My Spiritual Journey

Krsnaji teaches me, God is the Guru. The Guru-disciple/devotee relationship is unknown to many people, it certainly was unknown to me just a short while ago. But here I am, a devotee and student of my KrsnaGuru. Because it is not readily understood, a couple of people have asked,“Why do you need an intermediary to reach God?” Well, the Truth is you don’t. The Guru is not an intermediary (and this is the point that freaks people out). The Guru is the Divine appearing here, to teach the Spiritual aspirant. Each aspirant has their own personal experience with their Divine Guruji. The Spiritual Master reflects the devotee’s own ideal. It would be a disservice for me to attempt to define the indefinable, unfathomable Guru, so I’ll speak here from my own experience. He is my Beloved; He is the Many; He is the One. How does the relationship work? The Divine Guruji engages the divinity within the student, an engagement which I experience as a primal longing. Guruji diligently use

Krsna teaches me to fearlessly move through life. For weeks now, I have been clearing out my home. Through the course of the last 20 years, stacks of boxes and such have filled my life to the point that it has become difficult to know what’s here. The clutter around me is a reflection of the clutter within me. Taking aim at the clutter, the boxes are steadily being removed. The mind clutter is much more difficult to remove and requires Divine intervention. Through the blessing of my Guruji, the cleansing is ongoing. Each day brings new challenges. Thankfully, there is a growing arsenal of knowledge bestowed by KrsnaKnows, as He has countlessly and repeatedly given the same lessons in different formats, so that I might grasp the true understanding. Compared to the time this journey began, there has been a vast clearing of mind stuff. Among the best of lessons is to be fearless. There is nothing on this earth that can change the pure essence of my being. Thus, I am free to be

Krsna teaches it is God’s Will, not mine that moves this life. There have been a few times in my life, whereby, I felt completely abandoned and alone. In those times, it seemed I would perish. And then, there were those times when I felt so completely consumed by those around me, that again, it seemed I would perish. It has only been in these recent years, when becoming aware of the Divine Spirit, that I have felt secure.  Security oddly comes from knowing that nothing, here, is within my control. Destiny is written, the job for which I am here will be done. “Thy Will be done.” One might have a starring role or may just be a prop, but all that exists has a purpose. This life may be just a stepping stone. The part one plays here today, may have come from some past effort or is in support of some unknown future. God's creation is too vast for me to grasp.   Guruji says, ”Just do your job.” I ask, “What is my is my job?” He states, “That which come to

Krsna teaches to take time to express devotion to God, without expectation of returns.   Worldly life is upon us all the time.  Unless you are blessed to be staying in an ashram or are a renunciate, the stress of daily life presses on. Going to work, earning money, taking care of family and friends, house and home, it’s like this for most of us. So where is the time to think of God? When a loved one is ill or there is a particularly important event pending, we may ask God for help, but asking favors is not devotion. Since returning from India , my life has been a bit unsettled and way too busy. The feeling that I can not find time to spend in devotion crept into my mind. But my teacher has always illumined the truth. God is within. Take his name, and dedicate the performance of all duties to Him. There is time in every minute, of every hour, of every day. Thoughts of God do not have to remove me from where I am or what I am doing. Retreating to a sheltered place of

Krsna teaches the root of most material world problems are unfulfilled desires. Contentment can be found in a simple life. Most of us struggle and work hard for money to provide a comfortable life for our family and ourselves. As we reach one level of comfort, we have already started to plan our next level, then our happiness rests in the fulfillment of that desire. Desires are unavoidable; we are always seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching objects. The mind takes the input from the senses and creates many emotionally charged scenarios. Thus, our desire grows when our attachment to those scenarios are formed. We cannot stop our senses from working. The best tool one can use to control desire is the mind. Bereft of the knowledge to harness this tool, one needs a guide, a Guru. By Grace, He or She can teach an individual to be aware of the mind’s process and to be in control of one’s response. Sorting out the experience from the response takes

Krsna teaches me to move ahead on the path. My time in India is winding down. It has been full of ups and downs. Literally, I tripped and fell down on the street in Kolkata during Durga Puja (lol). On the up side, my stay in India has been met with much kindness from everyone I’ve met along the way. Beyond falling, the trip to Kolkata was quite remarkable. My visit to Dakshineswar Kali Temple is among my most treasured memories. There at Dakshineswar, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa experienced many years in worship of the Divine Mother and it is there that He nurtured a Love of God that expanded out from India and across the world. While visiting Dakshineswar, and as Krsna's Devotee  held my hand, I dipped my feet into the holy waters of the Ganga River. Two years ago, I could not have even imagined that I would be in Kolkata. As amazing as it was, the experience was surpassed by the honor of meeting a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna. The man known as Bapp

Krsna teaches: Love and Prayers will carry you forward. Seeking something Greater, has led me to the other side of the earth, but that something has not become visible to me. Maybe I am not meant to peer behind the curtain. Perhaps, it will take more than this lifetime to know. Would it be easier to slip back into the old life? There is comfort in following an ingrained habit, but it doesn’t move me beyond the status quo. How do I find a way forward? A sannyasi is one who renounces their worldly life and material possessions, lives an austere existence without desire or expectation. I am not that. So how shall I live this life? Guru says to find my purpose and do that. Okay, how does one proceed to be in the material world but not attached to it? Bhakti yoga is the yoga of Love and Devotion to God. Is it possible to offer all my doings to God? Can I see God is my husband; God is my children and grandchildren; God is the stranger; God is the good and the bad of this world?

