Rajanaka Newsletter June 24 2023, Captain Nice, the Consciousness of Consciousness, and Camp

 Saturday, June 24, 2023

 

Aho’ Rajanaka,

 

I hope this finds you well.  I write too often about the ferocity of life ‘round here but the roar of the birds, the squirreling of squirrels---at least three varieties--- to say nothing of the plethora of bunnies, mimchunks…umm, chipmunks, and everything that comes out at night means never a dull or noiseless moment.  Sadie keeps us safe like the brindled Sarama the Vedic dog of yore.

Folks think it’s peaceful out here in the countryside but that’s not the way the forest really works.  It more frequently a tournament of antagonisms, controversies, concours, rivalries, and plenny of mind-yer-own-bidddnesses-I’m-trying-to-do-stuffs.  None could really get along without the others (even if they don’t know that) and all are quite sure they aren’t always pals.  Unless you're prey, it’s usually enough to keep an eye out and sing along.

I wish we humans were as naturally undissembled with one another because asking for too much should not have to be asking too much.  Just a few minutes in the local grocery store parking lot, especially one up there in those suburbs, will dissuade the most irenic among us of the sparsity of collective comity.  Blow kisses when flipped off and wear an ‘as if smiling’ Krsna guise of concord not only to prove one need not be so upset by mostly nothing but to endure the ordinary indignities for sanity’s sake.  Sometimes the Buddha tells us that kindness is our truest nature only to remind us on the next page that we have no nature.  I prefer the latter not only because the former is that sort of untrue thing we want to tell ourselves but because it gives us a chance to do better, to be better no matter what we are feeling.  Goodness is as much contrariety as it is abundant.  Nice isn’t only for the weather and it sounds so trite but maybe that’s why we gots to say it.  True things are worth repeating.  Rage on, nicely.


Later this Saturday afternoon we will take up with some seriousness the remainder of The Heart of Recognition and I promise 1. not to repeat nearly as many times as Ksemaraja the recondite, maundering phrase “the consciousness of consciousness” and 2. Not to come dressed in my Captain Nice replica costume.   Anyone else remember Captain Nice?  It ran a total of 15 episodes in the summer of ’67.  The logline was “Carter Nash was a chemist in a police department who discovered a liquid which could turn him into Captain Nice, an odd sort of superhero: very shy and dominated by his mother. Captain Nice flew (he feared heights) in his tattered leotards, fighting badguys because his mother told him to do so.”

 

As a child of the turbulent 60s I was allowed to watch almost unlimited TV.  My parents were far more about quiet than what’s good for the child and I figure they figured that given the damage done to my siblings by their own unadmitted efforts, the tumult of society, the war, you name it, too many sitcoms were the least of what could go wrong with me.  Bless them.  I am cursed to remember everything, including the Captain Nice vs Mr Terrific rivalry.  Not quite as easy to settle as the far superior Addams Family vs. The Munsters but it’s good that some things are easy. I wish as much were true of Sanskrit but I’m going to make Ksemaraja seem easy and actually worth your time.  Come.  Zoom in.  It’s a blast in that philosophical kinda’ way.  You rang?  5pm Eastern.  Zoom, recordings, all of it right below the line.

 

Tomorrow Sunday June 25 is Mahabharata and there is a reallyreally good story for sure.  Come.

There are only 12 days before Rajanaka Summer Camp begins.  Susan is making stuff and shri-ifying, I’m overpreparing, and you are invited, either live or on Zoom.  Go deep for a few days.  We’ll be like flâneur du Rajanaka, wandering without destination and loving every minute of it.  I’m not going to sell this on ya’ but some conversation is worth it.

 

Lots in the Archive.  Bring me to the beach and listen to stories.  Let me put you to sleep.  Download some Courses.  Links below and there are more links if you write to me.  Send me a postcard and I will send one back.  Get out the hats and hooters or sit quietly.  But above all, be nice (if you can) and know we got each other even when we’re all far away from one another.  Please take care.  

 

Saprema, with affection, Douglas

&&

THE HEART OF RECOGNITION SESSIONS

DATES: May 20, May 27, June 3, June 10, June 17, June 26.

*Tuition is $16 per Session or $90 for all.  

Please use the usual PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8). 

*Zoom link is the usual Saturday link: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95057662268

*Dropbox Recordings Available Anytime!: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/3lvz5j1ajcidwjasy7fsl/h?dl=0&rlkey=qibpejcv3blkq0ngmjx6atsc8

*All Courses are recorded and available on our Archive for download.  If you can’t make it live, you can still take the course, as usual

 

SUNDAY MAHABHARATA

EVERY Sunday is a new story, every bit of it makes sense no matter when you choose to attend!

Time: Sessions on Sundays at 5pm Eastern.
Dates: Every Sunday unless we announce otherwise!

