Archive for the 'Monday Morning Greetings' Category

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #53 – The Philosopher’s Corner: Quandary I

December 29th, 2025

Quandary I:

 

If God is perfect and complete, how can we possibly increase His pleasure? And if we can’t, is there any purpose to our devotion?

 

Response:

 

God wouldn’t be God if He wasn’t perfect and complete. But He also wouldn’t be God if His pleasure couldn’t increase. Thus, our devotion can increase God’s pleasure.

 

Explanation:

 

We find these types of quandaries puzzling only because of a basic philosophical fallacy. We tend to confine the possibilities of what God can do to reasoning based on our experience of universal natural laws. God, by definition, however, is not subject to natural laws. He’s governed only by His will.

 

Space and time, for example, do not rule God. All His activities and experiences are therefore not temporal. Thus, both His ontological nature and the expansion of His pleasure are perfect and complete and can co-exist at the same time. This phenomenon is described in the Śrī Īśopaniṣad:

 

“The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Invocation

 

Further confirmation comes from śāstra:

 

“‘The highest degree’ indicates greatness that has reached its ultimate peak. But in fact, that endless happiness has no limit.” Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.2.192

 

Commentary:

 

“The glories of devotional service are difficult to describe without straining the capacity of words. The phrase parā kāṣṭhā (‘highest degree’) implies that no higher degree exists. But the happiness of pure devotional service never reaches a final peak. It keeps on increasing forever. Calling it the parā kāṣṭhā of happiness is only a poetic attempt to do it justice with words available in human language.”

 

Śrīla Prabhupāda illustrates this principle:

 

Śrīla Prabhupāda was asked if God can do anything, can he create a rock that he can’t lift. His answer, “Yes, and then he would lift it!” In other words, not being confined by time, both events can co-exist eternally.

 

In other words, it is reasonable that in the realm of God, contradictory events can exist simultaneously by His inconceivable potency.

 

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura affirms this principle:

 

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wrote about this in an essay, “The Potency that Removes All Contradictions.”

 

“Sri Krishna, the embodiment of eternality, absolute knowledge, and unlimited bliss, possesses an inconceivable potency called virodha-bhanjika-śakti (removing all contradictions). By the influence of this potency, all contradictory principles and natures are unified and eternally present.”[1]

 

Final Challenge:

 

If God is above reason and anything is possible by His acintya śakti (inconceivable potency), then what mechanism does one have to dispute any claim about God or use reason to affirm his existence?

 

When we say that God has inconceivable potency that transcends the natural laws that are the basis of reasoning, it doesn’t mean that reasoning or logical inference (anumāna) is not an important method of knowing, even knowing many aspects of God’s existence. It means that when it comes to knowing God’s special nature and the realm of His internal potency, we cannot limit our understanding of God by logical reasoning alone. We must rely on scripture aided by the guidance of guru and the realizations born of prayer and meditation.

 

Simply put, the fact that God is above reason, doesn’t mean he is below reason.

 

Resolution to Quandary I:

 

Our humble devotion, if done without motive, can increase the happiness of God.

 

How wonderful is Krishna!

 


[1] I have written about this and have provided Śrīla Bhaktivinoda’s full essay https://wavesofdevotion.com/2025/07/07/the-potency-that-removes-all-contradictions/

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #52 – Is Wearing Vaiṣṇava Dress Important?

December 22nd, 2025

Is Wearing Vaiṣṇava Dress Important?[1]

 

When Śrīla Prabhupāda came to the West he wore the typical dress of an Indian sādhu. The male followers he recruited basically wore the same. He also wore a kurtā, a stitched upper garment, which was introduced to India from outside. But the general simple cloth dress devotees wore, featuring a lower garment for men which was unstitched and wrapped and saris for women, was very much like the dress Krishna and the residents of Vrindavan wore. At least that is how Krishna’s dress was depicted in Vaiṣṇava painting and iconography for thousands of years. And this artwork was often done or supervised by realized Vaiṣṇavas with internal realization of what Krishna looked like based on the Bhāgavatam.

 

“Wearing a peacock-feather ornament upon His head, blue karṇikāra flowers on His ears, a yellow garment as brilliant as gold, and the Vaijayantī garland, Lord Kṛṣṇa exhibited His transcendental form as the greatest of dancers as He entered the forest of Vṛndāvana, beautifying it with the marks of His footprints. He filled the holes of His flute with the nectar of His lips, and the cowherd boys sang His glories.” Bhāgavatam 10.21.5

 

During Śrīla Prabhupāda’s time the devotees almost always wore Indian dress. Of course, at the time ISKCON was more or less monastic. Even married people who joined ISKCON lived in the ashram, were maintained by the temple, and served either as fulltime missionaries or did essential services supporting that mission. Wearing robes served a purpose. After all, ISKCON’s audience for their outreach were mostly disaffected youth who were attracted to India and alternative lifestyles. The requirement to dress just like devotees did not act as an impediment. Rather, it popularized the movement. The tactic was successful. Many people joined.

