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May 21. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Images of His Divine Grace.
Two of my favorite pictures from my “wallet”:
one shows Prabhupada
standing beside the birdbath
in the courtyard at 26 Second Avenue.
He is stout and strong, wrapped in big swathes
of khadi cloth. It’s a formal pose,
with japa-mala, from the early years
of strong health when Swamiji
played the drum 3 hours in the park.
You can worship his feet in gray shoes.
The other photo is also formal:
Prabhupada sitting with his 3 Bhagavatams,
with japa-mala, much cloth wrapped around,
and an almost sad, compassionate gaze.
I’ve shown two photos from my wallet.
And I wish to show 30 million more …
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=8

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.14

“When Krishna comes home from the pasturing grounds in the late afternoon, his body is covered in the dust from the hooves of the cows and calves as they walk before him. The residents of Vrindavan see that Krishna’s beauty is enhanced by the dust and beads of perspiration that decorate His body. Every element enhances the beauty of Krishna. Similarly, when the devotees see Lord Nrsimhadeva splattered with the blood from Hiranyakasipu, they think that the splattering of blood enhances the beauty of Lord Nrsimahadeva. The relationship between the devotees and the Lord is very beautiful. We can see from this incident how seriously the Lord takes an offence against His devotee.”

Nrsimha-caturdasi, Kirtan, Houston
Nrsimha-caturdasi, Talk, Houston

Lord Nrsimha is the incarnation of Lord Krsna that appeared to protect his young devotee Prahlada.

He appeared as half-man half-lion and killed the envious, atheistic demon, Hiranyakashipu who was materialism personified (hiran-gold, kasipu-soft bed). Devotees pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva for protection and to kill their material desires.

Lord Nrsimha’s appearance celebration was observed nicely at the Bhakti Tree in Newcastle where many guests attended to chant and feast.

Written by Nimai

After leaving Vrindavan, Kadamba Kanana Swami flew from Delhi to Coimbatore in South India (06 May), where he was warmly received by a group of devotees who had all come to the airport to meet him for the first time. We didn’t drive to the temple though, but made our way straight to the hospital instead. This is where we would spend the next three weeks, at the AVP Ayurvedic clinic.

The hospital is a nice, green place with a temple close to the rooms of the patients. They worship the form of Lord Vishnu which is called Dhanvantari and they say without this worship, the treatment does not work! We got a double room which happened to be right next to the temple. Coinciding with the start of our stay at the hospital, a 40 year anniversary celebration of the hospital was underway and every day a group of drummers played for many hours. In the evenings, there were performances by other musical groups as well and lots of visitors came. There was a big elephant procession on the final day, with a parade of people dressed up in different forms of the Lord – the most outstanding of all was Lord Nrsimhadev!

Shortly thereafter, the main treatment began. Until then, they had been building up Maharaj’s immune system. Now, six people come in the morning to massage Maharaj. There are many rules for the patient which come with the treatment. Maharaj is not allowed to be on the phone for longer periods of time or even leave the room AT ALL. He is not allowed to read, watch videos, do any kind of exercise, answer mails or sleep during the daytime. One may think of Maharaj as a rebel, but he actually follows everything very strictly. The hospital provides his meals, part of it are tasteless boiled bananas but Maharaj still takes it nonetheless.

There are two very nice devotees, Bhakta Vatsala and his sister Nan Biharini from Pune, who arranged most of our stay here and have been very helpful in general. During the day Maharaj speaks to us about all kinds of different things. Sometimes it is more personal and sometimes it is like a Bhagavad-gita class. We also heard about Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes in Jagannatha Puri and other things from the CC. The staff here are really friendly, and doctors as well as cleaning crew refer to Maharaj as “Swamiji”. They are very respectful and appreciate Maharaj’s singing too which he does in his room. A few days after our arrival, HH Bhaktivinod Swami came to visit. He’s a very nice person with a good vibe and spends a lot of time in Coimbatore. He told us, that HH Radhanatha Swami also stayed in this room once, some years ago.

