Travel Journal#9.5: North Florida
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk


Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 5
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2013, part one)
North Florida
(Sent from London, England, on April 28, 2013)




Where I Went and What I Did

March began for me with my alternative Spring Break. While my friends from Krishna House visited our farm in Mississippi and temples in Houston and New Orleans, I decided to chant at the North Florida schools whose Spring Break was later in the month, Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee and the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville. In the ten-day break, I did harinama on nine of the days, organizing eight of the harinamas, and joining Amrita Keli dd and her friends on the remaining day on the green at UNF. The second week of March, I was back in Gainesville, chanting on the campus there, until Saturday, March 16, the day of the St. Augustine Ratha-yatra, another delightful experience.

In the “Insights” section I have great quotes from my personal reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books, very inspirational Srila Prabhupada memories by Yadubara Prabhu, extensive notes on a lecture Kalakantha Prabhu gave in Mayapur on what encouraged him in his devotional service and practical and effective ideas for encouraging others, some additional knowledge about Lord Shiva, the greatest of Vaishnavas, and notes on other lectures by senior and junior notes from classes in North Florida.

First Friday Harinama in Tallahassee

I love it when the devotees from Gainesville come and chant at First Friday in Tallahassee. We can do some very lively chanting that attracts people’s minds with a large group of enthusiastic young devotees. There were sixteen of us stopping in Tallahassee on the first evening of our Spring Break trip. Daru Brahma Prabhu now distributes his spiritual food on the access road to Railroad Square, and everyone has to pass by his booth, both coming and going. We set down a few blankets and chanted near where the prasadam was served out, but we had so many people we could also chant on the street which encircled Railroad Square, and as we did so, many people were happy to see us and some joined in the dancing with enthusiasm. Damodar Prasad was very happy to distribute five Bhagavad-gitasin a half an hour to the many people walking by. Tulasirani and Hladini also distributed many books. It was Alex’s first time, and she really liked the event. We chanted from about seven to about ten in the evening. It was a great way to start the Spring Break.

Harinama in Tallahassee

Nimai Pandit and I stayed in Tallahassee for our alternative Spring Break trip while the others continued on to Houston. On Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance anniversary we chanted at Tallahassee’s Lake Ella. The Thakura had great faith in the chanting as a spiritual practice saying, “Srinama-sankirtana [the congregational chanting of the the holy name] is the best sadhana[spiritual practice].If other sadhanas help us in krishna-sankirtana, then they deserve to be called sadhana; otherwise they are simply impediments to sadhana. Sri-krishna-nama-sankirtana is the emperor of sadhanas. It is the only infallible sadhana capable of bringing us to siddhi [perfection].”A new person joined us at the lake, played the African djembedrum and bought a Bhagavad-gita. I had prayed to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura that she buy a book. After all, the book distribution was his idea! He had told our Srila Prabhupada, “If you get money, print books!” We ended having seven people chanting altogether, and Nimai Pandit Prabhu distributed so many cookies I had to make another batch. Melanie wrote, “I’ll never forget that little girl with a slice of half eaten pizza in one hand so enthusiastically accepting the prasada[food offered to the Lord] in the other. She was in bliss!” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati also promoted prasadam distribution as well as the chanting of the holy name, saying “We have to force-feed prasadato persons full of anarthas[nonbeneficial desires]. Those who have no interest in spiritual life should be given prasada.By taking prasadathey will gradually attain kanishtha-adhikara[the first stage of devotion to the Lord]. If someone has no inclination for bhakti[devotion to the Lord], then a devotee should offer some food to Krishna while chanting mantras and then give him that prasada.”

We also chanted at Lake Ella on Sunday, and Franco and Eric, two workers at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville, who had come to Tallahassee to visit a friend, came to the Sunday feast program, and then kindly drove us to Lake Ella and chanted for half an hour with us.

Monday and Tuesday Nimai Pandit joined me in chanting on the campus with a book table, invitations, and oatmeal cookies. We met many interested students who were previously unaware of our lunch program, cooking classes, and Bhagavad-gita classes and who came to know of them. Nimai Pandit Prabhu, although originally expressing shyness, ended up going out by himself with the book table on Wednesday and Friday while I was in Jacksonville, and he collected the emails of many interested students. Thursday it rained.

Harinama at UNF in Jacksonville

While chanting at UNF, I talked to one girl who glanced toward the kirtana as she walked by. I invited her to our program of hatha yoga, spiritual discussion, chanting, and vegetarian food. She was a political science major, and she said they could use doing some yogain the political field. I replied that they could use some chanting too. I asked if she was hungry and offered her rice, vegetables, and granola, and she took a handful of granola. She said she was vegetarian and that none of the clubs serve vegetarian dinners, and that she would come by our Krishna Club.

When I offered an invitation to someone who walked by, another boy who overheard me said, “I’ll take one.” His name was Dan, and he had done meditation, and he also said he would come to the programs.

Troy, who had once played drum for Amrita Keli and I, came by and stopped to talk. I offered him some granola which he accepted.

One boy who liked the club but was busy on Thursday, the day of our meetings, came by. He was happy when I told him of our Friday breakfast program, with its walking meditation on the nature trails, singing, class, and breakfast, and I took his email so we could remind him about it.

One man with a party of twenty high school students from Miami came right up to me, and figuring they were on a tour, I explained myself by saying, “This is the free speech area.” He asked if I was with the university or was just here recruiting. I said we had a club here, and I was promoting our meetings. I told him that we also had clubs at University of Florida, where we distribute 800 plates of food a day, and also at Florida State University, where we distribute 130 plates a day. He said he ate the food at UF, back when we served it for free, probably decades ago. He said, “I have a question for you. Most students are from Christian backgrounds, so how do you introduce them to your tradition, which is so different from their own.” It was a great question, and I wished I had a great answer all prepared to give him. The best I could do off the top of my head was to say that glorification of the Lord through song is present in practically every tradition. And I told the story of attending the progressive dinner organized by the chaplins at UF. There I talked to girls in a couple of different Christian choirs and explained that glorifying the Lord in congregation through song, according to our tradition, is the most powerful spiritual practice for this age. Both girls agreed, each saying, “That is what I like best about our church too.” The leader of the high school group was satisfied with my answer, and I wished his party well on their tour of UNF, one of my favorite campuses because the people are so friendly and have time to talk.

Tallahassee Rainbow Gathering

I failed in convincing my friends from Krishna House to go to the Tallahassee Rainbow Gathering on the way back from their trip to Houston, so I only had three participants lined up to go and one of them canceled at the last moment, having to serve in our Tallahassee Restaurant, Higher Taste, to cover for someone who did not show up for work. Thus I was left to chant and distribute Krishna food at the Tallahassee Rainbow with just one other devotee, an Indian Ph.D. physics student and brahmacari, Nimai Pandit Prabhu. As Rainbow Gatherings are not ideal places for Indian brahmacaris, Nimai was afraid to go, so I told him to pray to Srila Prabhupada and Gaura Nitai for protection, and off we went to distribute halava from Krishna House in Gainesville and some very tasty and nutritious kitri which Daru Brahma and Nama Kirtana Prabhus had freshly prepared in Tallahassee.

The gathering was conveniently located at Moore Lake, under half an hour from our student center in Tallahassee. Two people were too few to carry our supplies, so we engaged some helpful Rainbows. One girl, who was visiting from Michigan with some friends, helped us carry stuff both in and out, and on the way out when we sangHare Krishna, she sang along, all this without having had contact with the Hare Krishna devotees before. I met Amanda, who I saw several years ago at University of North Florida, and who arranged a program with the devotees and her peace organization on the campus. In later years, I would see her at the Ocala Rainbow Gather, and this year, in Tallahassee. She took two plates of prasadam, one when we arrived and one just before we left. We had a little extra kitri that we left at a crossroads called Max’s Corner, along with some halava, The bulk of the extra halava we left in a box at a school bus in the parking lot, along with a message to give it to our friend, Kyra, from Alachua, who we heard was camping out there and who we were sure would distribute it. After the event, we encountered Kyra later in Alachua at a Sunday feast, with friends from the Tallahassee gathering, and learned that she did get some of the halavawe had left, but the Rainbows had distributed a lot of the halava without her assistance. It was beautiful to see the Rainbow kids that Kyra had brought singing and dancing before Radha Shyamasundara in Alachua. At the gathering we also met Bhakta Clay, a new devotee from the Tallahassee area, who had lived in Krishna House while I was traveling. Nimai talked with him briefly, and he helped us carry our remaining supplies out and chanted with us on the way. One boy at the trading circle asked if I could recite Bhagavad-gita as he worked on some handicrafts. I was more interested in chanting Hare Krishna than reciting the Gita, but considering that it was rare to be asked to speak the Gita, I read the four key verses from chapter 10, which he appreciated. Because of his sincerity, I gave him a Gita which I paid for myself. As we left, a young man needed a ride to the city, and we let him come in the back of the van. He recognized we were Hare Krishnas, and recited the entire Hare Krishna mantra perfectly and told us how much he liked Bhagavad-gita. I explained how it had so many universal truths in it and he agreed. On the whole, it was inspiring to be instrumental in some people getting initial contact with Krishna, and others happily getting another dose of Krishna food and Krishna chanting. I was grateful to Nimai Pandit Prabhu for his going beyond his limits in doing that outreach, and he was glad he had come.

Saint Augustine Ratha-yatra

Saint Augustine Ratha-yatra is one of my favorite experiences of my winter in North Florida. Because people come there from all over the United States, it is a great location, and this year, the weather was perfect, sunny and in the 70s (the low 20s Celsius). Before the Ratha-yatra, we do harinama on the very crowded and narrow St. George Street, which is otherwise not allowed. In the beginning very few people took the Krishna, Reservoir of Pleasurepamphlets we were freely handing out, but after the awhile, people loosened up and many people began smiling and taking them. A few people even danced with the devotees.

It was first Ratha-yatra of the season for the Alachua-based Jagannatha Deities, who go to about six Ratha-yatras in North Florida in the course of the year. The sound system was good, the chanting melodious, and many devotees danced.

We had a stage show in the park, and some devotees played music there during the harinama and the Ratha-yatra, and there was more chanting and traditional Indian dance as part of the stage show afterward. There was also a free feast with a curd vegetable preparation that was very good.

During the chanting at the stage show I danced for awhile amidst the crowd of people wandering through the park and those having lunch. Tulasirani dd engaged some of the middle-aged bikers in dancing, which was a humorous and surprising first for her.

As our festival was ending and as we were cleaning up, locals who had come each year thanked us for doing the festival, and it was beautiful to see their appreciation.

The St. Augustine Recordprinted an article “Decorated chariot rolls through St. Augustine” in which author Sheldon Gardner which describes the festival and includes brief descriptions how some of devotees became attracted to Krishna consciousness. Thanks to The Record for the Ratha-yatra cart illustration above.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.49, purport:

“Somehow or other one must be enlightened about his past, present and future. One who is interested only in his present body and who tries to enjoy his senses to the fullest extent is understood to be engrossed in the mode of ignorance. His future is very, very dark. Indeed, the future is always dark for one who is grossly covered by ignorance. Especially in this age, human society is covered by the mode of ignorance, and therefore everyone thinks his present body to be everything, without consideration of the past or future.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.50, purport:

“For example, if one is struggling in the ocean, he must swim through it alone. Although many other men and aquatics are swimming in the ocean, he must take care of himself because no one else will help him. Therefore this verse indicates that the seventeenth item, the soul, must work alone. Although he tries to create society, friendship and love, no one will be able to help him but Krishna, the Supreme Lord. Therefore his only concern should be how to satisfy Krishna. . . . We should remember that everyone is responsible for his own life. If an individual becomes a pure devotee of Krishna, he is then delivered from the ocean of nescience.”

from Cc. Adi. 14.1 purport:

“The Hari-bhakti-vilasaconfirms that difficult things become easy to understand if one remembers Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and easy things become very difficult to understand if one forgets Him. We actually see that even those who are very great scientists in the eyes of the general public cannot understand the very simple idea that life comes from life, because they do not have the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They defend the false understanding that life comes from matter, although they cannot prove that this is a fact. Modern civilization, therefore, progressing on the basis of this false scientific theory, is simply creating problems to be solved by the so-called scientists.”

from Cc. Adi. 14.19 purport:

“Because of His protecting and maintaining this world in the present Kali-yuga, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is known as Visvambhara, which refers to one who feeds the entire world. The movement inaugurated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu when He was present five hundred years ago is again being propagated all over the world, and factually we are seeing its practical results. People are being saved, protected and maintained by this Hare Krishna movement. Thousands of followers, especially Western youths, are taking part in this Hare Krishna movement, and how safe and happy they feel can be understood from the expressions of gratitude in their hundreds and thousands of letters.”

from Cc. Adi. 14.22 purport:

“In the Caitanya-bhagavata this pastime is described as follows: "The Lord, with His beautiful eyes, would cry, but He would stop immediately upon hearing the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. When the ladies, understanding the fun of the Lord, discovered that He would cry and then stop upon hearing the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, they all took it as a clue to chant Hare Krishna as soon as the Lord cried. Thus it became a regular function. The Lord would cry, and the ladies would begin chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, clapping their hands. In this way all the ladies of the neighboring houses would assemble in the home of Sacimata to join in the sankirtana movement twenty-four hours a day. As long as the ladies continued to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, the Lord would not cry but would very pleasingly smile upon them."

from Cc. Adi. 14.51 purport:

“Our Krishna consciousness movement is introducing this bona fide method of worship in the Western world. Its members are going from village to village and town to town with Deities of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, teaching people how to worship the Lord by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, offering prasadamand distributing prasadam to people in general.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, chapter 34:

“No one, while remaining on the material platform, should discuss these different descriptions of bhava and anubhava by quoting different statements of transcendental literatures. Such manifestations are displays of the transcendental pleasure potency of the Lord. One should simply try to understand that on the spiritual platform there are many varieties of reciprocal love.”

from Bhagavad-gita As It Is 10.12–13, purport:

Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and one should always meditate upon Him and enjoy one’s transcendental relationship with Him.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

The value of my poeticized Srimad-Bhagavatam is that it is very condensed. Thus you can cover all the pastimes in theKrishnabook in just thirty classes.

from a lecture given in Mayapur:

“This verse has many interesting facets. For one thing, it puts the position of father, mother, husband and guru on the same level. Nobody should take any of these responsible positions unless they are capable of giving real shelter to their dependents. No one would think I cannot be a perfect mother or father, therefore I should not become one. Similarly, no one should think I cannot be perfect as a spiritual master, therefore I should not become one. Caitanya Mahaprabhu encouraged everybody, yare dekha, tare kaha 'krishna'-upadesa amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa. (CC Madhya 7.128) Everybody, wherever you go, whomever you meet, tell them about Krishna and that way become a spiritual master and try to liberate your land.”

“There is something very wonderful about the commonality between gurus, husbands, and parents and the responsible people. And that is they have the wonderful ability to give unconditional love to their dependents, love that is given so freely regardless of how the dependent responds, that is the unifying quality of these various positions.”

“Ravindra Swarup Prabhu wrote a very beautiful and eloquent praise of Srila Prabhupada, in which he described how he went, this elderly swami went to the lower east side of New York City Manhattan very degraded place, and presented sainthood as a viable career option.”

“So I was thinking about what has kept me in Krishna consciousness for forty years. In every case, it was the loving reciprocation, the loving presentation of the devotees.”

“Srila Prabhupada was there [in Mayapur] each morning giving class, taking us around, circumambulating the Deities and ringing the bell, making everyone dance in ecstasy. Speaking from the 7th canto telling us how the same hand that ripped apart Hiranyakashipu was patting the head of Prahlad Maharaja.”

“In this way so many wonderful memories were there. I was twenty years old, very inexperienced, I felt like I was living the Caitanya-caritamrtaand those memories of Srila Prabhupada and his kindness have kept me in Krishnaconsciousness.”

“H. H. Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja and I lived in the back of a van together for years. We have very different backgrounds. He was very experienced, college educated, and he was very strong in his spiritual life. Every morning he would get up at midnight every day and he would chant many rounds and write a letter to Srila Prabhupada every day and read and then he would wake me up. . . . He never ever made me feel anything but very much appreciated and respected and loved. Never did I feel like he is laying some kind of guilt trip on me or feeling better than me. I never thought I felt anything from him but this unconditional love. That sustained me for many, many years.”
“H. H. Tamal Krishna Maharaja was so kind to all of the families in the community and very accommodating to everybody and very respectful and appreciative and so unconditional in his love. . . . He said not everybody can oversee a community. He said the Six Goswamis could do this, dhira adhira jana priyo.He quoted this same verse, they were dear to every body, both devotees and nondevotees. And they would come to them for advice.”

“And finally one very special devotee, Yamuna Devi Prabhu, Prabhvi. I don’t dare call her Mother Yamuna. I tried that one time and she said, yes, Father Kalakantha. . . . We would go to her ashram for Srimad-Bhagavatamclass. It was so sweet. She and Dina Tarini were so learned and also loving in their approach to Krsna consciousness. . . . She told about the time that they were recording the Radha Krsna temple album. All of the devotees were at the studio in Apple records. George was in the control room mixing. They were recording for several hours. . . . She was awake by herself, so she sat down at the harmonium began singing a bhajana. . . . She [had] listened to this bhajanaover and over again, never seeing it in print. Just to pass the time, she started singing as best as she could remember “Bhaja Hu Re Mana.” Of course she sang bhaja mana hu re.And she was just singing and when she finished George came out of the studio, and said I was recording that and I want to put it on the album. . . . She had no idea it was being recorded. She did not want to put it on the album but George insisted, ‘I have to put it on.’ There were many mistakes in the language and the words.”

