Welcome Our New Member -

Please everyone extend a warm welcome to our new member, Tapati. She and her family took me in when I was driven off the premises of New Dwaraka back in 1979 and gave me a place to stay until I could afford to live on my own. For that I will always be in her debt.

Welcome, Tapati! I did notice you walking in that other part of town, trying to help out the ragtag bunch of eclectic youth over at the ISKCON speakeasy forum.

Ani DiFranco, eh? I was driving somewhere the other day and they were playing her on a local student radio station. A cover of "This land is your land." Good stuff. Seems fitting too seeing as you gave shelter to Mina-ji:

Thanks so much, but I can't yet reply in that topic.

As for taking him in, it was our great pleasure to have our very own resident Brahmin who even cooked for us! Quite expertly too, I might add.

And Braja, thanks, Ani DiFranco rocks but I like her earlier stuff even better. Her version of "Amazing Grace" is so incredible.

But one of my favorite Ani quotes is:



As for that other forum, yes it's bringing out my snarky, political side. That's fine but it seems like philosophy is of interest to only a few. I've enjoyed reading this board over the weekend. I don't have to agree with anyone's philosophy to get something positive out of it. Jagat pointed me over here and I'm happy he did.

Blessed Be

WELCOME!

As long as we're quoting Ani DiFranco...

Welcome. Would you like some pizza?

Tapati PM'd me the following:


Madhava is away and he's the only one that can make Tapati a full member.

And look, it's already Tapati's birthday. Hang in there, Tapati Devi!!

Dear Tapati,

Merry Meet.



This is so nice. It should be one of the first "shlokas" to be memorized for spiritual aspirants.

BB

Well met

Yes, I ran into that quote--I collect them--and decided during this latest presidential campaign it made a good signature for my emails. I consider it my own antidote to fanatical thinking, since I'm a recovering fundie (KC style).

At the core, each of us is convinced we are right and it's so difficult not to focus on that certainty to the detriment of those we are debating with. I like to remind myself to take a step back and see the human being who can be hurt by my rhetoric. I'm not always successful, alas, but it's a good goal.

I'm glad this is a community that has put some thought into how to encourage us all to be more careful in our posts so that we don't go around flaming everyone to cinders. I agree with the idea that the less anonymous we are and the more we are seen as real people, not just words on a screen, the more likely we are to be considerate. From what I've been reading here it's working. I believe you can have vigorous disagreement and debate and still be respectful of the person you disagree with. I hope I can maintain that standard.

Merry Part and Merry Meet again--

Tapati

PS I read the Buddhists too--then translate into personalist terms in my head. Love the concept of tonglen meditation!

Happy birthday Tapati, you are now a full member.

" Whenever problems come to us from beings or inanimate objects, if our mind gets used to perceiving only the suffering or the negative aspects of them, then even from a small negative incident great mental pain will ensue. For it is the nature of indulgence in any concept, whether suffering or happiness, that the experience of this happiness or suffering will thereby be intensified. As this negative experience gradually becomes stronger, a time will come when most of what appears before us will become the cause of bringing us unhappiness, and happiness will never have a chance to arise. If we do not realize that the fault lies with our own mind's way of gaining experience, and if we blame all our problems on the external conditions alone, then the ceaseless flame of habitual negative deeds such as hatred and suffering will increase in us.
That is called: "All appearances arising in the form of enemies."

Dodrupchen

That is just lovely! And fits right in with what I've been reading in the last few years about cognitive therapy. (I'm a seasonal depressive and learning cognitive therapy has helped immensely with that.) It's not so much what happens to you, but how you think about it that causes the level of unhappiness you feel.

I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes, the beautiful flowers and the sign (my name pops up in the oddest places--Tapatio salsa?) but I can't post there yet. I received a message that I was upgraded but it rejected my attempt to post. So I shall continue to post here until it's worked out as I understand Madhava is not in a position to deal with it just now. A great opportunity to practice patience, a quality I sorely lack.

Thank you! And now I see Rambhoru listed as a new member. I had given her the url of the nice discussion you had about her situation and I hope that helped entice her here. She is in need of some warm and nonjudgmental association right now.

I hope we can make her feel as welcome as you all made me feel.

This has been a wonderful birthday on all levels. One of my best birthday presents was finding Minaketana Prabhu again.

Blessed Be

--Tapati

One of the things that we have tried to promote on this site is the use of the profiles. Most of our "full members" have filled out rather detailed profiles so that it becomes easier to know who we are dealing with.

Can you imagine the situation if you are a beginning violinist and you play a false note. Of course, being young, you don't recognize that you are playing badly. So when an old geezer with frizzy hair says, "Stop that racket!" You take offense and start saying, "What an impolite s-o-b," etc.

Then someone whispers, "Don't you know you're talking to Yitzak Perlman?"

In other words, you had the chance to say, "Then please show me how, Mr. Perlman." But instead, you let your petty ego get in the way.

It's a good idea to check out who you're talking to before you take offense. That's why we have profiles. We want everyone to be polite, but sometimes it is better to breathe deeply before getting irritated with someone else.

Thing about this Krishna conscious movement--It's been around 40 years now. There are actually people out there in their 50's and 60's who have spent most of their lives cultivating the knowledge and the arts of bhakti. Some of them are actually coming visiting and contributing to this site... Very lucky we are.

