Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 2
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2013, part two)
Florida
(Sent from Jacksonville, Florida, on March 6, 2013)
Where I Went and What I Did
During the second half of January, I returned to Gainesville to live at Krishna House and help maintain the program of chanting for two and a half hours during the serving of Krishna Lunch at the University of Florida and chanting at the Gainesville Farmers Market on Wednesday. In addition, I attended a program of our Krishna Club at University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
On Martin Luther King Day five of us chanted in the parade for King, with Damodar Prasad singing enthusiastically and Hladini talking to people and distributing literature, and then we joined the other Krishna House devotees for a picnic in a nearby park. While we were chanting in the park, one man remarked that our chanting was disturbing the wildlife. I laughed to myself, thinking that as we are vegetarian, we do less damage to the environment than your average American meat eater. In addition, all the wildlife made great spiritual benefit which the poor chap could not see.
Devotees from both Alachua and Gainesville drove to Tampa to do harinama at a the Gasparilla Pirate Festival, which is said to be attended by 500,000 people, and I share some descriptions, pictures and video of that.
I have many insights from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and his books, some notes on a recorded lecture by Niranjana Swami, notes of lectures from Prabhupada disciples, including Kalakantha and Sesa Prabhus, and realizations from newer devotees at Krishna House.
Thanks to Tulasirani dd for the picture of the Krishna House picnic crew, Flickr user BXGD for the picture of the devotees dancing at Gasparilla, and Amanda from Krishna House for the videos.
Chanting at the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa on January 26 was a great event for exposing thousands of people to the Hare Krishna mantra and getting a number of them to dance with our chanting party.
Tulasirani dd from Krishna House commented, “At the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa people were standing around waiting for something fun to happen, and we supplied the fun with the harinama and people were very happy to dance with us.”
These videos by Amanda from Krishna House in Gainesville will give you a feel for the wildness of it all. In particular, you can see why the Tampa Bay Timeswrote, “A number of apparently well-lubricated spectators danced with devotees of Hare Krishna.”
One girl from the crowd encountered the devotees on three separate occasions and danced enthusiastically with us each time.
A party of devotees from Alachua chanted for three hours, while a party of younger devotees from Gainesville chanted for two. I was amazed that the older people from Alachua showed greater endurance than the Gainesville youth. Perhaps they did not jump up and down so much in the hot sun and thus could keep going longer. After my friends from Gainesville desisted, I joined the Alachua party, as I was psyched to do the whole three hours.
The weather was incredible, sunny and around 75°F [24°C]. I got sunburned as I was not prepared for so much sun in January.
After the afternoon of chanting the Tampa nama-hatta devotees served excellent prasadam in a nearby park for all the devotees.
We all had a great time and look forward to doing it again next year. Come and bring your dancing shoes.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
If I am not jolly, maya has attacked me. If I am in contact with Krishna, how can I be morose? That is the test.
We must be enthusiastic, but we cannot be enthusiastic artificially. It has to be based on connection with Krishna.
If we cannot rise early in the morning, we are under the clutches of maya. That is the test. Sleeping is very dangerous. It is the symptom of tamo-guma (the mode of darkness).
A politician may pose that he is advanced spiritually, but when we see he is more interested in politics than Krishna consciousness, we can understand his real position.
Vaishnava means to understand the Absolute Truth is a person.
Krishna understanding is difficult, but by the mercy of Krishna in the form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, it is possible because of His great liberality. If we do not take advantage, how unfortunate we are!
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.32, purport:
“Nothing is false. One thing may be permanent and another temporary, but both the permanent and the temporary are facts. For example, if someone becomes angry for a certain period, no one can say that his anger is false. It is simply temporary. Everything we experience in our daily lives is of this same character; it is temporary but real.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.33, purport:
“Philosophers and scientists have been trying to study the entire cosmic situation and have been theorizing and calculating in different ways for millions and millions of years. However, the speculative research work of a so-called scientist or philosopher is always interrupted when he dies, and the laws of nature go on without regard for his work.”
from Bhagavad-gita 5.29, purport:
“A pure soul is the eternal servant of God as His fragmental part and parcel. He comes into contact with maya(illusion) due to the desire to lord it over maya,and that is the cause of his many sufferings. As long as he is in contact with matter, he has to execute work in terms of material necessities. Krishna consciousness, however, brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction of matter, for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in the material world. The more one is advanced, the more he is freed from the clutches of matter. The Lord is not partial toward anyone. Everything depends on one’s practical performance of duties in Krishna consciousness, which helps one control the senses in every respect and conquer the influence of desire and anger. And one who stands fast in Krishnaconsciousness, controlling the abovementioned passions, remains factually in the transcendental stage, or brahma-nirvana.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.4, purport:
“The Lord is always prepared to excuse His devotee, but if a devotee takes advantage of the Lord’s leniency and purposefully commits mistakes again and again, the Lord will certainly punish him by letting him fall down into the clutches of the illusory energy. In other words, theoretical knowledge acquired by studying the Vedas is insufficient to protect one from the clutches of maya.One must strongly adhere to the lotus feet of the Lord in devotional service. Then one’s position is secure.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.7:
“Prahlada Maharaja, the topmost devotee of the Lord, is a reservoir of all the good qualities of great personalities. His character and activities have delivered all the fallen members of his demoniac family.”
from a lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.13:
Nature is like a great machine. Every machine has an operator. Thus nature must have an operator. We may not be able to see the operator, but the operator is there. That operator is God. Human life is meant for inquiring about God.
All science and philosophy is there, but if you are not interested in philosophy you can just chant Hare Krishna and attain perfection. But if you think “what is this nonsense chanting of Hare Krishna?” Then so many books are there you can read.
Although you are not initiated, your coming here counts as service. It is like depositing a cent in the bank every day. Someday you will have $100. So coming here every day is like depositing a cent every day. When it gets to be $100, you become a devotee.
Q: One man says he is not suffering and he is not afraid of death. What do we say to him?
A: He is a madman.
You can attain Krishna by surrendering to Him. How long does it take to surrender to Krishna? It can be done in a moment. What does surrender mean? You do what Krishna says. What is that? Four things. Man mana bhava mad bhakto . . . Think of Krishna, become His devotee, bow down to Him, and offer homage to Him. Then you come to Him.
A human being will ask how he can control his mind. A dog will never ask how to control this barking habit. That is the difference between a human being and a dog.
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.19 Chapter Summary:
“Bharata-varsa has special significance because in this tract of land there exists the Vedic principle of varnasrama-dharma,which divides society into four varnasand four asramas.Furthermore, Narada Muni’s opinion is that even if there is some temporary disturbance in the execution of the varnasrama-dharma principles, they can be revived at any moment. The effect of adhering to the institution of varnasrama is gradual elevation to the spiritual platform and liberation from material bondage. By following the principles of varnasrama-dharma,one gets the opportunity to associate with devotees. Such association gradually awakens one’s dormant propensity to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead and frees one from all the basic principles of sinful life. One then gets the opportunity to offer unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Vasudeva. Because of this opportunity, the inhabitants of Bharata-varsa are praised even in the heavenly planets. Even in the topmost planet of this universe, Brahmaloka, the position of Bharata-varsa is discussed with great relish.”
from The Nectar of Devotion:
“In the Naradiya Purana there is a statement of how this servitorship is transcendental. It is said there that a person who is constantly engaged in devotional service by his body, mind and words, or even a person who is not practically engaged but is simply desiring to be so, is considered to be liberated.”
“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.’”
“In the Padma Purana also it is stated, ‘The chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is present only on the lips of a person who has for many births worshiped Vasudeva.’”
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.6.10 given in Bombay on December 28, 1976:
In India it is simply in name. There is actually no varnasrama. Most people are sudras.
Most people do not have a clear idea of God nor a desire to know Him.
The same activity performed with knowledge of atma-tattva, knowledge of the spiritual truth, leads on to spiritual perfection but performed without such knowledge leads to a hellish condition.
Don’t act anything except for the satisfaction of Krishna. That is Krishna consciousness.
