Monday, July 18, 2016

ONENESS AND DIFFFERENCE

Ever wonder what simultaneous oneness and difference... acintya beda-abeda tattva... means in a nutshell? Srila Prabhupada writes that it is the basis of Krishna consciousness.
This is explained so nicely, perfectly, in a few paragraphs of Krishna Book 2.27. A very deep and profound philosophical truth explained simply and clearly. I love the way Srila Prabhupada explains about Krishna consciousness.
This is the chapter where everyone is gathered at Kuruksetra for the rare solar eclipse. Everyone is there...from all the lilas. They meet each other and are in complete ecstasy appreciating each other's devotion to Krishna.
Krishna finds the opportunity to meet with the gopis alone. He speaks so beautifully to them. It is here that He explains His simultaneous oneness and difference and how they, the gopis can never be separate from Him at any time.
1. Everything is my energy. I am non-different from energy.
2. So I am present everywhere and everything rests in me
3. But I am not personally present everywhere. That depends on consciousness of Me.
Srila Prabhupada elaborates...
When we understand that Krishna is also His energy then we can utilize His energy to serve Him. That is the process of devotional service. That is how Krishna becomes personally present.
Srila Prabhupada gives the example of the Deity in the temple.
Arca vigraha is Krishna personally present and service to the Deity under the guidance of the acarya is non-different from serving Krishna directly. This is the spiritual science of devotional service.
"...the inhabitants of Vrndavana, the gopis, were not interested in the idea of going with Krishna to His capital city, Dvaraka. They wanted to remain busy in Vrndavana and thus feel the presence of Krishna in every step of their lives." KB 2.27

DEMIGODS BEING PLEASED

"In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajña [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the demigods in return, is certainly a thief." BG 3.12
There is an older couple, semi-retired, who maintain the irrigation system for the community. It is an old system and breaks down all the the time. So they have a lot to do to keep it up and running. They are an unusual couple. They work together like one person. I have talked with them several times and they are really sweet people. They have taken some of the famous dried papaya prasadam and cold water.
Today they were across the street. There is a pump that takes water from the man-made lake and keeps the area green through hundreds of spray heads everywhere. It has not rained in several weeks and the irrigation system has not be working. Everything is very dry and brown. Sometimes they can't fix it right away because they are waiting for a part. But today they were here.
I was sitting outside under the giant black olive tree, nice shade, chanting japa. The leak was across the street not here at this house. Bill waved. I waved back. He turned the sprinklers on for this house and let everything get a good drink for about 30 minutes. Why did they do that? It was just this house out of 140 houses that got water. They didn't need to do that. They did it because they wanted to do something nice for me.
This verse from Gita... the demigods being pleased supply all necessities. When the demigods are pleased by sacrifice (sankirtan sacrifice) they are happy to do something nice. Srila Prabhupada explains it is not necessary to try to please them outside of Krishna consciousness. The demigods are servants of Krishna. When Krishna is pleased they are also pleased.

CHIPPED RICE

Very, very significant. Sudama Vipra's offering of chipped rice. It is said the chipped rice was actually not even offerable. So why did Krishna accept it and taste it with such relish? Sudama Vipra had no other desire than to always remain surrendered to the Lord. He was very poor but did not come to the Lord for wealth. He approached the Lord to satisfy his wife, but he was only thinking of surrendered service to the Lord not for his own aggrandizement in any way. Krishna took just one grain and Rukmini devi had to stop the Lord from tasting any more. That one grain was enough to bestow unlimited mercy on the brahmana and the entire creation. This is very significant.
"I consider that this quantity of chipped rice will not only satisfy Me, but will satisfy the whole creation." It is understood from this statement that Krishna, being the original source of everything, is the root of the entire creation. As watering the root of a tree immediately distributes water to every part of the tree, so an offering made to Krishna, or any action done for Krishna, is to be considered the highest welfare work for everyone, because the benefit of such an offering is distributed throughout the creation. Love for Krishna becomes distributed to all living entities. KB 2.26
And the obverse... Those who have no devotion may offer very valuable items but the Lord is not interested. He does not accept such offerings.
"On the other hand, if a person is not a devotee, even though he
may offer Me very valuable things, I do not like to accept them. I actually accept only things which are offered to Me in devotion and love; otherwise, however valuable the thing rnay be, I do not accept it." KB 2.26

SAMSARA

It gets like this sometimes.
A huge pressure.
The feeling that something is wrong.
That I may have done or said something wrong.
Nothing helps. My chanting is out there somewhere.
My lips and tongue are moving but my mind is evidently having a tantrum.
I know the time is coming for tears.
Yes. Let the tears come.

I am alone so if I cry or howl or scream for Krishna
no one else is inconvenienced.
It's early in the morning, 4am and I cannot sleep any longer
even though I took rest late.
Perfect for chanting samsara prayers.
Everything is in the samsara prayers.
The whole Krishnna consciousness movement as given by Srila Prabhupada is in the samsara prayers.
These beautiful powerful prayers. Even if I can't do any it if I can just chant them before Srila Prabhupada and Krishna I am rescued from maya.

ARE WE READY?

Are we really ready for Krishna consciousness?
I know we're ready for clean water, healthy food, honest government, and happy life full of good and plenty.
But are we actually ready for Krishna consciousness?
Take this pastime for instance..
The devotees of Lord Chaitanya were having one of their ecstatic prem kirtans at one devotee's house. They were rolling on the floor, crying and laughing and shivering in ecstasy. The kirtan went on for hours.
The devotee whose house it was had a small son who died right in the middle of the kirtan. The mother began crying and wailing. Her husband chastised her, "You foolish woman. You are disturbing the kirtan. be quiet.. Stop crying"

FOR PREACHING-WHERE IS KRISHNA?



For preaching...
Edit the books
For preaching
open hospitals
For preaching
open schools
For preaching have restaurants
For preaching
have sex produce Krishna conscious children
For preaching
make a lot of money
For preaching
open farms and protect cows
For preaching
do everything and anything
I am not interested in preaching
Where is Krishna?

