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The Essence of all Japa Thoughts

December 29th, 2005

December 28, 2005
Vrindavana

The Essence of all Japa Thoughts I*

Absorption in the Absolute Reality, Sri Krishna, is the essence of spiritual advancement.

We voluntarily absorb the mind in something either by our intelligence (we should absorb the mind), or spontaneously by the heart (we want to absorb the mind).

Naturally the mind is more absorbed in things we want to do than we are obligated for.

The key to absorption is thus emotional involvement with the object of our meditation, favorable or even unfavorable.

To increase our focus on the holy name we thus have to come to the platform of attachment (rag), emotional involvement with the holy name.

What to do if we are neophytes, if we have no spontaneous liking for Krishna?

Do we want attachment?

Yes.

Then we should humbly despair, “I have no attachment.”

One way or another, we must come to the platform of feeling for the holy name.

How?

Bring yourself, in mind, in the presence of an object of your spiritual liking (however shallow that love may be) and pray.

“I have no attachment”

Pray to the holy name.

Pray to the spiritual master.

Envision Sri Vrindavana Dhama or a beloved Deity and despair:

“I have no attachment!”

Wanting to have some attachment is also attachment as a desire for a desire is that desire in its budding stage.

But one way or another come to the platform of the heart for:

Absorption in the holy name is essence of all spiritual advancement and the key to such concentration is some feeling for the object of our meditation.

December 29, 2005
Vrindavana

The Essence of all Japa Thoughts II

When there are feelings of attachment, there are feelings of separation for the object of affection.

Feelings of separation increase attachment and thus absorb the mind even more.

We are not with Krishna. Lament.

*This is not the essence of all japa thoughts for everyone. In my modest practice I found this thought particularly essential to impel absorption.

Why Radha Kund is the highest place.

November 15th, 2005

Karttika Thought:
Why Radha Kund is the highest place.

Why is Radha Kunda the highest place? In Sri Upadesamrta it is even described as higher than the Vrindavana forest or Govardhana Hill.

What is the principle that makes one place higher than another?

Hint: Is your work place a suitable place to be with friends and family? Is your living room a more desirable place for you than your work place? Why?

A place is higher by the facility it provides to exchange love.

According to one’s desire to exchange love, one creates a corresponding place to enjoy that love. The more a place makes intimate love possible, the higher we value it.

For ruling and accepting the reverence of his subjects, the King manifests his court, throne, and majesty. To enjoy family and friends, he makes a living room where he can be himself and enjoy with his loved ones, a place he naturally values more than his court.
When, however, he desires the most intimate exchanges of romantic love he goes to his inner secluded quarters, the place he values most.

Similarly according to Sri Krishna’s desire to enjoy progressive varieties of love, corresponding environments are manifest by His unlimited potency to facilitate such pleasure. But when Sri Krishna wants to eternally enjoy the highest exchange of love with His most intimate lovers, He naturally reveals the sweetest and most romantic spiritual atmosphere. In other words, He eternally manifests Sri Radha Kunda.

But why is Radha Kunda higher than even Govardhana or the Vrindavana forests?

In the Vrindavana Forests and even in Sri Govardhana, his friends frolic and his elders pass. Radha Kunda, however, is located in the most secluded and uninhabited corner of that mountainous Govardhana. There, even his friends never pass, especially as he only visits Radha Kunda to meet Sri Radha when everyone in Vraja is resting after their mid-day meal. As it is the place where Sri Krishna, the Absolute Reality, gains the most confidence to open His heart fully to Sri Radha, his greatest lover, it is naturally acclaimed as the highest site in creation.

November 15, 2005
Govardhana

The following is a letter I received at the end of Karttika from a mature and dedicated servant of Srila Prabhupada’s mission who was inspired by reading my “Japa Thoughts” and Maha Nidhi Swami’s “The Art of Chanting”. I will use that letter as our final japa thought for Karttika.

Final Karttika Japa Thought XV:

“I’m very grateful to you for your “Japa Thoughts”. I read them all the time and I want to meditate on the Holy Name and to get the taste and faith.

