Planet ISKCON

In this heartfelt talk on Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day, Mahatma Prabhu reflects on the profound impact of Srila Prabhupada’s passing on the devotees and the movement. He shares that the intense sense of loss in 1977 left many feeling traumatized, likening it to PTSD, and reflects that this trauma might still affect the movement today. He
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By Vijaya Das

So far, September turned out to be one of the most successful months of the year. Ten temples reported over a 999% increase--amazing! ISV was the #1 temple in the world--incredible! Mayapur is so huge nobody was even getting close to them, so quite a surprise. Continue reading "WSN September 2024 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
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Hare Krishna! I hope this report finds you well. We are pleased to share the highlights and achievements of the ISKCON Russian-speaking Yatra in London the month of October, filled with spiritually uplifting events and dedicated devotional activities: 1. Kirtan Mela Organized by Vasanta Prabhu • The Kirtan Mela brought together devotees for an intensive
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**Snake Drama – Lessons from Nature** *By HH Sacinandana Swami* — Welcome to today’s inspiration. I’m excited to share a recent encounter that illuminated for me some profound lessons about life’s journey and how our inner transformation unfolds through the path of bhakti. It all began with an unexpected visitor near my chanting hut. For
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November 14, 1977, at 7:30 p.m., in his room at the Krishna-Balaram Mandir in Vrindavana, Srila Prabhupada gave his final instruction by leaving this mortal world and going back to Godhead.

Ācārya means one who knows the purport of the sāstra, and he behaves himself according to the shastric regulative principle and teaches his disciple in that way. Ācārya means whose behavior, whose activities should be followed. That is called ācārya. Being the founder acarya of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada continued teaching us with his own example.

“His departure was exemplary because his whole life was exemplary. His departure marked the completion of a lifetime of pure devotional service to Krishna. A few days before the end, Srila Prabhupada had said he was instructing as far as he could, and his secretary had added, “You are the inspiration.” “Yes,” Srila Prabhupada had replied, “that I shall do until the last breathing.”

Srila Prabhupada’s departure was glorious because he remained in perfect Krishna consciousness, chanting and hearing the holy names of Krishna.” 

Dear Srila Prabhupada: Please accept my most humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to you!

Today, we observe the day you departed from this world, leaving us experiencing deep pangs of separation—an ache that only intensifies with each passing year. Although your teachings, your presence within your books, and the shelter of the holy name continue to nurture us, the pain of separation from you burns ever more strongly in our hearts.

You yourself expressed this same sentiment in your 1961 Vyasa Puja offering to your spiritual master, Om Visnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Referring to his departure back home back to Godhead, you wrote most poignantly:

“On that day, in pain of separation, O Lord, I was grief-stricken, unable to tolerate being apart from my spiritual master.”

Though 47 years have gone by since you left us, Srila Prabhupada, we carry those same sentiments in our own hearts to this very day.

In a loving mood, you once said, “I do not know who is Krsna. I only know my Guru Maharaja.”

And so it is with us. Thus, separation from you takes on a special mood.

In separation from Krishna, the devotee says:

saṅgama-viraha-vikalpe
varam iha viraho na saṅgamas tasya
ekaḥ sa eva saṅge
tri-bhuvanam api tan-mayaṁ virahe

“Separation from Krishna is better than meeting Him. When I meet Him there is only one Krishna, but when I am separated from Him the three worlds become filled with Krishnas.”
(Padyāvalī, 240)

And so it is for me in my relationship with you, Srila Prabhupada. Since you departed, my world is filled only with memories of you. Yet, I still hanker to meet you again in person and to hear your loving words—as on the occasion in London when you slapped me on my back in firm appreciation, or even the chastisement you gave me when I fell asleep during your lecture in Hyderabad! No matter how deeply I desire to relive these moments, I know it is not possible to do so. This heartfelt longing reminds me of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s plaintive appeal:

sa caitanyaḥ kiṁ me punar api dṛśor yāsyati padam

“Will Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ever become the object of my vision again?” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 4.51)

In that mood I humbly pray:

sa prabhupadah kiṁ me punar api dṛśor yāsyati padam

“Will my beloved spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, ever become the object of my vision again?”

Each year, especially on this occasion, remembrances of you flood my mind: the unyielding determination in your eyes, the compassion in your voice as you called us to Krishna’s service, and the countless hours you spent guiding us towards pure love of Krishna. You embody that platform of pure love and absolute surrender to Krishna, and in your presence, we felt as if we were sheltered within an impenetrable fortress. Now, in this world without you, we are left to navigate the darkness of Kali-yuga, holding fast to your words as our guiding torch. That very torch you kindly handed me in the infancy of my spiritual life when you replied to a letter I wrote to you saying I missed you after your visit to our temple in Detroit in 1971. You replied, “I very much appreciate your feelings of separation from me. I also feel separation from my Guru Maharaja, but I always feel he is watching over and protecting me.” Srila Prabhupada, those words have given me solace since the day you departed this planet.

Once, in Paris, you invited me into your room, allowing me to watch in awe as you dictated the Srimad Bhagavatam with remarkable clarity and resolve. Now, in your absence, those words linger only as a whisper, leaving me longing for those few precious moments in your association once again. How vividly I remember sitting at your lotus feet in numerous cities around the world—Detroit, London, Paris, Geneva, and Rome—captivated by the timeless wisdom that flowed from your lips like nectar.

In my service to you, Srila Prabhupada, I continue to reach out to the lost souls of this world. Daily, I remember your plea to me: to preach boldly and have faith in the holy names. You spoke those words to me directly and in your absence, they have become my heartbeat, my mission statement, and my solace. To fulfill that plea requires immense spiritual strength, and I draw that strength from the promise you made to me one day in London—that we shall meet again in the spiritual world, and I will have the chance to serve you eternally in that realm of love and bliss.

Though I presently carry on my service in separation from you, I know that each step taken in your service brings me nearer to you. I feel your presence beside me, even in silence; I see your gentle smile reflected in the mirror of my heart. Every prayer I offer, every round I chant, every service I perform is dedicated to you, in the hope of honoring your name and the priceless teachings you imparted. The void left by your departure has only deepened my resolve to walk the path you so brilliantly illuminated.

Your divine presence left an indelible mark upon this world and upon our hearts—a mark that no force of time or tide will ever erase. Even now, your love and mercy reach across this vast distance of separation, giving me the strength to persevere. Your vision of a world transformed by Krishna consciousness fills my mind, and with each effort I make in your service, I strive to fulfill even a fraction of that dream. Yet, the weight of your mission rests heavily on my shoulders, constantly reminding me of the unwavering dedication with which you labored, despite every obstacle, to establish this movement for the salvation of all.

As I travel this world, speaking on the glories of Krishna and His service, it is your voice that speaks through me. I feel your love in every kirtan I lead, in every festival I arrange, and in every life that is touched by Krishna consciousness. Though my words may fall short and my efforts may be imperfect, I know that in each heart that turns toward Krishna, your legacy lives on. Your kindness and determination have become my guiding star, illuminating the path ahead. And in the moments when the path feels lonely in your absence, I remember that your transcendental presence remains with every single one of us who labors for your mission—just as you promised.

Srila Prabhupada, as I reflect on the years of my life, I am humbled by all you have so freely bestowed upon me. You have blessed me with a family in the form of countless disciples, friends, godbrothers, and godsisters — each one a precious gift on this path. Through them, I witness Krishna’s mercy and see how your mission continues to expand, bringing new hope to hearts once lost. From these devotees, I draw strength and inspiration, and I pray to serve them with the same love and patience that you so generously showed me.

My dear spiritual master, I pray once again for the good fortune of having your vapu as the object of my constant vision. Whether you bless me again, or chastise me again, I will consider both as equal expressions of your mercy. When your Guru Maharaja, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, was preaching, his disciples would say that “prabhupādera dāl” (his remnants of dāl) and “prabhupādera gāl” (his sharp words of chastisement) have the same effect. They both lead to Krishna-prema.

Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda, in Sanskrit, one of the terms used to denote a disciple is ante-vāsī. The term means that the student is at the door of his guru, waiting outside his home (ante), standing (vāsī) and holding paraphernalia for the service of his guru. I pray that you make me an ante-vāsī standing outside your door now and forevermore.

So, on this sacred day, I once again lay my heart, my soul, and my life at your lotus feet. I bow before you, offering my tears of separation as a homage to your infinite kindness. May I continue to carry your mission forward with courage, may I honor your teachings with purity, and may I one day be worthy to stand before you again—finally reunited—in the service of the Supreme Lord.

Srila Prabhupada, may I always reside in your heart, both in meeting and separation.

yatrāpi vasati śrīla
prabhupādo jagad-guruḥ
mamāpi vasatiḥ saiva
bhavatv ity arthitā mama

“My cherished desire is that wherever Prabhupāda is currently residing — may that place become my place of residence.”

Your eternal servant,
Indradyumna Swami


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Kripamoya Prabhu: Some of you may find this video interesting. Its a church service with Vaishnava prayers and songs, verses from the Rig Veda sung by the church choir, and an address by Gopi Kallayil, head AI promoter at Google. Jahnavi sings bhajans and her husband Kula Pradeep organised the event. Happened midday yesterday at
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**What If Srila Prabhupada Had Not Come?** *By HH Jayapataka Swami* If Srila Prabhupada had not come, what would have happened? How would we have passed our lives? This question stirs something deep within my heart as I consider the unparalleled impact Srila Prabhupada had on the lives of countless souls across the world. It
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### How to Become Eternally Happy *By His Holiness Prahladananda Swami, ISKCON Ljubljana* In the Srimad Bhagavatam (1.5.7), we find timeless guidance on achieving true, eternal happiness. This text, along with the teachings of the spiritual masters, offers a roadmap for navigating life’s material challenges and seeking transcendental fulfillment. Many of us strive for happiness,
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**Full Renunciation: Reflections on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.6.11-13** *By HG Kalakantha Prabhu* In today’s Śrīmad Bhāgavatam discussion, we focused on verses 1.6.11-13, which continue the story of Nārada Muni’s early life, exploring his spiritual journey after he becomes an orphan. These verses provide an intriguing lens into how renunciation can play a central role in spiritual
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Answer Podcast

Transcription :

Transcriber: Suresh Gupta

Question: If someone puts in the same efforts as me but gets better results, how to avoid envy?

