"Fear and Faith"
~presented by Rukmini Walker~
Last Saturday, I presented at a virtual satsang on Fear and Faith with devotees in India.
Please click below to listen to the recording.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xCQInV8gf-ugwoPosMmc5IFU3eGw6llY?usp=sharing
Happy Ram Navami!
The Quest for Wholeness
In honor of the 70th appearance day of Bhakti Tirtha Swami, which was several days ago, here is a message from him about honoring relationships. ~ Rukmini Walker
by Bhakti Tirtha Swami
" Two whole personalities who come together have the opportunity to develop a strong relationship. They are not excessively dominant or dependent, nor do they manipulate each other to shore up their insecurities. Such people do not behave like beggars, looking for someone to rob or perform miracles for them. Even if they ultimately fail to attract a partner, they will not feel lost, because they appreciate everything that the Lord has done for them. Instead of trying to acquire something for themselves, they will want to share with others. In such a state they come to resemble--in their own small way-- the reservoir of Divinity, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who radiate Love to everyone."
Equal Vision and Choice
~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/Equal-Vision-and-Choice-Rukmini_cut.mp3"][/audio]
-We can choose to hear voices of the holy sadhus and get out of the cycle of repeated rebirth and death or continue in the up and down...suffering and enjoying, suffering and enjoying....-We are response+able...we are always able to choose our response.-In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Like Pearls on a Thread
by Sheetal Shah
"Throughout the Gita, Lord Krishna does play with our expectations of what God should be, what we are called to be, what the relationship between the two is."
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Bhagavad-gita chapter 7, sloka 7
mattah parataram nanyat, kincid asti dhananjaya, mayi sarvam idem protam, sutre mani-gana iva
Translation: O Arjuna, great conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.
This verse is one of my all-time favorites. I love the imagery and the aesthetics of it. And I am amazed that in a few short words, Lord Krishna is able to convey a message that is at once bold and direct, and yet also layered with subtleties and nuance. I love the way that the Gita reconciles ideas that – at first blush – seem to be paradoxical.Krishna’s claim that there is no truth superior to him, may rub us the wrong way. It may sound exclusivist, dogmatic, unreasonably demanding. Many of us have been happily reading through a sacred wisdom text like the Gita or the Bible, only to come across a God who hits us with this sort of cosmic “my way or the highway (to hell?)” …and have checked out of religion entirely as a result of it. And while Hinduism is often celebrated as promoting pluralism (and it does), it also has its fair share of religious “truth claims.”
The brilliance of this verse, to me, is that Krishna doesn’t stop there. He gives Arjuna (and us) a vivid analogy to appreciate his claim in a deeper way. To say that God is the thread upon which we, the individual pearls, are strung, carries with it some profound implications.First, it tells us that the Divine doesn’t express his supremacy through cruel, tyrannical demands for submission. He is ever-present, providing the foundation upon which we can rest. There is a comfort there–we are not lonely pieces floating aimlessly adrift some ocean of meaninglessness. We are supported and loved, an intrinsic part of the greater whole.Second, it reminds us that there is a connection between all of us. As disparate as we might seem, as much as we experience the world and our journeys as individuals, the Divine is there as the unifying, common factor. We are people with stories, bound together in the struggle and pain and joys of love–bound by the Divine source of us all. And just as the necklace is considered well-made when the thread tightly binds each pearl to the other, when each stone is close to the other, our perfection is found in how we can fill those gaps between us.Third, it tells us that we are precious. Krishna is intentional (and maybe a bit humorous) in calling Arjuna by the epithet Dhananjaya, the “conqueror of wealth.” Could it be that in a world that puts a premium on wealth – money, cars, and yes, jewels – the real treasure waiting to be discovered is us, the self within and the people around us?
Sheetal Shah, based in New York City, is the Senior Director of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), a nonprofit advocacy organization.
"Living with Gratitude, Giving with Compassion"
~Presented by Rukmini Walker
This talk was given at Bhaktivedanta Manor on Tuesday, June 4, 2019 on living with gratitude, and giving with compassion.To listen to the audio recording, please click here or on the arrow below.https://soundcloud.com/tulasi-nadia-harrison/hg-rukmini-devi-living-with-gratitude-giving-with-compassion
Divya’s Kitchen: Where Your Feelings Matter As Much As The Food
Meet Divya Alter, the chef/author of “What to Eat for How You Feel: The New Ayurvedic Kitchen” cookbook. We visit her restaurant Divya’s Kitchen in NYC’s East Village to learn the basics of how to eat for how you feel. Click here or on the video below.
[embed]https://foodcurated.com/divyas-kitchen/?fbclid=IwAR2zv__ovV_9kIPmT9zUIBNG51IKOaiyWbz_OuBPqJHM5qbij5tTkXWp9Q4[/embed]
Our Seven Mothers
In honor of International Women's Day, I would like to share this talk I recently gave at the Institute for Spiritual Culture, The Glories of Our Mothers Conference -- Rukmini Walker
Mayapur, India, March 3rd, 2019
I’m very grateful to have been invited to speak at this conference, on the Glories of Our Mothers. Specifically, I’ve been asked to speak on the traditional Vedic aphorism that, in this world, we must honor seven mothers:
Our own biological mother; a guru or wife of our guru; a queen or head of state; brahminis, or wives of our teachers; the cow; one’s nurse, and finally, Mother Earth.
