An Evening with Krishna Das

For 2 months I sat on my interview notes with Krishna Das. Sure, the holidays were afoot, my husband and I were traveling, and my daughter was home from college with her bunny, Tony, in tow. It would only have taken me about an hour or two to share my experience with the internationally known kirtan wallah, as he refers to himself.

I could not get into the frame of mind. Maybe it's because there was so much more to share other than "I met with Krishna Das before his concert at Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on 86th Street in N.Y.C. on a Saturday evening in November and this is what he shared..." Perhaps it really was that to frame Krishna Das was tricky business.

Sometime in my early 20's, I heard one or more of his songs before I knew who he was or what he represented. I am admittedly not one to remember musician names. I remember lyrics, evoked emotions, harmony, but rarely during that time in my life could I tell you who sung what song. And to hear music in another language that I had minimal exposure to? Forget it. There was, however, something about him, his Johnny Cash voice. I purchased his CD, Breath of the Heart.

Sometime after I started teaching yoga, the songs on this CD made my class' play list virtually every week. Eventually, I broadened my playlist with his other albums Door of Faith, Heart as Wide as the World, and Kirtan Wallah.  A couple of years after that, I finally started to develop an understanding of what Krishna Das was singing, what kirtan was, and why he was doing what he was doing. 

When we listen to his music, we are not listening to his music. We are overhearing a very personal moment between him and his guru, Maharaji Neem Karoli Baba. We just happen to be invited to hear this private conversation. His level of devotion pours out in each note, which is why, at least for me, his music can drive such longing and love, that I can be reduced to tears in a few minutes flat. 

When I did meet Krishna Das, it was because I believe the timing was finally right. For me, that elusive and yet ever present Maharaji had made himself known in my life. It was a trail of breadcrumbs. Years of yogic study, a glimpse into the dynamic of guru/devotee relationship, an interview with a woman in North Carolina who had Maharaji all over her office and home, and many other serendipitous moments. So, when I met Krishna Das, I was not meeting the man who sang worldwide. I was not meeting the kirtan wallah who chanted sacred Sanskrit mantras. I was meeting a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba who was utterly dedicated to him. And now I truly understood what he meant when he told his audiences time and again that he sings to him.

The stage at the church had already been filling with fellow musicians, instruments and sound equipment. His faithful friend, assistant and fellow musician, Nina, ushered me into the space. Krishna Das greeted me warmly.

I attempted to speak to him in Hindi, "Aap kaise hain?"

KD (as his fans and friends call him) started rolling in Hindi as if it were his native tongue. Embarrassed, I shared I couldn't follow along and my Hindi was limited. He sank back into English humbly, and as quickly as he stepped into Hindi.

I followed him up the steps of the church into the balcony seating area where a film crew from India was interviewing him. The topic was how Indian culture has been embraced by the West. Krishna Das was a perfect candidate as he himself had been drawn to India many years ago. 

Living on a farm in upstate New York with mountain climbers, someone mentioned to KD that they were going to see someone named Ram Dass. They asked him to come along, to which KD declined. However, when they returned looking "joyous," he decided he wanted to see Ram Dass himself. 

By this time, Ram Dass had been to India and was talking about his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, not mentioning his name.

"Baba said not to talk about him, but Ram Dass did all the time," shares KD.

In August of 1970, KD made his way to India where he met Neem Karoli Baba. Two and a half years later, KD returned to the U.S. with a new name (Krishna Das is his spiritual name) and a mission.

"I will sing to you from America,"  he told Maharaji after being questioned on what he would do for his guru. 

However, the music did not come easily. Hearing of Maharaji's death a short time after his return to the states, KD sank into a depression that spanned decades.  Eventually, he was called to come back. 

"One day I was in my room and I was like struck with a lightening bolt."

It was that instance which drew KD out from "the darkness," as he called it and back into the promise he made to Maharaji many years before. He knew that it was music, it was that promise, that would clear his mind. He began to lead chants at the Jivamukti Yoga Center located in N.Y.C. in 1994. Rather quickly, he developed a following. His audience swelled. By 2013, less than 10 years later, he played during the Grammy awards. 

KD became the voice for kirtan in the U.S. It is through kirtan where he channels the conversation between guru and devotee, between the many forms of God and ourselves. While the audience, like my younger self, may not understand what he is saying, KD prods our heart, allowing this urge for something more to come to light. 

"Westerners can hear that call from a distance...but it's a call from within," he says. "It's grace pulling us in."

Krishna Das plays his part in Maharaji's lila allowing himself to be a vessel in which grace can pull us all in. 

For more information on Krishna Das, visit krishnadas.com

Photo credit: krishnadas.com

Travel the World on a Shoestring Budget

Longing to travel? You're not alone. According to the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization), "International tourist arrivals worldwide grew by 4% between January and June 2016 compared to the same period last year."

