dtcp090521.txt Diary of a Traveling Creature by Buck White (PIGGY) ANJANA SUTA ACADEMY www.JayaRama.US 2009 May 21 - June 3 RUSSIA: THE BATTLE OF THE GOLDEN RING ============================================ 2009 May 21 Yaroslav, Russia, t h u r s d a y 7:00PM - R(22˝) Hare Krsna / Hare Rama, Jaya Sri Vrndavana Dhama. BACK TO BASICS Become a hermit we must do. Does he shave, does he bathe? Is his pants-suit new? I think he plays the fiddle, Riddle, diddle. And for lunch he gums banana goo. But his eyes are always plenty bright, Windows on an inner light. Shyamantaka jewel his heart holds tight. (It does not want to make more fight.) Satya's brother. So many dead. Serve Dvaraka Gopla's plan instead. i>> i>> :. :: .: : ^ ^ : : : : .M. : +=====+ PALACE! THE ABC PLUNGED ON TO Rsi Alaya. They didn't have much to eat for three daze. Morton was normally robust (fat) but he became lean, but it didn't make him mean, because life on the ABC was always a scene. They got their Bhoga (sacrificial fud) by harvesting sea-weed, coarse and rude. Chop it and dry it. Grind it and fry it. Or dried apple-pie it. So tasty for Krsna that money can't buy it. But no sea-weed in sight for a few days. Maybe we'll die said Monkey. We can't die, scorned Piggy. We never were born. We'll just change the channel. New show. "Will you go where I go?!?!", Monkey "Don't know...", Piggy ============================================ 2009 May 22 YaroSlav, Russia F r i d a y 12:45PM - R(19) G(2) Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai! Just finished our Seminar on the NOI. Bhakti-sastri students, but some quite high. We learn a lot each time we try. Now we write our "TPP (Semester One), BG Overview". )-( )-( )-( )-( )-( And "Kapi Dhvaja 7.1". See you later. ||| -- - ~+~ 8:48PM - R(25) G(2) Still bright enough to type and read! Did the 'Kapi-Dhvaja', did first part of TPP BG Overview. Gaura arati. Hot milk and nice banana prasadam. No Shoe Grrr! Went for a w a l k . . . . . >>=> with Indradyumna and another devotee. Communicated by sign language. Mostly overcast sky. Evening rush-hour traffick. In Russian city. Out of the Temple, past the garden, Russian Mataji's and children are cultivating it. Out of the furniture factory complex. Up onto the road. Zooom! Zooom! Buses, expensive cars and Sports vehicles. Zoom! Zooooom. Greeen all around with yellow Dandelions. Cross the river branch on the bridge, hole in the floor, men fishing down below and boats docked galore. Don't turn right into the park. Continue straight just for a lark. Now on our right is a Kremlim, with cannon holes, smooth bore, and a big wooden door to the museum and store. People are coming home from their work, but the crisis is fearful some may get the jerk. In the past, village people ate human corpses to live, these people have a right to be careful how they give. Now it's May's end and it's still cold as ice. What's like the Winter? People drinking beer like hot-pepper spice. Round we go through the center of town. Toys for the men, electic watches and phones. Make-up for the ladies, babies the goal, need an army of children to be safe from the snow. So many churches, Orthodox like the Czar (comes from Caesar), beauty-sight but no Kirtan so the people stay out. Families and beer drinkers pulsing the park. Monuments and the river, the Trinity, nice, but still stark. Golden beer bottles, golden labeled. Men and women drink, and skate. Hare Krsna, Hare Rama. Nobody assaults us. (Like walking past bears). Some folks approach us with questions and stares. Tonight no luck!! In the back-pack the books stay tucked. (SAD). Yet, sure we raised up a hundred to think something not mad. (Look it's a Hare Krsna! They're the ones who chant. He He Ho ho! {Tommorrow we go on Hari-nam Sankirtana}). ~+~ Back to our room, kind o' like a prison cell in some ways (SMILE, SMILE, SMILE). Write the TPP. Stomach aches a little. Little cold. 9:10PM, but if this is all the austerity we have to do to really make Krsna happy then, WHAT'S THE FUSS! ~+~ Are you getting enough to eat? Are you eating properly? == They have a lot of Grits, Buckwheat, here. After all is said and done, It's pack a picnic, pack a bun. Fill up your bucket at breakfast and take it home to the Boss, Hanuman, and then there is no question of profit or loss. Breakfast is the best meal. The spices simple, plain, The grains just boiled, bright lights of fruits stacked up in a train. A picnic's best to share, when you've finished playing ball. You can take it when it's best, but after noon and bath and all. Hare Krsna, Hare Rama! Jaya Radha Jaya Shyama. [9:19PM] !....!...!..!.!.Quit'nTime.!.!..!...!....! ============================================ 2009 May 23 5:46AM - R(19) G(1) Yaroslav, Russia. s a t u r d a y Oink! Grank! Brank! Grunk! We;re here in Russia with our spirits sunk. But, then, Banjo Bob got on board at Trent, Changed our materialistic bent. We are Sannyasis, the Academy crew, (Like Visnupriya, girls can be sannyasis too). Our only job is to chant the Names of God. Hang them on our lips like a curtain rod!