Sunday, November 22, 2009

Hello there

Radhe Radhe!

It's been a while since I posted anything. Since I've moved to the East Coast, fall really seems to affect me and I've become more reclusive and more introspective this year than most.

I also haven't written because I don't seem to have a voice right now. I'm in a quandary and haven't resolved it. Living and working among people I don't identify with has always been a problem, but at least in California there was some understanding and support. Here, there really isn't. I feel very alone. My days are filled with nothing. The image of being in a boat floating in the mist describes it.

Jagat posted these the other day:

Like a mirror, a person takes on the qualities of those with whom he comes in contact. One who is intelligent should therefore seek the company of those who have the same ideals in order to develop their good qualities in himself. (HBS 8.51, BRS 1.2.229).
One may possess high birth and learning; and he may meditate on his mantra and perform austerities. Nevertheless, if he is devoid of devotion to the Lord, these things are as useless as beautiful decorations on a dead body. (HBS 3.11, CC 2.19.75)
When will that day be mine?
With no offenses, and the taste increasing,

When will Your mercy shine in my heart?

When will that day be mine?
-Bhaktivinode Thakur
.
.

.

.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Friday, August 14, 2009

Jaya Radhe Shyama!




Still can't find my camera so I took these with my computer. They're a little fuzzy, but you get the idea. Janmashtami ki jaya. Jaya Srila Prabhupada. Jaya Radhe Radhe Shyaaaaaaam!
.
.
.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Women's Eyes


Found some copied poetry in an old journal.
They're from
Women's Eyes
--Being verses translated from the Sanskrit
,
by Arthur William Ryder, 1910.
(You can read a copy of the original book here.)
They were originally written
by Bhartrihari, 5th century, in Ujjain.
He is known as a philosopher, poet, and king.
He suffered from an unfaithful wife
and so his poetry shows some disdain for women;
but, he really writes about love . . .
and other things in life.
I'm sure that Ryder takes some liberties,
especially to make the rhymes, but they're still nice.
These are some of my favorites.


p. 6
A diamond you may draw from an alligator's jaw;
You may cross the raging ocean like a pool;
A cobra you may wear like a blossom in your hair;
But you never can convince a stubborn fool.

p. 86
The wise misogynist, poor soul,
To self-deceit is given;
For heaven rewards his self-control,
And women swarm in heaven.

p. 11
When I knew a little bit,
Then my silly, blinded wit,
Mad as elephants in rut,
Thought it was omniscient; but,
When I learned a little more
From the scholar's hoarded store,
Madness' fever soon grew cool,
And I knew I was a fool.

p. 78
The classic poets make a great mistake;
Forever of the weaker sex they speak;
When gods are subjugated for the sake
Of starry glances, are the women weak?
.
.
.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day


Here in the US it's Memorial Day, a day to remember the fallen heroes of wars past. My family has certainly paid it's debt to the country through military service. As the daughter, sister, and niece of decorated heroes, it is a difficult duty for me to embrace. Their service changed them in so many ways and often left them unable to live lives of happiness, always haunted by death and tragedy. The fallout of these tragedies has affected us all. My daughter asked me the other day how I could be a devotee and oppose war, since Lord Krsna's instruction to Sri Arjuna was to fight. I told her that I would not engage in war, even if Krsna asked me. She was skeptical.

So, on Memorial Day, I remember my heroes--my father, brother, and uncles--and their wives and families. I also remember the heroes of the Mahabharata and their wives and families. It is a powerful duty, a courageous service. It is lamentable that it has to exist.

Here is an excert from Mahabharata, Stri Parva, where Gandhari laments the loss of her sons.
[Book 11: Stri Parva: Stri-vilapa-parva: Section 16
From: http://www.shyamasundaradasa.com/jyotish/resources/downloads.html]

It's a very dense text, so I've separated each sentence for easier reading. It's very sobering.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Vaishampayana said, "Having said these words, Gandhari, though staying on that spot which was distant from the field of battle, beheld, with her spiritual eye, the slaughter of the Kurus.

Devoted to her lord, that highly blessed lady had always practiced high vows.

Undergoing the severest penances, she was always truthful in her speech.

In consequence of the gift of the boon by the great rishi Vyasa of sanctified deeds, she became possessed of spiritual knowledge and power.

Piteous were the lamentations in which that dame then indulged.

Endued with great intelligence, the Kuru dame saw, from a distance, but as if from a near point, that field of battle, terrible to behold and full of wonderful sights, of those foremost of fighters.

Scattered all over with bones and hair, and covered with streams of blood, that field was strewn with thousands upon thousands of dead bodies on every side.

Covered with the blood of elephants and horses and car-warriors and combatants of other kinds, it teemed with headless trunks and trunkless heads.

And it resounded with the cries of elephants and steeds and men and women and abounded with jackals and cranes and ravens and kankas and crows.

And it was the sporting ground of rakshasas subsisting on human flesh.

And it swarmed with ospreys and vultures and resounded with the inauspicious howls of jackals.

Then king Dhritarashtra, at the command of Vyasa, and all the sons of Pandu with Yudhishthira at their head, with Vasudeva and all the Kuru ladies, proceeded to the field of battle.

