Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 24
By Krishna Kripa Das
(December 2020, part two)
New York City
(Sent from Brooklyn on January 1, 2021)
Where I Went and What I Did
I continued staying at Radha Govinda Temple in New York City and assisting Rama Raya Prabhu with his NYC Harinam party, chanting four hours of Hare Krishna in public almost every day through Christmas Eve. I would also attend the Bhakti Center Thursday night harinama in the Lower East Side, and their Sunday harinama, this time at Bryant Park’s Winter Village. Around Christmastime I got sick, so the final week of 2020 there was no public chanting of Hare Krishna for me. I would chant for an hour with my roommate, and we would listen to two hours of either live or recorded Hare Krishna chanting, hoping to someday attain the love of Krishna which is the ultimate goal of the chanting.
I finished my third reading of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and starting over, I share some gems from my reading of the beginning of its First Canto. I also share inspiring quotes from my reading of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, the beautiful section on Lord Caitanya’s teachings to Sanatana Goswami, as well as quotes from Sri Isopanisad. I share a wonderful quote from the Garuda Purana in praise of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which was translated by Gopiparanadhana Prabhu. I share excerpts from the writings of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share a note on a recorded lecture by Niranjana Swami. I share notes on classes at ISKCON NYC by Candrasekhara Swami, and Hansarupa, Rama Raya, Nikunjabihari, and Ananda Kirtan Prabhus.
Thanks to Dina Bandhu Prabhu of New Jersey for his generous donation. Thanks to my mother for her Christmas donation. Thanks to my sister for her Christmas presents. Thanks to Mera Chitra for cleaning my teeth so nicely they stopped hurting. Thanks to Dr. Anant Ram Gupta for his dental consultation.
Itinerary
September 12, 2020–January 12, 2021: NYC Harinam
January 13–April 5: Florida harinamas
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
Before sharing my videos from the second half of December, I want to include a brief documentary a student made from the beginning of the month, which I accidentally omitted from my last journal.
Intrigued by seeing the Hare Krishnas chanting and dancing every time she visited New York, Tori Luecking, who is pursuing a masters degree in journalism at NYU and who comes from a Jewish background, decided to make this brief video about them for her own education and that of others (https://youtu.be/c-3pA-KIb5Q):
About her experience she wrote, “It was a blast to put together, and I hope you like it and that it helps people better understand Hare Krishna!” We thank her for her devotional endeavor!
Ananda Kirtan Prabhu of Los Angeles chants Hare Krishna in Brooklyn, and a guy does a unique dance (https://youtu.be/HtCU2c79LgU):
Godruma Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in the Lower East Side during the Bhakti Center Thursday night harinama (https://youtu.be/jDg94fcc728):
Here Godruma Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at a Lower East Side cafe, where one diner accepted a garland and played the tambourine briefly (https://youtu.be/jDg94fcc728):
Next Premananda Kirtan Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna, and more Lower East Side diners appreciated (https://youtu.be/XzKSnInjfS0):
At a diner near The Bhakti Center, two ladies had a great time dancing with the devotees (https://youtu.be/3IdaRPwD5EY):
They were happy to hear that we sing nearby every Thursday night, and perhaps they will join us again.