“Later Srila Prabhupada heard the bhajana and said, ‘You have made a mistake.’ She was so embarrassed, and said ‘I’m sorry.’ He said, ‘No, no, that’s alright, you can fix it later.’”

“So when talking to new people, look for some way in which they are better than you. Maybe they are older than you, maybe younger, more educated, better looking more experienced, something in them that is superior to you and then talk about that thing.”

“The second thingyena tena prakarena, manah krsna nivesayat(from The Nectar of Devotion) first of all, think about Krishna, the rules and regulations can come later.
Another thing that was very radical I noticed whenever students came to the temple room, they would see the murtiof Srila Prabhupada in our small temple room, and they would become very disturbed, just very strange. We had a full size murtiof Srila Prabhupada in a small temple, and it just dominated everything. So we opened a Bhaktivedanta Library in another room and we moved the murtithere. Then the students seemed to feel more comfortable. It was less strange because they did not know who Prabhupada was. So when they came we started teaching them about Prabhupada, reading Lilamrtaover lunch everyday, talking about his life, teaching the words of the songs he taught us and explained the meaning and then more and more of them started joining and then they said, ‘Why is the murtiof Srila Prabhupada not in the temple room?’”

“When they asked for it, then we brought it back. And now it’s cool because they tell the other students, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Prabhupada, he’s so cool.’”

“We let them come in on the basis of an experiment. We say just enroll for a semester. You have to get up early and chant eight rounds, but there is no commitment. You don’t have to be a member of ISKCON, you don’t have to join ISKCON, you don’t even have to like ISKCON. Just learn bhakti and then decide. You do this for one semester, and you attend your classes and then after a semester, you decide if you want more. If you don’t like what you got then you go right back to where you were, karma back guaranteed.”

“And one more important point is this, conversely to catch them doing something right, we have learned not to catch them doing something wrong. Somebody is eating with their left hand. What do we do? ‘Oh, Stop that.’ they are going to feel very uncomfortable like they are on trial. Any moment they can be punished. So we just started noting down, I and the other senior devotees, in our little notebook that they are doing something wrong. Once a week, we sit down together and say here are some of the rules of etiquette we would like you to learn. And without pointing any fingers, we say, eat with the right hand and so many other details.”

“This analogy of guru and parent is very similar. Nothing in my life has prepared me more for taking disciples than having children. You give them love and love and love and that is very natural, but then they do what they are going to do. You learn the meaning of unconditional love when you have children. But with disciples, it is so much nicer. No diapers. And in most cases, they do what you suggest.”

“To see people equally is only possible by loving everybody.”

“We should know that’s the indication we are advancing, when we don’t feel enmity towards anyone else. When we feel love towards them, we can see ourselves honestly, if I would have been in that person's position then I would probably be doing the same thing. We could see how we are common. Not distinguishing by gender or age or race or country, and we can give that affection unconditionally. That is a signpost that we are actually coming closer to loving Krishna. That will be the success of our movement and that will be the glory of Srila Prabhupada. When all the followers of ISKCON show unconditional love, then the whole world will become Krishnaconscious.”

Find the entire text of this lecture at:

Kaliyaphani Prabhu:

comment before St. Augustine Ratha-yatra:

The holy name is Krishna. And Krishna is the worldwide solution for everything.

Laksmimoni dd:

Material things are never as good as we thought they would be, nor do they give us as much satisfaction as we thought they would.
There is a small tinge of the idea of spiritual separation in material life. When we are separated from someone we like, we just remember the good things about them.

The association of the Lord is so nice that when it is lost, one desires it even more than before, and because of that desire, one remembers the Lord constantly and thus gains the perpetual association of the Lord by that constant remembrance.

There is a feeling we have of a lacking within, which is there ultimately because we are lacking Krishna, and to be fixed in devotional service, we have to understand that there is nothing that can remove that feeling of lacking until we attain Krishna.

In spiritual separation one appears to be dissatisfied because he has not attained Krishna, but on the other hand, he is satisfied because he is remembering Krishna more intensely in separation and associating with Him through that remembrance.

We have to hanker to hanker for a taste so that we want to do devotional service.

If we do not desire Krishna, we have to desire to desire to Krishna, and if we cannot desire to desire Krishna, we have to desire to desire to desire Krishna.

George Harrison wrote “My Sweet Lord” after a conversation with Srila Prabhupada in which he was explaining separation from Krishna. When the dawn comes when we see the initial light we anticipate the sun rising, and our desire to see the sun develops more and more.

Srila Prabhupada created the society of devotees to keep us strong in Krishna consciousness.

Sometimes Krishna disappears as a test for His devotees.

comment by Kalakantha Prabhu: Garuda Prabhu in his book about the rasa dance of Krishna gave an analogy in which God disappearing from the gopis who desired enjoy His association alone and reappearing when they cooperated, is compared to God disappearing from sectarian religions who claim to be His favorite until the time they learn to cooperate with each other, when He will appear.

comment by Syamala Kishori dd: One can say the gopis are humble because they did not mind being used as a example for all eternity of devotees who became so proud that Krishna disappeared from them.

Nanda dd:

When life gets especially tough, we must increase our hearing and chanting about Krishna so that that we can see our situation in proper perspective.

comment by Ballabha Sena and Gopala: Prabhupada said in morning walk in Dallas that we know we are beyond the regulations of sadhana-bhaktiif we are beyond eating and sleeping.

Yadubara Prabhu:

[Yadubara Prabhu has several slide shows of still photos taken from the Following Srila Prabhupada video series. He came to Krishna House in Gainesville one Friday evening and commented on some on these slides. Below are some highlights. One devotee youth said she dreamed of Prabhupada that night as a result of his wonderful presentation.]

The San Francisco devotees were very liberal and the New York devotees were conservative, but Srila Prabhupada was such a great soul he encouraged both. Once when Srila Prabhupada was recuperating in New Jersey, the San Francisco devotees sent him a reel-to-reel recording they had made with Hare Krishna chanted to a new tune and accompanied by all kinds of unusual instruments. The New York devotees were aghast, but Srila Prabhupada accepted it, happy that they were still chanting Hare Krishna.

Gaurasundara read all kinds of books about India and learned about the idea of a brahmana, and so he asked if Srila Prabhupada could make him a brahmana. As a result Srila Prabhupada had the first brahmana initiation in Boston.

Prabhupada’s favorite flower was the gardenia because of its wonderful fragrance.

Srila Prabhupada asked his disciples why we had taken so much trouble to organize the San Francisco Ratha-yatra. Then he answered his own question, “It is the compassion of the Vaishnava.”

Srila Prabhupada always paid special attention to the children. He loved the children very much. He understood they were the future of the movement.

Srila Prabhupada noticed there was salt in the caranamrita, the ISKCON Press book he was giving class from had a bad binding, Prabhupada’s name was simply “A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami” instead of “His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,” and the picture of Srila Prabhupada’s guru was upside down on the altar, and thus he could understand something was wrong —they were minimizing their spiritual master.

Srila Prabhupada would be concerned when something was wrong and do the needful, but he never became angry or morose.

Sahajiyaism and impersonalism are two enemies of Vaishnavism.

Whenever the train would stop in India, the devotees would get off the train and have kirtana. One time enroute from Bombay to Amritsar, the train stopped at Mathura for 20 minutes and the devotees had an especially ecstatic kirtana there in the holy dhama.

I asked Srila Prabhupada if I could travel with his party and take pictures. Srila Prabhupada asked if I planned to become a devotee. I was attracted, but I did not think I would join, and so I told him that, and he said, “You cannot stay.” I stayed for two months, and he did not say anything. He knew I was attracted. I came to understand that we cannot stay with the devotees for long if we do not become a devotee. If we try, we will not be able to enter deeply into the association.

One devotee engaged some boy scouts in kirtana. Kirtana was our life and soul. It was about all we did.

In Surat there were four or five engagements each day with full prasadam.

Prabhupada came on the harinamas his discples did at the Kumbha Mela. He could have stayed with friends in Allahabad, as he knew many people from living there for years, but he preferred to stay in the cold in a tent with his disciples.

Three-year-old Sarasvati would tug on people’s shirts and say, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and you should surrender to Him.” Srila Prabhupada said she was a perfect preacher as she told others what she knew about Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada did not care for style of the garments offered him but the devotion they were offered with.

Jean [now Visakha dd] wanted to do a photo essay of a Indian village and suggested she asked Srila Prabhupada which one. Prabhupada replied, “Vrindavan,” and so she did the photo essay and became a devotee in the process, touched by the devotion of the widows chanting in Vrndavana.

Radhika Ramana Prabhu:

from a lecture in Alachua on Shiva Ratri:

Shiva and Parvati lived at Kedarnatha. Once they went to take bathe in the Mandakini, and they saw a beautiful baby, and Parvati was attracted to the beautiful boy who appeared there, but they were busy taking bath, so she set him in their ashram and bathed, When they returned, they found they were locked out of their place, because the boy was Vishnu, and he took over their ashram, and that became Badrinath, and Shiva and Parvati created a new place nearby.

A devotee of Lord Shiva was so faithful in worship, Lord Shiva wanted to reward him, and asked what benediction he wanted. The young devotee said he did not know what was best, and asked Shiva to give him wherever Shiva considered to be best. Lord Shiva thought for a while, and decided devotion to Krishna is the ultimate benefit, and gave him that.

Lord Shiva wanted to participate in Lord Krishna's dance of love, but was told it was not possible. After much protest, he was told he could bathe in a special river and get the body of a gopi, and so he did and joined the dance. But as he is Shiva, the Lord of the dance of destruction, he did an extreme dance that was rocking the whole area. Krishna came to him, praised His dancing and offered Him a benediction. He asked to witness all of Krishna’s pastimes.

Shiva likes to connect people with Krishna.

Shiva asked Yasoda to sprinkle Him with water from Krishna’s bath and remnants of food offered to Krishna.

One early Rajapura Jagannath pujari was annoyed that the local residents were offering everything to a Shiva deity nearby and not Lord Jagannath, so he hid the Shiva deity. After returning to Mayapur he fell from his bike, vomiting blood. He had dream where Shiva appeared saying, “You are so great a devotee of Jagannath you can offend me? You will suffer until you pour water on a Shiva Deity at Alalanatha. He did not immediately follow that order, but he continued to suffer until he did.

Parvati asked for Lord Jagannath’s prasadam, but not for herself. As mother of the universe she wanted to share it with all her kids.

Madhava Prabhu:

Just as in math we start with addition, and then learn the other operations, and then calculation, algebra, and higher and higher mathematics, we start with our regulated spiritual practice (sadhana) and ultimately attain prema (pure love of God).

Comment by Bhakta Paul: We all want to go to heaven, but we don’t want to die first.

Prema Manjari dd:

Defending is the same as fearing because it is the reaction to fear.

In Sweden I was appreciating the beauty of nature during a japa walk and then I noticed a bug trapped in a web and a spider approaching it. I also saw a bird swooping down to catch a worm. I was suddenly struck with the cruelty that is present in nature all around us.

Fear of maya [the energy that causes us to forget our relationship with God], fear of separation from Krishna, and fear that harm may come to Krishna are the fears of the devotees.

A nondevotee sees himself as the Lord of all he surveys, although he may not do so consciously.

Fear of maya [the energy that causes us to forget our relationship with God] is a very healthy fear.

A friend of mind decided she would not take the devotional services to seriously and do some other things. Her experience was that the further she got away from her devotional practice, the more she felt anxiety.

We can be fearless for a day by trying to be complete surrendered to Krishna for that day.

Get up before maya gets up.

Through the different activities of our morning program we are taking shelter of Krishna in different ways.

We have to both endeavor our best and depend on Krishna’s mercy.

Only if we relish pleasure internally from our relationship with Krishna can we be truly detached from the external world.

Try to see how everything Krishna does is good, and behind apparently bad things there is a great good. We have to practice this.

comment by Tulasirani: We do our best to show Krishna that we want to advance our relationship, but we knows that result is up to Krishna.

Nama Kirtana Prabhu:

from a conversation after class:

Gambling seems harmless but there are a lot of bad activities associated with it.

Rohini Kumara Prabhu:

Consider the people in general to be your brothers and sisters and invite them to experience Krishna consciousness.

Q: Suppose a senior person is always very condescending to me. How do I handle it?
A: Approach your authority and explain the situation and ask him the best way to act.

Tulasirani dd:

An ordinary man cannot complete satisfy one wife, but Krishna could completely satisfy so many.

Krishna performed a pastime of having a headache, saying that only the dust of the feet of His devotees could cure it. Narada asked all varieties devotees including Krishna’s queens and the great demigods but only the gopis would risk hellish punishment for committing such an offense [by touching their foot dust to Krishna’s head] to relieve their beloved Krishna’s headache. Seeing the gopis devotion, Narada desired the dust of their feet.

Many of the great teachers in our line are assistants of the gopis in their original spiritual forms, and they retain their completely selfless spirit in their activities in this world.

By our offering prayers and glorifying the pure devotees we can attain the platform of pure devotional service because when we do those things, Krishna will be pleased to help us.

We have taken to this path of pure devotional service, and so we must become purified. We can go through the purification kicking and screaming, or we can surrender to it.

Every time I do not feel like going on harinama, going on book distribution, or going to mangala-arati but I do it anyway, telling Krishna, “I do not feel like doing this, but I am doing it for You,” then it becomes really sweet.

Better to do your sadhana with complete attention and focus than to do something that is way more than you are capable of doing, with distraction.

Krishna consciousness takes great determination, and when you are surrounded by loving devotees, who are supportive, then it is a lot easier.

Sometimes it is valuable to come before the Deity and say, “I want to come to the point of complete surrender, please help me. That is all I want.” I always feel better after that.

The more we do our activities for Krishna’s pleasure, the happier we will be and the more we will be inclined to act for His pleasure in the future.

from a conversation after the St. Augustine Ratha-yatra:

I was walking down the same street, hours after the harinama was over, and it seemed so boring. But that is what the people experience every day. Sometimes we forget how life sucks without kirtana.

Dr. Dina Bandhu Prabhu:

The sweetest thing for the Supreme Lord is when the living entity uses his free will to offer Him presentations in devotion.

Karma-yoga is like if you are an expert chef and you make what you are best at cooking and offer it to your friend. Bhakti-yoga is like if you ask what your friend wants to eat and make that for him.

Prateek:

from a conversation:

Bankameans very good looking, so banka-bihari means Krishna is a very good looking performer of pastimes.

-----

“The name of Krishna is purely spiritual. There is no knowledge as great as that of the name, and no practice of austerity or meditation, no result of spiritual activity, no form of renunciation, no act of sense control, no pious act, and no goal that can match it. The name is the supreme liberation, the supreme destination, and the supreme peace. The name is eternal life itself. The name is the supreme devotion and the supreme intelligence. The name is the supreme love and the supreme remembrance. The name is the soul's reason for existence. The name is the lord of the soul, the most worshipful object, and the supreme guru.
“These high praises are verified by the realizations awakening devotees gain as they practice chanting, and so they come to have deep conviction in the holy name.”
—Agni Purana

Travel Journal#9.5: North Florida
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk


Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 5
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2013, part one)
North Florida
(Sent from London, England, on April 28, 2013)




Where I Went and What I Did

March began for me with my alternative Spring Break. While my friends from Krishna House visited our farm in Mississippi and temples in Houston and New Orleans, I decided to chant at the North Florida schools whose Spring Break was later in the month, Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee and the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville. In the ten-day break, I did harinama on nine of the days, organizing eight of the harinamas, and joining Amrita Keli dd and her friends on the remaining day on the green at UNF. The second week of March, I was back in Gainesville, chanting on the campus there, until Saturday, March 16, the day of the St. Augustine Ratha-yatra, another delightful experience.

In the “Insights” section I have great quotes from my personal reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books, very inspirational Srila Prabhupada memories by Yadubara Prabhu, extensive notes on a lecture Kalakantha Prabhu gave in Mayapur on what encouraged him in his devotional service and practical and effective ideas for encouraging others, some additional knowledge about Lord Shiva, the greatest of Vaishnavas, and notes on other lectures by senior and junior notes from classes in North Florida.

First Friday Harinama in Tallahassee

I love it when the devotees from Gainesville come and chant at First Friday in Tallahassee. We can do some very lively chanting that attracts people’s minds with a large group of enthusiastic young devotees. There were sixteen of us stopping in Tallahassee on the first evening of our Spring Break trip. Daru Brahma Prabhu now distributes his spiritual food on the access road to Railroad Square, and everyone has to pass by his booth, both coming and going. We set down a few blankets and chanted near where the prasadam was served out, but we had so many people we could also chant on the street which encircled Railroad Square, and as we did so, many people were happy to see us and some joined in the dancing with enthusiasm. Damodar Prasad was very happy to distribute five Bhagavad-gitasin a half an hour to the many people walking by. Tulasirani and Hladini also distributed many books. It was Alex’s first time, and she really liked the event. We chanted from about seven to about ten in the evening. It was a great way to start the Spring Break.

