Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 20, No. 21By Krishna Kripa Das(November 2024, part one)Upstate New York(Sent from Stuyvesant Falls, New York, on November 16, 2024)Where I Went and What I DidI spent the first half of November based in Stuyvesant Fall…
Author Archives: Krishna-kripa das, Mayapura
Travel Journal#20.21: Upstate New York
Travel Journal#20.20: New York City and Stuyvesant Falls
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 20, No. 20By Krishna Kripa Das(October 2024, part two)New York City and Stuyvesant Falls(Sent from Stuyvesant Falls, New York, on November 2, 2024)Where I Went and What I DidThe second half of October, I was happy to …
Travel Journal#20.19: Albany and New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 20, No. 19By Krishna Kripa Das(October 2024, part one)Albany and New York City(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on October 19, 2024)Where I Went and What I DidFor the first four days of October I helped my sister,…
Travel Journal#20.12: Paris
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Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 20, No. 12By
Krishna Kripa Das
(June 2024, part two)Paris(Sent
from Sarcelles, France, on July 6, 2024)
Where
I Went and What I Did
I
spent the last two weeks of June chanting Hare Krishna in Paris three
ho…
Notes on Srila Prabhupada Tributes 2021
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Notes on Srila Prabhupada Tributes 2021(By Krishna Kripa Das)I was a proofreader for Srila Prabhupada Tributes 2021 back in June and July, and I noted down some excerpts that were striking in some way or other. Some are quotes of Srila Prabhupada, othe…
Travel Journal#17.15: Paris
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 15By Krishna Kripa Das(August 2021, part one)Paris(Sent from New Mayapur, France, on August 21, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidThough the middle of August, I continued living at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles, cha…
Travel Journal#17.14: Paris
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 14By Krishna Kripa Das(July 2021, part two)Paris(Sent from Paris on August 14, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidI continued to live at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles, and I did three hours of harinama every day, mos…
Travel Journal#17.13: Paris, Tours, New Mayapur, Sarcelles
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 13By Krishna Kripa Das(July 2021, part one)Paris, Tours, New Mayapur, Sarcelles(Sent from Paris on August 7, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidJanananda Goswami, who I knew from Newcastle, England, and who…
Travel Journal#17.12: New York, Zagreb, Wrocław, Katowice
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 12By Krishna Kripa Das(June 2021, part two)New York, Zagreb, Wrocław, Katowice(Sent from Paris on July 24, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidI went to Upstate New York to visit my mother and my guru before going…
Travel Journal#17.11: New York City and Hudson
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 11By Krishna Kripa Das(June 2021, part one)New York City and Hudson(Sent from New Mayapur, France, on July 10, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidMy main focus of the first half of June was the three-day New York…
Travel Journal#17.10: New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 10By Krishna Kripa Das(May 2021, part two)New York City(Sent from Brooklyn on June 5, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidI continued to live in ISKCON New York in Brooklyn during the second half of May, where cha…
Travel Journal#17.9: Miami and New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 9By Krishna Kripa Das(May 2021, part one)Miami and New York City(Sent from Brooklyn on May 22, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidI had many amazing experiences on harinama the first half of May. The first week I…
Travel Journal#17.8: Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa, Miami
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 8By Krishna Kripa Das(April 2021, part two)Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa, Miami(Sent from Miami on May 8, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidI finished my spring semester stay in Tallahassee, chanting at Landis…
Travel Journal#17.7: Tallahassee
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 7 By Krishna Kripa Das (April, part one) Tallahassee(Sent from Tallahassee on April 24, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidOne of high points of the first half of April for me was that Sandipani Krishna Muni Prab…
Travel Journal#17.6: Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 6By Krishna Kripa Das(March 2021, part two)Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa(Sent from Tallahassee on April 3, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidFor the second half of March, I again found myself in Tallahas…
Travel Journal#17.5: Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 5 By Krishna Kripa Das (March 2021, part one)Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa(Sent from Tallahassee on March 20, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidI remained in Tallahassee for the first eigh…
Travel Journal#17.4: Tallahasseee, Gainesville, Alachua
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 4By Krishna Kripa Das(February 2021, part two)Tallahassee, Gainesville, Alachua(Sent from Tallahassee on March 6, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidFor the second half of February, I remained in Tallahassee, my …
Travel Journal#17.3: Gainesville, Tampa, Tallahassee
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 3By Krishna Kripa Das(February 2021, part one)Gainesville, Tampa, Tallahassee(Sent from Tallahassee on February 20, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidFor the first nine days of February, I remained living in the…
Travel Journal#17.2: Orlando, Tampa, Gainesville
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 2By Krishna Kripa Das(January 2021, part two)Orlando, Tampa, Gainesville(Sent from Gainesville on February 6, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidI remained in Orlando, with a party of Krishna House devo…
Travel Journal#17.1: New York City and Orlando
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 1By Krishna Kripa Das(January 2021, part one)New York City and Orlando(Sent from Orlando on January 16, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidI continued staying at Radha Govinda Temple in New York City and assistin…
Travel Journal#16.24: New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 24By Krishna Kripa Das(December 2020, part two) New York City (Sent from Brooklyn on January 1, 2021)Where I Went and What I DidI continued staying at Radha Govinda Temple in New York City and assisting Rama R…
Travel Journal#16.23: New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 23By Krishna Kripa Das(December 2020, part one)New York City(Sent from Brooklyn on December 19, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued staying at Radha Govinda Temple in New York City and assisting …
Travel Journal#16.22: New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 22 By Krishna Kripa Das (November 2020, part two) New York City (Sent from Brooklyn on December 5, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued staying at Radha Govinda Temple in New York City and assisting Ram…
Travel Journal#16.21: New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 21By Krishna Kripa Das (November 2020, part one) New York City (Sent from Brooklyn on November 21, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued residing at ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn and chanting Hare Krishna with …
Travel Journal#16.20: New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 20 By Krishna Kripa Das (October 2020, part two) New York City(Sent from Brooklyn on November 7, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued living in Radha-Govinda temple in Brooklyn, assisting Rama Raya Prab…
Travel Journal#16.19: New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 19By Krishna Kripa Das (October 2020, part one) New York City (Sent from Brooklyn on October 17, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued living at Radha Govinda temple in Brooklyn and chanting Hare K…
Tompkins Square Park: Birthplace of the Hare Krishna Movement
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Tompkins Square Park: Birthplace of the Hare Krishna MovementBy Krishna Kripa DasA leading monthly travel magazine with over 16 million readers displays a full page color photo of Tompkins Square Park with a caption that begins, “The East Village…
Travel Journal#16:18: New York City, Upstate New York
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 18By Krishna Kripa Das(September 2020, part two)New York City, Upstate New York(Sent from Brooklyn on October 3, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidThe second half of September I continued chanting with Rama Raya…
Travel Journal#16.17: Tallahassee, Atlanta, NC, New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 17 By Krishna Kripa Das (September 2020, part one) Tallahassee, Atlanta, NC, New York City (Sent from Brooklyn on September 19, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI stayed in Tallahassee through September 8….
Travel Journal#16.16: Tallahassee
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 16By Krishna Kripa Das(August 2020, part two)Tallahassee(Sent from Tallahassee on September 5, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI left Orlando after five weeks of pujari service and daily chanting in a park nea…
Travel Journal#16.15: Orlando
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 15By Krishna Kripa Das(August 2020, part one)Orlando(Sent from Tallahassee on August 21, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued doing pujari work for three hours each morning at ISKCON Orlando, where I li…
Nectar from Srila Prabhupada Tributes 2020
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Nectar from Srila Prabhupada Tributes 2020While proofreading Srila Prabhupada Tributes 2020 I encountered so many inspiring realizations, stories, and poems in glorification of Srila Prabhupada, I cut some of my favorite out to share with you her…
Travel Journal#16.14: Orlando
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 14By Krishna Kripa Das(July 2020, part two)Orlando(Sent from Orlando on August 7, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued staying at ISKCON Orlando and doing pujari service in the morning and chanting Hare…
Travel Journal#16.13: Tallahassee and Orlando
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 13By Krishna Kripa Das(July 2020, part one)Tallahassee and Orlando(Sent from Orlando on July 24, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued staying in our Tallahassee temple, chanting Hare Krishna for three h…
Travel Journal#16.12: Tallahassee
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 12By Krishna Kripa Das(June 2020, part two)Tallahassee(Sent from Tallahassee on July 3, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued chanting Hare Krishna three hours a day, mostly on the porch of our ISKCON Ta…
Travel Journal#16.11: Tallahassee
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 11By Krishna Kripa Das(June 2020, part one)Tallahassee(Sent from Tallahassee on June 19, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued staying in Tallahassee and chanting Hare Krishna three hours every day on th…
Travel Journal#16.10: Tallahassee
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 10 By Krishna Kripa Das (May 2020, part two) Tallahassee (Sent from Tallahassee on June 5, 2020)Where I Went and What I DidI continued staying in the Hare Krishna temple in Tallahassee, cha…
Travel Journal#13.22: New York City
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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 13, No. 22
By Krishna-kripa das
(November 2017, part two)
New York City
(Sent from Hartford on December 11, 2017)
Where I Went and What I Did
By Krishna-kripa das
(November 2017, part two)
New York City
(Sent from Hartford on December 11, 2017)
Where I Went and What I Did
I chanted with the Yuga Dharma New York City harinama party for the second half of November, without going anywhere else. One day Ramesvara Prabhu, who is famous for his service with the BBT, came by and chanted and danced with us for an hour. We were happy our leader, Rama Raya Prabhu, returned from six weeks in Vrindavan. Satya Dasi of Radha Govinda Mandir let our harinama party have their Thanksgiving feast for free, and it was very good.
