Krishna-kripa das, Mayapura – Page 3

Travel Journal#11.9: Simhachalam Festival, Birmingham Kirtan, Sheffield Ratha-yatra, and More
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 9
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2015, part one)

Bavaria, Birmingham, and The North of England
(Sent from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on June 4, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

I attended the Nrsimha Caturdasi festival at Simhachalam, the Bavarian Hare Krishna farm, which has a single, though awesome, deity of Prahlad-Nrsimha. I joined the Harinama Ruci traveling party and some festival attendees for harinama in Passau on Monday after the festival. Tuesday I chanted in Munich with two friends before flying to London. Bhakti Rasa Prabhu really impressed me by picking me up at the Megabus and chanting with me downtown for 45 minutes before our Newcastle Wednesday evening kirtana program. I chanted in Newcastle Thursday and Friday and spoke at the Friday evening program. Saturday and Sunday I joined the Birmingham 24-hour kirtana for the fifth time. Many of my friends from the UK were there, and it was great to see them. Monday I chanted in Sunderland, where Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu and Prema Sankirtana Prabhu joined me, and Tuesday in Newcastle, where in addition to them, Madhuri, Veera, and Priyanka joined me. I spent the next thee days chanting in Sheffield, advertising Sunday’s Second Annual Sheffield Ratha-yatra which I later attended. Saturday I chanted with Manchester devotees there, and helped to advertise their Ratha-yatra the following week.

I share great insights from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and books, Sanatana Goswami’s Brihad-bhagavatamrita, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s books and blog, and notes on lectures by Bhakti Vaibhava Swami, Krishna Kshetra Swami, Sacinandana Swami, Kadamba Kanana Swami, Jagatatma Prabhu, Manidhara Prabhu, Prithu Prabhu, and more. I also share notes on an interesting seminar about death by Devaki Mataji.

Thanks to Kalki of Newcastle, Ali Krishna Devi Dasi of Oxford, and Haladhara Baladeva Prabhu, Joe, and Mariana, all of Sheffield, for their kind donations. A very special thanks to Hare Krishna Festivals UKfor the great pictures of the Sheffield Ratha-yatra. Thanks to Caitanya Candrodaya Prabhu for his picture of us chanting in Passau.

Itinerary

June 5: Newcastle

June 6: York

June 7–8: Newcastle

June 9: Chester

June 10–11: Sheffield

June 12–13: Brighton with Janananda Goswami

June 14: London Ratha-yatra

June 15–20: Manchester with Sutapa Prabhu and his party, including Harinama Ruci

June 21: Stonehenge Soltice Festival and Oxford Summer Kirtan

June 22: Newcastle

June 23: Edinburgh

June 24: Newcastle

June 25: Blackpool and Preston

June 26: Southport and Liverpool

June 27: Newcastle

June 28: Paris Ratha-yatra

June 29–July 3: Paris harinamas with Janananda Goswami and Harinama Ruci

July 4: York harinama and Manchester kirtana with Madhava Prabhu

Harinama at Simhachalam

My favorite place to be on Nrsimha Caturdasi is Simhachalam, the farm with Prahlad-Nrsimha deities in Bavaria.

The Harinama Ruci world traveling party is so attached to doing harinama that during the Nrsimha Caturdasi festival at Simhachalam, they decided to do harinama there.

On the day before Nrsimha Caturdasi, they chanted in the Simhachalam barn.

The guys danced.

The ladies danced.

The party even chanted in the kitchen!

Here is a little video of it (https://youtu.be/AZeNCjsZWYE):

On Nrsimha Caturdasi the small Prahlad-Nrsimha, riding on palanquin, circumambulate their temple three times.

The Harinama Ruci party led the chanting.

It was a joyful experience (https://youtu.be/QBUwVKZFbJI):

At the end of the final parikrama,just before the feast, they have a fireworks show for the pleasure of the deities.

The day after Nrsimha Caturdasi, the harinama devoteeschanted through the main building.

Including the hallway.

And the shop.

The shop harinama must have continued at least fifteen minutes, and it became very lively as you can see from this video (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xKCbdHu2rPBR3Wb8lmaQqW8):

Thanks to Nadia-jivani Dasi for the picture of us chanting in the shop.

Kadamba Kanana Swami led a lively kirtana for those lingering on after the main festival (https://youtu.be/Cl_GWxk1puw):

Harinama in Passau

The Harinama Ruci world harinama party consisting of Vishnujana Prabhu of Slovakia, Gaura Karuna Prabhu of Czech Republic, Rasika Mangala Prabhu of Lithuania, Syamarasa Prabhu of Croatia, Harinamananda Prabhu of Australia, and their guest from South Africa, Savyasaci Prabhu, along with nine devotees from the Nrsimha festival, chanted for two hours in Passau on Monday, after the weekend festival. From the response of the residents, you could understand they do not see many Hare Krishnas chanting in their town. Still, a few people chanted the mantra with us, and a number of people were curious enough to take invitations. Devotees sold several books.

This video gives you a taste of it (https://youtu.be/rj4pl67SHac):

We chanted in a couple shops.

In one, the proprietor really welcomed us (https://youtu.be/_m6KIZIIz8g):

In the drug store, they were not so appreciative (https://youtu.be/j0BQ5aZ4VNw):

One family was very much attracted by the chanting (https://youtu.be/TAcuw_yABZY):

Harinama in Munich

When I arrived in Munich, I was so happy to encounter my harinama partner from France, Gadadhara Priya Prabhu, who had been living there for three weeks. In Paris we would do Metroyoga on the metro, and in Munich we, along with my godbrother from Ukraine, Caitanya Candrodaya Prabhu, did a little U-bahn yoga on the way to and from our chanting site, Marienplatz. It worked well, and at least a couple people gave us donations on the U-bahn, although we made no endeavor to collect. I distributed a couple of books, one on the U-bahn, and could have done more had I been alert to offer one to everyone who gave a donation that day. One lady smilingly gave us three pints of fresh blueberries. She declined the offer of a book, saying she just liked the music. One young couple really enjoyed listening to us. The guy took a video of us, which he said he would send us, and the girl bought Perfection of Yoga for 2½ euros. We chanted to a group of handicapped people who were on a field trip, and many of them were especially happy to interact with us, appreciating our music and attention. One lady on the U-bahn told us we were not allowed to play music and wanted us to stop. We discontinued our chanting, and I announced that anyone who wanted to continue their U-bahn yoga session could join us in the next compartment of the train, where we continued after the next stop.

As usual, lots of children, of all ages, would smile, laugh, and dance upon seeing our chanting party.

It was a very positive experience, and I am very indebted to my two friends for coming out and chanting with me for almost two and a half hours before my flight.

Harinama in Newcastle

I told my friends I would be glad to do harinama for 30 to 60 minutes in downtown Newcastle when they picked me up from my 6½ hour bus ride from London. I was happily surprised when Bhakti Rasa Prabhu came to greet me with a mrdanga around his neck. It was so nice to be chanting on the streets instead of cooped up in a bus. The harinama really does give you energy. We were both happy to be chanting together again after almost a year. Bhakti Rasa Prabhu has a beautiful loud voice that does not need to be amplified, a lot of devotion, and the ability to understand the locals, being from that area himself, and thus he adds a lot to the harinama.

As I sang by myself the next day, my first full day back in Newcastle, a man asked, “Are you collecting for Hare Krishna?” I said yes and he gave me £10. I offered him a Gita,but he already had one. He majored in environmental studies in school and told me he had a theory that the religions that believe in reincarnation are more environmentally friendly. He spent the last 8 months living in a campground a two-hour walk from the city. You never know what kind of people you will meet on harinama.

As I was packing up, a girl who was perhaps ten years old, was moving to my singing, as her friend of the same age watched. I started clapping as it usually inspires others to either clap or get more into dancing. The girl seemed to get more into it, so I gave her our invitation with the words to the song, and she sang it several times. I picked up my harmonium, saying “it is better with the harmonium,” and we continued singing. Turns out she and her friend were going in the same direction as I was for the next ten or fifteen minutes. They walked a bit ahead of me, but periodically they would stop, turn back and gesture to me and say the mantra. Krishna always arranges positive experiences for me on my first day back in Newcastle.

The day before the Birmingham 24-hour kirtana, as I was chanting down the hill past all the bike shops, one bike shop lady came out to greet me. She had not seenme since last year. Previously she bought Prema Sankirtana Prabhu’s old motor home and requested he throwin some meditation beads for good luck.

She told me she did not usually wear the beads but that very day she was inspired to put them on.

The last day I was in Newcastle before going to Sheffield, at one point we had six devotees chanting all together. People forget how nice chanting in public is if they do not go out regularly, and it made me happy to see the devotees having a positive experience of harinama.

In Kali-yuga, Lord Caitanya makes love of Krishna very easily available. In that sense, it is like this week’s offer of 90% off:

You can get the highest experience of love of Godhead (krishna-prema) simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord.

Madhuri Devi joined Caitanya-candrodaya andPrema Sankirtana Prabhus and I on harinama.

Then later Veera and Priyanka joined us. It was Veera’s birthday, and I was happy to see Veera and her friend chose to go on harinama on her birthday. What a way to celebrate! What a way to purify one’s birth!

Here Veera happily plays mrdanga as Madhuri sings.

You can see a glimpse of how crowded Northumberland Street is.

Here is a video clip so you can see what it was like (https://youtu.be/3jHpNRgypsY):

Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtana

I went to the Birmingham Ratha-yatra, featuring Sacinandana Swami and Madhava Prabhu, for the fifth time. It is wonderful to be with so many people committed to chant the holy name for so long, and it was great to see my friends from all over the UK, Ireland, and France. Ali Krishna Devi, who I originally met at a Rainbow Gathering, who served at Krishna House for three years, and who has been living in Japan with her husband, Krishna Sharana Prabhu, surprised me by showing up in Birmingham, being based at Oxford for two months. Our movement is so international. This year ten devotees came from France.

Ananta Nitai and Prema Sankirtana Prabhus, who once did a 24-hour harinama in Dublin, were happy to see each other again.

I slept a couple hours at night, and woke up just a few minutes before mangala-arati, which was attended by about fifteen or twenty people. I tried to stay absorbed in the kirtana as much as possible. Talking with my many friends was the biggest challenge to my absorption in chanting this year.

I figured out that by chanting japa while the leader is singing and counting the one mantra I sing in response, I can gradually complete sixteen rounds of japa by 9:00 a.m., while participating in the kirtana at the same time.

Guys danced.

Ladies danced.

Newer people danced.

Even Nitai Charan Prabhu, the temple president, danced.

On the final day, toward the end, many devotees danced, including Sacinandana Swami, and you can see some of it in these video clips (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xKfvaIxsejtgUMVKcKbjrK5):

Harinama in Sunderland

After Birmingham 24-hour kirtana, I took the Megabus seven hours to Newcastle, and then I took the metro to Sunderland with Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu, and we chanted kirtanafor most of the trip. Prema Sankirtana Prabhu later joined us in Sunderland. We chanted for three hours there, before going to the home of Ramai and Vrinda for more kirtana and prasadam. That was a long day for me!

Sheffield Harinama and Ratha-yatra

In addition to having their weekly Wednesday program with chanting, a talk, and spiritual food at the Broomhall Center, I was inspired to see the devotees have a new weekly program in Sheffield.

It at the Burngreave Ashram, a multifaith chapel and library near city center.

Every Thursday, they have lunch at 12:30 p.m. followed by a chanting session scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., which in reality goes for two or more hours.

I saw at least two new people sing for the whole two hours, which really impressed me.

The Sheffield Ratha-yatra was a wonderful experience.

This year it was in a park and not the city center, bu

Travel Journal#11.8: Toronto, Ireland, Holland, Radhadesh, Luxembourg, Germany
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 8
By Krishna-kripa das
(April 2015, part two)

Toronto, Ireland, Holland, Radhadesh, Luxembourg, Germany
(Sent from Manchester, England, on May 18, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

The last half of April, I went on harinama every single day. Early the morning of April 16, Ireturned from Sacred Sounds in New Jersey and caught two hours of sleep before flying to Dublin via Toronto, where I had a twelve-hour layover and visited the temple, caught up partly on my sleep, had a couple meals, went on harinama for two hours, and chanted the evening arati song for the Deities. In Dublin we did three hours of harinama the first day and had our nine-hour harinama the next day. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday we chanted in Dublin at least three hours a day. Next we went to Kilkenny, Bagenalstown, and Cork, before flying to Amsterdam to attend King’s Day. I chanted with Sivananda Sena Prabhu and wife, Moksa Laksmi Devi Dasi, in Rotterdam, along with other six devotees two days for two hours each day, and I spoke on harinama at the weekly Saturday night program there. On Sunday, the day before King’s Day, I chanted with Sivananda Sena Prabhu, Moksa Laksmi Devi Dasi and two other devotees in Amsterdam, which was already very crowded. King’s Day was amazing with over 200 devotees chanting for eight hours. More people from the crowd were enthusiastic to participate than usual. The next day I went with Harinama Ruci, the world harinama party, and devotees from Germany to do harinama in Luxembourg for two hours, thus beginning our journey to the Simhacalam farm for the upcoming Nrsimha Caturdasi festival. Amazingly, two people we met in Luxembourg joined our party for two days. We stayed the night at Goloka Dhama and chanted with seven devotees from there in Kaiserslautern the next day. That night we stayed at our temple outside Heidelberg and chanted in Heidelberg the next day.

I share wisdom from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures, realizations about japa and harinama from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s books and journal, and insights from Duryodhana Guru Prabhu in Ireland and Kadamba Kanana Swami in Radhadesh. I also share many interesting insights and realizations from newer devotees I was doing harinama with in Ireland and Germany.

Thanks to Eleanora, who kindly paid most of the cost of my bus from Kilkenny to Cork. Many, many thanks to Sivananda Sena Prabhu of Rotterdam for all the harinamas, and his donation of many euros, a new watch and a new suitcase with wheels. Thanks to Govinda Prabhu of the UK for donating the extra euros from his trip to Amsterdam. Thanks to Sadbhuja Prabhu, who allowed me to travel from Radhadesh to Simhachalam, in his traveling temple bus.

Thanks to Vishnujana Prabhu for the photos from our trip to Luxembourg and Germany with me in them and the closeup of the Goloka Dhama sandesh. Thanks to Simon P. whose picture of the Toronto temple I downloaded from Wikipedia. Thanks to the Students of His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari Worldwide, whose picture of the Toronto Hare Krishna deities, Sri Sri Radha Ksira-Chora Gopinatha I downloaded. Thanks to Krishna.com for the picture of the Radhadesh deities, Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha.

Toronto

When I bought my round trip ticket from Dublin to New York last year, I was very happy to find out I had a layover of twelve hours in Toronto on the return. I had never chanted Hare Krishna in the streets of Toronto nor visited our temple there, which is in an old church building, and I was eager to do both. With the expert directions of Bhakta Nick, I made it to the temple by bus and subway in about an hour and a half. I took breakfast and a nap, and went on harinama. Apparently two devotees regularly go on harinama for 2½ hours each afternoon, but one was out of town and the other decided not go to out. Bhakta Nick had to do reception, and I was wondering if I would have to go out alone, when one Indian devotee, Vijay Krishna Prabhu eagerly agreed to come out. He was a great asset, playing the karatalas in time, singing on key, having a loud voice, and being agreeable to chant in public for two hours. While we chanted, we met a young devotee from Russia who joined us for the last forty-five minutes. A few people were happy to see us, and I passed out several invitations to the Toronto temple Sunday feast.

On returning to the temple I took a shower and a nap, sang the evening arati song, and had dinner at the Govinda’s restaurant in the temple building, before returning to the airport by public transportation, thus completing a quick but fulfilling visit to Toronto. One devotee had made incredible oatmeal for breakfast in Toronto with dates, raisins, and nuts, and I took some for my breakfast in Dublin the next day. Thanks to Bhakti Marga Swami, who got me in touch with Bhakta Nick, and Bhakta Nick himself for spending a lot of time facilitating my visit.

Dublin Nine-Hour Harinama

Ananta Nitai Prabhu said, “I usually just do five hours of harinama, so I was overwhelmed with the idea of doing nine hours. I decided I just had to surrender to it, and the time went by so fast.” Actually Ananta chanted over nine hours as he and Nimai did a harinama themselves in the morning to Temple Bar, where Gopi Gan and Karuneshvari sell samosas, to get some breakfast.

I was also surprised how fast the nine hours went by, especially considering the temperature was in the fifties (10–15° C), and it was very windy.

One Indian man from Dubai donated ten euros and took two books. I invited him to Govindas, and when I saw him the next day, he took pictures of us and told me he went to Govinda’s. His wife is very involved in ISKCON activities in Dubai and is impressed with Radhanath Swami.

One young boy took an interest in the chanting party, and one of the devotees gave him the karatalas, showing him how to play. He could not grasp the one-two-three, but he was often in time. Most amazing to me was that he stayed for quite a while for someone his age (https://youtu.be/jqKukztGa_8):

As usual, some people danced with us.

Others took photos.

We went through the populated Temple Bar area, and a bunch of ladies from a hen party joined us.

We chanted outside a music store called Gandharva Loka owned by a devotee.

At 7:30 p.m. we relocated to the usual Saturday night harinama location.

While we were there, a group of young people took part, taking pleasure in dancing with us. I praised the best of the dancers, and they stayed and danced even more (https://youtu.be/wWUtx8M97cE):

Harinamas in Kilkenny, Bagenalstown, and Cork

Ananta Nitai, Nimai, and I planned to chant in Cork for two days, but we did not have any place to stay there, so we decided to stay with Eleanora, a retired school teacher who is enthusiastic about harinama and lives between Dublin and Cork, near the city of Kilkenny, after doing harinama in Kilkennythe first day. Then we planned to do harinama in Cork the second day. That way we could do harinama in two places.

Kilkenny has a castle, which was a popular site for tourists to visit, and by chanting there we could count on people regularly coming by.

As is often the case, the people most interested in the harinama were little kids. The next most interested were school girls, who passed us while buying something from the shop. One group of them asked what we were doing.

That evening we chanted in front of the supermarket in Bagenalstown between 6 and 7 p.m., and we also encountered a steady stream of people going shopping after work. You could understand practically no one had ever seen the Hare Krishnas before. Most people either smiled or ignored us. One middle-aged lady inquired about what we were doing and gave us a euro. We had forgotten to bring the books to this second harinama, but I had a few pieces of literature in my computer bag in the car, so I got them out and gave her a King of Knowledge. She considered it was probably worth more than one euro and gave another one.

I was amazed that on three occasions that day passersby shouted complete gibberish at us as they walked or drove by. I guessed that is because they are unfamiliar with us. In Dublin, where people know us, they usually say “Hare Krishn

Travel Journal#11.7: North Florida and the Northeast U.S.A.
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 7
By Krishna-kripa das
(April 2015, part one)

Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Washington, Albany, New York, New Brunswick
(Sent from Rotterdam, Holland, on April 26, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

April started off with two great harinama adventures, chanting at the Jacksonville Art Walk on April 1, and chanting at First Friday in Tallahassee on April 3. In between these, I chanted on the campus at University of North Florida in Jacksonville, and Iattended theirKrishna Club, along with twenty-four others. On April 4 was a meeting of Sadaputa Prabhu’s associates, the Alachua Holi Festival, and an evening program with Jayadvaita Swami. After a couple of days of chanting at Krishna Lunch, I flew to Washington, D.C., to chant with my friend and godbrother, Sankarsan Prabhu, on the mall by the Air and Space Museum there. Then I spent a day with my family in Albany. I ended up the first half of April by singing with Rama Raya Prabhu and his party at Union Square for three days, and attending the Sacred Sounds event at Rutgers University in New Jersey where the Mayapuris and Gaura Vani and Purushartha Prabhu played.

I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures, a beautiful quote by Lord Krishna from Brihad-bhagavatamrita,and notes on the journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, a lecture by Jayadvaita Swami to mostly Indian students in Gainesville, and notes on lectures by Prabhupada disciples, Akuti Dasi, Brahmatirtha Prabhu, Garuda Prabhu, and Urmila Dasi, and notes on lectures and conversations of many more.

Thanks to Shivam for his very liberal donation and for coming on two harinamas in Washington, D.C. Thanks to Sankarsana Prabhu of Washington, D.C., for his hospitality, donation, and gift of karatalas. Thanks to my friend Victor for his donation, especially the Canadian currency for my trip there.

Thanks to Amrita Keli Devi Dasi for her picture of me at UNF, Vaisnava Prabhu for his picture of us at the Jacksonville Art Walk, Shafayat Rahman for his picture of us at First Friday, and Alexis Jones for her picture of us in Washington, D.C.

April Fools’ Day Test from Krishna

The first day of April I decided to chant on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, my favorite school to chant at. The devotee who usually drives me to the bus had misplaced his key to his car, and I decided to take the city bus to the Greyhound station to catch the bus to Jacksonville, rather than inconvenience another devotee. Unfortunately, I was so tired, when I got off the city bus near the Greyhound station, I left my computer bag on the bus. I had to wait for the bus to go to the end of its route and come back, if I was going to retrieve my bag, but by then the only bus to Jacksonville that day would have left. All I could do was wait and hope for the best. Over half an hour later, I intercepted the same bus going in the opposite direction, and was overjoyed to be reunited with my computer bag. I then went to the Greyhound station ten minutes late and found to my great happiness the Jacksonville bus was fifteen minutes late, and I had not missed it. I chanted Hare Krishna throughout the whole time as I was in the process of completing my daily quota of chanting, and I realized that it would only be by Krishna’s mercy that I would regain my bag and make it to Jacksonville to chant at UNF for the last time this spring. On writing this up it occurred to me this was April Fool’s Day, and I wonder if that was Krishna’s April Fools trick on me.

Chanting at the Jacksonville Art Walk

The Jacksonville Art Walk, which occurs the first Wednesday of each month, is a great venue for chanting the Hare Krishna mantra in public and for distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books. Somehow we had missed every one this semester, but we were not going to miss this last one. Mother Caitanya of Krishna House brought a van load of about fifteen devotees from Krishna House, and we chanted and distributed books for over three hours.

Mikey added to the kirtana by playing his saxophone.

The devotees joyfully danced in a circle.

You can get a feel for it from this video (https://youtu.be/9uEmwk7gCgk):

Many, many people of all sorts joined us in the course of the evening.

One guy (on the right) danced with us for quite awhile.

You can see in this video how these guyswere happy to dance with us (https://youtu.be/mK9XbmzYHWQ ):

Amrita engaged some little girls in dancing in a circle.

One mother with three children under her care was happily watching the devotees sing and dance. She told me we were her favorite part of the Jacksonville Art Walk.

Many devotees distributed many books.

This guy started reading his on the spot.

Laddus and lollipops were also distributed.

I met one older man who happily remembered the Hare Krishnas from seeing the first Ratha-yatra in 1967 in San Francisco. I told him about our Ratha-yatra in Jacksonville Beach, scheduled for August 15, and gave him a contact number for more details.

Chanting at the University of North Florida

The University of North Florida is always my favorite school to chant at because so many students who attend the Krishna Club are willing to chant with us on the green, at least for a few minutes when they have free time.

Here Amrita Keli Devi Dasi plays the drum and sings, with Gudu (on left) and Jeseka and Braden (on the right).

Later Dorian (left) and RaeJeana (middle) joined us. Jeseka (right) wanted to learn a beat on the drum, and I taught her the only one I knew. She picked it up really fast.

Jeseka amazed me by staying with us for four hours as we chanted on the green, and then coming to the Krishna Club meeting for three hours. On the green she lent us her bicycle so we could get the drum we left in the car and got she allergy tablets from her dorm for the devotees who had issues with the pollen.

Later Kaki came by. She became so absorbed in reading Bhagavad-gita, she set the cookie we gave her on her knee until she finished reading.

She smiled when she realized we were taking her picture.

Sometimes students would stop and talk. We offered everyone one of Laura’s amazing cookies and invited them to our Krishna Club meetings. It was a beautiful to spend the afternoon with my friends from University of North Florida for the last time before my trip.

The evening meeting of the Krishna Club was awesome with many regulars and a few new people who had a great time, twenty-five people altogether.

First Friday in Tallahassee

After returning to Gainesville from Jacksonville on Friday, in the afternoon I drove nine devotees to Tallahassee for First Friday. Babhru and Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu reviewed Bhagavad-gita chapters 11 and 14, the second chapter of the Bhagavatam, and all of Queen Kunti’s prayers with me, so I would not fall asleep while driving.

Most of the devotees were interested in doing book distribution, with just three of us spending the 2½ hours singing kirtana.

I felt very indebted to Autumn and Kristina, who were very committed to the nama-sankirtana. One young man, Rahman, kindly send me photos he took of us.

Mikey said he distributed more books in Jacksonville but had nicer conversations with more interested people in Tallahassee.

The Holi Festival in Alachua

I went to the Holi festival in Alachua to see my friends from Alachua and my friends involved in the college outreach in Jacksonville and Tampa, who had traveled about two hours to take part. I was hoping I could avoid getting entangled in paying the fee and in getting covered with dye, but it was not to be. Fortunately I brought some useless clothes, just in case, and it is always auspicious to donate to the temple, so that was not a problem.

I was amazed the Holi event attracted several college students in Jacksonville and Tampa to come so far. Indeed a student who had come to Krishna Club for the first time in Jacksonville just two days before ended up in coming to Holi and also some very new participants in the USF Bhakti Yoga Society also came. I hope they increased in attachment for the association of devotees and the kirtana, and the sacred temple in Alachua as a result, and that they are motivated to come to some of the more devotional festivals in Alachua in the future.

Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu invited some friends from his work at the Alachua County Crisis Center to come, and he chanted a round of japa with them and showed them the temple room.

Harinama in Washington, D.C.

After Sankarsan Prabhu, the disciple of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, from Potomac, had invited me several times to sing with him, for the first time I decided to stop by. I was on my way from Florida to New York City to fly to Europe for the summer.

Sankarsan Prabhu, in addition to chanting in Washington, D.C., at the mall near the Air and Space Museum regularly, doespujari work and cooking for the Potomac temple.

He makes the mangala-aratisweets with the ahimsamilk they get from Gitanagari Farm, and they were really good.

The first day, Jahnava Devi Dasi, Sankarsana Prabhu’s wife, took this video. In it one boy is attracted to film our chanting, but his friends object. He does not let them push him around (https://youtu.be/YXkUS5MGNEE):

You can see Sankarsana’s harinama set up.

He is in a great location, with lots of tourists visiting the national museums passing by.

The next day I chanted with Shivam, who I knew from when he lived in Tallahassee. He would sing with me at First Friday there. Guru Das, the disciple of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami,who posts his blog every day on the internet, joined us.

Several people, mostly school children, danced to our kirtana,

These includeda group from Ohio.

Besides dancing, some would read the mantra from the pamphlet and try to sing along.

Alexis, an Afro-American girl from Indiana who got into the dancing, sent me the above pictures of us singing.

She smiles, seeing us photographing them.

Sankarsan Prabhu has a great location between the Washington Monument and the Capitol on the Mall, near the Air and Space Museum. He has a powerful sound system with a generator, a mixer, three microphones, and three speakers. He is short of people to help him. Only his wife, and a couple devotees who distribute pamphlets and talk to people, regularly assist him.

A Day in Albany

Shivam’s wife made some cookies for me to distribute at my mother’s Quaker meeting, and Sankarsana Prabhu’s wife made lunch the previous day which I ate for breakfast, so I had less cooking to worry about on the way to Albany. I also picked up some doughnuts for my relatives at the Doughnut Plant in New York City, which fortunately was just a few blocks from where the Megabus from Washington dropped me off the night before.

At the Quaker meeting I spoke about how we are so conditioned, both individually and collectively, that only by the power of God’s mercy can we progress and thus it is essential that we perform devotional activities to advance in life. I mentioned the bus driver who realized that only by a higher power could he give up smoking. At least a couple of people liked it.

I offered the fruit my mother brought to Krishna and distributed the cookies after the meeting.

Later I cooked dal, spinach and panir, and capatis for dinner, with the help of my mother, my sister, and Victor. I played Madhava kirtanas the whole time. They were mellow enough that no one complained. Victor had a friend visiting named Eric, who at age seventy was retiring from teaching Buddhist seminars. Eric is very respectful of other traditions, having been involved in them and having friends involved in them. He liked the prasadam very much. It was nice to distribute prasadam to others in addition to my family members.

Chanting at Union Square

It was striking to see how well Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party is established with a solid team of devotees, especially in contrast to the small party I had just experienced in Washington, D.C. Rama Raya is very happy to have Ananta Gauranga Prabhu and his brother Kishor Prabhu, who are great musicians, and who are very steady and devotional. There were some new people since I was last there who were also contributing.

One day a whole group of people danced with us.

You can see they were really into it.

And they were very happy about it.

You can see in this video their enthusiasm (https://youtu.be/-6ORAVWzDqA):

Typically there is a lot of participation at Union Square. In this short video, one guy dances, a young lady plays the shakers, and another guy smiles and claps (https://youtu.be/Bue6pzwD9ms):

Here two ladies play the shakers. Jiji, in front, who works in marketing, took some time off work to relax with the devotees. She started coming back in the fall during my last visit.

As usual, kids are fascinated with the kirtana.

A guy dances with a devotee.

Two devotees dance.

The Harinam Ashram has a business to help support themselves, Krishna‘sBakery, and Johnlet me sample one of theirnew products.

It was great to connect with that vibrant harnama team dedicated to six hours of chanting in Union Square every day, and I look forward to rejoining them in September.

Sacred Sounds

I like kirtana programs and also sharing Krishna with college-aged people, and so I was attracted to attend the Sacred Sounds event at Rutgers, the University of New Jersey, at New Brunswick, an event the student bhakti-yoga club puts on once each semester.

The Mayapuris were there with Gaura Vani and Purusharta Prabhu as well. They played a nice reggae Hare Krishna tune, and a creative love song to Krishna based on the idea that He is the “1” before our string of 0s that gives our lifevalue.

I made encouraging comments to some of the students, appreciating their participation, and I danced to all the music. You could see that there were some students there who were having a positive experience with Krishna kirtana for the very first time. There were a few hundred students attending.

Unfortunately, I could not stay to the end as I had a flight out of LaGuardia at 7:30 a.m. the next morning, and it took me almost three hours to get back to Brooklyn.

To see photos I took but did not include in this journal, please click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal117?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPK91LvCu7jxDQ&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

From a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam1.7.28–29 in Vrndavana on September 25, 1976:

Nothing is bad when it is utilized for Krishna. Nothing is good if it is used for your sense gratification.

From a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.54 in Vrindavan on April 9, 1976:

If you do not understand what is spirit, then where is the question of spiritual life or advancement?

There are those who are sreyas-kama [desirous of ultimate benefit] and those who are preyasa-kama [desirous of immediate sense gratification]. This Krishna consciousness movement is meant for those who are sreyas-kama.

The yogis control the breathing. In this way they extend their life. Just like if you can control your spending, you can extend your vacation.

Without becoming dhira [sense controlled] one cannot make advancement in spiritual life.

Lord Krishna:

From Brihad-Bhagavatamrita:

“. . . a person who can remind one of a beloved not present is considered the most sincere and helpful friend. Please understand: When somehow made mindful of those one loves, one is given back one’s life. Forgetting those more dear than one’s own breath is more painful than dying. Those dear as life one can never forget but when reminded of them in a special way one feels happy like one who has lived a life of good fortune.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

From “Poem for April 3” in Viraha Bhavan:

“In the beginning at 26 Second Avenue
no one danced during the kirtanas.
Then one night a young man
named Bob Lefkowitz stood
up to dance. His pants were low
on his hips, and I thought
he danced in an egotistical
and erotic way. I didn’t like it,
but Swamiji looked at him
approvingly and smiled. Soon after that, Swamiji
taught us the ‘swami step,’
a sedate movement where
you held your arms in the
air and took small steps.
We all began doing it in the
temple. Over the years, the
dancing grew more vigorous and even rowdy. Almost
without exception, Prabhupada approved.
He just wanted to see the devotees’ enthusiasm.”

From “Poem for April 4” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Prabhupada gave great emphasis
on chanting the maha-mantra.
In the Bhagavad-gita,in the beginning
of the eighth chapter where
Arjuna asks Krishna how
to think of Him at the time
of death, Prabhupada repeatedly writes
out all the words of the Hare Krishna mantra.
Prabhupada writes that of all
the instructions of the spiritual master,
the chanting of sixteen rounds is essential.
But ultimately he says that
congregational chanting is more important
because the conditioned souls
get a chance to hear. That
is why the harinamaparty is so vital.”

“I finished reading the first volume
of Yamuna-devi’s biography/memoir.
It was a wonderful, inspired read.
Compared to her, I feel unsurrendered
and insignificant. She was definitely
a pure devotee, one hundred percent
dedicated to pleasing Prabhupada and
very beloved and intimate to
him. Because of her generous, humble
qualities I feel no envy in
reading of her greatness as a Vaisnava.”

from “Poem for April 7”in Viraha Bhavan:

“I’m grateful to say
the problem of inattention
while chanting is mainly a
thing of the past. In my
concentratedbhajanafrom midnight
to 3:00 A.M. I am able to hear
the Names clearly and attentively. Some minor distractions and
digressions come and go but
nothing serious. I have not
been able to sustain prayer from
the heart, but at least I
follow Prabhupada’s order to
“Just hear;” I listen to
the transcendental sound vibration
with awareness that this
is a significant achievement.
I am at the namabhasastage
of chanting where the first
ray of dawn penetrates the night.
I have a far distance to go
to reach suddha-nama,where
the Lord’s form, qualities, and pastimes
are revealed to the chanter
and bodily transformations take
place. I may not attain that stage
in this lifetime.
I take shelter in the holy names.”

“They are
like ordinary folks,
but they are chanting
Hare Krishna, and this makes them
extraordinary. Just as
Krishna could not be
appreciated by themudhaswhen He
descended to this world
in His humanlike
form, His devotees
are ignored and met
with indifference when
they sing in the streets.
But the potency of
the mantra still works
and the mudhasare
blessed by the sankirtana yajna.”

Jayadvaita Swami:

We become enlightened by hearing, even in ordinary knowledge.

Srinvatammeans those who are eager to hear.

In order to hear, someone has to be chanting, so hearing and chanting go together.

This body is temporary yet I am thinking that through the senses of the body, I will get some fulfillment. That is illusion.

We have so many illusions about ourselves, and we are thinking through these illusions we will become happy.

Krishna is the friend of everyone, but if we approach Him, He will approach us.

When we hear about Krishna, Krishna from within purifies the heart.

The name of Krishna and the message of Krishna is not different from Him.

The man be the CEO of Apple, but if you like his dog, he will be pleased with you. Similarly God is pleased if you appreciate His servant.

We can read Bhagavad-gita every day, one or two pages.

The result of passion is suffering, but the result of goodness is knowledge, happiness and satisfaction.

You can read how to do heart surgery from a book. This is jnana, knowledge. Vijnana is realized knowledge. This is like if you are trained by an experienced surgeon, and you have assimilated it so you can become a licensed heart surgeon yourself.

One of my godsisters was receiving some solicitation. There was a older woman in a bathing suit, enjoying life, and saying, “My goal is to live forever, and so far I am doing very well.” That is like someone who has fallen 25 stories from a 50-story building saying, “So far, so good.”

Even the animals meet Mr. Right, have lots of kids, and die.

Q: You renounced everything at the age of 29. How were you convinced you could do it for life at such a young age?

A: Well, renunciation does not mean giving up everything. It means dedicating everything to Krishna, and I had been doing that for 10 years. So I was just continuing what I was doing before. After all, you decide to go to graduate school after only four years of experience with college, and I had ten years of experience of renunciation.

Goodness is compatible with bhakti, while ignorance is incompatible with bhakti.

By performing bhakti, you advance to goodness without having a separate program.

We say there is no difference between Krishna and His name, so we can understand that theoretically, and we can even tell others. By chanting Hare Krishna, one can experience Krishna’s presence in His name, and then it becomes vijnana or realized knowledge.

The vibration comes from the spiritual platform and when we hear the chanting we come to the spiritual platform.

In the 1970, we were publishing Back to Godhead, with a company representative, Paul Blair, from a local printing company. Because of working on our account, he associated with the devotees, who gave him some chanting beads. One day he said, “When things get really rough at the office, I just close the door, get out my beads, and chant Hare Krishna.” So he had gottensome realization about the chanting.

When you think in terms of eternity, the things that are disturbing your mind are truly insignificant. Because the chanting of Hare Krishna brings us to the plane of eternality, we become free from anxiety.

We are eternal, full of bliss and knowledge, yet we are suffering in this world. Why? Because we are subjected to maya. But Krishna is not suffering under the control of maya. He is the controller of maya. Therefore we and Krishna are not one.

If there is only one consciousness, then why is Arjuna in ignorance and Krishna in knowledge?

The smoke is part of the fire, but it is the part of the fire that obscures the fire. Similarly maya is the manifestation of Krishna that obscures Krishna.

If you are saying you are one with God, but that you do not realize you are one with God, then how are you one with God? God is never lacking realization.

Joke: Arjuna merges with Krishna in the 19^thchapter of Bhagavad-gita.

If everything were one there would not be the different interpretations of theoretical physicists.

Some people, when asked when they will become Krishna conscious, say, “when God desires.” They do not know that God already desired that in Bhagavad-gita. When asked when you are going to get your degree, you do not say, “when God desires.”

Akuti Dasi:

When we go away, we tell our best friends to keep in touch. But when we left Krishna, we did not want to keep in touch. We thought, “I am out of here.” But Krishna wants to keep us in touch, thus He sends His representative and expands Himself into everyone’s heart. He is waiting for many, many births for us to turn to Him. We must take advantage and keep in touch through the holy name.

Because we think we know how to do everything ourselves, it is hard to take shelter of the Lord. That is our false ego.

After acting as if independent for years, in the beginning, it is hard to act according to Krishna’s direction.

Srila Prabhupada said, “I came here to teach you what you forgot. Everyone is a devotee of Krishna.” He pointed to everyone. “But these people,” he pointed to his disciples, “admit it.”

The holy name works for everyone. I see this in my travels.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura says if you give the holy name you get a commission.

When you have not seen people for a long time, it takes time to revive the relationship. And so it is with our relationship with Krishna.

Each person has a different task Krishna wants him to perform.

We may feel bad we missed the pioneer days of this movement, but the pioneer days are still here.

There is a saying: “You can go fast by yourself, but you can go far together.”

Brahmatirtha Prabhu:

Three keynote speakers at a conference attended by 3600 psychotherapists agreed, “We are mental health professionals, but we do not know what the mind actually is. We do understand, however, that the mind is not limited to just the brain.”

Garuda Prabhu:

I was the first devotee that went to back college to get a degree in the religion field.

What is Krishna consciousness?

Ideas from the audience:

Selfless service to God.

Pure enjoyment.

Learning how to love to God.

A process by which we can act as our true selves.

A loving dynamic relationship with God.

Awakening our natural relationship with God.

[Comment by Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi: Niranjana Swami said, “We have a Krishna-shaped hole in our heart that only Krishna can fill.”]

We seek self-realization because Krishna is calling us because He loves us. We tend to neglect this important point. That Krishna desires us is the greatest secret of yoga.

Verse 18.64 is most emphatic, saying “you are desired by me.” This is the essence of Krishna consciousness.

The maha-mantra is a unique mantra as (1) it is composed of proper names and(2) it is all in the vocative. “In the vocative” means that we are desiring to get Krishna’s attention. Krishna is responding to our calling.

We have a vision of divinity calling us and waiting for eternity for us to respond.

Krishna does not manipulate. There is no manipulation in love.

God is the source of unconditional love. We cannot love people unconditionally unless we participate in His unconditional love.

The virat-rupa (the universal form) and the paramatma (God within the heart) are ways in which Krishna is already embracing us.

Krishna is gradually elevating Arjuna to the highest form of yoga.

To aid other persons in bhaktiyou must understand their present situation and be sensitive to their needs.

Vishnu-smaranam(remembrance of Vishnu) is our definition of samadhi.

Aparadha means literally “opposing devotion.” If I discourage someone in their devotion or I move someone away from Krishna that is aparadha.

It is better to ask, “how can I make it up to you?” than to ask, “will you forgive me?” “Will you forgive me” means it is still about me.

There can be no love if there is no knowledge of or awareness of the feelings of others.

Meditation means nothing exists except you and the divinity.

We are in effect having Krishna and the gopikas[His cowherd girlfriends] dancing around our heart in the mala [the garland of chanting beads].

Urmila Devi:

For us to be happy with Krishna and with the gifts He has given us is very pleasing to Krishna.

Hari Parayana Prabhu:

I was impressed with the similarities between Srila Prabhupada’s commentary and that of Sridhara Swami, the original commentator on the Bhagavatam, and I began noting them down. I stopped when I realized they were toonumerous to enumerate.

Sankarsana Prabhu [from Potomac]:

remembrances of Yamuna Devi:

I helped her cook once. She would play the same Prabhupada lecture over and over while she cooked. She said assimilated them best that way. She was very meticulous. I slightly burned some things I was preparing for her, and she said they could not be used, and I should make more. She made very dainty samosas. That meal she prepared was the best prasadam I have ever tasted.

Later she asked me to tell her about myself. She said that it was important to get to know the devotees you serve with.

Giri Govardhan Prabhu [from Potomac]:

Krishna is always enjoying with his internal energy while Shiva, whose consort is the material nature personified, is completely renounced.

We engage in material activities because we are not self-satisfied.

The senses become used to certain stimuli, so you have to do something different to keep feeling that things are new and exciting.

In material life if someone else enjoys we do not benefit.

That Krishna is the enjoyer and everyone else contributes to his enjoyment does not seem a good deal for us according to material calculation.

The Krishna is the Supreme Enjoyer does not mean He is the only enjoyer or the biggest enjoyer, but He is the best enjoyer because He enjoys wonderfully and shares His enjoyment with others.

Lord Shiva’s best devotees become devotees of Lord Vishnu according to Brihad-bhagavatamrita.

It is not that Krishna is stingy as the Supreme Enjoyer, not giving material opulence, but rather he wants give spiritual opulences.

In the form of Lord Caitanya, He is chasing after us and sending His devotees to chase after us, while as Krishna, He is asking us to surrender.

Those people that Krishna says remain in demoniac species birth after birth are saved by Him as Lord Caitanya and by His devotees.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus Christ says one cannot leave hell until he has paid the last farthing, not that there is eternal damnation, but rather the law of karma.

Tulasirani Devi Dasi:

from a Facebook post to my timeline:

“So my mom was just in town, and all of a sudden I heard her in the kitchen saying ‘Gauranga’ over and over again. So I came and asked her what she was doing, and she said, ‘Your magnet says, “call out Gauranga be happy.”’ So I asked if she was happy and she said YES…… Thanks for the magnet! Just see the potency of your desire to spread the holy names; you may have left Gainesville, but still you are getting people to engage in chanting the holy names here. 🙂 GAAAUUUUUUURAAANGAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

Bhimakarma Prabhu [in Brooklyn]:

The words of a pure devotee come from the spiritual platform and therefore have a powerful spiritual effect on our consciousness.

Amrita Keli Devi Dasi:

Spiritual life is not about believing but experiencing. If you have an experience of something, no one can convince you that you have not.

At age fourteen I had Krishna Lunch at University of Florida for the first time on Spaghetti Wednesday. After I ate it, I thought, “What is the food? Who are those people?” I kept trying to find something that tasted that good, in my high school cafeteria, in Indian restaurants, in Thai restaurants. Nothing was quite as good as prasadam.

Krishna is so wonderful. He says you can just offer Him a leaf. There are leaves everywhere.

I would offer food to Krishna on an altar in my room at college. Sometimes my roommates would knock on my door. I would say, “Just a minute.” And I would hide all my paraphernalia for worship. I felt like was kid trying to not to get caught smoking pot.

Ice breaker: How old do you feel?

Youssef: I feel old at times and young at times.

Matt: I never feel older or young just the same.

Laura: I have a childlike perspective but a lot of wisdom I have accumulated.

Alice: I am very young and very old, and that never leaves you.

Mallory: I feel old like one hundred. I feel I was around in the sixties and the seventies, and it didn’t work out so I am back.

Amrita: When I am thinking about my future, I feel my age, but when I do our Krishna Club activities I feel young.

Michaelangelo: I felt ten years younger or twenty years older, never my age.

Dorian: I feel old in the morning, then 8 years old, and then old at night.

Laura: I am 29 and feel that way because I graduated from college and have a job and act like an adult, but I lack the wisdom that co

Travel Journal#11.6: Two Florida Ratha-yatras and More
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 6
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2015, part two)

Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Gainesville, and Alachua
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on April 15, 2015)

Where I Where and What I Did

I spent the third week of March at Krishna House chanting at Krishna Lunch every day. We had the first of many Florida Ratha-yatra in Saint Augustine on March 21, and my friends at Krishna House were really blissed out for at least two days after it was so wonderful. The final week of March I spent going to Tampa and Tallahassee to chant and promote our programs there. I participated in the Tallahassee Ratha-yatra on March 28.

I have insights from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures, from Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya, from a book by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, from Batu Gopala Prabhu, a wonderful Prabhupada disciple visiting from Hillsborough, North Carolina, and from the devotees at Gainesville’s Krishna House.

I would like to thank Sankarsan Lila Prabhu and his wife Sanatani Radha dd of Gainesville for their wonderful South Indian meal and donation. Thanks to Victoria O’Hara for her video clip of me chanting at Florida State University. Thanks to Yamaraj Prabhu for his picture of Tallahassee Ratha-yatra, and Dhira Das, Sudevi Dasi, Vaisnava, and Marlon for their pictures of Saint Augustine Ratha-yatra. Thanks to Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi for the Farmers Market picture. Thanks to Raju for his pictures of the USF program in Tampa.

Itinerary

April 13–15: New York City

April 16: Toronto

April 17–23: Ireland (Dublin and Cork)

April 24–26: Rotterdam

April 27: Amsterdam (King’s Day)

April 28: Radhadesh, Belgium

April 29: Germany

April 30–May 3: Simhachalam, Bavaria, Germany (Nrisimha Festival)

May 5: London

May 6–8: Newcastle

May 9–10: Birmingham 24-hour kirtana

May 10–12: Newcastle

May 13: Sheffield
May 14–24: Sheffield and Manchester areas promoting their Ratha-yatras

May 25: London

May 28: Preston?

May 31: Leeds

Saint Augustine Ratha-yatra

Devotees from Alachua, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Orlando, and even Tampa, joined together to participate in the Ratha-yatra in Saint Augustine on March 21.

I traveled with the Krishna House devotees.

When we stopped for a bathroom break, Satyahit Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, started singing and playing djembe, as we waited for everyone to return to our vehicles.

Several devotees danced in the parking lot of the gas station.

It was so warm sweaters were not necessary, and as it was cloudy, it was also not too hot during the parade itself and sunscreen was also not required.

Chelsea of Krishna House swept the road at one point.

Several people were so attracted by the chanting, dancing, and procession that they followed us and took pictures.

Karly of Krishna House leaped out of joy in the kirtana for Lord Jagannath.

I also danced a lot.

In addition to the Ratha-yatra, which follows a largely unpopulated route for much of the time, we do a one-hour harinama (chanting procession) up and down the very busy St. George Street.

Many people danced with us, some even reading the mantra on our sign and chanting along.

Here is a video clip in which two new guys, one in red and the other in lime green, took pleasure in singing and dancing with the devotees: (https://youtu.be/s-yBwrcl6zQ):

Tulasirani Devi Dasi encouraged one lady in dancing with us.

Over a case of Krishna: Reservoir of Pleasures were distributed and other books as well.

Mikey Prabhu from Krishna House was one of the distributors.

Many local people love the festival, one saying she has come for five years.

While I was telling one young resident of Saint Augustine and her friends about the history of the festival, she gazedat the devotees andinterjected, “There is Tulasirani!” I was surprised. “How do you know Tulasirani?” I asked. She explained she was from Columbus, Ohio, and encountered the devotees there, including Tulasirani. “They taught me about yoga and it changed my life.”

Later she (right) and her friend (center) took prasadam with Tulasirani (center). They exchanged phone numbers, and she promised to meet Tulasirani the next time she came to Gainesville.

Chanting at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville

In the winter, my main engagement is to chant during Krishna Lunch at the University of Florida in Gainesville for 2½ hours while the devotees serve vegetarian food offered to Krishna to from 800 to 1200 college students.

Danielle Veenstra, a student photographer, came by one day and took some nice photos which she sent me.

Purushartha Prabhu, a Prabhupada disciple, who played the bass and drums before meeting the devotees and now also plays the harmonium and mrrdanga, sings at Krishna Lunch once or twice a week when he is not traveling playing bass for Gaura Vani and his band called “The Hanumen.” One particular day his chanting was especially sweet. Here is some video: (https://youtu.be/rl-VssH9qEY):

Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi, disciple of Indradyuma Swami, played the role of arranging educational programs and field trips for the devotees at the Krishna House. She is a talented singer and musician. In this video, she sings and plays harmonium, and her father, Batu Gopala Prabhu, disciple of Srila Prabhupada, plays the mrdanga (https://youtu.be/5-QjWUAKJBM):

Hari Priya, daughter of Yadubara and Visakha Prabhus, is another one of the beautiful chanters at Krishna Lunch.

During the rainy days we serve Krishna Lunch by the library. The drawback of that is we cannot play the karatalas (cymbals) as the library workers will complain to the police and we will get in trouble. On the other hand, we are closer to those who are serving the lunch, and they can take part in the chanting as you can see in the video below. Dhameshvar Prabhu, who is leading here, is the most reliable of all the Krishna Lunch chanters, coming out everyday for the whole time (https://youtu.be/QQMvGxf5Ckg):

Krishna Lunch on Sunday

Hanan Prabhu asked me to teach his Sunday Krishna Lunch participants a dance step, and just see how they responded! (https://youtu.be/5syEsdwVXz0)

Thanks to Tsurit who took the video using Syamala Kishori’s camera.

Chanting at the Farmers Market

Every week a few of us chant at the Farmers Market in Gainesville for a couple of hours.
Chanting at the University of South Florida

I chanted almost three hours, sometimes with Raju, our Bhakti Yoga Club president, and we passed out flyers to students who showed some interest in us. A few people we distributed flyers to seemed happy to get them, and two people came come to our meeting as a result. Still we had many new people because one guy named Carlos, who had come before, invited a friend of his named John, and John invited a girl named Madison. Chris also learned of the program from John, and he brought Abigail and Taylor. So even though Carlos himself did not come, he was instrumental in at least five people coming!

That whole group of people all experimented with both japa and kirtana, and were very happy to encounter them. Several of them said they would be back and Chris and Abigail (sitting in front) purchased beads to chant on. The next week two carloads of students from Tampa came to Alachua for the Holi festival, including Chris and Abigail, who was wearing her chanting beads around her wrist.

The day after our club meeting I chanted on the campus in front of the library for about three hours. I mentioned to one girl who came by as I was chanting in front of the University of South Florida Library that our club did yoga and meditation, and that we talked about Bhagavad-gita, a well known text which summarizes India’s revealed wisdom and is the ultimate book on yoga and meditation. She sat down near my book display to look at the books, and she asked me what meditation was all about. I explained we did mantra meditation or meditation on spiritual sound, and I showed her the verse in the Gita [6.26] that explains how in meditation one must bring the mind back under the control of the self, from wherever it wanders. I taught her the mantra, and she tried singing the response, but to learn both the words and the tune were too much for her. I mentioned we also chanted the mantra softly on beads, and I pulled out my beads and demonstrated. She listened as I chanted, and then she chanted herself and liked it. I told her she could get some beads of her own at next Thursday’s club meeting. In the midst of my meditation lesson, I talked to a couple about Bhagavad-gita, and the guy ended up buying it and a small book as well. Then at the end of the meditation lesson the girl I taught decided to buy a Bhagavad-gita too!

Tallahassee Ratha-yatra

Tallahassee Ratha-yatra is our participation in the Springtime Tallahassee parade viewed by many thousands of people.

We were limited to 30 devotees in our procession, many youthful devotees from Alachua and Gainesville. Bhadra Prabhu encouraged us to march and dance in a more choreographed way than in your average Ratha-yatra.

Visvambhara, Dhanya, and Bali of the Mayapuris were among the singers.

Anupayini organized the dancers. Afterwards we had prasadam at our temple in Tallahassee with the congregational devotees and sang some kirtana and told some pastimes about Lord Ramacandra as it was His appearance day. Thanks to Damodar Das for the great photos.

Chanting at Florida State University in Tallahassee

One middle-aged lady came up to me, surprised to see someone playing a harmonium, and asked if she could take a picture. I replied, “Yes, if you send it to me.” Turns out she is Victoria O’Hara, a music teacher at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School in Seminole, Florida, and she plays the piano and the guitar herself.
You can see her brief video clip (http://youtu.be/AgaPlOmZzkg):

Zeta Beta Tau fraternity had a giant ball they were trying to get signatures on. The idea was that a business would donate a certain amount to Childen’s Miracle Network for each signature on the ball.

I decided to sign it so people would see the name “Krishna” and become purified.

Kim, a young lady who loves the Florida State University Krishna Lunch, would come by my book table every day that I was at the campus behind the library in January, February, and March, and take a free vegan oatmeal cookie. On my last visit for the year, I invited her to our club meeting. She came, and I taught her how to chant japa. The next day she told me she tried. It was hard because there was too much noise around. I encouraged her to continue.

One day a young lady came up to me with five dollars in her hand, saying she wanted the Gita. She had meant to get it on one of my previous visits but had not. The same day two Indian students came by. One recognized Srila Prabhupada from the picture on the back of the books. He knew Hare Krishna from visiting the Miami temple, and he also bought a Bhagavad-gita. He was studying at University of South Florida in Tampa but was visiting his friend at FSU. I gave him an invitation to our Tampa club, and I told them both about Krishna Lunch at FSU, and they went that very day and liked it.

I always meet nice students on the Florida campuses, and I enjoy giving them the chance to experience Krishna sound, Krishna wisdom, and Krishna food.

To see photos I took but did not include in this blog, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal116?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIrn2u2rteCm7gE&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.33:

As merely washing the clothes of a hungry man will not satisfy him nor will polishing the cage of a hungry bird satisfy him, satisfying the needs of the body will not satisfy the soul.

We need to give comfort to the soul.

To advance in life and to reduce our miserable condition of life is [real] science.

Even in the bird society, there are difference between the crow class and swan class. Similarly in human society there is a difference betwwen the crow class of men and the swan class of men. By Krishna consciousness we can transform the crow class man to the swan class man, just as an uncultured man can be trained to become cultured.

It does not matter how fallen a man is, if he follows our instructions he can be reformed.

When we understand we are part and parcel of God, that is brahma-bhuta [spiritual] stage.

War, pestilence, etc., can kill so many people. Krishna does not have to come here to kill the demoniac. He comes when He is requested by His devotees.

When the scientists are in danger they pray to God, but when they are not in danger, they defy God.

Artificially we are trying to banish God.

From a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam1.2.24:

We are conditioned at every step. The animals cannot live in the town, and we cannot live in the jungle.

If you are in put in prison, you cannot improve your condition. You are given a certain cell.

In grhastha life one lives with wife and family but desires to improve spiritually.

It is all individual. I have to surrender to Krishna individually. Just like one has to fly his own plane. No one can help him. Not that when my husband will do I will do or when my wife will do I will do. And no one can check our individual surrender to Krishna.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura:

from SriNavadvipa Dhama Mahatmya, Parikrama-khanda, Chapter Six: Sri Ganga-nagara, Prthu-kunda, Simantadvipa, Saradanga, Visrama-sthana:

“Therefore, Lord Gauranga’s pastimes are considered the highest. Gauranga’s abode, name, form, and qualities do not consider offense; rather, they expertly deliver one from any offense. If the devotee has some offense in his heart then Krishna’s name and abode will deliver him only after a long time. But Gauranga’s name and abode immediately bestow premaon the devotee, for offenses create no obstacle and are easily overcome.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from Day by Day: A Record of a Seven Day Japa Vrata:

“ . . . whatever we gain here, when we can recall it later, we’ll see that it wasn’t some evanescent short period in which we imagined something, but that we were touching the most indestructible entity, Krishna Himself, the holy name, and our chanting link with Him.”

Batu Gopal Prabhu:

Krishna sees things in a different way than we.

It is as important as bathing to bathe ourselves in optimistic thoughts about Krishna consciousness. Optimism fuels your enthusiasm.

Q: How do we see Krishna when we are busy doing things that have no direct relationship with Krishna?

A: The more you become Krishna consciousness the more you see Krishna everywhere. The first and foremost thing is to give up the fruits of work. Everyone who is working can give something to Krishna.

Krishna thinks about each living creature, “Even though he is in a state of rebellion, let him at least have something to eat.”

Of every dollar we earn, we should give so many cents to Krishna. You will be surprised how such a small discipline provides so many rewards, and I do not mean material rewards, I mean the revelation of Krishna in different circumstances.

Krishna accepts all the people who come with material motives and gives them more than they deserve. He says the person in knowledge is the best, but He accepts them all.

Q: How to practice Krishna consciousness our whole life?

A: You will not be able to escape. Lord Caitanya is spreading a net to capture everyone, and He will not let you escape. Krishna is not like us. He is wonderful. Our imagination cannot approach the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Everyone who has taken prasadam or heard the holy name in any city is on their way to joining this sankirtana mission.

Q: In my travels sometimes people ask how they can inspire their children to become Krishna conscious. Your daughter who is here (Syamala Kishori) is very enthusiastic about Krishna consciousness. How were you successful in inspiring her?

A: The more there are talks about Krishna, everyone benefits. Other talks should be kept to a minimum. So also it is true in our homes. The more there is talk about Krishna, wonderful things will happen. People will acquire a thirst for these topics.

Religious people consider God is great, but the extent of his greatness is not known. Because God is so great that universes emanate from Him, even people who are devotionally inclined tend to see Him impersonally.

Brahma was curious about Krishna, and as if performing a scientific experiment, he stole His friends and calves, to see how Krishna would react. Krishna responded in a nonaggressive way because ultimately Brahma is a devotee of the Lord. Similarly because Indra is a devotee, Krishna did not pick up the mountain and throw it him like He could have. [He just held it as umbrella to protect His devotees.]

The worst feature of Kali-yuga for me is that evil appears to be rewarded and piety is ridiculed.

One qualification of God that is not so obvious to most people is that God is the Supreme Enjoyer. How else could he enjoy all the offerings offered to Him? How else could He reciprocate the devotion of all living entities.

If I love myself, and I do, it must be because I am part and parcel of Krishna. I am lovable only because I am part and parcel of the Supreme Person, Krishna.

Q (Tulasirani dd): Brahma’s prayers are amazing and cover all important parts of the philosophy yet all Krishna did was simply nod at Him. How is that?

A: You do not understand the significance of His nod. Just like His sidelong glance.

Krishna’s business is to make sure all His devotees are fully satisfied.

There is always the next chapter with Krishna because He is eternal.

Krishna says in Bhagavad gita7.27 that all living beings are born into delusion. That includes us. Generally we rebel if someone says we are deluded, but we cannot do that with Krishna. Fortunately, however, Krishna does not end there. He reveals His transcendental nature and ours, and He tells how we can escape this delusion. We can follow Krishna’s instructions and get out of here. This is a gradual process, and it takes time. But even in the beginning, just by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra we experience a lessening of delusion.

Q (by Syamala Kishori dd): What about people who feel that everything is OK in their life, and they do not have the inclination to apply Krishna’s teachings?

A: Srila Prabhupada would explain that everyone bows down to Krishna, either voluntarily to Him personally or forcibly to His form as death.

Q (by Arjuna): How exactly are we bewildered by this dualities?

A: Although we are spiritual beings we identify with our body, and because of that, we are affected by these dualities. Again and again I am pursuing the objects of the senses although I repeatedly experience they do not satisfy me. This is delusion. Actually because we are spiritual, nothing in this world can satisfy us.

This world is not as we wish, where beloved relatives get old, sick, and die, where we are laid off by our employer despite so much faithful service.

There is simultaneous realization of the self and God by practicing this bhakti-yoga.

Start making your plans to get out of this material situation. No matter how long it takes, it is the only reasonable direction to go in.

Even in the most primitive civilizations, God has provided some way of progressing.

Don’t give this up. Even reading one verse of Bhagavad-gitacan save your life. In a dark time, even simply remembering that Bhagavad-gitaexists can be a cause for optimism.

Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi:

The Hare Krishna mantra is an individual prayer to Krishna, but it is powerful to do it together, and it creates a spiritual bond between us.

Krishna took more pleasure in glorifying Balarama than in glorifying Himself.

Krishna was conscious of the desires of the plants and animals in addition to the human beings.

Krishna is a God who is willing to be tricked by His friends

If you think that the spiritual world is a boring place, Krishna book can remove that misconception.

Comment by Dhamesvara Prabhu: When the gopissaw Krishna dancing on Kaliya, they developed the urge to dance with Him.

Giriraja Swami asked how Krishna could dance on all of Kaliya’s hoods. Srila Prabhupada explained Krishna expanded Himself to dance on each hood, but the residents of Vrindavan saw just one Krishna, and he reminded Giriraja Swami it was not possible for him to understand Krishna from his own point of view.

We hope to become the kind of the people that the devotees will pray to Krishna for.

We can pray that Krishna may dance on our tongue in the form of the holy name.

Sanatani Radha dd:

My parents came from India to visit me and my husband in America for three months. My father was a Communist and an atheist, and in the beginning, he was challenging my beliefs and practices at every step. Then gradually things changed. When I was out, my mother would make snacks for him, and first offer them to Lord Jagannatha. Once she forgot to make the offering, and my father complained they tasted nasty and asked if she made some mistake in the preparation. She thought about it and concluded that she had made them the same way she always had and just forgotten to offer them to Lord Jagannath. My father told her to make them again and offer them to Lord Jagannath, and then they tasted as good as usual.

We do not have a TV or get the newspaper so my father was bored without anything to do. We gave him the Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita to read, and he read the entire book. His conclusion at the end was that Srila Prabhupada was a genuine person.

Now my parents are back in India. My father has insomnia at night, and my mother sees him pacing back and forth and softly chanting Hare Krishna, until he is tired enough to sleep.

My mother’s friends find her to behave differently. She only speaks when it is required, and spends much of the rest of her time chanting Hare Krishna. Before she would just chant one round a day.

Vaishnava Prabhu (from New Vrindavan):

Growing up in New Vrindavan I got to take care of the cows. By doing that I feel I could relate more to Krishna’s pastimes as a cowherd boy. The cows are worshipable because they are very dear to Krishna.

Krishna’s friends were so confident of Krishna’s protection they fearlessly entered the body of the snake demon. This confidence in Krishna’s protection is a symptom of a great soul advanced in devotional service.

Krishna performs many pastimes in order to facilitate our remembrance of Him.

A devotee lady Yamini has written songs for children describing Krishna’s pastimes.

Comment by Kalakantha Prabhu: The Romans had a pagan worship centered around the worship of a deity represented as a bull. As Christianity become more popular it ultimately became the state religion during the time of King Constantine. Then the bull became a symbol of Satan.

Having moved from New Vrindavan to Gainesville, I miss the nice places in the woods to chant japa.

Q (my me): It is amazing the cowherd boys were so confident of Krishna’s protection they fearlessly entered the mouth of the demon. How can we attain this level of confidence in Krishna’s protection?

A: We can begin by making a simple prayer to Krishna, “I am not very surrendered, but I want to be surrendered.” Then by associating with devotees, and by taking advantage of preaching opportunities, we become more surrendered.

Hanan Prabhu:

The example of the musk deer searching for the fragrant smell that comes from itself, sages use to illustrate that our real happiness comes from within although we do not know it.

I was working for an insurance company in Israel, which was ripped off by a thief, and the managers decided they would come out ahead if they settled it out of court. I was the person sent to carry the money, which filled an entire suitcase. I found when I was carrying this suitcase of money, I had this consciousness that I was very important for the time I was doing that service.

Because we want to be selfish, we get entangled in karmic reactions.

Q: Why is bhakti-yoga powerful?

Treval Journal#11.5: Adventures in North Florida
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 5
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2015, part one)

Tallahassee, Gainesville, Alachua, and Jacksonville
(Sent from Potomac, Maryland, on April 10, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

The first week in March was the spring break for University of Florida in Gainesville, so I spent the first weekend chanting at Lake Ella and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdaychanting at Florida State University, bothin Tallahassee, and I spent Thursday and Friday chanting at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. In the middle of the week, I returned to Alachua County for our Gaura Purnima festivals in Gainesville and Alachua. Then Saturday I chanted with friends from Gainesville and Jacksonville at the annual Jacksonville Veg Fest. The second week of March I chanted at Krishna Lunch at UF and spent one day trying to promote our weekly evening program at Santa Fe Community College. That week culminated in harinama in Gainesville with the Alachua devotees, the Krishna House Holi Festival and the Krishna House Eight-Hour Kirtan.

I share notes on Srila Prabhupada’s books, lectures, and letters, quotes by Prahlada Maharaja and Bhaktivinoda Thakura, notes on lectures from many Prabhupada disciples and other senior devotees in Alachua County, as well as realizations from the students at Krishna House.

I would like to thank Nanda Kumar Prabhu of Gainesville for his kind donation. Thanks to Mother Caitanya for the money belt and mirror. Thanks to Cayman and Michael for picking me up and dropping me at the bus station, and to Dr. Dina Bandhu for medical advice, accommodation and transportation between Gainesville and Jacksonville.

Itinerary

April 8–11: Washington, D.C.

April 12: Albany

April 13–15: New York City

April 16: Toronto

April 17–23: Ireland (Dublin and Cork)

April 24–26: Rotterdam

April 27: Amsterdam (King’s Day)

April 28: Radhadesh, Belgium

April 29: Germany

April 30–May 3: Simhachalam, Bavaria, Germany (Nrisimha Festival)

May 4–July 16: United Kingdom

Chanting at Lake Ella in Tallahassee

A young guy of American Indian descent approached me with a broad smile as I was singing at Lake Ella, asking what I was doing. I briefly explained. He was a drummer and asked to play my drum, and he played in time. After I while I stuck my business card, which has the Hare Krishna mantra on its back, under the rubber strip that bisects the drum so he could see it, and he sang along as he played the drum. He kept the card when he left. Now that does not happen every day!

Chanting at University of North Florida

On Gaura Purnima day, Dina Bandhu Prabhu of Gainesville kindly gave me a ride to Jacksonville after the abhiseka for Lord Caitanya in Alachua. We chanted on the green at University of North Florida for four and a half hours. Amrita Keli Devi Dasi brought us invitations, books, granola bars for distribution, and a blanket to sit on. She chanted with us for part of the time.

Later Ekendra Prabhu joined us later for several hours, adding a lot of musical talent and devotion to the party.

As far as the fasting was concerned, I think it was easier me than ever before. I did not eat anything, and just had a cup of caranamrita and a couple of cups of water, but I did not feel fatigued nor did I get a headache, as often happens. As we finished our final Hare Krishna tune, just after the break fast time of 6:37 p.m., a guitar player that Ekendra Prabhu had spoken to much earlier stopped by and glanced at our books. He was attracted by Bhagavad-gita and give a five dollar donation.

The Gaura Purnima festival at the Krishna Club was very special.

Twenty-six people came.

The guy playing sitar is a music major who ultimately wants to study music in India.

The girl playing tambourine and happily singing in the center of this picture came to the club three years ago as a freshman but did not come again until this year as a senior. She said as a music major, with all the rehearsals, she was too busy.

We had two kirtanas, one led by Dina Bandhu Prabhu and the other led by Tulasi-priya Dasi. During the second kirtana, people offered flowers to the Gaura-Nitai deities. I show excerpts in this video [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xL8P5w0H7lY7f8mY8T-570Q ]:

Dina Bandhu, Ekendra, Tulasi-priya, and I have been involved in assisting with the Krishna Club from its very beginning three years ago, and it was wonderful to be celebrating Gaura Purnima with them.

The day after Gaura Purnima I chanted three and a half hours at the University of North Florida. It was cold and very misty. After an hour and a half, Amrita had to leave to do other things and Dina Bandhu had to go because he was not dressed for the cold. I kept chanting. I could only display hard bound books because the mist would ruin the paperbacks, and even they I had to wipe off every few minutes. A couple of passersby felt sorry for me, seeing me struggling with the cold and mist, and helped me relocate my display. Amrita later told me that couple came to next Krishna Club meeting. They chanted sincerely, and the guy took some chanting beads home.

That night I attended Dina Bandhu Prabhu’s program at his home in Gainesville to celebrate the Jagannath Misra festival with lots of kirtana andprasadam, and with many Krishna House friends. There the final kirtana by Purushartha Prabhu many people said was a highlight.

The next day we chanted for about 3 hours at the Veg Fest with Amrita Keli, Lovelesh, and Lovelesh’s mother. Lovelesh distributed all of Laura’s wonderful prasadam cookies fairly early on, and there was a lot of talk about doing more with prasadam at the festival next year.

Prabhupada disciple, Dhira Prabhu (center), resident of Jacksonville, was happy to join us, as was Mallory (right), a regular at Krishna Club.

We encountered many people happy to see and hear the Hare Krishnas.

Gainesville Harinama

On the Gainesville harinama a couple people danced with us.

One lady in a car was happy to receive a garland

from Mother Nitai.

First Annual Krishna House Holi Festival

Caru Prabhu at Spanish Fork, Utah, made Holi a popular event for Hare Krishnas, and in recent years, it is seen by many temples as an event that can attract new guests. Holi has been celebrated in our Alachua temple for three years, and now at Krishna House in Gainesville. The venue was our Friday night program, which was started by an Indian engineering student years ago, and attracts primarily those of Indian backgrounds. Thus it was striking to see that more Americans came to the Holi than the usual Friday programs.

Arjuna Prabhu had the people do some different activities before throwing the dyes, the main Holi activity.

One of these included an Indian art of decorating the ground with colored dyes.

We had a little chanting going on during the throwing of colors.

All kinds of people participated.

Eastern and Western.

Girls and guys.

Older.

Younger.

Krishna House devotees.

Workers at Krishna Lunch.

The best part was lots of people who had never been to Krishna House before came for Holi, heard the chanting, took some Krishna food, and had a great time!

Krishna House Eight-Hour Kirtan

At my insistence, the devotees scheduled the eight-hour kirtana after the spring break, as I thought that way some students could attend. Just a couple did, but even that made it worth the change. One of them ended up coming to the Alachua temple afterwards with devotees for first time. Originally we were going to have a twelve-hour kirtana but the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium promoters were doing a special event with Jananivasa Prabhu from Mayapur in the evening, so we had to cut our event short. That day I had a meeting of Sadaputa Prabhu’s associates, the first one since he departed from this world six years ago, so the kirtana was even shorter for me.

Ekendra was sitting in a chair in the corner playing the guitar, and when I returned five hours later, after the Sadaputa meeting, he was sitting in the same chair playing the same guitar. It was striking. Here Purushartha Prabhu is leading. Everyone sang nicely.

Here Tulasi-priya Dasi is singing.

Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi took a picture while I was dancing.

I think it is great to have a big kirtana event every semester, and I am glad we are doing it at Krishna House.

To see other photos I shot but did not include in this journal, please click on this link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal115?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP28q87koOe60QE&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture on Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 7.1, on March 1, 1974, in Mayapur:

“. . . we do not know what is the destination of the movement in this age. The trees are not moving, but we are moving. But that movement has not very much improved our condition. Real movement means to go forward to reach the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Through the teachings of Lord Caitanya, we can reform our habits.

Because people do not try to understand Krishna through Lord Caitanya, they fail to understand Krishna.

The present importance of Vrindavan exists because of Lord Caitanya and the Six Goswamis.

Because he is personally teaching everyone about the love of Radha Krishna, Lord Caitanya is the most magnanimous avatar.

There are many incarnations, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He is the most magnanimous incarnation, because in other incarnations, just as Lord Ramacandra, He killed the culprit Ravana. Krishna also, when He appeared, He killed so many demons. But Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not kill demons like Jagai and Madhai but delivered them to become the best type of Vaisnava [devotee of the Supreme Lord].

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.10.14, in Mayapur on June 27, 1973:

“That is the highest perfection of life – to shed tears for Krishna.”

“So here is the example. Tears by force are coming out: “Oh, Krishna is going away.” At the same time they want to check: “There must not be any inauspiciousness for Krishna.” They’re thinking about Krishna’s welfare, not their own. Not “Oh, I am now crying. I have become very fortunate. I am crying for Krishna.” No. “My crying will create inauspiciousness for Krishna; I must check it.” This is Krishna consciousness.”

From a letter dated May 17, 1968:

“My advice to you . . . is that at least for one hour you must all go to have Sankirtan outside on the streets or in the park. That is your life and soul, first business. . . . If need be, the whole temple can be locked, but the outdoor kirtan cannot be stopped.”

From a letter dated May 14, 1969:

“Regarding your questions about Sankirtana . . . , I think you should try to always have Sankirtana going on. All other things are subsidiary. This chanting is our life and soul, so we must arrange our program now so that there will be as much chanting on the streets and at college engagements as possible . . . .”

From Beyond Beyond and Death, Chapter 2:

“The word yoga means ‘to link up,’ and the yoga systems are meant to enable us to link with the transcendental world. . . . originally we are all connected to the Supreme Lord, but now we have been affected by material contamination. The process is that we have to return to the spiritual world, and that process of linking up is called yoga.”

“Just as a student studies a subject for four or five years and then takes his examination and receives a degree, similarly, with the subject of life, if we practice during our lives for the examination at the time of death, and if we pass the examination, we are transferred to the spiritual world. Our whole life is examined at the time of death.”

Prahlad Maharaja:

From Sri Naradiya Purana:

“One who loudly chants the holy names of the Lord is a hundred times greater than one who silently chants, because those who chant silently purify only themselves, while those who chant loudly purify themselves as well as those who hear them.”

Bhaktivinoda Thakura:

“Upon fully blossoming, the Name takes me to Vrindavan and shows me His divine

pastimes. He gives me an eternal body, keeps me by Krishna’s side, and completely

vanquishes this material body, granting me supreme perfection.”

From Navadvipa Mahatmya:

“Seeing the Yamuna’s good fortune of taking part in Krishna’s pastimes, the Ganges performed penances for the same purpose. Krishna bestowed His mercy by appearing before Gangadevi and saying, ‘ln the form of Gauranga I will perform pastimes in your waters.’”

Brahma-tirtha Prabhu:

A good lawyer knows the law. A great lawyer knows the judge.

Caturatma Prabhu:

If one tries to attain Krishna without taking shelter of Lord Caitanya, he will be successful only after a long time. But if he takes shelter of Lord Caitanya, he will successful very soon because all his offenses will cease.

The Lord as Lord Caitanya fills the world with transcendental bliss by chanting His own holy name.

For His own pleasure, He came as a hidden incarnation [Lord Caitanya], to set the standard by acting as a pure devotee.

In his youth when He had a grammer school, Lord Caitanya kept His divinity hidden for the sake His pastimes.

Scholars avoided him because they could not defeat Him.

Although Nimai Pandit was well off, he would beg in charity from merchants as a pleasure pastime.

One fragrant oil vendor told him to take whatever he wanted. For Him there was no set price. He sat down and poured all kinds of oil over His body. The shop keeper was very pleased.

He went through the town, interacting with all the vendors who were His eternal associates.

One time he came upon a fortune teller whom He bewildered by showing Him all the incarnations of Krishna one after another. When He pressed him for his conclusion, he told Him to come back later in the afternoon.

Sridhara, who was apparently very impoverished, but still spending half of his meager income on the worship of Mother Gangas, was nonetheless very satisfied with life. Nimai Pandita accused him of having hidden wealth that was the cause of his satisfaction and demanded that he share it with Him. Of course, he did have hidden wealth, the great wealth of devotional service. He protested saying he just had a few bananas, a few radishes, and a drink with milk and gur, unprocessed sugar, which He gave to Nimai Pandit.

When Keshava Kasmiri, the champion scholar, was defeated by Nimai Pandit, Nimai Pandit’s students made fun of him, but Nimai Pandit forbade them to. We can learn from this that we should not take pleasure in the suffering of others or in making jokes at the expense of others.

Nimai Pandit was very charitable and hospitable. One time twenty sannyasis came to His house. His mother said they had nothing in the kitchen. Nimai told her to look again. She was astounded to find all kinds foods had suddenly appeared. Laksmi then cooked a feast for the sannyasis.

Many demigods disguised themselves as brahmanas and mendicants to get food cooked by Laksmi in the house of Lord Caitanya.

The main duty of a householder is to take care of guests. By doing this they conquer the tendencies for untruthfulness and deceitful behavior.

Jananivasa Prabhu:

Srila Prabhupada said that if you can get the President of the United States and the Queen of England to come to the opening of the Mayapur temple, Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally take you back to the spiritual world.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

As we grow older, things that were very important become less important, and things that were less important become more important.

Gaura Purnima is like the new year for us. Choose just one thing you would like to improve in your spiritual life and pray to Lord Caitanya on Gaura Purnima for it.

There are about 10 meters for chanting the verses of the Tenth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and they are used to create different effects compatible with the story.

Fear is a stimulus for approaching God.

Some people in Islam say that Allah will respond to prayer in one of three ways:
(1) by fulfilling your desire, (2) by protecting you from misfortune, or (3) by fulfilling your desires in the afterlife.

One person said that of the things we fear, 90% never happen and 10% we cannot change anyway.

The fear of losing things is the main reason we are afraid of death.

Most of our fears are based on the false ego.

The verse in the Putana pastimes glorifying Krishna’s mercy upon her despite her demonic attitude is the one that inspired Pundarika Vidyanidhi with ecstasy.

Laksmimani Prabhu:

Krishna had to take into account His own promise to protect His devotee and Bhimsa’s promise to kill Arjuna or else force Krishna to fight.

One lesson taught by the Battle of Kuruksetra is that the Lord wants to see His devotees glorified more than Himself.

Bhisma was completely satisfied when Krishna came rushing toward Him with the chariot wheel, for whatever Krishna did would be alright with him.

Brahma is usually the liaison between the demigods and Vishnu, but when Lord Vishnu as Nrsimha was in such an angry mood, He pushed Prahlada Maharaja forward to pacify Him.

Even though Nrsimha was so angry he just ripped Hiranyakasipu apart because He was so cruel to his son, Prahlada, a pure devotee, He was immediately willing grant Hiranyakasipu liberation to please Prahlada.

Lord Caitanya wanted to kill the constables who whipped His devotee Haridasa Thakura, but He could not because Haridasa Thakura was praying for their welfare.

At the stage of prema, the devotee controls Krishna by his love.

The devotee is so confident that Krishna is going to take of Him he is not the least bit worried in any condition of life, no matter how bad it looks.

Equality does not mean that Krishna takes care of everyone in the same way but that he is concerned with everyone.

The Bhimsa Parva, in which Bhimsa instructs King Yudhisthira, is the longest section of the whole Mahabharata.

Q: What is the different between having confidence in Krishna and the blind faith people accuse us of having?

A: We start by having a little faith, and we see how Krishna takes care of us. Also we see how Krishna takes care of His devotees in the present and in the past.

I had a stroke and when I got to the hospital I was beginning to feel better because of the medication they were giving. An Indian man greeted me and asked if there was any prasadam. He then said, “You have a very nice nurse. Her name is Glani.” Turned out she was an initiated disciple of Hridayananda Goswami. When I went into the operating room I had the Hare Krishna mantra written on a paper, I wanted to give to the doctor to say if anything went wrong. He was reluctant as he thought it was superstition, so I gave it to someone else. That person was just reading Sri Isopanisad on the plane and had a daughter who eats Krishna Lunch. As I was getting the anesthesia, someone noticed my neck beads and asked if I was a Hare Krishna, and wanted me to tell them about Krishna. That was last thing I remembered before I went out. I could see that Krishna was taking care of me in so many ways.

Nanda Dasi:

The rules and regulations are meant to ultimately expand our consciousness. By following them our minds become peaceful and happy because we are not driven by our senses. Then we can taste transcendental pleasure.

In the beginning we are pushed by the rules and regulations and later we are pushed to act by our desire to please the Lord.

Once Srila Prabhupada even said, “If you followed all the rules and regulations, you would not even get out of the bathroom in the morning.”

In my conditioned state I do not like restrictions and therefore I may be attracted to the spontaneous love of the residents Vrndavana simply because there are fewer restrictions, but my consciousness is like iron compared to theirs which is like gold.

Comment by Gopala Prabhu: When Krishna says, “What will repression accomplish?” he is not saying we should not repress the desire to perform sinful activities but that if Arjuna left the battlefield and went to the forest he would ultimately recall the offenses of Duryodhana and fight him anyway.

Sadaputa Prabhu:

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.2.31 [https://youtu.be/qCQGq-O4fsM]:

The present scholarly understanding is stillbased on the work of Max Muller. Due to the many flaws of Muller’s methodology, Muller himself has fallen out of favor, but his dating of the Vedas is still the predominant theory. As an interesting aside, Max Muller himself said that the Vedas could not be dated.

Sesa Prabhu:

You can put a spark out with your hand, but you cannot put the entire fire out with your hand.

Our problem is that we are living an unnatural life, experiencing unhappiness, and ultimate death.

None of our material conditions are the same.

We should not settle for such an unnatural condition of life, especially as human beings, because we can do something about it. The animals cannot do anything about it. They must simply suffer. The horses are just standing there, feeling the heat, the cold, and the rain.

We need a new paradigm of life, what they call on Krishna.com, a bhaktiworld view. This begins accepting knowledge from the Vedas.

We cannot lose our eternal relationship with Krishna.

Because we do know what we are doing, we keep bumping into things, namely our karma.

Krishna describes that this world is temporary and full of misery. Even we are so expert we can avoid all the miseries, our situation is temporary.

There is more to loving God than saying “I love God.” There is a process. The more we practice serving God, the more we become purified.

It is so simple, it is practically unbelievable, and yet it is true.

The stubbornness to rebel against Krishna is rooted in the mind.

I pray that you all make great spiritual advancement.

“Just give one life to Krishna. You have had many lives, and if you do not perfect it, you will have many more. So just give this one life to Krishna.” This is how the devotees convinced me to join them, and I have not regretted it.

Before we lose this form of life, must take this opportunity seriously.

Anubhava is an action that results from heightened affection for Krishna, which serves to further enhance that affection.

Vyabhicari-bhava is an emotional experience that results from intensified affection for Krishna, which serves to embellish and further stimulate that affection.

Subuddhi Krishna Prabhu:

Krishna will not direct us from within until we want Him to.

Krishna demonstrated that he was beyond all caste designations as He was born as a ksatriya, grew up as a vaisya, drove Arjuna’s chariot as a sudra, and enlightened Arjuna as a brahmana.

Madhava Prabhu:

From a talk on deity worship:

I started my deity service by doing garlands. Then I got to iron the deity’s gamshas [undergarments] every day.

My parents tried to deprogram me. I escaped, but it was not safe for me to stay in Boston, so I went to Puerto Rico for a few years. Only three temple leaders knew where I was and no one else.

We offered 120 or 130 sweets a day to the deities in Boston.

Deity worship can sometimes seem mechanical, chanting the same mantras every day. By reading Jagannath Priya Nataka I came to experience deity worship in a deeper way.

I was both cook and pujari in Boston for many years.

When dressing Gaura Nitai, it is preferred to do Nityananda first, as indicated in the pastime of the chipped rice festival.

Comment by Guru Seva Devi Dasi: I saw how my husband Madhava was benefiting from doing Deity worship, and I felt I was really missing out. I find that I am appreciating different aspects of the worship from him, but that is natural because we are different persons.

The first worship is to the spiritual master.

There are different numbers of items you can offer. Mostly we offer 16 items, but in other cases 64 may be offered, or just two.

There are different mudraswith different meanings, greeting the deities, etc.

Our nima deities we decided to name appropriately Nimai Nitai.

The sila is a direct manifestation of Krishna and does not require to be installed as carved and sculpted deity forms.

In Vrindavan, the inhabitants see Govardhan as a loving father not the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

To begin the worship of Govardhan, you must first be given a Govardhan sila, and then secondly, you have to ask a resident of Vrindavan for permission to take him out of Vrindavan.

All the incarnations of Vishnu have forms as salagramas.

We begin deity worship by worshiping Gaura Nitai. If someone offers you Gaura Nitai deities, you should accept them.

We wanted the nima deities because we felt as a married couple, we would not have the time to properly take of brass deities.

From a lecture:

Lord Caitanya came to bring a very high level of love of God that was not brought before.

I have dealt with many coconuts in my life but very few have had the pulp separated from the shell. Similarly the self-realized souls are very rare.

I tried to separate the coconut from the shell by heating, and it ended up cracking. Similarly we cannot artificially attain the advanced stage of spiritual life.

According to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the bodily symptoms of ecstasy occur because the reciprocation of Krishna with the devotee is so intense the material body cannot handle it.

Bhadra Prabhu:

Skanda Purana says that Lord Jagannath appeared to King Indradyumna on the day of snana-yatra.

Because it is hot in that season in India, they bathe Lord Jagannath then.

During the Lord’s sickness, Laksmi takes care of Him.

The paints used to paint Lord Jagannath are made with fruits.

Laksmi does not allow Jagannath back into the temple after the return Ratha-yatra, although she lets Balaram and Subhadra in.

King Indradyumna asked for two boons: (1) He did not want a son. (2) He wanted Jagannath to accept another meal as soon as His hands dried from washing them after the previous meal.

If the pujari is doing the arati in Puri andthe king comes, the pujari lets the king perform the arati.

[The following two stories Bhadra Prabhu recalled are from a book on Lord Jagannath by Bhakti Purusottama Swami. They were so elaborate I could only write down the beginning of them. If you want to know the end, you’ll have to read the book.]

(1) King Purusottamadeva of Puri visited South India and the princess of Kancipuram become attracted to him. Her father was favorable but sent his minister to Puri to investigate his character. The minister was favorably impressed until he saw Purusottamadeva sweeping the road before the Ratha-yatra. The minister recommended against the marriagebecause the king was a road sweeper. King Purusottamadeva was upset and said he would fight and defeat the King of Kancipuram and take his daughter. Another condition was the Ganesh deity worshiped by the King of Kancipuram would come to Puri and be worshiped behind Lord Jagannath. Purusottamadeva lost but went back to Puri and cried to Jagannath in the temple, as it was unthinkable to him that Lord Jagannath would go to Kancipuram and be worshiped behind Ganesh. The Lord appeared in a dream and said he would help. Ahead of the king’s army were two soldiers on horses, one of light complexion and one who was dark. They were offered drinks by a vendor, which they accepted, but when asked about payment they replied they had no money and thatthe king, who was just behind, would pay for them, and thus they went on. When the vendor questioned the king who soon came, and hearing of the incident the kingconcludedthe two soldiers were in fact Balarama and Krishna, and he became encouraged in the battle, and became victorious . . .

Laksmi was visiting her devotees some of whom came from low class backgrounds. Jagannath protested. Laksmi appreciated the worship of her devotees and wanted to reciprocate with them, so she did not take Jagannath’s protest very seriously and left to see her devotees . . .

At the end of 1966 Srila Prabhupada drew some pictures of Jagannatha and asked the Brahmananda to go to the tombstone shop on Second Avenue and ask them to carve them. He did but they did not do it.

Srila Prabhupada said in 1976 in a lecture that if we will accept Lord Jagannath He will unite us. We are doing Ratha-yatras all over Florida to unite our community.

Srila Prabhupada said that anyone who participates in the Ratha-yatra attains the spiritual world in the next life.

At my meeting with the Saint Augustine officials, one policeman said, “I have never before such happy persons as you guys coming to this town. You guys have good food.” Turning to the officials, the policeman continued, “You all should go to their festival.”

Nama Kirtan Prabhu:

If everyone tries to act as a brahmana, all the other work will not get done.

Even if one has an insignificant service, if he works to please God, he is better situated than one who performs a more important service without an attitude of service to God.

Dina Bandhu Prabhu:

The symbols which appear on both the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani and Lord Krishna appear on the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, who is an incarnation of Them both.

Introduction by Mikey: I used to be in a male fraternity based on degrading ourselves. Now I am in a coed fraternity based on elevating ourselves.

Introduction by Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi: I was praying to Govardhan to be in a situation where I was living more with devotees and two days later Mother Caitanya came up to me and said they had a free room in Krishna House.

Q: Suppose we are not so enthusiastic?

A: Associate with enthusiastic devotees.

If someone offers us something we should accept it. It is not like we are trying to get people to give us things, but if someone offers us something we should learn the art of accepting it gratefully.

Tamraparni Prabhu:

The followers of Lord Caitanya had split into the intellectual Goswamis of Vrndavana and the spirited kirtaniyas of Bengal. Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami united these groups by writing Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, explaining the intellectual philosophy of the Goswamis in the Bengali language.

Radha Jivan Prabhu:

One poet writes “I would rather die than beg funds for the maintenance of my own body, but for the glorification of the Lord I will beg without shame.”

Lord Nityananda told Jiva Goswami a wonderful temple establishing the eternal service of Lord Caitanya will appear in Mayapur.

Srila Prabhupada told Jananivasa Prabhu, “Take care of Radha Madhava and make other people pujaris.”

Jananivasa Prabhu told me that there were two things he desired never to do after becoming a devotee, (1) to go to America, and (2) to ask for money, and on this tour he is doing both of them.

Srila Prabhupada explained that all the Gaudiya acaryas have made some gift to Lord Caitanya in Mayapur. Bhaktivinoda Thakura begged a rupee from many people to build a temple in Mayapur at Lord Caitanya’s birthsite. Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura established 65 temples throughout India, but his biggest temple was in Mayapur.

Six million visit Mayapur each year. That is an average of 15,000 a day. It is the glory of Srila Prabhupada, so many people are coming.

Once Srila Prabhupada said, “My idea is to bring that whole world to Mayapur.”

The niece of the Queen of England has a relationship with the Hare Krishnas and told the devotees if they give her 15 to 18 months notice, she said that she could bring the Queen to the opening of the Mayapur Vedic Temple of the Planetarium.

If someone gives more than their capacity, that is being truly magnamimus.

There are two things (1) mana (respect) and (2) dana (charity). The Supreme Lord does not need our charity, but we should give him our respect.

There is a saying that aptitude does not matter as much as attitude.

Mother Caitanya:

Before I became a devotee I could not say I loved God because I did not really know enough about God to love Him. I was thrilled to encounter Srimad-Bhagavatam and to learn so many details about Him.

Mikey:

We are always dealing with death, and how we deal with it determines how we live our life and how we approach our spiritual practice.

The main problem with Kamsa was his association. He explained transcendental knowledge to Vasudeva and Devaki, but later returned to his demoniac ways because of bad association. While Narada, because of good association, went from being in ignorance to becoming a great saint.

Whatever happens to the body does not matter. All the bliss we are getting in life comes from our devotional service, and that will continue in our next life.

Comment by Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu: We have more faith in those who have already left their bodies, as their life of virtue is complete, while the living virtuous could always fall down from their positions before the end of life.

Comment by Nicholas: There is no situation that is so bad that you can no longer make spiritual advancement.

Comment by Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu: The demons in Krishna’s pastimes embody the extremes of human evil.

Comment by Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi: Kamsa was using the philosophy to his own advantage. We must also consider whether we are using what knowledge and facilities we are given for Krishna’s pleasure.

Notes Gauranga Prasada Prabhu’s program:

Tell how you become a devotee:

Gauranga Prasada Prabhu:

I had become vegetarian. I was thinking of attending church and seeking the association of higher vibrational people. Then I met the devotees at Krishna Lunch. I found vegetarian, meditation, music, and everything I was looking for.

During the time we are absorbed in the kirtana we are free from material contamination. We thus can get a glimpse of Vrindavana as the song “Gauranga Bolite Habe” states. It is so practical. We just have to follow the previous spiritual teachers.

Cayman: The books really moved me. I just never read anything like them before.

Chelsea: My high school teacher was a devotee and had a little murtiof Krishna on his desk. He invited me to the temple for the Sunday Feast and I and a friend came. We did not fit in, but I kept coming. Then one week we did japa, and it was a very powerful experience.

Varangi Radha Dasi: Six years ago I met a guy on the campus who knew more important things than anything I learned in school. I asked him where he got all this amazing knowledge from. He would not tell me. I kept hearing from him for several weeks. Then he told me and brought me to a Friday Gitaclass at the Laguna Beach temple.

I felt my hurts healing and superficial issues resolved so I can appreciate what Lord Caitanya is giving us.

Naomi:

My mother would always talk about the devotees, when I was living in another place.

I tried being vegetarian before, but I was not successful, until just a week before I moved into Krishna, when I tried it to see if I really could, and I found it was possible

Travel Journal#11.4: Ocala Rainbow & More Florida Adventures
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 4
By Krishna-kripa das
(February 2015, part two)

Ocala Rainbow Gathering, Gainesville, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on March 22, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

The second half of February started off with an adventure – sharing spiritual food and song at the Ocala Rainbow Gathering. Then I spent a couple of days chanting at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville, and then on to Orlando and Tampa for three days ofchantingon campuses and invitingpeople to evening programs. Then the next weekend was another harinama at a special venue – the Monster Truck Rally at Jacksonville’s Everbank Stadium. The final week I was back at Krishna Lunch, with the exception of the final day of February, the first day of spring break, when I went up to Tallahassee.

I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s books, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal, lectures from three Prabhupada disciples in the Gainesville/Alachua area, namely, Brahmatirtha Prabhu (Bob Cohen of Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers), Kalakantha Prabhu (temple president of Krishna House), and Ranjit Prabhu, and a lecture by the manager of Krishna Lunch, Hanan Prabhu. I also share comments and realizations by devotees at Krishna House.

I want to thank Vishnu Priya Devi Dasi of Jacksonville for her very generous donation.

Thanks to Autumn for her pictures of the Ocala Rainbow Gathering, Raju for his pictures of the program at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Dhira Prabhu for his pictures of the chanting party at the Monster Truck Rally in Jacksonville, and Govardhan Isvari Devi Dasi for her picture of chanting at the Farmers Market.

Itinerary

March 22–25: Gainesville

March 26–27: Tampa

March 28–31: Tallahassee

April 1–3: Jacksonville

April 4–7: Gainesville

April 8–11: Washington, D.C.

April 12: Albany

April 13–15: New York City

April 16: Toronto

April 17–23: Ireland (Dublin and Cork)

April 24–26: Rotterdam

April 27: Amsterdam (King’s Day)

April 28: Radhadesh, Belgium

April 29: Germany

April 30–May 3: Simhachalam, Bavaria, Germany (Nrisimha Festival)

May 4–July 16: United Kingdom

Ocala Regional Rainbow Gathering

Devotees had saved up 27 buckets of Krishna food for me to distribute at the Ocala Regional Rainbow Gathering, although I asked them to save just 8 buckets. Devotees from Alachua County have been attending this event for many years. I originally had a party of four devotees, and I decided 16 buckets was all we could handle. Fortunately Vaishnava Prabhu of New Vrindaban, who had cooked much of the prasadam, and Tessa, who loves to distribute prasadam, decided to also come at the last minute, so we had six devotees altogether, the others being Dorian, Autumn, and Chelsea, who drove her car.

We chanted over 5 hours as we walked through the Ocala National Forest with a trolley of prasadam(Krishna food), feeding people on the way.

We would stop as we met people, and some of us would serve them and the rest of us would sing.

Some people played their instruments along with our music.

Some people danced.

One lady said of the coconut raisin halava,“This is the best food you guys have ever given me.”

This guy said of it, “Everyone should have the opportunity to experience this.”

Another guy said of the prasadam,“Truly excellent.” Another said, “It is amongst the best food I’ve had since coming to these woods.” The people were so grateful we came.

Some had an odd assortment of eating vessels.

Some used coconut bowls.

One used chopsticks made from leaves to eat off a leaf plate.

Each day after we serve the Krishna Lunch to the students in Gainesville, the extra prasadam goes to a student cooperative living facility and to homeless shelters. What is left after all that, we sent to a pig farm for some time because we did not want to just it throw away. One young lady who was eating our food at the Rainbow Gathering told me she worked at that pig farm, and her service was to feed the old Krishna Lunch to the pigs. The pigs were so excited when she opened the buckets to pour the old prasadam down the chute. About the pigs chasing after the prasadam, she said, “They really went to town!”

One guy followed our chanting party for two hours, and Tessa really impressed me by giving him her own beads and bead bag and teaching him how to chant the Hare Krishna mantra using them.

We gave our extra prasadam to different kitchens at the gathering before we left.

At the end, we chanted and distributed prasadam near the path to the trading circle and one of the prominent kitchens.

We ended by giving a box of halava and a cooler of spaghetti to those at the main gate.

We did not return home till 8:30 p.m. Although it was a long and tiring day, the devotees were all glad they went and look forward to next year. The people we saw there were among the most grateful we ever meet.

Chanting at the University of Central Florida in Orlando

Within fifteen minutes of my setting up my table and beginning chanting, one young lady asked if she could listen to my singing while she ate her lunch. She sat in a sunny patch of grass across the sidewalk from me, and ate lunch and listened. Because it was market day and we did not reserve space for our local Bhakti Yoga Club, I was relocated by a student union official. I told my listener I was sorry, but I had to move. She gave me a dollar donation, and I gave her a Bhakti Yoga book, after verifying she did not already have it. She was happy to take the book. I asked if she did some kind of meditation, and she said she did and that if she had no other engagement she might come to our program on Friday.

Ultimately we chanted by the library, which had more traffic than the free speech area given us by the student union representative. There one young lady said “Haribol” to us as she passed. Turned out her mother was a Hare Krishna devotee in Brazil. We invited her to our program and gave her a card for the local temple, in case she wants to connect with Krishna again in Orlando.

Chanting at University of South Florida in Tampa

I chanted with Raju Manthena at University of South Florida by the library and the student center for 3½ hours, passing out invitations to our Bhakti Yoga Club program that evening.

Seven additional people came to the Bhakti Yoga Club meeting from seeing us. Such a large number of newcomers coming from our chanting and passing out invitations is exceeding rare. One regular from last semester came, saying she was too busy to come this semester. She danced like anything, and said she would return the next week. Two ladies who came for the first time when I visited several weeks ago were still coming.

There was a lot of participation in the chanting as you can see in this video (https://youtu.be/iU99uUtjS2A):

Chanting at Valencia College in Orlando

As two devotees and I were chanting at Valencia College in Orlando, an older man with hair that was mostly gray passed us twice, the second time asking if he could record us in his studio. Kishor asked if he was a professor. And he replied, “Yes.” “Of what?”, Kishor asked. “Of sound,” he said. He explained he had read our book and knew all about us. He got Kishor’s phone number, and perhaps he will someday record Hare Krishna in his studio. Later I looked up Valencia on the Internet and found they have a major called “Sound and Music Technology.” After a couple weeks the professor called Kishor to schedule a recording session.

Chanting at the Monster Truck Rally

One little girl loved dancing with the devotee ladies, and her father loved to take pictures of it.

One blond lady enjoyed dancing with the devotee ladies.

Guru Vagmi Prabhu always distributes.

So does Mother Nitai.

In the beginning people were less receptive in general than usual, but at the end we encountered many people happy to encounter the devotees and their chanting.

This video shows what it was like at a not very busy time (https://youtu.be/Gjr7UuE5VsY):

Chanting at Krishna Lunch

Chanting at the Farmers Market

Innovations in Outreach

Bada Hari Prabhu, the maintenance man at Krishna House, not to be confused with the musician, thought of a novel tool for education – a Bhagavad-gita video built into the lunch table.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

notes on Beyond Birth and Death:

“We are all seeking enjoyment through these bodies, but bodily enjoyment is not our actual enjoyment. It is artificial. We have to understand that if we want to continue in this artificial enjoyment, we will not be able to attain our position of eternal enjoyment.”

“Our enjoyment can be perfected when we participate in the enjoyment of God.”

“If we keep displeasing our supreme father, we shall never be happy within this material world, in either the upper or lower planetary systems.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for February 15” in Viraha Bhavan:

“The Hare Krishna chanters in
the City have found
the secret source of joy –
the nectar for which
we are always anxious.
It is lamentable that
only a relatively few people chant
the holy names
and that people think of it as sectarian religion
or mythology or brainwashing.
The devotees are trying their best
to chant the Names
but they are a minimum
amount of people in the world.
When, O when, will the people of the world
take to the chanting of the Names
and taste the nectar of holy love?”

Brahma-tirtha Prabhu:

How is it that Srila Prabhupada gave us in the beginning of our spiritual lives The Nectar of Devotion and Krishna which deal with such advanced topics?

Srila Prabhupada made the highest knowledge of devotional service available and then taught the process by which we can attain it.

Srila Prabhupada writes in a letter about a disciple who rendered a lot of service to him but who thought that Srila Prabhupada was existing only because of his service. Because of thinking of Srila Prabhupada in this way, as if he were a common man who was dependent on others, he lost the chance to serve him.

Krishna gives a taste of his association and then removes that opportunity. He did that with the gopis. Why did He leave them? Because of their pride.

It may look like the lamentation of the gopis losing Krishna is the same as that of a materialist, but they are completely different.

Even Srila Prabhupada said “I am going to need some help in figuring this out” to Hridayananda Goswami, Jayapataka Goswami, and Harikesa Prabhu, regarding the cosmology of the Fifth Canto.

The Fifth Canto is to create awe about the Lord’s creation.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

The scientists admit that they do not know it all, but because they know more than we do, they are our authorities.

People have fanatic blind faith in science.

Science and the Bhagavatam agree that the universe is beyond our understanding, but science thinks that someday they will understand it, while the Bhagavatam states it is so inconceivable we will never understand it.

The members of the British Raj, observing an eclipse in India, noticed that the Indian astronomers, just by moving a few stones, calculated its timings very accurately.

Science tries to explain how the universe works, but the Vedic knowledge can explain why the universe exists and why we are existing in it.

Because of the living entities desire to enjoy matter, Krishna had to create a material world to fulfill those desires.

The extent and diversity of the universe is explained in the Vedic knowledge to help us appreciate it, but why it exists is more important.

A couple reasons the planetarium is central to the temple in Mayapur are: (1) Srila Prabhupada wanted to demonstrate our faith in the cosmology of the Vedic literature. (2) The atheistic communist government of Bengal at the time would be more supportive of a planetarium than a temple.

Comments by Tulasirani Devi Dasi: My sister, who is a plant scientist, was very depressed at how human beings can be so cruel to each other and to the environment. She found no explanation for it. I presented that this universe is created for those who are envious of God. She replied, “That is most logical explanation I have heard.” But she could not accept it because she did not have proof.

Technology can be used in Krishna’s service, but it cannot help us find Krishna. So find Krishna first through devotional service, and then use technology in His service.

Comments by me:

Sadaputa Prabhu said that mathematicians in 1967 presented to biologists that according to probability theory, evolution was highly unlikely. The biologists replied that the mathematicians must have made some mistake, “because we know evolution happened.” Then the mathematicians left them alone, understanding the kind of people they were dealing with.

In Forbidden Archeology, the authors show many examples of scientists discrediting evidence simply because it does not fit in with the accepted theory. According to the scientific method, if evidence is found that is incompatible with the present theory, the theory should be modified so that it accounts for all the evidence. The scientists are proud of having objective knowledge by following their scientific method and they criticize the blind faith of the religionists, but when they discredit evidence to maintain their theory, they demonstrate blind faith in a theory which has evidence against it, which is an inferior position to the religionists they are criticizing.

from a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam7.9.19:

There was a difficult legal case in our Chicago temple in 1974. Devotees explained both sides to Srila Prabhupada and asked for his advice. He replied, “My advice is that you depend on Krishna.”

There is no greater emotional attachment that I have experienced in this life than attachment to my children.

Loss of a child is the worst thing for a parent, either physically or to a lifestyle they do not agree with.

Why does Krishna neglect people? Because they neglect Him, like the rebellious adolescent who wants to do his own thing without concern for the parents.

Comment by Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi: The adolescent rebels against his parents while at the same time being maintained by the parents. In the same way, the conditioned souls rebel against God while they are being maintained by Him.

When we rebel against Krishna we always have that unsettled freedom, “How will I survive?”

Krishna is controlling everything, and He is my friend, therefore there is no anxiety.

Recognizing our helpless position is the beginning of our freedom.

We should be contrite that we gave up our wonderful relationship with Krishna.

A pure devotee is a person who depends on Krishna.

Pure devotion is expressed by our actions more than merely our words.

If a person who is successful without Krishna, is not actually successful.

Our sadhana evokes the mood of pure devotion in our hearts.

One of my godbrothers was distributing books, and someone came up to him and said he had a donation for him but it was in his car, and told him to come with him and get it. He came to the man’s car and the man pulled a gun on him, and demanded all his money. He gave him the money. The man said, “Because you have seen my face, I will have to kill you.” The devotee started chanting “namaste narasimhaya . . .” The man’s accomplice came up in a car, and urged his friend to get in, and he did and they drove away.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said to work as if everything depends on you, and to pray like everything depends on Krishna.

If we are trying to do something, and it just does not work out, it may be that it is not Krishna’s desire, and that is not a bad thing. However, if we have an order by the spiritual master, we should endeavor to carry it out no matter how difficult it is.

Three reasons people believe in impersonalism:

1. Fear of a personal relationship with the Absolute.

2. Pride in or ambition for the attainment of Godhead.

3. The teachings of Sankaracharya [Advaita Vedanta].

What do Vaishnava texts say about impersonalism?

1. The impersonal, God in the heart, and the Supreme Person are three nondual features of the Absolute Truth. (SB 1.2.11)

2. The impersonal comes from the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. (Bg. 14.27)

3. The impersonal realization is more difficult to achieve and maintain. (SB 10.2.32)

Krishna many times uses the Sanskrit equivalents of I, me, and mine in Bhagavad-gita so the impersonalists have to do a lot of word jugglery to explain the Absolute to be impersonal.

There is a problem of the conflicting interpretations of the Vaishnava and impersonalist:

aham brahmasmi: I am spirit [Vaishnava] or I am the Supreme Spirit [impersonalist].

tat tvam asi: You (Krishna) are that Supreme [Vaishnava] or You (the individual) are that Supreme. [impersonalist]

There are many examples of impersonalists becoming devotees but no examples of devotees becoming impersonalists.

Ranjit Prabhu:

In Bhagavad-gita 7.10 Krishna explains that He is “the original seed of all existences.” Later in Bhagavad-gita14.4, Krishna stresses this point by mentioning that He is “the seed-giving father.”

Animal life is characterized by constant fear.

Material life ends in failure because as they say, “You can’t take it with you.”

Krishna says that there is no other performer than the three modes of material nature.

Bhagavad-gita2.55 says one in the transcendental consciousness gives up all desires for sense gratification, not that he gives up all sense gratification. We should direct our desires to hearing and chanting the holy name and service to the spiritual master with the understanding that Krishna is nondifferent from His holy name.

We can pray for holy name to enlighten us with this understanding of His nature.

Krishna explains to Arjuna that his idea was very limited.

Ted Turner was going to give a billion dollars in charity, and he did so to UNICEF. He also bought up a lot of prairie to protect buffalo which were becoming extinct. Now if he was Krishna consciousness, he would have protected cows.

Seeing the ability of the Vedic literature to give a consistent explanation for what we see in this world, we can have faith that its description of the spiritual world could also be accurate.

Hanan Prabhu:

Prayer is more than just what you generally think of. It is opening your mind and filling up your heart.

Prayers can make miracles in your life.I have experienced this. Prayer is a primary devotional act in my life these days.

My elder brother in Israel said, “During the two-week war in 1973 I prayed like I never prayed in my life and I felt so protected.”

A Sufi poet said, “every heart will get what it prays for the most.”

Prayer is not easy because our ego gets in the way.

Bhagavad-gita is in one sense a book about transformation.

Arjuna had what psychologists would call a breakdown.

Bhagavad-gita is set on a battlefield because Krishna wanted to show even in the most difficult situation if we have knowledge of yoga we will be victorious.

As the three primary colors produce all varieties of colors, from the three modes of material nature all material varieties are produced.

Prayer in the mode of ignorance is to harm others. Prayer in the mode of passion is for our own benefit. Prayer in the mode of goodness is to benefit others, to transform ourselves, or to just glorify God. Prayers to do the will of God are transcendental.

Prayer is not mere recitation of words although that is part of it. Srila Prabhupada gave the example of the parrot, who can be trained to chant “Hare Krishna” but does not do so when attacked by a cat.

I saw someone running with fear on his face who disappeared into the bushes, and the policemen who followed him and then arrested him. I was a little disturbed, so I decided to pray for him, the policemen, and myself. Several months later, someone I recognized came to do hours for Krishna Lunch as community service. I asked what was his offense, and he said, “running from the police.” Then I remembered how I knew him.

Love without service is not real love. It is still about me.

The taste a devotee gets in the beginning is like a free trial given by a company hoping you get attached to their product.

One businessman told Prithu Prabhu he took Krishna consciousness seriously when he read Bhagavad-gita2.40 and learned there was no loss in devotional service.

Q: Do you have example of your plans being frustrated by Krishna and it turned out for the better?

Comment by Kalakantha Prabhu: I was on the town council of LaCrosse. A redneck guy ran against me in the next election. I lost by one vote. If my wife voted for me, I would have won. Rtadhvaja Swami then said we need someone in Gainesville, and I was free to go, so I did.

Additional comments on classes:

comment by Naomi: So God does not do anything in the spiritual world. He just enjoys?

comment by Nicholas: One devotee explained that everything is easy in the beginning in devotional service because we are coming up to the level we were at in our previous life. Then there is sort of a plateau.

comment by Mikey: I find when I go on harinama sankirtana I am forced to participate and I get so inspired it fuels me for another week. Therefore I always go out on Friday and chant on the corner with the devotees from Alachua.

comment by Nicholas: I decided I would just talk about spiritual things. It annoyed some of my friends. Some of them it still annoys so I do not associate with them. Others, however, who developed a taste for talking about spiritual things, now search me out for such talks.

From an evening discussion with sharing of inspiring moments:

Varangi Radha Devi Dasi: I have been noticing that my life is really empty without the devotees.

Michael from New Vrindavan: Krishna was been taking care of us since time immemorial. Why won’t He take care of us now?

Haripriya: I have been just trying to hear the holy name, and it has made me very inspired.

—–

ye yatha mam prapadyante
tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
mama vartmanuvartante
manusyah partha sarvasah

[Lord Sri Krishna said:] “As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pritha.” (Bhagavad-gita4.11)

Travel Journal#11.3: Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Gainesville, and Alachua
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 3
By Krishna-kripa das
(February 2015, part one)

Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Gainesville, and Alachua
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on February 22, 2015)

What I Went and What I Did

February started out with a full day of festivities in Alachua and Gainesville celebrating the all auspicious appearance of Lord Nityananda, a principal associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who greatly assisted Him in spreading the chanting of the holy name throughout India and beyond. After chanting at Krishna Lunch for a week, I joined a party of ten devotees going to chant and help distributed Krishna food at Tallahassee’s First Friday. Then I stayed in Tallahassee, chanting at Lake Ella on the weekend and behind the Florida Statue University library on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Then Wednesday afternoon I took the bus to Jacksonville and attended the nama-hatta program at Amita Keli Devi Dasi and Lovelesh’s place. I was happy to see a couple students from the campus there as well. Then I chanted with Amrita Keli and devotees from Krishna Club on Thursday and Friday, advertising Friday’s four-hour kirtana which was held in the student union ballroom. Saturday, Valentine’s Day, I chanted with Dorian at a new venue for us in Jacksonville, the Riverside Arts Market. In the evening I attended a nama-hatta program of Jacksonville devotees at a local Hindu temple whereKalakantha Prabhu gave a lecture on family life in Krishna consciousness, Ekendra and Tulasi-priya sang beautiful bhajans, and many Indian ladies and their kids danced.

I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures, quotes from great spiritual teachers preceding him in his line, including Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura, a nice realization on harinama from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, words on Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s appearance day, from Caturatma, Kalakantha, Tamohara, and Hanan Prabhus, and much more.

Thanks to Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi for her pictures of First Friday.

Insights

February 22–27: Gainesville

February 28 – March 3: Tallahassee

March 4: Gainesville

March 5 – March 6: Jacksonville

March 7 – April 8: Florida (Gainesville, Alachua, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa)

April 9–11: Washington, D.C.

April 12: Albany

April 13–15: New York City

April 16: Toronto

April 17–23: Ireland

April 24–25: London

April 26: Radhadesh

April 27: Amsterdam (King’s Day)

Lord Nityananda’s Auspicious Appearance Day

For much of Lord Nityananda’s Appearance Day and the days after I was feeling gratitude for Lord Nityananda making the chanting of the holy names available to us.

After mangala-arati that day we chanted two verses containing twelve names of Lord Nityananda, which I memorized before the day ended.

nityanando ‘vadhuty indur

vasudha prana vallabha

jahnava jivita patih

krishna-prema-prada prabhu

padmavati-suta sriman

saci-nandana purvaja

bhavon matta jagat-trata

rakta-gaura-kalevaram

(1) Nityananda: the embodiment of eternal bliss

(2) Avadhuty-induh: the moon of all avadhutas (renunciates)

(3) Vasudha-prana-vallabha:the beloved of the life-breath of his wife Vasudha
(4) Jahnavi-jivita-patih: the husband enthusing Jahnavi with life

(5) Krishna-prema-prada: bestower of ecstatic love for Krishna

(6) Prabhu: the Lord and Master of the devotees

(7) Padmavati-suta: the dear son of Padmavati

(8) Sriman: full of splendrous transcendental majesty

(9) Saci-nandana-purvaja: older brother of Sacimata´s son (Lord Caitanya)

(10) Bhavonmatta: maddened with overwhelming ecstatic emotions

(11) Jagat-trata: the savior of the universe

(12) Rakta-gaura-kalevara: having a complexion that is golden tinged with red

In Alachua, it was wonderful the devotees offered the deities a new outfit, and at the bathing ceremony of the small Gaura Nitai deities, everyone got to take part.

I learned more details than before about Lord Nityananda Prabhu from Caturatma Prabhu’s class.

I just record a very few of these below as I was busy in the kitchen washing cilantro and cutting curd. Ever since I was a new devotee helping with the feast was always part of a festival day for me, so I decided to do that. I also rolled a few puris for the feast in Krishna House as well.

I was extremely happy that Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi (in the dark blue sari), who is in charge of special events at Krishna House, organized a harinama between the Gainesville midday program for Lord Nityananda and the evening program in Alachua. I think she was intending to just go around the block, but I suggested we go down University Avenue across from the University where there are some shops.

Then Dhameshvar Prabhu (front and center) suggested we go in the bars and restaurants in the mood of Lord Nityananda. The devotees were so enthusiastic we continued chanting in the temple when we returned.

I was so happy I danced a lot.

You can see a few highlights in this video (http://youtu.be/yQsYZI5HfIU):

Krishna Lunch

On rainy day we chant and serve under the library walkway.

Purusartha Prabhu, on the harmonium, began chanting with us again twice a week.

First Friday

At the Krishna Dinner at First Friday in Tallahassee I met a girl named Michele who goes to Krishna Lunch at UF and her boyfriend Zak who goes to Krishna Lunch at FSU – a Krishna Lunch couple spanning two universities! They sat with some devotees from Krishna House in Gainesville and were comparing the different halavas. They liked the halava at FSU better as it sticks together more. Bassil, who also sampled both halavas, agreed. If only every campus had Krishna Lunch!

We chanted sitting down for awhile with Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi leading beautifully.

Chelsea talked to people and distributed some books.

Then we did a walking kirtana around the entire place.

Syamala took this rare picture of Mike and his four-armed form.

Syamala and Bhaktin Chelsea had a great time dancing in front.

Mikey told me later he had many inspiring experiences distributing books.

Chanting at Lake Ella

On a sunny and warm Saturday I chanted at Lake Ella for three hours joined by Bassil, who was visiting from Gainesville to see if he might be better situated here in Tallahassee. Nama Kirtan Prabhu joined us at the beginning and end and Karl at the end. At least a couple of people liked the music, which impressed me as none of us are real musicians. One young lady who passed us said she might return for one of our free vegan cookies, and I joking replied if she did not, we would track her down. When she passed by again, just a few minutes before we packed up, going in the opposite direction, I was wondering how she would get her cookie as we could easily leave before she returned. As it turned out, we had packed up and were walking to the car, when she came back. We gave her a cookie, and several of us talked to her. She ended up taking an invitation to Krishna Lunch FSU and five cookies for her five friends. Many people sat in hearing range of us, but there was no sign of aversion to our music, just several cases of appreciation and one or two of suspicion by passersby. Bassil gave a long-haired older man a Beyond Birth and Death, saying it was the best book he ever read. Bassil and Karl helped distribute cookies. It was a good day.

Chanting at Florida State University

I met one girl who took a class on religions of Southeast Asia, which included Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. She was attracted to Bhagavad-gita and Science of Self-Realization, and would have given a donation and taken them if I had a credit card reader. She said she would go to the ATM and return but she never did.