A classless society cannot be. Even in the Russia, the Communist country, they wanted to create a classless society but ended up having to retain a managing class and a working class.
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.17.4, purport:
[Srila Prabhupada was not enamored by the accomplishments of material science as statements like this reveal.] “So-called advanced scientists of the modern age are trying to go to the higher planets, but at the same time they are experiencing a power shortage on earth. If they were actually capable scientists, they could personally go by airplane to other planets, but this they are unable to do. Having now given up their moon excursions, they are attempting to go to other planets, but without success.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.17.24, purport:
“. . . the living entity is entangled in fruitive activities, which are executed by the illusory energy, maya. He is exactly like a computer handled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The so-called scientists say that nature acts independently, but they cannot explain what nature is. Nature is nothing but a machine operated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When one understands the operator, his problems of life are solved.”
from The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter Two:
“As a man’s mental disease is cured by the directions of a psychiatrist, so this sadhana bhakti cures the conditioned soul of his madness under the spell of maya, material illusion.”
“According to Vedic injunctions, when a brahmana eats it is to be understood that the Personality of Godhead is eating through him. It is not, however, that the brahmana should simply eat on behalf of the Lord and not preach the message of Bhagavad-gita to the world. Actually, one who preaches the message of the Gita is very dear to Krishna, as is confirmed in the Gita itself. Such a preacher is factually a brahmana, and thus by feeding him one feeds the Supreme Lord directly.”
Sri Visakhanandabhidha-stotra: Prayers with Names That Are the Bliss of Visakha by Raghunatha Dasa Goswami:
She is known as Radha because the worship (radha) of Her removes all distress.
Niranjana Swami:
from a lecture on Bhagavad-gita6.32 given in Boston on Sunday, December 9, 2012:
Prahlada Maharaja describes the materialists as chewing the chewed, repeating trying to enjoy the same things that have not satisfied them in the past. I had a friend in school who would stick his gum on the bottom of his seat at the end of the day, and then take it off and begin chewing it the next day.
The Lord relishes the activities of those who are selflessly engaged in service to Him and who are thus so satisfied that they desire nothing else. The Lord gives His heart to such a devotee. And that devotee can share the Lord with others.
When Durvasa Muni approached the Lord, desiring His compassion, the Lord indicated that He had given His heart to Maharaja Ambarisa, and therefore Durvasa should approach him.
Devotional service is such a rare, precious, valuable jewel. To render service to the Lord is the most precious gift of life. We must learn to appreciate that gift when it is offered to us. Otherwise we might mistake it for something else.
The Lord can fulfill our desires much better than anyone else. He knows how to fulfill the desires of his devotees.
In Ananda Vrndavana Campu, Kavi Karnapura explains that within His form as an eternal fresh youth, are His baby and childhood forms, and He manifests those forms to please His devotees who want to see Him in those features.
Even when Krishna does something amazing, His intimate associates in Vrindavana are not disturbed by thinking the Krishna is God, but remain fixed in their intimate relationship with Him.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
They
are the original conjugal couple,
and all love relations expand
from Them, even the perverted
forms in the material world.
When we worship Radha-Krishna
we give up mundane sex desire
and only wish to serve Them
in Their pastimes. To serve
the Lord of the senses with
your senses is the perfection
of bhakti.It is the eternal svarupaor
nature of the liberated
being. It is eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge.
from Shack Notes:
“Love of God takes the form of lust in the material realm. The cleansing process is the chanting and hearing of the name, form, teachings and pastimes of the Supreme Lord. Just apply yourself tobhaktiand all contamination will be washed away. Extra counseling and discussion is only needed by ‘dysfunctional’ persons, or those who think they are dysfunctional. Only those persons who cannot obey the command, ‘Chant and don’t worry’ need special attention. And who is notin that category?”
Akuti Prabhu:
Maya, the Lord’s illusory energy, is sometimes called a witch, and “that which is not.” Hearing these qualities, would we be attracted to serve her?
Devotional service convinces us that in this life we should abandon illusory material enjoyment and engage in the service of Krishna.
Unless we surrender to Krishna, we are surrendering to maya.
One of maya’s tricks is glitter. She can make rotten flesh an exotic culinary preparation or rotten grapes a tasty beverage.
One trick to conquer maya is to get up early. I think she takes a nap at that time.
When the mind bothers you, go outside and chant louder and more distinctly.
Go out and tell someone else about Krishna. It is so healthy for your spiritual life. At least once a week. Tell either a devotee or a new person.
Regularly hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, online if not live.
comment by Kaliya Phani Prabhu: I have a technique for dealing with the mind like the strategy of not letting the salesman get in the door. When the mind proposes something, tell it, “We may do it or may not do it, but we will not do it now.”
comment by Indian student: I found at Krishna House during the break there was less service so my mind became more materially directed. I found if I did more service at Krishna House that solved the problem.
comment by another devotee: Prabhupada said to keep the mind at peace we should think of how to spread this Krishna consciousness.
Ananda Loka Prabhu:
In devotional service, all we give up is temporary and all we gain is eternal.
Bhakticannot be regulated or controlled by anything other than bhakti.
Brahma Tirtha Prabhu:
It is said that death and taxes are for certain. I know some successful tax evaders, but death evaders are harder to come by.
Lord Bhisma was happy that Krishna broke his vow not to raise a weapon in order to protect His devotee Arjuna, thus teaching the people in general that Krishna values protecting His devotees more than keeping His personal promises.
As devotees our biggest challenge is to do something and think of Krishna. Sometimes we decide to just think of Krishna, and we do so, for some time, before our mind wanders. Sometimes we decide just to do something. But to do something and think of Krishna at the same time is a challenge.
My mother-in-law was about as fervent atheist as you can be. As the time of her death was approaching, she moved to Gainesville to be near her daughter. When she talked to her daughter, it was all mundane, but when she would go out of the room, she would turn to me and say, “So what is going to happen when I die.” So I explained about it, and she said, “When I go, I am going to wave goodbye.” When the end was near, my wife and I were reading the Bhagavatam to her and trying to create the better spiritual situation for her passing. At one point, she did wave her hands, and then she was gone.
Q: Some say we must die to live. What does that mean?
A: Of course, we also have to live to die. To me, it means we cannot really live properly without taking into account death.
Comment by Kalakantha Prabhu: We have to give up our false conception of who we are to live spiritually.
from a class by Niranjana Swami played by Brahma Tirtha Prabhu in his class:
This civilization is designed in such a way people are taught to pursue sense gratification without considering there is an ultimate event that is going to come at the end of life and the purpose of life is to understand how to deal with that final event.
Sivarama Swami advised me to be with my mother at the time of death for in that way I could pay back the debt I owed to my mother, and that was one reason I was there.
Kalakantha Prabhu:
Bhismadeva, celebrated as the grandfather of the Pandavas, was so dear to Arjuna he was willing to renounce his occupation as a fighter rather than to fight with him.
The fact is that Bhagavad-gita is considered by the scholars to be a very authentic text, without disputes about the original text, unlike many major religious scriptures.
Utsaha, enthusiasm, means to put a little energy in to doing things nicely for Krishna. To be enthusiastic to serve our creator is our actual position.
When you are sick, focus your devotional energy on chanting your rounds.
Prevention is worth days of recuperation.
When I was a new devotee, there was a devotee who was struggling like anything to stay awake while chanting in the morning on his beads. He finally asked the temple president if he could go upstairs and take rest. When the temple president said “Yes,” the devotee exclaimed, “Jaya!” and ran up the stairs to take rest. This made a big impression on me—most fatigue is mental.
