(Sent
from Brooklyn, New York, on September 21, 2016)
Where I Went and What I Did
I traveled from the Baltic Coast to northern
Czech Republic for the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (Czech Woodstock), where
Hare Krishna devotees share Krishna food, music, and wisdom with hundreds of
people at a rock concert for three and a half days. Then I did harinama in Prague for one day. The next
day I was held up uselessly at Gatwick Airport by immigration officials and
missed the London harinama. I did
salvage the day by going to Southall and getting my harmonium repaired for just
the cost of the new reeds. The next three days I did harinama in Newcastle by myself, as well as attending the Wednesday
evening kirtana and theJanmastami and Vyasa-puja ceremonies. I
include inspiring notes on the Vyasa-puja offerings of the Newcastle devotees
as well as some we read that day from the international Vyasa-puja book. I
spent the weekend with Karsna Prabhu, Mother Aharada, and their son, Mark,
doing harinama in Chester and
attending their semimonthly program, which was also attended by two new people
who came because of the harinama. The
next week I finished out August, chanting in Newcastle on Monday and Wednesday,
and going to Edinburgh Tuesday for harinama
and our Tuesday evening program there.
The last half of August I was staying at many
venues with no regular Bhagavatam classes,
so I have notes on a recorded lecture by Srila Prabhupada and Bhakti Charu
Swami. I have also an excerpt from the online journal of Satsvarupa Dasa
Goswami and one of his books, and a couple quotes from Sadaputa Prabhu from his Mysteries of the Sacred Universe, which I proofread recently for
its reprinting and which will soon be available from Amazon.com.
I would like to thank the Newcastle temple for their
generous donation. Thanks to Karsna Prabhu and the Chester nama-hatta for their donation to cover my travel expenses from Newcastle
to Chester and Lukas and the Gauranga Mantra Centre for their donation to cover
my travel expenses from Newcastle to Edinburgh. Thanks to Rama Prasada Prabhu,
Lotus, and Malini Devi Dasi of the Edinburgh congregation for their donations and
Emma of the Chester nama-hatta for
her donation. Thanks to Punya Palaka Prabhu for contributing to my travel to
Trutnov for the Czech Woodstock. Thanks to the Indian tourist for his donation
on Prague harinama. Thanks to JAS
Musicals of Southall, who repaired my harmonium for only the cost of the three
reeds that needed to be replaced. They also invited me to chant and play their harmonium as they repaired mine, and a Indian man played drum to accompany me.Thanks to Chand, Mark, and other devotees of
the Chester nama-hatta for their
pictures of our harinama there.
Itinerary
September 13–21: New York City Harinam
September 22–25: Philadelphia Harinamas and Ratha-yatra
September 25–mid November: New York City Harinama
Three days in mid November: Washington, D.C., Harinama
last two weeks November: North Florida
December: New York City Harinam
Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (Czech Woodstock) 2016
Like at the Polish Woodstock, Hare Krishna devotees are friends with the organizer of the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (Czech Woodstock), and we have our own camp and our own stage, where we distribute Krishna prasadam (spiritual food) and Krishna kirtana (spiritual music). On our first harinama, we passed a vendor of flower crowns, and the devotees
tried them on.
Here is our kirtana leader Nrsimha
Caitanya Prabhu so decorated.
Also on our harinama was Ananta Gauranga Prabhu, who I know from his childhood
in Alachua, his youth at Krishna House, and most recently from New York City
Harinam, where he sang beautifully and played mrdanga for Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama
party.
The first night I was surprised to see one
girl chanting and dancing in our tent named Eliska (in the center of the above
picture), who I remembered from 2009. She and some high school friends really
enjoyed chanting and dancing in the kirtana
so much back then (https://youtu.be/bWcHj6U9ijM):
She had traveled to different parts of the
world, attending the festival only once since then. She is a regular attender
at Baladeva’s, Trutnov’s Hare Krishna restaurant. I told her to look out for
the kirtana programs we have there during
the year.
These two girls appeared so joyful to be
chanting and dancing to the Hare Krishna kirtana.
The prasadam was wonderful as
usual.
The samosas were very tasty.
They also had rice and sabji, raita, pasta salad, halava,
and coconuts balls in three flavors.
As part of our scheduled program there was a
question and answer session with a senior devotee who could not make it that
day. I had figured they would just ask another senior devotee to do it, but
they announced they would just continue chanting. I had already left the stage,
thinking the chanting was over, so I decided to use the bathroom before
returning for more kirtana. Before I
could return to the stage one couple asked if I would answer some questions for
them. They asked the meaning of Hare, Rama, and Krishna, and about the
relationship between Hinduism and Hare Krishna. I explained the three names
mean the spiritual energy of God, God, who is the source of all pleasure, and
God, who is all-attractive, respectively. I explained we are a group within
Hinduism that stresses the worship of Krishna. Although many gods are worshiped
within Hinduism, the Bhagavad-gita stresses
the worship of the Supreme Lord, Krishna, alone. I explained Srila Prabhupada’s
analogy that you do not have to give money to the different ministers in the
government for defense, education, health, etc. You simply pay your tax to the
central government, and it is all distributed. In the same way, we do not need
to worship the sun god, the moon god, the rain god, etc. We just have to
worship the Supreme Lord. They recognized I had been coming for many years. I
explained there is a lot of joy in the chanting, and we like to share it with
others. As they were from Prague, I gave them an invitation to our temple and
restaurant there, which they were happy to receive. I was glad to answer their
questions, especially as I thought the question and answers session was a good
idea, and it should not have been skipped.
I talked to a lady who had an interest in
meditation. She has taught local Czech politics at a university in Prague for
nine years. I explained that the chanting we do is a kind of meditation, and
that if she liked it, she could attend our Wednesday programs at our Govinda’s
restaurant in Prague. She danced to our kirtanas
on at least a couple of occasions, looking very joyful.
I have many video clips of people chanting
Hare Krishna and dancing with the devotees. Although these people are not yet
serious about completely dedicating their lives to spiritual advancement,
whatever chanting and hearing of the holy name of the Lord they do is very good
for them. While viewing these videos keep in mind that Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.2.14)states,
“One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the
reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate
something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully.
This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures.” So these
people are becoming more and more pious and gradually becoming eligible to
perform devotional service to the Supreme Lord with determination in the future
and attain love for God, the goal of life.
The first two days of the four-day festival, the
Harinama Ruci traveling sankirtana party
chanted in town of Trutnov (both on the streets and outside, and even inside,
the bars and restaurants), from the town to the festival site, and
at the festival site itself. We often tried to encourage the people we met to
chant the Hare Krishna one word at a time, and sometimes we were very
successful and sometimes less so
Because of a change in the price structure,
fewer people came to the festival this year, about 6,000 instead of 18,000.
Thus Harinama Ruci left early to chant in Prague on the final day. Although it
would have been fun to go with them, I wanted to participate in our program at
Trutnov.
There are many people who visit our Krishna
tent at Trutnov every day to experience our Krishna food and Krishna music. For
most of them, it is their only contact with Krishna consciousness the whole
year, and it is an important part of the festival for them. Although their
level of commitment is not comparable to those who adopt more of the spiritual practices
we follow, still they need to be encouraged in whatever they can do, and we
play a role there in encouraging them.
