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In the mornings, I walked around a park with a pond where there were swans. The weather was much milder than in Holland or Germany. I went to the London temple next. It was in a row house near the British Museum where devotees found writings of Bhaktisiddhanta and his father, Bhaktivinode Thakur, who introduced Gaudiya Vaishnavism or Krishna consciousness to the West in the late nineteenth century. One of his early works, The Bhagavata, greatly influenced me. In it, Bhaktivinode described his spiritual search, which included a study of great Western philosophers and Jesus. He was Unitarian in his outlook, but then he discovered the eastern savior, Krishna Chaitanya and the writings of his followers. He embraced these teachings and became their pro- Bhaktivinode Thakur ponent. Bhaktivinode said, "Don't believe everything you read in old books." He wrote that many descriptions of hell are interpolated at later dates to please kings and keep people in line through fear. I believe that’s true of many religions as the establishment coopted them. 92
Bhaktivinode wrote many poems that became popular songs with devotees. I developed a strong attachment to Bhaktivinode and his natural style of devotion. I also visited small Krishna temples in Manchester and Edinburgh. I preached at a church in Manchester. A young man of Indian, Sikh decent from Africa accompanied me as an assistant. He wanted me to go to Africa with him. I thought it was a good idea. There were no Krishna temples in Africa, and if I went there I could keep going deeper and deeper into the jungles to keep ahead of the GBC and their politics. I wrote Prabhupad asking permission to go to Africa to preach, but I was advised to stay in Europe for the time being. After some time, I returned to the continent. I was in Berlin when I got a letter from Prabhupad asking me to go to London right away and help Mukunda get Queen Elizabeth to donate land in Regents Park to build a temple. I caught the first available flight, rushing across the tarmac to board just before it took off. Arriving in London, I made a plan with Mukunda, who I knew from when I joined the San Francisco temple. An American college football player named Jim became my assistant. We went to a fabric shop and got some new cloth for me to wear. Jim and other devotees prepared a gift wrapped box containing books, magazines, temple-made sweets, and flowers. I wrote a letter requesting an audience with the queen. 93
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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?"
Page 41 and 42: were on the bill. The biggest names
Page 43 and 44: Subal seated left front, Krishna De
Page 45 and 46: The next day, we told Swamiji what
Page 47 and 48: was a big responsibility running a
Page 49 and 50: of Vrindaban. He gave a powerful ta
Page 51 and 52: plained that there were Indian buri
Page 53 and 54: the spiritual master. The bonafide
Page 55 and 56: sion and please try to follow my in
Page 57 and 58: The next morning, I took a train to
Page 59 and 60: When I got back to Santa Fe, Krishn
Page 61 and 62: for help. But we have to pray at ev
Page 63 and 64: and start ISKCON Press. Other times
Page 65 and 66: jana. Anthony later became Rebatina
Page 67 and 68: me Prabhupad was going to initiate
Page 69 and 70: ics, was senior editor. Cover artic
Page 71 and 72: tenement and had bed bugs in it. Mu
Page 73 and 74: Devotees went downtown afternoons a
Page 75 and 76: scene. When Prabhupad was in Boston
Page 77 and 78: A van full of devotees picked me up
Page 79 and 80: Prabhupad who handed us our staffs.
Page 81 and 82: wanted to run ISKCON, the Internati
Page 83 and 84: world. It was an opportunity to ren
Page 85 and 86: like the good fairy or aliens from
Page 87 and 88: was raining, but we managed to get
Page 89 and 90: I stayed with the devotees in their
Page 91: visible on many Berlin buildings al
Page 95 and 96: queen did not accept unsolicited gi
Page 97 and 98: I was in charge of publicity. I han
Page 99 and 100: For a devotee like me, Vrindaban re
Page 101 and 102: enjoy sweet drinks, spicy pastries,
Page 103 and 104: Next, Sharma and I went to the Radh
Page 105 and 106: it was. I was enchanted by the exot
Page 107 and 108: woman. I didn't know what to do. I
Page 109 and 110: The next day, they visited me. It w
Page 111 and 112: Native residents of Vrindaban were
Page 113 and 114: ground together into a medicine. I
Page 115 and 116: courtyard. There was no toilet. We
Page 117 and 118: Dr. Kapoor referred me to Gauranga
Page 119 and 120: used to develop that mood. Swamiji
Page 121 and 122: Another time, we three monks went t
Page 123 and 124: who resisted Moslem conquest. Some
Page 125 and 126: Gaur-kishor Goswami, the head pries
Page 127 and 128: Rohini-nandan was Mr. Sharma's olde
Page 129 and 130: manufacturing family. When Swamiji
Page 131 and 132: We decided to risk spending the mon
Page 133 and 134: We raised 35,000 rupees in three we
Page 135 and 136: walking cane and told Biharilal to
Page 137 and 138: yard. However, the whole thing was
Page 139 and 140: chastised Yadav-acharya and I in fr
Page 141 and 142: 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
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“Yeah, but I couldn’t get the n
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As I regained outward consciousness
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along on the low branches from tree
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They accepted my offer. Jake let me
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dedicated to Shiva-Shakti, and she
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ing me astrology. There was a fring
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through Study of Religion and the W
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I met and knew many wonderful peopl
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lack-sand beach. I climbed down the
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He said I could camp on the beach,
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headed for Gaursundar’s farm on t
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attle or a prisoner on death row be
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in Bangkok, I found out why it's ca
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was asked to give a lecture in the
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loyalties would be divided between
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When I discussed this with Kuladri,
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an first, but since the other guy w
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Then she got more money from her fa
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times. Doing manual labor and worki
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firewood business off of the ranch.
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Chapter 7 UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST A
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He and I hosted an ecumenical study
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smoke sacrament together. We went t
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She asked me to do her horoscope. I
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The interview went smoothly. We dis
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where we’d be more independent an
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paying nursing jobs and enrolled in
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Marv questioned whether Moses ever
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On vacation in the Oregon Cascades
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from birth to death. This along wit
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The next step was for me to fly the
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When we arrived in Clinton, church
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gued that he should be allowed to h
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fire me. They said if I left volunt
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I told Van, “This is no youth gro
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Our first winter there was unusuall
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I felt baptism was for people who j
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I met with Don Stalhutt, a UCC mini
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Sunday morning, I preached at St. J
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celebrate my call and her birthday.
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attended the ceremony, and Mom cook
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I worked with Concerned Clergy of W
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source materials. The hymns and pra
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pastor of Wallin United Church of C
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I must admit, I found it refreshing
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We walked to a meeting of this co-h
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I lay my life at your feet. My only
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live upstairs from Above and Beyond
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construction was out of our reach w
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meetings at our yurt. Jahnava and I
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from the past that entail a degree
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outstanding job of designing the bo
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