Answer: All of us are on a multi life-time journey where actions and results are not simply a linear connection. We see that a particular action done by us leads to a particular result and when someone else does the same action, it produces different result. Although causes and effects are connected, the connection between cause and effects is not simply linear or a one-to-one correspondence. For example, two farmers living in different part of the country may individually do the same action of sowing seeds, ploughing their land but if it rains only in one part of the country and not in the other part then the place where it rained, the farmer will get lots of harvest and the other place where it did not rain, the farmer may not get any harvest.
In Sanskrit, all these factors are described as karma (action), daiva (destiny), kaala (time) and phalah (fruit). We perform karma (action) to produce phalah (fruit) but actually there are two more factors involved: daiva and kaala. So, the entire equation is karma + daiva + kaala together lead to phalah. In this case, the karma is the farmer ploughing the land, sowing the seeds; daiva is the rains coming; kaala is the passage of time until the harvesting season and finally it leads to phalah.

Whenever we do any action, we need to understand that they alone do not determine the results. Our actions do play an important role – the farmer has to plough the land, sow the seeds but that alone does not bring the result. Sometimes, we may go through a phase when the daiva or the destiny is not favourable and because of that, even after doing the work, result does not come. If we look back at our life, we will remember situations where although we had put in small efforts, still we got a good result. Along with our hard work, many things would have fell right in place (e.g. we might have found the right contact, a particular thing happened on time etc.). The results achieved require not just our good performance but also other things. Thus, daiva is an accumulated sum total of the karma that we have done in the past.

When we do not get the results, it means that karma is not leading to phalah because daiva is not favourable. Daiva is like weather – sometimes cold, sometimes hot. It is not that daiva will always be unfavourable. One must learn to tolerate such events and be patient. There is no need to be envious of others because everybody has done a mix of good and bad karmas. With this understanding, we would not deem ourselves as failure for not producing a result.

Ultimately, nothing is gained by envy. Therefore, we should instead focus on doing our best then even when the results do not come, we are at least becoming better at what we are doing. We are growing internally. Einstein said, ‘’Strive to become a man of values, not a man of wealth”. Values are enduring and wealth is fleeting but if we develop the culture of discipline, dedication and values, then that will bring results in due course of time.

End of transcription.

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Once, on his guru maharaja’s disappearance day, Srila Prabhupada said, “On the absolute platform, there is no difference between the appearance and the disappearance of the spiritual master. Both are beautiful, just like the sunrise and the sunset.” So, although we feel separation, within that separation our remembrance of Srila Prabhupada is heightened, and thus we experience the beauty of his presence—in separation.

To straightaway speak about Srila Prabhupada’s departure feels abrupt to me, because it is a painful topic; but remembering Srila Prabhupada’s words that the disappearance is also beautiful, I wanted to share with you a lesson I learned from his departure.

A few days before he was to leave us, Srila Prabhupada expressed a desire to travel by bullock cart to different holy places in India. His Holiness Lokanath Swami had been traveling by bullock cart to different places of pilgrimage, and Srila Prabhupada was very enlivened when Lokanath Swami reported to him in Vrindavan. Prabhupada said that he too would like to go on pilgrimage on a bullock cart. He asked Lokanath Swami to arrange it, and Lokanath Swami was enthusiastic, having been encouraged by Prabhupada in such a direct way. He immediately went to organize the cart and make all the arrangements. Govardhana-puja was to take place in a couple of days, and Prabhupada said that he would begin his pilgrimage by traveling on a bullock cart to Govardhana Hill to celebrate Govardhana-puja with the Vraja-vasis.

At that time, Srila Prabhupada was bedridden and emaciated. He was unable to eat, and he was able only to sip a little liquid. So he was very gaunt and weak, with almost no energy. He would just lie on his bed, and sometimes, with great difficulty, he would speak softly, often so faintly that only those very close to him could hear his words.

There were many devotees in the room when Srila Prabhupada had his exchange with Lokanath Swami. And immediately after the discussion ended and devotees went outside, they began to express two strong, heartfelt opinions about what Srila Prabhupada should do—and, more than that, how we as disciples should relate to Srila Prabhupada and serve him.

One group, which included Lokanath Swami and other esteemed, senior disciples, such as Hamsaduta Prabhu and Baradraj Prabhu, felt that we should just do what the spiritual master orders. We shouldn’t question his order; we should just execute it. And some of the other disciples, many of whom had been attending to Prabhupada’s personal care, felt that Prabhupada’s health would not sustain his travels on a bullock cart and that, because he was so emaciated (he had practically no flesh on his bones), it would be very painful for him to go. Even if they padded the cart with a mattress, it would still be a basic bullock cart, and the roads in Vraja were very rough, so the movement of the cart would jostle Prabhupada and he would feel pain. Some devotees feared that he might even give up his body on the way. So, they did not want him to be subjected to what they foresaw as certain pain—and perhaps the dire consequence of death.

But this second position was very difficult to maintain under the circumstances, because Srila Prabhupada was so emphatic. “Let me travel to all the tirtha-sthanas,” he had said—to all the holy places. And whatever objections devotees had raised against the proposal, he had countered. “One-day experiment,” he had pleaded. “Rest assured. I will not die in one day.” When even Prabhupada’s kaviraja had predicted that with all the jostling on the bullock cart, Prabhupada would not survive more than two hours, Prabhupada had replied, “But I think I shall be cured.” Still, Tamal Krishna Goswami, Bhakti Charu Swami, Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja, Bhavananda Maharaja, and others felt strongly that this “experiment” would have dire consequences. But how to convince Prabhupada?

So, the controversy continued. When Prabhupada said, “I think I shall be cured,” Hamsaduta and others took it that he was supporting their position. But the other side took it differently: “What does it mean that he is going to be cured? It means that he is going to leave his body and get a spiritual body. That’s how he is going to get cured.” Each party was seeing things in a particular way that supported their particular point of view.

Finally, things came to the stage where the bullock cart was waiting outside the gates of the Krishna-Balaram Mandir. Everything was being readied. And for the devotees who were in the mood that Srila Prabhupada should stay, it must have been like when the residents of Vrindavan saw Akrura getting the chariot ready to take Krishna to Mathura.

The evening before the planned parikrama, Srila Prabhupada was lying on his bed (many of you have seen his bed in his house in Vrindavan). Bhakti Charu Swami was in the room, and Srila Prabhupada’s godbrother Akincana Krishna dasa Babaji Maharaja was there for a visit. Babaji Maharaja was a very advanced devotee; Srila Prabhupada had said that he was a paramahamsa. He was always engaged in hari-nama, absorbed in hari-nama, and he was always blissful. And he and Prabhupada had an extraordinarily affectionate relationship.

So, Bhakti Charu thought, “Let me appeal to Babaji Maharaja. If he asks Prabhupada not to go, then Prabhupada may listen.” And when he explained the situation to Babaji Maharaja, Maharaja declared, “Then he shouldn’t go.”

“So, do you all jointly request me not to go?” Srila Prabhupada asked when Maharaja had conveyed his conclusion. “Ji,” Maharaja confirmed.

“We were getting so upset,” Tamal Krishna agreed. “Two devotees told me this road is so bad that if you go on it, you’re going to be jolted back and forth. The road is terrible. I just can’t understand, Srila Prabhupada, why it has to be tomorrow that we have to go. If anybody wants you to travel, I do. But why do we have to go when you’re in this condition? I can’t understand it.”

“All right,” Srila Prabhupada said. “I will not go.”

“Thank you, Srila Prabhupada,” said Bhavananda. “I was in too much anxiety.”

“No, no, I cannot put you in anxiety. I shall do what you like.”

“Actually, Srila Prabhupada,” said Tamal Krishna, “we’re so attached to you that you practically drive us to madness sometimes. Tonight we were becoming mad.”

“No, I shall not do that,” Prabhupada said. And to Babaji Maharaja he added, “Just see how much they love me . . . Left hand, right hand. I cannot refuse.”

“The way you deal with us simply deepens our attachment every moment,” Tamal Krishna said.

And Prabhupada replied, “It is my duty.”

For the devotees in the room, it was a jubilant occasion that Prabhupada had agreed to wait. As Tamal Krishna Goswami had said, “We will take you on tirtha-yatra, to all the places. Just get a little stronger.” But when the news reached the other group, they were upset: “This is not our duty as disciples, to try to prevail upon our spiritual master. Our duty is to execute his will. He said that he wants to go by bullock cart to Govardhana, and our duty is to arrange for what he wants. Our duty is not to advise him or prevail upon him according to our perception.” The controversy continued until the end—the anniversary of which is today.

Prabhupada spent his last three days with his disciples at the Krishna-Balaram Mandir, and the last day he didn’t speak. His only words were in the morning, when the kaviraja asked him to drink some juice and he replied, “Meri kuch iccha nahin”: “I have no desire.” After that, Prabhupada didn’t speak. He was in a completely internal state of consciousness, and the devotees surrounded him with kirtan. For the last few hours, in the afternoon, the leaders opened up the doors to everyone. Young, old, children, men, women—all were allowed to be in the room with Srila Prabhupada and to reciprocate love with him. Then, at about 7:26 p.m., his tongue and mouth moved—“Hare Krishna”—and he left.

