Steve’s Musings



Steve’s Musings Archive

I created stevebohlert.com and my Blogger blog, “Steve’s Musings” in 2003. It went through various mutations over the years, and is now on this site–Universalist Radha-Krishnaism, radha-krishnaism.org–to take advantage of its contemporary design and functioning and eliminate the upkeep of two sites. “Steve’s Musings” from 2003 to 2009 are archived here. They trace my development […]


Radha-Krishna, the Divine Couple (Part 4)

The associates please God-dess according to their particular relationship, like servant, friend, parent, or lover. This relationship does not derive from birth or an external ceremony like adoption or marriage, but it derives from the specific emotion or devotional love an associate manifests. Natural devotional practice includes cultivating an emotional, loving relationship with God-dess. God-dess […]


Radha-Krishna, the Divine Couple (Part 3)

Since we are finite parts of the holographic whole, God-dess lives within us. When we attune ourselves to the spiritual plane, God-dess awakens within us, and we consciously engage in a loving relationship–the perfection of spiritual life. Radha-Krishna also live in Braj, the spiritual abode. Like them, it consists of existence, consciousness, and bliss. As […]


Radha-Krishna, the Divine Couple (Part 2)

From our human point of view, Radha-Krishna, in their intrinsic form, possess infinite potencies, infinite attributes, and all divine excellences. They constitute the ultimate source of everything, the prime cause of all causes. They possess spiritual bodies, which are beautiful beyond words. They manifest in many places simultaneously, and no qualitative difference exists between these […]


Radha-Krishna, the Divine Couple (Part 1)

God-dess’ infinite forms are like parts related to the whole. Since God-dess does not have internal difference, the parts are not like pieces of stone chipped off the whole. The part is the whole, all-knowing, all-pervading being. We call it a part, because the self energy of God-dess does not fully manifest in it. The […]


Where I’m Coming From

Having been disillusioned by fundamentalist Christianity as a teenager, I became a beat and then a hippy seeker. This led me to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. I was living in a commune in Haight Ashbury on Ashbury Street with a young woman. As soon as I saw Swamiji, I intuitively knew he was my guru. My […]


Nature of the Absolute (cont.)

The blissful energy enables God-dess to enjoy bliss and infuses bliss into the hearts of loving devotees. The essence of the blissful energy is divine love. The fullest manifestation of divine love is Radha, the eternal consort or counter-whole of Krishna, the personal absolute. Just as Krishna possesses infinite divine energies in their highest perfection, […]


Nature of the Absolute (cont.)

Cosmic Consciousness is higher than Undifferentiated Oneness in the hierarchy of manifestations as we understand the absolute, personal God-dess. Undifferentiated Oneness constitutes the basic reality underlying all concrete formations. Cosmic Consciousness cognizes, controls, and regulates the concrete formations. From our perspective, Cosmic Consciousness implies a differentiated, qualified state of God-dess. Cosmic Consciousness is qualified in […]


Nature of the Absolute (cont.)

God-dess, the highest being, perfectly manifests all auspicious qualities. Undifferentiated Oneness exists as the incomplete manifestation of God-dess, in which the divine attributes and potencies lie dormant. Dr. Kapoor explains: It is primordial sameness, but not a barren stillness; it is indeterminateness, but not an indeterminateness that totally denies distinctions and definiteness; it has distinctions, […]


Nature of the Absolute (cont.)

God-dess’ body and its owner are not two different principles like the difference between the body and soul of living entities in the physical world. God-dess’ body and its owner both consist of consciousness and bliss. The same eternal spiritual principle manifests God-dess’ names, attributes, activities, and abodes. God-dess is not different internally or externally. […]