Websites from the ISKCON Universe
H.H. Jayapataka Swami has tested positive for Covid-19 this evening. At the moment he does not have any symptoms but the doctors and the Seva-Committee are having an emergency meeting to decide on a plan of action for treatment and if it is necessary to move Guru Maharaja to a hospital.
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 24
By Krishna Kripa Das
(December 2020, part two)
New York City
(Sent from Brooklyn on January 1, 2021)
Where I Went and What I Did
I continued staying at Radha Govinda Temple in New York City and assisting Rama Raya Prabhu with his NYC Harinam party, chanting four hours of Hare Krishna in public almost every day through Christmas Eve. I would also attend the Bhakti Center Thursday night harinama in the Lower East Side, and their Sunday harinama, this time at Bryant Park’s Winter Village. Around Christmastime I got sick, so the final week of 2020 there was no public chanting of Hare Krishna for me. I would chant for an hour with my roommate, and we would listen to two hours of either live or recorded Hare Krishna chanting, hoping to someday attain the love of Krishna which is the ultimate goal of the chanting.
I finished my third reading of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and starting over, I share some gems from my reading of the beginning of its First Canto. I also share inspiring quotes from my reading of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, the beautiful section on Lord Caitanya’s teachings to Sanatana Goswami, as well as quotes from Sri Isopanisad. I share a wonderful quote from the Garuda Purana in praise of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which was translated by Gopiparanadhana Prabhu. I share excerpts from the writings of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share a note on a recorded lecture by Niranjana Swami. I share notes on classes at ISKCON NYC by Candrasekhara Swami, and Hansarupa, Rama Raya, Nikunjabihari, and Ananda Kirtan Prabhus.
Thanks to Dina Bandhu Prabhu of New Jersey for his generous donation. Thanks to my mother for her Christmas donation. Thanks to my sister for her Christmas presents. Thanks to Mera Chitra for cleaning my teeth so nicely they stopped hurting. Thanks to Dr. Anant Ram Gupta for his dental consultation.
Itinerary
September 12, 2020–January 12, 2021: NYC Harinam
January 13–April 5: Florida harinamas
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
Before sharing my videos from the second half of December, I want to include a brief documentary a student made from the beginning of the month, which I accidentally omitted from my last journal.
Intrigued by seeing the Hare Krishnas chanting and dancing every time she visited New York, Tori Luecking, who is pursuing a masters degree in journalism at NYU and who comes from a Jewish background, decided to make this brief video about them for her own education and that of others (https://youtu.be/c-3pA-KIb5Q):
Ananda Kirtan Prabhu of Los Angeles chants Hare Krishna in Brooklyn, and a guy does a unique dance (https://youtu.be/HtCU2c79LgU):
Here I chant Hare Krishna in Queens (https://youtu.be/fFfLLWWJQDA):
Because people give me donations, I feel obliged to indicate how I spend them, so I publish my income and expenses every year. Because of the COVID pandemic, the year 2020 was very different from the financial point of view. Usually I go to Europe in the summer, and I travel and do harinama and give lectures in The North of England, Ireland, Paris, Belgium, and a few other places. People contribute by giving donations and each year I get around $5000, 80% of which I spend on travel. Being locked down in Florida, I could not do my usual program, and thus I got very few donations. I decided to apply for unemployment insurance, saying I was self-employed as a monk who traveled and made $5000 a year, but I that I could not do my usual service because of COVID restrictions on travel. The State of New York accepted my application and gave me $4,732, but the Federal government had their own program of giving people additional funds, and thus I accumulated all this money I did not really ask for. I gave a lot more away in donations this year, supporting the Tallahassee temple, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, and different swamis who have inspired me, and I paid my own travel expenses to come to New York City and to do harinama there. Although I spent $2640.86 on travel, several of my flights were canceled, but I can use the credit on future flights.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.23.8, purport:
“Love of God is not an ordinary commodity. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was worshiped by Rupa Gosvami because He distributed love of God, krishna-prema, to everyone. Rupa Gosvami praised Him as maha-vadanya, a greatly munificent personality, because He was freely distributing to everyone love of Godhead, which is achieved by wise men only after many, many births. Krishna-prema, Krishna consciousness, is the highest gift which can be bestowed on anyone whom we presume to love.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 25.20 verse and purport:
“When people came to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to discuss the principles of various scriptures, the Lord defeated their false conclusions and established the predominance of devotional service to the Lord. With logic and argument He very politely changed their minds.”
“Purport: We have been spreading this sankirtana movement in the Western countries, and in our recent tour of European cities like Rome, Geneva, Paris and Frankfurt, many learned Christian scholars, priests, philosophers and yogis came to see us, and by the grace of Krishna they agreed that the Krishna consciousness movement, the bhakti cult, offers the topmost conclusion. Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we are trying to convince everyone that the devotional service of the Lord is enjoined in every scripture. If a person is religious, he must accept the supreme authority of the Lord, become His devotee and try to love Him. This is the real principle of religion. It does not matter whether one is Christian, Muslim or whatever. He simply must accept the sublime position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and render service unto Him. It is not a question of being Christian, Muslim or Hindu. One should be purely religious and freed from all these material designations. In this way one can learn the art of devotional service. This argument appeals to all intelligent men, and consequently the Krishna consciousness movement is gaining ground throughout the world. Due to our solid logic and scientific presentation, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction that Krishna consciousness will spread to every town and village throughout the world is gradually being realized.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.36:
“By manipulating a fire-generating stick, great saints and sages can bring forth the fire lying dormant within wood. In the same way, O Lord, those expert in understanding the Absolute Truth try to see You in everything—even in their own bodies. Yet you remain concealed. You are not to be understood by indirect processes involving mental or physical activities. Because You are self-manifested, only when You see that a person is wholeheartedly engaged in searching for You do You reveal Yourself. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.”
For Sri Isopanisad 8, purport:
“A living being desires something, and the Lord supplies the object of that desire in proportion to one’s qualification. If a man wants to be a high-court judge, he must acquire not only the necessary qualifications but also the consent of the authority who can award the title of high-court judge. The qualifications in themselves are insufficient for one to occupy the post: it must be awarded by some superior authority. Similarly, the Lord awards enjoyment to living entities in proportion to their qualifications, but good qualifications in themselves are not sufficient to enable one to receive awards. The mercy of the Lord is also required.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 23.116, purport:
“Sri Nilakantha confirms the existence of Goloka Vrindavana-dhama by quoting the Rg-samhita (Rg Veda 1.154.6):
ta vam vastuny usmasi gamadhyai
yatra gavo bhuri-sringa ayasah
atraha tad urugayasya krishnah
paramam padam avabhati bhuri
‘We wish to go to Your [Radha’s and Krishna’s] beautiful houses, about which cows with large, excellent horns are wandering. Yet distinctly shining on this earth is that supreme abode of Yours that showers joy on all, O Urugaya [Krishna, who is much praised].’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.29:
“Causeless devotional service is unmotivated by sense enjoyment, perfection or liberation. When one is freed from all these contaminations, he can bring Lord Krishna, who is very funny, under control.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.36:
“The word ‘ittham-bhuta’ is transcendentally exalted because it means ‘full of transcendental bliss.’ Before this transcendental bliss, the bliss derived from merging into the existence of the Absolute [brahmananda] becomes like a piece of straw in comparison.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.38:
“Lord Krishna is so exalted that He is more attractive than anything else and more pleasing than anything else. He is the most sublime abode of bliss. By His own strength, He causes one to forget all other ecstasies.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.39:
“Pure devotional service is so sublime that one can very easily forget the happiness derived from material enjoyment, material liberation and mystic or yogic perfection. Thus the devotee is bound by Krishna’s mercy and His uncommon power and qualities.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.43:
“Krishna has unlimited qualities. The devotees are attracted by His uncommon beauty, mellows and fragrance. Thus they are differently situated in the different transcendental mellows. Therefore Krishna is called all-attractive.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.50:
“‘Dear Krishna, we have simply surrendered ourselves as Your maidservants, for we have seen Your beautiful face decorated with tresses of hair, Your earrings falling upon Your cheeks, the nectar of Your lips, and the beauty of Your smile. Indeed, because we have also been embraced by Your arms, which give us courage, and seen Your chest, which is beautiful and broad, we have surrendered ourselves.’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.128:
“‘In this Dvaraka-dhama, I am being attracted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who is personified spiritual bliss. Simply by seeing Him, I am feeling great happiness. Oh, I have wasted so much time trying to become self-realized through impersonal cultivation. This is a cause for lamentation!’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.134:
“One who has attained his constitutional position by the strength of devotional service attains a transcendental body even in this lifetime. Being attracted by Lord Krishna’s transcendental qualities, he fully engages in service at His lotus feet.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.161:
“When a purified yogi associates with devotees, he engages in Lord Krishna’s devotional service, being attracted by the Lord’s transcendental qualities.