Those ladies, bereaved of their lords, having reached Kurukshetra, beheld their slain brothers and sons and sires and husbands lying on the ground, and in course of being devoured by beasts of prey and wolves and ravens and crows and ghosts and pishacas and rakshasas and diverse other wanderers of the night.

Beholding that carnage which resembled the sights seen on the sporting ground of Rudra, the ladies uttered loud shrieks and quickly alighted from their costly vehicles.

Witnessing sights the like of which they had never before witnessed, the Bharata ladies felt their limbs to be deprived of strength and fell down on the ground.

Others became so stupefied that they lost all their senses.

Indeed, the Pancala and the Kuru ladies were plunged into unutterable distress.

Beholding that dreadful field of battle resounding on every direction with the cries of those grief-stricken ladies, the daughter of Subala, acquainted with every duty, addressed the lotus-eyed Keshava, that foremost of all men.

Witnessing that universal slaughter of the Kurus and filled with grief at the sight, she said these words: ‘Behold, O lotus-eyed Madhava, these daughters-in-law of mine!

Deprived of their lords, they are uttering, with disheveled hair, piteous cries of woe like a flight of she-ospreys.

Meeting with those dead bodies, they are calling back to their memories the great Bharata chiefs.

They are running hither and thither in large bands towards their sons and brothers and sires and husbands.

Behold, O mighty-armed one, the field is covered with mothers of heroes, all of whom, however, have been bereaved of children.

There, those portions again are covered with spouses of heroes, who have, however, been bereaved of their spouses!

Behold, the field of battle is adorned with those tigers among men, Bhishma and Karna and Abhimanyu and Drona and Drupada and Shalya, as if with blazing fires.

Behold, it is adorned also with the golden coats of mail, and with the costly gems, of high-souled warriors, and with their angadas, and keyuras and garlands.

Behold, it is strewn with darts and spiked clubs hurled by heroic hands, and swords and diverse kinds of keen shafts and bows.

Beasts of prey, assembled together, are standing or sporting or lying down as it likes them! Behold, O puissant hero, the field of battle is even such.

At this sight, O Janardana, I am burning with grief.

In the destruction of the Pancalas and the Kurus, O slayer of Madhu, I think, the five elements (of which everything is made) have been destroyed.

Fierce vultures and other birds, in thousands, are dragging those blood-dyed bodies, and seizing them by their armor, are devouring them.

Who is there that could think of the death of such heroes as Jayadratha and Karna and Drona and Bhishma and Abhimanyu?

Alas, though incapable of being slain, they have yet been slain, O destroyer of Madhu!

Behold, vultures and kankas and ravens and hawks and dogs and jackals are feasting upon them.

There, those tigers among men, that fought on Duryodhana’s side, and took the field in wrath, are now lying like extinguished fires.

All of them are worthy of sleeping on soft and clean beds.

But, alas, plunged into distress, they are sleeping today on the bare ground.

Bards reciting their praises used to delight them before at proper times.

They are now listening to the fierce and inauspicious cries of jackals.

Those illustrious heroes who used formerly to sleep on costly beds with their limbs smeared with sandal paste and powdered aloe, alas, now sleep on the dust!

These vultures and wolves and ravens have now become their ornaments.

Repeatedly uttering inauspicious and fierce cries those creatures are now dragging their bodies.

Delighting in battle, those heroes, looking cheerful, have still beside them their keen shafts, well-tempered swords, and bright maces, as if life has not yet departed from them.

Many foremost of heroes, possessed of beauty and fair complexions and adorned with garlands of gold, are sleeping on the ground.

Behold, beasts of prey are dragging and tearing them.

Others, with massive arms, are sleeping with maces in their embrace, as if those were beloved wives.

Others, still cased in amour, are holding in their hands their bright weapons.

Beasts of prey are not mangling them, O Janardana, regarding them to be still alive.

The beautiful garlands of pure gold on the necks of other illustrious heroes, as the latter are being dragged by carnivorous creatures, are scattered about on every side.

There, those fierce wolves, numbering in thousands, are dragging the golden chains round the necks of many illustrious heroes stilled by death.

Many, whom bards well-trained to their work formerly used, with their hymns and eulogies of grave import, to delight every morning, are now surrounded by fair ladies stricken with grief and weeping and crying around them in woe, O tiger of Vrishni’s race!

The faces of those beautiful ladies, O Keshava, though pale, look resplendent still, like an assemblage of red lotuses!

Those Kuru ladies have ceased to weep, with their respective followers and companions.

They are all filled with anxiety.

Overwhelmed with sorrow, they are running hither and thither.

The faces of those fair ones have, with weeping and anger, become resplendent as the morning sun or gold or burnished copper.

Hearing each other’s lamentations of incomplete sense, those ladies, in consequence of the loud wails of woe bursting from every side, are unable to catch each other’s meaning.

Some amongst them, drawing long sighs and indulging in repeated lamentations, are stupefied by grief and are abandoning their life-breaths.

Many of them, beholding the bodies (of their sons, husbands, or sires), are weeping and setting up loud wails.

