How Moses and the Virgin Mary brought me to Krishna

Regular readers will know that, in addition to worshipping God through recitation of His holy names, devotees also worship the form of the Lord manifested in elements such as metal, wood, stone, fire, or a painted image. All religious traditions have such sacred images – of one kind or another – according to the reasoning of their particular theology.

Many years ago, when I was a questioning Christian, I was very attracted to the Old Testament story of Moses and the Burning Bush. Moses was the soon-to-be leader of the Hebrew slaves and was to be used by God as an instrument to take his people out of slavery. Moses was quite reluctant to pit himself against the might of Egypt and so the Lord had to show Moses a special sign to let him know that he was being chosen for the service.

One day, Moses was tending his goats and saw a strange light. When he went to see what it was he saw that a bush in flames was not being consumed. A voice then told him to take off his shoes for he was standing on holy ground. He came towards the flames and was given instructions by God.

Since I heard that story, maybe when I was six or seven, I was convinced of a few things:

1. That God can do anything, and can appear anywhere He likes, to whomever He likes.

2. That if God wants to appear in a fire, and talk to us from a fire, He can.

3. That being in God’s presence means that you are standing on holy ground and that means you have to take your shoes off.

4. My local Methodist chapel Sunday school teachers did not explain to me if God still appeared in fire these days, or why we didn’t take our shoes off when we entered the chapel. So I figured that God also speaks to other people who do know about these things, and that one day I might meet them.

I must have been about nine when I read a story of a poor street entertainer who had fallen on hard times. He became a monk and one day, noticed that the Virgin Mary in the Notre Dame Cathedral appeared to be sad. So wanting to offer something to her, he waited until no-one was around and began juggling before her. He juggled and he juggled until he reached the point of exhaustion. Just then the Abbot came in and was about to scold him for such an offense, but then they both noticed that the face of the Virgin was smiling. The offering had been accepted.

Now, I was a little Methodist boy in Cornwall, and didn’t know any Catholics. All I knew was they were ‘mostly foreigners’ and that the religion was followed by ‘a lot of Italians.’ As such, it really wasn’t something for us. But I really liked that story. Like the story of the Burning Bush, it made a deep impression on me, and I have remembered it all these years.

So when I first met the devotees of Krishna, and learned that they ‘bowed down before idols’ – I was initially resistant. I didn’t see the need for image worship in addition to the very atttractive practise of chanting the maha-mantra. I thought of images as something cultural, ‘Indian,’ and therefore superfluous to the essence of spiritual life. Then one thoughtful day, as I was struggling with it all, I remembered those two stories I’d heard as a little boy. As I processed those stories I somehow felt that the God I’d prayed to long ago was quietly helping me understand a higher truth. The God who I’d asked, on my knees at bedtime, to ‘please bless Mummy and Daddy’  – the God of the Bible who didn’t like ‘graven images’ – was gently prompting me to accept that, really, it was alright.

That was the day when the God of Moses, the Father of Jesus, and the Beautiful Speaker of the Gita became One for me. And the fact that this one Supreme Person could appear in a statue of stone, wood, metal, a burning bush or a quiet heart, or indeed, anywhere at all, seemed to make the most sense of anything I’d ever learned.

I was in India for one month recently and took my home deities of Narasimha with me. They are small enough to travel with, and the experience of being able to perform daily deity worship wherever I went definitely added to the spiritual dimension of the travel experience. With a little extra effort in devotional service there was an enhanced feeling of reciprocation. So much so, and so often, that I felt that I was travelling with Him, rather than He with me.

A Sankirtan Street Festival, followed by a Sanga

Yesterday was a special day to celebrate the spiritual contributions of Srila Prabhupada’s guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. He was pleased when a young member of the ashram went out to sell magazines – even if he only sold one. So I thought I might be in with a small chance of pleasing someone yesterday when I headed out to the north-west London suburb of Ealing Broadway for a spot of book distribution.

It was another ‘Weekend Warrior’ day organised by young Sachin Kotak, who just seems to love preaching the word of Krishna. When I arrived the book and prasadam table was already in place, attracting passers-by, a kirtan was going on, and a number of distributers were already dotted along both sides of the street engaging pedestrians. A veritable sankirtan festival.

I tried my best for around two hours, just taking long enough to break my morning fast at midday. (Only on special occasions do I do this, otherwise I love breakfast – at breakfast time!) I am happy to report that I sold slightly more than one magazine, so perhaps Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur was pleased with me.

