Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 15, No. 9
By Krishna Kripa Das
(May 2019, part one)
United Kingdom
(Sent from Paris on May 23, 2019)
Where
I Went and What I Did
I
traveled from Brussels to London, where I did harinama
for
two days, going out for two hours with Ananta Nitai Prabhu the first
day and for six hours with Govinda and Kulasekhara Prabhus the second
day. The day after that I went to Birmingham where I did some
harinama and
attended Madhava Prabhu’s kirtan the evening before the Birmingham
24-hour Kirtan. The Birmingham 24-hour Kirtan lasted for two days and
was attended by Sacinandana Swami, Candramauli Swami, and Madhava
Prabhu, among others. Hundreds of devotees came from all over the UK,
and some from Ireland and
other countries as
well. Both days Bali Mardan Prabhu of Leicester organized harinama
in
Birmingham for an hour or two in the afternoon. I spent the next week
in Newcastle, making day trips to do harinama
in
South Shields, North Shields, Morpeth, and Edinburgh, and I gave two
lectures in Newcastle and one in Edinburgh. The following week I went
to North Yorkshire and chanted in York on Monday with Govardhan Devi
Dasi and her husband, Nitaichand Prabhu. We chanted together the next
day in Scarborough and Whitby with Ashis Prabhu joining us, and later
in the afternoon I chanted with Nitaichand and Ashis Prabhus in
Filey, a new town for all of us. The next day I took a train and a
bus to London, where I chanted for a total of three hours, going out
three times with different devotees. The next day I flew to Munich to
attend the Nrsimha Caturdasi at the Simhachalam farm, and I got some
realization that traveling on Thursday is inauspicious. During
lectures in Edinburgh, Newcastle, and London, I glorified Queen
Rukmini and Jayananda Prabhu, because her appearance day and his
disappearance day come just before Nrsimha Caturdasi, yet so often we
neglect them, and the Lord appreciates glorification of His devotees
in preference to that of Himself.
I
share a quote by Krishna Himself from Srimad-Bhagavatam,
where
He
nicely analyzes the human condition and concisely
describes the
path to perfection. I share many quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s
lectures and from his books. I share quotes from Satsvarupa Dasa
Goswami’s Free
Write Journal. I
share realizations on chanting the holy name from Sacinandana and
Candramauli Swamis and Madhava Prabhu, speaking at the Birmingham
24-Hour Kirtan, and a little history of that event by Rakesh Prabhu,
the announcer. I share many nice points made by the scholarly Bhakti
Prabhava Swami in a Bhagavatam
class
at our Radha-Londonisvara temple in Central London.
Many,
many thanks to Satya Medha Gauranga Prabhu for coming on harinama,
for
driving
me to and from harinama,
and
for his very liberal donation. Thanks to his wife, Andrea, for
replacing the orange
waterproof
jacket that she previously
got me with a brand new one. Thanks
to Saranga Thakura Prabhu of Karuna Bhavan for his generous donation.
Thanks to the Newcastle temple for their donations. Thanks to Thaigu
Prabhu, an attendee at Thaigu’s program whose name I did not get,
and Rukmini Devi Dasi for their donations in Edinburgh. Thanks to
Govardhan Devi Dasi for generously allowing me to keep our harinama
collections
in York, Scarborough, Whitby, and Filey. Thanks to the residents of
Birmingham for their donations on harinama.
Thanks
to Aditya and Malvika of Calgary for giving me a ride from Munich
airport to Simhachalam.
Itinerary
May
19 – July 17: Paris [except BI seminar on evolution in FL: June
6–10]
July
18: London harinama
July
19: Nottingham harinama
and program?
July
20: Sheffield Tramlines harinama
July
21: Birmingham Ratha-yatra
July
23: Sheffield harinama
and program
July
25: Accrington program?
July
26: Liverpool harinama
program?
July
30 – August 3: Pol’and’Rock Festival (formerly Polish Woodstock
Festival)
August
4–5: Berlin harinamas
August
6–12: Vaishnava Summer Festival (Lithuania)
August
13: flights
from Vilnius to Olso to Dublin to Montreal
August
14–18: Vaishnava Sanga Festival (Canada)
August
20–22: harinamas
in
the North of England
August
23: Janmastami in Newcastle
August
24: Vyasa Puja at Soho Street
August
25: Leeds harinama
and program?
August
27: Sheffield harinama
and program
August
29: Accrington program?
August
30: Liverpool harinama
and
program?
August
31: Liverpool harinama
September
1: Liverpool Ratha-yatra
September
2–6: Newcastle area harinama
September
7: York harinama
and program
September
8: Great North Run harinama
(Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
September
9–10: Dublin
September
11–April 2020: NYC Yuga Dharma harinamas
& North Florida Colleges
Chanting
Hare Krishna in London
When
in Ireland two weeks before, I learned from Premarnava Prabhu that
our mutual friend and harinama
partner,
Ananta Nitai Prabhu, was in India. Thus it was a great surprise to
see him when I arrived in London from Brussels by bus. There appears
to be more of a focus on books and less on harinama
these
days at our Soho Street temple, and Ananta Nitai and I were the only
people on the daily afternoon harinama,
so
I felt useful in helping to maintain that program.
Here
Ananta Nitai Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Oxford Street just around
the corner from the temple, and two passersby play shakers
(https://youtu.be/keQ2G6ydSQE):
Govinda,
Kulasekhara, and Vasudeva Prabhus maintain a program of doing
harinama for about seven hours on Thursdays in Central London.
