Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 19, No. 3
By Krishna Kripa Das
(February 2023, part one)
Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa
(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on February 18, 2023)
Where I Went and What I Did
The first day of February, I chanted Hare Krishna in Tallahassee, my base in the winter, but then I went to Gainesville the next day to chant with the Krishna House devotees at Krishna Lunch on Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s auspicious appearance day and to attend an initiation ceremony that evening. After the initiation, we had an amazing harinama with thirty devotees!
The next day I chanted at Krishna Lunch and later with the Alachua devotees across from the entrance to the University of Florida. I gave the lecture at the Krishna House Friday evening program on “Lessons from a Traveling Monk.” Saturday I attended a program at Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies in honor of Sadaputa Prabhu’s seventy-sixth birthday. Both Saturday and Sunday I chanted with J.R. and other devotees at Gainesville’s Depot Park. Monday I spent in Tallahassee, but the next six days I did harinama in Tampa, inspired to stay extra long because my friend Jeff from NYC Harinam organized additional harinamas, and I wanted to support him. We chanted three days at the University of South Florida, two days in Ybor City, and one day on the Tampa Riverwalk. One of the days we also chanted in front of Patel Brothers. The final two days of February, I returned to Tallahassee, where I chanted on the campus three hours a day advertising Krishna Lunch, and I did a program on Valentine’s Day, attended by three students, where we read from the preface of The Nectar of Devotion, about where to repose our love so that everyone can become happy.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and letters where he stresses the importance of devotees taking care of their health so they can serve Krishna. I share notes on Best Use of a Bad Bargain, a book Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami wrote while at a nature cure center in India. I share notes on articles Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote for the Gaudiya magazine which have been translated and included in a soon-to-published book by Touchstone Media called Prabandhavali. I share notes on a presentation to Bhaktivedanta Institute devotees by Akhandadhi Prabhu, who tells of different research he has done and is planning to do which gives insight into the nature of consciousness. I share notes on talks from an initiation ceremony on Nityananda Trayodasi in Gainesville by Kalakantha Prabhu, Sesa Prabhu, and Prabhupada Priya Devi Dasi. I share notes from Nagaraja Prabhu’s Sunday feast talk in Alachua and classes in Tampa by Vivasvan Prabhu.
In a separate section I share notes on the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies program glorifying Sadaputa Prabhu, with speakers Jayadvaita Swami, Hridayananda Dasa Goswami, Badrinarayana Swami, and Brahmatirtha Prabhu.
I would like to thank Nanda Kumar Prabhu, who I know from the Polish festival tour, for his very generous donation and his several breakfasts in Gainesville. Thanks to Prishni Dasi of BIHS for sponsoring my bus ticket to attend the BIHS program in Gainesville, and to Sruti Sagar Prabhu for offering to pay the change fee so I could come early for the initiation at Krishna House. I thank Sthita-dhi Muni Prabhu from driving me from the BI building to Depot Park on Saturday and Chris for doing the same on Sunday. I thank J.R. for chanting with me in Depot Park Saturday and Sunday, recording video of it, and giving me a ride to the Alachua temple on Sunday. Thanks to Brahmatirtha Prabhu for giving me a ride to the Flixbus from the Alachua temple on Sunday. Thanks to Matthew of FSU for dropping me at the Redcoach stop in Tallahassee. I thank Mathuraprana Krishna Prabhu and Bhakta Jeff for driving me to harinamas in Tampa and finally to the Flixbus stop. Thanks to Rayn for giving Bhaktan and me a ride to the temple from USF. Thanks to Jeff for the wool chadar, kurta, four shakers, and Neem toothpaste he picked up for me in India.
Itinerary
February 12–March 5: harinama and college outreach in Tallahassee
March 6–7: Chanting at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville
March 8–16: NYC Harinam, March 11: Bhagavad-gita class at 26 Second Avenue
March 17: Orlando harinama
March 18: St. Augustine Ratha-yatra
March 19–23: Tampa harinama and college outreach
March 24–April 15: harinama and college outreach in Tallahassee, Gainesville and Tampa
April 1: Tallahassee Ratha-yatra
April (3rd week): 3 days of harinama with Sankarsana Prabhu in Washington, D.C.
May 27: Baltimore Ratha-yatra
June 10: New York Ratha-yatra
mid June to mid August: harinama in France
August 16–20: Vaishnava Sanga Festival in Canada
Chanting Hare Krishna in Gainesville
I was so happy that I decided to come down on the morning bus from Tallahassee to chant Hare Krishna with the Krishna House devotees at Krishna Lunch on Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s auspicious appearance day. Sometimes we had as many as twelve devotees chanting together!
When I arrived at Gainesville, for the second time this year, the bus driver let me ride the city bus for free from downtown to the UF campus. Apparently Hare Krishna monks are well respected in Gainesville!