Harinama in Tallahassee

Nimai Pandit and I stayed in Tallahassee for our alternative Spring Break trip while the others continued on to Houston. On Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance anniversary we chanted at Tallahassee’s Lake Ella. The Thakura had great faith in the chanting as a spiritual practice saying, “Srinama-sankirtana [the congregational chanting of the the holy name] is the best sadhana[spiritual practice].If other sadhanas help us in krishna-sankirtana, then they deserve to be called sadhana; otherwise they are simply impediments to sadhana. Sri-krishna-nama-sankirtana is the emperor of sadhanas. It is the only infallible sadhana capable of bringing us to siddhi [perfection].”A new person joined us at the lake, played the African djembedrum and bought a Bhagavad-gita. I had prayed to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura that she buy a book. After all, the book distribution was his idea! He had told our Srila Prabhupada, “If you get money, print books!” We ended having seven people chanting altogether, and Nimai Pandit Prabhu distributed so many cookies I had to make another batch. Melanie wrote, “I’ll never forget that little girl with a slice of half eaten pizza in one hand so enthusiastically accepting the prasada[food offered to the Lord] in the other. She was in bliss!” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati also promoted prasadam distribution as well as the chanting of the holy name, saying “We have to force-feed prasadato persons full of anarthas[nonbeneficial desires]. Those who have no interest in spiritual life should be given prasada.By taking prasadathey will gradually attain kanishtha-adhikara[the first stage of devotion to the Lord]. If someone has no inclination for bhakti[devotion to the Lord], then a devotee should offer some food to Krishna while chanting mantras and then give him that prasada.”

We also chanted at Lake Ella on Sunday, and Franco and Eric, two workers at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville, who had come to Tallahassee to visit a friend, came to the Sunday feast program, and then kindly drove us to Lake Ella and chanted for half an hour with us.

Monday and Tuesday Nimai Pandit joined me in chanting on the campus with a book table, invitations, and oatmeal cookies. We met many interested students who were previously unaware of our lunch program, cooking classes, and Bhagavad-gita classes and who came to know of them. Nimai Pandit Prabhu, although originally expressing shyness, ended up going out by himself with the book table on Wednesday and Friday while I was in Jacksonville, and he collected the emails of many interested students. Thursday it rained.

Harinama at UNF in Jacksonville

While chanting at UNF, I talked to one girl who glanced toward the kirtana as she walked by. I invited her to our program of hatha yoga, spiritual discussion, chanting, and vegetarian food. She was a political science major, and she said they could use doing some yogain the political field. I replied that they could use some chanting too. I asked if she was hungry and offered her rice, vegetables, and granola, and she took a handful of granola. She said she was vegetarian and that none of the clubs serve vegetarian dinners, and that she would come by our Krishna Club.

When I offered an invitation to someone who walked by, another boy who overheard me said, “I’ll take one.” His name was Dan, and he had done meditation, and he also said he would come to the programs.

Troy, who had once played drum for Amrita Keli and I, came by and stopped to talk. I offered him some granola which he accepted.

One boy who liked the club but was busy on Thursday, the day of our meetings, came by. He was happy when I told him of our Friday breakfast program, with its walking meditation on the nature trails, singing, class, and breakfast, and I took his email so we could remind him about it.

One man with a party of twenty high school students from Miami came right up to me, and figuring they were on a tour, I explained myself by saying, “This is the free speech area.” He asked if I was with the university or was just here recruiting. I said we had a club here, and I was promoting our meetings. I told him that we also had clubs at University of Florida, where we distribute 800 plates of food a day, and also at Florida State University, where we distribute 130 plates a day. He said he ate the food at UF, back when we served it for free, probably decades ago. He said, “I have a question for you. Most students are from Christian backgrounds, so how do you introduce them to your tradition, which is so different from their own.” It was a great question, and I wished I had a great answer all prepared to give him. The best I could do off the top of my head was to say that glorification of the Lord through song is present in practically every tradition. And I told the story of attending the progressive dinner organized by the chaplins at UF. There I talked to girls in a couple of different Christian choirs and explained that glorifying the Lord in congregation through song, according to our tradition, is the most powerful spiritual practice for this age. Both girls agreed, each saying, “That is what I like best about our church too.” The leader of the high school group was satisfied with my answer, and I wished his party well on their tour of UNF, one of my favorite campuses because the people are so friendly and have time to talk.

Tallahassee Rainbow Gathering

I failed in convincing my friends from Krishna House to go to the Tallahassee Rainbow Gathering on the way back from their trip to Houston, so I only had three participants lined up to go and one of them canceled at the last moment, having to serve in our Tallahassee Restaurant, Higher Taste, to cover for someone who did not show up for work. Thus I was left to chant and distribute Krishna food at the Tallahassee Rainbow with just one other devotee, an Indian Ph.D. physics student and brahmacari, Nimai Pandit Prabhu. As Rainbow Gatherings are not ideal places for Indian brahmacaris, Nimai was afraid to go, so I told him to pray to Srila Prabhupada and Gaura Nitai for protection, and off we went to distribute halava from Krishna House in Gainesville and some very tasty and nutritious kitri which Daru Brahma and Nama Kirtana Prabhus had freshly prepared in Tallahassee.

The gathering was conveniently located at Moore Lake, under half an hour from our student center in Tallahassee. Two people were too few to carry our supplies, so we engaged some helpful Rainbows. One girl, who was visiting from Michigan with some friends, helped us carry stuff both in and out, and on the way out when we sangHare Krishna, she sang along, all this without having had contact with the Hare Krishna devotees before. I met Amanda, who I saw several years ago at University of North Florida, and who arranged a program with the devotees and her peace organization on the campus. In later years, I would see her at the Ocala Rainbow Gather, and this year, in Tallahassee. She took two plates of prasadam, one when we arrived and one just before we left. We had a little extra kitri that we left at a crossroads called Max’s Corner, along with some halava, The bulk of the extra halava we left in a box at a school bus in the parking lot, along with a message to give it to our friend, Kyra, from Alachua, who we heard was camping out there and who we were sure would distribute it. After the event, we encountered Kyra later in Alachua at a Sunday feast, with friends from the Tallahassee gathering, and learned that she did get some of the halavawe had left, but the Rainbows had distributed a lot of the halava without her assistance. It was beautiful to see the Rainbow kids that Kyra had brought singing and dancing before Radha Shyamasundara in Alachua. At the gathering we also met Bhakta Clay, a new devotee from the Tallahassee area, who had lived in Krishna House while I was traveling. Nimai talked with him briefly, and he helped us carry our remaining supplies out and chanted with us on the way. One boy at the trading circle asked if I could recite Bhagavad-gita as he worked on some handicrafts. I was more interested in chanting Hare Krishna than reciting the Gita, but considering that it was rare to be asked to speak the Gita, I read the four key verses from chapter 10, which he appreciated. Because of his sincerity, I gave him a Gita which I paid for myself. As we left, a young man needed a ride to the city, and we let him come in the back of the van. He recognized we were Hare Krishnas, and recited the entire Hare Krishna mantra perfectly and told us how much he liked Bhagavad-gita. I explained how it had so many universal truths in it and he agreed. On the whole, it was inspiring to be instrumental in some people getting initial contact with Krishna, and others happily getting another dose of Krishna food and Krishna chanting. I was grateful to Nimai Pandit Prabhu for his going beyond his limits in doing that outreach, and he was glad he had come.

Saint Augustine Ratha-yatra

Saint Augustine Ratha-yatra is one of my favorite experiences of my winter in North Florida. Because people come there from all over the United States, it is a great location, and this year, the weather was perfect, sunny and in the 70s (the low 20s Celsius). Before the Ratha-yatra, we do harinama on the very crowded and narrow St. George Street, which is otherwise not allowed. In the beginning very few people took the Krishna, Reservoir of Pleasurepamphlets we were freely handing out, but after the awhile, people loosened up and many people began smiling and taking them. A few people even danced with the devotees.

It was first Ratha-yatra of the season for the Alachua-based Jagannatha Deities, who go to about six Ratha-yatras in North Florida in the course of the year. The sound system was good, the chanting melodious, and many devotees danced.

We had a stage show in the park, and some devotees played music there during the harinama and the Ratha-yatra, and there was more chanting and traditional Indian dance as part of the stage show afterward. There was also a free feast with a curd vegetable preparation that was very good.

During the chanting at the stage show I danced for awhile amidst the crowd of people wandering through the park and those having lunch. Tulasirani dd engaged some of the middle-aged bikers in dancing, which was a humorous and surprising first for her.

As our festival was ending and as we were cleaning up, locals who had come each year thanked us for doing the festival, and it was beautiful to see their appreciation.

The St. Augustine Recordprinted an article “Decorated chariot rolls through St. Augustine” in which author Sheldon Gardner which describes the festival and includes brief descriptions how some of devotees became attracted to Krishna consciousness. Thanks to The Record for the Ratha-yatra cart illustration above.

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.49, purport:

“Somehow or other one must be enlightened about his past, present and future. One who is interested only in his present body and who tries to enjoy his senses to the fullest extent is understood to be engrossed in the mode of ignorance. His future is very, very dark. Indeed, the future is always dark for one who is grossly covered by ignorance. Especially in this age, human society is covered by the mode of ignorance, and therefore everyone thinks his present body to be everything, without consideration of the past or future.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.50, purport:

“For example, if one is struggling in the ocean, he must swim through it alone. Although many other men and aquatics are swimming in the ocean, he must take care of himself because no one else will help him. Therefore this verse indicates that the seventeenth item, the soul, must work alone. Although he tries to create society, friendship and love, no one will be able to help him but Krishna, the Supreme Lord. Therefore his only concern should be how to satisfy Krishna. . . . We should remember that everyone is responsible for his own life. If an individual becomes a pure devotee of Krishna, he is then delivered from the ocean of nescience.”

from Cc. Adi. 14.1 purport:

“The Hari-bhakti-vilasaconfirms that difficult things become easy to understand if one remembers Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and easy things become very difficult to understand if one forgets Him. We actually see that even those who are very great scientists in the eyes of the general public cannot understand the very simple idea that life comes from life, because they do not have the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They defend the false understanding that life comes from matter, although they cannot prove that this is a fact. Modern civilization, therefore, progressing on the basis of this false scientific theory, is simply creating problems to be solved by the so-called scientists.”

from Cc. Adi. 14.19 purport:

“Because of His protecting and maintaining this world in the present Kali-yuga, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is known as Visvambhara, which refers to one who feeds the entire world. The movement inaugurated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu when He was present five hundred years ago is again being propagated all over the world, and factually we are seeing its practical results. People are being saved, protected and maintained by this Hare Krishna movement. Thousands of followers, especially Western youths, are taking part in this Hare Krishna movement, and how safe and happy they feel can be understood from the expressions of gratitude in their hundreds and thousands of letters.”

from Cc. Adi. 14.22 purport:

“In the Caitanya-bhagavata this pastime is described as follows: "The Lord, with His beautiful eyes, would cry, but He would stop immediately upon hearing the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. When the ladies, understanding the fun of the Lord, discovered that He would cry and then stop upon hearing the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, they all took it as a clue to chant Hare Krishna as soon as the Lord cried. Thus it became a regular function. The Lord would cry, and the ladies would begin chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, clapping their hands. In this way all the ladies of the neighboring houses would assemble in the home of Sacimata to join in the sankirtana movement twenty-four hours a day. As long as the ladies continued to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, the Lord would not cry but would very pleasingly smile upon them."

from Cc. Adi. 14.51 purport:

“Our Krishna consciousness movement is introducing this bona fide method of worship in the Western world. Its members are going from village to village and town to town with Deities of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, teaching people how to worship the Lord by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, offering prasadamand distributing prasadam to people in general.”

from The Nectar of Devotion, chapter 34:

“No one, while remaining on the material platform, should discuss these different descriptions of bhava and anubhava by quoting different statements of transcendental literatures. Such manifestations are displays of the transcendental pleasure potency of the Lord. One should simply try to understand that on the spiritual platform there are many varieties of reciprocal love.”

from Bhagavad-gita As It Is 10.12–13, purport:

Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and one should always meditate upon Him and enjoy one’s transcendental relationship with Him.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

The value of my poeticized Srimad-Bhagavatam is that it is very condensed. Thus you can cover all the pastimes in theKrishnabook in just thirty classes.

from a lecture given in Mayapur:

“This verse has many interesting facets. For one thing, it puts the position of father, mother, husband and guru on the same level. Nobody should take any of these responsible positions unless they are capable of giving real shelter to their dependents. No one would think I cannot be a perfect mother or father, therefore I should not become one. Similarly, no one should think I cannot be perfect as a spiritual master, therefore I should not become one. Caitanya Mahaprabhu encouraged everybody, yare dekha, tare kaha 'krishna'-upadesa amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa. (CC Madhya 7.128) Everybody, wherever you go, whomever you meet, tell them about Krishna and that way become a spiritual master and try to liberate your land.”

“There is something very wonderful about the commonality between gurus, husbands, and parents and the responsible people. And that is they have the wonderful ability to give unconditional love to their dependents, love that is given so freely regardless of how the dependent responds, that is the unifying quality of these various positions.”

“Ravindra Swarup Prabhu wrote a very beautiful and eloquent praise of Srila Prabhupada, in which he described how he went, this elderly swami went to the lower east side of New York City Manhattan very degraded place, and presented sainthood as a viable career option.”

“So I was thinking about what has kept me in Krishna consciousness for forty years. In every case, it was the loving reciprocation, the loving presentation of the devotees.”

“Srila Prabhupada was there [in Mayapur] each morning giving class, taking us around, circumambulating the Deities and ringing the bell, making everyone dance in ecstasy. Speaking from the 7th canto telling us how the same hand that ripped apart Hiranyakashipu was patting the head of Prahlad Maharaja.”

“In this way so many wonderful memories were there. I was twenty years old, very inexperienced, I felt like I was living the Caitanya-caritamrtaand those memories of Srila Prabhupada and his kindness have kept me in Krishnaconsciousness.”

“H. H. Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja and I lived in the back of a van together for years. We have very different backgrounds. He was very experienced, college educated, and he was very strong in his spiritual life. Every morning he would get up at midnight every day and he would chant many rounds and write a letter to Srila Prabhupada every day and read and then he would wake me up. . . . He never ever made me feel anything but very much appreciated and respected and loved. Never did I feel like he is laying some kind of guilt trip on me or feeling better than me. I never thought I felt anything from him but this unconditional love. That sustained me for many, many years.”
“H. H. Tamal Krishna Maharaja was so kind to all of the families in the community and very accommodating to everybody and very respectful and appreciative and so unconditional in his love. . . . He said not everybody can oversee a community. He said the Six Goswamis could do this, dhira adhira jana priyo.He quoted this same verse, they were dear to every body, both devotees and nondevotees. And they would come to them for advice.”

“And finally one very special devotee, Yamuna Devi Prabhu, Prabhvi. I don’t dare call her Mother Yamuna. I tried that one time and she said, yes, Father Kalakantha. . . . We would go to her ashram for Srimad-Bhagavatamclass. It was so sweet. She and Dina Tarini were so learned and also loving in their approach to Krsna consciousness. . . . She told about the time that they were recording the Radha Krsna temple album. All of the devotees were at the studio in Apple records. George was in the control room mixing. They were recording for several hours. . . . She was awake by herself, so she sat down at the harmonium began singing a bhajana. . . . She [had] listened to this bhajanaover and over again, never seeing it in print. Just to pass the time, she started singing as best as she could remember “Bhaja Hu Re Mana.” Of course she sang bhaja mana hu re.And she was just singing and when she finished George came out of the studio, and said I was recording that and I want to put it on the album. . . . She had no idea it was being recorded. She did not want to put it on the album but George insisted, ‘I have to put it on.’ There were many mistakes in the language and the words.”

“Later Srila Prabhupada heard the bhajana and said, ‘You have made a mistake.’ She was so embarrassed, and said ‘I’m sorry.’ He said, ‘No, no, that’s alright, you can fix it later.’”

“So when talking to new people, look for some way in which they are better than you. Maybe they are older than you, maybe younger, more educated, better looking more experienced, something in them that is superior to you and then talk about that thing.”

“The second thingyena tena prakarena, manah krsna nivesayat(from The Nectar of Devotion) first of all, think about Krishna, the rules and regulations can come later.
Another thing that was very radical I noticed whenever students came to the temple room, they would see the murtiof Srila Prabhupada in our small temple room, and they would become very disturbed, just very strange. We had a full size murtiof Srila Prabhupada in a small temple, and it just dominated everything. So we opened a Bhaktivedanta Library in another room and we moved the murtithere. Then the students seemed to feel more comfortable. It was less strange because they did not know who Prabhupada was. So when they came we started teaching them about Prabhupada, reading Lilamrtaover lunch everyday, talking about his life, teaching the words of the songs he taught us and explained the meaning and then more and more of them started joining and then they said, ‘Why is the murtiof Srila Prabhupada not in the temple room?’”

“When they asked for it, then we brought it back. And now it’s cool because they tell the other students, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Prabhupada, he’s so cool.’”

“We let them come in on the basis of an experiment. We say just enroll for a semester. You have to get up early and chant eight rounds, but there is no commitment. You don’t have to be a member of ISKCON, you don’t have to join ISKCON, you don’t even have to like ISKCON. Just learn bhakti and then decide. You do this for one semester, and you attend your classes and then after a semester, you decide if you want more. If you don’t like what you got then you go right back to where you were, karma back guaranteed.”

“And one more important point is this, conversely to catch them doing something right, we have learned not to catch them doing something wrong. Somebody is eating with their left hand. What do we do? ‘Oh, Stop that.’ they are going to feel very uncomfortable like they are on trial. Any moment they can be punished. So we just started noting down, I and the other senior devotees, in our little notebook that they are doing something wrong. Once a week, we sit down together and say here are some of the rules of etiquette we would like you to learn. And without pointing any fingers, we say, eat with the right hand and so many other details.”

