|
|
<?xml-stylesheet href="/rss.xsl" type="text/xsl"?>
|
|
|
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
|
|
|
<channel>
|
|
|
<title>Existential Beauty</title>
|
|
|
<link>https://existential.beauty/</link>
|
|
|
<description>Recent content on Existential Beauty</description>
|
|
|
<generator>Hugo -- gohugo.io</generator>
|
|
|
<language>en-us</language>
|
|
|
<copyright>Existential Beauty by Leonard Francis Coogan is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0</copyright>
|
|
|
<lastBuildDate>Sun, 10 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<atom:link href="https://existential.beauty/index.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<item>
|
|
|
<title>Chuck Wrenn Interview</title>
|
|
|
<link>https://existential.beauty/posts/chuck-wrenn-interview/</link>
|
|
|
<pubDate>Sun, 10 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<guid>https://existential.beauty/posts/chuck-wrenn-interview/</guid>
|
|
|
<description>Existential Beauty https://existential.beauty/posts/chuck-wrenn-interview/ -
|
|
|
|
|
|
<div id="buzzsprout-player-14664851"></div><script src="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2320027/14664851-chuck-wrenn-on-richmond-s-hippie-scene-in-the-70s.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-14664851&player=small" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Hey everybody! In this episode I’ll be interviewing Chuck Wrenn. Chuck Wrenn is
|
|
|
someone who had a heavy involvement in the Richmond music scene from the first
|
|
|
psychedelic dance in VA, all the way up to High on the Hog. He’s lived in
|
|
|
Richmond his whole life and has been part of some crazy scenes. I love Chuck.
|
|
|
I’ve known Chuck since I was born and he helped raise me, so this is a very
|
|
|
special interview to me. The music used is an improvised piece by Peter Lyon
|
|
|
Huff that he recorded in my basement for this interview.</p>
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Alright man, whatcha got in mind?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>You were telling me earlier that you used to explore abandoned buildings in
|
|
|
Richmond. Did you ever have an encounter with the police?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>My closest experience with old buildings and police was when there was an empty
|
|
|
building downtown &ndash; not all the way downtown, but I guess around first street
|
|
|
I&rsquo;d say. Foushees. It was a vacant building that had a stained glass window in
|
|
|
the side of it. And me and my brother and law at the time said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d really like
|
|
|
to get that stained glass window, and I said &ldquo;alright, we can go get that.&rdquo; We
|
|
|
took our tools, just hand tools to go in and pry that window out. While we were
|
|
|
in there working on the window, somebody called the cops. So the cops showed up
|
|
|
at the place. There was no way out. We couldn&rsquo;t get out. And the cops were
|
|
|
heading in the house, so he and I opened up the door and got behind the door up
|
|
|
against the wall and the cops came in with flashlights and looked all around and
|
|
|
walked out the room. We were right behind the damn open door up against the
|
|
|
wall. Boy that was one helluva a night.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yeah, what else happened that night?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Just waited for the cops to leave. If they had a dog, we would&rsquo;ve been shit.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>When was the first show you organized?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>The first big one&hellip; I started out doing that stuff in highschool. I had friends
|
|
|
in bands and I&rsquo;d put on a show and advertise it around school and a couple
|
|
|
hundred people would come and we&rsquo;d rent a place to put on a show. The first
|
|
|
really big one I did &ndash; there used to be a ballroom called Tantilla Ballroom, it
|
|
|
was down on Broad St. It has a really long, great history. It was considered to
|
|
|
be the major ballroom in the South, it&rsquo;s torn down now. Me &amp; a couple of buddies
|
|
|
rented this ballroom and put on the first psychedelic dance in the state of VA.
|
|
|
We rented a bunch of equipment to put the show on. We rented so much equipment
|
|
|
&ndash; we sold the show out &ndash; and rented so much equipment we lost money on it.
