beginnings

[mahak]

 

 

 

Haribol, audaryaites. First we remind all the vaisnava contributors of this forum (reading and writing = hearing and chanting) of the story of little Dhruva, the boy who was jilted from his rightful kingdom. Five-year-old anger caused determination that virtually surpassed the power of the demigods, so much so, that Lord Krsna appeared to him, even though a spiritual quest was not at all intended. The final gist of this wonderful account from Srimad Bhagavatam is that even neophyte devotees (those who are not wise yet, only expressing the other three reasons for seeking higher truth (i.e. inquisitive, miserable, and poverty stricken)) can have visions of the supreme Lord and His associates even though the prerequisite is yet unfulfilled.

 

In the case of lil Dhruva, Lord Krsna granted spiritual vision as an impetus to continue, and this is very common in the beginning stages of a spiritual quest. In fact, the beginning of Bhakti is sometimes better than later stages, because offenses are not evident due to the immaturity of the seeker. So, even though the first stage is called the offensive stage, prior to this beginning, there is a certain purity that makes seasoned practitioners of the yoga system struck with wonder. I have seen this in children often when first exposed to the chanting fun. I see it in my two-year old as she makes considerable effort to go do "keeshna", the expressions of pure joy on her face while looking at the pictures in the Krsna Book. Hardened devotees feel none of this, even entering into the advanced "clearing" stage. The excitement is gone as the routine is somewhat a mechanical "chore" and so many other things are higher placed on the ol priority list.

 

So, I take a time trip to '68, and the hash oil was fully surrounding me, and the pamphlet titled "Answers by Citing the Lord's Version" is on the coffee table. Lord Varaha is on the cover, engaged in battle with the great earth sucker, Hiranyaksa. No words were read, but the divinity of the Boar Incarnation was clearly displayed. The two-dimensional picture became a movie of the battle, and I was in a cold sweat. My thought after the experiance was that the hash oil was produced by the mafia, a little strichnine, a little acid, maybe a drop or two of smack, because my fave hash oil made me stoned, not hallucinating.

 

So, the party was over, the cup of coffee drunk after a restful sleep, and in sobriety, I picked up that book again. Dang if the movie didnt start all over again. Srila Prabhupada captured me with his first American edition of His masterpiece Srimad Bhagavatam.

 

Years later, after joining up with a really wonderful group of devotees, a representative disciple of Srila Prabhupada was leading a wild kirtana, and I was staring in meditation at the forms of Krsna and Arjuna on the great battlefield (the cover of Bhagavad Gita As It Is). Guess what? dang movie again, arrows flying, blood bath of ecstacy. No herbs, no caffein, not even any trace of nicotine, no brewskis.

 

Was this a spiritual experiance or just mundane imagination? Well, in retrospect, I say it was my imagination, but guess what? It is also a spiritual experiance of the highest degree, because Krsna and Arjuna, Like Lord Varaha before, kindly appeared in my imagination as impetus to continue. The cessation of the "movie" was as shocking as the disappearance of the Lord from lil Dhruva's vision. Separation became a concrete idea of this bhakti yoga, that to see His form and then to have it yanked away is the driving force that cannot be taken away under any circumstance.

 

Never told this story for fear of being called a charletan or sahajiya, but now Im old and dont care what Im called unless its late for prasadam. So, allah yall are invited to tell yer weird stories of How Krsna displayed His very Form as an impetus to continue despite discouragement from the university of hard knocks of the loss of purity from the day ye were first affected.

 

After all, imagination in the service of Sri Krsna is the essence of spiritual experiance. Hare Krsna, ys , mahaksadasa

[stonehearted]

I do have a story in the same vein as mahaksha's. It will take me some time to put it together, which I can't do now; I'm in my office with stacks of papers to grade.

 

However, I want to point out that those paperback one-chapter installments of the Second Canto of the Bhagavatam started coming out in 1970. I remember how excited we were at the Honolulu temple. In fact, I think many of us thought the cover for "The Lord in the Heart" was almost as far out as Prabhupada's dust jackets for the original First Canto. (And I still like those even better than the BBT dust jackets.)