Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 17, No. 20
(October 2021, part two)
New York City, Stuyvesant Falls, Schenectady
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on November 6, 2021)
Where I Went and What I Did
I spent most of the second half of October at Viraha Bhavan, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s residence at Stuyvesant Falls in Upstate New York. There I would make breakfast, clean the kitchen three times a day, and wake up, do arati for, and put to rest the deities on the ground floor, as well as pick tulasi leaves. Twice a week I would dress his Radha-Govinda deities. While upstate I made a couple of local trips, one to do harinama with Schenectady devotees and another to go to my mother’s place for a Sunday brunch with many relatives, and where I shared oatmeal enhanced with maha-prasadam fruit and doughnuts from the Doughnut Plant. I spent four days with NYC Harinam, October 16, 29, 30, and 31, having many nice harinama experiences in New York City, especially on Halloween. This issue is special in that I include many still photos and fewer videos.
I share a few great quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books, especially Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. I share excerpts from the writings of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on lectures in New York City by Hansarupa Prabhu and Kadamba Kanana Swami and notes on a lecture in Stuyvesant Falls by Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu. I share an interesting quote from the Bible indicating that faith is not sufficient without works and an interesting comment from a conversation with a devotee from Schenectady.
Thanks to my sister, Karen, for the COVID-19 antigen self tests, so I could be sure of not accidentally infecting my guru or my mother, who are both high risk because of age. Thanks to Sabrina of the Schenectady Hare Krishna community for donating for my gas to Schenectady to attend their harinama.
Itinerary
October 29–November 7: NYC Harinam
November 8–November 21: Serving Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami in Stuyvesant Falls, NY
November 21–December 3: NYC Harinam
December 4–December 11: Serving SDG and my mother in Upstate New York
December 11–January 3, 2022: NYC Harinam
January 5‒April: Tallahassee harinamas and college outreach
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
Baladeva Prabhu, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s senior caretaker, allowed me to go join the NYC Harinam on Saturdays, so one Saturday I drove to Albany and took the Chinese bus to New York City.
Rama Raya Prabhu took a couple videos of me chanting Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park (https://youtu.be/t1HX0E6rR0k):
One was more vertical than horizontal (https://youtu.be/GPReFMGjUe4):
Next he videoed Natabara Gauranga Prabhu chanting Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/oDG9K1W2DF8):
And then Braja Sakhi Devi Dasi as she was chanting Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/BUMDUnMaIFY):
I took a video of the end of her kirtan when devotees and an onlooker danced (https://youtu.be/3PlE0VBRc3s):
Here Ekachakra Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park, inspiring some to dance, to photograph, and to film (https://youtu.be/e5ByisrANFg):
Rama Raya Prabhu also took videos of that kirtan, in which other devotees and me are dancing, including this one (https://youtu.be/UuQjzZlQMgE):
And this one (https://youtu.be/Tllyc1fvM5c):
Finally Rama Raya Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park, until our harinama was abruptly ended by rain (https://youtu.be/lVXVT907J_w):
Several passersby enjoyed dancing during Rama Raya Prabhu’s kirtan, and some enjoyed playing the instruments as well (https://youtu.be/1O4i03Dtaa8):
Kathi, Baladeva Prabhu’s sister, came to visit Viraha Bhavan at the end of the month, so Baladeva said I could return to New York City and do harinama while she was here, as she could cover my services.
Jacob chants Hare Krishna at Fulton Street subway station (https://youtu.be/qwpRQkQ9pAY):
Godruma Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/9-hiVmZXUa8):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/bl_SPGirp60):
Natabara Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Times Square subway station, the busiest in New York City (https://youtu.be/whPyQgVpXKg):
Prana Hari Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Times Square subway station (https://youtu.be/VZFVozirRwI):
Nate chants Hare Krishna in Times Square subway station, and a man dances (https://youtu.be/mIt5eJ5hjj0):
Halloween was special for me this year because I went on three harinamas.
The Bhakti Center is doing a walking harinama on Sundays from 2 to 3 p.m. in Washington Square Park and the streets nearby, and because Halloween was Sunday, that was my first harinama for the day. As soon as our chanting party left the park, a group of 5 or 6 young blacks, manning a free COVID test booth, delighted in dancing to our Hare Krishna chant. Anupama Prabhu gave them all books, and encouraged them to give donations, and I gave them all cards for our New York temple and Govinda’s restaurant. One young lady exclaimed, “I know you guys! I did construction on EVEN Hotel [the building next to the temple]. I always hoped that someone would invite me to your programs!” It is wonderful to think that there are people out there who are just waiting for us to invite them to our programs!
Natabara Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park on Halloween (https://youtu.be/_y7rlFKbABQ):
Godruma Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/jJZTdn9lS_M):
Vedran of Croatia, who often travels with Harinama Ruci, chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/tEIuBC1fPKs):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, and passersby dance (https://youtu.be/V4QtCbdMrCc):
Later in the evening different people, many in costumes enjoyed playing the shakers, dancing, smiling, and taking photos and videos of a group of devotees from ISKCON NYC chanting Hare Krishna on the streets nearby the Village Halloween Parade. I chanted first, so I do not have a video of that. Then Godruma Prana Prabhu chanted (https://youtu.be/XYTOH_snilo):
Then I took a 43:04 minute Facebook Live video of the rest of our Halloween evening harinama. Here are the most exciting 16 minutes of that (https://youtu.be/Io99tOiMGvQ):
Here is the entire unedited Facebook Live video (https://youtu.be/cW1Fz_U5tvg):
One clip from that video I found humorous was folks costumed in the colors of Pepto Bismol, a popular American stomach medicine, happily dancing to the Hare Krishna chant (https://youtu.be/JWyRgqz-8-w):
To chant for long periods it is good to drink periodically. A lot of the devotees on the harinama party in New York City like coconut water, and they say the brand in the middle of this photo is the best.
