PISHIMA_Sister Of Prabhupada

Uncanny how much Pishima [sister] and Prabhupada look alike! 

She was also a pure devotee. 

She would sometimes tease or just had a unique relationship with Prabhupada. To her, he was brother. She sometimes stood in front of him / vyasana, so she could see the Deities, semi-blocking his view. lol  

She cooked whatever she wanted for him, regardless. :) 

Sometimes when Prabhupada was busy and not in his bedroom she would use it to take rest - and the brahmacari's would freak out. They asked Prabhupada to talk to her about it. He did. She stopped for a short while, only to do it again. :) 

This pure devotee sister and pure devotee brother had their own unique relationship we may not understand, or to some degree we may - tho we can appreciate it's sweetness.

Her name was Bhavatarini but devotees never ever called her that. Always, "Pishima."

As children Abhaya [Prabhuapada] and Bhavatarini [Pishima] flew kites together. When there was some difficulty getting the kites to fly, they would pray to Krishna. :)

Also as children, their father gave Abhaya [Prabhupada] a small set of Radha Krishna Deities. Pishima became his perpetual comrade in Their worship. [At a later point in time, Prabhupada gave her these Deities.]

She was an initiated disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati.

Someone I know told me: "I met Bramacharis that she trained up."  

Yes, Pishima ran a temple as Temple Commander.

Never think women must be weak or less intelligent or a staple in a society that maintains lower class sudra ideas. Prabhupada gave something higher.

In addition, we are not these bodies - we are spirit soul. The more one tries to identify with their soul, the less bodily social concepts are so important - Krishna becomes most important. Like peeling an onion, automatically the material layers around us will unfold when Krishna is involved, or rather, when we invite Him into our life.  

The pure devotee usually stays within normal expectations to our eyes, so as not to disturb our minds or society. However, for them it is optional.

Long ago there was a riot in Calcutta India between Muslims and Hindus. This was around 1948. No one dared walk the streets when it was dark outside! But Pishima did. To go to the temple to see Krishna, she did, and never was harmed. 

We must not to immediate. First do the [pleasant!] work to get there. Simultaneously we can understand, there is no discrimination for women who practice "transcendental" Krishna Consciousness.

 Of course, live whatever [wholesome] lifestyle you wish, but find a way to add "transcendental" Krishna Consciousness.

Some think women should not receive initiation, but that is a different group, not Prabhuapda's. We are not practicing Hindusim, we are not practicing any sectarianism, and I myself am not practicing VAD [tho I accept it - but believe it's easy to misuse in kali-yuga]. Prabhupada himself initiated women. 

Matter of fact, the first disciple "ever" initiated by Prabhupada, was a woman. By Krishna's mercy, I got to meet her.

Additionally, here is a comment from a godsister, regarding women taking initiation in the past:

"Devahuti was the disciple of her son Kapila.  Janava wife of Nityananda was the head of the entire Gaudiya Sampradaya and had disciples including her son. Kunti served Devarsha Muni like a disciple, I don't know if she was initiated. Bhaktisiddhanta started a new and improved system of Maths and initiated many women. Mirabai has been criticized by some saying that she didn't have a guru but upon further research (which I don't recall the outcome details), she does have one and her husband became her disciple."

Friendship

"Krishna is everyone's friend, and the pure devotee is carrying the friend's message. Therefore, he is a friend. If there is a nice friend, and if somebody gives information about that nice friend, he is also a friend."  ... Srila Prabhupada, Morning Walk, July 1975

~~~

 "Krishna is sarvatma. He is situated in everyone's heart as friend. He is the real friend. He is giving me advice. He is within, conscience, which we..., or good instruction, counsel." ~ (Srila Prabhupada lecture, November 7, 1973)   

 ~~~

 

~~~

"O my dear Krishna, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the gopis and the lover of Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You."

(Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Introduction)
 
~~~

 "Krishna does not say that 'I am for the Hindu living entities or the Indian living entities.' Where it is in Bhagavad-gita? Why the foolish men take it that Krishna Hindu, Krishna Indian? Krishna says that suhrdam sarva-bhutanam: 'I am friend of all living entities,' sarva-bhutanam. Not only human society, but animal society, the plant society, the aquatic society. There are so many living entities. Ananta-koti. Sa anantyaya kalpate. The living entities, there is no limit; there are so many quantities. And Kṛṣṇa says that suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati: 'When one understands that I, Krishna, is the friend of everyone...' Krishna, when says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja (BG 18.66), He does not say to Arjuna; He says to all living entities, without any exception. Sarva-bhutanam. Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam . This is position of Kṛishna."

