Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 21, No. 31
By Krishna Kripa Das
(Week 31: July 30–August 5, 2025)
Paris
(Sent from New Mayapur, France, on August 9, 2025)
Where I Went and What I Did
The thirty-first week of 2025, I mostly lived at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles, eighteen minutes by train north of Paris itself. In Paris I chanted Hare Krishna for three hours each afternoon, usually from 3 to 6 p.m., except on Thursday when I chanted with the book distributors at Jardin de Luxembourg from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. and with the congregational devotees who go out after work from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, when we chanted at Sarcelles Market for over two hours midday.
On Friday, Bhaktan Deva, who did harinama with us in New York and also in Florida, came to visit Paris for three weeks. He surprised me by joining us on harinama after his overnight transatlantic flight.
Tuesday, the last day of the week, I went with devotees from ISKCON Paris to New Mayapur for their five-day Balarama festival, beginning with Jhulan Yatra.
En route to New Mayapur, we chanted harinama in Paris from Gare du Nord to the Flixbus stop at Bercy, in the stations, on the trains, and as we walked to the bus station, getting a little over an hour of harinama in.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam, The Nectar of Devotion, Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, and a lecture on Sri Caitanya-carirtamrita. I share a quote from Jayadvaita Swami’s kirtana standards book. I share notes on classes by Janananda Goswami, Mandakini Devi Dasi, Devaki Devi Dasi, and Vigatasu Prabhu.
Thanks to Jagattarini and Atmarama Prabhus for their very generous donation. Thanks also to Rasa Lila Devi Dasi for her donation. Thanks to Janananda Goswami for his kind donation of foreign and local currency.
Itinerary
June 19–August 19: Paris
– August 5–9: New Mayapur Balaram festival.
August 20: London harinama
August 21–22: Liverpool harinamas
August 23: Liverpool Ratha-yatra
August 24: Liverpool harinama
August 25: London harinama and flight to New York
Chanting Hare Krishna in Paris
While Yashomatinandana Prabhu was chanting Hare Krishna at Printemps Haussmann in Paris, Rama Vijaya Prabhu, noticing that the women from Denmark he was selling books to were attracted to the Hare Krishna chant, encouraged them in participating (https://youtube.com/shorts/hRseyoFyV2A):
After this young woman filmed our Hare Krishna chanting party, I offered her “On Chanting Hare Krishna”.
She replied by saying she was already Hindu and showing me a tattoo of an “oṁ” symbol on her hand. Book distributor, Ekanatha Prabhu, convinced her that there was more she could learn about Krishna, and she took a book.
She also had tattoos of Shiva and Ganesh.
Jiva Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Hotel de Ville (https://youtu.be/LhtIO2lIrIU):
Rasa Parayana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/DBoG-Rq8_ZI):
Rasa Parayana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles, and passersby dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/V_4l1OdHdoY?feature=share):
Premamoya Narottama Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles (https://youtu.be/yom_oNRvIX8):
Four of us chanted Hare Krishna for over two hours at the Sarcelles Market on Sunday.
Here Vidjai Prabhu chants (https://youtu.be/V27lp3m2BTM):
We always have favorable interactions at Sarcelles Market. The police never stop us. Just if we are too long in one place, a vendor will motion for us to move on.
Often children are attracted as here when Rama Vijaya Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna, and a little girl played the gong (https://youtu.be/SJDcnJHoPVk):
During the Sunday feast, Ramanaji Prabhu led a nice kirtan (https://youtu.be/2O4lq07he9Y):
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Rue de Caumartin in Paris, and three guys play shakers and dance (https://youtu.be/Jq_FssuaVYo):
Patita Pavana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, and Bhaktan Deva and others dance (https://youtu.be/ktP-kbcsF-I):
Here is a video of that same kirtan in portrait orientation (https://youtube.com/shorts/lrewFTJHZXE):
Govardhan Puja Prabhu of Italy chants Hare Krishna at Rue de Caumartin, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/-QTYHdUKWg0):
Govardhan Puja Prabhu impressed me by coming directly from the airport to harinama, demonstrating a rare manifestation of enthusiasm.
