Diary of a Traveling
Sadhaka, Vol. 12, No. 2
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2016, part two)
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2016, part two)
North and Central Florida
(Sent from Mumbai, India, on March 2, 2016)
(Sent from Mumbai, India, on March 2, 2016)
The
second half of January I spent four days in Orlando, four days in Tallahassee,
and five days in Gainesville chanting at Krishna Lunch and the Farmers Market,
except Sunday when I attended the Alachua Sunday Feast. I also spent two days
in Tampa, one chanting at University of South Florida and the other with
Gainesville and Alachua devotees chanting at the Gasparilla Pirate parade.
While I was in Orlando, I came to Gainesville just for the day, to chant Hare
Krishna with my friends from Gainesville and Alachua in the Martin Luther King
Day March, a yearly event we have been attending for several years.
I
share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures, Satsvarupa dasa
Goswami’s books and journal, lectures by Amala Bhakta Swami and Giriraja Swami,
a seminar on cow protection by Balabhadra Prabhu, Prabhupada memories by
Govinda Dasi, lectures by Prabhupada disciples, Kalakantha Prabhu, Krishnasravana
Prabhu, Sesa Prabhu, and Sukhada Devi, and lectures by newer devotees.
Thanks
to Megan Sauer for her pictures of Nama Kirtana Prabhu and I chanting at Lake
Ella in Tallahassee. Thanks to Jeremiah for his recording of the kirtana at our Tallahassee temple. Thanks
to Audrey for her picture of the Gainesville Farmers Market harinama. Thanks to Carol Cole for her
video of me playing harmonium and chanting in front of the University of South
Florida library. Thanks to Sudevi Dasi for her pictures of the program
with Amala Bhakti Swami at University of South Florida in Tampa.
Itinerary
March
1–3: Mumbai
March
5–10: Mayapur Kirtan Mela
March
12–21: Rishikesh Harinama
March
22–April 11: Vrindavan
April
13: Mumbai
April
14–21: Dublin, Ireland
April
22–24: Newcastle, England
April
27: King’s Day, Amsterdam
April
28–29: Holland
April
30–May 1: Birmingham 24-hour kirtana
May
2–: The North of England and Scotland
July
10: Prague Ratha-yatra
July
12–16: Polish Woodstock
August
5–11: Baltic Summer Festival
August
18–21: Trutnoff (Czech Woodstock)
September
13–: New York City Harinam
Chanting
Hare Krishna in the Martin Luther King Day March
Hare
Krishna devotees from Alachua and Gainesville chanted in the annual Martin
Luther King Day March this year as they have for several years. As usual we
were the only group with music, and because we had a nice loud sound system, it
was easy for people to hear us. Despite our dominating presence, many people
were favorable, and no one complained about us.
Christiana
danced with some of the people from other groups in the parade, including this
lady, who also played the shakers.
This gentleman played his
own drum along with us.
Kalki,
our fired-up brahmacari book
distributor, danced blissfully in the march.
The
young ladies at Krishna House danced very joyfully as well.
This lady dances with us
every year.
Chanting
at University of South Florida
Having
taken a bus from Orlando and a city bus to the campus, I was late getting to University
of South Florida so I decided to chant as walked to the library because I like
to chant a full three hours. One Asian-looking girl looked toward me and moved
her head to the music as I approached. I asked her where she was from and she
said India. I asked which part, and she said South India, Karnataka. Recalling
the most significant place I had been in that state, I told her had been to
Udupi. She said, “I am from Udupi.” She talked about how they had their big biannual
festival there recently for the changing of the swami who manages the famous
Krishna temple there. I mentioned I had been to a program a Hare Krishna swami did in
a nearby town at a university with a large medical school. She said, “Oh, you
must mean Manipal.”
“Yes,”
I said, “Manipal.”
She
replied, “Actually I am an exchange
student from Manipal University.”
I
met a librarian who taught yoga and was very interested and said she would come to our program next week.
One
girl who was a senior, was just starting to learn about yoga. She said she would
definitely come, and she did and brought three friends.
One
Christian lady, Cathy Cole, who loves to chant in her church choir, was
intrigued with my portable harmonium and the chanting, and she took this little
video (https://youtu.be/CYjnc6V9O8s):
When
she sent me the link to the video she said, “It was a pleasure listening to
your music and sharing thoughts.”
As
the time of the program approached, I left the library to set up in front of
the Marshall Student Center, the program venue. On the way there, I met a Bhakta Carlos, who
was distributing books. I told him the details about the program and asked him
to tell the people he meets. As I approached the Marshall center, I saw Sudevi
Dasi, who was wondering where I was chanting, and we went to sing together in
front of the center with books on display for ten or fifteen minutes before the program. One young guy skateboarded up to us, and said, “Hare Krishna.” Earlier
in the week he had been playing recordings of George Harrison chanting Hare
Krishna, and was happy to see us, and learn of the program. He also came to it.
Altogether
I was very pleased that five people came to the program because I took the
trouble to come from Orlando to Tampa to chant at the campus.