Adi-Guru
Prabhu sometimes joins the
Thursday harinama
party, and here he leads the Hare Krishna chant at Oxford Circus
(https://youtu.be/KvmpKEUCVL0):
Katerina,
a devotee lady originally from Czech Republic who has a powerful
voice, chants Hare Krishna at Leicester Square
(https://youtu.be/eSjxJJ2CDNA):
Sandipani
Muni Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Oxford Street, and two
boys break dance (https://youtu.be/xyBHSFDYqyM):
Sandipani
Muni Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Oxford Street, and ladies
passing by dance with the devotee ladies
(https://youtu.be/NNbzsbkokC8):
Govinda
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in front of Govinda's Restaurant on Soho
Street, desiring to avoid the pouring rain
(https://youtu.be/4dGExE5BY4Q):
Ananta
Nitai Prabhu, the final leader of the Hare Krishna chant on the
Thursday London harinama,
sings
on Oxford Street (https://youtu.be/WjGizh-t8Zo):
While
Ananta Nitai Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna, several Italian tourists
enjoyed playing instruments with the devotees
(https://youtu.be/zjFkAHfd1_8):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Birmingham
For the tenth year in a row I went to the Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan, regularly attended by Sacinandana Swami and Madhava Prabhu, now in its twentieth year. This time the festival was also attended by Candramauli Swami.
This year I
chanted Hare Krishna on New Street in Birmingham on the rainy, chilly
evening before the Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan, and I distributed
invitations to the festival. I came to Birmingham the day before the
kirtan festival this year for the first time upon hearing that
Madhava Prabhu does a kirtan with Vaishnava youths there that night.
Hearing my one-man harinama,
one
Indian man who was experiencing difficulties in his life, found the
chanting had a beneficial effect on his mind. I invited him to the festival,
but he said he was leaving for
London the next day. I told him we had a kirtan that very night, and
I invited him to come with me there on the bus, and he did. He stayed
until the end, took prasadam,
and
said he might return the next day before his afternoon train to
London.
Here
Madhava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna the night before the Birmingham
24-Hour Kirtan at our new temple in Birmingham
(https://youtu.be/IY4qR6fhUuk):
I
slept in the new temple overnight and was one of the few privileged
to see Lord Jagannatha at mangala-arati.
Nitai
Kirtan Prabhu was kind to facilitate me and two other devotees with a
place to take a shower and breakfast the next day, and in my case, a
place to get caught up on my sleep.
Here
Sacinandana Swami chants Hare Krishna at Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan
Saturday at noontime (https://youtu.be/nshO25H7yNg):
A
small party of enthusiastic devotees from Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan,
gathered together by Bali Mardan Prabhu of Leicester (above),
who likes to go on harinama
every day, here
led
by Abi Hughes and later Megan, chants Hare Krishna along nearby
Birmingham streets (https://youtu.be/EyVDNH1zS34):
Sacinandana
Swami chants Hare Krishna at Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan Saturday
evening (https://youtu.be/X45vS2tUCKM):
Madhava
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan Saturday
evening (https://youtu.be/CK2VBfMKAc8):
Here
are some more lively Hare Krishna tunes from Saturday at the
Birmingham 24-hour Kirtan (https://youtu.be/JwEvJzpHLUg):
They
have a special arati
at
midnight for Lord Jagannatha, and the kirtan for that is lively and
well attended. Then most of the people leave, and a small group of
youthful devotees keeps the chanting going the rest of the night and
through the morning. I stayed awake for several of those kirtans.
Yogindra Prabhu chants Hare Krishna just before the midnight arati
at Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan (https://youtu.be/n4gkUGKM_kc):
Namacarya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during a midnight arati
at Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan (https://youtu.be/P-fu51puzkM):
Khushali chants Hare Krishna at Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan
right after the midnight arati
for Lord Jagannatha (https://youtu.be/q0RnrWn1AjE):
I
took a nap in the back of the kirtan hall from 2:30 to 5:30 a.m.,
somehow or other sleeping through the mangala-arati
at
4:30 a.m. I slept surprising well enough although I am a very light
sleeper, despite the fact there was a kirtan going on, and the next
day, I participated
the kirtan
until we ended around 9:45 p.m., without taking any naps.
Here
Madhava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan on
Sunday morning, during the abhiseka
of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai (https://youtu.be/ChNPiQH9-ZE):
Parasurama
Prabhu plays ukulele and chants Hare Krishna at Birmingham 24-Hour
Kirtan (https://youtu.be/LADlOfIwpcc):
Govinda
Prabhu chants two Hare Krishna tunes at Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan
(https://youtu.be/0A4096fFUuA):
Different
devotees chant some lively Hare Krishna tunes Sunday at Birmingham
24-Hour Kirtan (https://youtu.be/3SRQVQvR07E):
Madhava
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the end of the Birmingham 24-Hour
Kirtan on Sunday evening, as the partially undressed deities of Lord
Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra listen from atop a
table, along with their devotees, who are dancing by the end
(https://youtu.be/pmyIXbaTkPc):
There
is a little sadness the ecstatic event is over till next year.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in the Newcastle Area
The
night after the Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan, I spent in the Manchester
temple, after catching
a ride
with Manchester devotees. The
next day I
took a couple of buses, leaving at 10:50 a.m., and arriving in
Newcastle around 3:00 p.m. I took a short nap, and chanted in
Newcastle on a rather
cold and windy day. I thought of packing up early because of being
tired from the festival and because of the cold, but the people were
giving donations so generously, over £25 altogether, I stuck it out.
