For those unaware, Muktakesh Prabhu, a dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada and resident of New Vrindaban, left his body this past Friday, April 6, 2007, at 9:36pm, in a room filled with over thirty devotees, family, and friends chanting Hare Krsna at the most auspicious moment of his soul's passing.
I did not know Mukta Kesh Prabhu very well, at least on the surface. However, in being able to be one of the many devotees who helped assist him to leave his body in ideal Vaisnava fashion, I've come to understand that perhaps I've been an intimate associate of him for many lifetimes.
I know he's in a better place now, and as soon as he got there, whoever was around to greet him sure got more that what they bargained for.
The first I ever heard of Mukta was that he used to storm into the brahmacari ashram very early in the morning, pounding on doors, yelling out "Jiv Jago!" (wake up sleeping soul!), calling us monkeys, and chanting Hare Krsna in his unique high-volume fashion. I cringed at the thought of having to meet such a person.
Later, I was actually going to ask him to resume this service. I thought it might help me jump out of bed a little bit quicker, but I was told not to ask him because some devotees in our ashram may not appreciate having this extra alarm clock ringing again. Alas...I'm sure I'll get a chance to experience this lila in a more transcendental way in the future.
Mukta was kind enough to gently force me to join his daily 12:30pm Bhagavad-Gita study course. He reminded us nearly everyday that having to use this time for such a consistent study was an austerity any young devotee must undergo. After a few classes, I completely agreed with him.
Mukta's style of giving class was very typical of his personality. Instead of concentrating solely on one verse, as is standard, we would storm through 10-15 verses at a time. This method has so many benefits, for it allows one to see the main themes and lessons of a chapter unfold and connect, and it doesn't take three years of sporadic classes to get through one book.
His class became one of the highlights of the day. I learned that this seemingly intimidating devotee, whose nature of being is very much the polar opposite of my own, actually had a real heart of gold, and I'll appreciate forever his taking time out of his very important duties as head of our Prison Ministry to actually engage the young bhaktas and bhaktins of New Vrindaban in serious, engaging, and very sweet katha.
We had just finished Chapter 2 of the Gita when he fell ill. Some of the last words I spoke to him before he left was a personal vow that I will hold him to finally getting started on Chapter 3 next time I see him.
My other favorite Mukta pastimes was his early-morning habit of pulling a chair to the middle of the temple room, sitting down to chant his japa, and then getting up after about 15 seconds to go chant elsewhere, leaving the chair there for nobody and everybody. He also had a great hop-step dance he would do right before circumambulating Tulasi-devi in the morning.
Being able to be present to help him leave his body, surrounded by so many loving devotees, has given me so many lessons that I will be assimilating for the rest of my life. At least, I can understand that anything and everything we do must revolve around being able to hear the holy name of Krsna at every moment of our life, especially at the time of death.
I'll miss you a lot, Mukta. All of us will try our best to give your son all the support and guidance that you gave him. We'll see you soon.
Showing posts with label Hare Rama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hare Rama. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Srimad-Bhagavatam Meditation: 1:10:4
Once a week, I will be sharing a meditation on a verse from the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge: the Srimad-Bhagavatam, translated and with commentary by His Divine Grace Swami Srila Prabhupada.
I humble request you to first read today's verse, from Canto 1, Chapter 10, Verse 4..."Departure of Lord Krsna for Dvaraka."
kamam vavarsa parjanyah
sarva-kama-dugha mahi
sisicuh sma vrajan gavah
payasodhasvatir muda
During the reign of Maharaja Yudhisthira, the clouds showered all the water that people needed, and the earth produced all the necessities of man in profusion. Due to its fatty milk bag and cheerful attitude, the cow used to moisten the grazing ground with milk.
In Prabhupada's commentary, he says that "the basic principle of economic development is centered on land and milk." This is the very foundation of our Krsna conscious motto of "Simple Living and High Thinking." All of our farm communities strive to live wholly by this ideal. The earth provides all we need naturally, especially when we are aligned spiritually with the dictates of the Absolute Truth. But, as individual spirit souls who have a tendency to want to believe that we are the Absolute Truth, we misuse our God-given free will and are always attempting to live in a world that is bigger, better, and faster.