For many, travel is more than a dream, it's a longing. While reasons for travel vary from wanting to explore the world, meet new people, or unwind, many people who have their eye on an international trip say budget is an obstacle to realizing their dream. With a little creativity, calculated planning, and focusing on must have's, international travel can be readily available to many. Let's take a look at the ultimate way to travel on a budget.

1) Pick a country with a weaker currency than where you live. My husband and I have visited 11 countries in the past 2 years. Some were far less expensive to travel in, while others had us scrambling out quickly. (We still love you Switzerland!) Central America's Belize dollar is currently $2 to $1 U.S. dollar, giving tourists twice the buying power. If you're willing to be even more adventurous, $1 U.S. dollar is equivalent to 152.21 Sri Lankan Rupees. 

2) Buy tickets in advance. If you are looking to score than trip to Central or South America, prices will be most competitive between 1 to 1 1/2 months out. Travelers can find deals on flights to Europe around 4 months out, while Asia's sweet deals are 4-6 months out. 

3) Best Day to Buy. Best Day to Fly. The best days to buy flights are late Tuesdays and Wednesdays. As the week goes on, prices increase with your most expensive options usually appearing on Fridays and Saturdays.

Just like the best day to buy a ticket, travelers will find the best deals when departing and returning on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. While some trends show that Thursdays and Saturdays are also optimal, mid-week is still the best bet. 

4) It's all about the best deal. Sign up for airline and travel site promotions. If you are serious about travel, having these emails plump up your inbox is not an annoyance, it's divine intervention. Aside from relying on eblasts, when you have your location pegged, keep on the look out for which travel site has the best deal. (See above shopping dates.) More times than not travel sites have better deals than the airlines themselves. Here are a few to get you started:

Priceline

Skyscanner

Travelzoo

Airfare Watchdog

5) Trade in the hotel for a hostel. While many countries offer great deals on guesthouses, hostels are where it's at for budget travelers. While a hotel in Frankfurt averages 107.07 Euros a night according to Statista, we stayed a hostel this past Spring for 70 Euros which included free breakfast and dinner. In third world countries, we made a game out of finding hostels for around $10-15 a night (which was very easy). Hostels are a great way to meet other travelers across the world, and provide you with an even more rich experience. 

6) Become a thrifty traveler. Minimize souvenir purchases, set a food budget for eating out each day or cook your own meals. Find out what your destination's public transit options are. When possible, save money by walking reasonable distances. Get a day pass for subways and buses. Other ways to save? Look for low cost or free attractions. Some European museums and art galleries, like the Louvre, have a free visitor day each month. 

Manifest Your Dreams

Let's talk dreams for a minute or two. Sometimes we can convert our dreams into reality quickly and with little effort. Other times, it takes planning and many years. 

My current and upcoming travels may seem like a new found love. I'll tell you what, it's an old love that has finally manifested. 

I was a young mother. A very young mother. While people my age were chasing their dreams and like my husband, traveling, I was raising the most precious daughter. I had no regrets, but I did make myself a promise. It was this- when my daughter was grown, I was going to travel the world. 

For eighteen years I filled that craving with small trips, planning all the while for big, international vacations. I compiled a list of all the places I wanted to see. As time passed, the countries changed, but by hunger did not. 

Last year, my daughter turned eighteen and started an adventure of her own studying in California. With my newfound empty nesting, I found time for deeper, more detailed planning. 

Last year, we went to UAE and India. This month we are going to Belize. In March, we are going back to Canada. In August we head to Italy and Switzerland. Countries that aren't on my agenda are sneaking in and that's just plain exciting! 

It took me eighteen years for my dream to become a reality. I never lost sight of what I planned. 

So, here's the deal. All of us can take a dream, at least one, and one day take that dream and turn it into reality. We are so focused on day to day living and instant gratification that we give up on our dreams so easily. It doesn't have to be that way. 

As we move through a New Moon and start a new year, perhaps it's time to let go of the doubts and start investing in ourselves. 

Dream the dream. Believe in it. Plan for it. Make it happen. It doesn't matter how long it takes. It can happen. You deserve that.

Gratitude for Even the Small

It's 5:30am in California. As I sit here unable to sleep, I am reminded of my night in Abu Dhabi and how after 3 hours of sleep, my internal clock said I slept all night. I'm experiencing the same feeling. 

This year, there is no traditional meal for my family. Sitting in a motel room, there will be no mashed potatoes, no Quorn veggie roast or stuffing. Visiting my daughter in her new home is all I need. I never held a great deal of attachment to holidays anyway. 

This holiday, during this very early morning with very little sleep, has my heart twisting with sadness. I don't know why yet, but I'm sure it has to do with all these feelings and thoughts still pouring through my mind from India. 