Here Devavan Prabhu, who also chanted with us on NYC Harinam, chants Hare Krishna at University of Florida Krishna Lunch on Lord Nityananda’s appearance day (https://youtu.be/mOynHlX05LE):
An African professor dances as Sudevi Sundari Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna there at Krishna Lunch (https://youtu.be/XMGUPfBFE7s):
While Sudevi Sundari Devi Dasi chanted Hare Krishna, Max began to dance (https://youtu.be/peQx_TmYhtU):
Later Tricia and Willow joined in dancing (https://youtu.be/xb6i4zRoanQ):
Here Hugo, visiting from South Carolina, chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/LcgmGAdFBkk):
Kartikeya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/Pqn7BHWQ_tU):
Later Tyler chanted Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/631Td2TqbEI):
Tricia chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch (https://youtu.be/pbgDeCFTNbM):
Amrita chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch (https://youtu.be/-AQZVtpDwH0):
Shyamala Kishori Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna before an initiation ceremony at Krishna House on Lord Nityananda's appearance day (https://youtu.be/KXdiH3h-mqs):
Advaita Acharya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna as initiates dance around the fire (https://youtu.be/UbsZ1H7UX7I):
Advaita Acharya Prabhu chants “Nitai Gauranga” on the Krishna House porch after the initiation ceremony (https://youtu.be/7kM8pJR-hc4):
After the prasadam following the initiation ceremony, Krishna House devotees, led by Advaita Acharya Prabhu, chanted Hare Krishna across from University of Florida in Gainesville.
Three young ladies enjoyed dancing with us (https://youtu.be/OAJbxhCmkT4):
Later others interacted with our party (https://youtu.be/UdbY5lxBscQ):
Willow chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch on a cold, rainy Friday, and I dance (https://youtu.be/Z-kBQJCgTCM):
Nathan chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/QtKdguCT644):
Kartikeya Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna also (https://youtu.be/JsbRZRJZIYM):
Willow chanted Hare Krishna again as we had so few chanters that day (https://youtu.be/8hN9lM-crwo):
My talk at Krishna House was advertised as “Lessons from a Traveling Monk.” I spoke a lot about the congregational chanting of the holy name in public as it is my service. Shyamala Kishori Devi Dasi, who I met on the Polish tour in either 2005 or 2006, made this video of a brief excerpt of the talk, when I was talking about the early days of harinama in England (https://youtu.be/LgbvK-BanME):
She also took this video of attendees chanting and dancing as I led the final kirtan (https://youtu.be/PKZjwMhzeis):
On Saturday, I chanted Hare Krishna with J.R. at Depot Park in Gainesville, where we were joined by Arthur of Clearwater, who liked my lecture at Krishna House the previous night and who I invited to come (https://youtu.be/5yQ2stI4B4s):
Later, after Arthur left, a couple joined us and played the shakers (https://youtu.be/iFPlN6nXAaI):
The next day at Depot Park, two girls from Krishna House, Nistha and Kiara, both originally from Indian backgrounds, joined me and played the mrdanga and karatalas, as well as sometimes leading the chant.
While they were there, a young couple was attracted. I invited them to play shakers, but they continued on their way. Later they came back and asked about Krishna Lunch. Then they asked if we had any other programs, and we told them about all the Krishna House evening programs. I pointed out to the Krishna House girls that chanting in the park on the weekend is a good opportunity to connect interested people with Krishna House, as we had just experienced.
After the girls left, Hugo came and chanted for a few minutes on his way back to South Carolina.
Then J.R. came and chanted with me till the end (https://youtu.be/BY28IlGdllk):
He drove me to the Sunday feast in Alachua, where Manmohini Devi Dasi led the first kirtan (https://youtu.be/Tp-Yxkohw_8):
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tampa
Although in Tallahassee, I chanted Hare Krishna every day by myself. Every day in Tampa I had other devotees join me, and once we had a party of six.
Bhaktan Deva, who attended NYC Harinam, and some of my additional harinamas in New York as well, moved to Zephyr Hills, about 45 minutes away. He stayed in the temple three days to do harinama with me.
Usually I never volunteer to cook, but Bhaktan Deva had such a nice service attitude, he inspired me. I never made upma with eggplant and snow peas before, but everyone liked it.
Mathuraprana Krsna Prabhu and Bhakta Jeff, who I also know from NYC Harinam, were staying in the Tampa temple as well. Jeff had come in previous years as well.
On a couple occasions, Arthur of Clearwater, who I met at Krishna House at the Friday program the previous week also joined us.
Here I chant Hare Krishna with Bhaktan Deva and Arthur at Marshall Student Center at USF in Tampa the day I arrived there (https://youtube.com/shorts/vyX5hkVDUko?feature=share):
Here I chant Hare Krishna at the Bhakti Yoga Society meeting at University of South Florida in Tampa, with Rayn Mataji enthusiastically playing the drum (https://youtube.com/shorts/VHQqR6_8cfU):
Here Mathuraprana Krsna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the USF Library with Jeffrey Blair, Bhaktan Deva, and myself (https://youtube.com/shorts/yBpDHbSnu4w?feature=share):
Here I chant Hare Krishna in Ybor City on Thursday night in a harinama which Jeff kindly organized and inspired a couple of Indian devotees to attend, in addition to us at the temple (https://youtu.be/BssNe7LzBBk):
Later I chanted another Hare Krishna tune there (https://youtu.be/aPn4knuT1Eg):
Mathuraprana Krsna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Ybor City (https://youtu.be/f4lmYiCLE9k):
Mathuraprana Krsna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Ybor City, and a lady dances with devotees (https://youtube.com/shorts/WLTWkl4WNMA?feature=share):
This lady, all decked out for the Knights Parade in Ybor City, greeted my harinama party of two friends from NYC Harinam with a jolly “Hare Krishna!” and a nice donation, gratefully recalling how the Hare Krishnas fed her when she attended UF from 1982 to 1986, nearly forty years ago.
