Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 21
By Krishna-kripa das
(November 2013, part one)
By Krishna-kripa das
(November 2013, part one)
Chanting
in New York City and Beyond
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on December 3, 2013)
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on December 3, 2013)
Where
I Went and What I Did
I
continued chanting on harinama
six
hours a day at Union Square in New York City with Rama Raya Prabhu’s
party, and living in Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn, cutting
vegetables for their lunch program and Sunday feast. I attended a
variety of special events as well. On November 4, I attended a lively
Govardhan Puja festival at the Brooklyn temple. On November 6, I
heard The Mayapuris play at the Jivamukti Yoga School NYC. The next
evening, I traveled to New Brunwick, New Jersey, to Sacred Sounds, a
kirtana
event
sponsored by the Rutgers University Bhakti Yoga Club, with this
year’s guests, The Hanumen and The Mayapuris. On November 9, I
attended a home program of Bengali-speaking devotees in Queens where
we observed Govardhan Puja again. From November 14–17 I took a
break to visit my family in and around Albany, and I got to talk with
and have lunch with Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, who lives just 25
minutes from my mother, along with some of his other disciples, and I
got to clean up afterward. The first half of November was so busy, it
makes me exhausted just remembering it all, what to speak of
describing it!
There
are truly beautiful insights I share from Srila Prabhupada’s books,
lectures, and letters, and some valuable points from Satsvarupa Dasa
Goswami’s blog, including a beautiful glorification of Srila
Prabhupada’s books. Prahladananda Swami made some great points
worth sharing in his lectures at the Brooklyn temple. There are also
some interesting realizations from a discussion between Yogesvara
Prabhu, and Sharon Gannon, of Jivamukti Yoga School, also a devotee
of Lord Krishna. I also include some great quotes from the Jan /Feb 2014 issue of Back to Godhead, which I was proofreading.
Thanks
to Nam Sankirtan Prabhu, Lila Padma dd, Chandra Mohini dd, and
Gabriel for pictures of me on harinama
at
Union Square and in the subway station.
Harinamas
at Union Square
As
I mentioned in a previous journal, several people who regularly pass
by our Union Square chanting party became regular attenders of it.
One French literature major at Hunter College named Alice sat down
with the devotee chanters back in June and stayed for the whole rest
of the day. As they were packing up Baladeva recalls, “Alice asked
if she could play the harmonium, and she did, singing Hare Krishna as
she played. The next day she came and stayed the whole time, and then
asked if she could play the mrdanga as they were packing up.”
Now when she is not too busy with school, she comes by a few days a
week for a few hours each day, and when she leads the singing,
sometimes she will go on for an hour and a half or more! She has a
loud voice, and it is great having her sing the response. One devotee
lady told me Alice also goes to the Bhakti Center everyday for
mangala-arati. I recorded some video clips of her singing on
harinama to share with you
(http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLKhBtu3AN_O5cbEBNU7vXC):
One
girl named Jill from Connecticut, who studied art and psychology,
enjoyed offering a candle to Damodar . . .
and then watching and listening to the kirtana party, and hearing a few words from me about psychology and the Bhagavad-gita.
and then watching and listening to the kirtana party, and hearing a few words from me about psychology and the Bhagavad-gita.
One
couple positioned two chairs in the sunshine in front of the harinama
party, right in the middle of the walkway, and closed their eyes
and listened to the kirtana, undisturbed
by all the people passing by!
One
Czech couple joined us for an hour or so. They had visited our
Krishna camp at the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (the Czech
Woodstock) which I have attended for five years. They also knew about
one of our Govinda’s restaurants in Prague.
I
gave them the Czech mantra card and invitation to the Prague temple
which I had in my money belt. At one point, the girl got into
dancing.
Visvambhar
Prabhu of The Mayapuris came and played and sang for a couple hours
on Govardhan Puja Day, sharing his enthusiasm for kirtana
with us, to our great
happiness. He was in town to do programs at local yoga centers and
Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Experiencing
the discomfort of the cold, he later expressed appreciation that we
were chanting out there for six hours a day.
One 59-year-old lady
who watched our chanting for an hour, said that except for our Union
Square chanting, she had not encountered Hare Krishna since the
1970s. She was very happy to see the devotees chanting and to learn
of Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch in Brooklyn. She credited Hare
Krishna with her becoming vegetarian at 17 years old.
He
was complaining to a passerby how he only made $6 a day for all his
endeavor. I was thinking that if I sat down and chanted Hare Krishna,
people would give me more than $6! I wonder if he had written “GOD
IS LOVE” and was coloring in a picture of Krishna how well he would
do!