 

After Śrīla Prabhupāda left, the movement changed. Hardly any devotees now live in the ashrams, and ISKCON members are mostly middle-aged or older. The audience for outreach is no longer disaffected youth, but people in the world. Is offering a chance to become “Indian” still a good way to help present what Śrīla Prabhupāda came to give?

 

Let me relate and comment on a personal story that I think will bring this discussion further along.

 

Over twenty years ago, my personal secretary, who was the chief secretary of a major advertising agency on Madison Avenue, invited me to her company on “Dress Down Friday.” Once a month the company allowed its employees to dress casually. I was invited to come in the afternoon.

 

When I came, there was a large computer printout on the wall that read “WELCOME HARE KRISHNA.” I went from office to office where the people were eager to meet me until I reached the end of the long corridor which opened into a larger reception area. Many of the people I visited followed me. There the production manager came out of her office to greet me. When I gave her a lush Radha Govinda rose garland from the temple she practically melted onto the floor. She then asked me respectfully, “Why do you dress that way?”

 

I explained that my dress was like a uniform, in that is not essential for my duties, but has a utility. I gave the example of policemen. Although their uniforms help people identity them as officers of the law and engenders a martial mood, they could also do the same job as plainclothesmen. Similarly, wearing robes helps others recognize a devotee of Krishna and engenders a mood of devotion, although one could certainly practice devotion in ordinary dress without any spiritual impediment. I explained further that for devotees living in the world, at least in the West, it seems more practical to wear the clothes of their local culture, and that mostly my dress was useful for monastics, priests, and personal worship.

 

So based on my experience here is what is what I concluded:

 

The most important principle in dress is dressing respectfully, especially when approaching God. There are certainly times when wearing “devotional clothes” has utility in causing devotees of Krishna to be recognized and in engendering a devotional mood. Realized preachers understand where, for whom, and in what circumstances the dress that Śrīla Prabhupāda brought from India has relevance and when it is a distraction. Like anything else in Krishna consciousness, effective application of any principle depends on the intelligence and realization of the person applying it.

 

Of course, being identified as a monk, if one truly is one, usually brings respect, even in the West. Vaiṣṇava dress is certainly a respectful and clean way to approach God.

 

For me, I am a monk and mostly live in India. Vaiṣṇava dress suits me in every way, wherever I go and whatever I am doing.

 

For you: Chant and be happy!

 


[1] Just before I was to send this to my editor, I found out that I published a similar article two and a half years ago. I decided to still publish this one as it deals with the subject from a different angle.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #51 – Damn the Expedient!

December 15th, 2025

Damn the Expedient![1]

 

It bothers me when people, knowingly or unknowingly, neglect or minimize what is right in favor of what they see as convenient or practical. It is called expediency. Perhaps that bothers all of us. I know it especially irks me. I pray to be free from this tendency.

 

People who manage seem particularly susceptible to minimizing or neglecting what is proper and focusing on what is seemingly practical. All of us are challenged regularly, however, with such choices, especially when the issue is somewhat subtle. In such situations, only the thoughtful and saintly can consistently avoid the lure of seeking a material advantage, and risking their soul, in lieu of what is right.

 

Risking their soul? For each step forward in life we have a myriad of choices to make, some more crucial than others. The soul is consciousness that reaches its fulfillment in selflessness or devotion. Dharma is the science of making the choice that moves one towards a clearer conception of the self as selfless and devoted. All other choices, by virtue of being self-serving, only further obscure that vision. So yes, expediency is at the cost of the soul.

 

It is no wonder, therefore, that this promotion of dharma and the concomitant warning against expediency rests at the root of classical Indian thought. In fact, one of the most famous moral guides in India is the Kauilya Sūtras (aphorisms) by Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, which was written specifically to temper the lure of expediency by promoting dharma, especially for those in positions of leadership. The first aphorism sets the tone for the book by highlighting the fruit of dharma, doing what is right in the face of expediency.

 

sukhasya mūla dharma

The root of happiness is dharma, righteousness.