I share notes on and quotes from recorded classes by Srila Prabhupada. I share notes on Radhanath Swami speaking at The Bhakti Center on Gita Jayanti. I share notes on the morning classes at The Bhakti Center by Rama Raya, Shyamananda, Shubha Vilas, Gaura Sarana, Karuna Gauranga, Virabhadra Rama, and Mahotsaha Prabhus. I share excerpts from Back to Godhead articles by Nagaraja and Caitanya Carana Prabhus. I share an interesting point from a conversation with Jaya Jagannatha Prabhu, and two Radhanath Swami quotes from Jai Giridhari Prabhu.
Thanks to Atmanivedana Prabhu, who runs the Saturday night Bhagavad-gita class at 26 Second Avenue, for his very generous donation. This time at that program, while I led the kirtan, I prayed to Srila Prabhupada to be able to chant the same pure holy name of Krishna that he chanted there in 1966 and which he spread all over the world, and thus that kirtan became an especially ecstatic experience for me. Thanks to Dina Bandhu Prabhu and his family, Larry, and all the other devotees at the Gaura Nitai temple in Queens for their kind donations. Thanks to Sunanda Prabhu and Bhakta Bob of the Krishna Balarama temple in Queens for their kind donations.
Thanks to Bhaktin Diana for the photos of me on harinama in Jackson Heights.
Itinerary
November 11, 2017–January ?, 2018: Yuga Dharma New York City harinama party
except:
December 24 : Christmas Eve with my relatives in Albany
lectures in New York City:
December 23: ISKCON Queens
December 30: 26 Second Avenue
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
I continued chanting with the Yuga Dharma New York City harinama party six hours a day, except on the days I had evening lectures.
I mostly watched the book table, sometimes playing shakers and sometimes dancing, as here in Jackson Heights. Besides that I would lead the chanting usually for half an hour or an hour.
Rama Raya Prabhu’s kirtan attracts the most participation by both the devotees and the passersby, and the devotees on the party were happy he returned from Vrindavan.
Here Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Times Square subway station, and three passersby play instruments (https://youtu.be/OoJGRybbSW4):
Here Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Atlantic Avenue / Barclays Center subway station, and a man dances (https://youtu.be/RsGqCM2ncdA):
We like to give visiting devotees the chance to lead kirtan. Here little Radha, whose family joins our Yuga Dharma NYC chanting party from time to time when we are in Jackson Heights, plays the harmonium and leads the chanting of Hare Krishna although she is only nine years old (https://youtu.be/mvrQiG7O-sk):
Once time Krishna Prasada Prabhu chantedHare Krishna in Jackson Heights, and some youths playedshakers and danced.
I personally encouraged them by handing them the shakers and dancing myself.
They had such a good time participating in our harinamathat although they tried to leave twice, they could not go. Finally Mahotsaha Prabhu brought their dancing to another level (https://youtu.be/3QEqthgZWn0):
Krishna Prasad Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, and Ramesvara Prabhu, who did a lot for Srila Prabhupada’s BBT and presently gives occasional lectures at The Bhakti Center, dances at Penn Station subway station (https://youtu.be/PJLgrzPjzm8):
Kalpavrksa Prabhu of New Jersey chants Hare Krishna at Atlantic Avenue / Barclays Center subway station, and some boys dance (https://youtu.be/00tYeQZZSsk):
Kalpavrksa Prabhu of New Jersey chants Hare Krishna at Atlantic Avenue / Barclays Center subway station, and two kids play shakers (https://youtu.be/TsNwriivCQ0):
Kanai Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Jackson Heights, and a young girl plays shakers as her mom watches (https://youtu.be/olw6zaLxSKA):
Natabara Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, and a mom and daughter play shakers in Grand Central subway station (https://youtu.be/MD_fN0wWbqw):
Kanai Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, and two kids play shakers and dance at Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Ave. subway station (https://youtu.be/CRWRHkstcfo):
Mahotsaha Prabhu chants, and two Ukrainian tourists who attend Hare Krishna programs in their country play shakers and dance (https://youtu.be/wTZ-ngTcPFU):
Kaliya Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Times Square subway station, and a man dances (https://youtu.be/iDSeT4Qlvww):
Kaliya Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Times Square subway station, and Mikey and Richard dance (https://youtu.be/CQne9XtpLMM):
Tota Gopinath Prabhu, originally a full time member of our New York City harinamaparty, chants Hare Krishna in Penn Station after work (https://youtu.be/vB3TQ8JyYmk):
Natabara Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Times Square subway station (https://youtu.be/ffbkCTeGmew):
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.2 in Bombay on November 2, 1974:
Krishna is maintaining all the large elephants, all the small ants, all the 8,400,000 different species. Why are we worried about Him maintaining us?
“Therefore the conclusion is that ‘Don’t try for your so-called happiness or so-called distress. Try to achieve that position where you can understand Krishna and get shelter at His lotus feet.’”
“Therefore the conclusion is that ‘Don’t try for your so-called happiness or so-called distress. Try to achieve that position where you can understand Krishna and get shelter at His lotus feet.’”
“President Nixon was thinking, ‘I am very fortunate. I have become the President of United States.’ But now he’s realizing, ‘I am the most unfortunate.’”
Sometimes a yogi may show a little mystic power by manufacturing some gold, and we are so foolish that we accept him as God. However, we forget that the real yogi, the Supreme Lord Himself, has created millions of gold mines and is floating them in space.
What is the difficulty? God personally explains Himself as He is, and if we accept the Bhagavad-gitaas it is, we shall no longer have to transmigrate. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti. We shall no longer have to endure birth and death, for we can attain our spiritual bodies (sac-cid-ananda vigraha) and live happily in Krishna’s family. Krishna is providing for us here, and He will also provide for us there. So we should know that our happiness is in returning home, back to Godhead, where we can eat, drink, and be merry in Krishna’s company.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam1.13.12 given in Geneva on June 3, 1974:
A lesson to be learned from the destruction of the Yadu dynasty is that “if we fight amongst ourselves, even we belong to the family of Krishna, we are ruined.”
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.15.1 in New York on November 29, 1973:
“Actually, he [Arjuna] was unhappy on account of being separated from Krishna. Similarly, not only Arjuna, all of us. . . . he is also a living entity, we are also living entity. So we are also unhappy, because we are separated from Krishna. These modern philosophers or scientists, they may suggest . . . that they can improve the world situation in their own way, but that is not possible. We are unhappy on account of being separated from Krishna. They do not know that. Just like a child, a child is crying, nobody can say why he is crying, but actually a child is generally in crying condition being separated from the mother.”
“Everyone of us [is] very intimately connected with Krishna, and Krishna is sitting in everyone’s heart. Krishna is so kind, that He is simply waiting, ‘When this rascal will turn his face towards Me.’ . . . He is so kind. But we living entities, we are so rascal, we shall turn our face to everything except Krishna. This is our position.”
“There are also living entities [in the spiritual world], but they know perfectly well that real enjoyer, proprietor, is Krishna. That is spiritual kingdom. Similarly, even in this material world, if we understand perfectly well that we are not enjoyer, Krishna is enjoyer, then that is spiritual world. This Krishna consciousness movement is trying to convince everyone that . . . we are not enjoyer. Enjoyer is Krishna. Just like, this whole body, the enjoyer is the stomach, and the hands and legs and eyes and ears and brains and everything, these should be engaged to find out the enjoyable things and put it in the stomach. This is natural. Similarly, we are part and parcel of God, or Krishna. We are not enjoyer.”
“We living entities, we are eternally servant of Krishna. That is our position. But if we deny this position, ‘Now why shall I become servant of Krishna? I am independent,’ then suffering begins, immediate. Krishna bhuliya jiva bhoga vancha kare, as soon as you desire to enjoy independently, immediately that means immediately he is captured by maya. Krishna bhuliya jiva bhoga vancha kare pasate maya tare japatiya dhare. It is very easy to understand. Just like if you don’t care for the government laws, if you want to live independently, that means immediately you are in the clutches of the police force. . . . So our position is always dependent on God. We should understand this. This is Krishna consciousness.”
You Americans consider you can take by force the Arabian oil which is Krishna’s property, but you should let the Arabs freely live on your land which is also Krishna’s property.
Radhanath Swami:
From a lecture at The Bhakti Center on Gita Jayanti:
From a lecture at The Bhakti Center on Gita Jayanti:
Arjuna was thinking “I can’t not fight yet I can’t fight.”
“This bewilderment is beyond my control.”
From the very beginning of the GitaKrishna tells Arjuna that each of is eternal and individual. Our nature is to serve the Lord and to love the Lord.
That question philosophers have been asking for centuries “Who am I?” Krishna answers in chapter 2. Who is seeing through these eyes?
Love for God and all living beings is what we are and what we have always been. When we do not find that love within us, we look for it outside of us.
To awaken the dormant love of God in our hearts is the perfection of yoga.
The sun ray is not the cause of the sun, but the sun is the cause of the sun ray.
Prabhupada defined bhaktias devotional service because when we love we want to serve.
God’s happiness is my happiness. God’s will is my will.
Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita 18.66 “live in the spirit of love.”
When the leaves falls from the trees we see it is beautiful. Death can also be seen as beautiful.
My mind is my underwear, and my body is my clothes. No one laments the change of clothing.
