Gloria Steinem:
The Progression of Feminism, 9/17/07

By sweet grace, representing WWD-F, I opened for Gloria Steinem at The Wortham Theatre in Houston. The event was hosted by The Progressive Forum. Over 2,000 people were present. I was then able to sit and listen to her speak, and witness the participation of audiences questions and comments. There were as many brothers as sisters in the audience, which was encouraging. Many women and men spoke on the good projects they are doing in the Houston area including: actively changing negative advertisement against women; organizations for women's mental health; National Organization for Women which is active in changing many things for the rights of women including a fair wage, child care, and social security benefits for married women.

Gloria Steinem has been active in changing the rights of women around the world for over 30 years. What I enjoyed about her speech was her sense of globalism, Neohumanism, and her keen knowledge of world history. She went on at length about the Native American societies (as we are on the ancestral grounds) and how they operated in a democratic fashion. The men respected the women's wisdom, and they worked in "coordinated cooperation". Many things she said were what visionary Shrii Anandamurtiji has said regarding women: their tender nature, and their lack of rights in society.

Gloria Steinem said that Indian [from India] women were the greatest organizers in the world. I was pleasingly surprised to hear her advocating for women around the world; understanding deeply and giving much reverence to their way of being.

I later learned, after speaking to her, that she had spent much time in different communities around the world, especially in India. She is a transformed soul, able to bridge the gap, and help others see the universality in us all. Ms. Steinem is 73 years old, still writing and giving lectures. I can see in her later writings that she has learned meditation and encourages us all to do our inner work – to meditate, build networks and stay active.

I presented her with a CD of songs produced for WWD-F, and was able to talk with her about our dynamic women and projects. I also had the opportunity to do outreach with others at the event.

EarthDance 2007, 9/15/07

I was honored to participate in EarthDance 2007, an event that happens simultaneously around the world at numerous locations. It was held at the Hare Krsna Garaunga Hall. This year, the theme was “Healing the Waters”. We opened with a global collective chanting of the mantra “Om”, which brought us all to a higher state of consciousness. Around 500 people attended this event.

The spiral dance was most fun – hundreds of people linked together hand to hand, creating a human spiral to live drumming. The spiral goes in, and then it comes out again. It was challenging and exciting to see how to keep yourself linked up without bumping into others.

I closed the evening with Prabhat Samgiita and kiirtan. Fellow musicians from the Hare Krishna Youth group accompanied me, as well as my two children on tablas. The crowd went wild, crying out for Krishna after I sang. The organizer was most pleased with my performance and has agreed for me to direct the music for the next event.

There was good coverage of the event with newspaper articles and interviews on KPFT Radio. Sydney, the organizer, gave an important talk on water, the importance of conservation, and the effects of our actions on the waters of the world.