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
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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,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/
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.
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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
“Reflections” with Brother David Steindl-Rast
Br. David Steindl-Rast's celebrated his 94th birthday on Sunday, July 12th. Please follow this link to view a special video called, "Reflections", which features Br. David's reflections on gratefulness, death, joy and many other themes.I hope you find this video and his reflections inspiring.All the best,Rukmini Walker[embed]https://gratefulness.org/reflections/?utm_source=A+Network+for+Grateful+Living&utm_campaign=c096349b2c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_07_05_43_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c606570b82-c096349b2c-114264829&mc_cid=c096349b2c&mc_eid=c933e59af9[/embed]
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:
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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
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.
Happy International Woman's Day!
All the best,Rukmini Walker
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndLX3cLKsSA&feature=youtu.be[/embed]
Paradoxes of the Path, Lessons from Loss
~presented by Rukmini Walker
This past Sunday, I presented a special class to the ISKCON New Jersey ISKCON Temple called "Paradoxes of the Path, Lessons from Loss". To listen to a recording of the class, please click here https://www.youtube.com/user/
Lecture: "The Masks We Wear, and the Shelters We Seek"
Last Sunday, I presented a class called "The Masks We Wear, and the Shelters We Seek (some may be helpful, and some may not)", at the ISKCON of DC, Potomac Temple. A recording of the lecture is available on SoundCloud. I hope you enjoy it. ~All the best, Rukmini Walker
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-To listen, please click on the link below-
https://soundcloud.com/
To my beloved family of devotees in Italy
This is a letter sent by His Holiness Radhanath Swami to his dear friends, the devotees in Bologna, Italy and shared with the devotees all over Italy. His wisdom and concern are so poignant and instructive for us all right now… ~Rukmini Walker
To my beloved family of devotees in Italy,Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.With my heart and soul I am praying for all of you. Please do whatever is best to protect your health. Our bodies are gifts that Krishna has entrusted to us for divine service.Srimad Bhagavatam was spoken by Sukadeva Goswami to a man destined to die in seven days. Srila Prabhupada often told us that no one knows for sure if we have even seven minutes in our present bodies. Like a drop of water on a lotus leaf, life in the material world is always uncertain and vulnerable to disease, old age and death. But, for one who takes shelter of our supreme ever-well-wishing friend and lover, who resides within our hearts, Sri Krishna, then the joy of eternal life in divine love is awakened. That is our true fortune. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada have given us the Holy Names of Radha Krishna, Srimad Bhagavatam, association of devotees, worshipful Deities, and wonderful opportunities to serve. Let us sincerely remember and remind each other of these precious gifts.My heart is breaking to think of the struggles that you and the people of Italy are passing through. I offer my sincerest prayers to our beloved Lord to protect you and to shower intimate blessings and grace upon you.Thank you very much for your life of devotion.With gratitude, your servant,Radhanath Swami
Lecture: The Lord's Descent in this World
Please find below a lecture I recently gave on The Lord's descent in this world, drawing from the Srimad Bhagavatam (SB 2.7.11). This lecture was given at the ISKCON Punjabi Bagh Temple in New Delhi, India on February 6, 2020.
