Krishna and the cows in Costa Rica

Jan.10
A full moon woke me at 4 AM, a good time to get up, and no need for a flashlight to find my way to the temple.
Passing through the banana patch I notice how the leaves of the banana tree look so nice in the moonlight.

The temple is a large screened in porch overlooking a steep hillside.

Monkeys warm up for their morning of howling and are heard in clusters in the distant valleys.
Meanwhile, our group sings Krishna's names, "Ravanantakara Makhana Taskara Gopijana vastra hari" This means Krishna took the life of Ravana, he stole butter as a child and also stole the clothes of the gopis. The next line says that Krishna steals everyone's heart by playing His flute. "Chitta Hari Vamsi Dhari"
Krishna and Balaram stand on the altar with cows and two stones from Govardhan Hill.

The attendees are not only devoted to Krishna and Balaram, they are directly involved in caring for the cows and the land, the same profession held by Lord Krishna and His brother Balaram.

Morning and evening we gather at the temple. Daylight hours are spent tending to the garden, the cows and fruit trees. The day's work is directly related to the worship. Three times a day a meal of milk,rice, beans,corn and vegetables, all grown on the 130 acres of land are offered on the altar.
"PRASADAM !" ,the cook calls from the screened in temple. We make our way up the hill.
The cooks are very creative with the available ingredients.
Yesterday we had dosa (rice and bean pancakes) with coconut chutney and sambar(vegetable bean soup). Every day there's been some kind of surprise, usually full of fresh cream or bits of fried curd, plantains, taro or yucca. The lemons here are particularly nice. The cooks make good use of them. Surabhi, the cow has been giving milk for a year and a half, she still yields well over 2 gallons a day of very rich milk, grazing the steep hills.

 

2012 The Year of the Tongue

December 31, 2011

"How can you practice sattyam (truth), priyam (pleasing speech) and hitam (beneficial speech) when you're dealing with your kids?"
She asked this in a joking tone as we waited in line for prasad. We had to lean close and speak loudly over all the other conversations.
"Catch them doing something right, then show appreciation for their proper behavior.", I suggested, and motioned to a young boy sitting nearby,"You're using your spoon properly and not spilling anything."
"My son is 19"
"Alright, it still works, no matter what age. Catch him doing something right, and show that you've noticed, let him know that you appreciate his coming home on time, or that he's done something that you've asked him to."
"My daughter is 30. She complains that I've only criticized her throughout her life"
"She will be surprised to see the new you. She will ask what has come over you. At that point you may tell her you are trying to improve and that you're very sorry for your dealings in the past."
My new friend looked very thoughtful, no longer joking,"Thank you, I'll try this."

I had been asked to give a brief talk for New Year's Eve. "Something about what you've learned this year and resolutions for the next, whatever seems appropriate to you." Offered Ramachandra.

I chose a verse from Bhagavad Gita describing temperance of speech.
Shri Krishna advises that our speech should not cause distress to others, should be Truthful, Pleasing, Beneficial and one should recite from the Vedas regularly.
Priyam, pleasing speech, is sought after by everyone. If you can give a few kind words to someone, a compliment, or express appreciation, this will be remembered and cherished more than all the gifts received at Christmas. There is no cost, why not take advantage of this? Be open and lavish with praise.  We are trying to develop good habits, these things take skill. Any skill, such as basketball or music, requires practice. You won't be perfect at every shot, but you must keep practicing. Eventually these become part of our nature. The most challenging people to practice on are your close family members, your children, your parents, brothers, sisters, your spouse. These are the most important people in your life, yet we feel that it is alright to vent our anger on them. We must also be kind to ourselves. Your inner dialog should also follow these principals.
Adopting these habits will bring about a change for the better in your life. Why not make 2012 the Year of the Tongue?

Damodar has been married recently. We began a conversation after getting our plates of prasad.
"Shall we sit here? It's a little quieter."
I joined him.
"I really liked your talk", he began, "My wife will be arriving from India soon. At that time my real married life will begin. Do you have any suggestions?"
His parents, had just been honored with an award for their 40 plus years of service to the temple and community of devotees. Samika Rsi, a surgeon, has given medical treatment to devotees free of charge. Their home has always been open as a retreat for ailing devotees or those simply needing a break from busy schedules in the large city temples.
"Just try to be nice." I suggested between spoonfuls,( I was really hungry and the prasad was very good.)
"The first few months with your new wife are foundational, they will set the tone for the rest of your time together."
Damodar looked apprehensive, even fearful.
"Don't worry, it will come naturally, just remember, try to be nice. It takes practice. I fail at it all the time, you can ask my wife. But like any skill, like basketball, the more you practice, the better you get."

