Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 10, No. 12
By Krishna-kripa das
(June 2014, part two)
By Krishna-kripa das
(June 2014, part two)
London,
Stonehenge, Nottingham, and The North of England
(Sent from Kostrzyn, Poland, on July 29, 2014)
(Sent from Kostrzyn, Poland, on July 29, 2014)
Where
I Went and What I Did
After
the London Ratha-yatra, I continued to do harinama
with
the World Harinama Party and the local devotees in London for the
next week. Then we attended the Stonehenge Solstice Festival when we
did a Ratha-yatra and chanted for six hours through a crowd of around
30,000 people. Next I went to Nottingham for three days to encourage
my friend Shyamananda Prabhu and do harinama,
advertising
the Govinda’s restaurant and nama-hatta
programs
there. Then I did harinama
with Sutapa Prabhu and a party of twenty-five devotees, mostly
Pandava Sena youth, along with the World Harinama Party, in the
cities near Manchester where we have regularly have programs:
Sheffield, Preston, Liverpool, Leeds, and York. The last two days of
June I spent in Newcastle doing harinama
and
giving the Sunday feast lecture there.
I
share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and letters. I
include excerpts from the lectures of Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati
Thakura compiled in a book called Vaktritavali.
I
also include excerpts from Prabhupada
Meditations, Volume
3, by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I include notes on a recorded lecture
by Hridayananda Goswami and notes on classes I heard in London by
Candramauli Swami, Vicaru Prabhu, who spoke about his guru, Tamal
Krishna Goswami, Murli Manohara Prabhu, Harinamananda Prabhu, and a
class I heard in York by Govardhan Devi Dasi with material I had
never heard before about the life of Bhaktivinoda Thakura and a class
I heard in Manchester by the Scotland-based book distributor,
Adhoksaja Prabhu.
Itinerary
July
28–August 3: Kostrzyn (Polish Woodstock)
August
4–7: Czech Padayatra
August
8: Ancient Trance Festival (near Leipzig)
August
9: Leipzig Ratha-yatra
August
10: Ancient Trance Festival
August 11–12: Bratislava
August
13: Prague
August
14–17: Trutnov (Czech Woodstock)
August
18: Czech Farm (Vyasa Puja with Kadamba Kanana Swami)
August
19–22: Paris harinamas
August
23: Rotterdam
August
24: Amsterdam Ratha-yatra
August
25: London
August
26: Nottingham
August
27: Sheffield
August
28: Preston Sacred Sounds
August
29: Liverpool
August
30: Newcastle
August
31: Leeds
September
1: Newcastle
September
2: Newcastle (Radhastami with Bhakti Caitanya Swami)
September
3: Sheffield
September
4: Manchester and Chester
September
5: Dublin (World Holy Name Festival Begins)
September
6: Dublin Ratha-yatra
September
7–11: Irish Harinamas
September
11–mid November: New York
More
London Harinamas
Having
the World Harinama Party in London for another week was a great boon
for harinama
program.
Often they would do harinama
in
the morning in addition to the one in the afternoon. Unfortunately
because I had proofreading deadline, I could only attend the
afternoon one. Jayadev Prabhu, who plays the accordion and is an
accomplished singer, usually comes out once a week on Tuesday. But
that week, inspired by the presence of the World Harinama Party, he
came out twice. He is great at encouraging the onlookers to
participate as you can see in these videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWqJGyoae3Q and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMGWJdM7gC4:
Even
without the assistance of Jayadev Prabhu, the World Harinama Party
was so enthusiastic after hearing the devotees for a while, people
would suddenly start dancing, like these schoolchildren did (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UddjYvmMek):
One
time the devotees, while singing on the sidewalk, induced people
inside a shop to dance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBDQWs6mUe0).
One
interesting character who loved to participate in the harinamas
is
a waiter in the Aberdeen Steak House. Sometimes he would dance to the
devotees music inside the restaurant.
Also
a man, who was dressed in the colors of the British flag, enjoyed
dancing with us on a couple occasions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGbibX0AGO0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZlIuNFX_xU):
Sometimes
people joined our party for a few minutes, like these girls dancing
before us (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2DoKGjLq94):
Jake, on the extreme left of the above picture, who has been coming to our programs in Newcastle for a year of so, stayed an extra few days after Ratha-yatra and came on harinama.
There were many, many people who danced, chanted, and smiled, encountering our harinama party in London.
One
young devotee lady, Tatiana, took some video while following our
harinama
party
which gives you a feel for how we were received (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS-OnTDavDE):
The
Stonehenge Solstice Festival
This was without a
doubt the best Stonehenge Solstice Festival of the five I have
attended. One reason was the weather.
It was the first time it was clear enough you could actually see the sun rise, and I think that put everyone in a good mood.
It was the first time it was clear enough you could actually see the sun rise, and I think that put everyone in a good mood.
We also had
Ratha-yatra, which we did not for two of the last five years because
of rain.
