Adventures in Russia w/Mondakini Devi Dasi
All the best,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
Getting Through Grief with Devotion
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]