Kadamba Kanana Swami’s stay at the hospital will continue until the end of this month…

Today is the most auspicious appearance of Lord Narasimha Bhagavan who mercifully came just to protect His five year old devotee Prahalada. On this day, I fervently pray at His divine Lotus feet of the Lord to remove all obstacles that is in my heart causing me to be distant from the Lord. Haribol!

oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya
namas tejas-tejase āvir-āvirbhava
vajra-nakha vajra-daṁṣṭra karmāśayān randhaya randhaya tamo grasa grasa om svāhā;
abhayam abhayam ātmani bhūyiṣṭhā oṁ kṣraum.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possess nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demon like desires for fruitive (selfish) activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world. - SB 5.18.8

Hare Krishna

Lord Nrisimhadeva’s divine appearance day celebration is certainly one of my favorite occasions, and I am sure I am not alone in this. Our Christian friends are fond of quoting the Bible that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” [John 3.16] and we could also say that God so loved his pure devotee in the world that he personally descended to give him all protection.

To this day devotees feel protected by this form of Krishna and pray to him to slay their “anarthas” or unwanted habits of thinking and acting, just as the Lord slayed Hiryanakashipu, the tormentor of his devotee, Shri Prahlad. While Gaudiya Vaishnavas can agree to having great faith in one’s particular agent of Divinity or conception of God—even thinking their path and face of God is the best—Vedic scriptures point to a more inclusive God that reciprocates according to one’s faith, and doesn’t condone fanaticism or war in the name of faith. There is only one God, though like a gem with many facets, the one God has unlimited expansions. “As they surrender to me, I proportionally reciprocate with them.” [Bhagavad Gita 4.11]

The “one path” to be celebrated would be pure devotion and not merely the externals of worship or which name of God one favors which, unfortunately, religionists fight over. How God reciprocates with those who worship him is expressed in many different forms in the religious world and to different degrees of purity. This is to be celebrated as the mercy of the Lord and the types of devotion that exist.

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Naperville is Celebrating the 50 Years of Founder’s Journey.
Fifty years ago, on August 13, 1965, a lone elderly pilgrim and teacher, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami boarded the cargo ship in Calcutta, India for the one month sea voyage to New York City. While it was not unusual for immigrants from India to head to the US, what separated Swamji was the mission that urged him onward.
More than forty years before, during their first meeting, Swamjs guru had instructed him to spread the message of Lord Krishna to the English speaking world. Thus, after a lifetime of preparation, at the age of 69, Bhaktivedanta Swami, later to be known as Srila Prabhupada, left for the New World not seeking riches, but to teach and distribute the greatest wealth of India and the East—knowledge of God, or “Krishna Consciousness”.
Today, fifty years later members of the society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and other admirers and followers around the world will be honoring this unique spiritual teacher and his achievements on August 13th, 2016.
Several community leaders, Academicians, Businesses professionals, and Naperville community in general will be joining us to celebrate the festivities. The celebration will include a brief presentation about ISKCON’s 50 year journey, cultural programs, and free delicious vegetarian feast for everyone in the Matea valley high school auditorium, Aurora IL. The invitation is open to all supporters, well-wishers and general public. Please visit www.iskconnaperville.org for more information and rsvp.

“Prahlad Maharaja prayed to Lord Nrsimhadeva that he forgive his father all his horrible activities and liberate him. This shows the saintly nature of a pure devotee—he is a friend to everyone. He doesn’t become the enemy of his enemy but he is a friend even to his enemy. Lord Nrsimhadeva replied. ‘Because of your taking birth in this family, twenty-one generations of your family are liberated.’ Devotees are naturally kind-heated. But, often when they take up the path of devotional service their parents might not like it. The devotee, being kind-hearted, does not want to cause pain to his relatives and loved ones. But, at the same time he cannot deny his calling as a soul to the service to the Supreme. So, this is an assurance to the devotee that even if one’s family members are not happy that one has become a devotee, just by virtue of becoming a surrendered soul, the family members all benefit. There are so many instances of parents of devotees having a very auspicious time of death. Srila Prabhupada said. ‘The parents of my disciples will realize their good fortune at the time of their passing away even if they don’t realize it during their lifetime.”

Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Appearance, Dallas

On Saturday, May 7, Radhanath Swami spoke before a capacity crowd at The Rubin Museum of Art in New York City. The Rubin Museum is dedicated to the preservation of the art and cultures of the Himalayas, India and neighboring regions. On the eve of the release of his upcoming book The Journey Within, Radhanath Swami was interviewed by yoga teacher and social activist, Dana Flynn on the topic of how to live spiritually through yoga in an increasingly materialistic and impersonal world.

Following the discussion Radhanath Swami took questions from the audience and then the speakers were joined onstage by Ananta Govinda Das, Acyuta Gopi and Govinda Jones, engaging the audience in an uplifting kirtan to conclude the event. One pleasant surprise was that an early shipment of copies of The Journey Within arrived and quickly sold out at the museum’s gift shop. After the talk Radhanath Swami met guests and signed books. Below are excerpts from the evening’s talk.

