Hare Krishna and SRF in beautiful Kaua'i

This facebook notes, written on August 21, is transmigrated here because I don't know how much longer I want to reside in facebook. Too bad I don't know yet how to post photos here.


~The man who has no inner life is the slave of his surroundings~Henri Frederic Amiel


Although I got back from Hawai’ian islands (Maui, Oahu and Kaua’i) on the weekend, my body is still on Hawai’ian time, going to bed at 6:00 or 5:00am. Today is the first day I feel like myself again. This afternoon, after many hours of sleep, I went to the Beaches, reading and practising Yoga near the water, amidst the cries of seagulls and delightful children.

In June, I read The Man Woman Dilemma – Relationship Truths for Troubled Times (Kali Yuga) by Justice and Faith Collier (Yogamaya devi dasi ACBSP). On receipt of this book, I read it cover to cover, amazed by the message. It felt as though I had written the book myself. Being born and raised in the “old country”, although I function well here, I am often bewildered at how most people relate casually to each other, especially the man-woman interactions. Where I come from, there are guidelines and our words are prayers!

Raised by parents of mixed ethnic, religious and social backgrounds—in Bali, where people are predominantly Hindu—I learnt about tolerance at a very early age. My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary 10 days ago and are as romantic as ever, still holding hands, calling each other sweet nothing, etc. Theirs clearly is a union of two strong equals. My ideal for a Divine Couple relationship has been deeply ingrained in me since childhood.

I have my share of relationships, lessons I created to make me wiser and more conscious of what is real, which is the Self, not ego or the false self with its many heads: fears of engulfment or abandonment, doubts, criticisms, judgments, etc. As you and I know, relationship is earth school’s most intense lessons, where we are partnered with the one/s who has the exact gifts for our mutual healing and spiritual growth. Hopefully, we remember to always look within, instead of blaming others for how we feel and that we are mirrors for each other to reflect on. If we don't like our reflection in the mirror, remember to fix ourselves instead of breaking the mirror.

Along with the book The Man Woman Dilemma, I was also reading 2 other books: Take Me to Truth – Undoing the Ego by Nouk Sanchez and Tomas Vieira, based on the principles of A Course in Miracles “scribed” (message from another realm) by psychologists Helen Schucman and William Thetford. Justice and Faith used to teach this course at a Retreat Centre. Take Me to Truth, called a “revelation” by Gary R. Renard author of The Disappearance of the Universe, offers a powerful 6-stage guide to ego-release. It maintains that we cannot realize enlightenment while we still cling to our ego.

In Embracing the Beloved, by Stephen and Ondrea Levine talk about how relationship is Yoga or life dharma, and not to be taken lightly. The Levines regards their relationship as their most significant spiritual commitment, a path to God, mixing their life experiences with philosophy and meditations.

In The Man Woman Dilemma, Justice and Faith talk about how Divine Couple relationship is based on God’s laws (in so many words). As this book seems to embody the belief I have about relationship, I wrote to ask them a few clarification questions. They told me that the content of the book was downloaded to them, shruti style, from the “other realm”. They were asked to surrender to the eternal laws of Creator-God’s.

Similarly, one night about half a year ago, when chanting alone in the wee hour of the night, I received the same message: to surrender fully to the eternal Divine Couple, Radha-Krishna. When I complied, everything magically shifted. However, love and ego cannot co-exist.

The Man Woman Dilemma is divided into Counsel for Man and Counsel for Woman, providing guidance for relationship problems, from Dealing with Exes (I kid you not :), Trespassers, Defining Relationships, Fiery Explosions to The Unnecessary Battle between the Sexes, etc.

On return from Bali last year, I made a conscious decision to prepare myself and my environment to make room for a spiritual partnership (not dating, as that word does not exist in my vocabulary). I began with changing my computer’s wallpaper with a beautiful picture of Radha-Krishna, glorifying their names in my signature line, intensifying my sadhana, as well as cleansing myself mentally, emotionally, physically, energetic and psycho-spiritually. I cleared my place and my schedule, and brought closures to all unfinished businesses. If you know me well, you know that I live my life reverently. And so the story goes.

Intrigued, I started to correspond with Justice and Faith. When they asked me to send them a couple of photos, I did. Faith’s reaction was, “You sound wonderful and godly, and are SO filled with Light.” I had a good giggle, for I know that I do not shine like a beacon or a star, and I am no god or goddess for that matter, either. We are however made in the image and likeness of God. Actually, I have heard the same comments made before by fellow light workers, teachers and elders.

I am convinced that their comments have nothing to do with "me", but referring to the light of Purusa, that eternal light of pure consciousness which is present in all of us, without which, any knowledge would be in the dense darkness and hidden behind layers of the veils of maya or illusion (ego, false-self). I know that Faith was initiated in Hare Krishna by the late Srila Prabhupada himself and I was very curious about her openness, kind words and her ability to sense energetically. I thought it was just a matter of gender-specific ability.

