IKIRU

I just saw one of the most incredible films I have ever seen: IKIRU. I cannot believe that it has taken 36 years for my path to collide with this genius film, but it has. What a gift of a film this is.

Ikiru is a black and white feature made in 1952 by Japan's acclaimed director, Akiro Kurosawa. It stars Takashi Shimura (pictured), and is about a man, Kanji Watanabe, who has held the same monotonous job at City Hall for the past 30 years. He knows his bureaucratic work is meaningless and, upon learning that he has stomach cancer, sets out to start living, rather than merely existing. (There are incredible visuals of Watanabe sitting at his desk, surrounded by mountains of paperwork. We stare at him while he thoughtlessly stamps paper after paper, without a hint of expression on his face.) He realizes that his relationship with his son is non-existent, and sets out to find some relationship to life besides useless work.

Without spoiling the film (which is almost three hours), I will report to you my favorite part: After learning he has incurable cancer, Watanabe goes to a bar and buys himself a drink for the very first time in his life. He decides to spend some of his life savings on himself. He meets a young writer who demands he take charge of his life--

MAN AT THE BAR SAYS TO WATANABE--

"I realize what they say about the

nobility of misfortune is true,

because misfortune teaches us the truth.

Your cancer has opened your eyes to your own life.

We humans are so careless.

We only realize how beautiful life is

when we chance upon death.

But few of us are actually able to face death.

The worst ones know nothing of life

'til they die.

You're splendid--

rebelling against life at your age.

Your rebellious spirit moves me!

You were a slave to your own life.

Now you will become its master!

I'm telling you--

It's your human duty to enjoy life.

Wasting it--

You desecrate God's great gift.

We've got to be greedy about living.

We learned that greed is a vice--

but that's old.

Greed is a virtue.

Especially this greediness for life!"

That speech pricked up my ears. It was during that speech that my interest in this movie was truly sparked (the beginning is slow, but there's lots of background and character development needed in the early part of the film in order for the rest of the film to be poignant).

I don't want to tell the middle or the end of the story. What could I possibly write, anyway? The storyline is so connected to the essence of life itself that words wouldn't do it justice.

I read a review online that said the message of Ikiru is simple: TO LIVE IS TO LOVE. THE REST IS CANCER.

Watanabe-san gives his life meaning by doing the unthinkable...

tags: jaibhakti, movies, Ikiru, Takashi Shimura, Akiro Kurosawa

That Exalted Muffin Man...

The muffin man is seated at the table in the laboratory of the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen...
Reaching for an oversized chrome spoon
he gathers an intimate quantity of dried muffin remnants
and brushing his scapular aside
Proceeds to dump these inside of his shirt...
He turns to us and speaks:
Some people like cupcakes better.
I for one care less for them!
Arrogantly twisting the sterile canvas snoot of a fully charged icing annointment utensil,
He poots forths a quarter-ounce green rosette
(oh ah yukYuk... let’s try that again...!)
He poots forth a quarter-ounce green rosette
Near the summit of a dense but radiant muffin of his own design.
Later he says:
Some people... some people like cupcakes exclusively,
while myself, I say
There is, naught nor ought there be,
nothing so exalted on the face of god’s grey Earth
as that prince of foods... the muffin!

--Frank Zappa "The Muffin Man"

This is now an open thread, so start sewing!

tags: jaibhakti, Frank Zappa, humor, open thread

Om Namah Shivaya

"Everyone wants to enter into an ideal palace.

Make your own heart ideal.

Why do you wander from door to door?"

--Swami Muktananda

Jai Bhakti!

"Remember this: God's love is unconditional; your heart is always open."

--Swami Chidvilasananda

tags:jaibhakti

The Photo Shoot!

PPssst!...Kitty....Kitty....wake up!

We have a photo shoot today!

"Oh, come on, Bhakti! Give me five minutes..."

KITTY! Wake up! Come on....I've been waiting all week

to take your picture! Get up and give yourself a bath.

Okay?

