Traveling around the Miami area using mass transit has been an adventure in and of its own. Living in Jupiter I got to know a cab driver who picked me up at the Spring Training Baseball Stadium to drive me to the Tri Rail Station. Most of the time I carried a backpac to keep the cell phone I had on me, japa beads, several books to read, spare cloths, camera and so on. It is great to bide the time on the train leafing through a book. The cell phone allowed me to scroll through the New York Times to check the latest news. I sometimes chanted silent japa also. At the transfer station I got onto the metro rail to Coconut Grove to get to the festivals or to do devotional work.
Prasad was great tonight. Narayani was in the kitchen earlier making the fried bananas. The coliflower with the potatoes cooked in oil hit the spot. The rice had black olives added to it. After washing pots and ladels this morning I went for a walk to get a coffee, and a box of cloves. Once I got back to the temple I was able to chant several rounds of japa next to the tulasi garden. The lock to Govindas, the book store, was caught when Mantra Murti got to the temple. After we got the door to open I noticed Ganga Safari a great book Mahamaya Devi Dasi wrote about traveling with Jaya Pataka. One night we were all explosive over Gaura Purnima in Miami if i place the time right, spring of 2007, tulasi water going all over, scattered flowers or organized chaos.
At arotics I had a good chat with a godbrother about how to improve our sadhana or our meditation. Visal das was speaking about sadhana the previous morning. I managed to chant as loud and as clear as possible to maintain a humble go about it. The kirtan was a gradual progression for me. It had me drifting a little as i thought about how to free the mind from MAYA. I had to go light on the kiratalas at first. Rasesa Goura got me going with his drum again. In the mist of it all we directed our attention to Krishna. Our speaker had the most straight forward insight on the main focus of the Bhagavad Gita. The facets of Arjuna. As he began his lecture chanting JAYA RADHA MADHAVA. What a quiet night on the metro rail. I added tulasi water to the cup of drink ice I got at the bar on the walk to the train. The taste of the tulasi leaf will settle me for the night. Prabhupada das mentioned the Lower East Side of New York in the 60's when he got to know Srila Prabhupada and Allen Ginsberg. I hold on to the lilamrtas I found at Govindas, talkes between Swamiji and Allen Ginsberg are in Satsvarupas notes. Prabhupada das was interested in what I wrote. I gave him a print out of Eight Islands.
I must maintain constant practice to master the art. Sadhana is something I am working on.
Gandharvika gave me a tour of the tulasi garden. One of the trees is what the Buddha once meditated next to. We noticed the flowers buding in a tree growing above the garden. The tulasi plants in the greenhouse need nurturing, perhaps we can root cuttings.
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I enjoyed reading the article. Particularly this line inspires me.
Yes, constant practice is the key.
Thank you
Warm regards
ns