“This analogy of guru and parent is very similar. Nothing in my life has prepared me more for taking disciples than having children. You give them love and love and love and that is very natural, but then they do what they are going to do. You learn the meaning of unconditional love when you have children. But with disciples, it is so much nicer. No diapers. And in most cases, they do what you suggest.”

“To see people equally is only possible by loving everybody.”

“We should know that’s the indication we are advancing, when we don’t feel enmity towards anyone else. When we feel love towards them, we can see ourselves honestly, if I would have been in that person's position then I would probably be doing the same thing. We could see how we are common. Not distinguishing by gender or age or race or country, and we can give that affection unconditionally. That is a signpost that we are actually coming closer to loving Krishna. That will be the success of our movement and that will be the glory of Srila Prabhupada. When all the followers of ISKCON show unconditional love, then the whole world will become Krishnaconscious.”

Find the entire text of this lecture at:

Kaliyaphani Prabhu:

comment before St. Augustine Ratha-yatra:

The holy name is Krishna. And Krishna is the worldwide solution for everything.

Laksmimoni dd:

Material things are never as good as we thought they would be, nor do they give us as much satisfaction as we thought they would.
There is a small tinge of the idea of spiritual separation in material life. When we are separated from someone we like, we just remember the good things about them.

The association of the Lord is so nice that when it is lost, one desires it even more than before, and because of that desire, one remembers the Lord constantly and thus gains the perpetual association of the Lord by that constant remembrance.

There is a feeling we have of a lacking within, which is there ultimately because we are lacking Krishna, and to be fixed in devotional service, we have to understand that there is nothing that can remove that feeling of lacking until we attain Krishna.

In spiritual separation one appears to be dissatisfied because he has not attained Krishna, but on the other hand, he is satisfied because he is remembering Krishna more intensely in separation and associating with Him through that remembrance.

We have to hanker to hanker for a taste so that we want to do devotional service.

If we do not desire Krishna, we have to desire to desire to Krishna, and if we cannot desire to desire Krishna, we have to desire to desire to desire Krishna.

George Harrison wrote “My Sweet Lord” after a conversation with Srila Prabhupada in which he was explaining separation from Krishna. When the dawn comes when we see the initial light we anticipate the sun rising, and our desire to see the sun develops more and more.

Srila Prabhupada created the society of devotees to keep us strong in Krishna consciousness.

Sometimes Krishna disappears as a test for His devotees.

comment by Kalakantha Prabhu: Garuda Prabhu in his book about the rasa dance of Krishna gave an analogy in which God disappearing from the gopis who desired enjoy His association alone and reappearing when they cooperated, is compared to God disappearing from sectarian religions who claim to be His favorite until the time they learn to cooperate with each other, when He will appear.

comment by Syamala Kishori dd: One can say the gopis are humble because they did not mind being used as a example for all eternity of devotees who became so proud that Krishna disappeared from them.

Nanda dd:

When life gets especially tough, we must increase our hearing and chanting about Krishna so that that we can see our situation in proper perspective.

comment by Ballabha Sena and Gopala: Prabhupada said in morning walk in Dallas that we know we are beyond the regulations of sadhana-bhaktiif we are beyond eating and sleeping.

Yadubara Prabhu:

[Yadubara Prabhu has several slide shows of still photos taken from the Following Srila Prabhupada video series. He came to Krishna House in Gainesville one Friday evening and commented on some on these slides. Below are some highlights. One devotee youth said she dreamed of Prabhupada that night as a result of his wonderful presentation.]

The San Francisco devotees were very liberal and the New York devotees were conservative, but Srila Prabhupada was such a great soul he encouraged both. Once when Srila Prabhupada was recuperating in New Jersey, the San Francisco devotees sent him a reel-to-reel recording they had made with Hare Krishna chanted to a new tune and accompanied by all kinds of unusual instruments. The New York devotees were aghast, but Srila Prabhupada accepted it, happy that they were still chanting Hare Krishna.

Gaurasundara read all kinds of books about India and learned about the idea of a brahmana, and so he asked if Srila Prabhupada could make him a brahmana. As a result Srila Prabhupada had the first brahmana initiation in Boston.

Prabhupada’s favorite flower was the gardenia because of its wonderful fragrance.

Srila Prabhupada asked his disciples why we had taken so much trouble to organize the San Francisco Ratha-yatra. Then he answered his own question, “It is the compassion of the Vaishnava.”

Srila Prabhupada always paid special attention to the children. He loved the children very much. He understood they were the future of the movement.

Srila Prabhupada noticed there was salt in the caranamrita, the ISKCON Press book he was giving class from had a bad binding, Prabhupada’s name was simply “A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami” instead of “His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,” and the picture of Srila Prabhupada’s guru was upside down on the altar, and thus he could understand something was wrong —they were minimizing their spiritual master.

Srila Prabhupada would be concerned when something was wrong and do the needful, but he never became angry or morose.

Sahajiyaism and impersonalism are two enemies of Vaishnavism.

Whenever the train would stop in India, the devotees would get off the train and have kirtana. One time enroute from Bombay to Amritsar, the train stopped at Mathura for 20 minutes and the devotees had an especially ecstatic kirtana there in the holy dhama.

I asked Srila Prabhupada if I could travel with his party and take pictures. Srila Prabhupada asked if I planned to become a devotee. I was attracted, but I did not think I would join, and so I told him that, and he said, “You cannot stay.” I stayed for two months, and he did not say anything. He knew I was attracted. I came to understand that we cannot stay with the devotees for long if we do not become a devotee. If we try, we will not be able to enter deeply into the association.

One devotee engaged some boy scouts in kirtana. Kirtana was our life and soul. It was about all we did.

In Surat there were four or five engagements each day with full prasadam.

Prabhupada came on the harinamas his discples did at the Kumbha Mela. He could have stayed with friends in Allahabad, as he knew many people from living there for years, but he preferred to stay in the cold in a tent with his disciples.

Three-year-old Sarasvati would tug on people’s shirts and say, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and you should surrender to Him.” Srila Prabhupada said she was a perfect preacher as she told others what she knew about Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada did not care for style of the garments offered him but the devotion they were offered with.

Jean [now Visakha dd] wanted to do a photo essay of a Indian village and suggested she asked Srila Prabhupada which one. Prabhupada replied, “Vrindavan,” and so she did the photo essay and became a devotee in the process, touched by the devotion of the widows chanting in Vrndavana.

Radhika Ramana Prabhu:

from a lecture in Alachua on Shiva Ratri:

Shiva and Parvati lived at Kedarnatha. Once they went to take bathe in the Mandakini, and they saw a beautiful baby, and Parvati was attracted to the beautiful boy who appeared there, but they were busy taking bath, so she set him in their ashram and bathed, When they returned, they found they were locked out of their place, because the boy was Vishnu, and he took over their ashram, and that became Badrinath, and Shiva and Parvati created a new place nearby.

A devotee of Lord Shiva was so faithful in worship, Lord Shiva wanted to reward him, and asked what benediction he wanted. The young devotee said he did not know what was best, and asked Shiva to give him wherever Shiva considered to be best. Lord Shiva thought for a while, and decided devotion to Krishna is the ultimate benefit, and gave him that.

Lord Shiva wanted to participate in Lord Krishna's dance of love, but was told it was not possible. After much protest, he was told he could bathe in a special river and get the body of a gopi, and so he did and joined the dance. But as he is Shiva, the Lord of the dance of destruction, he did an extreme dance that was rocking the whole area. Krishna came to him, praised His dancing and offered Him a benediction. He asked to witness all of Krishna’s pastimes.

Shiva likes to connect people with Krishna.

Shiva asked Yasoda to sprinkle Him with water from Krishna’s bath and remnants of food offered to Krishna.

One early Rajapura Jagannath pujari was annoyed that the local residents were offering everything to a Shiva deity nearby and not Lord Jagannath, so he hid the Shiva deity. After returning to Mayapur he fell from his bike, vomiting blood. He had dream where Shiva appeared saying, “You are so great a devotee of Jagannath you can offend me? You will suffer until you pour water on a Shiva Deity at Alalanatha. He did not immediately follow that order, but he continued to suffer until he did.

Parvati asked for Lord Jagannath’s prasadam, but not for herself. As mother of the universe she wanted to share it with all her kids.

Madhava Prabhu:

Just as in math we start with addition, and then learn the other operations, and then calculation, algebra, and higher and higher mathematics, we start with our regulated spiritual practice (sadhana) and ultimately attain prema (pure love of God).

Comment by Bhakta Paul: We all want to go to heaven, but we don’t want to die first.

Prema Manjari dd:

Defending is the same as fearing because it is the reaction to fear.

In Sweden I was appreciating the beauty of nature during a japa walk and then I noticed a bug trapped in a web and a spider approaching it. I also saw a bird swooping down to catch a worm. I was suddenly struck with the cruelty that is present in nature all around us.

Fear of maya [the energy that causes us to forget our relationship with God], fear of separation from Krishna, and fear that harm may come to Krishna are the fears of the devotees.

A nondevotee sees himself as the Lord of all he surveys, although he may not do so consciously.

Fear of maya [the energy that causes us to forget our relationship with God] is a very healthy fear.

A friend of mind decided she would not take the devotional services to seriously and do some other things. Her experience was that the further she got away from her devotional practice, the more she felt anxiety.

We can be fearless for a day by trying to be complete surrendered to Krishna for that day.

Get up before maya gets up.

Through the different activities of our morning program we are taking shelter of Krishna in different ways.

We have to both endeavor our best and depend on Krishna’s mercy.

Only if we relish pleasure internally from our relationship with Krishna can we be truly detached from the external world.

Try to see how everything Krishna does is good, and behind apparently bad things there is a great good. We have to practice this.

comment by Tulasirani: We do our best to show Krishna that we want to advance our relationship, but we knows that result is up to Krishna.

Nama Kirtana Prabhu:

from a conversation after class:

Gambling seems harmless but there are a lot of bad activities associated with it.

Rohini Kumara Prabhu:

Consider the people in general to be your brothers and sisters and invite them to experience Krishna consciousness.

Q: Suppose a senior person is always very condescending to me. How do I handle it?
A: Approach your authority and explain the situation and ask him the best way to act.

Tulasirani dd:

An ordinary man cannot complete satisfy one wife, but Krishna could completely satisfy so many.

Krishna performed a pastime of having a headache, saying that only the dust of the feet of His devotees could cure it. Narada asked all varieties devotees including Krishna’s queens and the great demigods but only the gopis would risk hellish punishment for committing such an offense [by touching their foot dust to Krishna’s head] to relieve their beloved Krishna’s headache. Seeing the gopis devotion, Narada desired the dust of their feet.

Many of the great teachers in our line are assistants of the gopis in their original spiritual forms, and they retain their completely selfless spirit in their activities in this world.

By our offering prayers and glorifying the pure devotees we can attain the platform of pure devotional service because when we do those things, Krishna will be pleased to help us.

We have taken to this path of pure devotional service, and so we must become purified. We can go through the purification kicking and screaming, or we can surrender to it.

Every time I do not feel like going on harinama, going on book distribution, or going to mangala-arati but I do it anyway, telling Krishna, “I do not feel like doing this, but I am doing it for You,” then it becomes really sweet.

Better to do your sadhana with complete attention and focus than to do something that is way more than you are capable of doing, with distraction.

Krishna consciousness takes great determination, and when you are surrounded by loving devotees, who are supportive, then it is a lot easier.

Sometimes it is valuable to come before the Deity and say, “I want to come to the point of complete surrender, please help me. That is all I want.” I always feel better after that.

The more we do our activities for Krishna’s pleasure, the happier we will be and the more we will be inclined to act for His pleasure in the future.

from a conversation after the St. Augustine Ratha-yatra:

I was walking down the same street, hours after the harinama was over, and it seemed so boring. But that is what the people experience every day. Sometimes we forget how life sucks without kirtana.

Dr. Dina Bandhu Prabhu:

The sweetest thing for the Supreme Lord is when the living entity uses his free will to offer Him presentations in devotion.

Karma-yoga is like if you are an expert chef and you make what you are best at cooking and offer it to your friend. Bhakti-yoga is like if you ask what your friend wants to eat and make that for him.

Prateek:

from a conversation:

Bankameans very good looking, so banka-bihari means Krishna is a very good looking performer of pastimes.

-----

“The name of Krishna is purely spiritual. There is no knowledge as great as that of the name, and no practice of austerity or meditation, no result of spiritual activity, no form of renunciation, no act of sense control, no pious act, and no goal that can match it. The name is the supreme liberation, the supreme destination, and the supreme peace. The name is eternal life itself. The name is the supreme devotion and the supreme intelligence. The name is the supreme love and the supreme remembrance. The name is the soul's reason for existence. The name is the lord of the soul, the most worshipful object, and the supreme guru.
“These high praises are verified by the realizations awakening devotees gain as they practice chanting, and so they come to have deep conviction in the holy name.”
—Agni Purana

The Matrix of Illusion
→ The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland

Creative Self Deception A drama using the Matrix theme to teach the highest principles of life, and the essence of genuine yoga. Please watch the talk by Devamrita swami in my videos that accompanies the drama. It is called Creative Self Deception (The Matrix) … these videos are for those who seek real wisdom and [...]

The post The Matrix of Illusion appeared first on The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland.

Devamrita swami – Sunday 5th May
→ The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland

THIS SUNDAY 5th May, we have a presentation by the international speaker, author and monk, Devamrita swami. His wisdom and insight, into moderns issues and spiritual aspirations, is not to be missed for those who seek balance and peace in an ever changing world. All comes with a wonderful dinner …. see poster for details

The post Devamrita swami – Sunday 5th May appeared first on The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland.

Consciousness does not annihilate after death
→ Servant of the Servant

We can run but we can't hide is a popular saying from a rock band in the US. In one sense, it is true, we can run from the truth but eventually the truth will catch up with us, we cannot hide from it.

More and more, there is growing evidence from mainstream science - consciousness as separate from the brain and body. Dr. Sam Parnia, a leading scientist and doctor has been conducting studies over the years on patients who were resuscitated from death. Some of them have stories to tell that cannot be denied. Dr Parnia says "The evidence we have so far is that human consciousness does not become annihilated".

If you are interested to know more on this, please read the entire article in this link.

From a Krishna Conscious perspective and Bhagavad Gita, we have no doubts that consciousness is indeed separate from the physical body and mind. We existed in the past, exist in the present and will exist in the future, of this there is no doubt!

Hare Krishna






Consciousness does not annihilate after death
→ Servant of the Servant

We can run but we can't hide is a popular saying from a rock band in the US. In one sense, it is true, we can run from the truth but eventually the truth will catch up with us, we cannot hide from it.

More and more, there is growing evidence from mainstream science - consciousness as separate from the brain and body. Dr. Sam Parnia, a leading scientist and doctor has been conducting studies over the years on patients who were resuscitated from death. Some of them have stories to tell that cannot be denied. Dr Parnia says "The evidence we have so far is that human consciousness does not become annihilated".

If you are interested to know more on this, please read the entire article in this link.

From a Krishna Conscious perspective and Bhagavad Gita, we have no doubts that consciousness is indeed separate from the physical body and mind. We existed in the past, exist in the present and will exist in the future, of this there is no doubt!

