Melbourne 40th 2
→ Ramai Swami

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The last day of the 40th anniversary of Melbourne temple was just as ecstatic as the others.

After hearing Srila Prabhupada give class on video, remembrances of the event were shared for nearly 2 hours.
Later on in the morning there was a blissful abhiseka of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai with wonderful kirtan led by HH Kadamba Kanana Maharaja.
In the afternoon all the devotees converged on St Kilda town hall for wonderful dance, drama, kirtan, presentations and feast.
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Dhruva Attains Bhāva-Bhakti
→ The Enquirer

Dhruva said, “You are the self-energized source of all energies. Entering into me, you energize my latent capacities. Now your internal energy enters me, awakening my capacity to speak about you. My hands awaken and want to touch you. My legs awaken and want to run to you. My ears awaken and want to hear your voice. My skin awakens and awaits your touch. My life force becomes truly alive for the first time, and I breathe only for you. I offer myself to you, the All-Attractive Person!”

Hari might reply, “My dear, before today you also spoke, breathed, touched things, heard things and so on. Why do you say I have newly brought these capacities to life?”

So the boy said, “Before today, I lived and breathed only to touch and be touched by the endless external things created by the amazing qualities of your energy called māyā. Even then, it was you alone who brought my capacities to life. Even then it was you alone who I sought, for you are the Animator of all the things produced by this temporary world, latently present at the heart of everything, just like fire is latent in wood.

Comment: The internal energy entered Dhruva through the touch of Viṣṇu’s conch. When the internal energy energizes the jīva, the nature of that energy (bhakti) becomes one with the jīva and inspires the senses, emotions, thoughts, etc.. This is defined as the beginning of bhāva-bhakti. When the external energy energizes the jīva, the nature of that energy (bhukti) becomes one with the jīva, and inspires the senses, etc. If the jīva is not energized by either energy it is sūpta – latent, inactive, “comatose” in a spiritual sense.

“He Nātha! Oh friend of the troubled! People take refuge in you because, when you energize them, their latent intellect will awaken and they will see everything clearly. A wise soul who seeks the ultimate prize could never disregard the refuge offered at your feet!

“Alas! You can completely deliver us from temporary existence, but fools whose delusions completely hijack their intellect come to you for other things. They worship a wish-fulfilling tree just to get some facsimile of pleasure for their own corpses. They worship you to get external sensations that can be found even by animals.

“He Nātha! What is the use of flying into paradise? The blade of time will only cut our wings! What even is the use of emancipation into the unfettered latent consciousness of Brahman? For in that state we can never taste the exhilarating joy of contemplating your lotus feet, or hearing your beloved associates discuss you!”

Hari might ask, “Then, do you want to meditate on my feet, or do you want to hear about me from my beloved associates? Which blessing do you want from me?”

Anticipating this, the boy said, “I want to become close with the infinitely glorious people whose spotless hearts are always absorbed in devotion to you. If I have this blessing, then why should I fear anything? Your devotees would intoxicate me by giving me the nectar-wine of discussions about your qualities, and then would be easily able to guide me through the terribly fearsome ocean of existence.”

– Śrī Bhāgavata 4.9.6 ~ 11

Vraja Kishor dās

VrajaKishor.com

Raja_Ravi_Varma,_Dhruv_Narayan Dhruva falls to ground in love of God dhruv Dhruva - Visnu_0


Tagged: association of devotees, bhava-bhakti, dhruva, hari-katha, internal energy

The Illusion Of Distraction
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"It is impossible for the jiva to singlehandedly avoid and overcome the illusion of distraction. By the mercy of the Lord, however, this is accomplished with ease.
Therefore it is essential to prayerfully beg for the Lord's grace with great humility, for this is the only means to salvation from this offense."

From Harinama Cintamani
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur

Melbourne, May 2015
→ KKSBlog

Written by Michael

Travelling from Brisbane, after a seamlessly smooth landing into the then-expected arctic Melbourne, the temperature didn’t actually seem too bad; a little fresh, as the Europeans call it. To keep things short and sweet, below I will convey some highlights of the stay here, before our departure to Canberra tomorrow (20 May).

On Wednesday, 13 May, Maharaja was invited to an Urban Yoga event entitled “Mindfulness and Meditation”, where he addressed the value and importance of connecting with the Divine, to a group of mainly university students and budding yoga practitioners.

The evening of the day after was definitely my highlight of the week. Maharaja was invited to lead a mantra session at Mantra Lounge, Grattan St. As always, the kirtan was incredible, however at a certain point, Maharaja slowed down his melodious transitions, and spoke to the again ‘university student filled’ room. Eyes closed, he took us on a journey from where we were situated and ascended up towards the spiritual realms, past the Sapta Rsi’s, past Janaloka, past Brahmaloka, gradually penetrating the eight coverings of the universal shell and beyond. I won’t give the conclusion away but the recording is right below.

Friday evening was packed with a maha-harinama. A large number of devotees and distinguished guests were invited, such as HG Hari Sauri Prabhu (ACBSP) and Melbourne’s temple president, HG Aniruddha das. Maharaja led the harinama through the high streets outside the Town Hall. We went into an enclosed space and the kirtan sound waves rattled the nearby windows! Another kirtan which was as powerful as harinama that reached heights extremely close to Kingsday last month, was for the 40th Anniversary Celebration for ISKCON Melbourne on Sunday (18 May). My word, that was serious! For three hours, the whole temple room was jumping up and down, and if for whatever reason somebody had not been satisfied with the kirtans before, they definitely would’ve been left satisfied with that! Maharaja was invited to give the Sunday Feast lecture, in which you could say, he gave cannonball of a talk. Hear it below.

Canberra and Sydney, here we come…

 

Photos

Visit flickr for more pictures.

melbourne (12) melbourne (13) Friday_harinama (2) Friday_harinama (6) melbourne (1) melbourne (5)

 

Recordings

Courtesy of Michael

KKS_AUS_Brisbane_11 May 2015_Lecture_Rupa_and_Sanatana_Goswami

KKS_AUS_Brisbane_11 May 2015_Kirtan

KKS_AUS_Brisbane_11 May 2015_Lecture_SB_1.3.42

KKS_AUS_MEL_12 May 2015_Kirtan_Sandhya

KKS_AUS_MEL_12 May 2015_Personal_Address

KKS_AUS_MEL_13 May 2015_Lecture_Mindfulness_and_Meditation

KKS_AUS_MEL_13 May 2015_Lecture_SB_3.9.41

KKS_AUS_MEL_14 May 2015_Lecture_SB_3.9.42

KKS_AUS_MEL_14 May 2015_Mantra Lounge_Meditation

 

Skype Sanga Community
→ simple thoughts

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I had an interesting request today with a idea of how to bring groups of individuals together over distance.

It is a simple idea of having a regular sanga using Skype, meeting once a fortnight at a set time. The idea was to go through the Gita verse by verse however a senior devotee suggested that a more methodical look at the top 150 verses quoted by Srila Prabhupada.

It is also interesting how Sri Krishna works, with the initial request being that I myself front this digital sanga; however the senior devotee has advised and encouraged the initial devotee to take this up.

