How my Krishna devotion began

(This story is dedicated to Mary Anne, who taught me all I know about polishing the Murti…)

There are volumes written on devotion to the Lord. My favorite is the story about Arjuna’s experiences with Krishna as his charioteer during the Maha Bharata. And you can entertain me endlessly if you know stories of Krishna’s life from Shastras and mythology.

My acquaintance with Krishna began at the airport years ago, when his devotees gave me a flower and smiles. (:

I had no clue until George Harrison cleared things up for me.

I began meditating and studying Eastern culture. One of the jobs I had at the ashram was to clean the altar. My favorite project was polishing the murtis, in particular, a large traditional Nataraja bronze Shiva.

It was a project because it required someone strong to lift it for me and because the bronze cleaner was toxic; I polished it outside in the fresh air. I developed a bond with Lord Shiva as I worked.

And then I moved to Southern California and discovered devotional singing and bhakti. I could end the story here, but something miraculous happened (it seemed).

One day, after having been gifted with a Marshall’s Store debit card and beginning to shop, I was stunned by what I thought I spotted at the end of a long aisle. I pushed my cart faster.

It was what I feared, so I started to run, silently praying, “Lord, what have they done to you…” As I reached the shelf, two other ladies almost crashed into me from behind. They’d seen me running and had been chasing me with their carts.

But I wasn’t running for a sale. I was on a mission. A clerk had just unceremoniously laid the Lord down and left him, sideways, on a bottom shelf.

He was too tall to display vertically.

It was the child flute-player, a beautiful almost life-size bronze statue. I wanted to rescue him, stand him up properly.

But my better sense kicked in when I instead asked the two ladies to please help me move him into my cart.

Aum Hari Aum.

Vishnu in his Vishwarupa (Universal form) ~ courtesy of Wikipedia

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More stories from the web on Krishna devotion:

To learn more about devotion today, read this article at the Krishna.com website, which is sponsored by The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. This site is a great resource for everything Krishna:

As Kindred Spirits

by Amala Purana Dasa

As Kindred Spirits (via Krishna.com)

Empty rooms become a churning mass of bodies; dancing feet, flashing eyes, hands striking two-headed mrdanga drums. The pure energy of soul-satisfying vibrations fill your chest as you chant ancient mantras. Magical instruments fill your ears. Rhythms soothe your body. A typical suburban neighborhood transforms into the most beautiful place in creation, where you are eternally youthful, beautiful and full of bliss. Every word is a song and every step is a dance. …more

This About.com article, the Hinduism section, talks about the Beatles helping to make Krishna a household word, and also the work of Swami Prabhupada and the Krishna Consciousness Movement to make Krishna accessible to all:

The Story of Hare Krishna Mantra

The Origin of the Krishna Consciousness Movement

By Subhamoy Das, About.com Guide

If you open up your heart
You will know what I mean
We’ve been polluted so long
But here’s a way for you to get clean
By chanting the names of the Lord and you’ll be free
The Lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and see.
(“Awaiting On You All” – from the Beatles album All Things Must Pass)

The Beatles Made It Famous

In 1969, the Beatles, perhaps the most popular music group of all time, produced a hit single, “The Hare Krishna Mantra”, performed by George Harrison and the devotees of the Radha-Krishna Temple, London. The song soon topped the 10 best-selling record charts throughout UK, Europe, and Asia.  …more

And you may want to see what Wikipedia has right now on Hare Krishna:

Hare Krishna

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see International Society for Krishna Consciousness and Hare Krishna in popular culture.

The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra (“Great Mantra”), is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra which first appears in the  …more

More devotion than this page can hold

There are many more sites devoted to Krishan, these were just a few top picks. I was inspired to post this by a Krishna devotional song I listened to on YouTube.

Enjoy:

Related articles by Meditation Montage

• Lost City of Krishna found rising from the sea
• Bhakti: Engage your mind always in thinking of Me

Related articles by Zemanta

• Seven Great Solo Songs By George Harrison (psychedelichippiemusic.blogspot.com)
• Lesson 3 Hinduism (slideshare.net)