In different parts of the world we have
festivals where devotees can go, like the Sadhu Sanga festival in America or the
Bhakti Sangam festival in Ukraine, and become inspired. Our Krishna Camp at
Trutnov is for these people with a just little initial attraction to Krishna,
their Sadhu Sanga festival, and it is important we provide it to give them an
opportunity for spiritual association. Otherwise all there is at these concerts
is sex, drugs, and rock and roll, from which even those successful at them say,
you “can’t get no satisfaction.”
In the afternoon, persons willing to hear and
dance with our chanting were fewer and far between, but the devotees were still
enthusiastic (https://youtu.be/1NfxORBnIrY):
Our special guest this year was Bhakti
Gauravani Goswami, originally Vedavyasa Prabhu, a German BBT translator, who
has taken sannyasa and is preaching
in Spain recently. Here he led kirtana the
first evening (https://youtu.be/Kk6pllXTAhs):
Here is a kirtana
on the final evening, to a smaller, but still enthusiastic crowd (https://youtu.be/CcLDVm5Q0Ag):
Thanks to all the devotees whose cooperation
made it possible to share Krishna music and Krishna food with hundreds of
people at Trutnov, the Czech Woodstock.
Janmastami in Newcastle
At the Newcastle Janmastami festival, I was not doing so well because of
the fast, and tiredness from travel, and thus it was hard to appreciate. I was
also frustrated that no one wanted to chant with me in public due to
unfortunate circumstances. There was dance, drama, and kirtana as usual. Bhakti Rasa Prabhu spoke nicely.
Vasheel led a lively late night Janmastami kirtana at ISKCON Newcastle, getting the
devotees dancing (https://youtu.be/wzq4pIemgLU):
I was satisfied with the feast.
Notes on the Vyasa Puja Offerings in the Vyasa-puja Book
In our Newcastle Vyasa-puja service we read a
few offerings from favorite senior devotees from the international Vyasa-puja
book.
Bhakti Caitanya Swami:
Srila Prabhupada taught that association with
the pure devotee is not as valuable as service to the pure devotee. By serving
Srila Prabhupada we attain love for Krishna.
Jayapataka Swami:
Lord Caitanya delivered people in India but
engaged His commander-in-chief devotee, Srila Prabhupada, in delivering people
in remote places.
Notes on Vyasa Puja Offerings in Newcastle
Several devotees mentioned they especially
like Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja because they get to hear the inspiring
realizations of their friends about Srila Prabhupada’s mercy.
Kirtida Devi Dasi:
I am glad to be here and reflect on my
relationship with you and to hear the appreciations of the other devotees.
ISKCON is a vehicle through which you
expressed your devotion to your guru, the line of teachers, and Krishna.
ISKCON is the people who make it up.
Please help me to be a solution to any
problems I may find in ISKCON and not add to them.
Bhakti Rasa Prabhu:
ISKCON is your Krishna’s mercy distribution
network.
Markandeya Prabhu spoke at a program attended
by Mahakrama Prabhu, who suffering from throat cancer. Turns out Markandeya
Prabhu had recovered from that kind of cancer and was very sympathetic to
Mahakrama Prabhu’s condition. Although the odds were against it, in your ISKCON
society, such a meeting was possible.
Vrinda Devi Dasi:
I think by your mercy, everything that is not
possible will become possible for us.
When I thought of all you have done for us, I
tried again to distribute a book on sankirtana
although previously I was unsuccessful, and I succeeded.
Vasheel:
Thank you for being there for all us fallen
souls.
I appreciate your simplicity. To someone who
said, “I am God,” you once said, “You are dog.” Later the man thanked you.
Madhuri Devi Dasi:
Just because I have not met you personally
does not mean I cannot have a personal relationship with you, so I decided to
start with this offering.
Traveling in American recently, I was away
from home, and I was thinking about how you were away from home all alone there
in New York City.
In that foreign place what was most familiar
to me was the devotees, who I am connected with because of you.
Let this movement of Krishna bhakti spread
through my heart.
Gauridas Pandit Prabhu:
I visited Sweden. In a country with a
different culture I felt out of place until entered the Stockholm temple. There
everything was familiar to me. The devotees were so kind. It was like I was
going from one home to another.
Radha Shyam Prabhu:
Your conversation with Bob Cohen [in Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers]struck many chords with me.
Although I am not reading your books at
present, they have permanently changed my life.
It is rare to find anyone with a passion for
anything, what to speak of a passion for benefiting humanity with spiritual
enlightenment.
Varsha:
Hearing from your disciples about their
interactions with you, I felt bad I missed your association, but then I
considered at least I had the association of those who had your association.
Vrishni:
You came on a boat to America with nothing
but your own love for Krishna and your desire to spread Lord Caitanya’s
message.
Jagannathesvari Devi Dasi:
“All glories to the moons, who are devotees
of the principal moon, Lord Caitanyacandra! Their bright moonshine illuminates
the entire universe.” (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 13.5) This verse always reminds me of you.
Ramai Prabhu:
The whole world is indebted to you for
teaching the purpose to life.
Those who have taken up the chanting can
realize the depth of it.
It is a miracle that you have spread this
chanting to so many parts of this world.
You have freely given a way of life so that
everyone can be happy.
Ram Rao’s wife, Indira:
Everything you have given is for my heart’s
content. Please accept my gratitude.
Anu:
Thank you for giving us ISKCON. I think this
is my real family.
Gopal:
In 1973 or 1974 was in Gujarat and looking
for a job at the time. I saw devotees setting up for a program. I helped Srila
Prabhupada spread a carpet on the stage for it. More devotees came. I chanted
with them. Soon after that my life improved. I got good employment. Whenever I
feel lonely, I think of the experience with Srila Prabhupada, and I feel ananda [spiritual pleasure]. Ananda has no opposite.
Krishna-kripa Das:
Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter to Sudama,
December 23, 1972:
“Yes, from the very beginning I went to New
York because I thought that Krishna Consciousness is the most important idea in
the world, so let me go to that place, New York, which is the most important
city in the world, and if I am able to do anything for Krishna and my Spiritual
Master, even I am at the fag-end of my life, at least let me try for it there.
So my dreams have all come true, and all of you nice boys and girls are getting
the credit. When I was alone in your New York, I was thinking, who will listen
to me in this horrible, sinful place? All right, I shall stay little longer, at
least I can distribute a few of my books, that is something. But Krishna was
all along preparing something I could not see, and He brought you to me one by
one, sincere American boys and girls, to be trained-up for doing the work of
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Now I can see that it is a miracle. Otherwise, your
city of New York, one single old man, with only a few books to sell for barely
getting eatables, how he can survive, what to speak of introducing
God-consciousness movement for saving the humankind? That is Krishna’s miracle.
Now I can see it.”
Srila Prabhupada was successful because of
his amazing faith, and what was that faith?
Faith in his guru and his guru’s order:
(1) preach in the West
(2) if you get money, print books
(3) cooperate
Faith in parampara,
the lineage of spiritual teachers:
(1) faith in their message
(2) faith in their desire to spread the chanting all over the world
Faith in the holy name:
(1) Simply by chanting 16 rounds of the Hare
Krishna mantra on beads and giving up the four sinful acts in one life anyone,
no matter their background, can become pure enough to go back to the spiritual
world.