Others are striking their heads with their own soft hands.

The earth, strewn with severed heads and hands and other limbs mingled together and gathered in large heaps, looks resplendent with these signs of havoc!

Beholding many headless trunks of great beauty, and many heads without trunks, those fair ones have been lying senseless on the ground for a long while.

Uniting particular heads with particular trunks, those ladies, senseless with grief, are again discovering their mistakes and saying, "This is not this one’s," and are weeping more bitterly!

Others, uniting arms and thighs and feet, cut off with shafts, are giving way to grief and losing their senses repeatedly (at the sight of the restored forms).

Some amongst the Bharata ladies, beholding the bodies of their lords, —bodies that have been mangled by animals and birds and severed of their heads—are not succeeding in recognizing them.

Others, beholding their brothers, sires, sons, and husbands slain by foes, are, O destroyer of Madhu, striking their heads with their own hands.

Miry with flesh and blood, the Earth has become impassable with arms still holding swords in their grasp, and with heads adorned with earrings.

Beholding the field strewn with their brothers and sires, and sons, those faultless ladies, who had never before suffered the least distress, are now plunged into unutterable woe.

Behold, O Janardana, those numerous bevies of Dhritarashtra’s daughters-in-law, resembling successive multitudes of handsome fillies adorned with excellent manes!

What, O Keshava, can be a sadder spectacle for me to behold than that presented by those ladies of fair forms who have assumed such an aspect?

Without doubt, I must have perpetrated great sins in my former lives, since I am beholding, O Keshava, my sons and grandsons and brothers all slain by foes."
.
.
.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

It can wait


Sorry I haven't written anything lately. There was a tragic death at school, the funeral was today. I'll write some more about it later.

Just got a comment from Madhumati dasi about pictures. Wanted to point everyone toward some new pictures posted at RadhaShyamasundara.com. Chandana festival, too cute! Sometimes I think They look like They've been playing in the mud.





But wait, what about the boat festival! I love the water in this picture.

Death can wait. Thanks Madhumati.
.
.
.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

kabir



I've been having dinner parties again at my place. I love it. I invite my friends over every week for dinner and kirtan and we have fun. I make a couple of things--last week it was macaroni and cheese, and then some apple crisp--then people bring whatever they want to add to it. We had spinach and strawberry salad, a mixed vegetable salad, apple chutney, coconut chutney, sweet rice, and different juices to drink. Then a sweet little kirtan. But, mostly it's us sitting around the table talking, playing with the babies, seeing what everyone's been doing, how far the basement renovations have gotten, the newest healthy drinks, laughing, crying, and, for me, being thankful to be with such nice people. In our hustle bustle world, it's important to sit with friends and share some time with them. Ours is a personal philosophy in more ways than one.

Next week there's a Kabir Festival at Princeton University. Starts off with a film festival on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it's Prahlad Singh Tipanya, Musical Concert in Folk, Sufi, and Classical Styles. The films are on Tuesday, our regular dinner party night. So, I'm making chocolate cake to go! We think there will be food there, but, if not, I'll make brown bag dinners for anyone who want to meet us. I was surprised that some of my friends didn't know about Kabir. His poetry is so wonderful.

I was recently writing about poetry the other day to a devotee. For me, poetry often captures thoughts and feelings better than explanations. It's a lot like Sanskrit--writing about things that can't be explained, feelings that can't be transmitted, people you can't see, in a language that has multiple meanings. If it transports you, you've found it. If you don't get it, you don't get it. Our words aren't the thing, they're explanations used to capture that thing we're trying to express. Except, of course, words brought to us from Krsna, words that are Him--Radhe Syama!

I can't find my Bijak of Kabir, translated by Linda Hess--must still be in a box somewhere--but here are a couple of his poems I've gleaned from the Internet. These are from Poet Seekers.

My body and my mind...

My body and my mind are in depression because
You are not with me.
How much I love you and want you in my house!
When I hear people describe me as your bride
I look sideways ashamed,
because I know that far inside us we have never met.
Then what is this love of mine?
I don’t really care about food, I don’t really care about sleep,
I am restless indoors and outdoors.
The bride wants her lover as much as a thirsty man wants water.
And how will I find someone who will take a message
to the Guest from me?
How restless Kabir is all the time!
How much he wants to see the Guest!

The Bhakti Path

The bhakti path winds in a delicate way.
On this path there is no asking and no not asking.
The ego simply disappears the moment you touch him.
The joy of looking for him is so immense that you just dive in,
and coast around like a fish in the water.
If anyone needs a head, the lover leaps up to offer his.

Earthen Vessel

Within this earthen vessel are bowers and groves, and within it is the Creator:
Within this vessel are the seven oceans and the unnumbered stars.
The touchstone and the jewel-appraiser are within;
and within this vessel the Eternal soundeth, and the spring wells up.
Kabir says: "Listen to me, my Friend! My beloved Lord is within."

Secret

O HOW may I ever express that secret word?
O how can I say He is not like this, and He is like that?
If I say that He is within me, the universe is ashamed:
If I say that He is without me, it is falsehood.
He makes the inner and the outer worlds to be indivisibly one;
The conscious and the unconscious, both are His footstools.
He is neither manifest nor hidden, He is neither revealed nor unrevealed:
There are no words to tell that which He is.