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.181:
“‘Dhriti is the fullness felt due to the absence of misery and the attainment of knowledge of the Supreme Lord and pure love for Him. The lamentation that accrues from not obtaining a goal or from losing something already attained does not affect this completeness.’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.198:
“Devotional service is so strong that when one engages in it, he gradually gives up all material desires and becomes fully attracted to the lotus feet of Krishna. All this is brought about by attraction for the transcendental qualities of the Lord.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.199:
“‘Whenever Krishna is requested to fulfill one’s desire, He undoubtedly does so, but He does not award anything which, after being enjoyed, will cause one to petition Him again and again to fulfill further desires. When one has other desires but engages in the Lord’s service, Krishna forcibly gives one shelter at His lotus feet, where one will forget all other desires.’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.202, purport:
“It is here mentioned that every living entity is atmarama. Temporarily covered by the influence of maya, the living entity serves his senses, which are represented as kama-krodha-lobha-moha-mada-matsarya — lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and envy. In the material condition, all living entities are engaged in sense gratification, but when they associate with devotees who follow the regulative principles, they become purified and awakened to their original consciousness. They then attempt to satisfy the senses of Lord Krishna and engage in His devotional service.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.205, purport:
“Everyone is eligible to become Krishna’s devotee. One simply has to be trained according to the approved process. It is the work of Krishna’s confidential devotees to turn everyone into a Krishna bhakta. If the confidential devotees do not take up the task of elevating everyone to Krishna consciousness, then who will do it? Those who claim to be devotees but do not engage in Krishna’s service to elevate all living creatures to Krishna consciousness are to be considered kanistha-adhikaris (people in the lowest stage of devotional service). When one rises to the second platform of devotional service, his business is to propagate Krishna consciousness all over the world. Those who are active in the Krishna consciousness movement should not remain in the neophyte stage but should rise to the platform of preachers, the second platform of devotional service. Devotional service is so enchanting that even the first-class devotees (uttama-adhikaris) also come down to the second platform to preach and render service to the Lord for the benefit of the whole world.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.261, purport:
“Taking the advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and our spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, one can go to any part of the world and instruct people to become devotees of the Lord by following the regulative principles, worshiping the tulasi plant and continuously chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.262, purport:
“When a person takes to Krishna consciousness, there is no need to care for material necessities. Krishna says, yoga-ksemam vahamy aham: ‘I personally carry all necessities to My devotees.’ Why should one be anxious about the necessities of life? The principle should be that one should not want more than what is absolutely necessary. Narada Muni advises the hunter to accept only what is absolutely necessary for him and his wife. The devotee should always be alert to consume only those things that he absolutely requires and not create unnecessary needs.”
From Sri Isopanisad 2, purport:
“An ordinary man works for his own sense enjoyment, and when this principle of sense enjoyment is extended to include his society, nation or humanity in general, it assumes various attractive names such as altruism, socialism, communism, nationalism and humanitarianism. These ‘isms’ are certainly very attractive forms of karma-bandhana (karmic bondage), but the Vedic instruction of Sri Isopanisad is that if one actually wants to live for any of the above ‘isms,’ he should make them God-centered. There is no harm in becoming a family man, or an altruist, a socialist, a communist, a nationalist or a humanitarian, provided that one executes his activities in relation with isavasya, the God-centered conception.”
From Sri Isopanisad 3, purport:
“We are given this human form of life not to work hard like asses, swine and dogs but to attain the highest perfection of life. If we do not care for self-realization, the laws of nature force us to work very hard, even though we may not want to do so.”
From Sri Isopanisad 4, purport:
“All power is obtained from the Lord; therefore each particular power must be utilized to execute the will of the Lord and not otherwise. The Lord can be known by one who has adopted such a submissive service attitude. Perfect knowledge means knowing the Lord in all His features, knowing His potencies and knowing how these potencies work by His will. These matters are described by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gita, the essence of all the Upanisads.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.3, purport:
“Every living entity, beginning from Brahma, the first-born living being within the material world, down to the insignificant ant, desires to relish some sort of taste derived from sense perceptions. These sensual pleasures are technically called rasas. Such rasas are of different varieties. In the revealed scriptures the following twelve varieties of rasas are enumerated: (1) raudra (anger), (2) adbhuta (wonder), (3) srngara (conjugal love), (4) hasya (comedy), (5) vira (chivalry), (6) daya (mercy), (7) dasya (servitorship), (8) sakhya (fraternity), (9) bhayanaka (horror), (10) bibhatsa (shock), (11) santa (neutrality), (12) vatsalya (parenthood).
“The sum total of all these rasas is called affection or love. Primarily, such signs of love are manifested in adoration, service, friendship, parental affection, and conjugal love. And when these five are absent, love is present indirectly in anger, wonder, comedy, chivalry, fear, shock and so on.”
“The rasas are exchanged between members of the same species. But as far as the spirit souls are concerned, they are one qualitatively with the Supreme Lord. Therefore, the rasas were originally exchanged between the spiritual living being and the spiritual whole, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The spiritual exchange or rasa is fully exhibited in spiritual existence between living beings and the Supreme Lord.
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is therefore described in the sruti-mantras, Vedic hymns, as ‘the fountainhead of all rasas.’ When one associates with the Supreme Lord and exchanges one’s constitutional rasa with the Lord, then the living being is actually happy.”
“Therefore, one who attains full knowledge of these different rasas, which are the basic principles of activities, can understand the false representations of the original rasas which are reflected in the material world. The learned scholar seeks to relish the real rasa in the spiritual form. In the beginning he desires to become one with the Supreme. Thus, less intelligent transcendentalists cannot go beyond this conception of becoming one with the spirit whole, without knowing of the different rasas.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.4 purport:
“The modern materialistic society is detached from its relation to the Supreme Lord. And all its plans which are being made by atheistic leaders are sure to be baffled at every step. Yet they do not wake up to this.
“In this age, the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord is the prescribed method for waking up. The ways and means are most scientifically presented by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and intelligent persons may take advantage of His teachings in order to bring about real peace and prosperity. Srimad-Bhagavatam is also presented for the same purpose, and this will be explained more specifically later in the text.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.5, purport:
“Those who listen to the Bhagavatam may put questions to the speaker in order to elicit the clear meaning, but this should not be done in a challenging spirit. One must submit questions with a great regard for the speaker and the subject matter. This is also the way recommended in Bhagavad-gita. One must learn the transcendental subject by submissive aural reception from the right sources.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.9, purport:
“The acaryas and gosvamis are always absorbed in thought of the well-being of the general public, especially their spiritual well-being. Spiritual well-being is automatically followed by material well-being. The acaryas therefore give directions in spiritual well-being for people in general.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.11, purport:
“Atma, or self, is distinguished from matter and material elements. It is spiritual in constitution, and thus it is never satisfied by any amount of material planning. All scriptures and spiritual instructions are meant for the satisfaction of this self, or atma.”