Newcastle Harinamas
I saw two women of the same age walking
together, one pushing an old lady in a wheelchair and the other pushing a young
kid in a stroller. It reminded me of how at both the beginning and the end of
our lives, we are helpless and have to take the help of others. Such are the
limitations of our temporary material bodies. If I was not busy chanting, I
would have taken a picture of that striking image.
After our Vyasa-puja program in Newcastle I took a nap and
went on harinama from 8–10 p.m.
Following the advice of a sanitation worker I encountered on the way downtown,
I sat on the sidewalk between the parking lots and The Gate, which claims to be
“Newcastle’s premier leisure and entertainment centre.” As I watched the people
walk past, it occurred to me that the difference between me and them was Srila
Prabhupada's mercy. Over seven people said Hare Krishna to me, four danced, one
had a picture taken with me, an Indian couple who went to our Juhu temple I
encouraged to visit our place in Newcastle, one guy, who gave a donation, chose
Beyond Birth and Death when I offered
him a book, and another guy happily told me he was already up to page 70 in Nectar of Instruction. Pointing to his
beer can, he said was not fully enlightened yet, but he was on the path. I told
him to read every day and his life would be transformed. He believed it. All
glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Harinama in Chester
On my way to Chester, I stopped at the ticket office at
Manchester Piccadilly. I did not have the debit card I used to book my ticket
from Edinburgh to Newcastle, so I could not pick up my ticket from the
automatic ticket machines but had to go to the counter. In the course of my
conversation with the man behind the counter, he asked if I was a Hare Krishna. I said I was. Then he said, “Gaur . . . and be happy.” I said, “Oh, Gauranga!” “What does
that mean?” he asked, “Something about being happy?” “Oh, Gauranga is a name of
God,” I replied. “He is a special incarnation of God who came to give the
highest spiritual ecstasy to the most unqualified people, and that is a cause of
happiness!” I asked how he knew about the name Gauranga, and he explained that
when he was in high school many years ago a Hare Krishna devotee sold him some
books.
Karsna Prabhu, Aharada Devi Dasi, and Mark of Chester are my favorite harinama family. It
is not so often that both parents and the kids go on harinama.
In Chester there are many people on the streets, and
although there is often too much competition with other musicians, it was not
so bad this time.
We chanted on Saturday for three hours in downtown Chester,
accompanied by Alan, the main leader of our Liverpool nama-hatta and Kamalaksi Devi Dasi, the nice Indian lady who cooks
for that program.
The next day we chanted for two and a half hours with Chand
and his wife (not in picture), daughter, and son. The second day two older ladies came by
independently of each other, and both were attracted enough to attend our
semiweekly program that night. One had a serious interest in yoga and different
religions, and I would not be surprised if we see her again.
After the Chester program, on my way home to Newcastle I
chanted outside Liverpool Lime Street train station for half an hour. While
there a guy came up to me and showed me a 20 pence coin saying, “I will give
you this if you promise to be quiet for 30 seconds while I walk past.” I
smiled, said “OK,” and accepted the coin. It seemed inauspicious to abandon
chanting altogether just to please a demonic living entity, so I chanted my
mind for 30 seconds before continuing out loud with my harmonium and amplifier
after the man had passed. That had never happened before.
Harinama
in Edinburgh
Although I had done five times as many books and collected
five times as much in Newcastle the previous day, in Edinburgh my presence made
a difference in the life of one high school graduate, who was half way through
reading Easy Journey to Other Planets. He
wanted another book. I recommended Sri
Isopanisad as two days before Alan of Liverpool had told me he had become
convinced by reading it, and therefore, I was reminded of how nice it was. The
young man decided to choose Chant and Be
Happy instead because he was a musician and he had a love for George
Harrison. He took down the details of our Edinburgh Gauranga Mantra Centre and
said he would try to come next Tuesday.
The Edinburgh nama-hatta
attenders are participatory, cooperative, and charitable, and there are
often some new people at the meetings. I am always encouraged to go there, and
I look forward to returning next year, God willing.
An Odd Picture
After chanting downtown for 2 hours in the
evening on Vyasa-puja day, I was walking up the hill to the Newcastle temple,
and I saw this sign. I felt I had to take a picture of it.
Balaji in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, is one of
the most famous and popular deities of Lord Krishna in India, and certainly one of
those receiving the greatest contributions.
Here in Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
however, the glorious transcendental name of Balaji is associated with beers
and spirits, and “off-licence.”
If you are non-British, you may wonder, as I
did, what does “off-licence” mean? Apple’s dictionary says, “A store selling
alcoholic beverages for consumption elsewhere.” Such is the degradation of this
age!
To see pictures I did not include, click on
the link below:
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.41 in
Mayapur on October 21, 1974:
Traditionally sannyasa is meant for the brahmanas.
We agree, but for those who are brahmana
by qualities, not by birth.
We do not claim the position of Vaishnava but
rather we wish to remain the servant of the Vaishnava.
There are four divisions of sannyasa, kuticaka, when one lives
outside the village but receives food from home, bahudaka, when one begs door to door, parivrajakacarya, when one preaches from country to country, and paramahamsa, when one sits in one place
absorbed in Krishna consciousness.
The whole process is detachment from family,
community, etc.
We do not approve of nationalism, but instead
we are creating internationalism.
Just as we cannot create our own laws but have
to follow the laws given by the state, we have to follow the laws given by God
and not act according to our own whims. Dharma is that law given by God, but we
have created so many dharmas.
Gold is gold. There are not different kinds
of gold. There is 14-karat gold, and 20-karat gold, but pure gold is one. In
the same way, we are preaching pure religion, not religion adulterated by so
many other things.
We have no other business than to follow the
laws of God.
God is real, and anything in connection with
God is real, otherwise it is all imitation.
We killing the demons by giving them the Hare
Krishna mantra, which purifies them, so their demonic activities are stopped.
Whatever is done is done, but we must stop
our demonic activities.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami:
From a “Poem to Radha-Govinda” posted on
Facebook on August 24, 2016:
“Radha-Govinda reciprocate with me.
Radha-Govinda taste the sweetness
of conjugal love.They exchange it in
sidelong glances.
They taste it in
kisses and embraces.
And share it
with Their innumerable devotees.
Anyone can become
Their associate by following
in the footsteps of
the gopis,
or accepting
a pure devotee
in disciplic succession
as the spiritual master.
The spiritual master initiates one
into the Hare Krishna mantra,
which is made up of the names
of Radha and Krishna.
He teaches Bhagavad-gita
and Srimad-Bhagavatam,
and instructs
the disciple on how
to worship the Deity.
Vande
guroh sri-
caranaravindam.”
From Begging
for the Nectar of the Holy Name:
“Srila Rupa Gosvami says in Upadesamrta that although at present we
don’t taste the sweetness of the holy name due to jaundice (avidya), the holy names are so wonderful
that by repeatedly chanting them, the taste will return. This statement is not
Rupa Gosvami’s imagination. The chanting is very wonderful, it does have a
sweet taste, and we will attain it. Therefore, we will show our belief in the
statement by acting on the basis of it. We will go on chanting.”