(Srila Prabhupada lecture, December 12, 1974)

~~~

"This peace formula for the world is given in Bhagavad-Gita (5.29). When people know that the Supreme Lord, Krishna, is the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor and the most intimate well-wishing friend of all living entities, peace and prosperity will ensue all over the world." ... Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.8.8, Purport

~~~

 "If one makes friendship with Krishna, one will never be cheated and he will get all help needed."

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.27.4, Purport)

~~~

"Always remember Krishna Who is your dearmost friend and always serve Him just to please Him, and He will give you all intelligence how to be a first-class devotee. Just try to learn all about Krishna, chant Hare Krishna, and you will be a great preacher of our Krishna Consciousness movement."

(Srila Prabhupada letter, March 3,1970)

"Krishna, the Supreme Lord, should be accepted as one's best friend. He will never cheat. He will always give His friendly advice and friendly protection to the devotee."

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.38, Purport)

~~~

"As Lord Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita, He is the best friend of all living entities. Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. No one can be a greater well-wishing friend to any living entity than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is so kindly disposed towards everyone that in spite of our completely forgetting our relationship with the Supreme Lord, He comes Himself -- sometimes personally, as Lord Krishna appeared on this earth, and sometimes as His devotee, as did Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu -- and sometimes He sends His bona fide devotees to reclaim all the fallen souls."

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.31, Purport)

~~~

 "Anyone can understand that behind the beauty of nature, behind the succulent fruits and vegetables, and behind the wonderful heat and light of the sun, there is a Friend. So we should contact that Dearmost Friend, Krishna." ~ Srila Prabhupada letter, August 6, 1970

~~~

"The word sakhayam ('friend') is very significant in this verse because God is eternally present beside the living entity. The Supreme Lord is also described as suhrdam ('ever well-wisher'). The Supreme Lord is always a well-wisher, just like a father or mother. Despite all the offenses of a son, the father and mother are always the son's well-wisher. Similarly, despite all our offenses and defiance of the desires of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord will give us immediate relief from all the hardships offered by material nature if we simply surrender unto Him, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te (BG 7.14)."

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.28.25, Purport)

~~~

"In His Paramatma feature, Krishna is the old friend of everyone. According to Vedic injunction, Krishna is sitting with the living entity side by side. According to the sruti-mantra (dva suparna sayuja sakhayah), the Lord is sitting within the heart of every living entity as suhrt, the best friend. The Lord is always eager to have the living entity come home, back to Godhead."

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.28.51, Purport)

~~~

 "The best friend and benefactor of all people is one who awakens humanity to its original Krishna consciousness."

(Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.22.47, Purport)
 
~~~

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is actually the best friend of everyone. In a condition of distress or misery, one wants to seek shelter of a well-wishing friend. The well-wishing friend of the perfect order is Lord Sri Krishna."  - Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.4.21, P

My Memories in Prabhupada's Movement

Some years back, the web master of Prabhupada Connect, kindly asked me to write my memories of Prabhupada and the old days. I told him I was not good at that sort of thing. He replied, once you put pen to paper [or keyboard to computer ha], you will be surprised what comes out. I suspect he had this experience with other devotees as well, because it worked. Surprisingly to myself, I WAS able to write something. So below is a piece of my writings, coupled with his web site.

 GODSISTERS of the MOVEMENT and SRILA PRABHUPADA

"Where to start glorifying the pure devotee? The mercy of Srila Prabhupada is more than I understand of course, but especially back in the early 70's. Yet due to my interest in yoga and meditation, these ultimately lead me to him.

During that time there were many yogis and gurus arriving at the shores of  America. While I found this interesting, I also did not want to be cheated. The more I discovered about them, the more I philosophically disagreed.

For example, friends started to show books to me which stated you are one with God -- just as a drop of water merges and becomes one with the ocean losing its individuality, so too do you. That didn't mesh with me. My response may not have been sophisticated in my young mind, but I did not believe we lose our identity and simply "merge." So I put that guru to the side.

Another one I had briefly met upon a visit to his asrama. A teenage girl there brought to him a bird with a broken wing. He ignored it, acting as if he couldn't care less. Even this follower became irritated by his cold response, saying aloud and in front of all, that he should bless the bird. Finally he did, but it was clear this was only out of her insistence, plus social pressure. Another guru shot down.

Actually there were quite a few whose philosophy or books were finding their way to many of the youth, simply because they were available during that era. Every time I got my hopes up, disappointment soon followed as their nonsense became revealed. I started to be more careful.

Next, entered Srila Prabhupada. By this time I was afraid to trust! (Just my luck.) Yet I wanted to, but I simply wanted it based on sensible knowledge with a realistic program which anyone could work to achieve the goal. And I sure did like those paintings of Krishna. If this is who God is, that immediately made sense to me. Not an old man in a rocking chair who couldn't wait to cast us down into some eternal suffering, but one of compassion, beauty, offering a real method for a way out that could be experienced while in this world. I wanted to know more about "this" guru!

As a new visitor, right on a date Prabhupada that was there, I was given his garland. What mercy! Though upon entering certain rooms, a person could not bring such a transcendental item in with them. I was instructed to hang it on the nail outside the door. Upon my return, it was gone. With my naivety, I had no idea that the devotees would snatch it away. I reminded myself it was so special that it must have been irresistible! My spiritual life seems to have a regular counter balance (or imbalance) to whatever goes on, but one lesson is to appreciate what comes our way. At least I had the opportunity to wear it!  It was yellow. I remember the flowers were yellow. Thank you Srila Prabhupada for such mercy, as I so much do NOT deserve it.

Sometime after I moved into the temple, Prabhupada visited America. He was lecturing. The story was from the Bhagavatam about Ajamila and Narayana. As the devotee continued, he read that at the time of death Ajamila called out "O Narayana, O Narayana, O Narayana." To which Prabhupada interrupted and said (rough quote) "Why three times? No. Only once."

Amongst the first handful of devotees I lived with in the asrama was Jahnava devi dasi. Actually the authorities moved everyone from room to room quite a bit, but she sticks out in my mind. Why? For something very simple she said. I asked her to relate a unique story about Prabhupada, and she humbly replied she did not have many because she is not so great, but one time he patted her on the head and this small gesture meant a lot to her. (Clearly, she was taking the humble position!)

Maybe this stuck with me because I do not have countless tales to tell, and use to feel this made me unfortunate and lesser. However, that is not the case with spiritual life. Do not feel this way. Anyone who comes at any point in their life to the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada can experience the bliss! His mercy is not limited to any one set of devotees or timeline. He is always there and anyone can experience this who wants to experience it. Merely surrender unto him, let go and just do it. Then you will see that Prabhupada will enter your life as well, and you will have stories to share!

As I begin to think about it, I do have some experiences worth repeating. I did get to see Prabhupada more than once, greeted him at an airport, was able to go on one Morning Walk with him (though he wasn't talking that day), and my oldest daughter received a cookie from his hand for her first grain. She was under six months, but who needs grain ceremonies when ya have prasadam right from the hand of the pure devotee?! (Ok, so I did have a tiny ceremony at home later, to include the picking coins or book, as I consider that cookie "THE" grain ceremony.)

