(Sent from Sarcelles, France, on June 27, 2026)
Where I Went and What I Did
During the twenty-fifth week of 2026, I lived at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles, just 18 minutes by train, and two bus stops north of the city of Paris. Thursday I chanted downtown at Odéon and attended an evening program at a yoga studio with Nilambara Prabhu of Amsterdam.
Friday I went to Lyon with Dayal Nitai Prabhu, the sankirtana leader, I chanted there three days, attending, chanting and speaking at their monthly program on Sunday in a large park. Monday I returned to Paris, and that day we chanted by Canal St. Martin. Tuesday we chanted at the local Sarcelles Market, and Wednesday we chanted at Haussmann, in the middle of a shopping district.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. I share quotes from Looking Back, Volume 1 by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on classes by Janananda Goswami, and Aksayananda, Nilambara, Rasa Parayana and Dayal Nitai Prabhus.
Many thanks to Jiva Prana Prabhu for funding my trip to Lyon and for transferring cash to my account so I can buy tickets online. Thanks to Eric for his accommodation and prasadam in Lyon and for the many video clips of our harinamas and kirtanas.
Itinerary
June 16–August 21: Paris harinama
– July 2: Manchester and Liverpool harinamas
– July 3: Liverpool harinama
– July 4: Liverpool Ratha-yatra
– July 5: Birmingham Ratha-yatra
‒ August 13–16: Trutnov (Czech Woodstock) harinamas and kirtanas
‒ August 17: Prague harinama
August 22–27: Balarama Festival at New Mayapur
August 29–September 21: India
September 23: Return to New York
September 26: Philadelphia Ratha-yatra
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
I learned from Ananda Svarupa Devi Dasi, our Brazilian head pujari in Paris, that our Sunday Brooklyn harinama made it on TV Brasil (https://youtu.be/0Fxr2WM0--s):
While they were recording us, I recorded them (https://youtu.be/gHBuvyflzYU):
Yasomatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Odéon in Paris (https://youtube.com/shorts/ZVohnpART1Q?feature=share):
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Printemps Haussmann in Paris (https://youtube.com/shorts/bklD7aSy4-U?feature=share):
On Saturday, we chanted with a larger a group of devotees on a busy pedestrian street.
We took prasadam there afterward.
One young lady came just in time for the prasadam at the end.
Madhurpati Prabhu affixes a NYC Harinam flyer to his accordion to help him teach people the Hare Krishna mantra on Paris harinama.
“He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.20)
When I saw this shirt, I immediately thought, “I love Hare Krishna.” It took me a while to realize that HK meant Hong Kong. Wikipedia lists over 25 things that are abbreviated HK, and “Hare Krishna” doesn’t even make the list. We have some work to do!
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.16.31, purport:
“One can practice bhakti-yoga in many rasas. There are twelve rasas, five primary and seven secondary. The five primary rasas constitute direct bhakti-yoga, but although the seven secondary rasas are indirect, they are also counted within bhakti-yoga if they are used in the service of the Lord. In other words, bhakti-yoga is all-inclusive. If one somehow or other becomes attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he becomes engaged in bhakti-yoga, as described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.29.15): kamam krodham bhayam. The gopis were attracted to Krishna by bhakti-yoga in a relationship of lusty desire (kama). Similarly, Kamsa was attached to bhakti-yoga by dint of fear of his death. Thus bhakti-yoga is so powerful that even becoming an enemy of the Lord and always thinking of Him can deliver one very quickly. It is said, vishnu-bhaktah smrto daiva asuras tad-vipanryayah: ‘Devotees of Lord Vishnu are called demigods, whereas nondevotees are called asuras.’ But bhakti-yoga is so powerful that both demigods and asuras can derive its benefits if they always think of the Personality of Godhead. The basic principle of bhakti-yoga is to think of the Supreme Lord always. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (18.65), man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah: ‘Always think of Me.’ It doesn’t matter which way one thinks; the very thought of the Personality of Godhead is the basic principle of bhakti-yoga.”