From a morning walk on February 26, 1976, Mayapur:
“As soon as we manufacture something, that is sense gratification. ‘I want to fulfill my desire. That’s all.’ That is sense gratification.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From My Purpose at Isola di Albarella:
“Then we think of Govinda dasi crying and pleading to Prabhupada in the airport in Santa Fe, ‘Prabhupada, you know Krishna. What does Krishna want us to do?’
Prabhupada replied, ‘Krishna wants to know what you want to do (to serve Him).’
You have to think and come up with your own sacrificial offering of love and service. Offer it with all humility, the best you can. And be confident that Krishna is accepting it, although the offering is defective in many ways.”
From Imperfection, Purity Will Come About: Writing Sessions While Reading Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Saranagati:
“‘Now in old age, deprived of all means of success, humbled and poor, Bhaktivinoda submits his tale of grief at the feet of the Supreme Lord.’ The word ‘humbled’ in this verse is significant. He is forced to his knees. It’s not a humility that he has arrived at by natural thought. He hasn’t voluntarily decided that humility is useful and should be cultured. Old age has taken away the illusion which fostered pride and false ego and possessions. This kind of humility can be as genuine as any other.”
“We also know from the Bhagavatam verse, ‘yasyaham anugrhnami’ that it is Lord Krishna who humbles the devotee by crushing his material life. The humbled man is humble. He grieves not simply because he has lost his money, beauty and sexual power but because he has been pursuing illusion of material happiness. He weeps. He thinks he has wasted his life and not worshiped the all-attractive Supreme Lord.
“This is true of me to some degree, but I cannot see it. Externally I wear saffron, carry my danda, follow the four rules and worship Govinda by the topmost religious process, harinama sankirtana, but internally I am not a Vaishnava. I live a subtle version of a life of illusion. I appear to be religiously successful. When I confess my wrongs, I don’t feel bad. I don’t even see what damage I did to myself in this lifetime before I met Srila Prabhupada. He saved me, but I’m still unredeemed in the core of my heart. I’m satisfied by the relief I’ve gained through Prabhupada’s association and pleased with the respect I’ve received among devotees, that I don’t feel myself a sinner. I have a tiny intimation that things may not really be as I see them, but how can I change my vision?
“I try to skip over remorse and go straight to the nectar of remembering Krishna’s pastimes. Who wants to dwell in the cesspool of bad thoughts and self-recrimination? Rise up!”
From Every Day, Just Write, Volume 1: Welcome Home to the One Big Book of Your Life :
“We draw a blank sometimes in trying to understand where to go or how to move forward in spiritual life. We hear from sastra, but it doesn’t move us. When we get up to that mood, it creates an emotion in which we question our entire identity and purpose as we have been living them out. At the same time, it’s not that we’re racing to make a change or bring relief. We have to face our lack of taste at certain times during the day because they seem to be almost physical cycles.
“I can just see the lake through my window, and it’s a perfect mirror today. Still cold, though. The lake will change. Will we? How long will we sit and measure time if we are forced to pray?
“Those words—bored, dry, empty. We watch ourselves going through the motions and wonder why we don’t chant more. It’s something to do. We’d feel bored, empty and dry no matter what we were doing sometimes. But that shouldn’t stop our attempt to increase our surrender to hari-nama. Chanting will take us where we want to go. And I know I’ve said this before, but I feel the same way about my writing service. The more I write, the more I will be able to forge ahead in the way I want to go. Simply chant (and for me, write). It doesn’t have to be pretentious. (There’s that word again.)”
From Memories in the Service of Krishna:
“Many well intentioned persons cannot figure out that it is wrong to eat meat and to indulge in sex pleasure outside of procreation. They can’t understand God’s plan. They think they have a better plan, more liberal than Krishna’s. They don’t know right from wrong. But in Krishna consciousness we have perfect codes and guides. This is not religious sentiment or speculation, but a phenomenal science. You can see it for yourself. If you act in the mode of ignorance, you get the result of madness; if you act in the mode of passion, you get distress; and if you act in the mode of goodness, you become purified. It works even in terms of hygiene and mental health. It also works in spiritual life, since the results of bhakti-yoga can be directly perceived.
“Whoever is without this Vedic direction is groping. Despite the best intentions, a person may commit serious mistakes, such as the mistake of thinking that animals have no soul and so there is no reaction for killing them. Or someone may think that after reading enough books, he can become a teacher and advocate that one can do whatever he likes and attain perfection. As a result of such teachings, a self-appointed guru paves his way to the worlds of darkness.”
“Please free me from the wrong
of complacence,
as if simply being ‘right’
were enough.”
From Niti-sastras: Sayings of Canakya and Hitopadesa as Quoted By Srila Prabhupada:
“Srila Prabhupada was fond of recalling the time when he was reprimanded by his spiritual master. ‘So far we are concerned, when our spiritual master used to chastise, we took it as a blessing.’
“Prabhupada’s disciples wanted to please him because we loved him. He attracted us to Krishna. He offered us a life of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. He fed us delicious prasadam. He let us live in his temples and gave us the responsibility for the buildings’ upkeep. He gave us japa and kirtana. We were obliged to him. We were willing to accept his strictures as the price for living a life we loved with the person we loved.
“We also had faith that he was a pure devotee who could give us Krishna. That faith took some of the sentimentality out of our following. Although in one sense, it’s a mystery how Prabhupada could have imposed discipline on so many young people, it was really our sense of obligation to him that made it possible. By fulfilling our obligation to him, we came to realize that the discipline was for our own good.
“I personally liked his strictness. I know others did too. It made us feel safe and righteous, not in an arrogant way, but in a religious way. Prabhupada’s discipline gave us the strength to avoid outside influences, to follow the regulative principles and chant sixteen rounds, to get up early and to talk about Krishna instead of something mundane. Within that discipline, which we soon learned to impose upon ourselves, Prabhupada developed a personal relationship as guru which was as real and familial and loving as any other relationship. We gave up everything—our girlfriends or boyfriends, our buddies, and often our families—to follow that one relationship.”
From Last Days of the Year:
“Looking forward to the new year. It is unsullied and waiting to be used. Please let us use it in devotional service to Lord Krishna and His pure devotee. Let it be a good year, not just for me, but for the whole Krishna consciousness movement. Let me have good humor toward the hype and funniness of ISKCON. Let me pay dues. And what if in this year I get severely tested? That’s the expression Prabhupada used in the Bali Maharaja chapters. He said Bali Maharaja was being severely tested by Krishna. So that happens. You go along free and easy and then something real hard and bad happens, like a car accident. It happened to Gobhatta in Santo Domingo. And then you are tested or examined.
“Krishna wants to see how you do under pressure. That is a difficult time, and you can’t do the things you normally like to do—sit and eat and be at leisure. But it changes you for the better. So the year will have some tests, and don’t be afraid of that. But build your will now in these last days of the year for going on writing and going on hearing about Krishna (as Arca-vigraha dasi loved to do in her last days, hear about Krishna).
“Pray Lord, be with me in the days to come. Give me strength for my usual little trials and bigger ones as may be ordained. I have not reached the goal of pure service yet. I try and try, but I can’t control the mind or taste the holy names. Krishna is not yet the center of my life. So how much longer do I have? How many more times can I stand at the end of a year and look forward to a new one? You had better . . . I tell myself.”
From Entering the Life of Prayer:
“This headache is a tiny thing: what about the pain when you have to leave the body? Does that mean you are not going to pray?”
From My Purpose at Isola di Albarella:
“Please guide me as the lights
fade and my steps falter.
Please show me the way.”
From “Vrindavan” in The Wild Garden:
“You are so distracted you catch only a fraction of it every day. That’s why there is value in the accumulated experience of attending the programs daily. Even a little devotional service will never suffer loss or diminution, and it can save you from the greatest fear.”
