Update on Life
Radhe Radhe, everyone. I feel like I am coming out of a bit of a funk. Maybe it was because yesterday was supposed to be my flight date to India. Now that has been delayed until mid-October, unfortunately. But somehow it feels like the mists are clearing anyway.
Today I finished up the translation of the Gopala-vijaya's 7 chapters on Dana-lila and went through the Bana-khanda from Sri Krishna Kirtan as well. I will have to go back and clean up the two posts that I made today as I got a bit rushed at the end.
There is quite a bit of work left to do on this dana-lila project yet. Nowhere is that more clear than in the SKK and GoVi comparison. It seems that without complete familiarity with the material, a lot of the subtleties will be missed.
During my down period, I still managed to post a few things on the Grantha Mandir, the full Vishnu Purana for one. Another is the tenth chapter of the Hari-charitam, which covers the Rasa-lila. I also finished two sections of the Fourth Canto, with the third and last file in progress.
I am not sure why the mists are lifting, but it may have something to do with the healing of my foot and my restored ability to go on japa walks again. It may have something to do with listening to the kirtans on Gauravani's website. At any rate, as I walked through the very nice nature trail that is nearby, the Sadgosvamy-ashtakam verses came to my lips and I had a nice meditation on the six Goswamis and how they represent the ideals of our tradition.
There are a few unfinished blogs in the pipes, which I may or may not get around to finishing. My shame at not blogging on Radha's appearance day knows no bounds. Oh well, thanks for visiting.
Jay Sri Radhe Shyam!
1982 Passport photo taken after Chaturmasya in Puchari and Radha Kund.
Comments
About the Gosvamis "representing the ideals of our tradition", in this vein I had questioned elsewhere in this blog the fact that the lila might be too Indian for it to be an universal mode of meditation. Especially considering the misogynistic and racist aspects of Indian culture. In modern times, if anything, these traits are anti-ideals. Any comment/reply?
Then choose another mode of meditation for your personal practice. Krishna Lila is only for those who want it. Otherwise there are sooooooo many different paths to choose from. No need to get stuck with something you can't relate to.
I was really disappointed, expected a very special gift from you for Radha's birthday!
Radhe..Radhe...
I was really disappointed, expected a very special gift from you for Radha's birthday!
Then the gift was the yearning. Radhe Radhe Shyama!
Things don't really seem to go her way, even though she is [according to some kathayars] the smartest; prettiest; best at playing, singing, dancing, logic, arguments, etc.
She is trapped in a situation where no one seems to appreciate her, even her own relatives. And those who like her don't seem to be able to do anything significant to help her, either.
She is even a victim of "Eve-teasing". And perhaps could be even termed "Workplace Bullying", the types of things that Krsna says to her while she is trying to work.
Certainly her experiences as a victim violate Office of Civil Rights statues, had she been a federal employee, as well as violate EEOEC statutes [Equal Economic Opportunity and Employment Council] laws.
If her employer was an EEOEC employer, she would have some recourse if she had a good lawyer. However ~ for some reason she does not use the courts system.
It appears that she has no union steward to complain to, either.
Also, she is under-age and yet she is working, another violation of federal and state laws. She needs a work permit if she was employed and under age 16. Child labor laws came about after the Dickens era exposes of child labor practices.
I appreciate Radhe because she is a woman ahead of her time and no one appreciates her. Like the typical artist or radical.
For example: if she is the smartest one, if she had relatives who were supportive, then certainly they would have helped her to obtain a PhD by now.
These kind of people exist all over the earth. Only a few people are lucky enough to live where you are fully supported emotionally, spiritually, economically by your relatives as well as by the society that you live in.
So she is like patron saint of misunderstood, suffering, under-appreciated people with talents under-utilized.
People who get run rough-shod over and suffer. And yet they are good-hearted people of the earth.
So in this world, analyze it: why is so much facility and resources given to demoniac people? Why?
Why do bad people get so many resources? Why is there so much corruption? Why do good people have to suffer?
I see Radhe as a suffering person and a victim, even she is so talented. She is like a person raised on fairy tales of the dominant culture and the system, only to come to find harsh reality
later on in life.
So when I see others in a similar circumstance, I think perhaps Radhe can understand.
But all of this suffering: What is the purpose?
Why are demons rewarded? What are people who cheat and manipulate the system: sociopaths and bullies, rewarded? Why are the rich, banks, and savings and loans allowed to be bailed out and not individuals?
Radhe like a symbol of "When Bad Things Happen to Good People". One wants to see her triumph at some point. But at what point, she triumphs--if ever--can be debated.
Joan Didion wrote a book, then a play "My Year of Magical Thinking".
She had so many disasters in one year that she just went "far away in her own mind."
She just told herself, "This can't be happening, so if I only do thus and such, things will be better."
But things never got better. Her husband died and her daughter died.
So Radhe also kind of has magical thinking: If I make the nicest kunja, do this and that, Krsna will like me. But because of his limitations, he can never like her to the degree that she likes him.
Even it is stated, Radhe likes Krsna millions of times more that K likes her. We call that, "Women who love too much" in Western psychology. The end result is you go mad and/or come close to death: which Radhe did.
So then at some point the lady needs to pick up the pieces of her life and move on. Perhaps She does this in the various other incarnations that emanate from Radhe?
It depends what you consider "triumph". In Radha's own estimation triumph is seeing Krishna experiencing rasa. And that is the point of the lila. It accomplishes that.
For Radha's followers we see Radha triumph when Krishna takes her foot and put it on his head, and such other moments.
It would be nice to know who the Anonymous poster with the good knowledge of the kathayar tradition is. You have many interesting thoughts.
Radhe Shyam.