One young man came up to me because he heard my kirtana. He had gone to Krishna Lunch the previous year when Daru was doing it and had chanted kirtana with Daru at our place, thus he was attracted by the singing. He was majoring in philosophy. I encounter more philosophy majors at this school than any others. He spoke about coming to the Krishna Lunch again and coming to the Bhakti Yoga Club meeting that evening.

One Chinese girl who came to several programs a couple weeks earlier came to our Tuesday Bhagavad-gita class. I stressed how bhakti-yoga was the easiest yoga as you can engage your natural talents in the service of the Lord. You can do music for the Lord, or art, or cooking. As I knew she had a masters degree in accounting, I also said you can do accounts for Krishna. After prasadam she stayed for over an hour helping with the Tallahassee Krishna Lunch accounting and giving several practical suggestions. It is actually so rare that people are so enthusiastic to immediately apply what they hear in class it was inspiring to see. She also brought some vegetarian Chinese dumplings which we boiled and offered to Krishna, and included as part of the evening meal. When she left I gave her a few vegan cookies for her roommates. Actually devotional service is so valuable if thatgirl becomes a pure devotee of Krishna, all our outreach activities in Tallahassee over manyyears are a success.

As I was waiting for Nama Kirtan Prabhu to pick me up and take me to the Jacksonville bus, I kept singing and one young lady happily stop by who had gone to Krishna Lunch before and even cooked for the previous Higher Taste restaurant run by the devotees from South America. She had nice memories of that and the devotees, even though she never got paid for her work. She liked my vegan cookies, and I gave her a few to go to make her happy.

Chanting at University of North Florida

Some devotees from the University of North Florida Krishna Club and I chanted on the green for several hours for two days to promote the club and their four-hour kirtana event.

The first day I chanted by myself and also with Amita Krishna, the Hare Krishna chaplain at UNF, and several students for seven and a half hours. Once one student came by on her skate board, and listened for a while.

Then she sat on her skate board, reading Visakha’s illustrated Bhagavad-gita, as I continued to chant.

When Dorian and I were chanting this young lady

did a crude sketch of us.

Rae Jeana, the president of Krishna Club, and Dorian came out both days for several hours themselves. She sang and played the drum and Dorian played the karatalas (http://youtu.be/d0k1ty SgDn7k):

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and after I left, Rae Jeana, Dorian, and a friend of theirs sang for more than an hour before our Krishna Club meeting.

At Krishna Club we had more new people than usual. These included a young lady who was friend of a regular attender and a young Indian gentleman who had been to the Wednesday nama-hatta but never to the campus program. The ladytold me that the friend who brought her to Krishna Club previously gave her Radhanath Swami’s The Journey Home, and that she had already read 70 pages of it and was fascinated. Kara, a regular attender, for the first time led the few minutes of hatha-yoga in the beginning, and did sovery confidently and efficiently.

I chanted my favorite tune in the kirtana, onethat is beautiful to hear but is difficult to sing, and I was happily surprised to hear how well the students chanted in response. After the prasadam and before the lecture, Amrita Keli, our Hare Krishna chaplain at UNF, decided it would be good to go to a vigil happening just then at the Gandhi statue in front of our room to protest the recent and widely publicized cruel killing of three Muslims by an atheistic antagonist. We held candles and different people spoke. I did not speak as it is a delicate situation, and I was not sure exactlywhat to say. Amrita, from her campus interfaith work, knew many people involved in the quiet demonstration.

I spoke on that night’sBhagavad-gita verse describing lust which is later transformed to wrath which is the all devouring sinful enemy of the world. In the course of the lecture Imentioned how that assassin was moved by anger arising unfulfilled selfish desires to perform such a cruel act. Devotional service to the Lord, as a side effect, destroys selfish desires that lead to anger, but those who are too atheistically inclined will not perform it, and so they remain subject to anger and its destructive consequences.

One result of attending the vigil was the program went late and we did not have time for the second kirtana, which is a nice feature of our program at UNF’s Krishna Club. Other such programsin other places often only have one kirtana. Srila Prabhupada’s original programs at 26 2^ndAvenue, were kirtana, lecture, and then another kirtana. Sankirtana is the dharma of this age, and it is good to have as much of it as possible.

The second day I chanted on the campus, Richie, a guitarist, who previously had no relationship with Krishna Club, played along with Rae Jeana and Dorian(http://youtu.be/dge5qpxhuiQ):

Later another boy joined Richie in playing guitar with us. When we left Richie said he would like to play with us again and later that day came to our four-hour kirtana event.

University of North Florida is my favorite school to chant at because students from the Krishna Club always join me in chanting. Besides that, new students also often join us and listen, sing, talk with us, or play instruments.

Devotees from Gainesville and Alachua came for the four-hour kirtana event organized by the Krishna Club at the University of North Florida.

Rae Jeana, the president of the Krishna Club, spoke in appreciation of kirtana, “I find I am often lost in the tangle of my mind, and I see other people in the same situation. By the chanting, I become free from this tangle. I find I connect with Krishna, and soI feel am never alone. I also feel through the chanting that I connect with others.”

Hari Priya, daughter of Yadubaraand Visakha Prabhus, said she had been chanting her whole life, but just in the last few months she feels more intimately connected with the holy name. She explained that recently she has been chanting kirtana in different countries, and hasnoticed how universal the chanting is. It does not depend on race, religion, or nationality. All kinds of people get caught up in the kirtana, and through the holy name they experience theyare all connected.

One young lady silently listened to the kirtana. During dinner she talked to Mother Akuti. Afterward she sang softly in addition to just listening. Just ten minutes before the end, Amrita asked if she wanted to dance, and she said yes, so Amrita broughther into the dance. I thanked her for coming after it was over and asked her if she had come to Krishna Club activities before. She had not. She just found a flyer on the floor of the library and came to the kirtana event. I gave her a flyer for the club and told her the address of Kalakantha Prabhu’s program at the Hindu temple the next day. Devotees told me later that she came to the Krishna Club meeting the next week, and that she is talented lady, playing five instruments.

Gauranga Prasada Prabhu, playing the harmonium, started off the evening with beautiful tunes.

Matt, who has been coming to Krishna Club for over two years, led a Mayapuri’s tune he learned on the guitar.

Two young ladies who regularly attend Krishna Club smiled, chanted, and clapped, while sitting in the audience.

Then when the devotees on the stage invited others to join them, they took advantage of the chance, and blissfully chanted on the stage with the other devotees. Madhava Prabhu, on the far right, who loves devotional music, came all the way from LaCrosse to help out.

The young and the young at heart danced.

Students danced.

Ladies danced.

Even a few guys danced on the left.

A couple danced.

Amrita danced with some very enthusiastic Indian girls.

Even the prasadam servers danced.

Kalakantha Prabhu led the final kirtana, inspiring many people to dance.

People danced in a circle, coming into the center and back out.

People would swing each other around.

At the end of the final kirtana, everyone was dancing.

The Krishna Club regulars came up in front at the end of the program.

A girl who had come to our Thursday program for the first time, being inspired by a friend who is one of our regulars, also came to the Friday kirtana program, staying almost the whole time. When she left, she told me to tell her when I would be singing on the campus green again because she wanted to join me.

About 130 people came to the kirtana, fewer than we hoped, but the people who did come had a wonderful time, and many stayed for many hours. Thus it was a great success, and Amrita was talking about doing two this semester instead of just one.

Vaishnava Prabhu from New Vrindavan made wonderful vegan spaghetti, and people likedtheprasadam.

All in all, it was a great event.

Chanting at the Riverside Arts Market

In other parts of the world I go on harinama every day, but when I am in Gainesville, I take the weekend off, primarily because I do not know of places where there would be a lot of people on the weekend. I feel a little bad about that, so when I had a chance to spend Saturday in Jacksonville, a far bigger city, I took advantage of it. When Dorian and I got to the Riverside Arts Market we were surprised that the person who greeted the marketguests was an older man who had attended our four-hour kirtana program the night before and loved it. I gave him the invitation to our Saturday programs in Jacksonville, and asked him the best place for us to chant where we would not disturb the vendors. We settled on a sunny place between the parking lot and the market entrance. Many favorable people came by. The first person I talked to knew about our event the night before, and asked how it was. She took an invitation for the weekly programs on the campus. I met one guy who remembered talking with me at the Jacksonville Ratha-yatra in September of 2013. We tried to encourage him to stay and chant with us, but he had different excuses to go and do something else.

For more pictures click on the link below:

https://plus.google.com/photos/103872792410945983719/albums/6116963302228113377?authkey=CLePga6Xtdrz3gE

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from purport to “Nitai Pada Kamala”: “If one actually wants to enter into the dancing party of Radha-Krishna, he must firmly catch hold of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda.”

from a lecture on the Appearance Day of Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura:

The most important of the so-called followers of Lord Caitanya are the jati-gosai, who have created a caste of goswamis. Such an idea is notpart of the traditionalculture.

Although the brahmana community had rejected Sanatana and Rupa Goswamis, Lord Caitanya made them Goswamis, the topmost level of brahminical culture. Thus the hereditary brahmanas do not like Load Caitanya.

Tirtha Maharaja, who was formerly with the Ramakrishna Mission, became an early disciple who helped Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura greatly.

In 1922 when I met Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura, he said “Why don’t you preach this Caitanya cult in the Western countries?” That was a memorable day. I talked in so many ways, “Who will hear your Cbaitanya’s message? We are a dependent country.”

I was married in 1918 and had my first child 1921, so in 1922 when I was convinced by my Guru Maharaja, “Here is the proper person who can give a real religious idea” I considered that this great personality was asking me to preach, but I was married, and he did not say I should give up my married life.

In 1928, there was Kumbha-mela, and the Gaudiya Matha people came to Allahabad, and sought my support, and started a center there in Allahabad. Because I was always thinking of them, I was very happy to meet them again.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had 50 of his 64 temples in Bengal, and then others in Madras, Puri, Allahabad, etc.

I wrote him in December 1936, “I could not do any direct service for you as a householder. Is there anything I can do for you?” He replied, “Try to preach whatever you have learned from me in the English language. That will do good to you and others.” It was the same instruction he gave me in 1922.

Because he desired, only thing is I believed in his words, cent per cent.

This movement should go on. This should not be neglected. Try sincerely to follow the rules and regulations. They are not difficult. They are simple, but because you are trained differently . . . . By the grace of Lord Caitanya I am hopeful that this movement can be accepted by everyone. This movement should be pushed on.

If we struggle hard to push on this movement, even if we do not get any followers, Krishna will be satisfied, and our goal is to satisfy Krishna. Our acaryas will be satisfied. Guru Maharaja will be satisfied. And by their being satisfied, Krishna will be satisfied.

There is no question of stopping anything. The question is purifying. Everything must be utilized in Krishna’s service.

I am simply a postal peon just delivering the message of my Guru Maharaja.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.19 at Vrindavan on September 16, 1976:

One is not a brahmanaunless he acts as a brahmana. This is the Vedic system.

They have discovered nuclear weapon, but not something to counteract it.

Hitler had the nuclear weapon but did not use it because of its mass destruction, but the Americans got it and used it against Japan.

Srila Raghunatha Das Goswami:

fromSri Stavavali,Volume 4, Sri Visakhanandabhidha-stotra (Prayers with Names that are the Bliss of Visakha):

“Text 124

“Lord Madhava is famous in the three worlds
because His name is connected to the name of Radha.
Sri Radha is famous in the world
because Her name is connected to the name of Lord Madhava.

“Text 125

“Just as the sweet fragrance of musk perfume
is not different from the substance musk,
just as moonlight is not different from the moon, and just as the
beautiful blossoms of a tree are
not different from the tree,
in the same way Sri Radha is not different from Lord Krishna.”

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura:

from Saranagati, Sri Nama-mahatmya, verse 7:

“Blossoming fully, the flower of the holy name takes me to Vraja and reveals to me His own love-dalliance. This Name gives to me my own eternal spiritual body, keeps me right by Krishna’s side, and completely destroys everything related to this mortal frame of mine.”

Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura:

“Let me not desire anything but the highest good for my worst enemy.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for February 2”:

“Going on harinamais a
delightful experience. At first
a devotee may be reluctant,
thinking he is tired or
he or she may be afraid they
will be mocked by the public.
But once they get out there
and sing with the group,
the spiritual energy
takes over. The pleasure-
giving potency infuses one with
bliss, and Krishna gives courage
to endure any unfriendly
reception from the nondevotees.
The more regularly one goes
out one gains confidence
and wants to do it every day.”

Caturatma Prabhu:

from a lecture on Lord Nityananda’s Appearance Day:

Lord Nityananda Prabhu did not do sankirtana in just a few villages around his home or just the nine islands of Navadvipa, but in every town and village.

The members of the kirtana party of Nityananda Prabhu did not eat for three months. They were absorbed in chanting and dancing with Lord Nityananda Prabhu.

Children who chanted the name of Nityananda were so overpowered by ecstatic devotion seven people could not restrain them. Some went for a month without eating, being absorbed in ecstasy.

on Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura’s appearance:

Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura introduced innovations wearing proper shoes and use automobiles that we not part of traditional Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

He was the fourth of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s ten children.

He had the thirty-two auspicious characteristics of a great soul.

At six months it is time for a child to take solid food and that is celebrated with the grain ceremony in the Vedic culture.

Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura’s grain ceremony was celebrated on the cart of Lord Jagannatha on the day of Ratha-yatra when the cart stopped in front of his house.

The astrologer all agreed that his chart said “brilliant preacher of sanatana-dharma.”

He was the eleven generation in the line of Narottama dasa Thakura’s father, a very auspicious family.

He started worshiping the Kurma-sila at the age of seven and maintained it through his youth, not distracted by adolescence, which takes devotion.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura noted that his son Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura heard his lectures with rapt attention.

He read all the books in the Sanskrit college library in Calcutta.

Jagannatha Dasa Babaji Maharaja encouraged him to produce a calendar, panjika,for the Gaudiya Vaishnavas.

One can visit the dhama as a tourist, seeing this place and that place, or a pilgrim, serving the residents of the dhama.

Gaurakisora Das Babaji Maharaj observing the renunciation of Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura and his vow to chant many holy names said, “I see the renunciation of Rupa and Raghunath in my Prabhu.”

Kalakantha Prabhu:

Psychologists say we act compassionately toward those less fortunate than ourselves because we want people to help us when we are in an unfortunate condition.

Thoreau said most people lead a life of quiet desperation.

Spiritual life means addressing the issue of inevitable suffering and not postponing it.

Yoga means to live our life today so we come to peace with existence.

When we return home after seven years, although all our cells have changed, people still recognize us and feel affection for us because we are different from our body.

To share knowledge of a higher happiness is a compassion that is beyond any sectarian religious idea. It is a noble idea throughout history.

Sometimes we have an idea that God is a vindictive person ready to zap us at any moment. God is not mad if we go away, just sorry.

His outreach to humanity through His representatives and His literature are proof of God’s compassion.

Nityananda is Krishna’s first expansion to reach out to humanity.

He would go everywhere and anywhere and approach anyone and everyone and invite them to chant the Holy Name, even though the people he approached had not previously shown any interest in anything spiritual.

If you are shy, go into the closet and chant.

I can sit here and tell you how nice the chanting is, but when you try it yourself you can see.

The Wellness Center reported that depression rose 60% and suicide went up 100%. They found it was due to social media. People think they are connected, but they are not really connected.

Chanting brings peace of mind and culturing knowledge brings peace of mind.

Q (by Ananda Seva): People think material prosperity is evidence of God’s favor.

A: Any parent knows you cannot always fulfill the kids’ desires. You have to discipline them. Discipline is not always what the kids want but it is what the kids need. Thus adversity is also God’s favor.

Sudama, the garland maker of Mathura who gave Krishna and Balarama garlands, asked the Lord for the same benedictions as Maharaj Parikshit asked for, complete attachment to the unlimited Lord Krishna, association with His devotees, and friendly relations with all living beings.

When we chant it is just ourselves, Krishna, and His mercy.

If we are either angry with ourselves or proud of ourselves, it will be difficult to have friendly dealings with other people.

Not wanting respect but respecting everyone is the strategy for having friendship with all beings.

Saying anything in the name of honesty can be violence.

Diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to hell and have them look forward to the trip.

To be a devotee means to always respond in a friendly way. There is a saying “to disagree without being disagreeable.”

Canakya Pandit lists four ways of dealing with a rascal. Start with sweet words and try to understand his point of view. Everyone has the potential to do the right thing and if we start in the right way, they may respond rightly. If that fails, offer them a gift to bring them to a position of a compromise.

It takes a while for us to realize that sense gratification will not make us happy so it is not a surprise that people have difficulty.

False humility is the back side of conceit.

Comment by Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi: The acaryas explain that Krishna dealt more harshly with the garment seller in Mathura than usual because He was with Balarama and He considered the garment seller’s impudent refusal to give in charity was offensive to Balarama [who is most respectable, being both the Lord and a great devotee].

Evil convinces us this material world is not enjoyable.

One aspiring devotee in New Zealand decided to join ashram but he had never had the experience of sex, so he wanted to do it once before he moved in. He started the evening by taking an attractive girl he knew out to a bar. He was just sitting on the bar stool with the girl when someone came into the bar and punched him in the head, and he fell to the ground unconscious. He had to go the hospital. When he recovered from his wounds, the first thing he did was to join the ashram. He had enough of the material world.

In just 6% or 7% of the Bhagavad-gita verses Krishna talks about himself.

from Valentine’s Day lecture on Bg. 3.35:

Once Srila Prabhupada was teaching some of the early devotees how to cook. Mukunda opened the door to the kitchen, interrupting the lesson, and Srila Prabhupada asked him what he wanted. He just said he wanted to see his wife. Srila Prabhupada replied, “Do you want to go back to Godhead or back to wife?” Later Mukunda inquired, “Isn’t there love in Krishna consciousness?”

Prabhupada replied, “Love is for Krishna.”

Duty is a foundational principal in Bhagavad-gita. Also in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, first of all, Maharaja Pariksit inquired about the duty of man at the end of life.

Krishna does not expect us to immediately love Him: “If you cannot ﬁx your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga.In this way develop a desire to attain Me. If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga,then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage. If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated. If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.” (Bhagavad-gita 12.9–12)

Love for Krishna is dormant in the heart and is awakened by hearing and chanting about Him, but it is a gradual process until it is fully manifested. During that time, our relationships with others can be done in a way that nurtures our relationship with Krishna.

Krishna explains to the gopis that there are three kinds of lovers: (1) those who do not reciprocate when loved, (2) those who reciprocate when loved, and (3) those who love whether reciprocated with or not. In the last category are true friends, parents, and saints.

One cannot execute the duties of household life if there is no love just the warrior cannot execute his duty of fighting if there is no anger.

How can we be selfless in our relationship with Krishna without being selfless in our relationships with others?

Nothing has provided me with more experiences that have helped me in my service to Srila Prabhupada than my being married and raising a family.

Comment by Ekendra Prabhu: This verse about doing our own duty seems to indicate that we must have someone in our life who can enlighten us about our duty otherwise we will not have a clue what to do.

If our children know they are loved unconditionally that is the most powerful force in encouraging them to do the right thing.

Comment by Dhira Prabhu: Devotees asked the Srila Prabhupada about what to do in the case of a nuclear war. He advised them to chant Hare Krishna, explaining in the case, “The kirtana starts here and goes on in the spiritual world.”

If we make our duties to Krishna the prime duty in our lives, then somehow or other we will have time for the other things.

Nanda Dasi:

Although people make a show of being united, in different ways their diverging interests eventually become manifest.

Comment by Syamala Kishori Devi Dasi: As souls we are eternal, knowledgeable, and full of bliss, and so we are very much similar despite our bodily differences.

Q (Kalakantha Prabhu): When Srila Prabhupada was here, there was a great deal of unity. Since then there have developed schisms over GBC actions that some could not accept, What to do about this?

A: We have to focus on our points of unification. Wait for the tide to change. Our points of unity are so strong that in time the differences will be revealed to be inconsequential.

The Precetas were all individuals and did different things just as you at Krishna House do different things, cooking, serving out lunch, cleaning.

Comment by Tulasirani Devi Dasi: When you are dancing in kirtana together, all differences melt away, and I have experienced that.

It is said Krishna swallows the fire of disagreements between His devotees out of his compassion for them.

Comment by Dhameshvar: It is good to stick with our group in the beginning. Later when we mature we can deal more individually because it is not that everyone in ISKCON is good and everyone outside ISKCON is bad.

Tamohara Prabhu:

The entire of village of Ekacakra was absorbed in love of God seeing Lord Nityananda enact the pastimes of Krishna.

Laksmipati Tirtha Swami asked that Nitai be his traveling companion.

All the expansions of the Lord have their own personalities. Lord Nityananda was funny, childlike, and without material desires.

Srila Prabhupada explained we must get spiritual strength from Balaram (Nityananda) and Lord Gauranga to advance in Krishna consciousness.

If we approach the degraded people to give them the holy mercy, Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda will be merciful to us.

Madhai and Jagai were like a street gang. Because they were full engaged in sinful activities, they did not have time to criticize devotees.

Because Jagai advised his brother not to strike Lord Nityananda again, Lord Caitanya became merciful and blessed him with love of Godhead and revealed his Vishnu form. Seeing the mercy Madhai received, Madhai appealed to Lord Caitanya for mercy, and Lord Caitanya advised him to take shelter of the feet of Lord Nityananda, which he did, and Lord Nityananda embraced and forgave him.

Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda continue to extend their mercy through the chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

Comment by Advaita Acarya Prabhu: Until the 17^th century in Vrindavan, there was a debate about whether Gaura Nitai could be worshiped on the same altar as Radha Krishna. Baladeva Vidyabhusana, with his commentary on Govinda-bhasya, resolved this.

Subuddhi Krishna Prabhu:

The powerful lion often has but one club. Similarly Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji Maharaja had one disciple, Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura.

Dina Bandhu Prabhu:

We are better off in doing outreach to be situated in an ashram, either as a householder or renunciate, or in other words, to be committed to a spouse or to be committed to practicing celibacy, because then our minds will be peaceful.

Hanan Prabhu:

One Christian who preaches to gang members says that we have circles of compassion. For example, for some people compassion extends to their immediate family, while for others it extends to the whole community.

I encountered a man in a place of pilgrimage in India who said he came to feed the ants. Because it was a holy place he wanted to feed the ants there as a good deed.

Do you have examples of compassion touching your heart? Say briefly.

Mikey: It touched me how Mother Caitanya first invited me on harinama.

Ananda Seva Prabhu: I feel God is compassionate to me because I am surrounded by a lot of people I did not really deserve to be associated with.

?: One study show homeless people with less are willing to give more.

Rasa-raja Prabhu: I feel grateful for all my mentors.

?: I have been traveling since high school. I felt grateful for the many people who have helped me along the way.

?: I got a book at a music festival.

Mother of Gauranga Prasada Prabhu: I am grateful I can receive compassionate messages.

Tulasi-priya Devi: If you would subtract all the compassion I have received this life I would just be a pile of ashes and not a real person like you see here.

Brahma-tirtha Prabhu (formerly Bob Cohen, who inquires in Perfect Questions, Perfection Answers): I am composed of the compassion I received. I had a spark of

interest, and Srila Prabhupada fanned it, and I am grateful for that.

Prahlada explained to his classmates that the Lord was present everywhere but that we have to please Him to see Him everywhere.

I was explaining to my father that in India people are really happy. Although we think wealth, fame, and beauty are causes of happiness, we see that people who have these are not always happy. Marilyn Monroe committed suicide out of loneliness.

Travel Journal#11.2: Florida
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 2
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2015, part two)

Florida
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on February 4, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

The second half of January I remained in the Gainesville for the first week. That Monday, January 19, devotees from Gainesville and Alachua chanted in the Martin Luther King Parade in Gainesville. The rest of the month I visited Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Tampa, especially to chant at the campuses there and attend the programs we have for students at University of North Florida, Florida State University, and University of South Florida. I also chanted at Lake Ella while in Tallahassee and in Ybor City, a night spot in Tampa on the last Friday of January. The last day of the month devotees from Gainesville, Alachua, and Tampa chanted at the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa.

I share quotes and notes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures. I also include an excerpt from a poem by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami on the introduction of counter beads in ISKCON. I share notes on classes by senior devotees in Alachua and Gainesville such as Mother Akuti and Kalakantha Prabhu, and the newer devotees at Krishna House. I also have some notes on a Skype class by Prema Sindhu Prabhu which I heard while staying with Vijay, a middle-aged Indian devotee, who is based in Tampa.

Thanks toLovelesh and Nama Kirtan Prabhu for their kind donations. Thanks to Vijay of Tampa for letting me stay at his place and for giving me rides. Thanks to Krishna Kishor, generally known as Kishor, for driving me around Tampa and joining me on harinama and college outreach.

Itinerary

February 4–5: Gainesville

February 6–10: Tallahassee

February 11–13: Jacksonville

February 14: Gainesville

February 15: Ocala Rainbow Region Gathering

February 16–17: Gainesville

February 18: Orlando

February 19: Tampa

February 20: Orlando

February 21: Jacksonville Monster Truck Rally Harinama

February 22–27: Gainesville

February 28 – March 3: Tallahassee

March 4: Gainesville

March 5 – March 6: Jacksonville

March 7 – April 8: Florida (Gainesville, Alachua, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa)

April 9–11: Washington, D.C.

April 12: Albany

April 13–15: New York City

April 16: Toronto

April 17–23: Ireland

April 24–25: London

April 26: Radhadesh

April 27: Amsterdam (King’s Day)

Martin Luther King Parade

There was a greater Krishna presence than ever at this year’s Martin Luther King Parade. A larger group of devotees from Alachua joined us than usual, and they bought a very powerful sound system so I think everyone in the parade could hear Hare Krishna. We also had ten devotees from Gainesville, more than ever before.

I parked the van in the middle of the parade route as I did not think I had time to park it at the end. As I approached the beginning of the parade, a young man on a bicycle recognized me as a Hare Krishna, and asked if we were going to be in the parade. He was happy to hear we were, and asked if he could join us, and I said yes.

He happily rode his bike alongside the chanting devotees for at least a third of the parade.

While we were getting ready to start the march, an older Unitarian Universalist lady who spoke to me, said a couple of times, “I like your religion.”

One young Afro-American lady enjoyed clapping to our music.

Here is a little video so you can see what it was like (http://youtu.be/teRBFp32Gc0):

A perennial problem in parades is keeping up with the people ahead of us. I saw the gap widening between ourselves (the lastgroup)and the party ahead of us. I thought we should move faster and tighten up the gap, but I really dislike telling people what to do. So I decided to dance in front of our party and thus bridge the gap myself. Some of the male devotees behind me also began dancing in a similar way.

One University of Florida journalism student took many pictures of the dancing devotees, and Franco and I spoke to her briefly. She said she would submit the photos to the student newspaper, The Alligator. I told her that we understand that all living entities, plants, animals, and human beings, are children of God, and are equal on the spiritual plane. By the congregational glorification of God we can attain that plane of equality. I told her how I had talked to a couple Christian girls at the progressive dinner organized by the U.F. chaplains, and how they sang in the choirs of their churches and that when I explained our tradition teaches the congregational glorification of God is the most powerful spiritual practice, they said “That is what we like most about our church too.” She had never heard of the progressive dinner and thought it would be an interesting event to cover.

After the parade, as I walked back to the van, a middle-aged Afro-American lady said, “You are not going already, are you?”

All the Gainesville devotees were very happy they attended the event, even though we were half an hour late for lunch.

For one new girl named Mary (in the pants above), who works at Krishna Lunch, that harinama was her first, and she was glad she went. We shared out realizations in the van after the event.

Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu (holding the drum above) said, “I like to chant in public a lot more than I like to chant in private. Because when you can get people to participate it is just that much more fun and dynamic. It just opens up the energy more, rather than it being a social thing.”

Syamala Kishori Dasi (wearing the purple sari above) said, “It was fun when they were all dancing with us.”

Franco (in the yellow cadar above) said, “It being Martin Luther King Day the people who would come us to ask up questions I would tell, ‘God is seated in the body of everyone whether they are black or white, so God consciousness means to be respectful of all races because God does not discriminate with race. God will reside in the body of black man, a white man, an Indian, an Asian, a whatever. Racial equality goes hand in hand with God consciousness. That is why we are here honoring Martin Luther King.’ I really liked to be able to connect with people in a meaningful way and relate it back to Krishna consciousness. That was my favorite part.”

The Alachua devotees stayed and chanted for a half hour at the end of the parade. Krishna Keshava Prabhu said that everyone appreciated our presence there. There was no negativity.

Chanting at the Farmers Market

We continued chanting at the Farmers Market on Wednesdays.

One lady (on the left above) danced with us.

Mother Caitanya is always reaching out to others.

Evening Kirtan at Krishna House

Chanting at the University of North Florida

As we were unloading our instruments and books to chant at the University of North Florida campus in Jacksonville, a police lady asked if I was a Hare Krishna. I said yes and asked how she knew about Hare Krishna. She explained she grew up in the neighborhood of our Miami temple in the late 1970s, the property with a lot of fruit trees on it. She remembers that the Krishnas had the same tropical fruits other people had, but they had star fruit in addition. The devotees would give the the kids food and be friendly toward them. The parents warned their children to be cautious dealing with the devotees, but she saw the Hare Krishnas were good people, and she credited her visits to the devotees with making her more trusting of people of different backgrounds, so much so that she married a Jamaican. She told us that at University of North Florida one police officer who was a friend of hers, was given the service of interfacing with the student clubs, and she said she would give our invitation card to her. She further said that new officer is trying to live without red meat and is moving in the direction of being vegetarian.

A new lady named Laura, who has only been coming to the nama-hatta programs for a week, joined Amrita Keli and I chanting on the campus for two hours. Dorian and Youssef, who plays the guitar, joined us midway.

Amrita took a picture of our growing party with Laura’s camera.

Alex, Chad, and Matt also joined us.

Matt, who has been coming to the University of North Florida Krishna Club for over two years, went to the Sacred Sounds event at that campus and liked a tune sung by Kish of the Mayapuris so much he figured out how to play it on the guitar. Matt sang the tune with four other attenders of Krishna Club on the green (http://youtu.be/CvRsAW0zWSc):

I like that school so much because the students are always willing to sing with us.

At the meeting, Laura sang a tune from Mitra Sena’s CD that she learned how to play on the guitar.

I was stressing in my lecture how there is higher taste from devotional activities and on the strength of that one can renounce material activities. I asked the students if they had experiences showing performing devotional activities had a positive effect on their lives.

One girl mentioned how she was in track in school, and they had to run, but she was not in the mood. Their instructor told her to do nine more laps. She decided to pray to Jesus. She found she gained such strength she was passing some of the other girls although previously she did not feel like running.

Mit told how he used to travel an hour and a half each way from Jacksonville to the Alachua Hare Krishna temple for the free feast on Sunday. His friends thought he was crazy. One Sunday, as he was finishing his feast, one devotee serving the drink was asking for volunteers to help clean up. Mit did not want to do it so he said he had to go in 15 minutes. The devotee, Kaliyaphani Prabhu, replied, “Whatever you can do will be sufficient.” Mit realized he was tricked into doing 15 minutes of service, thus he went to the kitchen. He kept his eye on the clock, and but when fifteen minutes passed, he decided to stay just a few minutes more. When he would finish the pots in the sink, the devotees would bring more pots. He ended up staying two hours, and he experienced great happiness from doing the service, which for him, was completely unexpected.

A man and his son visiting the campus helped Amrita Keli bring in the prasadam, and she gave them a plate of Krishna food, which was a very good pasta with vegetables.

Dorian is always willing to lead a second kirtana, and a bunch of people stayed for that.

The students at that program also like to talk among themselves after the formal discussion and before and after the final kirtana, so it often goes late. Still it is auspicious that they value the association of fellow spiritual aspirants.

Chanting at Florida State University in Tallahassee

The first day at FSU I only went out for two hours in an area protected from the rain at the front of a building with classrooms in it. I met a young lady who is graduating this year with an undergraduate degree in religion and psychology. She also studied yoga in Boulder, Colorado, during the summer break. I told her that Bhagavad-gita is full of both religion and psychology, and she should definitely get it. I quoted Bg. 2.62–63 and 6.5–7, and she liked what she heard. She did not have money with her for the book, but I told her where I would be on the campus next week also said that the books are available at the lunch program. I talked to a freshman lady majoring in biology who was vegetarian. She was very excited to hear of the Krishna Lunch all you can eat vegetarian meal for just $5. There were other students interested both in the vegetarian lunch and the classes on mantra meditation, and I was very happy I went out, despite the rain, to try to connect people with Krishna.

The second day on the campus two philosophy majors stopped by the Bhakti Yoga Club table where I was chanting Hare Krishna. I think Krishna must be sending people to me, otherwise what are the odds? Often days go by without seeing a philosophy major. Another young man said “Hare Krishna” as he walked by, and I asked him how he knew about Hare Krishna, and he said his name was Cody and he got Bhagavad-gita and some small books from Damodar, now Dhamesvara Mahaprabhu.

He came that very evening to the meeting of the Bhakti Yoga Club on campus, and he came by my book table and talked with me every day I was in Tallahassee. One of the philosophy majors also came to the meeting of the Bhakti Yoga Club on campus. He wanted to buy the Bhagavad-gita, but he had no money with him. I encouraged him to get it at our Krishna Lunch or the next club meeting. In the interim, he could download Gitabase for his Android phone. One person stopped by the table and asked the price of the soft bound Gita, and I said we just needed a donation enough to cover the price of the book, and he asked if $10 was enough, and I said it was, and so he took. A couple girls walked passed my table, and one said she just found $1 on the ground and asked if I wanted it, so I said yes. I recall three girls who stopped by the table had been to our Tallahassee Krishna Lunch. Two said they loved it and the other said, “They have the best food!” I had some other nice conversations, and it was one of my best days on that campus. Perhaps it was because it was Advaita Acarya’s auspicious appearance day. Nama Kirtan Prabhu invited a girl from the Krishna Lunch to come for the club meeting and she came as well. Even though we found out just half an hour before the meeting our room was not booked for this week, we went to the building and found we could have our meeting in the yoga and meditation room of the same building. We put a sign about the new room where people looking for the original room would spot it, and we had a successful meeting with three people we invited that day. The lesson I learned from that is if you do not stop trying and you try to work with the other devotees, Krishna will reciprocate.

While in Tallahassee I attended a yoga program by Garuda Prabhu, who teaches yoga postures along with an interfaith presentation of spiritual wisdom. He had a full crowd. Several persons introduced themselves as followers of Christ, so when I introduced myself I said I was interested in singing devotional songs and universal wisdom rather than stressing Hare Krishna. We did lots of stretching postures. I am sure there are parts of my body the only get stretched the three times a year I go to Garuda’s program. At the closing, we were asked to share a verse or a realization. I contributed by paraphrasing the verse saying that “One should always remember the Supreme Lord and not forget Him at anytime. All other proscriptions and prohibitions are servants of these two principles.” I was thinking that the Christians would feel included by that. The next person stressed forgiving others, later saying he responded in that way to accommodate the persons who were not theistic. I had forgotten that some of the people attending that event might not be accepting of God. I distributed halava to everyone who would accept it, which was almost everyone, and I gave out a couple invitations to the FSU Krishna Lunch program.

The next day one of the Christian girls who came to Garuda’s program stopped by my book table. She said she had a good time. I praised Garuda for his wisdom, gained from different traditions, and his sincere desire to benefit others. I asked her about her interest in Christianity. She explained the history of her developing faith in Christ. In the course of talking with her I explained I liked the teaching of Christ to love the Lord with body, mind, and soul, and to love thy neighbor as thyself, but in the Bhagavad-gita I learned that in addition to human beings, the animals and plants, are also are children of God and thus neighbors who are meant to be loved. I mentioned how in the Bible, in the beginning in Genesis, the diet given by the Lord for humans is vegetarian, and that the kingdom of God, where the lion will lay down with the lamb, is a place of nonviolence. I mentioned there are some people who say that Jesus was a vegetarian, and in any case, I doubted he would be happy about the millions of animals slaughter in Christian-owned slaughterhouses, a point that she agreed with. At the end I gave her my card and asked her to tell me of her continuing spiritual journey.

I also encountered another person who had gotten Bhagavad-gita from Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu and who was also interested in our programs.

At the campus I encountered two people who had seen me at Lake Ella, one coming to my table to get the cookie she promised to get from me that weekend at the lake but never did.

All together I got thirteen names for the Bhakti Yoga Club mailing list. I was very happy to meet a lot of interested students on the campus, and I look forward to returning in February.

Chanting at Lake Ella

Just as we just began chanting at Lake Ella in Tallahassee, an eccentric old man came by, singing the nursery rhyme “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and collecting donations for his presidential campaign. As he had a purple “jesus is lord” sticker on his guitar, I doubted I could get him to chant “Hare Krishna,” so I asked him if he knew the Christian spiritual “Amazing Grace.” He smiled, and said, “Yes. It is one of my favorite songs!” And so he played it on his guitar and sang, and Nama Kirtan Prabhu played the mrdanga,I played the karatalas,and Carl, the didgeridoo. A young Afro-American couple took pictures, and I stopped playing the karatalasto take this video (http://youtu.be/cVdmTvcxCuI).

He was very happy and felt that God had directed him to come to Lake Ella that day, as he usually sings elsewhere. I felt victorious as I got him to go from singing nursery rhymes to praising the Lord. You never know what will happen on harinama.

The next day I went out by myself. Hardly anyone stopped to talk, and I distributed one cookie in the first two hours. During the last half hour I met some interesting people. One was a double major in psychology and criminal justice. He had a class on leadership in the same building in which we serve lunch, and he was happy to learn of the lunch program. The other amazing enough was a double major in philosophy and criminal justice. He came to Lake Ella to meditate, and he chose a place near me because he thought it would be good for meditation. He had gotten Bhagavad-gita As It Is at a concert in Tampa on the Warp tour, and he also had Journey of Self-Discovery. He gave his email for our Bhakti-yoga Club mailing list and was happy to hear of our Bhagavad-gita class. When I left I took my extra cookies to people seating nearby. Four students relaxing on a blanket all took cookies and were happy to learn of the vegetarian lunch program.

Almost all the students I talked to had not heard of the vegetarian lunch program, and many were happy to learn of it.

I was very happy I took the trouble to go out, and I was happy Krishna sent me some nice people in the end.

Chanting at University of South Florida in Tampa

My friend, Kishor, although often preoccupied with his used car business, likes to share Krishna consciousness. Hekindly canceled his afternoon of appointments to pick me up at the bus and chant with me and later Raju at the University of South Florida in Tampa. We chanted in front of the Marshall Student Center. Kishor proved himself very enthusiastic in distributing invitations to our program. One exchange student from England who got an invitation came to the program and asked many relevant questions. One girl who is into health sciences found out about the program on the internet while searching for a program of self-improvement. She really applied herself to the kirtana, and you could see she was so happy. I encouraged her by telling her, “The more you apply yourself the more realizations you will get. It is really unlimited.” Everyone who came to the program participated in the kirtana, and it was beautiful to see.

For the second kirtana, one new innovation was giving people the option of either standing up and dancing or sitting down and meditating on the sound.

About three people sat down and the rest danced. I think it was good that people had the choice to take the kirtana as a dance or a meditation according to their natural inclination. Raju was happy that everyone who came to the program accepted his friend request on Facebook.

The next day I chanted alone on in front of the library where we had signed up for a table. After our scheduled time for the table ended, I chanted on the lawn in front of the library. As it was Ekadasi, a day extra devotional activities are recommended, I decided to chant until my ride came in 4⅓hours. I had only 5 hours sleep, so after 2½ hours, I was wondering how I would continue. I decided to pray to Lord Caitanya. After that more people came by and stopped to talk, some quite interested, and one who bought a book. One girl in particular was very attracted to hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra and wondered what it was all about. I got several names for the mailing list and passed out invitation to the club. In the end I lost track of the time and was surprised when Vijay came to get me.

At one point a Christian came by, who was glorifying Christ for curing the sick and bringing the dead back to life. I mentioned that Lord Caitanya, who appeared in Bengal in the late 1400s, also cured the sick and brought the dead back to life. In fact, in one case the dead child who was revived spoke to the gathered family members about how he had taken birth in that family according to his karma, and now by the arrangement of the Lord it was time to leave that situation.My ride came at that time, and I gave the Christian my card offering to document what I said about Lord Caitanya, if he desired. The Christians are so proud of Lord Jesus Christ but they do not know in the Vedic literature many powerful incarnations and representatives of God are described with the abilities of curing the sick, raising the dead, freeing people of sins, and awakening love of God.

Chanting in Ybor City

I was grateful to Kishor that he organized a harinama on Ekadasi evening in the section of Ybor City with an active night life. Four devotees chanted almost two hours, distributed some Krishna: Reservoir of Pleasures, andencountered people happy to see Hare Krishnas. Some older ladies surprised me by dancing to our music. I wondered if theyremembered Hare Krishnas from the 1970s.

We had a couple interesting encounters.

One young lady was happy to see us and said she used to attend the Krishna Lunch at the University of Florida. I explained we were going to chant at the Gasparilla Pirate Festival the next day, and I asked if she were going. She replied, “No, it is too degraded.” That really struck me and caught me off guard. Here the Hare Krishna devotees, who have much higher standards of renunciation than the people in general, were going to an event a former UF student felt was to degraded. I said to explain our attendance at that degraded venue, “We are just going there because there are so many people to share the chanting with.”

Three ladies at a table were so talkative with one devotee, the rest of stayed there and chanted while he talked. One of the ladies was from Wheeling, West Virginia, and had visited Srila Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold, which is a tourist attraction. She had a very positive experience there.

Gasparilla Harinama

The last Saturday in January is the day of the Gasparilla Pirate Parade at Tampa Bay which is attended by 300,000 people each year.

Devotees from Gainesville, Alachua, and Tampa chanted before and during the parade this year on January 31. Everyone was in a partying mood and many danced with us. We met people who recognized us from Gainesville and Jacksonville.

Some people who knew us from the Krishna Lunch took pleasure in dancing with us, and I gave them invitations to our Krishna House program which they happily received.

As you can see in the video below, there were three young Afro-American ladies who took great pleasure in dancing with the devotee ladies for some time. Afterwards the devotees gave them “On Chanting Hare Krishna.” I gave them oatmeal cookies and invitations to our Bhakti Yoga Club programs at their school. They were happy to receive all the gifts.

Gasparilla video (http://youtu.be/xch5zVhDUkM):

One lady delighted in the playing the whompers (large karatalas) with the devotees.

Abhimanyu Prabhu really got into dancing.

Guru Vagmi Prabhu distributed pamphlets as usual.

You could see people were really happy to encounter the devotees.

At least three devotees dressed as pirates:

One lady, who danced with the devotees at Gasparilla, sported a shirt with “GOOD KARMA” printed on it. Of course, it is more than just good karma to dance with the Hare Krishnas. It is transcendental karma.

You can see she really got into it.

Chelsea and Autumn of Krishna House led our procession by dancing on the way back.

Some people who passed us would also dance.

It was awesome see the number of people advancing spiritually by hearing the holy name and dancing in the kirtana.

Abhimanyu Prabhu commented that it was appropriate that the Gasparilla harinama was on the appearance of Lord Varaha, the boar incarnation, who raised the earth from the dark depths of the ocean, as at Gasparilla, the Lord in the form of His holy name was saving the people of the earth from the depths of ignorance.

Tampa devotees provided plenty of spiritual food for all the devotees after the parade, and we were very, very, grateful.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from the Preface of The Nectar of Instruction:

“In all spiritual affairs, one’s ﬁrst duty is to control his mind and senses. Unless one controls his mind and senses, one cannot make any advancement in spiritual life. Everyone within this material world is engrossed in the modes of passion and ignorance. One must promote himself to the platform of goodness, sattva-guna,by following the instructions of Rupa Gosvami, and then everything concerning how to make further progress will be revealed.”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.6 on April 18, 1975, in Vrindavan, India:

Knowledge means to understand the original source of everything.

“When your anarthas[unwanted desires] will be finished and you will see every living entity as part and parcel of Krishna, that is called real Brahman realization. Part and parcel of Krishna – every one of us. So we shall not only engage ourself as part and parcel of Krishna in His service, but also we shall try to engage others because they are also part and parcel of Krishna. Why should we eliminate them? That is Vaisnavism. That is Krishna consciousness. And that is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission.”

Although we are riding in this motor car, we do not think it is essential. Those who are captured by this materialistic civilization are thinking it is essential.

Don’t forget Krishna simply for the matter of material advancement.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.7 on April 24, 1975, in Vrindavan, India:

“The dog cannot question that ‘Why I have got this dog’s body, and my master has got the human body?’”

“So Caitanya Mahaprabhu has prescribed a very easy method to become pious. That is the chanting of Hare Krishna maha-mantra.”

Our heart disease of lusty desires can be cured simply by chanting and hearing the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

We are opening centers all over the world to give people the chance to hear about Krishna.

Pure consciousness is to understand I am very intimately connected with Krishna.

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for January 26”:

“I remember when I
first received my big
red beads and chanted
on them, I felt an
incompleteness in not
knowing how many rounds
I had chanted.
I confided
this to Swamiji, and he
advised me to buy small
counter-beads and tie
them on a string to
my bead bag. For every
round I should
move one counter-bead
separate from the rest.
This was especially useful on Ekadasi
when I chanted sixty-four rounds.
I was perhaps the first
disciple to inquire about
the counter-beads.
It gives a ‘muscle’
and a sense of accomplishment
to know how many
rounds we have chanted
rather than just ‘chanting them to the air.’
And it prevents us from
stopping prematurely.”

Mother Akuti:

Time is the most valuable thing, precious to all. It is subtle but has a profound effect.

Srila Prabhupada would often say, “Time and tide wait for no man.”

Men talk of killing time while time quietly kills them.

Time makes a fool of us because each life we always think that we will be successful in satisfying our desires, but yet again we die unfulfilled.

Death can be an embrace by Krishna for one who reaches out to Him.

Srila Prabhupada emphasized the chanting so much, especially in the beginning, and then he gave us deity worship.

If we think at each moment, “Would Srila Prabhupada be pleased with what I am doing at this moment?” then we will not waste time.

Faith, conviction, and enthusiasm are essential.

I visited my 93-year-old mother who is suffering because she fell out of bed. She just wants to sleep so she will not suffer because she does not have anything else to occupy her mind. I told her I can tell you thousands of things about God, but there was no interest.

Lord Caitanya would have kirtanas that would go on all night. When he talked with Ramananda Raya, they stayed up all night talking about Krishna.

Not only do we waste our time physically but we can waste our time mentally.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura advises in his poem “The Jiva Soul”:

“Forget the past that sleeps, ne’er of

The future dream at all

But act in times that are with thee

And progress thee shall call. . . .

Let never matter push thee down –

O stand heroic man!”

We have to take shelter of Krishna. By serving we develop our love. Fear exists when there is a gap in our devotional service, so we have to try to eliminate all the gaps.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

I have heard thousands of Prabhupada lectures, and still every once in a while I hear something I have not heard before.

Prabhupada said Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.8 should be the motto for every devotee: “My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.”It is not that the devotee is exempt from suffering, but his suffering is for a purpose while the suffering of a materialistic is simply a distraction from his enjoyment.

Sridhar Swami explains that just as one receives an inheritance if he simply remains alive, one will receive the Lord’s mercy simply by remaining alive in devotional service. The difference is that remaining alive in spiritual life is a very active thing while remaining physically alive is relatively passive.

If we even just follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions experimentally we begin to experience the six results mentioned by Rupa Goswami:

(1) Pure devotional service brings immediate relief from all kinds of material distress. (2) Pure devotional service is the beginning of all auspiciousness.

(3) Pure devotional service automatically puts one in transcendental pleasure.

(4) Pure devotional service is rarely achieved.

(5) Those in pure devotional service deride even the conception of liberation.

(6) Pure devotional service is the only means to attract Krishna.

The voluntary suffering that we endure helps us to suffer less when we encounter the involuntary sufferings of life.

As I age, I see my facilities diminishing. When you are young, you think that won’t happen. That is part of being young. You may theoretically understand, but you do not really believe it.

In revealing our mind to Krishna we must not have a too inflated or deflated opinion of ourself but rather be honest with ourselves.

We must keep ourselves in a position where we are eligible for Krishna’s mercy.

Comment by SyamalaKishori Dasi: The prayers of Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Saranagatiare how he speaks about himself when he is speaking to Krishna. When he speaking to others he does not speak of himself in the same way.

My godbrother, Hasyagrami Prabhu, who was on the Radha Damodar party and who played in the Murari Band, recently on his first trip to India, left his body in Mayapur after a heart attack on a motorcycle within our compound there. He was in charge of maintenance for the buses. The fuel pump broke on one, but because the bus was obsolete, despite much endeavor he found it impossible to find the part anywhere. It was Radhastami, and decided to observe the half-day fast, but stored some maha-prasadam in his locker to break the fast midday. When he returned to his locker at noon, he found a new fuel pump crushing the plate of maha-prasadam, and no one could ever explain how it got there.

In this present materialistic society, it is said if you want your children to pay attention to you when you are old, make sure you have money.

Getting older as devotees, we practically experience what the Bhagavatam says, that sense gratification does not make us happy.

Comment by Caitanya: In Eastern societies we see that when parents encourage children in spiritual life, the children are more likely to take care of them when they are old.

Comment by Franco: I am very happy to sit in on these classes as I am seeing the impermanence of the things I was formerly taking shelter of.

Comment by Dennis: The Bhagavatam is a user guide for the material world.

Comment by Tulasirani Devi Dasi: The philosophy makes sense but when we get in a difficulty we can realize the truth. When I got in a car accident, by Krishna’s grace, I was very clear. I was thinking, “We got in a car accident. My friend is dying. I have to help her remember Krishna.” Previously in the car, I was dozing off, putting off chanting Hare Krishna on my beads, but with the accident, by Krishna’s grace everything became in focus.

In New Zealand at a university in Victoria the devotees have a Krishna Food program serving 200 or 300 people a day. Their price was half that of the competition, and thus all the other food vendors shut down.

Devamrita Swami has a seminar called “How to Crack a Western City” describing his successful yoga loft programs in New Zealand.

The mood of Krishna House is that is alright to mistakes. God will not strike you down if you make mistakes. We want everyone to have a chance to give a class, cook an offering, lead a kirtana, etc.

B. B. Govinda Maharaja says regarding kirtana, “I dig a groove until everyone falls into it.”

comment by Brahmatirtha Prabhu: B. B. Govinda Swami’s father was Elvis Presley’s manager.

Response by Kalakantha Prabhu: Elvis would sometimes take B. B. Govinda Swami to the circus as a kid.

Yoga really means to connect with a person, Krishna, but until one comes to the point of bhakti there is selfishness.

Jnana, the path of knowledge, is a way of approaching God without being committed to the relationship.

The beautiful thing about Krishna consciousness that there is both knowledge and emotion.

The danger of the mode of goodness is that one becomes attached to a happy life in this world and does not endeavor to attain the spiritual world.

Bhaktiis the love of the soul for its creator.

Comment by Ananda Seva Prabhu: Although the Lord’s Prayer does submit a list of requests to be fulfilled by God, the beginning is just glorification of God: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Prema Sindhu Prabhu:

Radhanath Swami made a couple important points in a lecture. One was that as Sugriva was later able to use the knowledge of different places, which he learned while running from Vali, to engage in Rama’s service, we should use the skills we have acquired in life in the Lord’s service. Another point was that just as Sita rejected countless proposals by Ravana to marry her, we have to reject so many materialistic proposals and remain faithful to the Lord.

No matter what tribulations one experiences, one should not give up the shelter of the Krishna and His holy name.

Mahapurna, one of the gurus of Ramanujacarya, was ostracized because, although a brahmana, he performed a funeral ceremony for a sudra. Ramanujacarya asked him why he did something that would so disrupt his life in such a way. He explained he was just following the mahajanas, the great souls. That sudra had very nicely served his guru, Yamunacarya. Even once that sudra accepted a disease that Yamunacarya had, so that Yamunacarya would be freed from it. When the sudra was asked why he did not pursue treatment for that disease, and he said because he considered it the maha-prasadam of his guru. Mahapurna explained he was following Lord Rama who performed the funeral ceremony for Jatayu, a bird who had rendered service to Him. So we must be like Mahapurna, following the great soulsand being willing to tolerate adverse public opinion.

We must be strict with ourselves and lenient with others. Usually we are lenient with ourselves and strict with others.

Mother Caitanya:

I see at the Wellness Center people making material adjustment after material adjustment to their terminally diseased condition. The doctor advises them to take shelter of a high power. We are so fortunate because every day we practice to take shelter of Krishna. When devotees die they are free from anxiety compared to the people in general. I bought some prasadam chili there, and there was not a bean left. They said the next time we have a party, we want you cater it. Because my mom is well enough to leave there soon, I gave pocket Gitas to everyone there.

Gopala Prabhu:

One sannyasi said the meaning of “Krishna protects one” is “Krishna does what is best for the person.”

Syamala Kishori Dasi:

I was going to the beach or someplace fun with my sister, and I got in a car accident and got a broken leg. It changed my summer. I had to take shelter of Krishna in a way that I never did before.

Recently I had a health crisis. I was not able to focus on Krishna and worried how I would at the time of death. Kalakantha Prabhu said, “The wonderful mercy of Krishna is that He arranges that everything is taken away at the time of death and Krishna is the only opportunity for shelter.”

Ananda Seva Prabhu:

We only have one child at ISKCON Gainesville, but if we can protect one child by doing background checks, it is worth it.

Hanan Prabhu:

Tolstoy has a story of two men going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. One leaves to get water but gets entangled in taking care of sick people at the place he went to get water and never reaches Jerusalem. His partner continues on his journey and reaches Jerusalem. He think he sees his friend in Jerusalem but cannot approach him. He returns home and sees his friend still taking care of the sick people. He says I saw you in Jerusalem, but he says I never made it to Jerusalem. Tolstoy asks the reader, “Which man really went to Jerusalem?”

Comment by Franco: I am happy for the bad things that happe

Travel journal#11.1: Gainesville and Jacksonville
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 1
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2015, part one)

Florida
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on January 21, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

I returned to my base in Gainesville, Florida, for the first three months of the New Year. We started the year with a largeharinama event at the Taxslayer Bowl at the stadium in Jacksonville attended by 36 devotees from Alachua, Gainesville, and Jacksonville.

In Gainesville, in addition to chanting for 2½ hours during Krishna Lunch, the prasadam distribution at the University of Florida, we chant Wednesday at the Gainesville Farmers Market and Friday with the Alachua devotees on the corner of the University campus. Besides my practice of going to the temple morning and evening programs and reading one hour, I added cleaning the floor of my room and practicing mrdanga to my daily routine, along with chanting Queen Kunti’s prayers from memory every Sunday, and I hope I can maintain them throughout the year.

In this issue, I report my expenses and income for 2014, and I thank the many, many people who kindly supported my program of traveling and promoting the public congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord and speaking on the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. I also apologize for a video I posted that some devotees complained about. I include a picture of a practical innovation at Krishna House.

I share notes on a couple lectures from swamis visiting Gainesville, Danavir Goswami and Bhakti Prabhupada-vrata Damodar Swami. I have notes on classes by Prabhupada disciples in the Alachua and Gainesville communities, Kalakantha, Nagaraja, Ranjit, and Sesa Prabhus, some from other initiated devotees, and a few nice realizations from very new devotees.

Thanks to Vishnu-priya dd of Jacksonville for her kind donation.Thanks to Prahladananda Swami for his generous donation for my doing the service of proofreading his book on health.Thanks to J.R. for his pictures of me on harinama in Gainesville.

Itinerary

January 21: Gainesville

January 22: Jacksonville

January 23–28: Tallahassee

January 29–31: Tampa

February 1 – April 8: Florida (Gainesville, Alachua, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Tampa)

April 9–11: Washington, D.C.

April 12: Albany

April 13–15: New York City

April 16: Toronto

April 17–24: Ireland

April 25: London

April 26: Radhadesh

April 27: Amsterdam (King’s Day)

Accounting for 2014

Because people give me donations, I feel I should tell how I spend what I am given.

ACCOUNTING FOR 2014
CATEGORY	AMOUNT
travel	3404.01
gifts	492.52
health	294.46
maintenance	102.70
food	64.03
festivals	48.33
books	26.77
communication	13.03
rent	10.56
loans	9.00
donations – public	−665.25
donations – private	−3692.80
balance	107.37

Gifts are donations to temples, swamis and and presents for my relatives. Communication is phone, internet, and computer expenses. It does not include my British phone expenses which Satya Medha Gauranga Prabhu kindly pays for, for which I am grateful, and which amount to around $50. Books are the cost of books bought for harinama minus books specifically sold, but many books are given in reciprocation for donations on harinama and these are not included here. The festival fee is for the Baltic Summer Festival. Rent is what I paid to stay in Mayapur. Public donations are those people gave me on harinama,mostly in Europe. As far as travel, I went to Ireland, India, England, Holland, Belgium, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Slovakia, and France.

I am very, very grateful to GN Press, Kaliya Krishna Dasa (NYC), Dhruva Das (Oregon), Navina Shyam Das (Dallas), Tara Das (Mayapur), the Newcastle temple, Premarnava Das (Dublin), Srikar (Gainesville), Tony (England), Clive (Chester), Caitanya-candrodaya Das (Ukraine), Sivananda Sena Das (Rotterdam), the Preston nama-hatta, the Liverpool nama-hatta, Ajay (Huddlesfield), the Leeds nama-hatta, Gopalacarya Das (Govindadvipa), Jivananda Das (Slovakia), Janananda Goswami, Mariana (Sheffield), Vishnu Priya Devi Dasi (Newcastle), Kevin (Govindadvipa), Atmanivedana Das (NYC), Uma Devi Dasi (Michigan), the UNF Krishna Club, Sundari Gopi Devi Dasi (Jacksonville), Karuna Rasa Das (Watford), Raghunatha Bhatta Das (Scotland), Rama Raya Das (NYC), Gauridas Pandit Das (York), Madhava Gauranga Das (Rotterdam), Nanda Kumar Das (Dublin), Sanatani Devi Dasi (Oslo), Bhakti Rasa Das (Newcastle), Charu Gopika Devi Dasi (NYC), Jagannath Misra Das (Bulgaria), Jon (Leeds), a devotee in the Queens temple, an Indian man who visited the Harinama Ashram (NYC), an Indian man on the street whose father was a life member (Philly), Mithuna Prabhu and ISKCON Queens, Sudevi Devi Dasi (Tampa), the USF Bhakti Yoga Club, Mohnish Goel (Delhi), Haladhara (Sheffield), Urmila (Leeds), Priya Sundari Devi Dasi (Leeds), Shelina (Govindadvipa), Doug (Preston), Jason (Sheffield), the London Soho temple, a lady on harinama (Philly), Mike (New Vrindavan), Jon (Florida), a German brahmacariin Mayapur, TravelersBox, and Gaura Karuna Prabhu (Czech Republic), and others who forgot to note down for their kind donations. I am also very grateful to all the anonymous persons who gave me donations on harinama.Thanks to all the people who have helped me in different ways who are too numerable to mention completely. Some include Kanwar and Mariana, who let me stay at their place whenever I come to Sheffield, Doug whenever I come to Preston, and Lovelesh and Amrita Keli Devi Dasi whenever I come to Jacksonville, Dr. Karuna Rasa Das of Watford, who gave me a medical checkup, and Gaura Krishna Das, who always gives me a lift to Bhaktivedanta Manor, and makes life in England easier.

Public Apology for “Brighton Harinam–Dancing Outside a Shop” Video

I want to publicly apologize for publishing a controversial video called “Brighton Harinam–Dancing Outside a Shop” on YouTube in the summer of 2013. Some devotees objected to Mahavishnu Swami’s joking behavior with a costumed man who was dancing with our party. I should have had enough intelligence to realize that might offend some devotees, and I should have edited out that section of the video. Otherwise it is a typical harinama video showing onlookers having a good time dancing with the devotees. I am sorry I offended some devotees because of my thoughtlessness, and I promise to use greater discretion in posting videos in the future. That video is no longer publicly accessible on YouTube in its original objected-to form, and in its place I have put an edited version made by my friend Vidyapati Prabhu removing the major complaint.

Harinama at the Taxslayer Bowl (Formerly Gator Bowl)

Devotees in Florida chant at the stadiums before the football games because that is one of the few times you can reach a lot of people at once. Alachua devotees and Jacksonville devotees have joined together and chanted before the Gator Bowl (recently named the Taxslayer Bowl after a company that is funding it) around New Years time for several years. Godruma and Vishnu-priya and other devotees from Jacksonville put on a nice feast for all the devotees before or after the harinama depending on the time of the game.

This year lots of people became exposed to the Hare Krishna mantra for the first time as the teams that were playing were from Tennessee and Iowa, where there are not many parties of Hare Krishna chanters.

As I was standing in front of our chanting party, dancing and handing out pamphlets, one jovial man from Tennessee asked me who Hare Krishna was. I explained that Hare Krishna are names of God in the ancient Sanskrit language of India. He asked if we worshiped the same God as the other religions worship. I explained there is one supreme being who is fulfilling the desires of all other beings, and that is the Supreme Lord, who we and all other religions are worshiping. He asked if we accepted the Bible. Not wanting to discuss the merits of the Bible, I said, “Christ said to love the Lord with body, mind, and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself,” and we agree with that. If everyone followed that, the world would live in peace. God sent Christ to teach that truth. He then asked what was the position of Jesus Christ. That is always a touchy subject with Christians, so I was a little worried. I said God and Christ are simultaneously one and different. He smiled and said, to my great surprise, “I like that!” I continued explaining that Jesus said he was the son of God and he prayed to God, but he also said that he and the Father were one. Therefore, they are simultaneously one and different. He said, “You are very articulate.” He explained he was a Apostolic Pentecostal, and that while the Pentecostals worship the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as distinct, the Apostolics consider them all to be one. One of Lord Caitanya’s main teachings is that the pure souls [and in fact all emanations from God] are simultaneously one with and different from God, and for me to encounter a Christian who was excited to hear this philosophy really made my day, and I asked to take his picture.

Another fortunate encounter was a young lady who looked so happy to meet our chanting party I had to offer her an “On Chanting Hare Krishna.” One of the two guys with her asked some questions about our philosophy, and I answered them in such a way that he thought it sounded reasonable. She was from North Carolina, and I told her about our centers there, and gave her my card, offering to let her know details about them.

As we ended our brief conversation, and they were walking away, Mother Madhumati approached the lady, and offered her a garland.

Then Madhumati invited her to dance.

She looked so happy dancing with the devotee ladies. You can see from this video, she really entered into it (http://youtu.be/I6vekhdSyaM):

Then the two guys she was with got into the dancing (http://youtu.be/wHDxWXalyUE):

During the rest of the harinama others took pleasure in playing the tambourine and dancing with the devotees (http://youtu.be/jDGbA_7LWNU?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLJJaibnU7l40IDgh8jbrA7):

Krishna Lunch

Some devotees from the Vaishnava Youth Mexican Bus Tour visited Krishna Lunch after their tour ended in Alachua so we had a few extra chanters and servers on the campus.

Here Nitya Lila (center), who I met chopping vegetables at the German Kirtan Mela, and later serving Radha-Govinda in Brooklyn, happily serves Krishna Lunch. Chelsea, who chanted with us in New York City, during school breaks from Rutgers University, also serving the lunch (right), decided to live in Krishna House for the spring session.

Chanting at the Farmers Market

The steps of an abandoned fast food place at the plaza became our new venue for our harinama at the Farmers Market.

All the devotees were so enthusiastic, we stayed out for 2½ hours!

Some people sat and listened to us.

Some clapped.

Some moved with the music.

Some took pamphlets.

And also enjoyed reading them.

Some took books that Caitanya and Mikey distributed.

Chanting on the Gainesville Harinama

Devotees from Alachua and Gainesville have been chanting on the corner by the University of Florida every Friday since before I moved there in 1994.

On January 16, we had a party of 16 men, 10 women, and 4 children!

I stand in front of the party and dance,

and invite people to the Krishna House programs in Gainesville.

One family of five walked by our party, and I talked to the parents briefly. The man had fond memories of eating Krishna Lunch 30 years ago. He said he also liked our music. He said, “It is part of the culture!” It was beautiful to see such a positive impression of Hare Krishna.

Innovation

Different temples have little innovations that make life easier. Microphone cables are always getting tangled up, and untangling them takes time away from more important services.

Here Badahari Prabhu, the devotee in charge of maintenance at Krishna House in Gainesville, put brackets on the pujari room door so you can roll up and store the microphone cables and the microphones themselves in a simple elegant way.

To see the pictures I took but did not include in this journal, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal111?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJm8_dTNjcvrOw&feat=directlink

Insights

Danavir Goswami:

The devotees do not have to take many courses to learn good qualities, but they are included in bhakti-yoga. The Lord personally reciprocates with His devotee, and so the devotee becomes greatly influenced by Krishna as a rod in a fire attains the qualities of fire. The devotees become qualified in that way to act in the position of God.

If God were here He could bless us, but His devotee can also bless us because he is empowered by Krishna.

Krishna purifies everything, and so His devotee purifies everything.

“If God is good, why are there so many problems in this world?” This is the most frequently asked question. God does not force His will upon us. And thus people engage in sinful activities and suffer.

If God came to a city, and the residents decided to receive and serve Him, then their whole city would become transformed. But if people did not believe He was coming, and just went on with their sinful life, such an opportunity would be missed.

We are thinking we are the only living beings in the universe, but actually most living beings are happily situated in the spiritual world.

People ask, “Why does Krishna give us free will if we misuse it?” but do we really wish that God made us robots? No parent will hold a gun to the head of his children, even if they do foolish things, in order to force them to do good things.

We have to tolerate because we cannot really do anything –the calamities are coming from a higher authority. Instead of spending our lives trying to counteract these things, it is better to focus on pleasing Krishna.

Christ is the ideal example. He prayed to Krishna as he was being crucified, “They know not what they do.”

In the Israeli army I had permission to do my offerings to the Lord. People were envious of me because I got exempted from parts of the program they were forced to do. One guy, the biggest one, said, “If you do not stop ringing that bell, I will push it down your throat.” So I stopped ringing the bell.

Haridas Thakura tolerated. In this movement, some devotees were disowned by their parents. That is very hard, but they had to tolerate.

It is the mercy of the spiritual master that he chastises us and thus corrects us. If you are going to hell, and someone tells you to stop, it is mercy.

Q: The Vedas say life is on every planet. Why do the scientists not detect it?

A: Maybe they have not gone to other planets. Life on other planets may not be as it is on this planet. It may be more subtle, and we may not be able to perceive that. The yaksas warned the Pandavas not to go further in the Himalayas. Bhima did not take that instruction very seriously. Then the yaksas said that even if you go, you will not be able to see anything anyway.

Q: We talk about Krishna consciousness being blissful, but here we have to tolerate so much. How to understand?

A: Even they tried to kill Krishna Himself. That is the nature of this world. Krishna does not force people to behave. If we practice tolerance then we can continue to chant. If we are not tolerant, we will be distracted from the chanting by so many things. “Why is he chanting so loud? Why are these billboards here? Why are they dressing like that?”

Q: Sometimes we tolerate but internally we are gritting our teeth. What to do?

A: If you are a singer, if the sound man does not have the sound quite right, you may make a few suggestions to him, but ultimately you go on with the show because you know if you get upset, it will ruin whole performance.

Q: How do we avoid anger that has gone past the point of being possible to tolerate? A: Anger comes from lust. Better to not let lust get out of hand. Better not to contemplate the objects of the senses.

Bhakti Prabhupada-vrata Damodar Swami:

In Bhagavad-gita 2.16, “no endurance” means “no ultimate endurance.” Material things, including the body, endure for sometime but not forever.

Apparently there are sub-species of the 8.4 millon species.

Our process is to perform devotional service to serve the reality.

We are real, not as these bodies, but as spirit souls.

It is not that we were Christians and are becoming Hindus, but we are waking up to the realization that we are spiritual souls.

If a drop of water says “I am ocean” that is alright but if the drop of water says “I am the ocean” that is crazy.

The problem with many famous Western philosophers, including John Locke, is that they think that sense perception and interference are the only ways of attaining knowledge. Locke says that all we know is the sense impressions but not what is causing those sense impressions. We also agree that we cannot understand with our senses what is causing the sense impressions.

For God to be God he has to have inconceivable potencies, and we are one, the marginal energy.

Phenomenologists believe you cannot really know what is real, and all you can do is study the temporary phenomena.

We are fortunate because we accept the way of attaining sabda, hearing from authority.

The pure devotee sees so deeply that all things are all Krishna’s energy and thus nondifferent from Krishna, that he is ecstatic.

The Mayavadis say everything is illusion, but illusion has no meaning unless there is a person having an illusion, and if there is a person having an illusion, that defeats the Mayavadi idea that ultimately there is no personality.

If we are convinced about the unreal nature of this world, we will be not inclined to enjoy this world either in a Western style or in a Eastern style, and thus the misconception of the karmis is defeated. The understanding of the real nature of this world is to counteract the misconception of the jnanis.

If we see the material world as Krishna’s energy, then we see its reality.

We share with the jnanis the idea understanding this world is unreal, but we go beyond that because we talk about the source of this unreal world and our relationship with that source.

The demons say “that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control.” (Bhagavad-gita 16.8)We share the understanding that the world is unreal, but we understand that there is foundation, the Lord, and He is in control.

The care given to the architecture of the college buildings is to create the impression there is knowledge there.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

Emerson said the West is that strange part of the world where they think they only have one life.

You can say there is a touch of skepticism in Arjuna’s question in the beginning of the Eleventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita. In Chapter Ten Krishna describes how He exists in different manifestation in this world, and in Chapter Eleven, Arjuna asks to see this.

The tendency is to try to get as much sense gratification now before it passes away, and that puts us in the mode of passion.

People are so ambitious after sense gratification that now the weekend starts on Thursday.

Actually spiritual life is happiness now and more happiness in the future.

Activities can be classified in these four ways:

1. Important and Urgent: Crisis!

2. Important and Not Urgent: Preparation

3. Not Important and Urgent: Interruptions

4. Not Important and Not Urgent: Time Wasters

The whole life of a devotee is in the second quadrant, preparation (important and not urgent).

For the materialist, Krishna is time, the destroyer of everything, but for a devotee, Krishna is this loving person.

Hankering for the future is in the mode of passion. Lamenting for the past is in the mode of ignorance.

One in the mode of goodness does not worry for the future because of confidence that Krishna will take care.

In World War I, one Christmas the warring parties declared a truce and had a soccer game between the English and Germans. This is like the Pandavas and Kauravas meeting as friends in the evening after the day’s fighting.

When convincing someone of a path of action, appealing to their more noble motives is a good strategy. Krishna does this in the Gita, telling Arjuna about the example of King Janaka and asking him act rightly as a leader so common men will follow.

“If you can slave yet never crave the fruits of your endeavor,

you’ll savor liberation from this worldly cave forever.”

(from a Bhagavad-gita rap)

Q (by Arjuna Prabhu): How should we approach our relationship with Krishna?

A: Just start by offering whatever you have to Krishna.

Q (by Marlon): If we are focused all about Krishna then how do we understand our individuality?

A: It is counter-intuitive but by focusing on Krishna our individual spiritual personality becomes more and more revealed to us.

Comment by Krishna-kripa das: Because we are eternal servants of Krishna, the more we focus on Krishna, the more we understand our personal individuality which is in relationship to Him.

Nagaraja Prabhu:

summarizing the Prabhupada lecture, “Somehow Fix Your Mind on Krishna”, in Back to Godhead, Vol. 49, No. 3:

“Any contact with Krishna purifies our consciousness and gradually qualifies us

for eternal loving exchanges with Him.”

Ranjit Prabhu:

Jayadeva Goswami lived on the bank of the Ganges at Navadvipa, and he was the court pandit for King Laksman Sena of Bengal. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that Jayadeva Goswami imbibed the mood of Lord Caitanya from being in Navadvipa, the Lord’s place of birth, even before the Lord’s appearance.

When we drive past the Walgreens and we see the free flu shots, we can be reminded that disease is there and people have it and we may soon join them.

This body has a trillion cells and I have no knowledge of them or what I am doing, and yet I am the knower of this particular field.

Sesa Prabhu:

If we are trying to accumulate things, why would we want to worship someone who takes away things (Hari or Krishna).

If we keep the goal of love of God in mind, then when we meet challenges in life, we will be able to see them in the proper perspective.

We are conditioned for many births to think if we do good things, we will get good results and if we do bad things, we will get bad results, but that is not a complete understanding of how things are. Actually what happens to us is the mercy of God.

Comment by Madhumati Devi Dasi: Karma is like you hit a ball and it hits a wall and bounces back to you. Devotion is that you hit a ball, and Krishna catches it and throws it back to you.

Comment by Vaishnava Prabhu: This universe can supply the needs of all but not the greed of even one.

Janmastami, the day of Krishna’s appearance, is a national holiday in India.

I failed my bar exam after so much college. I was lined up to get a good job, but because I failed the exam I was not hired. From the material point of view, I could have lost everything. But I did not experience it like that. I saw that Krishna protected my sadhana (regulated spiritual practices) and gave me different service opportunities I otherwise would not have had. Later I passed the exam.

Before Thomas Aquinas the idea that one could change one’s character by practice was not popular. He got that idea from Aristotle.

Because we are trained poorly we think that sense enjoyment is the goal of life.

I had a friend who was such a bad influence on my life, I am still suffering sixty years later.

Comment by Brahma-tirtha Prabhu: I went to a house in Bombay, India, with a color TV. At that time, there were no TV stations broadcasting in color in Bombay. The TV was in the most prominent room and had garlands on it.

How does brahmacarya life reduce the fire of sense enjoyment?

He has time to hear and chant about Krishna and serve the guru. He lives in the ashram, and he practices celibacy.

In grhastha (married) life, through a spiritual partnership and sacrifice in service to others one reduces the fire of sense enjoyment.

What do you need to control the senses?

Knowledge.

A higher taste from the practice of spiritual life.

To practice contentment.

Devamrita Swami points to five myths:

1. Money brings happiness.
2. Technology brings well-being.
3. Weapons bring security.
4. The earth provides virtually unlimited resources we can exploit to satisfy our senses.
5. The earth provides virtually limitless room for the disposal of waste.

Ambarisa Prabhu (Alfred Ford) says the difference between poor people and rich people is that poor people think that money will bring them happiness, but rich people know that wealth is not the cause of happiness.

Radha Jivan Prabhu:

This world is described by the Lord to be a place where one living entity is food for another. We hide the fact by saying “I am nonvegetarian” not that “I am a meat eater.” We do not say “pass the cow,” but “pass the beef.” We do not say we want pig but hot dog.

These days the most popular movies are about real life stories because people can relate to them.

The Indian movie PK is done very expertly to mesmerize people.

Person who are a little intelligent can see there is power beyond us that is in control, and they seek to find out about it.

In the movie PK certain questions are brought out, and persons who are not deeply knowledgeable may be bewildered.

The message is that the alien who came to earth learned from the earthly people how to lie and he taught that to love, you have to be willing to sacrifice for people you love.

The movie says there are gods that we have created and gods that have created us, but it speaks without authority and confuses people.

God is not meant to supply our orders and if we take Him in that way, people will exploit that. Yet God does supply our needs, just as our parents do, without our asking.

I have been a devotee since I was twenty-three, for over thirty years, and I have seen Krishna’s protection in different ways.

One young lady with two children heard the lecture of one devotee visiting Sydney. She told him she liked the lecture and agreed with vegetarianism but said that she was forced because of poverty to take a job at a butcher shop and wondered if she should give it up. He told her not to, but to offer a prayer every day to Krishna that, if He desired, to get her out of that sinful situation. The next year when the devotee spoke in Sydney he saw the the lady, now decorated with tilaka, and he recognized her and asked if she still had the job at the butcher shop. She said no and now she worked in a cloth shop for a man named Mr. Butcher.

We are bewildered by the questions raised by the movie PK because we have not taken shelter of the divine knowledge obtained by picking Krishna as our source of wisdom.

Krishna is giving relationship with God. He is not selling the various material things we are aspiring for.

The new president Mody of India gives foreign diplomats one gift and one gift only Bhagavad-gita. He considers that is India’s greatest gift.

Our behavior is according our knowledge. Our state of behavior becomes culture.

Despite centuries of foreign denomination by Muslims and the British, despite destruction of temples and killing of priests by the Muslims, India’s culture has not been obliterated. Because it is so deep-rooted and it is based on factual knowledge it could withstand so much.

Because we have not recognized the value of spirituality, we have not sought the truth of spirituality and thus we are subject to be cheated by godless “godmen.”

When I was young every school taught Bhagavad-gita and the writings of saints. In the evenings people would hear Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Srila Prabhupada has defined faith as “implicit trust in something sublime.”

As we have trust in an airline or a university because of the positive experience of ourselves and others, we can also have faith in a source of spiritual knowledge.

In India there are four bona fide sampradayas that give bona fide spiritual knowledge.

If your professor is speaking material that is different from the books, then you have some doubt. Similarly, if one claims to be a guru and speaks differently from the scriptures, it is natural to doubt.

In summary:

If you are looking for God with an ulterior motive, you will get cheated.

If you are looking for God you should accept a guru who is speaking about God.

That guru should present God as he is described in the scriptures.

One man, who I personally saw two years ago with 80,000 to 90,000 followers, was selling invented mantras. Now he is now in jail along with his son.

This is a story I heard a sadhu tell from the Puranas or Mahabharata. After the Kurukshetra War the Pandavas felt bad so many people were killed so their eldest brother Yudhistira could become king. Krishna explained he wanted them to teach dharma for the benefit of all citizens as the age of Kali or degradation was approaching. He asked the brothers to go out and report to him whatever strange sights they saw, and He would explain how they were symptoms of Kali-yuga.

Yudhisthira reported, “I saw an elephant with two trunks.” Krishna explained, “Just like that elephant has two trunks, in Kali everyone will have two faces. Everyone will speak one thing and do another.”

Bhima said, “I saw a big pond without water although all the small ponds nearby were full.” Krishna explained, “In Kali, my representatives are like the big pond, which although deep with knowledge, will have no money and no followers, while so many bogus people will flourish with money and followers.”

Arjuna said, “I saw a bird with writings of the Vedas on it eating the flesh of a human body.” Krishna explained, “That is a symptom of Kali-yuga. In Kali people will learn some scriptural verses and exploit people and take their money.”

Nakula said, “I saw a mother cow who had given birth to a baby and the mother cow was licking the baby cow, so much that the baby cow began to bleed, and it kept bleeding.” Krishna said, “In Kali the parents will give affection to the children by encouraging them unlimitedly in material ways but completely ignoring their spiritual life.”

Krishna explained, “I arranged that war so all these irreligious types would be eliminated and you righteous pious brothers would teach the populace dharma.”

Sahadeva said, “After a long way, I saw a boulder came crashing down a mountain knocking down everything, trees, buildings, monuments, etc. But just before it struck me, it hit plant which stopped completely its rushing speed.” Krishna explained that the boulder is Kali-yuga personified, and the trees, monuments, and buildings are philosophies trying to oppose Kali-yuga. The little plant is the holy name of the Lord which seems to be very insignificant but which actually has the complete power to stop the force of Kali-yuga.

Madhava Prabhu from the Alachua community:

The first two verses of the Eleventh Canto, First Chapter, Verses 6 and 7 are very powerful:

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the reservoir of all beauty. All beautiful things emanate from Him, and His personal form is so attractive that it steals the eyes away from all other objects, which then seem devoid of beauty in comparison to Him. When Lord Krishna was on the earth, He attracted the eyes of all people. When Krishna spoke, His words attracted the minds of all who remembered them. By seeing the footsteps of Lord Krishna, people became attracted to Him, and thus they wanted to offer their bodily activities to the Lord as His followers. In this way Krishna very easily spread His glories, which are sung throughout the world by the most sublime and essential Vedic verses. Lord Krishna considered that simply by hearing and chanting those glories, conditioned souls born in the future would cross beyond the darkness of ignorance. Being satisfied with this arrangement, He left for His desired destination.”

comment by Shyamala: Vaisesika Prabhu said what we remember at death is what we are emotionally invested in. That was encouraging to me, that I might remember all the kirtanas that really touched me.

comment by Bhisma: I had a friend who was a devotee for a long time who was dying of brain cancer on the farm in Alachua. He had his difficulties over the years, and I was thinking he must be really cracking at death. When I asked him how he was doing, he said, “Krishna is giving me so much mercy.” He must have seen a touch of skepticism in my facial expression, and he said, “Really! You won’t believe how much mercy Krishna is giving me!” I could understand from that what fortune awaits us if we are faithful to Krishna till the end.

Q (by Autumn): Is our duty at death just to remember Krishna?

A: Yes.

Manorama Prabhu:

We try to get them dancing on the bus tour in Mexico because once they are dancing, they do not care that it is the same song over and over.

Krishna Dhana Prabhu:

from “Are You Having a PL?” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 49, No. 3:

“If even to get a gold medal in the Olympics takes rigorous practice and hard work, then just think how much practice and preparation are required to be transported to the spiritual world for eternity. Hence life is called a preparation.”

Tulasirani Devi:

Queen Kunti prays to Krishna, “I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.” How many people pray like this in this material world? Usually people pray to become free from calamities.

Why does she pray like this? Because whenever she experienced a calamities she realized that Krishna was there to protect her.

Krishna sends us personalized tests to see if we will take shelter of Him or run in the other direction.

If someone stops cultivating their relationship with God, whether to due to happiness or distress, that is the greatest calamity.

I had been a devotee for two years and felt I really wanted to purify myself. I prayed to Lord Nrsimhadeva in New Vrndavana, “Do whatever it takes to get rid of my false ego.” I said it three times. Several hours later I was in the most horrific car accident. I did not die, although the policemen said, “You should not have lived through that.” We could see for each of us involved in the accident how that was Krishna’s mercy in every case, even for the girl who died, who left the world in a very spiritual state. In one sense I become more faithful to Krishna as I saw him respond to my prayers, but I also become more fearful of developing my relationship with Krishna and afraid of praying to him. Since then I have rectified that fearfulness in my relationship with Krishna. I do pray to Him now.

One lady prayed exactly the prayer of Queen Kunti, and she lost her husband, children, job –everything was gone. She became bitter and stopped practicing.

Comment by Hari Priya: Take shelter of Krishna by taking shelter of Krishna’s devotees and confide in them.

Usually we need a mixture of loving encouragement and stern correction.

Comment by Naomi: Remembering the sweet pastimes of Krishna in difficulties keeps me from blaming Him for the calamities.

In my own calamities I always meditate on this verse :

“tat te ’nukampam su-samiksamano
bhuñjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak

My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.”

How many people “patiently suffer”?

When we are experiencing calamities it is helpful to consider that Krishna has some greater plan.

Lord Caitanya’s program is to chant, to dance and to serve the devotees.

Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu Prabhu:

comment by Shyamala: By giving up material attachments we are benefiting the soul which is our ultimate responsibility.

Today responsibility means to conform with the norms of our selfish society. It is reacting to satisfy material needs but is devoid of intentional enlightened action.

Regular, faithful, and practical devotional service inspires Krishna to manifest in the heart.

The pure devotee is simply interested in attaining Krishna and is not disturbed by any number of material calamities.

If my peace of mind depends on people acting the way I want, then I will always be disturbed.

By making Krishna the center of their lives, the residents of Vrindavan enjoy the highest happiness.

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~~Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraJanuary 21, 2015Posted inUncategorized~~

Travel Journal#10.24: New York City, Albany, Puerto Rico, Gainesville
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 24
By Krishna-kripa das
(December 2014, part two)

New York City, Albany, Puerto Rico, Gainesville
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on January 13, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

I spent my last few days with the New York City Harinam party in mid December, chanting six hours a day at different subway stations. On December 21, I visited my family for one day in Albany and distributed prasadam at the monthly potluck of the Friends Meeting (Quakers) I attended in my youth. Then I flew from Albany to Puerto Rico via Orlando, where I met my Vaishnava youth friend, Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu, who assisted me in doing harinamas before and after the first ever Ratha-yatra in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 27. The day after the Ratha-yatra we attended a twelve-hour kirtana at our temple in Gurabo, high in the hills overlooking San Juan. I returned to Gainesville on the last day of the year to spend the last two hours of the year chanting with my friends in the streets of that city to give the New Years Eve partiers a spiritually auspicious New Year.

I share an excerpt from a letter Srila Prabhupada wrote to Tamal Krishna Goswami. I have some notes on Tamal Krishna Goswami’s memoirs which we were reading in the Harinam Ashram in New York City. I have notes on a class by Radhanath Swami at the Bhakti Center in New York City, and notes on a class by Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu at the Harinam Ashram On Christmas Eve, Arisudana Prabhu, temple president of the ISKCON temple in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, invited the visiting Prabhupada disciples, to tell pastimes of Srila Prabhupada. Thus I have notes on the pastimes that Laksmimani, Akuti, and Sankha Prabhus told. I also have notes from classes by Adikarta Prabhu, who has been distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books since the 1970s. In additional, I have notes on a class by Malati Devi the day before Ratha-yatra on the wonderful story of how Lord Jagannath and His Ratha-yatra came to San Francisco in 1967. There are words of appreciation by Puerto Rico GBC Virabahu Prabhu for devotees who helped make the first ever Ratha-yatra in Puerto Rico happen. I also share my recollections of all the new adventures I had in 2014.

I would like to profusely thank Namamrita Prabhu, a pilot for Airtran, who donated two extra complimentary tickets he had left at the end of the year so that Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu and I could go to Puerto Rico to advertise and attend the first ever Ratha-yatra there. Because round trip tickets are over $500 during the peak Christmas season, we would not have been able to go otherwise. Thanks to Hladini for the maha-prasadam and incense she brought back from India for the New York City Harinam party and the tilaka for me. Thanks to Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu for additional photos of Puerto Rico. Thanks to Caitanya Jivan, Jaya Sita, and Bhakti Shakti Prabhus for their wonderful hospitality at their yoga center, Yoga Cultura Puerto Rico, in Rio Piedras.

New York City Harinam

I spent my final five days on the New York City Harinam from December 16 to 20, 2014.

Two days a week we chanted in the largest subway station in New York City, 42 Street –Times Square.

Ananta Prabhu lead a lively kirtana, getting a couple of the ladies dancing, and a few people watching (http://youtu.be/j-psFv4rbdg):

Bhagavatananda Prabhu, who spent about a month with us, distributed invitations, pamphlets, and books.

We also chant at the 14^thStreet –Union Square subway station two days a week.

Here Natabara Gauranga Prabhu sang a sweet kirtana, and one kid who regularly stops when he sees us, had a great time playing the shakers and dancing (http://youtu.be/wjNSTIKrXzU):

Later Ananta Prabhu lead some lively harinama there beneath Union Square, and people played shakers and moved with the music (http://youtu.be/_3orXDQenMc):

We get the best response at Roosevelt Avenue –Jackson Heights, where we chant one or two days a week.

Here Ananta Prabhu led a fired up kirtana that got a bunch of devotee ladies dancing, including an young Indian lady, who was passing by (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xJnHu4WdqqXMdMMCTj4BDRE):

On some Fridays we chant in the Delancey Street subway station by the uptown F train.

Here Rama Raya Prabhu, the truly fearless leader of the party, leads an enthusiastic kirtana getting a bunch of devotees dancing and causing wonder among the passersby (http://youtu.be/jsC0Zgd7tTM):

I have great respect for devotees for the New York City Harinam party for their dedication to chant six hours every day in New York City. It was a great benediction to live with and work with people with such faith and dedication to the holy name. It is nice to see they have their own place in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, just about 35 minutes from Union Square by subway. I hope Krishna continues to send serious people to join their party. I look forward to chanting with them for a couple days in April on my way back to Ireland, the gateway to the UK and Europe for me, and to rejoin them for three months in the autumn.

My Visit to Albany

My mother told me the day I chose to visit home before Christmas was the day they have a potluck lunch at the Quaker Meeting I attended in my youth, so I got up early so I could make a carrot coconut rice dish for it before mangala-arati as I had a 7:00 a.m. bus to Albany.I also had some coconut burfiI made the previous day and some doughnuts that my friend Kana, who works at the Doughnut Plant, had obtained for me. Thus the Quakers got a lot of prasadam. One lady at the Meeting named Crystal remembered that rice dish from my previous visit and wanted the recipe. Another named Barbara, who I met both in Albany and New York City, where she goes once a month for training as an interfaith minister, interviewed me about why I became a Hare Krishna devotee.

At the meetinghouse there was a poster with a quote about spiritual outreach by Quaker founder George Fox that seems to have significance beyond that particular tradition.

For dinner, we made spinach and paneer with dal and capatis. My mother, my sister, Karen, my niece, Fern, my sister’s boyfriend, Victor, and I also cooperated together in the cooking, and everything came out nice. I offered it all to a picture of Panca-tattva in Mayapur I got back in April.

Fern took a picture of the rest of us, including her dog, Farlo.

I looked in the meditation room at the Albany Airport as I awaited my flight to Orlando, on the way to Puerto Rico. I saw a book shelf and thought, “They should have Bhagavad-gita As It Is.” When I looked closer, I noticed they did.

They had meditation cushions and a natural scene to facilitate prayer and meditation, and I chanted on my beads there for awhile.

Harinamas in San Juan Before the Ratha-yatra Festival

The very night we got to San Juan, Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu and I did harinama from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Rio Piedras, near Jaya Sita dd’s yoga center. We did not meet many people, but almost everyone we met was willing to take an invitation to Ratha-yatra.

On harinamain the Rio Piedras area the next day, one man asked me if I was in New York. He had returned from there on Thursday and thought he remembered seeing me. He probably did.

Bhaktin Paula took us to Old San Juan the first time we went there on harinama. We met an Indian family on vacation who joined us for some time, helping to distribute invitations.

The next day we went to Old San Juan via public transportation, and we found that we could play our instruments and chant on the train and bus without being restricted which is not true everywhere, even in other parts of America.

The third day full day was Christmas Day. Adikarta Prabhu wanted to distribute books. Dhameshvar wanted to rehearse the play. Mother Akuti did not want to go out with so few people on harinama. Thus at 4:00 p.m., realizing there was no one to come out with me, I decided to go out by myself for three hours, playing the harmonium, chanting Hare Krishna, and distributing invitations to the Ratha-yatra. I would chant one mantra and then distribute invitations to nearby people, and then chant another mantra and do the same.

One man was selling small toy drums, and he played in perfect time to my music with great delight.

After chanting in Old San Juan for a couple hours, I chanted in the bus station as I waited for the bus home. I offered everyone an invitation. One man asked me to sing a song for him. I chanted one tune for him for a while, and he gave me a dollar.

I found a bus that went all the way to Rio Piedras, the region of San Juan I was staying in, but when we got to the final stop, I could not understand where I was in relation to where I was going. I explained to the bus driver that I knew where the church and the train station were but not the bus station, and after everyone got off the bus, the bus driver kindly drove me within walking distance of the church and explained how to get there, and thus I was able to get home.

First Ever Puerto Rico Ratha-yatra

One of the most visible and popular festivals celebrated by Hare Krishna devotees, Ratha-yatra, came for the first time to Puerto Rico, on December 27, 2014.

In this festival, the Krishna deity known as Lord Jagannath, rides through the streets of the city on a cart, accompanied by His brother, Baladev, and sister, Subhadra. Devotees pull the cart with ropes, chanting the name of the Lord with musical instruments and dancing in procession. The venue was Paseo de la Princesa in Old San Juan. The weather was ideal, sunny and warm.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, when considering how to spread Krishna consciousness to the Western countries thought that the worship of Lord Jagannath, because of His nature as patita-pavana, the uplifter of those fallen away from spiritual Vedic culture, would be appropriate to introduce. When Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada brought this Hare Krishna movement to the West, Jagannath was in fact the first deity to appear. The day before the Puerto Rico Ratha-yatra, Malati Devi, disciple of Srila Prabhupada, gave a wonderful class telling about the appearance of Lord Jagannath and His Ratha-yatra festival in the Hare Krishna movement in San Francisco in 1967.

Malati told us that in March 1967, she was shopping at Cost Plus Imports in San Francisco, and was attracted by some carved wooden figures that were made in India. After all, Swamiji was from India and Hare Krishna was from India, so that was only natural. She spontaneously popped a blackish one in her bag. Later when Shyamasundara and Mukunda showed the figure to Srila Prabhupada, he surprised them by greeting the figure with joined palms in obeisance. He inquired about the origins of the figure, and Malati explained. He asked if there were more, and she said there was a white one and a yellow one. Srila Prabhupada asked that she get them. He explained about Lord Jagannath, who was a form of Krishna, Lord Baladev, His brother, and Lady Subhadra, His sister, and expressed his desire that a devotee carve a larger replicas of them for worship.

Malati explained, “Shyamasundar liked wood and worked with wood, but he had not carved anything before. Still when Srila Prabhupada wanted someone to carve a large Jagannath from wood, he immediately agreed to do it. We were able to do things beyond our normal scope by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. Because Prabhupada told us the story about how the original Jagannath was carved from a log from the ocean, we decided to find a log from the ocean to carve Lord Jagannath. There was a salvage company that sold things found in the San Francisco Bay, so we went there. We told the guy in charge what we wanted, and he said to look around for it, and so we did. We found a large log, and were ready to go, but the guy in charge was no longer around, so we just left with it.

“Prabhupada said he would remain in San Francisco until Shyamasundar finished carving Jagannath. So Shyamasundar decided he would carve very slowly so Srila Prabhupada would stay with us longer.”

“When Srila Prabhupada unexpectedly came by our apartment to inspect the carving work, on the head of Subhadra was a pack of cigarettes. Shyamasundar said with genuine feeling, ‘I am sorry about the cigarettes.’ Srila Prabhupada said, ‘Yes, smoking is so hard to give up, but don’t let such a small thing as a stick of tobacco stand between you and your relationship with Krishna.’ With a flick of his walking stick he knocked the cigarette pack off the head of Subhadra. Then he gave Shyamasundar a practical strategy – to smoke one less cigarette each day until he was finished, and so he did.

“Their painting was the dress of the first Jagannath deities. Now we have elaborate deity ceremonies last three or five days, but ours was very simple. It must have pleased Lord Jagannath because He immediately reciprocated with us. Janaki was crying in the kirtana, and I asked her what was wrong. She said, ‘He is here. He is really here.’

“Srila Prabhupada explained that now the Lord Jagannatha had come they should observe the Ratha-yatra festival. The Skanda Purana gives a fixed date for Ratha-yatra, the second day of the bright fortnight in the month of Ashada [June-July], and the first one in 1967 in San Francisco was done on that day.”

Malati shared some of Srila Prabhupada instructions about the festival:

“Srila Prabhupada wanted profuse prasadam distribution. He said, ‘The cart is not different from Lord Jagannath. By decorating the cart, we are decorating our heart.’ He also explained, ‘Just looking at the cart is auspicious or touching the rope, touching at the cart.’

“Seeing Srila Prabhupada’s happiness hearing the report of our Ratha-yatra, we were overjoyed and became convinced about the festival’s great importance.”

Malati advised the devotees participating in Puerto Rico, “During the Ratha-yatra, interact with the public, smile at them, wave at them, and inspire them to take part.”

Paseo de la Princesa was a good place for the festival because it is part of a tourist section of Old San Juan and tourists both from Puerto Rico and abroad stroll through that area of the town.

The authorities gave us a less crowded time to pull Lord Jagannath on His chariot, but Bhadra Prabhu made up for it by doing a harinama, astreet procession of congregational chanting of the Holy Names, through a larger area later, at a busier time. Fortunately we had just enough invitations still left to invite people to partake of the spiritual food and the stage show.

On both processionsseveral onlookers were enchanted by the singing and dancing of the devotees, and began dancing themselves with great enthusiasm and it was beautiful to see.

Many copies of the Spanish version of “On Chanting Hare Krishna” were distributed. We had a book table at our festival site that was practically always busy throughout the day.

For the stage show we had music, bharat-natyam dances, and a short play. Bhadra Prabhu invited devotees from Alachua who perform at the Florida Ratha-yatras to come for that event. Bali and Dhanya lead kirtana, along with some of the local Puerto Rican devotees. Students from Bhakti Kalalayam Dance Academy came, along with their director, Anapayini dasi, and they did bharat-natyam dances that depict pastimes of Krishna. For over an hour there was a final kirtana that was very lively which Bhadra Prabhu and others led. Several people danced in the crowd, and passersby were attracted to stop and watch.

The play was a rendition of the ISKCON classic about the fool who polishes the bird cage without tending to the bird inside till it reeks of death.

After the festival, Virabahu Prabhu, the Governing Board Commissioner for Puerto Rico, thanked everyone who took part in a very heartfelt way that was impressive to me:

“It is a very sweet moment to glorify devotees. We pray to the Lord to bless everyone who took part in making this Ratha-yatra festival happen. We want to thank everyone. Nothing is small if it is offered to the Lord.

“I am moved that you [visiting devotees] who have great love for the holy name, Lord Jagannath, and these festivals, were inspired to come here. You have made this festival.

“If you ever had any doubts about miracles, now you can believe.

“Everyone has made a sacrifice. Thank you making such a nice sacrifice.”

Virabahu Prabhu told the story of how the festival came to Puerto Rico:

“The story started with Caitanya Jivan being brought in by Jaya Sita. Jaya Sita, although she met the devotees elsewhere, is from Puerto Rico. Prabhupada wanted the locals to do the preaching. We have to thank them for many more things than just Ratha-yatra. They encouraged a bhaktinto donate enough to pay the entire mortgage for the temple property on Janmastami in 2011. And before, that Caitanya Jivan donated a restaurant. I was very grateful and thanked him and asked, ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’
Caitanya Jivan said, ‘Yes. I just want there to be Ratha-yatra in Puerto Rico.’”

Bhadra Prabhu, spoke up, “You mentioned to my wife a couple of years ago to do something with Ratha-yatra in Puerto Rico. I thought of December because it is cold in the north. There are many tourists, especially between Christmas and New Years. Thus I came in February to meet with the devotees and discuss it. When I was in Alachua, Jaya Sita would communicate with me three, four, or five times a day about Ratha-yatra organization. Arisudana Prabhu, temple president of our ISKCON temple in Puerto Rico, encouraged me saying, ‘I am glad you are doing Ratha-yatra. If you did not do it I would not be happy.’ We did 1,500 plates of prasadam.”

Some devotees were doubtful that it was practical to do Ratha-yatra in Puerto Rico in 2014, but Bhadra Prabhu pointed out that whenever they encountered an obstacle, that Krishna had always shown a way to overcome it and so they should be optimistic. Emanuel, one of the devotees who believed it possible, had a dream of Srila Prabhupada walking down Paseo de la Princesa, expectantly surveying the site and smiling.

I was impressed to see how Jaya Sita, who I had known for her competence as a cellist and yoga instructor, in Gainesville, Philadelphia, and Mexico, and her faith in her guru, Hridayananda Goswami, had really developed into a festival organizer. Krishna describes a yogi to be one who is always equipoised in the face of all dualities, and she really seemed to be in that spirit, dealing with all the issues arising the day of the festival and those leading up to it. Caitanya Jivan Prabhu played a humble role behind the scenes, with plenty of energy, always ready to do whatever was needed to make it happen. Bhadra Prabhu, who is the leader of a team of devotees who do eight Ratha-yatras in Florida, contributed his great experience and a lot of time, and he engaged many devotees in doing the needful to make it happen. One devotee left his family in Alachua for several weeks to work on the Ratha-yatra cart.

It was beautiful that different senior devotees came there to help to make it a successful festival, Virabahu Prabhu, Adikarta Prabhu, Sankha Prabhu, Malati Devi, Laksmimani Devi, and Akuti Devi. Sankha Prabhu missed the Ratha-yatra because he was cooking the whole time. It was a worthy sacrifice as none of the preparations, rice, chickpeas, sabji, or halava,ran out during the over five hours prasadam was served.

I was involved with doing harinama and distributing invitations before the festival. One morning Adikarta Prabhu, Dhamesvar Das, Leo, and I did harinamain the Rio Piedras area of San Juan for almost two hours. I was impressed that at least 95% of the people took Ratha-yatra invitations, far beyond what I experience anywhere, except with Indradyumna Swami’s festivals in Poland. Later we went to Old San Juan and found although the Puerto Ricans continued taking many invitations, the mainland American tourists were very reluctant. Only those from India were very interested. When we returnedthe next day via public transportation, Mother Akuti was impressed with the positive attitude of the people on both the train and the bus, who would tap to our music or even try to follow the words. The day before the Ratha-yatra, as Keshava Prabhu, Abhayananda Prabhu and I were taking the bus to Old San Juan, the city bus driver asked us to sing, and we sang the whole rest of the way! In most places, bus drivers are among the people who tell you to stop singing, but in Puerto Rico the people are so friendly, the bus drivers invite you to sing! When our harinama party encountered Adikarta Prabhu distributing books, he stopped and joined our kirtana party. Being invited by proprietors or customers, we chanted in a jewelry shop, a clothes shop, and a bar, and we also chanted with a street musician. You can see in this video our party chanting on the bus, in the shops, and with the street musician (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xJbi8eRhvMhb54CZGvTJaFk):

All the devotees on the party were so enthusiastic to invite people to the festival, we would stop playing our instruments or singing to hand out the invitations to anyone who looked a little interested. Adikarta would even pass out the invitations when he was leading the chanting, and other devotees had to take over for him temporarily. I was so happy to see everyone’s enthusiasm to invite people to the Ratha-yatra!

Virabahu Prabhu advised the devotees about the Ratha-yatra deities: “You can consider the new Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra deities to be installed by the enthusiastic kirtana and participation in yesterday’s Ratha-yatra festival. Srila Prabhupada wrote in his Srimad-Bhagavatam6.3.25 purport, ‘Recently, when we established a large Krishna-Balarama temple in Vrindavan, we were obliged to have Vedic ceremonies enacted by brahmanasbecause the inhabitants of Vrindavan, especially the smarta-brahmanas,would not accept Europeans and Americans as bona fide brahmanas.Thus we had to engage brahmanasto perform costly yajñas.In spite of these yajñas,the members of our Society performed sankirtanaloudly with mridangas,and I considered the sankirtanamore important than the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies.’The next time a householder says that his deities are not installed, I will say, ‘Did you chant Hare Krishna before them?’”

The day after Ratha-yatra devotees had a twelve-hour kirtana in their temple in Puerto Rico, in a town called Gurabo, about 40 minutes outside San Juan on a mountain over looking the city and the ocean. Different devotees led for a half-hour or an hour. In particular, Dhanya’s kirtana was so lively it got everyone up dancing at one point. If you have Facebook, you can see it in this video at the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153015138805996&comment_id=10153017106600996&offset=0&total_comments=3

Although many of us were wiped out from the Ratha-yatra, it was a good idea to do the sustained kirtana. It is always good to give people the chance to experience the higher taste the comes from being absorbed in the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord. Lord Caitanya has said it is the nectar for which we are always anxious. Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami says, “The Absolute Truth is Sri Krishna, and loving devotion to Sri Krishna exhibited in pure love is achieved through congregational chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all bliss.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.96)

I was happy to go to the first ever Puerto Rico Ratha-yatra. I think Srila Prabhupada, who induced his father to do Ratha-yatra in their neighborhood, as a five-year-old child, feels some special joy to see the festival of his beloved Lord Jagannath come to another city. I went to the first Ratha-yatra in Brno, Czech Republic, in 2007, in Wroclaw, Poland, in 2009, in Fredrikstad, Norway, in 2011, in Passau, Germany, in 2012, and in Sheffield, England, in 2014, and I feel fortunate that by my friend Jaya Sita’s invitation and my friend Namamrita’s complimentary air tickets, my friend Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu and I could advertise and attend the first ever Puerto Rican Ratha-yatra.

This year I got to go early and do harinama and distribute invitations to the Ratha-yatras in Sheffield, London, Manchester, Dublin, Philadelphia, and Puerto Rico. Just the single day I spent promoting Dublin or the two days I spent in Philadelphia I felt was too short, so I went on six harinamas in five days in Puerto Rico. My realization is that the devotees put so much time and energy to organize festival programs to benefit the people in general, it is good if we become enthusiastic to promote them. On Indradyumna Swami’s Festival of India tour in Poland, for each festival site, he has three harinamas with fifty or sixty devotees, and each time in three hours, his eight distributors pass out seven thousand invitations, and nightly several thousand people attend his festivals. Such a commitment to advertising Ratha-yatras in ISKCON would really boost our popularization of Lord Krishna and His message of divine love.

Bhadra Prabhu hopes to make Ratha-yatra in Puerto Rico between Christmas and New Years a yearly event. For information on this coming year’s Ratha-yatra in Puerto Rico and those in North and Central Florida, check out his web site: www.festivalofchariots.org.

Harinamas in San Juan After the Ratha-yatra Festival

After the whole Ratha-yatra festival, we helped clean up for half an hour, and then did harinama to the taxi stand.

One lady wanted to have her picture taken with us.

Finding too few taxis, we took a bus, and Adikarta Prabhu led kirtanaon the bus, all the way to the train station. And then we chanted on the train all the way to Rio Piedras.

I had a feeling it would be difficult to get devotees to chant with me in Gainesville over the winter break, as well as to find populated places to chant, so I stayed in Puerto Rico until my ticket expired on December 31. I was glad I did because we got six devotees to chant together on harinama on December 29 in Rio Piedras and on December 30 in Old San Juan.

Krishna Keshava, Abhayananda, Atavi Krishna, Dhameshvar, and Sita Wolf chanted with me for about three hours in a busy shopping area on the streets of Rio Piedras near where Jaya Sita has her yoga center.

One boy danced to our music.

Sita, though not famous among the Hare Krishna kids as a kirtana leader, had a pleasing and loud voice and sang well.

Many people were happy to see us, like this street vendor.

One man, speaking to passers by his shop with a microphone, let us sing Hare Krishna into his microphone for as long as we wanted to, something that does not happen very often at all. Krishna Keshava started off.

Then Sita chanted into the mic.

The devotees chanted and danced in a circle in the middle of the street, where people were sitting on benches.

Bhakti Shakti dd, wearing green, who cooks for Jaya Sita’s yoga center, joined us in the kirtana. She is well known as a experienced vegetarian cook in Santa Domingo, where she got to cook for visiting guests like Bill Clinton and the Prince of Spain. We were all satisfied with her cooking, especially the pizza on the final day.

One woman played her tambourine with us.

Several people gave us donations although we had no donation box.

We even chanted in an indoor market with many vendors and many stalls, but no one complained.

One woman played her tambourine with us.

In that market Krishna Keshava bought coconuts to drink for everyone in our party, and we continued chanting as we drank the coconuts.

After the others had left, as Dhameshvar, Sita, and I chanted back to the yoga center, Billy, on the left of the above picture, came up and asked me, “Are you from Gainesville?” Turns out Billy grew up in Gainesville but now summers in NYC and winters in PR. He also said he saw me in Union Square in the fall! He eats at the Bhakti Cafe and attends kirtanas at the Bhakti Center, and wondered if we had prasadam and kirtana in Puerto Rico! I gave him the details. Thanks to Sita for the picture.

The final day we returned to Old San Juan.

This time we went to another tourist attraction, El Morro Fort (officially Castillo de San Felipe del Morro). Thanks to Jaya Sita for the picture.

The Trip Home to Gainesville

As we were flying standby, we decided to try for the early morning flight, which had four or five free seats the last time I checked. Turns out there when we arrived there were only two free seats and we were number seven and eight on the waiting list. Thus we did not make that flight and had to wait almost seven and a half hours for the next flight. As it was Ekadasi and I just wanted to chant extra japa of Hare Krishna on my beads and Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu just had to do some studying, because we could do both in the airport, we just stayed at the gate until the next flight. While waiting we also booked a Megabus for the evening from Orlando to Gainesville as we missed the Greyhound we previously booked.

When we got to Orlando, we still had to wait four and a half hours for the Megabus, but because the Orlando Airport has free wireless internet, we spent most of the time there.

New Years Eve Harinama in Gainesville

We arrived just before 10 p.m. in Gainesville, just in time for me to go on the New Years Eve Harinama which we had scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Krishna Keshava Prabhu kindly brought prasadam for me because all I had was tomato juice and peanuts on the airplane, and I was starving.

I was so happy we had thirteen devotees altogether. Some years I could only convince two or three people to come out on harinama on New Years Eve. This year I told Krishna Keshava Prabhu to organize it as I was out of town, and I asked Mother Mukhya, the temple president of Alachua, to advertise it, so we were much more successful.

Often passersby are too shy to participate in singing or dancing with us but on days like New Years Eve, and also Halloween, there is such a mood of celebration, many more people interact with the party, and knowingly or unknowingly get the benefit of serving the Lord by participating in His sankirtana movement, the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

You can see passersby in the video below were attracted to celebrate with the Hare Krishna devotees in Gainesville (http://youtu.be/5nv4mghcbdU):

Recalling New Adventures in 2014

Every year has some special new adventures for me, and I like to recall them at year’s end. The day after Gaura Purnima in 2014, I did harinama with Abhiram Prabhu in Bagru, Rajasthan, with the deities and sound system riding on camel driven carts. I did harinama all the way around Govardhan Hill for the first time with two friends from Ireland. I went to the first ever Ratha-yatra in Sheffield, England, and San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2014. In fact, I did harinama in Puerto Rico for the first time as well. I went to our Scottish temple, Karuna Bhavan, and did harinama in Glasgow, the city nearby, both for the first time, and also attended a kirtana program in Findhorn in the north of Scotland. Our harinama at the Green Festival in Newcastle, attracted participation by devotees from Scarborough and Leeds, and one of my Newcastle friends joined in our harinama in York. We also did harinama in a new city, Chester, England, for the first time, and also did an evening program there as well. These were so good we did both a second time this year too. It is nice to see the devotees in The North of England cooperating together to do more harinama. I was denied entry into the UK on August 25, the first time any country had denied me entry. I went couchsurfing in Lille, France, for the first time and ended up staying one night with a young Indian man, who had attended our temple in Hyderabad and who had gone to our Janmastami festival at Radhadesh the previous week, and a young lady from France, who had danced in our Mantra Yoga tent at the Polish Woodstock festival. I chanted in the Brussels Central Station for the first time. In Brooklyn we chanted in the Atlantic Avenue – Barclay’s Center subway station for the first time. In San Juan, a bus driver told our harinama party to sing on the bus for the first time.

I went to the Brooklyn Doughnut Plant for the first time to get prasadam doughnuts for my relatives. I flew out of the Islip MacArthur airport for the first time in order to get to Jacksonville in time to chant at the campus. I took the Chinese bus from Jacksonville, Florida, to New York City for the first time, to save Krishna’s money, and lived to tell about it. I got a Smartphone for the first time from my friend Dorian, and it is great having all Prabhupada’s main books in the palm of your hand. I made coconut burfi with saffron, cardamom, and rose water for the first time. I have a computer with the Linux operating system for the first time, thanks to Jiva Goswami Prabhu, and it is a pleasant change from Windows.

To see the photos I took but did not include in this journal, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1024?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLWc0a2Xp5fKzwE&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a letter to Tamal Krishna Goswami written in Bombay on November 21, 1974:

“Yes, train up the brahmanasvery carefully. Many Indians and foreigners criticize us how we can create brahmanas.They are under the impression that brahmanasare born like horses and asses are born. According to Bhagavad-gita brahmanasare according to gunaand karma. So the training of brahmanasshould be so nice that people will be forced to accept them as brahmanasby guna, quality, and karma, action.”

Tamal Krishna Goswami:

Srila Prabhupada told us that if we give up sense gratification and dedicate our life to serving Lord Caitanya, He will take us back to Godhead at the end of our life.

Book distribution is the most powerful service to make spiritual advancement because it forces one to take full shelter of guru and Krishna.

Radhanath Swami:

Kunti says that aspiring for wealth, parentage, beauty, and education blocks our spiritual progress, but if these assets are engaged in service to God, they become blessings.

In the Bible it is said it is easier for a rich man to get into heaven that to put a camel through the eye of a needle. If the rich man uses his assets in God’s service, then God who is full of inconceivable power will help him put the camel through the eye of the needle, and then the impossible becomes possible.

Advice to businessmen: Earn with integrity; spend with compassion.

I was with Srila Prabhupada in Vrindavan and just about six people were in his room. Someone asked him, “Are you guru of the whole world?”
Srila Prabhupada replied, with tears in his eyes, “No, I am servant of everyone.”

Hearing that, I thought within myself, “He is guru of the whole world!”

Compassion gives ecstasy to the soul. Sense gratification cannot.

Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu:

You get lots of realization from book distribution, even if you do not do so well at it. You notice that you do not do so well, and so you pray to Krishna, and then someone asks, “Do you have any Bhagavad-gitas?”

Even from the mundane point of view, if people see you do not really want to be there, they will not get int

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraJanuary 13, 2015Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.23: New York City and Stuyvesant Falls
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 23
By Krishna-kripa das
(December 2014, part one)

New York City and Stuyvesant Falls
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on January 3, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

On December 1, I took the Chinese bus from Jacksonville toNew York City to save money, and it was a pretty austere 19 hours, though scheduled to be17. I was still able to do 3 hours of harinamawhenI arrived the next day. Then I spent the rest of the first half of December with the New York City Harinam party, doing nearly 6 hours of harinama each day in different subway stationsexcept for December 6.. That day I went with Rama Raya and Bhagavatananda Prabhu of the party and a couple other disciples, to Stuyvesant Falls, New York, to celebrate the Vyasa Puja of our diksa guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami.

One night I gave a lecture at Atmanivedana Prabhu’s program at 26 Second Avenue, and I am always happy to see the enthusiasm of the devotees who come to and maintain it. I also gave a lecture at Krishna Balaram temple in Queens, where I am greatly impressed to see the enthusiasm of the devotees for the congregational chanting. On the A train back to Brooklyn, I encountered three young Afro-Americans from the Bronx who had also come to the Queens program and who were very happy to chant kirtana with me until I got off the train at Utica Avenue, greatly inspiring me.

I share a quote from a Srila Prabhupada lecture, notes on Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Vyasa Puja address, and some homages by his disciples, and notes on lectures by senior devotees at the Harinam Ashram, namely Abhiram Prabhu, Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu, Rama Raya Prabhu, Janmastami Prabhu (in transit from Mayapur to Florida), and Lilananda Prabhu (visiting from Italy).

Thanks to Kaliya Krishna Prabhu, who always makes sure I have enough money to ride the New York subways. Thanks to the devotees at 26 Second Avenue for their kind donation. Thanks to Bhakta John for driving us up to Stuyvesant Falls for Vyasa Puja.

Itinerary

January 3 – April 8: Florida (Gainesville, Alachua, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Tampa)

April 9–11: Washington, D.C.

April 12: Albany

April 13–15: New York City

April 16: Toronto

April 17–24: Ireland

New York City Harinam

Because of the cold and wet weather and because the Christmas Market took over our spot at Union Square, we chanted in the subway stations during the first half of December.

The Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center station in Brooklyn is a new one for us, and we started chanting there for the first time in November 2014. In the beginning, people did not know what to make of us, but as time went by they became more favorable. According to Wikipedia, it is the busiest subway station in Brooklyn because the B, D, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, and the 5trains all stop there and also the Long Island Railroad.

Even a police lady was seen moving to our music.

A kid gave a donation and got a pamphlet.

Ishvari Jahnava dd, originally from Russia and visiting from Vancouver, developed so much love and respect for the party seeing them online, she decided to come and render service. Here she played a lively tune on the accordion, getting Madhavi dd to dance.

Later a man joined in the dancing.

Another man was attracted by the presentation.

Others also danced with us there.

You can get a feel for the scene at Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center from this video where Rama Raya Prabhu is singing (http://youtu.be/sHQgI_5WrrI):

We also chant at 42^ndStreet – Times Square subway station, said to be the busiest station in the whole New York City subway system. There the A, C, E, N,Q, R, 1, 2, 3, and 7trains meet, as well as the Times Square shuttle,and there also is the Port Authority Bus Station.

Sometimes people dance with us.

Sometimes they play the gong.

Sometimes they play the shakers.

Sometimes they take photos of themselves with the Hare Krishnas.

Onceat Times Square, Bhagavatananda Prabhu noticed a Christian was approaching him. Before the Christian had a chance to open his mouth, Bhagavatananda Prabhu said to him with a smile, “Hey brother, Jesus loves you!” The guy was caught off guard, was a little frustrated that Bhagavatananda had stolen his line, and complained through his little sound system that we did not understandabout the love of Jesus.

Jackson Heights, which is populated by a lot of Indians, other Asians, and Hispanics, is where we get the most people to stay for some and listen to our kirtana. There we sing in the Roosevelt Avenue – Jackson Heights subway station, the warmest of all the ones where we sing.

When Rama Raya Prabhu sings with unparalleled enthusiasm, often we get a crowd listening (http://youtu.be/onuwal3PHlo):

There we chant just near the stairs leading down to the subway, and when the trains come in, lots of people pass by us as you can see in this video, in which a local guitarist also joined us (http://youtu.be/GqTks5cMtPQ):

Because we sing at Union Square in the good weather, we are generally well received also in the Union Square subway station.