After hours of convivial conversations, kirtans in the temple, midnight arrived. A rousing kirtan got everyone to their feet as we greeted 2012.
An idea came to me, "Come out to the lobby with me, I need your help"
A few devotees worked up a way to sing Hare Krishna to the Auld Lang Syne melody.

We sang it through several times to be sure we had it right, then returned to the temple as the final kirtan was wrapping up. Strumming the chords on guitar, not sure how it would go over, we all began. A resounding chorus joined, everyone recognized the tune.

5 AM the next morning, the tune was still in my head as we rushed to Newark Airport to board a flight to Costa Rica.
Our hosts had kindly packed a lunch for us, their son gave us a ride to the airport. I promised to not mention their names  publicly, as they are unable to turn a visitor away without tending to any and all of their needs.

Tonight we arrive in Costa Rica, Happy New Year !

First Day in Costa Rica

"It must be warm out there. That guy's not wearing a shirt."
As our plane taxis down the runway I catch a glance of the man that Narayan has pointed out.
He's wearing a reflective vest and not much more.
"I guess you didn't hear the pilot announce that it's 80 degrees out there."
We stepped down from the plane to the asphalt.
"This is what I remember airports being like when I was a kid, open air, walking across the airstrip to the terminal."
Checking through customs I couldn't help but worry, wondering if our ride was waiting for us.
Our flight had been adjusted, we were arriving 5 hours later than originally planned. We're in a foreign country, it's dark, we don't speak the language and don't even have an address for our destination.

Clearing customs we walk out  to find two devotees smiling and waving.
Audarya Lila is an old friend. We were bramacharis together in the Berkeley temple during the late 70s. He still looks the same.
"I would recognize you in a crowd."
Audarya says the same to me, though I think he's just being polite, he always has been polite.

The 2 hour drive sped by as we caught up on each others history and discussed our destination, Madhuvan.
"The electricity may be hit or miss. One of the batteries was installed backwards, it shorted out some parts of the system. Luckily they were still under warrantee so it's all back together now."

"You've got micro hydro ? How's that working?"
"During the rainy season there's no problem. During the dry season it slows down to a trickle. We've got some solar panels hooked up, but like I said, we've got some battery issues."
"We're in the dry season now?"
"Yes, don't expect to see any rain while you're here."
"What's the rainy season like?"
"It can rain nonstop for two weeks at a time. I haven't been here for that, only heard about it."
"I guess that's a good time for planting trees?"
"Yes, you see these tree lines along the road? They'll drive a stick into the ground for a fence post. Many of them take root and the tree grows around the barb wire."

Turning off the paved road, Audarya Lila announces, "6 more kilometers."
It's a rough dirt road, at times very steep, I see why they've got 4 wheel drive.
"I wouldn't want to try this in my truck. With 2 wheel drive I'd make it half way up, then have to back all the way down for another try. This must be a real mess when you get snow. "
"Yeah, snow would really make a mess out this place."

                                                                            The half moon showed outlines of mountains and farms, the headlights gave glimpses of tropical trees.
"That's Teak."
"The tree with the spines ?"
"Yeah, they grow a lot of it here. I guess they get pretty good money for them."

Arriving at the temple, I saw that teak is the main wood used for construction of the small building. We laid out on the dining floor. "Sorry, that's all we've got available right now. Mangal aroti will be at 5 tomorrow morning, then the monkeys usually start up."
"That's fine, we're glad to be here. We can sleep through anything."
Both temple and dining room are simply screened in porches surrounding a kitchen. A pleasant breeze is blowing through.
5 Hours later, a very loud conch shell blast announces Mangal Arotik. A pleasant kirtan follows, and as promised I'm able to sleep through most of it. Monkeys are in a tree almost directly above us. They make a sound unlike any I've ever heard from monkeys. It resembles a loudly amplified stomach growling. They repeat this sound several times, then get very loud when the kirtan is over. Their chorus is echoed by another group of monkeys across the valley. This is repeated several times, back and forth, sometimes louder than others. I see the branches moving, but don't get a clear view of them.

wikipedia gives a sound sample  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howler_monkey
Howler monkeys are widely considered to be the loudest land animal. According to Guinness Book of World Records, their vocalizations can be heard clearly for 20 miles (32 km). It is hypothesized that the function of howling relates to intergroup spacing and territory protection, as well as possibly mate-guarding.

