Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 1
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2013, part one)
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2013, part one)
New
York City
(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on February 19, 2013)
(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on February 19, 2013)
 |
| Harinama in Times Square Subway Station, January 10, 2013. |
Where I Went and What I Did
For
the first two weeks of January 2013, I continued chanting in
Manhattan with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama
party,
and I continued living in our Brooklyn temple, Sri
Sri Radha Govinda Mandir,
attending the morning program there, and spending two hours afterward
chopping vegetables for the temple and its weekday restaurant
program, Govinda’s
Vegetarian Lunch.
Every afternoon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. I would chant with Rama Raya
Prabhu and his harinama
party,
consisting of from three to seventeen devotees, at Union Square Park,
or on the cold days, in various subway stations at Union Square,
Grand Central, Times Square, and Columbus Circle. Sometimes,
especially on weekends, we would begin at 3 p.m. or even 2 p.m., and
still continue till 8:00 p.m. By the influence of Rama Raya I spent
an extra week in New York City with his harinama
party,
missing the first week of the spring semester at Gainesville’s
Krishna House.
I
did not hear so many live lectures in New York City, but I have some
notes from the many Prabhupada recordings I heard while chopping
vegetables, the Prabhupada books I daily read, the articles I
proofread for both Back
to Godhead magazine
and Viraha
Bhavan, the
daily journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I did hear one morning
lecture by Romapada Swami, whose informative points I also share.
Harinama
in New York City
New
Years Day, the 76th
anniversary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura’s
disappearance according to both the solar and lunar calendars, was
auspicious for us on harinama.
Elizabeth,
who just graduated from college in New Paltz and who is originally
from New Jersey, listened over an hour to us chant in the Times
Square subway station. She explained that she had once lived for two
weeks in our ashram in Wellington, New Zealand. She was happy to
encounter the Hare Krishnas for the first time in the New York City
area, and we told her about our Manhattan and Brooklyn temples and
their programs.
Supervisor
Nandan Vyasadev, originally from Gujarat, was very happy to have the
Hare Krishnas chant in the Time Square subway station where he is in
charge. We gave him prasadam cupcakes
and laddus,
which he appreciated, and
we were happy to have found a place indoors where the authorities
like us.
 |
Rama
Raya Prabhu, the leader of the Manhattan harinama
program
asked me to stay another week on the party, as he did not have three
people committed to the full four-hour harinama.
I
told him I planned to go to Gainesville for three months and return
to New York City for a week of harinama
in
April, but
he preferred that I do that week of harinama
in
January. The weather is better in April and my friend, Ekalavya
Prabhu, may also be back on the party in April, so April was my
preference. I decided to ask Kalakantha Prabhu if he cared whether I
came back a week later and stayed an extra week in April. He said it
was better for him if I came back when I planned to and not week
later, but he liberally said that I could decide for myself. During
our harinama in
the Times Square subway station, I was thinking about the dilemma and
I decided that I should pray to Krishna for a sign indicating what I
should do. While I was thinking in that way, a young lady passed our
party with a bright smile on her face, her eyes fixed on the party as
she walked by. I thought she definitely looked interested and offered
her a pamphlet on chanting, so she came over to me. I thought she was
so attracted she must have some previous experience with Hare Krishna
so I asked her. She replied that she had just heard some people
singing in Union Square Park a few times but that was all. I smiled
and explained that we were the same people singing at Union Square
and that we chant in the subways in the cold weather. She explained
that she loved the chanting, and concluded with a smile, saying “that
sound is pure joy!” “Wow!” I thought, it is not often that
someone says, “That sound is pure joy!” We know that Krishna is
eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, and that His name is
similarly qualified, but it is not often that people in the crowd
have the realization that “that sound is pure joy!” Then and
there I decided to stay in New York City another week, and give
thousands of New Yorkers each day a chance to hear the “pure joy”
of the Hare Krishna mantra. That was sign I was looking for!
At
Union Square Park, I talked to a lady who was videoing our chanting,
and asked her if she knew about Hare Krishna. Yes, she replied,
saying she frequently goes to Govinda’s Restaurant in Stockholm,
where she was visiting from. I gave her an invitation to Govinda’s
in Brooklyn, and she promised to go on her next visit to New York, as
she was returning home the next day.
One
girl from Arkansas was videoing the party at Union Square with a big
smile on her face. She said she likes to come to New York and see
cultural opportunities not present in Arkansas, despite its pleasant
scenic natural beauty. From that I could understand the harinama
gives
people from all parts of the USA, and even the world, a chance to
come in touch with Krishna in the course of their pursuing the
adventure of a New York City vacation.