On Renunciation

I would like to give a little analogy which is from an ancient story.

There is the crane, which is a bird that stands on one leg in a stream of water and watches so many little fish that are swimming by. The crane continues to patiently stand there watching until finally a big fish swims by – and then he snaps it up. Now what does this mean?

If we want that higher, bigger thing in life we can’t be distracted by all the little things in life that will inevitable come. Dr. Cornel West, when I was sitting on the stage with him, used a beautiful example of how in this world we are constantly being bombarded with weapons of mass distraction.

And what is renunciation? Its not about getting proud and arrogant that “I can eat less than you”, or “I can sleep less than you”, or “I can be more celibate than you”. Real renunciation is becoming humble and giving up one’s false ego. And to not be distracted by all these little things can come into our life. Because most of the things we fuss over, crave for, and are in a state of disturbance and anxiety about are little things that are not really worth our time and energy. But when we are not focused on something bigger then inevitably the little distractions consume us.

So when we really focus on the higher meanings and purpose, the higher truths in life, and when we have good people there to help us to remain focused, we can live with integrity even despite the storms of temptations and fears. We can live with character. And we can live in a spirit of service to Krishna, to God and to each other and not be distracted by all these things.

And the Gita explains the way to protect ourselves from being distracted by all little things and thinking they are big things is to act on whats really important in our life, on our self realization. And we adjust all the little things and focus on the bigger issues. And that can be applied on so many levels. As a parent, a spiritual seeker, in our work place, to unite on the sacred issues that are always there.

I will give an example of a seed that later grew into a spiritual understanding. When I was about 8 years old I was sitting alone with my mother and she told me “Everyone loves your father and everyone loves your mother, but we don’t love each other. We are going to separate.” I was so hurt and ran off and hid somewhere. When my father came home my mother and father went to their bedroom and talked about what happened. And they said, “for the sake of our children we are going to make this work. We have so many little disturbances and problems but for a higher reason we are going to make this work.” And they did, and it wasn’t easy. I saw over the years, because they had a higher principle they were willing to adjust the little details. Afterwards they were so loyal and loving to each other, on such a wonderful level, that when my mother passed away they had just celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary.

From a spiritual prospective, when I came to Vrindavan and I learned about Krishna and I met my guru and found my spiritual path, I understood that to apply all of this on all levels of life is so important. Because whats really important and meaningful and purposeful and spiritual is what is going to eventually give us the deepest satisfaction.

On Practicing Spiritual Life in a Modern Urban Setting

Question: For one who can’t leave their corporate job or urban life or study in India, what do you think is the best practical advice is for someone to follow the spiritual path?

Answer: The spiritual path is not about changing our occupation or our dress or the location where we reside, its about changing our heart and through changing our heart, changing our prospective of the world.

Some principles in our tradition are very effective:

Satsang – to associate with people who help us to remain focused on these higher principles and who inspire us. Who help us to keep the compass of the choices we make in a direction in which we come closer to God and grow.

Sadhana – to put some time aside everyday, some very quality time to connect with our own being, our soul, with God and the peace and love that is within us. We chant God’s names through meditation, prayer, puja or some devotional activity. In the bhakti tradition, asana and pranayama, if they are focused in our consciousness as offerings of body, mind and soul to the Supreme, then they become bhakti too. So in that way, we tune into that grace within ourselves. Through that enlivening company, through that time with spiritual practice, then the wealth we receive there we apply to our life by living with character, morality and integrity by living in the spirit of service. And I have seen some of the most saintly people, who are CEO’s of corporations and I have seen saintly people who are monks too.

My guru Srila Prabhupada was living in New York City in 1966 and he was 70 years old then and his students were mainly teenagers in the beginning. One of his students took him for a walk and they came to a part of New York City where there was trash all over the streets and rats fighting over the trash. It really was pathetic scene. They were really ashamed and apologized. But he replied, “Don’t you see? New York City is the spiritual world, you just don’t have the eyes to see it.” Even when we see these difficulties, when we see how I can make a difference to these peoples lives, how I can have compassion, then we are seeing the spiritual world. And New York City has a lot of opportunities on so many levels. So if we have that mood of service and inner connection then whatever our profession and wherever we may be we can see the opportunity to express our love and that is where real happiness is, in the heart.