Bhakti Charu Swami:
From
a lecture at Croatia Seminar 2016:
“Why did Krishna create this universe?” In
that respect we can consider two explanations. One is a prison house, where the
criminals are being corrected. A prison house is actually a reform house, meant
for correcting our perverted mentality. Our mentality has become perverted, so
there is a need to create this prison house. So Krishna has created this prison
house, where the criminals are being punished to eventually understand what
they should do. Now, sometimes some people find this quite shocking, “This
material nature is a prison house? I am a prisoner? What’s wrong with you! I
think I am the most decent and honest person.” So if we have some reservation
or reluctance in accepting that concept, then let’s consider the other
explanation. The child wants to play with his friends in the park. So the child
says, “Daddy! Daddy! I want to go to the park.” The father says, “Okay, come,” and he takes the child to the park. And coming to the park, the child is
completely lost in the games with his friends. When he is winning in the game,
he is happy. When he is losing, he is sad. That’s the game. And he completely
forgot about the father. While the child is playing in the park, the father is
sitting there on a bench and watching the child. Then the child becomes afraid.
All his friends have left, it became dark, so the child calls out, “Daddy,
where are you?” So then the father comes, picks him up and says, “Come, let’s
go.” So, in a way, our situation is like that. We are a bunch of kids who
wanted to play, and coming to the playground, meeting our friends, we are
completely immersed in play. In the course of our game some are our friends and
some are our enemies. Those who are playing in my favor, they are my friends.
Those who are opposing me, they are my enemies. In this way, in this field, we
are creating duality. We are so lost that we have no time to think about the
Father. But then, at some point, when we turn to the Father and say, “Daddy,
where are you?”, then He comes and picks us up and says, “Come, let’s go home.”
Sadaputa Prabhu:
From Mysteries
of the Sacred Universe (p. 170):
“According to the Bhagavatam, God simultaneously spans all scales of size from
largest to smallest. God also defines space rather than existing within it as
an object among other objects. The space thus defined involves unlimited scales
and dimensions, and it is not limited to the three-dimensional Euclidian
continuum. However, it does include this continuum. Indeed, it contains many
three-dimensional continua.”
“This system of thought rules out the kind of
comprehensive model of reality that we are familiar with in the West. Rather,
it lends itself to multiple models that represent different aspects of an
inconceivable total reality.”
-----
The verse reassures us that even if people
chant without proper understanding they still benefit greatly from it.
“If a person unaware of the effective
potency of a certain medicine takes that medicine or is forced to take it, it
will act even without his knowledge because its potency does not depend on the
patient’s understanding. Similarly, even though one does not know the value of
chanting the holy name of the Lord, if one chants knowingly or unknowingly, the
chanting will be very effective.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.19)
Polish Festival Tour, Baltic Summer
Festival, Ancient Trance Festival
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on September
14, 2016)
Where I Went
and What I Did
I spent the
last day of July and the first four of August on the Festival of India tour on
the Polish coast with Indradyumna Swami and his followers, doing harinama in the towns and on the
beaches. Then I spent six days on the Baltic Vaishnava Summer Festival just an
hour north of Vilnius in Lithuania and heard lectures by Niranjana Swami,
Bhakti Caitanya Swami, B. B. Govinda Swami, Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami, Dhirashanta Goswami,and
Suresvara Prabhu. After that I chanted in Vilnius for an hour with a Russian
couple before a 17-hour bus ride to Berlin. I spent the next day recovering and
having pizza with Gadadhara Priya Prabhu and Sara, before taking an afternoon
bus to Leipzig, for the three-day Ancient Trance Festival in Taucha, where
Sadbhuja Prabhu and his friends set up a yurt and chanted Hare Krishna and told
stories related to self-realization for at least six hours every evening. The
second day, in addition to our evening chanting, we set up a stage and sang for
three and a halfhours in front of
downtown Leipzig metro station and advertised the upcoming Leipzig Ratha-yatra.
The third day I attended the Leipzig Sunday feast before our evening chanting
session. Then I returned to the Polish coast for two more days on the tour
before the Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (Czech Woodstock).
I share notes
from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and an excerpt from the journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I
heard many inspiring ideas from all the wonderful senior devotees speaking at
the Baltic Vaishnava Summer Festival in Lithuania. These include Bhakti Caitanya Swami, who talked about Srila Prabhupada, Niranjana Swami, B. B. Govinda Swami, Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami, who did a question and answers session,
Dhirashanta Goswami, who did a japa workshop,
Suresvara Prabhu, who talked about the position of Srila Prabhupada, and
Sarvatma Prabhu. I also have notes on a conversation with Indradyumna Swami and
on the lectures of Bada Haridas Prabhu from the Festival of India tour in
Poland. I feel exceedingly blessed to have heard so many glorious truths from
so many sincere and dedicated followers of Srila Prabhupada, and I hope you
have time to read my recounting of them and become similarly inspired.
I would like to
thank Haladhara Prabhu of Leipzig for his kind
donation. Thanks to book distributor Jayanitai Prabhu of Germany, who gave me in charity the
American dollars from his collections. Thanks to Vladimiras Maksimkinas for the
picture of Dhirashanta Goswami and me and my bead bag. Thanks to Mathura Lilapriya
for the picture of me serving prasadam at
the Baltic Summer Festival. Thanks to Nikolai Voltsihhin, who found prasadam plates work as umbrellas and
shared his picture of us using them. Thanks to Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu
for sharing his picture of us on the Polish tour bus.
Itinerary
September 13–20:
New York City Harinam
September 21–24:
Philadelphia Harinamas and Ratha-yatra
September
25–mid November: New York City Harinama
Three days in
mid November: Washington, D.C., Harinama
last two weeks
November: North Florida
December: New
York City Harinam
Festival of
India Tour in Poland
I have had a
relationship with the Festival of India in Poland for fifteen years, and it was
great to do the daily harinama program
with the devotees again and help distribute invitations to the passersby in the
towns and on the beaches of Poland’s Baltic Coast. Although there are many
distributors, I always find a few people to give invitations to that the others
missed and thus make a small contribution. I saw Indradyumna Swami providing
all kinds of opportunities for a variety of devotees from a variety of places
to engage their talents in a practical way, and it was very inspiring. I couple
devotees I know from Krishna House came on the tour this year, and I was so
happy to see how much they appreciated the experience.
The first full
day I was on the Polish tour was Monday, and for most tour devotees it is a day
of rest. Sometimes there is an evening program Monday night, but not the night
I was there. Thus I encouraged my friend Chandrashekhar Acharya Prabhu to do a kirtana in the temple room, and he and
several other devotees participated (https://youtu.be/jEVUzWtzsag):
Chandrashekhar
Acharya Prabhu used to come on the tour regularly several years back, and it
was nice to see him back this year. The English-speaking devotees on the tour
would regularly have lunch together and converse and thus we would all become
friends.
Every day
during the final kirtana devotees
dance with the guests and that has been going on for years, but this year for
the first time I saw even during the initial bhajana with Bada Haridas Prabhu, the devotee ladies danced with
some girls visiting the festival in Ustronie Morksie (https://youtu.be/6aFzDUec4zI):
One day I did
questions and answers and linked up some young students from Krakow with
details about the local programs in their area so they could follow up on their
interest in the spiritual wisdom of Bhagavad-gita.