Amala
Bhakta Swami gave an interesting, entertaining, and informative lecture, and I
think there is a good chance that all the new people who came to the program will
come back.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
I
chanted at Lake Ella in Tallahassee on the weekend and at Florida State
University, behind the library, on Monday and Tuesday.
Saturday
it was so cold I wanted to quit after just an hour and a half. I ended up staying
out two hours, as I had to wait for a ride back.
Still
we met some nice people, like two girlfriends who were FSU students, and one of
whom, Megan Sauer, took this picture of Nama Kirtan Prabhu and me.
Ramiya
Prabhu and his wife, Ananta Devi, joined me in chanting at the campus, and it
was so wonderful to have their contribution to the kirtana, an increase in our outreach this year.
A
seriously inquisitive young man named Jeremiah came to a couple programs, even
recording a kirtana because he liked
it. You can hear it too at:
Krishna
Lunch Kirtana
Different
devotees sing at Krishna Lunch each day. Usually Adi Karta Prabhu just
distributes books and talks with students. This time he led kirtana (https://youtu.be/HRZmrWCB754):
Palika, visiting from Bhaktivedanta Manor, also a wonderful singer, played karatalas.
Krishna
House Devotees Chant at the Gainesville Farmers Market
A
kid enjoyed playing the tambourine and shakers and a visiting musician enjoyed
playing the flute as Krishna House devotees chanted at the Gainesville Farmers
Market (https://youtu.be/i5xuMxsQpQs):
Interfaith
Progressive Dinner
The
progressive dinner is a yearly event put on by the University of Florida
chaplains, with the intent of creating a forum for students of different religious
faiths to get to know each other. This time it was not the last week of
classes, and more people could attend, a suggestion from Amy of Krishna House,
who is involved with interfaith at University of Florida. The idea is that
people take snacks at the Hillel House, then the main course, which is Hare
Krishna spaghetti, at the St. Augustine Catholic Church, hot drinks served at
the Episcopal Church, and the desserts served at Gator Wesley, where there is
entertainment.
I
had an interesting conversation with a Mormon preacher. I asked him about the Mormon
references to restricting the eating of meat, and he showed me the quote from a book associated with the Book of Mormon on his smartphone: “Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.” (Doctrines and Convenants 89:12–13)
Later he
elaborately explained to me and a young lady from the Episcopal Church the
whole history of the Book of Mormon. As the discussion continued, he made a
reference to how peaceful the Hare Krishna people were. That reminded me of a
story, which I asked if I could tell briefly. I asked one student eating our Krishna
Lunch how he liked it, and he said it was great but the most amazing thing was
that whenever he eats the Krishna Lunch, the whole afternoon he never becomes
angry, and he advised us to market this. I then explained how by cooking food
in the spirit of devotion to God, the food becomes transformed and has
spiritual qualities, which is something that the student experienced although
he did not know the philosophy behind it. The young Episcopal lady smiled and
appreciated the point that the consciousness the food is prepared in has an
effect on the food itself.
The
Gator Wesley people were really conscientious this year to make sure that there
were plenty of desserts did not violate the lactovegetarian diet of the Hare
Krishnas.
As part of the entertainment, Michael
Collins and his wife, Madhava Devi Dasi, sang songs from our tradition and played instruments, and Madhava
danced as well, which was something not there in the other performances. They
sang the devotional tunes with a lot of feeling and expertise. Because I tend to
like more mellow music than the genre they played, I could not completely
appreciate it, but I am sure it reached many of the students who regularly hear
more intense music. In particular, Audrey of Krishna House really loved it.
One
of the interfaith leaders read an inspirational quote I thought had some value,
and I asked him about it afterwards.
I decided to take a picture of it to share
with others.
Hare
Krishnas Chant and Dance at Tampa’s Gasparilla Pirate Festival
The
Gasparilla event had two Hare Krishna chanting groups because instead of
waiting at our meeting place, the first Alachua devotees to arrive went in one
direction along the crowded roadway while the Gainesville devotees and the
Alachua devotees who came later, not finding them, decided to go in the
opposite direction. We did not meet for an hour and twenty minutes. Then we
chanted together for an hour or so.
Vanna
was very enthusiastic and successful in distributing some vegan oatmeal cookies
I had leftover from my college outreach in Tallahassee. Many people liked them.
I asked two girls who seemed especially enthusiastic to see us if they had
encountered Hare Krishna before.
They
smiled and said they ate Krishna Lunch at University of Florida all the time. We
told them we were the people who serve the Krishna Lunch. And that made them
more happy.
Many people enjoyed
dancing with us.
Some
took photos of themselves and their friends dancing with us.
One
lady came by two or three times and played the karatalas. I asked her how she knew about Hare Krishna. She said
she has seen the devotees in different places and always likes to participate
with them.
One young lady took
pleasure in striking Abhi’s drum.