Chanting Hare Krishna in Schenectady, New York
A group of devotees in existence for nine years, mostly from Guyana but living in Schenectady, one of three principal cities in New York State’s Capital District, started doing harinama sankirtana this year. This was their seventh harinama and distributor Radha Dyuti Dasi says the people are much more favorable than in the beginning. Here Rishi Isvara Prabhu sings and one onlooker dances and several take literature and videos (https://youtu.be/-t9Y6dSuccg):
Here is an earlier video of Rishi Isvara Prabhu chanting Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/0Ui-QVkP6Io):
Here Haridas Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Schenectady (https://youtu.be/mZ7ZGPHMlyw):
While on harinama I saw this sign on a church, “Greed does not pave the path to heaven.” It reminded me of this verse from Bhagavad-gita: “There are three gates leading to this hell – lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.” (Bg. 16.21) The path to heaven is described in the next verse: “The man who has escaped these three gates of hell, O son of Kunti, performs acts conducive to self-realization and thus gradually attains the supreme destination.” (Bg. 16.22) Giving up meat eating, intoxication, illicit sex, and gambling and chanting sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily is the main way we follow that instruction in the Hare Krishna movement today.
After the hour-and-twenty-minute harinama, we had some wonderful Guyanese prasadam, highlighted with pakoras made with split pea flour and spinach. They gave me at least twenty to take home to Baladeva Prabhu.
The program was at the house of temple president Mahaprakash Prabhu, and he had a temple room with many beautiful deities:
Srila Prabhupada
Gaura Nitai
Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra
Radha-Krishna
Chanting Hare Krishna at Viraha Bhavan
Mostly my chanting of Hare Krishna at Viraha Bhavan, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s place in Upstate New York consisted of my chanting sixteen rounds in the morning before my deity and cooking services and four rounds in the afternoon while walking for exercise. I did two ten-minute Hare Krishna kirtans for the Jagannatha and Gaura-Nitai deities on the ground floor, in the morning preceded by “Guruvastakam” and in the evening preceded by “Gaura Arati.” I would also chant the “Jaya Om” prayers and the Nrsimhadeva songs after each.
One day was very special. After lunch I showed Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami some harinama videos from the day before this year’s New York Ratha-yatra. Then I asked him if he had any favorite ISKCON kirtan singers. He said he liked Madhava Prabhu, especially one tune by him. Baladeva said it was the tune I played when I cooked, so I played that tune and he listened for over an hour, chanting the response most of the time. We also chanted as Bala made pudding, I danced and did the dishes, and Bhakti Rasa did some japa in the next room. I share the tune for your pleasure: https://audio.iskcondesiretree.com/03_-_ISKCON_Prabhujis/ISKCON_Prabhujis_-_K_to_R/His_Grace_Madhav_Prabhu/Bhajans/Madhava_Pr_Bhajans_-_Hare_Krishna_Kirtan_-_2012-09-20_Ukraine.mp3
If you know of a video of Madhava Prabhu singing that tune, please let me know.
When the month of Karttika begin, in the afternoon Baladeva, Bhakti Rasa, and I would chant the “Damodarastakam” in unison instead of responsively to save time. I would play the harmonium and Bhakti the karatalas. We would offer candles to a small figurine of Damodara and Mother Yashoda and also read the English translation of the song afterwards. Thus thanks to the month of Damodara, I had some daily kirtan with the other members of the ashram. I decided to make a vow that was simple to follow, to chant “Damodarastakam” twice each day for the whole month. I would chant it during my morning shower to help insure I would keep my vow.
During my afternoon japa walk I would take photos of striking things.
One day I noticed two drivers completely ignored the warning on the above sign and thus they had to turn their vehicles around when they encountered the blockage below.
That reminded me of our nature as conditioned souls to ignore signs meant for our benefit and thus to get ourselves into unnecessary difficulties. In particular we ignore the advice of the Supreme Lord and his liberated associates in the revealed literature of different traditions, and we perform activities resulting in misery and bondage instead of those that result in liberation and eternal, transcendental happiness.
In the autumn, the leaves change color in beautiful ways before drying up and falling off.
I see this as evidence of divine direction.
Why would evolution favor such a colorful display?
While on my japa walk I would notice Stuyvesant Falls. After a rain it becomes more impressive.
And after another rain, it became even more so.
I would decorate Gaura-Nitai’s altar when Baladeva supplied lots of flowers as you can see here.
Krsna Dasi taught me how to dress our guru’s Radha Govinda deities, which I tried to do twice each week.
When the weather turned cold, we brought the tulasis in, and we harvested the manjaris, which we offered to the deities, so we had lots of maha-prasadam tulasi.