We did it from 1:00 to 3:00 a.m. in the morning! I think it is the only Ratha-yatra performed at the time of day, or rather, that time of night.
People are attracted by the opportunity to pull the Jagannatha cart, although often they are a bit intoxicated.
We did it from 1:00 to 3:00 a.m. in the morning! I think it is the only Ratha-yatra performed at the time of day, or rather, that time of night.
People are attracted by the opportunity to pull the Jagannatha cart, although often they are a bit intoxicated.
Mahavishnu
Swami was there, and his enthusiasm for kirtana
boosts
the energy level.
I was amazed to see
many people, who had never met the devotees before, stay with us for
half an hour or even an hour, first listening, then smiling, dancing,
and finally chanting along with us. That was truly awesome.
Someone from the TV
did a live interview with me. To try to create controversy, they
asked about why Hare Krishnas were at a Druid festival. I explained
that there is evidence that there was one world culture about five
thousand years ago, and different groups separated off from that, so
ultimately there is a relationship between the Vedic culture of
Krishna consciousness and the Druid one. That was not the most
Krishna conscious thing to say but the best I could off the top of my
head with no sleep.
At
Stonehenge, most people liked the devotees. One man dancing with our
Ratha-yatra procession said, as if sharing a realization, “This is
all good, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” I replied smiling, “it is all good.” And I recalled Rupa Goswami saying, “Pure devotional service is the beginning of all auspiciousness.” It was wonderful that an apparently ordinary guy could glimpse the truth that Krishna consciousness is all good, or as it is described in the Sanskrit literature, suddha-sattva, pure goodness.
“Yes,” I replied smiling, “it is all good.” And I recalled Rupa Goswami saying, “Pure devotional service is the beginning of all auspiciousness.” It was wonderful that an apparently ordinary guy could glimpse the truth that Krishna consciousness is all good, or as it is described in the Sanskrit literature, suddha-sattva, pure goodness.
One young man pushing the steel railing of the Ratha cart said, “This is the best steel I have ever touched!”
Bhaktin
Erzsebet handed a Solo temple mantra card to a young lady following
our chanting party saying, “This is amazing!”
The
lady replied affirmatively, “It is
amazing!”
One young lady from
Bristol, on the right in the above picture, was so happy to see Vishnujana Prabhu and I, who she had seen
last March in Rishikesh that she wanted to embrace us.
I went to give her my card, saying I could tell her about all our festivals in the UK, but she said she still had my card from Rishikesh.
I went to give her my card, saying I could tell her about all our festivals in the UK, but she said she still had my card from Rishikesh.
People expressed
profound appreciation for the free food that Parasurama Prabhu and
his staff prepared and distributed. It was beautiful to see.
Some people posted
videos of the devotees on YouTube, and you can see how lively the
chanting was (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-dy8WaXSdw, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UB7ocQeI18, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJwRcKV1CWY):
All in all, many
people were happy to encounter the Hare Krishna devotees at
Stonehenge, either once again, or for the first time.
Nottingham
Harinamas
Usually
the Nottingham devotees do harinama
on
the third Sunday of the month, but on that day in June most everyone
was at the London Ratha-yatra. Thus I suggested to them that they do
their monthly harinama
on
the fourth Sunday when I would be there, and they agreed. We chanted
together for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and I completed the
rest of my three-hour quota on my own. While our party was going
through the town chanting, one old, short, black man loudly
protested. We kept chanting, and he came toward us, poking me with
his cane. The devotees pacified him, and explained to me that he was
drunk. We kept moving, and he did not follow us, but the experience
was disconcerting and disturbed my mind the rest of the day. The
previous time I came to Nottingham, I also encountered some
negativity. Some people consider such negative reactions as a reason
to avoid such places, while others consider that such negativity
means the places are in greater need of the chanting!
I
chanted alone the next two days. One young lady took a picture of me
chanting near Old Market Square. I gave her my card and asked her to
send the picture to me. Usually less than 20% of such people send you
the picture, but she did. She is Lucia Buffa, an amateur photographer, and she has a
blog with other pictures, including some ones of a cathedral in
Cologne where I once chanted with some friends. She is a vegan, and I
encouraged her to come to Govinda’s in Nottingham and tell me how
she liked it.
Sheffield
Harinama
We
started chanting in shops in Sheffield, where one greeting card lady
was happy to have us chanting through her shop (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a0gvDvX26c):
Preston
Harinama
The
Preston harinamas
included
a lot of processions through shops, including this one at Mc Donalds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TPJ_8HxwGY):
One
street musician, a saxophonist, on his cigarette break, played
excellently with us (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0PaT53Olmo):
Preston
Sacred Sounds
Preston
Sacred Sounds was special because Pandava Sena youth were very
enthusiastic in kirtana. There were some new local singers.
One such lady, in addition to singing nicely, loved to play the djembe.
I
had never seen a mother and son dance so much in kirtana as
this enthusiastic pair.
Meg,
who met the devotees for the first time on harinama in
Liverpool and who came to the program there last month, came all the
way from Liverpool to Preston for Sacred Sounds and was really happy
she did.
