Planet ISKCON

I am self-isolating and following the medical protocol prescribed by a devotee doctor who is monitoring my case. Humbly, I request your prayers so that I can beat this.

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Somehow a fire started in the deity clothing room about 6pm last night. The Deities were removed downstairs and the fire put out. All the Deity clothes were burnt but the fire didn't do any further damage. Radha Govinda are OK. The temple building is OK.

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By HG Nirantara Dasa in Iskcon San Diego, 4/25/2021

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By Bhaktimarga Swami

I wrote a poem for Hanuman yesterday, as yesterday was his birthday. Here it is, it's a shorty! Continue reading "That’s Hanuman!
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On the Caitra Purnima, the full moon day of the month of Caitra, Sri Vamsivadananda Thakura took birth within this world. It was a sweet moon and everyone sang in great joy at the appearance of such a great soul.

Vamsivadananda Thakura is also known as Vamsivadana, Vamsi dasa, Vamsi. It was in the house of Sri Madhava dasa that Vamsivadananda Thakura took birth. His mother’s name was Srimati Candrakaladevi. Vamsivadananda Thakura is the avatara of Krsna’s flute.

The day that he took birth, Caitanya Mahaprabhu was staying in the house of Sri Madhava dasa.  Advaita acarya Prabhu was also present.  Madhava dasa was a greatly devoted soul and was very attached to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Lord was very affectionate towards his son, Vamsi.

Sri Narahari Cakravarti Thakura writes in his Bhakti-ratnakara (4.23) that when Srinivasa acarya went to visit the birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Mayapura during his pilgrimage to Nabadwipa, he met Vamsivadananda Thakura. At that time Vamsivadananda Thakura bestowed his blessings upon the young Srinivasa acarya who also managed to take darsana of the holy feet of Sri Visnupriya devi. Narahari writes, “Vamsivadananda Thakura sat the young  Srinivasa acarya upon his lap and wet his head with tears of ecstasy in love of Godhead.”

After the disappearance of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Vamsivadananda Thakura was engaged as a servant by Visnupriya devi. It is said that he became the foremost recipient of her mercy.  After the disappearance of Visnupriya devi he took the Mahaprabhu deity established by her to Koladwipa which is presently the town known as Nabadwipa dhama. There he established the worship of the Mahaprabhu deity. There, he also established a deity of Krsna known as Pranavallabha. 

 Vamsivadananda Thakura was a lyrical poet and a composer of songs. All his songs are especially sweet and mellow and express deep moods of devotion. In one famous song he has expressed the separation felt by Mother Saci upon the sannyasa of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Vamsivadananda Thakura has also composed songs about Krsna’s dana-lila, nauka-vilasa,  and vana-vihara-lila.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BgtIaVSTxg

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10219571469220283&set=a.3707173840886

“Just as the sun’s rays in the sky are extended to the mundane vision, so in the same way the wise and learned devotees always see the supreme abode of Lord Vishnu. Because those highly praiseworthy and spiritually awake brahmanas are able to see the spiritual world, they are also able to reveal that supreme abode of Lord Vishnu.”

[Rig Veda 1.22.20]

om tad visnoh paramam padam sada
pashyanti surayo diviva chakshur-atatam
tad vipraso vipanyavo jagrivamsaha
samindhate vishnor yat paramam padam

[ Painting by Mahaveer Swami ]

 

By Giriraj Swami

“When the Lord assumes a humanlike body to show mercy to His devotees, He engages in such pastimes as will attract those who hear about them to become dedicated to Him.” (SB 10.33.36) By hearing these pastimes, we can think, “I want to go to Vrindavan. I want to live in Vrindavan eternally and have a relationship with Krishna as a servant or a cowherd boyfriend or as a parental figure or as a young gopi.” By hearing about Krishna and His loving relationships with His devotees in Vrindavan, you may develop that desire. Continue reading "Sri Balarama Rasa-yatra
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For Balarama Rasa-yatra, we shall read from Srila Prabhupada’s summary study of the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, called Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead—about Lord Balarama’s visit to Vrindavan after He and Krishna had been away from Vrindavan for many years.

In our meditation on the deity of the Lord, we begin from His lotus feet and then gradually progress upward to His ankles, knees, thighs, waist, navel, chest, neck, and face. Srimad-Bhagavatam is also a form of the Lord, and so we begin its study with its lotus feet, which are the First and Second Cantos, and gradually progress upward until we get to the Tenth Canto, which is compared to the Lord’s smiling face. The topics in the Tenth Canto are very elevated and can actually be fully appreciated only by liberated souls—because Krishna’s pastimes with His pure devotees are enacted on the liberated platform—but on special occasions like Balarama Rasa-yatra we do explore such topics.

Some years ago I was in Vrindavan at this time, tending to a disciple, Arca-vigraha dasi, who was preparing to leave her body. Many senior devotees would come every day and read to her, discuss with her, and chant for her, and on this particular occasion I read the same pastime—about Lord Balarama’s visit to Vrindavan—from both the Tenth Canto and the Krsna book. The basic features of the pastime are the same in both texts, though there are little differences in terms of details and revelations of insights into the pastime. Today I shall read from the Krsna book, Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead—Chapter Sixty-Five: “Lord Balarama Visits Vrndavana.”

