Janmastami in Second Life!

For Janmastami this year, I was unable to go to the temple (because the school year was just beginning) and so I did something a little different. You may have noticed that my profile picture here isn't a photo. It's actually a screen capture of my "avatar" in Second Life (SL).

Second Life is an online, virtual-reality community. You create your own person, or avatar they call it, and you can travel around and talk with people--either voice or by typing. There are quite a few devotees there and quite a few temples. I've met devotees from India, Australia, Spain, England, and the US. They're all so nice and all so different. There's a temple that I go to there called The Lotus Room.

The Lotus Room has temples for Sri Sri Radha Krsna, Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, and Lords Jagannatha, Subhadra, and Baladeva. There's also a vegetarian restaurant, a movie theater with devotee movies, a sankirtan bus, a quiet area with a waterfall, and a goshala. Music plays all the time you're there. And, there's a classroom up in the sky where you can go and listen to classes. There are also many books available that you can download.

For Janmastami, Radha, her SL name, built a new temple. (It's Radha who's put this all together.) It was locked and no one could get in until the festivities began. She had asked me to give a class and, after asking me many, many times, I agreed. She gave me some Linden dollars, the SL currency, to buy decorations. She and I met a few days before and did some decorating with garlands and lights. I bought something that would drop flowers from the sky and another thing that dropped little colored lights from the sky.

When the time arrived, we all arrived. We set our environment to midnight so that it was dark. It was all so beautiful--the decorations, the devotees, the Deities--so beautiful. There were about six of us there from all around the world. For some it was early in the morning, others mid day, and for me it was almost midnight. And, for some it was Saturday and some it was Sunday.

I thought it would be fitting to read from Krsna Book that night, just as I remember reading it with Srila Prabhupada in New Vrndavana. (I read from the chapter "Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb." The following text was taken from http://krsnabook.com/ch2.html.) After the reading we talked, and typed, about Srila Prabhupada, danced to the kirtan and had a wonderful, transcendental time.

Hare Krsna! Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

"At this time Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, accompanied by great sages like Narada and followed by many other demigods, invisibly appeared in the house of Kamsa. They began to pray for the Supreme Personality of Godhead in select prayers which are very pleasing to the devotees and which award fulfillment of their desires. The first words they spoke acclaimed that the Lord is true to His vow. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna descends in this material world just to protect the pious and destroy the impious. That is His vow. The demigods could understand that the Lord had taken His residence within the womb of Devaki in order to fulfill this vow. The demigods were very glad that the Lord was appearing to fulfill His mission, and they addressed Him as satyam param, or the Supreme Absolute Truth.

"Everyone is searching after the truth. That is the philosophical way of life. The demigods give information that the Supreme Absolute Truth is Krsna. One who becomes fully Krsna conscious can attain the Absolute Truth. Krsna is the Absolute Truth. Relative truth is not truth in all the three phases of eternal time. Time is divided into past, present and future. Krsna is Truth always, past, present and future. In the material world everything is being controlled by supreme time, in the course of past, present and future. But before the creation, Krsna was existing, and when there is creation, everything is resting in Krsna, and when this creation is finished, Krsna will remain. Therefore, He is Absolute Truth in all circumstances. If there is any truth within this material world, it emanates from the Supreme Truth, Krsna. If there is any opulence within this material world, the cause of the opulence is Krsna. If there is any reputation within this material world, the cause of the reputation is Krsna. If there is any strength within this material world, the cause of such strength is Krsna. If there is any wisdom and education within this material world, the cause of such wisdom and education is Krsna. Therefore Krsna is the source of all relative truths.

"Dear Lord, husband of the goddess of fortune, devotees who are dovetailed in Your service do not fall down from their high position like the impersonalists. Being protected by You, the devotees are able to traverse over the heads of many of Maya's commanders-in-chief, who can always put stumbling blocks on the path of liberation. My dear Lord, You appear in Your transcendental form for the benefit of the living entities so that they can see You face to face and offer their worshipful sacrifices by ritualistic performance of the Vedas, mystic meditation and devotional service as recommended in the scriptures. Dear Lord, if You did not appear in Your eternal transcendental form, full of bliss and knowledge--which can eradicate all kinds of speculative ignorance about Your position--then all people would simply speculate about You according to their respective modes of material nature." . . .