Chanting Hare Krishna in New Mayapur
Nitai Sacisuta Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during Jhulan Yatra at New Mayapur in France (https://youtu.be/_Jk9rsGfizc):
Nitai Sacisuta Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in the temple lobby after Jhulan Yatra (https://youtube.com/shorts/dFREMTGuKRI?feature=share):
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.7.42:
“In this material world, every materialist desires to achieve happiness and diminish his distress, and therefore he acts accordingly. Actually, however, one is happy as long as one does not endeavor for happiness; as soon as one begins his activities for happiness, his conditions of distress begin.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.17:
“For a person who has suitable shoes on his feet, there is no danger even when he walks on pebbles and thorns. For him, everything is auspicious. Similarly, for one who is always self-satisfied there is no distress; indeed, he feels happiness everywhere.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.24.62:
“Simply by receiving the glories of the Lord through purified transcendental ears, the devotees of the Lord are immediately freed from strong material desires and engagement in fruitive activities.”
From The Nectar of Devotion, Preface:
“A living entity cannot steadily remain either in sense enjoyment or in renunciation. Change is going on perpetually, and we cannot be happy in either state, because of our eternal constitutional position.”
“Bhakti-rasa, however, the mellow relished in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, does not finish with the end of life. It continues perpetually and is therefore called amrita, that which does not die but exists eternally.”
“Adoption of bhakti-rasa, or Krishna consciousness, will immediately bring one to an auspicious life free from anxieties and will bless one with transcendental existence, thus minimizing the value of liberation. Bhakti-rasa itself is sufficient to produce a feeling of liberation, because it attracts the attention of the Supreme Lord, Krishna.”
“When the purified senses are employed in the service of the Lord, one becomes situated in bhakti-rasa life, and any action performed for the satisfaction of Krishna in this transcendental bhakti-rasa stage of life can be relished perpetually. When one is thus engaged in devotional service, all varieties of rasas, or mellows, turn into eternity. In the beginning one is trained according to the principles of regulation under the guidance of the acarya, or spiritual master, and gradually, when one is elevated, devotional service becomes automatic and spontaneous eagerness to serve Krishna. There are twelve kinds of rasas, as will be explained in this book, and by renovating our relationship with Krishna in five primary rasas we can live eternally in full knowledge and bliss.”
“The basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone. No one can live without loving someone else. This propensity is present in every living being. Even an animal like a tiger has this loving propensity at least in a dormant stage, and it is certainly present in the human beings. The missing point, however, is where to repose our love so that everyone can become happy. At the present moment the human society teaches one to love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information where to repose the loving propensity so that everyone can become happy. That missing point is Krishna, and The Nectar of Devotion teaches us how to stimulate our original love for Krishna and how to be situated in that position where we can enjoy our blissful life.”
“But the loving propensity is not satisfied even by loving all human society; that loving propensity remains imperfectly fulfilled until we know who is the supreme beloved. Our love can be fully satisfied only when it is reposed in Krishna. This theme is the sum and substance of The Nectar of Devotion, which teaches us how to love Krishna in five different transcendental mellows.”
“The root cause of our dissatisfaction is that our dormant loving propensity has not been fulfilled despite our great advancement in the materialistic way of life. The Nectar of Devotion will give us practical hints how we can live in this material world perfectly engaged in devotional service and thus fulfill all our desires in this life and the next.”
From The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 18:
“In this connection, one prayer by Rupa Gosvami is sufficient to exemplify this hopefulness. He says, ‘I have no love for Krishna, nor for the causes of developing love of Krishna—namely, hearing and chanting. And the process of bhakti-yoga, by which one is always thinking of Krishna and fixing His lotus feet in the heart, is also lacking in me. As far as philosophical knowledge or pious works are concerned, I don’t see any opportunity for me to execute such activities. But above all, I am not even born of a nice family. Therefore I must simply pray to You, Gopijana-vallabha [Krishna, maintainer and beloved of the gopis]. I simply wish and hope that some way or other I may be able to approach Your lotus feet, and this hope is giving me pain, because I think myself quite incompetent to approach that transcendental goal of life.’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 7.112–118:
“Whatever I have stated about the beginning of the Lord’s tour should also be understood to hold for as long as the Lord toured South India. When Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to the holy place known as Kurma-ksetra, He saw the Deity and offered prayers and obeisances. While at this place, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was in His usual ecstasy of love of Godhead and was laughing, crying, dancing and chanting. Everyone who saw Him was astonished. After hearing of these wonderful occurrences, everyone came to see Him there. When they saw the beauty of the Lord and His ecstatic condition, they were all struck with wonder. Just by seeing Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, everyone became a devotee. They began to chant ‘Krishna’ and ‘Hari’ and all the holy names. They all were merged in a great ecstasy of love, and they began to dance, raising their arms. Always hearing them chant the holy names of Lord Krishna, the residents of all the other villages also became Vaishnavas. By hearing the holy name of Krishna, the entire country became Vaishnava. It was as if the nectar of the holy name of Krishna overflooded the entire country.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 7.147–148:
“To protect the brahmana [Vasudeva], Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised him to chant the Hare Krishna mantra incessantly. By doing so, he would never become unnecessarily proud. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also advised Vasudeva to preach about Krishna and thus liberate living entities. As a result, Krishna would very soon accept him as His devotee.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 7.148, purport:
“That is the process of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Each and every member of this Society was rescued from a very abominable condition, but now they are engaged in preaching the cult of Krishna consciousness. They are not only cured of the disease called materialism but are also living a very happy life. Everyone accepts them as great devotees of Krishna, and their qualities are manifest in their very faces. If one wants to be recognized as a devotee by Krishna, he should take to preaching work, following the advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Then one will undoubtedly attain the lotus feet of Sri Krishna Caitanya, Lord Krishna Himself, without delay.”
From Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 18:
“A bona fide spiritual master chants the holy names Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and the transcendental sound vibration enters the ear of the disciple, and if the disciple follows in the footsteps of his spiritual master and chants the holy name with equal respect, this chanting constitutes worship of the transcendental name. When the transcendental name is worshiped by the devotee, the name Himself spreads His glories within the heart of the devotee. When the devotee is perfectly qualified in chanting the transcendental vibration of the holy name, he is quite fit to become a spiritual master and to deliver all the people of the world. The chanting of the holy name is so powerful that it gradually establishes its supremacy above everything in the world.”
From a class on Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 20.105 in New York on July 11, 1976:
“Self-made guru, that is not guru.”
“Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He is authorizing Sanatana Gosvami.”
“Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission is that to preach Krishna consciousness all over the world.”
“Savadhana means very carefully, not whimsically.”
“But the miracle of spiritual master is yanhara prasade bhai, ei bhava toriya yai. This is miracle: no more material existence.”
“Krishna-prapti hoy yaha haite. That is spiritual master, one who can give you Krishna.”
“One who has got little favor of Krishna, he knows Krishna-tattva.”
“The yogi’s main business is to control the senses. That is real yoga. Yoga indriya-samyamah. Controlling the senses so that mind can be in a peaceful condition... Without controlling your senses, mind cannot be. Then you can apply this mind for meditation. If the mind is agitated, what is this nonsense meditation? First of all control the mind; then think of meditation. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa. We have to meditate with the mind. But if the mind is agitated, where is the question of meditation? It is all bogus. . . . So for a yogi the first business is yama-niyama, asana, pranayama, dhyana, dharana, pratyahara-asta, astanga-yoga. Then one’s mind is controlled. Then dhyanavasthita. Then he can remain in trance, always thinking of Vishnu. That is yoga.”
“If you expand this Krishna consciousness movement, you'll find whole world full of happiness. Visvam purnam sukhayate.”
“So today Sanatana Gosvami’s birthday? Disappearance. Disappearance and appearance the same. His disappearance here, appearance somewhere. Just like sunset somewhere is immediately, sunset and sunrise, simultaneously.”
“Guru-mukha-padma, cittete, ara na kariya mane. Don't spoil yourself by manufacturing ideas. Take word from him [guru].”
“Divya-jñana is that we are all servant of Krishna, and our only business is to serve Krishna. Divya-jñana. This is divya-jñana. It is not difficult at all. Simply we have... We have become servant of so many things—servant of society, servant of community, servant of country, servant of wife, servant of children, servant of dog and so many. ‘Now let me become servant of Krishna.’”
Prabhupada includes this analogy: As in Vedic culture, girl practices serving her husband as a child, she spontaneously serves her husband when she matures. Similar we practice devotional service, which matures into spontaneous love.
“Unless we are free from this nescience of material existence, there is no question of Krishna prema. Two things cannot go.”
“The more we advance in Krishna-bhakti, you’ll have no more material desires.”
“So this is the relationship, Sanatana Gosvami and Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Study all of them very nicely and be advanced in Krishna consciousness.”
Jayadvaita Swami:
From Srila Prabhupada’s Kirtana Standards:
“A classic guide to writing says, ‘Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it that shouldn’t be there.’ One might say the same thing about kirtana. After all, what is purity? It’s having nothing there that shouldn’t be there. Water is pure when there’s nothing in it but water, gold when there’s nothing in it but gold. Similarly, kirtana is pure when there’s nothing extra in it — no tricks, no gimmicks, no inventions or concoctions, nothing picked up from the street, no displays of false ego, only the pure holy name of the Lord, as received through the line of pure devotees.”