At
the end, everyone really got into the chanting and dancing, and it
was beautiful to see (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5Jft3-vJ0):
Liverpool
Harinama
Meg took a break
from work to join our harinama and
came back again after her work was over. It was wonderful to see her
go from meeting the devotees on harinama to
becoming a harinama regular
almost immediately. It shows us how important it is to go on harinama
because there are always some
people out there who are looking for Krishna, and are willing to
accept His process of chanting.
Not only did she chant, but she
distributed invitations to the Liverpool program.
Leeds
Harinama
In Leeds we chanted for almost two hours. Some of the local devotees came out. A couple of them were so inspired they decide to come to York for the evening program there.
In Leeds we chanted in a natural cosmetics shop, and all the employees were happy we were there.
In Leeds we chanted in a natural cosmetics shop, and all the employees were happy we were there.
York
Harinama
The
city center in York is fairly small, and we would keep running into
the same people.
Dayananda Swami, who was visiting York for some North UK meetings, joined us.
Some girls took pleasure in dancing to our music two and possibly even three times. We also encountered a natural cosmetic shop in York, and all three employees loved the kirtana, and they also danced around in a circle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyvAONyGwuE).
In
York Sutapa Prabhu’s party of brahmacaris
and
Pandava Sena youth distributed all the books they brought and were
very happy to see the response of the people there. I think from his
good experiences in The North of England, in the future he will come
more regularly with the devotees under his care.
Thanks
to Preitie and Aji for the photos of York.
To
see photos which I have of the above events but did not include in
this journal, click on the link below or copy it to your web browser:
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
Everyone
is seeking pleasure but they do not know where to find the actual
pleasure which is on the platform of the soul, the platform of
consciousness.
If
our consciousness is pure at the time of death, we do not have to
accept another material body.
As
pure soul I am not American, Indian, black, white, cat or dog.
God
is omnipotent and thus He can invest His potency in His names.
It
is a fact that Lord Jesus Christ is present in His words.
Hearing
from Bhagavad
gita is
the same as hearing from Krishna.
The
father will never forget the son, although the son may forget the
father.
Even
if one does not understand, there is so much power in hearing.
Because it is pure transcendental sound, the contamination we have
accumulated for millions of lives is washed off. It is hard to give
up these material designations, but by this hearing it becomes easy.
This is because the material nature becomes slackened, and we become
free from passion and ignorance and situated in goodness. Then we
become free from hankering and lamentation.
Why
are we interested in the Battlefield of Kurukshetra? Because the
whole battlefield has become Krishnized.
The
hog does not know he is in a nasty condition. He is quite jolly, but
we who are situated in a higher status can see.
The
real position of the living being is to be the servant of God, but in
Bhagavad-gita
we
see Krishna is driving the chariot of Arjuna, so we should not
consider being a servant of God is like being a servant in this
world.
We
are consciousness, and we are subordinate to the supreme
consciousness, in other words, we are eternal servants of God.
The
modern philosophers set aside the problems of birth, death, disease,
and old age, but this is not human life. Human life is meant to make
a solution to these problems.
Pious
activities give one wealth, education, aristocracy, and beauty, but
when we possess these advantages we still must experience birth,
death, diseases, and old age. Therefore we do not care for ordinary
pious activities.
from
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.3.29 given on October 4, 1972 in Los Angeles:
God
is everywhere, but we do not want to see God. That is the only
difficulty.
If
you follow the principles of devotional service, it is not very
difficult to see God and to understand God.
You
may not think the God eats, but in Bhagavad-gita
(9.26),
Krishna says, “I eat.”
from
a letter written on September 18, 1972:
“
.
. . this sankirtana
or street chanting must go on, it is our most important program. Lord
Caitanya’s movement means the sankirtana
movement.”
Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura:
from
Vaktritavali
(a
compilation of notes on his lectures):
[Note:
In the month of June, I proofread Vaktritavali,
soon to be published by Touchstone Publishing, and I took notes on my
favorite parts. I am including one quarter of these notes in four
issues of this journal, and this is the second quarter.]
“Everyone
in this world is greedy for sense gratification because of bad
association, of which they have plenty. When these people speak on
religious subjects, their audiences always ask first if there is
anything in their religion that will please their senses. They are
eager for material enjoyment. The whole world is filled with phrases
like ‘my enjoyment,’ ‘my happiness,’ ‘my peace,’ ‘give
me,’ ‘give me,’ ‘give me.’ No one thinks even accidentally
about Krishna’s sense gratification. The day we understand that our
only duty is to serve the master of the senses, on that day we will
find our fortune.” (p. 169)
“Everyone and everything in
existence should serve the Supreme Personality. No matter what our
condition, our only duty is to serve Lord Hari. Either in this world
or the next, everyone, including the demigods, human beings, animals,
birds, and so on, has no duty other than to serve the supreme eternal
Lord. No other activity is natural to the soul because all other
objects and tendencies continuously change.” (p. 170)
“The
soul has the propensity to engage in five kinds of relationships with
Sri Krishna. That is, it is the eternal propensity of the soul to
serve Krishna by manifesting five kinds of rasas
through five kinds of ratis
[attachments]. The five rasas
are santa,
dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and
madhura.
