Viz., #013

Jun 07, 2019

From the Editor

Greetings.
Thanks for opening this zine
In this Issue I try to share my best moments, Art, Videos I thought my readers would enjoy and the other kinds of things I would usually post on facebook if I still used it.

Let me know what you'd like to see more of or less of by clicking the feedback button at the bottom of the E-zine.

Muchukunda Das

Events

Every Saturday Street art Jam
RSVP only

Opening of Open Studio / pause gallery and shop

Comic

Art

This piece has a funny story behind it.
I traded a Mac for a piece of art with my friend Mikey and it got stolen before I could give it to him.
I am working on an even wackier one as we speak.

Superhero of the Head and Heart

By Mahavan das

Who is your favourite superhero? Batman? Superman? Spiderman? Or maybe Wonder Woman?

Mine was Batman. I mean Adam West, the original caped crusader from the 1960s. What had captivated me? Was it the Batmobile or the Batcave? Or his utility belt, supplying an endless number of gadgets to save any day? I’m not really sure what it was, but I just couldn’t wait until 5.30 p.m. every day after school for another opportunity to hear, “Quick Robin, to the bat poles!”

What exactly charms us about superheroes? Is it their super powers? Their super outfits? Their super romances? While all these play their part, bhakti wisdom drills deep and suggests that although we struggle and strain as we’re supposed to at school, at our jobs, and in our relationships, society today is unable to meet our core needs for higher awareness, values, and action. These needs underlie our fascination with hero figures. And Hollywood cashes in to fill the gap.

Holy human crisis Batman!

If there was ever a time that real superheroes were needed, it’s now. With mental depression predicted to soon become the number one disease in the First World, monsoon clouds shadowing the economic horizon, and ecologically conscious minds asking “How much of the truth do we tell?” it’s clear a supernatural trump card is well overdue. But looking to yoga knowledge, we find that its wisdom culture promoted and produced the real thing – the genuine hero. In fact, in bygone ages, that was society’s goal. Not to simply create mythological crime fighters who give fleeting inspiration, but rather, to craft a superhero out of every citizen.

Awake in higher consciousness, these heroes see the real injustice beneath the smug face of human progress. They see how a materialistic culture and self-concept, aggravated by advertising, social media, and tech gadgets, robs billions of innocent human beings of their highest potential: the opportunity for freedom from all suffering and the experience of real pleasure.

You see, according to yoga wisdom, we, the nonmaterial self, the actual person within the cosmetic coverings of body and mind, travel through countless species in a cycle of repeated birth and death. During this epic sojourn, we hit three major road blocks to our natural state of uninterrupted enjoyment: distresses arising from our own body and mind, those from other beings, and more from our environment such as natural disasters, or even just too much heat or cold. Constantly pestered by this trio of troubles, substantial peace and happiness are nothing more than a mirage in the desert.

Not until we evolve to the human form, after millions of births and deaths and their complementary anxieties, do we get the opportunity to escape this cycle, through the gift of advanced intelligence. The human body, therefore, along with its exclusive potential for enlightenment, is the greatest asset. Only when society actively encourages and supports the human being’s journey to self-realisation is it doing its job, according to yoga wisdom.

Back to the Batcave

With this clear vision of the extent of human injustice, naturally any soft hearted person want’s to help. But how do we become qualified to be a part of the solution? How do we get ourselves in shape for some crime fighting, bhakti-yoga style? Let’s rip down to the bhakti gym and get ready for action. Historically, the “bhakti gym” is a deserted area of around fifty square miles in North India, called Kurukshetra. Here five thousand years ago, Krishna enlightened his student, Arjuna, with the science of bhakti-yoga, the yoga of pure love.

Following in Arjuna’s footsteps, we pump iron as he did on the battlefield, by hearing from Krishna, the Supreme Source of all energies. Why hear from Krishna? If we hear from the source of all energies, it logically follows that we will then know how to use those energies in a way that best serves all beings. How do we know that Krishna is the Supreme Source? Just follow Krishna’s process of verification, as Arjuna did.

So, did Arjuna get a good workout? Oh yeah. As a military general, obliged to protect his citizens from crime and exploitation, he was faced with the agonising task of fighting with his cherished yet ill-motivated family members as his civic duty. Could there be a greater challenge for the head and heart? But hearing from Krishna strengthened Arjuna’s intellect and purified his motivations, and by the end of his workout he confirmed that he was ready for action:

“My dear Kṛiṣhṇa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by your mercy. I am now ﬁrm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to your instructions.”

Tune in tomorrow - same bat time, same bat channel?

I jumped for joy when Mum bought me a Batman outfit for my seventh birthday. But as I tore off the packaging and donned the silky suit, her voice rang loud and clear, “Now don’t run off the roof trying to fly, thinking you’re Batman.” I would never have done that, of course. If Mum had been watching, she would have known that Batman couldn’t fly. In fact, he didn’t have any superpowers to speak of. His unique combination of credits was a feeling for the downtrodden and smarts that could top any villain.

Similarly, Bhagavad Gita explains that bhakti-yogis, based on their experience of the root causes of distress and true happiness, perfectly combine both the head and heart for the highest purpose— freeing themselves and others from samsara, the cycle of repeated birth and death.

With Batman as the only exception, I could never watch reruns. And if you’ve read this far, maybe you sense there is more to life than modern societies’ repeat episode of work-buy-consume-die. For you and me, Krishna spoke the science of bhakti-yoga in Bhagavad Gita to ignite our maximum human potential. And just as fire burns, Bhagavad Gita reveals that real spiritual life is active. This is why Krishna chose to speak Bhagavad Gita on a battlefield in between two of the largest armies ever assembled. Could we imagine a more action-packed situation?

Action, rooted in the deepest compassion and wisdom, is exactly what Krishna asks from Arjuna, and from us. Such bhakti activism can bring a genuine smile to the face of humanity.

Lust kills

video link

"Love Heart Man" - Interview with Joshua Wotton

Whilst walking the city of Wellington one day I came across an artist known as "Love Heat Man" who was doing a mural on a temporary wall to empower and inspire people. Through talking to him I learned that he also runs a holiday youth group where he tries to do the same thing - empower and inspire young kids with the power of art and self expression and he's been very successful in doing so. Image details: Kodak Portra 400 film Ghuznee Street - Wellington, New Zealand.
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