Planet ISKCON

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Song: Shri Radhe (Srikalogy Remix). Available now from CDBaby, Bandcamp and iTunes

Preaching program in Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One has to continue chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and preaching the chanting of this mantra because such preaching and chanting constitute the perfection of life. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.67 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/CB2Duf

The book is an account of painful experiences of the first attempt to spread Krishna consciousness in the USSR, which was Srila Prabhupada’s desire; stories of devotees’ trials in jails and psychiatric hospitals, their encounters with the KGB, but the author Sarvabhavana Das doesn’t lack in humor when he recalls, as he puts it,  “his painful but blissful past”.

What’s Your Vow?
Ananda Vrindavana Devi Dasi: Being austere is not highly regarded in contemporary culture. We over eat, oversleep, over mate, and over defend. The concept of having less or doing less is something that may be admired from a distance but generally not considered so welcome when it’s closer to home.
In yoga teachings, austerity is considered the wealth of those who seek self-realization and an understanding of how to discover our love for Krishna. Wealth. Think about that for a moment. Who does not want wealth? However, this wealth is all about the things that money can’t buy. Austerity, when done properly, brings a veritable treasure – wisdom, an opening of the heart, feelings of love for Krishna and an understanding of everything around us!
Vows are part of the practice of austerity and the Kartik month, which started yesterday, is considered the best month of the year to take a vow. Depending on who we are and where we live, our vows will be shaped. Many go to Vrindavan India for this month and practice austerities like eating once a day, chanting 64 rounds on japa beads, or walking without shoes to Krishna’s sacred places.
For us here in the comfortable USA we can choose vows that work for us (not a good idea to go barefoot to the office :). It can be a small thing that we do for Krishna every day, for one month, but it should stretch us. We should feel the pinch a little bit and in that struggle, the offering becomes sweeter.
We don’t have to tell anyone our vow, although it is helpful to have a ‘vow buddy’ whom we can lean on. The mind loves to take down vows so we may need a support group :)
Here are some ideas to get us started. Do something. Our life will be all the better for it.
give up sweets
chant 4 extra rounds
read 10 Gita verses a day
do a daily act of charity
give away a book about Krishna every day
don’t criticize others
don’t complain
take a cold shower
do menial service
do what no one else wants to do
give up TV
give up Starbucks
sleep on the floor
join the outdoor kirtan on the weekends
become a monthly donor
skip a meal
give up chocolate
be a vegetarian
drop caffeine
drop alcohol
give 50% of your income away for that month
only take ahimsa milk
offer a ghee lamp every day to Krishna
sing the Kartik prayer
don’t watch the news
pray more, speak less
love more, hate less
live more, give more, and be more