|
|
|
That was a big one. Gosh, since then, there&rsquo;s been countless shows. Up to &ldquo;High
|
|
|
on the Hog.&rdquo; Now, I wasn&rsquo;t the only guy that did the &ldquo;High on the Hog.&rdquo;</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Tell me about Woodstock. Did you have any role in organizing it?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>I didn&rsquo;t have anything to do with putting it on, but before that there was a
|
|
|
festival called Atlantic City Pop. A buddy of mine had a leather good store. And
|
|
|
he was gonna go out in a booth and sell the stuff that he&rsquo;d made. It was a great
|
|
|
time. Saw a lot of great bands. We were just up there running his booth. But
|
|
|
while I was up there, I noticed a lot of people wearing tie-dye shirts and
|
|
|
people were selling them. Came back to Richmond and said, &ldquo;we can do this at
|
|
|
Woodstock.&rdquo; So my wife and I and a couple of friends started tie-dying t-shirts
|
|
|
at our apartment. We tie-dyed a shit ton of them. We&rsquo;d go out and buy big cases
|
|
|
of white Hane&rsquo;s t-shirts and come home and have a couple of pots on the stove.
|
|
|
And my wife and I (we were the only people that went up to Woodstock). We loaded
|
|
|
up all the t-shirts and went up to Woodstock. We got up there Thursday before
|
|
|
they closed the interstate and got within a mile from the stage. Fairly close at
|
|
|
the time. People were just coming in and parking on the side of the road, so if
|
|
|
you were there you weren&rsquo;t going anywhere. There wasn&rsquo;t no way you&rsquo;d be getting
|
|
|
out. So we set up our little tie-dye shirt thing. I had some pipe and we opened
|
|
|
the doors and duct-taped the pipe and started hanging up the t-shirts. So we&rsquo;re
|
|
|
selling t-shirts up there. I had a big cooler of beer with me. It was going
|
|
|
great. Then people started coming by and a guy came by and said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d really
|
|
|
like to get this shirt, but I don&rsquo;t have any money. Would you take some hash for
|
|
|
it?&rdquo; I said, &ldquo;yeah sure.&rdquo; So we&rsquo;re doing that. Now other people would come by,
|
|
|
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have any mother either, but I like the shirt. Would you swap for some
|
|
|
acid?&rdquo; And next thing I know, we&rsquo;ve got pot, hash, acid &ndash; along with the
|
|
|
t-shirts. So I set a sheet over the hood of the car and I started putting out
|
|
|
the stuff with prices that we&rsquo;d swapped for. So now we&rsquo;re selling tie-dyed
|
|
|
t-shirts, pot, LSD. Hehehe! We never got to the stage until Sunday. We got there
|
|
|
on Thursday. But it was such a crazy scene. And then people were going &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
|
|
|
drinking this beer.&rdquo; I said &ldquo;you got anmyore of that beer, you wanna sell some?&rdquo;
|
|
|
They said, &ldquo;okay!&rdquo;. So now I&rsquo;m selling beer. Just crazy. Crazy shit.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>How&rsquo;d you get to know Bruce Springsteen?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Well, Bruce started coming to town &ndash; first time I saw Bruce and his band was in
|
|
|
Monroe park and they came down and played free. No one had heard of them. They
|
|
|
were just kids from New Jersey. They came down in a beat-up old truck and
|
|
|
equipment and set up in Monroe park and played. I knew they were gonna be a big
|
|
|
deal, because even as kids &ndash; I guess Bruce was like 18 &ndash; and they were good
|
|
|
from the start. First time I ever saw them, I said &ldquo;man, these guys are gonna be
|
|
|
<em>something</em>.&rdquo; And they were one of the first bands, maybe the first band, I ever
|
|
|
heard that mic&rsquo;d all the amps through the PA. So instead of just having the amps
|
|
|
and playing at that volume, they put mics in front of the amps and put them into
|
|
|
the PA so you get this huge sound. They&rsquo;d come to Richmond and they didn&rsquo;t have
|
|
|
a lot of places to play. They had Asbury park in NJ. Richmond got to be one of
|
|
|
the places that were real popular from them. They&rsquo;d come down every month or
|
|
|
two, I guess, and play. I got to be friends with &rsquo;em and did a lot of posters
|
|
|
for the band and that kind of stuff &ndash; just liked &rsquo;em. Bruce never stayed at my
|
|
|
house, but most of the band did. And at that time, my wife, my wife at that time
|
|
|
would make up a big spaghetti dinner and feed the band and they&rsquo;d sleep on the
|
|
|
floor. We did that for a while. They got to where they didn&rsquo;t need to sleep on
|
|
|
my floor anymore. Ahehehe! Bruce used to come to my apartment and eat dinner and
|
|
|
stuff, but Bruce always pretty-much stayed to himself. He was not a party guy at
|
|
|
all. Didn&rsquo;t drink, didn&rsquo;t take any drugs, didn&rsquo;t smoke pot. The rest of the guys
|
|
|