Today during japa, I asked the Holy Name to help me chant with mamata, I’ve chanted all 16 rounds in one set. I meditated on Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan, then the childish pastimes of Nimai in Navadvipa, then the battlefield of Kuruksetra when the residents of Vrindavana came to see Krishna during the eclipse. Then I thought what Srimati Radharani, the gopis, and especially Mother Yasoda (because she is closer to me as I’m a mother and a grandmother) felt when they had to go back to Vrindavana without Krishna.

I felt so much separated from Krishna that I wanted to die without Him. Everything else was useless.

I felt something did enter my heart. Although maybe it was not in the purest sense, but it was the first time that I felt such a sentiment and I would like to keep it in my heart forever.”

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An Argument for God As A Blue Boy II

November 8th, 2005

November 8, 2005
Govardhana

I received helpful feedback about my argument for God as a blue boy. I’ll share that below and then include my response to the final letter.

“Watch out for reasonable arguments. It might also be reasonable that He would assume many different forms to enjoy in different ways.”

“The argument below is for an absolute entity that functions according to its own pleasure and thrives on love. It does NOT provide an argument for God as a blue boy. You should re-work the title and the first sentence.”

“God as a blue boy is a sharp contrast to a brooding old man waiting to send people to eternal hell.”

“Yes, of course. But what about the ‘blue’ component? Is there some way that the blueness relates to this?”

Thanks for picking that up. Let me clarify.

I was not making the argument that Krishna being blue is reasonable, but arguing that Krishna (who is blue) as God is reasonable. Perhaps I could have made that more clear. Would the article be better titled, “An argument for God as Krishna, a blue boy”?” I believe so.

Now let me try to make an argument that Krishna being blue is reasonable.

God is causeless. Logic is based on cause and effect -how things operate in this world under the observable laws of nature. By definition, the nature of God, such as his color, can never be proved by logic as that would subjugate Him to the laws of nature. Thus the only explanation for God being blue is His own sweet will.

I can argue that God is blue. How? If it is His own sweet will what color He is, then certainly He can be blue. But all that says is that He can be anything He wants and such arguments lead to the absurd.

Our real argument concerns pramana, our means of knowing. If we can establish that sabda-brahman (revealed scripture) is reasonable, we then can argue about the nature of God on the basis of sastra.

Finally Mahamuni dasa sent me a simple analysis of the argument:

The argument breakdown:

Premises:
1. For something to be reasonable it must in some way conform to some type of accepted experience.
2. Every being moves for their own pleasure.
3. The greatest pleasure is love.

It seems that the conclusion is:

If there is a (personal) God, then it is reasonable that God would move for his pleasure, and therefore for love. And Krishna as manifest in Vrndavana seems to be a reasonable way that God would do so.

What’s missing is an elaboration of why Krishna as manifest in Vraja would best manifest love, but I suppose that when speaking among devotees, it is pretty clear why. Also note that no argument for God’s existence is made here. The conclusion is in the form of a conditional: IF there is a God…

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Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day

November 7th, 2005

November 4, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought XI:
Mercy is the distance between the value of what we are getting and our sense of qualification to receive it. Therefore, the more humble we are (the less deserving we deem ourselves) the more we feel mercy. This feeling of mercy is the taste for chanting. Thus in a humble state of mind, bathed in mercy and feeling consequent affection for the gracious giver of mercy, we can chant the holy name constantly. Thus tranad api…

Japa Thought XII:
How to feel humble? Simple—introspect and be honest with ourselves.

November 5, 2005
Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Festival
Govardhana

The main festival is in Sri Sri Krishna Balalram Mandir where Srila Prabhupada left this world. A small group of us, however—Hari Sauri Prabhu, Jayadvaita Swami, Kesava Bharati Maharaja, Gopi-paranadhana Prabhu, and myself—stay in Govardhana to commemorate the day at the ashram here. The festival is intimate and has its own unique attraction.