TEXT

Lord Balarama became very anxious to see His father and mother in Vrndavana. Therefore, with great enthusiasm He started on a chariot for Vrndavana. The inhabitants of Vrndavana had been anxious to see Krsna and Balarama for a very long time. When Lord Balarama returned to Vrndavana, all the cowherd boys and the gopis had grown up; but still, on His arrival, they all embraced Him, and Balarama embraced them in reciprocation. After this He came before Maharaja Nanda and Yasoda and offered His respectful obeisances. In response, Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja offered their blessings unto Him. They addressed Him as Jagadisvara, or the Lord of

the universe who maintains everyone. The reason for this was that Krsna and Balarama maintain all living entities. And yet Nanda and Yasoda were put into such difficulties on account of Their absence. Feeling like this, they embraced Balarama and, seating Him on their laps, began their perpetual crying, wetting Balarama with their tears. Lord Balarama then offered His respectful obeisances to the elderly cowherd men and accepted the obeisances of the younger cowherd men. Thus, according to their different ages and relationships, Lord Balarama exchanged feelings of friendship with them. He shook hands with those who were His equals in age and friendship and with loud laughing embraced each one of them.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

There are many points in just this one paragraph. First, Lord Balarama offers obeisances to Nanda and Yasoda, who are playing the roles of His parents, and they in turn offer their blessings to Him—yet they referred to Him as Jagadisvara, the Lord of the universe. It appears contradictory that the Lord of the universe is offering obeisances to Nanda and Yasoda, and that they are offering blessings to Him. But in transcendental pastimes, there are two considerations: rasa and tattva. Rasa means the transcendental mellows exchanged between the Lord and the devotee in a loving relationship, and tattva means their existential positions. Although in terms of tattva, Balarama is the Personality of Godhead, visnu-tattva, and Nanda and Yasoda are devotees, in terms of rasa, in terms of their transcendental relationship, Nanda and Yasoda are in the position of parents to Balarama and Krishna (vatsalya-rasa).

Queen Kunti prayed to Krishna,

gopy adade tvayi krtagasi dama tavad
  ya te dasasru-kalilanjana-sambhramaksam
vaktram niniya bhaya-bhavanaya sthitasya
  sa mam vimohayati bhir api yad bibheti

“My dear Krsna, Yasoda took up a rope to bind You when You committed an offense, and Your perturbed eyes overflooded with tears, which washed the mascara from Your eyes. And You were afraid, though fear personified is afraid of You. This sight is bewildering to me.” (SB 1.8.31) The image of Mother Yasoda with rope in hand and Krishna trembling in fright with tears in His eyes—though Krishna is feared by fear personified—caused Kunti to become transcendentally bewildered.

In Krishna’s pastimes there are many such intricacies that can bewilder the intellect, and so we should mainly just hear and relish such topics; that is our first business. Once, when we were touring India with Srila Prabhupada, in Indore, a disciple asked him, “In some places we read that Lord Brahma is born from the lotus that sprouts from the navel of Lord Vishnu and then creates the different planets (as described in Srimad-Bhagavatam), but in other places we read that all the planets, the different planetary systems, are contained within the stem of the lotus that sprouts from Lord Vishnu’s navel. How do we reconcile these two versions?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “It is inconceivable. We cannot understand these topics with our tiny brains. Our only business is to love Krishna.” So we study scripture. Bhagavata-sravana, hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, is one of the five most potent processes of devotional service, and we want to understand the science of Krishna consciousness—rasa and tattva and other elements—but we cannot really fully comprehend, or accommodate, these vast topics in our tiny brains, so ultimately we just surrender and hear and relish.

Another point is that Nanda and Yasoda addressed Balarama as Jagadisvara, as if to say, “We hear that You and Your younger brother are the Lords of the universe. Why, then, do You not protect Your elderly parents?” There is a slightly sarcastic, accusatory tone. On a very high level of Krishna consciousness, a devotee, out of pure love, can accuse or quarrel with the Lord. On the transcendental platform, we find the full range of emotions; everything exists there, but in its original, completely pure state (suddha-sattva), beyond the modes of material nature. Everything there is done out of love for Krishna. In the material world, anger is usually mixed with hatred. But in the spiritual world, the anger—transcendental anger—is mixed with love.

The Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu and Caitanya-caritamrta and other scriptures inform us that beyond even the stage of prema there are further developments of transcendental love. The general progression is given in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.4.15–16):

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-
  sango ’tha bhajana-kriya
tato ’nartha-nivrttih syat
  tato nistha rucis tatah

 athasaktis tato bhavas
  tatah premabhyudancati
sadhakanam ayam premnah
  pradurbhave bhavet kramah

“In the beginning there must be faith (sraddha). Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees (sadhu-sanga). Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and executes the regulative principles under his orders (bhajana-kriya). Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits (anartha-nivrtti) and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service (nistha). Thereafter, one develops taste (ruci) and attachment (asakti). This is the way of sadhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually emotions (bhava) intensify, and finally there is an awakening of love (prema). This is the gradual development of love of Godhead for the devotee interested in Krsna consciousness.” (Brs 1.4.15–16, as Cc Madhya 23.14–15)

Generally we understand that devotees progress from sraddha, sadhu-sanga, bhajana-kriya, and anartha-nivrttih to nistha, ruci, and asakti and all the way to bhava and prema, but in the spiritual world there are developments beyond prema.

prema krame badi’ haya-sneha, mana, pranaya
raga, anuraga, bhava, mahabhava haya

“Love of Godhead (prema) increases and is manifest as affection (sneha), indignation (mana), love (pranaya), attachment (raga), further attachment (anuraga), ecstasy (bhava), and sublime ecstasy (maha-bhava).” (Cc Madhya 23.43) Beyond even prema is mana, a sort of transcendental anger, but that is possible only beyond the stage of simple prema, only for the residents of Vrindavan.

