“O mind adore the effulgent form called Radha, who illumines all directions. I gaze upon her divine form, which is more brilliant than millions of lightening flashes and is engrossed in an ongoing celebration of erotic love. Her hair is decorated with jasmine flowers, and her exquisite red dress rivals the rising sun.”

“I praise Radha, the topmost embodiment of splendid divine amorous sports, youthful beauty, gracefulness, and sweetness. She’s the shinning jewel of beautiful women who means everything to Krishna.”     from “The Daily Meditation”

The recently announced iPad from Apple Inc. is an invention that causes tectonic shifts in the world of computing experience. “Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it,” says The Wall Street Journal columnist. Although many may chuckle upon this, same as Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple did, we cannot deny that in people’s minds inventions like this one collide their own worldviews with a new knowledge, wraps them in the complacency of cognitive dissonance.

Humanising computers

At one level in their mind people know a new experience will change perception of ‘computers’ and what ‘computers’ are. Computers are inseparable part of our work and leisure today, our lives. They’re everywhere. Therefore a new concept will change our lives together with ‘the computing experience’.

First whinging reactions around the globe are mostly caused by denial. How come? Let’s put it in a scientific way: an entirely new idea has entered the universal hologram and people, as parts of the hologram, are aware of it on some level. But they are denying it. It’s a self-defending mechanism: humans will have to redefine the entire approach, and change the dictionary meaning of the words such as ‘computer’, ‘browsing’, ‘emailing’, ‘desktop’, etc. It’s too big a step for many, considering that we have spent decades getting accustomed to the computers already around us and that haven’t changed significantly during the last 30 years.

Unexpected new hologram program will severely hit the memory cores of so called IT specialists and IT columnists, who will need to redefine their expertise. Imagine this: if everything about 90% of the computing experience becomes so easy to do (and 90% of our computer time is dedicated to everyday stuff), painless and entirely humanised as showcased with an iPad (and even bettered by its successors), what will they have to do, and talk about? Their (self)importance ceases.

In his blog Fraser Speirs, technology writer, notes:

What you’re seeing in the industry’s reaction to the iPad is nothing less than future shock. For years we’ve all held to the belief that computing had to be made simpler for the ‘average person’. I find it difficult to come to any conclusion other than that we have totally failed in this effort.
Secretly, I suspect, we technologists quite liked the idea that Normals would be dependent on us for our technological shamanism. Those incantations that only we can perform to heal their computers, those oracular proclamations that we make over the future and the blessings we bestow on purchasing choices.

This experience follows the story of Ford’s inventions. When they asked Henry Ford does he value people’s opinions on what is next, he answered that he doesn’t care about what many think about inventions. He added, “If I asked people what would they really need, they’d all answer they needed a faster horse.” It’s almost exactly what many commented about the iPad. With the newly introduced iPad, many columnists and field experts expected a better, flatter laptop, a better phone, a better .. computer they’re already familiar with. They grudge: “Where’s the USB 3 port?, and an SD card slot?, what about a super-fast processor?, where is the full-blown OS X operating system and the whole of its several decades of sacred UNIX core legacy? We need that!”

They just wanted a faster horse, and were ready for it, but they didn’t expect a radical shift in thinking and imagining computer experience. In fact, Apple has completely redesigned everything! Redesigned iPad’s software from inside out, its user interface (adding a giant multi-touch screen that flips as you want it), variety of software keyboards that pop up according to need instead of ‘one-size-fits-all’ hardware keyboard everyone must use. The result is that the whole experience becomes less cumbersome and more natural. Apple’s iPad chief designer Jonathan Ive says that although no one has used it before the announcement, millions of people will be instantly familiar with it — they will instinctively know what to do. It is an invention with its basis in the heart of the problem — computers can do more and can be more, but no one has done it yet.

Vox populi and polls say nothing about the power of a true invention, because by definition no one is ready for it. All statistics deny even the existence of an invention so do any of ‘expert opinions’ or customer survey results about “are you gonna switch to an iPad when it comes out?” matter?

