Waves of Devotion

Chanting and Guru

I chant consciously as a devotional offering to Śrīla Prabhupāda, with the thought that he is listening. I reason that as the spiritual master is pleased when the disciple takes bhagavata prasada,[1] how much more pleased he is when the disciple sincerely chants the holy name.

Chanting and Momentum

In certain activities there is a momentum, an increasing strength gained when moving forward. One of those activities is chanting. If we don’t maintain a certain standard of practice daily, we lose momentum and chanting becomes more difficult. One day last week my practice waned, and my concentration faded. It took me days to return to the standard I had been keeping. I made a note: If I want to steadily move forward in this life towards the goal of prema-bhakti, I can’t afford to lose momentum.

Chanting and the Worldly Mind

We are not at the level of samādhi, an unbroken focus over the course of an extended meditational practice. Therefore, our mind will therefore sometimes wander to whatever we are generally pre-occupied with. At that time, if our mind has been reasonably imbued with thoughts of Krishna due to a life of duty, service, and hearing śāstra, then we will automatically be inspired to refocus on the holy name.

Chanting and Politics

My audiologists, who is an Orthodox Jew, yarmulke and all, was exceptionally friendly. While checking my hearing, he casually shared his realizations about surviving the pandemic. I especially appreciated his statement while sharing his last realization: “and no politics.” Reflecting on the intense political discord of the past year, I couldn’t agree more. If we allow mundane emotions, such as partisan political concerns, to consume us, they will supersede our feelings of devotion and stunt our devotional meditation.

Chanting and Rhythm

One day last week, when I began my japa meditation, I was feeling distracted. A thought came spontaneously. Why not deliberately chant rhythmically so that each mantra corresponded with the same beat? After a short while, I transcended my meditational slump. Lesson: There are no hard and fast rules in chanting the holy name. Whatever works!

Chanting and Mercy

I beg for the mercy of the holy name. Such entreaties are not just a call to attract mercy, they are mercy, for true expressions of humility from the heart are the best gift of devotion.

Chanting and Krishna’s Form

The mantra is Krishna. It is also a prayer to reveal Krishna. If we can chant even one mantra clearly, the form of Krishna will certainly appear, at least in our thoughts.

Chanting and Technique

When Krishna fully appears on the tongue of the sincere chanter by His own sweet will, they will no longer need a technique to keep focused. They will simply require an open heart to welcome the holy name.

Chanting and Writing

My japa meditation seems best during the week that I am writing my musings. To write a clear realization, one must first have one, which means that one’s chanting must be concentrated. Knowing that I will have to write something forces me to monitor my meditation more closely. While doing so, I observe how such consciousness creates an impetus to resist creeping complacency and to focus on the holy name of Krishna:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

[1] Guruvaṣṭakam verse 4

Happy 100^th Birthday!

My mother was born June 25, 1921. This Friday she will celebrate her 100^th birthday. In her honor, I will reprint one of my favorite articles from five years ago.

The Mother, the Mind, and Food

Recently my mother related to me how she was advising her daughter-in-law, who had become overwhelmed with the responsibilities of her family and job. She quoted to her a Yiddish saying that her own mother had told her when my mother was raising my two brothers and myself:

“It will all soon pass.”

Now that my students have children and I am often living among them and see the sacrifice they are making, I have become more aware of the great sacrifice my mother made in raising us. Somehow, until my mother recently told me her advice to her daughter-in-law that alluded to her own struggles as a mother raising young children, I never realized that she underwent a similar sacrifice taking care of us. When she told me, my immediate reaction was to feel bad for the pain I had caused her by the insensitive way I joined the Hare Krishna movement (although I, of course, have no regrets with the fact that I joined). I have to say that seeing the sacrifice my students have made raising their own children over the last few years, my admiration for motherhood has soared!

A realization I recently gained from astrology about motherhood further increased this appreciation. In astrology, different planets and houses are the kāraka, or main indicators, for the prominent aspects of one’s life. For example, we can look to the position of the sun and the strength of the ninth house for the nature of one’s relationship with the father. The tenth house deals with one’s occupation, and Jupiter reflects one’s wisdom, guru, or religiosity. In the same way, the moon and fourth house indicate one’s mother. What struck me is the fact that the moon and the fourth house are also the indicators of the mind. As the mother and the mind have the same exact kāraka, astrology shows that the strength of one’s relationship with one’s mother, the nurturing aspect of one’s life, is also the main determining factor for one’s strength of mind.

When we say “mind” in this context, we are also referring to what we call the heart. A strong mind means that one can both freely express and when needed, control, one’s feelings. In other words, a person with a good mind is openhearted and secure but at the same time disciplined. They can thus also control their mind, make decisions, and think clearly. A good mind (heart) is thus the foundation of properly relating, communicating, and learning—the emblems of culture.

