Meditation: The Power Of Doing Nothing
Meditation is not well understood.
If it were, it would be practiced with the same regularity with which people take care of the other elements of their lives.
In this brief article, I hope to explain the value of this Eastern idea of doing nothing as a way to experience inner depth and wisdom.
The inner person has often been called the soul. This is like a seed. This seed carries the power of life. It also has potentiality that is not known. Sometimes we glimpse this potentiality in those who have been known to do miraculous things, like the saints of certain religions.
The urge for life is the evidence of this seed. Life is not a mere mechanical arrangement like the wiring in a house whose electrical current “animates” various devices. Life is much deeper and more mysterious. A mystery we label as consciousness.
This seed, like the shoot of a young plant, seeks always to grow. And like the young plant, it is vulnerable to the pressures of the environment and to survive must build its inner strength.
Pausing then to simply be and to notice that experience of individuality, we build our inner strength and fortify it from the depersonalizing pressure of society.
When this mechanism of survival is not conscious, we create a psychological shell and habits that protect. Yet when we become more aware, we awaken to our own process.
Putting it another way, conscious living does not usurp the function of the unfolding seed, but instead awakens it to its own process.
In this way, we do not conduct our lives as if from the outer rim of ourselves.
When we affirm the value of the private person within ourselves, we make life an adventure worth living.
Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His book, Never Ever Give Up is offered at no cost to stimulate your success. http://www.theempoweredsoul.com/enter.html
Diwali At Governor’s Mansion in Utah, Arizona
Saturday evening Vaibhavi and I attended the second annual Diwali celebration and dinner (vegetarian) in the Governor’s mansion. This year Dinesh was present with Kalpana, Governor Jon Huntsman and First Lady Mary Kaye (radiant in a sari), Congressman Chris Cannon, and Scott Anderson (CEO of Zion’s Bank).
Others present were Lalit and Bobby Kumar, Bhaskar and Sanchaita, Jagdish Gil, Jayaraman and Rukmini, Joe and Panna Goff, Srinivasan, Sneha Kasera, Jaya Prakash and Satya, Ranjan and Deepa Gupta, Ed and Missy Ekstrom, Ashok and Surekha Joshi, Krishna Shenai, etc. There were about 75 present, with a slightly higher percentage of Indians than Westerners.
It is noteworthy that though the Indian community in Salt Lake City, spearheaded by Dinesh, numbers only 500 families, it has contributed so importantly to the quality of life in Utah. Opening up the mansion for this celebration each year is a measure of Governor Hunstman’s great appreciation and thanks for all that they bring to the state.
Beyond even this, Governor Huntsman and Mary Kaye are in the process of adopting an orphaned Indian girl, one and a half years old. Dinesh has been helping them with this for a year and they expect to fetch her from Gujarat by Xmas. They have renamed her Asha (Hope) Bharati (India). As soon as the Governor and Mary Kaye return to the US with her, they want to bring her to the Spanish Fork temple for a blessing ceremony.
Vaibhavi and I, with the help of Satish Kumar, priest of the Ganesh temple, and Surya, set up an altar in the upstairs dining room with Deities Ganesh and Lakshmi. I was asked by Dinesh to provide the commentary ( * as below) and organize the puja. Satish expertly chanted much of the Sanskrit.
While Satish intoned verses from Sri Suktam, I anointed the foreheads of Gov. Huntsman, Dinesh, and Ashok Joshi. These gentlemen did the same for their wives: Mary Kaye, Kalpana, and Surekha. Their husbands tied the “rakhis” onto their wives’ left wrists and the ladies performed the ceremonial lighting of the lamps. We did Shoda Sadupachara, or the 16 offerings to Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, who is none other than Sita, Rama’s consort. Of the 16 offerings Kalpana offered the akshita symbolic of “padyam (washing the feet), “arghyam (washing the hands), “acamanam” (rinsing the mouth), “snanam” (bathing) etc. and then all three ladies offered flowers a number of times to the chanting of “Mantra Pushpam”. Finally , an offering of sweets, the atonement verses (prayascitta), and the releasing of the Deity.
After the puja, Ed Ekstrom introduced the Governor, who praised the Indian culture and shared the excitement of Asha Bharati’s impending arrival. Chris Cannon spoke and Ashok Joshi wound everything up with a few remarks. Dinner. Home by 11:30 pm.
* “Diwali means ‘row of lights’. When Ram returned to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile, the citizens welcomed his Pushpa Vimana, flower airplane, by lighting thousands of “deepas’, or lights, throughout the city.
