efroymson

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Hare Krishnas in Bombay

Ate dinner at a "Govinda's" set up in a field where they are having a big ISKCON conference. I was curious to see how it plays here, given that Krishna is a major deity for the Hindus. Oddly there was an American speaking in English when I showed up. He talked for quite a while, in fact I had listened, taken some pictures, gone to Govinda's, and almost finished my Thali when he stopped.

One story he told was interesting. It concerned a man who had a desire for women that was so strong, it interfered with his desire for Krishna. So one day, upon seeing a beautiful woman, he followed her home. Knocking on the door, he was invited in by the woman's husband, who took him for a wandering pilgrim, or mendicant. After feeding the visitor the husband asked if there was anything else he could do. The visitor asked to see the man's wife. She came out, with hairpins in her hair, and pressed her hands together and asked how she could serve. The man asked for two of her hairpins, and then plunged them into his eyes.

The people at the house were obviously horrified, but Krishna eventually appeared to the now blind man, and escorted him to his destination, a place whose name I have forgotten, but is apparently the beautiful domain of Krishna himself.

Later I was talking to a woman who was interviewing a man who looked to me like a Sadhu. I was curious about the MD recorder she was using, I wanted to know if it was one of the new Hi-MD recorders. I don't think it was. Anyway, they invited me to sit and talk, and I did.

When I asked about that story, I mentioned that I had looked around, and did not see any people with their eyes out, so I guessed either it was not a model, or was a level that they had not yet reached. The Sadhu appreciated the joke, and slapped me on the back. You perhaps will not find it so funny.

If anyone is wondering about the two previous posts, it is just my effort to get Glenn Reynolds to notice this blog. Why I want that, I don't know, other than that everyone likes a little attention.

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