Good Kitty. Make sure you clean both of your paws...

That's a girl....

Now, on the count of three, I want you to

smile pretty for the camera, okay?

1...2...3...

Good. Now, let's see some cute poses...

Oh, this is too cute; a cacophony of paws!

All right, now for a close up...

This is purrrfect!

CAT FANCY is just going to eat these up!!

We'll be rich!!

Kitty...er...uh...Kitty?

You're not....falling asleep, are you??

We're not done with the photo shoot!

We want the COVER of CAT FANCY!!

Come on!

Wake up!

Oh well, sweet dreams my little one.

Sweet dreams!

tags:jaibhakti, photography, humor, cats

bHAKTI eXPOSED

tags: jaibhakti

Picture Prompt

Please write a caption for the above photo

and share it with the rest of the

world by leaving it in the

Comments section of

this blog.

:)

.

tags: jaibhakti, humor, photography

©2006 D.L.Brophy

CAT PAW

Confucius say cat paw on top of computer monitor better than computer monitor on top of cat paw.

That Kitty Von Kitty is just too darn cute, isn't she?

tags: jaibhakti, confucius, humor

C Is For Cookie!

Okay, listen up, I'm a vegetarian, but I think it's just downright blasphemous that PBS has taken the cookie out of Cookie Monster:

VEGGIE MONSTER??

Give me a break! Soccer moms are mad because their kids are obese--well, I dare say, it's not Cookie Monster's fault that kids are fat.

Why not create a NEW muppet that loves veggies, and show that it's good to eat a balanced diet with all of the food groups? Taking the cookies out of Cookie Monster's life is like taking wire taps away from our current administration! Actually, it's a little worse: 'Cookie's just an innocent bystander.

"C is for cookie, that's good enough for me"



If you would like to put the 'Cookie' back in 'Monster', click here and sign the petition!

tags: jaibhakti, Cookie Monster, humor, Veggie Monster

iN MY rOOM

I have been spending most of my downtime in my room. I took this photograph of my room last night. In the left corner is my mini-guitar covered with a strand of blue Christmas lights. On the right is my meditation nook, repleat with photos of my spiritual teachers. I love the light in this room. It's very comforting. In the daytime it's actually a warm vanilla ice-cream color, and very bright!

This is a photograph of the two trees in front of my grandmother's house (she lives next door). I often photograph these trees from my bedroom window.

Last night we had a major ice storm with winds well over 40mph. I call this photograph "Dead Snowman", as the little guy couldn't handle the winds. This photograph was taken through my living room window.

As you know, I am not supposed to type too much; 'Doc says I can 'type in moderation'. However, I feel as though I need to take a break from typing to let my arm heal. I was just absolutely bored to tears today, so I decided I HAD to share these photos with you, or I would absolutely pull all of my hair out!

Thank you for ALL of your warm wishes. I'll post some more photos soon. I can't wait to start blogging again, as I miss you all!

:)

tags:

snow, jaibhakti, photography, meditation

Where In The World Is Bhakti?

Tomorrow, the doctors are going to plunge into the depth of my spine once again. I know what you're thinking--"They're finally going to fix her membrane!" No! This time, they're going to fix a nerve.

I don't know how long I will be offline: maybe a day or two, maybe a week, perhaps a hundred thousand years. Anyone's guess is as good as Gyrobo's. Please have fun in my absence...and visit some friends on my blog list. And be sure to tell them that Michele didn't send you! :)


UPDATE: I have just been informed that I am to refrain from typing for at least a couple of weeks. I would like you all to litter my Comments section with your thoughts, jokes, irrelevent mumbo-jumbo, happy wishes, prayers, and inane nonsense, as this has always been a source of great joy for me. You have all brought so much love and joy into my life and made my health journey of the past 6 months so much easier to handle. I thank you for that.

I would especially like to ask that Gyrobo and Flatlander keep everyone entertained with their insightful insights and most beautiful ramblings about the greatness of life as a robot and a Flatfooted skateboarder.

I will check the comments section daily, but will not be able to respond.

