For the twentieth week of 2025, I remained at ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn, serving Rama Raya Prabhu’s NYC Harinam program by chanting Hare Krishna and distributing Ratha-yatra flyers for three or four hours each day from Monday through Saturday. Saturday was special as we got permission to chant at Father Duffy Square which is in the middle of Times Square, and thus many additional people from all over the world got to hear the holy names and purchase transcendental literature. Many also enjoyed playing the shakers and dancing with us. Sunday was also special as I attended the Bronx Ratha-yatra, I sponsored mango lassi and palak paneer for the devotees’ lunch in honor of my mother’s passing away last year, and I attended a Lower East Side harinama organized by Pandava Bhandava and Tulasi Prabhus of Bulgaria.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam and The Nectar of Devotion. I share quotes from Sri Caitanya-bhagavata by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura and its commentary by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. I share notes on classes by Jayadvaita Swami, Mukunda Datta Prabhu, Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami, and Janmastami, Rama Raya, Gauranga, and Tulasi Prabhus.
Thanks to Prema Manjari Devi Dasi for making the mango lassi and palak paneer on the anniversary of my mother’s passing away. Thanks to Jayananda Prabhu for arranging for that. Thanks to Ahaituka Prema Prabhu for the photos and videos of me on NYC Harinam.
Itinerary
May 7–June 15: NYC Harinam
– May 27–29: Washington, D.C., harinamas with Sankarsana Prabhu
– May 29–30: Baltimore harinamas to promote Ratha-yatra
– May 31: Baltimore Ratha-yatra
mid June–mid August: Paris?
– June 22: Paris Ratha-yatra?
– July 11: Amsterdam harinama?
– July 12: Amsterdam Ratha-yatra?
– July 13: Holland harinama?
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
One day when we were chanting Hare Krishna in the Times Square subway station above the downtown A train, some students from Stony Brook College in New York City did some filming for a movie they were doing about a visitor’s first day in New York.
After our harinama, Vraja Mohan Prabhu suggested that Jaya Radhe Devi Dasi gave the deities’ garland decorating our mantra sign to the young woman starring in the film, and so she did, along with invitations to the temple and the Ratha-yatra and “On Chanting Hare Krishna.”
Tulasi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Times Square subway station (https://youtu.be/SzR9LCE7YRY):
On the subway on the way to our Times Square Kirtan Festival I met a guy named Kelly from the hard-core scene. He was with Krishna Fest from 1992 to 1996, visited the Potomac temple, and knew Gunagrahi Swami and all the Krishna hard-core bands, including singers Raghunath Prabhu of Shelter and Vraja Kisora Prabhu of 108. I asked on Facebook, “Do any of you remember him?”
Jai Nitai Holzman replied, “Oh yeah, I know Kelly! From Woodbridge. Always super fond of him. I don’t know that he ever actually joined up, although he may have for a time. Super sweet.”
Radhika Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Times Square Kirtan Festival, and two women play shakers and dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/3Rq7rsBJRQQ):
Tulasi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the Times Square Kirtan Festival (https://youtu.be/rAx5rFohOBs):
Braja Sakhi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Times Square Kirtan Festival, and passersby play shakers (https://youtu.be/YmKtcN3RDE8):
While Braja Sakhi Devi Dasi chanted, other people also danced (https://youtube.com/shorts/BvGFYFONda8?feature=share):
Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Times Square Kirtan Festival, and many dance (https://youtu.be/nyqOpk6oy-k):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Times Square Kirtan Festival, a woman plays shakers, and many dance (https://youtu.be/_e_csQxnblU):
Bhusara Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the start of the Bronx Ratha-yatra kirtan (https://youtu.be/cBTJOcZ9YRY):
Two entries before our Ratha-yatra float in The Bronx Day Parade was the Elite Dance Nation of Aspira (a Latino youth organization) consisting of both the Explosion and Baile Cafe dance teams from Soundview Academy for Culture and Scholarship in The Bronx. Some of the girls got a little ajñata sukriti dancing to the sound of Bhusara Prabhu’s Hare Krishna kirtan before Lord Jagannath on His cart (https://youtu.be/bJ9RxJfNEls):
Sundar Shyam Rupa Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in the Bronx Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/2mI_TxkFTGo):
Hari Chakra Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in the Bronx Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/1F-0Ny55Z6k):
Saci Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in the Bronx Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/ThyIZYHwHgk):
Saci also engaged different devotees in leading the Hare Krishna chant in the Bronx Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/VcavvURKNAU):
When the parade was underway the whole team of Elite Dance Nation girls danced ahead of our party to their own music. I wonder if they unknowingly get spiritual benefit from dancing before Lord Jagannath (https://youtu.be/poBBspIe0y8):
Pandava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on the Lower East Side with the Russian sanga after their Sunday program (https://youtu.be/LCkclAihlxs):