Bhagavad-gitawas spoken to activate Arjuna to act in this world but not be of this world.
A warrior is the last person you would think to talk to about peace and love.
When our mind is acting in harmony with our soul it is our friend.
According to our association and activities we are controlled by the ropes of material nature. Bhagavad-gitatells us how we can become free.
The nonsectarian nature of knowledge in Bhagavad-gita has made it loved by people of every religion.
Bhagavad-gita4.7 tells how the Lord is always coming to deliver us.
Srila Prabhupada said that to awaken the innate love for the Supreme in our hearts is religion.
Krishna says one who is advanced in love for Him sees all living beings equally (Gita 5.18).
The illiterate brahmanawho daily read Bhagavad-gita according to his guru’s order had so much love for his guru he didn’t mind being ridiculed for his mispronunciation. He would visualize Krishna acting as the driver Arjuna’s chariot as he read, and he told Lord Caitanya, “When I think of how much love Krishna has for His devotee it makes me cry.”
By applying the basic principles of the Gitain our lives we attain perfection.
The Gitateaches us how we can live in this world and remain pure like a lotus and really make a difference. Haridasa Thakura said the goal of kirtan is prema,unconditional ecstatic love for God and all living entities. We should pray to be free from false ego and situated in love of God. We should desire to be an instrument of God’s love. Nagaraja Prabhu:
“Once we’re convinced that we must revive our relationship with Krishna, how do we go about it? . . . We do everything we can to keep ourselves in Krishna’s company right now.
“Fortunately for us, that’s easy to do, in theory at least, because everything about Krishna is Krishna. When we chant Krishna’s name, read books about Krishna, hear classes about Krishna, and so on, we’re with Krishna directly because, being absolute, He’s identical to everything related to Him. We’re trying to live with God – Krishna – constantly so that we become qualified to be with Him eternally. That’s what Hare Krishna is all about.”
Rama Raya Prabhu:
Niksepa(regret) is one category of Vaishnava expression, and many songs of Narottama Dasa Thakura are in that category.
Illicit sex is the worst offense in Vrindavan, where everyone is meant for Krishna’s enjoyment.
We should always be on guard against becoming proud of whatever little respect we have achieved within the Krishna consciousness movement. There are still many ways we can serve Krishna which have not yet been revealed to us.
Except for sincere devotional service, everything else is simply a show.
Hellish punishment is meant for people who have so misused their human form of life that nothing but such punishment could wake them up.
When Srila Prabhupada was informed about the rock bank “Kiss” who some say consider themselves servants of Satan, he said, “They have been sent from the hellish planets to bring people back there.”
The potency of the Krishna consciousness movement is very great because it is the movement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Having a material body is like having a prison uniform, and we can easily understand our fallen position if we possess one.
By giving our utmost to this Krishna consciousness movement, we will become qualified to go back to Godhead.
The problem of Arjuna was an acute bodily conception of life which is the problem of all of us.
The Bhagavad-gita can solve all mental agonies – we do not have to go to a psychologist.
Those merely engaged in temple worship should be respectful toward and offer all facility to those in spreading Krishna consciousness.
Because Krishna chastised Kaliya in the cold December water of the Yamuna, Radharani was concerned He would catch cold. Thus Aditya, the sun god, manifested twelve suns on the hill, therefore known as Dvadasaditya, to warm Him.
Bankibihari is the form of the Lord who killed Kamsa.
Mayakeeps people in illusion until they give up the idea of trying to imitate Krishna by being the enjoyer.
2042 is the 500thanniversary of the Radha-Ramana deity of Vrindavana.
In Bhagavad-gita Krishna tells people what they need to know, what they need to hear, and what they need to blessed with.
It is wonderful that forty years after Srila Prabhupada’s departure book distribution is still going on in America.
When a maha-bhagavata like Srila Prabhupada was present, people could go far beyond their realizations in rendering service.
In 1975, there was a book distribution marathon between the Chicago and the Los Angeles temples the day before Thanksgiving, 2,042 hardbound books were distributed by Chicago and 1,800 by Los Angeles. One devotee distributed 210.
When I was doing books in New York City as a young man your age, it was a privilege to be in Manhattan, what to speak of on 5thAvenue.
What are good places to distribute books in New York City?
Fifth Avenue from 34thStreet to Central Park, 34thStreet itself, and Astor Place and St. Marks Place at night.
Shyamananda Prabhu:
Srila Prabhupada came to America with a pamphlet “India’s Message of Peace and Goodwill.”
When someone said to Srila Prabhupada before his transcontinental ocean voyage, “So you are going to America?” Srila Prabhupada humbly replied, “Srimad Bhagavata is going to America.”
One man asked an abbott, “What do you do in the monastery, in one sentence?”
He thought for awhile and replied, “We fall, and we get up, we fall, and we get up, we fall, and we get up.”
Arjuna has hatred for the sons of Dhrtarastra, affection for his grandfather and teacher, and pity for the others who would be killed.
Duryodhana just wanted the kingdom.
Dhrtarastra wanted his sons to get the kingdom and was worried about the influence of the holy place.
There is no one who says, “Everything belongs to me.” Only Krishna says that. He is either a lunatic, or it is true. You have to decide.
We see that Krishna’s devotees are enjoying. The gopis are enjoying, the cowherd boys are enjoying, Mother Yashoda is enjoying, Lord Caitanya’s associates are enjoying, and they are inviting us to join them.
Caitanya Carana Prabhu:
From “See Criticism with a Critical Eye” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 52, No. 2 (March / April 2018):
“Returning to our discussion about outer cynics, neglecting them entirely is difficult because we are social beings. We need a supportive circle that encourages and appreciates us. Our social needs remain even when we start practicing spiritual life. Materialists are usually critical of spiritualists. So, if we are to persevere on the devotional path, we need the association of devotees. When we get a sense of belonging in devotee circles, we can develop the necessary thick skin to endure the inevitable criticisms of materialists.”
“Ultimately, to sustain our devotion amidst criticism, we need to connect spiritually with the one who has given us our gifts and for whom we are striving to develop them. Our relationship with Krishna established through prayer, meditation, and worship provides us an inner sanctuary beyond the reach of critics. By finding affirmation and inspiration in His loving remembrance, we access inexhaustible inner empowerment for persevering despite the world’s criticism.”
Shubha Vilas Prabhu:
After reading the final chapter of the Fifth Canto, you can get very depressed hearing all the different hells you can suffer in for making different mistakes, and thus in the first chapter of the Sixth Canto, Sukadeva Goswami tells how by chanting the holy name you can easily escape all the hells.
The Ajamila story is the story of all of us because were destined to go to hell, but by the mercy of the devotees, we received a change of destination.
Ajamila was kind to one sadhu who advised him to name one of his sons Narayana.
The guru gives direct instructions, and when that is not possible, he gives indirect instructions.
King Uttanapada had two wives, Suruci and Suniti. Suruci means a taste for material things. Suniti means attraction for higher principals. Actually we often have these two choices.
Bhaktimeans engaging what you have in Krishna consciousness. Do not worry about what you do not have. If you can’t sing, if you can’t cook, if you can’t dress the deities, do not worry. Just engage what you have in Krishna’s service.
The monkeys fighting for Lord Rama would engage what they had in the fight.
The spiritual master is like a vessel. If you want to heat water, you need a vessel. You are like the water, Krishna is like the fire, and the spiritual master is the vessel. Without the vessel it is not possible to heat the water.
Lanka is symbolic of temptation, and Hanuman’s burning Lanka was his response to the situation of temptation.
If you do not check temptation, it can grow out of hand.
Some people think the proper way to deal with desires is to fulfill them, but the Bhagavad-gita says something else. If you fulfill your desires, they will just become more and more uncontrollable.
If we succumb to tempations, we become unable to follow the spiritual master.
The role of the Paramatma is to give us warnings if we go in the wrong direction.
Ajamila repented after the fact, but it is better to hear the guidance of Paramatma beforehand.
Our heart beating fast before we did some mischief as a child is an indication from Paramatma. We have to learn to listen for such indications.
Gaura Sarana Prabhu:
Comment by Adi Purusha Prabhu: It takes two years for a bamboo seed to sprout, but when it does so it grows three feet a day for thirty days. In the same way, there will be effect from the chanting of the holy name, but we must wait to see it.
Comment by Natabara Gauranga Prabhu: Visvanatha Cakravarti says that the effect of chanting the holy name is not immediate and dramatic by the arrangement of Krishna so as to allow people to still have faith in karma and jnana [knowledge].
It can just take a moment to regret our past misdeeds and turn toward Krishna.
In this age of Kali, even in India people, may think they are pious, but in reality they engage in so many materialistic activities that is just their mental conception.
Karuna Gauranga Prabhu:
Not only the holy name, but also the deity and the prasadam purify if received jokingly or critically.
Even though we loved to play with dolls and toys as a child, we have absolutely no interest in them now. Similarly the material things that allure us now will not disturb us in the least when we advance in devotional service.
One devotee asked Srila Prabhupada why he had to suffer so much although he was a pure devotee. Srila Prabhupada explained that the material world spares no one. Even Krishna encountered so much difficulty in the material world.
Jaya Jagannatha Prabhu:
From a conversation:
I find if I speak tattva(spiritual truth) to people, they feel I am caring for them.
Virabhadra Rama Prabhu:
I was born in a devotee family so I knew all the practices, but when I was a teenager they were not a part of my life. I had other interests. I worked with Arjuna Prabhu doing land surveying, and after work he would suggest, “Why not stop at the temple?”, and after we got there, “Why not offer obeisances? Why not honor the caranamrita?”And then in time he would gradually include other ideas. “Why not offer a donation? Why not stay here and chant a round? Why not read a verse?” In this way because of his compassion, he gradually created a taste for all these devotional activities within me.