Love of an Indian Mother.
Mohini Madhavi devi dasi: Trembling voice; moving train; eyes seemingly will be showered with tears; feeling of a warm hand and compassionate glance;
Glance of a loving Mother!
My friend Nilam, her sister Nisha, their mother and I were going in the train to the station. It was time when I visited Mumbai for the first time.
I was studying in Mysore. But on the first vacation I decided to visit one of the world famous Temples - Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir in Girgaun, Mumbai. Temple is famous not because of its wealth but because of wonderful congregation. Place where Devotees take care of each other so nicely. Where big, big persons, industrialist, the wealthiest personalities do menial services like washing pots and collecting shoes of guests; where big or small you are, no matter what, you are accepted and loved equally…
It was the place where I meet my friends Nilam and Nisha and then they invited me to stay at their small, rented room.
Room was so small that when 4-5 people lie down room gets filled up. But still family was so kind. Father and younger brother slept on the top roof of the room so that girls could sleep down. It was a small room like place above that small room. It is a traditional room in a crowded Mumbai with millions of people. They had tiny room but ocean like hearts!
First evening they cooked puran puri, rice, dhal, and chapatti and offered me Prasadam on a banana leaf. They taught me how to eat the food; telling me what should be taken first, second and last.
In this way I stayed with them for few days. My vacation came to an end. I had to leave Mumbai.
The last day I went to the Temple and wanted to spend some more time there and directly leave to the station. Nilam was with me. She was taking me to the station. On the way we meet her mother and sister Nisha. Then we sat on a city train. Nisha brought out a huge plastic box out of mango sweets. But that was filled up with some food. She handed me the box and told that it was cooked by her mother especially for my long trip to Mysore.
I was touched with their care and said that there was no need; I could buy some fruits on the way. Nisha told ‘no, no. Journey is so long. You will be hungry. So my mom did not sleep at night but made this especially for you.’
She continued: ‘it is a rice papad. She could not find rice flour late evening so had to buy rice and make flour out of that herself. Then she fried all these papads in ghee.’ ‘So she made it for you, please take!’
I did not eat rice, plus fired rice for over 5-6 years. But in order to accept her love I accepted it to make her happy. But that was external.
From within I felt so much of her love, care that while all we were sitting tears flow from my eyes. Nisha’s mother noticed it and immediately came up to me and embraced me. My voice was chocking I could not speak for a while. Later I told that my own mom would never ever cook for us when we go to school. Of course she was a working lady of a Soviet Union time when everyone was starving with no food and money.
But still, I grew up wanting and yearning for the food from the hand of my mom; which never ever used to happen. So our lunch used to be a piece of Russian bread and margarine applied on it.
But here I saw and felt so much of motherly love. She did not sleep for whole night, doing all that flour out of rice and then frying them one by one; and it was not for her own kids but for someone whom they know only for few days.
While saying all these I continued crying. Tears were flowing from my eyes. Mother started worried herself, started to dry my tears with her hand saying something in Hindi followed by ‘Aree, aree!’
It was the time when I meet a true Mother. Indian Mother! Loving and caring Mother!
It says that Mother is a first guru to a child. So by her examples mother teaches her kids. And the best education is not that we know much; not that we can earn much;
But the best education is when we gain good qualities! We learn lovingly to take care of others!

 Whether its shoes, gadgets, clothes or cars, most things I buy seem to break down, play up or fall apart, costing me a small fortune in the process! One acquisition, however, that has stood the test of time, is the wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita.

The post Daily Darshan: June 10th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

A new book by Radhanath Swami/

On behalf of the World Holy Name Week Committee, I am honored to share with you some information and resources regarding World Holy Name Week 2016.
Dates: 28th July – 14th August
28th July is the lunar calendar date of The Incorporation of ISKCON in New York.
14th August is the solar calendar date of Srila Prabhupada’s first historic Harinam Sankirtan in Washington Square Park, New York City, USA.
Download Posters in PDF:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw7fh3dQppfARE0wRVZOM0RJQWc/view?usp=sharing
Download Posters in CDR (you can modify with Coral Draw Program)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw7fh3dQppfAeVdsd0pLeVZnb1E/view?usp=sharing
Your servant,
Ekalavya Das
Secretary - World Holy Name Week

Radhanath Swami draws from his personal experiences to demystify the ancient devotional path of bhakti, capturing its essence and explaining its simple principles for balancing our lives. His down-to-earth writing simplifies spiritual concepts and answers timeless questions in a heartfelt narrative that brings this sacred philosophy to life. What is love? What is the soul? Who is God? How can we live in the physical world without losing touch with the spiritual?

Krishna In The Heart Of London (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: As we held a beautiful and colorful initiation ceremony in our temple, just off Oxford Street in the heart of London, the city awoke to a beautiful warm summer morning. Radha London Isvara’s blessings seemed to be present everywhere. [Photos by Ananta Vrindavan dasa]
Find them here: https://goo.gl/E9M1Ep