Sally,
who lives a block from Union Square, and looks to be in her sixties,
comes for an hour or two to chant with the devotees each day and
throws a donation in the basket before returning home. One day she
spontaneously said about the daily kirtana,
“This is the best thing that has happened in Union Square since I
moved here over forty years ago.”
In
Times Square subway station, just above the platform for the “7”
train, we were chanting peacefully when a Christian preacher decided
to pace back and forth across the hallway from us, giving his hell,
fire, and brimstone speech to anyone who could hear him over the
kirtana. After
I while I decided to advise him that if he moved down the hallway a
few yards, it would be easier for people to hear his message. He
protested that he has been coming here for years, and it was his
place. Then he began to criticize our philosophy. I could see I was
not going to get anywhere with him, so I returned to dancing and
giving out invitations to people with obvious interest. After a few
minutes a well-dressed Afro-American gentlemen convinced the
Christian to move down the hallway a few yards, and continued talking
with him for some time. Then that man who relocated the Christian
came up to where I was standing, and I thanked him for helping us
out. He told me he saw from the staircase above how the Christian was
harassing us, and thinking that it wasn’t right, he came down to
tell the man so. He explained to me that when dealing with
Christians, you just have to ask them two questions, “When was the
Bible compiled?” and “How many books does it have?” Usually
they do not know, and it is embarrassing for them and they are
humbled, and then you are able to deal with them. He told me his name
was Carlos, and he was a trumpet player for years in that subway
station and he knew the Christians well. Then he surprised me by
asking for some karatalas, and
he played with us for awhile, throwing a donation in the basket as he
left.
On
the hallway from Grand Central Station to the Times Square shuttle, a
man passed by our party, smiling and speaking a few friendly words.
Then having a second thought, he returned to look at our books on
display. I showed him Bhagavad-gita,
and
he said he had one. I decided to show him the Krishna
book,
explaining it was a biography telling of Krishna’s activities in
this world. He glanced through it and decided to buy one for ten
dollars. He told me he was retired professor with a doctorate in
world religions and has been a Christian Brothers monk for fifty
years. Then he offered respect with folded hands to each and everyone
in our chanting party as he left with a smile.
One
night at Union Square, as I taking a breaking from our chanting party
to warm my body and to use the rest room, I noticed a young lady who
was standing not far away for quite a while and watching us for part
of the time. I asked her if she liked the music, and she said she
did. She went on to explain that several times she visited a Hare
Krishna restaurant when she lived in Arizona. I asked if it was the
one in Tucson, and she said it was. I told her how I had spent two
months in Tucson, singing three hours a day at the University of
Arizona, and eating at our restaurant Govinda’s, and that I really
liked the whole experience. I asked her what she was doing in the
city, and she said she worked at Carnegie Hall on 57th
Street. I told her we had a Krishna lunch program in at our temple in
Brooklyn and that it was just 5 stops on the “Q” train to get
there from 57th
Street. She said she had an hour off for lunch, and she would like to
go and check it out sometime, so I gave her an invitation. Usually we
do not talk to people unless they are obviously very favorable, so I
took a risk talking to that young lady, but she was very happy to
hear she could get some Krishna food in New York, so I felt happy
about it.
Special
thanks to Rasika Gopi dd and Bhakta Alex for their wonderful pictures
of the harinamas in
Manhattan.
Srila
Prabhupada:
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
5.14.38,
purport:
‘sadhu-sanga,’
‘sadhu-sanga’—
sarva-shastre kaya
lava-matra
sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya
(Cc.
Madhya 22.54)
Even
by a little association with devotees, the conditioned soul can get
out of this miserable material condition. This Krishna consciousness
movement is therefore trying to give everyone a chance to associate
with saintly people. Therefore all the members of this Krishna
consciousness society must themselves be perfect sadhus [saints] in
order to give a chance to fallen conditioned souls. This is the best
humanitarian work.
from
a lecture on Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance day in
Gorakhpur on Feb. 15, 1971:
“Except
the devotee of Krishna, everyone is simply giving Krishna trouble,
trouble, trouble. . . . Don’t make any plan. Accept Krishna’s
plan. . . . A devotee’s principle is not place any plan to Krishna.
Let Krishna do . . . . As far as possible our business is to induce
persons how to become Krishna conscious. That’s all. For that
reason you can make your plan, because that is Krishna’s plan.”
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.7 in Delhi on November 13, 1973:
“A
mahatma (a
great soul) is not under the control of the material energy. He is
under the the shelter of the spiritual energy. . . . He has no other
business than to serve the Supreme Lord.”
“We
are reminding people that ‘you are son of such great personality,
of Krishna, why don’t you go back to your home?’”
“People
are searching after God. . . . . God may be like this, God may be
like that. Why ‘may be’? Why not say you don’t know? Just admit
that you do not know. Why are you cheating.”
