Why Is the Sky Blue?

Yesterday afternoon, Lalita and I were walking the baby around Butler. The sky was absolutely beautiful. Lalita turned to me and asked, "Isn't the sky the color of Krishna?"
I foolishly turned to her and replied, "Well, Krishna's body is the complexion of monsoon clouds. I think it's darker than the blue sky."
We continued our walk and went home. I sat down to start reading What Is The Difficulty? by Srutakirti Prabhu. I was amazed at what I read:

"October 4, 1972 ISKCON Los Angeles
One evening, while in his garden, Srila Prabhupada looked at the sky and said; "So, is the sky the color of Krishna?"
"The Krishna Book it says that Krishna is dark bluish like a thundercloud," a disciple answered.
"The sky is the color of Krishna," Srila Prabhupada explained. "It is the light from Krishna's bodily effulgence that makes the sky blue."


This made me realize my neophyte position. Srila Prabhupada revealed to me that just studying the scriptures is only one aspect, but really understanding them is much more important. We can think we know so much but really we never end receiving the knowledge handed down by the disciplic succession.

My Hope

Sometimes out of laziness, I just put up a video or write something from the scriptures really quick to maintain this blog. I feel as if I'm not pushing myself harder with this chance to really open up and express what different realizations I'm going through. This week has been like a dream. So many distractions that seemed to get in the way of hearing, chanting and my service. What happens is these distractions turn into habits. These habits then turn into a dependency. The dependency is based on comfort. We become attached to feeling comfortable and secure. Most of the time, this comfortable feeling makes a spiritually lazy. No longer is there a real need to cry out to the Lord for His mercy. No longer is there a need to pray because everything is going okay. We forget that this world is not our home. We attempt to make everything nice creating an illusion that we'll never die. Hurricanes, earthquakes, wars, crime, and so many other things keep popping up reminding us that our time here is limited. We have this great gift called the human life. This life allows us to seek self realization. Self realization is to know God and to know God is to know our self. We are the eternal servants of God or Krishna, and Krishna is the most beautiful Supreme Personality of Godhead that wants to have an intimate relationship with us more than we want one with Him.
So, in retrospect, I have a lot on my mind and want to bring the good out. I want to focus on what's really important.

"O my Lord, I do not have any love for You, nor am I qualified for discharging devotional service by chanting and hearing. Nor do I possess the mystic power of a Vaisnava, knowledge or pious activities. Nor do I belong to a very high caste family. On the whole, I do not possess anything. Still, O beloved of the gopis, because You bestow Your mercy on the most fallen, I have an unbreakable hope that is constantly in my heart. That hope is always giving me pain."
-Taken from the Bhakti-Rasamrta-Sindhu by Srila Rupa Goswami

Full Moon Tonight

Tonight is a full moon. According to the scriptures the moon gives light which nourishes the vegetation on the planet. The moon is also the deity governing the mind. I thought it would be nice to talk about the moon in the Vedas, but then I watched this and felt it would be more controversial.

What the hell is the spacecraft made out of anyway? Tinfoil?
The scriptures state the moon is a heavenly planet, with lush plants and water. Goes into detail that there are in fact people living there. Also, it states the moon is farther than the sun. Whatever you want to believe, please do not accept anything blindly.

McCain Might Be Worse Than Bush

This man is crazy, just like his supporter Bush. Spread the word.

Lord Narasinghadeva's Appearance Day Ki Jaya!

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Narasinghadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demon-like desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world."
- Spoken by Prahlad Maharaja in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 5, Chapter 18, text 8.



"Unless one is completely freed of all material desires, which are caused by the dense darkness of ignorance, one cannot fully engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Therefore we should always offer our prayers to Lord Narasinghadeva, who killed Hiranyakashipu, the personification of material desire. Hiranya means "gold," and kashipu means "a soft cushion or bed." Materialistic persons always desire to make the body comfortable, and for this they require huge amounts of gold. Thus Hiranyakashipu was the perfect representative of materialistic life. He was therefore a great disturbance to the topmost devotee, Prahlad Maharaj, until Lord Narasinghadeva killed him." -excerpt from Srila Prabhupad's purport on the above verse.

Sorry About the Last Post Here's the Link

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/263

Mirrors Reflect

"Devotee association is not just a matter of being together in the same environment. Actually, some devotees even avoid each other because they do not want to have to look at themselves honestly. Some find it more peaceful to avoid interacting with others. However, we do not just want peace. We want realization, and the unfoldment of realization is not always a peaceful process. It is peaceful to be in ignorance; it is peaceful to be in denial; it is peaceful to avoid dealing with issues by living a cloistered lifestyle, but the real challenge arises when we have to interact with people because it tests our genuine level of realization. Our associates give us the opportunity to look at ourselves in a mirror so that we get a clearer vision of our strengths and weaknesses. This reflection on ourselves allows us to introspect more authentically and evaluate our proficiency as we follow the process of devotional service."

Taken from Bhakti-tirtha Swami's Reflections on Sacred Teachings, Volume Five: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's Sixty-Four Principles For Community.