Not at all. iPad is a story all about humanising the computer experience, by imagining and then producing a groundbreaking device that blends seamlessly into our everyday life. It is an extension of a human mind for a human mind. From the stiff keyboard and hard to remember commands through CLI (Command Line Interface) as a main user interface in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, to the mouse and graphical user interface in the late 1980’s and 20+ years later, to a human finger in the second decade of the 21st century and a multi-touch pad, the path is now clear: the idea for those brave ones is to make computers different, less intimidating and more humanised.

They suddenly become something else, not just compute things. Rather enjoy things. A computer decomputerised.

Humanising religion

Now a reader may ask: What all this has to do with us here? However, comparisons like this one have a tremendous eye-opening power. In the very much same sense, Universalist Radha-Krishnaism follows the example of the iPad, but in the field of religious, philosophical and spiritual thought.

Let me illustrate. What our every day with a computer consists of? What is the real work we need to do? The real work is not formatting the margins of a document, installing the printer driver, uploading the document, finding lost fonts, figuring out how to insert a character from a foreign language using English-only limited keyboard, finishing the PowerPoint slides, running the software update, reinstalling the operating system, fighting computer bugs and viruses.

The real work is teaching the child, healing the patient, minding the house, logging the road defects, fixing the vehicle at the roadside, capturing the table’s order, designing the house, reducing waste and greenhouse emissions, organising the party. Think of the millions of hours spent, the lengths that millions of people have gone to in order to acquire skills that are orthogonal to their core interests and their job, just so they can get their job done and just work on computers. How frustrating! But that was considered normal.

Universalist Radha-Krishnaism rewrites how religion and spirituality should be taught, practiced and understood, and brings forth a real world inspiring solution for all those who want the real job done: love for each other, the world, the God-dess, not some cumbersome practices, penances and regulations rooted in archaic world views that have nothing to do with today. Universalist Radha-Krishnaism is an operating system of a spiritual experience completely rewritten — from the ground up — to be joyous and haunting journey to all who venture. Its elegance is not rooted in a philosophy that adds more to layers upon layers of old and fruitless ideas, but rather in getting rid of everything that obstructs the humanising experience of spirituality.

Yes, don’t worry: it is perfectly all right if we walk the spiritual path and not dragging a ton of rules, superstitions, obsolete beliefs and senseless rituals chained to our legs and burdened on our backs. It’s perfectly okay to walk freely and that’s the whole point of walking: to enjoy the scenery and always learn something new and exciting. Spirituality needs to be a human experience, not a frantic race under battle helmets where we lose our sense of humanity and purpose.

It is perfectly fine not to depend on shamans, priests and gurus whose whole purpose of life is “make sure” you get your “dosage” of mercy upon your “poor sinful soul”, exclusively deserved by their “hard work” and prayers they utter “in your name” before “the Almighty”. Universalist Radha-Krishnaism gives you a different reality, a reality in which all-present and beautiful God-dess Radha-Krishna is already here for you, extending you arms and refreshing thoughts that release, overjoy and fulfill. No hard labour required. No penances. No chains rattling behind you. No imposed guilt and fear. No useless chants no one understands. No outdated beliefs. No superstitions. No complicated rituals. No irrational babble no one can prove. No one else’s mercy required. Just be free, be human and love from the depth of your heart because you already know how to do it — it’s in your spiritual DNA. Simply fulfill your loving goal on this lovely planet Earth and spend no extra minute on irrelevant mumbo jumbo.

Universalist Radha-Krishnaism is nothing you can imagine by comparing it to established religious thoughts of old. This is not yet another horse, or even a faster one — something predictable. It’s a whole new category of experience, a wholly unprecedented one.

If the iPad and its successor devices free everyday people to focus on what they do best, it will dramatically change people’s perceptions of computing from something to fear to something to engage enthusiastically with. We aim the same for the Universalist Radha-Krishnaism in the field of spirituality and modern thinking.

