Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 8, No. 24
By Krishna-kripa das
(December 2012, part two)
By Krishna-kripa das
(December 2012, part two)
New
York City and Albany
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on January 30, 2013)
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on January 30, 2013)
Where
I Went and What I Did
When
Yadunandana Swami came to serve Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami on December
19, I left my guru’s personal service to go to New York City to
chant in Union Square Park with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama
party.
For the rest of the month I lived in our Brooklyn temple, Sri
Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, attended the morning program there, and
spent two hours afterward chopping vegetables for the temple and its
weekday restaurant program, Govinda’s
Vegetarian Lunch. Every afternoon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. I would
chant with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama
party,
consisting of from three to seventeen devotees, at Union Square Park,
or on the cold days, in various subway stations at Union Square,
Grand Central, Times Square, and Columbus Circle. Sometimes,
especially on weekends, we would begin at 3 p.m. or even 2 p.m., and
still continue till 8:00 p.m. I took a two-day break for Christmas
Eve and Christmas, when I visited my family, my Quaker meeting, and
my initiating spiritual master, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, along with a
few of his disciples including Yadunandana Swami.
I
was happy to be visiting New York City at the same time as Radhanath
Swami, and I include some notes from his lectures, in addition to
some material from Srila Prabhupada directly.
At
the end I summarize my activities in the year 2012 and include my
annual financial statement and thank my donors. I also talk about
what to do differently in 2013.
The
Christmas Story Seen from a Hare Krishna Perspective
Twice
on Christmas Eve I encountered the story of the appearance of Lord
Jesus Christ in this world, once at my Quaker meeting and once
reading a book with my relatives, which had become a family tradition
at Christmastime since I lived at home, called The
Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
Living
as a Hare Krishna monk for the last thirty years, I naturally viewed
both encounters from the Hare Krishna perspective. Lord Jesus Christ
is seen by Hare Krishnas as a realized son of God, and as such, his
appearance in and disappearance from this world are spiritual and
transcendental, and one advances spiritually by coming in touch with
narrations of them. In the Quaker meeting, as newly recruited players
from the audience dramatized the script of the event and the
congregation sang appropriate songs, I did feel a kind of
transcendental joy coming from being in touch with the account and
the songs glorifying God and His son. And although it is repeated
every year there is a certain freshness and wonder in it.
The
Best Christmas Pageant Ever, written
by Barbara Robinson in 1971,
told
of another interesting feature, the transforming power of such
narrations. The book is summarized aptly on Wikipedia:
“It tells the story of Imogene, Claude, Ralph, Leroy, Ollie, and
Gladys, six delinquent children surnamed Herdman. They go to church
for the first time after being told that the church offers snacks.
Despite protests from other church members, they are given roles in
the Sunday school’s Christmas play, in which they tell the
Christmas story in a nonconventional fashion.” [Buck, Jerry
(1983-12-03). “Meanest
kids in town make the best pageant”.
The
Free-Lance Star.]
The interesting feature of that story is that the character of the
children changes from demonic to divine as a result of hearing the
narration of the appearance of Lord Jesus and from acting it out.