Santa-rasa is
a neutral existence without anything unfavorable. Dasya-rasa
has a little affection, so by comparison, it is superior to
santa-rasa
because it includes the qualities of santa-rasa.
Sakhya-rasa
is further advanced. In this rasa
there is no thorn in the form of reverence. Instead, its main
ornament is love and devotion. Vatsalya-rasa
is superior to sakhya-rasa.
This
rasa
has such thick affection that the worshipable object appears to be
under one’s care. Madhura-rasa
is topmost, and it includes the beauty and greatness of santa,
dasya, sakhya, and
vatsalya.
To serve Sri Krishna with these five kinds of ratis,
or types of attachment, without interruption or motivation is the
soul’s eternal duty.” (p. 171)
“The phrase
ceto-darpana-marjana
indicates the removal of unauthorized philosophical speculation, the
cheating propensity, previous anarthas,
and all inauspiciousness from the heart. By properly performing
krishna-kirtana
all material desires and philosophical misunderstandings are
vanquished. By properly performing krishna-kirtana
the blazing forest fire of attachment to karma and jñana
are extinguished. By properly performing krishna-kirtana
the
lotus of all auspiciousness blossoms in the heart and is as soothing
as the cooling rays of the moon. Proper krishna-kirtana
is the beloved husband of the wife of transcendental knowledge. For
those who chant, it enhances the ocean of bliss at every step, and it
bestows on them the ability to relish transcendental nectar. It gives
love of God and bestows on the soul the freedom.” (p. 173)
“After
many lifetimes a living entity comes to the human form of life, which
is rare and temporary yet can bestow spiritual perfection. There is
no doubt that serving the Supreme Lord is the only duty of human
life. The ultimate goal of the human form of life is to gain
knowledge about the Supreme Lord. In this ever-changing world, human
beings will either advance toward godly life or degrade themselves
and become animals. Without serving the Supreme Lord and remaining
subordinate to Him, those temporarily in human bodies can never be
benefited.” (p. 181)
“One becomes attracted to serving Sri
Caitanya in proportion to how much one hears of His mercy. One who
has heard a complete description of that supreme, cognizant
personality dedicates his life completely to His service. Sri
Caitanyacandra is full in sixteen attributes and qualities.
Therefore, if His glorious katha
enters the living beings’ hearts, it will certainly completely
attract them to His lotus feet. One who has partially heard
caitanya-katha
will dedicate his life only partially to the Lord’s lotus feet.
Until people sincerely and constantly engage in Sri Caitanyadeva’s
service with body, household, children, wife, mind, speech, and
everything else they may have, we can understand that they have not
heard the glories of Sri Caitanya completely.” (p. 202)
“Those
who have been counted as Gaurasundara’s associates through intimate
service are His sons. Atma
vai jayate putrah:
according to this statement, Sri Gaurasundara spreads the holy name
and love of God by appearing in the pure hearts of His associates as
their father. Those who are blessed with love of God and are
completely under the shelter of the holy name are His sons; they are
Sri Gauranga’s own family. The descendants who belong to this
Acyuta-gotra have protected and continue to protect the flow Sri
Gaurasundara released, spreading the holy name and love of God.”
(p. 206)
“This Sri Krishna Caitanyadeva made the universe
glorious by preaching about Krishna. He bestowed the beauty of His
own devotional service, which is the topmost transcendental mellow
and had never been distributed.” (p. 213)
“ . . . the
living beings’ transcendental eyes, which are formed by their
service-inclined hearts.” (p. 216)
“But the word Krishna
is nondifferent from Krishna’s form, qualities, and activities; it
is Krishna Himself. If we simply chant the name Krishna, we realize
Krishna’s form and spiritually variegated characteristics.
Therefore Krishna alone is the supreme truth – the Absolute Truth
with an eternal form that can be perceived through spiritualized
senses of taste, smell, touch, and so on. He is the object of
meditation for the soul. We are meant to serve Him with our
transcendental senses. It is He who is to be seen with the eyes,
heard with the ears, whose fragrance we inhale with the nose, and
whom we touch with the fingers. He is the object of all the senses.”
(p. 216)
“We cannot understand Krishna’s most magnanimous
pastimes properly when He kills Aghasura, Bakasura, and so on; but in
the pastimes of Gaurasundara, who is nondifferent from the son of
Nanda, we can understand His magnaminity. As Gaurasundara He is ready
to bestow the supreme auspiciousness on fallen atheists like us who
have been deceived by material knowledge. He is always eager to give
even Krishna Himself, what to speak of others. The greatest charity
He wants to award us will allow us to serve Krishna face to face. Let
the most magnanimity of the most magnanimous Gaurasundara, which has
never before been distributed, be spread all over the world.” (p.