On Gurus

Question: I feel in todays world the concept of guru has vanished. Where have all the guru’s gone? There is the spiritual concept of a spiritual seeker finding a guru but I feel those shoes are empty. Who do we look to today to fill that void?

Answer: Ultimately God is the supreme guru and the guru’s of this world are humble messengers of that supreme guru. In the bhakti tradition the guru does not claim to be God but to be the representative who is helping to bring us to God by repeating God’s message especially through their example and words. In our tradition the concept of lineage is very important. And there is a simple saying that by the mercy of Krishna, or by the mercy of God, one gets a guru and by the mercy of guru one gets God. If we are sincere the Lord is within our hearts, then a divine power beyond ourselves makes a connection. Any time in world history God can make that connection.

Question: Sometimes it feels like there is a spiritual casualty that you are not really getting what you are seeking. Everyone is ready to take this journey within and willing to do the work but we can only go so far on our own and want someone to shine our light on our path.

Answer: I can speak from my own experience. I was seeking that light in so many ways and at a certain time in my spiritual evolution I understood how important it was to have a teacher and a path that I could really put my heart into. And when I met my guru Srila Prabhupada it was natural. I could feel his love for God and I could feel he could open my heart to receive God’s love. And the philosophy he spoke of was so inclusive and made so much sense. I wanted to follow and I wanted to assist. And that was my calling in life.

When we really have a connection, when we find teachers, when we find a community, when we find a path that we are confident will not make us a sectarian person but will actually open my heart to God’s love – when we experience that then we start to see the teachings of Krishna or God and our guru in so many people and so many incidents that happen. The Bible says, seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door will open. Whats really important is that we are sincerely seeking and then our beloved within our hearts will reveal that to us.

And in the Vedic context there are three principles, guru, sadhu and sastra. Guru means one who just is not a charismatic person, but a person who’s teachings are and behavior are exemplifying the conclusions of the sacred text as it has been understood and practiced by enlightened people throughout history. And those three are inseparable – the teachers, the holy text and the line of great people throughout history. When we find that harmony we can invest our faith and our trust.

On the Disheartening State of the World

Question: Growing closer to God and becoming more humble is imaginable to me, but when I look around us as a human race I have a question are we able to collectively do this and move forward?

Answer: From a spiritual prospective I would like to address your question and your genuine concern. There was a great saint, his name was Bhaktivinode Thakur, who lived in the latter part of the 19th century in Bengal. At the time that India was under British rule. He was a magistrate, a judge in the courtroom, and he had ten children. His wife was saintly just like him. Thousands of villagers, monks, British scholars, came for spiritual guidance from him because he was saintly and he cared so much. He was such a compassionate person. If he sentenced a person to prison, usually that person would thank him. “If you are telling me to do this then it must be the best thing.” That was what a caring and enlightened person he was.

He wrote something very important – that where there is the greatest need there is the greatest opportunity to serve.

So there is a lot of need in the world and humanity is fractured on most every level. In the name of a loving God there is so much hatred. In the name of service to the nation there is so much unnecessary political fighting and the people are the ones who are suffering. In the name of humanity a few people are getting richer, and more and more people are suffering poverty. Every living being is equally dependent on the gifts of Mother Earth and whenever one of us pollute her it is violence towards all living beings. So there are a lot of ecological problems and problems on every level. But as one famous person said, “Be the change you want to see in this world”. That is something you have the power to do. We may not have the power immediately to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves. If we can change ourselves and transform arrogance into humility, greed into generosity, indifference into compassion – if we can work in what little way we can, we can make a difference in the world. If we can inspire one person towards that spiritual awareness, its glorious! We should never be discouraged. And each one of us can begin with ourselves to try to do what we can genuinely. Then we are really part of make a beautiful difference in the world.

Photos by Maksim Brenner, Ananta Cuffee and Kaustubha Das

US-based alt-pop/trip-hop collective, AOA (Astronauts Of Antiquity) debut their single, ‘Paradise’, due for official release May 21st, 2016. This date coincides with the March Against Monsanto phenomenon taking place in major cities worldwide.

