Something real
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 16 January 2015, United Kingdom, Lecture at Matchless Gifts)

kks_kirtanI remember a song from when I was young. I didn’t like that song. It was describing different problems in the world, and the chorus was, “But fortunately we have the key to escape reality.”

I was thinking, “But wait a minute! You didn’t escape reality – you just clouded it over! It’s still the same. You didn’t solve it.” So I didn’t like that song. I wanted something real – real solutions, real freedom. That was the first song I played on my first guitar. I didn’t know any chords, but I was banging it and calling out “Freedom!” at the top of my lungs.

I was serious about it and looked for freedom in so many ways. I remember the poet Leonard Cohen who sang, “Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free.”

I was thinking, “Where is your freedom when you are caught in a world you didn’t make? Another child born in a world it didn’t ask for?” So I encountered these things, and I was searching and thinking, “Where is it?”  

 

 

Hare Krishna! TOVP Tour Daily Diary: Day 3 and Day 4, New Raman…
→ Dandavats.com



Hare Krishna! TOVP Tour Daily Diary: Day 3 and Day 4, New Raman Reti and Dallas, Texas
On Saturday, March 14, the first TOVP program was inaugurated at New Raman Reti Dhama in Alachua, Florida, America’s largest devotee community. A packed temple room of 300+ devotees from all over Florida had come and were engaged in ecstatic kirtan while having darshan of Lord Nityananda’s Padukas and receiving Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari on their heads from Jananivas prabhu’s own hands. After the kirtan Mukhya dasi, the Temple President, welcomed all the devotees and introduced the TOVP Team, and turned the program over to Radha Jivan prabhu.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16335

TOVP Tour Diary Day 5 – An evening at Mr. and Mrs. Vora’s Home
- TOVP.org

On Monday, March 16th, while still in Dallas, Texas, the TOVP Team visited Mr. Vora’s home at his invitation, bringing the Lord’s Padukas and Sitari.

The previous evening at the temple during the TOVP presentation Mr. Vora had pledged a Silver Gratitude Coin and he wanted to encourage some of his friends to do the same. A few of his friends came on short notice and one Gold Gratitude Coin was pledged for $250,000.

The post TOVP Tour Diary Day 5 – An evening at Mr. and Mrs. Vora’s Home appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

TOVP Tour Day 4 – Dallas, Texas Tops Alachua
- TOVP.org

Early Sunday morning, March 15th, the TOVP Team consisting of Jananivas prabhu, Radha Jivan prabhu, Vraja Vilas prabhu and Sunanda prabhu flew to the Lone Star State, Dallas, Texas.

Arriving at Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji Dhama, the Lord’s Padukas and Sitari were greeted by a large kirtan and gave darshan to all the devotees. In the evening the TOVP program began with arati to Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji followed by more krtan. The temple room was at maximum capacity of 300+ devotees by the time the program began. Nityananda das, the temple president, introduced the TOVP Team consisting again of Ambarisa and Svaha prabhus, Jananivas prabhu, Radha Jivan prabhu, Vraja Vilas prabhu and Sunanda prabhu, and turned over the program to Radha Jivan. Once again, he introduced the speakers, making heart-stirring appeals in-between each speaker asking devotees to make a sacrifice for the TOVP and pledge accordingly. Pledge cards again started pouring in and to everyone’s total amazement by the end of the program $1 million was pledged, far surpassing anyone’s expectations. The Lord was certainly inspiring devotees from within their hearts. Ambarisa handed out Silver Gratitude Coins to donors, giving them big hugs and blessings. The program concluded with prasadam. Afterwards, Nityananda das was so pleased and inspired with the program that he pledged another $1 million from the Dallas temple.

The post TOVP Tour Day 4 – Dallas, Texas Tops Alachua appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

TOVP Tour Day 3 – The Tour Begins: New Raman Reti Dhama in Alachua, Florida
- TOVP.org

On Saturday, March 14, the first TOVP program was inaugurated at New Raman Reti Dhama in Alachua, Florida, America’s largest devotee community.