Wake Up

Friends wake up
why do you go on sleeping?
The night is over--do you want to lose the day the same way?
Other women who managed to get up early
have already found an elephant or a jewel...
so much was lost already while you slept...
and that was so unnecessary.

The one who loves you understood, but you did not.
You forgot to make a place in your bed next to you.
Instead you spent your life playing.
In your twenties you did not grow
because you did not know who your Lord was.
Wake up! Wake up! There's no one in your bed--
He left you during the long night.

Kabir says: The only woman awake
is the woman who has heard the flute.

.
.
.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Virtual Temples


This is very interesting. Just as I found the 360 degree site, a friend of mine sent me some emails about other "virtual temples." Check these out!

Virtual tour of Arampur
Interesting presentation of village
http://virtualvillage.wesleyan.edu/virtualvillage/index.html

Beautiful temple, Bolton, UK
http://www.360spin.co.uk/qtvr/bolton/hindutemple2.htm
http://www.360spin.co.uk/qtvr/bolton/hindutemple.htm

Kapaleeshwarar Hindu Temple, Mylapore
But, not inside
http://www.willpearson.co.uk/virtual_tours/chennai/chennai-005.php?format=fpp

Wow--Jaipur, Agra, and lots more!
http://indiavrtours.com/hampi/index.html

If you have any others you'd like to add, send me a comment.

Here's a question for you: What's your favorite live darshan site?

Only by Radha's hand. Radhe Radhe!
.
.
.

Monday, March 16, 2009

OMG

This is a great website http://www.360darshan.com/en/home.html You may have seen it before, but I just ran into it. Amazing! Once you're there, click on the Pano-Ramas tab above for more. So cool! You can get a 360 degree tour of different temples in Vrndavana and Navadvipa. Nice bhajans playing in the background.

I love Spring Break!

Oh, and here's a picture of Sri Shyamasundara in Vrndavana dressed as Siva for SivaRatri. He's Shyam.

Radhe Radhe!
.
.
.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Bhakti in Second Life

I've never written about how much I like Second Life. (I really like it.) Second Life is an online, virtual reality community. When I was sick with cancer, it was a really wonderful way to keep my mind busy with challenges and talk with devotees around the world. I'd like to share some pictures of the Second Life (SL) temples with you and some of my realizations about SL. You can click on any of these pictures to see them a little larger.

In SL my name is Dasi Lane. This picture on the right is what I look like there. When I joined, you didn't have too many choices for your name and this seemed like another way to say bhakti marg. Once you're there, you create an "avatar" for yourself to be able to move around and interact with your environment. You can buy clothes and create things for yourself and the world around you.

I've met so many devotees there. People all around the world--England, Spain, Australia, India, and the US. True, we're goofing around, but we're trying to be devotees in this virtual world, too.

When I first started this, I never realized that temples would disappear and so I don't have many pictures of the first temples I saw. Isle of Krishna and Gauranga Bay were some of the first ones. But, Prabhupada's Lotus Room was by far the best. I celebrated Janmastami there last year (see post for September 14, 2008) and gave a class in real time. We even had a kirtan. The Lotus Room has since disappeared due to the change in US currency exchange, but other temples have sprung up.

There's a sweet treehouse temple with Jagannatha and Panca Tattva Deities. One devotee has put together pictures and movies of the Khumba Mela and displays them in a tented bazaar setting.There's another sweet little temple with Jagannatha Deities and beautiful pictures inside of Krishna.

Then there are the larger temples for the "Hindu." Interestingly enough, the Maha Mantra and Srila Prabhupada are also represented there.


Some people have laughed when I tell them that I go to SL. It's not such a "spiritual" practice. Not to justify it, but I think it's just as "spiritual" as what I do here in real life (RL). Hmmm.

In SL I have an avatar to interact with, in RL I have a body which I also use to interact with. The "I" here is me, as spirit/atma. Moving around in SL is with intent, same as in RL. Atma is "doing" things with intent. In SL, one time I transported from one place to another and realized that I hadn't really gone anywhere, I was just seeing something different. Same as in RL. The "virtual" aspect of reality is more apparent in SL than RL. In SL I can jump off buildings and walk in water without any problems. In RL we can do this without any damage to atma, too. Not that I'm going to be jumping off buildings any time soon, but I think you get it.

