My Remarkable Roommate

It's pretty cool to have a roommate who's always up for hooping, drumming and jamming out. And when I go hover around the door of his room and mention something or other, he always tells me to sit down on the chair and is ready to listen to whatever tragedies or feelings or euphoric babbles I have on my mind. Even if he never cleans the house I don't care :P We have hilarious times playing with the Cat. I actually named her Lucy after an incident in which the Cat almost caused my laptop to drop to the kitchen tile floor. Lucy's short for Lucifer. But back to my human roommate. Lex calls me Cinderella because I clean so much. How fabulous is that!! And we get all types of crazy ideas together. This is us hanging out last Friday.

Happy weekend all you fairies and fairydudes <3

Beyond All That I Touch :: our spontaneous short movie

No fairies were harmed in the making of this movie :) The forest was given a gift upon our leaving. Music improvised by Kaisu. Story, filming, editing, starring, adventuring, everything by your fearless sisters who without any previous experience quite spontaneously decided to create a movie thing. Hope it gives you an Expanding Experience! ((you can watch it in HD))

I Woke Up in Finland Today

I arrived in Finland yesterday and my sister Minna gave me a pretty Egyptian hand jewelry made by some beduin fairies. She also brought back this head thing I wore yesterday. For the plane I premeditated to go with a gothic look so that it would be kind of a double whammy for the people sitting next to me since my plane reading was the Quran. Yeah I know this may not be funny but I just think it is. "Will she kill us all or not?" Hee hee :D

BTW I love what I read so far in the Quran, it's really good. Just a few pages into it it talks about vegetarianism and reincarnation, I noticed. Hmmm!

So how do I know I'm home, in the house where I grew up, surrounded by the loveliest funniest realest people? I woke up this morning and walked to the kitchen and saw donuts in the toaster. That's how.

Kaisu sister made them from scratch, froze some of them, and now evidently wanted to melt a couple. Here's my mom Heini. Who shares a love for baggy green pants just as I do. She's looking at a mess I already made with my suitcase and stuff.

Kaisu is a teaholic and made me meadowsweet tea this morning. She picks all kinds of flowers and herbs that grow wild, dries them and jars them. I'm still trying to wake up. One word: jetlag.

Oh and Kaisu made this most beautiful welcome for my Krishna deities that I always bring with me, serve and take care of wherever I travel. When I got here yesterday Kaisu was still at school so I went to her room where she has a little altar to put my Deities there. And saw these cute little hoods that she made so my deities would stay warm in chilly Finland! ♥ And a bowl of laddu sweets was also waiting for Them. Awww :)

Here's her whole beautiful devotional altar, in the corner of her room.

Ok I'm going to go see some relatives and grandparents right now, first stop by at a hardware store to buy tubing to make a hoop for myself, and a friend too actually, and anyone who wants a hoop in Finland, let me know! And tonight I'll go fairyspotting. I'll bring my camera so you all can get a peak too.