We woke at 8:30 for a breakfast of watermelon, bananas and rice, all grown on the farm.
"Last October," I announced, "I ate the final watermelon of the season in NC. At that time I had a strong desire to go somewhere that watermelons would still be available. All I could think of is somewhere near the equator with no idea that it would actually happen."

After walking around, Narayan reported that he feels like he's in the Avatar movie.
"What's the name of that planet?", I ask.
"Pandora, and the people are called Na'vi."
"I can see why you feel like that.", as a group of monkeys howl across the valley.

New Jersey en route to Costa Rica

"Would you like to go on a japa walk?"
"Sure, a brisk one. It's pretty cold out"
Nilamani led me on a 6 mile walk down a bike path near his home in New Jersey. Train tracks on one side,
a crumbling concrete wall on the other, at least it was quiet away from the street traffic.

Japa is the practice of chanting a mantra, keeping count on a string of 108 beads. Initiated devotees chant at least 16 times around their beads daily. This practice takes about 2 hours.
The idea is to focus one's mind on the mantra and to still other thoughts. When done properly, this provides access to the personality of Krishna.
But I was a country boy in the city, taking in the sites, watching each train go by, speaking with others on the trail, observing the architecture,
"Coming up behind you!"
I moved to the right.
"Good hearing."commented the cyclist as he pedaled by.
"I don't think he was referring to my japa..."
Nilamani smiled at my statement. He was observing good 'japa etiquette', avoiding the tendency to hold conversations.
"...It would be a surprise to hear a deep voice from the sky, Krishna's voice, saying , 'good hearing'"
That drew a chuckle from Nilamani,"Yes that would be nice", he allowed, then resumed his own focused chanting.
Nilamani is the project manager for the proposed ISKCON temple project in Northern New Jersey. Although  land has been purchased years ago, they are running into problems getting permission to build. The neighbors are opposed to the traffic it will bring, there are environmental agencies that need to be appeased, the latest hurdle is an archeological study to determine if there may be any historical significance to the area. Although the area is surrounded by office buildings, fast food restaurants, parking lots and convenience stores they had all been built before these restrictions came about.
I'm glad that new buildings are put under such scrutiny, assessing their environmental impact, but we sense there are other issues at hand.

Later that day, I met with Devaki Nandan, involved with a similar project in South Jersey. Their difficulties are so similar, that for a while I'm thinking it's the same project being discussed.
"Our lawyer says that if it were a Christian Church there would be no opposition.The neighbors have researched the activities at the other 2 hindu centers in the area which are very busy. There is a very large Hindu population, they draw very large crowds."
"Of course they are busy. Where else are these people to go? Ask these neighbors what church they attend,", I suggested, "What if there were only two of your churches in this entire region? Would they not be crowded? Imagine if your attempt to open another such church were restricted due to the popularity of your group?"
"That's a good argument, we hadn't thought of that.", said Devaki Nandan.
"Not an argument, you don't want to fight with your neighbors. Ideally, they should see you as an asset, something that will benefit them in some way. You won't win this by defeating them."

A full day has been planned for Hare Krishna youth of New Jersey.
It's like a family reunion, old friends are spending Christmas break here, arriving from Boston, Houston, Baltimore, New York City and our local NC boy, my son, Narayan.
Arriving at Nimai's house, Narayan's entrance draws a chorus of, "Narayan! Narayan!", in imitation of the Bollywood version of Narada Muni. At 16, he is the youngest in the group. At 6 foot 5, he's also the tallest, which produces another chorus of comments. A similar greeting is repeated several times as vanloads of kids arrive with loud shouts in greeting, long hugs and animated conversations.
Some of them remember me as the counselor at Krishna Camp, 15 years ago, when we gathered at the Gita Nagari Farm in Pennsylvania for kirtan, sports and storytelling around the campfire. Some of them know Narayan and I from a retreat held in our village two years ago.
Today's activities are somewhat free form; eat and talk.
"Last night we got back pretty late." Chaitanya tells me,"The kirtan in Brooklyn didn't want to end. I was surprised how crowded it was. Anish sang Hare Krishna to Christmas melodies at one point. That went over really well. Silent Night, Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman"
Several agreed, then demonstrated the melodies.
"I can't believe there's been over 2500 views on Anish's youtube video. We just posted it last night."
There is a South Indian video of a song, Kolaveri Di with over 28 million views. Anish sang Hare Krishna to that melody.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb8eAcWi1Rc

  (9000 views currently)
The group relocated to Devaki Nandan's home for dinner and a discussion with  Vinit Chander, the Hindu Chaplain at Princeton University. All adults were asked to leave the room so the kids could speak freely.The subject matter was on the issue of finding your life's companion in an objective, reasonable manner. Vinit  is an initiated devotee and 'one of the gang', yet he is an engaging speaker. From upstairs we heard several bursts of laughter, he certainly held their attention.