Visiting My Family for Brunch
My niece, Fern [bottom right], was visiting from Denver, and my niece, Gwen, and her husband, Matt, [both top center] and daughter, Vianne [next to Fern], were visiting from New York City, so my sister, Karen, her partner, Victor, [both left] and myself, all joined them at the home of my mother [center] for brunch. It was great to see everyone again.
I had to take a COVID self-test for my mother’s protection as I am not vaccinated, but that was an insignificant inconvenience for me. I already had COVID, so it is unlikely I will get it or transmit it, but I try to follow the protocol of the people I visit.
I made some oatmeal, sweetened with dates, and containing walnuts. To bring it to another level, I added to it all the maha-prasadam fruit from the breakfast at Viraha Bhavan. I truly think it was the best oatmeal I ever made or had.
I brought that to the brunch along with doughnuts from the Doughnut Plant, which many of my relatives have a liking for.
They had some fruit which I could have, but the waffles had eggs in them, so I could not eat them.
It turns out Baladeva made waffles for our guru for lunch, so I it turns out I got waffles that day anyway, with some scrambled tofu as well.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 15.108, purport:
“One whose tongue is engaged in tasting material things and also talking about them cannot use the tongue for absolute realization.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 16.238, purport:
“One cannot be really renounced until one actually becomes disgusted with material activity and sees it as a stumbling block to spiritual advancement.”
“In the Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.2.108), it is said:
yavata syat sva-nirvahah
adhikye nyunatayam ca
cyavate paramarthatah
‘The bare necessities of life must be accepted, but one should not superfluously increase his necessities. Nor should they be unnecessarily decreased. One should simply accept what is necessary to help one advance spiritually.’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 17.153, purport:
“Formerly Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu converted people when He toured southern and western India. Similarly, the Hare Krishna movement is now delivering the people of the Western world wherever devotees are chanting the holy names. This is all being done by the Lord’s mercy. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu predicted that He would deliver people in every city and village of the world by giving them a chance to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.23.56:
“Anyone whose work is not meant for elevating him to religious life, anyone whose religious ritualistic performances do not raise him to renunciation, and anyone situated in renunciation that does not lead him to devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead must be considered dead, although he is breathing.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Free Write Journal #166:
“While Baladeva was making pudding for me to take my pills with and Krishna Kripa was dancing, I joined in the chanting too, as we heard the kirtaniya, Madhava, meeting thousands in a maha-kirtana in Ukraine. He’s one of my favorite singers. I love the way he sticks to one steady tune without speeding up too much, and how he enthuses the responders to sing back. It was a kind of wild scene in the kitchen, with Baladeva mixing the pudding and both he and Krishna Kripa singing. I sat straight up in my chair and sang along with Madhava and the crowd. There was a wonderful flute player and some other instruments like a violin filling up the atmosphere. We kept up with Madhava for over an hour. Before we listened to Madhava, Krishna Kripa played us a video of Rama Raya leading a kirtana in Times Square, New York. It was blissful.”
From From Imperfection, Purity Will Come About:
“Anyone’s face is a simple mask that doesn’t have the ability to reveal all emotions.”
“Spring is a festival for lovers. In this world it is cheapened and perverted by lusty couples. Better to be a celibate monk and think of the springtime love of Radha and Krishna.”
From Here Is Srila Prabhupada:
“Dear Lord Krishna,
“I repeat Your name with little realization, I respect Your right not to reveal Yourself to a selfish fool.”
“Dear Lord Krishna,
“Your devotees love You and I’m obedient and happy to serve Srila
Prabhupada. Please consider this when it is time
to judge me.”
“Dear Lord Krishna, I am warming up
to pure descriptions of Your pastimes.
I consider myself fortunate when I say Your name.”
From Life with the Perfect Master:
“For me, Prabhupada’s daily massage was the high point of the day. It was supposed to begin at eleven-fifteen in the morning, but sometimes he would be talking with guests at that time.
“In that case, I would put on my gamsha and sit conspicuously in his audience, hoping that they would understand that it was time for his massage. Sometimes I even said, ‘Prabhupada, it is time for your massage.’ He would sometimes ignore me, or sometimes take the hint and manage to have the audience depart. I was always concerned that he start his massage on time, otherwise his lunch would be late, and his whole afternoon schedule would be off.
“He would put on his gamsha and sit on the veranda floor in the late morning sunshine. I would rub mustard seed oil over his body, starting with the top of his head, and he would relax, often with half-closed eyes, and allow his body to rock slightly with the movements of my massaging. It was lush in Bombay, and while sitting, Prabhupada could see the tops of the coconut trees against the blue sky. There were nice tropical breezes, and Prabhupada called it a paradise. ‘Have you ever seen such a lush place?’ he asked, and he would speak of many things, but not as constantly as on the morning walk.
“Once he asked me how many hippies were in America and what they did. He would be silent for long periods and then suddenly ask something that was on his mind. Once he suddenly said, ‘I am not anxious to go to Goloka Vrindavan. I just want to expose all these rascals who pretend to be yogis and svamis.’ Another time he suddenly asked, ‘Where in the world can I go where there will be no visitors and I can simply be alone to write my books?’”
