B·L·O·G       June - July ,2008    B·L·O·G

7-29 -  Our Great Need: A sermon given by Smith Wigglesworth in 1917 along with my comments.
7.29 -  Years ago I read, Ever Increasing Faith, and it is nearly impossible not to be impressed.  Yet tonight, as I finish reading it again, I am forced to pause at the Chapter, The Word of Knowledge and Faith where I quote Smith Wigglesworth: "The  revelation of the mysteries of God comes by the Spirit...the spirit reveals...it is the Holy Ghost that will bring forth...a divine revelation of all the mind of God."  I have also been watching a few YouTube videos showing different Holy-Ghost-filled preachers arguing with each other over "the truth."  There seems to be a sincere effort to discern exactly what God is thinking, leaving me thanking and appreciating Srila Prabhupada even more for introducing me to Lord Chaitanya and his clear message for this age of quarrel. 
7.26  -   Ever Increasing Faith , by Smith Wigglesworth (.pdf format)
             Smith Wigglesworth blog:  here
              Faith That Prevails , by Smith Wigglesworth (.pdf format)

 

Smith Wigglesworth  (1859 - 1947)

           
7.22  - Obviously I have been tardy in keeping my blog current.  Nearly 7 weeks have gone by.  A lot has happened.  My biggest realization is so childish that I am reluctant to mention it.  Oh well, here goes... If you are in the swimming pool ...in the water - you need never worry about drying off.  Similarly, if you stay constantly "wet" with God, you never have to worry about "drying off"  ...becoming vulnerable to danger.

As a person who has tremendous love for Lord Caitanya's Movement as well as love for Jesus Chris, I have had a recent resurrection in my interaction with Jesus.  This does strike me a bit odd because I just spent countless hours reading two long biographies of Lord Caitanya, telling friends that I felt that the Sri Caitanya-bhagavata was going to be taking up all my study time for the next several years. So recent events have transpired in a most wonderful and unexpected way.  In hindsight, what has been happening to me has been building up over the 4 or 5 months - coming to a head just this past week. 

You see, I have been slowly feeling a "tormented-pressure" building up inside me for many months.  I was not eating right.  Gaining weight.  Feeling like crap and overcome with apathy and lethargy.  How's that for a laundry list of suffering? 

So a week ago I was on my way to Brownwood, Texas - deep into Bible country - taking the 4 hour drive to retrieve my utility trailer that my son had borrowed but was unable to return.  I was a bit perturbed about that because with the price of gas and other expenses, the trip was going to cost me about $150.00.  But my son was working very hard trying to raise enough money to take him back to the Philippines for his second Christian missionary trip so I wasn't that upset about helping him return my trailer.  However, I was upset with myself and how I felt.  Yes, "tormented" - although this exact word isn't one I was using or had thought of at the time to describe how I felt.  But in fact, is exactly how I felt.

Actually I was looking forward to taking the long drive, to be alone where I could pray and confront my woes.  And pray mightily I did ...expecting God at any moment to come to my rescue.  However, all the way to Brownwood nothing changed for me.  In fact, if time was what I was looking for, I found plenty of it with myself sitting in a restaurant for an entire hour waiting for Patrick to show up, seeing how he got delayed and I arrived a bit early.  But the plan was simple.  He would show up with the trailer hooked-up to his truck, we would eat lunch, swap out the trailer and I would come back home with it. 

But instead, when he showed up everything was taken out of my hands - out of my control.  The trailer was parked somewhere in town - meaning I had to follow him to get it.  I had no idea where I was headed - certainly I never thought I would be soon touring a Christian coffee house and then sitting down for 30 minutes with a famous, born-again, Christian saint by the name of Angelia Ruth Schum.

This all came about because my trailer was parked in her driveway, across the street from the Crosslines College Coffee House that Angelia and her husband run, among a whole host of other projects in Brownwood (KPSM Christian radio station, co-pastor of the Living Word Church, student counselor at Howard Payne University, founder of a prison ministry for young adults, and coordinator for overseas mission trips to countries all over the world).

But you have to understand, while all of this was happening, I personally felt stressed.  I am talking about feeling bloated from months of not eating right, in a terrible funk, tired, lethargic, and disturbed.  But, of course, I put on a nice smile and sincerely appreciated the unexpected turn of events.

Patrick was in a super rush to leave because he had only a few hours to do about ten major things before his missionary team left Brownwood for the airport in Austin.  So he went into Angelia's house and brought her outside to meet me.  At this point I really knew nothing about her.  Anyhow, he seem to take an extra effort to do this.  I remember noticing this.  So that was nice of him.  Meeting her was a pleasant surprise because there was just something very pleasant about her - special.  I could sense it.  She gave me a tour of the coffee house and as Patrick was saying his goodbyes I asked if she could visit with me for a few minutes.  She took me into her house, cluttered with all the suitcases that the missionary students had left in her care before being loaded into to cars for the airport.   She steered us into a small study to talk.   Very 60's feeling.  You know, 1960-68. California hippies.  Her house was exactly like that: absolutely warm and inviting.