The entire saga of Lord Rama is told by the sage Valmiki in the epic narrative, Ramayana. This is definitely the most popular epic in all of Asia. Wherever you go -India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malayasia, Burma, Cambodia, Nepal - you see the Ramayan celebrated in art, architecture, performing arts, literature, puppetry, and sculpture. The Grand Palace in Bankok has a surrounding wall 8 feet high and 5/8 mile long with scenes of the Ramayana from start to finish. The ruins at Anchor Wat feature huge sculptures of scenes from the Ramayana.
When describing the significance of Diwali, Rama’s Homecoming, and of the Ramayana, generally commentators describe it as the triumph of good over evil. As you may know, Rama, on the eve of his coronation as king of Ayodhya, through no fault of his own, was instead sent into exile for 14 years. While in the forest Ram’s beautiful wife Sita, the goddess of fortune, was kidnapped by the demon Ravana. Rama’ allied himself with the monkeys of the forest, including the devoted Hanuman, destroyed Ravana’s city, his army and killed Ravana himself at last. Thus the description is one of good over evil.
But we do not want to elevate ‘evil’ to ‘contender’ status. Evil cannot contend with good, any more than darkness can contend with light. The Festival of Lights celebrates the power of light in the lives of great men and women everywhere. Ravana was not ‘evil’. He was just ignorant: ignorant of God, of spiritual life, spiritual values, spiritual power, spiritual joys. Because he was indifferent to the cultivation of spiritual knowledge and practice, he became, by default, polluted with the three enemies of the soul: lust (kama), anger (krodha), and greed (lobha).
For instance, we know that good health is achieved with effort. The motto of one health club is “There is no such thing as staying the same. You are either striving to get better, or allowing yourself to get worse.” To maintain good health one must eat rightly, exercise and take bath regularly. Failing to exercise, eat correctly, and maintain hygiene, one falls into ill health.
Thus evil was something that overcame Ravana because he was not interested in striving for the light. The sun is available for everyone, but what can you do if someone turns his back on the sun and casts himself into shadow?
At Diwali time we celebrate the superior power of light. As light very easily banishes darkness, though he was a big and powerful demon, Rama easily vanquished Ravana. No one in the history of the world was more righteous than Lord Rama. He was the perfect husband to Sita, the perfect brother to Lakshman, the perfect son of Dasratha, and the perfect ruler of his citizens. Rather than cut corners and seek for cheap short cuts, Rama cheerfully bore all the hardships of 14 years exile. Then, when finally he triumphed, he triumphed in such a grand way that we celebrate it tens of thousands of years later.”
http://Chakra.org is a Vaisnava website designed to encourage the growth of devotion, foster critical thinking, and promote communication among Vaisnavas world-wide. Although differences of opinion will occur, we aim to provide a forum for mutual respect among the multiple strands of our community.
Need to Revive Preaching in the UK
Two recent articles posted on Dandavats, “Tory Leader to visit Hindu temple” and “20,000 to celebrate Diwali in a blaze of lights,” highlight the urgent need for a revival of preaching. The United Kingdom, especially London, needs innovative methods in preaching to the masses.
I appreciate the effort of the present leadership, and their intentions are commendable. Many Hindus are taking to Krsna consciousness, and this is great. However, there is a misconception that politicians like Dave Cameron visiting Bhaktivedanta Manor or holding a Diwali festival with 20,000 Hindus attending is good publicity for Krishna consciousness. Such activities support the belief that the Hare Krishnas are part of the Hindu religion. In some countries, it may be beneficial to align with the local Hindus for preaching purposes; this is not so in Britain where there is a large Hindu population and Hinduism is just another minority religion.
Dave Cameron is the leader of the official opposition political party. He is visiting religious minority groups to gain support for his bid to become the next British prime minister. His visit to the Bhaktivedanta Manor on behalf of the Hindu population of the country was arranged by the Hindu Forum of Britain, who refer to the Manor as a major Hindu temple in Watford. Such a high-profile leader visits a Hindu temple as part of his political campaign canvassing the minority religions. How much more loudly does one need to broadcast to the population of Britain that the Hare Krishnas are Hindus?
Something needs to be done separately, to address the lack of preaching amongst other groups, mainly the populations whose ancestors’ heritage is from the British Isles. The activities at the Manor should continue, so as not to cause a disturbance. The situation can be beneficial if the devotees there were encouraged to co-operate with financial and utilititarian support for broader preaching.