217)
“Sri Gaurasundara is prepared to give that coveted
object Krishna to the whole world. But the godless world is living in
darkness, thinking it light, and in ignorance, thinking it
knowledge.” (p. 217)
“According to Buddha’s followers,
Sakyasimha left home with the selfish interest to attain nirvana. Sri
Caitanya left home for a different reason. He went to the forest
simply to bestow on humanity the eternal treasure of freedom from
their eternal poverty. He lacked nothing. Sri Caitanya is the only
husband of all women, the only son of all parents, and the only
friend and master of all who are related to Him in friendship or
servitorship. It is not that His great contribution will remain
confined to Bengal and that only the brahmanas
will benefit. The whole world – the people of all castes, creeds,
and faiths, the sinful and the pious – and all living beings can
give up their pride and accept this greatest of all gifts that Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered them. This gift is neither imperfect nor
narrow-minded because He Himself is the most magnanimous. He is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, eternal, and full of knowledge and
bliss. He is the Absolute Truth, eternal and cognizant, and He has
descended to relieve humankind from their ignorance. He has
incarnated to deliver all conditioned souls.” (p. 221)
“May
the son of Saci appear in the core of our hearts. He is directly Lord
Hari. In His previous incarnations He gave many things, but now He
has come to give a wonderful gift He has never awarded before.” (p.
223)
“He [Gaurasundara] awarded the delight of His own
devotional service to the living entities. He revealed the difference
between the services rendered by devotees in each of the five rasas.
To distribute the highest transcendental beauty of His own devotional
service, which is extremely rare and has never before been awarded to
the desertlike burning hearts of poverty-stricken fallen souls like
us, He made His advent in this world.” (p. 224)
“Because
the names, forms, qualities, and activities of this world are
temporary, and because all mundane beauty is eventually covered by
ugliness, the wise do not become entangled in mundane names, forms,
qualities, activities, opulence, power, fame, beauty, knowledge, or
renunciation. They know the flow of worldly happiness will dry up
because we can experience it only with our limited, material senses.
The living beings here want more than they deserve. As a result, they
lose even what they do deserve.” (p. 225)
“So it is only
by the mercy Sri Gaurasundara that we have a full illumination of
that rasa
at present. The soul can easily attain madhura-rasa
because it manifests along with the soul. You cannot develop it by
some artificial process of sadhana.
Understanding it is beneficial to all. Such a unique thing the Lord
awarded and propagated.” (p. 228)
“Sri Gaurasundara said,
‘The congregational chanting of Krishna’s holy name is a human
being’s only duty.’ Krishna-sankirtana
is His greatest gift because by participating in krishna-sankirtana,
the living beings can attain the treasury of love of God in Vraja,
something rarely attained by the best of the demigods, the greatest
of sages like Narada, or even the best of devotees like Uddhava.”
(p. 228)
“But the Brahman emanates from Krishna, and Krishna
is its cause. The attempt to ascertain the cause of the Brahman by
the ascending process may currently pass as erudition, but it is
actually great foolishness. Such Brahman realization is subject
matter for human knowledge, but Sri Gaurasundara said that Sri
Krishna alone is the cause of all causes.” (p. 229)
“If we
perform true krishna-kirtana,
then even people who are fully absorbed in and bewildered by material
enjoyment can attain the actual perfection of life. King Prataparudra
is the prime example of this. Pure krishna-kirtana
will give liberation even to the attending trees, stones, animals,
birds, men, women, and anyone else. The trees, creepers, animals, and
birds of Jharikhanda are the prime example of this. It’s only
because people are not performing pure krishna-kirtana
that the living beings are not becoming liberated. Gaurasundara came
to this world to benefit all living beings, including the trees,
animals, and birds as well as the human beings.” (p. 233)
“I
do not know if the Bhagavatam
verse, sa
vai pumsam paro dharmah,
is found in any other literature, but by discussing this verse, the
desire to practice a narrow sectarianism and an insignificant,
deceitful religious synthesis can be destroyed.” (p. 234)
“If
while chanting the holy name of Hari someone develops attachment for
material life – or if his propensity for material enjoyment
increases – we can understand that his chanting is not hari-nama.”
(p. 239)
“Sri Gauranga-sundara is the preacher of the
Absolute Truth. He explains that the Absolute Truth personally
reveals Himself when faced with a fortunate living being’s desire
to serve Him.” (p. 240)
“Sri Caitanya’s devotees are
always eager to do good for us, but we are ever ready to stop them.
Our first obstacle is our gross body and the second our mind.” (p.
240)
“Hari’s holy name can be chanted even while we’re
passing stool or urine. The body’s external functions are done out
of habit, and they create no bar to chanting the Lord’s holy name.
We can chant the holy name when we are asleep, awake, and when we go
to bed. We can chant whether we are aristocrats or born in a low
family. We can chant the holy name in any condition of life.
Everyone, including sudras,
outcastes, mlecchas,
women, men, boys, youths, and the old, are eligible to chant the holy
name. One can chant in a solitary place or congregationally – alone
or with many people. One can chant neglectfully or with faith.”