One
devotee youth I knew from Alachua, Madhvacarya Prabhu, came by on
occasion, here playing the gong.,
One
time Jai Giridhari Prabhu, in a blissful mood, decided to lead the
kirtana while
dancing, and other devotees joined him (http://youtu.be/DFTLzE4rhVc):
Once when Michael
Collins was leading a lively kirtana in the subway station,
one young lady sat down in the middle of the floor against a pillar
to take videos and to listen.
Prahladananda
Swami came on harinama
for
over an hour and a half when we were chanting in the Union Square
subway station because of the cold outside.
He seemed so joyful as he chanted, several people were attracted to listen, even during slow time in mid-afternoon.
One older man with gray hair clapped and smiled, moving with the beat of the music, for at least fifteen minutes.
I did not get a chance to talk with him, but he seemed very happy to encounter Prahladananda Swami and the chanting of Hare Krishna. Later that day more devotees came by and for the last hour we had fourteen devotees chanting in the subway.
He seemed so joyful as he chanted, several people were attracted to listen, even during slow time in mid-afternoon.
One older man with gray hair clapped and smiled, moving with the beat of the music, for at least fifteen minutes.
I did not get a chance to talk with him, but he seemed very happy to encounter Prahladananda Swami and the chanting of Hare Krishna. Later that day more devotees came by and for the last hour we had fourteen devotees chanting in the subway.
One
girl named Julienne, who joined us chanting at Union Square once
before and later attended a single Thursday evening kirtana
at
the Bhakti Center, saw us chanting in the subway station as she walked
toward the L-train platform.
She stayed and chanted for over an hour, playing the instruments with a joyful expression on her face.
She stayed and chanted for over an hour, playing the instruments with a joyful expression on her face.
At
Radha Govinda temple in Brooklyn, the hill of sweets celebrating Lord
Krishna’s Govardhana Puja festival was awesome!
After
the bathing ceremony for Giri Govardhan and circumambulation of the
hill, we all got containers with lots of sweets. I was so busy eating
the sweets, I devoured all the good looking and tasty sweets before I
thought to take a picture of the whole container.
Lots
of people, including Visvambhar, danced enthusiastically in kirtana.
The following Saturday I attended a Bengali nama-hatta program in Queens at the residence of Pankajanghri Prabhu where they celebrated Govardhana Puja also with great devotion.
The following Saturday I attended a Bengali nama-hatta program in Queens at the residence of Pankajanghri Prabhu where they celebrated Govardhana Puja also with great devotion.
Sacred Sounds at Rutgers
For the last six years, the Bhakti Yoga Club at Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey at New Brunswick, has hosted a kirtana event called Sacred Sounds. Visvambhar, who has been going for six years, invited me to attend when he read my Facebook post lamenting missing a similar event he did in Tampa in October. After singing in Union Square for five hours on November 7, I took the train to New Brunswick for the evening event.
I ended up sitting next to a Rutgers professor of religion, Dr. Edwin Bryant, known to the Hare Krishna community as Advaita Prabhu. I had heard his name come up in discussions with devotee scholars like Hridayananda Dasa Goswami and Sadaputa Prabhu, and I was happy to finally meet him. I had heard he was famous for writing a book about the Aryan invasion theory, and I asked about it. He explained his strategy in the book was to present the arguments on both sides of the theory so that people could come to their own conclusions, and thus the publication was appreciated by the scholarly community. He also has written about the relationship between bhakti and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. I also met a student of his by the name of Chelsea, who I remembered from chanting Hare Krishna in the Times Square subway station during last year’s winter vacation. She mentioned that Advaita taught a course called Krishna, as well as several other interesting courses with topics related to the Hindu tradition. In fact, she decided to minor in religion in order to be permitted to take all the classes taught by Advaita Prabhu that she was interested in. I felt inspired by my contact with both this enthusiastic scholar of bhakti and his enthusiastic follower. Hopefully someday I will find some way to please Krishna with my natural talents.
Although the Sacred Sounds event was not attended by five hundred students as some of the past events, still over two hundred students were there. Many of the students got into singing and dancing with the kirtana.
The Hanumen consist of Benjy Wertheimer, John de Kadt, who is a poet, Purushartha Dasa, who plays the bass, and the lead singer, Gaura Vani.
The Mayapuris consisted of Visvambhar and Krishna Kishore, and Visvambhar’s sister, Gangi, who was happy to go on tour for a week and dance, and Kumari, a friend from Alachua, now living in New York City.
I took a few notes on what was said and on some of the songs:
Gaura Vani Prabhu:
[Gaura Vani later explained that he created the band, Hanumen, with artists from different spiritual traditions, to show the universality and the reality of sacred sound.]
When we put up our arms, we are asking for grace to enter into our lives.
