the heart like the fire dormant within kindling wood” (Shrimad-Bhagavatam 11.37.10–11).

Although Krishna did not appear to us in his transcendental form in that Himalaya cave, we still felt we had been rewarded. At that holy place we held kirtana and read the pastime of Muchakunda from the Krishna Book. Also as we carefully directed the beam of our torchlight into that enormous cave we found Krishna’s footprints sculpted in marble. They had been installed there in the distant past.)

Krishna is the Supersoul who dwells within the heart of all living beings. Even though we cannot always see Him with our covered eyes and conditioned mind, He is there, hidden just like the fire within wood. And just like there is an ancient process for kindling fire from within wood there is an ancient process by which we can discover the Lord and experience His presence more and more in our hearts. The Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad tells us: atma va are drashtavyah shrotavyo mantavyo nididhyasitavyah

“One must see the Lord, hear about Him, think about Him and meditate upon Him with fixed concentration.” (Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad 4.5.6).

Shrila Vishvantha Chakravarti Thakur explains how we can see the Lord. “The idea here is that one should directly see the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” The means for achieving this are then explained by him. “One must first hear (shrutavyo) from a bona-fide guru and take the words of such a spiritual master into one´s heart by offering him humble service and striving in all ways to please him.

One should then continuously ponder (mantavyo) the divine message of the spiritual master with the aim of dispelling all one´s doubts and misconceptions.

Then one can proceed to meditate (nididhyasitavyah) on Sri Krishna´s lotus feet with total conviction and determination.” (Sharartha-darshini).

Sacinandana Swami

Under the Banyan Tree is a regular column featuring the writing of Sacinandana Swami.

An excerpt from Steven Rosen’s new book The Yoga of Kirtan - Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting.

Steven Rosen: In our remaining time, can you talk a little more about kirtan? I know this is actually the center of your current practice and also the main theme of your recent temple, opened in Ujjain.

Bhakti Charu Swami: The way I understand it, kirtan is actually a prayer to the Lord. Originally, those prayers were very personal, when initially composed. And then they take on more general expression, and anyone can chant it. But, early on, these were confidential prayers, like the mantras in the Vedas, where they are not open to the general public. Those mantras – like Gayatri, for example – were meant for meditative chanting, but they were circumscribed, only for special clientele, so to speak..

Now, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to give a different idea. He gave the maha-mantra openly, saying it was for everyone and anyone. So, for the first time, such mantras became public. And it was presented as both for personal meditation and for loud chanting, which enabled practitioners to share it with others. The loud chanting is generally known as Nama-sankirtana. This refers to congregational chanting, many people getting together – the more the merrier – to glorify the name of God. This makes it even more effective, more powerful. That is the yuga-dharma, the method of spiritual practice for this current time period, called Kali-yuga, as taught by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

He explained that people in this age are not qualified for any other yogic process. They won’t be able to meditate; they won’t be able to perform sacrifice; they won’t even be able to worship the deity of the Lord in the temple. What to speak of worshipping the deity, they won’t even be inclined to go to the temple. That’s the state of this age, the condition of this age. Therefore, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inaugurated this Nama-sankirtana – a simple process – allowing everyone to get involved in this chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

So that is the origin of kirtan in our present age. After that, Mahaprabhu and his followers spread it throughout India. For example, in the following generation, great teachers, like Shrinivas Acharaya, Narottama Das Thakur, Syamananda Prabhu, and others took this movement further with newly developed chanting styles and traveling Sankirtan parties. They were preaching through music and story telling. People in those days were a bit more refined, in a sense, than people today. They could sit together day and night, just hearing descriptions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, the descriptions of Krishna’s pastimes. They were cultured, able to relish transcendental topics through drama, music, and so on.

Steven Rosen: Yes, this was the age of Padavali kirtan, spiritual song and narrative melded as one.

Bhakti Charu Swami: This is how it started, and as a result, Mahaprabhu’s movement spread like wildfire. Great devotees traveled throughout the countryside, expressing the Lords pastimes with sophisticated forms of song and dance, with dramatic performance and other developed artistic presentations. Because it was a cultural presentation, it was patronized by powerful kings and other influential individuals. Therefore, this is seen as a golden age of the Sankiritan movement.

***

Bhakti Charu Swami: You see, kirtan ultimately means glorifying the Lord. How we glorify him is up to us. And this glorification is an expression of our love for him. First through words: Chanting – “Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare” – is actually a prayer to Krsna. It means, “ Oh all attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead, Please allow me to love you, allow me to serve you.” Or, as George Harrison sang, “I really want to see you, I really want to be with you, my Lord….” This is the maha mantra – to pray to the Lord, to humbly asked to be engaged in his service. And then we do kirtan through action. But first comes chanting. And when we chant or sing this kirtan, whether by ourselves or collectively, it should be done as a prayer. We must offer all our love to him, fully recognizing his love for us. He has given us so much. He is taking care of us in so many wonderful ways. He is going with us wherever we go, in all forms of life. He is always with us as the supersoul, in our hearts of hearts. And as we become aware of this fact, as spontaneious love for him grows in our hearts, and we, just as naturally, want to express that love through all our words, through all our prayers, and through all our actions. That is the real kirtan. That is sankirtana.

(Bhakti Charu Swami, a native Bengali, was born in 1945 and spent most of his early life in urban Calcutta, where kirtan is a way of life. A Vaishnava scholar and Sanyasin, he was initiated into the Gaudiya Sampradaya by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1976. Along side his official responsibilities as a leader and ecclesiastical authority within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Bhakti Charu Swami has translated all of Srila Prabhupada’s works, consisting of more than fifty volumes of books, into Bengali, as Srila Prabhupada had instructed in their very first meeting. At present he is developing projects in Ujjain, India.)

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