Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 16
By Krishna-kripa das
(August 2013, part two)
By Krishna-kripa das
(August 2013, part two)
Czech
Woodstock, Prague, Berlin, The North of England
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on September 5, 2013)
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on September 5, 2013)
Where
I Went and What I Did
Upon
leaving Bratislava I went to by bus to Vyskov via Brno to catch a
ride to Trutnov with Dina Vatsala Prabhu. He showed us the temple his
devotee friends are constructing in Nove Sady, where there is a
community of several devotees. In Trutnov we did harinamas
in
the town and on the site and kirtanas
on
two stages during a period of three and a half days, encouraging the
attendees to chant Hare Krishna and dance, and I had many nice
experiences there. After Trutnov, I did harinama
for
a day each in Prague and Berlin. Then three days of harinama
in
the Newcastle area, and a weekend trip of harinamas
and
outreach programs in York on Saturday and Leeds on Sunday. Then four
more days of harinama
in
the Newcastle area, including Janmastami and Srila Prabhupada’s
Vyasa-puja Day. Then off to do harinama
and
an outreach program in Liverpool and more harinama
Manchester,
thus ending the month, and my stay in the UK for the summer. Then I
took an exhausting but inexpensive train and overnight ship from
Manchester to Dublin for the Ratha-yatra on September 1.
Again
I was in mostly in places without morning lectures or where I gave
the lectures, but I have some nice quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s
books, the writings of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, notes on Guru Dasa Prabhu’s talks at the Czech Woodstock, on classes
from a Prabhupada disciple named Jagatatma Prabhu, who preaches in
the Manchester area, and on the Newcastle lectures of Ananta Nitai Prabhu, my harinama
partner
in Ireland and the UK. I finish up the insights with heartfelt words
of appreciation for Srila Prabhupada on his Vyasa Puja day, which
were very ecstatic to hear, by the devotees from our temple in
Newcastle upon Tyne in England, my home base in the summer.
Thanks to Tobi for the Berlin pictures and Klara for the Prague pictures. To see the over 400 pictures I did not include in this blog, click on the URL below:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal916
Thanks to Tobi for the Berlin pictures and Klara for the Prague pictures. To see the over 400 pictures I did not include in this blog, click on the URL below:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103872792410945983719/TravelJournal916
Itinerary
September 5–6: Gainesville
September 6–10: Tallahassee
September 11–13: Jacksonville
September 14: Jacksonville Beach Ratha-yatra
September 15–26: Gainesville [except one day in Tampa]
September 27–30: Columbus, Ohio
October 1–November 25: Union Square harinama, New York City
November 26–February 19, 2014: Gainesville
[except with 5 days / month in Tallahassee, one day per month in Tampa]
February 25–April 20, 2014: Mayapur
Trutnov Open Air
Music Festival (Czech Woodstock)
Like Przystanek
Woodstock (or the Polish Woodstock), a much larger rock concert in
Kostrzyn, Poland, the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (Czech
Woodstock) in Trutnov, Czech Republic, is also organized by someone
who favors the Hare Krishna devotees by giving them place to set up a
stage and distribute Krishna music and Krishna food. Martin, the main
organizer, likes the face of Lord Jagannatha, who appears on the
wrist bands, stages, and promotional material for the event.
What I
like about the Czech festival is that it is smaller, and you get to
know the people who come to our camp each day. This year I made three
Facebook friends, two who came to Govindas in Prague for the first
time.
Punya Palaka Prabhu,
the organizer of our Krishna Camp for many years, said the first day,
before I came, that there were six girls who were chanting
“Krishna-kripa.” I did not know that there were six girls who
knew my name. It was a bit humorous to hear.
There
are regulars who like the kirtana
and
come each year, coming into our tent two or three times a day, or
even more. People seem to know if they get burned out by the rest of
the festival, they can come to the Krishna camp to recover.
The first night many
people enjoyed chanting with us.
Shari Beri (right, below),
who lives in Trutnov came every year since 2009, the first time I
went, and regularly brings her friends to our camp.
She came back one
night at 2:45 a.m., upset that we ended the chanting earlier that
night, and asking us to play later the final night.
One man from
Pardubice was very inquisitive, and asked questions for quite awhile.
We did harinama in Trutnov the first full day of the festival, and passed the devotee restaurant there called Baladeva.
Ssome people sang, clapped, and/or danced with us.