June 10. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Can a Pure Devotee Have Personal Preferences?
The first time I encountered this question was in 1966. Devotees were taking lunch prasadam with Srila Prabhupada one day when a young, rather unsubmissive man came into the Swami’s apartment for lunch. I remember that Prabhupada was sprinkling hot sauce on his meal. This young man asked Prabhupada why he was eating this sauce. He replied that he liked it.
The young man became doubtful when Prabhupada said that. He said something to the effect: “You use hot sauce just because you like it? You mean there’s no special spiritual significance?” The young man looked around at us as if to show that he had caught Srila Prabhupada in some relative position, or as if he had defeated him in a debate. I remember thinking that this man’s attitude was ridiculous and offensive, but I also saw the point he was trying to make.
Is Prabhupada’s sprinkling of hot sauce on his meal in this category? Is he doing it for his own sense gratification? Who can know Prabhupada’s inner meditation when he sprinkled that sauce? Also, Vaisnavas are not extreme tyagis. They do not have to prove their devotion by sprinkling ashes on their food or not eating at all. They accept Krishna’s mercy in the form of prasadam. What is the harm if they add seasonings to their food? Prabhupada himself ate very simply. He was elderly and ate things that stimulated his digestion.
His preferences were expressions of Krishna consciousness to us. We were always intrigued and happy to find out the little things that Prabhupada liked. It brought us closer to him. It taught us how to serve him better. In fact, an expert disciple was one who knew exactly how Prabhupada liked his room to be arranged, how to cook for him, how to arrange his schedule, and so on. Even today, the more things you know about how Prabhupada conducted things, the more qualified you to serve in ISKCON.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=9

Back in January 1967, Mukunda Goswami was instrumental in putting on The Mantra Rock Dance in San Francisco, a key counter-cultural event of its time that put Srila Prabhupada and his disciples on the map. Now, nearly fifty years later, he has been a driving force in organizing the hugely ambitious Transcendental Journey, a spectacular show at Australian landmark the Sydney Opera House in celebration of ISKCON’s 50^th anniversary.

A documentary about Srila Prabhupada's beginning of ISKCON at 26 Second Avenue. NY. The film is based on interview with Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, one of the most senior of Srila Prabhupada''s disciples who is also the author of the biography 'Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita". ISKCON Cinema, BBTI and other copyrighted material used with permission. To arrange public viewing please report to sdg@sdgonline.org and visit http://www.sdgonline.org

Can a Pure Devotee Have Personal Preferences?

Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami is saying that the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is just amazing, and the more one tries to logically understand it, the more amazing it is. I like to call this verse, the open invitation to the Caitanya Caritamrta. I see this verse as an important verse because it shows us the proper attitude by which we are meant to look at the life of Lord Caitanya. We are looking at his mercy and that is what we are trying to uncover, more and more.

TOVP: Cast Iron Grill Work.
Here is a finished ‘mock-up’ of the cast-iron grill design, made by our new CNC machine.
By hand, this would have taken more than a month to complete (without the precision), while by machine it only took 8 hours, (with perfect alignment).
So this machine is really a “God-sent”! It will be duplicated on the other side, so both sides will be exactly the same.
1 piece will weigh around 200 kgs. The next step is to make molds for casting.

A visit to New Godruma Dhama, Lanchang, Malaysia. (Album with photos)
Every year when the Sugam Karnatica organises their annual children farm retreat, I thank and appreciate the kids who have to be up early in morning and be on a one and a half hours 118KM ride. And as soon as they arrive at our farm they are to actively participate in bhajan, hearing Krishna pastimes, tree planting activities, farm walk, bathing cows, making dung patties etc. Seems tiring. Yet they come back every year. So I guess there must be some excitement. Otherwise why come back? But for most other city dwellers, farms and cows are simply not too exciting. Not important. Not urgent. For many parents and teachers, childhood and teenage times are simply too precious that to be spending time with mother nature and mother cows. In any case our city supermarkets are providing the necessary fruit, vegetables and milk. So what is the need to go see cows and be with nature? This selfishness is not uncommon nowadays. The Srimad Bhagavatam and all Vedic scriptures will never compromise stating the need to serve mother nature and cows. This is real knowledge.
Credit goes for the Sugam Karnatica group organisers, parents and teachers for not only encouraging their kids to come to the farm but to be also with them all through the day retreat. This year they even got the children to be dressed green, simply attractive. Without the teachers and responsible elders these children will be deprived of the exposure to farms and cows. These experiences actually build goodness in personalities. The number of video clips posted in the facebook depicting the loving affection between cows, animals and children are increasing. It is a sure sign that cows and nature have an important part in our lives, especially our children. In many countries it is becoming a trend that families and friends get out of the cities during holidays and spend their times with mother nature and ahimsa farms.
The Srimad- Bhagavatam describes in detail how Lord Krishna takes the cows and calves every morning to graze on the pastures of Govardhana Hill. There are hundreds of thousands of cows at the palace of Nanda Maharaja (Lord Krishna’s father), and each cow has her own name. Whenever Lord Krishna plays His flute and calls the cows by name, the cows, intelligent and affectionate, come running toward Him.
The Vedic literature enjoins us to satisfy the needs of the cows daily (with food, shelter, and so on) before we satisfy our own needs. This is how Aryans—civilized persons—should serve the cows.
Worshiping the cows: The Vedic scripture states that all the demigods and demigoddesses reside in the body of a cow. This explains why the body of a cow is divine and holy. If we worship Mother Cow, we attain the same material benefits we’d get by worshiping the demigods and demi-goddesses individually. The Garuda Purana says that anyone who has even once worshiped Mother Cow will be saved after death from the great suffering of hell (Naraka). Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, gave more importance to the worship of the cows than to the worship of the king of the demigods, Indra. Therefore in India even today many millions of pious Vedic followers worship Mother Cow at least once a year on Govardhana Puja day.
Protecting the cows: If we accept the cow as our mother, she deserves our veneration and love. And we should protect her from all dangers. In Vedic times it was the duty of everyone, especially kings, to protect the cows at all cost.
If you have some influence over children and youths, and more so parents, please take your time to talk to them and encourage them about farm activities during holidays. Please write to simheswara@zoho.com or just give me a call at 012-3798743 or to our farm manager Gopesa Govinda prabhu at 016-527 4001 to schedule farm visits. We will do our best to serve you. Thank you.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/0VwkTk