As for the controversy, it continued; even after Prabhupada left, the feelings still ran strong on both sides. And I still couldn’t determine who was right. There were devotees senior to me on both sides—devotees whom I respected and had served. Personally, I may have been closer to some of the ones engaged in Srila Prabhupada’s personal service, but still I wasn’t sure who was right, and it was on my mind.

It was my habit, or practice, to chant japa in Srila Prabhupada’s rooms (though not when he was there), and after he departed, I did that. I was in his room chanting japa, and behind his bed was an area with his bookshelves. So, I found a little corner there and was chanting japa, when somehow my eyes fell upon the new volume of Srimad-Bhagavatam that had just arrived—the Tenth Canto, Volume Two. It had been delivered into Srila Prabhupada’s hands in his last days. When the devotees had presented the book to Srila Prabhupada and he was looking at the pictures, everyone could see the love in his eyes. Tamal Krishna Goswami had remarked, “How much love for Krishna Prabhupada has,” as evident from the way Prabhupada had been looking at the pictures of Krishna. So, I saw the book. It had gold embossing, made especially for Srila Prabhupada. I opened it up, and it happened to open to Chapter Nine: “Mother Yasoda Binds Krsna.” I read a few verses and purports, and then I came to a verse that, to me, answered the question:

TEXT 19

evam sandarsita hy anga
  harina bhrtya-vasyata
sva-vasenapi krsnena
  yasyedam sesvaram vase

TRANSLATION

O Maharaja Pariksit, this entire universe, with its great, exalted demigods like Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, and Lord Indra, is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet the Supreme Lord has one transcendental attribute: He comes under the control of His devotees. This was now exhibited by Krsna in this pastime.

COMMENT

The pastime is encapsulated in the previous verse:

TEXT 18

sva-matuh svinna-gatraya
  visrasta-kabara-srajah
drstva parisramam krsnah
  krpayasit sva-bandhane

TRANSLATION

Because of Mother Yasoda’s hard labor, her whole body became covered with perspiration, and the flowers and comb were falling from her hair. When child Krsna saw His mother thus fatigued, He became merciful to her and agreed to be bound.

COMMENT

When I read these verses, I thought, “This is what happened.” The spiritual master is the transparent medium through which Krishna manifests Himself. Of course, in vraja-bhakti the relationship with Krishna is different. In Vraja, Krishna exhibits nara-lila, humanlike pastimes, in which there is complete intimacy and freedom between the devotees and the Lord. In the relationship between the disciples and spiritual master, there is always an element of awe and reverence—and duty. Still, duty is meant to lead to love. And Srila Prabhupada did say to Babaji Maharaja, “Just see how much they love me.”

One month earlier, there had been another incident. Srila Prabhupada had stopped drinking. Previously, he had said that when his father had wanted to leave his body, he had stopped drinking, and that this was a bona fide way to give up one’s body when the time came. Prabhupada didn’t make any announcement or anything; he just stopped drinking.

Upendra dasa, a very sweet devotee who was Srila Prabhupada’s servant at the time, innocently said to him, “Prabhupada, you have to drink. If you don’t drink, you will become dehydrated. And Prabhupada said, “Oh, you want me to drink? Call the GBC.” That decision—whether Prabhupada should drink or not—was no small matter.

So, Abhirama informed the GBC, and the GBC and senior devotees came into the room. Prabhupada said, “If I want to survive, of course I’ll have to take something. But my survival means so many inconveniences. Therefore I have decided to die peacefully.”

“Everything is in the hands of Krishna,” said Tamal Krishna. And that had been the mood, coming from Srila Prabhupada: everything depended on Krishna. Many times Prabhupada had said that he would accept whatever Krishna desired. If Krishna allowed him to stay, he would stay. And if Krishna wanted him to go, he would go. Previously, a disciple had asked him, “You said that your guru maharaja left early because he was disgusted. Is that the case with you?”

“No,” Srila Prabhupada had replied. “No. If Krishna allows me to stay in your association, I will be most happy to stay in your association.”

Now, however, Srila Prabhupada opened his eyes and said, “Krishna wants me to do as I like. The choice is mine. He has given me full freedom.” This was a different mood—a completely different answer. And it gave—and gives—us a glimpse into the intimate reciprocation between Prabhupada and Krishna.

So, we all went out into the anteroom and discussed. Kirtanananda Swami’s point was most clear and lucid and intelligent. “If Krishna has given Prabhupada the choice and Prabhupada is giving us the choice,” he said, “then we should ask Prabhupada to stay.” Everyone agreed: “Yes, we should ask him to stay.” Then a devotee said, “But all the GBC men aren’t here.” And Brahmananda retorted, “Come on. What GBC is going to say that they don’t want Prabhupada to stay?” So, it was decided, unanimously. We would go back into Prabhupada’s room and tell him that we wanted him to stay; Kirtanananda Swami would be the spokesman.

When we went back into the room, Prabhupada was lying quietly on his bed. As soon as we finished offering obeisances, Kirtanananda broke down and started sobbing. He couldn’t speak. Brahmananda, sitting behind him, rubbed his back to soothe him. Then Kirtanananda managed, “Srila Prabhupada, if Krishna has given you the choice, then don’t go! We need you!” Srila Prabhupada asked, “Is this your joint opinion? Have you discussed?” “Yes, we have all met together. We want you to remain and lead the movement and finish the Srimad-Bhagavatam.”

Prabhupada was silent for what seemed like an eternity. Then he yawned and said, “All right.” Just like that. He agreed to stay in such a nonchalant way. All the devotees were jubilant. Within ourselves, we were rejoicing: “Prabhupada is going to stay! Prabhupada’s going to stay! He is not going to leave us. He is going to finish Srimad-Bhagavatam. He is going to lead the movement.”

And Prabhupada said, “This is real affection.”

So, when I read this verse from the Tenth Canto, I thought of these two incidents and put them together. In both cases, when the disciples had expressed themselves—“We want you to stay,” “We want you to get healthy”—Prabhupada had said, “This is real love,” “Just see how much they love me.” So, I think that all the disciples in this controversy were acting on the basis of their realization of their devotion for Srila Prabhupada, but I believe that what Prabhupada really was doing was drawing out our loving sentiments—beyond our just following the order. Following the order is a given; there is no question. We have to follow the order of the spiritual master. To disobey the order of the spiritual master is an offense against the holy name. It is a basic principle of spiritual life. So, we are not talking about disobeying the order of the spiritual master; we are talking about developing loving feelings for the spiritual master and expressing them to him. When Srila Prabhupada brought us to that stage in those two incidents, he commented, “This is real love,” “Just see how much they love me.”

Relating the verse from the Tenth Canto to what Srila Prabhupada did with us, there’s also a parallel between the damodara-lila and that principle of spontaneous love. Every night during the month of Damodara, we recite the Damodarastaka, including verse three:

itidrk sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde
  sva-ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam
tadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam
  punah prematas tam satavrtti vande

“By such pastimes He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy and revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbued with intimacy and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His devotee’s pure love, I offer my humble obeisances.”

The damodara-lila shows pure, spontaneous love’s special power to conquer the Lord. The Lord comes under the control of such pure love. In the same way, Srila Prabhupada—not exactly that he came under the control of our love, but I would say that he brought that love out from deep within the recesses of our hearts, and then he reciprocated with us by coming under our control, by agreeing to our requests.

So, this is a very deep pastime of Srila Prabhupada’s. Among the disciples who were around him at the end, it was understood that he was the perfect acharya—he had taught us by his own example how to live in Krishna consciousness, and now he was teaching us how to die in Krishna consciousness. That was the general idea in those months and weeks, that he was showing us how to retire to a holy place and how to be absorbed in hearing the holy names of the Lord, and how up until the end, even in his delicate condition, he was trying to push forward the mission and was translating and dictating purports to Srimad-Bhagavatam—until the very end. In that way, he was showing us how to die in Krishna consciousness. But within that final lesson he also brought us to this more intimate level of exchange where we could express to him our heart’s deepest desires even in spite of the barriers that I would say he deliberately put up. He deliberately put up the barriers, but then he inspired us to break through them to reach out to him and express our love for him and ask him to stay with us.

Even though Srila Prabhupada has now left that body, we still have that choice: Do we want him to stay with us or not? And I remember that at that time, although we had been going along in the mood that whatever Krishna wanted was all right, when we understood what really should have been in our hearts—that we wanted him to stay—we thought, “Maybe we want to be the controllers, to be the enjoyers.” So, there is always that question: Do we want the kingdom of God without God, without God’s representative, or do we want the kingdom of God with God, with His representative, as their humble servants? And so I pray to Srila Prabhupada that I will always remember this lesson and always pray and act in such a way that he will be pleased to stay with each of us individually and all of us collectively—and bind us to his lotus feet eternally.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day, November 14, 2007, Mayapur]

 

 

 

From: mahadev

1.Does repression of sexual instinct is harmful in any way to mind & body. What should be a balanced view towards it ?

2.What measures you take and suggest to someone who is trying to get over it ?

3.My take on it is that unless there is some thing higher it is impossible to overcome it ? Please suggest if there are measures one can take irrespective of religion/ideologies he is following.

Thanks a lot for your guidance.

Transcription (edited) by- Keshavgopal Das

Question- Is repression of sexual instinct harmful in any way to mind and body? What should be a balanced view towards it? What measures can one take who is trying to get over it? My take on it is that unless there is something higher it is impossible to overcome it. Please suggest measures that one can take irrespective of religion and ideologies one is following.