[perfectpullquote align="left" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] Manu Smriti says, “The gods dwell where women are honored and respected”. [/perfectpullquote]
Perhaps that’s why there are so many problems in the world today. So, first of all, our own mother, our first guru, the one who gave us birth.
Srila Prabhupada writes in his commentary to Srimad Bhagavatam that, “only fools are ungrateful to their benefactors”. (SB 1.16.26-30, purport)
Maybe you have issues with your birth mother, but thank her! Be grateful! She didn’t choose to abort you. She didn’t throw you in a trash bin. Thank her!
A few years ago, I was traveling through Newark, New Jersey, and I saw a sign on the side of a bus that read: “If you don’t want your baby, don’t throw her in a dumpster, bring her to nearest fire department or police station and - no questions asked - they will take your baby - just don’t throw her in the trash!”
How very sad, for both the mother and the child. These are certainly the dark days of Kali Yuga: When a mother is so destitute of all resources, deprived of all love, that she would even consider throwing her own baby in the trash.
So your mother raised you, she taught you to the best of her ability the difference between good and bad. She tolerated your teenage rebellion, as my mother did when I left home at the age of fifteen and, at sixteen, joined a spiritual path that was strange and foreign to her. I have to say, thank you, Mom!
And ladies, my advice to you is that if you’re looking for a relationship with a man, find one who loves and respects his own mother. Otherwise when there are difficulties - and on life’s path, there will always be difficulties - he will take it out on you - believe me!
A number of years ago, a god-brother of mine, Jayadvaita Swami made a wise observation. He said that the problem with ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness), is that we have no grandmothers. It was true at the time. We were so young and arrogant, actually. We had no common sense. And the only “granny wisdom” we would accept was coming from Srila Prabhupada.
Of course, now: we do have many grandmothers. The problem is that when the voices of women: mothers and grandmothers, are silenced, the door is opened for children, and women themselves to be abused. As we’ve so sadly seen our children, and our sisters suffer.
Women, children, need to be protected: from Whom? From evil-spirited men! The abusers we are seeing all over the world being exposed in the “Me Too” movement.
I wanted to read you something so egalitarian that Srila Prabhupada’s guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur wrote in, perhaps, the 1920’s, in his Harmonist periodical. He says:
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] “…Men and women are joined in wedlock for the purpose of serving each other in the joint service of Krsna. The wife is not an object of enjoyment of the husband, nor vice versa… They choose for their partners only such persons who serve God better than themselves. They offer themselves to be accepted by their partners for the favor of being allowed to share in their superior service of Hari…”[/perfectpullquote]
The second mother to be honored, is the guru, or wife of one’s guru.
Jahnava Devi, the wife of Lord Nityananda, after his demise, was honored by all the living goswamis as the head of the entire Caitanya disciplic succession. The male renunciates living at Radha Kund carried her by palanquin. She codified and harmonized the teachings of all those who lived and taught after the disappearance of Sri Caitanya.
There always have been, and always will be great teachers who are women. There have always been all different kinds of people. And this is not only a function of modernity.
The earliest Upanisads describe that in the Treta Yuga, an erudite woman scholar named, Gargi,debated and defeated the great sage Yajnavalka in the court of King Janaka, the father of Sitadevi. It’s possible that Sita could have met Gargi in her father’s court.
We all have different gifts given to us by God. What we are given is God’s gift to us. How we use it, is the gift we give back to God.
My son, Gaura Vani, and I have close friends in Mumbai. They are pillars of our community there. Their older daughter is so happy being a devoted wife and mother of three beautiful daughters. Her younger sister, from the time she was small, has always known that she wanted to grow up to become the prime minister of India. As Gandhi said, she wants to be the change…She is now an attorney, working in a law firm, and she has every intention of pursuing political office.
Our sons, our daughters may not fit the mold of what you or I think they should do in life. But everyone needs to be honored for their own unique contribution in the world.
The third mother to be honored is a head of state, or, in older times, a queen.
Perhaps you’ve heard about the first Hindu congresswoman, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard? She is known to be bipartisan, and she follows the path of Bhakti Yoga. Every year on Diwali, (the Indian New Year) she goes online and reads an inspirational message from Bhagavad Gita. She seeks to share uplifting wisdom with the public at large.
In Washington, DC, at an event honoring her election, we met her parents, who also practice Bhakti. Her mother told me that both her daughters are warriors, and both her sons are doing business. Not what one would expect.
Tulsi, who is now running for office of president of the United States, twice served as a soldier in Iraq, carrying a machine gun and she is a devout in her spiritual practice.
Each one of us is like a snowflake. Each one of us is unique, with different gifts given by Krsna, meant to be used for Him, each in our own unique ways.
If I don’t offer my unique God given gifts back to God, then the world will be that much less.
[perfectpullquote align="right" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]Mother Teresa once said: We consider what we are doing to be only drops of water in an ocean. But without our tiny drops, the ocean would be that much less.[/perfectpullquote]
I often think about the great Kuntidevi, the mother of Arjuna, the protagonist of Bhagavad Gita.
She was the queen, and she was a pure devotee of Lord Krsna. She had the right to approach her beloved Krsna’s chariot as He was leaving Hastinapur, to go back to His own city of Dwaraka.
But what if she had stood at the back? What if she had not come forward to offer her extraordinary prayers?
Then the world would have been bereft of hearing her meditation, her words of glorification, and learning from her exemplary devotion.
