A birthday gift for Benjamin - Shloka from Adi Shankara

[Guest guest]

Namaste ProfVKji,

>Happy Birthday, Ben. Here is an intellectual birthday gift

>to you, because I know you would enjoy a gift (challenge)

>of this kind .

 

A puzzle for my birthday gift? Thank you. To tell the truth, I

would rather eat another piece of cake. But I guess I can have my

cake and eat it too and try to solve a puzzle...

 

By the way, it is Adiji who is ultimately responsible for putting me

in this embarrassing position. Just kidding Adiji! Thanks for the

kind birthday greeting over on your list, and I loved that picture of

Baby Krishna eating the butter. That coincides perfectly with my

love of dairy products ... not to mention sugar. Did Krishna also

have a sweet tooth? Does this mean there is hope for those of us who

sometimes succumb to the senses?

 

>Evam sati : That being so

>satyatA : reality

>vA mRshhAtvaM : or unreality

>bhAti : depends

>bhUyaH alpaka-samaya-vashAt : on the length or shortness of time.

 

OK, as for the puzzle. Well, I can only come up with a rather

conventional Advaitin answer, namely, that the waking and dream

states are equally unreal, because each seems equally real at the

time but only as long as it lasts. They negate each other, so to

speak, through their mutual succession. Therefore, the only true

reality is the witnessing consciousness, which persists identically

throughout all states and hence is beyond the power of time to

anhilate.

 

That seems too easy and conventional for an answer. It must be a

trick question...

 

By the way, I sure hope that moksha is not preconditioned on

mastering Sanskrit! (Great to listen too on CD, though.)

 

Hari Om!

Benjamin

[Guest guest]

-hi benji ( my nickname for you is Conscious Integrity) !

 

Many Happy Returns of the Day!

 

You know me in my own group - I am pretty 'informal' there and i kind

of hang loose and adopt a gypsy like posture ... but in

advaitinggroup , i like to be 'formal because i am surrounded by

scholars and pundits ...

 

I know you are kind of fascinated by Bala Gopala - the image of BABY

KRISHNA with his mouth full of Butter !

 

here is a song to celebrate Krisna stealing the butter ...

 

Maiyya Mori Mein Nahin Makhan Khayo

 

"Oh Dearest Mother, I Haven't Eaten Butter!"

 

by Sura Dasa

 

 

 

(refrain)

 

o maiyya mori, mein nahin makhan khayo

 

Refrain) Oh Dearest Mother! I didn't eat butter!

 

 

 

(1)

 

bhor bhayo gaiyana ke pache

 

(tune) madhubana mohi pathayo

 

In the morning, by your order, I associated with the cows and grazed

Madhubana fields.

 

cara prahara vamsivata bhatakyo

 

sanjha pare ghara ayo

 

(maiyya, mein kab makhan khayo)

 

At four hours later, I was playing the flute and roamed and it became

evening and I came home. When could I have eaten the butter?

 

 

 

(2)

 

mein balaka vahi yan ko choto choto

 

yeh chiko vidhi payo

 

I am so short, and the butter is so high, that how it is possible for

Me to reach such stature?

 

yeh gvala bala sab bair pade hain

 

bar-bas mukha lapatayo

 

These young calf drink milk from their mother cows, and they come and

lick me on my lips.

 

(3)

 

yeh le apani lakuta kambaliya

 

bahu hi naca nacayo

 

 

Here is your stick and kambala again, and use it dance. Now that you

accuse Me wrongly.

 

jiye tere kuch bheda upaj hai

 

tuhe mohe janyo, parayo janyo

 

I now realize a great secret, that you are not My mother. You are My

foster mother.

 

sura dasa tab hasi yasoda

 

le ur kantha lagayo naina nira bhari ayo

 

(te nahin makhan khayo)

 

Sura Dasa, then, sees Mother Yasoda clasping Krsna on her breast and

neck and saYS with teary eyes, "You didn't eat butter!"

 

**********************************************************************

here, in this song, Yasodha , the foster Mother of baby krishna

accuses krishna of stealing 'butter' and then baby krishna comes up

with all sorts of clever excuses ! It is beautiful song and one

should hear it sung by the greatest of bhajan singer, Anup Jalota!

 

In another incident . krishna is playing with other kids and comes

home . Mother YASODHA is told by the gopis that krishna has swallowed

a Lot of sand and when Mother yasodha asks Krishna to open the mouth

she sees " all the three universe'' .... Needless to say, Mother

yasodha knows tht this is no ordinary child but the great Lord

himself!

 

ALL THESE ARE KRISHNA LEELA or pasttimes of Krishna. only a 'rasika'

saint can ebjoy these pristine pasttimes. The Jnanis always want to

know 'why' - THE BHAKTAS do not worry about the 'whys'!

 

Bask in the love of krishna prema madhuri !

 

Let the love of krishna shine on both your cheeks and enjoy your day,

benji!!!!

 

love and blessings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- In advaitin, Benjamin <orion777ben> wrote:

>

> Namaste ProfVKji,

>

> >Happy Birthday, Ben. Here is an intellectual birthday gift

> >to you, because I know you would enjoy a gift (challenge)

> >of this kind .

>

> A puzzle for my birthday gift? Thank you. To tell the truth, I

> would rather eat another piece of cake. But I guess I can have my

> cake and eat it too and try to solve a puzzle...

>

> By the way, it is Adiji who is ultimately responsible for putting

me

> in this embarrassing position. Just kidding Adiji! Thanks for the

> kind birthday greeting over on your list, and I loved that picture

of

> Baby Krishna eating the butter. That coincides perfectly with my

> love of dairy products ... not to mention sugar. Did Krishna also

> have a sweet tooth? Does this mean there is hope for those of us

who

> sometimes succumb to the senses?

>

>

> >Evam sati : That being so

> >satyatA : reality

> >vA mRshhAtvaM : or unreality

> >bhAti : depends

> >bhUyaH alpaka-samaya-vashAt : on the length or shortness of time.

>

> OK, as for the puzzle. Well, I can only come up with a rather

> conventional Advaitin answer, namely, that the waking and dream

> states are equally unreal, because each seems equally real at the

> time but only as long as it lasts. They negate each other, so to

> speak, through their mutual succession. Therefore, the only true

> reality is the witnessing consciousness, which persists identically

> throughout all states and hence is beyond the power of time to

> anhilate.

>

> That seems too easy and conventional for an answer. It must be a

> trick question...

>

> By the way, I sure hope that moksha is not preconditioned on

> mastering Sanskrit! (Great to listen too on CD, though.)

>

> Hari Om!

> Benjamin