Saturday Festival Memories

The Saturday festival in Mayapur with its Deity procession is so lively here, even without the elephant. The big Gaura Nitai Deities from Prabhupada's Bhajan Kutir are pulled by ox cart. Following them are the big Prabhupada murti and the small Radha-Krishna Deities. The kirtanas are so lively. Then always chant my favorite tunes. A friend of mine told me today that most of the tunes are Bollywood tunes (from India's entertainment industry) and that the traditional Bengali tunes are too hard to follow. I do not know if it is true, but the tunes are attractive and very easy to sing and dance to.

After participating in the festival I stopped at the brahmacari kitchen for their hot milk from the goshala which is really good. As I walked back home, a tourism bus from the parking lot near Vamsi Bhavan past me. There was a lively kirtana going on in the back of the bus and the people waved and cheered as they passed. I was thinking the chanting is so nice they could do it all the way home and they would be full of ecstasy when they arrived. Then they could get together with their family and friends each evening and spread the wonderful gift they received at Mayapur to others. We should encourage them to create the nice atmosphere of Mayapur's evening program and Saturday festivals in their homes and villages, and share the ecstasy with others.

“Sri Panca-tattva themselves danced again and again and thus made it easier to drink nectarean love of Godhead. They danced, cried, laughed and chanted like madmen, and in this way they distributed love of Godhead. . . . Although the members of the Panca-tattva plundered the storehouse of love of Godhead and ate and distributed its contents, there was no scarcity, for this wonderful storehouse is so complete that as the love is distributed, the supply increases hundreds of times” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita 7.22,24).

I met the Gaura-Nitai Deities on the way back to Their temple and participated in a small kirtana led by the people pulling Them. It was a beautiful way to end a beautiful evening.

Sastric Knowledge is Perfect

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 2, Chapter 1

King Pariksit asks how to apply the mind so that the mind becomes free from dirty things. This is needed because the usual ways we apply our minds, do not free them from dirty things but often create more dirty things.

Using the scripture, we must connect everything with the Lord, in order to purify our minds.

There are different kinds of knowledge:

1. pratyaksa - knowledge gained through sense perception
2. paroksya - knowledge gained from others
3. aparokysa - knowledge that is experienced
4. adhoksaja - knowledge beyond sense perception
5. aprakrta - knowledge that is transcendental

There are so many books on management and more come out every year. But if you take knowledge from scripture you won't have to look for new knowledge each year because the scriptural knowledge works in all circumstances not just some.

Principles always apply. Details change according to time, place, and circumstance.

According to the sastra, the varnasrama system is considered to be the Lord's body. Thus we must accept varnasrama. We must also accept each of the varnas and asramas to be important because every part of the Lord's body is important. It is not that the Lord's head is important, but His feet are to be neglected. Each division has something inspiring to contribute to society. The brahmanas teach. The ksatriyas protect and are true to their vows. The vaisyas give their hard-earned money in charity to benefit others. The sudras do their arts under the direction of the others. Michelangelo, who worked under the direction of superiors, contributed many more great works of art, appreciable by a greater variety of people, than Van Gogh, who worked on his own.

Shoe Saga

Inconceivably enough, I was separated from five pairs of shoes in this year alone! One in Calcutta, one in Russia, one in Hungary, one in Ukraine, and finally one in Mayapur in November. Fortunately they were all about $3 shoes, so it wasn't a great loss. I decided to go without shoes as long as possible out of a sense of frustration and defeat. However, day by day it has been getting colder in the mornings here, and I have been afraid of getting sick.

Last night I read in my diksa guru's book, Prabhupada Nectar (Vol. 2, No. 25): “Srila Prabhupada did not like his disciples to perform artificial austerities. When one devotee appeared bare-chested in the cold at a Kumbha-mela, Prabhupada reprimanded him. On another occasion, in America , he teased his disciple Nara-Narayana, who came into the cold temple room wearing only a light T-shirt.

“Nara-Narayana,” said Prabhupada from the vyasasana, “you must be eating chickens.” The other devotees turned and stared.

“Yes,” said Prabhupada, “this is how the Mohammedans keep warm. Are you eating chickens, Nara-Narayana?”

“No, Srila Prabhupada.”

Prabhupada then began telling a story how the Mohammedans keep warm: “The system is that a man tries to eat one hundred chickens by eating a single chicken. A farmer will take a hundred chickens and then feed one of them to the ninety-nine. He then feeds another one to the remaining ninety-eight, and another one to the remaining ninety-seven. Finally, when there are only two chickens left, he feeds one chicken to the other. Then that chicken is fed to the emperor. In that way, it is considered that he is eating one hundred chickens.”

As a result of reading this, I decided to give up my artificial austerity of going barefoot in December. After harinama in Navadvipa, I decided to look for some shoes. The people in Bengal are so short the stores do not carry size 11. Size 10 is the largest. Thus I tried on at least five pairs of shoes before finding something that fit. Because the top part is cloth, at least they won't give me blisters, like the five pairs that were stolen. We will see if my big toe wears a hole in the top of them before too long, or more likely, if someone rips them off. I will keep them indoors at night to be safe. At any rate, they were only 135 rupees ($3) and if they last the winter, I will be grateful.

World Vedic Civilization and Macrocosm Within the Microcosm

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 2, Chapter 1

The knowledge of the soul, God, and their relationship is called para-vidya. Other knowledge in the Vedas is called apara-vidya. This other knowledge can become para-vidya if it is used in Krishna's service. Non-Vedic knowledge can also become para-vidya when used in Krishna 's service.

Suhotra Swami:

The sahajiyas accept Krishna is their worshipable Deity but do not perform any abhideya (approved process to attain Him).

Boredom and pride cause one to fall from the mode of goodness.

The whole Vedic civilization fell apart because people did not transcend the mode of goodness and come to the transcendental platform of pure goodness. Instead the mode of goodness became mixed with passion and ignorance as the false ego of pride developed in first the brahmanas (intellectuals) and then the ksatriyas (administrators).

Temples in Turkey that have been unearthed have inscriptions with the names of Hindu gods on them.

In Memphis, Egypt, in 500 B.C., there were Indians worshiping Hindu deities.

Temples in South American, as well as Egypt and India, were built using the same mathematical and astronomical principles.

They are fourteen centers along the spinal column where the nadis meet. These correspond to the fourteen planetary systems.

Because the macrocosm (the universe) is represented within the microcosm (our body), the many descriptions of the universe in the Srimad-Bhagavatam are relevant to our lives.

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami: Krishna dasa Kaviraja Goswami says in his Sri Caitanya-caritamrita that as soon as a person becomes sincere, Krishna sends a bona fide spiritual master to enlighten the person.

Suhotra Swami: There is a devotee who originally hated the Hare Krishnas, and so he stole a book from a devotee book distributor. The devotee ran after him but could not catch him. Ultimately the thief read the book and became a devotee himself.

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami: In difficult situations we take shelter of those things that give security. Ultimately our emotions must be directed toward Krishna. Therefore in whatever position we find ourselves, we should hear about Krishna from a devotee who has faith in Krishna.

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami on Relationship, Culture, and Sanskrit

Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 2, Chapter 1

Krishna acts according to scripture although He can do anything. The relationships described in the scriptures are how he likes relationships to go and if we follow the scriptural direction we will get the best out of a relationship.

If you think of Krishna as a big, nasty guy, then Krishna will act like a big, nasty guy. If you think He is adorable, like the residents of Vrindavana do, then he will be most adorable.

We are all goal-oriented, either to please ourselves, to please God, or to please others with the expectation that we will also become pleased.

Krishna is looking to see that one performs penance to benefit others.

Q: How are we supposed to relate to the people that we are preaching to?
A: You have to think about presenting the information in such a way that they will be interested to hear. Most people would be willing to consider that they are lay people and a practicing spiritualist may have something to offer them, so that is not the problem, although often we think that is the problem. Generally we do not have a problem with the philosophy but with the culture of relating to people.

Once in America there was a poll taken about religion. It came out in the poll that millions of people identified themselves as Hare Krishnas. They thought that the Hare Krishnas had the best philosophy, but that they had the worst attitude.

First you have to be comfortable with yourself. No one will follow you if you are not comfortable with yourself. People comfortable with themselves are attractive to people who are not comfortable with themselves.

Maharaja was sitting on a subway car in New York City, happily talking with another devotee, when a man came up to them and asked them if they had some practice that made them so happy, which he could also follow. The person was so shocked to see people happily conversing on a New York subway!

In Srila Prabhupada's books in many places the superior position of a husband in relationship to his wife is mentioned. However, if you notice all the husband-wife dealings in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and Mahabharata, you do not see any macho, exploitative males, not even one. So the literature also teaches the application in the culture, but unfortunately many people miss that. Krishna is masculine and His energies are all feminine, but how does Krishna relate with His energies, forcefully? No, sensitively.

Q: Is there a difference between penance, sacrifice, and austerity?
A: In all three there is restriction for some superior benefit. It could be said that penance is sambandha, sacrifice is abhideya, and austerity is prayojana.

Srila Prabhupada said that of mundane subjects, Sanskrit is the most important. Sanskrit can teach us how language functions. Knowing that, we can use English more effectively.

Later I mentioned what Maharaja said about Sanskrit to Vidvan Gauranga Prabhu, my Sanskrit teacher. He had mentioned that he had been to a Gaudiya Math to pick up some Sanskrit and Bengali commentaries on some Upanisads. The person there said that actually you people from ISKCON are the only people who buy these books. Bhaktivinoda Thakura wanted Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to write these books establishing Vaishnavism on the basis of these scriptures. Otherwise the world will only have the Mayavadi misinterpretation of them. The Gaudiya Math people are all into the rasika literature, which was around even then, but Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati Thakura was more interested in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, Vedanta Sutra, Upanisads, etc. If it wasn't for you people in ISKCON, this emphasis would be forgotten. Please don't let it happen. It is up to you.

Vidvan said that in India no scholar takes you seriously as a Vaishnava scholar unless you are fluent in Sanskrit and have read the original texts and the commentaries on them.

