December 2019 – Damodara Das

Pure Fruit

Snatch the moment of devotion.
Catch it and hold it day and night
as a shield against the invasions
of illusions and false egos
that offer you poisoned apples.
Live inside that moment so it’s
not fleeting but cultivated like
a vigorous orchard of divinity
whose fruit nourishes your soul.

Radha’s Manifestations

As we read about Lord Krishna displaying his pastimes in the village of Vrindaban, we often learn that they are being conducted under the auspices of a goddess named Yoga Maya. She is making it possible for him to accomplish his purposes. Yoga Maya appears first at the time of Krishna’s birth. Later she appears in the form of an elderly lady, Paurnamasi, assisted by Vrinda Devi, the chthonic forest spirit of Vrindaban. In scripture we also read that Krishna’s sister Subhadra is an appearance of Yoga Maya. Narayan Maharaj, in a lecture, stated that Yoga Maya is “a manifestation of Srimati Radhika.” Therefore Radharani, the pleasure potency, the internal spiritual energy and emblem of devotion, manifests herself variously as Yoga Maya, Paurnamasi, and Subhadra – as well as in many other personal forms. She is the feminine aspect of the Godhead. It is said that at the ultimate issue Radha and Krishna are one. In the language of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, they are simultaneously different and not different (bheda-abheda). This is of course a contradiction or a paradox, that is, incomprehensible (acintya). It’s fitting that the nature (tattva) of the ultimate would be beyond our understanding. However it is not beyond our devotion. Love of God is the essence of the philosophy (vada) of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Krishna Consciousness, as presented to the world by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

But if I were forced to choose who comes first, she’d win the prize. Because she is devotion. The outpouring energy of devotion is the primal generative power, the subject that always moves toward an object. Krishna is the Shaktiman, the possessor of energy, but she is the Shakti energy itself. I would then be forced to say that she manifests him out of herself so he can possess her and she can serve him, thus confirming the essential place of surrender in spiritual life. Indeed, the old traditional greeting among devotees in Vrindaban is “Jai Radhe!” – all glory to her.

Dronin’ Home

In the autumn of 1965, a year before I met Srila Prabhupad and started chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, I attended two concerts by the drone-music pioneer La Monte Young. His powerful offerings reinforced my desire to live a spiritual life. Decades later I composed these pieces. They’re influenced by his use of sustained harmonics, plus Asian overtone singing. Not all employ those methods directly, but all do proceed from what Young has called a “drone state of mind.” Much of their intended interest lies in subtle variations of tone. So small speakers, headphones or earbuds may not deliver a satisfying result.

A Blanket of Doves