Sankaracarya saw an old man in Varanasi on the point of death studying Sanskrit grammar, and he advised him “Bhaja Govinda, bhaja Govinda, mudha mate.—Just worship Govinda, you fool.” Life is meant for focusing on God, not improving your
situation in this world, especially at the time of death.
This song is dedicated to those chanters who have gone before us and learned how to turn their tragedy and grief into prayer and transcendence.
Lines from songs:
We all bleed blood, we all breathe air, we all break bread, we’ve all been there.
Home to my Lord and be free.
Krishna Kishore Prabhu: Wouldn’t it be nice to able to love fearlessly? That is possible by chanting the names of Govinda. Let’s give it a try.
Many volunteers helped with the event, including these two who are modeling the festival T-shirt they sold for the low, low price of $5.
The spiritual food was very good, and I fell victim to the jalebis, a tasty Indian sweet that one rarely gets, and which I had thirds on. I talked to Geoff, who remembered me from when he spent sometime volunteering with Back to Godhead magazine in Alachua over ten years before. One devotee lady offered to have me speak on one phone conference call lecture she arranges.
I thought $13 each way on the train to New Brunswick was too much, and so I was happy to get a ride back to Brooklyn with some devotee friends. I arrived at the locked Brooklyn temple at 2:00 a.m. on a cold November night and chanted in the warm subway station until the pujari came to wake the deities at 3:50 a.m. Although I had only slept an hour, I ended up singing the mangala-arati prayers as the person who did it usually did not show up. My visit to Sacred Sounds made for an intense and long day, but it was well worth it, and I hope to go again if I am in New York City when it happens in the future.
My Mother Wins
Peace Award
My
89-year old mother, Pat Beetle, won an award for her peace activism
in the year 2013, given by a New York State Capital District group
called Women Against War. My sister said that our mom has been
inviting her to go to these different awards programs from time to
time and she had not gone, but she was going to go this time. I
decided that as I was going go to Albany to visit my mother at some
point I would go then too. My mother has helped me in many ways in
addition to taking care of me as a child. She bought me a ticket to
see my diksa
guru,
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, in Ireland, and to go to the Polish
Woodstock, back in 2001. I liked the Woodstock so much I attended it
for the last thirteen years. She has also helped contribute to my
transatlantic airline tickets. She funded a trip that we took to
South India, which culminated in her going to Mayapur. Thus I decided
that in reciprocation it would be good to go to the meeting where she
was honored.
In
this picture, you see my mother on the extreme right, and my sister,
Karen, next to her. I am in the back and on the left is Jun-San, a
Buddhist monk and peace activist.
Jun-San
chants that Buddhist mantra “Nam(u)-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō” at
different peace rallies around the world for hours on end, usually
with drum accompaniment. When she heard about our chanting Hare
Krishna at Union Square for six hours every day of the year, she was
impressed. Because Buddhists are famous for meditation, I asked her
about meditation, and she replied that she hated meditation. That was
the funniest thing I had heard recently—a Buddhist monk who hated
meditation. Upon reflection, I took that to mean that she was such an
activist that silent meditation was not so important for her.
One
women named Maureen spoke about my mother’s career as an activist,
and that my mother has been for forty years clerk of the peace and
service committee in the Albany Friends Meeting, did service for the
Capital Area Mediation Group, was founder of Peace Action, worked on
the nuclear weapons freeze campaign, reminded people of the horrors
of nuclear weapons on the anniversary of Hiroshima each year, and
founded a group called Grannies for Peace, which got good publicity.
Maureen concluded by appreciating her sisterhood, mentoring, and
inspiration.
My mother spoke and told
some other details about her life. “I thought more about peace when
I became involved with the Albany Friends Meeting and joined the
vigil protesting the Vietnam War. In 1976, I, along with my two
teenage kids, joined the Continental Walk for Disarmament and Social
Justice on the part from Albany to New York. I was involved with
alternatives to violence programs in prisons which made me more
concerned about criminal justice. I worked with an International
Center women’s group, helping visiting and immigrant ladies from
around the world, and also spent time helping refugees from Central
America, and participating in the Women Peace Encampment of 1983. I
visited Israel and Palestine to better understand the situation
there, and I visited Cuba as well.”
After they honored
my mother at the Women Against War meeting, climate change activist
Rachel Smolker spoke, and I learned more about that issue.
Those
who accept the Vedic wisdom know about the predictions of government
corruption in this age, and Ms. Smolker
gave some examples of that in her talk:
The
military is exempt from both the reporting of and the regulations on
carbon emissions and green house gasses.
The
military is aware of the climate change issue and is investigating
it, while at the same time contributing greatly to it. For example:
A
B-52 bomber burns 86 barrels of oil per hour.