The illusion of me is just as clear in SL as it is in RL. Is bhakti just as real in SL as in RL? Yes, I think it is. One time in SL, a devotee made a ghee lamp that could be picked up and wrote a script that made the avatar circle the arm as if offering it. She also included a bell for the left hand with a ringing sound. I was so excited, I went to every temple in SL and offered this ghee lamp to every temple. For a while, when I was sick, that was my morning program--to go to all the temples and offer a ghee lamp. It was so exciting. I could even fly above the ground and offer it to everyone and everything below me. Bhakti, SL or RL, so exquisite.
.
.
.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Kirtan


Had a little kirtan at my place last week. Keshavacharya das, with his wonderful fiance Kamaniya, came to sing bhajans about Krsna. So very nice. Check out his website: http://www.keshavacharya.com/ Fifteen to twenty people came, some I knew, some were new, friends made great food, grandson played kartals, I played his drum, everyone sang sweetly to Sri Sri Radha Syamasundara. One friend wrote: "Jay jay jay. It was a lovely evening. The name is our taste.....our spiritual experience." It's true. My little apartment was filled with joy, Vrndavana was here, it was sublime. It was so very empty when everyone left.
.
.
.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

What the Shawl Said


श्री
रा
धा
श्
या


सु
न्दा

दे

जी

हा
रा

Monday, February 16, 2009

Reflections -- Radhe Radhe!

In reviewing my journal entries, there are still a couple of things I want to say.

Dec 13th, Moscow, 4:45 am
. . .Wow, this is all so strange--this transition from US to India, from work life to my quest life.

There's a Russian movie on the plane. A man goes out with his friends and wakes up the next day in another town, another apartment . . . but he thinks it's his. The woman who lives there does not agree. Various situations arise--old boyfriend, old
girlfriend, insecurities--and they fall in love. The search for love, the misidentifications of the spirit, their stories and ramifications. Sounds like samsara to me!

Making the mental transition from the US to India took some time. I had to leave a robotics competition before it was completed to catch the plane on time. Then on the flight I broke a tooth. When I got to India, I couldn't wear my glasses for fear that the monkeys would steal them, then broke another tooth. [Completely unrelated.] It took a good 4 to 5 days before I was oriented and felt that I was actually there. I was finally able to be there without all the worry that goes with a trip. I had food, water, a place to sleep, a monkey stick, extra glasses, and a cell phone. I went to see a dentist. I was at peace with the lizard in my room. I was set. Once I was comfortable with all this, everything was good. But, this transitioning was time consuming. I don't want to do that. I want to be there now. Similar to "Be here now" but there. Not physically, but in consciousness, there.

Dec 22nd, Vrndavana
So many things. It really feels as if I'm being directed. Shown this, then that. So easy to just get lost in it all. . . . So what am I doing here? Just to see that there are so many devotees and they're not nuts is enough. To have faith that Srimati Radharani is directing my path is wonderful. To know that I have initiation from such a wonderful ragatmika bhakta is such a profound and grounded feeling--so secure, so tangible. It's something that is so sufficient, but more. I don't need any more. I need to perfect what I have.

I came on this trip with a little personal agenda. Hoping that Krsna would take of it for me, I felt great. That didn't really work out. I felt like I was fighting myself. It wasn't good. I spent a day in bed bemoaning the trip and decided to just let it be, then the tides changed. A friend asked me how I knew that Srimati Radharani was directing me. Everywhere I went everyone was telling me stories about Radharani, reading verses and saying that Radharani was the foremost maidservant so we should pray to Her for understanding, I was next to Radha Syamasundara Mandir where She graced Syamananda Prabhu, and I was sleeping every night right next to Seva Kunj! She was always there. She is the guru, my Svamini.

Jan 2nd, Moscow
Leaving Vrndavana was a bit of a trial. I saw online that the flight was canceled, so the person I was driving with into Delhi went without me. After talking with a travel agent, it turned out that it wasn't canceled. Naughty Krsna. Took the wind out of my sails about how happy I was to leave. I cried when it was finally time to go. It was really so mixed--all the filth and trash, all the goswamis and tirthas. And then there's the hidden Vrndavana. I think
that Vrndavana can be found anywhere, it's just hidden.

This was my mystical exit from Vrndavana. I did finally give everything up--leaving, staying, whatever, Krsna, you decide. Then, everything fell into place and I could leave. Then I started to cry because I was leaving, I didn't want to go. Naughty Krsna. A friend wrote: "Oh my. Poor you! Stuck with Krsna!!! He is very naughty boy! Berry berry bad boy!! See you berry soon!"

The transitioning out of Vrndavana was much quicker, unfortunately. Had an all-school meeting 2 days after I got home. Was so very happy, but gradually the tedium of work eroded it.

You should go, take a transcendental trip, be there now.
Radhe Radhe!
.
.
.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

More on Sri Radha Syamasundaradevajimaharaja

I just have to write some more about this temple. You must visit their website http://www.radhashyamsundar.com/ Such beautiful pictures! This is what hundreds of years of Deity worship looks like. They, the Divine Couple, are so beautiful. Oh, the title of this posting is from a shawl that was given to me by the pujaris. All around the border it says "Sri Dhama Vrndavana," then in big letters down the middle it says, "Sri Radha Syamasundaradevajimaharaja."

I loved going there in the mornings to chant. It was just unbelievable to watch the pujaris apply the sandalwood designs to Their faces. The pujaris leave the doors open so you can see what they're doing. (You can see from this picture that He has incredible designs on His face.) It's a wonderful meditation. When I was there it was cold, the Deities wore mittens, so only Their faces were decorated.