From Karttika Moon:
“Last conversations of Thérèse of Lisieux. One of her hands holds the other. She says, ‘I want to go to God and pray. I want Him to be happy, want to uh…Bless all souls to love Him as I do!’ Such an ecstatic girl even in suffering. But Srila Prabhupada in Hyderabad said the Bible has only a little love of God, a little info. Some saints took it a long way.”
“You fall for it
think yourself special
and you’ll come back next life
to take a position of power.
“Fall for it and become a bug
next time. Be a word
pusher…a poet, a bug
I said
a movie producer,
a king, a politician, in any
material form it’s suffering.
“When are you gonna wake
up and start chanting?”
From “I Think That Ad is Lying” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 14, No. 2/3 (February/March 1979):
“Transcendental knowledge is rarely seen in public nowadays, and much of the blame lies with commercial interests that are covering over our most precious possession, spiritual life. But even a mass advertising or propaganda campaign for hedonistic living cannot extinguish man’s original God consciousness. Nor can anyone ever be satisfied simply by more and more material accumulation. So, the devotees of Krishna are suggesting that the real path to happiness is the revival of our original God consciousness. And although the age may be sold out to commercial interests, it is never too late for an individual to reject the mass mind control of even the most powerful advertising machinery and turn his individual soul in the direction of the Supreme. There he will find his original state of eternity, bliss, and knowledge.”
From “Strictly Speaking, the Language Reform Movement is Useless” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 14, No. 4 (April 1979):
“Even a dog communicates directly and honestly, through barking; nonetheless, he lives a dog’s life. Will added eloquence bring us relief from misery?”
From “Meat-eating: The West’s Sacred Cow” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 14, No. 7 (July 1979):
“But although millions of harmless cows are slaughtered daily, hardly a single cry of objection is raised anywhere in the land. Indeed, almost everyone affirms the killing of animals by daily eating their flesh.”
“But does anyone really believe that the cow likes to be killed, dances happily in the frying pan, or relishes the thought of her flesh being served to casual diners? If you have ever seen the cows peacefully grazing or heard their pitiful screams as they are executed in the slaughterhouse, you know very well that they have the same ‘gut feelings’ as humans do regarding their own right to live. Yet slaughtering cows does not disturb the consciences of billions of meat-eaters, because they choose not to apply the ethics of the sacredness of life to animals. But we should reconsider this double standard.”
“Krishna devotees have not taken the protection of the cow as an all-in-all conclusion of religion, but rather as a natural consequence of following God’s order not to kill.”
“But meat-eating is truly ‘a sacred cow’ in America. The beef industry is so extremely powerful that when President Carter held a token meatless luncheon at the White House in 1977, he was sent all sorts of threatening telegrams.”
“Reaction to sinful activities is known in Vedic philosophy as karma, and the slaughterhouse is bringing severe reactions (bad karma) upon our society. Cow killing is killing America. And to halt this bad effect, we need not adopt artificial ideas, but just turn sincerely to the unavoidable meanings of the Golden Rule and ‘Thou shalt not kill.’”
From “A New York City Festival Diary” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 14, No. 9 (September 1979):
“The police seem to be eyeing me curiously. They almost all wear mustaches, and all wear light blue shirts and dark blue pants, strapped with a waist load of gun, handcuffs, club, and pad for writing violations; our official protectors, walking peacefully along with the parade. Captain Coyle is the in-charge, stuck with the job.
“‘Stuck with it? I requested it,’ says Captain Coyle. ‘Every year, somehow or other, the whole parade happens. You don’t know how it works and I don’t know how it works but every year it’s worked so far. Do you know why this parade happens?’
“‘Why?’
“Captain Coyle: ‘Because the Swami said to have the parade down Fifth Avenue, and therefore the parade goes down Fifth Avenue. I saw your faces when the Swami joined the parade on Thirty-fourth Street back in ’76. I saw there was something special.’”
“The police break up a bunch of ‘Jesus People’ giving out pamphlets against Krishna consciousness. A policeman tells them, ‘One day out of the year the Hare Krishnas hold this festival, and everyone in New York likes it so why bother them?’”
“Question: ‘Why do you always hassle us for money?’
“Brahmananda Swami: ‘What right do you have to challenge my right to ask you for money? The IRS demands your money on behalf of the government. We do the same. We are Krishna’s taxation department, and you have no right to challenge our right to ask for money.’”
“It is warm, maybe ninety degrees. Alone, I walk to my window and look out at the proud, futile tower of the Empire State Building, its crowning floors lit up with floodlights. It is Saturday night, but the town seems different. A feeling as if the beast has a heart, the sinful machine has a soul within it somewhere. And it has been touched by the Ratha-yatra festival.”
From “Do You Need a Guru?” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 14, No. 10 (October 1979):
“Most people think they have no need for a spiritual master. In a sense, they are right. People interested only in an animal-like existence do not need a spiritual master. A spiritual master is required for a person who is inquisitive about transcendental knowledge.”
“We admit that we need help in repairing our auto, in fixing our teeth, in arranging our finances, but often we think that in spiritual matters every man is his own best guide. The spiritual science is in fact the most subtle and difficult to comprehend and therefore one in which we certainly need help from a person who knows the truth. It is ignorant pride that prevents us from admitting we need the help of a spiritual master.”