From My Purpose at Isola di Albarella:
“The living entity is the residence of the Supersoul. If you kill any living creature, even a plant, you dissatisfy the Supersoul. So, I’ll behave around mosquitoes, up to a point.”
“I’m a devotee, devotee, devotee
of pure devotee, made it
up the ranks to titular
titles, names and positions.
Now gliding down, will I
reach virtues of
honesty, humility, grace?
“I’m a devotee, true, true,
don’t forget, pick any year
from 1966 to 1996 and I’ll tell
you an ISKCON story – like
1976 during the height of anti-cult
scare I went to St. Louis academic
conversation and collected petition names
of profs and fed them in their
hotel. That’s just the bare bones
of it. I didn’t get headaches in
those days, all of us ever-
young and not even able to
fully appreciate it.
“I’m a devotee, signing my letters,
signing off, sounding depressed,
feeling the pressure in my skull,
white man, brown man poem,
American gone to India many visits,
been there
and back, ISKCON. Just ask
me. Please
|let me tell you (in the
brahma-muhurta hour after nine japa rounds,
before any headache) let me tell you
something nice about Krishna.
I can do it
and you can record it.”
Candrasekhara Swami:
Everything is connected to the virat-rupa, the universal form of the Lord.
In mathematics, infinity plus infinity equals infinity and infinity minus infinity equals infinity. This reminds us of the invocation to Isopanisad.
You can put everything in the universe in a pile, and Krishna is more than that because all that is within Krishna.
One of the first ingredients Brahma creates is ignorance. The material world could not exist without ignorance. Ignorance is not a mistake, but an important ingredient of the material world.
Before you create the beings you have to create the five kinds of ignorance which cover the beings.
The five kinds of ignorance are envy, the idea that everything ends at death, lack of knowledge of the soul, the conviction that one is the body, and absorption in enjoying the material world through sense gratification.
Things happen in a way we never see things happen in this world, especially at the time of creation. This is because they are Krishna’s energies that are acting, and they do not have to follow the laws of physics at that point. Later on things are more methodical.
We are very proud of our iron, electronic, gasoline-based technology, but there was and there still is another technology in India.
Niranjana Swami:
For Gopa Kumar awe and reverence is not sustainable.
Gopiparanadhana Prabhu:
From a Back to Godhead article “Serving the Words of His Predecessors: A Look at One of Srila Prabhupada’s Purports to the Srimad-Bhagavatam Reveals His Loyalty to the Vaishnava Tradition of Scriptural Commentary”:
“This [Purana] is perfectly complete. It is the purport of the Vedanta-sutra, establishes the meaning of the Mahabharata, is a commentary on Gayatri, and completes the message of the Vedas. It is the Sama Veda among the Puranas, spoken directly by an incarnation of God [Vyasa]. This work, consisting of twelve cantos, hundreds of chapters, and eighteen thousand verses, is called Srimad-Bhagavatam.” (Garuda Purana)
Hansarupa Prabhu:
In this society from the beginning of life people are taught that sex life is the highest pleasure in life and should be attained at all costs. Of course, this is completely opposite to the Vedic understanding.
Having sex without any commitment is like animal life.
People praise the idea of staying with one’s mate when they see it in the animal species.
When Krishna is not in the center, there is no ultimate commitment.
We have seen that those who have been brahmacari for many years are stronger grhasthas.
Without any attempt to control the senses, it is hard to advance spiritually. Thus the ashrams are necessary to assist with that.
On his last visit to New York City, Srila Prabhupada said we had enough temples, and now we should open reading rooms and restaurants. He got the idea of reading rooms from seeing an impressive Christian Science reading room in New York City.
Srila Prabhupada said knowledge is to understand spirit and matter and intelligence is to see things in their proper perspective.
You may be in this ashram or that ashram, but internally you must maintain your determination to make this life your last life in the material world.
In 55th Street the restaurant prasadam was Radha Govinda’s raja-bhoga offering. In the two and a half years I managed Govinda’s, I saw many people become devotees from eating it.
For brahmacaris it is very important to associate with brahmacari friends to maintain one’s determination.
Srila Prabhupada said you cannot become a grhastha unless you can increase your service. You are getting more facility and thus you must increase your service.
As a detective for years, I learned the bread and butter of the profession is husbands or wives who want to confirm their suspicion that their spouse is cheating on them.
The austerities one experiences in the brahmacari ashram are building up your bank account so in difficult times you can endure.
Srila Prabhupada said the temple managers should be grhasthas. They should think of themselves as caretakers of Krishna’s building.
It is important to accept the order of the spiritual master as the greatest mercy.
Living in the ashram is meant to develop our faith and conviction.
The householder cannot be all about my household but must make time to execute the mission of the spiritual master.
One person with commitment, dedication, and determination can do so much.
If you are still attached to material enjoyment after twenty-five years of grhastha life, you have not learned the lesson.
Rama Raya Prabhu:
One should remember throughout one’s life that material desires result in future material bodies.
Srila Prabhupada explains that living in the brahmacari ashram is meant to train the candidate to understand that the material world is not his home.
We will become worn out by the material energy if we are not sufficiently advanced.
Krishna is not so available where materialistic people are engaged in their materialistic activities. Krishna says He is to be found where His devotees are always chanting His glories.
The Lord’s plan is best for everyone in all circumstances, and the advanced devotees understand that.
There is a story that a scentless flower decided she was so useless the best thing for her would be to be stepped on by Krishna. She fell down on the ground just as Krishna was about to step. Krishna, being compassionate, immediately stopped, reached down, picked up the flower, and put it in His crown.
I found that people would come up to me impressed by the attractive sound of the kirtan when from the aesthetic point of view it was not that great. That is due to their sincere spiritual aspiration.
Srila Prabhupada said the way to control the mind is to always consider the ultimate good.
Nikunjabihari Prabhu:
The use of the word “tatah” implies there is something that happened previously.
“Purusa” comes from the word “puri” which means city. The body is compared to a city of nine gates. “Purusa” is he who lives in the body, that is the soul and the Supersoul.
Kumbhakarna performed austerities to obtain Indra-asana, the throne of Indra, the king of heaven. The priests chanted the mantra incorrectly as nidra-asana and thus Kumbhakarna attained a bed and was disappointed.
Narada was created from the intelligence of Lord Brahma.
Ananda Kirtan Prabhu:
Sometimes we are not willing to accept our own karma, but Vasudeva Datta was willing to accept all the sinful reactions of all the living entities in the universe.
Srila Prabhupada once said less than 10% of souls from the spiritual world come to the material world.
This is a historic time in the entire age of Lord Brahma in that Srila Prabhupada came to the land of the mlecchas and gave them Krishna consciousness.
The best offering to the spiritual master is to offer him disciples.
Srila Prabhupada said that Lord Caitanya’s prediction that His name will be chanted in every town and village means in every town and village all over the world there are people waiting to be delivered.
Srila Prabhupada told Svarupa Damodara that by defeating the atheistic scientists he would realize his svarupa [eternal spiritual identity] in Vraja.
Srila Prabhupada told Tamal Krishna Goswami, “If you give this one lifetime to Lord Caitanya, He will personally bring you back to Godhead.”
Srila Prabhupada says when a living entity leaves the spiritual world to come to this world he first takes birth as Lord Brahma. This makes sense because the reason we leave is a desire to imitate the Lord as the supreme controller and supreme enjoyer.
Srimad-Bhagavatam is the real door to perception because it gives us so much higher knowledge.
I spoke with one Srila Prabhupada disciple in Los Angeles, Punyatma Prabhu, on several occasions. He disappeared on Nityananda Trayodasi. He would always say things like “Prabhu, this is it. This is the spiritual world. You made it.” He would point to the deities, and say, “They are Radha and Krishna Themselves.” He would talk about how the members of the disciplic succession like Narada and Brahma are our family members.