It was as if Krishna was encouraging me for going out despite the
austere conditions.
Janananda
Goswami likes us to go to other places besides Newcastle, so that
week I
decided to go to South Shields, where I had not been for five years,
North Shields, where I had not been in three years, and Morpeth,
where I had never done harinama
at
all.
Satya
Medha Gauranga Prabhu, who acquired a taste for serving Janananda
Goswami when helping with his harinama
newsletter
years ago, was inspired by him to do harinama
in
many localities around Newcastle, despite his shy disposition. Satya
Medha was enlivened
to see me going out, remembering his own experiences, and he joined
me in Newcastle, South Shields, and Morpeth. He
became so enthusiastic that in his last letter, he promised to take
me on harinama in
Ashington, Alnmouth, Alnwick, Bishop, Auckland, Blyth, Corbridge,
Cramlington, Haltwhistle, Hexham, Ponteland, Prudhoe, Rothbury, and
Warkworth on my next visit to Newcastle.
This
is the beginning of our South Shields harinama.
In
South Shields we met a young man who was attracted to our
presentation. He and his father, who was deaf, spent a little time
with us.
After
South Shields I went to Sunderland, also on the shore of the North
Sea and south of the Tyne River, where I had dinner with Ramai,
Vrinda, Caitanya Vallabha, and Jagannathesvari Prabhus, followed by
some kirtan.
Here
Jagannathesvari Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Sunderland in the
temple room of her parents, Ramai and Vrinda Prabhus, along with them
and her husband, Caitanya Vallabha Prabhu, who plays the drum
(https://youtu.be/8yr22-Hi0JQ):
The
following day I went to North Shields and had surprising success.
In three hours mostly an older crowd donated over £25 ($32.50) and
took four books, including a hardbound Science
of Self-Realization.
While
in North Shields I had a couple of challenges. A tall, older man,
with a deep voice shouted “Alleluia” in a threatening tone while
approaching me. It did sound a little scary, and a passerby picked up
on it, and deciding it was out of order for him to approach me in
such an aggressive way, really got on his case about it. Their
interaction
erupted in to quite an argument as I kept chanting and a security
guard from the nearby shopping mall watched with concern. Finally the
arguing men went their separate ways, and the guy who had shouted
“Alleluia” apologized for coming on too strong, and I told him
not to worry and
kept chanting.
I
was also approached by a Christian couple who were sure I had to
accept Lord Jesus Christ as my personal savior or I
was going to hell forever.
After hearing their enthusiastic presentation, I made the point that
The Bible and the Bhagavad-gita
are
both revealed scriptures, and one can choose follow
whichever
one he likes. I also made the point that in Bhagavad-gita
the
Supreme Lord says that one must approach him through an enlightened
individual who has seen the truth. Thus a follower of Bhagavad-gita
can
rejoice that the Christians have found Lord Jesus Christ as their way
to God and the Moslems have found Muhammad as their way to God. I
mentioned that we follow Srila Prabhupada, the enlightened
soul who translated Bhagavad-gita
into
English for our benefit.
I
see that I had to tolerate these challenges before Krishna would send
the many favorable people who gave donations and accepted books.
The
good experience in North Shields inspired to think I could spend
several weeks in Newcastle each year going to all the nearby towns
with the chanting of Hare Krishna, and play a useful role in that
way.
The
next day was cold and wet, and I found a sheltered place in Newcastle, near several bus stops and a mall, to chant where people could hear
me, but there was not much interaction with people that day.
Morpeth
was more posh, and in the beginning many people just ignored us. I
was worried we made a mistake in going there, but after awhile things
picked up.
In
Morpeth I got a new donation on harinama
I never encountered before. A jolly Scotsman, who loves Indian food
and had a Hindu tenant who used to bring him some, a few minutes
after our conversation returned with this gift:
Just five minutes before I packed up, Mala, a lady from Madurai in South India, perhaps in her thirties, stopped by and bought a Science of Self-Realization for her son.
As often, at the end of the harinama, people were more favorable than initially.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Edinburgh
On
a Saturday morning I took an early train to Edinburgh and returned to
Newcastle that evening on a late bus. While there I attended a home
program at Thaigu and Abirami Prabhu’s place and a three-hour
harinama at
The Meadows, a large popular park where the devotees like to chant.
I
was pleased that we had a sunny day with little wind, which
was good
weather for Scotland, and The Meadows was filled with people.
Nineteen devotees participated in the kirtan for at least part of the
time.
A
young lady from Indore, who was attending a conference on psychology
at the University of Edinburgh, was happy to see Hare Krishnas and
took some photos. She had Bhagavad-gita
and
Science of
Self-Realization already.
She was happy to get information on Karuna Bhavan, our eco-farm
outside Glasgow, and she plans to visit during her week-long stay in
Edinburgh.
An
old lady from near Delhi, who had heard about Karuna Bhavan but had
never gone, was happy to learn more details about it from me.
Two
curious ladies took an “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlet.