Next up I was asked to lead a spot of energetic harinam sankirtan up and down the streets. Its always pleasant to see just how many people like the sound of kirtan and join in. But it was a Saturday in London, so a group of boys felt they had to provoke a reaction by throwing rubbish at us. Some things never change. When we broke for some prasadam later, I told the devotees of the first time I was asked to lead a kirtan along a street. It was London’s Portobello Road market in December 1974. I got about seven minutes into the kirtan, and was feeling quite proud of myself, when a chicken’s head, trailing bloody giblets, sailed through the air and hit me square in the face. The stall holder thought it was a great joke, as did his friends.

Later that day I drove to Maidenhead, a town some 40 miles away, to speak to the fortnightly sanga there. Its a growing group and they’ve had a mini-Rathayatra through the streets of Windsor – where the Queen has her castle – and also Maidenhead of course.

Such groups are proof that through a steady programme of book distribution coupled with a personal and considerate follow-up of interested new readers, newcomers can have their questions answered, their doubts adddressed, and gradually take to the basic daily practises of Krishna consciousness.

For more on Weekend Warriors

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Book Distribution Follow Up#7: The Book/Website/Distributer Interface

Here’s something the British brahmacaries are trying out this Marathon. It’s a way of bringing in newly interested readers of Srila Prabhupada’s books to a new website: krishnawisdom, where they can click and get clips of answers to common questions; bits about the distributors; information on courses being held; and invites to local centres.

This Marathon bookmarks are being given away with the books. The bookmarks have the URL printed on them and everyone is being encouraged to look at both the book and the site too.

So here it is

There’s also a new book: VEDA Secrets from the East. Its a compilation of Srila Prabhupada’s conversations or short talks, together with topical BTG articles. The compilation is attractive to look at and easy to read, just as Science of Self Realization has been for many years.

With a greater connectivity between: book – web – book distributer – training course it is hoped that many more new readers, and maybe some old ones, will be attracted to try out the spiritual practises we have on offer.

The main bright spark behind all this is Sutapa Das Brahmacari. Let’s hope that all his ingenuity and effort will produce the fruits in the new year.

Below: Sutapa Das

George Harrison: Vaishnava songwriter

I went to the George Harrison evening yesterday, an annual memorial event that local devotees have been holding for the past few years. Although George’s contribution as a musician is recognised by many, it is his contributions as a Vaishnava that are particularly celebrated at a gathering of devotees. Last night was particularly noteworthy because Shyamasundara and Gurudas were both there, providing some stories and reflections before they both return to America.

Shyamasundara was the first devotee to meet George Harrison here in London, and the last to say goodbye the day before he passed away in 2001. He is able to speak about George as a friend, not only from 1969 but right through the years.

As devotees here in England we thank George, the ‘quiet Beatle,’ for his enormous gifts of making Krishna consciousness popular by producing The Radha Krishna Temple – an album of traditional Vaishnava mantras and songs for the British public; the financial sponsoring of the first Krsna book; and the gift of Bhaktivedanta Manor.

But we also thank him for something else, something that is often overlooked because it seemed to be a part of his career, not his internal life as a devotee of Krishna. We thank him for his Vaishnava songs.

Srila Prabhupada asked George Harrison in 1969 to write songs about Krishna and the feelings of a devotee. George was inspired, and created many enduring songs over the following years. He wrote under Srila Prabhupada’s direction, and made sure that, as much as possible, the lyrics captured the philosophy and feelings of a Vaishnava. Once, when he’d written a song called Krishna, Where are You? he came to visit Bhaktivedanta Manor to play the recording to Srila Prabhupada. After listening carefully to the words, Srila Prabhupada gave his verdict: “Yes, these are the feelings of a devotee.”

But the other Beatles did not so much appreciate George’s philosophical and devotional lyrics, and several of his songs were not included on albums. Many years later, Ringo Starr was to comment that George helped him to write Octopus’s Garden but that he was so enthusiastic about Krishna that he wanted to put the name of Krishna into it. “He even wanted to put Krishna into Yellow Submarine,” Ringo revealed. Several of George’s devotional songs were included on Beatles albums though. Something, for instance, the song that Frank Sinatra deemed the ‘most beautiful love song’ was a song about Krishna, but the ‘He’ in the lyrics was changed to a ’she’ to make it more suitable for the public. Here Comes the Sun was written to express George’s feelings of coming to Krishna consciousness.

So when the Beatles broke up, George had lots of songs dating back years that needed recording. These he recorded with many friends and released as a triple album entitled All Things Must Pass. Not only was it the first ever triple album by a solo artist, but it eventually went six times platinum.