IT'S OVER QUICKLY WITH DANTAVAKRA

Krishna Book v2-23
The killing of Dantavakra King of Karusa is hilarious. He is a friend of Salva. Salva was a friend of Sisupala. Sisupala created a huge disturbance at the Rajasuya sacrifice and was killed by Krishna. Salva tried to avenge Sisupala's death using a benediction from Lord Siva of a magical airplane to attack Dvarka from the air since Dvarka was protected by the ocean. Krishna smashed the airplane and killed Salva. Dantavakra has come to avenge Salva's death.
Dantavakra approaches Krishna seething with rage and armed with only a club. No chariot, no infantry. He hurls abusive speech at Krishna. A long diatribe. And then strikes Krishna a tremendous forceful blow on the head with his club while roaring like a iion.
Absolutely nothing happens. Krishna doesn't move. Doesn't flinch. No sign of pain. Nothing.
Krishna takes His club and strikes Dantavakra on the chest and it's all over. Blood gushing out, collapsing on the ground... dead in seconds.
Comment

PROUD OF SEX LIFE

There is one devotee
Very active traveling and preaching
That posts all about their family.
They have a huge family
now three generations in Krishna Consciousness.
This is my first son, this is his first daughter
This is my second son and his three children
and so on.
It is all very idyllic.

I keep getting this remembrance of Srila Prabhupada..
He was visiting an Indian family
and the man paraded out all his family members,
This is my first son and this is his wife and four children,
This is my second son and his wife and two children.
Srila Prabhupada said in aside softly so only the disciples could hear. He is showing me his sex life,. He is very proud of his sex life.

EDITING

Editing:
On the one hand you can see their point... They are actively trying to take up the preaching. Wearing the uniform and taking positions within the institution. The 1972 Gita does have errors in it. Grammatical stuff. The other books too.
They want to approach scholars and with these typos and grammatical errors they feel uncomfortable. So they take up the task of editing. They research manuscripts and dictation tapes and whatever else there is and the more they edit the more there seems to be to edit.
They know there will be a large group of devotees who will not accept this. Who will say it is not actually Prabhupada's Gita. So what to do? They don't want to make it look like they have changed everything. They want it to look like Prabhupada's Gita. So just put His name back on it and stop printing the 1972 Gita. Let it go out of print. Older disciples will be leaving over the next few years anyway and then no one will ever know the difference.
BUT, just like everyone is not engaged in management, not everyone is preaching to scholars. The Bhagavad gita for scholars is just that, A Bhagavad Gita for Scholars. the Bhagavad gita as it is... is something else.

VEGETARIAN EEEEK

So funny.
Family night for the family members of people in the dementia unit of assisted living. They choose a different restaurant each time, meeting once a month. It's always a trip for me. We all know what devotees go through in such situations if they find themselves having to be in a restaurant.
What to order?
Tonight it was Olive Garden.
Turns out it isn't all that easy to just order a salad, at least not for our waitress. I took a look at her and I could see her eyes rolling in her head in different directions.
Vegetarian? EEEK..Panic.. It just did not compute.
Not going to get any help here.
It was like a trap had been set for me.
If this waitress could mess up she would.
She did.

Small salad with Italian dressing. After a few bites, one of the members asks, "What's in the dressing?"
She goes back to the kitchen... anyone ever hear of Italian dressing with eggs in it?
I'm sure I spoiled everyone's dinner.
My immediate response was to spit everything out onto my plate.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see the looks of horror as they stared at me over their spaghetti and meat balls.

SHADE OF THE BLACK OLIVE

The shade of the giant black olive tree
offers a cool oasis from the hot midday sun.
Chanting japa a mocking bird perches to the left just near my head
Singing so many songs along with japa. Beautiful trills and proud crescendos.
Does he hear the Holy Name? He stays there for a long time...
I look at him... he looks at me. We both keep chanting.

The peacock across the street stands still as if attentively hearing the distant thunder as the storm clouds come closer. Occasionally screeching when the thunder is very loud.
Butterflies are everywhere.
A very large black lizard is sunning himself not far away off to the right on a branch of the papaya tree.
Can he hear the Holy Name?
Chanting in this association is so nice.
Everyone is engaged in their natural duties directly supervised by supersoul.

IF THERE IS A GOD I NEED TO FIND HIM

The goal of religion is really just about moral issues.
How people can live peacefully together.
And enjoy life.
Nothing more.
Actually atheistic.
There is just this one life.
I am this body and mind.
These stories and pastimes are just moral lessons.
Great thinkers over the centuries have compiled this stuff.
But there is no need really for a "god."
Of if there is a god somewhere...
As my father instructed me as a child,
"If there is a god he's over there somewhere and I'm over here.
He doesn't bother me and I don't bother him."
I thought, "If He's over there somewhere I need to find Him."

I DON'T SEE KRISHNA

We don't really think there really is Krishna.
Through our material senses and mind we cannot perceive Him.
and this is all we have relied upon practically forever.
I am this body and mind.
And I don't see any Krishna.
He is appearing as murti to help us along.
He is also appearing as His Holy Name.
His pastimes.
When heard and received with submissive reception from a pure devotee of Krishna.
The pure devotee can can give you Krishna because they have Krishna. Krishna has given Himself to the pure devotee.

CRY REAL TEARS

Unless there is some taste for chanting and hearing... it is not possible to restrict the senses. Simply a promise to chant 16 rounds and follow 4 regulative principles is not enough. As a matter of duty is not enough. Simply going through the motions of devotional service is not enough.
At some point there has to actually be some real taste. We have to want Krishna more than anything else. We have to pray to get that desire and a taste. Beating the mind into submission with the maha mantra.
"O Internal Energy of the Lord, O Lord Krishna please engage me in Your service..." And cry real tears.

 At first there is some taste just from doing a particular service... successfully moving the material energy around for Krishna... Building this or arranging that. But there is another taste... that does not depend on a particular service. Has nothing whatsoever to do with moving the material energy around. Has nothing to do with the material senses or material body. That taste is accessed through pure hearing and pure chanting.

PRADYUMNA

Today is KB 2.21. Salva and Pradumnya fighting it out. And Salva's unusual airplane.
So I read and recorded first thing and am listening to the recording over and over. This is a short one.. only 15 minutes... So it plays over again fairly quickly.
I just wasn't appreciating this pastime at all. First of all Krishna isn't in it. I really love it when there are prayers and glorification of Krishna. His position and inconceivable potencies. There is none of that in this chapter. Just battle scenes. No Krishna and no prayers.
So it is playing and I am hearing it as I do whatever it is I need to do during the the day. But something is missing. Where is Krishna in all of this?