So I was wondering has anyone else tried to set up an online digital Skype sanga, if so what was your experience?

And is their anyone who would like to join and be a part of this community.

You can contact myself: dhirabhakta@gmail.com or Dipak prabhu (who’s idea it was): dipak.px@gmail.com

Hopefully the first meeting will be held in the next few weeks, and hopefully we can feedback the progress of this online sanga

Hare Krishna

FFL Nepal latest news 16th May, 2015, Nepal — FFL volunteers…
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FFL Nepal latest news
16th May, 2015, Nepal — FFL volunteers went to Chamkharka village at Panauti to cook and serve hot meals, along with relief materials. Twenty-five Volunteers from FFL Nepal ventured out early in the morning with utensils, fresh vegetables, rice, and dhal to cook their now famous khichadi (rice, bean and vegetable stew) onsite. However, preparation for cooking was delayed when they realized it was not possible to transport their cooking stove & gas to the remote village. Volunteers had to gather wood from around the area to cook on an open fire. Once the khichadi was ready, a rush of children came to get their share, thrusting their plates & cups at the servers and screaming in anticipation. “We asked the children to first wash their hands with soap before serving them the hot khichadi,” explained one of the volunteers. “Even though they were very hungry, they all happily complied.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17430

Hare Krishna! Impersonalism and the Doomed to Fail Attempt to…
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Hare Krishna! Impersonalism and the Doomed to Fail Attempt to Judge Sadhus
“For various reasons, common people do not easily develop faith in exalted persons who are still living, whereas they tend to develop great faith in the activities of mahajanas who have passed away.” (Jaiva Dharma chapter 22) The proud practice of using our dull material senses to try to judge who is sadhu and who is not is the same as the neti neti endeavor of the impersonalists. The impersonalists try to understand what is spirit by using their material senses. “Net, neti” means, “not this, not this”.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17427

Hare Krishna! Come back to Me and dance with Me. Why rot in this…
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Hare Krishna! Come back to Me and dance with Me. Why rot in this rotting dance?
Why don’t you come back to Me and dance and sport with Me?” “Why you are rotting in this rotting dance, in false lila, temporary lila, or hellish lila.? “Krishna’s business is rasadi-vilasa. He’s busy in dancing with the gopis. He has no other business. Just like we try to imitate Krishna. Big, big rich men, they go to the ball dance, to the night club for dancing. So wherefrom this propensity comes, dancing? That comes from the Supreme Lord. Rasadi-vilasa. Because Krishna has the business of dancing and we are part and parcel of Krishna, so we have got the same spirit of dancing. But because we are in the material world, the material covering has perverted the dancing propensity.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17424

CC daily 108 – M 6.140-141 – Harmonize the contradictory-seeming scriptural statements by proper comprehension
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CC daily Podcast:

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Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna Festival of Chariots winds through…
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Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna Festival of Chariots winds through Brisbane
Brisbane could almost have been mistaken for Bombay for a short while on Saturday as the Festival of Chariots parade made its way through the CBD. A celebration of the Hare Krishna community, the Festival of the Chariots originated in Puri, India, more than 2000 years ago and has been celebrated in cities across the world since. Central to the festival, as the name suggested, was a huge wooden chariot that was pulled through the streets of Brisbane amid music and dancing.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17421

Meet Ivar Foreland, a true Norwegian! Travelling down from…
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Meet Ivar Foreland, a true Norwegian!
Travelling down from Nordkapp and we happened to stop at Honningsvag where many cruise ships dock. This very nice man pictured here reading the Sri Isopanisad (purchased from Iskcon Norway (Hare Krishna Movement) is Ivar Foreland who is 63 and works part of the year as a security guard for Securitas. He checks that no one gets onboard a ship that shouldn’t and he has a very friendly manner to go with it. He has 3 daughters and 3 step daughters as well as 7 grand children. He never argues as he feels it to be a waste of time (what a nice intelligent man). He likes the Beatles and especially George Harrison and one of his favourite songs is “My Sweet Lord”. He is very interested in history and philosophical discourse and he is a true Norwegian. I spent an enjoyable hour just chatting with him and I’m sure that this book will find a few ports to dock into as it journeys on its path into peoples lives. Om Tat Sat. Hare Krishna!

Bacteria Found in Cow Dung Can Make You Smarter Researchers from…
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Bacteria Found in Cow Dung Can Make You Smarter
Researchers from the Sage Colleges in Troy, NY, USA, reported today their findings that specific bacteria common to our environment may increase learning behavior. Dorothy Matthews and Susan Jenks, who conducted the study, shared their findings with those in attendance at the meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego. The bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, is well known to scientists, as the dead bacteria is being tested as immunotherapy for asthma, cancer, depression, psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and tuberculosis. M. vaccae, so named because it was first discovered in cow dung in Austria, is naturally found in soil, and it is inhaled when people spend time outdoors, especially where there are plants and trees.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/RJ8V6F

Happiness Talk 20 & 24 May
→ The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland

We live in the world of instants – instant messaging, instant videos, instant coffee, instant relationships and needless to say ‘instant happiness’. Because I feel I need it, I should get it right now. However the reality of life often differs from what we want should happen…what comes easy often goes easy. Join us for […]

The post Happiness Talk 20 & 24 May appeared first on The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland.

Absence of Distance from God
→ The Enquirer

Relieved of their fear, the gods offered their grateful thanks to Urukrama, the Far Striding Viṣṇu, before returning to their places in the three dimensions. Thousand-Headed Viṣṇu mounted Garuḍa and went to Madhuvana, to see his devotee.

Dhruva’s fiercely intense yogic meditation had revealed Viṣṇu manifest within the lotus of his heart with the brilliance of lightning. But when that form suddenly vanished, Dhruva opened his eyes. Seeing that very same Viṣṇu standing outside him, Dhruva lost all composure and himself flat on the ground, straight as a pole, to offer respect. As the child rose and looked upon Viṣṇu, his eyes seemed to drink Viṣṇu’s beauty. Those eyes seemed like lips kissing Viṣṇu’s beauty, like arms embracing him.

Comment: Dhruva practiced in Vṛṇdāvana, and by the mercy of Vṛṇdāvana was not bound by the stiff awe and reverence of distant worship. Actually, no true bhakta maintains any distance from Viṣṇu / Krishna, nor any object of love. Distance is required only when love is weak. The distance protects the relationship from its flaw, lack of love. When love is powerful, distance flees. Dhruva’s glance embraced Viṣṇu and kissed him while that drank in his beautiful form as if it were cool nectar.

Sādhakas should practice looking at pictures and mūrtis of Krishna with emotion. Dhruva, however, was not practicing. It was an automatic and unstoppable reflex of his fully developed love.

The boy put his hands together, but hesitated to speak because he knew little about Hari. Viṣṇu understood this, for he is always within everyone’s heart, and gently touched the boy’s forehead with his Conch – which is composed of Spiritual Wisdom. At that moment the boy could comprehend how to express himself in words, for he completely understood everything about the Divine Supreme Soul. He then spoke words full of pure devotion and beyond imperfection, glorifying the one who would soon grant him imperishable property, whose immense glories are heard everywhere, for all time.

