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husband Rich Rodhe was my best man. Geraldine’s sister Linda was maid of honor. My son John was ring bearer. Inez and about twenty-five friends attended including Asha and Kristie. We served champagne, seltzer, and cake at a reception in the fellowship hall of the church where we hung posters of Jesus, Radha- Krishna, and Shiva. Afterward, we went to lunch at a restaurant with family and a few close friends. The two of us drove to Brandon on the coast and spent a three day weekend at a motel. That night we walked along the beach, and it started raining. In spite of my umbrella, we got soaked before we reached a restaurant for dinner, but we didn’t care. We were in love, and that was all that mattered. ❡ We moved into a sublet apartment for the summer until our permanent apartment became available. I found the remains of cannabis joints around the bed. That was my last smoke for many years. Seminary and pastoring a church were different from my previous life. Drinking was commonplace among seminarians and pastors, but smoking cannabis wasn’t. Geraldine’s parents held a reception for us at their house, and her friends held one at the Sunol pool. Geraldine founded and published the local newspaper, The Sunolian, and was a leader in the referendum to save the Pleasanton Ridge for park land before she moved to Ashland. I found part-time work in printing and copying shops to help defray expenses. Geraldine got good 226
paying nursing jobs and enrolled in Women’s Studies at San Francisco State University. We lived in a a one bedroom apartment, which looked out at the back of the GTU bookstore and parking lot. Vans regularly shuttled from there to the San Anselmo SFTS campus. Riders went free and drivers like me got paid. The other campuses where I studied, the GTU library, UC Berkeley, Telegraph Avenue, and many other great places were in walking distance. BART, high speed light rail, provided access to many Bay Area locations. We chose a great place to further our education. At orientation, I met John Lersch and Chris Von Lobedan. We became good friends. John was a 227
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An Authentic Life A Spiritual Autob
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Copyright © 2012 by Steve Bohlert
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TABLE OF CONTENTS IN THE BEGINNING!
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Chapter 1 IN THE BEGINNING When I w
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I laid in my crib at night listenin
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When I was eight, we moved to a new
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oad jump far enough. The Coast Guar
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other engineering students. I made
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ens, goats, vomiting babies, and po
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cali, on the California border. I t
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As the new year began, we went to W
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saying, “No, don’t stick me wit
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We heard a couple of fishermen appr
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When we reached Colima, Mexico, we
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started out, so we should march to
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Swami Bhaktivedanta would arrive at
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The small storefront temple was ful
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anarchist, and Swami advocated the
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Rubbing his head, Swamiji replied,
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Swamiji said, "What is your name?"
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were on the bill. The biggest names
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Subal seated left front, Krishna De
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The next day, we told Swamiji what
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was a big responsibility running a
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of Vrindaban. He gave a powerful ta
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plained that there were Indian buri
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the spiritual master. The bonafide
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sion and please try to follow my in
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The next morning, I took a train to
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When I got back to Santa Fe, Krishn
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for help. But we have to pray at ev
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and start ISKCON Press. Other times
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jana. Anthony later became Rebatina
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me Prabhupad was going to initiate
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ics, was senior editor. Cover artic
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tenement and had bed bugs in it. Mu
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Devotees went downtown afternoons a
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scene. When Prabhupad was in Boston
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A van full of devotees picked me up
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Prabhupad who handed us our staffs.