Hare Krishna






The Zone
→ blog

<p>Have you heard of the zone? It's a state of mind sometimes called "flow state". Humans experience it when they get really absorbed in an activity, such as sports, music, art, computer programming, and gaming, etc. It is the mad scientist’s state of mind when he is so absorbed in his invention that he hasn't eaten, washed, or slept in three days; it is the child’s state of mind when she is so absorbed in playing that she doesn't realise that she has gotten hungry or tired; and it is the StarCraft champion’s state of mind when he is playing the computer game so intensely, executing ten actions per second, hammering his mouse and keyboard, ultimately defeating his opponent through superior focus and "micro", but has to retire at the age of twenty five because his reflexes become too slow.</p><ul><blockquote><br/><a href="http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/Micro_and_Macro">Micro and Macro in Starcraft</a> <br/><a href="http://youtu.be/vTt9L3mMTbw">Video of someone who is in the zone playing micro Starcraft</a></blockquote></ul><p>If you have experienced the zone, then you know it is blissfully absorbing. Your attention is completely taken away from other things. Your mind detaches from your body. You are fully in the moment, not conscious of the body, outside reality, or the passage of time. The zone produces an inner clarity where the activity you are doing becomes its own reward and you feel fantastic.</p><p>Many Eastern teachings, including the art and science of Krishna Consciousness, explain that we are not the body, but are, in fact, beings of pure spiritual consciousness. The zone closely resembles our original state of pure consciousness and is therefore a state of such great happiness. It is not, however, automatically a spiritual experience. It can be spiritual, but more often than not, it is simply the material mind getting absorbed in a material activity without any direct spiritual connection.</p><p>For all its wonders, there are some problems with the zone. For one, it is difficult to get into. It requires an activity that you are very skilled at and that is very challenging at the same time. Such activities are hard to come by, and the more you master them, the less likely they reliably lead you into the zone. </p><p><img class="left" src="http://deltaflow.com/assets/_resampled/resizedimage500500-zone-diagram.png" alt="getting into the zone diagram" title="teststashapp" width="500" height="500"/></p><p>(source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)">Wikipedia</a>)</p><p>The zone is also very much a temporary state. You might loose track of time for a while, but sooner or later you emerge from the zone and enter back into mundane reality—the bills, the work, and the usual routine.</p><p>The yoga texts of ancient India elaborately describe Krishna Consciousness' path into the zone. The texts present a practice of meditation that leads to greater and greater absorption in relationship with the Supreme Consciousness, to Krishna Consciousness. This path starts with hearing sacred sound vibration, then repeating such sounds as you have heard them. This repetition can be done either quietly in "japa" meditation, or loudly in "kirtan" singing. The more you repeat the sacred mantras, the more they embed themselves into your consciousness. Soon, you start to remember them throughout the day, and your mood lifts. With determined practice, the mantras (sounds that represent the many names of the Supreme) become second nature, until you remember them in every situation. Prolonged practice of such Krishna Consciousness leads to a state known as "samadhi", pure spiritual trance, or fully awakened consciousness. In that state you completely understand your relationship to the Supreme and inhabit a body made of pure spiritual consciousness. You are no longer of this material world. You are completely happy, fully and permanently in the spiritual zone.</p><p><img class="left" src="http://deltaflow.com/assets/_resampled/resizedimage450254-Hannold2.jpg" width="450" height="254" alt="" title=""/></p><p>Below are some amazing videos of Alex Honnold, supremely expert free-solo climber. He climbs vertical walls without any tools, ropes, or support. I think part of the reason he does this is because he can reliably enter into the zone when doing such climbs and there is great happiness in that state. Alex has an amazing skill and I have the greatest respect for him. Still, as you watch the videos (notice your hands start to sweat as you watch) think to yourself how much safer, easier, and more accessible path into the zone you might find by seeking out a friendly group of spiritual practitioners, practitioners engaged in chanting japa and kirtan, practitioners on their way into "samadhi".</p><ul><blockquote><li><a href="http://youtu.be/SR1jwwagtaQ">60-minutes report on Alex Honnold</a></li><li><a href="http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/adventure/featured-videos-adventure/adv-beyond-the-edge-honnold/">Short version of Alone on a Wall</a></li><li><a href="http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjM3MTcyOTgw.html">Full version of Alone on a Wall</a></li><p> </p></blockquote></ul>

Letter to Pope Paul
→ Servant of the Servant

The letter by Srila Prabhupada to The Pope is as much relevant today as it was in 1968 in fact in my opinion it has gotten worse. Please read carefully the type of culture we are actively promoting for ourselves and our children. As Mahatma Gandhi said "be the change you want to see in the world" and so in that spirit, let us vow to make that change within our heart from materialism to God-centric and in time spread that consciousness to others. The change begins with us. Please read the letter - Hare Krishna.

AN OPEN LETTER TO POPE PAUL VI From A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada


ISKCON Radha-Krishna Temple
3720 Avenue Du Parc
Montreal 18
Quebec, Canada
August 3, 1968

His Holiness Pope Paul VI
Vicar of Jesus Christ
State of Vatican
Rome, Italy

Your Holiness:

Please accept my respectful humble obeisances at your Lotus Feet. I beg to introduce myself as an Indian monk, following the Vedic principles of religious life. At the present, I am in the renounced order of Sannyas, aged 72 years, and am preaching God consciousness all over the world. I came to America in 1965, and since then I have many followers belonging to both Christian and Jewish faiths. And I have established a number of Krishna Consciousness temples in the USA and Canada. In the coming months, I am scheduled to go to London on this mission, and maybe I can visit other cities of European countries.

My mission is in the line of Lord Chaitanya, Who is personified Love of Godhead, and Who advented Himself 482 years ago in India, and preached God consciousness all over the world, on the basis of Srimad Bhagwatam (The Science of God). The principle of Srimad Bhagwatam is that any religious faith which helps a man to develop love of God, without any motives, and without being hampered by any material condition, is transcendental religion. And the best process or the easiest process, in this age especially, is to chant the Holy Name of God. From this definition of religion as we find it in the Srimad Bhagwatam, the criterion of religion is how it helps people to develop their dormant love of God. This is not artificially invoked, but it is aroused from within, due to bona fide association with devotees, and by hearing about God.

The human form of life is especially meant for this purpose, namely, to invoke the dormant love of God, because a higher development of consciousness is found in both man and animals. But the special significance of human life is to achieve love of God as the prime perfection of life. Unfortunately, at the present moment people are more concerned about the principle of sense gratification, or the animal part of human life, and they are gradually declining in God consciousness. This tendency is very much increasing, and because Your Holiness is the head of a great religious sect, I think we should meet together and chalk out a program for cooperation.

Human society cannot any longer be allowed to continue a Godless civilization at the risk of decreasing truthfulness, hygienic principles and mercifulness. Because, on account of the decline of these principles at the present moment, the duration of life, strength and memory of the human being is decreasing. Human society is gradually devolving in the matter of religiousness and justice; and "might is right" is gradually taking the place of morality and justice. There is practically no more family life, and the union of man and woman is gradually coming to the standard of sexuality. I understand it from reliable sources that people are trying to get Your Holiness' sanction for the contraceptive method, which is certainly against any religion of the world. In the Hindu religion, such contraceptive method and abortion are considered equivalent to murder.

Therefore, in the matter of sex, the human society is gradually becoming even less than animals. As a result of unrestricted sense gratification, even in ordinary dealing a man cannot trust another man, because the cheating propensity of man has increased beyond imagination. The attraction of young boys for young girls is no longer even a matter of love, but exists only on the basis of sexual potency. And as soon as there is a slackening of sex life, there is immediately a divorce petition.

In India, which was once the land of religion and Brahminical culture, things have deteriorated to such an extent that a man in a higher caste is recognized simply by putting a piece of thread on his body as a sign of sanctity. The so-called Swamis are cheating the public because the public wants to be cheated by some cheap method of self-realization. And today, if someone has no sufficient money, it is very hard for him to get justice from the court. And if anyone can simply bluff by so-called advancement of knowledge, he is offered the doctorate degree. If a man is falsely proud, he is accepted as civilized.

By frustration, people are gradually becoming communists and hippies, and the guardians of society must now take up the situation very seriously, without further delay.

The Krishna Consciousness movement is meant for overhauling the whole situation. We are creating men of character, and we are training our disciples to becoming lovers of God, or Krishna. From the very beginning, they are trained to refrain from the following four principles of degradation: 1) sex life outside of marriage, 2) meat-eating, or the eating of any animal food, 3) all forms of intoxication, and 4) gambling and idle sports. Our teachings are based on the authorized movement of Lord Chaitanya, on the principles of Bhagavad Gita, as the beginning, and Srimad Bhagwatam as the graduation.

I do not wish to prolong the body of this letter further, but if you think that my meeting with you will be beneficial for human society at large, I shall be very much pleased if Your Holiness will grant me an interview. Thanking you in anticipation of an early reply, I am

Yours in the service of the Lord,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami


- From "Prabhupada-lila" by HH Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

Letter to Pope Paul
→ Servant of the Servant

The letter by Srila Prabhupada to The Pope is as much relevant today as it was in 1968 in fact in my opinion it has gotten worse. Please read carefully the type of culture we are actively promoting for ourselves and our children. As Mahatma Gandhi said "be the change you want to see in the world" and so in that spirit, let us vow to make that change within our heart from materialism to God-centric and in time spread that consciousness to others. The change begins with us. Please read the letter - Hare Krishna.

AN OPEN LETTER TO POPE PAUL VI From A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada


ISKCON Radha-Krishna Temple
3720 Avenue Du Parc
Montreal 18
Quebec, Canada
August 3, 1968

His Holiness Pope Paul VI
Vicar of Jesus Christ
State of Vatican
Rome, Italy

Your Holiness:

Please accept my respectful humble obeisances at your Lotus Feet. I beg to introduce myself as an Indian monk, following the Vedic principles of religious life. At the present, I am in the renounced order of Sannyas, aged 72 years, and am preaching God consciousness all over the world. I came to America in 1965, and since then I have many followers belonging to both Christian and Jewish faiths. And I have established a number of Krishna Consciousness temples in the USA and Canada. In the coming months, I am scheduled to go to London on this mission, and maybe I can visit other cities of European countries.

My mission is in the line of Lord Chaitanya, Who is personified Love of Godhead, and Who advented Himself 482 years ago in India, and preached God consciousness all over the world, on the basis of Srimad Bhagwatam (The Science of God). The principle of Srimad Bhagwatam is that any religious faith which helps a man to develop love of God, without any motives, and without being hampered by any material condition, is transcendental religion. And the best process or the easiest process, in this age especially, is to chant the Holy Name of God. From this definition of religion as we find it in the Srimad Bhagwatam, the criterion of religion is how it helps people to develop their dormant love of God. This is not artificially invoked, but it is aroused from within, due to bona fide association with devotees, and by hearing about God.

The human form of life is especially meant for this purpose, namely, to invoke the dormant love of God, because a higher development of consciousness is found in both man and animals. But the special significance of human life is to achieve love of God as the prime perfection of life. Unfortunately, at the present moment people are more concerned about the principle of sense gratification, or the animal part of human life, and they are gradually declining in God consciousness. This tendency is very much increasing, and because Your Holiness is the head of a great religious sect, I think we should meet together and chalk out a program for cooperation.

Human society cannot any longer be allowed to continue a Godless civilization at the risk of decreasing truthfulness, hygienic principles and mercifulness. Because, on account of the decline of these principles at the present moment, the duration of life, strength and memory of the human being is decreasing. Human society is gradually devolving in the matter of religiousness and justice; and "might is right" is gradually taking the place of morality and justice. There is practically no more family life, and the union of man and woman is gradually coming to the standard of sexuality. I understand it from reliable sources that people are trying to get Your Holiness' sanction for the contraceptive method, which is certainly against any religion of the world. In the Hindu religion, such contraceptive method and abortion are considered equivalent to murder.

Therefore, in the matter of sex, the human society is gradually becoming even less than animals. As a result of unrestricted sense gratification, even in ordinary dealing a man cannot trust another man, because the cheating propensity of man has increased beyond imagination. The attraction of young boys for young girls is no longer even a matter of love, but exists only on the basis of sexual potency. And as soon as there is a slackening of sex life, there is immediately a divorce petition.

In India, which was once the land of religion and Brahminical culture, things have deteriorated to such an extent that a man in a higher caste is recognized simply by putting a piece of thread on his body as a sign of sanctity. The so-called Swamis are cheating the public because the public wants to be cheated by some cheap method of self-realization. And today, if someone has no sufficient money, it is very hard for him to get justice from the court. And if anyone can simply bluff by so-called advancement of knowledge, he is offered the doctorate degree. If a man is falsely proud, he is accepted as civilized.

By frustration, people are gradually becoming communists and hippies, and the guardians of society must now take up the situation very seriously, without further delay.

The Krishna Consciousness movement is meant for overhauling the whole situation. We are creating men of character, and we are training our disciples to becoming lovers of God, or Krishna. From the very beginning, they are trained to refrain from the following four principles of degradation: 1) sex life outside of marriage, 2) meat-eating, or the eating of any animal food, 3) all forms of intoxication, and 4) gambling and idle sports. Our teachings are based on the authorized movement of Lord Chaitanya, on the principles of Bhagavad Gita, as the beginning, and Srimad Bhagwatam as the graduation.

I do not wish to prolong the body of this letter further, but if you think that my meeting with you will be beneficial for human society at large, I shall be very much pleased if Your Holiness will grant me an interview. Thanking you in anticipation of an early reply, I am

Yours in the service of the Lord,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami


- From "Prabhupada-lila" by HH Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

06 Urmila Devi Dasi – Learn to Read Books – Part Two
→ Successful Vaisnavas – Personal Development for Hare Krishnas

Did you miss the first part of the interview? Click here: Urmila Part One At the end of the first part of the interview we were hearing how the Learn to Read books project was facing major challenges. Urmila was feeling stuck and unsure of how to proceed. In this part we will hear how […]

The post 06 Urmila Devi Dasi – Learn to Read Books – Part Two appeared first on Successful Vaisnavas - Personal Development for Hare Krishnas.

06 Urmila Devi Dasi – Learn to Read Books – Part Two
→ Successful Vaisnavas

urmilaDid you miss the first part of the interview?
Click here: Urmila Part One

At the end of the first part of the interview we were hearing how the Learn to Read books project was facing major challenges. Urmila was feeling stuck and unsure of how to proceed.

In this part we will hear how by asking one question to an expert the whole project got back on track and how one thing after another miraculously fell into place allowing the successful completion of all the books.

Continue listening to hear some very profound realizations about working for Krishna without attachment for results and the amazing reciprocation that Krishna provided.

To learn more about the wonderful books described in this interview visit: http://www.learntoreadenglish.co.uk/

The ipad version can also be purchased at

http://successfulvaisnavas.com/LTR

Learn to Read

For another version of the story of how these books were produced.

Click this link:

 PDFicon

Art of Work – Dr Best Learn to Read

The Zone
→ Home

Have you heard of the zone? It's a state of mind sometimes called "flow state". Humans experience it when they get really absorbed in an activity, such as sports, music, art, computer programming, and gaming, etc. It is the mad scientist’s state of mind when he is so absorbed in his invention that he hasn't eaten, washed, or slept in three days; it is the child’s state of mind when she is so absorbed in playing that she doesn't realise that she has gotten hungry or tired; and it is the StarCraft champion’s state of mind when he is playing the computer game so intensely, executing ten actions per second, hammering his mouse and keyboard, ultimately defeating his opponent through superior focus and "micro", but has to retire at the age of twenty five because his reflexes become too slow.


Micro and Macro in Starcraft
Video of someone who is in the zone playing micro Starcraft

If you have experienced the zone, then you know it is blissfully absorbing. Your attention is completely taken away from other things. Your mind detaches from your body. You are fully in the moment, not conscious of the body, outside reality, or the passage of time. The zone produces an inner clarity where the activity you are doing becomes its own reward and you feel fantastic.

Many Eastern teachings, including the art and science of Krishna Consciousness, explain that we are not the body, but are, in fact, beings of pure spiritual consciousness. The zone closely resembles our original state of pure consciousness and is therefore a state of such great happiness. It is not, however, automatically a spiritual experience. It can be spiritual, but more often than not, it is simply the material mind getting absorbed in a material activity without any direct spiritual connection.

For all its wonders, there are some problems with the zone. For one, it is difficult to get into. It requires an activity that you are very skilled at and that is very challenging at the same time. Such activities are hard to come by, and the more you master them, the less likely they reliably lead you into the zone. 

getting into the zone diagram

(source: Wikipedia)

The zone is also very much a temporary state. You might loose track of time for a while, but sooner or later you emerge from the zone and enter back into mundane reality—the bills, the work, and the usual routine.

The yoga texts of ancient India elaborately describe Krishna Consciousness' path into the zone. The texts present a practice of meditation that leads to greater and greater absorption in relationship with the Supreme Consciousness, to Krishna Consciousness. This path starts with hearing sacred sound vibration, then repeating such sounds as you have heard them. This repetition can be done either quietly in "japa" meditation, or loudly in "kirtan" singing. The more you repeat the sacred mantras, the more they embed themselves into your consciousness. Soon, you start to remember them throughout the day, and your mood lifts. With determined practice, the mantras (sounds that represent the many names of the Supreme) become second nature, until you remember them in every situation. Prolonged practice of such Krishna Consciousness leads to a state known as "samadhi", pure spiritual trance, or fully awakened consciousness. In that state you completely understand your relationship to the Supreme and inhabit a body made of pure spiritual consciousness. You are no longer of this material world. You are completely happy, fully and permanently in the spiritual zone.

Below are some amazing videos of Alex Honnold, supremely expert free-solo climber. He climbs vertical walls without any tools, ropes, or support. I think part of the reason he does this is because he can reliably enter into the zone when doing such climbs and there is great happiness in that state. Alex has an amazing skill and I have the greatest respect for him. Still, as you watch the videos (notice your hands start to sweat as you watch) think to yourself how much safer, easier, and more accessible path into the zone you might find by seeking out a friendly group of spiritual practitioners, practitioners engaged in chanting japa and kirtan, practitioners on their way into "samadhi".

 

The Zone
→ Home

Have you heard of the zone? It's a state of mind sometimes called "flow state". Humans experience it when they get really absorbed in an activity, such as sports, music, art, computer programming, and gaming, etc. It is the mad scientist’s state of mind when he is so absorbed in his invention that he hasn't eaten, washed, or slept in three days; it is the child’s state of mind when she is so absorbed in playing that she doesn't realise that she has gotten hungry or tired; and it is the StarCraft champion’s state of mind when he is playing the computer game so intensely, executing ten actions per second, hammering his mouse and keyboard, ultimately defeating his opponent through superior focus and "micro", but has to retire at the age of twenty five because his reflexes become too slow.


Micro and Macro in Starcraft
Video of someone who is in the zone playing micro Starcraft

If you have experienced the zone, then you know it is blissfully absorbing. Your attention is completely taken away from other things. Your mind detaches from your body. You are fully in the moment, not conscious of the body, outside reality, or the passage of time. The zone produces an inner clarity where the activity you are doing becomes its own reward and you feel fantastic.

Many Eastern teachings, including the art and science of Krishna Consciousness, explain that we are not the body, but are, in fact, beings of pure spiritual consciousness. The zone closely resembles our original state of pure consciousness and is therefore a state of such great happiness. It is not, however, automatically a spiritual experience. It can be spiritual, but more often than not, it is simply the material mind getting absorbed in a material activity without any direct spiritual connection.