Fatigue is overcome by regulation. Go to sleep early.
from a discussion after lunch:
When packing a car, it is best to put the biggest item in first, and then pack the other smaller items around it. If you put the smaller things in first, you may not have room for the biggest one. Similarly with our spiritual life, we should put our spiritual practice first, and fit the other aspects of our life, our family, our work, etc., around that. If we prioritize our family and our work and other things, we may find we have no time for our spiritual practice, and our life may be wasted without profiting spiritually.
from a Sunday feast lecture in Alachua:
Yamuna Prabhu explained that the recording session that George Harrison did to make the Radha Krishna temple album went late into the night. All the devotees fell asleep except Yamuna who played the harmonium and sang a bhajana, a devotional song, that she had heard Srila Prabhupada sing many times, Bhajahu Re Mana, as she waited for George to finish mixing the recordings.George recorded her singing without her knowing, and decided to include it in the album. Yamuna protested vehemently, but George liked it and included it anyway. Some of the words were wrong and the verses were in the wrong order, but Srila Prabhupada liked it very much, and said she could fix it later.
There are sixty trillion cells in the human body, and the creepy thing is that only ten trillion cells are human, the others being symbiotic or parasitic.
It is not by guilt, fear, coersion, that we advance in devotional service.
We have to be happier performing devotional service, however faulty, than pursuing sense gratification, however successfully.
“O Lord please let me serve you.” I had never heard that prayer in all my life. Usually it is “O Lord give me this or that.”
That is why we like that bhajana (“Bhajahu Re Mana”) so much because it has Srila Prabhupada’s name, Abhaya Caranaravindam.
Srila Prabhupada said that if we just once say, “Krishna, take me, I’m yours” that we may forget it or change our minds, but Krishna never will, and He will make all arrangements for us.
Caru asked Srila Prabhupada how long it takes to become purified once in Australia when he was alone in Srila Prabhupada’s room. Srila Prabhupada replied, “About forty years.”
With what ever discretionary time you have, engage in your favorite devotional service, and you will advance more and more.
Q: Is our spiritual progress stalled if we do not follow the instructions of Krishna’s representative?
A: Yes. Krishna has sent this representative to us, so we must take advantage. Srila Prabhupada said we should not try to become big paramahamsas, but rather we should hang on to his dhoti, for he knows the back door to the spiritual world.
We can tell we are advancing when we spontaneously avoid things detrimental to devotional service because they are no longer appealing.
Even though they may not know a lot, no one can tell them they are not happy in devotional service. That is nistha or steadiness.
If you are enjoying japa you have made advancement.
If we had one-tenth as much faith in Krishna as we do that we are our body, we would attain Krishna prema [love of God].
Sesa Prabhu:
Srila Prabhupada was not so much interested in propagating a religion as giving people the opportunity to have their consciousness fully blossom.
One’s character is a manifestation of one’s consciousness.
Mahabharata addresses who is qualified to be the ruler of the entire world, and can be said to be about properly governing the world and not about religion.
One can take Mahabharata as a job interview by Krishna, the paramesvara (supreme controller), for the position of ruler of the world.
Employers hire for competence and fire for character.
Employers look for ability, track record, character, positive attitude, and enthusiasm.
Duryodhana was asked to find someone greater than himself, and he could not. Yudhisthira was asked to find someone less than himself, and he could not. This indicates that Duryodhana was narcissistic, proud, bombastic, etc. Would you want to hire someone like that? Often when people have these bad qualities, they have other bad qualities because of not being able to deal properly with other people. Recently many military leaders have been found to have other serious character flaws.
There is a path to full developed consciousness that people have followed in the past and which can be followed even now.
Shiva drank an ocean of poison to save humanity from its ill effects.
At a petrol station in India one devotee asked a local student who knew English what he wanted to do with his life. He said that he wanted to do something to bring honor to his father’s name. You won’t get a response like that in America! That is just a remnant of the Vedic culture.
Svayambhuva Manu would use his free time to study the scripture to become a better leader, not to enjoy his senses in different ways.
The real solution to different ills like violence in society is to change the consciousness of the people. Mahabharata gives knowledge by which we can do that.
To make mistakes is human, but as our consciousness develops, we learn from our mistakes.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says others cannot harm us unless we harm ourselves. So just to protect ourselves it is in our self-interest to develop our character.
We can be overcome by lust but if we take shelter of the Lord, He will protect us.
Superficial change is not real change.
comment by Vaishnava dasa: I did not make a plan to be clean, but just by engaging in devotional service that came naturally.
The the asrama divisions in varnasrama follow the natural changes of our body.
The details of what we do might change but the reason we do things, to please Krishna, does not change.
Change should be made to develop our devotional service rather than as a reduction.
The instruction to stay in your own position does not mean to be complacent.
comment by a devotee: Srila Prabhupada used the analogy of cleaning a room to explain how when we begin our spiritual practice it seems that our life initially gets more complicated and confusing.
Q: What should we do when devotees disagree about what is a principle and what is a detail?
A: There is a principle of ista-gosthi, whereby which the devotees discuss the subject in detail, and then even if there seems to be no resolution, you will get mercy from Krishna from following His process of ista-gosthi.
Fault-finding is a very dangerous quality.
When we find faults, that person’s fault does not become magnified, rather our bad qualities become magnified.
Martin Luther King says he has a dream of a day when one is judged not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character.
When I was a brahmacari in LA in the 1970s, the brahmacaris would take prasadam together, mostly in silence. One day one brahmacari said, “Baseball season starts today.” He could have been advising us of good opportunities for harinama or book distribution, but we did not give him a chance. Instead we got on his case for being in maya for talking of materialistic thingsbecause in those days we were very fanatical.
There are different kinds of intelligence, and if a manager because of being attached to a particular one, and not appreciating others, discourages a person that can be very detrimental.
Mostly the criticism is more about the person who makes criticism than the person who is criticized.
Motivations for criticism:
-
gaining a sense of superiority.
-
getting back at someone
-
establish our position as being the best
-
to distract people from considering our own faults
The pure soul is devoid of the quality of fault-finding.
If we can find faults in ourselves, we are in a better position to learn from others’ criticism of ourselves.
comment by Dorian: Before Einstein was a great physicist he worked in a patent office, and his boss said that he would never amount to anything, and he said it just made him work harder.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said, “Look within. Amend yourself rather than pry into the faults of others. Cultivate patience, humility, and respect for others”.
some verses related to the topic of fault-finding from Krishna-kripa das:
“The worker who is always engaged in work against the injunctions of the scripture, who is materialistic, obstinate, cheating and expert in insulting others, and who is lazy, always morose and procrastinating is said to be a worker in the mode of ignorance.” (Bhagavad-gita 18.28)
“One should mentally honor the devotee who chants the holy name of Lord Krishna, one should offer humble obeisances to the devotee who has undergone spiritual initiation [diksa] and is engaged in worshiping the Deity, and one should associate with and faithfully serve that Pure devotee who is advanced in undeviated devotional service and whose heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others.(Nectar of Instruction, verse 5)
Tattva-vit Prabhu:
Desire to serve the Lord personally does not imply service the Lord alone or without any intermediate.
Srila Prabhupada says becoming the servant of the Lord’s servants is the sum and substance of life. Narottama Dasa Thakura prays in that mood, “tadera carana-sebi-bhakta-sane bas—May I live with those devotees who serve the lotus feet of these six Gosvamis.”
Preachers should serve the Lord purely and joyfully to inspire others.
Our body, life, and ego are Krishna’s energy, and thus ultimately Krishna Himself.
Srila Prabhupada writes in The Nectar of Instruction that the first business of spiritual life is to train the senses and the mind.
By associating with devotees one will also come to desire eagerness to serve Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada told a reporter that his message could be very widely accepted if “they would hear it.”
comment by Bhakta Marlon: Because the self is part of Krishna if you present Krishna consciousness by telling people its about themselves that will be more appealing to them than telling them that its is about Krishna, who they are not so interested in.
Dana-keli Prabhu:
We hear about the pastimes so we can become purified and hear about about the pastimes in a deeper way.
Tamal Krishna Goswami in his Ph.D. dissertation explains that Srila Prabhupada special contribution was that he digested all the truths presented by the previous teachers in the spiritual line and expertly presented them for the modern world.
We may have difficulties in our spiritual practice but if we never abandon the association of devotees, ultimately we will attain success.
