Karnamrita das:<\/p>\n
Now the Suns of Janmastami
\nand Vyasa puja have gone from
\nour sight and we have to keep
\nthe service attitude, inspiration and remembrance.<\/p>\n
Today is overcast, Grey skies
\nshowering torrents of rain,
\nfor some it’s depressing,
\nthough it is life giving.<\/p>\n
Since I grew up in foggy
\nSan Francisco, I never
\nassociate overcast skies with
\nanything negative or undesirable.<\/p>\n
Though I was depressed growing
\nup due to my painful family situation,
\nunderneath it was a sunny disposition
\nwhich took a loving wife to manifest.<\/p>\n
My childhood sadness, the precursor
\nwhich fostered my dormant spiritual connection,
\nbrought me to search for what was
\nmissing from my life\u2013Krishna.<\/p>\n
On this rainy, windy day I sit
\nin a place I have written in before–
\nthe tire shop, where I have my car worked
\non, while I look out the window, thinking.<\/p>\n
Living in the city
\nseparates us from
\nthe natural order of things
\nand our dependence on the Earth.<\/p>\n
We put our personal enjoyment
\nand convenience above what
\nsustains life
\nand is good for all.<\/p>\n
Basic requirements for life?
\nSun, air, and water come to mind,
\nyet no less important is the Earth
\nwhich roots the life giving plants and trees.<\/p>\n
Tending a garden makes this dependence
\nabundantly clear, seeing practically
\nhow these requirements for living work
\ntogether to sustain our life.<\/p>\n
So many factors
\nhave to combine to
\nproduce a healthy,
\nbountiful crop\u2013<\/p>\n
Ultimately it\u2019s Krishna, the unseen hand
\nbehind nature, and then the fertility of land,
\nsufficient sun and water,
\nand keeping away those hungry bugs<\/p>\n
I am not much of a farmer,
\nfor laziness sake admittedly,
\nthough I greatly dislike having to
\nkill the weeds and bugs.<\/p>\n
A good mulch helps, with
\nhealthy soil and plants,
\ntimely planting and natural sprays
\nto repel, and sometimes kill \u201cpests\u201d.<\/p>\n
Necessity or survival changes everything\u2013
\nwhen we have to live on what we grow,
\nour attitude transforms from
\nwhimsy to dedication.<\/p>\n
If only I could see Bhakti
\nas the earth, water and air of
\nmy life, then I would always
\nchant and serve with intensity.<\/p>\n
Festivals like those past
\nremind us of our urgent
\nneed to remember Krishna
\nin every thing we do.<\/p>\n
Another year to become
\nconvinced that only loving
\nand serving Krishna will give
\nus our hearts fulfillment.<\/p>\n
If we knew this would be
\nour last Janmastami in
\nthis body, what would our
\nmood and attitude be?<\/p>\n
So we can pray and ask
\nfor the prayers of others
\nto keep the spirit of the festivals
\nthroughout our life!<\/p>\n
Life is meant to be a festival
\nor celebration of the glory
\nand wonder of Krishna,
\ngiving thanks for his love,
\nas we endeavor to love him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karnamrita das: Now the Suns of Janmastami and Vyasa puja have gone from our sight and we have to keep the service attitude, inspiration and remembrance. Today is overcast, Grey skies showering torrents of rain, for some it’s depressing, though it is life giving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-karnamrita-dasa","category-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6331\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}