Tulasi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in front of Matchless Gifts with the Russian sanga at the end of their Lower East Side harinama (https://youtu.be/Fe5-8NnniaY):
Abhay and friends chant Hare Krishna at ISKCON NYC Sunday Feast Gaura Arati Kirtan (https://youtu.be/3CVOFGMUY8w):
Nityananda Chandra Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Battery Park (https://youtu.be/0upRitIPC3M):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Battery Park, and a cab driver stops to film it (https://youtu.be/mq8KD6b4upM):
Later another cab driver took a video from within his car (https://youtu.be/vIp6fJrZY7A):
Gokulendra Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Union Square, and a passerby dances (https://youtu.be/ScKw4nnLlyQ):
I chant Hare Krishna in Union Square (https://youtube.com/shorts/GPQ_SykwCpM?feature=share):
Pandava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Union Square (https://youtu.be/GdMP2GJJjLQ):
Narayana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Union Square (https://youtu.be/FRr5tPBuMxY):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Union Square, and a Indian mother and son play shakers and dance (https://youtu.be/Go_jWaW9M8E):
Later as Rama Raya Prabhu sang, another passerby played shakers and danced (https://youtube.com/shorts/LJPvuymEErc):
Photos
My mother, Pat Beetle, passed away on May 28, 2024, near Albany, New York, which corresponds to the sixth day of the moon on the lunar calendar, occurring about a week after Nrsimha Caturdasi, or May 18 this year.
In the Vedic culture people offer Krishna prasadam, food offered to the Supreme Lord, to departed relatives so they attain a spiritual destination.
I sponsored mango lassi and palak paneer, favorites of my mother, for the devotees’ lunch in Brooklyn.
Prema Manjari Devi Dasi, the Sunday lunch cook, made the palak paneer with greens she picked from her garden in the morning. I invited those who came to lunch to pray that my mother attains the shelter of the Supreme Lord. I request all who read this to do the same.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.7.11–12:
“As the moon reflected on water appears to the seer to tremble due to being associated with the quality of the water, so the self associated with matter appears to have the qualities of matter. But that misconception of self-identity can be diminished gradually by the mercy of the Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, through the process of devotional service to the Lord in the mode of detachment.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.7.12, purport:
“If one wants to acquire the mercy of the Lord, one has to associate with pure devotees. Such association alone can, by degrees, release one from the quivering elements.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.7.13, purport:
“We have to treat the senses to cure them of the material disease, not stop them from acting, as suggested by the impersonalist. In the Bhagavad-gita (2.59) it is said that one ceases all material activities only when satisfied by contact with a better engagement. Consciousness is active by nature and cannot be stopped from working. Artificially stopping a mischievous child is not the real remedy. The child must be given some better engagement so that he will automatically stop causing mischief. In the same way, the mischievous activities of the senses can be stopped only by better engagement in relation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the eyes are engaged in seeing the beautiful form of the Lord, the tongue is engaged in tasting prasadam, or remnants of foodstuff offered to the Lord, the ears are engaged in hearing His glories, the hands are engaged in cleaning the temple of the Lord, the legs are engaged in visiting His temples—or in other words when all the senses are engaged in transcendental variegatedness—then only can the transcendental senses become fully satisfied and eternally free from material engagement.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.7.14:
“Simply by chanting and hearing of the transcendental name, form, etc., of the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, one can achieve the cessation of unlimited miserable conditions.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.7.16:
“Disturbances to the conditioned soul have no other basis than the movement of the external energy of the Lord.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.7.17:
“Both the lowest of fools and he who is transcendental to all intelligence enjoy happiness, whereas persons between them suffer the material pangs.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.7.18:
“But, my dear sir, I am obliged to you because now I can understand that this material manifestation is without substance although it appears real. I am confident that by serving your feet I will be able to give up the false idea.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.8.34:
“Every man should act like this: when he meets a person more qualified than himself, he should be very pleased; when he meets someone less qualified than himself, he should be compassionate toward him; and when he meets someone equal to himself, he should make friendship with him. In this way one is never affected by the threefold miseries of this material world.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.8.36, purport:
“It is said that the heart or mind is just like an earthen pot: once broken, it cannot be repaired by any means.”