Some followed our party.
One
couple saw us on harinama
in
the town at noontime, and then again near the end of the evening
kirtana,
perhaps
at 1 a.m., and then the young lady was really singing the mantra.
One
girl made a gesture that the kirtana
was
really great, so I gestured back that she might come in our temple
and dance, so she entered our tent, learning my dance step, and
dancing for half an hour, chanting the whole time.
Later she said her
name was Anna, and she introduced me to her friend, Dominik.
They had
heard about the Hare Krishna restaurant, Govinda, but they had never
been. I told them about the chanting programs Wednesday evening at
the restaurant so they could continue their interest in the chanting.
Later she wrote me on Facebook that she went to Govinda.
Another
girl who danced for half an hour, smiling the whole time, told me she
already knew about the restaurant Govinda, in fact, at the end of the
day, she would distribute the leftover Govinda’s prasadam
to
the homeless.
Seeing her attraction to the chanting, I invited her to the Wednesday
evening program at Govinda, which I was very surprised that she had
not heard of.
He also danced.
Later
he thanked me, saying that he was so tired he wanted to leave but my
chanting and dancing inspired him to chant and to stay for two more
hours. He commented on how the chanting gives you energy.
We do not have security persons to keep people off our stage, so sometime people from the crowd become inspired to join us on our stage during our chanting like the girl next to the mantra sign below. She was a regular who chanted every day.
We do not have security persons to keep people off our stage, so sometime people from the crowd become inspired to join us on our stage during our chanting like the girl next to the mantra sign below. She was a regular who chanted every day.
These two horse headed personalities were also bold enough to join us on stage.
One man came in our tent, and began dancing, leaving his little girl sitting on the bench.
One man came in our tent, and began dancing, leaving his little girl sitting on the bench.
Klara felt sorry for
the girl and danced with her.
At the end, when
Klara left, both the man and daughter danced.
Guru Das Prabhu liked to
talk about his relationship with George Harrison, George Harrison’s
spiritual side, and his relationship with Hare Krishna. Drew, a musician
friend of the devotees, played a few of the more spiritual George
Harrison songs, like “Here Comes the Sun” and “My Sweet Lord.” I took some video of that.
Bhaktivaibhava
Swami kindly came and sang for a couple hours on the last night,
leaving the German kirtana
mela to
come there, which must have been a sacrifice for him. He sang great
tunes to dance to.
We
got more exposure being on the second stage three times this year
instead of once or not at all.
Always a few fans would come up close.
Over three-quarters of the people sitting on the grass listening to our music took temple/restaurant invitations with the mantra on them, some with great eagerness.
We would also do harinama
to
and from the stage, increasing our interactions with people even
more. Here are some photos from those harinamas,
Some are from an
outdoor pub we went through.
One
lady joined us on the harinama,
and
returned to our camp to sing and dance.
We carried the Radha
Krishna picture back from the stage.
We would pass the
devotee shops, one for the restaurant Govinda.
Another selling snacks
made on the Czech Hare Krishna farm.
Reflecting on the
festival, I could see I was instrumental in some people at Trutnov
happily participating in the chanting and also learning about more
opportunities to connect with Krishna after it ended and that made me
happy.
Prague Harinama
Antardwipa
Prabhu, his wife, Klara, and Goura Karuna Prabhu did harinama
with me in Prague for two hours the final day, which was a sacrifice
as we were tired from late nights at the music festival.
We
followed the usual Prague harinama
route
through the tourist areas, including Old Town Square, where our
Ratha-yatra is held.
Gaura Karuna Prabhu
distributed books.
It rained, and we chanted under a covered section of a famous bridge. One guy danced with us.
Tour groups were
stuck there listening to us because of the rain.
Between tunes I said
a few words to them about the effect of the mantra. It was a
memorable experience. My bus to Berlin was late, but I did not care
as there is free wireless internet at Prague’s Florenc bus station.
I thank Klara,
Antardwipa’s wife, who kindly took the pictures, as well as
chanting the response, and once leading an attractive tune.
Berlin Harinama
I
spent a day in Berlin, staying at the flat where Lord Jagannatha and
His pujari,
Hrdaya
Gauranga Prabhu (on the left in the below picture) live, quite near
the site of the old temple.
