(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on December 20, 2025)
Where I Went and What I Did
The fiftieth week of 2025, I lived ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn. I chanted Hare Krishna in public with the NYC Harinam party of Rama Raya Prabhu from Monday to Saturday. In addition, to contribute to the Prabhupada Marathon, I went out by myself for between one and three hours every morning, except Ekadasi, to a nearby subway station to chant Hare Krishna and distribute books to people who gave me donations. I distributed at least one book every day and sometimes as many as four. I also did another harinama on Sunday afternoon by myself.
I share a quote from Srila Prabhupada’sTeachings of Queen Kunti and from a Bhagavatam lecture of his. I share notes on classes by Jayadvaita Swami, and Hansarupa, Rama Raya, Chatamayi, Jai Nitai, and Natabara Gauranga Prabhus.
Thanks to Rama Raya Prabhu for the videos and photos of me on NYC Harinam.
Itinerary
November 23–January 9, 2026?: NYC Harinam – January 3: Bhagavad-gita class at 26 Second Avenue
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
Gokulenda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Manhattan (https://youtube.com/shorts/HA2uN1wTgkU):
At Atlantic/Barclays it was ten minutes before I was going to pack up I that I got my first and only donation. An Indian guy gave $20 but didn’t want a book. As I sang the last ten minutes, I looked at people for expressions of interest in their faces, and if I detected them, I would say, “Would you like a free book?” One young man was interested in the books but had no money. I explained someone else gave money but didn’t want a book so he could take any one of them for free. He took Bhagavad-gita, and he said, “Because this book is coming to me, it must be that I am supposed to read it.”
The wife of one of the temple officers works with the New York City of Board of Education.
She got a donation of 288 bunches of collard greens grown hydroponically by students who are part of program called Teens for Food Justice. We had the collards for lunch, and they were very good.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Teachings of Queen Kunti, Chapter 24:
“Krishna has two engagements: paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bg. 4.8]—giving protection to the sadhus, the devotees, and killing the demons. Krishna gave protection to the Pandavas and Vrishnis because they were devotees, and He also killed demons like Kamsa, Aghasura, and Bakasura. Of the two engagements, His killing of the demons was His major occupation. If we examine how much time He devoted to killing and how much time He devoted to protecting, we shall find that He devoted more time to killing. Similarly, those who are Krishna conscious should also kill – not by weapons but by logic, by reasoning, and by education. If one is a demon, we can use logic and arguments to kill his demoniac propensities and turn him into a devotee, a saintly person.”
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.41 in Los Angeles on May 3, 1973:
“These people, the so-called scientist and philosopher, is misleading—misleading in this sense: that they have no information that everything is coming out from life. They are proposing that everything is coming from matter.”
Jayadvaita Swami:
Because Krishna is the supreme enjoyer, He wanted to experience what Radharani was enjoying by loving Him.
We are not ordinary philanthrophists, but we also have a program to end heart disease. By heart disease we mean lust for the material. Our program is to hear of the spiritual su-rasa (relishable tastes) in relationship with Krishna and thus end our interest in ku-rasa (horrible material tastes).
Hansarupa Prabhu:
Srila Prabhupada gave many lectures on Sri Caitanya-caritamrita at 26 Second Avenue in 1966 because he understood that if his followers were sincere, the Lord from within would help them understand it.
Srila Prabhupada would personally empower people so they were able to do so many things.
One who is not envious can easily appreciate how Srila Prabhupada empowered sincere people.
We have to go beyond our self-imposed limitations. Krishna can empower us to do anything.
To the extent that we are attached to the modes of passion and ignorance, we will not be able to assimilate transcendental knowledge.
How has this person made so much advancement in such a short time? He had the sincerity to do devotional service in the right mood.
When Srila Prabhupada went back to India with his Western devotees, people were impressed. They considered, “If this person can make Westerners into devotees, he is definitely empowered.”
In Delhi they created a temple called “The Glory of India.” We want to create such a temple next door, and we will call it “The Glory of America.”
The sincere devotees who take the mission as their life and soul will keep it going.