Then after about the 35th time... I get it. Pradumnya is Krishna's son by Queen Rukmini. This is about Krishna's son... fighting to defend Dvarka. Pradumnya is not an ordinary person. He is an expansion of Krishna. He is also Vishnu tattva. (He is not sakti tattva or jiva tattva. If I have that right.) He is as good as Krishna Himself. He is appearing as Krishna's son.
When Krishna accepts someone as mother or father they are not Vishnu tattva. When Krishna accepts a queen the queen is not Vishnu tattva. Krishna appears to come from the mother and father and He appears to be intimately connected to His queens, but the mother and father are not actually the source of Krishna and are not equal to Krishna. But when Krishna expands He generates Vishnu tattva. His sons and grandsons are expanded from Him. They are Vishnu tattva.
If I have that right? Anyone can say? If you have reference.


Aja Dasa
Aja Dasa It is said that Cupid, who is directly part and parcel of Lord Vāsudeva and who was formerly burned to ashes by the anger of Lord Śiva, took birth from the womb of Rukmiṇī, begotten by Kṛṣṇa. This is Kāmadeva, a demigod of the heavenly planets especially capable of inducing lusty desires. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has many grades of parts and parcels, but the quadruple expansions of Kṛṣṇa—Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha—are directly in the Viṣṇu category. Kāma, or the Cupid demigod, who later took his birth from the womb of Rukmiṇī, was also named Pradyumna, but he cannot be the Pradyumna of the Viṣṇu category. He belongs to the category of jīva-tattva, but for exhibiting special power in the category of demigods he was a part and parcel of the superprowess of Pradyumna. That is the verdict of the Gosvāmīs. Therefore, when Cupid was burned to ashes by the anger of Lord Śiva, he merged into the body of Vāsudeva, and to get his body again he was begotten in the womb of Rukmiṇī by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Thus he was born as the son of Kṛṣṇa and celebrated by the name Pradyumna. Because he was begotten by Lord Kṛṣṇa directly, his qualities were most similar to those of Kṛṣṇa. Krsna book Chapter 54

SHADOW ATTACHMENT

It is described in Nectar of Devotion that there are such things as shadow attachment and reflection of attachment to Krishna. If we are supremely fortunate we will not get stuck there.
Shadow attachment...
"As attachment can be invoked by the association of pure devotees, so attachment can also be extinguished by committing offenses at the lotus feet of pure devotees. To be more clear, by the association of pure devotees attachment for Kṛṣṇa can be aroused, but if one commits offenses at the lotus feet of a devotee, his shadow attachment or parā attachment can be extinguished. This extinguishing is like the waning moon, which gradually decreases and at last becomes darkness. One should therefore be very careful while associating with pure devotees to guard against committing an offense at their lotus feet." NOD 18
Reflection attachment..
"Sometimes impersonalists who are not actually in devotional service may also exhibit such symptoms of ecstatic love, but this is not accepted as actual ecstasy. It is a reflection only. For example, sometimes in Vārāṇasī, a holy city for impersonalist scholars, there may be seen a sannyāsī crying from hearing the glories of the Lord. Impersonalists also sometimes chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and dance, but their aim is not to serve the Lord. It is to become one with the Lord and merge into His existence. Rūpa Gosvāmī therefore says that even if the reactions to chanting are manifested in the impersonalist's body, they should not be considered to be symptoms of actual attachment, but reflections only, just like the sun reflected in a dark room through some polished glass. The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, however, is so nice and transcendental that it will eventually melt even the hearts of persons who are impersonalists. Rūpa Gosvāmī says that the impersonalists' symptoms are simply reflections of ecstatic love, not the real thing." NOD 28

HARE KRISHNA-WHATEVER THAT MEANS

All the problems with gardeners.
But today the boss on the job knocked on the door.
"What should we do today?"
Ha ha. Jaya Sri Krishna. The duck that quacks gets the cracker.
"Yes mow, do everything. Weedeat. Edge trim. Everything.
I have a new system that works. Red flags."

I made little red flags from red material from Walmart, $1.50 and straightened old wire clothes hangers.
My father never threw anything away so of course kept a closet full of wire coat hangers. "Never know when you might need them for something."
I ask him, he has a beautiful face. Round and soft. Like a full moon and beautiful blue green-eyes, "How are you today?" He says, "Not as good as you. But I'm here."
"What's wrong?"
"I have to work...you don't."
"Oh but you will have money"
He frowns, "As soon as I get it, it's gone. I never have money and I work, work, work."
"Yes, Work to make the payments on the car so you can drive the car to work."
"Exactly. No work no car payments."
"Oh, but that is not good for the economy.." a dig at the government propaganda and the present economic problems.
A member of the work crew interrupts.
"What should we do?"
He says, "Do everything. Just watch out for the little flags and don't cut the plants down."
I say, "It's hard work, hot and bugs and they wear long sleeve clothing. Sweating and noisy and dirty. "Thank you so much."
He starts to drive away,
"Hare Krishna."
He calls back as his truck starts to pull away, "Whatever that means.."
"Oh what that means!!!," I exclaim. He stops.
Pausing to ask Krishna for the right words to glorify Him, His Holy Name. "Oh God, please let me remember You.. serve You. I have to serve anyway... (looking at Him..) the car payments the job... but let me do this in the awareness that I am part of You and offer this in a mood of service to you. I want to think of You, to love you. Not hate and you be mad at you."
He smiles.
Next time I will have prasadam and a book.

HOW DO I REACH YOU?

O My Lord, how do I reach You?
There are no Yudhisthira's, there are no Pariksit Maharaja's.
There are no Rajasuya yajnas.
It is Kali yuga.
There are no civilized human beings.
Everyone is mad after sense enjoyment....
A symptom of the mode of passion.
In their madness they are destroying everything...
A symptom of the mode of ignorance.
There are no real brahmanas...
protectors of the mode of goodness.
In this terrible situation how do I reach You?
I am born outside civilized human society
and struggle simply to survive by honest means.
There is practically nothing to offer to You that is actually offerable.
The milk is poison, the wheat is poison, the vegetables are poison, the fruits are poison. the water is poison.
There is not even air to breathe that is not poison.
And everyone is mad with the desire after sense gratification.
Children are produced out of lust only.
They kill each other in the schools.
The teachers rape the children.
The government steals from the citizens.
How will I reach You, O Supreme Maintainer, in the midst of all the madness?
Religions are at war with each other
and false prophets spring up every moment...
Cult leaders, thieves, sex mongers in the garb of spiritual leaders.
Your scriptures become adulterated by those who lust after power.
How will I find You, O Supreme Beauty, Supreme Truth, Supreme Love,
O You are Who are beyond Birth and Death, Time and Space?
How will I reach You?

