Planet ISKCON

Podcast

 

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Video:

The post The Monk’s Podcast 75 with Shyamananda – How protests can point to a higher consciousness appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Toronto, Ontario

 

I Met Miles

 

I was at Queen’s Park, once again, sitting on a park bench facing a monumental statue of King Edward VII on horseback. I was chanting on my beads when a young man with a professional camera sat down on the same bench, which is beautifully curved and can accommodate 20 people or so.

 

At one point he came over to me.

 

“Do you mind if I take a few shots of you? I find this subject to be most interesting.” I agreed to his request. “Just pose as you were,” he requested. He went at clicking from so many angles.

 

“Where are you from?” I asked.

 

“North York.”

 

“Are you freelancing?”

 

“A student at Ryerson. I’m always looking for unique things to shoot. It’s an assignment.” He clarified.

 

After some moments he had me move off the bench. I sat under an oak tree, then maple. He kept taking pics like crazy. We kept talking over the course of the shoot. I mentioned something about our warm weather and my going to Cherry Beach on some days.

 

“For the summer I’ve been a lifeguard there,” he said. Small world. We’ve probably seen each other.

 

I spoke about my pilgrimages across the US and Canada. He was interested.

 

“And your name?” I asked.

 

“Miles.”

 

“Well, you better live up to your name and do some of that cross-country stuff yourself.” I joked.

 

“I never thought of my name in those terms. Usually people identified Miles Davis the jazz musician.”

 

“He’s good!” I remarked.

 

Miles said he would send me some of his photos.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km

 

Toronto, Ontario

 

Sunday, Sunday

 

For several hours during the week I am bound by Zoom-style classes on bhakti. Sunday is no exception. The interest and practice of devotion is up on Sunday’s; compared to other days of the week. At least it was what we were witnessing today. To honour government regulations a certain amount of people are permitted to enter the temple. That has been successful for a third Sunday now.

 

And “Govinda’s,” the eatery, is doing well. People don’t mind paying for a nice meal, which, by the way, has the status of being prasadam, blessed food.

 

Being that today was a day to fast from grains, occurring every fortnight, the menu was simplified and our primary cook, Dwarkanath, was turning out great preps.

 

The temperature and overall weather conditions were just right. Call it satvic if you will—very much in the mode of goodness. Sunny with a slight breeze, temperatures in the low to mid-twenties Celsius. Comfortable.

 

After our usual “staircase kirtan” I tried to go for a one-hour, serious walk. And while I attempted to do so my phone kept ringing. In one sense I don’t mind. If I don’t give attention to people reaching out on Sunday, then a tough backlog starts mounting on Monday.

 

When the phone rings, and I know it will be a conversation of minutes, I go to the nearest sitting bench, or simply plop myself onto a patch of grass, and do my service of listening.

 

May the source be with you!

2 km

 

Toronto, Oakville

 

At Play, No Walk

 

There is this sunken area full of trees, green and red, and has a flat surface with grass. Located right next to the Rosedale subway station, it is tucked away and a secret space, which makes for a perfect, private area. We found it ideal as an outdoor drama-practice venue.

 

This intensely maple-red trees defined our area of work. We scanned this park area and it was clear that here was where we should be. We carried with us no props. However, we found, conveniently, an antique wooden chair. “This is perfect for king Dhrtarastha’s throne,” I suggested. So we began to work, going over the actor’s lines. We auditioned Miles for a part. I also asked Dhruva to come to our practice as he’s great at making short videos for promos.

 

Each time our cast comes together improvements are made. “Once you get your lines memorized then you have so much more freedom,” expressed actor, Stephen.

 

Our rehearsal did attract the occasional pedestrian. An English couple, mother and son I presume, sat down to watch for a bit. Our crew remained oblivious to the attention. The story is too captivating.

 

“Envy is useless,” asserts the king (in the practice). He believed that to be true until his affection for his son, Duryodhana, eclipsed his moral and common sense.

 

“This story is about greed and ambition and how it eats you alive. In the last scene a sober resolve transpires,” I explained to our visitors.

 

Our practice then came to a closure in order for me to rush to Oakville for a house program, to chant, read and eat, in the reverse order, actually.

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

Podcast

 

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The post The Monk’s Podcast 74 with Gopal Hari Prabhu – Does karma address the problem of evil appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

https://us02web.zoom.us/…/ggV8mAIqA-7iUzae-JVsiw

Podcast

 

Video:

The post The Monk’s Podcast 73 with Shyamananda Prabhu – Does higher education make you atheistic appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Nitai Chaitanya Goswami of Ukraine, Lithuania and Russia is currently in the Intensive Care Unit with Coronavirus. According to reports he is in a serious condition and has lost 75% of his lung capacity. Doctors say the outcome is unpredictable. Nitai Chaitanya Goswami is one of ISKCON Russia’s first sannyasis and seniormost devotees. Devotees around […]

The post Senior Russian Sannyasi Nitai Chaitanya Goswami in ICU with COVID-19 appeared first on ISKCON News.