First, using a small stick and a cup of sandalwood paste, the pujari draws the outline of the arch above His eyes, then waits for it to dry. Then he makes the dots above the arch, then pulls the sandalwood in each dot down to touch the arch. Once that's all dry, he can make the other decorations on His cheeks and chin and fill in the arches.

This one morning, there was drama going on. The pujari made the arches and was beginning to make the dots above one arch. The head pujari came by and talked to him about it, then walked away. He came back and said something else, then took a wet cloth and erased part of the arch and some of the dots over one eye. The other pujari then went back to work redoing the arch and dots. The head pujari came by again, said something, and erased a little more above both eyes, then walked away. The other pujari went back to work. Again, the head pujari came back. This time he erased it all and walked away. The other pujari went back to work, without a word. The head pujari came back again. This time he erased everything and did it himself. He worked very quickly. He studied the Lord's face, rested his arm on Krsna's hand, and finished all the decorations adeptly. It was amazing to watch! While all this was going on, I was moving from one side to the other to keep up with the drama. Very fun! What a great morning.

On my last full day in Vrndavana I wanted to see Syamananda's bhajan kuti. It's underground. Apparently they found it while doing construction on a new building in the temple complex. So, down a flight of stairs into a small, vaulted room. Made, or reinforced, with brick, it was quite warm on this cold January day. Inside there were Deities of Syamananda and Rasikananda, his disciple. It reminded me of a sensory deprivation tank. You couldn't hear anything and were impervious to weather and just about everything, including monkeys!

I can see this kutir as a way to focus for meditation, but I so love the world that Krsna has created. I love to see Him in all of everything.
.
.
.

Nidhuvana

From my journal:

Went to Nidhuvana, the place where Sri Sri Radha and Krsna sometimes rest after Their night of dancing. Very clean, lots of short trees (or tall shrubs) with clean, dusty dirt all around, with little pathways going in and out and around all over. You can just see the gopis running through them with Krsna.

This is where Haridas performed his bhajan and where he found Banke-behari. [Haridas established the style of singing called dhrupad.] Haridas' samadhi is here, also.

There is a small temple there that I, at first, didn't understand. As I looked at the Deities, I saw Krsna holding a flute and the pujari said that Lalita and Vishakha were on either side. It just seemed weird that Srimati Radharani was missing. The pujari saw that I was confused. He repeated that this is Lalita, this is Vishakha. Finally I realized that it was Radharani with the flute! This is where She stole Krsna's flute! There She was, Radha the flute player.

This is a beautiful little grove. The dirt is very fine and clean. Walked completely around, found more pathways under the trees. Monkeys not really interested in people. Got dusty from paying obeisances and crawling around trying to get through the bushes. Started to brush it off, but thought that was a really stupid idea. I was covered in the dust of Vrndavana, isn't this what we pray for? Tried to spend more time on the ground to get more on me. Such a nice place, strangely magical. If hidden Vrndavana is anywhere, it's here.
.
.
.

Rangaji Temple

I spent some time trying to find the Rangaji Temple. The last time I was in Vrndavana, Srimati Radharani gave us the darshan of an elaborate and exquisite bathing ceremony of Her in the outside courtyard temple. (It was an ecstatic event to end our visit.) I wanted to go back.

I looked at the map and had an idea of where to go so I started out. Didn't find it. Tried again the next day, found it, it was closed. Went earlier the next day, found it, it was open. Twenty years ago this temple was closed to Westerners, but now it's open. I went in and was very happy.

It's a South Indian style temple with the big towering gates. The inside has the main temple in the middle, with Deities all along the inside wall with Their own rooms. As I was walking around I found what I was looking for. As a person possessed, I walked toward it and paid my obeisances. After twenty years my memory was fairly accurate, but dimensions and distances were a little off. But, there it was. Took some pictures but the memory is much more rich--with sounds of shennai, smells of incense, and the vision of Srimati Radharani being bathed. So beautiful and opulent . . . and personal.

Here's what I wrote twenty years ago. (The pictures are from this current trip.) The "we" here are my daughter and I. She was in 8th grade at the time.

Our last day in Vrindavana. I really like it here, I don't want to leave. We went this morning to visit our neighbors in back of the guest house. Small compound with cows and an altar with Radha Krishna. Nice, but dusty.

Took a rickshaw to Vamsi Vat, the wish fulfilling tree. Prayed that I would become a good devotee and understand Prabhupada's teachings correctly. Went walking after that to try and find the Jamuna river.


We happened into a really wonderful temple, the Rangaji Mandira. Southern Indian style in architecture and very spacious with large courtyard and bathing ghat. We came in through the main gate and saw a small temple (can't remember if Garuda or Hanuman was there). Just beyond this was a large building with heavy canvas-like material covering all four sides.

As we came up to the building there were a few groups of women sitting on two sides. A man came up to us and said to us in a little English that soon there would be darshan. So we walked around and when we heard the bells ringing we came back.

The guards weren't going to let us back in, saying "Not allowed, not allowed." I said I didn't understand and kept walking. The same man we'd seen before came and told the guards it was okay and took us to a spot and told us to sit down. I could see into the building where the
curtain had been drawn and there was Srimati Radharani being attended to by a group of brahmans.