From The Nectar of Devotion, Introduction:
“The author of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami, very humbly submits that he is just trying to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, although he humbly thinks himself unfit for this work. That should be the attitude of all preachers of the Krishna consciousness movement, following in the footsteps of Srila Rupa Gosvami. We should never think of ourselves as great preachers, but should always consider that we are simply instrumental to the previous acaryas, and simply by following in their footsteps we may be able to do something for the benefit of suffering humanity.”
From The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 35:
“The devotees and self-realized persons who are engaged in preaching the glories of the Lord always maintain an ecstatic love for the Lord within their hearts. Thus they are benefited by the rays of the ecstatic moon, and they are called saintly persons.”
“When Lord Krishna, along with His elder brother Balarama and sister Subhadra, came to Kurukṣetra in a chariot on the occasion of a solar eclipse, many mystic yogis also came. When these mystic yogis saw Lord Krishna and Balarama, they exclaimed that now that they had seen the excellent bodily effulgence of the Lord, they had almost forgotten the pleasure derived from impersonal Brahman realization. In this connection one of the mystics approached Krishna and said, ‘My dear Lord, You are always full with transcendental bliss, excelling all other spiritual positions. And so, simply by seeing You from a distant place, I have come to the conclusion that there is no need of my being situated in the transcendental bliss of impersonal Brahman.’”
“Bilvamangala Thakura, in his book Krishna-karnamrita, says, ‘Let the impersonalists be engaged in the process of transcendental realization by worshiping the impersonal Brahman. Although I was also initiated into that path of Brahman realization, I have now become misled by a naughty boy—one who is very cunning, who is very much attached to the gopis and who has made me His maidservant. So I have now forgotten the process of Brahman realization.’”
“Lord Krishna personally instructs Uddhava like this: ‘The state of being established in My personal form is called santa-rasa, and without being situated in this position, no one can advance to actual pure devotional service.’ In other words, no one can be situated in the personal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without being situated at least in santa-rasa.”
From The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 36:
“A person who offers respect even to the ants engaged in the service of the Lord becomes eternally happy, so what is there to say of one who offers Krishna direct service?”
“Raktaka once said within himself, ‘Not only is Krishna my worshipable and servable Lord, but also the girl friends of Krishna, the gopis, are equally worshipable and servable by me. And not only the gopis, but anyone who is engaged in the service of the Lord is also worshipable and servable by me. I know that I must be very careful not to become overly proud that I am one of the servitors and devotees of the Lord.’”
“In the Fourth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Twentieth Chapter, verse 28, King Prithu addresses the Lord, saying, ‘My dear Lord, it may happen that the goddess of fortune becomes dissatisfied with my work, or I may even have some misunderstanding with her, but I will not mind this, because I have full confidence in You. You are always causelessly merciful to Your servants, and You consider even their menial service to be very much advanced. So I have confidence that You will accept my humble service, although it is not worthy of being recognized. My dear Lord, You are self-sufficient. You can do anything You like without the help of anyone else. So even if the goddess of fortune is not satisfied with me, I know that You will always accept my service anyway.’”
From The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 37:
“The causeless mercy of Krishna, the dust of His lotus feet, His prasada and association with His devotees are some impetuses toward a devotee's engagement in transcendental loving service to the Lord.”
