Jagat

Originally posted at Vrindavan Today mariṣyasi kadā sakhe tvam iti kiṁ vijānāsi kiṁ śiśoḥ sutaruṇasya vā na khalu mṛtyur ākasmikaḥ | tad adya niravadya-dhīr a-vapur-indriyāsaktiko na kiñcana vicāraya drutam upaihi vṛndāvanam|| Friend, when will you die? Do you really know? Do not even infants or youths sometimes meet with an unexpected death? Therefore, on this very day, with clear intelligence, without attachment to the body or the senses, empty your mind and run quickly to Vrindavan. Commentary After glorifying the residents of Vrindavan, Prabodhananda Saraswatipada now returns to basics and addresses the less committed sādhaka with reminders that life in this body is temporary and has a greater purpose than those that are immediately connected to the body and its extensions. We saw a similar verse in 1.50 . As was said there, such reminders are more than appropriate from time to time, even for those who are quite advanced on the path. For those who know only th...

I was reflecting this morning on the little "interfaith seminar" I attended yesterday in Guelph. There were nine people altogether of various backgrounds--the two mature Indian men from the temple with whom I came, myself, a Lutheran couple, a Roman Catholic woman, a Unitarian Universalist woman, and a Buddhist couple of Jewish background. All the Christians, though, were to a greater or lesser extent influenced by New Age ideas. All looking for "spirituality." So there were no representatives of a "hard" tradition--no Baptist evangelicals or Sunni imams. I was very calm and detached throughout the whole meeting, which was centered on the subject of death. I was the second last person to speak, so I had the opportunity to hear everyone before saying anything. Most of it was heartfelt personal stories about experiences with other people dying, their own near-death experiences, etc. Everyone seemed to agree, more or less, that they were not afraid of death, ...