Hearing the story the first time, the delinquent Herdmen kids,
instead displaying their usual mentality of taking pleasure in
causing others to suffer, show sympathy for Mary having to give birth
to baby Jesus in such an unsuitable environment as a manger, and in a
land ruled by a demonic king. Although the kids previously took
pleasure in stealing and destroying property, in the course of
enacting Christmas story they end up giving charity, without even
desiring anything in return. It all calls to mind a few verses from
the ancient India spiritual classic Srimad-Bhagavatam
(Bhagavata
Purana),
namely verses 1.2.17–19 which describe how narrations concerning
God and his pure devotee, such as Lord Jesus Christ, cleanse the
heart of demonic qualities, such as lust, greed, and anger, bring one
up to the platform of goodness. It occurred to me that it was the
best Christmas pageant ever because it demonstrated the divine power
of the spiritual narration to transform the character from demonic to
divine, which really is what religion is all about, not just some
dogma one claims to have faith in, but narrations with uplift our
consciousness to the plane of loving God and all his children, our
brothers and sisters. It also calls to mind another verse, our verse
for the week in the Gainesville Krishna House, about the pastimes of
the Supreme Lord Himself, which was spoken later in Bhagavatam
by
His most intimate devotees, “The nectar of Your words and the
descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those
suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by
learned sages, eradicate one’s sinful reactions and bestow good
fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all
over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those
who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.31.9)
Harinamas
in New York
Rama
Raya Prabhu, playing harmonium above, who was part of Aindra Prabhu’s
24-hour kirtana in Vrindavan for many years, is focusing his
attention on steadily doing harinama each day in Manhattan for
at least four hours between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and I had the good
fortune to join his party for three and a half weeks in December 2012
and January 2013. He has been going out since the end of March 2012.
Each day for the last two or three hours we would regularly have
around eleven people, and sometimes as many as seventeen!
When
it was in the 40s (5-10 C) we would chant in the parks, mostly Union
Square but sometimes Washington Square.
But when it was in the 30s or
less (below 5 C) we would chant in the subway stations, which were
warmer.
We
had a beautiful Hare Krishna maha-mantra sign that was
decorated and lighted.
Whoever
gave some coins or just expressed interest got a Krishna Reservoir
of Pleasure or an On Chanting Hare Krishna pamphlet.
Whoever
gave a dollar got a small book. If they gave five or more, they got a
Bhagavad-gita.
Sometimes
people would dance with us.
I would dance at one end of our party.
Almost every day on harinama something special happens, that is something in addition to thousands of people becoming from free from karma and taking a step toward Krishna, which are in themselves pretty amazing wonders.
At
the Union Square market, one young man who was loading a truck came
up to me and said our incense smoke was blowing down to his work site
and making it difficult to breathe. He asked if we could put out the
incense for an hour until he was finished. I complied as incense is
not an important part of our function. To devotees who were upset I
joked that Lord Caitanya did not advent Himself to distribute
maha-incense.
A few minutes later the man came back with two packages of organic
sprouts as a donation. Deva Madhava Prabhu suggested we give them to
Radha-Govinda so the donor would make great spiritual benefit, and so
we did.
One
young Oriental man came up to me and said, “Didn’t I see you in
Soho (London) giving the lunch program lecture?” And it was true. I
gave lectures there this summer and fall. It is a small world! He
said he would be in New York City for ten days and asked about our
local programs, and I gave him invitations and details about them
all. He said he would come to the Bhakti Center Thursday night
kirtana
the
next day. Another day he came by Union Square to listen to the
harinama
for
half an hour and dance a bit.
One
young Christian man stopped by and danced for a while, and then came
up to talk to me. He told me how he had just come to New York a week
ago and that by the grace of Lord Jesus Christ he had money, a place
to stay, and a replacement water bottle for one he recently lost. I
told him in the course of our conversation that we accept the
Biblical idea that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved, that the best spiritual practice was to sing the glories of
the Lord congregationally, and that dancing was an expression of love
of God. He seemed to be getting into the kirtana,
so
I invited him to play an instrument, and he sat down and picked up
some karatalas
and
played a beat of his own that was in time with the music, and he
stayed in the kirtana
for fifteen minutes.
One
young lady with dog on a leash passed our party, and the dog was
focused on the chanting devotees the whole time. Even after his owner
had passed us, he continued looking back toward us, coming as close
as his leash would permit. I had see children often looking backward
toward the devotees as their parents pulled or carried them onward,
but never a dog.
Young
children are often attracted by the chanting, and some of the parents
are very open to let them investigate it. We have some small shakers
just for kids to use to play along with the music. Some children live
in the neighborhood of Union Square, and their parents regularly
bring to the park, and some spend fifteen minutes or even half an
hour with us. We have smiling Jagannatha stickers for the kids whose
parents give donations. Occasionally the kids dance and attract a
crowd.
