The Leadership Summit, ISKCON 3.0, will be held on May 15th-16th, just under a month from now. During this virtual event, we will gather as GBC, Temple Presidents, Senior Devotees, and Next Generation Leaders – all members of Srila Prabhupada’s Family, to collaborate and co-create the future of ISKCON in North America. REGISTRATION LINK: https://www.iskconleadership.com/events The $31 registration fee supports […]
Taking Suicide out of the Closet Rambhoru Dasi, ACBSP, Certified Professional Chaplain, Crisis Counselor, and Spiritual Director discusses this important topic. Suicide is a dirty word mired in judgment, shame, and taboo. It is often whispered, denied, or avoided altogether. Given the staggering statistics, isn’t it time we take suicide out of the closet and bring it […]
Rambhoru Dasi, ACBSP, Certified Professional Chaplain, Crisis Counselor, and Spiritual Director discusses this important topic.
Suicide is a dirty word mired in judgment, shame, and taboo. It is often whispered, denied, or avoided altogether. Given the staggering statistics, isn’t it time we take suicide out of the closet and bring it into the light? Isn’t it time we begin the conversation, so we can help one another and find solutions to help alleviate the enormous amount of pain circling our planet – and sad to say – in our ISKCON movement? The first step is to understand suicide. This helps make sense of the unknown and fear, the tainted and tabooed.
An excellent resource: "Understanding Your Suicide Grief" by Alan Wolfelt.
Some Lessons I’ve learned dealing with Covid-19, Q&A with GBC SPT chair Please join us to hear from Gopal Bhatta das as he shares the essential lessons he has learned in chairing the SPT through a most difficult year of Covid-19 along with personally helping over 100 devotees, friends and colleagues who have gotten sick […]
Some Lessons I've learned dealing with Covid-19, Q&A with GBC SPT chair Please join us to hear from Gopal Bhatta das as he shares the essential lessons he has learned in chairing the SPT through a most difficult year of Covid-19 along with personally helping over 100 devotees, friends and colleagues who have gotten sick with Covid-19, some with life-threatening complications. About Gopal Bhatta Das Gopal Bhatta Dasa was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1971 in Detroit, US. From 1973 until 1976, Gopal Bhatta Dasa served as a sankirtan leader for the following cities: Cleveland, Detroit, Dallas and Chicago. He was the temple president in Los Angeles from 1977 until 1980. It is unique that Gopal Bhatta das is currently in no position of formal leadership or management within ISKCON but he contributes with an independence that is considered by many to give a fresh perspective. He is the chairperson of the Strategic Planning Team (SPT) that was activated in 2006 and he has created vitality and drive among the team members that are supporting the GBC’s future. His vision for ISKCON is “more devotees, happier devotees.” He has three sons and one daughter, and his home base is Los Angeles, CA.
Disclaimer: This does not express the official position of the GBC Body and is solely the opinion of the author. The GBC Body does not give medical advice and neither does it encourage/discourage vaccinations or any other medical precautions or treatments.
This morning I overheard a conversation and in response to the usual question of ‘How are you?’ the person answered, “Well, I’m having a ‘keep the kirtan going all day kind of day’.” In other words, I’m not great and I’m going to need some kirtan shelter. Not only was he able to express that […]
On Earth Day (April 22nd), as US President Joe Biden hosted a virtual summit of world leaders to address the global climate crisis, Bhumi Global, a new non-profit environmental organization based on Hindu principles of environmental care, was launched. Bhumi Global builds on the work of the Bhumi Project. Launched in 2009 and housed at […]
ISKCON New Vrindaban is set to offer a Covid-safe Mother’s Day Wellness Retreat for Vaishnavis and their families with an aim to provide nourishment, relaxation and inspiration for women during difficult times. “During the pandemic, people have sacrificed their sanga, and in some ways their mental health through isolation,” says Palace Lodge Manager Sarah. “So […]
HG Adi Gadadhar Das Adi Gadadhar Das was introduced to Krishna consciousness by Gaur Gopal Prabhu and Gaurānga Prabhu in August 1998 at the age of 18 years while studying at Grant Medical college and JJ Hospital, Mumbai. He completed the Bhakti shastri course taught by Caitanya Charan Prabhu. He received first and second initiation from HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj. He currently serves as the congregation director for ISKCON Atlanta. He is a physician and completed his medical training at Emory university. He serves as a Geriatric Hospitalist and lives in Atlanta with his wife Radhabhava Devi and two children Gopal and Maithili.
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 7 By Krishna Kripa Das (April, part one) Tallahassee (Sent from Tallahassee on April 24, 2021)
Where I Went and What I Did
One of high points of the first half of April for me was that Sandipani Krishna Muni Prabhu, who has been traveling with Harinam Ruci for several years, decided to come to Tallahassee for six days, and he joined me in doing harinama for three hours a day. Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu would join us for the last hour, and it was really wonderful.
As usual we chanted at Landis Green on the Florida State University campus during the week and at the parks at the weekends. We started chanting on College Avenue between the bars on Friday or Saturday nights, and many, many FSU students enjoyed interacting with us, as you can see in several videos.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and a letter. I share excerpts from the writing of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on a lecture of Bhakti Charu Swami from Paris in 1993. I share many wonderful quotes from Vijaya Prabhu’s soon-be-published Tribute to the Brhat Mridanga, on book distribution from many devotees including Devamrita, Jayapataka, Sivarama and Bhakti Purusottama Swamis, and Arcita, Kripamoya, Radhanatha, Suresvara, Vaisesika, Vijaya, and Navina Nirada Prabhus.
Thanks to Deva Sangha Dasi for the video of me dancing during Sandipani Krishna Muni Prabhu’s Sunday kirtan.
Itinerary
February 9–April 23: Tallahassee harinamas and college outreach April 24: Gainesville Krishna House Saturday night kirtan April 25–May 1: Tampa harinamas at USF and Ybor City May 2–3: Orlando harinamas May 4–August ?: NYC Harinama August ?–September ?: Tallahassee harinamas and college outreach September ?–January ?, 2022: NYC Harinama
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
Once on Landis Green we had a very interesting conversation with five people, two Christians (Maddie, who led Bible studies her freshman year, and a friend of hers), two devotees (Chandra and I), and Emma, a girl from a Christian background who is beginning to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. We talked about the similarities and differences between Krishna consciousness and Christianity. Chandra would cite the Bhagavad-gita and have Emma look up and read the verses. Emma ultimately came to a program at the temple, and she learned to play the karatalas and chant the mantra at the same time on Landis Green. By the time she left for the summer break, she had acquired four of Srila Prabhupada’s books. The previous year Maddie would often stop by and talk with me, and I joked with her, saying, “My goal at FSU is to convince Maddie to become a vegetarian.”
Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park in Tallahassee, a new venue for our Hare Krishna chanting party (https://youtu.be/twu3hh4dDD0):
Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the ISKCON Tallahassee Tuesday evening program (https://youtu.be/qNErwAgclvg):
Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu did a nice presentation called “Eating Without Sin” which I thought was especially well done(https://youtu.be/UJHwbiVC6kQ):
Kaliya Damona Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the ISKCON Tallahassee Wednesday evening program and devotees and a guest dance (https://youtu.be/YOlsXOWdxlU):
I chanted Hare Krishna to benefit the partying Florida State University students on College Avenue, and several students interacted by chanting, dancing, and playing instruments (https://youtu.be/YncUJlEfGPk):
Later Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu joined me and led the Hare Krishna chant and more Florida State University students interacted (https://youtu.be/_YrBCy4dj5I):
At the end of theevening, the bar crawling Florida State University students happily shout the response (https://youtu.be/lG2boA8vQWo):
Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu edited two videos of the same group of Florida State University students chanting with us on College Avenue from different angles (https://youtu.be/HhVmrBGbfd4):
I took afifty-minute Facebook Live Video of the whole event, and here are the most ecstatic twenty-minutes of it(https://youtu.be/gK6xWsV0OxI):
One student, who enjoyed interacting with us, signed our email list and said, “I would love to hear about your events. I am going to come and bring every single friend I have in the world.”
Here Sandipani Muni Krishna Prabhu, who has traveled with Harinam Ruci for many years, chants Hare Krishna at the Tallahassee Sunday Feast and attendees dance (https://youtu.be/VUc5eCCVHGw):
Sandipani Muni Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after Guru Puja in Tallahassee (https://youtu.be/DKJyqdc_bWk):
Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON Tallahassee Tuesday evening program again (https://youtu.be/IhVyG0YJ9HQ):
Ramiya Prabhu, a Prabhupada disciple who has been helping with the management of ISKCON Tallahassee since he moved to Florida in 1994, sits on the bench near the door.
