Ultimate Life Hacks from the Bhagavad Gita

In our April Urban Devi* Ladies Syama Sangita Devi Dasi takes us on a journey into Sri Krishna's main teachings of this sacred book.
Born and raised in NYC, Syama Sangita has performed stand-up comedy on hundreds of stages in Canada, U.D., U.K., and Hong Kong. Wanting to take her craft to new heights, she decided to combine her love for humor and love for Eastern Spirituality, and founded The Hopeful Hindu (http://www.thehopefulhindu.com/), a speaking company that combines stand-up comedy and ancient spiritual wisdom from the East. Aastha currently lives in LA and works for Jay Shetty, creating conscious media content for the world.
To listen to these incredible and inspiring stories, please click on this link or on the video image at the bottom of this post.
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All the best,
Rukmini Walker
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*Urban Devi is a monthly interactive women’s discussion circle that seeks to make spirituality accessible to women in the 21st century. For more information, please follow Rukmini on Facebook, or go to the Bhakti Center NYC online programs.
[embed]https://youtu.be/b96-LkvD2k0[/embed]
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Interview Interview

The Heart of the Sacred Feminine: An Introduction to Bhakti Yoga & the Goddess

In this video Ashely Elenbaas and Rukmini talk about Bhaiti Yoga and the Goddess!  To watch, please click on this link or on the video image below.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko5rYTH12GU[/embed] 
About Ashley ElenbaasAshley is the proprietor of sky house herb school and apothecary. She  teaches people about plants, lead wellness workshops and retreats, and spend copious amounts of time in the garden.

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To join Ashley you can find her on the following media platforms.Subscribe to this channel to stay up to date with new videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqHW...Sign up to my mailing list to stay updated on free webinars, virtual garden and herb walks, and other free content: http://www.skyhouseherbs.com/ Say hi on social:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashley.liteckyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skyhouseherbs/  #SkyHouseHerbs #AshleyElenbaas

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blog, Uncategorized blog, Uncategorized

Feeling Freely

~by Pranada Comtois

Yasoda looked at Krsna, who had the complexion of a delicate blue sapphire. All her senses became eyes to worship his exquisite form of abundant sweetness. She became stunned, ecstasy surged throughout her body, and affectionate tears streamed down her face. On hearing of Krsna’s birth, Nanda jubilantly dashed from the cowshed toward the birth room. Rohini greeted him at Yasoda’s door. When he saw Krsna’s face – with large eyes sweeping toward his ears, with his cherry red lips, button nose, and perfect ears – Nanda became motionless, filled with the intoxicating presence of supreme bliss incarnate. Rohini waited for Nanda to come back to his senses, then had him sit down, and gently placed Krsna on his lap. Nanda tenderly held his son like a priceless jewel, tasting the beauty of his form, drinking the pleasing nectar of his face, smelling the fragrance of his head with its black curly locks. The affection Nanda had for his son and his bliss astonished everyone present.Word of Krsna’s birth and his parent’s unprecedented happiness spread rapidly in Gokula. Women, who had abandoned their jewelry in grief because Yasoda had been childless for so long, now adorned themselves with their finest pieces and hurried toward the new mother. Many of them converged on the road, laughing and sharing exclamations of wonder as they left a trail of fragrant flowers that fell from their decorated dancing braids. And the men came too, rushing forward. All of them vibrant with spontaneous love for precious Krsna, their very life.Everyone filled their eyes with delight by lifting the blanket on Krsna and touching him while smiling. One, two, four, or eight people, alone or in pairs, in groups or many groups, youths and elders entered the house to see baby Krsna. They joined together in Nanda’s courtyard and sprinkled each other with ghee, yogurt, and turmeric. They danced and sang with joyous abandon. Soon they began exuberantly showering each other with milk. Then some men threw other men into large pots of yogurt and everyone laughed heartily overcome with ecstasy in welcoming Krsna. Hearing of this unrestricted merriment and abundant jubilation, I submerged in their broad, boundless joy and was seized with a desire to know Krsna; to love Krsna. I marveled at the cowherds’ liberal emotions. I wanted to freely feel, safely feel like that. Mostly I’m afraid of my feelings; they’ve gotten me into lots of trouble. And attachment to matter is not only the cause of my bondage, but it’s agonizing.I felt a twinge of envy. The residents of  Vraja are able to safely feel, I thought. They’re able to fully express emotions without concern that their attachment–their all-consuming, mind-numbing attachment–will drag them into the separateness of dark self-interest and samsara. I was possessed of a desire to feel freely and drown in the joy of that pure love. To feel freely, to feel safely, to feel truly, we must consciously choose our object of love. We require a perfect object of love. We know what happens when we don’t love the Supreme Person. Our love never flames into a blaze or it withers on the vine before it blooms its delicacy or we’re betrayed or abused or neglected or left. To experience that giving is receiving we must repose our love in Krsna, the perfect object of love.  This is the thing. Krsna wants our very self. Everything. Krsna loves much; he exists to love and immerses himself completely in loving relationships. He gives himself fully to those who love him. Giving to Krsna is always receiving because he gives more than we have to offer him. Just looking at him sends intense waves of ecstasy throughout the devotee’s body. Imagine the ecstasy of having daily exchanges of love with such a person! But to have his love, to own him in love, we have to give everything. Our very self. Nothing held back. He is all in; he expects the same of us. We must come to this: I will love unbridled; I will love Krsna unrestrained without selfish motivation, without interruption.And “that’s the rub.” We look at attractive Krsna and say, “I’m not so sure.” (We’re probably not thinking clearly about what Death will allow us to hold onto.)And life looks at us and says, “Let me help you with that.” And proceeds to nip at us here, tear at us there, wear on us under here, saw on us over there. And our loves look at us and say, “I’m not so sure,” and heartbroken we look for the next love.These negative impetuses can impel us toward pure love of Krsna–if we simultaneously engage in the Bhakti practice of keeping company with those who are developing their love for Krsna, and we allow Krsna to take birth in our hearts by hearing about, reading about, speaking about, and singing about Krsna, who is an ocean of unlimited good qualities, who is the very form of truth and beauty, who is the supreme lover, who is our undying friend, who is happy in giving joy to others, who weaves his overture as the charming flute-player – who is waiting for us. 