Comment: An effort is made here to make it clear that Dhruva was not overjoyed because he was about to attain his original goal. He was overjoyed simply by contacting the infinite bliss of Viṣṇu’s beauty. No other objective remains compelling when one experiences Hari’s beauty.

Dhruva was between five and six years old.

Next we will hear eleven verses spoken by Dhruva. It is very valuable. We will hear the realization of a person who practiced bhakti yoga with intensity we could not hope to match.

— Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.9.1 ~ 5

Vraja Kishor dās

www.VrajaKishor.com


Tagged: Bhakti, darshan, dhruva, Hari, Realization, Vishnu, Yoga

Vyasa Puja Lecture: Part 1
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 April 2015, Radhadesh, Belgium, Vyasa Puja: Address to disciples)

Transcribed by Tattvavati dd

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya 
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

First of all, I am indebted to my spiritual master, who really is a very broad-minded, generous personality and who just had a lot of faith in me and gave me everything.

Vp2015Then, I was thinking… We have these gatherings and we come here with a lot of effort, spend a lot of money on it and I am doing it because first of all, it is dharma; it is a prescribed duty. It is a duty to observe vyasa puja, it is a duty to make an offering because within that we are all remembering our responsibility – you remember yours as disciples and I remember mine as a spiritual master.

We have some guests today who are not my disciples. Jaya Krishna is one of them, someone who I appreciate very much because I’ve seen his plays for years. The little skit that we had yesterday, he was the inspiration behind it all and the driving force! I’ve seen him play Bhaktivinoda Thakur and it was really nice. It was in Mayapur, years ago, but it really made you feel like Bhaktivinoda was there, you know, he was really carrying it. So with his theatre, he has done so much. I said earlier, a few words in appreciation of mother Jayabhadra (ACBSP) and that is some ongoing appreciation for her commitment and dedication.

Then my appreciation for all of you, for what you do in this movement. What to say? I have spoken about ISKCON, how in the past, ISKCON was very centered. When Srila Prabhupada was here, there was one leader. There was one real leader and everyone was accepting that one leader and therefore when Prabhupada wanted something, then everyone wanted it. So there was that kind of spirit…

After that, we had the zonal acharya era and well, at least they bundled their disciples although maybe they didn’t know how to deal with godbrothers and how to inspire godbrothers and there was a lot of immaturity. So although they bundled devotees, it didn’t carry the same depth and maturity as when Srila Prabhupada was doing it because Prabhupada was really thinking so much from just the ultimate Krsna conscious point of view.

Vp2015 (3)Now it is a different time. I wish I could give one order and everyone would drop everything and just do as I would say! I wish it could be like that but it is not like that in the areas where I am preaching. Maybe, if I would be somewhere else in the world. There are some corners where I could have had my project with my disciples and maybe it could have been like that. When I took sannyasa in 1997, it was a bit later than many of my contemporaries. Somehow or other, I am a little late with some things in my life. So by the time I came in as a sannyasi, many of the other sannyasis were already in Eastern Europe. They were all in Eastern Europe so I chose Western Europe. I said, “I am not going to the East.” Of course, you know, that was not so easy. I still wound up in the Czech Republic because someone drove me there and then I was preaching and I kept on preaching in the Czech Republic. That was my exception for the Eastern countries. To Croatia, I thought I will not go, no way. I thought I will stay on the Western side: Scandinavia, Germany, Benelux, all these countries in Western Europe and even the UK. And then, it turned out that half of the Czechs that I was preaching to were Slovaks, right? And at that time, I couldn’t tell the difference. Now I can but it is too late and so the Slovaks took me further east. So now I have like Czechs and Slovaks, and then of course eventually, the Balkans got me, for better or worse!

I must say that the Balkan kirtans are just fun. The people just get into it, the whole night long; no problem. I mean, no one says, “There is a time schedule!” It is just a very spontaneous affair. Well, Sacinandana Maharaj has his style of mellow kirtan and I have my style of I don’t know what you want to call it but my style of kirtan. So one time, one year I got Sacinandana Maharaj dancing and dancing, and of course it came out on Facebook and the next day I got a message from Kavicandra Maharaj, “You had Sacinandana Swami dancing like a new bhakta.” It was nice, you know, it was fun. So it is fun. So many places.

I went to Germany because it is a very important country in Europe and German people are very capable. That is why they are a leading country in Europe. I went there with a strategy. I thought, “Okay, let me do something to build up Germany. Let me help to make Germany stronger.” I am still committed to that, to Germany, although they changed some temples in the places where I was preaching but now new life is coming.

kingsday2015It is difficult in this day and age, to really drive a focused effort because everyone is on his own program. And most of you also are on your own program and with that, my role then becomes someone who supports individuals, who inspires individuals in their Krsna consciousness, as a friend. All these things are part of what I want to do but actually I want to do much more. I want to drive a mission, a serious one, a full-on mission. I would like, if I could only say to every householder, “Go out every day for one hour on book distribution.” If they would actually do it, I would say it. But they won’t do it, if I say it. So I won’t say it although I just said it!

I remember that I came into Berlin as an active preacher after Prithu Prabhu had been a leading preacher there; I kind of came in as a next leader after that. I remember saying to the devotees, “It doesn’t matter what ashram you are in but why don’t just we try to live from preaching. Why do you need jobs, why do you need university education? Do you realize it is just the spirit of this time? In the 60’s or 70’s, no one in his right mind in those days thought of finishing an education, right? Everyone just forgot about it!”

No one thought about the future. We had mantras, “Be here now.” We thought that as long as that would be our focus, it would be enough for the rest of our lives. But the times changed in the world and security became a much more important issue. The future became a consideration. At the time when I became a devotee it was maya to think about security because Krsna will take care of you, “What is your problem? Why worry about the future? Krsna is there and surely He will make an arrangement if you, now simply give everything you have for Krsna.”

And I must say, to be honest, the times have changed but I didn’t. I didn’t. I still don’t have an education. I didn’t go back to college. I never went in the first place, not because I wasn’t smart enough but because I was too smart. I could see that the system will prepare me for a life that I did not want to live and I decided not to live that life. Therefore, even as a householder, I immediately told my former wife, “Look, you know, I’m not gonna have a job. If it means we are not going to have money, too bad but that’s how it is going to be. I am going to get no job, no way! I’m just going to preach and going to be involved in the temples.”