A careful reading of the words to George’s songs will highlight many Vaishnava ideas and sentiments, and for this reason he can be considered a modern Vaishnava poet and songwriter.

Here’s Something with the original words restored:

‘Something’ by George Harrison

Something in the way He moves,
Attracts me like no other lover.
Something in the way He woos me.
I don’t want to leave Him now,
You know I believe and how.

Somewhere in His smile He knows,
That I don’t need no other lover.
Something in His style that shows me.
I don’t want to leave Him now,
You know I believe and how.

You’re asking me will my love grow,
I don’t know, I don’t know.
Stick around, and it may show,
But I don’t know, I don’t know.

Something in the way He knows,
And all I have to do is think of Him.
Something in the things He shows me.
I don’t want to leave Him now.
You know I believe and how.

40th event write-up

A nice write-up of the 40th anniversary Saturday night event can now be found here:

 

Lessons from a Stop Light

I went right through a red stop light this morning. Straight through, without stopping at all. I was coming down a hill in my neighbourhood and had built up a little speed. I saw the traffic lights, and saw they’d turned red, but I didn’t want to stop. So I just continued.

Normally I’m a very careful driver and I obey all the rules. I always stop to let people cross the road, park only in the right places, and definitely stop at red lights. So why didn’t I stop at the lights this morning?

Because I was walking.

And because I was walking, the rules for car drivers didn’t apply to me. So I saw the red light and just carried on moving. Now, I do own a car and I drive it down that hill, but because I was outside my car the rules for car drivers did not apply.

And if you’re thinking that I’m using all this as an extended analogy to make a point – you’re right, here it is:

The soul is in the body like a driver is in the car. The car is the exterior shell of the driver, and the physical/mental body is simply the exterior shell of the soul.

According to the Vedas there are various rules for spirit souls when they live – just temporarily – in this world of physical bodies. Some rules give us a green light and some give us a red light. We have to follow them in order to make life progressive and smooth – for ourselves and for others.

At the time of death, followed by reincarnation, you no longer have the same body made of flesh and blood and a different set of rules applies. Or if you completely transcend the earthly body, realising that you are the soul within and that the body is a mere exterior shell; at those times certain rules are relaxed.

Thats why genuine liberated souls are freed from many of the obligations placed upon ordinary people. They don’t have to worship the gods and sages, or perform rituals to elevate their deceased forefathers, as all humans are required to do. They are not obliged to work or to amass funds or give in charity as all others are required to do. They can sometimes be seen to act in ways that are different from others, and Vedic society has different expectations from them. However, they still follow the same moral rules which govern interaction between human beings, for their hearts are moved now by compassion, kindness, and the intense desire to see others free from suffering.

But Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur cautions that we must not imitate them. He says that if one is still in bodily consciousness, to that extent he must follow the prescribed rules for his varna (his occupation) and his ashram (his life-stage). To try to imitate the activities of those who are free from bodily consciousness while you are still conditioned is inappropriate, unhelpful for your own progress, and can even be dangerous.

Worse still is if someone fancies that they have become enlightened when in fact they are still very much bound by lust, greed, envy, anger and so on. Liberated only within their imagination, they sometimes conclude that they have become very close to God, the eternal law-giver and origin of the Vedas. Imagining themselves to be enjoying an intimacy with God that elevates them above all His rules for ordinary people they mistakenly conclude that they have no need to follow any moral laws at all.

This premature enlightenment, followed by rejection of common morality is known as antinomianism by western theologians. Srila Visvantha Chakravarti Thakura, writing in his Madhurya Kadambini in the 18th century, says that one of the first tests along the spiritual path is utsaha mayi, the tendency for a person to think he knows a lot when in fact he is a beginner. After this comes taranga-ragini or ‘enjoying the waves.’ The spiritual aspirant experiences some of the early pleasures of enlightenment – like the surf on the shore of the ocean of enlightenment – and becomes a spiritual enjoyer rather than a continuing spiritual aspirant. Progress can be halted at this point until harder lessons are learned.

If immoral behaviour is engaged in at either of these points – because of the pride at having reached these points – then not only is progress curtailed but the sins of the spiritual aspirant force him to become degraded.

Eastern or Western doesn’t matter. If someone who was previously a moral, ethical, adherent to spiritual discipline becomes immoral in the name of spirituality, he or she has fallen at a most elementary hurdle on the path.

So before enlightenment: stop at the red and go at green; and after enlightenment: stop at red and go at green.