Srila Prabhupada would sing her prayers in times of difficulty. At the Bhaktivedanta Charity Hospital, in Mumbai, when someone is wheeled into surgery and given anesthetic the last thing they hear piped in to the operating theater is the prayers of Queen Kunti.
In one of her prayers, she says:
“Oh Lord of Sweetness (Krsna), just as the Ganges River forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You, without being diverted to anything else.”
(Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8. 42)
And fourth, what about a brahmini, or the wife of a brahmin, or teacher?
I think of the Yajna Patnis (described in the Tenth Canto, Twenty-third Chapter of Srimad Bhagavatam). The Yajna Patnis are our mothers and gurus of pure devotion. They were most likely illiterate, but their proud husbands knew all the mantras and tantras and yantras of the Vedas…
But what the husbands did not know was that when Krsna, Balaram and the cowherd boys are in the neighborhood and they are hungry that They should immediately be given the results of sacrifice.
Bhoktaram yajna tapasam
sarvaloka mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati (BG 5.29)
Krsna is the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the well wishing friend of all living beings. This verse has been dubbed, The Peace Formula.
The simple wives of the brahmins knew what their highly educated husbands did not know: They had conviction and peace, and they were not afraid to go to Krsna with their offerings. And their husbands cursed themselves afterwards: “To hell with our yajnas, and mantras, and tantras! We were so ignorant that we did not take the opportunity to serve Krsna the way our wives did!”
The beautiful Bhagavatam is all about this kind of role reversal. Bhakti is all about uplifting the small people, the humble people like Prahlada Maharaj, like Sudama brahmin, like the simple cowherd girls of Vrndavan, the greatest devotees on the path of Bhakti.
And number five: Mother Cow. She is the emblem of selfless love. Why is she considered so sacred and important in Vedic culture?
She eats only grass, which grows freely everywhere, transforming it into her own life’s blood in the form of a miracle food - milk, like our own mother’s milk. Milk and ghee and all that’s used to worship Krsna, building finer brain tissues so we can understand more subtle spiritual truths.
In the West, milk has gotten a bad rap, due to factory farming and so many additives, and not knowing that milk is to be taken hot, not cold out of the fridge. And not knowing how the cows are meant to always be protected, and never slaughtered.
She is our gentle mother just seeing her calms the mind. Yet in the dark days of Kali Yuga, like other mothers, she is being abused and killed, although she is so innocent.
And six: The nurse. Maybe our mothers didn’t employ a wet nurse to help her feed us, as they did in older times. But what Lord Viswambhara? Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has a name: Viswambhara. “viswa” means the universe, “amba” means the nurse.
Lord Caitanya, also called Gauranga, is Viswambhara the universal mother who feeds us the nectar of the Holy Name of Krsna. If we will only agree to drink it deeply, knowing that this nectar, this amrita* opens the door to our eternal relationship of love of the Supreme Beloved Person, Lord Sri Krsna.
And finally, number seven. The Sacred Goddess who holds us all, each and every day our Mother Earth.
Her gifts are not a commodity, or even a resource to be objectified or misused out of greed. Where is our gratitude for her shelter, for her bounty with which she nourishes us each day?
It’s said that without gratitude, love is impossible.
[perfectpullquote align="right" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] “Thankfulness is a soil in which pride does not easily grow.” --Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury [/perfectpullquote]
In our Bhakti tradition, there’s a prayer that we say each morning before rising from bed.
samudra vasine devi
parvata sthana mandite
visnupatni namas tubhyam
pada sparsam samastite
Oh Mother Earth! You are holding the oceans and the mountains! You are the wife of Vishnu! Please forgive me for placing my feet on you.
In conclusion, traditional wisdom on the path of Bhakti means to humbly honor our seven mothers:
Our own mother, who is our first guru; our guru on the spiritual path, or the wife of our guru; to honor the head of state or the queen, the wife of a king; to honor a brahmani, a teacher or a wife of a brahmin; to honor our most benevolent mother cow; to the divine nurse who feeds us the nectar of the Holy Name our Lord Viswambhar; and finally our sacred Mother Earth.
Thank you very much!
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
* the Sanskrit word for nectar is amrita. It means the nectar of immortality.
The Crest Jewel of Mad Holy Men
Blog Post, Feb. 17th, 2019
On February 18th, we are celebrating the Appearance of Sri Nityananda, the beloved brotherly associate of Sri Caitanya in His pastimes five hundred years ago. We call it ‘appearance’ because it’s said that liberated personalities don’t take birth the way ordinary people do.
In the Caitanya Bhakti tradition, Sri Caitanya is considered to be a combined form of Sri Radha and Sri Krsna. God is One, but in order to exchange pastimes of love, He expands into two as Radha and Krsna. But then, as Krsna, He finds Himself as a loss He sees that Radha is experiencing more joy in Their relationship than He Himself. Her selfless love in devotion defeats His love. So He appears in a combined form Radha and Krsna combined together as Sri Caitanya. One becomes two, and then one again, and all for the purpose of churning out loving pastimes.
As Sri Caitanya, He appears as an exemplary devotee. He is our teacher, and we learn the heights of loving devotion from Him. As the Caitanya avatar, He has two purposes:
- To teach the chanting of the Holy Names of Lord Krsna without discrimination to anyone and everyone.
- To exhibit Sri Radha’s the unparalleled love for Sri Krsna to the world.