Once
several kids, probably all under ten years old, were sitting with us
on our mats, playing the different extra instruments like shakers
that we brought for people to play. One boy tried playing every
instrument we had a least once, demonstrating a lot of natural rhythm
as he did so. The kids seemed happily engaged, and seeing them,
passersby were attracted. Thanks to Rasika Gopi Devi Dasi and Bhakta Alex of the Bhakti Center for their beautiful photographs on the Manhattan harinamas.
At
Union Square, one couple came up to me, and said, “Are you from
Gainesville?” I replied, “Yes.” Turns out they were Tiffany and
Joshua, occasional attenders at the Krishna House programs. When they
saw the Hare Krishnas, they glanced at the chanters looking for
Rasaraja Prabhu, who they knew from Krishna House and who came to New
York for the break, and then they saw me. I suggested that Rasaraja
would probably be at the Bhakti Center Thursday night kirtana
at
7:00 p.m. and they might find him there, and so they did.
At
Grand Central Station one young man asked how many of the ten or
fifteen people chanting were from Gainesville, and I looked at our
party, and seeing Rasaraja Prabhu, told him two. He mentioned how he
had Krishna Lunch for four years there, and he really missed it. I
told him that we have Krishna Lunch in Brooklyn, and he was overjoyed
to hear it, and so I gave him an invitation to the Brooklyn temple
and its weekday lunch program.
Also
at Grand Central I met a guy from India who knew Hare Krishna and
even Radhanath Swami from there, and so I invited him to Radhanath
Swami’s Sunday lecture at the Bhakti Center.
Again
at Grand Central, one lady exclaimed with joy, “Great! You guys are
back! I haven’t seen you in 30 years.”
One
young lady smiled and watched us the entire time she was walking
past. I asked her how she knew about Hare Krishna. She said, “I
just know you from this, but I am attracted to what I see.”
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
from
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
5.5.2
in Johannesburg on October 22, 1975:
The
aim should be how to become a friend of God.
Radhanath
Swami:
The
spirit in which something is spoken and received needs to be
understood to have more than a theoretical understanding.
We
do not have to experience the extreme situations that Pariksit and
Arjuna experienced to learn from their experience.
Maharaja
Pariksit would not be rude to an insect but this world is so arranged
that despite all good intentions, we make mistakes, and due to
circumstances, we make people miserable although we desire to make
people happy. This happens to everyone, and so it happened to the
King [who when thirsty was so frustrated due to a meditating sage’s
neglect to offer him water, he garlanded the sage with a dead snake
and was cursed by the sage’s son to die in seven days].
Krishna
can reciprocate everyone’s love simultaneously and fully satisfy
them.
Due
to false ego we become upset if someone is doing something better
than us, or even if they are not doing something better than us, but
they are getting more credit for it.
Sometimes
when people are good at something you can not get them all together
in the same room.
In
the early 1970s, eight hundred yogis joined together for the first
time for a conference. There had never been such an opportunity
before or has there been since. At the end, the main sages and yogis
each had 2 minutes to speak. I was in ecstasy. I had hitchhiked to
India to encounter enlightened beings, and here was a whole stage
full of them. The first person spoke ten minutes, the next person
about fifteen minutes. As time went on, about a dozen of them were
literally fighting over the microphone. It is on film. It was a great
embarrassment—so many ‘enlightened’ people acting in such a
way. However at Naimisaranya, the sages unanimously agreed that
Sukadeva Goswami would speak. He was not arrogant but asked for the
blessings of others.
We
talk about it as a curse [that he would die in seven days], but
Pariksit saw it as a blessing.
When
we see this life as all in all, we see everything in one way, but
when we see this is just one of many lives, we see it all
differently.
One
sage said this life is one point in a line that goes on infinitely.
