Hare Krishna!
Today was the auspicious appearance day of Srimati Radharani.
Radharani is the feminine aspect of God. When we say “Hare” it is Her we are calling out to.
One of the high lights was reading chapter 5 of Bhagavad Gita AS IT IS.
Today I promised my mentor and my wife I would distribute books in observance of this special day. I also wanted to paint something for Radharani so I flipped a coin and decided on a spot. The spot I painted today was a spot I had whitewashed almost 3 weeks ago and was surprised no one had touched it.
I get to the wall and freestyle a “Shri Radhe” outline using the heart letters I’ve been experimenting with.
I only have one can of red so I leave semi-circle-shaped holes when filling the letters which I fill with the quarter can of pink in my bag. Then I outline the piece and make a pastel yellow background that hugs the top of the letters. I outline the background with an orange, add shading, highlights and a white line around the entire piece. Then I sign it with “Veda” and write “Radhastami 2023” in the top left hand side of the wall by walking across a pipe.
After getting pics I wanted to paint another one so I resolved to drive no more than 15 minutes up the road in search of another spot. Before I got in my van to leave I gave a booklet on chanting Hare Krishna to a guy sitting on the porch of the house I had parked in front of. His carer came out and I told her I had just painted the bridge by her house so she could go have a look with her client.
On my drive I found a waterfall so I went and chanted some japa there and then went a bit further. I planned to drive 15 minutes so when that time was up I found a driveway to turn around. Before turning around I knocked on the door of the house and invited the home owner to the Ecstatic dance festival next year where I’ll be chanting Hare Krishna and gave her a booklet about chanting.
On the way home I saw a dilapidated bus shelter so I stopped to paint it. I painted “Krsna” in the same style and put a crown on the ‘s’.
After that I went home and got ready for the Radhastami program at the new Whangarei Temple and Community Center. I rode my bike there and saw the guy we met last Sunday while taking my wife clothes shopping for her birthday. We were having ice-cream when a friend came and said hello. She was meeting up with someone and when he arrived he asked if we were Hare Krishna’s. We got talking and it turns out he knows everyone of Sitapati’s English bhajans off by heart. He got a CD from Gokul Lila 20 years ago and has since lost it but sings the songs to himself every day he says. I invite him to come see the film River of Freedom at Event Cinema and chant Hare Krishna with us before the film. When my wife and I got to the cinema and set up our prasad and book table he showed up with a big smile and chanted Hare Krishna with us.
Felicia invited him to Radhastami tonight and we discussed conspiracy and spiritual movements and looked at Dhanesvara’s book Divine Or Demoniac?: Spiritual Movements and the Enemies Within. He’s coming to our Sunday Feast tomorrow night.
Please listen to this Radhastami lecture by Srila Prabhupada:
Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for the next issue where I will share pictures of our Sunday Feast and a recording of the talk by his grace Atmananda. The Bhagavad Gita he will speak on will be 2:69
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