Sit Properly

I’ve been keeping a blog now pretty religiously for a few months. At least a post a day, often more. And I’ve been pretty honest about what I’m up to and my thoughts, beliefs, etc. This is me. Boring, huh?

But I’ve not always been this open. See, my parents are very Baptist. I’m perfectly fine with that. But they’re not at all fine with me. Sure, they love me like crazy and that’s wonderful. But they can’t really accept who I am.

They know that I’m a devotee, a Hare Krishna (or Harry Kirshna, as they mispronounce it). But they don’t want to think about it. They really do believe that I’m going to burn in hell forever. And that’s got to be a really really heavy thing to believe. To think that your own son will burn in hell forever… yeah, that’s really rough. I’m very grateful that I don’t have such a belief system.

When I told them that I was moving to California and explained that I would like to live in a studio cottage, I had to explain what a studio cottage was, we don’t have them out here. I explained that it was somewhat like the small cottages that they have at church camps. My father was VERY suspicious. “Sounds like a commune.” He said angrily. “Is Harry Kirshna make you move to California?” I told him that’s simply not the case. I don’t think he believed me.

Anyway, I kept a blog when I was traveling in 2004 and 2006. Well, in 2004, we all went to San Franciso’s Ratha-yatra.

We took pics and spent the whole day with devotees. It was wonderful. Everyone seemed to have a great time. But what did I write about on that day? See for yourself. The part about the camera is true. We didn’t have the ability to take pictures that day. Well, not many. We did have some. But I basically ignored the whole day.

Why? Totally for them. See, it’s not that I’m ashamed or shy about it. Clearly, I’m not. But I don’t want to hurt them. And it would hurt them.

So what’s the change this time around? The change is that I’m going to be traveling to several Ratha-yatras this year. Several temples too. And I’ll be writing about it and they’ll be reading. I still don’t want to hurt them, but I also can’t hide who I am. There’s no reason to, really. They need to learn to accept who I am. I’m a devotee. And I’ve been one for about 13 years. That’s not going to change. They need to deal with it.

So this year, expect pictures and tales of my travels. From Civil War battlefields to Lord Jagannatha’s cart. From the deserts of California to the hills of New Vrndavana. It will all be here. And really, nobody will care, except them.

I do feel bad, in a way. They’re not really going to be expecting it. Well… maybe they will be a little bit. But they definitely won’t be liking it. But I can’t help that. This is me.

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And speaking of Ratha-yatras, I’ve changed the Summer travel schedule page. Not the dates, so much. But I’ve explained how the dates for the Southern Leg have gotten vaguer. And I’ve listed the Ratha-yatras that I think I’ll be able to hit. Check that out here.