“Ecstatic love for Krishna, which is known as anubhava, is symptomized by the following signs: one becomes engaged exclusively in the service of the Lord, being attentive to carry out the orders of the Lord faithfully; one becomes undisturbed and nonenvious in full transcendental loving service to the Lord; and one makes friendship with the devotees of the Lord who are situated in faithful service to Him. All of these symptoms are called anubhava, ecstatic love.”
“One of the devotees of Lord Krishna once addressed Him in this manner: ‘My dear Lord, although You are not a professional dancer, by Your dancing You have so astonished us that we can understand that You are personally the master of all dancing. Certainly You must have learned this dancing art directly from the goddess of love.’”
“When such a feeling of love becomes intensified, it is called affection. In that affectional stage, one cannot bear separation from Krishna even for a moment.”
Vrindavana Dasa Thakura:
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 17.2:
“The topics of Madhya-kandha are like drops of nectar. By hearing these topics one's atheistic mentality is vanquished.”
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 17.16–17:
“The Lord said, ‘Today I have talked to some atheists. Therefore let us have so that My misery will be destroyed.’ As Mahaprabhu, the Lord of Vaikuntha, danced, all His servants surrounded Him and sang.”
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 17.27:
“Krishna increases the glories of His devotees in all respects. They are able to sell Him wherever they want.”
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 17.29:
“Gauracandra increases the glories of His devotees in various ways. Who can understand His mercy and punishment?”
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 17, Chapter Summary:
“After returning home Mahaprabhu expressed to the devotees His unhappiness due to conversing with the atheists. In order to remove that unhappiness the Lord began to dance and chant with His associates.”
“Gaurasundara declared that it is useless to maintain a body that is devoid of love of God. Thus, with a desire to give up His body, He jumped into the Ganges. Nityananda and Haridasa, however, pulled the Lord out of the Ganges.”
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 17.5, commentary:
“Manifesting His own ingenuity over such so-called learned persons who were filled with false-ego, Sri Gaurasundara instilled fear in the atheists who were envious of Vishnu. They thus realized the insignificance of their own knowledge and were defeated by the strength of Mahaprabhu's knowledge. Therefore the mundane scholars realized their own weakness and accepted Him as the conqueror of the proud.”
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 17.95, commentary:
“In the Mahopanisad it is stated: sa brahmana srjati, sa rudrena vilapayati—“The Supreme Lord creates progeny through Brahma and annihilates them through Rudra.” In the Vamana Purana it is stated: matsyadi rupi posayati nrsimho rudra samsthitah vilapayed viriñci-stha srjyate visnur avyayah “The inexhaustible Lord Vishnu maintains through His various forms like Matsya, annihilates through Nrsimha and Rudra, and creates through Brahma.”
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 17.109, commentary:
“If someone without understanding of the Vaishnavas' activities and symptoms takes the side of one Vaishnava and criticizes another, then he does not see the Vaishnavas but sees only their external state.”
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 17.113, commentary:
“Living entities have no position more relishable than the service of Sri Caitanyadeva, who is the only authority for creation, maintenance, and annihilation of the cosmic manifestation. All other positions are temporary, full of ignorance, and distressful.”
Jayadvaita Swami:
In the Vedic civilization, vows were not taken lightly, initiation vows, marriage vows, etc. If one vowed to do something he would do it. He would not try to find some loophole.
If you cannot keep a vow that means that you have no determination or you are not serious.
On a morning walk in Boston, someone who had been regularly attending the temple and Srila Prabhupada’s lectures, inquired from Srila Prabhupada if he could be initiated. Srila Prabhupada replied, “First you should know the philosophy. If today you come on sentiment, tomorrow you will leave on sentiment.”
We take shelter of one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
It is not good enough to accept a guru approved by the institution. You have to do the work and see if he is qualified.
We have to be ready to serve the guru life after life.
Do we ever find in sastra that my real guru is my guru’s guru?
The guru has to see if the potential disciple is a real candidate, not flim flam.
From a Tuesday night Bhagavad-gita introductory class in ISKCON NYC:
The only difference is in material life one works for himself and in spiritual life one works for Krishna.