Nitai Chaitanya Goswami is one of ISKCON Russia’s first sannyasis and seniormost devotees.

It is a humbling experience to sit in a room (or a Zoom call) full of devout Christian scholar-practitioners who have studied and read Vaishnava texts with the same ferocity and sincere devotion as their own. This was my experience as a novice attendee at the annual Vaishnava-Christian Dialogue event held from September 25-26th. More […]

The post Vaishnava Christian Dialogue Annual Event: Unity and Separation with God appeared first on ISKCON News.

More than 30 Christians and Vaishnavas of different ages and backgrounds from across the USA joined an online dialogue to network and enjoy their faith in unity.

Video – Bhagavad Gita 3.35 Our Duties in Kali Yuga 2020-09-27 Ljubljana

The post Video - BG 3.35 Our Duties in Kali Yuga 9/27/2020 first appeared on Prahladananda Swami.

Stratford/Saint Mary’s

 

Shakespeare Asleep

 

Jay Gopal, a resident of Stratford in Canada, pointed to the new $100 million theatre that just recently had to close up without ever opening its doors, because Covid-19 muscled its way in. This edifice, along with other live theatre halls in town, have been vacant for months now. “The show must go on!” Doesn’t apply here, and in most other places were thespian talents of a world-class nature are staged. It’s a shame. Shakespeare has been put to sleep.

 

Jay Gopal drove Karuna and me to Wildwood Conservation Area, where we took advantage of the trails. Aspects of nature to admire at this time of year include blue jays, squirrels, mushrooms and plenty of varied trees. Humans on the trail were countable. It was mostly our group of three, each with meditation beads in our bags, wrapped loosely around our wrists.

 

We went into town, St. Mary’s, met Gabriel, an avid reader of the book Bhagavatam, and walked the trestle constructed over the Thames. The pathway was formally the Grand Trunk Railway. St. Mary’s is a new place for me.  I’ve never walked it and only know of one couple, Henry and Cindy, who hail from there.

 

The Quality Inn there is owned by Jay Gopal, who treated us to Indian-style pizza. We are grateful to Jay Gopal’s hospitality and who accompanied us to two families’ households, who are interested to learn of a higher consciousness. We offered a message to these families that, despite the monstrous moves by the virus that everyone has come to know, we must carefully and safely forge ahead with doses of bhakti(devotion).

 

May the Source be with you!

5 km

 

Toronto, Ontario

 

Guru

 

Here’s a poem about “guru” dedicated to Prabhupada written after a brief walk.

 

I was sitting in the room

Made a call by way of Zoom

Looked at verse 4:34

What a seeker’s looking for

 

Why is it so advised

To get vision beyond the eyes

While a passion hungry heart

Yearns for pleasure from the start?

 

Self-help goes so far

Alone—you’re in a jar

We have a certain limit

Think it over for a minute

 

To accept a real good guide

Who tells of the other side

You access essential wisdom

Taking you closer to the kingdom

 

All that you require

Is to approach him and inquire

Learn what it is to serve

It takes so little nerve

 

Be open to the truth

Hear from his tongue and tooth

Because he’s on the path

You’re in the purest bath

 

May the Source be with you!

2 km

 

York, Toronto

 

Not Alone

 

I sleep in a very special room, the place where our guru, Prabhupada, laid down his divine body for slumber in June of 1976. Where my head is positioned on a captain-style bed I can see perfectly, framed by the rooms only window, the celestial position of Mars, as I look towards the south-east sky.

 

I’m not alone. Mars is the one observing my existence in the reclining pose. We are never alone. Whether it is Mars’ influence, or something else, my sleep was not good. I warned Devananda, who was to do a shiatsu treatment on me at 10 am. I sent a text message, alerting him to the fact that the session may be an opportunity to truly relax, translating to a snooze. God knows we struggle. In the Gita it is said, “prakrtisthani karshati.” We struggle in this world with body, mind and senses. I figured that, while that’s true, I might be deserving of some downtime.

 

Devananda is located in the York section of Toronto. He is the first person to do a thorough anythingon my stiff body. It was a much, much needed massage—way overdue.

 

The walk back to the ashramon this perfect fall day was just stupendous, and the full body work done on me assisted in making a good stroll. Along the four kilometre stroll I came upon the occasional maple tree, intense in colour.

 

On such a perfect day I was wondering why I should endeavor to strive for heaven (Vaikuntha). And the answer is, “Don’t have your hopes too high. The weather will change.”

 

May the Source be with you!

5 km

 

Yet to register for Navadvipa Mandal parikrama, this Purusottama month! HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami’s invitation is for you! Register Now! Free Registration!    