Comment by Gopal Campu Prabhu: One lady who talked to us on book distribution came back an hour later accusing us of stealing her wallet. The police listened to her story, and said to us, “We have seen you coming here for seven years without any incidents, so it is difficult for us to believe her story.” Two of the policeman asked for books before they left.
Comment by Jaya Jagannatha Prabhu: Gaura Govinda Swami explains that sin is like a layer of dust that can easily we wiped out, but aparadha[offense to the devotees, the scriptures, the guru, the Lord, etc.] is like a thunderbolt that cannot be destroyed. Our scriptures do not emphasize sins because the fire of bhaktican easily destroy them all, but aparadha is greatly warned against.
Yashoda Dulal Prabhu in New Jersey told me there was one person who would regularly come to The Bhakti Center Thursday kirtana with alcohol on his breath. He kept coming and gradually progressed to chanting sixteen rounds a day and becoming an initiated devotee.
Jai Giridhari:
From The Bhakti Center Gita Jayanti festival:
Radhanath Swami says:
“
The sirens remind us there is suffering in this world.”“
What good is there in being eternal and full of knowledge if you are not happy?”Mahotsaha Prabhu:
Everyone is walking around with God in their hearts, but the saints are always realizing this.
If you become humble, then you can surrender to a guru.
If you aware of abhidheya [the practice of devotional service] and prayojana [love of God] but you do not know sambandha [your position as God’s servant]you will become a prakritya sahajiya, one who does sense gratification in the name of devotional service.
Narada advises Yudhisthira that householders can advance by hearing sadhus.
Comments by Adi Purusa Prabhu:
In the story of Ajamila we see how one can be dragged down by association with a sinful person, but there are examples how a sinful person can be lifted up by good association, like the pastime of Haridasa Thakura delivering the prostitute.
At a devotee marriage, the priest asked the couple if they wanted their love to grow and grow. They said yes. He advised them to encourage each other in acts of Krishna consciousness. Otherwise he said that if they simply engaged in acts of sense gratification it would soon come to an end.
Comment by Vasudeva Prabhu: Bhurijana Prabhu, who has been married practically longer than anyone in ISKCON, says that in marriage in the West there is love and then commitment, but in the East there is commitment and then love.
—–
There are many verses describing the great potency of chanting the holy name of the Lord. This is one of three I memorized from the Ajamila pastime in the beginning of the Sixth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Why does the holy name have such potency? Because it is not different from the Lord Himself. It is the incarnation of God in the form of transcendental sound! People may joke about or ridicule our chanting parties on the street, but by saying “Hare Krishna” the rascals advance spiritually despite their negative intentions. One devotee tells how one man in Johannesburg, South Africa, criticized the chanting party every day when it passed his apartment, yet ultimately he became a devotee.
sanketyam parihasyam va
stobham helanam eva va
vaikuntha-nama-grahanam
asesagha-haram viduh
“One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.14)
Travel Journal#13.10: Paris
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 13, No. 10
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2017, part two)
Paris
(Sent from Paris on June 12, 2017)
(May 2017, part two)
Paris
(Sent from Paris on June 12, 2017)
Where I Went and What I Did
I spent the entire second half of May chanting Hare Krishna for three hours each day in different venues in Paris. It was nice for me to stay in the Paris temple, with a morning program and beautiful deities of Radha and Krishna (Parisisvara), which was an increase for me over The North of England. Also by the grace of Krishna, every day devotees joined me on harinama:
Date Place # of Devotees
05/17/17 Republique 9
05/18/17 Caumartin 8
05/19/17 Republique 6
05/20/17 Caumartin 15
05/21/17 Gare du Nord 5
05/22/17 Garges Sarcelles 4
05/23/17 Montmartre 3
05/24/17 Republique 3
05/25/17 Republique 9
05/26/17 Republique 7
05/27/17 Republique 15–20
05/28/17 Gare du Nord 11
05/29/17 Garges Sarcelles 3
05/30/17 Bastille 3
05/31/17 Republique 8
In recent years, devotees only did harinamas in Paris on Thursday and Saturday, and to get so many people coming out on a daily basis was impressive. Thanks to Pranesvara Prabhu (Ram Das) for coming out almost every day and Kalavati Devi Dasi for coming out several days a week and talking to people and distributing books and prasadam and collecting emails of favorable people.
I share excerpts from the books and online journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on classes by Janananda Goswami, Pitavasa Prabhu, Bhavasindhu Prabhu, Nitai Gaurasundara Prabhu, Vicaru Prabhu, Aksayananda Prabhu, and Gauranga Prema Prabhu. I share some realizations of Yasoda Dulal Prabhu from a conversation and of Murali Gopal Prabhu from a seminar on Vedic cosmology.
Many thanks to Pranesvara Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, who volunteered to pay travel expenses for devotees to go on harinama in Paris. Thanks to Mantrini Devi Dasi for her photo of a sign in front of a Baptist Church with a quote from God. Thanks to the Paris ISKCON Facebook people for their photos of harinama in Paris. Thanks to Bianka of Hungary for her photos of me on harinama and at kirtan programs. Thanks to Atmarama Rasa Prabhu for his photo of devotees at Bhakti Loka. Thanks to Jean-Baptiste, a Paris photographer, for his photo of me singing by the Indian shops near Gare du Nord.
Itinerary
June 4–July 14: Paris
July 15–18: Leicester Ratha-yatra and harinamas
July 19: Newcastle harinama and kirtan
July 20: Chester harinama and program
July 22: Oxford Ratha-yatra
July 23: Birmingham Ratha-yatra
July 24–25: Scarborough area harinamas
July 26–27: Preston area harinamas
July 27: Accrington program
July 28: London
July 29–July 31: Berlin Ratha-yatra and harinamas
August 1–6: Polish Woodstock
August 7: Dublin
August 8: Boston
August 9–16: Ottawa Vaishnava Sanga Retreat / Janmastami and Vyasa-puja
August 17–27: North UK Ratha-yatra Tour
August 28–September 5: UK and Ireland
September 5–November ?: New York City (ex. Sept. 19–23: Philadelphia)
November ?– November 30: Florida
December: New York City
Chanting Hare Krishna in Paris
On the days when we had lots of people on the party, I was free to take some videos.
Here Vicaru Prabhu chants Hare Krishna outside Printemps, a massive high-end shop in Paris, on a very rainy Thursday. Refugee kids dance and otherwise interact with devotees (https://youtu.be/qb1OU-rdgdo):
A lively group of Paris devotees chants Hare Krishna with enthusiasm every Saturday for two or three hours, this time outside Printemps. Passersby often take photos and/or dance, and a few brave souls accept spiritual food and literature (https://youtu.be/xaBcr1V8bCk):
Usually I danced and distributed literature.
Although sometimes I sang.
Here Gaura Bhakta, Gauranga Prema, and Jagattarini Prabhus along with myself, led the chanting of Hare Krishna at Republique in Paris and passersby danced and learned the karatalas (https://youtu.be/At8hYPTTtSw):
Anotherday at Republique, a young girl played with the karatalasas Pranesvara Prabhu and I chanted Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/yFgXWGIMkcM):
Later that day, a devotee boy played harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/j-rsLnSLpXY):
Here Gauranga Prema Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, Anton plays clarinet, a devotee couple from Chile dances and Kalavati Devi Dasi distributes books at Republique (https://youtu.be/mUNWVpjIMhw):
Later that day, Raghava Pandit Prabhu of Chile chantedHare Krishna and a friend playedaccordion and Kalavati Devi Dasi danced(https://youtu.be/j_xnmEgcGcc):
One Saturday when there was too much competition with other musicians at Republique, the devotees did harinama along a canal. Yasoda Dulal Prabhu led the chanting (https://youtu.be/FIziEvNnGGs):
I distributed prasadam burfi along the canal and many people tried it.
On Sunday’s I would chant on the street between Gare du Nord and Place de la Chapelle where there are lots of Indian shops. Many people would give donations, and I could fund my weekly transit pass in this way. Once a local photographer named Jean-Baptiste took a photo of me singing there before others joined me, and he sent it to me by email:
Here Yasoda Dulal Prabhu leads the chanting by the Indian shops near Gare du Nord (https://youtu.be/68Kmi3s4Z0c):
Wednesday Evening Kirtan
Every Wednesday evening Atmarama Rasa (center) and Jagattarini (playing clarinet) have kirtan at their apartment for an hour, followed by tea. Many new devotees come. All are encouraged to lead the kirtan sometimes and to learn to play the different instruments.
While going to attend that program, one dayon a crowded bus in a Paris traffic jam, two guys had a heated argument which disturbed my mind and those of others. Some people tried unsuccessfully to stop them. After a while I picked up my harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna kirtan softly for two minutes, and they quieted down. A couple of people smiled broadly in appreciation. The guys rekindled their argument after a few minutes, and I chanted again. This time they quieted down after half a minute. Chanting Hare Krishna is the solution in this age of quarrel.
While going to attend that program, one dayon a crowded bus in a Paris traffic jam, two guys had a heated argument which disturbed my mind and those of others. Some people tried unsuccessfully to stop them. After a while I picked up my harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna kirtan softly for two minutes, and they quieted down. A couple of people smiled broadly in appreciation. The guys rekindled their argument after a few minutes, and I chanted again. This time they quieted down after half a minute. Chanting Hare Krishna is the solution in this age of quarrel.
