Is this going to be the slogan for the New Year?
Mumbai visit
Today Taraka and myself went with devotees to visit His Holiness Jayapataka Swami in the Hinduja Hospital.
When we arrived at the Intensive care section we were asked to wear surgical masks to minimise any airborne infections we could possibly pass on. Maharaj is at the end of the hallway with 6 patients on each side each in intensive care with monitoring equipment and a permanent team of doctors and nurses on call. Maharaj was sitting in his chair resting. When we came he open his eyes and looked at us and tried to communicate but because of the tubes etc he was unable to speak. He is still on the ventilator although the doctors have him on the minimal support and are trying to wean him off it.
God in our house
Here He is, from the hand of Indradyumna Swami. Sri Giriraj Govardhana after his abhisek.
Thoughts for the New Year
Hi everyone,
Deciding to adopt new things in life gets harder the older one gets. Especially the changes in the year number make one remember when we were a child. I sometimes use to think what year will it be when I am thirty. Lo and behold that time has long gone, but when I was 5 I thought it was a long long way away. Similarly we think what is going to be like when I get older, what will it be like when I am in the spiritual world with Krishna and all His friends.
Somehow the internet is becoming more and more mainstream from when I first started using it in 1996. Nowadays everyone has an email address, surfs with broadband and possibly even has their own diary, the blog. What is however disconcerting is that the more it is used the more it is becoming cencored. I was reading how in an attempt to protect young children from the horror of the internet content that lurks out there, we will soon be subjected to censorship similar to that in China and other so-called restricted countries. When I thought about it more I came to the conclusion that this type of mind control is not just there on the national level but even on the universal level. Through the agency of the material energy everyone experiences a type of censorship that clouds the reality of who we really are and what the ultimate goal of life is. The thought that there is a reality beyond this body has long been censored by our guardians. 2,000 years ago, Emporor Constantine eliminated the mention of reincarnation from biblical texts. Similarly in present day society we are bound to believe that to work and pay our taxes is the goal of life.
In the short time we have in this current human body I am assuming that I can make a difference in the lives of others. But will I really be able to do that? How is what we can do actually impacts on others?
Conclusion: I will try to make my own life better (I cringe to say perfect). In attempting to become better others along the way may also become interested and come along for the ride. And I will seek out others already ahead of me on the road. I will try to step in their footsteps and follow their directions.
Striking
This point from SB 10.1.4 Purport filled me with confidence in the process of Krishna consciousness.
The spiritual master and disciple do not need to understand anything more than Krsna because simply by understanding Krsna and talking about Krsna, one becomes a perfectly learned person (yasmin vijñate sarvam evam vijñtam bhavati)
Danger
Thought of the Day
Today while trolling the mundane news this article about the monkeys of New Delhi struck me.
The world is frought with danger, but the idea of dying from being attacked by monkeys seems something, at least to those living in the western world, is hardly considered a possibility. Yet the reality is that we are in danger at every moment yet we think we are invincible from the
Transitions of life
What is the meaning of life? Is there a meaning to life? Do we ever die or do we live for ever? Who are we really?
It's these sorts of questions that keeps religions and philosophers in business. Why in business? Because the answers to these questions have to be delivered in some meaningful fashion and in a way that is satisfying, and yes, ultimately liberating. Liberation is not a vague term referring to freedom to do whatever you want to do, like a hedonist, or a social anarchist, but rather a liberation from the entanglement that we create for ourselves by way of immersion in the things of this world that make us delusional to the point wereby we forget our spiritual nature.
On the weekend we (my wife and I) visited New Zealand to witness the marriage of our good friend Radhikatma to Katja, sister of Braja Laksmi (from Brisbane). For Radhik the transition from batchelor life to married life will certainly bring with it new realisations as well as support in his sojourn through life. Being a 'working' devotee he has to face the material world at the 'coal face' on a daily basis. Doing so hasn't changed him as a caring, devoted Krishna devotee, rather it has shown the character of a devotee even in the midst of the turbulence we call day-to-day life. For many of his co-workers this was the first time they had seen Ray (as he is known to them) with a shaved head, dressed in a dhoti. At the wedding they all admired his wonderful culinary skills (he had cooked the wedding feast!), and left the function wondering how they had ever managed to eat so much.
What's it like to die?
Most people in the world have a great fear of dying. The reality of quitting our body for another destination is a bit like making a mystery journey and not knowing where you are going, how you are getting there, or if there will even be someone at the other end to meet you.
On Sunday I was in the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney and assisted my dear mum to leave her body. She had had a full life and been a healer for many people, so when it came time to make the journey she did it very bravely. But not because she was a healer but because she knew the soul is eternal and that this body is a temporary vehicle. She knew that the soul has a purpose to fulfil and that if she took that as her ultimate goal, then the quitting of the body was nothing to be feared because she knew what would be there on the other side.
Strange births
Ever wondered if you were switched at birth? Ever wondered if your parents are really yours? Well here is an intersting story of someone who was actually in this situation. Read on ...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10446104
update
After visiting the Caribbean, Taraka and myself returned to New York and met Ramai Swami and Aniruddha Prabhu at the airport. They had also come to visit New Vrindavan for the upcoming GBC meetings to be held at New Vrindavana about 8 hrs from NYC.
For the next two days we stayed in Long Island with an old aquaitance, Bindhu Madhava Prabhu. His family's hospitality was just wonderful and they let us take over their house, fed us, and let us catch up on sleep and recouoperate from jet lag. Thank you so much Bindhu and family!
We drove the 8hrs to Moundsville, West Virginia quite easily along the American highways. In stark contrast to the cities, the american countryside is very beautiful. Once we had reached New Vrindavan we were comfortably settled into one of the 20 cabins that provide accomodation to visitors.