As a child uses money given by the mother to buy her Christmas gifts, the devotees use parts of the universal form of the Lord to perform sacrifice for the pleasure of the Lord.
You cannot force yourself into the pastimes of Goloka Vrindavan. You have to be invited. By inviting others to practice Krishna consciousness we become qualified to be invited to that spiritual realm.
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The quote below by Lord Caitanya’s guru, Sri Isvara Puri Goswami, explains Lord Caitanya’s mission, which is the mission that Srila Prabhupada is giving us the opportunity to participate in. Lord Caitanya reveals it in a conversation with the impersonalist philosophers who wonder why He spends His time in chanting and dancing and not studying Vedanta like a proper sannyasi.
naca, gao, bhakta-sange kara sankirtana
“‘My dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing sankirtana in association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value of chanting krishna-nama [the name of Krishna] for by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.’” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 7.92)
A hard, hard year has just ended, Yet many normal things remain suspended Leaving us with problems far greater than we’d conceived Exposing our existence to be frailer than we’d believed There’s light at the end of the tunnel, we are told. Yet the end seems too far away for us to behold. […]
The post A New Year is Here – Are We Here? appeared first on ISKCON News.
A hard, hard year has just ended / Yet many normal things remain suspended / Leaving us with problems far greater than we’d conceived / Exposing our existence to be frailer than we’d believed
Devotees in the Czech Republic read the entireity of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is online during a nonstop 27-hour live broadcast on the sacred occasion of Gita Jayanti, December 25th. The idea was originated by Loka Saranga Das and moderated by Madhu Pandit Das, while Priya-kirti Das advertised the livestream. The reading, conducted via […]
The post Czech Devotees Livestream Reading of Entire Bhagavad-gita For Gita Jayanti appeared first on ISKCON News.
Devotees in the Czech Republic read the entirety of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is online during a nonstop 27-hour live broadcast on the sacred occasion of Gita Jayanti, December 25th.
By Mahavaraha Das We would like to inform the ISKCON community that HH Jayapataka Swami has been tested positive for Covid-19 this evening. At the moment Maharaja does not have any symptoms but the doctors and the Seva-Committee are having an emergency meeting to decide on a plan of action for treatment and if it is necessary to move Maharaja to a hospital. We kindly request all disciples and well-wishers to pray to Lord Krsna for the well being of Maharaja and many of his servants who also tested positive. Continue reading "HH Jayapataka Swami has been tested positive for Covid-19 this evening
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Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the guru of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, appeared in Sri Ksetra Dhama.(Jagannatha Puri) on 6 February 1874 as the son of Srila Sacidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
In his childhood he quickly mastered the Vedas, memorised the Bhagavad-gita, and relished his father’s philosophical works. He became known as “The Living Encyclopedia” for his vast knowledge.
He preached convincingly against casteism and philosophical deviations from Gaudiya Vaisnavism. He tried to unite the four Vaisnava sampradayas by publishing their teachings. Srila Sarasvati Thakura earned the title Nrisimha Guru for his fearless and powerful delivery of the Vaisnava siddhanta. Mayavadis would cross the street to avoid confronting the “lion guru.”
Besides being a courageous preacher, he was ornamented with all divine qualities and full of ecstatic love of God. He established 64 Gaudiya Math temples in India and centers in Burma, England, Germany.
Srila Sarasvati Thakura excavated Lord Caitanya’s appearance place at the Yogapitha in Sridhama Mayapur and built a beautiful temple there.
Ultimately, when Srila Sarasvati Thakura reached the age of sixty-two, his health declined, and he made statements indicating that he would soon be leaving. In late October 1936 he traveled to Puri, a holy place that was also warmer than Calcutta.
After midnight on December 31, Srila Sarasvati Thakura left this world. His disciples took his body to Mayapur and established his samadhi there.
He was a monumental personality. News of his departure was broadcast on All-India Radio, and an official day of mourning was observed in Bengal. The Corporation of Calcutta held a special meeting in tribute to his memory and issued a resolution expressing its members’ deep sorrow.
In Radha-Govinda’s eternal pastimes in Goloka Vrndavana, Srila Sarasvati Thakura serves as Nayana-mani manjari. His pushpa samadhis are at Radha-kunda and Radha Damodara.
A new year is here — are we here?
A hard, hard year has just ended,
Yet many normal things remain suspended
Leaving us with problems far greater than we’d conceived
Exposing our existence to be frailer than we’d believed
There’s light at the end of the tunnel, we are told.
Yet the end seems too far away for us to behold.
Life is a coin, whose one side is insecurity
Flip the coin, and there lies opportunity.
The opportunity to be here in the present
Leaving behind the past that we resent
Fearing not the future that we can’t see
Knowing we are where we’re meant to be.
Our Lord is forever within us, in our solitary heart
Raising beautiful flowers in broken soil is his art
What we see as broken, he sees as a work in progress
His glorious plan for us goes on, even through life’s duress
The world is the soil where our soul blossoms brighter
As he makes our path clearer, mind wiser, heart lighter
Seek first to do what is right in his eyes
Not to make the world right in our eyes
Let’s be here with him, open to improvement
And he will enrich us through life’s every movement
Resolve to be with the One who is omnipresent
And every moment will convey his loving present
Video:
The post A New Year Is Here – Are We Here? – A poem with New Year wishes by Chaitanya Charan appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
By Vijaya Dasa Sydney, totally fired up in November, did 6,467 book points, almost doubling the second-place temple in the Medium Temple category. Chattagram, Bangladesh also did really huge: 38,351 book points, making it the No. 1 temple in the Small Temple category and the No. 2 temple worldwide, just behind New Delhi, with 38,761 book points. New Delhi is in a category of its own. All glories to Gopal Krsna Goswami and the team of enthusiastic book distributors! Moscow Gita-Nagari also got Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy by doing 14,548 book points. Continue reading "WSN November 2020 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
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By Sankirtana Das 2020. It’s been a rough year. Brutal for some. Revelatory for others, especially that the leaders in the Kali-yuga (the age of quarrel and hypocrisy) are pretend leaders. There is no proper training on how to be a leader. This pretending has been going on for quite some time, and now it has only become more evident. In Mahabharata, the teacher, Dronacarya, sent the two prime candidates for leadership into the city to perform a task. Duryodhana is sent to find someone better than himself. Yudhisthira is sent to find someone lower than himself. Duryodhana examines the people he encounters, but he can’t find anyone better. He thinks he himself is the best and greatest. Yudhisthira, on the other hand, sees the value in the various members of society: the brahmanas, the tenders of the cows, the merchants and workers. He concludes that he himself is the lowest. Continue reading "2021 – A Return to Kindness
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By Kalakantha Das “The soldiers in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must always possess physical strength, enthusiasm and sensual power. To keep themselves fit, they must therefore place themselves in a normal condition of life. What constitutes a normal condition will not be the same for everyone, and therefore there are divisions of varṇāśrama—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa.” (SB. 8.2.30, purport) Continue reading "Attaining A “Normal Condition of Life”
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Rosedale, Toronto
Shaking Hands With Many
Every time I step out the door it becomes like a handshake with the elements. It is the greeting of friends. After a day of interaction with comrades inside the ashram, and on the phone with the members of our spiritual family, I found further fortune in my connecting with nature’s buddies. Mr. Air, Mr. Raindrop, Mr. Snow, Mr. Ether and Mr. Breeze were all together. It was night and in the course of ambling along I eventually saw Mr. Moon peaking as well. Oh, he was tall; up high.
The sound was extraordinary. Because of the thaw all that was hard from frost was now dripping and dropping and trickling. It was a concert of sound. Very sweet! Nature was on no lock-down. The beauty of it all was a human silence. Except for a small group coming out of a home you couldn’t help but sense the tranquility.
