pilgrim notes 13.02.11 - 25.03.11

"... By establishing your consciousness in divine communion with Me you will gain the complete freedom that comes with My personal presence. " Bhagavad-gita Ch.9.28

Thank you Lord for another day
may I see things just Your way.
What am I without Your grace -just another lonely face.
There s a secret I can share
Holy names will take us there -to a place safe and bright
may I wish you pleasant flight.
Shree Gauranga jaya Gauranga Gaur Gauranga naamShree Gauranga jaya Gauranga Gaur Gauranga naam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5xvbLsmDVc

Although I know this Age of Kali is an ocean of faults I do appreciate the technology - very helpful in surrendering to the Holy Name as I turn up the volume of the kirtan on my cd player ! Radhe Radhe

Interesting word "pretentious " - derived from the word "pretend " . Here s praying for unpretentious humility. Radhe Radhe

With all the turmoil in the Middle East its an illusion to think that replacing a dictator with a democracy will bring enduring peace. That will only be possible when the transcendental autocrat , Sri Krishna reigns supreme in all our hearts.".... I truly am the ever-well-wishing friend of every soul . It is only by such understanding... that a person can become whole and that the world can attain peace. " Bhagavad-gita 5.29

Strange how death is always in the news. Whats new about death ? Hare Krishna

"The devotees are ever engaged in the service of God.No tendency towards anything else, no other thought or deed besides that service ,finds any opportunity to cast its shadow over the souls of those bhakti-yogis , who are incessantly communing with God and are entirely dedicated to Him.......Having fallen in love with the Lord of their life ,who is the very life of their lives and the life of all ,they have surrendered themselves to Him, with all their energy.." Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta. Hare Krishna

Founder and CEO of Facebook , Mark Zuckerman recently gave a 100 million dollars to an educatnal project in Newark , New Jersey . Here s hoping you give just as much to help spread Krishna consciousness Mark. After all , it all belongs to Krishna anyway.Hare Krishna

" O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benedictions to the loving beings , and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krishna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies.There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord , out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names ,but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them. " Sri-Sri-Siksastaka

So kind You are My Lord, always there , giving me Your sweet company in Your holy names , anywhere , anytime - always there - my nearest and dearest friend , always by my side.Kindly bless me that I may forever taste the sweetness of Your holy names. Hare Krishna

a few crumbs for me is a feast for my little sparrow sister
Krishna provides for us all , each one their own special needs , all of us equally dear to Him
no shortage of anything in His perfect creation
only a shortage of Krishna consciousness , krishna-prema , love of Krishna
the treasure of Divine Love.
Hare Krishna

So easy to be lost
in worldly affairs
the comings and goings
the ups and downs
the calamities
of this material world -
forgetting that all this
is temporary
all things must pass -
that real existence
eternal existence
is the life of loving and surrendered service
in the company of the ever-youthful Supreme Divine Couple
Sri Sri Radha - Shyamasundara
in Sri Vrindavana -dham
the holy abode
of supreme peace and blissfulness
the holy abode
of absolute joy
the Supreme Abode of Divine Love
filled with the fragrance of lotus flowers
and the sound of Krishna s flute
which makes the peacocks dance.
So let me hear about Vrindavana. Let me not forget Vrindavana. Let me live in Vrindavana. By the grace of Sri Guru. Hare Krishna

When the noise and clutter in my mind subsides
and Your holy name alone presides
then I can see clearly ,
see things as they are
and feel myself safe and sound
under Your protection , my dear Lord Madhusudana ,slayer of the demon of doubt
endearing and sweet Lord of Madhuvana forest .

" As the boys herded the cows , delightful uproars would break out amongst them.In this way all of Madhuvana was showered with the sweet nectar (madhu) of prema , which Sri Krishna and Sri Balarama relished while grazing the cows. " Hare Krishna

Coming in from the cold
so many millions of lifetimes without love
so many jagged days -
now I am beginning to feel the warmth
of Your love all around
inside
outside
soothing
steady
sweet.
Jaya Sri Krishna

From the bank of the river of Divine Love I can only observe.
I am not yet so fortunate as to swim in its waters , carried away by its delightful currents.
But even what I see is attractive - something not of this world
something pure and ever-lasting
something so close to my heart
something so desirable.


O residents of Vraja -dham , beloveds of Radha and Krishna
please take me with you down the River of Love
to the Ocean of Prema. Please take me.Please take me.
Radhe Shyam Radhe Shyam Radhe Shyam
Gold and blue
Your radiant hue
O youthful Divine Couple,
delighting all creation with Your eternal pastimes.

O Sri Sri Radha - Shyamasundara
please attract my mind and heart
to You
please teach me the ways of Divine Love
in Vrindavana
that transcendental beautiful place
full of splendid forests
"....where the peacocks dance to the soft ,deep note of Krishna s flute.."
"...where the clouds burst with divine love
showering tiny drops of rain
like a shower of flowers"
where the governing Deity is Shrimati Radharani
"..whose heart is like a fathomless reservoir that is overflowing with compassion...
whose ears are decorated with jewel-studded stamens of golden lotus flowers...
and whose beautiful feet ,which are adorned by tinkling anklets ,
gleam with red lotuses that blossom in autumn "
Hare Krishna

So here I am on this giant ball spinning through space in this vast universe.For the first time , some 30 years ago, by the grace of Sri Guru , I heard of another universe , Vaikuntha , where all the planets are self- luminous amd where life is eternal. Neither do crime, pollution ,war, famine, corruption or any of the other miseries of this world exist there. How is that possible? Simply because everyone there is madly in love with the Supreme Divine Couple Sri Sri Radha and Krishna and eternally engaged in Their ecstatic loving service. Thats the one and only qualification for becoming a permanent resident there. May we all drown in that ocean of Divine Love , Krishna-prema by the grace of Sri Guru. Jaya Radhe

My real life , my real existence is with Krishna , with Radha and Krishna in that holy abode, Sri Vrindavan -dham. This I have come to believe by the grace of Sri Guru , dearly beloved of Radha. Although Sri Guru walks and talks among us here , he is always in Goloka , that transcendental world . Therefore his sweet descriptions of that place and its residents are first-hand , direct , perfectly authentic and Sri Guru is asking us to join him there . He has descended to this world only for that reason . So this earthly realm is not my true home and the affairs of this world are temporary , unlike life in Vrindavana which is eternal. I will go on day by day trying to follow his instructions , his directions back home , back to Godhead .Praying for humility , come what may I will go on chanting the holy names Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare , Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. The only treasure is Krishna , service to Krishna and love of Krishna. Jaya Radhe

Although it is true to say that each one of us has " to fly our own airplane " as Shrila Prabhupada put it , still , on this great journey back home , back to Godhead, we can do the most loving thing , namely , help one another surrender our souls wholeheartedly to the Supreme Divine Couple , Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in Vrindavana.Hare Krishna

with best wishes
Andrew Freedman - Ananda Vardhana dasa