Here one man who received a pamphlet read it immediately.

If Madhavi dd can find another girl, like Clarissa, to join her, then she will become inspired to dance.

Lee, although 70 years old, often will come and play the flute at Union Square.

Rama Raya Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna to the “Jingle Bells” tune and a passerby in a Christmas costume danced (http://youtu.be/zWsbKxgq4c4):

Michael Collins, who I know from chanting together in Gainesville, sometimes sings with us. Here he sings a lively tune at Union Square (http://youtu.be/znTvqEkBdTA):

Ananta Prabhu led a kirtana that got manyof the devotees dancing (http://youtu.be/PQksg8XhgTs):

One kid enjoyed dancing to the Hare Krishna music so much his mom had great difficulty dragging him away (http://youtu.be/pd_z-ddSoZg):

Ishvari Jahnava dd describes a wonderful incident at Union Square which I missed, having left early to give a lecture in Queens: “On December 14 a six-year-old could not pass us by . . . she stayed with us dancing and playing a shaker. And then she started to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,reading it from the card with her dancing sister. And when her dad came to pick her up she confidently took a card with the maha-mantrafrom the book table and handed it to her dad making him to chant with her. I could not believe my eyes . . . ” You can see some of this in her video if you have access to Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=863468030341941&set=vb.100000362570093&type=2&theater

Vyasa Puja of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, one of the early disciples of Srila Prabhupada, most famous for having written his authorized biography, Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, was born seventy-five years ago, and his disciples observed the standard Vyasa-puja celebration in his honor. There were more people there than usual.

In this picture, he wears the string of red beads that Srila Prabhupada chanted on at his initiation in 1966.

He gave a talk and people read homages. The oldest disciples, beginning from those initiated in 1978 read their offerings first. There were so many disciple those initiated in 1983, like myself did not get speak. I will include my offering below, which I had written, after the others.

When I came up to get a copy of the the third and final volume of his autobiography, The Story of My Life, I told Guru Maharaja that I had put my Vyasa Puja offering in the book of offerings that the devotees had given him, but I had forgotten a couple things. In his daily journal, he often writes, “I called out to Krishna because without His blessings I cannot do japaon my own endeavor. ” I told him I liked that sentiment when I initially read it, but it took two weeks or so before I was able to consistently pray like that every day, but now I can and I think it helps. I also told him, “Because you have faith in the holy name, we are able to have faith in the holy name, and because you have faith in Srila Prabhupada, we are able to have faith in Srila Prabhupada. Thank you.” He was pleased to hear that.

I saw Satya Devi, the wife of Ramabhadra Prabhu, the temple president of Radha Govinda Mandir, at Vyasa Puja for the first time in quite a while. She came with a friend, Lalita Devi, and they were glad that they came.

Satya gave Guru Maharaja a garland from Govinda in Brooklyn.

Guru Maharaja took off his previous garland and gave it to her.

The prasadam was awesome as usual, and there was plenty of it. Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu’s spinach and panirwas very tasty, and his sweet rice was wonderful.

There was a winter festival that night in Hudson, the largest city nearby, and we hoped chant there with our instruments afterward. It was a cold and wet night, however, and no one except me still wanted to go out chanting. I thought we should have chanted one time down the street despite the bad weather conditions because there is so much benefit in it for all concerned.

Doughnut Plant

Part of my relationship with my niece, Fern, and my sister, Karen, is to go to the Doughnut Plant, the prasadam business run by Hare Krishna devotee Mark Israel, which has just opened a new location in Brooklyn, at 245 Flatbush Avenue. We always go to the one in the Chelsea Hotel, which is generally closer to where we are.

Here Fern and Karen are happy after doughnuts and hot chocolate with vegan marshmallows, a favorite.

ISKCON News had a nice story on the Doughnut Plant and its founder andhistory, which you may be interested in.

To see photos that I took but did not include in this blog, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1023?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCI-Tnq6HzYP4YA&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

“Srimad-Bhagavatamis filled with descriptions of the characteristics of various devotees, with reference to the service of the Lord. This Vedic literature is called Bhagavatambecause it deals with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee. By studying Srimad-Bhagavatamunder the direction of the bona fide spiritual master, one can perfectly understand the science of Krishna, the nature of the material and spiritual worlds, and the aim of life. Srimad-Bhagavatam amalam puraṇam. Srimad-Bhagavatamis the spotless Vedic literature, as we have discussed in the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Therefore, simply by understanding Srimad-Bhagavatam, one can understand the science of the activities of the devotees, the activities of the demons, the permanent abode and the temporary abode. Through Srimad-Bhagavatam, everything is perfectly known.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

Ravindra Svarupa’s book on Srila Prabhupada as founder-acarya is well researched and worth reading. I recommend it to everyone.

I am a Prabhupada cela, although I have disciples. I instruct them to read his books.

Regarding my book Readings in Vedic Literature, Srila Prabhupada told me, “You having quoted the rascals without becoming contaminated.”

When I inquired from Srila Prabhupada about writing he replied, “Persons like the Goswamis wrote so many books, and so I am writing. My disciples will also write. Unlimited books can be written without deviating from the original source.”

Srila Prabhupda advised, “We should assimilate and present in our own words.”

The goal of the devotee artist is glorify Krishna with heartfelt expression.

Prabhupada Smaranam is one of my favorite books.

The BBT in Russia has printed Prabhupada,Readings in Vedic Literature, and Narada-bhakti-sutra. They are also printing the full length Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita.

Devamrita Swami wrote me greatly appreciating Prabhupada Smaranam, how the book draws you into it and shares beautiful insights about Srila Prabhupada, and you cannot put it down.

My disciples and I are a family within in the family of ISKCON. There are no temples of my disciples, but they can unite around my books. Some disciples who teach seminars use my books.

Chanting japa is a very personal connection with the spiritual master. It is the one vow you made to me, to Prabhupada, to the Deity, to the fire. Japais becoming increasingly the essence of my Krishna conscious bhajana.

From “Free Writing in ISKCON”:

Telling them “Not quarreling or fault finding.”

Bowing down before him, feeling surrender in your bones.

Prabhupada gave it [the danda, the staff of one in the renounced order of life] to you with the instruction, “Preach, preach, preach.”

Srila Prabhupada said Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s desire was fulfilled when Bengalis and Westerners chanted Hare Krishna together.

Prabhupada was satisfied whether I was in Boston, Dallas, or traveling.

From “Vani and Vapu”:

It became different when there was only vani[Srila Prabhupada’s instruction] and not vapu [Srila Prabhupada’s personal presence].I had a Prabhupada murti[worshipable statue] to keep in touch.

As you get older you do fewervarieties of service. You do japa,read, and write. You hope Srila Prabhupada is pleased with you.

I experienced sweet weeks of living like a sadhu in Vrindavan.

One is invited to do fiction by the acaryas who have written fiction [like Bhaktivinoda Thakura].

I decided to end this series called The Story of My Life because it may seem egotistical to have so many volumes with that title. I will create a new series with the working title Looking Backwards. Rupa Vilasa my proofreader suggested I abbreviate it to Looking Back, and explain in the introduction the reason. I want to review the books I have written in my life.

Offerings:

Disciples from 1978:

Janmastami Prabhu:

I had the honor of garlanding you when you came for the first time to 55^thStreet in New York. I was thrilled. You spoke on Srila Prabhupada’s mood and the maya sukhaya [illusory happiness] verse. You have always talked about the chanting. You would say that Srila Prabhupada said we should use our best intelligence to chant Hare Krishna. And throughout our relationship you have always emphasized the chanting, and I am so grateful for that.

In Mayapur Suresvara Prabhu talked to all the devotees about Srila Prabhupada from Lilamritatoday, your Vyasa Puja day.

Brahma-sampradaya Prabhu:

You say you do not travel, but you are traveling all around the world every day by your web site.

Syama Gopa Rupa Devi:

I first heard you speak dispelling doubts arising by Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto5, Part 2. I was impressed by your pure devotion to Srila Prabhupada and his presentation of Vedic Cosmology.

You publish your daily journal which is honest and transparent.

I am blessed to be able to assist you publishing your writings.

We are an eternal spiritual family, and yet we do not know each other so much, so we should get together more.

Mukta-vandya Prabhu:

I was always fried about a lot of things, but when I heard you were going to be the guru for the devotees in Boston, I was happy because I had experienced you before.

You say for those who were first initiated by Prabhupada, they could take you as spiritual master or not, and I decided I would. Later disciples of Srila Prabhupada could not easily have his association, but if they were brought in my you or TKG, they could come right in. I feel if I am with you I will be with Prabhupada.

Samika Rsi Prabhu:

You said guru is like father and disciple is like son.

You lovingly taught us how to chant the gayatrimantra.

My mother wanted some material blessings for her son, and you explained the spiritual master is just for spiritual blessings.

You would write notes to Anarta, my wife, about what you wanted to eat, and that was a very personal connection.

Haridasa Prabhu:

You spoke in Dallas after Srila Prabhupada’s leaving.

One cannot think of you without thinking of Srila Prabhupada, and one cannot think of Srila Prabhupada without thinking about Krishna.

Disciples from 1979:

Haryasva Prabhu:

I wanted to know and love Srila Prabhupada. And you have given me that, and are giving me that more and more.

You have given me a family of wonderful godbrothers and godsisters.

I have always felt love from you. The same as I felt from my mother except this is better.

Your books are a treasure. I understand more your enthusiasm to distribute them.

Lila-avatara dd:

I appreciate how you stress chanting the holy names.

Once you told me, “If you cannot chant on your beads, chant in your mind, but do not forget the chanting.”

We want to emulate you by giving others so many things to benefit their spiritual lives.

I find by the chanting I forget about the pains of illness.

Your pictures and drawings of devotees dancing with upraised arms make me happy.

A person who chants japaand worships Madhusudana attains the spiritual kingdom.

Baladeva from Trinidad:

We are celebrating your almost 50 years of service to Srila Prabhupada.

Laksmi Narayana Prabhu:

Even disciples of other gurus glorify your books for inspiring them in spiritual life.

Kirtan Rasa Prabhu:

Pray to Krishna I may always go along with you. Pray to Krishna for your health and long life. Do not think it is selfish.

Vishnu Aradhanam Prabhu:

Thank you for your tapes, books, and website for telling us about Krishna and His holy name.

Kalki Devi:

“YOU ARE My INSPIRATION. You inspire me by the description of your feelings when you write about your chanting sessions.”

“So many human beings have been touched by these writings which are coming from your heart.”

“You share so much of yourself in many ways, and therefore this helps to bring us (your disciples) closer together under your shelter.”

“I just pray I can follow even in a small way your example and make this lifetime successful.”

When I see Radha-Damodara I think of you. You are together in my mind.

Disciples of 1980:

Bhagavatananda Prabhu:

I heard Srila Prabhupada had just left and there were new spiritual masters and one was coming. I returned and heard you. Sitting way in the back, I could hardly hear. I heard you was coming again. I returned and also sat in the back and did not really hear or understand. When I left the room and hit the street, I recalled that being in your association was so peaceful, quite unlike the street scene I was entering.

You gave me the service of preaching in Jamaica, and I am not done with it.

Your disciples are very powerful.

That Jada Bharata Prabhu left us. I think he was the first of us to go. We should take note that we also will go, and we should associate while we can.

I have been with Rama Raya Prabhu his party. To be in the association of like minded people chanting Hare Krishna in New York, I am refreshed and invigorated like the old days and optimistic about the future of ISKCON. I am inspired you have produced disciples like that.

Disciples from 1981:

It was my great, great fortune that you were my zonal acarya.

When you give a class, you are giving us Krishna in a very direct way.

You wrote me once, “Janmastami [your leader on the book distribution party] is not your spiritual master.”

Rama Raya Prabhu:

That you have wonderful disciples doing things all over the world is evidence of your position as a bona fide spiritual master. You have led the way for all the devotees in ISKCON, stressing the chanting of the holy name. Many of your godbrothers are inspired in that way following your example. Srila Prabhupada said it is the first duty of a sannyasi to give a literary contribution, but you have given many, many literary contributions, and these are lasting contributions.

I am very inspired by your realization of the harinama. You are inspiring us in that.

Krishna-kripa das:

“You teach by your glorious example to put the japa of the holy names as a top priority by rising early and doing the bulk of your japa before other things. ‘Of all the instructions of the spiritual master, the order to chant sixteen rounds is essential.‘You always strive to improve the quality of your chanting, especially in attentiveness, and you share your struggles with others for their benefit. You remind us that the maha-mantra is composed of Radha’s and Krishna’s names and is a prayer to be engaged in Their service. You inspire us by telling how you are now, for the most part, not disturbed by outside thoughts. And you teach us to yearn for the day when we see the form and pastimes of the Lord spontaneously appearing in our minds when we chant.

“Now I am chanting with Rama Raya Prabhu’s party in Union Square, and you inspire us all by your appreciation, replete with choice scriptural references, of the supreme importance of nagara sankirtana, and your words especially encouraging us in our venue in New York City. Through your paintings and drawings of happily dancing devotees, you also remind me of the instruction you gave me back in the 1980s to ‘dance more in kirtana.‘By promoting the dancing you follow Srila Prabhupada, who always appreciated the dancing of the devotees, and Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, who are always dancing, even in Their Deity forms.

“Through your daily writing and artwork you teach the importance of engaging your God-given talents in His service, as well as reminding us that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to write down our realizations every day. Your writings provide inspiration for us to apply Srila Prabhupada’s instructions in our lives and thus attain spiritual perfection.

“Your determination to make good on your promises to Srila Prabhupada for the reminder of your life inspires us to keep our promises to you.

“Thank you for inspiring us, your disciples, as well as the devotees in general, by your personal example and your literature.

“Please bless us that we might always follow your path back to Godhead, your life of devotion to guru and Krishna.”

To see all the offerings in the tributes book for 2014, click on the link below:

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A3auw8/SDGMaharajaTributesB/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffree.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fpublisher_options%2F2615177%2FSDG-Maharaja-Tributes-Book-2014

Abhiram Prabhu:

There is a tendency for people to create an aristocracy, a privileged class. This is so powerful it happens even in a spiritual movement.

The Goswamis of Vrindavan accepted Bhaktivinoda Thakura because he was initiated by Bipin Bihari Goswami, but they consider the line stopped there. They do not accept Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and what to speak of Srila Prabhupada?

Comment by Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu: On a morning walk in Central Park, Srila Prabhupada saw a branch detached from a tree and said, “Asara (useless).” Then he explained that because the branch was detached from the tree although it was green now it would soon dry up. Similarly he explained that because the different apasamprayadas [unauthorized lineages] are detached from Lord Caitanya they are worthless.

Many persons I met in India while doing business were born in brahmana families and wore brahmana threads, but their activities were indistinguishable from the others in society.

It is easy for elitism to creep in. “I have been here for two years but this person has only been here two months.”

There is no special door to Krishnaloka marked “Prabhupada disciples.”

We offer respect to a superior because no one attains a superior position without the blessing of Krishna.

It is a great credit to realize that we are dependent on God for our daily bread, but simply to worship God to attain bread is a subreligious idea.

Lord Caitanya’s teachings are available, and we can execute this bhagavata dharma and attain perfection.

We have the tendency to serve someone great. This is natural and not wrong, but ultimately the Supreme Lord is meant to be the object of our complete devotion.

Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu:

The San Diego devotees had a Govardhan festival in Balboa Park in the 1970s. Between that and a college program, four people joined. On Radha Damodar it was not unusual to have two or four join the party from a program.

My greatest realization is that God is a person.

The Mayavada philosophy has the defect that we have a quality, namely form, that is not present in the Supreme.

Bhakti is to meditate on the name, form, qualities, and pastimes of the Lord.

Golf is the materialists’ sannyasa. The forest is the golf course, and the danda [the staff of the renounced order] is the golf club.

When the Radha-Damodara party became more oriented toward book distribution and the mood changed, the original members of the party dispersed, mostly to India.

Srila Prabhupada did not want divorce, and Srila Prabhupada did not want remarriage. That is clear. Yet he sometimes permitted these when he felt that otherwise the devotee would leave the society of devotees.

A pujari in the Gaudiya Matha fell down with a woman, and the temple leaders kicked him out. When Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura found out, and he was angry and said, “I will not come to your temple until you get that man back.”

The verse, Bhagavad-gita 9.30 is for us to recognize a sadhuand to respect him, not for the sadhuhimself.

Recognition, remorse, rectification, and reunion are the four stages of recovering from a falldown.

There is one tribe when if you do something wrong theyput you in the center of all the members and each one says something good about you. Then when the offender is inspired by the love of the others he generally rectifies himself.

Comments by Janmastami Prabhu: There was a case when a sankirtanaleader had sex with two sankirtanaunmarried ladies. Prabhupada called the ladies in and advised them, “Do not that do anymore because it is not good for your spiritual life.” He called the sankirtanaleader and chastised him by sentencing him to not have sweets for a year.

Fault faulting has been compared to bathing in the urine of an ass. You think you are getting clean, but you are actually becoming more dirty.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had a retreat center where a sannyasicould go who had some falldown to gain strength. That kind of thing is what should be done.

Look how Krishna dealt with Ajamila’s falldown.

Comments by Brajaraja Prabhu:

If a soldier falls on the battlefield, you do not imprison him or kill him, but you bring him to a hospital.

Comments by Abhiram Prabhu:

In crowd dynamics the consciousness of a crowd tends to descend to the level of the lowest member.

Bhavananda and Ramesvara said Yamuna and Dinatarine were cut off from ISKCON because they were living on their own and not in the temple. They asked Srila Prabhupada what temple he wanted them to live in. He said that he saw no need for them to move, that they were nicely situated with their Deities, and explained that association can be two or two hundred, but it must be favorable.

From a class on Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,Adi 1.63:

The moralist tries to make a better life in the material world but not transcend it, and so he is considered by Bhaktivinoda Thakura to be a materialist.

We are protected by the Lord when we are acting according to the scriptures and saints.

A great Muslim saint said that words that come from the heart go to the heart.

Krishna’s love enters the heart of the pure devotee, and from the heart of the pure devotee it comes into our heart.

In the association of a pure devotee are found the four other principle limbs of bhakti, namely the chanting of the holy name, hearing of Srimad-Bhagavatam, faithfully serving the deity, and living in a holy place.

We cannot distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books without reading them and appreciating they are the panacea for all the sufferings of humanity.

The goal is to always remember and never forget Krishna, and Srila Prabhupada and the acaryas [the previous great spiritual teachers] have given us many ways to do this.

Materially tinged means having the tendency to put ourselves in the center.

Of the six Puranas in the mode of goodness, only the Srimad-Bhagavatam is known as amalam-puranam, having no material touch.

Janmastami Prabhu:

If we can find some area that Srila Prabhupada wanted developed that has been neglected and we make some significant contribution in that area, that will be a great source of spiritual strength.

After Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura departed, he had made it clear he wanted his mission to go on under the direction of a governing body. His disciples ignored this and elected someone to be their leader. That leader found out what his eternal relationship with Krishna was and engaged in raganuga-bhakti performing nirjana-bhajana, all against the desire of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. What was result? He fell down and the preaching mission of the Gaudiya Matha was curtailed.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that the full pastimes of the divine couple are within the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Srila Prabhupada said that we have wasted many lifetimes but that if we dedicate this one life to the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, even if we are not perfect, the Lord will make up for it, and we will go back to Godhead at end of life. Srila Prabhupada is so dear to Krishna that Krishna will certainly fulfill his words.

Srila Prabhupada put so much importance on writing books because he could understand by doing that he could massage the hearts of his followers for generations.

There is a verse that says there is no difference between bhaktithat is performed with a taste or without a taste as long as the goal is the same.

Srila Prabhupada said that a representative for a company may negotiate a contract. Later the proprietor of the company may review the contract and disagree with it, but because his representative negotiated it, he will honor it anyway. When Giriraja Swami heard this, hefound it bewildering how that the acaryacould disagree with Krishna, but later he was able to appreciate that the Lord and His representatives have different personalities.

At the end of Nirguna Prabhu’s life, there is no question that his eternal relationship with Krishna was revealed to him. He was a completely dedicated book distributor, distributing many thousands of books.

The first picture Nirguna had seen as a new devotee was Krishna lifting Govardhan Hill. About 10 days before he left this world, he got the intimation that he was a manjari in Krishna lila, but was not for sure. He talked as if he was waiting for an invitation to go back to the spiritual world and enter this pastime. Hari Sauri Prabhu asked him from time to time if he had received such a sign, but he said no dejectedly. When he had practically no pulse and was breathing 2 or 3 times a minute, and was unconscious, the doctor said he had just a few hours to live. They had kirtana all night. Kurma sang seven hours. Around 7:22 a.m. he became conscious and began singing along with the kirtana, although he previously could just make a whisper. Nirguna said he was told, “Get your piece and go.” A devotee asked him, “What is that?” He replied, “Giriraja.” The devotee repeated his understanding, “Giriraja said to go and take Him?” Nirguna replied, “Yes.” He was asked, “Did you get your invitation?” “Yes.” he said, very blissfully. One of the Govardhan silas was not found after he had passed away.

We do not endeavor for raganuga, but it will be revealed as our preaching matures.

Rama Raya Prabhu:

As long as we identify our self with our body and mind, we are slaves to the illusory energy of the Lord.

There is a limit to how much knowledge you can give people, but there is not a limit to how much harinama [congregational chanting of the holy name] you can give them.

You do not get realization about something you do not do.

By desire we come to this material world, by desire we stay in this material world, and by desire we go back to the spiritual world.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: If the sadhu speaks flattering words, he will mislead people into sense enjoyment.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: Tolerance and humility are meant to aid in preaching the Absolute Truth.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura blessed Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati with the ability to preach the truth despite all opposition by the people in general.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati explains that pure presentation of the truth is so powerful that even when it is opposed, it will be accepted by all honest people who hear it.

This material world is where people come to be the big fish. They do not want to be reminded that they are not the big fish but are meant to serve the big fish.

By serving the mission of the master, we get the vision of the master.

Actions speak louder that words. Lord Caitanya delivered millions of people in South India simply by harinama-sankirtana. He only spoke philosophy to just a few people.

The holy name is all merciful. It is up to us to arrange the meeting.

All the service the disciple performs for the guru is not for the benefit of the guru but the benefit of the disciple. This is just like the mathematical problems given by the math teacher and solved by the student are meant for the student’s benefit not the benefit of the math teacher.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: Any deception in devotional service is actually only self-deception.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: Only one who hascandidly surrendered everything to the service of the Lord can obtain the ultimate good.

Prabhupada got into an argument with a unsubmissive hippie in India purposely to separate the audience in to those think the sadhu should always speak sweetly, who left, and those who are willing to hear the truth, even if uncomfortable, who stayed.

It is natural for people to be with their family members so for Krishna to tie someone into a family relationship with Him [as with the Pandavas] is a great favor.

Abhiram Prabhu says we cannot go back to Godhead without our Godbrothers because when we get there Srila Prabhupada will say, with displeasure, “Where is so-and-so Prabhu?”

In the rasa dance all the gopis were together, yet they were experiencing Krishna individually. It is also like that when as a group we take darsana [or view] the Deity, we are all there together, but each of us has his own experience.

In our kirtana we should pray for the pure holy name to appear and deliver everyone.

Lord Shiva appears in four places to guard Vrindavan.

People tend to glorify those who are superior but that is misused to glorify leaders in sense gratification instead of the Lord who is possessed of all divine qualities.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati describes that just as the sun can be never seen at night by using artificial lighting, the Supreme Lord, the guru, and the Vaishnava cannot be understood by the mental speculation of materialistic persons but only when they reveal themselves.

A hippie challenged Srila Prabhupada, “How will this Hare Krishna benefit the world?”

Srila Prabhupada replied, “You are not of this world? As it has benefited you, it will benefit others.”

Lilananda Prabhu:

Although Krishna is inconceivable, He can be partially understood by the grace of the lineage of spiritual teachers.

Srila Prabhupada once said, “Anyone who gives one cent to Krishna will not have to go to hell.”

As guru dakshina[remuneration to the guru] Prabhupada and his followers, who saved us from hell, wanted us to spread these teachings.

Although Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj did not preach, he had a strong desire that Lord Caitanya’s teachings be spread.

In Italy the people are pious, and they can generally understand whether they are meeting a genuinely religious person or someone bogus.

We were taught to always give everyone something, spiritual food, literature, chanting, etc., and we try to do that.

Matysa Avatar Prabhu has cultivated academics and other leaders in society, encouraging them to chant Hare Krishna.

—–

This is one of my favorite quotes about the holy name because gives me great conviction about its

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraJanuary 4, 2015Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.22: New York City and Florida
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 22
By Krishna-kripa das
(November 2014, part two)

New York City and Florida
(Sent from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 26, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

For the second half of November, after four more daysof chanting with the New York City harinama party, I went to Florida for eleven days to attend the Festival of the Holy Name and to chant at four universities, two football stadiums, and the Gainesville Farmers Market. Only the two Sundays and Thanksgiving Day did I not do harinama, the other eight I did.

It was nice to see the beautiful deities Radha-Shyamasundar in Alachua, who look gorgeous even in their simpler evening dress.

I have a powerful quote from a letter by Srila Prabhupada, wonderful realizations on varnasrama by Bhakti Raghava Swami, wisdom from Rtadhvaja Swami, notes on classes in Alachua County, Florida, by Kalakantha Prabhu, Nanda Devi, and Ranjit Prabhu, and in New York by Abhiram Prabhu and Rama Raya Prabhu.

I would like to thank Namamrita Prabhu, who is a pilot with Airtran, for the guest pass enabling me to fly to Florida for the Festival of the Holy Name and several harinamas and college outreach opportunities in the second half of November. Thanks to Mithuna Prabhu and another devotee from ISKCON Queens for their kind donations. Thanks to Lovelesh and the JAX Krishnas and Sudevi and the Bhakti Satsang of USF for their donations. Thanks to Badahari Prabhu of Krishna House, Alex, Raju, Lovelesh, Amrita Keli, and Kalki for driving me around in Florida, and Lovelesh, Amrita Keli, and Sundari Gopi for letting me stay at their place in Jacksonville and Sudhir for letting me stay at his place near Tampa. I am so dependent on the mercy of the devotees!

Thanks also to Courtney for her pictures of us chanting at University of North Florida, Dennis Sher of PhotoIsMyLife.comfor pictures of the evening kirtana at the house of Gaura Shakti Allin, and JR (Janaka Rsi) for the pictures of the Gainesville harinamaon the street corner. Thanks to Jiva Photos – NRR for the photos of the Alachua Festival of the Holy Name.

Itinerary

December 26 to 30: San Juan, Puerto Rico
December 31 to April 2015: Florida (Gainesville, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Tampa)

Chanting at the University of North Florida

After flying from New York, I chanted for four hours at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville on a beautiful sunny day. Eight devotees participated for some of the time! It was a pleasant change for me from the New York subways. Thanks all who participated.

Chad, sitting with his back to the camera, impressed me by joining our chanting party twice and allowing me to rest at his place before the program although he has only been coming to Krishna Club for a few weeks. The Krishna Club meeting was also very nice. As usual there were dedicated regulars and new people.

I planned to take the Chinese bus from Jacksonville to New York City on November 30, the Sunday evening of the Thanksgiving Weekend, but it was full.

Thus I got to chant at the UNF campus again the next day, and Amrita Keli, Dorian, Mallory, and Chad joined me. Both the day I arrived from Florida and the day I returned to New York, we met people on the campus who were very interested to learn of our Krishna Club and its meetings. One lady came by both days and the second time gave us a donation for the book she had received from us eleven days before.

Chanting at the University of South Florida

The next day after flying to Jacksonville from New York for the programs at the campus there, I took a bus to Tampa, where Raju Manthena and I chanted for four hours at University of South Florida and at least three new people came to the evening program as a result. The staff let us chant right in front of the library door. Andrew, a brand new person, learned the karatalasin one sitting.

Another student enjoyed talking with us.

I used to chant just three hours at the universities but inspired by Rama Raya Dasa and Harinama NYC I increased to four the first two days in Florida!

The evening program at University of South Florida was well attended. That night attenders included an inter-faith group liking to experience and to learn about different spiritual practices and who had lots of questions.

We did a lively stand up kirtana briefly at the end of that program, and the student who enjoyed talking to us, a first-timer at the club meeting, brought his instrument to play along.

Chanting at the University of Florida Stadium

Devotees from Alachua have been chanting outside the stadium for two hours before the University of Florida home football games since before I moved to Alachua in 1994.

Here Kaliyaphani Prabhu, a Srila Prabhupada disciple originally from England, led the chanting.

A group of devotees ladies danced, with Nitai dd distributing Krishna: Reservoir of Pleasure. Tulasirani dd most perfectly wore the orange and blue of the Florida Gators.

One young devotee lady distributed prasadam cookies.

Other devotees distributed literature.

One aging fan smilingly said, “I was with you guys 45 years ago.” Turns out he was in Gainesville when Prabhupada visited on July 29, 1971, and was friends with Amarendra and Gadi Prabhus of the Gainesville Hare Krishna temple. Someone else, probably at least in his late forties, came up and said, “I just want to thank you guys for being here!”

Festival of the Holy Name

For several years devotees in Alachua have had a twenty-four kirtana called “Festival of the Holy Name” the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November). The devotees chant twelve hours each day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. One devotee was telling me it is our best festival in Alachua, and I agree. Thus even when I am in New York City, I come back for it. Madhava Prabhu, originally from Mauritius, comes every year. This year and last Agnidev Prabhu from Trinidad came. One year Niranjana Swami came. He was very impressed with all the work the Hare Krishna devotee youth of Alachua did to put on the event and told me he would come again just to encourage them. Unfortunately it did not work out with his schedule the last two years.

Beginning the Saturday before, there are evening kirtanas for three hours or so at different devotees homes or at the temple each night.

The first one was Gaura Shakti Allin’s, and his place was packed full. It was ecstatic. He is dancing with upraised arms by the door.

His beautiful Gaura Nitai deities made it extra special.

Jagannath Kirtan sang.

And Madhava Naidoo sang.

Purushartha Prabhu played the bass.

I danced as did a number of others.

Ultimately I escaped to the kitchen in search of more room to dance.

The other evening kirtanas were wonderful as was the Festival of the Holy Name itself.

Gaura-Nitai

and

Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra

increased our meditation and our devotion.

It made me so happy to see so many friends, acquaintances, and people I did not even know all together singing Hare Krishna heart and soul.

Events like this give the participants and onlookers a chance to experience that the holy name is a transcendental sound beyond our material experience and to increase their own commitment to chanting. Through chanting of the divine names all material miseries can be vanquished and all spiritual happiness can be attained. It is so nice. The ultimate attainment from chanting is described in this beautiful verse from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 1.96: “The Absolute Truth is Sri Krishna, and loving devotion to Sri Krishna exhibited in pure love is achieved through congregational chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all bliss.”

I did not take many pictures and just one video. Friday, the first day, the first kirtana that got a few people up dancing was lead by Mitra Sena Prabhu and lots of his friends, mostly from North Carolina. It was really upbeat and joyous (http://youtu.be/Y4MT1lr-APE):

On Saturday, when I returned from Tallahassee, Dhanya was singing so beautifully I had to listen until she finished even though I needed to use the bathroom after the journey and was also attracted by the dinner being served out.

Madhava always tries to get the audience to completely absorb themselves in the holy name, and I appreciate his emphasis on that.

The final evening, when Madhava Prabhu sang, the tent was packed full. With great difficulty I found a place to dance behind the people sitting in chairs.

I personally want to thank all the Alachua youth and the New Raman Reti devotees who put so much time, energy, and money into the festival, and I hope it gets better and better every year.

Chanting in Gainesville Across from the University

It was inspiring to me to see that seventeen devotees took a break from the Festival of the Holy Name to maintain the weekly harinama across from the University of Florida in Gainesville.

One local joined in and danced with us.

Chanting at the Florida State University Stadium

Every second year the Gainesville Florida Gators play the Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles in Tallahassee, and devotees have been chanting outside that stadium for two hours before that game for several years. Now that event coincides with the second day of the Festival of the Holy Name, but still nine devotees took an eight and a half hour break from the festival to drive to Tallahassee and sing at that event. All the devotees involved in our student center by FSU were not there because of the holiday weekend, and Suresh, who has been involved in assisting Hare Krishnas in Tallahassee for over 20 years, helped facilitate our party in many different ways, and we were very grateful to him.

Nagaraja Prabhu, editor of Back to Godhead,came on almost all the harinamas for many years. Then for some time, being absorbed in other commitments, he did not come so much, but now I see him again almost every time, and we are happy to have him back.

One lady wearing Gator colors played the karatalaswhile she danced.

An older Gator fan tried beating the drum.

One Seminole fan danced with Krishna Keshava Prabhu in great delight for quite some time, and his friends took pictures of them.

Both men and women danced with upraised arms.

More fans than usual from both sides took pleasure dancing and sometimes even chanting with the devotees, and we felt it was worth the sacrifice to drive up there.

You can see how lively it was from these video clips (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLYqwl-xYn4_NiUd1ELebWw):

It was great to take a break from winter for eleven days and chant with my Florida friends.

For photos I uploaded but did not include in this journal, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1022?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMuivojqzPabcA&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a letter to Gargamuni on September 15, 1967:

“Take sufficient rest and chant Hare Krishna; so long as we have got this material body we have to undergo these situations [diseases such as jaundice], if we increase our love for Krishna we shall be able to get out of this maya.People who therefore not exerting to improve Krishna Consciousness are simply wasting their valuable time and human life. Their human life is a chance to be out of the entanglements of material bodies. We get material bodies according to our activities, doggish men get the bodies of dogs in the next life, men in Krishna Consciousness get bodies like Krishna, so developed consciousness of human life is to concentrate of Krishna Consciousness so that we may be out of the clutches of material entanglement. These truths should be preached all over the world and those who are intelligent enough will take to Krishna Consciousness very seriously.”

Bhakti Raghava Swami:

The five processes, sadhu-sanga [the association of devotees], nama-kirtana [chanting the holy name], bhagavata-sravana [hearing the Srimad-Bhagavatam], mathura-vasa [living in the holy city of Mathura], and sri murti sraddhaya sevana [serving the deity with faith]are especially important because they can give Krishna-prema [love of God] very quickly.

Mathura vasameans we should live in spiritual communities.

There are two sva-dharmas [personal duties], spiritual and material, and most people in society know of neither.

Krishna has created a social system, varnasrama. We do not have to invent one. We just have to hear about it and implement it.

Cow that are protected protect the brahmanas who protect society.

We cannot be Krishna conscious without being cow conscious. This is important to understand even for devotees who live in the city.

There is a surabhi mantra glorifying the cows of the spiritual world which are the origin of all cows.

When people used to travel, they would bring their cows. They could not live without cows. If we find ourselves living without cows, we should examine our life.

Not only the vaisyas, but also the brahmanas and the ksatriyas had cows.

The human society has the responsibility of offering the products of the cow to the Lord for they cannot do it on their own.

Our goal for 2016 is to adopt 50 villages in India.

Every center and project should have a varnasrama college.

comment by lady devotee: I have been hearing Srila Prabhupada’s lectures from 1976 and 1977 about a new phase of encouraging devotees to act according to their own nature rather than creating a brahminical society.

Prabhupada spoke of four movements: sankirtana movement (harinama and books), establishing temples and deity worship, spiritual initiation movement (connecting people with Krishna’s family through initiation) [nama-hatta,youth, and college preaching are in this category], classless society movement [although we are one as Krishna devotees, we act as if in a drama in a role in varnasrama dharma]. We have focused on the first three but not the last which makes our movement seem churchy or ecclesiastical.

When the present prime minister of India was a leader in Gujarat he closed the slaughterhouses and also restricted drinking and gambling, and it is said that he told people if he became prime minister, he would do the same in the entire country.

Cow killing is not permitted in India by law, but people have gotten away with it through loopholes.

After one year in the house of Srivasa Thakura, Lord Caitanya took his sankirtana to the streets. Then he sent the Goswamis to write books in Vrindavan.

Also long as we are not pure devotees, we are dealing with the three modes of material nature, and as long as we dealing with the modes we need to act in varnasrama.

We need a foundational document on varnasrama just like we do on Prabhupada as founder-acarya,before we proceed.

How to get more involved with cows? We should make friends with people who have cows.

Sudras is a controversial term. We should think of sudras as servants, and as Vaishnavas, we glorify service to the Lord and His devotees.

comment: By not consuming food that destroys the earth and offering the deities natural produce, we indirectly support cow protection.

Rtadhvaja Swami:

“Who I am” is a big question because if I misidentify myself to be something other than I am, then the activities I am performing may not allow me to progress.

Arjuna because of his identification with his bodily relations became completely confused and surrendered to Krishna.

Our tendency is to adjust spiritual truth to satisfy our material desires.

Krishna explained to Arjuna, “Whether you engage in this battle or not, everyone will die.”

As the sunlight contains heat and light, one would expect that its source, the sun, must at the least have these qualities. In the same way, we can expect that God, who is the source of our existence must have qualities of individuality and personality which we find in ourselves.

We are like ants wandering across the universe, trying to figure it out.

Our attachment to material desires causes us to lose our inquisitiveness about spirit.

We are not independent. We are like Jim Morrison said, “riders on the storm.”

Because of the flickering nature of the mind, we cannot attain steady happiness until we attain the spiritual platform.

In the material world our attraction to sense gratification is so strong because it is a perversion of our strong attachment to Krishna, krishna-prema.

Those in the heavenly planets think our activities of enjoyment are foolish and disgusting just as we think that about activities of the hogs that happily eat stool.

The real problem is life is not “she loves me, she loves me not” but to conquer the conditions of birth and death.

Self realization not sense gratification is the goal of life.

Abhiram Prabhu:

Because he is a pure devotee, there is nothing about the life of Prahlada Maharaja that is only indirectly related to Krishna.

In our conditioned state, our pure consciousness is altered by our material coverings of ego so we cannot see things as they are.

Just as when learning music one plays the music of great composers before one begins to make his own compositions, devotees on the stage of vaidhi-bhakti (devotional service in practice) offer the prayers of the great devotees before composing their own prayers.

Lord Nrsimha Himself in this verse (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.10.14) accepts Prahlada Maharaja as an acarya to be followed.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

By his mystic power, Durvasa Muni could understand that Ambarisa Maharaja drank water before serving him breakfast but could he not understand the king had been fasting and needed to break his fast?

For many people, religion means being in constant fear of a dictator-like Go

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraDecember 27, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.21: Still More New York City Harinama
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 21
By Krishna-kripa das
(November 2014, part one)
New York City
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on December 16, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I continued chanting with the New York Harinam party organized by Rama Raya Prabhu in Union Square Park, from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. every day. In the evenings, we continued engaging passersby in offering candles to a picture of Krishna in His childhood feature of Damodar, until the month of Karttika ended. On rainy and cold days we chanted in subway stations at Union Square and Times Square in Manhattan and Jackson Heights in Queens.

I include quotes and notes on Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures, some notes on Tamal Krishna Goswami’s memoirs, and notes on the classes at the Harinam Ashram by Abhiram Prabhu, Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu, Rama Raya Prabhu, and Jayadeva Prabhu, who was visiting from South Africa. I was especially impressed this issue by great number of useful realizations of Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu. I also have a great quote from Back to Godhead by Nagaraja Prabhu.

Itinerary

December 16 to 20: New York City Harinam

December 21: Albany, New York, with family

December 22 to 30: San Juan, Puerto Rico

December 31 to April 2015: Florida (Gainesville, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Tampa)

Harinama in New York City

I share stories, photos, and videos from harinamas in New York City, at Union Square Park, and the subway stations at Union Square, Times Square, and Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Avenue.

Sometimes encouraging passersby to offer candles to the picture of Lord Krishna as the child Damodara, along with His mother, was a challenge.

One Afro American guy, when I inquired, “Would you like to offer a candle?” said, “Are you crazy?” I did not think of anything to say other than “No.”

One lady did not want to offer a candle to a pagan God saying it was against her religion. I mentioned that the Catholics consider the forms of the saints to be worth of respect, but she replied she was Jewish and did not believe in that. I explained that God had his personal and impersonal features and both were worthy of worship, and I wished her a pleasant day, thanking her for her time.

On the bright side, one young lady was happy to offer the candle and to get a card for the Bhagavad-gita classes, saying she would definitely go.

Here is another guy happy to offer a candle.

Sometimes quite a crowd would watch.

I offered someone a Krishna: Reservoir of Pleasure,and he declined saying, “I am alright.” I replied, “I can see you are alright, but you could be better!” As he continued walking, he said thoughtfully, “That is true.” A partial victory.

One girl seemed happy to see the devotees, and I gave her some shakers to shake. Then I motioned for her to sit down and she did so and listened to the chanting with great absorption.

Then she started to chant as well. She explained that she was in a jolly mood and decided to celebrate by chanting with Hare Krishnas. She must have stayed a whole hour playing the shakers and even chanting a lot of the time. When she got up to leave I suggested that she get a CD but she said she was spending her last money on a therapy session. I said if you listen to the CD, you will not need a therapy session. I explained that when my last girlfriend broke up with me, I took shelter of the chanting and surpassed my lamentation and that my guru approved of my program of chanting therapy. She said she would definitely be back to chant with us.

One lady with a blissful smile on her face took a picture of our party in the Times Square subway station. She told me she knew Hare Krishnas from Amsterdam. I told her how Hare Krishna founder, Srila Prabhupada, spoke in Vondelpark there in the 1970s. She said that she remembered that because her parents were hippies living there at that time. I gave her an invitation to our temple in Amsterdam, and she said she would give it to her father.

One kid loved playing shakers and dancing to our kirtana in the Union Square subway station.

She was really into it as you can see from this video (http://youtu.be/jJgub2nvd8o?list=UUyX3GeJnezBLxReGX0S6BTw):

A lady also danced in the subway station there.

A couple danced to our kirtana at Union Square.

One man played his djembe, and Lee, aged 70, a regular, played his flute.

Two young ladies sat down with us and loved hearing the chanting and playing the shakers.

Another couple took pleasure in dancing with Bhagavatananda Prabhu and an onlooker took a picture of the scene.

Two young ladies really delighted in playing the shakers and dancing.

More students from New York Film Academy came to Union Square and filmed the devotees. I talked to them afterward and mentioned how Mijal, also a student there, had made a documentary on one of our devotees. Eliana, Mijal’s instructor, said she was just telling the students about Mijal and her Hare Krishna documentary when I came up to talk to them.

I gave Eliana a Krishna: Reservoir of Pleasure, and she and another lady on the film crew looked at it with interest.

She smiled when she noticed that I was photographing her. Usually she is on the other end of the camera!

When Natabara Gauranga Prabhu was singing, a small girl began dancing, perhaps inspired by Isaiah, who enjoys dancing with us regularly.

You can see them both dancing in this video (http://youtu.be/mYu6SNk6xDs?list=UUyX3GeJnezBLxReGX0S6BTw):

Once the police stopped us from playing the drum as people had complained to them about drumming in the Square, probably because of some of the other park drummers.

We did a standing up kirtana, just playing the karatalas.

It became pretty lively with lots of dancing.

Once while Ananta Prabhu was leading a lively kirtana, one guy took pleasure in dancing (http://youtu.be/nAZrtpi7TMY?list=UUyX3GeJnezBLxReGX0S6BTw).

New York City has quite a variety of people, some quite eccentric in attire and behavior. Some attract quite a crowd, and this is sometimes a curse and sometimes a blessing. Sometimes the eccentrics draw the attention of the onlookers, and even sometimes the devotees themselves, away from the chanting of the holy name. But they also get people who have no interest in our chanting to stay within earshot for a lot longer than they otherwise would and thus become elevated by the spiritual vibrations, even without their knowledge.

On Halloween, the guy I refer to as the bird man came by.

He has a bird perched on his head, and he wears quite a costume. Although it was Halloween, I have seen him dressed that way on other occasions.

In the beginning of November, the cat man come by. He has trained his cat to feel completely satisfied to sit on the man’s head.

The man even did a few dance steps, while cat remained in his fixed position.

One of my favorite subway venues is the Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Ave. subway station.

Ananta Prabhu sang at Jackson Heights and people liked to listen and a few even danced (http://youtu.be/GCJx59o1zE0?list=UUyX3GeJnezBLxReGX0S6BTw):

One older man takes pleasure in dancing with us almost every time we go there.

Rachel would distribute books there.

Once in Jackson Heights, a young Afro-American lady with a bright smile, obviously happy to hear our singing, ascended the stairway across the hallway from us, glancing in our direction. I came over and offered her a Krishna: Reservoir of Pleasure, saying it described our spiritual practice from India, involving meditation and yoga. She declined to accept it, saying she was a Christian. I explained that it was universal knowledge, but she remained doubtful. I decided to try to give her a cookie, saying enthusiastically, “We have free cookies today. Do Christians eat cookies?” She said, “Yes.” and I got her a cookie from the table. She ate the cookie, continuing to listen to the chanting, and before she left she came up to me and said, “Christian or no Christian, you are one of the friendliest people I have met in quite a while.” To see photos I took but did not include in this journal, click on this link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1021?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNu18Zy6xpCRGg&feat=directlink

On the Disappearance of Urjasvat Prabhu

Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu:

Urjasvat Prabhu was alwaysjolly, relishing every aspect of Krishna consciousness, playing the mrdanga, chanting “Hari Haribol,” taking prasadam, associating with devotees, and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. He was put in change of the program for new devotees in New York, and you could see why. Everyone loved to be with him. In 1975 we had 30 or 40 devotees, and in 1980 when we sold the building we had 200 devotees.

Every Saturday night we would go on harinama a 100 or 200 devotees strong.

He later took over as temple president in the Dominican Republic for many years.

He was found lying on the floor, clutching a favorite book of Lord Caitanya’s glories. The day before he had said, “I am just looking in the sky for the Vaikuntha Express to come and get me.”

Rama Raya Prabhu:

He visited New York not too long ago and with great difficulty came on harinama. He classes after hisstroke were extremely powerful realizations of Krishna consciousness.

He told me in the 1970s to chant Hare Krishna and there will be no problems. Now looking back on everything, I can see he was right.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a conversation with disciples in Rome, Italy, in May 1974:

“Many a rascal thinks that now that he has gotten a human body, he can never again be degraded to the animal species. . . . But nature will force him to accept the body of a cat or dog. The decision is not yours but that of the superior authorities – just as in the office, when you get promoted or demoted, the decision is not yours but that of the directors. You cannot say, ‘No, no. I am not going to accept this new post.’ No. You have to accept.”

from an initiation lecture in Toronto, Canada, on June 17, 1976:

“If you purify your existence by tapasya [austerity],then you will be happy eternally. There will be no end. Here in the material world any happiness is temporary – either for five minutes or five days or five years or five hundred years or five millions of years. It will end. But if you purify your existence, then the happiness will never end.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.15.24, purport:

“People do not know that because of killing innocent animals they themselves will have to suffer severe reactions from material nature. Any country where people indulge in unnecessary killing of animals will have to suffer from wars and pestilence imposed by material nature. Comparing one’s own suffering to the suffering of others, therefore, one should be kind to all living entities.”

from Srimad Bhagavtam 10.9.19, purport:

“A devotee can understand how powerful is unalloyed devotional service to Krishna; it is so powerful that Krishna can be controlled by an unalloyed devotee. This bhrtya-vasyatadoes not mean that He is under the control of the servant; rather, He is under the control of the servant’s pure love.”

from Srimad Bhagavtam 10.6.27–29, purport:

The Ayurveda-sastra[the medical division of the Vedas] recommends, aushadhi cintayet vishnum:even while taking medicine, one should remember Vishnu, because the medicine is not all and all and Lord Vishnu is the real protector. The material world is full of danger (padam padam yad vipadam).

a letter to Mr. King in February 1975:

“We practice bhakti-yogastrictly and since bhaktiincludes all other results obtained from practicing other yogas, as it is declared in the Bhagavad-gitato be the culmination of all yogas it becomes unnecessary for us to apply any other techniques besides simply chanting and hearing about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who is called Yogesvara or the master of all yoga. Of course, it is certain that if one sits with straight spine it may be of some help in his ability to concentrate, but it cannot be considered as essential by any means. That thing which is really essential in bhaktiis to develop one’s eternal dormant love for Krishna.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.30.37:

“Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted His followers to move all over the world to preach in every town and village. In the Caitanya sampradaya,those who strictly follow the principles of Lord Caitanya must travel all over the world to preach the message of Lord Caitanya, which is the same as preaching the words ofKrishna— Bhagavad-gita— and Srimad-Bhagavatam.The more the devotees preach the principles of krishna-katha,the more people throughout the world will benefit.”

from a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.54 given in Vrindavan:

Dhira means intelligence. The opposite is crazy or rascal.

Without understanding what is spirit what is the question of spiritual advancement of life?

Our Krishna consciousness movement is to educate the rascals. That is all.

Those who are dhira [sober] know “what I am.”

The first question is “what am I?”

Foolish people are after preyas, immediate benefit, while intelligent people are after sreyas, ultimate benefit.

If one wants to enjoy this material world in sense gratification, he cannot become Krishna consciousness. That is not possible.

If you are serious about the ultimate goal of life, you must approach a spiritual master.

If you want to enjoy sense gratification go to the club, if you are inquisitive about the ultimate goal of life join the Krishna consciousness movement.

Rascals think they are independent. Factually no one can extend their life one moment.

By yoga system one can become dhira. It is a mechanical system, but it is valuable because without become dhira one cannot advance in spiritual.

If by great fortune one encounters a guru, one can progress.

Dhruva’s mother was Krishna consciousness so he became so nice.

Dhruva went to the forest to seek Krishna out of sentiment, but Krishna within his heart could see he was serious, and sent Narada to be his guru.

If one sees Krishna, there is no more benediction that is needed.

If one becomes a devotee, he asks for nothing material as Lord Caitanya teaches, “Na dhanam na janam na sundarim . . . [No wealth, no fame, no women . . . ]”

You may have a very beautiful wife, but how long can you enjoy.

At the time of death, if you have doggish mentality, you will have to take the body of a dog.

This is going on. You may believe or not believe. But if you do not believe you are a rascal.

From a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.17 given on August 20, 1972, in Los Angeles:

“This vibration of Hare Krishna mantra is so strong that it will benefit anyone who hears. Therefore we are sending sankirtana party. They may understand or not understand, they may appreciate or not appreciate, we are forcing them to become pious simply by hearing this Hare Krishna mantra. It is so nice.”

Tamal Krishna Goswami:

No one had greater managerial duties than Srila Prabhupada yet he never missed an opportunity for direct preaching.

Without gaining the higher taste from preaching, what is the motivation for maintaining our strict vows of renunciation?

Abhirama Prabhu:

Karandhar Prabhu, by his organization skill, made ISKCON Los Angeles transition from a group of well-intentioned ex-hippies to an organized effective society.

At this point we have no actual love and thus the love of the residents of Vrindavan is not conceivable.

Is there a love song, where the singer says, “I will love you like anything for two years, and then I will find someone else, and then I will love them and forget all about you.”? No, there is no such song, but there is such love in this world.

90% of Indians do not know anything about property taxes because they do not have to pay them. They just build a hut some place, and no one says anything about it.

Because the rope meant to tie Lord Damodar was a pure devotee of Krishna, it could not think of tying up Krishna because it knew Krishna as a rascal kid did not want to be tied up. But as Krishna realized His mother was becoming frustrated and felt compassion for her, when He agreed to let her bind Him, the rope assisted.

We start participating in the pastime by hearing about it, repeating it, etc.

We follow Srila Prabhupada because he came to the West to save us.

It is not advisable to think that you can absorb yourself in Krishna’s pastimes while neglecting the dharma for the age of harinama sankirtana.

We must be chaste to our particular guru although there may be many qualified gurus just as a wife must be chaste to her husband although there are many qualified men.

When our relationship with the divine is intact, all our other relationships become complete.

Although Krishna is most unforgettable, by the strength of his illusory energy, people can forget Him and lose themselves in all kinds of other relationships.

In this world, we are attracted by other people’s opulence and consider those people to be then worthy of our love.

Even the goddess of fortune cannot imagine how Mother Yasoda can breast feed Krishna and reprimand Him.

Krishna always has the pleasure of being the supreme controller, so He becomes eager experience being controlled.

Because Krishna trusts Yasoda He is willing to subordinate Himself to her will.

Krishna book was one of the first books Srila Prabhupada printed for mass distribution.

Janmastami is celebrated in a big way in India, more so in North India than South India.

Messiah was a commonly used term like guru. Not that there was only one messiah but that there was one great messiah.

As no one can attain Krishna without the mercy of the guru, no one can attain Lord Caitanya, who is Radha-Krishna Themselves, without the mercy of Lord Nityananda.

The Lord invests His potency in one who is submissive to the previous spiritual teachers.

Like a man who has a son who has rebelled and gone away may get another son to go find his brother, so the Lord sends the pure devotee to invite the conditioned souls to return to Him. Because of their brotherly relationship he may likely be successful, more so than if the father went himself.

As the movement is growing, it is becoming like India, and there are many devotees but not all disciples.

You are not going to get out of this material world by being a Hindu, but by strictly following the guru.

Srila Prabhupada advised, “Do not associate with the babaji in Radha Kund. Do not associate with the residents of Vrindavan. You will not understand them, and they will not understand you. Krishna-Balaram is your Vrindavan.”

Krishna has invited you via this parampara (spiritual lineage), and through it is how you will go back to Godhead. It is as if you get an invitation from the White House to lunch on November 14, you cannot think, “Oh I am pretty busy on the 14^th, I will go on the 12^th.”

The babajis preserved the purity of our succession. They would rather chant alone at a latrine than to be in the association of neophyte devotees.

We call others Prabhu. When we do that, it helps us cultivate humility ,and it cultivates in the others the attitude of giving spiritual shelter.

If we are not different from others, we will not go to a different place; we will end up in the same place.

The dean of the liberal arts college of New York University said in speech, “Liberal arts means to understand cosmology. By that I mean knowing where am I, where God is, and what is in-between.”

Everything is there in Mahabharata.

Srila Prabhupada remembered everything I said or did.

He would continue a conversation that he had begun many days before without thinking anything of it.

Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu:

If we say something we have heard from scriptural authority, it will have the spiritual potency to liberate people. We may say other things that sound intelligent and make sense, but they will lack potency.

Why do you want to be another face in the crowd when Srila Prabhupada gave you enough information from the scriptures and the previous teachers to glow?

Tamal Krishna Swami and Vishnujana Swami were called the spider and the spider web. Vishnujana Swami would attract people, and Tamal Krishna Swami would convince them to stay.

We must also accept the mood of the guru in addition to accepting his order.

The Vedic paradigm is that the siksa-guru must have the same mood as one’s diksa-guru.

The esarajwas used before the harmonium for Vaishnava bhajana.

Vishnujana Swami said to me, “Just travel with me for a year and see what you can get out of it, and if you do not like it, you can leave.” So I joined him 42 years ago.

Yoga is for people who are suffering to become free.

TheBhagavad-gita first gives general knowledge, then the confidential knowledge of the self as beyond the body, then knowledge of the relationship between the self and the Superself, and ultimately pure devotion to Krishna.

There is no trace of a separate conception from the Supreme Godhead in the personalities of the Lord’s eternal associates.

According to Kavi Karnapura’s Ananta Vrindavan Campu, Krishna’s pastimes of killing the demons and His pastimes as a baby only occur in His pastimes in the material world.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that inattentiveness causes distraction, laziness, and apathy. Attentive chanting can overcome all the other offenses.

There are three kinds of sukriti [meritorious activities] karma, jnana, and bhakti.

The genius of Srila Prabhupada is that he planted many seeds of bhakti by giving peoplethe opportunity to hear the glories of Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada told one disciple that she had no previous piety and her attraction to Krishna was simply mercy.

Sridhara Maharaja said that Srila Prabhupada was specifically empowered by Lord Caitanya to spread Krishna consciousness in the West.

You are in the best field, New York City. I can tell you that by experience. [Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu was temple president in New York City for many years.]

There is one prayer by Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya that glorifies Lord Nityananda in relationship with His devotees, as the life force of His two wives, Jahnava and Vasudha, the son of Mother Padmavati, and the spiritual brother of Lord Caitanya.

Why does Krishna give four yoga systems and not just bhakti?Because people have different natures. He knows everyone is looking for Him, but because of their different natures, they are looking in different places. Because they do not know Krishna, they seek pleasure in His external energy, and because it is His energy, there is a little pleasure there.

God is complete, but how could He be complete without a form?

Bhakti is not a stepping stone leading you somewhere. It is the means and the ends.

In the beginning of Caitanya Bhagavata the holding of festivals on the appearance and disappearance days of the incarnations of the Lord and His pure devotees is stated to be of great importance.

Janmastami for me was always simply fasting, kirtana (chanting), and Krishna-katha.

It was always earth shattering news when Srila Prabhupada had serious health problems. We could not imagine how we could continue the mission without Srila Prabhupada’s personal guidance. We would hold twenty-four-hour kirtana for his recovery, begging Krishna not to take Srila Prabhupada.

The force of Srila Prabhupada’s purity generated enthusiasm and determination to spread Krishna consciousness.

We have to become Krishna conscious, and we have to convince others.

I was in charge of the money belt on Radha Damodara. Tamal Krishna told me to never take it off. I took it off to take a shower. I was late for mangala arati, so I ran to the temple room with it hanging on a hook in the bathroom. Tamal Krishna called me into his office, and he said he needed some money. I reached for the money belt, but it was not there. I went to look for it, and I could not find it. Tamal Krishna chastised me for a while, and then handed me the money belt back. That was just to impress upon me the importance of being responsible. Srila Prabhupada had done the same with him, and he was doing it to me.

Srila Prabhupada’s vision was so broad that it included seemingly contradictory ideas of preaching. He encouraged both the sannyasisand brahmacarisin their bus program and the grhasthasin their businesses to support the preaching.

Both management and preaching must both go on, and those involved in each must appreciate those involved in the other.

We cannot understand the greatness of a devotee without service to him.

The Radha Damodara party picked up many people who would never would have made it a temple. My friend, Radha Ramana, who joined with me, and I were included among them. I had tried to live in our Henry Street temple before, but it was too claustrophobic for me.

Srila Prabhupada was a man of total practicality.

On the Radha Damodara party we would occasionally run into the library party, headed by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, which was placing Srila Prabhupada’s books in university libraries.

My wife’s uncle worked hard his whole life without taking a vacation until age 72 when he retired. He then bought round trip plane tickets for he and his wife to enjoy their first vacation. Unfortunately, while standing in the check-in line, he died of a heart attack.

Srila Prabhupada, the Six Goswamis, and Lord Caitanya have given the world pure devotional service, unmotivated and uninterrupted service to Krishna.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura said that bhakti can be cultivated through five venues, the mind, the body, the senses, the natural inclinations of the soul, and through society. Family life is under the heading of society.

One of the greatest joys of the householder is that his children become devotees, and one of his greatest heartbreaks is that they are not so inclined.

If you worship Krishna regardless of your desires, you become purified, and you do not want anything.

If one is progressing spiritually, if Krishna fulfills his material desires, the devotee is not very much concerned about it.

Destiny is the language of God. What happens to me is for my benefit. Krishna sees what lessons we need, and they unfold.

Forget what we have done for others, remember what others have done for us, and remember death.

We have four voices to contend with that of the body and senses, that of the mind, that of the intelligence, that of the ego, and beyond them the voice of the soul.

What you allow yourself to contemplate you will become attached to. It does not matter if you have been in the movement for five years or five minutes.

It is the nature of devotional service that if we live it, we will want to give it, and if we give it, we will want to live it more.

My father was very strongly built and was not intimidated by anyone. The only time I saw fear in my father’s eyes was at the time of death. Without relationship with Krishna, we cannot be fearless at the time of death, for death is nothing for a devotee.

Many brahmacaris did join the Radha Damodar party. Hemanga Prabhu wanted to join. The temple presidents did not want all their men to join our party, so we told him he could not come. He said, “Suppose I bloop [leave the temple] and you find me hitchhiking on the street, will you pick me up?” We said we would and so it happened that way, and he came on the party.

The neophyte devotee starts out being enthusiastic about everything, and later sometimes is unenthusiastic about those things he does not like to do.

We do not see things as they are but as we are.

Bhakti is taking ourselves out of the center of the universe and putting Krishna there.

On the Radha Damodara party when the Christians chanted slogans to disturb us at Berkeley, the students shouted them down. We did not have to do a thing. We kept on chanting.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura cites six types of materialists:

those with no faith in God and no morals

those with morals but no faith in God

those with morals and faith in God but morals are more important

pretenders and their followers

impersonalists

polytheists

Pradyumna who was knowledgeable in Sanskrit defined bhakti as “to make oneself available.”

I tell people that I do not watch the news because it is the same things, just different names and places.

Nagaraja Prabhu:

from “The Alarm is Ringing,” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 49, No. 2, March / April 2015:

“We’re all eternal spiritual beings, but we’re asleep in our material bodies, our present short life of no more eternal significance than the dream we had last night. The Vedas are the alarm to wake us up to reality. If we ignore that transcendental sound calling to us from our eternal home, we’re like the dreamer who thinks his ringing alarm clock to be a sound within his dream. He just snoozes on, sunk in deep illusion while life passes by.”

Rama Raya Prabhu:

The greatest fight in our life is to conquer our own mind and senses.

Srila Prabhupada asked Toshan Krishna Prabhu how he got the permit for the Ratha-yatra in New York City. Toshan replied, “I just asked for permission for a parade with three hand pulled carts, and they gave me a permit.”

Expanding the discussion of the Lord pastimes with the devotees and others gives joy to the devotees.

We are trying to get the mercy of the pure devotee by showing our sincerity by doing the sadhana nicely.

In addition to performing sankirtana and engaging others in it, we have to convince others of its paramount importance.

In 1907 Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote his last writing that he cares not for piety but only that which will assist him in his pure devotional service.

To preach Krishna consciousness is the only valid reason to leave the holy dhama.

Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura said Radha Kund [Lord Krishna’s favorite body of water] would be very nice if it was rescued from 100 immoral men. Actually these men are not living at Radha Kund they are living at Naraka Kund [hell].

Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that family members who are nondevotees are no better than strangers.

We should be expert in not creating problems in a situation where there are no problems.

Prabhupada called the 26 Second Avenue, ‘A kindergarten of spiritual life.’

Jayadeva Prabhu [from South Africa]:

Prahlada Maharaja considered that material benedictions are a potential obstacle in pure devotional service and so he did not want any such benediction from Lord Nrsimha.

By Prahlada Maharaja’s association we can come up to a higher standard of devotional service.

If people ask you if Krishna consciousness is a religion, and you say “yes,” they will not want to hear about it. If you say it is a spiritual culture, you can continue the conversation.

If they say “I am God, you are God, she is God,” if you explain that we are both one with God and different from God, thus partially accepting what they say, they may be inclined to continue the conversation or buy a book about Krishna consciousness and gain higher knowledge.

The intelligence is next to the soul and meant to protect the soul, but if it is contaminated by lust we will be mislead. We should neglect our materially contaminated intelligence, and take direction from our spiritual master, the revealed books of knowledge, and the community of saints.

Association with preachers is valuable since one must be empowered by Krishna to preach, and thus you are associating with people empowered by Krishna.

You can melt the hearts of the devotees even more by doing service for them.

An advanced disciple immediately understands what the guru wants.

—–

tattva-vastu—krishna, krishna-bhakti, prema-rupa

nama-sankirtana—saba ananda-svarupa

“The Absolute Truth is Sri Krishna, and loving devotion to Sri Krishna exhibited in pure love is achieved through congregational chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all bliss.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,Adi-lila 1.96)

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraDecember 16, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.20: New York City Harinam
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol.1 10, No. 20
By Krishna-kripa das
(October 2014, part two)

New York City Harinam
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on December 9, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I continued chanting with the New York City Harinamparty organized by Rama Raya Prabhu in Union Square Park, from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. every day. Prahladananda Swami, who plays leadership roles in the Sannyasa Ministry and the Health Ministry, came and chanted on harinama with us one day as well lecturing at our ashram. He also engaged me in proofreading his book, Hope This Meets You in Good Health, about health and spiritual life, which took almost all my extra time. We celebrated Govardhan Puja both at the Harinam Ashram in the morning and Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn in the afternoon. Mijal, a student at New York Film Academy, attended both festivals, filming for a final project, a documentary on Mathura-prana Krishna Das, a New York Harinam Party devotee, and his transition from being an average American youth to a Hare Krishna monk. We also attended a festival at 26 Second Avenue on Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day. Finally, ending the month, on Halloween a few costumed onlookers participated with us by dancing.‘’

I share just a few Prabhupada quotes as I was busy proofreading this month and just a few quotes from the journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share interesting points made by Prahladananda Swami in his lectures and remembrances from a ceremony onSrila Prabhupada’s disappearance. The rest is the usual nectar from the dedicated devotees at the Harinam Ashram.

Itinerary

December 10 to 20: New York City Harinam

December 21: Albany, New York, with family

December 22 to 30: San Juan, Puerto Rico

December 31 to April 2015: Florida (Gainesville, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Tampa)

Union Square Harinamas

As usual I show photos and videos, and tell stories from our chanting party in Union Square.

Like always,kids played the shakers with us.

So did young adults.

In fact, once a family of four all played shakers.

Isaiah inspired one lady to dance.

We continued offering lamps to Damodar and inviting people to offer prayers.

Radha Gopinath dd, who was visiting from the Baltics, chants with great intensity.

She inspired devotees and onlookers to dance and people to stop and watch, as you can see in these videos clips (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xKU1H-hZWuLoO30o8cnG6Ou):

Occasionally famous people interact with the devotees. Here Alec Baldwin and his family leave after a brief visit. Previously he got a Krishna book from our table.

His wife, Hilaria Thomas, waved to us.

Persons famous within the Hare Krishna movement also visit.

Here Prahladananda Swami shares his transcendental bliss with us.

Satyaraj Prabhu, who has written many books and articles on Krishna consciousness, talks with Braja-raja Dasa at our book table. He comes by several times a month for an hour or so.

On Halloween some costumed people danced with us.

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the attachment between male and female is said to be a cause of bondage to this material world. There is even a phrase “maithunya-agara,” or the shackles of sex life.

Thus when I saw this Halloween costume, I could not help but ask the couple if I could take a picture of them.

As I walked through Union Square Park, a young man asked if I was a spiritual person. I did not want to be so bold as to say I am a “spiritual person” so I just said I was trying to advance spiritually. He asked for some jewels of wisdom. I quoted “trnad api sunicena . . .”, explaining that one who is more humble than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree can chant the holy name of the Lord always. He said with conviction that amazed me, “That is most certainly true.” I gave him a mantra card and encouraged him to try chanting Hare Krishna and experience the purifying effects on his mind.

Uncommon Encounter on Harinama at Jackson Heights

One man who was 65 years old and had some devotion for and faith in the Christian tradition talked with me while I was distributing Krishna: Reservoir of Pleasure on harinama in Jackson Heights. He was aspiring for conjugal love with a woman at that advanced aged. I explained to him that in our tradition the final quarter of life was simply meant for focusing on reviving our relationship with God and experiencing a higher spiritual pleasure. As he was not interested in changing his religion, I suggested he find some Christian monks that were so absorbed in spiritual pursuits that they could transcend the need for male-female relationships and learn from them how they did it. He thought that made a lot of sense and considered it providential that he met me. I spoke to him in that way, as I could not imagine Srila Prabhupada encouraging such an elderly gentleman in pursuing male-female relationships. When Mukunda’s wife had left him, Prabhupada discouraged him from marrying again, although he was quite a bit younger than sixty-five.I do not ever recall Srila Prabhupada advising an older man to get married.

Govardhan Puja

At the Harinam Ashram we had an incredibly lively Govardhan Puja festival in the morning. Natabara Gauranga Prabhu encouraged all the devotees to make sweets for the hill. Rama Raya Prabhu’s Govardhan-sila was the center of attention. I got to polish His silver paraphernalia. The chanting and dancing around the hill reached a level of ecstasy far above our normal daily kirtana. Neighboring devotees, like Michael Collins, came and took part. It kept going till almost 11:00 a.m. but the late breakfast was quite a feast.

Natabara Gauranga shared this photo of the event with the following caption:

“Our Giri Govardan: Orange Cherry Halava mountain (me), Besan Ladoo boulders (Braja-raja Dasa), Mango Sweet Rice Radha and Shyam Kunds (Madhavi), Paneer and Pepper Pakora animals and Green Chutney grass (Bhakta Max), Cookie dirt (Ananta Das Sacasa), Saffron Coconut Burfi (Krishna-kripa Das), Rice, Bean Soup, Mashed Taters, Ginger Mint Tea morning Bhoga offering (Rachel), Gulab Jamun Manasi Ganga kund (me). It’s so nice that in the spirit of Harinam (which means working together to glorify Krsna) the New York Harinam Yatra Dham devotees could all come and work together to put together such a nice offering on this auspicious day.”

During the previous week or so, I invited many people who were attracted to our chanting in Union Square to the Govardhan Puja festival at Radha Govinda Mandir. One hippie couple came and loved the mood and the spiritual food.

Mijal and her partners on her documentary project also came and got some nice film of the colorful hill of spiritual food and the altar of Radha Govinda, and Their colorfully dressed devotees.

Mijal’s Documentary on the Transition of a Hare Krishna

Seeing the devotees chanting of Union Square, New York Film Academy student, Mijal, enrolled in a course on documentary, decided to make them the topic of two of her projects.

While interviewing the devotees, Mijal found Mathura-prana Krishna das to have the most fascinating history, and for her final project topic, chose his transition from being a typical American youth to being a Hare Krishna monk. She spent many hours filming and more editing. I hope you enjoy the video (http://youtu.be/oSZvsqUv-jM):

To see the pictures I took but did not include in this blog, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1020?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNLpyreYxq3NwgE&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

Letter to Rayarama Dasa on March 6, 1969:

“Keep your health on good condition and work very hard for Krishna. That is our motto of life.“

Conversation in New Vrindaban on June 26, 1976:

“You must ask them what they need and provide them. Because they do not say, you’ll also keep silent. That’s not good. Every month they must be asked what they need. Necessities, they must be supplied. We have already discussed this point, the women; they require protection, children, and women.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for October 20” in Viraha Bhavan:

“If we are submissive to guru and Krishna, the possibilities are ‘unlimited.’”

from “Poem for October 30” in Viraha Bhavan:

“I called out to Krishna for His blessing because I am powerless to do japaon my own endeavor.”

from “Poem for October 31” in Viraha Bhavan:

“I pray that Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna accept me as I am or correct me if I am wrong.”

Prahladananda Swami:

Krishna is very balanced. He says positive things and negative things.

We may have so many material perfections, but we still have to die. We are eternal so we do not have to die just to experience another life of miseries.

The government, instead of protecting people, is putting them into fear.

Comparing our small span of life to that of Lord Brahma, we can see that we are on the verge of death.

All people are serving their dead material bodies, and therefore, they are actually the greatest idol worshipers.

We do not feel we need Krishna or need His protection. We are happy enjoying the material world. People wonder when the iPhone 6 will come instead of when they will attain liberation or attain the spiritual world.

In Kali-yuga there are sudras [working class people] who live for sense gratification and vaisyas [businessmen] who live to exploit them. Our leaders are blind because they are illusioned by sense gratification.

Job security is a top priority among workers. If we seek the eternal that is real security.

Our life is like a horror story. It may seem like a romance or a comedy, but ultimately it is a horror story.

By following the instructions of Krishna’s representatives we can attain real security. Realizing that Krishna is our only shelter and goal leads us to perfection.

Because of refusal to accept Krishna as the proprietor we are put into illusion.

Srila Prabhupada said if you are in the mode of goodness and thinking you are happy in this material world, you are in ignorance.

Ghosts are frustrated because they have no gross body and cannot fulfill their desires. Imagine being hungry for hundreds of years!

The more we understand that Krishna is our only shelter the more we will take shelter of Him.

We think that when we get everything we need, then we will get Krishna, instead of thinking if we get Krishna we will get everything.

Q: Is it possible to be inattentive [when chanting] if we have faith in Krishna.

A: No.

A rich man in Dallas had 16 billion dollars back in the 1970s. An interviewer asked him what he wanted, and he replied, “More money.”

We do not see philanthropists dancing in the street. Altruism does not satisfy our loving propensity like loving Krishna. Krishna can perfectly reciprocate our love.

The main austerity to focus our attention on Krishna. If you do that you will experience Krishna’s reciprocation. If we focus our attention on Krishna and sacrifice for Him, His reciprocation will satisfy our loving propensity.

Remembering Krishna means to remember who Krishna actually is, the supreme controller, and not thinking of him like a cartoon character.

Bhagavad-gita10.9 speaks of (1) tusyantiand (2) ramanti.The first is liberation.

First we come to the level of Brahman, but we do that through the process of devotional service.

Because we are infinitesimal spiritual souls we tend to take shelter of something, and conditioned souls take shelter of the body. We must be convinced that we have to take shelter of Krishna. Although it is a bad shelter, people take shelter of the material energy because they know of no other shelter. By knowing Krishna’s glories, we can be inspired to take shelter of Him.

Yasoda has no need to take shelter and thus she does not need to know His glories.

We take shelter of Krishna by surrendering our activities unto Krishna and becoming instruments in His sankirtana movement.

When Srila Prabhupada visited Boston, he said in the presence of his disciple Purusottama, “I pray to Krishna every day to protect me from maya.”

Our little love for Krishna is our endeavor.

At asaktiwe have no other shelter than Krishna.

It is not a matter of binding Krishna or churning butter, but it is an intensity of love that is significant about Mother Yasoda.

There is no faster way than doing your sadhana and preaching to others.

When Krishna sees that we are sincere, He will enlighten us from within.

Other paths are not possible in this age because the material energy is very powerful and we are very susceptible to it.

If we take our spiritual practice seriously, Krishna will help us take it more seriously.

If we desire mercy, Krishna will give us mercy. That anxiousness to get Krishna’s mercy is essential to advancement.

All our acaryas [previous spiritual masters in the lineage] took up the practice of preaching.

Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura talks of steadiness of mind, body, and speech, that is, how easy it is to remember Krishna, how easy is avoid engaging the senses in their objects, and how easy it is to avoid talking nonsense.

Abhiram Prabhu:

Jaipur is the most exalted city in the world. There the aristocratic people walk 3 or 4 miles barefoot to the Govindaji temple on their way to work and bow down to Govindaji. Then after work, they stop at the temple and offer obeisances to Govindaji on the way home.

Vishnujana Swami and Tamal Krishna Goswami loved each other like brothers, but they were completely different. Vishnujana was very ecstatic – “Krishna Krishna!”, and Tamal Krishna Goswami was very practical. To see the beauty of their relationship would inspire people to become devotees.

We are proud thinking that we can destroy the earth, but at the end of the age when Kalki kills the degraded rulers and their followers, the planet is restored and in just a few hundred years the golden age is fully manifest.

Our materialistic enjoyment is like the excitement a cockroach feels when he finds a crumb in the darkness, and yet we glorify it and write books about it. This is because we are unaware of the beautiful pastimes of Krishna.

Krishna’s creation of the universe is just like a dream for Him. His pastimes in Vrindavan are what actually absorb Krishna.

If a child leaves home the parents may engage another child in encouraging the wayward

child to return. The guru is like the child sent to bring his wayward brother home.

Sadhana is like an all day prayer.

Mastering is sleep is more difficult than mastering sex as we can see from our ashram life.

The pastimes are not performed to impress us but are the actual activities of the spiritual world where the Lord enjoys these relationships with His devotees.

Krishna creates a situation whereby Mother Yasoda is fully engaged in serving Him in a variety of ways.

Krishna feeds the monkeys who are mischievous like Himselfand who He feels camaraderie with.

We would be fortunate to be cursed to be born in the courtyard of Nanda and be liberated by Krishna.

Dipavali is the day Yasoda bound Krishna in addition to being the day Rama returned to Ayodhya.

There is American Indian creation story in which a tortoise carried the world on its back. Perhaps they heard from sages the story of Kurma.

“Myth” just means a story that is passed down, not a story that is fictional.

In Kerala the carpenters sing songs that describe procedures and measurements in their construction.

Scientists can gather very little knowledge about the world from their sense perception, even when it is extended through microscopes or telescopes. Then when they get a new piece of information in this way, they have to rework all their theories based on the old information.

The real meaning of darsana is to report to the Deity. “This is what little I could do for you. Please accept it.”

Neophytes tend to misunderstand the philosophy and when many neophytes get together they can misunderstand it in big way.

Srila Prabhupada told Tamal Krishna Goswami when he was going to leave this world, “See that Abhiram is not lost. I have spent so much time training him.” So Prabhupada created this siksa relationship with Tamal.

The older devotee who would distribute caranamrita in Vrindavan for years, Vibhu Caitanya Prabhu, when Srila Prabhupada heard him singing in the pujari room said, “that is pure chanting.”

Our formula for Krishna prema[love of God] is trnad api sunicena . . . [to become humble and tolerant, offering all respects to others yet not seeking respect in return].

Jaya Tirtha was a good preacher but never was able to follow the strict discipline of bhakti-yoga. Later he got into other difficulties and eventually went mad before his unfortunate death being decapitated by a disciple. It was this and other incidents in my 45 years as a devotee that inspire to me to follow the path as strictly as I can.

Vishnujana Swami came with a party of seven devotees to my temple in Miami. The next year Tamal Krishna Goswami joined him, and he returned with a party of thirty.

There was wisdom in keeping untrained or unclean people away from the temple worship, but Lord Caitanya through his sankirtana process purified such people, so to not allow Westerners into Hindu temples is an antiquated idea.

Originally the Hare Krishna devotees were not allowed in any temples in India. The Sankaracarya of Srngiri Matha, considered the major center for Hinduism, tested the devotees in their understanding of Hindu philosophy and culture, and he wrote a letter saying they were qualified to perform all Hindu sacrifices.

In Bhagavad-gita, Krishna takes a lot of time to convince Arjuna’s intelligence.

The stone of Govardhan is different from that of the rest of the neighboring areas. The intensely heavy rock which goes deeply into the earth cools the area so it is the hottest region that is continuously inhabited.

Marx’s analysis of the defects of capitalism was correct. You end up with a few people getting rich and many being exploited.

Like a rich man can bring an associate into an exclusive club where he is a member, the spiritual master can bring his disciple to the spiritual world.

The devotees love Krishna and they also love the other devotees, and Krishna loves all the devotees, so that is the spiritual world.

How great Krishna is that He is surrounded by so many great devotees.

Krishna is fully absorbed in interacting with you, and at the same time, He is absorbed in interacting with everyone else.

To understand the Vaishnava is not possible. He is someone who owns Krishna because of his love.

Although Srila Prabhupada was strict about temple standards and would stress them, when someone who had difficulty was at the point of leaving, he felt for them and begged them not do go.

Because the communist Soviet Union tried to oppress the Hare Krishnas more and more, the reaction was that the Hare Krishna movement spread there more and more.

Although the grandfather loves his own children, the grandfather has special affection for his grandchildren. Similarly Srila Prabhupada has special affection for his granddisciples.

Prabhupada made Tamal Krishna Goswami like an extension of his own self. There is no devotee who was able to surrender so much to executing Srila Prabhupada’s will. Whatever he did, he did with full commitment and excellence. One international journal that published Ph.D. theses published three of his papers as an undergraduate.

Time has no meaning to our spirit self because it only effects the atoms in our body.

Yasoda is so pure in heart she can realize who is the most wonderful person in the creation and love Him.

The most powerful force in the world is bhaktibecause it can bind Krishna. The love the bhakti-yogihas for the Lord drags him past all material obstacles.

Bhakti-yogaharnesses our actual nature which is to love, and the practice and the goal are the same.

Krishna’s pastimes are all within the Hare Krishna mantra.

The devotees naturally get together around their natural interest of serving Krishna.

That many people do not want to join us is evidence that we have a long way to go.

We do not aspire to become Mother Yasoda but to glorifyMother Yasoda’s service.

When you see those old broken people, think that there but for the grace of God there go I.

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraDecember 10, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.19: More New York City Harinam
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 19
By Krishna-kripa das
(October 2014, part one)

New York City
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on December 4, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I continued chanting with the New York Harinama party organized by Rama Raya Prabhu in Union Square Park, from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. every day. The month of Karttika began, and we engaged passersby in offering candles to a picture of Krishna in His childhood feature of Damodar, just as we do in our temples. On rainy days, we chant in different subway stations. There we were not allowed to light candles. I also spoke at evening programs of Atmanivedana Prabhu at 26 Second Avenue one Saturday.

And one of Charu Gopika Devi at her place in Queens one Friday.

I have some extremely inspiring quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books, even more inspiring than usual. I include a quote from Shack Notes by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I also share great quotes from CandrasekharaSwami and the senior devotees at the Harinama Ashram, namely Abhiram Prabhu, Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu, and Rama Raya Prabhu.

Thanks to Dorian of Jacksonville for donating to me his extra Smartphone, which is so useful in my harinama service, providing weather forecasts, subway schedules, and access to Srila Prabhupada’s books while riding the subway. Thanks to Kaliya Krishna Prabhu for his kind donation to cover my subway expenses for the 9 weeks I spent on harinama in New York City. Thanks to Atma-nivedana Prabhu and Charu Gopika Devi for their kind donations.

Itinerary

December 3 to 20: New York City Harinama [except December 6 for SDG Vyasa-puja]

December 21: Albany, New York,with family

December 22 to 30: San Juan, Puerto Rico

December 31 to April 2015: Florida (Gainesville, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Tampa)

Harinama in Union Square

We had different positive interactions with the people in general at Union Square, and I show and tell about them. First I show the pictures, then the videos, and finally I tell some stories.

A mom and two daughters all played instruments with us.

One female photographer delighted in dancing.

This girl liked playing the shakers.

This young lady listened to us and read Chant and Be Happy.

Then shesat down with us and began chanting.

Later she danced with Madhavi Devi.

Now she comes by and chants a few times week.

This girl had a tough day and was so happy to listen to the chanting for an hour and chill out.

Two girls joined us for some time.

Then a guy joined us.

Jim, often formally dressed, loves to stop by periodically and listen, and he does what he can to help the devotees on the party.

Madhvacarya Prabhu, who I know from when he helped Rtadhvaja Swami take care of the boys ashram in Alachua, now helps out Adi Purusa Prabhu with his spiritual food distribution program at Tompkins Square Park three days a week. When he has time, he comes and plays the drum as in this picture above.

These two adventurous young ladies chantedthe mantra which they read from our cards, and playedshakers to the beat.

Clarissa, a young teenager from Brooklyn, leads the chanting with intensity and a strong voice.

Nikunjabihari Prabhu danced attractively.

Seeing me as she passed by Union Square, one friend of my mother’s remembered me from the Albany Quaker meeting earlier in the year.

Our table with the picture of Damodar has signs on two sides inviting passersby to “offer a candle, and make a prayer.” From the number of candles, you can see many people did.

This young boy offers a prayer as he holds a candle to the picture of Krishna as Damodar.

A whole group of kids enjoyed playing shakers to the music.

Here a new lady offers a candle while Rachel explains to a guy behind her what is happening.

The lady in red, a frequent attender, takes pleasure in offering a candle.

Here a young man offers a candle.

My service was to offer the pamphlet, Krishna: Reservoir of Pleasure,to everyone who offered a candle, unless they gave a donation, when I would give them a book.

One boy celebrated his birthday with the devotees for some time.

Although very small, he was eager to try to play the mrdanga!

Sometimes in the evening, we had quite a large party.

In thistwo video playlistNikunjabihari Prabhu is leading. Isaiah dances in the beginning. Then Richard dances and hands a girlsome shakers, and she delights in playing them. In the second clip, Madhavi and Alice join in the dancing, going around the fountain, and the girl delights in dancing too (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xINLNh_xytcNmp8hiXd9v-l):

Vrajananda dd, who I saw playing flute at the Baltic Summer festival, sings, Babhru Prabhu, the book distributor, dances, and Isaiah dances, and then Madhavi and Alice. Vrajananda’s second tune was avery pretty Hare Krishna tune that also attracteddevotees to dance and a crowd to watch (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLz5ROyPG5iOvEXTPcbKMes):

Murli Krishna Prabhu sings and devotees dance (http://youtu.be/O_-3MeAexfg).

Arjuna leads a lively tune getting devotees to dance (http://youtu.be/W_AhNcJWGbI):

Radha Gopinath dd, an intense kirtana lady from the Baltics, also attracts a crowd and gets devotees dancing. Jai Giridhari Prabhu joins Babhru Prabhu in dancing, and Clarissa joins the other lady dancers (http://youtu.be/28xRc7pzZ2I):

The two young daughters of Kirtan dd also get their chance to sing (http://youtu.be/9DfeeYEnhgU):

Two girls were very happy to come upon the chanting party, smiling and moving with the music. I gave them shakers, and they happily played them. I then gave them mantra cards, and they both chanted the response for some of the time after that, one chanting almost every mantra.

A young lady named Mijal, who was studying documentary at New York Film Academy, decided to do a couple projects on the Hare Krishnas at Union Square. She came to our ashram with a friend who recorded audio while she recorded video. They made lots of recordings, especially of Arjuna, a youth from a Hare Krishna family, who lives in our ashram.

One young lady vacationing from the Middle East looked with interest at our party at Union Square. When she saw the picture of Srila Prabhupada on the Krishna: Reservoir of Pleasure, she said she had many books of his and that she liked them. Before leaving she began dancing tothe kirtana.

I asked one girl who likedto chant with us her name, and she replied, “Karma.”

A young lady from Long Island came up to the NYC Harinambook table and told how she had been a ordained Buddhist monk in Thailand. She was a singer, and after a week she was kicked out of the ashram for humming, among other things. Rama Raya Prabhu and I explained that positive spiritual engagement was more practical and enjoyable than escaping material desire through meditation on nothingness, and she was very receptive. Turns out she went to the same high school as Rama Raya, a few decades later. I told her, “If you have enough enthusiasm to get ordained as a Buddhist monk, you definitely would be able to get into reading Bhagavad-gita,”and she ended up buying one.

A group of young people who get together and read Plato’s Republic chose Union Square because of the good weather. When they passed our harinama party, a devotee lady invited them to offer candles to Damodar, and they all did, holding their Republicsin their hands. I talked to their leader about Plato’s analogy of the cave and how this world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world, where we love God in different relationships. He asked what the relationships were, and I described them. He asked if they were in a hierarchy, and I explained their order of intimacy. I considered if they liked philosophy enough to read the Republic every week, they would be able to handle Bhagavad-gita, so I showed the book to their leader. He was impressed with the Sanskrit and the word by word translation, and he bought the book.

Harinama Ashram

The New York Harinama devotees have their own ashram in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, about 35 minutes from Union Square on the subway. The temple room is in the basement, and there are three residential floors, and an fixed up area on the roof. They have a regular morning program beginning at 5:00 a.m. Abhiram Prabhu, Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu, and Rama Raya Prabhu lead lively kirtanas and give inspiring classes. Many of the younger devotees also lead nice kirtanas. It is very inspiring to be in the association of people with such faith in the holy name. They cook enough in the morning for breakfast and lunch, and a few meals for the hungry in Union Square. They are looking for more musicians, singers, book distributors and dancers to expand the program more and more. Visit their web page and consider how your can support them (http://www.nycharinam.com/).

In the fall, during the times we had many devotees visiting, we sometimes had two parties. Once we did Union Square Park and Washington Square Park, and on a bad weather day, we did Times Square subway station and Herald Square subway station. Another time we sent an additional group to Jackson Heights, where we are always well received, especially by the many Indians and Mexicans there. Rama Raya Prabhu thinks that some day we should have 10,000 devotees, and 200 parties of fifty devotees each, all around the City. Why just 10,000, why not 20,000?

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,Adi-lila 7.25, purport:

“The Krishna consciousness movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is so powerful that it can inundate the entire world and interest all classes of men in the subject of love of Godhead.”

from The Nectar of Devotion,Chapter 48:

“It is to be understood that any person who is constantly engaged in chanting the holy names of the Lord—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare— has attained a transcendental affection for Krishna, and as such, in any condition of life, he remains satisfied simply by remembering the Lord’s name in full affection and ecstatic love.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.16:

“One who is content and satisfied and who links his activities with the Supreme Personality of Godhead residing in everyone’s heart enjoys transcendental happiness without endeavoring for his livelihood. Where is such happiness for a materialistic man who is impelled by lust and greed and who therefore wanders in all directions with a desire to accumulate wealth?”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.18, purport:

“ . . . a devotee is always satisfied because he feels the presence of the Supersoul within his heart and thinks of Him twenty-four hours a day. That is real satisfaction. A devotee is never driven by the dictations of the tongue and genitals, and thus he is never victimized by the laws of material nature.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya-lila 16.64, purport:

“Preaching Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s cult throughout the world is more important than staying in Vrindavan or Jagannath Puri for one’s own personal satisfaction. Spreading Krishna consciousness is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission; therefore His sincere devotees must carry out His desire.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya-lila 16.70, purport:

“The Lord replied, ‘You should engage yourself in the service of the servants of Krishna and always chant the holy name of Krishna. If you do these two things, you will very soon attain shelter at Krishna lotus feet.’”

from Nectar of Instruction, Preface:

“Everyone within this material world is engrossed in the modes of passion and ignorance. One must promote himself to the platform of goodness, sattva-guna,by following the instructions of Rupa Gosvami, and then everything concerning how to make further progress will be revealed.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.21, purport:

“For a devotee to be satisfied with the bare necessities is therefore the best advice for spiritual advancement.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.24, purport:

“Any country where people indulge in unnecessary killing of animals will have to suffer from wars and pestilence imposed by material nature.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.25:

“One must conquer the modes of passion and ignorance by developing the mode of goodness, and then one must become detached from the mode of goodness by promoting oneself to the platform of suddha-sattva.All this can be automatically done if one engages in the service of the spiritual master with faith and devotion. In this way one can conquer the influence of the modes of nature.”

from Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.46, purport:

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, influenced by the merciful devotees’ attempt to deliver fallen souls, enlightens the people in general from within by His causeless mercy.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.27, purport:

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead gives real knowledge to the entire world, and the spiritual master, as the representative of the Supreme Godhead, carries the message throughout the world. Therefore, on the absolute platform, there is no difference between the spiritual master and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

“There is no one as merciful as Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu within all three worlds. Simply by seeing Him from a distance, one is overwhelmed with love of Godhead.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya 16.121)

“The meaning of controlled speech conveyed by Srila Rupa Gosvamiadvocates the positive process of krishna-katha

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraDecember 4, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.18: New York City and Philadelphia
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 18
By Krishna-kripa das
(September 2014, part two)

New York City and Philadelphia
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on October 17, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I rejoined Rama Raya Prabhu’s New York City Harinama party, living at their ashram in Brooklyn and chanting six hours a day in Union Square. There many, many people, from a variety of countries, have positive interactions with the devotees and advance in spiritual consciousness, and it is truly beautiful to see. In the midst of that I spent three days traveling with the World Harinama Party devotees to Philadelphia to do harinama and attend the Ratha-yatra there. In Philly I also spoke for three hours with Prishni dd, who is doing an oral history project on Sadaputa Prabhu. Contact her if you had personal association with him. One day in New York City I participated in the Climate Change March with my family, who visited from Albany. I also played my harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna both in that parade and alongside as it passed. I ended September by celebrating my 55^thbirthday by making coconut sweets and sharing them with my friends nearby.

I share inspirational quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and from the lectures of Bhatki Marga and Danavira Swamis and from those of Abhirama, Laksmi Nrsimha and Rama Raya Prabhus.

Thanks to Dharmatma Prabhu for his pictures at Union Square and Times Square and to Murli Krishna Prabhu for his pictures at Union Square. Thanks to Vishnujana Prabhu (alias Harinama Ruci) for his picture of Ratha–yatra in Philadelphia. Thanks to Jim Peppler for his pictures of the Climate Change March. Thanks to Marc Gordon for the pictures of me at the book table at Union Square.

Harinama in Union Square

Rama Raya Prabhu’s New York City Harinamapartychants in Union Square from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m., seven days a week, a great example for the world of dedication to the dharma of the age, the congregational chanting of the holy name.

Most often I would contribute by dancing.

Sometimes I would man the book table.

Sometime I would talk to people who liked listening to us.

There were many very positive kirtana experiences at Union Square. Some I photographed, some I videoed, and some I described.

Ananta Prabhu from Alachua led some kirtanas that were appreciated by the people in general (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xL_peUACOf1UwMm_Xo_2CwV):

Nikunja Bihari Prabhu also led some pretty fired up chanting (http://youtu.be/mtTzeK4h4Ws):

Vrajananda dd from Lithuania sang and inspired a whole family to take part in playing instruments and moving with the music (http://youtu.be/abCGBEBXEAc):

Sometimes she would play the flute when others sang.

One time I was talking to a man in front of our party.

He said he played the harmonica and opened a case containing thirteen of them, one for every key.

He wondered what key Ananta Prabhu was playing in, and I suggested it was probably E or B because there were many black keys in it. He concluded it was E and took the appropriate harmonica and began playing along (http://youtu.be/AZxRJRR6kb0):

Arjuna Prabhu, son of Prahlada Priya Prabhu, sang in such a lively way lots of the devotees danced (http://youtu.be/Zcypg7Ev9Pw):

Sometimes the kirtanas were so lively that many people watched and some people danced (http://youtu.be/jo5ZfRXlLpE):

Sometimes people would bring their own instruments to play, like the guitar player in the video below, while others would play our different percussion instruments (http://youtu.be/38GiRaQ6Pd0):

Danavira Maharaja, who has great faith in the holy name and musical talent, kindly chanted with us during his visit.

Different people of all ages would play instruments with us.

Devotees and onlookers both danced.

Many people, include took pictures of us, sometimes at odd angles.

One lady held up the Bhagavad-gitafor all to see.

One girl asked if she had seen me in Jacksonville. I explained that I sometimes went to our programs at the University of North Florida, and she had too. She knew Amrita Keli dd, our organizer there.

One young lady who works in marketing stopped by our party at Union Square after work. She found the chanting to be very soothing. She took our free literature and also bought a book, took a mantra card and had prasadam. She had a mild smile on her face the whole time and applauded at the end. She must have stayed two hours and said she will come again. It is awesome to see new people connect with the chanting in such a positive way. Several days later she stopped to listen for some time. She said after she visited us before the Hare Krishna mantra had stayed in her mind the whole next day, and she told her friends about it. She had visited India once, and plans to return in November. I advised her to visit Mathura and Vrindavan and to ask the devotees about good places to visit.

World Religions professor, Zachary Smith, of Cooper Union, brought his entire class to Union Square to see the harinamaone Monday evening. Students listened for half an hour, got Krishna, Reservoir of Pleasure, ate prasadamcookies, and talked with devotees. The professor told me he thought, “What better way to teach them devotional Hinduism!”

Harinama at Times Square

When the World Harinama Party was visiting New York City they would sometimes do harinama in Times Square. In the second half of September, they did one on the Saturday night after the Climate Change March. We started by chanting on the subway (http://youtu.be/39dXe3P5UpE):

And then through the Times Square subway station.

We chanted on a crowded street, and many people got into dancing with us (http://youtu.be/M0V4SHJNFXA):

The World Harinama Party devotees were brave enough to chant Hare Krishna in the Times Square Radio Shack store, and the workers were all very happy about it (http://youtu.be/Merjtj3qO2c):

On the very day we returned from Philadelphia, they did harinama again in Times Square. Even through it was Sunday night, there were still plenty of people there. Again we started by chanting on the subway (http://youtu.be/Kj14nvKIdj8):

That day we chanted through a shoe store (http://youtu.be/U4VAbVCSt-E):

Philadelphia Harinamas

Haryasva Prabhu, owner of Govinda’s restaurant in Philadelphia, greeted the World Harinama Party with enthusiasm and had us sing kirtana for his large Panca-tattva deities as soon as we arrived. After prasadam, we rested and hit the streets.

Across from Rittenhouse Square on Walnut Street, we met a trombonist and trumpeter from Berlin, who loved playing and dancing with us (http://youtu.be/wYQBRe-HyHk):

Some students we met on the sidewalk danced with us (http://youtu.be/JRXcHnIKFl4):

One worker danced ecstatically in her shop when our party came to the door (http://youtu.be/dfEBFLSZraY):

The first day it rained, and there were not many people on the streets. Still as you can see in the videos above, we found some people who were happy to move to the beat of the kirtana and to hear about our Ratha-yatra festival.

To avoid the rain, we chanted underground from Suburban Station to City Hall.

We passed some musicians playing guitar and djembe.

The djembe player really enjoyed playing with us (http://youtu.be/0YsAAOsU_AY):

The next day when we were on Walnut Street, he was playing with his friends on the opposite side of the street, and then he saw us, he crossed the street to play with us.

On Friday during the day, famed kirtana leader Agnidev Prabhu from Trinidad lead us one harinama on Walnut Street.

A guitar player later played with us in Rittenhouse Square.

On Friday night, Agnidev Prabhu and a kirtana leader from Toronto both led harinama on crowded South Street. We passed out almost all of the invitations to the Ratha-yatra.

Philadelphia Ratha-yatra

Harinamananda Prabhu read a description of the 1975 Philadelphia Ratha-yatra, and it sounded like the devotees had a better route, including big shopping streets. Still there were many people along the parade route who were very favorable when invited to the festival after the parade near the museum.

Two years ago they did not have separate carts for the three Jagannatha’s deities, but they did this time, and they also had a separate cart for the Panca-tattva deities as before.

During the procession we passed a Shakesphere memorial with his famous quote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Of course, that is a very Krishna consciousness statement when we consider the players to be the souls who are wearing different bodily costumes in each life.

In the stage show afterward, the comedian Yadunatha Prabhu told a story of a devotee who had difficulty with the loud kirtanas. He also had doubts about the restriction on elastic socks, finding it a bit unreasonable. When the devotee asked Yadunatha Prabhu about that restriction, at first Yadunatha said he was confused as he could not think of any restriction on elastic socks. But then it occurred to him that devotee meant “illicit sex” but because of the hearing damage from the loud chanting he had not heard properly.

At least three people we had invited during the harinamas we did the previous two days actually came to the festival. To one, who I remember from his gigantic beads, I gave a On Chanting Hare Krishna pamphlet at the festival and along with my business card.

He expressed interest in attending the programs at Govinda’s. Later he bought a Bhagavad-gita from Harinamananda Prabhu.

One girl I talked to remembered getting an invitation from us. She loved dancing in the kirtana at the festival.

I also gave her a On Chanting Hare Krishna pamphlet at the festival and along with my business card, and she also said she would come to our programs. She gave me an extra samosashe bought, and I gave her and her boyfriend some cookies. She was from Jamaica and had no problem with the hotness of the spicy samosa.

Rasika Mangala Prabhu talked to a young man named Brandon at the festival who he had met on harinama at Rittenhouse Square. Brandon danced for hours in the kirtana and became a Facebook friend of Rasika.

He changed his profile picture to one of himself wearing tilaka and with the chariots behind him.

People were happy to receive the maha-prasadam from Lord Jagannatha.

They also enjoyed the chance to fan Srila Prabhupada and the deity with the camara.

I talked to two or three people who lived in the area and saw or heard our festival and were attracted to come. Some came from visiting a college fair or the nearby art museum.

Our kirtana group was so lively many people were attracted to watch for some time and almost all took the “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlets I offered them.

Both the vegan and vegetarian prasadam were very good, and I had a plate of each. I had a sense that there was a larger quantity of prasadamwhen I came two years ago, but I do not know if my perception is valid.

New York City Climate Change March

September 21, the day of the New York City Climate Change March was crazy for me with four different events I wanted to attend happening all at the same time. My mother, a social activist who had her 90^th birthday the previous week, wanted her friends and family to celebrate by participating with her in the Climate Change March. At the same time a group of Hare Krishna devotees was chanting Hare Krishna in the march. Also that afternoon, devotees had arranged a memorial service for Jada Bharata Prabhu, a disciple of my diksa guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, who was a book distributor in Manhattan when I joined the temple on 55^thStreet in 1979. And as usual we had our six-hour kirtana at Union Square from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m.

As I do so few things for my mother, I decided to spend some time with her and my other family members in the Climate Change March. Then I planned to join with the devotees who were chanting in that parade. I brought my harmonium, so in case I could not find the other devotees to chant with, at least I could chant by myself.

My sister made special T-shirts for my mother’s 90^thbirthday which had a picture of her at a protest on the front along with the text “Happy 90^th Birthday Pat Beetle” and a favorite saying of hers on the back, “We are all in this together.”

My sister, Karen, her boyfriend, Victor, and I with my harmonium, joined my mother, who was in a wheel chair only because of the long distance of the march. When no one was talking or shouting slogans and no bands were playing, I would sometimes play harmonium and chant Hare Krishna, and Victor pleased me by chanting nicely along with me.

A professional photographer friend of my mother’s, who works for Albany Times Union newspaper, took several pictures, three of which made the website of the newspaper. They were captioned, “Pat Beetle, age 90, considered to be the grand dame of Activism in the Capitol region, of Albany Fiends Meeting, marching (via wheel chair) in the People’s Climate March in New York City on Sunday, September 21, 2014. Photo by Jim Peppler. Copyright Jim Peppler 2014. All rights reserved.”

After spending time with my family, which included Gwen, my niece, and her husband, Matt, and their friends, who did not make the above pictures, I decided to look for my Hare Krishna friends in the parade. I thought they were behind us, and walked alongside the parade toward the end, chanting Hare Krishna and playing harmonium. I did not find my World Harinama Party friends till almost the end of the parade, and I could not join them because I had to run to get my kurta (shirt) from my sister’s bag, where I put it when I put on my birthday T-shirt, before she left to Albany by bus at 4:30 p.m. Still the result of me looking for the Hare Krishna party was that many, many people got to hear the chanting of Hare Krishna as I wondered around looking for them and that was Krishna’s mercy. I was engaged in devotional service, but not in the way I had hoped. Sometime after 5:00 p.m., I joined the Union Square harinama till 7:30 p.m., and then went to Times Square to sing with the World Harinama Party in the evening, so it was a very full day with lots of kirtana.

For additional photos of many of the activities described above, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1018?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJbo-cqqyK7U4wE&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam6.19.5, purport:

“Lord Krishna had the competence to win the Battle of Kuruksetra, but nonetheless He induced His devotee Arjuna to fight and become the cause of victory. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was quite competent enough to spread His name and mission all over the world, but still He depended upon His devotee to do this work. Considering all these points, the most important aspect of the Supreme Lord’s self-sufficiency is that He depends on His devotees. This is called His causeless mercy. The devotee who has perceived this causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by realization can understand the master and the servant.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.9.46, purport:

“There are many who like to chant the Hare Krishna mantra in a silent, solitary place, but if one is not interested in preaching, talking constantly to the nondevotees, the influence of the modes of nature is very difficult to surpass.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.14.3–4, purport:

“Simply by joining the kirtana– Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare – and by hearing about Krishna from Bhagavad-gita, one must be purified, especially if he also takes prasada.This is all going on in the Krishna consciousness movement.”

“In a dream we form a society of friendship and love, and when we awaken we see that it has ceased to exist. Similarly, one’s gross society, family and love are also a dream, and this dream will be over as soon as one dies. Therefore, whether one is dreaming in a subtle way or a gross way, these dreams are all false and temporary. One’s real business is to understand that one is soul (aham brahmasmi) and that his activities should therefore be different. Then one can be happy.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.14.5, purport:

“Certainly one requires some means of livelihood, and according to one’s varṇaand asrama this means of livelihood is prescribed in the sastras.One should be satisfied with this. Therefore, instead of hankering for more and more money, a sincere devotee of the Lord tries to invent some ways to earn his livelihood, and when he does so Krishna helps him. Earning one’s livelihood, therefore, is not a problem. The real problem is how to get free from the bondage of birth, death and old age. Attaining this freedom, and not inventing unnecessary necessities, is the basic principle of Vedic civilization. One should be satisfied with whatever means of life comes automatically.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.14.7, purport:

“An intelligent person should try to spread Krishna consciousness through the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, and all the necessities of life will automatically follow.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.14.8:

“One may claim proprietorship to as much wealth as required to maintain body and soul together, but one who desires proprietorship over more than that must be considered a thief, and he deserves to be punished by the laws of nature.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.14.10:

“Even if one is a householder rather than a brahmacari,a sannyasior a vanaprastha,one should not endeavor very hard for religiosity, economic development or satisfaction of the senses. Even in householder life, one should be satisfied to maintain body and soul together with whatever is available with minimum endeavor, according to place and time, by the grace of the Lord. One should not engage oneself in ugra-karma.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.14.13, purport:

“ . . . if one intelligently considers the constitution of the body and the soul beyond it, what is the value of the body? Antavanta ime deha nityasyoktah saririṇaḥ:[Bg. 2.18] the body may perish at any moment, but the soul is eternal. If one gives up attachment for the body and increases his attachment for the spirit soul, his life is successful. It is merely a matter of deliberation.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.14.14, purport:

“The education of so-called scientists, philosophers and poets is now engaged in the service of maya,and the wealth of the rich is also engaged in maya’sservice. The service of maya,however, creates a chaotic condition in the world. Therefore the wealthy man and the educated man should sacrifice their knowledge and opulence by dedicating them for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord and joining this sankirtanamovement (yajñaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah[SB 11.5.32]).”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.14.29, purport:

“The forest may be in goodness, the cities and villages in passion, and the brothels, hotels and restaurants in ignorance, but when one lives in the temple community he lives in Vaikuntha.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 44:

“Lord Krishna has no rival; no one is equal to Him, and no one is greater than Him. His beauty is also without any rival, and because He excels all others in the pastimes of conjugal love, He is the original object of all conjugal love.”

“A pure devotee [of Krishna] follows in the footsteps of the gopisand worships the gopisas follows: ‘Let me offer my respectful obeisances to all the young cowherd girls, whose bodily features are so attractive. Simply by their beautiful attractive features they are worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna.’ Out of all the young gopis,Srimati Radharani is the most prominent.

Bhakti Marga Swami:

from a lecture before Ratha-yatra:

What is the mood? The idea is to share, for Lord Jagannath to meet His devotees. Who is that? Everybody.

We want to express the joy that Lord Jagannath Himself expresses.

You cannot force people, especially in North America. You just have make it attractive so they will want to want to participate.

We are introducing a whole new concept of how to enjoy. No meat eating, no intoxication, no illicit sex.

Look presentable. Sound presentable.

Q [by Harinamananda Prabhu]: Do you have examples of people taking Krishna consciousness more seriously as a result of Ratha-yatra?

I have seen people increase their commitment as a result of Ratha-yatra. Sometimes we do Ratha-yatra in a more secluded place and it is like a family festival but the people become more happy about their commitment as a result. [Later, at this year’s Ratha-yatra, I asked a new devotee how he came to practice Krishna consciousness. He had some books and read them, but he said that at a previous Ratha-yatra he became really commited. When he said that I remembered what Bhakti Marga Swami had said that very morning.]

my comment: I talked to one girl I met on harinama who was happy to get from me an invitation to Ratha-yatha and who gleefully told her friend, “This is the greatest festival!” One year I talked to three groups of people who came to the festival, and they had all come two or three times, although they were not devotees but just residents of the city. There are a lot of devotees of the festival in Philadelphia, more so than in many cities.

comment by Nirantara Prabhu: Every group has their day. There is Gay Pride Day, etc. Ratha-yatra is our day.

comment Agnideva Prabhu: Ratha-yatra is Divine Dispensation Day.

after the Sita’s trial by fire and Rama’s ultimate acceptance of her in his Ramayana play:

“Relationships are always complicated, even in the divine and absolute realm.”

on Srila Prabhupada singing “Parama Karuna”in Atlanta in 1975:

He enjoyed the mood of the kirtana. There were devotees from all over America present, and even Canada. Our Canadian traveling party was in the USA, and we decided to follow Srila Prabhupada.Srila Prabhupada played mridanga although in 1975, he rarely played it in public kirtanas.

from a Srimad-Bhagavatam class on verse 7.3.36:

If we are materialistic, and we all are to a certain extent, we try to protect what is ours.

At one temple while I was visiting I got attached to pacing back and forth on a certain set of tiles while chanting japa. Then someone sat on one of my tiles, and I was upset.

And I was just a visitor!

Hiranyakasipu had four sons, but the most beloved was Prahlada.
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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraOctober 18, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.17: England, Dublin Ratha-yatra, Upstate New York
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 17
By Krishna-kripa das
(September 2014, part one)

The North of England, Dublin Ratha-yatra, Newark, Upstate New York
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on October 10, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I stayed in Newcastle for Radhastami because Bhakti Caitanya Swami, who is familiar with Lord Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan, was there on a rare visit. Then I did a final harinama and evening program in both Sheffield and Chester, saying goodbye to some friends in Manchester in-between. Then I took Megabus to Dublin for just £15, staying there just two days, one to do harinama to advertise their Ratha-yatra and the next to participate in it. Next I flew to Newark, where I got to chant Hare Krishna for a retiring airline captain, and took the train to New York City, where I got to spend 20 minutes on the Union Square harinama, on my way to Stuyvesant Falls. There I spent six days proofreading Volume 3 of The Story of My Life by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. Next I went to Albany to celebrate my mother’s 90^thbirthday at the Quaker meeting in Easton, New York, to the north.

I include insights from books and a conversation by Srila Prabhupada, a powerful quote by Narottama Dasa Thakura from Prema-bhakti-candrika,and excerpts from the poems and books of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, including the soon-to-be-published 3^rdvolume of his autobiography. I have many notes from lectures Bhakti Caitanya Swami gave in Newcastle, including some from his Radhastami lecture. I also include notes on a class from Bhakti-sastri teacher, Radhika Nagara Prabhu, and several excerpts from the soon-to-be-published January / February 2015 issue of Back to Godhead magazine.

Thanks to GN Press for their donation for my proofreading work. Thanks to Ratha Yatra Ireland for the pictures from their Facebook photo album, Dublin Ratha Yatra 2014. Thanks to Karen Beetle for the picture of the chapati.

Harinama in North Shields

The day before Radhastami we did harinama in North Shields. North Shields is one of those places I only would chant in by the influence of Janananda Goswami, who likes that the small towns and villages not be neglected, although he also approves of chanting in the big cities,. After all, Lord Caitanya said His name would be chanted in every town and village.

Many children were attracted, smiling, clapping, and dancing, with their mom’s smiling. Some teenagers also smiled, clapped, and danced. A lady in a wheelchair, rolled up, looked at the books, and bought a Bhagavad gita. A very large lady bought a Sri Isopanisad.Several people gave donations, and a Perfection of Yoga and Beyond Birth and Death were given to some of them. None of the security and policemen bothered us although we chanted in the same place for over an hour and a half, and we spent two and a half hours chanting in North Shields altogether. There were five of us, including Prema Sankirtana and Radhe Shyam Prabhus, and Veera and Priyanka Devis, two college girls not yet back in school. We are sure North Shields will never be the same again.

Harinama in Chester, England

In Chester, England, I was chanting Hare Krishna in public for the second time ever, along with a devotional Indian family of four. One Quaker man came by and gave me a card with a summary of Quaker beliefs. I was happy to see all of them were compatible with Hare Krishna thought:

There is something sacred in all people.

All people are equal before God.

Religion is about the whole of life.

In stillness we find a deeper sense of God’s presence.

True religion leads to respect for the earth and all life upon it.

Each person is unique and precious, a child of God.

I explained my mother was a Quaker peace activist, and she is still doing peace work although aged 90, and I am going to celebrate her 90th birthday at a Quaker meeting in a couple weeks. I felt I should offer some explanation of my being a Hare Krishna although in a Quaker family, so I said I like the idea the Hare Krishnas have of extending nonviolence to include becoming vegetarian, and that without people becoming vegetarian we cannot have peace in this world. He surprised me by saying he was vegetarian, which is not the case with most Quakers. As he left he said with a smile, “May Lord Hare Krishna bless you!”

Two young ladies, sitting on a nearby bench, listened to my chanting for a while, and then came up to me and chatted and gave a donation. I remember they did Reiki, an alternative therapy. They continued sitting on the bench and read the books I gave them.

In Chester, people gave me more donations than usually in England. My friend, Gaura Dasa Prabhu, from South Africa, says Chester is his favorite city in the UK to distribute books in as he always does better there.

Chester Program

For the second time, I gave a lecture at Clive and Agi Holland’s home in Chester. Gaura Krishna Prabhu has also spoken there. In addition to the Hollands and the family from Chester who had joined me on harinama, people came from other places such as Radha Mohan and Vrajendralal Prabhus of the Manchester congregation and Barbara and Meg from Liverpool. Gradually they are beginning to have regular programs in Chester, and it is great to see this increase in The North of England. I look forward to participating again next year.

On the Way to Dublin

While waiting for the ferry to Dublin at Holyhead, a young lady looked at my musical instrument, and inquired, “Is that a portable harmonium?” She said she played the harmonium, and she amused me by saying that she played devotional music, although she did not know who she was devoting it to. She was happy to learn of our Tuesday kirtananight at Govindas and our Ratha-yatra on Saturday in Dublin, and I hoped she would attend them.

Dublin Harinama

I arranged a three-hour harinama to promote the Ratha-yatra. Premarnava Prabhu, who I was counting on, had many responsibilities to prepare for the Ratha-yatra and could not come out the whole time.

I was happy that one young couple, Jnana, an Indian guy, and Georgia, an English girl, was very dedicated to the harinama and participated almost the whole time.

One of Premarnava’s errands was to get a large pot from another Govinda’s restaurant, so we decided to take the harinama party there because then Premarnava Prabhu and Bhakta John could take part.

We put a Ratha-yatra poster on the drum to call attention to the event.

On the way back, Jnana Prabhu, carried the pot, as Premarnava Prabhu, played harinama and sang, while I played drum, and John, the karatalas.

After the evening program, we did harinama inside and outside Govinda’s restaurant, getting ourselves and others in the mood for Ratha-yatra.

We were happy that Ananta Nitai Prabhu joined us to play the drum.

Dublin Ratha-yatra

Praghosh Prabhu, GBC of Ireland and the UK, who a resident of Dublin, was the hands on manager of the Ratha-yatra procession and master of ceremonies for the stage show in the park. He greeted the official guest, the assistant deputy mayor of Dublin.

The assistant deputy mayor, wearing a garland,spoke briefly, better than officials usually do, about the benefit of religious festivals to society, thanking the devotees for putting on the festival.

He swept the street following in the footsteps of Maharaja Prataparudra of Lord Caitanya’s day.

Later, others also swept the street, including this kid.

Before the Ratha-yatra procession began, I talked to a couple young ladies from South America, who often come to Govinda’s at the end of the day when they sell the remaining food for a discount price.

They stayed and pulled the cart in the procession.

After a while, they became so inspired they danced much of the time and stayed with us down the busy O’Connell Street.

Madhumangala Prabhu, in the center, and a little back in the picture above, who is famous among Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s disciples for being his personal servant for many years, came on the Ratha-yatra procession. Apparently he lives in West Cork, and often comes to Dublin for Ratha-yatra.

Arjuna Prabhu (right) sees him from time to time.

Manu Prabhu, who plays accordion, was one of the main kirtana leaders.

Parasurama, playing enthusiastically on his ukulele, adds a lot to any festival. Ananta Nitai Prabhu, playing the drum, is also very good on harinama sankirtana.

I danced as usual.

I also invited people to the stage show.

There was a good crowd in the park for the stage show.

Srila Prabhupada and the Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra deities stayed there on a table to be viewed and to view the festival.

Some people were blessed with garlands from the deities.

There were Indian dances, bhajanas, a magic show by Parasurama, who is originally from Ireland, and of course, prasadam. Thanks to Mayesvara, Premarnava, and all the Prabhus who helped cook. An Indian organization supplied drinks.

On the final kirtana, Praghosh Prabhu encouraged anyone to come on the stage who wanted to, and a few newcomers took part.

I enjoyed telling new people about the festival and our local programs in Dublin.

We did harinama all the way back to the temple, ending the joyous day.

Chanting in the Cockpit of a United Airlines Plane in Newark

As I boarded my United Airlines flight in Dublin, the airline captain passed by saying, “This is my last flight. I am retiring after 33 years.” He later made that announcement to all the passengers on the flight. After we landed in Newark, I came to the cockpit and congratulated him on a successful flight. I had my harmonium, and offered to sing a tune for him, saying as a Hare Krishna monk, I only played one song. He invited me in, and I played two mantras of my favorite Hare Krishna tune, and he and a lady who came to photograph him, took a video of it.

Proofreading Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Autobiography in Stuyvesant Falls

I spent six days proofreading the third volume of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s autobiography, The Story of My Life,in Stuyvesant Falls. In this volume he talks about zonal acarya days and some of the trials and tribulations from his point of view of that time in ISKCON history. He talks about his relationships with different senior devotees in ISKCON such as Tamal Krishna Goswami, Bhakti Tirtha Swami, and Jayadvaita Swami, and shares interesting details I had not heard before. He also describes his relationship with Narayana Maharaja. He tells about what he had in mind when he wrote different books like the “Stories of Devotion” series and the controversial book, Sanatorium. I enjoyed the reading, which I did practically twelve hours a day, but I looked forward to being back on the streets chanting with my friends.

