Viz., #007

VIZ.,

Art, adventures and inquiries into transcendence

#007 February 2019

Welcome to this issue of VIZ.,

I just found a whole list of emails from people who asked to subscribe to this news letter which got lost in my emails. They were all of you who are receiving this issue as the first one.
If you are one such reader, I welcome you to my Zine.
To those who have been reading since issue #001, Thanks for sticking around!

In this issue you will find a brief presentation of my latest adventures and inquiries into the spiritual dimension of life. I use my own photos and words to prompt your reflection on different ideas and stuff.

I hope you get some kind of value from it. especially if you are reading this in the early hours of the morning!

Love and respect,

Josh/ Muchukunda das

Above: Mawuko pretending to be dead

Play this as the soundtrack to this issue of VIZ.,

Seen at the top of a hill at the landfill in Wellington. This is one of the old buses. They have replaced them with double deckers now. I was thinking that the word 'go' on a bus going nowhere was ironic and thought provoking.

We value the idea of movement and going places but ancient wisdom states that the soul is immoveable. This makes me reflect that while many of us believe we are really going places (or not) we are mistaken, for the soul is eternally situated in the transcendental realm.

The Srimad Bhagavatam sheds a bright light on this relevant topic.
It states that this part of the universe called the brahmanda and our movements within it are but a dream and that after "wondering" for countless "births" we may be fortunate enough to contact a self realized person who can wake us up from our slumber of ignorence and help us enagage in our true identity as servants of the supreme divine Who is One known by countless names like Krsna - The all attractive source of transcendental pleasure!

One more point it makes is that those legs which do not walk on the path of truth are like stumps of tress. In other words they are like this bus who is going nowhere!

Usually this symbol or the word peace brings to mind the stereotype hippy. At best we view it as a nice sentiment. Few talk about it as a real possibility what to speak of an experience lived day to day or moment to moment.

We are actually all looking for nothing more than peace, but who is getting it? Or who's getting lasting peace? Not just a few short break from suffering after the yoga class before you wake up from "sivasana" or when you toke a joint or lay down to rest?

The Bhagavad Gita is the peace manual. It describes that peace is a self manifested condition that comes to those who practice desire management. What a far out concept! Who would think of managing their own desires?
It describes that those who live free from mundane desires like those for lust, greed, fame and possessiveness and who tolerate the influx of such thoughts can alone achieve piece and not those who strive to satisfy such urges.

Just like rivers flowing into an ocean dont make the ocean overflow. Desires and feelings entering the mind of a true yogi dont disturb them but instead flow through like winter and summer. The yogi simply carries on their spiritual activities and activism come hell or high water. Basically they are never capsized by desire because they are up to bigger things. Actually one thing only - Divine Loving Service to The Supreme Person - Krsna!

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Lotuses are a big theme in my art. They represent the ultimate expression of beauty and also a very deep lesson in spiritual life - to shine no matter what. Lotuses happen to grow in mucky waters but are never ever touched by those waters. They are a symbol of resilience and grace.

How we can be lotus like is through the maha mantra, Its a powerful way to stay in spiritual consciousness in the material atmosphere!

We live in an age where nothing is sacred.

A call to Mother Hara,the compassionate aspect of the supreme divine!
This call helps us in achieving the causeless mercy of the supreme father - Creator, Sri Krsna from whom we all emanate but have lost our way due to ignorance and are now suffering the three fold miseries of material existence.

Happiness, goodness, compassion, love, whatever is good which we want to be remembered by has to come from the inside.

We are like trees. For a tree to provide shade and fruits it must be well rooted in the ground.
The roots arent seen but they play the biggest role in what is seen.
Our hearts are not seen but play the biggest role in what is seen.

If we want to be seen as good we have to be good. That means being good even when no one is watching. Putting on a show wont work because our lack of authenticity will show up eventually. Without roots a tree dies. Our mask will be detected.

What do you think?

We think we have the time.
we think we are in control
we are organised
we are on time
we think we can kill time
or we have time to kill
but we do not have time
nor can we kill it
time is destroying us and everything else at every moment.
we have no control whatsoever
the only way to handle time is to engage our senses in eternal activities
sat indriya priti - eternal sense activities will take you beyond the restrictions of time, space and matter onto the platform of the soul and God.
One such eternal sense engagement is to chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra

Apathiesm - the religion of the day.
I do'nt care about anything ism.
this is the largest growing religion of the day.
Just shop.
I wonder who founded this approach to life.
It couldn't of been the media and companies whose ideal world is one where we are sheep who dont have any values getting in the way of mindless consumerism of products we definitely dont need.

No disrespect to this spirit soul who allowed me to photograph.
Just a reflection on the words on her T.

What am I suggesting?
A world where people fully care about everything. Nothing is blaze, everyone is equally important.
The sanskrt phrase Para dukha dukhi describes the mentality of those on the self realized platform: they are pained to see others in pain and feel happy to see others happy.

Bhaktivinoda Thakur is a great saint who lived in this world 500 years ago and he has said "give up your mundane concerns and simply chant the names of the supreme. this will satisfy the soul of you and me. (paraphrased)

Invitation

I boldly invite you to close your computer and do 5 minutes of chanting the maha mantra:

hare krsna hare krsna
krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare

The Hare Krishna maha mantra corrects that imbalance in our priorities. It readjusts our internal dynamics. Sound can do that, therefore, please take this nourishing sound with you and let it expand within the core of your being.

-HH Devamrita swami
(From his article 'Sound Makes up Your Core)

Not up for the challenge yet?
Take it from someone whos been doing it for over 40 years!

**There's also a video of my wife and I singing in the kirtan band

Thank you!

Thanks for reading my zine

Hope this meets you well

Love and respect,

M