For all its wonders, there are some problems with the zone. For one, it is difficult to get into. It requires an activity that you are very skilled at and that is very challenging at the same time. Such activities are hard to come by, and the more you master them, the less likely they reliably lead you into the zone. 

getting into the zone diagram

(source: Wikipedia)

The zone is also very much a temporary state. You might loose track of time for a while, but sooner or later you emerge from the zone and enter back into mundane reality—the bills, the work, and the usual routine.

The yoga texts of ancient India elaborately describe Krishna Consciousness' path into the zone. The texts present a practice of meditation that leads to greater and greater absorption in relationship with the Supreme Consciousness, to Krishna Consciousness. This path starts with hearing sacred sound vibration, then repeating such sounds as you have heard them. This repetition can be done either quietly in "japa" meditation, or loudly in "kirtan" singing. The more you repeat the sacred mantras, the more they embed themselves into your consciousness. Soon, you start to remember them throughout the day, and your mood lifts. With determined practice, the mantras (sounds that represent the many names of the Supreme) become second nature, until you remember them in every situation. Prolonged practice of such Krishna Consciousness leads to a state known as "samadhi", pure spiritual trance, or fully awakened consciousness. In that state you completely understand your relationship to the Supreme and inhabit a body made of pure spiritual consciousness. You are no longer of this material world. You are completely happy, fully and permanently in the spiritual zone.

Below are some amazing videos of Alex Honnold, supremely expert free-solo climber. He climbs vertical walls without any tools, ropes, or support. I think part of the reason he does this is because he can reliably enter into the zone when doing such climbs and there is great happiness in that state. Alex has an amazing skill and I have the greatest respect for him. Still, as you watch the videos (notice your hands start to sweat as you watch) think to yourself how much safer, easier, and more accessible path into the zone you might find by seeking out a friendly group of spiritual practitioners, practitioners engaged in chanting japa and kirtan, practitioners on their way into "samadhi".

 

Mediate before you meditate
→ Tattva - See inside out

Human relationships are riddled with argument, quarrel and conflict. It’s a symptom of the age. But that’s not a problem per se, since every disagreement is pregnant with positive and negative potential. Differences of opinion can bring enlightenment, transformation, wisdom and growth – they can also be the cause of anger, frustration, resentment, and bad feeling. Developing progressive responses in argumentative situations can be a liberating experience. Here are some tips:

  • Tolerance – the first moments of a conflict situation can determine the entire conversation. Be tolerant and patient. The art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. Adopting an adversarial approach erects barriers which block the meeting of hearts.
  • Circumstance - beyond the perceived irrationality of actions and words, try to understand why someone is doing what they do. Then you hold the key to progress. In interpersonal relations the golden rule is this: seek first to understand, then to be understood. To do that you have to listen with an open heart and an open mind.
  • Acceptance – did you ever consider that there may not be a right or wrong answer? Conflict comes from difference, but diversity is not necessarily bad. Fear of difference is fear of life itself. By accepting that we're all individuals, we can more appreciate that conflict is often a case of different ‘angles of vision’ illuminating the same truth.
  • Importance – keep disagreements in perspective and properly evaluate their importance. Question whether the tenacious pursuance and resolution of a conflict is really necessary. Issues can easily be dropped or ignored, but often our emotional involvement keeps us doggedly fighting till the last breath.
  • Transcendence – we love to be right, but the spiritual principle is to transcend right and wrong. The real aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress. If a concession of ‘defeat’ improves our relationships, helps us develop character, and opens up opportunities for progressive solutions, then where is the loss?
Arguments, conflict and unsavory confrontation can disturb our mental state and make spiritual practice incredibly difficult. Learning to mediate our conflicts can help us to meditate in peace.

Mediate before you meditate
→ Tattva - See inside out

Human relationships are riddled with argument, quarrel and conflict. It’s a symptom of the age. But that’s not a problem per se, since every disagreement is pregnant with positive and negative potential. Differences of opinion can bring enlightenment, transformation, wisdom and growth – they can also be the cause of anger, frustration, resentment, and bad feeling. Developing progressive responses in argumentative situations can be a liberating experience. Here are some tips:

  • Tolerance – the first moments of a conflict situation can determine the entire conversation. Be tolerant and patient. The art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. Adopting an adversarial approach erects barriers which block the meeting of hearts.
  • Circumstance - beyond the perceived irrationality of actions and words, try to understand why someone is doing what they do. Then you hold the key to progress. In interpersonal relations the golden rule is this: seek first to understand, then to be understood. To do that you have to listen with an open heart and an open mind.
  • Acceptance – did you ever consider that there may not be a right or wrong answer? Conflict comes from difference, but diversity is not necessarily bad. Fear of difference is fear of life itself. By accepting that we're all individuals, we can more appreciate that conflict is often a case of different ‘angles of vision’ illuminating the same truth.
  • Importance – keep disagreements in perspective and properly evaluate their importance. Question whether the tenacious pursuance and resolution of a conflict is really necessary. Issues can easily be dropped or ignored, but often our emotional involvement keeps us doggedly fighting till the last breath.
  • Transcendence – we love to be right, but the spiritual principle is to transcend right and wrong. The real aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress. If a concession of ‘defeat’ improves our relationships, helps us develop character, and opens up opportunities for progressive solutions, then where is the loss?
Arguments, conflict and unsavory confrontation can disturb our mental state and make spiritual practice incredibly difficult. Learning to mediate our conflicts can help us to meditate in peace.

Join us this Sunday for the association of our guest speaker His Grace Mahabhagavata Dasa
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG


Sunday Feast, April 21st @ 11:00am 

The program consists of arati, kirtan (devotional chanting), philosophical discussion and prasadam.  Please come, get inspired and inspire others through your desire to share Krsna Consciousness!

Program Schedule:
11:00 am - 11:30 am Guru Puja
11:30 am - 12:00 pm Arati & Kirtan
12:00 pm – 12:05 pm Narasingadev Prayers
12:10 pm - 1:00 pm  Vedic Discourse by His Grace Mahabhagavata Dasa
1:05 pm - 1:20 pm Tulasi Puja
1:20 pm - 2:00 pm Prasadam (Vegetarian feast)


Upcoming Events:

Nrsimha Caturdasi - Appearance of Lord Nrsimhadeva

Please mark your calender for this upcoming event. ISKCON Brampton would celebrate this festival with an evening program starting 7:00pm on Friday May 24th.More details will be sent in the near future.
namas te narasimhaya
prahladahlada-dayine
hiranyakashipor vaksaha
shila-tanka-nakhalaye

I offer my obeisances to Lord Narasimha, who gives joy to Prahlada Maharaja and whose nails are like chisels on the stonelike chest of the demon Hiranyakasipu.

Join us this Sunday for the association of our guest speaker His Grace Mahabhagavata Dasa
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG


Sunday Feast, April 21st @ 11:00am 

The program consists of arati, kirtan (devotional chanting), philosophical discussion and prasadam.  Please come, get inspired and inspire others through your desire to share Krsna Consciousness!

Program Schedule:
11:00 am - 11:30 am Guru Puja
11:30 am - 12:00 pm Arati & Kirtan
12:00 pm – 12:05 pm Narasingadev Prayers
12:10 pm - 1:00 pm  Vedic Discourse by His Grace Mahabhagavata Dasa
1:05 pm - 1:20 pm Tulasi Puja
1:20 pm - 2:00 pm Prasadam (Vegetarian feast)


Upcoming Events:

Nrsimha Caturdasi - Appearance of Lord Nrsimhadeva

Please mark your calender for this upcoming event. ISKCON Brampton would celebrate this festival with an evening program starting 7:00pm on Friday May 24th.More details will be sent in the near future.
namas te narasimhaya
prahladahlada-dayine
hiranyakashipor vaksaha
shila-tanka-nakhalaye

I offer my obeisances to Lord Narasimha, who gives joy to Prahlada Maharaja and whose nails are like chisels on the stonelike chest of the demon Hiranyakasipu.

Sri Vyasa puja ( Appearance day ) Celebration of HH Jayapataka Swami ( GBC & Initiating spiritual master)
→ Welcome to the official site of ISKCON Perth

Dear Devotees & Friends,

On behalf of the disciples of H H Jayapataka Swami, I would like to invite you all for the Vaysa puja celebration . The program is as follows

Date:  22 April 2013

Day : Monday

Time :  5.45 PM – 8.30 PM

Venue: 159 Canning Road, Kalamunda

Program includes Bhajans, readings, Vaysa puja homages, Pushpanjali , Arati and Ekadasi prasadam

Date: 25 April

Day ; Thursday ( ANZAC Day)

Time: 11.30 – 2 PM

Venue: 159 Canning Road, Kalamunda

Program includes Introduction, glorification, Slide show, Lecture, Arati and special grain feast prasadam

Sita Rama Lakshmana Das

GMVyasaPuja

Sunday Feast 21 April
→ Welcome to the official site of ISKCON Perth

Dear Devotees & Friends,

We would like to invite you all for the Sunday feast programme on Sunday, 21 April 2013.

PROGRAMME

5:00 PM Kirtans

5.20 PM Tulasi Arati

5:30 PM Special Seminar  “Nurturing Krishna’s Children”  by  H G Jayasila prabhu & HG Vimala mataji *

7:00 PM Arati

7:30 PM Prasadam

IF YOU LIKE TO SPONSOR A FEAST OR HELP IN ANY WAY PLEASE Contact  Shyama Sarana Das ( 0439 969 002) or Sita Rama Lakshmana das ( 0422 045 525)

*H G Jayasila Prabhu & H G Vimala Mataji are senior disciples of Srila Prabhupada and currently lives in Auckland, Newzealand . HG Vimala Mataji currently teaches in our Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula and H G Jayasila prabhu was the temple president of ISKCON Auckland.

Attend such a wonderful feast and receive the Lord’s mercy, full spiritual benefits of Kirtan, Aarti and Spiritual Discourse.

Hare Krishna

Sita Rama Lakshmana Das

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SEMINAR STARTS AT 5.30 PM. Do not miss!!

Mahabharata: The Movie?
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das



Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest

As some may know, I was involved in theater in the Movement for many years. That was back in the 70's and 80's.  (Over the last twenty years I transitioned into dramatic storytelling, which I also do professionally.) Lokamangala prabhu and I performed Mahabhharata Off Broadway in NYC over 25 years ago and also toured with the play to temples, colleges and special events. We touched a lot of people with  this play wherein we each took on several roles, including storyteller. Devotees often suggested we work on a Mahabharata movie. That’s a bit out of my reach at this point, but I thought I would write the story in a way that it would feel like a film. 

I've been working on my Mahabharata rendition for some years. And at the end of July the book will finally be available.  One scholar, Subhash Kak, PhD at  Oklahoma State University, has written in the foreword:  "A great book needs to be retold afresh for each generation. The Mahabharata is one of those books... Fast-paced and cinematic, this rendition captures the scope and breath of the great epic."

My title is Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest. The amazing thing about the  Mahabharata is that it contains all genres: action-adventure, romance, humor, tragedy, horror, mystery, mystical and apocalyptical. It's all there, and more. It's the living sacred story of an ancient land and an ancient tradition. 

The book is geared to readers - young adults and up, and especially for study in college classes.  My daughter is doing a full color cover. The book has a $16 price tag. To see more reviews & details & to pre-order the book go to   http://mahabharata-project.com/

Until further notice I am only accepting orders in the USA. If you're outside let me know and I’ll see what I can do. 

But I have a special request:  If you would like to help in the printing of the book AND be listed on the acknowledgement page in the book for supporting this Mahabharata Project  AND receive four autographed copies And be able to get copies at wholesale prices for as long as the book is in print (they are going to make great gifts)      - You get all that for only $108.   - TIME SENSITIVE -  You will need  to email me at  - Story108@juno.com   - by Tuesday, April 23 if you would like to help out in this way and have your name in the book as a supporter. 
  
If you have any questions don't hesitate to get in touch.

your friend and servant,  
Sankirtana Das
www.sacredvoices.com

PS: Srila Prabhupada writes, "In this age, the Mahabharata is more essential than the original Vedas." 



Mahabharata: The Movie?
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das



Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest

As some may know, I was involved in theater in the Movement for many years. That was back in the 70's and 80's.  (Over the last twenty years I transitioned into dramatic storytelling, which I also do professionally.) Lokamangala prabhu and I performed Mahabhharata Off Broadway in NYC over 25 years ago and also toured with the play to temples, colleges and special events. We touched a lot of people with  this play wherein we each took on several roles, including storyteller. Devotees often suggested we work on a Mahabharata movie. That’s a bit out of my reach at this point, but I thought I would write the story in a way that it would feel like a film. 

I've been working on my Mahabharata rendition for some years. And at the end of June the book will finally be available.  One scholar, Subhash Kak, PhD at  Oklahoma State University, has written in the foreword:  "A great book needs to be retold afresh for each generation. The Mahabharata is one of those books... Fast-paced and cinematic, this rendition captures the scope and breath of the great epic."

My title is Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest. The amazing thing about the  Mahabharata is that it contains all genres: action-adventure, romance, humor, tragedy, horror, mystery, mystical and apocalyptical. It's all there, and more. It's the living sacred story of an ancient land and an ancient tradition. 

The book is geared to readers aged 14 to 94 (after 94 just stick to Prabhupada’s books). My daughter is doing a full color cover. The book has a $16 price tag. To see more reviews & details  & to pre-order the book go to   http://mahabharataproject.wordpress.com/

Until further notice I am only accepting orders in the USA. If your outside let me know and I’ll figure it out

But I have a special request:  If you would like to help in the printing of the book AND be listed on the acknowledgement page in the book for supporting this Mahabharata Project  AND receive four autographed copies And be able to get copies at wholesale prices for as long as the book is in print (they are going to make great gifts)      - You get all that for only $108.   - TIME SENSITIVE -  You will need  to email me at  - Story108@juno.com   - by Tuesday, April 23 if you would like to help out in this way and have your name in the book as a supporter. 
  
If you have any questions don't hesitate to get in touch.

your friend and servant,  
Sankirtana Das
www.sacredvoices.com

PS: Srila Prabhupada writes, "In this age, the Mahabharata is more essential than the original Vedas." 



Charity to the soul
→ Servant of the Servant

I just got this in my inbox which prompted this post.

Mr.Kalayanasundaram worked as a Librarian for 30 years. Every month in his 30 year experience(service), he donated his entire salary to help the needy. He worked as a server in a hotel to meet his needs. He donated even his pension amount of about TEN(10) Lakh rupees to the needy.

He is the first person in the world to spend the entire earnings for a social cause. In recognition to his service, (UNO)United Nations Organisation adjudged him as one of the Outstanding People of the 20th Century.. An American organisation honored him with the ‘Man of the Millennium’ award. He received a sum of Rs 30 cores as part of this award which he distributed entirely for the needy as usual.

Moved by his passion to help others, Super Star Rajinikanth adopted him as his father. He still stays as a bachelor and dedicated his entire life for serving the society.

Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita "Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls."
- BG 18.5

Charity is done for the purification of one's mind. Charity in the mode of passion or ignorance, on the contrary, can bind one to this world. Therefore charity in the mode of goodness must be performed to liberate one to the spiritual plane. Of all the charities, the best charity is that where the recipient has to never  suffer again and such a charity can happen only on the spiritual strata. While Mr Kalyansundaram's act of charity for the past several years is a humongous act of generosity and that which needs universal commendation, still, his help was focused on the body&mind of a living being.

While charity to the body&mind is important, charity to the soul is most important. It is most important because charity to the soul is not temporary where as charity to the body&mind is. Therefore, enlightening a soul on the real values of human life is the highest and greatest charity one can perform. The perfection of enlightenment is achieved when one is fully Krishna conscious. By preaching about Krishna, and inducing living beings to become Krishna conscious, Krishna will be the swift deliverer of all problems of life during life and at during death,

The US  Government spends approximately 750 billion dollars (11% of GDP) on Welfare every year. Most of the 11% Welfare money goes to people who are victims of drugs, alcohol, sex related abuse/problems and vagary living. 750 billion dollars on Welfare is lot of money. The scale is by no means small. His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada applied spiritual principles to solve such problems of drugs, alcohol, sex and gambling and doing so freed many souls from physical and mental suffering. If the entire US population actually adopts his spiritual strategy, then the Government funding of 750 billion will drastically decrease thus saving billions on Welfare activities. So in my humble opinion, UNO and the Government must award Srila Prabhupada the prize for welfare service. Besides, people who seriously applied these spiritual principles did not recidivate at a later date (recidivism is a big problem in welfare services) and also helped others come out of similar behavioral problems. In my opinion, this is the fullest impact one can achieve through charity and hence charity to the soul is superior to charity to the body&mind.

While we need people like Kalyanasundaram to perform charity on the physical platform, however, we absolutely need a personality such as Srila Prabhupada to perform charity to the soul. Such charity to the soul can relieve one from all material problems once and for all.

Hare Krishna

Charity to the soul
→ Servant of the Servant

I just got this in my inbox which prompted this post.

Mr.Kalayanasundaram worked as a Librarian for 30 years. Every month in his 30 year experience(service), he donated his entire salary to help the needy. He worked as a server in a hotel to meet his needs. He donated even his pension amount of about TEN(10) Lakh rupees to the needy.

He is the first person in the world to spend the entire earnings for a social cause. In recognition to his service, (UNO)United Nations Organisation adjudged him as one of the Outstanding People of the 20th Century.. An American organisation honored him with the ‘Man of the Millennium’ award. He received a sum of Rs 30 cores as part of this award which he distributed entirely for the needy as usual.

