Next installment of the present series:
http://krishna-christ-and-changing-the-world.blogspot.com/2012/12/what-do-hare-krishnas-believe-part-3.html
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Hare Krishna Beliefs, Part 2
OK... this part of the series on my other blog may not be quite as necessary as background to my next post on this blog, but since I'm nowhere near ready to do another post on here, I guess I might as well put the link to my other blog here again so that you'll have something to read in the meantime if you like. :P And maybe it will prove to be necessary background, after all.
http://krishna-christ-and-changing-the-world.blogspot.com/2012/11/what-do-hare-krishnas-believe-part-2.html
http://krishna-christ-and-changing-the-world.blogspot.com/2012/11/what-do-hare-krishnas-believe-part-2.html
Monday, October 15, 2012
Hare Krishna Beliefs
Before I go any further in talking about my dad and his beliefs, I think I need to make sure you're acquainted with basic Hare Krishna philosophy. Before reading anything more on this blog, please hop over here to my other blog and read the post I just put up there. It's necessary background to what I'm planning to post next on this blog.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Friday, September 28, 2012
The Patriarch, Part 3: Faithfulness to Received Teachings
As I mentioned in prior posts on this blog, the Vedas and Vedic
culture are respected by Hindus and Hare Krishnas alike, and the
prescribed social roles in Vedic culture are very clearly
delineated. As I also mentioned, there are plenty of members of
the Hare Krishna movement (just as there are "modern"
Hindus also) who don't put a lot of importance on living according to
Vedic cultural prescriptions in this day and age. Srila
Prabhupada, the founder and acarya (teacher-by-example) of the
Hare Krishna movement, struck a balance between traditionalism and
innovation, and his followers -- just like Christians, Jews, Muslims,
and undoubtedly those of many other faiths -- continue to struggle
with the question of how much traditionalism and how much innovation
we ought to accept in our treading of the path.
In his endeavor to hold fast to the standards Srila Prabhupada gave us, my father has sometimes been labeled a fanatic or other such derogatory terms. He, naturally, does not feel that he is a fanatic at all; and I don't believe he really deserves that label either, although I do recognize that his combative Type 8 nature leads him to be pretty darn partisan and relish a good fight, and therefore he will sometimes fail to notice the beneficial, important, and/or reasonable aspects of other people's points of view. My own nature is to look for common ground and help everybody get along and cooperate nicely insofar as possible, so my views of other people's positions tend to be gentler and more appreciative than his. Still, I feel confident that there must be others in our movement who are far more rigidly traditionalistic than my father. At least a few! ;)
I'm sure that my father's personality does play a part in his choice of social ideals and beliefs to passionately champion -- just as my own personality influences me, and those of other members of our movement influence them. I see no reason to exempt him from that assumption. Certainly it can't be doubted that his personality is a very good fit with many of the teachings he expounds on. Still, his claim that he isn't making anything up, that he gets all his attitudes and beliefs straight from Srila Prabhupada and sastra (scripture), is also something he has every right to make. The traditional culture that's represented in our scriptures is patriarchal, and Srila Prabhupada did speak highly of it and introduce many aspects of it into his movement.