By Kesava Krsna Dasa

Just imagine the confusion, especially for our newcomers, well-wishers, younger devotees, and even for some senior devotees. Everybody who “loves” Srila Prabhupada, and is “loyal” to him, must be a bona-fide follower of his, or so it seems.

Out of the many thousands and millions of souls around the world who have been touched by Srila Prabhupada, either through his writings, recordings, inspirations, dreams and so on, can any of us define who are genuine followers or sympathisers, as opposed to those who claim to be? If so, is there a simple criterion for this, or does it stretch broadly to evade standard membership of Iskcon?

Being “loyal” to Srila Prabhupada can assume the guise of many shapes and forms. It can formulate procedures based upon slight pretexts, or continue decade’s long schemes that function against the wishes of our disclipic succession. There are some deviant groupings who vehemently claim that everybody else is also deviating from Srila Prabhupada’s express wishes. With everyone claiming to be right, and everybody else wrong, who is right?

For those whose faith in Srila Prabhupada is not yet fully established, these claims and counter claims of loyalty to him, can be bewildering, especially after being met by representatives of these groupings, or reading their productions. Their literature, web sites, preaching attempts (Yes, they want our membership) contain lots of photographs of him and words of praise. This all seems very nice.

But this is where the real test of authenticity should be applied. We should ask, “So, you are loyal to Srila Prabhupada…do you value his teachings, his aggregate teachings?” The obvious answer will be yes. Then probe further. “Do you value his followers who are members of ISKCON, who are cooperating together in spite of many challenges and difficulties?” At this point, though the representative appears to be meek and humble, he or she will probably engage in anti ISKCON rhetoric and aim personalised jibes at sincere devotees. It appears that Srila Prabhupada is used as a selling point after all.

One should try not to get lulled into something that uses our love and respect for Srila Prabhupada to possibly deviate us from his aggregate teachings. One certain way of attempting this is to speak ill of those we trust within Iskcon, make us lose our faith in them, then repose it into some system devised out of an inability to cooperate together, as Srila Prabhupada desired. This means getting lost somewhere.

There is a human behavioural phenomenon called – atmavan manyate jagat – “Everyone thinks of others according to his own position.” (Prabhupada quote) Because members of certain groupings accuse everybody else of being wrong and unfaithful to Srila Prabhupada, it can be a reflection of one’s own unfaithfulness. It is strange how loyalty to Srila Prabhupada can produce splinters of separated loyalty.

We should be mindful that there is a large swathe of devotees and well-wishers, sometimes called the “Silent Majority.” These are members or former members of Iskcon who at present have no active involvement in service. Some of them left for personal reasons, and others are waiting perhaps, for change, or favourable situations before getting involved again. Many of them feel they have outlived their usefulness for Iskcon which can be very disempowering. With proper affection they should be encouraged to come back with vigour and experience. This majority generally wants Iskcon to reach its full potential. Most of these do not fall into the deviancy bracket.