Sunday Morning Program at Bhakti Loka
Aksayananda Prabhu has a program at his apartment on Sunday morning with kirtan, Srimad-Bhagavatam class, prasadam, and more kirtan.
Here Yasoda Dulal Prabhu chants during the kirtan at the end of the Bhakti Loka program (https://youtu.be/keDLG10bgyI):
Here Jagattarini Devi Dasi chants during the kirtan at the end of the Bhakti Loka program (https://youtu.be/pMSltY-7bvQ):
Here Olivier, a musician who has only been coming around for a few weeks, chants a tune of his own during the kirtan at the end of the Bhakti Loka program (https://youtu.be/iAWdvtPrpwI):
Advice from God
Last issue I mentioned that a Baptist preacher told us in Newcastle that God was more concerned that we love each other than that we agree with each other. When I shared that quote on Facebook, Mantrini Devi Dasi shared a Baptist quote of her own with me:
Insights
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From a “Japa Poem”:
“When Prabhupada was in Tehran
he told a group of Muslims
that the sound vibration ‘Allah’ was non-different
from Allah Himself. They could not accept
it. But it
is an absolute fact.”
From another “Japa Poem”:
“I wrote of preparing for a Bhagavatam class.
I picked verses from the First Canto
where Vyasadeva expresses
his despondency after compiling
the Vedas. He thinks,
‘This may be because
I did not specifically
point out the devotional service
of the Lord.’
In my diary I comment,
‘This is the story
of my japaretreat’ –
indicating I am
dissatisfied with my
japabecause I
didn’t chant with love.”
From Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name:
“I want to really understand how important it is to beseech the mind to cooperate with our attempts to chant japa. In a sense, the mind is responsible for our japa. When the mind is under control, we can actually hear the holy names without being attentive to other ‘noises.’ It requires the cooperation of the mind.
“Of course, we also know that it is not just the ‘badness’ of our minds, but the material world is filled with distraction. However, the mind has become so implicated in past activities and impressions that he has become part of the problem.
“Krishna’s power and attraction is greater than maya’s, so although it is not easy for the mind, we have to coax him, sometimes sternly, and preach to him about the wonderful effects that will come from hearing the holy name in faith. So manah-siksa, to instruct and pray to the mind, is a central part of japa.”
“One way to practice manah-siksa is to talk to the mind during japa (or at other times) and ask for his full cooperation. We also have to ensure that the mind does not become absorbed in other things, either during the japa hour or during the day. We have to protect our minds from mundane engagement. Then, if we become enough of a friend of our mind, we can become aware of our mental activity. We can become conscious. The mind will begin to signal to us: ‘Now I am thinking nonsense, now I am chewing the chewed. What are you going to do about it?’ When the mind gives that signal, then we can immediately preach to our minds: ‘Wake up! Hear the holy names!’ Therefore, dear friends, let’s follow the previous acaryas and instruct our minds in a friendly way, always conscious of the goal we want to attain—attentive, devotional chanting.”
From Prabhupada Nectar:
Once in the middle of the night, Srila Prabhupada awoke his servant, and announced his decision, “I want to go back to Godhead. I want go to Mayapur.”
[Regarding Srila Prabhupada:] “His purity created an aloofness from those who were impure.”
Srila Prabhupada said, “It is my responsibility to make sure all the aratis are going on and all the floors are swept in our temples all over the world. By your cleaning the floor in a particular temple, you are assisting me. Just like if I was offering a arati and you hand me the fan, in the same way, you are assisting me.”
Comment by Vicaru Prabhu: Srila Prabhupada likened Westerners to people who were asleep and Indians to people who were pretending to be asleep. It is easy to wake up a person who is asleep, but it is difficult to wake up someone pretending to be asleep. The Westerners did not know about Krishna, and so they could easily accept the knowledge that Srila Prabhupada gave, while the Indians, often thinking they already knew Krishna, could not hear what he was saying.
Janananda Goswami:
One may think the incarnations of God in different forms are fantastic and inconceivable, but there are lots of amazing things in the universe. Consider a tiny insect: within that small body there is a brain, a digestive system, etc. So many things are going on! No scientist has designed it or built it, but there it is.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura explained that you cannot understand how God can be all-pervading throughout the universe and also localized in the spiritual world until you come to the level of Brahman realization.
On the platform of material identification we cannot understand the situation of Personality of Godhead.
Surrender to or acceptance of the fact that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not affected by the material energy is an important step in understanding Him in truth.
People dress differently for different purposes although they remain the same internally. One wears a wetsuit when going scuba diving but not to the office. Similarly the Lord takes on different forms to accomplish His purposes although remaining the same person.
Remembering the presiding deity of each of the elements purifies us of attachment to these elements and is another facility given by the Lord for our purification.
The name of the English town Swindon [where Janananda Goswami comes from] derives from “Swine Down” and historically was a region of pig farmers.
If there is a cockroach incarnation of the Lord, He would not be affected by the different poisons one uses to get rid of them.
Some Puranas describe things in one way, but other Puranas describe them differently for persons who are not yet able to assimilate the actual understanding.
Pitavasa Prabhu:
People in general do not have a clear idea of the soul. Some speak of animals as having a different kind of soul. Others speak of a Jewish soul.
We may feel unqualified to distribute Krishna consciousness, but if we try to distribute Krishna consciousness, the Lord, being pleased with us, will give us the necessary qualifications.
There was a blind man who would chant the glories of the Lord outside a certain temple in India always. The ritualistic smartabrahmanas would tease him. One day in dressing the deity, the brahmanas neglected to give Krishna His flute, but the blind man noticed that in his meditation, and he corrected them to their surprise.
There are songs that become famous for just some few weeks on the top ten, but I have been chanting Hare Krishna for several decades, and I never get tired of it.
There are billions of living entities that are waiting for this human form of life, so we must be careful to use our human life for spiritual realization. The chanting of the holy name is so powerful that it can benefit all kinds of living entities.
There are so many rites of purification in the Vedic literature but none compares to the chanting of the holy name.
Bhavasindhu Prabhu:
For a devotee, every place should be a temple.
As soon as a traveler gets to his hotel room, he should get out his Bhagavad-gita and install it, making the place a temple.
Krishna says, “He who meditates on Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, he, O Partha, is sure to reach Me.” The key is to be “undeviated from the path.” We may have difficulties, but we will be successful if we are “undeviated from the path.”
Comment by Raja Dharma Prabhu: My Guru Maharaja, Bhakti Caru Swami, would say, “Whether you are a pot washer or the temple president, if you want to control, everyone will hate you, but if you want to serve, everyone will love you.”
Nitai Gaurasundara Prabhu:
The Lord reveals Himself through His devotees. He gives intelligence to devotees who are preaching His glories.
The devotees do not chant mantras for liberation but to glorify the Lord because they take pleasure in doing so.
Laksmi’s prayer is full of knowledge of the Lord and is very condensed.
It is great mercy to see God everywhere as most people see God nowhere. They see God’s energy but have no idea where it came from.
The impersonalists consider God does not exist but is merely a conception.
In sadhana-bhakti we are trained to understand the energies of the Lord working.
One who is not determined on the spiritual path cannot control the mind.
When one writes a biography he puts his own opinion in it, depending on whether he likes or hates the person. The biography of God that Vrindavan Das Thakur wrote, however, is based on facts that were revealed to him by persons who knew.
Vrindavan das Thakur was a cowherd boy in Krishna’s pastimes and thus was very absorbed in the pastimes of Lord Nityananda. He knew others would also write about Lord Caitanya, and he left lots out for them to tell.
Vrindavan das Thakur greatly warns about the destructive influence of criticizing devotees.
In Lord Caitanya’s childhood pastimes He shows how much he likes food cooked by His devotees in love by crawling on the altar three times to eat the food a brahmana offered. He also demonstrates this by requesting the food that Jagadish and his brother offered to Lord Vishnu on the Ekadasi day.
Nimai demonstrates that He wants to hear from His mother about defeating Mayavadi philosophy.
Comment by Raja Dharma Prabhu: When Nimai would be chastised by His mother, He would run outside because His mother would not leave home because it was the custom that the chaste ladies stay at home.
Comment by Pitavasa Prabhu: Devotees relish when the Lord shows symptoms of a normal child yet in the course of such play He also demonstrates His supernatural power, as Krishna did by killing the demoniac.
Parents nowadays become frustrated trying to control their kids, but when Nimai would act in a naughty way, Sacimata became more loving toward Him.
Comment by Pitavasa Prabhu: The Vedic understanding was that children under five would be corrected but not punished, children between five and fourteen are punished if they misbehave, but after fifteen they are treated as friends, otherwise they will revolt and leave the parents.
Comment by Pitavasa Prabhu: When Krishna steals, it is not like ordinary stealing because Krishna is reminding us that everything in reality belongs to Him.
Laksmi knows the Lord in detail. We are here to increase our knowledge and appreciation of the Lord, and we can learn from her.
She glorifies the Lord as the only beneficiary. We tend to glorify so many people with gold medals, but actually all glory goes to the Lord, the source of their sensory abilities. The devotee, knowing this, gives all credit to Krishna.
Krishna understands all the needs of everyone and meets them as well.
Laksmi is nonenvious. She sees that although Krishna is her husband, Krishna is husband of everyone.
The Lord is the only husband because His protection is not limited by time or by ability.
Although fulfilling people’s material desires, Krishna gradually reveals that the desired things are useless and pure devotion to the Lord is the real cause of satisfaction.
