February 1, 2019 Vapu (serving the guru in his personal presence) is considered less important than vani (following the instructions of the spiritual master). Vapu is temporary, whereas vani is eternal. But as long as the spiritual master is present in his spiritual body, the disciples must care for him and serve his vapu. I […]

January 23 We have just enjoyed seven weeks of expert Italian cooking, first by Manohara, and then by his wife Visakha. The Italian devotees in general love to cook for the devotees; they are so fond of their pasta preparations and offer them lovingly to their Guru and his associates. But Bala from Trinidad prefers […]

January 17, 2019 All I can think of to write is about the Caitanya-caritamrta that we are reading. That isn’t good. I must have other things for variety. Things about Viraha Bhavan, or thoughts on my mind. I am distracted by different troubles some of my disciples are having, but it’s not worth putting into […]

January 12, 2019 4:25 A.M. POEMS/From Every Day, Just Write. Caitanya-candrodaya has several times referred to the book as a “retrospective.” When a famous artist exhibits his paintings done over a period of years, they call the exhibit a retrospective. My book is a retrospective of my poetry. It was written in the late 1990s. […]

January 4, 2019 I’m looking at Radha-Govinda. I mentioned to Krishna dasi that I thought Radharani’s blouse was slightly crooked. She explained to me that this was the way it had to be because She is in a dancing pose with Her head tilted. I was satisfied by her explanation, and I can take darsana […]

December 31, 2018 5:15 P.M. Talking with Manohara about the year’s end. He said that we devotees, because of our sadhana, are not much affected by worldly changes. I remembered 19 years ago, the Y2K phenomenon. Many people believed the change in the millennium would bring about catastrophic events; the computers would break down, communications […]

December 24, 2018 Tonight, Christmas Eve, we are going to a neighborhood gathering of devotees at Saci-suta’s house. It is mostly a social event, no lecturing and maybe even no kirtana. Just exchanges of gifts and honoring of prasadam. All grhasthas with children. It is a friendly group with no pressure, and all devotees. Last […]

December 17, 2018 This is the twenty-first week of the Journal. It gets posted weekly on two websites. Should I compile them and publish as a book? Then I have Prabhupada Reflections, the daily entries I wrote during 2016, the 50th anniversary of Prabhupada’s coming to America. They are substantial pieces, reflections on Srila Prabhupada. […]