Here I chant Hare Krishna in Queens (https://youtu.be/fFfLLWWJQDA):
Priya Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Queens, and Rama Raya Prabhu plays shakers and dances (https://youtu.be/PrgeHl0DPc4):
Dipika of Bangladesh, now initiated as Dippriya Gouri Debi Dasi, returning to the U.S.A. after a long absence, chants Hare Krishna in Queens (https://youtu.be/DUhCoHtxKH0):
The next week when she sang, some of the brahmacaris danced (https://youtu.be/Wz0ls6aUSrk):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Queens, and a variety of folks are attracted (https://youtu.be/heaH0GnhrT0):
Ananta Vallabha Prabhu, visiting from Krishna House in Gainesville, chants Hare Krishna in Midtown Manhattan (https://youtu.be/LTMgwNNKQbM):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Midtown Manhattan on a Saturday (https://youtu.be/AFO2CM1WhOI):
Premananda Kirtan Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on the Bhakti Center harinama at Bryant Park’s Winter Village in New York City (https://youtu.be/UBoIEONP0sM):
As Premananda sang, an older lady delighted in dancing with the devotees (https://youtu.be/4x70EED_20M):
Then a couple of families became attracted to participate by watching, smiling, chanting, dancing, and accepting invitations (https://youtu.be/KubNw45ZbyI):
After Bryant Park, Premananda Kirtan Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna at Times Square (https://youtu.be/GXk8u7vs7d4):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Midtown Manhattan (https://youtu.be/xvJAb0M5y7Y):
While Rama Raya sang, a lady danced with a pamphlet (https://youtu.be/XdKu0HUSVmQ):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in New York City, and a man enthusiastically dances with devotees (https://youtu.be/O2Y5a7qnEjU):
Natabara Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Queens, and a young Bengali passerby plays the drum (https://youtu.be/IfKXt3DC0Oo):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Queens, and local devotees distribute pamphlets (https://youtu.be/keYbSzsOQZw):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Queens, several people take videos and an eclectic spiritualist blows a conch shell (https://youtu.be/U11v0KXzWJc):
Because people give me donations, I feel obliged to indicate how I spend them, so I publish my income and expenses every year. Because of the COVID pandemic, the year 2020 was very different from the financial point of view. Usually I go to Europe in the summer, and I travel and do harinama and give lectures in The North of England, Ireland, Paris, Belgium, and a few other places. People contribute by giving donations and each year I get around $5000, 80% of which I spend on travel. Being locked down in Florida, I could not do my usual program, and thus I got very few donations. I decided to apply for unemployment insurance, saying I was self-employed as a monk who traveled and made $5000 a year, but I that I could not do my usual service because of COVID restrictions on travel. The State of New York accepted my application and gave me $4,732, but the Federal government had their own program of giving people additional funds, and thus I accumulated all this money I did not really ask for. I gave a lot more away in donations this year, supporting the Tallahassee temple, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, and different swamis who have inspired me, and I paid my own travel expenses to come to New York City and to do harinama there. Although I spent $2640.86 on travel, several of my flights were canceled, but I can use the credit on future flights.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.23.8, purport:
“Love of God is not an ordinary commodity. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was worshiped by Rupa Gosvami because He distributed love of God, krishna-prema, to everyone. Rupa Gosvami praised Him as maha-vadanya, a greatly munificent personality, because He was freely distributing to everyone love of Godhead, which is achieved by wise men only after many, many births. Krishna-prema, Krishna consciousness, is the highest gift which can be bestowed on anyone whom we presume to love.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 25.20 verse and purport:
“When people came to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to discuss the principles of various scriptures, the Lord defeated their false conclusions and established the predominance of devotional service to the Lord. With logic and argument He very politely changed their minds.”
“Purport: We have been spreading this sankirtana movement in the Western countries, and in our recent tour of European cities like Rome, Geneva, Paris and Frankfurt, many learned Christian scholars, priests, philosophers and yogis came to see us, and by the grace of Krishna they agreed that the Krishna consciousness movement, the bhakti cult, offers the topmost conclusion. Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we are trying to convince everyone that the devotional service of the Lord is enjoined in every scripture. If a person is religious, he must accept the supreme authority of the Lord, become His devotee and try to love Him. This is the real principle of religion. It does not matter whether one is Christian, Muslim or whatever. He simply must accept the sublime position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and render service unto Him. It is not a question of being Christian, Muslim or Hindu. One should be purely religious and freed from all these material designations. In this way one can learn the art of devotional service. This argument appeals to all intelligent men, and consequently the Krishna consciousness movement is gaining ground throughout the world. Due to our solid logic and scientific presentation, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction that Krishna consciousness will spread to every town and village throughout the world is gradually being realized.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.36:
“By manipulating a fire-generating stick, great saints and sages can bring forth the fire lying dormant within wood. In the same way, O Lord, those expert in understanding the Absolute Truth try to see You in everything—even in their own bodies. Yet you remain concealed. You are not to be understood by indirect processes involving mental or physical activities. Because You are self-manifested, only when You see that a person is wholeheartedly engaged in searching for You do You reveal Yourself. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.”