When I was in the New York temple Prabhupada had arrived, gave class, then all devotees left the temple room for chores and prasadam. I stayed, as did my friend Bhaktin Terri. We were both chanting japa in front of the Deities, Radha Govinda. I could not stay too long however, nor could she. We both left. But the doorway was blocked. Initially we could not see who was blocking this doorway, and there were (just) a few others there too. Someone had a hand on each side of the doorway as if to hold himself up. Then Bhaktin Terri pointed out to me who it was. Prabhupada! We backed away, and watched as the other two were doing something to his feet. I could not believe how it was usually so hard to get close to him, yet everyone had duties and breakfast to tend to. They had to go, and here he was, and here we were. More mercy!

Another time when Prabhupada was visiting, I was with a devotee friend Bhaktin Eileen (since initiated I don't know her name). It was warm outside I recall, and many devotees were surrounding and following Prabhupada. We of course did the same, but it was always hard to get close with so many men around him. Suddenly Eileen noticed something on the ground. It was the end of Prabhupada's cane. It came off! She handed it to one of the men in order to have it put back. He accepted it and left. No problem. A little while later she found it again! And again she returned it. I don't know the meaning of this, and suspect maybe it was starting to break. But something always seems to be going on around Prabhupada. Just being able to touch a piece of the cane he used daily, was wonderful.

The unique spiritual powers of Prabhupada would surprise us on various occasions. Bali devi dasi once told me that when she was with child but did not show, Prabhupada looked at her and said she was pregnant. Another godsister had a similar yet different experience. Her husband wanted to renounce her and left to travel with Prabhupada. Then Prabhupada instructed him to return to his wife, stating she's pregnant. This was true, but she had not told her husband. And no one had informed Prabhupada either. He just knew things.

Once decades ago, Cintamani devi dasi shared with me an experience she had when walking behind Srila Prabhupada on a Morning Walk. The grass was wet and the footprints of all the devotees were leaving their impression in it as they took step after step. However, she saw that Prabhupada's did not. There was no pressure applied which would matt down the grass. It appeared as if he were floating over it. (A letter for proof can be found in the VedaBase.)

As I began to write all of this, I noticed there are more memories than I realized. Direct and indirect or shared. Maybe this is, in part, why Prabhupada instructed us to write our realizations daily. I encourage everyone to start writing something to be published on The Prabhupada Connection. Don't be shy. I felt unqualified, and still do. However it's not about us, it's about sharing the nectar of Prabhupada with those who were not there at the time, or refreshing the memories of those of us who are starting to become a little rusty, or those who never heard your specific story. We need those stories so they don't get lost to the winds of time.

Next... the years passed. Before we knew it, there were so few Prabhupada disciples to be found. Association is important, so I wondered, "Where'd everybody go?" For years I went along, probably like most, dragging myself along just wondering why it was like this, and going nuts when I finally did run into a godsister who was here when Prabhupada was present in vapu form. Nevertheless, there remained a dearth, an emptiness, a void. Too few of us. It wasn't like this before. People were beating down the doors to join, then happily bumping into each other all over the place. I remember one devotee telling me how she decided to bloop, went all the way to the desert, only to bump into a Bhagavad-gita As It Is. She returned as a result. Devotees and books were everywhere! Thus, this change made no sense.

Finally I decided to do whatever I could to relocate some of the women devotees of that era to offer a safe place to reconnect, to talk about things that we need to express, to laugh, cry, and all that goes along with this. Therefore I started an e-group: "Senior Devotee Godsisters." To clarify, it is not an arrogant, elitist group. Rather, we're lost! We've become the minority. And Prabhupada initiated a lot of women! There are so few places anymore where we can go to locate one another, since many no longer fit in, or whatever other reason there may be. Many older godsisters are on their own, but they are like gold! So any ladies out there from the old days of this Movement who'd like the friendship and association of other devotee women who've been there, done that, and come out the other side with boundaries and sanity, please take a look at our e-group and join if the shoe fits. Read and see if it's for you: (Yahoo Groups shut down, so the link no longer works, thus removed. But you can friend me on fb, if peaceful.)