This morning I read a post from a Peace Corps volunteer on NPR. When she cried over water, I understood. She spoke for my heart. 

"At first, I cried with happiness when I saw rain after a five-month dry season. It cooled down the savannah and filled the buckets I use to fetch water from the community water spigot. But I also cried real tears when it rained almost every day; I couldn't charge my phone via solar charger, severing my tenuous connection back home for a short while."

I am grateful for so much this year. My list would never be complete. 

-My husband, my daughter, my pups and kitties who make my heart light up with their unconditional love, my mother who teaches me patience, my dear friends. -My dog, Charlie, rolling on the leaves with his tennis ball. 

-Weekly meditation with a monk. 

-Sunday sangha where I am welcomed, fed and join in bhajans regardless of how much time has passed since I was last there. 

-The luxury of choosing what to eat and buy to eat. 

-Clean water. You know what? I had to remind myself last night I could drink the water at this hotel because last time I was at a guest house I could not. How amazing is that! 

-Warmth. Warm clothes, heater, fireplace, you name it. I have a means of being warm where others do not. 

-To have people to love and those who love me back. Two sleepy heads snooze, one to my left and to my right. I'm the luckiest girl alive. 

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/11/26/457261729/peace-corps-volunteer-to-have-turkey-free-but-thankful-thanksgiving

Maybe it Boils Down to Faith and a Choice

I've been trying to figure out what to do with the book I've been writing this past year. The focus is on Bhakti yoga - devotion to God - and how I got to this place. I thought India would seal the story, providing a wealth of stories and insights. It didn't - or so I thought. 

Slowly, very slowly my friends, have I been seeing pieces that might come together. Still I was lost. 

I met with Bhaktimarga Swami and saw Bhante Sujatha and Bhante Soma. A few pieces leaked, but nothing solidified. And then last night a yoga student and friend just said a few words (because I was rambling on and on which I've been doing so much this week to my dismay - not my nature). And those words are now brewing together ideas, thoughts and concepts. 

I am grateful for all my teachers and those we find in unexpected moments. And as for that dear lady, you thank you for helping the stew cook. 

Maybe just maybe part of Bhakti and any spiritual practice is that it's not about these grand magical moments, but about choices. Like the choice to love God even in moments of despair, pain and disaster. Maybe everything boils down to a choice and one of those choices is what many call faith. 

Can it Ever Be Enough?

When I was a child growing up in NYC there was no limit to beggars and homeless people. I don't remember them as aggressive. I was taught like a New Yorker to pass them, to see them like they were less than human. 

This wasn't necessarily by my parents (who I did see give money when they had a few cents to give as we struggled as well), but by example of many. 

My eyes were always fixated on the homeless, the beggars, even if we walked fast by them. I created stories in my mind for these people. How did they get here? Who did they love and who loved them? 

I was accosted by beggars and vendors in India. Having lived in the safe cradle of a small town in PA, I had forgotten this part of the world. I wanted to crawl into a safe place and be pulled away from this. Because while I was in shock from being constantly bombarded with a hard sell and followed endlessly in different places, my heart was breaking each and every time. 

It is in my nurture state to want to save everyone. Save from what? Everything! Save everyone from physical and emotional pain. Save everyone from starvation, war, poverty. Save everyone from life and each other. 

I'm left in a space of confusion after my trip. There was as many beautiful experiences as there were heart wrenching ones. My husband sees those beautiful moments. He sees the kindness of strangers. He sees the beautiful architecture and history that has survived thousands of years. He sees the grace of the villages we drove through. For me, I remember the pain the most. And in that pain, I am trying to understand how my life is inexplicably altered. How do I move forward? What can I do? Because in my present state, there is nothing I could ever do that would be enough. 

It's not that I am questioning my life's purpose but what can I do now to live a life that helps those suffering the most. 

Stealing Time to Write

After my book came out, I had a good number of people ask me if I had any advice on writing a book since they also wanted to. I was kind of stunned since I was either extremely focused or like spaghetti on a wall. What advice could I offer? 

So I gave advice Elizabeth Gilbert offered (which I found myself unconsciously doing already) -write your experiences and inspirations down when they come up. That could be on a scrap piece of paper, a napkin, an index card, anything. Then, when you have time, you can expand upon them or start to put them together. 

Many people also inquired with my schedule how I did it. I can tell you that as I write my second book I've realized that I steal time. 

When I find myself inspired to write -usually when I have a moment to myself - I open a new email on my iPhone and type with my right index finger my thoughts. I'm not skilled like my daughter and she kindly pokes fun at. Then I press send. That's all. 

The work begins when I take all those notes and piece them together. I'm not always able to carve out hours at a time to just sit and write. How many of us do?! It's those 5-10 minutes I can find that I build a new book. 

The only boundaries we have to creativity are the ones we impose upon ourselves. 

What are you inspired to create?