Here
Saranga Thakura Prabhu, who came with his wife and kid at least an
hour from Karuna Bhavan, chants Hare Krishna at The Meadows
(https://youtu.be/Pgx_-q9NDag):
Rukmini
Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at that gathering of devotees in The
Meadows which she organized (https://youtu.be/-2ZBHCFMSlM):
Abirami,
who hosted the home program earlier in the afternoon, chants Hare
Krishna at The Meadows (https://youtu.be/vvxk4cZ61WQ):
Chanting
Hare Krishna at the Newcastle Temple
Here
Madhuri Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at the Newcastle Friday evening
program (https://youtu.be/vlh0-wWH1mU):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in North Yorkshire
I
chanted with Govardhan Devi Dasi, a Prabhupada disciple who loves
harinama, and
her husband, Nitaichand Prabhu, in York on a beautiful, sunny, warm
day. One man, who was getting interested in meditation, reading
different scriptures, and pursuing spiritual values, stopped by,
enjoyed talking with us, and got “On Chanting Hare Krishna” and
literature about Karuna Bhavan. He had done gardening for twenty
years, so he would fit right in there.
One
young lady who moved to the music said, “I can feel your spirit.”
I gave her an “On Chanting Hare Krishna” and said, “There is a
lot of joy in the chant. Check it out.”
As
I was chanting on the way to the car to make sure I met my three-hour
quota, one man approached us and was very happy to learn about our
local monthly programs in York, and another man,
who said he had heard us chanting earlier, gave £1.50 and took a
Chant and Be
Happy.
I
am so glad I decided to chant with Govardhan for a couple of days on
my way from Newcastle to London to catch a cheap flight to Munich for
the Nrsimha festival at Simhachalam in Bavaria.
Govardhan
Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna the next day in Scarborough, on the
northeast coast of England, where she resides and where favorable
passersby donated over £20 in just an hour and a half
(https://youtu.be/tQWAV-3FZMc):
Govardhan
Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Whitby, further up the northeast
coast of England (https://youtu.be/rJzt78xDLxg):
Later
Govardhan had a meeting to attend, but the rest of us chanted for 45
minutes in Filey, a coastal town of about 7,000 people. Thus we
chanted in three places that day, Filey being a new one for all of
us. At Filey, within the first 10 minutes of us chanting Hare
Krishna, three people donated £1 each, and I took that as Krishna
telling us He was happy we took the trouble to go to a new place.
Here,
after a day of harinamas
in
three cities, Govardhan Devi Dasi, her husband, and Ashis chant Hare
Krishna for her beautiful Gaura-Nitai deities in the evening at her
home in Scarborough (https://youtu.be/SBK-OsZSe14):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in London
To
get my three hours of public chanting of Hare Krishna in after my
two-and-a-half-hour train ride and four-and-a-half-hour bus ride from
Scarborough to London, I had to go out three times with different
people. First I went out for two hours during the time of the usual
daily London harinama
with
Kavi Karnapura Prabhu, who remembered me from Manhattan. Then I went
out with Rupa Raghunatha Prabhu and Erzsébet for forty-five minutes
and finally with Erzsébet and Katerina for fifteen minutes.
The
next day Nama Sankirtana Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna after Guru Puja
at Soho Street temple, and devotees enthusiastically danced
(https://youtu.be/ocCLX8-fqDY):
Rukmini
Dvadasi and the Disappearance Day of Jayananda Prabhu
Usually
Rukmini Dvadasi, the appearance day of Lord Krishna’s principal
wife, Rukmini, is two days before Nrsimha Caturdasi, and the day
after that is the disappearance day of Jayananda Prabhu, a very
selfless devotee that Srila Prabhupada asked his followers to honor
the disappearance of each year. This year, however, both days landed
on the day before Nrsimha Caturdasi, and I mentioned both great
personalities in the class I gave in London on that day, as I had at
the Saturday home program in Edinburgh and the Sunday feast program
in Newcastle.
Among
the things I said about Rukmini was she was special for having chosen
to marry Krishna simply upon hearing about Him. Indeed Krishna
Himself said to Rukmini, “The practical proof of your extraordinary
position is that although you had never seen Me before our marriage
and had simply heard about Me from a third person, still your faith
in Me was so much fixed that even in the presence of many qualified,
rich and beautiful men of the royal order, you did not select any one
of them as your husband but insisted on having Me.” (Krishna,
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter
60)
I
also mentioned that Srila Prabhupada praised her determination to
attain Krishna as exemplary, “She [Rukmini] desired to dedicate her
life to observing severe austerities and penances, such as fasting
and going without bodily comforts. If it were not possible in this
lifetime to gain Krishna’s favor by these activities, she was
prepared to die from such austerities and to undergo similar
difficulties lifetime after lifetime. In the Bhagavad-gita
it is said that pure devotees of the Lord execute devotional service
with great determination. Such determination, as exhibited by
Rukmini-devi, is the only price for purchasing Krishna’s favor. One
should be strongly determined in Krishna consciousness, and that is
the way to ultimate success.” (Krishna,
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter
52)
I
also mentioned how Lord Krishna perfectly reciprocated Rukmini’s
love for Him as He reveals in this statement, “My dear brahmana,
I am very glad to hear that Rukmini is eager to marry Me, since I am
also eager to get her hand. My mind is always absorbed in thoughts of
the daughter of Bhismaka, and sometimes I cannot sleep at night
because I am thinking of her.” (Krishna,
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter
53) Although the Supreme Lord of all universes, Krishna perfectly
reciprocated the affection of Princess Rukmini, who had fallen madly
in love with Him by
falling in love with her.
Jayananda
Prabhu, most well known for his dedication to Ratha-yatra, was famous
for many devotional qualities, especially his humility. Kalakantha
Prabhu, wrote in “The
Life of Jayananda Prabhu,”
posted on Krishna.com, “He treated everyone as his superior, even
new devotees. Maharaja Das remembers that Jayananda was always asking
his advice: ‘Hey, Bhakta Mike, what do you think of this?’