Definition of Antinomianism:

Antinomianism (from the Greek ἀντί, “against” + νόμος, “law”), or lawlessness (in the Greek Bible: ἀνομία,^[1], “unlawful”), in theology, is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality, and that salvation is by predestination only.^[2] Antinomianism is the polar opposite of legalism, the notion that obedience to a code of religious law earns salvation.

 

 

 

Sri Vaishnavas come West: Chinna Jeeyar Swami’s visit

Vaishnava sannyasis from the deep south come to the far north: Chinna Jeeyar Swami visits England

Recently, on a south India train journey from Tirupati to Chennai, a middle-aged man sat down opposite me. His distinctive tilak markings made it obvious which philosophical school he belonged to: the Tenkalai sect of the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya. It wasn’t long before we started a conversation, mainly consisting of me asking questions about one of my favourite subjects of interest: authority and transmission in Vaishnava history, and he answering from the Sri Vaishnava point of view. As we talked, he revealed that he was associated with a sannyasi known as the Chinna Jeeyar Swami. My travelling companion was surprised when I mentioned that the same sannyasi was scheduled to visit the Bhaktivedanta Manor just after I returned to England.

Chinna Jeeyar Swami is becoming well known for his travelling and teaching. He took to the sannyasa order at the tender age of 23 and is continuing the mission of his guru to preach the siddhanta, or philosophical conclusions, of Sri Vaishnavism. Of course, many are doing that in India, but he has taken the unconventional step to travel beyond India.

For us in the Hare Krishna movement the fact that a sannyasi came out of India to preach and start a world movement is the stuff of legend. Srila Prabhupada did it, and thereby set the pattern for all future members of the senior renunciate order in the line of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So we might naturally assume that all sannyasis would also be world travellers. Yet the centuries-old rules for the sannyasa order forbid the crossing of bodies of water, and the majority of orthodox sannyasis still follow this rule. For this reason, many traditionalists in India consider that the spiritual purity of the two or three Vaishnava sannyasis from the Madhva or Ramanuja lineages that have visited America or Europe has been compromised.

But these teachers have responded to the stark facts of modern life: that many young people from Vaishnava families have left India for education or careers in the West yet have not completely abandoned their culture. Who will help them to learn and practise more if not the travelling preachers of Vaishnava siddhanta? Everyone needs help and guidance in order to fully reap the benefits of spiritual life; book knowledge alone is insufficient. But even such book knowledge as this generation has is sometimes inaccessible to them because they cannot read the Tamil or Telugu language, even though they may speak it with their parents. So there are moves within the orthodox Sri Vaishnava community to render the classical texts in the English language for the next generation. With that comes the challenges of making the traditional Vaishnava lifestyle practicable in western cultural settings.

There’s less problem keeping to Vaishnava practises in your own home, before breakfast, especially with a supportive family. You may need advice, ongoing guidance, and a certain amount of willpower but nobody will prevent you from your own religious choices. Outside the home, at university, in the workplace, within your diverse social circle, at the restaurant or at parties – all these situations present a range of extraneous influences and often perplexing choices. Sri Vaishnava teachers now have to concern themselves with helping this generation in situations that never arose in India in more classical times. In this respect the orthodox Vaishnava teachers who now come west have a lot in common with Vaishnava teachers in ISKCON.

Chinna Jeeyar Swami arrived at Bhaktivedanta Manor on a very cold, blustery, wet afternoon. He walked bare-shouldered with two disciples chanting verses behind him. I received him with a small Vedic ceremony involving a kumbha (coconut-pot) and lamp, and invited him to take up his seat in the Manor theatre. The word had got around and the theatre filled up quickly. He spoke on Krishna and the blessings of the great Vaishnavas. Afterwards the Swami said that he would like to return to the Manor on a future date, when he next comes to England. We all wish him well in his western preaching.

Celebrating 40 years of the Radha Krishna Temple

Forty years ago: We are indebted to these devotees who started the Hare Krishna movement in Britain

The Sri Sri Radha London-ishvara 40th anniversary week was superb. We had many different evening and morning speakers, events, dinners, kirtans, and a grand gala evening in an east London theatre. Our chief guests were four of the original six devotees who came to London back in 1969: Malati, Jamuna, Syamasundara and Gurudas. Although some of them had visited England back in 2004, this was the first time these four had been together in London for forty years.

