(Sent from Liverpool, England, on July 4, 2026)
Where I Went and What I Did
During the twenty-sixth week of 2026, I lived at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles, and I did harinama for three hours each day, mostly in the city of Paris but occasionally in Sarcelles. Madhurpati Prabhu, visiting for Ratha-yatra, with his enthusiasm for playing the accordion and chanting Hare Krishna, added a lot to the harinamas. Because of a heat wave, hospitals were full, and the city officials canceled all festivals scheduled the weekend we planned to do Ratha-yatra, so we did harinamas in the city and a festival at the temple instead.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. I also share a quote from a lecture of his. I share quotes from Looking Back, Volume 1, by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on classes by Janananda Goswami in Paris.
Many thanks to Adi-Guru Prabhu for bringing a case of “On Chanting Hare Krishna” from England to Paris and for his kind donation.
Itinerary
June 16–August 13: Paris harinama
– July 4: Liverpool Ratha-yatra
– July 5: Birmingham Ratha-yatra
– July 11–14: Lyon harinamas and Sunday park program
‒ 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 Paris
Gus chants Hare Krishna in Les Halles (https://youtube.com/shorts/f7AHGpf6zsM?feature=share):
Sudevi chants Hare Krishna in Les Halles (https://youtube.com/shorts/QAHLAPWRBS8):
Marat chants Hare Krishna in Les Halles, and devotees dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/C5ftt6sNKv4):
Later on, devotees engaged passersby in dancing also (https://youtube.com/shorts/hyv1i2wQiwA?feature=share):
Here I sing in Les Halles, where I considered the accordion playing added a festive mood to my mantras (https://youtube.com/shorts/Zj312AsZ_0c?feature=share):
Here is a landscape version (https://youtu.be/n6Ds3qzbzYM):
Mataji chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles, and Madhurpati Prabhu gets Spanish tourists to chant (https://youtube.com/shorts/Im4i7bpgGyw?feature=share):
Madhurpati chants “Jaya Jagannatha” in front of ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles (https://youtube.com/shorts/WuayEbjg9IE?feature=share):
Grace came up to me on harinama at Odèon in Paris and asked if I went to Florida State. I told her I sing there three months in winter. She is with BSA, the Buddhist Student Association. The BSA students often came to Krishna Lunch at FSU, and I brought halava to a couple of their meetings last semester.
Here Madhurpati Prabhu encouraged Grace to chant the Hare Krishna mantra (https://youtube.com/shorts/lUIlefvTa5k?feature=share):
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Cluny, and devotees dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/f_h7543wMzo?feature=share):
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Cluny, and devotees dance even more (https://youtube.com/shorts/_oOkiFzrov8?feature=share):
Tarun Vishvambhar Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Cluny (https://youtube.com/shorts/TorpacfKeaQ?feature=share):
Rohininandana Prabhu chants at Cluny, and three devotees dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/eVvTdW99eKg?feature=share):
Later more devotees danced (https://youtube.com/shorts/6xsm-epnahc?feature=share):
At Cluny these women from the Netherlands who were attracted by the chanting were happy to receive “On Chanting Hare Krishna.”
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Les Halles, and passersby dance with devotees (https://youtu.be/aE1SKudx5Ko):
Nrsimha Caitanya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Les Halles, and passersby dance with devotees (https://youtu.be/cGiSV5w-ahk):
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna along Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, and people chant and dance (https://youtu.be/POwTHLyvbMo):
Later, those there to bathe in Canal Saint-Martin chanted Hare Krishna and danced as well (https://youtube.com/shorts/JlgTfCKHwSI):
The three girls sitting by the canal, who chanted the mantra and danced enthusiastically, all gave donations and got small books from Ekanatha Prabhu after.
Madhurpati Prabhu chanted a few other mantras there, and people also responded nicely (https://youtube.com/shorts/VhhKZD5NKT4):
Later another group of bathers chanted Hare Krishna and danced with us (https://youtube.com/shorts/DzvNAW20mwE):
In addition to Hare Krishna, Madhurpati Prabhu engaged them in chanting other simpler mantras, and they were surprisingly enthusiastic (https://youtube.com/shorts/5d7bEbjbFa8):
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| Girls who loved to chant. |
Some people loved to chant so much I wanted to give them the “On Chanting Hare Krishna” but they really were not dressed in such a way that they could keep it with them. The girl on the right looked like she had a pocket to put it in, so I offered one to her. Turns out she also had a purse that she could put it in and she happily accepted it, along with a card for our downtown center. She mentioned it was her friend’s birthday, and I said, “This is best way to celebrate!” I gave her another pamphlet and card to give to her friend as a birthday present.
