Museum Pieces

I've been trying to write this blog without any polemics, while it must be clear that I have a point of view. But by simply showing where I've been and where I'm going, something is revealed. No one likes being preached to.

Setting up a shot at Angkor Thom

Bhakti Rakshaka Shridhar dev Goswami

In my past, I was a bit of a fanatic and preached my heartfelt convictions very seriously. I'm sure I lost a lot of friends because of my attitude, but I felt I was in the right and tried to use argument to convince others. In Sanskrit, argument is called "tarka."

In a book that we produced at Guardian of Devotion Press, called Sri Guru and his Grace, my spiritual mentor and guide, B.R. Shridhar once commented on argument. He said as follows:


 "to reach that region is by revealed truth and not by reason (tarkabe pratisthanat). If we apply reason, we shall be nowhere. Among expert arguers, there may always be one more expert--in this way, on and on, no end. Thus, tarka, reason and argument, is inconclusive (apratistha). 

Intellectualism has no standing here, because super-consciousness is beyond our jurisdiction. It cannot be an object of our intellect. By serving, by honoring, by self-giving, by heart-giving, and never otherwise, can we invite that high guest. It is not possible to capture and encage Him by intrigue and conspiracy. Such an attempt will betray Satan in another color."

So I've tried to avoid arguing and debate, which seem to me to be non-productive in real inner truth-seeking. 

Tarka: Argument

I've known a lot of people, however, who seem to take this line exclusively, as if by pushing and arguing we will win something. I know what that is, because I still do it all the time, but I'm trying to purge this from my character. 

Argument and preaching tend to involve us in a kind of "holier than thou," attitude. Self-righteous superiority. Here's an interesting article on self-righteousness and ego: http://www.doyouyoga.com/are-you-yogier-than-thou/

For visual learners, here's a funny video:.How to be Ultra Spiritual

I mention this because, when recently I was asked to speak in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Russia and in Kiev, Ukraine, my first instinct was to preach about Krishna Consciousness. An older wiser teacher took me aside and said,


"Wow. That was brilliant. I feel like I'm back in the 1970s.

 "You preached hell hot and sin black. But don't you think your message would be more effective if you told people that we have something cool and we want to share it, instead of trying to convince everyone that you're right?" He made a good point. Being preached to is no fun. My guru didn't preach so much. When I was with him, I felt that he was someone who had a great treasure.

He didn't argue to us on the meaning of treasure: he would take a jewel from his collection and show it to us. He would tell us how to find the treasure within ourselves, but it was up to us to look.

Sharing treasure

I mention all this because I find that the Hare Krishna People of Russia, specifically at the Vedalife centers in Moscow and Kiev, were serious, nonjudgmental, friendly, and genuine truth-seekers who avoided being sanctimonious.

Vedallife Kiev

 Whether it was listening attentively to a talk on Krishna Consciousness

Temple of Sofia, Kiev

 Visiting interesting cultural places

Nautical Museum in Lahta

 Having a laugh at the Nautical Museum...

Cezanne Still Life, Hermitage Museum Collection

Exploring the Hermitage Museum and looking at art masterpieces....

Moscow Street Kirtan

Or having a raucous street kirtan, the devotees of Russia and Ukraine were mature seekers of truth who knew how to put aside political and sectarian differences and connect with spiritual reality. I admire their joyfulness.

Walking in downtown Moscow with Chintamani, Madhusudana, and friend

Anukrishna at Vedalife

Are we museum pieces?

There's no need for the Krishna Consciousness movement to become a museum piece from the 1970s.  And the enthusiasm and vibrant spirituality of the Russian and Ukrainian devotees I met on my tour to Angkor Wat prove that  the ancient wisdom traditions of India have universal value and can thrive even on foreign soil.

Is this the End?

The call to adventure takes us to faraway places in search of the divine elixir.

Carrying corn to market near Banteay Srea in Cambodia

gods and demons churning ocean of milk for nectar

Our hunt for nectar is quotidian; the gods and demons immortalized on the bas reliefs at Angkor struggled on a higher level, but the quest was the same. They wanted the elixir or immortality.

another depiction with gods headed by brahma on the right

When I asked my old friend Goswami about the importance of this. I couldn't understand why this image is repeated so many times in all the temples I visited in Cambodia. He told me that everyone is looking for the elixir, and that the real amrita or nectar of immortalilty is rasa. Athato rasa jijnasa.

The sanskrit word "rasa" is an interesting word. It means "juice, essence, flavor, sentiment, the  an essential mental state or the dominant emotional theme of a work of art, or the primary feeling that is evoked in a person when they experience a work of art, drama, music or literature."

Radha and Krishna, Rasa Dance, 19th Century Rajasthani Painting

The poet Bharata Muni defined "rasa" in this way in the 2nd Century. Writing in the 15th Century, Rupa Goswami had a different understanding. He actually connected the idea of rasa with the concept of divine love, called, "Bhakti." His point was that there are different relationships with God in divine love.

Rupa Goswami Samadhi Mandir, Vrindavan India

http://www.radiokrishna.com/rkc_archive_new/Books/ENG/The_Nectar_of_Devotion.pdf

He wrote a book about this called Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu which means the "Ocean of rasik elixir that flows from divine love." I liked Goswami's explanation, as I often do.

At the same time, I can see that the churning of the ocean of milk has another theme: struggle. It's not just the nectar. It's also about the struggle for existence between good and evil, between gods and demons, devils and angels, our good side and our bad side. As we engage in the adventure of our own hero's journey, we struggle with different conflicts to discover our own immortality.