One thing that attracted me in the beginning of my practice of Krishna consciousness, was the idea that I have a relationship with God that is completely unique, not like that of anyone else’s, and I wanted to experience that.
One person would trick his mind into doing book distribution. When the mind would protest his program of going downtown and distributing books, he would tell his mind, “We are not going to distribute books. We just going to put books in the car and drive downtown.” When he got downtown, his mind would again protest, and he would say, “We are not going to distribute books, we are just going to get out of the car with a bag of books, and walk around.” So he got out of the car with the books and wandered around. When the mind was again worried about distributing books, he would say, “We are not going to distribute books, we are just going to say ‘Hello’ to people.” And by going on and on in this way, he tricked his mind into distributing books.
If we want to read the advanced Vaishnava literature Srila Prabhupada recommended in Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, it is good to do it in the association of devotees.
Madhava Prabhu (from Alachua):
Twice Prabhupada spoke on the teachings of Queen Kunti and from those lectures, the BBT was able to publish the book Teachings of Queen Kunti.
To take shelter of Krishna alone is the great lesson we can learn from Kunti and her sons, the Pandavas. Vyasadeva teaches this important lesson in the very beginning Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Q: In Mahabharata Krishna asks Arjuna to get weapons from the demigods for use in the battle, so some people argue that it is alright to worship the demigods.
A: Krishna is sending Arjuna to his devotees to get the blessings of his devotees, the demigods. It is not that Arjuna is thinking that the demigods can offer him something that Krishna can’t.
Prema Manjari dd:
This is the most important of Kunti’s prayers as it is very rare that someone prays for more calamities.
In a crisis our whole world may fall apart. We may feel fear, depression, etc. Some people fall apart emotionally. Even after the crisis, people continue to suffer for years because of not being able to process what happened.
Psychologists who have analyzed post-traumatic-stress syndrome say those who suffer the most are those who consider themselves as victims.
On the other hand, there are cases of post-traumatic growth, which is a exciting field of new research in psychology. This is symptomized by greater psychological, emotional, and spiritual confidence, greater compassion, increased faith in self and others, more capacity for intimacy, gratitude, etc.
The crisis is an opportunity for us to apply the spiritual knowledge we have acquired, especially by taking completely shelter of Krishna.
This world is not a place where we can be comfortable and happy, but unfortunately most of us do not believe that. Thus Krishna needs to create situations for us to realize this. It is best to see calamities in this way.
After being in the holy dhama, when you return to the West the power of the material energy to impede our spiritual progress is very obvious.
Rohini Kumara Prabhu:
The coach of a team that twice won the Super Bowl said, “Everyone wants to win. My teams wants to prepare to win.”
Caitanya dasi from Krishna House:
Hearing from the learned devotees while in Vrndavana, a common theme was that theoretical spiritual knowledge becomes realized more and more by sharing it with others.
My japa at Radha Damodara temple was very sweet, but it was not my doing it.
Nanda Kumar Prabhu:
What is striking about the narration of the prostitute Pingala, who because of frustration in her profession, surrendered to Krishna?
Typically misery causes frustration, but Pingala’s frustration brought detachment and knowledge. That was due to her past devotional activities.
comment by Tulasirani dd: Although sensual enjoyment is glorified in human society, Pingala the prostitute, comes to the conclusion that it is all useless, and that is very rare, and thus very striking.
comment by Indian student guest: The narration shows how even the most sinful person can get the mercy of the Lord.
Arjuna Prabhu:
It is a goal of mine to see how each of the chapters of Bhagavad-gita contributes to Krishna’s point that He is obtained by bhakti.
Tulasirani dd:
We were coming back from Festival of Inspiration, and we were really tired. The person who was driving swerved off the road. I cried out Krishna like I had never before done in my life. One of the girls was unconscious and covered with blood, and I knew she was not going to live, so I just chanted Hare Krishna and talked to her about Krishna. I was able to do that because I had just heard from my spiritual master at the Festival of Inspiration. There is nothing that anyone could have done for me in that car accident, except to tell me to remember Krishna. Earlier that very day my friend had said, “If I died today I would be so satisfied because I feel that I have this warm blanket of Krishna’s love around me.” I was so upset they took us to separate hospitals, because I would not be able help her remember Krishna, so I prayed to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. Turns out she was taken to a hospital where a devotee doctor was on duty and happened to remember her name and called all the devotees, and they came and were able to help her remember Krishna at the end of her life. This car accident helped me realize that death can come at any moment.
A friend was telling me that Krishna is the only one she has, all others will be taken away from us. I was surprised to hear she had such an advanced realization.
The devotees are valuable because they remind us to remember Krishna.
I asked one of my friends what made her so inspired. She said, “I think if this was the last day of my life, what are all the things I would do to please Krishna on this day, and then I try to act that way.”
We are dependent on Krishna, but it is up to us to depend on Krishna.
When you are in distress, where do find solace? What are you taking shelter of? It is good to step back and see, was I trying to take shelter of Krishna or something temporary?
We should be making plans to become more attracted to thinking of Krishna by hearing about Him and seriously chanting His holy names.
We should visit the holy dhamas to increase our attraction to Krishna.
Death is something that happens to everyone, yet we talk about so many nonsensical things but we do not want to talk about death.
Prepare for death is not as difficult as preparing for many tests. Going to mangala-arati and singing and dancing with your friends is easier than studying for many other tests.
Q: We make so many plans, getting our Ph.D., getting a job, etc.
A: As a duty to your family and Krishna you have to have to make plans, but you also have to spend time completely absorbed in sadhana [your spiritual practice] every day.
unspoken comments by Krishna-kripa das on the topic of the class:
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 1
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2013, part one)
New York City
(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on February 19, 2013)
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Harinama in Times Square Subway Station, January 10, 2013. |
Where I Went and What I Did
For the first two weeks of January 2013, I continued chanting in Manhattan with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, and I continued living in our Brooklyn temple, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, attending the morning program there, and spending two hours afterward chopping vegetables for the temple and its weekday restaurant program, Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch. Every afternoon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. I would chant with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, consisting of from three to seventeen devotees, at Union Square Park, or on the cold days, in various subway stations at Union Square, Grand Central, Times Square, and Columbus Circle. Sometimes, especially on weekends, we would begin at 3 p.m. or even 2 p.m., and still continue till 8:00 p.m. By the influence of Rama Raya I spent an extra week in New York City with his harinama party, missing the first week of the spring semester at Gainesville’s Krishna House.
I did not hear so many live lectures in New York City, but I have some notes from the many Prabhupada recordings I heard while chopping vegetables, the Prabhupada books I daily read, the articles I proofread for both Back to Godhead magazine and Viraha Bhavan, the daily journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I did hear one morning lecture by Romapada Swami, whose informative points I also share.
Harinama in New York City
New Years Day, the 76thanniversary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura’s disappearance according to both the solar and lunar calendars, was auspicious for us on harinama.
Elizabeth, who just graduated from college in New Paltz and who is originally from New Jersey, listened over an hour to us chant in the Times Square subway station. She explained that she had once lived for two weeks in our ashram in Wellington, New Zealand. She was happy to encounter the Hare Krishnas for the first time in the New York City area, and we told her about our Manhattan and Brooklyn temples and their programs.
Supervisor Nandan Vyasadev, originally from Gujarat, was very happy to have the Hare Krishnas chant in the Time Square subway station where he is in charge. We gave him prasadam cupcakes and laddus, which he appreciated, and we were happy to have found a place indoors where the authorities like us.
