I had been reading and listening to
Yoga Vasishtha last night. I shared it with a person on Facebook
called The White Hindu. We have been discussing things like
reincarnation and Sikhism and discrimination. Today she posted what
she thought was a stereotype of a Western Hindu. It was a woman in
matted locks dancing. I couldn't see that as a Hindu but really as a
person of groups in America calling themselves Tribes, like the
American Indians did. I have thought of the Krishna Devotional group
as Hindus and then the memories of Krishna Devotees and Vasishtha.
How they hate Vasishtha. A professor online discusses Vasishtha in
audio. He is an Irish person and was quite congenial and so these
memories of the furious fight the Gaudiya Vaishnavas put up about
Vasishtha was particularly ugly and hurtful to my feelings. I will
come out of it. The Vaishnava Acarya here, Acarya Deva who was one of
Prabhupada's orignal 10 devotees who were given control over all of
the Krishna Temples and dealings visits here. I have heard him talk.
I know the attitude of the Krishna Gurus. I like to think of my own
Guru when they annoy me as I know I do not have to follow them and
they are rude in interrupting my devotion. So, I thought to myself I
will go to the Siddha Yoga website and I will read the virtue but I
was surprised that instead this wonderful song by, is it Shambhavi
Christian (formerly Meg), appeared. What a lovely song. It made my
day. I have her CD, Whatever It Takes and it is a lovely work. I had
been working on a paper on counseling methods and one is called the
Person Centered approach. Also included with Person Centered are
Existential and Gestalt. I turned to Vasishtha for some commentary on
Person Centered theory. D. R. Butler is very fond of Vasishtha and I
receive his lessons (by scholarship - he is giving them free to me).
I tried to find some comment on the Pratyahbhijnahridayam but I could
not find any. I did find some peer reviewed research articles on Carl
Jung and Kundalini Yoga. Discussion of tantra and the chakras went on
in that document. Jung thought the lower chakras were important not
in a sexual Freudian sense, but in his own way. I did not pay much
attention to it. I have been chanting the Kundalini Stavah and so
that's why I thought something of it. I remember being called young
when I chanted Hare Krsna back in the woebegone days of the late
70's. Sometimes I did not know what it meant. I had had a dream, a
strange dream and I woke up and would not chant because I felt the
chanting brought the dream on and I was not too happy with it though
it did have some redeeming features. So, I was young for not chanting
but a dialog had been going on and I did not know if I was young as
in young or if I was young as in Jung or if I was young as in a
5th grade teacher named Fred Young who was very popular in childhood
village but then was occused of child molestation and committed
suicide. I also know that young people are said to be drawn mostly to
the Hare Krsna Movement. Seeing the video and hearing Meg sing gave
me some peace in what was a troubling morning (though it is
afternoon). I am waiting on money and getting very consternated about
it ( a loan stipend from my school where I am studying Psychology
with a concentration on Substance Abuse Counseling). I am out of SNAP
benefits. I am living in a friend's quarters where I have no closet
but he has given me a bed and shelter, use of the stove, refrigerator
and bathing facilities. He has been very helpful. He is a substance
abuse counselor and we met at the Siddha Meditation Center here in
Gainesville, Fl where we live. We have both had this awful cold. I
have been taking medicine which is hard for me to get because I must
rely on charity. There is a charitable health clinic hear associated
with a United Methodist Church. They get me medicine for my various
health issues which include diabetes, high blood pressure, high
cholesterol and acid reflux. Also a bit near sighted. I have gone to
the Krishnas to eat. I had their books and traded them for lunches
which now cost money ($4). They have appeared at homeless helping
places like St. Francis House, the Salvation Army and at this
Methodist Church where medical help is offered to the homeless. Not
sure if they had done that before I arrived. I remember telling them
about my homelessness. There was nothing they could do. They could
not put me up. They did make the deal on the food though. I do enjoy
their nourishment, their Krsna prasada. I have prepared it myself in
the kitchens of the homes where I previously lived. Mostly I lived
with my mom and then after she died by myself. I also made some
Siddha recipes, principally savory cereal and chai. So, feeling so
hurt this morning with all my troubles I was so delighted to remember
this is Birthday Month. I went to a 10 Day Gurumayi Birthday
Intensive in 1992. I have unfortunately never been able to get back
to Shree Muktananda Ashram in N. Y. I do continue with the text
chants. I love the Guru Gita and pray for deliverance from chanting
it and other texts in The Nectar of Chanting. I read and reread
books, too. I am rereading Play of Consciousness and The Ramayana
though I must admit I never thoroughly read the latter at all. I am
enjoying the story of Vishvamitra and Vasishtha (oh, there's a
coincidence) and how Vishvamitra coveted Vasishtha's wish fulfilling
cow. Ah, yes, I also have work that is overdue for school.
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