ZOOM link is the same for all Sundays: 

 https://rochester.zoom.us/j/314987250

Tuition: $15 per Session or $20 and all goes to India causes. Your call.

Complete Recorded Archive INCLUDING a free Audio book is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0  

(Remember that you must download Sessions from Dropbox because when you listen directly on Dropbox you receive only the first hour.)

 

RAJANAKA SUMMER CAMP, BRISTOL, NEW YORK, COME!!!
ON ZOOM TOO!!!  SO YOU CAN STAY HOME AND COME TO CAMP TOO! 
*Dates: July 6th-July 10th    

*Venue: Bristol Valley Vineyards, 7235 Lane Road, Bloomfield, NY 14469 (Note: The Town of Bristol is so small that it uses several other town addresses.  Really.  This is the correct mailing/maps address.)  YES to wifi on site and two brand new bathrooms!

*Cost: $600, deposit of $200 is due now; complete payment due by June 1st via Paypal (friend and family only, use svcourses@gmail.com for the PP address) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8).

*Facebook Group: Rajanaka Summer Camp 2023 is up and running.  Just search FB and you will find a host of folks with whom you can talk to about Camp, logistics, details, whatever you like.

*ZOOM LINK FOR CAMP LIVE: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95779901732 
*LIVE Camp includes Sessions, lunch, tea, water, and snacks all day, and Curry Night Dinner.  It does not include accommodations, travel, or transportation.  The nearest airport is Rochester.  The nearest towns with hotels are Naples, South Bristol, and Canandaigua.  Air BnB is a good bet.  If you are flying and need a ride the best place to find some help is on the FB group---we can’t provide transportation.  This is a mom&pop operation that has worked well for 20 years and we’re here to help every way that we can.



INDIA is a go.  If you are interested in joining us on the India Pilgrimage that can still happen for you.  There’s room.   There are more details below the line but you can write to me directly with any questions or interests, douglas@rajanaka.com.  Join the Facebook Group Rajanaka 2023 India Pilgrimage even if you don’t think you can come this time.  You’ll meet lovely people and you won’t be able to resist.  This is the real deal.

 

 

NEW ARCHIVE COURSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FROM THIS PAST SPRING 2023.

·      The Tamil Goddess in Six Sessions, tuition for all Sessions is $95.  You can download from here directly. Tuition is on the honor system, use Paypal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com)
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/owz6urldp6rnl4nv6bpdh/h?dl=0&rlkey=7rty7mxnjwk301bjk6vt7qtpi

 

·      Muruga of the Six Temples, tuition for all Sessions is $95 payable as PayPal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com), here is the Dropbox link for downloading directly: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1fwu9qhlghlmz9t1a1sd2/h?dl=0&rlkey=2lz0ox3znbhl0iqc48qu59gpx

 

 

 


&&&MORE

So much more.  NEW FREE ONE HOUR, A Conversation About the Goddess Aranyani, The Wild One of the Forest, on the Archive here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fzcqc48pzzlilxa/AAB6LMj-WGPpjEBuEp6eqjz5a?dl=0

 

THURSDAYS IN MARCH & APRIL at 7pm Eastern

SIX MURUGA MYTHS: THE NONBINARY ARCHETYPE

You may not be much familiar with Ganesha’s brother Murugan.  He is really only “important” in south India where his temple cult is significant.  But in this archetype of the Tamils resides one of the great body of stories and imagergy.  One of Muruga’s names is Shanmukha, Six Faces, and for each there is a temple and a very particular story.  We will go on mythic pilgrimage together to the six temple myths of Muruga.   (In December we are visiting these very temples on India Pilgrimage.  This would be a great opportunity to make these trips. 

Tuition is $15 per Session, or $90 for all Sessions to PayPal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com) .  If you can’t make it live, the Archive recording will always be available.  

The Zoom for all Thursdays at 7pm is always the same. ZOOM LINK: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/98183733328

 

You can find all of our Newsletters on the Kalliyam Blogspot here:

https://kalliyam.blogspot.com/2023/01/rajanaka-newsletter-january-10-2023.html

 

And so much to read on the Rajanaka Sammelana, Rajanaka Adesa, and the Contraiety [SIC] Blogspots, links here:

 

https://rajanaka.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-story-in-news-rajanaka-past-and.html

 

https://rajanakadesa.blogspot.com/2023/01/vrata-resolutions-and-new-year.html

 

https://contraiety.blogspot.com/2022/08/what-you-havent-earned-is-more-important.html

 

What will you find?

Six Sessions and PDF to aid in study.  Write to me if you need help.