 

If the Kauilya Sūtras is an important moral guidebook found in classical Indian literature, the Bhagavad-gītā is an even more prominent book of classical Indian thought. The same message that dharma, not expedience, leads to auspiciousness is also stressed there. That can especially be seen in the connection between its first and last verse, which is significant, as the first and last verse of a book are one of the important indications of a book’s theme according to classical hermeneutics. Here is something I wrote about this point in a previous Monday Morning Greetings:

 

In the very first verse of the Gītā, King Dhtarāra inquires from Sañjaya, his mystical advisor, about the impending battle at Kuruketra between his sons and the sons of Pāṇḍu led by Arjuna:

“Dhtarāra said: O Sañjaya, after assembling in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruketra, what did my sons and the sons of Pāṇḍu do, being desirous to fight?”

The commentators explain that although Dhtarāra is concerned with how the holy place will influence the battle, he expected victory in this ugly fratricidal war because of the greater size of his son’s army.[2] The verse also forebodes victory for the sons of Pāṇḍu. The battlefield is a place of pilgrimage (dharma-kṣetra) and Krishna, who upholds and protects dharma (righteousness), is on their side.

The last verse of the Gītā states its conclusion and answers Dhtarāra’s initial inquiry definitively:

“Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.”

The connection seems obvious, although I have never seen it stated. The first verse is a view of the battle through the eyes of a materialist filled with anxiety about a situation he cannot control, calculating success based on one’s personal power rather than doing what’s right. In contrast the last verse, spoken by his advisor Sañjaya is a view of that same world through the eyes of a spiritualist, seeing success or victory not by expedience or material superiority, but by choosing righteousness or dharma. Dharma here is represented by the presence of Krishna, the master of all mystics, and His devotee Arjuna, the supreme archer. (“The Talking Book,” Monday Morning Greetings 2017 #48)

 

So the Gītā also says, “Damn the Expedient!” I pray never again to fall prey to it.

 

“Cowardice asks: Is it safe? Expediency asks: Is it politic? But conscience asks: Is it right?” — William Morley Punshon

 

 


[1] This is a reprint from June 17, 2019. I now have almost 12 years of Monday Morning Greetings. Many or most of my readers have signed up to receive them in the years that followed. For the earliest readers, it’s difficult to remember ones written so long ago. Therefore, when I am engaged in other writing projects and don’t have as much time to complete a new one, I have no qualms about re-editing and posting an old one. Although you may see me do this more frequently now, I still hope it will not be too frequent.

[2] Before the battle the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra were given the choice of either Krishna or Krishna’s armies. They chose Krishna’s armies which gave them even more confidence in their military superiority. It proved to have been an expedient choice.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #50 – Some Sannyāsī!

December 8th, 2025

 

Some Sannyāsī![1]

 

I was sitting on a wooden bed in my small room in Vrindavan. The floor was packed with visiting Iranian Vaiṣṇavas. Consistent with their refined culture, they piled their gifts next to me on my bed. There were dozens of fresh pomegranates as big as my head (well, almost), boxes of the best pistachios in the world, sweet lemons, dates, figs, and orange blossom cookies. And that is just a partial list. You get the idea. My bed was filled to the rafters, so to speak, with an ocean of exotic Persian goodies. Suddenly in walks Bhaktin Meaghan, an actress from New York. She squeezed into the small space next to the bed, paid obeisances, and then looked up at the mountain of fine delicacies on my bed right above her and quips, “Some sannyāsī!” There is nothing like playfully irreverent New York humor. I loved it.

 

But twenty years later I’m still “some sannyāsī!”

 

I needed to leave India for a week for visa reasons. I chose Thailand because of its proximity to India, and I have one student there whose family would cook for me and bring prasādam. When a friend found out about my trip, he made me a deal I could not refuse. He offered to pay for my tickets and the hotel! When I arrived, I had no idea he would book the best. I couldn’t imagine a more majestic five-star palace. To make matters worse, the receptionist saw me in my sannyāsa robes and demonstrated how much people in that country revere monks. She gave me what looked like the king’s suite. The room was even much better than the one my patron paid for! So, I did what I usually do wherever I am. I looked at the place through the eyes of the śāstra.

 

Here’s what I saw.

 

The Science of Material Enjoyment

 

These places employ the science of comfort to perfection. From the construction and organization of the rooms to the attentiveness of the staff, there was nothing I could think of that might be lacking in terms of hospitality. Each guest is treated like God. When the environment moves according to one’s desires it creates a sense that one is the enjoyer and controller. So I observed people practically floating around the place in that mode of happiness.

 

Duality

 

There is sand in the sweet rice, as the saying goes. As nice as something might be, it just takes one small thing to ruin it. I remember when I was young how much I hated school and the joy of Friday. By Sunday the joy was already mixed with the dread of Monday. I would have to return to the grade level factory of modern education that I abhorred. It’s the “last meal on death row” phenomenon. How can we enjoy something that will soon end to be replaced by what we hate or even fear? So yes, people floated around in a mode of happiness but was it real joy? Could they ever escape the existential dread of the problems that the temporality of their lives offered?