were pretty much rollin&rsquo;, they were a rock &rsquo;n roll band.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Speaking of pot, didn&rsquo;t you have a club called &ldquo;The Health Club&rdquo;?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yeah! Heh, T-H-C. It wasn&rsquo;t anything official, it was just some guys, friends of
|
|
|
mine. At that time we were into 10-speed bikes and we&rsquo;d go out to the park early
|
|
|
in the morning and ride laps. We had another group called &ldquo;The Bothers&rdquo;. Our
|
|
|
motto was &ldquo;we do both&rdquo;. I drew a t-shirt that had a joint and a bottle of beer
|
|
|
walking down the street arm-and-arm. The beer was holding a joint, and the joint
|
|
|
was drinking holding a beer. The bothers, &ldquo;we do both.&rdquo; All those apartments
|
|
|
around &ldquo;Harrison St&rdquo; and &ldquo;Park Ave&rdquo; were where a lot of kids lived. It was a
|
|
|
real social thing. You&rsquo;d come over and knock on someone&rsquo;s door, &ldquo;hey what&rsquo;s
|
|
|
happening?&rdquo; smoke a joint. Everyone was just hanging out. Listening to records
|
|
|
and all that kind of stuff.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Tell me about your drug experiences?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Taken &ndash; well, not every drug, but I&rsquo;ve taken a lot of drugs. Not for any length
|
|
|
of time. Just for the experience.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Are there any trips you remember distinctly?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>One experience &ndash; I used to live on the corner of Harrison St and Grove Ave.
|
|
|
There was a 3-story building that burnt down, not there anymore. But I had an
|
|
|
apartment on the third floor; and I had taken some LS&ndash; acid. Across the street
|
|
|
there was a laundromat that had a soft drink dispensing machine. I had decided
|
|
|
that I would like to have a Coke. Came downstairs, stood on the sidewalk. There
|
|
|
was a stoplight. I was waitinga nd nhe light would change and I&rsquo;d step off a
|
|
|
couple of steps and the light would change back and I&rsquo;d walk back. I could never
|
|
|
get across the street! Ended up just going back to my apartment. It was just
|
|
|
crazy shit like that. Funny stuff. It was all in good fun. Not anything at the
|
|
|
time about. Just everybody laughing.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Where did the laughter go?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m wondering!</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>What time was this?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>That was the late &rsquo;60s. Then it got to a point where cocaine came on the scene,
|
|
|
and that was a whole different thing. That was awful.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>The &rsquo;80s?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yeah, that would&rsquo;ve been the disco time.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Cocaine and disco.&rdquo;</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Not any fun. Neither one of them.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>When did you buy your house in Church Hill?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>I bought that house with my first wife in 1975. I was there 45 years and Hollie
|
|
|
was there with me for 25.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>You bought it when the area was completly different.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Trashed. Real dangerous to be up there. It was not a developed place like it is
|
|
|
today at all.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Not a place to raise children.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Nah, I mean <em>dangerous</em>. I got shot twice when I was living up there. It was not
|
|
|
a good neighborhood. Most of the houses were just flop houses, crack houses.
|
|
|
When I bought my house, the upstairs of the house was uninhabitable, the
|
|
|
downstairs had pad-locks on every door and a heater in the middle and
|
|
|
mattresses. I took 15 mattresses out of that place when I bought it. Our
|
|
|
parents thought we were nuts to buy that house, that we were gonna be killed.
|
|
|
You walked in Libby park and there were just syringes and wine bottles and
|
|
|
liquor bottles laying around the trees. You couldn&rsquo;t go out at night.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Speaking of which, you have two bullets in your body from being shot.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yep, I told him that. I was in a robbery. I wasn&rsquo;t robbing, but I was being
|
|
|
robbed and ended up getting shot twice. Once in the side here, and once in my
|
|
|
but over here. I was obviously running. The guy shot me in the back.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>This was at your workshop, right?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yeah, I had a workshop that I rented with another guy. It was up on 33rd and
|
|
|
Marshall. I&rsquo;ve been half-shot lots of times, but when you get really <em>shot</em>. It
|
|
|
burns. It&rsquo;s just hot. It&rsquo;s like someone hit you really hard with a paddle.