Just as Radha and Krsna exchange in conjugal love, there are other rasas, other tastes of loving exchange.Bhakti exists in relationship. Even God, in His different avatars is worshipping his relationships with devotees as master to servant; friend to friend; child to parent; and lover to beloved.At the time of Sri Caitanya, five hundred years ago, his most extraordinary associate named Sri Nityananda roamed throughout India, until he met up with his beloved Caitanya in Sridham Mayapur, West Bengal when they were both in their youth. When they met, they embraced, and their spontaneous recognition and affection for each other was reawakened.They immediately and ecstatically recognized each other as brothers from their previous incarnations. When He comes as Ram, His beloved brother is Lakshman. When He comes as Krsna, His dearest brother comes as Balarama. When He comes as Sri Caitanya, his brother appears as Sri Nityananda.When God appears in His different avatars, He appears to bless the holy people and bring down those who create disturbance in the world. (See Bhagavad Gita As It Is 4.7 and 4.8)But when He appears as Sri Caitanya, His only purpose is to give compassion without discrimination. But still, His associate Sri Nityananda, is considered to surpass Him in compassionate dealings. His pastimes are most extraordinary- one never knows what he will do next. He is the original guru, who brings us to true understanding of God.He is called ‘Avadhuta Shiromani’, the crest jewel of mad holy men, and we can achieve the mercy of Sri Caitanya by taking shelter of his lotus feet.To read more about Sri Nityananda, please click on this link to see ISKCON News: Nityananda Prabhu- The Embodiment of Compassion If you'd like to find out more about Sri Nityananda and Sri Caitanya, please read Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.All the best,Rukmini Walker
Living In The Season: Winter
~by Susan Weiser Mason
(Rukmini Walker's Sister)
Here in Damariscotta Mills the lake is frozen solid and expansion cracks groan in the frigid night air. The wind is bitter, and if I stay out too long I could put my life at risk.In the world of Five Element Acupuncture every season has an energetic texture that presents opportunities and tasks. What does winter invite, or demand? When days are short, I secure the evening with a fire, a book, a bath, and going to bed early. There is little excess activity, but then my children have grown. When it gets dark, I’m not inclined to leave the nest. For me, surrendering to the constraint of this season is both comforting and nourishing. As I understand it, winter calls us all to replenish our reserves, and that requires rest and self care. It is during this dark time that, drip by drip, somehow my reservoir starts to get filled up again. I remind myself that I must permit this to occur, knowing winter is foundational to the entire cycle of the seasons. I need patience, for changing gears is not without some resistance, but in the end I appreciate winter’s embrace and the opportunity to take refuge.Summer expansion is a well known phenomenon, and not a problem for me. My difficulty arises when I try to live the entire year as though it were summer. To insist on being productive all the time, and filling up every void and silent place is exhausting, especially in January. Depletion need not be the norm. We require adequate reserves. We need gas in the tank! The rest of the year depends on the reservoir we each build up in Winter.Consider the dormancy of trees! What looks like sleep is far more mysterious. It’s closer to a caterpillar’s chrysalis undergoing a wondrous transformation. Something powerful is at work here that’s not immediately apparent, and it’s at work in us, too! In time, the tree will be coiled and ready for the exuberant surge of Spring. How about us?In closing, I need to mention how anxiety can be an undercurrent that accompanies Winter. It may feel like an anticipatory fear that is alert to all things that could go wrong or come undone. Winter can amplify these feelings because it demands that we let go, and sit in a place of not knowing. But if this anxiety is left unchecked it can keep us spinning and derail our ability to settle into the essential task of winter, which is to rest and restore.On top of this, we now have an ambient anxiety floating around due in part to the unsettled and uncivil political landscape that promotes fear in order to disorient and manipulate. So protect yourself! Build your reserves and get strong! How else can you prepare to meet the challenge? Of course this ambient anxiety is not new. It has been the constant companion of marginalized peoples for centuries. But now that so many more of us are feeling threatened, surprise, it’s suddenly urgent. We are all living with the consequences of imbalance, and that tends to cause greater imbalance. Modest as it may seem, living intentionally in the seasons begins the real work of turning that imbalance towards the promise of health, for each of us and for our dear planet.
Susan Weiser Mason has been practicing Traditional Acupuncture in Midcoast Maine for twenty seven years. Susan earned a Master’s of Acupuncture degree from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute (now called Maryland University of Integrative Health). In 1986, she opened her Traditional Acupuncture private practice in Bath, Maine and moved to Nobleboro in 1989. She earned an advanced degree from the College for Traditional Acupuncture in England in 1989. Susan served on the board of the Maine Association for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for many years and was involved in drafting the Maine Acupuncture Law in 1990. Since 1998, she has served on the teaching faculty of the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Gainsville, Florida. Learn more about her on her website here, or call #207-563-1571.