"The appearance of Krsna is the answer to all imaginative iconography of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everyone imagines the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to his mode of material nature. In the Brahma-samhita it is said that the Lord is the oldest person. Therefore a section of religionists imagine that God must be very old, and therefore they depict a form of the Lord like a very old man. But in the same Brahma-samhita, that is contradicted; although He is the oldest of all living entities, He has His eternal form as a fresh youth. The exact words used in this connection in the Srimad-Bhagavatam are vijnanam ajnanabhid apamarjanam. Vijnanam means transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Personality. Vijnanam is also experienced knowledge. Transcendental knowledge has to be accepted by the descending process of disciplic succession as Brahma presents the knowledge of Krsna in the Brahma-samhita. Brahma-samhita is vijnanam as realized by Brahma's transcendental experience, and in that way he presented the form and the pastimes of Krsna in the transcendental abode. Ajnanabhid means that which can match all kinds of speculation. In ignorance, people are imagining the form of the Lord; sometimes He has no form and sometimes He has form, according to their different imaginations. But the presentation of Krsna in the Brahma-samhita is vijnanam--scientific, experienced knowledge given by Lord Brahma and accepted by Lord Caitanya. There is no doubt about it. Sri Krsna's form, Sri Krsna's flute, Krsna's color--everything is reality. Here it is said that this vijnanam is always defeating all kinds of speculative knowledge. "Therefore, without Your appearing as Krsna, as You are, neither ajnana-bhida (nescience of speculative knowledge) nor vijnanam would be realized. Ajnanabhid apamarjanam--by Your appearance the speculative knowledge of ignorance will be vanquished and the real experienced knowledge of authorities like Lord Brahma will be established. Men influenced by the three modes of material nature imagine their own God according to the modes of material nature. In this way God is presented in various ways, but Your appearance will establish what the real form of God is."

"The highest blunder committed by the impersonalists is to think that when the incarnation of God comes, He accepts the form of matter in the modes of goodness. Actually the form of Krsna or Narayana is transcendental to any material idea. . . . That is expressed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam as suddha-sattva, or transcendental. He does not belong to the material mode of goodness, and He is above the position of material goodness. He belongs to the transcendental eternal status of bliss and knowledge.

"Dear Lord, when You appear in Your different incarnations, You take different names and forms according to different situations. Lord Krsna is Your name because You are all attractive; You are called Syamasundara because of Your transcendental beauty. Syama means blackish, yet they say that You are more beautiful than thousands of Cupids. Kandarpa-koti-kamaniya. Although You appear in a color which is compared to the blackish cloud, because You are transcendental Absolute, Your beauty is many many times more attractive than the delicate body of Cupid. Sometimes You are called Giridhari because You lifted the hill known as Govardhana. You are sometimes called Nandanandana or Vasudeva or Devakinandana because You appear as the son of Maharaja Nanda or Devaki or Vasudeva. Impersonalists think that Your many names or forms are according to a particular type of work and quality because they accept You from the position of a material observer.

"Our dear Lord, the way of understanding is not to study Your absolute nature, form and activities by mental speculation. One must engage himself in devotional service; then one can understand Your absolute nature, transcendental form, name and quality. Actually only a person who has a little taste for the service of Your lotus feet can understand Your transcendental nature or form and quality. Others may go on speculating for millions of years, but it is not possible for them to understand even a single part of Your actual position." In other words, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, cannot be understood by the nondevotees because there is a curtain of Yogamaya which covers Krsna's actual features. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, naham prakasah sarvasya. The Lord says, "I am not exposed to anyone and everyone." When Krsna came, He was actually present on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, and everyone saw Him. But not everyone could understand that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Still, everyone who died in His presence attained complete liberation from material bondage and was transferred to the spiritual world.