For those who are uncertain, or who are wondering who is truly loyal, some information is required. This information should help discern matters more clearly simply by covering one aspect of our preeminent siksa guru’s aggregate teachings – our parampara. It is known that all of our good fortune in receiving mercy needed for advancement in Krishna consciousness comes through our disclipic succession. Srila Prabhupada in his last days called this disclipic succession a law, or “…the law of disclipic succession.” Why is it a law? Because it is not a man-made succession.

“Lord Krishna said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god…” (BG 4.1) This science is – avyayam – or imperishable. Lord Krishna was genuinely concerned about keeping this law intact, otherwise how else will the mercy flow? “One who follows the disclipic succession of acaryas knows things as they are.” (Chandogya Upanisad 6.14.2)

There is a common argument given by certain deviant groups, who claim that because Srila Prabhupada is a Maha-Bhagavat pure devotee, he is able to do any unprecedented thing, which includes ending our disclipic succession with him, because there are supposedly no qualified souls to continue the succession. Those who are familiar with his way of debating with scientific arguments will know that he usually referred to “natural laws” that cannot be reversed, because they originate from Krishna Himself. This law of disclipic succession is not an exception to the rule. Yet the claim is made that Srila Prabhupada did this, as an exception to the rule.

If Lord Krishna was concerned enough to say, “But in course of time the succession was broken…and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost,” so why would Srila Prabhupada oppose this sacred law? If we refer again to the, “Everyone thinks of others according to his own position,” we can suspect that someone who cannot cooperate as desired by our founder acarya, and who generally criticises with outbreaks of bitterness and scorn, are thinking that Srila Prabhupada thinks like themselves.

If Srila Prabhupada thinks like them then one can make it appear that Srila Prabhupada can do anything, and violate the sacred law of our disclipic succession. One can also presume to justify any deviation and say, “It is Prabhupada’s desire.” By the way, if anyone has the power to revoke this sacred law, it has to be God Himself, but He would never do this, as Krishna already explained. Given a short amount of time, Srila Prabhupada could be raised to the status of God by such “loyal” followers.

This information is the necessary knowledge and forewarning needed to receive mercy, otherwise, “If one is not is not actually connected with a bona-fide disclipic succession, whatever mantras he chants will not bring the desired result.” (Padma Purana)

To cooperate together as devotees can be difficult at times. But this desire of Srila Prabhupada to work together contains the power of mercy. This desire or plea has inherent within it the command to enable us to tell right from wrong, even if our paths are strewn with thorns. Who ever said our paths in Krishna consciousness would be easy? To try to become part of the solution with true loyalty is better than getting lost in comfort.

Your servant, Kesava Krsna Dasa – GRS.

