Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 11
By Krishna-kripa das
(June 2013, part one)
By Krishna-kripa das
(June 2013, part one)
Adventures in England
(Sent from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on July 8, 2013)
(Sent from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on July 8, 2013)
Where
I Went and What I Did
Because
I was in London to see my sister, I learned of the Bath Ratha-yatra
and had the opportunity to go to that and the wild London Saturday
night harinama
that
evening. Then on to Leeds for an afternoon program, with harinama
before
and after, the one before having five people. Then three days in
Newcastle and back to London for the UK Brahmacari Conference, a
Camden harinama,
another
London Saturday night harinama,
the
London Ratha-yatra, and a few days of harinama,
with
Vishnujana, Gaura Karuna, and Syama-rasa Prabhus, old friends from
the Polish Woodstock, who are traveling all over the world doing
harinama,
along
with Harinamananda Prabhu.
Then
those harinama
devotees
and I joined Janananda Goswami in his visit to Brighton, where we did
harinamas
and
a stage show at People’s Day, along with Mahavishnu Swami.
I
share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books and notes from his
lectures. I also share a quote from the second volume of the
autobiography of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. While at the UK Brahmacari
Conference at Bhaktivedanta Manor I heard nice lectures by Jayadvaita Swami, Atmanivedana Swami, Kadamba Kanana Swami, and Dayananda Swami, and
senior devotees like Uttamasloka Prabhu, and I share notes from
these.
Thanks
to the devotees who took pictures of me at the Bath Ratha-yatra, and
to Vidyapati and Sandipani Muni Prabhus who took videos in Brighton.
Bath
Ratha-yatra
Parasurama
Prabhu likes to do Ratha-yatras all over England, and when I offered
to speak at his Friday program in Kings Cross when I came to London
to meet my sister, he invited me to the Bath Ratha-yatra the next
day. Because I like to dance for Lord Jagannatha at as many
Ratha-yatras as possible I accepted his invitation.
The
weather was sunny and warm. We spent at least half an hour of the
two-hour parade (or carnival as they say in the UK) at one square in
the city so lots people got exposure to the event. Lots of people
watched, many
took photos,
a few danced, like this boy and his mom below,
and some even chanted with us. Some, like the couple below, joined the procession to the park where we chanted for another half hour and had prasadam.
Kids
seeing our kirtana
party
began to dance.
The
Bath Hindu Community members helped with the prasadam.
Parasurama
Prabhu was very liberal and let me lead at least a quarter of the
time.
Yuka,
a new devotee from a Japanese background who we knew from Newcastle, now works in Bristol, half
an hour from Bath, and it was awesome to see her love for chanting
and dancing in the kirtana.
I
took nine video clips of the Bath Ratha-yatra and the picnic in the
park, and placed them in the following YouTube playlist:
London Saturday Night Harinamas
Parasurama
Prabhu was so enthusiastic to go to the Saturday night harinama
that as prasadam was being served out after the Bath
Ratha-yatra, he was packing up the cart to return to the Manor,
normally a two-hour drive away, so he could drop off the cart and
then go to Central London, a forty-five minute drive, for the
harinama.
The
next week I was also in London and brahmacaris from the
conference at the Manor joined the many lively singers, dancers, and
distributors of flyers and books who weekly go on that Saturday
harinama in London.
At
one point we danced in front of a theater showing Singin’ in the
Rain. Fortunately for us, although we were in London, there was
no rain to sing in that night!
Newcastle
Harinamas
I
had couple austere days chanting by myself in Newcastle that week
between my London trips, but I always put out a collection basket and
give out a few books, so in that sense it was an increase. The first
day back I got 21 British pounds ($32.50) even before I set out my
basket. Robert, a former attender at the temple, donated two bananas
and a person who was tired of hearing me sing, donated a cup of water
as a farewell gift. That was an unusual day.
Seeing
an enthusiasm for kirtana among the youth I suggested we have
a twelve-hour kirtana, like we did the previous year. They
recalled that the first few hours of that kirtana, practically
no one came, so we decided to do an eight-hour kirtana instead.
We chose Ekadasi as it is a good day to increase our hearing and
chanting about Krishna.
It
still got off to a slow start. I sang first to get things going. Then
Satya Medha Gauranga Prabhu chanted, but there were still not many
people.
Later Satya Medha’s little boy, Bhanu, was inspired by the others to begin playing on his little drum.
The weather was unusually good for Newcastle, sunny and not too cool, so for the last two hours we sang in the park across the street from the temple.
A group of boys, and later, a lady danced with us. I took some great pictures of the boys dancing, but they wanted me to delete the pictures from my camera while they watched, perhaps afraid that their parents or friends might see them. I did so, but was amazed by such fear among boys perhaps ten or twelve years old. The devotees enthusiastically cooked some great Ekadasi prasadam for the event as you can see below:
At
noon each Saturday a van load of devotees (about seventeen) from
Bhaktivedanta
Manor chants in public at a different locations in the London
vicinity. The party goes out even in the winter, but has about half
the number of people. The day before the London Ratha-yatra, I went
with them to Camden and helped out by leading kirtana
and
distributing Ratha-yatra invitations.
Many people danced, like this
mom and daughter,
Many
also took pictures of our party. Devotees distributed books and
prasadam
sweets
and packets of dried fruit. On the ride home we had puris
and tea. It was a pleasant experience.