Pranada Comtois is a devoted pilgrim and award-winning author of Wise-Love: Bhakti and the Search for the Soul of Consciousness. Her writing sheds light on bhakti’s wisdom school of heartfulness. At sixteen she met her teacher A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami and began her lifelong study and practice of bhakti. Her writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications and she is a featured speaker in the film “Women of Bhakti.” Her second book, Bhakti-Shakti: The Goddess of Divine Love is due out in 2022 through Mandala Publishing. Connect with Pranada here. 

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Interview Interview

Prabhupada Memoirs with Rukmini Devi Dasi

~an interview with Rukmini Walker

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das in a conversation with Rukmini Devi Dasi explores the beginning of her spiritual life at the age of 16 and the pastimes with her spiritual father Srila Prabhupada.

To listen to this special interview, please click on this link or on the image below.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg4p9-UKXaE&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

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Lecture Lecture

Glories of the Holy Name

~presentation by Rukmini Walker
 
 
This past Sunday, September 20th, Rukmini presented at the Holy Names Festival 2020 on the Glories of the Holy Name in Srimad Bhagavatam and Vedic Literatures.  The purpose of World Holy Name Festival is to celebrate the Holy Names and share this treasure globally.
 
To listen to a recording of Rukmini's talk please click on this link or the video image below.

You can find links to the various Holy Name supporting social media sites at:
🔸YOUTUBE - ISKCON Desire Tree - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wZzvjCq7og
🔸FACEBOOK - ISKCON Kirtan Ministry - https://www.facebook.com/ISKCONKirtanMinistry/
🔸WEBSITE (hear in multiple languages) - Mayapur.TV - http://bit.ly/Mayapur_TV_WHNF2020

https://www.facebook.com/102838014706917/videos/1697665987067367/

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blog blog

The Holy Appearance Day of Srimati Radharani

Tuesday, August 25th is the holy Appearance Day of Srimati Radharani, the original feminine goddess and internal pleasure potency of Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Together They unite as the original divine feminine and masculine, and we unlimited jiva souls are expanded from Them. We can find joy in excavating our sacred connection with Them in love and service.

Srila Prabhupada explains that if you offer your sincere prayer into the hand of Sri Radha, she will recommend you to Him, saying, “this devotee is better than me, please accept her!”

Here are a few drops from the deep ocean of her qualities:

“Vrndavan’s queen brings limitless pure bliss to He whose face is Vrndavan’s splendid moon risen from the nectar ocean of bliss and love. She fills Vrndavan with nectar and she makes her beautiful friends again and again shed tears, and their bodily hairs stand erect in wonderful ecstatic love like her own.”  --Vrndavan Mahimamrita

I, a distressed soul, belonging to you, beg you with sweet words while rolling on the banks of the Yamuna!

Although I am unfit, an offender with a crooked mind, please bestow on me a fragment of the gift of service to you. This unhappy soul is not fit to be neglected by you, for you have a butter soft heart that melts constantly by the warmth of your compassion.”  -- Srila Rupa Goswami, Stava-mala

Happy Radhastami!

All the best,

Rukmini Walker

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blog blog

Krsna Janmastami

The Appearance Day of Lord Sri Krsna is called Krsna Janmastami and will be celebrated Tuesday, August 11th. Lord Krsna is called the Supreme Personality of Godhead although He contains within Himself both personal and impersonal aspects. As Brahman, He is the undifferentiated oneness that exists everywhere; as Paramatma, He is the Supersoul within each of our hearts; and finally as Bhagavan, He is that supreme personality Who is full in all opulences, which are listed as all strength, all fame, all wealth, all knowledge, all beauty and all renunciation.Still the greatest of His qualities is considered to be His nature as Bhakta Vatsala, that He is beloved to His devotees.Here is a beautiful prayer that celebrates Lord Sri Krsna as the one Who is the foremost of thieves, Who steals the hearts of His devotees.