My Mother’s 90^thBirthday

My mother thought of us celebrating her 90^thbirthday by doing two things, attending the yearly Quaker gathering at Easton, New York, on Sunday, September 14, the actual day, and participating in the New York City Climate Change march the following week. As a Quaker peace activist that was completely in character for her. I made carrot coconut rice and coconut burfi prasadam for the luncheon after the Quaker meeting in Easton. There they have a tradition of telling a story before their meeting for worship once a year about how some armed American Indians working for the British during Revolutionary War times entered their meetinghouse as they were sitting in silent worship. The Quakers continued undisturbed, and the Indians put down their weapons. The story shows how the Lord protects those engaged in worshiping. During the meeting, I spoke briefly about how I met a Quaker while I was chanting in Chester, England, and shared with them the six very universal Quaker understandings listed on the card he gave me, and I suggested they might have a similar card for the US Quakers as they do in the UK.

That night somehow in a conversation with my sister I became inspired enough to try making chapatisto go with the spinach panir that Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s cook, Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu, had made for my mother’s birthday.

I had not made chapatis regularly in over a decade, and I was doubtful they would come out. I prayed to Radharanibefore I cooked, as usual, and the dough came out the perfect consistency the first time, and almost every chapati puffed up.

Karen, my sister, took a picture of one of them.

I showed my mother how to file her email in folders in a simpler way than before and helped her deal with her broken printer. I told her my birthday present to her was all the meals I cooked.

There is a movie on the life of the popular kirtana singer named Krishna Das. My sister saw it and thought it was pretty good, so my mother, sister, and I watched it the next day. Although Krishna Das is not in the same spiritual lineage as the Hare Krishnas and does not teach pure devotion to Krishna, there were still some valuable messages in his story. It shows how by devotion to one’s guru and following the guru’s direction, one can attain success in life far beyond one’s expectations. That afternoon I took the Chinese bus to New York City to chant with the Union Square harinama party. I told Karen that watching the video increased my eagerness to go to New York and chant Hare Krishna kirtana with my friends. I had been nine days without harinama,way too long!

To see more pictures not included in this blog, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1017?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNzAoejFh6eNTg&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,Adi8.28, purport:

“As a result of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,one makes such great advancement in spiritual life that simultaneously his material existence terminates and he receives love of Godhead. The holy name of Krishna is so powerful that by chanting even one name, one easily achieves these transcendental riches.”

from a conversation on May 30, 1974, during a morning walk in Rome:

The Vedic literatures advise, “My dear human being, please note: You have attained this human form of life after many, many births. You had to go through the various forms of the aquatic life, 900,000 species; and you had to go through the various forms of birds and trees and plants, two million species. Consider how much time you have spent in this slow, painstaking evolution. Now you have come to the human form of life. And although it, too, is temporary, nonetheless you can achieve the highest perfection. You can evolve from life in this temporary world of misery to life in the eternal world of bliss. So before your next death in this world, become a very adept student of spiritual perfection – and achieve it.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.14.31, purport:

“If the king or government becomes demonic, it is the duty of a saintly person to upset the government and replace it with deserving persons who follow the orders and instructions of saintly persons.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 15.180, purport:

“The conditioned soul is always fearful due to being controlled by the external potency; therefore the conditioned soul should always pray to the almighty Lord to conquer the external potency (maya) so that she will no longer manifest her powers, which bind all living entities, moving and inert. By praying in this way one will become eligible to remain constantly in the association of the Lord, thus fulfilling the mission of going back home, back to Godhead.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 15.237, purport:

“In the Hare Krishna movement, the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, the dancing in ecstasy and the eating of the remnants of food offered to the Lord are very, very important. One may be illiterate or incapable of understanding the philosophy, but if he partakes of these three items, he will certainly be liberated without delay.”

Narottama Dasa Thakura:

from Prema-bhakti-candrika:

Chapter Nine—The Ultimate Instructions Sri-Radhikasraya: The Shelter of Srimati Radharani

TEXT 10

“O brother, simply by chanting the names of Krishna, one can receive the lotus feet of Radhika, and by chanting the names of Radhika, one can receive the lotus feet of Krishna.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for August 30” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Prabhupada
once told me
we are responsible
for getting a good
night’s rest, rising
early and doing japa
in our sitting asana.”

from “Poem for September 3”in Viraha Bhavan:

I observe
Prabhupada’s advice to
“just hear,” and I am able to report
I was not
disturbed by outside thoughts.
My mind used to wander all over
the universe,
but now I hold onto
the bead until all the syllables are finished.
I hear the mantras clearly in
my mind. I am grateful for the little
progress I have made,
and I encourage all inattentive
chanters that they can do it too.

from Breaking the Silence – Selected Writings 1991–1997:

“O holy names, please forgive us. Please hear our plea. We are, for now, chanting sporadically in a wilderness of names and places and experiences. Many things still interest us (and bewilder us) instead of the One Supreme Interest. Please hear our call and honor our request.”

from The Story of My Life, Volume 3:

“Let us all acknowledge our debt to Prabhupada and witness how fulfilling it is to work in his service and reciprocate with him.”

“I once asked Prabhupada a question. I said, ‘I feel I can be many selves. Which self would Krishna want me to be?’ I was thinking how in relating to different acquaintances I would play different roles, and one didn’t know who one truly was. So which kind of a person would Krishna like me to be? I was thinking of the hip person, the boyfriend, the comrade, the writer, the reader. These were the different selves I was thinking of. The person who’s subordinate, the person who’s dominant. What do you want me to be, Krishna? What will be pleasing to you? And Prabhupada answered by saying, ‘This boy Steve is nice. He types and gives money. You all should do like that.’ So he went right to the core of the services I was rendering rather than address my question of masks before society. He told me what he perceived in me in plain language. My services. You are your services to Krishna. That’s your eternal identity, servant of Krishna. And in the spiritual world we have oursvarupa siddhi, sthayi-bhava, one main function that we do for Krishna,siddha-deha, our eternal form. That will be revealed to us one day, what kind of a self we will be for Krishna, and we will offer him that service in Goloka. Now we serve as sadhakas,chanting and hearing and preaching.”

“I met with Professor Sheridan Baker, the author of a book on writing. I showed him a BTGand he liked it, but he said we should be creative and not always use the same terms. For example instead of “spirit soul” one could sometimes alter it to “spark of spirit,” etc. In the introduction to one of his books Thomas Merton wrote that he might not always use the vocabulary of Catholic theology. He said something like, “I may be permitted to use my own language about my soul.” I’ve tried to keep my American (New Yorker) voice in my own writings while staying faithful to Prabhupada and the parampara.Prabhupada himself wrote differently than his spiritual master, and we may also.”

“I will have to die and give up my beloved schedule. I will go to a better place by Prabhupada’s grace. Where will I go? I don’t know my siddha-dehaor eligibility for transference to the spiritual world. Krishna’s kind to His devotees.”

“I’m on a quest, trying to live my life and die my death so I can go back to Godhead. Prabhupada is my shelter. Krishna is my God. He appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is in the mood of Radharani in separation from Krishna. We are readingCaitanya-caritamrita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.”

Bhakti Caitanya Swami:

Krishna is not different from His name, and Krishna is our best friend.

Srila Prabhupada was asked by an outside person what was the goal of chanting, and he said, “More chanting.”

While chanting japa think, “I am associating with Krishna, my best friend, in the way He most likes to be associated with.”

Srila Prabhupada said, “You can know if your chanting is of good quality if you think, why just sixteen rounds, why not sixteen thousand rounds.?”

Giriraja Swami advises, “Hear the first ‘Ha.’” Then there is a chance of hearing the whole mantra. If you do not hear the first “Ha” there is no chance of hearing the whole mantra.

At the beginning of one mantra, think, “I am going to hear this mantra.” Then at the end of that mantra, think, I am going to hear this next mantra.”

In namabhasa, the mind still proposes so many deviations from hearing the holy name, but the chanter does not give in to the mind’s proposals but remains focused on the holy name.

We are lost in the material world and in a precarious condition. Thus we are in a situation like Srila Prabhupada describes of a child crying for its mother, although we may not realize it much of the time.

It is good to focus the eyes on something spiritual, like Srila Prabhupada, the deities, or the text of the mantra, for the eyes are always engaged in looking at something.

from a class before Radhastami:

In Durban we had the usual morning class, then a class from 9 to 12, and another one from 3 to 5, and then in the evening from 7:30 to 9.

Krishna becomes affected by the bewildering features of Radharani so much so that He makes mistakes and becomes becomes embarrassed by them. Once He decided that He had enough, and was going act supremely cool in the presence of Radha. When milking a cow He tried to act very cool. Then He saw the gopis. He looked completely expressionless and kept milking. Then all the gopis laughed. Krishna was irritated, thinking He was doing OK. Then He realized He was trying to milk a bull.

We can pray to Srimati Radharani, “On Your appearance, please bless me that I may become a proper devotee by Your grace.”

Vasanameans a fundamental material desire, like attraction for the opposite sex.

If you declare war on maya, if you last one second you are lucky. But if you take shelter of Krishna, you can become free from lust and anger and other manifestations of maya.

Q: Is chanting and reading books sufficient to please Krishna?

A: Krishna is certainly pleased to some extent by that. Rupa Goswami has said we must be free from karma, or materialistic religiosity. The Christians pray for bread. God has a great bakery in the sky, and we can save some money getting bread from Him. Srila Prabhupada said that the Lord’s prayer is not about love of God but love of bread. Rupa Goswami also we must be free from speculation about God. We calculate God is the oldest person, and thus He must look like the ultimate senior citizen. Actually Brahma-samhita says, adyam puranam purusam nava yauvanam ca. Although Krishna is adyam puranam purusam, the origin of all and the most ancient person, He is nava yauvanam ca,also a fresh youth.

Devotional service must be favorable. This has two aspects (1) having a favorable attitude and (2) doing things that actually please Krishna.

If you really want to please Krishna, you should do all recommended things under the direction of the spiritual master, in the association of devotees.

There is no such thing as an innocent victims. There are only people who think they are innocent victims. If someone punches you in the nose, that is because you punched that person in the nose in the past, and so in effect, you have punched yourself in the nose. And if you are devotee, Krishna reduces the reaction, so if you are punched in the nose, you should thank Krishna for giving you a greatly reduced reaction.

One devotee in Bombay had his leg swollen from mosquito bites, and he complained to Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada said, “If you were not a devotee, you would have lost your leg by now.

If we are alive in Krishna consciousness we can collect our inheritance of attaining the kingdom of God.

We can be genuinely humble if we realize our shortcomings. If you are just a great guy, and everything is cool, then you have no reason to be humble. If you are in that situation, pray to Krishna, “I am so foolish I cannot realize how foolish I am. Please show me my shortcomings, so I can be genuinely humble.” I know people who have done this, and Krishna revealed so many things they could not digest it all and prayed for Him to stop.

Rupa Goswami wrote a verse glorifying each of the five most important processes of devotional service. The one on deity worship is:

“My dear friend, if you still have any desire to enjoy the company of your friends within this material world, then don’t look upon the form of Krishna, who is standing on the bank of Kesi-ghata [a bathing place in Vrindavan]. He is known as Govinda, and His eyes are very enchanting. He is playing upon His flute, and on His head there is a peacock feather. And His whole body is illuminated by the moonlight in the sky.”

We would call the people who would come at the end of the arati, when the fan is offered, just before the Sunday feast, “members of Krishna’s fan club.”

When the devotees were registering ISKCON in South Africa, the bureaucrat handling it said, “You cannot call it International Society for Krishna Consciousness, you must call it the South African Society for Krishna Consciousness.” The devotee explained that we are part of an international organization and so it must called the “International Society for Krishna Consciousness.” The bureaucrat disagreed, and it went back and forth. The devotee finally gave the man a simply wonderful sweet ball, and said, “my wife made this for you.” He ate it in one gulp, and he smiled. Then he agreed, “Alright, you can call it “International Society for Krishna Consciousness.”

Sthayi bhava means your rasa, or eternal relationship with Krishna.

One thing special about our sampradaya (spiritual lineage) is that we recognize that Lord Caitanya, who appeared in our sampradaya,is the yuga avatara, incarnation of Krishna for this age,and He taught the only dharma for the age, the chanting of the holy name.

Q: How to become more determined in Krishna consciousness?

A: Associate with devotees who are more determined and serve them, then you will pick up their qualities.

from a Radhastami lecture:

Srila Prabhupada asked the devotees in a lecture, “Who is God?”

The devotees said, “Krishna.”

Srila Prabhupada replied, “No. Radha-Krishna is God.”

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraOctober 10, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.16: France, Holland, Belgium, and The North of England
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 16
By Krishna-kripa das
(August 2014, part two)

France, Holland, Belgium, and The North of England
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on October 3, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I chanted harinama in Paris for four days on the metros, at Les Halles, at Notre Dame, and the at Eiffel Tower with some friends. Then I chanted in Rotterdam with their Saturday harinama devoteesand spoke the program that evening. Sunday was my first Amsterdam Ratha-yatra. I met up with some bad fortune, missing my boat across the English Channel and then being denied entry in the the UK by the Home Office Border people. I spent a night couch surfing in Lille, and chanted at the piano in the train station there the next morning. Then I spent a couple days with my friend, Janmastami Prabhu, in Brussels doing harinama. I lost my camera card and card reader along with all my pictures while in Brussels, so I have fewer illustrations than usual. Then I lost a day of engagements delayed by the UK Border officials although I successfully made it to London and then Manchester. Then I did harinama and an evening program in Liverpool, did harinama and attended a wedding of two friends in Newcastle, and finally ended the month with a harinama in Leeds. All in all, the end of August was a lesson in being equipoised in loss.

I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures, a quote from Narottama Dasa Thakura from Prema-bhakti-candrika, and excerpts from the books and online journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I also share insights from Bhakti Caitanya Swami, who was visiting Newcastle to attend the marriage of a disciple. There are also notes on classes by Prabhupada disciple, Pitavasa Prabhu, in Paris, along with Adi Purusa Prabhu, the Bhakti-sastri teacher, who was visiting there, and Kusha Prabhu, who was distributing books there for the summer. I also include wisdom from Madhavananda Prabhu from his Ratha-yatra lecture in Amsterdam. I share notes on wedding addresses by Prabhupada Pran Prabhu, Kirtida dd, and Rama Rao.

I want to thank Sivananda Sena Prabhu for kindly purchasing my ticket from Paris to Rotterdam, thus saving me considerable inconvenience. Thanks also to Dr. Karuna Rasa Prabhu of the Manor for his generous examination and donation. I also want to thank Gaura Krishna Prabhu for kindly driving me to and from the Manor and to the doctor. I also thank the Liverpool nama-hatta, and John and Preitie from Leeds for their kind donations. As I recall my benefactors, I am remembering the Beatles’ lyric, “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

Harinama in Paris

I chanted harinama for four days on the metros, at Les Halles, at Notre Dame, and at the Eiffel Tower. I was grateful to Gadadhara Priya Prabhu who came out all four days on harinama, and for Sara who came out at least three. Despite being tired from Janmastami and traveling from England, Chandrasekhara Prabhu came out one day. Adi Purusa Prabhu, the Bhakti-sastri teacher, and Kusha Prabhu, who I knew when he was leading harinama in Mayapur inspired me by joining us chanting at Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower the last day of my visit. One couple from America who loved harinama came to visit Paris, and they also came out with us for a couple of days. Thus by the grace of the Lord and His devotees I always had devotees to chant with in Paris.

Gadadhara Priya Prabhu tells the people on the metro that yoga helps to connect with “the divine.” In France he finds many people do not believe in “the divine.” When he asked one woman, she said, “the question of the existence of the divine has never occurred to me.” He then explained to her that the divine exists both outside and within, and then he resumed the chanting. He said the combination of his words and the chanting seemed to transform her.

At Notre Dame, especially many people danced with us, and it was beautiful to see.

The Eiffel Tower was such a good venue, we went there two days.

Sara talked to one man at the Eiffel Tower who watched us for some time. She could see tears coming from his eyes behind his dark glasses. She sold him a book. Although from the meat eating country of Argentina, he was trying to become vegetarian.

Harinama in Rotterdam

Sivananda Sena Prabhu told me one devotee called him at 10:00 a.m. and said he could not come on the 3 p.m. harinama because it was raining. Sivananda Sena Prabhu told him not to worry, and that he would talk to Indra about it. The weather for the harinamawas the sunniest it had been in several days. I was happy to have a few people to chant with there.

Amsterdam Ratha-yatra

It was the first time I went to Ratha yatra in Amsterdam. The weather was perfect, with lots of sun.

Sivananda Sena Prabhu and I got the special mercy of carrying Srila Prabhupada from his car to the Ratha yatra cart.

The route starts out in a section of the city that is not so busy.

Parividha Prabhu lead the chanting near the beginning. He danced in a nice pattern, and other devotees followed him.

Still, people watched from their apartment buildings.

Some people appeared very happy to witness the event.

But by the time we got near Dam Square, people were lining the streets, looking at and taking pictures of the parade.

Parasurama Prabhu and his crew cooked the feast, and everything was nice. My plan was to go with them back to the UK, and so I had to miss the rest of the kirtanas, alas.

One of the Craziest Days in My Life

After the Amsterdam Ratha-yatra, I traveled with Parasurama Prabhu and a van of his helpers, planning return to the UK, but I never made it. While waiting for the ferry at Calais, I tried to get the wireless internet working at a rest area so I could proofread my guru’s blog and be free to sleep on the boat. The internet did not work at the closest rest area to our van, so I tried another one. It also did not work at the other one, but I found good seating and light for working on my blog on the computer. I confused the time the boat left for the time to board the boat, and returned to the van to find it was nowhere in sight. It must be on the boat! I went to look for the boat, and I saw it had just left the dock. All my luggage was in the van on its way to the Manor, and I just had my computer and the clothes I was wearing! I tried to hitch a ride with cars going on the next boat, but because the number of passengers is written on the ticket, no one was willing to risk taking me. I tried to negotiate a free pass on the next boat, but because I was not listed on Parasurama Prabhu’s ticket, they said I had to go on the next ferry that accepted passengers, some five hours later, and I had to buy a new ticket for 40 euros. If I took a bus, I knew I could get all the way to London for 40 euros, so 40 euros only to go to Dover, on the other side of the channel, was truly a bad deal. While I trying to figure out what to do, a Eurolines bus enroute to London pulled up in front of the passenger ferry office where I was waiting. I asked the driver if he could take me to London. He said the bus was completely booked, and he was just picking up one passenger in Calais. I asked if that passenger did not show up, if he would be willing to take me, and he agreed. The passenger did not show, and he said he would take me for £30, and I gave him the money and he took down my passport details for immigration. Everything looked auspicious, but the UK Border people detained me for further questioning. After talking to me several times and taking my fingerprints in the course of eight or nine hours, from 2:30 or 3:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. they decided they would not let me into the UK. I could not believe it! That was the first time I had been denied entrance into any country, what to speak of the UK, where I had my summer base and I had spent several months the past few years.

Their reasons you can see on the form they gave me:

I was angry that the officer who made the decision did not believe my statements, and that the lady I showed my onward ticket to Dublin to, did not tell the officer, so he thought I had no ticket out of the UK. Thus I was stuck in France with my computer but no harmonium, and no clothes but those I was wearing. I walked to the town of Calais, perhaps twenty minutes in a light rain to save money. At the welcome center, using the 20 minutes of free wireless internet I was given, I learned that there were no cheap buses from Calais, and my best bet was to take the train to Lille for 18.50 euros. That I would reach 20 minutes before a Megabus which departed for Amsterdam, where my friends had invited me to stay, and even offered to pay my way to the UK if I did. Unfortunately my free internet expired and they would not sell me or give me time to book the Megabus online. The internet cafe was closed, although it was supposed to be opened at that time, so I took a chance and went to Lille, hoping I could pay cash for the Megabus. I made it in time for the bus, but the driver would not take cash, so now I was stuck in Lille. I found a Eurolines bus going to either Brussels or Amsterdam, I cannot remember which, but they also would not accept cash. What frustration! Finally I found I could take a cheap bus run by the train company SNCF and known as iDBUS, to Brussels the next morning, where my friend Janmastami Prabhu said he would be happy to have me visit, and so I booked the bus online at a cafe where I bought a milkshake in order to use the wireless internet for the rest of the evening. Now my only problem was my bus was not till the next morning. I had gotten so little sleep while detained by the UK border guards, the idea of staying up all night at the train station was intolerable. Spending money on a hotel or hostel was also not an attractive idea. What to do?

Couch Surfing Adventure

I decided to couch surf in Lille, although I had never done it before. Looking through the profiles of those offering accommodation in Lille, I saw a couple of young Indian men who looked promising, including one who mentioned Hare Krishna in his profile, and so I sent them messages saying I was a Hare Krishna monk, explaining my predicament and including my phone number. I ended up staying with an Indian student, Vinay Kumar, who attended our temple in Hyderabad, and who, amazingly enough, had just gone to the Janmastami festival the previous week in our castle in Belgium, known as Radhadesh. He told me he rented an apartment just five minutes walk from the train station just so he could facilitate couch surfers. That evening he already had another couch surfer, Flower, who it turned out had danced in our mantra yoga tent at the Polish Woodstock. After we got to know each other briefly, I suggested we chant Hare Krishna. Flower was a guitar player, and I had her play the chords to the simple Prabhupada tune that everyone knows and is easy to sing, and the three of us chanted together for five minutes. I gave them both a coconut cookie made by the Czech devotees on their farm. It was so amazing to end up staying with two people in Lille who had Hare Krishna connections! For the first time since I missed the boat in Calais, I had a sense that Krishna was really taking care of me!

Harinamas in Lille and Brussels

The French railway company, SNCF, puts pianos in many of the train stations, so I spent half an hour playing four Hare Krishna tunes on the piano in Lille during the morning rush hour the day after I was refused entry into England.

Janmastami Prabhu played the accordion even before meeting the devotees, and he has great faith in the holy name. I usually go out on harinama for three hours, but once in Leuven, Belgium, because of Janmastami’s enthusiasm, we chanted four hours. I usually see Janmastami every year when I go to Europe and often we do harinama together, but I had not seen him at all in Europe this year, and the good side of being detained at the UK border was that I got to do harinama with Janmastami this year in Brussels.

That the evening of the day I arrived in Brussels, Janmastami Prabhu, Ben, Indira, and I sang Hare Krishna in the Brussels Central station for an hour and a half. Indira chanted beautifully with such an expression of joy on her face it was awesome, and her partner Ben, did a great job of playing the mridanga. Many people appreciated. I was so elated by the lovely kirtana and the joy of chanting with other devotees, including my friend, Janmastami, that all the hassles resulting from being detained by the UK Border guards were forgotten. There was only transcendental bliss.

The next day the other devotees were busy, and I chanted by myself at a fairly crowded bus and tram stop much closer to the temple.

Successful Entry into the UK

I borrowed some money and booked a ticket to America, and I printed that and my bank statement so the British officers’ main complaints against me would be nullified. I traveled by bus through the Channel Tunnel which begins not at Calais, but the small French city of Coquelles, as I did not want to encounter the same UK border officials who had rejected me before. Still I was detained for three hours because they noticed I was refused entry three days before. They finally let me in, saying they only did so because I printed my airline ticket to America and my bank statement. Once they decided to let me in, they gave me a free travel voucher to London, and everybody in the whole office, about four or five people, were very concerned that I knew which bus to get on and that the driver honored the free voucher. Still I missed the harinama and Sacred Sounds program I hoped to attend in Preston due to the entire delay of six hours. Fortunately the Megabus people charged me only £5 for traveling at a later time, although I had to ask two different officials to get that deal.

Altogether I lost four days of programs in England and well over $100 in extra travel expenses. I think next year I will get another kind of visa for the UK so I do not have to lie about accepting donations as some border officials consider accepting donations violates a tourist visa. I may also have to borrow money and book tickets in advance to be safe.

Harinama in Newcastle

All the devotees in Newcastle were getting ready for the marriage of two devotees in the mid afternoon, so I knew I had little chance of finding anyone to sing with in the streets of Newcastle before the wedding. Fortunately my friend, Radha Londonisvara Das Prabhu, who I had traveled with to the Polish Woodstock and who loves harinama, was scheduled to chant at the wedding ceremony and so was visiting Newcastle. There was a soccer game that day, what they call football in the UK, and we chanted to, at, and from the stadium, and thus many hundreds of people heard our brief forty-minute harinama.

The Wedding of Caitanya Vallabha Dasa and Jagannathesvari Devi Dasi

Kirtida Devi Dasi did a very good job of explaining all the elements of the marriage ceremony so that persons not acquainted with Hare Krishna could understand the meaning behind it. In that respect, this was best wedding I had ever witnessed.

Bhakti Caitanya Swami quoted a few verses from the brief description of Lord Ramacandra’s pastimes in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, in which the dharma of the householder is described. It had not occurred to me before that they would be so relevant for a marriage ceremony:

“When Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was the King of this world, all bodily and mental suffering, disease, old age, bereavement, lamentation, distress, fear and fatigue were completely absent. There was even no death for those who did not want it. Lord Ramacandra took a vow to accept only one wife and have no connection with any other women. He was a saintly king, and everything in His character was good, untinged by qualities like anger. He taught good behavior for everyone, especially for householders, in terms of varnasrama-dharma. Thus He taught the general public by His personal activities. Mother Sita was very submissive, faithful, shy and chaste, always understanding the attitude of her husband. Thus by her character and her love and service she completely attracted the mind of the Lord.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam9.10.53–55)

Since Jagannathesvari Devi Dasi was of Indian descent and from Mauritius, and Caitanya Vallabha Prabhu was English, it was said the theme of the wedding was “East Meets West.”

Some of the male devotees chose a style of dress in keeping with the theme.

I am tired of hearing the different sides talk about dress and devotional service in ISKCON, so for me to see their costumes was a creative and refreshing change. I shared the picture with my Facebook friends, and fifty liked it.

The wedding feast was nice but slow in coming, but that did facilitate conversations with devotees I had not seen or would not see, including guests like Bhakti Caitanya Swami. The “Royal Rice” had curd, nuts, and vegetables in it and was so much more exciting than the rice you usually get, and so I had some for a midnight snack and for breakfast the next day. The shocking thing about the feast for a prasadam addict like me was there was no serving of seconds on anything, and it was embarrassing to realize how attached I am to having more of those things I like and how it disturbed my mind when I did not. Many of my friends just went to the kitchen door and asked the servers to get them more, but somehow I thought that would be a little rude, so I was a little frustrated to go without seconds.

We had some nice kirtana during the marriage ceremony and after the feast, and lots of the devotees who participated in the monthly eight-hour kirtanas were there. It was very fulfilling to sing and dance with them again this year before leaving for America for seven months.

Leeds Harinama

The main Hare Krishna leaders in Leeds decided to do their monthly Sunday program on the next to last Sunday of the month instead of the last one as it is usually done. As I already had booked a ticket to Leeds for the last Sunday, I went and did harinama anyway.Preitie and John, a book distributor from the Manor who developed an interest in Preitie, chanted for an hour, and the time went by so much faster when there were three of us chanting. John has a good voice and musical ability, and it will be nice if he can join us for more harinamasin The North of England in the coming years. Another John, the one who became a regular attender from getting a flyer and a pamphlet from me the previous year on harinama, happened to walk by while shopping. He kindly gave a donation and stayed for almost half an hour and played the karatalas for me. It was nice that Krishna arranged I connect with him again before returning to America.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.28–29 on November 8, 1972 in Vrndavana:

This modern civilization is in darkness because they do not know the actual aim of life.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.24 on September 29, 1972 in Los Angeles:

You cannot expect to live very nicely in the prison house. It is meant to give tribulations. [And so it is with the material world which is compared to a prison.]

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.14 Chapter Summary:

“Whatever money a grihasthaaccumulates by the grace of God he should spend in five activities, namely worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, receiving Vaishnavas and saintly persons, distributing prasadato the general public and to all living entities, offering prasadato his forefathers, and also offering prasadato his own self.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.14.3–4, purport:

“Simply by joining the kirtana—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—and by hearing about Krishna from Bhagavad-gita,one must be purified, especially if he also takes prasada.This is all going on in the Krishna consciousness movement.”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam1.3.29 on October 4, 1972, in Los Angeles:

We remind the scientists that their research work should be for God.

If you do not attain Krishna by your philosophical and scientific knowledge, then all your work is lost.

At least twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, we must glorify God. These are the recommendations of the sastra (the revealed literature). If we do not follow them, we just fall down.

Without bhakti[pure devotional service], God cannot be captured.

Krishna has not come here to eat your puriand rasagulla.Do not think like that.

Krishna says, “I eat.” [Bhagavad-gita 9.26] Who are you to say that Krishna does not eat?

Srila Narottama dasa Thakura:

from Prema-bhakti-candrika, Chapter Four: Yugala-bhajana-nistha (“Undivided Service to the Divine Couple”), Verse 6:

“Sri Radhika and Sri Shyama are the topmost dancers and entrance one another by Their jewel-like qualities.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from Calling Out to Srila Prabhupada:

“Prabhupada, who dressed always in saffron, who wrote affectionate letters to his disciples signed ‘Your ever well-wisher,’ who wrote to his leaders, ‘Never be a moment without thinking how to improve ISKCON,’ who encouraged each department of workers without discouraging another, who gave all of his life’s energy for spreading Krishna consciousness, who was empowered with success never achieved by previous acaryas, and who opened the door for the entire world to appreciate Gaudiya Vaisnavism as the eternal teachings of topmost love of God, we pray to always retain utmost respect for you and your teachings.”

from “Poem forAugust 27” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Spending lots of time in concentrated japa is never a selfish thing. It will give you the confidence to attract others to the holy names and prevent you from being a hypocrite.”

Bhakti Caitanya Swami:

from an address at Caitanya Vallabha Prabhu’s and Jagannathesvari Devi Dasi’s wedding:

In Krishna consciousness spiritual development is the goal of life because we are spiritual beings, and every step of our life and every aspect of life should reflect this.

In marriages, the partners are meant to assist each other and bring their children up as devotees of the Lord.

If money could buy you happiness, then the richest people would be the most happy but that is not what we see.

Because we are spiritual beings, without cultivating our relationship with God, we cannot attain satisfaction.

I know both partners are both sincere and committed people, so my prediction is that their marriage will be very exemplary and successful and in all senses, and particularly spiritually.

Every one should be liberated by doing their particular thing for the pleasure of the Lord.

The lady is traditionally taking care of the house, and all indications are that Jagannathesvari will be able to handle that very well.

Caitanya Vallabha is dynamism personified. He is really top strata.

Look after him because he is valuable. Look after her because she is valuable.

from the wedding reception:

“A grihasthamust associate again and again with saintly persons, and with great respect he must hear the nectar of the activities of the Supreme Lord and His incarnations as these activities are described in Srimad-Bhagavatamand other Puranas.Thus one should gradually become detached from affection for his wife and children, exactly like a man awakening from a dream.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.14.4)

“An intelligent man in human society should make his own program of activities very simple. If there are suggestions from his friends, children, parents, brothers or anyone else, he should externally agree, saying, ‘Yes, that is all right,’ but internally he should be determined not to create a cumbersome life in which the purpose of life will not be fulfilled.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.14.6)

The Goswamis would sleep under a different tree every night because they did not want to be become attached to a particular tree, “This is my tree. Go find your own tree.”

[He tells the story of the yogi, his underwear, and the mouse, and tells the couple to bear it in mind.] Do not make life so complicated your spiritual aspirations are not fulfilled.

Russian sayings:

I am not so rich I can afford a cheap car.

Hunger is the best chef.

Pitavasa Prabhu:

Vidharibi wants her husband, the king, to be alive not for her own sense gratification but to do his duty of protecting the citizens.

People do not know what is duty, and there are so many problems. Because Abraham sacrificed a sheep, the Muslims believe it is their religious duty to sacrifice a sheep.

The big teachers endure big tests to show us that we must endure suffering to lead a religious life.

The ladies say after they are pregnant for six months when they are in a kirtana, they can feel the baby moving to the music.

There is a Japanese scientist that showed that sounds or phrases can affect water so that when it is frozen and crystallizes different patterns are formed. The pattern of the crystals varies, with good sayings resulting in more beautiful crystals. Devotees could do research showing the power of the pure sound of the holy names.

Srila Prabhupada gives instructions through his books. One may say he did not get any personal instruction from his spiritual master, but they are there in the books.

Most processes involve just a few hours a week, but we are trying to be twenty-four hours a day engaged, so it may seem our practice is more difficult, but we have so much knowledge from Srila Prabhupada’s books and the association of other devotees, and because of that it possible.

The Indians have different groups in Paris, and they do not agree, but when they come to our temple, they all participate happily in the programs.

Gadadhara-priya Prabhu:

from a comment on a class by me:

Being silent is part of practicing for death.

Madhavanada Prabhu:

from an Amsterdam Ratha-yatra address:

We want to rescue God from mechanical religion and bring Him to the village of our heart.

When the devotee cries for the Lord, the Lord cries for His devotee.

When God spoke to Moses, it is said His speech was music.

The Islamic writers say that God put the souls into bodies with music.

Bharata, the name of India, has three syllables with musical significance, “bha” means “bhava” (emotion), “ra” indicates “raga” (melody), and “ta” means “tala” (beat).

We are not interested in changing one’s religion, but in getting souls to cry for God.

Ratha-yatra is one of the oldest festivals in human society.

It is said that people from hundreds of spiritual lineages come to Jagannath Puri to participate in Ratha-yatra. There are devotees from South India from the Sri sampradaya.There are Saivites. There are some Muslim villages in Odisha where they perform Ratha-yatra because they understand Lord Jagannath is for everyone. Even some Christians come to Ratha-yatra, considering Jagannath to be a form of God.

Adi Purusa Prabhu:

In Bg. 2.57, Krishna answers one of Arjuna’s questions in Bg. 2.54, “How does he speak?” His reply is, “In the material world, one who is unaffected by whatever good or evil he may obtain, neither praising it nor despising it, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge.”

In Karttika month (October-November), if you make a vow in Vrindavan, Srimati Radharani gives raganuga-bhakti [spontaneous devotional service] to a sadhana-bhakta [a devotee who is practicing devotional service].

In one Purana, Yamaraja says that if you count sins and the sins are correct, you get the same punishment as the sinner, and if they are incorrect you get double punishment, and the sinful person’s sins are reduced by half.

If you can focus for a moment it is prayahara. If you can focus for 12 seconds it is dharana. If you can focus for 144 (12×12) seconds it is dhyana.If you can focus for 1728 (12×12×12) seconds it is samadhi.

Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that in sattva [goodness] one tolerates offensive behavior, but in visuddha-sattva [pure goodness],one is also concerned about the person who commits the offense.

Duality is always there. Transcendence is to see outside of duality.

Prabhupada Pran Prabhu:

from a wedding address:

Caitanya Vallabha Prabhu is a gentleman in every respect: responsible, productive, and sensitive, and he follows his guru Indradyumna Swami in loving chanting. He has no bad qualities. He is tolerant and compassionate. He has what it takes spiritually and materially to have a successful marriage.

Kirtida dd:

from a fire sacrifice at a wedding:

Although the Lord is situated everywhere, we cannot see Him. In the fire sacrifice, we ask Him to appear in the most subtle of the elements that we can see, fire, and in that form to accept our offerings.

Kusha Prabhu:

Serving the instructions of the guru is more important than serving the body of the guru.

If both the guru and disciple are both bona fide then the disciple can achieve success.

Srila Prabhupada said he saw his guru no more ten times but he served his guru’s instructions for over 30 years.

One cannot separate his life from his guru’s order.

When people ask my guru, Kavicandra Swami, for his blessings, he tells them to distribute books or go on harinama, but they cannot do it because they want some material benediction.

When the guru leaves the body, the disciple laments not because he leaves his body, but because of separation from him.

Q: When Prabhupada told a disciple he should eat meat if he had to, but he should preach in Moscow, what did he mean?

A: Preaching is more important than these regulations. Once Bhurijana was preaching in Hong Kong, and he wrote saying he was lonely. A month later, he wrote with the same complaint. Prabhupada told him not to worry, that he would send him a wife, and so Prabhupada sent a female disciple to Hong Kong to be his wife, and so he was able to continue preaching there. So preaching is more important than celibacy.

A guru may be detained in going back to the spiritual world because of the sinful activities of his disobedient disciples. However, his own guru, if he is powerful enough, he can protect the guru from the sinful activities of his disciples.

There was one devotee Bali Dasa whose father was finance minister of Nigeria for eight years. The father had the police stop Bhakti Tirtha Swami from coming into that country, saying he brainwashed his son. Bali had to say he joined of his own accord, and then the police released Bhakti Tirtha Swami. The father died two weeks later. His father had eliminated Bali from his will because Bali was a devotee, but Bhakti Tirtha Swami told him to visit his father every day while he was ill and bring him prasadam. Bali was the only son who looked after his father, and when his father saw that, he called his lawyer and had his will amended to give him 80% of his wealth, with the rest distributed among the other children. Thus Bali became very wealthy and donated liberally to different Hare Krishna projects.

Rama Rao (congregational member, married 42 years):

from advice about marriage given to newlyweds at a wedding:

Every day pray together, and read together morning and evening.

Remember marriage is forever.

Work together and share even the housework.

When you are wrong, accept it. When you are right, keep quiet.

Be ready to accept differences, for everyone is different.

Listen. Talk. Do not bury feelings.

Marriage is a great tool to develop your personality.

—–

na prahṛṣyet priyam prapya

nodvijet prapya capriyam

sthira-buddhir asammuḍho

brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitah

“A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God, is already situated in transcendence.” (Bhagavad-gita5.20)

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraOctober 3, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.15: Poland, Czech, Germany, and Slovakia
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 15
By Krishna-kripa das
(August 2014, part one)

Polish and Czech Woodstocks, Czech Padayatra, Ancient Trance Festival,
Leipzig Ratha-yatra, Bratislava, and Prague
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on September 19, 2014)

The end of July and beginning of August was the time of the Polish Woodstock festival where many, many, tens of thousands of people came in touch with Krishna sound and Krishna food. After the Polish Woodstock I crossed practically the entire Czech Republic four times in two weeks, first going to travel with the Czech padayatrato obscure villages in the extreme southeastern part of that country, chanting for hours a day with them and doing an evening program in different towns. Then I went to the Ancient the Festival in Taucha, Germany, just north of Leipzig, where devotees based in Leizpig share kirtana with the people each night. In the middle of that was the Leipzig Ratha-yatra. Then I traveled across Czech Republic to Bratislava, Slovakia, to do harinama and talk about Vedic cosmology. After that I went to Prague for a harinama and evening program on the way to Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (Czech Woodstock), where Guru Das Prabhu was our senior guest for the third year. My visit to Czech ended with Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja Day at the Czech farm with guests Guru Das Prabhu and Kadamba Kanana Swami.

I share notes from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and a quote from his books. I have quotes from Narottama Dasa Thakura’s Prema-bhakti-candrika. I have incredibly beautiful realizations from Indradyumna Swami about sharing Krishna at the Polish Woodstock festival, and other valuable realizations from other senior devotees who assist him. I share beautiful stories revealing Srila Prabhupada’s charming qualities told with affection by Guru Das Prabhu. I share notes on Vyasa Puja offerings from Prabhupada disciples and Kadamba Kanana Swami at the Czech farm. I also have notes on a great class by Trilokatma Prabhu, a senior Czech devotee, and notes on a class by Jivananda Prabhu, a Slovakian book distributor.

I lost many of my pictures of this time period when I lost my camera card in Brussels in August before I had copied all of them on to my computer. I just have the few videos I took and a few special pictures, specifically those of people who met me in different places, those of people I distributed books to on Janmastami, and those from the opening of the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival, with the Hare Krishnas and the Christians together on stage.

I thank Vishnujana Prabhu for his photos of Czech Padayatra, Trutnov, and the Leipzig Ratha–yatra, Surya Kunda, Syama Sakti, Patrycja Siva, and Victoria Davydova for their pictures of the Polish Woodstock, and Der Fahrende Tempel for their photos of the Ancient Trance Festival and Leipzig Ratha–yatra, Asta Ivaškevičiūtė and Krishna Tempel Leipzig for their photos of Leipzig Ratha–yatra, and Dina Vatsala Prabhu for his picture of Kasturi Manjari dd.

I thank Nanda Kumar Prabhu and Punya Palaka Prabhus for their kind donations, the Bhakti Loka devotees for funding my trip to Bratislava, and the Czech Padayatra devotees for the prasadam snacks for my trip.

Polish Woodstock in General

People are coming earlier every year, and the Hare Krishnas are the only ones there at that time. Chaturatma Prabhu says the people he has talked to say many people come early just to spend time with the devotees.,

Harinamas and Ratha-yatras at Woodstock

Many of the early comers were happy to see the devotees and danced with us, and later things really took off.

The first two days, I distributed invitations to our Krishna’s Village of Peace.

Sometimes I would dance at the same time.

The last two days we did not have invitations to our Krishna camp to pass out. Perhaps the organizers felt everyone knew about it from the first three days of flyer distribution. I had Polish mantra cards with me, and I decided to give them to people were dancing with us or pulling the cart. By the second day I had developed a strategy of showing the onlookers, who were helping to pull the Ratha-yatra cart, the mantra card and pointing to the words as we were saying them. I would do that three times during the response part of the kirtana, inducing them to respond. Then I would give them the cards, and the most fortunate ones kept singing. Then I would go on to the next person.

As usual many people pulled the cart, danced, sang, and took the maha-prasadam we distributed with great pleasure.

You can see some of the dancing in this series of video clips (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xL3YF3-ljne-TGRgrat18Zc):

The Mantra Yoga Tent

Many people enjoyed dancing with us in the Mantra Yoga tent.

We started in the late afternoon. In the beginning, there were just a few people participating, but they did so with great pleasure (http://youtu.be/sqyb5BGVTS8).

As time went on, more people would join in. Aditi Duhkhaha Prabhu, who is a popular kirtanaleader at the Ukraine festival, chanted at the Mantra Yoga tent at the Polish Woodstock for the first time and got many people dancing (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xL6FIUlzeVMVTG3xM_DO1Ct).

Acyuta Gopi sang very lively tunes that were easy to follow, and many people danced and some chanted as well (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLSRTQYUO_gO05mgVVpUk3F).

Badahari Das Prabhu sang sweet tunes with great devotion and many people danced (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xKtePz6b4qC3DrF-LixsDfx).

Of course, it is always extra special when Indradyumna Swami, the inspiration behind our whole Krishna’s Village of Peace festival at the Polish Woodstock, sings himself (http://youtu.be/Zyo5s1nmrxs).

Madhava Prabhu was usually our last singer of the evening, singing for over two hours, and ending sometime around 2 a.m. It was great to hear him and see the influence of his chanting on the crowd (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLfO_rfjxLiZjU7Ti9CZK_S).

We started chanting at our Mantra Yoga tent a day earlier than previously. We had kirtana from 7:00 p.m. to almost midnight. The devotees were not planning to chant so late the first night, but the audience was very enthusiastic for us to continue, asking always for one more song.

One young man wanted to talk to me. He learned some spiritual practice involving many gods. I explained there was one supreme God. He was upset that his wife broke up with him. I explained that our relationships in this world are not perfect. I suggested before pursuing another girl, he should try to advance spiritually.

One girl found the chanting had a good effect on her mind, and wanted to know more about it.

At least a couple people asked how they could join. I encouraged them to buy some books and chant, and I asked where they were from, to tell them of a temple or a nama-hatta in their area.

One guy said he saw me every year for five years at Woodstock and once at Rewal at our Festival of India on the Baltic coast.

One guy has seen me every year since the Woodstock in Zary in 2002, and was happy to encounter me again.

Many people were happy to get mantra cards.

One girl who lives near Wroclaw was happy to take an invitation to the temple.

Badahari Prabhu said the people up front by the stage were all chanting. At one point he had one side of the crowd chant the lead and the other chant the response. It was amazing to see the participation. The devotees tried to end the kirtana early the first night, but when they stopped, the people started chanting Hare Krishna to a melody of their own. I was thinking that for most of them, this was the first time they had chanted with the devotees for a whole year, so it is no wonder that those who were touched by the experience in previous years would be eager to do it again, especially after such a long separation.

One guy who stayed until the end of one evening kirtana wanted me to thank everyone in the band for him for he wonderfully appreciated the atmosphere created by the music. I told him by chanting the mantra himself, he could create such a spiritual atmosphere. However, he was brought up as a Catholic and developed a distaste for the idea of a supreme being, so he was not so inclined to explore the philosophy behind the wonderful experience.

At the end of Madhava Prabhu’s kirtana, one girl wanted me to teach her a dance step.

I met two parties from Saxony (Sakschen) in Germany, who loved the spiritual atmosphere and one of which was led by a girl who was curious about the philosophy. I gave them German mantra cards with the contact details for the Leipzig temple and told them we were going to do a festival on August 9 there in Leipzig with the cart, which I pointed to, with singing, dancing, drama, and free vegetarian food. Perhaps they will come.

The third night I did not bring enough mantra cards, and so I danced the last half hour or so. During Madhava Prabhu’s kirtana at the end it was wonderful to see the intensity of the dancing. The wooden floor was visibly vibrating when the people were jumping up and down at the same time.

While giving out mantra cards to people who had been dancing at our tent as they leaving, when the people were not too much in a hurry to be on their way, I would chant the mantra with them along with the response part of kirtana. Then I would smile and said, “Dobrze! [Very good!]” In at least three cases, instead of continuing on their way out, they went back in the tent and continued dancing.

In the late afternoon, when the kirtana in the mantra yoga tent was just beginning, there were just four girls dancing up front, and me dancing at the rear. A new girl came up and decided to follow my dance step, then a few people began to follow and we had about seven. The others gradually left and that first girl danced a while longer. I talked to her afterward, and learned she was brought up as a Catholic, but was not satisfied with that and was exploring other religions. She said she went to the questions and answers tent and was impressed with what was said. She said she was from Bialastok, and I pointed out that one of the four girls dancing in front, Patricja. was also from Bialastok, and she could inform her about our programs there. She expressed interested in that but the friends she was with wanted to leave, and I never saw her again. I gave her my card, and if she writes me I will attempt to connect her again with Patricja.

Although most of the German people I talked to were either from Berlin or Saxony, just a bit to the south, I met one party from near Frankfurt. I explained to her that we have a farm just two hours by train from Frankfurt, and that we have a our biggest festival coming up on August 17. They took a picture of the contact details from a flyer the German devotees produced which has brief description of bhakti-yoga, as well as all contact information for all the temples in Germany and the other German speaking regions of Europe.

I talked to a man who had visited our Hare Krishna temple in Zurich years ago, and who said the Hare Krishnas had the best food in the world.

A new girl who came for the first time said she had three meals with us each day, and she found the food was better and better each time. I rejoiced hear of her great faith and love for prasadam.

During the Woodstock each year, Isabela of Kostrzyn invites friends stay at her family’s home in Kostrzyn, although she lives in Wroclaw now. She always brings her friends to our camp for the prasadam, spiritual food. She said she just had three friends stay this time, since when she had twelve stay it was too chaotic. It reminded me of how aging makes us less adventurous in that way.

All the devotees were saying that people were are getting more appreciative each year. People were more inclined to shake hands, slap hands, and even embrace the devotees, than before. So many people danced with us in the kirtanas with great happiness. Many chanted with joy. Some seemed to realize the more you put into it, the better it was.

One girl asked what drug we were on, and I explained that we were happy from chanting the mantra because it was a spiritual sound vibration. She responded, “Is the idea that you are so happy from the chanting that you do not feel the need to take any drug?” I replied, “Yes. You got it.” I was very happy she understood. It is a simple point, but a lot of people are so materially attached they cannot understand it.

Many people could understand there was some special energy in our Mantra Yoga tent. We would mention the spiritual energy when we explained the word “Hare” in the mantra. There is a spiritual energy the helps us to connect with God and a material energy that distances us from God. When we chant “Hare” we are calling to the spiritual energy to connect with God, Krishna.

After the Polish Woodstock, from the point of view of your body and mind, you are wiped out and are glad it is over, but from the spiritual point of view, you are sad it has come to an end, you feel affection for the others who shared the experience with you, and you look forward to next year for another opportunity to be an instrument in giving a higher taste of spiritual consciousness to thousands of people every day.

As it has been for the last 14 years, it was very fulfilling to see so many people happily coming in touch with the spiritual energy, and it was very fulfilling to be part of a very amazing team of devotees of different ages, different races, different nationalities, and different backgrounds, all cooperating together for the spiritual benefit of all those they contacted.

Thanks to Indradyuma Swami, and his leaders like Jayatam, Nandini, and Rasikendra Prabhus, and all those who played a part in the great sacrifice.

Harinama at the Train Station

I was very happy that Syama Rasa and Vishnu Puri Prabhus were very enthusiastic about coming on harinama with me at the train station in Kostrzyn the day after the Woodstock, where many, many hundreds of people were waiting for trains to different parts of Poland. Some of the people there were very happy to encounter the jolly Hare Krishnas once more before returning home. Some of them happily danced, sometimes in a circle around the chanting party. Many people reached out to receive the mantra cards I would show them as we passed. Devotees who were going to the train station on the way to their homes joined us briefly.

We felt Lord Caitanya blessed us for taking the trouble to go out and benefit the people even in our exhausted state. One devotee said he felt a burden of sin lifted from him. They all thanked me for inducing them to go out and chant.

Harinama on the Train to Poznan

I was hoping to catch a ride with some devotees to avoid having to ride the crowded Polish trains after the Woodstock and to avoid paying for the less crowded but expensive German ones, but all I could do was hope. Even though I took the train the two days after Woodstock, there were still no seats. In fact, I could see that the queue to buy tickets was so long I would miss my train, so I got on the train and bought the ticket on board.

On the train someone who plays in a band asked about my harmonium, and I used the opportunity to play and sing five Hare Krishna mantras. I could see a couple of the guys were into the chanting, and I later said if they would sing along, we could video it. The guy who played in the band volunteered to record the video, but because he was most enthusiastic, I said he should sing, and I found someone else to take the video (http://youtu.be/TSAEDUKIRSg).

I was still a little spaced from the festival, and I realized later that I should have passed out cards with the mantra and sang it responsively as we usually do. Tiredness really decreases the quality of my service and my appreciation of practically everything.

Czech Padayatra

Both my friends who organize and those who participate in the Czech Padayatra invited me to come this year. I had some time between the Polish and Czech Woodstocks, so it worked out. I had hoped to spend three or four days there, but because several potential rides from Kostrzyn, the place of the Polish Woodstock, fell through, and I had to unexpectedly take the train, thus I only had two and a half days on padayatra. Still it was worth it.

Lord Caitanya predicted that his holy name would be chanted in every town and village of the world, and we sometimes wonder how that will practically happen. Padayatra is an important way we can see this could happen. Almost every day the devotees and their ox cart go to a new town or village, and sometimes they chant through other villages on the way. Through padayatra, people get to experience the three main gifts of the Hare Krishna movement, the chanting of the holy name, the tasting of vegetarian food offered to Krishna, and the philosophy of the Vedic literature. Most of these people rarely go to the larger cities, like Prague, where devotees have a temple, chant on the street at least twice weekly and where there about seven Hare Krishna restaurants. Thus padayatra brings many people in touch with Krishna who would otherwise miss out. Thus I think that these devotees, lead by Muni Priya Prabhu, will get so much mercy from Lord Caitanya for performing that wonderful service.

On the way to Kyjov, the place of the padayatra, I chanted for an hour or so at Usti nad Orlici, a small city where I changed trains. One young boy who was with his mother gave me a small donation, and then stopped a little ways away, desiring to listen and not continue on his journey. After a while, his mom convinced him to continue. Sometimes you encounter people in tiny out of the way places who have some attraction to the chanting.

I was sad I missed the day’s padayatra, but the devotees did a harinama after lunch to advertise their evening program the next day, so as it turned out, counting the harinama in the middle of my journey, I ended up doing three hours of harinama on the first day as well. We had nine devotees chanting and five distributing books. As it was late in the day and most shops had closed, often there would more book distributors in the street than people.

The Czech book distributors are very enthusiastic. They try to never miss an opportunity to distribute a book. They would even approach bus drivers, from one side of the bus, or the other.

Last year they did 1,300 books on the whole padayatra, but this year they had already done 1,700 books when I joined them, and they still had several days to go. By the end they had exceeded the quota they strove for this year..

Padayatra has another nice feature beyond harinama and that is that the deities of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda come along. It is Their desire that the chanting be spread to every town and village, and Their visual presence is a reminder of that.

They stay outside on Their cart at night, and their pujari, Lila Mohini dresses them warmly. The sides of the cart are also covered to keep the wind and cold out.

Muni Priya Prabhu has been organizing the party for many years, and his son, who is now initiated as Nrsimha Caitanya Dasa, assists him. The party seems to run very smoothly.

The second day we did five hours of harinama where we were going to have the evening program. One young man danced a bit with us on harinama, and later came to the evening program. There he participated in kirtana and purchased a book. As we would chanting enroute to the next town the next day, he also spent a little time with our chanting party.

Muni Priya Prabhu asked me to speak briefly about their “Peace Walk.” I explained that on the material plane we have many differences. Some people are strong, some are weak, some are intelligent, some are not so intelligent. We have different races, genders, and nationalities. Even religion, which is meant to bring us together as children of one divine father, because of sectarianism, has become just another thing to divide us. Although different religions and philosophies describe us as all equal on the spiritual plane, generally we are offered no clear way of attaining practical realization of this truth. In our padayatra, our walking festival, we share with people three powerful spiritual activities that can help us to attain that spiritual plane where we experience all living entities, whether they be plants, animals, or human beings, to be children of one supreme spiritual father, and on which we can live in peace. These are the chanting of the Hare Krishna, study of the ancient Vedic literature, and tasting of food that is offered to God in devotion, In this way, we help to bring the people we meet to the spiritual plane, beyond our superficial differences which become the causes of conflict. We invite you to participate in these activities and get some experience of this truth.

The day we did the evening program in Kyjov, the local TV station did a story on the padayatra. If you know the Czech language or have someone to interpret it for you, you may like to see it at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3HXYoMciyc#t=269It includes a brief interview with me in which I praise the enthusiasm of the Czech devotees for doing the event steadily.

It was beautiful to see all the kids who attended our Kyjov program chanting along with the devotees (http://youtu.be/S864KRzpx7k):

The third day we walked to a new city, Milotice, chanting for four and a quarter hours on the way, and we had an evening program there. As the evening program was at a different location than the school where we stayed, we took the ox cart to and from the evening program, and I led a kirtana each way.

The evening program consists of three or four kirtana segments, two or three bharat natyam dances, and a drama, “Liquid Beauty.” They give out gifts to those in the audience who participate most in the kirtana, like incense, pictures of Krishna, pictures of Srila Prabhupada, a picture of a horse, (there is a horse in the drama), and books.

One girl very happily showed her mom the picture of Krishna she won.

One older lady started moving her hands as if dancing while sitting on the bench. Later she got up and actually danced. At the end, she donated all kinds of vegetables from her garden.

People have a good time, hear and often also chant the holy name, and hear a little philosophy. At the beginning there were about 40 attenders in Milotice and at the height there may have been 55 people. An attendance of 80 is not uncommon for the evening programs and is considered a good evening.

Here is some video of the chanting there (http://youtu.be/7cbaVaZr4I4):

I appreciate that the Czech devotees let me sing on the harinamas,let me give the morning class, and let me give a lecture during the evening program, and thus I felt that I contributed something to the event. I am not so interested in just attending events for the sake of attending them. I like to make a contribution. Sometimes I go to some program, and even though I am the most senior person there, the leaders prefer to assign all the kirtanas and all the classes to others. I would rather go to places where the people think I have something to contribute. I do not think my contribution is greater than others. I just want to have the opportunity to share something, and just do my quota of the talking and the singing.

I am not a very charitable person, because I appreciated their program, I gave donations to the Czech padayatra, once when I left them, and then on Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja day as I ended my final visit to Czech Republic.

Ancient Trance Festival

I went to the Ancient Trance Festival in Taucha, near Leipzig, for the second year. Sadbhuja Prabhu and a group of devotees from Germany regularly attend that event. They set up a yurt and have a campfire, and sing kirtana and tell spiritual stories late into the evening. They also give the people prasadam halavah or sweets from the restaurant.

What I liked most about it was seeing how new people were very enthusiastic to chant and dance. Generally the people at that event are open to esoteric knowledge and are more receptive to hearing new ideas and trying new practices than at the concerts we go to.

You can see a little of that in this video (http://youtu.be/0enjl5qhSNw):

There I met two people I had just seen the week before at the Polish Woodstock, a girl from Belgium, and a boy from Germany. To Femke, the girl, who took prasadam with us at Ancient Trance Festival and was next visiting Prague, I gave an invitation to our restaurant there.

I was happy to learn that the Govinda catering business in Leipzig is now also a Govinda restaurant. They have three drivers, and people can order prasadam on the phone and have it delivered to their place, which is especially popular on lazy Sundays and rainy days. Five devotees, headed by Pradyumna Prabhu, work together on that business, and it is very stable. They catered the Ancient Trance Festival, and I was always happy to eat what they had made. Their vegan bread spread and their two pasta sauces were especially nice. Their granola bar sweets were also very tasty.

Leipzig Ratha-yatra

In the middle of the Ancient Trance festival, was the Leipzig Ratha-yatra.

Kadamba Kanana Swami added a lot to the kirtanain the procession, chanting both at the beginning and also at the end.

I talked to a couple of onlookers who had encountered Hare Krishna but never Ratha yatra before. They followed the procession and soon became caught up in the chanting and dancing. I encouraged some of the local devotees to talk with them.

The route was in a crowded section of the market area and was better than previous years. Augustusplatz, the place of the stage show, was also a superior venue.

At the beginning their were few devotees, and I hoped more people would come from the German Kirtan Mela. Apparently people were give the chance to sign up for buses to the event, but no buses were organized. Still, by the end many devotees were participating and many people were attracted.

Bratislava

Apparently neither the devotees nor the other residents of Bratislava are enthusiastic to go out in public when it rains. I could not relate to rain as a reason to cancel harinama, especially after living so many months in the often rainy England, and so I took the tram downtown and chanted by myself at a tram stop sheltered from the rain, for an hour and twenty minutes.

One guy kicked my donation basket, scattering the coins I had placed in it, and showing disgust at the thought of helping me pick up the coins, continued on his way. Some others helped me pick up my coins, and one man who saw what happened asked if I was alright and contributed a few euro cents, but had no interest in an invitation to the temple.

A young man came up to me with a friend and showed me the invitation to our 26 Second Avenue Saturday programs that I gave him in New York City last fall. I gave him a card for our local temple in Bratislava, telling how it is easy to find by tram. He then told me that he was from France. His friend threw in a few coins, including one and a half Croatian kunas.

A man named Peter, who wore a single strand of tulasi neck beads, said he was aware of the temple. I invited him to my class that evening of the cosmology of the Bhagavatam. He did not come but gave a small donation.

That was all my interactions with people, except for an older man who smiled several times while saying “Hare Krishna” and a few Slovakian words the only one I could recognize was the equivalent for the word “ecstasy.”

Thus that day it seemed to me that Bratislava was one of those places where the cost of going downtown and back exceeds that amount that people contribute in charity, at least in an hour and twenty minutes. That is pretty amazing since the transportation is just 36% of what it costs in Manchester. In some places the rainy days are better than the sunny ones because the people appreciate the extra austerity of coming out in the rain.

The Bratislava devotees made up for it on the last day of my visit, as nine of them came out the morning before my bus to Prague and chanted for an hour. The weather was much better that day. We had seven men and three ladies in our party, and we followed their usual harinama route through the downtown. It seemed a little quieter than usual because it was morning. The tourists were the most excited to encounter us, and many took pictures of us. There is not so much for tourists to see in Bratislava, and I think we were probably the most exciting event of their day. I was happy that so many devotees were able and willing to adjust their schedule to come out.

Prague

A friend of mine, a Kadamba Kanana Swami disciple, Mayapur Chandrodaya Prabhu, invited me to come to Prague last April, and I told him the best day was the day before the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (the Czech Woodstock). That is also Wednesday, one of the two regular harinama days in Prague. Vidya-vacaspati Prabhu, who has a lot of musical talent and great dedication to harinama, led kirtana as usual. We followed our usual route from Republic Square to Mustek, to the museum, to Old Town Square, to the bridge across the river, and back through Old Town Square to Republic Square.

Jasmine, a regular attendee of Krishna Lunch in Gainesville, recognized me while I was on the harinama. She was so happy to remember Krishna Lunch she wanted to embrace me. She has another year at University of Florida, so we will see her when we return. I told her about our main restaurant in Prague, so she could have more Krishna food, but it unlikely she would go, having a flight the next morning to Florida.

I met a lady who lives in Pushkar, Rajasthan, and who took pictures of our party with great happiness. She told me that she loves living in India, that she feels the people there have a lot to offer, and that this year she is planning to visit Vrndavana, the land of Krishna’s attractive childhood pastimes. I told her that Sunday is Krishna’s birthday, and asked if she would still be in Prague. When she said yes, I told her how we were having a big festival on that day on our farm, about an hour from the city, and she took down the contact details for it, and I gave her my card. She said she would definitely stop by our main restaurant in Prague the next day..

While I was talking to that lady, another asked me for directions to Govinda’s Restaurant, and I described how I had just gotten to the restaurant from Republic Square myself that very day.

One guy played his guitar for a while and danced with the men. Then he danced with the women.

As usual Prague harinama was filled with nice interactions with the public, and I was glad I took the trouble to come. Here is a little video from it (http://youtu.be/uOktodPYF0o):

Every Wednesday the devotees have an evening program in Govinda’s Butik, on the ground floor of the restaurant.

I volunteered to give the lecture and spoke on how Krishna reciprocates with our surrender, and how that might motivate us to surrender more and experience the nectar of Krishna’s infallible and blissful reciprocation.

I added a standing kirtana for ten or fifteen minutes at the end of the program, reminding the people that Srila Prabhupada’s original evening programs at 26 2^ndAve. ended with a final kirtana. and it was beautiful to see everyone chanting and dancing,

Kasturi Manjari Devi Dasi, who was my translator once recently on Czech padayatrawas incredibly helpful, singing a nice initial kirtana, translating my lecture, and playing drum for my final kirtana.

Thanks to Nila Madhava and Mayapur Chandrodaya Prabhu for their hospitality at Harinam Mandir, a new project in downtown Prague, that provides accommodation, service, and worship opportunities in the city of Prague for several devotees.

Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (Czech Woodstock)

As we waited in line to register at the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (Czech Woodstock), one guy played “My Sweet Lord” for us on his guitar (http://youtu.be/SmVcHIYMQOQ).

The opening ceremony included participation by both the Christians and the Hare Krishnas.

The Christians went first, speaking, singing songs, and reading from their scripture.

Then Srila Prabhupada’s disciple, Guru Das Prabhu spoke.

Punya Palaka Prabhu translated.

After speaking Guru Das Prabhu embraced the Christian priests.

Then Nrsimha Caitanya Prabhu led such a lively kirtana, that even the Christians clergyman were dancing.

At one point Harinamananda Prabhu swung some of the Christian men around in the kirtana.

Tulasi Sukova, a young devotee lady, swung one of the Christian ladies around.

A couple of the Christians were from Ukraine, and they held a Ukrainian flag on the stage. People expressed sympathy for the Ukrainians who are killed or displaced due to Russian aggression.

At one point, they were clapping during our Hare Krishna kirtana, while holding their Ukrainian flag at the same time!

After the opening program on the stage one jolly Christian preacher, who liked our kirtana very much, came to our Krishna camp along with his wife and talked with the devotees and had prasadam.

The preacher’s wife was vegetarian and does tai-chi.

The first night during the evening kirtana in our Krishna camp one young man told me he remembered me from last year. He thought I was amazing. He said he liked how I danced in front of the stage with the onlookers last year. Although I was tired, and therefore unsociable, and thus more inclined to dance on our stage, I danced a little with the crowd in front of the stage just to please him. He ended up chanting along and also would sometimes join us dancing on the front of our stage in addition to dancing in the crowd. He came every day at least for some time, and you could see he really liked to sing and dance with the devotees.

Friday, the first full day of the festival, we always do a Ratha-yatra or harinama in the Trutnov city center and then through the Trutnov festival site and finally ending up at our Krishna Camp.

In the town, we would chant on the sidewalks and streets.

A man playing piano on the sidewalk played along with us. I caught the tail end of it one video (http://youtu.be/lNfk1r6iumo):

Some people are always willing to chant and dance with us during this event.

As the harinama party arrived at our Trutnov Krishna camp, I noticed one lady who was smiling radiantly and looking steadily in the direction of the kirtana party. I talked to her after the harinama was over. She explained that she and her husband had been coming to our camp for three years, and that they loved the chanting. They had been waiting all morning for us to begin our chanting, and so they were overjoyed when the kirtana party had arrived. They were from Brno, and I told them about our programs there. They live within a kilometer of our temple, and knew of a friend who had gone to it, and they promised they would visit after they returned home. They wrote me an email after the festival.

On Saturday, Hare Krishna devotees got to chant on the second stage at the Trutnov festival, which does not happen every year. One musician canceled, and we were given his slot. Noon is not a popular time, but a few people listened, chanted, and danced with us (http://youtu.be/F4sY9z9zkOg).

After we chanted on the second stage, we did a harinamato our Krishna camp at the event (http://youtu.be/3uyrYpXnEFU).

The people were so happy to chant with us!

Later in the festival we did another harinama through the woods where the vendors were set up as in the above video, and we were so inspired to see how people participated by singing, and dancing, and following our chanting party, some even coming back with us to our camp, that we all became more determined to return again to Trutnov next year to share kirtana with the people.

We had kirtana on our stage every day and a variety of devotees led. There were Nrsimha Caitanya, Vidya Vicaspati, and Punya Palaka Prabhus to name a few (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xKN9UF5OWRB4MPOow_2jaWa):

Our audience was so enthusiastic, they kept chanting between kirtana singers and the devotees encouraged them (http://youtu.be/7198bOoc6dY):

The World Harinama Party went to Prague to do harinama on Janmastami and then to attend the festival at the Czech farm, but I stayed at the Trutnov festival. Gaura Karuna Prabhu gave me a Bhagavad-gita As It Is and two Krishna book, volume twos, telling me to distribute them. I am not a real book distributor but how could I turn down the chance to distribute books which are so dear to Srila Prabhupada on such an auspicious day as Janmastami. Amazingly enough, talking to no more than eight people, I was able, relatively effortlessly to distribute all the books.

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraSeptember 19, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.14: Prague Ratha-yatra and the Baltic Summer Festival
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 14
By Krishna-kripa das
(July 2014, part two)

Prague Ratha-yatra and the Baltic Summer Festival
(Sent from Leeds, England, on August 31, 2014)

The day after the Manchester Ratha-yatra, I flew to Prague to attend the Prague Ratha-yatra, and I liked it so much, I want to go every year. Then I went by train, bus, and car, to Lithuania for the Baltic Summer Festival, attending it for the second time. Then I traveled by train with my friend from London, Radha-Londonisvara Das, to Kostrzyn for the Polish Woodstock festival. Although Woodstock started in July and ended in August, I will describe it all in the August issue, since I have lots of notes on the lectures from senior devotees speaking at the Lithuanian festival in this issue.

I share notes on Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures. I have several excerpts from the lectures of Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura, compiled in a book called Vaktritavali. I have one quote from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s writing. I have lots of very wonderful and inspiring points from the speakers at the Baltic Summer Festival, namely Bhakti Caitanya Swami, Bhaktivaibhava Swami, Lokanath Swami, Niranjana Swami, Bhakti Visramba Madhava Swami, Dhirasanta Prabhu and Sankarsana Prabhu, which you will not want to miss. I also have valuable quotes from Sakhya Prema and Isa Prakasa Prabhus.

Thanks to Sanantani Devi Dasi for her kind donation. Thanks to Aniruddha Prabhu for giving me rides between Poland and Lithuania, and Krishna Kirtana Prabhu of Warsaw for making that arrangement.

I have fewer pictures than usual for this and the next two issues, as I mysteriously lost my camera card and card reader as I packed up my computer to get off the bus in Brussels on August 26, and I had not copied the pictures to my computer since the middle of July.

Prague Ratha-yatra

I was so happy to be part of the Prague Ratha-yatra again. I had attended the second one back in 2009. It was beautiful to see people from all over the world attracted to the chanting and dancing and worship of Lord Jagannatha. The Czech devotees have a flyer with a description of Ratha-yatra in English on one side and in Czech on the other. It also lists an English web page and a Czech language web page for those who want more information. They had a good supply of flyers; not enough to give to everyone, but quite enough so the most interested people could take one. Seeing me give one to some people who were obviously attracted, other people would approach me desiring the flyers.

I talked to a few people: There were a couple girls from Kazhakstan who smiling to see the procession. Later I saw they had attended our face painting booth and were beautifully decorated with tilaka.

One family from Germany was captivated by the Ratha-yatra procession, and they were very happy when I mentioned we have the same festival in Leipzig on August 9. I looked through my collection of invitations and gave them an invitation card for last year’s Leipzig Ratha-yatra, so they would have the contact details to inquire about this year’s event.

To another interested German family, I gave a flyer with a brief description of bhakti-yoga and a listing of all our temples in German speaking countries.

I surprised to meet four girls from Manchester who was enjoying the Ratha-yatra. I explained that I had just attended the same festival in Manchester the previous day. One of them recalled seeing the Manchester Ratha-yatra another year. I invited them to our stage show, and especially the free vegetarian food. I also gave them a invitation to the Manchester Friday and Sunday programs which I had in my pocket. Later I saw them come for the lunch.

In London, our stage show must end by 5:00 p.m., in New York, by 7:00 p.m., but in Prague it was scheduled to end at 8:00 p.m. and went at least another half an hour. I was glad that my train to Poland, where I would catch a ride with devotees to Lithuania was not until 10:26 p.m., so I could attend the whole event.

One feature about the Prague Ratha-yatra, is that many of the devotees on the World Harinama Party are from that part of the world, and so they attend and always have a harinama during the stage show, this year for an hour and a half. As we chanted from Mustek, the site of our festival, through Old Town Square, to the bridge over the river and back, we would attract a crowd of onlookers. Then we would stay in one place and chant the mantra two words at a time, trying to induce the onlookers to repeat it. Then we would chant a few mantras with them, and continue on our way.

We were most successful with a very enthusiastic group of young people from Porto, Portugal as you can see in the video below (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CPUjWrqs9Y):

I praised their enthusiasm and told them we have a center in Lisbon, and if they emailed me, I would tell what we have in Porto.

The Mayapuris did a very lively performance of song and dance. One interesting innovation was that Vrinda did bharat-natyam gestures to the Sri Isopanisad invocation, om purnam, and Visvambhara asked the audience to follow along.I took some video of their Hare Krishna chanting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi8P64WfPZE):

During the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, one young lady asked me what we were doing. I explained that we were chanting this mantra, a spiritual sound vibration that makes you feel good within, and I gave her a mantra card, and she started to sing along. I noticed her an hour later, up in front, dancing with all the ladies.

After the Mayapuris, Kadamba Kanana Swami led the final kirtana. He said the Mayapuris were a hard act to follow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToNKcNILWv0):

With his intense absorption and enthusiasm, he led lively kirtana and many old and new devotees and many onlookers got into the chanting and dancing.

Before I left, I spoke with Kadamba Kanana Swami briefly. In addition to thanking him for the lively kirtana, I thanked him for encouraging me to do outreach in the UK outside of London. I said it had been going well, and I felt I was benefiting the people by encouraging them there, and that was beneficial for me. He was happy about that.

Chanting in Olsztyn

I took a night train from Prague to Bohumin, near the Polish border, where I changed trains to Warsaw. There I took a bus to Olsztyn where some devotees were going to drive me to the Baltic Summer festival. They were two hours late, so I decided to play the harmonium and chant at the bus station there. A few people talked with me and gave donations. When I mentioned our temple on Grand Avenue in Pacific Beach to one Polish lady living in San Diego, she told me she had visited that temple one time.

Baltic Summer Festival

I was happy to attend the Baltic Summer Festival near Kaunas, Lithuania, for the second year in the row. Some new guest speakers this year were Lokanath Swami and Bhaktivaibhava Swami, great additions to the program of transcendental chanting and discussion.

I like that at the Baltic festival they have midday chanting for an hour before lunch in addition to the three-hour evening kirtana. They had two venues this year, one for spiritual discussions and one for chanting kirtana, so you could chant all day if you wanted to.

I saw friends from Dublin, London, and Oslo I did not expect to see at this festival. That goes to show that you never know what friends you might meet at a Hare Krishna festival!

With the morning program, four seminars, a midday kirtana, and an evening kirtana, you really had the feeling of being engaged in devotional service twenty-four hours a day. That was very powerful. I had to miss one or two seminars just to try to get six hours of sleep and make sure I had clean clothes for the next day.

I would dance during the three–hour kirtana in the evening.

I also danced at the kids’ Ratha-yatra.

After Niranjana Swami’s classes and his darsana, they would give him prasadam to hand out to the devotees. It reminded me of an era in ISKCON when that was a regular part of life, the guru handing out cookies, a sweet exchange. It was moving for me to see Niranjana Swami’s natural compassion to help the devotees displaced by the war in Ukraine and his practical endeavor to help them. I am fortunate to have some relationship with him, the person who invited me to live in the ashram in New York in 1979 and who presently gives me advice.

Thanks to Liepa Raisyte and Vladimiras Maksimkinas for the photos of the Baltic Summer Festival.

Chanting on the Train to Kostrzyn

After the Baltic Summer Festival, I traveled with a friend from London, Radha Londonisvara Das Prabhu, to Kostrzyn for the Polish Woodstock festival.

One slightly drunk Polish guy smiled as he played his guitar while Radha Londonisvara Prabhu played harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna on the train and others looked on.

Itinerary

September 1: Newcastle
September 2: Newcastle (Radhastami with Bhakti Caitanya Swami)
September 3: Sheffield
September 4: Manchester and Chester
September 5: Dublin (World Holy Name Festival Begins)
September 6: Dublin Ratha-yatra
September 7–10: Irish Harinamas
September 11–November 21: New York Union Square Harinama
November 21–December 15?: Gainesville Krishna House
December 15? to January 5, 2015: Mexico or New York
January 6–April ?: Gainesville Krishna House
April ?–April 15: New York Union Square Harinama
April 16–24: Dublin
April 25: London
April 26: Radhadesh
April 27: Kings Day, Amsterdam

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.14.20, purport:

“In order to rectify this world situation, all people should be trained in Krishna consciousness and act in accordance with the varnasramasystem. The state should also

see that the people are engaged in satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the primary duty of the state. The Krishna consciousness movement was started to

convince the general populace to adopt the best process by which to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus solve all problems.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.22.19:

“When there is a congregation of devotees, their discussions, questions and answers become conclusive to both the speaker and the audience. Thus such a meeting is beneficial for everyone’s real happiness.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.22.19, purport:

“By hearing discussions between devotees, both the materialist and transcendentalist are benefited. The materialist is benefited by association with devotees because his life then becomes regulated so that his chance of becoming a devotee or making the present life successful for understanding the real position of the living entity is increased. When one takes advantage of this opportunity, he is assured of a human form of life in the next birth, or he may be liberated completely and go back home, back to Godhead.”

from lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.8–9 on May 24, 1969, in New Vrndavana:

“Just like this boy. If I send him for preaching work, he is not very educated now. He’s not a philosopher. He’s not a scholar. But he can also preach. He can also preach. Because our preaching is not very difficult thing. If we go from door to door and simply request people, ‘My dear sir, you chant Hare Krishna.’ And if he’s little advanced, ‘Please try to read Teachings of Lord Caitanya. It is very nice. You’ll be benefited.’”

“So for a devotee, there is no need of controlling the senses. They automatically become controlled. Just like we have taken the vow we are not going to eat anything except krishna-prasada.Oh, the senses are already controlled. There is no question of asking a devotee, ‘You don’t drink, don’t this, don’t this, don’t this.’ So many don’ts. Simply by acceptingkrishna-prasadam, all don’ts there, already there. And it becomes very easy.”

“And the whole world is problem for ordinary persons, but to us it is not problem. Because we see everything Krishna’s. If there is problem, it is Krishna’s problem. Why my problem? Krishna can know how to solve problem. So we have no problem practically. Krishna’s problem. Krishna will see to it. Just like Arjuna was encouraged that nimitta-matram bhava savyasacin. ‘You don’t worry about your victory. I have already arranged.’ So we should have such faith and conviction and let us try. Let us do very sincerely and seriously. Then everything Krishna will do. I haven’t got to do anything.”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.11 in London on September 12, 1973:

Everything was there in India, but unfortunately it was not distributed. This Krishna consciousness movement is distributing this knowledge.

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.13.28, purport:

“There is no question of miseries for the spiritual being. As Krishna is always happy, the living entities, who are His parts and parcels, are also happy by nature, but because of being put within this material world and forgetting their eternal relationship with Krishna, they have forgotten their real nature. Because every one of us is a part of Krishna, we have a very affectionate relationship with Him, but because we have forgotten our identities and are considering the body to be the self, we are afflicted by all the troubles of birth, death, old age and disease. This misconception in materialistic life continues unless and until one comes to understand his relationship with Krishna.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.13.31, purport:

“Material plans for material happiness have no value, but under the spell of the illusory energy we consider them extremely valuable. There were many politicians, social reformers and philosophers who died very miserably, without deriving any practical value from their material plans. Therefore, a sane and sensible man never desires to work hard under the conditions of threefold miseries, only to die in disappointment.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.13.32, purport:

“There is danger for a preacher when he receives great quantities of money, for as soon as he spends even a single cent of the collection for his personal sense gratification, he becomes a fallen victim. The preachers of the Krishna consciousness movement should be extremely careful not to misuse the immense quantities of money needed to spread this movement. Let us not make this money the cause of our distress; it should be used for Krishna, and that will cause our eternal happiness. Money is Lakshmi, or the goddess of fortune, the companion of Narayana. Lakshmiji must always remain with Narayana, and then there need be no fear of degradation.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 41:

“There are three divisions among Krishna’s friends: some are eternally in friendship with Krishna, some are elevated demigods, and some are perfected devotees. In all of these groups there are some who by nature are fixed in Krishna’s service and are always engaged in giving counsel; some of them are very fond of joking and naturally cause Krishna to smile by their words; some of them are by nature very simple, and by their simplicity they please Lord Krishna; some of them create wonderful situations by their

activities, apparently against Krishna; some of them are very talkative, always arguing with Krishna and creating a debating atmosphere; and some of them are very gentle and give pleasure to Krishna by their sweet words. All of these friends are very intimate

with Krishna, and they show expertise in their different activities, their aim always being to please Krishna.”

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

from Vaktritavali(a compilation of notes on his lectures): [Note: In the month of June, I proofread Vaktritavali,soon to be published by Touchstone Publishing, and I took notes on my favorite parts. I am including my notes in four issues of this journal, and this is the final installment.]

“The day one attains perfection in the chanting of mantras, the holy name of Hari constantly dances in his mouth. The following verse, quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa(11.237), confirms this: yena janma-sataih purvam vasudevah samarcitah tan-mukhe hari-namani sada tisthanti bharata ‘O descendant of Bharata, the holy names of Lord Vishnu are always vibrating in the mouth of one who has previously worshiped Vasudeva perfectly for hundreds of lifetimes.’” (p. 396)

If we become averse to serving the residents of a pure devotional matha [temple or ashram],which is an abode for chanters of the holy name, and instead engage only in Deity worship, then our fortune is far away. It is the duty of the matharesidents to recite Srimad-Bhagavatam. The devotional mathais not a building in the material world; there is only the appearance of it being here. The material world is full of topics about sense gratification, but in the devotional matha,everyone engages in gratifying Krishna’s senses. Being driven by material sensibilities, if someone thinks he is seeing the matharesidents engaged in sense gratification and other such activities like himself, he is surely in illusion or intoxicated by the knowledge he has derived from his sense experiences. All that is found in a true mathais the ingredients to serve Hari. Simply by serving the devotees who live at such a matha, one becomes eligible to chant the holy name.” (pp. 396–397)

“If the householders create a Goloka atmosphere in their own homes by liberating themselves from mundane attachments with the help of hari-bhajana, and if they can accept the members of their household as meant for Krishna’s service rather than their own, they too attain all fortune.” (p. 397)

“At present we are busy seeing forms, qualities, and all the varieties of the material world. We are busy seeking external name and fame. If we can see Krishna in our external vision, then it is good; otherwise, all we see is maya.” (p. 397)

“There is no need to eat or drink if we don’t worship Krishna. Whatever qualification we attained by receiving a human body will go in vain if we fail to worship Krishna. If we spend our lives eating, sleeping, and enjoying like animals, then not only do we lose the qualification and opportunity afforded to us by being in a human body, we also face the danger of rebirth and its consequences. We came here to worship Krishna. The animals become human beings to worship Lord Hari.” (p. 398)

“The best form of sadhanafor pleasing Krishna is sankirtana.If other sadhanasare favorable to and supportive of krishna-kirtana, then they can be called sadhana.Otherwise, such things are known as kuyogi vaibhava,or impediments to sadhana.” (p. 398)

“Those who do not worship Hari cannot understand these things at all. The living beings have no duty other than to worship Hari. Whether one is a boy, an old man, a young man, a woman, learned, a fool, rich, poor, beautiful, pious, sinful, or in any other condition, there is no other sadhanabut sri-krishna-sankirtana.” (p. 398)

“If we perform kirtanawith those who have taken shelter of the disciplic succession, then it will be actual hari-sankirtana.Kirtanaperformed to stop the spread of cholera or enhance one’s business, or any show of kirtanathat is accompanied by desires for profit, adoration, and distinction is not hari-sankirtanabut maya’s kirtana.” (p. 399)

“There are other impediments to the performance of sankirtana.Some say, ‘Practice dry renunciation and always take pleasure in the words of Vedanta.’ Others try to control their mind by inhaling and exhaling according to what they have learned from sage Patañjali. Even with this mentality they become entangled in the external world. We think of becoming free, but we cannot adopt the lifestyle of devotees. We try to remain aloof from the world, thinking yoga and study of Vedanta will help us, but this imaginative idea by the dry renunciants along with their concealed thirst for material enjoyment does not bring them or us any ultimate benefit. Hence it cannot be called abhidheya.” (p. 399)

“By performing krishna-sankirtanawe will lose all interest in material advancement and become free of our endeavors for profit, adoration, and distinction. Our lotuslike fortune blossoms in the moon rays of krishna-sankirtana. Only one who chants the holy name is be considered topmost among the learned. The chanter of the holy name is fully qualified to possess all kinds of learning. When one’s heart is drowned in the transcendental bliss of Sri Caitanya’s mellows, he becomes easily liberated from the flow of external thoughts and the intoxication of perishable happiness. All kinds of restlessness is subdued and Mayavada conceptions are banished from his mind.” (p. 402)

“‘I am very educated.’ When this mood becomes prominent, a person cannot serve Lord Hari. Instead, he becomes an idol worshiper. Human beings do not need a material education if such education becomes an impediment to their worship of Hari. Education often makes people idol worshipers. Instead of worshiping Hari they worship their own egos.” (p. 404)

“Topics to increase our propensity to serve Hari are calledhari-katha. Those topics that increase our propensity to enjoy matter are maya-katha.” (p. 406)

“Perform Krishna’s sankirtanaso people recognize the difference between maya’skirtanaand Krishna’s sankirtana.” (p. 406)

“In karma-kandapractices there is no feeling of being lower than a blade of grass. To artificially show restlessness is not the same feeling. That is why Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvatipada said that feeling lower than a blade of grass is not possible for anyone except those with an honest attachment for Sri Caitanya’s lotus feet. InCaitanya-candramrita(Verse 24):

trinad api sunicata sahaja-saumya-mugdhakritih

sudha-madhura-bhasita visaya-gandha-thuthutkritih

hari-pranaya-vihvala kim api dhiranarambhita

bhavanti kila sad-guna jagati gaura-bhajam ami

‘Humbly thinking oneself lower than a blade of grass, natural gentleness and charm, speaking words as sweet as nectar, spitting at the insignificant sense gratification of this world, disinterest in the affairs of this world, and overwhelming love for Lord Hari are the transcendental virtues obtained by worshiping Lord Gaura’s transcendental abode in this world.’” (p. 407)

“In the last year we have been able to propagate Sri Gaurasundara’s teachings in many different places. This propagation of Gaura’s mission is most beneficial and necessary for human beings. The Lord Himself spent His time distributing His own teachings. Those who contribute to this most beneficial act in any way – either with their life, wealth, intelligence, or speech – will certainly be blessed by Visvambhara Sriman Mahaprabhu. Those who have made any contribution, however little, for this topmost welfare activity – which is incomparable with anything of this world – are fortunate and worthy of praise. Many people think what we do is like any other mundane activity, but it is not. According to those who know the truth, this is the only duty. Everything else is a waste of time and labor.” (p. 411)

“But self-realized, spiritually experienced persons always try to benefit people. If people could give up the philosophies they have developed through their various attempts at mental speculation and accept the advice of these experienced Vaishnavas, who are their supreme well-wishers, and if they could follow these experienced devotees’ instructions, then they would attain all fortune. When discussing hari-kathaas the Lord’s devotees discuss it, everyone benefits. There is nothing else worth discussing in human society.” (p. 413)

“Worship of the Supreme Lord is the soul’s only duty or propensity. We cannot alleviate our spiritual poverty if we don’t cultivate our God consciousness.” (p. 414)

The Rig Veda(1.156.3) states: om asya jananto nama cid vivaktan mahas te vishno su-matim bhajamahe om tat sat.[O Vishnu, Your name is completely transcendental. Thus it is self-manifest. Indeed, even without properly understanding the glories of chanting Your holy name, if we vibrate Your name with at least a small understanding of its glories—that is, if we simply repeat the syllables of Your holy name—gradually we shall understand it.] In this mantra, Sri Gaurasundara instructed all people to perform kirtanaat all times. The process of worshiping with the help of sound is spreading everywhere. Nama-kirtana,which is the devotees’ only object of cultivation, is found in the Rig Veda Samhita.” (p. 414)

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from My Relationship with Lord Krishna:

“Krishna is the ability in man. He is the intelligence by which I can write. He gives the brain and hand, the ink and paper, and He gives the only worthy subject matter, the practice of devotional service to Him.”

Bhakti Caitanya Swami:

Madhu-mandala, Lord Krishna’s brahmana friend, has no less than twenty-five laddusat each meal, as he did on Bratr-dvitiya, the day after Govardhan Puja, the day the sisters are supposed to serve their brothers, and the gopis cook a feast for the cowherd boys.

If you get upset that people do not worship you, you may be in maya[illusion], and if you want to kill people who do not worship you, you are definitely in maya.

Indra described Krishna as talkative, and the great teachers explain that all His talks are Absolute Truth. Indra described Krishna as stabdha, meaning that He is obstinate, but the teachers explain that means that He does not bow down to anyone, because for Him, there is no one to bow down to. Indra described Krishna as thinking Himself a pandita (scholar), but the great teachers explain that He is the jewel of all scholars.

In the final verse of Bhagavad-gita, Sanjaya answers the question which Dhritarastra posed in the first verse. He does not directly say, “Your sons will lose. Sorry.” but rather, as a gentleman, he comments that wherever Krishna and Arjuna are, victory will also be.

The same idea can be conveyed with different words, some more palatable than others. For example, I am strong-willed, you are stubborn, and he is pig-headed.

There are many nice disciples of Srila Prabhupada, but none is on the level of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada is not just one of the previous acaryas [great saintly teachers] but the founder-acarya of ISKCON. Thus he is relevant to our lives, and he is accessible and we can connect with him in very important ways.

One disciple of Srila Prabhupada asked if in glorifying Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in the preva-dhvani (or jaya om prayers) we should insert “nitya-lila-pravista” to indicate he has entered the Lord’s eternal pastimes as he had heard from some other group. Srila Prabhupada replied, “You can include that if you want, if you think he is dead.”

Srila Prabhupada really felt for his disciples. It was not an official relationship by any means. It is important that those who had Srila Prabhupada’s personal association communicate that to devotees of the present day.

Once Madhudvisa Prabhu and Yamuna Devi were arguing about Lord Balarama. Madhudvisa Prabhu was saying that Krishna and Balarama are virtually identical and Their only difference is in color. Yamuna Devi, on the other hand, said there are significant differences such Krishna is the only enjoyer of Srimati Radharani. Tamal Krishna Goswami and those two devotees came into Srila Prabhupada’s presence. Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “Madhudvisa Prabhu says the only difference between Krishna and Balarama is their color.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “That is true.” Then Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “On the other hand, Yamuna Devi says that there are significant differences between them such as Krishna being the sole enjoyer of Srimati Radharani.” Srila Prabhupada, “That is true.” Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “These cannot be both be true. That is contradictory!” Srila Prabhupada, “That is true.” At the very least, this should teach us that the truth should be discussed, and it is not so always so simple.

from a Ratha-yatra address:

After the residents of Vrindavan saw Krishna at Kuruksetra, they were so happy to see Him, each day they resolved to go back to Vrindavan, but after saying good bye to Krishna, they could not actually leave. This happened every day for three months. Finally they realized they would have to return to Vrindavan, so they decided to bring Krishna with them, so they put him on a cart and pulled him to Vrindavan.

Ratha-yatra is a feelings festival for both the Lord and His devotees. They are happy to be with each other again.

Bhaktivaibhava Swami:

It is described that the holy name will be chanted in every town and village. We can practically see that people in all parts of the world very quickly become attracted to the chanting of the holy name.

We could be sitting in so many other places, but we are sitting here because we have some attraction for the chanting.

The holy name is effective even when chanted joking or in a critical mood. It is just like if you take medicine and joke about the color of the pills or criticize its taste, still you get the benefit of the medicine.

Sometimes we feel uninspired but by reading the authoritative descriptions of the glories of the holy name, we can become extremely excited to chant and feel so grateful for being given opportunity to chant.

Kali waits for the moment when we think everything is very nice, and then delivers his misery.

I have experience of people who after hearing me talk about inevitable miseries of life twenty or thirty years ago, told me that they did not have any problems in their life, who are now coming back, and saying, “Now I understand what you mean.”

Because of the great suffering in this age, it is so much easier to surrender fully to the holy name.

In this age, more than any other, people become disgusted with the kingdom of illusion, and fully surrender to the Personality of Godhead.

Q: You are saying that it does not matter how we chant but it is also said we can chant many births without attaining perfection. That seems like a contradiction.

A: There is no contradiction. It is just that different verses emphasize different things. In the Bhagavad-gita, the soul is sometimes described as karta (the doer) and at other times akarta (the nondoer). That seems like a contradiction, but there is truth in both statements.

The story about the yavana who attains liberation by crying “Ha Ram” has additional details. The man, while passing stool, is interrupted by a wild hog eager to taste the fresh stool. He cries “Ha Ram” which in his language means “Oh abominable!” In his agitated condition of mind, he falls off a cliff, still crying “Ha Ram” and lands in front of a yogi. Out of his dead body emerges a four-handed Vishnu-like form which ascends to the spiritual world. The yogi cannot believe what he is seeing. He is performing austerities for years while this foolish fellow is attaining liberation. The Lord smiles in Vaikuntha and His consort, Laksmi, asks why. The Lord explains the story and sends Narada to inform the yogi about the glories of the holy name.

When your taste for chanting Hare Krishna increases, you are making progress.

Lokanath Swami:

The more love you have for the Lord, the more wealthy you are. You are wealthy because of depositing every day by chanting Hare Krishna.

Not only did Caitanya Mahaprabhu compose the Siksastaka, but He would also relish and contemplate it.

Did you go to Jagannath Puri? Why not? What are you waiting for?

Gambhira, the place Lord Caitanya stayed in Jagannath Puri,also means “very serious.”

Every night Lord Caitanya would take one verse and contemplate all it night long.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote commentaries on these eight verses.

Verse 1:

The verse has four lines of two padas each. The first seven padas tell the seven glories of sri-krishna-sankirtana:

param-vijayate sri-krishna-sankirtana:

The sri-krishna-sankirtana is all victorious. Similarly Sanjaya said in the last verse of Bhagavad-gita, “Wherever there is Krishna and Arjuna, there is victory.”

ceto-darpana-manjana:it cleanses the mirror of the mind. It creates a revolution in consciousness. This is the mission of Srila Prabhupada. The means is the chanting of Hare Krishna.

bhava-mahadvangi-nirvapanam: it extinguishes the fire of this material existence.

This is release for the soul trapped without Krishna.

vidya-vadhu-jivanam: the life of the wife of knowledge

anandam-budhi-vardanam: we do not experience oceans as ever expanding

All these gifts are the promises of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

During the final pastimes of Lord Caitanya, He is in the mood of Radharani.

Lord Caitanya saw Lord Jagannath like a devotee of the Lord, honored prasadam like a devotee, and relished Ratha-yatra like a devotee. By His own acts, He taught the whole world. He was not just thinking of the Hindus or the Indians, but all the living entities who are part and parcel of Himself, the one Supreme Lord.

Q: How to chant the holy name?

A: Follow Lord Caitanya’s third instruction. Respecting others means not offending other souls who are all Krishna’s souls and dear to Krishna. Honoring others, serving others. These are not easy to do because we have been doing just the opposite for life after life.

Nama ruci (relishing the holy name),vaishnava-seva (serving the devotees of the Lord), andjiva daya (showing mercy to all souls) are three important qualities.

Sankirtana means complete kirtana. It can include all the activities of a devotee of Lord Caitanya. When many devotees get together it is sankirtana.

Lord Caitanya did not just tell people to chant, He demonstrated thechanting in His own life.

Both the speaker of spiritual topics and the audience relish the association of each other. It is a festival for the ears.

Sangam means association, and prasangam means close association.

I have never seen so many Deities in one place at one time. [This is referring to table of deities of festival attendees in the temple room.] Whenever there is sadhu-sanga, the Lord comes there.

These festivals expand our happiness. Our sraddha [faith] is increased. Fixed faith is called nistha [steadiness]. Then comes ruci [taste] and asakti[attachment].

In the association of devotees, we are given homework. “Do this. Do not do that.”

We take sadhu-sanga, the association of devotees, and we give the association of devotees.

We create enemies and friends, but sadhus see all as devotees of the Lord and are friendly to them.

Srila Prabhupada has given us this Hare Krishna movement. This movement is full of festivals. Sunday festivals, Ratha-yatra festivals, Gaura Purnima festivals,

Vrindavan festivals, etc.

Niranjana Swami:

Srila Prabhupada advised us not to absorb ourselves in politics, sociology, and current events. He said they would go their own way. Our discussion of them will not affect them, but it will affect our consciousness. If we absorb our minds in them, when they go their own way, we will go with them.

The events in Ukraine are forcing me to be Krishna consciousness because people there are expecting that of me in their difficult situation.

During a meeting of our Ukraine leaders, there was an escalation of the conflict there. Devotees would report hearing the explosions of bombs at night and seeing buildings destroyed the next day. They did not knew who threw the bombs, and it did not matter.

Many devotees have had to leave everything behind as they migrated to safer regions of Ukraine. Sometimes their neighbors would later phone them and tell them that their houses were destroyed. Some left with snipers firing on their vehicles on their way out. In one case, the vehicle was destroyed by artillery, but the devotees survived.

Devotees in Eastern Ukraine investigated who in the congregation was affected, and devotees in Western Ukraine found places for 60 people to live there. But it turned out there were many ladies with children but no husbands, so we used the retreat center for them. They had difficulty getting out, sometimes because they did not have enough money to take the train, because officers were asking for additional money to let people out, or because it was too dangerous to get out.

People from all over the world responded to an article we produced describing the needs of the devotees in Ukraine. Two hundred and fifty people offered donations. The Hungarian council offered $2000 and promised more, and the Russian council offered $10,000 to help the devotees displaced in Ukraine.

One thing we saw in this is that when the displaced Ukrainian devotees were asked what they needed, they responded, “Just let us remember Krishna through all this. Our communities and congregations have been destroyed. Just let have the opportunities to have the association of devotees again.” Krishna, we know from the scripture, is always ready to help devotees who want nothing other than His association. Their attitude inspires me to help them even more.

We offered devotees 2000 grivnas (about $150) per month to get resituated, and often they said they did not need that much or need anything at this point.

It is good for you to hear that we really are an international society of Krishna consciousness, and people all over the world do care to help other devotees.

I am not advocating that we become a philanthropic organization that caters to the needs of the physical body. I am saying that we are obligated to help devotees in whatever way we can to assist them in their pursuit of Krishna consciousness. We are being asked at every moment of each day to help others in their Krishna consciousness.

Sometimes to move a person to action takes a lot of hearing.

Srila Prabhupada explained there is a difference between listening and hearing in that hearing compels action.

Sometimes we dismiss a topic thinking that we have already heard it before, although that hearing has not moved us to action.

Bhakti Caitanya Swami reminded us that it is the duty of those who were in Srila Prabhupada’s presence to communicate what it was like to be in Prabhupada’s presence to their followers.

It is said the great spiritual teachers cross the ocean of material existence on the boat of bhakti, and they leave the boat for others to cross in the future.

There are three principles that Bhaktivinoda Thakura considered essential to the path of bhakti. He considered that Haridasa Thakura exemplified these.

to be greatly determined in the execution of devotional service.

to constantly chant the holy name of the Lord.

to be compassionate to others.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura considered that those who have not entered into, and thus do not understand the glories of, the ancient path, create a new path and proudly advocate that. Thus they mislead themselves and others. The real path is actually easy.

Making bhakti accessible does not mean watering it down so people will feel that they can follow it.

Srila Prabhupada made bhakti accessible by doing everything that he asked others to do and thus demonstrating that it was quite possible. He captured people’s hearts and engaged them in bhakti without them even knowing it.

When there are so many obstacles to executing a plan, the tendency is to think that perhaps Krishna does not want us to do it, but Srila Prabhupada was not easily deterred.

Srila Prabhupada’s most attractive quality was his compassion. By his grace, persons who had no qualification for bhakti were able to get bhakti.

Those who are humble and feel themselves unqualified are actually the most qualified to get this mercy.

Srila Prabhupada would be ready to give as much time to anyone as they wanted.

I lived in a commune, and if anyone tried to exert control over anyone, they were kicked out. The hippies did not accept any authority.

Although the hippies were not inclined to accept any authority, they accepted Srila Prabhupada because he was genuine. Whatever he was teaching, he was doing. He did not demand respect. He did not demand surrender. He just taught by his example. And he simply requested, “Kindly help me.”

Krishna accepted Srila Prabhupada’s method, and if we also follow it, He will accept us.

“One has to make progress in spiritual life by not associating with persons who are simply interested in sense gratification and making money. Not only such persons, but one who associates with such persons should be avoided. One should mold his life in such a way that he cannot live in peace without drinking the nectar of the glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari. One can be thus elevated by being disgusted with the taste for sense enjoyment.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.22.23) This verse implies one must get a higher taste from hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord to become disgusted with sense enjoyment.

Until we attain the stage of always being engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, we must be conscious of what we need to avoid.

It is a very dangerous position when we think sense gratification is relief for suffering.

A new devotee realizes devotional service is a better relief from suffering than sense gratification.

The fact is that sense gratification always leads to suffering. There is no other outcome of sense gratification than suffering.

Krishna advises, “Do not be overly depressed that you sometimes engage in sense gratification. Since you have awakened faith in the value of hearing and chanting My glories, if you repent your acts of sense gratification, very soon you will be able to give it up.”

Faith must be nourished and must be protected so it can grow.

If we do not regularly hear the glories of the Lord, our faith will not grow, and we will be affected by the association of materialistic people.

When devotees take pleasure in loving dealings with devotees, they will protected from the effect of being in the proximity of materialistic people.

According to Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, a devotee thinks, “By my previous shameful life my heart is polluted with many illusory attachments. Personally I have no power to stop them. Only Lord Krishna within my heart can remove such inauspicious contamination. But whether the Lord removes such attachments immediately or lets me go on being afflicted by them, I will never give up my devotional service to Him. Even if the Lord places millions of obstacles in my path, and even if because of my offenses I go to hell, I will never for a moment stop serving Lord Krishna. I am not interested in mental speculation and fruitive activities; even if Lord Brahma personally comes before me offering such engagements, I will not be even slightly interested. Although I am attached to material things I can see very clearly that they lead to no good because they simply give me trouble and disturb my devotional service to the Lord. Therefore, I sincerely repent my foolish attachments to so many material things, and I am patiently awaiting Lord Krishna’s mercy.”

from a meeting with his disciples:

The main problem is that the devotees do not know what Srila Prabhupada wants for this movement because they do not read his books enough.

Faith is increased by association with devotees with faith. Srila Prabhupada described the sum and substance of this Krishna consciousness movement is providing the association of people who have faith. By such association, we want to come to a higher platform.

In reading the different accounts of the early history of the Krishna consciousness movement in America it is clear to me that Srila Prabhupada’s personal example was the cause of the faith of the early followers. Because he chanted Hare Krishna and spoke the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, and because he acted according to that philosophy, it gave the people great faith.

It is not just a matter of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books a certain amount of time per day, but a matter of applying the teachings of Srila Prabhupada in our lives twenty-four hours a day.

Rather than reading and applying the instructions in Srila Prabhupada’s books, people jump ahead and read the books of the previous acaryas before they can identify what is pure devotional service and what is not.

Hearing or reading is valuable, but discussing our reading among the devotees is more valuable. Srila Prabhupada writes this in Bg. 9.1, purport, second paragraph: “The Lord understands the mentality and sincerity of a particular living entity who is engaged in Krishna consciousness and gives him the intelligence to understand the science of Krishna in the association of devotees. Discussion of Krishna is very potent, and if a fortunate person has such association and tries to assimilate the knowledge, then he will surely make advancement toward spiritual realization.”

If you have not read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books, you should be ashamed of yourself. You should fall down and beg Krishna for that desire to read every word that Srila Prabhupada has written.

Srila Prabhupada said that we should discuss his books from different angles of vision.

from a private meeting:

When offering obeisances to a sannyasi, we are offering obeisances to the position of renunciation not the individual.

To convince the congregation of the importance of outreach, to engage them in practical activities of outreach and to engage them in caring for the new devotees who come from the outreach are most important.

If you want to be a sannyasi, then you should be committed to developing relationships with the people in a certain yatraand bringing them to a higher level of devotional service. If you just want to do harinama here and there, you can be a brahmacari.

You can go to Mexico every third year, if you spend the other two with Rama Raya Prabhu. Then you are still showing commitment to his program.

Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami:

When Srila Prabhupada was confronted with complaints, he would respond basically, “You do it better, or you teach them to do it better.”

We put the deity to sleep, but is the deity really asleep? If the pujari oversleeps, the deity will wake the pujari and say, “Wake up stupid, it is time to do your service!”

Some people chant loudly, some people chant softly. It is up to the individu

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraAugust 31, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.13: The North of England and Edinburgh
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 13
By Krishna-kripa das
(July 2014, part one)

The North of England, Edinburgh
(Sent from Bratislava, Slovakia, on August 13, 2014)

I spent the first week of July in Newcastle, except for a couple day trips to Edinburgh and York. Then my friends from Newcastle area assisted me in doing harinama in the nearby localities of South Shields, Chester-le-Street, and Durham before I left for the Manchester area to attend nama-hatta events near there and to promote the Manchester Ratha-yatra. I went to the Sheffield nama-hatta two weeks, and attended the Preston Sacred Sounds Event, another York harinama, and one in Liverpool with my friend, Gaura Prabhu. I did harinama and an evening program in Chester for the first time. I also chanted harinama in Chorlton, just south of our Manchester temple, another new place for me. By the grace of Jagadatma Prabhu, who gave me additional knowledge, I got to give a lecture on Lord Jagannatha prior to the Manchester Ratha-yatra, my last event in the UK for a month.

I share notes on Srila Prabhupada lectures. I have many excerpts from the lectures of Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura compiled in a book called Vaktritavali. I also include material from the books and journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on the lectures given by devotees speaking in Manchester, namely Isa Prakasa and Vrajendralal Prabhus.

Newcastle Harinamas and the Sunday Feast

I was very pleased with my July visit to Newcastle as practically every day some devotees would come with me on harinama.

Also the kirtanas at the Sunday feast were lively.

Edinburgh Harinama and Program

At London Ratha-yatra some devotees from Edinburgh invited me to come to their program sometimes. When I thought about it, I realized that although based in Newcastle, I was willing to go two and a half hours away to the south, to Sheffield to do programs, and therefore, I should be willing to go two and a half hours the other direction to Edinburgh, at least once a year. They do programs in Edinburgh the first and third Fridays in the month, so I decided to go the first Friday in July.

I like to do harinama for three hours before the programs, but know most people cannot come out that long, so I told my friend, Raghunatha Bhatta Prabhu, the program organizer, to tell people we would have a two-hour harinama. In that case, I would just chant by myself for an hour before. As it turned out, the weather was very rainy, and only one person came out. That person made all the difference to me because it is so much nicer to have two people on harinama instead of one.

There was a visiting Vaishnava youth girl there who was a real kirtana leader, so I let her lead both the kirtanas. I had already chanted for three hours in the rainy streets, and I am not such a good musician that I like to chant when there are more experienced kirtana musicians around. Again there were a lot of woofers (organic gardeners) there from Karuna Bhavan, and it was beautiful to see them getting into the kirtana. I talked about five benefits of mantra meditation, beginning with the ultimate benefit, love of God.

York Harinamas

The July 5 York harinama was special because of all the extra people coming for Le Tour de France.

It was also special because every member of the party, whether singing the lead or the response or whether playing harmonium, mridanga, or karatalas,if they noticed an attracted onlooker, would walk over to give the person an invitation to our programs. Such enthusiasm for outreach is rare!

On July 12 I found it awesome how Govardhana Devi Dasi and John drove from Scarborough, and Preitie Sundaragiri, Radhe Shyam, and I took trains from Leeds, Newcastle, and Manchester, respectively, to chant Hare Krishna together in York for three hours.

Because we had a lot of enthusiastic devotees many people danced with us, took photos, and were curious to read the “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlets.

These two ladies started by clapping,

and ultimately purchased a book.

A lady from a hen party danced with us.

Three Indian ladies also took pleasure in dancing with us.

A photographer named Roy Tinkler (above) took some photos of us:

After taking prasadam in a park, Radhe Shyam Prabhu, Preitie, and I did harinama to the train station so we could return to our respective destinations.

I chanted at the train station until Radhe Shyam’s train left.

I look forward to chanting in York with all these friends and more next spring when I return to The North of England.

South Shields Harinama

I was very happy to have the association of Prema Sankirtana (center) and Radhe Shyama Prabhus (left) on harinama in South Shields.

There we met a girl who played the karatalas and danced with us.

An older man in the market place played harmonica with us.

We also met some appreciative people who gave donations.

Chester-le-Street Harinama

The harinama at Chester-le-Street worked out very well. Atul Prabhu (with the red bead bag), who is from there, and whose health is always a challenge, was able to come.

Jake, who has just been coming to the Newcastle temple for a year, came out, although Chester-le-Street is just the next town from where he lives, and he knows many people there. He even led kirtana at one point.

We came at lunch time, and there were roving bands of students on their lunch break, some of whom were attracted by the chanting. It was the most crowded time and the best time to go.

When we first arrived at Chester-le-Street, we met Jake’s mom, who was there shopping. She had never met the Newcastle devotees, although she recognized many of their names, as her son talked about them. She had a favorable impression of us.

After chanting for an hour in Chester-le-Street, we went on to Durham.

Durham Harinama

One man, very happy to see us chanting in Durham, came up to me and glorified us for praising the Lord, saying that it was the ultimate activity. When speaking of God he originally used the word “Him” but then said since the Lord was unlimited, He could appear in any form, being the source of all the forms. I was amazed since that very morning I heard a Srila Prabhupada lecture where he told how the Lord incarnates in the different species of life, and here in Durham, someone was reminding me of that point.

The jolly man later gave me a picture of himself dressed as Santa Claus.

Satya Medha Gauranga Prabhu, who is always enthusiastic to support harinama, came out with his son, Bhanu (center).

Vishnu-priya Devi Dasi, the wife of Prema Sankirtana Prabhu, greatly pleased the harinama devotees by inviting us all to lunch on Jagannatha prasadam at their home. It was all delicious, and it was nice to spend some relaxed time with my Newcastle friends who I would not see again for seven weeks.

Harinamas in Manchester

As a young Asian-looking guy walked past me while I was sitting down playing Hare Krishna on my harmonium in Manchester, he said with a little disdain, “What happened in your life to bring you to the point of doing that?” I was a little annoyed at his critical attitude, and I replied, “I just wanted to find something that was better than what everybody else was doing, and I did.” He surprised me by replying, “That is the best answer!”

I was happy to chant in Chorlton, not far from our Manchester temple. Within fifteen minutes of me arriving there, a lady gave £5 for a Chant and Be Happy. I took it as encouragement from the Lord for my willingness to go to a new place. One devotee lady, who had not heard of the upcoming Manchester Ratha-yatra, was happy to learn of the event. She also said she had kirtana programs at her home, and she invited me to come sometime.

Harinama and Evening Program in Chester

I have known of Clive and Agi Holland (next to me, above) and their enthusiasm for the chanting of Hare Krishna ever since meeting them at the Birmingham temple after the twenty-four hour kirtana there a few years back. I have seen them at many kirtana events in the Manchester area, driving to them from their home in Chester. This year for the first time, we did a harinama in Chester, although we talked about it before.

Their son (on the right) also came as well as a devotee from India who lives in Chester and his two children. Thanks to Agi for the picture. Thus on our inaugural Chester harinama we had seven people! We chanted about an hour.

The children distributed invitations to the Manchester Ratha-yatra.

I do not recall anyone especially positive, but I do not remember encountering any negativity.

I do recall in Crewe, I asked a girl waiting for the train to Chester how to find the Merseyrail trains to Liverpool once I got there. While talking with her I found out she got a degree in law and theology in Liverpool. Thus while we waited for the train I suggested she read a hardbound Bhagavad-gita I brought for distribution on harinama, and she ended up keeping it and giving me a £10 donation. It goes to show one should always travel with a Gita!

I also did an evening program in Chester at Clive and Agi’s place, and we are hoping both harinamas and evening programs will become regular events in Chester. We are planning another for September 4.

Manchester Ratha-yatra

It rained the whole morning, and I was hoping that it would be one of those miraculous days when the rain stopped just before the time of the Ratha-yatra. Well it was not exactly like that. Parasurama Prabhu showed up about an hour and a half late. Until he came, we all chanted under a tent with great enthusiasm as the rain poured down around us. Many of my friends from the North of England were there, and very happy to be chanting together with so many of them. I talked to some people who were watching us for sometime, and invited them for the free food, telling them it would be at 3:00 p.m. After the parade I was pleased to see them eating happily. There were a man and two ladies, and the man and one of the ladies went back and got another full plate.

The Ratha-yatra finally began around 2:00 p.m., two hours after the scheduled time, and it was still sprinkling. Part way into the parade, a little after 3:00 p.m. the sun came out, and the rest of the day was nice.

Many people watched the Ratha-yatra procession.

Lots took photos.

Some danced with us.

I did not have invitations to the festival, and it would be hard to personally invite everyone while the procession was passing by. Thus I decided to just talk to the few people who appeared the most happy to encounter the devotees and their festival. In particular, one of them expressed great thanks that I took the trouble to speak to her.

We thank those who took videos of Manchester Ratha-yatra, Dhirabhakta Das (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M65kqQs_8oo) and Channaveera Swamy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVIbx2aW_xE), thus allowing you to see what it was like:

After the parade, Mahavishnu Swami continued the chanting. Some girls from a hen party joined in the dancing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0SZsbzqDqE):

To see photos taken but not included in this blog, click on the following link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLruuO781a6lkAE&feat=directlink

Itinerary

August 11–12: Bratislava

August 13–14: Prague

August 14–17: Trutnov (Czech Woodstock)

August 18: Czech Farm (Vyasa Puja with Kadamba Kanana Swami)

August 19–22: Paris harinamas

August 23: Rotterdam

August 24: Amsterdam Ratha-yatra

August 25: London

August 26: Nottingham

August 27: Sheffield

August 28: Preston Sacred Sounds

August 29: Liverpool

August 30: Newcastle

August 31: Leeds

September 1: Newcastle

September 2: Newcastle (Radhastami with Bhakti Caitanya Swami)

September 3: Sheffield

September 4: Manchester and Chester

September 5: Dublin (World Holy Name Festival Begins)

September 6: Dublin Ratha-yatra

September 7–11?: Irish Harinamas

September 11?–mid November: New York

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.28 in Vrndavana, India, on August 9, 1974:

Munis[sages] are silent about this material world and are concerned only with the spiritual world.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.18 in New Vrndavana on June 22, 1969:

[Explaining why the enlightened do not endeavor for material gain:] Even if you purchase the whole state of West Virginia, you will still eat four capatis and sleep on a six-foot bed.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

from Vaktritavali(a compilation of notes on his lectures): [Note: In the month of June, I proofread Vaktritavali,soon to be published by Touchstone Publishing, and I took notes on my favorite parts. I am including my notes in four issues of this journal, and this is the third installment which is longer than the others because I have less other material in this issue.]