LSD vs. Kirtan

I came across this interesting and kind of amusingly delightful talk from 1969 about LSD and kirtan, by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and the poet Allen Ginsberg. (I assume you've heard of LSD before, kirtan is Sanskrit for devotional music/chanting of mantras.) Towards the end they go a bit deeper into the topic of spiritual sound and what is it that makes meditation transcendental.
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Allen: Do you remember a man named Richard Alpert?
Prabhupada: No.
Allen: He used to work with Timothy Leary in Harvard many years ago. Then he worked in India and found a teacher and is now a disciple of Hanumanji, a devotee of Hanuman. We were talking about maya [illusion] and the present condition of America and he said that his teacher in India told him that LSD was a Christ of the Kali-Yuga [the current age, 'Age of Quarrel'] for Westerners in that as the Kali-Yuga got thicker and thicker that also salvation would have to be easier and easier and --
Prabhupada: That is a very nice testament, that in the Kali-Yuga salvation is very easier. That is the version of Srimad-Bhagavatam [a Vedic text] also. But that process is this kirtan, not LSD.
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Allen: Well, the reasoning there was that for those who would only accept salvation in purely material form, in chemical form finally, completely material form, Krishna had the humor to emerge as a pill.
Prabhupada: The thing is that when it is material form, then where is the salvation? It is illusion.
Allen: The subjective affect is to cut out attachment. During the --
Prabhupada: If you have attachment for something material, then where is this cutting attachment? LSD is a material chemical. So if you have to take shelter of LSD, then you take help from matter. So how are you free from matter?
Allen: The subjective experience is that while in the state of intoxication of LSD, you realize that LSD is a material pill, and that it does not really matter.
Prabhupada: That is risky. That is risky.
Allen: So, if LSD is a material attachment, which it is, I think, then is not the sound, the sabda [sound vibration], also a material attachment?
Prabhupada: No. Sabda is spiritual. Originally, just like in Bible it is said, "Let there be creation." This is sound. This is spiritual sound. Creation was not there. The sound produced the creation. Therefore sound is originally spiritual. And from sound, sky developed, from sky air developed, from air fire developed, from fire water developed, from water land developed.
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Allen: Sound is the first element?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Allen: What was the first sound, traditionally?
Prabhupada: The Vedas say OM. So, at least we can understand from your Bible that God said, "Let there be creation," so this is sound, and there is creation. God and His sound are nondifferent ... Absolute. I say, "Mr. Ginsberg." This sound and you are a little different. But God is not different from His energy. Sakti saktimatorabheda. Shakti [energy] and shaktimat [the energetic] are nondifferent. Just like fire and heat. They are nondifferent, but heat is not fire. You cannot differentiate heat from fire or fire from heat. But fire is not heat.
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Chanting in a group, definition of kirtan! Soulful peeps from NYC, photo by William Covintree.

Allen: Well, the sound Krishna --
Prabhupada: Yes, is not different from Krishna.
Allen: Under all circumstances?
Prabhupada: All circumstances, yes. But it is a question of my appreciation, of my realization. That depends on my purity. Otherwise this Krishna sound and Krishna are nondifferent. Therefore, if we vibrate the sound Krishna, then immediately we are in contact with Krishna, and Krishna is pure spirit and immediately I become spiritualized, just like if you touch electricity, immediately you are electrified. And the more you become electrified, the more you become Krishnized. So when you are fully Krishnized, then you are on the Krishna platform. Tvaktadeham punarjanma naiti mameti kaunteya. Then when you are fully Krishnized, you no more come back to this material existence. You remain with Krishna. The impersonalists say "merging." That is less intelligent. Merging does not mean losing individuality. Just like a green bird enters a green tree. It appears to be merging, but the bird has not lost his individuality. There is still individuality.

Shiva the Auspicious One ::: om namah shivaya

Today is Shiva-ratri, a special day to remember Shiva. In the Vaishnava tradition, which is what I follow, Shiva is appreciated as one of the foremost devotees of Vishnu or Krishna.

Shiva has many names but one of them (and my favorite) is Nataraja, the cosmic dancer. Literally nataraja means 'the king of dance'. Under the supervision and maintenance of Vishnu, Brahma cyclically creates the material universe and Shiva destroys it. That is Shiva's service, kind of a thankless task I guess.

"Wearing matted locks of disheveled hair, and eager to conceal his actual nature, he staggers about like a madman. On his head he happily carries the Ganges, which has washed the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. When he dances he destroys the universe." Brihad-Bhagavatamrita 

Yes, the Ganges actually flows from the galaxy first down on Shiva's head, who is situated in the Himalayas, and only then down on earth. Because of this Shiva is the greatest yogi, in constant meditation on Krishna.

Another name of Shiva is Asutosha, 'easily pacified'. This means that Shiva also gets angry easily. That's why worshiping Shiva can be tricky business. Better be careful if that's what you want to do! :) 

He is also known as Bhutanatha, 'the lord of ghosts'. This shows Shiva's super compassionate nature. In case you didn't know, ghosts are real. There are people whose activities were so ignorant and degraded that after death they do not karmically qualify for another human body, so they stick around. Not in their physical bodies obviously, but disembodied, or in their "astral" body. Shiva sees the sad situation of the ghostly individuals and allows them to worship him so they can be gradually guided toward a path of self-realization. He's kind to the ghosts and eventually places them in human wombs. (As a side note, before you make babies, make a prayer or two to have a nice soul be placed into you/your lady's womb.)

 

Shiva apparently lives in the mode of ignorance like his companions (covers his body with ashes, wears animal skins) but inside he's on the highest platform of goodness. That's why he's bewildering to the mundane and inspiring to the transcendentalist. 

