Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 6
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2013, part two)
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2013, part two)
North
Florida
(Sent from London, England, on May 7, 2013)
(Sent from London, England, on May 7, 2013)
Where
I Went and What I Did
I
remained based at Krishna House in Gainesville for the second half of
March, doing harinama
on
the campus and chanting at the Farmers Market on Wednesday as usual.
During this time there were four special events that happened—a
very successful day trip to University of South Florida in Tampa, a
twelve-hour kirtana
at
Krishna House in Gainesville, a beautiful Gaura Purnima celebration,
and a three-hour sunset kirtana
at
Jacksonville Beach.
I
include insights from Srila Prabhupada books and different lectures.
I also have notes on a recorded lecture by Radhanath Swami, and notes
on lectures by both the senior and junior devotees who lecture in
Gainesville and Alachua. Among the notes on classes, especially
striking to me were the points made by Yogesvara Prabhu. I also have
a few great spiritual rhymes from Kalakantha Prabhu’s A
God Who Dances.
A
Day Trip to University of South Florida
I
went to Tampa one Wednesday to promote our Bhakti Yoga Society at the
University of South Florida at their market day. I was not eager to
go. Sometimes I feel it is hard for an old man like me to encourage
college-aged people, so as I drove the two hours to Tampa prayed to
Rupa Goswami, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and Srila Prabhupada for their
mercy. Srila Prabhupada prayed to Krishna for the ability to speak in
a way suitable for his audience’s understanding, and I asked him to
transfer the benediction he received to me. The market was canceled
because of a prediction of rain. I chanted and talked to people for
4:45 hours anyway. One journalist who came to do a story on market
day interviewed me because there was no one else. She had an interest
in Buddhism, Hinduism, and traveling to India, and was very happy to
interview me. As I was packing up I met another journalist who had
wanted to do a story on Hare Krishna monks who visited his campus,
but they left before he had a chance, so he was also very happy to
interview me. He and one other girl I talked to came to our Wednesday
evening program on the campus, and the girl took japa
beads home to begin chanting on them. It is rare for me to get two
interviews in one day and to also get two people to come to a program
in one day. Krishna and His devotees are so kind to bless me with
some little success. I can see there are some youth ripe for Krishna
consciousness, even here in America.
Thanks
to Ramiya Dasa
Prabhu
for pushing me past my limits once again by inviting me to come to
Tampa, and thanks to Uma Devi Dasi for the books, blanket, flyers,
prasadam,
etc.
Twelve-hour
Kirtana at Krishna House
One
great addition made by Tulasirani dd to our Krishna House program is
to have a twelve-hour kirtana
each
semester. We all had different services to make it happen, and
Tulasirani won my heart by giving me the ecstatic service of dancing
for eight hours in the kirtana!
In addition, I made a carob coconut sweet, teaching one of the newer
devotees, how to make it. [Actually I was not planning to make it
carob, but as the milk burned slightly, I decided to add carob, so
that would not be detected.] Many new devotees were encouraged to
take part and sing for the Lord, at least for some time during the
event.
For example, Kimani Daniels played the guitar and sang.
The
talented Vishvambhara of the Mayapuris sang, getting a bunch of
people to dance.
It was beautiful to see all the devotees take part
in the chanting and dancing.
I had to dance as I led to try to make
my quote of eight hours. I was very happy that a group of devotees
danced to the end of my segment of the kirtana.
It
was also wonderful to see some devotees come who I had not seen at
all in my three months stay in Gainesville. So the event really
brought people together in service to Lord Caitanya, who inaugurated
this dharma of the congregational chanting of the holy name, and we
all felt enlivened to be part of it.
Because
I promised I would go to another program, one by Dhira Govinda
Prabhu, for those of his seminar attendees more interested in
Krishna, I missed the last three hours of the twelve-hour kirtana,
and
was only able to dance for six hours, which I felt bad about. That
Dhira Govinda program, however, had a special feature—three of us
who chanted at the twelve-hour kirtana
earlier
also attended it, and there were three kirtanas
at
the program, with two being led by people who had never led the
chanting there before. I do not know if there was a correlation
between the presence of the kirtana
singers
who had sang earlier for several hours at Krishna House and the
additional kirtana
and
enthusiasm to lead kirtana
by
the new devotees, but it was definitely very auspicious spiritually
and a pleasure to witness.
I
hope the twelve-hour kirtana
becomes
a regular part of our Krishna House program. Thanks to all who played
a role in it.