“Krishna consciousness is the highest form of thought. Lord Vishnu is thought of in this age by chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. From the statements of the Bhagavatam it appears that if one thinks of Krishna, even as an enemy, that particular qualification—thinking of Vishnu, or Krishna—cleanses one of all sins.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.16.36, purport:
“Anyone who is ordered by the Lord to perform some action in this material world, especially preaching His glories, cannot be counteracted by anyone; the will of the Lord is executed under all circumstances.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.16.37, purport:
“When something is arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should not be disturbed by it, even if it appears to be a reverse according to one’s calculations. For example, sometimes we see that a powerful preacher is killed, or sometimes he is put into difficulty, just as Haridasa Thakura was. He was a great devotee who came into this material world to execute the will of the Lord by preaching the Lord’s glories. But Haridasa was punished at the hands of the Kazi by being beaten in twenty-two marketplaces. Similarly, Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, and Prahlada Maharaja was put through so many tribulations. The Pandavas, who were direct friends of Krishna, lost their kingdom, their wife was insulted, and they had to undergo many severe tribulations. Seeing all these reverses affect devotees, one should not be disturbed; one should simply understand that in these matters there must be some plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.17.4, purport:
“When natural disturbances occur on a planet, one should understand that a demon must have taken birth there. In the present age the number of demoniac people is increasing; therefore natural disturbances are also increasing. There is no doubt about this, as we can understand from the statements of the Bhagavatam.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.17.16, purport:
“There are two classes of men in the world; one is called the demon, and the other is called the demigod. The demigods concern themselves with the spiritual upliftment of human society, whereas the demons are concerned with physical and material upliftment.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 3.77:
“Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya is the initiator of sankirtana [congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord]. One who worships Him through sankirtana is fortunate indeed.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 3.78, purport:
“Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the father and inaugurator of the sankirtana movement. One who worships Him by sacrificing his life, money, intelligence and words for the sankirtana movement is recognized by the Lord and endowed with His blessings. . . . for of all sacrifices in which a man may apply his energy, a sacrifice made for the sankirtana movement is the most glorious.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 3.79, purport:
“The real fact is that Krishna and His name, being transcendental, are far above all mundane pious activity. Pious activity is on the material platform, but chanting of the holy name of Krishna is completely on the spiritual plane.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 3.81, purport:
“Even though many devotees always think of Krishna, none can surpass the gopis, among whom Radharani is the leader in thinking of Krishna. Radharani’s Krishna consciousness surpasses that of all other devotees. Lord Caitanya accepted the position of Srimati Radharani to understand Krishna; therefore He was always thinking of Krishna in the same way as Radharani.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Looking Back, Volume 1:
“On the way downtown [from the UN peace rally] in a borrowed car, Swamiji said, ‘They will never have peace unless they chant and give up their sinful activities.’”
“We don’t want a strict, dictatorial, militaristic rules and regulations movement. No one will follow that. It has to be a loving, compassionate body. Welcoming people, kirtana and dancing, prasadam and a modest, self-realized Krishna conscious lecture. Keep Prabhupada in the center, his books, his pictures, his bhajanas, his lectures, memories of him. ISKCON has over four hundred centers and preaching outposts. Visit them and maintain them, they are beacon lights in the darkness of Kali-yuga.”
Janananda Goswami:
If you do not like to accept authority you cannot make it to the spiritual world.
This festival, Ratha-yatra, is all about bringing Krishna back to Vrindavan. We are assisting the residents of Vrindavan in bringing Krishna back to Vrindavan.
They had a Ratha-yatra in 1969, before they had a temple or deities in London. Shyamasundar carved the deities just for Ratha-yatra.
Srila Prabhupada danced during practically the entire procession at London Ratha-yatra in 1973. The devotees were inspired to dance, and they took over the entire street. The police asked Srila Prabhupada’s servant to tell him to stop dancing. When he did so, Srila Prabhupada looked like him like he was talking a foreign language. It would be like telling Lord Caitanya to stop dancing.
Many devotees say the London Ratha-yatra in 1973 was the highlight of their devotional lives.
Practically the most neophyte of all neophyte statements is the statement that “reading books is for neophytes.”
Loud kirtana and dancing is drawing Lord Jagannatha to Vrindavan.
Radharani delights in seeing all jivas again giving pleasure to Krishna.
When a child leaves home, the greatest service you can offer the parents to is to bring the child back home. Similarly it is with the Supreme Lord.
Book distribution is to remind all people of their relationship with Krishna.
Ratha-yatra is a festival of mass distribution of mercy. It is the greatest festival in the universe.
One day this summer there are five Ratha-yatras in the UK.
Aksayananda Prabhu:
Bhakti is absolute. It arises under favorable conditions.
Dharma is not absolute as it diminishes in time.
If sannyasa is forbidden in Kali-yuga, how can we reestablish varnasrama? It is an important missing link.
The devotee preaches to the dharmi to elevate him to bhakti, but if he is not inclined to accept bhakti, he will preach dharma.
Because of collective karma in the previous age, people were larger and more highly qualified.
In Kali-yuga, it is difficult for good people to manifest their good qualities or to share them with others.
In Kali-yuga, the best of human beings are sudras.
Whatever knowledge Dhrtarastra and his descendants had was due to the influence of his younger brother, Vidura.
In Dvarapa-yuga people would describe themselves as they were because there was truthfulness. In Kali-yuga, we believe the lies we tell.
Being in the mode of passion does not qualify one to be a ksatriya. Rather it is to have the qualities of ksatriya described in Bhagavad-gita.
Rasa Pranayana Prabhu:
If you read the commentaries of other acaryas along with Srila Prabhupada’s, you will appreciate how Srila Prabhupada expertly presented the ideas in a very simple way, and you will increase your appreciation of him.
You will not find deities of Srimati Radharani before five hundred years ago because Lord Caitanya revealed Her worship then. She is only mentioned slightly in the scriptures, and the Ramanandis in South India challenged Her worship by the Gaudiya samprayada.