Niechorze was
the main city we did during my brief visit to the tour. I have nice memories of
that place. One girl named Ewa (pronounced “Eva”), from a neighboring village,
attended our programs there for years. She cultivated a relationship with
Indradyumna Swami, and now she is known as Visnhu Patni Devi Dasi, and is
happily engaged in doing deity worship and prasadam
in Wroclaw. Niechorze is famous for a very conspicuous lighthouse.
On our way back
to the festival site, we passed some apartments, and the residents danced to
the sound of the Krishna kirtana (https://youtu.be/_rueX_pozxc):
From one apartment,
the residents greeted our party with upraised arms two days in a row.
Because it was
raining, our chanting party took shelter of one of our tents at our site. The kirtana continued for over an hour in
the tent, and Indradyumna Swami himself led for part of the time.
The faces of the devotees beamed in happiness.
It was so
dynamic that people would come and watch. Some of them would get caught up in
the dancing, as you can see in this video (https://youtu.be/pYTeAMCfVYM):
Here are a couple people who enjoyed encountering that chanting party and got caught up in moving with the music.
One time when
it wasn’t raining in Niechorze, we chanted in front of our stage after
returning from chanting at the beach (https://youtu.be/boXDMzAex3Y):
After five days
on the tour, I had to leave to go to the Baltic Vaishnava Summer Festival in
Lithuania, but later, after that festival and the Ancient Trance Festival, I
joined the tour for two more days.
Baltic Vaishnava
Summer Festival in Lithuania
I am very
grateful to Anton of Latvia, who kindly drove 13 km to pick me up from the
closest public bus stop to our festival site. I met him at the festival in a
previous year, when he served as a free taxi, driving devotees between the
spread out buildings at another venue.
Bhakti Swarupa Caitanya Swami is from Lithuania, and I have seen him at this festival
every year, once traveling with him and some Estonian brahmacaris for a couple days in
Poland before he took sannyasa. He
greeted me with such affection it was very heart warming.
Bhakti Caitanya
Swami is the main leader behind the festival.
The devotees took pleasure in
offering him a cake for his birthday. He enthusiastically cut pieces of cake
for all in attendance.
We had mangala-arati in the festival tent.
In the back of the room, one devotee accompanied the singing with a violin.
B. B. Govinda
Swami and Akincana Krishna Prabhu were a kirtana
team at the Vaishnava Summer Festival in Lithuania. Here B. B. Govinda Swami,
having given the lead to Akincana Krishna Prabhu, leads the devotees in dancing
(https://youtu.be/GsaFE4yQUxY):
Niranjana Swami
invited me to live in the New York temple back in 1979, and I owe my
opportunity to come to appreciate Krishna consciousness largely to him. He is
steady in his service and his following of the teachings of Srila Prabhupada,
and he can inspire other people to be faithful. I come to this festival
primarily to see and hear from him, and you can find my notes on his and the
others’ lectures in the “Insights” section below.
I felt I should
offer to do some service, so I offered to serve out lunch prasadam.
It felt nice to connect with the devotees in this way.
Water splashed
down on my computer twice from a leak in the festival tent roof, as I was
taking notes on the lectures. The first time I thought it was just rain that
had accumulated overnight, and I dried off my computer with the end of my dhoti and kept going, but then it
happened again. I probably should have stopped using the computer in its
dampened condition, but I was so attached to taking notes, I continued after
drying it off again. Later, the next two times I booted up the computer, it
worked for a while, and then it crashed. When I plugged the power cable into
it, the red light that indicates it is charging did not even come on, and then
when I tried to boot it up, it would not even make the sound it usually does,
what to speak of actually booting up. The festival was an hour away from any
city with a computer repair place, and because the computer is so useful to me,
I was in great anxiety. I put it in the sun, I put it near a heater, and I
prayed like anything to Krishna that He fix it. I thought of how Krishna is all
knowing and all powerful, and that He is all merciful. I considered how it is
He who gives computer repair people the intelligence to fix computers from
within the heart.I wanted to make good
use of the computer on my 17-hour bus ride to Berlin after the festival, and I needed
it fixed. My computer would not boot up for four days! On the final
morning of the festival, the day of my Berlin bus, it amazingly booted up, and it
was in almost perfect working order. The only damage is the “delete” key does
not work, but there are ways around that. I am so grateful that despite my
stupidity in using the dampened computer, Krishna arranged that it still works
and no data was lost. Only my notes are less detailed as I had to type them
into my cell phones while the computer was inactive, and I cannot do that as
quickly.
In addition to
the computer challenge, my room at the festival site was a twenty-minute walk
away, and the path was not illuminated. It rained a lot, and you had to try to
avoid the puddles in the dim light. Occasionally devotees would drive by, and
almost always mercifully offer a ride.
There was three
hours of kirtana every night, and for
me the presence of B. B. Govinda Swami made it extra special. I got to love his
kirtanas when he came on the Polish
Woodstock for several years, but he has not been coming recently there, and I
miss his joyous kirtanas greatly.
Despite so many
challenges, the lecturers made so many inspiring points, I felt it was all more
than worth it.
The Ancient
Trance Festival in Taucha (Leipzig)
Traveling preacher
Sadbhuja Prabhu does kirtana and
Pradyumna Prabhu of Leipzig distributes prasadam
at the Ancient Trance Festival in Taucha (Leipzig) each year.
Sadbhuja Prabhu
sets up a yurt, has a bon fire, and does at least six hours of kirtana every evening for the three days
of the festival.
Lots of alternative people enjoy meditating on the transcendental sound or chanting along.
I remembered
how I would stand at the back of our Mantra Yoga tent at the Polish Woodstock,
handing out mantra cards to people who delighted in chanting and dancing with
us, and I decided to do the same in our kirtana
tent at the Ancient Trance festival, passing out invitations to the
upcoming Leipzig Ratha-yatra.
Once Sangita
Devi Dasi sang and played harmonium, Sadbhuja Prabhu played a two-headed
drum, and Lotus, just turning five years old, a member of our ISKCON Leipzig
congregation, played the djembe (https://youtu.be/CaffWihfwSY):
I never saw
such a small girl play the djembe before.
Saturday afternoon the devotees had got permission to do kirtana in downtown Leipzig, and we set up near a metro station, chanting for 3½ hours.
We had a book table there.
We also invited passersby to the Leipzig Ratha-yatra, coming up in a couple weeks.
Sunday
afternoon I decided to go with Gopati Prabhu, who loves to chant Hare Krishna kirtana, to the Leipzig Sunday feast as
our kirtanas at the Ancient Trance
festival were mostly after 6 p.m.
I was happy to
see Jaya, who is a native of Krishna’s birthplace, Mathura, and who we saw
twice on harinama last month, inviting
him to the temple and the Ratha-yatra. It is so nice when the people we invite
to the temple actually come. Of course, someone from a holy place, like
Mathura, one would expect to have the intelligence to grab a spiritual
opportunity. He seemed very happy to be at the program, and stayed until most
of the devotees had already left.
One of three
girls from Greece, who were all friends and spending a year in Leipzig, took
great pleasure in dancing to our chanting. She was very happy to accept a
Ratha-yatra invitation.