A
F-4 Phantom fighter/bomber devours 40 barrels per hour.
One
year for each $94 spent for the military just $1 was spent for
climate change preparation. The next year for each $41 for spent for
military $1 was spent for climate change preparation, a slight
improvement.
The
Vedic wisdom describes our disease as conditioned souls is that we
want to imitate God. Ms. Smolker
also discussed a whole new field of study dedicated to just that,
synthetic biology.
In
synthetic biology, they do things like create a genetic code for a
yeast cell so it will digest cellulose and create a new energy
source. In this field, the military is also trying to produce through
genetic manipulation organisms that excrete explosive substances.
Other
interesting points Ms. Smolker made in her talk included:
It
is a myth that bioenergy has lower carbon emissions than fossil
fuels.
Albert
Einstein once said, “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be
achieved by understanding.”
When
asked, “Do you have any reason to be optimistic about the health
the planet?”
She
replied, “I do not feel optimistic, but our best chance is
compassion and making a spiritual connection between ourselves and
the earth.”
It
is interesting that her only hope was in compassion and making
spiritual connections.
Regarding
the ecology and the military, she shared a humorous web page touching
on those topics, a web page that no longer exists:
“Green
War?
“War
and violence have always caused major destruction and loss, but it
does not have to be this way anymore. The sustainable military
development company GreenWar can help make environmentally-friendly,
energy-conserving, carbon-neutral, ecological conflicts. Go green
with GreenWar and give ‘war’ a chance. A chance to do good. Good
for Mother Nature, good for you!”
Prasadam
Distribution in Albany
My main Krishna
outreach in Albany is distribution of Krishna prasadam. I
was fortunate to have the chance to cook for two potluck events in
Albany in the three days I was there, the Women Against War meeting
attended by about sixty people and the Friends Meeting lunch which my
mother and I attended along with fifteen or twenty others. I made a
beautiful carrot-coconut rice from Yamuna’s cookbook and mint
coconut burfi for the
Women Against War meeting. The rice was eaten almost entirely, and
about half the coconut sweet, primarily due to competition with a
variety of cakes and pies. Some of the people who remembered my
coconut sweets from my previous visits to Albany made sure to take
some despite the other desserts. For the Friends Meeting I made baked
yams and laddus. The yams were completely finished, and half the
laddus, only because I made enough for thirty-two people. I felt very
successful because of the appreciation of the prasadam. I
am thankful to my mother and sister for the raw ingredients and the
kitchen facilities that were essential to my success.
For dinner at my
sister’s place, I made kotfa balls following a recipe in
Yamuna’s cookbook, and amazing they came out better than ever
before. I prayed to Radharani and played a Badahari das Prabhu CD as
usual while cooking in Albany. It was a real cooperative adventure
with my mom buying the ingredients, my sister, Karen, grating the
carrots for the kofta and making the spaghetti and the sauce,
her boyfriend, Victor, grating the cabbages for the kofta,
and myself making the batter for the koftas and cooking
them.
Once
day I brought a pot of soup for lunch to my guru, Satsvarupa Dasa
Goswami, and his helpers, and after the meal, his longtime servant,
Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu, filled the same pot with all the
ingredients for palak paneer as he knows my family likes it.
All I had to do was cook it and offer it to Krishna.It was great. They all loved it.
You can try his recipe. (That is 8 lbs. of spinach.)
Another
day I brought a pot of soup for my friend, Peter Howard, and his
family. Peter got to meet the devotees when Romapada Swami asked me
if I knew where his sankirtana party
could stay in the Albany area, and I suggested the farm belonging to
Burt Howard, Peter’s father. Now Peter chants Hare Krishna on beads
and attends the big Hare Krishna festival called Ratha-yatra in New
York City each year. While visiting Peter, I played harmonium, and he
and his girlfriend chanted the “Damodarastakam” in celebration of
Karttika and some Hare Krishna mantras as well.
To
see the pictures which I took but did not include in this journal,
click on the link below or copy it to your web browser:
The
unused pictures appear after the used ones in the folder of pictures.
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
from
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 9.362,
purport:
“One
who strictly follows the Vedic literature and chants the holy name of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead will actually be situated in the
transcendental disciplic succession. Those who want to attain life’s
ultimate goal must follow this principle.”
from
Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.19.4, purport:
“.
. . a pure devotee will not ask anything from the Lord. He simply
offers the Lord his respectful obeisances, and the Lord is prepared
to accept whatever the devotee can secure to worship Him, even patram
puspam phalam toyam [Bg.
9.26]—a leaf, flower, fruit or water. There is no need to
artificially exert oneself. It is better to be plain and simple and
with respectful obeisances offer to the Lord whatever one can secure.