London is getting much degraded, in my opinion. Young men in their late teens and early twenties take drugs, join gangs, drink alcohol and commit crimes. Even some ten- and 11-year-olds are drifting into delinquency. Their limited vocabulary seems almost an emblem of their limited potential. With little of no parental guidance in some cases, the children look only to each other. Family values seem to be breaking down. I see little hope for these future leaders of Britain except to give them Krsna consciousness. Amazingly, most of these youngsters have not even heard of the Hare Krishnas. Hare Krishna should be a household name. Even in third-world countries in Africa, Hare Krishna is known by the common people.
No material education is necessary to understand the language of Bhakti. Dynamic preaching is needed. I propose a dynamic resurgence of preaching, as during the days of Srila Prabhupada. To the east, west, north and south of London are many boroughs, districts and towns and villages with thousands of streets and millions of people. All are searching for happiness.
To inspire the younger devotees of this country, I propose that the GBC of the UK invite all stalwart, experienced and enthusiastic homegrown devotees — such as Janananda Prabhu, Mahavisnu Swami, Bhakti Vikas Swami, Prabhavisnu Swami, Partha Sarathi das Goswami and others — to head a resurgence in preaching on a huge scale. Partha Sarathi Maharaj — formerly from England, but little-known there, unfortunately — was instrumental in spreading KC through mass distribution to people using innovative methods, such as his tent campaigns in South Africa. His experience is valuable.
Actually, all the devotees I’ve mentioned are constantly preaching in all parts of the world, and they are great achievers for Srila Prabhupada. They have dedicated their lives to his mission. Charity begins at home, and these senior devotees should be encouraged by the GBC to cooperate in taking Krsna consciousness to every corner of London and to reach out to every little street in every part of the country.
Some planning is required. However, it is counterproductive to get tied down with unnecessary meetings, wasting hours of valuable time speaking of strategies, getting anxious and all fired up, but without action. Just reach out and preach. This will surely please Srila Prabhupada.
http://Chakra.org is a Vaisnava website designed to encourage the growth of devotion, foster critical thinking, and promote communication among Vaisnavas world-wide. Although differences of opinion will occur, we aim to provide a forum for mutual respect among the multiple strands of our community.
Story About the Passing of New Vrindavan Cow, Vraja
“I don’t think people realize just how gentle, considerate, and intelligent these huge beasts are. They need our protection and our love and in return, they will give their very life, their total dedication in service to us. Can anyone say that about a tractor? Does a tractor soften our hearts or teach us lessons of life? Can a tractor show us the interconnectedness of all living creatures on the deepest spiritual and emotional level? From these great animals we can learn all there is to know about relationships and our own false ego and hang ups that keep us from surrendering fully to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and being in harmony with all that is around us.”
One day I was working in our garage when this pickup truck came flying out the lane from Balabhadra’s and stopped in a cloud of dust.
“Do you know who lives at that farm?” the guy asked me.
“Yes”, I replied, and he said”I just spent the last hour in a tree with my friend. A big bull chased us and we had to climb it to escape. He finally moved away a little and I was able to get down and make a run for the fence, but my friend is still up in the tree!”
I looked at him for a while, then asked, “Were you carrying a 5 gallon plastic bucket?”
His jaw dropped and he looked at me in surprise. “How did you know that?” he asked.
The reason I knew was that I had had similar experiences, and had guessed he had been carrying tools in a bucket. I forget why he was out in Balabhadra’s pasture, but it was some legitimate thing, working on a phone line or something, and he needed small hand tools.
While I was still healthy and doing Farmer’s Markets, and Balabhadra was still getting established, we used to clean out his barn in exchange for keeping the manure. I would back down into the barn and Tulasi and I would load 5 gallon buckets with the black gold. Having it in buckets made unloading and applying to the garden easier.
Vraja would come into the barn and be a real annoyance. He would get in the way. He would poke his horns in the buckets of manure and then toss his head. I tried to keep chasing him away but he was very persistent. I actually scheduled runs to the barn at the times I knew he would be out on the pasture where he couldn’t see us. It wasn’t that he was mean, but the chance he would step on your foot inadvertently or swing his head to chase flies and catch you with one of his long horns was a consideration. Mainly though, was being in the way.