Scholars
claim to be searching for God, and although the Lord appears as
Krishna and is accepted by great spiritual authorities, the scholars
foolishly continue to search for Him elsewhere, making different
theses.
from
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2
given in Hyderabad on March 15, 1975:
“Is
it very difficult to constantly remember Krishna? You can do it. You
are remembering something. The mind is occupied always with
something. Just practice occupying the mind with Krishna. That’s
all. Where is the difficulty?”
from
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.2.8
in Hyderabad on April 22, 1974:
“Anyone
who accepts the supremacy of God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
his process of worship has to be considered in the category of
bhakti-yoga.”
You
cannot say, “Let us all become technologist sudras.”
Then you can get money for wine and meat but the ideal life is
lost.
from
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.11 in Vrindavan on October
22, 1972:
That
the sunshine spreads all over the universe does not make it more
important than the sun globe. Similarly the all-pervading Brahman is
not more important than the Personality of Godhead from whom it
emanates.
By
chanting Hare Krishna we immediate contact Krishna, while by other
yogic processes that can take many births.
from
Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 9.50 verse and purport:
“This attitude of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very important for persons engaged in the Hare Krishna movement of Krishna consciousness. In every center of our institution, ISKCON, we have arranged for a love feast every Sunday, and when we actually see people come to our center, chant, dance, take prasadam, become jubilant and purchase books, we know that certainly Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is always present in such transcendental activities, and He is very pleased and satisfied. Therefore the members of ISKCON must increase this movement more and more, according to the principles that we are presently trying to execute. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, thus being pleased, will smilingly glance upon them, bestowing His favor, and the movement will be successful.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.16.3, purport:
“If one rigidly observes the regulative principle of chanting sixteen rounds of the maha-mantra every day, his dealings with the material world for the sake of spreading the Krishna consciousness movement are not different from the spiritual cultivation of Krishna consciousness.”
from Back to Godhead, Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Protected by Krishna”:
“This
is
the crucial point. Dehantara-prapti:
one
has to accept another body. If you can find a means so that you do
not accept another body, then you are safe. Otherwise, as soon as you
take another birth, then you must die also. And between birth and
death are disease and old age.”
“How
are these European and American
boys and girls advancing, realizing? Simply by using the tongue to
chant Hare Krishna and take prasada.
You
can introduce this process all
over the world. Give people a chance to chant the Hare Krishna
mantra. But it is difficult also. There was a cartoon. One old lady
is requesting her husband, “Chant chant,
chant,” and the husband is replying, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.”
[Laughter]
We are requesting everyone, “Please chant,” and they are
replying, “Can’t.” They will not chant.
That is the difficulty. Otherwise, we can deliver all the people on
this earth back home, back to Godhead, simply by this process:
chanting and taking prasada.”
“They
cannot give up that small piece of meat. The same thing can be made
from milk. Prepare cheese and fry it, and you’ll get the same
taste. Let the animal live, take its milk, and prepare so many milk
preparations. But these rascals will not do that. They will kill
simply for the tongue.”
from
Back
to Godhead,
Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Prabhupada
Speaks Out”:
[From
a
conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada and some of his disciples which took place in September
1975 on an early-morning walk in Vrindavana, India.]
But
how have you become embodied if you are the Supreme? What made you
embodied? You don’t like to be embodied—the body is bringing so
much suffering—so you want liberation. But whoever made you
embodied—He is the Supreme. You are not the Supreme.
Romapada
Swami:
Visvanatha
Cakravarti Thakura explained that in the pastime of the cursing of
Jaya and Vijaya, the Lord accomplished several purposes. He satisfied
Laksmi, Jaya and Vijaya, and the Kumaras. Here is how:
Once
Narayana wanted to rest so he posted Jaya and Vijaya to guard the
door to his room and not let anyone in. When Laksmi, the eternal
consort of the Lord, arrived, they turned her away, and she did not
say anything, but she was not happy about it, and later she let
Narayana know that she wanted them punished for that mistake.
Jaya
and Vijaya knew that the Lord had a chivalrous nature and liked to
fight but had no suitable combatant, and so they had a desire to play
that role for the Lord.
When
Narayana arrived on the scene, He pleased the brahmana
Kumaras
by
supporting the position of the brahmanas
by
His words and actions.
In
steadiness, there may be some residual materialistic inclination, but
the bhakti
is
so powerful it overshadows that slight material tendency.
In
disagreements between devotees, it is best not to take sides but to
understand the Lord has some plan in that.
The
Lord rules the hearts of the residents of Vaikuntha so there is
diversity but no conflict and thus no fear, just as there is no
conflict between the different organs of the body.