Please click here to listen to the lecture
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dU7bPz0PGw&feature=youtu.be[/embed]
A Letter to a Young Woman Devotee
This is my reply to a young woman who is new to the path of Bhakti. She has been regularly attending temple programs in one city in the US. Sometimes she is discouraged hearing a sectarian or misogynist slant coming from the speaker during the morning class. With her name omitted, I thought to share my reply to one of her emails. I hope you will find my reply to her helpful in your life as well. ~ All the best, Rukmini Walker
Dearest Sister,My very fond affection to you. Jaya Prabhupada.There are always many reasons to become discouraged, especially when interacting or serving in a multicultural international community or environment where people have different values and cultural norms. Please always remain vigilant to be a seeker of the essence and don't lose the precious baby when throwing out the bathwater. It's most important. Never allow yourself to become isolated from the temple sanga, no matter how discouraging some voices may be. Find the ones there with whom you find resonance. Prabhupada has shed many gallons of blood to establish these communities for you- and for all of us, without discrimination.Certain speakers at the temple might be speaking with a sectarian perspective, or sometimes you might think the Bhagavatam itself is that way. Actually, Srimad Bhagavatam exposes materialistic thinking wherever it appears - in men, in women, in high caste people, in low caste people... Generally, it will tell stories that bring down the proud, the high and mighty; and uplift the humble people - time and time again. We have to read it all in context. Like water, grace flows down. Like water, keep flowing down, keep going around any obstacles, keep seeking your Source - Sri Krsna, the origin of us all.You and I - and so many others - love the ideal of the worship of Sri Radha, but we also always have to remember that she is divine - and also that we are ourselves are not women - we are atma, jivatma, beyond this material body. The controlling, dominating ego must be given up - whether it appears in the mind and heart of a man or a woman. Of course, we hear that spiritually all living beings are of the feminine nature, in relation to the one Supreme male, Sri Krsna.There is the beautiful story of Mirabai when she came to Vrndavan and sought the darshan of an esteemed holy man. She approached the ashram and asked the brahmacarya disciple if she could have the saint's darshan. The disciple said that his guru doesn't see any women. Then Mirabai, in her deep wisdom and realization replied, "But I thought that Sri Krsna was the only male in Vrndavan!" The disciple was stumped and said, "Ok, let me go ask". Then he came back and said to her, "Yes, you are welcome, my guru said to come immediately!"So what an example she is. Mirabai was certainly humble in herself, in her prayers, and in her outlook. But her ardent love made her bold also. She could not be dissuaded from her love for Krsna. When Srila Prabhupada was asked by one woman book distributor, how can we be both humble and bold at the same time? He replied, "Be a lion on the chase, and a lamb at home". Not easy, but these dichotomies can be resolved with deep realization.In order to understand Sri Krsna, we seek the compassionate sidelong glance of Sri Radha. But today, on the Appearance Day of Nityananda Prabhu, we seek His blessings in order to achieve the grace of Lord Caitanya. Grace flows down like water, seeking the lowest place, seeking those who are humble.There is a pivotal verse given in the Sri Caitanya Candramrita of Prabhadananda Sarawati. It says:
yatha yatha gaura padaravinde
vindeta bhaktim krta-punya-rasih
tatha tathotsarpati hrdi akasmad
radha-padambhoja-sudhambu-rasih
When a pious person attains the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Gaura (Lord Caitanya), the ocean of nectar from the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani suddenly floods his heart.You are a deep thinker, and you are also trying to enter deeply into the consciousness of loving Krsna. Our candid conversations are a joy and an honor for me. Let's please keep these conversations going, ok? Hare Krsna,With all my love and prayers for your continuing advancement in Krsna Bhakti,Your sister in service,Rukmini
Walking the World
by Rukmini Walker
Be an invisible guide, like the scent of roses that shows where the inner garden is. ~ Rumi
To travel through the world in a mood of detachment carrying within ourselves the inner knowledge and identity that, I am spirit. I am not of this world. My home is elsewhere. I belong to Krsna.
When we travel, sometimes we stay in a place that’s comfortable, sometimes not so much. Sometimes the bed is too hard or too soft, or the water in the shower doesn’t really get hot. Or the toilet, well, the toilet can be another whole story…
But what is my purpose? Have I come here to learn and to give? How can I be of service to this place and to the people here?
Flying through most airports in the world these days, one needs to walk through at least an acre of Duty Free shops selling every brand of liquor, cigarettes, perfume and chocolate. Will a simple ordinary person think, ‘What’s wrong with me that I think I don’t want or need these things? Maybe I need to try these things that seem to make so many people happy…’
But what is my purpose in this world? Am I meant to be a commodity to be bought and sold by the manipulations of others? Have I come to this world to exploit and be exploited by others? Or can I live and walk this world with detachment, knowing that I am meant for a much higher life, that my identity is way beyond this world, in a relationship of love and service to the eternal beloved Lord of my heart?
Can I walk the world in grace, in anonymous humility, offering myself to selflessly give, as an invisible guide, like the scent of roses?
All the best,
Rukmini
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
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]
Blog text begins here.....
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
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.