A packed temple room of 300+ devotees from all over Florida had come and were engaged in ecstatic kirtan while having darshan of Lord Nityananda’s Padukas and receiving Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari on their heads from Jananivas prabhu’s own hands. After the kirtan Mukhya dasi, the Temple President, welcomed all the devotees and introduced the TOVP Team, and turned the program over to Radha Jivan prabhu. Radha Jivan introduced the speakers, Ambarisa and Svaha prabhus and Jananivas prabhu, while giving rousing and inspiring talks in-between. He concluded the speeches with an appeal to the devotees to make significant pledges to the TOVP which they could fulfill with monthly payments in 5-7 years on the pledge cards previously handed out. Pledge cards started pouring in with pledges for Gold Gratitude Coins ($108,000), Silver Gratitude Coins ($11,000), Radha Madhava Bricks ($2500), Golden Bricks ($1600), Nrsimha Tiles ($1000) and Square Feet ($150) and by the end of the evening an astounding $850,000 had been pledged. Prasadam was served to all the devotees and the program came to an end.

The next day Mukhya mataji wrote a very glowing report which she sent to the other North American Temple Presidents as well as GBC’s. It is reproduced below.

Dear Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I wanted to pass along our positive experience with the first TOVP presentation in NA, and I hope this message can go on the NATP Forum as well.

The program in Alachua was held on a Saturday evening beginning with Gaura Arati and ending with sayana arati at 8:50 pm. Light prasad was served at 9 pm just following. All of our devotees were excited to receive the mercy of Lord Nityananda’s shoes (they are huge and beautiful) and Lord Nrisimhadev’s satari on their heads. I was quite surprised to see a few hundred devotees come out tonight, traveling here from all around Florida. They were so enthused by this opportunity to be blessed by Lord Nityananda.

Our community is rich in bhakti but poor in actual money. The new donation system is to pledge an amount over five years, and this made it doable for a lot of people. I was really surprised to see how much was collected tonight.

It is my hope and sincere belief that by pleasing Lord Caitanya by contributing to build His temple in Mayapur, all of our many projects here in Alachua will be funded too. There is no lack for Krishna. It was a very positive experience for us.

Your servant,

Mukhya devi dasi

The post TOVP Tour Day 3 – The Tour Begins: New Raman Reti Dhama in Alachua, Florida appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Sri Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama 2015 Retrospective
→ Mayapur.com

  Hare Krsna! In this post, we look back at this year’s Navadvipa Mandal parikrama. Today, In ISKCON we have so many activities and engagements to choose from. But which one can give us the full results and mercy that we require? Those engagements which are directly emphasized or requested by the acharyas. Such engagements […]

The post Sri Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama 2015 Retrospective appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Hare Krishna! Grand opening for the celebrations of the 40th…
→ Dandavats.com



Hare Krishna! Grand opening for the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir
At least one hundred Prabhupada disciples, including several who helped build Krishna Balarama Mandir, are attending the epic five-day celebration of the Vrindavan temple’s 40th anniversary from March 24th to 28th 2015. They are recalling the even grander original opening festival from April 16th to 27th, 1975. Attended by 1,000 devotees, it was the culmination of a ten-year struggle by ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada to get a temple established in the sacred village Lord Krishna grew up in – something he saw as an important need especially for foreign devotees. Photos and video from the first day of the scheduled events
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16328

Hare Krishna! IDVM-INDIA at ISKCON LEADS As part of the on-going…
→ Dandavats.com



Hare Krishna! IDVM-INDIA at ISKCON LEADS
As part of the on-going ISKCON LEADS educational program, the ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry (IDVM-India) presented three days of Varnasrama Seminars to a group of 30 students who had been selected from various ISKCON centers in India. ISKCON LEADS was established by the GBC some years back to provide systematic training for future leaders within our ISKCON society. The word LEADS is an acronym for “Leadership Education And Development System” whose chairman is HH Bhakti Brihat Mrdanga Maharaja from South Africa and Secretary Vamsi Vadan prabhu located at ISKCON Puna.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16324