It is hard to imagine us not meeting at Old City Hall this year, where we are accustomed to beating mallets on drums and pushing mantras with out lungs after the countdown for the New Year. Anyway, we are booked up for an hour’s slot of kirtan at 7:30 a.m. EST, nighttime in India, which is closer to the actual change of calendar.
May the wind blow that page!
I also wanted to offer a reminder that we are broadcasting our film, “Rolling the Dice” via YouTube, 4:45 p.m. EST. I pray for impeccable technological output. In fact, I’ve prayed for a lot of things this evening. Especially for the diminishment of confusion that has arrived from the Covid-19 virus. May bewilderment be replaced by clarity with the help of mantra.
May the source be with you!
3 km
A talk by Giriraj Swami on January 2, 2010, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England.
We have gathered at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada in this wonderful temple of Sri Sri Radha-Gokulananda, Sri Sita-Rama-Laksmana-Hanuman, and Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, in the presence of His Holiness Radhanath Swami and so many exalted devotees. We are entering the New Year, 2010, and the next decade, and on such occasions we take stock of what and how we did in the previous year and what we want to do in the next. Studies have shown, and probably many of us have experienced, that most New Year’s resolutions are broken during the first week. Still more are broken in the first month, and almost all are broken within the first three months.
Why does this happen, and what can we do? Man is a creature of habit. We have developed certain habits over the past however many years—perhaps lifetimes—and to change our habits requires sincere desire and determined effort. Another study has shown that when a person is trying to develop a new habit, he has to consistently, diligently strive to adhere to the new practice for at least thirty days. After thirty days, he is able to follow more easily but can be derailed by stress or changes in his life. After ninety days it becomes just as easy to follow the new habit as not, and after a year it is easier to follow the new habit than not.
So, what new habits do we want to develop in the next year? That depends on our goals. When I visited Pune some years ago, the Malhotra brothers arranged a program for me in the main hall, and at the end of the talk the general in charge of the Southern Command of the Indian Army asked an important question: “What is the aim for which we are born—what is the aim of our life? It certainly could not be to amass some wealth and ultimately die, or to make a building and then die, or to marry and procreate and then die. For our minor activities in life we have the aims set first, before we get going to achieve them. When we train our people in the army, whatever they have to do we first tell them what the aim is. And once they are clear what the aim is, then we decide what means to adopt to achieve it. And invariably we don’t go wrong. Now here it is—to my mind, my whole life is going to waste; I am still not very clear what is the aim of my life. Would you kindly enlighten us about the aim of life so that thereafter we can be very, very clear as to what we have got to do to achieve that aim?”
Srila Sanatana Gosvami asked the same question of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:
“‘ke ami’, ‘kene amaya jare tapa-traya’
iha nahi jani—kemane hita haya
“‘sadhya’-‘sadhana’-tattva puchite na jani
krpa kari’ saba tattva kaha ta’ apani”
“Who am I? Why do the threefold miseries always give me trouble? If I do not know this, how can I be benefited? Actually I do not know how to inquire about the goal of life and the process for obtaining it. Being merciful upon me, please explain all these truths.” (Cc Madhya 20.102–103) He said, “In ordinary dealings people consider me to be a learned scholar (pandita), but I am so learned I do not even know who I am. So please tell me who I am and what is the goal of life.” And Lord Chaitanya replied, “By constitution you are an eternal servant of Krishna —jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’—and the goal of life is to be reinstated in your constitutional position as His loving servant.”
If someone understands that he is not the body, that he is the soul within the body, and that his real relationship is not with the body or things related to the body but that, as he is a spiritual soul, his real relationship is with the Supreme Soul, then he can adopt the methods that are suitable for reviving his eternal relationship with the Supreme Soul, Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada formed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to give people this knowledge: We are not the body but the soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Soul. Our real relationship is with Him, and our duty and goal in life is to revive our eternal loving relationship with Him, with God, Krishna. The whole process of sadhana-bhakti is to help us to awaken that eternal love for God.
nitya-siddha krsna-prema ‘sadhya’ kabhu naya
sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya
“Pure love for Krsna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.” (Cc Madhya 22.107) That love is eternally there within the heart, just as fire is within a match. You just have to strike the match and the fire will come out. Similarly, we just have to strike the heart by chanting and hearing about Krishna and that love will come out.
The main process is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. We are in a Hare Krishna temple. On the way, we saw the sign, “Hare Krishna Temple,” with an arrow. Somehow, we are part of the Hare Krishna movement, and we are known as Hare Krishna people. We are meant to chant Hare Krishna. And by our chanting Hare Krishna, the mirror of our minds can be cleansed (ceto-darpana-marjanam), the blazing fire of material existence extinguished (bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam), and ultimately our dormant love for Krishna awakened. Param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam.
But there is also the matter of quality to the chanting. Queen Kunti prays to Lord Krishna,
janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhir
edhamana-madah puman
naivarhaty abhidhatum vai
tvam akincana-gocaram
“Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education, and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.” (SB 1.8.26) People on the path of material advancement want good birth (janma), material opulence (aisvarya), material learning (sruta), and physical beauty (sribhih). They cannot feelingly approach the Lord. And when we chant the holy name, we are trying to approach the Lord. The holy name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are the same.
nama cintamanih krsnas
caitanya-rasa-vigraha
purnah suddho nitya-mukto
’bhinnatvan nama-naminoh
“The holy name of Krsna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krsna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krsna’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krsna Himself. Since Krsna’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krsna’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krsna and Krsna Himself are identical.” (Padma Purana, Cc Madhya 17.133)
Commenting on Kunti’s prayer, Srila Prabhupada cites scripture, that by uttering the holy name of the Lord even once, one can destroy the reactions to more sins than one is able to commit. “Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually, the Lord’s holy name has such powerful potency.” We are all suffering because of sinful reactions. If we were freed from sinful reactions, we would no longer have to suffer. As Prabhupada explains, however, “there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere.” Lord Krishna is akincana-gocaram, easily approached by those who are akincana, who have no material possessions.
Now, these statements may give rise to some questions. This word akincana means “without material possessions,” or “without a sense of false proprietorship.” Of course, there should be no duplicity in the matter, but this principle allows us, for example, to have an opulent temple here. We have a beautiful property, a large estate, but as long as we remember, “This is Radha-Gokulananda’s property. This is Srila Prabhupada’s property. It is not my property; I am here only to serve them and use this property in their service,” we can be free from false proprietorship, false prestige, and false designations. And in that mood we can chant the holy name with feeling, approach Krishna with feeling. Otherwise, there is a subtle rivalry going on between us and Krishna. We come into the material world out of envy of Krishna. In effect, we want to take His position. We want to be the proprietor and controller and enjoyer (isvaro ’ham aham bhogi), which is actually Krishna’s position. While chanting Krishna’s name, we may be thinking, “Why should I be chanting Krishna’s name? People should be chanting my name. ‘Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya!’ ” That is our sorry plight. We don’t want Krishna to be the center; we want to be the center. So we chant the holy name with ourselves in the foreground and the holy name in the background. That is our tendency as conditioned souls.
The proper process is to chant with attention. We let go of all those thoughts about ourselves—“I” and “me” and “mine”—and focus on the holy name, on Krishna. Those other thoughts are irrelevant. They may come up, but we don’t pay them heed. We just focus our attention on Krishna, on the sound of Krishna’s holy name. And when we do that, we can actually feel His presence. We can appreciate that the holy name is Krishna Himself reciprocating with our sincere desires to serve Him.
This practice requires effort. We are habituated to think that we are the center of existence and that everything revolves around us. We see everything in terms of us, not in terms of Krishna. But our habit can change. There is a saying that up to the age of twenty, you think that people are looking at you and like you, from the age of twenty to forty that they are looking at you and don’t like you, and then, after the age of forty, that they aren’t even looking at you or thinking of you. So, we have to reform this habit of thinking that we’re the center, always thinking about ourselves and that everyone else is thinking about us, too. We must know that Krishna is the center.