/. God! Hare Krsna / Rama! Allah! Jehovah! Radha-Shyama! ~+~ 8:02PM R(19) Monkey and Piggy waxed ekstatik when they heard that we were going on Harinam. The ABC was tied up in the river lake just in front of the Yaroslav Temple building. Morton was a little surprised to see the Temple. It reminded him of Las Angeles, 1952, only colder. It smelled like Los Angeles. Little old wooden houses, with Gingerbread trim around the windows. Cats, goats, Grannys. There was no electricity nor heating in the Temple. It was one building that the furniture factory wasn't using and they rented it to the devotees. About 25-devotees in the Temple. |=====================| | Hari Nama Sankirtana! | |=====================| But... It was rainining. [Ooooh!] But... That didn't stop the Russian devotees! [Ahhhh!] Monkey and Piggy had a bright orange and blue umbrella and they would twir during the Kirtana. They stayed pretty dry and the Kirtana had a portable amplifier. Russians love folk music and folk dance. They went to downtown Yaroslav (Saturday) and there was a big, block-long veranda in front of some stores that must have been at least 100 years old. (It was named Ananda Veranda.) Many buses loaded and unloaded there. People were selling lumps of sin in the shape of spicy, oily food. Many people dressed up for weddings and other events were coming and going, but many people stopped and took pictures of the Kirtan, bought some books. Yet, even though very musical it seemed to lack some heart. Yet, who can see other people's hearts? We must realize that Srimati Radharani is not different than Her Name, Hara: "Mataji, please pray to Rama-Krsna to engage us in Their service." We know we have many material desires. We are lusty, cruel. Our only hope is that Srila Prabhupada has ordered us to sit down at his lotus feet. From there we can hope to join the evening reception of Krsna at His house - calfs, monkeys, Nanda Maharaja, Mother Yasoda, everyone. Jaya Gopal: "Your bath is ready. Nice massage with oil. Bath. Some supper. Storys and fall asleep". |========<~>==========| | Jaya! Yasodanandana! | |========<~>==========| After two hours of strong Russian Kirtana we marched back to the Temple, still little rain. In the Temple HpS was supposed to give a BG class, so he did it, and Visistha Prabhu translated. He said that BG is an Upanisad. It talks a lot about Krsna indirectly, but we have to go through that, because we cannot approach Krsna directly. Many people can't. So in BG Krsna gives many differnt Dharmas. Yet, ultimately he says (BG18.66) abandon all these Dharmas and surrender to Him. Put your life in His hands! => = => \ \__>__>__ __ | |_|__<__/ / | .. V * * iii i {Vrndavana} i ii ii i i* i i* iiii i i ** Ayeee! TOMMORROW we send the 'Kapi Dhvaja' and answer some mail. We don't like to do it, but Srila Prabhupada adjusts it so that it has an effect to expand the Sankirtana movement. =-= Even a Dog can take p(art) and Dance |[in]| ecstacy! B E D - T I M E ! z zzz / |mmm|| (Dream of Krsna) *vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv* XAPE (Hare in Russian) PAMA (Rama in Russian) *^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^* ============================================ 2009 May 24 Yaroslav, Russia - Sunday : 5:48AM - R(15) G(1) Srila Prabhupada sits ona com-fort-able seet. Someone is sitting below at his lotus feet (left side). That boy has a basket for his Japa bag, And whatever Maha he can snag. : : : ~ : (:) ~ ~ : hk . hk . kk . hh . hr ~ ~~ : hr.r r.hh. ~ : ~ ~+~ 8:15PM R(18) G(2) Sunday Feast Kirtana is roaring in the Temple room. Only about 50-people here??!! Such a big city and such active devotees, but such few people? Several new people. We have to become empowered by Krsna. We have to become different people. "Krsna, make me a different person. Hara, please pray to Rama-Krsna to make us different people." Hare Krsna, Hare Rama. We wrote more "TPP BG Overview". Was so nice. Little by little we will know the contents of each Chapter the way we still remember Arcadia, California, where we grew up until 13-years old. [Find your original childhood.] AfterTTP work we went for Hari-nama. Only eight of us went today. It was COLD! But chanting and dancing can keep you warm even in outer-space. It's so nice to be leading Kirtan in a different world. Then we came back to the Temple and were going to finish our Rounds, but then the Computer finally came so we had to send the 'Kapi Dhvaja'. Fought with the robots. Emergency letters. Then everyone was waiting for HpSwami's lecture. We presented the "Light of the Bhagavata" pictures, and explained Cosmology, Sociology and Golakalogy. That lead to the "Jaya Radha Madhava" song. Krsna, Gopis, Mother Yasoda, they are all in the song. Gaura-arati, but it got too loud for our ears, so little discussion with Visistha Prabhu about the Kalender for the Tour, and here we are in our room alone with you! "Chant your rounds, HpS!" Too tired, weak. Tommorrow morning. X.X.X.X.X.X.X X > vv < X X >HARE< X X > ^^ < X X.X.X.X.X.X.X ============ !!!!! o v o U - ============ !!!!! . . U - ============================================ 2009 May 25 Monday (after Sunday Feast), Yaroslav (RUSSIA). 10:46AM - R(19) G(1) Hare Krsna, Hare Rama. Boy, are we tired. We got up a 12:30AM and did the last seven rounds from yesterday. Then 19 more rounds, led Managala-arati. [Where is this Dude leading us?!?] Worked on last chapter, Chapter Six, for the TPP. Robust breakfast of froot and few nutz, File Updates. Autografing NOI's for the students. ~+~ [Still overcast and cold and windy] (Outside our Window) {If it wernt for Bhakta NEO and ur association we would really go mad! Thank you!} We will write DTC for a little while then go outside, with 3-feet thick of thermal coverings, for Wok King and Chan Ting. ĄĄHara He!! Little Pak-King, [Remember "Pack", it rhymes with "Quack".] Rest the back, Rest the brains and it's on-board the Super Train. BO O ooo! WO O ooo! Cho!-Cho! Cho!-Cho! Cho!-Cho! Cho!-Cho! Cho!-Cho! Cho!-Cho! Cho!-Cho! Cho!-Cho! Cho!-Cho! Cho!