The post Get ready for Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Podcast

 

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The post The Monk’s Podcast 72 with Krishna Kshetra Maharaj – Churning the Bhagavatam – Dashavatara 1 – Matsya appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 23 September 2020, ISKCON Simhachalam, Jandelsbrunn, Germany, Table Talks 5 Lecture)

In material life, time is the big enemy. Time is the ultimate power and nothing escapes the all-destroying influence of time.

In spiritual life, time works completely in our favour. Through time, we automatically build up spiritual advancement.

Time is the big enemy. Time is the ultimate power and nothing escapes the all-destroying influence of time. But in spiritual life, time works completely in our favour. Through time, we automatically build up spiritual advancement. Just by our connection with the sankirtana movement, we are getting purified. Every time we do something for Krsna, every time we even think of Krsna or do anything favourable (related to Krsna), we are getting purified. Therefore, on one hand in Krsna consciousness, there is what we are doing and on the other hand, there is what is happening. And what is happening in Krsna’s movement is that Krsna is present and in so many ways we are connecting and getting purification. So, it is the time that works in our favour.

The anartha nivriti is carrying on just by associating with Lord Caitanya and Lord Caitanya’s movement. And like this, I have great faith that Krsna consciousness will prevail and that it will be successful in the life of a devotee. There is no need to be in anxiety. “How much advancement am I making?” We look at people who are struggling, who have not gone so deep in spiritual life, who seem to be maintaining material attachments and are practising devotional service. But material attachments can fall away very quickly in the end because faith is still there in Krsna. One may be hesitant to completely take shelter of Krsna but because a whole life is being spent in the service of Krsna, that faith has matured. As we are approaching death, one can still take that final step and let go off all these material things. Better now, not play so much with the material energy and try to squeeze some enjoyment out of this. Better now that we really put Krsna in the forefront of our life so that at the end of life, we are already prepared. “Yes Krsna, I am yours!”, “As You wish Krsna!”, “I have nothing other than You, my Krsna!”, “Nothing in this world is meaningful to me other than You!” – this is the mood we must develop.

bhumir apo ‘nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva cha
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakritir ashtadha
(Bhagavad-gita 7.4)
“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego – all together, these eight, constitute My separated material energies.”

We can associate with these material energies and we can try to manipulate them, control them, make arrangements for our enjoyment and make arrangements to avoid sufferings and to an extent, we will also try to avoid sufferings in our spiritual life. But then comes the inevitable, when our allotted time is over. Then at the end, our meditation is, “Krsna, I have nothing but You! Please take me and give me Your shelter and that is all I desire.” So, why not pray this now?! That is the whole idea.

Watch the full video below or by checking out our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl91nFRQjXI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR25cZH10HdP840c1vDhJr9Ov0u_ISag29xEfKdf1VResH91GsUGIummpgU

The article " Time of our lives! " was published on KKSBlog.

It is equal to performing 16 Kartik Vratas and therefore it is a very good time to engage in full devotional service.

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We would like to recognize the ISKCON NYC team, lead by Temple President Hansarupa Das, for providing food (prasadam) relief to the city during the Covid-19 crisis! The Brooklyn Borough Office of the President has honored ISKCON NYC along with 80 others with a ceremony on September 22nd at the Brooklyn Borough Hall.

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“All students should be encouraged to write some article after reading Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita and Teachings of Lord Caitanya. They should realize the information, and they must present their assimilation in their own words. Otherwise, how they can become preachers?” Srila Prabhupada Letter to Brahmananda -- Los Angeles, 1 July 1969

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The post The Monk’s Podcast 71 with Radha Gopinath Prabhu – Devotee care – Becoming materially well-situated and spiritually happy appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

 

Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

Date: 27th Sep 2020

Day: Sunday

Time: 11 am to 12 noon

Topic: "Siksastaka and Other Nectar Poems"

Speaker: H.G. Dravida das

Link to join the class from your desktop or laptop:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9150790510?pwd=Wk5GYXVRMkJmdk84MzZJRXBKYUgwUT09

If you click the above link from your desktop or laptop, you will be able to join directly

If you click this link from your cell phone or IPAD etc, you will have to download the Zoom application (less than a minute to download)

H.G. Dravida das

A disciple of Srila Prabhupada, Dravida dasa joined ISKCON in 1973 and has served as an editor and proofreader for the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust for over 45 years. From 1983 to 1989 he was part of the team that completed Srila Prabhupada’s magnum opus: a commentated English translation of India's jewel of Vedic wisdom, the 18,000-verse Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). He also helped produce the revised editions of Srila Prabhupada’s Isopanisad, Krsna Book, Caitanya-Caritamrta, and Teachings of Lord Caitanya, and he is part of the team that produces Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja book every year. In addition to his editing work, he teaches Bhakti Yoga classes at ISKCON’s San Diego temple and other centres in North America.