No matter how much you and I love our MP3 players, they are not essential to our survival. This can be extended to any technological or extraneous mechanical device, even this very computer. The Internet can be a wonderful communication tool, but if some crafty Korean hackers yanked the whole show down this afternoon, your physical survival would most likely not be threatened.
It is this drive to create artificial comforts and standards of sense gratification that distracts us from true realization of the nature of our self, and of how we can relate in the best possible way to all the souls who surround us as well. I'm certainly no luddite, but the future of humanity depends of finding a balance between the land and the mechanical invention. Right now, the see-saw is leaning heavy in the direction of the machine, and the machine might just want to eat us whole.
Getting to that correct balance means first and foremost respecting those cheerfully fatty cows. Prabhupada pulls no punches when he says "Why should men kill cows for their selfish purposes? Why should man not be satisfied with grains, fruits and milk....Why are there slaughterhouses all over the world to kill innocent animals?...Is this humanity? Are not the animals of a country citizens also? Then why are they allowed to be butchered in organized slaughterhouses? Are these the signs of equality, fraternity, and non-violence?"
Have you ever seriously asked yourself these questions before? The answers that are provided with some good old-fashioned thinking will hopefully enlighten you well beyond what you choose to put onto your dinner plate. There are deep environmental and spiritual benefits that come with a conscious change to a vegetarian or vegan diet.
No less an authority than Albert Einstein says that "nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
Becoming a vegetarian is, from my own personal experience, one of the most rewarding choices you can make in your personal practice of existence.
We have to listen to more than just our guts. I pray than anyone who reads this can at least try to understand your own individual responsibility to your own health, and the health of all living entities that surround you, including animals big and small. The happiness you will feel is guaranteed to help you see reality much clearer than you ever have before.
Check out the Veggie Hub (www.veggiehub.com). They'll explain it much better.
I humble request you to first read today's verse, from Canto 1, Chapter 10, Verse 4..."Departure of Lord Krsna for Dvaraka."
kamam vavarsa parjanyah
sarva-kama-dugha mahi
sisicuh sma vrajan gavah
payasodhasvatir muda
During the reign of Maharaja Yudhisthira, the clouds showered all the water that people needed, and the earth produced all the necessities of man in profusion. Due to its fatty milk bag and cheerful attitude, the cow used to moisten the grazing ground with milk.
In Prabhupada's commentary, he says that "the basic principle of economic development is centered on land and milk." This is the very foundation of our Krsna conscious motto of "Simple Living and High Thinking." All of our farm communities strive to live wholly by this ideal. The earth provides all we need naturally, especially when we are aligned spiritually with the dictates of the Absolute Truth. But, as individual spirit souls who have a tendency to want to believe that we are the Absolute Truth, we misuse our God-given free will and are always attempting to live in a world that is bigger, better, and faster.
No matter how much you and I love our MP3 players, they are not essential to our survival. This can be extended to any technological or extraneous mechanical device, even this very computer. The Internet can be a wonderful communication tool, but if some crafty Korean hackers yanked the whole show down this afternoon, your physical survival would most likely not be threatened.
It is this drive to create artificial comforts and standards of sense gratification that distracts us from true realization of the nature of our self, and of how we can relate in the best possible way to all the souls who surround us as well. I'm certainly no luddite, but the future of humanity depends of finding a balance between the land and the mechanical invention. Right now, the see-saw is leaning heavy in the direction of the machine, and the machine might just want to eat us whole.
Getting to that correct balance means first and foremost respecting those cheerfully fatty cows. Prabhupada pulls no punches when he says "Why should men kill cows for their selfish purposes? Why should man not be satisfied with grains, fruits and milk....Why are there slaughterhouses all over the world to kill innocent animals?...Is this humanity? Are not the animals of a country citizens also? Then why are they allowed to be butchered in organized slaughterhouses? Are these the signs of equality, fraternity, and non-violence?"
Have you ever seriously asked yourself these questions before? The answers that are provided with some good old-fashioned thinking will hopefully enlighten you well beyond what you choose to put onto your dinner plate. There are deep environmental and spiritual benefits that come with a conscious change to a vegetarian or vegan diet.
No less an authority than Albert Einstein says that "nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
Becoming a vegetarian is, from my own personal experience, one of the most rewarding choices you can make in your personal practice of existence.