|
|
|
That&rsquo;s what it feels like. But it didn&rsquo;t do any real damage. I was in the
|
|
|
hospital five days. It wasn&rsquo;t anything life-threatening.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>There was a certain story I heard about you in Church Hill regarding your dog.
|
|
|
Tell the story, Chuck.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>This was my first dog with my first wife, Mira, the dancer. We lived on Franklin
|
|
|
St. We had separated, so it was just me and the dog on Franlkin St and my wife
|
|
|
moved into another place. I was working in the restaurant business, as usual.
|
|
|
The dog was really old, and I had put a sheet and some plastic down in the
|
|
|
downstairs room. The dog was incontenent. Put the food bowl down. It was warm in
|
|
|
the summer, had a window fan in there for the dog. And I came back from work one
|
|
|
night and the dog had eaten dinner then laid down in front of the fan and died.
|
|
|
It was just there. So I was thinking, &ldquo;what am I gonna do?&rdquo; I wrapped the dog up
|
|
|
in the sheet and said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll just have to deal with it in the morning.&rdquo; I went
|
|
|
upstairs and I couldn&rsquo;t sleep. I just couldn&rsquo;t sleep like that. I came back down
|
|
|
and put the dog in my van and got a shovel and put on my boots and went over to
|
|
|
the Libby Park overlook, which is where we used to always walk. And I dug a
|
|
|
significant grave for the dog at the overlook. There was a cop up there named
|
|
|
Mongo. Mongo was his name. He was a really good guy and friend of everybody on
|
|
|
Church Hill. Everybody knew him. It was back when the police had a beat. His
|
|
|
beat was our neighborhood. He&rsquo;d go by and stop and help people take groceries in
|
|
|
the house and he was a good friend. So he pulled up and wanted to know what I
|
|
|
was doing. The dog was still wrapped up in the sheet in the truck and I&rsquo;m
|
|
|
digging this grave.</p>
|
|
|
<p>He says, &ldquo;what&rsquo;s going on?&rdquo;</p>
|
|
|
<p>I told him tearfully and sentimentally, &ldquo;my old dog died and I&rsquo;m burying him. I
|
|
|
know I shouldn&rsquo;t be doing it [here], but this is a special place.&rdquo;</p>
|
|
|
<p>He said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll let you go do that, no problem, but first I need to look at the
|
|
|
dog.&rdquo;</p>
|
|
|
<p>I opened up the truck and showed him the dog and pulled the blanket back and he
|
|
|
said, &ldquo;go ahead.&rdquo;</p>
|
|
|
<p>I finished burying the dog and all that and the night was over. But it was
|
|
|
pretty damn funny. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what you&rsquo;re doing, but I need to look at the
|
|
|
dog.&rdquo;</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Make sure it&rsquo;s not a person.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Chuck Wrenn</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Make sure it&rsquo;s not my wife! Yeah, that was pretty funny. Well it is now, but it
|
|
|
was rough then.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Alright thanks for listening. In the next episode I&rsquo;ll be interviewing Gen Ken
|
|
|
Montgomery who ran the Generator Sound Art gallery in NYC.</p>
|
|
|
- https://existential.beauty/posts/chuck-wrenn-interview/ - Existential Beauty by Leonard Francis Coogan is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0</description>
|
|
|
</item>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<item>
|
|
|
<title>Sriman Dasa Interview</title>
|
|
|
<link>https://existential.beauty/posts/sriman-dasa-interview/</link>
|
|
|
<pubDate>Wed, 21 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<guid>https://existential.beauty/posts/sriman-dasa-interview/</guid>
|
|
|
<description>Existential Beauty https://existential.beauty/posts/sriman-dasa-interview/ -
|
|
|
|
|
|
<div id="buzzsprout-player-14550327"></div><script src="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2320027/14550327-sriman-dasa-on-hare-krishna-and-the-iskon-of-va.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-14550327&player=small" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>In this episode I&rsquo;ll be interviewing the head of the ISKON of Virginia, Sriman
|
|
|
Dasa. ISKON stands for International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which is
|
|
|
the organization that leads the Hare Krishna movement. I&rsquo;ve known Sriman since
|
|
|
the summer of &lsquo;22 when I started organizing shows at the heavily-affiliated
|
|
|
Govinda restaurant directly across from the ISKON temple.</p>
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>When was the ISKON of VA founded?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>That was done in 2016.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>So rather recent.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Recently. Real ISKON was set up in 1966 actually.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>I read that, isn&rsquo;t there a temple in West VA?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yes, many major city have temples and especially in WV there is a big temple
|
|
|
with 200 acres of land. That was built in the 1970s.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Is it still active?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yes, very active, and they have a guest house and many people visit all the time
