Vrindavan consciousness is Krishna consciousness. And Krishna consciousness is Vrindavan consciousness.
2019
This lecture on Weber's theory of charisma and routinization of charisma is a good introduction to these concepts, which are essential for understanding the Hindu way of dealing with the problem of synthesizing legal/bureaucratic organization ("the rule of law") with the charismatic and transformative leadership, where at least temporarily the leader stands above the law to change it. Antinomianism usually arises in messianic types of cults, so that represents the fundamental danger of charisma.
The "post charismatic phase" comes after a guru or prophet dies. Then it becomes necessary to systematize the legalistic and bureaucratic framework whereby the perpetuators of the transformative doctrine make it possible to continue.
The Ritvik/ISKCON fight is about this problem. This was the basis of my articles on charismatic renewal in Gaudiya Vaishnavism and the different kinds of institutions it created prior and post Saraswati Thakur.
Charismatic Renewal in Gaudiya Vaishnavism
2019
yasyāḥ kadāpi vasanāṁcala-khelanottha-
dhanyātidhanya-pavanena kṛtārtha-mānī |
yogīndra-durgama-gatir madhusūdano'pi
tasyā namo'stu vṛṣabhānubhuvo diśe'pi ||
2019
yasyāḥ kadāpi vasanāṁcala-khelanottha-
dhanyātidhanya-pavanena kṛtārtha-mānī |
yogīndra-durgama-gatir madhusūdano'pi
tasyā namo'stu vṛṣabhānubhuvo diśe'pi ||
I bow down to the direction
where the daughter of Vrishabhanu is present,
for even Madhusudan, whose characteristics
are incomprehensible to even the greatest yogis,
thinks himself to be most fortunate and fulfilled
when the glorious breezes
arising from the playful movement
of the hem of her garments
waft his way. (RRSN 1)
2016
This post had a lot of reaction, mostly positive, so there were many comments which I could not post here.
So yesterday I was talking with a sort-of Iskcon friend (both sort-of Iskcon and sort-of friend) and I mentioned Vrindavan Today. He snorted, "Who reads Vrindavan Today?"
Then he went on, "You get no support from ISKCON. If you had stayed in ISKCON, by now you would have at least a thousand disciples. Any jackass could do it, why not you? Then you would have had so much help to do VT."
He reminded me that I am envious of Prabhupada and have deviated from the path of guru bhakti and so on.
I said, "Vrindavan is _bigger_ than ISKCON. And that is why it is necessary to be independent of ISKCON. I am serving Vrindavan. If ISKCON wants to serve Vrindavan, then why not find ways to cooperate?"
The tendency in Vrindavan is that there are numerous groups who have good intentions, but their good intentions are subjugated by service to their own limited interests.
They think, We will promote an issue if by doing so we get good publicity. Actually accomplishing something requires expanding beyond one's own selfish interest and looking to the wider interests of the entire community, which includes materialists, Mayavadis, Sahajiyas, caste-Goswamis -- even Muslims -- and all the other "enemies of pure devotion."
Vrindavan Today is predominantly coming out in English, which means a rather limited readership locally, where it is perhaps the most important.
We are trying to get the Hindi site functioning a little better to make it more effective. But at present we still don't get much direct support for such expansion. We are working on it. But whatever the reason for our limited impact so far, I don't really think it is because I am an envious black snake who rejected Prabhupada. In fact, if anything, I consider this one of the many services that Prabhupada bequeathed to me.
I have no doubt whatsoever that Prabhupada knew that Vrindavan was bigger than ISKCON. In fact, there is no getting away from the fact that many if not most of our readers come from ISKCON or an ISKCON background.
ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada have a responsibility for the state of Vrindavan today. If it hadn't been for Prabhupada, would Vrindavan be such a center of development and interest?
And without all that development, would the environmental and heritage and development-induced problems exist to the extent that they do? Would the urgency of envisioning the future of Vrindavan at this particular moment be as great?
ISKCON is not _outside_ the Vrindavan community, nor is it a "leader" or anything else. ISKCON, like everyone else, pursues its own interests. The thing about Vrindavan is that cooperation and leadership is needed to bring about the kinds of changes that will benefit everyone, including ISKCON.
Vrindavan consciousness is Krishna consciousness. And Krishna consciousness is Vrindavan consciousness.
2016
Rainy season in Vrndavan. Don't think I have ever seen it rain so much here. Maybe global warming has an up side. But I am feeling a more traditional sadness this rainy season.
