(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on January 24, 2026)
Where I Went and What I Did
For the third week of 2026 I lived at ISKCON Tallahassee, just a five-minute walk from Florida State University. I chanted on the campus every day of the week for three hours except on Martin Luther King Day, when for two of the hours I chanted at a festival in his honor downtown. I was happy to encounter some students interested in the chanting and in the literature and willing to sign up for our programs, including one student who came to two of them. I would have a mangala-arati kirtan in the morning.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, and The Nectar of Instruction. I share notes on classes by Hansarupa, Rama Raya, and Tulasi Prabhus of ISKCON NYC, which I heard online. I share notes from a seminar on Sadaputa Prabhu’s God and Science put on by Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies devotees, which I heard on Zoom.
Thanks to Anang for letting me use his heater to keep warm.
Itinerary
January 12–mid April: harinama and college outreach in Tallahassee and Tampa
– January 30: Nityananda Trayodasi harinama at Krishna Lunch and Alachua festival
– January 31: Gasparilla harinama with Alachua devotees and Ratha-yatra with youth
– February 1: Sadaputa Prabhu’s birthday celebration in Gainesville
Chanting Hare Krishna in Florida
On Thursday, Izzy came to my first meditation class. She knew about about Hare Krishna from growing up in Gainesville. She read and enjoyed Devamrita Swami’s Hiding in Unnatural Happiness. When she said, “I feel that is what most FSU students are doing,” I had to laugh. I offered to send her a link to Devamrita Swami lectures, and she was happy to receive it. She said she would chant Hare Krishna ten minutes a day for a week and come back and tell her experience.
Some days, like Friday, we had a nice group of people for the daily evening kirtan, which you can see Ananga Mohan Prabhu (Anang for short) sing here (https://youtu.be/YJlxeG7As9w):
We have a Saturday program in Tallahassee at 5 p.m. About fifteen people came. I chanted Hare Krishna for fifteen minutes in the beginning. Then Anang chanted for perhaps a little more. After Anang chanted, Sindhu, an Indian college student, who has been doing devotional service for much of her life, sang.
Here Sindhu chants Hare Krishna at Tallahassee Saturday program (https://youtube.com/shorts/yF6DmUek-iI?feature=share):
On Wednesday I was chanting Hare Krishna on the campus with my harmonium and swaying to the music, when I looked behind me and saw a student glancing at me and the book table. She said with a smile, “I like everything I see here.” She took an “On Chanting Hare Krishna.” Another student pointed to four books she got from Adikarta. “He is such a nice person,” she said, “I tell everyone about my meeting with him.” She signed up for the club WhatsApp group.
That night, Izzy came for the Bhagavad-gita class. She said she found the japa chanting frustrating because her mind was always running here and there. I told her that was natural, and that even if she were just able to focus on 10% of the mantras, she would still make great benefit. I like to have kirtan before and after the Gita classes as my guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, said that Srila Prabhupada did it that way originally at his 26 Second Avenue programs. I usually make each kirtan half an hour like my guru said, but Izzy said she did not have so much time, so we did fifteen minutes. After the Krishna Lunch halava, imported from Gainesville, at the end of the program, Izzy was ambivalent about going to see friends or going to sleep early, and asked for a third kirtan instead!
If I can encourage one person to take up the chanting of Hare Krishna this semester, then I feel my trip to Florida is successful.
Photos
I did not have so much time on Thursday to make the sweet rice for the Saturday program as I wanted to finish cooking before the time to break my Ekadasi fast ended, so I tried a new strategy.
I brought the milk to a boil, and then put a quarter of it in another pot and boiled it with the sugar for 25 minutes. Then in the original pot I boiled the rice with the rest of the milk for 25 minutes. Then I mixed them and refrigerated it.
On the way back from the Martin Luther King Day Festival I saw this sign on the front of the First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.22, purport:
“The uncommon features symptomatic of the incarnation of Godhead can bewilder even the mind of Brahma.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.25, purport:
“Brahma and all the sages, such as Bhrgu, Brahma's other sons, and learned brahmanas, were enlivened, and they concertedly joined in praising the Lord with the transcendental vibrations of the Vedic hymns. The most important is the Kali-santarana Upanisad verse Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.36, purport:
“The incarnation of the Supreme Lord is Yajñesvara, and unless one has respect for the incarnation of the Lord, one cannot perfectly perform sacrifice. In other words, taking shelter of the Lord and rendering service unto Him is the factual performance of all sacrifices, as explained herein.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.39:
“O Lord, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are worshipable by universal prayers, Vedic hymns and sacrificial ingredients. We offer our obeisances unto You. You can be realized by the pure mind freed from all visible and invisible material contamination. We offer our respectful obeisances to You as the supreme spiritual master of knowledge in devotional service.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.39, purport:
“The qualification of bhakti, or devotional service to the Lord, is that the devotee should be free from all material contaminations and desires. This freedom is called vairagya, or renouncement of material desires. One who engages in devotional service to the Lord according to regulative principles is automatically freed from material desires, and in that pure state of mind one can realize the Personality of Godhead. The Personality of Godhead, being situated in everyone’s heart, instructs the devotee regarding pure devotional service so that he may ultimately achieve the association of the Lord.”