Krishna is possessed of an unlimited intellect (84.22) Krishna is inaccessible to sensuous knowledge (16.46). Krishna is the Lord of the infinity of worlds (69.17). Krishna wields the power of creating the unlimited (87.28). Krishna carries the impress of limitless power (87.14). Krishna is possessed of inconceivable potency (10 .29). Krishna is unborn (59.28, 74.21). Krishna solves all heterogeneous views (74.24). Krishna is vanquished by exclusive devotion (14.3). Krishna is the Inner Guide (l.17)· Krishna is the Withholder of the energy of the wicked (60.19) . Krishna is the Giver of salvation to jivas that are free from vanity (86.48). Krishna ordains the worldly course of conceited jivas (86.48). Krishna is Primal God (Deva) (40.1). Krishna is Primal Person (Purusha) (63.38). Krishna is an overwhelming flood of bliss (83.4). Krishna possesses fulfilled desire (47.46). Krishna is self-delighted (60.20). Krishna is the opponent of the sensuous (60.35). Continue reading "Krishna is…
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Everybody has found their way to the Internet; practically every belief, interest, desire, and product has some representation on the Web. It is therefore not surprising that Gaudiya Vaishnavas have also made their way into the online village. After all, with a spiritual aspiration culminating in a bucolic life, one would expect us to gravitate towards village settings, and in this case—for better or for worse—we have. The prospect of Gaudiya Vedanta circulating throughout the global village and thereby reaching people of every background is wonderful. Such an opportunity would no doubt make Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati’s brhat-mrdunga reverberate with sounds of joy. But as with any medium one might employ in promoting spiritual life, the Internet is a double-edged sword, and unfortunately, many of those who have a hand on the hilt are swinging—and thinking—in the wrong direction. Fortunately, within the Gaudiya tradition one need not look hard for examples of how to properly conduct him or herself in a village (even a global one). Continue reading "Global Village Talk
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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, known for her devotion to Lord Krishna, welcomed India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the U.S Capitol. As part of a select committee of lawmakers that welcomed and escorted the Prime Minister to the House Floor, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard thanked the Prime Minister for his commitment to strengthening the U.S.-India friendship, which will help us grow our economies, strengthen our security partnership in the fight against terrorism, and pursue other areas of common ground. Following the Prime Minister’s address to Congress, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard released the following statement:
“Prime Minister Modi began his visit to the United States by meeting with President Obama, where they recommitted themselves to strengthening the U.S.-India partnership. President Obama said in 2014 that our friendship with India is the defining partnership of the 21st century. The Prime Minister’s fourth visit to the United States in just two years signifies just how important the burgeoning relationship between our countries is as we continue to address the many challenges that face our nations today—strengthening our economies, promoting renewable clean energy, protecting our planet, improving cyber security, and combating terrorism.
“As the world’s oldest and largest democracies, the United States and India have long shared many mutual goals of peace, stability, and economic growth. Prime Minister Modi highlighted the progress our countries have made by partnering in business, national security, and renewable energy. U.S. bilateral trade with India has grown to nearly $100 billion over 15 years—a nearly five-fold increase—and India trades more with the U.S. today than with any other country. Similarly, India remains one of our strongest partners in the region in the fight against terrorism. India conducts more security-related exercises with the U.S. than any other country.
“As we look to the potential that lies ahead, the commitment of our countries to grow and strengthen our ties is critical as we work together towards furthering our shared values and interests.“
Yesterday, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard joined Members of Congress, U.S. Government Officials, Members of the Indian Government, and top U.S. and Indian business leaders to welcome Prime Minister Modi at the U.S. India Business Council’s (USIBC) 41st Annual Leadership Summit.
In December 2014, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard visited India at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi to promote U.S. and Hawaii interests. During her visit, the congresswoman travelled to seven major Indian cities, and met with the Prime Minister and other government and defense officials, business leaders, among others. During her visit, the congresswoman also advocated for the development of a sister-state partnership between Goa and Hawaiʻi, which was adopted by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in April 2016.

Another “transcendental time bomb” explodes and generates its benevolent effects.
Vijaya Dasa: On my way to take prasada at a devotee’s house, I asked him how he joined. This is what he had to say:
“When I was seventeen, I started asking the big questions about life and reading books on philosophy. My father observed this and told me that he’d gotten a book ten years ago from the Hare Krsnas — it was in the attic. So I went up there and found the Bhagavad Gita, very dusty. I brought it down to my room, wiped off the dust, and started reading it. I was thinking it was from another dimension, the most amazing book I’d ever read. Then I moved to Czech Republic. While in Czech I met a devotee, and he distributed to me the abridged version of the Lilamrta. When I read that, that was it — I just wanted to be a devotee. So I found out where the temple was and joined. A year later I asked my father where he got the Gita. He said he had worked as a carpenter and the devotees hired him to build a stage for a festival. After the job was finished they gave him a Bhagavad Gita. He put it in the attic and it was collecting dust for ten years. Like a transcendental time bomb, it was ticking away waiting to explode when I picked it up.” When I went back to Ukraine to visit my father I told him about what I had read in the Bhagavad Gita. He liked what he heard and also started chanting 16 rounds.
Another devotee in Czech got a book somehow. His kitchen table was not properly balanced so he put the Science of Self Realization under the leg to make the table level. It was under a table leg for eleven years until he was moving to another place. When he picked up the book, he read the cover and thought that it sounded interesting. So he read it, and he is now a brahmacari in the temple in Brno.
The moral is: Just get the books out, because we don’t know how, when, or where Krsna’s mystic directions are going to change people’s heart and bring them to Krsna.
Your servant,
Vijaya Dasa