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
The legendary book distributor Paramesvara Prabhu came to distribute books at the Tallahassee colleges. I watched him in action, and I think he is the most mellow book distributor I ever encountered. I am sure he will leave people with a positive impression of Hare Krishna, in addition to several books.
This guy who works as a counselor at FSU and his daughter talked to me as I was chanting Hare Krishna. He wanted to take a selfie with me, and he thanked me for blessing the campus. I told him about Dhira Govinda Prabhu’s Ph.D. thesis in social work at that very college, which showed the maha-mantra reduced stress and depression to a statistically significant degree while a bogus mantra with Sanskrit words in the same pattern had only a slight effect. Later Dhira Govinda commented to me that the study is published, and you can order it here: https://amzn.to/3if8HDm. He also told me about a study showing the chanting of Hare Krishna makes for a healthy heart: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6469452/
For our Bhakti Yoga Club meeting on Valentine’s Day, I did a program entitled “True Love” and three students came.
As an icebreaker I asked them to tell someone they loved and what about them they loved. They all said their parents, two because of their sacrifice for them and one because they were supportive. I said Srila Prabhupada, saying I appreciated his compassion in bringing this wisdom from India to share with the whole world.
We chanted for ten minutes and the two Western girls faithfully chanted every word of the mantra while the Bangladeshi guy was not so steady.
Then we read this section of the preface of The Nectar of Devotion, which is included in the small book, Bhakti-yoga:
“The basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone. No one can live without loving someone else. This propensity is present in every living being. Even an animal like a tiger has this loving propensity at least in a dormant stage, and it is certainly present in the human beings. The missing point, however, is where to repose our love so that everyone can become happy. At the present moment the human society teaches one to love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information where to repose the loving propensity so that everyone can become happy. That missing point is Krishna, and The Nectar of Devotion teaches us how to stimulate our original love for Krishna and how to be situated in that position where we can enjoy our blissful life.
“In the primary stage a child loves his parents, then his brothers and sisters, and as he daily grows up he begins to love his family, society, community, country, nation, or even the whole human society. But the loving propensity is not satisfied even by loving all human society; that loving propensity remains imperfectly fulfilled until we know who is the supreme beloved. Our love can be fully satisfied only when it is reposed in Krishna. This theme is the sum and substance of The Nectar of Devotion, which teaches us how to love Krishna in five different transcendental mellows.
“Our loving propensity expands just as a vibration of light or air expands, but we do not know where it ends. The Nectar of Devotion teaches us the science of loving every one of the living entities perfectly by the easy method of loving Krishna. We have failed to create peace and harmony in human society, even by such great attempts as the United Nations, because we do not know the right method. The method is very simple, but one has to understand it with a cool head. The Nectar of Devotion teaches all men how to perform the simple and natural method of loving Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we learn how to love Krishna, then it is very easy to immediately and simultaneously love every living being. It is like pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying food to one’s stomach. The method of pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying foodstuffs to the stomach is universally scientific and practical, as every one of us has experienced. Everyone knows well that when we eat something, or in other words, when we put foodstuffs in the stomach, the energy created by such action is immediately distributed throughout the whole body. Similarly, when we pour water on the root, the energy thus created is immediately distributed throughout the entirety of even the largest tree. It is not possible to water the tree part by part, nor is it possible to feed the different parts of the body separately. The Nectar of Devotion will teach us how to turn the one switch that will immediately brighten everything, everywhere. One who does not know this method is missing the point of life.
“As far as material necessities are concerned, the human civilization at the present moment is very much advanced in living comfortably, but still we are not happy, because we are missing the point. The material comforts of life alone are not sufficient to make us happy. The vivid example is America: The richest nation of the world, having all facilities for material comfort, is producing a class of men completely confused and frustrated in life. I am appealing herewith to such confused men to learn the art of devotional service as directed in The Nectar of Devotion, and I am sure that the fire of material existence burning within their hearts will be immediately extinguished. The root cause of our dissatisfaction is that our dormant loving propensity has not been fulfilled despite our great advancement in the materialistic way of life. The Nectar of Devotion will give us practical hints how we can live in this material world perfectly engaged in devotional service and thus fulfill all our desires in this life and the next. The Nectar of Devotion is not presented to condemn any way of materialistic life, but the attempt is to give information to religionists, philosophers and people in general how to love Krishna. One may live without material discomfiture, but at the same time he should learn the art of loving Krishna. At the present moment we are inventing so many ways to utilize our propensity to love, but factually we are missing the real point: Krishna. We are watering all parts of the tree, but missing the tree’s root. We are trying to keep our body fit by all means, but we are neglecting to supply foodstuffs to the stomach. Missing Krishna means missing one’s self also. Real self-realization and realization of Krishna go together simultaneously. For example, seeing oneself in the morning means seeing the sunrise also; without seeing the sunshine no one can see himself. Similarly, unless one has realized Krishna there is no question of self-realization.”