When we understand that, then we can harmonize the blessings and
curses we receive. We can focus on the opportunity to advance
spiritually.
You
say you didn’t make castles out of sand as a kid, but your whole
life is probably making castles out of sand.
You
see the tide is coming in, and you try to build walls to protect your
castle. The parents laugh. Why are you taking your castles so
seriously? But the enlightened souls see all that we are doing in
Washington and Wall Street to be like castles of sand.
The
great sages were not concerned that they speak, but rather that some
competent person was speaking nicely.
Pariksit.
although cursed to die in seven days, was the happiest man in that
glorious assembly of sages with such a great opportunity.
Stokakrishna,
my disciple in India, at age 32 was diagnosed with one of the most
fast acting forms of cancer. When I came to see him he was paralyzed
and emaciated. He said, “Why am I so fortunate that I could chant
Lord Krishna’s name so many times in this life? Why did I get to
hear so many classes on Srimad-Bhagavatam?
I did not deserve that. Why did I get the association of such nice
devotees? Why did I get to be part of Srila Prabhupada’s movement?”
Because he was so consistently happy in such an externally miserable
situation some originally doubtful brahmacaris
concluded
that he must have a higher realization.
If
something is inevitable, we might as well see it as a blessing.
Some
friends who were brijbasis
[residents
of the sacred land of Krishna’s childhood pastimes, Vrindavana]
happened to visit America, and I invited them to come to chant at
Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s deathbed. One of them, Madana Mohan Brijbasi,
was singing so simply and so sweetly, tears poured from Bhakti Tirtha
Swami’s eyes in a way that his disciples had never seen. Bhakti
Tirtha Swami said that because he could not go to Vrindavana,
Vrindavana had come to him in the form of these devotees from
Vrindavana. Madana Mohan Brijbasi was also there to chant for my
disciple Stokakrishna at the end of his life.
We
have to deal with the material world responsibly but keep it in
perspective and remember our ultimate spiritual aim.
If
when we are fasting, we think, “I am so austere, and look at these
people, they are eating,” then our body is fasting but our false
ego is feasting. Fasting is meant to humble us and meant to help us
to take shelter of Krishna. Then we are really fasting.
Unless
we prepare for the exams along the way we will not be prepared for
the final exam of death.
When
the tests come we have to apply all we learned from previous
struggles.
To
overcome pride, we have to watch from a detached point of view. If we
see ourselves thinking “I am better than others,” that is the
weed of pride, which impersonates the creeper of devotion and induces
us to water it instead. If we see that we are envying others that is
also a manifestation of pride.
Krishnadasa
Kaviraja Goswami was selected by the great Goswamis of Vrndavana to
write Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita because
of his great realization, scholarship, and humility.
The
title The
Journey Home [Radhanath
Swami’s autobiography] was selected at last moment. The working
title was Autobiography
of a Worm in Stool, but
the publishers would not accept it.
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
“Here
is a quote from an initiation lecture by Srila Prabhupada in July
1970 in Los Angeles. Srila Prabhupada spoke on each of the ten
offenses and then said, ‘Then, what is next?’
“Devotee:
‘To become inattentive while chanting Hare Krishna.’
“Prabhupada:
‘Yes, when you are chanting, you should hear Hare Krishna Hare
Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama
Hare Hare. You should hear at the same time. Then the mind and the
senses are compact. That is samadhi.
That
is perfection of yoga. This yoga is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita.
Yoginam
api sarvesam mad-gatenantar-atmana.
So
everyone, by chanting he should hear.’”
A
Summary of the Year 2012
I
started the year being part of a 12-hour in our Mexico City temple.