-Cho! BO O ooo! WO O ooo! Off to Rbinsk. [What will it be like after Yaro-slav? (Yaro=Sun, Slav=Worship)]. ====. _ i HK \__|__|___ i----/ . .. . \_. :-(0)--o-o-o--/ LOOKING AT PICTURES There are three really great murals on the Temple-room wall here in Yaroslav. Blow-ups of BBT paintings - 10+ long. 1) Krsna Running with Balarama on the Banks of the Yamuna. The other boys and calfs are trying to catch-up. ~Yamuna tira vana acari. ~Thousands of Boys, but only 15-in view. Spiritual space! No over-population! ~Krsna has a happy look on His face like, "Haw! Haw! Haw! Catch me if you can. I'm fast!" But Balarama has a Guru look on His face, "Well, are you gonna catch Krsna or not??" 2) Krsna's Homecoming. It's Nanda Maharaja's veranda with Gopis, Nanda-yasoda, Calf, Boys... BBT blow-up. The faces are so real. But especially Radharani. There are two Gopis behind Her (Visakha and Tunga?) They are just tickled pink to see Krsna. He is sooo great, cool! And He is their special friend. They love Krsna so much. But Radharani... See has a 16-times more intense look on Her face. She doesn't enjoy Krsna, She fixes Krsna without deviation in Her mind, heart, soul. She is also the most intense example of Santa-rasa. Krsna is Her's. Finished, close the books, end of investigations. Why? Because She wants Him. She is also so, so, so, pleased to see how much Krsna loves His Mother. (He better, or He's in deep, deep, trouble with Her and all the Gopis, "Rat! What kind of boy are You? Don't love your poor Mother like anything!"). ... Radharani's Santa-bhava, Vatsalya-bhava and Madhurya. Maybe we understand it some day. It is so pure. They are too Young and to Nice to ever even think of any gross things. Oh, Hara, please pray to Krsna and Rama to take away this lust and anger and give us fixed life in Brahman. 3) Radharani Offering Garland to Krsna. Different mood than the homecoming. Madhurya Dasa Bhava. 2) Like all of these paintings, we only see three sides. But what about our side of the veranda? (The fourth wall.) What's on our side? The other balustrade from the veranda? More forest? Monkeys??? ĄMonkeys also welcome Krsna home! (It says that in previous life they were Rama's soldiers and He couldn't pay them properly for their service. He was out of home. So in this life they have taken birth to get their soldier's salary from Rama (Krsna), yogurt.) ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ | Let's go for a walk in the Anti-Sun. | ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ >>--------}}> >>--------}}> >-}> >>--------}}> Sankirtan! (Change the World) >>--------}}> >>--------}}> ~+~ 4:44PM R(22) G(2) Hare Krsna ~ Hare Rama! Jaya Sri Vrndavana Dhama! (I think it's like this. [Vrndavana-dhama is like being on this Tour]) Good God, you-all! It's enough to drive a sane man crazy. Haw! Haw! Ho! Ho! He! He! he! hE! 1) We drove from Yaro-Slav to Ribinsk. Here we ae staying in the apartment of one nice couple. They are economically pretty well off. They have like three retail stores or something and he is blind. Imagine that. His wife does many things for him. She drives. He talks on the cell-phone. Directs his employees. Import. Export. We are in big old five story housing complex. We are on the third floor. Our little room is just off the little living room next to the little kitchen, but !!! there's Ą Ą Ą E - Leck - Tricity ! ! ! GOt a light in our room. The bathroom is bright and has hot water. We were amazed! We saw our face in a mirror for the first time in 10-days. Haw! Haw! Ho! Ho! He! He! he! hE! It was amazing. Even after looking at the Yogi guy in the mirror, with 10-days old beard, for a couple of moments, in a little bit amuzed fashun, HpS (and us) still weren't sure that it was our face. (Maybe it isn't?) O.K. Got carpet. GOt light. It's not cold. Sun's out. 9-little tykes are whooping it up and playing like anything down below in the playground. They are like 5-year olds, but don't see any adult with them? Mataji has decorated the apartment very nicely, with dolls, ceramics etc. She is little taller than me or Visistha, and doesn't seem to have any excessive timidity about being a women. Lot of Russian Mata's are like that. 2) We've mentioned it before, but you've gotta be here to realize it. Everything here is reminding us of when we were like five years old also. The kids playing. Maube even more little, like three years old. You gotta be 61 years old to really appreciate it. The houses are the same. The moral standard is the same. The technology is the same. The SMELLS are the same. It's spooky. It's like all these memories that you didn't even know you had keep surfacing. For example, in these old buildings, often there are odd shaped closets, bathrooms in the hallway. The designs were just kind of strange in terms of our modern, super-efficient space allocation. There is a closet that exits from one side of the living room and passes behind the back wall in my room. No reason for it to be there and it is stangely long and narrow. 1st old fashion spectre. Then, ... in one of our apartments in 1951 or whenever it was (we think it was this lifetime for sure [Hare Krsna!]). There was a long narrow closet JUST LIKE THAT ONE that connected our apartment with the lady's next door. She was like 55 years old and single. Very nice person, and not now, but in those days in USA, people took each other as family. So my parents, like a young family, took her into our family like an older sister, and sometimes we all would just pass back and forth from apartment to apartment through that "tunnel". I forgot that memory. But being here stimulates its return. "Momi, I hurt my knee! Larry pushed me!" "I made an ass of myself in front of the other kids!" Haw! Haw! Ho! Ho! He! He! he! hE! Strange. Strange food. Nice, but not what we are used to. [What is Krsna arranging for us'!,?]. Maybe this is what we have to go through at the time of death. All the "vasanas", Bhavas, mental impressions (NOI 8) that we have stored deep in our heart, Buddhi, that we haven't released, have to be experienced and released before we can leave this body, our subtle body, and go to the real world. I mean there are cookies and tricycles in the real world too, and they are 10-times more stimulating than all the cookies, grannys and emotional betrayals in this world that we've passed through. What's the difference? Do you want to try to relive your childhood experiences, when life was so intense. (The children playing outside). Do you want to merge into another vagina and warm thighs? Yuck. Something not quite right here. And its only because we chant 16-good rounds in the morning (+by His Divine Grace+) that we experience some perspective on these temptations of Maya. Haw! Haw! Ho! Ho! He! He! he! hE! Krsna enjoys childhood. It's not a game. He actually is a little child forever and devotees become His Momi and Daddy and help Him to grow up into a mature, responsible, young man (so He can be God). Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna. To tired to chant more on Japa beads. But we can chant on these typewriter keys. Satsvarupa Goswami is our Journal Guru. ~+~ 3) There's a complete set of "Srimad Bhagavatam" in our room! (But it's in Russian [can't even read the alphabet {much}.].) But imagine our host. He can't even see the books. Haw! Haw! Ho! Ho! He! He! he! hE! Can you identify with Monkey and me? The only hope. The only hope is that somewhere along the line of this slow trip to madness the Spiritual World will start to manifest itself. Otherwise, we can carry on, but we will be slowly, s l o w l y, (week after week) . . going . . . HARE! (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) KRSNA! (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) HARE! (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) RAMA! (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:) (:)(:) (") (\) (/) (\) ~~~ (/) ~ ~~~ ~~ (\)__({}) ~~~~ ({:}) ] -|- --O=({:})=O-- ... "Human beings are the mechanism by which airplanes reproduce themselves." From "Evolution Made Simple" by Doctor Guy Gismo. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = !!!!!!!!!! @ Nitai!-Nimai! _\ -- | | [Wonder how this ASCII art will transfer to Word?] 6;00PM Visistha just left to teach his Hatha Yoga class. He'll be back at 9:00PM. We're alone in the apartment. Hosts are out doing business. Aaaaaah! What if a troupe of lady's Roller Derby athletes come to the door and want us to talk with them! Aaaaaah! (kids have gone. sun is gone. {time for gaura-arati}) Hanuman approves of our writing. (As Sankirtan or mental health therapy?) ============================================ 2009 May 26 Ribinsk, RUSSIA Tuesday, 9:23PM R(23) G(3) Got up at 2:00PM. Proper Japa. No "Caitanya Caritamrta" to read!!! Laundry-bath (Hot Water!). Mangala-arati. Monkey Missle. Class at 9:00AM (about 12-devotees present). ~=~ Walk (six guys with beers and cigarrettes saluted us with their beer bottles and said, "Hare Krsna, Yoga". I nodded and said yes. Beautiful river with forest paths righ near our buildings. Children playing again in bright clothes. Sunshine). Lunch came. Went to devotees house for internet. Had to walk-up seven flights of stairs to get there. One rat in the stair well. 7____ KOMPUTER__ 6_| 5_|_(rat) 4_| 3_| 2_| _____1_| ~ Eighteen letters. Transfered KRSNA book story to NEO and CC 3.10. Evening class. 20-people <> space in the flat. Really, really super Simply Wonderfuls (and bean, beet soup for the guests). Some more file work and fighting with the robots and now here we are. Sankirtana. Several people coming for the first time. Devotees said that class was excellent for them. We tried. Prabhupada made the stride. O.K. Let's read KRSNA book and see you tommorrow! ============================================ 2009 May 27 Ribinsk, Russia, 7:55AM - R(17) G(1) W e d n e s d a y ^ ^ ^ ^ }HARE{ * [KRSNA] T.T.T.T.T.T.T.T.T.T.T ~+~ Jaya Radha-Madhava kunja bihari. Gopi-jana vallabha, girivara dhari. Yasoda-nandana, braja-jana ranjana. Yamuna-tira-vana-acari. ~+~ Krsna, little Gopal, and His friends, leave for the pasturing grounds very early, no? The cows and calves want to get to a good place for grazing while the grass is still cool and fresh. Do they chant: Govinda Jaya Jaya, Gopala Jaya Jaya...? And enjoy playing with the different diversions offered by Sri Vrindvana-dhama along the way? ============================================ 2009 May 28 Ribinsk, Russia, t h u r s d a y 2:45AM - R(6) Hare Krsna / Hare Rama! How are you? We feel bad. (Wa! Wa! Wa! Waaa!) Disease. Just from nasty life style. Irregular habits. Kali-yuga. One devotee is cooking rice, subji, soup and bread and sending it daily. Others are bringing fruit, fresh, organic apple juice and 5 pounds of butter and cheese. Visistha suggested a few times that I try the apple juice. O.K. we took one glass and it was the <> sour thing I have ever experienced in my entire life. Unbelievable. I told this to him and he said that I had to mix it with water. I said that it would still be sour. Anyway, some other fruit and little cheese and nuts and that was our lunch, but, no, the rice, soup, subji, bread and butter arrived and the devotee would have been so disturbed if we did not take it. OooF! Hare Rama! Hare Rama! WEll, the subji and apple juice didn't get along and etc. That was two days ago. Yesterday we were prepared and had proper breakfast, and rice, subji and bread as lunch. (But the rice had a lot of butter in it [that's more opulent {we have to offer the best of everything to a Sannyasi}]) ---->>> It's hysterical. Then off right after lunch to devotee's 7-story, cold water, walk up, nicely decorated, good sunshine and white fluffy cloud apartment for Komputer work. I fought with the robot and lost but Visitha knew other Robot Judo and won. It agreed to talk with Bhakta NEO. "Visitha Prabhu, why you did not take lunch today", HpS? With some reticence (we feel): "Because I drank a glass of the apple juice and it almost had an explosion in my stomach". RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION:: Krodha vegam, or someting like that, Haw! Haw! Told you so! Mental gratification! But; devotee's Mother at the Komputer station brought out a B-I-G bowl of fruit all cut up while we were on the Komputer and was so anxious that we would take some. (Haw! Haw! Haw Haaaa a a a a a !) Oh, my God, it just continues. What hysteria. What fun. Classes, Beautiful Russian women (Canakhya Pandita's educated glances), Laksmana's great paper from Peru on colonialism (:What if the Inca's had gone to Eruope and conquered it? How would history be? [What if Egypt had conquered Rome at the decisive battle of Leepee te pukon and dominated the Mediteranean {What if...