I’m in Mumbai now, in the state of Maharashtra; at the other end of the spectrum from Govardhan, in Vrndavan, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Environmentally, socially, technologically, and in some ways, spiritually also. Although in India, glimpses of spirit are more thinly veiled than they seem in the West, even in modern cities […]
Have you ever been sitting in a kirtan* when the kirtan leader says, “Now, from the heart!”? And you wonder, “how do I find the place of my heart?” Of course, there’s the physical heart, with its ventricles and atria and valves and all. And research does show that even the physical actions of the heart are affected by […]
Your mercy is a great wonder, nondifferent from You. It is pure eternity, knowledge, and bliss. It can empower me to always remember and glorify You in pure love. It can obtain for me Your loving sidelong glance. It can enable me to see You absorbed in the company of the cows and the gopas […]
This morning I collected super fragrant parijata flowers to offer to the Lord. Delicate white flowers with a bright orange center that fall to the ground each morning at dawn. They are said to come from a tree brought from the heavenly planet as a gift from Lord Krsna to His wife, Rukmini (my namesake). Here in India, […]
I ask you to dedicate this one life to the Lord. I do not want you to undergo the process of saṁsāra, of repeated birth and death, any longer. Engaging wholeheartedly in the process of bhakti is not too difficult a sacrifice for attaining eternal existence. To be free of enemies, once and for all, […]
I am praying for moments of profound change. Praying for one drop of taste for the Holy Name. Praying to be awakened to the reality of the pure Holy Name and the reality of this holy place. Sacinandana Swami said that we need to let the Holy Name go beyond the shore and open the […]
Krishna has a string of 108 jewels that He uses to count his 108 groups of cows. He knows every cow by name, and the cows like to wander away so they can hear Him call their names. If you ever feel sad or depressed you can just call out the names of Krsna’s cows […]
This month, in November, I’m attending two retreats right at the foot of the sacred Govardhan Hill in Sri Vrindavan Dham. There is a very rare and elusive animal that lives only in this area called a nilgai, or a blue cow. It has the legs of a deer and the body of a cow. […]
by Tammy T. Stone at The Tattooed Buddha Editor: Dana Gornall As a young, fledgling writer in high school, I often found myself penning anything from creative writing exercises to poems, songs and short stories (even a film treatment—I was ambitious!) featuring male protagonists. I never questioned this tendency. My teachers as well, both male […]
Have you always wanted to go to India, but had some trepidation about embarking on the journey? If so, this is the trip for you! Let go of your fear and know that you’ll be in the best of hands with Gaura Vani and Rukmini! Both have multiple years of experience (more than we can […]
Photograph by Tatiana Kiseleva
Urban Devi is a community of women who gather to explore and excavate their identities as urban women living the spiritual life. An urban devi is in the world, but not of the world. She acts in the world to uplift, and shift the consciousness of those around her to a higher place of Bhakti, or love in action.