In his endeavor to hold fast to the standards Srila Prabhupada gave us, my father has sometimes been labeled a fanatic or other such derogatory terms. He, naturally, does not feel that he is a fanatic at all; and I don't believe he really deserves that label either, although I do recognize that his combative Type 8 nature leads him to be pretty darn partisan and relish a good fight, and therefore he will sometimes fail to notice the beneficial, important, and/or reasonable aspects of other people's points of view. My own nature is to look for common ground and help everybody get along and cooperate nicely insofar as possible, so my views of other people's positions tend to be gentler and more appreciative than his. Still, I feel confident that there must be others in our movement who are far more rigidly traditionalistic than my father. At least a few! ;)
I'm sure that my father's personality does play a part in his choice of social ideals and beliefs to passionately champion -- just as my own personality influences me, and those of other members of our movement influence them. I see no reason to exempt him from that assumption. Certainly it can't be doubted that his personality is a very good fit with many of the teachings he expounds on. Still, his claim that he isn't making anything up, that he gets all his attitudes and beliefs straight from Srila Prabhupada and sastra (scripture), is also something he has every right to make. The traditional culture that's represented in our scriptures is patriarchal, and Srila Prabhupada did speak highly of it and introduce many aspects of it into his movement.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Patriarch, Part 2: His Background
My dad was born in Texas in June of 1950 to a father of Scotch-Irish descent and a mother who came from a Catholic German family. He had one older sister, and a younger sister was to follow as well. From his mother he inherited his warmth, spontaneity, and temper, while from his father he was to imbibe a strong work ethic and the principles of honor and duty. His parents, unfortunately, fought a lot, and when he was about 10 years old, they got divorced. His father remarried soon after that, his mother later on in life.
Like most young boys of that day and age, he enjoyed outdoor play of various kinds. He hated to be bored and sought after exciting or stimulating pastimes. If something didn't hold his interest, he wouldn't pursue it, but if he was bent on something, he had plenty of energy and drive to keep on working until he achieved it. In his teenage years, he used his charm on the girls -- many of them -- and he got jobs, worked hard, bought himself a used car with his own money, and generally made his own way in the world -- in part due to his father's insistence on it. At some point, to his parents' chagrin, he joined the hippie movement, got into drugs, and grew his hair and beard out long. Then he decided to drive out to Northern California and live there for a while.
He had some artistic talents and used them in working to support himself. Shortly after his move to California, he decided to become a vegetarian; some time later, he gave up drugs as well. Then, he read the Bhagavad-gita As It Is -- the "bible" of the Hare Krishna movement -- and realized that here were the answers to all the philosophical questions he had ever asked. He accepted the author -- His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (whom we call Srila Prabhupada) -- as his guru, and upon finding out that Srila Prabhupada was then in Los Angeles, my father immediately traveled down there to meet him. It wasn't long before my dad shaved his head and moved into the temple, accepted the four regulative principles as his rule of life (which for him really just meant giving up illicit sex, since he was already vegetarian and intoxication-free, and gambling, the fourth proscribed item, wasn't an issue for him), and received the name Haripada dasa, officially becoming part of the Hare Krishna phenomenon that was sweeping the nation at that time (in the 1970s).
Like most new members of the Hare Krishna movement, he became celibate for a while, focused on worshiping Krsna (God), chanting His names, and reading and selling Srila Prabhupada's books. During this time he also started his own temple in Fullerton, CA and commenced holding regular programs there. However, again like most members, after some time he needed to find a wife for himself. My mother was very interested in him, so the two of them went on some dates together (chaperoned by friends) and he decided to accept her as his new spouse. After they were legally married, she moved into the Fullerton temple with him.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
The Patriarch, Part 1: Introducing My Father
If you've read Part 2 of my self-introduction on here ("So What's a Dharmic Divorcée?"), which delineates some of the patriarchal social values I grew up with, you probably won't be too surprised to hear that my father has been a major influence in my life. Of course, that's true for anyone whose father has taken a hand in raising them, but in my case the sheer magnitude of my father's impact basically can't be overemphasized. Have you heard of the Enneagram personality typing system? It divides all human personalities into nine basic types. In that system, my dad's core type is unmistakably Type 8. Everything I've ever read about Type 8 has been nothing short of stunning in how well it fit my dad. One place you can read about Type 8 is here.
Not only is my dad a core 8, but he also has the other two assertive Enneagram types (7 and 3) as the other fixes in his TritypeTM! (Read my post explaining tritype theory here). AND his instinctual variant stacking is sx/so (sexual instinct first, social second)! (The sexual-first maximizes his intensity, while the sx/so stacking gives him a constantly radiating energy.) So basically, he is just about as "Type A" and take-charge as you can get. Here's one more link: a description of his Myers-Briggs type, which is ENTJ.