For Sri Isopanisad 8, purport:
“A living being desires something, and the Lord supplies the object of that desire in proportion to one’s qualification. If a man wants to be a high-court judge, he must acquire not only the necessary qualifications but also the consent of the authority who can award the title of high-court judge. The qualifications in themselves are insufficient for one to occupy the post: it must be awarded by some superior authority. Similarly, the Lord awards enjoyment to living entities in proportion to their qualifications, but good qualifications in themselves are not sufficient to enable one to receive awards. The mercy of the Lord is also required.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 23.116, purport:
“Sri Nilakantha confirms the existence of Goloka Vrindavana-dhama by quoting the Rg-samhita (Rg Veda 1.154.6):
ta vam vastuny usmasi gamadhyai
yatra gavo bhuri-sringa ayasah
atraha tad urugayasya krishnah
paramam padam avabhati bhuri
‘We wish to go to Your [Radha’s and Krishna’s] beautiful houses, about which cows with large, excellent horns are wandering. Yet distinctly shining on this earth is that supreme abode of Yours that showers joy on all, O Urugaya [Krishna, who is much praised].’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.29:
“Causeless devotional service is unmotivated by sense enjoyment, perfection or liberation. When one is freed from all these contaminations, he can bring Lord Krishna, who is very funny, under control.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.36:
“The word ‘ittham-bhuta’ is transcendentally exalted because it means ‘full of transcendental bliss.’ Before this transcendental bliss, the bliss derived from merging into the existence of the Absolute [brahmananda] becomes like a piece of straw in comparison.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.38:
“Lord Krishna is so exalted that He is more attractive than anything else and more pleasing than anything else. He is the most sublime abode of bliss. By His own strength, He causes one to forget all other ecstasies.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.39:
“Pure devotional service is so sublime that one can very easily forget the happiness derived from material enjoyment, material liberation and mystic or yogic perfection. Thus the devotee is bound by Krishna’s mercy and His uncommon power and qualities.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.43:
“Krishna has unlimited qualities. The devotees are attracted by His uncommon beauty, mellows and fragrance. Thus they are differently situated in the different transcendental mellows. Therefore Krishna is called all-attractive.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.50:
“‘Dear Krishna, we have simply surrendered ourselves as Your maidservants, for we have seen Your beautiful face decorated with tresses of hair, Your earrings falling upon Your cheeks, the nectar of Your lips, and the beauty of Your smile. Indeed, because we have also been embraced by Your arms, which give us courage, and seen Your chest, which is beautiful and broad, we have surrendered ourselves.’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.128:
“‘In this Dvaraka-dhama, I am being attracted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, who is personified spiritual bliss. Simply by seeing Him, I am feeling great happiness. Oh, I have wasted so much time trying to become self-realized through impersonal cultivation. This is a cause for lamentation!’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.134:
“One who has attained his constitutional position by the strength of devotional service attains a transcendental body even in this lifetime. Being attracted by Lord Krishna’s transcendental qualities, he fully engages in service at His lotus feet.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.161:
“When a purified yogi associates with devotees, he engages in Lord Krishna’s devotional service, being attracted by the Lord’s transcendental qualities.
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.181:
“‘Dhriti is the fullness felt due to the absence of misery and the attainment of knowledge of the Supreme Lord and pure love for Him. The lamentation that accrues from not obtaining a goal or from losing something already attained does not affect this completeness.’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.198:
“Devotional service is so strong that when one engages in it, he gradually gives up all material desires and becomes fully attracted to the lotus feet of Krishna. All this is brought about by attraction for the transcendental qualities of the Lord.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.199:
“‘Whenever Krishna is requested to fulfill one’s desire, He undoubtedly does so, but He does not award anything which, after being enjoyed, will cause one to petition Him again and again to fulfill further desires. When one has other desires but engages in the Lord’s service, Krishna forcibly gives one shelter at His lotus feet, where one will forget all other desires.’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.202, purport:
“It is here mentioned that every living entity is atmarama. Temporarily covered by the influence of maya, the living entity serves his senses, which are represented as kama-krodha-lobha-moha-mada-matsarya — lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and envy. In the material condition, all living entities are engaged in sense gratification, but when they associate with devotees who follow the regulative principles, they become purified and awakened to their original consciousness. They then attempt to satisfy the senses of Lord Krishna and engage in His devotional service.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.205, purport:
“Everyone is eligible to become Krishna’s devotee. One simply has to be trained according to the approved process. It is the work of Krishna’s confidential devotees to turn everyone into a Krishna bhakta. If the confidential devotees do not take up the task of elevating everyone to Krishna consciousness, then who will do it? Those who claim to be devotees but do not engage in Krishna’s service to elevate all living creatures to Krishna consciousness are to be considered kanistha-adhikaris (people in the lowest stage of devotional service). When one rises to the second platform of devotional service, his business is to propagate Krishna consciousness all over the world. Those who are active in the Krishna consciousness movement should not remain in the neophyte stage but should rise to the platform of preachers, the second platform of devotional service. Devotional service is so enchanting that even the first-class devotees (uttama-adhikaris) also come down to the second platform to preach and render service to the Lord for the benefit of the whole world.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.261, purport:
“Taking the advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and our spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, one can go to any part of the world and instruct people to become devotees of the Lord by following the regulative principles, worshiping the tulasi plant and continuously chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.262, purport:
“When a person takes to Krishna consciousness, there is no need to care for material necessities. Krishna says, yoga-ksemam vahamy aham: ‘I personally carry all necessities to My devotees.’ Why should one be anxious about the necessities of life? The principle should be that one should not want more than what is absolutely necessary. Narada Muni advises the hunter to accept only what is absolutely necessary for him and his wife. The devotee should always be alert to consume only those things that he absolutely requires and not create unnecessary needs.”
