Confessions of Love

NOT VERY SATISFIED

"When there are ample blooming flowers
in the gardens in the forest, the fresh, aromatic breeze
gives a great relief to the person who has suffered
during the summer and rainy seasons.

Unfortunately, such breezes could not give any relief to the gopis
because of their hearts' dedication to Krishna.

People in general might have taken pleasure
in that nice autumn breeze,
but the gopis, not being embraced by Krishna,
were not very satisfied." KB Vol 1 Ch 20
http://krsnabook.com/ch20.html

DROP OF WATER

"The poet Vidyapati said that in the society of friends, family , children, wife, etc., there is certainly some pleasure, but that pleasure is compared to a drop of water in the desert.

Everyone is hankering after happiness,
just as in the desert everyone is hankering after water.

If, in the desert, there is a drop of water,
the water is there of course, but the benefit
from that drop of water is very insignificant.

In our materialistic way of life, we are hankering
after an ocean of happiness,
but in the form of society, friends and mundane love,
we are getting no more than a drop of water.

Our satisfaction is never achieved,
as the small rivulets, lakes and ponds
are never filled with water in the dry season."
KB Vol 1 Ch 20

KRISHNA BOOK CHAPTER 20

WHAT A GLORIOUS TIME !!!

I hate to take rest.
But at the end of day I am worn out. I must.
Then when I am asleep
I don't want to get up... lying there peacefully...
to begin the days activities.

I have to have a reason to wake.
I lie there. I can't remember why I should start activities.
What is the purpose?

I hear a bird chirp.
I remember.
Hare Krishna.
The mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

But what is my part?
I am broken.
Can do nothing.
Useless.

I remember the Holy Name.
The mission of the Holy Name.

The Holy Name is the seed mantra.
The seed of bhakti.
Being spread everywhere.

What a glorious time!!!!
Let me hear of the glories of the Holy Name.
How the Name is spreading.
How the devotional creepers are taking root.
Each unique. Lovely. Dynamic.
How the weeds are being removed.
How the garden of Love of God is growing.
How the forest of Vrndavan is manifesting.

HARE KRISHNA MANTRA 150

THE BIRD BATH

It is a very small back yard space.
But it is grand central station in the afternoons.
The bird bath is very, very popular.
Everyday new birds are finding this treasure.
It is obvious how much they appreciate such a simple thing.

They are even moving into the area just to be near the bath.
I had never seen brown thrashers before.
I had to look them up to find out what they are called.
Brown with brown and white speckles on their bellies.
Now they live here because I see them all the time.

The grackles are coming also the last few days.
Jet black that shimmers in the sunlight
to reveal multi-iridescent highlights.
Their eyes are uncanny a kind of luminescent yellow-green.
Very piercing against their jet black bodies.

The blue jays are still boss
They are larger than everyone else
and when they want the bath everyone else scatters.
The jays come in pairs much of the time.
One of the birds most likely the female
makes all sorts of very sweet chirping sounds.
The male is much larger with a crown.
When he splashes around the water gets splashed out.
I have to refill it.

The gray mockingbirds with white tipped wings.
Even the woodpeckers have been checking it out.
So it is very busy in the afternoon.

Plus the squirrels scampering
along the top of the make shift lattice fence
that separates two yards... like it was a super highway.
The peacocks taking a short cut through the area
getting ready to roost for the night in the trees a few streets away.

It is mating season and they are dancing on every corner.
They are very noisy.
The screeching and screaming goes on constantly.
When one starts they all start.
It sounds like someone is being murdered.
A little unnerving after a while
The neighbor's dog who is very high-strung begins barking.

I am here. I appreciate the nature surrounding me.
I can't get photos of the bird bath antics.
Whenever I try.. they see me aiming the camera and fly away.

SOME FUN WITH GEOMETRY

Some fun with geometry....

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

Perfect and complete whole...
nothing lacking, the complete balance.
In any other form... geometrically ...
the points that define the form
are in a kind of competition with each other.

For a square, the points on the corners are further out
from the center than the points on the sides.
If we consider distances from the center
which also corresponds to source..
as that which defines the form.

For any structure other than a circle or sphere...
the points that define the structure
are in a kind of stress dynamic with each.
There is a center... but points defining the square
are not equidistant from it.
Some are closer and others are further away.

The perfect shape is the circle or sphere.
There is no stress. Every point is equidistant form the center.
This is the perfect whole. The complete whole.
Perfect in that there is no stress.
The dynamic is perfectly harmonious.

This perfection is there in everything Krishna does and is.
He is the complete whole and everything
that emanates from Him is also a complete whole.
No stress.
When we align with the complete whole
we also become free from stress.
Internally and externally.

COMMON CENTER

The soul of all souls....The center of everything..
The description of Krishna and Balarama entering
the wrestling arena of Kamsa is so nice.
Krishna was the center....
but He "appeared differently" to different people:

"When Kṛṣṇa entered the wrestling arena with Balarāma and Their friends, He appeared differently to different people according to their different relationships (rasas) with Him. Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure and all kinds of rasas, both favorable and unfavorable. He appeared to the wrestlers exactly like a thunderbolt. To the people in general He appeared as the most beautiful personality. To the females He appeared to be the most attractive male, Cupid personified, and thus increased their lust. The cowherd men who were present there looked upon Kṛṣṇa as their own kinsman, coming from the same village of Vṛndāvana. The kṣatriya kings who were present saw Him as the strongest ruler. To the parents of Kṛṣṇa, Nanda and Yaśodā, He appeared to be the most loving child. To Kaṁsa, the king of the Bhoja dynasty, He appeared to be death personified. To the unintelligent, He appeared to be an incapable personality. To the yogīs present, He appeared to be the Supersoul. To the members of the Vṛṣṇi dynasty He appeared to be the most celebrated descendant. Thus appreciated differently by different kinds of men present, Kṛṣṇa entered the wrestling arena with Balarāma and His cowherd boy friends. Having heard that Kṛṣṇa had already killed the elephant, Kuvalayāpīḍa, Kaṁsa knew beyond doubt that Kṛṣṇa was formidable. He thus became very much afraid of Him. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had long hands. They were beautifully dressed, and They were attractive to all the people assembled there. They were dressed as if They were going to act on a dramatic stage, and They drew the attention of all people." KB V1 CH42

There is no discord when there is common center.
Srila Prabhupada often gave the illustration
of throwing stones into a pool of water.
When they are thrown in different locations
there are ripples that form and overlap each other
causing disruption and conflict.
When there is a common center this does not happen.
There is one gigantic ripple that perfectly forms
expanding out more and more.

If there is center then there is a circle or sphere.
There are no sharp edges in a circle of sphere.
Every point that defines the circle is equidistant from the center. There is no hierarchy where one point
has any advantage over another point.
This is the spiritual connection.
This is the spiritual network.
Krishna is the center.

DIFFERENT PEOPLE PERCEIVE THE SOUL DIFFERENTLY

There is a verse in the Gita that expresses
how people differently situated according to their consciousness perceive the spirit soul differently:

"Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all." BG 2.9

Considering Krishna is the center of everything, the source of everything, the fountainhead, then Krishna is also
the center of the soul of the living entity
regardless of what form they have taken in the material energy
of which Krishna is also the center.. being situated in every atom.

When there is consciousness of the center within the body
where can there be any distress or discord within the individual? Disease means dis-ease. There can be no "dis-ease"
when everything is focused on the the true center.
All activities... all thoughts... all desires...

Off center, means clash, conflict, distress... externally and internally.
Where is Krishna is a very important question to ask...
Where is Krishna? He is in the center of everything.

Friday, April 8, 2016