One of the truest sentences in the above-linked description of Type 8, for my family anyway, is: "Intimate relationships are frequently the arena in which an Eight's control issues are most obviously played out." Of course, this is natural. Why control if you don't care? The main reasons for wanting to control a situation, as far as I can see, are (A) caring about the outcome and/or (B) having a duty or job description that involves doing so. Your family members tend to be the ones you care about most AND the ones you have the most duty towards. So therefore, your family members will just naturally be the ones you'll feel the need to shepherd in the right direction most frequently. With 8s, this control-in-order-to-protect urge is just a lot stronger than it is with most other types.
My dad's caring, protective heart isn't hard to see, at least for those of us who know him well. As the description said: "Eights often have a sentimental side... [W]hile trust does not come easily to an Eight, when an Eight does take someone into the inner sanctum, they find a steadfast ally and stalwart friend. The Eight's powerful protective instincts are called into play when it comes to the defense of family and friends, and Eights are frequently generous to a fault in providing for those under their care." All this, too, is perfectly true of him. As daughters of patriarchal families go, I'm one of the lucky ones. There are many patriarchal fathers out there who control without offering love. My dad has always given me more love than I knew what to do with, plus endless validation and encouragement.
'TritypeTM' is a trademark of Enneagram Explorations and can only be used with permission.
Not only is my dad a core 8, but he also has the other two assertive Enneagram types (7 and 3) as the other fixes in his TritypeTM! (Read my post explaining tritype theory here). AND his instinctual variant stacking is sx/so (sexual instinct first, social second)! (The sexual-first maximizes his intensity, while the sx/so stacking gives him a constantly radiating energy.) So basically, he is just about as "Type A" and take-charge as you can get. Here's one more link: a description of his Myers-Briggs type, which is ENTJ.
One of the truest sentences in the above-linked description of Type 8, for my family anyway, is: "Intimate relationships are frequently the arena in which an Eight's control issues are most obviously played out." Of course, this is natural. Why control if you don't care? The main reasons for wanting to control a situation, as far as I can see, are (A) caring about the outcome and/or (B) having a duty or job description that involves doing so. Your family members tend to be the ones you care about most AND the ones you have the most duty towards. So therefore, your family members will just naturally be the ones you'll feel the need to shepherd in the right direction most frequently. With 8s, this control-in-order-to-protect urge is just a lot stronger than it is with most other types.
My dad's caring, protective heart isn't hard to see, at least for those of us who know him well. As the description said: "Eights often have a sentimental side... [W]hile trust does not come easily to an Eight, when an Eight does take someone into the inner sanctum, they find a steadfast ally and stalwart friend. The Eight's powerful protective instincts are called into play when it comes to the defense of family and friends, and Eights are frequently generous to a fault in providing for those under their care." All this, too, is perfectly true of him. As daughters of patriarchal families go, I'm one of the lucky ones. There are many patriarchal fathers out there who control without offering love. My dad has always given me more love than I knew what to do with, plus endless validation and encouragement.
'TritypeTM' is a trademark of Enneagram Explorations and can only be used with permission.
Friday, September 21, 2012
So What's a Dharmic Divorcée? -- Part 2
We had been trying to have a baby, but we didn't
anticipate how difficult pregnancy could be. I turned out to be one of
those mommies who continues to have stomach problems (nausea and acid
reflux) for the entire duration of the pregnancy rather than just for
the first three months. It was difficult for me to do much around the
house, and my husband, although very loving and affectionate by nature,
is also somewhat OCD and finds it hard to feel respect for someone who
doesn't try hard enough to keep things clean. Plus, we had many other
problems as well. We needed to separate, and although we went to
counseling and tried to work things out, we ended up getting divorced in
2011. My (ex-)husband now lives in Ohio, while my son and I moved in
with my parents, who still live here in Prabhupada Village, NC.