Many
thanks to Andrea, who took many beautiful pictures of the event, some
of which you see here, and the rest which you can find on Facebook:
Gaura
Purnima
The
Krishna House Gaura Purnima abhiseka,
or
bathing ceremony, of Lord Caitanya and His spiritual brother, Lord
Nityananda, was so ecstatic.
Generally I am not so much into abhisekas, but I must have poured water and other substances over the deities at least seven times, which was completely out of character for me.
It must be the influence of Lord Caitanya Himself and His enthusiastic devotees
.
I also danced while others bathed the deities.
Madhava and Baladeva Prabhus played key roles in organizing and executing the ceremony, and several Krishna House ladies decorated for it. Many thanks to Andrea, who took many beautiful pictures of the event, some of which you see here, and the rest which you can find on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151682144578296.1073741829.513518295&type=3
Generally I am not so much into abhisekas, but I must have poured water and other substances over the deities at least seven times, which was completely out of character for me.
It must be the influence of Lord Caitanya Himself and His enthusiastic devotees
.
I also danced while others bathed the deities.
Madhava and Baladeva Prabhus played key roles in organizing and executing the ceremony, and several Krishna House ladies decorated for it. Many thanks to Andrea, who took many beautiful pictures of the event, some of which you see here, and the rest which you can find on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151682144578296.1073741829.513518295&type=3
Gaura
Purnima in Alachua was wonderful as usual, with the lively kirtana,
the
numerous devotees, and the great prasadam.
Amrita
Keli Devi Dasi is always thinking of new events to share Krishna with
people in Jacksonville. Thus she conceived of a sunset kirtana
at
the beach and invited devotee musicians
Purusharta Prabhu and Madhava Prabhu from the Alachua area
A carload of us came from Krishna House in Gainesville to participate. Four of Amrita’s friends from University of North Florida came and stayed for two and a half hours and the president of our Krishna Club there came for an hour or two with a friend. Two friends Amrita made while distributing cookies at the beach also came by.
I danced most of the time and some of the devotees joined me for some of the time.
Some of the students danced, including the girl Amee above, who said the event made her so happppppppy! A few new people came by.
Many, many people took the numerous cookies and invitations we had. It was wonderful to see many people taking a step toward Krishna.
cooperated together to put on the nice event which they hope will become a monthly occurrence there in Jacksonville.
Purusharta Prabhu and Madhava Prabhu from the Alachua area
and Ekendra Prabhu
and his wife,
Tulasi-priya Dasi,
from St. Augustine.
from St. Augustine.
A carload of us came from Krishna House in Gainesville to participate. Four of Amrita’s friends from University of North Florida came and stayed for two and a half hours and the president of our Krishna Club there came for an hour or two with a friend. Two friends Amrita made while distributing cookies at the beach also came by.
I danced most of the time and some of the devotees joined me for some of the time.
Some of the students danced, including the girl Amee above, who said the event made her so happppppppy! A few new people came by.
I talked with some.
Some
danced with us.
Many, many people took the numerous cookies and invitations we had. It was wonderful to see many people taking a step toward Krishna.
Amrita, Laura,
Lovelesh, and Mit
cooperated together to put on the nice event which they hope will become a monthly occurrence there in Jacksonville.
Thanks
to Holt Knight, one of Amrita Keli’s college-aged friends, and
Tulasi-priya Dasi for the photos.
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
“I
worship Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, whose nectarean mercy flows
like a great river, inundating the entire universe. Just as a river
flows downstream, Lord Caitanya especially extends Himself to the
fallen.” (Caitanya-caritamrita
16.1)
from
a morning walk in September 1975 in Vrindavan, India, quoted
in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
46, No. 2, page 40:
“The
Mayavadis say,
‘I am God.’ That is their foolishness. If they were equal to God,
why does God say, ‘Surrender to Me’? They are not God. They are
simply rascals who are claiming to be equal to God because they do
not want to surrender to Him.”
from
a morning walk in July 1975 in Denver, Colorado,
quoted in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
46, No. 3, page 44:
“A
drop of ocean water contains the
same ingredients as the big Pacific Ocean—it is qualitatively one
with the ocean. But if a drop of ocean water says, “I desire to
become
the
ocean,” that is not possible. So, when we understand that we are
qualitatively one and quantitatively minute in relation to the
Supreme, that is our perfection.”
from
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
7.9.18
given
on
Mayapur,
West Bengal, India on February 25, 1976, quoted in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
46, No. 3, page 8:
Mr.
