Who's That?

Bhakta Jim Hollis

Could it be Bhakta Alan Hollis (Jim's little brother)?

Nectar News: How did you first come in contact with devotees?

Bhakta Alan: Well my first real experience came from the band Shelter. They are a rock band whose members are all devotees. I first heard about Shelter from my brother.

NN: What was your first impression of the Cleveland Nama Hatta?

BA: Well, the first time I met with any of the members was at the Martin DePorres Center. Swami Krnsapad was visiting and he gave a lecture. I was really impressed by the groups welcoming spirit. I'll have to admit though, I was more than a little suprised when everyone joined in on the wild kirtan. Overall I had a really good time there.

NN: When you first heard about the four regulative principles (no gambling, no meat-eating, no intoxication, and no illicit sex), what did you think?

BA: Actually, I was shocked, but at the same time, I was overjoyed. At that time I was already following all of the principles anyway. I had commited my life to observing a higher standard of living than that which most of the people around me followed. I was especially happy to find out that there was a large number of people who were dedicated to following God, and at the same time were practicing real religious principles. So many times before, I had seen people that said they were people of God, while they were slaughtering God's children in the form of cows and chickens. After all, would you want someone to proclaim themself asyour disciple when the blood of your children was dripping from their mouth?!

NN: I certainly would not!

BA: Exactly! You can understand then, how I felt when I saw people really obeying God's law.

NN: What is your biggest attraction to devotional service?

BA: For me, devotional service is like Krsna's Post-It Note on the back of mymind. I know it's not the best analogy, but it really is kind of like that. Sometimes my spiriruality lags behind and I need a little reminder. I think Krsna gives me that reminder through devotional service. When you're serving you tend to really think about what it is you're doing; if you think about service, it's a short cut that leads your thoughts right back to Krsna. If you can give me something better than that, I'd be guaranteed to be attracted to it.

NN: There is nothing better than that!! Now tell me Bhakta Alan, what meaning does Srila Prabhupada give to your life?

BA: It would take up this whole newsletter if I were to even begin to tell you about Prabhupada in my life. Obviously, I never had the chance to meet him in person, yet I feel like I know him personally. He truly has delivered the most fallen of the fallen. Without Prabhupada I don't want to even imagine what condition I'd be in. As I said, I was pretty much already following the regulative principles when I first came in contact with devotees, but I didn't know it! It was just a superficial lifestyle I was living. It didn't have much meaning for me, I was mostly just being different from the people I went to school with. And that's another thing! I had spent so much time in school, yet until I read Prabhupada's books, hardly anyone had given me any good information about atma, or the soul. I've known about Prabhupada for less than two years, but in that time I've learned so much!

NN: Jaya Prabhupada! Bhakta Alan, what makes you stand out from the rest ofus, in case an outsider wanted to identify you on action alone?

BA: That's not an easy question for me to answer, because I usually just try to blend in with a crowd. I guess I just want to get a good laugh, and I'm always trying to help out.

NN: Any closing comments?

BA: Hare Krsna!