A Visit with Sri Prahlada Prabhu

Today a disciple of Bhakti Caru Swami named Srivasa Prabhu, who was recently married, sponsored a feast for the whole Mayapur community. At the feast, I sat next to Sri Prahlada Prabhu, who I knew from the Polish tour. I asked him if he had any special appreciation of the Mayapur dhama from living here. He mentioned how it is easier to perform devotional service here and harder to get into maya. He said he is personally attracted to more of the pilgrimage places in Vrindavana, but he read about Mayapur to cultivate an appreciation for it. In the course of his reading, he found out that the area from the grhastha housing project to the Jalangi River corresponds to the gardens around Radha-kunda in the Vrindavana area. Also the place where Lord Caitanya first met Lord Nityananda is just behind the housing project. At the Radhastami feast in Mayapur, he asked a visiting Gaudiya Math sannyasi if it would be better to be in Varsana, the residence of Srimati Radharani, on that most holy day. The sannyasi said no, it is better in Mayapur because in Mayapur one's offenses are not considered, only one's devotion. Mayapur dhama ki, jaya!

Suhotra Swami, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 2, Chapter 1

When Mahamaya got initiated by Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada explained, “Mahamaya is another phase of Srimati Radharani.”

Laksmi acts either as Laksmi or Maya depending on how we approach her.

In the Sixth Canto, Chapter Nineteen, Kasyapa glorifies the worship of Laksmi-Narayana and explains the whole Bhagavata philosophy in just a few verses.

In the Second Canto it is described that the Lord draws energy from the marginal energy to run the cosmic manifestation.

Lord Buddha said his dharma would last one thousand years. His leading disciple told him that there are many young women who want to become nuns. Buddha said that that was alright, they could come, but in that case, his dharma would last only five hundred years. This is written in the Buddhist scripture itself.

Lord Buddha defeated the best Vedic scholars who knew the Vedas backwards and forwards. If God wants to preach atheism, then who can defeat Him?

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami mentioned that we generally do not tell new people that Laksmi can present herself as either the spiritual or material energy, because in the beginning it is important to clearly understand the difference between the spiritual and the material.

Devotion Transforms Matter into Spirit

12/5/06 Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami class on Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 2, Chapter 1
One thousand names of Vishnu is equal one name of Rama. Three names of Rama are equal to one name of Krishna (SB 1.19.6, purport).

Due to ignorance people think that they can get something for nothing. Materialists capitalize on this weakness of the people by arranging schemes like lotteries to make money for themselves. Devotees have nothing to do with either of these mentalities. They act in spiritual knowledge.

The first step of God realization is to learn to see everything is a manifestation of God's energy, although we initially have difficulty seeing in it that way. Thus, everything that we value is actually Krishna. Therefore Krishna is always there for us, while nobody else is always there for us.

Q: When something is engaged in devotional service does it change physically?
A: Does a copper wire change when electricity goes through it? The effect is different, and the effect is what matters. When a devotee speaks through the microphone the cit potency from the devotee enters the sound and affects the audience, who hears it, in a spiritual way. A nondevotee speaking the same sound would not have the same effect.

One mataji tells that a Kirlian photographer took a picture of some prasadam after it was offered, and it had a nice aura around it.

Maharaja said that we are so affected by the influence of the prominent shaktas of the age (the modern scientists who are devoted to the material energy) that we think that things have to change physically for the change to be significant.

If a brahmacari is happy with the food that is given to him, it will nourish his body, but if he is dissatisfied with it, it will destroy his body.

We are instructed to absorb our mind and intelligence in the Lord fully. The prohibitions exist for those who cannot do that.

Devotional service can attract the karmis by giving them the relationship they always wanted, and it can attract the jnanis by initially giving them the liberation they want and ultimately giving them higher spiritual pleasure of devotional relationships.

After class my friend Santi Parayana Prabhu, while convincing another friend of mine to take the Bhaktivaibhava course, mentioned that the elder Maha Vishnu Goswami tells a story of someone named Kaccha that illustrates the importance of knowledge. The conclusion is that one must be willing to die three times to get knowledge. I later found the colorful story of Kaccha on the Internet: http://www.indiayogi.com/content/indgods/kaccha.asp

Jayadvaita Swami, Questions and Answers on Dhruva Maharaja's Pastimes

Q: Although the association of devotees is glorified we see in Dhruva's case, he had such brief association with Narada, while most of the time he performed austerities alone.
A: A little association of a devotee is all that is needed for one who takes the instruction seriously. Prabhupada did not have so much physical association with his guru, but he took his instruction to heart.
Once during the Communist times Srila Prabhupada told a devotee to back to his country of Hungary and preach. The devotee was worried that he may not be able leave Hungary again to associate with the devotees. Srila Prabhupada told him not to worry for it did not matter if he never left Hungary again.

Modern means to do what feels good to you (or does not feel artificial). Vedic means to do what is your duty. If people always did what they felt like doing, the world would be in more of a mess than it already is.

Q: Can you explain why the following statement by Narada is true. “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.”
A: Well, just think about it. If you are respectful with your superiors, friendly with your equals, and compassionate to juniors, how would you feel? Pretty good, wouldn't you? Uncongenial dealings between people tend to cause a lot of distress.
Srimati Mataji: Could it be that once one gets to such a level of consciousness when he can act properly with others, naturally he will be detached from the distresses of the world?
Krishna-kripa Das: The discussion reminds me in Bhagavad-gita 6.8-9, Krishna says an advanced soul sees arrangements of matter equally, but a more advanced soul can deal with people equally.

While talking about dealing with difficulties, Jayadvaita Swami tells how he was talking with one fellow who had been in the Vietnam War. When the man was recounting his experiences it was clear that all the troubles he went through were the most memorable things. Jayadvaita Swami recalls the time the devotees produced the 17 volumes of Caitanya-caritamrita in two months. It was very intense but a memorable ecstatic experience.

Q: Although Dhruva bathed in the Yamuna and lived in Mahavana, the Lord appeared to Him as Narayana rather than Krishna. Why?
A: Maharaja and the students offered many speculations, but he concluded that we will find out when we attain the spiritual world or we meet someone a lot more qualified than him. Some of the suggestions were:
• That Narada had described the Narayana form of God to Dhruva, and thus it was what he was meditating on.
• Narayana was Narada's own worshipable deity as he worshiped the Lord in opulence.
• Narada knew Dhruva's svarupa was with Narayana, and so he instructed Dhruva thus.

Q: How does sense gratification destroy mercy?
A: Arunzeb put his father in jail to take his kingdom. The U.S.A. killed 600,000 people in Iraq in the recent war to protect their oil interests. The cigarettes manufacturers know what cigarettes do to people's health yet they are always making plans to get innocent young people addicted to them so they can make money.

Q: Austerity is sometimes said to make one's heart harder, yet Dhruva Maharaja performed so many austerities. How do we know what austerities to perform so that our heart will not become hard?
A: That is why the spiritual master is required, to select the austerities. Not that we say no to all austerities claiming that we want to keep our heart soft for Krishna and austerity might make it hard.

Q: I have heard that things get really hard after second initiation why is that?
A: I have not heard that anywhere. Where does it say that Krishna makes life difficult for people after second initiation?

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 1, Chapter 19

Devotional service is very simple. It can be attained in a moment. It is a matter of changing perspective. We just have to change our idea that we are the controller and enjoyer to the idea that God is the controller and enjoyer. The whole thing is to convince our mind that devotional service is OK. We worry about losing our identity. If I give up my material identity, will I be maintained? Will things go OK?

We are materially attached because we are in illusion thinking that the material world is eternal and full of happiness. Thus the Bhagavatam is always reminding us that this world is temporary and full of misery. It is not required to tell people that material endeavor is useless since by knowing this world is temporary and miserable, people can figure it out.

Vedic principles involve applying transcendental ideas to the material world.

When devotees would criticize other devotees Srila Prabhupada would correct them by telling them to first take up the service of those they were criticizing, and then they could criticize.

An uttama-bhakti (first class devotee) can be in bhava or prema . From bhava one can fall down, as did King Bharata. So a first class devotee can fall down, contrary to what some people think.

Varnasrama is to insure the depth and quality of the relationships between people so they are satisfied physically, mentally, and emotionally, and can thus peacefully execute their spiritual duties. It is not an economic system. Economics is there so that the other can go on.

Fire analogy: Let say you have a big pile of wood. Some is dry. Some is wet. Some has mud on it. Some has lichens growing on it. And you have a little flame. So what do you focus on, the little flame or the big pile of wood with all its little defects? If you focus on the flame, in time the pile of wood will become a lump of ashes. A devotee focuses on the flame.

In varnasrama one is classified according to one's prominent interests, activities, and abilities, as persons may have characteristics of multiple varnas or asramas.

It is not a problem that people have anarthas (unwanted desires) in the heart. It is a problem when they do not identify them and try to purify or remove them.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura advised that periodically we should analyze our situation and try to increase the quality of our service. If we understand where we are actually at, then we can see how to progress.

Our strategy should be to adjust our situation so the anarthas do not bother the spark of devotion we are fanning. While doing this cultivation, we should focus on the spark of devotion not the anarthas.

Bhagavatam Meditations

11/22/06 Notes on Jayadvaita Swami’s lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.9.23
Srila Prabhupada reminds us that the tapasya (austerity) by which Krishna is realized is the devotional service of the Lord, and nothing more. The energy of devotional service is the Lord’s most intimate energy.
Usually we hear penance is voluntary acceptance of discomfort for the purpose of spiritual advancement. Here we learn that penance is also the uncomfortable situation that we are stuck in by the mercy of the Lord.
Material enjoyment is based on the false conception of ourselves as enjoyers of the world. Actually we are servants of the Supreme Enjoyer, Krishna.
Just as when the pillars of a building are removed the building comes crashing down, similarly our sinful existence comes to an end when we give up its pillars, meat-eating, intoxication, illicit sex, and gambling.
The more we serve Krishna, the more we realize that the best thing is simply service to Krishna.
In Goloka, the spiritual abode of Krishna, they all serve Krishna without calculation of self-interest.

Q: Bhagavad-gita 7.28 says we have to be free from sinful reactions to engage in devotional service. What then is our position?
A: The verse actually says that if we are free from sins we can engage in devotional service with determination. We can, however, begin devotional service from before that point.