Chor Astakam  

[audio m4a="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/AUDIO-2020-08-08-17-07-24.m4a"][/audio]

I offer pranams to that foremost of thieves - Who is famous in Vraja as the butter thief and He Who steals the gopis clothes, and Who for those who take shelter of Him, steals the sins which have accrued over many lifetimes.

I offer my pranams to the foremost of thieves, Who steals Srimati Radhika’s heart, Who steals the dark luster of a fresh raincloud, and Who steals all the sins and sufferings of those who take shelter of His feet.

He turns His surrendered devotees into paupers and wandering, homeless beggars - Aho! Such a fearsome thief has never been seen or heard of in all the three worlds.

Mere utterance of His name purges one of a mountain of sins - such an astonishingly wonderful thief I have never seen or heard of anywhere.

O Thief! Having stolen my wealth, my honor, my senses, my life and my everything, where can You run to? I have caught You with the rope of my devotion.

You cut the terrible noose of Yamaraja. You sever the dreadful noose of material existence, and you slash everyone’s material bondage, but You are unable to cut the knot fastened by Your own loving devotees.

O stealer of my everything! O thief! Today I have imprisoned You in the miserable prison house of my heart which is very fearful due to the terrible darkness of my ignorance, and there for a long time, You will remain receiving appropriate punishment for Your crimes of thievery!

O Krsna! Thief of my everything! The noose of my devotion remaining forever tight, You will continue to reside in the prison house of my heart because I will not release You for millions of aeons.

I wish you all a very Happy Krsna Janmastami!

All the best,
Rukmini Walker
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blog blog

A Letter To Our Future Selves

This piece is being featured in "The Emergence of Women's Voices in ISKCON" a written documentary of the voices of the first-generation pioneer women of ISKCON.  Thirty-three authors speak about their relationships with Srila Prabhupada, what women bring to Krishna consciousness, and the importance of women's voices in ISKCON. My "Letter to our Future Selves" is featured in this book and book launch.  Please scroll to bottom of this posting to learn more about this effort. Here is the link to the event on Facebook August 22-23: https://www.facebook.com/events/586078468722087/  I hope you will join us! All the best Rukmini Walker


A Letter to our Future Selves

by Rukmini Walker

written on June 20th, 2020

Click here to listen to the audio version of this piece.

[audio m4a="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/A-Letter-to-Our-Future-Selves.m4a"][/audio]

Dear Vaisnavis of the future,

My deepest respects to you all. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Several years ago I attended a conference in Geneva, sponsored by the Global Peace Initiative of Women. A woman who was a high court judge in India spoke and explained a powerful metaphor.

She said that traditionally in India, most people lived in a joint family home. There was usually a courtyard space in the center facing inward, and a veranda around the perimeter facing out. The men would usually be on the veranda, talking about finance, politics, science, and the problems and affairs of the outside world.

The women would be in the courtyard cooking together, talking together, dealing with domestic problems, and healing the family’s illnesses with herbal remedies.

Some are trying to lead by facing out, looking for solutions from outside; and some are looking to lead, and heal community by facing in…

Of course, today, there are many women in leadership - in government, in finance, in science, and many other fields as well. In ISKCON, in the US today, there are six women temple presidents. In other countries, there are also women leading in different capacities, in different services. It seems that often women and also men who are spiritually advanced, have an ability to lead in a supportive, empathic way, rather than a controlling or domineering way.

It seems to me that this sort of introspective leadership would mean to lead as a sort of path smoother, or servant leader, trying to truly hear others and deeply appreciate each and everyone’s unique and diverse contribution to the whole. This inward-facing community-centered leadership seems to be a formula for developing what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr called, “the beloved community”.

He defined that beloved community, first of all, as one that offers radical hospitality to everyone; an inclusive family rather than an exclusive club; recognizing and honoring the image of God in every human being. Of course, we would extend that to include every living being.

I’m fond of a certain story about Srila Prabhupada. In the early days, a new devotee, who was also very young at the time, had a chance to serve Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada was staying for a few days in a house near New Vrindavan, and this young man was given the task of guarding the house from outside at night. It began to rain outside and the young man came into the attached garage to do his guarding service from there.

In a few moments, he felt a presence behind him in the garage. He turned around, and there was Srila Prabhupada standing behind him. He fell down and offered his obeisances. Then he rose and asked, “Is there any service I can do for you, Srila Prabhupada?”

Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes. You can go where I will not go!” The young man was bewildered. Srila Prabhupada had just come from Chicago; Dallas; Caracas, Venezuela; San Francisco, and before that Tokyo; soon he would be going on to New York, London, Paris, and Germany…

He asked, “But where is it that you will not go, Srila Prabhupada? You are going everywhere!”

Srila Prabhupada replied, “To the future! And by the way you treat the people there, they will know how much Krsna loves them.”

In other words, Krsna cares for us, for all living beings. He patiently travels with us as the Supersoul in our lost wanderings as we try to fulfill our separatist desires in so many species of life. When we feel distress, Krsna feels compassion for our suffering. "Tat te 'nukampam...", "anukampam" means “to tremble with” (SB 10.14.8). And He gives us the understanding by which we can come to Him.

