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Krishna
Das
In
the winter of 1968, Krishna Das met Ram Dass, who had just returned
from his
first trip to India.
After living and traveling with Ram Dass in the U.S.,
and hearing Ram Dass' many stories about Maharaj-ji, Krishna Das
traveled to India, where he
was blessed to meet and stay with this extraordinary guru.
While living in India
for almost three years, Krishna Das' heart was especially drawn to the
practice
of Bhakti Yoga—the yoga of devotion. Fanning the flames of
his inner longing,
Maharaj-ji led him deeper and deeper into the practice of
kirtan—chanting the
Names of God. As an appointed pujari (priest) for the Durga temple in
Maharaj-ji's ashram in the foothills of the Himalayas,
Krishna Das immersed himself in the worship of the Divine Goddess.
Krishna Das spent as
much time as possible with Maharaj-ji over the years in India, opening
himself to the flow of Grace and purifying his heart. Early in 1973, he
was
asked by Maharaj-ji to return to America.
"At what would turn out
to be my last darshan of Maharaj-ji's physical
body, I was petrified with fear about returning to the U.S. after so
many years. I hadn't worn a pair of jeans or shoes for such a long time
that I
couldn't imagine what it would be like. I didn't want to ask Maharaj-ji
what I
should do in America,
but all of a sudden I blurted out in anguish, 'Maharaj-ji! How can I
serve you
in America?'
"He looked at me with
mock disgust and said, 'What is this? If you ask how
you should serve then it is no longer service. Do what you want.' I
couldn't
believe my ears. How could doing what I wanted to do be of service to
him? I
didn't have that kind of faith. I just sat there, stunned. Then after a
minute
or so he looked over at me, smiling sweetly, and asked, 'So, how will
you serve
me?'
"My mind was blank.
It was time for me to leave for Delhi,
to catch the plane back to the States. He was looking at me and
laughing. I
bent down and touched his feet for the last time and when I looked up
he, he
was beaming at me, "So, how will you serve me in America?" I felt like I was
moving in a dream. I floated across the courtyard and bowed to him one
more
time from a distance. As I did, the words came to me, 'I will sing to
you in America.'"
Soon afterwards, during
the full moon in September, Neem Karoli Baba left his
body. Now he had to be found within. The chanting, the meditation, the
puja and
all the wonderful time spent with Maharaj-ji turned out to be seeds
that he
himself had planted in my heart... seeds that would keep growing and
blossom by
his Grace.
Over the years Krishna
Das has made numerous pilgrimages throughout India, meeting
teachers and saints of many spiritual traditions on his quest to open
and
purify his heart. Living in jungles, in ashrams, and in holy places
throughout India, he has
had an opportunity to absorb the ancient truths that have been held by
the
Indian culture for thousands of years. He has studied Buddhist
meditation
practices with Anagarika Munindra and S.N. Goenka, and has been
initiated into
Tibetan Buddhist practices by lamas from various lineages.
Krishna Das has been
chanting on a regular basis in yoga centers all over the
world. He has taught with Ram Dass and sung for many saints and yogis
here and
in India.