Ananta Dasi, Prabhupada disciple and wife of Ramiya Prabhu, chants Hare Krishna at the morning kirtan in Tallahassee (https://youtu.be/yA1pNTRccvk):
Sandipani Muni Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after Guru Puja in Tallahassee again (https://youtu.be/uxtTi-PSBuo):
Sandipani Muni Krishna Prabhu plays accordion and chants Hare Krishna in Tallahassee, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/d1UOhPQWssI):
Kaliya Damona Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at a Tallahassee Wednesday program attended by three Florida State University students (https://youtu.be/dilakU37AOA):
Easter
Jorge reminded me when itwas Easter. My favorite song from my Quaker youth is an Easter song, and there are many recordings of it on YouTube. I share one with the text of the lyrics. It summarizes the life of Jesus Christ, and is called “Lord of the Dance.” If you like devotional songs from different traditions, you may like it (https://youtu.be/zDdQhsjNHcw):
On Easter, while proofreading Vijaya Prabhu’s sankirtana book, I encountered a Prabhupada quote of great relevance:
“Pradyumna: ‘What if people don’t want to hear our message?’ “Srila Prabhupada: ‘People might not understand our message, but Krishna will be pleased, and that is our mission. They thought Jesus Christ’s mission was stopped. They killed him. But his mission was attained. He preached three years only, but so many followers. He pleased Krishna.’”
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Bhagavad-gita 2.39, purport:
“One who works for the satisfaction of the Lord only, however difficult such work may be, is working under the principles of buddhi-yoga and finds himself always in transcendental bliss.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.13.32, purport:
“Money is undoubtedly coming in great quantities, but we should not be attached to this money for sense gratification; every cent should be spent for spreading the Krishna consciousness movement, not for sense gratification. There is danger for a preacher when he receives great quantities of money, for as soon as he spends even a single cent of the collection for his personal sense gratification, he becomes a fallen victim. The preachers of the Krishna consciousness movement should be extremely careful not to misuse the immense quantities of money needed to spread this movement. Let us not make this money the cause of our distress; it should be used for Krishna, and that will cause our eternal happiness. Money is Laksmi, or the goddess of fortune, the companion of Narayana. Laksmiji must always remain with Narayana, and then there need be no fear of degradation.”
Letter to the German disciples (May 6, 1977):
“. . . Be assured that there is no more direct way to preach than to distribute Krishna conscious books. Whoever gets a book is benefitted. If he reads the book he is benefitted still more, or if he gives the book to someone else for reading, both he and the other person are benefitted. Even if one does not read the book but simply holds it and sees it, he is benefitted. If he simply gives small donation towards the work of Krishna consciousness he is benefitted. And anyone who distributes these transcendental literatures, he is also benefitted. Therefore sankirtana is the prime benediction for the age.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Free Write Journal #137:
“I like it when devotees write me letters and tell me about their service, their feelings and thoughts, even their troubles. I don’t like it when they are silent and never write to me. Once when I did not write to Prabhupada for a while, he wrote me and said I should communicate with him: ‘Don’t keep me in the dark,’ he wrote.”
From Journal and Poems, Volume 1 (January-June, 1985):
“Fish are one of the last creatures spared. Ecologists and naturalists object to fishing only if an entire species is in danger of so-called extinction. Otherwise, who cares about the slimy, glassy-eyed, edible, ‘soul-less’ fish? It is difficult to make propaganda to save them. People will say, ‘What about the humans in Soviet-oppressed countries? What about the aborted babies in the womb?’ But everything is connected by an intricate and irremovable web of karma, and the fisherman himself suffers for the pain he causes to the hapless fish.
“Even when the karmi thinks he is acting peacefully, by habit he still acts horrendously. Sitting back quietly in a boat, smoking a cigarette, fishing—what’s wrong with that? Something even the President of the United States might do if he could get a day off.”
From Soul Eyes:
“Let Krishna be praised! It doesn’t matter if the world doesn’t know Krishna. His glories are known by the vast majority of souls in the spiritual world.”
From Free Write Journal # 138:
“Rev. John Endler told me he found it difficult to lecture on Easter Sunday. He tended to think of the same talk every year. I thought a moment and then remembered that I had heard about a sermon given by Meister Eckhart. He said in his sermon that on Easter Sunday we should not only think of the resurrection of Jesus, but the worshiper should have Jesus be born in his own heart and soul on Easter Day. John was enlivened to hear my explanation. He went home and looked up the sermon by Meister Eckhart. He found that he gave two sermons: one for Jesus’s birth and one for his resurrection. He said the same thing on two occasions, that on Christ’s birthday or on his resurrection, the worshiper should have Christ “born” or “resurrected” in his own heart. We were both glad to hear this information from Eckhart’s sermon.”
From Every Day, Just Write, Volume 2 (Search for the Authentic Self):
“My cup runneth over, but it’s still only a little cup. Take away my lunch, and my happiness may become tarnished. Give me a stubbed toe or a bruised shin and I lose my focus on the bliss.”
“O swan, I’d rather be writing vigorous songs but can't now. Like you, I float on the cold lake and wait. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. Let mantras be heartbeats.”
“Yesterday I was not able to write here because of an all-day headache. Does that mean I should change the title to ‘Almost Every Day, Just Write’?”
“I have to write from a life filled with a devotional mood. Then it's worth something. Writing should express bhava, even the emotion of emptiness. I wrote like this at Castlegregory. I went to the ocean and felt tiny and ordinary. That writing I called “Forgetting the Audience,” and I think it was the first time I had written like that.”
From Every Day, Just Write, Volume 3 (A Sojourn in Tapo-bhumi):
“Don’t worry about trying to reform others, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says. Providence will take care of reform. Here is a quote by him which someone says sums up what I am trying to do:
“‘The world stands in no need of any reformer. The world has a very competent person for guiding its minutest happenings. The person who finds that there is scope for reform of the world himself stands in need of reform. The world goes on its own perfect way. No person can deflect it but the breadth of a hair from the course chalked out for it by Providence.
“‘When we perceive any change being actually affected in the course of events of this world by the agency of any particular individual, we also know very well that the agent possesses no real power at any stage. The agent finds himself driven forward by a force belonging to a different category from himself.
“‘The course of the world does not require to be changed by the activity of any person. What is necessary is to change our outlook to this very world. This was done for the contemporary generation by the mercy of Sri Caitanya. It could be known only to the recipients of His mercy . . .
“‘The scriptures declare that it is only necessary to listen with an open mind to the name of Krishna from the lips of a bona fide devotee. As soon as Krishna enters the listening ear, He clears up the vision of the listener so that he no longer has any ambition of ever acting the part of a reformer of any other person, because he finds that nobody is left without the very highest guidance. It is therefore his own reform, by the grace of God, whose Supreme necessity and nature he is increasingly able to realize by the eternally continuing mercy of the Supreme Lord.’”
From Free Write Journal # 139:
“Krishna says He first taught this ancient science of yoga to the sun god millions of years ago. In turn, Vivasvan taught it to Iksvaku, and the message was passed down unchanged in disciplic succession. It was taught to the royal order. But in the course of time the message was disrupted and broken, and so Krishna had to come Himself and reinstate it by speaking the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna. Forgetting the message happens to the best of them, and so it’s not unusual to think of one of us forgetting without intense study. We can revive it again by turning back to the scripture and reading it once again with fresh attention.”
From Every Day, Just Write, Volume 2 (Search for the Authentic Self):
“Prabhupada admitted the nondevotee enjoyers are not likely to take to Krishna consciousness. ‘Don't bother us,’ they say. But the devotees keep plugging away at them.”
From My Dear Lord Krishna: A Book of Prayers:
“My dear Lord Krishna . . . I write to You who are the seeker of devotion from Your parts and parcels. You want us to serve You and love You. You are conquered by this love of Your devotees. I want to be submissive to this desire of Yours and offer You my love. You are so great and compassionate and divine that You deserve this love. There is no reason why I should hold back my love to You. But I do hold back. I am particularly hesitant to love my neighbor as myself. Yet You are especially fond of devotees who sacrifice themselves to spread Your message of love of God.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 1:
“Is it possible to read Prabhupada without responding to his call for action? What if one rationalizes his reading in such a way that he reads without changing his life? No, it's not possible. Any attraction to his books will change a person's consciousness in a favorable way. At least the reader will continue hearing the holy names of Krishna. And the fact that he likes to read means he is favorable to the pure devotee; and so Krishna will be favorable to him.”