Vp2015 (4)Maybe that was the spirit of the time, it was very much my spirit at the time. In one sense, I am Mr Flexible. When it is about people I can be very flexible. I can accept everyone in whatever endeavour they are in; Krsna consciousness is not at all stereotype. Rather, it can be practiced in all kinds of conditions of life – one can be involved in the world and still practice Krsna consciousness; that is fine, one can still do something for the mission. But, I do want some devotees full time for the mission. Some devotees who just say, “Okay, forget about the world.” Nowadays, we don’t think so much in that way anymore but when Srila Prabhupada was present, it definitely was a missionary movement! To remain brahmachari was a desired thing; to get married was a second best choice just from the perspective of the mission. So with that, I want to appreciate anyone in whatever ashram they are in, as I was a grhasta. I am not speaking out against grhasta life but I am speaking out in favour of changing the world. I remain a very idealistic person. I wanted to change the world long before I came to Krsna consciousness and I was trying to do it. I stood on street corners, singing songs about changing the world; I gave talks, and lectures; I wrote articles in newsletters. I was a missionary then and only gained more substance in the Krsna consciousness movement. And what I really would like to see is that you think about that and that you take on board everything I said earlier today about different natures and that we must be situated according to our nature…

Vasudev and I go back a long way. He joined in that little Amsterdam temple. I went there from India to recover after my injuries in Vrindavan and I stayed in one place for quite a long time, with a small group of people. I would rest a lot, to sort of get better so there was some strong bonding. Vasudev always said that he was more easy going than me. I’m like intense, intense! He used the word “intense” many times in a positive sense but I am intense. That is true. What can I do? I always was. I’m not expecting that you imitate me and get that equal intensity, if intensity is not so much in your nature. You would get a nervous breakdown if it’s not in your nature and you try to be intense like Kadamba Kanana Swami. You will probably burn out. I learned that…

initiations (43)In 1986, I was in Mayapur. I had gone to Mayapur at the end of ‘85 and I was helping with the ‘86 festival which was the 500th anniversary of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It was very hectic and I was working with Jayapataka Maharaj. It was just incredible because I was building for him an expo, an exhibition area, and for that I had to get money from him and it was very difficult to get money from him because Jayapataka Maharaj is tight. Oh yes!

I would go to his office at night. He would be there seeing people and then I would have to present the work I was doing for him and then, well, after about one hour he would agree to make the payment, then fifteen minutes later he would take the cheque book out of the desk, another half an hour later he would actually fill out the cheque but he would not sign it! Time was moving on. So then, at 11.30 at night, he would sign the cheque, but still he wouldn’t give it to me. At 11:45, I would have the cheque in my hands but he didn’t put his stamp on there. He said, “Oh, give it back to me to put the stamp.”

I said, “I have my own stamp. No problem.” I was never going to give it back! I had the cheque. So I had the cheque and then at almost midnight, he asked, “You want some prasad?” And I go like, “Well, you know, prasad now?” After that whole ordeal with the cheque, well, I thought why not. So then, we went in and a huge, huge table had like so many preparations, from one corner to the other corner of the table, was covered with prasadam. It was after midnight, and he was encouraging me to eat this and that, and everything. So, you know, like by one o´clock, I was sort of totally intoxicated from the incredible amount of prasadam and fell unconscious in my room, on the bed. Then at 5.30am, four and a half hours later, his servant was banging on my door… bang, bang, bang! “He wants to see you right now.” (exhale!) And then, he would talk about how to build things and where we would find some hidden bricks and cement and so on.

In the course of that, at one point, I got behind on my rounds. I didn’t have any more time to chant. It was just day and night being busy and I got thirty-two rounds behind so then I spoke to Harikesh about it and he said, “Well, you know, I mean, no one tries to keep up with Jayapataka Maharaj. You must be mad!” I really got some realization on that day that everyone is an individual and that we all serve Krsna in our own individual way. So don’t try to be Kadamba Kanana Swami but take the spirit, take a drop of the spirit of Kadamba Kanana Swami and that is (a) be independently thoughtful and (b) do something for the mission. Not just do something but do something REAL, make a plan to push on Krsna consciousness and do something! Really do something within your means but not in the mode of passion!

vp2015 (102)Although I am an intense personality, you see that in my travel schedule, you see that in my kirtan, I also brought Giriraj here today which is the other side, you know, which is my personal life. The Lord is kind enough to appear in my personal life and give me some personal shelter. Also, over all these years, although I had so much service, still I took time to read the Bhagavatam. And then in 1984, when the all-in-one volume of Caitanya Caritamrta came out, I carried it with me for many years until we went electronic and nowadays everything is carried electronically…

But there is the other side, the time that we take for our own spiritual life – I’m not only singing crazy and wild kirtans. I generally sing crazy and wild kirtans with other people but when I’m alone, I sing very mellow kirtans. You wouldn’t believe how mellow, really very soft, mellow, gentle… I don’t know where it started, that reputation, where I’m being announced, “Now Kadamba Kanana Swami will lead a kirtan which will be an explosion of an explosion!” Something I hate! I mean “explosion of an explosion”. How can you lead an “explosion of an explosion”? It’s ridiculous. So, my point is that I want you all to be well-rounded people. Well-rounded means people who take care of all the aspects of their life – their private life, their bhajan, their worship of Krsna, their japa, their absorption in the philosophy…

Hare Krishna! Relativity and the Path to the Absolute Later,…
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Hare Krishna! Relativity and the Path to the Absolute
Later, after becoming a devotee, I discovered that according to the Vedic teachings my assertions were right. But now I could understand something about the nature of that absolute reality: It is Krishna. Everything we see in this world comes from one of Krishna’s many energies. But His illusory energy (maya) keeps us from perceiving things properly. Just as a magician can make us think we’re seeing something that’s not there, Krishna uses illusion to create our supposed reality. One might wonder why God would want to prevent us from seeing the truth
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17418

Hare Krishna! How Free Are We? Sam Surya goes to his city’s…
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Hare Krishna! How Free Are We?
Sam Surya goes to his city’s orphanage one day and makes a large donation. Elsewhere in town, Andy Andhakara robs a bank. What led these two to make such drastically different choices? Was it their own volition, or the force of some other factor? In other words, were their actions predetermined, or did Sam and Andy have free will? These questions concern one of the pivotal debates in Western philosophy. Are human beings destined to follow a set course? Are we like children on an amusement park ride lets them steer right and left but inevitably takes them along a fixed track?
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17413

Hare Krishna! When Science Points to Spirituality Imagine a…
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Hare Krishna! When Science Points to Spirituality
Imagine a farmer who gets a Mercedes Benz as a gift. The only vehicle he has ever seen is a tractor, and the only purpose he knows for any vehicle is plowing. So he hitches a yoke to his new Mercedes and starts driving it over his field. Of course, not only does his attempt at plowing fail; his new car malfunctions. He becomes totally frustrated—with himself, his car, and his field. Ridiculous, we might say, that somebody would use a Mercedes to plow. But could this be the story of our life?
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17410

Harinama in Sao Paolo, Brasil (3 min video) Srila Prabhupada:…
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Harinama in Sao Paolo, Brasil (3 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: Devotional service begins with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra and side by side trying to understand Krishna in truth. Unfortunately those who are simply official students of the Vedas become more interested in offering sacrifices to the different demigods, like Indra and Candra. (Bhagavad-gita, 9.20 Purport)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/rn3xPO