Hrdaya Gauranga
Prabhu was happy to have another person to do the first half of the
morning program with, and we were happy that Siddha Svarupa Prabhu
joined us for the second half. In the class, I talked about Lord
Balarama as it was His appearance day the next day, and I would miss
it, because in England they observed it today. I told about how
Balarama often plays the role of a mediator, and gave some examples
such as when Duryodhana and Bhima were fighting and when the Kurus
arrested Samba and the Yadus were upset. I also read Lord Balarama’s
instructions on spiritual life which He gave to Queen Rukmini, His
sister-in-law, on her wedding day.
The
three of us went on harinama
in
the afternoon.
After
forty-five minutes, Paramatma Prabhu, along with a devotee boy, came
and distributed books nearby for an hour or so, and then joined us
for the end of the kirtana.
When
we had all five devotees chanting it was very dynamic. The little boy
danced, jumping up and down, and attracting attention.
I was happy dancing
and distributing invitations as usual.
One
young photographer named Tobi who I later found was familiar with the
devotees, stayed with us for an hour or so, taking pictures of us from
time to time, especially when the kirtana
became wild or when people interacted with us. I gave him my card,
and asked him to send me the pictures which he did. Although the
harinama
was a little slow in the beginning, it became a wonderful experience
in the end.
Sunderland
Harinama
Sunderland
is one of the bigger cities around Newcastle, and we have developed a
program of going there once a week and doing harinama,
followed
by prasadam
and
kirtana
at
Ramai and Vrinda Prabhus place there.
Satya Medha Gauranga Prabhu,
who works in Sunderland and who distributed books and chanted there
as a brahmacari,
took
his lunch hour when we were chanting there so he could join us. Thus we were wearing dhotis,
casual
dress, and formal dress, altogether on harinama.
Some boys came and played the tambourines and the gong with such intensity that a shop owner complained, and we learned that you cannot allow kids to play the gong or it will be way to loud
York Harinama and
Program
We
had our Janmastami program in York the Saturday before, and had about
seven people for the harinama
in
York beforehand. Govardhan Dasi sings in public there every Saturday for two
hours along with her husband, who distributes invitations, and she
was happy to have many more devotees.
The
nama-hatta
program
for Janmastami had variety, including kirtana,
two
dramas, and a song about Krishna’s pastimes. I also gave the first
of four lectures on Krishna’s appearance, the others being in
Leeds, Newcastle, and Liverpool. Twenty-four people came although the
program has not been going more than a few months. Govardhan Dasi did
a great job organizing it, and Ganesh Prabhu, Dennis, and others
helped greatly.
Leeds Harinama
Caru
Candra Prabhu was there for almost the entire three-hour harinama,
and
a couple ladies came near the end so we had three people for the last
hour and four people for the last twenty minutes. The last twenty
minutes we walked to the car, exposing people along the way to the
chanting.
Chester-le-Street
Harinama
Ananta
Nitai Prabhu, Prema Sankirtana Prabhu, Malvika, Atul, and I went on
harinama
in
Chester-le-Street. I think the residents there must have decided that
they liked us when we came last time because the people were so
favorable. A friendly older lady praised our singing, gave us a
pound, and said she had heard us in Newcastle too. As we often do
now, we brought tambourines for interested kids to play. First a girl played.
Then a boy
and girl happily played, and the mom was happy to
watch them and gave a donation.
People gave £22.63 ($35.28) in three hours, making probably
it the most charitable place we have been in the Newcastle area, and
we distributed about seven books.
Newcastle
Harinamas
One day in Newcastle
many people danced with us and/or played the instruments. It started
out with a small girl who played tambourine for 10 or 15 minutes on
two different occasions.
Her friend was not interested, but patiently
waited on her bicycle, for her to finish. The girl played in time and
seemed to have some taste for it.
Then one young lady
came who was visiting from Leeds but had lived in Arab countries for
many years. She loved to dance and play the tambourine, and stayed
for an hour or so.
Then a boy danced.
And then a man.
Then a very
energetic young lady.
It
was inspiring to see the enthusiasm for participation in Lord
Caitanya’s merciful sankirtana
process.
During
our Janmastami harinama
in Newcastle, a jovial man gave us a pound, and accepted a Path
of Perfection.
Then he told a story: In the 1980s, when in his 20s, he was in
Gainesville, Florida, and lost his passport, his green card, and his
money. But the Hare Krishnas gave him something to eat, and he said
he would never forget it! Krishna Lunch Gainesville ki,
jaya!