Hari Sauri Prabhu spoke for nearly three hours on Srila Prabhupada and book publishing. It wasn’t planned that way, but as he spoke we all unanimously deferred our speaking time to him. The senior devotees in attendance, except for myself (though I also write and publish on my own), primarily serve in the BBT by translating and editing books, so this subject was particularly intriguing to us. Although by Hari Sauri’s own admission, it wasn’t a comprehensive presentation on the subject. It was only based on what he noted down while serving Srila Prabhupada and it was clear that he could have spoken much longer.

I jotted down a few notes about his talk. Two of my favorites:

“Srila Prabhupada told me how he used to walk the streets of Delhi selling Back to Godhead and for other publishing related work. He described to me how during this time he was seriously gored by a bull and that the knock was so forceful that he was convinced it was fatal. As he was flying through the air his initial thought was ‘I am being punished for leaving my family.’ He then quickly checked his thought. He meditated on Rupa Raghunatha and felt complete relief.”

“Harikesa Swami told me that Srila Prabhupada had darshan of Srila Rupa Gosvami at Radha Damodar. I therefore asked Srila Prabhupada if that was true. He quickly dismissed me saying, ‘Oh everyone knows that.’ What could I say? I basically forgot about it for almost twenty-eight years until last year. A new book on Srila Prabhupada was published by Mulaprkrti comprised of interviews with people who knew him in India before he created ISKCON. In one interview, Gopal Chandra Bose, a respected scholar from Vrindavana, describes his visits to see Srila Prabhupada at Radha Damodar in his youth. On one such visit Srila Prabhupada shared with him a special secret. The previous night while chanting by Sri Rupa’s Samadhi he had darshan of Srila Rupa Gosvami. It not only confirmed something Srila Prabhupada had only cryptically affirmed twenty-eight years before, but finally I was able to hear the details. There is no doubt that Srila Prabhupada was receiving special encouragement from the Six Gosvami’s to write his books and to envision the spreading of Sri Caitanya’s teachings all over the world.”

I was also quite happy to hear this. Did Srila Rupa Gosvami actually appear before Srila Prabhupada? It’s certainly possible. What we do know for sure is that by the grace of the transcendental system Srila Prabhupada was given shelter at the foot of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Samadhi and developed a deep and an intimate relationship with him that inspired his mission.

November 6, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought XIII:
The sixth treasure of the holy name, according to the Siksastakam, is that one relishes nectar at every step. It’s a description of prema-bhakti, an advanced stage of Krishna consciousness. Bhaktivinoda Thakur, however, gives an analysis of this verse that makes it immediately applicable in our chanting. He says that this sixth treasure of the holy name means, among other things, that one can relish each and every one of the sixteen syllables of the maha-mantra. I am not relishing prema-bhakti at every step, but by chanting each syllable with the intention of trying to relish nectar at every step, it definitely brings one towards that goal.

November 7, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought XIV:
When we think we are the controllers, we can’t recognize who is. If one is thus proud (attached to the false ego) one can neither hear nor realize Krishna in the form of the holy name. Chanting thus means to bow our heads to each syllable of the holy name begging for service, otherwise how will it be possible to realize its sweet presence?

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An Argument for God As A Blue Boy

November 3rd, 2005

November 3, 2005
Govardhana

Karttika Thought: An argument for God as a blue boy

God, a blue boy? Yes. It’s reasonable. How? For something to be reasonable it must in some way conform to some type of accepted experience. How can Krishna possibly conform to our common experience? Simple, we perceive two undeniable principles in this world; first, every being moves for their own pleasure, second, that pleasure is love. If there is an Absolute Reality, would it not then be reasonable to assume that it also moves for its own pleasure and that pleasure is love. Is it also not sound to presume that an omnipotent being would not only actualize its desire for its own pleasure, but also enjoy such love to the highest degree? Is it not, therefore, sensible to consider that Sri Krishna – an exquisite blue boy eternally enjoying the highest development of love (rasa) in a world meant to perfectly facilitate that love (Vrindavana) – is a reasonable conception of the Absolute Reality?

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Kartika Journal – Govardhana Puja and Japa Thoughts

November 2nd, 2005

November 1, 2005
Sri Govardhana Puja
Govardhana

Gopiparanadhana Prabhu offered a point in his morning lecture that I’d never heard before: “It is said in Govardhana that if you see a herd of white cows on Govardhan Hill, but there is no gwala (cowherd), they are Krishna and Balarama’s cows and They are also there, although we may not see them.”

