Sit Properly

First, I think it’s great that since I’ve posted the Bhaktivinode Thakura quote about “cultivating slowly,” I’ve seen it reposted on other blogs several times and even more devotees and well-wishers have commented to me about it. It really is a great quote.

And to say that I’ve been cultivating slowly would be one hell of an understatement. I’ve been a devotee since 1993. What the hell is my problem, anyway? Ok, cultivate slowly… but not THAT slowly! It’s a process, but it’s a process that should be taken seriously.

The first sentence, “Give up the shackles of matter slowly.” is the one that everyone seems to like, myself very much included. It almost gives a sense of “well, I can do this or that and it’s still ok, it’s a process and I’m taking it slowly.” But I’ve been thinking a lot about this and I don’t think that is exactly what it’s saying. Though, for myself anyway, I wish it were. Hehe.

Giving up the shackles of matter means giving up material attachments. That includes the four regs and all this silliness that doesn’t help our spirituality. Personally, the four regs are probably the most important. I mean, if you were going to take them generally. Now, obviously amassing ridiculous amounts of money to spend on mansions can most certainly be more detrimental to your spiritual life than smoking a cigarette every once in a while. You know, generally.

I guess the point is, while Bhaktivinode Thakura says to slowly give it up, giving it up is the key here. It’s a process, but I have to actually DO the process for it to work. I can’t be materialistic and break a ton of regs thinking that, “well, it’s a process.” What am I actually doing to help this process? Aren’t these entanglements stumbling stones to spiritual life? And if I keep tripping over the same stones over and over, what progress am I actually making? None. I wouldn’t be slowly cultivating spiritual life, I’d be quickly destroying spiritual life.

I make mistakes just like anyone else. But while most of you are generally able to learn from your mistakes, I seem to have a fairly difficult time. Like I said, I’ve taken this “cultivate slowly” idea to illogical conclusions.

And I just thought you all might like to know.

Ok, I was hoping to post this yesterday, but life exploded. The reason that it couldn’t be posted on Ekadasi is clear to most devotees. On Ekadasi, we fast from grains and beans. This past Ekadasi was Nirjala Ekadasi. During Nijala, we do a full fast from all food and water if we have missed or screwed up any Ekadasis over the past year.

So in light of that, I didn’t feel right posting a song about food on a day when nobody was eating. See? I’m a nice guy.

This song, if you haven’t already guessed, is called Prasada-sevaya. This version was on the first Shelter Bhajanas tape. It’s Krishna Caitanya dasa on vocals. He was their bass player.

I first heard this song (though not this version of the song) when I was around the Columbus temple in 1994-95. Before that, at the Philly temple, I would see devotees praying before they ate, but I never knew what they were saying. But when I got to Columbus, all the girls (it was an all-girl temple at that time) would sing this song (though a bit differently, in a sort of call and response fashion).

During my stay in Columbus, I met Ekendra (drummer of Shelter, now doing his own country music project). He was running the Athens temple. We were hanging out one day and he asked me if I had ever heard the first Shelter bhajana tape. I thought that there was only one, so I said that I had. He then asked if I remembered “Prasada-sevaya.” It wasn’t on the one that I had heard, so I was sort of confused.

Well, after all that was cleared up, he played this song for me. And holy crap. What a really interesting version of it. Great voice too.

The lyrics are…

sharira avidya-jal
jodendriya tahe kal,
jive phele vishaya-sagore
tara madhye jihwa ati, lobamoy sudurmati
ta’ke jeta kathina samsare

krishna baro doyamoy, koribare jihwa jay,
swa-prasad-anna dilo bhai
sei annamrita pao,radha-krishna-guna gao,
preme dako chaitanya-nitai

The translation is…

O Lord, this material body is a place of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths to death. Somehow, we have fallen into this ocean of material sense enjoyment, and of all the senses the tongue is the most voracious and uncontrollable; it is very difficult to control the tongue in this world. But You, dear Krsna, are very kind to us and have given us such nice prasada, just to control the tongue. Now we take this prasada to our full satisfaction and glorify you Lord- Radha and Krsna- and in love call for the help of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda.

So here it is, directly off the Shelter Bhajana tape…

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I’ve spent hours now looking for an altar for my deities. Sure, I have a nice little bookshelf top and I’m sure I’d be quite happy with it. But I want something with a door for Jagannatha and Friends.