From Sri Isopanisad 2, purport:
“An ordinary man works for his own sense enjoyment, and when this principle of sense enjoyment is extended to include his society, nation or humanity in general, it assumes various attractive names such as altruism, socialism, communism, nationalism and humanitarianism. These ‘isms’ are certainly very attractive forms of karma-bandhana (karmic bondage), but the Vedic instruction of Sri Isopanisad is that if one actually wants to live for any of the above ‘isms,’ he should make them God-centered. There is no harm in becoming a family man, or an altruist, a socialist, a communist, a nationalist or a humanitarian, provided that one executes his activities in relation with isavasya, the God-centered conception.”
From Sri Isopanisad 3, purport:
“We are given this human form of life not to work hard like asses, swine and dogs but to attain the highest perfection of life. If we do not care for self-realization, the laws of nature force us to work very hard, even though we may not want to do so.”
From Sri Isopanisad 4, purport:
“All power is obtained from the Lord; therefore each particular power must be utilized to execute the will of the Lord and not otherwise. The Lord can be known by one who has adopted such a submissive service attitude. Perfect knowledge means knowing the Lord in all His features, knowing His potencies and knowing how these potencies work by His will. These matters are described by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gita, the essence of all the Upanisads.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.3, purport:
“Every living entity, beginning from Brahma, the first-born living being within the material world, down to the insignificant ant, desires to relish some sort of taste derived from sense perceptions. These sensual pleasures are technically called rasas. Such rasas are of different varieties. In the revealed scriptures the following twelve varieties of rasas are enumerated: (1) raudra (anger), (2) adbhuta (wonder), (3) srngara (conjugal love), (4) hasya (comedy), (5) vira (chivalry), (6) daya (mercy), (7) dasya (servitorship), (8) sakhya (fraternity), (9) bhayanaka (horror), (10) bibhatsa (shock), (11) santa (neutrality), (12) vatsalya (parenthood).
“The sum total of all these rasas is called affection or love. Primarily, such signs of love are manifested in adoration, service, friendship, parental affection, and conjugal love. And when these five are absent, love is present indirectly in anger, wonder, comedy, chivalry, fear, shock and so on.”
“The rasas are exchanged between members of the same species. But as far as the spirit souls are concerned, they are one qualitatively with the Supreme Lord. Therefore, the rasas were originally exchanged between the spiritual living being and the spiritual whole, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The spiritual exchange or rasa is fully exhibited in spiritual existence between living beings and the Supreme Lord.
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is therefore described in the sruti-mantras, Vedic hymns, as ‘the fountainhead of all rasas.’ When one associates with the Supreme Lord and exchanges one’s constitutional rasa with the Lord, then the living being is actually happy.”
“Therefore, one who attains full knowledge of these different rasas, which are the basic principles of activities, can understand the false representations of the original rasas which are reflected in the material world. The learned scholar seeks to relish the real rasa in the spiritual form. In the beginning he desires to become one with the Supreme. Thus, less intelligent transcendentalists cannot go beyond this conception of becoming one with the spirit whole, without knowing of the different rasas.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.4 purport:
“The modern materialistic society is detached from its relation to the Supreme Lord. And all its plans which are being made by atheistic leaders are sure to be baffled at every step. Yet they do not wake up to this.
