INTERVIEW WITH VIC DE CARA / VRAJA-KISHORE DAS (GUITARIST OF 108)

from War on Illusion zine

War On Illusion: Why did 108 call it quits?

Vraja Kishor: Whew, I could give a lot of different reasons, but I'm just gonna be completely honest and straightforward. For about the past 4 years I had been doing 108 not because I was so much attracted to it but because I felt it was the right thing to do. It was my service to Krishna, and I did it. But in the back of my mind I was always thinking that as soon as it wasn't the right thing for me to do, I was gonna quit. And last year when we were in Europe, somehow or other, I knew it was time to stop. There were signals. I don't know if everyone can relate to this, but devotees know that Krishna gives you signals to let you know it's time to stop doing something. You can feel it in your heart, the devotees confirm it, your spiritual master says so . . . and usually the activity itself fails. When we were in Europe, the tour was dead and we lost money. All the signals were there -- "now's the time to make a change." I had done hardcore for six years as a devotee, and I mean, you do something for a certain amount of time and then you stop. It's the way the material world works. Things end. And it came time to end 108. But it's not like I have regrets. By doing the band and preaching, we introduced a lot of people to Krishna consciousness. I mean, I remember the first Shelter show. People were outraged that there was a Krishna band on the scene. They looked at it as a weird, crazy thing. No one actually knew anything about the devotees, so it appeared strange. When we first started preaching, the number of hardcore kids that were interested in Krishna consciousness was so small I could count them on my hands. Now there's so many kids that come just to the temple where I live that I can't keep track of them. So I was thinking that since I have an inclination to do other things, I felt I had already done my part in introducing people to Krishna consciousness. Now that there's so many people introduced, what's next? And I see a lot of kids get introduced to Krishna consciousness, and basically they just remain ntroduced. They never get any further. That's why this idea of doing a school manifested. It's something to help kids go deeper into the philosophy.

War On Illusion: So what are you doing now with the school?

Vraja Kishor: The school is a degree program. In ISKCON, we have degrees just like they have in regular school. Regular schools have entry level degrees, BA, MA, Ph.D -- we have bhakti shastri, bhakti vaibhava, bhakti vedanta and bhakti sarvabhauma degrees. Our school was modeled after a school in Vrindavan, India, that teaches bhakti shastri, which is the study of the four main scriptures of Krishna consciousness -- Bhagavad-gita, Nectar of Instruction, Nectar of Devotion and Sri Isopanisads. Students go for a semester of eighteen weeks, and they learn a chapter of Bhagavad-gita each week. So you get to go through the whole book systematically; just as Arjuna learned the Gita, you learn it the same way. And by the end, you become a more enlightened person. So that's what we do here at the Towaco temple. We have ten students for eighteen weeks and I'm helping to teach them the four books. And you should see everybody studying like crazy. It's exciting!

War On Illusion: How are you making the transition from stagediving hardcore guitarist to quiet teacher behind a desk?

Vraja Kishor: It's not really that big of a deal because I was always teaching on my time off, but now it's a lot easier because my service doesn't require me to jump around! (laughs) Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that I didn't like jumping around on stage in 108. I mean, you could tell I liked it just by looking at me. But I was also doing teaching at the same time, and I like teaching more. It's nice now that I don't have to go out on tour and break up my life. As a devotee, you practice self-realization and go deeper and deeper into your spiritual practices. But then when tour came, all of a sudden I'd have to change my whole schedule, change my whole lifestyle and go out on the road. And you don't just break your schedule. You have to break your environment, break your association -- break practically everything. So I'm relieved that I don't have to do that again.

War On Illusion: Touring was tough for you, huh?

Vraja Kishor: Yeah, it was hard. Touring is hard in general, and for a devotee, it's extra hard. It was hard for me in particular because when I was growing up, I was the only child. I didn't have brothers and sisters. I didn't have a whole lot of friends. I grew up with adults. I'm not used to hanging out with people my own age. I was always with either older people or by myself. So being on tour was hard for me in that way, because I felt that the people I'm supposed to be able to relate to, the kids -- well, it seemed like there was a generation gap or something. It was weird. Even with the other members of the band, there were differences. I'm not always joking around like they are. Sometimes I felt there was no one to relate to.