Our sinful desires are compared to seeds and the process of devotional service is compared to a fire which can fry so many seeds, making them unable to sprout. Sometimes we say that “we are fried” [when we have too much engagement]. Better that we aspire that our sinful desires may be fried.

Bhaktivaibhava Canto 4, Chapter 9, Verses 1-26, Gaura Krishna Prabhu

“Transcendental devotional service cannot be complete and cannot be relishable without the association of devotees. We have therefore established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Anyone who is trying to be aloof from this Krishna Consciousness Society and yet engage in Krishna consciousness is living in a great hallucination, for this is not possible” (SB 4.9.11, purport).

satam prasangan mama virya-samvido
bhavanti hrit-karna-rasayanah kathah
taj-josanad asv apavarga-vartmani
sraddha ratir bhaktir anukramisyati

“In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin” (SB 3.25.25).

Who can realize the Absolute Truth?
"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed." [Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23]

My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years” (SB 10.14.29).

Bhaktivaibhava Canto 4, Chapters 1-7, Srimati Mataji
Srimati Mataji had a well organized presentation that she obviously put a lot of time into.
False identification is the cause of our entanglement in material life. We must remember that we are all in Lord Caitanya’s drama, and we are just playing different roles (such as brahmacari or grhasta) for the satisfaction of the Lord.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura once said regarding the necessity of chastisement, “You cannot move a buffalo with a peacock feather.”

Nama-hatta Program

We went to a nama-hatta program with some other devotees; some other students and some friends from the Polish festival tour. The organizers like the foreign devotees to tell something about how they came to Krishna consciousness, and they translate it into Bengali for the audience. Then two Mayapur managers spoke for over half an hour each. One told a feature of the Brahma-mohana lila that I had never heard before. Apparently Paurnamasi knew of Krishna's expanding Himself as all the cowherd boys for one year, and she told the young girls of Vrindavana that that was a very auspicious year to get married, and in this way, the young girls were able to fulfill their desire to marry Krishna, who had expanded Himself into all the cowherd boys for that year.

During the Bhoga-arati song I tried to sing along from the Bengali song book, but I still can't read Bengali fast enough to sing without getting behind. It will certainly be a challenge for me to learn Bengali.

The kirtanas by the Bengali devotees are so lively it is like a festival, and there was much dancing. My friend, Dina Dayal Prabhu, was not feeling very eager to partcipate in the kirtana at first, but it was so lively by the end he was completely absorbed in the chanting and dancing.

One lady was so touched to see the complete happiness of the devotees, that she cried for half an hour.

The prasadam was great as usual. There were even chapatis, which are a little rare in Bengal, compared to the ever present rice. The sweet rice was very nice!

I met a godsister of mine, Nitai-priya devi dasi, who I knew from her posts on the Internet. We talked about her great success in selling Guru Maharaja's books in Vrindavana and made some plans for Vyasa Puja on December 1.

I am trying to post something every day on this blog beginning with today. Krishna in His form of Time will tell how well I do.

Questions and Answers by Jayadvaita Swami

Jadavaita Swami class on Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 2, Chapter 15, Text 15
When Brahma attained perfection he did not merge into the impersonal feature of God. Rather he saw the beautiful features of the Lord, the Supreme Person, and he came to understand his own personal nature as well. The devotees serve the Lord with affection, and the Lord reciprocates affectionately (Bg. 4.11).
A rich man if he wants to create a building, he will not move the bricks by himself. He will hire a contractor who will worry about that. Similarly, if he wants to destroy a building, he also hires a contractor. However to maintain a building, he will oversee the operation himself to make sure it is being done properly. It is similar with Lord Vishnu, who delegates creation to Brahma and destruction to Siva, and who sees to the maintenance Himself.

Q: Why is the all-knowing Lord surrounded by the Vedas to instruct him?
A: To set an example.

Q: How can we understand Goluka is more opulent than Vaikuntha?
A: Real opulence is devotion. A beautiful rural setting is also opulent. In Goluka, Krishna can do as He likes without worrying about formality. This is also opulence.

The gopis, who are the most celebrated of Krishna’s devotees, appreciate the service of Govardhan Hill and each of the other residents of Vrindavana. They do not think “We are the exalted gopis and this Govardhan is just a pile of rocks.”

Jayadvaita Swami, Canto 4, Chapter 4, “Sati Quits Her Body”

Q: Could you discuss the statement that “divorce is generally caused womanly weakness”?
A: Srila Prabhupada was commenting on the phrase in the verse ”straina-vimudha-dhih”, bewildered feminine nature. A summary of the discussion is that women tend to be more emotional than men and because of that they may not choose the best course of action and that will lead to bad result, as is the case here with Sati.

He tells a story that Socrates sent out the women after he took the hemlock poison because they would react emotionally to his dying. When Plato and some of Socrates’ male followers began to lament, Socrates said, “Do not grieve like that. That is why I sent the women out.”

Q: Why is Sati considered chaste if she disobeyed her husband’s order?
A: Because generally she obeyed her husband’s order. This was an exception.

Maharaja asked an older lady in the class for her realization. She said she agreed that women definitely need to be protected.
Although from the spiritual platform we are equal, we have to take into account the material situations. If souls with male bodies unrestrictedly associate with souls with female bodies, souls with children’s bodies will result, so we have to take into account distinctions.
Generally we have not been able to assimilate aspects of Vedic culture such as respect for seniors or respect for mothers, which almost all civilized cultures have. We should teach Vaishnava culture along with the Bhakti-sastri course.

Q: What should I do if someone starts speaking negatively about devotees?
A: Following in the footsteps of Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami, you can say “all I know is that all the Vaishnavas are engaged in the Lord’s service.” Or you can change the topic of the discussion.

Bhaktivaibhava Canto 4, Atul Krishna Prabhu

Once Srila Prabhupada defined a falldown as being accidental, if the devotee comes back.

At the Ardha Kumbha-mela, Atul Krishna Prabhu told how the although the Viprasanna yajna adherents try with great endeavor to light their yajna fire by mantra, they would always give up and use a match. We understand that actually only the sankirtana yajna, congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is recommended for this age, as other processes are not practical.

“The way to get out of illusory maya is to engage in the topics of Krishna. Lord Caitanya advocated a process whereby everyone may remain in his present position without change but simply hear from the proper authoritative sources about Krishna. Lord Caitanya advised everyone to spread the word of Krishna. He advised, ‘All of you become spiritual masters. Your duty is simply to talk to whomever you meet of Krishna or of the instructions given by Krishna.’ The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is operating for this purpose” (SB 4.7.44, purport).

The Dangers of Criticizing Others

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 1, Chapter 6

Krishna cannot be attained by following the rules and regulations.

Vaishnava association is the foundation of our spiritual life. We have to learn how to appreciate the Vaishnavas. If you feel it is your business to find fault with devotees when it is not (when you are not playing the role of their spiritual superior, guru, teacher, parents, etc.) then you are in a dangerous position. The ability to find fault should be applied to ourselves, without pride, to make advancement by giving up our bad qualities.

The jiva (individual soul) is always small and dependent, and thus we must always follow the devotees, even in the spiritual world. If we analyze how we joined the Hare Krishna movement we will see it was due to association with some devotee. We advance by appreciating the good qualities of the devotees. We avoid falling down by avoiding association of people with bad qualities.

If we criticize someone, according to Mahabharata, we take on their bad qualities. If someone criticizes us and we do not get angry, that person takes your bad qualities.

Lord Caitanya said he would distribute the accumulated sinful reactions of the most evil Jagai and Madhai to those people who criticize the Lord's devotees.

In India many people know the Vedic culture but not so much the philosophy. In the Hare Krishna movement, we tend to assimilate the philosophy, but we have not really embraced the culture.

In preparing Mahabharata Vyasadeva watered down the philosophy so much to make it accessible to the people in general that it had lost the potency to be effective. [When Maharaja said that it made me wonder if we sometimes do that in our own preaching strategies. At least we should be careful not to.]

If one has strong faith in eternal damnation, it means he has little faith in the power of devotional service to God.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita:
• Do your duty
• In knowledge
• Without attachment
• Thinking of Krishna
• For the pleasure of Krishna

We tend to have problems understanding the first three.

Notes on Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 4, Chapter 4 (entitled “Sati Quits Her Body”) discussion: In a discussion about using anger in God's service, Sarvabhauma Prabhu reminded us of this pastime:
Someone asked Srila Prabhupada, “Is God love?”
Prabhupada replied, “Yes, but God is also hate.”
God hates to see innocent devotees tortured by the demoniac.

“One should be extremely careful about associating with persons who are not respectful to the higher authorities” (SB 4.4.26). This applies to persons within and outside the Hare Krishna movement.

We can learn from the chapter on Sati's quitting her body.
• We should not hear blamphemy of great souls.
• We should try to rectify blamphemers.
• Having all material facility without pure devotional service doesn't satisfy our soul.

Nama-hatta Program

We left around 6:30 a.m. to go to a nama-hatta program about three hours away in a town called Arambhag. It started with a harinama, which they call nagar-sankirtana here in Bengal. Our vehicle got lost and took four and a half hours on some very bumpy roads to get there, so we missed the harinama. We got here in time for breakfast prasadam at 11:00 a.m. Then there was a snack of fruit at 1:00 p.m. and lunch at 2:00 p.m. It made me smile as I recalled that Ayur Veda recommends eating meals six hours apart! I practiced harmonium singing my Radhanatha Swami tune and another sweet tune with Caru Candra Prabhu playing the drum as the other devotees rested after lunch. The program started at 4:00 p.m. It was outdoors and it is estimated two thousand people came. We did some bhajanas and then several of us foreign students told a little about how we came to join the Hare Krishna movement and what our realizations were. I was satisfied to hear the variety of stories that the devotees told, thinking they would appeal to a variety of people. Some devotees warned the Bengalis not to abandon their spiritual culture and imitate the Western materialism, which we have personally experienced does not satisfy the soul. It was also nice to see the great enthusiasm of the Bengali audience for the chanting of the devotees. After the program, we had hot milk and some more prasadam, for the fourth time! You never go hungry on these programs. That is for sure. We returned home at 11:30 p.m.