"O Lord, the impersonalists or nondevotees cannot understand that Your name is identical with Your form." Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His name and His actual form. In the material world there is a difference between form and name. The mango fruit is different from the name of the mango. One cannot taste the mango fruit simply by chanting, "mango, mango, mango." But the devotee who knows that there is no difference between the name and the form of the Lord chants Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare and realizes that he is always in Krsna's company.

"For persons who are not very advanced in absolute knowledge of the Supreme, Lord Krsna exhibits His transcendental pastimes. They can simply think of the pastimes of the Lord and get the full benefit. Since there is no difference between the transcendental name and form of the Lord, there is no difference between the transcendental pastimes and the form of the Lord. For those who are less intelligent (like women, laborers or the mercantile class), the great sage Vyasadeva wrote Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata, Krsna is present in His different activities. Mahabharata is history, and simply by studying, hearing and memorizing the transcendental activities of Krsna, the less intelligent can also gradually rise to the standard of pure devotees.

"The pure devotees, who are always absorbed in the thought of the transcendental lotus feet of Krsna and who are always engaged in devotional service in full Krsna consciousness, are never to be considered to be in the material world. Sri Rupa Gosvami has explained that those who are always engaged in Krsna consciousness, by body, mind and activities, are to be considered liberated even within this body. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita: those who are engaged in the devotional service of the Lord have already transcended the material position.

"Krsna appears to give a chance both to the devotees and nondevotees for realization of the ultimate goal of life. The devotees get the direct chance to see Him and worship Him. Those who are not on that platform get the chance to become acquainted with His activities and thus become elevated to the same position."

Radhastami ki jaya!

A little bit of mercy here. Srimati Radharani continues to stay at my house and I'm so fortunate. Here She shows Her little feet with Her moon-like nails.

I love the swing festival. I can think of so many festivals where the Deities should swing. The swing festival was a few weeks ago, but here it is Radhastami and it's hot . . . what a good reason to swing the Deities! I'm including a movie. (It was taken with a little camera so it's a little difficult to see.)


Swinging Sri Sri Radha Vanamali,
candles,
slight breeze,
crickets,
cicadas,
birds,
giant bees,
Tulasi,
Srila Prabhupada singing--what a wonderful evening.

Hmmmm, yummy prasadam.

You can do this, too.


It's really so much fun!


Jaya Srila Prabhupada, who brought this personal relationship to us, so that we can know Sri Sri Radha Krsna, talk with Them, serve Them, swing Them.

Jaya Radheeeee!

Morning Memories

Los Angeles, California, USA,1972

After mangala arati, and in the middle of japa, a friend and I would run out of the temple room and through the sanctuary to the side of the building. Soon Srila Prabhupada would be going for his walk and we had a chance to see him. We grabbed a broom and a couple of flowers so we could sweep and drop petals on the steps outside his door. Then we’d hide behind a telephone pole down the alley so we could see him as he was driven off for his morning walk.

The anticipation between the time he left for his walk and the time he returned was palpable. Everything that needed to be done had to be done by the time he came back. Anticipation and stress combined to create a morning rush of ecstasy.

When word of his arrival came, we could hear the bustle of activity in the kitchen and altar room—Deities were bathed and dressed, carinamrita was prepared, arati paraphernalia was ready, incense charcoal lit, and devotees packed the temple room. As we waited for him to come in the door our japa became louder, more concentrated.

We fell to the ground when we saw him come through the door. Some would watch him pass and then bow to the ground, waiting to get a glimpse of his feet. Bells would ring and the altar doors would open with huge clouds of incense billowing out.
He greeted the Deities with such reverence--a slow approach to the ground and ultimate surrender in his dandavat.

We were so happy to see him we would sing the Govinda prayers with tears in our eyes. All our senses and emotions were fulfilled and conflicted at the same time. We would spend the next hour watching his every move, riveted to his words.