“Even if one did nothing else but read Prabhupada’s books, that in itself would be a reply to the call for action:
“‘In this age, devotional service of hearing and repeating the holy glories of the Lord is strongly recommended, and one who takes the vow of renunciation to family life need not imitate the parivrajakacarya like Narada or Lord Caitanya, but may sit down at some holy place and devote his whole time and energy to hear and repeatedly chant the holy scriptures left by the great acaryas like the Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana.’ (Bhag. 1.6.13)”
From Japa Transformations:
“Japa is an art. It’s a gift from Krishna. We have to take advantage of it. You have to put your heart into it and not just chant off rounds mechanically. Feel your chanting, believe in it, adhere to it, and be sorry you’re not doing better. But rise to the occasion. There’s always another chance, another bead, another round.”
From Passing Places, Eternal Truths:
“I don’t think it’s wrong to support an ailing ISKCON. I think ISKCON’s good outweighs its bad. I don’t think Prabhupada wants me to quit it. So as long as there are temples or groups of devotees, they will need lecturers and simple presentations of the philosophy.”
From Journal and Poems, Volume 2 (July–December 1985):
“The other young man who came last night was an Indian named Avinash who asked why we chant the maha-mantra ‘backwards.’ He was raised to chant it ‘Hare Rama, Hare Rama’ . . . He also asked why we call Siva a demigod, since Lord Rama Himself worshiped Lord Siva. I answered the questions as best I could, according to parampara. I felt like a serviceable typewriter, with Prabhupada and Krishna punching the keys. The servant should serve.”
From Upstate: Room to Write [a journal from 1996]:
“Please Lord, give me just a drop of devotion. And because I don’t have devotion, allow me to cry for it. Open my eyes, let me be awake to the reality. Time is going by and routines are certainly all right, but beyond routine you want to call out Krishna, Krishna, Krishna. While chanting Hare Krishna we want to have the presence of mind to remember and pay attention to Krishna’s holy names. And when we can’t do it, at least don’t indulge in these long trains of thought so that the chanting just…”
“Materially speaking I am not an upstater, that’s why I don’t even know much about it. But I’ve pretty much left New York City as a devotee, although I joined there. Prabhupada said he also joined in New York City. We like to go there and visit now.”
“How can we deliver peace and harmony to the world when we can’t even achieve it on the minuscule level of direct followers of Prabhupada? That’s the big question, again something of a cliché. But it’s a question that no one can really answer to our satisfaction. So, you make a contribution some way, not in a negative mood, not in a tear-down mood. Yet you can’t help but compare yourself to Prabhupada who lived at a time when his spiritual master’s movement was in complete disarray, so he had to start something new. We don’t start a new movement, but we make a contribution that doesn’t depend only on the authorities and laws of the institution. We go to the heart of what Prabhupada did and try to continue something that will continue and not be revised or rejected, either by the ISKCON official body or by the grassroots force of devotees now and in the future. Calculate in that way, what will really last and make your individual contribution. It’s sort of a quiet revolution without having to resort to open rebellion. One wants to live as a citizen in the movement as it is and yet point to something better.”
Bhakti Charu Swami:
From a recorded lecture in Paris on September 11, 1993, entitled “Reincarnation and Beyond”:
We have come into this material world because we have rejected God, and therefore we can attain the spiritual world by simply accepting God.
Devamrita Swami:
“If someone wants a God experience, through book distribution you’ll get the most intense experiences of God. You’ll become God-realized. Why? Because you are distributing Krishna’s glories. Srila Prabhupada once explained that it’s not that the book distributors give out Krishna’s mercy just so people can be delivered—and the distributors do not get delivered. No. Krishna makes arrangements so that you become more God-realized and also more effective at distribution. And when you are better at your book distribution, more people get Krishna’s mercy. So everything increases all the way around. Don’t think, ‘I’m distributing all these books, working so hard, and what will become of me?’ You want to understand that you have the chance to experience the divinity of Krishna beyond theory, beyond belief, by assisting Lord Caitanya in distributing love of God.”
Jayapataka Swami:
“While flying with Royal Jordanian Airlines to India, I spent a few hours in the Oman airport. A tall Muslim priest in robes asked me, ‘Are you a Hare Krishna? I got a Bhagavad-gita in an airport. I now read it constantly. It helps me more than the Koran. But if I tell this to Muslims in this country, they will kill me. Thank you very much.’”
Sivarama Swami:
“I learned many ‘mantras’ over the years. From my experience, I concluded that what was important wasn’t what I said, but whether I was Krishna conscious. When I first started, I said, ‘Check out this book about yoga and meditation,’ and that worked. When Srila Prabhupada said that we could say that the book is as brilliant as the sun, arisen after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, to give people the power to see in the Age of Kali, that also worked. When I wanted to distribute many, many books, I realized that I’d have to engage less in conversation. I would just say, “We’re helping people—give a donation.” That got a lot of books out. But all of the above were ineffective if I was not in the right consciousness.”
Arcita Prabhu:
“I took a call at our BBT office in Los Angeles from a lady who wanted to donate for two daily meals of the devotees. I asked her how she became interested in Krishna consciousness.
“She said, ‘When I was seven, I died, and then, mysteriously, someone took me around to different amazing places and finally brought me back to my body. I came back to life. When I was fifty, someone handed me a book about Krishna. As soon as I saw Krishna’s picture, I knew that He was the person who took me around and revived my life. I bought the book and went to the temple. Eventually I bought all the books available. I’ve read the Bhagavatam, and I’m now reading the Caitanya-caritamrita. I’m retired, so I spend much of my time reading the books of Srila Prabhupada.”
“What if she had never met a sankirtana devotee? She might never have known who it was that took her around and brought her back. It’s important that devotees go out and meet people.”
Kripamoya Prabhu:
“Andy is a middle-ager who enjoyed fishing. He spent hours on cold weekend mornings patiently sitting on riverbanks and waiting for the elusive tug on his line. That was his meditation, and it made him peaceful. Andy began thinking about the meaning of life during those quiet hours and concluded that Eastern philosophy might be worth examining. He bought a book with a funny name from a lad selling them in the town square. Bhagavad-gita was a difficult book to read, but Andy made an effort. It gave him something to think about during those hours of fishing, and he felt sure that it was improving his mind. Then he heard about a small group of people who met every two weeks in the library, where they all read and had discussions about this book. He went along and surprised himself by liking it very much. He found the chanting intriguing, and something about the words of this person Krishna touched him. A nice feature of the meetings was the food at the end. Andy never thought vegetarian food could taste so good. He found the arguments for giving up meat persuasive, and over the next few months gradually dropped meat from his diet. He felt better for it.
“Andy kept up his new good habits for a long time, but he really missed fishing. Try as he might, he could not free himself from the desire to catch fish. One week Andy did go fishing again, and he felt so bad about it that he didn’t attend the next meeting. After returning to the group and still feeling uncomfortable, Andy decided he would not attend any more meetings, but would still keep up his spiritual practices. However, he didn’t. In fact, he felt exposed as a hypocrite and dropped everything: his reading, chanting, and vegetarian diet. He felt that his philosophical conviction about the existence of God
was no more than a passing phase. How could there really be a God? And especially one so personal as Krishna?
“Thinking like this, one cool summer morning on the riverbank, Andy felt a fish take the bait. His line went taut. He pulled. His rod became an arc, and he excitedly began to reel in what felt like a big one, maybe a trout.
“Suddenly Andy grimaced in disappointment. It was nothing more than a plastic bag full of rubbish that became snagged on his hook. He waded out and pulled the dripping bag from the water. It was heavy, knotted at the top, and out of curiosity he brought it ashore and undid the knot. Something bulky was inside, rectangular and stiff. As he brought his hand out from the bag, he could not believe his eyes. There in his hand was a copy of Bhagavad-gita! He blinked. Could this be happening? Yes, it was true! Krishna Himself
had found him. This was no coincidence, but a genuine sign, a sign that even the greatest skeptic could not ignore. Andy rejoined his local group and is now an active and confident member.”