WE WANT TO BE AN AUTHORITY

This is the situation.
We are not willing to make any changes in our lives,
but we want everything to be handed to us.
We don't want to give up sinful activity
But we want Krishna consciousness.
Even trying to give up the slightest bad habit
is like trying to lift a mountain.
The slightest austerity is like the most terrible poison.
Rising early, no coffee or tea, no TV.. No movies,
No pot, no illicit sex,
Oh how horrible.
But we want to be an authority on Krishna consciousness.

JAPA AT THE NURSING HOME

A visit to the nursing home.
Sheila must have fallen down. She is in a wheel chair and screaming. "No. No. No." but no one is doing anything to her. The nurses wheel her away.
Marianne is speaking nonstop in Polish looking directly into my face expecting an answer or a comment.
My father is asleep sitting up on the couch.
Some very soothing classical music is playing.

All these people are very old, 90 and 100 or more. They all have dementia to one degree or another and cannot maintain themselves with cleanliness or anything else really.
They are all incontinent.
But it is a nice place. It is decorated and designed very nicely. Like a fancy hotel. The nurses are very, very kind and loving.
There are a lot of planned activities throughout the day, bus trips and eating out at restaurants.
My father wakes intermittently from his napping and starts talking all sorts of things. All simply from the concoctions of his mind.
A meeting he has to go to. He needs to find the keys to his car (which he hasn't had since 2012), and reporting that his father visited him yesterday. My father is 97 that would make his father about 125.
Joan is off to the side hugging a baby doll which she carries all the time. Joan is very effulgent. She is hugging the doll and smiling, lighting up the room.
Edith is slumped over biting her nails.
And Janet must have had a bad day. She looks terrible. Her coloring is off and her face is very tight and drawn.
What to do with this crowd?
We are sitting together in the front room.
What can I say to them? It is not possible to have a conversation about anything.
Hand in bead bag. All I have is the Holy Name.
As I chant and chant and chant: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare... Joan is looking even more effulgent and nodding her head in approval. Marianne stops shouting Polish at me and curls up on the couch peacefully resting. Edith stops biting her nails and watches me very intently. Janet is still slumped over in her wheel chair but she looks a little more relaxed. My father smiles at me and shrugs his shoulders and nods, "yup."
Japa was so ecstatic. Krishna all I have is Your holy name. You're all I have.

THESE BOOKS ARE DEITIES

This morning first thing. I greeted my Deities.
Srila Prabhupada's unedited books.
I read and recorded Krishna Book 2.20.
Why Duryodhana felt insulted at the Rajasuya sacrifice.
The description of the Rajasuya sacrifice is magnificent.
Maharaja Yudhisthira was such an elevated pure devotee Emperor that all the great saints, sages, rishis, demigods, kings of the earth and everyone else too... attended. His desire was to establish Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

It takes a little time to clean the recording up from extra noises.
Then the Deity is bathed, dressed and decorated for the day.
Japa time. In the temple it is very helpful to chant japa before the deities. I chant japa before my deities. The pastimes of the Supreme Lord.
The recording of the Rajasuya chapter is playing (the curtain is open) and I am chanting japa to my deity. These deities are installed by Srila Prabhupada in His unedited books.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
It gets really good after about the 20th time the recording restarts.

A SPIRITUAL MASTER IS KNOWN BY HIS DISCIPLES

"A spiritual master is known by his disciples."
I had thought that meant that if the disciples were not perfect in every respect the spiritual master would not be recognized.
But that is not what it means.
The pure devotee spiritual master is not dependent on His disciples in any way. He is His own greatness.
So what does it mean?
"A spiritual master is known by his disciples."
There are many ways to look at this.
We can say, His disciples are the ones who Know him.
Why? Because they are engaging in His service.
And as it is through devotional service that Krishna is known.
The spiritual master being the representative of Krishna
devotional service is also the way to know the spiritual master.
Another way to hear,
"A spiritual master is known by his disciples."
is that others outside devotional service will see and judge the spiritual master by those surrounding him.
What kind of people... moral, clean, compassionate, productive?
A man is known by the friends he keeps.
And yet another way to hear
"A spiritual master is known by his disciples."
Is not in a judgmental way...
But If you want to "know" the spiritual master... the way to do it is through his disciples. Perfect or not. Servant of the servant of the servant...
Chaitanya lila is there to help us understand how this is.
King Prataparudra's gaining an audience with the Lord, Gopinatha Patanayaka's pardon, Chandra sekhara and Tapan misra's distress leading to the delivery of Prakasananda and all his disciples, to name a few.

NEVER HAVE ACCESS TO LILA

A few of the campaigns against lila. There are many...
The only thing I have is my unexplainable, undeniable, irrational, emotional love for Srila Prabhupada which I find in His books. The unchanged after His departure books....errors, crude paintings, typos, "planet of trees," Hayagriva....and all.
I see there is a campaign to discredit these books. To find fault with them and those who have tasted the sweet nectar emanating from them due to the unearthly devotional energy that has produced them.
These people will never have access to lila.
In the same way there is a campaign to minimize the relationship with Srila Prabhupada of the "original" disciples of His Divine Grace by the ritviks. They say there are no "original' disciples. Everyone is a disciple.. whether Srila Prabhupada is here or not and the "original" disciples are blocking everyone else's access to Srila Prabhupada.
These people will never have access to lila.
There is another campaign this one comes from the disciples of the "successor" gurus. They acknowledge that there are original disciples but simply find fault with them. All they see is child abuse, theft, sannyassi fall downs, mismanagement of properties, funds and temples.
These people will never have access to lila.