“Once I spoke with a Quaker who was very glad when he heard me say that the guru is in the heart: the Supreme Lord is the guru within. Lord Krishna as the original guru confirms this: ‘I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come intelligence, memory, and forgetfulness… I, dwelling within the heart, destroy the darkness of ignorance with the torchlight of knowledge.’ But out of His compassion the Supreme Lord not only manifests Himself as the guru within, but also appears externally in the world as the pure devotee of God or the spiritual master in disciplic succession. Krishna as the Supersoul is within a person’s heart, and when one is serious, the Lord directs him to take shelter of His representative, a genuine spiritual master. Directed from within and guided externally by the self-realized spiritual master, one attains the path of Krishna consciousness, the way out of material suffering.
“‘O my Lord! Transcendental poets and experts in spiritual science could not fully express their indebtedness to You, even if they were endowed with a prolonged lifetime, for You appear in two features externally as the spiritual master and internally as the Supersoul [the Lord in the heart] to deliver the embodied living being by directing him how to come to You.’ (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi 1.48) The Lord in the heart and the guru, the spiritual master, are needed together, just as a train needs two rails to run on.”
From “India Diary” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 14, No. 11 (November 1979):
“Years ago, the Moghuls took the jewels away from the temples, and what they didn’t take, the British took later. But they could not take away the people’s bhakti, their devotion to Lord Krishna.”
From “An Energy Alternative: The Resources Within” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 15, Nos. 1 and 2 (January 1980):
“If our nation of pleasure-seekers is to adjust to a simpler life, we must first experience satisfaction on a higher level. The Bhagavad-gita (2.59) teaches this principle analytically: ‘Although the embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, the taste for sense objects remains. But ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, one is fixed in consciousness.’ Unfortunately, at present America has no scientific understanding of how a person can feel happiness beyond gross sense gratification.
“Those who are following the path of Krishna consciousness, however, are experiencing this way of life simple living and high thinking and they offer it for serious consideration to persons concerned with the American energy dilemma. Experiencing the higher taste is something we can all explore as an energy alternative. Today, when the government is casting around for any kind of energy alternative, they would do well to investigate the subtle but realistic principle of the Bhagavad-gita: experiencing the higher taste, in Krishna consciousness. Only when we Americans can find a deeper satisfaction in our lives, a higher happiness than sense gratification, will we be able to live peacefully, without absolute dependence on cars, color TV, air conditioning, and so on. Only then will it be possible for us to tap the unlimited energy resources that lie within each of us.”
From “Are You a Good Listener?” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 15, Nos. 3 and 4 (March 1980):
“Suppose I say I am going to discuss self-realization as it is explained in the Bhagavad-gita. A bad listener might feel that the topic does not apply to his own private life. But if one listens with a keen ear for his real self-interest, then self-realization becomes a profitable subject for understanding. Certainly, everyone would like to be free of the miseries of the world, birth, death, disease, and old age, and everyone would like to live forever in happiness. And these are the benefits of self-realization. So, an effective listener will tune in to the vital subject matter of self-realization as it is presented in the Bhagavad-gita.”
“Some listeners are just too conditioned; as soon as they hear the words ‘God’ or ‘Krishna’ or ‘the soul,’ they don’t want to hear anything more. Yet many times these prejudices are due to a person’s having heard only sentimental or unqualified discussions of God. Naively, these persons have decided that any presentation of God consciousness is sectarian or mythological, even when it is presented scientifically and philosophically, as in the Bhagavad-gita. This is ineffective hearing. Such a person is acting on personal emotions and prejudices which preclude inquiry into the very idea that has been the most influential and enduring throughout human history.”
“At present, we may not know the answers to life’s ultimate philosophical questions, but we must admit that this is the most important topic for hearing.”
“When, in the early nineteenth century, Henry David Thoreau heard that communication time between Boston and New York had been reduced to five hours, he asked skeptically whether there was anything of such importance that it had to be transported so quickly from the people of Boston to the people of New York. The Vedic literature points out that even animals have efficient systems of hearing and responding, but only the human being hears and comprehends the science of self-realization. The special qualification of the human being is that he can make a solution to the problems of life by hearing discussions of the Absolute Truth.”
From “A Personal Look at the U.S. Presidency?” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 15, No. 5 (May 1980):
“By this time, I had become thoroughly disenchanted with my father’s leadership, and as soon as my tour of duty was over, I left military service. With Lyndon Johnson as my president now, I went to live on the Lower East Side of New York, where I met my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.
“Here was a real leader. He hadn’t come from the White House; he had come from Krishna. I began coming by and hearing his lectures, and it didn’t matter who was president or whether they taxed me or ran me out of gasoline or inflated me or depressed me or blew me up with a bomb. I had a real leader, and I was going back to Godhead. He was the first one to give me real philosophy and a perfect example in his own life. He taught from a book of transcendental knowledge, the Bhagavad-gita, about the real, eternal self and the purpose of life in love of Godhead. I had never received that from anyone, neither father, priests, nor presidents. It was the mercy of Srila Prabhupada that he came to New York City when I was living there looking for answers and not finding them. I became his student and wanted to take up his mission of spreading Krishna consciousness to my countrymen.”