Throughout all this immersion in transcendental literature, Dravida Dasa developed a love of the Sanskrit language, and especially the elaborate verses of the Bhagavatam and other works of bhakti literature.

His devotion and expertise in chanting form a marvellous combination. He has a been Brahmacari throughout his devotional career.

ISKCON Scarborough

3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,

Scarborough, Ontario,

Canada, M1V4C7

Website: www.iskconscarborough.org

Email:

iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

scarboroughiskcon@gmail.com

Once one of Krsna’s friends informed Him, “My dear Krsna, if you will open Your mouth I shall give You a nice sugar candy mixed with yogurt.” Krsna immediately opened His mouth, but instead of giving Him sugar candy with yogurt, the friend dropped a flower into His mouth. Then Krsna twisted His mouth in distaste, and upon seeing this, all His friends began to laugh very loudly.

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Brahmatirtha Das: Readers are also invited to explore the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies new website for its January 2019, to be held in Gainesville, Florida

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We need to remember that the essence of our relationship with Krishna is service; and that service requires us to be less conscious of ourselves and be more conscious of Krishna. When we think we are qualified to serve Krishna, the ‘I’ becomes more prominent than Krishna, which is unhealthy.

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HG Sruta Kirti Prabhu - Srila Prabhupada’s Pastimes

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By Giriraj Swami

Srila Prabhupada had a godbrother named Akinchana Krishnadasa Babaji, whom Prabhupada said was a paramahamsa, a liberated soul. Babaji Maharaja approached another godbrother of Prabhupada’s, who had been sent by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to England to preach but who didn’t really have much effect and then came back to India, and said to him, “You went to the West, and Swami Maharaja [Srila Prabhupada] went to the West. You presented the teachings of Lord Chaitanya, and Swami Maharaja presented the teachings of Lord Chaitanya. You introduced the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and Swami Maharaja introduced the maha-mantra. But Swami Maharaja was tremendously successful, and you hardly achieved anything. What is the reason?” Then Babaji Maharaja himself gave the answer: “Because Swami Maharaja had full faith in the holy name of Krishna, and you didn’t.” Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada’s Faith in the Holy Name
→ Dandavats"

Podcast

 

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The post The Monk’s Podcast 70 with Krishna Dharma – Contemporary retellings of Ramayana-Mahabharata-Bhagavatam appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

A new 10-session course on Bengali Learning – Beginner Level will be offered online on Zoom or Google classroom by the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre (BRC); the course will run Monday to Friday for two weeks from September 28th to October 9th 2020.  About fifty participants are expected to attend from around the world, primarily practicing […]

The post Bhaktivedanta Research Centre’s Bengali Course Will Allow Devotees to Read Gaudiya Vaishnava Texts in Original Language appeared first on ISKCON News.

The new Bengali course is a cohesive piece of the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre’s broader efforts.

In observance of the World Holy Name Festival.

Srila Prabhupada came to the Western world to give us the holy name. He did so on the order of his spiritual master, with full faith in the holy name, that if people like us would just chant the holy name, everything else would follow.

Srila Prabhupada had a godbrother named Akinchana Krishnadasa Babaji, whom Prabhupada said was a paramahamsa, a liberated soul. Babaji Maharaja approached another godbrother of Prabhupada’s, who had been sent by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to England to preach but who didn’t really have much effect and then came back to India, and said to him, “You went to the West, and Swami Maharaja [Srila Prabhupada] went to the West. You presented the teachings of Lord Chaitanya, and Swami Maharaja presented the teachings of Lord Chaitanya. You introduced the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and Swami Maharaja introduced the maha-mantra. But Swami Maharaja was tremendously successful, and you hardly achieved anything. What is the reason?” Then Babaji Maharaja himself gave the answer: “Because Swami Maharaja had full faith in the holy name of Krishna, and you didn’t.”

This is a very powerful statement, a most significant point. Prabhupada had full faith in the holy name, and with that conviction he came to the West, gave us the holy name, and encouraged us to chant.

Earlier, another godbrother, Dr. Oudh Bihari Lal (O. B. L.) Kapoor, initiated as Adi Kesava dasa, had met Prabhupada in Mathura. In grihastha-ashrama Srila Prabhupada had been a chemist, or pharmacist. Dr. Kapoor asked him, “You are a chemist; you know many formulas. Do you know the formula for developing love of God?” Srila Prabhupada answered, “Yes, I do.” Dr. Kapoor replied, “Can you tell me what it is?” And Prabhupada said, “Yes. Trnad api su-nicena, taror iva sahisnuna/ amanina mana-dena, kirtaniyah sada harih.” Srila Prabhupada’s faith in the holy name was there from the beginning. It formed the basis of his journey to the West and his service to his spiritual master and to all of us.