BADGERED

One devotee has badgered me... that I am sentimental and emotional about the editing. That the editing is completely bonafide and is what Srila Prabhupada wants. (Even though Srila Prabhupada is not physically present to say anything.) This devotee has "toughed me out." Squashed me under his shoe like a bug.
Yes I am emotional about changes to Srila Prabhupada's books after His disappearance.
No I am not open to hearing "any reasons" why changes should be made. Not even the planet of trees...
You go and preach to the whole world the edited books 1984.
Belittle my attachment to His unedited books.
Tell me I am a fool, offensive, stupid, emotional, washed up, crazy, useless, a piece of crap,
Yes you go ahead and preach to the whole world the changed books 1984.
And I will die holding onto His Bhagavad gita as it is 1972.
This beautiful book, with the beautiful pictures and the extraordinary cover. Krishna and Arjuna coming right at me as I look at them.
Yes, you tell me Hayagriva, blah, blah...
Go on talking all your reasons why this beautiful book is full of warts and how you have faith in Jayadvaita.
And I will die holding Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad gita as it is 1972.
There is no other book like Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad gita as it is 1972.
This is my deity.
You are a blasphemer.

SUBHUMAN

OMG. It just hit me..How degraded we are in this age.
Never mind how rare a Vaishnava is.
How about how rare is simply a civilized human being?
Which someone who is
not eating meat fish or eggs,
not engaging in illicit sex...which means no sex other than for producing children,
not indulging in intoxicants... not even coffee or tea,
and not gambling...which includes not speculating on the goal of life but is taking guidance from spiritual authorities.

This is just a civilized human being. Not even a devotee. Just a human being.
Lord Chaitanya is so merciful, Lord Nityananda is so merciful..
They are delivering even sub-human creatures.

MACY-BOSTON 1971

In Boston around 1971 there was a devotee who lived outside the temple. He was a gangster. That was how he earned his livelihood. Selling drugs and whatever else he was paid to do. His name was Macy. He had several wives.
He was so polite when he came to the temple. Bowing down before the vyasasana and the Deities and offering all respects to the devotees. He would come on Sunday all dressed up and spiffy clean with his chief wife.
One time I was taking the trolley and it was very crowded. No seats. Then from somewhere in the back Macy motioned for me to please come and take his seat. He moved to another section of the car and stood the whole way. Another time he paid my fare.
Then one day we heard he had been killed in a gun fight.
His chief wife came to the temple to tell us and that she was having his body cremated and the remains she was taking to India to be put in the Ganges, because that was what he had asked for.

HOW FAR BEFORE RIDICULOUS?

This sexual issue. How far does the movement bend to accommodate every sexual deviation?
Someone suggested an ashram for homosexuals. Sorry but that is not a good idea. Sexual anything is not a good idea. and anything sexual outside of man and woman marriage is illicit sex. Sorry about that. Doesn't matter what the governments are now calling marriage.
But we shouldn't neglect the masturbaters. After all they are not hurting anyone.
One young man a few years ago told me that he masturbates 3 or 4 times a day and that it is his offering to Krishna.
Perhaps there should be an ashram for these people too.
Then they can sit around and masturbate all day for Krishna.
I mean really, how far does this have to go before it is obvious how ridiculous this is?

20,800 IMPRISONED KINGS RELEASED

Jarasandha has been killed by Bhimasena and the 20,800 political prisoners are released from the prison camp... a large cave inside a mountain. They are emaciated and miserable having been imprisoned there for a long time. But they have become enlightened and learned to simply meditate on Krishna no matter what condition of life. Krishna (they see Him as Lord Vishnu) releases them and reinstates them as kings... but now they are saintly kings...
Their prayers so beautiful... their kingdoms flourish, are peaceful and happy and the goal of life Krishna consciousness is the goal of their rule.
They here describe their understanding of the problems they faced before incarceration and their material confusion while rulers.
"This is the disease of political power. As soon as a king or a nation becomes rich in material opulences, it wants to dominate other nations by military aggression. Similarly, mercantile men want to monopolize a certain type of business and control other mercantile groups. Degraded by false prestige and infatuated by material opulences, human society, instead of striving for Krishna consciousness, creates havoc and disrupts peaceful living. Thus men naturally forget the real purpose of life: to attain the favor of Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." KB 2.18
This was 5000 years ago. But we see the same exact problems today.
"O Lord, we were simply engaged in the abominable task of killing citizens and alluring them to be unnecessarily killed, just to satisfy our political whims. We did not consider that Your Lordship is always present before us in the form of cruel death. We were so fooled that we became the cause of death for others, forgetting our own impending death." KB 2.18
The solution then was Krishna consciousness. The solution now is Krishna consciousness. Krishna has come as the great mantra for deliverance:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

UDDHAVA'S PLAN TO KILL JARASANDHA

Jarasandha is another very interesting demon. Someone who perfectly follows Vedic regulations, is totally respectful of the brahmanas and gives enormous amounts of charity to the brahmanas. Only problem is he does not accept subordination to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In order to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice which will establish Krishna as the Supreme Being, Krishna acting as a human being, turns to Uddhava for advice. How wonderful is that! Fortunate Uddhava. Adviser to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
It is Uddhava's plan... Krishna, Arjuna and Bhimasena should approach Jarasandha disguised as brahmanas and beg charity from him. Reminiscent of Vamana deva... Lord Vishnu appearing as a brahmana... and approaching Bali Maharaja. Bhimasena being an equal match should then fight with him.
"And in order to assure Bhimasena's victory, I think that Your Lordship should also accompany him. If the fighting takes place in Your presence, I am sure Bhimasena will emerge victorious because simply by Your presence everything impossible is made possible, just as Lord Brahma creates this universe and Lord Siva destroys it simply through Your influence." KB 2.16
Uddhava. Uddhava. Uddhava. He speaks so beautifully. One minute he is giving practical logistics and within a second, before the sentence is even finished, he is in ecstatic meditation on the transcendence. Explores his meditation on the working of the material modes.. continues to share his meditation... and then brings his thoughts back again to the logistics. Like a delicious transcendental sandwich. that was the first half of the sandwich now here is the other half.
"Actually, You are creating and destroying the entire cosmic manifestation. Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are only the superficially visible causes. Creation and destruction are actually being performed by the invisible time factor, which is Your impersonal representation. Everything is under the control of this time factor. If Your invisible time factor can perform such wonderful acts through Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, will not Your personal presence help Bhimasena to conquer Jarasandha?" KB 2.16
Now he is back again considering the task at hand, Jarasanda's subjugation, but it only serves for Uddhava to springboard in his meditation this time for glorification of lila.
"My dear Lord, when Jarasandha is killed, then the queens of all the imprisoned kings will be so joyful at their husbands' being released by Your mercy that they will all begin to sing Your glories. They will be as pleased as the gopis were when they were relieved from the hands of Sarikhasura. All the great sages, the King of the elephants, Gajendra, the goddess of fortune, Sita, and even Your father and mother, were all delivered by Your causeless mercy. We also have been thus delivered, and we are always singing the transcendental glories of Your activities." KB 2.16
How very dear Uddhava is to Krishna. Krishna relishes such an adviser.
"My dear Uddhava, you are always my well-wishing confidential friend. I therefore wish to see everything through you because I believe that your counsel is always right. I believe that you understand the whole situation perfectly. Therefore I am asking your opinion. What should I do? I have faith in you, and therefore I shall do whatever you advise." KB 2.15
Krishna in Dvarka is the same Krishna as Krishna Chaitanya. It is by the mercy of Lord Chaitanya that we can have access to Krishna Lila anywhere Krishna is appearing.