Radhanatha Prabhu:
From a conversation with Vijaya Prabhu:
“Vijaya: ‘What advice do you give others who want to distribute their whole life?’ “Radhanatha: ‘Prabhupada wanted all the devotees to learn the art of book distribution. If devotees distribute their favorite books, they’ll be inspired to keep distributing them. There should also be a variety of books, but we can mainly distribute the ones that inspire us the most. This will give us a taste.’”
Suresvara Prabhu:
“A college professor in Knoxville, Tennessee, who said he was a scientist, looked at my dhoti and said the devotees are just a bunch of sentimentalists, dancing and chanting in the street. I responded by saying something word-for-word that Srila Prabhupada had said: “Krishna consciousness is a science—to understand the difference between a dead body and a living body.” Suddenly there was a mild thundering in the sky. The air crackled, and the wind howled. Astonished, the professor looked at me, and I looked at him. I felt as though the hairs on our bodies were standing on end. He said, ‘Give me all those books!’ I sold him twelve hardbound Gitas.”
“Another time, in Denver, while distributing books in a parking lot, I saw huge rain clouds overhead. The sky turned black, and the first drops started falling. I said, ‘You may not rain here, Lord Indra! I must distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books.’ What I said was probably silly on my part, but amazingly enough, it didn’t rain in the parking lot all day, though the sky stayed dark and foreboding.
“At the end of the day, the van picked me up. When we got out of the parking lot, I noticed that all the cars on the street were wet, and the streets had water rushing down both sides. When I asked the sankirtana leader whether it had rained, he responded, ‘Where have you been all day? There have even been flash-flood warnings all over the city.’”
Vaisesika Prabhu:
“When someone receives a book, they receive permanent value. Everyone is trying to get permanent value; otherwise they wouldn’t be working so hard. Everyone is working hard— driving somewhere, studying to get a degree—to make some money. Why?
Because they think they’ll get some permanent value out of that activity. Otherwise they wouldn’t do it. So Srila Prabhupada writes: ‘In the Bhagavad-gita (9.27), the Lord demands that whatever one may do in one’s daily activities, such as worship, sacrifice, and offering charity, all the results should be offered to Him only. This offering of the results of pious acts unto the Supreme Lord is a sign of devotional service to the Lord and is of permanent value, whereas enjoying the same results for oneself is only temporary. Anything done on account of the Lord is a permanent asset and accumulates in the form of unseen piety for gradual promotion to the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord. These undetected pious activities will one day result in full-fledged devotional service by the grace of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, any pious act done on account of the Supreme Lord is also recommended here for those who are not pure devotees.’ [Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.9.13, purport]
“So anything done in connection with Krishna as an act of devotional service is permanent. This means when we go to distribute books, when we go to introduce people to Krishna consciousness, to the Holy Name, by distributing books, that interaction is completely transcendental, and people get permanent value every time they see or touch a book. Every time they meet a devotee they get some benefit, and that benefit is incalculable if they have some appreciation for the book or for the devotee, and even greater is their benefit if they offer a donation from their heart. ‘Let me give
something,’ they think. ‘It’s a good idea; I like what this person is doing.’ That person’s spiritual benefit and progress are off the chart! It’s indescribable how much good fortune comes to a person who comes in contact with one of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
“In the above-quoted purport Srila Prabhupada says that any bit of devotional service done produces permanent benefit, which accumulates until one eventually comes to the stage of full-fledged devotional service by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So this book distribution is such that we are taking the greatest treasure, the greatest object of permanent value, and introducing it to people, offering them the greatest benefit they can get in this life. And everyone is looking for this. Actually this is what everyone is seeking: They are going here and there, searching, hankering for some permanent value in life, and we are offering them the real thing.”
Bhakti Purusottama Swami:
“In Mayapur, anybody who buys a Bhagavad-gita is given a free membership in the Bhagavad-gita Club. And anyone who buys a set of Bhagavatams can be enrolled in the Bhagavatam Club. Once a year, for three days in the spring, the devotees invite the club members to come and attend seminars over a long weekend. We have from four to seven hundred people studying Srila Prabhupada’s books from morning to night. This is just an example of how important it is that we take the distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books seriously and encourage people to actually read and study the books. By reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, these people almost automatically become members of the temple’s congregation.”
Vijaya Prabhu:
“Krishna has a problem—us conditioned souls. And when real religion becomes too much eclipsed and irreligion too predominant, He comes here to solve the problem. If we perform the austerity of trying to help Krishna solve this problem, then how much pleased He is! Everyone has to do something, so why not help Krishna solve this problem of forgetfulness of the conditioned souls? He says that there is no one more dear to Him than one who preaches the message of Bhagavad-gita, and that there will never be anyone more dear.”
“We have to go out with a humble desire to let everyone know about Krishna. This humility is the key to being successful on sankirtana. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, ‘When will I, with a humble heart, go out to spread the teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.’ Humility is the crown jewel of devotional service, and it doesn’t come easily in Kali-yuga. It’s something we have to work on and pray for, and the more we do book distribution, the more we become humbled. Once in a letter to Hridayananda Maharaja and Satsvarupa Maharaja, Srila Prabhupada said, ‘If you are not tolerant and humble, you will not be able to preach Krishna consciousness.’”
“Srila Prabhupada once said, ‘If you want to be inspired to distribute books, you should chant the “Sad-Gosvamyastakam,” because it is in the mood of preaching.’”
“Once a devotee asked Srila Prabhupada, ‘Prabhupada, how can we be enthusiastic on book distribution?’
Srila Prabhupada replied, ‘Chant your sixteen rounds uninterrupted.’”
“Lord Siva and Parvati went to a village dressed as ordinary village people. While they were walking around, a beggar came and asked for a donation. Lord Siva said he didn’t have anything, but Parvati told him he should give something. He ended up giving him a watermelon. The beggar was not very satisfied, however, because he didn’t like watermelon, but he took it anyway, thinking he could get something for it in the village. He found someone who would give a few cents for it, and then he went on his way. When the person who bought the watermelon cut it open, he was surprised to find that it was filled with priceless jewels. The beggar who received the melon didn’t know its great value, so he effectively just gave it away.
“This is the situation we find when we distribute books. People receive these great treasures of knowledge, but because they don’t know how priceless they are they give them to someone else or throw them away or keep them in their house for years and years but never read them. As far as possible we should try to help them understand how important the books are so that they don’t make the same mistake the beggar made.”
“To distribute books successfully one has to have good sadhana—rising early in the morning, chanting attentively, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books attentively, etc. Then when we go out on book distribution we are so spiritually surcharged that we can approach people with the realization that they are kindred souls who have simply forgotten our common father, Krishna. With this understanding, book distribution is the most ecstatic service— going from soul to soul offering them the most valuable medicine to cure the disease of birth and death.”
“I met a man from Malaysia named Shiva who expressed great joy upon seeing the Bhagavad-gita I presented to him. Then he told me his story. Twelve years earlier he had visited the ISKCON temple in Kuala Lumpur and was very happy to speak to the devotees there and experience the nice atmosphere. That night Srila Prabhupada came to him in a dream. Prabhupada told him to hand him his beads, and he did. Prabhupada then chanted one round on his beads, handed them back to Shiva, and said, ‘Now chant Hare Krishna.’
“Since that time Shiva has chanted Hare Krishna on his beads every day. He also purchased some books from me to add to his collection (he already had the Srimad-Bhagavatam and several other books by Srila Prabhupada).”
“When Srila Prabhupada was asked about the secret of his success in spreading Krishna consciousness all over the world in just twelve years, he said, ‘I have presented Krishna as He is.’ Krishna is all-attractive; so if Krishna is presented as He is, then people will be attracted. If we go out and preach, understanding our position, understanding Krishna’s position, and understanding the position of everyone we meet, then people will be attracted. Our position is that we are servants of Krishna. So if we go out on sankirtana with that mood and just try to please Krishna by distributing books, then people will feel that purity and sincerity and will want to reciprocate. So the main point is that we have to try to please Krishna, and if we do, then people will reciprocate.”
“One time in America, at a book table, an old man approached the book distributor and asked him, ‘Do you have the Bhagavad-gita?’ “‘Yes, sir,’ the devotee replied. “‘Let me see it.’ He took the book in his hand, turned it around, saw Srila Prabhupada’s picture, and said, ‘Yes, I’ll buy this one.’ “‘Why, sir?’ the devotee asked. “Pointing to Srila Prabhupada’s picture, the man replied, ‘This man has been coming to me in dreams for years and telling me, “Buy my Bhagavad-gita, buy my Bhagavad-gita.” When I saw you dressed in the same color as him, I thought that maybe you would have his Bhagavad-gita. Now I’ve found it.’”