Anyone can have doubts, but one must actively try to clear his doubts. That is sincerity.
We have to become an instrument. We cannot be a bystander.
Rama Raya Prabhu:
Whatever Krishna does is good, although you may not think it is good at the time.
There is a story that in a village the son of a pious farmer got into a serious farm accident and broke both his legs. Everyone was sorry and expressed regret about that misfortune. The farmer responded, “We shall see.” There was a war declared and a draft instituted. The other young men in the village went to war and lost their lives but not the one who had the accident. By the time the young man recovered the use of his legs, the war was over and the draft ended.
Krishna replaces our material desires with spiritual desires.
We like to hear how someone came to Krishna consciousness. Even Srila Prabhupada would sometimes inquire about that from his disciples. More wonderful than that is to hear how someone who has come to Krishna consciousness ultimately attains perfection.
I was a seeker big time, and I found Srila Prabhupada’s books in the upstate State University of New York I was attending. It was the third volume of Krishna. The pictures and their captions were captivating. There was the address of the temple at 340 W 55th Street. I went on a Tuesday to visit. Then I went for the Thursday morning program. Niranjana Prabhu in forty-five minutes convinced me to move into the temple.
Jai Nitai Prabhu:
Dhruva’s glorious success began with an insult, something that could be considered quite negative.
The definition of envy is painful or resetful awareness of an advantage or possession enjoyed by another and the desire to possess the same thing.
Sometimes a message is delivered most inappropriately, but the contents of message is valuable.
Because of our false ego, even the most palataubly offered correction is hard to accept.
Chatamayi Devi Dasi:
Sudras have a service mentality, but they do not know the proper object of service.
Nowadays with our technology we can hear the glories of the Lord 24 hours a day.
Comment (by Hadai Prana Prabhu): One person I was talking to on book distribution shared his idea of the spiritual world: “The spiritual world is a world where the Cleveland Browns are always winning.”
Natabara Gauranga Prabhu:
I like how in Srila Prabhupada’s lectures, he makes each point three times in slightly different ways before going on to the next.
Queen Kunti prays for freedom from material attachments while most people pray to increase their material attachments.
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This Bhagavatam verse describes how a person becomes increasingly entangled in this world.
“The attraction between male and female is the basic principle of material existence. On the basis of this misconception, which ties together the hearts of the male and female, one becomes attracted to his body, home, property, children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases life’s illusions and thinks in terms of ‘I and mine.’” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.8)
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on December 13, 2025)
Where I Went and What I Did
The forty-ninth week of 2025, I lived in ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn. I chanted Hare Krishna in public with the NYC Harinam party of Rama Raya Prabhu from Monday to Friday. Toward the end of the harinama on Friday, I took a couple of trains upstate to cook breakfast for my guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, for three days. I chanted in the train station in Poughkeepsie between trains and a little bit at Hudson station when I arrived. Saturday was the Vyasa-puja festival of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, and Rama Raya Prabhu and several NYC Harinam devotees came up to Stuyvesant Falls to chant at that event and the Hudson Winter Walk harinama that evening. Both events were well attended. I felt victorious in that my guru liked the breakfast I made on his appearance day. On Tuesday, December 9, I chanted by myself for two hours in the morning at a subway station in Manhattan as a way of contributing to the Prabhupada Marathon. People gave $5 and took a medium book and three small books. I hope to do 32 hours for the marathon this year.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-BhagavatamandSri Caitanya-caritamritaand also from a morning walk and a conversation of his. I share notes on lectures by Jayadvaita Swami and Arcita Prabhu.
Thanks to Nitai Prabhu, who works with GN Press, for his very generous donation. Thanks to Saradbihari Devi Dasi of Queens for her donation. Thanks to Rama Raya Prabhu for the videos and photos of me on NYC Harinam. Thanks to Gurudasa Prabhu for driving me places in Upstate New York and all the way back to New York City. Thanks to Krsna-bhajana and Krishna Kumari Prabhus for also giving me rides.