Harinama
on
Vyasa Puja was a challenge for me. I am not used to living in temples
where the Vyasa Puja feast is served at 5 p.m. so we had no choice
but to try to do harinama
from
6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Ananta Nitai Prabhu and I were ready to leave at
6:30 p.m., but we lost a lot of time waiting for people to take
prasadam
and
then trying to convince them to come with us. We were unsuccessful in
our attempts as many devotees either had still to complete their
daily chanting on beads or needed to help with the cleanup, so we
chanted by ourselves from 7:45 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.! Most of the shops
close at 8:00 p.m., but we chanted across from a McDonalds that is
open 24 hours a day. A lot of young people were hanging out with
their friends outside the McDonalds. Several people danced with us
for awhile, especially the girls and those of African descent. One
drunk middle-aged man spoke favorably about us and played the
tambourine with us for about five minutes. A couple girls danced for
a couple minutes. I am sure because of going out at a time when we
never go out, we encountered people who had not seen the devotees
before nor heard the kirtana,
and that was Srila Prabhupada’s mercy on his auspicious appearance
day.
Since I was leaving the next day for Manchester and would not return till next spring, when Ayan began to drive us downtown for harinama,
the
devotees chanted Hare Krishna as a going away blessing.
Prema Sankirtana
Prabhu even blocked the car.
In
general, harinama
in
Newcastle went nicely for me this year. Prema Sankirtana Prabhu, who is full of
enthusiasm, and great at getting people to interact with our party,
especially by dancing and also by playing the tambourines, would
often come out. Malvika, who has a beautiful voice and lots of
enthusiasm, would almost always come out. Bhakta Rasa Prabhu, who has
been doing outreach in Newcastle for over twenty years, would try to
come out once a week. Ananta Nitai Prabhu, who I had done many, many
harinamas
in
Ireland, kindly came to Newcastle for two weeks and went out almost every day.
Satya Medha Gauranga Prabhu is almost always willing to chant in
Sunderland during his lunch break, and on Saturday in Newcastle. Also
last, but not least, Vrinda and Vishnu Priya periodically invite the
harinama
parties
over to their places for lunch or dinner to serve and to inspire the devotees, which we
are always grateful for. Thus Krishna inspired me by giving me a good
group of people to chant with there in Newcastle, and I look forward
to returning next year and doing harinama
with
my friends.
A Double Harinama
Day
The
coach from Newcastle to Liverpool was too expensive so I booked one
to Manchester and found an advance purchase ticket on the train from
there to Liverpool for £4.
I thought of leaving my bags and getting some prasadam
at
the Manchester temple, but later decided to do harinama
for
an hour and a half or so with my friend, Gaura Das Prabhu, who does
book distribution in Manchester on Fridays. Then in Liverpool before
the monthly nama-hatta,
I
chanted for two and a half hours there. Several people gave
donations, most not taking books. A Polish lady who regularly attends
the nama-hatta
program
happened by and bought an Isopanisad
and
a music CD giving £5. At one point I was so tired from staying up
late on Janmastami and Vyasa Puja, I was falling asleep, and I prayed
to Lord Caitanya to keep me awake so I could sing. It worked, and I
was thus able to continue.
Unexpected
Manchester Harinama
Usually the last
Saturday of the month we chant in Bolton, but everyone was wiped out
from Janmastami and Vyasa Puja or else had other engagements so there
were just three of us. Since two of us lived in Manchester, we
convinced Vrajendralal Prabhu, our leader from Bolton, to come into
Manchester and chant with us there. He brought another devotee, and
ultimately more came, and we had eight or nine devotees singing for
almost two hours in Manchester on a very beautiful day in a city
filled with many people.
Our leader said we passed out more invitations than ever before, although we gave them only to people who showed some signs of interest. A couple of Muslim girls Jagatatma Prabhu gave cards to, chanted the mantra and followed us for a few minutes, a rarity. A few people danced with us, like the ones below.
Our leader said we passed out more invitations than ever before, although we gave them only to people who showed some signs of interest. A couple of Muslim girls Jagatatma Prabhu gave cards to, chanted the mantra and followed us for a few minutes, a rarity. A few people danced with us, like the ones below.