In the Vedas, one important concept that is dealt with is that of dharma. Among other meanings, one's dharma is one's sacred personal duty, the specific set of religious principles that each person must follow in order to find success and happiness in this world and out of it. In Vedic culture, wifely chastity is much admired, glorified and respected. This chastity means much more than just sexual fidelity. It is basically an all-encompassing attitude of loyal love and devotion. Certain specific pieces of advice are given to women who aspire to be chaste wives: things like, "be loving and respectful towards the friends of your husband," because if your husband likes or respects a person, he'll be unhappy if you fail to treat that person well. The goal of all the Vedic teachings of wifely chastity is to ensure harmony and happiness between husband and wife through teaching women how to be unconditionally loving, devoted, and supportive toward their husbands. The husband is considered the head of the household and the wife is his honored helpmeet. She can certainly voice her opinions and offer him advice if need be, but she must do so in a sweet and respectful way, never in a way that he would experience as harsh or annoying, and at all times it is for the husband to make the final decision if he so wishes.
Another facet of Vedic marital culture is that, in almost all cases, there is not supposed to be any divorce and remarriage. Marriage is to last until husband and wife separate through death or through the husband's entering a renounced order of life such as vanaprastha or sannyasa, in which celibacy is required. According to the ancient custom (which, not too surprisingly, is not much practiced any more in the modern day...), while the couple is still married, or if his first wife dies, the husband is permitted to take another wife (or more than one) if (A) he can afford to maintain them and (B) his earlier wife or wives, if still living, agree to the idea of a "sister wife" joining their family. Thus, any number of marriages is possible for men within ancient Vedic culture. But the concept of polyandry (a woman having more than one husband) is almost unheard of; generally a woman who has more than one love interest is denigrated as unchaste in Vedic culture. If she becomes an actual widow or a "civil widow" -- the latter being what she's called if her husband takes sannyasa and renounces the world -- she is, in most cases, a widow for life. A chaste wife would never consider remarriage even in the event of her husband's death. Her undying love and loyalty toward him are supposed to endure for the duration of her life. That is Vedic wifely dharma.
Most of my friends in Krishna consciousness don't take this stuff too seriously. Plenty of them have divorced and remarried apparently without a second thought as to how appropriate or inappropriate that would be considered in Vedic culture, and I've always been supportive of their decision to do that. However, I happen to have been raised in a family that does care about Vedic culture, so I have been internalizing these concepts of wifely chastity and dharma for my whole life. I never expected to be amongst the "divorced" segment of society! But since it has happened, the question is, what shall I do now? My (ex-)husband may consider that our marital vows are not binding on him, but I still hold them sacred. Therefore, thus far at least, my decision has been to go on trying to remain faithful to my marital vows as much as I can, even though my marriage has fallen apart. Hence, I am in the weird position of being simultaneously married and not-married. It's pretty confusing at times, but you're welcome to come along for the ride if you like. See what life looks like through the eyes of a trying-to-be-dharmic divorcée.
The reason I put "(Not-So-)" in my blog title is because, in spite of wanting to be dharmic and trying my best to be a lot of the time, I am really far from dharmic. I didn't try that hard to be a good wife while I was 100% married, so it's really not a surprise that my marriage fell apart. I do things like stay up late, sleep in, and take forever to get around to showering, all of which are big no-nos in Vedic culture. And far from being loyal and loving eternally toward my (ex-)husband, there are plenty of things I don't like about him and I do sometimes fantasize about being married to somebody else. So much for the dharma! LOL!
