Gentle Power
A disciple wrote of me, “Eyes of a frightened deer,” to which I add teeth from a dentist’s lab, heart of a milking stone underneath the spleen, atma beknownst to him is pure spirit soul and arrives in Vrndavana fog this last day of ’95. Srlla Prabhupada, deliver me all year. You rule me and all of us. I pay my obeisances in cold dirt to you and Vrndavana and your followers blessed…
From Copper To Touchstone
This book is not intended as an overview of the Caitanya-caritamrta, but as a collection of selected readings. I have divided it into four sections: the first four essays cover the first four chapters of the Adi-lila and give a basic, but com prehensive, understanding of Lord Caitanya’s identity. The next section consists of selections from my favorite chapters of the Caitanya-caritamrta and will give us a taste of Srila Prabhupada’s purports. The next section consists of Lord Caitanya’s talks with Ramananda Raya, and the last section consists of a glimpse into the personal nature of ISKGON…
Dear Sky
I write about a hundred and fifty letters a month to devotees and friends around the Krsna consciousness m ovement. But there are so many other things I would like to share in letters that never make it into my regular correspondence. Som e of these things appear in this book.
The letters in the book are not constrained by formality or limited to an exchange that can only take place by sticking on a postage stamp and sealing an envelope. I have written to those to whom I felt inspired to speak at the moment…
Chotas Way
At the edge of a palm tree jungle, in a large open tent, three hundred mice and a few crows sat together to honor Chota dasa on the occasion of his fourth birthday. They had erected a temporary altar with pictures of Srila Prabhupada, Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda, and Radha-Krsna. Chota sat to the left of this altar facing the audience, while a young field mouse stood making a speech…
Can a White Man Be A Haribol
It’s important to me to both write without pretension and to discuss Krsna consciousness. Is it possible to make a pretentious presentation of Krsna consciousness? Sure, if I am trying to show off my learning (a Vallabhacarya’s pride) instead of glorifying Krsna, or if I speak of Krsna without real faith, impersonally, or from way beyond my realization…
Breaking the Silence
See that moon, that book by SDG? I see spots on it, like a rabbit. Yeah, but see the glow? The sincere art? The total—oh well, not total, but the attempt to report the struggle and joy of release from sin by the process of devotional service? Yes, I see it. But where is he at? Is he approved? Yes, gentle reader, I approve it. I am writing for myself—for myself and a ladybug, at which I can gently puff my breath…
Begging for the Nectar
Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name is an account of a three-week period where I concentrated on improving my japa. In a sense, it can be seen as a sequel to Japa Reform Notebook written ten years later. In the earlier book, I took the stance of a teacher of japa; in this book, I feel more like a practicing student. In Begging For the Nectar of the Holy Name, I have had to confess…
A Poor Man Reads. Vol 2
I am writing this preface especially for readers who may come to Volume Two of A Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam without having read the introductory material in Volume One. In Volume One, I described how I was yearning for a long-term Krsna conscious writing project. Krsna sent this project to me in answer to my prayers while visiting Vrndavana in January 1996; it is His mercy and the mercy of Srila Prabhupada…
Given Time
November 1, 1998
Make fun of the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase from a computer- illiterate’s point of view? As if the spiritual master can be caught in a byte. No, no, you’ll just show yourself ignorant and nonspiritual.
A Visit to Jagannath Puri
An overwhelming majority of people see Lord Krsna in a relative way. Even if they acknowledge that Krsna is God, they perceive that there are many versions of God from many different cultures. For most earthlings, their cultural upbringing tells them practically nothing of Sri Krsna. For a preacher raised in the West, speaking to nondevotees, it’s hard to just ignore all this and assume that you are talking to people who accept Krsna as the summum bonum…