When the class was over and he left the temple room, that little bit of Vrndavana stayed with us throughout the day. In that hour or so of time with Srila Prabhupada we got an inkling of what it was to love Sri Sri Radha and Krsna and how to be Vaishnavas to the glory of our guru. I pray that those days stay with us forever.

Jaya Srila Prabhupada!






Photos used
with permission
from BBT International
http://www.prabhupada.krishna.com/



Posted on the 36th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada accepting me as his disciple.
.
.
.

Flower house update

Here's the latest permutation of the Second Life flower house. Can't you just imagine the Deities there?


.
.
.

More flower houses!

Here's a flower house I'm making in Second Life!



Now that's a flower house! Jaya Prabhupada!





. . . . . . . . . .

Flower House

Since it's Spring Break--and I have the time--I was thinking about a flower house for SriSriRadhaSyamasundara.

I had been meditating on it for a while--what would a flower house be like?--so looked it up on the Internet. The descriptions were about garlands of flowers draped to make a house. I knew that would never happen, so I thought about making a styrofoam structure and hot gluing flowers.

As I went to bed that night I thought about shapes, flowers, and colors.

The next morning as I was driving to a friend's house to work on the garden, I passed a huge pile of bamboo out on the curb for pick up.

I stopped the car, got out, and started going through the pile. It was great bamboo--big, thick, and green--in 4 foot lengths.

I gathered up an armful and put it in the backseat of the car.

Later on I brought it home and, using the table saw, cut it into lengths to lash into a framework.

It took a couple of days to put together and decorate, but, wow, what fun!

I asked a M. over to take pictures and we had a wonderful, late-evening kirtan with A. and M. These darker pictures really capture the mood of that kirtan. (Special thanks to M!)

Jaya SriSriRadhaShyamasundara! Jaya Prabhupada!

.

Women in Saffron

A while back, I was talking to a small group of devotees in the Temple room. Someone asked me what it was like when I lived in the Temple. As I was recounting a story, I happened to mention that I wore saffron. There was a brahmacari in the back of the group who started laughing. He was laughing so hard that he actually fell over. I asked him what was so funny and he said that he had never heard of a woman wearing saffron, thought it was hilarious, and actually didn't believe me.

I was upset, needless to say. I was upset that he had never heard about Srila Prabhupada's female disciples who were celibate monks, upset that our history was not passed down, upset that he would laugh at something so serious, and upset that he would think I was lying.

I joined the Hare Krsna Movement in 1971 in Fresno, California, USA. After being discouraged by so many movements--the anti-war movement, the resistance movement, the women's movement, union organizing--the Hare Krsna Movement was a breath of fresh air straight from the spiritual world. So many things were going on. There were Temples all over the world.

In Fresno I lived with four brahmacaris. While we had separate rooms, for the rest of the day we talked together, ate together, chanted together, everything together. We were all celibate monks--wearing saffron--and we were going to subvert the materialists and take them all back Home, back to Godhead! It was all so much fun.

Later on, when I moved to Los Angeles to be at a larger Temple, I continued to wear saffron. There was a kind of dress code in Los Angeles. Unmarried men and women wore saffron, married women wore yellow, and married men wore yellow or white.

The brahmacarinis lived in one room and we slept in our sleeping bags lined up like sardines-in-a-can. We shared one toilet and a shower with three shower heads. Most everyone wore saffron. Some wore printed saris, but they were expensive and hard to come by. Some just bought yardage at the fabric store and that worked just as well.

In the Temple room at this time, everyone stood wherever they wanted to in the room. Men and women stood next to each other during arotika, sat next to each other during class, and chanted japa together. We talked to each other outside the Temple room, too. Working side by side we cooked, worked in the office, did sankirtan, and did pujari work together. Everything was very egalitarian.

When the edict came down that we should stand on different sides of the Temple room, I was very distressed. I regularly chanted japa in front of Lord Jagannatha and now I was banished to the other side of the room! Men became very rude, because they were told they weren't supposed to talk to us. If the only person in the room was a man, who was I supposed to ask if I had a question?