Newly Appointed Professor Talks Scholarship’s Role in Vaishnavism.
Professor Ravi M. Gupta (Radhika Ramana Das) is the newly appointed Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies, and Director of the Religious Studies Program at Utah State University.
It’s a prestigious position that brings to mind a gruff, silver-bearded elder. But Radhika Ramana flips that idea on its head. At a youthful 34, he’s got a beaming smile of pearly whites and a full head of black hair. He’s also disarmingly unpretentious despite his astonishing academic journey.
Homeschooled by his mother Aruddha Dasi at his home in Boise, Idaho, Radhika followed a highly unconventional curriculum based mostly on Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam, from which he learned reading, writing, comprehension, grammar, and critical thinking skills.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/mUA437

A Special Welcome!
Indradyumna Swami: Last week In St. Petersburg, Russia we held an initiation ceremony welcoming devotees into our Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya, under the auspice of our beloved Srila Prabhupada. It was a joyous occasion which we celebrated with ecstatic chanting and dancing to the Lord’s holy names. All glories to the samkirtan movement of Lord Caitanya, presently flooding the great country of Russia with causeless mercy!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/FjluhR

ISKCON-Delhi - Sri Narasimha Chaturdashi Maha Abhishek: 20-05-2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s transcendental mission is to distribute love of Godhead to everyone. Anyone who accepts God as the Supreme can take to the process of chanting Hare Krishna and become a lover of God. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 4.41 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/lyrbcp

Our Founder, Srila Prabhupada, said that the love a mother has for her child is the closest thing to pure love in this world. We will examine that love as it manifested in famous mothers in the Vedic tradition as well as how it still manifests today. From a Sunday lecture in ISKCON of DC

Professor Ravi M. Gupta (Radhika Ramana Das) is the newly appointed Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies, and Director of the Religious Studies Program at Utah State University. It’s a prestigious position that brings to mind a gruff, silver-bearded elder. But Radhika Ramana flips that idea on its head. At a youthful 34, he’s got a beaming smile of pearly whites and a full head of black hair. He’s also disarmingly unpretentious despite his astonishing academic journey.

Prabhupada said, “If you don’t want to help, I will help.”
Mahakratu: I cooked every day, but early one morning Shakti Mati, a fierce Punjabi lady and a renowned cook, invaded the kitchen and decided that she was cooking Prabhupada’s breakfast.
I said, “Okay, you can do it,” and I went to the morning program and class. Shakti Mati had a group of brahmacharinis with her, and together they cooked a huge feast.
Later, Niragadeva and I came to the kitchen with two big silver platters and loaded them with the different preparations.
We went into Srila Prabhupada’s room, and Prabhupada’s eyes got really big. I put one plate down in front of him, and he said, “You have cooked all this?”
I said, “Oh, no, Srila Prabhupada, not me.” He looked at Brahmananda and said, “Who has cooked this? Shakti Mati?” and they both started laughing.
Then Prabhupada gave everyone—Chayavana, Brahmananda, Niragadeva, and me—a handful of prasadam.
He said, “You take this, distribute the rest, and then come back, and I’ll tell you what I want for breakfast.” He actually wanted local fruits.
He said, “The fruits in Kenya are excellent,” and that’s what he wanted everyday. He also specifically said that he wanted me to make his breakfast. He said, “I want you to do it.”
Prabhupada got angry when he found out that I was doing all the cooking without any help.
Everybody else wanted to be in his classes and go on his morning walks, so I was alone in the kitchen cooking for the Deities, the devotees, and Srila Prabhupada as well. It was quite a strain.
One day we ran out of gas, and Prabhupada’s offering wasn’t getting cooked. Nothing was getting cooked. By that time I was completely stressed. It was too much for me.
Prabhupada told Harikesh to find out what I was doing. Harikesh told Prabhupada, “The kitchen has run out of gas,” and this and that.
Prabhupada said, “Why? Who is helping Mahakratu?” Harikesh explained that I was doing it all by myself. I had to arrange everything and cook as well.
Srila Prabhupada said to Harikesh, “You help cook. I didn’t realize that Mahakratu was under so much burden.”
Harikesh helped for a while but walked out when some matajis came into the kitchen.
When he went back to Prabhupada’s room, Prabhupada asked him, “Why aren’t you helping in the kitchen?”
Harikesh said, “There’s matajis in there. Mahakratu can manage.” Srila Prabhupada got up and said, “I’ll go and help him then. If you don’t want to help, I will help.” In this way Prabhupada was very merciful.
Some Gaudiya Math brahmacharis were cooking a big feast outside, and I was watching them.
Then, all of a sudden, Prabhupada walked up holding his cane, stood a little behind me, and looked also.
I didn’t realize he was there. I turned around, and there was Prabhupada. I offered my obeisances, and Prabhupada said,
“If you can learn to cook like this, you can win the whole world. These Gaudiya Math cooks are very expert.”
Then he walked off. He was strolling around by himself looking at the different preparations.
—Mahakratu