War On Illusion: Do you ever miss running around the stage?

Vraja Kishor: I don't miss it, but sometimes I find myself humming Minor Threat songs in the shower (laughs). Old memories are like that; they come back to haunt you sometimes. When you start to purify the mind, all sorts of things start to come out. Just like the toxins come up when you fast.

War On Illusion: What was 108's biggest accomplishment and what was the band's biggest disappointment?

Vraja Kishor: I personally felt our biggest accomplishment was that we reached certain people who were otherwise unreachable. I noticed that certain people who originally didn't like Krishna consciousness would somehow like us. It was the music that gave them an appreciation for Krishna consciousness. Because we played crazy music like wild men, crazy wild people could relate to us. I thought that was kinda cool. The worst failure was that somehow or other, the band never perfectly clicked. The members, the relationships . . . I guess I'm not the type of person that clicks, so it's partly my fault. If we were only tighter as people, the band would've been a lot stronger. And don't get me wrong, I like those guys. I respect Rasaraj a lot. But if the dealings within the band were more focused, the force of the message would've been much more powerful.

War On Illusion: What was the best show you guys ever played?

Vraja Kishor: Hmm, maybe the Wetlands in New York. It was on a Sunday and everyone came from the Sunday feast at the temple. Now that was a great show. There were so many people there! I remember during one song I looked up at the crowd and everybody was climbing on top of each other, and they were screaming every word with complete sincerity. So many kids in the front row were, well, devotees -- kids from the scene who were into Krishna consciousness. I remember thinking to myself "Wow, this is incredible!" It was a powerful moment. And I felt inspired, seeing all these kids coming together to glorify Krishna, even though it was in a hardcore club instead of a temple.

War On Illusion: Any good tour stories?

Vraja Kishor: Well, one time we were driving in Texas, and these cops followed us for like twenty minutes. Finally, they pulled us over for no reason. One of them screamed at us to get out of the car and began searching everything. Then, to make things worse, the Sheriff pulled up. And you've gotta picture it; there I am, dressed like a Krishna! I had my dhoti on, so I immediately just sat down on the ground. I didn't want to show myself more than necessary because who knew what these guys were gonna do. Sure enough, I saw the Sheriff talking to the other cops and pointing at me. Then he walked over and said "Boy, my men tell me you got some kind of a dress on! Why don't you stand up and show yourself off to me!" And I didn't know what these guys were gonna do. I thought there was gonna be some serious trouble. Anyway, I stood up and he was just staring at me in disbelief. Then he said "Hey, boy, what's that there stuff on your nose?" So I told him "It's a religious symbol, sir. I'm a priest." And boom, the guy was immediately respectful. "You're a priest? Well now that's somethin'!" Then I explained to him the four regulative principles, that we don't take any intoxication, we don't eat meat, we don't gamble and we don't have illicit sex. And he goes "You mean to say you don't have any illicit connections with women? You're a better man than I am, son." (laughs) Then he turns to the other cops and says "They're all priests! Let 'em go." (laughs) It was a good example of how religious principles are universal. Anybody can at least appreciate them.

War On Illusion: So do you ever think you'll do music again?

Vraja Kishor: I'll do music, but not that kind of music. Not hardcore. It's too late. I've already sold my guitar and amp. I think I'll just stick to bhajans. I was never really that much into guitar anyway. I could tell that I wasn't a guitar player because when we were off tour, I would never play. I just had no inclination. So it was easy for me to give up. But I do feel that I'm still a creative person and I require some sort of creative outlet. The school is part of that outlet because you have to be creative to communicate knowledge to people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. But mostly I want to express my creativity through writing. I already have so many poems, and I'm trying to collect them together and edit them.

War On Illusion: Last question -- what advice would give a young up and coming kid who wanted to start a Krishnacore band? (laughter)

Vraja Kishor: Well, honestly it would depend on the person, whether he was a good musician or not, what his situation was, how strong his attachment was . . . If he was bent on doing it, I would tell him to fight like hell, like Arjuna fought. Get your guitar and do your best. And preach Krishna consciousness strongly. Because that's what this hard music is for; it's for strong emotions. Get up there, shout as loud as you can . . . and leave the results up to Krishna.