Airport Meditation

I am sitting on the floor in the departure lounge at Borispil airport in Kiev . I came to the airport with Niranjana Swami who is traveling to Moscow as I travel to Delhi. I scanned a 900-page book for him with a digital camera with some help from some other devotees, and we stopped at a store on the way to the airport because he wanted to buy me a digital camera as gift because I didn't have one. He couldn't find a model that had a matching flash card, so it didn't work out, but I appreciate his kind sentiment. I ended up only sleeping two hours the last night as I wanted to complete the scanning of the book before I left.

The Ukrainian devotees had a very lively kirtana for Niranjana Swami 's departure, and they packed nice prasadam for both of us. I praised him for his training the devotees to be so respectful and having such a serving attitude to the senior devotees. I told him I was thinking of doing a seminar at Odessa, and I proposed to speak on the first four verses of Nectar of Instruction. He thought that was a good idea. Bhagavad-gita is often discussed, but Nectar of Instruction, although highly relevant to our lives, is less so.

It was nice to meet some very nice disciples of Niranjana Swami who came to Kiev to spend this holiday season of Karttika with their spiritual master.

Niranjana Swami walked past me on his way to his plane. He said he made one last attempt to find me a digital camera in the airport, but they did not have any there. He gave a little devotee girl, who is also going to India with her parents, a sweet from his lunch, and he also gave one to me. And he told me to keep in touch with him.

Notes on Dhanesvara Prabhu's class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.10.3

Now that there is an increase in communications, there is talk of a world government. International treaties are the beginning of this. Generally, however, many people protest such treaties. People are distrustful because of the corruption of the government.

Historically the brahmanas, the intellectual class, abused their power and become degraded. Then the ruling class abused their kingly positions, and were overthrown. Now the productive class is trying to exercise governmental power, but they are also corrupt. Thus the laborer class will try to take control as they did with communism. Democracy is destined to fail due to lack of spiritual vision. All these ideologies for ruling society are imperfect and will fail because of neglect of the supreme truth. Srimad-Bhagavatam offers of a description of a perfect God-centered government. When people read Srila Prabhupada's books, they can learn of the actual qualifications for true leaders and demand them.

In the CIS countries there are many people looking for a superior ideology. So there is an opportunity to interest these people in the God-centered society described in Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Srila Prabhupada said that history will record how the Krishna consciousness movement saved the world in its darkest hour.

Q: If all but the five Pandavas were killed in the Battle of Kuruksetra, who was there left to play the role of leaders.
A: It is a fact that most of the administrator class was killed in the war, but the brahmanas recreate the administrative class when it becomes dysfunctional or nonexistent.

Government does not need to be complicated to take care of the material needs of society. But due to selfishness, we make things unnecessarily complicated. We cannot elect better leaders, because it is our karma to get the corrupt leaders we have, but if we give up our sinful activities, we will deserve better leaders. Srila Prabhupada said a Vaishnava leader would immediately close all the slaughterhouses, gambling casinos, and liquor shops, and thus put an end to all these sinful activities.

Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day in Kiev

Notes on Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day Lecture by Krishna-kripa Dasa

There were three Prabhupada disciples in Kiev , but all declined to give the morning lecture, two being sick and the other feeling unqualified, and so I got to speak again about Srila Prabhupada. I was enthusiastic from the previous night, although I had only slept a total of at most five hours, one and a half of them in the van coming back from Charnigov. The class went for almost two hours, but I can only remember some of it now. I went through the different verses of Gurvastakam relating them to Srila Prabhupada's life. For the second verse, I told how Prabhupada had been feeling ill, but participated in the London Ratha-yatra, dancing ecstatically the entire 4 km route. To see Prabhupada dancing, made the devotees even more wild than usual. A policeman realized this and told Prabhupada's servants to stop him from dancing, but the devotees did not like the idea of a policeman telling such a liberated spiritual personality as Prabhupada what he should do, so they did nothing and Prabhupada danced the whole time. For the fourth verse, I told about how Prabhupada came into the middle of a kirtana when the devotees were chanting the Gurvastakam prayers, and he mentioned that he liked verse four the best. That verse tells how the guru is pleased that the devotees offer nice food to the Lord, and they are satisfied to take the Lord's remnants as prasadam. I also told how Srila Prabhupada kept a jar of gulabjamons, or ISKCON bullets, as the devotees call them, in the storefront temple, to keep his followers from frequenting the ice cream and doughnut shops. The fifth verse tells how the spiritual master relishes the loving affairs between Radha and Krishna . I mentioned that some people look to other sources for more realization about Radha and Krishna, but before they do that they might consider how dear Srila Prabhupada is to the divine couple for establishing Their worship in a hundred temples all over the world and how great his realization of Their glory must actually be to be blessed with that service. I also included some points I made the previous night in Charnigov, as no one had heard that lecture. It was very nice to remember Srila Prabhupada and to help others remember him on his disappearance day, and I was grateful that I was given the rare opportunity to speak about Srila Prabhupada on that auspicious day.

Several Devotees Speak in the Evening about Srila Prabhupada

Niranjana Swami said Srila Prabhupada prayed to Krishna in a mood of helplessness, “I wish you to deliver the people, but whatever is your will.” Srila Prabhpuada created ISKCON and left the boat of his teachings which will benefit humanity for years to come. Srila Prabhupada was confident that anyone who chants sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra and gives up the four sinful acts will attain Krishna 's mercy in this life. We have to follow Srila Prabhupada back to Godhead. Although Srila Prabhupada's disappearance was a cause of lamentation, he left his teachings in his books.

Dhanesvara Prabhu explains how Srila Prabhupada was everything for his devotees who felt that their parents, their government, and their society had let them down. The devotees mostly were under thirty and felt greatly dependent on Prabhupada's guidance. Prabhupada gave them permission to pray, “Dear Krishna, if it is your desire, keep Srila Prabhupada here with us.” Personally Srila Prabhupada was indifferent to staying or going. Srila Prabhupada once said, “You cannot imagine the bliss I was experiencing in Vrindavana.” Yet he came to the West and so many people became devotees because he desired it. Similarly, we must also desire that people be delivered.

Sri Nataji Prabhu, a senior brahmacari, knows Srila Prabhupada through his books and followers. Sri Nataji felt bad when his guru left, but hearing the pastimes of Srila Prabhupada which the devotees told at Krinnitsa, he felt a personal connection with him. Seeing his compassion we should be inspired to spread his movement. I read Srila Prabhupada's books and hear his tapes, and I love them.

Bhagavatacarya Prabhu, temple president of our Danesk temple, recalls Prabhupada said, “If you want my association, read my books.” He laments the decline of book distribution in recent years, and he prays to Srila Prabhupada to be able to help his mission.

Acyuta Priya Prabhu, regional secretary for Ukraine , reminds us that we should always meditate on great souls like Srila Prabhupada. He tells a story related by a priest at a temple in Santipura at Advaita Acarya's residence. The priest said that one gentleman would come regularly who wore a white dhoti and would chant very intently, bow down, and thank the priest for his service. He stopped coming for a while, and then later came as a sannyasi. The priest inquired about him and he explained that his spiritual master had given him an almost impossible mission to spread Lord Caitanya's teachings in the West and that the next day he was leaving Calcutta by boat to America . Later the priest saw some Western devotees, which was a new sight for him. One showed him a BTG magazine and the priest saw a picture of Prabhupada in it and recognized that he was the gentleman who had visited his temple. He came to Mayapur and told the devotees that story.

Visit to Charnigov, the Northernmost City in Ukraine

While at the Odessa festival, some devotees from the congregation in Charnigov invited me to come to their temple, and so I said I would come if there was time in my schedule. Charnigov is north of Kiev almost two hours by bus. To get there we took a trolley to the metro, to the bus. I was given a guide to put me on the bus, and the leader of the Charnigov congregation, Giridhari Prabhu, kindly picked me up. I chose to speak about Srila Prabhupada as tomorrow is the anniversary of his disappearance. I mentioned how Lord Caitanya predicted back in the 1500s His holy name would spread all over the world. In the 1800s Bhaktivinoda Thakura predicted that in a short time that prophecy would be fulfilled. He also prayed to the Lord for a son who could help him in his mission. That son, Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Goswami, encouraged many of his disciples to preach in the West, but Srila Prabhupada because of his great faith and determination, was able to succeed. So Srila Prabhupada is a very dear devotee of Lord Caitanya who assisted Him in His mission just like Haridasa Thakura, Rupa Goswami, and the other eternal associates of the Lord we hear about in Sri-Caitanya-caritamrita. Prabhupada said he was successful in his mission because of his faith in his guru and in the holy name. I read some quotes from Prabhupada Nectar describing Prabhupada's thoughts on education, his preaching spirit, the power of his books, and his explanation of how we can serve him personally although physically separated from him. I also told a story of how a siksa guru of mine had some difficulty, and I had bowed down to Srila Prabhupada's murti in the temple and prayed to Prabhupada to give me solace in that situation. A couple days later a godsister of mine said she had a dream of Srila Prabhupada and that I was also in it. In the dream, Srila Prabhupada said, “Krishna-kripa is my disciple.” That godsister had no way of knowing I had prayed to Prabhupada as I rarely spoke with her and I hadn't told her about my prayer. In this way, I can see that Srila Prabhupada is present and will reciprocate with us if we approach him, and therefore we should not lament thinking we have no access to Srila Prabhupada. He is still here in his books, in the association of his followers, and in his murti in the temple, and he will reciprocate with us.

Dhanesvara Prabhu, who was looking for land in the area to build a varnasrama community, arrived at the end of my lectures, and I invited him to speak about Srila Prabhupada. He told about the context of a Srila Prabhupada quote I had heard many times, “All of you have joined because of prasadam. Even you! [he said pointing to the temple president]” Prabhupada had been talking about prasadam with the Radha-Damodara devotees and others. The devotees told him about a pakora-eating contest in which one brahmacari had put twelve cauliflower pakoras in his mouth and was chewing them when someone came from behind and slapped his cheeks and the half-eaten pakoras came out of his mouth. It was after hearing many such stories that Prabhupada had made that famous quote.