I
was happy to see the enthusiasm of all the devotees who came from Krishna House
to participate in the event. They included Abhi, who played the drum, Carlos,
who played harmonium, Vaishnava, who helped drive, Audrey, who danced, and
Vanna, who danced and distributed cookies.
Here
is a collection of video clips from the event (https://youtu.be/EKVyiqIbw2o):
To see photos I took but did not include, click on the link below:
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
The
atheist wishes there may be no God so he can do what he likes.
Dharma
is to obey the laws of God. Adharma
is to disobey them.
Our
real dharma is to serve God, and if we neglect this, we are liable to be
punished.
Preaching
means whatever Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita
you simply repeat. Both speaker and hearer become liberated.
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.18
in Mayapur on September 28, 1974:
It
is the desire of Krishna that someone as pious as Maharaja Yudhisthira is in
control of the government.
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.18
in New York on April 10, 1973:
Unless
you deal with God, you cannot experience His greatness.
Meditation
is to concentrate the mind to see how the Lord is in the heart. This is real
yoga.
The
more you purify, the more you can see God within and without.
It
is not so cheap thing that you can see God, especially when affected by lust
and greed, the lower qualities of material nature. But by the process of
Krishna consciousness, we can change our qualities.
God
is giving our daily bread. Why should we bother him by asking? Do the animals
go to the church and ask for bread? God consciousness does not mean you go to
God and ask for something, rather you give everything to God.
Mother
Yasoda is always anxious to give Krishna protection. This is Krishna
consciousness.
The
Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy is very sublime, to see God as subordinate, and in
that mood serve Him with affection.
If
we apply the ointment of love of God, we can see Him.
If
you can see God, talk with God, and go back to Godhead, why should you lose
this opportunity? That is Krishna consciousness.
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.5.24, purport:
“Lord
Krishna is very much pleased with His devotees, even if they are not on the
topmost stage of devotional service. Even on the lower stages of devotional
service one is transcendental, and if one continues with devotional life, he
continues to be a deva or sura [a godly person]. If one continues
in this way, Krishna will always be pleased with him and will give him all
instructions so that he may very easily return home, back to Godhead.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From
Japa Walks,
Japa Talks:
“The Bhagavatam is
our daily newspaper, our in-depth study of current events. As we read the news,
we’ll stay in touch with our needs and our predicament as entangled,
permanently bound jivas. And we
will also be reminded of the remedy.
From “Poem for January 28” in Viraha Bhavan:
“The harinama devotees
have a strong bond.
They may express some
differences and have
superficial conflicting
personalities, but they
are an elite corps
with firm allegiance
to a common, highest cause.
Their main feature
is cooperation in
steadily, staunchly, going out together
every day. They exchange
a non-sentimental love
have a strong bond.
They may express some
differences and have
superficial conflicting
personalities, but they
are an elite corps
with firm allegiance
to a common, highest cause.
Their main feature
is cooperation in
steadily, staunchly, going out together
every day. They exchange
a non-sentimental love
and a
high degree of efficiency in
working together.
They serve Lord Caitanya
and endure petty differences.”
working together.
They serve Lord Caitanya
and endure petty differences.”
Amala Bhakta Swami:
Srila Prabhupada said that ISKCON is here forever.
We go from this Vaikuntha to that Vaikuntha.
Speaking during the occasion of the solar eclipse at Kurukshetra, Krishna indicates the amazing power of the great sages is such that ordinary people become interested in inquiry about the Absolute Truth simply by being in their proximity.
After greeting the sages and washing their feet, those who are intelligent take that water on their heads and bodies to facilitate and expedite their spiritual advancement.
The sages are greeted so nicely they are made to feel what they are, truly venerable persons.
The sages came to glorify the Lord, but the Lord surprised them by glorifying them before they had a chance to glorify Him.
The Lord accepts the cowherd girls with romance in their eyes, cowherd boys with friendship in their eyes, and the elderly ladies with maternal affection in their eyes, because He does not want to disturb their pure emotions for Him.
Although Krishna is always happy, that happiness can be increased. Like an ocean always has waves, yet a sudden wind can create a much bigger wave.
Mike Phelps, famous as an all-American hero, won eight gold medals for swimming. He was harassed by all kinds of businessmen wanting him to endorse their products. He became an alcoholic, got in a car accident, and had to go through rehab. Thus success without Krishna consciousness is failure. The Pandavas were successful, but because they were conscious of Krishna, they were happy.
The more you think “me, me, me, mine, mine, mine,” the more you distance yourself from Krishna and you feel an emptiness within, and thus you are unhappy.
If you endeavor for wealth, strength, and beauty, and you have no knowledge of Krishna, you will be miserable.
The devotee wants to serve the Lord with joy and with love, knowing that there is nothing better.
Although
originally callous to the many great sufferings of the animals he half killed,
by the purity of the association of Narada, Mrgari, the hunter, became willing
to change his life. By chanting the mantra and following the lifestyle that
Narada suggested he became so nonviolent he did not want to kill an ant.