“In this age, the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord is the prescribed method for waking up. The ways and means are most scientifically presented by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and intelligent persons may take advantage of His teachings in order to bring about real peace and prosperity. Srimad-Bhagavatam is also presented for the same purpose, and this will be explained more specifically later in the text.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.5, purport:
“Those who listen to the Bhagavatam may put questions to the speaker in order to elicit the clear meaning, but this should not be done in a challenging spirit. One must submit questions with a great regard for the speaker and the subject matter. This is also the way recommended in Bhagavad-gita. One must learn the transcendental subject by submissive aural reception from the right sources.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.9, purport:
“The acaryas and gosvamis are always absorbed in thought of the well-being of the general public, especially their spiritual well-being. Spiritual well-being is automatically followed by material well-being. The acaryas therefore give directions in spiritual well-being for people in general.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.11, purport:
“Atma, or self, is distinguished from matter and material elements. It is spiritual in constitution, and thus it is never satisfied by any amount of material planning. All scriptures and spiritual instructions are meant for the satisfaction of this self, or atma.”
From a morning walk on February 26, 1976, Mayapur:
“As soon as we manufacture something, that is sense gratification. ‘I want to fulfill my desire. That’s all.’ That is sense gratification.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From My Purpose at Isola di Albarella:
“Then we think of Govinda dasi crying and pleading to Prabhupada in the airport in Santa Fe, ‘Prabhupada, you know Krishna. What does Krishna want us to do?’
Prabhupada replied, ‘Krishna wants to know what you want to do (to serve Him).’
You have to think and come up with your own sacrificial offering of love and service. Offer it with all humility, the best you can. And be confident that Krishna is accepting it, although the offering is defective in many ways.”
From Imperfection, Purity Will Come About: Writing Sessions While Reading Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Saranagati:
“‘Now in old age, deprived of all means of success, humbled and poor, Bhaktivinoda submits his tale of grief at the feet of the Supreme Lord.’ The word ‘humbled’ in this verse is significant. He is forced to his knees. It’s not a humility that he has arrived at by natural thought. He hasn’t voluntarily decided that humility is useful and should be cultured. Old age has taken away the illusion which fostered pride and false ego and possessions. This kind of humility can be as genuine as any other.”
“We also know from the Bhagavatam verse, ‘yasyaham anugrhnami’ that it is Lord Krishna who humbles the devotee by crushing his material life. The humbled man is humble. He grieves not simply because he has lost his money, beauty and sexual power but because he has been pursuing illusion of material happiness. He weeps. He thinks he has wasted his life and not worshiped the all-attractive Supreme Lord.
“This is true of me to some degree, but I cannot see it. Externally I wear saffron, carry my danda, follow the four rules and worship Govinda by the topmost religious process, harinama sankirtana, but internally I am not a Vaishnava. I live a subtle version of a life of illusion. I appear to be religiously successful. When I confess my wrongs, I don’t feel bad. I don’t even see what damage I did to myself in this lifetime before I met Srila Prabhupada. He saved me, but I’m still unredeemed in the core of my heart. I’m satisfied by the relief I’ve gained through Prabhupada’s association and pleased with the respect I’ve received among devotees, that I don’t feel myself a sinner. I have a tiny intimation that things may not really be as I see them, but how can I change my vision?
“I try to skip over remorse and go straight to the nectar of remembering Krishna’s pastimes. Who wants to dwell in the cesspool of bad thoughts and self-recrimination? Rise up!”
From Every Day, Just Write, Volume 1: Welcome Home to the One Big Book of Your Life :
“We draw a blank sometimes in trying to understand where to go or how to move forward in spiritual life. We hear from sastra, but it doesn’t move us. When we get up to that mood, it creates an emotion in which we question our entire identity and purpose as we have been living them out. At the same time, it’s not that we’re racing to make a change or bring relief. We have to face our lack of taste at certain times during the day because they seem to be almost physical cycles.
“I can just see the lake through my window, and it’s a perfect mirror today. Still cold, though. The lake will change. Will we? How long will we sit and measure time if we are forced to pray?
“Those words—bored, dry, empty. We watch ourselves going through the motions and wonder why we don’t chant more. It’s something to do. We’d feel bored, empty and dry no matter what we were doing sometimes. But that shouldn’t stop our attempt to increase our surrender to hari-nama. Chanting will take us where we want to go. And I know I’ve said this before, but I feel the same way about my writing service. The more I write, the more I will be able to forge ahead in the way I want to go. Simply chant (and for me, write). It doesn’t have to be pretentious. (There’s that word again.)”
