austerity.

Sometimes, various personalities think my life is not austere enough. Would it be better to stick my head in the sand? Austerities are relative to an environment and a person.

One time I was riding on a bus in South India and I was very uncomfortable. I was trying to put my finger on why I was having such a hard time to be content with my environment. The leg room was two inches too short, the metal bars over the windows allowed my head to again and again bang against them, the television's volume was beyond deafening, opening windows only allowed hot air mixed with dust to enter, and the travel food was fried puris with hot pickle. The bus was always a few hours late leaving/arriving and if you had to "pass water", you had to get off the bus and squat down on the side of the road to do so. Why was I suffering and the other Indian boys not? I came to the conclusion that I was suffering because I have tasted comfort. I know what its like to travel in a bus which you can extend your legs, I know how proper air conditioning keeps one cool, I know what 7-11 can provide to a hungry traveler and i know what its like to get places as scheduled and paid for. I even appreciated American rest areas where you can relax in the grass, have a picnic, and now a days use free wireless internet. Those other Indian boys have never experienced anything else but similar bus rides. My mind was always frustrated thinking, "why is it not like it should be as in America?"

Another time in India I had Nutritional yeast and Braggs liquid aminos with me in Chowpatty temple. At that time I was just eating rice or chappati. I couldn't digest much. I would layer everything with braggs or yeast to give it a little flavor. One other brahmacari asked if he could try it. I looked at him with my eyebrow up saying,"you probably wont like it but go for it if you want." Then Govinda prabhu stopped the boy and said, "What will you do if you like it?" It was a wonderful point about comfort. What would he do if he liked it? What kind of trouble would he have to go through to satisfy his new found taste? Once we experience something we like we continue to desire to have it or expect to have it when we want. If we don't have the facility to obtain it then we will simply suffer in its absence.

Seeing this picture of this yogi I took in Rishikesh, left me thinking about the austerities we perform on a daily weekly basis to do our services. For me as an "American boy", following the regulative principles, chanting my 16 rounds, reading each day, speaking pleasantly, keeping good relationships, and sharing Kc with others is hard enough. I don't know what else I can do? All the American comforts keep calling me, emailing me, text messaging me, and standing before me with folded hands begging "how can we serve".

*** this week of preaching has left me up past twelve each night and right now even though I am back at the temple I can't get to sleep. Who will break first, my bad habits or me?