Shiva is also known for ganja smoking (ganja is Sanskrit for cannabis). My spiritual master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada once said that it's not our place to imitate Shiva though and smoke pot like him unless we can do other things Shiva does, such as drink an entire ocean of poison. (Hear the story of Shiva and poison)

 

Here's my (whiny) letter to Shiva today.

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Shiva lives on the Kailash mountain. There is a beautiful description of it in the 4th canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, beginning here. 

"There are many waterfalls, and in the mountains there are many beautiful caves in which the very beautiful wives of the mystics are found. On Kailash Hill there is always the rhytmical sound of the peacocks' sweet vibrations and the bees' humming. Cuckoos are always singing, and other birds whisper amongst themselves." Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.6.11-12

One more name of Shiva is Rudra. Rudra is a fierce and powerful aspect of Shiva. You can feel Rudra's spirit when you get angry or when it's very windy out. It's the Rudra principle acting. Stormy sea water or blazing fire are also representations of Rudra. (read more about Rudra here)

Shiva and Parvati actually got married on this day. Below Shiva instructs her. I just love that picture. Shiva's feminine energy is also known as Shakti, Durga, Kali and Devi. Shiva's followers (Shaivites) have a clay marking of three horizontal lines on their foreheads like Shiva has here.

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Alrighty I think I've told you just about everything I know about Shiva :) If you want, some time today you can chant this mantra for him: om namah shivaya, which means that you're offering him your respects.

The Path You Follow

Please bare with me as I'm all emo-spiritual today :)

 

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In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna says to His friend Arjuna, 

mama vartmanuvartante

manusyah partha sarvasah: 

"Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pritha."

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And it says in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, "Everyone is seeking Krishna, for He is the Supersoul of all individual souls. Everyone loves his body and wants to protect it because he is within the body as the soul, and everyone loves the soul because the soul is part and parcel of the Supersoul. Therefore, everyone is actually seeking to achieve happiness by reviving his relationship with the Supersoul."

The way I understand this is that we can't avoid following someone's leadership. At least we'll follow the lead of our own mind. Our own mind is simply a product of the experiences we've had in this world. So our mind alone can never release us from material consciousness.

Material consciousness means we think we are the body, made of matter. When the body dies, we die. Material consciousness leaves us unsatisfied as every single material pleasure is temporary. Anything material can't satisfy our essence because, as spiritual beings, our essence is non-material. Without feeding our soul we live in a starving, lacking, craving condition.

But this universe is like a big system for self-realization. Sooner or later every being will come to the point on their path where they understand who they are and what their home is. Krishna wants to speed up that process for us so He spoke the Bhagavad-gita. There are similar teachings in every culture, religion and tradition, given by God or people empowered by Him, just so we would keep going towards the truth on our path. It is His path nonetheless. Whether we choose to go towards, or away from the Supreme. He'll give us the intelligence to do either one. It's up to us.

We're always loved. That's why we have free will. There's no love without free will. Krishna wants our love because you are unique and no one else can have a relationship with Him as you can.

He misses you.

This Is Love

"This is love. And if God accepts your offerings, then what more do you want? He becomes your most intimate friend. If you make God your intimate friend, then there is nothing wanted. You'll be fulfilled. You'll find that I have got everything.

And if we become convinced that Krishna is my protector, then how much happy and peaceful we will be. Offer something. Just be in love with Him. Then just see how much peaceful you feel. 

How much tranquility you feel and how you are protected by Krishna, how you avoid insufficiency, how you become pure, and how you make progress in spiritual life." 

words from Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

I was just at a laundromat and talked with a guy about places worth visiting here in Oregon. He told me he took once part in a meditation circle of 10 000 people, all chanting om, and the experience "nearly knocked him down". I can imagine! 

As we were talking, another guy came up to me with a CD called Bhakti which means devotion in Sanskrit (and is also my name ahem). He said he plays guitar and made a recording of songs about Krishna, heard me talk about Krishna, and so wanted to give me a copy of his album. Sweet! 

He had brought his guitar to the laundromat so he played and we both sang Hare Krishna and other mantras until 1am. Other nightly laundry-washers seemed pleasantly surprised by our unexpected concert. :)