At Srila Prabhupada’s sannyasa initiation ceremony in Mathura, while the priest was conducting the fire sacrifice and reciting various mantras, Akinchana Krishnadasa Babaji was chanting the holy name. He really relished the holy name. (One night, on Ekadasi, His Holiness Bhakti Bhrnga Govinda Swami went to meet him. He was sitting in the courtyard of some ashram. It was very dark—maybe there was a bare light bulb in a corner—and he was just chanting japa and relishing. Clearly, he was tasting, savoring. He was truly drinking the nectar of the holy name.) So, during an interlude in the ceremony, Krishnadasa Babaji led kirtan, and when the time came to resume the ceremony with the recitation of mantras, the priest gestured to him, “You may end the kirtan now.” But when the priest returned to the ceremony, Prabhupada discreetly gestured to Babaji Maharaja, “Keep chanting. Keep chanting.” And Babaji Maharaja, while telling the story, commented, “Then I knew he would be the world leader of the Hare Krishna movement.” Srila Prabhupada had that deep faith in the holy name.

Soon after I joined the Boston temple, the devotees there faced a financial crisis. At that time, the devotees didn’t regularly perform hari-nama-sankirtana or distribute books in the streets. They had only evening programs in the temple on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and the love feast on Sunday afternoons. Prabhupada had said that if the devotees needed to get jobs, they could. Satsvarupa dasa, the temple president, was a social worker, and his paycheck from the welfare department was the only income the temple had. But as the art department grew and more devotees joined, that income became insufficient.

The devotees, who were very surrendered, had a meeting. One devotee, Patita-pavana, said that he had worked for the post office before he joined and so he could get a job with the post office. Another said that he knew the grocer down the street and might be able to get a job in the grocery store. Devotees volunteered to help in whatever ways they could. Then one devotee, Nanda-kisora, raised his hand. He was very humble—all the devotees were, but he was really very humble. He recalled a letter from Srila Prabhupada. All of Prabhupada’s letters were taken as important documents, instructive for everyone. Whenever a letter came, all the devotees would gather round, the addressee would open and read it, and everyone would listen. So, Nanda-kisora quoted a letter from Srila Prabhupada: “If you just go on sankirtana, all of your problems will be solved—spiritually and materially.” And everyone agreed: “Yes, this is what we should do.”

The next day, we went out on the streets. We chanted—we didn’t even have copies of Back to Godhead to distribute—and asked people for donations. Then we came back, counted up the laksmi, and found that we had collected seven dollars. In those days, seven dollars was something. The prospects looked promising, and we decided to try the same process the next day. So, we went out, perhaps with even more enthusiasm and conviction, came back, and counted up: twelve dollars. I thought, “This is getting good. What Prabhupada said is true.” We went out the third day, came back and counted up nineteen dollars. Then we had no doubt, and we would go out every day. What Prabhupada had said was true: “If you chant Hare Krishna, all your problems will be solved—materially and spiritually.” He had that faith.

Eventually we moved from the small storefront at 95 Glenville Avenue to a big mansion at 40 North Beacon Street. It was the first property that ISKCON owned, that the devotees purchased. Srila Prabhupada was very enthusiastic and said that the press should move from New York to Boston. The devotees began to print Prabhupada’s books, one of the first being Easy Journey to Other Planets. He guided every aspect of publication, including the presentation of the books. He gave the titles and at least in this case told us what he wanted on the cover: One part was to be the material universe—outer space with different stars and planets—and the other part was to be the spiritual sky, with some Vaikuntha planets, mainly Goloka Vrindavan with Radha and Krishna. And he wanted a devotee flying through space from the material universe into the spiritual sky, with dhoti, kurta, sikha, and japa-mala. The cover was meant to depict the theme of the book, that by bhakti-yoga, by chanting japa, one can travel beyond the material universe to the spiritual sky, to Goloka Vrindavan. The chanting is our ticket back to Godhead. Later, when the devotees showed Prabhupada the cover, he was pleased and said, “Yes, by the beads.” Chanting the holy name has such potency, and Srila Prabhupada had that faith.

Then Srila Prabhupada and some disciples went to India, and there he surprised us. We began doing hari-nama-sankirtana, as we had done in the West, but eventually Srila Prabhupada stopped us. He said that we should not do street sankirtana too much because in India beggars take to the streets and chant to solicit money, and he didn’t want people to think we were beggars. He introduced the life membership program, which he said was designed to distribute his books. And he encouraged big pandal programs, which he called Hare Krishna Festivals. The first was held in Bombay, and the second was to be in Calcutta. Calcutta then was under the sway of the Communist Party and a group of communist youth called Naxalites, whose program was to terrorize rich people. They would kidnap the sons of rich families and demand large ransoms. Sometimes they would just shoot rich people dead in the street. It was a terrible situation, and at that time many of the wealthier people actually left Calcutta and moved to Delhi and other places.