But again, if you're curious what life looks like to a girl like me, then come along and I'll tell you all! :)
In the Vedas, one important concept that is dealt with is that of dharma. Among other meanings, one's dharma is one's sacred personal duty, the specific set of religious principles that each person must follow in order to find success and happiness in this world and out of it. In Vedic culture, wifely chastity is much admired, glorified and respected. This chastity means much more than just sexual fidelity. It is basically an all-encompassing attitude of loyal love and devotion. Certain specific pieces of advice are given to women who aspire to be chaste wives: things like, "be loving and respectful towards the friends of your husband," because if your husband likes or respects a person, he'll be unhappy if you fail to treat that person well. The goal of all the Vedic teachings of wifely chastity is to ensure harmony and happiness between husband and wife through teaching women how to be unconditionally loving, devoted, and supportive toward their husbands. The husband is considered the head of the household and the wife is his honored helpmeet. She can certainly voice her opinions and offer him advice if need be, but she must do so in a sweet and respectful way, never in a way that he would experience as harsh or annoying, and at all times it is for the husband to make the final decision if he so wishes.
Another facet of Vedic marital culture is that, in almost all cases, there is not supposed to be any divorce and remarriage. Marriage is to last until husband and wife separate through death or through the husband's entering a renounced order of life such as vanaprastha or sannyasa, in which celibacy is required. According to the ancient custom (which, not too surprisingly, is not much practiced any more in the modern day...), while the couple is still married, or if his first wife dies, the husband is permitted to take another wife (or more than one) if (A) he can afford to maintain them and (B) his earlier wife or wives, if still living, agree to the idea of a "sister wife" joining their family. Thus, any number of marriages is possible for men within ancient Vedic culture. But the concept of polyandry (a woman having more than one husband) is almost unheard of; generally a woman who has more than one love interest is denigrated as unchaste in Vedic culture. If she becomes an actual widow or a "civil widow" -- the latter being what she's called if her husband takes sannyasa and renounces the world -- she is, in most cases, a widow for life. A chaste wife would never consider remarriage even in the event of her husband's death. Her undying love and loyalty toward him are supposed to endure for the duration of her life. That is Vedic wifely dharma.
Most of my friends in Krishna consciousness don't take this stuff too seriously. Plenty of them have divorced and remarried apparently without a second thought as to how appropriate or inappropriate that would be considered in Vedic culture, and I've always been supportive of their decision to do that. However, I happen to have been raised in a family that does care about Vedic culture, so I have been internalizing these concepts of wifely chastity and dharma for my whole life. I never expected to be amongst the "divorced" segment of society! But since it has happened, the question is, what shall I do now? My (ex-)husband may consider that our marital vows are not binding on him, but I still hold them sacred. Therefore, thus far at least, my decision has been to go on trying to remain faithful to my marital vows as much as I can, even though my marriage has fallen apart. Hence, I am in the weird position of being simultaneously married and not-married. It's pretty confusing at times, but you're welcome to come along for the ride if you like. See what life looks like through the eyes of a trying-to-be-dharmic divorcée.
The reason I put "(Not-So-)" in my blog title is because, in spite of wanting to be dharmic and trying my best to be a lot of the time, I am really far from dharmic. I didn't try that hard to be a good wife while I was 100% married, so it's really not a surprise that my marriage fell apart. I do things like stay up late, sleep in, and take forever to get around to showering, all of which are big no-nos in Vedic culture. And far from being loyal and loving eternally toward my (ex-)husband, there are plenty of things I don't like about him and I do sometimes fantasize about being married to somebody else. So much for the dharma! LOL!
But again, if you're curious what life looks like to a girl like me, then come along and I'll tell you all! :)
Friday, August 24, 2012
So What's a Dharmic Divorcée? -- Part 1
Please accept my humble obeisances!