“The mindset to act against Lord Hari’s service is found among people whose minds are bewildered by and attached to fruitive activities. Serving Hari is never possible for those who disregard Hari’s devotees. We cannot achieve Hari’s mercy by displeasing Hari’s devotees. Moreover, if we follow those who advertise themselves ashari-bhaktas but who follow nondevotees, accepting acts unfavorable to Hari’s service as the proper code of conduct, we will cheat people and misguide neophytes. Then we will not be able to achieve hari-prasada.” (p. 287)

“Whatever the Supreme Lord does is good for us. The moment we forget this fact we fall into danger. Therefore may we cherish the prasadaof those whom the Lord favors. I offer my obeisances at the feet of those great devotees who have received the Supreme Lord’s mercy.” (p. 291)

“On one hand we say the word govindais transcendental, and on the other we are determined to measure Him. We want to lop off the branch on which we are sitting.” (p. 294)

“By taking shelter of the holy name with determination, all anarthasare vanquished. Then Krishna’s form, qualities, characteristics, etc., gradually manifest in the holy name.” (p. 305)

“There is no sadhanaother than chanting the Lord’s holy name. Elsewhere in the Bhakti-sandarbha Sri Jiva writes that although we should perform other limbs of devotional service, in Kali-yuga they should be combined with the chanting of the holy name. By chanting the holy name all anarthasgo away. Chanting namaparadhadoes not free us of anarthas.But as soon as our anarthasare vanquished, the Supreme Lord’s form, qualities, associates, and pastimes will automatically manifest in the pure heart. At that time, hoping to understand the highest transcendentalrasas,we become qualified to study books like Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhuand Ujjvala-nilamani.” (p. 306)

“After the ten offenses against the holy name are destroyed, we begin to chant at the stage of namabhasa,and then when the pure holy name is uttered, all anarthasare vanquished and all auspiciousness arrives.” (p. 306)

“To protect ourselves from committing offenses we must hear from the spiritual master about the ten offenses against the holy name. The fierce demon in the form of inattentiveness drowns us in the deep ocean of disregarding the spiritual master. At that time chanting becomes as useless as a flower in the sky.” (p. 307)

“We have no business but to chant Hari’s holy name, but as long as we have anarthaswe cannot chant it. In most cases we are chanting at namaparadhaand, occasionally, namabhasa.We should try our best to first get rid of our anarthas.Simply by sincerely calling out the Lord’s name we become free of anarthas.There is no other way. harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha” (p. 307)

“People have a variety of tastes. Some people are emotional, some more discerning, some suspicious, some doubtful, and so on. Our flow of thought and tastes develop according to the kind of society and surroundings in which we grew up. Topics other than those we’re used to seem revolutionary, unheard of, or strange. But if we want real benefit, we should hear with patience. Our duty lies in walking the sreyaspath [the path of ultimate benefit]. We should consider without duplicity whether it is the duty of our human life to follow an apparently pleasing path of instant gratification or something else. If we care for spiritual upliftment, we must hear from the disciplic succession and stop surrendering to the many popular opinions that fill the air.” (pp. 309–310)

“One can accept either a Vaishnava or a non-Vaishnava as one’s guru, but we find this in the Narada Pañcaratra:avaisnavopadistenamantrenanirayam vrajet punas ca vidhina samyag grahayed vaishnavad guroh ‘One who is initiated into a mantra by a non-Vaishnava must go to hell. Therefore he should again be initiated properly, according to the prescribed method, by a Vaishnava guru.’ We should take shelter of a spiritual master who is engaged one hundred percent in the Lord’s service . Otherwise, following his example, I myself will not be able to engage one hundred percent in the service of Lord Hari.” (p. 311)

“A platform speaker or professional priest cannot be a guru. If I read in an advertisement that I can make more money as a sweeper than in reciting Srimad-Bhagavatam,I will immediately give up my recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatamand submit an application for the job of sweeper. If people are not constantly engaged in worshiping Hari, then we can be certain they are becoming involved in inferior activities unrelated to the Supreme Lord. This means they are engaging in sense gratification on the strength of chanting the Lord’s holy name, and this is a grave offense. One should not think that reciting Srimad-Bhagavatamis one of his ordinary duties, no different from his other duties like eating, walking, talking with people, and so on. If serving Srimad-Bhagavatam becomes one’s only duty, then with every step he takes, with every morsel of food he swallows, and with every breath he will be serving Lord Hari. A salaried or contract speaker can never explain Srimad-Bhagavatam.” (p. 311)

“Fearing that if I speak the impartial truth I will become unpopular means giving up the authorized path of truth for the unauthorized path. This leads me toward becoming non-Vedic, or an atheist. It means I have no faith in the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord.” (p. 315)

“As soon as we know the truth we should become fixed in it. Of the time we have left in this life, we should not spend even a moment of it on material activities but use it to worship Hari. King Khatvanga used his last forty-eight minutes, and Ajamila spent the moment of his death, worshiping Hari. Both attained perfection. We may say we have many responsibilities, but visayah khalu sarvatah syat: ‘These four principal necessities of the body are available anywhere.’ Our other duties can be carried out in any lifetime, but the living being’s only duty is to worship Hari, and that cannot be carried out in any life except when one has a human form.” (p. 316)

“The followers of sreyas[ultimate benefit] want only one thing in life, and that is to hear the truth from the disciplic succession. If we glorify the actual truth and then allow it to enter our ear, only then will we be able to accept the value of aural reception from the disciplic succession. If we remain inattentive while hearing, we will not learn the actual truth or gain experience of it.” (p. 317)

“Not everyone is fortunate enough to follow in the footsteps of great souls. Many people mistake imitation for following. We should be aware that imitation and following are two different things. To dress as Narada in a drama is called ‘imitation,’ but to apply in our own life the devotional path Sri Narada teaches is ‘following.’ To imitate something artificially is called anukarana,imitation, and to actually traverse the path set out for us by the mahajanasis called anusarana,following.” (p. 321)

“Someone may consider himself the world’s best chemist or logician. Perhaps he has studied all the different philosophies. Yet such persons wonder why they can’t understand Him! “If those who have not been brought up as happily as us – who were never given the opportunity to enter a laboratory or study logic – can understand Vasudeva, why can’t we, who have had these advantages?’ What they don’t know is that Vasudeva is fully transcendental; He is beyond the reach of the mundane senses. He is not some river water or the fruit off some tree that we can take Him into the lab and study Him. Nor is He an ordinary hero or heroine with a body made of flesh and blood. No one can know Him until and unless He reveals Himself. He reserves the right and power to reveal Himself whenever He likes. He is not an object we can perceive with our eyes and ears. If He could be understood through investigation or analysis or deliberation (like using atomic theory) He would just be another material object. That which can be understood through this world’s knowledge, ultimately gathered through sense experience, is not God but simply a mundane object of enjoyment.” (p. 324)

“If we try to turn God into our cashier, we cannot be benefited because the day He will fail to supply our favorite objects we will ban or suspend Him. This mentality leads to atheism.” (p. 324)

“When we try to challenge or argue with our spiritual master, when we try to rectify or even belittle our spiritual master by showing that we have more knowledge than him, and when we try to imitate him rather than follow his instructions, we end up on the unauthorized path of argumentation rather than the authorized path of the disciplic succession. But if we give up this type of evil mentality and surrender at our guru’s lotus feet without reservation, only then are we benefited on the path of aural reception.” (p. 325)

“In the constitution of spirit, it is not that the tiny can never serve the unlimited. A tiny spark from a fire can burn the world to ashes if it is given sufficient support.” (p. 331)

“If we approach the truth, we can see the truth directly. We have to understand the sun with the help of sunlight. Through spirit we can know the supreme spirit. Guessing or hypothesis cannot help us.” (p. 333)

“In reply to a question put forth by the residents of Kulina-grama, Sriman Mahaprabhu said, ‘Service to Krishna, service to the devotees of Krishna, and congregational chanting of the holy name are the living being’s three duties.’” (p. 334)

“Krishna, who is the form of sankirtana,destroys demons like Agha, Baka, Putana, and so on in the hearts of even the most unworthy persons. We have no duty other than to serve this Krishna. Being Himself Krishna, Gaurasundara, in the dress of a devotee has taught us in various ways and with different moods and words to worship Krishna exclusively.” (p. 335)

“Lord’s devotees mercifully inform us that service to God is our prime duty. The demigods, humans, animals, birds – everyone’s duty is to serve God. We think, ‘I have become a stone, so I have a particular duty,’ or, ‘I have become a tree, and it’s my duty to produce fruits.’ When we come to the human form we think it our duty to become good human beings – get an education, become civilized, create a functional society, help our nation advance, and so on. We should live at home, sail on a boat – the mind fills with countless resolutions. This is called non-Vaisnavism.” (p. 341)

“From a Vaishnava we will hear that simply by serving Lord Vishnu we automatically serve all animate and inanimate atoms. Our main self-interest is Lord Vishnu’s service.” (p. 342)

“One of the roles Sri Gaurasundara performed in this world was spiritual master. In this role He revealed that for us, serving the guru’s lotus feet is more important than serving Krishna Himself. Krishna personally advertised Himself as a devotee. As a result, the devotees came to know, ‘I am also a devotee, a servant of Krishna, and Krishna is my worshipable Lord.’ It is Krishna who taught the living beings how to search for Krishna as a devotee; it is He who taught them that they had no duty other than to cultivate their Krishna consciousness. He also taught that the living beings cannot find permanent happiness in temporary, imperfect objects. By presenting Himself as the servant of the servant of the Vaishnavas, Sri Gaurasundara, although Krishna Himself, bestowed great favor on the logicians. He poured water on the fire of their arguments – He blessed those logicians who appeared after Krishna instructed Arjuna and became mental speculators after reading the Bhagavad-gita. These logicians came to think of the most merciful Lord Krishna as proud and selfish, but after seeing Sri Gaurasundara’s characteristics, they realized the sweetness and meaning of Krishna’s supremely independent nature. Sri Gaurasundara is the guru of all other gurus. He taught that although the guru is nondifferent from God, he is God’s principal devotee.” (p. 344)

“Gaurasundara gave no instruction but this one: Vaishnavas have no duty other than to call out the names of God. Those who call out these names act on the spiritual platform; their calling is not a function of the gross or subtle body.” (p. 345)

“When the master of the mind, the soul, awakens and sees the soul’s activities, it cannot rush toward inferior activities and cheat its master. Rather, it must follow its master’s orders. When the soul is awake, the representative mind works completely under its master’s will. If the mind somehow or other tries to go toward other activities, the awakened soul will stop it, saying, ‘You want to consider what is good and what is bad, you want to become a great fruitive worker, but I will not allow you to engage in such useless activities. Instead, you will help me in my service to the Supersoul.’” (p. 345)

“When a soul realizes he has no other business than to serve Krishna’s lotus feet, and that service to the Lord’s lotus feet becomes his only religion because it is the only actual religion of all living beings for all time, then his wicked mind no longer dances wildly under the covering of the desire for wealth, women, and fame.” (p. 352)

“The soul is an ingredient meant for the Lord’s pleasure.” (p. 355)

“Moreover, many people want to become Vaishnavas without first becoming servants of Vaishnavas. Many of us think ourselves devotees even though we are nondevotees. We think we are qualified to hear about the rasa-lila.But where do I stand? I am not a devotee. I am not constantly engaged in serving the Lord. Sometimes I think myself an enjoyer and become attracted to the female body, and sometimes I become attracted to a male body thinking myself a woman. How can an atheist, a sinful, wretched person like me be addressed as a bhakta,or devotee?” (p. 355)

“We have no right to hear the songs about Radha-Krishna that are fit only for liberated persons. As long as we are attracted by the mundane world and the rush of sense gratification, overwhelmed by maya’scovering and throwing potencies, we will not be able to go to the rasaarena, where the visible world appears before us as full of vasudeva. To imagine such a thing before we are qualified is like a mad dwarf trying to catch the moon. It is not possible to climb on Krishna’s chest with this bag of flesh and bones. One who shows such audacity is certain to become degraded. A person who considers the glories of his education, high birth, beauty, and opulence worth spitting at, only in his ears can krishna-kathaenter.” (p. 356)

“No object in this world is fit for my meditation. In His direct form the Supreme Lord is the pure Absolute Truth. That eternal Absolute Truth and His associates is what we should be meditating on. Indirectly, the Supreme Lord is creator, maintainer, and annihilator of this world.” (p. 360)

“Sometimes with a desire to enjoy the fruits of our karma we accept heavenly pleasures, but these are like flowers in the sky – they are completely perishable. And when they fade, we tend to think of becoming renounced. All this is because we have mistaken the mind for the self. The mind is the enjoyer. The mentality to seek enjoyment or practice renunciation destroys the natural propensities of the soul.” (p. 362)

“Out of the flames of a fire fall innumerable tiny sparks. Similarly, from the rays of the transcendental sun, Sri Hari, emanate millions of minute particles of consciousness, the infinitesimal spirit souls, or jivas.The jivais nondifferent from Sri Hari and yet simultaneously distinct. The eternal difference between the Supreme Lord Sri Hari and the jivais that the Lord is always the master and controller of the maya-sakti,whereas the jiva,even in his liberated state is, by his very constitution, vulnerable to the maya-sakti’slure. [quoted from Jaiva Dharma]” (p. 376)

“ . . . if one assumes the goal of life to be something to create better material facility, one will practice unjustified rules and regulations to attain that goal. Therefore, although the anartha-nivrttipracticed by those who are trying to clear their way to devotional service will appear fruitive to such ordinary people, sadhana-bhakti will never become just a function to regulate the mundane mind. Rather, it aims at the unalloyed propensity, and, as a result, indirectly serves to control the mind, pulling it away from its contact with matter.” (p. 382)

“All the acaryaswho have appeared in this world have described the relationship with the Supreme Lord as the sambandha,service to Him as the abhidheya,and love for Him as the prayojana.” (p. 385)

“But that magnanimous person, Sri Gaurasundara, arranged for the Srimad-Bhagavatam,spoken by Sri Vyasadeva, to be recited. Hearing Srimad-Bhagavatamremoves those three material miseries, which the Lord placed into this temporary, limited, and perishable world for our benefit. Moreover, to satisfy the needs of His associates and devotees, He personally took on the guise of an acaryaand freely distributed the secrets of performing bhajana.Among those secrets we find that out of thousands of limbs of devotional service, Srila Rupa Gosvami considered sixty-four prominent, and out of those, nine limbs have been described as more prominent. Out of those, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu considered five limbs most prominent, and out of those five, chanting the Lord’s holy name is the best.” (p. 387)

“The Supreme Lord’s name, form, qualities, associates, and pastimes are the entire holy name Himself. Present within the personality of the holy name are the name, form, qualities, and pastimes. Although for a chanter, distinction between the name and form, the name and qualities, the name and pastimes, and so on may exist, the fact is, they are not independent. In other words, the form, qualities, pastimes, and associates are nondifferent or separate from the holy name.” (p. 391)

“Sri Krishna and Sri Krishna’s names are not two things but one. Even though they appear and are accepted as different, Krishna’s forms, qualities, associates, characteristics, and pastimes are all part of the holy name.” (p. 392)

“With material objects, there is a difference between the thing and its name. But this is not true of the transcendental name of Krishna. Therefore Sri Gaurasundara instructed us, ‘Let sri-krishna-sankirtanaalone become our only “abhidheya,” our only way of achieving the ultimate goal of life.’” (p. 392)

“Sri Krishna + sankirtana= sri-krishna-sankirtana. Sri Krishna = Sri + Krishna, where Sri refers to Laksmidevi or Srimati Gandharva, the fountainhead of all Lakmis. So Sri Krishna means Giridhari Vrajendranandana and Gandharva.” (p. 392)

“When many people chant or glorify Krishna together, we call that sankirtana.But sankirtanaalso means ‘proper kirtana’ or offenseless chanting. sankirtanameans the glorification of Sri Krishna’s names, forms, qualities, associates, characteristics, and pastimes. May that sankirtanabecome glorious above everything else.” (p. 392)

“Among a thousand limbs of devotional service mentioned in the Vaishnava smriti,or among the sixty-four limbs of devotional service, srinama-sankirtanais topmost. All auspiciousness is obtained simply by performing the nama-sankirtana yajña. Nama-sankirtana includes all nine limbs of devotional service. Sravana, kirtana, smarana, vandana,and so on are included in sri-nama-sankirtana. The internal desire of Jagatguru Sri Gaurasundara, who enacted the pastime of preachingacintya-bhedabheda siddhanta,is that sri-krishna-sankirtana is the only abhidheya.” (p. 395)

“No other limb of devotional service – not mathura-vasa[living in Mathura] or sadhu-sanga[associating with devotees] is complete without sri-krishna-sankirtana,because simply by engaging in sri-krishna-sankirtanathe benefit of living in Mathura, associating with devotees, worshiping the Deity with faith, and hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam is obtained. By chanting, the living beings attain all perfection in life.” (pp. 395–396)

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for July 7” in Viraha Bhavan:

“All over the world in
ISKCON, devotees go out
on harinama.Some temples
send devotees out once
a week for an hour, and
a few groups go ou

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraAugust 12, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.12: London, Stonehenge, Nottingham, and The North of England
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 12
By Krishna-kripa das
(June 2014, part two)

London, Stonehenge, Nottingham, and The North of England
(Sent from Kostrzyn, Poland, on July 29, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

After the London Ratha-yatra, I continued to do harinama with the World Harinama Party and the local devotees in London for the next week. Then we attended the Stonehenge Solstice Festival when we did a Ratha-yatra and chanted for six hours through a crowd of around 30,000 people. Next I went to Nottingham for three days to encourage my friend Shyamananda Prabhu and do harinama, advertising the Govinda’s restaurant and nama-hatta programs there. Then I did harinamawith Sutapa Prabhu and a party of twenty-five devotees, mostly Pandava Sena youth, along with the World Harinama Party, in the cities near Manchester where we have regularly have programs: Sheffield, Preston, Liverpool, Leeds, and York. The last two days of June I spent in Newcastle doing harinama and giving the Sunday feast lecture there.

I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and letters. I include excerpts from the lectures of Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura compiled in a book called Vaktritavali. I also include excerpts from Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 3, by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I include notes on a recorded lecture by Hridayananda Goswami and notes on classes I heard in London by Candramauli Swami, Vicaru Prabhu, who spoke about his guru, Tamal Krishna Goswami, Murli Manohara Prabhu, Harinamananda Prabhu, and a class I heard in York by Govardhan Devi Dasi with material I had never heard before about the life of Bhaktivinoda Thakura and a class I heard in Manchester by the Scotland-based book distributor, Adhoksaja Prabhu.

Itinerary

July 28–August 3: Kostrzyn (Polish Woodstock)

August 4–7: Czech Padayatra

August 8: Ancient Trance Festival (near Leipzig)

August 9: Leipzig Ratha-yatra

August 10: Ancient Trance Festival

August 11–12: Bratislava

August 13: Prague

August 14–17: Trutnov (Czech Woodstock)

August 18: Czech Farm (Vyasa Puja with Kadamba Kanana Swami)

August 19–22: Paris harinamas

August 23: Rotterdam

August 24: Amsterdam Ratha-yatra

August 25: London

August 26: Nottingham

August 27: Sheffield

August 28: Preston Sacred Sounds

August 29: Liverpool

August 30: Newcastle

August 31: Leeds

September 1: Newcastle

September 2: Newcastle (Radhastami with Bhakti Caitanya Swami)

September 3: Sheffield

September 4: Manchester and Chester

September 5: Dublin (World Holy Name Festival Begins)

September 6: Dublin Ratha-yatra

September 7–11: Irish Harinamas

September 11–mid November: New York

More London Harinamas

Having the World Harinama Party in London for another week was a great boon for harinama program. Often they would do harinama in the morning in addition to the one in the afternoon. Unfortunately because I had proofreading deadline, I could only attend the afternoon one. Jayadev Prabhu, who plays the accordion and is an accomplished singer, usually comes out once a week on Tuesday. But that week, inspired by the presence of the World Harinama Party, he came out twice. He is great at encouraging the onlookers to participate as you can see in these videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWqJGyoae3Q and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMGWJdM7gC4:

Even without the assistance of Jayadev Prabhu, the World Harinama Party was so enthusiastic after hearing the devotees for a while, people would suddenly start dancing, like these schoolchildren did (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UddjYvmMek):

One time the devotees, while singing on the sidewalk, induced people inside a shop to dance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBDQWs6mUe0).

One interesting character who loved to participate in the harinamas is a waiter in the Aberdeen Steak House. Sometimes he would dance to the devotees music inside the restaurant.

Other times he would come outside on the sidewalk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB6kOlC3hN4).

There was a golden man who danced with us (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmrHzM9HNG4).

Also a man, who was dressed in the colors of the British flag, enjoyed dancing with us on a couple occasions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGbibX0AGO0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZlIuNFX_xU):

Sometimes people joined our party for a few minutes, like these girls dancing before us (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2DoKGjLq94):

Jake, on the extreme left of the above picture, who has been coming to our programs in Newcastle for a year of so, stayed an extra few days after Ratha-yatra and came on harinama.

There were many, many people who danced, chanted, and smiled, encountering our harinama party in London.

One young devotee lady, Tatiana, took some video while following our harinama party which gives you a feel for how we were received (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS-OnTDavDE):

The Stonehenge Solstice Festival

This was without a doubt the best Stonehenge Solstice Festival of the five I have attended. One reason was the weather.

It was the first time it was clear enough you could actually see the sun rise, and I think that put everyone in a good mood.

We also had Ratha-yatra, which we did not for two of the last five years because of rain.

We did it from 1:00 to 3:00 a.m. in the morning! I think it is the only Ratha-yatra performed at the time of day, or rather, that time of night.

People are attracted by the opportunity to pull the Jagannatha cart, although often they are a bit intoxicated.

Mahavishnu Swami was there, and his enthusiasm for kirtana boosts the energy level.

I was amazed to see many people, who had never met the devotees before, stay with us for half an hour or even an hour, first listening, then smiling, dancing, and finally chanting along with us. That was truly awesome.

Someone from the TV did a live interview with me. To try to create controversy, they asked about why Hare Krishnas were at a Druid festival. I explained that there is evidence that there was one world culture about five thousand years ago, and different groups separated off from that, so ultimately there is a relationship between the Vedic culture of Krishna consciousness and the Druid one. That was not the most Krishna conscious thing to say but the best I could off the top of my head with no sleep.

At Stonehenge, most people liked the devotees. One man dancing with our Ratha-yatra procession said, as if sharing a realization, “This is all good, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” I replied smiling, “it is all good.” And I recalled Rupa Goswami saying, “Pure devotional service is the beginning of all auspiciousness.” It was wonderful that an apparently ordinary guy could glimpse the truth that Krishna consciousness is all good, or as it is described in the Sanskrit literature, suddha-sattva, pure goodness.

One young man pushing the steel railing of the Ratha cart said, “This is the best steel I have ever touched!”

Bhaktin Erzsebet handed a Solo temple mantra card to a young lady following our chanting party saying, “This is amazing!”

The lady replied affirmatively, “It isamazing!”

One young lady from Bristol, on the right in the above picture, was so happy to see Vishnujana Prabhu and I, who she had seen last March in Rishikesh that she wanted to embrace us.

I went to give her my card, saying I could tell her about all our festivals in the UK, but she said she still had my card from Rishikesh.

People expressed profound appreciation for the free food that Parasurama Prabhu and his staff prepared and distributed. It was beautiful to see.

Some people posted videos of the devotees on YouTube, and you can see how lively the chanting was (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-dy8WaXSdw, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UB7ocQeI18, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJwRcKV1CWY):

All in all, many people were happy to encounter the Hare Krishna devotees at Stonehenge, either once again, or for the first time.

Nottingham Harinamas

Usually the Nottingham devotees do harinama on the third Sunday of the month, but on that day in June most everyone was at the London Ratha-yatra. Thus I suggested to them that they do their monthly harinama on the fourth Sunday when I would be there, and they agreed. We chanted together for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and I completed the rest of my three-hour quota on my own. While our party was going through the town chanting, one old, short, black man loudly protested. We kept chanting, and he came toward us, poking me with his cane. The devotees pacified him, and explained to me that he was drunk. We kept moving, and he did not follow us, but the experience was disconcerting and disturbed my mind the rest of the day. The previous time I came to Nottingham, I also encountered some negativity. Some people consider such negative reactions as a reason to avoid such places, while others consider that such negativity means the places are in greater need of the chanting!

I chanted alone the next two days. One young lady took a picture of me chanting near Old Market Square. I gave her my card and asked her to send the picture to me. Usually less than 20% of such people send you the picture, but she did. She is Lucia Buffa, an amateur photographer, and she has a blog with other pictures, including some ones of a cathedral in Cologne where I once chanted with some friends. She is a vegan, and I encouraged her to come to Govinda’s in Nottingham and tell me how she liked it.

Sheffield Harinama

We started chanting in shops in Sheffield, where one greeting card lady was happy to have us chanting through her shop (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a0gvDvX26c):

Preston Harinama

The Preston harinamas included a lot of processions through shops, including this one at Mc Donalds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TPJ_8HxwGY):

And this one at a clothing shop called Top Shop (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coizKqiSNQY):

Some ladies danced with us in the streets (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP0tS-z8UJ0):

One street musician, a saxophonist, on his cigarette break, played excellently with us (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0PaT53Olmo):

Preston Sacred Sounds

Preston Sacred Sounds was special because Pandava Sena youth were very enthusiastic in kirtana. There were some new local singers.

One such lady, in addition to singing nicely, loved to play the djembe.

I had never seen a mother and son dance so much in kirtana as this enthusiastic pair.

Meg, who met the devotees for the first time on harinama in Liverpool and who came to the program there last month, came all the way from Liverpool to Preston for Sacred Sounds and was really happy she did.

At the end, everyone really got into the chanting and dancing, and it was beautiful to see (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5Jft3-vJ0):

Liverpool Harinama

Meg took a break from work to join our harinama and came back again after her work was over. It was wonderful to see her go from meeting the devotees on harinama to becoming a harinama regular almost immediately. It shows us how important it is to go on harinama because there are always some people out there who are looking for Krishna, and are willing to accept His process of chanting.

Not only did she chant, but she distributed invitations to the Liverpool program.

Leeds Harinama

In Leeds we chanted for almost two hours. Some of the local devotees came out. A couple of them were so inspired they decide to come to York for the evening program there.

In Leeds we chanted in a natural cosmetics shop, and all the employees were happy we were there.

York Harinama

The city center in York is fairly small, and we would keep running into the same people.

Dayananda Swami, who was visiting York for some North UK meetings, joined us.

Some girls took pleasure in dancing to our music two and possibly even three times. We also encountered a natural cosmetic shop in York, and all three employees loved the kirtana, and they also danced around in a circle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyvAONyGwuE).

We even all danced in a circle at one point. I do not recall ever getting such a nice reception in a shop! Thanks to Nikhil Padhiar for the great video! Who would guess that natural cosmetics sellers in The North of England would have a spontaneous attraction to kirtana?

In York Sutapa Prabhu’s party of brahmacaris and Pandava Sena youth distributed all the books they brought and were very happy to see the response of the people there. I think from his good experiences in The North of England, in the future he will come more regularly with the devotees under his care.

Thanks to Preitie and Aji for the photos of York.

To see photos which I have of the above events but did not include in this journal, click on the link below or copy it to your web browser:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPuct7jbrt-4XA&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

Everyone is seeking pleasure but they do not know where to find the actual pleasure which is on the platform of the soul, the platform of consciousness.

If our consciousness is pure at the time of death, we do not have to accept another material body.

As pure soul I am not American, Indian, black, white, cat or dog.

God is omnipotent and thus He can invest His potency in His names.

It is a fact that Lord Jesus Christ is present in His words.

Hearing from Bhagavad gita is the same as hearing from Krishna.

The father will never forget the son, although the son may forget the father.

Even if one does not understand, there is so much power in hearing. Because it is pure transcendental sound, the contamination we have accumulated for millions of lives is washed off. It is hard to give up these material designations, but by this hearing it becomes easy. This is because the material nature becomes slackened, and we become free from passion and ignorance and situated in goodness. Then we become free from hankering and lamentation.

Why are we interested in the Battlefield of Kurukshetra? Because the whole battlefield has become Krishnized.

The hog does not know he is in a nasty condition. He is quite jolly, but we who are situated in a higher status can see.

The real position of the living being is to be the servant of God, but in Bhagavad-gita we see Krishna is driving the chariot of Arjuna, so we should not consider being a servant of God is like being a servant in this world.

We are consciousness, and we are subordinate to the supreme consciousness, in other words, we are eternal servants of God.

The modern philosophers set aside the problems of birth, death, disease, and old age, but this is not human life. Human life is meant to make a solution to these problems.

Pious activities give one wealth, education, aristocracy, and beauty, but when we possess these advantages we still must experience birth, death, diseases, and old age. Therefore we do not care for ordinary pious activities.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam1.3.29 given on October 4, 1972 in Los Angeles:

God is everywhere, but we do not want to see God. That is the only difficulty.

If you follow the principles of devotional service, it is not very difficult to see God and to understand God.

You may not think the God eats, but in Bhagavad-gita (9.26), Krishna says, “I eat.”

from a letter written on September 18, 1972:

“ . . . this sankirtanaor street chanting must go on, it is our most important program. Lord Caitanya’s movement means the sankirtanamovement.”

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

from Vaktritavali (a compilation of notes on his lectures):

[Note: In the month of June, I proofread Vaktritavali, soon to be published by Touchstone Publishing, and I took notes on my favorite parts. I am including one quarter of these notes in four issues of this journal, and this is the second quarter.]

“Everyone in this world is greedy for sense gratification because of bad association, of which they have plenty. When these people speak on religious subjects, their audiences always ask first if there is anything in their religion that will please their senses. They are eager for material enjoyment. The whole world is filled with phrases like ‘my enjoyment,’ ‘my happiness,’ ‘my peace,’ ‘give me,’ ‘give me,’ ‘give me.’ No one thinks even accidentally about Krishna’s sense gratification. The day we understand that our only duty is to serve the master of the senses, on that day we will find our fortune.” (p. 169)

“Everyone and everything in existence should serve the Supreme Personality. No matter what our condition, our only duty is to serve Lord Hari. Either in this world or the next, everyone, including the demigods, human beings, animals, birds, and so on, has no duty other than to serve the supreme eternal Lord. No other activity is natural to the soul because all other objects and tendencies continuously change.” (p. 170)

“The soul has the propensity to engage in five kinds of relationships with Sri Krishna. That is, it is the eternal propensity of the soul to serve Krishna by manifesting five kinds of rasasthrough five kinds of ratis[attachments]. The five rasasare santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and madhura. Santa-rasa is a neutral existence without anything unfavorable. Dasya-rasahas a little affection, so by comparison, it is superior to santa-rasabecause it includes the qualities of santa-rasa. Sakhya-rasais further advanced. In this rasathere is no thorn in the form of reverence. Instead, its main ornament is love and devotion. Vatsalya-rasais superior to sakhya-rasa. This rasahas such thick affection that the worshipable object appears to be under one’s care. Madhura-rasais topmost, and it includes the beauty and greatness of santa, dasya, sakhya, and vatsalya.To serve Sri Krishna with these five kinds of ratis,or types of attachment, without interruption or motivation is the soul’s eternal duty.” (p. 171)

“The phrase ceto-darpana-marjanaindicates the removal of unauthorized philosophical speculation, the cheating propensity, previous anarthas,and all inauspiciousness from the heart. By properly performing krishna-kirtanaall material desires and philosophical misunderstandings are vanquished. By properly performing krishna-kirtanathe blazing forest fire of attachment to karma and jñanaare extinguished. By properly performing krishna-kirtana the lotus of all auspiciousness blossoms in the heart and is as soothing as the cooling rays of the moon. Proper krishna-kirtanais the beloved husband of the wife of transcendental knowledge. For those who chant, it enhances the ocean of bliss at every step, and it bestows on them the ability to relish transcendental nectar. It gives love of God and bestows on the soul the freedom.” (p. 173)

“After many lifetimes a living entity comes to the human form of life, which is rare and temporary yet can bestow spiritual perfection. There is no doubt that serving the Supreme Lord is the only duty of human life. The ultimate goal of the human form of life is to gain knowledge about the Supreme Lord. In this ever-changing world, human beings will either advance toward godly life or degrade themselves and become animals. Without serving the Supreme Lord and remaining subordinate to Him, those temporarily in human bodies can never be benefited.” (p. 181)

“One becomes attracted to serving Sri Caitanya in proportion to how much one hears of His mercy. One who has heard a complete description of that supreme, cognizant personality dedicates his life completely to His service. Sri Caitanyacandra is full in sixteen attributes and qualities. Therefore, if His glorious kathaenters the living beings’ hearts, it will certainly completely attract them to His lotus feet. One who has partially heard caitanya-kathawill dedicate his life only partially to the Lord’s lotus feet. Until people sincerely and constantly engage in Sri Caitanyadeva’s service with body, household, children, wife, mind, speech, and everything else they may have, we can understand that they have not heard the glories of Sri Caitanya completely.” (p. 202)

“Those who have been counted as Gaurasundara’s associates through intimate service are His sons. Atma vai jayate putrah: according to this statement, Sri Gaurasundara spreads the holy name and love of God by appearing in the pure hearts of His associates as their father. Those who are blessed with love of God and are completely under the shelter of the holy name are His sons; they are Sri Gauranga’s own family. The descendants who belong to this Acyuta-gotra have protected and continue to protect the flow Sri Gaurasundara released, spreading the holy name and love of God.” (p. 206)

“This Sri Krishna Caitanyadeva made the universe glorious by preaching about Krishna. He bestowed the beauty of His own devotional service, which is the topmost transcendental mellow and had never been distributed.” (p. 213)

“ . . . the living beings’ transcendental eyes, which are formed by their service-inclined hearts.” (p. 216)

“But the word Krishna is nondifferent from Krishna’s form, qualities, and activities; it is Krishna Himself. If we simply chant the name Krishna, we realize Krishna’s form and spiritually variegated characteristics. Therefore Krishna alone is the supreme truth – the Absolute Truth with an eternal form that can be perceived through spiritualized senses of taste, smell, touch, and so on. He is the object of meditation for the soul. We are meant to serve Him with our transcendental senses. It is He who is to be seen with the eyes, heard with the ears, whose fragrance we inhale with the nose, and whom we touch with the fingers. He is the object of all the senses.” (p. 216)

“We cannot understand Krishna’s most magnanimous pastimes properly when He kills Aghasura, Bakasura, and so on; but in the pastimes of Gaurasundara, who is nondifferent from the son of Nanda, we can understand His magnaminity. As Gaurasundara He is ready to bestow the supreme auspiciousness on fallen atheists like us who have been deceived by material knowledge. He is always eager to give even Krishna Himself, what to speak of others. The greatest charity He wants to award us will allow us to serve Krishna face to face. Let the most magnanimity of the most magnanimous Gaurasundara, which has never before been distributed, be spread all over the world.” (p. 217)

“Sri Gaurasundara is prepared to give that coveted object Krishna to the whole world. But the godless world is living in darkness, thinking it light, and in ignorance, thinking it knowledge.” (p. 217)

“According to Buddha’s followers, Sakyasimha left home with the selfish interest to attain nirvana. Sri Caitanya left home for a different reason. He went to the forest simply to bestow on humanity the eternal treasure of freedom from their eternal poverty. He lacked nothing. Sri Caitanya is the only husband of all women, the only son of all parents, and the only friend and master of all who are related to Him in friendship or servitorship. It is not that His great contribution will remain confined to Bengal and that only the brahmanaswill benefit. The whole world – the people of all castes, creeds, and faiths, the sinful and the pious – and all living beings can give up their pride and accept this greatest of all gifts that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered them. This gift is neither imperfect nor narrow-minded because He Himself is the most magnanimous. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, eternal, and full of knowledge and bliss. He is the Absolute Truth, eternal and cognizant, and He has descended to relieve humankind from their ignorance. He has incarnated to deliver all conditioned souls.” (p. 221)

“May the son of Saci appear in the core of our hearts. He is directly Lord Hari. In His previous incarnations He gave many things, but now He has come to give a wonderful gift He has never awarded before.” (p. 223)

“He [Gaurasundara] awarded the delight of His own devotional service to the living entities. He revealed the difference between the services rendered by devotees in each of the five rasas.To distribute the highest transcendental beauty of His own devotional service, which is extremely rare and has never before been awarded to the desertlike burning hearts of poverty-stricken fallen souls like us, He made His advent in this world.” (p. 224)

“Because the names, forms, qualities, and activities of this world are temporary, and because all mundane beauty is eventually covered by ugliness, the wise do not become entangled in mundane names, forms, qualities, activities, opulence, power, fame, beauty, knowledge, or renunciation. They know the flow of worldly happiness will dry up because we can experience it only with our limited, material senses. The living beings here want more than they deserve. As a result, they lose even what they do deserve.” (p. 225)

“So it is only by the mercy Sri Gaurasundara that we have a full illumination of that rasaat present. The soul can easily attain madhura-rasabecause it manifests along with the soul. You cannot develop it by some artificial process of sadhana.Understanding it is beneficial to all. Such a unique thing the Lord awarded and propagated.” (p. 228)

“Sri Gaurasundara said, ‘The congregational chanting of Krishna’s holy name is a human being’s only duty.’ Krishna-sankirtanais His greatest gift because by participating in krishna-sankirtana,the living beings can attain the treasury of love of God in Vraja, something rarely attained by the best of the demigods, the greatest of sages like Narada, or even the best of devotees like Uddhava.” (p. 228)

“But the Brahman emanates from Krishna, and Krishna is its cause. The attempt to ascertain the cause of the Brahman by the ascending process may currently pass as erudition, but it is actually great foolishness. Such Brahman realization is subject matter for human knowledge, but Sri Gaurasundara said that Sri Krishna alone is the cause of all causes.” (p. 229)

“If we perform true krishna-kirtana,then even people who are fully absorbed in and bewildered by material enjoyment can attain the actual perfection of life. King Prataparudra is the prime example of this. Pure krishna-kirtanawill give liberation even to the attending trees, stones, animals, birds, men, women, and anyone else. The trees, creepers, animals, and birds of Jharikhanda are the prime example of this. It’s only because people are not performing pure krishna-kirtanathat the living beings are not becoming liberated. Gaurasundara came to this world to benefit all living beings, including the trees, animals, and birds as well as the human beings.” (p. 233)

“I do not know if the Bhagavatamverse, sa vai pumsam paro dharmah,is found in any other literature, but by discussing this verse, the desire to practice a narrow sectarianism and an insignificant, deceitful religious synthesis can be destroyed.” (p. 234)

“If while chanting the holy name of Hari someone develops attachment for material life – or if his propensity for material enjoyment increases – we can understand that his chanting is not hari-nama.” (p. 239)

“Sri Gauranga-sundara is the preacher of the Absolute Truth. He explains that the Absolute Truth personally reveals Himself when faced with a fortunate living being’s desire to serve Him.” (p. 240)

“Sri Caitanya’s devotees are always eager to do good for us, but we are ever ready to stop them. Our first obstacle is our gross body and the second our mind.” (p. 240)

“Hari’s holy name can be chanted even while we’re passing stool or urine. The body’s external functions are done out of habit, and they create no bar to chanting the Lord’s holy name. We can chant the holy name when we are asleep, awake, and when we go to bed. We can chant whether we are aristocrats or born in a low family. We can chant the holy name in any condition of life. Everyone, including sudras, outcastes, mlecchas,women, men, boys, youths, and the old, are eligible to chant the holy name. One can chant in a solitary place or congregationally – alone or with many people. One can chant neglectfully or with faith.” (pp. 249–250)

“When an uttama-bhagavataappears in a particular family, one hundred generations before and after him are delivered. When a madhyama-bhagavataappears in a particular family, fourteen generations before and after him are delivered. When a kanistha-bhagavataappears in a particular family, three generations before and after him are delivered.” (p. 253)

“But it is seen in the material world that the devotee who takes birth in a low-class family appears diseased or foolish by material vision. This has great purpose. If ordinary people see that devotees appear only in high families and that they are healthy and educated, they will become discouraged. So to benefit all people, Lord Gaura Krishna has His devotees appear in different classes and then display great compassion toward all fallen and unqualified beings.” (p. 254)

“Although the marginal energy is conditioned by the external energy and so the living beings appear to have material qualities, it does not mean they don’t also hav

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraJuly 29, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.11: Scotland, The North of England, Nottingham, London
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 11
By Krishna-kripa das
(June 2014, part one)

Scotland, The North of England, Nottingham, London
(Sent from Manchester, England, on July 13, 2014)

I started the month of June spending a couple days in the Newcastle area on some very successful harinamas. Then I went to Karuna Bhavan, our eco-farm in Scotland, where I joined Sutapa Prabhu and some new devotees from Bhaktivedanta Manor in doing harinamas and evening programs in Glasgow and Edinburgh. I also went to Sacred Sounds programs at Karuna Bhavan and Findhorn. Then I chanted with friends from the Newcastle area, Scarborough, and Leeds at one of Newcastle’s biggest festivals, an environmental festival, called the Green Festival. Then I spent a couple of days chanting with my friends Toshan Krishna Prabhu and Bhakta Dan in Manchester, one day in Sheffield, and a day in Nottingham, all en route to London for the Ratha-yatra. The World Harinama Party was already in London, and we had some amazing harinamas before and after the Ratha-yatra. London Ratha-yatra was wonderful as always, bringing devotees together from all over the UK, and creating an interest in people from all over the world in Krishna consciousness.

I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures, excerpts from Vaktrtvali, compilation of notes on Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati Thakura’s lectures, by one of his disciples, excerpts from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal, and notes from lectures by Mahavishnu Swami, Dayananda Swami, and a new devotee from Bhaktivedanta Manor.

Itinerary

July 13: Manchester harinama

July 14: Manchester

July 15: Chester

July 16: Sheffield

July 17–18: Manchester harinamas

July 19: Manchester Ratha-yatra

July 20: Prague Ratha-yatra

July 21–27: Baltic Summer Festival in Lithuania
July 28–August 3: Kostrzyn (Polish Woodstock)
August 4: Bratislava
August 5–7: Czech Padayatra
August 8: Ancient Trance Festival (near Leipzig)
August 9: Leipzig Ratha-yatra
August 10: Ancient Trance Festival
August 11–13: Prague

August 14–17: Trutnov (Czech Woodstock)

August 18: Czech Farm / Vyasa Puja

August 19–23: France / Holland

August 24: Amsterdam Ratha-yatra

August 25: London

August 26: Nottingham

August 27: Sheffield

August 28: Preston

August 29: Liverpool

August 30: Newcastle

August 31: Leeds

September 6: Dublin Ratha-yatra

September 11–mid November: New York

Harinama in Newcastle

Sunday, the very next day after the eight-hour kirtana, as I was chanting and walking down the hill from the temple to the Newcastle city center, one guy smiled broadly as I passed him,so I gave him a invitation for ISKCON Newcastle’s public programs. I can’t always tell if people are smiling in approval or in disbelief. From his reaction to getting the invitation, I was sorry to see he was smiling in disbelief. Still, it turned out that he gave that invitation to a friend who came and brought two others to our Sunday feast, and all of them enjoyed dancing in kirtanaand taking prasadam,and they said they’d return for our Wednesday kirtana night!

Sunderland Harinama

Six of my Hare Krishna Newcastle friends greatly pleased me by coming on harinamain Sunderland. It makes such a difference to have a larger party!

Altogether there were seven devotees from seven countries: Ukraine, England, Hungary, Finland, China, India, and the U.S.A.! It reminded me of Srila Prabhupada saying that ISKCON is the real United Nations!

In particular, Kirtida Dasi led a lively kirtana.

Afterward we had kirtana, talked about the holy name, and had dinner at Ramai and VrindaPrabhus’ home in Sunderland, making for very wonderful day.

Kishori reminded us that kids consider all objects exist for oral enjoyment.

Harinamas in Glasgow

When I arrived in Scotland, I found the devotees decided to start their daily harinamas the following day, so before going to Karuna Bhavan, which is forty minutes from Glasgow, I chanted downtown outside a mall under a overhang where I was protected from the rain. On my first day in Glasgow it seemed one of the worst places where I chanted in terms of response, but things picked up the next two days.

One day in Glasgow, one man, who attended programs in Glasgow when the devotees had them regularly, talked with me and bought a Chant and Be Happy from me.

Karuna Bhavan

Tbe devotees had a Sacred Sounds event at Karuna Bhavan itself. At these events, the devotees generally wear contemporary clothes, play contemporary instruments, and sing a variety of mantras and songs glorifying Krishna and His incarnations rather than just chanting Hare Krishna, so people not attached to chanting Hare Krishna yet do not feel so uncomfortable. They invited the woofers (the organic farm workers who live there) as well as their congregation.

Another day Raghunatha Bhatta Prabhu gave me the opportunity to do a question and answer session for the woofers. They were from different places, some as close as Preston in Lancashire, England, and some further away like Florida, South Africa or Australia, and in general, they were open-minded and curious about the philosophy. The girl from Florida, a philosophy major named Alexis, spent a year at Florida State University before transferring to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I told her how we chant at First Friday in Tallahassee, and she remembered waiting in the lines for the Krishna food there and the devotees singing. She also remembered talking to a monk who said he went to Brown University, which was probably me, since I think I am the only one who matches that description there.

I impressed upon her that Bhagavad-gita is such an important book on philosophy that no philosophy student’s bookshelf would be complete without it.

She liked the kirtana in Edinburgh, and talked about visiting Bhaktivedanta Manor during her summer vacation and checking out the Hare Krishna programs in Chapel Hill when she returns to America.

Sometimes the dress of the deities reflects like local culture such as these plaid outfits for Sri Sri Gaura Nitai.

Javat-vasi Prabhu, a humble Vaishnava who likes to chant, cooked many wonderful meals for the devotees, guests, and woofers. Here he chants on his plaid bead bag, another Scottish innovation.

Karuna Bhavan implements different strategies like heating with wood to make the project more environmentally sound. This poster describes them.

I found the devotees friendly, and I enjoyed my stay in Karuna Bhavan and hope to return each year.

Glasgow Sacred Sounds

The Karuna Bhavan devotees, headed by Prabhupada Pran and Mother Vrinda Prabhus, did a sacred sounds event at the University of Glasgow. Both regulars and new people came, and a couple of the Karuna Bhavan woofers. People stayed for quite a well afterward talking with the devotees.

Edinburgh Harinama and Program

One striking thing about our Edinburgh harinama for me was chanting through a large park where three or four girls, perhaps ten or twelve years old, were sipping their sodas on a bench. They were so attracted by the chanting party, they abandoned their drinks and joined our procession, dancing through the rest of the park for ten or fifteen minutes. I would have a taken a picture of them, but I was leading and playing the harmonium at the time.

Another special thing was that two people who met us on harinama came to the evening program that night. Because I like to do three hours of harinama, and we had only done an hour and a half, I decided to do another hour and a half by myself. One person came from my harinama to the program as well. He was someone who had visited Bhaktivedanta Manor but did not know about our regular programs in Edinburgh. It is not every day that three people come to an evening program from harinamas!

At the program, Sutapa Prabhu’s party led some very lively chanting.

One regular took pleasure in playing a big drum.

Several of the woofers from Karuna Bhavan came, and it made me happy to see their enthusiastic participation.

Findhorn Eight-Hour Kirtana

Findhorn is a community in Northern Scotland which I remember reading about in the 1970s, before I became a Hare Krishna devotee. By working with the nature spirits, the residents were able to get unusually high yields of produce. Raghunatha Bhatta Prabhu told me they did a kirtana program there last year, and of all the programs they did it was the most well received, with many people very quickly responding to the chanting by rising to dance spontaneously. Because of my knowledge of the community and Raghunatha’s positive experience, I was eager to attend our eight-hour Sacred Sounds event there.

We drove up to Findhorn in the northwest of Scotland, passing by mountains bearing snow even in June.

One yoga teacher who came with us, got into dancing almost as much as I did. The devotees chanted lots of mantras other than Hare Krishna, saving that best of mantras for last. Unfortunately, I had to leave half way through the program because I wanted to return to Newcastle for the second and final day of the Green Festival, one of our best outreach opportunities each year in Newcastle. Raghunatha Bhatta Prabhu said the final Hare Krishna kirtana was most loved, and some people even cried in ecstasy. I learned to never go to a Sacred Sounds program if I have to leave early and miss the Hare Krishna chanting and the chance to talk with the most favorable people at the end, because those are the best parts for me.

Newcastle Green Festival

I missed chanting at the Green Festival in Newcastle last year as I was visiting my sister in London that weekend, so I really wanted to go this year. I advised my friends in the Newcastle temple to go last year, and they went both days and were very positive about it. This year, my friend, Raghunatha Bhatta Prabhu invited me to an eight-hour kirtana program at Findhorn in Northern Scotland on the Saturday, but I wanted to make sure I could go and chant at the Newcastle Green Festival on Sunday. Turns out Saturday was pouring rain in Newcastle, so I did not miss out. Sunday was also predicted to be a day of rain, but it did not rain until 9:00 p.m., well after the festival was over, by the mercy of the Lord.

Govardhan Dasi and her husband, John, came all way from the Scarborough, two hours away, and joined myself and Bhakti Rasa Prabhu in what turned out to be a six-hour harinama!.

Later a flute player came, and played with us on two different occasions throughout the afternoon.

Preitie and three friends came from Leeds, also two hours away, and other devotees from Newcastle joined us, and we had a good-sized party.

Sometimes people would dance with us.

A very high percentage of people took invitations to our temple programs.

Elina of Latvia, the blond-haired devotee lady in the picture below, really surprised me. She came on harinama for the first time ever in her life in Leeds two weeks ago and liked it so much that she was willing to ride two hours each way in a car to do it again in Newcastle.

We chanted all the way back to the temple.

Thanks to all the devotees who came together to make the Green Festival harinama a success!

One Chinese lady devotee, who does book distribution, visited Newcastle. She would distribute twenty hard bound Srila Prabhupada-lilamritas in a day, as well as other books. It goes to show that if you surrender, you become empowered.

Chanting in Manchester

I chanted in Manchester with my friends, Toshan Krishna and Bhakta Dan Prabhus, who have a set up similar to Rama Raya Prabhu in New York City.

They also sit down, do kirtana, and distribute books, incense, and invitations to the temple.

Govinda Gopal Prabhu, a great mridanga player, who works nearby, would sometimes come and play with them.

Some new people, like the well-dressed man young man on the left, would also come periodically. That man started reading Bhagavad-gita andSrimad-Bhagavatam, and chanting japa as a result of their program.

Chanting in Nottingham

Enroute from Sheffield to London, I decided to visit my brahmacari friend, Shyamanandana Prabhu, who is running the Govinda’s restaurant in Nottingham, and to do harinama in that city and advertise the restaurant at the same time.

Five devotees in that congregation, all but one of their usual harinama crew, were able to come out with me, which is amazing because at midday Thursday most congregational devotees are working. While we chanted together downtown, an Indian man familiar with Bhaktivedanta Manor was happy to learn of our weekly programs in Nottingham.

One little boy was fascinated with the karatalas and did an amazing good job of playing them.

After we chanted an hour together I chanted another half an hour alone. One young man, who had eaten at our restaurant, but preferred other mantras than Hare Krishna, gave me a donation and ate a sandwich with a friend nearby. One middle-aged man came by and stood in front of me yelling nasty things about Hare Krishna at me for a minute or two without letting up. I just kept chanting as I did not want to hear what he was saying. I was at an advantage because I had an amplifier. After he passed me, he called someone on his cell phone and then returned, going in the other direction. Again he yelled at me, and I just kept singing. After he left, a young man who had been passing out invitations to a business just across from me the whole time, and who watched the whole incident, came up and gave me a donation, as if to show he approved of my ignoring the angry rascal, and the young man who had previously given me a donation, smiled as he left and indicated he was happy I did not let the angry man disturb my transcendental vibrations. I would like to spend more time in Nottingham elevating the consciousness of the place and helping promote our restaurant there.

London Harinamas

The World Harinama Party was in London before, during, and after the London Ratha-yatra, and we had lots of wonderful harinamas. Once a month on a Saturday, many devotees from around the UK join to do four hours of harinama in London, and in June that was the Saturday before the Ratha-yatra.

Many, many people danced with the devotees.

Many expressed joy meeting the kirtana party.

Some watched from above.

Some watched from buses.

At Piccadilly Circus, a parade [or carnival, as they say in the UK] called “Jesus Army” passed our harinama. I quickly took a picture.

Apparently one of them stuck out his tongue at us as he passed. I was not intentionally trying to catch that on camera, but it is my only picture of scene, so I share it.

Kings Cross Program

There is a program each Friday at Matchless Gifts in Kings Cross. On the Friday before the Ratha-yatra, Mahavishnu Swami did that program, and there was lively kirtana with lively dancing.

London Ratha-yatra

Lord Jagannatha was not well before the Ratha-yatra, and His altar was decorated with “get well soon” cards.

The enthusiastic London book distributors celebrate the Ratha-yatra season with a mini-marathon called the Ratha-yatra Sprint, where they do increased book distribution for four days.

Here Srila Prabhupada’s altar is decorated with books to remind people of Srila Prabhupada’s desire they be distributed.

London Ratha-yatra is always wonderful, with Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra atop three large carts on a two-hour procession to Trafalgar Square.

The Holland family, consisting of Agi’s Hungarian mom, her husband, Clive, and her son, Mark, came from Chester, all decked out for the festival, as did many others from the Manchester area. Many devotees also came from Newcastle and many other parts of England.

For me these days, dancing for Lord Jagannatha is the focus of the Ratha-yatra procession.

I also carry invitations to the temple, or sometimes to the stage show, to pass out to interested persons I see in the procession.

Thanks to Vishnujana Prabhu for the picture of Lord Jagannatha and Maha Raw for the pictures of me.

Mahavishnu Swami briefly described the philosophy and ended with a sales pitch for the hard cover, abridged Srila Prabhupaada-lilamrita, which they were trying to distribute 1,008 of. He asked people to buy the books right then and there. Unfortunately, there were no books right there at the stage, and so he asked that books be brought. I did not see anyone doing anything to help him, so I went to the book stall and grabbed five books, and he asked the people to raise their hands if they wanted one, and I sold all five just like that. It was nice to be spontaneously engaged in book distribution in that way.

I met a girl who seemed attracted by our program, and I asked her where she was from. I was so surprised when she said, “Newcastle,” which is my spring/summer base and is six hours by bus or three hours by train to the north. I gave her an invitation to our programs there and briefly described them.

As usual, I met other people from around the world, and told them about our programs in their locations. I introduced one Dutch lady to a Dutch lady devotee who was visiting for the festival.

After the Ratha-yatra festival, the World Harinama Party did a very lively hour and a half long harinama back to the temple as you can see in this video (http://youtu.be/dXTyIJee6wU):

It was an amazing day with harinama to the beginning of the Ratha-yatra parade, the chanting in the Ratha-yatra procession itself, chanting at the stage show, and then a harinama back to the temple at the end of the day.

To see the pictures I took but did not include in this blog, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOfsp87SrLCH0AE&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.6 on February 26, 1974, in Calcutta, India:

Unmotivated, uninterrupted devotional service greatly satisfies the body, mind, soul, and Supersoul.

Varnasrama dharma is not spiritual but material, but it marks the beginning of spiritual life. Worship of the Supreme Lord Vishnu is actual spiritual life.

Instead of being satisfied with the fruits and vegetables God has provided, you open slaughterhouses and kill innocent animals. Your life is full of sinful activities, and you want to be happy. That is not possible.

Our Krishna consciousness society is simply teaching people how to love Krishna for then one’s life will be successful.

When you actually become a devotee, whatever is needed will be provided.

from a Ratha-yatra lecture given in San Francisco on June 27, 1971:

“But as spirit soul, our main business is to understand what I am, where from I have come, where I shall go, why I am under the tribulation of threefold miseries of material condition. These questions must be answered. If we do not question, just live like animal.The animal cannot question, neither they can understand the answer, but [in] the human form of life they can question and understand the answer also. In the Vedanta-sutrait is called brahma-jijñasa,inquiring about the Supreme. So that is our prerogative. Please take chance of this human body and try to understand yourself and cleanse your heart from the dirty things by chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

from Vaktrtavali (a compilation of notes on his lectures):

[Note: I proofread Vaktrtavali, soon to be published by Touchstone Publishing, in the month of June and took notes on my favorite parts. I will include one quarter of these notes in this issue of this journal, and include another quarter in each of the next three issues.]

“Real, pure Vaishnavas never nourish or encourage narrow, sectarian mentalities. Without understanding a Vaishnava’s most magnanimous and ideal character, if one considers that Vaishnava to be narrow-minded or sectarian, then it does nothing but expose one’s own narrow-minded, mean mentality.” (p. 15)

“Since the minute conscious living beings’ existence in the material world as demigods or human beings causes them excessive distress, that existence is simply punishment for them. Enjoying in heaven and suffering in hell because of one’s aversion to Hari are both impediments to the happiness they would derive from performing eternal service. For the living beings, both the desire for temporary happiness and the desire to free themselves of distress are simply obstacles on the path to attaining the unlimited and pleasant service to the Supreme Lord.” (p. 18)

“We have been coming here for the last three years. Some of us have come forward to speak the truth after sacrificing everything we had. Still, people are in the same darkness they were in before. They are completely disinterested in their actual advancement. They have time for everything else. They have a taste for everything else, but they have no time to hear the truth. This is because when serving the Absolute Truth there is no opportunity to gratify one’s own senses. In discussions about the Absolute Truth there is no discussion of material enjoyment or liberation. There is only the desire to please that One without a second, that nondual substance; there is only a desire to please Krishna’s senses.” (p. 34)

“It is not that sinful, business-minded people are not disregarding these teachings, but anyone who is inquisitive about the actual truth realizes there is no validity to what those envious, business-minded people have to say.” (p. 35)

“Offenses to the spiritual master and the Vaishnavas is the root of the kirtanafamine: Because people nowadays disrespect the spiritual masters, there is a kirtanafamine. These days, kirtanarefers to kirtanaabout matter, kirtanaabout business, kirtanato accumulate money, women, and fame – in other words, kirtanafor sense gratification. Kirtanais not being performed to please Krishna’s senses or to please Lord Hari. Mahaprabhu called dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments intoxicating, and if these are done to serve Lord Hari, they are the best form of bhajana.Kirtanatoday has fallen into the category of mundane intoxication.” (p. 39)

“There are three kinds of aversion to the Supreme Lord, namely, the endeavor to accumulate wealth, the endeavor to enjoy women, and the endeavor to accumulate name and fame. One should engage his entire body, mind, and senses in the service of the Supreme Lord, and then only will this enjoying mentality go away. Then only will he realize that Krishna is the sole enjoyer and we and everything else in this world are meant for His pleasure.” (pp. 40–41)

“Chanting about Hari is the only way to display mercy toward other beings. There is not – nor can there ever be – a better way to show compassion toward others than by performing krishna-sankirtana.” (p. 41)

“When someone sees a person entering a hillside forest filled with different kinds of trees, he may imagine that person merging with the forest rather than understanding what has actually happened – the person remaining an individual and enjoying the beauty of the individual trees. The actual truth is invisible to the observer: the seer, the process of seeing, and the object being seen have remained intact. Similarly, because people who follow the path of dry argument and see only from the world below Brahmaloka don’t understand the varieties present in Vaikuntha, they imagine the nondual substance as formless.” (p. 44)

“The object of aisvarya-rasais Lord Narayana, husband of Laksmidevi, and the supreme object of madhurya-rasais Lord Krishna. In the thin love of aisvaryaKrishna feels no satisfaction. The followers of aisvarya-rasathink that if they have a mood of love and affection toward the Lord, their service will slacken. This is not a fact. Service with love and affection is more intense and brings one closer to the object of one’s love.” (p. 45)

“Because the Supreme Lord, who is fully sac-cid-ananda, always resides in Nanda’s body, he is also full of bliss, and that is why his name is Nanda.” (p. 47)

“If Sri Gaurasundara’s teachings are preached in Europe, and if the inhabitants of that place ever become fortunate enough to accept them,.they will certainly become astonished.” (Vaktrtavali, pp. 88–89, from an address at Srila Isvara Puri’s birthplace Kumarahatta (Halisahara) on February 2, 1925)

“We can never repay in our unlimited millions of lifetimes even one-hundredth of a portion of the amount of debt we have incurred at Sri Rupa’s lotus feet. Sri Rupa Gosvami Prabhu’s Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu [The Nectar of Devotion] is the sole compass for pure devotional service.” (Vaktrtavali, p. 102, from a lecture in Malda, West Bengal, on February 14, 1925)

“Simplicity and truthfulness are the only identifiers of a brahmana. Only simple-hearted and sincere persons can take shelter of devotional service without duplicity.” (p. 112)

“Those who think there is sense gratification in prema-dharma should understand they are harboring a desire for sense gratification in their hearts.” (p. 117)

“All human beings, who are like co-wives, are servants of Krishna alone. When we understand this, we don’t feel any difficulty and we realize our eternal constitutional form – that is, we realize ourselves as Vaishnavas. Then the natural affection between one Vaishnava and another develops.” (p. 117)

“If we are duplicitous, we can worship for millions of lifetimes, play mridanga for millions of lifetimes, perform kirtana for millions of lifetimes, and try to demonstrate deceit as religion, but while worshiping or playing the mridanga or performing kirtana we will end up as travelers on the path of fruitive activities. We will not develop bhakti.” (p. 119)

“If a person gets a boil and the doctor advises him to slit his throat so he can forever be relieved of the pain, even if the ignorant praise such an act, it is still foolish. To bewilder the demonic, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Buddhadeva and Shiva incarnated as Sankaracarya to teach people to alleviate their distress by destroying themselves. But the most magnanimous Lord Gaurasundara [Caitanya], who shows the kind of compassion that causes no inauspiciousness, did not preach in such an unreasonable way.” (p. 132)

“Sri Vallabhacaryaji Maharaja offered a great service to the world of Vaishnavas, and so the Vaishnavas of the whole world are indebted to him. He properly refuted the arguments of Mayavada philosophy. His Anubhasya commentary on Brahma-sutra is evidence of that.” (p. 142)

“One who has full faith in the Supreme Personality, Krishna, does not separately worship any demigods or goddesses. Rather, he is aware of the Srimad-Bhagavatam verse (4.31.14) that begins yatha taror mula nisecanena tripyanti tat skandha bhujopasakhah: ‘As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs, and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality.’ If we worship incomplete objects, other incomplete objects become envious.” (p. 152)

“The Supreme Lord never bewilders living beings. It is maya who covers them with her covering and throwing potencies. Maya is always ready to bestow the Supreme Lord’s mercy on any being; she only bewilders those who are hesitant to sincerely accept that favor.” (p. 153)

“Other than serving Krishna the Vaishnavas, who are eternal servants of Krishna, have no duties. But because of forgetfulness of Krishna, living beings accept the body as the self and, along with that acceptance, forget they are Krishna’s eternal servants. At that point they rush off to serve maya with their gross and subtle bodies. Although the living beings are by nature Vaishnava, they have the freedom to consider themselves non-Vaishnava.” (p. 153)

“When a living being has been given love of God by Sri Gaurasundara and has therefore become the Lord’s associate, he no longer has any duty other than to distribute love of God. He will remember Sri Gaurasundara’s order, prithivite ache yata nagaradi grama sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama and, as an order carrier, become a transcendental postman like Sri Nityananda and Sri Haridasa. At that time, he will go door to door and beg: bhaja krishna kaha krishna laha krishna nama krishna pita krishna mata krishna dhana prana ‘Say “Krishna,” worship Krishna, and chant Krishna’s names. Krishna is your mother, Krishna is your father, and Krishna is your life and wealth.’” (p. 158)

“ . . . to try to see the superior object with the help of worldly experience, knowledge, and sensual expertise, is called the ascending path. But you cannot touch reality this way. When we use our imagination, the Absolute Truth often appears imaginary – and it awards imaginary knowledge.” (p. 163)

“When sunshine emanates from the sun globe and enters our eyes, there is nothing blocking the sun globe from our eyes. So by looking, we gain direct knowledge of the sun. The sun is far from the earth, and from its own position the sunshine emanates. Therefore there is no distortion or change as the sunshine comes to earth. In the same way, knowledge of the Absolute Truth descends and helps us understand it. This is called the descending path. Only when the Absolute Truth, who is self-manifest and independent, displays His own characteristics in this world without flaw or distortion can we gain actual knowledge. This is the descending path – the path of service to the transcendental Lord.” (p. 163)

“Our mental state also changes at every moment. The mind we have in the morning is different from the mind we have at noon, which is different again from the mind we have in the evening, at night, and by dawn.” (p. 163)

“If the mind is really ‘me,’ then why does the mind remind me what I am not? The mind doesn’t contemplate spirit; it keeps itself engaged in perceiving dead matter. This means the mind is not made up solely of spirit. Since the mind is mixed with matter it is unable to see spirit.” (p. 165)

“The soul’s nature is simply to cultivate a relationship with the Supersoul. The soul has no other propensity. When we misuse the soul’s propensity by becoming attached to objects other than the Complete Whole, the soul’s nature becomes dormant. The soul’s propensity is not lost – it can never be lost and is always active in one way or another – but the soul can only act properly when it cultivates its relationship with the Supersoul.” (p. 166)

“The idea that the spirit’s natural propensity is to live without spiritual variety is nothing but atheism. In the conception of the soul merging with the Supersoul, the soul has no function. The soul is fully spiritual; if the soul’s natural function is denied, then the soul will be destroyed as a result – it will be indistinguishable from a dead stone. We get pleasure by seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and hearing. If the soul is not functioning, and if nothing enjoyable exists, and if there is no enjoyer or act of enjoyment, how can there be any happiness? We are not functioning properly under the three modes of material nature, but when we become transcendental to the modes, we are eternal and fit to enjoy and be enjoyed. If this state is rejected for an inactive state, we will be no better than dead stones.” (p. 167)

“Impersonalism, which is something learned by taking to the ascending path, is simply atheism and cannot be called religion. Rather, it is a way to suppress religion. . . . The soul always searches for the Supersoul.” (p. 168)

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for June 4” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four
devotees dancing and chanting
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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraJuly 13, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.10: The North of England
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 10
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2014, part two)

The North of England
(Sent from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on July 7, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I spent a week based in Manchester, the first three days joining Sutapa Prabhu and his party from Bhaktivedanta Manor and doing harinama in Manchester and Liverpool and attending the first Sheffield Ratha-yatra. After that I did harinama in Manchester with Toshan Krishna Prabhu and Bhakta Dan on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and did harinama and the nama-hatta program in Sheffield on Wednesday. Thursday night we did a successful sacred sounds event in Preston. Friday I joined Raghunatha Bhatta Prabhu and John from Scotland doing harinama in Liverpool and the nama-hatta program there. That weekend I did harinamas and nama-hatta programs in York and Leeds, before returning to the Newcastle area to end the month with a week of harinamas there, and a wonderful eight-hour kirtana, celebrating twelve continuous months of monthly eight-hour kirtanas in Newcastle.

I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures, a selection from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal, notes on a lecture that Mahavishnu Swami gave in Manchester, notes on a recorded lecture by Radhanath Swami, excerpts from an upcoming Back to Godhead magazine, glorification of kirtana from the Preston Sacred Sounds program, and realizations from a Bhakti Vrikshameeting in Newcastle.

Sheffield Ratha-yatra

After 34 years of playing a leading role in the Sheffield nama-hatta, Kay decided it was time to organize the first Sheffield Ratha-yatra, which happened on May 18. Devotees from all over England came for the Ratha-yatra. Mahavishnu Swami told me he was very happy to be there and considered it a wonderful event. Parasurama Prabhu and his crew came with the cart, decorated it, and supplied wonderful prasadam for the event. Giridhari Prabhu and the festival team came. Sutapa Prabhu came with some devotees from the Manor who had been traveling with him. To my surprise, devotees even came all the way from Newcastle, way to the north. Some devotees I had seen at the North UK Retreat two weeks before were there and so were devotees I had seen the previous week at Birmingham 24-hour kirtana as well. It was wonderful to connect with my UK devotee friends I had not seen since last year at these festivals three weeks in a row!

Sutapa Prabhu and his party did harinama for over an hour before the Ratha-yatra, and I passed out invitations.

One man videoed us for over ten minutes!

As I talked to one smiling mom, who our party passed, her daughter, perhaps ten years old, said to me, “Didn’t I see you in York?” I smiled, and said, “Well, it must have been last year because I have not been to York this year.” The kid said it was. I told her I planned to return to York, and asked if she was from there. She said she was from Sheffield, so I encouraged the whole family to come to the Ratha-yatra and the stage show after. It was curious how the girl remembered me from York last year.

Traditionally the cities do not give the Hare Krishnas the best routes for their parades, especially for the first year. At least the place where we pulled the cart was populated by many Sunday shoppers, although not extensive in size. Hopefully, next year we can extend the route to include the busy shopping street where we usually do harinama.

The procession did attract a bit of attention and some passersby stayed for quite a while to watch and to inquire from the devotees what it was all about.

Kanwar and Mariana, who kindly let me stay with them when I visit Sheffield, came to the Ratha-yatra. He stands with me in this photo.

She passed out prasadam to onlookers.

Erzsebet from London is always ready to encourage the onlookers to participate.

Any festival is more festive with Mahavishnu Swami.

Dayananda Swami, a fairly new swami who is originally from Rotherham, practically the next town over, also attended.

At one point, Kay’s daughter, Radha, led with great enthusiasm.

Some people watched us from above.

The Ratha-yatra cart was not permitted to go through the city to the venue for the stage show, so we just had massive harinama instead.

I danced and passed out invitations to the stage show as usual. Thanks to Agi Holland for the picture.

We chanted outside the venue of our stage show for a few minutes after our procession arrived.

Mahavishnu Swami added at lot of enthusiasm to the chanting party.

Kanwar and Mariana, my Sheffield hosts, delighted in the kirtana circle dance.

The stage show was at the Broomhall Centre, the location of our weekly Wednesday evening program in Sheffield.

It featured some lively kirtanas both by Giridhari Prabhu of the festival team and Radha, Kay’s daughter, who has a pleasant, powerful voice and a lot of youthful energy.

Kay, the organizer, is wearing a blue sari, and of the women so attired, is closest to the camera, and Parasurama Prabhu is playing his ukulele in the front to the right.

The guys danced nicely,

and so did the ladies.

Mahavishnu Swami spoke as well. Dayananda Swami answered questions. There were also a couple groups of young Indian dancing girls. Some parts of the program I missed while taking prasadam and talking with my friends.

There was extra prasadam, and Parasurama Prabhu put a table with the pots out by the sidewalk next to the Broomhall Centre, so fortunate passersby could get some and many did.

Five of us did harinama the Wednesday before the Sunday Ratha-yatra, and one person Kay talked to came to the Ratha-yatra and liked it so much he came to the weekly nama hatta program the following Wednesday. Two other people who came to the Ratha-yatra also attended the program the next Wednesday, and one of those, who lives five minutes walk from the Broomhall Centre, came for several weeks afterward.

The first Sheffield Ratha-yatra brought a lot of devotees together from all over England and increased people’s awareness of and interest in Krishna in Sheffield. The next Wednesday after the event, when I did harinama by myself in Sheffield before the weekly program, I found the people much more favorable than usual.

Liverpool Harinamas

Sutapa Prabhu and a party of book distributors from Bhaktivedanta Manor distributed books in Liverpool for four hours and then did harinama for an hour and a half or so. I chanted for some time while they were distributing books, and Phil from Manchester joined me.

One photographer, Glyn Kelly, took some high quality pictures of us and kindly agreed to send them to me. If you like his photography, you may want to see his photo page on Flickr.

When I later joined Sutapa Prabhu and his team our chanting procession encountered a hen party.

Some of the ladies enjoyed dancing with us

and trying to play our instruments.

Later an older man danced with our party.

The next week while I was chanting with a couple friends in Liverpool, one person came up to me and complained I was chanting in the same area as his Gaudiya Math book table. I had noticed the Christian preacher next to me, who did not complain about me, but had not noticed the Gaudiya Math book table. If I had, I would not have chanted near it. He interpreted my behavior as challenging and started blasting the ISKCON GBC and ISKCON devotees. I just wanted to chant Hare Krishna and not enter into a whole discussion with him, so I said, “If you were chanting Hare Krishna on the other side of the street, I would not come up to you and start criticizing your institution and your guru.” Then I went on singing. He went away when he realized that I was not interested in listening to him and that I was not going to stop chanting.

Manchester Harinamas

After the Sheffield Ratha-yatra, Mahavishnu Swami and his party stayed overnight in the Manchester temple. Knowing Mahasvishnu Swami loves harinama, I invited him to do harinama in Manchester before continuing on to Brighton, and he kindly agreed.

I sang by myself before Mahavishnu Swami’s party arrived and met a young Italian lady who had lived in a Hare Krishna ashram for three months in Australia last year. She gave a donation and was very happy to learn of the temple programs in Manchester, her new home.

Mahavishnu Swami led such a lively kirtana!

One boy danced with our party with great enthusiasm.

Then Vidyapati Prabhu, a disciple of Mahavishnu Swami who also plays accordion, sang a joyful kirtana too, and his guru danced.

An Indian Lebara salesman bought water for everyone in our party.

I was wondering how I was going to cover the price of my £13 week bus ticket for Manchester, but Raghunatha Bhatta Prabhu of Bristol, who was with the swami’s party, let me distribute his books and keep the money and as well as the rest of the books, so I got £10 from that on that very day.

Toshan Krishna Prabhu, who spent almost six months with Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party in Union Square Park, set up a similar program in Manchester with our friend from Michigan, Bhakta Dan, who also did much harinama in New York.

They had a little altar, his Gopal deity, books, incense, and a donation box, and they would sit down on a cloth and chant for five or six hours a day. I would join them for three hours, when I was not traveling to Sheffield, Preston, Leeds, or Liverpool.

I would sing part of the time, and the rest of the time dance and invite people, who were obviously somewhat attracted, to the temple programs.

While chanting there in Manchester, I met a young Indian man from Huddersfield, between Manchester and Leeds, but closer to Leeds. I gave him all the details for the Leeds programs, and he surprised me by coming the next Sunday and bringing his friend and his uncle. His uncle bought a Bhagavad-gita from me and gave me a nice donation.

In the course of my travels, I sometimes see things that I have never seen before, like a street musician with a monkey mask playing the drum.

Preston Sacred Sounds Event

Once a month devotees in Preston have a Sacred Sounds event which consists of three hours of chanting and some spiritual food. It is to introduce people who are musically inclined to the chanting of the Vedic mantras, particularly the Hare Krishna mantra. They have some regulars who come every month, and some new people also come.

My friends Toshan Krishna and Bhakta Dan Prabhus, who play in the 24-hour kirtana in Vrindavan and who have been part of the six-hour harinama in New York City’s Union Square, kindly agreed to come and share their enthusiasm for kirtana with the people. Both led attractive tunes and people appreciated.

One lady who came for the first time, learned the mantra, and when the leader gave everyone the chance to lead the chanting of one mantra, she chanted it perfectly. She also got very much into the dancing.

It was a typical late night program that messed up everyone’s schedule, but on the bright side, several people participated enthusiastically, and the one new lady had a very positive introduction to kirtana.

Liverpool Monthly Program

I was surprised to meet at our monthly program in Liverpool one girl named Meg, who had seen the extra harinama that I had attended with Sutapa Prabhu and his devotees from the Manor the previous week.

She had followed the party for some time, talked to one of the local devotees, heard of the monthly program and decided to come the following week. She got there early, helped the devotees cook, bought some japa beads, and stayed late to help straighten up the room. Another new person also came.

One young Oriental lad came for the second time and also stayed to help straighten up the room.

In Liverpool, the university has a meditation newsletter which the devotees’ program is mentioned in, and often people come from that. It was great to see there in Liverpool a program attended by both committed regulars and new people.

York Harinama

I was happy to see that Govardhan Devi Dasi and her husband, John, have increased the size of their party with the addition of Preitie, a young Indian devotee lady with lots of energy, who comes from Leeds to assist them on their Saturday harinamas. Although York is much smaller that Leeds, Liverpool, and Sheffield, the other cities in the north where we do harinama, it is said to be the biggest tourist city in England outside of London itself, and on Saturdays it is busy with national and international tourists. I sang for an hour or so before Govardhan and her husband joined me and then Preitie came later on.

I was surprised to see the enthusiasm of Govardhan and Preitie for singing and dancing in the rain, especially considering Govardhan is senior to me in age.

Thanks to Govardhan’s husband, John, for taking the pictures. He is in the picture below at the Quaker meetinghouse, the venue for our monthly programs in York.

Our altar and our book table there are the most beautiful of all the nama-hattas in The North of England.

The mantra sign, to the right, is also unique.

Leeds Harinama

I was very impressed by the enthusiasm for harinama in Leeds. The weather was either raining or just about to rain for much of the time. All I had in the beginning was a pair of karatalas. My harinama friends, Toshan Krishna and Bhakta Dan Prabhus, who had their own instruments, did not want to continue traveling with me, and the local devotees did not bring any instruments. One young lady from Latvia named Elina, who had recently moved to the Leeds area, but who had not yet attended devotees’ meetings and who had never been on harinama before, decided to come because of attraction to harinama videos she had seen on YouTube. I was worried about the kind of experience she would have because when she joined us there was just me and one or two older ladies. Later things picked up.

Govardhan Dasi saved the day, spontaneously driving an hour and forty minutes from her home in Scarborough, with both a harmonium and a mrdanga, being inspired by the previous day’s harinama in York. Manoharini Radha Dasi engaged many of the ladies in dancing in a pattern and made Elina feel part of the team. John, who has been coming ever since he got an invitation from me last year, and another new devotee man, enthusiastically distributed invitations.

John, here holding the pamphlet I originally gave him, was so enthusiastic in distributing the invitations that although it was raining half the time, he said that it did not feel that two hours had passed. I was very impressed to see the enthusiasm of the Leeds devotees on the rainy harinama. Govardhan indicated that she would be willing to come regularly and do harinama before the Leeds program on the last Sunday of the month, and that would be a great boon for them.

Thanks to Raj Prabhu for taking the pictures of the Leeds harinama.

Newcastle Area Harinamas

I chanted in Newcastle for five days out of the last six days of the month, going out for three hours a day. Almost one hour was spent chanting, coming and going, between the temple and Northumberland Street, a busy shopping street. During that two hours I was on Northumberland, people would give me between £6.40 ($11) and £8.50 ($14.50), and I would give out invitations to the temple and distribute a few books, often Chant and Be Happy. It is so long ago, I cannot remember any special details, except for on the day of the eight-hour kirtana, which I’ll mention later.

The day did not chant in Newcastle, Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu and I had lunch at Bhakti Rasa Prabhu’s house near Hexham. His wife, Kirtida dd made awesome lasagna. Afterward we did harinama in Hexham for an hour.

Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu took this picture of us chanting in front a shop called humorously enough, “Hares of Hexham.”

During the course of the harinama we met a lady who was very happy to see us, having seen the devotees on a harinama in Hexham earlier in the year.

ISKCON Newcastle’s 12^thMonthly Eight-Hour Kirtana

I wasn’t planning to do harinamabefore Hare Krishna Newcastle’s 12th monthly eight-hour kirtana,but sunny Saturdays are rare and I like going out, so I did. On the way to my spot, an older man said, “You a Hare Krishna? Got any books for sale?” I pulled out a soft Gita,saying, “These are £5.” He said, “I just happen to have £5” and bought it. A great start for a great day!

I was very inspired to see the complete dedication of many Newcastle devotees to their monthly eight-hour kirtana.In addition to chanting, these enthusiastic devotees were fully engaged in decorating, cooking, and serving prasadam. A couple Indian youths drove 3½ hours from Birmingham for the event.

Yuka, from Japan, who studied in nearby Durham, where she met the devotees, came all the way from Derby to chant and dance with her old devotees friends.

When I suggested to my Newcastle friends they do a twelve-hour kirtana a year ago, they decided it was more realistic to do an eight-hour one, and they enthusiastically did their first eight-hour kirtanaon the first Ekadasi in June. I had no idea they would appreciate it so much they would make it a regular monthly event and do it for twelve months without fail!

Radhe Shyam Prabhu, one of the main organizers of the event, was our first singer.

I also sang near the beginning. I chanted just half an hour so others would have time to sing.

Kirill, from Russia, played guitar.

Anjali, new from last year, sang beautifully, getting the guys dancing.

Dhananjaya Prabhu, who has been part of ISKCON Newcastle for many years sang, and when he was not singing, he would often play the bass.

In our eight-hour kirtana sometimes the guys danced with great enthusiasm.

Sometimes the ladies were inspired to dance.

Sometimes they swung the kids.

Sometimes everybody danced in jubilation.

Sometimes devotees leaped into the air.

We kept the door to the temple open, hoping to create interest in passersby. Many appreciated from the doorway, and a few came in and stayed one for some time.

One new lady from the street even danced. She brought friends to a Sunday program a month later.

In addition to chanting for eight hours from noon to 8:00 p.m. they have lunch at 3:00 p.m. and dinner at 8:00 p.m.

I was amazed that there were five desserts for lunch, along with quite a number of other preparations.

At the first event last year, there was one meal of four sweets and three other preparations.

This year during my travels in the UK, I mentioned the Newcastle eight-hour kirtana and for the June event, devotees came from Edinburgh and Karuna Bhavan in Scotland, and the two Birmingham devotees returned. Actually when I think about the other temples I go to, even in big cities, it is rare to have an eight-hour kirtana every month. That is an opulence of Newcastle ISKCON and shows the dedication of the Newcastle devotees to kirtana.

Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport to Bhagavad-gita 2.69 that “the sage feels transcendental pleasure in the gradual advancement of spiritual culture.” Here in my spring/summer base in The North of England, I feel pleasure seeing new people coming in touch with the spiritual practice of Krishna consciousness and existing devotees coming to increased levels of enthusiasm for it. All glories to Lord Caitanya’s auspicious sankirtana movement, giving humanity transcendental knowledge and pleasure through the medium of the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord!

The photos I took of these events which I did not use in this journal can be seen by clicking on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal1010?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMSElZvdh_SnHg&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 34:

No one, while remaining on the material platform, should discuss these different descriptions of bhava and anubhava by quoting different statements of transcendental literatures. Such manifestations are displays of the transcendental pleasure potency of the Lord. One should simply try to understand that on the spiritual platform there are many varieties of reciprocal love. Such loving exchanges should never be considered to be material. In the Mahabharata, Udyama-parva, it is warned that things which are inconceivable should not be subjected to arguments. Actually, the transactions of the spiritual world are inconceivable to us in our present state of life. Great liberated souls like Rupa Gosvami and others have tried to give us some hints of transcendental activities in the spiritual world, but on the whole these transactions will remain inconceivable to us at the present moment. Understanding the exchanges of transcendental loving service with Krishna is possible only when one is actually in touch with the pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Madhya 15.120, purport:

“Unless Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu discloses the fact, no one can understand who is actually a great devotee of the Lord engaged in His service. It is therefore said in the Caitanya-caritamrita(Madhya 23.39), tanra vakya, kriya, mudra vijñeha na bujhaya:even the most perfect and learned scholar cannot understand a Vaishnava’s activities. A Vaishnava may be engaged in governmental service or in a professional business so that externally one cannot understand his position. Internally, however, he may be a nitya-siddha Vaishnava—that is, an eternally liberated Vaishnava.”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.32 on August 13, 1974, in Vrindavana, India:

If you execute this devotional service, immediately you become free from the threefold miseries.

Chant Hare Krishna, take prasadam, and work for Krishna. The result is you will go back to Godhead.

Even if there is difficulty, do not give up the association of the devotees.

You can understand Krishna or see Krishna. It is only possible by service.

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 15.237, purport:

“In the Hare Krishna movement, the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, the dancing in ecstasy and the eating of the remnants of food offered to the Lord are very, very important. One may be illiterate or incapable of understanding the philosophy, but if he partakes of these three items, he will certainly be liberated without delay.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 40:

“No one should claim his eternal relationship with Krishna unless he is liberated. In the conditioned state of life, the devotees have to execute the prescribed duties as recommended in the codes of devotional service. When one is mature in devotional service and is a realized soul, he can know his own eternal relationship with Krishna. One should not artificially try to establish some relationship. In the premature stage it is sometimes found that a lusty, conditioned person will artificially try to establish some relationship with Krishna in conjugal love. The result of this is that one becomes prakrita-sahajiya, or one who takes everything very cheaply. Although such persons may be very anxious to establish a relationship with Krishna in conjugal love, their conditioned life in the material world is still most abominable. A person who has actually established his relationship with Krishna can no longer act on the material plane, and his personal character cannot be criticized.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.13.8, purport:

“Temples and monasteries should be constructed for the preaching of spiritual consciousness or Krishna consciousness, not to provide free hotels for persons who are useful for neither material nor spiritual purposes. Temples and monasteries should be strictly off limits to worthless clubs of crazy men. In the Krishna consciousness movement we welcome everyone who agrees at least to follow the movement’s regulative principles—no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating and no gambling. In the temples and monasteries, gatherings of unnecessary, rejected, lazy fellows should be strictly disallowed. The temples and monasteries should be used exclusively by devotees who are serious about spiritual advancement in Krishna consciousness.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.13.9, purport:

“Such a sannyasi is free to accept or reject the marks of sannyasa. His only thought is ‘Where is there an opportunity to spread Krishna consciousness?’ Sometimes the Krishna consciousness movement sends its representative sannyasis to foreign countries where the danda and kamandalu are not very much appreciated. We send our preachers in ordinary dress to introduce our books and philosophy. Our only concern is to attract people to Krishna consciousness. We may do this in the dress of sannyasis or in the regular dress of gentlemen. Our only concern is to spread interest in Krishna consciousness.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for May 16” in Viraha Bhavan:

Today’s drawing shows three
devotees dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
One is a brown-faced woman
and two are young men.
Harinamabrings together
many varieties of people,
and they all get along
amicably and chastely.
They may have different
opinion and moods,
but when they get together
and sing Hare Krishna they are
a unified group.
Harinamais a
great melting pot
where all people
of different backgrounds
mix harmoniously.
This is because beneath
all the external differences
we are all spirit-souls,
servants of Krishna.
In harinamathe
superficial differences
are forgotten and
the spiritual oneness
becomes prominent.

Mahavishnu Swami:

Srila Vyasadeva is the original sankirtana devotee [distributor of transcendental literature]. We are engaged in distributing Srila Vyasadeva’s work.

The Srimad-Bhagavatam convinces us that the Absolute Truth, the source of all energies, is a person.

You are not from any of these places [America, Canada, England, etc.]. Before you were born, where were you? You do not know.
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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraJuly 7, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#10.9: North of England & Birmingham 24-hour Kirtan
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 9
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2014, part one)

The North of England and the Birmingham Twenty-four Kirtan
(Sent from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on May 26, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I traveled with Janananda Swami and Bhakta Pasya from Amsterdam to Manchester, where I did harinama for three days. Next I went to the North UK Retreat in Uttoxeter, with special guests Candramauli Swami, Janananda Goswami, and Dayananda Swami. There I saw many friends I had not seen since last year. Then I spent four days in the Newcastle area, chanting in Newcastle three days and once in Sunderland. Next I went to Birmingham Twenty-four Hour Kirtan for a couple days. After Birmingham, I spent two days with Janananda Goswami in Newcastle, culminating in Nrsimha Caturdasi, with three hours of harinama. My friends from America, Toshan Krishna Prabhu (formerly Trevor) and Bhakta Dan joined us then, and the next day we traveled to do harinamas and nama-hattas in Sheffield and Preston.

As usual I have notes on Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures and Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal, Viraha Bhavan. Candramauli Swami, Janananda Swami, and Dayananda Swami shared a lot of wisdom with us at the North UK Retreat which was very inspiring, and I share my many notes below. Sacinandana Swami, speaking at the Brimingham Twenty-four Hour Kirtan, shared more inspiration about the holy name. I also have a few notes on a recorded Radhanath Swani lecture.

I would like to thank Janananda Goswami for all his wonderful association and assistance in my service, including providing the illustration on searching for the truth. He takes so much trouble to assist others in their service to Krishna it is most inspiring. Thanks to Gauridas Pandit Prabhu for helping with my travel to York for a future harinama and nama-hatta event.

Itinerary

May 26–June 2: Newcastle area (May 31: 8-hour kirtana, June 1: Sunday lecture)

June 3–6: Scotland harinamas and festivals
June 7: Findhorn 8-hour kirtana

June 8: Newcastle Green Festival harinama

June 9–10: Manchester harinama

June 11: Sheffield?

June 12–21: London (June 15: Ratha-yatra, June 20–21: Stonehenge Solstice Festival) June 22–29: Manchester area nama-hattas with Sutapa Prabhu’s party

June 30–July 12: Newcastle and Manchester area (July 5, 12 : York harinama?)

July 13: Manchester harinamaand Sunday program

July 14–18: Manchester harinamas

July 19: Manchester Ratha-yatra

July 20: Prague Ratha-yatra

July 21–25: Baltic Summer Festival in Lithuania

July 26–27: Warsaw harinamas?

July 28–August 3: Kostrzyn, Poland (Polish Woodstock)

August 4–7: harinamasin Germany or Czech Padayatra

August 8–9: Ancient Trance Festival (near Leipzig)?

August 10: Bratislava?

August 11–12: Bratislava or Prague

August 13: Prague

August 14–17: Trutnov (Czech Woodstock)

August 18–23: France / Holland

August 24: Amsterdam Ratha-yatra

August (last week)–September (first half) – The North of England / Ireland

September (rest) – New York

Harinamas in Manchester

I chanted harinama in Manchester for the first three days of May, with Janananda Goswami joining me one day and Shiv, a prospective disciple of Candramauli Swami who came from Bhaktivedanta Manor to serve him during the North UK Retreat, joining me another day. I was encouraged that one day in just 34 minutes I received enough donations to cover my day ticket on the bus.

Harinama in Uttoxeter

The North UK Retreat was in a small English town called Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, neither of which I had ever heard of before. We were worried that there would be too few people on the street to do harinama because of the smallness of the place, but it was a beautiful sunny day and the horse races were going on, so there were more people out than usual.

Many people took videos of us, including lots of kids.

Raghunatha Bhatta, although distributing pamphlets, fully engaged in dancing enthusiastically.

Devotee ladies danced.

Devotee men swung each other around.

One man invited us into a bar. Janananda Goswami was leading the kirtana, and he brought us in.

We chanted and danced a while in the center of the place, and then on a small stage on the far side.

Many of the guys jumped up and down, danced, and took photos.

Lots of people from the bar watched the devotees and others on the stage.

When Janananda Goswami brought the chanting on the stage to an end, the guy who invited us into the bar, who was standing near him on the stage, shouted to the audience, “Hare Krishna is the best religion in the world!” I had never heard such a positive comment in a bar before. It was amazing.

Later Janananda Goswami explained that generally religious people either ignore the people in the bars or criticize them but rarely do they spend time just being with them in a friendly way.

Our party was rather large for such a small town.

We ended in the lot where our cars were parked.

North UK Retreat

A high point of the North UK Retreat was a 3½-hour standing up kirtana the evening of the last full day.

Kids played instruments on the stage.

Men swung each other around.

The ladies did a chain dance.

Devotees, including the swamis, danced in rows.

Near the end, Janananda Goswami did an impromptu drama, playing the role of Chand Kazi, who broke up Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana parties, himself.

Harinama in Newcastle

Some days in Newcastle I chanted alone, and other days more devotees joined me.

Radhe Shyama Prabhu and Karl joined me one day. A young lady devotee later joined us.

Some curious young ladies danced and played with the drum.

A young boy came by twice on his roller board, smiling and moving with the music as his mom watched with a smile.

Another time Prema Sankirtana Prabhu (right) joined us.

Two friends of Radhe Shyama Prabhu from his work came by.

The young man proved to be an able percussionist.

Harinama in Sunderland

I always meet nice people in Sunderland, which Janananda Goswami refers to as Shyamsunderland, and which, of the cities surrounding Newcastle, is largest in size.

After I chanted over two hours by myself, Janananda Goswami and his disciple, Prema Sankirtana Prabhu joined me.

We met a couple outside a bar, and Janananda Goswami and Prema Sankirtana Prabhu swung them around in circles as I continued playing harmonium and singing.

We had a program at and Vrinda Prabhus’ place, which featured a cake for Eyni’s birthday.

Birmingham Twenty-Four-HourKirtan

The special guests Sacinandana Swami, Kadamba Kanana Swami, and Madhava Prabhu were an inspiration.

Sacinandana Swami urged us to chant consciously desiring to connect with Krishna, which does make a difference.

Kadamba Kanana Swami, dancing to Sacinandana Swami’s kirtana above, sang lively tunes with intensity, getting everyone up dancing. Madhava Prabhu invited people to focus on the holy names in a meditative way, gradually building up the speed of the kirtana. All three are great devotees with realizations to inspire everyone.

The Hare Krishna festival team, originally lead by Tribhuvana Prabhu, and now by Giridhari Prabhu, led an old-fashioned Hare Krishna kirtana that got everyone dancing.

The guys danced.

The girls danced.

Even the meditative Madhava Prabhu danced!

I was surprised to see many devotees I knew from Ireland there, as they do not come every year. I met one devotee, Vidura Prabhu, originally from Ireland, who I knew from Philadelphia in the middle 1980s. I talked with Irish devotees about chanting in cities in Ireland where we do not usually chant during the World Holy Name Festival (September 5 to 15). In September, I will probably go to Ireland for many reasons: I probably will fly out of Ireland to go to America as it is usually cheaper, the Dublin Ratha-yatra is usually in September, and I like to spend a certain amount of time chanting with my Irish friends.

Syamananda Prabhu, who I recall from his enthusiastic dancing at the German Kirtan Melas also danced a lot in Birmingham.

Many of my Newcastle friends engaged in dancing too.

I try to participate more each year by sleeping less. This time I had two or three ten- or fifteen-minute naps and a long nap of half an hour. This year the event was on Ekadasi, a day where in India especially, some devotees stay up all night chanting. The temple president had me beat, by fasting from water and food, and staying up all night, which is inconceivable to me. He and I, despite our sleep deprivation were the most enthusiastic dancers in the mangala-arati.

One devotee became overwhelmed by sleep during the kirtana, and demonstrated a novel use for a bead bag while resting in the kirtana hall during Sacinandana Swami’s final kirtana.

Harinama in Sheffield

My friends, Toshan Krishna and Dan Prabhus, and I chanted for an hour or so in Sheffield. We were then joined by Kay, who has run their nama-hattta for decades and Jeff, a long time attender. Then we chanted around the town.

Kay danced and distributed invitations.

Jeff led, accompanied by Dan on drum and Toshan Krishna Prabhu on karatalas.

A girl who had a lot of wine danced to the music.

Jeff talked about Krishna philosophy with curious boys we passed. as we made our way to the venue for our evening program.

For more pictures which I did not include in this blog, click on the link below. The unused pictures appear after the used ones in that album:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal109?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPzYxtD1guOSpgE&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.10.40, purport:

“In Caitanya-caritamrita, in connection with Lord Caitanya’s instructions to Sanatana Gosvami, it is explained that a devotee should externally execute his routine devotional service in a regular way but should always inwardly think of the particular mellow in which he is attracted to the service of the Lord. This constant thought of the Lord makes the devotee eligible to return home, back to Godhead.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 15.106:

“Any devotee who believes that the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord is a pure devotee, even though he may be in the neophyte stage. By his association, others may also become Vaishnavas.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 30:

“Even if devotees are illusioned by some ghastly scene or by any accidental occurrence, they never forget Krishna. Even in the greatest danger they can remember Krishna. This is the benefit of Krishnaconsciousness: even at the time of death, when all the functions of the body become dislocated, the devotee can remember Krishnain his innermost consciousness, and this saves him from falling down into material existence. In this way Krishnaconsciousness immediately takes one from the material platform to the spiritual world.”

“It is stated in the Tenth Canto, Thirty-third Chapter, verse 11, of Srimad-Bhagavatam, ‘Upon seeing that Krishna’sarm was placed on her shoulder, one of the gopisengaged in the rasadance became so ecstatically happy that she kissed Krishnaon His cheek.’ This is an instance of feeling happiness because of achieving a desired goal.”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam1.2.17 given on August 20, 1972, in Los Angeles:

“This vibration of Hare Krishna mantra is so strong that it will benefit anyone who hears. Therefore we are sending sankirtanaparty. They may understand or not understand, they may appreciate or not appreciate, we are forcing them to become pious simply by hearing this Hare Krishna mantra. It is so nice.”

from Isopansad 13:

“It is said that one result is obtained by worshiping the supreme cause of all causes and that another result is obtained by worshiping what is not supreme. All this is heard from the undisturbed authorities, who clearly explained it.”

from Message of Godhead, Chapter 1:

“The psychological effects of various peoples, places, and times have led us to designate ourselves as Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Congressites, Luddites, Socialists, Bolsheviks, and so forth. Specifically in the field of religion, we have tried to establish many varieties of ephemeral physical and mental arrangements, varieties of denominations, according to various peoples, places, and times. And precisely for this reason, we can envision ourselves ‘changing religions.’ One who is a ‘Hindu’ today may become a ‘Muhammadan’ the next day, or one who is a ‘Muhammadan’ today may become a ‘Christian’ the next day, and so on. But when we attain transcendental knowledge and are established in the actual, eternal religion of the actual living entity—the spirit soul—then and then only can we attain real, undeniable peace, prosperity, and happiness in the world. Until that time, there can be no peace and prosperity for us, because we are not situated on the plane of sanatana-dharma,or the eternal religion of the soul.”

from Bhagavad-gita 2.72, purport:

“There is no difference between the kingdom of God and the devotional service of the Lord. Since both of them are on the absolute plane, to be engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord is to have attained the spiritual kingdom. In the material world there are activities of sense gratification, whereas in the spiritual world there are activities of Krishna consciousness. Attainment of Krishna consciousness even during this life is immediate attainment of Brahman, and one who is situated in Krishna consciousness has certainly already entered into the kingdom of God.”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam1.5.18 on June 22, 1969, in New Vrndavana:

We have just to surrender to Krishna, ‘From this day on I am yours.’ Krishna will do everything else. We just have to use our free will to accept Krishna’s proposal. Just like if you are in a well and someone lowers a rope to pull you out, you just have to grab the rope.

Krishna consciousness is our only business. We should not try for artificial happiness. Whatever comes by the grace of Krishna is sufficient. We should not divert our attention in any other direction.

You may acquire the whole property of West Virginia, but you will still eat four chapatis and sleep in the same six feet of space.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam1.2.17 on October 28, 1972, in Vrndavana:

“You can discover something to kill men but you cannot discover something to save men. That [process which will save men] is Krishna consciousness.”

Sex desire increases our attachment for this world.

If we want to get rid of the dirty things in the heart, we must scrutinizingly hear about Krishna. It does not matter if we do not understand.

If you are arrested, why should you be sorry? Give people in the jail a chance to hear Hare Krishna.

Krishna is within. We do not need to go to the Himalayas to find him.

I cannot get rid of these dirty things in my heart by my own endeavor. But if we are serious to hear, Krishna, who is in our heart, helps.

If we take advantage of this human form of life and simply try to hear about Krishna, then our life is successful.

from Sri Caitanya Caritamrita,Madhya 15.107, purport:

“Out of the nine processes of devotional service, kirtanais very important. Srila Jiva Gosvami therefore instructs that the other processes, such as arcana, vandana, dasya and sakhya,should be executed, but they must be preceded and followed by kirtana,the chanting of the holy name. We have therefore introduced this system in all of our centers. Arcana, arati, bhoga offering, Deity dressing and decoration are all preceded and followed by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya 15.108, purport:

“The more one is freed from material identification, the more one can realize that the spirit soul is qualitatively as good as the Supreme Soul. At such a time, when one is situated on the absolute platform, one can understand that the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are identical. At that stage of realization, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krishna mantra, cannot be identified with any material sound. If one accepts the Hare Krishna maha-mantraas a material vibration, he falls down. One should worship and chant the holy name of the Lord by accepting it as the Lord Himself.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya 15.111, purport:

“Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura comments that serving Vaishnavas is most important for householders. Whether a Vaishnavas is properly initiated or not is not a subject for consideration. One may be initiated and yet contaminated by the Mayavada philosophy, but a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly will not be so contaminated. A properly initiated Vaishnava may be imperfect, but one who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is all-perfect. Although he may apparently be a neophyte, he still has to be considered a pure, unalloyed Vaishnava. It is the duty of the householder to offer respects to such an unalloyed Vaishnava.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 30:

“There is an authoritative statement in the Garuda Purana about mystic yogis who are under the direct shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead: ‘In all three stages of their consciousness—namely wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep—the devotees are absorbed in thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, in their complete absorption in thought of Krishna, they do not sleep.’”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for May 4” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Devotees
who have left Vrndavana to chant
in the city are making a great
sacrifice. Krishna is pleased
with them and is making
Vrndavana in their hearts.”

from “Poem for May 7” in Viraha Bhavan:

“The harinama chanters
are empowered. To a superficial
observer they may look
like ordinary street singers
or religious sectarians.
But they are delivering
the completely transcendental,
potent sound vibration,
the Hare Krishna mantra.
This chant, composed
of the names of Radha and Krishna
is confidential even to
the Vedas, but it has
been made easily
accessible by Lord Caitanya.
He requested His followers to always
chant the holy names.
And He predicted the
day would come when the Name would be heard
in every town and village. Those
who are actually assisting in His
mission are very dear to Him,
and they are making the world auspicious.”

from “Poem for May 11” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four
devotees dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They look beautiful
in a spiritual way.
The harinama devotees
are a wonderful group.
They sacrifice their
lives in the performance
of congregational chanting. They have no
earning occupation but
Krishna maintains them
and supplies what they need.
The Union Square party
had no place to house
their devotees but Krishna
gave them a four-story
opulent building.
He protects them
every day when they
go out in the streets
of Manhattan and perform
their nonviolent, celebrative sankirtana.
He is always protecting them
and is very pleased with their results.”

from “Poem for May 15” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows three
devotees dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They appear blissful
and energetic.
To go out every day
on harinama in
public requires a
great vow and endurance.
It is the austerity
for the Age of Kali.
Devotees who do
it strain their
bodies and minds
in a test of will.
But they are not
relying merely on
their own material
strength. Krishna
gives them spiritual energy.
In fact, thesankirtana
is sheltered by the internal
pleasure-giving potency.
The harinama
devotees are participating
in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, and
He personally gives them the
courage to carry on.”

Candramauli Swami:

More than a place, the spiritual world is a state of consciousness. You have to attain the consciousness of the spiritual world in order to go there.

It is said that the spiritual world has doors only on the inside, or in other words, you have to be let into it.

Home is where everything is natural. When we are traveling, we are always having to make adjustments, but at home everything is provided.

Bhakti is the only process for entering into the spiritual world.

Bhakti is the heart of Krishna. It is the path He advocates.

The material world is where everyone is trying to be number one and not succeeding. It is like a battle where everyone dies.

Souls have the capacity to enjoy unlimitedly, ananda-buddhi vardhanam, when they are situated in their real position of being the eternal servants of Krishna.

People sometimes change their identity, but they just change their present false identity to another false identity,

Krishna Himself is all aspects of Himself that are nondifferent from Himself.

Krishna wants our bhakti, our devotion.

Now we can enter into the pure consciousness of the kingdom of God.

Our loving potency is not satisfied until we come in contact with the source of our very being.

Bhakti is simple because it is natural, but it is complicated because we are in an unnatural state.

If we get a little taste of this original nature, there is nothing else that compares to it.

The kingdom of God is our birthright. As long as we stay with Krishna, we will inherit the kingdom of God.

We want happiness that has no limit, but unlimited happiness exists only within Krishna.

As when you come closer to a fire, you feel warm, similarly there are symptoms of one’s approaching the consciousness of the kingdom of God.

Matter is moved by a living being. A computer can do so many things, but someone has to turn it on and someone has to operate it.

We may attracted to someone’s body, but when that person dies, we are not attracted to the dead body.

Why do we need God? Because we are eternally related to Him.

The material energy is always changing. The soul is unchanging. Sages consider matter untruth because it is always changing.

We are never affected by matter although we think we are. It is like being so absorbed in a movie you are affected emotionally by what happens to the characters.

Why do we need God? Because we are in illusion.

Through bhakti we can connect the illusion with its source, God, and thus escape from being illusioned by it.

Srila Prabhupada would say either you can be God conscious or you can suffer.

To go from England to India, you can walk, swim, go by car, or buy an airline ticket, but if you choose the options other than flying, it will be difficult and you most likely will not make it.

Love is easy to understand if you are married. You have to serve the other person for their pleasure and if you lose that mood, the relationship becomes strained or broken. Bhakti is love for God.

To say that something “happens by chance” is to say that we do not know why it happens.

To say animals act by instinct is to say that God is giving direction from within.

When I was watch Niagra Falls it was striking to see the tremendous volume of water crashing over the falls. A child nearby asked his mom, “Who created that?” She replied, “Nature.” A devotee I was with said, “God.” And the mother agreed, “Yes, God.”

Theodesy is trying to figure out what God does things.

The book Why Bad Things Happen to Good People was written by a rabbi whose son died of old age at fourteen-years old. There is a disease which he had that causes your body to age prematurely. His conclusion was God was all good but not all powerful.

After the battle of Kuruksetra, Dhrtarastra asked Krishna if he could tell him why he was born blind and why his hundred sons died. Krishna replied, “Yes. Fifty lives ago you shot a flaming arrow at a family of birds. The hundred baby birds died and the mother was blinded. Dhrtarastra asked why it took fifty lives to get the reaction. Krishna explained that it took him fifty lives to get enough good karma to have a hundred sons.

Q: What is the value of getting the reaction fifty lives later if you cannot remember?

A: You can understand from the scripture why you suffering from reactions.

If we are suffering, to solve the problem generally we go an authority, but unfortunately it is usually the wrong authority.

Chanting Hare Krishna in kirtana and japa is the fountainhead of all spiritual practices. Krishna Himself, as Lord Caitanya, came and taught that and demonstrated that in His

~~own life.~~

Travel Journal#10.8: Dublin, Northern Ireland, London, Holland
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 8
By Krishna-kripa das
(April 2014, part two)

Dublin, Northern Ireland, London, Holland
(Sent from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on May 7, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

After returning to Dublin from India, I did harinama for three days and attended the evening programs at our temple there. The final day we had a nine-hour harinama. Then I went to Govindadvipa, the Krishna island in Northern Ireland, where I got to give the Sunday feast lecture and chant for 3½ hours afterward as part of a extra kirtana program. I did not do harinama in public on Easter Sunday, but because it was three-day holiday weekend in Ireland, many people visited the temple and heard the extra kirtana. On Easter Monday, a bank holiday in Northern Ireland, eleven devotees chanted in Enniskillen, half an hour from Govindadvipa. Then I went to Belfast for three days of harinama and an evening outreach program. Then I took an overnight ferry and bus to London, where I arrived just in time for the monthly Bhagavatam class time harinama. The following night I traveled by ferry and van with Parasurama Prabhu and his party to Amsterdam for the mammoth King’s Day harinama with over a hundred devotees chanting for eight hours or so. Then I joined His Holiness Janananda Goswami’s party and did harinamas and evening programs in the Rotterdam area. The last day of the month I flew with Janananda Goswami and his party from Amsterdam to Manchester, where I did three hours of harinama in the late afternoon. Actually I am becoming tired just recalling all the traveling, but there were many fulfilling devotional experiences.

I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal. I share many, many notes on Janananda Goswami’s lectures in Holland. I share notes on a japa seminar by Tulasi Priya Prabhu, a senior devotee in the Irish Yatra. I share notes from the speeches of several devotees at an outreach program in Belfast and comments by some participants.

Thanks to Gopalacarya Prabhu (Govindadvipa), Kevin (Govindadvipa), Premarnava Prabhu (Dublin), Shelina (Govindadvipa), Syamamayi dd (Belfast), and Bhagavati Dasi (Belfast), and Madhava Gauranga Prabhu (Rotterdam) for their kind donations which allow me to continue traveling and promoting the public congregational chanting of the holy name. Thanks to Vicaru Prabhu for the nice pictures of the harinama in London.

Itinerary

May 7–9: Newcastle area

May 10–11: Birmingham 24-hour kirtana

May 12–13: Newcastle

May 14: Sheffield harinama and nama-hatta program

May 15: Preston harinama and nama-hatta program

May 16: Manchester harinama / Leeds evening program

May 17: Manchester

May 18: Sheffield Ratha-yatra

May 19–20: Manchester harinamas

May 21: Sheffield kirtana night

May 22: Preston kirtana night

May 23: Liverpool evening program

May 24: York harinama and program

May 25: Leeds harinama and program

May 26–June 2: Newcastle area (May 31: 8-hour kirtana, June 1: Sunday lecture)

June 3–6: Scotland

June 7–8: Newcastle Green Festival harinama

June 9–10: Newcastle area harinama

June 11: Sheffield?

June 12–21: London (June 15: Ratha-yatra, June 20–21: Stonehenge Solstice Festival)

June 22–29: Manchester area nama-hattas with Sutapa Prabhu’s party

June 30–July 11: Newcastle area

July 12: York?

July 13: Manchester harinama and Sunday program

July 14–18: Manchester

July 19: Manchester Ratha-yatra

July 20: Prague Ratha-yatra

July 21–25: Baltic Summer Festival in Lithuania

July 26–27: Warsaw harinamas?

July 28–August 3: Kostrzyn (Polish Woodstock)

August 4–7: harinamas in Germany or Czech Padayatra

August 8–9: Ancient Trance Festival (near Leipzig)?

August 10: Bratislava?

August 11–12: Bratislava or Prague

August 13: Prague

August 14–17: Trutnov (Czech Woodstock)

August 18–23: France / Holland

August 24: Amsterdam Ratha-yatra

August (last week)–September (first half) – The North of England / Ireland

September (rest) – New York

Harinamas in Dublin

The day I arrived from India, Ananta Nitai Prabhu and I did harinama for about an hour and a half. Then I attended the Thursday evening program and was happy to see they have some enthusiastic regulars who love kirtana there, some I recalled from before.

The next day, Premarnava Prabhu, Bhakta John, and a couple of devotees who work at Govinda’s chanted with us.

That Saturday we had the nine-hour harinama.

We arranged a number of amplifiers for its duration.

At least eleven devotees participated at least some of the time, many visible in these photos.

Premarnava Prabhu, playing the drum above, chanted for over eight hours. Nanda Kumar Prabhu, front and center, who was recovering from a flight from India, must have chanted about five hours, much longer than usual.

Most amazing for me was Eleanora, who has just been coming around for a few weeks. She had never been on harinama before. Judging from her gray hair, she must have been at least fifty years old. She was the only person who was on time. I was five minutes late myself. She stayed out for almost five hours, taking a break once to get something to drink. She had a wonderful time, chanting, clapping, and dancing. I saw it as evidence for how universal harinama is.If anyone is serious to take the trouble to go on harinama, the holy name is willing to reciprocate and bless that person with a wonderful joyful experience.

Many, many, people danced with us.

Even this dog sculptor moved with the music..

Some danced in the distance as we passed.

At Temple Bar, three musicians played with us.

Govindadvipa, the Krishna Island in Northern Ireland

Govindadvipa is special because of the beautiful Radha-Govinda deities.

In descriptions of Krishna’s abode, Goloka Vrndavana, in the spiritual world, animals such as deer and peacocks are found, and these animals can be found at Govindadvipa as well.

There we did extra kirtana on Easter Sunday,

both outside the temple,

and within it.

Harinama in Enniskillen

No more than half an hour from Govindadvipa is Enniskillen, the largest nearby town in Northern Ireland. On Easter Monday, a bank holiday in Northern Ireland, eleven devotees chanted there for two hours near lunch time.

One nice devotee lady, Karunesvari dd, who plays the harmonium, did an excellent job singing much of the time.

My friends Kevin and Shelina, who I met doing Bhakti-sastri in Mayapur, came out with their son, Tukarama, demonstrating that harinama can be a family affair.

Harinama in Belfast

I did harinama in Belfast for three days.

The first day it was just Bhagavati Dasi and myself, until Damayanti dd, who happened to be in the area, walked by, and joined us, playing the karatalas. We chanted in an area called Victoria Square, in front an abandoned shop, where there was an alcove protecting us from the intermittent rain.

In Belfast, in general, it is the kids who are most attracted by the harinamas.

A teenage girl, walking with a group of friends, smiled as she glanced at our harinama party, moving her hands in time with the music. As she passed in front of us, she said, “I can feel it!”

During the course of the harinama, a boy donated a Pepsi and a girl donated a fruit drink. At the day’s end, we chanted to Poundworld, and I went to the closest cashier, setting the Pepsi on the counter and saying, “Didn’t realize this had caffeine in it. Can I trade it for something else?” Thus I traded the Pepsi for half a liter of sparkling water and 10 pence, both of which we used in the Lord’s service!

After chanting for over two and a half hours, we walked to our evening outreach event, a meeting of a group of Belfast seekers, called Connected Awakening, where we were the guest speakers. As we made our way through the streets, I sang a lively Hare Krishna tune from Lokanath Swami’s Eternal Bliss album. There is a pause in the tune after the phrase “Hare Hare,” each time it occurs, and a group of three kids, who heard us singing, would spontaneously shout “Hare” during that pause and raise their hands in the air with great delight. This continued for several mantras our until our paths diverged.

The Connected Awakening people listened respectfully in the first kirtana and chanted and danced in the second one. It was wonderful to see their participation.

The second day on harinama, for part of the time we had five people, with Syamamayi dd, Caitanya Candrodaya Prabhu, and Bhakta Alex from Slovenia, joining me and Bhagavati Dasi.

The third day it was Nitai Prabhu, Syamamayi dd, and Bhakta Alex.

Syamamayi dd was reminded of her love for harinama and is enthusiastic to come out more often. She and other devotees talked about creating a special kirtana and prasadam event for the Belfast youth at a venue downtown, and she began searching for a venue.

A very pregnant lady on the boat from Ireland to England asked me to say a prayer for her. She said she had to see her relatives in England but had to return to Ireland to have the baby. She did not want to go into labor before returning to Ireland. I said I would say a prayer. I offered a common prayer to Lord Caitanya and asked Him to fulfill her desire and increase her devotion for Him.

Harinama in London

The last Friday of the month at ISKCON London the devotees do harinama, chanting in procession on Oxford Street instead of Bhagavatamclass. By Krishna’s mercy I arrived at the temple via an overnight ferry and bus from Dublin that was an hour and a half early, just five minutes before the harinama started!!!

I led for the beginning.

Later Murli Manohar Prabhu, the head pujari and a senior brahmacari, led a very lively kirtana.

I was so happy Krishna made that arrangement for me to arrive just in time for the harinama.

Harinamas in Holland

As I have done since 2009, I chanted in the King’s Day (formerly Queen’s Day) harinama in Amsterdam. As usual Kadamba Kanana Swami brought three busloads of devotees from Radhadesh, many from his Vyasa Puja festival, to join the Dutch Hare Krishna devotees in chanting for about eight hours on the streets of Amsterdam for King’s Day, celebrated on April 26.

Kadamba Kanana Swami, originally from Holland, was our leader.

Parasurama Prabhu, traveled from the UK, with eleven devotees, and his wonderful harinama rickshaw, with his Gaura Nitai deities and a powerful sound system, that added a lot to the event. In the above picture, he is coming out of a museum building.

Many, many people danced with us.

Sometimes the dancers formed a bridge of pairs of people holding hands, and then the pairs went under the bridge, coming out, and adding themselves to the end of the bridge. Both the devotees and people from the crowd took part in this.

Sometimes rows of people danced.

Sometimes a chain of dancers snaked through the crowd.

One man danced on a roof.

Some devotees would swing the people around.

One devotee lady taught three happy girls to chant the mantra, which they read from a card.

His Holiness Janananda Goswami was so enthusiastic that after chanting at King’s Day in Amsterdam till 4:00 p.m., he wanted to return to Rotterdam and do harinama there! On that Rotterdam harinama,one girl named Vera danced with us, bought a book and took an invitation to their monthly Sunday program. Vera bought a friend, Dana, to that program and they stayed the whole time and then came on harinama with us afterward for over two hours! It was truly amazing to witness such participation from very new people!

Between a lunch program and evening program we did a harinama for almost an hour and a half in a small suburb on the north side of Rotterdam named Hillegersberg. We encountered two groups of children who participated by dancing with us. Janananda Goswami is very good at interacting with the children.

One group was smaller kids.

The other group was bigger kids.

Thanks to Sivananda Sena Prabhu for the nice pictures of them and to his wife, Moksa Lakshmi Devi Dasi for this Facebook video of our harinama with the bigger kids: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10203548444572636

Vera and Dana came to the evening program at Madhava Gauranga Prabhu’s house, and Dana brought her boyfriend, Anthony.

Janandana Goswami led a lively kirtana.

Dana, Anthony, and Vera (from left to right), on the right side of the above photo, all participated beautifully in the chanting and dancing.

I was happy to attain the association of Janananda Goswami and go on harinamas and to evening programs with him.

To see the photos which I did not include in this blog, many of which are from the King’s Day harinama in Amsterdam, click on the link below or copy it to your web browser [note that the unused pictures follow the used pictures in the album]:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal108?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPiYmZS_18iQFw&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.47, purport:

“Whatever manifestations exist, their cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This cannot be understood by so-called silence or by any other hodgepodge method. The supreme cause can be understood only by devotional service, as stated in Bhagavad-gita(bhaktya mam abhijanati[Bg. 18.55]).”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.49:

“Neither the three modes of material nature [sattva-guna, rajo-gunaand tamo-guna], nor the predominating deities controlling these three modes, nor the five gross elements, nor the mind, nor the demigods nor the human beings can understand Your Lordship, for they are all subjected to birth and annihilation. Considering this, the spiritually advanced have taken to devotional service. Such wise men hardly bother with Vedic study. Instead, they engage themselves in practical devotional service.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.49, purport:

“After understanding the Supreme Lord through devotional service, such devotees are no longer interested in studies of the Vedas. Indeed, this is confirmed in the Vedas also. The Vedas say, kim artha vayam adhyeshyamahe kim artha vayam vakahyamahe. What is the use of studying so many Vedic literatures? What is the use of explaining them in different ways? Vayam vakshyamahe. No one needs to study any more Vedic literatures, nor does anyone need to describe them by philosophical speculation.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.10, purport:

“Srila Jiva Gosvami has explained this desirelessness as bhajaniya-parama-purusha-sukha-matrasva-sukhatvam in his Sandarbha. This means that one should feel happy only by experiencing the happiness of the Supreme Lord.”

“In the mundane field such an outlook of doing good to others in the form of society, community, family, country or humanity is a partial manifestation of the same original feeling in which a pure living entity feels happiness by the happiness of the Supreme Lord. Such superb feelings were exhibited by the damsels of Vrajabhumi for the happiness of the Lord. The gopis loved the Lord without any return, and this is the perfect exhibition of the akamah [desireless] spirit.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.10.13, purport:

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says: evam prahladasyamsena sadhana-siddhatvam nitya-siddhatvam ca naradadivaj jneyam.There are two classes of devotees—the sadhana-siddhaand the nitya-siddha. Prahlada Maharaja is a mixed siddha;that is, he is perfect partly because of executing devotional service and partly because of eternal perfection. Thus he is compared to such devotees as Narada. Formerly, Narada Muni was the son of a maidservant, and therefore in his next birth he attained perfection (sadhana-siddhi) because of having executed devotional service. Yet he is also a nitya-siddhabecause he never forgets the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from Radio Shows:

“Why do we settle for so much less? Dream and try to carry out those dreams. Be humble and patient, but don’t be stingy.”

from “Poem for April 28” from Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows three
bhaktas dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They appear to be
having a lot of fun.
Harinamais actually
a recreation only.
It is profoundly
grave spiritual prayer
more holy than
mystic yoga,
practice of austerity,
or study of the Vedas.
It is so powerful that
it pleases Krishna
very much yet
it is performed
in a lighthearted
way, bringing bliss to the chanters.
This is the practice
of harinama.It is
the heaviest yajna
yet the performers do it in joy.”

from “Poem for April 29” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four
devotees dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
Although they are only four
they look like a strong attractive
presence as many devotees
as possible should go out
on harinamatogether.
A large number inharinama
breaks the modes
of nature, and the holy
name becomes dominant
over the local
mundane forms. But
if only four or five
or six go out together, they
can transform the
air space and bring
the spiritual world
by the great chant
for deliverance.
Who knows
the power of harinama,
how it is changing the world for the better
and how it is spreading its influence.
By the will of Krishna anything is possible.”

Janananda Goswami:

That person who feels and loves and who interacts with the mind but is beyond the mind is neither human nor nonhuman.

The human body is suitable for spiritual life while the plant and animal bodies are not so suitable for spiritual life, but unfortunately most people do not use their intelligence for spiritual purposes.