Mayapur Daily Darshan Narasimha Caturdasi 20 May 2016 (Album with photos)
Narasimha-vesa. In the forest Apsaravana at the foot of Narasimha-tila lie two lakes, Puncari-kunda and the glorious Apsara-kunda. Here, by affectionately stroking young Prahlada Maharaja’s head, Narasimhadeva reassured him that he was now free from any further torment from his demoniac father Hiranyakashipu.
The Lord said to his devotee, “Dear child, stay in this forest, and with a purified heart, worship the pastimes of Radha and Krsna by chanting the Holy Name. Soon you will see them.”
(Nava-vraja-mahima, volume 3)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/EvKxNC

On May 9, 2009 abhisheka ceremony of Radha-Ramana took place in His temple. It was His appearance day. The Abhisheka lasted for three hours and started from bringing water from the Yamuna. According to the tradition, young pujaris, who are the sons of the chief Goswamis, went to the Yamuna. A video by Vrindavan Experience.

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Atlanta Annual Ratha Yatra festival.
2016 being the 50th year for ISKCON, we have organized our Annual Ratha Yatra as “MARCH FOR UNITY” inviting 50 organizations to participate in the event.

Narasimha Chaturdashi meditation on Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.26

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Narasimha Chaturdashi meditation on Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.23

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Narasimha Chaturdashi meditation on Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.12

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Narasimha Chaturdashi meditation on Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.12

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Narasimha Chaturdashi meditation on Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.12

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May 20. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Swamiji Gave Us Confidence.
There were many potentially awkward moments for Srila Prabhupada as he began conducting his movement in America in 1966. We rejoice now in recalling how he was so tolerant. While Prabhupada had some control over events within the storefront, it was more uncontrolled when we went to chant outside in Tompkins Square Park. When someone joined your kirtana by blowing loudly on a saxophone, it was not easy to tell him to go away. But Prabhupada always seemed to know best how to get through such situations.
Prabhupada’s chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra was a particularly effective way to smooth over awkward gaps between himself and the younger generation. He just recommended that people chant Hare Krishna “wherever you go, and whatever you do.”
Although Prabhupada was worlds apart from the young people in America, the younger generation accepted him as “cool”; he was hip in his own way. He was not a middle-class conformist, and he had not come to give us Boy Scout lessons. He was not a church minister giving sermons with a piety that we could not relate to.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=8

tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-srngam
dalita-hiranyakasipu-tanu-bhrngam
keshava dhrta-narahari-rupa jaya jagadisa hare

"O Keshava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of half-man, half-lion! All glories to You! Just as one can easily crush a wasp between one's fingernails, so in the same way the body of the wasp like demon Hiranyakashipu has been ripped apart by the wonderful pointed nails on Your beautiful lotus hands." - 

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 May 2015, Simhachalam, Germany, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.8)

Lord Nrsimhadev is vigna vinasa – the destroyer of all the obstacles on the devotional path. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written these two books – the Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, which describes to us the parikrama of Sri Dham Mayapur and then he wrote the Navadvipa-Bhava-Taranga which is a book that visits the same places as in the Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya but this time, Srila Bhaktivinoda is not describing the place and what the place is dedicated to, this time he describes the inner experience that he has at the place. Therefore, it is called Navadvipa-Bhava-Taranga. Taranga means waves or the waves of bhava that is experienced in Navadvipa, the different emotional states!

So then he describes going to Nrsimha Pali also known as Nrsimha Tirtha, the place dedicated to Lord Nrsimhadev. Then Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura prays to Lord Nrsimhadev that he may take away all the obstacles on the devotional path so that he can become fully engaged in unalloyed devotional service to Radha and Krsna.

So in that way, our primary reason for worshipping Lord Nrsimhadev is not protection. Or at least not protection from outside dangers, not protection from all kinds of Hiranyakasipu’s who are living next door or wherever they are. Okay, maybe to an extent but this is secondary.

Primarily, we are trying to overcome the demoniac tendencies in ourselves and Lord Nrsimhadev as vigna vinasa, purifies us from this contamination and takes away all the obstacles. Sarva vigna vinasa, all the obstacles on the devotional path are being removed and that is our prayer, that is Prahlad’s prayer also which is very nice.