The first time Dhanesvara Prabhu met Prabhupada, when Prabhupada chanted the “Jaya Om” prayers after the kirtana, Dhanesvara Prabhu alone did not bow down, because the small temple room floor was packed full. Prabhupada made some indication to him, and he responded with a gesture, to indicate there was no room to bow down.

When Dhanesvara Prabhu got gayatri in Atlanta in 1975, Srila Prabhupada described to him how to wrap the sacred thread about his thumb three times, but somehow or other, he couldn't follow the explanation. Then Srila Prabhupada grabbed his thumb and wrapped his sacred thread three times around it. Dhanesvara Prabhu considered that it was his life's perfection to be touched by Krishna's pure devotee.

Brahmacari Darsana with Niranjana Swami

Mandala-pati Prabhu’s Receiving Brahmacari Cloth Ceremony

Maharaja jokes that it is like a press conference, because there are seven recording devices on the floor in front of him, yet his audience is supposed to be renounced brahmacaris.
The occasion is that one devotee is putting on saffron. He mentions that the senior brahmacaris are always happy to see new brahmacaris taking up the vows because they appreciate the value of the vow—the beauty and simplicity of brahmacari life. He mentions Srinathaji and Svarupa Damodara Prabhus, two very old senior brahmacaris. We have to experience real love for our guru and the other brahmacaris if we are going to give up the false love of the male and female relationships of this world. There are also householders who love the guru, and household life has helped get them to that point by showing them the illusory nature of male and female relationships.
Niranjana Swami tells how the early ISKCON brahmacaris had all their possessions in a BTG box in their sankirtana van. Until he was in charge of a nama-hatta program later on, he kept up that standard.
Keep your life simple. Do not keep too many possessions. Give up the consciousness that “this is mine.” The guru gives the brahmacari what he needs for his service. In household life it is difficult to understand the difference between what is needed and what is wanted. If you actually appreciate the great opportunity of the vow of brahmacarya affords for spiritual development, then you will rejoice when he receives his saffron clothes.

Damodara Caran Prabhu asked the senior brahmacaris to give the new man some advice.
My contribution was:
1. If you want to remain a brahmacari, you should be convinced of the truth of the verses describing the great misery, illusion, and bondage of male-female relationships (SB 3.31.35 and SB 11.14.30).
2. Service to guru is the sole occupation of the brahmacari.
3. A brahmacari’s day is composed of nothing but sadhana and service.
4. Inquire from sannyasis about how to remain steady in your vows.
5. Learn to love the sankirtana of the holy names.

Sri Nathaji Prabhu: Brahmacari vows are of two kinds: (1) naistika (never involved with women) and (2) who have been through male-female relationships, not being aware of the degradation. One can be a naistika brahmacari only if he has a taste for spiritual things. I came to KC at 39. When I heard that family life and sex life were not necessary it was a great joy. We had protection from temptation by performing sankirtana.
Visvasena Prabhu (In Saint Petersberg asrama, he was one of two out of forty who remained brahmacari.): Bhakti Vikas Swami quoted about brahmacaris that they are interested in the Absolute Truth. A disciple prays to his guru, “Bring me from darkness to light, ignorance to knowledge, death to eternal life.” Doing nama-hatta preaching, the householders reveal to me their suffering.
Svarupa Damodara Prabhu: My guru said, “One can remain brahmacari if he has hot kirtana, nice prasadam, and good association.” Marry Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Damodara Carana Prabhu: We have to love service. We have to work on developing our relationship with Krishna. We serve all other asramas and appreciate all devotees.

Notes on Doyal Gauranga Prabhu’s class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.49

We can learn from the chapter on the passing of Bhimsadeva, that we should preach even in difficult circumstances, as Bhimsadeva did to Yudhisthira from his bed composed of arrows shot through his body. We can learn from Yudhisthira not to be disturbed even if we lose everything.
It is said that Krishna does not give us tests that are too hard to pass.
When preaching Doyal Gauranga finds sometimes people think we are monks who do martial arts. He tells those people we have a stick and every day with beat our mind with it.
There is saying “what starts with anger ends with defamation.”
Great souls like Bhimsadeva and Yudhisthira were capable of seeing how Krishna is behind everything.
When Krishna came to Bhimsadeva who was sitting on a bed of arrows, Bhismadeva did not complain to Krishna, “How is it I am suffering with all these arrows through my body? It is not fair!”
One story illustrates how to see Krishna’s mercy: The King lost his finger in a hunting accident, and his minister said that it was Krishna’s mercy. The King was so upset with his minister’s opinion that he threw the minister in jail. Later the King was in the woods and was captured by a gang of thieves who wanted him for a human sacrifice. They washed his body and dressed him for the sacrifice, but the priest noticed that his finger was missing, and said that he was not suitable for the sacrifice, and so they released him. The King rejoiced and released his minister from jail, apologizing for imprisoning him. The minister did not take offense, saying, “That too was Krishna’s mercy. Otherwise I would have been accompanying you and the thieves would have sacrificed me!”
One devotee didn’t like the strict life in the temple, so he moved to an apartment and kept up with the chanting. Whenever he made some plan for enjoyment, he saw the image of Srila Prabhupada or his spiritual master, and he could not do it. Ultimately he moved back to the temple, very inspired, and shared his realization with the devotees.
Sacinandana Swami gave three ways to enhance our Krishna consciousness. One is to think when we look in the mirror, “This is not me, it is just my body.” The second is to step out of our situation and look at what we are doing from another point of view. The third is to try to see the hand of Krishna in everything.
Q: As a leader, I have to be aware of the faults of the devotees, but that is not good from the spiritual point of view.
A: Try to encourage the devotees in a positive way.

An incident from yesterday shows how this can be done. The kids came to the Govardhan Hill cake to get some before it was served out. The devotee slicing the cake knew that if he tried to keep them out, they would just become more determined to get in. Instead, he told the kids that they could have a very special service of guarding the cake and making sure people didn’t get in to take any before it was served out. The kids took that service very seriously and appointed one of the girls to be in charge of their security team. They had a lot of fun doing the service. In this way, they were positively engaged.

Govardhan Puja Festival in Kiev, Ukraine

We had a great harinama for the hour or so before the evening Govardhan Puja festival. We went to a place were many buses and trolleys stop and there are lots of little stands with people selling things. Many people walk by there to go to their buses. There were about twelve of us sitting down on a rectangular piece of carpet we had brought. We had harmonium, mrdanga, and karatalas as well as an amplifier. I danced to the side and back of our party. I was amazed by the number of people who put donations in the harmonium cover we set in front of the party. In America, we always have to put a few dollars in at the beginning to encourage the people to give, but here all kinds of people were giving some donation.

Notes on Niranjana Swami’s lecture on Govardhan Puja: Many great saints of the past have taken shelter of Govardhan Hill. Krishna is behind the worship of Govardhan Hill. This is why it has been going on for thousands of years and why we are observing it today. Krishna appreciates the roles that Govardhan Hill plays in His pastimes. Govardhan provides grass for the cows, water for bathing, minerals and ointments for decorating the body, and grassy fields to rest on.
Garga Samhita describes that Radharani did not want to come to the material world with Krishna when He invited Her. He had to promise that Vrindavana, Govardhan Hill, and the river Yamuna would also come as well. Govardhan appeared in this world as the son of Drona Acala, a mountain in Samalidvipa, and he was celebrated as the king of mountains. Pulastya Muni wanted to bring Govardhan with him to Kasi as a nice place to meditate, but it was agreed that Govardhan would come with Pulastya Muni only until that great sage set him down and there he would stop. When he came as far as Vrindvana, Govardhan manifested great heaviness and the sage was obliged to set him down, where he remained. Angered, the sage cursed him to be reduced in height by the size of one mustard seed each day, and thus the hill is getting shorter and shorter.
Govardhan is both Krishna and a devotee of Krishna.
The day after Govardhan Puja is a day when in Vedic culture sisters traditionally cook a feast for their brothers. Krishna has a humorous brahmana friend named Madhumangala. On that day Madhumangala’s sister cooked him a feast that even surpassed the Govardhan Puja feast the day before. He was so satisfied that he inquired, “Why is it that only one day a year, sisters cook for their brothers? Why is it not every day?”

Notes on Dhanesvara Prabhu’s lecture on Govardhan Puja: Lessons we can learn from the Govardhan pastime:
1. Krishna protects His devotee from undesirable reactions.
2. Krishna defeats the demons but merely removes the pride of his devotees.
3. The Vrindavana residents teach by their example to have no shelter but Krishna.

Notes on Srila Prabhupada lecture, SB 2.3.15, June 1, 1972, Los Angeles

Krishna consciousness is natural. It is already in everyone's heart. "Natural. Just like the children here, they are also dancing with their parents. They are offering flower, trying to imitate how to chant. Naturally. And they are very much pleased."

We should regularly attend the temple to hear about Krishna. Prabhupada tells how in one rich family's temple in Kanpur, the mother would fine the members of her family if they did not go to the temple. He says we should also do like that. "Anyone who is not attending mangala-arati should be fined. And the fine should be that he must sell one Krishna book."

He explains children born in such families where worship is practiced, imitate the worship, and become attracted by it, so much so they do not give it up.

"So nitya-siddha means he does not get covered by the influence of material nature about his natural devotional tendency to serve Krishna. . . . This is difference. Krishna gives him chance to get birth in such a family. Just like Pariksit Maharaja, that he never gets the chance of forgetting Krishna. So one who does not get the chance of forgetting Krishna is called nitya-siddha."

"A child cannot become a jnani. A child cannot become a yogi. But a child can become a bhakta. Therefore this is the easiest process. Pleasing. Everyone is pleased to execute this process."

He concludes by quoting the verse (SB 10.1.4) which describes that the animal killer or one who is killing himself will not be attracted to this simple, joyful process of hearing the glories of the Lord. Thus we prohibit animal killing as it is the greatest disqualification for understanding the Lord's glories.