Universalist Radha-Krishnaism — a spirituality humanised.

– Zvonimir Tosic

As a gift to you my dear queen of Braj,
I lay my life at your feet.
My only desire is to be your girlfriend.
May I always be allowed to behold your beautiful form.
May I be allowed to touch you, bathe you and dress you with my love.
When oh when will that day come when my desires will be fulfilled?
Be kind to me and grant me your mercy soon.
My heart longs for you. I cannot stand the separation.
Let me join that bevy of young beauties that surround you,
and help to bring about your union with your beloved Govinda.
You are so merciful to even let me remember you in this way.
Live in my heart always while this separation exists,
and let me return to your bower soon.

One night I had a dream. The landscape was delightful and serene, and the moon was smiling up above, showering the little hill amidst forest with its calming silver rays. I was approaching the beautiful place. Couldn’t see myself though. I was hiding aside, in shadows, behind a screen of leaves, flowers and a tree. Krishna was on the hill, and several of his beloved gopis, all dressed differently and beautifully. They were all smiling and it seemed that a moonlight is trying to beautify their glow, body luster and their happiness. In Krishna’s eyes they seemed even more charming and he was more enchanted. After few whispers they started to dance together. Krishna was dancing with every girl at the same time. It was a breathtaking, most wonderful sight.

As girls were moving graciously, they’ve observed each other too, with their beautiful, restless eyes, and were smiling both to Krishna and to each other. Then, they’d touch their moist lips with gentle finger tips and blow the kiss toward the other girl and smiled cheeringly even more. In such a charming way each party exchanged kisses and loving glances, and thus, as I understood, they were exchanging their feelings, loving sentiments. And when another girl would reach such a kiss traveling graciously through the air, and put it on her lips, then a new mixture of love would be tasted and both the girl and Krishna in the company of that girl would enjoy even further. They were increasing the love in each other and pleasing him even more.

“Oh that sweet bhava”, darling Syama said then smilingly, almost unaddressed, but as if he was conveying it to me, knowing I’m there. “Without such bhava, the joyful and overwhelming love sentiments between each other, between each one of you, there’s no love divine. There’s no experience of the most beautiful taste of life.”

And they’ve continued to dance, closing together, circling in smaller circles until they all stopped, intermingled and embraced each other, sharing loving glances, kisses and touching each other’s cheeks, shoulders, arms and bosoms, removing tiny drops of enervation.

The image started to fade and for a few moments it seemed charming Krishna and gopis are looking towards me, making certain I hold this close to my heart. I’ll never forget this adoring vision, coming from a place … where the streets have no name.

– Zvonimir Tosic

(1) Where the Streets Have No Name is more like the U2 of old than any of the other songs on the LP, because it’s a sketch — I was just trying to sketch a location, maybe a spiritual location, maybe a romantic location. I was trying to sketch a feeling. I often feel very claustrophobic in a city, a feeling of wanting to break out of that city and a feeling of wanting to go somewhere where the values of the city and the values of our society don’t hold you down.

An interesting story that someone told me once is that in Belfast, by what street someone lives on you can tell not only their religion but tell how much money they’re making — literally by which side of the road they live on, because the further up the hill the more expensive the houses become. You can almost tell what the people are earning by the name of the street they live on and what side of that street they live on. That said something to me, and so I started writing about a place where the streets have no name.

– Bono Vox, U2 lead vocals, in 1987

This book comes as a cooling breeze on a hot day. It offers a glimpse into an eternal world of love that actually surrounds us at all times. The perfect world that Plato detected, just beyond the veil, really does exist, yet we spin our webs of karma so tightly that we cease to acknowledge it. As you read this book, you hear the music of the spheres, like the rising choral, Ode to Joy, in Beethoven’s final symphony.

