After three years of not much rain comparatively, the rains are now back to normal. Average rainfall here is 125 inches a year, making Hilo the rainiest city in the world. As a result the telephone lines I depend on for my dialup internet connection get water in them, and my computer can’t detect a […]
I want to thank Steven Rosen and others of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies (JVS) for their Spring 2011 issue, which focuses on the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata. It presents articles by seven scholars discussing the impact of the Critical Edition on Mahabharata scholarship. They expose the prejudices of early Orientalists that influence scholarship […]
Daniel Cooper Clark is one of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami’s original New York disciples. We met at the 26 Second Avenue temple in January 1968 when I visited there from my Santa Fe temple. We later worked together closely at Back to Godhead and the New Age Caucus. I sent him a pdf manuscript of my new book […]
With the upcoming publication of my new book, people have been asking how I plan to institutionalize my teachings. Will I start a community, a church, a temple, . . . ? No, I am not going to. Universalist Radha-Krishnaism is an individual path that appeals to people who belong to the growing segment of […]
I just read A Renegade History of the United States by Thaddeus Russell. It provides a view of America from the perspective of the “bad” people — slaves, prostitutes, Jews, Italians, jazz musicians, beats, gays, hippies and the like. They all made great contributions to our freedom and happiness. I must admit to a lifelong […]
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the cosmologist Stephen Hawking said, “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” I have to disagree with Stephen Hawking […]
While the natural devotional practice of visualizing life in Braj is traditionally used by recluses, Universalist Radha-Krishnaism makes it clear that this is not necessary. A life of contemplative reflection combined with inspired action in the world is preferable. Practioners seek to live holistic lives as stated in the “Essential Teachings:†6. Practitioners live as […]
Universalist Radha-Krishnaism: The Way of Natural Devotion; A Practitioner’s Handbook is the full title of my forthcoming book. Let me break it down. It is: universalist in the sense of being nonsectarian, pluralistic, and relativistic rather than exclusivist. It sees cultivation of divine love as the essence of spirituality. Since God-dess reciprocates in the manner […]
Universalist Radha-Krishnaism: The Way of Natural Devotion; A Practitioner’s Handbook Copyright © 2009, 2011 by Steve Bohlert. ISBN: 978-0-918475-04-6 Sky River Press, Pahoa, Hawai’i Casebound, approximately 200 pages Available later this year. List: $24.00 Universalist Radha-Krishnaism: The Way of Natural Devotion; A Practitioner’s Handbook clearly and concisely reveals the esoteric meditative process of participating in […]
What I thought was a final edit of my next book turned into a major rewrite that I just completed thanks to Nori Muster’s generous editorial guidance. Â I fine tuned and reorganized the book to present my complete teachings that empower practitioners to practice natural devotion (raganuga bhakti) as one of Radha’s girlfriends. I sent […]