Sunday, December 27, 2009

What to Do When There's too much Mercy






First wrap the contents tight and store it in a blue box 6 meters high and 93 meters wide and 108 meters long. Click your feet four times- not three, learn to say abracadabra in Polish and then after you- oh wait! Wrong audience.
But the question still remains what to do, what to do...
I have heard, and dare to write it before verifying these statements, that magnanimity, a very rare gift is still more rare in the Spiritual world. Why? Well its like Never land up there where every being is seriously satisfied and is in danger of breaking sweat at any moment due to ever-increasing perfection.
Cows have way too much milk up there and so the land is soaked with milk ( when you're God, you can water your lawn- or sand- or touchstone particles with milk), H2O isn't enough either and so all water is nectar. And dare ask a mango tree for peaches; but I'm sorry you walked up to it and didn't dance, and you asked, not sang- you must be in the material world again. Still perfect is when that hippie in you can use your “be here now” skills when a new to town traveler asks you for the time: “ time”, you'd say, “ is now.” And yesterday? “ Still now.” While we're at it, your soul mate happens to be there, so is Mr. Right, Prince Charming and your knight in shining armor. And for the guys, you won't find damsels in distress, and the damsels I'm sorry to say belong to the Knight in shining.... Better yet, your knight and his shining Armor are non different! So magnanimity, although part of the spiritual world is sort of conspicuous by its absence.
On the other hand (are five fingers), down here Prince Charming might be found hanging out with Mr. Right, intimately... Your knight's armor may have been traded for some thick green cloth and yesterday means- yesterday. We could go into filtered H20 and scarce cow's milk, but I don't want to mirror my thoughts; so back to magnanimity.
When Krsna descends he needs a place to call base, just as when a king travels, at least in the old days, he went with an entourage for his utility. Mayapur, Vrindavan and other holy places are exact replicas of the eternal abode with equal potency available here to help us understand the nature of eternity, knowledge and bliss. Here in Mayapur that magnanimity factor can be perceived by anyone whether qualified to practice spirituality- and who is, or not. The atmosphere is so surcharged that mercy just flows even when a person is asleep. (Sleep is considered paying prostrated respects to the holy land)
But how to get this mercy an open secret expressed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu quoting the Mahabharat : dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam, true spiritual revelation lies within the hearts of great souls. One is advised to sincerely serve those great souls by following whatever instructions they may give; and also by intelligently staying away from what they stay away from. Each great soul is like a mercy station; a place where the matter of business is magnanimous blessings given for a little price- one's faith.
Srila Prabhupada has opened the doors to Mayapur for us and beckons us to come and experience real life everyday, and when we're satisfied beyond measure, go and give it to others. Even if we just take a drop and give it to another person, we'll find ourselves with two drops. The more we give the more we get. Like that ol
d saying, “the gift that keeps giving.”






Friday, December 18, 2009

THIS IS SADHU LIFE


Many people I meet express their most difficult problem- too little time to actually relish, or absorb themselves in life. When you wake up the rush starts- class, work, cram!
Here's a small experience that I relish here in India and hope to really inspire people with in the near future. Do few things diligently, consciously and properly.
An example of my schedule in the last few months:
3:00 am wake up (shower, dress, chant japa, mangala arati, class.)
9:00 am wash laundry, eat.
10:30 bhakti sastri class (lunch also)
3:00 pm  one hour nap
4:30 study
6:30 return clean and folded laundry
7- 8: socialize
8:30 give massage
9:30 bed
as this happens, I perceive how the mind becomes calm. When the mind is calm, thinking about deeper topics is possible. Most people are interested in Spiritual life, but their

external world is a bit in disarray  and so a war between outside and inside leaves on between a rock and a hard place.
 I suggest association of people who do what challenges you most. So if you're trying to be more spiritual and its difficult, associate with spiritual people.
There's so much to learn in spirituality, but our very minds stop us.

After a few days in Mayapur, my Spiritual Teacher asked me how I was doing, so I explaind my schedule and he was very encouraging. He said, “ that is sadhu (spiritual) life; doing
the same thing over and over will steady the mind, when the mind is steady then one can proceed nicely in Krsna Consciousness”
Plus, you'll find you have so much time because everything starts to have its place and quality
tatata tatata tatata tatata tatata- steady

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Mayapur in Winter

My Alarm goes up at three....
I finally get up at 3. 30, bathe and then warm up for 20 minutes before getting ready for the temple
Why all this headache?
Because it pleases Krsna.
Why should we do anything? Because it pleases Krsna.
So much is happening here that I won't digest for another lifetime or few. Lets just say reality as we know it is dead, and recycled over and over again. But there is another reality, hidden the hearts of those great souls who have dedicated many years to spiritual life. Find one, serve one, and be happy