Answer (short)-

• By nature, we are pleasure seeking entities and sex cannot fulfill that longing because pleasure derived from sex is temporary, illusory, and miserable.
• Sex desire should be regulated within the sacred bonds of marriage.
• The individual should strive for getting a higher taste through connection with God to go gradually beyond the desire. This can happen within the framework of marriage also.

Answer (long)-  The repression of sexual instinct is entirely natural and necessary for civilized human existence. Some amount of regulation, if it were not there, we could not have even a family existing if everyone started acting on any passing sexual desire that comes to mind. Then we cannot have any sanctity, for example, in relationship between son and mother, daughter and father, brother and sister or other relatives.

The idea that we can express every desire that comes in our mind is conducive to social chaos. That is why in all the religions and cultures in the world there has been a tradition of marriage which allows regulated and civilized expression for the sexual instinct.

Repression in the sense of just saying complete no-no to the desire for pleasure will constitute torture of oneself. We are pleasure seeking individuals and we need pleasure somewhere. You can read the article ‘What’s wrong with sex?’ on this website to fully understand how sexual instinct cannot satisfy our longing for pleasure because it is temporary, illusory, and miserable. Redirecting our desire for pleasure towards Krishna can help us to experience a higher happiness and thereby bring the sexual instinct purposely under control and gradually by spiritual advancement go beyond it completely.

Yes, we certainly need a higher taste to overcome sexual desire. Connection with God especially by chanting His holy name is a very practical and powerful way to prevent our mind of thoughts of sex and fix it on God by which we can experience a higher peace and pleasure.

A balanced view is that we cannot obviously express every sexual desire that comes in the mind; nobody in world can do that. Hiranyakashyipu, as described in Srimad Bhagvatam, tried to fulfill every desire that came to his mind, even then he was not satisfied. The nature of the desires is such that the more we feed them the stronger they grow. It is like putting fuel in fire. On the other hand, a total repression will make us feel tortured. In the Vedic culture those who are strongly inspired, inclined, and determined to become free from the sexual instinct, they take the path of renunciation (path of brahmacharis and sannyasis). They live in a particular kind of culture which is conducive for that and majority of others will enter into family life (path of grihasthas). In grihastha ashram the man and woman will regulate the sexual desire within sacred bonds of marriage. This regulation is not repression. Regulation if done within the bounds of marriage and it is accompanied by spiritual culture and activities that give us spiritual experience then the higher happiness will make one feel a sort of distaste and one will realize the futility and the emptiness of the promises of the sexual happiness the world bombards us with. Even within framework of marriage one can gradually go beyond the sex desire. Therefore, the balanced view is that we need to regulate the desire within the sacred bonds of marriage and get a higher taste through connection with God to go gradually beyond the desire.

The post Is repressing the sexual instinct harmful? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Transcribed by: Bhaktin Raji Nachiappan
Question: Isn’t the Gita’s comparing women with vaishyas and shudras derogatory?
Answer: This can be explained at three levels:
Firstly, is it that Lord Krishna is endorsing the comparison of women with vaishyas and shudras or is he simply stating that? Let us examine verse 9.32 of Bhagavad-gita where the reference comes:

maam hi partha vyapashritya, ye ’pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaishyas tatha shudras, te ’pi yanti param gatim

Here, what is the thrust of the verse? That even those who are vaishyas, shudras, women and the
lowborn can also attain perfection. The thrust of the verse is not to show how women are, rather to show how potent bhakti is. The potency of bhakti is such that whoever you are, bhakti can elevate to the supreme perfection.

Equating women with a particular social grouping is not a teaching of the Bhagavad-gita. That is just a statement where Lord Krishna is just echoing the conceptions of society at that time. Earlier in the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna says sa kalenaha mahata yogo nashtah parantapa (BG 4.2) which means that by the power of time, that primeval knowledge which he had given was lost. That means that the culture that Lord Krishna appeared in, is not the ideal culture. The culture that the Mahabharata describes is the deviated culture. That is why Lord Krishna had to come to correct the situation, dharma samsthapnarthaya (BG 4.8). Therefore, were the cultural conceptions at that time necessarily right? We do not know which one is right and which is not. However, one thing is that, it is clearly not the teaching of the Gita. Everything that is in the scripture is not necessarily the teaching of the scripture. Sometimes scripture may just be describing the socio-cultural reality at that time.

Secondly, even if we consider the social situation at that time, the whole Bhagavad-gita is a
description about attaining transcendence or spiritual reality. For gaining spiritual knowledge and
attaining spiritual reality, in the broad human society, there are certain dispositions which are moresuitable. The brahmanas are more analytical and intellectual and they are best suited for spiritual understanding. Kshatriyas also have some amount of sattva which regulates their rajas and hence they are also suitable for understanding the spiritual reality. Then, there are the vaishyas and the shudras. We need to understand that at times, there are certain people who would be very money minded, not necessarily in a sinful materialistic way. For such people, it is very difficult to think about the other world. In the same way, it was acknowledged that vaishyas and shudras may never be able to take sannyas and they may not even take vanaprastha. Usually brahmanas take sannyas and kshatriyas take vanaprastha.

For the shudras, it is said that the only reformatory ceremony is vivaha or marriage. What does this mean? This means that in the Vedic culture, it was acknowledged that certain people may not be at a level to embrace renunciation or the path of spiritual elevation. This is simply a fact of life with respect to peoples’ spiritual receptivity.

Similarly, with regards to women. Generally, in the female body, the primary purpose is to nurture
and nourish. For nourishing a new life, emotionality is very important. Children or babies are not
rational, and similarly if mothers were rational, they may not be best suited to take care of the baby.

For mothers to have that emotional connect with children, they will need to have emotional nature.
This is not a disadvantage. It is needed for the purpose of nurturing and it is a great strength also.

To achieve spiritual growth, one way is through philosophical analysis, wherein we understand the futility of the material world and then look for a higher alternative. There are certain kind of people, who are just not suitable for that path because they may not be philosophical enough. Hence, Lord Krishna is saying is that some varnas are not qualified for the analytical and intellectual approach to spirituality. However, they are still qualified for the path of bhakti. Therefore, the thrust is that bhakti is possible for everyone. The psychophysical nature and its limitation is a limitation on the path of intellectual spirituality but it is not a limitation on devotional spirituality. In that sense it is not an accusation or condemnation.

Thirdly, Gita begins by saying that we are not our bodies and that we are souls. That means our
bodily designation is our temporary situation. There is a dynamic balance or tension between how we act spiritually and how we act physically. Different people grow spiritually in a different way. There are exceptions also in the broad Vedic tradition. There are examples of great sages who were females. In the Upanishads, there is an example of a lady sage, Gargi. It is mentioned that when there was a debate in Mithila, she defeats everyone. No social categorization is watertight. The Shrimad Bhagavatam also says lakshane prokta – ultimately it is by characteristics that we are meant to be known. There are some women who may be very philosophical and analytical. Such women are not to be deprived.

Therefore, if we understand the context, then such statements will not seem very jarring. It is only
when we see the statement in isolation from what is being spoken, then they become very jarring.

The post Isn’t the Gita’s comparing women with vaishyas and shudras derogatory? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Transcribed by: Sundarinath das
Question: How do we differentiate between tolerating a situation by being patient or just leaving the
situation because we are getting too much hurt?
Answer (short):
Tolerance means that while doing our duty, there will be inconveniences and distresses that we
should tolerate.
Our service to Krishna is our supreme duty or virtue and we may have to tolerate many things
for our service to him. However, tolerance does not mean a situation where we allow ourselves
to not serve Krishna.
Tolerance is the virtue that enables us to keep small things small so that we can focus on big
things.
The basic application of tolerance is to check our impulsive reaction when something goes
wrong and then with our higher intelligence decide what to do.
Answer (Long):
Tolerance does not necessarily mean subjecting oneself to injury. In the Bhagavat-gita 2.14, Lord
Krishna tells Arjuna to tolerate, tams titikshasva bharata. However, the entire Bhagavat-gita is spoken in a context where Arjuna is told to fight a war against the injustices by the Kauravas. Although Krishna is teaching to tolerate, but he is not advising to tolerate the atrocities of theKauravas. Rather, he is advising Arjuna that while doing his duty of fighting the war, there will be inconveniences and distresses, which he should tolerate.

Our purpose in this world is to serve Krishna by contributing with different talents he has given us and inthe process, move closer to him. Our service to Krishna should be our supreme virtue to decide what we should and should not do. We cannot elevate anything except our relationship with Krishna as the supreme virtue. Sometimes for our service to Krishna, we may have to tolerate but if tolerance means giving up our service to Krishna, then that is not the right kind of tolerance. Here service does not simply mean chanting or bhakti related activities, but it also includes the service and the role we have in this world.

Tolerance is the virtue that enables us to keep small things small so that we can focus on big things. Tolerance does not mean that we let big things go down the drain. For example, if we are going for an important meeting in a vehicle and somebody just cuts the vehicle dangerously, we get angry because such an act could have caused a fatal accident. The person starts escaping from the scene and in our anger, we start chasing the person so that we can chastise. We drive all over the town and get late for our important meeting. Alternatively, we could have just tolerated the act and focused on our important meeting.

In another example, we see how Pandavas responded differently at different times in their lives. Initially, when Kauravas tried to poison them, and later burn them, the Pandavas ignored it thinking, “It is a conflict amongst us, let us keep it among ourselves and not publicize it, hopefully the animosity will go down.” However, when their cousins try to dishonor their wife and things started to go beyond limit, then they even fought a war. Later in their lives, eventually when Krishna departed from the world, they decided enough is enough and just walked away from the situation.