Max Mueller is very famous as a translator of the Vedas.
Many
scholars have read his translations, but none of them could
understand the purpose of the Vedas
because
he’s not in the line of a sampradaya
[spiritual
lineage going back to Krishna].
“The
self-effulgent Vaikuntha planets, by whose illumination alone
all the illuminating planets within this material world give off
reflected light, cannot be reached by those who are not merciful to
other living entities. Only persons who constantly engage in welfare
activities for other
living
entities can reach the Vaikuntha planets.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.12.36)
“A
devotee
sees all living entities with spiritual
vision and does not discriminate on the platform of the bodily
concept of life. Such qualities develop only in the association of
devotees. Without the association of devotees, one cannot advance in
Krishna consciousness. Therefore, we have established the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Factually, whoever
lives in this society automatically develops Krishna consciousness.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.12.37,
purport)
In
this age of Kali,
if a person does not take advantage of chanting the Hare Krishna
mantra,
which
is offered as a great concession to the fallen human beings of this
age, it is to be understood that he is very much bewildered by the
illusory energy of the Lord.
(Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.24.14)
Radhanath
Swami:
from
a recorded lecture:
When
the Lord spoke to Madhavendra Puri in dream and ordered Him to
extricate His Deity from the forest and install Him in a temple, he
realized that it was the Lord who had brought him the milk when he
was fasting. He simultaneously rejoiced and lamented.
A
devotee is not interested in his own ecstasy nor is he very
interested in repentance, he is simply interested in serving the
Lord.
It
is said that Krishna does not see what you give but what you hold
back. That is why the residents of Vrindavan are so dear to Krishna.
They hold back nothing.
Give
the best of what you have to please Krishna, and you will undoubtedly
get His supreme favor.
The
villages surrounding the Gopal Deity celebrated the Annakuta festival
for two entire years when He was installed in the temple.
Why
should we invest all our energy in that which is guaranteed to be
stripped away from us today or tomorrow?
When
the devotees learn to love each other, that is the love of the
spiritual world.
The
devotee should hate the propensity to enjoy when he sees it in
himself.
A
devotee may be honored, but he sees all his attributes as belonging
to Krishna and not his own. He tries to utilize the honor he is given
to expand the service of the Lord.
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
from
CC
Asraya:
Christian
staying: “When
we pray, we ourselves speak to God, but when we read, it is God who
speaks to us.”
Kalakantha
Prabhu:
Putana
represents the false guru who gives sense enjoyment and liberation
but not devotion to the Lord. As Putana was the first demon to attack
Krishna, the false guru is the first obstacle on the path of bhakti.
Krishna is so
attractive that ultimately other attractions will naturally fall
away. We are pleasure-seeking and until we are attracted to Krishna,
we will remain attracted things that are bad for us.
If we chant sixteen
rounds and follow the four prohibitions against intoxication, illicit
sex, gambling, and meat eating, that is like an inoculation against
materialism.
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura says this pastime of the brahmanas’
wives
teaches attachment to Vedic literature is a obstacle on the path of
bhakti.
What
we do effects the hearts of others more so than our words. When the
brahmanas
saw
the ecstasy of their wives who had offered food to Krishna, they
realized their great mistake in neglecting to do so.
Humility
and tolerance are not just to be demonstrated in the association of
devotees, but more importantly outside that association.
Comment
by Tulasirani devi dasi: I heard in a class by Radhanath Swami the
gopis’
clothes
symbolize the false ego, and Krishna therefore wanted to see the
gopis
in
their original pure forms. Similarly Krishna wants to see us without
false ego.
from
A
God Who Dances:
What pain is there
for saintly souls devoted to the truth?
What evil is off
limits for the low and the uncouth?
And what cannot be
given up in service to the Lord
by those who want to
please Him and desire nothing more?
You fill the desire
of Your devotees
who conquer the
ocean of death and disease.
They use the safe
boat of Your soft lotus feet,
then leave it for
others, their journey complete.
The soul immersed in
ignorance cannot be satisfied.
When things go well
he dances and when things go wrong, he cries.
He always sees some
problems or immediate reward,
and never sees the
all-controlling presence of the Lord.
Kaliyaphani
Prabhu:
When the devotees
perform a drama it is to be understood the Lord is appearing in the
form of His pastimes.