Moved by his passion to help others, Super Star Rajinikanth adopted him as his father. He still stays as a bachelor and dedicated his entire life for serving the society.

Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita "Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls."
- BG 18.5

Charity is done for the purification of one's mind. Charity in the mode of passion or ignorance, on the contrary, can bind one to this world. Therefore charity in the mode of goodness must be performed to liberate one to the spiritual plane. Of all the charities, the best charity is that where the recipient has to never  suffer again and such a charity can happen only on the spiritual strata. While Mr Kalyansundaram's act of charity for the past several years is a humongous act of generosity and that which needs universal commendation, still, his help was focused on the body&mind of a living being.

While charity to the body&mind is important, charity to the soul is most important. It is most important because charity to the soul is not temporary where as charity to the body&mind is. Therefore, enlightening a soul on the real values of human life is the highest and greatest charity one can perform. The perfection of enlightenment is achieved when one is fully Krishna conscious. By preaching about Krishna, and inducing living beings to become Krishna conscious, Krishna will be the swift deliverer of all problems of life during life and at during death,

The US  Government spends approximately 750 billion dollars (11% of GDP) on Welfare every year. Most of the 11% Welfare money goes to people who are victims of drugs, alcohol, sex related abuse/problems and vagary living. 750 billion dollars on Welfare is lot of money. The scale is by no means small. His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada applied spiritual principles to solve such problems of drugs, alcohol, sex and gambling and doing so freed many souls from physical and mental suffering. If the entire US population actually adopts his spiritual strategy, then the Government funding of 750 billion will drastically decrease thus saving billions on Welfare activities. So in my humble opinion, UNO and the Government must award Srila Prabhupada the prize for welfare service. Besides, people who seriously applied these spiritual principles did not recidivate at a later date (recidivism is a big problem in welfare services) and also helped others come out of similar behavioral problems. In my opinion, this is the fullest impact one can achieve through charity and hence charity to the soul is superior to charity to the body&mind.

While we need people like Kalyanasundaram to perform charity on the physical platform, however, we absolutely need a personality such as Srila Prabhupada to perform charity to the soul. Such charity to the soul can relieve one from all material problems once and for all.

Hare Krishna

it’s time…
→ kirtaniyah sada hari

Some of you may have noticed that I don't update this blog very often anymore. For those who may not know, it's because I'm fully occupied in my humble endeavour of trying to write on a Gita verse everyday! If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, please feel free to: http://www.gita-asitis.blogspot.ca/

Today, however, I write because I am perturbed. I am perturbed by the "news-worthy" events that are constantly unfolding and that are almost always steeped in negativity. At the moment, the one that is fresh in my mind is the tragedy that unfolded in Boston yesterday. What a waste of energy and time to cause such disruptions and spread so much pain.

The predictions of the Bhagavatam are unfolding in front of our eyes. At such a time, the two words HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami coined keep ringing through my ears "Spiritual Warriors." If there was any time or any push we needed to truly invest and take our spiritual lives seriously - it's now.

However, it doesn't come cheap. We only have to look at the lives of incredible role models such as Srila Prabhupada and Bhakti Tirtha Swami to know that to become a spiritual warrior isn't something that can just be bought. It takes an investment of time, commitment and spiritual practice (sadhana).

Those sixteen rounds of the Hare Krsna mantra we chant are our shield. In the battlefield, weapons and strategies are important, but if we do not have a shield to protect us from any weapons that are sent our way, what is the use? The Hare Krsna mantra is our shield in this battlefield of maya where corruption, negativity and hurt are the weapons of choice that are being hurtled at us. Therefore, it is so important to make chanting our utmost priority. Through chanting, we can take shelter and genuinely pray for the welfare of one other.

Our weapons to combat this battle are those that come from purification of the heart. Those intangibles such as kindness, compassion and realized knowledge come by putting in the time to work on ourselves and cultivating genuine, loving relationships with one another.

It's time...are you ready to step up to become a spiritual warrior?

it’s time…
→ kirtaniyah sada hari

Some of you may have noticed that I don't update this blog very often anymore. For those who may not know, it's because I'm fully occupied in my humble endeavour of trying to write on a Gita verse everyday! If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, please feel free to: http://www.gita-asitis.blogspot.ca/

Today, however, I write because I am perturbed. I am perturbed by the "news-worthy" events that are constantly unfolding and that are almost always steeped in negativity. At the moment, the one that is fresh in my mind is the tragedy that unfolded in Boston yesterday. What a waste of energy and time to cause such disruptions and spread so much pain.

The predictions of the Bhagavatam are unfolding in front of our eyes. At such a time, the two words HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami coined keep ringing through my ears "Spiritual Warriors." If there was any time or any push we needed to truly invest and take our spiritual lives seriously - it's now.

However, it doesn't come cheap. We only have to look at the lives of incredible role models such as Srila Prabhupada and Bhakti Tirtha Swami to know that to become a spiritual warrior isn't something that can just be bought. It takes an investment of time, commitment and spiritual practice (sadhana).

Those sixteen rounds of the Hare Krsna mantra we chant are our shield. In the battlefield, weapons and strategies are important, but if we do not have a shield to protect us from any weapons that are sent our way, what is the use? The Hare Krsna mantra is our shield in this battlefield of maya where corruption, negativity and hurt are the weapons of choice that are being hurtled at us. Therefore, it is so important to make chanting our utmost priority. Through chanting, we can take shelter and genuinely pray for the welfare of one other.

Our weapons to combat this battle are those that come from purification of the heart. Those intangibles such as kindness, compassion and realized knowledge come by putting in the time to work on ourselves and cultivating genuine, loving relationships with one another.

It's time...are you ready to step up to become a spiritual warrior?

Join us for the celebration of Lord Rama’s Appearance on Friday April 19th @ 7:00pm
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG

Rama Navami 2013 Celebrations

 

Come and Sing With us the Glories of Sri Rama and His Eternal Associates

"Raghupati Ragava Raja Ramapatita Pavana Sita Rama"
Translation: “Lord Rama is the chief of the house of Raghu and the saviour of the fallen souls; all respects and praise to mother Sita and Lord Ramacandra.”

The word RAMA literally means one who is divinely blissful, gives joy to others and in whom sages rejoice. The name of Lord RAMA is the greatest purifier of the heart. It not only wipes away all one’s sins but it wipes away the sinful tendencies as well. Lord Shiva tells His consort Parvati: “This Ram Naam is equal to the Lord’s one thousand names,or repetition of the mantra a thousand times.”

Lord Ramachandra is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the ideal king. He appeared in the Treta-yuga, more than two million years ago. Under the order of His father, Maharaja Dasaratha, Lord Ramachandra lived in the Dandakaranya forest for fourteen years, along with His wife, Sita Devi, and His younger brother, Lakshmana. After the demon Ravana kidnapped His wife, Lord Ramachandra, with the help of His faithful servant Hanuman, killed Ravana and rescued her. The history of Lord Ramachandra’s pastimes is recounted by the sage Valmiki in his Ramayana. (See also Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.22, 2.7.23-25, 5.19.1-8 and Canto Nine, Chapters 10 and 11.)

Devotees celebrate this day by fasting till sunset, singing and chanting HIS holy names, pastimes and glories. JAI SRI RAMA!

RAMANAVAMI PROGRAM INCLUDES:
7:00pm                 Guru Puja
7:15pm                 Gaura Aarti
7:45pm                 Narasinga Aarti
7:50pm                 Welcome Announcements
8:00pm                 Glories of Lord Rama
8:45pm                 Song on Lord Rama
8:55pm                 Presentations by Sunday School
                                Song on Lord Rama by Milton Bhakti Vriksha children
9:30pm                 Honoring of Maha Feast

 
SPONSORSHIPS AND DONATIONS:
"One who performs opulent celebrations on such days, pleases the Lord, who grants him all benedictions and removes all sins." (Hari Bhakti Villas)
Srila Prabhupada established opulent Deity worship and celebration of vaishnava festivals as an opportunity provided by Lord Himself, so that we can unitedly express our gratitude and love to the Lord, His associates and devotees.

Ramanavami maha feast....251$
Florals and garlands..........108$
Altar decorations...............108$

For sponsorships, please contact Mother Krsna Smaran (kavitabalram@yahoo.com).

RAMANAVAMI - KIDS DRESS UP SHOW:
Register your child to participate in this year’s Ramanavami’s dress-up show by emailing to sundayschool108@gmail.com

Rules:
  • Choose one personality from the Ramayana
  • Prepare a 1-2 minute talk about the personality you choose to be. Who they are… What they did…And include any other interesting information.

Please contact Acarya Thakur Prabhu [alexf108@gmail.com]or mother Prema Gaurangi [premagaurangi.jps@hotmail.com] for any festival related matters. Your valuable comments and suggestions to improve the festivals are always welcome. 



Copyright © 2013 ISKCON Brampton, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Unit 19, 20 & 21, 1030 Kamato Road
Mississauga, ON L4W 4B6
Website: www.iskconbrampton.ca
Blog: www.iskconbrampton.blogspot.com

Join us for the celebration of Lord Rama’s Appearance on Friday April 19th @ 7:00pm
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG

Rama Navami 2013 Celebrations

 

Come and Sing With us the Glories of Sri Rama and His Eternal Associates

"Raghupati Ragava Raja Ramapatita Pavana Sita Rama"
Translation: “Lord Rama is the chief of the house of Raghu and the saviour of the fallen souls; all respects and praise to mother Sita and Lord Ramacandra.”

The word RAMA literally means one who is divinely blissful, gives joy to others and in whom sages rejoice. The name of Lord RAMA is the greatest purifier of the heart. It not only wipes away all one’s sins but it wipes away the sinful tendencies as well. Lord Shiva tells His consort Parvati: “This Ram Naam is equal to the Lord’s one thousand names,or repetition of the mantra a thousand times.”

Lord Ramachandra is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the ideal king. He appeared in the Treta-yuga, more than two million years ago. Under the order of His father, Maharaja Dasaratha, Lord Ramachandra lived in the Dandakaranya forest for fourteen years, along with His wife, Sita Devi, and His younger brother, Lakshmana. After the demon Ravana kidnapped His wife, Lord Ramachandra, with the help of His faithful servant Hanuman, killed Ravana and rescued her. The history of Lord Ramachandra’s pastimes is recounted by the sage Valmiki in his Ramayana. (See also Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.22, 2.7.23-25, 5.19.1-8 and Canto Nine, Chapters 10 and 11.)

Devotees celebrate this day by fasting till sunset, singing and chanting HIS holy names, pastimes and glories. JAI SRI RAMA!

RAMANAVAMI PROGRAM INCLUDES:
7:00pm                 Guru Puja
7:15pm                 Gaura Aarti
7:45pm                 Narasinga Aarti
7:50pm                 Welcome Announcements
8:00pm                 Glories of Lord Rama
8:45pm                 Song on Lord Rama
8:55pm                 Presentations by Sunday School
                                Song on Lord Rama by Milton Bhakti Vriksha children
9:30pm                 Honoring of Maha Feast

 
SPONSORSHIPS AND DONATIONS:
"One who performs opulent celebrations on such days, pleases the Lord, who grants him all benedictions and removes all sins." (Hari Bhakti Villas)
Srila Prabhupada established opulent Deity worship and celebration of vaishnava festivals as an opportunity provided by Lord Himself, so that we can unitedly express our gratitude and love to the Lord, His associates and devotees.

Ramanavami maha feast....251$
Florals and garlands..........108$
Altar decorations...............108$

For sponsorships, please contact Mother Krsna Smaran (kavitabalram@yahoo.com).

RAMANAVAMI - KIDS DRESS UP SHOW:
Register your child to participate in this year’s Ramanavami’s dress-up show by emailing to sundayschool108@gmail.com

Rules:
  • Choose one personality from the Ramayana
  • Prepare a 1-2 minute talk about the personality you choose to be. Who they are… What they did…And include any other interesting information.

Please contact Acarya Thakur Prabhu [alexf108@gmail.com]or mother Prema Gaurangi [premagaurangi.jps@hotmail.com] for any festival related matters. Your valuable comments and suggestions to improve the festivals are always welcome. 



Copyright © 2013 ISKCON Brampton, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Unit 19, 20 & 21, 1030 Kamato Road
Mississauga, ON L4W 4B6
Website: www.iskconbrampton.ca
Blog: www.iskconbrampton.blogspot.com

Why This Devotee of God Doesn’t Think To Be Atheist Is To Be A Demon
→ Life Comes From Life


There are two kinds of people in this world. Devotees and demons.
I think this is absolutely true.
But let’s parse this out a bit.
First of all, what is the source of my seemingly eccentric and dogmatic statement?
In the sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna speaks of two kinds of natures that exist in this world and in our being: the divine and the demoniac. After listing a number of qualities that are of the divine nature, such as charity, aversion to faultfinding, purification of one’s existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, and freedom from envy and from the passion for honor, Krishna lists six qualities-pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance-which mark the demoniac nature. In the remainder of the chapter, Krishna unpacks further how the demoniac nature unfurls in our reality.
In the ninth verse of the chapter, Krishna says:
Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.
In his commentary on this verse, renowned Vedic scholar/teacher A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada writes:
The demoniac are engaged in activities that will lead the world to destruction. The Lord states here that they are less intelligent. The materialists, who have no concept of God, think that they are advancing. But according to Bhagavad-gītā, they are unintelligent and devoid of all sense. They try to enjoy this material world to the utmost limit and therefore always engage in inventing something for sense gratification. Such materialistic inventions are considered to be advancement of human civilization, but the result is that people grow more and more violent and more and more cruel, cruel to animals and cruel to other human beings. They have no idea how to behave toward one another.
As a follower of the Gita, there is a straightforward-ness in Swami Prabhupada’s presentation which I find refreshing, important, and essential. It cuts to the rotted root of injustice, oppression, and hatred which exists in our world. It points to a deeper conception of why this injustice exists, in that without a conception of a divine reality, or a divine ethic, we all-too-fallible humans will all-too-often inevitably fall prey to the demoniac nature which surrounds us, and within us.
At the risk of appearing as a heretic (even more so than I appear to be already) to some more orthodox/literalist followers of the Gita, I want to critically examine what Krishna and Swami Prabhupada are saying in tandem in this chapter of the Gita. A surface interpretation of the dichotomy of the divine and demoniac here may provide a certain sense of clarity, but often what seems absolutely clear can lead to absolute expressions of theology and morality which can alienate and marginalize. This seeming clarity can also be at odds with people’s actual and visceral experience in the world, so I want to make a humble attempt to go a little bit deeper.
In thinking of my own experience doing Interfaith work in New York City, I have always made a sincere effort to be as open-minded and open-hearted as I can, with the appropriate respect and understanding of the natural boundaries that exist between different faith traditions. This mood has allowed me to develop wonderful relationships with Russian Orthodox priests, Reform Jewish rabbis, Wiccan priests, and just about everything else in-between. Being able to build, and walk across, bridges between faiths is one of the most important aspects of my spiritual journey. Real Interfaith work is a vehicle for creating the kind of deep and active compassion that is the most needed quality in this world at the present moment.
Yet as I went deeper into this work, I began to wonder what are the mechanics, as it were, of extending this joyful sense of communion towards those who identify as atheist/agnostic. More distinctly, I challenged myself to be as open-minded and open-hearted, with the same understanding of boundaries, with those I may encounter in my work and service who may not believe in God or a divine reality beyond the material reality we all inhabit together. This was a particular challenge for me, as I mentioned above, because to many within my tradition the terms atheist and demon go hand-in-hand. As usual, my innate sense of curiosity, or to put it more plainly, my independent streak, my desire to understand the truth beyond what may be “obvious” or “comfortable”, compelled me to question the basic assumption at hand: Does being atheistic mean one is inherently demoniac as described by Krishna in the Gita?
My opportunities to interact with serious and intelligent atheist thinkers were few and far between, so I was grateful to be invited to the 2012 World Faith Gala at the NYU Center for Spiritual Life this past December, with Chris Stedman as the featured speaker for the evening. Stedman is a unique figure in the world of Interfaith, as many of you already know. He is one of the founders of our esteemed community of thinkers here at State of Formation along with the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue. He is the Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University and a prolific writer, including blogging gigs at the Huffington Post and the On Faith blog at the Washington Post. Last year, Stedman published his first book Faitheist: How An Atheist Found Common Ground With The Religious, detailing his journey from being a “born-again” Christian through the acceptance of his alternative sexuality and eventual turn towards identifying as an atheist, along with his concurrent work and experience organizing for justice with communities of faith, even as he became someone for whom faith as most religious know it no longer necessarily applied.
As I listened to Chris that evening, and had the chance to meet him, the thoughts I had been having about my desire to understand the humanity and reality of the atheistic perspective became more intense. First of all, the work that Chris is doing is indeed of an enlightened nature. He is someone who understand the values of wisdom, empathy, and compassion. These are indeed spiritual values, but to understand them as spiritual values in the context of the work and convictions of someone like Chris Stedman means that one has to take a much broader, inclusive, open, and truer understanding of what it means to be spiritual. Hearing Chris speak, meeting him, and reading his words, it struck me that one cannot automatically assume that someone who is an atheist is inherently demoniac. Chris Stedman, who he is and what he does, is proof enough to me that what Krishna is saying in the Gita has to be understood with discretion, intelligence, and compassion. It has to be understood beyond the surface.
As our human civilization faces a massive existential crisis in understanding that our consumerist way of life is no longer, and never was, a sustainable way for us to interact with the web of ecology that surrounds us, what is needed most is the kind of dynamic communication that builds a sense of community across not only the boundaries of different faith traditions, but across all unnecessary boundaries between people who sincerely want to create justice on this planet today, tomorrow, and going forward. There is a tremendous courage that is needed to cross through these boundaries, and the realm of Interfaith is a place where this cutting edge exists.  In Faitheist, Stedman writes:
I believe that change will come from within-that by participating in Interfaith work, the nonreligious will broaden the meaning of such efforts and that the language used to describe them will change accordingly…I cannot begin to recount all of the times Interfaith work has opened up a space for robust conversations on problematic religious practices and beliefs. In fact, it has been a hallmark of my experience working in the Interfaith environment. Furthermore, it has allowed me to engage religious people about atheist identity and eradicate significant misconceptions about what atheism is and what it isn’t
I regularly hear from atheists who are leading the charge for Interfaith cooperation on their campuses and in their communities, and their experiences echo mine. They too have found that Interfaith is expanding to incorporate them and that, when done well, Interfaith engagement doesn’t require that people check their convictions at the door; it invites people to try and understand and humanize the other.
This understanding, and this shared grasp of what it means to be human in this world, at this time, is immeasurable more powerful and effective in organizing, working for, and living by the principles of divinity than by any surface labeling of who is divine and who is demoniac.
Let us look again to what Swami Prabhupada said above, to truly understand what is demoniac. The demoniac nature is that which exploits the material nature simply for the selfish exploitation of the senses, an exploitation that invariable leads to violence and cruelty. It does not take a great leap to understand, through the examples of our shared history and also our contemporary experience, that those who may claim to have an obvious “concept of God” can easily become wrapped up in the demoniac qualities. This is not a black-and-white equation. There are “devotees of God” who act demonically. There are “demons” who act divinely. If we stay on the surface of this dichotomy, without diving deeply, without the kind of courageous thought and activism that someone like Chris Stedman is offering, we will add nothing to the equation but the kind of irrational hatred that scars our very existence.
As I said before, the Gita is straightforward, and everything I have said above is not to discount that there are people who are obviously divine and obviously demoniac, and that those categories can fall alongside certain accepted parameters of faith/lack of faith. But instead of condemning every atheistic/agnostic person to be inherently demoniac, I challenge anyone who is challenged by this to think a little deeper, to broaden their experience working with and knowing the non-religious, to try to understand that the religious and the non-religious have a lot to learn from each other, and to read Faitheist. The true arts of compassion and communication require much more than intellectual and theological complacency. They require a courage based in a divine sense of love that belongs to all beings regardless of what they identify as.