The Ramanandis, who challenged Baladeva Vidyabhusana and the Gaudiya samprayada and claimed they had no commentary on Vedanta-sutra, were so impressed with the commentary Baladeva produced within three days, inspired by the Govinda deity, that they asked him for initiation. He declined, considering it was not good for them to change sampradayas.
Nilambara Prabhu:
From a class at a yoga center:
The three states of consciousness are:
svapna – dreaming
susupti – deep sleep
The mind is neither good nor bad. It is up to you whether you control it in this way or not.
The left jaw movement is different from the right jaw movement.
Visa, Visva, and Vishnu are related.
Yoga is recognizing your connection with the universal consciousness referred to as Vishnu.
We can experience happiness and distress, but we cannot let them affect us to the extent that we cannot act according to dharma.
A tiger will never think “I am causing so much pain to this rabbit by killing it. And I am causing pain to its brothers and sisters and parents. From this day on, I will become vegan.” There is no instance of a tiger ever becoming vegan, because they driven so much by the senses.
Breathing in a regulated way has been shown clinically to keep the mind calm.
The whole social media is focusing on what people think of me and not what I am.
Q: Suppose we are so busy . . .
From a class at ISKCON Paris on Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.22.26–32 on June 19, 2026:
Kuru was the original ruler of Kuruksetra.
When Amba was rejected by Bhisma, she began serving his guru, Parasurama. When she had sufficiently pleased him by service, he offered her a benediction. She wanted him to force Bhisma to marry her. Parasurama asked Bhisma to marry her. He did not agree. So Parasurama engaged in fighting Bhisma. The fighting went on for a long time. Parasurama realized he was wasting his time. So he told Amba that he could not help her.
Amba was so angry that she decided she had to attain a male body so that she could kill Bhisma, and she performed austerity to this end.
Dhrtarastra, whenever anyone questioned him about something, he would always say, “If it is Vishnu’s will, it will happen anyway.” The whole family worshiped Vishnu, but they could not recognize that Krishna was Vishnu Himself.
Dhrtarastra created an artificial distinction between his sons and the sons of Pandus, calling his sons, the Kauravas, and Pandu’s sons, the Pandavas, as if only his sons were meant to rule the Kuru kingdom.
Krishna made the barren land half of the kingdom that was given to the Pandavas very luscious.
Dayal Nitai Prabhu:
From a breakfast conversation:
To think “I am bad” is also ego. It is also selfish. Just do the service without thinking “I am good” or “I am bad.”
From a class on Cc. Madhya 13.18 in Paris on June 25, 2026:
Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita 2.44 that one who is too attached to opulence and sense enjoyment cannot attain Him.
Whatever we are given, we should engage in Krishna’s service. At the same, we should not become attached to these things.
In Sri Caitanya-caritamrita we learn how to apply devotional service in our lives.
When King Prataparudra was given a piece of cloth from Lord Caitanya, he worshiped it exactly like Lord Caitanya Himself. We can learn from this how important it is to take care of the paraphernalia of the Lord, as we do in the temple.
We receive mercy by chanting and dancing before Lord Caitanya in the temple, and then when we go out on sankirtana we share the mercy of the darsana of Lord Caitanya with others.
Lord Caitanya decided to show mercy to King Prataparuda after seeing him humbly cleansing the street before the Ratha-yatra cart.
If we consider ourselves to be a servant of the Lord, and we are eager to perform some service for Him, that will touch His heart.
We should chant the holy name with as much as attention as we can and as much devotion as we can.
Question (by me): The king in the Vedic culture accepts the guidance of the brahmanas. How is that it was considered so irregular for the Lord to meet with the king?
Comment by Rasa Parayana Prabhu:
Regarding how to perform our service properly:
2. Ask questions about the service. Ask how to do it. Ask how to prioritize it.
3. Do the service.
4. Communicate the status of the service with those who gave it to us.
-----
I always like this verse because it reminds us that we can always count on Krishna to reciprocate our love. In this world sometimes we invest our time, energy, and emotions in relationships with people who are not very reciprocal, and consequently we are disappointed. We do not have to worry about that if we give our love to Krishna.
ye yatha mam prapadyante
mama vartmanuvartante
manusyah partha sarvasah
“As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha.” (Bhagavad-gita 4.11)
Krishna is very dependable. Krishna’s dependability is also glorified in The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 24, thus:
“Any person who is reliable in all circumstances is called dependable. In this connection Rupa Gosvami says that even the demons were relying upon the dependability of Krishna, because they were confident that Krishna would never attack them without due cause. Therefore, with faith and confidence, they used to live with their doors wide open. And the demigods, although afraid of the demons, were confident of the protection of Krishna. Therefore, even in the midst of danger they were engaged in sportive activities. Persons who had never undergone the reformatory ritualistic ceremonies of the Vedas were confident that Krishna would accept only faith and devotion, and so they were engaged in Krishna consciousness and were freed from all anxieties. In other words, all kinds of men, from the demigods down to the uncultured, can rely on the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord.”