So, back to our brahmacari at the beginning of this post. I explained to him that I joined the Hare Krsna Movement because I was very serious about self realization. I joined as a monk. Saffron was the perfect expression of that. I was initiated in a saffron sari and Srila Prabhupada made no comment about it. He gave me a very wonderful name--Satya devi. She is a wife of Krsna. As Her servant I look for the truth and serve Her as best I can. Jaya Prabhupada!

.

Female Ascetics--A Look Through Puranic Glasses

I wrote this many years ago, but it still seems current. My favorite line continues to be: "Never despise a woman even if she is despicable. " --Satya

As devotees, we are aware of why this world that we live in was created. We are clear about what we need to do while we are here. We know what we need to do to go back home, back to Godhead. But somehow, when we start to talk about what we need to do as men or women, these things seem to get mixed up.

As women, we have the duty of taking care of children and husbands, in addition to ourselves. We support them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We have heard many times that a woman should always be protected by a man throughout her life: by her father in childhood, by her husband as a wife, and by her son in old age.

We have wonderful images and stories in our sampradaya of women in all these stages of life. Of young girls, we have the stories of Srimati Radharani and the Gopis. As married women and mothers, we have Srimati Rukmini, Satyabhama, Mother Yasoda, Draupadi, Kunti devi, Gandhari, and many others. As widows, we have the stories of Krsna's wives after He left the planet, the images of the wives of fallen warriors after the battle of Kurukshetra, or of Vishnupriya with her severe austerities. These women were courageous, faithful, austere, and had Krsna firmly in their hearts and minds. The images of these women nourish us and fill us with a similar kind of courage and faith, and help us to keep Krsna in our hearts and minds.

Imagery is very important in our lives. We need the forms, the stories, to fill an otherwise arid life. These stories permeate our lives and honor a range of values that are central to a woman's spiritual quest. They affirm our being as females, as devotees. This imagery has the power to liberate and reawaken parts of ourselves.

The topic of this paper is female ascetics. Women practice austerities through all stages of their lives. As Vaisnavas, we (men and women) observe fasting on ekadasi and certain holy days, we chant rounds on our japa beads, and we follow regulative principles. We behave in a caring way to all living entities. We are renunciates.

In India, additional austerities are very familiar in the lives of women. Vows are taken by very young girls for a good husband, by married women (as a pativrata) for the welfare and protection of their husband and families, and by widowed women for the continued protection of their families and departed husband. Saubhagya (good fortune or marital happiness), a transferable quality, is engendered and maintained through these vows by women for the continued sustenance of their families.

Srila Prabhupada wanted us to become Krsna conscious—to be conscious of Krsna at all times of the day and night, to serve Krsna, to love Krsna, and offer everything to Him. Through our daily activities, as his female disciples, we are trying to do that.

With all these topics in mind, I'd like to take you on a short journey. It’s part of my personal journey, but it could very well be the journey of other women in this audience or within other parts of the world. This model of being protected at all stages of life by a man has not been one that has fit me very well. My father left our family when I was three years old, I'm divorced now after being married for thirteen years, and have a grown daughter. No father, husband, or son is there to protect me. My attempts to fulfill this model in my life have only left me frustrated. Other attempts to create alternatives were also frustrating. I wondered what other women in our tradition had done. Were there stories of women who had chosen not to be married, of women who lived alone, or who were somehow outside of this model? I decided to look to the Puranas, the Mahabharata, and the Ramayana to see if I could find images and stories of other women that might be supportive, encouraging, or enlivening.

With a little digging, I found some stories that have been inspirational to me. I‘ve arranged the stories of these seven women into two groups—ascetic maidens or young ascetics who were unmarried, and then older female ascetics. In these stories, there are examples of women who rejected the role of wife and accepted the life of personal renunciation. Some were protected by sages and gurus in ashrama settings, and some lived or wandered about on their own. With some of the ladies, we see more of their life stories, but with some, we only have brief vignettes. I'd like to share them with you now without too much analysis.