THIS IS NOW AN OPEN THREAD, SO HAVE FUN!

Much Love,
Bhakti

Jai Ram! Jai Hanuman!

Shri Hanuman: The Great devotee of God. (also pictured are Ram and Sita)

Yes, I’m feeling much more centered today. As you can tell from my previous post, I had been neglecting my meditation practice. I was aware that I was spinning out of control, yet instead of sitting quietly—to figure out the source of the internal conflict—I began to push forward with even more diligence. This created both physical and mental anguish.

The mind is very powerful. The ego can cause the mind to play incredible tricks on you to keep you from connecting with the Truth within. I've experienced this many times. The ego doesn’t want to give up all control and say, “Okay, you win. Go be happy! You don’t need my protection any longer!” No, the ego doesn’t let go that easily. Here’s a perfect example: while I was in the throws of anxiety, I kept saying to myself, “I’m much too anxious to chant. I’m much too fidgety to sit for meditation right now.” This is how the limited mind/ego takes control!

IF WE WAIT UNTIL EVERYTHING IN OUR MINDS, BODIES, AND LIVES ARE IN PERFECT ORDER BEFORE WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO CHANT AND MEDITATE, BELIEVE ME-- WE WOULD NEVER GET THE CHANCE TO CHANT AND MEDITATE!

Well, maybe once or twice a year; however, you get my point. The reason that we chant and meditate is to stay connected or reconnect with our source, with our Self—the Great One within.

Yesterday, after being both physically and mentally spent from a day at my brother Tommy’s house, I went home and sat before my puja. I was in the mood to chant, and began to sing “Jaya Hanuman, Jaya Hanuman”. I decided to put on one of my favorite Krishna Das CDs—Breath of the Heart. I listened to the first chant—Baba Hanuman—three times. This chant pays homage to my beloved Hanuman, the greatest devotee of God ever. In the Hindu epic the Ramayana, Hanuman is given a jeweled necklace from Sita (Ram’s wife—Ram representing ‘God’). Hanuman cracks a few pearls with his teeth and, not discovering Ram inside, discards the necklace. He then rips open his chest and reveals that Ram lives inside his heart (see photo).

Hanuman reveals Ram (God) in his heart.

Hanuman is one of my favorite aspects of God. He represents all that is good and devotional ('Bhakti' means love and devotion in Sanskrit). I suspect that it may be difficult for people who don’t subscribe to devotional worship to understand how the thought of Hanuman could illicit so much love in my heart, but it’s important to remember that when I worship Hanuman, it’s not that Hanuman is ‘another God’. No, Hanuman is the great devotional aspect of the One. There‘s only One God. However, the Hindu religion celebrates the many aspects of God (over a thousand of them!), not too unlike how Christianity celebrates three aspects of God with the Holy Trinity. My love for Hanuman actually takes me closer to Jesus in my heart.

Here are the words to the Baba Hanuman chant:

Baba HanumanNamo... Namo...Anjaninandanaaya
I bow, I bow again and again to Anjani's son,

HanumanJaya Seeyaa Raama, Jai Jai Hanumaan
Victory to Sita and Ram,
Victory to HanumanVictory over the darkness of suffering...

Jaya Bajrangbalee, Baba Hanuman
Victory to the one with the body of a thunderbolt
My Baba, Hanuman.

Sankata Mochan kripaa nidhaan
You are home of all Grace.
Destroy all my problems, calamities and sufferings.

Jai Jai Jai Hanuman Gosaaee
Hail My Lord Hanuman

Kripaa karahu Gurudeva kee naaee
You are my Guru, bestow your Grace on me.

Sankata Mochan kripaa nidhaan,
You are the destroyer of Suffering, the abode of Grace

Laala Langotta, Laala Nishaan
You wear a red langotta and carry a red flag

Hare Raama Raama Raama, Seetaa Raama Raama Raama
Let the river of these Names take you...
Let yourself float in the beauty of your own heart
into the ocean of Love that fills all space,
that ALWAYS is...
that ONLY is.