Gauranga Prabhu from Chowpatty called me this morning to see if I could accompany him and five hundred devotees from Bombay/Pune on parikram. I welcomed the opportunity. Unfortunately, I could only come for a short time due to previous commitments here, at the ISKCON Bhaktivedanta ashrama.

We choose a suitable place in the forest twenty minutes down the road from the ashram for my talk. I sit on a small raised dirt mound about twenty yards from Govardhan Hill. It’s a perfect sitting place. As I speak the devotees can simultaneously face me and be in direct view of Govardhan. All of a sudden, half way through my talk, the devotees light up. They are looking behind me. I turn around. A large herd of more than fifty healthy white cows peacefully pass by happily grazing by the side of Giriraja. I look around, but there is absolutely not a single gwala (cowherd) in sight.

“It’s Krishna Balarama’s cows!” I excitedly tell the devotees and relate what I had just heard an hour before from Gopi. The sight and the thought create a wonderful mood. The devotees are joyous to have glimpsed the eternal dhama and on such an auspicious day!

November 2, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought X:
Many things are just beyond my control, including the perfection of my spiritual life. I am powerless in so many ways, but I am never hopeless. I take shelter of the holy name with full confidence that all problems are solved by this simple vibration. Whatever my situation, I am certain that the holy name will do what’s best. That gives me comfort. I pray, however, for love (bhakti). That is the real need of the heart. All other wants are just misplaced yearnings for that.

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Karitka Journal -Sastra and Japa Thoughts

October 31st, 2005

October 28, 2005
Govardhana

Sastra Thought I:
(from Bhakti Sandarbha’s discussion on vadanam (prayers), which also includes obeisances): When one pays obeisances one should actually feel inferior to the person one is paying them to. If that is not there, it is just ritual. Devotion is a condition of heart. Bhakti is the process to change it. Observe ourselves: How do we actually feel during devotional activity? If humility and a service attitude are not the force behind our devotions, we can only sincerely lament.

October 29, 2005
Govardhana

I was surprised how many responses I got from the “My Sweet Lord” entry. A few below:

“I just wanted to write you my appreciations for your Karttika journal. The last “my sweet lord” series and the “visrambhena guror seva” entry especially. Somehow the verse had come into my mind a few days before receiving your email, although I didn’t really think of its meaning, it just kind of came into my head like a pop song.”

“Thank you so much for these thoughts. Just this week the words of that song by George Harrison came to my mind and I found I was really crying out—“My sweet Lord, I really want to see you and be with you” I felt like I was going deeper in my chanting. Thanks for sharing.”

“It was only the other day when I, too, was thinking of George Harrison’s mood of praying in his songs. It is devoid of fear. Instead, he wants a sweet, kind and loving relationship with Krishna. This mood is evident in another of his songs, “Give Me Peace”, in which he prays to Krishna:

“Give me life, give me life
keep me free from birth…
give me hope, help me cope
with this heavy load…
Trying to touch and reach You
with heart and soul…”

October 30, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought VIII:
The ability to focus the mind or sustain any endeavor is based on dhrti (determination) and dhrti is driven by faith. It’s simple. Without faith in what we are doing (that we are convinced of an auspicious result), then why bother at all, especially if it entails some austerity? I thus search for faith in every mala, some faith, whether it’s the mercy of guru, the inspiration of a sadhu or a sweet remembrance of the dhama, anything to arouse devotion and impel determination. If, however, the mind becomes focused on the holy name, then one has entered the ultimate source of inspiration. Nothing else is required. How fortunate are those with simple faith in the holy name!

October 31, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought IX:
Each verse in Siksastakam is an expression of the proper frame of mind for the chanter. Mood is everything for the chanter as the holy name first appears in the heart and then manifests on the tongue. At noon today I meditate on the disposition of pure devotion as found in verse four, “I don’t want wealth, followers or the opposite sex. I just want your causeless devotion service birth after birth.” I chant consciously to realize this mood so that my mantra arises from substance, the sincere heart that wants Sri Krishna and nothing else.