[This is the courtyard temple where the ceremony took place. It had heavy canvas "walls" on all four sides and opened facing the ghat. We sat at the top of the stairs of the ghat. In the picture it's that little roof to the right.]

At the curtains were guards holding silver staffs and yak fans and another guard with a rifle. Inside the brahmans were at
tending to Radha's morning bath. I couldn't believe it. It was so intimate. They were using silver articles to offer her perfumed cloths, bathed her with milk, yogurt, water, sandalwood paste, washed her hair, put henna in it, and decorated it was a garland of flowers. Women were singing outside. They offered a ghee lamp and there were these magnificent horns and drums that were played.

The curtains closed, but no one moved. Brahmans were singing chants now.
Occasionally a woman would come into the compound and offer some food to Her by giving it to the priest. Then the bells again and the curtains opened. Radha was there and they were showing Her how She looked in a mirror. Then they placed a tray over Her head and poured water in it. The tray had holes in it and so the water lightly showered down on Her. I watched and was overwhelmed by the opulence, the grandeur, the devotion, the intimacy, and the privilege that we were able to at the right spot at the right time.

More bells started ringing and the man we had met came back and told us,
"Go! Go!" and so our darshan had ended. With that abrupt dismissal we paid our obeisances to the Queen of Vrindavan and left.
.
.
.

Seven Temples

I was able to visit all seven original temples. I had gone to a few of them by myself, but wasn't getting along fast enough. I had heard about a mother and son from New Zealand who were going every day to all seven and met them at a party. The son, N, was 10 years old and was actually going by himself these days. His mother said that he would love to take me and so we planned to meet the following day at Radha Syamasundara.

It was great and we had such a great time. He was a wonderful guide, knew all kinds of things, where special places were, and all the shortcuts! We went from Radha Syamasundara Mandir to Radha Damodara Mandir, then took a rikshaw to Madan Mohan Mandir (old and new) and saw some samadhis. Then back by rikshaw to Gokulananda Mandir, then walked to Radha Raman Mandir, more samadhis and appearance place, Radha Gopinatha Mandir (picture above of the older one) and samadhi, then Govinda Mandir (old and new) and Yogamaya's spot there. Quite a whirlwind tour. I think we did it in 2-1/2 hours.

In general, I was very happy with the level of Deity worship. I know that sounds very stuck up, but when we came twenty years ago, things were pretty abysmal. Deity rooms were dirty, outfits were mismatched and subpar, pujaris were often not present--it just wasn't what you would expect. This time I felt that Everyone was well taken care of and that there was great attention to detail. Even with all the controversy about Radha Damodar Mandir and Srila Prabhupada's quarters, I must say that everything looks very good there.

I spent some time at the Govinda Temple of Rupa Goswami (pictures to the right and below). In looking at the years that things were built and when people died, I found some interesting things I hadn't known. For instance, Rupa Goswami never saw the Govinda Temple. He died in 1564 and the temple was completed in 1590. Raghunath Bhatta Gosvami and his disciples began construction some time after 1570. It's an absolutely exquisite building. I can't imagine what it looked like before it was taken apart. I really loved it there.

I went into the cave of Yogamaya next to the temple. It's also the spot where the Govinda Deity was found. You have to walk up a bunch of stairs to get to the door, enter a little vestibule, then go down some stairs with a very low ceiling to get to the shrine. The ceiling there is also very low. Apparently this Deity of Yogamaya (Lord Krsna's sister) was also worshipped by Rupa Goswami and was put in safekeeping during the raids and then reinstalled.

There was a kirtan going on in the cave, very quiet and sweet. Then two women starting crying--at first very softly, then louder and gasping for air, in ecstasy. This kind of crying has happened to me. It just takes over and you can't control it. It can be very embarrassing. So here I was on the other side of it as an observer. I appreciated it but then I wanted it to stop. Not very kind on my part. I guess I didn't understand it. I found myself wanting to know more about what they were feeling and why.

I've never heard about the Goswamis worshipping Yogamaya. It seems a very interesting idea. Almost as if two traditions have overlapped here. Anyone out there know about this?
.
.
.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Soooo long ago!


My daughter connected with an old friend the other day on Facebook and came up with this picture--1979, San Francisco, at Ratha Yatra. Wow. Thirty years ago. I still have that sari, too funny! We used to make Lord Jagannatha a cart using her wagon and take Them all to the park. We'd have cookies, sandesh, fruit, and nectar drink to offer and then distribute the prasadam. I'll see if I can find some of those pictures. Now I can do the same with my grandson. Hmmm, he has a great wagon.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

I followed her to school one day

From my journal, January 1, 2009

Didn't really think I'd go to any schools. Wanted to focus on temples and chanting. But, one day, I was lost and couldn't find Radha Damodara Mandir. (I later discovered that I walked past it a couple of times.) I asked a little girl, "Radha Damodara Mandir?" She pointed toward where I had just come. She saw my face and decided to take me there. Along the way she picked up a friend. They took me in and then took me on parikrama around the temple and samadhis. She said she was going to school--the word "school" and a motion with her hand. So, I invited myself along. I felt like Mary's little lamb who followed her to school one day, school one day . . .