 

Happiness is consciousness not things

 

The face is the index of the mind. As much as the guests were lavished with comfort and served heavenly delights, their joy could not match that of the simple smiles of the humble Thai people who served them. They almost assuredly lived in simple families with modest amenities. The contrast in countenance, however, was stark, showing that happiness is consciousness not things.

 

Logos (a divine rational order)

 

There is a divine rational order. I wrote about this extensively.[2] Basically, there is objective truth, a standard of beauty and so on, and when things are done according to those standards it creates a sense of harmony. This hundred- room hotel features a large courtyard of pools, waterways, and gardens with small forest bowers, all weaving around the hotel. It’s stunning. My patron even joked that it’s “sannyāsī-proof.” He noticed my black marker had stained the couch in my room. He thought he would be charged for the damage but was amazed when he frantically started to rub the stains with a damp towel. It so easily wiped clean. Is there anything they have not thought of?! Anyway, I love when I see things done in a manner according to the right standards. It reminds me of God, even when used the wrong way.

 

Some sannyāsī

 

As I am writing this in the early morning sitting on my large balcony overlooking the marvelous gardens and waterways, I think of the simple sadhus of Govardhan and how they live happily in the simplest dwellings. I can’t help but hanker for Braja. I then look at myself and think “some sannyāsī!”

 

 


[1] The word “some” can be used sarcastically as an ironic understatement to imply that something is worthless or far below expectations.

[2] https://wavesofdevotion.com/2025/01/27/logos-logic-and-prasādam-2/

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #49 – Until We Got Nothing but God

December 1st, 2025

I attended some very good lectures at the Govardhan Retreat Center this week. Many good points were made but one stood out.

 

“Old age takes away everything until we are left with nothing but Him.”[1]

 

How true! The nature of this world, especially old age, seems to rob us of everything superficial and temporary until our only recourse is to take shelter of Him, who is our only solace. A faithful theist sees all this as mercy.

 

As I further contemplated this point, I realized how much this sober description of how the world works to liberate us from our false identity. This is a foundational point of Vaiṣṇava theology. In fact, it is the very definition of mukti given in the Bhāgavatam:

 

“Liberation is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies.” Bhāgavatam 2.10.6

 

A true devotee thus determinedly tries to shed or purify material designations and consciously embrace eternal identity:

 

“I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaiśya or a śūdra. Nor am I a brahmacārī, a householder, a vānaprastha or a sannyāsī. I identify myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the maintainer of the gopīs.” Padyāvalī 74

 

The method of shedding this false conception of life is to engage the senses in the service of God. In fact, it is the very definition of bhakti:

 

Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.” Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.12.

 

And only when one does this can one sincerely and with feeling approach God:

 

“My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.” Bhāgavatam 1.8.26

 

Let me finish today with my own “until we got nothing but God” experience:

 

My world was moving rapidly away from how I wanted it to be. It seemed all I had left was God. Perhaps this was over twenty years ago. I took shelter of that quaint isolated cabin in Gītā-nagarī on the river where the saintly Satsvarūpa Mahārāja wrote Śrīla Prabhupāda’s biography. For days I chanted all day. A strong realization came:

 

“What I was doing, serving God by chanting His names, and the identity of the person doing it (I am the eternal soul who is the servant of God), does not end with this body. All the other things I was doing for pleasure based on the false ego (I am this body) ends with death and is filled with duality and fear. I was suddenly imbued with fearlessness. My petty problems began to seem superficial. I felt great relief.”

 

Until we got nothing but God. What mercy!

 

 


[1] From a lecture by Śrīmān Bhūrijana dāsa.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #48 – Sādhus of Vṛndāvana

November 24th, 2025

Sādhus of Vndāvana [1]

 

A question recently came to my mind. I have lived here in Vṛndāvana for almost forty-four years. Why?

 

Of course, the main reason I am here is that my sevā, or service, is here. I help pilgrims, especially from abroad, to enter, understand, and experience Vṛndāvana.

 

I am also here because there are sādhus or saintly people that live or visit here and I benefit from their association. And that is the subject of this week’s Monday Morning Greetings.

 

Sādhu I

 

A friend shared his efforts during Kārttika to deepen his attraction for the holy name of Krishna. He described a moment of intense disappointment and frustration. Despite his effort to just focus on chanting, he was not getting what he wanted. He subtly told me that he was so desperate that he almost began to question the practice itself. At that point his heart suddenly opened. His  experience of the holy name became deeper than ever before.