Material benedictions received by the people in general are received from Durga Devi not Laksmidevi.
Radharani’s benedictory hand can bless everyone with devotional service to the Lord.
Although present on the chest of the Lord, Laksmi wants to receive the blessing of the touch of His hand on her head.
Comment by Raja Dharma Prabhu: Laksmi could not enter the rasa dance because she was unwilling to bow down to the gopis who she considered village girls while she was the goddess of fortune.
Comment by Pitavasa Prabhu: I went to the temple of Vyenkata Bhatta. There is a altar with Jagannatha Deities that were personally made by Lord Caitanya. The devotees there are very respectful to the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, and they gave me a whole plate of maha-prasadamtulasi leaves.Lord Caitanya came to make one sampradaya. He did not come to start a fifth sampradaya.
Srila Prabhupada told us about the Ratha-yatra from Puri to Gundica but not from Gundica to Puri.
Aksayananda Prabhu:
Mayavadis see personality is the cause of conflict. Thus personality which is a cause of misery cannot be in the Absolute Truth.
Actually conflict arises when a person wants to control someone who does not want to be controlled.
The biggest fault with impersonalism is that it cannot explain the cause of the material world.
Astanga yogic perfections easily distract one from attaining perfection.
While in the material world you cannot really enjoy the impersonal Brahman.
We cannot manifest our personal qualities when we are isolated from others.
Bhaktiis completely different from any other activity because the theory, the practice, and the goal are the same.
There are “believers” who we do not consider transcendentalists. Even there are demons who believe in God.Those who attend church weekly and feel themselves purified so they can begin another week of sinful activities we cannot consider transcendentalists.
To be transcendental we have to fix the mind on Krishna.
When we are in front of a plate we should consider that Krishna has given us this prasadam.
Our effort to please Krishna and how much we want to please Krishna are more important than the results of our activities.
We cannot cheat Krishna.
Transcendental knowledge is not the goal but the satisfaction of Krishna is.
Union of the soul with God is yoga, but union of man and woman is not called yoga, yet both theman and woman can be yogis if they are individually linked with God.
When we are not linked with God, we suffer, and thus we seek God. The scripture says our spiritual life does not begin until then.
Krishna is the center of everything. In our conditional life we put things other than Krishna in the center of our lives. Krishna wants to enter, but there is no room.
Surrender means considering “I am yours.” The soul must come to take pleasure in being dependent.
Radha feels She has no love for Krishna because She did not die when separated from Him.
Our sense data is inaccurate, and so we are in illusion.
If you have people in the three different modes together they will not be able to work together because
of different interests.Krishna disappears when the love of the devotee reaches its climax in order to increase
that love. Then he reappears when the feeling of separation becomes unbearable.When we take birth in an animal form our consciousness is restricted by the form. That is not the case when Krishna incarnates as an animal.
We should know whatever we put on the plate to offer already belongs to Krishna.
A nondevotee could never accept the idea of serving the Lord no matter how the Lord chooses to reciprocate.
When Krishna sees one has an attachment that he cannot give up, He arranges that the devotee can engage it in His service.
Jesus would be less glorified had the Lord not allowed him to be crucified.
Christ said many things, and the Lord had to allow the crucifixion to happen for those words to come true.
Krishna is amazed by the activities of His devotees, and we are also.
Suffering is caused by attachment. If we see something as the property of Krishna and not ourselves, it will cause us to suffer less.
Judas is seen as evil, but he was a faithful follower of Christ, and it was his service to betray Christ.
Comment by Mandakini Devi Dasi: The Russian devotee Ananta Shanti told me he was imprisoned in such an extreme way he prayed to Krishna that he did not see how he could tolerate it. A Bhagavad-gitaverse came clearly to him about how the soul is indestructible, and he became peaceful, realizing that they could not harm his soul.
Yasoda Dulal Prabhu:
Sivarama Swami says our preaching is on three levels:
1. to make common people devotees
2. to make devotees pure devotees
3. to make pure devotees perfect devotees.
I like the daily harinama program because it has the power to do all three.
Gopinathesvari Devi Dasi:
The tendency of one in grhasthalife to become absorbed in one’s family and business and forget about his relationship with the Supreme Lord.
The analogy of the crocodile being weakened on land but regaining strength by reentering the water implies when the grhasthaagain remembers his relationship with the Supreme Lord he is happily and naturally spiritually situated.
We must always remember that the material world is a place of transit. It is not our eternal place.
Because everyone has a spiritual body in the spiritual world, the love there is not the same as loving the flesh of a material body.
At the age of fifty, one should analyze his life and conclude that it is incomplete without perfection in spiritual realization.
If we offer to Krishna our profit, we do not lose, but our profit is multiplied.
Comment by J.P.: I have tried to enjoy in the material world but in the end I realized I always paid the bill. While living here [at the temple], I tasted something I never tasted before, happiness. I see so many people out there have attained nice cars and nice families, but they are not happy without Krishna.
We have to be careful because often we think we are Krishna conscious, but when we leave class we can easily take a direction which has nothing to do with our spiritual realization.
Comments by Pitavasa Prabhu:
Once Srila Prabhupada was talking with Muslims in Iran. They were saying the prophet taught them to offer prayers five times a day, but that was too much so they do prayers three times day but they double them up to make them count as five. Srila Prabhupada reprimanded them for speculating and not following their guru.
There are different teachers sent by Krishna that come from time to time, but we should follow whichever one we choose strictly if we want to make advancement.
Murali Gopal Prabhu:
There is no place where Srila Prabhupada says the earth is flat, and there are many places where Srila Prabhupada says the earth is round. Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur also uses gola or sphere to refer to the earth.
The opinion of the scientists is that the climate change is a reality, it is manmade, and it is irreversible.
Gauranga Prema Prabhu:
All the modern medical technology is simply to keep the body working longer so people can enjoy sense gratification.
If people come to the mode of goodness, they will automatically live longer, but they will not be so inclined to sense gratification. Because of performing austerities to attain the state of goodness, they realize the limitations of sense gratification and lose interest in it.
Radhanath Swami likened a person who tries to correct individual societal anomalies one at time to a person with boils who tries to treat each boil individually without treating the blood disorder which is the cause of them. The sadhu, the saintly person, treats the cause of all social anomalies by purifying the hearts of the people.
I learned working with Greenpeace that if we stopped our activities that cause environmental damage right now, we would not experience the beneficial effect for twenty years. In the same way, good effects of adopting a spiritual practice may take years to manifest in our lives.
It is guaranteed that our material situation will change, but it is also guaranteed that our bhaktiwill never be taken away.
We should not be attached to a material situation because that will cause us suffering.
We are connected with all devotees, even those in a distant place, because we are all serving Krishna.
Janananda Goswami tells that Srila Prabhupada once said that after the ten thousand year golden age of Lord Caitanya still Krishna will make sure there is always a pure devotee on the planet.
—–
My favorite reading program is to read fifteen minutes each day from Bhagavad-gita, from Srimad-Bhagavatam, from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, and from one other book, either The Nectar of Devotion, Nectar of Instruction, or Sri Isopanishad. Now, having read the two other alternatives, I am reading Sri Isopanishad and trying to memorize the Sanskrit for the mantras as well. As I have not read it for years, I had forgotten how wonderful and how essential the mantras are. This is a recent one that I particularly liked:
yasmin sarvani bhutany
atmaivabhud vijanatah
tatra ko mohah kah soka
ekatvam anupasyatah
“One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?” (Sri Isopanshad, Mantra 7)
Travel Journal#13.5: North Florida
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 13, No. 5
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2017, part one)
(March 2017, part one)
North Florida
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on March 19, 2017)
Where I Went and What I Did
March got off to a great start with two harinamas the first day, one at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville during the day and the other at the Jacksonville Art Walk in the evening. The next day I chanted at Krishna Lunch, and the following day I went to Tallahassee to chant at First Friday. I stayed there, chanting at Lake Ella on the weekends and Florida State University during the week until Gaura Purnima, when I went to our festival in Alachua. That evening I went to Jacksonville to chant at University of North Florida through the middle of the March.
I share notes on classes by Mother Nanda, Sesa Prabhu, Madhava Prabhu, and Hanan Prabhu. I share notes on a group reading of Radhanath Swami’s The Journey Within, along with comments by the other listeners. I include wisdom from a conversation with Nama Kirtan Prabhu, from an introduction to a kirtana by Tulasirani Devi Dasi, and from a sign in front of a Tallahassee church.
I would like to thank Navina Shyam Prabhu for his kind donation. Thanks to Britt and all the other people who kindly gave donations on harinama in Tallahassee. Thanks to Race Smith of Florida State University for the photo of himself and me on Landis Green.
Itinerary
March 12–April 8: North and Central Florida campuses
April 8: St. Augustine Ratha-yatra
April 9–11: Washington, D.C., harinama
April 11: Philadelphia Bhakti Garden Tuesday program
April 12: Albany
April 13: New York City
April 14–19: Ireland
April 20–24: Newcastle
April 26: Radhadesh
April 27: King’s Day
April 28: Rotterdam
April 29–30: Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtana
May 1–5: Newcastle
May 6: York
May 7–August 7: Europe
August 8–16: Ottawa Sanga Retreat and Janmastami and Vyasa-puja
August 17–September 5: Europe
September 5–November ?: New York City
November ?– December 1: Florida
December: New York City
Chanting Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch
We were fortunate that our Gainesville Krishna House temple president, Kalakantha Prabhu, led the Hare Krishna chant at Krishna Lunch one day. Hari Priya played the drum for him (https://youtu.be/i3qsvnuMWJw):
Then Hari Priya led the Hare Krishna chant at Krishna Lunch, and Kalakantha Prabhu played the drum for her (https://youtu.be/dC8z9BOUtPw):
When it rains, Krishna Lunch moves to a walkway in front of University of Florida’s Library West, which is protected from the precipitation. When our chanting party is too loud there, we get in trouble with the library staff, thus we used the tambourine instead of the karatalas, which can easily become too loud.