I looked at a few Indian/Hindu altars and none of them really do it for me. First of all, none of them are made for Jagannatha (too narrow), and I’m really just looking for something … different.

And then I thought “Shinto!” The Shinto altar is called a Kamidana. Here is an example of such a thing:

There are two doors on the front and that’s not super great, but the whole front comes off, thus revealing Their Lordships. They need the space of 12″ wide and roughly 5″ deep. This particular kamidana is certainly wide enough, but, like most kamidanas, not deep enough.

Here is another example of something that I could use:

This one is pretty huge. It’s 18″ wide and 9″ deep. More than enough space for Jagannatha AND Nrsmhadeva! Heck, I could probably find myself a couple of tiny Gaura-Nitai deities and place Them in there too! I could put some cloth over the windows for a bit of privacy and all would be kosher.

But it’s on ebay and I have to bid on it and win to get it.

If anyone has any other ideas, oh do let me know!

Last night, Jeff and I were talking about the Gita. Specifically, we were talking about the 10th chapter where Krishna is defining His opulence. You know, stuff like, “of wielders of weapons, I am Rama” and “of immovable things I am the Himalayas.”

We joked a bit about it, “of hokey players, I am Wayne Gretzsky.” (Though Jeff said Mario Lemieux.) And then I pulled out my favorite: Of secret things, I am silence. He certainly dug it as much as I.

So here’s a comparison of the four Gitas that I have and how they handle this verse.

Chapter 10, Verse 38

Among punishments I am the rod of chastisement, and of those who seek victory, I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am wisdom.
-Srila Prabhupada

Of punishers I am the rod of chastisement; of victors I am the guidance they follow. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am wisdom.
-Tripurari Swami

Among those who dispense justice, i am the rod of chastisement, and among seeks of victory, I am policy. Of secrets I am silence, and I am the wisdom of the wise.
-Narayana Maharaja

I am the taming rod
among those who tame;
I am moral conduct
among those who seek victory.
And indeed,
I am the silence of secrets;
I am knowledge
among those who have knowledge.
-Garuda dasa

I don’t remember when I first heard “Of secret things I am silence.” But I know that it’s always hit me a certain way. I can’t at all describe it, but it’s just… deep.

The other ones I get pretty easily. They make a lot of sense. But “Of secret things I am silence” is a bit of a head scratcher.

Tripurari Maharaja keeps the last half of the verse exactly the same as Srila Prabhupada’s. I think that’s really neat and it makes me wonder if he too was taken by “secret things.”

Narayana Maharaja’s verse is much different than the other three. In my opinion, it’s less poetic, though, that may be the point. I don’t get “among those who seek victory I am policy.” I just don’t get it. In his word-for-word translation, he defines the sanskrit word “nitih” as “morality,” just like Prabhupada’s and Garuda’s.

And speaking of Garuda’s, I have to admit, though I like the wording to “Of secret things I am silence,” I think I like his “I am the silence of secrets” almost as much.

The only one that has a substantial purport is Srila Prabhupada’s. He devotes one sentence to “silence.”

“Among the confidential activities of hearing, thinking and meditating, silence is the most important because by silence one can make progress very quickly.”

Of the twenty-six qualities of a devotee, silence is the 26th. But devotees are anything but silent. We loudly dance and chant pretty much all the time. However, Vaisnava philosophy states that “silence” also means speaking only of things that have to do with Krishna consciousness.

“Nonsense talk breeds nonsense thought, breeds nonsense action, breeds birth, death, old age and disease.” – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

That covers “silence,” but what of “secret things”? Secret things are confidential. The knowledge that Krishna imparted to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita was confidential knowledge. Bhagavad-gita 18.65 states: “Because you are My very dear fried, I am speaking to you the most confidential part of knowledge.”

This most confidential part of knowledge is that:

The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart… and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy… surrender unto Him utterly. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode. Thus I have explained to you the most confidential of all knowledge. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.
-Bg 18.61-63

Seriously, the Gita is full of this stuff. Pick up a copy and delve into it.

I was reading a bit today and came across this:

Give up the shackles of matter slowly. Cultivate your spirit inwards. Give up prejudices which you have acquired from the so-called rational thinkers who deny the existence of spirit. Be humble in your self and learn to respect those who work towards spiritual attainments. Do these with your heart, mind, and strength in the company of spiritual people alone, and you will see Krishna in no time.

—Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura,
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, His Life and Precepts

Well, what do you think?

Sometimes it feels like we are being pushed to become pure devotees so quickly. Prabhupada said that it was possible to do this in just one lifetime, so we rush into it and, as happens so often when we rush, we stumble. But here, Bhaktivinoda Thakura tells us to give up the shackles of matter slowly, to cultivate.

Cultivation takes time. We are in such a hurry for liberation or even initiation, that we lose track of how sweet the process of becoming Krishna conscious is.

And still, by slowly cultivating our Krishna consciousness, our spirituality, we will see Krishna in no time.

Bhaktivinode Thakura ki Jaya!

-

PS- the Ekadasi song isn’t appropriate for today. I will post it tomorrow when it will be fine. Any guesses as to why?

This move is taking a hell of a long time. But at this point, the only thing left at the house is a few things for the thrift store and some stuff to be cleaned. Plus some furniture that John Messer will hopefully pick up. There is maybe eight hours of work left here. And about four more days to do it. I’m hoping to spend a good three hours there tonight.

But one of the tragedies of moving is losing things. I have only lost one thing this time around. It was this:

That’s the $35 Krsna-sangati by Sivarama Swami. It’s the third volume of the Krishna in Vrndavana series (the first two are out of print). I bought it in New Vrndavana last year, read some of it and have been itching to read it again. But where is it?! I have no idea. I have looked everywhere. It’s ridiculous. It’s not like this is a book that’s high on the list of a book thief. Clearly, I lost it. So it serves me right for not keeping better track of it. I just don’t understand how I can lose a brightly colored 700 page hardback book!

There is one more place that I could check and will today. But I’ve already been through those books, so I’m doubting that it’s there. If I can’t find it, I’ll have to reorder it, along with his new one:

Suddha-Bhakti Cintamani: The Touchstone of Pure Devotional Service, The Introduction to Krishna in Vrndavana. Not really sure why he wrote the introduction last, but now the four-book trilogy is complete. The second volume is being reprinted, but who knows about the first.

Anyway, it’s lost and I’m bummed. Poor, poor pitiful me.

I’m sort of frustrated with shopping online for devotional items. I don’t want much, but what I want, I have to get from THREE different places. I wouldn’t mind so much if shipping wasn’t pretty outrageous.

Here’s what I want:

-Three Gamsas (towels) from Krishna Culture – $8.00 a piece + $8.50 in shipping.
-Three books from Krishna.tv – $25.40 + $6.00ish in shipping.
-A few magnets and a couple of tshirts from krishna.com – $26.79 +$7.80 in shipping.

The shipping for the gamsas is a bit much, but Krishna Culture’s shipping has always been ridiculous. Krishna.tv’s shipping has always been reasonable. The reason it’s $6ish is because it has to ship from two separate places. That means that I can probably get one of the books from Krishna.com.

And speaking of Krishna.com, why in the world do they not sell gamsas?? What possible reason? They have everything else! Well… not quite everything. They, oddly enough, don’t carry the reprinted original editions of Srila Prabhupada’s books (except for the Gita – though not the compact edition … and maybe an odd and end here and there, though not ones that I need). Krishna culture doesn’t really either. And their website leaves a lot to be desired.

I need gamsas. Badly. So I guess I’ll have to plunk down the cash for the shipping.

I also really really dig the Lil’ Krishna items.

Like this. Only Krishna.com sells them, which is fine, it’s their own line of clothing, etc. I just wish that they had Jagannatha tshirts!

Oh well. Maybe someday.

Yeah, I know that Cafepress has them.. but they’re on white tshirts and I don’t get along well with white. I’m a greasebunny.

I was moving the last bits of the stuff that I want to keep from the old house. I’ve had my deities in boxes for quite a long time, never really feeling that I could do Them justice. Well, I still can’t do them justice, I guess I’m just getting a bit more lax or expecting Them to be a bit more austere. Thank god that Jagannatha is merciful.

I’m still not finished with it, but will be soon. I have a cloth that I’ll be putting under the entire thing and will be getting a small Panca-tavta picture shortly.