We have to listen to more than just our guts. I pray than anyone who reads this can at least try to understand your own individual responsibility to your own health, and the health of all living entities that surround you, including animals big and small. The happiness you will feel is guaranteed to help you see reality much clearer than you ever have before.
Check out the Veggie Hub (www.veggiehub.com). They'll explain it much better.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Hit the Asphalt!
Being an aspiring celibate monk in the Gaudiya Vaisnava (Hare Krsna) tradition, I often get the impression that people have no idea what I actually do. What exactly does actual spiritual life look like, sound like, taste like, and feel like. Actually, I'm not sure. I'll think I'll try to figure it our after I get up from my nap....we do arise at 4am in these parts.
To give you, dearest reader, a small example of this devotee life, I present a photo essay of our journey northwards to Pittsburgh and Michigan that occurred last weekend (3-16 to 3-20-07). I traveled with my fellow former Michigan homeboy and good neighbor Caitanya Das, along with His Grace Yugal Kishore Das, one of New Vrindaban's most delightful traveling salesmen, engaged in the helping spread the marketplace of the Holy Name. Also repping the New Vrindaban contingent in Detroit this weekend was Her Grace Mother Malati, who is one of the original Western disciples of our Hare Krsna movement and of the man himself, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Caitanya and I were mainly traveling doing college programs of musical meditation (kirtan) and spiritual discussion, while Yugal and Malati were in Detroit to preside over a Deity installation at the local home of one of our congregation members.
So, with my whole life being experimental, I'm gonna throw up a bunch of pictures here so you may get some kind of jist. I've been told by knowlegable sources not to overload on the photography, because it overloads the load time for people of lesser CPU capacity. To those people, all I can say, like the human beings will say, is "sorry." Please enjoy to the best of your capacity anyway...
Caitanya Das prays for rain
A neon kirtan for the neon age, live from the University of Pittsburgh
Yugal Kishore dresses and bathes the New Arrivals
Our man Bhakta Joe Swift doing what he does best.
Back to the roots...a college program-East Quad-U. of Michigan-Ann Arbor
"Take the pacifier out of your mouth, and just fill your mouth with harinama instead.."
Detroit Rock City!
The kindest enlightenment from Her Grace Mother Malati.
Heating up the asphalt and catching a cold-Kirtan at Michigan State University
The ideal way to end the trip-organic raspberry popsicles.
His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada-ISKCON Devasadan-Detroit
To give you, dearest reader, a small example of this devotee life, I present a photo essay of our journey northwards to Pittsburgh and Michigan that occurred last weekend (3-16 to 3-20-07). I traveled with my fellow former Michigan homeboy and good neighbor Caitanya Das, along with His Grace Yugal Kishore Das, one of New Vrindaban's most delightful traveling salesmen, engaged in the helping spread the marketplace of the Holy Name. Also repping the New Vrindaban contingent in Detroit this weekend was Her Grace Mother Malati, who is one of the original Western disciples of our Hare Krsna movement and of the man himself, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Caitanya and I were mainly traveling doing college programs of musical meditation (kirtan) and spiritual discussion, while Yugal and Malati were in Detroit to preside over a Deity installation at the local home of one of our congregation members.
So, with my whole life being experimental, I'm gonna throw up a bunch of pictures here so you may get some kind of jist. I've been told by knowlegable sources not to overload on the photography, because it overloads the load time for people of lesser CPU capacity. To those people, all I can say, like the human beings will say, is "sorry." Please enjoy to the best of your capacity anyway...
Caitanya Das prays for rain
A neon kirtan for the neon age, live from the University of Pittsburgh
Yugal Kishore dresses and bathes the New Arrivals
Our man Bhakta Joe Swift doing what he does best.
Back to the roots...a college program-East Quad-U. of Michigan-Ann Arbor
"Take the pacifier out of your mouth, and just fill your mouth with harinama instead.."
Detroit Rock City!
The kindest enlightenment from Her Grace Mother Malati.
Heating up the asphalt and catching a cold-Kirtan at Michigan State University
The ideal way to end the trip-organic raspberry popsicles.
His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada-ISKCON Devasadan-Detroit
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