The post Discussion with Danavira 14, on his morning Bhagavatm class in NVD appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Highlights from a class and other notes from the diary of a travelling sadhaka.
Kripamoya Prabhu: One disciple asked Srila Prabhupada, “I am right in assuming that although your first organization was called ‘League of Devotees’ that you in fact were the only member?”
Srila Prabhupada laughed, and said, “You are right. I was the only one.”
If I fainted from the heat in Delhi, if I were gored by a bull, and if no one joined the institution I created, I would have given up, but not Srila Prabhupada. If I got two heart attacks on the ship, I would have given up.
It is not that Srila Prabhupada did not suffer. The glory of Srila Prabhupada that he did what he did despite the difficulties.
No one really came to Krishna consciousness because they like institutions.
Many people like Srila Prabhupada, but fewer like Srila Prabhupada’s organization.
The village, the company, and the extended family are natural divisions. Cities are an invention by wealthy capitalists.
When I joined ISKCON there were about forty people. Yet for six years, my world was four people traveling in a van and selling books.
I was at a meeting of about eighteen people, and Prabhupada was talking about book distribution. He began by looking at everyone in the room and then said, “Thank you very much for helping me spread my mission.”
I would say that 95% of our members are nice devotees, and let us say, the multi-colored patchwork history we have had, are due to other 5%.
Prabhupada made Kirtanananda a swami and sent him to preach in London, and instead of going to London, he went to New York and preached his own brand of Krishna consciousness without sikhas and without robes.
Srila Prabhupada considered, “If ISKCON fails, I want my books always in print, so that it can be recreated by those who read my books.” Thus Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was separately incorporated.
The British aristocracy was the object of the preaching of the Gaudiya Matha whereas Srila Prabhupada preached to confused young people.
Srila Prabhupada encouraged everyone to practice bhakti – men, women, everyone.
Iggy Pop was one of the first people to buy a set of Srimad-Bhagavatams directly from Srila Prabhupada’s hands.
Srila Prabhupada was attractive to all kinds of people, although he remained unchanged. [He did not have to present himself differently to attract a variety of people.]
Many devotees say that they felt that Srila Prabhupada had all the time in the world for them. We should at least try to make people feel we have all the time in the world for them. One reason is Srila Prabhupada realized we should not lose people.
If Prabhupada was angry with someone, when he was finished dealing with that person, and he dealt with someone else, he was free from anger and dealt with that next person according to his relationship with him.
When Srila Prabhupada came to the Manor for the last time, he treated his disciples with great affection instead of being the stern founder-acarya.
In 1992 we set up a Sannyasa Ministry to analyze the chance of devotees remaining celibate for life. Since then we have had only one or two minor issues with sannyasis.
In communist times about 28 devotees were lost to the communists, who tortured and killed them.
The devotees have the land permissions and the money to build a temple in Moscow, but the Church and Mafia are in cahoots to keep them from building a temple for twenty years. Still, in Russia we have festivals with 14,000 people.
We have our first Eskimo devotee now in Yellowknife in Northern Canada from getting a book and reading it.
In the early days in Dublin, the magistrate charged the devotees with two things:
1. Making noise in public.
2. Being dressed in such a way as to frighten the public.
In Australia someone from Time-Life joined ISKCON. He said, “I can change your image overnight.” He created a magazine showing the best of Hare Krishna with happy children and kangaroos, and we printed 1.5 million and we inserted them into Sunday papers, etc. And it did change our image overnight. We ended up having a preaching center for every million people, fourteen million people and fourteen preaching centers.
In ISKCON, there has been a great influx of people but there is also an outflux of people. Why? We have not done two things that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to do:
1. Look after people.
2. Develop living situations where people can live.
Our success depends on how we can retain our members.
Be real. Keep track of the people you meet. One vicar told me that he spends most of his time looking after his members. There is one lady I looked after for twenty-two years before she took initiation.
I have left ISKCON many times. But then I would wake up the next morning and decide to carry on. The reasons I am staying now are different from those when I was seventeen.
You will be judged by how many people you looked after in your life.
Try and look after people, about twenty. Have a few friends. Do not tell them what to do. Just be their friends. Have two or three people looking after you.
From a lecture called “The Reluctant Preacher”:
If no one speaks to strangers, then the movement will not move.