In this climate Srila Prabhupada wanted us to organize a big pandal, and he sent Tamal Krishna Goswami and me from Bombay. Before the program began, Prabhupada received a letter that said, “Fly or die.” It sounds overdramatic, but whoever sent the note cut the letters out of the newspaper so no one could trace the typewriter, pasted them on paper, and sent it. The day before the program, there was a press conference, and many of the reporters were in an aggressive mood. One reporter challenged Prabhupada, “What is this pandal program going to accomplish? You could spend the money to help poor people.” Prabhupada replied, “What will it accomplish? It will accomplish hearing. People will get a chance to hear.” Then he said, “This whole huge arrangement has come from hearing. I went to the West and spoke, and some young people heard me, and because they heard me, now they have come and arranged this big program.” Srila Prabhupada, always fearless, persisted in his mission.

It was the tradition for pandals that most of the ground was covered with dhurries (Indian carpets), with chairs for special guests on the side. In our pandal the chairs were reserved for invited VIPs, life members, and anyone who paid a rupee. So, on the first night, just as the program was beginning, a group of Naxalites raised a big ruckus: “Why do some people get to sit on chairs and other people have to sit on the ground? Everyone should sit on the ground.” They were looking for an excuse to pick a fight. And while Prabhupada was on the stage with the Deities and disciples, these Naxalites began shouting and hollering, deliberately making a disturbance. Then they took some of the folding chairs we had set up and began to clap them together. The situation was really tense, because these Naxalites could do anything; they could become violent. We didn’t want to provoke them further, but at the same time, unless they stopped, Srila Prabhupada wouldn’t be able to speak, because they were making such a commotion.

We all were looking to Prabhupada—What would he do? Suddenly he bent forward toward the microphone, and . . . he began to sing: “Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami.” He sang the Govindam prayers, and somehow the whole disturbance subsided. The young men put down the chairs and quietly left. It seemed miraculous.

The next pandal program was in Delhi, and there Srila Prabhupada got an invitation to go to Madras. He was planning to go to Vrindavan, taking his disciples there for the first time, but he wanted someone to go to Madras. No one wanted to go; everyone wanted to go with him to Vrindavan. But I considered that the secret of success in Krishna consciousness was to follow the order of the spiritual master and please him, so I volunteered.

In Madras I was alone for much of the time. I kept asking for help, but it was hard to get devotees. In any case, while I was there a song came out. In Srila Prabhupada’s purports he sometimes mentions cinema songs, which are the most popular in India. The refrain of this song was “Dam maro dam . . . Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. Hare Krishna, Hare Rama.” We didn’t have a center in Madras; I was just staying with different people. Because I kept hearing the song, I finally asked my host what the translation was. I don’t know if he misunderstood the actual meaning or was just being polite, but he said, “With every breath that I take, Hare Krishna, Hare Rama”—which sounded very nice. So, for a while we thought that was what the song meant. Eventually we found out what it really meant: “With every puff that I take, Hare Krishna, Hare Rama.”

From Madras we went to Calcutta, and there the movie that featured this song was playing. We didn’t really know what the movie was, but in those days in America whenever the musical or the movie Hair would show, devotees would do hari-nama-sankirtana in front of the theater and distribute books, because Hair featured a song with the full Hare Krishna maha-mantra. So we thought, “Oh, the movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna will be a great opportunity.” So, we had hari-nama and distributed books outside the theater. But when most of the customers had entered, I thought, “Let me steal a peek. Let me see what this movie is.” So I went inside, just as it was about to begin. It was very impressive on a big screen, with loud amplifiers. The film began with shots of ocean waves on the shore. In a deep, resonant voice, the narrator intoned, “For centuries India’s spiritual culture remained within the shores of India, but one man . . .”—then it showed a picture of Srila Prabhupada—“took India’s spiritual culture across the ocean.” Then it showed the London Ratha-yatra, so dramatic on the big screen, and I thought, “Wow! This is amazing!” And then it showed a bunch of hippies smoking ganja and hashish and chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. They were dressed just like hippies, with boys and girls mixing. It was really bad—the theme of the movie was that Srila Prabhupada was degrading the sacred Indian culture by giving it to hippies who were just misusing it, chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Rama and smoking dope and indulging in free sex and everything else.

That was a blow. Srila Prabhupada said that the government was behind the film, because they were afraid that our movement would become too popular and they wanted to turn people away from it. Communists in the government also started rumors that we were CIA agents. It was the same type of thing. They knew we weren’t, but they spread rumors about us because they didn’t want people to take to Krishna consciousness. They thought that spiritual life would keep the people down. Actually, they wanted to keep the people down.