An interesting incident last year reinforced this realization about the correlation between the mother and the mind. His Holiness Radhanath Swami asked me to accompany him to place his mother’s ashes in the Yamuna. From the soberness and attentiveness he gave to this task, I could sense his gratitude and strong relationship with his mother, although he is a monk and is certainly a detached person. I was also told later about the positive influence his mother had on his life. As I reflected on the nature of his good heart, his ability to be openhearted and loving, and also the strength of his mind, his ability to remain fixed and undisturbed, it further dawned on me that there is a strong connection between the nature of one’s mind and the quality of the nurturing influences in one’s early life.

This understanding is confirmed by my observation of those lacking formative nurturing influences. Years ago, I was dealing with a person in Vrindavan who had all the signs of serious clinical depression. He was gradually losing touch with reality and needed serious mental health care. It took me months of pushing to finally get the temple authorities to seek professional consultation. Afterwards, I spoke to one of the leaders, a very cultured Indian, and told him frankly that he could never understand the need for psychiatric care because he had a loving mother at home. I also knew his mother and how close they were. He was startled by my statement and told me I was absolutely right. He related to me that when he would sometimes read in the newspaper how the rich and famous were depressed, he would ask himself, “What is this depression?” He had no personal frame of reference to understand it. His mother also cooked for him, and we discussed how much the sense of being loved in a family can be transferred through the serving and taking of meals affectionately prepared by a loving mother, and especially how the children were inoculated against insecurity and depression by the love and security impressed within them by this loving exchange.

As a person’s real success is based on his or her strength of mind, there is, in a sense, a mother behind every successful person. Although the nurturing influences in one’s life are the most significant factor in the development of one’s heart and mind, even if this is lacking it can be compensated for, or rectified, by other factors, like training and other forms of personal development—especially by cultivating a loving relationship with God and His devotees. Similarly, even if those nurturing influences are there, the mind can be disturbed by other factors, such as sinful reactions from bad karma or traumatic experiences. The effect of the appropriate nurturing in childhood on the development of one’s mind, however, cannot be underestimated. Also, there is a difference between proper nurturing and co-dependence and other forms of over-indulgence.

As the strength of a society is the character of its people, which is this strength of mind, it goes without saying how essential motherhood is to the proper development of society. Thank you, mothers!

I thought this was an appropriate title for this Monday Morning Greeting about my Cemetery walks and thoughts. This was Jesus’s response to a disciple who wanted to leave his company to travel home to bury his father. Jesus’s insights about burial were not imbued with the usual sentiments of this world towards tombs, and neither are mine.

I have been walking every morning around the Hudson City Cemetery, which is across the street from our place. It is anything but a morbid stroll. These types of city cemeteries were intelligently designed to also serve as scenic parks. Here are my thoughts as I strolled its stunning eighty-eight acres.

THOMAS GAUL

1882-1931

Gone But Not Forgotten

Commentary: The Denial of Death is a 1973 book by cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker where he analyzes human civilization as an elaborate mechanism against the acknowledgment of mortality. Walking around, it became clear that the tombstone is indeed one of these mechanisms. Unfortunately, even if Thomas succeeds in his desire to live forever in the remembrance of him, he is not even the person being remembered. A strange thought came to my mind: Perhaps he is even buried here again in another grave from a future life.

JOHN BRANNON

July 19, 1912- February 6, 1985

How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon the bank
Here will we sit and let the sounds
Creep into our ears, soft stillness and
Become the touches of sweet harmony
Such harmony is in immortal soul – Shakespeare

Commentary: As I walked this morning, I saw one tomb shaped as a soccer ball, another with a flag of the Buffalo Bills, and one old lady who passed away proudly sporting a laminated New York Yankees insignia on her tomb. How foolish to bring one’s transient identity to one’s tomb! It was therefore refreshing to see someone quote Shakespeare about the immortal soul. I pray I only bring the flag of my spiritual relationship with Krishna to my grave.

FREDERICK J. COOK

1875-1934

1904 Editor, Evening Register 1934

The rarest consecration of a labor of love 1934

Commentary: Apparently, Mr. Cook died on the job as his last year of service was the same year he died. It may not be the highest self-conception, but in this age of selfishness, I admire one who puts duty before self.

JOSEPH GAUL

1809 – 1879

FAITHFUL IN LIFE
TRIUMPHANT IN DEATH
THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH
THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE

Commentary: Dying is no fun, but at least there is some solace for those who mark their grave with heartfelt expressions of eternal life, and for those who mourn for them. I was very inspired to see the many inscriptions of the devoted here. The engravings on their tombs reminded me of the profound relief I felt when first realizing I was eternal by reading the Bhagavad-gītā. It was as if a deep existential malaise of meaninglessness and mortality was immediately lifted from my head. I continued my walk savoring the more spiritual inscriptions:

“In God’s loving care”

“Faithful until death”

“Alive in Christ”

MARY D’AMATO

1917 to 1995

Beloved. Mom, Wife, Sister, Grandmother, Aunt, Cousin, Godmother and Friend

Commentary: Just like Mary, we are nothing but the various ways we manifest in response to the relationship we have with someone and the love they show us.  In the same way, the only method of realizing the Absolute Person, who is also ultimately a lover, friend, or child, is devotional service.