On the way to market in Cambodia.

What we learn from experience is not always clear at first glance. I want to think I learned something from exploring far away places. Rene Descartes once observed that the only thing one learns by travel is that one becomes a stranger in his own land.

A photo about a photo of a stranger in a strange land

The ancient empty courtyards of Jayavarman VII at Angkor remind us of the frailty of our own petro-civlization. His rule, a million strong in the valleys of the Tonle Sap, was destroyed by over-exploiting the water systems, over-building canals, over-reaching empire, exploitation. 

Ruins at Angkor Thom, Bayon temple with faces of Jayavarman

What will become of our own civilization? The Khmer lasted about 500 years. We've been going strong on oil since about 200 years now. Is it really possible to run everything at this level, with millions of cars sucking oil? How long can it last? And in the future, when the electricity is gone and there's no internet, what will archeologists make of our shopping malls and airports? Will they wonder at the purpose of all the wires and stainless steel, just as we wonder at their stone temples?

Happy home in Cambodia

In the end, everyone wants to go home. At my journey's end, I was happy to return to my home in Mexico and my loving wife, Aurora. Is this the end of the adventure?

Benito Juarez Airport, Mexico City, home at last.

It's good to be back

Lessons

So, what did I learn on this long and arduous trip? Aside from a sense of ancient civilization as it flourished on the shores of Tonle Sap lake over a thousand years ago? Many mysteries remain.

What magic purpose did these mystic faces have? Were they religious? The faces of the four-headed Brahma? Or something much more mundane--the faces of an egoistic king who presided over the destruction of his own empire?

As a teacher, I think a lot about learning. We don't always learn what we set out to study. I learned that I can push myself a lot harder than I thought. I learned that ego is incredibly difficult to overcome. It's nice to stay in an ashrama and meditate. When I stayed in Chiang Mai Ashrama, I went almost two weeks without getting angry at anyone. A great accomplishment for me. I felt totally at peace. But then again, there was no provocation. When we move in the world, it's much more difficult to stay balanced. Lust, Anger, Greed, Pride, Illusion, Envy. These are very real aspects of daily life. Difficult to overcome. Working together as a team to reach a goal helps diminish some of these bad qualities. I'm deeply indebted to my friend, B.B. Avadhuta, the mysterious Russian Swami for allowing me to participate in the project.

Bhakti Bimal Avadhuta Swami

Naga head guarding entrance to Bayon Gate at Angkor Thom, Cambodia

 Our camera men and assistent director are determined to maintain their anonimity.

Jana Nivas in front of Buddhist Pagodas

Indulekha with cell phone camera, checking camera angles

Andri and Birchandra with steady cam in Rikshaw.

I really enjoy working with young people. They have a different angle of vision, They are passionate, get excited about things and then change their minds, but they are the future. I learned a lot about new technologies from them. I tried to teach them to have more of a sense of humor about their work and not to take things too seriously. Strangely that's what people always tell me: "Don't take it so seriously." Young people taught me to experiment. I experimented with different things on this trip: screenwriting, acting, lecturing in Russia and Ukraine, making TV programs in Thailand and doing voice-over. 

As far as what we learn, it's difficult to process in a day or two. I have been transformed by this journey in ways I can't completely express. I'll write more tomorrow.

What were you doing in Russia and Cambodia?

When I passed customs and immigration in Los Angeles and showed my passport, I was stopped and profiled. "What were you doing in Russia? What were you doing in Cambodia?" the young man in a uniform asked me. I did my best to explain. He sent me to the inspector. Finally I told him, "It's a low-budget film," and he seemed to believe me. Here I am trying to give a more cogent explanation. Let me know if it makes any sense. Thanks to all who helped me. The blog is approaching 5,000 page-views, so I know someone out there is reading. Good luck to all. I plan to wrap it up soon.

Photos from the Shoot

Here's an interesting article on the end of civilization at Angkor from the Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/travel/angkorwat  and more random photos from the Angkor Wat project. Thanks for checking in. 

List of locations for shooting

Ready for jungle action

Angkor Thom, Bayon temple, with Avadhuta Swami

At the river of a thousand lingams. The carvings in the rocks at right are lingams

Another view of Shiva Lingam river. The dark-colored rock at right has carvings of Mahavishnu. We're making an offering of incense.

Sanskrit inscriptions in Khmer-Pali script at Angkor Wat

Buying coconuts

We needed an aerial shot of the rice paddies

Our expert crew with Ananta Dev, Kostya, and Rama Kanta

The pillars of Angkor are carved with Rishis, or wise men, since wise men are the pillars of good society.

Buddhist monks near Angkor

Playing Ukulele on the Tonle Sap lake with Arindam, left, and Avadhuta, right.

In the airport at Siem Reap. Time to say goodbye.

The Devil and the deep blue sea

I'm recuperating from a serious case of jetlag. I'm trying to figure out what it all means , but my brain has been turned to jelly. So mean time, here's an old ukulele tune from George Harrison.

Ekachakra

Here's another video made by my Russian friends. This one is about Ekachakra in Bengal. Ekachakra was the birthplace of Sri Nityananda Prabhu and favorite place of Bhakti Sundar Govinda. That's Bhakti Lalita singing some very nice bhajans.

http://youtu.be/7nqlCtZ9xrk