The basic religious expression of the Hare Krishna movement is chanting, dancing, and feasting. Celibacy is part of the minor cultural practice. It used to be that at the Vrindaban farm in New Vrindaban brahmacaries lived, celibate students.
I spent a year living there but even after getting married continued to spend one night a week there for years. The brahmacaries lived in Vrindaban but worked other places, either crossing the valley by foot to the Palace construction site or walked to Bahulaban. Bahulaban was two miles away so that meant 4 miles of walking per day plus whatever work and in most cases that involved physical exertion.
The upshot was that the 30 or so mostly young men were physically fit so when the dancing that was part of the daily religious practice ensued, it was vigorous. While dancing is by nature cooperative in nature, it was inspiring to be dancing with others and a bit competitive. Constant practice and desire to improve made for some good dancers, always seeking better and smoother moves.
We had great kirtan leaders and none of this sit on the floor stuff that passes for kirtan today s0 the leaders actively danced. While many of the names would be obscure, like Amburish and Taru, well known to current devotees is Radhanath, then a brahmacari. He was young and healthy and led then as now great kirtans.
When you spend hundreds of hours in kirtan with the same leader, after a while you can sense intuitively when the segues are coming, and a zen sort of oneness with the kirtan manifests. Last night’s dream was there.
While many of the moves I used to execute are relegated to memory, last night I had a vivid dream of being in a Vrindaban kirtan. Much better than a memory, it was almost like being there again. Radhanath was leading the kirtan.
While now I can still do aerial 360s down beat to down beat, in my dream I was doing 540s and sticking it on the beat so I knew I had to be dreaming.
It was like a nice vacation from my current poor health and while not unhappy to awaken from it, there was a bit of wistfulness to leave the dream.
June 12, 2012 at 9:48 am
http://johnscreekga.gov/news2012/2012-05-31_jcpd-honors.aspx
June 13, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Hare Krsna Madhava Prabhu…may you forever be dancing a kirtan.
June 14, 2012 at 9:47 am
That is the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. :-)
June 14, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Dear Madhava, We are definitely going to miss you at this year’s 24 hour kirtan. I agree, though, may you dance in the eternal kirtan…..in your heart, in your soul, and in the spiritual sky. Of course, we always want to see you dancing in front of Radha-Vrindaban Chandra. haribol, Sachi
June 14, 2012 at 5:05 pm
For those who don’t know, I am going to be out of town at a nephew’s wedding back home in North Dakota. This may be the last chance I get to travel before going on the transplant list or starting dialysis.