(pp. 249–250)
“When an uttama-bhagavata
appears in a particular family, one hundred generations before and
after him are delivered. When a madhyama-bhagavata
appears in a particular family, fourteen generations before and after
him are delivered. When a kanistha-bhagavata
appears in a particular family, three generations before and after
him are delivered.” (p. 253)
“But it is seen in the
material world that the devotee who takes birth in a low-class family
appears diseased or foolish by material vision. This has great
purpose. If ordinary people see that devotees appear only in high
families and that they are healthy and educated, they will become
discouraged. So to benefit all people, Lord Gaura Krishna has His
devotees appear in different classes and then display great
compassion toward all fallen and unqualified beings.” (p.
254)
“Although the marginal energy is conditioned by the
external energy and so the living beings appear to have material
qualities, it does not mean they don’t also have spiritual
qualities, or the nature of the internal energy. All the qualities of
the internal, spiritual energy are present in the marginal energy,
but in minute quantities.” (p. 258)
“When the living
beings become fixed in pure goodness, they come to understand the
insignificant, needless, imperfect, and temporary nature of
performing fruitive activities, and they lose their taste for being
bitten by the sharp teeth of the material energy. When the minute
spirit souls then begin to cultivate service to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead while trying to give up their service to the
external and the temporary, they become free of material ignorance
and revive their constitutional position. From this point on, the
living being gradually tries to remain aloof from being in the mood
of an enjoyer or the enjoyed in this world.” (p. 259)
“Only
when the spirit soul falls into illusion by mistaking his gross body
and subtle mind to be himself does he develop a thirst for
liberation. Therefore fruitive workers and mental speculators, or
impersonalists, are both situated on the ascending path and are
respectively glorified in this world as bhogis
and tyagis.
Unless and until each of them can detect how they are misusing their
independence, or true spiritual nature, they cannot understand that
karma-khanda
and
jñana-khanda
are two pots of poison. Because they misuse their spiritual
intelligence, bhogis
and tyagis
continue to glorify fruitive activities and false renunciation. Until
they become attracted by the beauty of the supremely sweet
magnanimous Person, who is full of six opulences, they will either
remain enjoyers of the stool of sense gratification or think that
remaining aloof from that stool is the goal of life.” (p.
260)
“Sri-krishna-sankirtana
alone
bestows all perfection on all living beings in this world. Worshiping
the holy name in the form of chanting it congregationally,
understanding that the holy name and Krishna are nondifferent, is
real worship and the topmost form of worship.” (p. 269)
“From
Sri Gaurasundara’s instruction to Sri Ramananda Vasu of
Kulina-grama we can understand that staunch worship in the form of
chanting is the doorway to devotional service to Lord Vishnu, or the
kanistha
[beginning] platform of Vaishnavism. On the madhyama
[middle] platform one chants the holy name of Krishna constantly and
makes progress on the path of bhajana,
and on the uttama
[topmost] platform one has already made sufficient advancement and
chants the holy name ever in the association of exalted devotees.
Simply by chanting the holy name the act of performing kirtana
is accomplished. As soon as the holy name is chanted anarthas
are vanquished – anartha
referring to the living being’s thirst for sense gratification.”
(p. 270)
“Distributing love of Krishna is the one way the
most magnanimous Gaurasundara united the people of the whole world
with Krishna. Performing that service is the only way to worship Sri
Nitai-Gauranga.”” (p. 272)
“Although the Aghas, Bakas,
and Putanas tried to kill Krishna, they couldn’t do it. Yet they
indirectly spread His glories. Similarly, those envious of the dhama,
even though blinded by self-interest, can never destroy the eternal,
transcendental dhama
because it cannot be destroyed. Rather, the attempt simply helps
spread the dhama’s
glories.” (p. 278)
“‘Regardless of what the truth is, I
will not do something that will make some people unhappy’ – to
seek this type of popularity will cheat us of our eternal good
fortune and our piety. ‘I want to be popular’ – this kind of
mentality is for foolish, ignorant people bewildered by maya.
The Almighty Lord is the Absolute Truth. If we think we need to be
popular we will disregard the Absolute Truth.” (pp. 280–281)
“It
is not proper to think that everything about the Absolute Truth is
also faulty just because the so-called transcendentalists behave in
less than idea ways. Just because someone hasn’t seen something
doesn’t mean we should deny its existence.” (p. 284)
“Many
of you know the story of the cat under the basket. Cats caused a
particular householder a great deal of disturbance. When one of the
cats began to meow during his son’s marriage ceremony, the boy’s
mother covered the cat with a wicker basket. Gradually, every
marriage ceremony performed in that country included an arrangement
for covering a cat with a basket. If someone didn’t have a cat, to
follow the custom he would hire one cat from someone else. No
intelligent person should be so greedy for popularity that he adopts
the behaviors of the ignorant.” (p. 284)
“There is a
story: Once, a so-called guru went to his disciple’s house and was
offered a meal. After eating, the disciple brought a myrobalan
and offered it to his guru. His guru asked him to peel it. The
intelligent disciple, thinking the skin of the myrobalan
useless, threw it away and presented his guru with the inner part, or
the seed. His guru became unhappy because he had wanted to eat the
myrobalan.
