Notes for healing

What the great sages seek in silence, what the mystics trace through the shadows of thought, what the yogī pursues with breath held still and eyes closed upon the void, It's a little cowherd boy. A child with skin the color of rain about to fall, with a peacock feather the wind cannot take from him, who walks barefoot among the cows and knows the name of every one. He is not in the ether, not in abstraction, not an idea, not a principle, not a force. He is someone who receives love, and who returns it in ways the heart cannot finish counting. The great seekers looked for him inward, they crossed oceans of silence to find him, and in the end they found him outside, standing in a green field, Laughing and playing his flute.

There is a very subtle trap we can fall into in any significant relationship in our lives, whether with a partner, a friend, a teacher or disciple, or someone in our family. The trap is called selfishness, and what makes it so difficult to recognize is that it almost never announces itself as such. Most of the time it arrives disguised as "I know what is right," or "this is best for both of us," or "I am doing all of this for you." Today I want to speak about this from my own experience in marriage, because it is the space where I have been able to see it most clearly. But as you read, I invite you to think about all of your significant relationships, because what applies between spouses also applies between devotees, between teacher and disciple, between friends, and between brothers and sisters of blood or of the heart, even in our relationship with Krishna. Neither Erasing Yourself Nor Erasing the Other There is a tension that every deep relationshi...

By H.H. Bir Krishna Das Goswami In my travels I have noticed many devotees suffering from the effects of emotional dependency, or attempting to free themselves from it. I am impelled by my desire and need to help devotees to write about this subject. Emotional dependency can affect GBCs, Presidents, Gurus, brahmacaries, householders, disciples, authorities, preachers, husbands, wives, gurukulis, sannyasis, vanaprasthas, children, women, and just about everyone else. The symptoms of emotional dependency differ from person to person and may include depression, anxiety, anger, backaches, headaches, heartaches, regressive traits, over-dependence, violence, and more. There are two basic categories of persons who are emotionally dependent in our society. One is the dominant authority figure, and the other is the person who is emotionally dependent upon that authority figure. Both types of personalities suffer due to this dynamic. In addition, one may be emotionally dependent upon an in...

By Raveena Emmanuel I always wondered why Srila Prabhupada said we are Krishna's dog. This thought always bothered me — why did he choose a dog? A few days ago, one of my family's oldest friends engaged me in a long conversation. By Krishna's unlimited mercy, I am surrounded by souls who are deeply spiritual across many different faiths. This uncle mentioned the qualities of a dog. He said a dog has up to forty qualities, and that one of the most important is humility. No matter how much you hit your dog, scold them, or are rude to them, they will still wag their tails when they see you. They are so faithful that no matter what it takes, they will always try to defend you from any potential danger. After he left, I reflected on our conversation and found myself wondering: we are not even as good as dogs, and yet we feel so proud of ourselves. I remembered that Srila Prabhupada often asked us to feel like a dog, and my doubt was finally resolved. H.H. Radhanath Swami expla...

By Padmapani das Sometimes it appears very difficult to make advancement in Krishna consciousness and we become impatient. If we expect immediate results and they aren’t forthcoming, we can easily become discouraged. For those of us who are unable to live in a temple (or even near a temple), this is especially true. So what’s the solution? In November of 1969 while speaking in London’s Conway Hall, Srila Prabhupada stated the following: “The process is very simple. Just keep a picture of Lord Caitanya with His associates. Lord Caitanya is in the middle, accompanied by His principal associates—Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara, and Srivasa. One simply has to keep this picture. One can keep it anywhere. It is not that one has to come to us to see this picture. Anyone can have this picture in his home, chant this Hare Krishna mantra, and thus worship Lord Caitanya. That is the simple method. But who will capture this simple method? Those who have good brains. Without much bother, if one simp...

From Back to Godhead In many places in his books Srila Prabhupada describes the wonders of prasadam, food prepared with devotion and offered to Krishna. Prabhupada discusses such merits of prasadam as how it effectively immunizes one against the contamination of the material nature, how it frees one from becoming a ghost after death, and even how it is considered ecstatic nectar from the lips of Lord Krishna. In the Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila, 4.93, purport) Srila Prabhupada writes: The Krishna consciousness movement vigorously approves this practice of preparing food, offering it to the Deity, and distributing it to the general population. This activity should be extended universally to stop sinful eating habits as well as other behavior befitting only demons. A demoniac civilization will never bring peace to the world… . When the people take to eating only prasadam offered to the Deity, all the demons will be turned into Vaishnavas… . It is then and then only that a peaceful...