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October 24, 2005 Govardhana Maha

October 27th, 2005

October 24, 2005
Govardhana

Maha Nidhi Swami gave a contemporary example of chanting with mamata (intimacy) by referring to “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison. He joked, “if Dattatreya had twenty-four gurus, including the python and the prostitute, then why can’t we find some instruction in George Harrison?”

“My sweet lord,
Hm, my lord.
Hm, my lord
I really want to see you.
Really want to be with you
But it takes so long my lord
My sweet lord
Hm, my Lord
Hm, my Lord
my my my Lord (Hare Krishna)”

Japa Thought IV
I found my self chanting today in the mood of “My sweet Lord, I really want to see you, really want to be with you!” It was a nice meditation on the holy name. A realization came. What does my sweet Lord mean? It means a personal Lord who intimately reciprocates ones devotion, not only a Lord of Majesty that invokes obligation. Conclusion: We should all meditate on how the holy name is “my sweet Lord”.

October 25, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought V
Yesterday we found the words of Sri Guru in George Harrison. Today we found it in even a more unlikely source, my younger brother!

Karttika can be sweet, very sweet. The foundation of that sweetness, however, is a disciplined spiritual life. Chanting and hearing all day—not a moment wasted. Today chanting was especially pleasant, but at the pinnacle of absorption a bitter thought arose: “Can I maintain this life?” I pondered the problem and deeply prayed. I suddenly felt inspired and encouraged by my brother’s words, “It’s a way of life!”

This past year, under the guidance of a nutritionist, my younger brother lost nearly 50 pounds. I asked him if he would be able to maintain it once he has reached his goal. He said with undeniable conviction, “Yes, it’s not just diet. It’s a way of life!” I was impressed.

I can chant and relish Krishna consciousness everyday in this way. I just need to cut the fat of material consciousness and unnecessary diversion, not just during Karttika, but as a way of life. Thank you Ricky!

October 26, 2005
Govardhana

(Guest) Japa Thought VI
Maha Nidhi Swami described that in his study and practice of chanting it was confirmed again and again that the basis of attentive chanting was two considerations, the mind and the heart. To give due consideration to the mind means to think of the mantra’s meaning while chanting. He quoted Srila Viswanatha Cakravarti Thakura “mantra artha cintaya”, that one must chant mantra thinking of its meaning. He marveled how Srila Prabhupada also stressed the mind and the heart as his two main instructions for chanting:

1. Mind (thinking of the meaning) – Srila Prabhupada said that while chanting we should think “O my Lord, O energy of the Lord, please engage me in Your service!”
2. Heart (proper mood) – He also said “The chanting is exactly like genuine crying by the child for his mother.”

October 27, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought VII
Chanting means to search for myself, that humble servant of Krishna. It is locked away from me by the false ego, the conception that I am something else. Face it—I just don’t want to be me, a tiny unpaid servant soul? I chant for humility, the key to the door of the soul.

visrambhena guroh seva

October 22nd, 2005

Note: I will occasionally write about Maha Nidhi Swami’s class on bhajan rahasya. Although the class is clearly referenced, on just a few occasions it was not obvious to me which points were directly from bhajan rahasya and which were references and realizations that Maharaja was bringing into the discussion. My own recollection of the different points from the class may thus occasionally reflect this apparent ambiguity.

September 21, 2005
Govardhana

Bhajan rahasya I
In my first Karttika journal entry I described how Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur discussed the concept of mamata, a sense of intimacy with Sri Krishna. In today’s class it was discussed how that sense of mamata begins with Sri Guru. In fact, the third principle of devotional service (according to Srila Rupa Gosvami) is visrambhena guroh seva, to serve the spiritual master with trust and confidence. Maha Nidhi Swami shared with us the etymological meaning of visrambha. “Vi” means “without” and “srambha” means “majesty”.

How can serving the spiritual master without majesty be a principle of devotional service when Srila Prabhupada taught us that the spiritual master is to be seen “as good as God”?