The students stayed till the end of the one-hour program, and then for the prasadam afterward, the previous day’s Krishna Lunch. They all seemed to have a good time. I gave them “On Chanting Hare Krishna” and Bhakti-yoga as an expression of love on Valentine’s Day, and told them to read the first two pages of “On Chanting Hare Krishna,” which tells about the mantra. We will see if they return.
Notes on Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies Program
Brahmatirtha Prabhu:
Sadaputa Prabhu was a genius. He had a photographic memory. He had idiosyncrasies like any genius. He understood things in a deeper way, and he wanted to share. He never stopped learning.
Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science was my favorite book. God & Science has brilliant essays.
About Jayadvaita Swami:
I got a mantra card from him at Greenwich Village in 1968.
It said, “Chant this mantra, and your life will be sublime.” I tried it and could not get it out of my mind.
He is the BBT’s most trusted editor. He has been a director of BBT and a director of the archives.
When he read Ecclesiastes at thirteen he liked it and decided to become a monk.
Jayadvaita Swami:
I was there when Sadaputa Prabhu came to Henry St. temple.
He was talking about Schrödinger’s equation, and that you had to have an observer outside the system, and therefore there would be infinite regress if you did not have a conscious observer outside the system.
He was brilliant. He loved prasadam.
I was keen to ask him to write articles.
He had a gift to make complicated ideas understandable to ordinary people.
He had a clear picture that the program of the scientists of reducing life to numbers makes our life meaningless, which he found unacceptable at best and at worst abhorrent. He saw the materialistic reductionist view gives answers, but terrible answers, to life’s ultimate questions.
I think that publishing Sadaputa Prabhu in Back to Godhead was one of the best things we did.
One Christian magazine commenting on a work of Sadaputa Prabhu said, “Substantial.”
The Computerized Mr. Jones shows how there must be an observer beyond the mechanics of perception.
His article on inspiration was impressive. So was the work he did on the size of the yojana and geocentric orbits of the planets corresponding to the features of Bhu-mandala.
I also liked his analogy of painting telling different parts of a story to the multiple meanings of Bhu-mandala.
As time goes on, we will find Sadaputa Prabhu more important, and his work something to be proud of.
He would look more deeply, and probe into what Prabhupada said or the scriptures said. He had deep faith in the reality of what was being presented, not dismissing some of the material as mythology.
A scientist is an investigator, and a scientific devotee is also an investigator.
I appreciated his genius, his faith in Prabhupada and the scriptures, and his clear understanding of the negative implications of reductionism. He could also see the opportunities for discourse.
It is a treasure to have his contributions so early in the movement. Present devotee scholars can benefit from having his contribution to begin from.
His work will be increasingly appreciated over time.
Brahmatirtha Prabhu:
In “God and the Laws of Physics,” Sadaputa explains how chaos theory can show how God can influence the material world without being detected. He presented his idea at a college, and after his presentation, the head of the religion department, who is almost always an atheist, had so many questions, seeing his worldview shattered.
Mostly retired faculty have donated so many books to our Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies library.
Badrinarayana Swami:
Sadaputa Prabhu was a friend and hero. He was a gentleman with a refined sophisticated manner.
At a UCSD program he defeated a professor in attendance so badly that the professor claimed he had to leave for an appointment.
He loved prasadam and could eat vast quantities of prasadam. Later Dravida learned the brain is the organ that burns the most calories, and then we understood.
He was serious about his sadhana, and he had a sense of humor.
Kuladri told how Sadaputa Prabhu as Bhakta Richard joined in New Vrindaban, and not knowing his academic qualifications, they engaged him in digging post holes. Later Prabhupada sent a letter to all temple presidents asking for those with college degrees in science to come forward. When Kauladri read it to the devotees, Sadaputa Prabhu raised his hand.
I said to Sadaputa, “Why don’t you systematically go through the Origins magazine chapter by chapter, and we will record it?” So he did. He explained it so well. He was such a good teacher.
He was ahead of his time.
He made the point that if you accept more than three dimensions, so many things can be explained.
If it was in the Bhagavatam he felt it was true, and his mission was to understand how it was true and to explain how it was true.
Brahmatirtha Prabhu:
Our job at BIHS is to research and publish.
Christina is working on a book with Akhandadhi and Tamraparni Prabhus on consciousness.
On Hridayananda Dasa Goswami (HDG):
He got his Ph.D. in record time.
People think that Vishnu is a minor god in the original Vedas who later rose in importance, but HDG’s thesis was that Vishnu was always considered supreme.
He wrote Quest for Justice, on the Mahabharata.
Both scholars and acaryas said Mahabharata is corrupt, and HDG is trying to ascertain the real story.
HDG is the premier philosopher in the Hare Krishna movement, and he is the guiding philosopher of BI.
We have this mansion by HDG’s influence.
