How to be conscious of Krishna at home. For those working toward initiate lifestyle [with or without ceremony], OR those already initiated to revitalize, OR folks who simply want to do what they can - finding nectar within it. All levels exist here. NO NEED TO JOIN ANY organization. Additionally, there are bits of my life in the Movement of 1970's and beyond. To get the latest post with new info, SUBSCRIBE. :)
Adding spiritual life can be easier when we're experiencing our "ups." Well, sometimes. Other times it may cause a person to not think upon God, since they are having such a great time. :)
Whereas a loss, can lead to a loss of spiritual life. Again, sometimes. Other times it can be the driving force that gets us to place our two hands together in prayer.
Wouldn't it be nice if we all knew exactly how things would wind up categorized so we'd know exactly what to do. Yet in a way, we have the basic idea. A combo of shastra [scripture] with heart. Logic is to calm the emotions, yet positive emotions need to be held, and that is where God comes in. We may not do all this perfectly, but keep on truckin.' Ultimately things pan out. As the reader may suspect, something has happened in my life. Tho not directly to me, rather to a loved one. Which can be frustrating because you can't fix it for your loved one - they are forced to go thru it.
I don't want to get into the private details, just hoping that by sharing a little - it may help others when they go thru something. Considering the material world can be cruel, and sadly too many will indeed go thru 'something,' I write this.
Under stressful circumstances one tends to freeze up. What to do? As touched on, Vedic Prayer, tho I have written "elsewhere" extensively on that and right now feel a need to write about elevating vibration, which includes your spirit. How? This morning I felt awful. Then turned on specific music which caused me to notice, I instantly felt better! It's not that the issue was all gone, but my mood was different, significantly improved.
Of course,instantlydoes not always work for everyone - while for some it does, and for others it may take awhile. There are certain steps or a process to overcome bad feelings, and their accompanying tho past bad experiences. However, when you get to the point where youwant to lift the load, try spiritual music / transcendental sound vibration! Be aware that bad memories try hard to return on various levels, so it can cycle.
Don't beat yourself up for this. Know it's ok & normal for that to happen. Yes, ok and normal but don't allow it to get the upper hand. Simply, keep doing the work to process them, whatever that may be for you as an individual. [And don't "over process" them either. Just balance them.] .....Again, when ready for the music - play music. Below is something I found very moving. Tho feel a need to point out, first I played music that was very upbeat and fast. It's what I needed at the time. You may, or may not. The below, goes slowly and is emotional - tho spiritually emotional. Still, make sure you're ready if you are going thru some issue. [If not, play it with joy in your heart!]
Or do as I did. Start with something that has a slightly faster vibration than you initially are feeling, next gradually increasing that. [Check to make sure it's within your comfort range].This will create a gentle 'shift' in the cells, in the mind, in the physical body [organs, nervous system, etc], and in the soul.
In essence, body/mind and spirit will rise.
After doing that a while, when ready - hear this. It made me feel good, plushelped me think of Lord Chaitanya. Who is He? Briefly: An incarnation of Krishna /God. Considered even more merciful than Krishna Himself, as He forgives countless offenses, He distributed the Holy Names to everyone and everywhere at a time when priests kept this mantra [Hare Krishna] a secret. Plus more. With that said.... [Again can't get video thumbnail to show - please click this - as it is a very melodic and beautiful video, great sound vibration.]
Today a senior devotee who had a lot of personal association with Prabhupada, wrote a post. He asked if godsibings who joined around that same generation, wanted to hear his stories or not - since some are from his memory, all are not recorded nor written down anywhere. Most said yes. Others replied that he should write a book. However, he has no interest in writing a book.
Someone else next told him - then put up a web page. That is when I thought: "Or a blog!" ha And so it has become my turn I suppose, tho I have so little to tell compared to him, or to others.
But I do have one good one. It's one I've hardly shared with anybody - but the time has come! :)
Because it's not about me, it's about Prabhupada. And while I hope to live much longer, I can not say for certain how much time I've left on this planet - so I must share this wonderful glory of our dearmost Srila Prabhupada.
It starts just before I became a devotee.
I was visiting the temple, to check it out. Lucky, or mercifully, Prabhupada was there at that time. If a reader is not familiar with our arotika / worship, all you need to know for this post is: men go to one side, and women go to the other.
Hundreds of devotees from all over the world came to see Prabhupada! It was all one temple could do to contain them. :) Or sometimes they'd stay with a friend in the area, but mostly, temple apartments, ashrama, doubling up ha, etc., it was such fun - ecstatic.
I was there with a guy friend. When it was time for arotika, I went to the women side, and he to the men. Here is what happened next:
Among all those very many devotees, Prabhupada caught my eye - then he looked over to the men side directly at my friend....
Then he looked back to me on the women side, then he looked back to my friend....
And again over to me a third time...He specifically caught my eye each time! At this point I turned away. ha
But how on earth did he know I came to the temple with this friend? If anyone thinks he saw us earlier, think again. That's not practical. You see, Prabhupada was very protected by those who took care of him, and there were large numbers of various devotees including temple presidents, GBC, sanyasi's, ETC, trying to get near him - often succeeding ha. Besides, he has a life of his own :), what to speak of meditating or thinking of Krishna always. Tho that last one answers the question. His connection to Krishna in some way or other way, revealed the above, to him. It is such a small experience in comparison to so many others, yet it is an experience.
[Incidentally, this happened at the N.Y. Henry Street temple, tho it could have happened anywhere.]
No, I do not think myself great for it, just lucky to have been in the right place, at the right time! Thank you Srila Prabhupada for your causeless mercy!
"Nonviolence is generally taken to mean not killing or destroying the body, but actually nonviolence means not to put others into distress. People in general are trapped by ignorance in the material concept of life, and they perpetually suffer material pains. So, unless one elevates people to spiritual knowledge, one is practicing violence. One should try his best to distribute real knowledge to the people, so that they may become enlightened and leave this material entanglement. That is nonviolence." ~ Bhagavad Gita 13.8-12 P "This is the statement of Mahābhārata: "A person who does not disturb or cause painful action in the mind of any living entity, who treats everyone just like a loving father does his children, whose heart is so pure, certainly very soon becomes favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead." .... NOD [Nectar Of Devotion / Bhakti Rasamrita Sindu], ch 7 Please chant Hare Krishna and be Happy! :)