If you cannot follow the rules for bhakti-yoga, then do some service. That will be counted.
I inquired from Srila Prabhupada about the different options Krishna gives in Bhagavad-gita 12.8–12. He said the hierarchy of the options is less important than the fact that they will all ultimately lead to the culmination.
When I read at first an impersonalist translation of Bhagavad-gita it seemed very profound, but I could not see how it could really be practiced.
Because it is hard to conceive of the impersonal feature of God, the impersonalists often worship some deity temporarily with the hope of realizing an impersonal truth they conceive of as being above it.
The impersonalists are more advanced than the materialists because they understand (1) they are spirit, (2) sense gratification will not satisfy them, and (3) maintaining attachment to sense gratification will oblige them to accept other material bodies.
If everything is one, where does all the variety come from? They say the variety comes from maya. But then you have two. You no longer have one. That is a problem.
We must appreciate someone like Mr. Sethi, who just wanted to serve Srila Prabhupada. Although he did not follow all the principles of bhakti-yoga, by serving a pure devotee you can attain all perfection.
Mukunda Datta Prabhu:
We have no choice but to accept what the Lord desires to give to us. Thus it is intelligent to be satisfied with that.
These verses deal with satisfaction: SB 1.16.26, SB 5.9.1, etc.
There are five kinds of irreligion or kaitava-dharma:
Sin, vidharma
Another’s dharma, para-dharma
Pretentious dharma, dharma-abhasa
Metaphorical dharma, upama-dharma
Deliberate cheating, chala-dharma
Isvara-gati can mean either (1) the goal of the Lord or (2) the goal that the Lord desires us to attain.
Karma and dharma are practically defined the same, as rituals to get certain results.
Westerners come to the Krishna consciousness movement easily and also leave easily. Indians, on the other hand, do not come easily, but when they do come, they generally stick with it.
In our tradition, theism is not defined by belief in God but by acceptance of the authority of Vedas.
The brahmana has given up material attachments, and so the happiness of the soul can shine through.
Radharani and Her friends have to put up with Krishna too. We can take shelter of them, like we do in Vrindavan, because they are softer.
Why do devotees suffer?
Comment by Janmastami Prabhu: Srila Prabhupada indicates Krishna manages a devotee’s karma to detach him from material enjoyment.
Other answers given are: The Lord’s will, and the devotees’ will. Sometimes demigods put impediments in the path of devotees.
Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami:
Lord Caitanya is Krishna Himself, but He acts as a devotee of Krishna, and He wants to be treated as such in order to perform His pastimes.
Lord Caitanya does not rub his face on the walls all night in Vaikuntha.
Lord Caitanya taught how one can systematically progress by chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna.
It was the experience of Rupa Goswami that when he chanted Hare Krishna all his senses were chanting and dancing in ecstasy. The name would manifest everything.
In the beginning, we have to put all our attention on chanting Hare Krishna. We cannot jump to the pure stage. We have to become purified.
It is Lord Caitanya’s mission that people become purified by chanting the holy name.
Q (Narada Muni Prabhu): What is the importance of sambandha-jnana in attaining pure chanting?
A: We must have a bona fide guru and be a bona fide disciple. Then we will attain success as have many people in the past.
Q (Govinda Prabhu): If we all chant the same holy name why is the result different?
A: It depends on the recipient. As wet wood in a fire has to dry out first in order to burn, some people require additional purification due to their previous activities to come to the same point.
Q (Govinda Prabhu): Why does it take so long to become purified?
A: Because we are so stubborn. We are not tired of suffering yet. The problem is that we do not want to be in the mode of goodness. The fault is not with the name or with Krishna, but with ourselves.
Janmastami Prabhu:
Bhaktivinoda Thakura considers one situated on the madhyama platform, as described in Srimad-Bhagavatam, to be in pure devotional service.
I developed a devotional self-assessment technique so you can see how far you have progressed from kanistha to madhyama. I used it while teaching The Nectar of Devotion 18 times.
Vaiyasaki Prabhu in the mid to late 1980s interviewed 500 Prabhupada disciples who stopped practicing and found practically all of them had a common issue. They could not apply Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.8 in their lives: “My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.”