Although his service was glorious, he never wanted any glory. He
avoided praise like the plague. Devotees got to know that if they
wanted to be around him, they'd better not praise Jayananda.
Otherwise he would simply leave. Once when he was with Danavir,
someone came to Jayananda and began praising him. Jayananda just
ignored it. Later he turned to Danavir and said, ‘You know, if
you've been around this movement a few years, people naturally offer
you some respect.’ Not that his service or qualities were so great,
he just was around a few years was his humble thinking. If he ever
spoke about himself at all, Jayananda would speak so humbly that
Lochan Das recalls, ‘It was difficult not to think of yourself as
being better than him. If you had any reason to be puffed up,
Jayananda would bring it out in you.’ Feeling himself unworthy, he
would step aside so that others could lead kirtan, give classes, or
do arati.
Instead, he could be found fixing cars, unplugging toilets, washing
dishes, or taking out trash.
“Once
a new boy came to visit the San Francisco temple. He wanted to help,
so Kesava Das sent him to the trash area where Jayananda was
preparing the weekly trash run. Jayananda told the boy, ‘I’m the
garbage man around here. For years I've been watching garbage men
carry out trash, and now Krishna is giving me a chance to do this for
Him.’ The boy not only helped load the trash, but accompanied
Jayananda to the garbage dump. Later that boy became a devotee, and
he recalled thinking, ‘If the garbage men at this temple can be so
blissful, just imagine what the rest of the devotees are like!’”
Is
Traveling on Thursday Inauspicious?
Devotees
say that Srila Prabhupada and his guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Thakura, who are liberated souls, would not travel on Thursdays
because it was considered inauspicious. I noticed that my flight to
Munich for the Nrsimha Caturdasi festival at Simhachalam, our
Bavarian farm with an impressive deity of Lord Nrsimha, was booked
for a Thursday, and I became doubtful. Liberated souls are beyond any
calculation of material auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, yet Srila
Prabhupada and his guru took this idea of not traveling on the
Thursday very seriously. I wondered if anything would happen to me.
I
had booked a coach to the airport as it is considerably cheaper
(£4.99 instead of the £18.10 for the train). The bus that the
London journey planner had told me would take me to the coach
departure point only ran part of its route, so I had to find another
way to get there and was late. I found the departure point for the
Luton airport coaches but not the ones to Stansted, where I was
going. I decided to call the coach company to find the exact location
of the coach stop, and I realized I must have left my phone at the
temple. I noticed that I also did not have my other phone which I use
for taking videos. On top of that I noticed I had the key to the
temple guest room tied to my gayatri
thread.
Thus I had three reasons to return to the temple. There was no other
option. I decided to take the tube (the London underground or subway)
to the temple to save time although it meant carrying all my luggage
up and down staircases. I found both phones stacked on top of each
other on a ledge in the temple room. I used the London journey
planner to find that if I took the tube to Liverpool Street railway
station, I could take the Stansted Express and arrive at the airport
just twenty minutes before the EasyJet bag drop closed for my flight.
I decided to go for it, and I was successful, although I did end up
wasting £22.90 ($29.32) because of my foolishness.
I
had thought of different options for going from the Munich airport to
Simhachalam, but I because I was unable to reach the Munich or
Simhachalam temples by phone, it was difficult for me to make a final
plan. While I was waiting in the line for immigration, a couple of
Indian devotees, based in Canada but coming for the Simhachalam
festival, seeing me dressed as a brahmacari,
introduced
themselves and told me they were renting a car, and said
I
could come with them.
During
part of the journey, the youthful driver was speeding at 170
kilometers per hour (106 mph), a little scary for me, but we made it
by 8:30 p.m., and there was plenty of prasadam
to
give us energy to survive the next day’s fast, a spot on the floor
in the ashram to sleep, and many friendly devotees to welcome us to
that holy place, so the day had an auspicious ending by Krishna’s
grace.
Insights
Lord Krishna,
speaking to the kings He released who had been captured by
Jarasandha:
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.73.19,
21–23:
“Fortunately
you have come to the proper conclusion, my dear kings, and what you
have spoken is true. I can see that human beings’ lack of
self-restraint, which arises from their intoxication with opulence
and power, simply leads to madness. . . . Understanding that this
material body and everything connected with it have a beginning and
an end, worship Me by Vedic sacrifices, and with clear intelligence
protect your subjects in accordance with the principles of religion.
As you live your lives, begetting generations of progeny and
encountering happiness and distress, birth and death, always keep
your minds fixed on Me. Be detached from the body and everything
connected to it. Remaining self-satisfied, steadfastly keep your vows
while concentrating your minds fully on Me. In this way you will
ultimately attain Me, the Supreme Absolute Truth.”
Srila
Prabhupada:
From
a class Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.16.26–30 in Honolulu on January 23, 1974:
“We
must remember always that we are part and parcel of God. So we have
all the good qualities of God; that is our nature. Just like the drop
of the ocean water, it has got all the qualities of the ocean. There
is no doubt about it. Therefore, even if we take a little drop of
ocean water, because the ocean water is salty, we taste the water
salty. The salt is there also, but in minute quantity. The ocean has
got millions and trillions of tons of salt, and here, in the drop of
the water, there is a grain of salt. But salt is there. . . . So
naturally, in our original position we have got all the good
qualities of God. Now, due to the material contamination, the godly
qualities are now covered.”