London
Ratha-yatra
London
Ratha-yatra is big with three large carts and lots of devotees. For
London the weather was good. In other words, it did not rain and it
was not too cold. Many new people were happy to encounter the
devotees and see the Jagannatha carts and hear the kirtana.
Many
people took pictures. There were two kirtana
parties
before Lord Jagannatha, and of course, other kirtana
parties
before the other deities. In recent years, I have been thinking my
goal in life is to sing and dance for Lord Jagannatha as far as
Ratha-yatra is concerned, Thus after seeing Baladeva’s and
Subhadra’s carts pass by, I stayed singing and dancing in front of
Lord Jagannatha the rest of the time. I did not take many pictures,
but if you look, you can find many on the the Internet. I was happy
just chanting and dancing for Lord Jagannath, my eternal master and
the Lord of the Universe. I would invite people who seemed very
interested in the procession to the festival at Trafalgar Square
afterward. The prasadam
cooked
by Parasurama Prabhu and his team was excellent as usual. The sabji
with
curd in it, and the srikhand
were
high points for me, and I had thirds on the sabji
and seconds on the srikhand
instead
of thirds
only
because they ran out. The prasadam
was
sponsored by the Hinduja Foundation in honor of Dharam Hinduja.
Paola, one young lady who came to Ratha-yatra for the first time last
year, and who later came to our food distribution at Stonehenge a few
days later, was happy when I reminded her of this year’s festival
and was very happy to come again.
People
danced along with the stage show.
The
traveling harinama
party
did a little harinama
by
the carts, something that I do not recall was done before.
After
we arrived at Soho Street, Vidyapati Prabhu was in such a festive
mood from the Ratha-yatra that he continued chanting in the
brahmacari
ashram, as devotees took some maha-prasadam
from
Lord Jagannatha, as you can see in the video below:
London
Daily Harinamas
It
was my great fortune that my friends who travel around the world
doing harinama
decided
to stay in London between the London Ratha-yatra and the Stonehenge
Solstice Festival. Another young man from the near Manor, and three
young devotee ladies who are friends also decided to spend the week
following Ratha-yatra in London, so we had lots of people to go
chanting. We had different experience. A costumed man posed with our drum.
A couple of young ladies joined our party, dancing for some time.
The
kids were fascinated with kirtana,
and
almost all took part enthusiastically as you can see in the video:
People
seeing the harinamas
often
seem to be attracted to dancing in a circle, like the group in this
video below:
Another
day, when we chanted at Piccadilly Circus, we had three wonderful
experiences. One was another group of people danced with us all at
once in a circle, and they all had a great time, as you can see from
this video:
Another
was I saw one young woman trying to sing the mantra with an
expression of great delight on her face. I came over to her and gave
her a mantra card, which she was very grateful for. I asked her if
she had met the Hare Krishna devotees before, and to my surprise, she
said this was her first encounter with them. She continued singing
during both the lead and the response with a blissful smile on her
face which amazed me. She told me her name was Irena and she was from
a small town in Spain but that Victor, the young man she was
traveling with was from Madrid, where I had said we had a center. I
hope she continues her interest in chanting the Hare Krishna
maha-mantra.
Judging
from the joy with which she chanted the mantra, as seen in her
expression in the picture below, she must have done some devotional
service in a past life.
One
Indian lady joined the harinama
party
and chanted with us for quite a while at Piccadilly and then came
back to the Soho temple. She asked to see the temple room, and ended
up attending the last forty-five minutes of the japa
class
that replaces the Bhagavad-gita
class
on Wednesday night. Then she stayed for the evening arati.
After
the arati,
recognizing
her from the harinama,
I
spoke to her, and she told me the most amazing story. Recently she
had been in India and doing pilgrimage to Benares, Hardwar, and
Rishikesh. At Rishikesh in the Ganges she found I deity that she did
not recognize, and later she learned it was a deity of Jagannatha, a
form of Lord Krishna, who she had not encountered before. Although
from India, she had never seen Lord Jagannatha worshiped in a temple,
and after finding that deity, she developed the desire to see Him
worshiped on the altar. That afternoon, immediately after she came
out of a movie theater, she saw and joined our harinama
party
and came back to the temple, and ultimately saw Lord Jagannatha
blissfully smiling on the altar. He had fulfilled her desire to see
Him worshiped in a temple! She had not known there was a Hare Krishna
temple in London. I invited her to next week’s Croydon Ratha-yatra,
but she told me she would not be in town and that she lived in
Manchester. She did not know we had a Hare Krishna temple in
Manchester, so I gave her the address and told her of the web site,
and the Friday and Sunday programs there. I also told her that we
would be having a Ratha-yatra in Manchester later in the summer.
Norwood
Program
Louise,
a devotee who attends our Soho Street temple, started a program at
Norwood Junction, near where she lives. When Sandipani Muni Prabhu
and I exited the Norwood Junction station, a well dressed man, who
looked to be in his fifties expressed surprise to see Hare Krishnas
at Norwood Junction. I explained that we had just started a program
there that met on Thursday evenings. He said he had a friend who had
been involved with the Hare Krishnas, and that it did him a world of
good. He asked if we accepted donations, and I said we did, so he
gave us a five-pound note. I offered him a Bhagavad-gita
I
had in my pocket, but he declined it because he said he would not
read it. It was positive to be greeted with such enthusiasm for Hare
Krishna on my first visit to Norwood Junction, and to hear a man
report of a positive experience his friend had had with the devotees.
