Madhavananda profile picture

Madhavananda

Beggar of rasa

About Me

A crazy hermit living under the stump of a tree. Social on demand, geared however towards isolation. Originally from Finland, a cold land somewhere west of Siberia. Presently settled at Radhakund, a holy place in North India.
Occupied in realizing the infinite beauty, wisdom and existence-reality of God. If there were a God, and if there were a beautiful God, he would surely play his flute on a full moon night. And if there were a Goddess for the God, she would surely bear the name of Radha.
Involved in:
I used to be involved in humongous hordes of activity on all conceivable frontiers. Life, however, has taken its toll, leading me increasingly towards a life of seclusion and internal contemplation.
Madhavananda's Project Index
Many of you know that I have been working towards offering diverse resources and services for the Vaisnava community and the large public since early 2002. There is so much more that could be done to further the interests of the tradition – I feel as if we'd barely scratched the surface. This portal is a list of all of my open project files with notes on future prospects for growth and continuity.
» Read more at www.madhavananda.com! »
The Gaudiya discussion group
For everyone interested in traditional Gaudiya Vaisnavism, raganuga-bhakti, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the worship of Radha-Krishna!
» Click here, read and join! »
Vraja Journal
News and views from Vraja, reflections on Gaudiya Vaisnava siddhanta and practice. My main blog with musings, photography and updates on ongoing projects. Much more active than the MySpace blog!
» Browse to www.vrajajournal.com! »
Krishna's Wonderful World
The beautiful Krishna has charmed India's religious thinkers, philosophers and mystics for millennia. Countless poems and stories have been written of Krishna. Krishna's divinity and his relationship with all existence has been the subject of literally thousands of scriptures.
What is the individual's relationship with Krishna? How is Krishna attained? Why is Krishna so charming? And what does Krishna do in his spare time? Answers to all these questions, read on! »

My Interests

Fleeing afar, seeking my way out... seeking the wonder-land of God —

The abode where the greatest of beings, the lover of the countless beauties, his mistresses, dwells;

The land laden with desire-trees, where the ground is made of divine touch-stones;

Where the water flows nectarine, where the chatter is all a charming song and every step a dance;

And where the flute is his beloved companion, in the abode where the splendor of spiritual joy is relished as all-permeating...

I'd like to meet:

People with fresh and spotless hearts, full of joy divine.People such as those on this video —

(Colors start flying at about 8:30 minutes...)

AND IF YOU'RE ABOUT TO POST A COMMENT!
I love all those comments so please go ahead, but please DON'T post images that are wider than 600 pixels or over 100 KB in size! Or else... Or else, I may reply with this . I also don't have a fast enough internet connection to view every cool embedded slide show animation and video clip in the world, so please don't bother embedding, just post a link to them and I'll check them out when the connection is good if they really are relevant.

Music:

Silence! Serene kirtan with feeling. Ragas. Sounds of nature unrecorded. Recitations.

Movies:

Lokavat tu lila-kaivalyam. Iti.

Television:

If by random occurrence I meet a TV one day, I may watch a random program for no reason at all.

Books:

Works that convey tangible meaning. Among old classics, Upanishads and the Bhagavata. Among medieval works, the works of Sri Chaitanya's followers are eminent. Contemporary authors are too many to mention.

Heroes:

Who were what they were, within and without, now and ever. Who walked their talk and made a difference to themselves, if not to others. Yes, and the silent, humble sages who were content in themselves.

My Blog

Dharma Reloaded

Many readers of this journal have been wondering about the evolutions in my slant on things and my spiritual direction in general. Time has come to address matters in definite terms. My journey over...
Posted by Madhavananda on Sat, 15 Mar 2008 04:47:00 PST

Levels of Mantra and Meditation

There are different levels on which a mantra functions or may be employed. Awareness of them, along with honest assessments of one's internal mental growth and present state, can prove to be helpful. ...
Posted by Madhavananda on Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:20:00 PST

My insight ventures

With the occasional reference to yogic or Advaitin scriptures, or Buddhist suttas for that matter, some have been wondering about my explorations of knowledge outside the classical Vaisnava canon. Let...
Posted by Madhavananda on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:41:00 PST

Application for 180 days of jail

This is a translation of my letter of refusal from military and civil service sent to the Finnish civil service authority, should it be of interest. It was mailed in an appropriate home-made envelope....
Posted by Madhavananda on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:08:00 PST

The Bodhisattva’s Cocoon

Some may have wanted to take a peek into my psyche for insight into the fundamental reasons of my present direction into solitude, the underlying impetus of my turn from the dim limelights of outreach...
Posted by Madhavananda on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:42:00 PST

Websites future - Input sought

Concerning my latest blog entry on Vraja Journal:As a careful reader will have noticed, by sometime in the summer I will be dropping out of the GV internet scene altogether (occasional e-mails aside.)...
Posted by Madhavananda on Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:43:00 PST

Light, wisdom and love for the upcoming year!

Wishes of light, wisdom and love for the upcoming year! May the light of the divine ever shine from before the cloud of appearances!(I would've sent this to each of you individually if I were on broad...
Posted by Madhavananda on Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:47:00 PST

Perspectives on Present and Future

With the new year right behind the corner, some thoughts on present and future are in place. Life here for the past 16 months has no doubt been the experience of my life, even if I can't say it wou...
Posted by Madhavananda on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 10:19:00 PST

The Great American and His Four Kinds of Devotees

I am the Great American, born as I am the unseen land of the Utopian States. To re-establish the principles of my spiritual life and to delight in the company of my brethren, I descend to the holy lan...
Posted by Madhavananda on Sun, 23 Dec 2007 08:21:00 PST

Altered perceptions, sublime aspirations

Sometimes people, owing to a limited perspective on the scope of spiritual practices, are overly obsessed in clinging on to their japa-mala (rosary) to squeeze in a few more rounds of mantras into the...
Posted by Madhavananda on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:11:00 PST