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wanted to run ISKCON, the Internati
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world. It was an opportunity to ren
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like the good fairy or aliens from
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was raining, but we managed to get
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I stayed with the devotees in their
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visible on many Berlin buildings al
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Bhaktivinode wrote many poems that
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queen did not accept unsolicited gi
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I was in charge of publicity. I han
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For a devotee like me, Vrindaban re
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enjoy sweet drinks, spicy pastries,
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Next, Sharma and I went to the Radh
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it was. I was enchanted by the exot
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woman. I didn't know what to do. I
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The next day, they visited me. It w
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Native residents of Vrindaban were
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ground together into a medicine. I
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courtyard. There was no toilet. We
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Dr. Kapoor referred me to Gauranga
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used to develop that mood. Swamiji
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Another time, we three monks went t
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who resisted Moslem conquest. Some
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Gaur-kishor Goswami, the head pries
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Rohini-nandan was Mr. Sharma's olde
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manufacturing family. When Swamiji
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We decided to risk spending the mon
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We raised 35,000 rupees in three we
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walking cane and told Biharilal to
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yard. However, the whole thing was
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chastised Yadav-acharya and I in fr
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The priests daily apply layer upon
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Thakur and brother of Bhakti-siddha
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seed and tulsi-wood bead necklace h
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and decorated in an Asian motif. We
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Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a univ
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Chapter 4 NATURAL DEVOTION I took a
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you've come all by yourself prepare
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This is my and Bhaktivinode Thakur'
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as a "Russian heart attack." They t
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thirteen even though I wanted to be
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It was spring, and devotees from th
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and a great way to end my stay in I
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make a counter-emblem. The communis
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A woman devotee got backstage and t
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quitoes. There was no body surfing,
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ers wanted it. We decided to resign
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Chapter 5 NEW LIFE I moved to Wailu
Page 175 and 176: “Yeah, but I couldn’t get the n
Page 177 and 178: As I regained outward consciousness
Page 179 and 180: along on the low branches from tree
Page 181 and 182: They accepted my offer. Jake let me
Page 183 and 184: dedicated to Shiva-Shakti, and she
Page 185 and 186: ing me astrology. There was a fring
Page 187 and 188: through Study of Religion and the W
Page 189 and 190: I met and knew many wonderful peopl
Page 191 and 192: lack-sand beach. I climbed down the
Page 193 and 194: He said I could camp on the beach,
Page 195 and 196: headed for Gaursundar’s farm on t
Page 197 and 198: attle or a prisoner on death row be
Page 199 and 200: in Bangkok, I found out why it's ca
Page 201 and 202: was asked to give a lecture in the
Page 203 and 204: loyalties would be divided between
Page 205 and 206: When I discussed this with Kuladri,
Page 207 and 208: an first, but since the other guy w
Page 209 and 210: Then she got more money from her fa
Page 211 and 212: times. Doing manual labor and worki
Page 213 and 214: firewood business off of the ranch.
Page 215 and 216: Chapter 7 UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST A
Page 217 and 218: He and I hosted an ecumenical study
Page 219 and 220: smoke sacrament together. We went t
Page 221 and 222: She asked me to do her horoscope. I
Page 223 and 224: The interview went smoothly. We dis
Page 225: where we’d be more independent an
Page 229 and 230: Marv questioned whether Moses ever
Page 231 and 232: On vacation in the Oregon Cascades
Page 233 and 234: from birth to death. This along wit
Page 235 and 236: The next step was for me to fly the
Page 237 and 238: When we arrived in Clinton, church
Page 239 and 240: gued that he should be allowed to h
Page 241 and 242: fire me. They said if I left volunt
Page 243 and 244: I told Van, “This is no youth gro
Page 245 and 246: Our first winter there was unusuall
Page 247 and 248: I felt baptism was for people who j
Page 249 and 250: I met with Don Stalhutt, a UCC mini
Page 251 and 252: Sunday morning, I preached at St. J
Page 253 and 254: celebrate my call and her birthday.
Page 255 and 256: attended the ceremony, and Mom cook
Page 257 and 258: I worked with Concerned Clergy of W
Page 259 and 260: source materials. The hymns and pra
Page 261 and 262: pastor of Wallin United Church of C
Page 263 and 264: I must admit, I found it refreshing
Page 265 and 266: We walked to a meeting of this co-h
Page 267 and 268: I lay my life at your feet. My only
Page 269 and 270: live upstairs from Above and Beyond
Page 271 and 272: construction was out of our reach w
Page 273 and 274: meetings at our yurt. Jahnava and I
Page 275 and 276: from the past that entail a degree
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outstanding job of designing the bo
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