In the Mahabharata, Madhavi, the daughter of King Yayati, was given a boon that after giving birth to a child she would become a virgin again. Galava, a disciple of Vishvamitra, approached her father King Yayati for his help in obtaining special horses for his guru. King Yayati, who was once wealthy, was not able to help, but offered his maiden daughter, Madhavi, instead. Galava took Madhavi to three different kings with the offer that Madhavi would "provide" sons for them in exchange for the needed horses. After Galava had obtained the horses he needed, he then took Madhavi back to her father. King Yayati organized a svayamvara for her at a hermitage near the confluence of the Ganges and Jamuna.

There was a gathering there of Snakes, Yakshas, men, birds, and deer, and the denizens of the mountains, trees, and woods. The forest teemed with the princes of diverse peoples and countries, and it was filled everywhere with Brahma-like seers. But when all the suitors were announced, the fair-complexioned woman passed by all of them and chose the forest as her bridegroom. Madhavi descended from the chariot, bowed to her relatives, then went to the holy forest and practiced austerities. (van Buitenen, v.3, p. 410 411)

In the Ramayana, we have Somada, the virgin daughter of the nymph Urmila. In an ashrama, Somada cared for and ministered to the muni Chuli. She attended the great sage for a long time with undeviating faith and devotion. Her Guru was very pleased with her and offered to fulfill some desire of hers. She responded, 'O King of Kings, I desire to bear a son, resplendent with divine power, a worshiper of God and devoted to dharma. I have no husband, nor do I wish to be the wife of any, as I am a brahmacharini; therefore, by virtue of your Yoga, grant me a son produced by the power of your thought.' The divine sage was pleased to hear these words and granted her a son named Brahmadatta, by the power of her mind. Brahmadatta became King of Kampila and was as prosperous as Indra in heaven. (Shastri, v. 1, p. 70)

Then there’s the story of Vedavati of the Ramayana. In the Himalayan Forest, Ravana beheld a young girl, radiant as a goddess, wearing a black antelope skin and matted locks, leading the life of an ascetic. Seeing the youthful and lovely girl who was given over to austere practices, he was overcome by desire and inquired of her why she had adopted a life of mortifications ill fitted to her years.

The young girl, radiant with beauty and rich in ascetic practices, having offered him the traditional hospitality, replied that many had approached her father for her hand but her father had chosen Vishnu to be her husband and would not permit her to marry any other. She was undergoing these severe mortifications to fulfill his will.

Ravana tried to dissuade her from her resolve and invited her to be his consort in Lanka, slighting Vishnu in the process. Vedavati was offended and Ravana seized hold of her hair. In indignation, Vedavati cut off her hair with her hand, which had been transformed, into a sword. Burning with anger she kindled a fire to give up her life and said before she left, 'Soiled by your contact, O Vile Rakshasa, I do not desire to live and shall throw myself into the fire before your eyes. Since you have affronted me in the forest, I shall be reborn for your destruction. It is not possible for a woman to slay an evil man and, if I curse you, my penances will be rendered void; if however, I have ever given anything in charity or offered any sacrifice, may I be of immaculate birth and the noble daughter of a virtuous man.'

So speaking, she threw herself into the fire that she had ignited, and straightway a rain of flowers fell.

Vedavati is the daughter of Janaka and the consort of Rama. First she was born as Vedavati and then she was reborn in the family of the magnanimous Janaka as Sita for the destruction of Ravana. (Shastri, v. 3, 420-422)

Sulabha, another ascetic of the Mahabharata, was the daughter of Rsi Pradhana. In the sacrifices of her ancestors, Indra used to come with Drona and others. No suitable husband could be obtained for her, and so she wandered over the earth alone, observing the practices of asceticism. Bhishma related this story in the Mahabharata between King Janaka (the father of Sita devi) and the female mendicant Sulabha. By her yogic power, Sulabha assumed a beautiful form and instantly went to Mithila, and, on pretense of begging alms, presented herself before the King, who was surrounded by his ministers and learned scholars. By yoga, she entered the king's consciousness. They conversed upon emancipation, Sankhya, and yoga. It is said that she dwelt this one night in his person like a mendicant in an empty house. (S. Sorensen, p. 657)