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on a bus in Sarcelles en route to the market (https://youtube.com/shorts/UJGSlfeT-RU?feature=share):
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Sarcelles Market (https://youtube.com/shorts/6GsVZsazIWM).
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on the bus back to the temple in Sarcelles (https://youtube.com/shorts/9UcqeTENXtE):
Photos
I never encountered an internet network called “Use it for Krishna” before!
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavata 3.17.17, purport:
“In the demoniac way of civilization, people are interested in getting a body constructed in such a way that when they walk on the street the earth will tremble and when they stand it will appear that they cover the sun and the vision of the four directions. If a race appears strong in body, their country is materially considered to be among the highly advanced nations of the world.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.17.19, purport:
“One may be very proud of his material advancement in knowledge, but he cannot be immune to the four principles of material existence, namely birth, death, old age and disease. It was the Lord’s plan to teach people that even Hiranyakasipu, who was so powerful and strongly built, could not live more than his destined duration of life. One may become as strong and puffed up as Hiranyakasipu and bring under his control all the three worlds, but there is no possibility of continuing life eternally or keeping the conquered booty forever. So many emperors have ascended to power, and they are now lost in oblivion; that is the history of the world.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.17.20, purport:
“The demoniac spirit is to train all family members to exploit the resources of this universe for personal sense gratification, whereas the godly spirit is to engage everything in the service of the Lord.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 3.82–83:
“In the Upapuranas we hear Sri Krishna showing His mercy to Vyasadeva by speaking to him as follows. ‘O learned brahmana, sometimes I accept the renounced order of life to induce the fallen people of the Age of Kali to accept devotional service to the Lord.’”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 3.87:
“O my Lord, those influenced by demoniac principles cannot realize You, although You are clearly the Supreme by dint of Your exalted activities, forms, character and uncommon power, which are confirmed by all the revealed scriptures in the quality of goodness and the celebrated transcendentalists in the divine nature.”
[This is a verse from the Stotra-ratna (12) of Yamunacarya, the spiritual master of Ramanujacarya.]
From a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.21 in Los Angeles on January 17, 2026:
“Hara also means one who can take away all our miserable condition and gives..., puts us into the transcendental position. This is Hara.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Looking Back, Volume 1:
“ISKCON is like the Ganges, sometimes it is flowing thin and somewhere it is roaring wide, but it is always flowing.”
“Once I was preparing eggplant and small peanuts at his [Srila Prabhupada’s] request, and he came into the kitchen to see how I was doing. He said, ‘I don’t ask for this because I want it. I just want to train you in how to cook it.’”
“That night he [Srila Prabhupada] had a meeting of the ISKCON Press devotees who came out to his house in Needham. Hayagriva, Pradyumna, Jayadvaita and myself were there. We talked about editing standards, and he said the pronouns for Krishna and Radha should be capitalized as His and Her.”
“Krishna is always at His free will to respond to our prayers or not. ‘Pray and endeavor,’ he told us in Boston, when we were looking for a temple beyond the storefront variety. Pray and endeavor. Krishna has His reasons for wanting things to turn out in certain ways, and we can’t dictate to Him. He is not our order-supplier. We have to have faith that His providential dealings with us are best for us.”
“Forgiveness is a major quality of a Vaishnava. This is stated in all the sastras and by the acaryas. ‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ If I want to be forgiven I should be liberal in my own forgiveness.”
“I could have been initiated at Swamiji’s first initiation on Janmastami of 1966. He was very liberal and anyone who had been regularly attending his classes and rendering service was acceptable. All you had to do is show up and take the oath that he was your spiritual master. Many who took initiation did not have a full idea of the commitment. He just took you on your word that guaranteed you to be his disciple and be a devotee in Krishna consciousness. Many in that first group left after a short while. I remember walking to my apartment on that day, after taking part for hours fasting and hearing Swamiji read from his manuscript of Bhagavad-gita. I felt myself forming a resistance to taking the vows of initiation for the reason that I wanted to keep my independence. For two years in the Navy I had my independence taken away, and I didn’t like it. I had looked forward to getting out of the Navy and living a free bohemian life in the Lower East Side of New York. I wanted to be a writer. That was my vocation. I had had my ups and downs in my free life, but I still had my independence. Of course, since meeting the Swami my life had changed completely. I had given up my deep habits of taking marijuana and LSD. And I gave up my habit of illicit sex. I was already a practicing devotee. Even if I did not go to the initiation that night I would stay home and do typing for the Swami and bring it to him the next day. I had no intentions of quitting being his follower but the initiation ... I hesitated.