TEXT

After being received by the cowherd men and boys, the gopis, and King Nanda and Yasoda, Lord Balarama sat down, feeling satisfied, and they all surrounded Him. First Lord Balarama inquired from them about their welfare, and then, since they had not seen Him for such a long time, they began to ask Him different questions. The inhabitants of Vrndavana had sacrificed everything for Krsna, simply being captivated by the lotus eyes of the Lord. Because of their great desire to love Krsna, they never desired anything like elevation to the heavenly planets or merging into the effulgence of Brahman to become one with the Absolute Truth. They were not even interested in enjoying a life of opulence, but they were satisfied in living a simple life in the village as cowherds. They were always absorbed in thoughts of Krsna and did not desire any personal benefits, and they were all so much in love with Him that in His absence their voices faltered when they began to inquire from Balarama.

COMMENT

The different stages of advancement are hierarchical. In other words, the qualities of a prior, or lower, stage are also included in the subsequent, higher stages. So, in the above description of the residents of Vrindavan, Srila Prabhupada describes them in terms that apply to any pure devotee, on the platform of uttama-bhakti:

anyabhilasita-sunyam
  jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
  silanam bhaktir uttama

“When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Krsna favorably, as Krsna desires.” (Brs 1.1.11, as Cc Madhya 19.167)

As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam’s First Canto:

tulayama lavenapi
  na svargam napunar-bhavam
bhagavat-sangi-sangasya
  martyanam kim utasisah

“The value of a moment’s association with the devotee of the Lord cannot even be compared to the attainment of heavenly planets or liberation from matter, and what to speak of worldly benedictions in the form of material prosperity, which are for those who are meant for death.” (SB 1.18.13) By such association, beginning with even one moment, one can eventually attain pure devotional service and, like the residents of Vrindavan, have no interest in elevation to heavenly planets or merging into impersonal Brahman, what to speak of enjoying the opulences of the world. The Vraja-vasis were interested only in loving Krishna and serving Him. Their mood fits the basic definition of pure devotional service, which applies from the beginning stages of sraddha and sadhu-sanga up to the most advanced stages of anuraga and maha-bhava. So, too, with the different rasas: the elements of santa-rasa are included in dasya-rasa, the qualities of dasya are included in sakhya, the qualities of sakhya, including santa and dasya, are included in vatsalya, and the qualities of all four are included in madhurya.

It is not that when we become advanced we then desire material things. No. One disciple said to Srila Prabhupada, “When we are liberated, when we become paramahamsas, then we can do anything and it won’t affect us, because we will be on the transcendental platform. So then when we are paramahamsas we can also have sex.” And Srila Prabhupada replied that this was foolishness, and he told a story of a king’s servant. The king sometimes rode in a boat on an excursion, and the servant would walk alongside on a path that ran along the river and pull the boat from the land. The king was very pleased with the servant’s work and told him, “I am very pleased with you. I will give you whatever you like.” The servant replied, “I would like a velvet carpet to be placed along the path so that when I’m pulling the boat it will be soft under my feet.” Srila Prabhupada said that this was foolishness—he could have gotten anything and he wouldn’t have had to pull the boat anymore. He could have attained a boon far greater than doing the same thing but in a little different way. So, in response to the devotee’s comment—“Oh, if I become a paramahamsa I can have sex”—Srila Prabhupada said that when you are a paramahamsa you are in a position to relish on a much higher platform than that. Asking for sex after attaining the transcendental platform would be like asking for extra facility to pull the boat on the thorny path. The idea is param drstva nivartate, that on the highest level one experiences a higher taste and has no interest in elevation to heavenly planets or merging into impersonal brahmajyoti, what to speak of enjoying worldly pleasures that are meant for those who are bound for death.

Now the residents of Vrindavan are about to speak to Lord Balarama with faltering voices, feeling separation from Krishna.

TEXT

First Nanda Maharaja and Yasodamayi inquired, “My dear Balarama, are our friends like Vasudeva and others in the family doing well? Now You and Krsna are grown-up married men with children. In the happiness of family life, do You sometimes remember Your poor father and mother, Nanda Maharaja and Yasoda-devi? It is very good news that the most sinful King Kamsa has been killed by You and that our friends like Vasudeva and the others who had been harassed have now been relieved. It is also very good news that You and Krsna defeated Jarasandha and Kalayavana, who is now dead, and that You are now living in a fortified residence in Dvaraka.”