Laksmimoni
Devi:
The
end of the Bhagavad-gītā
is
the beginning of Arjuna’s life as a surrendered soul, after his
confusion is over.
We
try to create a situation of freedom from anxiety. Anxiety is a
useless emotion which disturbs us in the present and does not help us
in the future. Therefore that Krishna promises to protect us from
anxiety if we surrender to Him is no small thing.
We
tend to value what someone believes, but what understands and how one
acts on it is more important to Krishna as he indicates in the Gita.
“O
conqueror of wealth, have you heard this with an attentive mind? And
are your ignorance and illusions now dispelled?” (Bg. 18.72)
We
think that we have to enjoy everything. It is part of the American
Nightmare.
Krishna
has created this world as such an amazing prison that the prisoners
voluntarily bind themselves up. In fact, they bind themselves up more
and more each day with newly found ropes and shackles!
In
the mode of goodness, we think we are happy. We are not hurting
anyone, but we have no motivation to attain a transcendental state.
Sometimes
there are too many voices in our head to hear the transcendental
voice.
Following
the order of the spiritual master, we find spiritual strength.
Q:
Would shooting your TV be in the mode of passion?
A:
No, because it is steals your time away from self-realization, and it
gives you erroneous information. It is an aggressor, and it deserves
to be shot.
Although
cows are mistreated in the present civilization, their service is
their offering of milk, and it is good for us to offer that milk to
Krishna for their benefit.
Krishna
consciousness is a lifestyle, and thus every act, word, and deed we
perform in the course of the day affects our spiritual strength.
Sesa
Prabhu:
As we have
aspirations for our children, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has
aspirations for us.
Lord Caitanya said,
“In every town and village My name will be chanted.” We often
think of that as a prediction, but we can personally take it as His
aspiration for us.
We can take the
aspirations the Lord has for us, apply them in our life, and benefit
ourselves and others.
Lord Caitanya also
warns us, like a loving parent, about three faulty aspirations, those
for wealth, those for fame, and those for women or men for sense
enjoyment.
What to speak of
solving the problems of life, mundane education creates additional
problems.
Money is not as
important as friends.
People adore fame
but Gandhi was so harassed by people chanting “Gandhiji! Gandhiji!”
he could not even sleep.
As far as the
happiness in chasing men and women is concerned, just turn on any
country radio station, and that illusion will be dispelled for you.
Famous thinkers
advise serving others:
Martin
Luther King, Jr.: Life’s most urgent question is: What you doing
for others?
Henry
Ford: To do more for the world than the world does for you—that is
success.
Aristotle:
The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other
persons.
Gandhi:
The best way to find yourself is by losing yourself in the service of
others.
Yet in the ultimate
issue, considering ourselves the servant of the Supreme Lord, and not
others, is the ultimate satisfaction.
The
highest aspiration is to become a resident of Vrindavana dhama
and
serve Krishna eternally.
The purpose of
aspirations is to take us beyond the ordinary.
Q: To maintain a
family one requires money. How to we acquire it without losing our
spiritual life?
A: It starts by
cultivating a sense of being satisfied with what you have and what is
easily attainable. Also consider Krishna has everything and is
grateful, and so if you serve Him, will He not maintain you? In
whatever situation we are in, we should use as much time as we can to
cultivate our spiritual life.
Krishna says,
“surrender and I will give mercy” while Lord Caitanya just gives
mercy. Take your pick. What not take what Lord Caitanya has given and
embrace it fully?
Yogesvara
Prabhu:
The longer we stay
in the material world, more we get covered by the dust of
materialism.
The
challenge is how to present the eternal philosophy of bhakti
in
language of 2013.
One
way of stating Bhagavad-gita
philosophy
is “there is more to you than the cumulative bruised psyche of this
one life.”
Human beings seem to
benefit from stressful situations. Perhaps that is one reason not
very much innovative work has come out of Hawaii.
I
see Bhagavad-gita
is
parallel to advanced psychology.
Do you know how many
people have committed suicide after having won the lottery?
According to ABC TV,
in America half the people believe in reincarnation and half do not.
I
explain the basics of Krishna consciousness and then we start with a
round of japa
and
kirtana,
and
end in arati.
The biggest
difficulty people have with Krishna is that He is a person. Why is
that:
Persons they have
met are defective.
They do not want to
be answerable to a person.
They think Krishna
is a foreign God.
They do not like the
idea that anyone is greater than them.
One problem is that
in this life, every relationship has been frought with pain.