“The
next day the over-intelligent (foolish), but repentant disciple came
forward with a cardamom pod for his guru, but this time he had
removed the seeds. The guru saw that his great disciple had brought
only the cardamom pod but none of the aromatic seeds. This is how
mental speculators think: they reject the actual object as false and
accept the false as real.” (p. 285)
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
from
Prabhupada
Meditations, Volume
3:
“Prabhupada
kirtanas
are blessing us still. We hear them on car radios, in temple rooms,
kitchens. They may not be as popular as the kirtanas
performed by his followers and other singers, but we should remember
it is all coming from Prabhupada.”
“Prabhupada
wanted us to bring the chanting into the street. He wanted people to
hear the holy names. In his lectures you can hear him encouraging the
harinama
parties. He was pleased they went out, even though they were
sometimes harassed by police.
“In
the beginning he himself went to Tompkins Square Park. We never would
have gone out otherwise. After he went, there was regular chanting of
harinama
in the streets of New York, San Francisco, Boston, and everywhere.”
Candramauli
Swami:
Lord Krishna’s
palaces were illuminated by jewels.
They think there was
no civilization five thousand years ago, but here we encounter these
elaborate descriptions of Krishna’s palaces.
Krishna
is the source of all illusion, so He is never illusioned, but
sometimes He appears to be illusioned to make his pastimes more
exciting.
Little
kids are empowered by Krishna to do mischief. Krishna’s mischief is
superior to theirs because in the end, everyone benefits from it.
Sometimes
we think we are free from maya,
but
in reality, at that point we are so much in maya,
we
cannot see how illusioned we actually are. Those who are really free
from maya
are
those people, who out of fear of maya,
are
always praying to Krishna for protection.
Krishna
gave the demon Aghasura the liberation of having a form like his own.
We can only imagine the benedictions He gives the devotees.
Once
Srila Prabhupada said, “The perfection of life is to look in
Krishna’s lunch pail and see what Mother Yasoda made for Him for
lunch.”
The
cow’s milk is an expression of her love for her calf.
If
we could perceive a little of the beauty of Krishna, we would
immediately leave this material world.
If
Krishna is not served nicely, Radharani will let you know, and if
Lord Jagannatha is not served served nicely, Baladeva will let you
know.
Everything
belongs to Krishna, and yet we give a little to Krishna and become
proud of our donation.
Devotees
who are really serious want to be remembering Krishna while they do
their service.
Q:
If the cowboys’ got married during the year they were under
Brahma’s slumber, did they remember these marriages when they woke
up?
A:
Krishna wanted those marriages to take place, and thus He would make
the arrangement for the cowboys’ to remember their marriages.
Hridayananda
Goswami:
from a recorded
lecture in Gainesville:
There is no
difference between objectivity and subjectivity in Krishna because he
is omniscient.
If one wants to
approach Krishna and not turn back, he has to be willing to give up
impurities because Krishna is supremely pure.
In
approaching Krishna, all we are giving up is that which we are not.
If
something is actually fun, Krishna is all for it. It is just those
things that appear fun but are not, that Krishna wants us to give up.
The
funny thing is that Krishna respects us more than we respect Him.
Why
is there evil in this world? To protect us from being stupid
eternally. To protect us from a greater evil.
Govardhan
Devi Dasi:
from
a lecture on Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s disappearance day:
Just
as someone who spends a night in a hotel and wants to make
improvements on the room is foolish, so one who tries makes material
improvements in this life is foolish.
People
who do not make an endeavor to advance spiritually are compared to
dead fish floating on water.
The
different ways of dealing: (1) loving with the Lord, (2) friendly
with the devotees, (3) compassionate toward the innocent, and (4) not
associating with the envious, are natural for the pure soul.
God
will not be jealous if you worship the Deity. Satan is a figment of
your imagination.
Q:
Is it not better to think of God in your mind than worshiping God in
a material form?
A:
There is no difference. Because the mind is also a material element,
therefore, thinking of God in your mind is worshiping God in a
material form.
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura wanted to go to Vrindavan, but Lord Caitanya appeared in a
vision and told him, “I have more work for you to do in Bengal –
to find My birthplace.”
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura requested many times Gauraikisora Dasa Babaji Maharaja to
initiate him into babaji.
and
finally he agreed.
Murli
Manohara Prabhu:
If
we read Mahabharata
or
the Srimad-Bhagavatam
we
will find opulence surpassing the present day. That was because they
followed religious principles. In their free time, they would glorify
God. It would only rain at night.
Krishna
taught how a king should properly receive a brahmanas
in
his respectful receptions of both Narada and Sudama.