At that time, we were on the Vaishnava Youth winter bus tour to
Mexico and were blessed by the association of Madhava Prabhu, who
takes great pleasure sharing Lord Krishna’s name with others in a
mood of complete concentration. A 6-hour kirtana
in
Dallas, and a final kirtana
by Madhava in Alachua finished off the youth tour, which was the best
event I had been part of in the months of December and January. The
rest of January I spent assisting Krishna House in Gainesville, and
the new weekly programs the devotees started in Jacksonville. In
February I visited Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and our temples in
Manhattan and downtown London, on my way to India to attend the
Kirtana Mela in Mayapur. After a wonderful Gaura Purnima, bathing in
the Ganges and reciting verses about Lord Caitanya’s appearance
with Danavira Goswami and some of his followers, I joined Navina
Nirada, Ekalavya Prabhu, and others at the Bhakti Experience, a
two-week Krishna outreach program in Rishikesh in March. We met some
interested people and took down contact information for fifty of
them. Some even later visited Vrndavana, although previously they had
not known of Krishna. Then I returned for more harinama
in
Mayapur, after an ecstatic Delhi Ratha-yatra and three days on the
24-hour kirtana
party
in Vrindavana on the way.
I
returned to Europe in April, catching the tail end of a Chennai
temple opening enroute, for Kadamba Kanana Swami’s Vyasa-puja and
the amazing Queen’s Day harinama
in
Amsterdam. After Queen’s Day we traveled with Leipzig devotees from
Belgium, through Luxembourg and Germany to the Nrsimha farm for
Nrsimha Caturdasi, doing harinama
in
several cities on the way. After that, we spent the rest of May and
the beginning of June with Janananda Goswami and his followers, based
in Newcastle, England, and doing harinama
three
hours each day. Janananda Goswami greatly encouraged me in my service
of harinama
by
giving me a wonderful amplifier,
money
for travel, and assistants to chant
with,
as well by as his personal example of complete dedication to harinama
and
by wisdom shared through lectures. On the way to London for
Ratha-yatra I attended the monthly harinama
in
Manchester, nama-hatta
programs
in Leeds and Sheffield, and the UK brahmacari
conference.
For me, the attendance of the brahmacaris
in
the devotee procession in the Borehamwood Carnival (parade), adding
lots of extra energy, was a high point. After London Ratha-yatra, I
did harinama
in
London for a few days with some followers of Janananda Goswami, then
attending the Stonehenge Solstice festival, where we chant from
midnight to 6 a.m. and distribute prasadam.
I
was invited to a nonexistent weekend warrior program in Croydon,
where I chanted for three hours and distributed flyers for the next
day’s Ratha-yatra by myself anyway, collecting 27 GBP for the Soho
St. temple sankirtana
office.
On the way back to Newcastle, Sri Gadadhara and I did the Sunday
program in Leeds, and nine devotees from the congregation went with
us on harinama
afterward,
causing us to think perhaps post feast program harinamas
may
be introduced elsewhere. After all Kharkov, Ukraine, does them every
week, even in the winter. After two weeks in Newcastle, I returned to
the Manchester area for more harinama
and more nama-hatta
programs
on the way to Ireland. Ananta Nitai Prabhu traveled with me from
Dublin to Belfast, to Govindadvipa, where we chanted at a couple
nearby towns, and back to Dublin, where by his inspiration we had
organized a 12-hour harinama.
He
and I both did over eleven hours and other people joined for some of
the time. We felt it was so successful that we decided to organize
more in the future.
Next
I flew to France for three days of harinama
in
Paris, and then to Switzerland for an evening program in Langenthal
and two Jhulan Yatras and a harinama
in
Zurich. Then by train to Berlin and then Kostrzyn for the Polish
Woodstock festival where hundreds of thousands of people hear the
holy name and take prasadam.
Our harinama
at
the Kostrzyn train station for the those returning home after the
festival was the best ever, and the officials were so pleased with
the calming effect the chanting had on the tired crowds they asked us
to do it next year. I did a few days harinama
in
Prague and then on to the kirtana
mela in
Spain, and three harinamas
there,
two of which directly inspired people to come to our local temples.