Universalist Radha-Krishnaism — A Spirituality of Liberty, Truth, and Love by Steve Bohlert reviewed by Nori Muster. Nori Muster, a positive thinking modern author of many life engaging books, essays and poetry. Her Betrayal of the Spirit: My Life behind the Headlines of the Hare Krishna Movement, was accepted among many ex Hare Krishna devotees worldwide as a mind-opening narrative and has helped thousands of persons regain their individuality, sobriety and strength. Learning to Flow with the Tao is Nori’s own version of the ancient Taoist oracle, iChing. Pray for Peace Notebook: Direction in the Time of Change is an edited collection of Nori’s political writings, 2000 to 2009. Visit her website to read more and explore Nori’s wonderful world of positive possibilities.

Author Steve Bohlert dedicated his life to finding the source of the music, which led him to India, where he served and studied with enlightened masters; and it took him to San Francisco Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity from the Graduate Theological Union, and became an ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ. He was raised in the Missouri Synod, christened and confirmed.

Bohlert’s life is a bridge between East and West, and a merging of his Christian Universalist beliefs with his strongly held bond with the eternal divinities Radha and Krishna. Universalist Radha-Krishnaism is a product of his studies, and outward manifestation of the bridge he first built within.

The time is right for a book such as Universalist Radha-Krishnaism. As Bohlert points out, “We live in a relativistic, pluralistic world open to truth in all forms.” (p. 5) There is no one way to hold faith, and many in our culture today are searching for truth. As a life long seeker myself, open to both Eastern and Western religious ideas, I consider this book a portal to enlightenment. Bohlert leads the reader up a spiral staircase to the light, winding through the Christian and Hindu faiths as we ascend.

Many of the concepts were already familiar to me, coming from Missouri Synod Lutheran roots, and having spent ten years in the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON). The Lutherans started out as reformers five hundreds years ago but became quite strict, and as Bohlert points out (p. 5), “most Radha-Krishna devotees are fundamentalist literalists.” It is ironic, but typical, since religious institutions tend to become entrenched in their belief systems, and closed down to change.

Hundreds of years ago, Radha-Krishna, the archetypal goddess and god of love, were little-known outside of India, and worshiped only within the Hindu faith. Eighteenth and nineteenth century archaeologists and scholars made us aware of Hindu gods, but prior to the twentieth century, nobody in the West had any actual experience of Radha and Krishna. Even today, god and goddess remain concealed behind a brick wall of fundamentalism, which most of us from a Judeo-Christian background are powerless to navigate. On one hand, we may sense truth there, but until Bohlert’s interpretation, there was no way to pierce the fundamentalist views and practices that keep these deities off limits. Even the Hare Krishna movement and similar groups may fail to offer a satisfying genuine experience.

One of the subjects Bohlert introduces, which is forbidden in the fundamentalist world of the Hindu sects, including ISKCON, is permission to meditate on Radha-Krishna’s eternal pastimes. ISKCON warns its followers that they will always remain neophytes who dare not dream of life in the eternal realm. This was tried in ISKCON in the mid-1970s, but the fifty or so members of the “Gopi-bhava Club,” as it was called, were scorned and drummed out as heretics. “Gopi” is the Sanskrit word for the cowgirls of Krishna’s world, and “bhava” means “mood, feelings, or emotional state,” so gopi-bhava is the mood of the gopis.

Toward the end of the book, Bohlert offers an outline of a typical day in Krishna’s world with the gopis and other eternal associates, and invites us to imagine how we might fit in. He said Krishna comes around a couple times a day to visit with you, find out how you’re doing, and discuss whatever is on your mind. Since reading the book a few days ago, I have imagined many things I would like to say to Krishna.

Bohlert was a member of ISKCON in the early days of the movement, 1967–1974, when he was starting temples around the world for the founding guru, Srila Prabhupada. Later, he served a one year stint in New Vrindaban (West Virginia), 1980–1981. However, like many of us, he had to leave the confines of the organization to continue his spiritual journey.

