Good Friday weekend = a Good Pillow fight?

So after the VERY tiring but absolutely fun not-so-long Good Friday weekend, I was watching the news and heard this: "This past weekend, Good Friday was not the only thing that was celebrated...". I perked up thinking they were going to showcase the Gaura Purnima celebrations at the temple (you can tell how much this festival consumed us). Instead, they talked about Global Pillow Fight day.

GLOBAL PILLOW FIGHT DAY?!

I day for people to enjoy a good ol' pillow fight. It was such a success that Vancouver was the only city to participate.

To think, that on an auspicious weekend such as that, people on the West coast were preoccupied with whether to use down-filled or polyester fill and which pillow would give the best smack. We as a society have come up with effective ways to waste time. Yippee. Hopefully, this is NOT an indication of where our society is heading.

My long weekend was nothing short than crazy but pure bliss. Nothing beats dancing and sweating to the beat of the thunderous mrdangas screaming "Nitai! Nitai!" on a totally empty stomach. I got to spend 3 wonderful days with the most inspirational and down right hilarious bunch of people (iFOC ;) ) in the world and get the small opportunity to bring smiles and laughs onto others' faces.

If that isn't what life should be like then NOTHING is.

You don't want Me, you want from Me...

A beautiful line I heard from a spiritual preacher speaking of our dealings with the big guy up there, God. How many times a day do we ask that divine being for a raise, to cut loose from our nagging partner, for that 95% 0n that test (since asking 100% would be really selfish) or for true eternal happiness?

Plenty of times throughout each day.

Why ask the car salesperson for the ugliest, cheapest car which will inevitably be the worst car when s/he sells BMW's? Why do we ask Krsna for the most material and temporary things when we can ask Him for what we KNOW is what we need: eternal love.

It is the hardest thing to wrap our tiny brains around. Krsna has what we want but we are satisfied by asking Him for things that will never give us what we want. There has never been a limit on what we can ask Krsna, so why do we subject ourselves to asking for petty items?

We can ask Krsna to give us HIM! How sweet is that!

It is frustrating to see every living being going after their own material gains regardless of the fact that Krsna has promised us eternal happiness. Krsna made the process easy for us when trying to reach Him - chant His holy names - but provided us with one obstacle: our minds. The mind will always try to swing us away from that permanent happiness and push us to pursue temporary pleasures. It is the ultimate test to steer our minds onto that ever-smiling face of Krsna.

Even after saying all of this, I know I am going to Krsna tomorrow to ask Him for that 95%. The mind will never understand.

Still a closet Hare Krsna?

Sometimes, I wonder if Krsna is sitting up there, just laughing at the situations He loves to put us in.

You could say I can be a little reclusive when it comes to expressing myself as a Hare Krsna. I usually conceal the cover of the book I am reading or hide the exotic picture of Lord Narsimha on my japa bag to keep curious eyes away from me on one of the most social events of the day for me - the bus. From a sociological point of view, every type of person steps onto the bus where everyone is pushed - sometimes, literally - to stare and judge each other on the bus. It truly is an interesting phenomena. Regardless of its sociological study merits, it is a place I keep minimal contact with others.

Recently, I started taking my japa bag along with me onto the bus and do my rounds - somewhat effectively. When I take the bus, there isn't much rush and I avoid staring eyes.

However, Krsna loves to challenge.

The bus was PACKED with people and there was this lone seat beside a South Asian woman. I hesitated. Should I continue my round or quickly stash the normal looking bag in my purse? Billions of options ran through my head but finally took it as a challenge from Krsna and decided to continue with my round. I have come to the conclusion that Krsna does NOT like comfort.

The lady beside me, however, thought I was the coolest person to land beside her and kept staring at my moving lips and my japa bag. Back and forth. Back and forth. I was the most peculiar thing she had ever seen. Now, if it was the old me, crabby and such, I would have quickly turned to her and have made some rude comment. Trust me, I was biting my now-devotee tongue. Do I turn to this lady with a smile and tell her the virtues of chanting and the movement? Do I hand her a card with the temple directions like any sane devotee would?

Nope, I sit there hoping she will stop staring at me and continue to chant. I wish I had the courage to turn to this lady and apply the little knowledge I possess. Srila Prabhupada always encouraged this sense of urgency and I let someone continue their journey through this maya-filled world.

However, what I did learn was that Krsna will always push you into such situations that you don't want to be in, that frighten you, that leave you feeling helpless. Our job is to go through it, to persevere but with the trust in and faith that Krsna is standing behind you, to catch you when you fall.

I obviously have trust issues.

The details...

So basically, this is to put my crazy ramblings on paper/electronic paper so that when I am 65, I can laugh at my poor self. I don't think I am much of a writer but I try. Not really trying to accomplish anything just want to spread some KC around.

I'm a Hare Krsna. I don't walk around in strange clothes (not that they are strange), show you books at an airport (though I would like to one day) or anywhere near the caliber of those super awesome devotees in our past.

I'm just trying to get through life as simply and as karma-free as possible and hope others will do the same. We all want to reach that oh-so-perfect destination.

Let's do it together.