Then to Trutnov, Czech Republic, for the Czech Woodstock, where we
did lots of kirtana
late
into the night, and a harinama
as
well, with our guest, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Guru Das Prabhu.
Next I attended a brief Polish padayatra
which
gave some transcendental experiences to the residents of the towns
near our New Shantipur farm, where we had a weekend nama-hatta
festival
afterward. Then onward to travel with Janananda Goswami doing
harinamas
and
evening programs in Slovakia and one in Czech Republic. After that,
we went with Dhruva, Trevor, and Vamana to the Wroclaw Ratha-yatra,
and then the German Kirtana Mela, with three harinamas
embedded
in it, and followed by the wonderful Leipzig Ratha-yatra. Trevor and
I then joined the Nitai Gouranga harinama
bus
tour for a day from Leipzig to Wroclaw where we did a beautiful
three-hour harinama
in
the square where we had Ratha-yatra the week before. We stayed in
Wroclaw and did harinama
there,
next traveling to Bydgoszcz, where we did harinama
and
an Ekadasi evening program. Then back to Czech Republic for evening
kirtana
programs
in Trutnov and Prague, and a nama-hatta
program
in Slovakia. Then on the the Ukraine festival (Bhakti Sangama) with
lots of seminars and great three-hour evening kirtanas.
Then
to Warsaw for Radhastami, and then Simhachalam, the German Nrsimha
farm, for the festival for the 30th
anniversary of the Prahlada-Nrsimha’s installation, with a few
small harinamas
on
the way. That festival ended with the first ever Passau Ratha-yatra.
Then
I returned to the UK to travel with Janananda Goswami in The North of
England for the World Holy Name Festival, ending with a harinama
and
an eight-hour kirtana
in
Edinburgh, Scotland, a new city and country for me. Dhruva Prabhu and
I then went to Belfast, where we were joined by Ananta Nitai for more
harinama
there,
and in the cities of Enniskillen, Dublin, and Bray. Ananta Nitai,
inspired by the July 12-hour harinama,
planned
for a 12-hour harinama
on
Saturday, followed by the Sunday feast, and a 12-hour kirtana
in
the temple on Monday. The program was successful enough that he wants
to do it the first week of every month. Then I went back to Newcastle
for a week or so, and then nine days worth of evening lectures
beginning there and including all the nama-hattas
nearby
Manchester, my third swing through there this year, as opposed to my
usual one. We preceded the Bolton nama-hatta
with
the monthly harinama
and were encouraged to see several local children enthusiastically
taking part for forty-five minutes. Back to London for a few days
with more harinama
and
lectures, including four hours of harinama
on Halloween, while waiting for New York airports to be reopened
after hurricane Sandy.
Then
back home to America for a week on harinama
in
Manhattan with Rama Raya and Ekalavya Prabhus, some days on a book
production marathon for Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s The
Story of My Life, and
a brief visit to my family in Albany. Then I flew to Jacksonville
where I chanted on the campus for two hours, meeting a couple people
I who had come to our programs back in January and a nice Indian man
who started coming to our Jacksonville programs as a result. Then I
caught the end of a beautiful ceremony in honor of Srila Prabhupada’s
disappearance in Alachua with a wonderful feast. The next several
days were many evening kirtanas
leading
up to the 24-hour kirtana,
the
Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was great to hear
Madhava Prabhu so much. The 24-hour kirtana
was
special this year with guests Niranjana Swami and Agnidev Prabhu.
Dravida Prabhu led for two hours on a wonderful harinama
in
Tallahassee that Saturday at the last football game of the season.
Then a couple weeks at Gainesville’s Krishna House, and another
evening at our Jacksonville program on the way to fly north for
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Vyasa-puja in December in Stuyvesant,
where I cooked breakfast and lunch for him for nine days afterward,
punctuated by a harinama
in
Hudson and a day trip to New York City to see Niranjana Swami and do
kirtana
and
harinama.
Then
we ended the year with eleven days of four hours of harinama
in
Manhattan, with two-day visit to my family for Christmas in the
middle.