The Lord is completely able to bless the devotee with all opulences.”
from
Sri
Isopanisad, verse
13:
“Here
also in Sri
Isopanisad it
is verified that one achieves different results by different modes of
worship. If we worship the Supreme Lord, we will certainly reach Him
in His eternal abode, and if we worship demigods like the sun-god or
moon-god, we can reach their respective planets without a doubt. And
if we wish to remain on this wretched planet with our planning
commissions and our stopgap political adjustments, we can certainly
do that also.”
“One
who is in passion cannot become detached from material hankering, and
one who is in ignorance cannot know what he is or what the Lord is.
Thus when one is in passion or ignorance, there is no chance for
self-realization, however much one may play the part of a
religionist. For a devotee, the modes of passion and ignorance are
removed by the grace of the Lord. In this way the devotee becomes
situated in the quality of goodness, the sign of a perfect brahmana.
Anyone can qualify as a brahmana
if he follows the path of devotional service under the guidance of a
bona fide spiritual master.”
from
Sri
Isopanisad, verse
14:
“Material
scientists and politicians are trying to make this place deathless
because they have no information of the deathless spiritual nature.
This is due to their ignorance of the Vedic literature, which
contains full knowledge confirmed by mature transcendental
experience. Unfortunately, modern man is averse to receiving
knowledge from the Vedas, Puranas and other scriptures.”
from
a lecture on The
Nectar of Devotion:
If
your mind is too agitated, it is better to sit in the temple and
chant Hare Krishna until it becomes peaceful again, not that we
unnecessarily remain in a state of lamentation.
Just
by developing Krishna consciousness every member of society will
become happy.
Some
people say, “If everyone became Krishna conscious, how will the
world go on?” But do we need the world to go on as it is, with the
stealing of others property, etc.? Realistically there is not a
danger of everyone becoming Krishna conscious.
Whether
one acts according to Vedic direction or his own imagination, if he
acts for the pleasure Krishna, he is rightly situated.
Chanting
the Hare Krishna mantra cannot be checked. If you are poor, you can
still chant Hare Krishna.
from
lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.20 given on June 17, 1972 in
Los Angeles:
“Just
as a chaste woman is meant for her husband, a chaste tongue is meant
for chanting Hare Krishna and tasting Krishna prasada.
If you can simply engage your tongue in chanting Hare Krishna and
tasting Krishna prasada,
you become perfect. Simple thing. There is no difficulty. Whenever
there is time, chant Hare Krishna. And when you feel hungry, take
Krishna prasada.
And live here peacefully. . . . By talking nonsense we allow our span
of life to be diminished by the sunrise and sunset. But if we talk
about Urugaya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then our life
cannot be taken away. It cannot be decreased. It will be
eternal–simply by doing these two things. If we engage the tongue
in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, then we can see God
eye to eye.”
from
a letter to Satsvarupa Dasa, January 11, 1971:
“I
want all our students to write articles for our transcendental
magazine [Back
to Godhead].”
from
a letter to Hayagriva Dasa, July 12, 1969:
“Regarding
articles for BTG,
I have already issued instructions to all centers requesting my
disciples to send articles every month, and I am going to repeat it
again for the second time.”
Prahladananda
Swami:
The
more we hanker, the more we lament. When we are free from hankering
and lamenting we are liberated. On the platform of Krishna
consciousness, we hanker for Krishna and lament that we have not
achieved Krishna.
If
I want to be someone’s friend, I should think of how to give them
Krishna. Krishna is what they are actually looking for. They are
looking for a situation of eternal happiness, but that can only be
achieved by attaining Krishna.
The
body is not dying; it is already dead. As spiritual souls we leave
the body. As
souls we do not have to worry about dying but accepting many bodies
and then leaving them.
As
a baby all he can say is “googoo googoo.” His parents are
impressed. They do not know in his last life he was a chemistry
professor and he won the Nobel Prize, and now all he can say is “googoo
googoo.”
As
we hanker for the holy name and lament we do not have it, Krishna
gradually reveals more and more to us about our spiritual situation
and our relationship with Him.
My
relationship with my husband, my wife, my children, my dog, my cat,
my parakeet, can all be spiritual if we see them as souls and engage
them in Krishna’s service. Help them all to be Krishna conscious as
Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised.
Having
a taste for hearing and chanting about Krishna means we like Krishna,
and not having a taste for hearing and chanting about Krishna means
we do not like Krishna, at least as much as we like other things. By
engaging our propensities in the Lord’s service, we become purified
and get a taste for hearing and chanting about Krishna, but if we are
unwilling to engage our propensities in Krishna’s service, then we
will not become purified and we will not get a taste for hearing and
chanting about Krishna.