|
|
|
and stay there overnight. Very enjoyable. They have cows. They found some oil in
|
|
|
the land. Lot of visitors. They were suffering one time financially, but now
|
|
|
they have no problem.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>You&rsquo;re a religious leader, right?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yes, I am president of this organization here. ISKON of Virginia.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>What led you to this position?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>That was because for many years I had been practicing. Being from India, born
|
|
|
and grew up. In India it&rsquo;s very common for Hindus to go to temple and become
|
|
|
servant of G-d. There are many paths in India. When I came here [in 1970, there
|
|
|
were no other temples beside ISKON. When I went first to Chicago I found a Hare
|
|
|
Krishna temple and went there. Then I moved to Atlanta, and there was also a
|
|
|
Hare Krishna temple there and I started going there. From there I moved to
|
|
|
Baltimore and DC &ndash; all those places. Slowly I started going. In those days,
|
|
|
those were the only temples we had. Now we have many temples. I met different
|
|
|
Hindu religion priests and many other people, but by then I was convinced that
|
|
|
Hare Krishna was the proper way of philosophy presented about Krishna. That&rsquo;s
|
|
|
why I continued.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>How is Hare Krishna different from the religion you grew up practicing?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Other religions that I was aware of in India believe all the demig-ds as well
|
|
|
as Krishna are on the same level. They do not have a differentiation. They were
|
|
|
not openly pointing out what the goal of life should be. In Hare Krishna, they
|
|
|
say Krishna is supreme &hellip; of G-dhead and that the goal of the life should be to
|
|
|
develop love for Krishna. There are many demig-ds people in India follow and
|
|
|
they are representative of G-d-law. It&rsquo;s just like president of the govt.
|
|
|
Secretary is in a different department. If you serve the secretary, you may get
|
|
|
some benefits, but if know the president you can get around anything.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Have you ever seen visions of Krishna?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>I haven&rsquo;t seen the G-d yet, but I look back my life and over the life I&rsquo;ve been
|
|
|
materially much better and spiritually making progress which gives me comfort in
|
|
|
my life. Even though I&rsquo;m 80 years old, at this age, I&rsquo;m a happy person. Better
|
|
|
than all my 80 years behind. Normally people when they get old, they have less
|
|
|
happy days. Disease, not happy with the children, not happy with the govt, they
|
|
|
don&rsquo;t have enough money to survive. But in my case, I enjoy every moment of it.
|
|
|
It looks like G-d is praising me and giving me what I want.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>You said you first came here from India to Chicago. What were you doing for a
|
|
|
living?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>I came from India as a student and went to University of Tennessee and did my
|
|
|
masters degree. At that time I was struggling a bit financially. I didn&rsquo;t have
|
|
|
money when I came from India. But luckily within 3 months I got permission to
|
|
|
work within the university; then I never had problems financially. Then I did my
|
|
|
masters and started working a little bit part-time.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Didn&rsquo;t you say you got a PhD?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>No, I did not finish it. I did the coursework and when I was supposed to do a
|
|
|
dissertation I decided to move forward and work in the outside.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>What were you during your PhD in?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>It was a NASA-related project, laser technologies and optical technology and
|
|
|
searching for meteor trails falling from the sky. I was doing some mathematical
|
|
|
model research. It was an interesting project. But I was successful to proving
|
|
|
my master thesis. My advisor was very happy. He came one day when I finished and
|
|
|
lifted up the paper and said, &ldquo;you made my life.&rdquo;</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>How&rsquo;d you transition from that to becoming a religious leader?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Oh really this was developing on the side, just like my regular job as an
|
|
|
engineer continued there and there, different companies. And religiously went to
|
|
|
this temple that temple. In the beginning not too much into it, but more and
|
|
|
more I got involved. But slowly I got into the service more and started cleaning
|
|
|
pots and pans and mopping the floor and praying and those things developed as I
|
|
|
continued with it.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>But how&rsquo;d you stop being an engineer?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>I did not stop, I just wanted to balance out work and life and slowly I decided
|
|
|
sooner or later I should quit the job and go on my own business so I have more
|
|
|
freedom. So I only worked in America as an engineer for 14 years of my life.
