Karnamrita Das

Karnamrita Das was born on June 22, 1950 in Los Angeles California, U.S.A with the name Christopher John Cox. His life as a child, though certainly a mixed experience, was often painful, confusing, and ultimately unsatisfying. All in all, it proved a catalyst for him to search out other alternatives to the materialistic status quo of the time and continue the unfinished spirituality of his previous lives. Although not a spiritual family, it turned out to be favorable for a spiritual quest when mixed with the youth movement of the late 1960’s. After a year of college, an existential crisis prompted him to begin a full-time search for the meaning of life. Becoming a vegetarian, he spent much time in the redwood forest in Muir Woods in Marin County, California studying the cycles of Nature and books from various spiritual traditions. He concluded that he needed to be a monk in some tradition to immerse himself in spirituality. Upon coming in contact with the books and disciples of Shrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, he began visiting a Krishna temple (ISKCON) in Berkeley, California. Soon he experienced that this tradition spoke deeply to his soul. It felt like home, and he became a brahmachari, receiving diksha in 1970. He was given the name, Karnamrita Das (a servant of the sound nectar of immortality, or Krishna lila) to symbolize a “second birth” into spirituality. For his first three years he primarily studied and distributed his guru's books. Gradually he became involved in temple services or puja (Deity worship), becoming a head cook and pujari (temple priest), which he continued for the next eleven years at various centers in America, Asia, and Australia. The service, realizations and feelings he derived from worshipping Krishna in his many Deity forms has provided him a deep foundation for his continued spirituality, enabling him to function in many different cultural and social arenas. Trained in many energy-healing and alternative health modalities such as Reiki, hypnotherapy, Emotional Release Therapy, and healing prayer, he incorporates healing into his life, work, and service. He often works with his wife, Archana-siddhi devi dasi—a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), in couples therapy and in facilitating spiritual themed workshops. They both write and teach extensively, and are working on several books.