“The
spark is also fire, but it has got the potency to become
extinguished. Suppose a spark falls down from the original fire,
down. It is extinguished. But the big fire does not extinguish.
Therefore the big fire, or Krishna, is infallible.”
“The
Mayavada philosopher says that ‘We are in maya,
and as soon as the maya
is taken away, we are God.’ So we are not God, but we manifest our
godly qualities when maya
is taken away. So long we are covered by maya,
our godly qualities are not manifest. But we are not God. Or you are
God, but not that God, that big God, but you are a particle of. You
can say, ‘I am God,’ but you are not that original, chief God.
That you are not. This is our philosophy. And that is very genuine.
How can I be God? If I am God, then why I have lost my godly
qualities? Or why my godly qualities are now covered? This is very
common sense.”
“So
whatever Krishna consciousness movement is going forward, it is due
to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s magnanimous compassion for the poor
people suffering in this Kali-yuga. Otherwise, to become Krishna
conscious is not very easy job. Is not easy job. So those who are
getting the chance of becoming Krishna conscious by the mercy of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they should not lose the opportunity. It will be
suicidal. Don’t fall down. It is very easy. Simply chanting by Hare
Krishna mantra – not always, twenty-four hours, although Caitanya
Mahaprabhu recommends, kirtaniyah
sada harih
[Cc. Adi 17.31], always chant; that is the principle. But we cannot
do that because we are so much overwhelmed by the influence of Kali.
So at least sixteen rounds. Don’t miss this. Don’t miss this.”
“In
a big temple, the cooker and the man who is worshiping the Deity and
the man who is sweeping over, they’re all one. There is no
distinction. . . . In the material world, if somebody’s doing nice
job, he is greater, and if somebody’s not nice job, he’s smaller.
In spiritual world, there is no such distinction.”
“As
soon as you become a pure devotee, all dictation will come from
within. And besides that, Krishna is helping, inside and outside.
Outside is spiritual master; inside Krishna Himself. Where is the
difficulty? Simply you have to become sincere. That’s all.
Everything is there.”
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.16.36 in Tokyo on January 30, 1974:
“Before
accepting somebody as spiritual master you must know about his bona
fides. That time is allowed. It is said in the sastras
that if you like to accept somebody as spiritual master, you should
associate with him at least for one year, see how things are going
on. . . . Personally it is advised that you just remain with the
proposed spiritual master for at least one year, so that the
spiritual master is also given chance to study you, whether you are
acceptable. This is the process.”
“If
God is not equal to everyone, then how He can be God?”
“Question
must be . . . preceded by surrender, and followed by service. In the
middle, there may be question. Therefore, yasya
prasadad bhagavat-prasadah,
we have to please the spiritual master by service and surrender, and
then it will be very nice position. If the spiritual master sees that
the disciple is a surrendered soul, and he's rendering service to his
best capacity, then the answer will be very liberal and convincing,
and he will be very glad to answer the question, if it is supported
by these two things.”
“Just
like this Krishna consciousness movement. I am insignificant human
being; what can I do? But I tried my best because my spiritual master
said that ‘You go and try to preach in English.’ So I tried my
best, that's all. I had no qualification.”
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
2.1.1 in Los Angeles on June 30, 1970:
“We
are always hearing. You have come here to hear something. Or if you
go to some other political organization, there also you will hear. If
you go to some scientific organization, there also you will hear. If
you go to your school, your college, you will hear, because hearing
is our process to acquire knowledge. Ah. So he says, srotavyadisu
yah parah:
there are many subject matters for hearing, but this kind of hearing
is the supermost, and it is approved by the self-realized person, and
it is beneficial to the human society.”
“If
you like, if you think that accepting sannyasa
asrama
you will be better to advance in Krishna consciousness, then you
accept it. Don’t accept it is simply to make a show. But if you
think that ‘If I live within family members, oh, that will help me
more in Krishna consciousness,’ then live in that way. There is no
obligation that you have to become a sannyasi
or you have to become a brahmacari,
then you can realize. No. Any platform, if your aim is Krishna and
Vishnu, that is your self-interest.”
From
Bhagavad-gita
6.31,
purport:
“Krishna
consciousness is the highest stage of trance in yoga practice. This
very understanding that Krishna is present as Paramatma in everyone’s
heart makes the yogi faultless.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi 7.73, purport:
“When
one chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly, one can realize a
transcendental position that is completely aloof from the material
conception of life. Rendering service to the Lord, a devotee relates
to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one of five relationships —
namely, santa,
dasya, sakhya, vatsalya or
madhurya
— and thus he relishes transcendental bliss in that relationship.
Such a relationship certainly transcends the body and mind. When one
realizes that the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Supreme
Person, he becomes completely eligible to chant the holy name of the
Lord. Such an ecstatic chanter and dancer must be considered to have
a direct relationship with the Lord.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi 7.74, purport:
“Although
materialists who are addicted to experimental knowledge and the
so-called ‘scientific method’ cannot place their faith in the
chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,
it is a fact that simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra
offenselessly one can be freed from all subtle and gross material
conditions.”
“Although
Mayavadis profess monism, they differentiate between the holy name of
the Supreme Lord and the Lord Himself. For this offense of
namaparadha
they gradually glide down from their exalted position of
brahma-jñana,
as confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam
(10.2.32): aruhya
kricchrena param padam tatah patanty adho ’nadrita-yuṣmad-anghrayah.