Janananda Goswami:
There are four things to spiritualize your home: Make an altar, offer your food, chant Hare Krishna, and study the sastra together.
The brahmana lost all interest in material happiness having the association of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There no comparison between spiritual and material happiness. Material happiness is like a drop, and spiritual happiness is like an ocean.
How many problems does a dead body half? Zero. That you have some problems is proof that you are alive. There are problems in family life and problems in brahmacari life, but the more we chant the holy name the fewer problems we will have.
Lord Caitanya gave the Kurma brahmana this instruction for all people in family life:
“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Sri Krishna as they are given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 7.128)
I think at 50% of what keeps marriages together is the wife’s cooking.
Just offer something to Krishna, and distribute it. The garbage man comes by and man comes by to check the electricity, and you can give them prasadam.
We get the mercy of the Lord by preaching His glories.
All our problems are due to pride which manifests as a desire for respect, name, fame, etc. The whole universe functions around this principle.
Even as beginning spiritualists we tend to see ourselves in the center instead of Krishna.
Our material disease continues until one takes up Krishna consciousness.
Please join this blissful party and share the joy of Krishna’s holy names.
From a class in New Mayapur on August 6, 2025:
These eternal associates of Lord Caitanya teach religious principles, especially by their example. Lord Caitanya said that religious principles are found in the lives of the pure devotees.
Mandakini Devi Dasi told for two hours about the history of the Russian yatra at a Prabhupada disciple gathering in Lincoln, England, and the devotees were in tears hearing her presentation.
We all have exalted spiritual qualities but there are just covered over.
Lord Caitanya made life-sized neem Gaura Nitai deities for Gauridas Pandit because of his great devotion. These Gaura Nitai manifested amazing dress and ornaments to please Gauridas Pandit. Caitanya Dasa, a principle disciple of Gauridas, was leading a kirtan that was so ecstatic that Gaura Nitai deities jumped off the altar and joined the chanting and dancing. When he saw the deities missing from the altar, Gauridas took a stick to chase the deities, and they entered the heart of Caitanya Dasa, and Gauridas praised his disciple’s good fortunte and renamed him Hridaya Caitanya.
Srila Prabhupada makes it clear in The Nectar of Devotion that we are followers of Rupa Goswami.
Prahlada Maharaja says to bathe in the dust of feet of great devotees is the way to attain Krishna.
Knowledge, application of knowledge, and realization of knowledge as a result its application are required.
Sambandha is like the foundation of a house. You cannot build a house without a foundation.
Lord Caitanya called Rupa Goswami rasa-acarya because he knew all the rasas, and he wrote about them in Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu.
Humility, whatever you want me to do, is the secret of spiritual life. We are here to serve.
One of the prime teachings of Rupa Goswami is that all can become devotees, regardless of their material backgrounds.
Our samskaras or material impressions are so deep and hard to remove they are like internal tatoos.
Jagai and Madhai were very quickly delivered, but we are dragging on for so many years.
Srila Prabhupada is really patita-pavana for he has delivered millions of people.
Comment by Parividha Prabhu: When devotees describe themselves as very lowly, I feel I can trust them. You naturally like to serve the humble.
Devotees, especially those with families, have so many external duties, but within they are advised to always remember Krishna.
Radha-Damodara temple, where Srila Prabhupada and translated the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, is the center or hub of our Krishna consciousness movement.
Mandakini Devi Dasi:
We may think the list of names is boring, but it is all nectarean because they are pure devotees of Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
What is special about Sri Caitanya-caritamrita is seeing the relationships between Lord Caitanya and His devotees.
Govinda Dasi, who was engaged in painting pictures of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes, suggest to Srila Prabhupada that he write a book about Lord Caitanya. He chose Sri Caitanya-caritamrita over Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, because that book contains more of the philosophy of Lord Caitanya.
Lord Caitanya begged everyone in the universe to assist Him in distributing His fruits of love of God.
Jagannatha Puri has the glories of all the dhama. His has the sweetness of Vrindavan, the infinite mercy of Mahaprabhu, and the deep profound feelings of separation from Krishna which is there in the Ratha-yatra.