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Rama Raya Prabhu, the leader of the Manhattan harinama program asked me to stay another week on the party, as he did not have three people committed to the full four-hour harinama. I told him I planned to go to Gainesville for three months and return to New York City for a week of harinama in April, but he preferred that I do that week of harinama in January. The weather is better in April and my friend, Ekalavya Prabhu, may also be back on the party in April, so April was my preference. I decided to ask Kalakantha Prabhu if he cared whether I came back a week later and stayed an extra week in April. He said it was better for him if I came back when I planned to and not week later, but he liberally said that I could decide for myself. During our harinama in the Times Square subway station, I was thinking about the dilemma and I decided that I should pray to Krishna for a sign indicating what I should do. While I was thinking in that way, a young lady passed our party with a bright smile on her face, her eyes fixed on the party as she walked by. I thought she definitely looked interested and offered her a pamphlet on chanting, so she came over to me. I thought she was so attracted she must have some previous experience with Hare Krishna so I asked her. She replied that she had just heard some people singing in Union Square Park a few times but that was all. I smiled and explained that we were the same people singing at Union Square and that we chant in the subways in the cold weather. She explained that she loved the chanting, and concluded with a smile, saying “that sound is pure joy!” “Wow!” I thought, it is not often that someone says, “That sound is pure joy!” We know that Krishna is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, and that His name is similarly qualified, but it is not often that people in the crowd have the realization that “that sound is pure joy!” Then and there I decided to stay in New York City another week, and give thousands of New Yorkers each day a chance to hear the “pure joy” of the Hare Krishna mantra. That was sign I was looking for!
At Union Square Park, I talked to a lady who was videoing our chanting, and asked her if she knew about Hare Krishna. Yes, she replied, saying she frequently goes to Govinda’s Restaurant in Stockholm, where she was visiting from. I gave her an invitation to Govinda’s in Brooklyn, and she promised to go on her next visit to New York, as she was returning home the next day.
One girl from Arkansas was videoing the party at Union Square with a big smile on her face. She said she likes to come to New York and see cultural opportunities not present in Arkansas, despite its pleasant scenic natural beauty. From that I could understand the harinama gives people from all parts of the USA, and even the world, a chance to come in touch with Krishna in the course of their pursuing the adventure of a New York City vacation.
Sally, who lives a block from Union Square, and looks to be in her sixties, comes for an hour or two to chant with the devotees each day and throws a donation in the basket before returning home. One day she spontaneously said about the daily kirtana, “This is the best thing that has happened in Union Square since I moved here over forty years ago.”

In Times Square subway station, just above the platform for the “7” train, we were chanting peacefully when a Christian preacher decided to pace back and forth across the hallway from us, giving his hell, fire, and brimstone speech to anyone who could hear him over the kirtana. After I while I decided to advise him that if he moved down the hallway a few yards, it would be easier for people to hear his message. He protested that he has been coming here for years, and it was his place. Then he began to criticize our philosophy. I could see I was not going to get anywhere with him, so I returned to dancing and giving out invitations to people with obvious interest. After a few minutes a well-dressed Afro-American gentlemen convinced the Christian to move down the hallway a few yards, and continued talking with him for some time. Then that man who relocated the Christian came up to where I was standing, and I thanked him for helping us out. He told me he saw from the staircase above how the Christian was harassing us, and thinking that it wasn’t right, he came down to tell the man so. He explained to me that when dealing with Christians, you just have to ask them two questions, “When was the Bible compiled?” and “How many books does it have?” Usually they do not know, and it is embarrassing for them and they are humbled, and then you are able to deal with them. He told me his name was Carlos, and he was a trumpet player for years in that subway station and he knew the Christians well. Then he surprised me by asking for some karatalas, and he played with us for awhile, throwing a donation in the basket as he left.

On the hallway from Grand Central Station to the Times Square shuttle, a man passed by our party, smiling and speaking a few friendly words. Then having a second thought, he returned to look at our books on display. I showed him Bhagavad-gita, and he said he had one. I decided to show him the Krishna book, explaining it was a biography telling of Krishna’s activities in this world. He glanced through it and decided to buy one for ten dollars. He told me he was retired professor with a doctorate in world religions and has been a Christian Brothers monk for fifty years. Then he offered respect with folded hands to each and everyone in our chanting party as he left with a smile.
One night at Union Square, as I taking a breaking from our chanting party to warm my body and to use the rest room, I noticed a young lady who was standing not far away for quite a while and watching us for part of the time. I asked her if she liked the music, and she said she did. She went on to explain that several times she visited a Hare Krishna restaurant when she lived in Arizona. I asked if it was the one in Tucson, and she said it was. I told her how I had spent two months in Tucson, singing three hours a day at the University of Arizona, and eating at our restaurant Govinda’s, and that I really liked the whole experience. I asked her what she was doing in the city, and she said she worked at Carnegie Hall on 57thStreet. I told her we had a Krishna lunch program in at our temple in Brooklyn and that it was just 5 stops on the “Q” train to get there from 57thStreet. She said she had an hour off for lunch, and she would like to go and check it out sometime, so I gave her an invitation. Usually we do not talk to people unless they are obviously very favorable, so I took a risk talking to that young lady, but she was very happy to hear she could get some Krishna food in New York, so I felt happy about it.
Special thanks to Rasika Gopi dd and Bhakta Alex for their wonderful pictures of the harinamas in Manhattan.
Srila Prabhupada:
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.14.38, purport:
‘sadhu-sanga,’‘sadhu-sanga’— sarva-shastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya
(Cc. Madhya 22.54)
Even by a little association with devotees, the conditioned soul can get out of this miserable material condition. This Krishna consciousness movement is therefore trying to give everyone a chance to associate with saintly people. Therefore all the members of this Krishna consciousness society must themselves be perfect sadhus [saints] in order to give a chance to fallen conditioned souls. This is the best humanitarian work.
from a lecture on Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance day in Gorakhpur on Feb. 15, 1971:
“Except the devotee of Krishna, everyone is simply giving Krishna trouble, trouble, trouble. . . . Don’t make any plan. Accept Krishna’s plan. . . . A devotee’s principle is not place any plan to Krishna. Let Krishna do . . . . As far as possible our business is to induce persons how to become Krishna conscious. That’s all. For that reason you can make your plan, because that is Krishna’s plan.”
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.7 in Delhi on November 13, 1973:
“A mahatma (a great soul) is not under the control of the material energy. He is under the the shelter of the spiritual energy. . . . He has no other business than to serve the Supreme Lord.”
“We are reminding people that ‘you are son of such great personality, of Krishna, why don’t you go back to your home?’”
“People are searching after God. . . . . God may be like this, God may be like that. Why ‘may be’? Why not say you don’t know? Just admit that you do not know. Why are you cheating.”
Scholars claim to be searching for God, and although the Lord appears as Krishna and is accepted by great spiritual authorities, the scholars foolishly continue to search for Him elsewhere, making different theses.
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2 given in Hyderabad on March 15, 1975:
“Is it very difficult to constantly remember Krishna? You can do it. You are remembering something. The mind is occupied always with something. Just practice occupying the mind with Krishna. That’s all. Where is the difficulty?”
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.8 in Hyderabad on April 22, 1974:
“Anyone who accepts the supremacy of God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his process of worship has to be considered in the category of bhakti-yoga.”
You cannot say, “Let us all become technologist sudras.”Then you can get money for wine and meat but the ideal life is lost.
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.11 in Vrindavan on October 22, 1972:
That the sunshine spreads all over the universe does not make it more important than the sun globe. Similarly the all-pervading Brahman is not more important than the Personality of Godhead from whom it emanates.
By chanting Hare Krishna we immediate contact Krishna, while by other yogic processes that can take many births.
from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 9.50 verse and purport:
“When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the great gardener, sees that people are chanting, dancing and laughing and that some of them are rolling on the floor and some are making loud humming sounds, He smiles with great pleasure.”
“This attitude of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very important for persons engaged in the Hare Krishna movement of Krishnaconsciousness. In every center of our institution, ISKCON, we have arranged for a love feast every Sunday, and when we actually see people come to our center, chant, dance, take prasadam, become jubilant and purchase books, we know that certainly Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhuis always present in such transcendental activities, and He is very pleased and satisfied. Therefore the members of ISKCON must increase this movement more and more, according to the principles that we are presently trying to execute.Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, thus being pleased, will smilingly glance upon them, bestowing His favor, and the movement will be successful.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.16.3, purport:
“If one rigidly observes the regulative principle of chanting sixteen rounds of the maha-mantra every day, his dealings with the material world for the sake of spreading the Krishna consciousness movement are not different from the spiritual cultivation of Krishna consciousness.”
from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Protected by Krishna”:
“This is the crucial point. Dehantara-prapti: one has to accept another body. If you can find a means so that you do not accept another body, then you are safe. Otherwise, as soon as you take another birth, then you must die also. And between birth and death are disease and old age.”