“One has to conquer the mind, and one may do it by following the Vedic rituals and by performing different types of sacrifice. The ultimate end of all those performances is to attain bhakti, or the devotional service of the Lord. Without bhakti one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.43, purport:
“When a scientist discovers something impressive to the ignorant mass of people, the common man, without inquiry, accepts such a discovery as wonderful. But the intelligent man is not struck with wonder by such discoveries. He gives all credit to the person who created the wonderful brain of the scientist.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.45, purport:
“The sages pray: ‘Both worlds are bewildered by Your different energies. Those who are in the spiritual world are absorbed in Your loving service, forgetting themselves and You also, and those in the material world are absorbed in material sense gratification and therefore also forget You.’”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.48, purport:
“In His various incarnations, the Lord appears, acts and leaves behind Him a narrative history which is as transcendental as He Himself. Every one of us is fond of hearing some wonderful narration, but most stories are neither auspicious nor worth hearing because they are of the inferior quality of material nature. Every living entity is of the superior quality, spirit soul, and thus nothing material can be auspicious for him. Intelligent persons should therefore personally hear and cause others to hear the descriptive narrations of the Lord’s activities, for that will destroy the pangs of material existence. Out of His causeless mercy only, the Lord comes to this earth and leaves behind narrations of His merciful activities so that the devotees may derive transcendental benefit.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.49:
“Nothing remains unachieved when the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased with someone. By transcendental achievement one understands everything else to be insignificant. One who engages in transcendental loving service is elevated to the highest perfectional stage by the Lord Himself, who is seated in everyone’s heart.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.49, purport:
“For such a devotee there is nothing valuable to be achieved but the Lord’s service. If one serves faithfully, there is no possibility of frustration because the Lord Himself takes charge of the devotee’s advancement. The Lord is seated in everyone’s heart, and He knows the devotee’s motive and arranges everything achievable. In other words, the pseudo devotee, who is anxious to achieve material gains, cannot attain the highest perfectional stage because the Lord is in knowledge of his motive. One simply has to become sincere in his purpose, and then the Lord is there to help in every way.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.13.50:
“Who, other than one who is not a human being, can exist in this world and not be interested in the ultimate goal of life? Who can refuse the nectar of narrations about the Personality of Godhead’s activities, which by itself can deliver one from all material pangs?”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.14.5, purport:
“Foolish people are suspicious of Krishna’s taking part in the Battle of Kuruksetra, not knowing that His taking part insured liberation for all who were present on the battlefield. It is said by Bhismadeva that all who were present on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra attained their original spiritual existences after death. Therefore, hearing the war topics of the Lord is as good as any other devotional service.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.14.13, purport:
“It appears from this verse that free selection of a husband was allowed by the father, but not by free association. The daughters were asked separately to submit their selection of a husband who was famous for his acts and personality. The ultimate selection depended on the choice of the father.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.14.19, purport:
“When a man becomes qualitatively like the cats and dogs, he forgets his duties in cultivating spiritual values, and thus he accepts his wife as a sense gratificatory agent. When the wife is accepted as a sense gratificatory agent, personal sense gratification, there is disruption or divorce. But when husband and wife aim at spiritual advancement by mutual cooperation, there is no consideration of personal beauty or the disruption of so-called love. In the material world there is no question of love. Marriage is actually a duty performed in mutual cooperation as directed in the authoritative scriptures for spiritual advancement. Therefore marriage is essential in order to avoid the life of cats and dogs, who are not meant for spiritual enlightenment.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.14.38, purport:
“During the Age of Kali there is no discipline in sex life. How, then, can one expect good children? Certainly unwanted children cannot be a source of happiness in society, but through the Krishna consciousness movement they can be raised to the human standard by chanting the holy name of God. That is the unique contribution of Lord Caitanya to human society.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.14.47:
“Everyone will be pleased with him [Prahlada Maharaja] because the Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller of the universe, is always satisfied with a devotee who does not wish for anything beyond Him.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.14.47, purport:
“A pure devotee of the Lord sees the presence of his worshipable Lord everywhere. The Lord reciprocates in such a way that all living entities in whom the Lord is dwelling as the Supersoul also like a pure devotee because the Lord is present in their hearts and can dictate to them to be friendly to His devotee. There are many instances in history wherein even the most ferocious animal became friendly to a pure devotee of the Lord.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.14.48, purport:
“There are three stages of transcendental development in devotional service, which are technically called sthayi-bhava, anubhava and mahabhava. Continuous perfect love of Godhead is called sthayi-bhava, and when it is performed in a particular type of transcendental relationship it is called anubhava. But the stage of mahabhava is visible amongst the personal pleasure potencies of the Lord. It is understood that the grandson of Diti, namely Prahlada Maharaja, would constantly meditate on the Lord and recount His activities. Because he would constantly remain in meditation, he would easily transfer himself to the spiritual world after quitting his material body. Such meditation is still more conveniently performed by chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord. This is especially recommended in this Age of Kali.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.58:
“Since one cannot visually experience the presence of the Supersoul, He appears before us as a liberated devotee. Such a spiritual master is none other than Krishna Himself.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.58, purport:
“It is not possible for a conditioned soul to directly meet Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if one becomes a sincere devotee and seriously engages in devotional service, Lord Krishna sends an instructing spiritual master to show him favor and invoke his dormant propensity for serving the Supreme.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.59:
“One should therefore avoid bad company and associate only with devotees. With their realized instructions, such saints can cut the knot connecting one with activities unfavorable to devotional service.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.60:
“As one advances in devotional activities, the process becomes progressively clearer and more encouraging. Unless one gets this spiritual encouragement by following the instructions of the spiritual master, it is not possible to make advancement. Therefore, one’s development of a taste for executing these instructions is the test of one’s devotional service. Initially, one must develop confidence by hearing the science of devotion from a qualified spiritual master. Then, as he associates with devotees and tries to adopt the means instructed by the spiritual master in his own life, his misgivings and other obstacles are vanquished by his execution of devotional service. Strong attachment for the transcendental service of the Lord develops as he continues listening to the messages of Godhead, and if he steadfastly proceeds in this way, he is certainly elevated to spontaneous love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.82:
“Now I have worshiped all the various levels of devotees. Worshiping them is the source of all good fortune.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.87–89:
“The appearance of Sri Krishna Caitanya and Prabhu Nityananda has surcharged the world with happiness. As the sun and moon drive away darkness by their appearance and reveal the nature of everything, these two brothers dissipate the darkness of ignorance covering the living beings and enlighten them with knowledge of the Absolute Truth.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.91, purport:
“Even if one is put into the most perfect situation of material happiness, he cannot in that way become free from the pangs of birth, death, old age and disease. A materially happy person is therefore in need of the eternal relief that mundane religiosity in terms of fruitive work can never award.”
“The process of religion described in Srimad-Bhagavatam, however, is able to give its followers permanent relief from the threefold miseries. The Bhagavatam describes the highest religious form—reinstatement of the living entity in his original position of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord, which is free from the infections of desires for sense gratification, fruitive work, and the culture of knowledge with the aim of merging into the Absolute to become one with the Supreme Lord.”
“The real form of religion is spontaneous loving service to Godhead. This relationship of the living being with the Absolute Personality of Godhead in service is eternal.”
“Anyone who, because of his background of pious activities in previous lives, is anxious to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, immediately realizes the presence of the Supreme Lord within his heart and fulfills the mission of his life.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.96:
“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.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 8.282, purport:
“One may aspire to attain such a position [of appreciating the oneness of Radha and Krishna], but one should not try to imitate the maha-bhagavata.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 9.61, purport:
“It is the spiritual master who delivers the disciple from the clutches of maya by initiating him into the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. In this way a sleeping human being can revive his consciousness by chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. In other words, the spiritual master awakens the sleeping living entity to his original consciousness so that he can worship Lord Vishnu. This is the purpose of diksa, or initiation. Initiation means receiving the pure knowledge of spiritual consciousness.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 9.239–240, purport:
“There is no scripture equal to the Brahma-samhita as far as the final spiritual conclusion is concerned. Indeed, that scripture is the supreme revelation of the glories of Lord Govinda, for it reveals the topmost knowledge about Him. Since all conclusions are briefly presented in the Brahma-samhita, it is essential among all the Vaishnava literatures.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 9.266:
“As long as one is not satiated by fruitive activity and has not awakened his taste for devotional service by sravanam kirtanam visnoh, one has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions.” [Quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.9.]