Day 21 FOOD FOR LIFE NEPAL 16th May 2015 Panauti (Album with…
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Day 21 FOOD FOR LIFE NEPAL 16th May 2015 Panauti (Album with photos)
Day 21 Earthquake Nepal
On 16th May, Saturday FFL Nepal Team went to Chamkharka village at Panauti to serve cooked food & distribute some relief materials. About 25 Volunters of FFL Nepal went to that village early in the morning with utensils, fresh vegetables, rice, dal etc for the khichadi preparation.
The preparation for cooking got little delayed since we could not transport our cooking burner & gas in the remote village, hence we cooked by collecting woods from the villagers.
As soon as the khichadi was prepared, we saw the rush of children to get the hot khichadi with plates & glasses in their tender hands. We made the children to wash their hands with soap before we served hot khichadi.
Then Khichadi and juice was distributed to all.
Also, some new & good clothes were distributed to the villagers donated by the members of “Thai Based Myanmar Born Gurkha Youth Association” headed by Mr. Sagar Kharel from Thailand.
Further, FFL Nepal team distributed rice packets to 93 families with some biscuits packets.
Our heartfelt gratitude & appreciation to our regular donors headed by Mr. Pankaj Chandar Shrestha Ji (Kuleshwor) & his team.
We would like to also thank Mrs. Ambika Gurung (USA) for her generous donation.
We would like to thank everyone who are helping us to continue the relief project with our humble effort.
“PLEASE HELP US TO HELP THEM”
See them here: https://goo.gl/hO51XM

A visit to the Temple of Vedic Planetarium in Mayapur (Album…
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A visit to the Temple of Vedic Planetarium in Mayapur (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: By the grace of the Lord, if a devotee, at the time of death, can simply chant Hare Krishna, he immediately surpasses the great ocean of the material sky and enters into the spiritual sky. He never has to come back for repetition of birth and death. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.10.30 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/QQXJQz

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


Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 8
By Krishna-kripa das
(April 2015, part two)
Toronto, Ireland, Holland, Radhadesh, Luxembourg, Germany
(Sent from Manchester, England, on May 18, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

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

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

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

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

Toronto

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

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

Dublin Nine-Hour Harinama


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

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

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

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


  As usual, some people danced with us.

 
 
Others took photos.

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

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

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

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


Harinamas in Kilkenny, Bagenalstown, and Cork

Ananta Nitai, Nimai, and I planned to chant in Cork for two days, but we did not have any place to stay there, so we decided to stay with Eleanora, a retired school teacher who is enthusiastic about harinama and lives between Dublin and Cork, near the city of Kilkenny, after doing harinama in Kilkennythe first day. Then we planned to do harinama in Cork the second day. That way we could do harinama in two places.
 
Kilkenny has a castle, which was a popular site for tourists to visit, and by chanting there we could count on people regularly coming by. 


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

I was amazed that on three occasions that day passersby shouted complete gibberish at us as they walked or drove by. I guessed that is because they are unfamiliar with us. In Dublin, where people know us, they usually say “Hare Krishna” or “Hare Hare” as they pass by. We are chanting in Dublin so often people have assimilated some words from the chant.

We were happy to chant in a new place, and Eleanora was very happy to be doing harinama near her home.

We found it was too expensive to go to Cork the next day, so the others returned to Dublin, and I went to Cork alone as my flight was from the airport there. We chanted for an hour in Kilkenny in the morning, before traveling to our respective destinations. We saw people eating breakfast at sidewalk cafes or on the way to work. Again people mostly ignored us or smiled at us, as they passed. One lady who had a spiritual mission of her own was very happy to encounter us, considering it providential, and bought a book. We did not encounter any real malice at either of the new places.

I chanted outside the bus station in Cork by myself before taking the bus to the airport. I set out my hat and a small Bhagavad-gita and three pamphlets. Three people gave me donations totaling €2.20 in the forty minutes I was there, and not one wanted any literature. Soon after I had begun singing a taxi driver who was from Kolkata came up to me, exclaiming, “Where have you been? I never see any Hare Krishnas chanting in Cork!” I told him we have few devotees in Cork but that we have a restaurant and temple in Dublin, where there are many devotees. 
 
Chanting in Rotterdam

Sivananda Sena Prabhu and his wife, Moksa Lakshmi, are both very dedicated to chanting Hare Krishna in public. They chant in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, The Hague, and other cities in the Netherlands. Recently the government has restricted them for using amplification and singing in populated places in The Hague so they are focusing on Rotterdam, their hometown, and Amsterdam, the largest city.

We chanted in Rotterdam two days for two hours each, and both times we had nine devotees, seven men and two women.

I was amazed hear one young Muslim lady cry out, “Krishna!” as we passed and slapped her friend's hand in approval. To hear the Muslims chant the name of Krishna was rare for me, but Moksa Lakshmi says that because they chant every week in Rotterdam, quite of number of the Muslims call out “Krishna” when they see the devotees now.

Chanting in Amsterdam the Day Before King's Day


Although I have come to Amsterdam each year since Kadamba Kanana Swami first invited me in 2008, I never had done harinama in Amsterdam the day before the event. Amsterdam was the most crowded I have ever seen it, except on King's Day itself. That we were chanting there was an unexpected surprise! The national train company in the Netherlands that Sivananda Sena Prabhu works for gave him Sunday off from work, informing him just a day or two before, and thus he could drive me to Amsterdam, and also go on harinama.

King's Day Harinama
 

Kadamba Kanana Swami brought 180 devotees from his Vyasa-puja festival in Radhadesh to Amsterdam to chant eight hours on King's Day, when Amsterdam is converted to one gigantic street party attended by many tens of thousands of people. When I asked him how his party in Radhadesh had gone, he replied, “This King's Day harinama is the real party. That party in Radhadesh is just an excuse to bring people to the real party.”


People were happy in the association of devotees.
 
 

Groups of people danced with us.
 

Young ladies danced with the devotee ladies.



These two ladies were so happy to dance with the devotees.

  
One male devotee took pleasure in swinging the onlookers around.




A female devotee did as well.


People enjoyed bridge dancing.

At King's Day, you get people from all over the world. I talked to people from Mexico this time.
 
One man held a temple flyer in his mouth while taking photos of the devotees.
 
People took pleasure in taking pictures of their family members with the devotees.

One couple spent time with the chanting devotees, and said they liked how the chanting brought everyone together. I was explaining how the chanting brings us in touch with God, and because of that, it also brings us all together. I suggested they get a book from Gaura Karuna Prabhu, and they did.

Many people danced with the devotees, and a few were inspired to chant. To people who were looking intently at the devotees, I would show the mantra on the invitation card, pointing out each word as we were saying it and encourage them to sing along.

Some were very happy when I gave them the words to the mantra, and sometimes they would continue to chant it on their own.

Here is a video clip showing some people chanting and following the party (https://youtu.be/uNRT318-q0Y):




Toward the end we chanted under a bridge in the park, and many, many people enjoyed dancing with us.
 

Some people took books and followed our procession toward the end. There were a variety of people attracted, an old man with a beard, who was dancing, and some small children, and many young adults dancing with delight as well.

One devotee from South Africa who came for the first time said, “You really see what a good thing we have going with this harinama. You come to a place where people are supposed to be having fun, and they are just dead.” The harinama is the real party.