When the gopis arrived, Lord Balarama glanced over them with loving eyes. Being overjoyed, the gopis, who had so long been mortified on account of Krsna’s and Balarama’s absence, began to ask about the welfare of the two brothers. They specifically asked Balarama whether Krsna was enjoying His life surrounded by the enlightened women of Dvaraka Puri. “Does He sometimes remember His father Nanda and His Mother Yasoda and the other friends with whom He so intimately behaved while in Vrndavana? Does Krsna have any plans to come here to see His mother, Yasoda, and does He remember us gopis, who are now pitiably bereft of His company? Krsna may have forgotten us in the midst of the cultured women of Dvaraka, but as far as we are concerned, we still remember Him by collecting flowers and sewing them into garlands. When He does not come, however, we simply pass our time by crying. If only He would come here and accept these garlands we have made. My dear Lord Balarama, descendant of Dasarha, You know that we would give up everything for Krsna’s friendship. Even in great distress one cannot give up the connection of family members, but although it might be impossible for others, we gave up our fathers, mothers, sisters, and relatives. But then Krsna, not caring a pinch for our renunciation, all of a sudden renounced us and went away. He broke off our intimate relationship without serious consideration and left for a foreign country. But He was so clever and cunning that He manufactured very nice words. He said, ‘My dear gopis, please do not worry. The service you have rendered to Me is impossible for Me to repay.’ After all, we are women, so how could we disbelieve Him? Now we can understand that His sweet words were simply for cheating us.”

COMMENT

This word of accusation against Krishna is quoted in the Caitanya-caritamrta in the discussion of these very high states of love of God exhibited by the Vraja-vasis in relation to Krishna—that they call Him a cheater. Srila Prabhupada explains that Krishna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also wants some variety. He gets tired of always being worshipped by Vedic hymns and mantras and elaborate sacrifices and worship. Sometimes He wants someone to chastise Him, but who can chastise Him? Only the purest devotees.

One example is Mother Yasoda with the whipping stick chastising Krishna for His naughtiness in breaking the butter pots, eating butter and yogurt, and feeding His friends and monkeys. Another is the gopis chastising Him for being a cheater.

Srila Prabhupada told the story of Lord Gladstone, the prime minister of Great Britain. Ordinary people can’t see the prime minister, but a big man came to see him, and the prime minister’s secretary said, “Please wait; he is engaged now. He will see you after some time.” The man waited and waited, but there was no news from inside. So he pushed open the door a little to see what was happening, and when he looked in, he saw the great prime minister of the United Kingdom on the floor on his hands and knees with his grandson on his back directing him like a man riding a horse: “Get up! Get up! Go right! Go left!” He was still the prime minister even when he was playing the part of a horse for his grandson, but sometimes he wanted to take a break from his position; he wanted to forget that he was the prime minister and just enjoy with his beloved grandchild.

So, Krishna also likes to take a break, so to speak, from being the Supreme Lord, the ruler of the universe—not just the universe, but all the universes—and just relax with His intimate loved ones. That is His Vrindavan lila. It is said that He enjoys the chastisements of His friends in Vrindavan more than all the Vedic hymns because that chastisement comes from such a deep level of pure love.

Here the gopis are saying that Krishna had said, “I cannot repay My debt to you,” and just as He was leaving Vrindavan from Mathura had said, “Do not worry, I shall return,” but then didn’t come back. They were making garlands for Him, thinking, “Oh, if He comes today we will be prepared,” but He never came.

TEXT

Protesting Krsna’s absence from Vrndavana, another gopi said, “My dear Balaramaji, we are of course village girls, so Krsna could cheat us in that way, but what about the women of Dvaraka? Don’t think they are as foolish as we are! We village women might be misled by Krsna, but the women in the city of Dvaraka are very clever and intelligent. Therefore I would be surprised if such city women could be misled by Krsna and could believe His words.”

Then another gopi began to speak. “My dear friend,” she said, “Krsna is very clever in using words. No one can compete with Him in that art. He can manufacture such colorful words and talk so sweetly that the heart of any woman would be misled. Besides that, He has perfected the art of smiling very attractively, and by seeing His smile women become mad after Him and give themselves to Him without hesitation.”

Another gopi, after hearing this, said, “My dear friends, what is the use of talking about Krsna? If you are at all interested in passing time by talking, let us talk on some subject other than Him. If cruel Krsna can pass His time without us, why can’t we pass our time without Krsna? Of course, Krsna is passing His days without us very happily, but we cannot pass our days happily without Him.”

COMMENT

We are on a platform where it is easy to forget Krishna. It is nothing for us to forget Him. In fact, we have to do everything we can to remember Krishna—and they are trying to forget Krishna but can’t. No matter how much they try, they can’t. But that actually begins in the stage of sadhana. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, in his Madhurya-kadambini, elaborates on this verse, two verses from Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu—adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango, and so on. He describes that at the stage of asakti, just before bhava, if your mind wanders from Krishna, it automatically comes back. You don’t even know how it comes back; it is automatic. In the earlier stages, when we chant japa, we have to try to fix our mind on the sound of the holy name, and even then, after a while—we don’t even know how much time or how many beads have passed—we realize that our mind is somewhere else. We don’t know how we left the holy name or how we got onto a different topic, which then led to another topic and then another topic, and so on.