“How are these European and American boys and girls advancing, realizing? Simply by using the tongue to chant Hare Krishna and take prasada. You can introduce this process all over the world. Give people a chance to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. But it is difficult also. There was a cartoon. One old lady is requesting her husband, “Chant chant, chant,” and the husband is replying, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” [Laughter] We are requesting everyone, “Please chant,” and they are replying, “Can’t.” They will not chant. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, we can deliver all the people on this earth back home, back to Godhead, simply by this process: chanting and taking prasada.”
“They cannot give up that small piece of meat. The same thing can be made from milk. Prepare cheese and fry it, and you’ll get the same taste. Let the animal live, take its milk, and prepare so many milk preparations. But these rascals will not do that. They will kill simply for the tongue.”
from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Prabhupada Speaks Out”:
[From aconversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and some of his disciples which took place in September 1975 on an early-morning walk in Vrindavana, India.]
But how have you become embodied if you are the Supreme? What made you embodied? You don’t like to be embodied—the body is bringing so much suffering—so you want liberation. But whoever made you embodied—He is the Supreme. You are not the Supreme.
Romapada Swami:
Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explained that in the pastime of the cursing of Jaya and Vijaya, the Lord accomplished several purposes. He satisfied Laksmi, Jaya and Vijaya, and the Kumaras. Here is how:
Once Narayana wanted to rest so he posted Jaya and Vijaya to guard the door to his room and not let anyone in. When Laksmi, the eternal consort of the Lord, arrived, they turned her away, and she did not say anything, but she was not happy about it, and later she let Narayana know that she wanted them punished for that mistake.
Jaya and Vijaya knew that the Lord had a chivalrous nature and liked to fight but had no suitable combatant, and so they had a desire to play that role for the Lord.
When Narayana arrived on the scene, He pleased the brahmana Kumaras by supporting the position of the brahmanas by His words and actions.
In steadiness, there may be some residual materialistic inclination, but the bhakti is so powerful it overshadows that slight material tendency.
In disagreements between devotees, it is best not to take sides but to understand the Lord has some plan in that.
The Lord rules the hearts of the residents of Vaikuntha so there is diversity but no conflict and thus no fear, just as there is no conflict between the different organs of the body.
In Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s autobiography, he tells of a scholar who wrote a book of fictional stories about Krishna and showed it to him before publishing. He spent four days without eating or sleeping, explaining to the scholar why one could not write a fiction book about Krishna, and finally the scholar agreed and rewrote the book. Later that scholar recalled, “Whenever I was in his association, very quickly Bhaktivinoda Thakura would begin to talk about acintya-bheda-abheda-tattva [the truth that the living entities are inconceivably and simultaneously one and different from the Supreme Lord].
Recognizing the majesty of the Lord and being satisfied simply to serve Him in that mood is the qualification to live in Vaikuntha.
The love that the residents of Vrindavan have for Krishna is what Lord Caitanya came to give and what people are receiving from Him, step by step, whether they know it or not.
You can be steady in faith, but not steady in the execution of bhakti only because of external circumstances beyond your control.
It is my experience that once a person has regulated his life in a spiritual way, if he again takes to an unregulated life, it is very, very difficult to become regulated in spiritual life again.
The Kumaras generally agree, but occasionally express their individual non-conflicting views.
Q: Is it enough to understand bhakti is the essence and not absorb oneself in all the details?
A: It is certainly good to understand that bhakti is the essence, but appreciating the details we can increasingly relish the pastimes.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
from an online poem:
“Radha controls Krishna, yet He is the independent Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
from Qualities of Sri Krishna:
“The Nectar of Devotionspeaks of Krishna offering obeisances to Maharaja Yudhisthira before the rajasuya sacrifice as an example of His gentleness, but His most amazing act at the rajasuya sacrifice was His volunteering to wash the feet of the arriving guests. How gentle Krishna is. What other great and powerful king would be willing to overcome his own arrogance to touch the feet of so many people? Krishna did not agree to bathe the guests’ feet out of political motivation; He bathed their feet as an exchange of love. Krishna is both father and mother to all living beings. He likes to care for them in a way that eases their hearts. Certainly, His washing the guests’ feet is an example of His quality of gentleness.
Urmila dd:
from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Offering Dandavat”:
One Sanskrit word Srila Prabhupada translates as “surrender” is prapadyate, which literally means “to throw oneself down at someone’s feet.”
Caitanya-carana Prabhu:
from Back to Godhead, Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “The W.R.I.T.E. Service”:
“Though different people may be able to forget worldly miseries by absorption in various activities, devotees know that the transcendence attained by absorption in Krishna is unique because it comprises a this-worldly glimpse of the eternal, ecstatic absorption that awaits them in the next world.”
Vamsi Vihari Prabhu:
from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Sickess: A Friend and Teacher”:
One of my devotee friends shared his realization that Krishna takes the risk of being blamed: “Oh! I am trying to serve You, Krishna, and You are giving me problems. What kind of God are You?” But as a true well-wisher, Krishna is concerned not about being blamed but about ending our material existence as soon as possible.
Sickness can reveal the true level of our spiritual connection by showing whether our foundation is shallow or deep—that is, based on a genuine desire to practice Krishna consciousness in any circumstance. If we are open, we may find the revelation humbling, which in spiritual life is helpful. So, illness can be a turning point in our life. We may understand that we have forced Krishna to put us into this predicament to take us out of the illusion that life in the material world is “the good life.”
Years ago I read the poem “Reduced,” by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
My list of Things to Do
falls to the side.
All I do is rest.
Yet one cry to Krishna
is worth a hundred days
of marching in pride.
Sickness can become a golden opportunity for us to realize our smallness and helplessness and take shelter of Krishna. We have to remember that if Krishna is allowing something to happen to us, it must be good. I have met devotees who feel that the best time of their Krishna conscious lives was when they were going through some difficulty. Not finding any other shelter, they intensely took Krishna’s shelter and felt His presence more evidently than at any other time. That’s why Kunti Devi, the glorious mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Krishna for more and more calamities. “Because,” she reasoned, “calamities inspire me to see Your lotus face, which means I’ll no longer see the face of repeated birth and death.” We need not imitate Kunti Devi by asking for more hardship, however; our destined calamities should be enough for us to turn to Krishna.
—–
tasmat sankirtanam visnor
jagan-mangalam amhasam
mahatam api kauravya
viddhy aikantika-niskrtam
“Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the sankirtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to understand this so that others will take it seriously.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.31)
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 1
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2013, part one)
New York City
(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on February 19, 2013)
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Harinama in Times Square Subway Station, January 10, 2013. |
Where I Went and What I Did
For the first two weeks of January 2013, I continued chanting in Manhattan with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, and I continued living in our Brooklyn temple, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, attending the morning program there, and spending two hours afterward chopping vegetables for the temple and its weekday restaurant program, Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch. Every afternoon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. I would chant with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, consisting of from three to seventeen devotees, at Union Square Park, or on the cold days, in various subway stations at Union Square, Grand Central, Times Square, and Columbus Circle. Sometimes, especially on weekends, we would begin at 3 p.m. or even 2 p.m., and still continue till 8:00 p.m. By the influence of Rama Raya I spent an extra week in New York City with his harinama party, missing the first week of the spring semester at Gainesville’s Krishna House.
I did not hear so many live lectures in New York City, but I have some notes from the many Prabhupada recordings I heard while chopping vegetables, the Prabhupada books I daily read, the articles I proofread for both Back to Godhead magazine and Viraha Bhavan, the daily journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I did hear one morning lecture by Romapada Swami, whose informative points I also share.
Harinama in New York City
New Years Day, the 76thanniversary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura’s disappearance according to both the solar and lunar calendars, was auspicious for us on harinama.