It seems to me that what we are doing at King's Day is demonstrating for the people in general that if we enjoy in relationship with Krishna we will have more fun than if we enjoy in ignorance of Krishna. I think some people got a little realization that we had something real we were offering them.

Many, many hundreds of invitations were distributed. Gaura Karuna Prabhu of Czech Republic of the world harinama party, Harinam Ruci, distributed 200 books and many others distributed books too.

The next day in class Kadamba Kanana Swami said, “Those who did not go to King's Day, what can I say, you missed something very, very special that could have given you a higher taste in your spiritual life.”

Here is a series of video clips from the event (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xJhoCuZpa0T5sDHUIS4q4jq):


Japa at Radhadesh


Japa is not one of my favorite activities, and I do not usually think of it as fun, but I really enjoyed chanting my sixteen rounds at Radhadesh, meditating on the beautiful form of the Gopinath deity. Getting back late from King's Day, I missed the whole japa period, and I started chanting in the temple room at 9:00 a.m., after the morning class. I was only going to chant four rounds and then have breakfast. Then after four I decided to chant eight. After chanting eight, I decided I would chant twelve rounds and then proofread my guru's blog. But at twelve, I was chanting so briskly it would just take twenty or so minutes more to finish sixteen, and so I did. I like thinking of the mantra as the means to awaken my dormant love for Krishna, and it helps to see the form of Krishna when I am thinking in that way, to become inspired. Thus that japa session was probably my favorite of the year so far.

Harinama in Luxembourg
 

One African man was the first person to delight in dancing with our lively international party of nine male devotees on our two-hour harinama in Luxembourg the day after King's Day (https://youtu.be/8Q__Ji1nUHU):


At one point we met a group of Nepalis who were very enthusiastic to meet the devotees. You can see how they participated (https://youtu.be/B5EPxY8RTSw):


One lady watched us, along with her husband and kid. She ultimately danced with us for a while. She knew the mantra and told me she encountered Hare Krishna in Geneva but lives in Luxembourg now. I told her about our castle in Radhadesh and said we had lots of festivals there (https://youtu.be/v_Xu_1pde-E):


 
One lady let us pose on her merry-go-round, but were not allowed to play our instruments on it.
We met one young man named Jason who had only heard of Hare Krishna from the Internet. He followed us for an hour, sometimes dancing, sometimes chanting, sometimes banging on the drum, and sometimes clapping. He had so much energy one devotee asked him if he was on some drug, and he replied, “No, Hare Krishna is giving me so much energy.” Later on a older man with a tambourine joined us briefly. Both appear in this video clip (https://youtu.be/uAhyZ6AlmYk):



One young lady named Michele bought a book and then followed us for over half an hour. Both she and Jason were generous enough to offer us food and drinks they had bought, but there was nothing that we could accept. 
 
They both came back to the van with us, and were even considering following us to the German farm in the lady's car, but we had trouble locating it and were behind schedule.

Altogether in Luxembourg, the devotees distributed about thirty books.

I slept in the hallway of the men's ashram at Goloka Dhama because people were snoring in the rooms, and just after midnight I was awakened by the guy and girl who had followed us on the Luxembourg harinama. They had gotten lost trying to find Goloka Dhama. We did not want to wake up the devotee ladies to accommodate the new girl, so we let her sleep in the van. It was too cold, however, and as a result, she ended up coming inside, instead of sleeping in, and she went to mangala-arati. They both went to the second part of the morning program, and they came on harinama with us that day, before returning to Luxembourg.

Harinama in Kaiserslautern

The devotees at Goloka Dhama were excellent hosts, cooking us a wonderful feast of Ekadasi prasadam.


Then about seven of them joined us on the day's harinama at Kaiserslautern. They were happy to have an additional ten people at their morning program, and to have the opportunity to go on harinama with such a lively group of devotees.

It was beautiful seeing Michele, who joined us from Luxembourg, dancing with us on harinama.
The same was true for Jason.

Our chanting party went into several shops.

A worker in a clothing shop, although shy at first, danced in a circle with us, and an older lady chanted (https://youtu.be/ZPweEOyxcA0):


A cashier in one shop chanted the mantra and also danced in a circle with us (https://youtu.be/PCUtsWlGC6E):


A worker in an optical shop invited us into her store and then danced with us (https://youtu.be/f5fnthAMX3s):


We would dance at the pedestrian malls, and many people would watch and take pictures.
 
One guitar player joined us briefly.

Sometimes guys danced with us (https://youtu.be/7YWVPefHWaU):


Sometimes ladies danced with us (https://youtu.be/QAIljSUEwbw):


And sometimes children danced with us (https://youtu.be/1pEB80Cg-5c):


 After the harinama, we returned to our van.
 

Then, just before lunch, we devoured the amazingly colorful and tasty varieties of sandesh which the Goloka Dhama devotees had given us.


Chanting in Heidelberg

A couple of young ladies, who were smiling as if pleased to see our party, disappeared into the entrance of a building, and I followed them to give them an invitation to our Heidelberg temple. One told me she was a kindergarten teacher, and that very morning they had done Indian dance, and the song they had danced to was Hare Krishna. She was surprised to run into us chanting Hare Krishna on the street on the very same day. I encouraged them to come to our Sunday program at least once, and said it included the chanting and a free vegetarian dinner. The other girl was a vegetarian, and I suggested they visit together.

Many people took pictures of us in Heidelberg.
 
We continued chanting in shops including “The Pure Shop.” You can see what it was like (https://youtu.be/6E_N_exSA-o):


Later a group of young people danced with us outside, and those who were too shy to dance with us watched them and took pictures (https://youtu.be/b9oDtzofY_8).


One man played guitar with us (https://youtu.be/O5q2heUCKX0):


I talked to a tourist from Orange County in California, who was happy to see us, and I told her I lived in our temple in San Diego for six years, and I said we had a place in Laguna Beach.

The book distributors were happy with Heidelberg as it was busier than the previous city.

We stayed out for about 2½ hours. Gaura Karuna Prabhu, who distributes books, and I, who like to do 3 hours of harinama each day, decided to go back out for another 45 minutes, while the others took lunch. Gaura Karuna Prabhu sold another Gitaduring that time.

As we were traveling to our next location, during a five-minute toilet stop, Dvarakadhisa Prabhu, a German book distributor, sold two books to a couple of German ladies who were traveling to Prague. I then gave them an invitation to the Prague temple and the main restaurant.

To see the pictures I did not include in this issue from the same time period, click on the link below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal118?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPyFqbCMztGTVQ&feat=directlink

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam1.3.20 on September 25, 1972, in Los Angeles:

We are educating people to gratify their senses through Krishna. If you want to dance, dance through Krishna.

Painting is not to be stopped, but it must be diverted to Krishna and then there is purification.

In Vedic culture the tax was 25% of the gain. If you had a loss there was no tax.

From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.18 on August 21, 1972, in Los Angeles:

Krishna in Bhagavad-gita, Krishna as Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, and Krishna as Lord Caitanya are all teaching how to approach Krishna. Only Krishna can teach how to approach Krishna.