But at the stage of asakti it is the opposite; if your mind wanders, it automatically comes back. So, what to speak of the gopis, who are on the highest stage: they are fully absorbed in remembrance of Krishna, and even if they want to forget Him they can’t.

TEXT

When the gopis were talking in this way, their feelings for Krsna became more and more intense, and they were experiencing Krsna’s smiling, Krsna’s words of love, Krsna’s attractive features, Krsna’s characteristics, and Krsna’s embraces. By the force of their ecstatic feelings, it appeared to them that Krsna was personally present and dancing before them. Because of their sweet remembrance of Krsna, they could not check their tears, and they began to cry without consideration.

COMMENT

This is a very important point: Why did Krishna leave Vrindavan and remain away for so long? After all, the residents of Vrindavan, and especially the gopis, were His best devotees. They had the greatest love for Him. One answer is that when Krishna was in Vrindavan the gopis were always afraid of His separation. There is a very exalted stage where you can be with Krishna yet feel separation from Him. This was demonstrated in the pastime of Prema-sarovara. Radha and Krishna were together, sitting next to each other, and a bumblebee was hovering around Them and causing some disturbance and Srimati Radharani wanted the bumblebee chased away. So Madhumangala chased away the bee and came back and announced, “The madhu has gone and will not come back.” Now, the word madhu can refer to a bee, but it can also refer to Krishna; it is a name of Krishna. So even though Srimati Radharani was sitting right next to Krishna, when She heard that “Madhu is gone and will not return,” She took it as referring to Krishna and went into a deep mood of separation and burst into tears. And even though Krishna was sitting right next to Her, He could not bring Her out of Her ecstatic trance of separation. Then He, too, began to cry, and Their tears of love created a pond, which became known as Prema-sarovara.

So, Krishna perceived that as long as He remained in Vrindavan, the residents, especially the gopis, would always fear His separation; they would feel separation from Him and would be preoccupied with His physical presence and absence. He thought that if He left Vrindavan, the gopis wouldn’t focus on that. They would feel separation, but in the intensity of their feelings of separation they would feel Krishna’s presence, unlike when He was physically in Vrindavan and they would feel His presence only when He was physically with them. If He left, they would feel His presence anytime—through their intense feelings of separation.

This point is elucidated in Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta with the example of fire and ice. Sometimes if something is very cold, like dry ice, it burns. Dry ice is so cold that if you touch it you get burned. So, when the feelings of separation become so extreme, so intense, they lead to the experience of meeting, of being together. The gopis and other residents of Vrindavan could have gone to Dvaraka, but they actually preferred not to, because the happiness they were relishing in separation was even greater than the happiness they would have relished in Krishna’s association in Dvaraka.

Here we can see that in expressing their intense feelings of separation from Krishna, the gopis are experiencing His presence even to the extent of seeing His lotus eyes and His smile, and His dancing with them and even embracing them.

TEXT

Lord Balarama, of course, could understand the ecstatic feelings of the gopis, and therefore He wanted to pacify them. He was expert in presenting an appeal, and thus, treating the gopis very respectfully, He began to narrate the stories of Krsna so tactfully that the gopis became satisfied.

COMMENT

Here is another way that they and any devotees can feel the presence of the Lord—by hearing about His pastimes. The verse tava kathamrtam tapta-jivanam says that krsna-katha is the best medicine for those who are suffering tapa. Tapa means “misery,” or “heat.” It can mean material miseries—that is also there. By krsna-katha one gets relief. But it can also refer to the misery of feeling separation from Krishna. Krsna-katha also gives relief from the fire of separation.

TEXT

To keep the gopis in Vrndavana satisfied, Lord Balarama stayed there continuously for two months, namely the months of Caitra (March-April) and Vaisakha (April-May).

For those two months He kept Himself among the gopis, and He passed every night with them in the forest of Vrndavana to satisfy their desire for conjugal love. Thus Balarama also enjoyed the rasa dance with the gopis during those two months.

COMMENT

Here is an important point that is mentioned in the commentaries on this chapter. There were two sets of gopis—Krishna’s gopis and Balarama’s gopis—so it is not that Balarama enjoyed the rasa dance with Krishna’s gopis. That would have been rasabhasa, a disturbance in the rasa. He enjoyed it with His gopis, who were attached to Him in madhurya-rasa. And He pacified the other gopis—those who were attached to Krishna—by speaking about Krishna.

TEXT

Since the season was springtime, the breeze on the bank of the Yamuna was blowing very mildly, carrying the aroma of different flowers, especially the flower known as kaumudi. Moonlight filled the sky and spread everywhere, and thus the banks of the Yamuna appeared very bright and pleasing, and Lord Balarama enjoyed the company of the gopis there.

The demigod known as Varuna sent his daughter Varuni in the form of liquid honey oozing from the hollows of the trees. Because of this honey the whole forest became aromatic, and the sweet aroma of the liquid honey, Varuni, captivated Balaramaji. Balaramaji and all the gopis became very much attracted by the taste of the Varuni, and all of them drank it together. While drinking this natural beverage, all the gopis chanted the glories of Lord Balarama, and Lord Balarama felt very happy, as if He had become intoxicated by drinking that Varuni beverage.