The Most Intelligent Petitioner
Anxiety attacks and breakdowns are a normal part of human life. No matter how sagacious, equipoised, tranquil, unimpassioned, silent and serene we appear on the outside, we all know that the world and its ruthless ways will one day drive us crazy and unsettle our minds to let all hell break loose.The Śrīmad-bhāgavatam (10.1.17 - 18) tells us that Mother Earth too once experienced a great anxiety attack when she was overburdened with demoniac kings who were hell bent on exploiting her resources. Taking the form of a helpless cow, she approached Lord Brahmā for protection.The poet Harisūri is never tired of asking the most important question — Why?Why did Mother Earth approach Brahmā? She is in fact one of the consorts of Lord Viṣṇu along with Lakṣmī devī. Why did she not directly approach her husband? What benefit would she gain by approaching Lord Brahmā?Harisūri composes a beautiful verse to intelligently answer his own question. His verse is as follows:
प्रेयानप्यनिशंवशोऽपिनितरांशान्तोऽपिकान्तःसुतंद्वारीकृत्यतदन्तरङ्गमिहसंप्रार्थ्योनजातुस्वतः।सत्स्त्रीलक्षणमेतदित्यविकलंप्रख्यापयित्रीतदाधात्रीसात्मभुवंययौप्रथमतस्तत्साधुमन्यामहे॥
(Sing like ṣaḍ-gosvāmy aṣṭakam):preyān apy aniśaṁ vaśo 'pi nitarāṁ śānto 'pi kāntaḥ sutaṁdvārīkṛtya tad-antaraṅgam iha saṁprārthyo na jātu svataḥsat-strī-lakṣaṇam etad ity avikalaṁ prakhyāpayitrī tadādhātrī sātma-bhuvaṁ yayau prathamatas tat sādhu manyāmahe
Translation: [Mother Earth thought], "Although Lord Viṣṇu is my beloved husband; although he is extremely calm in nature and submissive to all my desires, yet [Brahmā is born from his navel and thus he is like a son to him as well as to me. Therefore, it would be wise to] keep our affectionate son in front of me to speak on my behalf instead of praying directly to the Lord."
I [Harisūri] think that Mother Earth showed the characteristics of an extremely intelligent woman when she first approached Brahmā in this manner.— Bhakti-rasāyanam of Harisūri on Śrīmad-bhāgavatam (10.1.17). Translation by Hari Pārṣada Dāsa.PS: In other words, there is always a small chance that even a well-natured husband may deny a request made directly by the wife to him. However, when the child comes to his father and narrates the pain of his mother, the father feels an additional pressure of living up to the expectations of the son as well as the wife and the chances of refusing the request is almost nullified. What then to speak of a child who will narrate the distress of his mother through his four mouths? It was thus a wise strategy for Mother Earth to narrate her distress through the via-medium of Lord Brahmā. All the best,Rukmini Walker
You are a Person Filled with Unlimited Love
~from a lecture by Sacinandana Swami in Almviks Gard, Sweden, August 3rd, 2018.
Sacinandana Swami has been a monk in the bhakti tradition for 42 years. With a highly developed divine feminine side than most, He is known for his significant contribution to the practice of contemplation and meditation for modern practitioners of bhakti. Sacinandana Swami has published numerous books and CDs, and offers an array of retreats and seminars. Thousands of enthusiastic singers and dancers visit his kirtanconcerts. He teaches at the Vrindavana Institute for Higher Education in India and the Bhaktivedanta College in Belgium. The Sleeping Full-Moon Beauty of Vrindavan
The nature of Krishna's spiritual pastimes is such that every step is a dance, every word is a song and every action has multiple layers of meanings in it. Glorious are poets like Śrī Harisūri who reveal to us these immensely deep meanings even in those activities of the Lord that may appear to have no deeper meaning.
The Śrīmad-bhāgavatam (Canto 10, Chapter 7) describes how Krishna was an infant and how he started rising up and turning around on his back at the age of three months. When Mother Yashoda saw this, she immediately arranged for a festival with the help of all the ladies of Vrindavan.In verse number (10.7.5), the Bhāgavatam describes how Mother Yashoda bathed baby Krishna on that day and then received all the guests beginning with the brāhmaṇas. All these guests brought many wonderful gifts for Krishna, but the transcendental autocrat that he is, he decided to pretend to fall asleep at that very moment and almost closed his eyes.Usually, it is considered rude for a host to fall asleep in front of a guest, but our devotee poet Harisūri describes the reason why the Lord chose to act half-asleep even after having taken a fresh bath. Harisūri says:[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]शिष्टाचार इतीदृगित्युपगतप्रज्ञो जनो मामयं स्नेहार्द्रं कुरुतेऽथवाऽनुपधिकं प्रेमर्धिकामो मयि । आस्ते इत्यपहाय कार्यमपरं पश्यामि तूष्णीं किमि- त्यासीन्मीलितदृक् शयालुरिव तत्सत्यावगत्यै प्रभुः ॥ . (Sing like ṣaḍ-gosvāmy aṣṭakam): śiṣṭācāra itīdṛg ity upagata-prajño jano mām ayaṁ snehārdraṁ kurute 'thavā 'nupadhikaṁ premardhi-kāmo mayi āste ity apahāya kāryam aparaṁ paśyāmi tūṣṇīṁ kim ity āsīn mīlita-dṛk śayālur iva tat-satyāvagatyai prabhuḥ[/perfectpullquote][The Lord thought], "All these people are showering their affection on me. Is it because they are following a social convention for the sake of formality, or is it because they desire to increase their causeless love towards me? Giving up all other activities, I wish to remain quiet and evaluate their mood."Thus, in order to determine the true intention of the guests, the Lord partially closed his eyes, as if he was sleeping.— Bhakti-rasāyanam of Harisūri on Śrīmad-bhāgavatam (10.7.5). Translation by Hari Parshad Das.PS: In other words, a truly affectionate person will express affection even if their beloved is sleeping. Others who have come just for the sake of formality will notice the sleeping person and will use it as an excuse to not express any feelings.