I
felt that I was instrumental in saving the harinama,
which
could have easily been canceled due to too few participants.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
from
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
7.148, purport:
“Although
Vasudeva Vipra was a leper and had suffered greatly, still, after
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu cured him He instructed him to preach Krishna
consciousness. Indeed, the only return the Lord wanted was that
Väsudeva preach the instructions of Krishna and liberate all human
beings. That is the process of the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness. Each and every member of this Society was rescued from
a very abominable condition, but now they are engaged in preaching
the cult of Krishna consciousness. They are not only cured of the
disease called materialism but are also living a very happy life.
Everyone accepts them as great devotees of Krishna, and their
qualities are manifest in their very faces. If one wants to be
recognized as a devotee by Krishna, he should take to preaching work,
following the advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Then one will
undoubtedly attain the lotus feet of Sri Krishna Caitanya, Lord
Krishna Himself, without delay.”
from
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
8.38, purport:
So-called
followers of Vedic principles simply accept the Vedas
formally, but
they act against Vedic principles. This is symptomatic of this Age of Kali.
People claim to follow a certain type of religion, saying formally,
“I am
Hindu,” “I am Muslim,” “I am Christian,” “I am this or
that,” but actually
no one follows the principles enunciated in religious scriptures. This
is the disease of this age. Therefore the merciful Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has simply advised us to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra:
harer
nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam [Cc.
Adi 17.21].
The
Lord can deliver anyone and everyone, even though one may have
fallen
from the injunctions of revealed scriptures. This is Sri Caitanya
Mahäprabhu’s
special mercy. Consequently He is known as patitapavana,
the
deliverer of all fallen souls.
from
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
8.83, purport:
Actually
one can take shelter of such spiritual mellows only when one is
completely uncontaminated by material attachment. When one is
completely free from material attachment, the feelings of the
transcendental mellows are awakened in the heart of the devotee. That
is svarupa-siddhi,
the
perfection of one’s eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord.
Svarupa-siddhi,
the
eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, may be situated in any
one of the transcendental mellows.
from The Nectar of Instruction, verse 3, purport:
One
should not be impatient in Krishna consciousness. Indeed, this Krishna
consciousness movement was started single-handedly, and in the
beginning there was no response, but because we continued to execute
our devotional activities with patience, people gradually began to
understand the importance of this movement, and now they are eagerly
participating. One should not be impatient in discharging devotional
service, but should take instructions from the spiritual master and
execute them with patience, depending on the mercy of guru
and
Krishna.
from The Nectar of Instruction, verse 4, purport:
“.
. . by
chanting the holy names of the Lord we can actually convert many
people throughout the world to Krishna consciousness. Contributing
or distributing the holy name of the Lord is a sublime example of
contributing or giving charity (the dadati
principle).”
Satsvarupa Dasa
Goswami:
from
his journal, Viraha
Bhavan, “Poem
for August 16”:
“The
Divine Couple
are intoxicated by
Their love for
one another, and
their pure devotees
share that happiness
through service.”
from Japa Reform Notebook:
"Regarding
your question, there is no such requirement that japa should
be silently and chanting should be done differently. Loudly or
silently, everything is all right. There is no such restriction. Only
thing is that we should chant very attentively, hearing the vibration
very distinctly."
—Letter
from Srila Prabhupada to Satsvarupa March 8, 1969
Guru
Das Prabhu:
from
talks at Trutnov, the Czech Woodstock:
We
chant in the spirit of not expecting some result. We chant with a
desire to serve Krishna.
Srila
Prabhupada wrote eighty books answering the questions, “Who am I?”
“Where am I doing?” and “What am I doing?” While we were sleeping, he was writing.
“Where am I doing?” and “What am I doing?” While we were sleeping, he was writing.
Those
of you who have chanted are taking part in the process. You are
interacting not just believing or listening.
We
have an individual relationship with Krishna. We want to think of
Krishna day and night. When we sing Hare Krishna, Krishna is dancing
on our tongue, and Krishna enters our heart, along with the cowherd
boys and girls and the peacocks, in His beautiful form.
There
are so many things to do and see here, but somehow Krishna has
entered your heart, and you have come hear. It is very peaceful here.
When
Krishna’s love develops in our heart, we love others.
This
is a world of duality, but in Krishna consciousness, we can harmonize
the duality. We can become transcendental.
There
is no coming down once you experience this. You do not have to look
around the corner for some substance.
In
the 1960s, some of the leaders understood there is more to music
festivals than getting together, hearing music, and getting high. It
is to make progress on a spiritual search.