The
great souls talk about how we can direct our energy so that we can
experience Krishna.
One
becomes satisfied when he is not exploiting others for his sense
gratification nor disturbed
by others attempting to exploit him for their sense gratification.
We
cannot expect to have prema
or
love for Krishna if we still have lust, greed, and anger in our
heart.
We can have taste
for Krishna consciousness if our material desires are so minimized
that they do not disturb our devotional service.
The symptom that we
are still revolting against Krishna is that when Krishna says to do
something, we do just the opposite.
From
taste (ruci)
we
develop attachment for Krishna (asakti),
feelings for Krishna (bhava),
and finally love for Krishna (prema).
For the neophyte
devotees, who are not liberated, hearing about how souls are
suffering in illusion due to the external energy of the Lord is the
topics of the Lord they need to hear.
Without experiencing
transcendental pleasure within, it is not possible to renounce sense
gratification without.
They did a study
with rats on a box of shredded wheat to understand its nutritional
value, but the rats ate the box and left the shredded wheat.
Because Gaurakisora
dasa Babaji was absorbed in transcendental feelings of separation
from Krishna he was detached from so many material things.
The soul has no real
problem. His body has so many problems, and the problem of the soul
is that he thinks he is the body, and therefore, he thinks he has so
many problems.
Gaurakisora dasa
Babaji was a perfect example of how we can solve all problems by
completely dedicating ourselves to the activities of the soul.
Hong Kong is so
expensive there are people who live in the sewer.
Our body is always
changing, and so we can legitimately ask which body we are actually
serving.
We should ask what
is the purpose of having a material body. For one with a human body,
our mission is to understand our relationship with God.
Our body is just the
part that we are playing for this one life. We like to imagine that
we are playing a very important role in the drama, but in actuality,
we are simply struggling to survive.
Real progress in
life to realize our spiritual identity.
Focus on our
spiritual identity does not do much for the Gross National Product,
and therefore, we are not trained in our educational systems to
understand how to realize our spiritual identity.
People are in
anxiety about what has happened to them so far, and in even more
anxiety about what will happen to them in the future.
Everything
is Krishna’s and when we forget that, we become covered by maya,
or illusion. Krishna’s
property should be used in Krishna’s service, and to understand how
to do that we consult Bhagavad-gita
and the spiritual
master.
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
from “Poem
for October 26” in Viraha
Bhavan:
Krishnahnika
Kaumudi: The White Lotus of Radha-Krishna’s Daily Pastimes
by
Kavi-karnapura Gosvami
Third
Ray of Light
Forenoon Pastimes
Purvahna-lila 8:36–10:48 A.M.
Going to the Forest (continued)
Forenoon Pastimes
Purvahna-lila 8:36–10:48 A.M.
Going to the Forest (continued)
“Whether
close by or far away, all the cows
and boys receive the same affection from Krishna as they offer to Him.”
and boys receive the same affection from Krishna as they offer to Him.”
“As
soon as they hear Govinda’s flute, the inert entities
start singing and the vocal entities fall silent.
River waves freeze and cease their movement;
immobile objects begin moving and solid objects turn to liquid.
start singing and the vocal entities fall silent.
River waves freeze and cease their movement;
immobile objects begin moving and solid objects turn to liquid.
Thus
Krishna’s flute song reverses
the functions of nature. The world dances in wonderful ways when Sri Krishna presses His flute to His bimba-fruit lips.
The leaves of all the trees stand on
end. The birds tremble as tears glide down their wings.
Their jaws locked in paralysis, the animals stop chewing and stare
in astonishment. The mountains are covered with perspiration.”
the functions of nature. The world dances in wonderful ways when Sri Krishna presses His flute to His bimba-fruit lips.
The leaves of all the trees stand on
end. The birds tremble as tears glide down their wings.
Their jaws locked in paralysis, the animals stop chewing and stare
in astonishment. The mountains are covered with perspiration.”
Krishnahnika
Kaumudi: The White Lotus of Radha-Krishna’s Daily Pastimes
by
Kavi-karnapura Gosvami
Third
Ray of Light
Forenoon Pastimes
Purvahna-lila 8:36–10:48 A.M.
Going to the Forest (continued)
Forenoon Pastimes
Purvahna-lila 8:36–10:48 A.M.
Going to the Forest (continued)
“Syamasundara
is that remarkable personality
with a dark complexion who sports
in the garden of love, who attracts
Cupid by His unsurpassed beauty
and who offers His love to all
with a smile from His reservoir of nectar.”
with a dark complexion who sports
in the garden of love, who attracts
Cupid by His unsurpassed beauty
and who offers His love to all
with a smile from His reservoir of nectar.”