If you are afraid to
go beyond looking at just the surface, then you will never get past
your resentment.
The pain may be
inevitable, but the suffering is optional.
Spiritually we are
whole and unblemished, but to realize that, we have to perform some
practice.
I was very bold and
asked Srila Prabhupada many questions. Once I asked him, “What is
it like being a pure devotee? For example, how do you see a tree?”
Srila Prabhupada replied that you do not just see a tree, you see the
soul of the tree is part of Krishna, and therefore you are seeing
Krishna.
from
a seminar on Sri
Isopanisad given
in Gainesville, March 18–19, 2013:
The
invocation of Sri
Isopanisad appears
in other works. It is a maha-vakya,
a
resounding statement of purpose: “The
Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is
completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal
world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is
produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He
is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate
from Him, He remains the complete balance.” (Sri
Isopanisad,
Invocation)
We have a suspicion
that we will not be taken care of, and therefore we conclude that we
have to look out for number one [meaning ourselves].
“Killing
the soul” means “not to nourish the soul.”
If you see someone
has harmed you, without the higher knowledge of the Vedas, you are
left with your own resentment and desire for revenge.
If you can find
bliss on the battlefield as Arjuna did, then can you not find bliss
in doing your own duties in life for Krishna.
Worse than making a
mistake is to make an excuse for doing it again.
When we would travel
with Srila Prabhupada, he was so curious about the world around him!
And he used the knowledge he obtained in his classes and his writing.
I know a lot of
people who worshiped the demigods of Wall Street and got hit hard in
2008.
Sri
Isopanisad, like
Bhagavad-gita,
starts
externally, and develops into a very internal prayer.
Our very small
independence is to choose what to depend on.
If we develop the
desire to live without Krishna, there has to be a place for us to go.
That is the material world.
I asked Srila
Prabhupada, “If everything is so good in the spiritual world, what
did we come here?” He gave an example. Suppose you are a rich man,
and you have your chef, and you have the same great, rich food every
day. You could develop the desire to just have some simple chipped
rice for a change. Similarly, we can develop the desire to do
something besides serve Krishna for a change.
It is glorious that
we have the option to come to the material world, because once we
realize how bad a decision it, we can completely give ourselves to
Krishna.
We were just at Home
Depot. Everyone is building their own mansions.
There are some
correlations between Vedic and modern astrophysics:
4.320 days:
Jupiter’s orbit according to Vedic astrophysics
4,332 days:
Jupiter’s orbit according modern astrophysics
10,800 days:
Saturn’s orbit according to Vedic astrophysics
10,800.5 days:
Saturn’s orbit according modern astrophysics
There is reflective
and popular spiritual life. Reflective spiritual life is for the
intellectuals while popular spiritual life is more sentimental.
“The
most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience is the
sensation of the mystical. It is the source of all true science. He
to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and
stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is
impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest
wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can
comprehend only in their primitive forms— this knowledge, this
feeling, is at the center of true religion.” (Albert Einstein)
“My
religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior
spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to
perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional
conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is
revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God.”
(Albert Einstein)
Newtonian physics
does not work well for small things like atomic particles or large
things like universes.
Himavati dd told me
that during Srila Prabhupada’s visit to Hamburg, she saw him
sitting in the light of the setting sun with his eyes closed for
several minutes. When he opened his eyes he chuckled, and said he was
experimenting with traveling to the sun via its rays. Actually it is
said that the yogis can travel by the rays of the setting sun.
Prabhupada himself
would have his disciples read the newspaper to him. It is important
to know what is going on to be relevant to our audience.
Srila Prabhupada was
upset when scientists claimed that there was no God, but he did not
deprecate their dedicated and enthusiastic study of the Lord’s
amazing creation.
The experiences of
this life are the tools for your own self-awareness.
You have to find a
balance.
Particle physics has
brought us the electronics that our laptops, iPods, and cell phones
use today.
The same evidence
analyzed by different people is interpreted in different ways.
If you eliminated
all the space within and between the atoms of the Empire State
Building, you would have something the size of a pea of tremendous
weight.
At the subatomic
level, everything becomes unpredictable. All bets are off.
The universe has
curled up dimensions that are too small to measure.
At the lowest level,
human will can affect the behavior of subatomic particles.
The electron was
seen to behave like a particle when observed but otherwise like a
wave.
Particles appear to
be be able to go in a variety of ways until observed, in which case
they only go in one way.