Once, when I was chanting my rounds at the beach in Carpinteria, I was sitting alone, chanting with attention—making a serious effort to be attentive—somehow thinking of different people who were close to me, and feeling how much they were suffering. I was actually feeling their pain. As I continued chanting, that sense of feeling for others expanded to people who weren’t so close to me, and then to the people on the beach, whom I didn’t even know. There weren’t many, but there were a few people surfing. And I was really feeling their suffering. Srila Prabhupada had joked that the surfers were actually “sufferers,” but I was actually feeling their suffering.
Then the feeling went beyond the human beings. There were pelicans at the beach. They fly very high and then suddenly zoom down and crash into the water. I understood that they were hovering high in the sky looking for prey and that when they saw some potential food they came straight down and crashed into the water. Ordinarily I would think, “Oh, how picturesque—flying so high and then diving into the ocean.” But now I was feeling, “They are in anxiety. They are hungry. They need food and are searching—‘Where is food? Where is food?’ And when they see something and dive straight down and crash into the water, although they are birds, still, coming from that height at that velocity and crashing into the water is bound to be a shock to their system. And they don’t know whether they will actually get that fish or not. And whatever happens, after they come down they go up and start the same process all over again. They are never satisfied—‘Now we can just relax.’” I was thinking, “What a life, full of anxiety, full of pain!”—and feeling it.
And the dolphins and the sandpipers and the seagulls—the same thing. I was feeling so much suffering on all sides. It was as if the illusion of material happiness and charm had been lifted, and this whole beautiful panorama became a horrible scene of intense suffering, which I was feeling. And I was just chanting, chanting, chanting. Then a little lady bug landed on my hand. Growing up, I thought that lady bugs were auspicious and cute. But this time I looked at the lady bug and thought, “This lady bug is suffering”—and, again, feeling it. Looking at the lady bug, I thought, “I don’t think I can take much more of this. I am feeling too much suffering; I am going to have a breakdown.” I wanted to help these creatures. I was feeling their suffering and desiring to help them, but it was getting to be too much.
Then I had the type of breakthrough that one gets when one chants with attention, with the effort to chant with attention. Suddenly I felt as if Krishna were speaking to me, revealing something to me. I got the intuition, or inspiration, in my heart that Krishna loves these creatures more than I do, more than I can even imagine. He loves them so much that He accompanies them as the Supersoul in whatever species of life they enter. And not only does He love them more than I can ever imagine, but He can actually do something to help them. I may feel for them and want to help them, but what is my capacity to help them? I may not even understand what’s troubling them. Parents sometimes experience that their baby is crying and they want to help but don’t know what the baby wants. They may think the baby is hungry, but the baby may be troubled by something completely different. Or even if they do understand what is causing the suffering, they may be unable to relieve it.
So, I was thinking, “Not only does Krishna love them, but He can actually do something to help them.” And then I came to the bottom of it. The problem was that I was trying to take the position of Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gita (5.29) Lord Krishna says,
bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati
“A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.”
When one recognizes that Krishna is the enjoyer, Krishna is the proprietor, Krishna is the best friend, he attains peace. I thought of what Srila Prabhupada often said, so simple yet profound—that your best friend is not he or she who poses as your best friend but he or she who tells you that Krishna is your best friend. Suddenly this whole problem of how to help these suffering souls became very easy. I didn’t have to help them personally; I just had to direct them to Krishna, who could really help them. And it was such a relief.
So, this is our mission: to serve Krishna. And serving Krishna means doing what Krishna wants, and Krishna wants that we should bring other souls to Him. As He says at the end of the Bhagavad-gita (18.69), His dearmost servant is he who preaches the message of the Gita. Na ca tasman manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamah/ bhavita na ca me tasmad anyah priyataro bhuvi: “There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also said, yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa: “Wherever you go, whomever you meet, just present the message of Krishna.” And that is something any of us can do. It is actually very easy. Any of us can do it.
When devotees, myself among them, first came to Bombay, two of Prabhupada’s early disciples, Syamasundara and Malati, had a small daughter, Sarasvati, who used to approach respectable gentlemen who visited our center. Although only three or four years old, she would approach them and say, “Do you know who is Krishna?” And then she would answer, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Srila Prabhupada commented, “That is preaching. She is repeating what she has heard from authorities, and even if she doesn’t have full realization, what she is saying is perfect, because she has heard it from authorities— Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” So, any of us can preach. We can simply repeat what we have heard from authorities—“Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” “Chant Hare Krishna and your life will be sublime.” “Come to the Hare Krishna temple.” And that will please Krishna.
I was very happy when I passed through England on my way to South Africa at the end of November and saw all the books around Srila Prabhupada’s vyasasana. I could feel the enthusiasm to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. I thought, “Srila Prabhupada is pleased. They have the spirit to distribute his books.” The books are as potent and effective now as ever. So many people I meet—when I ask them how they came to Krishna consciousness, it goes back to a book. They got a book. The formula that Srila Prabhupada gave us forty years ago still works. By giving them Prabhupada’s books, we are giving them Krishna and Prabhupada, the message of Krishna through Prabhupada, and that is enough to awaken their sense of Krishna consciousness and begin them on the path. Many of us are here because of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
So, we should try to develop the habit of putting Krishna in the center, putting the holy name in the center, putting Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada and their mission in the center, and that will make all the difference. Our spouse can be there, our children can be there, our house can be there, our work can be there—everything can be there—but with Krishna in the center, everything will be beautiful and peaceful. And as long as we persist in habits that may have been with us for many lifetimes—thinking that we are the center, we are the lords, we are the enjoyers, we are the proprietors—there will be so many problems, and in the end whatever we have will be taken away from us anyway.
So, it is most auspicious that we are beginning the New Year in the association of devotees here at Bhaktivedanta Manor. My request is that we use this coming year, and this valuable human form of life, for their proper purpose, in Krishna consciousness, and that in this endeavor we help and support each other. We can’t do it alone. And I pray that I can always remain in the association of such wonderful devotees, because I am sure that in this association, hearing their instructions, I will be nudged along on the right path, back home, back to Godhead.
Hare Krishna.
At the end of this remarkable year of 2020, we would like to share a message to all
Rosedale, Toronto
The Topic
Victor came to join me today while the source of vitamin D was upon us. Sarthak also came, a first time for him. He just arrived from India. He already has his PR, permanent residency. “PR used to mean public relations,” I said.
My two companions laughed. I know when I was a teen that term used to imply something kind of dirty, illicit or whatever.
Halfway into our walk I received a call from Nicholas and Gabriel. Oh yes, it’s our weekly Gita discussion at 2:30 p.m. We rushed back and I jumped for that great weekly opportunity and had to bid farewell to Victor and Sarthak.
Chapter Three is entitled “Karma Yoga” and a section of it addresses lust, but we didn’t quite reach that topic, yet it did enter our conversation. In fact, we didn’t get beyond one verse; text thirty. Of course, both guys, whom I would easily classify as devotees, are in their twenties. We also delved into the subject of women and their place in the Vedic context as well as today’s context. The topic was stimulating.
Anyway, more to go over when we will discuss the position of gay and lesbian life with respect to Krishna consciousness. We know that sex is on the minds of many people. Of course, no one is against it but some guidelines are given on how to perceive the issue from a Vedic point of view. We will definitely cover the subject next week, hopefully when I am stationary and have completed my walk for the day. We’ll also discuss it with my walking companions, one day.
May the source be with you!
4 km
Most resolutions take the form of “do’s”—things I resolve to do—and “don’ts”—things I resolve to not do. And Vedic wisdom tells us that all do’s and don’ts should support one main do—always remember Krishna (God)—and one main don’t—never forget Him.