After Dhruva performed austerities and saw the Lord, he no longer desired to have a kingdom greater than Lord Brahma, but the Lord, impressed by his saintly qualities, wanted him to rule the world for 36,000 years to set an example.
We can pray, “O Lord, you are nondifferent from this book,” and beg for His revelation.
If there is one thing that bothers Krishna it is the misery of His children, and Srila Prabhupada knew his books could eliminate that misery.
From a class at the University of South Florida in Tampa:
I
always make sure that everyone understands each point before we move forward.
We
offer respect to our spiritual teacher to get the maximum blessing before we
even begin.
Reality
is much more than we see. If we look at our hands with a microscope, we see so
many things we do not see with our eyes. Similarly if we look at the sky with a
telescope, we see so much more.
Spiritually
elevated beings see themselves as one with you as they are all also connected
to the same source.
Krishna
was so beautiful that anyone who saw him, male or female, would practically
pass out. That is because Krishna is the reservoir of all beauty.
In
yoga we begin to look into ourselves more carefully, and then we can look into
others more carefully.
Yoga
helped me retain vigor.
Yogis
traditionally meditate on the tip of the nose or on a place on the forehead
between the eyes.
In
yoga you become the captain or master of your mind.
The
five senses are all pulling on the mind, and thus the mind is agitated, and you
cannot make clear decisions.
As
we cannot see the bottom of the stream when the water is agitated and it
becomes muddy, we cannot think clearly unless our mind is peaceful.
The
peacefulness of yoga samadhi is very
deep, but it does not reach the bliss of bhakti-yoga.
God
reciprocates with the love in your heart so nicely it satisfies the soul.
When
our team wins, we rejoice because we identify with our team. One man became so
frustrated with his team losing, that he moved to the city of the team
predicted to win the next year. Unfortunately, the next year that team lost and
he remained frustrated. When we identify ourselves materially, we will always
be frustrated.
Real
love is experienced between the soul and the Supersoul in the heart.
As
we become more aware that we are souls, we try to serve God more. We associate
with people who inspire us and give us their blessings so we feel peace.
Yoga
gives us a happiness that is above and beyond our little physical form.
When
our consciousness is cleansed we can experience the peace we are looking for
without external endeavor.
By
yoga we can become impervious to all kinds of material tribulations.
The
best meditative state is to develop pure love of God and that will bring us to
the greatest ecstasy.
Giriraja Swami:
We
come to the temple because of the association of devotees. If everything was
here, but there were no devotees, no one would come. What brings us to Krishna
is the association of devotees.
We
develop good or bad practices by association. Babies do not smoke, but by
association with people who smoke, one develops that habit.
Association
is the most critical factor in peoples’ lives to bring them up or down.
With
a damaged car, you can replace the parts and eventually get it to work, but you
cannot do that with the body when it is dead.
The
car needs the help of a driver or it cannot move, and similarly the body needs
the presence of the soul to function.
Most
people identify with the body and act for the body but only achieve some
stimulation, not lasting happiness.
As
if we make a mistake in the beginning of solving a mathematical equation, we
will be assured of an erroneous result despite doing all subsequent calculations
perfectly, if we mistake the body for soul, our calculation of how to be happy
will be incorrect.
There
was a generation of people who did everything their society taught them would
make them happy, but never obtained happiness. This led people to investigate
the cause of actual happiness. One professor wrote a book called Stumbling on Happiness. He discovered
that we are very poor at predicting what will make us happy.
Most
people identify with the body, and those who don’t, identify with the mind. The mind
simply accepts and rejects things but is never satisfied. Sometimes it rejects
something it accepted just a moment before.
Anything
material that gives us happiness will not continue to give us happiness for
long.
As
a youth, I would be so excited to get a new phonograph record, but I realized I
could not listen to it too much, or I would lose my taste for it.
At
a campus program, I had just seen Srila Prabhupada dismantle the arguments of
many challenging students, and I knew he could have easily torn me apart for
getting lost while driving him home from the program, but he smiled
compassionately and dismissed it. I was so impressed with his kindness.
One
Muslim student who heard Srila Prabhupada speak at Harvard went on to become a
Muslim professor. He told the devotees that whenever he is in some difficulty
or crisis, he always remembers the swami who gave that talk, what he said, and
Krishna Himself. When he hears the devotees speak of Srila Prabhupada, tears
well up in his eyes.
“The root cause of devotional
service to Lord Krishna is association with advanced devotees. Even when one’s
dormant love for Krishna awakens, association with devotees is still most
essential.
‘O my Lord! O infallible
Supreme Person! When a person wandering throughout the universes becomes
eligible for liberation from material existence, he gets an opportunity to
associate with devotees. When he associates with devotees, his attraction for
You is awakened. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead – the highest goal of
the topmost devotees, and the Lord of the universe.’
‘O devotees! O you who are free
from all sins! Let me inquire from you about that which is supremely auspicious
for all living entities. Association with a pure devotee for even half a moment
in this material world is the greatest treasure for human society.’” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
22.83–85)
Ordinary
association reinforces the illusion that you are the body and by getting things
for the body you will be happy.