Niranjana Swami's Sunday feast lecture

Although God is the supreme controller, He takes pleasure being controlled by His devotee. This is hard for one who is not a devotee to understand, but anyone who desires to understand will be able to understand.
It is not possible to be without desires. To desire to be in a state of desirelessness is also a desire. One who desires only devotional service is peaceful because he is without material desires. Because the devotee does not want anything from the Lord, the Lord gives Himself to the devotee. "If you want me to be your boy and chastise me with your stick, I will be afraid of your stick. I will really be afraid." The devotees can understand the pastimes because they can understand the power of love. Krishna does not enjoy by exploiting His servants, as goes on in the material world. Krishna enjoys by serving his devotees. Sometimes Krishna even cries out of love of his devotees. Krishna has the desire that all people love Him, although he is satisfied in himself. Thus love is most powerful because it can even control God. Krishna is easily obtainable by spontaneous devotional service. If we understand the holy name is Krishna, then we can easily have His association and there is nothing more valuable.
Q: What doesn't Krishna fulfill the desires of those who want to cease to exist?
A: Because the living entities are part of Krishna, they can not cease to exist.
The realization that there is no difference between Krishna and His name is the highest realization.

Dhanesvara Prabhu, Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.48

"Thereafter, Maharaja Yudhisthira at once went to his capital, Hastinapura, accompanied by Lord Sri Krishna, and there he consoled his uncle and aunt Gandhari, who was an ascetic."
Even advanced personalities require consolation in the case of the death of a close relative.
When he was in a plane that had a malfunctioning motor, he kept thinking "If it crashes, who will take care of my kids?", although he knew that ultimately Krishna will take care of his kids.
To console people we help them understand the actual situation because in their distress they see if from their own limited perspective.
We tend to take shelter of our property, social position, and relatives, and when we lose them we experience loss. As devotees, this is a test for us to see if we will take shelter of Krishna in that situation, for at the time of death, if we take shelter of Krishna, we can attain the eternal spiritual world.
One devotee practiced devotional service nicely for seven or eight years, but left the association of devotees for much of the rest of his life. Then he got some incurable disease and took up his devotional practices again. His disease was so painful he had a grimace on his face most of the time. Then at one point he got a smile on his face, looked around the room at the devotees present and exclaimed, "Prabhupada has not cheated us!" and left his body.
Natural superiors should encourage their subordinates to be the best persons they can be. To do this they must be free from envy (malice). We can best serve our subordinates by freeing ourselves from false ego and attaining the brahma-bhuta platform.

Krishna-kripa dasa, Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.46

O descendant of Bhrigu [Saunaka], after performing funeral rituals for the dead body of Bhismadeva, Maharaja Yudhisthira was momentarily overtaken with grief.

1 Yudhisthira was sorry for the separation of a great soul, and not for the material body which Bhismadeva relinquished.
a. The wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead (Bg. 2.11).
b. Prabhupada describes the relationship between Yudhisthira and Bhismadeva to help us understand Yudhisthira's feeling of separation at Bhismadeva's death.
"But Bhismadeva was always a sincerely sympathetic well-wisher, grandfather, friend and philosopher to Maharaja Yudhisthira, even up to the last moment of his life."
c. Narottama Dasa Thakura's Saparsada-bhagavad-viraha-janita-vilapa
[Lamentation Due to Separation From the Lord and His Associates (from Prarthana)]
1. the Vaishnavas he laments being separated from have qualities headed by
mercy
2 Bhismadeva waited for Yudhisthira's victory to depart this world.
a. He knew because Krishna protects His devotee, Yudhisthira's victory was certain.
3 Generally, the son performs the funeral ceremony.
4 It is a benediction to have highly qualified person perform the funeral ceremony.
a. Qualified sons are putra (delivers from hell) and unqualified are compared to mutra.
b. Ravana was killed by Lord Ramacandra and was destined for hellish life, but by Lord Ramacandra's advice, Vibhisana, Ravana's [pious] brother, performed all the duties prescribed in relation to the dead. Thus Lord Ramacandra was kind to Ravana even after Ravana's death (SB 9.10.29).
c. Gokarna story tells the value of having a pious brother who could save the sinful one.

My translator was Doyal Gauranga Prabhu, a friendly Ukrainian devotee I met in Mayapur last winter. He told me about his preaching in Munich, Germany, after class. It is nice to meet so many people I know here.

I talked to Niranjana Swami. He encouraged me in my plans to preach in America and Eastern Europe, especially in those places where I appear to make a difference and where people appreciate what I have to offer. I gave him a donation of 100 rubles ($4), which is truly insignificant, but a gesture of gratitude. He can use it when he goes to Russia next.

Dhanesvara Prabhu told a funny story how the visiting Radha-Damodara bus party brahmacaris were so hungry they ate the homemade vegetarian dog food he had in his refrigerator, not understanding what it was. They later mentioned that it didn't taste very good and inquired what it was.

Tapas Dasa from Norway living in Stockholm, Sweden, Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.47

"All the great sages then glorified Lord Sri Krishna, who was present there, by confidential Vedic hymns. Then all of them returned to their respective hermitages, bearing always Lord Krishna within their hearts."
Lord Caitanya can be pleased by one who is simply eager to accept His mercy. Lord Caitanya is freely giving His mercy, but even if something is given for free, one must still come forward to receive the gift.
Krishna is very kind to create this variegated world for us who have rejected His spiritual world. He also gives the Vedas and the sages to help the people get out of this miserable place. Normally to experience an intimate relationship with Krishna, one first as to surrender, but Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda would freely mix with everyone to inspire them in devotional service.
Kadamba Karana Swami used to make a yearly pilgrimage to India before becoming a devotee. He once met a Buddhist master and asked him some questions but he didn't answer, and Maharaja decided that it wasn't for him.
Students had to dress up as members of a certain religion for their religion class. Some of them dressed up as Hare Krishna devotees, to ridicule them and joined the harinama party. Later one of them went through a period of depression and came across a Hare Krishna book. At first, he didn't read it because he had ridiculed the devotees, but as his depression got worse, it read it, and ultimately joined the brahmacarya-asrama.
The maha-mantra is given in the Kali-santaranya Upanisad and the brahmanas' objected to Lord Caitanya's program of allowing the people in general to chant because they considered it was an Upanisadic mantra meant to be chanted by brahmanas. However, it is written there with the Hare Rama first, so Lord Caitanya chanted it in the reverse order, so the brahmanas couldn't complain about His teaching it to the masses.
Some Kali worshipers didn't like that Lord Nityananda's consort, Jahnava, was promoting Vishnu worship, so they decided to kill her and her followers. They armed themselves with weapons and ran toward Jahnava Mata's camp, but although they ran the whole night, they remained the same distance from the camp. They decided they failed because they did not worship Kali enough, so they performed more worship. That night Goddess Kali appeared to them in a dream and chastised them for offending Mother Jahnava who is her master and promised to kill them all if they did not surrender to Mother Jahnava and become her disciples, which they then did. This story shows how Goddess Kali sometimes directly promotes devotional service to Lord Vishnu in addition to fulfilling material desires and punishing rebellious souls.
His fifteen years on book distribution convinced him of the mercy of Lord Nityananda, and he recommends that those engaged in book distribution continue to be so as long as they can.
Srila Prabhupada says in Nectar of Instruction that if we remember three things we can always be enthusiastic in spiritual life:
1 we are conditioned souls
2 we are searching for material happiness in vain
3 through Krishna consciousness we can attain eternal happiness

We had a wonderful harinama today in downtown Kiev for an hour and a half or so. There were about ten male and ten female devotees. The venue was a street that was blocked off from traffic. We set down a piece of carpet right on the street and four and five men sat on it, including the singer who played the harmonium, two drummers, and karatala players. We had a microphone and sound system. The ladies danced nicely in patterns on the left side. The rest of the men danced on the right side. I danced with the men, until I became frustrated that their steps were sometimes so hard to follow it took my concentration away from the chanting. Then I decided to dance my own dance in the middle, behind the kirtana party. I also passed out invitations three times during the kirtana to onlookers, 70% of whom took the invitations, including one guy who told me he was from Chicago and was aware of our temple there.
I was amazed to see a crowd beginning to gather as the devotees were setting up, and by the time we were playing, until the end, we always had at least a hundred people in a semicircle in front of us watching. It was so nice to see so many people interested in watching and hearing the kirtana. We are hoping we can go out again tomorrow, after the Sunday feast.
Later a devotee told me four or five people came to the feast because of the harinama.

Niranjana Swami, evening class
Krishna displays His pastimes to show His external devotees like Brahma, etc., their reality.
When we hear of Krishna pastimes we are reminded there is a whole transcendental world beyond this one and an attachment for it gradually awakens within us.
In the spiritual world, sleeping is dreaming, and the dreams are about Krishna. And Krishna dreams of His devotees.
When Uddhava told Maharaja Nanda that is son is God, Nanda Maharaja argued with him, saying "God is self-satisfied, but Krishna steals butter. God is the Supreme Worshipable Deity, but Krishna carries my shoes on his head."
When Narada was looking for the devotee that had the most mercy from Krishna, each devotee he was recommended to see spoke convincingly that he actually had not attained Krishna's mercy, but he, in turn, convincingly recommended another devotee as the true recipient of Krishna's mercy.
Visvakarma created a replica of Vrindavana near Dvaraka called Nava Vrindavana where there were images of the residents of Vrindavana, such a Nanda and Yasoda, etc. Brahma brought Krishna there from Dvaraka when He was feeling separation from Vrindvana. Radharani was there in Nava Vrindavana, and when She did not move when Krishna spoke to Her, He figured that She was upset because She knew what He had been dreaming. Krishna had been dreaming that He was the husband of many wives in Dvaraka where He had been performing duties to please the demigods. He told Her it was only a dream, and went to play with the cowherd boys. When he was taken to the Yamuna, which turned out to be the limitless sea, He began to doubt if he really was in Vrindavana. At that point, Balarama reminded Him that His devotees were being unnecessarily harassed and that He should come to Dvaraka to protect them. As soon as He heard His devotees were in danger and needed protection He hurried back to Dvaraka.
Krishna told Narada that actually all the devotees, who he met during his search for the devotee who had received the most mercy, had received His mercy in the way they had desired it.
Narada asked Krishna for the benediction, "Let the nature of Your pastimes be such that anyone who hears them and understands them can enter into them." Krishna said, "So be it."