}]). How many hundreds of different ways we can play this movie play this game. But the problem is still just the same: Radha is kidnapped by this idiot Rah Van. And we have to FIND Her so that She can return to the Vraja-van. KRSNA is sooo unhappy without Her service. Oooof! SO, to hell with the tongue, belly and genital, mind-madness aches. Chant four good rounds, sitting properly, or whatever it takes. AND again, today, do battle with BHOGA!!! >>-------> KRSNA Bhoga: BG: Everything should be accept with care and caution. (But they will kill you! [Better to die serving Rama]). ~+~ 5:31AM - R(14) + G(1) MONKEY: I think I have stomach cancer. PIGGY: I thought, you thought you had throat cancer. MONKEY: Yeah, that too! PIGGY: The problem is not with the body. The problem is with the mind. Bodys come, bodies go, but it's on the basis of the mind that they grow and grow! * *** * *** || ., || , , ,,, , ',, at the feet of big trees, we often find grass. Can that be our position: at the feet of srila prabhubada, alas (we be grass)?! [{()}] 10:51PM - R(19) We gave our third and final Bhagavaam class, Light of the Bhagavata. About nine women and five men. Outside the sun is shining and the little children play, in the school yard, hard. Been no hot water since the first day?! Indeed it is a mystery, bemusing. Sometimes all we can do is write. The forest next to us is beautiful, but it is filled with trash! Nasty trash. After seeing it it stays in our mind. Yuck! ... Not everyone, but it is not surprising any time, any place, to see someone or a group of people, men and some women, with a cigarrette in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. Usually not drunk, but sometimes falling-down drunk. Never saw anyone violent. ... It's such a different culture from USA or Europe. Hmmmmm! We have intense and immediate energy from ISKCON Sankirtan to elevate everyone here. Hare Krsna, Hare Rama. ~+~ Monkey would spend most of his time aloft on ABC (Allah's Bold Cruiser). Again, it takes a lot of splendid work to manage a sailing ship. There was always a friendly wind in the sky some where, but you had to be properly rigged to catch it. So, Uncle Gismo was shouting orders from time to time to trim or re-cast the upper sails and that was Monkey's job. Piggy, and now Morton Adler, did their job with the base canvas. However, there were also hours and hours sometimes when they would just run before the wind and Monkey would sit in the Crow's Nest or hang on a spar and feel the wind penetrating his soul. He could see how very old sailors had become very spiritually elevated - wind, sun, sea, shark, ability in man, sound in ether. All these things BGita says are Krsna. Associate with God you become Godly. SAILOR'S LIFE Hanging on a long spar, Feet free out below. Wind it blows our pants-shirt. It knows just where to go. Life is just the same, If your sails are trimmed and tuned. Guru is the Captain, Without whom we're surely doomed. Spread your senses before the roaring gale. Spread your senses before the gentle breeze. Currents of your Karma never fail. Live you destiny with gracious ease. +_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+ !!!!!! @ - =============== HARA ~ HARA ~ HARA ~+~ 10:05PM - R(23-3/4) G(3) Ooof! Headache. Time to quit. Such a nice day. SUch hard werke. Computer mail. Transportation fail. High-rise in the sky apartment BG class to 35-devotees. Back home. "WHat shall we do!!", said the mind at 8:00PM. We borrowed Vasistha's camputer and made a Power Point DTC (all the menus were in Russian!). BUt it was fun. All we want to do is with Srila Prabhupada With Gopal and His friends run. Tommorrow, 5-hour drive to Volgoda, and straight into the the dentist's chair! Our TPP is on schedule. - ============================================ 2009 May 29 Ribinsk, Russia, f r i d a y 2:00AM - R(-2) Hare Krsna. What is the meaning of the entire Mantra? Why is Hare Krsna / Hare Rama not enough? In some purports Prabhupada says like "Chant Hare Krsna Rama". K H A R E S N R A M A ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! CC3.10 TEXT 68 "jagamohana-pari-munda yau" TRANSLATION "Let my head fall at the feet of Jagannatha in the Kirtana hall known as Jagamohana." A Sannyasi should just engage in Hari-kirtana (Japa) constantly and keep his body by whatever Prasadam he can get by begging. 2:10AM R(-2)... 2:48AM R(4)... CC3.10 Text 102 Thus I have briefly described Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's dancing in the hall of the Jagannatha temple. The servants of Srt Caitanya Mahaprabhu sing about this dancing even now. 2:57 AM R(4)... 3:18 AM R(8)... 4:44AM R(8)... Edited Laksmana;s article on Inca Heritage and Vaisnava culutre; Laundry, Bath; Hanuman's Puja; Mangala-arati! ~+~ CAMPUS CAFETERIA 9:00AM - Breakfast (Pack your Picnic). 5:00PM - Tea (Ekadasi cookies). ~+~ 5:33AM R(12)... Fruit... ''''' (. V (. < - "When you put a flower garland on your body, automatically there is one on your shadow. You don't have to make a separate endeavor. Similarly, when you improve your spiritual life, your material life will automatically improve", Sriman Hansadutta Das. !!!!! _ v _ V - Hare Rama / Hare Krsna / Hare... ~+~ 8:09PM R(4˝) G(2)... Volgoda, Russia... Had intense acidiity last night, this morning also. ...Booooom! ...And then the long auto-drive ...And then straight into the dentist's chair. Dentist and other dentist are very nice Mataji and devotee. Devotee who pulled our tooth said that the teeth needed cleaning. She looked at then and said, "Yes", but also noticed two cavities. So we had at the cleaning and drilling and filling right there. Hare Krsna. Stick a needle in the gums for anesthesia. Lot of stress to lie in a strained