“When I saw the initiates with their red beads and their new Sanskrit spiritual names, I immediately regretted that I didn’t get initiated. The next day, Swamiji, seeing through my hesitation, had said, ‘Doing this typing service isn’t mechanical. If you love me, then I will love you.’ Those words had cracked through my external shell and made me give up my hesitation in loving him as a person and surrendering to be his disciple. So two weeks later, at the second ISKCON initiation, I took the vows. I would obey him; I would serve him.
“Now I want to ask the question, over forty years later, Do I regret it? The immediate answer, without hesitation, is ‘No.’ He has given me the keys to ultimate freedom in spiritual life. I still stand up to be counted as his disciple. I’ve had troubles in following the rules, and I have had trouble accepting the rule of the institution over my life, but I have overcome these troubles and I am at peace with the rules and with the institution. ISKCON has accepted me back from my troubles, and I am rendering service mainly by writing and posting a daily website. I maintain a number of disciples who haven’t rejected me, and I write to them and occasionally meet with them. I am something of a loner among my senior godbrothers, but I keep regular association in a community in which a number of devotees live. I chant sixteen rounds daily, follow all the rules and read my master’s books. In writing my autobiography I am appreciating his influence in my life. I am grateful that I am formed by him and identify myself as a Hare Krishna (ISKCON) member.
“I do keep a certain independence, but I don’t think it’s illegal. But I want to be included in the roster. I’m not the young man who decided he wasn’t ready to surrender. I’ve surrendered. I am no longer the GBC man traveling to several continents and many cities and fulfilling the responsibility of overseeing management of the temples (which I never did well, as even Prabhupada acknowledged). I’ve surrendered in a personal sense. This Krishna consciousness is my path, and Prabhupada is my spiritual master. I belong to the worldwide community of devotees in my own quiet way. I believe Prabhupada accepts me and watches over me. I pray to him to keep me and help me to improve.”
Janananda Goswami:
From a class at ISKCON Paris on July 28, 2026:
If Srila Prabhupada were personally present we would not be looking at our cell phones or chatting with our devotee friends about the last news in our lives.
There are arguments between devotees because they look at the scriptures through their own conditioning.
This is not our movement but the movement of Lord Caitanya, the movement of Radharani.
I have been to two hundred Ratha-yatras, many in Moslem countries, but no one has derided it as idol worship.
Srila Prabhupada said it should take a maximum of forty minutes to dress the deities.
The African people love Jagannatha: “The God you worship is black!”
From a class on the end of the twenty-second chapter of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 9 at ISKCON Paris on July 29, 2026:
These dynasties are not ordinary dynasties. These personalities are not ordinary personalities. By hearing of them we become purified.
From a home program on June 29, 2026:
King Prataparudra wanted to give up his life if he could not achieve the audience of Lord Caitanya.
Because of the devotion of King Indradyumna the Lord appeared in the form of Lord Jagannatha.
When Lord Jagannatha could not be seen, Lord Caitanya left Puri for Alalanatha, distraught by feelings separation from the Lord.
When Lord Caitanya addressed Lord Jagannatha with “Manima! Manima!” he was not asking his mother for money.
King Prataparuda had zero false ego. He swept the street just to please the Lord. Lord Caitanya didn’t just see him doing the menial service, he saw his attitude.
Someday all the residents of Paris will bring their offerings to Lord Jagannatha at Les Halles.
Our desire is to become pleasing to Krishna.
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I really love Bhagavad-gita 15.15. It ties together Krishna (the Supreme Lord), the voice of inspiration in the heart, and the Vedic wisdom. All three provide knowledge of the path of spiritual realization, and if we fortunately can place our faith in them we can attain spiritual perfection. They form a transcendental trinity in the Vaishnava tradition.
sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham
“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.”