Hare Krishna! Beautiful painting of Lord Gauranga on auction for…
→ Dandavats.com



Hare Krishna! Beautiful painting of Lord Gauranga on auction for the benefit of TOVP
Iskcon Cape is proud to offer this beautiful painting of Lord Gauranga on auction. This painting of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was done by Bhakta Gilbert Ngobeni on the Appearance day of Lord Caitanya, as an offering in 2015. Iskcon Cape would like to auction this piece for the benefit of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, All proceeds from the sale of this one of a kind painting will go to the construction of the TOVP project in Mayapur India.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16321

Hare Krishna! Poor Cows I remember years ago my sister arguing…
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Hare Krishna! Poor Cows
I remember years ago my sister arguing with my mum and dad. “How can we eat animals? Isn’t it cruel?” Don’t be silly, she was told; they are meant to be our food. What else is the point of their existence? But the Vedas tell a different story. Like any human, animals are living beings in this world trying to enjoy. Just our bodies differ, but our basic desires are the same. We all want happiness. Sometimes, due to the nature of our desires, we may be obliged to accept an animal body. In fact the word used in the Vedas for meat is mamsa, which means, “you shall be me (if you eat me).”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16316

Board Members Host Lively Community Dialog In New Vrindaban
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Community Dialog on the topic of a possible “Village Council” at the onsite Joint Board Meetings in New Vrindaban

by Lilasuka dasi

The weekend of March 14 and 15, 2015 was a jam-packed, exciting and informative two days for New Vrindaban (NV). There used to be two weekends a year when the two Boards of Directors, namely ISKCON New Vrindaban (INV) & ECO-Vrindaban would get together with their managers and staff so all involved could connect and communicate. Starting two years ago, however, the joint board members decided to expand these weekend gatherings and open them up for all New Vrindaban residents and well-wishers to participate as well.

Devotees at the community dialog.

Devotees at the community dialog.

During the weekend of March 14 and 15, the activities were divided into four sections:

  1. morning: Dept. Heads presented their yearly reports- accomplishments and goals.
  2. afternoon the Community Dialog sessions were held – formal opportunities for board and community members to interact and share concerns with each other, the goal being to improve overall relationships. This year a Village Council idea was introduced.
  3. Sunday morning, everyone was invited to go on a tour of the spots around New Vrindaban that are being improved and/or renovated, such as the Deity kitchen at the RVC temple, and the ox barn at Bahulaban, and more.
  4. Sunday after the feast there were service appreciations given for some devotees who have been serving New Vrindaban for some time in different capacities but have recently stopped these services.

 

Jaya Krsna introducing the dept. head meeting.

Jaya Krsna introducing the dept. head meeting.

And, in between, on Sat. evening there was a relaxed, yet informative event at Prabhupada’s Palace. Sankirtan prabhu gave his dramatic, visual powerpoint  presentation called “How the Hare Krsna Mantra Came to the West”.

The account in this article is a glimpse into Saturday afternoon’s discussion, just one of the weekend’s events, to inform anyone who missed it. There will soon be a series of detailed articles written by Madhava Smullen who also participated in the weekend activities.

Of particular interest to the residents of New Vrindaban was a lively community dialog,, after lunch on Saturday March 14, 2015, which was well attended by many community members. Chaitanya Mangala introduced the topic of a possible Village Council for New Vrindaban, which is just in the idea stage with no details worked out yet. The proposed Council could ideally consist of a body of local devotees working together, where all residents could feel that they have an increased voice in their community of New Vrindaban.

Chaits mentioned how previously leaders of New Vrindaban had made valiant efforts to manage a community through a non-profit religious corporate structure, but this doesn’t work because the required legal structures have restrictions that can’t be transformed into a broader democratic system. Therefore, we need to approach this from a broader perspective.