Srila Prabhupada told Giriraj that Krishna manages your sinful reactions so that you advance.
Some gurus fell down because of abusive dealings with godbrothers.
The most important duty of the GBC men given by Srila Prabhupada is to make sure everyone in the temples in their zones attends the full morning program.
We just have to dedicate our lives to spreading Lord Caitanya’s movement to attain success.
Rama Raya Prabhu:
Dhruva Maharaja’s motivation to engage in devotional service was not even mixed. It was purely material.
A man who was a thief, murderer, and dacoit, while running from the police, passed an assembly of people hearing Krishna-katha from a pure devotee. Later someone asked him if he knew where the Krishna-katha recitation was going on, and he pointed him in the right direction. That person who was desirious of hearing Krishna-katha ended up taking it seriously and became a pure devotee. When the criminal died, he was taken to Yamaraja for punishment, but because he assisted a person in his devotional service he was freed from his sinful reactions and ultimately he also attained the spiritual kingdom.
Krishna will ultimately purify everyone so we should not seek revenge.
Who can remember their previous lives? What value is there then in revenge?
If we are unjustly accused, we should not be disturbed. We should think that Krishna will make the truth known in due course.
Gauranga Prabhu:
Even in transcendental ecstasy, Lord Caitanya was counting his number of rounds.
The root cause of hopelessness is thinking “I am the doer.” To understand that Krishna is the controller is the cause of all hope.
There are political responses and emotional responses to challenging situations, but the devotional response is highlighted in the many pastimes of the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Srila Prabhupada said the best way to serve the family is to become a devotee of Krishna.
My family was objecting to my becoming a devotee. I organized a sat-sanga with about a hundred relatives in Chennai. I had a friend speak about Prahlada Maharaja and tell about how he delivered 21 generations of his family by his devotional service. He concluded by saying because Gauranga Das has become a devotee all of you will attain Vaikuntha, and not only that 20 more generations. They were very happy. One said, “Don’t stop chanting. If you have any difficulties, let me know.”
Dhruva was honest in his intentions and he was intense in his efforts, and thus he attained the audience of Lord Vishnu.
One Indian business man was introduced by Srila Prabhupada as a member of the wealthy Birla family.
The man said, “You came to the US with 40 rupees, and now you have property all over the world worth over 40 crores (400,000,000) of rupees. You are the real businessman.”
Srila Prabhupada invited him, “Please join my business.”
The man replied, “Not now.”
A sadhaka should make choices for progress rather than perfection.
There is a difference between emotions from the mental platform and pure devotional emotions.
Arjuna lost his son for real, but because he was protected by Krishna from lamentation, he was able to continue fighting enthusiastically in the battle. Dronacarya, however, just thought that his son died, but he became completely dysfunctional as a warrior.
Opportunities are always coming, but Krishna, as Paramatma points them out to us.
Tulasi Prabhu:
Sometimes when I would meet Kadamba Kanana Swami and bow down, he would chant “tulasi krishna preyasi namah namah.” Then he would say, “You are very dear to Krishna because you are named “Tulasi.’”
Krishna lifted Govardhan with His left hand as a joke as the left hand is usually considered weaker.
One Srila Prabhupada disciple explained the reason for Srila Prabhupada’s great worldwide success, “Because Srila Prabhupada gave everything he had to Krishna, Krishna reciprocated.”
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People not connected to the Vedic culture are often addicted to things not recommended for spiritual aspirants like meat eating, intoxication, gambling, and illicit sex. Still the devotees of the Lord are so powerful by their mercy such addicts can be freed from material attachments and become attached to the soul’s dharma of devotional service to the Supreme Lord. My guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, said after hearing a single lecture by Srila Prabhupada at 26 Second Avenue, he was able to give up intoxication and illicit sex.
This famous verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam reveals this truth:
kirata-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasa
ye ’nye ca papa yad-apasrayasrayah
sudhyanti tasmai prabhavishnave namah
“Kiratas, Hunas, Andhras, Pulindas, Pulkasas, Abhiras, Sumbhas, Yavanas, members of the Khasa races and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.4.18)
