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Bhajan Kutir — Bhumi-puja and a Blessed Day
30th of January, 2007 - 18:33
As our readers already know, we've been at trying to get the construction work of our bhajan kutir started for a good long while now. The land has now been paid off in total, and we are the blessed future servants of 220 square yards worth of Vraja-bhumi.
Yesterday brought us one step onward towards the attainment of our objective with bhumi-puja and Vaisnava-seva at our land. Monday, Bhaimi Ekadasi, was the day to get the work started. The day was good in every respect – we consulted Venimadhava Sila's Panjika for the best available date... Where do we belong?
28th of January, 2007 - 9:45
From correspondence. Original question slightly re-touched.
"If I have taken diksa from an acharya in Bhakti Siddha Saraswata Matha, and I have a siksa-guru in the ISKCON Revelation Movement, and I also like to hang around with the babas at Radha-kunda – to which one of these do I belong?" Briefly on Initiation
26th of January, 2007 - 2:17
The following are reflections sent to a seeker who asked for the bare bones of the process of getting initiated.
Initiation is a substantial commitment in one's spiritual life, well worth spending all the time you can on reflections and introspection on the how and why of it. The gist of the process is... Synopsis of Raga-marga
19th of January, 2007 - 5:23
These are are some reflections sent to a friend in clarifying the concepts of raga-marga and vidhi-marga:
• There are two distinct paths. • There are identical practices. • There are different stages on the path of raga. Along with thoughts on what we find ourselves following in substance. Why Enthusiasm Withers
15th of January, 2007 - 18:12
An excerpt from a letter to a friend.
Devotees come to Vraja and return, and then find their enthusiasm withering and their old interests rekindled, for two reasons. The first reason is that the inspiration of devotion, and the solidity we have attained in our early phases on the path, is to a large extent a reflection of the spiritual strength of those who have inspired us, and as such is dependent on maintaining a good connection to the source... Chanting: The Magical Herb
10th of January, 2007 - 19:04
1008 Friends
9th of January, 2007 - 18:26
Today's log-in at MySpace had another 18 friend requests queued up. Clearing out the junk and approving the rest, the total count settled at a round figure of 1008.
Now, the value of having 1008 friends? Little do the numbers alone add up to in the end... 
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Where do we belong?
Posted: 28th of January, 2007 - 9:45
From correspondence. Original question has been slightly re-touched.
"If I have taken diksa from an acharya in Bhakti Siddha Saraswata Matha, and I have a siksa-guru in the ISKCON Revelation Movement, and I also like to hang around with the babas at Radha-kunda – to which one of these do I belong? "
This really depends on how belonging is assessed. While I'm certain people will have many flavors of definitions of belonging, I don't really see the essence in labeling oneself as being of this group or that group, as groups and movements they come and they go. Where you are today, there you belong to today, and if you move on to the next place tomorrow, then that's where find yourself at. Wherever you feel a sense of connection and belonging, there you have your place. You are a free spirit: You belong to where your heart belongs to, and there alone do you belong. Beyond that, no-one can lay any claims on you that would have any substantial spiritual bearing. I remember someone coming to me once and asking whether I was a devotee of ISKCON or a devotee of Gaudiya Math. He was rather dumbstruck when I politely explained that we were devotees of Krishna. Cultivate this understanding as the essence of your life, as all other concepts of belonging will yield you nothing but grief in the end. These superficial impositions are nothing but obstacles in bhajana. It would be better to burn all mathas to ashes if that's what it takes for people to get back to the essence of bhakti and rid themselves of the countless upadhis, the phantom identities they are fondly embracing.
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