Tomorrow, we'll be immersed in kirtan to welcome the new year, then hop on a flight to Costa Rica at 7 the next morning.
I hope 2011 has treated you well.
We are grateful for lessons learned this year.
Mitra

Kirtan Weekend in Florida

Florida- Thursday Nov. 24
"The trees look very thin. Their mother must not be feeding them properly"
"What did Samyu say?"
His mother repeated for all in the van to hear.
After a good laugh, we looked at the trees as we sped by.
In Florida, large stands of pine trees are grown in rows for chipping into pulp for paper.
They quickly grow tall and thin.
A four year old boy has a different way of viewing things.
"You should keep a journal of these things" I advised. "Let him laugh when he is old enough to understand how funny they are"

An hour later we arrive at the Alachua Hare Krishna Community. http://alachuatemple.com/
Over 600 devotee families live in the area. There are several schools, lots of musicians and a beautiful temple. A weekend of Kirtan had been organized, drawing devotees from near and far for the extended weekend. There is no talk of 'Black Friday' shopping, or football games here.
A schedule had been posted showing who would lead the kirtan at which time.
I was given 10 AM Saturday, and requested that the drums be very quiet so we can hear the strings and voices.
"Sure, we can announce that on the website and enforce it for you when you start"
The coordinators are all 'Kids'. Many of them were Samyu's age when I first met them.
These 'Kids' are everywhere, taking on responsibility for everything including raising their own batch of kids. The kitchen is full of them, cooking for hundreds, three times a day.
Jagannatha Puri Dham cooks for the Krishna Lunch Program in Gaineseville University where 600 to 1100 plates are served every day, a tradition since 1971.
http://krishnalunch.com/

Walking the farm road to our guest quarters, I drop in on Dravinaksha who is preparing to cut and press his sugar cane. He's testing his press and I assist by drinking a few glasses of sugar cane juice. We had cut and pressed sorghum a few weeks ago here in NC, so we compared notes. Sugar cane juice is sweeter than sorghum which has a "dark" molasses flavor. "I'll come by tomorrow after my kirtan slot to help with your harvest.", I promised, " It will be nice to get the experience, something to add on my resume."

My son Narayan tells me there is a joke going around,'How many Prabhupada Village kids does it take to screw in a light bulb? Only one, and he won't need a ladder". All kids from our village are well over 6 feet. "It must be something in the water", claims Narayan,"Anyone want some?" as he holds up a water jug, a couple of young ladies take his offer.

The Mayapuris are performing in the kirtan tent. It's difficult to hold a conversation or do anything but take part. Their rhythms are so compelling, the melodies, the flute all combine to draw your mind away from whatever you're doing. The crowd in the tent swells, the internet audience grows. All this is streaming live on the temple website.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dYkdxJtxVs

Madhava is on next. Well known for his meditative yet energetic kirtan style, the tent fills further. Madhava is famous here and around the world. His name has drawn many to this event. I've heard recordings of him, but never seen him in person.
I hear the familiar voice through the speakers and work my way into the tent to get a look and experience the magic first hand.

A sign reads, "Sleeping Children" The floor of a tent is covered with bundles of cloth in the darkness. Samyu is stretched out among them. It's 11 PM, Madhava is still singing and no one wants to leave. He's been slowly, carefully building the tempo, creating a mood of devotion. Some disco lights go on, and everyone cheers. It seems appropriate somehow, rather than distract, it creates a deeper focus on the mantra. Everyone is up, dancing gently to the beat and singing loudly.
Here is a clip from last year;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8nAzlIXOak

Audio clips from last year, this year's are not posted yet.
http://www.alachuakirtan.com/audio

Next day, as promised, I am in the sugar cane field, stripping leaves from the stalk. I am followed by two other devotees with machetes who cut the canes and load them into the trailer. When it's full I return to the kirtan with a liter bottle of cane juice to share.
This is the fourth kirtan festival I've attended this year, all of them inspired and organized by Hare Krishna kids, each one seems to be sweeter than the last, like sugar cane juice.
There are plans for another event in Hillsboro next month.