On the front page (of the former yahoo group) I placed a picture of Prabhupada in his rocking chair at New York because I use to clean that room, saw that rocking chair regularly, and tried to get into the room when he arrived; though too crowded of course. At the time I had little idea of how much mercy I was getting by cleaning that big, long floor, sometimes even making me late. Oh, I understood it to a degree, but finding this picture with him sitting in the white rocking chair holds a nostalgic meaning to me. Though nostalgia is not dead! Lets keep recreating it. So please do come here and chat about Prabhupada!

Thank you for your time. All glories to our beloved spiritual master, jagat guru Srila Prabhupada!

Your servant,

Priitaa Devi Dasi"

FROM the Prabhupada Connect site, which is full of nectar, so click different options once there. 

YS,

Priitaa dd

Funny Sankirtana Story

[This was not me, but shared by a devotee. Now I'm sharing it with you. I thought it cute. :) ]


"Last week, we were going store to store to distribute Bhagavad Gitas, and there was a bar along the way that we also went in to.

"One of the patrons there raised his eyebrows and said "Hare Krishnas? Hare Krishnas? I used to always see you guys at the airports. Where've you been?"

"So-and-so das, not missing a beat, replied: "Oh, we only go to bars, now."

Everyone laughed and the guy said "That was a good one!"

Insomnia?

Can't sleep? Join the crowd. ha I'm going to try this. Can't now. All our banana's are prasad now. Next time we get bhoga banana's I'm going to put one aside and make this tea! 

I do know bananas are one of the few foods to contain Dopamine, which converts to Serotonin - therefore it makes one feel good - a stress reliever. 

Pleasant dreams. :)

"All you need is a banana(make sure its organic) and some cinnamon to make this wonderful tea. I love to drink it before bed because all of the minerals help me relax and it is SO much safer than addictive sleeping pills."

Banana Cinnamon Tea Recipe:http://healthycures.org/banana-tea-sleep-remedy 

Christ and Krishna?

Srila Prabhupada: "If one loves Krishna, he must love Lord Jesus also. And if one perfectly loves Jesus he must love Krishna too. If he says, "Why shall I love Krishna? I shall love Jesus," then he has no knowledge. And if one says, "Why shall I love Jesus? I shall love Krishna", then he has no knowledge either. If one understands Krishna, then he will understand Jesus. If one understands Jesus, you'll understand Krishna too"

(Srila Prabhupada - Room conversation with Allen Ginsberg, May 12, 1969 / Columbus - Ohio)

~*~

"You have asked to know what is the difference between Jesus Christ and Krishna. That we have several times explained in many meetings, that Krishna is God and Jesus Christ is the son of God. And as there is no difference between father and son, so there is no difference between Krishna and Lord Jesus Christ; but still the son is never equal to the father. So you have got advantage of reading our many books for advancement of knowledge. The best thing will be for you to engage your time more in Sankirtana Party and reading our Krishna Consciousness literature."

(Srila Prabhupada letter to Sucandra, Dec. 8, 1969)

~~

"Sometimes Sri Krsna descends Himself, and sometimes He sends His representative. The major religions of the world-Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Moslem-believe in some supreme authority or personality coming down from the kingdom of God. In the Christian religion, Jesus Christ claimed to be the son of God and to be coming from the kingdom of God to reclaim conditioned souls. As followers of Bhagavad-gita, we admit this claim to be true. So basically there is no difference of opinion. In details there may be differences due to differences in culture, climate and people, but the basic principle remains the same-that is, God or His representatives come to reclaim conditioned souls."

(Prabhupad'as book - Raja Vidya, Chapter 6 :Knowledge of Krsna's Appearance and Activities)

 ~*~

"Jesus Christ was such a great personality—the son of God, the representative of God. He had no fault. Still, he was crucified. He wanted to deliver God consciousness, but in return they crucified him—they were so thankless. They could not appreciate his preaching. But we appreciate him and give him all honor as the representative of God."

~ The Science of Self Realization, By Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 4

~*~

 "As Lord Jesus Christ said, we should hate the sin, not the sinner. That is a very nice statement, because the sinner is under illusion. He is mad. If we hate him, how can we deliver him? Therefore, those who are advanced devotees, who are really servants of God, do not hate anyone. When Lord Jesus Christ was being crucified, he said, "My God, forgive them. They know not what they do." This is the proper attitude of an advanced devotee. He understands that the conditioned souls cannot be hated, because they have become mad due to their materialistic way of thinking. In this Krsna consciousness movement, there is no question of hating anyone. Everyone is welcomed to come and chant Hare Krsna, take krsna-prasada, listen to the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita, and try to rectify material, conditioned life. This is the essential program of Krsna consciousness."

(Prabhupada's book,Path of Perfection Chapter 3: Learning How to See God)








~*~

"A Vaishnava should follow the example of such Vaishnava's as Haridas Thakura, Nityananda Prabhu and also Lord Jesus Christ." SB 4:6:47

Be Here Now - George Harrison

George tells it like it as [at the end]. Its all about love. 

God is love, Krishna is Love [being God], and the love you give is the love you get, or the love you get is the love you give? Both. :)