COMMENT

Varuni is a devotee, and when Balarama was drinking the Varuni beverage, He was actually drinking Varuni’s love and devotion. In a similar way, Krishna, would drink Mother Yasoda’s breast milk, but it wasn’t ordinary milk; it was her love in liquid form. So, Varuni is also love in liquid form, and Balarama was drinking it and becoming intoxicated.

TEXT

His eyes rolled in a pleasing attitude. He was decorated with long garlands of forest flowers, and the whole situation appeared to be a great function of happiness because of this transcendental bliss. Lord Balarama smiled beautifully, and the drops of perspiration decorating His face appeared like soothing morning dew.

While Balarama was in that happy mood, He desired to enjoy the company of the gopis in the water of the Yamuna. Therefore He called the Yamuna to come nearby. But the Yamuna neglected the order of Balaramaji, considering Him intoxicated. Lord Balarama became very much displeased at the Yamuna’s neglecting His order. He immediately wanted to scratch the land near the river with His plowshare. Lord Balarama has two weapons, a plow and a club, from which He takes service when they are required. This time He wanted to bring the Yamuna by force, and He took the help of His plow. He wanted to punish the Yamuna because she did not come in obedience to His order. He addressed the Yamuna, “You wretched river! You did not care for My order. Now I shall teach you a lesson! You did not come to Me voluntarily. Now with the help of My plow I shall force you to come. I shall divide you into hundreds of scattered streams!”

COMMENT

All the entities in the spiritual world are conscious and personal. The Yamuna is also personal. In fact, it is described that she has her own identity and is also the gopi Visakha in liquid form. Everything is personal. There is no dead matter in Vrindavan. It is all conscious and personal.

TEXT

When the Yamuna was threatened like this, she became greatly afraid of the power of Balarama and immediately came in person . . .

COMMENT

The personified form of the Yamuna River came to Balarama.

TEXT

. . . falling at His lotus feet and praying thus: “My dear Balarama, You are the most powerful personality, and You are pleasing to everyone. Unfortunately, I forgot Your glorious, exalted position, but now I have come to my senses, and I remember that You hold all the planetary systems on Your head merely by Your partial expansion Sesa. You are the sustainer of the whole universe. My dear Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are full with six opulences. Because I forgot Your omnipotence, I have mistakenly disobeyed Your order, and thus I have become a great offender. But, my dear Lord, please know that I am a soul surrendered unto You, who are very affectionate to Your devotees. Therefore please excuse my impudence and mistakes, and, by Your causeless mercy, may You now release me.”

COMMENT

She was repentant. It does happen—devotees forget the Lord’s supremacy. In krsna-lila, which is nara-lila, Krishna and Balarama resemble ordinary human beings, and one can forget Their position. It happened with Brahma when he stole the cowherd boys and calves, and it happened with Indra when he sent the torrents of rain. But because the Lord is affectionate to His devotees, if they repent—and any genuine devotee will repent—the Lord rectifies them and brings them back to His service, properly situated again.

It is described that when Indra sent torrential rain down on the residents of Vrindavan, for a moment Krishna thought, “Let Me just kill him; he is such a disturbance,” but then He thought, “No, I should be merciful to him. I should curb his false pride and bring him back to his senses.” In gaura-lila, when Vallabha Bhatta was proud of his knowledge and scholarship, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu humbled him just like Krishna humbled Indra and brought him to a better position in devotional service.

So, Yamuna-devi sincerely regretted her offense in not obeying the command of Balarama. In a genuine mood of repentance, she asked to be forgiven. She knew that He was affectionate to His devotees, and she wanted Him to show that affection toward her because she was His surrendered devotee. She was just temporarily covered by some illusion, some misconception.

TEXT

Upon displaying this submissive attitude, the Yamuna was forgiven, and when she came nearby, Lord Balarama enjoyed the pleasure of swimming in her waters along with the gopis in the same way that an elephant enjoys himself along with his many she-elephants. After a long time, when Lord Balarama had enjoyed to His full satisfaction, He came out of the water, and immediately a goddess of fortune offered Him a nice blue garment and a valuable necklace made of gold. After bathing in the Yamuna, Lord Balarama, dressed in blue garments and decorated with golden ornaments, looked very attractive to everyone. Lord Balarama’s complexion is white, and when He was properly dressed He looked exactly like the white elephant of King Indra in the heavenly planets. The river Yamuna still has many small branches due to being scratched by the plowshare of Lord Balarama. And all these branches of the river Yamuna still glorify the omnipotence of Lord Balarama.

Lord Balarama and the gopis enjoyed transcendental pastimes together every night for two months, and time passed so quickly that all those nights appeared to be only one night. In the presence of Lord Balarama, all the gopis and other inhabitants of Vrndavana became as cheerful as they had been before in the presence of both brothers, Lord Krsna and Lord Balarama.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Sixty-fifth Chapter of Krsna, “Lord Balarama Visits Vrndavana.”

COMMENT

Hare Krishna. Sri Balarama Rasa-yatra ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Are there any questions or comments?