 

The only thing separating us from a full revelation of God is our desire to embrace His grace. The sādhu’s extreme disappointment was only a reflection of his intense desire to be with Krishna and serve Him in the form of His holy name. I am grateful for such company.

 

Sādhu II

 

Another friend just arrived. Every year he spends the winter in Govardhana. His health is so chronic and debilitating that he can only leave his bed for five or six hours a day before again collapsing in exhaustion. We met and compared notes. He shared that although he is in more pain than ever before. his meditation on the holy name keeps on deepening. It confirmed for me a very important point — the holy name is non-different from Krishna. His appearance is therefore not ultimately dependent on one’s ability and effort to produce it. How else to explain meditation on the holy name increasing even when the body is ravaged with pain? The holy name manifests by its own will in response to one’s sincere desire to serve Krishna. The association of such devotees is priceless.

 

Sādhu III— A Remembrance

 

When word came to me that Śrīla Prabhupāda’s godbrother Akiñcana Krishna dāsa Bābājī was hospitalized and near death, I immediately rushed to the CFC hospital in Vṛndāvana. That was more than thirty-five years ago. Bābājī Mahārāja was famous for chanting the holy name non-stop day and night. Even Śrīla Prabhupāda described him as having no material desires and at the highest level of devotion.[2] Unfortunately, by the time I arrived he had already departed for Nandagrāma, the home of Krishna, where he would soon leave the world. As Bābājī Mahārāja had left the hospital only minutes before, the doctor was still in the room. I inquired from him about his patient’s condition. What he told me was astounding. Although Bābājī Mahārāja had been unconscious when the doctor put his stethoscope to his heart, he heard the constant repetition of the holy name. I didn’t doubt what I was told and years later it was confirmed. I was studying a book on classical meditation for a course I was teaching. It described that the perfection of chanting a mantra after years of concentrated practice is that the mantra becomes so deeply embedded in the subconscious that it continues non-stop without extraneous effort!

 

How fortunate to meet the sādhus of Vṛndāvana!

 

“The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.” (Cc. Madhya-līlā 22.54)

 

 


[1] This is a highly edited entry originally published from November 25, 2019.

[2] “Śrīla Prabhupāda himself had spoken of Akiñcana Krishna dāsa Bābājī as nikiñcana, ‘having no material attachments,’ and paramahasa, ‘a swanlike pure devotee.’” From Akiñcana Krishna dāsa Bābājī’s obituary in Back to Godhead, June 1982.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #47 – What I Learned from Blind Hockey

November 17th, 2025

Paul[1] is a reasonably successful professional film maker who is based in Govardhan in the winter with his wife Kristina, who owns and manages several high-end boutiques in Toronto. Although Kristina by nature very much likes exquisite and fine things, the inner spiritual beauty of this outwardly rather unrefined Indian town captured her heart. She strongly wanted to stay. Anyway, they wound up as my neighbors, and we became friends. This evening, I am very much looking forward to Paul’s visit to show me the final cut of his new documentary Blind Hockey to get my input.

 

Blind hockey? I was as surprised as you. Although it follows the basic guidelines of traditional hockey like having five players and a goalie, here are a few of the adjustments made in the rules that makes it work:

 

The puck is larger (about 5½ inches in diameter), made of metal, and filled with ball bearings so it makes noise when it moves allowing players to track it by sound.

 

Teams use verbal communication constantly — calling “pass,” “shot,” etc. — to keep everyone oriented.

 

All players must have under 15 percent vision. The players are divided into three groups and classified based on their level of visual impairment:

 

  • B1 (red helmet): Totally blind (goalies must be in this category)
  • B2 (white helmet): 3-5 percent vision. Can barely recognize shapes but certainly not any details.
  • B3 (black helmets): Over five but under 15 percent vision. Everything is just a deep blur.

 

Teams are balanced so that both sides have a mix of players, thus ensuring fair play.

 

These are my realizations watching blind hockey.

 

Gratitude

 

Naturally when watching something like this, one begins to think how horrible it would be to be blind. It is just wonderful to see the beauty of the world and to be able to function independently with the help of clear vision. We, however, take our sight for granted. Watching blind hockey increased my gratitude for the vision God gave me and all the other gifts of God I take for granted.

 

Is Our Sight Worth It?

 

I wonder, however, if most of us would be better off devotionally without our sight. Imagine no more scrolling, wasting our time on social media, and for some even peeping at things we shouldn’t. Perhaps we would use that time in chanting and hearing about Krishna, rather than degrading our consciousness in frivolity. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam warns us in a poetic way how useless the senses can be.