There is no scope
for the Supreme to act in our lives until we provide the opportunity.
There is a
difference between the sentiment to be spiritually advanced and the
practical steps to attain that goal.
There is a
phenomenon where two companion particles which have the properties of
upward and downward spin are separated by a one hundred miles and
when the spin of one is changed, the spin of the other also
spontaneously changes.
Studies show at
absolute zero, particles lose their distinguishing features. This
reminds us of the Vedic idea of matter having a primal
undifferentiated state.
One lady had a
mystic experience a vision of Prabhupada, saw his picture on the
books, and found him out. She explained her story and told Prabhupada
she thought it meant he was her teacher. Srila Prabhupada accepted
that but encouraged her in the basics and advised her not to depend
on mystical experiences.
Although you may
have some occasional higher experience, if you stick with the basics
of Krishna consciousness, you will never go wrong.
The conservative and
liberal sides both have value. The conservatives keep what has worked
intact while the liberals facilitate needed innovations. Those
espousing each need to learn how to get along with the other.
Pran
Govinda Prabhu:
To
understand Lord Caitanya we must appreciate His merciful nature, and
come to love Him, and this way we can attain Radha-Krishna.
One
devotee was telling Srila Prabhupada that he had no attraction to
Krishna. Prabhupada asked if he was attracted to anything, and he
listed his favorite objects of attraction, and Srila Prabhupada
advised the devotee trace back that attraction to Krishna, the
original source.
In
the spiritual world everyone is satisfied in their service to the
divine couple, Radha-Krishna, and thus they deal with each other very
nicely. That is what Lord Caitanya came to give.
We
don’t chant the holy name, we serve the holy name.
Without
chanting under the guidance of the guru, we do not get the result.
The
Lord is the ultimate of end of all the senses.
Radha
Krishna have a tremendous ever fresh mutual attraction.
According
to Padma
Purana, the
Lord was wandering if anyone could empathize with Him. At that point,
a supremely attractive female appeared from His left side with the
zeal to serve Him that struck Him with amazement. That was Radharani.
Lord
Caitanya is giving unlimitedly, but we get as much as our faith
allows.
Lord
Caitanya is relishing great spiritual happiness, and when you connect
with him through guru, scripture, and saints, according to your
eligibility you can relish that happiness.
There
is one pastime when Srila Prabhupada cried in spiritual ecstasy and
the other people in the temple also began to cry. His disciple said
he left the room because everyone was crying, and Srila Prabhupada
said “This movement is simply meant for crying for Krishna.”
We
do not know if Radha-Shyamasundara will accept our offering, but if
we work under Srila Prabhupada he will be bound to accept.
One
buttermilk salesman offered Lord Caitanya some buttermilk, but Lord
Caitanya drank the whole batch he was to sell that day. The
buttermilk salesman was in great anxiety, but when returned home, he
found his buttermilk container was filled jewels with enough value to
maintain his family for ten generations.
Rohini
Kumara Prabhu:
If
you learn how to do one thing, let it be to associate devotees.
Akuti
Devi asked a Godsister, “How are you and the holy name?”
comment
by Tulasirani dd: Association with devotees is more important than
chanting the holy name because the devotees inspire us to chant.
Being
a leader you have one foot in heaven because of your devotional
engagement and one in hell because you have to criticize devotees to
help them improve, and thus you can become proud or even offend a
devotee.
comment
by Vaishnavi Devi: Sacinandana Swami explained that to full our cup
with liquid one must place the cup below the vessel we are pouring
from. Similarly we must position ourselves below the person who is
giving mercy to receive it, therefore we must be humble.
comment
by Marlon: There is a part in the Bible that says the mercy far
exceeds judgment. By judging you become proud, but if you exist on
mercy there is no pride.
comment
by Tulasirani dd: After 9:00 p.m. your service should be taking rest,
so you can do some service tomorrow.
Krishna
consciousness is the best thing that is ever going to happen to you.
We
have to be enthusiastic to be successful in devotional service.
We
must avoid the mentality, “I only serve my guru. My guru is
everything. Everyone else is a shmuck.” You may laugh, but I
actually heard someone say that.
Sometimes
we see that materialists seem not to be struggling, but that is just
because they are going with the flow of the material energy.
Tulasirani
dd: I used to smoke pot all day every day, but found that it brought
me down from the high from chanting Hare Krishna, so I would do it
less and less. Finally I did not take either alcohol or pot for a
whole month which was amazing for me, even a day would have been
amazing. My pothead friends said I should celebrate by getting high.