When devotees heard I was going to Puri for Ratha-yatra, they urged me not to go into the crowd, but to watch from a hotel. But I thought this is a once in a lifetime experience. How can I watch from a hotel?
Because of Srila Prabhupada’s wonderful preaching, Krishna consciousness is really fourishing in India.
The Siberians are descendents of the Sabaras who worshiped the form of Nila Madhava, who appeared before Lord Jagannatha. The Puri pandas are therefore worried when Russians, especially Siberians come to Puri, that they may steal Jagannatha away.
It was predicted to be 50 degrees C during the Puri Ratha-yatra, but clouds protected the Lord and His devotees from the sun and offered occasional sprinkles of rain.
Devaki Devi Dasi:
Krishna is the only one who has no duties. All the demigods have some duty.
Many demigods are attached to be worshiped. They give benedictions to insure their worship continues.
We chant every morning “I don’t want any number of followers,” and yet we are after followers on our Facebook page!
Srila Prabhupada makes the point that Ravana was a famous devotee of Lord Shiva and Hiranyakasipu was a famous devotee of Lord Brahma yet they are considered asuras [demons]. Only the devotees of Vishnu
If we have to share our honor with similarly qualified people, we can see how much we are affected by the false ego.
Radhanath Swami has this formula for association: 60% should be spend with equals, 20% with juniors and 20% with superiors.
It is important to not avoid opportunities to associate with equals.
If we want others to flourish and to surpass ourselves, we have to be free from envy.
Krishna can be equal to all because He is not actually to being worshiped.
We should practice being equal to all, not having our followers that we give special privileges to so we continue to be honored.
Running after followers on your Facebook page is the path of becoming demigods.
Comment by Mandakini Devi Dasi: At the end of the life of Bhakti Tirtha Swami, he realized that he would have to relinquish his identity as the famous sannyasi Bhakti Tirtha Swami to go back to Godhead.
We should plan for our death. Krishna may accept our plan or have his own plan for us, but we should all have a plan.
If the culture of Krishna consciousness is lived by the parents, and it is not just rules and regulations,
In India, people are considering only caste and money in matchmaking, and thus many Indian marriages are also ending in divorce.
In my book on the false ego, I have a chapter on how to glorify devotees without boosting their false ego.
The women are very powerful. They can bring out the best in a man, or they can ruin his life forever.
False ego:
Every life a nonsensical stage performance.
At the moment of death all these things we think are so important are all finished.
KC brings about a change in our perception of reality.
Bg. 18.58 Krishna gives us two choices.
When we act as servant of Krishna I am free.
If we are attached our position as temple president, when the GBC wants to put someone else in, we will fight it. I know communities that split in half because of that.
We need a mentor, a well-wisher friend, who can help us when we are blinded by false ego. We have lost so many devotees because of a lack of realization of the importance of having a mentor.
I had no desire to be a traveling preacher or to write books, I just had a desire to do some service.
We accomplish anything in Srila Prabhupada we need mercy, and seeing we have an attitude of doing service, Krishna will give us mercy.
Vaishnava etiquette can be a saving grace from false ego, and also the deep chanting of the holy name.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says we should chant the name longing to serve, otherwise it is useless. Chanting the name longing to serve establishes us in dasya.
From a class on the holy name:
By chanting the holy name we can get the same benefit as meeting Krishna face to face.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura says the inattentiveness in chanting is the main problem:
This inattention is on three levels: On the level of the body, the mind, and the heart.
1. Body: We do something else with our body, like shopping, driving, or watching a movie, while chanting.
2. Mind: Making plans or jumping from one thing to another.
3. Heart: Srila Prabhupada said we should chant like a child crying in helplessness and desperation for its mother, addressing the Lord with feeling: Please accept me.
Chanting with a clicker is nonsense. One click here, and one click there. It encourages inattention.
Sometimes those who do other kinds meditation are much more serious about them than we are.
If we chant with our heart, something will happen in our relationship with Krishna.
We chant to reestablish our lost and forgotten relationship with Krishna.
Being mindful of Krishna’s presence in our lives is the beginning of developing our relationship with Krishna.
If I give you a relection of a piece of cake, will it satisfy you? Similarly, chanting the reflection of the holy name will not satisfy your soul.
Sacinandana Swami likens the chanting the holy name without attention to taking capsules without medicine in them.
I do holy name retreats and sometimes Prabhupada disciples with tears in their eyes realize they have not even begun chanting after 45 or 50 years.