John
Lennon and George Harrison chanted Hare Krishna for three days
enroute to Morocco.
There is a
regulative stage and then a spontaneous stage where life becomes an
adventure that will even blow your own mind.
In the 1960s, we
were searching for wisdom, American Indian, Buddhist, etc., and when
we found it, we would live it. In San Francisco, they would wear
their search.
In San Francisco, we
put flowers in the policemen’s guns.
The Diggers, who
were next to our temple, had free cloths, and they had a coat soaked
in LSD, and people who knew would cut pieces off of it and trip all
day.
The Be-ins were a
place you could be yourself. Everything was free.
Srila Prabhupada
taught there is a way to be high from what you have inside. There is
a way to be high from plain living and high thinking.
I met the leaders of the counterculture but none were so personally compassionate to me as Srila Prabhupada.
I met the leaders of the counterculture but none were so personally compassionate to me as Srila Prabhupada.
In London, every day
we would send something to the Beatles, the story of Prahlada
Maharaja, a wind-up apple with Hare Krishna written on it, an apple
pie with Hare Krishna written on it. Nothing worked. The Hells Angels
planned to break up the Beatles’ office. Then George saw us, and
said that he was so glad to finally meet us. We had a friendly
relationship with the Hells Angels, and so they decided to desist
from causing disturbance when they saw the Beatles were friendly to
us.
George was funny. He
liked one Monty Python joke. Two people are talking. One says, “We
were so poor we slept on the floor.” The other replies, “You had
a floor?”
Once George played
the Govinda song on a ukulele and it sounded like an orchestra.
The song “Something
in the Way She Moves Me” by George Harrison was actually written
referring to Krishna, but George thought if he said “Something in
the Way He Moves Me” people would have thought he was homosexual.
Frank Sinatra says that song was the best love song ever written.
Here the people are
willing to make the choice to change. Krishna has guided you here.
Thank you for choosing to come here.
Love is Krishna. You
always see Krishna with cows, peacocks, trees, etc.
There are two types
of love: love where you expect something and love where you do not
expect something.
Srila Prabhupada
came to share that pure love in his old age, suffering two heart
attacks crossing the sea, but he was not discouraged.
I was schooled in the 1960s. We did not just accept what we heard. We wanted to experience it.
I was schooled in the 1960s. We did not just accept what we heard. We wanted to experience it.
It is more effective if you chant in addition to hearing. It is a question of your heart reaching out to God.
How would you like to stay high forever?
When you do not identify yourself with your body, you can connect with everyone in the world.
You are hearing. Many act. Now you can be part of the act. We are not an act. When we were recording with the Beatles, we had to tell the people we are not just an act. We are monks. This is your chance to be a monk for a day.
Jagatatma
Prabhu:
The materialists ask
God for a way to make their life of hard work for illusory goals comfortable. The impersonalists want to stop the illusory work
altogether because they do not know about the sweetness of working
for the pleasure of the Lord.
Vaidhi
bhakti
is forced, but you have to apply the force. This is voluntary.
The mode of
ignorance is compared to wet fuel, the mode of passion is compared to
damp fuel, the mode of goodness is compared to dry fuel.
We can help people
who want to serve Krishna, but until the people decide themselves that
that they really want to serve Krishna, we cannot help them.
I can help you start
a fire, but if you are pouring water on it, what can I do?
One
of the acaryas
describes
that Anukula is a name for Radharani and thus anukulyena
means
to become a servant of Radharani.
As devotees of
Krishna, we do not want to go to Vaikunthaloka if Krishna is not
there. And as followers of Lord Caitanya we do not want to go unless
both Krishna and Radharani are there.
Lord Caitanya is
giving us this information that Krishna is not attracted opulent
worship but by intimacy. That gives him the most pleasure, and if we
are interested in giving Krishna the most pleasure, we must aspire
for it.
Krishna
was amazed by the love of Radharani and wanting to experience it, He
came as Lord Caitanya, and as Lord Caitanya after experiencing that,
he wanted to experience the greater ecstasy of serving the
gopis
in
their service of Radha and Krishna. This is described in the
Caitanya-caritamrita
when
Lord Caitanya went into trance and experienced collecting flowers for
Radha-Krishna under the direction of the gopis.