Hridayananda Dasa Goswami:
There are very few people in the Hare Krishna movement that I would call a genius. Of all the BI scientists, Sadaputa almost single-handedly produced the literature telling the response of the Hare Krishnas to modern science.
Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja was expert in public relations and conferences, but Sadaputa Prabhu produced literature.
The world has practically become indifferent to knowledge, almost medieval.
What is the role of the Bhaktivedanta Institute literature?
Most of the BI literature to date was written by Sadaputa.
The metaphor of society being like a body is one of the oldest Vedic analogies, and thus the brahmanas are the brain of society.
We may think we are better than brahmanas as Vaishnavas, but we need people actually doing the brahminical work of educating human society.
We tend to spend more on rituals than education.
A lot of the essential points that we want to make to the world Sadaputa Prabhu already has made. There are always new things, but he has done the bulk of it.
We have to present Sadaputa Prabhu’s work to the world in contemporary language.
Sadaputa Prabhu showed using probability theory that the chance that complicated biological forms could evolve is nil. Since then microbiology has made great advances, and so it is even more unlikely than before.
We have to be able to present Sadaputa Prabhu in an intelligent way, being able to respond to challenges in a relevant and convincing way.
We can truly honor Sadaputa Prabhu by presenting his ideas to the world and showing how his arguments stand the test of time.
Brahmatirtha Prabhu:
We have to have some of the qualities of Sadaputa to do this work of sharing his knowledge with the world.
I was the only geologist in the Hare Krishna movement, and Svarupa Damodara invited me to join BI.
Sadaputa Prabhu helped me in writing a paper by doing the math for it.
He was snappy at answering the questions of fools. I dealt with this by feeding him so much prasadam before the program, that he was in a mellow mood, and he would not be so snappy.
Overview of Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science:
Sadaputa Prabhu begins by saying that John Maynard Smith’s declaration, “The individual is simply a device constructed by the genes to ensure the production of more genes like themselves” conveys concisely what modern science has to say about the meaning of human life.
“If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics.”– Richard Feynman, (Sadaputa Prabhu liked that one.)
Our strength in BI is that we are multidisciplinary.
The Vedic literature allows us to bridge the gap between science and religion.
Some scientists say all that can be known can be known empirically, but how can that be known empirically!
The mechanistic worldview has a lot of truth in it, yet it leaves out consciousness.
Observations cannot always be numerically represented.
Absolute reality must have some personality.
To some extent there is some disharmony with mechanistic theories.
Every GPS satellite has to be recalibrated because of the reality of time dilation.
In eight chapters, Sadaputa Prabhu finds mechanistic science is limited in many ways.
In the ninth chapter, he presents bhakti-yoga as a possible replacement.
Comment by one devotee: Prabhupada was asked if there were instruments for measuring spiritual consciousness, and Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, mrdanga and karatalas.”
We started by putting Sadaputa Prabhu’s books in print, and then we created a branch of the BI.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Light of the Bhagavata, verse 7:
“Although the animal propensities of the body should be minimized, those who are extravagant temporarily overflow in material enjoyment. Nonetheless, as soon as the rainy season of life is over, they become as dry as dry river beds. Life is meant for the right cause, or sat—that which exists for all time. In the material world, nothing is sat, or eternal, but the bad bargain of the material world can be used for the best purpose. The mind dedicated to extravagance is a bad bargain, but one can make the best use of the mind by introspection.”
From a letter to Brahmananda on May 15, 1969:
“The first thing is that you must feel well. In whatever condition you should feel well, because if you fall sick, everything will be topsy-turvy.”
From a letter to Giriraja on August 12, 1971:
“Your body is very valuable. It is dedicated to Krishna, so you must take care of the body very carefully.”
From a letter to Viruha on April 19, 1975:
“This body belongs to Krishna and therefore we must always keep it in healthy condition to the best of our ability, but if due to some past sinful activities, we are suffering some bodily miseries, we should not be discouraged. Devotional service must continue under all circumstances. This material body is actually a bad bargain because it is prone to suffer, but we must make the best use of this bad bargain. That means to always be engaged in the service of Krishna without fail.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Best Use of a Bad Bargain:
“I hanker to be back with Prabhupada’s devotees, even though we all have our shortcomings, as they say—we don’t love each other enough, we are too dogmatic, too pushy, use the scriptures for our own purposes, too institutionalized, even impersonal, etc. It doesn’t matter. To be with people who love Kṛṣṇa, who want to love Kṛṣṇa, who worship Kṛṣṇa, who know Prabhupada, who practice the chastity we expect in dealings between men and women, who recognize the importance of protecting sannyasis.”
“I have begun to feel grateful for just about everything. I feel grateful to be able to get up and to use the next two hours to read and write. I feel grateful for the days when I dedicated my mind, body, and soul to developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Boston and to the devotees there, despite the difficulties we had from outsiders. I feel grateful for the chance I have now that I’m older to try to repair my health so that I can spend my remaining years striving to serve. I heard factory sounds, and although they’re usually disturbing, I feel grateful to hear them, because I’m grateful to be alive in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”
From “Two Krishna Conscious Attitudes Towards Ill Health” in Hope This Meets You in Good Health: The Newsletter for the ISKCON Health and Welfare Ministry, 1994–2002:
“An expert businessman knows how to make money in every kind of economic climate; when the prices are high, he sells his products and makes a good profit; when prices are down because there is no demand for his product, then he buys his raw materials at low prices. Similarly, a preacher always finds a way to preach.”