Often people just conceive spiritual to just be something subtle, beyond the body, beyond the intelligence.

When we speaking of loving someone we do not speak of loving people with our brain, but with our heart, not the physical organ of the heart, the region of the heart. [That is said to be the location of the soul, according to the Vedas.]

We do not mind drunkards [who we encounter in our public chanting]; we are drunkards in a different way.

Individual desires may be satisfied but the incessant flow of desires cannot be satisfied.

Although the body and mind are changing, the self, which experiences the changes, is unchanging. To realize that spiritual identity is the goal of spiritual life.

To understand who are we, why we are where we are, and if that is the best place for us, is what we are meant to learn.

Whatever we get, we lose in this world. This experience of termination is not natural for the soul. It is also not natural for us to be ignorant.

People say ignorance is bliss, but if we are ignorance we may suffer in the future because of it.

So much discrimination is there based on the body: nationality, gender, race, etc.

If we enter the room through different doors and we fight over which door we came in through, it is foolish. Similarly it is foolish to fight over bodily differences.

Our modern civilization has no organized program for spiritual life.

In China, you can only believe in reincarnation if you approved by the government.

“What have I done to deserve this?” we think. That is what my mother said when I joined the Hare Krishna movement.

Yoga is not just a practice to feel good, but to link up our actual self with the Supreme Self.

Meditation is not meant to focus on a temporary feature of this material world but to eternally fix the mind on Krishna.

When we hear the vibration of Hare Krishna, it enters our consciousness, and not only purifies us from karma, but satisfies our soul.

Krishna consciousness is not so much about giving things up but adopting things.

Yoga is not just to make us more peaceful or to make life more pleasant but to awaken us to self-realization.

When our heart becomes purified of lust, greed, and anger, we can attain eternal spiritual bliss.

Through bhakti we connect to Krishna directly.

In this world of names we live in, the name and named are not the same. This is not true with Krishna whose name, form, and pastimes are Absolute.

Dancing and chanting does not seem like yoga to most people, but it connects us to Krishna. It is conscious connection with the supreme consciousness, Lord Krishna.

Our real problem is internal not external.

If there is no peace within, there is no peace without.

Q: What is the easiest way to attain success in spiritual perfection?

A: The easiest way is find spiritual teacher who is connected to God and to attain spiritual knowledge from him. Though the guidance of a pure devotee, by ultimate revelation from the Lord within, one attains enlightenment.

We are encouraging people to chant Hare Krishna, but we are happy to see other people chanting any name of God.

The more we connect with the sound vibration, the more we experience the presence of Krishna,

With meditation, if the mind wanders there is no benefit, but if one chants, even if the mind wanders, there is still some benefit.

Meditation does not do much to benefit others but the chanting benefits everyone.

You chant, chant, and chant, and you become enchanted.

Kirtana is so wonderful because even if we are mixed in consciousness, we can still experience some spiritual taste.

We have many songs describing Krishna, how to attain Krishna, and the nature of this world.

There is a process of experiencing the fire in wood, or the taste in water, and other things that cannot be perceived with the eyes. Similarly there is a process for experiencing the soul.

We have a desire, and in time, that desire is facilitated.

We are gradually evolving, and we get to the point of inquiring, “What is the purpose of life? Why am I suffering?” The Supersoul gives us the association so we can broaden our prospective.

The sun removes the fog, but it takes some time, similarly spiritual activities take some time to remove our material darkness.

Being in the material world is like being in the dark or in the fog.

As we may live in an apartment but it does not belong to us, similarly we are living in this body but it does not belong to us. We have a lease on this body, but the owner can cancel it at any time.

One by one, things are changed or decayed by the force of time.

People spend billions of euros to avoid suffering and death.

Lust is when we think we are the enjoyer of that which does not belong to us.

If we just use things for their material purpose, that is lust.

The Rolling Stones are still rolling, still stoned, and still can’t get no satisfaction.

When one has deep inner happiness, external material happiness is very shallow, and one does not depend on it.

Saint Francis was minimally dressed and was walking in the winter in Italy with another monk who kept asking him where he will find happiness. They got to the monastery too late, and the doorman would not let them in. They were freezing and decided to try again. The doorman yelled at them and struck them. The other monk complained, but Francis smiled, and said, “This is real happiness – to not depend on external situations for happiness.”

As long as we are thinking some material adjustment will bring us happiness, then we will never experience real happiness.

Krishna says, “Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bharatas, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.” Krishna does not say to stop the senses, but to regulate the senses.

In Liverpool I got arrested every day for eight days in row. The policeman knew all my data. He would see me and say, “Mr. Norman, I see you. You better get out of here!”

When I was a kid I remember that it was in the news that the archbishop of Argentina was praying that his country’s team would win the world cup. They did win so he must have had some connections. But that is not the way to pray. We are asking God for peanuts, when God can offer us so much more.

By chanting we do not become zombies. Actually, the chanting opens up our perception, even of this world.

Try to hear the chanting carefully; forget about the world.

There was one police officer who worked in a Oxford Street police station who would have his constables arrest us whenever possible. Then when we were brought in, he would have us sing for him. He liked the singing and was stuck in the police station all day.

If we are absorbed in Krishna consciousness, we will not be disturbed. One should be so busy in devotional service, he does not have to worry about lust.

We cannot fight with Kali-yuga, but we can take shelter of the chanting of the holy name.

Lokanath Swami when he gave me sannyasa, the renounced order of life, said, “Body, mind, and words must be engaged in Krishna. Body, mind, and words, BMW. That is the real BMW.”

You can chant when you are in pain, or in the rain, or on a train, or in Spain or Ukraine, in a drain, or even if you are insane.

When we are preparing for an exam, we usually take help someone who knows. Similarly in preparing for death we should take help from someone who knows.

As we cook for our children because of natural affection, similarly we can cook for God.

If you think about it, you have never seen your face, you have only seen an image of your face in a mirror.

The relationships we have in this world are reflections of the real relationships there in the spiritual world, which are the most beautiful relationships.

If you love your boss and you like your job, you may continue working if they stop paying you, but it is unlikely. Thus service in this world is motivated.

We are all looking taste in relationships. In neutral relationships we are satisfied if the relationship is peaceful.

Service is there in all relationships.

We have to learn to relate to each other in this world in such a way that we attain the spiritual world.

Nature, love, energy, etc., come from a source, and we offer it back to that source.

Anyone can read the Bhagavad-gita, but the actual realization is given by the object of realization and that is in response one’s bhakti, or devotion.

When Krishna says, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it,” that does not mean that is all that He will accept, but rather it indicates that anyone can find something to offer Him.

In an orchestra if everyone plays as they wish without considering the conductor it is doubtful the result will be harmonious.

People talk about love of God. They institutionalize it. But it is a reality that becom

Travel Journal#10.7: Mayapur, Mumbai, and Istanbul
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 7
By Krishna-kripa das
(April 2014, part one)

Mayapur, Mumbai, and Istanbul
(Sent from Dover, England, on April 25, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I was very happy to attain Sri Mayapur Dham again after a week in Kolkata. There I did harinama, the congregational chanting of the holy name, for nearly three hours every day for ten days. One day I also chanted in Krishnanagar with a group of devotees from Mayapur. In Mayapur I celebrated Rama Navami and attended part of Jayapataka Swami’s Vyasa Puja ceremony. I took a train to Mumbai, chanting at Bilaspur, Raipur, and Nagpur along the way. In Mumbai I did harinama one day with Juhu devotees and next day with Mira Road devotees. I also spoke at a program glorifying Aindra Prabhu near Mira Road. On my way back to Dublin, I chanted both with a violinist and by myself in the Istanbul airport.

I share very inspiring quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and notes on his lectures. I share excerpts from the journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I include notes on lectures by Jayapataka Swami, Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, Bhakti Purushottama Swami, Bhaktisiddhanta Swami, Murari Krishna Swami, and Janmastami Prabhu.

I want to thank my friend Tara Prabhu for very kindly giving me a liberal donation in Mayapur as well as a couple great lunches featuring vegetables grown in his own garden. I want to thank Gaura Dasa Prabhu from South Africa for kindly letting me stay with him for eleven days in Mayapur and feeding me many healthy and tasty meals. I want to thank Janmastami Prabhu, Jnanagamya Prabhu, Vaikuntha Prabhu, and Dina Bandhu Prabhu for inviting me for meals while in Mayapur.

Thanks to Dina Bandhu Prabhu for the pictures of me on harinama in Mayapur. Thanks to Prema Ras Prabhu for the pictures of me on harinama in Mumbai. Thanks to images.google.com and the original photographers for the pictures of the Mayapur deities. Thanks to Saci Gaurasundara Prabhu for the picture of Gaura Das Prabhu.

Itinerary

April 26: King’s Day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

April 27–30: The Netherlands

May 1–2: Manchester, England

May 3–5: North UK Retreat

May 6–9: Newcastle

May 10–11: Birmingham 24-hour kirtana

May 12–13: Newcastle

May 14: Sheffield

May 15: Preston

May 16–17: Manchester

May 18: Sheffield Ratha-yatra

rest of May–July (first two-thirds): The North of England, London Ratha-yatra, Stonehenge Solstice Festival

July (last third)–August (first two-thirds): Baltic Summer Festival, Polish Woodstock, Czech Woodstock

August (last third)–September (first half): The North of England, Ireland

September (rest): New York

Reflections on Mayapur

Mayapur, in the Nadia District of West Bengal, is the place where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this world. Bhagavad-gita reveals its speaker, Sri Krishna, to be the original form of the Supreme Lord, and confidential parts of the Vedic literature tell how He appears again in the role of His own devotee, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in the beginning of this age of degradation known as Kali, to show how to practice devotional service to the Lord by His own example. He is glorified for giving the highest spiritual perfection krishna-prema, love of Godhead, to people without any spiritual qualifications. Mayapur is similarly merciful. Sleeping in Mayapur is considered as bowing down before the Lord. Eating food grown in Mayapur is described to bless one with love of God. Offenses in Mayapur are not counted against one. Even great saints who gave up everything to reside in Krishna’s land of Vrindavan, end up renouncing Vrindavan to live in Mayapur.

I found it very easy to execute the vow of chanting 16 times around the strings of 108 beads in Mayapur. Even if I made no real endeavor to chant in the morning, if I just chanted as I walked from here to there or while waiting in lines I would easily complete my vow by the end of the day.

In Mayapur I see people I knew when I lived in San Diego, when I lived in Alachua, who I met on the Polish festival tour, who I met in the UK, who I met in other parts of Europe, who I met in other parts of India, and who I met in Mayapur, when I would spent the winter studying there. Some of my friends live there now. I had meals with friends on several occasions.

I stayed with Gaura Dasa Prabhu, from South Africa, who I met and visited in the Manchester area the last two summers and who was very hospitable.

Some Radhanatha Swami disciples involved with the Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai have created a similar, but small facility in Mayapur, in what used to be called the polyclinic in Gaur Nagar, just before you get to our ISKCON temple.

You can see the Vedic Temple of the Planetarium construction progressing as you walk around our Mayapur property. Leaders are asking everyone to sponsor a square foot of the temple for $150 or 7000 rupees.

It is a little unusual that on Lord Rama’s appearance day in Mayapur, they do not have a big feast for all the devotees. I was invited for lunch that day, so I was not very disturbed. I learned for future reference that at the Prabhupada Puspa Samadhi there is a feast for some senior devotees and at Murari Gupta’s Sita-Rama temple there is a feast at 2:00 p.m. for who ever shows up.

The Mayapur devotees were very inspired to decorate the campus for the arrival of Jayapataka Swami with all kinds of artwork made with chalk and flower petals

Amazingly, even the monkeys congregated above the medical dispensary near the gate, as if preparing to greet Jayapataka Swami.

Later they moved above the main gate.

I love looking at the altar of Radha, Madhava, and their eight female associates. It is the Gaudiya Vaishnava understanding that service to the divine couple, Krishna and His beloved consort Radha, is the highest spiritual ecstasy. Krishna and Radha share the joy of Their transcendental love with those who assist Them in Their pastimes. This is depicted on the altar where the eight girlfriends of Radha-Madhava all appear very joyfully engaged in the service of the divine couple. This time I finally memorized all eight of their names. On Krishna’s side of the altar, from left to right, are Tungavidya, Citra, Campakalata, and Lalita, and on Radha’s side of the altar, from left to right, are Visakha, Indulekha, Rangadevi and Sudevi.

Chanting the evening arati prayers in front of the Panca-tattva, Lord Caitanya and His four associates, is also an unforgettable experience – so many people chanting and dancing in front of the personality who inaugurated this practice of chanting and dancing and who we hope to please by that activity.

I look forward to my next visit to Mayapur, planned for February 2016.

Harinamas in Mayapur

Kusha Prabhu, from Africa, playing drum, is in charge of the Mayapur Harinama Party, while Gitanagari Prabhu, playing the harmonium, is there every day to sing and arrange for others to sing.

After leaving Kolkata, I arrived in Mayapur at 3:00 p.m., just in time for harinama, which was from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. Later they shifted from to 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., desiring to avoid some of the heat of the sun, but that proved to be too late, and so they settled on 3:30 to 6:00 p.m.

I was leading the singing near Hulor Ghat, when my friend Dina Bandhu Prabhu from Gainesville, along with Darlina, his wife, came by, returning from shopping in Navadvipa with Tulasirani dd. I was given 45 minutes to sing, but I gave half my time to him to encourage him since I know he plays some lively tunes on the harmonium. The brahmacari drummer from Malayasia liked Dina Bandhu’s singing so much, he encouraged him to sing for the rest of the harinama.

Darlina did a great job of singing the response as Dina Bandhu led. Dina Bandhu fell in love with doing harinama in Mayapur in procession with the Gaura-Nitai deities on our cart and came out every day for the rest of his stay, arriving punctually by 3:00 p.m. each day. I am always encouraging people to go on harinama, at the expense of having to endure the pain of hearing their excuses, so it was a great joy to see Dina Bandhu Prabhu’s spontaneous enthusiasm, which judging from his timeliness, may exceed my own.

Some girls in the playground moved to the music of our chanting party.

The next day we went to the Sita Rama temple at the home of Murari Gupta, the incarnation of Hanuman in Lord Caitanya’s pastimes. We sang for the deities there for a little over an hour.

One the way back, Svarupa Damodar Prabhu, from Ukraine, who I have seen in previous years on Mayapur Harinama Party, led the singing with great delight. He stayed a few more weeks before returning to Ukraine.

The day after that we went to the Jagannatha temple across the Jalangi River from Hulor Ghat. I had to leave early as I promised some devotees I would go on harinama with them in Krishnanagar.

One devotee there was doing a program at his house and wanted to precede it with a harinama around that area of Krishnanagar.

Deities accompanied us on the procession.

The ladies danced.

Mangalavati Citra dd was especially enthusiastic.

The guys danced.

A bunch of Western devotees from Mayapur came, many from Brazil, some from Russia, Czech Republic, Croatia, and a few other places. It took so much time waiting to go and getting there that we were only able to do harinama for an hour and fifteen minutes or so.

Still it was good to go, and many people received the party nicely, like the smiling and clapping motorcycle rider above. We also did kirtana at the home of our host, and honored prasadam there as well.

On Saturdays and Sundays and near the time of Jayapataka Swami’s Vyasa Puja we chanted around our Mayapur campus because it was so crowded there. Often the people are milling around in an unfocused way, and harinama increases their devotional concentration.

Sometimes the people are willing to sing and dance.

The devotee ladies often danced with the pilgrims.

Sometimes we go and chant down by the goshala, the cow barn. They have very nice lassi there for just 20 rupees which is very refreshing, and a tasty way of supporting the cow program.

Sometimes we chanted where the devotees were distributing free prasadam, spiritual food.

After the feast for Jayapataka Swami’s Vyasa Puja, a mother and daughter from Bangalore joined our harinama party. Our amplifier was so loud it woke them up, and they saw our party from the window of their room, and they came down to join us, staying the rest of the afternoon. They considered this harinama was just the ideal activity to be doing during their vacation in Mayapur and were so happy to be a part of it. A shorter girl from Jaipur also joined us the same day, also happy to be on the party. [In Jaipur chanting parties in the streets are not unusual, and once on harinama there I encountered another harinama party.]

The three ladies all sang the response, often into the microphone. They all fell in love with the Mayapur Harinama Party and came every day for the rest of their stay. On my last day, I explained to the mother that every two years, I come to join the party for two months, all the way from America, and that in the same way, she could make it a point to come regularly to Mayapur and do harinama,perhaps a week every year. She liked the idea but said, like a typical Indian wife, that it depended on if her husband let her.

In the evening at our Mayapur campus they had a four-day program under the title “Tribal Care”. Apparently one concern is that people in rural Bengal are becoming converted to Christianity by being given free rice. They asked different devotees to speak. When I spoke I told the story of how a zealous Indian Christian was really pressuring me to accept a Bible on a train in South India. I was trying to think of a way to respond to him, and it occurred to me to say, “I come from America which is a predominantly Christian country and the Christians had twenty years of my life to convince me to give up sinful acts and take shelter of God, but they failed. The Hare Krishnas, however, were successful, so I am going to stick with them.” After telling that story, I glorified the Hare Krishna mantra and how it gives you a higher spiritual experience and gives you the strength to give up self-destructive activities. Some devotees liked what I said. Before the speaking, both the locals and the Westerners chanted. One day Tulasirani dd, who I know from Florida, got to sing once but only for five or ten minutes. She sang a tune which she sang in December at the University of North Florida green and did a good job with it. I got to sing on the stage each day I was there, but never to lead. I felt I got to sing on harinama for forty-five minutes or an hour every day, so I did not really mind. The day when the organizer planned to ask me to lead, I did not come since the Krishnanagar program she also organized went so late it messed up my schedule, and I was not eager to add another event to my life. I am happy just going on the regular Mayapur Harinama Party, keeping up on my reading and blog, and catching up on my promises to devotees.

Chanting on the Train to Mumbai

As usual, I downloaded the list of the stops with their duration for the Jnaneswari Express I took to Mumbai so I could chant on the platform at the longer stops. We arrived at Bilaspur about ten minutes early, a surprise, especially considering we left Howrah eight minutes late. Thus we stayed there at least twenty-five minutes instead of the scheduled fifteen. I sang a three-part Hare Krishna tune on the platform with my harmonium, which sounds a lot better because of the two repairs I had done on it by Master Pankaj in Mayapur. A group of varying size listened.

One man (on the right in front) sang along. I decided to reciprocate with him by giving him a book about Krishna as a gift, but he passed in to some young uniformed men (left), who had been cleaning the train while it was stopped. After their cleaning, they had listened to me sing, and took some video of it. They were happy to get the book. I had them take a photo of my last business card, so they would have my email address to send me the video. You never know if the people will, but the last one who took a picture did.

As I got on the train, someone in my compartment continued singing Hare Krishna to the same tune, and I offered him a book. I asked him, “Hindi or Bangla?” He said, “Bangla,” and I gave him my last Bengali book.

I saw him reading it on two occasions, once aloud to himself as he lay in his side upper berth. I chanted again at Raipur. When I chant and feel awkward about it, I think of how Lord Caitanya predicted and desired that the holy name of Krishna be chanted in every town and village, and my attempt must be pleasing to Him. It is also glorification of the foresight and potency of Caitanya Mahaprabhu that a Westerner is even singing the holy names at all. And it is a reminder that the chanting of the holy name is the dharma of this age, as I told the people at Bilaspura just before my train left.

Just before reaching Nagpur, I met Rohit, a young Indian salesman who works in the area of software. Because he worked sometime in San Francisco, he spoke English beautifully. He was originally from Uttarakhand, literally “the north country” of India, near Haridwar, and appreciated that area where the Ganges flows as a spiritual place. He told me of another place in the north called Nanital, which has many temples which give you a profound spiritual feeling. He was from Pune, and I showed him the recent Back to Godhead with the article on our new temple there, and I promised to send him a copy. He was leaving the train at Nagpur, and I told him I was going to sing for the ten minutes we were scheduled to stop there and I invited him to listen. His train was not for two hours so he agreed. He listened for most of the time, and advised me to learn Hindi to explain to people what I was doing, so they would appreciate it more.

Chanting in Mumbai

My friend Prema Ras Prabhu who started the Friday night program in Gainesville, especially for his friends, Indian IT and engineering students, ended up moving back to Mumbai after graduating and working briefly in America. He kindly asked his harinama friends to arrange some extra harinamas for me in Mumbai. When I arrived in Mumbai, just as when I arrived in Delhi, I got to do some extra harinama as I ended up at a different exit from the train station than the devotee who came to get me anticipated. I always assume the exit near platform one is the best place to meet people, but in India that is not always true. Thus I chanted outside Dadar for 40 minutes, surrounded by leaf sellers, garland sellers, and taxis. The leaf sellers provided a table for my harmonium and seat to sit on. One also let me use his phone, as I had no credit on mine.

Later as the afternoon ended, we chanted twenty minutes in a motor rickshaw to a garden ISKCON Juhu owns by the beach.

We chanted briefly at the entrance to the garden.

Inside the garden we chanted for over an hour.

We had 36 people listening to us in the garden at one point! Five chanted and about ten clapped. Later some young kids chanted and danced with us.

Prema Ras Prabhu proved himself expert at inspiring the kids.

We had five devotees for the end of harinama.

Then after returning to ISKCON Juhu, we chanted near the prasadam distribution and book distribution booths.

There Adbhuta Hari Prabhu, from Croatia, who used to act as personal service of his guru, Sridhara Swami, joined us, sometimes playing mrdanga and sometimes singing and playing the harmonium.

Some people happily danced.

Even some kids danced.

Thus I completed my quota of three hours of public chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra at four different venues in Mumbai, (1) outside the Dadar train station, (2) on the rickshaws to and from the ISKCON garden, (3) at the ISKCON garden, and (4) outside the Juhu temple to the many pilgrims. I felt happy to connect with Prema Ras Prabhu, who I remember from his enthusiasm on our late night Friday harinamas in Gainesville, and thankful to Abhinav Prabhu, who organized harinamas and participated in them in Mumbai.

The second day was not as successful as the first, perhaps because of the absence of Prema Ras. Abhinav thought it would be easier to get the devotees in ISKCON Mira Road to participate, so we caught a ride over there in the milk truck that delivers milk from the devotee farm to both Juhu and Mira Road. That meant missing the second half of the morning program. We planned to do harinama from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., before a home program glorifying Aindra Prabhu, whose appearance day was recently, but it was not such a good plan to start at 5:00 p.m. because that is when lunch prasadam is served, and thus we changed it to 5:30 p.m. I was a little late from a dentist appointment at Bhaktivedanta Hospital, and Abhinav was even later, coming from working in another part of Mumbai. I took lunch at the hospital to save time, but Abhinav had not had lunch, so it was 6:30 p.m. before we were ready, and then we had to round up some more people. We started around 6:45 p.m. and had five or six people. We started from the temple ashram, to the temple itself, and then to the nearby apartment where the home program was to happen.

There we stopped at another devotee apartment on the way. We had someone playing thewhompers and someone dancing, and that was an increase over the previous day. I was amazed we could chant so vigorously outside, and even inside, the apartment building where our evening home program was to be without anyone complaining.

I was to speak to glorify Aindra Prabhu, who is famous for establishing the 24-hour kirtana program in Vrindavan and for having a lot of devotion for Krishna. I like to read something from Srila Prabhupada’s books, and decided to read the symptoms of bhava, ecstatic love of God, from The Nectar of Devotion, as many of them were prominent in the character of Aindra Prabhu. When the devotee returned from the temple with an English copy of The Nectar of Devotion to speak from, I opened it and was surprised and delighted to find that although the book has 51 chapters, it opened to the chapter called “The Character of One in Ecstatic Love”! I decided to talk about the last four of the nine qualities bhava which were described on the very page the book opened to, and to tell how Aindra Prabhu manifested them:

(6) He is always very eager to serve the Lord faithfully. (7) He is very much attached to the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. (8) He is always eager to describe the transcendental qualities of the Lord. (9) He is very pleased to live in a place where the Lord’s pastimes are performed, e.g., Mathura, Vrindavana or Dvaraka. I told my usual stories of Aindra Prabhu (see http://krishnamonk.blogspot.no/2010/07/aindra-prabhu-words-of-appreciation.html), and other people told some as well. We sang some of his popular tunes. People were satisfied with the program. My only lamentation is that it went so long I only slept four hours before my over ten hours of flights to Ireland!

Devotional Experiences from Mumbai to Dublin

As I went through airport security in Mumbai, the Indian man who scanned me asked if I had visited Gujarat. I said no and explained I went to Mayapur, a sacred place of the Hare Krishnas in West Bengal. Later as I gathered up my X-rayed belongings, I asked the man if he was from Gujarat himself, and he said no and asked if I had heard of Haridwar and Rishikesh. I smiled thinking of my pleasant visits to Rishikesh the last two times to India, and told him I had been there and how the Ganges flowing through the mountainous region was so beautiful and how Rishikesh was a sacred place and he was fortunate to have come from there. He asked if I liked the Hindu religion. That is a tricky question to answer for me because there are all kinds of issues involved, so I groped for something simple and truthful to say. “Krishna is a very loving God,” I said with a smile. He replied, also smiling, “Yes, Krishna is a loving God.” Seeing the beat up condition of my harmonium as it emerged from the X-ray machine, a security lady asked if it was broken. I took the opportunity to play a couple of mantras on it to show her it was in fact in working condition. She was pleased, although some of the others guards were a little apprehensive to have me playing it at security.

I placed my harmonium in an empty overhead bin on my Turkish Airlines flight, but mid flight I noticed someone had placed a violin next to it. When we arrived in Istanbul, I opened the bin, and the girl in back of me recognized my instrument as a harmonium. She said likes to jam with her violin and has been getting into more spiritual music recently, even playing violin at bhajans. She expressed it would be wonderful if it were possible to play together at the airport before her next flight. I told her how my friend had played his one-headed drum and chanted in Istanbul on his way to India, so it was a realistic possibility. When we went through security in Istanbul, the lady checking the bags wondered about my harmonium, having never seen one, so I got to play and sing a mantra at security for her, while the violinist waited. The violinist was named Lisa, and she lived in Leipzig. She started playing violin at age 7. She also did meditation and kriya-yoga. She had attended the Ancient Trance festival near Leipzig which I had gone to last year for the first time. I explained that the Hare Krishnas did music and catered vegetarian food there. She had been to a Hare Krishna Diwali festival in Leipzig and remembered how wonderful Krishna food is. I told her how for several years we have had Kirtan Mela, with six days of chanting twelve hours a day, both times in a area near Leipzig. Her flight was an hour before mine so we found her gate and walked most of the way there. It was the time for boarding to begin, but she was adventurous enough to sit down along the airport corridor and get out her violin.

With the scarf around her neck, she removed the dust from her violin’s adventures in India and tuned it up to the “A” key on my harmonium. I played harmonium and sang for ten or fifteen minutes, and she accompanied me on her violin. A few people took pictures.

You could see she was really good with her violin, both in replicating the original tune and in improvising upon it. After we finished she commented on how the chanting had reduced the anxiety of traveling. I thanked her, saying playing music with her was the best part of my day so far, and I gave her my last business card, saying I had videos of the German Kirtan Mela on my blog, and perhaps we could meet and play again in Germany in the summer.

After finding my own gate, which turned out to be the same as hers, I returned to that spot we had chanted before, undisturbed by the authorities, and thinking it a safe place, played and sang by myself for another 45 or 50 minutes. Some more people took pictures, smiled, and gave the old thumbs up. Even the airport employees appreciated. There was no negatively.

To see pictures I took but did not include in this journal, please click on the link below, or copy it to your web browser:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal107?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNa1-ciYuPCP2wE&feat=directlink

Notes on Vyasa Puja Homages for Jayapataka Swami

Bhakti Caru Swami from a letter:

You went to remote Bengal to reach people. You started nama-hatta programs now acclaimed throughout the world. You started Bhakti Vriksa. You are one of the most compassionate leaders in ISKCON, willing to find those who left and bring them back.

Radha Jivan Prabhu:

The saints are more merciful than Hari as they make His teachings nectarean and accessible.

Srila Prabhupada mentioned to the father of Sri Nathaji in Mumbai, who had done a lot of service for him, “Do you see this disciple Jayapataka? I want you to adopt him so he can remain in India. He is a direct associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

Developing Mayapur is his greatest service.

Once Srila Prabhupada said, “Every acaryadid something to develop Mayapur. Bhaktivinoda Thakura found Lord Caitanya’s birthplace and built a temple there. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura made the largest of his 63 temples in Mayapur. I want to thank you all for helping me establishing a temple in Mayapur.” As he said that, he was overcome with heartfelt emotions and could longer speak.

[Radha Jivan offered Jaypataka Swami a gigantic Gita, a gift of Ambarisa Prabhu. He urged Jayapakata Swami to encourage his followers to support the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium on this Vyasa Puja Day, and Jayapakata Swami did.]

Rajendrananda Prabhu:

Jayapataka Swami had to have a stroke for some people to realize his glories.

He is a desire tree, praying for anyone’s advancement who comes to him.

Bhismadeva said, “Eternal time is irreversible otherwise how could there be reverses in the presence of King Yudhisthira, the son of the demigod controlling religion; Bhima, the great fighter with a club; the great bowman Arjuna with his mighty weapon Gandiva; and above all, the Lord, the direct well-wisher of the Pandavas?”

Jayapataka Swami’s stroke was to reveal that his devotional service is truly unmotivated and uninterrupted.

His only wish is we just tell everybody about the maha-mantra.

A Srila Prabhupada disciple who has helped in Mayapur since the 1970s:

Jayapataka Swami is always dynamic, unparalleled and original.

Though traveling around the world, he never stopped looking at Mayapur.

I was an early Mayapur treasurer, and I was the only one who could get him to sign a check. I would just barge in. He would change the topic a few times but then sign it. Recently when I asked when I could meet him, he said, “Just barge in like you used to do.”

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.10, purport:

“Prahlada Maharaja says that one who has been born in a brahmanafamily but is falsely proud of his prestigious position cannot even purify himself, not to speak of his family, whereas if a candala,a lowborn person, is a devotee and has fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord, he can purify his entire family. We have had actual experience of how Americans and Europeans, because of their full Krishna consciousness, have purified their whole families, so much so that a mother of a devotee, at the time of her death, inquired about Krishna with her last breath. Therefore it is theoretically true and has been practically proven that a devotee can give the best service to his family, his community, his society and his nation. The foolish accuse a devotee of following the principle of escapism, but actually the fact is that a devotee is the right person to elevate his family. A devotee engages everything in the service of the Lord, and therefore he is always exalted.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.11, purport:

“By glorifying the Lord constantly, the living entity becomes purified in the core of his heart, and thus he can understand that he does not belong to the material world but is a spirit soul whose actual activity is to advance in Krishna consciousness so that he may become free from the material clutches. . . . In conclusion, the more we engage in Krishna consciousness and render service unto the Lord, the more we benefit. Krishna does not need service from any of us.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.12, purport:

“It is clearly understood that a devotee does not need to be born in a very high family, to be rich, to be aristocratic or to be very beautiful. None of these qualifications will engage one in devotional service. With devotion one should feel, ‘God is great, and I am very small. Therefore my duty is to offer my prayers to the Lord.’ Only on this basis can one understand and render service to the Lord.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.17, purport:

“The entire world is under the illusion that people will be happy by advancing in materialistic measures to counteract the miseries of conditional life, but this attempt will never be successful. Humanity must be trained to engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. That is the purpose of the Krishna consciousness movement. There can be no happiness in changing one’s material conditions, for everywhere there is trouble and misery.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.18, purport:

“Attempts to mitigate the miseries of material existence by material methods will never be successful. One must take to Krishna consciousness to become really happy; otherwise happiness is impossible. One might say that becoming advanced in spiritual life also involves tapasya,voluntary acceptance of some inconvenience. However, such inconvenience is not as dangerous as material attempts to mitigate all miseries.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.22, purport:

“A criminal is put in prison and punished by the government, but the same government, if it likes, can release the criminal from imprisoned life. Similarly, we must know conclusively that our material condition of suffering has been allotted to us by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and if we want to be saved from this suffering, we must appeal to the same controller. Thus one can be saved from this material condition.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.25, purport:

“Our desires cannot be satisfied by illusory thoughts and plans; rather, we have to follow the instructions of Lord Krishna: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja[Bg. 18.66]. Then we shall be happy. Otherwise, in the name of happiness, we shall continue to suffer miserable conditions.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.11.16, purport:

“Aspiring to possess more and more for personal sense gratification is simply ignorance, and this ignorance is conspicuous by its absence from the heart of a brahmanaor Vaishnava.”

from a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.18 given on September 26, 1974 in Calcutta:

By worshiping Krishna, all perfection will be achieved. That is sraddha [faith].

If a woman says any man is OK that is not very good. She should think only my husband is good. That is chastity. Similarly we must be chaste in our relationship with Krishna.

We must associate with sadhus (saints) with unflinching faith in Krishna.

Where is this bhagavata-saptaha[seven-day recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam by professional men] described? I have not seen it in any scripture. . . . Rather it said nityam-bhagavata-sevaya [daily hear the Srimad-Bhagavatam].

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 24:

“Any person who is reliable in all circumstances is called dependable. In this connection Rupa Gosvami says that even the demons were relying upon the dependabi

Travel Journal#10.6: Vrindavan, Bagru, Raya, Kolkata
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 6
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2014, part two)

Vrindavan, Bagru, Raya, Kolkata
(Sent from Mayapur, India, on April 11, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I decided to spend Gaura Purnima, the appearance day of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the divine incarnation who promoted the congregational chanting of the holy name as the best process for self-realization, in Vrindavan, as it is the holy place of Krishna’s childhood pastimes and is considered by Lord Caitanya to be identical with Krishna Himself. On that day I did harinama in front of Krishna-Balaram temple to avoid being splashed with the dyes of Holi, with my friend, Ananta Nitai Prabhu, who I have chanted with in the UK and Ireland, and with five other devotees, who were attracted by the chanting. Abhirama Prabhu, who participates in and does organizational work for Rama Raya Prabhu’s New York City harinama in Union Square invited me to go on harinama in Bagru, Rajasthan, the day after Gaura Purnima. The procession, with Gaura Nitai Deities, pulled on a camel driven cart, attracted many locals to join and follow along. The rest of my days in Vrindavan, I did harinama with Ananta Nitai in front of the Srila Prabhupada’s samadhi, often being joined by Jagannatha Misra Prabhu, who I did harinama with in Mayapur and in Poland. Once Ananta Nitai chanted with me to the celebrated Radha-Damodar temple, and another time, Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu and I did harinama on a rickshaw to a Mahadeva temple and then walking to the Radha Govinda temple. The last full day of my visit, Caitanya-candrodaya and Ananta Nitai Prabhus, who I had done harinamas with in Dublin and Belfast, decided to go to do a harinama parikrama of Govardhan Hill, which took us almost six hours. One day I went to the Food for Life Hospital on the outskirts of Vrndavana and had my teeth cleaned for $9 and a chipped tooth repaired for $5, a better deal than I could find in the West! After leaving Vrindavan, I did a few harinamas on the train and on the platforms of the longer stops as I returned to Bengal. I spent the rest of March in Kolkata at the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre at the request of Hari Sauri Prabhu, organizing nine boxes of Sadaputa Prabhu’s research materials so future devotee scientists could take advantage of them. One day I visited a Vaishnava Ayurvedic doctor, who said I did not have a hernia, or prostate or heart issues, but just weak digestion and low energy, which he gave me medicine for.

I share wonderful notes from lectures and books by Srila Prabhupada, excerpts from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal, and notes on lectures by and conversations with many swamis and Prabhupada disciples in Vrindavan, namely Sivarama Swami, Prahladananda Swami, Danavir Goswami, Bhakti Vijnana Swami, Bhakti Brhad Bhagavatamrita Swami, and Pancagauda and Abhiram Prabhus.

Thanks to Jagannatha Misra Prabhu for his kind donation and his arranging and paying for a place for me to stay in Vrindavan. Thanks to Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu for taking us to Govardhan Hill to do a harinama parikrama,buying me many meals, a wool cadar and a bag to carry my harmonium and my clothes, and taking me to the dentist. Thanks to Abhirama Prabhu for inviting us to participate in his Rajasthani harinama adventure.

Itinerary

April 11–12 – Mayapur
April 13 – Kolkata

April 15–16 – Mumbai

April 17–24 – Dublin, Govindadvipa, Belfast

April 25 – London

April 26 – King’s Day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

April 27–30: The Netherlands

May 1–2: Manchester, England

May 3–5: North UK Retreat

May 6–9: Newcastle

May 10–11: Birmingham 24-hour kirtana

May 12–13: Newcastle

May 17: Sheffield Ratha-yatra

rest of May–July (first two-thirds) – The North of England, London Ratha-yatra, Stonehenge Solstice Festival

July (last third)–August (first two-thirds) – Baltic Summer Festival, Polish Woodstock, Czech Woodstock

August (last third)–September (first half) – The North of England

September (rest) – New York

Gaura Purnima in Vrindavan

Arriving in the Krishna-Balarama temple on Gaura Purnima day, I was happy to see my friend, Pancagauda Prabhu, chanting with the twenty-four hour kirtana party.

Because it was Holi many colorful characters were chanting in the kirtana.

Some youthful Hare Krishnas seemed absorbed in the spirit of Holi, and I asked if I could take their picture. They let me take a photo but did not let me get away without throwing at least a little dye on me!

I heard my friend Ananta Nitai Prabhu, who inspired me to do three twelve-hour harinamas in Dublin, was in Vrindavan and doing harinama every day, but I did not know his phone or place of residence, nor could I find anyone who did. I had given up the chance to do harinama in Rohini, Delhi, with hundreds of people on Gaura Purnima to come to Vrindavan and chant with my friend, but I could not understand how I could find him, so I decided to pray to Radharani expressing my plight. Within the hour, I ran into him.

Senior devotees convinced us it would be folly to chant in the streets on Holi, so we chanted in front of the Krishna-Balaram temple.

A few devotees joined us including Mahabhavi Prabhu from Scandinavia, who had chanted with me in Rishikesh, and who played the one-headed drum.

One older Indian man was happy to dance with us.

Many people watched.

Harinama in Rajasthan

On Gaura Purnima in Vrindavan, I met Abhirama Prabhu, who knew from the New York City harinama. He invited me to a harinama he was organizing about an hour outside Jaipur the next day. I invited my friend, Ananta Nitai Prabhu to come as well, and since he is interested in harinama and adventure, he agreed.

When we started it was still Holi, and many people in the streets were colored with dyes.

Serious people had spray guns to shoot the dye with.

We took a break at a small restaurant owned by Vaishnavas to have a lassi, and we did a little kirtana for them.

We got to Bagru a little after 3:00 p.m. At Bagru, the son of one thakura (landholder) who saw a previous harinama was attracted and offered the use of his father’s fort and farmhouse for devotional events.

First we stopped at the fort.

We saw a little Radha-Krishna temple they have there.

Then we went to the farmhouse and eagerly took some very tasty prasadam after our five-hour trip.

I had been in harinamas with carts bearing deities which were pulled by people, oxen, horses, and also with motorized carts as well.

This, however, was the first time I experienced a camel driven cart. Actually we had two camel driven carts.

One was for the Gaura-Nitai deities.

The other was for the sound system. Since the sound system cart also transported the harmonium and harmonium player, to free up space the devotees hung the speakers on the sides of the body of the camel, underneath its decorated cover.

Abhirama Prabhu, our leader, is behind the sound system cart in this picture.

The organizers made turbans for the devotees to wear.

Here Ananta Nitai Prabhu wears his.

We began at the fort.

We may have had about twenty people in the start of our harinama.

Toward the end, about two hours later, we had about one hundred since many people of all ages from the village followed the procession.

Once I counted ten groups of people watching our party from the buildings we passed.

People would throw flowers from the buildings.

People would clap along.

Devotees distributed prasada[spiritual food] from the back of the deities’ cart.

I noticed an amusing sight I do not recall seeing much before.

We passed three different barber shops, in which all the barbers left their customers partially shaved in their chairs as the barbers themselves watched the chanting party from the doors of their shops, and in at least one case, took the prasadam being distributed.

In a jolly mood, Abhirama Prabhu stood up on one of the carts.

It was a wonderful experience to see so many people in the town appreciate the harinama.

After the harinama we did some more kirtana at the fort for the few people who followed us that far.

The next day people invited us to chant at a very small temple nearby.

There I saw even dogs could not escape the effects of Holi!

Harinama in Raya

The Vrindavan devotees organized a harinama program in a small city northwest of Mathura called Raya.

As we waited in the bus to the program in front of Citrakuta temple, just a block from Krishna-Balaram, one bold monkey leaped up, and holding the frame of the bus window, took the glasses off a devotee lady. People tried unsuccessful to barter with the monkey food in exchange for the glasses, but he took the food in one hand and the glasses in the other.

In Raya, there is a temple of Radharani, where we saw the deity, and took some pakoras before the harinama. Another singing group was there at the temple, but we chanted around the town.

As usual, some people were happy to dance with us.

A person from our group went ahead and gave local vendors flower pedals to throw at the harinama party which they did with great delight.

People watched from the upper floors of buildings.

Devotees distributed sponsored books.

I got to play my harmonium and sing for twenty minutes toward the end which I was happy about. There was prasadam for us in Raya, but our party leaders chose to return to Vrindavan, where B. B. Govinda Swami had sponsored a feast in honor of his mother who had left her body in the beginning of March.

He even served out the feast as well.

Harinamas in Vrindavan

I never really was able to get a regular harinama program together during my previous visits to Vrindavan, so I would chant in the twenty-four hour kirtana, but this time I had at least two harinamasto choose from.

I could go out with a party of twenty or so Russian-speaking devotees, some I knew from the Polish tour, a lively group as you can see from these pictures.

Or I could go out with my friend, Ananta Nitai Prabhu from the UK, who had inspired me to do three 12-hour harinamasin Dublin and who had come to Newcastle to chant with me last August. I decided to chant with my friend, because I like him, it is good to maintain friendships, and he has helped me so much in Ireland, and because I would make more of a difference to a smaller party.

Although traveling over five hours from Bagru, Rajasthan, and arriving after 6 p.m. Ananta Nitai Prabhu and I still wanted to to do harinama in Vrindavan. We chanted for an hour just inside of the Krishna-Balarama gate, and people really reciprocated with us. Some people listened, some clapped, some chanted, some danced, some took photos, some took videos, some gave us maha-prasadam (sanctified food), and some gave us money. I saw it as Krishna being kind upon us for us taking the trouble to go out despite our being tired.

We chanted in the streets to the Radha-Damodar temple one day. Although we were delayed and got lost, we arrived just in time to see the 12:30 p.m. arati [worship ceremony] for the deities.

Another time, Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu and I chanted in a rickshaw as went to visit a temple of Mahadeva, Lord Shiva, who is worshiped as the protector of the dhama [spiritual place]. There a pujari (priest), seeing my harmonium, asked us to sing for the deity. On the way back we stopped at the abandoned Radha Govinda temple which was formerly seven stories high but had the top four stories demolished by a Muslim emperor. We chanted in the large main floor on the ground floor, and the acoustics were great. I could not help but think it would be a great venue for a 12-hour kirtana. That way it could still serve the Lord’s mission, even in its present condition.

Ananta Nitai Prabhu chanted every evening in front of Prabhupada’s Samadhi, and I joined him every day but one.

Once I was accompanying Ananta Nitai Prabhu on the harmonium, and a young boy came by, and I taught him to play the same tune, which he did very well. An American brahmacari danced.

Jagannatha Misra Prabhu, who I had done harinama with in Mayapur and Poland, came out several days.

He was good at inducing people to dance.

One day Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu also joined us.

Sometimes devotees would come and encourage people to dance.

Young men would dance.

Ladies would dance.

Children would dance.

Even old ladies would dance.

A very enthusiastic group of youths both loudly sang the mantra and danced exuberantly with the devotees.

I wanted to ask where they came from but I was leading and playing the harmonium, so I could not.

All in all, lots of people increased their devotional service by encountering our little harinama party in Vrindavan.

Harinama Parikrama of Govardhan Hill

I like to go Radha Kund during each visit to Vrindavan because it is such a sacred place, but I did not have the determination plan a trip there.

Fortunately Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu came up with the idea of doing a harinama parikrama around Govardhan Hill, which begins and ends with Radha Kund so I got my wish fulfilled. The entire path around the Hill is said to be about 15 miles (24 km), and it took us almost six hours.

I was happy that Ananta Nitai Prabhu was also interested to come so there were three of us. We had chanted together before in both Belfast and Dublin.

Some people go around the entire hill bowing down by laying their entire body on the ground, and getting up and placing their feet where there head was and bowing down again, thus going one body length each time they bow down.

I saw a parent and a son doing this.

I also saw husband and a wife.

There were also many individuals doing it.

Some people were chanting on their japa or meditation beads as they walked around Govardhan.

Others were very happy to join in and sing along with us, and a few danced.

Unfortunately I was too busy singing and playing the instruments because we only had three people in our party to take many pictures of this.

Even after chanting for almost six hours at Govardhan, Ananta Nitai Prabhu was so enthusiastic he chanted another two hours in front of Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi and I chanted an hour there with him. Chanting so much harinama in one day was not unusual for us because we had down three twelve-hour harinamas in Dublin in the past. It was just extra special to be chanting in the holy land of Vrindavan, where the residents and pilgrims are happy to hear and make others hear the holy names.

Reflections on My Visit to Vrindavan

Ideally, if we are progressive on the spiritual path, each visit to a holy place should be better than the last. I hope that was true of this visit to Vrindavan. When I arrived in Mathura on the morning of Gaura Purnima on an overcrowded train that I fortunately had a reserved seat on, I thought of how Vrindavan is always harder for me than Mayapur. Great souls like Hare Krishna founder Srila Prabhupada and the famed ISKCON kirtana leader, Aindra Prabhu, consider Vrndavana to be home, but I always felt more at home in Mayapur, and Vrindavan always felt extra austere. In Vrindavan, the temperatures were more extreme, I got my shoes stolen (even though they had holes in them), it was more like a bustling city, and I was less insulated from the challenges of living in India. Anticipating the first challenge, the initial haggling with a rickshaw driver for a decent price to Vrindavan, as I stood on the train platform at Mathura Junction, I decided to pray to Radharani, the Queen of Vrindavan, “please make it easy for me this time!” And so She did.

One day during Srila Prabhupada’s guru puja ceremony, as I was bowing down after offering flower petals to him, I said in my mind, “Thank you for bringing me to your home in Vrindavan.” As I arose, I continued thinking, “Please show me how it is my home too.” Then one brahmacari, who was distributing, as prasadam, the extra garlands Srila Prabhupada received, put one of Srila Prabhupada’s garlands around my neck. Later in the morning someone gave me a garland from Radharani. That day we decided to do harinama to the Radha-Damodar temple, where Srila Prabhupada lived before coming to America. With the samadhis (tombs) of some of our greatest saints like Rupa, Sanatana, and Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswamis, it is considered one of the most sacred places in Vrindavan. During our harinama procession to Radha-Damodar, we met a Prabhupada disciple who was returning from that very temple in a rickshaw. As he passed he removed a beautiful garland of roses from his neck, and gave it to me, saying, “This is Radharani’s garland.”

While at Radha Damodar, at the rooms where Srila Prabhupada lived before coming to America, which are worshiped and maintained by ISKCON devotees, we were able to get prasadam from both Srila Prabhupada’s breakfast and his lunch, something that does not happen every visit.

I see all these experiences as different ways Radharani and Her confidential devotee, Srila Prabhupada, tried to make me feel at home in Vrindavan this time.

Rupa Goswami’s samadhiis at the Radha-Damodar temple, and since our whole line of spiritual teachers comes from that intimate associate of Lord Caitanya and Srimati Radharani and because I heard that Srila Prabhupada asked for his blessings to advance his mission, I decided to pray to him. I chanted 108 times the mantra from the Bhagavad-gita which glorifies him:

sri-caitanya-mano-’bhistam

sthapitam yena bhu-tale

svayam rupah kada mahyam

dadati sva-padantikam

“When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?”

And then I prayed to him for three things, (1) to chant purely the holy name of Krishna, (2) to attain Krishna-prema (love for God), and (3) to be able to inspire others to take up the path of Krishna bhakti. I also put a small donation in the donation box at his samadhi.

At our Radha-Balaram temple, I would spend the end of each kirtana dancing in the courtyard before Radha-Shyamasundar, thinking that to serve Radha and Krishna by singing and dancing for them in Vrindavan was perfection.

On the last day, I thanked Srimati Radharani for making my visit to Vrindavan easier this time.

I think of Vrindavan now as a place where people like to be reminded of Radha and Krishna and a place where they like to remind others of Radha and Krishna.

And as I waited for my train in Mathura, I felt a little sad I was leaving that holy land.

Chanting Enroute from Mathura to Howrah

There is only one train from Mathura Junction that goes to Howrah, the Toofan Express. The train, which has a negative reputation, is express in name only, as it stops about 80 places and takes 32 hours. Amazing enough, it arrived 3 minutes early in Mathura, but by the time it reached Howrah, it was over 10 hours late!

I was to exhausted to chant at Agra Cantt, a twenty-minute stop just over an hour from Mathura, but I felt bad about it and decided to chant at all the the other stops 10 minutes or longer. Before the next long stop, in Kanpur, a couple young men inquired about what I was doing on my laptop for four or five hours. I explained I was working on my blog, a travel journal, and because I was a computer science major, it was not unnatural for me to spend so long on the computer. I lost most of my business cards when I lost my bag, so I had one of them take a picture of my business card with my email and my blog address so he could look at it. They said they were also travelers. They were from Lucknow, but were just coming back from visiting Puskar, which I recently learned is a popular place for Westerners to visit, those not so interested in gross sense gratification as those who go to Goa. One young man was a professor of finance and the other had his own business. There was nearly half an hour left till Kanpur, and I got out my harmonium and began chanting. The two guys had gone to the door of the carriage as they thought Kanpur was one stop sooner, but when I began singing the young finance professor came back. He sat next to me and sang along with me as I sang Hare Krishna to the three-part evening melody, since it was just after sundown. He did surprising well grasping the tune. After a little while, he encouraged his friend to join us, since there was still time before reaching Kanpur and it would add to the adventure of their trip.

His friend, Rahul R. Mishra, director of Supreme Infradevelopers Pvt. Ltd., came, and took the above picture of us singing, and then also sang along. When we got to Kanpur, I gave them some maha-prasada from Radha-Madhava and told them to them to keep in touch. Perhaps we could meet again sometime. The young finance professor bought me a bottle of water before I left, and I chanted at the Kanpur platform for the 15 minutes or so we stopped there.

I thought I would not be able to chant at Mughal Sarai Junction, as we were scheduled to stop there from 1:05 to 1:20 a.m., but it turned out we were six hours late at that point so I was able to chant at that platform too.

I missed chanting at Danapur for ten minutes because the train mysteriously made up 20 minutes, but I was able to chant at Patna Junction for at least ten minutes. One guy who liked the chanting there on the platform sat in the same compartment with me. As he boarded the train he continued singing the melody, although I had stopped. After fifteen minutes or so, the people in my compartment asked me to play the harmonium, and so I chanted for them for fifteen minutes, distributed maha-prasada, and asked if anyone spoke Bangla (Bengali) since I had a couple Bengali books. One man did. He asked if the books were for sale. Through a interpreter, I said, “There is no fixed price. I do not need any money, but it is good to give a donation.” He took a book and gave ten rupees, and I gave him and his friend maha-prasada and thanked him for the donation. I would have done better if I had Hindi books, but because my trains were going to and from Bengal, I had got two copies in each language. One the way to Rishikesh, I had distributed the two Hindi books so I just had the Bengali ones left.

On the bus from Howrah, as I approached the place where the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre, I saw a sign on a church “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” (Psalm 23)

I smiled. I had a sense that Krishna was taking care of me and making the journey easier. I found the bus to the Research Center also passes by the Kolkata temple and only cost 7 rupees, and my 32:30-hour train journey that had become 43:05 hours, due to delays, was behind me.

The Bhaktivedanta Research Centre

When my friend, Sthita-dhi Muni Prabhu shipped Sadaputa Prabhu’s research materials to Hari Sauri Prabhu for the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre in Kolkata, I never dreamed I would ever see them again, but I was wrong. Hari Sauri Prabhu saw me in Mayapur and asked if I could help go through the stuff. I allocated two days to do it, but I did not realize it was nine big boxes.

Even by eliminating harinamaand the evening program from my life and reducing reading, it still took seven days to do. I meditated on it as being service to the Vaishnavas, a highly recommended devotional activity, although not as immediately enjoyable to me as what I sacrificed, doing harinama in Mayapur.

It was odd seeing articles I had copied at libraries ten or twenty years before, with my handwriting documenting where they were obtained and how. There were also notes to Sadaputa Prabhu in my handwriting beginning with “Dear Prabhu,” and signed “kkd.” There was a file of articles I copied on multiple witness apparition cases, more evidence consistent with the Vedic world view, with its 400,000 human like species, including varieties of ghosts. There was an eight-inch stack of articles on biological transmutation, a phenomena where plants and animals produce chemical elements they do not ingest, effectively doing fusion reactions at low temperatures, combining sodium and oxygen to produce potassium, and the like. This phenomena occurs in the Vedic literature where the yogis combine bell metal and mercury to produce gold. Most physicists generally consider biological transmutation impossible but some have studied it. Srila Prabhupada would say that matter does not produce life, but life produces matter, and so it does, in ways only the most revolutionary scientists are discovering.

Acyuta Prabhu, the librarian at the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre library, who I worked with in organizing Sadaputa Prabhu’s materials, contributed to the library a large collection of books related to India which he had personally acquired over the years. Now he is happily situated doing as devotional service something he always loved, dealing with books. I thank him for the pictures of me at work.

I went to the morning program in Gita Bhavan, which shares the building with the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre.

Gita Bhavan is a small ashram of enthusiastic young men most having jobs and some studying, but all hoping to become full time residents of the Kolkata temple after their training is complete. Once Ananda Vardhana Prabhu from the Kolkata temple asked me to speak the morning class at Gita Bhavan. The topic was Indra and demigods being defeated because they had failed to respect their spiritual master, Brhaspati, while their demoniac enemies were victorious because they pleased their guru, Sukracarya. In the course of the discussion I emphasized how much Krishna is pleased simply by the endeavor to satisfy one’s guru, and I glorified Srila Prabhupada for satisfying his guru by his attempts to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, which were a grand success. The devotees asked me about my guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, and I spoke of his exemplary dedication to chanting japa, his affection for Srila Prabhupada, and his using his natural talent of writing in the Lord’s service in a big way, writing well over a hundred books.

Ayurveda and Bhagavad-gita

Hari Sauri Prabhu recommended one Vaishnava Ayurvedic doctor to me, Dr. Pradyumna, and I spent part of one of my days in Kolkata visiting him. As I glanced at the prescription Dr. Pradyumna gave me, the name of his clinic, Prasida, caught my attention.

Travel Journal#10.5: Mayapur, Rishikesh, Delhi
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 5
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2014, part one)

Mayapur, Rishikesh, Delhi
(Sent from Kolkata, India, on March 27, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

The first four days of March I stayed in Mayapur participating in Kirtan Mela, harinamas, and theelephant procession. Then I had a very eventful journey to Rishikesh with a lot of unexpected kirtana opportunities. In Rishikesh, Navina Nirada Prabhu had arranged a program of a week or so of up to six hours of harinama, book distribution, and prasadam distribution each day. Next I spent a couple days at ISKCON Punjabi Bagh in Delhi, chanting on the train, the train station, and temple the day I arrived and for three hours in Rohini with a group of devotees the day before Gaura Purnima. I also gave a lecture on Lord Caitanya, which some people really liked, and which you can hear at this link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8G_-3HDls9WSlBaM0Z0UXlpdVU/

I share many, many beautiful quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures, excerpts from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal, notes on lectures given in Mayapur by Lokanath, Niranjana, and Radhanath Swamis and Dravida Prabhu, and notes from lectures given in Rishikesh by Ekalavya, Janardana, Mahabhavi, and Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhus.

Thanks to Navin Shyam Prabhu (Philadelphia) for his kind donations from his federal and state tax refunds. Thanks to Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu (Dublin) for his kind donation and his purchasing of many clothes and other supplies to make up for what I lost by leaving my bag on a train. Thanks to Mohnish Goel (Delhi) for his kind donation and for assisting me at Punjabi Bagh. Thanks to Navin Nirada Prabhu for paying for the Radha-Madhava maha-prasadam I distributed to, from, and at Rishikesh. Thanks to Punjabi Bagh temple commander for the box of maha-prasadam sweets he gave me when I left.

Itinerary

March 28 – March 30 – Kolkata
March 31–April 13 – Mayapur
April 15–16 – Mumbai
April 17–24 – Dublin, Belfast, etc.
April 25 – London
April 26 – Kings Day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
April 27–30: The Netherlands
May 1–2: Manchester, England
May 3–5: North UK Retreat
May–July (first two-thirds) – The North of England, Birmingham 24-hour kirtana, London Ratha-yatra, Stonehenge Solstice Festival
July (last third)–August (first two-thirds) – Baltic Summer Festival, Polish Woodstock, Czech Woodstock
August (last third)–September (first half) – The North of England September (rest) – New York

Mayapur Kirtan Mela

To have many enthusiastic devotees from all over the world singing together in front of Panca-tattva is certainly a recipe for a successful event. The organizers did a good job trying to make it comfortable for everyone. For those who found it too crowded in the temple room, video of the event was displayed on TV monitors and projection screens in the courtyard. You could get as much drinking water as you wanted, whenever you wanted. At the end of the evening, there were bags of puffed rice, if you were hungry. I look forward to the new temple which will have more room to dance. Some of my friends wished the Kirtan Mela could go forever. I appreciate their glorious devotional sentiments. I am always physically exhausted by such events, so it is difficult for me to desire they go on forever, until I actually attain a spiritual body, although I like the chanting and dancing and to see others also engaged in it.

Here devotees delighted in swinging each other.

They even danced while raised above the crowd by their friends.

The Vanipedia devotees displayed a poster listing 64 benefits from chanting Hare Krishna which Srila Prabhupada mentioned in his books. The list is also to be found on their web site, along with the context: http://vaniquotes.org/wiki/64_results_of_chanting_Hare_Krsna

More Harinamas in Mayapur

The regular Mayapur Harinama Party, which I have been involved with many years, has a rickshaw with beautiful Gaura-Nitai deities, a harmonium, and a sound system. During the Mayapur Festival, additional devotees join their party from time to time.

Here three girls take pleasure in dancing for Gaura-Nitai.

One time Prithu Prabhu sang with the Mayapur Harinama Party.

Once an elephant passed by us.

My friend Deva Krishna Prabhu, a book distributor in America, brought his college graduate daughter from Florida to Mayapur for first time.

One time they joined the Mayapur Harinama Party.

The world harinama party, with singer and accordion player, Syama Rasa Prabhu, also did harinama every day.

People would watch from the Chakra Building balcony above. Lots of people danced.

While moving through the Mayapur campus, the world harinama party met the Mayapur Harinama Party, doubling the ecstasy!

After passing them, we encountered the Padayatra harinama party with their oxen and cart with large Gaura-Nitai deities. All kinds of wild dancing ensued between the two parties. Thanks to Bhakta Brandon for taking the picture with me in it.

Mayapur Hati (Elephant) Procession

The festive Mayapur Hati (Elephant) Procession is part of Saturday night life in Mayapur in the winter.

The small Radha-Madhava deities ride on the elephant.

The big Gaura-Nitai deities are on a cart pulled by two bulls.

This time some Chinese ladies danced in formation in front of the party.

One beautiful feature of the festival is the colorful mandalas on the pathway made of dyes and flower petals.

My world harinama party friends participated in the kirtana this time, and they kept singing after the deities returned to the temple and the procession had ended. Lots of people danced to the music.

Maha Abhiseka of Panca-tattva

There was a quite a queue to watch theMaha Abhiseka(Great Bathing Ceremony) of the Panca-tattva on the tenth anniversary of their installation. The queue was at least half an hour long, stretching all the way over to Vamsi Bhavan. People in the queue could not view the abhiseka very long. It reminded me of viewing Balaji in Tirupati. Actually, there were some devotees from Tirupati in the queue, and I joked with them that this queue was insignificant compared to the 24-hour queues in Tirupati. Some people stayed inside the temple, once they got in, and they got a longerview. I just caught the bathing of the deities with water and drying off, but still it was satisfying. Then I stood outside the door of the Panca-tattva temple, in a place where you could see the deities and where some devotees were dancing, and I danced in back of them.

While we were waiting in line to see the maha-abhiseka,several people brought us the tasty water made of dairy products, fruit juices, and sweeteners from the partially completed bathing ceremony to drink – a nice gesture of friendship that eased our waiting. Later also, people offered each other that caranamrita (bathing) water. The most striking thing is that there was a great feeling of purification after the event, as if a burden had been lifted from us, and the feeling continued that day and extended through the next. I shared that final perception with Krishna Ksetra Prabhu, who also agreed.

Bizarre Journey to Rishikesh

I booked a ticket from Bandel to Haridwar, and I made it to Nabadwip Dham station in time to catch the Katwa Bandel local train to Bandel so I thought I was doing really well. I had doubts about the platform for Bandel and asked the person who sold me the ticket, and he told me platform two. I recalled when I had come from Bandel on the same train on the way to Navadvipa that we had come to platform two, so I had a doubt that the train going in the other direction would be on the same track. When the next train came, I said “Bandel?” to the people and they indicated the affirmative, so I got on the train. One couple with Vaishnava tilaka, apparently returning home from pilgrimage helped me find a seat and situate my largest bag. I decided to play the harmonium and sing Hare Krishna for awhile and then the Gaura aratisong. The lady especially appreciated both and sang along. Because it was dark and because I was playing the harmonium I was unable to monitor the stations that we passed. The couple got off at the next to last stop, and at the last stop I got off. I was shocked when the people told me were in Katwa, almost an hour in the wrong direction.

I was so much in anxiety to find the next train to Bandel, I left with just three of my four items, leaving behind the largest, the bag with all my clothes. As I was boarding the train to Bandel realized this, and I went back and looked through the previous train in all the new carriages with the blue seats which I had been sitting in. I do not know why I could not find the bag. I looked twice, but when I returned to the Bandel train platform I found I missed it, and thus all hope of catching my train to Haridwar. I reported my lost bag to the police, and I decided to go to the internet cafe and check the alternative trains. In the process, I distributed maha-prasadam to those led me to the internet cafe and its owner as well. A lot of people said “Hare Krishna” to me when they saw me in Katwa. I found that the train my friends would be taking leaves from Howrah, five hours away. As I am not accustomed to staying in hotels, and I could not find a Hare Krishna temple or Gaudiya Math in Katwa on the internet, so I decided to try for a sleeper train, in hopes of sleeping the five hours to Howrah. It was too late to reserve a seat or bed, so I decided to buy a general ticket and upgrade it. Unfortunately, the train did not arrive until 1:00 a.m., an hour and a half late, and all the beds were allocated. While I was waiting for that train, a guy who was eager to “talk with an American” talked with me. In the course of talking, I explained how Katwa was a special place because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who he had known of, had accepted the renounced order of life, sannyasa. Actually I had never been to Katwa, and by accident I had come to this special city. Although no beds were available on the train, a railway policeman secured a seat for me, and I probably slept at most two of the five hours. After some people woke up and did not need their beds, I got half an hour of sleep in a free upper berth. At Howrah, I arrived just before 6:00 a.m. and found the booking office did not open until 8:00 a.m. I decided to take the bus to Fairlie Place where the international tourist ticket office is because that would give me more chance of getting a seat on the train my friends were traveling on. I arrived about 7:15 a.m. and sat on the steps playing Hare Krishna on the harmonium as others arrived to wait for the opening of the main booking office. I found the international tourist office did not open until 10:00 a.m., after the four-hour period prior to the train’s departure necessary to get a reservation. The Tatkal (emergency seats) were sold out, but there were five seats freed up from canceled reservations available for purchase which were considered guaranteed seats, and so I could buy a ticket for a reserved seat. One man behind the counter saw I was a Hare Krishna devotee, and he gave me special assistance. When I was all done and had the ticket in hand, he invited me behind the counter and explained how I was to find the seat I was assigned on the charts posted at the front of the train platform. Then he asked me to play a Hare Krishna tune on the harmonium. I played a three-part tune, just one mantra for each part, and he and the other rail employees appreciated. I distributed maha-prasadam to about seven of the people behind the counter, a few who had also helped me. In analyzing the unexpected sequence of events beginning with taking the wrong train, I found that people got to hear Hare Krishna, chant Hare Krishna, and take maha-prasadam who otherwise would not, so my difficulty with the trains increased my service to the Lord. Also I got to travel with my friends to Haridwar and Rishikesh, which was better than traveling alone as we could chant together both on the train and the longer stops on our journey and help each other in other ways. It was Krishna’s mercy we ended up in the same carriage out of the seven sleeper carriages and just ten feet (three meters) apart!

There were still over four hours before the train, so I waited across the street from the booking office for the bus to Minto Park, the area where our Kolkata temple is situated. One young man gave up his seat at a cafe, and invited me to sit and play on the harmonium. I did and he appreciated and gave me some tea as a donation, which I could not really accept. Then another man came to get some tea, and seeing me with my harmonium, asked me to play a Hare Krishna tune, and so I got to place again. I also distributed maha-prasadam to those who wanted it.

At the Kolkata temple, I took prasadam. Both the soup and the khichariwere wonderful. Then I took a nap and a shower, and bought four books from the temple shop, two each in Bengali and Hindi, to distribute on the train. I was happy to join my friends, Vishnujana, Harinamananda, and Nrsimha Caitanya’s Prabhus at Howrah to wait for our train.

On the platform, I saw a beautiful sign on a fruit vendor’s cart.

On the train I sat in the upper berth, using my harmonium as a desk for my netbook. In this way, I was a little bit detached from the craziness of the train ride, the only virtues of which are the price, just $9 to go over 1000 km, and the chance to share the holy names through kirtana.

On the train, we chanted for an hour that night. One lady with Vaishnava tilaka, who raised up her arms and said “Radhe Radhe” and “Haribol,” especially appreciated.

Ten people clapped along with us in three adjacent compartments of the train, and others listened appreciatively.

One man took a book and gave 100 rupees as a donation. That man and a younger one talked to the devotees afterward.

The other devoteesshared their compartment with a young couple and their young child. At the beginning of the journey I considered that such a situation could give the young devotees some practical realization about what married life is actually like. During the journey, the kid, who wore a shirt but no pants, ended up passing urine on Harinamananda Prabhu’s orange wool cadar, the bed it was on and the bed below it, and later passing stool, beginning on Harinamananda’s kurta and finishing on the floor of the train. It was completely disgusting. When I praised Harinamananda Prabhu for his tolerance, he said that there was nothing else he could do. It was ironic that I had predicted they might get some realizations of married life. I also better understand why they use diapers in the West, as it keeps such problems more contained.

When the train stopped a longer time at a couple of the larger cities, we chanted on the platform. Both times we were surrounded by an audience. Once I took a few pictures and a video (http://youtu.be/Zak9FIpK97g):

I was happy traveling with my devotee friends as we got to do a lot of chanting together.

Harinamas in Rishikesh

Navina Nirada Prabhu had arranged a program of a week or so of up to six hours of harinama, book distribution, and prasadam distribution each day. Ekalayva Prabhu, the world harinama party, a group of devotees from Scandinavia, and my friend, Caitanya Candrodaya Prabhu comprised the party. Many Westerners and Indians visiting Rishikesh, as well as some of the locals, appreciated the chanting, books and spiritual food.

Mahabhavi Prabhu, who is based in Norway, made and distributed halava prasadam.

Before going on harinama we would have a morning program at Nigah Tourist Resort, at Laksman Jhula, where we stayed.

The first day alone I had so many nice experiences.

One smiling young lady from Bristol, happy to see us on harinamain Rishikesh, recalled seeing Hare Krishnas at the Stonehenge Solstice Festival, which I attended the last four years.

One Czech couple remembered Hare Krishna from the Trutnov (Czech Woodstock) festival I attended the last five years, and I gave them a card I still had for the Prague temple and restaurant. A middle-aged lady was happy to see us, recalling Hare Krishna from many places, especially her home town of Gastonbury, where we have a booth at a mammoth music festival and have a Ratha-yatra which she has sometimes attended. She told us to go on with our wonderful chanting and said, “Haribol!” as we left. A Brazilian couple who danced with us said that Hare Krishna is big in Brazil and thanked us for sharing our joy in Rishikesh. Roon, a young book distributor, told me everyone he spoke to in Rishikesh was favorable. I showed people the mantra on the cards and had them say each word. I said they could keep the card if they promised to chant the mantra once a day and many did. All these wonderful experiences and more happened my first day in Rishikesh, situated at the foot of the Himalayas, along the Ganges River, where it is against the law to sell meat and where yoga ashrams of all descriptions abound.

Some people who were involved with Hare Krishna in other parts of the world and who were visiting Rishikesh came out with us almost every day.

These included a very enthusiastic girl from Saint Peterburg, Russia, (left), and a Slovakian guy with a beard and dredlocks (center) and his Spanish girlfriend (right). One Italian devotee lady was very happy to join us one day to distribute books. An Indian man from Rishikesh played a one-headed drum with us several times.

A man from the Italian part of Switzerland, who knew the devotees there, played his small accordion with us a few times.

A Prabhupada disciple from Montreal took pleasure in playing the flute with us at least a couple times.

Many people clapped to our music, some watching from above.

One lady named Aneta from Germany rode up on her motorcycle and stopped in front of the harinama party, She looked at the joyous chanting for ten minutes or so with a smile on her face. She recalled seeing the devotees in Cologne. I told her how I had passed through our temple in Cologne three times and had chanted in front of the large cathedral in the city which she said is called the Dom. She was pleased I gave her the address to our temple and restaurant there so she can connect with the devotees again.

Other motorcyclists were also entranced by the devotees’ chanting.

So were people in cars.

People often watched our chanting party from a restaurant on the hillside above us and the steps leading up to it.

One lady who was watching the chanting came from a town an hour south of London which she said was the oldest in England. I told her how I spent a lot of time in Newcastle in the summer, and she said that she has a friend who lives in Newcastle and that the people there are very friendly, but their accent is the most difficult you ever will encounter, something I also experienced. I said our temple in Newcastle is very lively, and the devotees sing for eight hours straight the last Saturday of the month. She found it inconceivable that Geordies, the natives of that region of England, who she described as working class people, would ever become Hare Krishna devotees. I smiled and said that one or two of them have become Hare Krishnas, and I added, “That shows how universal Hare Krishna is!” As she lived near London, I asked if she would like an invitation for our center there, and she said she would. I told how the devotees there sing for two hours on Oxford Street every afternoon. I gave her an invitation and explained that we also have an Indian vegetarian restaurant at the same location, which she would probably like, having come to Rishikesh.

All kinds of people were happy to see our party.

All kinds of people were happy to dance with us.

One scholarly devotee initiated by Srila Prabhupada enjoyed dancing with us.

Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu delighted in getting the Indian guys to dance.

A few people took mantra cards and chanted along.

Once we passed a music shop, and a guy inside played the drum along with us.

A couple of times our party entered a shop, and chanted through it one time. Usually the owners were pleased with the attention.

Once we chanted under an awning in front of a shop when it rained briefly.

We also chanted by a Shiva fountain.

One day we chanted down by Ram Jhula, where we were based two years ago. More younger Westerners are to be found around our new location of Laksman Jhula.

Navina Nirada Prabhu, Janardana Prabhu from Denmark, and Bhakta Roon, also from Denmark, enthusiastically distributed many books, and the donations paid for all the expenses of the party.

When the world harinama devotees were with us, there was extra intensity, and many people vigorous danced with us as you can see in this video (http://youtu.be/cXaPTWztABM):

After the world harinama devotees left, it was more mellow (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xI3oPyCpQ9nnyMn6iASe733):

The last couple of days, since people were leaving our party to their next destinations, we did not have scheduled harinamas, so I would have some of my own, getting one or two people to join me. When I was chanting alone, I had some nice experiences. A swami from another mission chanted several mantras with me on a couple occasions. A group of Gaudiya Vaishnavas from Bulgaria chanted with me for ten minutes. A couple of young Indian men played the shakers and sang vociferously with me for twenty minutes. Their white girlfriends had no interest at all in the kirtana,and were eating and talking with each other as the guys sang. The two guys said they had gone to the Vrindavan gurukula, and their names were Lalita Das and Jagan Mohan Das. I was happy to see their enthusiasm for the chanting, but amazed to see the apathy of their girlfriends. After lunch, I went out chanting with Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu. A man from the Italian part of Switzerland, who had previously played his miniature harmonium with us, played with us again. In the course of our chanting procession we encountered the Indian gurukulis who were happy to see us. This time in addition to the guys chanting, one of the girls chanted Hare Krishna with us and the other took a photo of the whole scene. It was interesting to see the increased interest of the girls in the kirtana. As we continued onward, the Hare Krishna girl from Saint Peterburg joined us.

The last day I went out for 40 minutes before lunch. I did not even make it to Laksman Jhula, the bridge where we usually chant.

I met the Indian gurukula boys and their girlfriends, who I then learned were from Switzerland, Nandulal, a gurukuli who remembered me from America, a lady and a kid, and a old man from Vrindavan, and they urged me to stay and sing with them. So I stayed there singing, and Jagan Mohan and Lalita Prabhu bought fresh orange juice for everyone in the party. One of the Swiss girls both chanted and danced and the other took pictures. An older man from Rishikesh who had joined us on harinama a few times before played his one-headed drum. Nandulal borrowed a two-headed drum from a vendor to play along with the chanting. It was very lively, and we must have chanted for half an hour. A group of Indian pilgrims came by, and sat with desiring to have their picture taken with us. I encouraged the gurukuli kids to chant Hare Krishna every day during their travels. They were having such a good time, perhaps they will.

The Sacred Ganges

This year I first crossed the Ganges River on my way from Navadvipa to Mayapur coming to Mayapur. I played my harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna during the boat ride. One devotee sprinkled auspicious Ganges water on us as we waited for the boat to get underway. Then on the way to Rishikesh, I crossed the Ganges from Mayapur to Navadvipa to catch the train. This time it was approaching dusk, and I played harmonium and sang the Gaura Arati song, our evening prayer, in addition to Hare Krishna. When I missed my connecting train, I had to go all the way into the city of Kolkata to buy a ticket for the train my friends were taking the next day. As I crossed the bridge from Howrah to Kolkata, I saw an old man place his palms together. At first I did not understand why he was doing that. Then it occurred to me that it might be out of respect for the river. I thought it was a little quaint, and then I remembered that it was not any ordinary river, it was the same Ganges, just a little downstream and more polluted than in Mayapur. Thus I also put my palms together in respect, and another man followed me. However, when I returned from the Kolkata temple to Howrah to catch the train, I crossed the Ganges River in ignorance, not being reminded by anyone of her glory. After our train reached Haridwar, some twenty-seven hours later, and we were riding by motor rickshaw to Rishikesh, I was happy to see the Ganges River again both near the beginning and end of our journey. It was quite a bit narrower and faster flowing. At the Nigah Tourist Resort, one of the better of budget guest houses at Laksman Jhula, the Ganges was both visible to our eyes and audible to our ears because of being near its rapids. When I would chant Hare Krishna on beads looking and listening to the Ganges I found it to be a most wonderful experience.

I chanted extra japa on Ekadasi looking at and hearing the rapids of the Ganges River. . . . I thought how Queen Kunti, the mother of Krishna’s friend, Arjuna, prayed for constant attraction to Krishna without diversion as the Ganges inexorably flows to the sea. . . . King Pariksit desired to leave his body on the bank of the Ganges. . . . For thousands of years, sages have been meditating on its banks here at Rishikesh. . . . There is a feeling of peace and timelessness. It is one of my favorite places to chant.

Almost everyone likes to swim and the devotional practice of bathing in the Ganges is one of the easier ones for most people to follow. Somehow I have never developed a taste for swimming or bathing in natural bodies of water. I know some of it has to do with the sand, the feel of which I do not like on my feet. In 1988 I lost my glass bathing in the Ganges in Mayapur, and subconscious impressions of that inconvenience may play a role. I was planning to bath in the Ganges at least once, and by the influence of Navina Nirada Prabhu I finally did, two hours before leaving Rishikesh. It was very cold, which is not surprising as its source is a glacier not so far away, and I just quickly dunked my head in the water. It was refreshing, although I did not find it as refreshing as my friend, Caitanya-candradoya Prabhu, who said bathing in the Ganges is as refreshing as a five-hour nap! While discussing the Ganges with friends, Nanda Kumar Prabhu, who takes tours to Rishikesh, told about one lady tourist who was very bossy and was never satisfied with any situation. Her occupation is to be in charge of two hundred nurses. After she bathed in the Ganges, she developed a positive attitude, and when the tour continued to Vrindavan, she became attracted to donate to help one project there. Nanda Kumar Prabhu was surprised to see such a marked change for the better in her personality. From the books of revealed knowledge, we understand that bathing in the Ganges frees one from sinful reactions, and thus it is reasonable to consider one might advance in good qualities by such a bath. I wonder what other stories exists offering evidence of this. If you know any, please write me. I love to collect stories that offer evidence consistent with the truths of the Vedic literature. As Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu and I took a taxi to Rishikesh to catch our train, we sang the Gaura Arati song while passing the Ganges on our left. The song tells of arati ceremony performed by great souls in worship of Lord Caitanya. The setting of the beautiful ceremony which attracted the minds of the whole universe is the bank of the Ganges River. It was wonderful to connect with the Ganges many times in the last couple of weeks, and I have a sense that it increased my devotion, especially while chanting Hare Krishna on beads in Rishikesh while seeing and hearing her.

Chanting on the Train from Haridwar to Delhi

On the night train from Haridwar to Delhi, I arose and started chanting at 5:00 a.m. At 5:15 a.m. an older Indian man arose, put away his bedding, and sat staring out the window. See him wasting his time, I gave him a mantra card and said, “Best use of time: Chant Hare Krishna.” He moved his head in equivocal Indian way, and read the words from the card. He sang it softly to himself for a whole hour. As he left, I gave him and his wife Radha-Madhava maha-prasad,which they gratefully accepted, and I told him to chant the mantra every day, prati-din.In my experience, it is rare a few words of spiritual instruction go so far as my first words to him. I hope he follows my final instruction with the same enthusiasm.

Punjabi Bagh Delhi Temple

For the third time, I went to the Punjabi Bagh temple in Delhi. It was wonderful to see many congregational people at the temple throughout the day. There were twenty or thirty singing in the late morning just before the raj bhoga [lunch offering] that swelled to fifty for the noon arati. There must have been eighty for the evening arati, and they do a full hour of kirtana in the temple after that arati. It is wonderful to see such enthusiasm for the chanting, which is the yuga-dharma, the spiritual practice of the age.

Some of the guys got into dancing in the evening kirtana.

They were so enthusiastic they continued dancing outside during the Nrsimha prayers!

Rohini Harinama

Devotees tell me that Srila Prabhupada wanted to have twelve temples in Delhi. We have eight, and four are under construction, one of these being in Rohini. Rohini is an expansion of the nearby Punjabi Bagh West temple. Kesava Murari Prabhu, a leader at Punjabi Bagh, plays a role in the development of the Rohini project.

He has an awesome bas relief of Radha-Krishna in his office.

He invited me to go on harinama with him in Rohini. In two weeks, on March 30, they plan for Ratha-yatra in Rohini, an event I attended two years ago as I happened to be traveling through Delhi that day. This year they decided to do harinama on Gaura Purnima and the day before and follow the exact route of the Ratha-yatra distributing invitations to it. That sounds like such a practical way to advertise a Ratha-yatra, I am surprised I never heard of doing it before.

They have three harinama carts.

They have small Gaura-Nitai deities who ride the carts.

They are equipped with one of the loudest sound systems of that size I have ever heard. The back of cart has a diesel generator just to power it.

Travel Journal#10.4: Florida, Dublin, Istanbul, Mayapur
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 4
By Krishna-kripa das
(February 2014, part two)

Gainesville, Alachua, Orlando, Dublin, Istanbul, Mumbai, Mayapur
(Sent from Rishikesh, India, on March 10, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I continued chanting at Krishna Lunch, chanting at the Farmers Market, teaching my weekly class on mantra meditation, and giving lectures at Gainesville’s Krishna House until February 20, when I took the Megabus to Orlando, where I chanted with Kishor Krishna Prabhu. I flew later that day from Orlando to Dublin by way of Philadelphia. There I chanted each day on the streets of that city, always with at least one friend, and one day we did a special nine-hour harinama. I flew to Mumbai on Turkish Airlines by way of Istanbul, where I had a nice conversation with a devotee in the airport. I spent the day in Mumbai at Chowpatty, hearing a couple kirtanas and lectures, and having three meals. At the end of the day, I took a 33-hour train to Mayapur, on which I had two kirtanas, the second attended by nine devotees. At Mayapur, the Kirtan Mela, which I will describe in the next issue, was just beginning, and my world harinama friends did harinama there.

I share quotes from the books and lectures of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, excerpts from the journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, and lectures from Rtadhvaja Swami in Gainesville and Alachua, Bhakti Purushottama Swami in Mayapur, senior devotees like Kalakantha Prabhu and Nanda Devi in Gainesville and a couple senior brahmacaris in Chowpatty.

Many thanks to Srikar Prabhu (Gainesville), Premarnava Prabhu (Dublin), Sundari Gopi dd (Gainesville), Uma dd (Tampa), and Bhakta Mike (West Virginia) for their kind donations, and to the devotees from Juhu for paying my way from Howrah to Mayapur.

Itinerary

March 6–13 – Rishikesh with Navina Nirada and Ekalavya Prabhus

March 14–20 – Delhi and Vrindavan
March 23–24 – Kolkata with Hari Sauri Prabhu

March 25 – Mayapur

March 26–April 1 – Indian Padayatra

April 2–13 – Mayapur

April 15–16 – Mumbai

April 17–24 – Ireland
April 25 – London

April 26 – King’s Day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

April 27–30 – The Netherlands

May–July (first two-thirds) – The North of England, Birmingham 24-hour kirtana, London Ratha-yatra, Stonehenge Solstice Festival

July (last third)–August (first two-thirds) – Baltic Summer Festival, Polish Woodstock, Czech Woodstock

August (last third)–September (first half) – The North of England

September (rest) – New York

Mantra Meditation Class

I taught my mantra meditation class for five weeks. Twice no one showed up. One person came who had come to our Thursday introductory program at Krishna House, and one person who came to mantra meditation later came to our Wednesday introductory program on campus. Although no one came to the mantra meditation class twice, I saw two students the week after they came, and they said they were chanting 108 mantras every day or almost every day, and they both liked it. I hope they are able to continue with their interest in chanting Hare Krishna. It is the assurance of the Vedic scriptures and the saints in our tradition that simply by chanting names of the Lord, especially the Hare Krishna mantra, anyone can awaken one’s dormant love of God in this very life. Jaya Sri Vrinda dd, who came to my classes and is serious about perfecting her own chanting, will continue the class in my absence. She once taught four of her fellow law school students mantra meditation, feeling sorry seeing them so stressed out.

Chanting at Krishna Lunch

At the beginning of Krishna Lunch each day, before it got busy, many devotees would be able to chant with us.

Here Ambika leads, playing the harmonium, Tony plays the drum, and Damodar Prasad plays the karatalas. They all are the children of devotee parents, and they love kirtana. Ambika used to sing in a band and has a powerful voice. Prabhupada disciple, Satyahit Prabhu, plays djembe in back, and Mother Saci Kripa, visiting from Michigan plays tambourine.

Chanting at the Farmers Market

The last day before leaving Gainesville, eleven devotees came with me to chant at the Gainesville Farmers Market. A couple more devotees joined us there.

Sometimes we only get three or four devotees to come.

A girl about five years old played a maraca that Hladini gave her, initially playing nicely but later, smashing it into a rock wall in time with the music, thus breaking it.

An Afro-American guy asked to play the clay mridanga, but doubtful that he would handle it gently I gave him some shakers which he played smilingly.

A University of Florida girl was moving her hands in time with the music, so I gave her some shakers which she enjoyed playing.

A young man named Gopala from Alachua whose parents were devotees and who I knew years ago came by and chanted for some time. It is a nice feature of that harinama that devotees who visit the Farmers Market end up being drawn into the chanting.

At the end, we moved to the corner of the market when a band played on the stage, and we continued chanting. Some devotees talked of increasing their commitment to the Farmers Market harinama, which has resulted in at least one person becoming attracted to take up Krishna consciousness to the extent of attending programs and chanting Hare Krishna on beads.

Chanting in Orlando

Kishor Krishna Prabhu, who has assisted in college outreach over the years by chanting at campuses and doing vegetarian cooking classes for students, agreed to pick me up at the Megabus, drop me at the Orlando airport, and chant for a couple of hours in between. Originally we planned to chant at Valenica College, but Kishor had some paperwork to do for his car business as long as he was downtown, so we chanted for twenty minutes while Kishor was waiting for the paperwork to be complete. As we had little time, we decided to try other places downtown and on the way to the airport. Lake Eola seemed like a pleasant place, but there were too few people. Downtown was also pretty dead, We settled on chanting in front of the entrance to The Florida Mall Food Court, where there was an increasing number of people as lunch time was approaching and which is near the airport. We chanted there practically a whole hour, and no security personnel stopped us. One girl with her boyfriend took a video of us, and I gave her my Krishna.com business card so she could send it to us. Another young lady stood at the opened door of her shop watching us for ten minutes, and I also gave her a card. All together we distributed about ten cards which have the Krishna.com web site, the maha mantra, and my email, along with pictures of Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda, and Lord Krishna. We felt victorious as many people heard the holy name, we encountered no negativity, and we found a new venue to do harinama at.

Harinamas in Dublin

I chanted on harinama each day I was in Dublin, but could not do three hours the first day as my flight from Philadelphia was delayed by three hours, thus throwing off my schedule.

Premarnava Prabhu, wearing an orange dhoti in the pictures, really supported me in our nine-hour harinama on Saturday, also staying out about 8½ hours. Krishna blessed us in that it did not rain very much, and for that time of year, it was not too cold, with a high of 50º F (10º C). The wind was a little annoying sometimes, blowing at 24 mph (39 kph) continuously, with gusts much higher, but fortunately it was from the south. A bunch of young people danced with us, and many people took pictures and videos, and there were the usual smiles of approval and thumbs up gestures. The devotees had rented a hall for a nine-hour kirtana for the following Saturday, and thus we able to use our marathon harinama to pass out invitations to the next week’s marathon kirtana!

During the nine hours, seven men and four ladies participated for part of the time.

A new Indian girl, Puspa, also came out on harinama before the Sunday feast and stayed into the extra kirtana we had after the feast. On that harinama, a lady, perhaps in her 30s, tried singing along with us. I gave her a mantra card, and she happily sang for five minutes or so. She had been smoking a cigarette when she met us, and to facilitate her singing she threw it away. Then she mentioned to me that she always smokes them down till the end, but in this case, she threw it away when there was still a quarter of it left just to sing with us! She said she was homeless and that she once had eaten with us and the food was really good. We invited her to come for the Sunday feast which was just twenty minutes away, and she said she would, but unfortunately she got distracted. While she was singing with us, one atheistic man demanded to see God, and we tried to explain, as Srila Prabhupada often would, that one must be qualified to see God. The homeless lady joined the conversation, and continued our side of the argument with the man, as we moved over and kept on singing! Meeting that lady was one of those special encounters that makes harinamaalways an adventure.

Encounter in Istanbul

As I was having a dinner break in the Istanbul airport, I prayed to Krishna that if He wanted me to talk to anyone about His philosophy that He would have to send someone because I was inverted by nature and it was not likely to happen. Once when I was flying from Kiev to Delhi, I offered a similar prayer, and I had some good conversations, so I decided to do it again. As I was looking for my gate, a guy with gray hair smiled and said to me, “I remember you from Rishikesh last year.” I said, “Actually it was two years ago, and the devotees I was with are planning to go again this year, from March 4 to March 14.” He was from Coventry, England, and praised our temple there. He said his name was Gaura Hari, and he was in Vrindavana when Srila Prabhupada was there in the 1970s. He pointed to his luggage and said he had his younger brother’s ashes to places in the Ganges River, and how that was a very emotional experience for him. He told how his younger brother drank 3 or 4 bottles of wine a day, was a womanizer, and was into heavy metal music. Although only 49 years old, he felt some pain, went to the hospital for a check up, and never came out. He was yellow in color, his liver was beyond repair, and had only three days to live. Gaura Hari decided to make his younger brother’s passing as devotional as possible with a tape playing Prabhupada singing underneath his bed, and another one of Aindra Prabhu singing near his ear. He placed on his body an old garland from Shyamasundara in Vrindavan. Those were just some of the many arrangements that also included Ganges water from Gomukh, the very beginning of the river. After two days, his brother’s yellow color temporarily went away, and his brother sat up and embraced him, saying, “Hare Krishna, brother!” Those were his last words. Gaura Hari Prabhu had the Vaishnava song book and sang all the devotional songs from it that he knew. When his brother left his body on the third day, the room glowed a purple and orange color. At the funeral, all kinds of people we there, his heavy metal friends, the Salvation Army people, his drinking buddies, and some devotees. People played all kinds of music. Gaura Hari included George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” from the Bangladesh concert when he sings Hare Krishna at the end, and concluded the funeral with the Govinda prayers. Reflecting on the auspicious devotional elements present during his brother’s passing away and funeral, I told Gaura Hari Prabhu that such fortune was there because he had a devotee brother. It reminds me that Srila Prabhupada once said that the parents of the devotees will realize at the time of their deaths what great fortune it is to have a devotee child. We went on our separate ways, he to a flight to Delhi and me to a flight to Mumbai, but we may meet up again in Rishikesh when he arrives there on March 10, to put his brother’s ashes in the sacred Ganges. I got a sense that Gaura Hari Prabhu needed someone to share his struggle with and so Krishna arranged that I meet him at the Istanbul airport during our two-hour layover there.

Chanting on the Train

I had a couple nice experiences chanting on the Mumbai to Howrah mail train, while going to Mayapur for the Kirtan Mela, As it was Ekadasi and the entire day would be spent on the train, I decided to take advantage of my freedom from other engagements and chant sixty-four rounds. As I was recovering from several days of little sleep, two being overnight flights, I decided I would chant sixteen rounds and then take a nap, and continue in that way until I reached sixty-four. When I awoke after thirty-two rounds and two naps, it was 11:10 a.m., and the train was stopped. The noise of the vendors hawking, the people talking, and the kids crying was overwhelming. Although not half my trip was over, the cacaphony of mundane sound was intolerable, and so pulled out my harmonium, and started chanting Hare Krishna, still sitting in the upper berth where I had taken rest. Several people stared at me, but I did not care. I had tolerated hearing their sound for over half a day, now they would have to tolerate hearing mine. I was thinking of only chanting for ten minutes, but I felt refreshed hearing the transcendental sound, and it appeared that the objectionable noise around me had significantly diminished, so I had not the least inclination to stop chanting. I chanted until the train began moving, decreasing the number of vendors, and drowning out the other noise with its own. In the midst of my kirtana, an Indian man wearing neck beads and also going to Mayapur for the Kirtan Mela and Maha Abhiseka (the great bathing ceremony for Pancatattva deities installed 10 years ago) gave me a bag with four tangerines. Later a woman in his party offered me chapatis and a potato preparation, but I declined as it was Ekadasi, the day when we fast from grains. Had I not chanted, I would never have met these two people of a similar spiritual inclination.

During the long afternoon when I was working on chanting the remaining mantras on my beads, I spent much time near the open doors at the end of the carriage as fewer people were talking, it was cooler, and seeing the grassy landscape with sparse trees and the sky pacified my mind. A couple devotees from another carriage came through and invited me to visit them where they sat. I decided to come by just after the sun set, bring my harmonium, and propose that we sing our evening song called “Gaura Arati” together. When we were at one of the longer stops, at the city of Bilaspur, I decided to take a break from chanting on beads, and get my computer (so it did not get stolen) and harmonium, and sing outside my carriage until the train began to move. As evening was approaching I sang the evening tune. I met one of the devotees who invited me to visit them. He was chanting on his beads alongside the train, and said I would come by later and we could sing the “Gaura Arati.” Near my carriage, the vendors made such a racket I decided to stand outside the carriage of the other devotees and sing until the train moved. Then when I went inside to sing with the other devotees, I found that devotees sitting in three different parts of the train had gathered, and there were nine of us altogether! They said to sing Hare Krishna for ten minutes, and then sing the “Gaura Arati” song. I complied, although we usually do them in the opposite order. I was just happy that we were singing together somehow.

After I sang, four of the other eight devotees also sang, three of them also playing my idiosyncratic harmonium, and I sang once more at the end.

The kirtana lasted for an hour and twenty minutes with times of great intensity and spiritual emotion. I danced to the next-to-last song.

The uniformed Maharashtrian policeman sitting next to me began to sing along with the chanting, and he exchanged phone numbers with one of the devotees afterward.

One devotee sang a song about Lord Caitanya with the refrain “Pranami saci suta gaura varam.” I tried to follow it in their song book, but there were too few copies, and I could not read the Devanagari script upside down in the book across from me fast enough to sing along, so I just sang the words I could recognize.

It was powerful to be singing about Lord Caitanya with eight other devotees who were performing the austerity of taking a 33-hour train ride from Mumbai to Howrah, enroute to His glorious birthplace. I was happy that the Lord had brought us all together to sing for Him, and also to benefit everyone else in the carriage with the transcendental sound.

When we continued our journey on the local train to Nabadwip Dham, the Juhu brahmacari, Radhika Kanai Prabhu, sang along with me.

It is striking to me that even the Indian Railways acknowledges in their naming of the station Nabdwip Dham that it is a sacred place associated with the descent of the Lord in this world, by including the word dhama, or as pronounced in Bengali, dham, in its name. .

Harinama in Mayapur

Vishnujana Prabhu from Slovakia, Gaura Karuna Prabhu and Nrsimha Caitanya Prabhu from Czech Republic, Syama Ras Prabhu from Croatia, and Harinamananda Prabhu from Australia travel all over the world doing harinama. I had see them in London in June 2013 and Czech Republic in August 2013, and the end of February 2014 they came to Mayapur to do harinama in the holy dhama. Every day, usually about 4:30 p.m. they would gather near the end of Chakra Bhavan (the long building) where three paths interact and do harinama around our Mayapur campus for a couple of hours.

Vishnujana Prabhu appealed to the crowd to participate.

Then when the devotees would dance in a circle, Indian pilgrims would join in.

The ladies also got into dancing.

Gopinath Prabhu from Finland would play his bass guitar along with the party.

Other people came by and played their own percussion instruments.

Once two elephants passed our party, something that does not happen every day.

Lots of the Indian visitors would be happy to see and hear our party, and even to dance with us.

Odd Sights from the Train

In India, you see things you do not see other places. The spiritual world in the Vedic literature is called Vaikuntha in Sanskrit, which means a place of no anxieties, unlike any place in this world. In modern Indian languages this is transformed to Baikunth, and so it was humorous for me to see this sign from the train. It does not look like the spiritual world to me!!!

In the West you see people with different colors of hair, but I never saw anyone with a beard dyed orange before.

This time I saw a family of five riding on a motorcycle. Too bad the train was moving too fast to snap a picture. I believe I also saw four people on a bicycle. That is one more on either conveyance than I had seen previously.

To see the pictures I did not include in this blog, go to the link below (the pictures I did use appear first in the album):
https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal104?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPHN1a2D1tC4jQE&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture given in Los Angeles on February 7, 1969 on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Appearance Day:

People are becoming Krishna conscious by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Anyone can take to this movement. It is not as hopeless as I originally thought.

If we struggle hard to spread this movement, even if we do not get any followers, Krishna will be satisfied, and our aim is to satisfy Krishna.

Nothing is stopped, it is just purified.

from a lecture given in Gorakhpur, India, on February 15, 1971, on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Appearance Day:

Except the devotee of Krishna, everyone is simply giving trouble to Krishna.

For the purpose of inducing people to become Krishna conscious, you can make your plan, for that is Krishna’s plan.

It is the appearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and we should honor the tithi [lunar day] very respectfully. We can pray to him, “We are engaged in your service, give us strength, give us intelligence, we are being guided by your servant.”

It is my duty to honor his appearance, but I am doing it with my entire spiritual family.

The feast should have at least four items, puri, halava, vegetable, and chutney.

[Srila Prabhupada approved the feast being in the evening, but the puspajali (offering of flower petals) should be at noon.]

from a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.1–3 on March 28, 1968, given San Francisco:

“Suppose a foolish boy is trying to touch fire. Father says, ‘Don’t do it.’ In spite of that, if the foolish boy does it, his hand is burned. So father is not responsible. He says, ‘Don’t do it.’ But the child does it out of ignorance and suffers. Similarly the sanction of God is there as we persist on it. ‘I want this. I want this.’ As a child sometimes cries and the mother is obliged to sanction, similarly, God is very kind. If we persist on doing something, He gives us sanction. But the result you have to suffer or enjoy.”

“So they have no sufficient reason [to say] that there is no creator. In everything, we find there is a creator. Anything you take. Take for example this table. There is a creator. Somebody has manufactured it. Or this microphone, somebody has created it. Anything you take, you have to find out some creator. And such a vast, gigantic thing [as this universe], going on so nicely and punctually… The sun is rising punctually, the moon is rising punctually, the fortnight is going on, the season is coming punctually – everything. Why there should be no creator or no superintendent?”

“Just like in the Bible it is said ‘God said, “Let there be creation.”’ That means before the creation, before this material creation, God was there. . . . There was nothing material. Therefore, God’s body cannot be material, because He existed before the creation of matter. So before creation of matter, there was nothing like matter, though God was there. Therefore conclusion is that God has no material body. He spoke, ‘Let there be creation.’ ‘He spoke’ means He’s a person; otherwise how He can speak? But His personality is not material, because when He spoke there was no material creation.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.19, purport:

“The Supreme Lord, Narayana, is the seed-giving father of all living entities because the living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. . . . As there is no difficulty in establishing the intimate relationship between a father and son, there is no difficulty in reestablishing the natural, intimate relationship between Narayana and the living entities.”

“ . . . if one performs even very slight devotional service, Narayana is always ready to save one from the greatest danger. The definite example is Ajamila. Ajamila separated himself from the Supreme Personality of Godhead by performing many sinful activities and was condemned by Yamaraja to be very severely punished, but because at the time of death he chanted the name of Narayana, although he was calling not for the Supreme Lord Narayana but for his son named Narayana, he was saved from the hands of Yamaraja. Therefore, pleasing Narayana does not require as much endeavor as pleasing one’s family, community and nation. We have seen important political leaders killed for a slight discrepancy in their behavior. Therefore pleasing one’s society, family, community and nation is extremely difficult. Pleasing Narayana, however, is not at all difficult; it is very easy.”

“If one wants to derive the actual benefit from this human form, he must take to the chanting of the holy name of the Lord.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.24, purport:

“If one sincerely tries his best to spread Krishna consciousness by preaching the glories of the Lord and His supremacy, even if he is imperfectly educated, he becomes the dearmost servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is bhakti. As one performs this service for humanity, without discrimination between friends and enemies, the Lord becomes satisfied, and the mission of one’s life is fulfilled. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore advised everyone to become a guru-devotee and preach Krishna consciousness (yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krishna’-upadesa [Sri Caitanya-caitamrita, Madhya 7.128]). That is the easiest way to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By such preaching, the preacher becomes satisfied, and those to whom he preaches are also satisfied. This is the process of bringing peace and tranquility to the entire world.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 11:

“A similar statement is there in the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Second Chapter, verse 53, where Havi, the son of King Rsabha, addresses Maharaja Nimi: ‘My dear King, a person who never deviates even for a moment from engagement in service at the lotus feet of the Supreme Person (engagement which is sought even by great demigods like Indra), with firm conviction that there is nothing more worshipable or desirable than this, is called the first-class devotee.’”

“In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa there is the following statement about self-surrender: ‘My dear Lord, a person who has surrendered himself unto You, who is in firm conviction that he is Yours, and who actually acts in that way by his body, mind and words, can actually relish transcendental bliss.’”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.22 given in Los Angeles on August 25, 1972:

We must have no doubts about Krishna, and that state can be achieved by bhakti, devotional service.

Krishna is always ready to help us, and if Krishna is helping us, it is very easy to understand Him.

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 12:

“A similar statement is in the Third Canto, Seventh Chapter, verse 19, of Srimad-Bhagavatam: ‘Let me become a sincere servant of the devotees, because by serving them one can achieve unalloyed devotional service unto the lotus feet of the Lord. The service of devotees diminishes all miserable material conditions and develops within one a deep devotional love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’”

“It is said in the Adi Purana, ‘A person who is constantly engaged in chanting the holy name and who feels transcendental pleasure, being engaged in devotional service, is certainly awarded the facilities of devotional service and is never given just mukti[liberation].’’”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for February 15” in Viraha Bhavan:

Soon after that, Swamiji
taught us the “swami step,”
a sedate movement where
you held your arms in the
air and took small steps.
We all began doing it in the
temple. Over the years, the
dancing grew more vigorous
and even rowdy. Almost
without exception, Prabhupada approved.
He just wanted to see the devotees’ enthusiasm.”

Rtadhvaja Swami:

When I was dealing with the AT&T customer service representative, after answering my initial question my phone, she asked if I had any more questions. I said, “I do have a question that is troubling me. Now I have a 61 year old body, but I remember when I had a 6 year old body. I guess that means I am the consciousness that has experienced different bodies. There must be a supreme consciousness beyond this, and I am wondering how to connect with that.” She replied that is the most amazing thing that she had ever heard, but she agreed about the point of changing bodies, saying that it was also her experience.

Time is unique because although always goes the same speed, sometimes it seems to be going faster and sometimes it seems to be going slower.

On a recorded lecture Srila Prabhupada says preliminary old age occurs at forty, and old age sets in at fifty.

The materialist thinks, “how can I take the fruits of my activities and enjoy sense gratification?” while a devotee thinks, “how can I engage the fruits of my work in Krishna’s service?”

The knower of the Absolute Truth is convinced about his awkward position in this world. By awkward I mean unstable. Thus he does everything as an offering to Krishna to become disentangled.

By positively engaging in devotional service, we become detached. Slowly but surely the higher taste comes, but it takes effort, it takes practice.

The devotee is not disturbed by the actions and reaction of material nature as they are under the control of Krishna.

When asked the vision of the pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada explained, “The devotee sees everything and controlled by Krishna.”

Once on our trip, one of the boys stole a candy bar. The next time we stopped at Sam’s Club, we got three cartloads of food for the boys, and I told them to bypass the cash register, and go straight to the car. They said, “Maharaja, you cannot go out with three cartloads of food and not pay.” I replied, “Well, that is your philosophy.” They responded, “Maharaja, there is a difference between a candy bar and three cartloads of food!”

If you go to the movies it is maya[illusion], and if you like it, it is more maya.

Krishna says of fish I am the shark, but that does meant Jaws is a bona fide movie.

Answer to a question: If you want to make a movie about Bhakti Tirtha Swami, that is a good thing, but better you exhaust other methods of learning movie skills before watching materialistic movies.

To be not disturbed in any circumstances is a very elevated position. This means the mind is never deviated from Krishna even in midst of the greatest difficulties.

If a devotees cuts his finger in the kitchen while chopping vegetables, he thinks that he should have cut his head but instead he just cut his finger.

To overendeavor is not recommended by Rupa Goswami, and someone once asked me, “How I know if I am overendeavoring?”

I replied, “If you are not getting your sixteen rounds done, then you are overendeavoring.”

Envy means you have something I don’t have, and I think I should have it.

At the end of my involvement with the hippie movement, I realized we were attached to our hippie attire and our hippie lifestyle as much as the businessmen were attached to their formal dress and their businessman lifestyle.

We fast till dusk on Nrsimha Caturdasi, but actually Nrsimhadeva appeared at noon.

I was teaching verses to my thirteen boys in Mayapur. One [Bg. 2.14] was about the need to tolerate happiness and distress. I asked the boys to give an example when they tolerated happiness or distress. They all gave examples of tolerating distress. I said, “Something is wrong here. Can anyone understand what it is?” After ten minutes of guessing, one boy realized no one gave an example of tolerating happiness.

Srila Prabhupada advised the devotees, “No matter how intolerable it becomes, just tolerate it.”

Our senses may be attracted to something, but we do not make any endeavor to go for it.

A devotee may take a risk for Krishna, but he is not attached to the result.

Srila Prabhupada said that each day in Vrindavan there was a demon killing ceremony by Krishna.

We make a plan, but we are not dependent on our plan. We roll with the punches.

One must be an honest practitioner of Krishna consciousness, both materially and spiritually.

Prahladananda Swami:

from a conversation in Mayapur:

Me: I am still ecstatic that you came out to join our harinama [public chanting] party in New York City.

Prahladananda Swami: I am ecstatic that I came out to join your harinama party in New York City!

Bhakti Purusottama Swami:

The Srimad-Bhagavatam stresses the nine items of devotional service to the Supreme Lord. The best of these is the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

Although the Bhagavatam comes from the Vedas, it gives what the Vedas cannot give.

Greater even than this bhagavata-dharma is the yuga dharma preached by Lord Caitanya which is the congregational chanting of the holy name and which results in Krishna-prema.

96% of the Vedas is karma kanda, 4% is jnana kanda. Bhakti is rarely mentioned.

Krishna could have said, “Abandon all varieties of irreligion (adharma) and surrender to Me,” but He did not. He said, “Abandon all varieties of religion (dharma) and surrender to Me,” What dharma did Krishna speak of abandoning? Dharma [mundane religiosity], artha[economic development], kama [sense gratification], and moksa[liberation]. [These are the four traditional goals of life.] This is also what the Bhagavatam speaks of rejecting.

Bhagavatam teaches prema-bhakti which enables one to understand God as God. Lord Caitanya taught a prema-bhakti in which one does not understand God as God but rather as one’s intimate friend, lover, etc.

The name of the Lord gives liberation but the Hare Krishna maha-mantra as taught Lord Caitanya gives this supreme prema-bhakti. The holy name is not just meant to eliminate sinful reactions.

When we chant Hare Krishna, we are not just giving up our sinful reactions but giving up our pious reactions as well. We cannot attain Krishna-prema until we are free from all reactions.

Kali-yuga is so bad that Lord thinks the people are too fallen for Him to deliver. Who is more merciful than the Lord Himself? His holy name. Thus it is said that the Lord appears in Kali-yuga in the form of His holy name.

Businessman means busy – too busy to have time for spiritual activities. Narada asked one businessman to engage in spiritual activities, but he said he had no time. Narada advised him, “When you are going to the toilet, chant “Rama, Rama, Rama.” The businessman was happy he could do something spiritual and not take time out of his life, so everyday he happily chanted “Rama” in the toilet room. Hanuman heard the chanting of “Rama, Rama, Rama” coming from the house and became attracted. He looked all over, and found the man was chanting in the toilet. He became angry that this man was chanting of his glorious Lord in the toilet of all places, and when the man came out, he criticized him and slapped him. When Hanuman next saw Lord Rama, His face was swollen, and Hanuman was outraged to see that. “I will kill the offender,” he told Lord Rama. “You are the offender!” Rama replied. “How is that?” Hanuman asked in surprised. Rama replied, “You slapped the face of the man who was chanting My name, and Me and My name are not different!”

We are always saying that chanting the holy name is so glorious, but alas, we are often absorbed in so many other activities we do not chant the holy name.

Lord Caitanya is running after us saying, “Take this Krishna-prema.”

We say that we do not need anything but the holy name, and these Kirtan Melas are an opportunity for us to realize this.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

Once the devotee scientists in Bhaktivedanta Institute engaged a scholar in studying the cosmology given in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. The scholar seriously studied it and found that he was not able to disprove it, but because he could not prove it, he did not personally accept it.

There is one question which the scientists’ explanation of the universe and the Biblical creation story do not answer, but which the Vedic cosmology can answer, and that question is “Why?”

There are departments of knowledge that deal with the different elements:

Earth – geology

Water – hydrology

Fire – chemistry

Air – meteorology

Ether – physics

Mind – psychology

Intelligence – philosophy

False ego – the spiritual science

comment by Damodar Prasad: Srila Prabhupada would say that we accept the scientific knowledge that we cannot personally verify so why can we not accept spiritual truth that we cannot yet verify.

When you think about it, the theory that monkeys morphed into human beings is also a fantastic theory which cannot be demonstrated.

Both in Vedic knowledge and modern science we accept fantastic ideas as facts because there are many truths in both systems of knowledge that we can verify by experience or experiment.

My friends were asking themselves the question, “What would you like to change in your life over the next ten years?” I considered it and thought that I hope that nothing in my life changes in the next ten years. This is because of your association [the enthusiastic devotees at Gainesville’s Krishna House].

comment by Clayton: As time goes on, being engaged devotional service you come to realize that serving the devotees that you are with everyday is the way you are going to serve Srila Prabhupada.

comment by Damodar: It is said that in the churning of the milk ocean pastime the demigods and the demons were all in the same place and endeavoring for the same end, but because the demigods took shelter of the Supreme Lord they came out successful.

Nanda Devi:

Srila Prabhupada is both logical and faithful. Sukadeva, as a learned scholar, would not insert mythology into his presentation of spiritual knowledge.

There is such variety in the Vedas so whoever you are, there is something to elevate you to a higher level.

The essence of the Vedic knowledge is to understand the body is a temporary vehicle and the soul must contact the Supersoul.

The Lord is always protecting us, and the more we see this, the more we can appreciate ourselves as being tiny dependent parts of the Lord.

Everything was originally unclear in the darkness, but after Brahma’s penance, although his environment remained the same, by Krishna’s grace he could then actually see how things were situated.

In other religions and other philosophies we do not find such a vast description of the Lord’s glories.

Tara Prabhu:

from a conversation at Mayapur Kirtan Mela:

Ramanujacarya has said that even if one cannot do any other good deeds, if one can simply sit in the association of the devotees of the Lord, he will become eligible for all auspiciousness.

Syamananda Prabhu (Chowpatty):

Krishna and Balarama reveal their forms as the Lord of Vaikuntha and Ananta Sesa to show that it is possible for people to see God.

Srila Prabhupada would make the point, “Why are you so concerned about seeing God? You can taste God.”

Srila Prabhupada’s morning program has something to capture all the senses. One devotee said when he first heard the conch shell it effected his mind. Another said it was being sprinkled by the water offered to the Deity.

The mind is like a parachute. It works only when it is open.

One senior devotee was asked how should we respond when the deity curtain opens, and we see the Lord. He replied that ideally we should faint.

Upavasa, or fasting, is so called because it is meant to bring us closer to God.

Upanishadic texts are meant to bring us closer to God.

I am happy that Krishna left Gokula Vrindavan because without His leaving there would be no Bhagavad-gita.

Krishna likes to be called Gopinatha because it reminds Him of the gopis’ devotion. Calling him the master of the modes of material, although certainly true, does not give Him so much pleasure.

Liberation means giving up all other designations.

Syamananda Prabhu (Dublin):

from a conversation in Dublin temple:

Our philosophy is that our relationships in this world are temporary, but our culture is to love as though they were not.

Gauranga Priya Prabhu (Chowpatty):

In the mode of ignorance, one is so absorbed in his work, he cannot see the reality.

If after working, we suffer, we were working in the mode of passion. If after working we are peaceful and happy, we were working in the mode of goodness.

Srila Prabhupada’s instructions disinfect us from material infection.

We may be very enthusiastic to serve the guru, but if the results of our endeavor are full of suffering then our action was contaminated by the mode of passion.

To not be agitated either by not achieving happiness or by achieving unhappiness, is a great idea, and it is possible by linking our actions with Krishna.

Hladini dd:

from a comment during my class:

Tulasirani dd always tries to engage the people in service. Once time at the University of North Florida she talked to a girl for sometime, but the girl showed no interest in attending our Krishna Club there. The girl then helped Tulasirani by holding the door open while she carried supplies into the building for our club meeting. Later Tulasirani and I were distributing books door-to-door, and we met that same girl again. This time she showed surprising interest in both the books and our club, purchasing a book and then coming to our Krishna Club meetings. We both felt it was because the girl voluntarily helped Tulasirani that Krishna inspired her with greater interest in spiritual life.

—–

Seeing the Panca-tattva in both Dublin and Mayapur, I was remembering the verses below and related verses in that section of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita which describe their merciful mood and mission:

sei panca-tattva mili’ prithivi asiya

purva-premabhandarera mudra ughadiya

pance mili’ lute prema, kare asvadana

yata yata piye, trishna badhe anukshana

punah punah piyaiya haya mahamatta nace,

kande, hase, gaya, yaiche mada-matta

patrapatra-vicara nahi, nahi sthanasthana

yei yanha paya, tanha kare prema-dana

“The characteristics of Krishna are understood to be a storehouse of transcendental love. Although that storehouse of love certainly came with Krishna when He was present, it was sealed. But when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came with His associates of the Panca-tattva, they broke the seal and plundered the storehouse to taste transcendental love of Krishna. The more they tasted it, the more their thirst for it grew. Sri Panca-tattva themselves danced again and again and thus made it easier to drink nectarean love of Godhead. They danced, cried, laughed and chanted like madmen, and in this way they distributed love of Godhead. In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity, the members of the Panca-tattva distributed love of Godhead.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 7.21–23)

Travel Journal#10.3: North Florida and Tampa
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 3
By Krishna-kripa das
(February 2014, part one)

Gainesville, Alachua, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Tampa
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on February 17, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

In the beginning of February, I continued chanting at Krishna Lunch and giving lectures at the Gainesville Krishna House. On Valentine’s Day, I spoke on the topic of love at our Friday evening program, and some people liked the lecture which you can hear at this link, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8G_-3HDls9WVW5hVmlBZ3JJUDg/edit?usp=sharing. I spent a couple of days chanting at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida State University in Tallahassee, and University of South Florida in Tampa. We also chanted at the Jacksonville Art Walk and at First Friday and Lake Ella in Tallahassee. I visited our our Krishna Club meeting at University of North Florida one Thursday and our Bhakti Yoga Society meeting at University of South Florida on Tuesday. One Saturday we chanted and distributed prasadam and books at the Ocala Regional Rainbow Gathering. The friends and family of Tim Carter (Gopinatha Das) had a beautiful five-hour kirtana program to dedicate a Gopinatha, CD of music by and about him, which he planned to produce before untimely leaving his body, along with two friends, in an auto accident two years before.

I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures and from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s online journal, Viraha Bhavan. I also have notes on lectures by great speakers like Rtadhvaja Swami and Nagaraja Prabhu of Back to Godhead. Then there are notes on lectures by both senior and junior devotees at Krishna House.

To see the extra photos I did not include in this blog, click on the link below:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal103?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNDNpZGV3dbSYg&feat=directlink

The extra pictures appear after the ones I used.

Itinerary

February 16–19 – Gainesville, Florida

February 20 – Orlando and Philadelphia

February 21–24 – Dublin, Ireland

February 25 – Mumbai

February 26 – on a train between Mumbai and Howrah

February 27–March 4 – Mayapur

March 6–13 – Rishikesh with Navina Nirada and Ekalavya Prabhus

March 14–20 – Delhi and Vrindavan
March 22–April 13 – Mayapur

April 15 – Mumbai

April 17–25 – Dublin, Belfast, etc.

April 27 – Kings Day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

May–July (first two-thirds) – The North of England, Birmingham 24-hour kirtana, London Ratha-yatra, Stonehenge Solstice Festival

July (last third)–August (first two-thirds) – Baltic Summer Festival, Polish Woodstock, Czech Woodstock

August (last third)–September (first half) – The North of England

September (rest) – New York

Notes on the Dedication of Gopinatha
Tim Carter’s (Gopinatha Das’s) CD

Anthony: Tim Carter [Gopinatha Das] was in the process of putting a CD together. His friends got together and finished it for him. I only knew Tim for a year. He taught me drum. He helped us realize that chanting transcends religion, that we are spirits who are beyond space and time. Do not let what Tim has given us end now that he has left his body.

Tim’s father and mother: We just want to thank all of you so much. We have a good life. It is just that it is very emotional for us now. You keeping in touch with us, made it easier to go through this time. Vrndavana [Tim’s girlfriend] made it easier, and Tyler, and Anthony. Thank you. It [the production of Tim’s CD] is the completion of Tim’s dreams.

Tyler: The miracle of God’s love is healing. Tim’s mother and sister sang on one of the songs to be on the CD at the studio, and then Tim’s voice came in the room, and his mother said the experience was very powerful.

They played three songs from the CD. There was a lot of rap in them and some very powerful lyrics. One was a song “Carry Me Away” written by Tyler soon after Tim left. Some lines that grabbed me were:

“And I can’t comprehend
Why’d you give me a brother
Just to take him back again?”

“O Lord, carry me away.” [Refrain]

“Can’t do this by myself, please

Teach me your transcendence.”