In
Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s autobiography, he tells of a scholar who
wrote a book of fictional stories about Krishna and showed it to him
before publishing. He spent four days without eating or sleeping,
explaining to the scholar why one could not write a fiction book
about Krishna, and finally the scholar agreed and rewrote the book.
Later that scholar recalled, “Whenever
I was in his association, very quickly Bhaktivinoda Thakura would
begin to talk about acintya-bheda-abheda-tattva
[the
truth that the living entities are inconceivably and simultaneously
one and different from the Supreme Lord].
Recognizing
the majesty of the Lord and being satisfied simply to serve Him in
that mood is the qualification to live in Vaikuntha.
The
love that the residents of Vrindavan have for Krishna is what Lord
Caitanya came to give and what people are receiving from Him, step by
step, whether they know it or not.
You
can be steady in faith, but not steady in the execution of bhakti
only
because of external circumstances beyond your control.
It
is my experience that once a person has regulated his life in a
spiritual way, if he again takes to an unregulated life, it is very,
very difficult to become regulated in spiritual life again.
The
Kumaras generally agree, but occasionally express their individual
non-conflicting views.
Q:
Is it enough to understand bhakti
is
the essence and not absorb oneself in all the details?
A:
It is certainly good to understand that bhakti
is
the essence, but appreciating the details we can increasingly relish
the pastimes.
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
from
an online poem:
“Radha
controls Krishna, yet He is the independent Supreme Personality of
Godhead.”
from
Qualities
of Sri Krishna:
“The
Nectar of Devotion
speaks of Krishna offering obeisances to Maharaja Yudhisthira before
the rajasuya
sacrifice
as an example of His gentleness, but His most amazing act at the
rajasuya
sacrifice
was His volunteering to wash the feet of the arriving guests. How
gentle Krishna is. What other great and powerful king would be
willing to overcome his own arrogance to touch the feet of so many
people? Krishna did not agree to bathe the guests’ feet out of
political motivation; He bathed their feet as an exchange of love.
Krishna is both father and mother to all living beings. He likes to
care for them in a way that eases their hearts. Certainly, His
washing the guests’ feet is an example of His quality of
gentleness.
Urmila
dd:
from
Back
to Godhead,
Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Offering
Dandavat”:
One
Sanskrit word Srila Prabhupada translates as “surrender” is
prapadyate, which
literally means “to throw oneself down at someone’s feet.”
Caitanya-carana
Prabhu:
from
Back to Godhead, Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “The
W.R.I.T.E. Service”:
“Though
different people may be able
to forget worldly miseries by absorption in various activities,
devotees know that the transcendence attained by absorption in
Krishna is unique because it comprises a this-worldly glimpse of the
eternal, ecstatic absorption that awaits them in the next world.”
Vamsi
Vihari Prabhu:
from
Back
to Godhead,
Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Sickess:
A Friend and Teacher”:
One
of my devotee friends shared
his realization that Krishna takes the risk of being blamed: “Oh! I
am trying to serve You, Krishna, and You are giving me problems. What
kind of God are You?” But as a true well-wisher, Krishna is
concerned not about being blamed
but about ending our material existence as soon as possible.
Sickness
can reveal the true level of
our spiritual connection by showing whether our foundation is shallow
or deep—that is, based on a genuine desire to practice Krishna
consciousness in any circumstance. If we are open, we may find the
revelation humbling, which in spiritual life is helpful. So, illness
can be a turning point in our life. We may understand that we have
forced Krishna to put us into this predicament to take us out of the
illusion that life in the material world is “the good life.”
Years
ago I read the poem “Reduced,”
by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
My
list of Things to Do
falls
to the side.
All
I do is rest.
Yet
one cry to Krishna
is
worth a hundred days
of
marching in pride.
Sickness
can become a golden opportunity for us to realize our smallness and
helplessness and take shelter of Krishna. We
have to remember that if Krishna
is allowing something to happen to us, it must be good. I have met
devotees who feel that the best time of their Krishna conscious lives
was when they were going through some difficulty. Not finding any
other shelter, they intensely took Krishna’s shelter and felt His
presence more evidently than at any other time. That’s why Kunti
Devi, the glorious mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Krishna for more
and more calamities. “Because,” she reasoned, “calamities
inspire me to see Your lotus face, which means I’ll no longer see
the face of repeated birth and death.” We need not imitate Kunti
Devi by asking for more hardship, however; our destined calamities
should be enough for us to turn to Krishna.
-----
tasmat
sankirtanam visnor
jagan-mangalam
amhasam
mahatam
api kauravya
viddhy
aikantika-niskrtam
“Sukadeva
Gosvami continued: My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the
Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins.
Therefore the chanting of the sankirtana
movement
is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to
understand this so that others will take it seriously.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.3.31)