In
the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, the devotees are always feeling separation
from Krishna, and in the pastimes of Krishna, they are experiencing union
with Krishna. Because the love in separation is more intense, Lord
Caitanya is giving His associates even more love than before. Thus it
is called audarya-lila
because
Lord Caitanya is giving more mercy.
To attain perfection
we have to identify with our spiritual situation as a servant of the
intimate servants of the Lord and not our situation as a resident of
Manchester or wherever.
Acarya
Prabhakar, Srila Prabhupada’s first disciple, told an amazing story
of Srila Prabhupada at the temple in Chipawada. He heard Srila
Prabhupada playing the mrdanga
and
loudly singing. He came up to Srila Prabhupada’s room, and saw he
was wearing a garland of kadamba
flowers
down to his feet, and they were about four times bigger kadamba
flowers
than you find around Delhi and had a wonderful fragrance filling the room.
And in addition to playing the drum and singing, he was dancing
around the room like a madman. Acarya Prabhakar had to wait a while
for him to settle down. Srila Prabhupada explained that Krishna had appeared, and had said Prabhupada
would be successful in his preaching mission in the West, and that He
would personally help him. Then Krishna took His garland and put it
around Srila Prabhupada’s neck and disappeared.
Hanuman’s eternal
position is servant of Lord Rama and Laksmi is the eternal consort of
Lord Narayana. This cannot be changed. It is not that they should
aspire to be maidservants of Radha Krishna.
It is described that
Lord Narayana is all-pervading yet He does not enter Vrindavan or
Dvaraka.
The original Krishna
does not kill demons, His aspect as Vasudeva does that work and
disappears when it is done.
Lord Caitanya gives even the eternal associates of Krishna something more.
Ramananda Raya knew Radha Krishna but Gaura revealed that His form
Gaura was a combination of both, which was a new experience for him.
Rasa
and
prema
are
not static but can be changed.
Ananta Nitai
Prabhu:
If you were in
complete control, you would never have an accident. There must be a
controller beyond you.
The laws of physics
are acting everywhere. It is not that there is just chaos.
Notes on Vyasa
Puja Offerings in Newcastle
Krishna-kripa
das:
On
Vyasa Puja we worship the guru as the representative of Srila
Vyasadeva, the compiler of the Vedic literature. It is hard to
imagine a greater representative of Srila Vyasadeva than Srila
Prabhupada, who translated Vyasa’s ultimate literature,
Srimad-Bhagavatam,
into
English, with relevant commentaries for men of the present age, and
who engaged his disciples in translating it to all the important
languages of the world, and distributing it to the people in general.
We
usually celebrate with offering of flowers (puspanjali),
an arati,
a
feast, and homages.
I am inspired by
Srila Prabhupada’s presenting Krishna consciousness as a clear
spiritual science without the vagueness often there in other
presentations of spiritual ideas.
From my traveling I
appreciate how Srila Prabhupada has inspired people in devotion to
Krishna all over the world.
I think any of us
who have appreciated anything Srila Prabhupada has given should offer
some words of appreciation on this day, and to facilitate this I will
shut up to allow others time to speak.
Bhakti Rasa
Prabhu:
Srila Prabhupada
lived at 151 Harrison (Hari’s son) Road in Calcutta in his youth,
and many Harrisons, most notably George, have since developed an
interest in Krishna.
I
was confused about who to accept as a spiritual master, so I prayed
to you, Srila Prabhupada, at a guru-puja
in Mayapur, “You know your disciples and you know me, please select
the person who would be the best guru for me.” Then I came out of
the temple, and a devotee was selling his guru’s books right in
front of me. His guru was Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, and I spent my
whole brahmacari
allowance
on his books. By reading them I decided upon Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami
as my guru, and I consider that was your direction, Srila Prabhupada.
Ananta Nitai
Prabhu:
I had a dream in
which Srila Prabhupada, at the top of some stairs, said to turn down
the music and to distribute his books, and then at the end I embraced
him as a child does his parents, as he came down the stairs. I was
very much into mundane music before meeting the devotees and took it
that Prabhupada was telling me to give that up. I was already
distributing his books, but that sealed my commitment to Srila
Prabhupada to keep doing that service.
The first day on the
street I collected 34 pence. The next day was not much better, but I
persevered, and things improved, and I ultimately found my niche,
selling books door to door.
Tribhuvanatha Prabhu
inspired me by telling me, “Your service is your lifeline to
Krishna.”