One song Tim started by supplying the drum beat and a verse.

Some parts of the song “Hare Krishna Orchestra” that struck me were:

“So I take this holy instant
to glorify You at every chance
You were with me every step
Trying to teach me how to dance
And today there are no memories of misery
Washed clean like footprints in the sand
By the ocean of Your Holy Name
So with our whole heart we chant:

Chorus: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna”

“And it just takes a spark
One choice, one life
Dedicated to truth
And the spark becomes a flame

And the flame grows higher”

“Not with your eyes

With the internal gaze of bhakti
And realize the truth
That you never lost connection

To limitless eternity”

There were five hours of kirtana at the event.

Many of Tim’s friends led the chanting.

Narayana, the brother of Tim’s girlfriend, Vrindavan, sang especially nicely.

Srivas played the ukulele.

Many people danced during the chanting.

I was thinking during the program, “How many of us will be honored by a five-hour kirtana and feast two years after leaving our bodies?” Tim Carter (Gopinatha Das) was a special person because of his love for kirtana and his love for sharing kirtana with others.

For more information on Tim Carter (Gopinatha), visit the web site http://kirtanhouse.com. To order a copy of the CD online, visit shop.kirtanhouse.com.

Here are a couple more sites to hear samples:
https://www.cdbaby.com/m/cd/kirtanhouse
http://m.soundcloud.com/tyler-nesbit/flight-beyond-time

Chanting in Jacksonville

Chanting at the University of North Florida:

We had one of the best days ever chanting at the University of North Florida. Krishna House book distributors, Damodar Prasad and Tony, along with Amrita Keli dd, and Dorian joined me in singing together for almost four hours. Krishna Club president, Rea Jeana, also joined us for most of the time.

Hannah, a young Quaker lady from Tallahassee, who had just started studying at UNF this semester and attended one Krishna Club meeting, chanted with us for two and a half hours, forgetting to eat lunch. She was happy to receive a Bhagavad-gita As It Is from Damodar when we finished.

Ekendra Prabhu, brought his guitar, and played for almost two hours at the end.

One male student, walked past us, appreciated our chanting, and brought us three 20-ounce bottles of cold water and left.

Later he returned and sat on the grass next to us, listening for half an hour or so.

Three young musicians from Kissimmee came by a couple times. One of them was practicing astanga-yoga. I showed him the table of contents of Science of Self-Realization, saying he could see if any of the topics interested him. He and one of his friends each took copies of Science of Self-Realization, giving enough donations to cover the printing. I told them of our Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday program at the Hare Krishna center in Orlando, near the UCF campus. One girl named Akam was very happy to see us and recognized Damodar Prasad in our group. She told how she met the Gainesville devotees at First Friday in Tallahassee and talked to Caitanya for a long time. She touched fists of everyone in the party but me as she left. Halfway through our chanting session my supply of invitations to Krishna Club had dwindled down to one, and I would show people the final invitation and tell them, when they went to grab it, that it was my last one. I would encourage them to take a picture of it, and over fifteen people did. One girl had heard of Hare Krishna before, and I asked how. She said her father used to work in a restaurant in an airport back in the 1970s.

Across the green, in front of the Fine Arts Building, perhaps a hundred young people were dressed in black and white. A few of them began imitating our dancing, and adding a few moves of their own. This continued for some time, and when we stopped singing a tune, the entire group of people applauded, which does not happen every day on harinama.If you have a Facebook account, you see a video clip at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=677004475697239. Thanks to Amrita Keli Devi Dasa for the video and the picture of me and Ekendra Prabhu.

We planned to chant the following day for four hours again, but at the time we proposed to chant, it was raining. Since most of the students could not come for the beginning anyway, and I felt shy about singing by myself in front of the Student Union, where we are protected from the rain, I decided to go out two hours later when Rae Jeana and Dorian could join me. We each chanted part of time. Dorian sang a tune I knew how to play on the harmonium, and Rae Jeana sang a pretty tune which I was able to learn how to play as she sang. That is not a skill I naturally have, although I am slowly getting better at it, and I see it as Krishna’s mercy on me that I could learn her tune so quickly. Some people were happy to see us, and at least one person took a photo of my last remaining invitation. Rae Jeana sang the birthday song for Dorian’s birthday, with the Hare Krishna addition, “May you never take birth again.” For the final line, she made her own addition, “May you go back to Vrindavan.” For a student who is a Krishna Club president she is very enthusiastic, attending all the meetings, and always being willing to chant on the campus when she has time. Dorian says she also almost infallibly keeps her promises, a trait that too few people have these days.

Chanting at the Jacksonville Art Walk:

After chanting at the campus for over an hour, Dorian and I joined with Damodar and Tony, and eight devotees from Krishna House to chant, and distribute books and lollipop prasadam at the Jacksonville Art Walk which occurs the first Wednesday of each month.

Some of devotees distributed lots of books like Lacie, who did fifty, and Alex, who did twenty-eight. We chanted there for three and a half hours.

Hannah, who came to Krishna Club the first time last Thursday, came and chanted the response for over two and a half hours as well as giving Dorian a ride there and back. While chanting at the Art Walk we also met students who were happy to get the details about our Krishna Club meetings at University of North Florida.

One young Afro-American man in the crowd played his one-head drum with us, as he had back in December.

Some people took pleasure in dancing with us.

Ed started by distributing lollipops.

Later, with great delight, would ask passersby if they would like to play a tambourine, advertising it as “free fun.”

Sometimes he would be able to also interest them in a mantra card or a book.

All in all, it was another great event to share Krishna with others.

Chanting in Tallahassee

At Florida State University:

I chanted and distributed cookies at Florida State University for a couple days. I got emails of several students interested in meditation, Bhagavad gita classes, and vegetarian cooking classes. One young lady had just become a vegan the month before. I am always meeting new converts to vegetarian diets on that campus. Often they find out about the vegan/vegetarian Krishna Lunch from me for the first time. One grad student who is a baker said she did not like sweets. I had heard of that phenomenon before, so I was not surprised. Later in the conversation, she decided to try an oatmeal cookie anyway. She ended up liking it so much she wanted the recipe! When I showed her the recipe on my computer – a photo of the back of an oatmeal box – she realized she bought the same brand and already had the recipe!

One day while chanting I met a young lady who said she was on the way to a meeting of Naturally FSU, a student group for those interested in nudism. I asked her if she knew what the karma for nudism was, but she had never heard about it. Trying to make it sound logical, I explained that you have to take birth in a species where they do not wear clothes. She said she did not have a problem with that. I did not go deeper into it, but said I just wanted her to know. Then I asked her what her major was, and she replied retail marketing, specializing in fashion design. I smiled to myself. I never met anyone interested in both nudism and fashion design before.

Lauren and her dog, Rascal, who I met in December, came by, and Rascal was glad to see me.

At First Friday:

First Friday was not as nice as when the Gainesville devotees were there and it was warmer as in December. Still Daru Brahma Prabhu had a steady stream of people eating his Krishna food, and they all heard me, along with Damodar Prasad and Tony Prabhus, singing Hare Krishna. Toward the end Ameya and Jon joined us, and after that so did Eva and Brooklyn, who are becoming serious about Hare Krishna and who we had met at Garuda Prabhu’s place on Thursday night. While I was singing at the end, Damodar got up and danced while he played the drum, I began to dance as I played his portable harmonium, and someone else began to dance as well. Then all seven of us danced, and a couple passersby joined us and many watched. That was the highpoint of the evening.

At Lake Ella:

Krishna really blessed me with a warm and sunny weekend to sing at Lake Ella.

Saturday, after chanting for a little over an hour, Jon joined me, and soon after, Daru Brahma Prabhu. I learned an African drum teacher and his followers play drums there from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays, so I should start at 2:00 p.m. instead of 1:00 p.m. in the future. It was nice chanting with other devotees. One Indian family gave a donation of five dollars, and Jon gave four dollars himself. We also distributed a bunch of oatmeal cookies. Many, many people, walking their dogs and strolling with their kids, passed by.

Sunday I chanted by myself for 2½ hours. Then a man came by who was carrying a drum for a drum circle that was to take place in half an hour.

I encouraged him to stay and play, and he did for awhile. Then a couple, both spiritual seekers, stopped by. We talked a little philosophy, and then they chanted with me for several mantras, with me leading and them singing the response. It felt good to be teaching new people the mantra. Inspired by the donation I received the previous day, on Sunday I put out a donation box. Several people gave donations, but I was only able to give away a few On Chanting Hare Krishna pamphlets, and a single Krishna, Reservoir of Pleasure, and no books. On occasion people would comment on the beauty of the singing, which is simply the glory of the holy name. I stayed several minutes longer than my three hours because Ameya and Alexis came by near the end to chant for ten minutes or so. I recalled Alexis from her lively dancing with us at First Friday, and took her number so I could tell her about future chanting opportunities.

Chanting at University of South Florida in Tampa

I traveled with the Krishna House book distributors, Damodar Prasad and Tony Prabhus, to the University of South Florida in Tampa.There I sat on a blanket next to the library with some books and chanted for an hour. Soon a young man named Mike came by, who said he had all the books. Mike liked the chanting and sat with me on the blanket for 50 minutes, singing the whole time. After I chanted for an hour, Damodar and Tony came.

Damodar taught Mike how to play the karatalas.

Afterward Mike brought his girlfriend to meet us. [Later in the week, Mike talked with Damodar and Tony and had lunch with them. Apparently now he is planning to go to Alachua for Gaura Purnima.]

Nama Kirtan Prabhu came, setting up a book table and supplying more books.

Thanks to Raju, on the left in the above photo for taking the photos with me in them.

Damodar and Tony are such good singers and instrumentalists, I let them do the rest of the kirtana.

That day, which was Lord Varaha’s appearance day, I distributed a Science of Self-Realizationand a couple small books, which was more than usual. We also distributed many invitations. After chanting for three hours, as I walked from the library to the Marshall Center where our Tuesday evening program was held, I passed out about seven invitations. One young bearded men who received one came to the program.

At the program I talked about the yoga ladder.

The devotees said more people came to the program than usual. I enjoyed talking to some of them.

One psychology student named Serena was interested in Dhira Govinda Prabhu’s study on the Hare Krishna mantra.

The next day we had a book table and chanted for three hours at the Bull Market. The market is called that because their football team is the USF Bulls.

Unfortunately there was amplified music playing almost the whole time, and although our table was one of the furthest from the speakers, it was still annoying. Just a few people stopped at our table. The nearby tables were also did not get much action.

One young man looked at several of the books and decided to buy Bhagavad-gita. He did not have cash and the book distributors, who can take credit cards, were off breaking their fast for Lord Nityananda’s appearance day. I suggested he go to the ATM, and he did and donated $10 for the book.

Chanting in Gainesville

The Friday after Nityananda Prabhu’s appearance day we had more devotees chanting at University Avenue and Northwest Thirteenth Street than usual.

In particular, Dasarath Suta Prabhu from Pensacola played flute and conch at different times.

Chanting at the Rainbow Gathering in Ocala

Satyahit Prabhu, a Prabhupada disciple who works for Krishna Lunch, as part of a team of devotees, distributed Krishna food at the Rainbow Gathering in Ocala the Sunday I was in Tallahassee. We heard the gathering was extended for two weeks, so he was enthusiastic to go again the next Saturday. It turns out the extension just allowed twelve people to stay to clean up the site, and six police cars were there getting everyone to leave.

Still we chanted for almost an hour and a half and distributed six buckets of chili, rice, potatoes, salad, and halavato many truly grateful people.

We also gave away some small Bhagavad–gitas which Satyahit was given, and some Higher Taste cookbooks, and On Chanting Hare Krishna pamphlets. One lady said she was looking for Bhagavad-gita! As I usually do not do harinamaon the weekends when living in Gainesville, it was an increase for me.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

fromSrimad-Bhagavatam1.7.2–4 given in Durban on October 14, 1975:

“Formerly, big, big saintly persons, they used to live in forest ashram.Now they have to come far away from ashramto South Africa because people have forgotten. Formerly, big, big persons, they used to visit the ashram, but nowadays people are not interested. Anartha.They are captivated by the material, external energy. It is said that… Not only now, formerly also, but formerly the number of people who were not interested were very, very small. At the present moment, the number of interested people are very, very small. That is the difference. Kali-yuga. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He inaugurated this Krishna consciousness movement, that people in this age are no more interested in their value of life. They are in darkness. Therefore Vaishnava, under the instruction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, should go door to door, country to country, town to town, and preach Krishna consciousness for their benefit.”

“Krishna consciousness movement means we are teaching our disciples how to think of Krishna twenty-four hours. This is Krishna consciousness. And the simple method is to chant,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”

“our disciples are advised to chant at least sixteen rounds. This is our daily duty. It takes about two hours, and after that we are engaging so many other businesses. Somebody is typing or printing books, somebody is going to sell books, somebody is collecting subscription, somebody is cooking for the temple Deity, Radha-Krishna. So in this way, our inmates or our members are always engaged. Kirtaniyah sada harih [Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 17.31], this is recommendation of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Somehow or other, be engaged twenty-four hours in Krishna consciousness. Then your life will be successful.”

“You haven’t got to drive away darkness by some separate endeavor. You simply get the Krishna sun (to) rise up, then your darkness will go out.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 9:

“Chanting a mantra or hymn softly and slowly is called japa, and chanting the same mantra loudly is called kirtana. For example, uttering the maha-mantra (Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare) very softly, only for one’s own hearing, is called japa.”

“In the Padma Purana there is a statement of submission in feeling by devotees praying to the Lord: ‘My Lord, I know that young girls have natural affection for young boys, and that young boys have natural affection for young girls. I am praying at Your lotus feet that my mind may become attracted unto You in the same spontaneous way.’ The example is very appropriate. When a young boy or girl sees a member of the opposite sex there is a natural attraction, without the need for any introduction. Without any training there is a natural attraction due to the sex impulse. This is a material example, but the devotee is praying that he may develop a similar spontaneous attachment for the Supreme Lord, free from any desire for profit and without any other cause. This natural attraction for the Lord is the perfectional stage of self-realization.”

“One should feelingly pray and become eager to render his particular type of service to the Lord. This is the teaching of all great devotees, especially Lord Caitanya. In other words, one should learn how to cry for the Lord. One should learn this small technique, and he should be very eager and actually cry to become engaged in some particular type of service. This is called laulyam, and such tears are the price for the highest perfection. If one develops this laulyam, or excessive eagerness for meeting and serving the Lord in a particular way, that is the price to enter into the kingdom of God. Otherwise, there is no material calculation for the value of the ticket by which one can enter the kingdom of God. The only price for such entrance is this laulyam lalasamayi, or desire and great eagerness.”In other words, one should learn how to cry for the Lord. One should learn this small technique, and he should be very eager and actually cry to become engaged in some particular type of service. This is called laulyam, and such tears are the price for the highest perfection. If one develops this laulyam, or excessive eagerness for meeting and serving the Lord in a particular way, that is the price to enter into the kingdom of God. Otherwise, there is no material calculation for the value of the ticket by which one can enter the kingdom of God. The only price for such entrance is this laulyam lalasamayi, or desire and great eagerness.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.10, purport:

“ . . great kings and emperors have given up household life. Although they were extremely opulent and were the masters of kingdoms, they could give up all their possessions because they were trained early as brahmacaris.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 10:

“To meditate means to engage the mind in thinking of the form of the Lord, the qualities of the Lord, the activities of the Lord and the service of the Lord. Meditation does not mean anything impersonal or void. According to Vedic literature, meditation is always on the form of Vishnu.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for January 31” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows three
devotees dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
Two are women, and
one is a man. One of
the women wears a
plain sari, and she may
be an inmate in a temple.
The other wears a red
dress and appears independent.
The man wears colorful
sport clothes. But all
wear Vaisnavatilaka
and have gathered together
for harinama.It doesn’t matter
whether one lives
in a temple
or what clothes one wears.
The important thing
is consciousness. These
three devotees are united
in Krishna consciousness by virtue of
chanting the holy names in public, and the Lord
is pleased with them for that.”

from “Poem for February 2” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four
bhaktas dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They appear happy and moving freely.
Their chanting has a great effect
on the world. It may not
seem so. They are not
the power movers like the
nation’s politicians, the
corporate billionaires and the
many other money-changers
or the media stars.
But what they are
doing is pleasing to
the Supreme Lord
who is the supreme controller.
By the humble sacrifice
ofsankirtana yajna
auspicious results
are brought about, and
disasters are avoided.
The harinama party
is doing the most
important welfare work
although it
may not be perceivable to the mundane eye.”

from “Poem for February 7” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four
bhaktasdancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They appear like more
than four men; they
appear to be a large group.
Just a handful of
enthusiastic devotees
on harinamacan
make a great influence.
They create imperceptible
auspiciousness. That is
because they are
chanting the names
of Krishna, who
is the Supreme Controller.
If He is pleased He can
bestow His mercy
on the world. Prabhupada has written that
if the Krishna consciousness movement
can hold continual sankirtana sacrifices
around the world
there will be an era
of peace and prosperity.”

from “Poem for February 8” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows three
bhaktasdancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They are smiling and showing
emotional ecstasy.
By chanting one feels
happy in body and
mind. That is because
the pleasure-potency
of the Lord enters
the devotee, and he
is no longer attached
with the material
body. Nondevotees
observing the harinama
used to think the devotees
were on LSD. Astonished,
they sometimes appreciated
them and asked, ‘Are
you Americans?’ The observers are aware
that something unusual is going on. Sometimes
the adventurous ones join
the kirtanaand experience
the bliss of chanting Hare Krishna.”

Radhanath Swami:

In the activities of Lord Nityananda we see the full manifestation of Lord Caitanya’s compassionate nature.

Rtadhvaja Swami:

The material world is Krishna’s prison. Imagine – God has to create a prison! Krishna does not tolerate nonsense in the spiritual world.

You cannot come up with something like the universal form of the Lord by your imagination.

Bhagavad-gita describes the soul as inconceivable. If the soul is inconceivable, how inconceivable God is, who is the source of all souls!

Suppose you have five kids, and I as a stranger, come into your house and see four kids happily eating ice cream and the other in the corner sobbing. I may think it is unfair, but I do not know what the fifth child did prior to my arrival to be sitting in the corner. In the same way, we sometimes accuse God of being unfair without knowing a person’s past.

You cannot blame Krishna for giving us free will.

Even a thief can be attracted to Krishna, as He was a butter thief and a yogurt thief. The difference between Krishna’s naughty activities and ours, is that His give everyone pleasure.

Brahmatirtha Prabhu:

There is reality, and there is our perception [and these are often two different things].

Srila Prabhupada once said, “I am not a cosmologist.” He expressed in private, and occasionally, in public, that he did not perfectly understand the Fifth Canto cosmology.

Arjuna asked for a little awe, and Krishna said, “You want to see some awe? I will show you some awe!” Then He manifested His terrifying universe form.

If you are adept at both modern science and Srimad-Bhagavatam, thenyou can make a convincing presentation that increases people’s faith in the Vedic literature, but if you are not, the results can be disastrous.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

Having the same purpose is the most unifying factor.

From the beginning of my Krishna consciousness, I have appreciated that because we have a common purpose of devotional service, we immediately get along with and befriend the devotees we meet in our travels all over world.

People in the mode of goodness stress unity. Why allow differences to interfere with our relationship?

If we imitate a higher platform, we will end up hurting ourselves and others.

Sometimes some devotee becomes excited about a detail and elevates it to a principle.

What are examples?

Advocating a certain diet.

Advocating a certain type of dress.

Thinking their service is better than others.

It is a privilege to have the association of devotees. If we think we can behave in any way in that society, we are mistaken.

In ISKCON, our purpose is to please Srila Prabhupada.

Indirectly the rtvikphilosophers are saying, “Although Srila Prabhupada is very great, he could not produce a single disciple capable of acting as spiritual master after his death.”

It was one of Srila Prabhupada’s godbrothers who advised the GBC to institute the zonal acarya<

Travel Journal#10.2: Gainesville, Alachua, and Tampa
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 2
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2014, part two)

Gainesville, Alachua, Tampa
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on February 2, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

For the rest of January, I continued chanting at Krishna Lunch and giving lectures at the Gainesville Krishna House, and even one in Alachua, which many people liked. At Krishna House, Paramesvara Prabhu, a leader of American book distributors, gave a seminar on book distribution with an ocean of practical ideas which I share. I continued teaching the mantra meditation class in Gainesville and share people’s realizations from that. Gainesville and Alachua devotees chanted in the Martin Luther King March, where they were well received. Alachua, Gainesville, and Tampa devotees did harinama for the third time at Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, an event said to be attended by 250,000 people. More people from the crowd participated by dancing and chanting than usual. I ended the month with a enlivening visit to our Krishna Club meeting at University of North Florida in Jacksonville on Thursday, and seeing a play the Krishna House students did in Gainesville for their Friday evening program.

In addition to great quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures and more excerpts from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal, I have notes on a class Jayadvaita Swami gave at the Krishna House and notes on many lectures by Prabhupada disciples who regularly give lectures in Gainesville and Alachua. I also have a class by Parmesvara Prabhu.

Chanting at Krishna Lunch

Occasionally some student sits near our blanket of Hare Krishna chanters while eating Krishna Lunch. I have begun asking such students if they like the music. One girl named Hadee said she liked it a lot. I told her how I had been chanting for 6 hours a day with my friends in New York City, and I said there is a lot of joy in the mantra. She can find free downloads of the chanting from Krishna.com on the Internet. She surprised me by saying she would come and sit with us on the blanket the next day. She surprised me even more by actually doing that, and by bringing a friend, Danny, who played the flute. They both chanted the mantra, but mostly Danny played the flute, following the melody and doing some improvisation. I asked Danny if he knew that Krishna played the flute, and he replied, “I do now!” I explained how God is the source of music and the arts, and that He Himself played the flute. They both had a great time participating in the kirtana and said they would sing with us in the future.

Devotees from Alachua sometimes join us, such as Prabhupada disciples, Pancagauda Prabhu (left), temple president of Vrindavan, and Purusartha Prabhu (right), when he is not traveling with Gaura Vani and his band, Hanumen.

We had a cold spell and some days were very difficult. On January 29, we chanted for over two hours although it was 41° F (5° C) with a wind chill of 34° F (1° C). If we were in New York City we would have chanted in the subway stations. I could only play harmonium 20 minutes at a time. The worst day I remember chanting outside in New York City I could last 30 minutes!

Chanting in the Martin Luther King March

The Hare Krishnas joined a number of different organizations such as churches, peace activists, school organizations, politicians, waste disposal companies, and even McDonalds, to participate in the Martin Luther King March in Gainesville, Florida.

Clearly the devotees seemed the happiest people in the march.

Several people danced with us and clapped to our music, during and after the march.

Kamala Manjari dd and her kids, her brother, and her mother came from Alachua to join the Krishna House devotees, along with a couple of traveling book distributors, Deva Krishna Prabhu and Brandon, formerly based in Gainesville, to sing and dance in the parade. Thus our party spanned three generations and different racial backgrounds.

Bhaktin Alex told us afterward that one lady told her, “You guys made the whole parade!”

As I walked to get the van, one lady seeing me in my robes chanting japa said “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna.”

I replied, “You say that so nicely!”

She responded, “I feel it. I feel it in my heart.”

That lady made the whole parade worthwhile for me.

Damodar Prasada Prabhu would explain to people that although we have different abilities because of our different bodies, on the platform of the soul we are all equal. The people were happy to hear that, and one lady gave him $20, so he was able to distribute several books.

Mantra Meditation Class

I asked new and veteran chanters to share their experiences.

Jaya Sri Vrinda dd: I have been chanting for five years. Not only do you feel more peaceful yourself, but others also notice. When I was in law school, I would say “Hello” to someone, and the person would reply, “How is it you are so calm?” Everyone in law school was in complete anxiety because of all the studying they had to do. I would explain the calmness came from meditation. I had a group of a few people who I taught mantra meditation. They were all very grateful because it freed them from so much stress.

Hladini Dasi: At New Vrindavan, I used to sit in the classes teaching the mantra to the guests. We would chant one round at such a slow rate, I would always leave after it was half over, and chant outside at a higher rate of speed. Tonight, however, I was able to chant the whole round at the slow rate and appreciate it.

Mick: I found because chanting the mantra was a new experience for me, it took all my concentration just to keep saying the words properly, so my mind was not able to focus on anything else.

We had three new people. All took beads, and Mick kindly gave a donation. None of the four who came to the first class returned, will any of these three? God only knows. I am thinking of asking the devotees who come to the class to pray to Him, in His feature of Lord Caitanya, for the new people to take up the chanting and to continue attending the class. They can only benefit by doing so!

Harinama at Gasparilla Pirate Festival

For the third year, Hare Krishna devotees from Gainesville, Alachua, and Tampa chanted Hare Krishna at the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa.

As usual there were a lot of people who were really intoxicated, and too many people were dressed in a risque way. But more people danced with us than previously.

I held the mantra sign much of the time.

Some people just appear really happy to have encountered the Hare Krishnas.

Others took pleasure playing the instruments.

Some tried to chant, reading the mantra from a card.

When Damodar Prasad Prabhu led, some people really got into dancing.

Once Hladini Dasi swang a young lady around

and then offered her some literature.

There were some really wonderful comments:

One young man said, “I feel both confused and enlightened.”

I was not sure what he meant, and replied, “This world is a confusing place.” Then I added, “But by hearing the spiritual vibration everything becomes clear.”

He said some words in agreement, and concluded by saying, “You have opened up a whole new world to me. Thank you.” That was the most positive comment I have heard on harinama in some time.

Hladini Dasi overheard a girl saying to her friends about the devotees, “They are here every year, every year! Awesome! They are the best part!”

We sang as we returned to our cars, and one young man said to us, “Thank you for playing.”

The Tampa nama hatta devotees made a terrific lunch for all the devotees, and we were so happy because it was 4:30 p.m., and we were all hungry from all the singing and dancing.

Except for a few devotees who found the degradation too much of a distraction, many of us rejoiced in seeing so many people happy to hear the holy name and happy to dance with the devotees, some even expressing words of appreciation. We look forward to representing Lord Caitanya and His sankirtana mission in Tampa for Gasparilla again next year.

Thanks to Hladini Dasi, who took photos while I was holding the mantra sign.

Krishna Club at University of North Florida

As I have chanted Hare Krishna on the campus of the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville several times a year for several years, I try to go to their Krishna Club meetings at least once a month. Tulasi-priya dd, who along with Ekendra Prabhu, now live in Jacksonville and regular contribute to the program, suggested I speak on the univeral nature of bhakti. Many regulars came to the program along with three new students, all friends from Tallahassee who began going to UNF this semester. I was happy to see all three new students were adventurous enough to chant in the lively kirtana led by Ekendra Prabhu on guitar. Kayla, one of the regular attenders, has the bells that the belly dancers use, which she puts on to dance in the kirtana.She also brings instruments and bells for others. Amrita Keli dd encourages the regular attenders to introduce the chanting and the prasadam, spiritual food, to the newcomers. She also plans to engage them in doing the fifteen minutes of yoga at the beginning of the program.

While giving examples of bhakti in different traditions I mentioned I was brought up as a Quaker. During the prasadam after the lecture and chanting, Hannah, one of the new students, mentioned she was a Quaker. Outside New York State, I have only attended one Quaker meeting in the world, and that was the one Hannah attended in Tallahassee, and I knew a couple of Hannah’s Quaker friends, one who would come to the Tallahassee temple on occasion and another I would see on the campus at Florida State University. Hannah as a vegetarian could appreciate that vegetarianism is an important part of pacifism, and it is really not possible to live in peace as long as we commit the violence of killing animals, a truth that not all the Quakers appreciate. She and her friends liked the program and said they would be back. Hannah also expressed interested in buying some books.

Laura, who lives at Krishna House and who was the first president of our Krishna Club, before graduating from a masters program at UNF, came with us and was happy to catch up with all her old friends who are still involved with the club.I arranged to chant with some students on the campus next Tuesday and Wednesday when I return to Jacksonville for a couple days. So on the whole it was a wonderful program and a great opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones.

Jagai and Madhai Play

For three years, Arjuna Prabhu has been desiring to do a play for the Friday night program at Krishna House. Now by the assistance of Kaliyaphani Prabhu from the UK, it actually happened. Krishna House devotees did a play called the “Deliverance of Jagai and Madhai.” The students took their parts seriously and practiced a lot, and the result was powerful. That pastime in which the drunken brothers are delivered by tolerant and merciful Lord Nityananda Prabhu is especially captivating when presented as a drama, and everyone felt in a good mood as a result. Arjuna Prabhu and his friend who played the two drunks did a great job. Vaishnava, born of Hare Krishna parents from New Vrindavan, did very well as Lord Nityananda. There were a couple of guests coming to our program for the first time, and they were clearly impressed and attracted.

The whole play is on YouTube (http://youtu.be/bk44nuzjEf0):

Here are photos from a few scenes:

Haridas Thakur and Lord Nityananda spread the holy name.

They encounter the drunken Jagai and Madhai.

The drunks are reveling in madness.

Madhai hurts Lord Nityananda, thus enraging Lord Caitanya, but
Lord Nityananda begs Lord Caitanya to be merciful.

He agrees, if Madhai surrenders to
Lord Nityananda, and so he does.

The play ends with everyone chanting Hare Krishna.

And after the play, we continued chanting Hare Krishna.

Devotees would swing other devotees around as we chanted.

One new girl asked me if there were any more pastimes of these divine avatars, and I told her about Lord Caitanya bringing His devotee’s dead son back to life to discourse on transmigration of the soul and planting a mango seed, which immediately grew to a mature tree, producing fruits for the refreshment of His chanting party. I also told how Lord Caitanya would use His omniscience to tell the servers which type of food each devotee wanted more of. In general, the Lord uses His omnipotence and omniscience to please His devotees. She stayed talking to Hladini Dasi till after most people had left.

Parmesvara Prabhu on Book Distribution

Some important principles:

1. Leaving everyone with a favorable expression.

Often someone I treated pleasantly who did not take a book, did take a book in the future, because I had originally treated them in a very nice way.

2. Tolerance.

A really important part of book distribution is to understand it is for our purification. If we have another motive than our purification, then we will not get the full experience. If we consider that no matter what happens to us, it is Krishna’s doing and therefore perfect, and we actually say, “Perfect,” when confronted with a challenge, then we will find we remain in a much more positive consciousness.

Comment by Satyahit Prabhu: On traveling book distribution, we used to go to different peoples’ homes. We would cook a feast in their kitchens and stay over night. That is how Bhakti Marga Swami became a devotee.

Srila Prabhupada said to flatter people like anything. I myself try to say three positive things to them in the thirty seconds or so I talk to them.

Our desire is to be instruments in the hands of the previous teachers. Our desire is to attain Krishna prema, love for Krishna.

We can always try to please God, in all circumstances. You do not have control of the results, of the weather, or of the people you meet.

It is not our duty to make sure they become Krishna consciousness, but we are responsible to try. Trying is the perfection. It is not proficiency or results, but simply to try is the perfection. Sometimes we find when we feel most unqualified, we do the best. And conversely, when we feel most qualified we do worse.

The final of Lord Caitanya’s eight prayers is good to remember: “I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly in His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.”

Sometimes I have had one of the best days when I was completely exhausted. I prayed to Krishna and did not expect anything, and I had one of my best days.

I know some people who read Srila Prabhupada’s arrival address in America in Science of Self-Realization before they distribute books. There are four key points.

D – Desirethat the people be delivered.

U – Feel yourself the most unqualified.

T – Beg Krishna, “Make me your tool.”

Y – Tell Krishna, “I have full faith in Yourholy name.”

All our anarthasare like a virus in our computer, and remembering the above four points, resets our system.

Read an hour a day and be steady with your service, and if you have difficulty, remember trying is the perfection.

By giving Krishna, you will get Krishna.

If you have the real thing, devotion to God, by doing sadhana [your spiritual practice], then you will be hard to resist.

The difference between a fighter and a prize fighter is that a prize fighter gets back up.

Realizing 70% of your fears are unfounded by seeing someone doing book distribution and having a good recipe, makes it possible for you overcome resistance to wanting to go out on book distribution.

comment by Caitanya: I use a line from Vaisesika Prabhu regarding dealing with Christians. Tell them, “Great. We need more people of faith like you out here.” Then send them on their way.

Self realization is a great word. Everyone can relate to that. “Transcendental” is also a good word.

Having a good morning and evening program, and serving during the day, as Srila Prabhupada recommended, will fulfill all your desires.

I had a dream in which I went to touch Srila Prabhupada to get his blessings, and he talked to me. He wanted me to stop someone to preach to. I went to a place where people were moving more slowly. A guy came up to me, asking for a Science of Self-Realization. I sold him one. He gave three dollars. I said, “My spiritual teacher wants to talk to you.” He gave a strange expression, and I turned and saw Srila Prabhupada had gone. From that dream I came to understand that by distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books, I am giving him people to preach to.

It is alright to go out there in bad consciousness. I do it all the time. But after some time of doing distribution, that loving feeling returns.

Say to Muslims: “Allah Akbar. This book will tell you how to love Allah.”

Say to Christians: “Stay Christian. That’s what the book says. That is alright. Learn how to love God more. Christ said he had more to teach you.”

It is not a religion. It is a science. The science of self-realization.

Hardly anyone says those little nice things at the end of the conversation so that can really leave a good impression.

comment by Caitanya: Vallabha Prabhu would always tell me to approach everyone because you do not know who may be interested.

Their negativity is their problem.

You can accept gift cards. 25% of my income is from gift cards. If you cannot use them, there is a company that buys them and gives you 70% of their value.

If you learn to have a grip on the book, they will not walk off with it.

If you ask for $20, they may give you $10. If you ask for $10, they may give you $5.

If they say, “I am a Christian,” “I am an atheist,” “I am Satanist,” or whatever, just say, “I respect that.”

Just say, “People just take one and give a donation.”

Praise them for what they have invested their time in.

With a group, stand in the middle of them, and try to approach the leader unless he does not appear interested, and in that case, approach the most interested person.

If you have a temple in the town, you should be especially nice to the people who you distribute books to.

People are inclined not to take books, so do not give them an opportunity to say “no” in talking with them.

Krishna House Scenes

On January 19, Alex made a nice cake for Caitanya’s birthday. After we sang the birthday song, Caitanya bowed down to the devotees.

She also took great pleasure serving the cake.

We continue to have plenty of devotees for the evening kirtana. One day Tony sang a lively tune, and everyone went wild as you can see in this video (http://youtu.be/DEPio_MYBek):

Another day, Prabhupada disciple, Lilananda Prabhu, joined us and led the Nrsimhadeva prayers.

To see the photos I did not include in this blog, click the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal102?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLb615qTuO38Aw&feat=directlink

Remember the photos I did not use appear after the ones that I used.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture given on April 20, 1975, in Vrindavana:

“Everyone has got love for Krishna within the heart. That is natural. But that love is distributed in different ways. How? Yasyatma-buddhih kunape dhatuke tri-sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma ijya-dhih[Srimad-Bhagavtam10.84.13]. This love has been distributed familywise, communitywise, nationwise, countrywise, like that. So this love has to be concentrated, converted to be love of Krishna. That is required. Then everything is perfect. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teaching.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 3:

“Because the impersonalists cannot appreciate the spiritual happiness of association and the exchange of loving affairs with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, their ultimate goal is to become one with the Lord.”

“ . . . anyone who has any desire or aspiration for satisfying his senses by becoming more and more important, either in the material sense or in the spiritual sense, cannot actually relish the really sweet taste of devotional service. Srila Rupa Gosvami has therefore compared possessing these bhukti(material) and mukti(liberation) desires with being influenced by the black art of a witch: in both cases one is in trouble. Bhuktimeans material enjoyment, and muktimeans to become freed from material anxiety and to become one with the Lord. These desires are compared to being haunted by ghosts and witches, because while these aspirations for material enjoyment or spiritual oneness with the Supreme remain, no one can relish the actual transcendental taste of devotional service.”

“ . . . in the Third Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam,Chapter Twenty-five, verse 36, Kapiladeva has advised His mother, Devahuti, as follows: ‘My dear mother, My pure devotees are charmed by seeing My different forms, the beauty of My face, the structure of My body so enchanting. My laughing, My pastimes and My glance appear to them so beautiful that their minds are always absorbed in thoughts of Me and their lives are dedicated fully unto Me. Although such people do not desire any kind of liberation or any kind of material happiness, still I give them a place among My associates in the supreme abode.’”

from Bhagavad-gita10.12–13, purport:

“Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and one should always meditate upon Him and enjoy one’s transcendental relationship with Him.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.23–24, purport:

“The Lord has unlimited transcendental qualities and opulences, and one who feels influenced by the Lord’s qualities in various activities offers prayers to the Lord. In this way he becomes successful.”

“If one simply continues to think that he is an eternal servant of Krishna, even without performing any other process of devotional service, he can attain full success, for simply by this feeling one can perform all nine processes of devotional service.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 7:

“In the Brahma-vaivarta Purana it is said that one who observes fasting on the Ekadasi day is freed from all kinds of reactions to sinful activities and advances in pious life. The basic principle is not just to fast, but to increase one’s faith and love for, Govinda or Krishna. The real reason for observing fasting on Ekadasi is to minimize the demands of the body and to engage our time in the service of the Lord by chanting or performing similar service. The best thing to do on fasting days is to remember the pastimes of Govinda and to hear His holy name constantly.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 9:

“Even if one does not accept all the Vaishnava principles, but still takes the remnants of foodstuff offered to Krishna, or krishna-prasada,he will gradually become qualified to rise to the platform of a Vaishnava [devotee of the Supreme Lord].”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.4, given in Vrindavana on September 8, 1975:

“If you become benefited by neglectfully chanting Hare Krishna, then how much you will be benefited if you carefully chant Hare Krishna. That should be the ideal.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.8.11, purport:

“Civilized men who follow the system of varnashrama,especially those of the vaishyaclass, who engage in agriculture and trade, must give protection to the cows. Unfortunately, because people in Kali-yuga are mandah,all bad,and sumanda-matayah,misled by false conceptions of life, they are killing cows in the thousands. Therefore they are unfortunate in spiritual consciousness, and nature disturbs them in so many ways,especially through incurable diseases like cancer and through frequent wars and among nations. As long as human society continues to allow cows to be regularly killed in slaughterhouses, there cannot be any question of peace and prosperity.”

from a letter to Satsvarupa:

The police and the war resisters appear to be on different sides, but because both are in favor of meat eating and slaughterhouses, they are actually on the same side. Until people give up sinful activities like meat eating, there will always be war.

from a lecture on a Brahma-samhita verse:

Why the cow? Why not some other animal? Cow protection benefits the whole human society. If brahminical culture and cow protection is there, there will peace in human society.

from a conversation with Mr. C. Hennis of the United Nations’ International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 31, 1974:

“Wherever I go, when I ask any gentleman, ‘What is the purpose of life?’ he cannot explain, That means there is no truly intelligent class. Nobody knows life’s real, spiritual purpose – realizing the self and realizing God.”

from Bhagavad-gita 1.1, purport:

“One will find in the Bhagavad-gitaall that is contained in other scriptures, but the reader will also find things which are not to be found elsewhere. That is the specific standard of the Gita.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for January 16” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows three bhaktasdancing and chanting
with upraised arms.

They are merry and prancing.
The image of the early ISKCON
devotees was that they were
the “Happy Haris.” They
were always photographed
in the act of bliss with bright
faces and smiling. But
as time went by we admitted
we weren’t constantly happy.
We were neophytes, and we
struggled with maya.
So a more relative picture
of a devotee has evolved.

But still
whenever one takes
part in congregational chanting
the blues are chased away.
The singing of the
Hare Krishna mantra works wonders
on the mind. Krishna
is the name and in the heart.

The harinama prevails in happiness.”

from “Poem for January 18” in Viraha Bhavan:

“The harinama movement brings
out the spontaneous spirit
of a person. It
is the original nature
and is evoked by
chanting. It breaks
up the material modes
of nature and brings
one to the transcendental platform.
While these men are
chanting Hare Krishna
they forget their material problems
and come directly
in touch with Krishna consciousness.
They even forget
their material bodies
and live as spirit souls.”

from “Poem for January 19” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four
bhaktasdancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
One has a brown face
and wears white clothing,
and the rest wear bright
multicolored sport clothes.
They are all good friends.
They share the activities
of harinamaand
this bonds them
as soul mates. They
may have different
personalities and
social backgrounds,
but the fact that they
come together
and chant Hare Krishna
makes them dear to
one another.
This is the basis for real intimacy:
chanting harinama
in public for the
benefit of the fallen souls.”

from “Poem for January 27” in Viraha Bhavan:

Travel Journal#10.1: New York City and North Florida
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 1
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2014, part one)

New York City, Tampa, Gainesville, Alachua
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on January 22, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I continued chanting in New York City as part of Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinamaparty for five or six hours a day and chopping vegetables for Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch. I also gave another lecture at 26 2^ndAvenue at Atmanivedana Prabhu’s program. I planned to go to Tampa on January 6, but my flight was delayed because of the weather, and I got to spend two more days in New York City. I chanted with friends for a couple hours at the University of South Florida in Tampa, before returning to Gainesville, where I chanted at Krishna Lunch on weekdays and with Alachua devotees on Friday evenings.

Jayadavita Swami spoke again at the Monday evening program at 26 2^ndAvenue, and I share notes from his lecture. Romapada Swami gave thoughtful lectures at both 26 2^ndAvenue and the Brooklyn temple which I also took notes on. My friend Prabhupada Dasa Prabhu has become the sannyasi, Bhakti Prabhupada Vrata Damodar Swami, or Damodar Swami for short, and he spoke Friday in Gainesville and Sunday in Alachua. He has memorized the entire Bhagavad-gita, and is very philosophical, all good qualities for a swami, and it was nice to see him again and take notes on his classes.

Thanks to Namamrita Prabhu, Yogesvara Prabhu’s son, who kindly gave me two one way tickets on either Southwest or Airtran so I could return to Florida from New York, now and in the fall.

Itinerary

January 22–February 19 – Gainesville, Florida (and a few days in Tally, JAX, & Tampa)

February 20 – Orlando and Philadelphia

February 21–24 – Dublin, Ireland

February 25 – Mumbai

February 26 – on a train between Mumbai and Howrah

February 27–March 4 – Mayapur

March 6–13 – Rishikesh

March 14–18 – Delhi, Vrindavan
March 20–April 14 – Mayapur

April 16 – Mumbai

April 17 – Dublin, Ireland

April 27 – Kings Day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

May–July (first two-thirds) – The North of England, Birmingham 24-hour kirtana, London Ratha-yatra, Stonehenge Solstice Festival

July (last third)–August (first two-thirds) – Baltic Summer Festival, Polish Woodstock, Czech Woodstock

August (last third)–September (first half) – The North of England

September (rest) – New York

Harinamas in New York City

Looking at the pictures I took the first few days in January in New York City, I am simply amazed by the variety of the people attracted by the devotees chanting Hare Krishna in the different subway stations. They represented different ages, different races, and different nationalities, but all shared an attraction to the chanting of the names of the all-attractive Lord Sri Krishna.

Two Muslim ladies danced at Times Square on New Years.

A couple of other people danced there too.

Two Chinese ladies danced at Union Square.

People stopped to take pictures of them.

Two more ladies danced at Union Square.

A young boy delighted in drumming.

An even younger boy shook a rattle.

There was an old man, who played shakers.

A Spanish girl sat with us and played shakers.

An Afro American lady danced with exuberance.

Another lady loved playing the shakers.

Rama Raya Prabhu wants me to write an article about the party. I thought I should interview some of the devotees about their experiences.

I interviewed Chandra Mohini Devi Dasi (right), our book table person, as she was to return to Latvia on January 3. She told how she was on vacation in New York City with a friend last summer when she found the harinama party, and began spending an hour a day with them. Later she found herself spending six hours a day on the party, and she stayed until her visa expired. She told her guru, Bhaktivaibhava Swami, that she was distributing books on harinama in New York City,and he was very pleased to hear of that engagement and said it was the best thing she could be doing. Thus when her visa expired after three months, she went back to Latvia, and got another three-month visa and returned to joyfully encourage people attracted by our chanting to take some literature.

During the last hour of my last day on harinama in New York City, I saw one well-dressed gentleman smiling as he enjoyed listening to our singing for a few minutes. I approached him and said that we gave out the Krishna—Reservoir of Pleasure for free, if he wanted one. He was grateful that I spoke to him and took the pamphlet. He said he had not seen the Hare Krishnas chanting in New York City before. He asked about the mantra, and I explained Krishna is a name for God meaning the all-attractive person, and that Rama means the source of all pleasure. I said “Hare” is a address to the spiritual energy of the Lord. Some people have a natural inclination for God and spiritual things, because they are affected by this spiritual energy, while others have an aversion to talk about God and think this world is all there is, being affected by the material energy. We are praying to the spiritual energy to move in a spiritual direction. I mentioned the teaching was based on Bhagavad-gita, pointing to the book table.Gandhi used to read the Gita every day, and the American transcendentalists, Thoreau and Emerson, also appreciated it. He said he had heard of the Bhagavad–gita, and walked over to the book table and picked up the book. I said they were five dollars, and he gave ten and said to keep the change. He left in a happy mood, and I joked with Rama Raya Prabhu that Krishna always arranges nice experiences for me on the last day so I feel inspired to come back.

Other New York Experiences

One day on the subway I met a Christian with a CD player playing Christian songs about God’s love.

He speaks to the people and tries to induce them to buy his CD.

Returning to the temple I saw a devotee, probably on the way home from work, chanting japa with determination, undisturbed by the chaos of a crowded New York subway.

Devotees are very creative in stashing prasadam, spiritual food.

I imagine this is the stash of Yudhisthira Prabhu, visiting from Slovakia, who was in the processing of painting the Brooklyn temple.

Harinama in Tampa

Leaving New York City, I flew into Tampa. Nama Kirtan Prabhu picked me up at the airport and drove me to the University of South Florida campus where we met Raju, who attends our club meetings there. Then Uma Devi Dasi joined us. I had a great time chanting with my friends there. More students showed interest than I expected, and Raju was very enthusiastic to invite them to look at Srila Prabhupada’s books. One physical plant worker took a break for ten minutes just to hear our kirtana.

Harinama at Krishna Lunch

After New York, it was so nice to be singing Hare Krishna outdoors in weather so warm a short-sleeve shirt was sufficient if you sat in the sun.

Visvambhara Prabhu of the Mayapuris band played with us a couple different days.

The second day he was in an especially happy mood as his professor gave him permission to go to India for a month in the middle of the semester, and thus he can go to kirtana melas in Mumbai and Mayapur and do other kirtana events as well.

Bhakta Mike brought his saxophone out on Wednesday, and did a great job in improvisation, which made it especially lively. We hope he brings it out more often.

Mantra Meditation Class

Whenever I come to Krishna House in Gainesville, if our program to teach mantra meditation has lapsed, I like to start it up again. My realization is that if people come to like to chant the Hare Krishna mantra, they can very easily take up the whole practice of devotional service, with all its amazing spiritual benefits like liberation and love of God. I invited one girl who had come to our yoga class before it started for the semester to come to my mantra meditation class, and she did. Amy invited a guy, and Caitanya invited a girl who brought a friend so we had four people at the first meeting. It was awesome to see the seriousness with which they chanted their first round of japa. Three of the four took beads to chant one round a day for a week as an experiment. One young man, originally from London, said his mother had wanted to become a Hare Krishna devotee, but it never happened. Bhakta Mike, a new devotee, felt very much protected by the chanting and liked the powerful experience of chanting japa in unison with a group of people. He noticed with the addition of the two late comers, the chanting become more powerful. Jaya Sri Vrinda Devi Dasi came to participate to improve her japa and liked the class. She agreed to continue the class when I go to India in six weeks. Even if none of the four new people keep up with the meditation and the classes, still the spiritual benefit they get from chanting one round of japa makes teaching the class well worth it. One girl later wrote, “Thank you so much for having us today! Me and my roommate had a wonderful new and eye-opening experience!” The girl who had taken our yoga class later wrote, “Thank you! It’s been going great. Have a fantastic week friend.”

To see pictures I took but did not include, click on this link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal101?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ_Sv7mk0oi1PA&feat=directlink

Note: The pictures I used appear first, before the other pictures.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.2.60, purport:

“The living entity within the body is never annihilated; therefore one should surely know that whether one has many friends or many enemies, his friends cannot help him, and his enemies cannot do him any harm. One should know that he is a spirit soul (aham brahmasmi) and that the constitutional position of the soul is unaffected by the changes of the body. In all circumstances, everyone, as a spirit soul, must be a devotee of Lord Vishnu and should not be concerned with bodily relationships, whether with friends or with enemies.”

from Isopanisad14, purport:

“One can be saved only by complete knowledge of the eternal life of bliss and awareness. The whole Vedic scheme is meant to educate men in this art of attaining eternal life. People are often misguided by temporary attractive things based on sense gratification, but service rendered to the sense objects is both misleading and degrading. We must therefore save ourselves and our fellow man in the right way. There is no question of liking or disliking the truth. It is there. If we want to be saved from repeated birth and death, we must take to the devotional service of the Lord. There can be no compromise, for this is a matter of necessity.”

from Isopanisad15, purport:

“In Srimad-Bhagavatam,the author, Srila Vyasadeva, has established that one will describe the Supreme Truth as Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavān according to one’s realization of Him. Srila Vyasadeva never states that the Supreme Truth is a jiva,an ordinary living entity. The living entity should never be considered the all-powerful Supreme Truth. If he were the Supreme, he would not need to pray to the Lord to remove His dazzling cover so that the living entity could see His real face.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 11.189, purport:

“The Mayavadi philosophers try to explain the equality of master and servant in terms of quantity, but they fail to explain why, if the master and servant are equal, the servant falls victim to maya.They try to explain that when the servant, the living entity, is out of the clutches of maya,he immediately becomes the so-called master again. Such an explanation is never satisfactory. Being unlimited, the master cannot become a victim of maya,for in such a case His unlimitedness would be crippled or limited. Thus the Mayavada explanation is not correct. The fact is that the master is always master and unlimited, and the servant, being limited, is sometimes curtailed by the influence of maya.Mayais also the master’s energy and is also unlimited; therefore the limited servant or limited living entity is forced to remain under the master or the master’s potency, maya.Being freed from maya’sinfluence, one can again become a pure servant and equal qualitatively to the Lord. The relationship between master and servant continues due to their being unlimited and limited respectively.”

from SB 7.4.12, purport:

“It appears that even in the higher planetary systems, to which people are promoted by pious activities, disturbances are created by asuras[demoniac beings] like Hiranyakasipu. No one in the three worlds can live in peace and prosperity without disturbance.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.4.19, purport:

“As far as material sense gratification is concerned, materialists may go on increasing their enjoyment as far as they can imagine, but because people in such a material condition are servants of their senses, they cannot be satisfied.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Preface:

“The basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone. No one can live without loving someone else. This propensity is present in every living being. Even an animal like a tiger has this loving propensity at least in a dormant stage, and it is certainly present in the human beings. The missing point, however, is where to repose our love so that everyone can become happy. At the present moment the human society teaches one to love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information where to repose the loving propensity so that everyone can become happy. That missing point is Krishna, and The Nectar of Devotionteaches us how to stimulate our original love for Krishna and how to be situated in that position where we can enjoy our blissful life.

“In the primary stage a child loves his parents, then his brothers and sisters, and as he daily grows up he begins to love his family, society, community, country, nation, or even the whole human society. But the loving propensity is not satisfied even by loving all human society; that loving propensity remains imperfectly fulfilled until we know who is the supreme beloved. Our love can be fully satisfied only when it is reposed in Krishna. This theme is the sum and substance of The Nectar of Devotion, which teaches us how to love Krishna in five different transcendental mellows.

“Our loving propensity expands just as a vibration of light or air expands, but we do not know where it ends. The Nectar of Devotionteaches us the science of loving every one of the living entities perfectly by the easy method of loving Krishna. We have failed to create peace and harmony in human society, even by such great attempts as the United Nations, because we do not know the right method. The method is very simple, but one has to understand it with a cool head. The Nectar of Devotion teaches all men how to perform the simple and natural method of loving Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we learn how to love Krishna, then it is very easy to immediately and simultaneously love every living being. It is like pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying food to one’s stomach. The method of pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying foodstuffs to the stomach is universally scientific and practical, as every one of us has experienced. Everyone knows well that when we eat something, or in other words, when we put foodstuffs in the stomach, the energy created by such action is immediately distributed throughout the whole body. Similarly, when we pour water on the root, the energy thus created is immediately distributed throughout the entirety of even the largest tree. It is not possible to water the tree part by part, nor is it possible to feed the different parts of the body separately. The Nectar of Devotion will teach us how to turn the one switch that will immediately brighten everything, everywhere. One who does not know this method is missing the point of life.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Introduction:

“The author of Bhakti-rasamṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami, very humbly submits that he is just trying to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, although he humbly thinks himself unfit for this work. That should be the attitude of all preachers of the Krishna consciousness movement, following in the footsteps of Srila Rupa Gosvami. We should never think of ourselves as great preachers, but should always consider that we are simply instrumental to the previous acaryas,and simply by following in their footsteps we may be able to do something for the benefit of suffering humanity.”

“ . . . the execution of Krishna conscious activities with the body should be directed by the spiritual master and then performed with faith. The connection with the spiritual master is called initiation. From the date of initiation by the spiritual master, the connection between Krishna and a person cultivating Krishna consciousness is established. Without initiation by a bona fide spiritual master, the actual connection with Krishna consciousness is never performed.”

“As long as one identifies himself as belonging to a certain family, a certain society or a certain person, he is said to be covered with designations. When one is fully aware that he does not belong to any family, society or country, but is eternally related to Krishna, he then realizes that his energy should be employed not in the interests of so-called family, society or country, but in the interests of Krishna. This is purity of purpose and the platform of pure devotional service in Krishna consciousness.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.4.22–23, purport:

“During Hiraṇyakasipu’s time, his influence was everywhere, but he could not force his influence into the places where the Supreme Personality of Godhead had His pastimes. For example, on this earth there are such places as Vrindavana and Ayodhya, which are called dhamas.In the dhama,there is no influence from Kali-yuga or any demon. If one takes shelter of such a dhama,worship of the Lord becomes very easy, and resultant spiritual advancement quickly takes place. In fact, in India one may still go to Vrindavana and similar places to achieve the results of spiritual activities quickly.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.4.25–26, purport:

“. . . there is no difference between seeing the Lord, offering prayers and hearing the transcendental vibration. Pure devotees, therefore, are fully satisfied by glorifying the Lord. Such glorification is called kirtana.Performing kirtanaand hearing the vibration of the sound Hare Krishna is actually seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. One must realize this position, and then one will be able to understand the absolute nature of the Lord’s activities.”

from a lecture:

Even now, many people go to Kurukshetra on the occasion of a solar eclipse.

Krishna accepts everyone’s devotional service equally offered with love and affection.

If your offering is accepted by Krishna, your life is successful.

Because Krishna accepts simply a leaf, flower, fruit, or water, even the poorest man can worship Him.

Our mission is to teach people how to worship the Personality of Godhead, for without worshiping the Lord, we cannot become happy.

As the mother maintains the child by the milk of her breast, Mother Earth supplies food for all living entities. This is all an arrangement by the Supreme Lord.

We do not accept the idea of overpopulation. The Supreme Lord has no difficulty supplying food to any number of living beings. We are simply mismanaging.

Human beings have higher intelligence to understand God. Animals like dogs cannot understand God. If we do not use our intelligence to understand God, we are no better than animals.

Please do not take this Krishna consciousness movement as a sectarian movement. It is the science of God. We have so many books.

from a Vyasa Puja lecture:

I want to explain my position as being worshiped as exalted personality as in this age of democracy we do not accept anyone as being exalted unless he is elected by the general populace, no matter how rascal he may be.

The Vedic knowledge has to be accepted as it is. We cannot accept some portions and reject other portions. You cannot interpret the words of God. You cannot manufacture religion at your home just as you cannot manufacture law at your home.

The worship of the guru is the system of honoring the representative of God and thus honoring God. The scripture enjoins that the guru must be worshiped.

The scripture enjoins that to receive spiritual knowledge one must accept a guru.

Krishna says, “Surrender under Me.” and guru says, “Surrender to Krishna.” Because he does not make any change, he is guru.

Lord Caitanya wanted everyone to become guru.

In this age there are so many rascals. There is need of so many gurus to teach them.

You can become guru of your neighborhood. It is a simple thing. Just repeat Krishna’s message.

My success is because I carried the message of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is not that I am an extraordinary man coming from an extraordinary place.

The real contraceptive method is that if you unable to deliver your children from the clutches of birth and death, then do not become a father. Not that you have sex like cats and dogs, and kill the baby in the womb. That is a most sinful activity.

If we follow the great souls, we progress toward liberation.

There are two things Krishna and Maya, light and darkness. If you are not serving Krishna, you are serving Maya. And then there are the Mayavadis, who in the name of Krishna, are serving Maya, imagining themselves to liberated.

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 1:

“So that was the position of the Pandavas; although Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the greatest among all greats, He remained with those royal brothers, being attracted by their devotion, by their friendship and by their love. That is the proof of how great this process of devotional service is. It can attract even the Supreme Personality of Godhead. God is great, but devotional service is greater than God because it attracts Him. People who are not in devotional service can never understand what great value there is in rendering service to the Lord.”

from Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.3, purport:

“Devotees, especially, do not create friends and enemies. A devotee sees that every living being is part and parcel of Krishna (mamaivamso jiva-bhutah [15.7]). Therefore a devotee treats friends and enemies equally by trying to educate them both in Krishna consciousness. Of course, atheistic men do not follow the instructions of pure devotees, but instead consider a devotee their enemy. A devotee, however, never creates a situation of friendship and enmity.”

from Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.12, purport:

“There is no question of enmity between servants. Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others. Such are the activities of Vaikuntha. Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 2:

“Narada Muni mentions this sadhana-bhaktiin Srimad-Bhagavatam,Seventh Canto, First Chapter, verse 32. He says there to King Yudhisthira, “My dear King, one has to fix his mind on Krishna by any means.” That is called Krishna consciousness. It is the duty of theacarya, the spiritual master, to find the ways and means for his disciple to fix his mind on Krishna. That is the beginning of sadhana-bhakti.

“Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has given us an authorized program for this purpose, centered around the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. This chanting has so much power that it immediately attaches one to Krishna. That is the beginning of sadhana-bhakti.Somehow or other, one has to fix his mind on Krishna.”

“It doesn’t matter whether one is a beginner — a brahmacari— or is very advanced — a sannyasi. The principle of remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly and not forgetting Him at any moment is meant to be followed by everyone without fail.”

“For example a brahmaṇa,who is born out of the head of the Lord, has as his business to preach the transcendental Vedic sounds, or śabda-brahma.Because the brahmaṇais the head, he has to preach the transcendental sound, and he also has to eat on behalf of the Supreme Lord. According to Vedic injunctions, when a brahmaṇaeats it is to be understood that the Personality of Godhead is eating through him. It is not, however, that the brahmaṇashould simply eat on behalf of the Lord and not preach the message of Bhagavad-gitato the world.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 3:

“The wise man is he who has thoroughly understood that he is spirit soul and not simply a body. Because he realizes that he is spirit and Krishna is the supreme spirit, he knows that his intimate relationship should be with Krishna, not with this body.”

Romapada Swami:

Spiritual intelligence is given by Krishna, as He states in Bhagavad-gita 10.10. to whose serve Him with love. By following this intelligence we attain the spiritual world.

I spoke to a roomful of people in Jaipur, and decided to ask them a question so I could understand where they were coming from. I said, “Listen to this statement, and then say ‘Yes.’ if it is true.” Then I said, “The purpose of religion is to act in such a way that one lives happily and prosperously in this world, and attains a heavenly realm in the next life.” The answer was overwhelming affirmative. I asked if anyone had another idea. One girl in the back raised her hand, and I asked what is her idea. The purpose of religion to serve Krishna in this life and to go to the spiritual world and serve Him in the next life. She had heard Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

Where there is cultivation of spiritual knowledge sufficient material prosperity follows. Srila Prabhupada was predicted to be fabulously wealthy . . .

Devotee parents have a great responsibility teaching their children spiritually because Krishna sends them children who are advanced spiritually from a previous life so they can finish up and attain perfection in this life.

I first heard the Hare Krishna mantra on the album of the Broadway musical Hair. I checked it out at the library, and I played it again and again because for some reason I was really attracted to it.

When people ask me if I am Buddhist monk, I say, “No, I am a Krishna monk.” Then they inquire, “What is a Krishna monk?” And I can explain what a Krishna monk is.

I remember when I was four or five, a couple of my sisters and I would play around doing some yoga postures, some of the more difficult ones. Where did we get that?

Although it is possible for people in heaven to advance in devotional service it is not so likely. It is like on this planet, you can make spiritual advancement in Hawaii or in Goa, but the atmosphere is not ideal for it.

If you were Krishna, you would design things so people could remember their past lives, but Krishna has not done so, therefore you are wondering why He has not.

When people can remember previous lives, it does convince them of the reality of reincarnation, but does it really help them that much to advance on the path back to Godhead?

Krishna does give us the right remembrance at the right time.

Karma is unequal, but not unfair, because each of us creates our own destiny.

I was distributing books to a wealthy couple, and the man was saying he was a lot happier when he had less.

The Gita says do not consider a better or a worse situation in this world, but act for the benefit of the soul.

Our situation is the result of our karma. More importantly, we should consider, “Where is the consciousness being directed?”

Srila Prabhupada said that success is certain for a strict follower. A strict follower does not mean rigid, ultraconservative, or hard, but it means making attaining spiritual perfection our top priority.

from an initiation lecture, January 5, 2014:

Real happiness is in relationship to Krishna.

The tendency for enjoying without regard for Krishna is very deep rooted. We seek a happy position in this unhappy world.

Still the holy name is so powerful it can dissolve our false ego and its false desires by awakening our real ego of rendering service to Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada would often review the ten offenses at initiation lectures, and he advised the initiates to avoid them to advance to the ultimate goal.

I will mention three, (1) to offend the devotee, (2) to neglect the guru’s order, and (3) maintaining materialistic desires despite chanting.

Each of the ten offenses involves seeing something that is divine as ordinary.

Because devotees are humble they may not become disturbed if offended but still there will be a decrease in the offender’s devotional service.

The guru is a well wisher like a parent and by neglecting his instruction one will get into trouble.

Be eager to achieve life’s purpose.

Initiation is submission to the disciplic succession, formal acceptance by the succession, and responsibility to act according to the direction of the succession. You can no longer do as you wish, but should act so that your guru will smile. It is a weight of responsibility but also a privilege.

The Vedic literature is filled with the idea of acting for the pleasure of one’s predecessors.

We must act nicely so that Srila Prabhupada will be well thought of.

If we are thinking that we are representing a great personality, Srila Prabhupada, then we will act nicely.

Acting in a way that is pleasing to our founder acarya and the line of previous teachers is real pleasure for the soul.

The more we know about Krishna, the more we are inclined to love Krishna, because He is so qualified.

It is imperative to accept a guru to understand Krishna. Submission and humble service, along with eagerness to know, are the qualifications of the disciple. The guru’s qualification is he has heard the truth and that he is fixed in it, and he can explain it and remove doubts about it.

from a Sunday feast lecture in Brooklyn:

According to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the first forest fire Krishna swallowed is compared to arguments between Vaishnava groups or between different religions or attacks on another’s deity. The second is compared to the attacks of atheists on Krishna consciousness.

The residents of Vrindavan would always cry to Krishna for protection, but when Krishna Himself was in danger, being attacked by the serpent Kaliya, who could they go to for shelter? Thus overcome with anxiety for Krishna they fainted.

When we become dry or weak in our bhajana orsadhana [spiritual practice], fire may arise in the form of useless quarrel with others.

Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that the residents of Vrindavan were not afraid for their lives on the occasion of the forest fire but rather they worried that if they died they might be separated from Krishna.

Krishna had His cowherd boyfriends close their eyes when He swallowed the forest fire. Some acaryas [spiritual masters] say He did not want His friends to see Him because they would tell His mother, and she would be unnecessarily worried about Him. Others say He did not want His friends to worry about Him.

“Although swanlike personalities may accept a particular practice from birth or childhood according to instructions they have received, they nevertheless remain indifferent and nonsectarian.”

“Harmony is possible only where one has obtained a firm footing in the dharma, the function, of the soul.”

Two quotes above are from the inaugurual English edition of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Harmonist25.1, June 1927.

Srila Prabhupada writes, “Krishna consciousness is not a sectarian religious movement. Rather, it is meant for all-embracing welfare activities for the world. One can enter this movement without discrimination in terms of caste, creed, religion or nationality. If one is trained to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who is the origin of Vishnu-tattva, one can become fully satisfied and perfect in all respects.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam8.5.49)

China is a place that I really like to preach. China has such a different culture. There is not even a word for God or a concept of God there. Still the devotion of the Chinese Hare Krishna devotees is wonderful and is evidence that devotion for Krishna is a natural quality of the soul and is not dependent on one’s background.

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami:

from My Dear Lord Krishna:

“I am a very small devotee, and I’m aware of my lack of qualifications. I’ve been told that an advanced devotee feels he has no good qualifications at all. If that’s true, then I’ve got something working in my favor. But the advanced devotees are fully engaged in Your service, fearlessly, compassionately, and in full renunciation. So I should not make a claim for advancement based on my poor qualities. That would be too cheap and cheating. I only ask You and Radharani to take pity on me and bless me with actual qualifications and true humility. I say ‘Bless me,’ but what do I mean by that? The burden of improvement is on me. You are giving all opportunities according to my capacity. It is I who have to enter the circle of blessing by taking up the mood of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, and becoming a preacher and sadhakaof good habits. Still, I ask You both to please stand before me and give me Your grace. Let me behold You and go on hearing Your radiant pastimes.”

from “Poem for January 4” from ViharaBhavan:

Today’s drawing shows four
bhaktas dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They are in a good mood
and displaying active movements.
They are performing harinama
for the benefit of the people.
People don’t realize it,
but they are giving out
the greatest treasure without
asking any payment.
They are distributing the
holy names of Krishna
which are the panacea
to all ills.
These men
do not expect any
praise or fame.
They are singing
God’s names
because it is their constitutional
position as part and parcel
of the Lord.
These men
are self-satisfied and just
want the privilege to go on chanting.

Jayadvaita Swami:

There are reasons Arjuna gives for accepting as the supreme soul and worthy of all homage.

Even great persons in human society make so many mistakes. They do not compare to Krishna.

When Brahma appears, all was dark as the sun was not created yet.

As the sky accommodates everything but is beyond it, everything is within Krishna.

By remembering the glorious features of Krishna, one advances and makes progress on the path back to Godhead.

Bhakti Prabhupada Vrata Damodara Swami:

Real knowledge must be transcendental knowledge because knowledge of a mirage has no meaning.

In Spanish they differentiate between something that temporarily issomething (estar) and something that permanently issomething (ser).

Epistemology means what is knowledge. Ontology means what is real.

This world is real in the sense it is coming from the Absolute Truth.

Everything in this material world is just a dream. That is the secret conclusion of the Vedic literature. This world is described to be a world of names only.

How can you expect metaphysical knowledge without qualification? When Srila Prabhupada was asked, “Can you show me God?” he would reply, “What is your qualification to see God?”

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~~Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraJanuary 22, 2014Posted inUncategorized~~

My Time in the UK and Ireland
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

My Time in the UK and Ireland
By Krishna-kripa Das

I decided to write about what I have been doing in the UK and Ireland to inform Praghosa Prabhu, the Governing Board Commissioner (GBC) for that area, as I have been spending several months each year there. Later it occurred to me that it might be interesting for other devotees to know about some of the devotional activities going on in that region, so I decided to make it a special issue of my online journal.

First I tell about the history of my visiting the UK and Ireland, then of my experiences in 2013, both in summary and in detail, with pictures and videos (as extracted from my journal). Then I tell of new successes for the year 2013 and plans for 2014. To jump to a particular section, click on the appropriate link below. To see everything, just scroll through the entire document.

History

Activities in the UK and Ireland in 2013 in Summary

Activities in the UK and Ireland in 2013 in Detail

New Successes in 2013

What About 2014?

History

I came in August of 2001 to Ireland to attend a ten-day seminar by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. While in Ireland, we did harinama for three hours in front of the Bank of Ireland in Dublin. During that trip to Europe I went to the Polish Woodstock festival and was amazed to see so many thousands of people engaged in hearing kirtana that I went every year since assist with it.

In 2002 I met the UK festival devotees, headed by Giridhari Prabhu, at the Polish Woodstock. On the way back to America, I spent a few days doing harinama on Oxford Street in Central London, and once I traveled with the UK festival devotees to Liverpool to do harinama during a Beatles festival.

In 2007 I went to the Ratha-yatras in Dublin and Belfast, as well as doing harinama to promote them. This was the year that Indradyumna Swami came for the Ratha-yatras and the Janmastami festival at Govindadvipa, which I also stayed for.

In 2008 in Mayapur, Kadamba Kanana Swami invited me to come to his maha harinama in Amsterdam on Queens Day, April 30. The cheapest ticket I could get out of India brought me to London the end of March, and I spent a entire month living at the Soho Street temple, and doing harinama every day and giving lectures. I spent a few days more there in September while booking a ticket to America, and I also attended the Manchester Ratha-yatra at that time.

Beginning in 2009, I began to spend more time in the UK. One reason was that as US citizens we were formerly allowed stay for 3 months in each country in Europe,but now with the European Union, we can stay only 90 days in Europe as a wholein any period of 6 months. However, we can stay in the UK for six months.

Another reason I was inspired to come to the UK was Kadamba Kanana Swami encouraged me to preach in the places in England outside of London, as the swamis mostly just stick to London, and Bhakti Rasa Prabhu invited me to visit Newcastle.

In the end of October of 2009, I returned from Europe to London to purchase a ticket to go to Mayapur. I found out that the London devotees were arranging a huge festival for the 40-year anniversary of Radha Londonisvara and that four of the original six devotees who started Hare Krishna outreach in the UK would been there. Even Radhanath Swami was coming. I thought with all those great souls coming to London, it would inauspicious to leave so I stayed the month of November 2009 at Soho Street. temple. I took thirty pages of notes on the 40 years festival. I especially liked the six-hour harinama on the doubledecker bus, and all the nice memories from the senior devotees of the early days.

In the summer of 2010, Gaura Krishna Prabhu arranged that I speak at the nama-hatta programs in the Manchester area in cities like Preston, Sheffield, Leeds, and Liverpool. Since then I have gone to these programs every year, some as many as three times. Also that year I began going to the London Ratha Yatra, the Birmingham 24-hour kirtana, and the Stonehenge Solstice festival which I have also attended every year since. I would also go to the UK Brahmacari conferences when they would have them at the Manor.

In 2011, influenced by Bhakti Rasa Prabhu and Premanjali Devi Dasi, I presented a paper in the conference Premanjali organized on “Empowerment and Religion” at the University of Leeds. My paper was on Srila Prabhupada and how he was empowered and how he empowered others.

In 2011 I also went to Belfast twice to do harinama, invited by Caitanya Candrodaya Prabhu, a friend of mine who had become the temple president there.

Niranjana Swami, my siksa guru, and perhaps my future sannyasa guru, advised me to go to fewer places, perhaps two or three, and stay longer, and try to increase the devotional service going on there. I was committed to Krishna House in Gainesville already, and as Caitanya Candrodaya Prabhu invited me to Belfast, and Janananda Goswami had invited me to Newcastle, I decided to focus on those two places too. Since then, Caitanya Candrodaya Prabhu left Belfast, and Niranjana Swami encouraged me to support Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama program in New York City, and so now I am trying to focus on Gainesville and North Florida, New York City harinama, Newcastle and the North of England, and spend several months in each place. When I told Janananda Goswami about the extra twelve-hour harinamas and kirtanas I did in Ireland in 2012, he encouraged me to continue to go there, and so I try to do that as well.

Activities in the UK and Ireland in 2013 in Summary

On April 23, 2013, I flew to London where I did harinama and gave lectures for a few days before going with Parasurama Prabhu’s party to the Queen’s Day harinama, which was better than ever. While in the UK, I chanted with the Hare Krishna festival team in Reading and Slough, two new cities for me, and one day I attended record number of five harinamas in London. I also chanted on the ferry between England and France, enroute to Holland which I hardly ever do. When I returned from Holland in early May, I did a day of harinama in London, harinama and a nama-hatta program in Sheffield, and went back to Newcastle, my summer base, where I stayed for four days of harinama and the Sunday feast lecture. Then I went on to Northern Ireland, where I chanted with Ananta Nitai Prabhu in Belfast for one day, and with both Ananta Nitai and Bhagavata Dasi in Lisburn, Bangor, Newry, and Hillsborough, all cities within an hour of Belfast, for the next four days. Thus it was a very busy time for me. In Dublin in mid May Ananta Nitai Prabhu and I did our usual program of a twelve-hour harinama on Saturday and a twelve-hour kirtana in the temple on Monday. I also participated in the kirtana following the Sunday feast, new since my last year’s visit there, which lasted an hour and forty minutes, and the two-hour Tuesday kirtana program. Then I returned to Newcastle for their Wednesday kirtana program, Nrsimha Caturdasi harinama, and the Sunday feast. Every day in Newcastle I went on harinama, almost always for three-hours. On the final day, I went to Sunderland with Satya Medha Gouranga and his kid, Bhana, and we chanted there for almost two hours, and I share his account of that. Then I went to Sheffield for a well-attended nama-hatta program that is getting new attendees and a two-hour birthday kirtana program in Preston. Then I went to London to take my sister to Govinda’s Restaurant during her brief stopover from New York to South Africa.

Because I was in London to see my sister, I learned of the Bath Ratha-yatra on June 1 and had the opportunity to go to that and the wild London Saturday night harinama that evening. Then on to Leeds for an afternoon program, with harinama before and after, the one before having five people. Then three days in Newcastle and back to London for the UK Brahmacari Conference, a Camden harinama, another London Saturday night harinama, the London Ratha-yatra, and a few days of harinama, with Vishnujana, Gaura Karuna, and Syama-rasa Prabhus, old friends from the Polish Woodstock, who are traveling all over the world doing harinama, along with Harinamananda Prabhu. Then those harinama devotees and I joined Janananda Goswami in his visit to Brighton in mid June, where we did harinamas and a stage show at People’s Day, along with Mahavishnu Swami. After two days in Brighton, Janananda Goswami and the world harinama sankirtana party, along with Mahavishnu Swami, came to Croydon for their third Ratha-yatra. Then I returned to Newcastle, desiring to be there for three days of Janananda Goswami’s visit, before I returned to the London area to go with Parasurama Prabhu to the Stonehenge Solstice festival, with its seven hours of kirtana, for the fourth time. After the Stonehenge event was the Birmingham Twenty-Four Hour Kirtan, which I also attended for the fourth time. Then back to Newcastle, my base in the summer, to spend the last week of the month. Janananda Goswami canceled some of his engagements to rest up and to catch up on his work, and we were blessed that he decided to stay in Newcastle. Even though resting up, one day he took us to three towns for harinama!

I spent the first half of July at my base in Newcastle. The first week we chanted in Newcastle mostly, except to go to Sunderland, which Janananda Goswami calls Syamasunderland, and which is one of the largest cities nearby and which I like to go to once a week. On the weekend I went to York for a day. The second week we also chanted in Chester-le-Street and Durham. Next I went south at the middle of the month to Manchester, Stockport, Hazel Grove, and Sheffield, enroute to London, ultimately to catch a flight to Lithuania for the summer festival. I would go on harinama everyday, either alone or with friends. After the harinama and evening program in Sheffield, I went to London to do harinamas for a couple days, and go to with Parasurama Prabhu to the Plymouth Ratha-yatra on Saturday, July 20.

After spending a month in Europe going to the Baltic Summer Festival, traveling with some Baltic harinama brahmacaris, going to the Polish Woodstock, traveling with some German brahmacaris, and going to Trutnov (the Czech Woodstock), I returned to the UK.

Toward the end of August, I did three days of harinama in the Newcastle area, and a weekend trip of harinamas and outreach programs in York on Saturday and Leeds on Sunday. Then four more days of harinama in the Newcastle area, including Janmastami and Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja Day. Then off to do harinama and an outreach program in Liverpool and more harinama Manchester, thus ending the month, and my stay in the UK for the summer. Then I took an exhausting but inexpensive train and overnight ship from Manchester to Dublin for the Ratha-yatra on September 1. I also did harinama in Dublin the day after the Ratha-yatra. Then I flew to Orlando to spend most of September in Florida and part of the winter.

Activities in the UK and Ireland in 2013 in Detail

Harinamas in Great Britain

Although Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara Temple, ISKCON Soho Street, already did more chanting on the street than most other temples, I found to my great surprise and delight that during the winter, they had increased the program. Now there is harinama between 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in addition to the usual afternoon harinama from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Besides this, Bhaktin Erzsebet, who has incredible enthusiasm for harinama and book distribution, often chants with her friends on the streets in the evenings. One time I went with Erzsebet and her friends, and some people videoed us and put it on YouTube. The title they gave for the video was “The Best Job in the World.” It reminded me of how Lord Caitanya describes the congregational chanting as “the prime benediction for humanity at large.” Certainly sharing the prime benediction for humanity at large is the best job in the world!

London is great because you can easily do five or six hours of harinama each day in London just by participating in these existing programs. And all that without mentioning the super ecstatic Saturday night harinama!

In addition to the harinamas, London is a great place for speaking opportunities as well. Thursday I got to go on three harinamas and give two lectures. On Friday, I got to go on five harinamas and give a lecture about Lord Caitanya at the Matchless Gifts in King’s Cross. The kirtana at that program was very lively with one devotee playing a bass clarinet and a regular attender playing the saxophone. As I am not much of a musician, usually I do not so much appreciate the contributions of the additional instrumentalists, but in this case they seemed to add a lot to the kirtana and made the music sound more professional and more alive. On Saturday with the team who arranges Hare Krishna Festivals in different parts of the UK and advertises them, I went on two harinamas, one in Reading and one in Slough.

Then I joined the famous Saturday night harinama in downtown London where lots of people enjoy interacting with the Hare Krishnas. Let me show you some pictures of the people dancing with the devotees. See how happy they are:

On the boat to France enroute to Amsterdam for Queen’s Day, I took my harmonium out our van in case there were an opportunity to play it. During the journey, I went out on the no-smoking deck with my harmonium, and I was talking with my friends when a small Indian-looking girl asked if I could play her some music. I was overjoyed that Krishna had created an opportunity for me, and I chanted the Hare Krishna mantra five times, in the usual call and response fashion with my friends. The girl and her brothers and sisters, all older than her, smiled and clapped along. Her brother asked if I had met His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I explained that I met the Hare Krishnas in 1979 but Prabhupada left this world in 1977, so I had not. The young man explained how he had read Prabhupada’s Life Comes from Life and that he gained the conviction the theory of evolution is incorrect. The family was from The Hague in Holland and was originally from Surinam, the home of many Indian immigrants, including their forefathers. I told the brother about our book Forbidden Archeology which shows how much evidence contradicts the theory of human evolution and gave them my card so I could tell them of our programs in The Hague.

London

In London one young French lady came to the temple one evening, and Erzsebet from Hungary, who is enthusiasm personified in outreach, sold her a book which she read that very night. She returned to the temple the next day and came to the lunch program lecture which I gave. Later I asked the devotee lady who talked to her during the lunch if the class had been beneficial for her. She said the French lady said she really liked the idea that we can have one of five relationships eternally with Krishna. The devotee lady asked her which one she liked, and she said she would like to be the friend or lover of Krishna eternally. I had spoken on the verse where Krishna states that he will reciprocate with us according to how we surrender to him. In his purport Srila Prabhupada writes, “One devotee may want Krishna as his supreme master, another as his personal friend, another as his son, and still another as his lover. Krishna rewards all the devotees, equally according to their different intensities of love for Him.” (Bg. 4.11, purport) I will keep this verse in mind as a good one to give introductory classes on that might attract one to Krishna. The French lady lives in Paris and shared contact information with devotee who spoke to her at lunch, so hopefully her interest will develop, and she will visit our temple there.

Sheffield

I chanted in Sheffield alone before the Wednesday nama-hatta meeting. Some people appreciated but one lady harassed me so much to give her a pound fifty for the bus, that I finally did so just to get her to go away.

It was nice to see a couple new people had become regulars at our Sheffield program since last year.

Leeds Farmers Market Harinama

My bus from Sheffield to Newcastle had a forty-minute rest in Leeds, and as we pulled into the coach station there, I noticed it was right next to the Leeds Farmers Market. When the bus stopped I learned of the break, and the bus driver advised me to go to the farmers market to get a bite to eat. I decided to go, not to shop, but to sing.

As soon as I sat down to saing, someone said, “Haribol!” And someone very soon gave a donation.

Newcastle Area Harinamas

I chanted in Newcastle, and different devotees would come out with me at different times. I would put out a hat to collect donations when we stayed in one place, and I would offer invitations and books to those who gave something, no matter how small. Because not everyone would take a book, I got enough in donations to pay for the books that were distributed. It was nice to always see books going out

The weather was wild. Some days were in the 40s F (5 to 10 C), and with winds from the north at 20 mph (32 kph).

In Sunderland we had four devotees, three singing and one distributing books. In addition, I was able to distribute three books myself by asking people who put money in the hat if they wanted one. We chanted about an hour and forty minutes. I like Sunderland because there are lots of people and always a few favorable ones. Kadamba Kanana Prabhu from Hungary had not been on harinama for ten years, and he was very happy he came out. One young lady who chanted with us got a call from a friend in London who asked if she was singing in Sunderland because someone had taken a video of her singing and put it on Facebook. Her friends from her hometown of Sunderland did not know much about her relationship with Hare Krishna, at least until now.

In Newcastle on Sunday, Bhakti Rasa and his wife, Kirtida Prabhu, came out, and we happened to meet Ekacakranatha Prabhu on the way.

We chanted three hours all together. People danced to the music, like these four guys below.

Harinamas in North Ireland

When my friend, Caitanya-candrodaya Prabhu, was temple president of Belfast, I got in the habit of going there and doing harinama. Devotees had occasionally talked about us chanting in different places around Belfast, but it did not happen until this year.

Monday Ananta Nitai Prabhu, who traveled by bus from Dublin, and I who traveled by plane from Newcastle, arrived at the Belfast temple within five minutes of each other. We were greeted by Bhagavata Dasi, our harinama partner from Govindadvipa, who moved back to Belfast and promised to take us out on harinama in her car the next four days. We were also greeted by all kinds of maha-prasadam, the opulence of a small temple. That day just Ananta Nitai and I went out to Belfast city center to chant for three hours. While traveling there by bus, the sun was shining, but as soon as I got off the bus, it started to rain. We found a sheltered spot to chant, and were greatly relieved when the sun shone again. But that was not for long. Soon it rained again. But again we were relieved when the sun again shone. During that harinama, the sun came out four times and it rained five times! As I walked back to take the bus home, chanting on the way, it was raining, but on the bus itself, the sun came out! That was the craziest weather I had experienced recently, but we were able to keep the chanting going the whole time, and collect donations and give out books and invitations as well.

On Tuesday, Bhagavata took us to Lisburn, about 15 minutes from the temple. We chanted on a main street and several groups of people stopped to watch at different times. At one point, we chanted under the sign of former birthday party shop underneath its sign “Pure Party.”

The congregational chanting is glorified by Lord Caitanya “cleansing the mirror of the mind,” and being “the nectar for which we are always anxious.” It is described by Narottama Das Thakura as imported from the spiritual world. For these reason, I thought “pure party” was a great description of harinama.

We found some teenage kids hanging out, and we sang in their midst for a while. I would have never done it myself, but the other devotees were better at dealing with kids than me, so I went along with it. At one point, the kids decided to harass us. Some of the more rowdy ones placed some nearby road construction barricades to surround our party, and they started throwing empty plastic bottles at us. We just kept chanting, and one of them decided to remove the barricades and throw the bottles in the trash so the other kids could not through them at us any more. Later someone asked us about our philosophy and one girl, who took pleasure in singing the whole mantra with us, gave us each some candy when she left. On the whole, the kids became more favorable as time marched on.

Since we had stopped chanting before we finished my quota of three hours, Ananta Nitai and I chanted in the parking lot of a store while Bhagavata did some shopping for the temple. We chanted for half an hour, and no authorities asked us to move, and some favorable people came by.

Wednesday we chanted in Bangor, and a passerby gave 10 British pounds for a Bhagavad-gita and a Sri Isopanisad. We chanted next to a butcher shop, and employees came out of the shop and looked at us from time to time but said nothing. After we chanted two and a half hours, a policeman came and explained that he had no problem with our singing, but some local vendors were complaining, and he told us of a couple other places where we could sing and would not get into difficulty. He was the most polite policeman who had ever asked us to move, and Ananta Nitai Prabhu gave him a small book which he accepted.

Thursday we chanted in Newry on a day where rain often threatened but was never so severe we had to stop. At several times groups of teenagers would sit behind us and move with the music.

On Friday we chanted in Hillsborough, a town of 3,400 people, where there was that day the Garden Show Ireland, an open house at the gardens of the Queen’s Hillsborough Castle.

John Doherty, an open-minded man, with both Catholic and Protestant connections, was attracted by our party and its chanting, appreciating its religious connection, and he took pictures of us, which he later send to me by email.

Often I give my business card to photographers who take pictures of us and ask them to send me the photos. They actually send me the photos 20% of the time at the very most, but in North Ireland and the Republic of Ireland people sent me the pictures two out of three or four times I asked for them.

A man behind the counter at tourist office, said to me, “Hare Krishna is from North India, isn’t it?”” I explained that the chanting we do in the streets, which we were doing outside his office for the last hour, started in Bengal. He inquired further, “And what is the name of the town in Bengal?” And I replied, “Mayapur.” And he said with a smile of recognition, “Oh yes, Mayapur!” Wow! I couldn’t believe it! In this tiny town in this remote land someone had heard of Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! Apparently the man spent some time in Kolkata and had eaten at our Govinda’s Restaurant there. It is a small world!

The man also knew of Inis Rath island and their Sunday feast, and the lady in the office lived in Dunmurry, the Belfast suburb where our temple is, and she knew of our Sunday program there.

After Hillsborough, Ananta Nitai Prabhu and I boarded a bus for Dublin to continue our harinama adventures there.

Our Third Twelve-Hour Harinama in Dublin

On Saturday, May 18, we chanted Hare Krishna on the streets of Dublin from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. In the beginning it was just the organizers, Ananta Nitai Prabhu and myself, and we did a walking harinama around the city for the first two or three hours. Then others joined us, and we chanted on the sidewalk by the intersection of Middle Abbey Street and O’Connell Street, less than half a block from the temple. The weather was good for Ireland, not too cold, windy, or rainy.

The brightest side of this twelve-hour harinama was the participation of Premarnava Prabhu, which dramatically increased since last year from five to nine hours. At one point, he chanted for four and a half hours straight! He is playing harmonium in the picture below accompanied by Ananta Nitai Prabhu on the drum.

Some onlookers enjoyed interacting with the devotees in different ways.

There are always unusual things that happen on harinama.

One lady, who regularly comes to the temple, helped by playing the karatalas, while carrying her pet dog in a knapsack on her back the whole time.

Two guys with horse heads who passed by us four times, dancing every time. Somehow I never got my camera out in time to photograph them.

An orange tiger danced with us, clapping his hands as well, and one brahmacari suggested we have a tiger with us as a regular feature to attract attention to the chanting!

Speaking of tigers, Tyger Lillie, who is from Gainesville but studying in Dublin for Summer A, recognized me from Krishna Lunch and Krishna House. I told her about our Sunday feast program and three Govinda’s restaurants in Dublin and gave her a maha-prasadam cookie from Radha-Madhava in Belfast, and she was very happy about that. I hope she can take advantage of our opportunities for connecting with Krishna in Dublin.

Because of the cold and wind, because I had taken small meals for breakfast and lunch, and because I was tired from standing up for so many hours, during the last hour of the twelve-hour harinama I found myself looking at the clock every five minutes. I realized I had do to something about this ridiculous situation. I decided to control my mind with my intelligence, and just focus on two things, chanting Hare Krishna and hearing Hare Krishna. Then the time sped by.

Except for the twelve-hour kirtan day, we did harinama every day in Dublin. Again, as had happened during our twelve-hour harinama, others, sometimes wearing costumes, would briefly join the harinama party in a jolly mood!

Photo (c) 2013 David Gray, another friendly soul in Ireland, who kindly emailed his wonderful photograph to me at my request.

Twelve-Hour Kirtan in the Dublin Temple

Monday, two days after our twelve-hour harinama, we had a twelve-hour kirtan at the temple, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The most striking thing for me was the interest of people who were newly introduced to Krishna consciousness. One Iranian man, who had been coming to the temple programs for at most a week, having received a book by Golukendra Prabhu on the streets, amazed me by participating for over ten hours in our kirtana event. A girl from Brazil, who had only been coming for two weeks, spent five hours in the kirtana, blissfully listening to the transcendental sound vibration. A couple young ladies from the yoga scene, spend several hours in the kirtana. Premarnava told me they had come to a twelve-hour kirtan the Dublin devotees did on Christmas, and just a week before this once in May, they had asked him if there was going to be another one, and so they learned of it and came.

One devotee youth danced with child of an Indian lady during the transcendental music. Both of them, and the child’s mother as well, were present for several hours of the kirtana.

One girl from Slovakia, who spent a lot of time in the twelve-hour kirtana, came out on harinama for the first time the next day and distributed invitations. On the harinama she talked to someone who appeared to really like the chanting, and the girl told how she had danced with us on Saturday, during our twelve-hour harinama.

We took turns leading the chanting during the day.

Nanda Kumar Prabhu and his wife sing sweet kirtan.

Manu Prabhu played the accordion at the end, getting lots of people dancing.

I was pleased to see the great interest in the twelve-hour kirtana event, and the Dublin devotees, also inspired by the participation, spoke of planning another one for the next Ekadasi.

Nrsimha Caturdasi Harinama in Newcastle

Despite temperatures in the forties (below 10 C), with 29 mph (47 kph) winds from the northeast and intermittent rain, a party of seven devotees chanted in downtown Newcastle upon Tyne, for three hours to celebrate Nrsimha Caturdasi. Although daily public congregational chanting was demonstrated in the life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, often we do not make it part of our celebration of our festivals, although I personally think it adds a lot. Once thing it does is engage the public in the celebration of the holy day, even unknowingly, to their great spiritual credit. Also the chanting seems to have a more powerful effect on the holy days. Thus I was very happy that leading devotees like Bhakta Rasa and his wife, Kirtida, were supportive of the idea of celebrating Lord Nrsimha’s appearance with three hours of harinama.

Kirtida dd, in the pink sari, led a fired up kirtana, dancing as she played the harmonium. The two young women with her must have danced with us for half an hour, continuing even after it started to rain. They appeared to be so happy dancing with the Hare Krishnas, like it was the most fun they had in a long time. Originally those two girls and two more friends were sitting on a bench and watching us. Then two of them gave donations, and I gave them books and invitations, which they looked at. Then after some time, they came to join the dancing.

Despite the cruel climate, Bhanu, the child of Satya Medha Gauranga Prabhu, who took the photos, was peaceful in his stroller (buggy) the whole time except later when he moved his legs with the music so much one shoe fell off.

On the next Sunday feast, we talked about and also had a puppet show about Lord Nrsimha. After the whole feast program, Diya and her friends, were so fired up they had an extra kirtan in the gift shop:

Sunderland Harinama

Satya Medha Gouranga Prabhu writes of our Sunderland harinama, and in his account I include in square brackets additional details of my own, “There was a very sweet harinama in Sunderland (or ‘Shyama-sunderland’ as His Holiness Janananda Gosvami Maharaja calls this place!)

“There were lots of people on the street. An elderly gentleman came to give a donation [as we were walking to our harinama site], and then Krishna-kripa Prabhu approached him to give a book. He said with a smile: ‘For many, many years I have seen the Hare Krishna people on the street. It’s really nice to see you all again.’

“Later on a lady stopped by and mentioned about George Harrison. It’s really great to see how so many people appreciate the harinama.

“After a while a group of [four] teenagers [who had walked past previously] came and stood nearby. They were listening to harinama. Then they started swinging gently with the beautiful tune of maha-mantra and gradually started dancing. They kept on dancing and smiling. It looked so natural for them. Krishna-kripa Prabhu took out few leaflets of maha-mantra from his bag and gave them to the teenagers [pointing out to them the words to the song].

“Now each of them was holding the maha-mantra in her hand, and they started reading word for word and singing to it. Practically each of them was singing as they were reading out the maha-mantra.

“It was a wonderful scene—suddenly so many voices singing maha-mantra, the people on the street were amazed to see this.

“After the harinama Krishna-kripa Prabhu was preaching to the group of young people
and invited them to come to temple programs.

“As they were leaving they looked so bright, happy and blissful.”

One of the group had taken a video of her friends singing and dancing with us, and asked her to send me a link to the video, but as is mostly the case, she did not. The young people joined in the kirtana for fifteen minutes, and because they had come just as we were going to finish, we ended up staying out an extra fifteen minutes just because of them!

Traveling with the Scottish Brahmacaris

Raghunatha Bhatta and Caitanya Vallabha Prabhu, in addition to distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books in Scotland and The North of England, also help organize and maintain the nama-hatta programs in the Manchester area. The end of this month, I joined them as a lecturer and kirtana leader for their programs in Sheffield and Preston. It was nice to spend a couple of days with a brahmacari
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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraJanuary 18, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#9.24: New York
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 24
By Krishna-kripa das
(December 2013, part two)

New York
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on January 12, 2014)

Where I Went and What I Did

I continued chanting in New York City as part of Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party for five or six hours a day, and chopping vegetables for Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch at our Brooklyn temple. I visited the Quaker Meeting in Brooklyn the Sunday before Christmas and went to the Doughnut Plant that evening with my sister and her daughter, and one of my sister’s friends. I visited my family in Albany on Christmas Eve and Christmas. I also was a guest speaker at a Friday Gita class in Queens, and twice the speaker at Atmanivedana Prabhu’s program at 26 2^ndAvenue on Saturday, where I made sure to have a stand up kirtana at the end with lots of dancing which people liked. Thus it was a busy time. As this is the last journal for 2013, I include my accounting and thank the many, many people who donated to allow me to share the Hare Krishna mantra and philosophy in different places.

Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu and his wife invited Jayadavita Swami to speak a few times at their Monday evening program at 26 2^ndAvenue, so I continue to share notes from his lectures. I also have some notes on a class by Candrasekhara Swami. All this in addition to some quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal.

Thanks to Braja-raja Prabhu for his videos, Alex Vaishnava for his photos of harinama in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and Silvana Delgado from Columbia for her video of harinama in Union Square.

Itinerary

January 13–February 7 – Gainesville, Florida

February 8–11 – Tallahassee

February 12–13 – Jacksonville, Florida

February 14–February 19 – Gainesville, Florida

February 20 – Orlando and Philadelphia

February 21–24 – Dublin, Ireland

February 25 – Mumbai

February 26 – on a train between Mumbai and Howrah

February 27–April 14 – Mayapur

April 16 – Mumbai

April 17 – Dublin, Ireland

April 27 – Kings Day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

May–July (first two-thirds) – The North of England, Birmingham 24-hour kirtana, London Ratha-yatra, Stonehenge Solstice Festival

July (last third)–August (first two-thirds) – Baltic Summer Festival, Polish Woodstock, Czech Woodstock

August (last third)–September (first half) – The North of England

September (rest) – New York

Income and Expenses for 2013

Income

Donations

4224.00

Book Sales

7.60

Loan Repayment

50.00

Total Income

$4,281.60

Expenses

Travel

3309.90

Gifts

444.57

Supplies

118.46

Festival Fees

47.22

Internet/Phone

20.56

Food / Water

8.27

Total Expenses

$3,948.98

Comments: I do not usually ask people for donations unless I need cash for a ticket to America, Europe, or India. Sometimes people give me donations when I give lectures or do extra harinamas in their region. I do sell more books than appears from this statement, but the funds are for the temple or project I am currently working on. Phone and internet are small because the U.S. government gives free phones to single people making less than $16,000 per year, because devotee friends sometimes top up my UK phone as a favor, and many temples have wireless internet. Food expenses are minimal as I eat in the temples. Gifts include donations to swamis and temples, and prasadam for relatives. Travel expenses in 2013 included the costs of going to New York and Florida, in the United Statues, and England, Belgium, Holland, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, and Slovakia in Europe, and buying a ticket for my biannual trip to India in February 2014.

I want to thank the following people who kindly gave donations to me in 2013. They are listed in order from largest to smallest amounts, along with where the contributors are from, where they are living now, or where I met them. Rama Raya Dasa (NYC), Kaliya Krishna Dasa (NYC), Prema Sindhu Dasa (Columbus), Prema Vilasa Dasa (Columbus), Dhruva Dasa (Kansas City), Kalakantha Dasa (TP Gainesville), Uma Devi Dasi (Tampa), Pat Beetle (my mother, Albany), Praghosa Dasa (GBC, UK & Ireland), Newcastle, England, temple, the people who gave donations on harinamain many places, Atmanivedana Dasa (NYC), Janananda Goswami (UK), Charu Gopika Devi Dasi (Queens), Den Haag temple, Premarnava Dasa (Dublin), Sivananda Sena Dasa (Rotterdam), Prema Sankirtana Dasa (Newcastle), Jivamukta Yoga School (NYC), Naveen Krishna Dasa (Columbus), Nanda Kumar Dasa (Gainesville), Sthita-dhi Muni Dasa (Alachua), devotees from Leeds, Govind (NYC), Vrajendralal Dasa (Bolton), Caru Candra Dasa (Leeds), Clive (Chester), Raj Sharma (Leeds), Amsterdam temple, Ananta Nitai Dasa (Dublin), Gopali Devi Dasi (Slovakia), Pankajanghri Dasa (Queens), Bindu Madhava Dasa (NYC), Dauji (Switzerland), Kapil (Queens), Victor (Albany), Sunanda Dasa (Queens), Stevie B. (London), Alexi (London), Karen (my sister, Albany), Mr. Joshi (Plymouth), Govinda Prabhu (Bhaktivedanta Manor), Asta-sakhi Devi Dasi (Holland), the Sheffield devotees, Muni Priya Dasa (CZ), Daru Das (Tallahassee), Haryasva Dasa (Philly), Rasikananda Dasa (Alachua), Bhakti Rasa Dasa (Newcastle), an Indian guest (Sheffield), Magdalena (Liverpool), a man in pub in Hazel Grove, Nayan (Bhaktivedanta Manor), Ram Charan (London), a new devotee (Bratislava), Iksvaku Dasa (Amsterdam), Bhakta Andrej (London), Jivananda Dasa (Slovakia), Bhaktin Erzsebet (London), a man at the Philadelphia airport, and a Birmingham devotee.

Many other people helped in different ways. Candrasekhara Swami (NYC) donated two shirts and a sweater, Bhagavata Dasi (Belfast) donated a hat, Govind (NYC) donated a gamsha and three sets of counter beads, Gaura Keshava Dasa (Slovakia) donated some shoes. Prema Sindhu Dasa (Columbus) and Kaliya Krishna Dasa (NYC) also purchased airline tickets for me to Columbus and New York, respectively. My family donated figs, chocolate, and socks for Christmas. Kapil (Queens) gave me a orange sweater, and Larry (Brooklyn) an orange hat. Amrita Keli Devi Dasi (JAX) gave me some coconut oil.

If I forgot you, let me know, and I will apologize and I will mention you in my next journal. Too many people to mention helped with rides and accommodation.

Thank you all for assisting me in promoting the chanting of Hare Krishna and the knowledge in the transcendental literature given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Harinamas in New York City

We continued mostly in the subway stations, occasionally chanting in Union Square or Washington Square Parks.

Braja-raja Prabhu took some attractive video [http://youtu.be/vnSmt5d3VEg] of us chanting at the Times Square subway station. It includes my exchange with a passerby, who when asked where he encountered Hare Krishna before, replied with a smile, “Everywhere!”

Even on one cold night in Union Square, many devotees came out.

There is one man who has trained his cat to sit on his head.

At one point, he was even doing some dance steps to our music!

One old man appreciated the chanting.

Displaced from Union Square by the Christmas Market and Green Market, sometimes we chanted at Washington Square Park.

Here a whole family participated.

Here a guy joined us, playing the gong at the back of our party.

Back in Union Square, one girl enjoyed dancing and playing shakers.

Then a group of two adults and two kids all played the instruments with us.

One day at Washington Square Park was very warm.

A father and daughter danced, even as they went on their way.

A young woman enjoyed dancing with us.

Later she looked at the books.

At Union Square, one cab driver danced with upraised hands as he walked to his cab’s trunk to unload his passengers’ luggage . . .

. . . and then again while returning to the driver’s seat!

The day after Christmas at the Union Square subway station, a couple from Columbia in South America was happy to encounter our harinama party. The guy enjoyed playing the shakers and dancing, and the lady took a video [http://youtu.be/z4C_7sKHhDs] of us all. At that time, Sofia from Siberia was singing and Rama Raya Prabhu was playing the harmonium, as you can see:

A few days later they passed us in Grand Central station, and I thanked the lady for sending me her video.

At Delancey Street a man in a Christmas hat happily played the gong.

There four friends danced in front of our party for almost an hour.

One day at Union Square subway, three girls chanted happily with us for half an hour.

Later four guys played instruments and clapped.

Their leader was familiar with kirtana.

Later another girl joyfully chanted with us.

The last Saturday in December was very warm, and we chanted in Union Square. Brajaraja Prabhu took some video of children participating and posted it on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=344917838983786&set=vb.100003967196971&type=2&theater

Jayadvaita Swami joined that day, and once at Grand Central Subway Station.

One girl passing by our party at Union Square subway station, joyfully said to her boyfriend, “I love Hare Krishna!”

One evening when we were chanting at Grand Central on the long hallway between the other subways and the Times Square shuttle, two policemen passed our party just as one of our lead singers finished his shift and the kirtana suddenly stopped. One of the policemen exclaimed, “Why did you stop?” It made me smile. Usually policemen want us to stop singing, but this one wanted us to continue!

On New Year’s Eve, Rama Raya Dasa‘s harinama party chanted on the outskirts of New York’s Times Square festival. One Arabic mother from Dubai and her two kids danced with us for twenty minutes, and you can catch glimpses of them in this video (http://youtu.be/5whX4vCh-PI).

It was awesome to see her joy at dancing in the kirtana. Later a Brazilian couple followed us for over an hour, smiling and moving with the sound of the kirtana.

The lady (above) expressed interest in looking up Hare Krishnas when she returns to Brazil the following day.

It was seriously cold, 26° F or –4° C, and that was at 11:08 p.m.

To get uptown to do the Times Square harinama, we did harinamaon the “F” train from Second Avenue (http://youtu.be/qBSRwBkKzw4).

Earlier in the day, we had sung at Grand Central subway station on the corridor to the Times Square shuttle.Between Christmas and New Years, often Rama Raya would sing Hare Krishna to the tune of the famous New Years song, “Auld Lang Syne.” (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xJ4_V6CVn2KkkjOGQBqLHEn)

One girl passing by told her boyfriend, “That’s ‘Auld Lang Syne!’”

Atmanivedana Prabhu’s Program at 26 2^ndAvenue

It is wonderful that Atmanivedanta Prabhu and his wife, Subhie, are dedicated to having a Gita class every Saturday evening at 26 2^ndAvenue. The people who come really enjoy discussing the philosophy and asking questions. I am trying to always have a nice standing up kirtana with dancing at the end, and people have been liking it. It is great to see this pilgrimage place of Hare Krishna history nicely utilized. Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu and his wife also have a program there on Mondays.

Charu Gopika Devi Dasi and Her Queens Program

Charu Gopika Devi Dasi uses the Internet to invite people to her home every Friday for a Hare Krishna program. She has interested some completely new people who have become regulars in that way. I was inspired by her dedication and innovation and hope to visit her program at least once each time I come to New York City.

Visiting the Friends Meeting in Brooklyn

I decided to visit the Friends Meeting (Quakers) in Brooklyn which is just three and a half blocks down Schermerhorn Street from the Brooklyn Hare Krishna temple. I had a friend from when I was teenager who attends that meeting, and I also like to share my realizations with them and hear what they have to say. My first encounter with the joy of the congregational glorification of God was singing Christmas carols with the members of the Albany Friends Meeting as a youth. Their worship, however, is sitting in silence, thinking about God, and sharing realizations. Learning of the power and joy of the practice of singing the glories of the Lord, I always think that the Quakers would do better to add more singing to their practice. Thus I mentioned in the meeting about my early experience with singing the Christmas carols and saying that they could take advantage of the season to do more of that. Surprisingly enough, at the end of the meeting, in honor of Christmas, the First Day school children entered the meeting room, stood right next to where I was sitting, and sang the song “Silent Night” for the pleasure of the congregation. Later I talked with an older lady who was originally from the Santa Monica meeting. She said in that meeting, in addition to speaking realizations during meeting, it was accepted, and even welcomed, if people would sing a song expressing their message. I told her how song is more common in Quaker services in recent years, and in Albany for half an hour one week a month they sing spiritual songs before meeting, and in Tallahassee some members come early and sing for fifteen minutes before meeting every week. She was inspired to suggest they might try that in Brooklyn. I also met a girl who asked the blessings of the congregation for her trip to India, and I offered to tell her of some special places to visit there.

Christmas in Albany

Victor greatly facilitated my program of making prasadam for my friends at the Albany Friends Meeting by greeting me at the Chinese bus in Albany with all the ingredients I needed for cooking. Since my sister had her own extensive cooking project, I cooked at the Friends Meetinghouse. A friendly Peruvian Catholic lady, Arinca, there with her Quaker friend, Crystal, kindly helped me grate for 4.5 cups of carrots that Victor had peeled, thus I was able to finish the carrot-coconut rice from Yamuna’s cookbook on time. I played a nice Hare Krishna kirtana tape while I cooked, which no one objected to.

We attended the Christmas play at the Albany Friends Meeting, and as usual people dressed up to act out different parts of the narration of Jesus’s appearance story, which included few appropriate songs which the congregation sang.

My eighty-nine-year-old mother played an angel.

And I played a wise man.

When the congregation sang the songs about the birth of Lord Jesus Christ, there was a nice spiritual feeling in the atmosphere.

After the drama, someone read The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, a story about a wood carver whose hard heart was softened in the course of carving the figures in the Jesus story. Later at my sister’s house my family read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a story of a family of delinquent children who become righteous in the course of enacting a drama of the Christmas story. It is interesting to me that the transforming power of narrations concerning God or the son of God is a common theme in these two fictional stories. Different verses in India’s Vedic literature refer to power of transcendental narrations such as: “On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.” (Srimad–Bhagavatam 1.5.11) The story of the appearance of Lord Jesus Christ, who Srila Prabhupada considered to be a saktyavesa avatar of the Lord could be considered in this category of transcendental literature.

On Christmas I gave my adventurous niece, Fern, Radhanath Swami’s book, The Journey Home, her boyfriend, Oliver, who is studying philosophy, Bhagavad-gita, Victor, who has some devotional inclinations, The Nectar of Devotion, and my mother, Pat, the peace activist, Sri Isopanisad, with its message of peace through accepting our God-given quota and not taking that of others. I could not find a book I thought my sister would really like on our harinama book table.

Thus I decided to order for her online a Hare Krishna cookbook that she doesn’t have, Great Vegetarian Dishes by Kurma Dasa.

Oliver said he had read some passages from the Gita, and he was happy to get the entire book.

I also gave all my relatives each a piece of maha–prasadam pera from Radha Govinda.

I received two package of figs, one of my favorite treats, some chocolate, and a couple pairs of socks, useful for keeping warm on harinama.

Some people living near my mom had an elaborate display of Christmas lights which was hard to avoid taking a picture of.

Is it all done for the glorification of the Lord and free of karma? Let’s hope so.

To see the photos I took but did not include in this journal, click on the link below (the unused pictures appear after the used ones):

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal924?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIWJgJLAlZ5Q&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 11.89, purport:

“Simply by accepting the associates of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu as nitya-siddha [eternally perfect], one can very easily go back home, back to Godhead.”

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 11.95, purport:

“There are many professional chanters who can perform congregational chanting with various musical instruments in an artistic and musical way, but their chanting cannot be as attractive as the congregational chanting of pure devotees. If a devotee sticks strictly to the principles governing Vaishnava behavior, his bodily luster will naturally be attractive, and his singing and chanting of the holy names of the Lord will be effective. People will appreciate such kirtana without hesitation.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for December 27” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows three
bhaktasdancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They are jolly and moving
together. They are detached
from the material world.
They avoid intoxication
illicit sex, meat-eating
and gambling. This
situates them on the transcendental plane.
They have no anxieties
or fear for material life.
This because they are
chanting the great mantra
for deliverance which
puts one under
Krishna’s protection.
The mantra is
so powerful it
beats back the material miseries. Anyone
can receive this position
if he or she chants
in a submissive, surrendered mood.”

from “Poem for December 28” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four

bhaktasdancing and
chanting with upraised arms.
They are jolly and
moving together.
Prabhupada encouraged us
right from the beginning
in 1966 to get up
and dance. When the
first boy, Bob Lefkowitz
danced, I thought
he was too sensual, but
Swamiji smiled at him
approvingly. Later I
rose for the first time
and did the Swami
step, and he nodded that it

was good. In
later years the
dancing grew more
choreographed and wild.
But Prabhupada allowed it.
He just wanted to see
that we were enthusiastic.”

Jayadvaita Swami:

Devotional service is practical activity, not imaginative ecstasy. The example could be given that a man comes home and asks his wife if dinner is ready, and she simply says, “I love you so much.”

Bhakti is not just a feeling, but practical service, and that service is performed in knowledge.

[After telling the story of the bum who donated toilet paper to 26 2^ndAve.:] We are all more or less bums, just of different caliber.

We at the BBT (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust) would have put a ceiling on editing the books a long time ago, but we keep finding things that really need to be changed.

Srila Prabhupada told Hayagriva he could use the Bhagavad–gita translations from the other editions which were more or less accurate. Hayagriva said that would be plagiarism. Prabhupada replied, “What plagiarism? They are Krishna’s words!”

Hayagriva’s son Stambha delivered some of his father’s papers to the BBT not long ago. In them I found a page of the Gita manuscript with Srila Prabhupada’s introduction of a handwritten line blasting Mayavadi philosophy. It is good we did not put a ceiling on the Gita so we can include this change Prabhupada obviously wanted.

I think for everyone to be concerned about everything is psychologically unhealthy, and Krishna recommends that one be concerned about doing his own duty.

I think that it would be better if those concerned about the editing issue voiced their concerns to the people who can actually do something about it and not by mentioning them on Facebook.

One might ask if we can change the format of the books, by eliminating the Sanskrit, the word synonyms, the transliteration, etc. The BBT trustees are discussing this issue, but it has not yet become an Internet discussion.

When I was at our temple on 55^thSt. I revised the translations for the first two chapters of the First Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. When Srila Prabhupada was visiting New York, I was going to drop them off with his secretary, but he was there, and he had me read a few of them to him. He heard them and asked what I had done.

I said, “I just tried to make them closer to what you originally said.”

He said, “Oh, in that case, it is alright.”

Although Srila Prabhupada blasted Radha Vallabha for liking to change things too much, when he proposed to resign, Srila Prabhupada would not allow him to, saying “What else can he do?”

There are genuine issues and then there is internet madness, which unfortunately obscures the real issues.

Comment by Abhirama Prabhu:

When Srila Prabhupada was personally present, and we did not understand something, we would ask him about it, and he would explain it in another way. We can understand from this that Srila Prabhupada approved of different explanations of the same thing as long as the meaning was not altered.

Q: There is so much controversy about this edition of Bhagavad–gita or that edition. Is there something else I can do besides reading Bhagavad–gita?

A: Yes. You can chant Hare Krishna. That was one of the original attractions for me. I saw philosophy in school was just a lot of hot air with nothing definitive about improving my life. Thus when Srila Prabhupada presented that the Hare Krishna mantra came directly from the transcendental plane beyond the mind and intelligence, I thought that was great—I can circumvent all the hot air and attain the spiritual plane.

Actually the differences in the editions of Bhagavad–gita are really minor. It is not like Krishna is supreme in one edition and Shiva is supreme in another.

Q: So I am to understand that by chanting Hare Krishna I will be able to actually understand either edition of Bhagavad–gita?

A: Yes. The chanting cleanses the heart so we can understand. That is why we chant before our classes.

Once the GBC suggested the BBT footnote Srila Prabhupada’s statements that might offend some people, but the BBT declined. Who was qualified to make those determinations and where would they end? Srila Prabhupada is against anything except pure devotional service to the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, thus there is something Srila Prabhupada’s books that will offend anyone.

We have a few “will not fixes,” things that Srila Prabhupada said a certain way, and we are not going to change them.

Some things are hard to define. How many hairs do you have to have on your face to have a beard? Twenty? Forty?

I suppose if Srila Prabhupada were here, there may be a few changes he didn’t like. [With folded hands:] “I am sorry, Srila Prabhpada.” But he would be very happy so many important corrections were made.

[After class, Jayadvaita Swami advised one disciple of Tamal Krishna Goswami to take second initiation from a swami who has a relationship her initiating guru and who will continue guiding her in the same direction.]

Death for the devotee is the path back to Godhead. Death for the atheistic is total loss.

Death of the demons is compared to the cat capturing a rat. Demons are like rats. Rats always hope the cat is absent so they are free to do as they please.

The people who pass by us at the subway station benefit. They are not hearing the holy name offensively; they like it. Their misunderstandings compared to their appreciation are insignificant.

Q (by Abhirama Prabhu): Is that first smile of those who hear us chanting, worship of Krishna?

A: Yes. They are appreciating Krishna in the form of His name. Otherwise, they would not be wandering through the subway system thinking, “I love God.” But they love the chanting, and the chanting is not different from Krishna.

Q (by Murli Vadaka Prabhu): Doesn’t Krishna make it hard for us after the initial stage?

A: No, we make it hard for ourselves because of our misgivings. We did not realize how dirty our consciousness is, and what it will take to clean it.

Happiness is more than just maintaining a smile. It involves sacrifice. Like the happiness of the warrior is to fight for the protection of the innocent people although it may be troublesome. Or the happiness of the nurse is taking care of the patients despite so much inconvenience. Similarly the devotee is happy despite the difficulties in executing devotional service.

Comment by Abhirama Prabhu: We see people on harinama who are so happy to encounter the devotees and the chanting that their eyes fill with tears of joy.

We can be as happy as the newcomers on harinama. If we think we have too much work to do and so we cannot go, then we will miss out on that happiness that even the newcomers experience.

The Six Goswamis were engaged in utkirtana, the loud chanting of the holy name, and they were big, big philosophers.

Q (by Murli Vadaka Prabhu): What about people in other traditions who engage in some limbs of devotional service but still engage in sinful activities?

A: It is good they are chanting the name of God, but not good that they engage in sinful acts. Still they are much better than those who do not engage in any acts of God consciousness. They can maintain their situation in their own tradition, and learn from the Hare Krishna devotees to avoid illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication, and gambling.

I do not think I am afraid of birth and death. But I am afraid of dying, and coming back, and having to go through adolescence again.

Once Basu Ghosh Prabhu was telling Srila Prabhupada some of the austerities the Jews perform, and after hearing these, Srila Prabhupada said, “Something good.”

Philosophically one should find an uttama-adhikari, or a devotee on the highest level to be one’s guru. But Lord Caitanya did not make a big issue of it. He simply accepted that anyone who knows the science of devotional service to Krishna is qualified to be a guru.

One must see that Krishna is coming in the form of the spiritual master.

The devotee thinks, “I may be insignificant, but my spiritual master can take you back to Godhead.”

Just take up the service of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and all the confidential understandings will be revealed. If we try to pursue these separately we will fail.

Revatinandana Prabhu told Srila Prabhupada that it was his understanding that by chanting and serving his spiritual master, all higher understandings would be revealed. When Srila Prabhupada heard that, he smiled and replied that he was correct and that our process is one of revelation.

Q: What is the difference between kirtana at our temples, and kirtana on the streets.

A: Caitanya Mahaprabhu would do both.

At one point, Srila Prabhupada wanted 24-hour kirtana in all our temples.

When we were working on his books in Boston, the most important work, he still said we should go out on harinama an hour a day, and we would do that. And that hour of public chanting would nourish us the whole day as we were connecting with the people we are supposed to be reaching.

If we just chant in our temples, that would not be the movement that Srila Prabhupada created.

And when we did kirtana in the temple, it was not like Lord Caitanya at Srivasa Angam where outsiders were not permitted. Srila Prabhupada always had the doors open to all.

Ramesvara Prabhu said his realization was that book distributors were in the mood of the gopis because they are bringing others to Krishna for His enjoyment. Someone asked Srila Prabhupada about that, and Srila Prabhupada said Ramesvara was right.

comment by a senior devotee: Srila Prabhupada said humility means to boldly preach Krishna consciousness.