Chaits emphasized three buzz words for such a Village Council: small, local and simple.

“Small: Let’s just have a few people on the Council, at least to begin with. Later it can expand as needed.”

“Local: The members should be available to regularly meet face to face, for optimum effectiveness and communication.”

“Simple: Let’s create as few pre-conditions as possible, so as not to restrict the group from starting. They can develop the rules they will operate under as they move forward.”

Chaitanya Mangala’s proposal for a “Village Council” is based, in part, on the following quote from Srila Prabhupada:


“Go on acquiring the surrounding lands and in this way we will establish a local self-governing village and show all the world a practical example of spiritual life as Krishna Himself exhibited in Vrindaban.” 

Here is a link:

 

Then the discussion was opened up. Devotees were expressing themselves very respectfully, but frankly as well. Many remarked afterwards that this was a mature discussion coming out of people’s honest desires to have a “village voice”. That is, the residents of New Vrindaban want a voice in how the community is run, so they spoke up frankly, but also showed much appreciation for the current leaders and managers and all the challenges they’ve faced.

At the community dialog.

At the community dialog.

The apathy in NV over the years was mentioned as one of the many challenges. This apathy has different sources. There is much skepticism that things will change, yet others still have hope. Some devotees have complained that, in their opinion, New Vrindaban is being run as more of a corporation than a spiritual institution. Some asked what kind of influence would a Village Council really have on the decision-making process in New Vrindaban. The NV Advocacy Sanga has been discussing many of these issues for the last year and a half.

One devotee appreciated that this year has been identified by Jaya Krsna prabhu as the year of “deepening relationships”. Just as we have to continuously deal with the structure of the roads and buildings of NV, dealing with ongoing devotee relationships is also essential.

A suggestion came up for us to possibly study how a few successful intentional communities run and what their successes are based on. Mukunda das said, “Those communities, although they may not be based on spirituality, have many of the “0’s” in the equation, but we have the “1” (Krsna) to make it perfect. So we can still learn from them.”

An old friend and well-wisher of the Hare Krsna movement, Burke Rochford, a professor of sociology, was present at the meetings. He expressed that he sees these types of dialogs as very important. He said that since Srila Prabhupada had set up New Vrindaban as a community, as opposed to a city temple, that we have had to face certain special challenges. He has also come to understand that the voices of the residents need to help shape the direction of New Vrindaban.

There was a short discussion on the topic of the Sunday feast. People were expressing both sides, namely what enlivens and what sometimes discourages the devotees’ attendance.

Although many topics were touched upon, the themes that were recurring throughout the afternoon were the need for the residents’ voices to be heard and the challenge of rebuilding trust. It was suggested that a Village Council could address these types of concerns for a win/win situation.

crowd at comm dialog4

The NV Advocacy Sanga announced that the Sanga will continue the discussion of a Village Council and try to come up with a solid proposal from their side. They also expressed their wish, along with the joint Board members, that this healthy, open discussion will continue in the community at large.

Destruction & Liberation — Nirodha & Mukti
→ The Enquirer

Destruction occurs when living beings and their energies fall into sleep along with him. [2.10.6]

Here, “living beings” refers to the souls within the cosmos. Their “energies” are all their ambitions and self-conceptions. “Along with him” means along with Hari, Viṣṇu. When Hari falls asleep, all living beings also fall asleep. If they still cling to their ambitions and self-conceptions, this fall into sleep is known as “destruction.”

Hari “falling asleep” means that he closes his eyes towards the external world. The living being “falling asleep” means that he becomes completely inactive as a result.

Liberation occurs when a living being lets go of all external self-images and perfectly embraces its own true form. [2.10.6]

“All external self-images” refers to the ambitions and self-concepts that a living being accepts out of ignorance and foolishness. A living being who lets go of these and embraces his own true form does not experience the destruction as such, instead he gains liberation.