From Memories in the Service of Krishna:
“Many well intentioned persons cannot figure out that it is wrong to eat meat and to indulge in sex pleasure outside of procreation. They can’t understand God’s plan. They think they have a better plan, more liberal than Krishna’s. They don’t know right from wrong. But in Krishna consciousness we have perfect codes and guides. This is not religious sentiment or speculation, but a phenomenal science. You can see it for yourself. If you act in the mode of ignorance, you get the result of madness; if you act in the mode of passion, you get distress; and if you act in the mode of goodness, you become purified. It works even in terms of hygiene and mental health. It also works in spiritual life, since the results of bhakti-yoga can be directly perceived.
“Whoever is without this Vedic direction is groping. Despite the best intentions, a person may commit serious mistakes, such as the mistake of thinking that animals have no soul and so there is no reaction for killing them. Or someone may think that after reading enough books, he can become a teacher and advocate that one can do whatever he likes and attain perfection. As a result of such teachings, a self-appointed guru paves his way to the worlds of darkness.”
“Please free me from the wrong
of complacence,
as if simply being ‘right’
were enough.”
From Niti-sastras: Sayings of Canakya and Hitopadesa as Quoted By Srila Prabhupada:
“Srila Prabhupada was fond of recalling the time when he was reprimanded by his spiritual master. ‘So far we are concerned, when our spiritual master used to chastise, we took it as a blessing.’
“Prabhupada’s disciples wanted to please him because we loved him. He attracted us to Krishna. He offered us a life of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. He fed us delicious prasadam. He let us live in his temples and gave us the responsibility for the buildings’ upkeep. He gave us japa and kirtana. We were obliged to him. We were willing to accept his strictures as the price for living a life we loved with the person we loved.
“We also had faith that he was a pure devotee who could give us Krishna. That faith took some of the sentimentality out of our following. Although in one sense, it’s a mystery how Prabhupada could have imposed discipline on so many young people, it was really our sense of obligation to him that made it possible. By fulfilling our obligation to him, we came to realize that the discipline was for our own good.
“I personally liked his strictness. I know others did too. It made us feel safe and righteous, not in an arrogant way, but in a religious way. Prabhupada’s discipline gave us the strength to avoid outside influences, to follow the regulative principles and chant sixteen rounds, to get up early and to talk about Krishna instead of something mundane. Within that discipline, which we soon learned to impose upon ourselves, Prabhupada developed a personal relationship as guru which was as real and familial and loving as any other relationship. We gave up everything—our girlfriends or boyfriends, our buddies, and often our families—to follow that one relationship.”
From Last Days of the Year:
“Looking forward to the new year. It is unsullied and waiting to be used. Please let us use it in devotional service to Lord Krishna and His pure devotee. Let it be a good year, not just for me, but for the whole Krishna consciousness movement. Let me have good humor toward the hype and funniness of ISKCON. Let me pay dues. And what if in this year I get severely tested? That’s the expression Prabhupada used in the Bali Maharaja chapters. He said Bali Maharaja was being severely tested by Krishna. So that happens. You go along free and easy and then something real hard and bad happens, like a car accident. It happened to Gobhatta in Santo Domingo. And then you are tested or examined.
“Krishna wants to see how you do under pressure. That is a difficult time, and you can’t do the things you normally like to do—sit and eat and be at leisure. But it changes you for the better. So the year will have some tests, and don’t be afraid of that. But build your will now in these last days of the year for going on writing and going on hearing about Krishna (as Arca-vigraha dasi loved to do in her last days, hear about Krishna).
“Pray Lord, be with me in the days to come. Give me strength for my usual little trials and bigger ones as may be ordained. I have not reached the goal of pure service yet. I try and try, but I can’t control the mind or taste the holy names. Krishna is not yet the center of my life. So how much longer do I have? How many more times can I stand at the end of a year and look forward to a new one? You had better . . . I tell myself.”
From Entering the Life of Prayer:
“This headache is a tiny thing: what about the pain when you have to leave the body? Does that mean you are not going to pray?”
From My Purpose at Isola di Albarella:
“Please guide me as the lights
fade and my steps falter.
Please show me the way.”
From “Vrindavan” in The Wild Garden:
“You are so distracted you catch only a fraction of it every day. That’s why there is value in the accumulated experience of attending the programs daily. Even a little devotional service will never suffer loss or diminution, and it can save you from the greatest fear.”