That is very true. However, Yitzak Perlman should also realize that some of us beginners are going to play a sour note here and there quite often, until our fingers become limber enough to play in a way that really expresses our heart and soul. So I hope Mr. Perlman will forgive whatever irritation my "racket" causes him.

Well, if Mr. Perlman has made progress on any spiritual path then he has developed some modicum of patience, tolerance, and is closer to being "equal in happiness and distress" and so is better equipped to handle our sour notes.

In fact, he can best model those very qualities for us neophytes by his gently but firmly correcting our mistakes. Thus we can learn from his example.

All very true. And I certainly hope our Mr. Perlman will be kind, patient and generous. My point is: Who has more to win or lose? The young violinist who could perhaps benefit from Mr. Perlman's wisdom and experience, or Mr. Perlman, whose feelings of kindness and helpfulness may require a nudge to be activated?

After all, the whole point behind mercy and compassion is that they are "unnecessary" for the performer.

It would be unadvisable for the young violinist to smack anyone over the head with his violin, most especially Yitzak Perlman. However, if he is guilty only of playing a few sour notes, Mr. Perlman should at least try to have some patience.

Mr. Perlman won't lose anything career-wise or technique-wise if he lacks patience, but his fellow violinists may call him "that old grouch" and "sour puss" and other such unfriendly things behind his back. That's not a very happy environment to be in when you are an aging violinist with no friend in the world but your fiddle.

The moral of the story: everyone should be good to each other.

Although of course young, overtly violent violinists try everyone's patience, and should cut that stuff out!

Darling, sometimes a snarl is a test of your tolerance. With patience one day you may see that some models travel swiftly and spit fire and are loved for it.

I L-O-V-E your insight Talasiga.

I love my insight also and I would love to live up to it.

I'm sure that's true, yet coming from a verbally abusive family I hope for the gentle correction that will not reawaken memories of my abuse. I hope someday I can get past that and accept with equanimity the sharp rebuke made for my own good. I'm definitely not there yet!

Since Perlman was cited as an example, I thought I would throw in my own two cents. First of all, he must be admired for his overcoming his crippling disability. On the other hand, he should not just rest on his laurels and expect praise and admiration for his playing when it is obvious to some listeners that he does not really practice as much as he used to, for that is discourteous to his audience who is expecting a quality performance for the price of admission.

People sometimes try to goad me into playing some classical piece on the piano to entertain a small gathering (or maybe a medium sized gathering at a wedding), but I will refrain from doing so when I am out of practice. That is not only to spare them having to suffer through any mistakes I might make, but also out of respect for great composers who labored to create those great compositions.

Oh yes, pizza, my favorite falldown from the platform of heart healthy living!

I love your signature and I was dying to respond to this before I could post here.

I'll take pizza anytime--mundane or devotional. It's worth a heart attack or two.

I am not away! It's just that I am not glued to the screen 24/7...

I'm logging in twice a day or so, though, so I'm definitely around.

Imagine the Carpenters singing for ultimate spiritual benefits.

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

Sing, sing a song
Let the world sing along
Sing of love there could be
Sing for you and for me.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

For you, one with tofu cheese on whole wheat and oat bran crust topped off with fresh veggies and sprouts and a fruit smoothie drink to go along.

So you've too have played around with dividing by zero?

And too, for your heart, besides the letting go of tensions and loving all which you seem to be of the highest practice, go for long walks.

"In the streets and in society I am almost invariably cheap and dissipated, my life is unspeakably mean. ... But alone in the distant woods or fields, in unpretending sprout-lands or pastures tracked by rabbits, even in a bleak and, to most, cheerless day, like this, when a villager would be thinking of his inn, I come to myself, I once more feel myself grandly related, and that cold and solitude are friends of mine. I suppose that this value, in my case, is equivalent to what others get by churchgoing and prayer. I come home to my solitary woodland walk as the homesick go home. I thus dispose of the superfluous and see things as they are, grand and beautiful. I have told many that I walk every day about half the daylight, but I think they do not believe it. I wish to get the Concord, the Massachusetts, the America, out of my head and be sane a part of every day."

- Thoreau's Journal, January 7, 1857

I merged the posts from the other thread into this one, since this is where they were originally supposed to go to begin with.

What's funny is I often notice you are on when I am, late at night in my zone.
It must be day time where you are!

I think Jagat was assuming you have many blissful things to do and might not be so tied to the screen as we are.

I haven' t divided by zero--barely passed algebra, really--but I'll take your word for it!

And that sounds nice but leave off the sprouts. Actually we have some fairly healthy pizza options where I live and I try to have one once a month. I love veggies so that's not a problem.

I normally love to walk, and especially in nature, and for over a year after my surgery I was walking really regularly and doing water aerobics, even. Then I started having a problem with fatigue that they haven' t been able to pin down (arteries were fine, good and clear flow). I was treated for sleep apnea and that helped a bit with drowsiness but not the weak feeling I get where I have to rest. It's not quite like my pre-surgery fatigue, no shortness of breath. I am wondering about blood sugar or blood pressure fluctuations.

As for loving all--that's a work in progress. I can say I wasn't feeling it right away for my ex-landlady who tried to steal our entire deposit! I had to take her to court to get it back. Lovingly, of course.

Now I just kind of feel sorry for her, she's a sad person.