These are just a few examples from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana of young, unmarried women, actively choosing to practice austerities instead choosing marriage. Madhavi had some experience of what marriage might entail, and chose the forest at her svayamvara. Somada was committed to her vows as a brahmacarini and was not interested in marriage, but wanted to have a son. Sulabha’s family was unable to find a suitable husband for her, so she wandered as a mendicant practicing yoga and discussing philosophy. Vedavati, in the Himalayan forest dressed in antelope skin and let her hair become matted, practiced austerities to obtain Vishnu as her husband.

There are examples of older women, too, as practicing ascetics. Here are some of their stories.

In the Ramayana, after Sita has been abducted, Rama and Lakshmana search for Sugriva, the monkey King, to help them and are directed to the banks of Lake Pampa.

The ascetics of the hermitage who lived there had passed away but there still lived one who served them, a mendicant woman named Shabari. Rama addressed her and said: 'Have you overcome all obstacles to asceticism, O One of gentle speech? Do your austerities increase daily? Have you subdued your anger and your need for food? O Solitary One, have you observed your vows and attained inner tranquillity? Has your attendance on your Guru borne fruit?'

The virtuous Shabari, revered by the gods, extremely aged, offered Him homage and said: 'Blessed by your presence, I have acquired perfection and my asceticism is crowned. Today my birth has borne fruit and the service of my Gurus has been fully honored. Today my pious practices have found fulfillment. O Foremost of Men, Greatest of the Celestials, worshipping you, I shall attain the heavenly realm from which no one returns.' . . .

She gave them a tour of the hermitage, showing them the wonders of the ashrama and then asked if she could take her leave. Rama experienced great delight and exclaimed: 'Wonderful it is!'

Thereafter, addressing Shabari of ascetic practices, he said: 'O Holy One, I have been fully honored by you; now go where you will and be happy.' Having received permission from Rama to depart, Shabari, wearing matted locks, robes of bark and a black antelope skin, cast herself into the fire, thereafter rising into the air like a bright flame. (Shastri, v. 2, pp. 154-158)

Later in the Ramayana, in their search for Sita, Hanuman and his army were passing through a desert and were faint with hunger and thirst. They saw a cave from which issued a variety of birds full of life. The gentle breeze that came out of it covered them with the pollen of lotus flowers and filled them with fragrance. The army concluded that there was water where the birds and perfume came from. Forming a chain with linked hands they plunged cautiously into the dense darkness of the cave with hearts full of hope, though too parched with thirst even to shout. At long last and all of a sudden, light appeared and they saw a lovely grove with streams of clear water and trees bowing under their wealth of fruit. Then they came to a city, with streets paved with jewels set in gold and great palaces beautiful as a dream. They went along and then they saw an aged tapasvini clad in robes of bark and a black antelope skin. That ascetic, given to fasting, shone with a great effulgence. They trembled before the divine splendor of her face. (Rajagopalachari, pp. 191-193) We learn that she is Svayamprabha, the daughter of Merusavarni, and she guards this dwelling belonging to her dear friend Hema, who is skilled in the arts of dancing and singing. The palace and grounds were built by Maya, the architect of the Danavas. It is a cave that no one can leave once they enter, but Svayamprabha sees that theirs is a great mission, and by her tapasya transports them out of the cave to the seashore. (Shastri, v. 2, p. 295-297)

We have another story from the Mahabharata involving Galava, whom we met a little earlier when Madhavi helped him obtain horses for his guru. Galava was riding upon Garuda when they lit on a peak of Mt. Rshabha. There they saw the brahmin woman Shandili practicing austerities. Garuda (Suparna) and Galava saluted her, and she welcomed them. They sat down on spread grass. They quickly ate cooked food, which had been consecrated with a mantra, and both fell asleep on the ground, overcome by the food.