Raxit Jariwalla: When we hear of the pastimes of the Lord, we understand that we cannot emulate Krishna’s activities, that we cannot copy or imitate Him. So, what is a devotee to take from these pastimes? Is it the simple contentment of hearing them and knowing that these activities are going on in the spiritual world, or is there some more significance or benefit?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, there is benefit on both levels—rasa and tattva. By hearing about the Lord’s pastimes with His devotees in the spiritual world, we can become attracted to them and aspire to join them. There is a verse at the end of the five chapters dealing with the rasa dance, which says that in order to bestow mercy upon His devotees, Krishna displays humanlike pastimes so that they will become attracted to Him and His pastimes and want to engage in His service.

anugrahaya bhaktanam
  manusam deham asthitah
bhajate tadrsih kridah
  yah srutva tat-paro bhavet

“When the Lord assumes a humanlike body to show mercy to His devotees, He engages in such pastimes as will attract those who hear about them to become dedicated to Him.” (SB 10.33.36) By hearing these pastimes, we can think, “I want to go to Vrindavan. I want to live in Vrindavan eternally and have a relationship with Krishna as a servant or a cowherd boyfriend or as a parental figure or as a young gopi.” By hearing about Krishna and His loving relationships with His devotees in Vrindavan, you may develop that desire.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Balarama Rasa-yatra, April 16, 2011, San Jose, California]

After the fall to cement, Krishna moved to take Mak relatively quickly _ 11 months, much of them engaged in a process with the hopeful prognosis of walking again. It was only in November, ‘20 when decline began. And even then, hope didn’t, not unril regular food was out. That was late March. Then, things got crunchy.

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Sri Syamananda Prabhu, Srinivasa Acarya and Sri Narottama dasa Thakura were the internal associates of Sri Gaurasundara. They incarnated in this world in order to spread the teachings of Sri Gaura-Krsna after His departure from it

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By Sacred Street Party

That Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared to give love of God to the most fallen. He came to give the topmost to the most fallen. And not just love of God. Although love of God is rare in this world still love of God can be found also in other traditions. But nowhere can the quality of love of God be found as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has displayed it. Continue reading "Gauranga, the CC and Us – Part 2 with HH Kadamba Kanana Swami
→ Dandavats"

72nd Vyasa Puja Offering from Mayapur Youth Sanga

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Room at 243, Toronto

 

Rama’s Day

 

Today was Rama’s day. We remember Him for his contributions to the world, being an ideal monarch or ruler; hard to find these days. He is also recognized for his being an ideal husband. It was always an unquestioned privilege that a kshatriya, who was a resourceful man, could accommodate several queens. But Rama was committed to one wife. He was firm about that, although Rama’s father served three queens.

 

Some controversy surrounding the incident where Sita, his loyal wife, was suddenly excused from life in Ayodhya’s palace and was sent to live in Valmiki’s monastery while she was pregnant. That has an explanation which requires some detail to explain, as outlined in The Ramayana.

 

I enjoyed the day, primarily because I gave two presentations; one for Toronto and one for Muskoka. I had some technical difficulties during the Toronto Zoom. I don’t know why this happens in my own home.

 

I also encountered a hurdle in going for a walk today. I’m told that if you walk at a park and sit at a bench that you can get fined. Although that ridiculous stipulation has been lifted, I failed to understand that it’s a sin to go out for some fresh air. Restrictions in Ontario are tough and I can understand the need for discipline, but please? Rama, help!

 

One person whom I spoke to today said clearly, “I’m not going to listen to the news. It’s too depressing.”

 

I can understand the frustration. Government, please give people some hope, some brightness to the day. Rama, please help! Government, media, offer the public some help! But no, you won’t encourage spirituality, not in 1 million years.

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

Room at 243, Toronto 

 

Rama

 

Tomorrow is the birthday of Rama and, as told in The Ramayana by Krishna Dharma, we have the following excerpt:

 

Daśaratha, his desire fulfilled, dwelt happily in Ayodhya awaiting the birth of his sons. The Brahmins and kings who had assembled for the sacrifice left for their various abodes, sent on their way with kind words and gifts by the emperor. Four seasons passed. Then, at a time when favorable stars were visible in the heavens, Kaushalya gave birth to a son named Rāma.

 

Though Rāma was the Lord of creation, Kaushalya saw Him simply as her own dear child. She held Him tight to her bosom, overwhelmed with motherly affection and unable to recognize His divinity. Coming out of the delivery room, Kaushalya shone brilliantly with that baby boy, who had eyes like lotus petals.

 

Next, a son named Bharat was born from Kaikeyi; and from Sumitra, who had received two portions of ambrosia, were born twin sons, Lakṣhman and Shatrugna. All three boys resembled celestials and they seemed to blaze with their splendor.

 

Of all the brothers Rāma was especially glorious. His attractive body had the hue of a celestial emerald. Dressed in the finest silk and adorned with golden ornaments, he captured the mind of all who saw him. Rāma was devoted to his father’s service.

 

May the Source be with you! May Rama bless you!

 

0 km

 

Around the Block, Toronto

 

Out Back

 

Whenever there is an event around the corner, I feel compelled to clean up the place. With the dawn of Ramanavami that urge was strong. David and I took to some cleaning up in the back of the building. Of course, this is a space that the public can’t see, so the mind argues, why bother?

