Kartik Sonnet
As Kartika month begins today, October 9th. Here is a beuatiful Kartik sonnet by Ananda Vrindavan Devi Dasi.
As Kartik comes our hearts are drawn to YouThe autumn moon rises full and deepThis month alone can have us start anewThe lights and songs awaken our deep sleepIt is a month that comes but once a yearIt’s worth a thousand lives for what it givesA chance to banish all unwanted fearA chance to sing no matter where one livesIt is a time when bhakti rasa sweetComes to our hearts in many joyful waysNot least of all the charming butter thiefPulls our thoughts through all His Lila playsAnd so we must to Kartik give our timeLeast we miss this opportunity sublime
The Poetry of Living Life
This September Urban Devi Class featured Ananda Vrindavan speaking on the topic "The Poetry of Living Life".'Poetic' is one of the qualities attributed to a devotee of Krishna, one that should come naturally as we practice Krishna Bhakti. Explore what does 'poetic' mean and what does a more poetic life look like? Please click here or on the video image below to explore this topic and learn from each other.Ananda Vrindavaneswari Devi is the President of ISKCON of Washington D.C. She is an educator and a writer and loves the early morning hours the best.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ufYjlz5IH4[/embed]
"Seven Principles of Making Relationships Thrive"
In our July Urban Devi Sanga, Jahnava devi dasi presented on the "Seven Principles of Making Relationships Thrive".Drawing from bhakti wisdom and secular knowledge and research, you will learn the simple and practical application of seven key principles to help you grow, improve and establish healthy loving relationships. Please click here or on the video image below to listen to this special discussion.
All the best,Rukmini Walker [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hyFwfOkMhQ[/embed]
Why Does There Have To Be Violence?
~by Rukmini Walker
The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart. ~Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Why does there have to be violence? Why do there have to be bullies on my child’s playground? Why do people cheat on their wives or husbands? Why do leaders invade the borders of other countries? Why does there have to be war? Why does evil exist in the world?In this earthly sphere, this nether world between heaven and hell, we choose our direction, by our own free will.We have freedom, but freedom bears responsibilities as well. Each moment we choose to lean in, toward doing the righteous thing, toward goodness, toward dharma; or we choose to lean out in the ways against dharma, or right action- manipulating or massaging our own greed or ego or self aggrandizement.
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.This is the in-between world where we have a chance to transform, and reform our consciousness and our hearts. But that can never be forced. Some choose to love God, and to love others as themselves; others choose the degradation of hate.If we want to live in a world without violence, then we have to seek, and help others seek that transformation of the heart. Being ever cautious not to encroach, taking more than my share.As Isopanisad advises us, “… knowing well to Whom all things belong.”Living in the simplicity of righteous dharma, or right action, offering each of my actions to Krsna, or the Divine by any name, helps us learn step by step how to one day transfer beyond this world to the eternal world of selfless loving exchanges.
My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there… ~Rumi
On this Nrsimha Caturdasi, we can each try to emulate and follow the path of the simple, faithful child saint, Prahlada Maharaj. Or we can ignore that higher dictation and succumb to the path of anger and greed following his wayward father, Hiranyakasipu.Why does there have to be violence? It depends which way we lean, which way we choose, each day, each moment.----All the best,Rukmini Walker
Sit a Moment
Come mind, let’s sit together
And chant the holy name
I know you’ll find more
Interesting things to do
You’ll wander here and there
But I’ll pull you back with affection
Don’t you know your dreaming
Is nothing compared to this moment
With this mantra?
Just once chanting is ten thousand times better
Than what you can imagine
Or where you think happiness lies
And the fears that you slip away to?
Turn your back on them and
Soak in this mantra of love
Things will soften, fears will lessen
But wait, where are you now?
And how did you get there?