Association
with devotees helps us as individual souls connect with the Supreme Soul, and
that will give us ultimate happiness.
Q
(by Kalakantha Prabhu): What about inappropriate feelings that arise in the
course of pursuing our spiritual goals?”
A:
Krishna recommends in Bhagavad-gita to
tolerate. Others say control your breath, count to ten. Do not react and damage
relationships. If you know something is going to bring a bad result then do not
indulge in it. Try to see the good in others. If we are seeing bad in others,
perhaps we should look to see if that fault is in ourselves and try to correct
ourselves. If we find a place is full of the atmosphere of criticizing
devotees, we can try to change the atmosphere, but easier and more practical is
to just do the right thing ourselves because it is the right thing.
The
principle with chanting and everything else is to do the best we possibly can
at the moment. It may not be the best we have ever done.
We
cannot always predict what situation will be favorable. Sometimes we get the
most mercy when we least expect it.
Q
(by me after class): What did you gain especially from Srila Prabhupada’s
personal association?
A:
I was impressed most by his humility, his faith in Krishna, especially in His
holy name, his enthusiasm to preach, even when no one was present, and his kindness
to all living entities. I could tell many examples of each.
You
bathe every day don’t you? The problem is we think eating and sleeping are necessary
but not chanting. This is because we do not read enough.
[To
an Indian student:] Work is worship is not in Bhagavad-gita. Whatever anyone says has to be supported by Bhagavad-gita.
Arjuna
accepts Krishna as param brahma, and
we must also accept Him as such. Arjuna also accepted that whatever Krishna
says is true, and therefore we must accept Bhagavad-gita
in total as well.
To
develop his theory of psychology, Maslow studied healthy people as opposed to
studying mentally ill people or rats. He was the chairman of the department of psychology
at Brandeis University where I studied. He found healthy people had peak
experiences that transformed them. He was very open to have all sorts of yogis
and swamis speaking. I had an idea of perfection and finding a perfect master,
so I was excited by this.
I
rejected the swamis and yogis for different reasons, one for too tightly
embracing his female followers, one for getting angry, one Zen master, who when
asked about Vedanta replied, “Why are you asking me about Vedanta? I can hardly
keep up with Zen,” and one professor, whose Zen was playing golf.
When
Srila Prabhupada said in the first lecture I ever attended that only one in
thousands of people is looking for perfection, I thought, “That is me.”
I
asked Srila Prabhupada, “Every swami advocates his own method as best? Which is
the best method?”
Prabhupada
replied, “What is your goal? Do you want to become God or do you want to serve Him?
If you want to become God, that means you are not God now. How can someone who
is not God become God? If you want to serve God, if you hear and chant about
Him, He will give you guidance. If you want to become God, why should God help
the competition?”
I
was reminded of the sign I had put in my bathroom, “You are God.” I learned that
I could not become God and that Srila Prabhupada could understand what was
going on within me. I understood he was my master and bowed down before him.
Once
while chanting Hare Krishna in Boston, I felt love for everyone in the
classroom and beyond the classroom, like all the way to California. I praised
the chanting to Srila Prabhupada and he chuckled and replied, “Thank you very
much.”
At
the age of eight, I got some inkling I was meant for a higher purpose, that I
have a mission.
I
wanted to help people so I thought of being a doctor, but then I realized that
those in mental agony suffered more, so I thought of going into psychology. But
studying anxiety at college I saw that the psychology professors had quarrels
about the budget.
Balabhadra Prabhu:
From
a seminar on ox protection at the Orlando Sunday feast:
While
training the oxen, when we stop, I always talk to them, and say they are doing
a good job.
At
Bhaktivedanta Manor, practically all the farming is done using the oxen. When
tour groups of children visit, they love to go for ox cart rides.
At
a program solely about cows near Udupi, in nine days the organizers got the
500,000 attendees they were hoping for.
One
cow at the Czech farm, Rasalila, gave milk for the pleasure of Krishna for many
years without giving birth to a calf. I
tasted her milk, and it was the most incredible nectar. She had a friend,
Tungi, and just two weeks before Rasalila left her body, Tungi also started
giving milk without a calf, as if taking over Rasalila’s service.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.17.3, both verse and
purport, are very important statements on cow protection. Verse 8.24.5 is also
important.
If
we show how to protect cows, it does not matter where we are, it will be very
beneficial.
The
question we are asked most often is how many cows are giving milk, but cows and
milk are just part of cow protection. Religious principles are derived from cow
protection. In Vedic times, cows were bred to produce bulls to assist in
agriculture, transportation, and religious principles. The second reason was
dung, and the third, urine, for medicine. Milk was the last reason, and it
considered to come as a natural byproduct.
I
always had a problem with anger, even when I began working the oxen at
Gitanagari. In Small Farm Journal I
read, “You cannot have any anger when you are working the bulls. If you become
angry, stop working them. Feed them, and come back when your mind is peaceful.”