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.**
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Meeting Our Emotions
by: Rambhoru Dasi
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!
Happy Black-eyed Susans and Unconditional Love
By Pranada Comtois
I treasure Black-eyed Susan’s cheerful orange-yellow glow. They have a fire for life but not without graceful countenance. Spritely, joyful Susan’s deserve larger vases. When I must discard my yellow bundles of love, I put them in the dirt on both sides in the front of the house. They seed themselves. They grow themselves from their own deaths. I’ve got a garden of them thriving.There’s another garden I’m giving special attention to: my friends and family and complete strangers. Every day I turn myself over to the practice of unconditionally loving. This takes practice and rigorous practice, at first. I don’t always feel loving, and people, family included, can be absolutely impossible at times.Actively cultivating unconditional devotional love for my Divine Other, the Supreme Person, makes it possible to tend to other relationships. See, I found out that no material relationship makes me whole, and unless I’m whole I can’t love unconditionally. I learned the secret to giving unconditional love—and not be drained or degraded by my offering—is to make developing love of God my central relationship. In that relationship (as one friend likes to say) “giving is receiving; the giving is getting.” When I’m hooked up to my unlimited Giving Source, I find the ability to extend unconditional love to others.Once I decided that my life’s work and joy is to develop unconditional spiritual love, or bhakti, I’ve found that it seeds itself, sprouts up from fear (and strangles it), and returns love to me unbounded.We have tremendous potential for spiritual development in our relationships. Do we believe this? If we look at the state of family in America, we might suspect our collective answer has to be “no.” Do we care about the state of family in America? Enough to change ourselves?After looking at statistics below, if you had to rate it honestly, how would you rate the health of family in America?Awful, Poor, Fair, Good, Great?Divorce rate holds firm at 50% for many years, with more than 2 million couples marrying every year. One million marriages coming to an end every year means emotional turmoil for 2 million people and their families.Most everyone either knows the emotional and relational costs of divorce or experiences pain as they grapple with evaporating dreams.Divorce isn’t the only familial ill in America (or elsewhere).As you read the numbers below please don’t read too fast. Allow yourself to remember that each number refers to a human being.Every day 4 to 7 children die from abuse and neglect right here in our country. This number doesn’t take into account the fact that 50%, or more, of children’s deaths due to maltreatment are not listed as such on the death certificate. 70% of these children are under 2 years old.More than one in four children live in a single parent home, or 24 million children. 408,000 children were in foster care in 2010, but it should be noted that closer to 600,000 move in and out of foster care during the year.Every day more than 3 women are murdered by their partners. About 1.3 million women are victims of physical violence by their partner every year. Nearly 7.8 million women have been raped by their partner at some point in their lives.Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.Whenever I listen to the news or hear depressing things like these statistics about the state of family in America, I feel overwhelmed. What can I possibly do to help change the suffering in the world? What’s really frustrating is I usually answer, Not much.But I can change what’s happening in myhome, in my heart. I can change how I relate to my friends and colleagues. I can change how I behave in relationships and I can do it today.Guy Finley writes, “How do we illuminate our relationships at home, in our workplace, wherever we are? What must we do to enlighten this murky world of ours that staggers under the weight of its own shadows? We must cease being an unconscious part of its darkness.”I see myself and others as a spiritual individual and contemplate how we’re eternally interconnected in relationships.I can choose to act with each person, event, and my environment in a manner that honors and energizes how I want to express myself in my personal relationship with my Divine Other. I design my relationship and establish the tenor of my relationship with divinity by choosing how I act in each circumstance now.Let the numbers remind us; let the human beings remind us; let our loved ones remind us: we can choose to love unconditionally.We can do so without self-neglect by recharging ourselves through daily practices of loving exchange with our Divine Source, the reservoir of love.
Pranada Comtois is a devoted pilgrim and author of Wise-Love: Bhakti and the Search for the Soul of Consciousness,which has received four industry awards in spirituality and body/mind/spirit. She is a featured speaker in the film “Women of Bhakti.”