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
Help Me Meet You
-by Acyuta Gopi
Someone can love you with all their heart and still, not be ready to meet you on the bridge. That place where soulmates meet and join hands to make it to the other side of life, both better for the experience.I have heard that opinion over and over again. And yet...everyday You wait for me on the bridge. The bridge between what I have always done, and a new life, a new existence with You. Everyday You show up and wait. Sometimes You pace, sometimes You check the time in the rising and setting of the sun, sometimes You play an enticing tune on Your constant companion, somehow hoping to lure me closer and closer to “our spot”. But everyday, You are there.Some days, I walk past, hidden by shadows and camouflaged by lifetimes of conditioning. Some days I almost get there, but I get ensnared by the vines of a million different desires, only to be mercilessly pricked by the innumerable thorns of disappointments which follow. Sometimes I get tangled in the web of never ending karma, wondering what my duty is, and what I should and should not do. Some days I am restrained by the prison bars of rules. Some days I am detained by intelligence of all things! Intelligence which tells me, like a disapproving family member, that I am me, and You are You, and that we have our separate paths to walk. That I have my separate path to walk. That I must find my way without You.But some days.... I escape.And on those days...I get so close to the bridge I can almost see You. The silhouette of Your form calling out to me with a beloved’s caress, the song of Your mercy leading me with a gentle tendril around my arm. Some days I am so close I can almost smell the intoxicating aroma which can only belong to You. Some days I am so close....But...someone can love You with all their heart and soul, and somehow, still, they are unable to meet You on the bridge.With countless tears in my eyes that spring from the very depths of my soul I am telling You that I know it is out of my hands. The power to meet You on our bridge lies only with You. I can only make it but so far. I can only take so many steps. I am depending on You to bridge the gap between us, hold tight to me, and pull me the rest of the way. Drag me if You must! I know I’m stubborn. I know I barely listen. I know! So I am depending on You.Help me meet You there. Help me meet You.Photograph by Catherine Schweig (Krishna Kanta)
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"For as long as I can remember, Kirtan or the Bhakti Yoga practice of mantra meditation through music has been the focus of my life. The art of writing soon took up residence in the spaces of my heart not occupied by music, and the transformative power of prayer soon followed suit. With the blessings of my family and my teachers, I have had the amazing fortune to travel the world singing, writing, and witnessing those heart transformations that I love so much, first hand. I can honestly say that conducting workshops, classes and seminars on kirtan has absolutely changed my life for the better, and I can't think of a better way to live. Now along with my family, I've focused my efforts on the NYC community and pouring my heart into the beautiful practices of Kirtan, writing, and the incredibly transformative tradition of Bhakti Yoga." -- Acyuta Gopi
My Devotion
The Sri Sri Corastakam
by Bilvamangala Thakur
(This ashtaka, or eight stanza poem, is recited, or sung, in the poetic meter known as “Upajati”.)
(1)
vraje prasiddham navanita-cauramgopangananam ca dukula-cauramaneka-janmarjita-papa-cauramcauragraganyam purusham namami
I offer pranama to that foremost of thieves – who is famous in Vraja as the butterthief 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.
(2)
shri radhikaya hridayasya cauramnavambuda-shyamala-kanti-caurampadashritanam ca samasta-cauramcauragraganyam purusham namami
I offer pranama to the foremost of thieves – who steals Shrimati 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.
(3)
akincani-kritya padashritam yahkaroti bhikshum pathi geha-hinamkenapy aho bhishana-caura idrigdrishtah-shruto va na jagat-traye ’pi
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.
(4)
yadiya namapi haraty asheshamgiri-prasaran api papa-rashinashcarya-rupo nanu caura idrigdrishtah shruto va na maya kadapi
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!
(5)
dhanam ca manam ca tathendriyanipranamsh ca hritva mama sarvam evapalayase kutra dhrito ’dya cauratvam bhakti-damnasi maya niruddhah
O Thief! Having stolen my wealth, my honour, my senses, my life and my everything, where can You run to? I have caught You with the rope of my devotion.
(6)
chinatsi ghoram yama-pasha-bandhambhinatsi bhimam bhava-pasha-bandhamchinatsi sarvasya samasta-bandhamnaivatmano bhakta-kritam tu bandham
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.
(7)
man-manase tamasa-rashi-ghorekaragrihe duhkha-maye nibaddhahlabhasva he caura! hare! cirayasva-caurya-doshocitam eva dandam
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 very long time You will remain, receiving appropriate punishment for Your crimes of thievery!
(8)
karagrihe vasa sada hridaye madiyemad-bhakti-pasha-dridha-bandhana-nishcalah santvam krishna he! pralaya-koti-shatantare ’pisarvasva-caura! hridayan na hi mocayami
O Krishna, 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.
A Mystical Place
December 5, 2018
--Rukmini Walker
Some of these are photos from yesterday's parikram around Holy Govardhan Hill, which is 14 miles or approximately 22.5 kilometers.
Govardhan is called, The One Who Fulfills All Desires.A very mystical place of the pastimes of Radha and Krsna in Their secret caves, lakes and gardens.
Humble devotees worship this place remembering Them by circumambulating around the hill-some while offering repeated "dandavat" (flat on the ground like a stick) obeisances around the hill.
Profound humility in devotion!