Anyway, now we come to the point: Srila Prabhupada’s faith in the holy name. Prabhupada said, “In the long run the film will actually help us, because eventually people will forget the dam maro dam and just remember the Hare Krishna, Hare Rama.” And it came true. From Calcutta I went to Bombay, and especially the street urchins there—so many street urchins stand at corners and beg or sell magazines—whenever they saw us they would gather around us and put their hands to their mouths, as if they were smoking chillums with (hashish), and sing, in a mocking way, “Dam maro dam, dam maro dama . . .” Most of the time they wouldn’t even get to the “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama”—just “Dam maro dam.” It was like a plague. Wherever we went, these little kids would surround us and taunt us: “Dam maro dam.”

It went on like that for some time, and it was difficult. Then after maybe a year of the song playing—it was extraordinarily popular—the emphasis shifted. The two parts—the “Dam maro dam” and the “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama”— became equal. And eventually, just as Prabhupada had predicted, the “Dam maro dam” dropped out altogether. It was a mundane sound vibration and had no real attraction. But the Hare Krishna, Hare Rama was transcendental and ever-fresh. After the “Dam maro dam” dropped out, when people saw us they would simply smile and say, “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama.” That came to pass.

Soon after, Srila Prabhupada took up the Juhu project. That’s a whole history, but after Srila Prabhupada’s first stay and public program there, while he and the devotees waited in the exclusive VIP lounge at the airport before Prabhupada’s departure, there was an uproarious kirtan, ecstatic chanting and dancing. And Prabhupada said, “If you go on having kirtans like this, our project will be successful.”

Srila Prabhupada named the project Hare Krishna Land. One day, in his room at the back of the property, hearing the kirtan from the small temple at the front, he said, “This is Hare Krishna Land. We should always hear the sounds of Hare Krishna.”

Later, some devotees printed postage-style stamps (without postal value) with a picture of Radha-Krishna and the words Hare Krishna, to be pasted on envelopes, and Srila Prabhupada wrote me, “These two words, ‘Hare Krishna,’ must appear everywhere.”

Another time, Srila Prabhupada was on the terrace of one of the old tenement buildings that came with the land, and a devotee named Haridas was fanning him. At seven o’clock Prabhupada looked at his watch and said, “Haridas, do you hear the sound of kirtan in the temple?” Haridas strained to hear but couldn’t. “No, Srila Prabhupada.” “You don’t hear kirtan coming from the temple?” “No.” “That is the point,” Srila Prabhupada said. “There is no kirtan in the temple, and there should be.” Then he asked Haridas, “Where are all the devotees?” Haridas ventured that they must have gone to the city to collect and had not yet returned. Prabhupada said, “That was not my idea, that the devotees should go and collect all day and night. They may go at nine and return at five, and then chant and dance before the Deities. Otherwise they will become like karmis.”

Then he asked Haridas, “Do you know why we were successful and Mr. Nair wasn’t? Nair was well established in Bombay, whereas we were completely new. He was very wealthy, whereas we had no money or regular income. As the owner of the Free Press Journal, one of three English dailies in Bombay, and the former sheriff, he knew many people and was very influential, whereas we hardly knew anyone and had practically no influence. But we were successful and he was not. Why?” And he gave the answer: “We were acting to please Krishna, and he was acting for his personal gain. And because we tried to please Krishna, Krishna mercifully reciprocated and we were successful—by His grace.

“So, the devotees should come and sing and dance before the Deities, for Their pleasure. By pleasing the Deities, by Their mercy, by Krishna’s mercy, we will be successful—not by our independent strength and endeavor.” Srila Prabhupada really had that faith in Krishna, in the holy name, in the Deities—that if we sincerely chant to please Krishna, Krishna will be satisfied and we will be successful.

The last incident I shall relate came toward the end, when Srila Prabhupada was already quite ill, in 1977. Srila Prabhupada had a staunch devotee, Sri P. L. Sethi—as Hanuman was to Rama, he was to Prabhupada. He was so staunch and had so much faith. From before he met Prabhupada, he was associated with a group called the Radha Madhava Prema Sudha Sankirtana Mandala. Their guru was based in Vrindavan, and they chanted the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. In Bombay they were all householders. Every Sunday they would have a twelve-hour akhanda-hari-nama-sankirtana—unbroken, continuous kirtan—from six in the morning to six in the evening, followed by two hours of Vraja songs.

Mr. Sethi had the idea that instead of having the kirtan in one of their devotees’ homes, as they usually did, they could have it at Hare Krishna Land. So we arranged it, before the Deities in the small temple, beside the new complex that was nearing completion, just beneath Srila Prabhupada’s new quarters. Although the construction wasn’t finished and the lift wasn’t working, Srila Prabhupada insisted on staying there. And ill as he was, he was listening to the kirtan, reclining or lying down. These devotees in the temple really wanted to see him, but they were too many to come up, Prabhupada was not able to come down, and anyway it would have been too taxing for him to meet them all.