After absolutely losing myself to this chant, I paid homage to the Goddess Kundalini Shakti (Holy Spirit) by chanting the Kundalini Stavaha, as sung by Gurumayi Chidvilasananda. In her book Courage and Contentment, Gurumayi says—

“Chanting helps remove physical blockages within your body. Sometimes you may feel your breath is getting stuck, but when you give yourself to the chant, your breathing naturally becomes quite deep. Chanting creates a clear passageway…You become filled with deep and unshakable contentment.”

May everyone who reads this post find the deep, unshakable contentment that meditation and chanting have to offer. Whether you find it in a church, a temple, a mosque, by a river, in a forest, while walking on the sidewalk of a busy city street, while lying in bed, while holding a child, whatever gets you there….may we ALL find the peace, joy, and freedom that is always within our reach; always within our hearts. Moreover, when we lose our centers, may we open our eyes to the angels around us that offer us their love and guidance, whether in the form of a friend, a teacher, a loved one, or a stranger. Love is always there for the asking.

Thank you,
Bhakti

tags: jaibhakti, hanuman, Krishna Das, meditation, chanting, Gurumayi

//om Guru om//

Enter the Pain

You cannot run from pain. It's a futile endeavor that only leaves you wounded and cold. Pain is like a tick: it is not just going to decide to get up and leave your dog's backside; you have to get out the tweezers and pick the darn thing out. Moreover, don't do a half-assed job or there will be more hell to pay when the pain rears its ugly head again sometime in the near future.

Pain does not really have an 'ugly head'. We say that pain rears its ugly head simply because pain is (in most cases) not a pleasant experience. However, pain is just another emotional red flag, another physical or physiological function of the body to let us know that something ain't right!
This is true. Well, if you read the last post, you know that I have a beautiful relationship with my true Self, my essence. But, as a mere human who is not fully-realized, I also experience all five functions of Shiva (click here if you are not familiar with the five functions; if you have no idea what I'm talking about; if you once knew but have since forgotten; or if you merely want to read a post from my early archives. Whatever floats your boat keeps you afloat, and that's fine with me.)

?

Don't ask.

Getting back to my point, Shiva is the Creator, Sustainer, Destroyer, The One who veils us from the Truth, and the Bestower of Grace. These are his five functions. Thank God, I do not spend a lot of my time with the veil of ignorance over my head, so to speak. I am usually privy to the wondrous source of Bliss and Joy that is contained within the depths of my Heart Center. Yet, last night I had a terrible case of deception. I couldn't find my 'center' because I was too busy chasing my tail. I was so unbalanced that I didn't even realize that I was chasing my tail!

I let myself get a bit overwhelmed with my current situation (being out of work, my health, etc.). Rather than checking in to see how I was doing both physically and mentally, I kept pushing forward--knowing that I needed to meet certain deadlines and attend certain meetings that I wasn't looking forward to participating in. Lot's of anxiety was coming up. I could feel it brewing in the pit of my stomach. Nevertheless, I didn't stop to meditate, to figure out where I needed to be paying attention to the pent up tension in my body so that I could release it.

Well, last night I got totally overwhelmed. For the life of me, I could not find my center. This is a terribly awful place to be; especially when you KNOW that the current anxiety and tension is all a state of mind. Actually, it is all created by the mind, but takes on physical traits when not given attention at the onset. I cried a lot--which is actually a very important way to release toxins. However, I woke up with the pit of my stomach still tied into knots, and my chest was tight as hell.

I went for a walk this morning, and felt the onset of a panic attack. I felt sweaty and faint. Oh, man! I thought. How did I let myself get this out of control? I haven't had a panic attack in YEARS! I stopped exactly where I was on the sidewalk; listened to the voice in my head (You're going to faint! Better call someone!); then I turned around and took a shorter route home. I counted every step:

Inhale for four steps...1..2..3..4..

Hold breath for four steps...1..2..3..4..

Exhale for four steps...1..2..3..4...