“Today’s
drawing shows four
bhaktas dancing and chanting
bhaktas dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
Their faces are joyful
and their movements are
so graceful that they
attract many onlookers
to their harinama.
They are the greatest welfare
workers because they
are distributing love of
God in the form
of the holy names.
The people of the
world are bereft and hungry for
lack of Krishna-prema.
They are looking
for happiness
in illusory places.
But if they will stop
and listen to
the sound vibration
of these men
they will find
the answer to their prayers.”
Their faces are joyful
and their movements are
so graceful that they
attract many onlookers
to their harinama.
They are the greatest welfare
workers because they
are distributing love of
God in the form
of the holy names.
The people of the
world are bereft and hungry for
lack of Krishna-prema.
They are looking
for happiness
in illusory places.
But if they will stop
and listen to
the sound vibration
of these men
they will find
the answer to their prayers.”
“Today’s drawing shows four
bhaktas dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They appear blissful
and they are dancing
with one another.
The camaraderie of
harinama is a wonderful
thing. All possible differences
between them dissolve
and they enter the spirit
of brotherly love.
They share affection for
one another without motivation.
They are like the branches
of the tree of love of God
made up of the followers
of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda.
Prabhupada writes that
as Caitanya-caritamrta mentions
that devotees in Bengal and Orissa [Odisha],
future accounts will have
to contain the names
of Hare Krishna members
spread all over the world.”
pure devotional service
on
almost every page.
He
advocates pure
devotional
service
thus
he is teaching
the
most advanced knowledge,
and
one
simply
has to apply it
to
one’s life,
and
he will get the effect.
The
charge that his
books
are teaching
only
the preliminary
instructions
is unfounded.
He
teaches plenty of
vaidhi-bhakti,
which is
necessary
for us.
But
he cites readings
of
ragunaga
bhakti
for
the stage of loving
transcendental
service.
In
the Antya-lila of Caitanya-caritamrta
he
writes of Lord Caitanya’s intense
feelings
of separation,
a
most confidential
topic,
and in the talks with Ramananda
Raya,
the position of gopi-manjari
is
explained. In the Krishna
book
the
five chapters of the rasa
dance
are
thoroughly discussed. The
Nectar
of Devotion
discusses deeply esoteric
aspects
of devotional service.
In
the purports of Srimad-Bhagavatam
and
Caitanya-caritamrta
all
knowledge is
revealed,
and in the Bhagavad-gita
As It Is
the
spirit that
Krishna
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
is
given on every page.
Srila
Prabhupada’s books can be read
again
and again, and one will
always
see new lights.
There
is nothing lacking.”
from
Radio
Shows:
“Somehow
or other, introduce Krishna and give these people Krishna
consciousness. It’s bound to work because Krishna consciousness is
not sectarian. It’s not an artificial imposition on the mind. It’s
the original consciousness of the living entity. Just chant and this
sound vibration will open the heart. Prabhupada’s daring and
conviction still holds the Krishna consciousness movement together.
His teachings are the cutting edge.”
Yogesvara
Prabhu:
I
appreciate Sharon Gannon and Jivamukti Yoga School because they
openly say “Without opening your heart to God, your yoga
practice is useless.” I cannot think of three yoga centers in the
country with such an open attitude toward God.
Bhakti has always
been there in yoga texts, even before Patanjali.
Q (by Yogesvara
Prabhu): What does it mean to be a yogi?
A (by Sharon
Gannon): A yogi is striving to live in harmony with the earth and all
living beings on the earth, and to love God better.
[The dialog
continues with Yogesvara Prabhu posing questions to Sharon Gannon,
co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga School, who practices bhakti following
the path of Vallabhacarya.]
Q: How to begin?
A: I do not think
yoga should be proselytized. The desire arises in the heart.
Association with spiritually minded people is the first step.
Association can be in terms of persons, books, movies, etc.
Q: What was it like
it for you to first encounter yoga?
A:
I grew up as a Catholic. I loved being around the nuns at school. I
liked that better than being at my home. I liked hearing of the
pastimes of Jesus, mystical and magical and otherworldly things. I
was fascinated by visiting a convent. I learned I did not have to do
the usual things that a woman did, like get married, and have kids—I
could be a bride of God. There is a lot of movement in the Catholic
mass like a Surya namaskara,
there
is prasadam
(spiritual
food), and seva
(spiritual
service). So I do not think I changed so much in encountering yoga.
In this Kali-yuga,
anyone who has any slightest interest in yoga, they are just
continuing from a previous practice in a previous life.
If you have the
ticket of compassion you can get abroad a bus to the Lord.
Q: What about
climate change? Can yoga provide an answer?