We need to be a loving society, which can be a balancing act since we still need to tell the truth - but we can learn to tell it politely. 

Additionally, here George speaks of an experience some may not know of [and some may] -

"Once I was on an airplane that was in an electric storm. It was hit by lightning three times, and a Boeing 707 went over the top of us, missing by inches. I thought the back end of the plane had blown off. I was on my way from Los Angeles to New York to organize the Bangladesh concert. As soon as the plane began bouncing around, I started chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The whole thing went on for about an hour and a half or two hours, the plane dropping hundreds of feet and bouncing all over in the storm, all the lights out and all these explosions, and everybody terrified. I ended up with my feet pressed against the seat in front, my seat belt as tight as it could be, gripping on the thing, and yelling Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare at the top of my voice. I know for me, the difference between making it and not making it was actually chanting the mantra. Peter Sellers also swore that chanting Hare Krishna saved him from a plane crash once."

AND

George: "I think it's better that it is spreading into the homes now. There are a lot of 'closet Krishnas, you know. There's a lot of people out there who are just waiting, and if it's not today, it will be tomorrow or next week or next year.

Back in the sixties, whatever we were all getting into, we tended to broadcast it as loud as we could. I had had certain realizations and went through a period where I was so thrilled about my discoveries and realizations that I wanted to shout and tell it to everybody. But there's a time to shout it out and a time not to shout it out. A lot of people went underground with their spiritual life in the seventies, but they're out here in little nooks and crannies and in the countryside, people who look and dress straight, insurance salesmen types, but they're really meditators and chanters, closet devotees."
 
~ George Harrison, both quotes from: Chant and be Happy, Chapter 1

A special soul, he was. Pete Sellers too!  

Circling back to love..... 

Quotes from George about his memories with Srila Prabhupada: 

"I liked Prabhupada’s humbleness. I always liked his humility and his simplicity The servant of the servant of the servant is really what it is, you know. None of us are God—just His servants. He just made me feel so comfortable. I always felt very relaxed with him, and I felt more like a friend. I felt that he was a good friend. Even though he was at the time seventy-nine years old, working practically all through the night, day after day, with very little sleep, he still didn’t come through to me as though he was a very highly educated intellectual being, because he had a sort of childlike simplicity. Which is great, fantastic. Even though he was the greatest Sanskrit scholar and a saint, I appreciated the fact that he never made me feel uncomfortable. In fact, he always went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. I always thought of him as sort of a lovely friend, really, and now he’s still a lovely friend."

VINYL RECORD 45 RPM COLLECTOR'S ITEM! Produced by George Harrison, Hare Krishna mantra / Prayers to the Spiritual Master. If you're a collector this is a great one to have! Please get it thru my link here.


More quotes from George, here.


Related Post: 

Ravi Shankar teaches sitar to George Harrison.

Tick-tock, Grow a Flower Clock

Yes, it can be done! I've thought of it when hiking around, wondering what time this or that plant wakes up or goes to sleep. Then a godsister, tho unknowing of my desire, shared this link, below.

Oh, I have not done it yet. ha It may take me time - but it may not take others time. Spring is not fully here, but its getting close. So buy the appropriate seeds and you can grow a flower clock in your backyard! 

Shhhhh Don't tell anyone. Than when you tell time by taking a sneak-peek at your flowers, everyone can think you are a great mystic. LOL Just kidding, but you can find ways to have a little, honest, fun with it. :)

Article: "Five Minutes To Moonflower."

If you like this blog, please click "Join This Site" located at your right hand side, in blue.

Realizations & Life Lessons

We have so much trippy stuff going on in our Movement.

When we get one drop of it fixed, or at least blocked, we feel a sigh of relief. "Ahhhhh all better - at least for now." :)

However, what would happen if  ....now visualize with me cuz it will take a bit of imagination hehe .... So for a moment think what it actually would be like if ....One day GM and ISKCON devotees found a way to get along, ISKCON and Ritvik devotees found a way to get along, VAD and Sankirtana devotees found a way to get along. And so on.

NOT saying anyone to give up what they believe, just to accept the fact that this is the world we live in and it has not changed with fighting. So can we locate some thread of commonality to get along over? 

If we succeeded, what would we do with it?  Would we get bored? Do some just love the drama?

While some do love drama, it is a mistake to assume everyone does. Many can't stand it. 

There are yet others, not necessarily in the category of enjoying drama, but they find peace bores them. So that too can become a problem in a world that finally found peace.

Next may be a category within a category ha.... Some fault-finders think they're preaching, think they're purifying you - but often are perfectionists [not healthy!] who need to work on themselves to over-come fault finding, and learn how to tolerate others when those others are less than perfect. 