Itinerary
November 23–January 9, 2026?: NYC Harinam – January 3: Program at 26 Second Avenue
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
Here I chant Hare Krishna in Brooklyn (https://youtube.com/shorts/iLrxF--Aw3A?feature=share):
Madan Gopal Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa-puja, and Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami enters and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/_4qOTmFPtGU):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa-puja (https://youtu.be/tv4OC1z-EJE):
It was great having three kirtans at the event, and everyone was in a good mood.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and other devotees read selections from his books. He read a letter he wrote to Srila Prabhupada recently which was overflowing with devotion.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s health was much better than at the summer meeting back in July, when he had serious health issues both before and after the event. Usually he leaves after the Vyasa-puja kirtan, but this year he stayed and ate lunch with Jayadvaita Swami and other senior devotees. Later I mentioned to him that it was the first time that he stayed for lunch in a while, and he said that he had to stay because Jayadvaita Swami was staying.
The Hudson Winter Walk itself seemed more well attended than ever before, and our harinama party chanting there was also more well attended than ever before. Devotees from the Chatham Wednesday Program and the NYC Harinam joined together, and other local devotees and devotees from New York City also attended.
While I was upstate, I gave the Sunday feast lecture at ISKCON Schenectady.
After the prasadam, an aspiring disciple of Radhanath Swami with a PhD in cybersecurity shared his realization with us: “There is no cybersecurity. Any system can be hacked. I wasted my time. You’re right. The holy name is the only security.”
Photos
There are plenty of prasadam options at ISKCON NYC.
Here are the menus of our two restaurants.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.17:
“The sixth creation is that of the living entity’s darkness of ignorance, which makes the master act as a fool.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.17, purport:
“Although a living entity is the master of the material world, he is conditioned by ignorance, by the false impression of being the proprietor of material things.”
“The energy of the Lord called avidya is the bewildering factor of the conditioned souls. The material nature is called avidya, or ignorance, but to the devotees of the Lord engaged in pure devotional service, this energy becomes vidya, or pure knowledge. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita. The energy of the Lord transforms from mahamaya to yogamaya and appears to pure devotees in her real feature.”
“By the influence of darkness, the conditioned soul forgets his relationship with the Supreme Lord and is overwhelmed by attachment, hatred, pride, ignorance and false identification, the five kinds of illusion that cause material bondage.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.20:
“All the immovable trees and plants seek their subsistence upwards. They are almost unconscious but have feelings of pain within.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.21:
“The eighth creation is that of the lower species of life, and they are of different varieties, numbering twenty-eight. They are all extensively foolish and ignorant. They know their desirables by smell, but are unable to remember anything within the heart.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.26:
“In the human race, the mode of passion is very prominent. Humans are always busy in the midst of miserable life, but they think themselves happy in all respects.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.12.43, purport:
“The lesson from the life of Dhruva Maharaja is that if one likes, one can attain Vaikunthaloka in one life, without waiting for many other lives. My Guru Maharaja, Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, used to say that every one of his disciples could attain Vaikunthaloka in this life, without waiting for another life to execute devotional service. One simply has to become as serious and sincere as Dhruva Maharaja; then it is quite possible to attain Vaikunthaloka and go back home, back to Godhead, in one life.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.12.44, purport:
“Srimad-Bhagavatam means everything in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whether we hear the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Lord or we hear about the character, reputation and activities of His devotees, they are all one and the same. Neophyte devotees simply try to understand the pastimes of the Lord and are not very interested in hearing about the activities of His devotees, but such discrimination should not be indulged in by any real devotee. Sometimes less intelligent men try to hear about the rasa dance of Krishna and do not take care to hear about other portions of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which they completely avoid. There are professional Bhagavata reciters who abruptly go to the rasa-lila chapters of Srimad-Bhagavatam, as if other portions of Srimad-Bhagavatam were useless. This kind of discrimination and abrupt adoption of the rasa-lila pastimes of the Lord is not approved by the acaryas. A sincere devotee should read every chapter and every word of Srimad-Bhagavatam, for the beginning verses describe that it is the ripened fruit of all Vedic literature. Devotees should not try to avoid even a word of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The great sage Maitreya therefore affirmed herein that the Bhagavatam is sammatam satam, approved by great devotees.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Introduction:
“It is not that Radharani is separate from Krishna. Radharani is also Krishna, for there is no difference between the energy and the energetic. Without energy, there is no meaning to the energetic, and without the energetic, there is no energy. Similarly, without Radha there is no meaning to Krishna, and without Krishna there is no meaning to Radha. Because of this, the Vaishnava philosophy first of all pays obeisances to and worships the internal pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord. Thus the Lord and His potency are always referred to as Radha-Krishna. Similarly, those who worship Narayana first of all utter the name of Laksmi, as Laksmi-Narayana. Similarly, those who worship Lord Rama first of all utter the name of Sita. In any case—Sita-Rama, Radha-Krishna, Laksmi-Narayana—the potency always comes first.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Introduction:
“In the maha-mantra — Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare — the word ‘Rama’ refers to Balarama. Since Lord Nityananda is Balarama, ‘Rama’ also refers to Lord Nityananda. Thus Hare Krishna, Hare Rama addresses not only Krishna and Balarama but Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda as well.”
