Ekadasi, Gita Jayanti, Harinama, Ki-jaya!

This morning I posted this on Facebook, feeling somewhat frustrated and disillusioned about the level of activity I've been engaged in... after looking through 1,000's of FB friend suggestions and how we gauge who to friend or not, and what and why we post what we do:

"There are so many people, and so many mindsets, so many things to do. What will my actions today accomplish? Try to achieve a mental state of happiness through adjustment of circumstances? The execution of duty is always a source of satisfaction, when done for Krishna. Today is Gita Jayanti, the day the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken. Today will be done for His pleasure: Chant, serve, & surrender my fate to His Destiny."

And here is the result!

"Yes was a good day. Went to the temple, bought 2 Bhagavad-Gita's from Hari Prasad Prabhu, chanted 6 chapters, Divyambara Mataji cooked excellent Ekadasi prasadam for her Gurudeva Krishna-Ksetra Prabhu's Vyasa Puja, (then I ended up taking a nap in the ashrama - a decadant opulence) chanted chapter 7 and then did some sweet kirtan with Ananda Vidya Prabhu and an intimate group of devotees for Sri Sri Radha Murlidhara, then took my little Aindra Harmonium on the subway ride home, serenading NYC.

I just started singing on the 2nd ave platform, and I met a successful documentary producer Gary Krane PhD who felt that political action was the only way to change the world. But he liked the chanting. We talked for a while and I told him about the dual action of spiritual activism and social activism, and how they're both part of the same thing. We were engaged in talking and I missed my stop, so I got off to go back to catch my connecting train.

At the platform a nice lady came and stood nearby and appreciated the chanting.

Once on the train that same documentary guy showed up! He sat next to me and I told him this chanting is our kind of activism :) Change hearts.

I changed trains again and on the next platform was an accordion player, so I played along with him for a while. He appreciated the company. I gave a little donation I had kept in my pocket for just such an occasion.

At the next stop there was an old african-american man with an amazing voice singing "My Girl" by the Temptations, along to an instrumental accompaniment track on a sound system he had.

One nice guy was standing nearby appreciating his singing. Once the train came, we ended up talking on the subway. He was saying that in a different time or circumstance that old man could have been famous.

I said that the measure of our success isn't so much in the appreciation others give us, but in how we are satisfied within ourselves. We each have our own innate gifts and when we're aligned to them, that's our love, our beauty, our satisfaction.

We got to talking and I asked if he knew about Krishna, he said yes and mentioned the Bhagavad-Gita. I told him I had an extra one, and he gratefully received it.

After getting off the last train a nice guy who got off at the same stop as me, was appreciating the chanting. I was telling him how the opportunity to give is itself a gift.

We started up the stairs and there was a man trying to take an office chair up, but it was falling apart, so we each lent a hand and carried it up for him. The opportunity was serendipitous.

He spoke with me for a bit and I invited him to kirtan at the temple and the Bhakti Cafe.

Just another transcendental day in the service of Krishna! any day could be like this, by just allowing Krishna to permeate our lives.

Indradyumna Swami said in his Diary of a Traveling Monk, that NYC is the Harinama capital of the world. You can tell how well cooked a pot of rice is by sampling a few grains.

So judging by the few exchanges I had today, the people of this city are quite open for receiving the great gift of the Hare Krishna maha mantra, which by giving gives us the greatest satisfaction.