Brighton
Harinamas and People’s Day
We
got to Brighton by the special mercy of Krishna. I wanted to do
harinama
in
London as long as possible before taking the coach to Brighton. I
allowed an extra ten minutes to get to the coach station, but the bus
we took there got stuck in traffic, taking an extra fifteen minutes
for the journey. We dashed the two blocks between the bus and coach
stations, arriving about three minutes after the scheduled departure
to see the bus just pulling out of the gate. We banged on the glass
and waved to the driver. Janananda Goswami, who was more experienced
than us and had arrived much earlier, saw us. He told the bus driver
to stop and let us board which he kindly did. And thus despite our
gambling, we made the bus. Thus we saw our dependence on the mercy of
Krishna and His devotee in our practical life, and we resolved to
allow more time to catch the coaches in the future.
Our
party included seven people and thus the vehicle sent to pick up
Janananda Goswami could not accommodate us. Thus we did harinama
to the Brighton temple.
Janananda
Goswami describes Brighton as abounding with ex-hippies and their
offspring, and so the crowd was more open-minded and receptive than
most.
We
also did harinama
from
the temple to the evening program. As we passed a park, a whole
family took interest in our kirtana.
They
began dancing themselves.
Mahavishnu
Swami also did harinama,
as
you can see below,
even
going into shops, like this costume shop,
and
this guitar shop:
Later
in the day we performed on the stage at an event called People’s
Day. The host was pleased with us and did a few dance steps herself.
Mahavishnu Swami led a wild kirtana
on
the stage, and Janananda Goswami encouraged people to dance in front
of the stage. In addition, Mahavishnu Swami paraphrased Srila
Prabhupada’s explanation of the Hare Krishna mantra and added music
to it. Here is some video of the event:
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
from
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
5.5.1
given in New Delhi on November 28, 1975:
The Krishna
consciousness movement is just to teach people not to be attracted by
the false reality.
The love in this
world is like a reflection. It is like a mirage in the desert.
We are hunting after
pleasure, but we do not know that the real pleasure is in
relationship with Krishna.
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.29.32, purport:
“To
get rid of one miserable condition, we have to put ourselves in
another kind of miserable condition. A poor man suffers for want of
money, but if he wants to become rich, he has to struggle in so many
ways. Actually that is not a valid counteracting process but a snare
of the illusory energy. If one does not endeavor to counteract his
situation but is satisfied with his position, knowing that he has
obtained his position through past activities, he can instead engage
his energy to develop Krishna consciousness. This is recommended in
all Vedic literature.
. . . Actually
the material condition cannot be improved. The process of improvement
means accepting another miserable condition. However, if we endeavor
to improve our Krishna
consciousness,
the distresses of material life will disappear without extraneous
endeavor.”
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.29.34:
“One
can counteract a dream only by awaking. Similarly, our material
existence is due to our ignorance and illusion. Unless we awaken to
Krishna
consciousness,
we cannot be relieved of such dreams.”
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.29.35, purport:
“The
Vedas therefore enjoin that one should factually understand that he
is not material, but is actually Brahman (aham
brahmasmi).
This understanding cannot be fully realized unless one is engaged in
Brahman activities, namely devotional service. To get free from the
material conditions, one has to take to Krishna consciousness. That
is the only remedy.”
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.29.38, purport:
“Simply
by hearing of the glories of the Lord, one is elevated to the
transcendental position.”
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.29.3–40, purport:
“A
Krishna conscious person is never disturbed by the bodily necessities
— namely eating, sleeping, mating and defending.”
from
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
1.126, purport:
Being
absolute in all circumstances, Lord Jagannatha’s person, form,
picture and kirtana
are
all identical. Therefore when Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard the chanting
of the holy name of the Lord, He was pacified. Previously, He had
been feeling very morose due to separation from Jagannatha. The
conclusion is that whenever a kirtana
of
pure devotees takes place, the Lord is immediately present. By
chanting the holy names of the Lord, we associate with the Lord
personally.
from
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
1.170 :
“Even
a Muslim king could understand Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s
transcendental position as a prophet; therefore he ordered the local
magistrate not to disturb Him but to let Him do whatever He liked.”
from
a lecture on the teachings of Prahlada Maharaja, Srimad-Bhagavatam
7.6.5:
People
waste years of their lives not realizing the importance of this human
form of life.
The
Vedic social divisions are not divisions of caste but divisions of
culture with the brahmanas
having
the topmost spiritual culture. Aryans
are
those advanced in spiritual culture.
Madhukari
means
begging door-to-door for the bare necessities of life. Rupa Goswami
did that, but not with a plan to sell the surplus rotis
[a
kind of flat Indian bread].
Without
reading the books like The
Nectar of Devotion, we
will misunderstand Radha-Krishna.
We
should not imitate prema-bhakti
[devotional
service in spontaneous love] without going through the practice of
vidhi-bhakti
[devotional
service in practice].
Not that just
because we have come to Vrindavan that we have become advanced.
The body changes
from material to spiritual when we are in constant touch with Krishna
consciousness.
Prahlada Maharaja
advises us not to waste years of our lives without spiritual
cultivation.
Narottama Dasa
Thakura songs are as good as Vedic evidence.
Life can be finished
at any time.
Every
moment we are living we are actually dying. Thus we are mudha,
bewildered.
As the expert
geologist is required to find out gold in the soil. A spiritual
expert is required to find the soul within the body.