[This is an English rendering of Śrī Jīva Goswāmī’s Tattva Sandarbha, 57.3]

www.vrajakishor.com


Tagged: Destruction, liberation

Everything for Krishna, March 22, Houston, Texas
Giriraj Swami

03.22.15_DallasRtadhvaja Swami and Giriraj Swami spoke at a home program.

“Srila Prabhupada’s motto was, ‘Everything for Krishna and nothing for me.’ So, that is perfection and we should work towards that. If within our house we have the motto everything for Krishna and nothing for me (meaning nothing independent of Krishna), and in this body if we dedicate everything for Krishna and nothing for me, at the time of death we will think of Krishna and go to Krishna and get a spiritual body that is suitable for serving Krishna.”

—Giriraj Swami

Rtadhvaja Swami
Giriraj Swami

Lord Rama and Lord Chaitanya
→ Karnamrita's blog

Author: 
Karnamrita Das

One yet different
[Reposted from 3-24-2010] Today in the USA we are observing Ram Navami, or Lord Rama's holy appearance day anniversary. Although Lord Chaitanya is the combined form or Radha and Krishna, coming to give Krishna prema for the fallen souls of Kali-yuga, he also contains all other incarnations of God within him, including Lord Rama. Therefore, Lord Chaitanya is Universal. Anyone desiring to make spiritual advancement and increase their devotion toward any real incarnation of God can obtain that goal by taking shelter of him—he is so merciful and accessible.

Devotees of Shri Rama can see Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the manifestation of Lord Rama for this age. Shri Chaitanya showed a six armed form to his devotees to demonstrate that he was also Lord Krishna and Lord Rama. At least two principles devotees of Shri Chaitanya were also devotees of Lord Rama. One of them is none other than Hanumanji, who in Chaitanya lila, is the Kaviraja (Ayur-vedic doctor) and great devotee, Murari Gupta. It is said that Murari Gupta cured people’s material and spiritual diseases. He was also one of Lord Chaitanya’s principle biographers. The stanch devotion to Lord Rama of these two devotees was tested in a similar way by Lord Chaitanya, and then he greatly praised their Rama Bhakti or devotion to Shri Rama.

read more

Be human
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 August 2009, Lecture)

Transcribed by Madhumati dd

KKS_Germany_2013The four regulative principles, as Srila Prabhupada explained, is where human life begins. Anyone who does not follow the four regulative principles is an animal… sorry to say it! I mean, there may be some in the room, such animals may be here (crowd laughter), but it is possible to come to the human form of life very quickly by accepting the four regulative principles because as long as we are not, we are simply on the animal platform.

The four regulative principles are nothing spiritually exalted; it is just where human life begins. It is not even an expression of bhakti – no meat, fish or eggs, no intoxication, no gambling and no illicit sex does not mean that we have reached the platform of devotional service yet. It just means that we have stopped being an animal, that’s all! It just means we have just become human but we have not done anything for Krsna yet! Then from the human platform, we have to begin to do some service, roll up our sleeves and let us get into it… let us do something now!

ISKCON Leicester welcomes cortege of King Richard III. ISKCON…
→ Dandavats.com



ISKCON Leicester welcomes cortege of King Richard III.
ISKCON Leicester welcomes King Richard III back to the City of Leicester The final journey of the last Plantaganet King Richard III took place on Sunday 22nd March. The historic procession, which travelled throughout the County of Leicestershire came to a climax in the City Centre, just a few metres from ISKCON Leicester. The procession coincided with the Centre’s Sunday program so devotees took the opportunity to welcome many new guests who had travelled into the City from all over the world. They chanted throughout the event, and also read from the Srimad Bhagavatam passages about Kings in the Vedic tradition. “ISKCON Leicester is fortunate to be in a City Centre location. And people who have come into the City to see the reinternment procession to are attracted to the Kirtan and literally walk in off the street,” says Temple President Pradyumna Das. ISKCON Leicester

Should devotees read news?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From Gourav Shaw P:

What does this quote mean?