Now, practically, what can we do to always remember Krishna and never forget Him? The processes most favorable for remembering Him are chanting and hearing: chanting and hearing His holy names—the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—and chanting and hearing His transcendental topics—krsna-katha, such as the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. And in broad terms, the processes most obstructive to remembering Him are mental speculation and sense gratification, especially vicious activities against Vedic principles, or God’s laws—which include eating meat, taking intoxicants, engaging in illicit sex, and gambling.
So, for our New Year’s resolutions, we can resolve to increase our chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, especially on beads, and our reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books. And we can resolve to decrease, or stop, activities detrimental to Krishna consciousness. And the Lord will help us in our efforts, for God helps those who help themselves.
We wish you a happy New Year—in Krishna consciousness—by the grace of Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga.
Hare Krishna.
Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami
Haripada Das: Happy, happy New Year, I wish you, O my dear, Have a blissful life, Free from lust and anger. The enemies within, Which, cannot be seen, Are lust and anger, Those force us to commit sin.
A seasoned educator, Bimla Prasad Prabhu, posed his concerns regarding ISKCON Education and Examinations system, to the ISKCON Ministry of Education, Executive Director. What followed was a candid assessment of what we have and the way forward. We hope it addresses some of your concerns too
By Radhanath Swami Sri Prahlada Maharaja, a five-year-old child, spoke eloquent philosophy, but he was a simple boy who had simple conclusions. He looked around at the whole world, and he looked at his father, Hiranyakasipu, who was a really complicated person [laughter]. His father was a brahmana and the son of a rsi, and yet he was really confused. Prahlada said that when we lose reference to the focus of the goal of life, then every time we try to solve a problem, our solution becomes a bigger problem than the original problem. And isn't that what is happening in the world? We want more convenience, so we create technology, but we forget the basic premise, and when technology is developed on the basis of selfishness and greed, whether individual or collective, it is going to create bigger problems than the original problem. Continue reading "Thoughts for the New Year
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By ISKCON Ministry of Education It is with great enthusiasm that we present to you our latest Quarterly Journal. This issue is special for two reasons. Firstly, it has been published during a very special Sankirtan season in ISKCON. A time when there is much focus on book distribution. However, there are innumerable methods to distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books during this time. Traditionally it started with taking advantage of the Christmas spirit celebrated through-out the world, but now opportunities are presented through the spirit of Gita-jayanti; and the interfaith dialog taking place because of the simultaneous Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu festivals during this period. Continue reading "Viplavah Quarterly Journal
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The Annex, Toronto
Approaching New Year
I would like to express a happy new year to all the readers and also say that we should not be so torn by the social circumstances of these days. This is the play of the mundane world. There is always some agitation.
At noon I had lunch with one of our ashram residents, Uttamananda. He brought up a topic that is indeed upsetting. As he is driving through the day he sees how the big chain box stores are permitted to be open for business. However, “The small persons doors are required to be shut down.” (If so) he was implying that it is not fair. Such is this world. It is often perceived as unfair.
During my walk this evening (and usually I do go in the evening, when it’s safest) I chose to meander the resident areas through The Annex, so I did not pass by those mom-and-pop shops mentioned above. In my own contemplation of the pandemic dynamics I thought again of such unnerving exploits of this world but as I moved along, avoiding ice patches, I came to a resolve simply by thinking that life sucks when one is in mundane consciousness. “Remember Krishna, who’s not of this world.”
I believe I made a woman and her young son uneasy as I was sauntering along. When the streets are wet, slushy and salty, as they are these days, I preferred to wear practical clothes, so I doned a black coat with a hood and black pants. I sported stark white tilkamarkings on the forehead, which might have thrown them off their equilibrium a bit. It is a sign of Vishnu and it is auspicious; it’s not really mundane.
Happy new year!
May the Source be with you!
5 km
St. Jamestown, Toronto
End of he Year
Now, as we wind down the year our little film crew is doing the finishing touches to our production “Rolling the Dice” for public viewing. Michaela Vaksan, our editor, will have it ready for January 1st. We already have the trailer out. Now our time is to be spent tightening up our production, which premiered during the MANtra retreat last month. It’s all quite exciting. I’m curious about the response and feedback.
It has now been my fourth walk to meet Michaela and Dhruva who live in the same neighborhood. Dhruva has been our sound person.
I bring them some prasadamin the form of some sweets and with our sincere meeting we plan and prepare, looking at what needs to be done for the future thespian projects. Covid-19 lockdowns leave little or no alternative to shooting all our theatrical productions, at least for the next little while, until we “reset.”
I don’t know how some people are handling this social and financial disaster of the virus. On top of the tragedies Covid is bringing, we also have our regular, natural pauses that life puts us through. In our Toronto community we are seeing a number of deaths as well as senior health-threats taking place among our congregants.
The lessons of life to be learned are expressed in our story, “Rolling the Dice.” It is about curbing greed, anger and lust. The final message of peace comes in the approach of surrender. That’s the lesson of Sri Krishna (who is implied in our production but not really seen). Krishna’s message is about letting go.
May the source be with you!
2 km
We have been so pained by the reports of devotees getting the virus, and especially those leaving their body or having long-term debilitating effects. As the virus continues or gets worse in many parts of the world, you can expect periodic reminders from us imploring you to remain cautious as we enter the new calendar year.
HH Jayapataka Swami: I had some devotees, who were rendering personal service for me. They all stay together in the same room. Somehow they turned positive for the coronavirus. And thus had to be retired for treatment. There was pre-occupation, that I might have got infected by them. So they tested me, but by Krsna’s mercy, I turned out to be negative. And so did the other persons serving me.Read More...
Auspiciousness is the most sought-after element of human society today given the fact that we are compelled to carry a large baggage of the pandemic. Though the beginning of the end is in sight now . What better way to repose our faith into Spirituality than dedicating our time, energy and emotions in chanting the […]
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ith HG Mondakini Devi Dasi. Personal pastimes, instructions and so much more
By Lilamayi Radha dasi For the past 3 years, ISKCON Hong Kong has launched an outreach Sri Damodara Street program during the all auspicious Kartik month. This year was no exception. Devotees set up a mini mobile temple on the street and warmly invited the passers-by to offer ghee lamps to Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Sri Sri Yasoda Damodara Deities. This program was accompanied with sweet chanting of the holy names, lovely prasadam and book distribution. In the face of the epidemic, we immensely felt that the message of Godhead was much needed in the society to give both the dressed and distressed light and hope. Continue reading "ISKCON Hong Kong-Sri Damodara Street Program 2020
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In 2007 the GBC RESOLVED:
“Whenever the ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection rules that an offense is such as to restrict a person from serving in ISKCON in positions of leadership (including but not limited to offices of GBC, minister, zonal secretary or temple officer), the restriction must include the position of initiating guru. This restriction shall apply to all previous and future decisions of the Central Office of Child Protection.
A devotee initiated by a guru subsequently affected by this resolution is considered to have been duly initiated under the authority of ISKCON and the GBC and is recognized as an ISKCON member in good standing with all the privileges of an initiate. Other questions that may arise in the application of this law should be referred to the Executive Committee of the GBC.”
In 2007 the ISKCON CPO CLARIFIED:
“We can categorically state that Dhanurdhara Maharaja, and any others with similar CPO decisions, may not act as initiating spiritual masters in ISKCON.”
In 2020 the ISKCON North American GBC CONFIRMED:
“So the conclusion is that the North American GBC Council are not willing to make any changes in Dhanurdhara Swami’s status and he will remain outside of ISKCON in North America.”
In 2020 the ISKCON CPO CONFIRMED:
“Dhanurdhara Swami remains outside of ISKCON North America. His choice to live as a sannyasi and a guru is his own independent choice.”
This was because Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma could not joke freely and Yaśodā could not liberally pamper the boys because of the presence of Nanda and his brothers. However for Kṛṣṇa’s relatives the evening meal was a hundred times more blissful because the entire family could eat with Kṛṣṇa. It was a million times more blissful for Yāśodā because of seeing the bliss of the relatives.
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