“In Srimad-Bhagavatam there is a great deal of information given about the Vaikuntha planetary systems, which are beyond the material universe. Similarly, a great deal of inconceivable information is given in the Caitanya-caritamrta. Any attempt to arrive at this information through experimental knowledge will fail. The knowledge simply has to be accepted. According to the Vedic method, sabda, or transcendental sound, is regarded as evidence. Sound is very important in Vedic understanding, for, if it is pure, it is accepted as authoritative. Even in the material world we accept a great deal of information sent thousands of miles by telephone or radio. In this way we also accept sound as evidence in our daily lives. Although we cannot see the informant, we accept his information as valid on the basis of sound. Sound vibration, then, is very important in the transmission of Vedic knowledge.”
“In the execution of Krishna consciousness, our first business is to know Krishna and our relationship with Him. To know Krishna is to know one’s self, and to know one’s self is to know one’s relationship with Krishna.”
“The Gosvamis would live under a tree for one night only, and the trees would satisfy all their desires. For the common man this may all seem very wonderful, but as one makes progress in devotional service, all this can be realized.”
“Vrindavan is actually experienced as it is by persons who have stopped trying to derive pleasure from material enjoyment. ‘When will my mind become cleansed of all hankering for material enjoyment so I will be able to see Vrindavan?’ one great devotee asks. The more Krishna conscious we become and the more we advance, the more everything is revealed as spiritual.”
“The author of the Caitanya-caritamrita prays that just as Krishna attracted the gopis by the sweet sound of His flute, He will also attract the reader’s mind by that transcendental vibration.”
“Lord Caitanya therefore teaches direct worship of Lord Krishna, who appeared as the foster child of the King of Vraja. He also teaches that the place known as Vrindavan is as good as Lord Krishna because, Lord Krishna being the Absolute Truth, there is no difference between Him and His name, qualities, form, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia. That is the absolute nature of the Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya also teaches that the highest mode of worship in the highest perfectional stage is the method practiced by the damsels of Vraja. These damsels (gopis, or cowherd girls) simply loved Krishna without any motive for material or spiritual gain. Lord Caitanya also teaches that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the spotless narration of transcendental knowledge and that the highest goal in human life is to develop unalloyed love for Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Preface:
“Lord Caitanya taught that the most practical way for the mass of people to practice sankhya-yoga meditation is simply to chant the holy name of the Lord. He taught that the holy name of the Lord is the sound incarnation of the Lord and that since the Lord is the absolute whole, there is no difference between His holy name and His transcendental form. Thus by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can directly associate with the Supreme Lord by sound vibration.”
