Better A Thief In Vrindavan Than A Good American.

It's midnight and I haven't slept in two days. I decided to apply to three graduate schools before my trip to India. The good news is that my portfolio is finished and my applications are sent. The bad news is that I haven't chanted for two days.

But soon I will board that glorious flower airplane and far away I will be delivered into the loving arms (or on the loving feet-Vaishnava stylee) of the holy dhama. I pray that I may diligently peel my eyes off this cold computer screen and absorb my everything into the nectarian mellows of Lord Caitanya and His eternal pastimes in Sri Mayapura Dhama. Posts from now on will be few and far between. From mid-November till early March, I will be studying in great detail The Bhagavad Gita, Sri Isopanisad and The Nectar of Instruction, three ancient Sanskrit texts glorified in the Vaishnava tradition as being the essence of all the Vedas and explaining the essence of all religions.

So without further adieu, I say good-bye my friends. I love you all dearly. Winter is coming and it is time for me to retreat, for the real work begins. I'll leave you with some poetry by Radika Prabhu, perhaps one of the most far out women I have ever met. Will we be reunited on the banks of Radha Kunda on a distant, winter morning? "I've heard it said:Knee-deep in the waters of JamnajiYour Palace of pastimes:Pray may I raise the skirts of my unbeliefand attain the Palace of Faith.""I've heard it said:Knee-deep in the waters of JamnajiYour Palace of pastimes:Pray may I raise the skirts of my unbeliefand attain the Palace of Faith."

"I've heard it said:
Knee-deep

in the waters of Jamnaji
Your Palace of pastimes:
Pray may I raise

the skirts of my unbelief
and attain

the Palace of Faith."

- Radhika devi

NYC Burning Man Decompression Party

Last weekend, I went to the NYC Burning Man Decompression Festival. Despite the frigid weather, Krishna Camp was there and holdin' strong, distributing hot plates of kicheree and an array of spiritual refreshments. Devotees from Alachua, DC, and Chicago showed up just for the festivities. The high lite of the party was the rockin' kirtan session, somewhere around midnight would be my best guess.
My artistic contribution was a series of "talking" collages, put together using a handful of newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets, along with a stack of reclaimed cardboard boxes.This art project consumed my entire last week in DC and became my constant meditation. All of the pieces were interactive, featuring such personalities as Run DMC, Rick James, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Statue of Liberty, the Pope, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, a handful of Burmese Buddhist monks, and several cows.
For a couple hours, I sat in the entrance way of the Queens Museum of Art where the indoor portion of the event was held, and laid out 20 collages for people to play with. Tons of folks came over and participated. No doubt, the art bundles were a hit.
As you can see, nothin' but good company and great conversation. If you would like to have your very own "talking" collage in your home, let me know and I'll see what I can do. For more photos of the festival, check out the Krishna Camp website (soon to be posted!). Thanks to all the devotees for another awesome adventure in the transcendental journey back home to Godhead. Till the next one...

229 Flowers

On Friday I said goodbye to my dear friends, Nisha and Radha Sakhi, dropped them off at the airport, then caught an early morning Chinatown express bus to NYC. There I met up with one of my fab girlfriends, Loren, who drove down from Hartford, CT just for me. Loren and I go way back. We met in college and quickly took over the environmental club on campus. Our relationship has had many ups and downs but I can still honestly say that she is one of the sweetest and most magical women in my life.
Loren and I are both fascinated by the plant kingdom and so we decided to check out the NY Botanical Garden in the Bronx. If you have never gone, you must immediately go. There are over 250 acres of gardens, including a giant arboretum featuring the last remaining stand of old-growth forest in NYC.
The featured exhibit is called Kiku- The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum. There I discovered the exquisite beauty of kiku—meticulously cultivated chrysanthemums, a traditional Japanese art "never before seen on this scale outside Japan." The NY Botanical Garden describes this installation as the most elaborate flower show and cultural exhibition ever presented in its 116-year history. It is fascinating how people have dedicated their professional lives to the art of chrysanthemum cultivation and presentation. With mouths gaping open, Loren and I explored in amazement I kept on thinking how this must be a reflection of the preparations and lengths the eternal master gardener and landscape architect, Vrnda devi, must go to in Goloka Vrindavana. The NY Botanical Gardens are a window to the splendor of the spiritual sky.
Luck would have it that there was simultaneously a bonsai exhibit with the foremost master of bonsai in the area giving tours and answering questions. He was wonderful. I immediately fell in love with him when he described how the pruning of bonsai trees must be done so "to leave enough space for the birds to fly through."
This Ginkgo tree here is over 50 years old and perhaps 3-feet tall. The bonsai master explained that like all living beings, we begin to age and dwindle when the body's ability to absorb nutrients is lessened. To maintain the vitality of these trees, once a year the tree is taken from her pot and the roots are delicately trimmed, thus encouraging root tip growth and maintaining maximum nutrient uptake. Perhaps one day I will find a bonsai master with whom I will study with so that I may arrange an array of bonsai forests on outdoor altars for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha Damodara for centuries to come.