Elizabeth, who just graduated from college in New Paltz and who is originally from New Jersey, listened over an hour to us chant in the Times Square subway station. She explained that she had once lived for two weeks in our ashram in Wellington, New Zealand. She was happy to encounter the Hare Krishnas for the first time in the New York City area, and we told her about our Manhattan and Brooklyn temples and their programs.
Supervisor Nandan Vyasadev, originally from Gujarat, was very happy to have the Hare Krishnas chant in the Time Square subway station where he is in charge. We gave him prasadam cupcakes and laddus, which he appreciated, and we were happy to have found a place indoors where the authorities like us.
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Rama Raya Prabhu, the leader of the Manhattan harinama program asked me to stay another week on the party, as he did not have three people committed to the full four-hour harinama. I told him I planned to go to Gainesville for three months and return to New York City for a week of harinama in April, but he preferred that I do that week of harinama in January. The weather is better in April and my friend, Ekalavya Prabhu, may also be back on the party in April, so April was my preference. I decided to ask Kalakantha Prabhu if he cared whether I came back a week later and stayed an extra week in April. He said it was better for him if I came back when I planned to and not week later, but he liberally said that I could decide for myself. During our harinama in the Times Square subway station, I was thinking about the dilemma and I decided that I should pray to Krishna for a sign indicating what I should do. While I was thinking in that way, a young lady passed our party with a bright smile on her face, her eyes fixed on the party as she walked by. I thought she definitely looked interested and offered her a pamphlet on chanting, so she came over to me. I thought she was so attracted she must have some previous experience with Hare Krishna so I asked her. She replied that she had just heard some people singing in Union Square Park a few times but that was all. I smiled and explained that we were the same people singing at Union Square and that we chant in the subways in the cold weather. She explained that she loved the chanting, and concluded with a smile, saying “that sound is pure joy!” “Wow!” I thought, it is not often that someone says, “That sound is pure joy!” We know that Krishna is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, and that His name is similarly qualified, but it is not often that people in the crowd have the realization that “that sound is pure joy!” Then and there I decided to stay in New York City another week, and give thousands of New Yorkers each day a chance to hear the “pure joy” of the Hare Krishna mantra. That was sign I was looking for!
At Union Square Park, I talked to a lady who was videoing our chanting, and asked her if she knew about Hare Krishna. Yes, she replied, saying she frequently goes to Govinda’s Restaurant in Stockholm, where she was visiting from. I gave her an invitation to Govinda’s in Brooklyn, and she promised to go on her next visit to New York, as she was returning home the next day.
One girl from Arkansas was videoing the party at Union Square with a big smile on her face. She said she likes to come to New York and see cultural opportunities not present in Arkansas, despite its pleasant scenic natural beauty. From that I could understand the harinama gives people from all parts of the USA, and even the world, a chance to come in touch with Krishna in the course of their pursuing the adventure of a New York City vacation.
Sally, who lives a block from Union Square, and looks to be in her sixties, comes for an hour or two to chant with the devotees each day and throws a donation in the basket before returning home. One day she spontaneously said about the daily kirtana, “This is the best thing that has happened in Union Square since I moved here over forty years ago.”

In Times Square subway station, just above the platform for the “7” train, we were chanting peacefully when a Christian preacher decided to pace back and forth across the hallway from us, giving his hell, fire, and brimstone speech to anyone who could hear him over the kirtana. After I while I decided to advise him that if he moved down the hallway a few yards, it would be easier for people to hear his message. He protested that he has been coming here for years, and it was his place. Then he began to criticize our philosophy. I could see I was not going to get anywhere with him, so I returned to dancing and giving out invitations to people with obvious interest. After a few minutes a well-dressed Afro-American gentlemen convinced the Christian to move down the hallway a few yards, and continued talking with him for some time. Then that man who relocated the Christian came up to where I was standing, and I thanked him for helping us out. He told me he saw from the staircase above how the Christian was harassing us, and thinking that it wasn’t right, he came down to tell the man so. He explained to me that when dealing with Christians, you just have to ask them two questions, “When was the Bible compiled?” and “How many books does it have?” Usually they do not know, and it is embarrassing for them and they are humbled, and then you are able to deal with them. He told me his name was Carlos, and he was a trumpet player for years in that subway station and he knew the Christians well. Then he surprised me by asking for some karatalas, and he played with us for awhile, throwing a donation in the basket as he left.

On the hallway from Grand Central Station to the Times Square shuttle, a man passed by our party, smiling and speaking a few friendly words. Then having a second thought, he returned to look at our books on display. I showed him Bhagavad-gita, and he said he had one. I decided to show him the Krishna book, explaining it was a biography telling of Krishna’s activities in this world. He glanced through it and decided to buy one for ten dollars. He told me he was retired professor with a doctorate in world religions and has been a Christian Brothers monk for fifty years. Then he offered respect with folded hands to each and everyone in our chanting party as he left with a smile.
One night at Union Square, as I taking a breaking from our chanting party to warm my body and to use the rest room, I noticed a young lady who was standing not far away for quite a while and watching us for part of the time. I asked her if she liked the music, and she said she did. She went on to explain that several times she visited a Hare Krishna restaurant when she lived in Arizona. I asked if it was the one in Tucson, and she said it was. I told her how I had spent two months in Tucson, singing three hours a day at the University of Arizona, and eating at our restaurant Govinda’s, and that I really liked the whole experience. I asked her what she was doing in the city, and she said she worked at Carnegie Hall on 57thStreet. I told her we had a Krishna lunch program in at our temple in Brooklyn and that it was just 5 stops on the “Q” train to get there from 57thStreet. She said she had an hour off for lunch, and she would like to go and check it out sometime, so I gave her an invitation. Usually we do not talk to people unless they are obviously very favorable, so I took a risk talking to that young lady, but she was very happy to hear she could get some Krishna food in New York, so I felt happy about it.
Special thanks to Rasika Gopi dd and Bhakta Alex for their wonderful pictures of the harinamas in Manhattan.
Srila Prabhupada:
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.14.38, purport:
‘sadhu-sanga,’‘sadhu-sanga’— sarva-shastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya
(Cc. Madhya 22.54)
Even by a little association with devotees, the conditioned soul can get out of this miserable material condition. This Krishna consciousness movement is therefore trying to give everyone a chance to associate with saintly people. Therefore all the members of this Krishna consciousness society must themselves be perfect sadhus [saints] in order to give a chance to fallen conditioned souls. This is the best humanitarian work.
from a lecture on Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance day in Gorakhpur on Feb. 15, 1971:
“Except the devotee of Krishna, everyone is simply giving Krishna trouble, trouble, trouble. . . . Don’t make any plan. Accept Krishna’s plan. . . . A devotee’s principle is not place any plan to Krishna. Let Krishna do . . . . As far as possible our business is to induce persons how to become Krishna conscious. That’s all. For that reason you can make your plan, because that is Krishna’s plan.”
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.7 in Delhi on November 13, 1973:
“A mahatma (a great soul) is not under the control of the material energy. He is under the the shelter of the spiritual energy. . . . He has no other business than to serve the Supreme Lord.”
“We are reminding people that ‘you are son of such great personality, of Krishna, why don’t you go back to your home?’”
“People are searching after God. . . . . God may be like this, God may be like that. Why ‘may be’? Why not say you don’t know? Just admit that you do not know. Why are you cheating.”
Scholars claim to be searching for God, and although the Lord appears as Krishna and is accepted by great spiritual authorities, the scholars foolishly continue to search for Him elsewhere, making different theses.
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2 given in Hyderabad on March 15, 1975:
“Is it very difficult to constantly remember Krishna? You can do it. You are remembering something. The mind is occupied always with something. Just practice occupying the mind with Krishna. That’s all. Where is the difficulty?”
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.8 in Hyderabad on April 22, 1974:
“Anyone who accepts the supremacy of God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his process of worship has to be considered in the category of bhakti-yoga.”