I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME

I don't want to go home.
If Krishna takes me I will have to go. What can I do?
But I do not ask to go home.
Just let me think of You, hear about You,
remember You, glorify You.

I don't know about others. Everyone has their relationship with Krishna. If I start to think, "I want to go home back to the spiritual sky." ... why do I want to go there?
Maybe I will be happier there, The food is better there, I will not have to experience birth, death, old age and disease. It is all me just thinking "what I want... for myself." Where is Krishna?
But if I am having to experience material existence and simply thinking, "Oh Krishna! You are so wonderful. I love to hear about You and share what I am hearing about You. You are so wonderful. there is no one like You. I can't get enough of You." Nothing else matters. Not what food, not birth, death, old age or disease.

FREE TO SURRENDER TO KRISHNA

If Krishna likes you He may give you so many things.
But if Krishna loves you He takes everything away.
Then the devotee is in a helpless position. No position in society. No money. No family. The perfect situation for surrendering to Krishna.
I can write like this. This is my situation. This is my experience.
Recently I have been contacted by a devotee godbrother that I remember from the mid 80's. I don't have to say who. But he is experiencing this also. None of his arrangements for position in society or family life have worked out.
As a young disciple he was enthusiastic to dedicate all his life to preaching and at a very young age took sannyasa. Then realized a few years later he was not able to serve like that.
So he did the embarrassing but honorable thing.. left sannyasa and took up household life. But after a few years he realized he couldn't maintain that either.
No position in any sphere. It's perfect. Everything is taken away.
Free to surrender to Krishna.

DON'T WASTE TIME

As much as possible read Krishna conscious literature.
Hear, hear, hear.
And chant, chant, chant.
Don't waste this valuable human life.
Today I read Krishna Book Vol 2-Chapter 14.
Narada muni visits Dvarka.
I recorded it and will be listening to it all day.
The same thirty minute recording over and over again
all day and again tonight while taking rest.
I have been doing this with each chapter.
One chapter per day. I can't describe properly how wonderful it is to be able to do this.
The recording is in an unedited form so I will need some time to clean up the recording in order to post it.

SAMBA KIDNAPS LAKSMANA, BALARAMA ALMOST DESTROYS HASTINAPURA

Great pastime with Balarama.
The Marriage of Samba, Krishna Book Volume 2 Chapter 13
Really get a feel for the Kshatriya spirit. Very high-spirited.
Yudhishthira was advised... when he was going incognito as an attendant to King Virata, ...Not to get too close to a King... A king is like fire.
These kshatriyas are all like that. Fiery.
When they die in battle they go to the sun planet.
Samba, Krishna's first born son by Jambavati and a pet favorite of his father and mother, kidnaps Duryodhana's daughter Laksmana during her svyamvara. But it is not that Lakmana is praying like Rukmini to be kidnapped. Actually she was not at all inclined to chose Samba. He swooped in and stole her against her will.
The Kauravas are in an uproar. Dhrtarashtra, Bhismadeva and even Arjuna are all upset at the outrage and of course Duryodhana is in a fit of rage. Six of the strongest Kuru warriors led by Karna attack Samba and overpower him in an unfair manner, arrest him and hold him captive. Narada muni tells the Yadavas what has happened and they want to attack the Kurus.
Here comes Balaramaji, Krishna's older brother. Always looking out for the welfare of everyone. He decides to pay a visit to the Kurus and try to negotiate a solution rather than have any bloodshed.
He receives a wonderful reception from the Kurus. All worship and glorification. It is clear that the Kurus know full-well the glories of Lord Balarama and are devoted to him. But when Balarama begins to speak, he has come as messenger from the Yadavas and as a kshatriya, the Kurus become indignant.
Baladeva asks for the release of Samba along with his new wife Laksmana. The Kurus hurl abuse at the Yadavas completely disregarding the presence of Balarama... who has appeared as a member of the Yadavas. They speak with complete arrogance and offense to Krishna. They take the position that they the Kurus are the lords of the world, that everyone even the demigods are dependent on their mercy. No one is going to demand anything of them. Not even the Yadavas, which obviously includes Krishna and Balarama.
Balarama remains calm. But after the Kurus return to inside the city gates, they met in a garden just outside Hastinapura, He begins to seethe. The thing that riles him the most is the Kurus belittling Krishna. Indirectly they demanded that the Yadavas and Krishna not be considered the ruling class. That the only reason the Yadus had any position in the ruling class was due to the generosity of the Kurus. That really pushed Balarama over the top.
He vows to completely destroy the Kurus then and there. Burning with anger, Jaya Balarama!! He uses his plow to separate Hastinapur from the land and begins to drag the entire city into the Ganges. Everyone in Hastinapura is frantic. It feels like an earthquake about to destroy everything. All the Kuru leaders come running out of the city with Samba followed by Laksmana to present to Balarama and offer profuse apologies and prayers of glorification. How they had some how or other forgotten themselves. And beg to be forgiven.
What an incredible pastime!!!
Srila Prabhupada explains in further detail some of what was really going on under all the thrills and chills:
"For the most part it was the practice of the kshatriya kings to inaugurate some kind of fighting between the parties of the bride and bridegroom before the marriage. When Samba forcibly took away Laksmana, the elderly members of the Kuru dynasty were pleased to see that he was actually the suitable match for her. In order to see his personal strength, however, they fought with him, and without any respect for the regulations of fighting, they all arrested him. When the Yadu dynasty decided to release Samba from the confinement of the Kurus, Lord Balarama came personally to settle the matter, and as a powerful kshatriya, He ordered them to free Samba immediately. The Kauravas became superficially insulted by this order, so they challenged Lord Balarama 's power. They simply wanted to see Him exhibit His inconceivable strength. Thus with great pleasure they handed over their daughter to Samba, and the whole matter was settled. Duryodhana, being affectionate towards his daughter Laksmana, had her married to Samba in great pomp."