As His aspiring devotees, how can we make our consciousness more like His, in the sense of loving and caring for others? What will enhance our Krsna consciousness and help us go deeper in experience and realization? What parts of ourselves do we want to carry into the future?

What kinds of interactions in our communities and beyond can grow into deep loving exchanges that sustain and build faith and trust?

On the path of Bhakti, we learn that at the center of all existence, there is a love affair, a dance between Radha and Krsna. The divine masculine - Sri Krsna, loving the divine feminine - Sri Radha, who is expanded from Him. She is His own pleasure potency. In effect, this is God loving God. And we are being invited to join that dance, to live and dance in harmony along with Them in eternity. To live in Bhakti, means to live in harmony with this “Rta,” or divine cosmic order.

Once, Srila Prabhupada gave an example: If you’re sitting on the bank of a still lake and you throw a pebble into the center of the lake, then harmonious concentric circles will radiate outward from that center where you threw your pebble. If you throw another pebble, and another one, and yet another one into that same center, they will all create harmonious circles generating out from that center. But if I throw a pebble to this side or that side, and you throw your pebble here or there, then so many interference patterns will form and begin to clash with each other.

In other words, if we act in this world, loving Krsna and serving Him in the core of our hearts, and at the center of our lives, then as many interests, goals or pursuits as we may have, can all be harmonized in peace and sustainability in Krsna. We can have community, family, art, music, intellectual pursuits, environmentalism, or so many other “isms” all offered into the center point of loving Krsna. And if we act out of self-centered ego, then we will clash - within ourselves, between ourselves and others, and in the world.

How does Srila Prabhupada describe the formula for peace? To understand that everything is owned and controlled by Krsna, that everything is meant for His pleasure, and that He is our dearest friend. (BG 5.29)

In his purport to Bhagavad Gita 4.24, Srila Prabhupada explains that,

Everything that exists is situated in the brahmajyoti, but when that jyoti is covered by illusion (maya) or sense gratification, it is called material. The material veil can be removed at once by Krsna consciousness… the Absolute Truth covered by maya is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality. Krsna consciousness is the process of converting the illusory consciousness into Brahman, or the Supreme. When the mind is fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness, it is said to be in samadhi, or trance.

How can we bring this mood of harmony into our hearts, into our communities, and into the world? We are eager to preach, but are we eager to appreciate and to truly hear others?

We are members of an institution meant for giving compassion to others, but are we each individually acting with compassion in our personal dealings? Or are we remaining on the neophyte platform judging and criticizing others? Offending others and becoming offended by  petty things, making assumptions, taking things personally, and acting out of false ego? Are we trying to grow the seeds of Bhakti but instead getting tangled up in the weeds?

I was recently listening to a lecture given by Srila Prabhupada where he was comparing the practice of beginning or sadhana, vaidhi Bhakti to jumpstarting the engine of a car. We try to give our internal battery a jump by our daily practice. But real Bhakti begins when we develop a spontaneous taste for the practice, or when the car engine kicks in and begins to run on its own power.

If we want to carry these sacred teachings into the future, we must ourselves develop the taste for authentic Krsna consciousness. So many religious communities of different traditions exist on a kanistha, or beginner’s platform… judging or criticizing others over petty differences of understanding, or class or race or practice.

If we remain on this beginner’s platform, how are we any different? Perhaps we have an extraordinary theology, but if we don’t practice it with realization, how are we any better? How will we communicate to them how much Krsna loves them if we are not living and showing that love between ourselves and others?

Recently, we attended a funeral ceremony for a beloved devotee who had taken his own life. It has been a tragedy in this community. In the first days after the suicide, there were naturally many unanswered questions: “Why? How could this happen?” As well as much blame and finger pointing to others in leadership that, sadly, also extended out onto social media.

I feared that this mood of negativity would continue at his memorial ceremony. And yet after those first painful days, there seemed to be a shift. At his ceremony, each person spoke of him with such appreciation, telling stories of how kind, selfless, and lovingly serving he had always been. How he treated everyone of every community, both Indian and Western, young and old, new and seasoned members with such affection.

After the ceremony, there was such a sense of peace, of the community having come together. Afterwards, one older god brother of mine, said to me, “Why did we have to wait until after his death to appreciate him so much? Why didn’t we let him know while he was alive, how much we all loved him? Maybe this tragedy could have been averted, if we had let him know…”

We so often speak about higher levels of rasa, of brava and prema. But this kind of love is impossible to realize without first learning to act with appreciation and gratitude in this world. Our acarya, Srila Prabhupada was always so grateful. Even Lord Krsna is so grateful for any tiny service rendered.

In conclusion, dear Vaisnavis, I suggest that gratitude and appreciation are the two doors to the palace of Bhakti… and there is no back door. Can we be the change that creates the future and show the people there how much Krsna loves them?