“So here it is, another election year and still no hope for a really God conscious leader. And if the people persist in being led around by their hedonism and sectarian attachments and thus pick unqualified leaders, they will have only themselves to blame for the ensuing cataclysm. But if, being dissatisfied with all other alternatives, people realize that the planet belongs to God, then they may elect a real leader who knows how to rule according to the dictates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
From A Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam, Volume 1:
“Bhakti-jana raised his hand after a lecture in the Allston storefront in 1968. He asked Prabhupada, ‘What about Rabindranath Tagore? Is he a nice poet?’
“Prabhupada answered, ‘He’s nice for the mundane. We’re interested in poets like Vyasadeva and Valmiki.’”
“Jaya Krishna-Baladeva.
Even I am Their devotee
by the grace of their devotee
who erected their temple
in a Raman Reti field.”
From Vandanam: A Krishna Conscious Handbook on Prayer:
“Srila Prabhupada urges that we should chant the Hare Krishna mantra with love, and Bhaktivinoda Thakura advises that we must give up pramada or we are not even chanting the real names. But how can we actually blast through the mountain of indifference and lethargy and reach the pure land of the holy name? The answer is that we have to work for it, and beg for the mercy of the holy name. (Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in Saranagati, declares, ‘I will beg, borrow or steal the mellows of the name of Hari.’) After taking good advice, we have to face our own selves, and face the Hare Krishna mantra and chant and hear. It is hard work, tapasya, but for the best cause. Srila Prabhupada has said, ‘An easygoing life and Krishna consciousness don’t go well together,’ and that is certainly true of japa-yajna for one who is still plagued by the ten offenses. . . . For now, let us agree that we will never give up trying to improve our chanting, even when it seems hopeless.”
“Did we think it would be easier? Did we imagine we would become almost as good as Haridasa Thakura within a few years? It is not so easy after all, let us show Krishna that we really do want the nectar of this service and are willing to pay any price.”
From Dear Sky: Letters from a Sannyasi:
“The people with whom we are obliged to spend time often talk about things we don’t always care to hear. Invariably, people are troubled, and there is nothing much you can do for them except hear them out and suggest to them what you are trying to do yourself: surrender to Krishna. You want to help, of course, but there is not much you can do.”
“It’s summer, so the sky usually lightens early. It’s wonderful, isn’t it? These mornings of early light come at no other time of the year. It’s such a luxury. And the trick to appreciating all these wonderful things is not to fall into sense gratification, but to serve Krishna in every situation, taking whatever is there and using it in His service.
“Although this is a season of early light and precious days, the winter has its special features too, like the appetite you have for hot meals and the quietness of the snow. But if I had my choice, I would take this season of early light and wildflowers.”
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 2, Number 23:
“Calcutta was Prabhupada’s hometown, and even in the 1970s, when he had ISKCON centers in major cities all over the world, his visits to ISKCON Calcutta brought all friends and acquaintances to see him. One evening he was sitting in his room with old family friends from the Mahatma Gandhi Road neighborhood where he had grown up. They insisted that he come and visit the Radha-Govinda temple. Although it was almost 10:00 p.m., Prabhupada suddenly decided to go, and so he traveled by car, along with some of his western disciples. As he passed his old neighborhood, he pointed out the house where he was raised as a child and the spot where he used to purchase kites. At the Govindaji temple, relatives came forward, embracing him and touching his feet. Old and young surrounded him, smiling and chatting in Bengali. Prabhupada then went before the Deity of Govinda, whom he had worshiped from the beginning of his life. ‘Practically everything I have done,’ he explained to his disciples, ‘is by the grace of Radha-Govinda.’ He recalled his original Ratha-yatras up and down Mahatma Gandhi Road, and how his father paid for the festivals. Prabhupada said that the same spirit he had imbibed here he was now carrying on throughout the world in Ratha-yatras and by establishing many Radha-Govindajis all over the world.”
From Every Day, Just Write,Volume 3: A Sojourn in Tapo-bhumi:
“A friend and Godbrother asked me to side with him in a controversy. I declined. If I get into a jam of my own doing, I shouldn’t ask a friend to take my side either. At least not if I have to make politics. Allow Krishna to judge. Another lesson: I don’t appear to be in favor of covering up a wrong, so if I do a wrong I ought to tell it.
“Eyes on ISKCON and on me. How will I act? Will I join those who think it’s best to cover up a scandal? They may be morally right, but others will criticize their actions. As a sannyasi I wish to remain aloof.”
From My Dear Lord Krishna: A Book of Prayers, Volume 2
“I pray to You from ground zero. Please pick me up. Show me a glimpse of Your mercy in Your holy names. Let my mind wander under Your auspicious influence to that of Your wondrous pastimes and Your desire to include me. O ocean of mercy, I am a dry, stranded stick. Please splash me with a drop of nectar and revive for me. I used to be Your intimate servant, didn’t I? Haven’t I fallen by misuse of free will, and can’t I return to You by the direction of Your saints and Your internal potency? I pray as the great devotees do: ‘I am the most fallen, so please prove Your characteristic of kindness upon the most fallen and make Your claim as patita-pavana to be true. Otherwise, Your name will be wasted.”