2015
idaṁ vṛndāvanaṁ ramyaṁ mama dhāmaiva kevalam |
atra me paśavaḥ pakṣi-vṛkṣā kīṭā narāmarāḥ |
ye vasanti mamādhiṣṇye mṛtā yānti mamālayam ||
atra yā gopa-kanyāś ca nivasanti mamālaye |
yoginyas tā mayā nityaṁ mama sevā-parāyaṇāḥ ||
pañca-yojanam evāsti vanaṁ me deha-rūpakam |
kālindīyaṁ suṣumnākhyā paramāmṛta-vāhinī ||
atra devāś ca bhūtāni vartante sūkṣma-rūpataḥ |
sarva-deva-mayaś cāhaṁ na tyajāmi vanaṁ kvacit ||
āvirbhāvas tirobhāvo bhaven me'tra yuge yuge |
tejo-mayam idaṁ ramyam adṛśyaṁ carma-cakṣuṣā || iti |
Verily, this delightful Vrindavan is my only home.
My animals, both tame and wild, the birds and insects,
the men and gods who abide here, all go to my home when they die.
Those cowherd girls who live here in my abode are all
eternally joined with me, for they are dedicated to my service.
This forest of mine, measuring five yojanas, is a form of my body;
this Yamuna river is the Shushumna channel, carrying nectar.
The gods and other creatures dwell here in subtle form;
I am the sum of all the gods and at no time do I leave this forest.
I am manifest and unmanifest here in this wood in every age;
it is beautiful and powerful and cannot be perceived by eyes of flesh.
This is from Brihad Gautamiya Tantra, which has been quoted in several places by Jiva Goswami, including Krishna Sandarbha 106 and Gopala Champu 1.1. The translation is one I did for the Gopala Champu more than 25 years ago. Rereading it, I found that it had a credo type of ring to it.
2014
People grow, if they want to. And what makes them grow is love and the desire for love.
2013
So yesterday I was talking with a sort-of Iskcon friend (both sort-of Iskcon and sort-of friend) and I mentioned Vrindavan Today. He snorted, "Who reads Vrindavan Today?"
Then he went on, "You get no support from ISKCON. If you had stayed in ISKCON, by now you would have at least a thousand disciples. Any jackass could do it, why not you? Then you would have had so much help to do VT."
He reminded me that I am envious of Prabhupada and have deviated from the path of guru bhakti and so on.
I said, "Vrindavan is _bigger_ than ISKCON. And that is why it is necessary to be independent of ISKCON. I am serving Vrindavan. If ISKCON wants to serve Vrindavan, then why not find ways to cooperate?"
The tendency in Vrindavan is that there are numerous groups who have good intentions, but their good intentions are subjugated by service to their own limited interests.
They think, We will promote an issue if by doing so we get good publicity. Actually accomplishing something requires expanding beyond one's own selfish interest and looking to the wider interests of the entire community, which includes materialists, Mayavadis, Sahajiyas, caste-Goswamis -- even Muslims -- and all the other "enemies of pure devotion."
Vrindavan Today is predominantly coming out in English, which means a rather limited readership locally, where it is perhaps the most important.
We are trying to get the Hindi site functioning a little better to make it more effective. But at present we still don't get much direct support for such expansion. We are working on it. But whatever the reason for our limited impact so far, I don't really think it is because I am an envious black snake who rejected Prabhupada. In fact, if anything, I consider this one of the many services that Prabhupada bequeathed to me.
I have no doubt whatsoever that Prabhupada knew that Vrindavan was bigger than ISKCON. In fact, there is no getting away from the fact that many if not most of our readers come from ISKCON or an ISKCON background.
ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada have a responsibility for the state of Vrindavan today. If it hadn't been for Prabhupada, would Vrindavan be such a center of development and interest?
And without all that development, would the environmental and heritage and development-induced problems exist to the extent that they do? Would the urgency of envisioning the future of Vrindavan at this particular moment be as great?
ISKCON is not _outside_ the Vrindavan community, nor is it a "leader" or anything else. ISKCON, like everyone else, pursues its own interests. The thing about Vrindavan is that cooperation and leadership is needed to bring about the kinds of changes that will benefit everyone, including ISKCON.
Vrindavan consciousness is Krishna consciousness. And Krishna consciousness is Vrindavan consciousness.
2016
Rainy season in Vrndavan. Don't think I have ever seen it rain so much here. Maybe global warming has an up side. But I am feeling a more traditional sadness this rainy season.
2015
idaṁ vṛndāvanaṁ ramyaṁ mama dhāmaiva kevalam |
atra me paśavaḥ pakṣi-vṛkṣā kīṭā narāmarāḥ |
ye vasanti mamādhiṣṇye mṛtā yānti mamālayam ||
atra yā gopa-kanyāś ca nivasanti mamālaye |
yoginyas tā mayā nityaṁ mama sevā-parāyaṇāḥ ||
pañca-yojanam evāsti vanaṁ me deha-rūpakam |
kālindīyaṁ suṣumnākhyā paramāmṛta-vāhinī ||
atra devāś ca bhūtāni vartante sūkṣma-rūpataḥ |
sarva-deva-mayaś cāhaṁ na tyajāmi vanaṁ kvacit ||
āvirbhāvas tirobhāvo bhaven me'tra yuge yuge |
tejo-mayam idaṁ ramyam adṛśyaṁ carma-cakṣuṣā || iti |
Verily, this delightful Vrindavan is my only home.