Come mind, sit with me again
And chant the holy name
For this moment is always
The only moment we have
Let’s make it count,
And let's make it work, together
Prayers by the Ocean
~by Ananda Vrindavan Devi Dasi----------------------------------------When I wander across the watersOf this material worldMay I always return to the shores Of Krishna consciousness When I marvel at the waves Crashing and moving With wild abandonMay I always remember The source of their powerThe supreme controller When I am saddened byThe troubles and pains of lifeMay I remember the teachingsThat I am spirit soulAnd can soar above it allLike the gulls that ride the wind When I am distracted by distractionsAnd the glitter and gold of othersMay I remember it’s all an illusionPerfectly set up to take me downAnd keep me locked in the dreamOf enjoying forever here When I finally get the point Of the futility of material existenceMay I enter the spiritual oceanAnd dive deep in the wavesTo stay there forever.
Lord Nityananda Appearance Day!
Those who are followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu will be honoring the holy Appearance Day of His dear most associate, Lord Nityananda on Monday, February 14th.Anyone who seeks the shelter of Lord Caitanya is advised to pray for the mercy of Lord Nityananda. When Lord Krsna appears, Lord Nityananda appears as His brother, Lord Balaram; when Lord Rama appears, Lord Nityananda appears as His brother Laksman.Lord Nityananda is considered the original guru, in that all gurus are expanded from him.Here, Andrea Suarez has told an enchanting version of the story of Lord Nityananda's deliverance of the fallen brothers, Jagai and Madhai for children both in English and then in Spanish. To watch, please click here: https://youtu.be/LtNUM6VMV3s; to watch in Spanish, please click here https://youtu.be/rI66AAMMhWUI pray that you and your children may all receive the unlimited blessings of Lord Nityananda and Lord Caitanya!All the best,Rukmini Walker
One Who Completely Controls the Six Bad Qualities
In honor of Srila Prabhupada's disappearance day on Sunday, November 7, 2021.
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~by Rukmini Walker
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Srila Prabhupada as Vijita-Sad-Guna
One Who Completely Controls the Six Bad Qualities
Srila Prabhupada in his pastimes and dealings with every strata of person in the many cultures he visited, exhibited the most exemplary divine qualities. His life was fully engaged in the service of his beloved Lord Sri Krsna. Sometimes though, his dealings were also misunderstood.The six bad qualities are described as: lust (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), illusion (moha), madness (mada), and envy (matsarya).The process of bhakti, as taught by Srila Prabhupada, and those great teachers who came before him in disciplic succession, is the process of transforming lust into love. Iron and gold are both metals, but iron is a base metal, whereas gold is precious, a noble metal. The transformative practice of bhakti is a mystical alchemical process. By redirecting our base iron-like desires to gratify our own senses by seeking to please the senses of Krsna, those same material senses become uplifted and sanctified as spiritual senses. Krsna, Who is known as Hrishikesh, is the actual Lord and owner of our senses. By redirecting our intentions and our actions, we can gradually transform our lust into pure love, as the mystics sought to turn iron into gold.How did Srila Prabhupada exhibit this alchemical transformation? Once he was asked if he could show some miracle. He responded by gesturing toward his Western disciples who were sitting in the room near him. He said, “These are my miracles!” He explained that our hearts, our actions, and the goals of our lives had been transformed from material addictions and pursuits (lust, or kama) to the goal of trying to love and please Krsna (love, or prema). By his association, by hearing from, and serving such a rare and pure devotee of the Lord, the desires of our hearts were mystically being transformed from iron into gold, from lust into love. Regarding anger, Hanuman, the perfect exemplar of service to Lord Sri Ram, perfectly deployed his anger in service to his beloved Lord. Hanuman lit the entire city of Lanka on fire in order to chastise the evil king Ravana for abducting Sita Devi, the divine consort and wife of Lord Sri Rama.On the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, Lord Sri Krsna spoke the seven hundred verses of Bhagavad Gita to incite his dear friend, Arjuna, to fight. Arjuna used his anger against those who were inimical to the divine plan of the Lord, that the righteous Yudhisthira be enthroned as king.Srila