That's how we members of the Hare Krishna movement often greet each other, especially when writing letters, being introduced, or meeting each other after a long time apart. In this case, I'd like to introduce myself to you -- and explain a bit about my background, and that of the Krsna (Krishna) Consciousness movement to which I belong. To those of you who feel like the first parts of this post are a little dry, I apologize; I've included a (really teeny) bit of background history on Krsna Consciousness because I find it interesting and I expect that some of you will, too -- and the end of Part 2 ought to be juicy enough for any of you! ;)
Many people would consider us a Hindu group, but although there's an obvious relationship between our path and what is today known as Hinduism, our official position is to disagree with that designation. Although some scholars claim that the word "Hindu" is found in the Vedas -- the ancient scriptures that Hindus (and we) hold sacred -- and offer a few obscure examples, nevertheless the word is certainly not as well-known or widely used as other terms in Vedic literature for India, the Indian people, and the religion practiced by them. So we consider "Hinduism" to not be the best, most correct term to use to refer to any native Indian religion. Some say the word "Hindu" was coined by the Persians, to denote "those who lived on the other side of the River Sindhu" from them, which would indicate that in origin, the word basically just meant "Indian" and had no religious connotation at all. Nor is its meaning in relation to religion very clear or specific today, either. Saying that someone is a Hindu communicates only a vague idea of their beliefs: they most likely respect the Vedic scriptures and the various deities spoken of therein, and believe in karma and reincarnation, but their ideas about God, the identity of the soul, and what salvation entails and how best to attain it differ enormously. So we don't like to use such an unclear label for ourselves; and even as regards other "Hindus", I for one would like it if they too would give preference to the clearer and more specific Vedic terms for their various sects. Terms like "Vaisnava" (pronounced "VYE-shnuh-vuh"), which means a worshipper of Visnu (VISH-nu), or "Sakta" (SHOCK-tuh), which denotes a worshipper of Sakti (SHUCK-tee), i.e. the universal feminine energy of the Lord, or "Advaita-vadi", which means a person who believes that ultimately we are all one, give a much clearer picture of the beliefs of an individual "Hindu".
For more on the background and usage of the word "Hindu", see this article.
Our own path is technically called Gaudiya Vaisnavism (GO-dee-yuh VYE-shnuh-vism). West Bengal, a state in northeastern India, used to be called Gauda-desa (pronounced "Goda-desh" or "-daysh"); so, Gaudiya means Bengali. Gaudiya Vaisnavism, as we use the term, is that form of Vaisnavism that was founded and propagated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (Shree Chay-TUN-yuh Muh-HA-pruh-bhoo) and His followers from the 1500s A.D. onwards. It was brought to the U.S.A. in 1965 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896 - 1977), whom his followers refer to as Srila Prabhupada (SHREE-luh PRUH-bhoo-pod). He founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which subsequently spread to all corners of the globe. My own parents joined this movement in the early 1970s in California, and after they met and married, I was born there in 1984. My father named me Kamalini devi dasi, which means "Maidservant (dasi) of the goddess (devi) who is holding (ini) a lotus flower (kamala)."
I lived in California until I was 12 years old; then, in 1997, my parents (John and Francie McLeod, initiated in Krishna Consciousness as Haripada dasa & Phalini devi dasi) and I and my younger brother Nitai Pran dasa (age 9 at the time) moved to Prabhupada Village, a Hare Krishna farming community in North Carolina.
In 2004, I was engaged to Krsna Nam dasa, a Polish disciple of Trivikrama Swami. Trivikrama Swami is my parents' Godbrother (i.e., he's a direct disciple of Srila Prabhupada, like they are) and an old family friend of ours. My wedding took place on January 2nd, 2005, at the home of some other dear family friends, Udayananda Prabhu and Mother Rasesvari (their names are pronounced oo-dye-ON-un-duh, ross-AY-shwuh-ree). After that began my travels to Poland to visit my husband's friends and family, and to India, where my husband and I stayed in Sridhama Mayapura, the birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in West Bengal, for 4 1/2 months. We had hoped to live in Mayapura permanently, but it didn't work out, so we came back to Prabhupada Village and lived here together until 2009. That's when I got pregnant.
Continued in Part 2.