They met in what looked like an abandoned temple, but I later found out that it's an abandoned courthouse at Govind Ghat. The veranda is sunny, so they put out mats and line up according to grade levels, using
their backpacks and bags as desks. There are two black boards leaned up against a wall, with two worn-out charts for numbers and the alphabet. The teacher has a chair and when the principal comes, she has a desk and chair. A nice sign is hung up on the building--Sri Govind Primary School, Vrndavan.

Each child has pencils and pens in their bag, a school book or two, and a small notebook for practicing their writing. Also in their bag is a stainless steel plate for lunch which is delivered every day by Akshya Patra, the rtvik group in Vrndavana. That's it for school. There's recitation, discipline with a stick, a few books, and very little else.

They brought in a translator, eventually, to see what I was doing there. They somehow thought that I was going to take the two girls back with me to America to go to my school. "When will you take them?" she asked. I had to quash that idea real fast. The translator was a bit insulting but I just kept apologizing and saying that my curiosity has gotten me in trouble more than once. Eventually we all became friends and I offered to help them. The principal said they needed uniforms--some of the children's clothes were in severe need of repair--but I asked about books. She said "As you like." Well, I took that as an instruction.

When I was in Delhi to see the dentist--that's a whole 'nother story--we went for lunch at a bookstore in Khan Market. I was pretty tired and my friends had errands to do, so I decided to stay and look at children's books. I was really dismayed to see that about 80% of the books were in English. Then I found a section of books that were bilingual--English and Hindi. They were so adorable that I started taking them off the shelf and making a pile. One of the bookstore employees helped me look for appropriate children's books that were either bilingual or Hindi only. There were so inexpensive--50 to 100 rupees or $1 to $2 each--it just didn't seem to matter. Everyone at the Govind Primary School could have a book of their choice. I was so excited!

The next day I called D. Swami to see if he knew of someone who could translate for me when I brought the books to the school. He found a great guy, J., who was born in Mathura, close by, and was an excellent English speaker.

A few days later we went to the school, books in hand. I apologized to the teacher again for previously barging in. I told her that in America (the day before was Christmas) we always give presents. So, I brought presents for everyone--books!

The kids were so excited. I put down a cloth and put all the books on it. I asked that the little ones come first to choose. That was okay for about two minutes, then everyone was there going through the books. It was so much fun! J. told the teacher that she had to read each book to the whole class. What a great idea. I thought I might be able to come again before I left, but wasn't able to. Maybe M. will be able to. We'll see.

I also visited the Sandipani Muni School. It's for children who cannot pay for school. Children are sponsored and get meals, clothes, books, and school. R. has so many great programs related to the school.
He has a health facility and hospital for families, sewing facility for single parent girls, nursery for children who are in the care of students attending the school (they get bathed and fed). They also have a library, computer lab, tofu-making facility and so much more. I'm hoping to raise some money for classroom leveled readers. Center for Learning Resources publishes the bilingual books I brought in Delhi and they're leveled to help new readers. I'd also like to get computer books in Hindi and see what I can do to get Hindi fonts for their computers. Looks like I already have plans to go back!

. . . All this from following a little girl in Vrndavana.
Radhe Radhe!
.

.

Jiva Goswami's Disappearance Day

From my journal, December 30th
Jiva Goswami, Wikipedia link

Jiva Gowami's Disapperance Day was a special day. There I was in Vrndavana and I could go to his samadhi to observe it.
My place was just up the street from Radha Damodara Mandir--boy, what a location!--so I went down after I paid obeisances to Sri Sri Radha Syamasundara (also close by, just a few doors up the street). As I went in to Radha Damodara, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Seemed like a regular crowd in the Temple courtyard. As I turned to go to Sri Jiva Goswami's samadhi, there were men sitting on mats on either side of the walkway. Each one was garlanded and had a bookstand with a book. They were all reading their books out loud. Now, not everyone had the same book, so it was a cacophony of Jiva Goswami! So incredible!

I tucked myself into a little aisle of samadhis where no one was sitting
(in the picture, right behind the big one in the foreground) so I could see Jiva Goswami's samadhi and watch the proceedings. After a while of everyone reading, they stopped and started a short kirtan, beginning with my favorite, Madhurastakam, sweet Krsna.

adharam madhuram vadanam madhuram
nayanam madhuram hasitam madhuram
hridayam madhuram gamanam madhuram
madhur-adipater akhilam madhuram

His lips are sweet, His face is sweet,
His eyes are sweet, His smile is sweet,
His loving heart is sweet, His gait (walk) is sweet,
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness.

And, oh, how sweet it was. Transported--Srila Jiva Goswami in samadhi, all the devotees, Srila Prabhupada, all the devotees in samadhi, Srila Rupa Goswami, Sri Sri Radha Damodara, and monkeys, too! Can't get much better than that! Monkeys came and broke up the proceedings as the sadhus were leaving, eating their breakfast leftovers. Pots were thrown, yelling ensued, very funny. Can't take ourselved too seriously. Jaya Jiva Goswami, our Vaisnava lifeline!

.

.