Whenever there is a difficulty in our life, there are three alternatives available: (i) change ourselves and tolerate the difficulty (ii) change the person or the situation (iii) walk away from the situation. Here, walking away is not the same as running away. Walking away means, “I have better things to do in my life, I don’t want to get caught in this.” Each of the three responses may be appropriate in different situations. Executing each of these responses also require tolerance because when something goes wrong an impulse within us often makes things worse. Tolerance enables us to check such impulse so that using our higher intelligence we can decide what to do.

If a relationship is repeatedly hurting us and there is no indication that things will improve then we may have to create some safe distance in the relationship. Tolerance does not mean that we allow ourselves to hurt continuously. However, in any relationship, just like we are imperfect and have our conditionings, others also have their conditionings. We should not make small differences in a relationship big to the extent we eventually end a relationship. There has to be a sense of perspective which comes when we look at the issue from some distance. Tolerance facilitates such sense of perspective. The basic application of tolerance is to avoid knee-jerk reactions. We do not act immediately but allow some time to pass so that the emotions subside and we can decide intelligently. When we think calmly we can understand the issue better. If we find the issue not so important we ignore it otherwise we address it with an appropriate response.

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1 Six characteristics of bhakti – Basics of relationships

2 Six characteristics of bhakti – Treatment metaphor | Nectar of Devotion (Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu)

3 Six characteristics of bhakti – How bhakti removes distress & brings auspiciousness

4 Six characteristics of bhakti – Bhakti-karma relationship QA

5.⁠ ⁠Six characteristics of bhakti – Last four characteristics

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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 20, No. 20
By Krishna Kripa Das
(October 2024, part two)
New York City and Stuyvesant Falls
(Sent from Stuyvesant Falls, New York, on November 2, 2024)

Where I Went and What I Did

The second half of October, I was happy to stay in ISKCON NYC and serve NYC Harinam through October 27. I would chant with Rama Raya Prabhu’s NYC Harinam party from Monday through Saturday for three or four hours in the afternoons, and on Sundays I would do a walking harinama with ISKCON NYC devotees around Brooklyn or over the Brooklyn Bridge for an hour and then chant with the Bhakti Center Soul Spot group in Washington Square Park for two hours in the afternoon. On October 28, I traveled upstate to Stuyvesant Falls to cook breakfast and do other services for my guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, replacing Mathuraprana Prabhu who had family responsibilities in Queens. Mathuraprana Prabhu and I chanted together at the Hudson train station for half an hour as I was coming and he was going. On Halloween, to take advantage of that day when people are more open to interacting with the Hare Krishnas, I spent the afternoon and evening doing harinama in New York City, making a day trip there.

I share many quotes from the books, lectures, conversations, and letters of Srila Prabhupada, many I read in Bhakti Vikasa Swami’s soon-to-be-published book on the mood and mission of Srila Prabhupada. I also share quotes from Prabhupada’s godbrothers, religion professors, and even George Harrison which are quoted in that book. I share notes on classes by Srila Prabhupada disciples, Hansarupa and Smara Hari Prabhus, speaking at ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn. I also share notes on ISKCON NYC classes by Rama Raya, Natabara Gauranga, Matanga, Prabhavishnu, and Hadai Prana Prabhus.

Many, many thanks to Chandrasekhara Swami for his kind donation to me for giving the Sunday lecture in Freeport. I’d like to thank Rupachandra Prabhu very much for his generous donation. Thanks to Rafael for his kind donation. Many thanks to Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu for the use of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s car go to Hudson to catch the train to NYC for Halloween harinama.

Itinerary

October 5–January 2025: NYC Harinam

– December 7: Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa-puja / Hudson Winter Walk harinama

Chanting Hare Krishna in New York

Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Tulasi Kirtan at ISKCON NYC (https://youtu.be/SOYVW79voNg):

Aravind chants Hare Krishna at Fulton Street subway station in Manhattan (https://youtu.be/SR7kezZHWrs):

Jagaddhatri Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Avenue subway station (https://youtu.be/jOgDvvKhnQY):

Narada Muni Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Avenue subway station (https://youtu.be/DgKrlAPMXps):

Aravind chants Hare Krishna at Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Avenue subway station (https://youtu.be/so_2GYyXh6Y):

Aravind chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park (https://youtu.be/M-O7wjQUP4A):

Sukanti Gaurangi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park (https://youtu.be/vZJTwV5-baE):

Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park (https://youtu.be/WjXgnO-IvZE):

Aravind chants Hare Krishna at Battery Park (https://youtu.be/J5ByMgANFjY):

I sold my first sapta-rishi that day in Battery Park. This Indian restaurant worker from Charlotte, NC, saw the stack of 7 books on the table and asked the price. I said $50, and he gave $100. Like Vaisesika Prabhu says, "The more you show, the more you sell."

Although he was flying home that evening, I encouraged him to come to the temple, just two subway stops away, for darshan in 40 minutes.

Braja Sakhi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park (https://youtu.be/eY2oQWRiBLk):

Sachin Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Gita Life devotees in Downtown Brooklyn (https://youtu.be/OyUPCcT4LKE):

This gentleman visited the Brooklyn temple regularly perhaps 30 years ago as one leader encouraged him. A couple weeks ago while vacationing in Athens, devotees invited him to their Sunday feast. He went and had a great time, and he described to me the Tulasi puja and guru puja there. Looks like Krishna is encouraging him to increase his devotional service.

Aravind chants Hare Krishna at Union Square (https://youtu.be/EiJ171fMCho):

At Union Square that day I was amazed to count 5 devotees I knew from Gainesville/Alachua on NYC Harinam! Aravind Ithikkat, who led the above kirtan, is serving our chanting party for 2 weeks. 

Jaya Sri Krishna (Hemant J. Patel), near NYC on business, invited the others. Harinama sankirtana is a great activity to do with friends as you accomplish the two most important items of devotional service, sadhu-sanga and nama-kirtana, simultaneously!

Aravind chants Hare Krishna at Columbus Circle (https://youtu.be/E5hIKoqatyY):

Kanai Krishna Prabhu, visiting from Europe for a month, chants Hare Krishna at Union Square (https://youtu.be/fIekeuZ2__o):

Divyangi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Union Square (https://youtu.be/6q16bZBfEQs):

Aravind chants Hare Krishna at Union Square (https://youtu.be/y4pF04bAHC8):

Jayananda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park (https://youtu.be/J5wjbq9FYoE):

Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park, and passersby offer lamps to Damodara (https://youtu.be/7ka3DHyxYw4):

Natabara Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park the next day (https://youtu.be/_ugQTysk4Ow):

I also chanted there, before going to 26 Second Avenue to give the evening lecture (https://youtu.be/q2QVBS_A_Xg):

Ryan chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park, and a performer dances while balancing a bicycle on his head (https://youtu.be/eVxPoGfvxhk):

While Ryan continued chanting, the performer danced, this time balancing a tire on his head (https://youtu.be/CoKfDE3SueY):

Peter recalled me and Adikarta Das from Gainesville in 2003. I invited him to 26 Second Ave., and he came for the first time. I suggested he visit the Hare Krishna Tree before moving to DC on Wednesday and told him of the Govardhan festival there Nov. 2.

On the last Sunday in October, I chanted Hare Krishna with Dylan for an hour, from the temple to the Brooklyn Bridge via the subway, and then across the bridge. It was crowded and many heard the holy names.

Then I chanted with Anupama Prabhu and another devotee at the Bhakti Center Soul Spot Kirtan on Sunday afternoon at Washington Square Park (https://youtu.be/bu58iZlpEcQ):

Here the family and friends of Acyuta Gopi chant Hare Krishna after the ISKCON NYC Sunday feast (https://youtu.be/pk9krXq5Mqw):

You can see me dancing in the background.

The following day I went to serve Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami upstate, but I took a half-day break on Thursday to come to back to New York City for harinama on Halloween because it is one of the best days to engage others in chanting Hare Krishna and dancing. My main service upstate was cooking breakfast, so I left after breakfast on Halloween, and I returned in time to cook breakfast the next day.

Param Brahma Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park on Halloween (https://youtu.be/mfZk2As3SzQ): 

Janananda Goswami, who I serve in France in the summer, chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park (https://youtu.be/bWBGXOMJCxs):

Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park, and many dance (https://youtu.be/nn6tm7XYiK0):

After our usual harinama ended at 7:00 p.m., devotees from NYC Harinam, the Brooklyn temple, and the Bhakti Center chanted Hare Krishna through the streets of Greenwich Village until 9:45 p.m. led by Premananda Kirtan Prabhu, who played the accordion. Many people, mostly wearing costumes, danced, chanted, and took films, attracted by the kirtan party. For many it was their first encounter with Hare Krishna, and it was a very positive one.

On that Halloween harinama I offered some shakers to a couple who was attracted to the music, and Premananda Kirtan Prabhu engaged the two in chanting Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/nBw4TcEIERc):

I shared a Yoga Lyrique card with the girl who was from Paris and the ISKCON LA website with the guy who was from Santa Monica. 

Half an hour later they participated again. They were just two of many who got a spiritual taste on that Halloween harinama (https://youtu.be/bK8YbUhbEmU):

Here are 45 minutes of our ecstatic two and a half hour Halloween harinama (https://youtu.be/BtuydIBa5zE):

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

From Krishna, Chapter 6:

“The lotus feet of Krishna, which are worshiped by great sages and devotees, were placed on the body of Putana. People worship Krishna and offer Him food with great reverence and devotion, but automatically He sucked the milk from the body of Putana. Devotees therefore pray that if simply by offering something as an enemy Putana got so much benefit, then who can measure the benefit of worshiping Krishna in love and affection? Therefore only Krishna should be worshiped, for so much benefit awaits the worshiper.”