It was discussed in class how the mood of visrambhena guroh seva is very special and should not be mistaken for mundane intimacy and over familiarity. Here’s what I gathered:

When one has mature affection for the spiritual master, one is focused exclusively on the heart of the guru. The fulfillment of the guru’s desires thus takes precedence over anything else, even the etiquette in relating to his position. In other words, what naturally becomes prominent in any affectionate bond is not the nature of the relationship and the protocol involved, but the desires of ones beloved. Example:

In Srila Prabhupada’s last days in this world he expressed a desire to go to Govardhan by bullock cart. Srila Prabhupada’s Ayurvedic doctor, however, strongly advised that such a trip would be tantamount to suicide. I remember shortly afterwards hearing Bhakti Caru Maharaja and Tamal Krishna Maharaja affectionately tell Srila Prabhupada, “Srila Prabhupda, we can’t let you go”. Although to some their response may appear inappropriate, it was certainly not a sign of disrespect. Rather it was mature love at the level of intimacy, the realm of visrambhena guroh seva where service dictated by deep feelings of affection rule majesty and etiquette.

Maha Nidhi Swami gave his own example of visrambhena guroh seva:

Srila Prabhupada was arriving in Los Angeles at the domestic terminal. One devotee, instead of greeting him, made the deliberate decision to stay at the international terminal to distribute his books. A short time after Srila Prabhupada’s arrival, he asked for that devotee. When told where he was and what he was doing, Srila Prabhupada broadly smiled and said, “Yes, that is very good.” The devotee was so focused on the heart of Srila Prabhupada that he forwent the etiquette of formally greeting him. That’s visrambhena guroh seva.

Jiva Gosvami’s definition of visrambha sums up nicely the mood of mamata: “complete identity with the beloved such that the identity and feelings of one and their beloved are not separate.”

Karitka – October 18-20, 2005

October 20th, 2005

October 18, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought II
Unfortunately, I have few japa thoughts today. We fasted all day because of the lunar eclipse and broke the fast at night. My regulation the next day was thus affected.

Lesson: One’s determination in chanting is not just dependent on one’s resolve at the moment of chanting, but also on how one lived one’s life the previous day, especially the previous night. It would have been better to have fasted for the sake of my vow. I could then have risen at my scheduled time and focused with more concentration.

October 19, 2005
Govardhana

Japa Thought III:
An advanced ISKCON sadhaka, who requested anonymity, shared their japa thoughts with me: “In my japa I follow the inspiration I get from Srila Prabhupada, Sri Rupa, and other acarya’s. I’m sometimes not sure where that inspiration will take me, but I have faith in their direction and I depend on them. I’m never let down. They always reciprocate. Naturally, such dependence creates faith and inevitably leads to further realizations. Most importantly, these sweet and very real spiritual relationships grow in such a way that they become the primary relationships in my life, much sweeter than any others.”

October 20, 2005
Govardhana

“When will Sacinandana Gaurahari appear on the path of my eyes? He accepted the Gauidya Vaisnavas in this world, who are like bees at His lotus feet, as His own, and He instructed them to chant the Hare Krishna maha mantra by counting a fixed number of rounds.”

Stavali (Sri Sacisunv-astaka, 5)

Japa Thought III:
Maha Nidhi Swami explained the mood of Bhaktivnoda Thakur in relation to the above verse by Raghunatha dasa Goswami from Sri Bhajan Rahasya:

“When chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra we can worship verses like these and enter them with our mind and heart. We can pray to mix our heart with Raghunatha Dasa Goswami and meditate on how the relationship between Sri Gauranga and His devotees is so affectionate that the Lord considers the devotees his own!”

Another beautiful line is, “When will Sacinananda Gaurhari appear on the path of my eyes?” Imagine the heart of Raghunatha Dasa Goswami as he is meditating in separation on Mahaprabhu’s compassion and intense prema. Visualize his subsequent transformation, as these same feelings arise in his own heart by chanting with longing and remembering His Lord. Finally, humbly pray for these feelings to come in one’s own heart by the mercy of the Lord and His devotees. This is bhajan rahasya. (The last paragraph is in my own words from what I learned in the class today.)

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