In2-MeC

Oulu, Finland
25 September 2003

I am living in a wooden cabin among the trees outside of the northern Finnish city of Oulu. Yesterday I gave a talk at the University of Oulu. The subject was Vedic education. I didn't focus so much on the "how" of Vedic education (I answered those kind of questions after the lecture); rather I spoke of the "why", telling the audience that Vedic education values refinement of character most of all. I cited Canakya Pandit's definition of an educated person: matrvat para daresu, "sees all women (except one's own wife) as mother," para dravyesu lostravat, "sees others' property as untouchable like garbage in the street" and atmavat sarva bhutesu, "empathizes with all living entities, feeling their happiness and distress as much as one feels one's own happiness and distress."

Tattvavada Prabhu was present; he remarked afterward that my talk covered all the questions that usually come after such presentation to students. Most of the students were young women. They usually ask about the position of women in Vedic culture, but I anticipated that by explaining matrvat para daresu. I pointed out, "This is the first point Canakya talks about: how women are to be seen in society. Establishing proper relationships between the sexes is essential to Vedic education." I went on to say, "You all have undoubtedly heard that cows are worshiped, or respected very much, in India. But do you know why? It is because a cow is one of seven kinds of mother. And women in general constitute one of these seven. In Vedic culture, mothers are worshipable. Thus every women must be respected in that way. But there is a culture that goes with this. Women should represent the qualities of the divine female principle." I explained about Radha and Krsna, the Divine Couple. At the end nobody asked any "What about women?" question.

This way of explaining things goes far beyond the limited concerns of feminists, who simply want to have as much chance as men to gratify their senses. (The she-pig wants equal time at the feeding trough as the he-pig.) When you start to say that women should be so respectable that they deserve worship, this brings their whole political mentality to a screeching halt. Respectable? Refined? Cultured? Whoops! They were only thinking about having equal ape-life with men.
Today I was to speak via video conferencing to a college class. I have never done this before: talk to a video camera while I watch the class in a video monitor. The class itself is in some other part of Finland for some reason. But this program has been delayed until next Wednesday, so I have nothing to report about the new experience of video conference preaching.

In all this traveling I have been doing since after Janmastami, my Saligram-sila worship has evolved into mantra-mudra seva. For example, here in this wooden cabin, which is the property of a sports and health retreat, I am not even supposed to burn a stick of incense. Thus there is no question of any fire yajna. Flowers are hard to find up here too. I am surrounded by a pine and scrub-brush forest. Probably easier to find a bear in these woods than a rose. So I just chant mantras for every step of the puja plus I show a mudra. I will very likely continue this. In November I go to New Zealand. I worry about the amount of my luggage. I have flown to New Zealand in years previous, and know that the airlines going there are very particular about luggage, especially about the total weight and about how much stuff you bring with you into the cabin. I shall have to reduce the Deity paraphernalia. If I stick to mantra-mudra puja then I need bring very little with me. Showing mudras for each upacara is very blissful: asana, padya, acamana, madhuparka, punar-acamana, snana, vastra, abharana, gandha, dhupa, dipa, puspa, tulasi-patra, naivedya, paniyajala, punar-acamana, tambula, malya and sarva--all these have their mudras, and mudras are very pleasing to the Lord.

Until I return to Helsinki, email will be difficult to do. It would be better if those who are reading this would hold off sending me any email until after 5 October. Thank you. Hare Krsna.

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