Prabhupada also occasionally exhibited the righteous use of anger. That is, anger engaged in the service of the Lord. Often this was misunderstood. During the time before Partition, when Gandhi was working for India’s independence from British rule, he regularly held prayer meetings in the evenings. A popular Hindi bhajan called, Vaisnava Janatho was often sung to close those meetings. After the assassination of Gandhi, this bhajan became all the more famous as it regularly played on the radios throughout India. It begins with the beautiful phrase: “One who is a Vaisnava knows the pain of others…” And closes with the words, “…a Vaisnava has renounced lust and all types of anger.”Because this bhajan was so well known to Hindi-speaking audiences, sometimes in India, people became alarmed when Srila Prabhupada occasionally exhibited appropriate anger. Anger can sometimes be deployed by someone in pure consciousness when an offense is committed to the Lord or His devotees, as was exhibited by both Hanuman and Arjuna, in their service to the Lord. When someone would expound a cheating philosophy, or behavior, or speak to deny the transcendental nature of the Lord, Srila Prabhupada could become like Hanuman’s fire that ravaged the city of Lanka.One night at a pandal festival in Mumbai, the kirtan had ascended to an ecstatic pitch. The devotees on the stage were all chanting, dancing, and jumping high in the air. On the following night, one of the organizers, a man standing at the front of the stage was trying to reproduce the previous night’s ecstatic mood by grabbing the feet of the ladies on the stage to force them to jump.Srila Prabhupada swooped down like a lion, deploying his kartals like a chakra to keep the man from grabbing the feet of the women disciples.Srila Prabhupada had not become a victim of his anger, nor was he being controlled by anger, as was misunderstood by those who don’t know the heart of a pure Vaisnava. Rather, he expertly mobilized his anger as an astra, a weapon for protecting his women disciples and teaching us all.Selfish greed, or lobha, for material things must be rejected, in addition to greed of the mind for prestige or position. But intense greed to acquire the treasures of bhakti is the actual price for attaining it. Srila Rupa Goswami has instructed us that if Krsna consciousness is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay. Srila Prabhupada took tremendous risks to share Krsna consciousness with the world, at great personal sacrifice and inconvenience. He could spend any amount of money for the glorification of Krsna, but he would not tolerate a single farthing being wasted. He did not remain in Vrndavan, he did not stop at the border of India. He wanted to offer all the people of the world to the lotus feet of his beloved Lord Sri Krsna. One could say that this is the perfect transformation of greed. Illusion (moha) and madness (mada) must be given up by one on the spiritual path. But sometimes a great mahabhagavat devotee like Srila Prabhupada becomes overwhelmed by spiritual emotions that he is unable to check. Out of deep humility, a realized devotee tries to never exhibit his internal ecstasies. But sometimes…
“…As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly or cries or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion.” (SB 11.2.40)
Sometimes Srila Prabhupada would dance, to the delight of all those present, sometimes he would be overwhelmed with tears, or his voice would choke up so he was unable to continue speaking. Once, at the temple in Brooklyn, New York, after gazing at the Deities of Sri Sri Radha Govindaji, as he began to bow before Them, I (as the pujari standing near him) saw tears shoot out of his eyes, like a syringe bathing the congregation on the other side of the room.Envy (matsarya) causes a person to be unhappy to see others’ good fortune, and to be happy to see others’ failure. Sisupala approached Krsna in envy, but his contact with Krsna purified him. As we try to approach Krsna ourselves, it’s best to not emulate his poisonous mentality.Srila Prabhupada engaged people of every color, on every continent, from every community in serving Krsna together. The deeply realized equal vision he exemplified and taught us is the best antidote for the disease of envy in the heart.Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur prays in his Saranagati to the Vaisnava Thakura, like Srila Prabhupada:O Vaisnava Thakura, O ocean of mercy, be merciful to me, your servant, and purify me by the shade of your lotus feet. Please teach me to control these six bad qualities. I beg you, please be merciful, and with a particle of faith, give me the great treasure of the holy name of Krsna!
Happy Krsna Janmastami!