The Power of Vulnerability
An interview by Balaram Perez with Rukmini Walker
In early June, I was interviewed by Balaram Perez at the beautiful and historic Bhaktivedanta Manor in England - the Manor house that was donated by George Harrison. The interview was on the power of vulnerability, Bhakti Yoga, healthy relationships between men and women, parenting and much more. I hope you enjoy it! ~ All the best, RukminiTo watch this interview, click here or on the screen shot below and it will take you to the youtube page for the Inspire Show at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5LGX7sMKo&feature=youtu.be [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5LGX7sMKo&feature=youtu.be[/embed]
We Light A Candle
Oct. 30, 2018
Have you ever noticed that happy events in life seem to arrive coupled with tragic or unhappy ones? Last Saturday, a dear friend of ours was married, yesterday was the funeral of another friend.
I remember on the day of my sister’s wedding, a beloved grandfather on the other side of the family passed away. Sometimes the birth of a child is celebrated, and that day someone else announces a divorce.
These days, tragic events come in a close volley of repetition, themselves like shots from a semi-automatic weapon- our everyday world itself has become a killing field.
The tragic killings at the Tree of Life Synagogue (how cruel and absurd- to come with an ax of hate to try to cut down the Tree of Life!) , and then, only days afterward, another merciless killing of African Americans in Kentucky.
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]We seem live in a world of duality. But this duality is our illusion. When we turn away from the sun, we face our shadow. When we turn away from God, our original Source, we see ourselves as separate, and fear arises. When we forget our commonality- that all living beings share the same divine Origin, and are eternal souls- beloved to God and sacred just like me.[/perfectpullquote]
At the Presbyterian church where the funeral was held yesterday, there was a banner hanging on the wall behind the altar. It said: We are one body, though we are many. I was deeply struck by the beauty and depth of that message.
In a few days we will celebrate Diwali, the New Year, the Festival of Lights. The victorious Lord Ram returns to His kingdom, and we celebrate the triumph of good over evil. The holy month of Kartik has already begun, and already we are offering our candles, our lights, our little “dipas” each day.
In this bittersweet year, as we celebrate the joy of Diwali, let us also offer up a prayer for peace and reconciliation, like this one, offered by Sri Prahlada Maharaj:
"May the entire universe be blessed with peace and good hope. May everyone driven by envy and enmity become pacified and reconciled. May all living beings develop abiding concern for the welfare of others. May our own hearts and minds be filled with purity and serenity. May all these blessings flow naturally from this supreme benediction: May our attention become spontaneously absorbed in the rapture of pure love unto the transcendent Lord." (inspired by Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.9)
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
The Seen and the Unseen: The Young and the Elderly
Oct. 17th, 2018
South Florida is an interesting place. Like all places, I suppose, each has it’s own mood, it’s own ambience.
Last weekend I led a workshop in a vibrant youthful yoga community in Del Ray Beach. These last few days, I’ve been spending with my 91 year-old mother, Edith, in Boca Raton.
I keep thinking of the story of the Prince Gautama Buddha, and how it was predicted that he would renounce his father’s kingdom and the world.
His father, the king, took precaution to shelter his son from any possible stray introspection. The prince grew up surrounded by beautiful young people, pleasure gardens and all possible enjoyments of life. He was never to see suffering, or disease, old age or death.
But one day the inquisitive young prince scaled the wall and began to observe and inquire:
“What is this I see?”
“Dear boy, this is suffering- this is disease- this is old age- and this is death. And after death- again, there will be rebirth!”
Our culture also seems to have created such a veneer of an ever-youthful pleasure garden: in the media, on the billboards, the internet, in film… Beautiful people, an endless summer, with questions of why? sidelined to the fringe. With cancer wards tucked away behind corporate walls. Just a little more acquisition should fill the emptiness in my heart- with no alert to my time… to my youth- slipping away each day.
I see an elderly couple walking out of an elevator, clutching each other for support, for dear life…
What is our purpose in this temporary place? Aren’t we meant to begin to awaken- before our next death- some inkling of who we are and why we are here?
But the voices of the sadhus are there, in every place, in every generation, calling to us:
“But then a voice, how deep and soft,
Within ourselves is left,
Soul! Soul! Thou art immortal soul!
Thee death can never melt.”
Bhaktivinode Thakur