Niranjana
Swami advised I go to fewer places and stay longer and try to
increase the devotional service in those places, and reading the
above account where I travel to fifteen countries, it sounds like I
was a dismal failure. I did, however, spend 53 days in Newcastle,
England, 43 days in Gainesville, 39 days in The Northern UK and
Ireland, and 18 days doing harinama
in
New York City. Successes include new people coming to the temple from
the harinamas
in
Newcastle, Belfast, Sheffield, and Jacksonville, a new popular
program, the back-to-back 12-hour harinama
and
12-hour temple kirtana
in
Dublin, and a string of nine evenings of lectures in a different
cities in England each night. By the inspiration of Janananda
Goswami, we also went to towns where devotees rarely if ever to
harinama,
so
new people got exposure to the recommended spiritual practice of the
age. Incidentally, the guy who came from harinama
to
the Belfast temple bought four books. The best comment on harinama
was
“seeing your party was the best part of my trip to Dublin” by a
girl from Seattle.
With
the blessings of my advisers Niranjana Swami and Janananda Goswami, I
hope to increase my focus and continue to try to spend more time in
fewer places, trying to bring people to a higher level of devotion,
including myself. I am thinking of just spending one month in Europe
in the summer instead of two, and going to the Lithuanian festival
instead of the Ukraine festival so I can return to England and New
York sooner.
Financial
Statement for 2012
Srila Prabhupada taught his followers to keep careful records of expenditures. People always wonder how devotees get their money and how they spend it. Here is a summary for me for 2012. If for some reason, you want more details, let me know.
INCOME
donationsbook sales total income
EXPENSES
travelgifts to temples, swamis, etc. maintenance (clothes, medicine) internet, phone, computer, etc. festival fees loans food (bhoga, prasadam) rent unaccounted for expenses total expenses balance |
4107.59
18.32
--------
4125.91
3360.59
277.06
88.54
72.25
63.00
50.00
39.25
24.75
130.41
--------
4105.85
-20.06
|
I would like to thank all the very kind and generous people and organizations who contributed to my expenses so I could share the congregational chanting of the holy name with people in fifteen countries this year. These include, with those contributing the most listed first, GN Press, Kalakantha Prabhu, Kaliya Krishna Prabhu, the devotees in Manchester (England), my mother (Pat Beetle), Rama Raya Prabhu, Paramesvara Prabhu and his congregation in Modra (Slovakia), Bhakta Clive, Ali Krishna dd, Janananda Goswami, Touchstone Publishing, Vrajendralal Prabhu, Bhakta Andy (Gainesville), Bhakta Steve (Belfast), Dr. Dina Bandhu Prabhu, Raj Sharma, the congregation in Leeds, Balarama Prabhu (Opole, Poland), the Nama-hatta leaders in Poland, the devotees in Langenthal (Switzerland), the JPS office in Mayapur, Prema Sankirtana Prabhu of Newcastle, Ramai Prabhu of Sunderland, Sidharth from Michigan (who bought me some very nice boots for cold weather harinamas), Pandava Prabhu, Govinda Prabhu from Scotland, Bhakta Andrzej, Bhakta Doug, Bhakta Sumit, Bhakta Suresh, Parananda Prabhu, Gaura Karuna Prabhu, Tara Prabhu, Adi Karta Prabhu, Kishore Prabhu, Bhaktin Padma, Ramiya Prabhu, the over twenty people who donated less than twenty dollars each, and all the people who bought books on harinama. I hope Lord Caitanya blesses them all with some of the transcendental merit from our sharing the congregational chanting of the holy name with the people in general.
-----
yei
yahan tahan dana kare prema-phala
phalasvade
matta loka ha-ila sakala
“The
fruit of love of God is so delicious that wherever a devotee
distributes it, those who relish the fruit, anywhere in the world,
immediately become intoxicated.” (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila
9.48)