 

“The eyes which do not look at the symbolic representations of the Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu [His forms, name, quality, etc.] are like those printed on the plumes of the peacock…” Bhāgavatam 2.3.22

 

And more than useless, our senses can degrade us. Is our sight worth it? Hmm?

 

Ultimately happiness is consciousness not things

 

There was a sociological experiment that compared the happiness of two groups over a five-year period. It involved those who had just become quadriplegics and those who had just became lottery winners. At the beginning those who became quadriplegics were naturally depressed and those who won the lottery elated. At the end of five years there was absolutely no difference in their happiness. What happened? My take: Those who won the lottery spent more of their time trying to control and enjoy the world which ultimately depresses the consciousness, while those who were quadriplegic were forced to spend more time developing a better mental approach to life. That type of work raises the consciousness. Watching Blind Hockey I got the impression that these visually impaired athletes were not any less happy than those with full vision reaffirming that ultimately happiness is more a matter of our consciousness than anything else.

 

I watched the film and gave Paul my feedback. I very much liked the film, but I had to frankly tell Paul that the audio was muddled and difficult to hear. It was just terrible. Paul is an accomplished professional who knows his craft. He therefore looked at me puzzled as if to politely question what in the world I was talking about? It suddenly occurred to me to raise my hand to the back of my ears to check my hearing aids. The casing wasn’t shut, so the battery was not activated. My hearing was impaired the whole time! We laughed hysterically. What an image. The hearing impaired sannyāsī watching blind hockey!

 

I enjoyed Paul’s visit. A good time was had by all.

 

And that’s what I learned from blind hockey.

 

 


[1] If you want to find out about Blind Hockey and other works by Paul Dombrovskis check his Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pauldombrovskis/ and https://pauldombrovskis.com/.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #46 – More Than Meets the Eye

November 10th, 2025

I found the 16th chapter of the Antya-līlā of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmta very intriguing.

 

The last eight chapters (14-20) describe Śrī Caitanya’s intense feelings of separation from the Lord at the end of His life. He is repeatedly described there as lapita— one who talks like a crazy man. We are told that His transcendental madness is so mysterious and deep that:

 

“Even though one is very advanced and learned, he cannot understand it.” Antya-līlā 14.5

 

The reason I found chapter 16 so intriguing was because within these last chapters, which exclusively describe the Lord’s transcendental madness, this chapter focuses on the glories of mahā-prasādam. My immediate reaction, “that’s an interesting subject, but why here?”

 

This post is my attempt to explain why.

 

After Śrī Caitanya tastes and then distributes Jagannātha mahā-prasādam to His confidential associates, He comments:

 

“These ingredients, such as sugar, camphor, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, butter, spices and licorice, are all material. Everyone has tasted these material substances before.”

 

“However,” the Lord continued, “in these ingredients there are extraordinary tastes and uncommon fragrances. Just taste them and see the difference in the experience.

 

“Apart from the taste, even the fragrance pleases the mind and makes one forget any other sweetness besides its own.” Antya-līlā 16.108-111

 

Let’s unpack what the Lord is saying here.

 

When foodstuffs are offered to the Lord and then accepted by His devotee as prasādam, the experience, even the sensual one, mystically far exceeds in relish and inner satisfaction the tasting of those same ingredients as bhoga, food not offered to the Lord.

 

The potency of devotional items to invoke a sensual and emotional experience far beyond what those same material ingredients can normally arouse holds true with any sense experience in relation to God.

 

For example, the apparently ordinary syllables of mantra can please the ear far beyond what any mundane poetry or musical composition can offer, or the vision of the Deity or a picture of the Lord can be experienced as far more beautiful that any sculpture or painting an artist can create.

 

Although in general such experiences depend upon one’s purity and devotion, by the mercy of Śrī Krishna most sincere devotees regardless of their level of devotion are occasionally blessed with such experiences to encourage their faith.

 

How exactly does this happen?

 

The śāstras reveal that when something is spiritualized by offering it to God, and approached with the right devotion, we imperceptibly start experiencing objects of devotion through internal spiritual senses. In other words, we are perceiving the same thing but experiencing it through a totally different apparatus and in a totally different way.

 

I love how this this phenomenon is so clearly described in Bhad-bhāgavatāmta.

 

“You should not consider devotional service merely an activity of the body, senses, and mind. It is in fact the eternal absolute reality, manifesting itself as the most intense ecstasy, beyond the material modes.”