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from Japa Transformations:

“Early morning is a good time, but if you cannot spare it then, then do it [your chanting] in the afternoon when you save some time for it. But a good block of reserve time is essential. During that time, you should create an environment in which you’re not being bothered by your children or your work worries. Even worse is externally dividing your time between chanting and other duties. Be determined to find a time in the day which is your japa time, and carry it out faithfully every day. Steady performance of this routine will bring you good results. It does not exactly matter whether it is early in the morning or later in the afternoon, as long as it is a time of peace and uninterrupted chanting. Strive to find that time and carry it out for Krishna’s sake and for our sakes. It’s too important to be neglected.”

From “Poem for April 14” in Viraha Bhavan:

“By the force of Prabhupada’s movement
they [the harinama devotees] are fulfilling Lord Caitanya’s
prediction that His names
would be sung in every
town and village of the world. In their
multicolored, informal clothing
they are going out
independently to chant Hare Krishna
in public.
By this
act they are purifying
their minds and
the performance of
the yajnais
imperceptibly bringing
peace and prosperity
to the world.”

From “Poem for April 15” in Viraha Bhavan:

“The ecstasy comes from
chanting the Hare Krishna mantra,
which cleanses the mirror
of the mind and increases
the ocean of transcendental bliss.
It helps one to get a taste of the nectar
for which we are always anxious.
By chanting in public
these devotees are doing
the greatest welfare work
for humanity.
The casual passersby may
not appreciate at first,
but if the devotees are determined
and go out every day, the people’s minds
will be changed. They will find themselves
singing Hare Krishna to themselves
and opening to the Lord who gives them bliss”

From “Poem for April 17” in Viraha Bhavan:

“These three
devotees appear like
free spirits, chanting
in public with no
inhibitions. They
are dancing freestyle
and smiling with genuine emotions.
They know they are the lucky
ones out of millions in ignorance.”

From “Poem for April 18” in Viraha Bhavan:

“Sankirtanamen are like soldiers
in the army of Lord Caitanya.
They don’t use lethal
weapons but a nonviolent
chant which is very effective
in cleansing the mirror
of the mind. They fight
illusion (maya) by singing
the names of Lord Hari.
They do battle with
the forces of evil by
chanting sixteen rounds
and controlling the
senses by avoiding
the four types of prohibitive
sins. By chanting hari-
namain public, they
feel full satisfaction,
and at death Krishna
promotes them back to Godhead.”

From “Poem for April 23” in Viraha Bhavan:

“They are smiling and moving
with a bounce. In Prabhupada’s time
when he raised his arms
hundreds of devotees would
get up and dance. On the
occasions when he personally
began to dance, the place
would go wild with jumping
and leaping. Even today
there are eruptions of
en masse dancing in
temple rooms or down
the streets at Ratha-yatras.
Dancing is a symptom
of ecstasy. Lord Caitanya
moved even the tigers
and elephants to dance
in the Jarikhanda Forest.
In the beginning of the Movement
the people used to think
that dancing Hare Krishnas were high on LSD.
Now they know it is natural ecstasy,
and sometimes they join in.”

Duryodhana Guru Prabhu from Ireland:

from a lecture entitled, “Do Your Dharma, Eliminate Your Karma”:

If you are leading a life with no direction, then you are not doing your dharma.

The average word in Sanskrit has 22 meanings. I used to run the Sanskrit department for the production of Srila Prabhupada's books for some time when Srila Prabhupada was on the planet.

Examples of dharma are the law, justice, an expression of your nature, and your essence.

The dharma based on the body and the dharma based on the soul are both important, but the dharma of the soul is more important.

Service to God is eternal. It generates no karma. As long as we generate karma we have to come back to this material world and suffer birth, death, old age, and disease.

Let say you are a creative type, an artist, but your parents convince you go to school for an MBA. You may get a good job and make a lot of money, but because you are not acting according to your nature, you will not be satisfied at heart.

If you are not contributing to society, you are not doing your dharma.

If our desires are not in harmony with our dharma, then we should not endeavor to fulfill them.

Srila Prabhupada's dharma was to bring the philosophy of India to the west, which was too absorbed in technology and other manifestations of materialism, and to teach the people out to use their material resources for Krishna and become spiritually perfect.

If you do your dharma, you will feel fulfilled, but satisfying selfish desires provides only temporary happiness.

Did you ever count all the thoughts that your mind comes up with in one minute? Just like rivers flowing to the sea, the desires which enter our mind are endless.

Joining the Hare Krishna movement, I had experiences I never had before. I had a charmed life and blessed life in many ways.

Your dharma does not have to be big. You can do spider dharma and not monkey dharma.

Dharma resides in your heart.

Bhagavad-gita is God talking. If you do not think it is God talking, read it. Have you ever heard anyone talk like that? No. Only God can talk like that.

People who are proud of figuring out how to “get away with” doing as little as possible and still retaining their job, will not be able rise above that consciousness.

“Do not make yourself crazy because you are not perfect” is one message we can gather from Bhagavad-gita18.48: “Every endeavor is covered by some fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work born of his nature, O son of Kunti, even if such work is full of fault.”

Doing your dharma for God is sacrifice.

Krishna said, “Think about what I said, and then do what you wish to do.” He does not say, “I will force you.” or “I will make you feel guilty for the rest of your days.” God is love.

If you are forcing people to do things, you are not being God-like.

In Bhagavad-gita 18.66, Krishna says in effect, “About all those other things you think you have to do, set them at My feet, and you are good to go . . . I don't want you to stress over them.”

Q (by me): Could you describe the difference between the heart and the mind?
A: What does Krishna say about the mind? It can be our best friend or worst enemy, but God is in the heart.
Interjection (by me): Krishna says when we have attained tranquility, the Supersoul [God within] is reached.
A (continued): Yes. When the mind is in balance, we can connect with God in the heart.

The mind thinks, and the heart loves.

Our intuition is always right, but sometimes it is clouded by desire.

People do not realize that the mass slaughter of animals in slaughterhouses has a mass karmic reaction for the whole society that supports that industry in many ways.

The Sanskrit word for meat is “mamsa.” This comes from two words, “mam” means “me” and “sa” means “he.” The implication is that in this life I eat the animal and in the next life heeats me,and so on, life after life.

Kadamba Kanana Swami:

Every action has future consequences, whether it is spiritual or material activity. The mind, however, focuses on one thing, and we think we must have this one thing.

Sex life is full of all kinds of consequences and thus the sages recommended it be eliminated or reduced to the minimum.

If devotees are too attached to sex life, they will find they have less energy for devotional service. When they increase their enthusiasm for different activities of devotional service, then they can naturally reduce absorption in sex life. If one tries to reduce sex life to follow scriptural injunctions or out of a sense of duty, it will not last. It will become a heavy duty.

Bhaktiis described as loving devotional service, that we actually love to do the service. It is done with a sense of love, even before the stage of prema.

In the middle of the King's Day kirtana, there is no chance for the people to do their nonsense. We have so many devotees, we create a transcendental atmosphere that affects the people. When we go in the tunnel it is amplified, and they come running into the kirtana. We can see from that how our devotion can be increased. [By immersing ourselves in a spiritual atmosphere.]