KRISHNA IS EQUAL TO ALL

Krishna is equal to all. It is one of the mysteries. He is completely renounced. He has no need for a relationship with anyone. He is fully self satisfied. But to accommodate His devotee who may have some desire to relate to Him in a particular way He is there for them in that way.
The gopis are blaming Krishna for taking advantage of them and then going away. But He has not taken advantage of anyone. It is their desire to see Him that way. And so to chastise Him like that.
Similarly the Queens in Dvarka think of Him as a henpecked husband who is overly attached to them. But He is not attached to any of them at all. He has no need for even one wife. But to accommodate their desire He is there.
In this way it is as if He is a servant of His servant. A devotee of His devotee. And if someone want to fight with Him? Okay. Let's fight and Krishna kills him and he gets liberation.

THE MESSAGE IS KRISHNA IS GOD

Srila Prabhupada did not preach from the Bible.
He did not preach from the Koran.
He did not preach from the Torah.
He preached from the Bhagavad gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and Chaitanya Charitamrta and the Vaishnava acharya's writings.
I see there is a growing tendency for devotees to want to speak about God from these other scriptures.
I think it is a mistake.
Personally I appreciate the ways in which God is glorified and the path to transcendence is elucidated in these other spiritual cultures.
But we are specifically given God as Krishna and that is only available from the Vaishnava culture.
Our mission is to glorify Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead as given to us by our line of disciplic succession.
How to do that is very simple, hear and chant, but we are not so simple so everything becomes very complicated.

Rascals will bring so many gods....
"Prabhupada: There was a suggestion when I (indistinct) international, I was going to register, they suggested, "Why don't you make God conscious? Why you make Krsna conscious?" And if I had made God conscious so many rascals will bring so many Gods. Therefore specifically only Krsna God. That's all. That is authorized. If you like, you take other's God. But this is our philosophy, mam ekam saranam vraja. Was it not wise conclusion?
...or else they do not actually know who is god:
"Prabhupada: Yes. There is collaboration. We are proposing this collaboration. All religion, they're after... Religion means to accept God. So if you accept God, we accept God. Then where is no cooperation? This is cooperation. But if you don't know what is God, we know. That is the difference. Ask this Christians, Mohammedans, and any other religious group, they have got a conception of God, ask them what is the form of God, what does He do, what is His..., so many things. They do not know. But we know.
Pusta-krsna: They simply say He is spirit.
Prabhupada: Yes. That's all, vague idea. We say, "Here is God." So if you actually believe in God, why don't you take this God and the whole, all different types of religions become one? If you accept God, then we say, "Here is God." So where is the point of difference? How do you differ? Why do you say that you are different religion, my religion? Why do you say, "My religion"? Everyone... This is the only religion: to know God and love Him. What is their objection? To accept God, Krsna? What is their object? What is their reason?"
Morning walk,Geneva, June 7, 1974

WORSHIPING LORD SIVA TO KILL KRISHNA-NOT A GOOD IDEA

The King of Kasi was a good friend of King Paundraka. His city Kasi, or Varanasi was devoted to the worship of Lord Siva. When Krishna killed the King of Kasi, the king's son took up the task of killing Krishna and began worshiping Lord Siva to become empowered.
To worship Lord Siva in order to kill Krishna is not a very good plan. Lord Siva is the greatest devotee of Lord Krishna, the greatest Vaishanava with His own line of succession just as Lord Brahma also has his line of succession for devotional service. Lord Siva is very merciful to those of demonic mentality as well as ghosts and those suffering in the deepest darkest modes of ignorance.
Sudaksina the son of the King of Kasi evoked a terrible demon that was then dispatched to Dvarka. The demon was blocked by Sudarshan cakra and was forced to return to Varanasi and Sudaksina. Since the demon had to destroy something he destroyed the entire city of Varannasi and all the inhabitants.
Destruction in the material world is inevitable. No one wants it, but it has to be there. The material world is functioning under three modes... creation, maintenance and destruction. They are waves of energy in the material nature and are conducted under the influence of time.
The description of Varanasi is very disturbing. It was beautiful place. No doubt by worshiping Lord Siva there was wonderful opulence as described below. But it was all vanquished by the misuse of powers granted by Lord Siva.The goal is not material opulence per se, the goal is surrender to Krishna. If there is material opulence it can be vanquished in seconds.
"This city of Varanasi had been very opulent and great for a very
long time. Even now, the city of Varanasi is very opulent and famous, and it is one of the important cities of India. There were then many big
palaces, assembly houses, marketplaces and gates, with very important large monuments by the palaces and gates. Lecturing platforms could be found at each and every crossing of the roads. There was a treasury house, and elephant heads, horse heads, chariots, granaries and places for distribution of foodstuff. The city of Varanasi had been filled with all these material opulences for a very long time, but because the king of Kasi and his son Sudaksina were against Lord Krishna, the Vishnu-cakra Sudarsana (the disc weapon of Lord Krishna) devastated the whole city by burning all these important places. This excursion was more ravaging than modern
bombing." KB 2.11

