Jagat

I mentioned Ma Seva Bharati the other day. After my RRSN reading yesterday, I ran into her on the promenade by the Ganga. We stopped to talk. She is still ruminating over her month-long bhakti experience with Dhanurdhara Swami and other senior Iskcon old timers. Ma Seva was full of questions about me. "I was amazed," she said, "to learn that the devotees think that Radha and Krishna's love affairs are the highest truth, beyond even Brahman. Do you also believe that?" That is a big question to take in one swallow. I said, "Yes. But you have to start from the point of understanding that the Supreme Truth is personal. You are a person, so why do you think that in the state of perfection you will be less than what you are now? And why would the Supreme Truth be something less than what you are now, in the state of bondage?" "They are so strict," she said. "I think bhakti is only for the healthy. They told me that you have to take a com...

Due to the difficulties of getting online, I have fallen far behind in posting on this blog। In particular I wanted to give my impressions of Rishikesh and the ashram where I am staying. Getting settled in has been difficult, as I had a cold that left me fairly exhausted, my computer cable adaptor went completely dead, and I hadn't started teaching Sanskrit yet. I have been teaching for two days now and my cold is a bit better. The computer problem still has not been overcome, but hopefully tomorrow we shall overcome. These are going to be briefs. Sorry. =============== As I was blogging at 3.30 on Christmas day, Tim, a yoga teacher from Calgary came up to me and said that as part of the Christmas celebrations he thought it would be nice to recite the Hail Mary in Sanskrit in front of the statue of Madonna and Child that is near the meditation hall. I had approximately half an hour to do it. I obliged with the following, which has now been somewhat corrected and revised. h...