Often they are just seeking perfection in the wrong places. We all may do this at times, it's human. The difference is, they do it too often and can't put on the breaks. Prabhupada is perfect, not me. Krishnaloka is perfect, not this entire Earth planet or every community. 

Those who are qualified would not be upsetting you with preaching, rather they'd find ways to be inspiring for you. 

Sure, sometimes we need to be corrected. A little humility is good. But heavy preaching has been overdone. Now it's time for the enlivenment aspect. 

So lets not go out of our own way of "unnecessarily" expressing negative emotions to a person. That seldom resolves anything anyway. Often just creates a cycle of the same argument. [This post is not about abuse.] 

Besides, many bad habits etc have been 'seen' to fall away 'automatically' when one keeps reading the books, chanting, and doing service. All very pleasant and fun activities! :) 

Therefore, circling back: What would we actually DO if we figured out how to put all that at bay - and everyone just got along? 

Have you ever asked yourself this question? Maybe it takes going thru enough 'stuff' to ask it, but I sure have. And my reply to myself was....

I feared someone out there would merely stir the pot again, that somebody would cause trouble - cuz they were bored, or did not know what to do with the peace, or use a fault-find style of preaching, or have issues of their own they don't want to admit they have.
 
We 'could' all unite in this Movement. Often this gets confused with giving up. Mixed with concepts of taking on others belief's and throwing out our own. It's why I mention a second time - no - we can keep preaching, nicely, what we believe. Just stop seeking out "reasons" to fight!

Someone's not perfect? Nobody's going to think exactly as you do. Nor exactly as I do. Thus, why bring to the surface what it is about them - that bothers you? Instead, either walk away - or show them a beautiful picture of Krishna. 

And a certain amount of [sane] forgiveness may be required, because everyone can not always be on exactly the same page. That is called "Personalism." Not to worry, in shastra even pure devotees had disagreements. It's normal. How we deal with it in kali-yuga, now that is a different topic. 

If we can understand all this, and utilize it to move forward.... next .... What would we do with that "getting along" thing?  :)

Would some stir the pot anyway?  Others seek out the fun of drama cuz their own life is null? Would some say "Look at this tiny spec of imperfection that's irritating me which I discovered within you..." ??

Or would we get back to the mood of the old days where Prabhupada showed what is more important - to put all our personal focus on Krishna, not on each other? [Referring to the tendency to fault-find when it's on others too much or imbalanced.]

I like to hope, we would stop wounding one another, especially out of ignorance, but even with intent. Instead if such a world ever comes to pass - may we all do what we each do:

Be it Deity Service, or Sanskirtana, or Sharing/Preaching online, or Prasadam distribution... etc ...whatever is one's natural propensity - to do it without creating wars.

Vaikuntha on earth. It IS possible.


Can we please start working toward this goal? Actively, and not just lip service. Actions speak louder than words.

Thanks for loaning an ear.

YS,
Priitaa dd

Dr Mishra's Ashrama

When I was a teenager, I was looking for 'more.' Especially I was looking into yoga. One day someone made the discovery that there was a yoga ashrama relatively near us/my group of friends. So one day - we all went. So exciting! :)

This was Dr. Mishra's ashrama.   As I walked in the door, first thing I saw was a young man with a garland of flowers over his ear. Ok, I all ready liked it. ha 

Then, with my friends, I began to walk around and chit chat with the various devotees there. It felt like a very peaceful atmosphere. 

Dr. Mishra had arrived from India. So exciting for the first time in my life, to see a guru! Any guru - ever. He seemed nice.

Later a very young woman there found a bird with an injured wing. She brought it before Dr. Mishra. He kind of ignored the poor thing. She lived there, and maybe felt comfortable enough to pursue the matter. She kept insisting he touch it or at least say something. He did not want to. But she would not let up, ha, and this was all happening in front of a relatively large group of people! Finally he placed his hands over the injured bird and said a few words of blessing. The girl was satisfied. Tho also seemed to have an attitude of: "There, now was that so hard?! " lol

My feelings after he did not show compassion for the bird?

Tho I still liked the ashrama, I lost interest in him. 

However, I will give him credit for something else. 

There is one story. I will tell from memory. You can probably find it with a google search if you want it word-per-word. 

The story is from a devotee who had also gone to Dr. Mishra's ashrama. He kept asking Dr. Mishra all sorts of questions on spiritual life. Dr. Mishra would give an answer, to which the young man had another question. Finally Dr. Mishra told him that if he wanted a deep level of spiritual life, he should go to Prabhupada's Hare Krishna temples. How nice is that! :)

Below is a vid of Dr Mishra's ashrama at a time when Prabhupada and devotees visited: 

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