Adharam Madhuram Vadanam:(1)adharam madhuram vadanam madhuramnayanam madhuram hasitam madhuramhrdayam madhuram gamanam madhurammadhuradi-pater akhilam madhuram(2)vacanam madhuram caritam madhuramvasanam madhuram valitam madhuramcalitam madhuram bhramitam madhurammadhuradi-pater akhilam madhuram(3)venur madhuro renur madhurahpanir-madhurah padau madhuraunrtyam madhuram sakhyam madhurammadhuradi-pater akhilam madhuram(4)gitam madhuram pitam madhurambhuktam madhuram suptam madhuramrupam madhuram tilakam madhurammadhuradi-pater akhilam madhuram(5)karanam madhuram taranam madhuramharanam madhuram ramanam madhuramvamitam madhuram samitam madhurammadhuradi-pater akhilam madhuram(6)gunja madhura mala madhurayamuna madhura vici madhurasalilam madhuram kamalam madhurammadhuradi-pater akhilam madhuram(7)gopi madhura lila madhurayuktam madhuram bhuktam madhuramhrstam madhuram sistam madhurammadhuradi-pater akhilam madhuram(8)gopa madhura gavo madhurasastir madhura srstir madhuradalitam madhuram phalitam madhurammadhuradi-pater akhilam madhuramTranslation:1) His lips are sweet, His face is sweet. His eyes are sweet, His smile is sweet. His heart is sweet, His walk issweet. Everything is sweet about the Lord of sweetness.2) His words are sweet, His character is sweet. His garments are sweet, His navel is sweet. His movement is sweet,His wanderings are sweet. Everything is sweet about the Lord of sweetness.3) His flute is sweet, His dust is sweet. His hands are sweet, His feet are sweet. His dancing is sweet, His friendship is sweet. Everything is sweet about the Lord of sweetness.4) His singing is sweet, His yellow dress is sweet. His eating is sweet, His sleeping is sweet. His form is sweet,His tilaka is sweet. Everything is sweet about the Lord of sweetness.5) His activities are sweet, His liberation is sweet. His thieving is sweet, His loving sports are sweet. His offerings are sweet, His peacefulness is sweet. Everything is sweet about the Lord of sweetness.6) His gunja-mala is sweet, His flower-garland is sweet. Is Yamuna is sweet, His ripples are sweet. His water issweet, His lotuses are sweet. Everything is sweet about the Lord of sweetness.7) His Gopis are sweet, His pastimes are sweet. His meeting is sweet, His food is sweet. His happiness is sweet, His etiquette is sweet. Everything is sweet about the Lord of sweetness.8) His cowherd boys are sweet, His cows are sweet. His herding-stick is sweet, His creation is sweet. His tramplingis sweet, His fruitfulness is sweet. Everything is sweet about the Lord of sweetness.
Seva Means to Establish a Relationship
~from a lecture by Sacinandana Swami, on August 15, 2020, in Goloka-dhama, Germany~
When you give your time, body and mind to Krsna it’s not that you are doing Krsna a favor, “I’m doing something for Your benefit.” No! He doesn’t need anything. He has everything. It is about you actually correcting your forgetfulness and illusion. This is a very wonderful secret in bhakti. The word seva means ‘to come close’, ‘to establish a relationship’. It can also mean to chant the holy name, to talk about Krsna, to worship the deity on the altar, to offer prayers to Krsna – seva has nine typical expressions. But it is always to be done with this idea: “I’m not renouncing the world, nor am I trying to enjoy it. I am trying to act in my eternal relationship with You my Lord.” And the result is the feeling of belonging to Krsna, mamatva. Rupa Goswmai describes in his Bhaktirasmrta-sindhu that this feeling is the foundation of bhakti: “I belong to you, You are mine and we have an experience.”