My animals, both tame and wild, the birds and insects,
the men and gods who abide here, all go to my home when they die.
Those cowherd girls who live here in my abode are all
eternally joined with me, for they are dedicated to my service.
This forest of mine, measuring five yojanas, is a form of my body;
this Yamuna river is the Shushumna channel, carrying nectar.
The gods and other creatures dwell here in subtle form;
I am the sum of all the gods and at no time do I leave this forest.
I am manifest and unmanifest here in this wood in every age;
it is beautiful and powerful and cannot be perceived by eyes of flesh.
This is from Brihad Gautamiya Tantra, which has been quoted in several places by Jiva Goswami, including Krishna Sandarbha 106 and Gopala Champu 1.1. The translation is one I did for the Gopala Champu more than 25 years ago. Rereading it, I found that it had a credo type of ring to it.
2014
People grow, if they want to. And what makes them grow is love and the desire for love.
2013
Many poets are not poets for the same reason that many religious people are not saints: they never succeed in being themselves. They never get around to being the particular poet or the particular monk that they are intended to be by God. (Thomas Merton)
This was quoted in a rather nice little book by Abbot Christopher Jamison of Worth Abbey in England, following on from a TV reality show "The Monastery" where five men had to spend 40 days with the monks.
The above is a quote from the chapter on "obedience" in a discussion of the paradox of obedience and self-integrity.
Two more quotes from the same section (From Seeds of Contemplation, 1948, by the way) might help: "There can be an intense egoism in following everyone else. People are in a hurry to magnify themselves by imitating what is popular, and too lazy to think of anything better." And, "In order to become myself I must cease to be what I always thought I wanted to be."
Of course, a Christian, like a Hare Krishna, is not eradicating the ego entirely. The theistic or personalistic schools believe in a real ego, which is what "God wants us to be." Both in a totally true purest sense as well as in the conditioned sense. As a sādhaka, you cannot be more than what you are. If you pretend you will just make a fool of yourself. And most of us do.
Whether we do it with pompous declarations of some super transcendent egoless state to which we supposedly have privy because we have read a book by some Lama or Bhikku, or because we dropped LSD and saw some visions, or whether we have risen to an institutional position in some organization by mimicking the previous acharyas and behaving just appropriately to attain our ambition, we fit Merton's description.
In Zen there is a saying, "Before enlightenment, I hewed wood and carried water. After enlightenment, I hew wood and carry water." Rather an undramatic vision of enlightenment. But so it is with poets and saints.
Amongst existentialists like Sartre, there is a general resentment of God as someone who is "imposing" one kind of being on us. I think this is a serious misunderstanding on several levels. Suffice it to say that on the level of self-creation and wanting to be what God intended us to be, or to fulfill the destiny of being that plaything with the free will to become what God wants us to be, and the idea of self-affirmation or forging an identity from scratch are fundamentally the same. If they are done honestly.
But one who forges a self-identity that has as its express purpose to be an act of rebellion and self-affirmation against God, whether he is of the advaita/Buddhist/Taoist schools of impersonalism and voidism (forgive me please!) or just your garden variety neo-atheist, is considerably different from the psychological point of view. And the theist (of whatever brand) should be able to immediately nod his head in recognition, while this particular brand of atheist will splutter and say, "I can be happy just being myself, as long as I am NOT what God wants me to be!" Sounds like a father problem to me.
Krishna does not tell Arjuna to be still, he tells him to think of him and fight. Advaita-vadi interpreters all have to put Arjuna on an inferior level of achievement in order to make sense of his final statement, "I will do as you say." If anyone is being "what God wants him to be" it is Arjuna, who agrees to be an instrument of the Lord. "Be still" and listen to the voice of God, not be still and be nothing.
2011
ভাংগিল সোনার ঘট যুড়িবাক পারী । উত্তম জনের নেহা তেহেন মুরারী ॥
যে পুণি আধম জন আন্তরে কপট । তাহার সে নেহা যেহ্ন মাটির ঘট ॥
bhāṁgila sonāra ghaṭa yuḍibāka pārī | uttama janera nehā tehena murārī ||
ye puṇi ādhama jana āntare kapaṭa | tāhāra se nehā yehna māṭira ghaṭa ||
The love of superior people is like a golden jar, which can be repaired if broken. But the love of lesser folk, whose hearts harbor deception, is like a clay jar.
[Don't know where I got this.]
The Catch 22 of Internetworking: You need to be inspired by real association, and yet, when you have that, you don't get around to tweeting or blogging.
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