In the beginning of japa I call out to Lord Nrsimha to destroy my demoniac qualities. Then I call out to Srila Prabhupada for some mercy. Then call out to our favorite sadhus. And then Krishna and then Radharani.
So we can allow our mind to wander a little bit but not outside of divine personalities.
Q: It seems we can only seriously cry out to Krishna when we have a real calamity.
A: It is true, but there is enough reason for us to cry out now, since death can come at any time and because we have ignored Krishna for so long we can feel bad about that. If we acquire knowledge of sambandha, we will realize that there is reason to cry out to Krishna because we do not want to come back here.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.9.8:
We are not convinced that material happiness ends in suffering so we continue to endeavor for it.
So much of our happiness is just relief from distress.
Although there is a whole realm of spiritual happiness, most people are unaware of it.
The bill for our sense gratification may come ten years later.
Learn to tolerate. Otherwise we will be tossed around by happiness and distress.
A devotee in distress takes more shelter of Krishna, and thus he experiences the bliss of Krishna’s association.
If we are preoccupied with our own position, we cannot really care for others.
For me, the program at the festival is not the real festival but all the extra opportunities for voluntary service.
From a seminar “Meeting Death with Joy”, Day 1, in New Mayapur, on August 6, 2025:
We have to be detached enough from our plan, so we can accept Krishna’s plan.
Having had cancer twice, really shook me up, and changed my outlook on life.
Finally we can do all these things we could not do when we have small kids.
When I worked in the hospital I saw so many people die, and it intrigued me. What actually happens at death?
Vigatasu Prabhu:
The Ninth Canto has especially amazing stories, even scandalous stories.
For us, we should not be concerned about the people in these stories, but rather how we have the same issues in ourselves.
Rupa Goswami says that there must be good stories to attract the conditioned souls. There must be stories of chivalry and romance. So you find this in the Ninth Canto.
The Bhagavatam is teaching us how we can take complete shelter of the Lord as the residents of Vrindavan.
During Srila Prabhupada’s time, one devotee woman was crossing the street to attend a kirtan, but a truck was coming and killed her. The case was described to Srila Prabhupada, and he said she would definitely attain the spiritual world because she was hearing the kirtan at the time of her death by Krishna’s grace.
We think that we have just solved one problem, but the next problem is right around the corner.
In this temple so many people are doing so much service to the Lord that when people come here they will be positively influenced.
Gangadevi worried being overloaded with the reactions of sinful people, but that is just her humility. Her water comes from lotus feet of the Lord, so how can it be contaminated?
In the Third Canto, the Sankhya philosophy decreases our attraction to the material world by breaking it up into its component parts and revealing that there is nothing of value there.
Third Canto shows that bad result of greed in the story of Hiranyaksa.
Srila Prabhupada said that Thailand is a place of Vedic sense gratification.
Mixed devotees have a mixed experience.
It is said that if someone dies within a mile and a half of a salagram-sila.
The Ninth Canto begins by several chapters describing the kings of the Surya-vamsa and then later several chapters describings the kings of the Soma-vamsa, leading up to the appearance of Lord Krishna.
In the Bhagavatam, the stories of devotees who have different challenges are explained in the mood of compassion.
Do not under estimate the problem of lust.
“I want this. I want that.” – that is lust. “I want more.” – that is greed. Then if I do not get it, I become angry.
In the Ninth Chapter, the main story in the beginning is the Ambarisa Maharaja and the main story in the end is the story of Maharaja Yayati. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura said those two kings were contemporaries, and it was by the mercy of Ambarisa that Yayati was able to become renounced after his life of sense enjoyment.
Comments by me:
You speak of giving up dirty coal to accept a valuable jewel. That reminds me once on harinama, we met a person whose hands were so full he had to give up his cigarette to accept the sweets we were giving out.
In the Bali Maharaja lila there is one verse glorifying the sankirtana of the holy name: “There may be discrepancies in pronouncing the mantras and observing the regulative principles, and, moreover, there may be discrepancies in regard to time, place, person and paraphernalia. But when Your Lordship’s holy name is chanted, everything becomes faultless.” (SB 8.23.16)
-----
This is a beautiful quote from the Vedic literature describing the unique position of the one Supreme Lord. What monotheistic tradition cannot accept this?
nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam
“Among all the eternal, conscious beings, there is one who supplies the needs of everyone else.” (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13)
tesam santih sasvati netaresam
“The wise souls who worship Him in His abode attain everlasting peace. Others cannot.”