Hare Krishna Africa w/Rukmini Walker - SB.1.8.31
On June 7, 2021, Hare Krishna Africa hosted Rukmini Walker for a special class on the Srimad 1.8.31. To listen to the recording, please click on the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CifBixam8CQ
ŚB 1.8.31
Synonyms
Translation
Purport
Deep Listening
~by Rukmini Walker
click here to listen to the audio version of this blog spoken by Rukmini
[audio m4a="http://www.urbandevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/9711-Skyhill-Way-4.m4a"][/audio][perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] Listen twice. Listen to what’s been said. Then listen again to what has not been said. -- Sacinandana Swami [/perfectpullquote]In the Springtime, it seems as though all life has come alive again, after the long sleep of Winter. The birds are chirping, and the fragrance of the awakening earth is everywhere. “I am the original fragrance of the earth…”, (Lord Krsna says in Bhagavad Gita 7.9)Here in the Washington DC area, new colors appear each day in Spring, as yellow forsythia, white flowering pears and cherry trees of different hues of pink and red once again explode in their annual cycle of beauty. Again, in Bhagavad Gita, Krsna says “…of seasons I am the flower-bearing Spring.” (Bhagavad Gita 10.35) His presence can be seen in the best of all things, in the best of all seasons.In his translation of the love poems of Mirabai, the scholar Andrew Schelling observes that the cry of the heart, “Where is my beloved?” is the wildest, most innate question of every living being.The birds, the animals, we humans- we look for food each day, we look for shelter, we fear, but ultimately, we look for love. It’s said that we will hear Krsna in His holy name before we see Him. In His name, in the words of those who know and love Him, and in the dictation our hearts, guiding us to take each next step toward Him. There are three kinds of deep listening- listening to our Source, listening to sadhus, and listening to our own inner selves, our own inner voice.I am not very adept at listening. But I am trying to enter into a practice of deep listening. Trying to listen deeply to others in my life, to my own inner voice, and to Krsna in His holy name. Can I become present to each syllable of Krsna’s holy name? That, “I welcome You. I am here to receive You. I chant Your name for Your pleasure.”What are the greatest gifts we can give a beloved person? Our attention, our affection, our appreciation, our affirmation, and our allowing them to be fully present in their own true selves.Deep listening is a rumbling of thunder, a cry of the heart, “Where is my beloved?”All the best,Rukmini Walker
Our Loyal and Fallible Soldiers
~by Rukmini Walker-
To listen to Rukmini narrate this post in an audio format, please click on the "play" button below:
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There’s a story about a loyal Japanese soldier who was still posted, poised and ready to attack any intruder on a remote island in the Philippines, some thirty years after the end of World War II.
A young Japanese adventurer somehow found him there. He tried to convince him that the war had ended long ago. He had done his duty to his country, and he could now go home. But the loyal soldier refused to accept his word on the matter. He was so dedicated to the cause of his country. He said he would only accept what he said if he heard it from his commanding officer himself.
Somehow, that senior officer was still alive, and the young man brought him there to convince the soldier of the truth, that the war was indeed over. But they needed some way to validate his service, to celebrate him and bring him home as a hero. Although after wartime, he’d been killing anyone who came upon him up there in his outpost. He needed to now be rehabilitated and given a new service.I’ve been thinking that I also have my own loyal soldiers within me. That knee-jerk default inner voice that rears up when I hear something I don’t like. That negative, defensive or offensive voice, the inner judge, jury and executioner… The one who places a judgement before I can even ponder what I really desire, or believe, or might wish to reply. Who are your loyal soldiers? Are there old hankerings, lamentations, or judgements that no longer serve you well? An old lingering desire or relationship that now exists only in your mind? Can we thank them for their dedicated service and now say goodbye? Can their loyalty be reengaged in ways that better serve us today? Srila Prabhupada calls them fallible soldiers. My body, mind, relatives, money, beauty, or education - all are fallible soldiers. None of them can actually save me in my final moments of death. My dear loyal and fallible soldiers! Please just call out the name of Krsna, in these moments of life and at death!Thakur Bhaktivinode implores us:
So push thy onward march, O soul,
Against an evil deed,
That stands with soldiers Hate and Lust-
A hero be indeed.
Maintain thy post in spirit world
As firmly as you can,
Let never matter push thee down-
O stand heroic man!
O Saragrahi Vaisnava* soul,
Thou art an angel fair,
Lead, lead me on to Vrndavan,
And spirit’s power declare.
There rests my soul from matter free
Upon my Lover’s arms-
Eternal peace and spirit’s love
Are all my chanting’s charms.
All the best,
Rukmini Walker*A Saragrahi Vaisnava is a devotee of the Lord who always seeks the essence of love and wisdom within all things.