Hold breath for four steps...1..2..3..4..
Repeat
After doing about three rounds of this walking meditation, I was feeling much better. You see, the reason I was getting the panic attack symptoms were because I was so anxious that I was holding my breath (or, at the most, I was taking shallow breaths). I walked through the parking lot of a local church, and thanked God for helping me. I turned around to take one more look at the church, and discovered the moon out in full daylight, seeminly hanging right above the cross. Om Guru Om!

After I ate my lunch, I emailed my friend Sally, just to tell her how I was feeling. I was sick of identifying with the physical body and the pain. She told me to love myself. This was profound. She also reminded me of a very simple meditation technique to release the anxiety--or any other junk that was stuck in my body. Of course, I followed her advice and had a wonderful meditation. At first it didn't feel too wonderful! I sat on my cushion, did my formal prayers, and then sat. I just sat and simply felt the state of my physical body. I was so tense! I focused on the parts of the body that were filled with tension, breathed into those areas, and then-- on the out-breath-- released the tension. I wondered how long it had been since I actually checked in to witness the state of my body and mind.
I ended up repeating one of my favorite mantras, too. I let myself sing the mantra in any way that felt appropriate. After about 75 minutes, I was totally in peace. I could feel 'Aum', the primordial sound, reverberating in my body as I sang the mantra.


In closing, I would like to offer you this: You can't run from your pain. You have to deal with it when it rears its beautiful head. Pain is an indication that something is a bit off. Something needs attention. It's very important to check in with ourselves to see how we are doing. And, as Sally says, we need to do this breathing out the tension meditation repeatedly.

I thank Sally for being there for me, and always offering me her love and support and her infinite wisdom. And I thank all of you who have offered your good wishes and prayers.

Namaste!
Bhakti

tags: jaibhakti, Sally Kempton, meditation, pain management, spirituality

Hide and Seek

My wish is that everyone will meditate;
Find the One inside who is screaming—
“Here I am!
Look no more,
You silly fool!
Love is at my door;
Knock, and I’ll be there,
Waiting for you
To find Me."

The greatest game of hide and seek!
The One you are searching for
Is begging to be found.
“O, you silly fools"
Bhakti says
“WAKE UP!”
"That which you are longing for
cannot be found without;
Only within!"
You must stop your aimless searching.
The pot of gold begins and ends
Within your very own Heart.

Won’t you stop?

Look inside.
Find the One who is breathing you.
Find the One who watches while you sleep.
Find the One who remembers your dreams.
Find the One who is calling you home.

Your search is futile.
Please rest your tired feet
And weary minds,
And let the comfort of the Beloved
Sweep you off your feet.
You ARE living in the Temple of God.
You ARE a manifestation of His loving energy.
Don’t let this lifetime pass you by
Without recognizing this eternal Truth.

There is no birth,
There is no death.
There is Love,
And only Love

eternal.

--© 2006 Bhakti Brophy

tags: jaibhakti, poetry, Bhakti, love and devotion, God

CAT OF THE MONTH: Kotek Klopotek

January 2005

CAT OF THE MONTH

"Kotek Klopotek"

Kotek Klopotek is an aging cat with Russian Blue heritage. His name means "little cat trouble" in Polish, and when he was younger he lived up to the monikor. Nowadays, he mostly sleeps on the kitchen chair, or loiters around the refrigerator hoping for a morsel to appear in his bowl.

One night, about two years ago, he started to choke on something. I had fed him a chicken bone a little earlier, and was worried that he had got a splinter lodged in his throat. We didn't have enough money to take him to vet, and it was the middle of the night, so we thought that perhaps he had reached the end of his ninth life. However, he made it through the night and stopped choking. After the incident he ate normally but couldn't meow properly--it just came out as a kind of muted squeak.

One day when I was petting kotek, I noticed a lump on the side of his throat. I figured that it might have been the chicken bone, still lodged there. Of course, this whole time I was feeling extremely guilty for feeding him the bone in the first place, but we still didn't have any money to take him to the vet.