From My Purpose at Isola di Albarella:
“The living entity is the residence of the Supersoul. If you kill any living creature, even a plant, you dissatisfy the Supersoul. So, I’ll behave around mosquitoes, up to a point.”
“I’m a devotee, devotee, devotee
of pure devotee, made it
up the ranks to titular
titles, names and positions.
Now gliding down, will I
reach virtues of
honesty, humility, grace?
“I’m a devotee, true, true,
don’t forget, pick any year
from 1966 to 1996 and I’ll tell
you an ISKCON story – like
1976 during the height of anti-cult
scare I went to St. Louis academic
conversation and collected petition names
of profs and fed them in their
hotel. That’s just the bare bones
of it. I didn’t get headaches in
those days, all of us ever-
young and not even able to
fully appreciate it.
“I’m a devotee, signing my letters,
signing off, sounding depressed,
feeling the pressure in my skull,
white man, brown man poem,
American gone to India many visits,
been there
and back, ISKCON. Just ask
me. Please
|let me tell you (in the
brahma-muhurta hour after nine japa rounds,
before any headache) let me tell you
something nice about Krishna.
I can do it
and you can record it.”
Candrasekhara Swami:
Everything is connected to the virat-rupa, the universal form of the Lord.
In mathematics, infinity plus infinity equals infinity and infinity minus infinity equals infinity. This reminds us of the invocation to Isopanisad.
You can put everything in the universe in a pile, and Krishna is more than that because all that is within Krishna.
One of the first ingredients Brahma creates is ignorance. The material world could not exist without ignorance. Ignorance is not a mistake, but an important ingredient of the material world.
Before you create the beings you have to create the five kinds of ignorance which cover the beings.
The five kinds of ignorance are envy, the idea that everything ends at death, lack of knowledge of the soul, the conviction that one is the body, and absorption in enjoying the material world through sense gratification.
Things happen in a way we never see things happen in this world, especially at the time of creation. This is because they are Krishna’s energies that are acting, and they do not have to follow the laws of physics at that point. Later on things are more methodical.
We are very proud of our iron, electronic, gasoline-based technology, but there was and there still is another technology in India.
Niranjana Swami:
For Gopa Kumar awe and reverence is not sustainable.
Gopiparanadhana Prabhu:
From a Back to Godhead article “Serving the Words of His Predecessors: A Look at One of Srila Prabhupada’s Purports to the Srimad-Bhagavatam Reveals His Loyalty to the Vaishnava Tradition of Scriptural Commentary”:
“This [Purana] is perfectly complete. It is the purport of the Vedanta-sutra, establishes the meaning of the Mahabharata, is a commentary on Gayatri, and completes the message of the Vedas. It is the Sama Veda among the Puranas, spoken directly by an incarnation of God [Vyasa]. This work, consisting of twelve cantos, hundreds of chapters, and eighteen thousand verses, is called Srimad-Bhagavatam.” (Garuda Purana)
Hansarupa Prabhu:
In this society from the beginning of life people are taught that sex life is the highest pleasure in life and should be attained at all costs. Of course, this is completely opposite to the Vedic understanding.
Having sex without any commitment is like animal life.
People praise the idea of staying with one’s mate when they see it in the animal species.
When Krishna is not in the center, there is no ultimate commitment.
We have seen that those who have been brahmacari for many years are stronger grhasthas.
Without any attempt to control the senses, it is hard to advance spiritually. Thus the ashrams are necessary to assist with that.
On his last visit to New York City, Srila Prabhupada said we had enough temples, and now we should open reading rooms and restaurants. He got the idea of reading rooms from seeing an impressive Christian Science reading room in New York City.
Srila Prabhupada said knowledge is to understand spirit and matter and intelligence is to see things in their proper perspective.
You may be in this ashram or that ashram, but internally you must maintain your determination to make this life your last life in the material world.
In 55th Street the restaurant prasadam was Radha Govinda’s raja-bhoga offering. In the two and a half years I managed Govinda’s, I saw many people become devotees from eating it.
For brahmacaris it is very important to associate with brahmacari friends to maintain one’s determination.
Srila Prabhupada said you cannot become a grhastha unless you can increase your service. You are getting more facility and thus you must increase your service.
As a detective for years, I learned the bread and butter of the profession is husbands or wives who want to confirm their suspicion that their spouse is cheating on them.
The austerities one experiences in the brahmacari ashram are building up your bank account so in difficult times you can endure.