This movement cannot
be understood unless one understands what I am. But Caitanya
Mahaprabhu’s movement is so nice that if one chants and dances,
someday he will be able to understand.
Comments by
Parividha Prabhu:
One thing I always
notice is that Srila Prabhupada’s classes are short because he
wanted devotees to do a lot of service.
Those who enjoy
life, either spiritually or materially, find sleep to be a waste of
time.
Jayadvaita Swami:
from a program in
Harrow organized by the Pandava Sena devotees:
Q: What about
persons who are homosexual and want to be Krishna conscious?
A: They will have to
change their lifestyle because homosexual sex can not be engaged in
Krishna’s service. If they can self controlled enough, they can be
celibate and live in an ashram, but that may not be possible.
Q: What do we see so
much religious terrorism?
A: Governments have
found it a convenient way to mask their own activities. The Gulf War
is a clash of economics interests not a clash between Islamic groups.
The real clash is between the demoniac and the divine. And the
demoniac are more numerous in this age. There is a grabbing for sense
gratification without regard for suffering caused to others. Tobacco
companies target 13 to 16-year-olds to get them hooked on their brand
for life.
Q:
If a brahmana-initated
devotee breaks the regulative principles does the guru suffer for his
karma and can the disciple go back to Godhead?
A: Of course, the
guru suffers from the embarrassment. One should take vows seriously,
but if one makes a mistake and rectifies himself, he could go back to
Godhead.
Q: To what extent
does Krishna consciousness condone capital punishment?
A:
100%. For one thing, it eliminates the problem of repeat offenders.
And the Bhagavatam
states
that for the criminal, he is purified by such punishment and will not
have to suffer in the future.
Q: What about the
problem of someone receiving capital punishment who is later found to
be innocent?
A: Such mistakes are
possible, and if there is not capital punishment, one may be released
and kill 40 people. We cannot govern based on exceptions.
There was a case in
a hotel in a Muslim country where guests found something missing and
accused the hotel staff, and the hotel staff member lost his hand for
it. Then the guests found they had not lost the thing after all, and
they lost their own hand for the false accusation. Thus justice must
be administered carefully, especially in a Muslim country.
Q: Some people chant
and quickly and attain perfection, but others do not for a long time
even after performing devotional service. Why?
A: Everyone has the
chance to attain Krishna consciousness, but not everyone takes the
chance.
One may free from
more sinful activities than he can commit by chanting Hare Krishna,
but he should stop committing sinful activities.
Q: How do we prove
that Krishna exists?
A: It is difficult
to prove anything. Still we have to ask the question, what is the
source of everything? Everything comes from nothing. Everything comes
from a source which is devoid of varieties. Do these ideas make any
sense?
The idea of chance
denies the law of cause and effect. Sadaputa Prabhu, a mathematician,
explained to us that chance does not cause anything, it just explains
a certain observation. Chance means you do not have the slightest
idea. Karma means there are reasons for events, and that is what we
experience.
Q: How can we
present Krishna consciousness as a superior philosophy?
A: Read the books
again and again. One definition of a first-class devotee is he who
knows all the arguments and can defeat anyone. Do your best.
Sometimes you may do better than others. Learn by doing. If you wait
to preach until your arguments are ideal you may wait until your own
cremation. No one says I will wait until I am a perfect husband and
then I will get married.
Q: What about Dr.
Nayak?
A: His arguments are
not very good. He cites different opinions within Hinduism as an
excuse to reject it, but his Islam is not devoid of internal
disagreements between the different groups.
If
you want to avoid conflict, you are out of luck. Even in the
spiritual world, there are two groups of gopis
which
disagree. Among the devotees, we should try to avoid needless
dispute.
Q:
How much respect do we give Lord Shiva? Is he just a deva
or
a great personality?
A:
Just a deva?
How
much respect do we give the Queen in this country, and she is just
the Queen. Shiva and the devas
are
given respect but not to the extent that Lord Vishnu is. Even Shiva
says that Vishnu worship is the best.
After having been
successful in expanding his Krishna consciousness movement, Srila
Prabhupada explained that faith in the words of the Lord and in the
instructions of his spiritual master were the reason for his success.
Chanting
the holy name is also called prema-sankirtana.
In
the beginning it is done out of obedience and later out of love.
Srila Prabhupada
said the chanting should be sweet and melodious.
The perfection of
chanting is not a musical perfection but a perfection of devotion.
Srila Prabhupada was
pleased with the enthusiastic chanting of Hare Krishna and
distribution of the glories of the Lord.
The pleasure of
chanting the holy name comes from the spiritual world.
By chanting Hare
Krishna we are serving Radha Krishna perfectly.
Q (by Govinda
Prabhu): During Srila Prabhupada’s time and Lord Caitanya’s time
there was a lot of public chanting, but now there is not. Is that a
problem or the way it is?
A: That is a problem
and the way it is. If there is book distribution going on that is
also public glorification of the Lord. But if there is neither public
chanting or book distribution, then what is there?
The
result of chanting among the devotees should be that the devotees
desire to go out and chant for the public. Just like we do not just
take prasadam
ourselves,
but we also distribute it to the public.
Sometimes we get
focused on solving our own problems, but distributing Krishna
consciousness to the public automatically solves so many of our own
problems.
Q: What about going
to other Gaudiya groups to learn sweet and melodious tunes?
A:
In Prabhupada’s days, tunes were simple and melodious. Once Srila
Prabhupada deprecated a kirtana
for
being simply clanging and banging. So I am all for people going to
Gaudiya groups to get sweet and melodious tunes, if they do not bring
back too much else.