Salya was traveling
to see Yudhisthira to join his army. When he passed through
Duryodhana’s kingdom, Duryodhana offered such a nice reception to
him, provided a feast and entertainment every night he was there, he
felt obliged because of the reception, and offered to do whatever the
person who had arranged it wanted. Duryodhana asked Salya to join his
army. He agreed, but first asked to be allowed to visit his friend,
Yudhisthira, and then he would return. When he saw Yudhisthira, he
explained what happened, and Yudhisthira was not the least disturbed
and offered him gifts, and he returned to join Duryodhana’s army.
It is notable how respectfully the kings dealt with each other.
When
the varnasrama
social
system was followed, people were not anxious to get money since by
performing their occupations according to religious principles they
attained life’s necessities.
A devotee is
determined to understand the Absolute Truth.
By our sticking to
our spiritual principles, Krishna will give us the intelligence to
deal our daily affairs in a spiritual way.
Comment by me:
A
modern example showing what happens if brahmanas
and
Vaishnavas are disrespected is the communist government of the Soviet
Union which had a policy of torturing Hare Krishna devotees and other
persons advocating religion. This government appeared very strong and
powerful, and one did not expect it to be vanquished anytime soon,
but very quickly it was dissolved as a reaction to its cruelty to
religious people.
Vicaru
Prabhu:
on the Vyasa Puja
day of his guru, Tamal Krishna Goswami:
I never had that
kind of mother or father in my life. When I first saw Tamal Krishna
Goswami’s picture, I felt within that he was someone I could put my
faith in and give my heart to. He did not come to Fiji for two years
because of political problems. When he finally came, he stayed
briefly. The next time he came, my godbrothers kept me away from him.
Whenever he came to Fiji, he would always stay in one devotee’s
house, and the next time, he said, “I will not stay in any one
devotee’s house. In others’ houses, I will go one day. To
Vicaru’s house I will go two days.”
I was serving him
and his godbrothers, and he asked, “Why are you serving your guru’s
godbrothers and godsisters before your guru?” Previously he had
told us to serve his godbrothers and godsisters before him, so I was
confused.
He wanted us to
serve the preaching, serve Deities, and serve Vaishnavas.
Harinamananda
Prabhu:
It is said “om”
is composed of three sounds “a u m” and “a” refers Krishna,
“u” refers to Radha, and “m” refers to the living entities.
The Hare Krishna mantra is explained as names of Krishna and Radha,
and it is chanted by the living beings. So you can say “om” and
Hare Krishna are the same.
Giriraj
Swami was put in charge of fund raising for a pandal
program, and he asked Srila Prabhupada if we could force people to
serve Krishna. Srila Prabhupada said, “No, we cannot force people
to serve Krishna, but we can trick people into serving Krishna.”
The kissing and
killing of the Lord are absolute.
One drug dealer, who
was also a user of drugs, was so addicted he would find used syringes
which still had a little drug left in them, and reuse them to get
every bit of the drug. Once he let some book distributors stay at his
place, and ultimately he became a devotee.
Because our body is
produced from the body of our mother, our mother is so attached to us
and has so much affection for us. But the soul is part of the Supreme
Lord, so just imagine how much affection Krishna has for us!
Adhoksaja
Prabhu:
There is one
devotee, I think he was from Russia, who really wanted to distribute
books, but somehow, although he went out almost every day he could
only do one book, or maybe two or three on a really good day. That
went on for twenty years! Then everything changed, and he would do a
hundred books a day. The Lord was just testing his determination.
Radhanatha
Swami said even if you keep butter in the freezer for twenty years,
if you bring it in the presence of fire, it will melt. Similarly,
even if you have been brahmacari
for
many years, if you are in the presence of an attractive women, you
can become captivated.
To second guess
Krishna is a way of trying to be Krishna.
I distributed books
in Glasgow for many years. I could not relate to the Scottish accent
of the people which always disturbed me. Once when one man did not
take a book, I actually listened to the the way I was speaking to
him, and it occurred to me I sounded so proud. From then on, I was
more respectful and humble, and everything changed. Now I like
distributing books in Glasgow.
If you are not
patient, you will very soon lose your enthusiasm and confidence. And
with Krishna, patience can mean waiting a long time.
comment by
Vishnujana Prabhu:
I
see when we do harinama
and
book distribution together, the book distribution goes very smoothly,
and the devotees do not feel overwhelmed or burdened.
response by
Adhoksaja Prabhu:
Although
having done straight books for years, I experienced the truth of what
you say last year on the Festival of India tour in Scotland. I would
do harinama
with
the other devotees.
Then
for forty minutes I would distribute books. Then I would do a puppet
show. Then forty minutes more of book distribution. Then I would do
another puppet show. I always wore a dhoti
as there was no time to change. I found the books just went out very
smoothly.
-----
ataeva ami ajña
dilun sabakare
yahan tahan
prema-phala deha’ yare tare
“[Lord Caitanya
continued:] Therefore I order every man within this universe to
accept this Krishna consciousness movement [the fruit of love of
Godhead] and distribute it everywhere.” (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 9.36)