Description: No form of Hanuman is more important or less understood and studied than the great Pancamukha.  Here Hanuman bears the visage of Varaha the Boar, Garuda the Raptor, Hanuman the Monkey, Narasimha the Lion Man, and Hayagriva the Horse.  We will bring this character to life in mythos, mantra, and mudra, in theory and practice, and there will be new stories and work that extends far beyond what we have done before with the Tantric Hanuman.  Everyone is welcome.  We start at the beginning and we go deep.

Tuition for Six Sessions is $150, payable over time if you need, use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8 or svcourses@gmail.com) If you can’t afford full tuition, talk to me.  Your access is guaranteed.  Tuition further promises unlimited access to the Recorded Dropbox Archive that will allow you to listen whenever you like.  Registration for all is by attendance and tuition is on the honor system.

  • Saturday CORE: Rasa in Theory and Practice.

Time: Six Sessions on Saturday Evenings, 5pm Eastern

Dates: January 14 we begin!  Jan 14/21/28 then February 11/18/25

ZOOM link for all Saturdays: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95057662268  

ARCHIVE is HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d4uwwjw17seca2livd6r2/h?dl=0&rlkey=nh4g7xj6x7skeghw4x6tcsk2c

Description: Rasa means essence, taste, liquidity, flavor, sentiment, elemental feeling and emotion.  At the heart of the study of poetry, Rasa Theory is a remarkable, rich, and complex method of analysis and appreciation of artistry and aesthetics.  But rasa is also a roadmap, a process and practice, a method for understanding and exploring our most elemental feelings.  Rajanaka has among the most developed and useful rasa traditions of yoga.  At the center of every yoga is engagement with feeling and the development of “taste”: rasa is the core of our being and here we learn the way through that labyrinth of essence.

Tuition for Six Sessions is $150, payable over time if you need, use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8 or svcourses@gmail.com) If you can’t afford full tuition, talk to me.  Your access is guaranteed.  Tuition further promises unlimited access to the Recorded Dropbox Archive that will allow you to listen whenever you like.  Registration for all is by attendance and tuition is on the honor system.

 

  • SUNDAY MAHABHARATA.  

EVERY Sunday is a new story, every bit of it makes sense no matter when you choose to attend!

Time: Sessions on Sundays at 5pm Eastern.
Dates: Every Sunday unless we announce otherwise!

ZOOM link is the same for all Sundays: 

 https://rochester.zoom.us/j/314987250

Tuition: $15 per Session or $20 and all goes to India causes. Your call. Complete Archive INCLUDING a free Audio book is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0  

 

TUITION FOR ANY OF THESE ARCHIVES IS $150 FOR COMPLETE ACCESS. YOU ARE ON YOUR HONOR TO ACCESS THEM AS YOU PLEASE AND OFFER TUITION VIA PAYPAL (SVCOURSES@GMAIL.COM OR NALLAPAAMPU@GMAIL.COM) OR BY VENMO (SVCOURSES@GMAIL.COM OR DOUGLAS-BROOKS-8).  

 

Gayatri Mantra

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/r58rwnp3ryxgi6a6y8yme/h?dl=0&rlkey=59kbd7hjdrl8n809zv8becmdi

 

Lalita 1000 Names

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/18o5rtle7p91hz2/AADQnph8ofpPAX5mtW7mX-L4a?dl=0

 

OM Autobiography

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/11jd30d14ibjjtv3wauaj/h?dl=0&rlkey=1wugbag9m7myo1c50gt6qoa6d

 

Shakuntala for India

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/osx5n6i9vrz5vi5ek9vch/h?dl=0&rlkey=pa7akqysgrauu07mw9te61yb1

 

Pancamukha Hanuman

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d62llefrjvyidefn3uequ/h?dl=0&rlkey=p774e7zbme37d8cc49ocysog2

 

Rasa Theory

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d4uwwjw17seca2livd6r2/h?dl=0&rlkey=nh4g7xj6x7skeghw4x6tcsk2c

 

Free Saturdays in 2023

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rm505c2fcy04y3upn5abv/h?dl=0&rlkey=6gk1d5rzyypn0r37100wzv5hk

 

Sricakra Puja Appa Svadhyaya

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bi7z70589ztuak4/cakra%20puja.wav?dl=0

 

Religion 270 The Meaning of Life

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ab5ioprn7bk2qgsd8800i/h?dl=0&rlkey=k9g4xukvctff91fkye1wo5mdr

 

Poised for Grace Audio Book

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iw0za7jwml6m7mc/AACjDhxf9owOXjbkzT2r2k-Ra?dl=0

 

Patanjali Essential Core

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2qd7wc5qroiva3v/AAAaZPvnc9I2JQSrO88Iv1exa?dl=0

 

Sivakamasundari Practicum

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ifddb0hglwrm5hx/AABGyYYfSJ9B_KHhU1LgdsT3a?dl=0

 

Mahabharata Sundays
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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