Waiting
by ELAINE MANSFIELD
I watch as green jewels with gold flecks wait to become butterflies. Two Monarchs pause in their chrysalises. I check them many times a day, hoping to see darkening, hoping for orange wings to show through the chrysalis skin, hoping they’ll make it out of here in warmth and sunshine, hoping they’ll fly all the way to Mexico to join their tribe. Two others emerged, but I can’t release them. We wait together. It’s 50 degrees with thick fog between periods of hard rain. A Monarch needs 60 degrees and a partly sunny day to warm its wings, sip a little nectar, and head south. We’ll wait for a warmer day. Until then, I’ll feed them organic fruit jam. Then, I’ll wait for the last two stragglers to emerge.I waited for the right man to appear when I was 20 and in love with love. I didn’t know who I was waiting for. I hoped I’d know love when it appeared. I got lucky.[perfectpullquote align="right" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]
[/perfectpullquote][perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]My husband Vic hovered over me as though I was a darkened chrysalis and our baby was a butterfly.[/perfectpullquote] I waited for signs of birth when there wasn’t enough room in my skin to hold two bodies. I waited for the first weak contractions to become strong and fast so that we could go to the hospital for a natural delivery. “You’re only three centimeters dilated,” the nurse said when we got there. We waited all night as my body worked on its own schedule. My husband Vic hovered over me as though I was a darkened chrysalis and our baby was a butterfly.[perfectpullquote align="left" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]
[/perfectpullquote]I lay awake waiting for my teenage sons to arrive home when they were late. I watched at the window for Vic’s headlights when the roads were slippery on a snowy night.I waited for Vic’s death, hoping it would never come, wishing it would come faster. I waited for his release, and my mother’s, my brother’s, and mother-in-law’s. I hoped the transitions would be smooth and gentle, hoped the dying one would let go like a butterfly and move toward a destiny I could only imagine.It was never up to me.I learned more about waiting when Vic and I spent six weeks in Switzerland with Paul Brunton, a philosopher, writer, and wise human being. In his 80s then, I was honored to prepare food he enjoyed, help him organize his office, and cut his hair. I loved sitting with him in silence in a church in Lausanne after eating at a vegan restaurant where the soup had to be sent back to the kitchen for heating. PB, as we called him, waited patiently. The onion-scented soup wasn’t steaming when it arrived, so PB settled for lukewarm.PB, in his 80s, struggled with French vocabulary although he’d once been fluent. Vic and I didn’t speak French, so we misread the train schedule and missed our train back to Montreux.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]“Don’t be sorry,” PB said. “Waiting is an opportunity to turn inward, to find a moment’s silence, to meditate.”[/perfectpullquote]“We’ll have to wait a few hours,” Vic said. “I’m sorry, PB.” We knew he was tired.“Don’t be sorry,” PB said. “Waiting is an opportunity to turn inward, to find a moment’s silence, to meditate. Let’s be quiet and enjoy our wait.”[perfectpullquote align="right" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]
[/perfectpullquote]I remembered that moment later when life forced more pauses. Don’t get agitated when the machine breaks down during Vic’s CAT scan. Don’t be impatient while waiting for his white blood cells to soar after a stem cell transplant. Don’t expect to be in charge of life and deatWatch and observe. Take a deep breath. Pause.Be still. Have faith.Notice that ray of light breaking through the clouds. Notice the Monarch’s wings flutter as it tastes the jam.I wait for political transformation. I wait for human beings to face climate change and our unhealthy romance with fear and cruelty. I wait for sane and moral politicians with high ideals. I wait with no idea what will happen next or if it’s even possible to redeem ourselves.I wait, grateful for my small kingdom of butterflies and wildflowers. I take the last gladiola of the season to Vic’s gravesite. I admire the quiet Monarch waiting for its time to fly.
Elaine Mansfield’s book Leaning into Love: A Spiritual Journey through Grief won the 2015 Independent Publishers Book Award Gold Medal for Aging, Death, and Dying. Her TEDx talk is “Good Grief! What I Learned from Loss.” Elaine facilitates workshops, volunteers with hospice, spends time in the forest, and writes a blog at her website elainemansfield.com.
Living in the Season: Fall
By Susan Weiser Mason
(Rukmini Walker's sister)
Here in Damariscotta Mills, there have been a few big blows that have shaken down the deadwood, and the lawn is now strewn with kindling. I see muted colors melding all around me, creating a warm-toned blanket on the landscape of Fall. I admire the poise of this season as it goes about the task of letting go, squarely facing the inevitable, secure in the appropriateness of surrender.Sunlight angles more sharply and with great articulation. The architecture of trees is increasingly evident. In this season the fundamentals are revealed. What warmth remains is appreciated, in part because this could be the last gentle day before Winter sets in. We receive these final offerings with a degree of reverence distinct to this time of year.The harvest is in. Has there been one for you; real or metaphoric? Is the garden put to bed? Is the wood in? Are you ready?The season is patient but precise. Our intellect may wish to negotiate, to extend, but the Fall is not really negotiable. If it were there would be no renewal.It is easy to become rigid in this season, focusing on what’s been left undone, the many ways we are unprepared, and how the impending season is not secure. We may feel we have not put our house in order, and it is hard to let go. We may ache for the health of the planet and insist on remaining ever vigilant.Yet the wisdom of the in-flight attendant rings true; ‘Place the mask over your own face and then help place the mask over the face of your loved one’. We must care for ourselves if we are to care for those we love. The unattended tasks will not be resolved over the weekend. This is, after all, a marathon and not a sprint. Conserve for the work ahead. Prepare by taking into account the need for rest and renewal. The season’s message is to let go, and to trust that letting go is not giving up. We are part of the cycle of the seasons, and that includes the great shake down of Fall. And decline and stillness are the mothers of Spring.Think seasons, not news cycles. The brittle, anxious, fearful, ungrounded quality of the time can leave us vulnerable to manipulation. This cacophony lives alongside the steady flow of our rivers, the breathing of the tides, and the supple swaying of trees. The natural world is a prayer and we belong to it. Our drama can obscure the reality of how the planet functions with a unitary wisdom. We are not exempt from natures logic or consequences. We are no different than the leaves that settle in a halo of warm-tones on the ground. The challenge for us is to follow the lead of the tree, noting how it’s leaves let go at the right time, effortlessly. Can we struggle less with what is inevitable, and accept there is a time to release and let ourselves fall, trusting, into the arms of the unknown.
