Country Roads, take me home...
Radhastami 2024
Dear Maharaja Hanumat Presaka Swami,
pamho, AGtSP!
HpS/ASA - CCD et al, Paoho.
Ekadasi.
CCD - O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.
Yes, a moment is even more important when one fails one's dutiful chores. Yet, time, place, and circumstance are part of our ongoing score, add spontaneity to serve, and we then get what we deserve
INTROSPECTION
I'm still contemplating Sadhana at personal levels while serving the devotees and not the Devil, all the while maintaining a sense of self-worth through our dearth. Justifying the journey is especially difficult when I’m honoring a Guru who masters austerity and brings reality checks with such sincerity. It must just be me looking for clarity.
All in all, these moments of association meaningfully reflect decades of meditation. I am becoming aware of my floating anarthas. Now, to work on the ahankara. In retrospect, I owe it all to your patience and powerful KC concepts. It’s true; I would not have gotten this far without you.
SERVICE
Unfortunately, our last visit to Virginia was quite occupied and limited your personal association, though I did absorb and observe your consistently good instructions and elaborations. Appreciate your calls on the sofa in the Temple halls, you were so encouraging to all, I hope I did not disturb you during your discourse, engaging the Chamara to force insects off course. It wasn’t an entire Arcana; it was more for a calming tact; then, at the Agni Yajna, the Chamara came back, and I felt I had started some seva attack. Even with your CIA shades on, I saw your agitation and direct Chamara deflection of the devotee’s misdirection, revealing the inept situation.
The instructions on the use of Chamara in the Veda base mention specifics and conscious use of said Chamara; upon investigation, I discovered this information:
“Camara Fanning; Get Someone with Intelligence”
October 1972, ISKCON
Rädhä-Dämodara Temple Vrindaban, India
“... The atmosphere was very transcendental, except for the flies. They were buzzing around Srila Prabhupäda while he was speaking. It was a great opportunity for me to render service. I picked up the camara fan and stood by my guru. I twirled the fan just like a pujari performing arotika before the Deities. I felt so proud being able to perform such a service in front of my godbrothers. Up and down I waved the fan hardly noticing the flies were still bothering Çréla Prabhupäda. At one point he lifted his arm and waved it across his face to chase the flies away. I was so absorbed in feelings of grandeur that it never occurred to me that I wasn't rendering any service. I never came close to solving the problem.
Finally, the cow dung hit the fan. My spiritual master glared at me and shouted, "Get someone up here with some intelligence." I stood motionless for what felt like a year.
Immediately a young brahmacari named Kunjabihari took the fan from my sweaty hand and stood next to Srila Prabhupäda. He was considered by some to be rather eccentric. At the time I would not have picked him for this particular service. I went back to my tape recorder. My mind was reeling along with it. I finally realized what it meant to be one/10,000 part the tip of a hair. I watched Kunjabihari. It seemed like he could put out a forest fire with the intensity of his fanning. No fly was foolish enough to hang around as long as he was in town. Seconds later, all the flies were gone. Srila Prabhupäda never stopped speaking to his disciples throughout this ordeal. Just as I was starting to breathe again, Srila Prabhupäda looked at Kunjabihari with a smile and nodded approvingly of his disciple's devotional service...”
It’s like I went into a Dejavu mode; this incident brought my memories of ISV in 2003 when I used the Chamara for Srila Prabhupada and dropped it. You did not say a word, though your glance opened my mind of being absurd, thus my ignorance was burned. Now I know that protocol has its place and hope to keep it in grace. You approve tried-and-true techniques , so I try to stick with those, through and through.
Obviously, we need more training to perfect our devotional service. Without intelligence, we become sentimentalists or impersonal. We go, we know, and then there’s our ego. The mysteries of Bhakti Yoga always surprise us. We just need to open our eyes and listen without disguise.
HpS - More and more now, I haven't got the short term awareness to be able to construct broad scenarios of what is happenning.
I tend to push for smaller, more profound awareness, even just internal well beng and letting the surrounding arm's lengths go to hell if they must.
It is interesting. Purifiying. Happening to everyone.
I remember some one was striking me with some vigor on the side of the head again and again with the Camara hairs.
Very strange.
Hilarious.
The actor must have seen us like a dummy in a store window.
Very interesting.
😃
JOURNEY
Everything else was also an enlivening experience in Virginia, the congregations enthusiasm was, reminiscent of the days of Srila Prabhupada’s live Kirtans and jubilant Bhajans. The family community’s strength will bring many more devotees to their congregation. All those I addressed carried that bright enthusiasm of mutual service and actual concerns beyond the material sojourn. This shows Srila Prabhupada’s legacy will continue well in Virginia. Also really enjoyed Prabhu Divyanam’s association, focused and blissful Temple President, he should keep the Richmond devotee’s in ecstasy for years.
FINITO'
We're certainly looking forward to our next meeting. Meanwhile, our first business in the morning is to beat the mind with shoes a hundred times, and before going to bed, we beat the mind a hundred times with a broomstick.
All glories to your Service!
HpS - Thank you!
Your's and Mataji's association made the event.
It was like a warm flood of Sunlight on the Country Meadow.
Thank you for making the event special.
Seeing how you must be enchancing the Raman reti Yatra contitually.
After that had more intense Richmond programs, Newark, Podcast.
Airplanes, Rains in Spain that fell mainly on the Plains.
Crawling to Radha-kunda.
Think we will leave of Heart, Eyes, Ears, Stomach in Radha kunda.
New Raman reti is your responsibility.