“In Russia, I heard this amazing story. There was a boy of thirteen who somehow received a book and became so attracted to the philosophy that he went to the
temple and loved everything. The devotees gave him beads and more books. He gradually became more interested and eventually became a devotee. But there was a problem: He was young, and he knew his parents wouldn’t approve. So he secretly continued his Krishna consciousness.
“Then he heard about a three-day festival that was going to take place a few hundred miles from Moscow. He really wanted to go, but again his parents would be a problem in not allowing him. So he decided to tell them that he was going camping with a friend for a few days. Then there was another problem that he had to deal with: his books. He had all of Prabhupada’s books hidden in his room. But if he went away, they might go into his room and find the books. So he decided to lock them in a chest. They gave him permission, and he went to the festival confident that there would be no problem. However, when he returned, there was no one home, and he found that the lock on the chest had been broken. Now he was nervous. What are his parents going to say?
“When his father saw him, he was upset and asked his son, ‘Why didn’t you tell us about these books? We didn’t know what you were up to, but when you left we decided to find out exactly what it was. We opened the chest and found your books. We were shocked to find so many books. Then we decided to find out what was in these books, so we read and read and read. Both of us were so happy to find these treasure houses of knowledge. Why didn’t you tell us about this? Why did you keep it to yourself?’
“The boy was shocked, surprised, and very happy. Then he told his father, ‘I thought you would not approve.’
“Then the father embraced him and said, ‘Not only do we approve, but we want to know more.’
He said to his wife, ‘We’re so fortunate to have a saint as a son.” They soon became devotees.’”
“I explained [to two boys in Brazil] that these books change people’s lives by presenting a positive alternative to our degraded society. Both took more books, and one went to the temple the next Sunday.”
“Another time I was distributing books in Boulder, Colorado. A man came up to the couple I was speaking with and offered them both a hundred-dollar bill. Both said, ‘No, that’s okay, we don’t need your money.’
“I said to them, ‘This man is offering you money. You should accept it. The two of you can take a hundred, and I’ll take a hundred and give you the book.’ They agreed. “Afterward, the donor quickly went away, offering more bills to whomever he saw. He was surprising people. After giving five hundred to five kids collecting change to go to California, he came up to me and said, ‘I take care of people.’
“I said, ‘That’s good of you. Therefore you deserve one of these special books.’
“I handed him the Gita and showed it to him. He gave me another hundred dollars. Now he had real wealth, not just paper money.”
“I approached a couple and offered them the Gita. I asked, ‘Are you on your honeymoon?’
“‘Yes, we are. But we were married in a Christian ceremony.’
“‘That’s great! It’s nice to meet people who believe in God. I’m not trying to change your belief, but there’s always more to learn, right?’”
“‘Well, yeah, that’s true,’ the man responded.
“‘We just ask for a donation, and you’ll find much to learn in this book.’
He reached in his wallet and gave twenty dollars. All glories to our friends who believe in God!”
“I approached a young man who immediately said, ‘I have no time.’
“I asked, ‘How about thirty seconds?’
“As I showed a Gita, he said, ‘This is great. I’ve been on a search for the meaning of life, and this looks like it may have some answers.’
“I responded, ‘You see how fate works? You’re searching, and of all the people here, I approached you. This is no accident.’
“He replied, ‘You know what? In my mother’s living room in Texas is a big picture of Krishna, but I never asked her about it.’
“I said, ‘Now you can learn about Him to your heart’s content and tell your mom all about Him.’
“He thanked me for doing what I’m doing and for stopping him. He turned out to be the most receptive soul I met that day.
“Sometimes all you need to do is change a person’s mood, like I did by saying, ‘Got thirty seconds?’”
Navina Nirada Prabhu:
“I met a simple man, your ordinary 9-to-5 worker, in a chemical company in Basel, Switzerland. He was not really interested in the topics I tried to explain to him. But he had a great fortune: in his company worked a really nice devotee. He preached to
the workers, brought them prasadam cakes, and also distributed books. The worker I met was very impressed with this devotee, telling me that he worked the hardest, that he was the best at his job, and that he helped other workers too. Now, this man was by no means a philosopher, but because he was so impressed by the good example of that devotee, he understood that Krishna consciousness is something extraordinary. And he happily bought three books.
“So, whoever you are, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing, if your character is first class you can convince people abou Krishna consciousness just by your example. That is actual preaching. It is not easy to convince someone simply by words, especially
if one is not an expert speaker. It takes both acara and pracara, perfect behavior and perfect speaking.”
Jnana-caksus Prabhu:
“On maha-harinam, we were approached by a businessman and his friends outside a cafe. He approached us and asked whether we would sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to one of his colleagues. Danavir Goswami at first told him that we just chant Hare Krishna.
“In response, the man said, ‘I am willing to make a considerable donation, and you can chant Hare Krishna, too.’ That sealed the deal.
“Ten of us were led to the back entrance of the cafe and down three flights of stairs to a private banquet hall. There a group of fifteen guests applauded and cheered as we entered. When the singing started, the man whose birthday it was blushed. The man
who had invited us gave fifty dollars, and that sparked our book bags to catch fire. A Bhagavad-gita was given as a birthday present. Other books also went out, and we practically emptied our stock.
“A few days later, a devotee approached a girl. She turned out to be the daughter of the man whose birthday we celebrated. She said that he really enjoyed having the devoted souls of Lord Krishna sing for his birthday.”
Payonidhi Prabhu:
“I once stopped a middle-aged gentleman with his teenage daughter. He was so happy to see the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. ‘You know,’ he said, ‘I used to go see the Swami on the Lower East Side, in New York City. I went often, but I haven’t had my own personal copy of the Bhagavad-gita in many years.’ He took out a $20 bill and handed it to me. ‘Thank you so much for what you guys are doing.’ Then he turned to his daughter, showed her the Bhagavad-gita, and said, ‘You’re named after this book.’ Her name was Gita! Then he asked if he could give another donation for some more of Srila Prabhupada’s books. I believe he was one of the most appreciative persons I’ve ever met.”
Ananda Kirtan Prabhu:
“I was distributing at Orange Coast College near Los Angeles with my friend from India, Dhira Lalita Prabhu. Dhira Lalita set up a table, and I walked around. He met a student who fell in love with Srila Prabhupada’s books and stayed at the table all day.
We decided to go back there a week later. Before we got to the campus, Dhira called our friend to let him know we were coming. He met us, helped us set up, and even distributed books. He must be picking up where he left off in his last life.
“At the beginning of the day, an elderly man came up to me while I was distributing. I thought that he was going to ask me to stop, but it turned out that he was a professor of philosophy and religious studies. It just so happened that, by the arrangement of
Krishna, on this day he was going to talk about the Bhagavad-gita. So he invited me to come at one-fifteen to speak. He said, ‘We would love to have someone speak, who is actually practicing the tradition.’
“I went and spoke for about thirty minutes, and afterward he was asking questions for the benefit of the students, and I was answering them. Near the end, the professor said, ‘We regularly go on field trips to temples and other places. Would it be okay if we came to your temple?’ “I said, ‘Yes, sure.’
“He then asked the students, and they were all enthusiastic about visiting. So very soon his class will visit the temple.
“This was an amazing day in yet another way, because shortly after the class, I met two siblings who are devotees and wanted to start a campus club. They needed a faculty member to sponsor it. I said that I could most likely arrange that with the professor I just met. I went back to the prof and asked him whether he could sponsor a club. He was so enthusiastic about helping that he said he will also take part in the gatherings.
Then I went back to the table where Dhira Lalita and the student were distributing. I told them about what had happened, and when the student heard we were going to start a club on campus, he was in ecstasy.
“It was a really amazing day. So many people were connecting with Krishna and Krishna’s mercy.”
Ananta Nitai Prabhu:
“I was doing door to door in Ireland. I was talking to a man who gave me a nice donation, but didn’t want a book. He didn’t believe in God. So I looked into his eyes and said, ‘I’m a fortune teller. Would you like to know your future?’ “The man said, ‘Yes. OK.’ “I said, ‘You’re going to get old and diseased, and then you’re going to die. If you want to know what you can do about it, read Bhagavad-gita.’ He took the book.”