Hare Krsna,

Your sister in service,

Rukmini Devi Dasi


The Emergence of Women's Voices in ISKCON is a written documentary of the voices of the first-generation pioneer women of ISKCON. In this anthology they pass the torch of wisdom and lessons learned to future generations. Thirty-three authors speak about their relationships with Srila Prabhupada, what women bring to Krishna consciousness, and the importance of women's voices in ISKCON. They tackle difficult issues with philosophy, reason, common sense, decades of personal experience, and Krishna consciousness.

The essays in this anthology will bring light to ISKCON members around the world. They are as applicable today as they were yesterday and can be used as a road map to move into the future. Many senior devotees have poured out their wise hearts here, having thought deeply about this topic. They knew Srila Prabhupada and lived under his roof."A must-read. Emergence opened a floodgate of emotion and gave me solace and wisdom." --Mathura Mandala devi dasi

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Conversation Conversation

Engaged Bhakti podcast with Rukmini Walker

featuring Rukmini Walker in an interview with Krishna Kishore Dasa

In this Engaged Bhakti podcast episode, Krishna Kishore Dasa (Dr. Christopher Fici) holds an enlivening discussion with Rukmini Walker on the meaning of women's empowerment in spiritual life and how we can understand and express the ideal balance of the sacred feminine and the sacred masculine in our everyday lives.

Please click on this link or on the image below to listen to the talk.

You can follow Rukmini on: https://www.facebook.com/rukmini.walker/https://www.patreon.com/RukminiWalkerand Instagram under Rukmini Walker

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bdqk2JfN4Q[/embed]


The Engaged Bhakti podcast is hosted by Krishna Kishore Dasa (Dr. Christopher Fici). Krishna Kishore is a lapsed Catholic kid from Detroit turned Vaishnava/ambigious Hindu. Krishna Kishore spent five years studying and living as a monk in the New Vrindavan community in West Virginia and in the Bhaktivedanta Ashram in New York City, where he remains associated with The Bhakti Center community. At the Bhakti Center he helps to facilitate the Sacred Ecology Forum.

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Journeying Beyond the Festival

an interview with Rukmini devi dasi

This year, ISKCON Toronto turned its biggest festival of the year in to a virtual one -- Festival of India. Celebrations took place over twelve days.  Rukmini Walker gave the last spiritual seminar of the festival on the last day called, Journeying Beyond the Festival.  She shared reflections about the mood of Ratha Yatra and the importance of "pulling the Lord back to Vrindavan by the ropes of our love."

To watch this inspiring seminar, please click here or on the image below:

  

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blog blog

It’s So Simple, You Could Miss It

~by Rukmini Walker 

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To listen to the audio version of the blog, please click here:

[audio m4a="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/709-Amelia-Island-Ct-5.m4a"][/audio]

It’s morning. I’m listening to a recording of a talk given in London by my guru, Srila Prabhupada. He often likes to cite parallels from ordinary life experiences, but today, I was struck hearing this one in particular.

He compared the path of Bhakti Yoga to homeopathic medicine. In homeopathic medicine, a remedy is given as an almost undetectable infusion into a tiny sugar pellet.

He said that it’s so simple and painless, that we don’t take it seriously. Where is the bitter medicine? Where is the suffering? Without contortions of our bodies and minds, could we actually access the spirit in realization and joy? It seems improbable and impossible.

To offer my heart and the things I possess to God, or Krsna, seems so simple, so inconsequential, so momentary. Can something so insignificant be so transformative?

In fact, everything that exists is spiritual, or existing in the brahmajyoti (or spiritual effulgence of God). When we try to usurp it or enjoy it separately as our own, it takes on amaterial, illusory quality. But when we offer it back to divinity, it regains its original spiritual quality.

The holy name as a means of approach to God is so freely given in so many of the world’s traditions. It costs nothing but our sincerity and attention. 

[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]“…the holy name can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence…” (Siksastakam, spoken by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu)[/perfectpullquote]

But the skeptic mind wonders: How could it be so simple and effective as they say?

It’s so simple, you could miss it.

All the best,

Rukmini Walker

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Documentary Documentary

Human Rights and UN SDG

In honor of International Woman's Day, here is a video that was written and created by a young woman named Sana Mittar. She lives in Delhi, India, where her loving family so kindly hosted me last February. This past year, Sana was the valedictorian of her high school graduating class at the Springdales School, in New Delhi.

In university, Sana hopes to study the field of international development, and work in that field one day, developing solutions to the United Nations Millennial Sustainable Development Goals. Sana is a point of light in our world today. May her dreams bless the future of everyone they touch!To watch the video, please click here or on the image below.

Happy International Woman's Day!

All the best,Rukmini Walker   

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndLX3cLKsSA&feature=youtu.be[/embed] 

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Poetry Poetry

Show Up Each Day

by Ananda Vrindavan Devi

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Each day is a lifetime in itself

It’s own universe

We start again each day

Moments that are right now

Today, and that’s why

We show up to our japa

Each day, at some part of the day

To anchor ourselves

To connect with Krishna

Beyond this life and the day that’s in it

To remind ourselves that we are

Above it all, which allows us to be

Present to it all, the material energy,

As Krishna’s own energy

Part of him, belonging to him.