What we talked about was not the most important thing, although she did tell me she was once in some jungle and had laid hands on a blind native multiple time to restore his sight.   However, this sent her into a personal crisis of sorts,  not being able to revive the man's vision.   All at once she became aware of a big commotion and he could see.  So the conversation was rather interesting.  But what she DID for me was the real answer to my hours of praying earlier that day.  She gave me some books.  One of them was, Tormented, 8 Years and Back.  Another, 91 Psalm, God's Shield Of Protection. Both books were written by her mother, although in her mother's first book, Angelia has inserted two of her own chapters.

Now why is all of this so important to me?  What have I stumbled upon?  Or, a much better way to put it, how did God exactly answer my prayers?  First, having followed Kenneth Hagin Sr. for many years back in the 1980's and many other great Christian warriors (Smith Wiggelsworth, etc.) it is not that I am unfamiliar with the modern-day crusade of casting out demons.  I can just imagine how a complete record of such events would read in book form.  I mean, it seems like a hundred years ago that I read an account of a little Christian girl full of love for Jesus who was in Africa with her parents.  A man had some tumor or cancerous growth on his face and the little girl reached out and touched it in the name of Jesus Christ and the thing simple fell off his face!

But what about me?  How could I, the Chief of Security (at where I work), who is constantly chanting the Holy Names, be afflicted with demons.  Thank God I am not a total nut-job running around reeking havoc like the Joker in, The Dark Knight - however, in my own little world I haven't been a happy camper for quite sometime.  My will often is defeated.  I have very little sincerity.  Very little faith.  What keeps me down?  What keeps popping up and tormenting me?  What keep me from achieving my dreams?  What keep polluting my mind?  What keeps me feeling like crap?  What keeps me in such a fog?  What keeps me simply Ron?  Who is Ron?  What stops me from being a knight for God... a Vaishnav Knight? 

There is something definitely different this time around.  I am talking about Peggy's book, Tormented, 8 Years and Back and revisiting this whole demon issue.

Here is where you can buy this book on  Amazon

When the author, Peggy Joyce Ruth (odd, Joyce is my mothers name and Ruth my grandmother's name) picked the title for her book, this wasn't because of some theory she had, but rather because of exactly what happened to her.  This make the book 100% genuine, written by someone who has actually been there ...and back.

Why did I say I am now being surprisingly re-connected to Lord Jesus Christ?  Surprised because, again, I thought I was going to be 100% occupied with my studies of Lord Caitanya.   Now THAT was MY plan.  But obviously, God wanted me meet Angelia and read her mother's book. 

I have always been a bit bothered (perplexed) trying to reconcile Jesus Christ with Lord Krsna.  But never to diminish either.  However, Lord Krsna does say to only worship Him.  And this is as it should be.  The is no Divine above God (Lord Krsna) in a position of supremacy.  To worship less would be foolish.  And even Jesus had his object of worship, that he bowed down before, that he took shelter of - that he prayed to, for help ...His Father, God Almighty (Krsna in sanskrit; Yahwey in Hebrew).

I am no scholar.  I don't have the brain for that.  What the heck, I'll confess ...I'll read a book and forget 99% of it in 5 minutes.  Odd that I even enjoy reading.  Now Alvin McCoy (U.S. Navy Seal buddy of mine) ...now Al has a brain.  He can tell you the name and author of a book that he read when he was seven years old and tell you exactly what the book was about. Now that is a brain.  Anyhow...what I do remember is that the world of Jesus Christ (all the different denominations) is packed full of  Beautiful Stories of the Lord  that absolutely makes your soul sing. 

In Peggy Joyce Ruth's book, 91 Psalm, God's Shield Of Protection ...the "Beautiful Stories of the Lord" that she writes about has me very excited (also available on Amazon:  see here ).  Taken all together, today I am enjoying new insights.  I believe in individual ministries.  Or, I believe in incarnations; meaning that Lord Vishnu (God) expands Himself for unlimited purposes and pastimes.  And Love is what calls Him - exactly how Advaita Acharya summoned Lord Krishna to appear as the son of Mother Saci and Jagannatha Misra: little Visvambhara ( a.k.a. Sri Krishna Caitnaya).  And if I may, exactly how Lord Jesus Christ appeared, as the son of Mary and Joseph.  Now, the Christian Scriptures are not as clear to me as to who exactly summoned Jesus to appear, but certainly there were many devout men of God, such as John the Baptist.  He was a great lover of the Divine, out in the desert praying for God.

"He drew large crowds on the banks of the Jordan River, demanding from them
repentance and baptism in view of the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God. He drew large crowds on the banks of the Jordan River, demanding from them repentance and baptism in view of the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God." ...Wikipedia 

The point is, that there are unique and different circumstances and purposes that the Lord has appeared here on earth and walked with man.   The divine ministry of Jesus Christ was real - not some myth.  A myth doesn't produce countless, documented miracles.  Also, it is plain to see that the ministry of Jesus Christ was unique.  His is full of stories of Him curing the physically afflicted, casting out demons, praying to His Father, leaving us the Lord's Prayer.  On the other hand, Sri Krishna Chaitanya instantly cured a leper, turned the most vile human beings into instant Saints and taught us how, in this age, to best worship God -  leaving us with the great maha (great) mantra (prayer): hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare.