"One should avoid ordinary topics of novels and fiction, but there is no injunction that one should avoid hearing ordinary news." (Srila Prabhupada, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, Chp 12)

Again it is mentioned "that one should avoid hearing ordinary news."
Many devotees also mentioned that there is no need of listening regular news,reading newspaper.....But we being student should know news to grow our GK which is necessity of any competitive examination now-a-days........Please elaborate the topic....

Podcast:


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


Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 11, No. 4
By Krishna-kripa das
(February 2015, part two)
Ocala Rainbow Gathering, Gainesville, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on March 22, 2015)

Where I Went and What I Did

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

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

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

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

Itinerary

March 22–25: Gainesville
March 26–27: Tampa
March 28–31: Tallahassee
April 1–3: Jacksonville
April 4–7: Gainesville
April 8–11: Washington, D.C.
April 12: Albany
April 13–15: New York City
April 16: Toronto
April 17–23: Ireland (Dublin and Cork)
April 24–26: Rotterdam
April 27: Amsterdam (King’s Day)
April 28: Radhadesh, Belgium
April 29: Germany
April 30–May 3: Simhachalam, Bavaria, Germany (Nrisimha Festival)
May 4–July 16: United Kingdom

Ocala Regional Rainbow Gathering


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


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


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

 


Some people played their instruments along with our music.

 Some people danced.

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

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

Another guy said of the prasadam,“Truly excellent.” Another said, “It is amongst the best food I've had since coming to these woods.” The people were so grateful we came.
 
Some had an odd assortment of eating vessels.
 
Some used coconut bowls.
 
One used chopsticks made from leaves to eat off a leaf plate.

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

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

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


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


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

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

Chanting at the University of Central Florida in Orlando

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

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

Chanting at University of South Florida in Tampa

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


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


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


Chanting at Valencia College in Orlando

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

Chanting at the Monster Truck Rally


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

One blond lady enjoyed dancing with the devotee ladies.

Guru Vagmi Prabhu always distributes.

So does Mother Nitai.

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

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


Chanting at Krishna Lunch
 

Chanting at the Farmers Market


Innovations in Outreach
 

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





   
Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

notes on Beyond Birth and Death:

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

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

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

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from “Poem for February 15” in Viraha Bhavan:

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

Brahma-tirtha Prabhu:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kalakantha Prabhu:

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

People have fanatic blind faith in science.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Comments by me:

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

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

from a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam7.9.19:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recognizing our helpless position is the beginning of our freedom.

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

A pure devotee is a person who depends on Krishna.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Three reasons people believe in impersonalism:
1. Fear of a personal relationship with the Absolute.
2. Pride in or ambition for the attainment of Godhead.
3. The teachings of Sankaracharya [Advaita Vedanta].

What do Vaishnava texts say about impersonalism?
1. The impersonal, God in the heart, and the Supreme Person are three nondual features of the Absolute Truth. (SB 1.2.11)
2. The impersonal comes from the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. (Bg. 14.27)
3. The impersonal realization is more difficult to achieve and maintain. (SB 10.2.32)

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

There is a problem of the conflicting interpretations of the Vaishnava and impersonalist:
aham brahmasmi: I am spirit [Vaishnava] or I am the Supreme Spirit [impersonalist].
tat tvam asi: You (Krishna) are that Supreme [Vaishnava] or You (the individual) are that Supreme. [impersonalist]

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

Ranjit Prabhu:

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

Animal life is characterized by constant fear.

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

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

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

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

Krishna explains to Arjuna that his idea was very limited.

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

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

Hanan Prabhu:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Arjuna had what psychologists would call a breakdown.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q: Do you have example of your plans being frustrated by Krishna and it turned out for the better?
Comment by Kalakantha Prabhu: I was on the town council of LaCrosse. A redneck guy ran against me in the next election. I lost by one vote. If my wife voted for me, I would have won. Rtadhvaja Swami then said we need someone in Gainesville, and I was free to go, so I did.

Additional comments on classes:

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

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

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

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

From an evening discussion with sharing of inspiring moments:

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

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

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

-----

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

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