As I was supposed to go camping anyway last weekend, I decided to do so in Kaua’i island county, Hawai'i, in the company of Justice and Faith Collier. From the moment I set out that intention, everything ran very smoothly. Faith says, “This trip is divinely arranged”, which made me smile as I too believe strongly in Divine guidance.

When I was there, I heard Faith making comments, times and again, on how attuned I was with Creator-God’s plans, how clear I received the message and how trusting/accepting I was towards this guidance. I, on the other hand, was amazed at her level of “seeing” me so clearly, cutting sharply through any illusions in such a short period of time. It was as though she has known me for a long time. Later I found that she also works energetically, which I believe is a more accurate parameter than anything else. Although I also believe in the heart power, the heart is either fueled by love or fear. We feel "good" when we operate out of love and "not good" when we are constantly fearful. In SRF, we are also taught that dhyana or meditation helps clear our frequency from any interference.

Aloha spirit was prevalent in the air as the plane touched down in Maui. I look around and, although I did not know anyone there, everyone looks very familiar to me. After awhile, I realized that they wear similar facial expression with mine, one of smiling countenance. Everyone speaks in sing songy tone, melodious and joyous, which I assume can be found in any tropical islands.

The colours are vibrant, the heat is intense and I melted into the familiar similarity. Faith has previously told me that, while some islands has harsh, dense and coarse vibrations, the Hawai’ian islands’ fine vibration (especially in Kaua’i) is similar to that of Bali, gentle, warm and very loving. I remember sometime ago, one of Doreen Virtue’s ATPs told me that Hawai’ian and Balinese people are star people (?)

Oahu is a “young” city, or rather a city for the young. Troy, Sterling’s son, used to live in this island for many years with Kristel his mom and later on with Erica his girlfriend. Everyone seems to be so young, jet-setting to Europe, the “main land” and other countries in the world. They have the most sophisticated electronic devices, many of which are strange looking and I do not even know the name. I kept on noticing how people are at ease, “locked eyes” with and smile to each other (strangers). Such warmth and genuine openness! There is no stiffness and avoidance of others’ eyes, or is it fear, that we see in big cities. I know that I would thrive here.

Kaua’i has the gentlest vibration of them all. Justice and Faith were still waiting for me at the arrival lounge despite of the last minute delay, typical inter-island flights. Faith put a sea-shell lei around my neck and gave me a kiss and warm hug. My heart skipped a beat when the carousel stopped and I did not see Leny and Paul’s suitcase lent to me for this trip. After waiting for awhile, the wicket opened and I found the suitcase. We drove at sunset on hilly roads, passing by beautiful flower line roads and white beaches to the Mother’s Sanctuary, home of the Divine Couple Ministry. Almost immediately after we arrived, my ears were greeted by the nocturnal sound of cicadas, crickets, frogs and night birds (screeching owls).

Faith prepared a vegetarian rice dish, while Justice picked up some vegetables from their organic garden. They commented on how joyful I was and how there was no trace of tiredness on me, worrying that I might not be able to sleep right away because of the time difference (6 hours behind). I did not tell them that I have just given myself Reiki and done the Self-Authority invocation. Instead, I gave them the gifts of Indonesian beras kencur (rice and ginger-like root) drinks and teh hijau melati Sariwangi (Indonesian green-jasmine tea), and we talked for awhile before they showed me my “home away from home” for the next 9 days.

It was a red Swiss Army tent, spacious enough for a twin mattress (the bed was beautifully made like in a hotel, with layers of sheets, comforters and warm woolen blankets), my suitcase, carry-on, light, etc. I could even stretch inside the tent. Most of all, the tent is under a canopy of a beautiful and mature tree with leaves touching the ground. It was perfect! My heart jumped up with joy. Look at what happened when I listened to my heart and followed my intuition.

I fell asleep right away, getting up very early to the glorious sounds of Kauai roosters and many birds. I inhaled deeply the fresh smell of morning, eyes feasting on the dew covered grass, spacious lawn, beautiful flowers (hibiscus, plumerias, fragrant ginger, etc) and birds, Brazilian cardinals, feeling the warm sunshine on my skin, when I heard Faith’s voice inviting me to have breakfast. She has cooked oatmeal with young coconut and soya milk. The coconut juice was as sweet as that from my parents’ yard. The kitchen is Balinese style, separate from the house. Faith says the minute she saw a Balinese kitchen, she knew that she had to have one for herself. From my Asian style seat, on the ground, I saw the mountain range. This may not be Bali, but this sure feels like heaven on earth!

Faith and Justice briefed me of the program. What I thought would be a healing, spiritual retreat ended up being a 7-day Intensive Course on Divine Couple Principles and Practices. Apparently, they “received” the night before that, although I am not yet “on the other side” of life, I am an experienced and qualified “elder”, which made me giggling yet again. They start every activity with a prayer. This is a familiar territory for me and I love the fact that they always open themselves for guidance and, not surprisingly, they receive. Of late, I notice that I have been doing exactly that in my teaching and coaching. As soon as I move out of the way, the guidance pours directly through me to the recipient.