In the beginning we
are trained and then it becomes automatic. If we are not trained what
we do automatically will be rubbish.
Q: Did Prabhupada
like the chanting of the name of Radha?
A: Yes. Srila
Prabhupada very much liked the name of Radha. The word Hare in the
Hare Krishna mantra refers to Radha, and it is repeated eight times.
That is eight out of the sixteen words.
In
Vrindavana once Srila Prabhupada was displeased with the kirtana.
He
explained to Harikesa Maharaja that the devotees should sing the guru
pranama mantra,
the Panca-tattva mantra, and the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
Later
Harikesa sang a kirtana
that
began like that and then went into “Radhe Radhe.” And Srila
Prabhupada had a expression of anger on his face, and Harikesa
realized he made a mistake. Prabhupada was serious about what he
wanted.
Q: How to be focused
on the guru’s instruction?
A: Hear the
instruction, meditate on the instruction, carry out the instruction.
Regarding the Bombay
temple installation ceremony, Srila Prabhupada, “They should chant
the mantras they chant in Vrndavana. No new mantras.”
Srila Prabhupada
said you can chant “Raghupati Raghava Raja Rama” once a year on
Rama-navami.
There
should be unlimited ISKCON acaryas.
You
should also be an ISKCON acarya.
Q:
Nowadays sometimes people do kirtana
and
charge for it as a means of livelihood.
A:
In Prabhupada’s time devotees would do kirtana
and
accept money for the temple or the preaching and Prabhupada accepted
that, but not as a means of personal livelihood.
Prabhupada endorsed
the idea the householders could sell his books to maintain
themselves.
Sometimes we do
programs with all our own people and attended by all our own people,
and perhaps a few newcomers, and then we end up unnecessarily
chanting other mantras than Hare Krishna. We should be careful about
that.
I do not have an
opinion about dress. The main thing is to go out there and chant Hare
Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Q:
Should we endeavor to remain brahmacari
or
just try to be absorbed in service.
A:
One of my godbrothers talked with Srila Prabhupada about getting
married, and afterward Prabhupada asked me, “Jayadvaita, do you
want to get married?” “No,” I said, “So much trouble.”
Prabhupada replied, “So you are chanting Hare Krishna and feeling
happy.” And so I would say to you, “If you are chanting Hare
Krishna and feeling happy, then what do you need a wife for?” But
if someone is canvassing you to get married, it may be good for you
to endeavor to remain brahmacari.
There
is a strange myth that you are a brahmacari
to
a certain point like age 30 or 35, and then you decide if you want to
get married or take sannyasa.
So
if you are afraid to take sannyasa,
you
get married.
Brahmacaris
should
be well-wishers of the householders but should not associate intimately with
them lest they acquire all their attachments.
You
may think that the brahmacari
asrama is
underdeveloped, but the vanaprastha
asrama is
really underdeveloped. One is not meant to stay in household life until
the end of one’s days. Some people only know how to get into
household life but not how to get out of it.
Q: How do you look
at divorce?
A: It is a sign that
marriage is not so happy a thing anyway. Marriage is like gambling,
and like in gambling, you often lose. After a certain point, family
life becomes not so relishable.
In
the brahmacari
asrama,
you
bypass both the pleasure and trouble of family life.
One
devotee lady was worried about us convincing young boys to join the
brahmacari
ashram
that the young girls would have no one to marry. But actually your
daughter will get a more trained up, sense controlled husband if he
is educated in a brahmacari
ashram.
Q: What are good
reasons to get married?
A:
The order of the spiritual master. For the service of Krishna. If
brahmacari
life
is not congenial.
Q:
How do understand if one is struggling too hard to be a brahmacari.
A:
Sometimes Prabhupada would say if one cannot maintain brahmacarya
he
should get married.
It is like having to go to the toilet, sometimes you have to go, and
sometimes you really
have to go. Is that clear?
Janananda
Goswami:
The
svarupa-laksanam
[principal
characteristic] of devotional service is favorable service to
Krishna.
The
gopis
assumed
the city women to be sophisticated, just like formerly, when someone
from a village went to live in London, it was consider that they ‘had
made it.’
Krishna
would sometimes talk of the gopis.
Generally
Rukmini would tolerate it. Once, however, Krishna said to Rukmini
regarding the gopis,
“I
can live without you, but I cannot live without them.” That was too
much and Rukmini left to perform austerities by always thinking about
Krishna. Krishna also left out of separation from her and went to
find her. When He appeared she did not like the idea of some man
disturbing her austerities. He stayed nearby at the request of a
devotee, manifesting himself as the deity Vitthalesvara in
Pandarpura. When Rukmini saw Him in the form of that deity she became
a deity herself.
As
the highly elevated devotees, like the gopis,
are
always thinking of Krishna, He is always thinking of them.
Krishna never leaves
us, even if we become the most sinful person. He is there in the
heart, willing to give good direction.
When Srila
Prabhupada left this world, those who had a lot of association with
him would always think about him even after he left, even if their
circumstances changed.
We
cannot step over the vaidhi-bhakti
[devotional
service in practice]
stage
to attain raganuga
(spontaneous
devotional service).
Going
on harinama
without
books is like going to a battle without weapons. Harinama
sankirtana should
always be accompanied by books and prasadam,
as
far as possible.
There
are millions of excuses for not absorbing ourselves in sankirtana,
but
we should not give in to them.