 

Commentary: “ […] pure bhakti is never approached by material senses. Even though hearing is done with the ears, chanting with the tongue, remembering with the mind, and praying and other activities with the limbs of the body, these activities are not material; they are spiritual activities that can be performed only by a devotee’s awakened spiritual senses.” Bhad-bhāgavatāmta 2.3.133

 

Now back to my initial quandary—how does this extensive discussion of mahā-prasādam fit into the later chapters of the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmta describing Śrī Caitanya’s extremely intense ecstasy? This is what I theorize:

 

We are warned repeatedly in the later chapters that we can’t judge Śrī Caitanya’s transcendental madness by logic or scholarship. Although such emotions may look exactly like intense anxiety and erotic longing, they are factually a spiritual reality born out of prema-bhakti and thus beyond the modes of nature. In other words, it is so important to understand that there is more than meets the eye when engaging with and trying to understand spiritual phenomena. And what better way to be introduced to this fundamental principle than Śrī Caitanya’s explanation of the inexplicable glories of mahā-prasādam?

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #45 – A Sannyāsi Walks onto a Train and Meets a Girl

November 3rd, 2025

A Sannyāsi Walks onto a Train and Meets a Girl[1]

 

I can’t remember the exact train or time, but I do remember the girl. It was about two months ago on a crowded train from Washington, D.C. to New York. I got on early to get a window seat and, I hoped, sit by myself, and began to work. A few minutes before the train was about to leave, I saw a girl in her early twenties struggling to drag her suitcase down the aisle. She was visibly exhausted and stopped when she got to my seat. Some good Samaritans helped her load her luggage onto the upper rack, and she plopped down in the seat next to me. Seeing her condition, I guessed she didn’t have enough energy to go further. Otherwise why would she choose to sit down next to a fellow in robes and tilaka? Once she had slumped down into the chair, she searched her handbag for a snack. It was as if she needed to eat something just to get enough energy to survive her ordeal. Then she made a phone call. “I made it, Mom,” I heard her say. “I’m OK.” Well, there goes my privacy, I thought, and went back to my work.

 

The train was only five minutes or so out of the station when the girl asked me if I was a monk. We talked, and I heard her sad story.

 

She was a successful, athletic, gifted college student who had even managed to maintain her devout Catholicism in school, when she was ravaged by a severe case of chronic Lyme disease. She almost died twice, but her devoted parents stood by her side and nursed her to life. After a long bout fighting the disease, she finally had enough energy, barely, to go by train and visit her boyfriend in Albany. He was also a pious Catholic from New England, and he had the character and devotion to stay with her. I don’t remember the details, but she suffered hell and was still suffering. Only her faith in God carried her through her trials with even a glimmer of hope and purpose. I encouraged her faith, which she said not many people did, and offered a few words of wisdom from what I learned from my revered teacher. She was grateful and took my card. Yesterday I received a letter from her. I thought what she wrote would be meaningful for our Monday Morning Greeting audience.

 

Hello,

 

This is Grace, from the Amtrak train, back in early May. I’m so sorry about the long delay in messaging. I have been meaning to write but keep getting distracted. (One of the many things I’m working on :).

 

I wanted to keep in touch and tell you how much our conversation meant to me. I think you were right when you said God sat us together for a reason. As I mentioned on the train, I have been very sick with Lyme disease for many years now. It has tested me in many ways, but this experience has made me stronger both mentally and spiritually. It was such a blessing to talk to someone else who had an understanding of something greater. Many friends tell me they have no idea what to say to me, and many doctors similarly tell me they don’t know what to do for me. I know God has all the answers and can heal me. Still, I have prayed so hard for God to let me meet someone “who knows more than I do.” I definitely feel that prayer was answered by sitting next to you. It was amazing how little we discussed the details of the illness, yet I felt so many of my questions were answered.

 

It felt like a holiday having a conversation that lacked “small talk” and as I like to call it, “interviewing dialogue.” You seemed aware of my stress and physical ailment without me needing to explain it. I cannot tell you how happy and understood that made me feel. This may sound really silly, but I’m usually the “you” in conversations. Picking up on signs such as stress, mood, state, all while listening to the person. Receiving that sort of attention and understanding back was a true blessing I will always cherish.

 

Since our train ride, I’ve been focusing more on getting off medications and healing naturally. It is difficult. It takes a lot of persistence and prayer, but I know it’s what I’m supposed to do.

 

I’ve been finding a lot of answers through Ayurvedic medicine. It just kind of makes sense to me, if you know what I mean. I love all the warming spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, turmeric, and others. I’ve been cooking more often and supplementing with many herbs and vitamins. I’ll often read about natural healing methods and great herbs, later to find it’s often used in Ayurvedic healing. I’m just trusting in God that what I find is what I’m supposed to do.