After breakfast, I walked around the property. Immediately after the entrance, there is a beautiful Balinese-style palapa (gazebo), including the typical woodcarved gables, bamboo slats floor and straw roof. It is facing a man-made pond with running water from the Waikoa falls/river. I made a mental note to use the palapa for my daily Yoga practice. I ended practising everywhere, on a beautiful and quiet beach, or the property's huge ground.

There is an outhouse (a dry porcelain toilet) and an outdoor shower, as well as another closed gazebo where we had “sessions” in the property. There are so many different trees and nobody seem to know some of them, while I only know the names in Indonesian or Balinese, papaya, biu batu, batan waru, etc. Around noon, Faith took me for a walk to Waikoa, the home of a CSA organic guava plantation, although there are also a lot of gazebos and a beautiful flower garden on the ground. After walking for about 15 minutes, we enter a man-made “heaven” with a stone statue of a mossed-cover Buddha, a host of tropical flowers (pink and white oleanders, pink and white frangipani or plumerias, yellow alamanda, red and yellow cana lily, lily of the valley, a man-made pond, a river, and another gazebo.

We did our first “work” here. In the process, I found out that after she left the ashram, Faith familiarized herself with the teaching of Paramahansa Yogananda of Self-Realization Fellowship, which explains her openness and gentle spirituality I sensed from the start. I have been a member of SRF for 10 years. Another former Hare Krishna member who has been in SRF for 12 years told us that 65 of his and his wife's family members have commented on how open, gentle and loving he has become in the last decade. SRF Kriya Yoga observes Karma, Jnana and Bhakti. We study the Bhagavad Gita and chant, but also embraces tapasya, swadhaya and ishvara pranidhana to enhance inner awareness and guide us to moksha.

Although we “worked” deeply and intensely everyday, with the exception of a silent meditation observing Sabbath and their half-a-day couple time, we also go to a different beach everyday. I almost felt bad because they cut their couple time to a half day, but Faith explained that they just came back from a road trip promoting the book, speaking and counseling (Faith is a practising psychotherapist) at Prabhupada Village in North Carolina (where Justice started chanting the Maha Mantra) and at a Hare Krishna temple in Missisipi. They had some administrative responsibilities to take care of. After I left, they were welcoming a devotee from Mississipi Hare Krishna temple.

The beaches in the North shore of Kaua’i island are very interesting. On the one side is white sandy beach and on the other is a lush verdant mountain. The natural vibration of the place is pure, strong and very lively (full of life). I also gave Faith 3 Reflexology and a Thai massage sessions, and a Reiki session to Justice. They were appreciative and gave me very positive feedback on the impact of these treatments. But, like Des, Faith told me that although I am a powerful healer, I should teach and preach (of what it is still a mystery to me :)

We also took the time to have some well deserved fun, going to have tea and watched a seashore wedding with live music at the posh Princeville hotel, listening to live jazz at Saffron, had delectable dessert somewhere in town the equivalent of Toronto’s Big Carrot, singing at the church in Kapa’a, and harinama sankirtana with a dozen devotees at the residence of Radha devi dasi ACBSP in Anahola.

The streets of Kaua’i reminded me of streets in Riau islands of Indonesia, about 40 seamiles South of Singapore. The soil is clay red and the houses are typical island houses. We were not sure if we were at the right place until I spotted the word KRSNA on the back window of one of the cars. Radha’s whole house is a Radha-Krishna’s shrine. Faith said it reminded her of Vrndavan in India. Everywhere I looked, I saw beautiful paintings of Radha-Krishna. Some of them were done by Faith’s ex-husband, Muralidhara Dasa ACBSP, whose paintings adorned a lot of ISKCON books and at the Palace.

Radha has a warm and very vibrant personality, giving me a lovely welcome hug (we consciously breathed a full synchronized breath together), saying she loves Bali, giving me a tulasi neckbeads and asking me to never take it off, and to keep in touch with her. She is a singer and musician, vegetarian cooking teacher, among many others. I loved hearing her realizations and mystical experiences. She is famous in the Hawai’ian islands because she had taken her worship to the street, alone, all by herself. Her kind and soft spoken husband is a disciple of Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja.

Radha and Yogamaya live their lives with integrity and is very inspiring to see. Every woman should have at least one female mentor. This is what living spirituality is like, given time to mature and blossomed. I will write in more details about Divine Couple Principles and Practices.

This trip was indeed fated and divinely arranged. It has taught me that spirituality does not need us to defend Itself. Like good food, we still have to chew it carefully, swallow it mindfully and digest it well so it is nourishing. Left to itself, it will go bad very quickly. And, if we swallow spirituality without chewing it properly, it will upset our digestion system and may cause either spiritual heartburn or spiritual constipation.

A few Hare Krishna youths in Toronto have met Radha in Oahu and Maui.

Mahalo, matur suksma for browsing~