If we take our material desires and put them in a box and put them on a shelf, and just get absorbed in devotional service, we will find that when we have free time, and we take down the box, it is half empty. We may exclaim with alarm, “Who has stolen my material desires?” It is Krishna, who is a thief.

I do not know how much love I have for Krishna, but I cannot imagine a life without serving Krishna.

Being from Holland, I loved water and boats. When I became a devotee, we had a program on a boat, and it was nice but nothing special. The best part was the audience could not escape. Either they heard about Krishna from me, or they jumped in the water.

This practice is not boring. Not like we have to give up so many things. We have colorful personalities. We have a movement that is based on individualism. Everyone uses their individuality in serving Krishna, and that lifts us above the ordinary. It is not just devotion but service to Krishna.

In my youth, at King's Day, I would play my guitar and sing, “It is a free day and in a free way, we are going to play.” But now I know what real freedom is.

Orange [the color worn by those in the renounced order of life], for me, means “I belong to Krishna.” The others wearing orange there at King's Day do not know.

Bhakta Rick reserves our spot at King's Day. You do not just sign up at the city council. You have to tape it off, stay there the night before, and fight for it. But he has been doing that as a service for years.

Those who did not go to King's Day, what can I say, you missed something very, very special that could have given you a higher taste in your spiritual life.

Bhakticomes from bhakti.That is the secret.

If we make an effort to stay close with the other devotees, as at this festival, that will help us in a time of need.

Radhadesh is here because of sacrifice. It is not like one rich man donated the castle and everything else. Sacrifice for the glorification of Krishna is what will save us and what will save the world.

Ananta Nitai Prabhu:

When I distribute books at the houses, some people recognize me from harinama, and even though they do not know what harinamais, they say “it has a calming effect on my mind, keep doing it.” They speak such encouraging words about the harinama, and they are not even in ISKCON.

I chanted “Gauranga” in the presence of one pregnant lady, and she said the baby started kicking.

I remember before I moved in the temple I was addicted to smoking. I decided I would smoke and chant Hare Krishna and one of them would have to go, so I did. I would smoke a cigarette and then chant Hare Krishna, and then smoke another cigarette and chant Hare Krishna. Eventually the smoking went away.

People think it is either book distribution or harinama sankirtana [chanting in the street] but you can do both. By doing harinama the people get to know you, and then when you do books at the houses, it is easier because they know you.

When you are selling books on the street, you only reach a certain number of people, but with harinama, you touch everyone.

I would distribute books during the London Saturday night harinama, I would do thirty books in an hour which is what I usually do in a whole day.

Spiritual life is not about following social trends but doing your individual dharma according to your nature.

One lady said to us in Dublin while we were chanting in the streets, “What you are doing will get harder and harder. I hope your prayer reaches God's ear.”

There were a couple girls who were chanting with me. I was a little worried I was spending so much time with them. Before they left I took down their addresses in my iPad. Later my iPad exploded. I took it to the shop, and they said, “This never happens.” I concluded Krishna was protecting me.

Divya Simha Prabhu [from Poland] speaking at Amsterdam Sunday feast:

I used to do Olympic sports. I believed, like many people, that to be successful at something, I should put all my energy into it, and so I did. Now as a devotee, I am trying to put all my energy into two things, the holy name of Krishna and talks about Krishna. I used to worry, “how can I be free from anger?” or “how can I be a better person?” Now I find by chanting about Krishna I am becoming tolerant and humble. We can understand the third verse of “Siksastaka”in reverse. By always chanting the holy name, we will become tolerant and humble.

After a few days you can attain ruci, the platform of taste, if all you do is chant the holy name and talk about Krishna.

If we get a taste, we can pray to Krishna that we never lose the taste. I have had a taste and lost it. Now I pray to Krishna to never lose the taste.

Premarnava Prabhu:

Comment on a class on Krishna's protection:

The devotees were doing really well on sankirtana in Londonderry during the time there were many riots. Once they were distributing books while a riot broke out. They kept on distributing books until it got really bad, and then went to their van. Two IRA guys overpowered them and started driving away with their van. In those days, the IRA would burn vehicles as a protest. Mo did not know what to do so he just grabbed onto the leg of one guy as they were driving away and cried out, “Nrsimhadeva” as loud as he could. Two guys suddenly appeared and came to their rescue, pulling the IRA men out of the van. Mo got in the driver's seat and started to drive. Looking at the IRA men in the rear view mirror, they appeared completely confused by what had just happened.

Comment on a class about restricting sex life:

One disciple of Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura made an independent arrangement to get married. Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura found out about it and engaged some of his stronger disciples in physically retraining the man from attending the wedding he had arranged for himself. Later that disciple took sannyasa, the renounced order of life, and he spoke with tears of gratitude about how Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura had saved him.

Savyasaci Prabhu [from South Africa]:

We have to find that person who we feel happy to bow down to.

People think the God must be perceivable by our senses to exist, and because they do not see Him, they think He does not exist, and therefore, they are free do whatever they want.

Even though the people at King's Day felt happiness in the association of devotees, but because are not taught in present day society that that is a valid way of being happy, they could not accept it, although they experienced it.

From a van conversation:

When I went on my first retreat with the devotees, as we returned I said to my friend, “Do you realize that we sang the same song the whole weekend? If anything is spiritual, that must be it. Otherwise we would have gotten tired of singing the same song.”

Rasika Mangala Prabhu [from the Soho St. temple]:

From the comments section of a class:

One devotee gave his mother a tulasi necklace, but after some time she returned it. She said found it was hard for her to eat meat while wearing it, but she was not ready to become vegetarian.

I had some friends who I used to drink beer with. One time I went out with them after I became a devotee, but I did not drink. I shared with them some nuts that were mixed with some maha-prasadam spicy preparation from Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's temple in Mayapur. In the course of the evening, our discussion turned toward spiritual topics. Two of my old friends expressed interest in learning meditation, and I agreed to teach them how to chant Hare Krishna on beads as a meditation the next day. One of them was too drunk to remember his promise, but the other came and learned Hare Krishna meditation. He liked it and kept up with it for awhile.

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Some people doubt that devotees in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness are greatly advanced in spiritual life, but you can see many of these symptoms of bhava, the preliminary stage of love of Godhead, manifest in different devotees:

kshantir avyartha-kalatvam
viraktir mana-sunyata
asa-bandhah samutkantha
nama-gane sada rucih
asaktis tad-gunakhyane
pritis tad-vasati-sthale
ity-adayo ’nubhavah syur
jata-bhavankure jane

“When the seed of ecstatic emotion [bhava] for Krishna fructifies, the following nine symptoms manifest in one’s behavior: forbearance, concern that time should not be wasted, detachment, absence of false prestige, hope, eagerness, a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord, attachment to descriptions of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and affection for those places where the Lord resides – that is, a temple or a holy place like Vrindavana. These are all called anubhava(subordinate signs of ecstatic emotion). They are visible in a person in whose heart the seed of love of God has begun to fructify.” (Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu1.3.25–26)