“If one’s mind is fixed on Krishna (His name, qualities, form, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia), all one’s activities — both subtle and gross — become favorable. The Bhagavad-gita’s process of purifying consciousness is the process of fixing one’s mind on Krishna by talking of His transcendental activities, cleansing His temple, going to His temple, seeing the beautiful transcendental form of the Lord nicely decorated, hearing His transcendental glories, tasting food offered to Him, associating with His devotees, smelling the flowers and tulasi leaves offered to Him, engaging in activities for the Lord’s interest, becoming angry at those who are malicious toward devotees, etc. No one can bring the activities of the mind and senses to a stop, but one can purify these activities through a change in consciousness.”
From a morning walk at Chandigarh on October 14, 1976:
“God interferes if you are a devotee. Otherwise, you have to undergo the laws of nature.”
From a conversation with policeman Lt. Mozee in Chicago on July 5, 1975:
“People have no conception of God. Everyone is practically godless. Therefore they should be educated about God. Just like the Communists: they are educating godlessness.”
“Where is the education about God? Simply trust is also good, very good, but simple trust will not endure unless you know scientifically what is God.”
“The meaning of religion is to abide by the laws of God, just like a good citizen means who abides by the laws of the state, of the government. Because we have no understanding of God, therefore we do not know what is the laws of God, and therefore we do not know what is religion. That is the present status of the human society.”
“Religion means the laws which is given by God, and anyone who follows the laws, he is religious. It doesn’t matter whether he is a Christian or a Hindu or Muslim. If he follows the laws of God, then he is religious.”
Jayadvaita Swami:
Srila Prabhupada said that to see Krishna alone is impersonal. We never see a picture of Krishna alone. There is always another with Him, sometimes a cow.
If we are still affected by lust, greed, anger, illusion, madness, and envy, we still need to regularly hear Srimad-Bhagavatam and serve the mission of the Lord.
Srila Prabhupada says that the spiritual master is like a doctor who prescribes a certain program of upliftment for his disciple.
Some devotees say we should just listen to Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan, but Sukadeva Goswami in the Tenth Canto also tells elaborately about the pastimes of Krishna in Mathura and Dvaraka.
Srila Prabhupada said there are four stages: (1) awaking, (2) training, (3) relishing the relationships between the Lord and His energies, and (4) complete absorption in Krishna. He said that in Back to Godhead we should focus on people at stages (1) and (2).
I asked Srila Prabhupada about the “nikunja yuno rati keli siddhyai”verse. He replied, “If he is in that relationship.” I understood from that the spiritual master may be in any of the rasas as a perfected being, not necessarily the madhurya rasa.
Arcita Prabhu:
Srila Prabhupada said that if you are engaged in devotional service and you are morose, the defect is in yourself.
Srila Prabhupada said that if you can’t expand the movement at least maintain it.
We are just trying to assist in the bringing of Lord Caitanya’s movement to every town and village.
The British were impressed with Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s eloquence in English.
Srila Prabhupada said if you disturb the duration of life of even an insect, you are culpable.
If we do not attain perfection in this life, there is no guarantee that we will have such a nice situation in the next life, living in a nice temple with nice prasadam, etc., so we should be serious.
Srila Prabhupada was very sensitive. He would criticize devotees strongly who he knew could take it and become better devotees. But devotees who could not take it, he would be more lenient with.
Srila Prabhupada said that if we just chant sixteen rounds of Hare Krishna and follow the four rules for our whole life we will go back to the spiritual world. It sounds easy, butif you are not serious, maya will make it difficult for you follow these things, and you will not make it.
Q (by Sita Rama Prabhu): Acaryas who are nitya-siddhas can perform devotional service in a fixed up way so they can go back to Godhead, but how can we who are born in degraded conditions perform devotional service is such a fixed up way? A: Because as part and parcel of Krishna, we are naturally pure, and devotional service is a purifying process, thus it is just a matter of time before any of us can become completely pure as long as we continue to try to practice it.
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I like this prayer of Queen Kunti because it has many names of Krishna in it, namely, Krishna, Vasudeva, Devaki-nandana, Nanda-gopa-kumara, and Govinda:
krishnaya vasudevaya
devaki-nandanaya ca nanda-gopa-kumaraya govindaya namo namah
“Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devaki, the boy of Nanda and the other cowherd men of Vrindavan, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.21)