At one stage the group was so eager to see Srila Prabhupada that they came out of the temple and were doing kirtan beneath his balcony. Eventually Mr. Sethi helped Prabhupada walk to the balcony, and Prabhupada glanced down upon the group. They were in ecstasy. One highlight came when one of the ladies sang, “Jaya radhe jaya radhe radhe, jaya radhe jaya sri radhe. Jaya krishna . . .” Later, Mr. Sethi told us that when Prabhupada was listening to that song, tears were streaming down his cheeks.

The next day, I went up to see Srila Prabhupada. “That kirtan was wonderful,” he said. “We should invite the whole group to stay at Hare Krishna Land. Tell them that we will maintain them. They won’t have to work. All they have to do is continuous kirtan.” I wasn’t sure what to do about that—I just heard it. But I think Prabhupada knew that his proposal might take some time. He said, “At least our devotees, they should do the twelve-hour kirtan every day, from six a.m. to six p.m.” Now, we had been taught by Prabhupada that we have to serve and spread the mission, and in Juhu we were especially busy, finishing the temple and getting it ready to open. I didn’t see how all the devotees could spend twelve hours a day in the temple chanting. So I said, “Srila Prabhupada, we have so much service to do. How will we be able to do it all?” Then Prabhupada said, “All right, then one day a week, on Sunday.” And when Prabhupada said that, I said, “Yes,” because I felt relieved—only one day, twelve hours. Later, Tamal Krishna Goswami commented that Prabhupada had done some transcendental bargaining. If he had begun with twelve hours every Sunday, we might have said, “Oh, that’s too much. Maybe four hours.” But because he began with twelve hours a day, seven days a week, when he finally said twelve hours, one day a week, we were relieved. “Oh yes, we can do that.”

So, every Sunday we did twelve hours’ continuous kirtan. And it was just as Prabhupada had said—that all problems would be solved, materially and spiritually. I was the temple president and had to deal with many problems. We had to construct the temple complex, deal with the civic authorities, organize the temple programs, deal with the devotees, and just survive in India, with all the disease and other hardships. So, devotees would come to me, and on Monday, Tuesday, maybe Wednesday, I would deal with the problems. But by Thursday we were getting close to the twelve-hour hari-nama, and I knew—it happened every time, without fail—that all the problems would be solved. Either the problem would solve itself or the devotee would realize that the problem wasn’t really a problem after all or we would get some insight into and inspiration about how to deal with it. So, from Thursday I would say, “Well, just give me a few days to think about it,” but I knew, “Let Sunday come—let us do the twelve-hour kirtan—and it will be solved.” And it happened every time. It was really wonderful.

By sincerely chanting Hare Krishna, Krishna is satisfied, and by Krishna’s pleasure and mercy, we are successful in all respects. This was Srila Prabhupada’s mood, his conviction. So we should give ourselves fully to that process, to pleasing Krishna by our chanting. In fact, whatever we do should be in the mood of pleasing guru and Krishna. From the beginning, I would think, “Prabhupada is hearing my chanting, so I should chant nicely, to please him.” On the Radha-Damodara party, Vishnujana had a large photo of Srila Prabhupada’s ear, and he would chant with that idea, that Prabhupada was hearing his japa; he would chant to please Srila Prabhupada.

So, it all goes together: service to guru, service to the holy name, chanting the holy name, pleasing Krishna, pleasing Srila Prabhupada, and being successful—materially and spiritually.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami delivered at a japa retreat in Srila Prabhupada’s Palace, New Vrindaban, West Virginia, on April 9, 2009.]

Radha devi dasi, ISKCON’s GBC Vaishnavi Minister, recently announced the appointment of regional ministers in South Africa, the UK, Brazil and Mexico. Regional ministers serve as the liaisons for the Vaishnavi Ministry and develop programs for the care of Vaishnavis in their areas.  Krsangi Radhe devi dasi is a disciple of Indradyumna Swami and the […]

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Regional ministers serve as the liaisons for the Vaishnavi Ministry and develop programs for the care of Vaishnavis in their areas. 

Regional ministers serve as the liaisons for the Vaishnavi Ministry and develop programs for the care of Vaishnavis in their areas. 

COVID-19 claims the life of a world renowned spiritual leader but his legacy lives on. A video by Karuna Productions.

Suppose someone we work with lies to us frequently, claiming either that they can do things they can’t or that they can’t do things they can. Being repeatedly misled by them, we will eventually realize they are unreliable.  Won’t the same thing happen if we lie to ourselves? Suppose we need to follow a strict […]

The post Why Lying to Ourselves Is So Dangerous? appeared first on ISKCON News.

Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, put it well, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”