Monday Morning Greetings 2026 #2 – Marilyn Monroe Died!

Marilyn Monroe Died! [ 1]

Note: This morning, I realized the Monday Morning Greetings post I was working on, titled “Rasa Theory Made Simple,” was not simple at all. I would never be able to explain such an esoteric subject within the two-page limit I generally set for my posts. And furthermore, I doubted I could accomplish such a task in the time I had. I thought I might search my archives for an article I could reprint, but first I thought just to click on the news for a minute and see what was happening in the world. I then stopped myself. I’m on an internet fast, at least from the news. So I began searching for a suitable reprint from at least six years ago and lo and behold, what is the first thing I hit upon? It was “Marilyn Monroe Died!”—a topic about “no news”. I thought it was a perfect article to reprint as it’s so commensurate with some of my realizations this week. That is generally how I come up with a subject to write about in the first place.

So, here is a substantially rewritten reprint of “Marilyn Monroe Died!”.

Marilyn Monroe Died!

My friend visited a renowned saint in Vrindavan. I am not sure why — it seemed a bit inappropriate — but he asked him, “What was the last thing you heard in the news?” I guess he had heard that when this saint arrived in Vrindavan in 1962 he vowed to never again hear anything of this world. The kind bābā searched his memory for a second. His matter of fact answer took my friend aback: “Marilyn Monroe died!” Soon after, my friend related this conversation to me. I was impressed.

Last week I got a similar message. It reminded me of the vow of that saint.

I was texting back and forth with a friend who had just finished some research work in Vrindavan and decided to stay a few weeks more. At the end of our conversation, I casually asked him a more personal question: “How is your bhajan?” His texts surprised me:

“Chanting 64 rounds

And reading Bhāgavatam for hours a day

It’s so amazing how Vṛndāvana is so different in summer

Nothing going on

You are the only one I shared actually

I never knew it’s possible

I also left social media. I use none whatsoever.”

The last line, “none whatsoever,” struck me. Although I am not personally on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, I do read about the world. But how much could my meditation improve if the input of the world, with its distractions, likes, hates, and dualities, was completely shut off?

I began to think of those friends that seem to go much deeper than others in their chanting of the holy name. They all seem to have, to one degree or another, one thing in common. In terms of social media, they are all in the school of “Marilyn Monroe died,” so to speak.

I thought, yes, media, “none whatsoever.” What is the use of having the mind stimulated with so many thoughts that are of no use to the soul? Why not go even deeper into the holy name? Time is short.

I recalled a talk that I had listened to recently that seemed relevant to what I was thinking:

Simon Sinek described how the constant use of social media has the same chemical effect on the brain as any form of addiction, from gambling to alcohol.[2] They all produce an inordinate amount of dopamine, the chemical in the brain that activates the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s pleasure or reward center. [3]In time, as the nucleus accumbens is over-stimulated by dopamine, it naturally adapts, requiring one to take more and more of the addictive substance to obtain the same dopamine “high.” Compulsion takes over, and one is addicted. And here’s the real point that struck me: “If you arise in the morning and the first thing you do is check your computer you are addicted!”

Okay, I am using “media” to research and write this. Certainly, it has many good uses. Compassionate souls may research the world to comment on it with spiritual insight. Even Śrīla Prabhupada occasionally wrote or spoke on “that rascal Nixon” or “a prayer day in the U.S. Senate” and other worldly events to illustrate his point.

But here’s the question. How much external news does one need in Krishna’s service? The cultured sādhu retired in Vṛndāvana didn’t need any. And how much do you require for the service of Krishna?

If attentive chanting is our problem, or if we want to go much deeper into the holy name, perhaps this is the cause — too much absorption in what Śrīla Prabhupada called “the world of names.”

“The great kings, leaders and soldiers fight with one another to perpetuate their names in history. They are forgotten in due course of time, and they make a place for another era of history. But the devotee realizes how much history and historical places are useless products of flickering time.” (Bhāgavatam 2.2.3, purport)

[1] This is a rewritten reprint from July 8, 2019.

[2] Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU

[3] This explanation of the effects of dopamine mentioned in Simon Sinek’s talk comes from article on addiction from Harvard Heath Publishing a division of Harvard Medical School. https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/how-addiction-hijacks-the-brain