From Visitors:
“Mother Yasoda thinks that her Krishna has not shown her the universal form but that it is something else, but she never forgets Krishna. She fears something may be wrong with her child. She embraces Him and loves Him and takes Him to her breast. Maharaja Nanda is concerned. He pats his son on the head. They never get outside their parental rasa . . . And you?
“Do you ever get out of your entanglement in the modes of nature? Have you ever prayed to please Krishna, the bhakta-vatsala? Have you ever discovered that His greatest quality is to be inclined to you?”
From Karttika Moon:
“People are suffering
from far worse than your
mild petulant moods.
Help them by tellin’ Krishna consciousness.”
“Prabhupada talks about in his lectures, how in Mayapur during the night these creatures are born and live and die in one night and how in the morning you see heaps and heaps of bodies. Sometimes when I heard the lecture, I felt perhaps he was exaggerating when he said that there were thousands and thousands of bugs and heaps and heaps of bodies in the morning and that you could sweep them away. But now I see it’s true. Why don’t I take Prabhupada literally true on face value all the time? Just a matter of time before you find out that what he says is true.”
“I want to be seen as excellent but when a fool speaks you’ll know he’s not special, just struggling on the relative plane and so his silence isn’t so deep.”
“A devotee here gave me this verse printed on a card like a placemark, ‘I praise Sri Mayapur, where a dabbler who walks down many paths at once, a fool, one who has rejected proper religious duty, an independent person who will not follow the rules of the scriptures, a person who has not the slightest scent of the touch of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and those who live here only out of lust and greed, all attain the Supreme destination.’ (Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati, Sri Navadvipa-sataka, text 39)”
Jesus Christ:
From Matthew 7:21:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my father, who is in heaven.”
Hansarupa Prabhu:
There are people who are making millions of dollars teaching people how they can make millions of dollars.
B. T. Barnam had one famous saying, “There is a sucker born every day.”
Devotees are convinced because they have practiced devotional service and achieved tangible results.
Srila Prabhupada’s realization was the Westerners need to be delivered from impersonalism and voidism.
Every devotee had the experience that when Srila Prabhupada looked at him, that he looked deep into his heart.
There was one temple where the deity worship was going very well and the other temple activities were going nicely but the temple president was removed by the GBC because he did not chant his sixteen rounds. Srila Prabhupada investigated and asked the temple president if he was chanting his sixteen rounds, and the temple president said that he could not always chant his sixteen rounds. Then he asked the GBC if he chanted his rounds. The GBC said that he did. Srila Prabhupada remarked, “I know that at least one of you is telling the truth.”
Urjasvat, who helped run the first bhakta program in our temple on 55th Street, went back to Godhead. A person who makes Vaishnavas, his situation is secure. He will go back to Godhead for that important work.
Q: In NYC there are so many celebrities and influential people that could help us spread Krishna consciousness. How can we inspire them?
A: Our primary duty is to become pure, because if we are pure we will be able to convince others. Otherwise any attempt will be artificial.
The preachers and those who maintain the temples are both required. The nice atmosphere of the deity worship and devotee association enlivens the preachers to do their outreach work.
The sankirtana devotees eventually put the Deities on the bus because they realized that the devotees need that and thus the traveling parties could stay out longer.
We have to be convinced that everyone has the potential to take to Krishna consciousness.
On the varnasrama morning walks so many questions and answers were there.
Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu:
Because some of the Puranas are for those in the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, they cannot be called amalam, spotless. Bhagavatam is transcendental to the three material modes.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura published the Srimad-Bhagavatam edition with commentaries of several acaryas which Srila Prabhupada read when preparing his own commentary.
Because we can derive all benefits from the Bhagavatam that we can get from the Lord Himself, Srila Prabhupada wanted us to have classes on it each morning.
As a new devotee, because I was a college graduate they made me temple president, although I was quite young, and then I had to give Bhagavatam class every day. To do that, I really had to study.
I researched it and found hamsa actually refers to the bar-headed goose, which migrates over the Himalayas.
The standard of success in the West is the mode of passion. The result of passion, as we learn in Bhagavad-gita, is misery. To escape the misery, we pursue ignorance. That is the state of our culture at present.
We follow the four principles to attain goodness, and then we go beyond that to visuddha-sattva by engaging in the devotional activities.
We devotees we learn we are not our bodies, and even better than that, we are not our minds.
Usually if you are in a room by yourself, it is bad association.
Srila Prabhupada gave us an exalted culture. That someone in a Himalayan cave could be at the apex culture is not something understandable to your average person in the West.
Srila Prabhupada did not merely have to bring the books to the West, but he also had to create an audience for the books. We are still in the job of creating that audience.
A German aphorist said: A book is like a mirror. If an ape looks into it, it is not likely that an apostle will look back. He who understands the wise is wise already.
Q (by Tulasi Priya Dasi): What do you think about people who chant japa while listening to Srimad-Bhagavatam?
A: You probably can’t give proper attention to either one of them. If the speaker speaks very slowly, you can chant Hare Krishna in your mind, if you want. The default position of the mind should be the Hare Krishna mantra. If a lot of the things you do are boring and repetitious, you can chant Hare Krishna during them. You can chant in traffic, but I would not count it as part of your sixteen rounds. They should be more concentrated.
Q (Tulasi Priya Dasi): What about people who are not so inclined to read books?