Avadhutacandra Prabhu:
“The day was going as usual, but became a bit heavier when a rain started. At the end of the day I met a boy (about twenty years old) and was showing him The Science of Self-Realization. He showed interest, but he did not have the money. Then along came a girl with dreadlocks. She happily greeted me and joined our discussion. I did not know her, but she said that she had bought the same book earlier this year and read it.
“‘It is a very dangerous book,’ she said, ‘because by reading it you will notice how empty your life is.’
The boy looked frightened. I, too, was surprised on hearing her realization.
Then I said, ‘That’s not bad, because first you must see how empty your life is, and then you can fill it again with sensible things.’
They both accepted this. Still, the boy had no money. I said to the girl, ‘Why don’t you pay for the book?’
She seemed ready to, but the boy was hesitating and saying, ‘No. It’s all right. You don’t have to.’
I was praying to the Lord in the heart to give this boy a chance to read Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. Everything was uncertain, but then the girl opened her wallet and gave me a ten-euro note.
Suddenly the boy brightened up considerably. Thanking the girl and me, he was shaking her hand and mine. And off he went with the book. I also gave the girl a Sri Isopanisad to thank her.”
Candrasekhara Acarya Prabhu:
“While I was in Poland for the Woodstock festival, a devotee told me of a dream he’d had. Srila Prabhupada said in the dream, ‘Tell the sankirtana devotees that because of their activity of book distribution, I will personally take them back home, back to Godhead.’ This is not surprising, because Srila Prabhupada again and again said that if we chant sixteen rounds and follow the regulative principles throughout our life, then we will go back to Godhead. So what to speak, if we also distribute books? What’s amazing about the dream is that Srila Prabhupada said that he will personally come to take us home.”
“I was distributing with Vijaya at the Los Angeles airport. He approached a gentleman and showed him the Gita. The man said he was not interested.
“Vijaya looked him in the eye, tapped the man’s heart with his forefinger, gravely said, ‘Deep down, you’re VERY interested, but up here [pointing to the man’s head], you’re not at all interested.’ This transformed the man.
“After a short silence, he said, ‘All right, I’ll buy it,’ and gave Vijaya twenty dollars.”
From a class in Tallahassee on eating without sin:
I went to an Ayurvedic clinic last year and during my stay I wrote an unnecessarily angry letter to an acquaintance in Poland who I had disagreements over the years. I later apologized. This year at the same clinic noticed the same feelings of anger. I am sure it had to do with the food I was eating there.
“The santas, being always in a compact of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, . . . cannot accept anything without first offering it to the Supreme Person.” (Bg. 3.13) This reminds me of sports heros, who when glorified, refuse to accept it and point to the sky, indicating that the glory belongs to God.
David Lindsey is an Anglican priest who thinks that all Christians should be vegetarians and credits Thomas Aquinas with artificially creating a distance in Christian theology between animals and humans by saying that animals have some life breath but not a rational soul as humans do.
If you are not offering your food to God, do it!
One acts as the assistant of one’s guru or teacher in offering food to Krishna.
Kaliya Damona Prabhu:
“Even an eagle is a prisoner of the sky.”
Paramesvara Prabhu:
“In Texas, I approached a group of young people, and as soon as I showed the SSR, a guy said excitedly, ‘Get that book! O my God!’
He was totally lit up. He said, ‘I got that book yesterday and started reading it in class. Then I was up all night long, talking to my friend about it. Dude, I was an atheist before I read that book; I hated people. Now I know there’s a God, and I love people. And now I know there is a way to fix the world.’
He was glowing. His hair was even standing on end. All his friends took books. He pulled out his wallet and gave me fifty dollars and didn’t ask for anything in return. Of course, I gave him more books. I started crying right on the spot, because he inspired me so much and it was almost unbelievable to see the power of Srila Prabhupada’s books.”
Sandipani Krishna Prabhu:
You can be a simple street sweeper but if you know the goal of life and how to attain it you are intelligent.
Hridayananda Goswami explains that by our absorption in quickly achieving material goals we are philosophically hydroplaning.
The human of form of life is uniquely able to engage in spiritual inquiry.
Animal life + self-realization = human life Human life - self-realization = animal life
The best way to get the attention of someone is to call out his name. Similarly the best way to get the attention of God is to call out His name.
In the Bible there is talk of a second coming, but in the Vedas many details about the avataras are given.
The essence of religion is to fix the mind on God and never forget God. At different times different methods to achieve this are recommended.
Srinivasa Prabhu:
“From the fourth floor, someone called and signaled me to come up. He was a Methodist preacher, who had once gotten a small book. It sat around unread for a long time, he said, because he was thinking, ‘I’m a Christian, so why would I read that book?’ But one day he picked it up and read it in one sitting. He said it was the best book he ever read. That week, while preaching at the church, he just repeated what he had read. After the sermon, people said his sermon was great. He told me that he wants me to come every Friday to discuss the knowledge in our books, and then he will present it in his Sunday sermon.”
Tirthakara Dasa:
“I was distributing in a small town, and after two hours I met an elderly man and showed him the books. He was interested, so we discussed a bit. He was a local vicar (priest). So I started to directly preach about the glories of the Supreme Lord and the
degradation of modern civilization.
“He was respectful and appreciated our preaching endeavor. He took five big books and gave a very large donation. Finally, we ended up in the church sitting on the floor before Jesus Christ, discussing Sri Krishna and the spiritual world. He was amazed that such information is available. After meeting many critical and aggressive Christians, it was inspiring to meet the vicar. He really seems to have accepted the mercy of Lord Jesus Christ.”
Tulasi Devi Dasi:
“One Halloween we were on a campus, and many students were dressed up. I stopped one, who immediately was saying that he disagreed with our philosophy. He had some intelligence, but he just wanted to leave and not bother.
“I asked him how he liked my ‘costume’ as I pulled up some of the skin on my arm. He looked puzzled. I laughed and said, ‘Yes, the body is a costume, and we really get into acting the part. We’ve had other costumes in other lives, and there’ll be more in the future. God is so nice that He gives us costumes to go with our desires, until we finally get tired of it all and want the real thing.’ “He said, ‘Wow, profound! I’ll take a book.’”
“One day I approached a young Baptist. He said, ‘No—against my beliefs. I’m satisfied with blind faith.’
“I argued, ‘No, we need philosophy. The minister Jimmy Swaggart also has blind faith, but he’s still on a fifth-class spiritual platform with no philosophy. We should make progress with philosophy and devotion, while acting on our blind faith. Then God becomes pleased and gives us deeper realization. Then we can do more of what the Lord wants. These books are filled with all kinds of knowledge of the different stages of spiritual life and how people go through them.’ “He said, ‘That makes sense.’ He took one of Prabhupada’s books.”
“Another time, I stopped a Duke University professor of psychology, who politely referred to our books as Hindu mythology, which he doesn’t believe in. I slightly corrected him, saying, ‘What is a myth is this body—a little so-called beauty for a few years, then gone. The whole world is temporary. It’s like a big Disneyland. Everyone is fantasizing: I’m this or that. The soul is what’s real, or eternal.’ Krishna inspired these words, and they cut through his misconceptions. He bought a book and gave me his card so that devotees could keep in touch with him.”
Visvambhara Prabhu:
“In every religion, books are the backbone of the faith. Money comes and goes, religious buildings are built and destroyed, and people and powers come and go, whereas the message of the faith written in the books stays for millennia. By distribution of the books’ messages, the buildings, congregation, power, and money are all built up.”
Bhakta Eben:
“I was distributing in Detroit’s airport. It was my first time there, but some devotees had been there sporadically over a few months. A well-dressed African-American man listened to me explain the books, and while talking to him, I heard a walkie-talkie under his jacket.
“I asked, ‘Do you work here?’ “He answered, ‘Yes, I’m the manager of this terminal.’
I became a bit nervous, but continued. He then told me that he had just been promoted, only by the mercy of God, and he couldn’t thank God enough. He preached to me in a nice, fiery way, because he’s scheduled to become an ordained Baptist deacon.
Then he inquired how much the books cost and bought two. He told me that he appreciated my being at the airport and was going to tell other people to come and see the books.”
Bhakta Edward:
“I was collecting in a tiny sheep-farming town in western Australia. At a run-down small house, a fragile old lady answered the door. It was quite clear that she lived alone. Normally, in a small town, people aren’t used to strangers coming to their doors, so it struck me that she looked at my roll of paintings and invited me in.