 

Lastly, I wanted to ask a few questions. You mentioned meditating and prayer to me. At risk of sounding cliché or stereotyping, does your meditation focus on breathing? Such as in yoga? Do you do yoga? I know there are different types. I’m finding my greatest struggle is the breathing. I’m having an incredibly hard time with it. I get tightness, headaches, stomach aches, etc. A lot of people talk about the breathing, but I haven’t found anything helpful yet. I’m not sure if you have any advice. However, if you have any input at all, I’d to hear it. I feel my inability to truly breathe may be inhibiting my healing process.

 

Lastly, I wanted to tell you again how happy I am to have met you. You opened up my mind to many new ideas as well as confirmed many of my own beliefs. It was so good to talk about God with another person. Thank you so much for the prayers. I feel my body getting stronger and know that God is working.

 

Please do not take the delay in this email as a lack of interest. I’ve written and edited it so many times and finally told myself enough is enough. I would love to hear back from you whenever you’re free. I’ll definitely do my best to reply much, much sooner. I hope you are doing well, and I’ll keep you in my prayers as well.

 

Thanks so much,

Grace

 

That’s about it. I am just happy that I can share with others what I learned in my studies and life and meet such good people as Grace. I also wanted to ask my audience to pray for her. Grace is a sincere soul who wants God and wouldn’t mind good health to serve Him. Thanks for listening.

 

 

_____________________________________

[1] This month uncharacteristically I haven’t been able to find time to write. In addition to my Kārttika vrata of chanting, I give nearly fifteen classes a week and many people visit me. For this week I therefore am posting this reprint from almost ten years ago from July 25, 2016. It is one of my all-time favorites.

 

Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #44 – On Criticism II

October 27th, 2025

On Criticism II[1]

 

What constitutes constructive criticism, and when do we overstep its line?

 

Before defining that line, it is first necessary to explain what criticism is, why it is so difficult to avoid, and why these are such critical questions to answer for one on the spiritual path.

 

Criticism, or being overly critical, occurs when the envy in our heart is expressed. That propensity is difficult to transcend as we are born into this world overcome with desire and hate (envy).[2] Criticism born of envy is therefore antithetical to the very foundation of yoga, or any spiritual path, which upholds ahiṁsā or non-violence. I like how that principle is expressed here:

 

“The shadow of resentment keeps our spiritual light from shining through, never allowing us to fully experience who we are.”[3]

 

The question now emerges: How do we reconcile that sentiment with the obvious need and duty to correct the mistakes of others and expose injustice? Those on the spiritual path can criticize when it is one’s duty to correct, when in position to achieve a constructive result, and if it is done with compassion, not hate.

 

For example, in the Bhagavad-gītā, the first words Śrī Krishna speaks to Arjuna are, “You are a pretender and a fool, for the wise man laments neither for the living nor the dead.”[4] Krishna is taking the role of a teacher who must correct his student to help him overcome ignorance and transcend the ego. Krishna’s criticism is the right action. It is His duty as a teacher. Most importantly, Krishna is criticizing Arjuna through genuine affection for His devotee and friend.

 

In other words, it is not enough to criticize another simply because of a mistake made. We must be vigilant that our criticism is not just an excuse to enjoy a sense of superiority, or that it is born from hate. Such mal-intent creates a cloud of ignorance that covers the soul. If we can be somewhat introspective, we will realize that our criticism of others usually indicates more about ourselves than it does about anyone else. At least that has been my own experience.

 

I once did an exercise called “A Complaint Free World.”[5] The exercise involves keeping a band on one’s wrist and moving it to the other wrist every time one criticizes another person. The exercise posits that if one can avoid criticism completely and keep the band on one wrist, without changing it for three weeks, then the habit of avoiding unnecessary criticism will be established. It was tough. Every time I wanted to criticize someone, I immediately became aware that not only was I engaging with a negative thought, but I could clearly recognize how often my desire was rarely a product of duty, but mostly to satisfy my ego and sense of superiority.

 

The role of the critic, however, has its proper function, for unless there are people who can point out and correct the faults of others, individual or societal development will be stunted. Ultimately, being critical is only effective for those who have the duty to point out another’s faults and, most importantly, the character and compassion to do so. William Penn said it best:

 

“They have a Right to censure, that have a Heart to help: The rest is Cruelty, not Justice.”

 


[1] On Criticism I was one of my early Monday Morning Greetings: https://wavesofdevotion.com/2016/10/10/on-criticism/

I also shortly wrote On Criticism II. I reviewed it for this article and substantially rewrote it here.

[2] This last sentence is paraphrased from Bhagavad-gītā 7.27.

[3] Reference unavailable for this anonymous quotation.

[4] Gītā 2.11

[5] https://web.archive.org/web/20201019071404/http://www.willbowen.com/complaintfree/

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