So I got completely stoned. I remember thinking that I just want to
sit down, then I want to eat, and then I wanted to pass out. And I
observed how selfish how was. If potheads sit around and discuss
changing the world, they cannot do anything to help everyone, because
they do not have the ambition.
Guruttama
Prabhu:
Once
Lokanath Swami asked a question during a New Vraja Mandala Parikrama,
“Why do so many demons disturb Krishna’s pastimes?” The answer
was that Krishna gets so absorbed in his play that he forgets to eat
lunch. The killing of the demons creates a break in the play, and
afterward he remembers to eat lunch.
The
prayers of the demigods are valuable because they are sharing their
realizations which we can learn from. Srimad-Bhagavatam,
which
is full of such prayers, is very practical.
comment
by Kalakantha Prabhu:
All
the gopis
wanted
to marry Krishna and so to accommodate their desire He arranged that
they were betrothed to the copies of His friends who were expansions
of His very self during the year Lord Brahma hid His friends.
Caitanya
Carana Prabhu:
quoted
in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
46, No. 3, page 14:
“Even
if we don’t feel fully happy in Krishna consciousness, the only way
to greater happiness is not outward, but inward—not out of Krishna
consciousness, but deeper into Krishna consciousness.”
Dina
Bandhu Prabhu:
Studies show the
orphans that were not physically touched by a person died of
deficiencies in calorie intake and protein although being given
sufficient food. Thus the touch of a person is very important.
Similarly in our spiritual life, touch of the personality of God is
very important to spiritual survival.
comment by Darlina:
My mother taught me
God was like the sun and was so bright you could not see Him. I did
not like the sun, it was always too bright to look at. I preferred to
look at the moon. Because of being brought up in that way it was hard
for me to develop a relationship with God. Reading about Krishna has
helped me.
comment by Laura:
Krishna can
transform his material energy to his spiritual energy or his
spiritual energy to his material energy. So the deity is an example
of that.
comment by Amrita
Keli dd:
For the first six
months I did not notice the deities were in the temple. After a while
I realized if I have a form, why shouldn’t God have a form. It is
prideful of me to think of having something God does not have.
comment by Mit:
I
noticed the deities but thought of them more as attractive statues.
One day I was staying with a devotee, and I was so tired when my
alarm clock went off, I told my friend, “I am too tired. I am not
going to the mangala
arati [morning
service]. Tell Them I said, ‘Hi!’” I think that was the first
time I even thought of the deity as a person.
My friend replied,
“They want to see you.”
I said, “Why did
you say that!” knowing I would have to get up. I got up although I
was more tired than I had ever been. That day during the morning
service, the deity was not blocked from my vision by others, as He is
sometimes in the temple.
Namamrta
Prabhu:
When the boys want
Krishna to enjoy the fruits in Talavan forest, they tell Krishna that
they want the fruits for their enjoyment because they know His desire
to please His friends is stronger than His desire to please Himself.
comment by Caitanya
dd: I was a care giver for 17 years and witnessed 11 people die.
Those who were somewhat God consciousness were peaceful at the end,
but the others were in great anxiety.
Hanan:
Lord
Caitanya taught the chanting of Hare Krishna in which the process and
the goal are the same.
When
Srila Prabhupada was asked the goal of chanting Hare Krishna, he
replied, “More chanting.”
In
the time of Lord Caitanya, Kazi’s soldiers would stop the chanting
the holy name in one part of city of Navadvipa, and then they would
hear it in another place, and it would continue to go on like that,
and thus the Kazi and his soldiers were frustrated.
When
Lord Caitanya organized a huge congregational chanting party to
protest the attempts the Kazi to stop them, although it was night
there were millions of people carrying so many torches it appeared
like daytime. The Kazi sent soldiers to stop the chanters but
influence of the chanting party was so great most of them ended up
joining it. When the Kazi heard that, he sent more people to break up
the chanting party, but they all ended up joining it. The thieves
noticed people ran to join the chanting, leaving their doors open,
and thought it was a great opportunity to plunder them, but the
chanting was so powerful, they ended up joining the kirtana
instead.
There
are many branches on the Lord Caitanya tree, and Srila Prabhupada
explained that our ISKCON is on the branch from Sanatana and Rupa
Goswamis.