position for 1˝-hours. Then, one cavity was really deep so she had to go down to the root and clean it and remove the nerve and fill it. Actually, now that we think about it, yes, there was pain in that tooth as well as the front one that got pulled. So, pain in the tooth (getting better), but very heavy pain, drain, in the zone above the solar plexus. Food poisoning? General stress of surgery? Reaction to the anesthetic, it's a poison. Tommorrow we go back. They are going to make a false tooth to fill the gap in the front. Hare Krsna! We do these old age, disease, austerities to use Krsna's gift, this human form of life to the last ounce of it's worth. Thank You, Sir. (How is Madhumaanjari devi dasi?) ~+~ After the dentist, on to our Camp. Devotees have vacated their flat for three nights for us. Still no hot water??!! But nice fresh-air and view. Rested and suffered from the medical work. (Haw! HAw! hAW!). ...and off to an evening program at the house, temple here. Is one of the little old granny houses we see everywhere. Packed full of nice devotees, Brahmacaris, families. About 50-devotees. We did the first lecture on Sankhya, "bhumir, apo..." (BG 7.~4). Was very nice. It's the first thing that Krsna ecplains to Arjuna also. O.K. Rest... Hare Krsna! See you tommorrow morning. Thank you so much for giving us your association in this Sankirtana Yajna. It helps so much! ============================================ 2009 May 30 Vologda, Russia, s a t u r d a y 2:40M - R(0) Krsna, Nanda-nanadana, is capable of vanquishing inumerable material universes. Our definite guess is food poisoning. Acid like a furnace. Srila Prabhupada says in Kola-veca Sridhara purport that little water, sipping, is good for stomach problem. Sure seems to be. But it is all actually 90% insignificant, irrelevent, to the lotus feet of Krsna. Is good training for the critical moment of death. = D E A T H = The Trip of a Life-Time O.K. Back to work. (We've chanted 4˝ rounds from yesterday. Think of SDGoswami's current Journals a lot). 2:45AM R(0)... Sit properly! 3:20AM R(4)... CC>3.10.142, Lord Caitanya takes Prasda offered by the devotees of Bengal. Patram puspam, phalam toyam, yo me bhakya prayacchti, tad ham bhakty upahrtam (???). Purifys the soul of even fools like us to hear these things. (It's already so light outside that you can read!) ~+~ 3:27PM R(14) G(1) R E A L L Y sick! Food poisoning from the boiled apricots I think. O.K. Fasting for 24-hours. Rest. Still trying to chant Hare Krsna and be happy! When we focus on the abdominal pains, nausea, intense vomit-convulsions, then we struggle to fight them by breathing etc. But what do we get if we are successful? Hmmm? Our little bit Sattvic consciousness. But if we just surrender to Krsna - Draupadi - both hands in the air - completely let go of the Sari, stomach, and pray, "HE! Govinda!!". Then immediately the stomach distress may overcome us. We may collapse on the couch. But we get Krsna consciousness and with little Dhairyat, patience, we see that Krsna puts everything in line from a very, very, superior conscousness - Visuddha-sattva! Do you see what I mean? Hare Krsna!!! Always chant and let the Maha-mantra do what you can't, make everything all auspicious. 4:12PM R(14) G(1) We just finished rewriting this DTC to this point. It's O.K. We aren't striving for the Pultizer Prize. We're striving (to keep from going mad and) produce something that might help a few of our friends and students. Todays program in 5:00PM. Pack up. Had 14-grapes. 1 for each rounds. Seems to have helped. Hare Krsna!!! Ohhhhh! Radha, let us deliver the Ring from Rama! (NOI). (. .) (. .) (. .) (. .) (. .) !Nos vemos pronto! 7:08PM R(15) G(1) Just back from the Saturday program and the Ashrama. They have outhouses behind the Ashrama. It's like a Midwest, 1980s, prarie house. Little garden. Everyone has gardens. The dentist and his wife dentists gave us some pills of concentrated ashes to absorb the toxin in the stomach. Hare Krsna. Hare Krsna.... ! ! ! ! ! Why do we write so much? Because Krsna has put us in this condition. There is nothing else to do. Now tommorrow we go back to Yaroslav after the Sunday feast. It will be a 3-4 hour drive. With our body in it's current state it will be hell, but we feel that if this is what we can do to advance Lord Caitanya's mission, then is O.K. So many other austerities we cannot do! Hari-nama Sankirtana in HELL! Haw! Haw! That's the real life. We just don't realize our hellish position at every moment. Seems we may be without internet access for one week again! (He said with a bemused look). Krsna is arranging these situations. But the Sankirtana is very good. People are so enthusiastic to chant and listen. Many serious questions, which we can actually answer. o ooo ooooo ooo o Rama.. Hare Krsna.... Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare ========================================= 2009 May 31 Vologda, Russia s u n d a y 9:32AM R(4) G(1) Seem to be better. They have a blender here! One orange, 14 grapes (3˝ toasted Wanuts). !!Bl l l l lfstp! Offer it to Krsna (such a nice offering)... Honor ˝-of the fruit-shred Prasadam. NOw let's see how the Brother Ass reacts. At Anjana Suta, ABC School, we think that a blender is the most essential kitchen tool. ~+~ 9:20PM R(19) G(2) Well, we are back in Yaroslav. It was a three hour car drive. Most of the day we rested. The cabon pills absorbed the acid. We had 330ml of thick Russian Yogurt at 2PM, and just now we ate 4-walnuts and two ripe bananas. Hope we don't vomit. Sun's still up. Weather is nice here this time, but bathroom is still a dark, dank dungeon. Hare Krsna, Hare Rama. Sunday feast lecture at the Temple in Vologda. Sang and explained "Vrndavana Dhama Mahimamrta", the Glories of Sri Vrndavana Dhama. Gaura-arati song in the car to Yaroslav. Well, that seems to be enough for one day. Hare Krsna, Hare Rama. Let everything be purification for finding Sita for Rama. !!!!!! z z z z! <\v/> - ... ... ==================================== 2009 June 1 Yaroslav (RUSSIA) m o n d a y 5:41AM R(14) G(1) Sun's Up! /\_* /\/ /\ / / \ Clear sky. No E-Lek-Tri-City. Maybe we should chant 164-rounds a day. M: But our throat gets sore. HpS: We could chant then with now throat. M: Oh. HpS: How can we find M. Sita. Many Monkeys helped Lord Ramacandra and Laksmana Prabhu to find Mother Sita and rescue Her from Raw Vana. They took birth in Vrndavana when Krsna was there to get their soldiers salary, Vraja Yogurt, but did they get an even more elevated reward? Did they get a chance to participate in Krsna-lila? As Monkeys? Krsna and the boys play Rama-lila and how can it be that the Gopis don't want to play also and become Sita and Raksasis? Does Sridama become Ravana and kidnap Radha (Help! Help!)