Imagine your favorite action packed movie- the one that leaves you in disarray when the hero or innocent persons die, or make you jump for joy when the bad guy gets taken out. Say Tom Cruise or whoever the favorite of the day may be the lovable actor. Well directed films capture the mind and involves the viewer's full attention. A funny memory of this was watching a martial arts film where the bad guy drew out such hate from the audience. So much that in the final fight scene, as he was about to be decapitated, a guy sitting in front of us in the theater jumped out of his seat screaming “ Finish Him”! Great film. But in reality, bad guys and good guys are still alive somewhere in Hollywood or Bollywood sipping on mango shakes or being shaken up by some other drink high in shake-up content.
So why did I wake up so early to write this? Because I can relate on two levels, and hopefully share both clearly thru this blog.
Bhagavad Gita explains that for the soul there is neither birth nor death at anytime. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. As our actors in films die over and over again, and attend premiers over and over again, similarly, the soul (us), having eternal qualities, never die or takes birth. We are spiritual entities in a sort of virtual reality set up by material nature under the Supreme direction of Krsna. Based on our desire and actions, material nature outfits us in specific forms to experience those desires, praising or lamenting as we reap our various orders from nature. Simple explanation of how this works: we put on our virtual goggles called false ego, and equipped with intelligence, mind and senses, we act out various thoughts and desires. Now, best of all, this whole thing is free of charge, and as we act, mother nature accommodates or actions by giving us matching results. Thus we take on different bodies and enjoy or suffer in different situations. Birth can be compared to a recharge station where the soul gets a fresh VR suit to continue with action and reaction in the material realm. Level one, simple explanation.
Next level
In real time, far form Hollywood, as we all identify with our bodies we find that to maintain these bodies we must work. After work we require some recreation or rejuvenation- which the weekend, or specific days off for vacation brings. Naturally we want such moments to last forever- best friends should stay over forever, romance should last eternally, etc etc. But to survive here, we are obliged to work. Vacation allows us to recharge, to reanalyze, to reinvent our motives and desires. And so it is even for monks.
As an aspirant teacher, living and sharing Krsna Consciousness can be very intense. This is the material world and so from one point of view, Spirituality does not belong here. The embodied spirit soul here is apt on enjoying matter and forgetting spirit but the very nature of matter is that it cannot satisfy a spiritual entity. Spiritual practitioners make an effort to reconnect each person to their natural habitat- the spiritual world. Such efforts can be compared to going against the natural flow of things- while everyone goes to external involvements, you turn inwards to experience subtle realms. As Srila Prabhupada puts it, being spiritual in the material world means declaring war on the material energy. War means opposition, casualties, etc. As a spiritual warrior fights, material nature retaliates with weapons like sense objects, mind games (desire for honor and prestige), intellectual and false ego thingies (couldn't find a word to describe it).
To successfully win this battle, good training and good association are most important. Good training involves diligently following the orders of spiritual superiors and good association means mixing with those whose aim is similar and who have similar, or greater resolutions to fight and conquer the mind and senses, and go back to the realm of eternal bliss and knowledge.
Like every battlefield, Hollywood or Material Nature, there is a base; a place where warriors may retreat and regroup, strengthen and recharge. Spiritualists have various stations according to their intensity of involvement in the battle against illusion. For me, that base is Vrindavan; not just a landmark, but also a place in the consciousness rich with spiritual booty gathered by bygone teachers. Booty gained through loving relationships, individual, spontaneous and voluntary service, and reconnection to the ultimate proprietor of both material and spiritual worlds, Krsna.
My hope is to be in Vrindavan for a few months and render wholehearted service to superior generals in this Army. By their grace, some shelter seeking souls may, thru my small efforts, share in the spiritual bounty I may bring back to the battlefield.
We are all invited to take part in this adventure- whosoever will, “Welcome Aboard”.
Before going to India this year I decided to take some time and visit some amazing Devotees I've known over the years. Our great teacher Sri Krsna Caitanya stressed that association is very important for a person's spiritual growth, and that even a moment of association with saintly persons can put one on the path of Spiritual perfection. The devotees in Nashville are a group of families who meet twice a week- Friday and Sunday for reading together, chanting Hare Krsna and of Course eating food cooked with deep love for Krishna.
For a monk austerity is absolutely necessary, but coming to Tennessee shows a different side of monastic life for me- allowing others to care and give their love. It's come to a point now where I can recognize who cooked what simply by taste.