I took note of that and applied it. One devotee, with a degree in psychology,
who observed me working the oxen for some time, told me, “The more you work with
the oxen, the more you improve at controlling your anger.”
It
is not that Krishna was a cowherd
boy, but Krishna is a cowherd boy.
A
lot of devotees who follow vegan diets, do so out of compassion for the cows.
It
would be so helpful if more and more temples got involved in cow protection so
the deities could be offered ahimsa milk.
The
cows and bulls are more valuable alive than dead.
Rajsthan
Goseva Sangh, one goshala in
Rajasthan, was completely self-sufficient from selling cow products when we visited
them about 1998. They had a cancer clinic which used medicine derived from cow
urine and had a success rate of 85%.
Bhakti
Raghava Swami never touched a cow before once he came to visit me. Now he is a
great advocate of cow protection and has done valuable service.
When
people would accuse of us exploiting the oxen by forcing them to work, I would
point how because their great size, 2,500 pounds each, I could not force them
to do anything. They work because we have a relationship with them. Actually
they love to work, especially when they are being treated properly.
Usually
vegans would be the ones who complain about us exploiting the oxen. I would
point out they were eating vegetables produced with tractors. And I would
explain in detail, all the exploitation of the environment needed make the
tractors. Then I explain about the tires
necessary for the tractors and the exploitation to obtain the rubber. Then I
tell how because of the tractors, the oxen were not worked but slaughtered, and
how the farm workers replaced by them were jobless. The real fact is not using
the oxen for farming has resulted in mass exploitation.
Srila
Prabhupada captured our hearts with his gratitude. Whatever service we did for
him, he would always say, “Thank you very much.” And it melted our hearts.
Organic
milk is really just a smokescreen. It still has the problems of calves sold for
slaughter, cows slaughtered after they stop giving milk, etc.
We
created a minimum standard for cow protection in ISKCON. It included the idea
that before breeding, there must a program for training and working the bulls.
Still
too few farms live up to this standard.
When
I was minister of cow protection, I tried to incite a competition between
farms, getting them to report how many oxen were working and how many hours of
work they performed.
Srila
Prabhupada said on December 4, 1968 in a lecture in Los Angeles:
“So
the example is set by the Supreme Personality of Godhead that human
civilization will advance only on the basis of brahminical culture and cow
protection. As soon as there is falldown from brahminical culture, and as soon
as there is discrepancy in the protection of cows, there will be no more peace
in the world. Therefore He specifically said, go-brahmaṇa-hitaya ca. This Krishna consciousness movement is for
the protection of brahminical culture and cows.”
More
information on cow protection, see the ISCOWP website at http://www.iscowp.org or write to iscowp@gmail.com.
Govinda Dasi:
I
was a senior at University of Texas in Austin. There was the first shooting
from the university tower. We were so disillusioned that we left school in the
middle of the year and went to San Francisco seeking enlightenment.
I did yoga
and read in a yoga book when the chela is
ready, the guru will appear. Thus I practiced celibacy and meditated for eight
hours a day. I must have got this inspiration from a previous life. I found a Back to Godhead (BTG) in a head shop.
In the
second BTG I read the description of Srila Prabhupada walking down the street,
and it was like the doors of perception opened and I had a darsana (vision) of Srila Prabhupada. I realized without doubt he
was my guru. I looked up the address of the temple, and it was just five blocks
away, and we went there and asked for an interview with the swami.
Srila
Prabhupada would ask many questions to familiarize himself with America. He was
surprised that I had traveled so much, and when I said in all my travels
nothing had made me happy, he smiled broadly, and said, “That is required.” He
understood that although I could get whatever I wanted, I was not happy.
He
listened to our problems attentively, and he told us, “If you come to my
classes morning and evening, all your problems will be solved.” Of course, there
are always problems, but the devotee becomes detached from them.
In
college you have philosophies like existentialism which elaborately describe
the problem but have no solution.
From
the beginning, Srila Prabhupada engaged us according to our propensities, and do
this he inquired what we were studying. He immediately engaged us in painting
Radha Krishna because we had an art background.
We
had no desire to be anywhere except with him, so when he went to New York, we
went to New York, driving in there four days with some hippies.
The
charm, the personal wit, and the caring in Srila Prabhupada is more than I can
describe.
Srila
Prabhupada wanted all his lectures recorded. On the bhajans he recorded himself playing both the drum and the
harmonium. These recordings are his gifts.
“A
pure devotee always engages in the service of the Lord, taking shelter of His
lotus feet, and therefore he has a direct connection with the saffron
mercy-particles that are strewn over the lotus feet of the Lord. Although when
a pure devotee speaks the articulation of his voice may resemble the sound of
this material sky, the voice is spiritually very powerful because it touches
the particles of saffron dust on the lotus feet of the Lord. As soon as a
sleeping living entity hears the powerful voice emanating from the mouth of a
pure devotee, he immediately remembers his eternal relationship with the Lord,
although up until that moment he had forgotten everything.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.20.25, purport)
Once
I tried correcting his pronunciation for the word “analogously” in his reading of the preface of Brahma-samhita, and he replied, “You pronounce it your way, and I
will pronounce it my way.” I never tried to correct him again.