Turns out it wasn’t that he necessarily liked hanging out with us; some curiosity was there, but mostly it was the buckets. Balabhadra fed him grain out of one, so he was conditioned to expect some goodies whenever he saw one and would crowd in so he didn’t miss anything. Hence, seeing someone in the pasture with a bucket, he naturally followed them and his enthusiasm for an expected treat had been misinterpreted as aggression. I still laugh visualizing those guys up a tree with Vraja waiting patiently below.
http://Chakra.org is a Vaisnava website designed to encourage the growth of devotion, foster critical thinking, and promote communication among Vaisnavas world-wide. Although differences of opinion will occur, we aim to provide a forum for mutual respect among the multiple strands of our community.
Israeli Folk Dance Reminds Me of Krishna’s Rasa Dance
Some acquaintances of mine recently told me about how wonderful it was to go to what is known as the “Israeli folk dance” at the local synagogue where people of all ages get involved with this style of dancing. Since I was always shy and not really a dancer and also because I am not Jewish, I was reluctant to attend. They told me anyone could go.
So I finally decided to take a peek one Sunday evening (after the local ISKCON temple program, ironically) to see what it was all about, just as a casual observer. While both locations were religious or spiritual institutions, each had their own unique atmosphere that were gulfs apart in terms of intent and ideology. I’m glad I went because while driving back home I had these incredible realizations that I would like to share with devotees.
I entered the synagogue and to my surprise there were as many as 100 or more men and women of varying ages all participating in a folk dance that for the most part was very lyrical. The choreography and music was very refreshing and something I had never seen before. There were people from many walks of life and faiths. I thought to myself, how interesting. Interesting that this many people can come together and enjoy the social function of just dancing. My mind of course went to Krsna.
I sat down and spent an hour or so just watching the different people dance and suddenly I thought of the “rasa dance” wherein Lord Krsna expands Himself into millions of duplicate forms and dances with millions of gopis and of course, His eternal beloved consort, Srimati Radharani. Everything began to make sense. This is what people need. Dance is the eternal function of the soul in every culture throughout the entire planet since the beginning of time. But this type of dancing was material, temporary, perhaps an ancient memory of the REAL, eternal dance, transcendental in nature.
Israeli dance to me is a strange blend of Greek, traditional Israeli and even Russian dance steps that have a very elegant quality to it. Sometimes it’s fast and modern, sometimes slow and classical. Whereas in modern dance, such as disco, country-western et al the main focus is sense gratification and sex desire, that is, men and women coming together to meet and mate, Israeli dance is somewhat different in that the dancers sometimes form circles and clap and have very unique dance steps. It’s not overtly lusty.
I wondered what Srila Prabhupada would make of all this and we all know that he would look at this from a pure Krsna conscious point of view. Fortunately, I could also. Of course, there were no deities. While the concept of bringing men and women together for such a social event may seem pleasing, it is primarily self-centered, in other words, it excluded the center of attraction, Lord Sri Krsna as the supreme enjoyer.
I then wondered what ISKCON would have been like if Srila Prabhupada introduced this kind of temple worship where, rather than having men and women segregated as opposed to dancing together, would the movement have been more popular? Maybe it would because it would not have seemed like a “strict” religious movement. That is, popular in terms of a place where one can congregate without feeling alienated by institutional constraints.
I then said to myself, no, this was not in keeping with the Vedic conclusions and Krsna consciousness in general and besides, men and women in the temple were eventually meeting and marrying anyway, dancing together or not. This would have gone against the original nature of the temple environment Srila Prabhupada established in keeping with the dictates for practicing pure Krsna consciousness.
Krsna always had to be in the center, else, ISKCON would have degenerated into just another fad, another mundane religion. In fact, what makes Krsna consciousness so unique is that, to my knowledge it is the only spiritual movement that incorporates sankirtana, congregational dancing into their temple worship, whereas other religions tend to concentrate on singing hymns and listening to sermons. If there is dancing and food, it is usually a separate social function for fund-raising etc.
Still, I enjoyed watching everyone dance and drove home feeling a sense of sadness for these souls caught up, as I sometimes am, in the modes of passion when their eternal rasa is to dance eternally with Krsna in Goloka, Vrndavana in the spiritual sky, their only real home. I also sensed that these dancers were very lonely.
Krsna consciousness is not easy. But just as we became Krsna conscious, we must, as Srila Prabhupada often said, “Hope against hope,” pray that one day they will also come to grips with the conclusions of the Vedas and join the progressive march back to Godhead to dance forever in their eternal rasa with Lord Sri Krsna.
http://Chakra.org is a Vaisnava website designed to encourage the growth of devotion, foster critical thinking, and promote communication among Vaisnavas world-wide. Although differences of opinion will occur, we aim to provide a forum for mutual respect among the multiple strands of our community.
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