As I returned
to our kirtana tent from a prasadam break, I met a couple who had
participated in the kirtana. The girl
especially loved to chant our mantra. She was from Portugal but living near
Antwerp, and I told her we had devotees there who met regularly and had a annual
Ratha-yatra festival. I also told her about our castle in Belgium, and the
Radhadesh Mellows chanting festival there the last week of January.
One lady, whose
face lit up with a continous smile from hearing the kirtana, accepted an invitation to our Hamburg temple, as she is
from there, and to our Berlin temple, as she visits there often.
I could see I
played an important role in telling people about how they could continue
developing their attachment for Hare Krishna kirtana and its spiritual blessings, and I was happy to participate
again in the Ancient Trance Festival in Taucha, six kilometers northeast of
Leipzig.
Back on the
Polish Tour Again
Because I was
invited by Indradyumna Swami to spend a week on the tour each year, and I had only
spent five days, and because I had some free time in my schedule, I returned to
the Polish festival tour. One friend doubted the wisdom in this, and I
reflected upon that and shared my thoughts with my Facebook friends, “I spent two days on the Polish festival tour. It cost me about an extra $25 and perhaps ten hours of travel, but to go on two 4-hour harinamas with 60 enthusiastic devotees, to distribute dozens of invitations to a festival where thousands will take pleasure in hearing about Krishna, to have lunch with Indradyumna Swami, and hear his wisdom and his kirtanas, as well as those of Bada Haridas Prabhu, and to meet many friends, who are beautiful souls dedicated to sharing the culmination of the Vedic spiritual wisdom with others, it was certainly worth it.”
I arrived on
Monday, and because it was a rest day for the tour, it was difficult to find a
ride from the Kołobrzeg train station to our base in Siemyśl. I was not so
worried, as I knew enough Polish to understand if I waited for an hour and a
half or so, I could take a bus that ran every weekday except holidays. Only one
thing, I did not know August 15 was a holiday in Poland! I did not want to
pester the devotees about giving me a ride, so I decided to walk to the end of
town, and try hitchhiking for half an hour and see how I did. The first person
who stopped was going to Szczecin, and had I known enough Polish, I would have
suggested he take me toward Szczecin until the road for Siemyśl turned off, but
he decided not to take me at all. The second person to stop was a lady. I do
not like to ride with ladies traveling alone as it is not recommended for
monks, but I was tired of hitchhiking. She did not know where Siemyśl was, and
I could not describe it very well. Moreover she had an appointment she had to
keep. She decided to meet up with the rest of her family, and have her husband,
who did know where Siemyśl was, direct her. She explained that day was a
holiday in connection with Mary, and so I understood why the last bus to Siemyśl
had never come. I tried to think of something positive to say about Mary, and
so I said that it is progressive that Christianity contains the idea of divine
females, which you do not find in every tradition. I am not sure how much she
appreciated that. The rest of the family did not know much English, and I did
not know enough Polish to have a meaningful conversation with them. I think
they thought I was just a part of a strange sect, but they were pious enough to
want to help someone in a difficult situation, and I was grateful for that. I
offered them a book and some prasadam, but
they not interested and were happy just to drop me off perhaps 50 meters from
the school that was our base and be on their way. Kołobrzeg is the biggest city by far of all those beach resorts where the tour performs. We did four hours of harinama each day to advertise the festival, even when it rained. Many onlookers delighted in joining the dancing devotees as you can see in this video (https://youtu.be/6fM9oSfPMBo):
We would pass
apartment houses, and many people would come out on their verandas to watch.
During the
final kirtana each evening on the
Festival of India tour in Poland, in which Indradyumna Swami is the leader
singer, guests often dance with the devotees as here in Kołobrzeg (https://youtu.be/WwFO3FnpJFM):
Although the
devotees were tired from so many weeks on the tour, there was still some
enthusiasm to dance during Bada Haridas Prabhu’s ecstatic Guru Puja kirtana the final morning of my visit(https://youtu.be/kfTB2gyk0yc):
The final day I
was on the tour, I had lunch with Indradyumna Swami, and I share some of what
he said under “Insights” below.
Funny Photos
As we were
waiting to wash our plates outside at the Baltic festival, it rained, and Nikolai
Voltsihhin, the person ahead of me in line, used his plate as an umbrella to
keep the rain off his head.
It seemed like a good idea, so I tried it, and he
took a picture of both of us with his camera, while balancing his plate on his
head. Progressive people are seeking lower technology that does not threaten the environment.
At
the Ancient Trance Festival, someone had a blender that was powered by a
bicycle, a creative idea.
To see photos I did not include in this
issue, click on the link below:
From a class on
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.39 in Los Angeles
on May 1, 1973:
Why not see God
in the way God directs you to see Him?
Even a ordinary
man in a big position you cannot see in your own way, what to speak of God.
If your mind is
absent, despite having your eyes, you cannot see. Thus the mind is the center
of the senses.
From a class on
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.40 in Los Angeles
on May 2, 1973:
The
nonvegetarian tiger may eat once in a week, with great difficulty, while the
vegetarian animals get some grass to eat every day.
You cannot live
on meat alone. You have one little piece of meat on your plate, along with some
vegetables, and for that little piece of meat, you are willing to perform so
many sinful activities.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami:
From a Facebook
post the evening of August 16, 2016:
“Radha-Govinda
reciprocate with me.
Radha-Govinda,
You are perfect
in all respects.You have perfect
beauty and
perfect love for each other.
You have
compassion
for all living
beings.
Although Your
association is very rare,
it is
attainable to anyone
who chants ‘Radha’
and ‘Krishna’
with love.
Anyone who
loves
Your personal
attendants
gets guaranteed
mercy from You.
That person is
the most fortunate person
in the world
because if a pure devotee
of
Radha-Krishna recommends
you to Them, They
will appear before you
and offer any
benediction.
All glories to
the Divine Couple!
All glories to
Their confidential servants!
All glories to
the servants of the servants.
I am grateful
Radha-Govinda
reside with me
in Viraha Bhavan.”
Bhakti Caitanya Swami:
This
is a seminar on remembering Srila Prabhupada. We will not have an exam on this
seminar. The exam will be at the time of death. Then we will see how well we
remember Srila Prabhupada.
Once
they had top-level professional dancers perform at the Los Angeles temple for
the Sunday Feast. A devotee showed photos of the event to Srila Prabhupada and
was glorifying them. Srila Prabhupada said, “But the dancers had their backs to
the deities.” The devotee heard that but continued saying how wonderful the
event was. Srila Prabhupada repeated, “But the dancers had their backs to the
deities.” The devotee then understood Prabhupada was very concerned about it.
He said, “The GBC, Jaya Tirtha, said it was OK.” Srila Prabhupada said, “Rupa
Goswami says we must never have our backs to the deities, yet Jaya Tirtha says
it is alright. The problem in ISKCON is we have too many big, big authorities.”
Srila
Prabhupada was the first devotee I saw. I was walking across the university
campus, and I heard the jingling of bells, I turned around, and I saw Srila
Prabhupada walking. To either side of him, perhaps just under a meter away, a
beautiful young lady in a sari was dancing and offering flowers at his feet. It
seemed to me like a scene from heaven. Behind Srila Prabhupada was a group of
perhaps six or seven devotees. I knew Hare Krishna because George Harrision
made a recording of “Hare Krishna” that made the top of the pops, and thus I
recognized the singing.