From Krishna, Chapter 11:

“All the cowherd men, including Nanda Maharaja, used to talk of the wonderful activities of Lord Krishna and Balarama, and they were always so much absorbed in those talks that they forgot the threefold miseries of this material existence. This is the effect of Krishna consciousness. What was enjoyed five thousand years ago by Nanda Maharaja can still be enjoyed by Krishna conscious persons simply by talking about the transcendental pastimes of Krishna and His associates.”

From Krishna, Chapter 12:

“Who can estimate the transcendental fortune of the residents of Vrindavan? They were personally seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, He whom many yogis cannot find even after undergoing severe austerities, although He is sitting within their hearts. This is confirmed in the Brahma-samhita: One may search for Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through the pages of the Vedas and Upanisads, but it is difficult to find Him there. However, one who is fortunate enough to associate with a devotee can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. After accumulating pious activities in many, many previous lives, the cowherd boys were seeing Krishna face to face and playing with Him as friends. They could not understand that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they were playing as intimate friends with intense love for Him.”

From Krishna, Chapter 12:

“It is said that it is the nature of a devotee to constantly apply his mind, energy, words, ears, etc., in hearing and chanting about Krishna. This is called Krishna consciousness, and for one who is rapt in hearing and chanting about Krishna, the subject matter never becomes hackneyed or old. That is the significance of transcendental subject matter in contrast to material subject matter. Material subject matter becomes stale, and one cannot hear a certain subject for a long time; he wants change. But as far as transcendental subject matter is concerned, it is called nitya-nava-navayamana. This means that one can go on chanting and hearing about the Lord and never feel tired but remain fresh and eager to hear more and more.”

From Krishna, Chapter 29:

“If a woman accepts You as the supreme husband, then she will never be bereft of her husband, as in the bodily concept of life. If we accept You as our ultimate husband, then there is no question of being separated, divorced or widowed. You are the eternal husband, eternal son, eternal friend and eternal master, and one who enters into a relationship with You is eternally happy.” 

“You are the only enjoyer, You are the only proprietor, and You are the only friend. As such, we have come to You, leaving aside all so-called friends, society and love, and now You have become our enjoyer. Let us be everlastingly enjoyed by You. Be our proprietor, for that is Your natural claim, and be our supreme friend, for You are naturally so. Let us thus embrace You as the supreme beloved.”

“Please do not discourage our long-cherished desires to have You as our husband. Any intelligent man who cares for his own self-interest reposes all his loving spirit in You.”

“Dear Krishna, as women, we are certainly satisfied when our hearts are engaged in the activities of family affairs, but our hearts have already been stolen by You. We can no longer engage them in family affairs.”

“You have given us a chance to be enjoyed by You in the forest and have touched our breasts once in the past, which we accepted as a blessing, as do the goddesses of fortune, who are enjoyed in the Vaikunṭhalokas by You. Since we have tasted this transcendental enjoyment, we are no longer interested in going to anyone but You for the satisfaction of our lust.”

From Krishna, Chapter 36:

“Vrindavan was always absorbed in the thought of Krishna. Everyone remembered His pastimes and was constantly merged in the ocean of transcendental bliss. But the material world is so contaminated that even in Vrindavan the asuras, or demons, tried to disturb the peaceful situation.”

From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.8–13 in New York on July 24, 1971:

“So many things are going on. But what we know? We say that ‘It is my body.’ What do you know about your body? Still he says ‘I am God.’ He does not know what is going on within his body, and still he’s supposed to be God. 

“… This bag of stool, urine, blood, bones, if one takes it that intelligence comes out of this stool, urines and blood and bone, then he’s a fool. Can you create intelligence by taking stool and urine and bones and blood and mix it in laboratory, make some intelligence? Is it possible? But they’re thinking like that: ‘I am this body.’”

From Krishna Consciousness, The Matchless Gift, Chapter 4:

“For example, Krishna, in the guise of Vamana, a dwarf brahmana, went to beg from Bali Maharaja. Even though He is sarva-loka-mahesvaram [Bg. 5.29], the proprietor of all the planets, He nonetheless says, ‘Please give in charity to Me.’ Why? It is for our interest, for the sooner we return Krishna’s money to Krishna, the better situated we will be.”

From Krishna Consciousness, The Matchless Gift, Chapter 6:

“Real civilization is not concerned simply with man’s animal needs but with enabling man to understand his relationship with God, the supreme father. One may learn about his relationship with God by any process—through Christianity, through the Vedic literatures or through the Koran—but in any case it must be learned. The purpose of this Krishna consciousness movement is not to make Christians into Hindus or Hindus into Christians but to inform everyone that the duty of a human being is to understand his relationship with God. One must learn this, otherwise he is simply wasting his time by engaging in animalistic propensities. We must all try to love Krishna or God. If one has a process, he should practice it, or he can come and learn this process. One should not begrudge the selection of one process over another.”

From a lecture on Bhagavad-gita 7.1 in Melboure on June 29, 1974:

“Those who are inmates of the temple should be such nice devotees that anyone who will come in the association of devotees will immediately develop a sense of devotion.”

From a letter to Kausalya on January 12, 1974:

“So please work with the other ladies and with your Godbrothers at Bhaktivedanta Manor and make it such a blissful, peaceful atmosphere that many persons will be attracted to come and live with us.”

From a letter to Mukunda on January 12, 1974:

“All the temple members without exception must rise by 4:00 AM and attend mangala-arati. Everyone living in the temple must agree to the standard by proper understanding of the philosophy of tapasya. We cannot expect our guests to follow all our principles, but whoever lives in the temple must follow: That means all must sit down together and hear the Bhagavatam class. . . . There should be a regular daily schedule of events and it should be followed closely. After the class and breakfast everyone should go to their respective duties, deity worship, sankirtana, clean-up, and so on throughout the day. This atmosphere of constant engagement will produce the truly happy result of transcendental life. Our buildings are not for our sleeping and eating in like hotels, but whoever wants to join us should understand the philosophy of regulated devotional service.”

From a letter to Damodara on July 1, 1970:

“Temple worship is not so important as sankirtana on the public roads and selling our literatures.”

From a letter to Ramesvara on August 3, 1973:

“The temple is a place not for eating and sleeping, but a base from which we send out our soldiers to fight with maya. Fight with maya means to drop thousands and millions of books into the lap of the conditioned souls. Just like during war time the bombs are raining from the sky like anything.”

Quoted in Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, Volume 3, Chapter 27:

“Wherever there is a new branch of our Society for Krishna consciousness I become very, very happy. And my blessings in heart and soul are with you.”

From Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.16.60, purport:

“Especially for this Age of Kali, the process accepted by the Krishna consciousness movement is to open hundreds and thousands of Vishnu temples (temples of Radha-Krishna, Jagannatha, Balarama, Sita-Rama, Gaura-Nitai, and so on).”

From Mayapur Temple Inauguration:

“We have got centers all over the world, but that is not sufficient. Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted in every village and every town all over of the world.”

From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.35 in Mayapur on October 15, 1974:

“All these centers are being opened only for this business – chanting, dancing, worshiping – so that we may not forget Krishna.”

Sripada “Akincana” Krishnadasa Babaji Maharaja: 

From a conversation with B. B. Govinda Maharaja:

“There has never been an acarya in history who has performed miracles like your spiritual master. Because in history there was never a greater servant of Krishna’s holy name than your spiritual master, because your spiritual master had so much absolute understanding of Krishna’s holy name and so much absolute faith in Krishna’s holy name that he personally carried Krishna’s holy name through the length and the breadth of the world. Therefore, he is the greatest acarya who has ever existed.”

Bon Maharaja: 

From a conversation with Srila Prabhupada:

“Infinite mercy is upon you. You have performed immense service that is beyond compare. Our Prabhupada’s [Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s] immeasurable energy is with you, and that is why you have achieved the impossible. We are linked to the immensely potent gaura-vani because of your writings. I hear your glories everywhere. Everyone sings your glories. You have accomplished unlimited service. You are turning Mahaprabhu’s vani into reality. Through you, Mahaprabhu has done it: prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama, sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama – through you, this is materializing. Our Prabhupada selected you only. Your books are the real contribution. You were able to do so many sastras, and that will remain intact forever, will live forever.”

Ananda Prabhu: 

“The way you have preached, you have fulfilled the desire of Srila Prabhupada [Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati]. You have fulfilled the desire of Mahaprabhu. Whatever opulence comes you accept for the service of the Lord without any attachment. You have purified everyone. This is the greatest thing you have done. Srila Prabhupada started it thinly and you have completed it in a massive way. You have delivered the fallen souls. Therefore you are maha-patita-pavana. As fire purifies contaminated gold, you are also like fire, you have purified the contaminated heart. This is the greatest exhibition of compassion. They have tilaka on the forehead, tulasi beads on the neck, chanting the holy name of Hari, and they don’t eat anything other than prasada. This fact is known to everyone everywhere. What could be more important than this?”

“It was Mahaprabhu’s desire to preach everywhere. Bhaktivinoda Thakura foresaw white and dark-complexioned persons together singing ha nitai, ha gauranga and embracing, floating in waves of ecstasy and rolling on the ground. You fulfilled this desire of Mahaprabhu. Not everyone can do it.”

Puri Maharaja: 

“Na bhuta na bhavisyati, it neither happened in the past nor will in the future. Nobody has preached like that in such a short time. So much you have done in ten, twelve years. Nobody has done before nor anybody can do in future. Let anybody say whatever he wants. But we must admit and appreciate your work.”