“In her living room, before I could say anything, she said, ‘I have to talk to you about the book. If you’ve come to get the book, then I have to talk to you.’
“I told her that I was there to sell paintings.
“She asked, ‘Aren’t you the fellow who came last year?’
“I told her that I had never been to this town before.
“She replied, ‘Oh, I feel so relieved, because I thought that you had come to get your book. There’s no way that I was going to let you take the book away.’
“She took me into her bedroom while explaining that she confided in a salesman last year that she was having trouble sleeping because her husband had died and she felt very lonely. The devotee suggested that he give her a book to read before she went to sleep. She told him that she couldn’t read anymore.
“The devotee told her, ‘Well, I’m going to give you a book anyway, and even if you just keep it, it will give you solace.’
“There on her nightstand was one paperback Krishna book. I had a closer look and could see that the book was turned around so that the back cover faced up. The photo of Srila Prabhupada was a casual photo of Prabhupada laughing.
“Then she told me, ‘I’m grateful for this book. This man’s photo gives me so much comfort that I can get by.’”
Bhakta Rock:
“I was standing in Union Square park, in downtown San Francisco, with a little box of books. There was an art festival going on, so I slipped in and out of the park so the security wouldn’t bother me.
“At around 10:30 a.m. I noticed a very familiar face walking through the show with his family. It was Robin Williams, a leading American actor and comedian. To get his attention creatively, I fanned out the books I had in my hand and waved them near his
face as he walked toward me.
“Startled, he smiled at me. ‘Quickly,’ I said, ‘tell me what you see.’
“‘Books—but that’s not what you’re going to say, right?’
“‘True. What I am showing you is the key to the past, present, and future. And with this key, you can dissolve all anxiety.’
“‘You have good improvisational skills. You should be an evangelist.’
“‘Nah, I’m just here to be your friend. I’m a huge fan of your work and was really impressed with What Dreams May Come. It had a real cool vibe, and I appreciated its depth. Did you enjoy doing it?’
“‘Yes. It made me start to see the world in a different way.’
“Well, this is the next step, my friend. I have the feeling that making that movie made you thirsty for more.”
I then showed him five books: Beyond Birth and Death, The Higher Taste, A Second Chance, the Bhagavad-gita, and Your Ever Well-Wisher. He was fascinated by the pictures and wanted to know how much the books were.
“‘Whatever you think they’re worth,’ I said. ‘I personally don’t put a price tag on transcendence, so I don’t know. Just go with what your heart tells you.’
Apparently he liked my answer, because he then said, ‘I appreciate your honesty. You have a real genuine quality about you, so I’ll take what you’ve got.’
I handed him the five books and he gave me a fifty dollar bill.
I thanked him for his interest and he said, ‘Thank you. Hopefully, this will get me some good karma. Say a couple of mantras for me, okay?’
As he shook my hand I said to him, ‘That’s what my life is about, so I’ll say some for you too.’”
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People in general think that gratifying their senses will lead to happiness, but Krishna points out in Bhagavad-gita that that kind of happiness is temporary and leads to ultimate misery. In this verse he gives another paradigm for attaining a happiness that is eternal–concentration on the Supreme.
bahya-sparsesv asaktatma
vindaty atmani yat sukham sa brahma-yoga-yuktatma sukham aksayam asnute
“Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.” (Bhagavad-gita 5.21)
SCertainly that heart is steel-framed which, in spite of one’s chanting the holy name of the Lord with concentration, does not change when ecstasy takes place, tears fill the eyes and the hairs stand on end.
In our Trancendental Throwback, a spin on “Throwback Thursday,” devotees from around the world submit a photo from earlier in their devotional life to ISKCON News. Along with it, they share their memories of the moment shown in the photo and what it means to them. The result? A fun and inspirational look back at […]
My mother, Purnamasi, was born on August 15, 1922, in Surat, India. At the tender age of twelve she married Purushottam Patel, who brought her to South Africa.
They had nine children. In order to support the large family after her husband’s early demise, Mother Purnamasi held three jobs: at a creche in the morning, at the local Gujarati school as a teacher between 2 and 5 p.m., and doing tuitions from 5:30 to 9.
The creche was in a two-story building on Victoria Street in Durban. On the first floor, the newly arrived Hare Krishna devotees had a preaching center. His Holiness Partha Sarathi das Goswami, then a brahmachari, recalled that Mother Purnamasi was the first devotee he met in 1974.
She soon started serving the devotees by taking bhoga and little gifts for them. The devotees also performed sankirtana in the courtyard of the house where we lived in Durban. In 1975 they invited Mother Purnamasi to the City Hall to attend Srila Prabhupada’s lecture, and she brought back a copy of Back to Godhead (BTG).
A few years later, Maharaja visited our new home, in the Woodhurst section of Chatsworth, and made me a life member. He also had a tent program near our flat. Afterwards, the devotees started a nama-hatta program at a Woodhurst primary school, and we started attending regularly.
After the Sri Sri Radha-Radhanath temple opened in 1985, Mother Purnamasi started serving at the Govinda’s restaurant, and she also worshipped her Sri Sri Radha-Damodara, Sri Sri Jagannath, Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra, and Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurahari at home.
She was very inspired by His Holiness Giriraj Swami and soon took initiation from him. They developed a loving, friendly relationship. She loved cooking for him. She had implicit faith in guru and Krishna, was very serious about her devotional practices, and very carefully tried to avoid offenses. In her Vyasa-puja offerings, she sometimes implored fellow disciples to avoid causing offenses, as they would in turn affect Guru Maharaja’s well-being.
She developed such a strong attachment for Guru Maharaja and his service that she would cry, saying, “I just want to see my guru maharaja’s smiling face. I just want to cook once more for him.” She would cry, “I am so insincere that despite my repeated prayers, my desires remain unfulfilled.” Thus lamenting in deep separation, she left her body on the Ekadasi following Sri Rama-navami in April 2003.
With care and caution, “Govinda’s Restaurant” is up and going again. And with its self-imposed Covid restrictions for some days its management was determined to re-open after the break. The facility, which is open only for takeout, is located under the quarters where I stay. Sri, the hands-on (gloves-on) personnel on the ground, stirs around in preparation for customers. Better still, we’ll call them recipients of prasadam, food that’s blessed. There’s a spiritual benefit on top of the nourishment. It’s a win-win.
Management has also determined a hike in price by two Canadian dollars. That is defended by going rates in town. Okay, so that makes it all relevant with its well thought out decision behind it.
Renovations that were also halted at the temple (we’re all under the same roof at 243 Avenue Rd.) have reconvened. Out pops Vallabha Hari and his wife Michello, both from Croatia, at the side door, just in front of where I was walking, en route to the park for a break from the chair indoors.
I had been listening, through Zoom, to a presentation on the Bhakti Community, a particular approach to the essence or core of our very Krishna consciousness. I really like the language used in the presentation. It’s current, relevant, relatable.
Another call through Zoom channeled the topic of a Senior’s Home project. It was very promising.
The day was gloomy, chili, overcast but necessary as a part of a cycle. Rain came. It’s needed. The night came in with a waxing crescent moon just as it has been some nights before in the cycle. Then we love our seasons. “Of seasons I am flower-bearing spring,” states Krishna in The Gita. This welcoming season has come full circle. There’s a pattern also with the sun. “Here Comes the Sun” (the Beatle’s song). Visible and not visible.
Then we have “The Circle of Life” (Lion King). Yes, we have our daily cycle and the lifecycle of birth, then death, then birth again. The Gita references this roundabout in 2.27 “One who has taken his birth is sure to die and after death one is sure to take birth again.”
These wheels mentioned above are on a perpetual spin. They are working us over but we are encouraged, through the strength of bhakti, not to become dizzy because we maintain a focus on the One who puts all these chakras, or wheels, on a spin; in motion.
We just cannot avoid “the painted ponies” who “go up and down,” (The Circle Game) because “we’re captive on the carousel of time.” There is an end to the physical cycle, however. Each morning we monks rise to sing a song addressing the samsara, the repetition of birth and death, and overcoming this pattern which appears endless. The ending begins with the understanding that we are not from this world.
Please enjoy the accompanying photo of three of our bhaktistars from the Toronto community, Srikarini, Rukmini, and Hladini.
Science and religion are the two most dominant forces of humanity in the search for the ultimate meaning of life and the universe.