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Susan Weiser Mason has been practicing Traditional Acupuncture in Midcoast Maine for twenty seven years. Susan earned a Master’s of Acupuncture degree from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute (now called Maryland University of Integrative Health). In 1986, she opened her Traditional Acupuncture private practice in Bath, Maine and moved to Nobleboro in 1989. She earned an advanced degree from the College for Traditional Acupuncture in England in 1989. Susan served on the board of the Maine Association for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for many years and was involved in drafting the Maine Acupuncture Law in 1990. Since 1998, she has served on the teaching faculty of the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Gainsville, Florida. Learn more about her on her website here, or call #207-563-1571.
Sri Radha: The Original Rural Devi
Yesterday was Radhastami, the holy Appearance Day of Sri Radha, the original feminine goddess- you might say, the “better half”, of Lord Sri Krishna, the original Supreme masculine Person.
Today I’m writing to you from the beautiful and magnificent city of St. Petersburg in Russia. The Russians say that the people here are more cultured and refined than people in other parts of Russia.
Yesterday, on Radhasthami, I remembered how Lord Krishna lived in the magnificent city of Dwaraka, after leaving the simple village of Vrndavan. Amidst the opulence of Dwaraka, He was longing for the simple village life, and the love of the unsophisticated residents there, especially Sri Radha and her cowherd friends, the Gopis.
Radha’s love is considered the pinnacle of selfless love. Saints beg for her compassionate sidelong glance. Lord Krishna is her property. By her mercy, she has the power to give Him to you.
When Srila Prabhupada first arrived in the Boston Harbor in 1965, as he stood on the dock, he remembered Sri Radha in a poem he wrote there:
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]“O Friends! The Supreme Lord Krishna will bestow virtue upon you—but He will only do this when Srimati Radharani first becomes pleased with you. This I declare to you!”[/perfectpullquote]
On Radhasthami each year, and every day, place your prayer in Radha's hand and ask her to recommend you to Lord Krishna. We are all unqualified in a myriad of ways, but she will ask Him to accept you. She will tell Him that you are better than she is, and ask Him to please accept you. This is her causeless grace.
Jai Sri Radha!
All the best,
Rukmini Walker
The Thread of Life
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""] “We were the people who knew how to say thank you” Robin Wall Kimmerer [/perfectpullquote]For the last few days my husband and I have been visiting my sister Susan and her husband, George, who live in Damariscotta, Maine. There is a reverence for nature here as they live very close to the earth and the seasons. There’s water in every direction: the ocean, Great Salt Bay, many ponds, or the nearby Damariscotta Lake with the neighborhood swimming hole.Nature is at her source divine. Sri Radha is the pleasure-giving energy of Lord Krsna. She expands as the Goddess of the Earth, Bhumidevi, and as holy rivers like the Ganges, the Yamuna, and all life-sustaining bodies of water. In remembering our Source, there is reciprocity and nature regains her luminous divine dimension.When we forget that divine connectivity and try to harness nature for our separate and selfish purposes, she sometimes unleashes her divine fury.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]The gifts we’ve been offered for our abundance—the bounty of the earth, the water, the pure air we breathe—are meant to be offered back to their Source, in gratitude.[/perfectpullquote]Every living being has the same divine quality as our Source, but in a tiny quantity, as a tiny salty drop of ocean water has the same wetness and saltiness as the great ocean. If we can recall that connection, and say thank you, then Nature regains the luminosity it always had. The luminosity we did not see, because we were under the illusion of possessiveness.Every gift we give is a gift that had been given to us before. Like a child who picks a flower from her mother’s garden to give her mother a gift in love.Offering Nature’s gifts back to her Source connects the Thread of Life circle and blesses the giver, recipient, and the gifts. By acting in generosity and reciprocity all parts of the cycle are both blessed and become themselves a blessing.The string of islands I observed today is called the Thread of Life. These islands are a refuge for seals, cormorants, osprey, and gulls. None of us are islands unto ourselves; we are all knowingly or unknowingly somehow connected to the thread of life.
Once I heard a story about Srila Prabhupada’s guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. A man came to him and audaciously declared, “I have seen God! I have seen Krsna!”The Thakur replied, in seeming innocence and humility, yet in deep wisdom: “Oh, and did you also see His energy?”His point was that Krsna is always accompanied by His energy. To see Him in truth would be to see Him also accompanied by His energy.[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]For example, did you know that when we say OM, or AUM, we are addressing in the “A”: Supreme Source of us all, Sri Krsna; in the :”U”: His beloved divine feminine energy, Sri Radha; and in the “M”: all living beings, ourselves, the animal world, the trees and plant world, and the earth. [/perfectpullquote]In reciprocity, we can complete the circle of the Thread of Life by offering the gifts we receive each day back to our Source in conscious remembrance.
All the best,
Rukmini Walker