Srivatsa Goswami, (a much-respected scholar and spiritual leader from Radha-ramana temple in Vrindavan):

“What the Muslims could do only by the tremendous sword, and the Christians could do only with great financial resources and state power, has been done by one solitary man, without any ill effects.”

The humble servants of Srila Prabhupada:

From Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.18.25): 

“One in the vanaprastha order of life should always practice taking charity from others, for one is thereby freed from illusion and quickly becomes perfect in spiritual life. Indeed, one who subsists on food grains obtained in such a humble manner purifies his existence.”

Mukunda Goswami:

“Srila Prabhupada was not just another oriental scholar, guru, mystic, yoga teacher, or meditation instructor. He was the embodiment of a whole culture, and he implanted that culture in the West. To me and many others he was first and foremost someone who truly cared, who completely sacrificed his own comfort to work for the good of others. He had no private life but lived only for others. He taught spiritual science, philosophy, common sense, the arts, languages, the Vedic way of life – hygiene, nutrition, medicine, etiquette, family living, farming, social organization, schooling, economics – and many more things to many people.”

[Srila Prabhupada was:] “a teacher who was so perfect, who enjoyed what he was teaching so much, not because it was his personal teaching or his personal method, but because he was witnessing Krishna’s energy pass through him to a conditioned soul like myself.”

Hansarupa Prabhu:

Not only do the words of the spiritual master purify one’s consciousness, they empower one’s consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada once said that it is worse for a brahmana to fall down to anger than to fall down to sex life.

In anger you may do things that cause such damage to your spiritual life that you never recover from it.

Lord Shiva is in charge of the destruction of the universe. Who would want to mess with such a personality? Yet Daksa was so illusioned by anger he did so.

By our endeavor to please Krishna, we become eligible to attain the truth.

In the temple, everything is related to Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada said that chanting in the temple is more powerful.

In Vrindavan the benefit of any spiritual activity is increased, but the reaction to sinful activities is also increased.

Devotional service begins with faith, but if you lose that faith, you will not complete the nine stages and attain the goal of love of God.

Now there is a spike in deaths, and a lot of young people are dying from diseases that old people would die from.

Anyone who takes the responsibility to act for Srila Prabhupada carries the authority of the spiritual master.

Srila Prabhupada once said sincerity is all that is necessary for success in spiritual life.

We are so blessed by Srila Prabhupada that we cannot calculate it, but we can attempt to pay our debt by serving him.

We have to learn how to do things quickly and expertly.

How do we understand if we have attained Krishna’s mercy? If we are fully engaged in His service according to our capacity.

Another a devotee and I were surrounded by a group of 20 Naxalite students chanting slogans at us at a Calcutta train station. I reached into my brahmacari bag and pulled out The Nectar of Devotion and starting reading it in a loud voice. In 5 minutes they all disappeared.

I got the chance to work in Srila Prabhupada’s quarters until practically the day he arrived.

Your youth is meant for intensive service to Krishna. In your old age, you can go to the dhama and read.

Don’t be so consumed by some material activities that your spiritual life is compromised.

Smara Hari Prabhu:

The sastra says that one who bathes in Radha Kunda on Bahulastami becomes very dear to Krishna.

Lord Caitanya rediscovered Radha Kunda on that Bahulastami day.

The Vedic literature, especially the Srimad-Bhagavatam, is to inspire appreciation of and devotion to Krishna. It is not intended to give exact measurements.

At one point in their battle, Krishna pulled out one of the horns of Aristasura, the bull demon who was harassing the the residents of Vrindavan, and beat him with it.

The gopis advised Krishna to perform atonement for killing Aristasura, who was a male cow, although a demon.

Bahula was a cow who was being attacked by a tiger. She convinced the tiger to let her feed her calf one last time and say goodbye to her owner. Neither the calf nor the owner of the cow wanted Bahula to be eaten by the tiger, so they offered themselves as a replacement. Bahula did not agree to that, so all three of them appeared before the tiger. Krishna then appeared, and convinced the tiger to be lenient in light of the honesty of the cow, Bahula, in fulfilling her promise to return to him. The tiger agreed. Krishna had that forest where the pastime occurred named Bahulavan and the day called Bahulastami.

Vaisesika Prabhu:

“You spoke to police chiefs, cardinals, reporters, musicians, businessmen, parents, poets, doctors, professors, students, derelicts, and dropouts, giving each the perfect answer, explanation, or insight to bring each one closer to Krishna. 

“How many hundreds and thousands of questions did you answer? How many thousands of letters did you write? How many hundreds of thousands of miles did you travel, all while translating, writing, and publishing volumes of transcendental literature for the welfare of your disciples and the people of the world? 

“Contemplating the sheer volume of your accomplishments, we must say that you are the greatest of all the mahatma transcendentalists. You are Krishna’s empowered agent who has come to this world to widely distribute the mercy of the Lord.”

Rama Raya Prabhu:

Everyone is nothing compared to Lord Vishnu.

Everyone has a right to offer their prayers to the Lord. The Lord wants to see the heartfelt prayers of everyone.

They have a sign in the subway, “Don’t become someone’s subway story.” We might say, “Don’t become someone’s ISKCON story.”

If a friend betrays us, that causes such pain and inner turmoil that it may take years to recover, yet Krishna remains within our hearts as a loving friend although we betrayed him and He never gives up on us.

It is the Lord’s extreme kindness and mercy that all we have to do to attain an intimate relationship with Him is to chant His holy name.

The best service to Krishna is to expand His message all over the world.

Srila Prabhupada said this ISKCON movement is an extension of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes.

Devaki Devi Dasi:

From her soon-to-be-published book on the vanaprastha-ashrama:

“I remember meeting a family in Croatia who had entered family life at an early age, raised three children and were only in their late forties when the kids had left home and got married or had accepted jobs. And in a youthful spirit the couple had moved on to the next phase of life, fully taking advantage of all the service opportunities that had opened up. Seeing this real-life example once again made it clear to me that Krishna’s system is simply wonderful and perfect.”

“During our vanaprastha life, we strive to come to the deep realisation that Krishna protects us by arranging whatever we need to keep body and soul together. What will then gradually grow is our faith and conviction that Krishna and His devotees will do the needful if we are satisfied with the simple necessities of life. So far, we have not seen any ISKCON devotees starving or living in the gutter.”

“The shastra is full of instructive examples of great kings who lived their lives in royal opulence; when the time came, they divided the kingdom amongst their sons and courageously left for the forest accepting an austere life in full dependence on the Lord. They left everything behind – so much wealth and riches. We may be attached to our house or flat, but they were residing in a gigantic palace. Still, they walked out and never turned back. This demonstrates their highly elevated consciousness – they were great devotees of the Lord, fixed in detachment. Indeed, they manifested the opulence of renunciation through their detachment.”

“To this day, in countries like India and Bangladesh, we can see that people within the extended family have maintained the culture of supporting each other in need. When, for example, a young family man suddenly leaves his body, his widow and his children become the members of his brother’s or sister’s family. The widow does not have to struggle through life as a single mother; she is nicely maintained as a part of her extended family and can peacefully raise her children.”

“In old age we will have to restrict ourselves in our activities as time goes by. It is humbling to accept the fact that our energy level gradually decreases, and we may no longer be able to do what we used to do with great pleasure just six months earlier. In this way, we need to gradually let go of external activities and achievements, and turn towards internal endeavours.”

“This is Krishna’s perfect arrangement. As a rule, we tend to give more attention to external successes in life because they give us recognition and false-ego satisfaction, and when thus falsely satisfied, we tend to neglect our internal life. In our old age however, Krishna gives us an affectionate and merciful push to make us move towards our internals, since that will be most helpful in preparing for our final exam of meeting death.”

“Having the courage and detachment to conclude a certain phase of life and move on is the price to pay in order to embark on new opportunities.”

“A mature devotee who knows the art of empowering the younger generation is not afraid of losing his post. He will happily assist others to become even more glorious and successful than he was – it will give him the greatest satisfaction. He will accept the role of giving guidance and advice, sharing his life experience and wisdom. At the same time, he will be open to new and innovative ideas and will endeavour to protect the young generation from failures and deviations. Such a leader will be respected as a dear, well-wishing friend; people will be eager to inquire and learn from him. In this way, the older and younger generations work cooperatively, with mutual respect and a service attitude.” 

“If this does not take place and an organisation sticks to outdated and rigid forms of autocratic leadership while hanging onto their posts until the moment of death, the young generation will not feel inspired to be a part of it. As a result, such an organisation will not thrive; it will most certainly become stagnant due to the loss of its youthful and dynamic spirit. Particularly the intelligent and capable people will see no room for their development that will ultimately enable them to make valuable contributions to Srila Prabhupada’s mission. Hence, they may rather devote their time and energy to developing their material career, or join other spiritual organisations.”

“Or, becoming frustrated, they will start criticising and indulging in politics – even to the point of getting together and planning a revolution. They may recognise such a strategy as their only hope to remove a leader and create room for the next generation. Needless to say, such behaviour is against Vaishnava etiquette and invites conflicts. It is therefore crucial for leaders and managers to recognise the importance of handing over their responsibilities and posts and moving on to greater fields of activities at the right time – before a health crisis or revolution may force them to. Once again, serving under the guidance of a well-experienced mentor can greatly help us to take this important step. Thus, cooperation between the older and younger generations will be harmonious, and Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtan movement will become even more attractive and glorious.”

“For so many years, we have considered our residence to be our true home! Our title and position have given us a sense of importance, making us accept it almost as the core of our very identity! The idea of giving them up seems rather frightening. Let us remember that a gradual process of meditation and planning is required to reach the summit of true detachment. Whenever we have the courage to close one door, Krishna will open many others, giving us new opportunities. We should know that an exciting life phase is ahead of us, with transcendental adventures of ever-deepening realisations and spiritual experiences awaiting us.”