And as we live through it

Work through it, struggle through it

We can love and let go each day, every day

And we’ll be ready then, for the great letting go

At the end, when it happens.

 

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Lecture Lecture

What is Love?

~Presented  by Rukmini Walker

This is a part of a series of lectures I gave on the six values of the Bhagavad Gita according to a Bhakti perspective at the  Sivananda Yoga Ashram in the Bahamas this November.  In the talk we explore the context of the Bhagavad Gita and Krishna as the source and foundation of everything.  Please click below to listen to the talk:[audio mp3="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/What-is-Love__cut.mp3"][/audio] 

"What is the greatest need or desire in this world? To love and be loved for who we really are."

~ Rukmini Walker

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Lecture Lecture

What is Humility?

~Presented  by Rukmini Walker

This is a part of a series of lectures I gave on the six values of the Bhagavad Gita from the Bhakti perspective at the  Sivananda Yoga Ashram in the Bahamas this November.  In the talk we explore the context of the Bhagavad Gita and Krishna as the source and foundation of everything.Please click below to listen to the talk.[audio mp3="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/What-is-Humility__cut.mp3"][/audio]

  • Humility is to come down where we ought to be.
  • With an investment in humility we will reap joy.
  • Humility is the avenue to the true freedom of the human spirit and can transform weakness into strength.
  • Humility is not thinking less of myself, but thinking of myself less and thinking of others more.

  

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blog blog

A Weed is a Flower in the Wrong Pot

by Rukmini Walker

~Part 2 of a series on Gardening of the Soul~


Click here to listen to the audio recording of this blog, read by the author:[audio m4a="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/AUDIO-2019-10-20-16-19-18.m4a"][/audio]

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To cultivate bhakti, is to cultivate the inner garden of your heart. This cultivation is compared to a tender, wish - fulfilling creeper - a vine that leans in, to wind around our Source, Sri Krsna, the tree of all life.

What does it mean to cultivate a sustainable internal garden in your heart? What qualities are you trying to harvest to grow in your heart?

A connected leaf is green, is full of chlorophyll, but one disconnected from the branch turns brown and dry.

A fruit that’s fallen to the ground, being disconnected from its source of life, shrivels and dries up.

When we are separated from our Source, when we are isolated, we feel existential loneliness and often alienation.

In Bhakti, we use the metaphor of planting a seed of devotion within our heart. The tender creeper of devotion is described as a wish - fulfilling creeper that grows in the field of our hearts. It’s a vine, it leans in - on what?

Sri Radha, the sacred feminine, is the vine that wraps around the Tree of Life, Sri Krsna, the original divine masculine…

Bhakti Devi, the goddess of devotion, is expanded from Sri Radha…

In Bhakti, our hearts are meant to bloom, to fructify in joy into delicious tasty fruits and fragrant flowers — the cultivation of Bhakti is the greening or awakening of the soul.

Giving pleasure to our Source, Sri Krsna, but also feeling the pleasure of that connectedness, and interconnectedness to all other living beings, experiencing that joy ourselves.

When we are separated from our Source, when we are isolated, we feel existential loneliness and often alienation.

According to the Bhakti tradition, as jiva souls, eternal sparks or parts, we lean in… we are the leaves and flowers of that Bhakti creeper of devotion, that lovingly wraps around our Source, the tree of life, Who is Sri Krsna.

What does it mean to cultivate a sustainable internal garden in our hearts?

First of all, let’s look at weeds. A weed is a flower in the wrong pot. If you are trying to grow zucchini, then something else in that zucchini patch is a weed. What is your ultimate goal?

What qualities are you trying to grow in your heart? What is your ultimate goal?

If we want a successful harvest, best to begin with a clear vision of the end in mind. 

If I’m trying to grow zucchini, then if something else is growing there, I may want to pull it up as a weed… but it might have value in a different place, a different season, a different time - a different context…

Remember the story of the Ugly Duckling? She was a misfit. She was being judged as ugly. But actually, she was a swan. She was meant for a much higher life, a higher destiny that others couldn’t see.

What are you hoping to grow in your heart?

Do you have a purpose that others may not see? Is it love, compassion? Selfless service to Lord Krsna?

Do you aspire to be the change you wish to see in the world? Are you wishing for more authentic relationships?

Do you want to teach, maybe teach yoga? Do you seek realizations in knowledge?

But if you don’t know, maybe just by the practice of cultivating this garden of the heart - you’ll get a sweet surprise!

Even on the high path of Bhakti our ultimate goals may vary…What inspires me - even in the realm of devotion - might be very different from what inspires you…

Each of us is as unique as a snowflake. We are all individuals, with our own sacred individuality…

As seeds, we have different potentials, different gifts, different capabilities in our hearts.

But all of our many thirsts can be quenched by the sweet taste of the fruits of Bhakti.

Like pebbles thrown into the center of a garden pond create harmonious concentric circles generating outward.

Being centered on the actual center of all existence, we can find harmony in the many circles of our lives that generate out from that center.