Srila Prabhupada said the temple managers should be grhasthas. They should think of themselves as caretakers of Krishna’s building.
It is important to accept the order of the spiritual master as the greatest mercy.
Living in the ashram is meant to develop our faith and conviction.
The householder cannot be all about my household but must make time to execute the mission of the spiritual master.
One person with commitment, dedication, and determination can do so much.
If you are still attached to material enjoyment after twenty-five years of grhastha life, you have not learned the lesson.
Rama Raya Prabhu:
One should remember throughout one’s life that material desires result in future material bodies.
Srila Prabhupada explains that living in the brahmacari ashram is meant to train the candidate to understand that the material world is not his home.
We will become worn out by the material energy if we are not sufficiently advanced.
Krishna is not so available where materialistic people are engaged in their materialistic activities. Krishna says He is to be found where His devotees are always chanting His glories.
The Lord’s plan is best for everyone in all circumstances, and the advanced devotees understand that.
There is a story that a scentless flower decided she was so useless the best thing for her would be to be stepped on by Krishna. She fell down on the ground just as Krishna was about to step. Krishna, being compassionate, immediately stopped, reached down, picked up the flower, and put it in His crown.
I found that people would come up to me impressed by the attractive sound of the kirtan when from the aesthetic point of view it was not that great. That is due to their sincere spiritual aspiration.
Srila Prabhupada said the way to control the mind is to always consider the ultimate good.
Nikunjabihari Prabhu:
The use of the word “tatah” implies there is something that happened previously.
“Purusa” comes from the word “puri” which means city. The body is compared to a city of nine gates. “Purusa” is he who lives in the body, that is the soul and the Supersoul.
Kumbhakarna performed austerities to obtain Indra-asana, the throne of Indra, the king of heaven. The priests chanted the mantra incorrectly as nidra-asana and thus Kumbhakarna attained a bed and was disappointed.
Narada was created from the intelligence of Lord Brahma.
Ananda Kirtan Prabhu:
Sometimes we are not willing to accept our own karma, but Vasudeva Datta was willing to accept all the sinful reactions of all the living entities in the universe.
Srila Prabhupada once said less than 10% of souls from the spiritual world come to the material world.
This is a historic time in the entire age of Lord Brahma in that Srila Prabhupada came to the land of the mlecchas and gave them Krishna consciousness.
The best offering to the spiritual master is to offer him disciples.
Srila Prabhupada said that Lord Caitanya’s prediction that His name will be chanted in every town and village means in every town and village all over the world there are people waiting to be delivered.
Srila Prabhupada told Svarupa Damodara that by defeating the atheistic scientists he would realize his svarupa [eternal spiritual identity] in Vraja.
Srila Prabhupada told Tamal Krishna Goswami, “If you give this one lifetime to Lord Caitanya, He will personally bring you back to Godhead.”
Srila Prabhupada says when a living entity leaves the spiritual world to come to this world he first takes birth as Lord Brahma. This makes sense because the reason we leave is a desire to imitate the Lord as the supreme controller and supreme enjoyer.
Srimad-Bhagavatam is the real door to perception because it gives us so much higher knowledge.
I spoke with one Srila Prabhupada disciple in Los Angeles, Punyatma Prabhu, on several occasions. He disappeared on Nityananda Trayodasi. He would always say things like “Prabhu, this is it. This is the spiritual world. You made it.” He would point to the deities, and say, “They are Radha and Krishna Themselves.” He would talk about how the members of the disciplic succession like Narada and Brahma are our family members.
As a child uses money given by the mother to buy her Christmas gifts, the devotees use parts of the universal form of the Lord to perform sacrifice for the pleasure of the Lord.
You cannot force yourself into the pastimes of Goloka Vrindavan. You have to be invited. By inviting others to practice Krishna consciousness we become qualified to be invited to that spiritual realm.
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The quote below by Lord Caitanya’s guru, Sri Isvara Puri Goswami, explains Lord Caitanya’s mission, which is the mission that Srila Prabhupada is giving us the opportunity to participate in. Lord Caitanya reveals it in a conversation with the impersonalist philosophers who wonder why He spends His time in chanting and dancing and not studying Vedanta like a proper sannyasi.
naca, gao, bhakta-sange kara sankirtana
“‘My dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing sankirtana in association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value of chanting krishna-nama [the name of Krishna] for by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.’” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 7.92)