DAVID SMITH COWLES

Colonel 126 Regt
New York Vol. Infantry

Died in battle
At Port Hudson Louisiana
27 May 1863

Tell my mother I died
With my face to the enemy

Commentary: The cemetery goes back all the way to the Revolutionary War. This inscription was from the Civil War section. Real leaders are increasingly rare. I was impressed by the true warrior spirit of the Colonel. Who would not follow Colonel Cowles into battle? I was immediately reminded of the Bhagavad-gītā:

“O Pārtha, happy are the kṣatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets.” (Bg. 2.32)

SUSAN M JACKOWSKI

1966 – 2009

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not here, I do not sleep
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not here, I do not die

Commentary: I thought, perhaps Susan had read the Bhagavad-gītā:

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Bg. 2.13)

Ironically, after walking every day through the cemetery and philosophizing about it through somewhat of a transcendental lens, I did glean its earthly importance. I thought, if my father’s tomb was here, I would certainly go and offer my respects and remember his kindness and feel very good about that. People need to grieve and work their way through attachments and consequent loss. But ultimately, one day, we all need to embrace the highest vision of this reality:

“The Blessed Lord said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead.” (Bg. 2.11)

In other words, “Let the dead bury the dead.”

In honor of the upcoming New York Ratha-yātrā, I will be sharing a Monday Morning Greeting from 2017 about the ontological position of Lord Jagannatha. I know I have posted this before the New York Ratha Yatra the two previous years, but relevant spiritual topics are always dynamic, because the more we meditate on such topics, the more their mystery is revealed. Just one final reflection before this week’s Greeting: I am quite surprised that this parade is being allowed just as the pandemic is receding, but on the other hand, if the Lord of the Universe wants a parade down 5^th Avenue who can stop Him?!

Is Jagannatha the Highest Manifestation of God?

Jagannatha is the highest form of God. That’s the realization I had today here in Puri. My reasoning goes like this:

God is a person. I am starting from this proposition because I assume my readership mostly accepts it. Also, I have already argued this point extensively in Monday Morning Greetings #26.[1] Assuming that God doesn’t have the defect of impersonality, my argument proceeds as follows:

The fullest manifestation of any person is not in their position or power, but in their personality, or inner self, as a friend, parent, or lover. For example, we may meet a very powerful person, but if we don’t have a familial relationship with them—if they are a stranger or even a reverential superior—very little of that person’s fullest or most intimate self will be revealed. Position therefore covers personality, or the fullest manifestation of being.

The example of a high court judge is often given to demonstrate this. We may have studied the judge’s background or history or even know him as kind or sober, but his full self is not manifest while holding court. It is only manifest when he comes home and his parental, fraternal, or romantic side is not checked by the formality and majesty that judgeship demands.

In the same way, God is not fully manifest when He displays His full grandeur as Narayaṇa, or the creator and controller of existence. His personality is only fully visible when He sheds His position of grandeur and appears as Krishna, a beautiful cowherd, so His intimate side is not restrained by the opulence (aiśvarya) and formality of Godhead. Krishna is thus aptly described by Sri Rupa, the great Vaishnava teacher, as akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrti, the personification of the combined bliss of all rasas—in other words, the fullest manifestation or personhood.

Certainly, there can be nothing higher than Krishna, but a question still remains. What is the fullest manifestation of Krishna? Here’s where we come to Jagannatha.

Krishna, like any person, gives His heart in proportion to the force of one’s love. As the most intense love is mādhurya-rasa, the mellow of conjugal love, Krishna gives Himself most fully to the gopīs. And as Sri Radha stands supreme even amongst the gopīs, Krishna opens His heart most fully to Her.

Therefore, the fullest manifestation of Krishna is in response to Radha’s love, specifically the height of that love, the peak of Her separation from Krishna. This is a love so powerful that even Krishna’s body transforms in overwhelming ecstasy, a condition where His eyes become highly dilated and His limbs withdraw into His body, a form known as Jagannatha.[2]

And if there is still any doubt that Jagannatha is the fullest manifestation of Krishna, please consider the following:

One of the main practices of spontaneous devotional service (rāgānugā-bhakti) is the worship of the form of Krishna corresponding to the love one aspires to attain. Sri Chaitanya was seeking to taste the love of His best devotee, Sri Radha, at the height of Her love. He therefore accepted Jagannatha as His worshipful Lord and spent the last eighteen years of His life in Jagannatha Puri, and even one year when Sri Chaitanya stayed in Sri Rangam for the four months of the rainy season, where the deity of Visnu presides, and there is no Jagannatha temple, He personally carved His own Jagannatha deity to nourish His devotion.

Can there be any doubt that Jagannatha is the highest form of God?

[1] See Is God a Person?

[2] For an elaborate explanation of how Krishna became Jagannatha, see Three Logs of Wood from Gopal Jiu Publications.