That's how we members of the Hare Krishna movement often greet each other, especially when writing letters, being introduced, or meeting each other after a long time apart. In this case, I'd like to introduce myself to you -- and explain a bit about my background, and that of the Krsna (Krishna) Consciousness movement to which I belong. To those of you who feel like the first parts of this post are a little dry, I apologize; I've included a (really teeny) bit of background history on Krsna Consciousness because I find it interesting and I expect that some of you will, too -- and the end of Part 2 ought to be juicy enough for any of you! ;)
Many people would consider us a Hindu group, but although there's an obvious relationship between our path and what is today known as Hinduism, our official position is to disagree with that designation. Although some scholars claim that the word "Hindu" is found in the Vedas -- the ancient scriptures that Hindus (and we) hold sacred -- and offer a few obscure examples, nevertheless the word is certainly not as well-known or widely used as other terms in Vedic literature for India, the Indian people, and the religion practiced by them. So we consider "Hinduism" to not be the best, most correct term to use to refer to any native Indian religion. Some say the word "Hindu" was coined by the Persians, to denote "those who lived on the other side of the River Sindhu" from them, which would indicate that in origin, the word basically just meant "Indian" and had no religious connotation at all. Nor is its meaning in relation to religion very clear or specific today, either. Saying that someone is a Hindu communicates only a vague idea of their beliefs: they most likely respect the Vedic scriptures and the various deities spoken of therein, and believe in karma and reincarnation, but their ideas about God, the identity of the soul, and what salvation entails and how best to attain it differ enormously. So we don't like to use such an unclear label for ourselves; and even as regards other "Hindus", I for one would like it if they too would give preference to the clearer and more specific Vedic terms for their various sects. Terms like "Vaisnava" (pronounced "VYE-shnuh-vuh"), which means a worshipper of Visnu (VISH-nu), or "Sakta" (SHOCK-tuh), which denotes a worshipper of Sakti (SHUCK-tee), i.e. the universal feminine energy of the Lord, or "Advaita-vadi", which means a person who believes that ultimately we are all one, give a much clearer picture of the beliefs of an individual "Hindu".
For more on the background and usage of the word "Hindu", see this article.
Our own path is technically called Gaudiya Vaisnavism (GO-dee-yuh VYE-shnuh-vism). West Bengal, a state in northeastern India, used to be called Gauda-desa (pronounced "Goda-desh" or "-daysh"); so, Gaudiya means Bengali. Gaudiya Vaisnavism, as we use the term, is that form of Vaisnavism that was founded and propagated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (Shree Chay-TUN-yuh Muh-HA-pruh-bhoo) and His followers from the 1500s A.D. onwards. It was brought to the U.S.A. in 1965 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896 - 1977), whom his followers refer to as Srila Prabhupada (SHREE-luh PRUH-bhoo-pod). He founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which subsequently spread to all corners of the globe. My own parents joined this movement in the early 1970s in California, and after they met and married, I was born there in 1984. My father named me Kamalini devi dasi, which means "Maidservant (dasi) of the goddess (devi) who is holding (ini) a lotus flower (kamala)."
I lived in California until I was 12 years old; then, in 1997, my parents (John and Francie McLeod, initiated in Krishna Consciousness as Haripada dasa & Phalini devi dasi) and I and my younger brother Nitai Pran dasa (age 9 at the time) moved to Prabhupada Village, a Hare Krishna farming community in North Carolina.
In 2004, I was engaged to Krsna Nam dasa, a Polish disciple of Trivikrama Swami. Trivikrama Swami is my parents' Godbrother (i.e., he's a direct disciple of Srila Prabhupada, like they are) and an old family friend of ours. My wedding took place on January 2nd, 2005, at the home of some other dear family friends, Udayananda Prabhu and Mother Rasesvari (their names are pronounced oo-dye-ON-un-duh, ross-AY-shwuh-ree). After that began my travels to Poland to visit my husband's friends and family, and to India, where my husband and I stayed in Sridhama Mayapura, the birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in West Bengal, for 4 1/2 months. We had hoped to live in Mayapura permanently, but it didn't work out, so we came back to Prabhupada Village and lived here together until 2009. That's when I got pregnant.
Continued in Part 2.
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