Driving back to North Carolina, looking at the skinny Florida trees, I wonder what nice things Samyu will bring about in his life.
I wish you a long duration of life to witness it.

July 2011 Bus Tour !

Alachua Florida-

It's the first day of the Summer Youth Tour. My son Narayan is spending the day helping to clean the bus as the group gets to know each other.

Bhakti Marg Swami will be traveling with us for the entire tour. He will direct the drama to be performed by the group. This morning he gave the lecture in the temple, doing charades as he read the commentary on the verse, “... the transcen- (pointed to his teeth, while someone guessed 'dental' ) sound of the Hare ( held up an imaginary flute while some guessed 'Krishna') mantra is …..”

Making Sugar From Grass

Last Sunday we pressed sorghum to make molasses.

Sorghum is very similar to sugar cane.
6 Families in our village are sharing the labor in this project and will divide the bottles of syrup when the job is done. A few friends came from Greensboro, one of them took several photos.
Mathura and Chitra are overseeing the entire operation, the rest of us simply lend a hand with whatever they ask us to do.

 

 

The horses take turns walking the 'sweep' which turns the press, while the kids push the sorghum cane into the slot. A stream of sweet, green juice flows into a bucket below.

At any time you can put a cup to it and take a drink of the most refreshing juice. This is very different from refined sugar. It is full of health giving properties. Rather than make you hyperactive then sleepy as refined sugar will, it acts like a tonic, giving steady energy. Still, you don't want to take too much, as it is very rich.
When the bucket is near full, the horse is stopped and the bucket is poured into the evaporating tray. A fire burns under this all day, boiling away the water to make syrup. This can take 8 to 10 hours and requires constant attention, someone stirring it almost continuously.

The seed heads from the cane are used as grain in many parts of the world. We took some of these grains, cleaned, winnowed and ground them into a course flour. This was toasted in butter over a wood fire to bring out the flavor to make halava. A few cups of the hot boiling syrup from the evaporating tray were ladled onto the hot grains causing them to bubble like a volcano. When it settled and cooled this was served on leaf plates. Many of the participants reported this as the best halava they have ever tasted.

Much of the helpers had to return home as it got dark. While the syrup thickened, the foam that was cleared off became more tasty. Rather than drop it into the feed bucket, we collected it into a cup which was passed around, even though each of us said,"No more after this one".It was difficult to just let it sit there, tasting like a very sophisticated cotton candy.
Some started to get a little silly after so much sugar foam. A visitor suggested we should sing ''My Sweet Lord" while we're doing this. For some reason, that seemed hilarious and we all had a good laugh. "That's the syrup talking", Chitra said.
The purpose of boiling is to get enough of the water out so it will store without fermenting. When the syrup reaches that thickened state it can easily burn and the whole day's work will have been wasted. I wanted to be there to help through that stage.
At around 10 PM, under a single light bulb in the darkness, it was determined that it may have reached that stage. Apparently this is something one can only learn through experience. Mathura and Chitra have helped others in boiling, but this was their first time on their own. There was considerable discussion back and forth,

"I think we should take it off now, look how it's making 'strings' hanging off the spoon."

"Well,I think we should leave it on. There are only a few ;strings', they should be hanging consistently"
It was decided 'better safe than sorry' and I helped Mathura carry the pan off the flames.
Under the single light the syrup was ladled into two 5 gallon pots while Scooby growled at coyotes howling in the distance. Scooby had been licking up every bit of the syrup or foam that fell on the ground. We were wondering how his little body could handle all that sugar, I guess that's what dogs can do.

After the pots were filled, we all scraped what was left and had a taste.
A slice of home made bread had been placed above the coals to toast it.
That was the best toast anyone had ever eaten, shared between the 5 of us, crunchy and drenched in the fresh syrup.

I was able to scrape a cup of syrup from the pan for myself which I carried home in the dark. Wrapped in a buckwheat pancake Monday morning, it brought back memories of the day before, how the seed, sun, soil and rain combined to produce the sorghum plant, how the juice was extracted by horse power then concentrated by fire.
This entire process will be repeated today and Sunday. You may take this as a personal invitation from Mathura or myself. Any help or simply company is appreciated. Kids are always glad to feed the cane into the press or find firewood. Many hands make light work, and also make a fun gathering.