After a while, Garuda woke up and wanted to go; then he saw that his wings had fallen off. The bird was a mere ball of flesh with a face and feet. When Galava saw him he asked sadly, 'What has happened to you? How long will we now have to stay here? Did you think some thought that hurt the Law? Surely it could not have been a trifling matter on your part!'

Garuda replied to Galava, 'I did have the notion of taking her to the seat of Prajapati, and the Great God, the eternal Vishnu, where Law and Sacrifice reside, so that she could live there too.'

To Shandili he said, 'I prostrate myself before you, my lady, and say to you that indeed I had this thought, to my grief to be sure, but it was just to do you a kindness! It was out of respect for you that I did something that displeased you. But be it well done or ill done, pray forgive me!'

Placated, she said to the king of birds and bull of brahmans, 'Fear not, you are Garuda. You slighted me, and I do not suffer slights. From this world will tumble the miscreant who slights me! Innocent of any blemishes and blameless in my ways, I have embraced strict conduct and have achieved the highest perfection. With conduct one gains Law, with conduct one gains wealth, with conduct one gains fortune; conduct defeats bad omens. Now, long-lived bird, go as you please. Never despise a woman even if she is despicable. You shall be strong and powerful as before.' Thereupon his two wings grew even larger than before, and with Shandili's leave they went as they had come. (van Buitenen, v. 3, p. 404-405)

These older female ascetics have a certain solidity about them. Svayamprabha lives alone in a cave practicing her austerities. She knows immediately the importance of Hanuman's search for Sita and does not hesitate to use her accumulated powers to help him and his army. Shabari is an old woman caring for an ashrama where everyone else has passed away. She waits to fulfill the wishes of her guru by greeting Lord Rama and His brother. Shandili lives alone on a mountain and offers a warm reception to passing strangers. She knows who they are without them telling her and chastises them for their thoughts like a strict grandmother: 'Never despise a woman even if she is despicable.'

These seven ascetics are known as brahmacharinis, tapasvinis, or sannyasinis. They lived independently or were associated with an ashram in the forest. They had matted hair, wore bark robes and black antelope skin. They were engaged in severe mortifications and were often emaciated. With the powers they gained through their austerities, they helped those who needed it. They ate what the forest provided— fruits and roots— and provided hospitality for others who were wandering through the forest. They worshipped the ancestors, their guru, Rama, or Vishnu. Despite all their hardships, they are described as effulgent and lovely with a beauty that nothing surpassed. These women lived their lives as they saw fit, doing what they thought they needed to do. While they may not have been under the protection of their father, husband, or son, they were continuously under the protection of the Supreme Man, Sri Krsna.

--------------------------------------

Bibliography

Denton, L. T. "Varieties of Hindu Female Asceticism," from Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women, Julia Leslie, editor. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1991, pp. 211–231.

Falk, N. A. and Gross, R. M. Unspoken Worlds, Women’s Religious Lives in Non-Western Cultures. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980.

Fyer, N. S. The Concept of Tapas in Valmiki Ramayana. Mylapore, Madras: The Samskrita Academy, 1977.

Ohja, C. "Feminine Asceticism in Hinduism: It’s Tradition and Present Condition," in Man in India, September 1981, v. 61, #3, pp. 254–285. ———. "The Tradition of Female Gurus," in Manushi, no. 31, 1985, pp. 2–8.

Olds, Linda E. "The Neglected Feminine: Promises and Perils" in Soundings, An Interdisciplinary Journal, Fall 1986, V. LXIX, No. 3, pp. 226–240.

Rajagopalachari, C., trans. Ramayana. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1962.

Roy, R. Co., trans. Mahabharata. Calcutta: Oriental Publishing Co., no date.

Shastri, H. P., trans. The Ramayana of Valmiki. London: Shanti Sadan, 1952.

Sorensen, S. An Index to the Names in the Maha Bharata. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1904.

Sutherland, S. "The Political and Social Ramifications of the

Construction of Gender in the Valmiki Ramayana," unpublished paper, UC Berkeley, 1992.

van Buitenen, J. A. B., trans. The Mahabharata. Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 1978.

.