? This all takes place in Kamya-van. ~+~ 11:55PM R(14) Writing and reviewing all morning. tpp-LOB texts 22-25. read Piggy's last Diary. It's O.K. Pretty darn good for a Pig. Also, the last 'Kapi-Dhvaja'. As usual there is a mistake in our contact addresses. We are such fools. TIME for Gayatri-mantraS. Does no good to wait. You'll not be in better consciousness, You'll only miss the date! ~+~ 6:30PM R(21) G(2) About to fall flat on our face! So weak! First time in four days we took Prasadam normally. Did not vomit, although we (we?), Brother Ass, was inclined that way. Guess stomach is srunk. Filled up easily. Guess the Good Bacteria have not yet returned. But weak! Go for a walk? (Can barely stand up!) Funny-talk! Well, man proposes and Lord Siva disposes. "Do your internet mail. Correspond on this project, that project", but can't. So we make a new plan. Krsna's Shakti is close at hand. (Honey, give me your hand. Let me help you walk.) Radharani is the most beloved Mother of all the cowherd boys. In Her the ideal of Mother is most complete. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HARE KRSNA, HARE KRSNA, * KRSNA KRSNA, HARE HARE * HARE RAMA, HARE RAMA * * RAMA RAMA, HARE HARE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * WEAK >-> DEATH In the end, life is a process of rotting, but rotting is a process of making birth and then growing. Can you see that?! iiiiii ,(strange!) . v . -- ++++++++++++++++++ A M S . S A A R ++++++++++++++++++ \ | / - O - / | \ ++++++++++++++++++ ^ ^ o V o ___________ / O | |/ --- | Piggy! | |__________| ( ( ( ( ++++++++++++++++++ iiiiiiiiiiiiiii W W - v - U - m m (Grhastha playing harmonium.) ++++++++++++++++++ H A R E K R S N A / R A M A ! ! Such a President as Barrack Obama!? We must develop our own communes, With peach and p-nut butter moons, And guitar makers, something to attract the Quakers. (As in Earth-quake, not Donald Duck!) Not trying for "self-sufficiency", nor immortality, nor heaven-on-earth in this material world. That's Utopia (U=Not, Topia=Any Place). Just looking for a little-bit peaceful Transit Lounge so that we can chose with discrimination our next town. ~ MONKEY: (I vote for village Goloka)! PIGGY: Second the Motion. UNCLE GISMO: Idiots! Have you forgotten! Radha has been kidnapped and sequestered by Ravana, the Evil CEO of Darkness. We must bring <> back to Vrndavana. PIGGY: Of course, just testing to see if you were listening! ! ! All our travels and our Sankirtana. These severe, severe, severe austerities in Rsi-alaya are just to close the circle on where we can locate Her and deliver the Ring. Hear Hanuman sing! (7:38PM) Devotees brought a glass of warm milk and ba-na-na slices ˝-hour ago. We forced Brother Ass to drink as much of the milk as he could. Ą Brother Ass you shall Kick again ! ~+~ (The smell from the Dark-Dank-Bathroom next door is !) It's wet cloth drying. No fresh-air or Sunlight circulating. And these foolish managers think that Mangala-arati and early morning Japa and SB classes are extras! Haw! Haw! Haw! Without these you can manipulate dull-headed men and money all you want and get nothing more than stinking lavatorys and mechanical Sankirtana. (Of course, maybe that's better than what we have to offer?) Ą Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai ! (7:53PM) Time to down the pen. Read the KRSNA book. Take a transcendental look. And then turn in. ============================================ 2009 June 2 Yaroslav (RUSSIA) t u e s d a y 1.30PM - R(16) G(2) Finally got computer/internet access. Batterys lasted two hours. Got off a lot of emergency letters. _.__ ___ .._ (Morse Code) More and more we are just trying to get devotees to do the presentations and we just come as enjoyers, critics. Making suggestions for presentations. CONCLUSION: They take a book. They give them looks. Stomach is better. Lead Mangala-arati. So incredible chanting and dancing with an open heart in front of Prabhupada and devotees for Srimati Radharani, Krsna, Rama. Solves all problems. Greatest health measure possible for Brother Ass. Guess we are on schedule. Now hope to go for a walk, to the post-office, to the Ganges (Volga?). Today is Ganga-puja. Hare Krsna, Hare Rama! Jaya Radha, Jaya Shyama! Jaya Sri Vrndavana-dhama. ~+~ 3:56PM R(21) G(2) Well, after lunch we went for our outing. Sky was overcast. Intermittent showers. After some discussion we went to a city forest reserve. It was full of deep paths. Beautiful green trees and plants. We three walked into the woods deeper and deeper. Joggers, Beer-drinkers, Dogs, and and and and . .... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . ... . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . ... . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . ... . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . (blood-sucking <>). Got three rounds done. Covered up with our wool chodder, still they got through on the head. (Ho-Ho! Ho-Ho!). But devotees with us were dressed in shirt sleeve shirts, so they were batting and running. "Sorry, Maharaja, sorry!". Hmmmmf! This is the material world. There is a price for every pleasure. There is a pain for every gain. You're lucky if Maya collects the tax immediately at the time of en-joy-mint. Then you become a Jńani, Wiseman. Honest Karma leads to Jńana, and Jńana leads to Dhyana, Contemplation, intense investigation, and that leads to Bhakti. Worship of Krsna. Why? Because He is so great! * (:::) <(:::)> (:::) (:::) --- (:::) ----- --------- iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ~+~ 9:07PM R(25) G(2)... 9:14PM R(25) G(3)... Had some honey with the hot-milk! Oooof! Can feel the reaction. Alergy reaction. Be careful. Hare Krsna. 6:30-8:00PM We were able to present BG class. About 35 devotees! BG 8.21. Srila Prabhupada talks about Vrndavana in the Purport. So, we then read Texts 22+ from LOB with more description of Vrndavana, discussed the pictures of Vrndavna on the walls, discussed "avyakta", and the fundamental principle that Krsna is the enjoyer in the spiritual world. Was very nice. Some work to keep the focus and the content, but was so nice. Tommorrow is Nirjala-ekadasi. I just remembered from last year that in Russia everyone does Nirjala ekadasi, fasting even from water! They asked me if I was going to follow. I said probably not. "Some fruits?". Yes, but maybe should try. Be careful. Brain strokes. Seems to be one mosquito in the room. We were chasing them out and murdering them today. Felt bad, killing them, especially when they were full of blood (our blood). Hare Krsna. We hope they can go on to their next body smoothly and this violent death is of use to them. Couldn't download any new KRSNA book or CC chapters to Bhakta NEO today before computer battery died, so will reread the story of the Syamataka jewel again (and again). ============================================ 2009 June 3 Yaroslav (RUSSIA) w e d n e s d a y 5:30AM R(16) G(1) Morton was coming down with a cold. He thought he might be able to avoid it if he followed Yoga, but it was also Pandava-nirjala Ekadasi, fasting even from water. Morton liked Uncle Gismo. He was the kind of Boss you could easily appreciate. He was intelligent, irritable, always right and humble. Everyone liked him, when they didn't hate him. You were his, "No, one leaves this ship alive. We keep you alive to serve this ship." The ABC was docked in Surya-sevaka and taking on water and air. They needed a lot of that traveling in the sky and celestia. Piggy had kindly showed Morton how to weave climbing webs and other stuff the ABC need for its rigging. It takes a lot of work to sail a boat. The rigging has to be continually refreshed. Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare! (Like that). Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare! Monkey was telling Morton about Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet. He would also help weaving rigging, but generally he was swinging about up above under UG's directions. Monkey explained that Srila Prabhupada's feet had many prominent features; Of course, he had two feet, left and right, and they were very similar, but different. Then he had ten toes, five on each foot. The two big toes were much bigger. Between the toes were webs, just eight of those. Very, very fortunate devotees would offer service by squeezing them. Behind the five toes on each foot there were three pads - two in front and one large one from the heel along the side. Of course, next to that pad was the very sensitive center of Srila Prabhupada's lotus foot. He went on like this with great detail describing the nails, their maintenance, Srila Prabhupada's ornaments, where he would stand, on what kind of things, for what kind of service. It was amazing how much Monkey knew. En general he commented that his whole dedication was to see that Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet were always served, stimulated, properly so that he would feel great energy in organizing Srimati Radharani's work. Sometimes there was Kirtana while they worked, sailed, cleaned. Monkey would play his harmonica. ~+~ 2:26 PM R(17) G(2) Morton was really stressed by this Nirjal ekadasi thing. He was getting heavy headaches and stomach cramps, and so he asked Monkey if he could take some water and sweet fruit if necessary. Monkey looked around carefully and said, "I think it's O.K. Otherwise you will have a brain hemorrhage. You have a very big head". Morton thanked him. He wondered what he meant by a big head. Some water. Let it settle. Some fruit. Finishing his rigging weaving, on with his coat and out for a little walk in Surya-sevaka. Maybe he would meet Krsna. Krsna was here. Krsna was there. Krsna was in many places and ages without care. Morton liked Japa. It was kind of like what you did as a midnight Security Guard on building rounds. ~+~ 8:41PM R(25) G(3) Bhagavad Gita class. HpSwami talked about cows and milk (LOB27). The room was full, about 40 devotees. They were kind to listen. All the Russian devotees do Nirjala ekadasi and after the class they invited him to spend all night with then chanting. Sounded nice. Hare Krsna, Hare Rama, Hare Krsna, Hare Rama. (Xape Pama, Xape Pama? ? ?) . . . write nine words in a line, so fine, that even zebras, will stop the time, to read them, and call them mine. (żdo they rhyme?) narayan, narayan, narayan! ... how quick can you be in pure goodness? when you're there you can see through the sky. you can see the world of the faerys, and gokula, the forest up most high. ~+~ MORTON appreciated the principle of Ekadasi. It was so nice. he just had to develope for it. Maybe leave his body, for another. It made him remember the village of Gokula where he had passed like a year and a day. He really thought that maybe he should have not left it, but rather forever there he should still stay. But traveling with Cruiser and the Academy was certainly more urgent too, although at times it felt less like a school bus, and rather more like a zoo.