KrsnaKnows teaches me to be a witness of the body. It is difficult to keep tendencies in check. It seems my body has an agenda of its own. I want to be free of its attachments and yet, the stubbornness of my tendencies has anchored me thus far. Tendencies are not just one’s emotions; they lie waiting through out the annamaya kosha (physical sheath), pranamaya kosha (prana sheath), and the manomaya kosha (mind sheath). There is the tendency to speak out, to make judgments, to be lazy, to be competitive, to over indulge in sensuous activity, the list goes on and on. The point is to move oneself from the mode of Tamas guna (laziness), and Rajas guna (passion) to Sattva guna (goodness) and then move past Sattva, too. Tendencies can darken the path and keep one from moving forward. It happened that for two weeks, my emotions and reactions where easily within my control, then a situation arose, and like a storm, my Vasanas (tendencies), fired up. The jailer of my spirit, my body’s

KrsnaKnows teaches me that this journey takes time, "but it will come." In the books about Saints, Sages, their ashrams and temples, time is compressed. Years and years are eloquently contorted into a few hundred of pages. It appears that the devotees, disciples and aspirants are transformed in just a short time. And that is what I want, too. I want the magic wand, tap my head and let me know with certainty, but spirituality is not that. There is nothing I can do to speed this process. It pains me that I cannot experience God. This gift of traveling and staying in India with Krsna is a blessing. This trip has narrowed my questions, but I cannot find solace in the answers. Some days are just harder to bear. In 2016, something happened, but what was that? Intellectually, yes, God is here with me, but I cannot see Him; I cannot feel Him. Pleading from my heart, doesn’t bring a vision of God. Yet, from my reading, it is told that when an aspirant prostrates before God w

Krsna teaches: “Humility is the key word for spiritual growth.” Joining this small group and traveling through South India to learn about the culture, food, temples, Deities, Saints, Sages and religious rituals has been my great pleasure. For all of this I am thankful. My purpose in coming to India was to continue the progression of my spiritual growth at the feet of my Guru, KrsnaKnows. Our travel from Goa was by car and we travelled many miles of rural roads through out South India, ending in the large city of Bangalore. This trip was humbling in so very many ways. Most humbling for me, was the lesson that I am alone. Even when in the company of Holy people, the Oneness that pervades everything is in fact alone. My experience during the temple tours was limited by a language barrier. It prevented me from being an active participant in most conversations and left me sitting quietly while the rest of the group enjoyed a good laugh. Still I tried to be present, but frequentl

During a recent exposition of the Srimad Bhagavatam, KrsnaKnows gave a lesson on reducing the amount of karma we create in this life. He teaches that one should not get involved with other people's bad behavior and to just “be your Good-Self.” “Insulting words one should tolerate and one should never disrespect anyone, nor should one identify with this material body or hold a grudge against whomever.” (Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 12, Chapter 6, v34) Perception and reception of words spoken by others, are wholly at your command. You cannot stop people from speaking poorly to you or about you. Do not get caught up in reacting to another person’s insult or praise. Krsna helps His students to reduce future karma by teaching us to just let it be. Your reaction creates a new karmic loop for you with that person, instead walk away from the situation and just let it be. It may hurt your feelings, but it does not really touch you. Keep yourself focused on God and try not to dwell on th

KrsnaKnows’ teaching: “Know that God is just and all are equal in His eyes.” KrsnaKnows presently conducts a daily weekday satsang, personal one-on-one satsangs, and live Saturday/Sunday satsangs which are recorded. There are years of recorded videos on Youtube and years of writings on the website. He writes on many forums and posts daily across most social media platforms. He receives no compensation and does not sell any classes or products. KrsnaKnows does all of this for all seekers, to fill the need we have to know the Truth about our Self and God. KrsnaKnows’ concentration is on the spiritual and requires a backend to keep the technology side running smoothly. Krsna has modern approach, but His teachings are timeless. On my first trip to India to meet KrisnaKnows, I met a young man at Krsna’s ashram, his name is Chitti Krsna. He sends out the link to join the online satsangs and executes the backend. He is a formally educated Master of Technology; he and a few othe

It was said by MyKrsnaGuru that traveling this path would be difficult and it is – very difficult. There is an inner struggle to keep the mind from running wild, as it machinates responses to situations from the past and to situations which will never actually occur. Likewise, there is a struggle to keep the mind from dragging my faith through the dark cloud of illusion. “Sri Bhagavan said: I consider them to be the best Yogis, who endowed with supreme faith, and ever united through meditation with Me, worship Me with their mind centred on Me.” (The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12, V2) As one who paints and draws, my mind can be centered for hours at a time. My teacher, KrsnaKnows told me last year that the act of painting was a form of meditation for me. Even though the ability to focus is there in me, countless times throughout the day my thoughts take me on a make-believe journey. It starts with a single idea and then the mind jumps around going down many extended paths

Ideals can be pondered, but it is a different story to live those ideals. Knowing about something is not wisdom. Implementing the knowledge at the right time is wisdom. This I know from MyKrsnaGuru. There are many spiritual text to study, the Bible, the Quran, the Torah, the Vedas just to name a few and it is the Bhagavad Gita that was first chosen for my one on one satsangs with KrsnaKnows. About that same time, Krsna launched an afternoon group satsang studying the Bhagavad Gita. The group was formed to accommodate the need of one student and at the request of others. I ask if I could join the group and Guruji said, “of course.” Since then, Krsna has painstakingly conducted a verse by verse exposition each weekday. Here I will describe how I experience the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is a part of the Indian epic Mahabharata, a nd although it is just a small portion ( Eighteen Chapters), with guidance, it reveals all that one needs to conduct themselves in this life