Gaurasundara
was learning the Sanskrit and Bengali. He learned about the suffix “ji” and
asked Prabhupada if he could call me Govindaji. Prabhupada indicated “ji” was
low class. I asked, “Why do we call you “Swamiji” if it is a low class ending?”
He said it was not important, but I thought it was important so I pressed him
several times. That was out of character
for me, so I think Supersoul was pushing me.
Prabhupada
said, “You can call me Gurudeva, Guru Maharaja, or Srila Prabhupada.”
“That
is three,” I said, “what about one?”
He
replied, “You can call me Srila Prabhupada. That would be very nice.”
Then
he explained what Prabhupada meant and said, “I am the Prabhupada and you are
the Prabhus are taking shelter.”
Prabhupada
means he whose lotus feet the masters take shelter of.
He
was the most gentlemanly and fatherly person you could ever hope to meet.
Srila
Prabhupada started us studying Sanskrit and Bengali.
When
the lotus blooms, the bees come. Although there were no devotees, sankirtana parties or books, but somehow
so many people came.
I
prayed to be able to understand his accent, and almost immediately I was able
to understand.
If
you ask Srila Prabhupada for some service, he will guide you from in the heart.
Our
first service was putting up posters for the mantra rock dance.
Krishna
speaks through his devotees, and therefore their association is so important.
The
whole year I was cooking for Srila Prabhupada he had the same five things on
Ekadasi: pan fried peanuts, sweet potatoes mashed with yogurt, a wet vegetable
preparation with cauliflower and potato slightly fried, and fruit salad with
sour cream.
Srila
Prabhupada said, “Ghee is for cooking for Krishna, oil is for cooking for
Shiva.” He also said, “Ghee is for the inside of the body, and oil is for the
outside of the body.”
People
take lots of prasadam in the
beginning because it their first contact with Krishna in many lives and they
cannot get enough.
I
dealt with a contractor in Gainesville who lived on Krishna Lunch when he was a
student.
There
is a problem in ISKCON that some tulasis have
crossbred with other varieties of basil, so we have to be careful.
Srila
Prabhupada said that personal ambition cannot be dovetailed in devotional service.
Srila
Prabhupada said regarding our children, “Demigods are waiting in line to take
birth in this movement.” And you can see that in their spirit of enjoyment. But Prabhupada also said that the children of our children would be pure devotees.
Kalakantha Prabhu:
It
is an art to not be too liberal or too conservative, to retain the essence of
the tradition, while attracting new people.
Comment
by Caitanya: Now there are more people who work in the department of
agriculture than there are farmers.
Krishnasravana Prabhu:
We
can go up or down or remain in this realm. Krishna does not force anyone, but He
advises how we can return to Him.
Other
names like Allah and Jehovah have the same power as they are all names of God,
but I am a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, so I chant Hare Krishna as he advised
and the Vedic literature recommends.
Q
(by me): In Bhagavad-gita 18.65 Srila
Prabhupada stresses worship of Krishna alone, yet in Bhagavad-gita 8.14 he accepts worship of the other Vishnu-tattva
avatars. Why is this?
A:
When you love someone you want His name and fame glorified all over the world,
and because Srila Prabhupada is a pure devotee of Krishna, so he is glorifying
Krishna. Even in Dvaraka, Vasudeva Krishna is attracted by the beauty of the
youthful Vrindavan Krishna. Even Maha-Vishnu wanted to see Krishna so He
kidnapped the brahmana’s sons. Even
Laksmi was attracted by the sweetness of Krishna and tried to attain the
position of the gopis.
A
(by another Prabhupada disciple): Srila Prabhupada is trying to bring us to the topmost
platform in Bhagavad-gita 18.65 and
so he promotes Krishna as superior to the other incarnations. He also says that knowledge is the most confidential.
In
a war, if you surrender, you lose, but if you surrender to Krishna, you win.
Q
(by Jorge): How to we think of Krishna while talking to someone at our job?
A:
If a woman has a lover, she will do her household duties nicely so her husband
does not suspect, but she is always thinking of her lover because of her
intense attraction. Similarly we are all lovers of Krishna by constitution, so
we should perform our duties in this world very nicely, and at the same time
always think of Him.
Sesa Prabhu:
We
are eternal individuals, and we have each have a history by which we have come here today, to Srimad-Bhagavatam class.
Fiji
is the island where Kaliya came from and eventually returned. During a brief
transit through a Fiji airport, one Indian man with governmental influence, who
was amazed at hearing of Srila Prabhupada’s great preaching work in the West,
visited him at the airport, and Srila Prabhupada convinced him to build a
Krishna temple within that brief time. There was installed a deity of
Kaliya-Krishna.
The
Kaustuba gem was given by Kaliya to Krishna.
Within
in the last couple of years, in Fiji, workers in an excavation reported seeing
a multi-headed snake in the mountains.