Cycling in Balance
~by Rukmini Walker
1.19.2021
My friends Anita and Robert live and work in Washington, DC. Most days they’re out cycling around the national monuments on their bikes, or to and from work.No cycling in the next few days though, since 25,000 National Guard troops are in DC now to secure the US Capitol for the President’s Inauguration tomorrow. That’s in addition to the thousands of US Secret Service, Capitol Police and DC police that will be out in full force for the event. The capital city is in a surreal lockdown.I was thinking this morning how we cycle through repeated birth and death, how we cycle through our own strongly held opinions. And sometimes we are ready to fight and die for those beliefs.I was remembering how Gandhi sacrificed his life for his country, and then at the end he was shot and killed by one of his own Hindu countrymen. US Vice President Pence dedicated four years working by the side of President Trump, and then last week, he and his colleagues were nearly killed when their own “supporters” created a riot at the Capitol Building.Riding a bike requires cycling in balance. Living in balance requires honoring others, and other points of view, those that differ from the way I think, the way I look, and the way I live. Finding the common ground that we all share, and seeing the spirit that animates us all.Time moves in cycles, life travels in cycles, but extremist views create a centrifugal force that throws us and our world out of balance.In politics, in religion, in our daily lives we can choose to cling tightly to adamantly held beliefs that objectify and malign others as evil, or dangerous.Or we can choose to cycle through our lives in balance, honoring all living beings as sacred and beloved parts of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna.All the best,Rukmini Walker
Commitment Leads Us To Freedom
~by Rukmini Walker
To listen to an audio version of this blog read by Rukmini, please click on the audio link below:
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"The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and fulfill the desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That complete freedom is achieved when he meets the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead." (Bhaktivedanta purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.8)
I’ve been thinking a lot about freedom recently. People these days want to be free to do anything they want, to say anything they want, and to even alter truth, if they feel like it.The spirit soul has a natural longing for freedom. But how counterintuitive it is, that the more we indulge our wild minds and senses, the more we become imprisoned by them!When an alcoholic commits to no longer drink, she becomes free from her addiction to the bottle. When a student commits to apply herself to her studies, she gains greater freedom in her future academic pursuits. When we commit to the daily regimen of a job, we gain the freedom of financial security.When we commit to show up each day for our spiritual practice, we begin to free ourselves from the temporary. We begin to see ourselves as spirit, to never again be dissolved by death.Commitment enables us to hear the voice within that beckons us to the free light and the spirit. We begin to taste the eternal. That commitment leads us to one day meet the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead.Commitment leads us to freedom.All the best,Rukmini Walker
Creating Sacred Space as We Shelter in Place
The Poetry of Nature
a conversation with Jahnavi Harrison
During late October's Eco Bhakti Weekend, Grammy-nominated artist and BBC radio presenter Jahnavi Harrison reflected on how Bhakti poetry can help us to more connect to divinity through a deeper appreciation of the natural world. The Eco Bhakti Weekend was organized by Yale University’s Ecology Forum in partnership with the Bhakti Center, NYC and Princeton University Hindu Life Program. To listen to the session please click on this link.
Damodarastakam Prayers
Kartik, also known as the month of Damodara, is a month for deepening one's love for Krishna. This year Kartik begins on October 31, 2020. It is considered by devotees of Krishna to be the holiest month of the year. During this month, devotees make extra vows, perform extra spiritual activities, and generally worship Krishna in His form as a young boy,Here is a beautiful recording of Gaura Vani and Sri Vani Devi Dasi together singing the Damodarastakam prayers. Every year during the month of Kartik we offer this special 8 verse prayer to Krishna called Damodarastakam. It is sung either in the morning or the evening along with the offering of a ghee lamp.
Happy Kartik!All the best,Rukmini
How Our Actions and Choices in Everyday Life Affect Our Chanting
~from an online lecture by Sacinandana Swami on May 3, 2020
Similar to what we are experiencing today with the internet, everything you do in this world is being ‘recorded’ and it stays there for as long as this manifestation of the world exists. It creates an impression, a samskara, which then informs your future actions and reactions. This is how by your choices, by your activities, you develop a certain pattern of action, choices and response – it is based on deep samskaras. Sometimes we call it habit or conditioning. This can affect your relationship with the Holy Name, because all our perceptions and experiences are affected by the ‘spectacles’ through which we look at the world. For this reason, devotees follow a few rules that help them to avoid those impressions which can distract you in a harmful way. On the other hand, we do things like for instance associating with devotees and reading sacred scriptures that affect us in a positive way, which cause positive samskaras that in turn affect our relationship with the Holy Name.
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