Interview with Indradyumna Swami
The life of a traveling monk
Brian Tibbitts believes life is about balance. In his youth he abandoned the so called democratic habits of his country, renouncing sex, drugs, alcohol and meat eating, to lead a very different routine than those of his age at the time. In December 1971, in the climax of the counterculture, former marine and surfer, he joined the Hare Krishna movement and was given the name of Indradyumna Swami, the same name of a great king in ancient India, where he went in search of spiritual comfort.
To this day, 62 years old, he has already published 11 books compiling his travel experiences around the world, along with the Magic India Festival, which he helped to create in Poland, two decades ago. The show program is comprised of music, classical dance, martial arts, percussion and yoga – with two sold-out performances at the Luiz Mendonça Theatre, in Dona Lindu Park, last week, within their second tour in Brazil.
He personally updates his page on the internet, www.travelingmonk.com. And he practices devotional mantras for at least two hours a day.
“It is a medicine for anxiety, if affects our senses, and the way we perceive the world”, highlights Indradyumna, who practices with a 108 beads necklace, called Japa – equivalent to the catholic rosary.
“All I have fits in a backpack”
Do you believe in the possibility of the world finding real peace?
The history of mankind is full of hatred because we only look at the differences. In many ways, we are in deed different. Nonetheless there is one thing we got in common: all souls are equal in quality and come from one single source – we are all God’s creatures. We are spiritual brothers and sisters. There is no reason to fight if we consider ourselves to be one great family. It is the law of karma and nature. If you do good or evil, it comes back to you. We should not hurt other living beings, either human, animals or plants.
How many times have you been to Brazil and what is your relationship with the country?
This is my third time in Brazil. My first was in 1988, when ISKCON (or the Hare Krishna movement) was already spreading throughout Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília. But there were not Hare Krishna devotees in Amazon. As a preacher, I went then to Manaus with a small group of devotees and met the governor of Amazonas estate at the time, and his wife.
They lent us a huge ship for a few months, provided us with food and fuel. The crew came from Rio de Janeiro. We chanted the Hare Krishna mantra, distributed prasada (food which is first offered to God in gratitude). It was a wonderful experience, which made me fall in love with the country. This is a special country, of wonderful weather, loving and affectionate people. It is the only place in the world where people approach me on the streets with hugs, kisses, and stop me to take pictures.
In what other places have you had a similar experience?
I went to Russia, when it was still under the communist regime. I had to change my attire, disguising myself as a businessman, with suit, wig, mustache. Because if someone was caught up preaching, he would be sent to 20 years of forced labor in Siberia. I knew people who were professing other faiths and got caught by the government. It was a very dangerous environment; we had to meet covertly, in people’s houses. Suddenly KGB would knock on the door and we had to run and hide somewhere in the snow.
Why did you start the festival Magic India in Poland and not in any other country?
Because Eastern Europe had been communist for a long time. And Baltic coast is a largely populated area, crowded with people, but without too many options of entertainment, even now, 20 years after the fall of the previous political regime.
We assemble 30 to 40 tents outdoors and gather up to 5 thousand people a day, during two months. People come for different reasons, but I tend to like countries where people are pious, open-minded and kind. We measure our success by how happy we can make others.
Is there any country where the Hare Krishna movement is yet to arrive?
Maybe in Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia. There are a few devotees there, but their governments are very difficult.
How is the life of a monk in practice. How do you support yourself financially?
When I was 24 years old, I responded my inner calling and became a monk. I do not have a bank account, nor an insurance. All I have fits in one backpack. Less is more. In my travels I feel protected by God (Krishna). And I always find friends and have a place to stay. I don’t usually stay for more than 3 days in the same place. There is that famous proverb “a rolling stone gathers no moss”. My travels have the purpose to enlighten people; it is a great responsibility. There are young people who want to jump in such a lifestyle, but one has to know the right time, it is not an easy decision.
There are not so many monks, but there is a need of them, of leaders who can keep us focused in our goals. We do not expect everyone to live like us. It is a challenge. When I need some money, there is the congregation, friends of our movement and their role is to help.
Many of them are married and have jobs. Money is simply a piece of paper; the quality depends on how one utilizes it. It is like a knife in the hands of a thief or in the hands of a surgeon. To live a simple life, one must have inner satisfaction. Otherwise it will not work. I am not better than anyone else.
When did you decide to change your life and become a monk?
My family was not religious, but I felt attracted by various religions since high school. I wanted to know who am I, what happens after death, what is my place in this world. At some point I enlisted myself in the US navy, but then I had the insight of going to India, to seek out the answers to my existential queries.
I could not find such answers in the western culture. Henceforth I started following new rules, adhered completely to vegetarianism, nor could I take any intoxication (alcohol), nor having any vices like gambling or drugs. It was a hard, even radical shift. But with time, it gets easier to follow such rules. One acquires a higher taste.
When did you become a vegetarian?
We use the vegetarian diet as a way of making a better world. For us it is not only a healthier conduct, which it is, but also a philosophical understanding, which comes from Indian scriptures. I find it hypocritical to be nice to your little dog, spoil it, and then buying another animal’s flesh to eat at the supermarket. Human physiology proves we were not made for meat eating. Even doctors know that meat eating in excess is one of the greatest causes of cancer. I became vegetarian when I was 14, which was quite unusual. But my father was vegetarian and I used to challenge him saying I wanted to be strong therefore I had to eat meat. He would explain that the elephant was the greatest animal on earth, the strongest, and does not eat meat. After he took me to a slaughterhouse, I started sitting on his side of the table.
What is your relation with the internet? How do you update your website and when did you start publishing your online diaries?
I was one of the first Iskcon monks to start using the internet. People would write me with questions about the religion and the net is a fantastic tool for the diffusion of knowledge. I myself update the texts and our designer posts the videos and looks after the layouts.
It really makes communication much easier. Nowadays is not so common anymore to go to India in search of a guru like I did. To sit under a banyan tree, studying philosophy. People need to work and study, but they also want to use the net in a positive way. I stay online up to 4 hours a day.
To know more
Born in May 20 1949, in Palo Alto, California, as Brian Tibbitts, Indradyumna Swami faced death for the first time at four years old, due to meningitis.
At six, he witnessed the death of a dog in his neighborhood. Soon after he started thinking about the nature of life and death, distress, and the meaning of life.
Without finding the answers in his hometown, he left home aged 16. He joined the US navy in the attempt to stop the growth of communism in Vietnam. One year later, after feeling his path was through peace, he left the corporation.
He met members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in 1971, in Detroit. Within one week he was already leading a congregation in the practice of mantras and distributing books like the Bhagavad-Gita, ancient classic of Indian philosophy.
He lived in India, where he reunited with his guru and ISKCON founder, Srila Prabhupada. From 1986, he started travelling the world. In 1995, with the intent of sharing his experiences in dedication of God, he compiled his routine in the book Diary of a Traveling Monk, (Sankirtana Books, 120 pages).
Interview by Tatiana Meira, Appeared in Recife, Monday 7th of November 2011