When
the sankirtana-yajna
is
performed the ghee of the holy name is poured from the ladle of the
tongue into the ears, it enters the heart, fueling the fire of
devotional service and manifesting symptoms of ecstasy.
The
Skanda
Purana it
is said the dangerous snakes of Kali-yuga are destroyed the blazing
fire of sankirtana.
According
the Padma
Purana, “As
they dance on sankirtana,
the
devotees destroy all inauspiciousness on the earth by the touch of
their feet, the impurities in the directions by their glances, and
the disturbances in the heavenly planets by their upraised arms.”
The soul has no
material color. In the spiritual world, the devotees assume forms of
different colors in their service to Krishna.
Tomorrow is People’s
Day. For most, people refers to just human beings, but to those
versed in the Vedic knowledge, people includes a lot more.
We
did a program at a drug rehabilitation center in 1973. We did some
chanting, and after the prasadam
we
did more chanting, and the people became so happy, enthusiastically
singing and dancing, that I remember it even now. Even the guard dog
took part in it.
When asked if God
existed, my mother replied, “If He exists, I could see Him, and I
cannot see Him, so He doesn’t exist.” I was not really convinced,
but I could not present a better argument at that time.
All selfish acts
produce karma. It is a law of nature. It does not matter what
religion you follow.
By the association
of the sun, one gets at least heat and light. Similarly, by
associating with the holy name, at least we become purified.
You can say that
Radharani is the feminine aspect of the Absolute Truth.
You
can imagine how much ecstasy Lord Nityananda Prabhu would feel doing
harinama
in
Brighton.
Srila Prabhupada
advised that we give the holy name first and then later the
philosophy.
It
is good to have books along with the harinama
party,
because there are always people who are interested in the philosophy.
Mahavishnu
Swami:
When the residents
of Vrndavan saw Krishna at Kuruksetra they thought, “This is not
the Krishna we want. We want Krishna in Vrndavana.”
It is not surprising
that Lord Jagannatha wants leave the more opulent city atmosphere of
His temple in Puri and go to the more rural Gundica temple.
This is not a “no,
no” movement—a society for rules and regulations. Our rule is to
always remember Lord Krishna and to never forget Him.
Once a year Lord
Jagannatha comes to the streets of London to engage the people in
their real life.
We are all children,
and this is our chance to be children of Lord Jagannatha.
A devotee couple in
Lika, Croatia, has a miraculous cow that is 21 years old. Her last
calf was a bull born 9 years ago, but the cow still gives 12 liters
(over 3 gallons) of milk a day.
Do not think that
HSBC bank owns London, or some Rothschild owns London. No, Lord
Jagannatha is the proprietor of London.
Prabhupada wanted us
to connect all aspects of our life to Krishna.
Satsvarupa Dasa
Goswami:
from
The
Story of My Life, volume
2:
“There’s also
available the journal of the eighteenth-century Quaker minister John
Woolman—‘My mind was turned toward the Lord to wait for His holy
leadings.’—‘If selfish views or a partial spirit have any room
in our man, we are unfit for the Lord’s work.’”
Atma-Nivedana Swami:
Temptation is Maya’s way of alluring us away from life’s goal.
It is easy to say that there is danger at every step, but to carefully watch every step and make sure everything you think, speak, and do is beneficial for your spiritual life is a challenge.
Sometimes we find someone is doing everything properly for his spiritual life, but his minds tricks him to give up his spiritual practice.
If our temple president gives us some temple service, and we ignore the instruction and instead we go on book distribution and benefit others, although we are doing an important service, we have been cheated by maya, and our tendency to act independently from spiritual authority will increase.
Taking shelter of Krishna is only the beginning.
If we pray to Krishna to help us while we chant our japa, we will come to appreciate the chanting, and we will find the offerings of the material world to be tasteless.
One devotee had several letters from his guru to start a preaching center in a certain city, but he felt that he had no facility, so he did not attempt it. Had he attempted it, he would have been successful.
We cannot judge someone’s heart by external vision, but Krishna can understand their hearts.
One devotee, Terry, who helped out for many years at Bhaktivedanta Manor left his body. He was challenged to give up his habit of smoking, and he never got initiated, yet he left his body with devotees and a Prabhupada tape chanting. Krishna says, “One who leaves his body remembering Me, attains Me without doubt.” One devotee protested, “He was not initiated. How can he go back to Godhead?” But initiation is not just a formality. Within the heart, one has to sincerely try to follow. Terry did sincerely try to serve.
I
liked the spirit of the previous brahmacari
conference.
Ashram life is
difficult. You have the early risers and the late nighters. And then
there are those people whose alarm clocks wake up everyone but
themselves. The clocks go on beeping, while the people who set them
go on sleeping.
For
so many lives I have tried to enjoy my senses, and I am still not
satisfied. I may as well forget about it. It does not work. This life
I will focus on going back to Godhead. That is the brahmacari
spirit.
There
are other brahmacaris
such
as those who cannot get it together to be married.
In
the lower types of brahmacarya,
in
which the aim is not going back to Godhead, the regulative principles
will become unbearable to follow.
The
focus of the brahmacari
is:
a. going back to
Godhead.
b. taking as many
back with us possible.
It
is not possible to separate the brahmacari
ashram
from preaching.
The dust at
Krishna’s lotus feet is saffron. That is the best argument for
saffron.
Dress can help one
strengthen one’s identity.