Q: What does it mean that Srila Prabhupada is the siksa guru of everyone in ISKCON?

A: He is the samstapaka-acarya (founder acarya). He created the whole formula. Sixteen rounds of Hare Krishna. Four rules, mangala arati. He made the teachings of the previous teachers accessible to people of the present day. ISKCON is that society that appreciates Srila Prabhupada’s presentation of Krishna consciousness. If you like that, you can be part of it. If not you can look elsewhere.

Govinda Maharaja, successor of Srila Prabhupada’s godbrother Sridhara Maharaja, said, “We are all eating Srila Prabhupada’s remnants.”

Sridhara Maharaja said that if you try to skip over any of nine steps from sraddha to prema, that part that you skipped will remain hollow. I accept that because it agrees with Srila Prabhupada’s condemnation of jumping over parts of the devotional process.

Candrasekhara Swami:

There is an eternal world, one that is not manifest at a certain point, and is thus called aprakat. Not apricot, but aprakat.

Scientists have difficulty explaining the origin of language. From the Vedic knowledge we understand that because language exists eternally in the spiritual world, it exists in this world.

Unless we come to point of an intimate relationship with God, we have not attained the perfection of religion. Developing this relationship is not a minor point but rather is the central point of religion.

The spiritual realm seems to people like an endless prayer meeting, so they are not attracted. God seems like an ego maniac who gets off on engaging people in glorifying Him.

We in the material world are like a teenagers so absorbed in video games that they forget to eat and do not notice people in the room around him.

The Vedic literature describes the spiritual world as having the same sorts of varieties that go on in the material world but in perfection, and thus it is easier to become attracted to go there.

—–

kalim sabhajayanty arya

guna jnah sara-bhaginah

yatra sankirtanenaiva

sarva-svartho bhilabhyate

“Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of sankirtana [the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord].” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.5.36)

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraJanuary 13, 2014Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#9.23: North Florida and New York City
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 23
By Krishna-kripa das
(December 2013, part one)

Gainesville, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, New York City
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on December 31, 2013)

Where I Went and What I Did

I chanted at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville for the first week of December. Also during that week, several Krishna House devotees and I went to do harinama and book distribution on Wednesday in Jacksonville at the Art Walk and on Friday in Tallahassee at First Friday. Thursday was the interfaith progressive dinner, so it was a packed week. I stayed in Tallahassee and chanted the next four days there, attending the Sunday feast program and Garuda Prabhu’s Monday yoga class, and having a Bhagavad-gita class of my own. Then I was off to Jacksonville for two days of chanting at the University of North Florida and speaking at the final meeting of their Krishna Club on spiritual pleasure. Then I traveled to New York City to join Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party and chant for nearly six hours each day.

In this particular issue I have many great realizations from a variety of senior devotees I met in my travels. In addition to quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s blog, I have notes from classes in Gainesville by visiting guests Dravida Prabhu and Malati Devi, and notes from classes in New York by Jayadvaita Swami and Krishna Kshetra Prabhu. I also have realizations from the Krishna House devotees in Gainesville from our leader, Kalakantha Prabhu, down to some of the newest devotees. Also there are some quotes from articles in the March / April 2014 Back to Godhead magazine.

Thanks to Lauren Stewart for the photos of me and her dog.

Itinerary

December 31–January 5 – New York City

January 6 – Tampa

January 7–9 – Gainesville, Florida

January 10–12 – Houston

January 13–February 7 – Gainesville, Florida

February 8–11 – Tallahassee

February 12–13 – Jacksonville, Florida

February 14–February 19 – Gainesville, Florida

February 20 – Orlando and Philadelphia

February 21–24 – Dublin, Ireland

February 25 – Mumbai

February 26 – on a train between Mumbai and Howrah

February 27–April 14 – Mayapur

April 16 – Mumbai

April 17 – Dublin, Ireland

April 27 – Kings Day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

May–July (first two-thirds) – The North of England, Birmingham 24-hour kirtana, London Ratha-yatra, Stonehenge Solstice Festival

July (last third)–August (first two-thirds) – Baltic Summer Festival, Polish Woodstock, Czech Woodstock

August (last third)–September (first half) – The North of England

September (rest) – New York

Chanting at Krishna Lunch

Amala Harinama and his wife, Nadiya, who came for the Festival of the Holy Name, kindly chanted at Krishna Lunch on the next Monday, and lots of others joined them.

Classes at University of Florida ended Wednesday, and the Catholics did a mass on the green, so we had to chant quietly for fifteen minutes. They had a sign to inform people of their event:

The part about the blessings for exams reminded me of Indians students who show up at our temples in increased numbers at finals time. Krishna acknowledges such devotion in the Gita, and praises those people having it as magnanimous, though not on the level of pure devotees.

I love having so many people to do devotional service with as at Krishna House. Just see how many come for the evening kirtana! And that is just a third of those at the morning one.

Jacksonsville Art Walk Harinama

Devotees from Krishna House in Gainesville joined locals, Tulasirani dd and Bhakta Dorian, and chanted and distributed books at the Jacksonville Art Walk on the first Wednesday of the month, from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. Many people took books and many people danced with us, often holding their books.

In fact, I had never in my life seen so many people dancing with books in their hands.

There were even people who danced with a book in one hand and a tambourine in the other!

Also in addition to getting the books, many were curious enough to read a few pages on the spot. In this picture below, three people are reading books. One has her drink and her book resting on her skateboard as a table.

I had just one invitation for our programs at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, and I gave it to three friends who spent half an hour dancing with us.

They were very happy to learn of the local programs.

Natalie, one young lady, who had Srila Prabhupada’s books from before and who danced with us at least twice, and who plays the tambourine in the photo below, was also happy to learn of the local programs.

She also said she was going to New York City for part of the winter break, and I gave her my email and promised to tell her of our programs there.

The guy on the right played the drum for quite some time.

Strange Sights: Things You Don’t See Every Day

I have never heard of a connection between bowling and the Jewish holiday, Chanukah, have you?

French toast, because it traditionally has eggs in it, is not something I encountered in my thirty years as a Krishna devotee, but Bhakta Jon made it for the Krishna House breakfast, and it was great.

On the way back from Jacksonville for the Art Walk, we passed a guy shaving as he drove his car. Shaving is understood to be a dirty operation, and strict Hare Krishnas take a shower afterward so it was funny for me to see this guy shaving on the way to work. It is also an illustration of how passionate we have become, being so busy we have no other time to shave!

I also have a couple more dog conscious photos.

Often you see someone walking a dog, and occasionally two, but more than two is rare. In Gainesville there is this guy who walks six dogs at once. It is said he gets paid to do it, and that the City of Gainesville once tried to close him down, but apparently without success.

In Best Buy at Union Square I encountered this pup in boots.

I was worried that pet pampering had reached a new level till the owner explained the boots protect the dog’s feet from the salt used to melt the winter ice.

The Third Annual Interfaith Progressive Dinner

The Interfaith Progressive Dinner is an event organized by the University of Florida chaplains to promote the same kind of friendship between followers of the different religions on campus that the chaplains have among themselves.

We increased this year by doing harinama on the way to Hillel where the interfaith progressive dinner started. We did not want to do it between the different churches because that might be seen as too dominating. At Hillel I talked to a rabbi named Gail about psalms praising the name of the Lord. She suggested in different psalms, different words may be used to indicate the holy name, something to research. I also met the rabbi who told me two years ago that there are seventy-two names for God in the Jewish Kabbalah. I made a sweet for the event, carob coconut almondburfi,so we would have an eggless dessert, because the first year of the event we had to go without.

When I went around the hall at the end of the evening to distribute the extra sweets, many people took more, and a couple people from other traditions showed me they already had a stash of them to take home! The sweet always had a lot of sugar in it, and this time when I doubled the recipe I accidentally quadrupled the sugar, so it was even sweeter than usual!

Kalakantha Prabhu and the rabbi who told me about the holy names in the Kabbalah did a musical piece for entertainment that was sung to the tune from the musical Fiddler on the Roof, called “If I Were a Rich Man.” It was very humorous. I do not know if anyone took a video of it. Here are the lyrics, but of course, it was much better to see it live:

“Rabbi: If I was a Krishna, Hari Hari Hari Hari Hari Hari Hari Bol!
All day long I’d shake a tambourine, never feel a bit of guilt.
I’d study from the Gita, Hari Hari Hari Hari Hari Hari Hari Bol!
I would live as simply as can be, gobbling my vegetables and milk.

“Krishna: If I was a rabbi, yada yada yada yada yada yada oy vey,
All day long I’d bless my fellow Jews, telling them how to behave.
I’d study from the Torah, yada yada yada yada yada yada oy vey
Everyone would give me some respect. Best of all I wouldn’t have to shave.

“Rabbi: I’d have a comfy mattress up in the ashram, perfect for standing on my head. Reincarnation is fine if your mom’s a Jew.
Krishna: I’d have a great big building down by the campus, a budget that’s never in the red;
Instead of selling lunches I’d get dues!

“Rabbi: If you were a rabbi, yada yada yada yada yada yada oy vey,
You would have to eat gefilte fish.
Krishna: But I’m a vegetarian!
Rabbi: Tough!

“Krishna: Well, if you were a Krishna, hari hari hari hari hari hari hari om.
Every day you’d get up before dawn.
Rabbi: Thank you, but I think I’m sleeping in.

“(Together)
There are many paths to the Divine,
Yours is good, but not as good as mine.
Though you’re part of God’s eternal plan,
Thank you, I will stay right where I am.”

Ekendra Prabhu also did a very entertaining musical contribution.

A Mormon choir was supposed to sing, but they did not show up, and Tulasi-priya dd sang some very nice kirtana, accompanied by her husband, Ekendra Prabhu,and I passed out my business card which has the mantra on the back so people could sing along. Afterward I noticed the people did not leave the cards behind. I am glad I got to participate again in the dinner this year, after missing it last year.

Tallahassee Harinamas

First Friday was slower than usual. Perhaps it was because of the end of the semester. The weather was terrific. Even at 10 p.m., although it was December, we did not need to wear a sweater over our short-sleeved shirts. Still there were some nice people and several enthusiastic dancers.

I gave my card to three or four people and asked them to email me about our programs in Tallahassee.

I chanted by myself for three hours to, from, and at the Tallahassee Winter Festival. People became purified by hearing the holy name, and I became purified by chanting. I chanted for three hours, which is my usual daily commitment. There were a few positive responses and just one negative criticism. The several policemen who I saw did not try to restrict me, although I was in a market area.

I chanted at Lake Ella on a beautiful Sunday with the temperature in the mid 70s (low 20s C). None of the three people who I had hoped to come were there to join me, but Danny, who had come to Gita class sometimes, sang with me for about forty-five minutes, intently meditating on the mantra. Several people took cookies and invitations to the restaurant and college lunch program. I met Chris and Randy, who remembered me from Garuda Prabhu’s yoga classes.

One very shaggy Old English Sheepdog came up and sat at my feet for ten minutes as I chanted Hare Krishna at my book table behind the main library at Florida State University.

I generally do not pet or talk to the dogs, so they usually are not very interested in me, but this one appeared just to like the kirtana. Lauren, the owner of the dog, who she affectionately called Rascal, sat down nearby and got out her computer and began studying while the dog relished the kirtana. Lauren studied for an hour or so as the dog investigated other features of the grassy area in back of the library before returning to listen to some more kirtana.

I gave Lauren my card and suggested that she chant Hare Krishna to the dog or download some kirtanas from Krishna.com and play them.Although the dog was named Rascal, in reality, he was one of the most favorable dogs I have encountered this life. When I thanked Lauren for the photos, I sent her a link of some Bada Haridas Prabhu’s kirtanas, and she promised to play them for her dog. Lauren just completed her degree in math, and hopes to study to become a yoga teacher in the beginning of the new year.

I was happy to hear of a bhajana [devotional song] evening on the first Sunday feast of the month in Tallahassee, and to witness the attendance of new westerners as well, some who are friends of Garuda.

Danny came to our Tuesday Gita class after his exam, and one boy I met on the campus that very day also came and chanted in the half-hour kirtanas before and after the class.

It was surprising to me that Danny, although committed to the path of Buddhism to the extent of accepting the vow of Bodhisattva, was the person who participated more than any other in my harinamas and Gita class in Tallahassee.

Jacksonville Krishna Outreach

I was happy that Tulasirani dd and Bhakta Dorian joined me to chant on the campus at University of North Florida on Wednesday, and Ekendra and Tulasi-priya Prabhus and Bhakta Dorian chanted with me there on Thursday.

Krishna Club was lively, with Tulasi-priya dd singing, Ekendra Prabhu drumming, lots of people singing the response, and a few dancing.

I gave a lecture on spiritual pleasure that several people appreciated. It is nice to see we have some real regulars there, some who have been coming for over a year and a half to the weekly meetings.

Harinamas in New York City

Because of the cold weather, we did harinama in the subway stations much of time, either at Delancey Street, Grand Central Station, Times Square, or most commonly Union Square.

At Delancey Street station we were near the uptown “F” train underneath a colorful mural.

A boy played instruments.

So did some girls.

At Times Square, we were just at the top of the steps leading down to the “7” train.

A man and a girl played instruments.

When we were outside, because of congestion at Union Square with both the Christmas Market and the Green Market, we would go to Washington Square Park instead.

Rama Raya Prabhu likes idea of singing Hare Krishna to popular Christmas tunes like “Jingle Bells.” None of the other kirtana leaders really followed his example, except for the newest one, Alice, who sings Hare Krishna to “Jingle Bells” at the Union Square subway station in the video below:

Not as many people stop when we are in the subway stations as when we were outside at Union Square, but still there were some pleasant interactions.

A man with some luggage smiled as he watched our harinama party at the Times Square Subway Station, taking a few photos. I went to give him a Krishna—Reservoir of Pleasure pamphlet, but he said he already knew about Hare Krishna. I asked him from where, and he replied with a smile, “Everywhere!” and gave me the old high five!

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam3.1.16, purport:

“A devotee is always in a renounced temperament because the worldly attractions can never satisfy him.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.2.34, purport:

“I have seen the wife of a medical practitioner voluntarily accept death immediately when her husband died. Both the husband and wife were taken in procession in the mourning cart.”

Comment on above: How did she die? Obviously it was not by entering the funeral pyre as some would do in the past. Anyone know?

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.2.38, purport:

“The Lord says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saraṇam vraja:[Bg. 18.66] ʻGive up all other duties and simply surrender unto Me.ʼOne who does not abide by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is given the facility to enjoy this material world. Instead of restricting him, the Lord gives the conditioned soul the opportunity to enjoy so that by mature experience, after many, many births (bahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19]), he will understand that surrender to the lotus feet of Vasudeva is the only duty of all living beings.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.2.41, purport:

“We should have firm faith that the Lord is supreme and that if we surrender to Him, He will take charge of us and indicate how we can get out of material life and return home, back to Godhead. Without such surrender, one is obliged to accept a certain type of body according to his karma, sometimes as an animal, sometimes a demigod and so on. Although the body is obtained and lost in due course of time, the spirit soul does not actually mix with the body, but is subjugated by the particular modes of nature with which he is sinfully associated. Spiritual education changes one’s consciousness so that one simply carries out the orders of the Supreme Lord and becomes free from the

influence of the modes of material nature.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam7.2.56, purport:

“Kali-yuga, however, is so degraded that a father and mother even kill their children in the womb on the plea of their scientific knowledge that within the womb the child has no life. Prestigious medical practitioners give this opinion, and therefore the father and mother of this day kill their children within the womb. How degraded human society has become! Their scientific knowledge is so advanced that they think that within the egg and the embryo there is no life. Now these so-called scientists are receiving Nobel Prizes for advancing the theory of chemical evolution. But if chemical combinations are the source of life, why don’t the scientists manufacture something like an egg through chemistry and put it in an incubator so that a chicken will come out? What is their answer? With their scientific knowledge they are unable to create even an egg. Such scientists are described in Bhagavad-gita as mayayapahrita jnanah [Bg. 7.15], fools whose real knowledge has been taken away. They are not men of knowledge, but they pose as scientists and philosophers, although their so-called theoretical knowledge cannot produce practical results.”

from Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 11.89, purport:

“A devotee is always thinking of how better to serve Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and how to broadcast His name, fame and qualities throughout the world. One who is nitya-siddha has no business other than broadcasting the glories of the Lord all over the world according to his ability. Such people are already associates of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore Narottama dasa Thakura says, nitya-siddha kari’ mane.One should not think that because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was personally present five hundred years ago, only His associates were liberated. Rather, Srila Narottama dasa Thakura says that anyone is a nitya-siddhaif he acts on behalf of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by spreading the glories of the holy name of the Lord. We should respect those devotees preaching the glories of the Lord as nitya-siddha and should not consider them conditioned.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam4.13.28, purport:

“. . . in devotional service there are offenses known as seva-aparadha. Those who are engaged in worshiping the Deity, Radha and Krishna, in the temple should avoid such offenses in service. The offenses in service are described in The Nectar of Devotion. If we simply make a show of offering services to the Deity but do not care for the seva-aparadha, certainly the Radha-Krishna Deity will not accept offerings from such nondevotees. Devotees engaged in temple worship should not, therefore, manufacture their own methods, but should strictly follow the regulative principles of cleanliness, and then offerings will be accepted.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam4.13.35, purport:

“According to sacrificial rituals, animals are sometimes sacrificed in the yajñaarena. Such animals are sacrificed not to kill them but to give them new life. Such action was an experiment to observe whether the Vedic mantras were being properly pronounced. Sometimes small animals are killed in a medical laboratory to investigate therapeutic effects. In a medical clinic, the animals are not revived, but in the yajñaarena, when animals were sacrificed, they were again given life by the potency of Vedic mantras.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for November 26” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Radha-Govinda are kind to me.
Every morning (and all day)
They grant me full darsana
with Their effulgent forms
and attractive dress.
I don’t know much about it,
but I accept Them as spiritual forms on the authority of
the sastrasand the acaryas.
They fill my heart
with love and
banish voidism and impersonalism.”

from “Poem for December 1” in Viraha Bhavan:

“When
Dhruva Maharaja saw the residents
of Vaikuntha he didn’t
know what to say. He
chanted Hare Krishna, and they
were satisfied. Similarly at the cleaning of the
Gundica temple the devotees just said,
ʻKrishna’ to indicate
what they wanted. The harinama party
doesn’t have to
give lectures to the crowd. They
can just go on
chanting the Hare Krishna mantra,
and all communication
will be satisfied.”

from “Poem for December 4” in Viraha Bhavan:

“One only need to test it
for oneself
and see the result.
They are happy to be
performing harinama.
Their happiness does not
derive from wealth,
power or sexual satisfaction.
They are simply blissful
to be serving Krishna
by praising His holy
names. The material
joys have a beginning
and end. At first they
taste like nectar, but
later they turn to poison.
But the happiness of harinama sankirtana
is an increasing ocean that knows no bounds.”

Jayadvaita Swami:

Not that I love you, but I will not do a damn thing for you.

In a proper Vedic kingdom, the king is like the father of the citizens and is concerned with the material and spiritual welfare of the citizens.

Asking for three steps of land from a king like Bali Maharaja is like asking Bill Gates for $10.

Bhakti is practical activity in the service of the Lord with the mind fixed on the Lord.

In this age, the two first methods of devotional service, hearing and chanting, are most recommended.

Srila Prabhupada once said, “Chanting means thinking.” [This reminds me of how when Krishna says “think of Me” throughout Chapter 8 of Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport, “Chant Hare Krishna.” In one purport he includes the entire Hare Krishna mantra twice.]

We see that the devotees go to places like Union Square and Times Square to chant, and people hear “Hare Krishna” and they think of Krishna.

If you have no engagement then chant Hare Krishna or read books about Krishna. If you are fully engaged in Krishna consciousness then there are no maya activities.

If you fully surrender to Krishna by always thinking of Him, Krishna will take care of you. It is like the army. If you join the army, the army provides clothes, a place to stay, medical help, education, . . . So it is with Krishna.

People would ask Srila Prabhupada where you get money, and Prabhupada said Krishna is our financier.

In the beginning I was told I needed beads and Brahmananda Prabhu told me they were $10, and I had no money. The next day on the way to the temple I looked down on the ground and there was $10, so I was able to get my beads.

When there is a connection between me and Krishna, that is yoga.

Once Bhakti Charu Swami said to Srila Prabhupada, “I wish I could have been there when you were all alone in New York in the beginning.”
Srila Prabhupada replied, “I was never alone.”

In theory one can be a devotee of Krishna without being in a community, but because in practice it is hard to be in complete seclusion, if we do not associate with devotees, then we will associate nondevotees and thus we will do nondevotional activities.

Just as scientists enjoy discussing their discoveries so the advanced devotees enjoy discussing their realizations.

Now I am a conscious person living in the contraption of the material body. In the spiritual world the body is made of consciousness. Everything is made of consciousness. It is a much better place.

Instead of working eight hours a day, you can live with the devotees and serve Krishna for many hours a day. If you have got yourself in a state where you need to acquire wealth, then offer the work you must do as service to Krishna.

The material world may look stable, but it is risky as hell. I could elaborate, but I see many of you are nodding. If I am going to take a risk, I might as well take a risk for something big, the ultimate objective. Materially the odds are 100% you will lose everything. And spiritually either you attain perfection in this life or you come back in the next life and continue where you left off, and so it is success either way.

Advice to a devotee writing a blog:

Be simple, direct, and clear.

Use Wordpress as it is easy to use.

Share what you have realized.

Use a spell checker.

Arcana siddhi dd:

from “A Retreat for Krishna Couples” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 48, No. 2:

“I see a relationship between the yoga of listening and our connection with Krishna

during japatime: The practice of being present in our everyday exchanges helps us control the mind during japa and thus connect with Krishna. And the more we connect

with Krishna, the source of all relationships, the easier it is to connect with other souls, who are all part of Him.”

Dravida Prabhu:

In New York, in the 1970s, we would go on harinama sankirtana for three hours every day.

Srila Prabhupada felt the seventh chapter of the Adi-lila of the Sri Caitanya-caritamrita was so important that he wanted it published as a separate volume.

Everything begins with sound. Our material existence is an effect of material sound, and our spiritual life begins by vibrating transcendental sound.

We have to see the reality of the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease, and use that as an impetus to take spiritual life seriously. At the same time, we have to develop our attraction to Krishna. Both go on together.

Krishna has unlimited names because He has unlimited devotees and unlimited activities with them.

The web site iskcondesiretree.comhas a section with stories of how people came to Krishna consciousness.

This Festival of the Holy Name with people getting together and singing for hours on end and drumming, is a wonderful manifestation of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana movement.

Every devotee who is sincere becomes a channel to some degree.

How to sustain and how to expand? The strength is in numbers, in coming together.

One of the features of this Festival of the Holy Name is the big harinama during the game between Florida and Florida State. There is a verse that says that just hearing one holy name can free you from all sins. How many thousands of people were purified in that harinama!

The verse that glorifies a moment’s association with sadhus is actually glorifying hearing a moment from the sadhus because that is how we generally associate with them.

If you are always connected with transcendental sound, then when you have a chance to speak, you will be able to present the philosophy nicely.

By nicely hearing, you remember Krishna and steadily proceed.

Remembrance of Krishna destroys everything inauspicious.

When the intelligence is situated in this knowledge, you can control the lower self. The mode of passion tries to cover our knowledge.

Sometimes the clouds clear and you get a taste of the holy name. How to be in that state always? That is sthayi-bhava, an advanced stage.

We should pray to always advance in devotional service.

We should avoid offending the devotees, because if we offend them, we will lose their association, and with it, the opportunities to hear and chant about Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada said the best way to control the mind is to think of ways to spread Krishna consciousness.

With advances in technology, we have no excuse for not hearing about Krishna.

How do we spend our mornings and evenings, those times we have the choice of what to do? If we have an intensive spiritual practice in the morning, that will set the tone for the whole day.

When you are using everything in Krishna’s service, then you can more easily see Krishna everywhere.

comment by Adi Karta Prabhu: Sivarama Swami likens a strong spiritual practice to insulation, protecting us from material influences.

Nitya-siddhas (eternally perfect beings) come to this world just to teach the service of the Lord.

Other Upanisads also begin with the same invocation as Sri Isopanisad.

You can make a Deity of mud or paint, and now I guess you would have pixels [the components of a computer image] too.

The deity may appear inanimate and be strange to relate to as being a person, but when you think about it, it is not so strange as we are already relating to inanimate objects as being people because the material body of the living soul is actually inanimate.

We want to see the person behind the energy at every moment.

One of the threefold miseries is those caused by other living beings. Sartre had a book called The Exit with one memorable line, “Hell is other people.”

Maya has a trident to give us impetus from behind, and we have Krishna’s beauty to attract from in front.

We are burning in a forest fire, and someone comes with a helicopter and pours water on it and puts it out. Therefore we should be grateful to our spiritual master for that favor of extinguishing the forest fire of our material existence.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

The human being is meant to use his intelligence for spiritual realization. The head of the human child is so big and heavy, he cannot lift it for six weeks.

One of the biggest gangsters in the U.S. was finally cornered by the police, and rather than surrendering, he fought it out with them. When he was killed, a notebook was found in which he had written, “I am the most misunderstood person. I never meant harm for anyone.” Everyone thinks like that.

If we want people to not criticize us, first we should stop criticizing others.

We should only instruct people who accept us as an instructor, and only for their benefit, and if it becomes clear our instructions are not having a positive effect, we should stop giving them.

If people instruct us, and it stirs up our tendency to defend ourselves, then although they may be trying to benefit us, they have not understood the best way to give instruction. If we say, “When you do this, it makes me feel like that.” in a neutral way, it informs them of the effect of their actions without starting an argument. Any reasonable person will not want to give pain to others. If the person continues to speak in a way to agitate our mind, we know they are a jerk, and we can politely excuse ourselves from their presence.

If we are in a critical mood, that will only hurt ourselves.

Citraketu did not fear Parvati’s curse even slightly because he knew he could perform his service to the Lord in any condition of life.

We should not allow insults to remain in our consciousness and continue disturb us. We should forgive the person or try to understand their motivation, and get beyond it.

Krishna Kshetra Prabhu:

from a lecture on Bhagavad-gita 5.4 at Atmanivedana Prabhu’s Friday program on Long Island on December 13, 2013:

Some describe Bhagavad-gita as a synthetic text, one that brings many traditions together.

What is usually meant by sankhya is the Sankhya karika of Isvara Krishna which is what Srila Prabhupada would call atheistic sankhya.

It is interesting the Krishna considers that sankhya and yoga are nondifferent because they have the same result.

It is ironic that Krishna says that one enjoys the same result from either practice because the result is to act without enjoying the result!

It is striking to see how little Patanjali talks in his Yoga Sutras about the asanas, or sitting postures, which are what are thought of as yoga nowadays.

Some examples from the Yoga-sutras:

sthira sukham asanam: Asanais steadiness and easy.

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraDecember 31, 2013Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#9.22: New York City, Tampa, Gainesville, and Alachua
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 22
By Krishna-kripa das
(November 2013, part two)

New York City, Florida
(Sent from Jacksonville, Florida, on December 11, 2013)

Where I Went and What I Did

The second half of November, I continued chanting on harinama six hours a day at Union Square in New York City with Rama Raya Prabhu’s party, and living in Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn, cutting vegetables for their lunch program and Sunday feast. On Saturday, November 23, I gave the lecture at 26 2^ndAvenue. Then on November 25, I flew to Tampa, where I chanted with my friend Nama Kirtan Prabhu for three hours at the University of South Florida, on my way back to Gainesville and Alachua for the Festival of the Holy Name, their twenty-four hour kirtana at the end of November. Before that festival we had Thanksgiving dinners in Gainesville and Alachua, with a few words of thanks, evening kirtanas leading up to the festival. We also chanted at the Farmers Market in Gainesville before the festival and at the football stadium during the festival.

On my last day in New York City, I attended lectures by Radhanath Swami in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and I share my notes on these. I also have notes from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s journal. I have notes from the classes of and a seminar on the editing of Srila Prabhupada’s books by Dravida Prabhu, with comments by senior devotees. Also I share notes on lectures by other Alachua County devotees and some interesting insights from some senior citizens from Tampa.

Itinerary

December 12 – Jacksonville, Florida

December 13–23 – New York City

December 24–25 – Albany, New York, area

December 26–January 5 – New York City

January 6 – Tampa

January 7–9 – Gainesville, Florida

January 10–12 – Houston

January 13–February 7 – Gainesville, Florida

February 8–11 – Tallahassee

February 12–13 – Jacksonville, Florida

February 14–February 19 – Gainesville, Florida

February 20 – Orlando and Philadelphia

February 21–24 – Dublin, Ireland

February 25 – Mumbai

February 26 – on an Indian train

February 27–April 14 – Mayapur

April 16 – Mumbai

April 17 – Dublin, Ireland

April 27 – Kings Day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Union Square Harinamas

One day we had to change our venue because of the Union Square Christmas Market.

Some Afro American youths enjoyed dancing with us.

A girl on a skateboard played the shakers.

A young lady changed her yoga class so she could stay and chant with us.

An older lady closed her eyes, meditating on the the spiritual sound.

One day in the subway station, Michael Collins led a lively kirtana (http://youtu.be/4KH8EAGSDA0):

On Saturday at Washington Square Park one young lady sitting on a nearby bench listened for some time, and then purchased a book. Then she sat down with the kirtana party.

She had a book in one hand and a cigarette in the other, and when I offered her the shakers, she put down the cigarette on the walkway and it burned out, as she played the shakers along with the kirtana.

The last day I was on harinama in Union Square we chanted in the subway station as it was very cold. Many uncommon things happened. One young man sat in front of us with the biggest microphone I have ever seen.

It looked to be about a foot long (30 cm) and four inches wide (10 cm).

He did a radio show and wanted to record some of the music in the subway stations, and we were the first group he recorded.

One guy who had never come by before, really liked the sound of the chanting and sat down with us. He started moving with the music and meditating on the sound, and ended up staying over an hour and was chanting Hare Krishna at the end.

Another guy sat down and played the saxophone with us for over an hour. Then Tarun Prabhu came by, playing his trumpet.

Then another saxophone player came by, who danced as he played. Thus for part of the time we had two saxophones and a trumpet playing with us.

At one point we engaged a family of four children in playing the shakers.

Some of them played with great delight.

Ultimately they joyfully danced in a circle with Braja-raja Prabhu.

About 10 meters (30 feet) from the party an old man was waving a conductor’s baton, as if directing our music. He continued do that at least half an hour.

Chanting at the University of South Florida

I flew to the cheapest city within 2 hours of Gainesville, namely Tampa, and my friend Nama Kirtan Prabhu met me at the airport, and we chanted for three hours at University of South Florida.

USF was great. Uma Devi Dasi faciliated us by bring us a harmonium, some blankets to sit on and some prasadam.

Hearing us chant Hare Krishna, a couple guys in their 60s came by. Valentine had seen Prabhupada on Second Avenue in New York City. Bobby remembered a conversation with a Hare Krishna in New York City who was so committed to search for the ultimate truth and who spoke such in heartfelt way that really drew you into the conversation that he never forgot it. They gave donations three times and each took a book. Bobby came by again and gave me a set of rosary beads. Several interested students took invitations to our USF programs, and Keren, a regular attendee at our USF programs, chanted with us! I am looking forward to chanting at USF after my next flight from New York City after the winter break!

Chanting at the Gainesville Farmers Market

We had just a few devotees chanting when we started singing at the Gainesville Farmers Market. I gave one of the guys who hangs out there a tambourine to play when he came close to watch. He played it briefly, and wandered off with it in his hand. I was carefully watching him to retrieve the tambourine before the man disappeared, but our lead singer was worried and got up in the middle of the kirtana to walk over and ask the guy to give it back. The guy became a little violent, and our singer resumed his duty, and I continued to watch the man, wondering how I was going to get the tambourine back from him. After twenty minutes, two policeman came up to the guy and asked him to return the tambourine, and he tossed it on our blanket, and the policemen continued talking with him. As the policemen passed by on their way out, I thanked them, and they replied suitably. We had not called the police, but someone was watching out for us. Krishna for sure was watching, and perhaps some friends we did not know we had. Later, our fortune improved.

A person sat with us and played the tambourine.

Then another came bringing two djembes and playing one.

Then someone played the other djembe.

It was inspiring to see people spontaneously join the kirtana. The chanting of the name of Krishna is all-attractive like Krishna, and everyone is meant to take part.

Thanksgiving Appreciations from Some Krishna House Devotees

Kalakantha Prabhu:

Srila Prabhupada started his movement without the help of others, just his faith in Krishna and His holy name, and he gave us that and a lot, lot more.

Alex:

When we go on field trips, we immediate notice that absence of any one of us because we are such a close family.

Govinda:

You are a great family for me. I felt like I was at home. My brother stayed here two years ago and said Krishna House stole his heart, and for me the same is true. Kalakantha Prabhu, even though you are the boss, you are very humble and a great example to follow.

Karen:

Thank you, Krishna, for allowing me to be here.

You are so fortunate in Alachua in America to have all these nice temples and devotees. Take advantage of it. In my country of Colombia, we have few. It was great serving Krishna Lunch.

Prateek:

Thanks to Srila Prabhupada. Thanks to Kalakantha for carrying on what he gave. I see being at Krishna House is like a being in a airplane going 500 miles per hour. You just have to sit in the plane, and you go that fast. You cannot go like that chanting on your own.

It feels more like a family than my own family. I was amazed to find such a spiritual situation in America. I learned a lot from each and every one of you.

Comment by Kalakantha Prabhu: Prateek is so enthusiastic, he is the first student at Krishna House to make his professor Krishna consciousness.

Caitanya Dasi:

When I came Krishna House, Kalakantha Prabhu was reading Krishnabook as the devotees ate popcorn, and afterward he talked to me and asked where I was from. In 2000 when I was here practically no one came to the morning program. All the development you see here is due to one person, Kalakantha Prabhu. I was doubtful about staying when Hanan invited us to be part of Krishna House. I was in my gypsy mode, but my husband said if we travel we will distribute prasadam and talk to people about Krishna, and you can do that all right here, and so we stayed.

Reflections on the Festival of the Holy Name
(Alachua Hare Krishna Temple’s Twenty-four-Hour Kirtana)

Agnideva Prabhu:

We chanted on the boardwalk in Laguna Beach for hours.

Badahari Prabhu was traded because we need sankirtana devotees. When I found Balahari Prabhu could play the harmonium, I told Ramesvara Maharaja I made him Vice President, so he could not return him to New York.

The police would always harass us and take our instruments. Once at the end of the arati we were chanting, and they took our instruments. We continued singing the Nrsimha prayers beating on the floor instead of the drum and chanting in unison, and that really agitated them. They picked up me and another devotee and handcuffed us and took us to the police station. I told Ramesvara Maharaja, and he decided we would get the best lawyer, Barry Fisher, to deal with it. He decided to sue the City of Laguna Beach for 33 million dollars. It made the newspaper headlines. The lawyer for the City realized they did not have a case and decided to settle out of court. I decided not to take their money, because then they would be really angry, and I wanted to continue preaching in Laguna Beach. Barry Fisher got them to pay for his costs as our lawyer. The police were respectful after that, guarding the procession in our temple opening ceremony. There was a huge kirtana party with five hundred devotees, coming from Los Angeles and San Diego, walking down both sides of Coast Highway. You could not even hear the traffic.

Badahari das Prabhu:

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had 72-hour nama yajnas [congregational chanting sessions of the holy name] to create harmony in the matha [temple].

,

Dhruva Maharaja:

During that last kirtana I remembered that verse by Rupa Goswami, “I do not know how much nectar the two syllables ‘Krish-na’ have produced . . . ” It is amazing how much nectar there is in this simple practice.

Let us bless all the organizers for organizing this wonderful festival.

Indrayani dd:

Thank you for singing so sweetly and giving us the holy name. The scriptures say there is no difference between Krishna and His holy name. Last night I felt like I experienced that. I envision Krishna as the protector of Vrindavana by His lifting Govardhana Hill, and think He is always ready to protect us if we just chant His holy name just as the residents of Vrindavana did.

I’m so thankful to Srila Prabhupada for all he has given us.

Jessica, friend of Krishna Kishore, who came to the Alachua Festival of the Holy Name for the first time:

I have seen Vish [Visvambhar Steth] and Kish [Krishna Kishore] at many kirtana events all over America, but nothing has compared to this event in Alachua, and I think that must be because of all you people here. Thank you so much.

Gaura Shakti Prabhu (a festival organizer):

Your smiling faces give us the motivation to do it year after year.

Krishna-kripa das:

I was inspired to see the number of people attending because it demonstrated to me that they have great faith in the holy name.

I saw many smiling faces and joyful dancers.

Once Amala Kirtan and Amala Harinama Prabhus led together.

People smiled joyfully
.

It was especially lively, as you can see in this video (http://youtu.be/bQyqKqase78).

Havi Prabhu’s kirtana was especially joyful.

Many listened happily.

People got to play their own instruments.

Dhirodatta Prabhu, the sound man, even strummed his guitar.

Gaura-Nitai enjoyed the sacrifice,

done as service to Srila Prabhupada,

with Aindra Prabhu present in the form of his picture.

On the second day, Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra appeared, as if attracted by the devotees’ chanting.

The evening kirtanas with Madhava Prabhu leading up to the festival were wonderful as usual. Having Agnideva and Badahari Das Prabhus there was also very wonderful.

Lalita, who was in Laksmimoni dd’s ashram just after I moved to Alachua in 1994, led some lively Hare Krishna tunes, and many friends were there to support her. It made me feel old to consider how many years have gone by and how many changes have taken place since then!

I was happy to see the people who came with Adi Karta Prabhu from Kentucky were really appreciating it. Several devotees I knew from New York City came for the festival. I was sad that Niranjana Swami could not make it and that Mitra Dasa Prabhu did not have a singing slot despite his devotion and his talent. Except for lunch on the first day, when they ran out of prasadam, the prasadam program was great. I liked the festival so much I was eager to give a donation toward it (and get a couple cupcakes too). I look forward to attending next year, God willing. May all who organized it get the full blessings of Lord Caitanya and all His devotees!

Chanting at the Gators-Seminoles Game

I have gone to many harinamas at the football stadium in Gainesville but not one attended by over forty devotees! I recall thirty-six once on Radhastami but not more than forty.

Fortunately the game was played in Gainesville so we did not have to miss five hours of the Festival of the Holy Name driving to Tallahassee and back. As usual, many fans danced with us, even though they were not as drunk as usual as it was a noon game.

I was amazed that a large number of enthusiastic Indian devotees visiting for the Festival of the Holy Name took time out to chant at the football stadium and many were interested in distributing devotional literature.

To see the pictures I took but did not include in this blog, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal922?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNmvo8ePweywsQE&feat=directlink

You will find the unused pictures after the used ones.

Insights

Radhanath Swami:

By reconnecting with Krishna, we also reconnect with all other living beings.

When asked how one could see Krishna everywhere? Srila Prabhupada responded in this way, “When you see my eyeglasses, what do you think?”

The devotee replied, “I think that these Srila Prabhupada’s eyeglasses.”

Then Prabhupada inquired, “And how do you feel when you see my glasses?”

The devotee said, “I feel affection for you.”

Srila Prabhupada explained that everything the pure devotee sees reminds him of Krishna, and he feels affection for Krishna.

To see everything connected with Krishna is natural.

In bhakti the goal and means of approaching the goal are the same.

The power of bhakti is that whatever we desire, we ultimately attain perfection.

When we associate with the all-attractive, we become attracted.

When we associate with the supreme pure, we become purified.

The thief listened to the Bhagavatam class with great attention because he had the desire to rob Krishna. Because of his intense desire, he was able to see Krishna. Krishna was not afraid of the thief, but he was afraid of what His mother would say if he returned home without His jewels. As he conversed with Krishna, he became purified and lost his desire to take Krishna’s jewels, and became a great devotee of Krishna.

Bhakti-yogais about reconnecting with the all pure, and purification naturally takes place.

One man in Jagannatha Puri was always chanting with such relish, because the name of Krishna is not different from Krishna Himself. He did not want to chant while evacuating, but his tongue automatically chanted, and he tried to restrain it by holding his tongue. A five-year-old child named Gopal watching this told the man that there were not hard and fast rules for chanting. Lord Caitanya, seeing this, marveled at the faith of the child in the holy name. The child jumped on Lord Caitanya’s lap, Lord Caitanya cried with tears of love for Gopal, and Gopal cried with tears of love for the Lord. Lord Caitanya said to child, “Because of your faith in the holy name, from now on you will be Gopal Guru,” and he grew up to be a great spiritual teacher in the line.

Sangameans we associate with others to come together and focus on Krishna.

Service to Krishna is more fulfilling than liberation.

“akamah sarva-kamo va moksha-kama udara-dhih tivrena bhakti-yogena yajeta purusham param—A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.10) This verse gives the greatest hope to the hopeless.

When Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York City, he had the conviction, “The power of bhakti will purify anyone and everyone.”

It is said that the elephants after their bath come out of the water, and spray themselves with dirt. I was curious to see that, so I would watch the elephants bathe and sure enough they would spray themselves with dirt. The males would always do it, and the females would not always do it. And sometimes the males would spray the females with dirt.

Q (by Laksmi Nrsimha Prabhu): Could you define perfection? Sometimes we have difficulty understanding how it is possible to do anything perfectly.

A: Perfection is prema, pure love for Krishna. Our natural capacity is to love Krishna and have compassion for all beings. Perfection is the awakening of that love. Pure love must be unmotivated and uninterrupted in order to completely satisfy the self. If we are enthusiastic and never lose sight of the goal, we can transcend all obstacles. Sat-sanga, association of saintly persons,is important to keep us focused. By association with persons who are satisfied with pure service, we become free from false motives like liberation.

Khatvanga Maharaja attained liberation in a moment by completely surrendering to Krishna. That possibility is open for all of us. But for most of us, it is a gradual process of redefining our priorities.

We must be enthusiastic and patient. If we are just patient we will get nowhere, and if we are just enthusiastic, we will be discouraged if we do not attain immediate success.

If it takes five or ten lifetimes, considering the greatness of the goal, that is nothing.

When our bad habits come back, when can take it as an opportunity to show our sincerity.

One Indian man said his mother always told him no matter how successful you are, only your spiritual values go with you. In the white sheet that covers the body at the crematorium, there are no pockets.

One Indian doctor failed his final exam after eighteen years of schooling. I encouraged him to study and take the test again. He did, but failed again. I encouraged him to study harder, and take it again. He ended up failing four times, and I told him to take shelter of Panca-tattva, Lord Caitanya, who appeared in five features, and he passed, and he is successful in his career and he is liked by all. Do not stop trying.

Challenging situations convince us of the need to seek the shelter of Krishna. Krishna put Arjuna in a difficult situation, and he sought wisdom and shelter in Krishna and was successful. Krishna arranged that situation just to teach us.

If we blame others, even if we are right, we lose the opportunity for spiritual progress.

When Krishna is personally present, He reciprocates so quickly, as in the washerman example. The washerman performed thousands of lifetimes of worship to have the benediction of seeing the Lord, but because of the bad association of Kamsa, he had no desire to serve Krishna.

In the old days, timingilafish could eat whales like you eat blueberries.

Serving the lotus feet of the Lord means serving without selfish motives.

One gardener who made garlands for his Vishnu deity was ordered by his deity to speak at an assembly of scholars to the king about the true meaning of liberation. He protested, saying that he was not a scholar. His deity replied that he should just go to the assembly and open his mouth, and the Lord would speak through him. The gardener had so much faith that he walked to Madurai and spoke about how pure devotion to the Lord is actually the ultimate liberation. He spoke so perfectly that all of the great scholars unanimously praised him and decided that the gardener was to be the guru of all of them. They had a great festival glorifying the gardener now guru, and he went along with it, understanding that it was all the Lord’s mercy. And on the occasion of the festival Lord Vishnu was so pleased, he descended with His associates, and the gardener could see Him. The gardener offered prayers in which he decried the ecstasy of seeing the Lord, and felt bad that the Lord had come to this miserable world on his account. One day the gardener found a baby girl beneath the tulasis he was growing. He was a renounced person and suddenly he had this girl named Andal. Andal had this habit of wearing the garlands he made for Vishnu for an hour, smiling and looking at herself in a mirror. Once her father saw her do that, and reprimanded her and refused to offer the garland to Vishnu, thinking it had been desecrated. Vishnu appeared in a dream, saying that he liked to wear the garlands that Andal wore because she has so much devotion, they become consecrated.

Andal would accept Vishnu alone as her husband. She had her father read the names of all the deities in South India. When he got to Raghunatha, she became shy and humble and entered a trance, and his father understood she wanted to marry Raghunatha. The priest of Raghunatha had a dream in which the deity asked for a procession to Andal’s home because He wanted to marry Andal, and He wanted His priest to propose to her on His behalf.

According to Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, bhakti is obstructed by profit, sensual enjoyments, fame or recognition. If we want fame, everything becomes tainted.

The joy of Srila Prabhupada’s heart was in seeing others learning to love Krishna.

I recall seeing Srila Prabhupada gazing at Radha Govinda, and Radha Govinda gazing at Srila Prabhupada.

Advanced devotees see themselves as small before the greatness of God.

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for November 16” in Viraha Bhavan:

Today’s drawing shows three
bhaktas dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They appear blissful and
are moving with grace.
People who watch
them become mesmerized
and feel a personal
elation in their softened hearts.
One woman, who was
a clinical psychologist, stayed watching the
party at Union Square for an hour before she
left. A couple of hours
later, she returned.
When asked why she
had come back, she said,
“This chanting just
makes me feel so
peaceful.” There
are many examples
of people having effects like that.
The chanting is not a
sectarian religious experience.
It has a transcendental
nature of love of God
for all people.
The soul is free and engages
in the service of Krishna
with great happiness.

from My Relationship with Lord Krishna:

“Atheists not only don’t believe in God, they make it sound as if no intelligent person can believe.”

from “Poem for November 21” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Radha throws [the dice] again with a great desire for victory. Although Radha wants to win, She has no desire to enjoy the results. Radha cannot defeat Krishna, the very victory flag over the world. And Krishna cannot defeat Radha, a second victory flag over the world. Interestingly, the only winner is Cupid.” (Krishnahnika-kaumudi)

from “Poem for November 23” in Viraha Bhavan:

Muktavandya told me that
the devotees in Boston went
out on harinama at Fenway
Park for the Boston Red Sox
World Series games. I
wonder how the crowd perceives the devotees.
Did they think we were sectarian
religionists proselytizing our sect?
Did they see us as a disturbance
to the baseball fever?
Or did they welcome us as
adding to the celebrative
event? The fact is
the devotees were purifying
the presiding modes
of passion and ignorance.
The chanting has nothing
to do with the material
world. Wherever the
devotees show up
chanting they cleanse
that place and make it transcendental.
Knowingly or unknowingly
the baseball fans
received the mercy of harinama
for its nature is supernatural.

from “Poem for November 24” in Viraha Bhavan:

“All the devotees are

dancing in bliss.
They have found
the secret source of joy.
The nectar for which
we are always anxious.
It is lamentable that
only a relatively few people chant
the holy names
and that people think of it as sectarian religion
or mythology or brainwashing.
The devotees are trying their best
to chant the names,
but they are a minimum
amount of people in the world.
When, o when, will the people of the world
take to the chanting of the Names
and taste the nectar of holy love?”

“We are not going to
observe Thanksgiving
in a special way. It
is mostly a mundane
holiday where
the karmis arrange a
family gathering and an obnoxious
turkey feast. We
may have some
extra preparations for Gaura-Nitai
but nothing extraordinary.
Every day is thanksgiving for us
with deep gratitude to Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya
for giving us a life free of hellish karma.”

Dravida Prabhu:

from a seminar on editing Srila Prabhupada’s books:

Prabhupada’s greatness is that he translated the message into English, and were it not for that we would not be here tonight.

Srila Prabhupada acknowledged that his original Bhagavatam had some grammar and typographical issues. It was certainly Krishna’s will that one of Srila Prabhupada’s first contacts in America was Hayagriva, an English professor. Srila Prabhupada engaged him in editing, “Put it nicely.”

Srila Prabhupada wrote, “If the books are printed with spelling mistakes and other mistakes, that will be a discredit for our publication. So please see that editorial work is done very nicely.”

Pradyumna Prabhu wrote to Jayadvaita Prabhu, “Prabhupada said that if there is one mistake in one book then you spoil the whole book, murder the whole book.”

Prabhupada to Radhavallabha Prabhu, the BBT production manager, “Concerning the editing of Jayadvaita Prabhu, whatever he does is approved my me. I have confidence in him.” That confidence in Jayadvaita Swami continued throughout Srila Prabhupada’s life.

Many things that were left out in the Macmillan Gita were restored in the 1983 edition.

Garuda Prabhu, who is a scholar, uses the 1983 edition as a text in his classes, but he said he could not use the Macmillan edition because of the faults in it.

Even in the “rascal editors conversation” of June 1977, Srila Prabhupada still expressed confidence in Jayadvaita Swami.

from a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.28.16:

in the Gopal Campu the pastime of Varuna holding Nanda Maharaja was on Patala-loka. Krishna became so angry that Varuna’s men took Nanda that Krishna’s bluish color became red with anger. Nanda Maharaja had been meditating on Lord Narayana, and until Krishna came to rescue him, he did not realize what had happened or where he was.

Krishna’s pastimes can be understood on many levels. One is the ocean of loving exchanges with Krishna. Each entity is serving Krishna in an intimate way, and Krishna is reciprocating with each in a personal way.

Festivals are to come together and glorify the Lord. At the drop of a hat practically, devotees will hold a festival and get together and chant and take prasadam.

On the japa retreats you are chanting or talking about the holy name practically the entire time, and therefore everyone is very blissful afterward.

One interested in the ultimate good (sreya uttamam) must inquire from a guru who is fixed in the scripture (sabde)and in the Lord Himself (pure).

Devotional service in practice generates devotional service in spontaneous love.

Kirtana means chanting, and sankirtana means total chanting, and that includes dancing. Srila Prabhupada introduced the dancing. Lord Caitanya introduced the dancing. Before Him it was not done. Engaging our entire body in Krishna’s service helps get us free from false ego.

I highly recommend the yoga series lectures by Srila Prabhupada.

Sankirtana enhances japa. Japa also enhances sankirtana.

We have an ocean of bliss in our heart, but we are looking outside at the reflection. That is the great tragedy. The solution is the chanting of the holy name.

Approaching Krishna for us means approaching His holy name.

Our practice is simply bringing the mind back to the holy name.

When we see people blissfully chanting, that inspires us.

What we have done during the day will appear in our mind during our japa, so you cannot expect to chant nice japa if your mind has been all over the place all day.

Rising early, taking rest early, reading spiritual books regularly, all aspects of our practice help us in our chanting of the holy name.

Srila Prabhupada was asked what we should think about when we chant Hare Krishna, and he replied, “Hare Krishna.”

When a spiritual aspirant asked Gaura Kisora Dasa Babaji Maharaja how he would learn of his particular relationship with Kr

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraDecember 12, 2013Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#9.21: New York City and Beyond
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 21
By Krishna-kripa das
(November 2013, part one)

Chanting in New York City and Beyond
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on December 3, 2013)

Where I Went and What I Did

I continued chanting on harinama six hours a day at Union Square in New York City with Rama Raya Prabhu’s party, and living in Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn, cutting vegetables for their lunch program and Sunday feast. I attended a variety of special events as well. On November 4, I attended a lively Govardhan Puja festival at the Brooklyn temple. On November 6, I heard The Mayapuris play at the Jivamukti Yoga School NYC. The next evening, I traveled to New Brunwick, New Jersey, to Sacred Sounds, a kirtana event sponsored by the Rutgers University Bhakti Yoga Club, with this year’s guests, The Hanumen and The Mayapuris. On November 9, I attended a home program of Bengali-speaking devotees in Queens where we observed Govardhan Puja again. From November 14–17 I took a break to visit my family in and around Albany, and I got to talk with and have lunch with Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, who lives just 25 minutes from my mother, along with some of his other disciples, and I got to clean up afterward. The first half of November was so busy, it makes me exhausted just remembering it all, what to speak of describing it!

There are truly beautiful insights I share from Srila Prabhupada’s books, lectures, and letters, and some valuable points from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s blog, including a beautiful glorification of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Prahladananda Swami made some great points worth sharing in his lectures at the Brooklyn temple. There are also some interesting realizations from a discussion between Yogesvara Prabhu, and Sharon Gannon, of Jivamukti Yoga School, also a devotee of Lord Krishna. I also include some great quotes from the Jan /Feb 2014 issue of Back to Godhead, which I was proofreading.

Thanks to Nam Sankirtan Prabhu, Lila Padma dd, Chandra Mohini dd, and Gabriel for pictures of me on harinama at Union Square and in the subway station.

Harinamas at Union Square

As I mentioned in a previous journal, several people who regularly pass by our Union Square chanting party became regular attenders of it. One French literature major at Hunter College named Alice sat down with the devotee chanters back in June and stayed for the whole rest of the day. As they were packing up Baladeva recalls, “Alice asked if she could play the harmonium, and she did, singing Hare Krishna as she played. The next day she came and stayed the whole time, and then asked if she could play the mrdanga as they were packing up.” Now when she is not too busy with school, she comes by a few days a week for a few hours each day, and when she leads the singing, sometimes she will go on for an hour and a half or more! She has a loud voice, and it is great having her sing the response. One devotee lady told me Alice also goes to the Bhakti Center everyday for mangala-arati. I recorded some video clips of her singing on harinama to share with you (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLKhBtu3AN_O5cbEBNU7vXC):

Often Max would play the drum while I chanted.

One girl named Jill from Connecticut, who studied art and psychology, enjoyed offering a candle to Damodar . . .

and then watching and listening to the kirtana party, and hearing a few words from me about psychology and the Bhagavad-gita.

Once on harinama, two girls played the instruments.

Motherly Chandra Mohini dd later embraced them.

It was often a bit cold in November, but when the sun was shining on you it was nice.

One couple positioned two chairs in the sunshine in front of the harinama party, right in the middle of the walkway, and closed their eyes and listened to the kirtana, undisturbed by all the people passing by!

Later that day Chandra Mohini and Janette danced very beautifully together for some time.

One Czech couple joined us for an hour or so. They had visited our Krishna camp at the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (the Czech Woodstock) which I have attended for five years. They also knew about one of our Govinda’s restaurants in Prague.

I gave them the Czech mantra card and invitation to the Prague temple which I had in my money belt. At one point, the girl got into dancing.

Sometimes I would distribute pamphlets.

Visvambhar Prabhu of The Mayapuris came and played and sang for a couple hours on Govardhan Puja Day, sharing his enthusiasm for kirtana with us, to our great happiness. He was in town to do programs at local yoga centers and Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Experiencing the discomfort of the cold, he later expressed appreciation that we were chanting out there for six hours a day.

One 59-year-old lady who watched our chanting for an hour, said that except for our Union Square chanting, she had not encountered Hare Krishna since the 1970s. She was very happy to see the devotees chanting and to learn of Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch in Brooklyn. She credited Hare Krishna with her becoming vegetarian at 17 years old.

One artist had written “DOG IS LOVE” on the pavement and was coloring in a picture of a dog.

He was complaining to a passerby how he only made $6 a day for all his endeavor. I was thinking that if I sat down and chanted Hare Krishna, people would give me more than $6! I wonder if he had written “GOD IS LOVE” and was coloring in a picture of Krishna how well he would do!

Once it rained, and we had to sit under umbrellas.

One devotee youth I knew from Alachua, Madhvacarya Prabhu, came by on occasion, here playing the gong.,

One time Jai Giridhari Prabhu, in a blissful mood, decided to lead the kirtana while dancing, and other devotees joined him (http://youtu.be/DFTLzE4rhVc):

Once when Michael Collins was leading a lively kirtana in the subway station,one young lady sat down in the middle of the floor against a pillar to take videos and to listen.

Chandra Mohini dd kindly gave her a cushion.

The crowd increased.

Prahladananda Swami came on harinama for over an hour and a half when we were chanting in the Union Square subway station because of the cold outside.

He seemed so joyful as he chanted, several people were attracted to listen, even during slow time in mid-afternoon.

One older man with gray hair clapped and smiled, moving with the beat of the music, for at least fifteen minutes.

I did not get a chance to talk with him, but he seemed very happy to encounter Prahladananda Swami and the chanting of Hare Krishna. Later that day more devotees came by and for the last hour we had fourteen devotees chanting in the subway.

At one point three people were looking at literature!

Murli Krishna Prabhu led a really lively kirtana (http://youtu.be/5H6ml7XgTek):

One girl named Julienne, who joined us chanting at Union Square once before and later attended a single Thursday evening kirtana at the Bhakti Center, saw us chanting in the subway station as she walked toward the L-train platform.

She stayed and chanted for over an hour, playing the instruments with a joyful expression on her face.

Govardhana Puja in Brooklyn

At Radha Govinda temple in Brooklyn, the hill of sweets celebrating Lord Krishna’s Govardhana Puja festival was awesome!

After the bathing ceremony for Giri Govardhan and circumambulation of the hill, we all got containers with lots of sweets. I was so busy eating the sweets, I devoured all the good looking and tasty sweets before I thought to take a picture of the whole container.

Lots of people, including Visvambhar, danced enthusiastically in kirtana.

The following Saturday I attended a Bengali nama-hatta program in Queens at the residence of Pankajanghri Prabhu where they celebrated Govardhana Puja also with great devotion.

Sacred Sounds at Rutgers

For the last six years, the Bhakti Yoga Club at Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey at New Brunswick, has hosted a kirtana event called Sacred Sounds. Visvambhar, who has been going for six years, invited me to attend when he read my Facebook post lamenting missing a similar event he did in Tampa in October. After singing in Union Square for five hours on November 7, I took the train to New Brunswick for the evening event.

I ended up sitting next to a Rutgers professor of religion, Dr. Edwin Bryant, known to the Hare Krishna community as Advaita Prabhu. I had heard his name come up in discussions with devotee scholars like Hridayananda Dasa Goswami and Sadaputa Prabhu, and I was happy to finally meet him. I had heard he was famous for writing a book about the Aryan invasion theory, and I asked about it. He explained his strategy in the book was to present the arguments on both sides of the theory so that people could come to their own conclusions, and thus the publication was appreciated by the scholarly community. He also has written about the relationship between bhakti and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. I also met a student of his by the name of Chelsea, who I remembered from chanting Hare Krishna in the Times Square subway station during last year’s winter vacation. She mentioned that Advaita taught a course called Krishna, as well as several other interesting courses with topics related to the Hindu tradition. In fact, she decided to minor in religion in order to be permitted to take all the classes taught by Advaita Prabhu that she was interested in. I felt inspired by my contact with both this enthusiastic scholar of bhakti and his enthusiastic follower. Hopefully someday I will find some way to please Krishna with my natural talents.

Although the Sacred Sounds event was not attended by five hundred students as some of the past events, still over two hundred students were there. Many of the students got into singing and dancing with the kirtana.

The Hanumen and The Mayapuris played.

The Hanumen consist of Benjy Wertheimer, John de Kadt, who is a poet, Purushartha Dasa, who plays the bass, and the lead singer, Gaura Vani.

The Mayapuris consisted of Visvambhar and Krishna Kishore, and Visvambhar’s sister, Gangi, who was happy to go on tour for a week and dance, and Kumari, a friend from Alachua, now living in New York City.

I took a few notes on what was said and on some of the songs:

Gaura Vani Prabhu:

[Gaura Vani later explained that he created the band, Hanumen, with artists from different spiritual traditions, to show the universality and the reality of sacred sound.]

When we put up our arms, we are asking for grace to enter into our lives.

Sankaracarya saw an old man in Varanasi on the point of death studying Sanskrit grammar, and he advised him “Bhaja Govinda, bhaja Govinda, mudha mate.—Just worship Govinda, you fool.” Life is meant for focusing on God, not improving your

situation in this world, especially at the time of death.

This song is dedicated to those chanters who have gone before us and learned how to turn their tragedy and grief into prayer and transcendence.

Lines from songs:

We all bleed blood, we all breathe air, we all break bread, we’ve all been there.

Home to my Lord and be free.

Krishna Kishore Prabhu: Wouldn’t it be nice to able to love fearlessly? That is possible by chanting the names of Govinda. Let’s give it a try.

Many volunteers helped with the event, including these two who are modeling the festival T-shirt they sold for the low, low price of $5.

The spiritual food was very good, and I fell victim to the jalebis, a tasty Indian sweet that one rarely gets, and which I had thirds on. I talked to Geoff, who remembered me from when he spent sometime volunteering with Back to Godhead magazine in Alachua over ten years before. One devotee lady offered to have me speak on one phone conference call lecture she arranges.

I thought $13 each way on the train to New Brunswick was too much, and so I was happy to get a ride back to Brooklyn with some devotee friends. I arrived at the locked Brooklyn temple at 2:00 a.m. on a cold November night and chanted in the warm subway station until the pujari came to wake the deities at 3:50 a.m. Although I had only slept an hour, I ended up singing the mangala-arati prayers as the person who did it usually did not show up. My visit to Sacred Sounds made for an intense and long day, but it was well worth it, and I hope to go again if I am in New York City when it happens in the future.

My Mother Wins Peace Award

My 89-year old mother, Pat Beetle, won an award for her peace activism in the year 2013, given by a New York State Capital District group called Women Against War. My sister said that our mom has been inviting her to go to these different awards programs from time to time and she had not gone, but she was going to go this time. I decided that as I was going go to Albany to visit my mother at some point I would go then too. My mother has helped me in many ways in addition to taking care of me as a child. She bought me a ticket to see my diksa guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, in Ireland, and to go to the Polish Woodstock, back in 2001. I liked the Woodstock so much I attended it for the last thirteen years. She has also helped contribute to my transatlantic airline tickets. She funded a trip that we took to South India, which culminated in her going to Mayapur. Thus I decided that in reciprocation it would be good to go to the meeting where she was honored.

In this picture, you see my mother on the extreme right, and my sister, Karen, next to her. I am in the back and on the left is Jun-San, a Buddhist monk and peace activist.

Jun-San chants that Buddhist mantra “Nam(u)-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō” at different peace rallies around the world for hours on end, usually with drum accompaniment. When she heard about our chanting Hare Krishna at Union Square for six hours every day of the year, she was impressed. Because Buddhists are famous for meditation, I asked her about meditation, and she replied that she hated meditation. That was the funniest thing I had heard recently—a Buddhist monk who hated meditation. Upon reflection, I took that to mean that she was such an activist that silent meditation was not so important for her.

There were three different posters made showing some of my mother’s activities:

One women named Maureen spoke about my mother’s career as an activist, and that my mother has been for forty years clerk of the peace and service committee in the Albany Friends Meeting, did service for the Capital Area Mediation Group, was founder of Peace Action, worked on the nuclear weapons freeze campaign, reminded people of the horrors of nuclear weapons on the anniversary of Hiroshima each year, and founded a group called Grannies for Peace, which got good publicity. Maureen concluded by appreciating her sisterhood, mentoring, and inspiration.

My mother spoke and told some other details about her life. “I thought more about peace when I became involved with the Albany Friends Meeting and joined the vigil protesting the Vietnam War. In 1976, I, along with my two teenage kids, joined the Continental Walk for Disarmament and Social Justice on the part from Albany to New York. I was involved with alternatives to violence programs in prisons which made me more concerned about criminal justice. I worked with an International Center women’s group, helping visiting and immigrant ladies from around the world, and also spent time helping refugees from Central America, and participating in the Women Peace Encampment of 1983. I visited Israel and Palestine to better understand the situation there, and I visited Cuba as well.”

After they honored my mother at the Women Against War meeting, climate change activist Rachel Smolker spoke, and I learned more about that issue.

Those who accept the Vedic wisdom know about the predictions of government corruption in this age, and Ms. Smolker gave some examples of that in her talk:

The military is exempt from both the reporting of and the regulations on carbon emissions and green house gasses.

The military is aware of the climate change issue and is investigating it, while at the same time contributing greatly to it. For example:

A B-52 bomber burns 86 barrels of oil per hour.

A F-4 Phantom fighter/bomber devours 40 barrels per hour.

One year for each $94 spent for the military just $1 was spent for climate change preparation. The next year for each $41 for spent for military $1 was spent for climate change preparation, a slight improvement.

The Vedic wisdom describes our disease as conditioned souls is that we want to imitate God. Ms. Smolker also discussed a whole new field of study dedicated to just that, synthetic biology.

In synthetic biology, they do things like create a genetic code for a yeast cell so it will digest cellulose and create a new energy source. In this field, the military is also trying to produce through genetic manipulation organisms that excrete explosive substances.

Other interesting points Ms. Smolker made in her talk included:

It is a myth that bioenergy has lower carbon emissions than fossil fuels.

Albert Einstein once said, “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”

When asked, “Do you have any reason to be optimistic about the health the planet?”

She replied, “I do not feel optimistic, but our best chance is compassion and making a spiritual connection between ourselves and the earth.”

It is interesting that her only hope was in compassion and making spiritual connections.

Regarding the ecology and the military, she shared a humorous web page touching on those topics, a web page that no longer exists:

“Green War?

“War and violence have always caused major destruction and loss, but it does not have to be this way anymore. The sustainable military development company GreenWar can help make environmentally-friendly, energy-conserving, carbon-neutral, ecological conflicts. Go green with GreenWar and give ‘war’ a chance. A chance to do good. Good for Mother Nature, good for you!”

Prasadam Distribution in Albany

My main Krishna outreach in Albany is distribution of Krishna prasadam. I was fortunate to have the chance to cook for two potluck events in Albany in the three days I was there, the Women Against War meeting attended by about sixty people and the Friends Meeting lunch which my mother and I attended along with fifteen or twenty others. I made a beautiful carrot-coconut rice from Yamuna’s cookbook and mint coconut burfi for the Women Against War meeting. The rice was eaten almost entirely, and about half the coconut sweet, primarily due to competition with a variety of cakes and pies. Some of the people who remembered my coconut sweets from my previous visits to Albany made sure to take some despite the other desserts. For the Friends Meeting I made baked yams and laddus. The yams were completely finished, and half the laddus, only because I made enough for thirty-two people. I felt very successful because of the appreciation of the prasadam. I am thankful to my mother and sister for the raw ingredients and the kitchen facilities that were essential to my success.

For dinner at my sister’s place, I made kotfa balls following a recipe in Yamuna’s cookbook, and amazing they came out better than ever before. I prayed to Radharani and played a Badahari das Prabhu CD as usual while cooking in Albany. It was a real cooperative adventure with my mom buying the ingredients, my sister, Karen, grating the carrots for the kofta and making the spaghetti and the sauce, her boyfriend, Victor, grating the cabbages for the kofta, and myself making the batter for the koftas and cooking them.

Once day I brought a pot of soup for lunch to my guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, and his helpers, and after the meal, his longtime servant, Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu, filled the same pot with all the ingredients for palak paneer as he knows my family likes it.

All I had to do was cook it and offer it to Krishna.It was great. They all loved it.

You can try his recipe. (That is 8 lbs. of spinach.)

Another day I brought a pot of soup for my friend, Peter Howard, and his family. Peter got to meet the devotees when Romapada Swami asked me if I knew where his sankirtana party could stay in the Albany area, and I suggested the farm belonging to Burt Howard, Peter’s father. Now Peter chants Hare Krishna on beads and attends the big Hare Krishna festival called Ratha-yatra in New York City each year. While visiting Peter, I played harmonium, and he and his girlfriend chanted the “Damodarastakam” in celebration of Karttika and some Hare Krishna mantras as well.

To see the pictures which I took but did not include in this journal, click on the link below or copy it to your web browser:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal921?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNLugOe3verDygE&feat=directlink

The unused pictures appear after the used ones in the folder of pictures.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 9.362, purport:

“One who strictly follows the Vedic literature and chants the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will actually be situated in the transcendental disciplic succession. Those who want to attain life’s ultimate goal must follow this principle.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.19.4, purport:

“. . . a pure devotee will not ask anything from the Lord. He simply offers the Lord his respectful obeisances, and the Lord is prepared to accept whatever the devotee can secure to worship Him, even patram puspam phalam toyam [Bg. 9.26]—a leaf, flower, fruit or water. There is no need to artificially exert oneself. It is better to be plain and simple and with respectful obeisances offer to the Lord whatever one can secure. The Lord is completely able to bless the devotee with all opulences.”

from Sri Isopanisad, verse 13:

“Here also in Sri Isopanisad it is verified that one achieves different results by different modes of worship. If we worship the Supreme Lord, we will certainly reach Him in His eternal abode, and if we worship demigods like the sun-god or moon-god, we can reach their respective planets without a doubt. And if we wish to remain on this wretched planet with our planning commissions and our stopgap political adjustments, we can certainly do that also.”

“One who is in passion cannot become detached from material hankering, and one who is in ignorance cannot know what he is or what the Lord is. Thus when one is in passion or ignorance, there is no chance for self-realization, however much one may play the part of a religionist. For a devotee, the modes of passion and ignorance are removed by the grace of the Lord. In this way the devotee becomes situated in the quality of goodness, the sign of a perfect brahmana.Anyone can qualify as a brahmanaif he follows the path of devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master.”

from Sri Isopanisad, verse 14:

“Material scientists and politicians are trying to make this place deathless because they have no information of the deathless spiritual nature. This is due to their ignorance of the Vedic literature, which contains full knowledge confirmed by mature transcendental experience. Unfortunately, modern man is averse to receiving knowledge from the Vedas, Puranas and other scriptures.”

from a lecture on The Nectar of Devotion:

If your mind is too agitated, it is better to sit in the temple and chant Hare Krishna until it becomes peaceful again, not that we unnecessarily remain in a state of lamentation.

Just by developing Krishna consciousness every member of society will become happy.

Some people say, “If everyone became Krishna conscious, how will the world go on?” But do we need the world to go on as it is, with the stealing of others property, etc.? Realistically there is not a danger of everyone becoming Krishna conscious.

Whether one acts according to Vedic direction or his own imagination, if he acts for the pleasure Krishna, he is rightly situated.

Chanting the Hare Krishna mantra cannot be checked. If you are poor, you can still chant Hare Krishna.

from lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.20 given on June 17, 1972 in Los Angeles:

“Just as a chaste woman is meant for her husband, a chaste tongue is meant for chanting Hare Krishna and tasting Krishna prasada.If you can simply engage your tongue in chanting Hare Krishna and tasting Krishna prasada,you become perfect. Simple thing. There is no difficulty. Whenever there is time, chant Hare Krishna. And when you feel hungry, take Krishna prasada.And live here peacefully. . . . By talking nonsense we allow our span of life to be diminished by the sunrise and sunset. But if we talk about Urugaya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then our life cannot be taken away. It cannot be decreased. It will be eternal–simply by doing these two things. If we engage the tongue in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, then we can see God eye to eye.”

from a letter to Satsvarupa Dasa, January 11, 1971:

“I want all our students to write articles for our transcendental magazine [Back to Godhead].”

from a letter to Hayagriva Dasa, July 12, 1969:

“Regarding articles for BTG,I have already issued instructions to all centers requesting my disciples to send articles every month, and I am going to repeat it again for the second time.”

Prahladananda Swami:

The more we hanker, the more we lament. When we are free from hankering and lamenting we are liberated. On the platform of Krishna consciousness, we hanker for Krishna and lament that we have not achieved Krishna.

If I want to be someone’s friend, I should think of how to give them Krishna. Krishna is what they are actually looking for. They are looking for a situation of eternal happiness, but that can only be achieved by attaining Krishna.

The body is not dying; it is already dead. As spiritual souls we leave the body. As souls we do not have to worry about dying but accepting many bodies and then leaving them.

As a baby all he can say is “googoo googoo.” His parents are impressed. They do not know in his last life he was a chemistry professor and he won the Nobel Prize, and now all he can say is “googoo googoo.”

As we hanker for the holy name and lament we do not have it, Krishna gradually reveals more and more to us about our spiritual situation and our relationship with Him.

My relationship with my husband, my wife, my children, my dog, my cat, my parakeet, can all be spiritual if we see them as souls and engage them in Krishna’s service. Help them all to be Krishna conscious as Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised.

Having a taste for hearing and chanting about Krishna means we like Krishna, and not having a taste for hearing and chanting about Krishna means we do not like Krishna, at least as much as we like other things. By engaging our propensities in the Lord’s service, we become purified and get a taste for hearing and chanting about Krishna, but if we are unwilling to engage our propensities in Krishna’s service, then we will not become purified and we will not get a taste for hearing and chanting about Krishna.

The great souls talk about how we can direct our energy so that we can experience Krishna.

One becomes satisfied when he is not exploiting others for his sense gratification nor disturbed by others attempting to exploit him for their sense gratification.

We cannot expect to have prema or love for Krishna if we still have lust, greed, and anger in our heart.

We can have taste for Krishna consciousness if our material desires are so minimized that they do not disturb our devotional service.

The symptom that we are still revolting against Krishna is that when Krishna says to do something, we do just the opposite.

From taste (ruci) wedevelop attachment for Krishna (asakti), feelings for Krishna (bhava), and finally love for Krishna (prema).

For the neophyte devotees, who are not liberated, hearing about how souls are suffering in illusion due to the external energy of the Lord is the topics of the Lord they need to hear.

Without experiencing transcendental pleasure within, it is not possible to renounce sense gratification without.

They did a study with rats on a box of shredded wheat to understand its nutritional value, but the rats ate the box and left the shredded wheat.

Because Gaurakisora dasa Babaji was absorbed in transcendental feelings of separation from Krishna he was detached from so many material things.

The soul has no real problem. His body has so many problems, and the problem of the soul is that he thinks he is the body, and therefore, he thinks he has so many problems.

Gaurakisora dasa Babaji was a perfect example of how we can solve all problems by completely dedicating ourselves to the activities of the soul.

Hong Kong is so expensive there are people who live in the sewer.

Our body is always changing, and so we can legitimately ask which body we are actually serving.

We should ask what is the purpose of having a material body. For one with a human body, our mission is to understand our relationship with God.

Our body is just the part that we are playing for this one life. We like to imagine that we are playing a very important role in the drama, but in actuality, we are simply struggling to survive.

Real progress in life to realize our spiritual identity.

Focus on our spiritual identity does not do much for the Gross National Product, and therefore, we are not trained in our educational systems to understand how to realize our spiritual identity.

People are in anxiety about what has happened to them so far, and in even more anxiety about what will happen to them in the future.

Everything is Krishna’s and when we forget that, we become covered by maya, or illusion. Krishna’s property should be used in Krishna’s service, and to understand how to do that we consult Bhagavad-gita and the spiritual master.

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for October 26” in Viraha Bhavan:

Krishnahnika Kaumudi: The White Lotus of Radha-Krishna’s Daily Pastimes

by Kavi-karnapura Gosvami

Third Ray of Light
Forenoon Pastimes
Purvahna-lila 8:36–10:48 A.M.
Going to the Forest (continued)

“Whether close by or far away, all the cows
and boys receive the same affection from Krishna as they offer to Him.”

“As soon as they hear Govinda’s flute, the inert entities
start singing and the vocal entities fall silent.
River waves freeze and cease their movement;
immobile objects begin moving and solid objects turn to liquid.

Thus Krishna’s flute song reverses
the functions of nature. The world dances in wonderful ways when Sri Krishna presses His flute to His bimba-fruit lips.
The leaves of all the trees stand on
end. The birds tremble as tears glide down their wings.
Their jaws locked in paralysis, the animals stop chewing and stare
in astonishment. The mountains are covered with perspiration.”

from “Poem for October 30” in Viraha Bhavan:

Krishnahnika Kaumudi: The White Lotus of Radha-Krishna’s Daily Pastimes

by Kavi-karnapura Gosvami

Third Ray of Light
Forenoon Pastimes
Purvahna-lila 8:36–10:48 A.M.
Going to the Forest (continued)

“Syamasundara is that remarkable personality
with a dark complexion who sports
in the garden of love, who attracts
Cupid by His unsurpassed beauty
and who offers His love to all
with a smile from His reservoir of nectar.”

from “Poem for November 2” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four
bhaktasdancing and chanting

with upraised arms.
Their faces are joyful
and their movements are
so graceful that they
attract many onlookers
to their harinama.
They are the greatest welfare
workers because they
are distributing love of
God in the form
of the holy names.
The people of the
world are bereft and hungry for
lack of Krishna-prema.
They are looking
for happiness
in illusory places.
But if they will stop
and listen to
the sound vibration
of these men
they will find
the answer to their prayers.”

from “
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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraDecember 3, 2013Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#9.20: New York City Harinama Adventures
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 20
By Krishna-kripa das
(October 2013, part two)

New York City Harinama Adventures
(Sent from New York City on November 9, 2013)

Where I Went and What I Did

I continued chanting on harinama six hours a day at Union Square in New York City with Rama Raya Prabhu’s party, and living in Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn, cutting vegetables for their lunch program and Sunday feast. I also gave two evening lectures, one at Sunanda Prabhu’s Krishna Balarama temple Sunday program in Queens, and another at Atmanivedana Prabhu’s Saturday program at 26 Second Avenue.

I share insights from a Prabhupada lecture I heard, excerpts from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s blog, mostly about the public chanting of the holy name, and notes I took on Yogesvara Prabhu’s (Joshua M. Greene’s) weekly Bhagavad-gita class at Jivamukti Yoga School in Manhattan. I also share a couple of interesting points from conversations.

Harinamas at Union Square

Lilah, a student at NYU, frequently walked past our chanting party at Union Square. Her mother remembered seeing the devotees chanting in the 1970s. Lilah decided to do a video story on the return of Hare Krishna chanting to the streets for a school project. Her friend Ronan was her cameraman. For hours she interviewed devotees involved in the harinama party and in the Brooklyn temple and produced this brief video (http://youtu.be/3eigSPP5w4Y):

Film majors taking video clips of our party is not uncommon,
but for journalism students to do a whole little documentary is rare.
Thanks so much to Lilah and Ronan for their nice service.

Some days we had many chanters at Union Square.

Sometimes many people were in the audience.

Tarun Prabhu, a Prabhupada disciple,

sometimes plays trumpet.

Once a young man, strolling with his friends, took time out to play his trumpet with us.

Sometimes people danced with us.

Often their faces show their joy.

Here an older lady, dressed colorfully like a hippie, dances with Janette.

Janette was so enthusiastic she even danced with this old Chinese lady who was not really the dancing type.

Here a lady dances while kids play instruments.

Here a lady dances while a guy plays a instrument.

Chandra Mohini dd would invite people to sit and play with us,
like the guy above, and the two girls below.

Here a guy played his guitar.

Here a kids holds five shakers at once.

Here a young lady reads a Krishna pamphlet while two guys play the shakers.

Sometimes when you see something far out,

you think “Only New York!”

Some days people brought so much prasadam for the harinama devotees, we could even distribute some to onlookers as well.

On the subway back to Brooklyn, a young adult asked if I was with the Hare Krishna people singing in Union Square. I said yes and explained we chant there from 2 to 8 p.m. each day. We conversed, and I learned the person was called Dustin and had gotten Science of Self-Realization and read almost all of it. Dustin personally believed that there is one God with many names, and hearing that, I gestured with the “thumbs up” of approval. Dustin does practices he has found from different traditions. Because the Brooklyn temple is closest, I gave Dustin an invitation card for its Sunday and Wednesday programs with free vegetarian meals, and gave my business card as well, saying, “If you go, let me know how you like.” We parted wishing each other well.

It is awesome spending Karttika in New York City. You can sing “Damodarastakam” and offer lamps at Union Square at 7:00 p.m. (or 6:00 p.m., now that daylight saving time has ended), at the Krishna-Balarama temple in Queens at 8:00 p.m., at the Bhakti Center in Manhattan at 8:15 p.m., or at the Radha Govinda temple in Brooklyn at 8:30 p.m. So many choices!

At Union Square, not only did the devotees offer lamps to Damodara, but Rama Raya Prabhu decided to allow anyone to, and Janette enthusiastically would invite anyone who walked by. She was hard to refuse.

This new girl is offering a lamp to Damodara for the first time.

This boy, who was just passing by, offered a lamp to Damodara and then joined the kirtana party, playing the shakers and begging from me a card with the words to the Hare Krishna mantra on it.

This girl did not know it is not proper etiquette to use your lamp to light your cigarette before offering the lamp to Lord Damodara. Phalguni Radhika dd is both amused by her behavior and amazed at the extent of the mercy of the Lord. It reminded me of the people at the Polish Woodstock that hold their beer cars in one hand and pull Lord Jagannatha with the other.

After that girl offered the lamp to Damodara, she did a nice dance before the altar for a few seconds, but I was not fast enough to photograph it.

We would invite people to pray when they offered a lamp, and some took it very seriously.

Michael Collins continuing leading lively kirtanas that attracted a lot of attention.

Here one friendly young yoga lady does a dance by swirling multicolored flags in time with the music.

You can see her in action in this video (http://youtu.be/zg7wyjYK9PI):

You can see from this video, that attracted a lot of attention (http://youtu.be/P5uNy6iY0h4):

I have a couple additional videos of Michael Collins singing, one with several people playing instruments and a couple chanting and dancing (http://youtu.be/_eVvmLhVCwM), and the other with some lively dancers (http://youtu.be/wdoZuBxI4WE):

On October 23, due to rain we chanted “Damodarastakam” in the subway station. Thanks to Zina for the photo.

It was a first for many of us. Unfortunately, due to regulations we could not offer the candles there, but Chandra Mohini dd and I did that later in Brooklyn.

On October 24, it was really cold, probably the low 50s F (11–13º C). On the Union Square harinama,Sofia, a Russian-speaking young devotee lady who is a regular, was mentioning how cold it was. I smiled and said, “But you must be used to cold. Where exactly are you from?” To my great surprise. She replied, “Siberia!” Then she explained that she had become conditioned to the warmer temperatures of New York.

Despite the cold, I had so many wonderful experiences:

I do not recall seeing an entire family of five onlookers participate in a harinama by playing instruments and dancing. It was incredible (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xIm8Z7L7k7kjzHIkYd7B5HZ):

Later we had six children from several different families playing instruments at once!

Apparently the cold temperatures did not dampen the public response to our chanting!

That day a French couple came up to me and asked if I was ever in Croatia. “Three times,” I replied, “2009, 2010, and 2011.” Then they asked if I was in Zadar in 2011, and it was true. I was there with the devotees who called their group, “Mediterranean Meets India”—two hours of harinama each morning and evening. I tell about it here:

http://krishnamonk.blogspot.com/2011/08/travel-journal714-croatian-harinama.html

It should be like this, wherever people go on vacation in the world they meet Hare Krishnas! Maybe they will even try chanting Hare Krishna some day!

Also the same day I met a 59-year old lady who remembered when we had a restaurant in the basement of our temple on 55^thStreet 33 years ago. She recalled liking the stuffed zucchini. I told her about our Radha Krishna Temple, and Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch in Brooklyn.

One little girl tried playing almost every instrument we had.

A man who has sat behind our chanting party for hours over the last few days described our singing as beautiful and even fantastic. He told me also that he felt my dancing added something to the singing. Later I was distracted from the dancing, giving “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlets to all those who offered lamps to our Damodara picture in Union Square. Seeing this, the man told me to dance more, which I did, until I got talking with those offering lamps. When he left, he said he would have stayed longer had I kept dancing. I think Krishna is teaching me through this that my service of dancing is more important than I generally think it is.

One day a girl enjoyed dancing to our chanting, and I offered her an “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlet as she passed by and told her we sing from 2 to 8 p.m. each day, inviting her to come by when she was in a dancing mood. She said she was visiting from London, and I told her about our afternoon harinamathere on Oxford Street, which leaves at 3:00 p.m. from in front of our restaurant at 10 Soho Street, which she copied the address of.

One day in Union Square, during the beginning of our chanting session when we had just five or six devotees participating, a young lady came by and asked if I knew where the “Hare Krishna” was. I had to restraint myself from laughing. We were singing Hare Krishna and had a sign with the Hare Krishna mantra written on it, and I was personally dressed in traditional Hare Krishna robes. I explained that we were the Hare Krishnas. Then she asked, “Where is everybody?” I explained that usually around 6:00 p.m. we have twenty people, but that we had just started and had only a few. Then she replied, “No, I mean where are all my friends?” Apparently her friends had all agreed to meet in Union Square at “the Hare Krishna,” and she did not have a clue about what the Hare Krishnas were! It was striking for me to learn from this that the Hare Krishnas are such a permanent fixture in Union Square that people plan to meet their friends at “the Hare Krishna.”

Another day a man who was watching our chanting at Union Square seemed so pleased I went to give him a pamphlet, but he said he already had one. In fact, he said he already had the Bhagavad-gita. He told me he just likes to stand and listen for awhile whenever he passes by. He said that now, in talking with his family and friends, he does not even call it Union Square anymore, but Hare Krishna Square instead!

One guy who lived in Dallas for part of his life, went to a festival there at which the devotees catered the vegan/vegatarian food. He played music with them and loved their food. Later he became a Christian, seeing that different prophecies in their scripture came to pass, but he had nice memories of being with the Hare Krishnas, and so he sat down in the middle of our chanting party and played the drum for half an hour.

One girl named Nicole from New Jersey, who works in Manhattan, was fascinated to see our chanting party. She knew of Hare Krishna because her father was a devotee and liked to watch Prabhupada videos, but she never saw the singing in public before. Her mom was a Catholic, but she felt closer to the Hindu views as she saw a broader description of the divinity—a God who could appear in many incarnations, and therefore, could appear to those in different traditions. Originally, being a skeptical New Yorker, she refused the cookie I offered her, but after our conversation she happily accepted it. She said she would tell her father about her encounter with us.

The two sisters playing the karatalas in these pictures are not the children of Hare Krishna devotees as I originally thought.

They have have just seen the devotees chant for almost two years in Union Square, and stopped by enough times to learn how to play the kalatalas and to do an impressive job of it.

One kid who played the shakers with us, was transporting a pumpkin in a stroller, a new sight for me.

As we were setting up our book display on Halloween, one young lady wearing a special robe for Halloween came up and noticing the Bhagavad-gita, asked its price. I said they were five dollars, and she immediately purchased one. I explain that we were setting up, and would be singing in a few minutes, continuing to 8:00 p.m., if she wanted to come back and hear. She made some comment like “if it is on my path,” and I just assumed we would never see her again. I was wrong. Later I saw her sitting in the center of our party and meditating on the sound of the kirtana, and afterward taking some prasadam.

Although Sad-hari Das has a turban like a Sikh, he has Vaishnava initiation from Bhakti Sundar Govinda Swami, successor of Srila Prabhupada’s godbrother, Sridhara Maharaja. He has many ISKCON devotee friends and comes several times a month to listen to the Union Square kirtana.

Alex, who calls himself Alex Vaisnava on Facebook, comes almost every evening for an hour or two, and often takes very beautiful pictures. Here he is taking pictures on Halloween.

Some costumed people danced in the kirtana.

Some played instruments.

Tarun’s instrument made him easy to recognize despite his mask.

Others offered lamps to Lord Damodara.
Thanks to Alex Vaisnava for the first photo.

One older devotee couple from South America comes to New York every year to visit their relatives, and each year they spend a few hours on the Union Square harinama.

One young lady offered a candle to Damodara and then seemed to really get into dancing to the kirtana. She teaches gardening at an alternative school in Harlem, but was very familiar with seeing the devotees as her boyfriend sells crystals at Union Square.

She must have danced at least half an hour with a very blissful, meditative mood!

To see the additional pictures I took but did not include in this blog, click on this link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal920?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPnM6_7–7vVeg&feat=directlink

The pictures I did not use appear at the end of the album.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.16, on August 19, 1972, in Los Angeles:

“Just like small children, a baby, he’s also appreciating, trying to stand up with his cymbal. Appreciating. From the very beginning of life, appreciating, ‘It is nice.’ He knows or does not know, it doesn’t matter. Simply appreciation is giving him a touch of spiritual life. It is so nice. Sraddha [faith]. If they do not go against, simply appreciate, ‘Oh, they are doing nice . . .’ So development of spiritual life means development of this appreciation, that’s all.”

“Whatever you want, especially in this human form of life, whatever you desire, Krishna will give you chance. It may be very unpalatable, but this is a fact. We have heard from authorities. That is why in Vrindavana there are so many hogs and monkeys and dogs. This is very mysterious thing. . . . Those who are executing devotional service, but at the same time cheating . . . Cheating means outwardly very devotional, inwardly doing all sinful activities. Such living entity is given the chance to become a hog and dog in Vrindavana so that the reaction of the sinful activities, they get this body; at the same time, due to their touch with the dust of Vrindavana, they become eliminated of all sinful activities and liberated. So these hogs and dogs, they’re also very important. They are not ordinary thing. But this is the explanation. . . . Therefore a devotee, when he’s punished in that way for the short time, they’ll be liberated. Undoubtedly.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from The Waves at Jagannatha Puri and Other Poems:

[a description of the Indian vacationers]

“I like their innocent do
nothingness, the no-ghetto-blaster mood,
the no fighting, no bikinis, no strutting,
and even though their visit is a karmi’s[materialist’s] vacation,
they go for darsana of
Lord Jagannatha.”

from “Poemfor October 16,” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows three
tilaked devotees dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
Each is a unique individual:
The man on the right has
a pink head and an elongated neck.
The girl in the center is
brown-faced and the boy on the left
is bright-faced with a big smile. Devotees
come from different
cultural and ethnic backgrounds
with different psychophysical natures.
Prabhupada spoke of seeing ‘the
unity within the diversity and the
diversity within unity.’
There is no attempt to
squelch a person’s individuality
but all come forward
to cooperate in the
sacrifice of harinama sankirtana.”

from “Poemfor October 20,” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four bhaktasdancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
I drew with only a black pen
as a variety from the
multicolored sports clothes.
They are just as happy
as the colorful version
and vigorously dancing.
These men of mine compensate
for the fact that I no longer
can go out and
dance and chant. I
advocate that those
devotees who are fit and healthy should
go out in public and
chant and dance.

My disciple Krishna-kripa
always dances on harinama
because I asked him
to do it. It purifies
the atmosphere and
shows the people that
the Hare Krishna movement is alive and flourishing.”

from “Poemof October 21,” in Viraha Bhavan:

Krishnahnika Kaumudiby Kavi-karnapura Gosvami

Second Ray of Light
Morning Pastimes (Pratah-lila) 6:00–8:36 A.M.

“Thus Radha cooks innumerable preparations
with enticing aromas for the pleasure of Krishna,
Balarama, Nanda and Yasoda.”

[It was striking to me that even Radha, Krishna’s most beloved, cooks for Krishna’s devotees, in addition to Krishna Himself.]

“Prabhupada
used to say the devotees were
not doing ordinary ‘ballroom
dancing.’It is a symptom of
transcendental ecstasy that when one
is chanting in kirtana he
spontaneously rises and starts
to dance. Prabhupada
was very pleased when the
first devotee got up to
dance. Soon we
were all doing it.
He taught us the ‘Swami Step’upstairs
in his room. Later
devotees began improvising
their own
sometimes
wild styles. Prabhupada
usually encouraged all kinds
of dancing because
he saw it as a sign of their enthusiasm.”

from “Poem for October 22,” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows three
devotees dancing and
chanting with upraised arms.
This style of harinama
was introduced by Lord Caitanya
and His associates in
Navadvipa and Jagannatha Puri
over five hundred years ago.
The upraised arms
are a sign of surrender
to Krishna and an expression
of joy. The dancing
feet are a physical
response to an
inner feeling.
These three devotees,
a woman and two
men, are all smiling
out of natural happiness.
It is not a staged or
professional performance but
a pure movement of the soul.”

from “Poem for October 24” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four
bhaktas dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
Four men is a good enough
number to attract the
attention of passersby. They
may be startled or think
them crazy fellows. But
if they continue to pass by
daily they will be impressed by
the determination of the chanters. They may
begin to make out the words
of the mantra and even
find themselves repeating
it during the day.
A steadily appearing
harinama group
has the potency to
transform people’s
lives. It is pleasing
to guru and Gauranga,
and it certainly
purifies the hearts of the chanters.”

Yogesvara Prabhu:

[Yogesvara Prabhu (Joshua M. Greene) gives Bhagavad-gita class each Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Jivamukti Yoga School NYC, 841 Broadway 2nd Floor, New York, near Union Square]

I asked my teacher, Srila Prabhupada, “Why would some people want Krishna as a friend, some as a child, and some as a lover?”

He replied, “It is question of personal taste.”

It is good to have an altar. It is important to acknowledge the foundation.

Aratiis offering the elements of God’s creation back to God.

The Gita is a dialog which scholars later dividedinto chapters.

Krishna and Arjuna are lifelong friends.

Srila Prabhupada said, “If you are going to do something for Krishna, it is worth doing it right.”

Bhakti-yoga or what Srila Prabhupada called “Krishna consciousness” is that yoga that transforms every moment and act of your life into devotion to God.

Srimad-Bhagavatam gives the most knowledge about bhakti of the eighteen Puranas.

Anxiety is the result of thinking something is outside the will or control of God.

The first result of bhakti is freedom from anxiety because you know you are in good hands with Krishna.

The foundational understanding of Bhagavad-gita is: I am not the body. I am the soul. I am part of God. I can be satisfied only by connecting to God through the practice of devotion.

In a conversation with Professor Kotofsky, the professor made the point that there is always revolution in the world, thesis, antithesis, etc. Srila Prabhupada explained that when one comes to Krishna, that is the final revolution.

comment by Sharon Gannon, cofounder of Jivamukti: “Vallabhacarya says, ‘Spend one, or at most three, hours each day maintaining your existence in the world, but do not forget the Lord in that pursuit.’”

Two things you can learn from the Gita: The story is deeper than it seems, and you can do more than you think.

If we think in each situation “How can I serve here?”, that will greatly improve our experience of life.

One religious writer says ritual can be empty or it can be everything, all depending one’s mentality.

Whatever you have learned from your spiritual practice, find someone to share it with.

The book Bhagavad-gita is worshipable as the literary embodiment of the divinity. Just like in a Jewish synagogue there is an altar with the Torah on it that people bow to.

Karma is so complicated it is like untangling a large ball of twine. Krishna advises Arjuna not to try to unravel it, but to take the sword of knowledge and cut it.

I rather get one thing clear in these Tuesday Gita sessions rather than go prattling on about many things.

Sattva, goodness, is the doorway to transcendence, yet it is still material.

As you are reading Bhagavad-gita, read a few verses before and after to place a verse in its context.

The longer we reside in this material world, the more we come to believe that we are actually the body.

One you have desired something, you cannot make the material nature act in a certain way.

Don’t blame God for the results of your desires.

There are lot of Bhagavad-gita ideas in Plato.

The power of bhakti is that it elevates you above all actions and reactions of the material world.

When we are attracted to someone, our combination of the gunas (material qualities) is attracted to their combination of the gunas. A transcendentalist does not act on that attraction, and in particular, avoids the tendency toward exploitation, desiring to render service to the person instead.

I know many people who are miserable because they partnered with someone that their senses were attracted to, and not someone their intelligence selected.

In the transcendental position you engage your natural qualities in God’s service. You do not develop a completely different personality. You are also conscious of your weaknesses, and you understand what you are unable to engage in the Lord’s service and therefore must avoid altogether.

Donavan, a famous singer of the 1970s, met Srila Prabhupada. For a while Donavan just looked at Srila Prabhupada, not knowing exactly what to say. Srila Prabhupada quoted a verse from the Vedas that glorified music as the perfection of education, and that immediately put Donavan at ease. Then Srila Prabhupada explained how he had given George Harrison spiritual ideas to express through his songs, and he offered to do the same for Donavan.

Nanda-nandana Prabhu:

from a conversation:

I spent a whole month preaching with Srila Prabhupada’s godbrother, Krishna dasa Babaji. Krishna dasa Babaji would be chanting Hare Krishna practically all the time. He carried one bag with him that was just filled with slips of paper with “kirtaniya sada harih” [always chant Hari (a name of the Lord)] written on it in both Bengali and English. He would give these to everyone he met. Thus all he did was chant always and advise others to always chant.

Muslim man at a fragrance and oils shop in Brooklyn:

from a conversation:

Allah originally told Moses that he wanted His followers to offer prayers fifty times a day. Moses explained to the Lord that it was too much, and Allah reduced it to forty times a day. Moses said that it was still too much. Allah reduced it again. This continued until Allah reduced it down to offering prayers five times a day. When Moses said that it was still too much, Allah said that He was tired of changing it, and that if they would just offer prayers five times a day, it would count as if they had offered prayers fifty times a day.

—–

“The living entities ears are sacrifical openings. The tongue is a sacrifical ladle. The sound of Lord Krishna’s glories is charming sacrifical ghee. When the ladle of the tongue pours that ghee into the openings of the ears, the ghee enters the heart. In the heart the ghee adds fuel to the fire of ecstatic love. It makes that fire burn with great flames. The flames of that fire make the body tremble. They make the body’s hairs stand erect. Freed from sin in this way, the living entities dance. Salokya [attaining the same planet as the Lord] and the other kinds of liberation follow behind them. However, the living entities will not cast even a sidelong glance at liberation. Instead, tasting the sweet nectar of Lord Krishna’s glories, they joyfully dance. The Vaishnava acaryas [spiritual teachers] all perform this yajna [sacrifices]. Please know that sankirtana-yajna [the sacrifice of congregational chanting of the holy name] is the best of all yajnas.

(Caitanya Mangala, “Mahaprabhur Vividhavese Prema-vitarana [Lord Mahaprabhu’s Manifestation of Various Divine Forms and His Distribution Then of Ecstatic Spiritual Love],” verses 81–85)

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraNovember 9, 2013Posted inUncategorized

Travel Journal#9.19: New York City Harinamas
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 19
By Krishna-kripa das
(October 2013, part one)

New York City
(Sent from New York City on October 22, 2013)

Where I Went and What I Did

Niranjana Swami encouraged me to support Rama Raya Prabhu’s program of chanting for hours each day in New York’s Union Square, and so I decided to do it for two months this year, October and November. Devotees chant on the southwest corner of Union Square, right in front of the subway entrance, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day, except Saturday when they try to begin at 10 a.m. and continue to 10 p.m.! On weekend evenings sometimes we would also have a walking chanting party in Times Square beginning at 8:30 p.m. Once we visited Tompkins Square Park. Also during the beginning of October, Karen, my sister, visited New York City for four days for a seminar, and I arranged she have three Krishna prasadam lunches.

The insights section includes quotes from my reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books and hearing his lectures, from reading Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s blog, and from hearing a recorded lecture by Niranjana Swami.

Harinama in Union Square

When I joined Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party in Union Square for a few days last April, the devotees would chant 4 hours a day and 6 hours on Saturday. Now they chant 6 hours a day and 12 hours on Saturday! That is an increase from 30 to 48 hours per week!

When we start at 2:00 p.m. we may have only 4 or 5 people chanting, playing the instruments, or dancing, but by 6:00 p.m. or so, we often have 20.

On three occasions over the last two weeks I counted over 27 people altogether.

Sometimes we attracted quite a crowd.

Perhaps 6 or 7 people in our group do not do any other Hare Krishna practice. They are local people who have just become attached to regularly taking part in the sankirtana in Union Square by playing instruments, clapping, dancing, and/or sometimes chanting.

Sally, the eldest of the regularly attending locals, is 78 years old and still works as a clinical psychologist.

She comes out almost every day and sits in a chair the party has provided for her.

She chants for an hour or so, puts a donation in our box, and goes on her way. I met her in November 2012 when I spent several days on the party. One of those days she spontaneously exclaimed, “This is the best thing that has happened in Union Square since I moved here over 40 years ago!” During my visit this time she surprised me by coming out twice in the same day. I asked her about it, and she said she likes to come because the chanting has a good effect on her mind. She explained that it has the unusual ability to make you feel both relaxed and energized at the same time. She said when she comes to Union Square to chant with us, if she had problems on her mind, when she leaves, she cannot remember what the problems were. She was thankful about that.

Our chanting party sets up in Union Square directly across East 14^thStreet from a shop with a sign “FOREVER 21.”

The shop reminded me of a selection from Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is, verse 4.6, purport, where he describes the transcendental nature of Lord Krishna’s body:

“And although His body does not deteriorate like a material body, it still appears that Lord Krishna grows from childhood to boyhood and from boyhood to youth. But astonishingly enough He never ages beyond youth. At the time of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, He had many grandchildren at home; or, in other words, He had sufficiently aged by material calculations. Still He looked just like a young man twenty or twenty-five years old. We never see a picture of Krishna in old age because He never grows old like us, although He is the oldest person in the whole creation — past, present, and future.”
In the spiritual world, which anyone can attain by pure chanting of the holy name of the Lord, all the residents have transcendental bodies like Krishna’s which are not subjected to aging, and it was wonderful to be reminded of that truth by seeing the shop sign.

I was discussing about “Forever 21” with our party leader Rama Raya Prabhu, in the presence of my sister, Karen, who was visiting. Having come on one harinama with me briefly in London in May during a stopover on her flight to South Africa, Karen pointed out that the Hare Krishnas also chant outside young adult clothing shops in the UK, a humorous similarity that I would have never noticed!

Our chanting set up includes an altar facing the singers for inspiration.

We have no dress code. Some devotees dress in dhotis and saris. Some were casual clothes. Some coming from or going to work, wear more formal Western clothes.

We bring lots of extra instruments for both the devotees and the onlookers to play.

Children especially like to play instruments.

Sometimes the parents get into it too.

Also the children would sometimes dance.

And adults would clap.

Guys often like to play the djembe, the one-headed African drum.

One guy plays that drum, while his daughter plays the shakers.

Some people bring their own instruments.
One man likes to drum with drum sticks on an inverted bucket.

Some people both play the instruments and dance.

One guy enjoyed dancing with us.

And then sat down to chant with us.

Srila Prabhupada’s books can attract even kids.

Often Lila Padma dd would make great cookies which Candra Mohini dd would distribute.

Sometimes locals would sweep before the party.

One danced and swept at the same time!

A local artist occasionally comes by
and makes a drawing of our party.

One evening on the Union Square harinamaI had a wonderful experience. One couple stood watching us for over an hour, smiling, singing, clapping, dancing, and ultimately playing the shakers. The lady came up to me and asked if I was in Rishikesh in March of 2012. I had been there assisting Navina Nirada Prabhu with “The Bhakti Experience,” a two-week program of gathering each noon with lots of chanting, a little talk about bhakti (the yoga of devotion), and spiritualized vegetarian food. She said that time in Rishikesh was the second time she met the Hare Krishnas, but the nearly two hours of chanting made it especially profound. She showed me the chanting beads she bought from us then and said she chants on them every day. She has been to our temple in her home country of Kazakhstan and has met B. B. Govinda Swami, our leader there. She told me she has a 15-year-old son and wanted to know of an ashram in the west where he could spend the summer doing harinamaevery day. I told her about Rama Raya Prabhu and the program in New York City, and I will tell her about the programs with regular harinamas in Soho, Bhaktivedanta Manor, and Ann Arbor, as well.

The next day she came back to Union Square to talk with Rama Raya and stayed to chant for a few minutes before her flight home, playing the personal set of karatalas she was traveling with. We always wonder about the effect of our outreach programs, especially when we and those attending them are from different countries and may never meet again, and so it was very inspiring for me to hear her story.

Another day at Union Square, an older man who was photographing the harinamaparty told me that he used to sing with the Hare Krishnas and the Swami in Tompkins Square Park. He said later he did a photo article on Prabhupada’s Palace for Lifemagazine.

Sara was wandering around New York City in a depressed state of mind, until she encountered the Harinama NYCchanting party in Union Square, and then her fortune changed. She was amazed to see so many happy people. She listened for several minutes, got a pamphlet “On Chanting Hare Krishna,” talked for quite a while with Rama Raya Prabhuand a another devotee, who liberally gave her a Gitaalthough she did not have the money. She was very grateful.

She told me her birthday was coming up on Wednesday, and she did not have any friends in New York City to celebrate it with. I invited her to celebrate it with us as we would be singing here at Union Square from 2 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, and I said I would try to bring her a special sweet. She liked the idea and said she would come. Satya dd, wife of Ramabhadra Prabhu, temple president in Brooklyn, kindly donated a Hare Krishna T-shirt and a couple cupcakes as a gift, and I obtained some Radha-Govinda maha-sweets, but unfortunately Sara did not remember her plan to return to see the devotees at Union Square on her birthday. We keep the T-shirt with us, for her next appearance.

Michael Collins from Gainesville is one of my favorite singers.

He played in a band and is really talented, and he just puts a lot of energy into the kirtana. He chooses lively tunes that are easy to sing, and the passersby are often attracted as you can see in these video clips (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLr23RqjCzrPXxcGe18SbR8):

A couple groups of friends all decided to dance with us, and Candra Mohini dd was their leader with Phalguni Radhika dd helping out later. You can see how happy they were.

Here is some video of it (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xKmoh9hN8UzWNXBHmFnkT97):

Did you ever see a man with angel wings

dancing on harinama?

How about a guy in purple underwear?

What about a girl playing kalatalas

and eating an ice cream cone?

How about seeing all this in the same day?

That is Union Square!

When Rama Raya Prabhu was leading the chanting, the man with angel wings danced with the guy in purple underwear as you can see in this video (http://youtu.be/6vcoVRR2ltM):

One day when I was singing, Candra Mohini dd invited two girls to sit on the blanket next to her. She taught them to chant which they did for twenty minutes, and then they began to dance. After I finished I thanked them for dancing, and asked them about their experience with Hare Krishna. They said they had seen the chanting in Union Square many times but had never stopped before. That was the first time. They mentioned they were now thinking of going to the Sunday program at the Bhakti Center. They asked if there was early morning chanting in the park. I told them the Bhakti Center does chanting indoors at 6:30 a.m. The only outdoor morning chanting I know of is in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, near the pier at 7:00 a.m. on Sundays. They seemed very happy that they stopped and chanted and danced with the Hare Krishnas and got pamphlets and invitations, and I hope they come by again.

Two girls who are in a masters program in media studies had to record sound for a course project. One of the girls was born in Kolkata and attended our largest temple in Delhi, while getting her undergraduate degree there. As she regularly passed by the Union Square harinama, her school being nearby, there was no doubt about what sound she was going to record for her course! In addition to recording ten minutes of chanting with professional equipment, she and her American-looking friend got prasadam cookies, and her friend got the pamphlet “On Chanting Hare Krishna.”

Dustin, a new devotee from Canada, who comes twice a year to New York City to work with the Metropolitan Opera, joined us one day on the Union Square harinama. Although Dustin prefers to listen, considering kirtana to be another style of singing than his own, Rama Raya appreciating his booming, resonant voice, engaged him in leading a Hare Krishna tune, which turned out to be my favorite and I had a great time dancing to it. Many people were attracted to listen to his nice singing.

One girl in purple tights who came by, showing a little interest, explained that her dog was named Krishna.

One morning in our Brooklyn temple, I was surprised to encounter Citraratha dd, a Prabhupada disciple from Geneva, who I had once chanted Hare Krishna with on the Paris metro a few years ago. She is vacationing in New York City, desiring more association with Hare Krishna devotees than she gets in Geneva, where we do not have a temple. I told her about the Union Square harinama party, and she came out that very day. She sang the response and talked to people who appreciated the chanting. One lady she spoke with came from a Muslin background and then married a Christian man. As as result, neither had a spiritual practice for many years, and now they are on a spiritual search. Citraratha, after talking with the lady for several minutes, invited her to a Hare Krishna program in the local area and is hopeful that they will come.

Amazing enough, in the first half of October, we had only one rainy day. Then we chanted in a crowded, but very loud area of the Union Square subway station, just above the downtown 4, 5, and 6 trains.

I share below some more video clips showing the chanting and dancing at Union Square (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xJ4mQKXgH5CZY9jA1DK69JU):

To see the rest of the pictures I took, but which I did not use to illustrate this journal, most of which are of harinama at Union Square, go to this link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal919?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIfkyMW7ot7y-gE&feat=directlink

Chanting in Times Square

Times Square is so crowded in the evenings it is a great place to share the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra with people. Sunanda Prabhu, and his party from our Krishna Balarama temple in Queens, would join devotees from the Union Square harinama party, and chant from 8:30 p.m. onward.

Sometimes we would chant on the subway to Times Square.

Once Yadubara Prabhu, who produced the Following Prabhupada DVD series, as well as many other video and photographic Hare Krishna projects, came and sang with us at Times Square.

Some young people very much enjoyed clapping, dancing, and playing instruments with us.

Here is a short video clip of it (http://youtu.be/8g1MpbeS7k8):

Once in Times Square, one man exclaimed as the harinamaparty passed, “I thought they were extinct!”

Tompkins Square Park

Deva Madhava Prabhu, who comes from Michigan one week a month to chant in Union Square, describes an amazing experience he had at Tompkins Square Park, also in New York City, where Srila Prabhupada began outdoor chanting with his disciples back in 1966:

“These children are standing around ‘the Hare Krishna Tree’ in Tompkins Square Park in New York City, famous as the place Swami Prabhupada began singing Hare Krishna. Their teacher Deborah asked me, ‘Is their a spirit in this tree?’ While I assured her all tree’s have souls, I did let her known about the saint who had began his teachings their over 40 years before. Deborah has for the last 11 years been bringing her classes to the tree to sing ‘The Tree Song.’ They sing to the tree, hug the tree, draw the tree and even kiss the tree. October 9 is the anniversary of Swami Prabhupada’s first time chanting under the great elm. I could feel him there last Friday when I asked the teacher if the children would like to learn the song the saint sang under the same tree years ago, and as they chanted Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare I remembered a miracle is not seeing that God has done one thing, but realizing that He does everything.”

On October 9, after finishing our chanting at Union Square, the harinama team came to celebrate the 47^thanniversary of Srila Prabhupada and his followers first chanting in that park back on that day in 1966. Some of the devotees chanted in a procession there from Union Square.

We chanted as we circumambulated the park’s famous Hare Krishna tree, and then sat down and talked about spreading the chanting of the holy name and Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

My Sister Karen’s Prasadam Lunches

Karen, my sister, is a licensed mental health counselor living in Albany, and occasionally comes to New York City, as she did the second weekend in October, for a four-day seminar on counseling techniques for people working with refugees. The person giving the seminar was from India and incorporated ideas from different traditions in his course, including Ayur Veda and the conception of the subtle body.

Friday I met Karen and brought her salad, bread, koftas, and eggplant parmesan from Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch, the restaurant run by Satya dd in the Radha Govinda temple in Brooklyn.

Saturday I saved some subji, rice, and dal from the temple breakfast for her lunch and she met me at the kirtana party at Union Square.

Sunday we went to the Doughnut Plant, a doughnut shop in Manhattan owned by Mark, a Hare Krishna devotee. Karen bought me a peanut butter and banana cream-filled doughnut as a belated birthday present and had a chocolate cake doughnut for herself. I also gave her some cheese cake that Satya dd gave me and a piece of pera and a tulasi leaf from Radha Govinda. All and all Karen did well taking lots of Krishna prasadam during her trip to New York!

Over meals, when discussing conflicts between those of different faiths, I happened to mention about the three levels of devotees mentioned in our Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition and their different qualities. The neophytes are those who recognize God and the saints only within their tradition but not beyond. The second level can identify God, the saints, the innocent, and the those averse to God by their qualities in whatever tradition or in whatever place they appear. People on this level serve the Lord with love, make friends with those devoted to Him, enlighten those open to spirituality, and avoid those antagonistic to spiritual life. Those on highest level see God in everything and in everyone, and so are very kind to every living being. My sister commented that it seemed practical that those on second level could make the distinctions needed to run the society so those on the highest level could be free to show kindness to everyone. That observation impressed me.

Living in New York City

I live in our Brooklyn temple where I have the incredibly good fortune of seeing Radha Govinda for mangala-arati every day, as well as honoring their maha-prasadam, and doing service for Their restaurant.

They were the first Radha Krishna deities I ever saw, and when I was a new devotee in Their temple on 55^th Street, I would transfer Their mangala-arati sweets.

Although not a tourist, I saw the famed Statue of Liberty in the distance, both from the air while arriving in New York and from the subway daily enroute to Union Square from Brooklyn.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 8.310, purport:

“All Vedic literatures declare that transcendental subjects cannot be understood simply by argument or logic. Spiritual matters are far above experimental knowledge. Only by Krishna’s mercy can one who is interested in His transcendental loving affairs understand them. If one tries to understand these transcendental topics simply by using one’s material brain substance, the attempt will be futile. Whether one is a prakrita-sahajiyaor a mundane opportunist or scholar, one’s labor to understand these topics by mundane means will ultimately be frustrated. One therefore has to give up all mundane attempts and try to become a pure devotee of Lord Vishnu. When a devotee follows the regulative principles, the truth of these talks will be revealed to him.”

fromSri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya 9.8, purport:

“The holy names of Krishna and Hari, or the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,are so spiritually powerful that even today, as our preachers go to remote parts of the world, people immediately begin chanting Hare Krishna. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. There cannot be anyone who can compare to Him or His potencies. However, because we are following in His footsteps and are also chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,the effect is almost as potent as during the time of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Our preachers mainly belong to European and American countries, yet by the grace of Lord Caitanya they have tremendous success wherever they go to open branches. Indeed, everywhere people are very seriously chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.14 on August 17, 1972, in Los Angeles:

“Krishna consciousness is so nice even those who are incorrigible can be delivered. This is mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam [2.4.18]:Kirata hunandhra pulinda pulasa.”

“If you say why are you interested to save the human society—that is Krishna’s business. Krishna wants, God wants that all these living entities they should back home back to Godhead. Why are they suffering? Therefore Krishna comes personally. . . . He wants, “Come back home. Dance with Me. Eat with Me.” . . . Because we are Krishna conscious, we are servants of God, therefore, it is our duty to save this civilization.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.17.29, purport:

“Those who are not narayana-para,pure devotees, must be disturbed by this duality of the material world, whereas devotees who are simply attached to the service of the Lord are not at all disturbed by it. For example, Haridasa Thakura was beaten with cane in twenty-two bazaars, but he was never disturbed; instead, he smilingly tolerated the beating. Despite the disturbing dualities of the material world, devotees are not disturbed at all. Because they fix their minds on the lotus feet of the Lord and concentrate on the holy name of the Lord, they do not feel the so-called pains and pleasures caused by the dualities of this material world.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.17.31, purport:

“One who engages in unalloyed devotional service to Vasudeva, Krishna, automatically becomes aware of this material world, and therefore he is naturally detached. This detachment is possible because of his high standard of knowledge. The speculative philosopher tries to understand that this material world is false by cultivating knowledge, but this understanding is automatically manifested in the person of a devotee, without separate endeavor.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for October 2 [2013]” in Viraha Bhavan:

Sri Radha-rasa-suddha-nidhi (The Book of Radha) by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja translated by Dasaratha Suta Prabhu

“(257) A Prayer to Sri Govinda for Bestowing Maidservice to Sri Radha

O Sri Govinda!
That crown jewel among all Vraja gopis
Her lotus feet’s sheer splendor and majesty
is supremely dear to You
even greater than millions upon millions of hearts

—Please accept me in Her maidservice
full of the most unique fresh new rasa—

Again and again—every moment, O Lord of lords!
I beg this of You with all my heart and soul!”

“(259) Krishna-bhajana as a Feature of Radha-dasya

Constantly meditating
on He who wears the peacock-feather crown
incessantly singing
His nama-sankirtana [congregational chanting of His name]
worshipfully serving
His lotus feet
chanting quietly
His best of mantras . . .
holding in my heart only the supremely cherished
eternal service to the lotus feet of Sri Radha.

When, O when, by His grace
will I become a participant
in Their extremely astonishing festival of divine love?”

from “Poem for October 3 [2013]”in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four bhaktas dancing and chanting

with upraised arms.
Where are they located?
Are they with Rama-raya’s harinama party in Union Square?
Are they at the campus of
the University of Florida in Gainesville?
Are they in some remote
countryside with no one in sight?
Use your imagination
and place them where you will.
It’s bound to be auspicious
wherever Hare Krishna is sung.”

[This poem was striking to me because I chanted at the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville in September, and I chanted with Rama-raya’s harinama party in Union Square in October, and my diksa-guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, mentioned both places in this poem!]

Niranjana Swami:

Visvanatha Cakravati Thakura says that Krishna does not consider maintaining a devotee who is fully dependent on Him to be a burden just as a family man does not consider taking care of his family a burden or a man does not consider carrying his lover a burden.

In his copy of Bhagavad-gita, Arjunacarya changedthe wordvahami to the word karomi in verse 9.22, because he did not think that Krishna personally provides for His devotee.

—–

krsir bhu-vacakah sabdo

naś ca nirvriti-vacakaḥ

tayor aikyaḿ paraḿ brahma

krishna ity abhidhiyate

“The word ‘krish’ is the attractive feature of the Lord’s existence, and ‘na’means spiritual pleasure. When the verb ‘krish’is added to the affix ‘na,’it becomes ‘Krishna,’ which indicates the Absolute Truth.” (Mahabharata,Udyoga-parva 71.4, quoted in Śri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya 9.30)

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Posted byKrishna-kripa das, MayapuraOctober 22, 2013Posted inUncategorized

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