From The Nectar of Instruction, Text 2:
“Association with those engaged in a similar line of business is very conducive to advancement in that business. Consequently materialistic persons form various associations and clubs to enhance their endeavors. For example, in the business world we find such institutions as the stock exchange and chamber of commerce. Similarly, we have established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to give people an opportunity to associate with those who have not forgotten Krishna. This spiritual association offered by our ISKCON movement is increasing day by day. Many people from different parts of the world are joining this Society to awaken their dormant Krishna consciousness.”
From The Nectar of Instruction, Text 3:
“One should accept this opportunity to return home, back to Godhead, very enthusiastically. Without enthusiasm, one cannot be successful. Even in the material world one has to be very enthusiastic in his particular field of activity in order to become successful. A student, businessman, artist or anyone else who wants success in his line must be enthusiastic. Similarly, one has to be very enthusiastic in devotional service.”
From The Nectar of Instruction, Text 4:
“The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been established to facilitate these six kinds of loving exchanges between devotees. This Society was started single-handedly, but because people are coming forward and dealing with the give-and-take policy, the Society is now expanding all over the world. We are glad that people are donating very liberally to the development of the Society’s activities, and people are also eagerly accepting whatever humble contribution we are giving them in the shape of books and magazines dealing strictly with the subject matter of Krishna consciousness. We sometimes hold Hare Krishna festivals and invite life members and friends to participate in the feasting by accepting prasada. Although most of our members come from the higher rungs of society, they nonetheless come and take whatever little prasada we are able to offer them. Sometimes the members and supporters inquire very confidentially about the methods of performing devotional service, and we try to explain this. In this way our Society is successfully spreading all over the world, and the intelligentsia of all countries is gradually appreciating our Krishna conscious activities. The life of the Krishna conscious society is nourished by these six types of loving exchange among the members; therefore people must be given the chance to associate with the devotees of ISKCON because simply by reciprocating in the six ways mentioned above an ordinary man can fully revive his dormant Krishna consciousness.”
“By chanting the holy names of the Lord we can actually convert many people throughout the world to Krishna consciousness. Contributing or distributing the holy name of the Lord is a sublime example of contributing or giving charity (the dadati principle).”
“Religion is the special function of human society, and it constitutes the distinction between human society and animal society. Animal society has no church, mosque or religious system. In all parts of the world, however downtrodden human society may be, there is some system of religion. Even tribal aborigines in the jungles also have a system of religion. When a religious system develops and turns into love of God, it is successful. As stated in the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.6):
sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati
‘The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted in order to completely satisfy the self.’”
Hansarupa Prabhu:
Since the rtviks split off, very few ISKCON people who are well read have joined them, but many of the rtviks have joined ISKCON.
Rama Raya Prabhu:
If we propagate the chanting of the holy name, the Lord will sort everything out.
Tulasi Prabhu:
A devotee does not want to exchange anything material for his relationship with Krishna.
King Vena’s problem is that he thought he knew more than the Vedas.
I encourage people to try to make positive vows to do spiritual activities rather than negative vows to avoid material activities.
Discussion of the Introduction to God and Science by Sadaputa Prabhu:
Brahmatirtha Prabhu:
Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) is:
Producing a new version of Origins.
Jayadvaita Swami:
I met Sadaputa as a new man at Henry Street. I do not know if it was his first visit. I talked with him the whole morning. He was talking about how every physical system can be described by a Schrödinger equation, but there must always be someone who is outside the system, who is observing it.
A Christian magazine very favorably reviewed one piece of his on advanced astronomy in the Bhagavatam which was printed in Back to Godhead. They concluded their review with the word “substantial.”
I was impressed with his confidence in the Vedic sastra. He would try to understand the truth of it.
His language was clear and concise. He knew where scientific articles fell short. He limited his arguments, making them strong and presentable. He had a gift for making complex things simpler.
Prishni Devi Dasi:
Sadaputa Prabhu is not looking for the differences but the similarities between science and religion.
The first three articles deal with that idea that science must be modified to include basic religious concepts.
Both religion and science have to avoid dogmatism.
The advanced astronomy in the Bhagavatam was beyond the level of the Greeks, and so must have come from another source.
Sadaputa’s idea was that rather than science drastically altering religion or religion drastically altering science, science and religion could cross-fertilize each other, coming up with ideas that neither could come up with on their own.
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As I chant Hare Krishna on the FSU campus, I find that this phrase from Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s “Arunodaya Kirtana” (Song 1) often comes to mind: “Take shelter of the holy name as your only business.”
The whole verse reads:
jivana anitya janaha sar,
namasraya kori’ jatane tumi,
thakaha apana kaje
“This temporary life is full of various miseries. Take shelter of the holy name as your only business.” (“Arunodaya Kirtana” (Song 1), Verse 6)