Krishna Nama Prabhu leads the Hare Krishna chant at Krishna Lunch at our rainy day venue, and Abhimanyu Prabhu plays the drum for him (https://youtu.be/YG4cVOLDpqA):
Kishor Prabhu leads the Hare Krishna chant at Krishna Lunch, and Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu das Prabhu plays the drum for him (https://youtu.be/OdRx6FtZr0Y):
Tulasirani Devi Dasi leads the chanting of Hare Krishna, Ekayani Devi Dasi plays drum for her, and Bhakta Jorge dances with alacrity (https://youtu.be/JG9HWlvPHUI):
Chanting Hare Krishna at the Jacksonville Art Walk
After getting kicked out of the Jacksonville Art Walk several times in previous months, we become proactive and asked for a place where we could perform our group chanting of Hare Krishna. The staff granted us a place in the park, not on the street, but still a place getting significant pedestrian traffic.
Here Hare Krishna devotees from Gainesville’s Krishna House chanted for 2½ hours at the monthly Jacksonville Art Walk and different passersby,including some dressed as animals, interacted with the party (https://youtu.be/wlASiVKPi5Y):
Savanah, who happened to see me and Dorian chanting at the Art Walk back in January, was happy to sing and dance with us again. Turns out she will be moving to Gainesville for massage school in a couple of months, so she can meet the Krishna House devotees again there.
Bay talked to some really sweet people and got their contact information.
Chanting Hare Krishna at Florida State University
This Florida State University student wanted to play my harmonium as he is an accordion player. After he did that we talked and then chanted a few Hare Krishna mantras responsively as I played harmonium. He concluded he and his girlfriend have not been meditating enough lately and he is going to read her Bhagavad-gita over spring break.
One girl from Tampa named Christina, who got books from Adikarta Prabhu the last week in February, came by and talked to me for an hour. Adikarta told her about the Hare Krishna mantra and gave her some beads. She said she was chanting the mantra every day. I invited her to a mantra meditation class I was doing the next day, and she and a friend of hers came and chanted ten minutes of kirtana and ten minutes of japa with me. Nama Kirtan talked to Christina at Krishna Lunch and invited her to the Gaura Purnima festival in Alachua. I told her I had friends from our club at University of South Florida coming from Tampa for Gaura Purnima in Alachua, and I could find her a ride to Tampa with them after the festival for the upcoming spring break. She decided to go to Gaura Purnima with us and had a great time. Alex, who rents the room behind the temple, also came to Gaura Purnima, as did Melanie’s son, John, and his girlfriend. It was great seeing all these people getting Lord Caitanya’s mercy on His appearance day. Another fortunate soul was the roommate of a regular attender of our University of South Florida program, who had come to our Sacred Sounds event in February and liked it so much she decide to come to Gaura Purnima. Thus by Lord Caitanya’s mercy we see His mission is continuing to expand in America and in the West in general.
Chanting Hare Krishna at Lake Ella in Tallahassee
On the weekends I am in Tallahassee, I chant at Lake Ella. One black girl, perhaps age 9, asked if she could play an instrument. I showed her some karatalas and demonstrated the standard one-two-three beat, and she got it right the first time. Two of her sisters came, and I showed them the beat. For a while, all three would play the karatalas in perfect time, and then someone would go off, and I would stop singing, and we would start again, and then they would all be in time for a while once again. I wished I brought my video camera to film it, but as I had too few people to sing with me that day I did not bring it. Because of that incident, I decided to always bring my camera, even when I go chanting alone. The next time I went out to Lake Ella I met a little girl who was also willing to learn the standard karatala beat (https://youtu.be/e9_vio38UgI):
I also met a guy who liked playing on the drum (https://youtu.be/7GpanoBKON8):
On the Saturday which was the day before Gaura Purnima, I spent almost eight hours at Lake Ella. Half the time I chanted japa and read Srila Prabhupada’s books on my blanket with the books, invitations, and vegan cookies on display. The other four hours I did the congregational chanting of Hare Krishna with Brahma Haridas Prabhu joining me for a little over an hour and a half and Melanie joining me for a little over an hour. At least four people gave donations just because they liked the chanting or liked what we were doing.
One young lady, who was in Tallahassee briefly to visit relatives, chanted the entire Hare Krishna mantra perfectly as she passed by me. Turns out she lives in Oakland and attends our Berkeley temple. Her father, she herself, and also her brothers and sisters are devotees. I encouraged her to sing with us, and she did (https://youtu.be/zjljDUMBCxs):
We also encouraged her relatives to take part, and while we sang a little girl, hearing the music, danced in the background (https://youtu.be/EAA0xwM9dPU):
I reminded the young devotee lady that tomorrow was Gaura Purnima, and I recommended she attend the temple when she returns to the San Francisco area the next day.
One young man whose father was a Prabhupada disciple came by. He had lived in New Vrindaban for a couple years, and he had lived in Tallahassee when Rupa Vilasa Prabhu was around, and he befriended Rupa Vilasa Prabhu’s son. He got an Isopanisad and a Higher Taste, and he wanted to get some japa beads for the girl who was with him. I invited them to the temple on Gaura Purnima.
One middle-aged lady named Britt, with a jolly mood, was very happy to encounter me chanting there. She asked, “Is it true that the master appears when the disciple is ready?” I said yes, because Srila Prabhupada indicated that to be the case. She said she actually wanted to get a Bhagavad-gita and was worried she’d have to go to India to find one. I taught her the Hare Krishna mantra, and she chanted it along with me several times as I played the harmonium. She was very grateful that she was healing from cancer with chemotherapy and said she had not expected to be alive. I told her about our temple in Tallahassee, and I explained briefly who Lord Caitanya was and that many of us were going to Alachua for a big festival in honor of His appearance day the next day, and she expressed some interest in going. Wanting the Bhagavad-gita, she placed a folded bill in my hand as a donation. I looked at it, and it was a $100 bill. I gave her one copy of each of the books I had on display, a hardbound Bhagavad-gita, a Science of Self-Realization, and The Nectar of Instruction. I gave her my card, and told her to write if she had questions about the books. That is only the third time in thirty years someone donated $100 on harinama. I hope she reads the books and visits the temple and finds the joy of the soul she is seeking.
Gaura Purnima at New Raman Reti
On Gaura Purnima in Alachua, there was fire sacrifice involving the small Gaura Nitai deities outside the temple and a kirtana by Godruma Prabhu of Jacksonville going on in the temple when we arrived from Tallahassee.
Bhadra Prabhu led Hare Krishna chanting on Gaura Purnima in Alachua for almost two hours and devotees chanted, danced, and played musical instruments in a festive spirit (https://youtu.be/wEYQlD8BJM4):
Having the spinach paneer at the feast on Gaura Purnima is a favorite part of the festival for me. So is going to the Gaura Arati, the evening service, with an amazing kirtana of chanting the holy names after which the feast is usually served. I decided to cut out of Bhadra Prabhu’s ecstatic kirtanaafter an hour to get the feast, and I was amazed to find that except for the chutney, a little sauce from the Gauranga potatoes that was stuck to the container, and a couple of trays of scraps from the laddus, the entire feast was finished. I had lived in Alachua since 1994 and attended all the Gaura Purnimas except a handful of years when I was in India, and I would always get the feast after the final kirtana, but I do not ever recall ever missing out like this. I subsisted on a couple of cups of tomato chutney and a plate each of Gauranga sauce and laddu scraps. My friend, Nama Kirtan Prabhu, had intellligently brought some khichri from Tallahassee in case there was not enough prasadam. Next time I will have a friend save me a plate, so I can participate in the kirtana without disappointment.
In addition to the local Alachua Hare Krishnas, devotees from Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Tampa stayed for the Hare Krishna bhajans after the feast on Gaura Purnima at New Raman Reti (https://youtu.be/8vZ4s4efXuk):
Regarding the bhajans,Feren of our Bhakti Yoga Club at the University of South Florida remarked, “Such bliss, it was unreal.”
Chanting at the Jacksonville Bhakti House
The day after Gaura Purnima, we had a record number of devotees at the Jacksonville Bhakti House morning program. In addition to Amrita Keli, Lovelesh, Youssef, Richie, Kira, and myself, there were two Lauras, both regulars at the University of North Florida Krishna Club. Laura, our first Krishna Club president, on spring break from teaching high school science, plays guitar and leads the chanting, while Laura, in the blue sari, who was celebrating her birthday, dances (https://youtu.be/MFfFr0y21rY):
At the end of Monday’s evening program at the Jacksonville Bhakti House, after everyone in the room got a chance to sing each of the three parts of a lively Village of Peace Hare Krishna tune, they all got up and danced ecstatically (https://youtu.be/ZME69idb5Z8):
Here Richie leads another morning kirtana at Krishna House and the devotees dance (https://youtu.be/PONJZ7eEoMc):
Chanting at University of North Florida
Dorian has a catchy Hare Krishna tune he likes to sing, and he took a break from his studies to chant with Hare Krishna chaplain, Amrita Keli Devi Dasi, myself and four other students from the University of North Florida Krishna Club in front of the UNF Bookstore on a rainy Monday (https://youtu.be/v_T0kHw_xw4):
I was very happy that three new students came to the University of North Florida Krishna Club weekly meeting from seeing us chanting on the campus during the week. One, a nice chap with an Irish background named Patrick who had seen me chanting on campus twice, also invited a friend. Another, a girl named McKayla, began dancing as soon as the kirtana started. It was a very joyful evening.