“On our journey back to Godhead, the luggage allowance is zero – not 23 kg check-in and 7 kg hand luggage, but zero!”

“In the days leading up to my father’s departure, he took great pleasure in giving things away – he felt true joy in passing things on to friends as a final act of loving exchange. And my mother began to get rid of things years before her departure, saying, ‘I’m tidying up the house, so you will have less work once I’m gone…’”

“After my father left his body, it took me six weeks to clear out all his belongings from the house – so much work. In countries such as Germany, it is difficult to sell second-hand items, even if they are still in good condition. In fact, it is an endeavour to even give them away (nobody wants them), as everyone already has more than they need. So, a lot of things ended up in the bin: all kinds of souvenirs, photo albums and diaries from his travels around the world, etc. Getting rid of such things gave me the clear realisation how most belongings that were so dear to us will one day simply end up in the rubbish dump. In the ultimate sense, they have no importance.”

Natabara Gauranga Prabhu:

The guru helps you attain Krishna. It’s like you can’t go to a party unless you know someone there. If you know someone there, you can easily get in.

We offer Damodara the lamp of our love.

Humbly asking the Lord for service is the best thing because He can easily make all kinds of arrangements for us to serve.

We are eternal so we have to figure out how to have eternal relationships with people.

The more we hear that there is another nature, the more we will want to get out of this inferior nature.

Matanga Prabhu:

These world wars show the great trouble caused by people identifying with their bodies. 

Because the modes of nature are always fluctuating, we are always open to be affected by the mode of ignorance.

By engaging in chanting Hare Krishna and service we can protect ourselves from the mode of ignorance.

Just like in school, you have all types, the nerd, the bully, the beauty queen, etc., there are different types of people in the society of devotees, so you have to be careful who you associate with.

The case of Pariksit insulting the sage shows how even a great personality can be affected by ignorance, although in his case it was the arrangement of the Lord.

We have to put aside the shortcomings of the devotees because very soon they will be completely purified.

It is not enough just to apologize. We have to be willing to do something to make up for our offense.

Our free will is the only thing we have to surrender to Krishna, because Krishna already possesses everything we are thinking we possess.

Comment by me:

You mentioned that the qualification for achieving Lord Caitanya’s mercy is to be unqualified, but actually the qualification is that we realize that we are unqualified. People who think they are qualified although they are actually unqualified unfortunately will not be interested in Lord Caitanya’s mercy.

Prabhavishnu Prabhu:

Anger leaves a trail of destruction.

Daksa identified himself so much with his material position that he became angry when not respected by Lord Shiva.

When you offend a devotee you get karmic reactions, but worse than that, you lose mercy.

If you just talk and do not listen to the other people, how can you have a positive relationship with the other people?

If you continue to visualize devotees in a material way, your progress in devotional service slows down.

If we acquire a taste for hearing about Krishna we can progress in the other practices of bhakti.

Hadai Prana Prabhu:

Srila Prabhupada makes the point that “the knowledge is lost” means not that the books are lost but that no one is acting according to the knowledge within them.

Comment by me:

Janani means mother, so bhakti-janani literally means “mother of devotion.”

Regarding people not knowing what is going on in heaven, in the Bible it says in the kingdom of God, that the lion lays down with the lamb. I joked with one Christian girl who I was encouraging to become vegetarian, “Don’t think you’ll enjoy lamb chops with Jesus in heaven.”

Is taking the dhoti of another brahmacari an offense?

George Harrison:

“Srila Prabhupada has already had an amazing effect on the world. There’s no way of measuring it. One day I just realized, ‘God, this man is amazing!’ He would sit up all night translating Sanskrit into English, putting in glossaries to make sure everyone understands it, and yet he never came off as someone above you. He always had that childlike simplicity, and what’s most amazing is the fact that he did all this translating in such a relatively short time – just a few years. And without having anything more than his own Krishna consciousness, he rounded up all these thousands of devotees, set the whole movement in motion, which became something so strong that it went on even after he left. And it’s still escalating even now at an incredible rate. It will go on and on from the knowledge he gave. It can only grow and grow. The more people wake up spiritually, the more they’ll begin to realize the depth of what Prabhupada was saying – how much he gave.”

Professor Thomas Hopkins:

“Bhaktivedanta Swami’s success story is an unlikely one to say the least. He was seventy years old when he arrived in America. It was his first trip outside India, he had no money and no local means of support. But he did have a revitalized and spiritually rich Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition that had been imbued, by both Bhaktivinoda and Bhaktisiddhanta, with a spirit of universality and of relevance to the modern world. But it must be admitted, certainly, that not anybody could inherit and transmit that legacy. Other disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta had tried and failed to bring the devotional message of Caitanya to the Western world. And after Bhaktisiddhanta passed away, his organization, the Gaudiya Matha, was torn asunder by internal power struggles and other kinds of upheaval. Bhaktivedanta Swami, obviously, was a very special person, a spiritual leader of rare power. His success in bringing the message to the West and planting it in a place where it took root and flourished without compromising his tradition has to be seen as largely an effect of his tremendous personal spirituality and holiness, and his incredible determination.” 

“It’s an astonishing story. If someone told you a story like this, you wouldn’t believe it. Here’s this person, he’s seventy years old, he’s going to a country where he’s never been, he doesn’t know anybody there, he has no money, he has no contacts. He has none of the things, you would say, that make for success. He’s going to recruit people not on any systematic basis, but just picking up whomever he comes across, and he’s going to give them responsibility for organizing a worldwide movement. You’d say, ‘What kind of a program is that?’ There are precedents, perhaps. Jesus of Nazareth went around saying, ‘Come follow me. Drop your nets, or leave your tax collecting, and come with me and be my disciple.’ But in his case, he wasn’t an old man in a strange society dealing with people whose backgrounds were totally different from his own. He was dealing with his own community. Bhaktivedanta Swami’s achievement, then, must be seen as unique.”

Dr. Larry Shinn (Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Bucknell University):

“Srila Prabhupada’s personal piety gave him real authority. He exhibited complete command of the scriptures, an unusual depth of realization, and an outstanding personal example, because he actually lived what he taught.”

Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Prime Minister of India):

From his inauguration speech at the Glory of India Vedic Cultural Center (a major ISKCON temple in Delhi) on 5 April 1998:

“If today the Bhagavad-gita is printed in millions of copies in scores of languages and distributed to all the nooks and corners of the world, the credit for this great sacred service goes chiefly to ISKCON. For this one accomplishment alone, Indians should be eternally grateful to the devoted army of Swami Prabhupada’s followers. The voyage of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to the United States in 1965 and the spectacular popularity his movement gained in a very short spell of twelve years must be regarded as one of the greatest spiritual events of the century. What accounts for the rapid spread of the ISKCON movement globally? The answer should be sought in two factors – internal and external. The external factor was, in my opinion, the disillusionment within the leading minds of the Western world arising out of the domination of the materialistic ideology and culture prevailing in the West. Both capitalism and communism gave birth to disillusionment, since both are essentially materialistic ideologies and are incapable of satisfying the real needs of man. Young, sensitive, and searching minds could not have reconciled themselves to the reality of wars, violence, greed, excessive consumerism, and degradation of both the human being and his natural environment. They had to seek answers elsewhere, and ISKCON was the one movement where the answers could be found.”

“The internal factor was of course the inherent strength of ISKCON’s message, a message founded in the philosophy of the Gita. It answers all the moral concerns and needs of the world, be it man’s quest for inner peace, his need for belonging to the rest of the human community, his concern for the environment, his attitude toward work, and his attitude toward death. The Gita provides comprehensive and internally consistent answers to all these concerns. It is in this respect that ISKCON differs from other passing fads and fashions that appealed to the disillusioned Western minds in the sixties and seventies. These fads come and go, but the ISKCON movement is growing from strength to strength.”

——

How important is it to remember Lord Caitanya? It makes all the difference in the world, as this quote from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 14.1 indicates:

kathañcana smrte yasmin 

duskaram sukaram bhavet 

vismrte viparitam syat 

sri-caitanyam namami tam

“Things that are very difficult to do become easy to execute if one somehow or other simply remembers Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But if one does not remember Him, even easy things become very difficult. To this Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu I offer my respectful obeisances.”

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, advised the cowherd men to stop the Indra-yajna and begin the Govardhana-puja in order to chastise Indra, who was very much puffed up at being the supreme controller of the heavenly planets.

The honest and simple cowherd men, headed by Nanda Maharaja, accepted Krishna’s proposal and executed in detail everything He advised. They performed Govardhana worship and circumambulation of the hill.

The sacrifice known as Govardhana-puja is observed in the Krishna consciousness movement. Lord Caitanya has recommended that since Krishna is worshipable, so His land—Vrindavana and Govardhana Hill—is also worshipable.

To confirm this statement, Lord Krishna said that Govardhana-puja is as good as worship of Him. From that day, Govardhana-puja has been going on and is known as Annakuta. In all the temples of Vrindavana or outside of Vrindavana, huge quantities of food are prepared in this ceremony and are very sumptuously distributed to the general population.

When everything was complete, Krishna assumed a great transcendental form and declared to the inhabitants of Vrindavana that He was Himself Govardhana Hill in order to convince the devotees that Govardhana Hill and Krishna Himself are identical. Then Krishna began to eat all the food offered there.

Thus performing the Govardhana-puja sacrifice, all the inhabitants of Vrindavana followed the instructions of Krishna, the son of Vasudeva, and afterwards they returned to their respective homes.

I was fortunate to observe the Govardhana Puja festival at Radha Giridhari temple in Auckland New Zealand.