The Nrsimhadeva murti is an odd one. Not really sure what to make of Him. But Jaya Nrsimhadeva anyway! The Jagannatha deities are wearing new outfits and They look lovely, even though I don’t have turbans for the boys. The clothing came with chadars (sorta like scarfs or shawls) for Them, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out a way for Them to wear them, so they don’t have chadars, sorry. It’s summer anyway.

There’s also an amazing little Jagannatha picture that I would like to have on the altar, but THREE instances of Jagannatha might be a bit much. Three would come from the little tiny Jagannatha mini altar to “big” Jagannatha’s left.

Here is another pic with an explanation for those who have no freaking idea what I’m talking about…

Ok, the two largest pictures, the ones in the back, are the Columbus, Ohio temple deities. Their names are Radha-Vrndavana Natabara. That’s pronounced “Rhaad-ha Vrin-da-vin Nha-ta-bar.” Vrndavana Natabara is a name for Krishna which mean’s the best dancer in Vrndavana (the town in which Krishna grew up). Radha is the girl with Krishna. She’s his eternal consort. Picture it, if you will, as the male and female aspects of God.

The deity that is half man/half lion is Nrsmhadeva (pronounced “nri-sim-ha-deyv”). There is a long explanation here.

The deities in the middle are, from left to right, Baladeva, Subhadra and Jagannatha. Jagannatha is Krishna. Baladeva is His brother and Subhadra, His sister. The story of these forms of God is here and here is nice too.

The picture on the middle right is Srila Prabhupada. He brought the Krishna consciousness movement to America in 1965. You’ll find more info about him here.

On the far right is the picture of the Jagannatha deities. What do you think? Too much? I REALLY like that picture though. Like a LOT.

And that’s my altar for now.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that pretty much nobody who regularly reads this is going to have much of a clue about what I’m saying here.

Let’s begin at the beginning.

There is a sannyasi named Satsvarupa das Goswami. A sannyasi is a celibate priest. Now, personally, I’m a HUGE fan of Satsvarupa Maharaja. I’m REALLY into his poetry and his art. Quite a lot. I’ve read some of his novels and they’re pretty good too.

Sometimes he stretches the boundaries on just what it is that a sannyasi should be doing, but that’s part of the charm as well.

However, his latest book, I feel, takes it WAY too far.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Bold as she was, she placed his hands on her breasts. She then kissed him and placed her tongue in his mouth. His tongue also entered hers. She embraced him and by now he had a half erection… Braja dasa sat down and calmed his genitals……… He didn’t want to stick his genital into some well formed beauty star. He wanted Sandy. And he had heard from a Godbrother who worked as a physical therapist that a man could even have sexual intercourse with a paraplegic… It’s not just a sticking in of a penis into a vagina. It’s the being together in the touching and the embracing that lead up to the mechanics and the orgasm…”

Well… ok then. This would be a very tame book had pretty much anyone who wasn’t a celibate priest written it. But no. A celibate priest wrote it.

Seriously, what the fuck?

I’m not about to propose that my standards are amazingly high, but even I wouldn’t write something like that. And I’m FAR from a celibate priest! And I’m not saying that I’m even fit to judge this on either a spiritual or literary level… but come on.

Now, I’m fairly “liberal” when it comes to spiritual matters. However, one thing that I’m rather conservative about is sannyasi’s dealings with women. Monks too. They choose to be celibate. It’s voluntary. In Krishna consciousness, that means that they should have VERY limited dealings with women. That’s not at all to say that they should be jerks to them or ignore them. Be kind and generous, but the dealings should be extremely limited. And they sure as hell shouldn’t be writing books like this! It’s simply not their place to do so.

Just as, I feel, it’s not their place to give marriage or relationship advice. They shouldn’t be concerned with those matters (let alone that they have no experience in such things!).

Basically, I feel, that if you want to have dealings with women and write books like this, etc, that’s perfectly ok. Just don’t claim to be a celibate monk or priest… cause by this point, it’s rather transparent that something is fishy.

Satsvarupa Maharaja is a guru and a sannyasi in ISKCON (the Krishna consciousness movement). It is my humble and unworthy opinion that perhaps those things should be reconsidered.

I think I really want this. It’s only $80. I should pick it up. No TV now and so I should supplement it with some Prabhupada films.

So… who is going to buy this for me?

Click here.

Yep.