A
king was frustrated because his servant, who had nothing, was happy
while the king himself was not. He asked his minister who said he
would tell him if the king gave him 99 gold coins. The minister took
the bag of coins and hung it on the servant’s door. The servant
looked in the bag. He was distressed that there were only 99 coins
and decided to work two jobs to purchase one more so he would have
100, and by doing this his happiness was lost.
The
mind is only looking for a new situation of enjoyment. If we are
married, we wish we were single. If we are single, we are looking for
a wife or husband. Now people are celebrating their divorces.
Formerly they would just celebrate their marriages.
In
India I saw people living in the street, bathing in the street,
dressing in the street, and yet they were happier than people with
much more opulence. I stayed some time to learn why.
Often
I have asked, “What do you do if you have material desires?” The
best answer I heard was from a recorded lecture by Kadamba Kanana
Swami: “You put them on a shelf, and pray to Lord Balarama to take
care of them. Then in a year or two you look at the shelf, and
realize that they are not there. Lord Balarama took care of them.”
Bhaktin
Amanda:
It was striking to
me that Krishna does not think about His personal needs for the seven
days he was holding up Govardhana Hill.
I
heard a lecture by Radhanath Swami on the Govardhan pastime. He
describes the Indra yajna
that
Vrindavan residents performed was officially done without much
feeling, but when enlightened by Krishna to understand the value of
Govardhan Puja, they eagerly
performed
it with devotion.
Radhanath Swami also
explained that Indra made the mistake of thinking that his service of
providing rain belonged to him instead of being given to him by
Krishna and thus belonging to Him.
Despite the darkness
created by the clouds of Indra, the place was lighted up by the
effulgence of Krishna’s toe nails.
While Krishna was
holding the hill with one hand, he played on this flute with the
other to please His friends.
comment by
Rupacandra Prabhu: This pastime is arranged so all the residents of
Vrndavana could simultaneously be with Krishna for seven days
straight.
comment by Syamala
Kishori dd: The demigods like Brahma and Indra easily give up their
pride and accept Krishna while the demons resist.
comment by
Dvarakadhisa Prabhu: Our juice in life is trying to understand
Krishna.
comment by Marlan:
It seems to me that Krishna does not like to play the role of God.
comment by me: He
does not like to be limited to playing the role of God. He plays God
in Vaikuntha, and plays as a devotee as Lord Caitanya, and enjoys
playing in many other ways, and all these forms are simultaneously
manifest because His desire to enjoy in these ways is eternal.
Bhaktin
Valentina:
Goodness conditions
us to a sense of happiness and knowledge, but it is not real
happiness nor real knowledge.
The descriptions of
the modes of material nature are like a road map we can use to see if
we are moving in a positive direction.
“When
one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged
in fruitive activities; and when one dies in the mode of ignorance,
he takes birth in the animal kingdom.” (Bg. 14.15) This verse shook
sort of me up. There is an urgency in this human form of life. Am I
ready to leave when the bomb explodes?
comment by Bhaktin
Lacie: Being in the material world, is like being in a house with
three rooms, goodness, passion, and ignorance—you can change rooms
but you cannot leave the house.
Franco:
from
an ice-breaker at the beginning of a class:
For
spring break, I visited one of my best friends in Tallahassee, and I
noticed she was in the same state she has been for the last three
years, simply absorbed in her studies and her partying. Meanwhile I
have been coming to Krishna House for the last year, and I feel that
I have really grown in a lot of ways. It was striking to see such a
good friend in the same place as before with no desire to get beyond
it.
-----
bhavanti
bhuvi ye narāḥ kalita-duṣkulotpattayas
tvam
uddharasi tān api pracura-cāru-kāruṇyataḥ
iti
pramuditāntaraḥ śaraṇam āśritas tvām ahaṁ
śacī-suta
mayi prabho kuru mukunda mande kṛpām
“Even
low-born, sinful souls entrapped in Kali’s Age,
Suffering
uncounted pains that no one can assuage,
Are
instantly delivered when You kindly seek them out
And
flood them with Your splendid mercy, making bhakti
sprout.
And
so with heart rejoicing at Your mercy’s endless store,
I
take full shelter of Your lotus feet and then implore,
O
Lord Caitanya! Sri Mukunda! Saci’s precious jewel,
Please
shower Your compassion on this wretched, stubborn fool.”
(“Tritiya
Caitanyastaka,” Verse 5, from Stavamala,
by Rupa Gosvami, English poetization by Dravida Dasa)