Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Preaching Realizations / Deity Pastimes / NOI

Notes on a class by Satvata Prabhu's lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.6.21

Srila Prabhupada said if you sell books, Lord Caitanya will personally embrace you.

When you travel and preach, you see how Krishna takes care of you.

"Brazil is a poor country. We would go out to other cities by bus. In order to eat we would have to sell some books and in order to get home we would have to sell more books.

The first class he ever heard in a temple explained that Deity worship (arcana) is practicing serving Krishna so we know what to do in the spiritual world.

When you are absorbed in preaching, you are far away from offense.

Deity pastimes:

Once he wanted to chant Radha-stava in Vrndavana and thus he prayed to our Deities there. Just then the person in charge of scheduling the singing said, "Today you lead the kirtana."

Once in Brazil, some redneck type people who live in the forest saw an arati ceremony at the temple. After the arati, they asked how the priest how he made the dolls dance like that and if they were puppets.

Bhakti Vikasa Swami mentioned in his seminar in Mayapur on March 1, 2007 on the Preface to The Nectar of Instruction that Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said that Lord Caitanya recited these verses of Upadesamrita (The Nectar of Instruction) to Rupa Goswami at the ocean at Puri, and Rupa Goswami later wrote them down.

Four people attended my first Nectar of Instruction class, and I am very inspired to continue. They all seemed to be glad they came, and almost everyone took a book.