“Despite our enthusiasm and cautions to avoid disease, we all will fall sick at one time or another. It is one of the four-fold miseries. No one can be entirely free of it. The time comes when each of us will be sidelined. But we can gain something Krishna conscious from those times. When we are forced to decrease our active service, we are also forced to give up the illusion that we can always fulfill our own plans and that, we will always be well. We can become humbled when we see that even without our active participation, the Krishna consciousness movement continues onward. Our service is appreciated by other devotees, but it is not absolutely needed. Krishna can always send someone else to do our work.”
“Reduced
My list of ‘Things to Do’
falls to the side.
All I do is rest.
Yet one cry to Krishna
is worth a hundred days
of marching in pride.”
“Illness can be a friend because it is a condition more similar to death than good physical health. Good physical health is temporary, but illness reminds us of the fact that the body is not ultimately meant for pleasure and that it must eventually break down. The pains of our illness can remind us that we are heading toward the inevitable pain of death. Therefore, we are forced to remember Krishna in our distress and that’s good practice for the time of death.”
Bhaktivinoda Thakura:
[Prabandhavali is a book to be published by Touchstone Media consisting of translations of the Bengali articles that Bhaktivinoda Thakura published in the Gaudiya magazine and which I am proofreading.]
From “The Characteristics of God” in Prabandhavali:
“Only in the heart of a person who has awakened his devotional relationship with the Supreme Lord are such pastimes perceived. The form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally perfect. That eternal Personality of Godhead has His existence, His spiritual abode, His spiritual paraphernalia of enjoyment, His spiritual time, and His spiritual forms. Such variegated features are perceived and relished by the devotees in their respective rasas, or relationships. His form, His existence, His paraphernalia, His associates, and His pastimes are all fully spiritual, eternal, supremely relishable, faultless, and the objective of the spirit souls’ loving propensity.”
From “Why Do the Living Entities Have Free Will?” in Prabandhavali:
“Elevation or degradation is the result of the living entities’ independent actions. To enable them to have ever-increasing pleasure, the Supreme Lord endowed the living entities with free will. Misusing their free will, those who desired material enjoyment by giving up the service to the Lord, which is their constitutional propensity, enjoy material happiness, being conditioned by the three modes of material nature. That is to say, they have become conditioned due to willfully becoming bereft of the supremely relishable nectar of love of God.”
“The distress that the living entities suffer on account of misusing their minute independence cannot be said to be inflicted upon them by God. God is never responsible for the sufferings of the living entities due to their acting against His will. Had God compelled some of the living entities to accept the conditional life of material existence, then He would be guilty of discrimination. Had the living entities remained free of material contamination by the proper use of their free will, then it would have been to their credit. Without independence, the living beings would have no sense of merit because their actions would be forced, and not done freely. It must be admitted that by awarding independence to the living entities, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has exhibited His mercy upon them. It is also to be understood that the degradation experienced by the living entities due to the misuse of their independence is meant to deliver them by gradual purification. The punishment meted out by God is certainly the result of His compassion.”
From “The Science of Jiva in Light of Srimad-Bhagavatam” in Prabandhavali:
“It is explained that the particles of fire which emanate from a blazing fire are sparks, and that the smoke that emanates from it is like darkness. The spirit soul is compared to a spark of fire–separate from the blazing fire. It has been confirmed in the Vedas and Puranas that the living entities are like the particles of rays of Krishna, who is like the spiritual sun. Because the spirit soul is a minute spiritual particle, he is eternally different from the Supreme Lord, and since he possesses the same qualities as the Supreme Lord, he is eternally non-different. The living entities are an energy of the Supreme Lord. Energies cannot be separated from the energetic. Therefore, the Supreme Lord and the living entities are inconceivably one with and different from one another. This is the aciṅtya bhedabheda philosophy.”
“1. The Supreme Lord is one; the living entities are many.
2. The Lord is eternally pure; the living entities tend to be conditioned.
3. The Lord is eternally, spiritually effulgent; the living entities become contaminated due to forgetfulness of their constitutional position.
4. The Lord is transcendental to the three material qualities, and He never associates with the material qualities; the living entities become entangled in material qualities because of their fault of material desires.
5. The Lord is the shelter of all transcendental qualities; the living entities can become subject to material qualities.
6. The Lord is all-pervading; the living entities are by nature minute.
7. The Lord is the witness. He watches the activities of the living entities, and He is free from material attachment; the living entities become conditioned due to material attachment.
8. The Lord has no distinction of body and soul; the living entities are subordinate to Him.
9. The Lord is superior to the spirit souls; the living entities are controlled by Him. These are the nine distinctions between the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
“The living entity is actually not the doer, and he is not under the control of maya; he is simply the witness. Although eternally endowed with the nature of being a servant of Krishna, he accepts conditional life. This is called the living entities’ bondage to material existence.”