They still found much to share with us that was fresh. Their memories are very keen, specially for the details of life with Srila Prabhupada that help us all feel closer to him. There is always something that I’ve never heard before, so I am left feeling very grateful for their visit. I spent some extra time with Jamuna and we talked about Vaishnava songs, and then on another day with Gurudas and we talked about old times. We travelled together in 1976 when he had just completed a period with Srila Prabhupada during the building of the Vrindavan temple. Coming from India, he joined a bus travelling party we had at the time. We went to Ireland and around England in a single-decker bus converted into a temple on wheels.

Our celebrations were not simply for the installation of the Deities and the creation of the London temple; 1969 was also the year that ISKCON was registered as a charity in England, so you could say we were celebrating the beginnings of the Society. A lot of charities don’t last too long, even though they start with the most altruistic of purposes, so we must be grateful to have become a strong and trustworthy organisation.

The gala event at the Troxy theatre was a really uplifting occasion. 1700 in attendance, full dinner, VIP guests, stage show throughout with specially made films to show the progress through the 40 years, speeches; and to top it all off, Jamuna singing the ‘Govindam Prayers’ while a large screen displayed the most beautiful images of the Deities. All the original devotees then joined together for a special rendition of the maha-mantra that had the audience on its feet – a sight to behold.

More photographs of the evening can be seen here:

http://davidc.zenfolio.com/troxy

 

 

English Puja Flowers

One of the items for worshipping Lord Krishna is flowers. By offering flowers at the time of puja (pooja) the Lord becomes pleased with the devotee, and the devotee becomes happy at seeing the Lord’s form decorated. Although at this time of year in England flowers can be thin on the ground, and although it is true that I am no gardener, still there seems to be just enough to offer some kind of flowers each day.

Looking back through the entire year I can only be satisfied at the plentiful gifts that nature has provided. From Spring right through Summer to late Autumn there’s a variety of flowers in England in a wide range of colours and shapes.

For my own personal puja I use flowers for four different purposes. The first is petals for offering to the divine feet (esha pushpanjali); second is flat or trumpet-shaped flowers for sitting places (idam asanam); third is smaller flowers for decoration (idam alankaram); and fourth is flowers for offering as part of the arati ceremony (idam pushpam).

When I was in India I would buy pink lotus and small, white jasmine flowers: beatiful form and stunning fragrance. Here in England the flowers are of different forms and fragrances but beautiful nonetheless. Lord Krishna accepts them with delight as long as we offer them with love (Bhagavad gita 9.26)  Here are just some of my English puja flowers:

Potentilla. Very abundant and long-flowering. Good alankara or decoration.

Buddleia, named after Reverend Buddle. Short flowering but very fragrant

The all-charitable, ever-abundant Marigold

Petunia, very good for asanas or sitting places

Fuschias or ‘Lady’s Ear Drops.’

Orange Ball Buddleia. Extremely short flowering period but great while it lasts!

Valerian. She reminds me of my childhood in Cornwall. Please don’t call her a weed.

Cherry Blossom. Along with the crocus and daffodil, the first flower to come after the cold weather.

Busy Lizzy. Colourful and abundant, easy to grow.

Winter Hebe growing right now. A splash of colour in the cold months

Snap Dragons. No English garden should be without them

Lobelia: Vey small, delicate flowers for decorating Krishna

Srila Prabhupada’s favourite, and so very fragrant. English, too!

In the depths of winter, these Snowberries can still be offered to Krishna.

Namaste Brother!

This tickled me and I thought I’d share it with you. Its nice to see a Christian brother find something helpful in the wisdom of the East for a change and to want to share the inner meanings of a common Sanskrit greeting with his flock. I hope it helps everyone who listens.

We should not be surprised when this happens. It will certainly happen more in the future. The wisdom of the Vedas is actually not the ‘wisdom of the east’ or ‘India,’ or the ‘Hindu religion’ but merely wisdom itself. As such, it is meant for all people, in all places, at all times, and in all languages. Its certainly too important to be kept in India, or locked away in the Sanskrit language. Luckily for us, Srila Prabhupada thought the same way and spent his time sharing it.

There’s no reason at all why the spiritual teachings of Lord Jesus Christ have to be permanently affiliated with Greek philosophy and the commentaries of Thomas Aquinas and his successors. Although that combination has served Europeans quite well over a number of centuries, more depth is required if Christianity itself is to survive the philosophical onslaughts it is currently undergoing. A carefully delineated siddhanta – a definitive statement of the existential nature of the soul, matter, time, space, God, illusion, moral law, and the relationships that exist between them – is required if Christianity is to perform its difficult task in the years ahead.

Combine the moral and devotional teaching  of Lord Jesus Christ with the foundational philosophy of the Vedas and you have something quite remarkable. Namaste, dear readers.