From
that day, my life changed drastically. When I would walk around, I would see
people, and I would consider that all of them were wasting their lives.
I
was a member of the surfing community. Russell Hughes gave Spider, a prominent
surfer, a massive “Simply Wonderful” and told him to have all the surfers in
Sydney take a bite. When that “Simply Wonderful” reached me, it had hundreds of
bites out of it, I had doubts about taking a bite, but I felt obliged, so I
did.
Later
I moved to England, and I went to an occult bookstore, and was looking at the
different books, and was reminded of the Hare Krishnas, and I asked the
bookstore owner if he knew where to find the Hare Krishnas, and he said , “They
are right around the corner.” I went to the temple and met the temple
president, Dhananjaya Prabhu, who it turns out that I was related to. He
invited me to live in the temple as a guest, saying that I did not have to make
a commitment, and so I did.
Later
Prabhupada came to visit Bhaktivedanta Manor. We were down offering obeisances
to Srila Prabhupada. The devotee next to me reached out and touched Srila
Prabhupada’s feet. He turned to me and encouraged me to do the same. I was a
little further away, but I tried. Srila Prabhupada was surrounded by a big sannyasi, Brahmananda Swami, who had a
big stick, and lowered the stick on my hand, and I pulled it back. The devotee
next to me encouraged me again, and this time I was successful. Perhaps that is
why this guest is still around today.
A
devotee asked Srila Prabhupada, “Is there a difference if we make a mistake in
the temple or when we are out preaching?” Srila Prabhupada said if you are
preaching and distributing books, Krishna will immediately take away the
reaction.
One
devotee asked Srila Prabhupada what to say in distributing his books. Srila
Prabhupada picked up a book, walked over to the devotee, and put the book in
his hand, and said, “My dear sir, you look very intelligent. You are the most
intelligent person I have met all day. I just have one request to you. ‘Give up
all your nonsense, and read this book.’”
One
devotee read from The Nectar of Devotion how
chanting the holy name frees one from other offenses, but if you commit the ten
offenses against the holy name you cannot be delivered. The devotee asked if there was some way
someone could be free from these offenses. Srila Prabhupada said, “You are
planning to make offenses and want some easy way to get free from offenses.”
In
Bury Place, regarding Radha-Londonisvara, Srila Prabhupada said, “I have
captured Krishna, and I am holding Him here for you. Please come take Him.”
Tribhuvananatha
Prabhu said sometimes we feel some difficulty in devotional service. Srila
Prabhupada replied that it was an expression of Krishna’s love. Just like
sometimes in a couple having strong feelings for each other, one may actually
bite the other.
One
of the devotees excitedly told Srila Prabhupada that a guard from Buckingham
Palace had become a devotee, and Srila Prabhupada replied, “And what about the
queen?”
Srila
Prabhupada told me that reciting the obeisances to the Vaishnavas daily, from
the heart, relieves one from accidental offenses to the devotees.
Malati
said to Srila Prabhupada, “You say that if we simply chant 16 rounds and follow
the four rules we will go back to Godhead, but that seems too easy. Is it
true?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Do you think I would cheat you?”
In
the 1970s I was distributing books in Birmingham, and by 4 p.m. I had not
distributed one book. I decided to pray to Srila Prabhupada, “I am trying to
distribute your books for your pleasure without concern for myself. Please help
me.” Then using the same lines I had used all day, I sold one book and then
another. I decided that Krishna must be pleased with my mentality so I decided
to become more fixed in it. In half an hour, I distributed ten books in a row.
From then on we would distribute 100 books a day, or on a bad day, at least 80
books. We had a saying, “A hundred books a day keeps maya away.”
If
we grasp the importance of Srila Prabhupada’s mission, we can make a
contribution for the betterment of the world.
Prahlada
Maharaja asks Lord Nrsimha how his extremely materialistic mind which is never
satisfied by hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord can actually come to
the point of having a taste for it. Srila Prabhupada emphatically declares in
the purport that by chanting the holy name one’s mind will become purified and
come to that point.
Different
misconceptions sometimes arise among devotees, such as, “If I become
psychologically balanced then I can chant Hare Krishna.” By astrological
analysis, by palm reading, by reading tea leaves, etc., one will not bring his mind
under control.
In this
connection, Prabhupada quotes the “harer
nama” verse which stresses three times that only by chanting the holy name can one attain success.
Even varnasrama when it is not connected to
Krishna can lead one to hell.
Lord Caitanya,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has come to give us the chanting of the
Hare Krishna mantra.
Visvanatha
Cakravati Thakura says in his Madhurya-kadambini
that certain mode of goodness activities, like vegetarianism, although they
cannot awaken Krishna consciousness on their own, can act as doors through
which Krishna consciousness can come. One has to be very careful, however, that
such activities do not deviate ourselves from our focus on Krishna.
One South
Africa artist who was a staunch vegan for twelve years was encouraged by a
devotee to come to the Sunday feast. After tolerating the lecture, when the
feast came, she found everything that was not deep fried was covered with cream
and sour cream, and she did not eat a thing. Somehow the devotee was able to
inspire her to come again, and she ultimately became a nice devotee.
Chanting the
holy names is the first step in getting a taste for relishing the pastimes of
the Lord.
Jiva Goswami
says the mind of the conditioned souls is absorbed in thinking how much they
enjoyed sense gratification in the past and how much they will enjoy sense
gratification in the future, and thus they have no opportunity to act in the
present for their ultimate self-interest. Actually the sense gratification was
not so great, but maya makes it seem
as if it was, and thus they continue to aspire for it.
There was a
certain wildness in the early days of the Hare Krishna movement. Tribhuvanatha
Prabhu joined when he was just eighteen years old. We had few devotees, and one
year most of them decided to go to India, including the temple president.
Tribhuvanatha Prabhu, in alarm, asked the temple president who was going to be
in charge while he was gone, and the temple president told him that he could be
in charge. During that time, the BBC decided to interview the Hare Krishna
leaders in England for national TV. Tribhuvanatha’s family did not know he had
become a Hare Krishna, and there he was, shaven-headed, on national TV, as the
leader of the Hare Krishnas in England.
Niranjana Swami:
Could
I have half a glass of water? No, that is full cup. If I drink that, I will
pour it all over myself.
If
we try by restraint alone to control the senses, it will be easy for them to
become attracted to sense pleasure.
Our
process is simultaneously restraining and purifying the senses.
The
senses require some taste because the senses exist to taste. The different
senses taste different sense objects.
Unless
an attempt is made to purify the senses they can never be controlled.
Commenting
on the famous verse “smartayah satatam
vishnor vismartayah na jatucit . . .”Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura suggests that “satatam” does not mean “at every moment” but rather “every day.” He
considers it a verse for one practicing devotional service, and for one in the
practicing stage, continuous remembrance is not possible and attempting it
would be frustrating.
Bhakti-yoga begins with faith in bhakti.
The
aspiring devotee knows that material desires lead to suffering, although he cannot
give them up immediately, but he does not use material means to free himself
from the suffering they cause, because he is engaged in something higher, the
path of devotional service, which frees one from such suffering.