Quote from Best of Niranjana Swami, Lecture 8:
The goal of all of one's work for maintaining this body is to have a body to hear about Krishna.

Niranjana Swami gave me a task to put a book of his in digital form so he can read it during his travels without having to carry it around. I will see if a digital camera has enough resolution.

Niranjana Swami, evening class, Damodarastaka prayers

All the Lord's pastimes are transcendental, and by hearing them our consciousness becomes transcendental. We can create holy places by invoking the Lord's presence by hearing and chanting about the Lord in different places all over the world. Prabhupada referred to such places as embassies of the spiritual world. But not everyone who goes to an embassy is allowed to visit the country it represents. One must become qualified. By regular hearing and chanting of the Lord's glories on becomes qualified.
Krishna says:
naham tisthami vaikunthe
yoginam hridayeshu va
tatra tisthami narada
yatra gayanti mad-bhaktah
"I am not in Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of the yogis. I remain where My devotees engage in glorifying My activities."
If we can understand the mercy of the Lord upon the devotee, we can reconcile all apparent contradictions in the Lord's character. The Lord appears to risk His own reputation to bestow mercy on His devotee. This is His most attractive quality for His devotees. The nondevotees cannot appreciate this.
Hearing about the Lord's pastimes awakens a desire to become qualified to participate in them.
Bhakti-nistha means the devotee's complete dedication to serving and hearing and chanting about the Lord without interruption. Krishna bestows His mercy when He sees the devotees' endeavor to the point of fatigue to serve Him. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that Mother Yasoda's complete dedication to binding Him filled in the two-finger gap in the rope. Since Krishna was thinking that He did not want to be tied because He wanted to steal more butter and play with His friends, His vibhuti and satya-sankalpa saktis manifested to fulfill His desire and thus Yasoda could not tie the rope. Because of Yasoda's strong determination, she was successful, since when the Lord and the devotee have different determinations, He allows His devotee's determination to prevail. Yasoda said, "I am determined to see the extent of my son's waist." And thus all the ropes from the village were brought to attempt to tie up Krishna. This manifestation of bhakti-nistha on the part of Yasoda, inspires the Lord's kripa-sakti to manifest and allow Yasoda to tie Him up. Krishna's sva-nistha is His determination to always reciprocate the devotees love and bestow His kripa-sakti.
As the Bhagavatam says, "How can one who has no inside or outside be bound with a rope?"
Discussing endeavor in devotional service to the point of fatigue, Niranjana Swami tells of a devotee who would offer obeisances before taking rest, after 12 hours of distributing books. Maharaja would wake up in the middle of the night and find the devotee still bowing down, having fallen asleep in that posture.
Damodarastaka Verse 2: "[Seeing the whipping stick in His mother's hand,] He is crying and rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conchshell, is shaking because of His quick breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His mother's pure love, I offer my humble obeisances."
Because the Lord is conquered by His devotee's love, He is a plaything in the hands of the devotee. A devotee who can thus control the Lord has no conception of the Lord as being Supreme.
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, the son of mother Yasoda, is accessible to devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators, to those striving for self-realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self" (SB 10.9.21).
Q: How can we tell if we are endeavoring properly in devotional service?
A: Krishna will give us intelligence from within. "Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things—these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating" (SB 11.2.42).

Dhanesvara Prabhu, Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.45

Bhimsadeva, although appearing as a human being, was on the level of Lord Brahma and Lord Siva because he was a mahajana. Bhimsadeva was so detached, to facilitate his father's desire, he renounced his kingdom and took a vow never to marry. Even though Parasurama, who was on the level of his guru, tried to convince him to marry, he maintained his vow and fought Parasurama, who was ultimately pleased with him.
Lord Kapila advises, "For his income a devotee should be satisfied with what he earns without great difficulty" (SB 3.27.8). This is hard to follow because rent is so high it is half one's income, and the rest is consumed by other necessities. People get married later and later and have fewer children for economic reasons, and thus they end up in engaging in illicit sex and become degraded. Thus it is difficult for one to maintain vows of celibacy. Bhimsadeva was great because he could make vows and keep them, but now we have difficulty keeping vows.
The world is a mess. Pollution of the environment by chemicals from plastics causes children to attain puberty early. Half the Afro-American girls in America attain puberty by the age of eight. This does not help people keep vows of celibacy in human society.
In 1992 1,600 leading scientists in society reported that human activities and natural resources are incompatible and we have to have a new morality and change our lifestyle. Five years later they issued a warning saying progress has been inadequate. In 2001 a group of 100 Nobel laureates issued similar warnings.
The Srimad-Bhagavatam gives solutions to such problems, but we have to live according to it and encourage others.

Notes on Niranjana Swami's evening lecture

Niranjana Swami praises Dhanesvara Prabhu for his attempts to introduce Vedic economic ideas to the devotees and the general populace of Ukraine for the last year as a new resident of the country.
Maharaja has decided to travel on a limited basis and stay longer in each place. He proposed to the GBC that he would stay in Ukraine for four months next year.
Every day during Karttika we should chant the "Damodarastaka" prayers. Even an insincere person who renders regulated devotional service to Lord Damodara in Mathura or Vrindavan during the month of Karttika attains the platform of pure devotional service. We generally do this by chanting the "Damodarastaka" by Satyavrata Muni which describes two moods, mostly, the parental rasa of Yasoda and briefly, the conjugal rasa of Radharani. He tells that in ISKCON we have our Radha-Damodara in Gitanagari. They were so named because originally they were on the Radha-Damodara traveling bus program and for safety reasons had to be tied in place, thus Srila Prabhupada named them Radha-Damodara, because Damodara means bound around the abdomen with a rope. He said that once Prabhupada briefly rode on that bus, and the devotees present then have colorful stories to tell about that.
Mother Yasoda personally churned the yogurt into butter for Krishna's pleasure although she had many servants who could do the work. She chose the milk from the cows that grazed over the choicest grass on Govardhan Hill because she wanted the best for Krishna. She would sing Krishna's glories as she churned. Prabhupada said that formerly people who wanted to remember someone's activities would turn them into songs.
Despite Yasoda's affectionate care, Krishna sought butter elsewhere. And thus He became a thief and a liar. He is the supreme autocrat and can do whatever He wants. And the people are spontaneously attracted to whatever He does. He does not have to think how to satisfy people, although He does, since His activities are naturally attractive.
Kunti was bewildered that Krishna was genuinely afraid of his mother and was crying out of fear. Had Krishna pretended to cry to please Mother Yasoda, that would be understandable, but He was really afraid and really cried, and that was bewildering.
The elderly gopis were laughing as they watched Yasoda trying to tie Krishna with a rope because every day she easily puts a belt around His waist when she dresses Him. Yasoda asked them to bring all the ropes in the village to bind him up. Finally because of her love, yogamaya arranged that Yasoda successfully bind Him.
Krishna uses His omniscience and other kinds of opulence to protect His Vrindavana devotees, but otherwise His opulence is covered.
He tells how Mother Saci was always thinking of Nimai [Lord Caitanya] as Mother Yasoda was always thinking of Krishna. Once Nimai, in a rowdy mood, destroyed everything in the house and even the house itself, and Saci was worried how she could continue to serve Him without any resources. A couple days later, Nimai appeared with two tolas of gold.
Krishna would cause all kinds of trouble in the village, and when the villagers came to Yasoda to accuse Krishna, Krishna would act like He knew nothing about it and they were all false accusations. When Yasoda would punish Krishna, He would take shelter of His father, Nanda Maharaja, who would reprimand Yasoda for siding with the gopis and daring to chastise his sweet son, Krishna.

On the train from the Ukraine border to Kiev

Notes on Niranjana Swami (lecture#4 on the best of Niranjana Swami CD)
Apparently Reagan was one of the candidates for president while Prabhupada was present, and when Prabhupada heard that a movie actor with no political training was running for the office of the U.S. President, he found it very hard to believe.
There is only one political party in the universal government, the servants of the Supreme Lord. Because the universal government is actually qualified, the suffering of the people is due to their own sinful activities. Persons are meant to perform sacrifice to please the Supreme Lord, and when they do not do that, there are so many anomalies (Bg. 3.9-16).

I see some cows out the window of the train, grazing in back of some houses. Cows were always special, but as devotees we remember their connection to Krishna and it makes them even more special. There are also small plots of vegetables as well. The trees vary from green, to yellow, and to orange in this autumn season. It is a peaceful, rural scene.
This is the first unheated train I have been on recently. The other Russian and Ukrainian trains were sometimes even too hot. I pointed to the radiator and said to the conductor lady, zimno, the Polish word for cold, hoping it bares some resemblance to the Ukrainian or Russian words for cold and is thus understandable. The first lady didn't help me, but the second escorted me to berth X, which has a working heater. A nice feature of the Ukrainian and Russian trains is that the 1 st class compartments have a 220-volt outlet to plug in electric shavers, which can be used for computers. I am not sure how authorized it is so I keep the door locked and cover the computer with a jacket when I use the bathroom. It is only $15 from Chop, the border of Ukraine, 16 hours to Kiev. I hope to get completely caught up on my journal, so I can meditate on serving Niranjana Swami, who connected me to this Krishna consciousness movement 27 years ago, and who arrives in Kiev today by plane.
The Kiev devotees kindly picked me up at the train station. By Krishna's grace, they were waiting in front of my wagon (as they call them in Ukraine) as I stepped out of the train. The driver of our car kindly stopped at his house on the way to the temple and gave me some new shoes to make up for the ones I lost on the Hungarian train, and some socks to go with them as well. That was so thoughtful of him. The devotees gave me a nice big plate of prasadam, which was refreshing after eating bread on the train for two days, especially since the next day was a fast day, Ekadasi. I am relieved to be back at the Kiev temple in the care of such friendly devotees for my fourth visit.

Woodstock Istagosthi

Indradyumna Swami talked about the success of festival with the devotees:

The media were favorable. They were favorable about Woodstock in general. As far as our presentation, they liked the food, the cleanliness, and the bands. They mentioned how the Krishnas and the Jesus people got along so well. Their articles referred to us as a religion not a sect.