I was absolutely convinced that the world would be saved by 1979. But it did not happen, so I postponed it to 1985.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses would predict the end of the world, and then, when it would not come, without any embarrassment, they would update it.
We are good at broadcasting our message through book distribution and harinama.
A farmer has to cultivate and have scarecrows to scare away those who nibble away the seedlings. We are lacking in these.
Many a slip twixt cup and lip.
We have remote gurus and disciples, and people are lacking in systematic education.
Often we lose devotees three or four years after initiation. We are so used to people coming and going, we are not too concerned about it.
Anyone committed to this movement should take a vow to let no one drift away.
One follower of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura drifted away. Bhaktisiddhanta inquired about that devotee. The other devotees said he had disappeared. They were planning to open a temple, but Bhaktisiddhanta refused to open the temple until they found that devotee. They looked all over Madras and found him in the back of a watchmaker’s shop. They explained that Bhaktisiddhanta did not want to open the temple until he returned. The devotee was so touched by his guru’s concern that he never again left.
Preaching is to exhort someone to a higher level of spiritual and moral behavior.
The ritualization of spiritual emotion should keep pace with our actual development of real spiritual emotions, otherwise it seems artificial and people are only willing to do it for so long.
One lady wrote a book about compassion and how to develop it because it is there in all religions and this society does not teach it but just the opposite.
The sannyasa danda is an emblem of compassion and is just the opposite of the selfie stick, which increases ego.
The glue that keeps society together is compassion.
I did not join the Hare Krishna movement but began living with some ex-hippies on a Beatles estate.
Even if we are “faking it till we make it,” if we allow ourselves to used as instruments of compassion, the Lord will work through us.
We are a religion that requires a high commitment of faith. This has to be developed gradually.
Krishna consciousness is beyond all religious designations. We are coming with a transcendental message, that we are transcendental and our transcendental nature can be experienced through transcendental sound vibration.
I had a friend who had a Ph.D. in physics and a spiritual urge. He took the train from England to Japan, and spent months in three Buddhists monasteries which all left him dissatisfied. He returned to London, but despondent. He prayed to God, “You know that I do not think you exist, but if do you exist, give me a sign.” The next day, he met the devotees, and he was attracted. They said he could come stay in their temple. He had great conviction because the Lord fulfilled his prayer, and he convinced many people to become devotees.
Whether you feel it or not, you do it because it is the guru’s order.
It takes a long time to bring one to Krishna consciousness.
One person encountered Hare Krishna when she was working at “Top of the Pops” when the devotees were on the show in 1969. Just recently she became a devotee.
We must become willing to extend ourselves to at least ten people. Write their names down and never forget them.
The individual reaching out with compassion is the Krishna consciousness movement.
We have to establish connection with people so they become new members.
We have to care for the people who become new members.
Q (by Radhika Nagara Prabhu): So many of our members have left. Should we do something to help them?
A: Srila Prabhupada would always want us to make some endeavor to bring them back. There is an attrition rate because people have different needs, and we are not always expert in meeting people’s needs as they go through their stages of life. Krishna recognizes the changing needs and created varnasrama. Prabhupada found that people would come and eat in our restaurants, but not our temples. Then we had 100 temples, and he said we had enough temples, and he said we should start doing more restaurants.
About 50% of interested people actually come to meetings. Some people just do not like meetings, but they like the practice.
In 1934, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura set up a system with 18 sannyasis, then some maha-upadesikas, looking after upadesikas, and each of those looking after group of devotees.
The real question is “Who is helping you in your spiritual life?” It is not “Who is your guru?” Everyone should have someone looking after his spiritual welfare. Without guidance, there is no impetus for movement.
People join groups because they get something they need, and they leave groups because do not get what they need.
When ISKCON meets the needs of a family man, such as residence and education for children, we will retain many more people.
Srila Prabhupada said in a purport in Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, “Right now the future devotees of the Krishna consciousness movement are living in every town and village, and it is up to the present members to find them.”
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