A couple months after that, when I felt for the lump in his throat, I was startled to feel something sharp and metallic sticking out the side of his neck. Upon further inspection I found that, just like Frankenstein, he had some sort of screw sticking out just under his jaw! Somehow the cat had eaten a screw; it had lodged in his throat and then started to work its way out.I decided that at this point, since he had gone about four months with the screw in his neck, I would just let nature take its course and resolve the problem. Eventually, the screw just fell out of his neck, and the cat was fine. He got his voice back and remains, to this day, a living testament to the amazing resilience of Cats Who Eat Screws.

As the photos show, however, he was left with the problem of fending off my other cat, Tiger, who liked to launch sneak attacks on the sleeping Klopotek.

Unfortunately, Tiger passed away just last week. I hope Kotek doesn't get too stressed out and go snacking on fixtures again. At least now we have a good vet.

---Flatlander

fakiegrind

Won't you please take the time to visit Flatlander on Fakiegrind. I'm sure he could use a little comment cheer!

Thank you,

Bhakti

tags:cats, animals, blogs
jaibhakti

Jeff Buckley

JEFF BUCKLEY

I wasn’t planning to write a post until Monday, however, as luck would have it (or lack thereof!) my retreat was cut short due to health issues. That’s okay, though. I was able to catch up on some reading and listen to some music that I hadn’t listened to in far too long; namely, Jeff Buckley. For those of you who have never heard of him, you can click on the link above for a biography. In this post, I offer you my personal Jeff Buckley bio:


Sometime back in the 90’s I was walking back home from a photo shoot when I happened upon this little café on 9th Street (East Village, NYC) called Sin-e. This place was SO packed that it wasn't merely standing room only, there were actually people standing on the sidewalk--some peering through the window, others merely listening--while this guy inside was standing there playing his guitar with such deftness, only matched by his beautiful, rapturous voice. I was tired as all hell, but I was only a block away from my apartment, so I decided to hang around for a while. I asked aloud, "Who is this guy?"


A cacophony of voices answered: "JEFF BUCKLEY." Thus, my love affair with Jeff’s music began.


Years later, I got my hands on a copy of Jeff's GRACE album. It left me speechless. Not only were the songs incredibly written, the vocals like nothing I had ever heard before, but also the lyrics were so hauntingly sad and beautiful all at once, I was often left in tears.


Jeff died in a drowning accident in May of 1997--he was working on a long anticipated new album. The news struck me like a knife to the heart. "How could he be taken away--his voice was such a 'gift'!" I played GRACE so loud during the week after his death that several tenants in my building stopped by my apartment to ask who I was listening to. They couldn't get over Jeff's voice.

On the day of Jeff's funeral, I had just flown back from California and didn't make it back in time for the service. I stood outside of St. Mark's Church (where I played guitar on Sunday's) and watched as the funeral mourners filed out of the church. My favorite of Jeff's songs came to mind, LOVER, YOU SHOULD HAVE COME OVER:


Looking out the door, I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water...


I went home and wrote Jeff's mother, Mary, a letter. I promised her that as long as I was playing shows at CB's 313 Gallery, that I would always include one of Jeff's songs in my set. She sent me a lovely letter, as well as one of Jeff's used guitar picks, which, of course, I still have.


To this day, Jeff's music still haunts me. Every time I listen to GRACE, it sounds brand new to me. Due to nerve damage in my arm, I can't play the guitar anymore, and so I dedicate this post to Mary, as an offering of my love for Jeff and all that he stood for. If you haven't heard his voice, you are missing a tremendous source of joy and inspiration.

UPDATE: Anyone who would like to listen to Jeff's music can click here. Once you get to Jeff's site, click on the 'MEDIA PLAYER' link below his picture. All of his albums are on his site, for your listening pleasure. (I recommend starting with Live at Sin-e and Grace, although all of the post-mortem albums are incredible, too!)

Happy New Year!
Blessings,
Bhakti

tags: music, Jeff Buckley, entertainment