Why This Devotee of God Doesn’t Think To Be Atheist Is To Be A Demon
→ Life Comes From Life


There are two kinds of people in this world. Devotees and demons.
I think this is absolutely true.
But let’s parse this out a bit.
First of all, what is the source of my seemingly eccentric and dogmatic statement?
In the sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna speaks of two kinds of natures that exist in this world and in our being: the divine and the demoniac. After listing a number of qualities that are of the divine nature, such as charity, aversion to faultfinding, purification of one’s existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, and freedom from envy and from the passion for honor, Krishna lists six qualities-pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance-which mark the demoniac nature. In the remainder of the chapter, Krishna unpacks further how the demoniac nature unfurls in our reality.
In the ninth verse of the chapter, Krishna says:
Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.
In his commentary on this verse, renowned Vedic scholar/teacher A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada writes:
The demoniac are engaged in activities that will lead the world to destruction. The Lord states here that they are less intelligent. The materialists, who have no concept of God, think that they are advancing. But according to Bhagavad-gītā, they are unintelligent and devoid of all sense. They try to enjoy this material world to the utmost limit and therefore always engage in inventing something for sense gratification. Such materialistic inventions are considered to be advancement of human civilization, but the result is that people grow more and more violent and more and more cruel, cruel to animals and cruel to other human beings. They have no idea how to behave toward one another.
As a follower of the Gita, there is a straightforward-ness in Swami Prabhupada’s presentation which I find refreshing, important, and essential. It cuts to the rotted root of injustice, oppression, and hatred which exists in our world. It points to a deeper conception of why this injustice exists, in that without a conception of a divine reality, or a divine ethic, we all-too-fallible humans will all-too-often inevitably fall prey to the demoniac nature which surrounds us, and within us.
At the risk of appearing as a heretic (even more so than I appear to be already) to some more orthodox/literalist followers of the Gita, I want to critically examine what Krishna and Swami Prabhupada are saying in tandem in this chapter of the Gita. A surface interpretation of the dichotomy of the divine and demoniac here may provide a certain sense of clarity, but often what seems absolutely clear can lead to absolute expressions of theology and morality which can alienate and marginalize. This seeming clarity can also be at odds with people’s actual and visceral experience in the world, so I want to make a humble attempt to go a little bit deeper.
In thinking of my own experience doing Interfaith work in New York City, I have always made a sincere effort to be as open-minded and open-hearted as I can, with the appropriate respect and understanding of the natural boundaries that exist between different faith traditions. This mood has allowed me to develop wonderful relationships with Russian Orthodox priests, Reform Jewish rabbis, Wiccan priests, and just about everything else in-between. Being able to build, and walk across, bridges between faiths is one of the most important aspects of my spiritual journey. Real Interfaith work is a vehicle for creating the kind of deep and active compassion that is the most needed quality in this world at the present moment.
Yet as I went deeper into this work, I began to wonder what are the mechanics, as it were, of extending this joyful sense of communion towards those who identify as atheist/agnostic. More distinctly, I challenged myself to be as open-minded and open-hearted, with the same understanding of boundaries, with those I may encounter in my work and service who may not believe in God or a divine reality beyond the material reality we all inhabit together. This was a particular challenge for me, as I mentioned above, because to many within my tradition the terms atheist and demon go hand-in-hand. As usual, my innate sense of curiosity, or to put it more plainly, my independent streak, my desire to understand the truth beyond what may be “obvious” or “comfortable”, compelled me to question the basic assumption at hand: Does being atheistic mean one is inherently demoniac as described by Krishna in the Gita?
My opportunities to interact with serious and intelligent atheist thinkers were few and far between, so I was grateful to be invited to the 2012 World Faith Gala at the NYU Center for Spiritual Life this past December, with Chris Stedman as the featured speaker for the evening. Stedman is a unique figure in the world of Interfaith, as many of you already know. He is one of the founders of our esteemed community of thinkers here at State of Formation along with the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue. He is the Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University and a prolific writer, including blogging gigs at the Huffington Post and the On Faith blog at the Washington Post. Last year, Stedman published his first book Faitheist: How An Atheist Found Common Ground With The Religious, detailing his journey from being a “born-again” Christian through the acceptance of his alternative sexuality and eventual turn towards identifying as an atheist, along with his concurrent work and experience organizing for justice with communities of faith, even as he became someone for whom faith as most religious know it no longer necessarily applied.
As I listened to Chris that evening, and had the chance to meet him, the thoughts I had been having about my desire to understand the humanity and reality of the atheistic perspective became more intense. First of all, the work that Chris is doing is indeed of an enlightened nature. He is someone who understand the values of wisdom, empathy, and compassion. These are indeed spiritual values, but to understand them as spiritual values in the context of the work and convictions of someone like Chris Stedman means that one has to take a much broader, inclusive, open, and truer understanding of what it means to be spiritual. Hearing Chris speak, meeting him, and reading his words, it struck me that one cannot automatically assume that someone who is an atheist is inherently demoniac. Chris Stedman, who he is and what he does, is proof enough to me that what Krishna is saying in the Gita has to be understood with discretion, intelligence, and compassion. It has to be understood beyond the surface.
As our human civilization faces a massive existential crisis in understanding that our consumerist way of life is no longer, and never was, a sustainable way for us to interact with the web of ecology that surrounds us, what is needed most is the kind of dynamic communication that builds a sense of community across not only the boundaries of different faith traditions, but across all unnecessary boundaries between people who sincerely want to create justice on this planet today, tomorrow, and going forward. There is a tremendous courage that is needed to cross through these boundaries, and the realm of Interfaith is a place where this cutting edge exists.  In Faitheist, Stedman writes:
I believe that change will come from within-that by participating in Interfaith work, the nonreligious will broaden the meaning of such efforts and that the language used to describe them will change accordingly…I cannot begin to recount all of the times Interfaith work has opened up a space for robust conversations on problematic religious practices and beliefs. In fact, it has been a hallmark of my experience working in the Interfaith environment. Furthermore, it has allowed me to engage religious people about atheist identity and eradicate significant misconceptions about what atheism is and what it isn’t
I regularly hear from atheists who are leading the charge for Interfaith cooperation on their campuses and in their communities, and their experiences echo mine. They too have found that Interfaith is expanding to incorporate them and that, when done well, Interfaith engagement doesn’t require that people check their convictions at the door; it invites people to try and understand and humanize the other.
This understanding, and this shared grasp of what it means to be human in this world, at this time, is immeasurable more powerful and effective in organizing, working for, and living by the principles of divinity than by any surface labeling of who is divine and who is demoniac.
Let us look again to what Swami Prabhupada said above, to truly understand what is demoniac. The demoniac nature is that which exploits the material nature simply for the selfish exploitation of the senses, an exploitation that invariable leads to violence and cruelty. It does not take a great leap to understand, through the examples of our shared history and also our contemporary experience, that those who may claim to have an obvious “concept of God” can easily become wrapped up in the demoniac qualities. This is not a black-and-white equation. There are “devotees of God” who act demonically. There are “demons” who act divinely. If we stay on the surface of this dichotomy, without diving deeply, without the kind of courageous thought and activism that someone like Chris Stedman is offering, we will add nothing to the equation but the kind of irrational hatred that scars our very existence.
As I said before, the Gita is straightforward, and everything I have said above is not to discount that there are people who are obviously divine and obviously demoniac, and that those categories can fall alongside certain accepted parameters of faith/lack of faith. But instead of condemning every atheistic/agnostic person to be inherently demoniac, I challenge anyone who is challenged by this to think a little deeper, to broaden their experience working with and knowing the non-religious, to try to understand that the religious and the non-religious have a lot to learn from each other, and to read Faitheist. The true arts of compassion and communication require much more than intellectual and theological complacency. They require a courage based in a divine sense of love that belongs to all beings regardless of what they identify as.

Visiting Devotees
→ Welcome to the official site of ISKCON Perth

Dear Devotees & Friends

We would like to invite you all to come and hear from the following visiting devotees

 Hanumatpresaka Maharaj :

Mahraj will be visiting Perth from Thursday 18 till Tuesday 22 and his program is as follows

Evening Program (EP) – Light of the Bhagavata (Text 15) – “Sri Rama the Transcendental Lord”

Fr(19) – EP – Light of the Bhagavata (Text 44 + SUPER 35-minute movie) – “Rama-rajya – The Ideal Government for Today”

Sa(20) – 5PM – “The Advent of Sri Sita Rama”.

Su (21) – MP – Nectar of Instruction.

Mo(22) – EP – Jayapataka Swami Festival

www.jayarama.us/lob17.tif
www.jayarama.us/lob28.tif

>Home

www.jayarama.us

Note: EP:  Evening Program at 7.30 PM., MP: Morning Program at 7.30 AM

Mahraj is very expert with this seminar on Light of Bhagavat – Cultivating Human Spirit.  Please come and hear from him and take advantage of his assocaiation.

 

H G Jayasila prabhu & H G Vimala mataji

Will be arriving on Saturday 20 and will be here till Wednesday 24

Will be presenting a seminar on Nurturing Krishna’s Children

Dates: Sunday 21 at 5.30 PM and Tuesday 23 at 7.30 AM.

Please come and hear from these senior & experienced devotees.

 

Thank you

Sita Rama Lakshmana Das

Sri Rama Navami – The appearance day of Lord Sri Rama
→ Welcome to the official site of ISKCON Perth

Dear Devotees & Friends,

We would like to invite you all for the Sri Rama Navami festival on Saturday 20 April starting at 4.30 PM

Program:

4.30 PM: Bhajans

5.00 PM: Tulasi Aarati

5.15 PM: Sril Rama Lila by H H Hanumatpresaka Maharaj.

6.15 PM: Cultural Program by the children of Sunday School

6.45 PM: Announcements and offering gifts to Lord Sri Sita Rama

7.00 PM: Arati ceremony

7.15 PM Honoring the feast prasadam

 

If you like to help sponsoring the festival and the feast prasadam please cotact Shyama Sarana prabhu on 0439 969 002 or myself

 

Thank you

 

Sita Rama Lakshmana Das

Where Did the Reflections Go?
→ A Convenient Truth

My ambitious project to record a daily meditation/reflection on a photo of my Guru Maharaja ultimately crashed and burned. I realized after the Day 9 through 14 post that writing about six photos in one day was defeating the purpose of a "daily" meditation. And then it happened again where I was so backed up with work and life that I didn't have time to write anything for like six or seven days. I thought, "Well, I could do another 'round up' type of post and just do a big chunk of writing", but then I started to feel it becoming a chore and that's precisely what I didn't want it to become. I wanted it to be spontaneous and heartfelt. Instead it was becoming tedious, mechanical and just another task to complete. This isn't the right way to enter a meditation on transcendence.

So I gave in (or perhaps gave up) the notion of reflecting on a photo every single day. Sometimes I get so frustrated living a life that is so distracting towards my real welfare and benefit. My mind is so often absorbed in things that ultimately are meaningless; fickle little romps with sense gratification and maya. The material energy keeps pulling my mind and senses outward, pulling my face and my vision towards the illusory and temporary. It keep me distracted from looking inward and from pursuing the ultimate goal of life. "Over here! Over here! Look at me! Look at this! You need this! You want this! Here is happiness! Try this! Do this!" Maya is like a little kid who is starved for attention. She doesn't want us to look away from her. Doesn't want us to forget about her.

Sometimes, by the grace of Sri Guru, I look away from her face and stop listening to her cries for attention. When I do I see my death. I see the temporary nature of this current life I'm living and of this body I'm in. It's this sort of "holy shit" moment where you stop and realize, "I'm going to die and none of this superfluous stuff matters." In that state of mind an eagerness to travel inward and to connect with Sri Krishna in the heart manifests. We begin to crave the true, lasting reality, the Absolute Truth. We want to swim and live in that inner world, going deeper and deeper to our true nature and our relationship with the beings in that world.

And then in an instant Maya pulls us back out into the external world and floods our minds with material thoughts, "Oh, I need to pay this bill, wash the dishes, get stuff ready for work in the morning, get my car checked, go here, go there, do this, do that." And just that quickly the inner world fades and seems like a dream or a figment of our imaginations. Then we go back to putting all of our energy (mental, emotional and physical) into the temporary concerns of this world and of pursuing sense gratification. It's a crazy game and it's scary how easily we fall into it. Maya is so powerful. There's no way we can overcome it by our own endeavors. This is why in kali-yuga everything is based on mercy.

Oh Gurudeva, by your mercy alone do I even momentarily look away from the face of Maya. Thank you for this little drop of mercy to remind me of my true necessity.

Where Did the Reflections Go?
→ A Convenient Truth

My ambitious project to record a daily meditation/reflection on a photo of my Guru Maharaja ultimately crashed and burned. I realized after the Day 9 through 14 post that writing about six photos in one day was defeating the purpose of a "daily" meditation. And then it happened again where I was so backed up with work and life that I didn't have time to write anything for like six or seven days. I thought, "Well, I could do another 'round up' type of post and just do a big chunk of writing", but then I started to feel it becoming a chore and that's precisely what I didn't want it to become. I wanted it to be spontaneous and heartfelt. Instead it was becoming tedious, mechanical and just another task to complete. This isn't the right way to enter a meditation on transcendence.

So I gave in (or perhaps gave up) the notion of reflecting on a photo every single day. Sometimes I get so frustrated living a life that is so distracting towards my real welfare and benefit. My mind is so often absorbed in things that ultimately are meaningless; fickle little romps with sense gratification and maya. The material energy keeps pulling my mind and senses outward, pulling my face and my vision towards the illusory and temporary. It keep me distracted from looking inward and from pursuing the ultimate goal of life. "Over here! Over here! Look at me! Look at this! You need this! You want this! Here is happiness! Try this! Do this!" Maya is like a little kid who is starved for attention. She doesn't want us to look away from her. Doesn't want us to forget about her.

Sometimes, by the grace of Sri Guru, I look away from her face and stop listening to her cries for attention. When I do I see my death. I see the temporary nature of this current life I'm living and of this body I'm in. It's this sort of "holy shit" moment where you stop and realize, "I'm going to die and none of this superfluous stuff matters." In that state of mind an eagerness to travel inward and to connect with Sri Krishna in the heart manifests. We begin to crave the true, lasting reality, the Absolute Truth. We want to swim and live in that inner world, going deeper and deeper to our true nature and our relationship with the beings in that world.

And then in an instant Maya pulls us back out into the external world and floods our minds with material thoughts, "Oh, I need to pay this bill, wash the dishes, get stuff ready for work in the morning, get my car checked, go here, go there, do this, do that." And just that quickly the inner world fades and seems like a dream or a figment of our imaginations. Then we go back to putting all of our energy (mental, emotional and physical) into the temporary concerns of this world and of pursuing sense gratification. It's a crazy game and it's scary how easily we fall into it. Maya is so powerful. There's no way we can overcome it by our own endeavors. This is why in kali-yuga everything is based on mercy.

Oh Gurudeva, by your mercy alone do I even momentarily look away from the face of Maya. Thank you for this little drop of mercy to remind me of my true necessity.