As we look off into the future of our lives, as we look off at the distant horizon - we can aspire to see the material and spiritual tracks of our lives coming together and meeting at the horizon like two sides of a railroad track. Harmonized at the horizon. Harmonized in Bhakti.

All the best,

Rukmini Walker

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Impressions ~ Urban Devi Nature Retreat, Huguenot, New York

~by Rukmini Walker

Last weekend we held an Urban Devi Nature Retreat in upstate New York. It was held at a thousand-acre retreat center on the bank of a lake. We gathered and sang kirtan by a bonfire at the lake each night, and we met inside by the fire in the lodge each morning. I led a workshop and guided meditations on Cultivating the Garden of the Heart.Afternoons were spent boating on the lake, journaling, dreaming, sharing and doing restorative yoga, led by Lucero. Delicious prasadam meals were lovingly cooked and offered by the mother-daughter team of Elaine and Champaka-lata.It was a deepening, rejuvenating gathering of heart-opened women on the path of Bhakti. Some were new to the path, some more seasoned, but, I think, all of us left with a refreshed perspective on our lives in the cities where we live.Komala Kumari gave us a Bharata Natyam dance class where she taught us how these dancers offer respect to the earth before they dance. She also taught us the facial expressions (abhinaya) and hand gestures (mudras) that express the story and moods of the dance.Kumari also shared with us this beautiful recording of the Sanskrit verse (shlokam) she performed and taught us. Scroll down to the end of this blog to find the link to the recording and the English translation. Please listen to it and be transported to the divine realm of loving Krsna!Also below is a recording of a song uplifting the gifts of women that Lucero shared with us and we all sang together, along with many photos of our time there together.Thanks to all of you who came and opened your hearts so wide.If you weren't able to make it this time, please plan to join us next September!All the best,Rukmini Walker

Here is a recording of the Sanskrit shlokam that Kumari shared with us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri6Y7BFJIwU


Here is the shlokam in Sanskrit followed by the meaning:

Kastuurii-Tilakam Lalaatta-Pattale Vakssah-Sthale Kaustubham Naasa-Agre Nava-Mauktikam Karatale Vennum Kare Kangkannam | Sarva-Angge Haricandanam Sulalitam Kanntthe Ca Muktaavalim Gopa-Strii Parivessttito Vijayate Gopaala Cuuddaamannih ||

Meaning:1: Salutations to Gopala Who is adorned with the Sacred Marks of Kasturi (Musk) on His Forehead and Kaustubha Jewel on His Chest,2: His Nose is decorated with a Shining Pearl, the Palms of His Hands are gently holding a Flute, the Hands themselves are beautifully decorated with Bracelets,3: His Whole Body is Smeared with Sandal Paste, as if Playfully anointed, and His Neck is decorated with a Necklace of Pearls,4: Surrounded by the Cowherd Woman, Gopala is Shining in their middle in Celebration like a Jewel on the Head.


Here is the Women's song: https://youtu.be/_FVKUMAKtmg


And some photos of our time together:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Bs8TBByothgP7n2D8

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Vyasa Puja

by Rukmini Walker

Saturday, August 24th, the day following Sri Krsna Janmastami (the Appearance Day of Lord Sri Krsna) is the Appearance Day of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, my spiritual master. 

Each year on the Appearance Day of the spiritual master, called Vyasa Puja, disciples write offerings of their realizations and gratitude to their beloved teacher. (the days that the Lord and saints appear in this world are called, 'Appearance Days', because they appear by grace, not by the force of material nature) This is the offering I've written to Srila Prabhupada, for this year 2019:

Vyasa Puja Offering, 2019 

namah om vishnupadaya krsnapresthaya bhutale

srimate bhaktivedanta swamin iti namine

namaste saraswate deve gaura vani pracarine

nirvisesa sunyavadi pascatya desatarine

My Dear Srila Prabhupada,

We once heard that a wise astrologer saw a photo of you and said, “He can build a house in which the whole world can live”.

But what does that mean, really, ‘a house in which the whole world can live’?

In 1944, in the midst of the harsh reality of world war, you explained your vision for that house in the first issue of your Back to Godhead magazine.

In that first article, you wrote:

"Politically India may ask all so-called foreigners to quit the shores of India, but spiritually she did never ask anybody to do so, nor will she do so even now. She will rather invite all the so-called foreigners to come and exploit the spiritual resources of India’s advancement, and this transcendental exploitation will not only enhance the glory of India but will also enrich the glory of the whole world for unity, faith and humanity."

As Lord Krsna lovingly lifted the Govardhan Hill as an umbrella of protection for the residents of Vrndavan, in the same way you lovingly built a house to give protection and shelter for us from the storms of Kali Yuga.

This house you built has a veranda facing out to the world. You stand on that veranda, looking out at the suffering of the people of the world. When you sometimes see that some are being excluded, with a tear in your eye, you call out, “ Bring them in, bring them in!” Or you exclaim with compassion, “Let no-one go hungry within a ten mile radius of this house!”