In Universalist Radha-Krishnaism, Bohlert speaks without the constraints of fundamentalism, re-imaging Radha-Krishna for the modern seeker. He cites the “evolution of thought” (p. 28) and the need to reinterpret religion in each new generation. Through his long education and practice, he learned that he can be part of the process of religious reform. This book is his way of moving the conversation forward, mingling two divergent religious traditions, and making the supreme Hindu god and goddess accessible to his readers. He dubs Radha-Krishna “God-dess,” which means god and goddess together.

Bohlert dismantles the fundamentalist notion that we come from original sin, that we were put in this material world as a punishment, that our flesh is evil, and that god is a menacing figure who sits in judgment. These fears played a part in the development of both Christian and Hindu theology, and may have helped to enforce discipline on people who lived in previous centuries. However, Bohlert argues in favor of universal love and freedom, which are common tenants of most new age religions. He writes that, “Like any good parents, Radha-Krishna want us to enjoy ourselves. This adds to their enjoyment.” (p. 25) He explains that worldly fun and spiritual devotion co-exist when we learn to live in harmony with god and goddess, nature, and all beings.

Besides citing references from his teachers in India and Berkeley, Bohlert’s opus draws on Plato, Martin Luther, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung, the humanists, Jack Kerouac, and quantum physics. He shows how the truth runs through all these rivulets, from Plato’s Theory of Forms, to Carl Jung’s archetypal reality, and ties it all together in his vision of God-dess. He says, “We exist as parts or emanations of God-dess, and like a piece of a hologram or a fractal, we contain the image of the whole.” (p. 31).

One chapter discusses the life and teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533), a reformer in India and contemporary of Martin Luther (1483–1546). Chaitanya was said to embody Radha and Krishna as an incarnation (avatar), and he led a revitalization movement in India that paralleled the Renaissance taking place in Europe. Bohlert compares Chaitanya to Martin Luther for offering an alternative to fundamentalism, and to Jesus for breaking down caste and gender barriers. He also describes Chaitanya’s influence on the Moslem religion of his day in India. It was refreshing to me to gain new insights into Chaitanya, adding depth and detail to the introduction that ISKCON offered during the years I was a member. This is welcome, since Chaitanya does not belong to any one organization, or any one region of India. Bohlert’s book will spread Chaitanya’s teachings to a broader audience.

Bohlert mixes the worldly and next-world experiences, when he says that we have a duty here on Earth to enjoy this life. In Bohlert’s view, salvation is more than just for ourselves, in terms of wanting go to heaven when we die. He explains why our experience here is important, and offers spiritual reasons to stand up to the challenges of today. He says salvation “includes communal salvation, which involves healing the brokenness of society and individuals. Society as a whole cannot be healthy until all are healthy and whole just as the body cannot be healthy if certain parts are diseased.” (p. 42) The solution, he says, is “We need to see ourselves as part of God-dess’ extended family, as brothers and sisters in the human family, and as part of creation. Then we can solve our problems cooperatively.” (p. 47) He explains, “The more we learn to experience God-dess and consciously live in the material world responsibly, the more we spiritually evolve.” (p. 66) Put simply, “The more spiritual we become, the more we enjoy this life fully.” (p. 86)

The gift for reading the book is to go from hearing about god and goddess, to actually experiencing god and goddess. When we first pick the book to read it, we may feel like outsiders to a fundamentalist religion with few entrance doors. However, after a thorough and thoughtful read, we embody the relationship with god and goddess. The music of the spheres lights within ourselves. As Bohlert confirms, “This is living the myth.” Fundamentalist scholars from the various Hindu groups may give Bohlert grief for unleashing the mystic experience to his readers, but Bohlert has the credibility as a scholar, through his lifetime of preparation for writing this book, to make this leap for his generation. So never fear, anybody from any background may read the book and form an eternal bond with the denizens of the spiritual world. Bohlert asks the reader to throw off convention, and simply embrace the love emanating from Radha and Krishna. If more people read this book, the world will be a better place.

– Nori Muster