|
|
|
After I quit I started my own real estate business and then had more time. Do
|
|
|
whatever I want, just go to temple. So it worked out really good, good
|
|
|
combination.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Aren&rsquo;t you a landlord now?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yes, yes. Means I got rid of most of my property. Live more simple life. More
|
|
|
I&rsquo;m more concentrating here (the temple) &amp; my sadhyna. Everyday I have to put
|
|
|
spice at least 4 times in the sadhnya. Go out and feed the homeless people.
|
|
|
People whoever come we offer them, we preach, we discuss.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>What does it mean to be Krishna of Consciousness?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Krishna Consciousness means we all have a consciousness thinking what we think
|
|
|
inside. Somebody have a consciousness for his family, somebody has a
|
|
|
consciousness for his nation, somebody has a consciousness for himself, and
|
|
|
Krishna consciousness means we think about Krishna, a supersoul inside. We are
|
|
|
the soul, we are part of it. Clearly which is given in the Bhagavad Gita we try
|
|
|
to develop in our consciousness so that we more become apart of it. If you say
|
|
|
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m American&rdquo; &ndash; then as soon as you say &ldquo;I&rsquo;m American&rdquo; you feel that you&rsquo;re
|
|
|
part of America. Even if you&rsquo;re born in Africa and you live in America,
|
|
|
naturally your consciousness is in Africa. This is only one aspect of
|
|
|
consciousness. So Krishna Consciousness is trying to relate yourself as a
|
|
|
servant of Krishna.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Does the religion believe in free will?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Oh yeah, that&rsquo;s why we are here. We have a free will. That was the main
|
|
|
fundamental situation we had that&rsquo;s why we wind up in this material world.
|
|
|
Otherwise we live in a spritual world, with Krishna, serving Him. Take a family
|
|
|
for example, you have four children. Krishna is your father. One guy say I&rsquo;m
|
|
|
going to Africa, one guy say I&rsquo;m going to New York, and father is in Richmond.
|
|
|
Time goes by, nobody wants to come and say &ldquo;hello&rdquo; to his father and they&rsquo;ve
|
|
|
forgotton. One guy who was living in New York he keeps in touch with the
|
|
|
Richmond father &amp; mother and once a while, weekend comes by, he says &ldquo;how can I
|
|
|
help you?&rdquo; So he becomes a loving child. The other guys are not getting too much
|
|
|
health. And the father says, &ldquo;let them&rdquo;. That&rsquo;s a free will example. We have
|
|
|
forgotten our relation with our father. We have decided to go away from him.
|
|
|
That&rsquo;s why we have ended up in this material world. We think we are happy, but
|
|
|
no, if we go to our father we will be much happier. Like when the New York guy
|
|
|
goes to his father in Richmond. Father is happy, mother is happy, they take care
|
|
|
of each other. And that is our duty as Krishna of Consciousness, to go back to
|
|
|
home and become servant of Krishna.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>We&rsquo;re in the age of Kali Yuga which means the furthest from Krishna, right?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Not furthest, we are in the material world, but Kali Yuga is such a situation
|
|
|
that is forgetfulness and mind is not intelligent. Two days back you probably
|
|
|
can&rsquo;t remember what you ate. That&rsquo;s why this formula that is given, Hare Krishna
|
|
|
mantra, is very powerful. It has a spiritual vibration, and when you sing that
|
|
|
mantra, the mantra connects you directly to Krishna. It penetrates this planet
|
|
|
and goes to the spiritual plane and to Krishna &ndash; that powerful. When we call
|
|
|
our cellular phone to Africa, that is what&rsquo;s happening. Spatial frequency takes
|
|
|
you to Africa. Same day when you chant Hare Krishna, it has a spatial frequency
|
|
|
that connects you to Krishna.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>What does the mantra mean in English?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>It&rsquo;s a prayer.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>There is no translation?</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Sriman Dasa</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Maybe not, but you can say it&rsquo;s a quick prayer. That&rsquo;s it? Thank you for coming.</p>
|
|
|
<p><strong>Leonard Francis Coogan</strong></p>
|
|
|
<p>Yep, thanks for agreeing to this.</p>
|
|
|
- https://existential.beauty/posts/sriman-dasa-interview/ - Existential Beauty by Leonard Francis Coogan is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0</description>
|
|
|
</item>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
</channel>
|
|
|
</rss> |