There may be great
cultivation, but if conviction is weak, that will not help.
Brahmacaris
are
like herd animals. The group dynamics help to encourage them.
Conviction comes
from contemplation.
Brahmacari
literally
means acting on the platform of spirit.
We may want to go
back to Godhead because the material world stinks or because the
spiritual world is a wonderful place.
It
is important for brahmacaris
to understand the entangling nature of male-female relationships.
In the 1980s there
were all those classes in which the speaker would say things like
“What if you turn the body inside out?”
A
brahmacari
who denies that women are attractive will not last very long.
The
brahmacari
has
to cut material contemplation before it gets out of hand.
We
have to keep a balance between late night preaching programs and
early morning sadhana.
It is fashionable to
talk about Vraja and being absorbed in Krishna’s pastimes, and they
are attractive, but then our glance falls on Bhaktin Susie and we
notice we are still disturbed.
Nistha,
the
stage of steadiness, is not attained without sacrifice.
In
bhava,
there
is just a shadow of material desire. Rupa Goswami says that is due to
remnants of reactions to offenses to devotees. In prema,
that
is absent.
We
have to protect ourselves in the early stages by sadhana
and
jnana
(knowledge).
A
group of brahmacaris
is
at their best when they have a common mission.
Dayananda
Maharaja: Being part of a brahmacari
book
distribution party was the best part of my brahmacari
experience.
It was not necessarily the service, but just the relationships
between the other brahmacaris.
Q
(by Sutapa Prabhu): We try to engage new brahmacaris
according
to the psychophysical natures. How then can we have a common goal?
A (by Kadamba Kanana
Swami): I do not recommend we engage people right in the beginning
according to their psychophysical natures, but rather create a common
goal for them.
A (by Dayananda
Swami): As for me, book distribution was completely against my
nature, but I quickly developed a taste for it. I think if we engage
people according psychophysical natures in the beginning, they can
become too independent.
I
think we have to separate the brahmacaris,
keeping
those who are trying to make it a lifetime commitment separate to
strengthen them.
comment by Dayananda
Swami: Preaching means bringing everyone closer to going back to
Godhead.
If
the brahmacari
ashram
does
not inspire society to go back to Godhead what is its value? It is
meant to revitalize the idealism of the movement.
comment
by Sunder Nitai Prabhu: One householder gave a van to use for a
brahmacari
book
distribution party. We used it in that way, and we noticed that the
householders who previously were members of such parties in the past
relived those days and were personally inspired.
The
sannyasi
because
of his unique commitment can inspire many householders. Similarly a
group of renounced brahmacaris
can
also be inspirational.
Sridhar Swami had a
hat with “Prabhupada’s dog” written on it. At the end of his
life of service, he said with a smile, “I have been a good boy.”
Dayananda Swami:
Radharani expands as
the goddess of fortune. And the goddess of fortune in this world
expands as Durga.
We have the tendency
to seek good fortune, but as devotees, we have good fortune in many
ways:
1. The
congregational chanting of the holy name we do changes society by
changing the hearts of the people.
2. We have a human
body.
3. And we have the
association of devotees.
Bhakti Devi in the
heart of the devotee inspires him to share Krisna consciousness.
When we do not have
a particular goal, it is hard to be enthusiastic in devotional
service.
When Laksmi, the
goddess of fortune, sees persons without material motives, she
blesses them.
Self-sufficient
communities are important to show a viable alternative to the modern
materialistic civilization.
At
the stage of nisthta
(steadiness)
one is steady and has good qualities. Being steady is more important
because we can just have good qualities due to our past karma.
As a new devotee I
went to a Vyasa Puja ceremony, and I was impressed, thinking, “No
one glorifies people like this!”
Srila Prabhupada’s
humility was more convincing to people than his philosophy. Once a
female disciple asked if she could stand on Srila Prabhupada’s
chair to hang a picture on his wall. He replied, “For service you
can stand on my head.”
If we really want to
make progress Krishna will fulfill our desire. He is the
self-sufficient philosopher fulfilling everyone’s desire since time
immemorial.
Wilma Rudolph,
although a cripple, by her determination was able to win three gold
medals in the Olympics.
If
we are confident of the result we can be patient. That comes from
understanding the sastra
[the
scripture].
Because
we can read sastra
[the
scripture] with tinted vision, we need to have it explained to us.
Tribhangananda
Prabhu:
Bhagavad-gita
is
not a story but a history.
Bhagavad-gita
begins
with Krishna’s instruction to Arjuna that the self is different
from the body.
The less you have,
the more you want, and the more you have, the more you want. That is
the influence of the material energy.
To advance
spiritually means to be more and more consciousness of our spiritual
identity.
Nowadays people are
studying the details of how the body works but nothing of the soul
which animates the body.
Celibate student
life these days is a joke. When my daughter went to the university
she got a welcome packet, which I was not too happy about, that
included vouchers for all the pubs and gambling places and a package
of condoms.
Just as in a city
there is someone in charge of supplying electricity and someone in
charge of supplying water, so in the universe they are personalities
responsible for supplying necessities of life. If we do not perform
sacrifice to those universal personalities, we are thieves.
In this age, the
sacrifice is the congregational chanting of the holy name, which is
meant to please the Supreme Lord, the source of the other universal
personalities, and which satisfies everyone.
Isvara Prabhu:
To
become thoroughly honest is a qualification for understanding
Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Attraction to the
Lord is the desired goal of our devotional service.