“When the pure devotional desire to serve Krishna’s lotus feet destroys within the heart all contamination born of the material modes of nature, the science of self-realization manifests like a brightly shining sun before the purified souls.”
From “The Transformation of Energy in Light of Srimad-Bhagavatam” in Prabandhavali:
“Gradually giving up all attachment for this godless world and constantly hearing about Krishna’s pastimes manifested in this world, one can come to relish unlimited love of God. The miseries of conditional life will easily disappear as irrelevant.”
The humble servants of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.15:
[Krishna to Uddhava:] “When one no longer sees the twenty-eight separated material elements, which arise from a single cause, but rather sees the cause itself, the Personality of Godhead, one’s direct experience is called vijñana, or self-realization.”
Akhandadhi Prabhu:
From a Zoom lecture to Bhaktivedanta Institute devotees on February 5, 2023.
I learned some key points from Sadaputa Prabhu:
He would say, “When we see, we see a picture, but where is that picture? It is not in the brain.” Thus he introduced me to qualia.
In 1983, Sadaputa Prabhu explained to us in England: Either the Absolute Truth, the source of everything, is sentient or it is not sentient. If it is not sentient, there is only so much you can do with it, but if it is sentient, then there is the possibility of communicating with it, and learning more. Bhakti-yoga is a way of communicating with Absolute Truth, so a scientist should be interested in bhakti because there is the possibility of acquiring additional knowledge of the truth.
Another idea of Sadaputa Prabhu is that the Absolute Truth is infinitely complex, and that less complex things come from it. This is opposed to the idea that the Absolute Truth is simple and complexity comes about.
Sadaputa Prabhu was interested in paranormal phenomena, but he was cautious about them. If there seemed to be a genuine phenomenon, he was interested in exploring it.
Remote viewing is something anyone can do, but the CIA was interested in developing it to the precision it could be used for intelligence purposes.
The more accurate kind of remote viewing involves traveling to the place astrally and perceiving.
My interest in it is that it could be clinically tested.
I am not satisfied with present research.
I have done studies where even I do not know the target. Someone else chooses the target randomly, and it is given to me, and I give it to the participants. After the remote viewing, I show people three pictures, and I asked them to choose which was the site. We got results of 55%, far greater than 33%, which is what is expected by chance.
These studies show we have access to information beyond the body. It shows the mind has more power than people think. This is valuable.
All science begins with an anecdote. Someone has observed something.
It is not right that we do not investigate things because they do not fit into this physicalist view of reality.
With the Atma Paradigm, we are calling for investigation of different things. That is what PEAR was trying to do, and thus they did all their work at a very high standard, so their result would be convincing.
Comment by a listener: I read the Wikipedia entry on the following things, and the general consensus is not of acceptance:
Remote viewing
Near Death Experiences
Water/rice experiment
Random Mechanical Event generator
To do the remote viewing, we relax people into an alpha state, where you get less input from the senses. Then other things can affect your mind.
Regarding the Random Mechanical Event generator experiment, I noticed the week after Dr. Jahn died, people had done a hatchet job on the Wikipedia page on his PEAR project, and it was truly outrageous.
Brenda Dunn encouraged the operators in the random mechanical cascade experiment to play a game with reality, not to try to control it. In the detached mood of playing a game with reality, you get a better result than if you are trying to control it.
We need the experiments to be replicated in a very competent way.
With the rice experience, you really have to unleash all your emotions on the rice to really make it work.
Brahmatirtha Prabhu:
From Alachua Sunday feast address:
Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies is making inroads with key players in the intellectual community.
We are on the shoulders of Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja for personally reaching out to intellectuals and of Sadaputa Prabhu for his intellectual contribution.
Kalakantha Prabhu:
From a talk before an initiation ceremony on Lord Nityananda’s appearance day evening:
This is a rite of passage.
Initiates should think: I am committed to following the disciplic succession. I am committed to Srila Prabhupada. I am committed to these four principles and this daily chanting of 16 rounds of Hare Krishna. This is the minimum necessary to stay on the path. If you follow these vows, your life will be imbued with happiness and meaning every day.
To proceed is simple for the simple.
I am pledging to be there for you as long as you are trying to keep these vows.
I have known you all for a year or more, and I feel we are comfortable making this commitment now.
One more request for initiates. Always be a lady or gentleman. Srila Prabhupada once said to eat for yourself and dress for others.
Sridhara Swami told me one day before he left this world when I asked him for a parting instruction: “Take the love Srila Prabhupada has given you, and give it to others.”
I always would like you to name your siksa-gurus because it takes a village to raise a child, and they deserve to be mentioned.
In 1984 and 1985 I tried to get young people in Houston to join Krishna consciousness. Two of them were married and initiated by TKG and now have six children, and Gandiva is one these children. She is now Draupadi Devi Dasi.
Arjuna Krishna is another of the children. Now he is Dhrstadyumna Dasa. Dhstadyumna was the leader of the Pandava’s army, so be a good leader.
Nitai Prasada is post doc in chemistry, an enthusiastic sadhaka and friend of the devotees. Now he is Nitai Gauranga Dasa. He was born on Nityananda’s appearance day. Today is his birthday by the solar and lunar calendar and now his initiation day.