PAUNDRAKA

Krishna Book Volume 2 Chapter 11 Deliverance of Paundraka and the King of Kasi.
Wonderful. Simply wonderful.
King Paundraka was always meditating on Lord Vishnu, specifically Vasudeva. But his meditation was offensive. He somehow or other had come to the conclusion he himself was Lord Vishnu and had amassed a following of worshipers and decorated Himself to look exactly like Lord Vishnu, complete with the four symbols, Kaustubha jewel, vaijayanti garland, and mark of Srivatsa. In this condition he became so bewildered and emboldened that he actually challenged Krishna in Dvarka to surrender to him calling Krishna a rascal and imitator.
The whole affair was ludicrous. But Paundraka could not see it. Puffed up by his false sense of self and bolstered by the service and glorification of his followers he challeneged Lord Krishna to surrender or to fight and be killed.
Krishna informs Paundraka via Panudraka's messenger,
"...I shall use this disc to kill not only King Paundraka but all his followers also. I shall destroy this Paundraka and his foolish associates, who merely constitute a society of cheaters and cheated."
Evidently Paundraka has forgotten what type of body he has. One that is subject to death and suitable to be eaten. Krishna continues His message to Paundraka...
"...when your head is severed from your body by My disc, it will be surrounded by meat-eating birds like vultures, hawks and eagles. At that time, instead of becoming My shelter as you have demanded, you will be subjected to the mercy of these low-born birds. At that time your body will be thrown to the dogs, who will eat it with great pleasure."
Which is precisely what happens.
However we learn the most astonishing outcome. The deliverance of Paundraka. He actually attains the four-armed form of Lord Vishnu and is promoted to the Vaikuntha planets!!! Why? He was not devoted. Why? Simply because he was always meditating on the form of Lord Vishnu. His meditation was off because He thought He was Lord Vishnu. By challenging Lord Vishnu and being killed by Him he was relieved of that offense. But his meditation on Lord Vishnu remained. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. It is a kind of glorification.
"As far as Paundraka was concerned, somehow or other he was always thinking of Lord Vasudeva by falsely dressing himself in that way, and therefore Paundraka achieved sarupya, one of the five kinds of liberation, and was thus promoted to the Vaikuntha planets, where the devotees have the same bodily features as Vishnu, with four hands holding the four symbols. Factually, his meditation was concentrated on the Vishnu form, but because he thought himself to be Lord Vishnu, it was offensive. After being killed by Krishna, however, that offense was also mitigated. Thus he was given sarupya liberation, and he attained the same form as the Lord."
This is the nature of the Absolute. Supremely potent. Anything in contact with the Supreme Absolute will derive supreme benefit.
Like fire. Anything in contact with fire will feel the effect.

ANGER 101

Anger 101
In the past I have tried to take shelter of Lord Nrshimha deva. Since He is well acquainted with anger. Not with very much relief. But today I just kept calling out for Lord Nityananda.
I caught myself going into one of my mental tirades over the gardener issue and the focal point of my anger the man that answers the phone for customer service. But I caught myself, I just began calling out for Nityananda. Nityananda, Nityananda, Nityananda, Nityananda, Nityananda. Singing out. I am going to practice this. Calling out for Lord Nityananda.
Lord Nityananda is very childlike and funny. Here He is kicking Sivananda sena. He threw rice at Advaita Acarya. And He begged for the deliverance of Jagai and Madhai. "My Lord, if you kill them, you will have to kill everyone. They are all like this."

HOW TO FIND KRISHNA IN THE MESS

"Ignorance is bliss." Perhaps that is the motivation of the impersonalist. It is too painful let me just void everything out. "Isopanishad" recommends seeing both side by side. The ignorance and the transcendence in order to stay on the path back to Godhead.
I wish I were just dull. But I'm not. How to find Krishna in the mess. I really think it is a matter of perspective. What is in the foreground and what is in the background. Krishna and Maya. Krishna in the foreground and Maya in the background.
Krishna's shadow.

ANYTHING WITHOUT KRISHNA IS USELESS

Sivajvara has been dispatched by Lord Siva to burn up Lord Krishna but is offering prayers as he realizes he needs to surrender to Krishna or else be frozen by Narayanajvara.
This is a part of his glorification of Krishna that jumped out at me:
"A material thing might be very powerful, but without the touch of knowledge or consciousness it cannot act. A material machine may be very gigantic and wonderful, but without the touch of someone conscious and in knowledge, the material machine is useless for all purposes." KB 2.8
That goes for an institution or an organization also. It may be very big and powerful but without consciousness is useless.
After a very intense experience of hopelessness, I jumped out of the paintings sales van in Pittsburgh somewhere. I had no money and no idea where I was even. I just kept walking and chanting and meditating on Lord Jagannatha. I did not stop to ask directions but just kept walking and chanting. After 4 hours I found myself at the Pittsburgh temple (which has since been closed). I went into the temple room and there were three vyasasanas there. It was in the early 80's right after Srila Prabhupada disappeared. Satsvarupa (Gurupada) was sitting on one vyasasana , Kirtanananda (Bhaktipada) was sitting on another and Srila Prabhupada was in the middle. All the seats were the same and all of them had framed pictures of the respective "acaryas."
I sat on the floor and silently went into some sort of trance. They weren't pictures on the seats, Srila Prabhupada and the two devotees were actually there. They were discussing something.
I asked a question. "What do you want? Do you want money?"
Srila Prabhupada looked at me and said, "Yes, we can use money."
I said, "There is better way to get money than selling these paintings."
He said, "If you know of a better way that is good. But just remember," Then He looked at Satsvarupa (Gurupada) and said, "There are many, many books, but without Krishna they are all useless."
Then He looked at Kirtanananda (Bhaktipada) and said, "There are many, many big buildings, but without Krishna they are useless."
And then He looked at me and said, " money without Krishna is useless."
Evidently that was my lesson in karma yoga.
So a big, big institution without Krishna is useless.

MAYBE I SHOULDN'T READ THE FIGHTING SCENES

Is anger ever okay?
If so when?
I was chanting and chanting and chanting, three hours...
then I opened the mail
and there was a violation notice about the grass.
It is ongoing with the gardeners
So this time I had put a sign
"No service" but it was for the flower beds
but they just skipped the house altogether.
The Home Association immediately sent me a violation.
The man the who answers the phone
at the association makes things very difficult.
He makes up for his lack of intelligence with arrogance and conceit.
The perfection of what not to do as a customer service rep....
Make the customer upset instead of helping to find a solution.
I have had to talk to him before. It's always the same.
He purposely makes any situation into a confrontation
I became very, very angry and wrote a letter complaining about him to the manager.
Is that "wrong" for a "devotee" to do?
Should I just tolerate his abuse, smile and chant Hare Krishna?
(I'd been reading the fight between Krishna and Banasura...
maybe I shouldn't read the fighting pastimes)