Here you can see Tulasirani Devi Dasi leading the Hare Krishna chanting at the Krishna Club meeting (https://youtu.be/W9P1i9JpQNg):
Chanting Hare Krishna at the Jacksonville Beach Art Walk
On a very chilly evening Laura, who is singing, and Richie, who is playing the harmonium, joined me in chanting Hare Krishna at the Jacksonville Beach Art Walk (https://youtu.be/l2yyAWPxjvg):
During the hour we chanted Hare Krishna, two people took “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlets, one man gave a dollar, and his daughter took a cookie. A few people took photos and videos, and a girl danced, as her friends took pictures of her.
Insights
Radhanath Swami:
From a group recitation of his book, The Journey Within:
Just prior to a temple opening festival in the Gaudiya Math, temple leaders banished one monk, who had become attached to a woman. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was so upset by their action, he refused to conduct the festival until that monk had been found and reinstated. After great difficulty, the devotees found the monk working in a watch maker’s shop. When he heard of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarsvati Thakura’s compassion upon him, he returned, and he later became an important preacher in the Gaudiya Math.
When each member of the family is seen as a beloved child of God, taking care of them becomes a joy.
One should have good spiritually minded friends and invite them to one’s home and accept their invitations.
Focus on our higher purpose.
Even the most degraded person can become a world spiritual teacher by the power of the chanting of the holy name.
Chanting the holy names transcends all sectarian boundaries.
Everything in the material world is made of sound.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would have monks that fought sit down facing each other and enumerate the good qualities of each other so they would realize that their good qualities outnumber their supposed faults.
Comments by Amrita Keli Devi Dasi:
I saw a sign that said, “We tend to judge ourselves by our ideals and others by their acts.”
Just being a soul in a material body is very disorienting. We are all in a hospital or in a clinic.
In a spiritual community, we are focusing on the good aspirations of the other people.
Resentment is disempowering. Radhanath Swami says it is like holding a burning coal and waiting to throw it at the person you hate, while in the meantime it is burning you.
I had ideals to benefit others, but I knew that I did not have the potency myself to become the ideal person I wanted to be. I see by the power of the holy name it is possible.
Comment by Misti:
I was interacting with someone, and it was unusually tense. I decided to be grateful and thank the person for all the things I liked about her. The interaction changed dramatically for the positive, and the tension never reappeared.
We have to really practice honesty as this society conditions us in so many ways to present a false image of ourselves.
Comment by Youssef:
I like to share even little things I have issues with. Just to be able to laugh at insignificant things I have difficulties with helps to get past them.
Comment by Laura:
I can trace dissatisfication to my lack of attention to my spiritual practice. But is miraculous just coming to the morning program once so many dissatisfactions are eliminated.
If the relationship is more important, it may be worth it to give up having your way in particular instance.
Comment by Lovelesh:
The mind needs to be heard. If you can keep a journal where you note down the mind’s voice so it is heard, it will stop annoying you.
There are four kinds of people:
1. Those who only see the good in others.
2. Those who only see the bad in others.
3. Those who see both good and bad in others but who magnify the good.
4. Those who see both good and bad in others but who magnify the bad.
Mother Nanda:
Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that Dhenukasura is the example of material intelligence rooted in the bodily concept of life. Balarama, as the original guru, can shake us up out of the bodily concept of life.
Mother Narayani explains that Bhaktivinoda Thakura indicates that by repeatedly hearing a particular pastime one overcomes the anartha exemplified by the demon in that pastime.
Radhanath Swami explains the fruits from the tal trees symbolize the fruits that we are unable to offer to Krishna because of our bodily concept of life.
Dhenukasura’s plan to was send the tal fruits to Kamsa because he was an associate of Kamsa.
People in the bodily concept of life carry the burden of their karmic reactions life after life.
Comment by Kalakantha Prabhu:
The Dhenukasura pastime has three special features:
1. Dhenukasura is killed by Lord Balarama not Lord Krishna.
2. Dhenukasura is killed outside Vrindavan.
3. Dhenukasura did not first approach Krishna and Balarama to attack Them.
Comment by me:
Your point that materialists are never satisfied no matter what they attain reminds me of one Bhagavad-gita purport where Srila Prabhupada writes, “In the mode of passion, people become greedy, and their hankering for sense enjoyment has no limit. One can see that even if one has enough money and adequate arrangements for sense gratification, there is neither happiness nor peace of mind. That is not possible, because one is situated in the mode of passion. If one wants happiness at all, his money will not help him; he has to elevate himself to the mode of goodness by practicing Krishna consciousness.” (Bhagavad-gita 14.17, purport)
Sesa Prabhu:
That the Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-lovable is the real glory of Krishna not His majesty.
Krishna is not God because He can kill you but because He loves you.
Krishna uses His supreme power to deliver Kaliya and not to kill him.
The different sportive activities which Krishna’s friends performed with Him are called anubhava in The Nectar of Devotion. Dancing is an important one of these.
Kaliya, rather than being a disturbance, actually increased the ecstasy of Krishna’s friends, who observed His sportive activities in play with the serpent.
Krishna was held by Kaliya in his coils for two hours. The fear for Krishna’s safety experienced by the residents of Vrindavana increased their attachment for Him.
Anugraha or compassion is the mood of the devotees in the parental rasa or relationship. The natural reaction of Mother Yashoda was to enter the water to protect Krishna.
By doing the same activities, the one person Krishna was nourishing a variety a different relationships with His different devotees.
If you only want shanti, shanti, shanti [peace, peace, peace], do not come to Krishna consciousness. Krishna likes to churn our emotions.
Krishna’s dancing on the hoods of serpent was also meant to please the young damsels of Vrindavan, who were beginning to develop love for Him, purva-raga.
Madhava Prabhu:
The Brahma-vimohana-lilapastime not only has some sweet descriptions of Krishna and His devotees, but there are many very important philosophical points, especially in Brahma’s prayers.
In a lecture Srila Prabhupada praises the poetic genius in Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.58:
samasrita ye pada-pallava-plavam
mahat-padam punya-yaso murareh
bhavambudhir vatsa-padam param padam
padam padam yad vipadam na tesam
mahat-padam punya-yaso murareh
bhavambudhir vatsa-padam param padam
padam padam yad vipadam na tesam
So much beautiful alliteration is there!
You can say that vipadam meaning ‘miseries’ literally means ‘misstep.’
Our real danger is forgetfulness of Krishna.
Nama Kirtan Prabhu:
From a conversation:
In Los Angeles, a book distributor friend would tell me, “Every day is a good day in Krishna consciousness, even it seems like a bad day.”
Tulasirani Devi Dasi:
From an introduction to a kirtana at the University of North Florida Krishna Club:
Mantra meditation is easy and has great potency. It makes your heart lighter and more full. Even if you do not know what the words mean, it will have a powerful effect. Very easily the mind can be be controlled by listening to a sound vibration.
Hanan:
From a class on Sri Caitanya-caritamrita at the Gainesville Krishna House:
Although Raghunath das Goswami was the most renounced of the Goswamis, eating practically nothing, he took on the enormous task of renovating Radha Kund.
I went to Radha Kund with a group of devotees who were cleaning Radha Kund. I felt very satisfied just doing the cleaning work. When we finished, the time had come when no one bathes in Radha Kund, so we could not take bath, but I was so happy from cleaning Radha Kund I did not mind not bathing there.
Jayadvaita Swami said that doing service is the visa for entering a holy place.
People, especially at holy places, will tell us so many things about Krishna, but we can ask them, “Where is that described in the revealed literature?”
Maya is working with Krishna, not against Krishna. She wants to make sure we are making spiritual progress.
The reason we are here in the material world is not Maya and is not Krishna, but fully our use of our free will.
Comments by Tulasirani Devi Dasi:
We can’t blame mayafor us being in maya. We are choosing not to be so Krishna conscousness at that time.
Much, much worse than being in maya and thinking you are in mayais being in maya and thinking you are really Krishna conscious.
On harinama at a football game, even though surrounded by drunken fans, when I am seeing all the Jagais and Madhais chanting and dancing in the kirtana of Lord Caitanya’s devotees, I feel as if I am in the holy dhama.
Comment by Ekayani Devi Dasi: When I was in school, I had one teacher who made us pray before class. That prayer changed the whole atmosphere.
Lakeview Baptist Church pastor:
The lesson you teach is the life you live.
—–
With the recent holidays of Nityananda Tryodasi and Gaura Purnima, seeing the special mercy newcomers to Krishna bhakti have received on these auspicious appearance days of Lord Nityananda and Lord Caitanya, when I see Their deity forms I think of this first stanza of Locan das Thakura’s song “Sri Sri Gaura Nityanander Daya” and I feel gratitude to Them for Their mercy and Their joyful process of self-realization:
parama koruna, pahu dui jana
nitai gauracandra
saba avatara-sara siromani
kevala ananda-kanda
“Lord Nitai and Lord Gauracandra are very merciful. They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific significance of these incarnations is that They introduced a process of chanting and dancing that is simply joyful.”