A: One should try to read. If the Bhagavatam is difficult, Srila Prabhupada wrote Krishna book, which is pretty easy to read. You can start with Bhagavad-gita, the Sanskrit is simpler, and it is in the middle of Mahabharata, which is a story to make it more accessible.
T. S. Eliot said, “Distracted from distractions by distraction.” We have to try to avoid being distracted.
We may use the word “professional” to describe something expertly done, but Srila Prabhupada used the word simply to mean “done for money.”
We do not see the demigods. Why? Because they have the power to control all our senses.
Myth comes from the Greek word mythos which just means stories.
Just as you need training from a teacher to learn a science and cannot merely read a textbook, you have to learn the Vedic wisdom from a qualified teacher.
Anything you learn in school, you have to have faith in the teacher.
The USA is a vaishya country. The vaishyas are in control. What does that make us? Sudras.
Srila Prabhupada’s estimation of America was that everyone is a sudra, and there are a few vaishyas.
Srila Prabhupada is giving us an opportunity not just to save ourselves but to save the whole planet.
If we practice chanting Hare Krishna and following the four regulative principles for a while, we will realize we are greatly benefiting ourselves, and we can greatly benefit the world.
Comments by me:
Regarding how auspicious the Bhagavatam is, being nondifferent from Krishna, Kavicandra Swami said, “If people reject the books, saying they will never read them, you can tell them that if you just keep the books in your home, there will always be auspiciousness. Lord Caitanya told Devananda Pandit that about the Bhagavatam.”
As a new devotee, Srimad-Bhagavatam class was my favorite part of our daily program. I could not believe it when I heard that there was a problem of devotees sleeping in Srimad-Bhagavatam class. I was encountering so much fascinating spiritual knowledge that seemed to be the fulfillment of all I had learned before.
It appears that there are other things going on in the Bhagavatam besides pure devotional service, but you also see that the people who do those other things get themselves into trouble.
Comments by another: It is amazing to me that people have no problem accepting things like quarks that they will never completely understand and cannot experience, but they are unwilling to try to follow our simple practice of chanting Hare Krishna and see what benefit it has.
Kadamba Kanana Swami:
Vidura realized the humble position is the preferred position.
Uddhava after acquiring so much knowledge saw the residents of Vrindavan, and he was impressed.
Maitreya Muni was a sage with vast amounts of knowledge, and that is another reason why Uddhava felt Vidura should inquire from him.
Bhagavatam brings us close to the Supreme Lord, and that is its purpose.
Hearing the names of the devotees in the Bhagavatam will purify us whether we know who they are and what they did or not.
In the dynasty of Amsuman, there is not just ordinary piety but actual bhakti.
As we hear the elaborate descriptions of the universe we learn more and more how Krishna is involved in everything going on here, and at the same time, He is enjoying pastimes with His associates in the spiritual world. He is also forever making arrangements to bring us back to Him.
The Vaishnavas are always making shortcuts by which people can get engage in devotional service and thereby become free from their suffering.
I suffered quite a bit before I met the devotees, so I was ready.
There is a certain amount of suffering built into the material world, and then the demoniac make it worse. How they make it worse is the news!
Jayadvaita Swami was asked by a New York City policeman what he had to give up to be a monk, and Jayadvaita Swami replied “suffering.” The policeman had seen a lot of suffering and accepted that.
We can engage unlimited material assets in Krishna’s service, but we have to be very careful about how many material assets we engage in our personal service.
Rishi Isvara Prabhu:
From conversation:
After my wife passed away, one devotee made the point to me that when I think of her, because she was not an ordinary person but a devotee, that thinking of her will bring me closer to Krishna.
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Why do we as Hare Krishna devotees emphasize the chanting of the holy name, and especially the congregational chanting of the holy name, as the best process for awakening our dormant love for God? We are simply following Lord Caitanya who said to Sanatana Gosvami:
bhajanera madhye srestha nava-vidha bhakti
tara madhye sarva-srestha nama-saṅnkirtana
niraparadhe nama laile paya prema-dhana
“Among the ways of executing devotional service, the nine prescribed methods are the best, for these processes have great potency to deliver Krishna and ecstatic love for Him. Of the nine processes of devotional service, the most important is to always chant the holy name of the Lord [nama-sankirtana]. If one does so, avoiding the ten kinds of offenses, one very easily obtains the most valuable love of Godhead.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Antya 4.70–71)
Interestingly enough Lord Caitanya said the same thing when Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya inquired from him about the best kind of devotional service:
bhakti-sadhana-srestha sunite haila mana
“Then the Bhattacarya asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu, ‘Which item is most important in the execution of devotional service?’ The Lord replied that the most important item was the chanting of the holy name of the Lord [nama-sankirtana].” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 6.241)
What is this nama-sankirtana? Srila Prabhupada defines its as “congregational chanting of the holy name” in Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 1.96:
tattva-vastu—krishna, krishna-bhakti, prema-rupa
“The Absolute Truth is Sri Krishna, and loving devotion to Sri Krishna exhibited in pure love is achieved through congregational chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all bliss.”
This congregational chanting of the holy name is so important that it is glorified in the beginning (Adi-lila), in the middle (Madhya-lila), and in the end (Antya-lila) of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita.