You cannot say, “Let us all become technologist sudras.”Then you can get money for wine and meat but the ideal life is lost.
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.11 in Vrindavan on October 22, 1972:
That the sunshine spreads all over the universe does not make it more important than the sun globe. Similarly the all-pervading Brahman is not more important than the Personality of Godhead from whom it emanates.
By chanting Hare Krishna we immediate contact Krishna, while by other yogic processes that can take many births.
from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 9.50 verse and purport:
“When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the great gardener, sees that people are chanting, dancing and laughing and that some of them are rolling on the floor and some are making loud humming sounds, He smiles with great pleasure.”
“This attitude of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very important for persons engaged in the Hare Krishna movement of Krishnaconsciousness. In every center of our institution, ISKCON, we have arranged for a love feast every Sunday, and when we actually see people come to our center, chant, dance, take prasadam, become jubilant and purchase books, we know that certainly Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhuis always present in such transcendental activities, and He is very pleased and satisfied. Therefore the members of ISKCON must increase this movement more and more, according to the principles that we are presently trying to execute.Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, thus being pleased, will smilingly glance upon them, bestowing His favor, and the movement will be successful.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.16.3, purport:
“If one rigidly observes the regulative principle of chanting sixteen rounds of the maha-mantra every day, his dealings with the material world for the sake of spreading the Krishna consciousness movement are not different from the spiritual cultivation of Krishna consciousness.”
from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Protected by Krishna”:
“This is the crucial point. Dehantara-prapti: one has to accept another body. If you can find a means so that you do not accept another body, then you are safe. Otherwise, as soon as you take another birth, then you must die also. And between birth and death are disease and old age.”
“How are these European and American boys and girls advancing, realizing? Simply by using the tongue to chant Hare Krishna and take prasada. You can introduce this process all over the world. Give people a chance to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. But it is difficult also. There was a cartoon. One old lady is requesting her husband, “Chant chant, chant,” and the husband is replying, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” [Laughter] We are requesting everyone, “Please chant,” and they are replying, “Can’t.” They will not chant. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, we can deliver all the people on this earth back home, back to Godhead, simply by this process: chanting and taking prasada.”
“They cannot give up that small piece of meat. The same thing can be made from milk. Prepare cheese and fry it, and you’ll get the same taste. Let the animal live, take its milk, and prepare so many milk preparations. But these rascals will not do that. They will kill simply for the tongue.”
from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Prabhupada Speaks Out”:
[From aconversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and some of his disciples which took place in September 1975 on an early-morning walk in Vrindavana, India.]
But how have you become embodied if you are the Supreme? What made you embodied? You don’t like to be embodied—the body is bringing so much suffering—so you want liberation. But whoever made you embodied—He is the Supreme. You are not the Supreme.
Romapada Swami:
Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explained that in the pastime of the cursing of Jaya and Vijaya, the Lord accomplished several purposes. He satisfied Laksmi, Jaya and Vijaya, and the Kumaras. Here is how:
Once Narayana wanted to rest so he posted Jaya and Vijaya to guard the door to his room and not let anyone in. When Laksmi, the eternal consort of the Lord, arrived, they turned her away, and she did not say anything, but she was not happy about it, and later she let Narayana know that she wanted them punished for that mistake.
Jaya and Vijaya knew that the Lord had a chivalrous nature and liked to fight but had no suitable combatant, and so they had a desire to play that role for the Lord.
When Narayana arrived on the scene, He pleased the brahmana Kumaras by supporting the position of the brahmanas by His words and actions.
In steadiness, there may be some residual materialistic inclination, but the bhakti is so powerful it overshadows that slight material tendency.
In disagreements between devotees, it is best not to take sides but to understand the Lord has some plan in that.
The Lord rules the hearts of the residents of Vaikuntha so there is diversity but no conflict and thus no fear, just as there is no conflict between the different organs of the body.
In Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s autobiography, he tells of a scholar who wrote a book of fictional stories about Krishna and showed it to him before publishing. He spent four days without eating or sleeping, explaining to the scholar why one could not write a fiction book about Krishna, and finally the scholar agreed and rewrote the book. Later that scholar recalled, “Whenever I was in his association, very quickly Bhaktivinoda Thakura would begin to talk about acintya-bheda-abheda-tattva [the truth that the living entities are inconceivably and simultaneously one and different from the Supreme Lord].
Recognizing the majesty of the Lord and being satisfied simply to serve Him in that mood is the qualification to live in Vaikuntha.
The love that the residents of Vrindavan have for Krishna is what Lord Caitanya came to give and what people are receiving from Him, step by step, whether they know it or not.
You can be steady in faith, but not steady in the execution of bhakti only because of external circumstances beyond your control.
It is my experience that once a person has regulated his life in a spiritual way, if he again takes to an unregulated life, it is very, very difficult to become regulated in spiritual life again.
The Kumaras generally agree, but occasionally express their individual non-conflicting views.
Q: Is it enough to understand bhakti is the essence and not absorb oneself in all the details?
A: It is certainly good to understand that bhakti is the essence, but appreciating the details we can increasingly relish the pastimes.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
from an online poem:
“Radha controls Krishna, yet He is the independent Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
from Qualities of Sri Krishna:
“The Nectar of Devotionspeaks of Krishna offering obeisances to Maharaja Yudhisthira before the rajasuya sacrifice as an example of His gentleness, but His most amazing act at the rajasuya sacrifice was His volunteering to wash the feet of the arriving guests. How gentle Krishna is. What other great and powerful king would be willing to overcome his own arrogance to touch the feet of so many people? Krishna did not agree to bathe the guests’ feet out of political motivation; He bathed their feet as an exchange of love. Krishna is both father and mother to all living beings. He likes to care for them in a way that eases their hearts. Certainly, His washing the guests’ feet is an example of His quality of gentleness.
Urmila dd:
from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Offering Dandavat”:
One Sanskrit word Srila Prabhupada translates as “surrender” is prapadyate, which literally means “to throw oneself down at someone’s feet.”
Caitanya-carana Prabhu:
from Back to Godhead, Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “The W.R.I.T.E. Service”:
“Though different people may be able to forget worldly miseries by absorption in various activities, devotees know that the transcendence attained by absorption in Krishna is unique because it comprises a this-worldly glimpse of the eternal, ecstatic absorption that awaits them in the next world.”
Vamsi Vihari Prabhu:
from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Sickess: A Friend and Teacher”:
One of my devotee friends shared his realization that Krishna takes the risk of being blamed: “Oh! I am trying to serve You, Krishna, and You are giving me problems. What kind of God are You?” But as a true well-wisher, Krishna is concerned not about being blamed but about ending our material existence as soon as possible.
Sickness can reveal the true level of our spiritual connection by showing whether our foundation is shallow or deep—that is, based on a genuine desire to practice Krishna consciousness in any circumstance. If we are open, we may find the revelation humbling, which in spiritual life is helpful. So, illness can be a turning point in our life. We may understand that we have forced Krishna to put us into this predicament to take us out of the illusion that life in the material world is “the good life.”
Years ago I read the poem “Reduced,” by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
My list of Things to Do
falls to the side.
All I do is rest.
Yet one cry to Krishna
is worth a hundred days
of marching in pride.
Sickness can become a golden opportunity for us to realize our smallness and helplessness and take shelter of Krishna. We have to remember that if Krishna is allowing something to happen to us, it must be good. I have met devotees who feel that the best time of their Krishna conscious lives was when they were going through some difficulty. Not finding any other shelter, they intensely took Krishna’s shelter and felt His presence more evidently than at any other time. That’s why Kunti Devi, the glorious mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Krishna for more and more calamities. “Because,” she reasoned, “calamities inspire me to see Your lotus face, which means I’ll no longer see the face of repeated birth and death.” We need not imitate Kunti Devi by asking for more hardship, however; our destined calamities should be enough for us to turn to Krishna.
—–
tasmat sankirtanam visnor
jagan-mangalam amhasam
mahatam api kauravya
viddhy aikantika-niskrtam
“Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the sankirtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to understand this so that others will take it seriously.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.31)