Comment
by Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu Prabhu: It is explained in a former life, Kaliya was a
king who washed a devotee’s feet but did not respect the water considering the
devotee’s social position. Thus he got a mixed result.
One
of the key lessons of the Kaliya pastime is that Krishna’s mercy follows the mercy
of the devotees. Because Kaliya’s wives offered prayers on his behalf he
attained Krishna’s mercy. When they saw in their husband exalted qualities of
humility, remorse, regret and doubt in response to Krishna’s chastisement, they
prayed to Krishna for His mercy upon their husband.
Sukhada Devi:
The
cowherd boys offer the challenge to Krishna and Balarama of liberating the
Talavana Forest from influence of the Dhenuka demon, and the two are up for the
challenge.
Radha-Damodara
temple is said to be the hub of the universe. Srila Prabhupada was inspired to
serve Rupa Goswami and thus he stayed there. He desired to be blessed by the
mercy of sages there.
Srila
Prabhupada prayed to Rupa Goswami for his mercy, and he attained it. He
literally cried for the mercy as he swept the Rupa Goswami’s samadhi.
The
Yamuna River is described as a necklace of sapphires or blue lotuses.
The
children I take on sankirtana look
forward to it every year. One girl suggested we bring lunch next time so we
could stay out all day.
Once
a devotee was saying how Vrindavan is becoming degraded. Srila Prabhupada said
no, that those who are responsible for taking care of Vrindavan will take
birth as hogs and dogs there, but even the hogs and dogs in Vrindavan are
liberated.
Comments
by me:
I always go to Radha-Damodara temple.
Srila Prabhupada described Vrindavan as a place where people are inclined to love Krishna and where Krishna is inclined to love them.
Vrindavan is a special place. Even a young Afro-American lady who was not a Hare Krishna concluded that sacred places do in fact exist and Vrindavan is such a place, after she stayed there for a month as some devotees friends had encouraged her to.
Madhava Prabhu [from New
Raman Reti]:
Part
of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s daily bhajana, in
addition to glorifying Radha-Krishna, is to take shelter of the Lord to overcome
material tendencies. We can learn from this.
Q:
When are the exams [for your series of seminars on Saranagati]?
A:
Every day, at every moment. [laughter]
Visvambhara Prabhu of
Bhaktivedanta Academy:
We
find that the students who went out distributing prasadam cakes and Srila Prabhupada’s books enjoyed that
experience. That was our goal. In fact, some of them did not want to come back.
Kalki Prabhu:
By
Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, through his books, we can understand who is actually a
sadhu, a saintly person.
By
giving classes morning and evening, by speaking with people, and encouraging
disciples, in so many ways, Srila Prabhupada expressed his compassion by
enlightening people in Krishna consciousness.
This
chanting of Hare Krishna is so nice that plants, animals, and insects, all
advance spiritually by hearing the chanting.
Devotees
asked Srila Prabhupada what happens to the grass that hears the chanting of a
pure devotee. Srila Prabhupada explained that it gets a human body in the next
life, which would normally take ten million births.
People
do not understand how on the material platform, there is no steady happiness,
but if we explain this carefully, they can come to get an appreciation of it.
Like
Krishna wants to glorify His devotees, the advanced devotees want to glorify
the other devotees.
Srila
Prabhupada’s minimization of sleep was just a side effect of being fully engaged in
devotion.
Srila
Prabhupada was doing the same thing as the Goswamis, using the Vedic literature
to support the conclusion of pure devotion service to Krishna.
Humility
and tolerance are very important. If we are humble and tolerant, we will not
commit offenses, and thus we will be able chant the holy name constantly.
We
should always be looking within ourselves to see how we can improve our
devotional service.
Krishna
consciousness is already spreading all over the world, but if we assist we will
get the credit for helping. Otherwise, it will happen anyway, and we will miss
out.
Comment
by Abhimanyu Prabhu: Locan Das Thakura wrote in one of his books that Lord
Caitanya said some people would try to escape by going to Western countries but
that he would send his senapati bhakti [commander-in-chief
devotee] to rescue them.
Comments
by me:
If we are not tolerant, we will be absorbed in the dualities of material life, and will not have time to mercifully benefit people.
Sometime we have the idea that we want everyone to love us, but that is not realistic. Even the greatest saints and the Lord Himself, although they are goodness personified, still have enemies.
Vasudeva Datta Prabhu:
If
you do not read in the morning, you may find that you do not have time to read
later, and the reading does not happen.
-----
The following verse inspires me when I chant Hare Krishna in public in different cities
around the world. I am an instrument, although tiny, in fulfilling Lord
Caitanya’s prediction. Although not everyone will appreciate the chanting, Lord
Caitanya will be pleased, and He is the bestower of all benedictions:
prithivite
ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra
pracara haibe mora nama
[Lord
Caitanya said:] “In every town and village of the world, in every place, My
name will be propagated.” (Caitanya-bhagavata,
Antya-kandha 4.126)