Although by severe austerities they rise to the exalted position of
brahma-jñana,
they nevertheless fall down due to imperfect knowledge of the
Absolute Truth. Although they profess to understand the Vedic mantra
sarvam khalv idam
brahma
(Chandogya
Upanisad
3.14.1), which means “Everything is Brahman,” they are unable to
understand that the holy name is also Brahman. If they regularly
chant the maha-mantra,
however, they can be relieved from this misconception. Unless one
properly takes shelter of the holy name, he cannot be relieved from
the offensive stage in chanting the holy name.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi 7.79, verse and purport:
“[Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued:] Collecting My patience, therefore, I
began to consider that chanting the holy name of Krishna had covered
all My spiritual knowledge.
“Purport:
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu hints in this verse that to chant the holy
name of Krishna one does not need to speculate on the philosophical
aspects of the science of God, for one automatically becomes ecstatic
and without consideration immediately chants, dances, laughs, cries
and sings just like a madman.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi 7.81, purport:
“In
ecstasy, one should feel the entire world to be vacant without the
presence of Govinda. This is a sign of separation from Govinda. In
material life we are all separated from Govinda and are absorbed in
material sense gratification. Therefore, when one comes to his senses
on the spiritual platform he becomes so eager to meet Govinda that
without Govinda the entire world becomes a vacant place.”
“When
a disciple very perfectly makes progress in spiritual life, this
gladdens the spiritual master, who then also smiles in ecstasy,
thinking, ‘How successful my disciple has become!’ He feels so
glad that he smiles as he enjoys the progress of the disciple, just
as a smiling parent enjoys the activities of a child who is trying to
stand up or crawl perfectly.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi 7.99, purport:
“Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, as a preacher, turned the minds of the
Mayavadi sannyasis.
They were melted by the sweet words of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and
thus became friendly and spoke to Him also in sweet words. Similarly,
all preachers will have to meet opponents, but they should not make
them more inimical. They are already enemies, and if we talk with
them harshly or impolitely their enmity will merely increase. We
should therefore follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
as far as possible and try to convince the opposition by quoting from
the sastras
and presenting the conclusion of the acaryas.
It is in this way that we should try to defeat all the enemies of the
Lord.”
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
Free Write
Journal#37:
“Krishna
is a feast for all senses, and they just want to please Him.”
From
Free
Write Journal #38:
“A
cartoon in a news magazine showed two Boeing jet planes which had
recently crashed. Boeing canceled the manufacture of this model of
jet. The cartoon then showed an assault rifle so popular in America,
and it said: ‘This rifle has been used in dozens of mass attacks on
innocent people, and it continues to be sold freely.’”
“Tompkins
Square Park
“We
didn’t go out to the park until October 1966. We had permission
from the Parks Department to hold kirtana
from 3:00–5:00 p.m. Swamiji led us from 26 Second Avenue to the
park. We carried a rolled-up old Oriental rug. From the tenements,
some young Puerto Ricans hooted at us and made derogatory remarks.
Prabhupada, who said he was a ‘Calcutta man,’ was not disturbed
by the hooting. But we, his followers, were thin-skinned, and we took
shelter in Swamiji’s presence and found courage there. When we
arrived in the park we unrolled the rug and sat around it, using it
as a space for dancing the ‘Swami step.’ Prabhupada was in good
health at this time, and he vigorously played the one-headed bongo
and led the chanting for one and a half hours. No one thought to
check him because we thought he could do anything he wanted, and he
had unlimited health. After chanting he would stand and give a short
lecture under the tree, and then he would return to chanting for
another hour and a half. We gathered a crowd of onlookers who stood
around us, a varied group of middle-aged Ukrainians, hip young
Americans, some of whom brought their own musical instruments, which
Swamiji allowed to add to the kirtana.
The weather that year was warm for autumn, and I remember sunny days
with the last sunlight slanting down upon us. We soon forgot our
self-consciousness and got up to dance as Swamiji wanted us to do,
and sang without inhibition. By that time, Swamiji had initiated
about ten disciples. An amateur filmmaker shot our kirtana,
and you can see Strayadhisa dancing angelically, his back pockets
stuffed with ‘Stay High Forever’ pages. But the center was
Swamiji; we never would have gone out without him. Eventually it got
too cold to go outdoors, and then Swamiji left for California. When
he came back in the spring of 1967, it wasn’t long before he had
his stroke. Seeking a better climate to recover in, he went back to
California (found little sunshine) and then came back to New York,
bound for Vrindavan, India. While he was there, the boys from 26
Second Avenue went out by themselves to Tompkins Square Park on
Sundays. Brahmananda, Rsi-kumara and others led the chanting. We were
more confident now and could do it without Swamiji’s personal
presence; we did it on his vani.”
Candramauli
Swami:
There
is no greater way to glorify the Lord than to chant the Hare Krishna
maha-mantra.
In
kirtan we are glorifying the Lord and also offering our devotion. The
glorification is easy, but the offering of devotion takes practice.
The
enjoyment of kirtan comes from the sacrifice, and the sacrifice is to
remember that Krishna is His holy name.
Whoever
is singing, they are doing their best to glorify the Lord, and we
should listen for that.
Sacinandana
Swami makes the point that if you chant Hare Krishna with absorption
it will be a whole other experience.
The
chanting comes from highest region of the spiritual world where Radha
and Krishna have their pastimes, Goloka Vrindavan, and it descends
into the hearts of the pure devotees who express it through their
glorification.