But what about my demons?  ...Especially in the area that Angelia speaks of in her chapter titled, The Soulish Realm.  Perhaps I am just caught up in wishful thinking or some kind of illusion, but I swear my mind has become nearly silent since I started taking command of my demons using the authority invested in the Holy Name of Lord Jesus Christ.  Up against just me, my demons have complete freedom to come and go as the see fit, riding roughshod over me at their pleasure.  Alone, I have zero influence over them.  No command, whatsoever.  But this past week I have used the power-filled Name of Jesus with tremendous results. 

In a way I have been doing this for years with, Jai Radhe.  This holy utterance has been my number one weapon against my mind for over 20 years, used numerous time per day, also with great results. 

But Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible, along with people like Angelia and her mother Peggy Joyce Ruth who work the formula ...in all of this I find great comfort.  The Christian ministry is unique in so many ways.  Jesus gives us the spiritual boxing gloves to slug it out in victory over evil.  I can sincerely encourage you to get yourself a copy of Peggy's book and take control of your life.  Oh, have no doubt.  I love Jesus Christ but I will always pitch my tent along the banks of the Holy Ganges among all the great Vaishnavas.  But in my heart, my head is always bowed down to Jesus.  I thank Him.  Dear Heavenly Father.  I pray to you in the name of your son, Jesus.  Thank your for saving me. Bless those who have prayed for me.  Have mercy on me, a sinner.

6.08  - Returned two days ago from California.  Took this picture at the Los Angeles ISKCON temple.  This was the best part of our trip.  They have a nice vegetarian buffet and right next to it, stairs lead up to a large gift shop.  There I bought a copy of, Sri Caitanya Mangala by Locana Dasa Thakura.  This has turned out to be such a nice book.  At 289 pages long, what it lacks in volume it easily makes up for in quanity of nectar.

6.03  - Last night I finished my first complete reading of the, Sri Caitanya-bhagavata!!  It took me just under a month to read it.  I will now study the book chapter by chapter, making extensive notes that you can follow above by clicking on the small picture of the book.   I am going to California for 3 days, taking with me, Sri Navadvipa Mahatmya by Bhaktivinoda Thakura.  I will begin my second reading of the, Sri Caitanya-bhagavata when I return.

My thoughts about the, Sri Caitanya-bhagavata now that I have read it are very positive.  As I mentioned before, "This book is like a surprise birthday party thrown on your behalf and you have no idea that inside, waiting for you, is an enormous stack of presents. You open one after another. So many. Each one is as wonderful as the next. You just can't believe your good fortune.  Each present is spiritually opulent, wrapped with the greatest care and love.  And you want so badly to go back and take a closer look at the ones you've already unwrapped, but there are so many more yet to open. Sri Vrndavana das Thakur's, Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata is like this."

Of course, I wrote that before finishing it.  Rightly so, because it is 100% about God, what mostly impressed me about the book is that the book's stature matches the stature of the Almighty.  God should be inconceivable, wonderful, amazing, mind-blowing, awesome, etc., and the, Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata doesn't fall short.  Not at all.  I also appreciate how it is easy to read.  You don't have to be an Oxford Fellow to understand it.  Out of 781 pages long I only had to look up around 24 unfamiliar words.  Far less for more accomplished readers.  

The book also impresses me as a book that can be studied (as I said, something I will soon begin doing).  It has also left a desire in my heart to finally read the, Sri Caitanya-caritamrita which is a much more detailed look into the life of their Lordships Sri Sri Krsna Chaitanya and Nityananda.

Thank you Srila Prabhupad.  Thank you Srila Vrndavan das Thakura.  And thank you Sridevi for telling me about this wonderful and edifying book.

5.27  - Presently fully engrossed in reading, Sri Caitanya-bhagavata day and night. 
5.16  - Added the small book image (just above) as a hot-link to a completely new section where all material on, Sri Caitanya-bhagavata will be posted
5.15  -  See Misc Tab for a Forum post and reply regarding a statement found in the book by Sridhara,  addressing Lord Chaitanya.
5.15  -  When I open the Chaitanya-bhagavata I select "endless loop" on my Creative MediaSource 5 audio player and listen to this song for hours on end as I read.  Although this YouTube Video only plays one time, at least it will give you a taste of what I am talking about. 

5.15  -    I have decided to dedicate The Cedar Post Ministry to, Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata by Srila Vrndavana das Thakura. 
 

I pray to Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda to eternally bless Her Grace Sridevi dasi for telling me about this wonderful book.  My study notes (see tab above) will now be exclusively dedicated to studying, Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata.  In no way should this be considered a rebuff on my part to any of the wonderful books and authors or personalities found on this website.  Better to understand that this is simply something that my heart is telling me to do ...to where all my years of study has taken me.  My good fortune is beyond comprehension.  I humbly invite you to visit here often.