 

Retort: “But Krishna can see! Secondly, since we live on the premises we can also see. The question is how long do you bear the clutter and debris which attracts more of the same?”

 

Genuine service is in the sincere effort to make good. So, David and I went at some spring cleaning involving raking leaves, paper and plastic pick-up, discovering garden tools and placing them in their respective places, leveling some soil, re-piling wood and hosing the parking lot.

 

It was fun. It’s a rewarding feeling when all is put in order.

 

We did this for you, Ram and not to mention our guru, Srila Prabhupada, who always encouraged neatness. Those are our motivations.

 

You all know how it works; just when one task is settled and done then a new catastrophe is on the horizon. This is the material world, after all. Rogers, the telephone company that services many a phone, including mine, collapsed for the moment. Before and after the cleanup I just couldn’t get my communications to work. It got solved eventually.

 

Jaya Ram!

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

Room at 243, Toronto

 

Ram’s Coming

 

I had fun on three calls today, the first one originated from Cleveland. It’s a great group; a demographical mix. They wanted to hear about Ram and His contributions to the world. Born in Ayodhya, the state of Uttar Pradesh, in India at the period of Treta Yuga. This is calculated to be over 1 million years ago.

 

He had three brothers, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrugna. Ram’s mother was Kaushalya. The other siblings came from different queens but all were fathered by Dasarath, who was the emperor of Ayodhya and surrounding areas.

 

The actual location of Rama’s birth has been regained after a seizing of it from warrior-like invaders. A new temple is under construction at the spot where Rama bhaktas, devotees, are very excited about it. So am I. Vedic artifacts have been discovered underground which verify that there was a palace with Hindu objects.

 

As I understand it, the next project will be Krishna Janma Bhumi, the birthplace of Krishna, where a mosque had been erected. The Indian government is in support of resurrection of this sacred space.

 

The actual birthday of Rama is this Wednesday and it’s called Ramnaumi.

 

My other two calls for the day were with Vancouver, where I spoke on the same topic of Rama and an interview with two lovely moderators, Natalia and Oksana. The discussion was on the topic of reincarnation and was hosted by the international organization called ALLATRA. It was good.

 

May the Source be with you!

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“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.

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“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.

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The Hare Krishna Community (also known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) joins hands with other religious and civic leaders in condemning the gun killings of eight FedEx employees in Indianapolis on April 15th. Our prayers go out for the victims as well as their families.

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“Although it is my writing, but I know it is not my writing. It is Krsna's writing. So we should read Bhagavatam always.” Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation -- Vrndavana, 4 September 1976

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As fire in the forest immediately burns to ashes an angry snake, so, by the previous order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His disc, the Sudarśana cakra, immediately burnt to ashes the created demon to protect the Lord’s devotee.

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The Hare Krishna Community (also known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) joins hands with other religious and civic leaders in condemning the gun killings of eight FedEx employees in Indianapolis on April 15th. Our prayers go out for the victims as well as their families.  Four out of the eight victims were of […]

The post The Hare Krishna Community of North America Condemns the Indianapolis Shooting – A Statement appeared first on ISKCON News.

avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṃ tatam   vināśam avyayasyāsya na kaścit kartum arhati That which pervades the entire body, know it to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.  – Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2 Verse 17   The elegant Sanskrit words above lifted directly from the pages of one of India’s most […]

The post Rick From the Band Goose: An Interview and My Reflections appeared first on ISKCON News.

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 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.

This presentation was organized by the Alachua EOL Team.  Donations to Rambhoru Dasi are graciously accepted through Karuna Care Education at Karuna Care Education | Karuna Care, LLC (Powered by Donorbox)  or http://www.paypal.me/karunacare

Beautiful recitation of a Bhagavad-Gita verse by wonderful Radhika Priya's daughter, Laxmi Priya

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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 […]

The post Ways to Cope appeared first on ISKCON News.

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 […]

The post Environmental Organization Bhumi Global Launched on Earth Day appeared first on ISKCON News.

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 […]

The post New Vrindaban to Offer Nourishing and Inspiring Mother’s Day Retreat in Safe Environment appeared first on ISKCON News.

Hare Krishna!
Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!



Date: 25th April 2021
Day: Sunday
Time: 11 am to 12 noon
Topic: The Glories of Shyamananda Pandit
Speaker: HG Adi Gadadhar Das


Link to join the class from your desktop or laptop:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9150790510?pwd=Wk5GYXVRMkJmdk84MzZJRXBKYUgwUT09


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.








ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,

Scarborough, Ontario,

Canada, M1V4C7

Website: www.iskconscarborough.org

Email:

iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

scarboroughiskcon@gmail.com

A comedy play put on at the Northeast American Sankirtan Awards in 1980s

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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 Lake Ella (https://youtu.be/y_bt89kEY4c):

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 the evening, 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 a fifty-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):

Deva Sanga Dasi took a video of me dancing to that kirtan as well (https://youtu.be/gc--a8rrlUk):

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):

Ramiya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the morning kirtan in Tallahassee (https://youtu.be/uN3bubVlQ1c):

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 it was 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.’”

-----

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

“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.

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