Kevin, your sister is taking second initiation. Your mother is here. Congratulations on having such nice children. He became Kartikeya Dasa. Kartikeya is the commander of the demigods and son of Lord Shiva. Since you have an interest in law enforcement, I chose that name.
Nagaraja Prabhu:
From a class in Alachua on “Hari Hari Biphale”:
Lord Shiva is involved with material nature, and thus his worshipers get material rewards. Lord Krishna is transcendental to material nature, and His worshipers get transcendental benefits.
Lord Hari does not only take away one’s possessions but also one’s fear. That is indicated in Bg. 18.66.
Lord Caitanya had two groups of followers, those in Vrindavan and those in Bengal. Those in Vrindavan were led by the Goswamis, who wrote in Sanskrit and tended to be more intellectual. Narottama Dasa Thakura wrote the philosophy in the Bengali language for the local people.
In practically every lecture Srila Prabhupada makes the point, “Do not waste your human life by neglecting to worship Krishna.” In this song, which is Srila Prabhupada’s favorite, Narottama Dasa Thakura makes this same point.
The jnanis realize that the path of karma is useless, but they do not know what to do positively. Narottama Dasa Thakura describes both as pots of poison he has foolish drunk from.
The wealth or treasure of Goloka is krishna-prema. That is now present on earth as the sankirtana of the holy name.
Radha-Krishna prema is the sankirtana movement.
Because the Lord appreciates being addressed in relationship with His devotees, here Narottama says, “The son of the King of Vraja came as the son of Sacidevi.” Then later he calls out “O son of Nanda! O daughter of King Vrsabhanu!”
Although everyone is so fallen, the holy name has come to uplift them.
Srila Prabhupada prayed to be empowered to deliver them.
Of Jagai and Madhai, it was said, there was no sin they did not commit. Yet they could be delivered by the holy name.
Comment by Vegavati Devi Dasi: There was a Bengali devotee lady who spent time with the female disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in her youth and saw his Bengali commentary of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita but could not understand it. Later she read Srila Prabhupada’s English translation, and when she again encountered Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s Bengali book, she could understand easily because Srila Prabhupada had explained it so nicely.
Question by Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu: Will there be a time when we sing “Sri Guru Vandana” in English?
A: I think about it. It is good to maintain the Sanskrit and Bengali songs as they are part of the tradition, but there could be new songs in the vernacular to connect with the public.
Sesa Prabhu:
From an address before an initiation ceremony:
Kalakantha Prabhu is dedicated to bringing people to Krishna and doing the things he asks others to do. Few in ISKCON are such good examples. He is a shining example for all of us.
Vivasvan Prabhu:
On book distribution I mention that these books teach fundamental truths that used to be practiced by different religions.
Sometimes I say when distributing books, “Before Jesus, people did yoga and meditation, and they could see God.”
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura went to college as his father, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, wanted him to be able to preach to the intellectuals.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was so familiar with his printing presses he could repair them.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura chanted a billion holy names on a mala which Bhaktivinoda Thakura had also used to chant a billion names.
I was afraid to meet Prabhupada. He was sending people to other places to start temples. I thought maybe he would send me to Alaska. But we can understand from hearing from Satsvarupa and others who were close to him, how warm and friendly he was.
Srila Prabhupada would chant Hare Krishna on the beads and Hare Rama on the knot between the beads, thus his hand was always moving.
The best representative of the acarya is the best person to accept as guru.
Sadhguru teaches the unauthorized meditation, “The world is nothing. I am nothing. Everyone is nothing.”
Some people questioned Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura why he was so busy rushing around doing so many things while his guru was quietly chanting. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explained that the motor of a boat is very active, yet it is energized by a battery which is inactive but without which it could not function.
Comment by me:
You mentioned how material happiness cannot satisfy us. It reminds me of a story Janananda Goswami told. He went to a free concert of the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park. They were singing “I can’t get no satisfaction.” He was thinking, “These are our heroes who have attained what we are striving for, and they are not satisfied, what hope is there for us!”
You mentioned the Hinduism professor that Srila Prabhupada reprimanded for his ignorance in Philadelphia. Some devotees said that later that professor came around again and spoke highly of Srila Prabhupada.
Prabhupada Priya Devi Dasi:
From an initiation ceremony:
By offering grains to the fire, we are feeding Lord Vishnu, who is represented by the fire. We can also think of it as offering ourselves to the Lord who is represented by the disciplic succession.
The banana represents your sinful reactions so Lord Vishnu as the fire can burn them up.
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Although people in general think of Hinduism as promoting the worship of many gods, in the most well known scripture in the Hindu tradition, Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, says:
ye ’py anya-devata-bhakta
te ’pi mam eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-purvakam
“Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.” (Bhagavad-gita 9.23)
In the purport to that verse in his Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srila Prabhupada likens worship of other gods to watering a tree by putting water on the leaves and branches instead of on the root.
Thus like many monotheistic traditions, even in Hinduism the worship of the Supreme Lord is recommended and not lesser beings, who may be more powerful than human beings but are less powerful than God and subordinate to Him.