We have to
understand, at least theoretically, that our attractions other than
Krishna will never satisfy us.
These eight things
are satisfying to the Lord:
- One should be affectionate to the devotees of the Lord.
- One should be happy to worship the Lord.
- With a pure heart one should regularly worship the Lord.
- In worshiping the Lord one should be free from pride and hypocrisy.
- One should be eager to hear about the Lord.
- One should engage one’s body in the service of the Lord.
- One should always remember the Lord.
- One should make the chanting of the holy name of the Lord one’s life and soul.
We can get
sidetracked thinking how far we have come and forgetting how far we
have to go.
We
sleep in Bhagavatam
class
because we lack eagerness to hear.
When we see we are
becoming slack in devotional service, we can become humble and pray
to the Lord for strength.
If we are habituated
to follow the rules of devotional service, that is good, but we still
have to become attracted to Krishna. We have to consider, “How much
am I thinking of Krishna’s pleasure?”
Devotional service
generally takes time, not because of limitations of the practice, but
our lack of enthusiasm to apply it.
Uttamasloka
Prabhu:
Bhagavad-gita
2.41 is the inspirational verse prompting Srila Prabhupada to execute
his guru’s instructions as his life’s mission.
I
teach a course on Bhagavad-gita
which
focuses on six principles which are based on the first six chapters:
Compassion. Confidence. Cooperation. Creativity. Concentration.
Contact with the Supersoul.
It is important to
engage our body, mind, intelligence, and ego, all in relationship
with the soul.
By loving
relationships with Vaishnavas we can conquer the mind. You can have
everything, but if you do not have good relationships with others,
you can be morose.
Wise persons,
whether Vedic or otherwise, recommend to remember death.
Imagine you are
taking part in your own memorial service. What do you hope that
people would say about you? I will give you the beginnings of
sentences, and you write the rest.
I
always appreciated him because he was happy, optimistic, and
enthusiastic about kirtana.
He was very expert
in quoting relevant verses from the scripture and encouraging others
in devotional service, especially in the congregational chanting.
He
derived great joy and satisfaction from harinama,
kirtana in
general, giving people prasadam
and hearing from the saints.
He
made great effort to attend temple programs, to invite others to
devotional events, and encourage people everywhere in
nama-sankirtana.
I
will never forget him because he was always dancing in the kirtana,
even
from the beginning, and he was able to appreciate Krishna’s hand in
everything.
His main purpose in
life was to be absorbed in some act of devotion, especially the
congregational chanting of the holy name.
comment by myself: I
started out being realistic, saying things that people say they like
about me, and then I thought about how I wished I was and included a
bit of that.
comment by
Dhirasanta Prabhu: I answered the question in terms of fulfilling the
desires of my spiritual master.
It is said that
obstructions are what occur when we lose sight of the goal.
If Srila Prabhupada
worried about all the possible obstacles that he would have to
overcome, he never would have been able to establish the Krishna
consciousness movement.
Bhakti Vikasa Swami
recalled that after the whole saga of getting the land in Juhu, when
Srila Prabhupada gave the first class on the property, he said, “We
are very fortunate that we acquired such a beautiful piece of land
with such little endeavor.” This indicates that he was completely
focused on the goal.
To achieve the
qualities I hope for, I would have to focus on the goals and make
sure my actions are consistent with reaching them. In particular, I
have to take time to tell people things that will benefit them.
How and when will I
start doing that. The best answer is to start today.
Failure of people to
take responsibility for their own spiritual life is a cause of many
people giving up the attempt to practice Krishna consciousness.
You better challenge
yourself before Maya challenges you. A really good way of challenging
yourself is to ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing.
Nruhari Prabhu:
In the spiritual
world we are all eternally youthful. Youth is the time of life when
in this world our sensual experience is the most intense. The idea of
becoming eternally youthful can motivate us in our spiritual life.
Krishna is seen as
the complete Personality of Godhead as compared to His incarnations,
because of the greater variety of His relationships with His
devotees.
As devotees we love
each other because we have a common interest, Krishna.
Jai Nitai Prabhu:
I love the mood that
is created when we glorify devotees. The heart becomes soft, we feel
uplifted, and we realize the importance of loving relationships
between devotees.
Krishna-kripa
das:
reflection
during japa:
Wednesday
I chanted japa
on a bus from Newcastle to Sheffield. Thursday I chanted japa
in a van from Manchester to Preston and in a Preston parking lot.
Friday I chanted japa
on a bus from Manchester to London. Saturday I chanted japa
on a bus and train to the Manor and a van to Bath. Sunday I chanted
japa
on a bus from London to Leeds. Today, Monday, I chanted all 16 rounds
of japa
straight through at a devotee’s apartment in Leeds, looking at a
picture of Krishna on his altar the whole time, and it was so very,
very, blissful to chant in a focused way for the first time in five
days!
from a conversation
after a class:
I never thought of
choosing a religion based on what the monks wore.
-----
hare
krishna hare krishna
krishna
krishna hare hare
hare
rama hare rama
rama
rama hare hare
iti
sodasakam namnam
kali-kalmasa-nasanam
natah
parataropayah
sarva-vedesu
drsyate
“The
sixteen names of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—hare
krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare, hare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare—destroy
all the inauspiciousness of the age of Kali. This is the conclusion
of all the Vedas.” (Lord Brahma in the Kalisantarana
Upanisad 5,6
of the Krishna
Yajur Veda)