The shops and books did well. Yoga was popular, so was astrology. Ratha-yatra was extraordinary. He talked about the boy who got the special mercy. It only rained when it got too hot.

It was a resounding success.

When Prabhupada was present, he would see how things were going on, and the devotees would await Srila Prabhupada's reaction. His appreciation made the years' austerities worthwhile. Indradyumna Swami is convinced that Prabhupada, Gaura-Nitai, and Radha-Krishna were overjoyed. And he is sure the demigods were watching our Woodstock sacrifice from the heavens. He tells how Srila Prabhupada asked in a London kirtana one day if anyone had seen Narada Muni there, and how he said the demigods sometimes come to witness the congregational chanting. He even had the devotees put a special seat on the altar for Narada Muni.

Sankirtana means to bring the kirtana out to the streets. And Lord Caitanya predicted that the chanting will spread to every town and village. "I am sure everyone made leaps of advancement by the mercy descending from above."

The kids were more inquisitive and had more respect for the devotees. We are no longer listed as a sect or a cult in this country but a religion. "Is it because we told them? No, it is because we showed them." Srila Prabhupada said, "We will take the whole world by culture." Now the world culture is American culture, Levis, McDonalds, and whiskey.

Jurek Oswiak said to IDS before Woodstock:

You and me have worked together to put this Woodstock together for 11 years.

The Jesus people want to cooperate this year.

Their poll said 80% of the people come to Woodstock find solutions to life's problems.

We have a solution to offer them.

Maharaja thanks Nandini and Jayatam for single-handedly organizing the Krishna's Village of Peace. The devotees distributed 112,000-113,000 plates of prasadam thanks to organizer, Rasakendra Prabhu. Thanks go also to Dominik who built the whole village and dismantled it.

By the mercy of Lord Caitanya, the inspiration of Srila Prabhupada, and under the direction of Indradyumna Swami, many devotees from many countries cooperated together to so that hundreds of thousands of souls could come in touch with the name, form, pastimes, and prasadam of Lord Krishna and thus become free from sinful reactions and make permanent spiritual benefit. Thus I am always inspired to be in this association of those who put on the Krishna's Village Peace festival. While summarizing Dhruva's pastimes in the Srimad-Bhagavatam for MIHET, I came across a quote about the destination of such workers.

"Only persons who constantly engage in welfare activities for other living entities can reach the Vaikuntha planets [which constitute the spiritual world]. Persons who are peaceful, equipoised, cleansed and purified, and who know the art of pleasing all other living entities, keep friendship only with devotees of the Lord; they alone can very easily achieve the perfection of going back home, back to Godhead" ( Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.12.36-37).

May we always engage in such auspicious activities in such association.

Realizations After the Polish Woodstock Festival

I left my bag at the site and so had to return the next day. I was fearful of returning as I might get engaged in physical labor which has never appealed to me, but I did not want to ask the devotees to get my things for me so I decided to go myself. It turned out to be Krishna's mercy on me that I could distribute the five Krishna—Reservoir of Pleasure which I had in my bag and collect three emails.

It is always an emotional experience to go to the site the next day. The torrent of mercy has become a trickle. The last day of Woodstock, hundreds of thousands of people were hearing about Krishna and getting Krishna prasadam, and now it was down to only hundreds of people getting prasadam, a very few at a time. It is simultaneously exhilarating to think how so many people benefited in a spiritual way, and depressing to think that such a large event will not happen till next year, so I always end up crying on the bus upon as I reflect on the abundant mercy of the festival and see the partially dismantled site.

I went to the few people taking prasadam and asked them how the food was and showed them the Krishna—Reservoir of Pleasure, telling them they could have it if they read English and they promised to read it. I try to choose the people who eat all the food on their plates since I think they are more appreciative. They are also less distracted by eating.

The previous day Indradyumna Swami engaged us in picking up trash in front of our festival. I found 12.10 zlotes while doing that and decided to use it to pay for food for the occasional people I meet who could not afford the 3 zlote (90 cent) meal. One boy liked the prasadam so much he wanted I second plate but didn't have enough money, and he was so grateful when I bought it for him. He said he could read English so I gave him a Krishna—Reservoir of Pleasure and took down his address.

I told one young girl in Polish, that if she could read English, I would give her this English book I had on Krishna. She agreed. Questions I couldn't ask her in Polish, I asked in English and she answered in Polish. I think I got more practice speaking Polish that day than the rest of the trip. And this girl was so liberal as to say I spoke Polish well. She was from Koszalin, a city on the Baltic coast, and I told her about the summer festival tour. She asked when the festivals were, I said I could email her the times. When she wrote her email address in my book she also wrote Hare Krishna and a bunch of hearts, and when I chanted kirtana to myself, she chanted along. She wanted to get a Krishna music CD, and I told her about our web sites in Polish and English where she might find some music. She seemed charmed by the devotees.

A boy from Gdansk, also on the Baltic coast, was also interested in hearing about our summer tour and considered that Kolobrzeg was not too far to travel for another Krishna experience. He also expressed interest in CDs of Krishna music.

A young architectural student and her boyfriend from Krakow who spoke English nicely inquired if we had a center there. I said we have no temple, but that they could write Trisama Prabhu about regular devotional gatherings in their area. I encouraged her to use her architectural skill to build at least one building for the glorification of God in her lifetime and that would be her perfection, and I told her about our proposed city of Mayapur. They also got my final Krishna—Reservoir of Pleasure.

Out of books, I was less inclined to stay and talk with people, so I took the next ride back, happy that by Krishna's grace I was able to cultivate a few more souls as Krishna's Village of Peace 2006 came to an end.

The remaining 9.10 zlote I gave to pay for the books I distributed.

I asked different devotees to tell me their experience of Woodstock:

Kavicandra Swami always likes opportunities to spread spiritual wisdom and so came back to the Woodstock festival once again. He felt there were less violence and better questions than before. "When we talk of Krishna we create an atmosphere where people can take shelter. Some devotees are always asking for mercy, but if you look up mercy in the dictionary, you find that it is something that is given. Actually we have so much mercy already, we do not need any more. We need to give out the mercy we already have and if we do that, we will find that we get more mercy."

Caturatma Prabhu came from Alachua for his second Woodstock festival, and it was nice for me to connect with one of my friends from there. He loved leading harinama, answering questions, and the association of Indradyumna Swami, so he was very happy at Krishna's Village of Peace. I asked him about his realizations, and he shared them with me:

"The most enlivening thing was the appreciation of the devotees by the young people there. They all either liked the devotees, liked what the devotees were doing, or liked the food." Caturatma served the prasadam (spiritual food) on several occasions and saw the positive reactions of the people, especially the universal "thumbs up" mudra. "These Polish kids are intelligent, and they can even think when they drink." He mentions that beer drinking is so popular in Poland the people have developed the ability to function normally after a few beers to the extent of still being able to ask intelligent philosophical questions. Also their questions indicate they have some prior knowledge of Eastern philosophy. I asked him what he would tell about his experience to his friends, and he said he would like to bring his whole Sadhu Sanga men's group there. They are mostly Prabhupada disciples with a lot of talent and could contribute in many ways and would have a great time, but it is probably not practical to organize.

Caturatma Prabhu also felt that Krishna was individual arranging experiences for him to help him in specific ways where he needed help and that was very powerful.

Nirguna Prabhu, who came to the last Woodstock, returned again, this time teaching yoga in addition to answering questions. He felt that the young people there accepted the devotees as authorities more this year.

Mahaprabhu Prabhu, a disciple of Radhanatha Swami from Mumbai, found the young people inquisitive and tolerant of other views. He is optimistic that just as the some of the hippies who came in contact with Prabhupada became devotees, some of these young people will become devotees by contact with Prabhupada's followers. In this world, no one wants to benefit you, without demanding anything in return. If we befriend these people, and they appreciate that we sincerely want to benefit them, they will be attracted.

Radhe Govinda Prabhu was in charge of the garbage this year and doing that was the high point of the festival for him. Once he just finished with the garbage as the Ratha-yatra returned, and he offered obeisances to Lord Jagannatha and felt satisfaction. He also reflected on watching the devotees and the nondevotees at the end of the festival. The nondevotees were wiped out and appeared disappointed, but the devotees were wiped out but smiling.

Nanda Kumara Prabhu recalls seeing how much love the boy Maharaja gave special mercy to showed for Maharaja as he participated in the final kirtana. Nanda Kumara starting picking up trash during that kirtana , and some of the appreciative young people helped him. People were always coming up to the devotees at all times in all places asking nice questions. We need more Polish speakers everywhere to answer them for next year.

Our security department had the realization that if you have bands play music that is too heavy, it brings out anger in the drunken people, and results in fights. Apparently there were two such bands like that, who were good musicians, some of whom were devotees, but whose music stirred up some people's anger. Once someone attacked the speaker in the questions and answers booth, late on the final evening. So for next year some adjustment will have to be made.

As for my realizations, they are spread throughout this story. The quote from Mother Theresa from Kolkata painted on the stairwell of the Kostrzyn school again comes to mind. "The greatest joy is to give to others." And what to speak of if the gift is love of God, the eternal gift, and the way to attain it. Lord Caitanya has descended to give the highest benediction of love of God to the most unqualified people. To be connected with His auspicious mission is the supreme benediction.

"The fruits [of devotional service] ripened and became sweet and nectarean. The gardener, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, distributed them without asking any price. All the wealth in the three worlds cannot equal the value of one such nectarean fruit of devotional service. Not considering who asked for it and who did not, nor who was fit and who unfit to receive it, Caitanya Mahaprabhu distributed the fruit of devotional service. The transcendental gardener, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, distributed handful after handful of fruit in all directions, and when the poor, hungry people ate the fruit, the gardener smiled with great pleasure" ( Sri Caitanya-caritamrita 9.27-30). So my realization is that the great gardener Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu smiled with great pleasure to see the otherwise unfortunate, drunken people singing and dancing and pulling the cart of Lord Jagannatha, and by His smiling glance, everyone connected with the event became blissful.