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I just ended a 12 day juice fast. It's called the "Lemonade" fast or Master Cleanse, and it's gotten a lot of media recently from some celebrities who did it. It's a naturopathic way to re-set the digestion and immune system.
The only thing you "eat" on this fast is a lemon drink made from fresh squeezed organic lemons, filtered water, maple syrup and hot cayenne powder. You can drink as many glasses of this as you want. I drank anywhere from 6 to 12 glasses a day. The first 3 or 4 days are hell, because your body doesn't like it and your mind is even more pissed off. You also experience some withdrawal symptoms from whatever food addictions your body has. But after 3 or 4 days, your body and mind accept that all it's getting is the lemon drink, and things settle down. The cleanse becomes easy. The only problem after the 4th day was some boredom (from not seeing, preparing and chewing food) and recurring hunger, which is resolved by making another cup of the lemon drink. Some people claim boundless new energy and mental clarity during the fast. I felt neither, but i did have a lightness of body and mind that is conducive to higher thinking.
Yesterday i drank a glass of fresh orange juice (that's the first thing you're told to take to gradually break the fast). I followed up with my first solid food: a deliciously mellow mango. When that mango was in my mouth, my thought was: wow, what can make something taste this good? Who can make a mango? That's right, only God.
He makes (thru material nature) not just mangoes but everything essential for life. eko bahunam yo didadati kaman. That One is supplying the necessities of life for all of his expansions. Not just for humans, for all species. We are acting foolishly when we exploit nature --including other species-- without seeing nature in its proper perspective, which is an opulence, a spark of divine splendor.
Everyone in our society is so proud of what they do and what they make, whether it's some business activity, public service, writing a great book or making a film. But who can make a mango?
The current chaos in our economy is a symptom of the toxic greed generated when human beings attempt to unlawfully use God's energies. We rob His bank and think we can be happy with the stolen money. But God is smarter. That same stolen energy turns around and burns us. What comes around, goes around. Oil created the modern motorcar society but it also brought two world wars and dozens of smaller ones. Now it threatens a third world war.
Greed kills the soul and hubris--false pride-- brings down empires. America claims to trust in God (it's printed on every dollar bill), but it simply wants to rob from Him. So many billions of souls-- both the exploiters and the exploited-- suffer from the actions of a society based on greed and false pride.
Wouldn't we be happier if we all learned to grow mangoes?
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7 comments:
n
That last comment was 'n' for No, there is someone else. He was with our Srila Prabhupada in Mathura. They cooked together, ate together, laughed together and when it came time for our spiritual father to depart for the West, his friend said he would come later, which he did.
That friend was given sannyasa before Srila Prabhupada and even brought him into the Mathura Gaudiya Math after Srila Prabhupada had left his wife and family.
He also encouraged him to take sannyasa and when Srila Bhaktiprajnana Keshava Maharaja initiated Srila Prabhupada into the sannyasa order it was he who prepared the cloth and performed the ceremony.
It was also he who met him at the airport when he finally returned from his successful stay in America.
It was he who sent him books, instruments and Dieties.
And when our Srila Prabhupada had left this world it was he who countered his envious son who wished to take over the physical property by testifying in a Bombay court, traveling the distance by train.
It was finally he who put him into 'samadhi' at his request. It was also his request to help his young disciples which he agreed to do.
Now , I and several other Srila Prabhupada disciples have come and seen his glory and greatness.
We wish you would come too.
Dear Beevee,
This particular post that you are commenting on talks about the opulence of Krishna. There is no reference in it to guru. However, some of my previous posts do indicate my personal opinion about guru. For me, in my experience anyone and everyone can help me or guide me. But Srila Prabhupada remains for me, the one who saved me from ignorance and the one who ultimately, will liberate me from samsara.
This is not disrespectful to any other guru, including your siska guru. As for your wish that i join you in your path, i assure you that i have a lot of experience with your sanga. My only son is a disciple of Narayan Maharaj and my ex wife is one of his ardent followers. I personally have associated with Maharaj and the sanga in Hawaii, California, Holland and Vrindavan. So i have my experiences.
I respect your experiences and your faith with one exception: when you think that your choices are the only ones or even the best ones for everyone. They may be for you, and that should be enough. Preach the glories of Krishna, and give everyone freedom to find their own path. To do any more would be to become a bully.
Ahh - Shouldn't that be " "What" can make a man go?" I mean with taking all that lemonade and everything... < g >
Right. The lemonade really made me go. But Krishna made the mango.
And growing up in Hawaii I ate a lot of them - in fact I had 3 trees in by backyard. And I learned that if you eat them green, it can have a similar effect to your lemonade "fast"... < g >
OK, perhaps my attempts at humor are a bit lowbrow for the room - but I expect beevee already knows pretty well your familial connections to NM. But one thing everyone agrees on - Mangos are a wonderful prasadam.
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