A: Yes. We should
find other ways to enjoy life than producing children and consuming
goods, such as spiritual association.
God will take of
everything if we place our faith in the source of love itself.
You
have to practice remembering God in all circumstances. You have to
make your desire to take His shelter, to always think sri
krishna saranam mama.[Krishna
is my shelter.]
Q: What about the
reaction we get when we start talking about taking complete shelter
of God?
A: It does not
bother me if people choose not to follow the devotional path or the
yoga path. Most people are not ready to strive for joy or for
freedom. It seems to me most people are attached to their suffering.
You can call God
Krishna or any other name. The important thing is to call Him.
Patanjali
just used the word isvara
(Lord)
rather than a particular name of God.
Yogesvara Prabhu:
We must be confident
of our specific truth that we can step out of it and appreciate the
realizations of others.
Bhakti is not about
defeating other traditions but honoring how other traditions love and
honor that same supreme being that we worship.
A
Jewish author [the rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik] wrote a book, The
Lonely Man of Faith, that
explains that ultimately we must walk the path of devotion alone.
Legislation does not
change the human heart. We have to change the human heart through
yoga and come to understand that as spiritual children of the same
supreme father we have to care about others.
Sharon:
We must take the
road that will increase bliss.
Gauri
Prabhu:
from “The
Vaishnava Path in George’s Harrison’s Songs,” in Back to
Godhead, Vol. 48, No. 1, Jan /
Feb 2014:
In the obituaries
[of George Harrison], his most often recurring quote was “Everything
else can wait, but the search for God …”
Krishnanandani
Devi Dasi:
from “Krishna, the
Chief Enjoyment Officer (CEO)” in Back to Godhead, Vol.
48, No. 1, Jan / Feb 2014:
“The
nineteenth-century Scottish writer Alexander Chalmers wrote, ‘The
three grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, someone to
love, and something to hope for.’ According to the Bhagavad-gita
and the Vaishnava preceptors, the ‘someone to love’ is Krishna,
the ‘something to do’ is serve Krishna, and the ‘something to
hope for’ is pure, unmotivated, uninterrupted devotional service to
Krishna.”
“‘God
is love.’ My mother and grandparents said this time and time again
when I was growing up. In Krishna consciousness we have a refined
understanding of that laudable sentiment: Krishna, being absolute, is
identical with His quality of infinite love.”
“In the Qu’ran
we learn, ‘The most beautiful names belong to God, so call upon Him
by them.’”
Caitanya
Carana Prabhu:
from “Writing for
Krishna: The Price and The Prize” in Back to Godhead, Vol.
48, No. 1, Jan / Feb 2014:
“. . . writing is
a way to worship Krishna. When we write, we are decorating with our
words the deity of Krishna manifested as His message.”
“I know that if I
write and submit an article for BTG, I have a guaranteed
audience of at least five individuals–and five senior devotees at
that. Imagine if we were giving a class with five veteran
devotee-scholars in the audience. We would feel honored by their
presence and would feel grateful if after the class they gave us some
feedback. The same opportunity beckons all of us each time we submit
an article to BTG.”
Prabhu:
Govardhana
Hill is mentioned in Ramayana
in this connection.
Hanuman
thought that the construction of the bridge to Lanka was going too
slowly with animals throwing pebbles into the water, so he went and
asked Govardhana Hill if he would be willing to be part of the
bridge. Govardhana was honored to be asked to be engaged in the
Lord’s service, but when they returned to the bridge, they found it
was complete. Govardhana was heart-broken to lose that chance to
serve, but the Lord promised in His next incarnation Govardhana would
be useful in His pastimes.
Mataji:
When I was in high
school in West Bengal, my mother would offer evening worship to a
beautiful picture of Krishna. From meditating on Krishna, I lost my
taste for meat and fish, but I was too shy to tell anyone why. I
wanted to travel to the Hare Krishna temple in Mayapur, and my mother
said she would take me if I again would eat meat and fish because
everyone in Bengal eats meat and fish and she would have difficulty
finding a husband for me. My mother and sisters went to Mayapur and
when they returned they all gave up eating meat and fish, and my
father did as well, all by Krishna’s mercy.
Krishna-kripa
das:
from a Facebook
post:
“When I am away
from our temples and my public chanting service, the morning chanting
of Hare Krishna on beads seems to be my primary spiritual shelter,
and remembering its importance is one virtue of being in such a
situation.”
-----
atmendriya-priti-vancha—tare
bali ‘kama’
krishnendriya-priti-iccha
dhare ‘prema’ nama
“The desire to
gratify one’s own senses is kama [lust], but the desire to
please the senses of Lord Krishna is prema [love].” (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 4.165)