Are these two forces reconcilable? If yes, what are the possible grounds for their synthesis? Could the recent developments in science and technology about human nature and the cosmos enable us to explore religious wisdom in new ways? In the pivotal times like ours, what role could science and religion dialogue play in restoring world peace? Moreover, what implications would this dialogue have on our future scientific researches? Reflecting on some of these profound issues, Dr. T. D. Singh (His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami) presents in this volume four groundbreaking essays on science and religion.
Dr. Singh is both a scientist with a Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, USA and a spiritualist in the Bhakti-Vedanta tradition of India. He has been a pioneer in advancing science and religion dialogue for over thirty years and has authored and edited several books on science and religion. These four remarkable essays by him provide useful insights about the relationship between science and religion in our continuing quest for the deeper understanding of life and the universe.
Author: Dr. T.D. Singh Published: September 3, 2020 Book size: 4294 KB Formats: Kindle
“O Krsna who are the springtime that makes the madhvika vine of Radha blossom with happiness. May those persons, in whose heart devotion for You has already sprouted and who open their ears to and worship drops of the pure and splendid nectar ocean of Your loving pastimes in Vraja, attain that kingdom of transcendental sweetness and swim in its waves of pure love.”
Brett Prabhu is part of the Management team for the New Gokula Farm and is also the Manager of the Bhakti Tree Restaurant in Newcastle. He first met the devotees through the Veggie Club at the Newcastle University in 2002 when he was studying and fell in love with halava calling himself a halava monster! Through his love for prasadam he also started visiting the Govindas Cafe in Newcastle where he met Toshan Prahbu who was running the cafe at the time. Not long after that he started doing service at the cafe and at the Veggie Club but it was his association with Toshan Prabhu that really ignited the spark of Krishna Conciousness for Brett Prahbu. While engaged in service they would have long conversations about philosophy. Brett Prabhu said that hearing the sound vibration of the name Krishna was really appealing to him and resonated with something deeply within him.
On Earth Day, I thought of a prayer that resonated with me in my youth. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? He that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord." (Psalm 24:1-5) Continue reading "Thoughts on Earth Day → Dandavats"
As you may know, His Grace Pankajanghri Prabhu, the beloved, longstanding pujari of Sri Sri Prahlad-Nrsimhadeva from Sri Dham Mayapur, is critically battling the Covid-19 virus. We request devotees worldwide to please offer prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva to protect His beloved servant in every way. Pankajanghri Prabhu has spent decades offering prayers at the lotus feet of Nrsimhadeva on behalf of devotees worldwide, always prepared to serve absolutely everyone in this way. Let us now reciprocate with his loving-kindness in the same manner. Continue reading "Urgent Request for Prayers → Dandavats"
HG Pankajanghri Prabhu's oxygen demand is increasing. He needs high oxygen support almost all the time to maintain his oxygen saturation.
His blood parameters for inflammation are also showing increasing inflammation.
His chest X Ray is also showing some worsening.
Upon waking this morning my mind was racing with things I had to do and plans for accomplishing them. Then I remembered the Sanskrit proverb ‘subhasya sighram’ which means: “Whatever is auspicious should be carried out as quickly as possible.” So I reached for my sacred japa beads and immediately began chanting Lord Krsna’s sweet holy names.
From the ancient forest of Mayura-vana, to the secret lilasthan of Dana and then on to famous Mor-kutir, we’ll hear about Krsna’s dancing with the peacocks and how He and Sri Radha once even took the forms of peacocks to dance together in great happiness.
Question: Should one take saffron only when one is convinced that Krishna is God?
Answer: Different devotees may have different personal convictions which inspire them in their spiritual lives, and they may emphasize more on their convictions when they present Krishna consciousness to others. Those convictions may not disagree with the philosophy, but they may not be universal convictions for everyone. We need to ask ourselves, are we convinced that Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead.
Once, Srila Prabhupada asked some of his GBC (the Governing Body Commission) disciples that if you are convinced that Krishna is God, you will be able to make the whole world Krishna conscious just in eighteen days. However, none of his disciples could say that they were convinced. Does that mean that they were not convinced? No, if they had not been convinced, at least to some extent, they would not have been able to dedicate their lives and do so much for Srila Prabhupada. So, rather than seeing conviction as a digital one or zero progression, we need to see conviction as an analog progression. If we are reasonably convinced about Krishna’s divinity and supremacy, then we can surely take steps forward in our spiritual life – be it becoming a brahmachari or taking saffron – and that conviction will gradually deepen.
However, if one has serious reservations, like one may cite other purana and not accept Lord Krishna’s divinity and supremacy and says something else, then that is a different issue. But for somebody who has already become a brahmachari and has been serving in the movement for a good amount of time, there should not be any major doubt about their accepting Krishna’s supremacy. One may be at a level where if somebody very learned in scriptures brings up some contrary quotes about Lord Shiva being supreme or Goddess Devi being supreme, one may not know how to answer it, though this is unlikely to disturb one’s personal convictions. The Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu says madhyama-adhikari platform is where one is convinced; one’s faith is not disturbed but one may not know how to respond to arguments. The uttama-adhikari platform is where one knows how to respond to arguments as well as inspire people to come closer towards Krishna.
We should have some basic conviction that the person to whom we are dedicating our life is the ultimate lord of our heart and we are not just rejecting the world and its love but we are directing our love to the original and the best object of love. With that conviction, one can say no to the worldly temptations with a greater firmness and not with reluctance or half-heartedness.
Therefore, we do need some basic conviction. However, instead of making that conviction as a digital one-zero thing, we should give it a proper philosophical context. We should understand the principle that we are to redirect our love, especially even more intensely in the renounced order compared to other ashrams. For doing the effort of sadhana bhakti, we need commitment and for that commitment, we need the conviction that Krishna is the supreme Lord. He is the lord of our heart. However, not having this conviction cent-percent, should not deter us to dedicate our life to Krishna.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 14 April 2008, Bhaktivedanta Manor, United Kingdom, Rama Navami Lecture)
In the Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Rama at one point is compared to a baby elephant, however, this is not disrespectful. Rather, the comparison was made to show how young Lord Rama was at the time of Sitadevi’s swayamvara, yet he was so inconceivably powerful. While it took 300 strong men to barely lift that bow, a young Lord Rama just strings the bow effortlessly to the point that He pulled it so far back that the bow broke. So in this way, Lord Ramachandra showed with how much ease he could do such a thing. This is just like when a young Lord Krsna lifted Govardhana Hill with complete ease on the little finger of his left hand. So in this way, the Lord shows that such supernatural feats are actually not that great for Him, as He is only showing a spark of His total splendour through such pastimes. We only see a portion of His opulence, but the power of the Supreme Lord is so much greater.
Sitadevi was the perfect match for the Supreme Lord. She was the Goddess of Fortune after all. It is said that Sitadevi is equally endowed and had all the right attributes (the right age, the right beauty, the right behaviour and all the right qualities) to be a befitting partner to Lord Ramachandra. We, on the contrary, are suffering the reactions of our sinful activities and can never be endowed with such perfect qualities; we have to go through a lifetime of frustration of not having the right attributes. Why? Because we are conditioned souls. But Sitadevi, being Lakshmidevi herself, was by no means limited by the material energy. Therefore, we cannot consider the actions of Sitadevi to be the actions of an ordinary person.
When Sita and Rama were banished to the forest, an outstanding quality of the Lord strikes out – how transcendentally He takes all the circumstances of His life. His father was on his death bed, the whole kingdom was crying and everyone was destroyed when they found out that Rama was banished to the forest the day before His coronation. But amidst all this, Rama was happy to follow His father’s instructions, and that is something really extraordinary, how the Lord takes up such a task despite it being so unfavourable and unjust to Him. This is because He was completely detached!
Bhakta Ram met a nice lady on sankirtan named Alexis who runs a beauty school and she was planning to do a mind over matter retreat with some of her students in Piedmont park where we regularly go to distribute books! She invited us to come and participate so we gave a class on the Bhagavad Gita then we had a fired up kirtan. At one point I spoke on the microphone to all of the students and explained each book in the Sapta set while one of the devotees was putting a set in each student’s hands for them to look at. Most of the students ended up enthusiastically taking a set home with them, it was such incredible mercy from Krishna. Afterwards we served everyone a nice prasadam feast of rice, dahl, tomato chutney, cabbage pakoras and some tasty halava! It was an amazing program right in the middle of the park and we distributed an amazing 22 Saptas in one shot!
By Manorama das
By Giriraja Swami
By The GBC Executive Committee