Sacinandana
Swami:
People
in all traditions have trouble with the silence of God. Why does God
appear to be silent in cases where His devotees are put into
distress?
In
the Bhagavatam
the
best example of the Lord intervening and breaking His silence is when
Ajamila called His name, He sent His servants to give him a second
chance. If we call out His name, He will give us a second chance. He
does that by giving a taste for His holy name so we understand that
something is there. That is the first installment of the Lord
breaking His silence. Because we broke the relationship, we first
have to reach out to Him. “For so long I have completely forgotten
You. Today, here in Birmingham, I am turning to you. Please accept
me.” He will be moved and hear you.
Bhaki
Prabhava Swami:
Hearing
the Bhagavatam is
the boat to Vaikuntha [the spiritual world]. It turns off the false
ego and turns on the real ego.
Srila
Prabhupada makes the point to hear the Bhagavatam
we
must be pure in habits. That means we must chant Hare Krishna and
avoid the four sinful activities.
It
is important to attain the stage of liberation before leaving the
body. That is the position of madhyama.
Whatever
we do is done by the Supersoul. We should remember that and be
grateful.
The
greatest illusion is that everyone is trying to find permanent
happiness in this temporary world.
The
enlightened person sees eternity while the conditioned soul is trying
to enjoy the present moment.
Acting
out of attachment and aversion is evidence that one is still a
conditioned soul.
Bhagavad-gita
15.5 tells all the items of liberation and thus it is a good verse to
learn: “Those who are free from false prestige, illusion and false
association, who understand the eternal, who are done with material
lust, who are freed from the dualities of happiness and distress, and
who, unbewildered, know how to surrender unto the Supreme Person
attain to that eternal kingdom.”
Illusion
means deprioritizing Krishna in our lives.
The
process of creation and annihilation is mentioned twice in the
beginning of the Bhagavatam
to
help us to become detached from this world.
If
we remember Krishna, we become free from false ego, because we
remember we are part of Krishna.
In
my youth, almost 60 years ago, I lived in a village in Belgium of
3,000 people, all of whom spoke Flemish, were Roman Catholic and went
to church. Now those people are gone. Everyone there now speaks
French, and no one goes to church. The situation of my youth seems
like a dream. Everything in this world is so temporary.
There
is no need to buy a house, get a mortgage, and work so many years
just so you can say, “It is mine.”
We
eat a nice meal. How long does it take? A few minutes. Then you can
only remember you ate a nice meal.
You
do not have to practice karma-yoga
or
jnana-yoga
to
attain liberation because by engaging in bhakti-yoga
you
contact Krishna and become purified.
If
we do not understand we are acting out of false ego, we cannot give
it up. False ego has two elements, thinking “I am the enjoyer”
and thinking “I am the proprietor.” If we are not the proprietor
of something, we cannot enjoy that thing.
To
give up the false ego, we should act according to spiritual guidance
and not according to our likes and dislikes.
The
cesta
(the
endeavor), one of the five factors of action, is a combination of the
material and spiritual energies of Krishna.
When
a desire from a past life pops up in our mind, a conditioned soul
considers it to be his desire and endeavors to fulfill it, while a
devotee remembers Krishna’s instruction, “An intelligent person
does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact
with the material senses. O son of Kunti, such pleasures have a
beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.”
(Bhagavad-gita
5.22) Thus the devotee chooses not to fulfill it.
It
difficult to give up making plans for sense gratification. We have to
make plans to spread Krishna consciousness.
If
we are attracted to a desire that pops up in our mind, we have to see
if it is something we can engage in Krishna’s service. If it is
sinful, we have to give it up.
I
recommend chanting each day a chapter of Bhagavad-gita,
English
and Sanskrit, and reading one verse and purport of Bhagavad-gita
and
ten verses and purports of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
That
will take about an hour.
Madhava
Prabhu:
Pray,
oh mind, I have served you so nicely twenty-four hours a day, even in
my dreams. Now for the next three hours, let me focus on the holy
name, each syllable of which is Krishna.
Rakesh,
the announcer at the Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan:
Aindra
Prabhu was an inspiration behind the Birmingham 24-hour kirtana.
He
would always tell the boys, “Spread kirtan and be fired-up!”
Tribhuvanatha
Prabhu was another inspiration. When he would lead kirtana
in
Birmingham, it was like there was no roof on the temple. He
originally brought the Jagannatha deities to Birmingham in a blue
van.
-----
In
my daily reading of Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita this
month I encountered a favorite verse from Lord Caitanya’s
explanation of His chanting of Hare Krishna to the Mayavadi
sannyasis. It is advice His guru, Isvara Puri, gave him about the
holy name. In Mayapur one year I was practicing transliterating the
Bengali script inscribed at the foot of the statues of Lord Caitanya
and Lord Nityananda as you enter Navadvipa from the boat ghat, and I
was amazed to encounter this simple Bengali verse which is one of
only about ten I know from Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita.
The verse enlightens us to the fact we can become free from material
existence and actually see the transcendental form of Lord Krishna
simply by chanting His name. The purport Srila Prabhupada writes to
it is very nice, and I quote my favorite part of that in “Insights”
above.
krishna-mantra
haite habe samsara-mocana
krishna-nama
haite pabe krishnera carana
“Simply
by chanting the holy name of Krishna one can obtain freedom from
material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Krishna
mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.” (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi-lila 7.73)