If anyone seriously
reads Srila Prabhupada’s books, he cannot ignore them.
We are all here
because Srila Prabhupada came to give. He did not come to take.
Prema Sankirtana
Prabhu:
I am so glad, Srila
Prabhupada, that you invited us to be part of Lord Caitanya’s
chanting and dancing party.
The
bike shop lady who greets our chanting party when we pass her shop,
came looking to buy our camper. She saw Jiya, my three-year old
daughter, chanting on beads and asked Jiya what she was doing, and
Jiya replied, “Japa.”
“What’s in the bag?” the lady asked, and Jiya pulled out the
beads, and Vishnu-priya, my wife, explained about chanting. The bike
shop lady took a test drive of the vehicle, and then asked for five
minutes to think about it. She decided to give the full asking price,
but wanted one special favor, a set of japa
beads. Harinama-sankirtana
ki, jaya. Srila
Prabhupada ki,
jaya!
Ramai Prabhu:
Sometimes people ask
me some spiritual doubt, and I remember something from your books, Srila Prabhupada, and I say that, and immediately they are satisfied.
Even your smallest
book is fulfilled with unlimited spiritual truth.
That we were all
celebrating Janmastami last night with such enthusiasm and happiness
is an homage to you, for without you that would not be possible.
Ekacakranatha
Prabhu:
Prabhupada,
you are the greatest, and everything you are involved with is the
greatest, such as the mission of Lord Caitanya and the chanting of
the holy name, etc.
Whatever Krishna
consciousness a person is able to take, he finds it benefits him.
Vrinda
Mataji:
Everyone
knows how great Srila Prabhupada is but I will tell one story from
last night: One Indian couple came to our temple for the first time
after visiting the local Hindu temple, where they had found not much
happening on Janmastami. After awhile, they decided to see if anything had started
to happen at the Hindu temple, but as they were leaving they asked
some questions, like who the Panca-tattva was and why we had them and
not Krishna on the altar. I explained about Lord Caitanya and His
associates the best I could. Then they asked about the large murti
of
Srila Prabhupada, and when
I told them the amazing story of Srila Prabhupada bringing Krishna
consciousness to the West, they decided not to return to the Hindu
temple, but stayed to midnight for the final kirtana
and
the feast after. Srila Prabhupada ki,
jaya!
Ganesh
Prabhu:
Thank you for
allowing me to be an instrument in the development of our program in
York, where we had a wonderful program for Janmastami last Saturday
attended by 24 people, and during which I felt such ecstasy just by
assisting in different ways.
Malvika:
Although I am from
Asia, being born in India and living in Malaysia, I encountered
Krishna consciousness in Newcastle (England) and thus I am also
grateful to you, Srila Prabhupada, for bringing Krishna consciousness
to the West.
I find reading books
about Srila Prabhupada helps me in my appreciation of Srila
Prabhupada’s books.
I began listening to
Srila Prabhupada’s conversations while I was cooking, and I was
feeling that I was in the room with the conversation.
Anna
from Poland:
My mother heard
Srila Prabhupada lecture in Poland during communist times, and she
chanted Hare Krishna for many years but ultimately stopped. She did
not tell me about her involvement with Hare Krishna until after I met
the devotees myself. She said chanted when she was pregnant with me
and that by the chanting I would calm down. Also when I was a baby,
she said I would calm down and when she chanted. That explained why
when I first encountered the Hare Krishnas in Poland that the mantra
seemed very familiar to me.
One day I sat in the
temple in front of Srila Prabhupada and prayed that if it was his
desire that I go to India that I wanted to go, although I did not
have the funds to go. Later my mom and my step-father told me they
wanted to give me a present—a ticket to India. I am sure that was
his mercy.
Bhakta
Lauris:
I was amazed to hear
there was this guy who came from India and spent twelve years in the
West, and translated 60 books, and traveled around the world 14
times, and whose first disciples were hippies who were addicted to
all kinds of intoxication. I did not see how it was possible, and I
was attracted. Thank you for tricking us to become Krishna
consciousness. May I always remain so tricked.
-----
naca, gao,
bhakta-sange kara sankirtana
krishna-nama
upadesi’ tara’ sarva-jana
“[Isvara
Puri said to his disciple Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu:] ‘My
dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord] in
association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value
of chanting krishna-nama
[the
holy name of Krishna],
for
by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.’”
(Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi
7.92)