On the scale of things, a small fracture in a small kneecap is minor. But whether minor or major, unexpected interruptions in our life demand attention, on many levels. It was a sunny afternoon when I fell and the damage was immediate. Pain shouts its message, which is a good thing. My body reacted in other ways too, and my emotions. The first was denial. “It’s just badly bruised,” I told the kind shopkeepers who brought ice, even though the swelling was clear and my loud ye

Sacinandana Swami In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , Arjuna has the painful task of delivering the message of Kṛṣṇa’s disappearance to Yudhiṣṭhira. In this conversation, Arjuna says, “ O King! The Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari, who treated me exactly like an intimate friend, has left me alone. Thus my astounding power, which astonished even the demigods, is no longer with me .” (1.15.5) Śrīla Prabhupāda comments: “ The power and energy which were bestowed upon Arjuna were requi

The first red leaf greeted me this morning Among the dull colors of the other fallen leaves It’s redness smiled a reminder of time passing A reminder of cycles of birth and death Of leaves separating from the trees As the body separates from the soul We stand and watch the leaves fall As we watch our own body change Life within is the only life that matters The red leaf kissed the earth And we thanked her for it Autumn makes philosophical reflection easy. The movement, the co