As you face out to the suffering world, your glance benedicts everyone it touches, creating what you call, “imperceptible auspiciousness” as you bless all directions with the Holy Name of Lord Krsna.

At its center, this house has a courtyard, with an overflowing fountain of gratitude to the Source of all life, Sri Sri Radha Krsna. They are the owners of this house, which you built for Their pleasure: Their worship is celebrated by every member of the household.

The veranda of this house has four pillars: mercy, austerity, truth and purity. These pillars uplift us to sattva guna, the place where we access the joy of spiritual and secret knowledge (raja vidya, raja guhya), giving us direct perception of the self by realization.

The interior pillars in the courtyard are five:

To cherish the sanga of all sadhus…

To chant the holy name in humility, love and attention…

To hear and chant the beautiful Bhagavatam, enriched with your emotional ecstacies…

To revere the loving seva of the Deities of Lord Gauranga and Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundar…

And to imbibe the mood of living in such a holy dham.

In this house, there is an ambience of six loving exchanges (dadati pratigrnati) that sustain us and give us strength. Only in this mood can we authentically relish and share what you’ve given us.

This house must retain its strong, impenetrable foundation. We must be always vigilant to maintain the deep and wide foundation that you created - the principle of unity in diversity, connecting with all living beings of the world.

In this house the whole world can live. We are a joint family, a joint culture, where all voices are honored. We honor the elders, the voices of past tradition, who also need to see the bright faces of possibility in the youth. And the youth, who are the voices of the future, need to hear the discernment of experience and wisdom in the voices of the elders.

In this way, we build on our shared strengths; rather than allowing the foundation of the house to crack, due to the seepage or flooding of cynicism, small-mindedness or sectarianism.

You built this house with strong timbers of whatever is favorable to Bhakti, and you reject the worm-eaten planks of antiquated ideas that are unfavorable to Bhakti.

Your house rejects cheating religion, which is like inferior marble that’s full of holes, and filled with wax. In the fire of ordeal, that wax would melt, leaving us to cry for what is real, sincere, and sustainable.

Your Guru Maharaj built a marble palace to establish his mission at Bagh Bazaar in Kolkata. When his disciples began vying for the better rooms that faced the Ganges, he became disheartened. Yet sometimes he indicated that one day you would be the one to expand his mission beyond all borders.

We too must always remember that we are mere servants in your house. We must keep before us your intention in building such a house.

As you foretold in 1944, you built this house, inviting the world to, “come and exploit the spiritual resources of India’s advancement, and this transcendental exploitation will not only enhance the glory of India but will also enrich the glory of the whole world for unity, faith, and humanity.”

Thank you, Srila Prabhupada, for the blessing to live and serve in your house, and, following in your footsteps, to always welcome others to join us.

Your eternal daughter,

Rukmini Devi Dasi

**To listen to the audio recording of this blog, please click on the arrow in the audio player below.**

[audio m4a="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Vyasa-Puja-Offering-2019-1.m4a"][/audio]

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Meeting Our Emotions

by:  Rambhoru Dasi

[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]“Being a truly well and self-satisfied individual rests on the ability to understand the information that emotions give you and be able to skillfully utilize and respond to that information…Emotions are not negative or extraneous, but rather an important aspect of being human.” (Hannah Curtis, LCSW)[/perfectpullquote]

Sometimes, in the interests of spiritual development, practitioners avoid, suppress, or disconnect from their feelings viewing them as taboo. They may even be self-critical or judgmental of themselves or others for having “negative” emotions. The trouble with these attitudes is that they prevent us from perceiving the valuable information our emotions carry with them.

Our emotions help us know whether we can trust our environment or other people. They help us discern our personal nature, inclinations and preferences. They can rouse us into action, inspire us to pause to reflect or get us to notice a potential problem and resolve it before it manifests.

Emotional cognizance or awareness means to be able to identify what we are feeling in any given moment.  For example, when we start a sentence with “I feel….” and there’s no feeling word in the sentence, pause and become curious. What is the feeling word that captures the essence of your experience? Then ask, “What does my feeling mean? Is it inviting me to change my behavior or attitude in some way?”

One of the qualities of the Supreme Lord is that He is All-cognizant. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word “cognizance” as “knowledge, awareness or noticing”.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “We are also cognizant (aware), and God is also cognizant (aware)... He is also a person. I am also a person.” (purport, Bhagavad-gita, 3.17). As individual persons we each have our unique natures and preferences.

Being truly aware of ourselves requires us to be able to grasp the information our emotions bring and to skillfully respond to that information in ways that transform our attitude and behavior to align with our essential spiritual nature; sat (eternal), chit (knowledge or awareness) and ananda (bliss or joy). When we keep in view our goal of loving the Lord unconditionally we can utilize the information provided by our emotions to guide our transformation.

Self-Realization literally means the “fulfillment of oneself by the possibilities of one’s character or personality” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). To that end, “The mind should be fixed in self. We are self, and Kṛṣṇa is also Self.” (Bhagavad-gita 6.25-29 purport). The closer we align with our essential spiritual nature, the more we will experience ourselves as whole and undivided.

That’s called integrity!

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