A
devotee does not have the inclination to unfavorable things to the extent that
he has for bhakti, which he has just
started, and he will not give up his faith in bhakti for anything.
The
devotee does not try to feel good about his materialistic activities because he
knows there is no real happiness there. Thus he hears about Krishna with faith,
aspiring to come to the point of experiencing the higher taste.
There
are three categories of faith in bhakti:
1.Those
opposed to bhakti.
2.Those
without faith in bhakti.
3.Those
who have faith in bhakti.
Vidura
laments for those opposed to bhakti
and joyously glorifies those with faith in bhakti.
The
threshold of bhakti is when one
develops exclusive faith in hearing about bhakti.
Without regulated hearing about bhakti,
it is very difficult to purify the senses.
On
this 50th anniversary of ISKCON, let us celebrate what Srila
Prabhupada gave us, this process of purifying the senses by hearing and
chanting about Krishna, and not something Prabhupada that did not give us.
If
we do not purify our senses by hearing and chanting of Krishna every day, it
will not be possible to bring our senses under control. But even if we cannot
hear and chant about Krishna every day, and our senses do go out of control,
the devotee knows his only hope in controlling his senses is bhakti, and so he never abandons the
path.
My
disciples know that the friendship of my godbrothers means more than anything
to me.
Prabhupada
says in a Sri Caitanya-caritamrita
purport that an awakening of taste for devotional service is synonymous with
receiving the bhakti lata bija (the
seed of the creeper of devotion).
I
first got a book, then I met the devotees, but I was both first and second
initiated before I actually met Srila Prabhupada. Thus my first experience of
Krishna consciousness was of Srila Prabhupada’s books and temples.
Srila
Prabhupada created the temples so people could live in the association of
devotees and so people could come and hear about Krishna.
There
is famous letter from Prabhupada to Karandhara in 1972 where he stressed
inviting people to regularly come to the temples and hear about Krishna rather
than making devotees because by regularly hearing one will voluntarily take up
the practice of devotional service.
I
got Bhagavad-gita at bookstore in
Washington D.C. I worked as carpenter and would read it every day after work.
When I finished it I ordered the Bhagavatam
and The Nectar of Devotion and read
them every day after work. I moved to New England and decided to visit the
Boston temple. I traveled 100 miles from Cape Cod.I could not find it. I tried again some weeks
later. That time I found it, and I waited outside the building for some time,
looking at the sign, but I was too apprehensive to go in, and I returned home.
Then next time I had the courage to go in. The devotees greeted me, talked to
me, and gave me prasadam whenever I
would visit.
Srila
Prabhupada told a female reporter the dress was not required but that the
devotees dress in that way so others will remember Krishna.
One
of Srila Prabhupada’s wonderful qualities is his complete consciousness of all
detail in his service to his guru's mission, and that is something we can learn
from.
[Adding
to an answer given by another devotee:] “Domestic violence should never be
tolerated in the name of submission to one’s husband.”
Cooperation
is difficult in Kali-yuga. This is because of anarthas and the false ego. False ego is hard to get past as it is
the largest covering. We must try to restrain ourselves before the purifying
result of Krishna consciousness is attained.
Devotional
service begins when we have faith in the process of purification.
The
trouble arises when people who have not yet begun imagine they have progressed
beyond the beginning.
If
everyone admits he is a beginner, then they can begin to cooperate under the
leadership of one among them who is more solidly situated.
Srila
Prabhupada explained it is duty of the servant to relieve the anxiety of the
master.
Because
we are conditioned we tend not to take pleasure in the success of others. Until
we become purified, at least we can restrain ourselves from criticizing them.
We
cannot become pure by intellectual adjustment or by restraint but by
association with the pure.
One
should hear the glories of the holy name in the revealed scriptures from the
mouths of pure devotees.
If
we experience some ecstatic emotion, it may or not be genuine. Even it is
genuine, we should not think it indicates our advancement but rather the mercy
of the devotees.
B. B. Govinda Swami:
By
following the instructions of the Six Goswamis all conceivable impediments to
devotional service can be destroyed.
We
are constantly fearful because of bodily identification.
My
brother, who is ten years younger than me, became very wealthy. Yet in his mid
fifties he got a massive stroke and now he is paralyzed.
In
1965 Srila Prabhupada offered to his godbrothers that they could be in charge
of the preaching in America and he would serve them, but they were not
interested.
After
Niranjana Swami and I had read Sri
Caitanya-caritmrita for several hours and were swimming in bliss, he asked
me what the greatest contribution of Srila Prabhupada was. I said he spread the
holy name all over the world and gave people the chance to take to bhakti. He
listened and added, “Not only did he give the holy name, but he created a net
composed of festivals, books, deity worship, restaurants, self-sufficient farm
communities, etc.”
I
was a cook, and I learned to make the preps that Prabhupada told us Krishna
liked. We wanted to preserve the culture that Srila Prabhupada gave us because
we were convinced it was the best culture.
In
the Gaudiya Matha the title Bhaktivedanta was like Ph.D. and was given to those
who really know the sastra (revealed
literature). Prabhupada got that title as a householder.
To
preserve Srila Prabhupada’s legacy read his books and follow his instructions.
We
are at the stage of life where we are in the departure lounge, waiting for them
to call our flight.
In
1967 when Srila Prabhupada was in the hospital he wrote a friend in Delhi,
asking him to procure some Ayurvedic medicine. In the letter he said he was not
afraid of death, but he did not want to die as he had not yet executed the
mission of his spiritual master.
Bhakti
Caitanya Swami is very scholarly and a great speaker. He has a great love for
Vrindavan.
Indradyumna Swami:
From
a conversation over lunch:
[The
day I left the Polish festival tour, Indradyumna Swami kindly sat down on the
bench I was sitting on to take lunch with me. I was telling him I was going to
the Czech Woodstock, and he told me the story of his visiting Czechoslovakia
before the revolution ending communist rule there, and I share it with you
here.]
Indradyumna
Swami said in 1989 he was traveling with B. B. Govinda Swami in Czechoslovakia.
They noticed that five secret policemen were following them wherever they went.
On the trains the secret policemen would sit together, two or three rows away.
Indradyumna Swami decided to visit the farm the devotees had there. Soon after
they arrived, the five secret policemen also arrived, pretending they were
interested in Krishna consciousness. They listened to Indradyumna Swami give
class, and Maharaja mentioned that he was in the U.S. Marines, but that he got
an honorable discharge because he did not want to kill the communist Viet Cong,
all of which was true. The secret policeman wanted to stay overnight. The
temple president did not want to upset them by saying no, so he said they had a
condition that anyone who wanted to stay had to do some work. Thus he engaged
them in digging trenches in the garden from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Then they had
lunch. Indradyumna Swami made sure they got some maha-prasadam. The temple president explained the purpose of the
work was to teach them humility, and that because they were not yet sufficiently
humble, they would have to do more work in the afternoon. They did end up
staying overnight, but they left before mangala-arati.
Apparently they had had enough. Indradyumna Swami and B. B. Govinda Swami
stayed there for a week, and they did not see the secret policeman anymore on
the farm. When they continued on their journey through Czechoslovakia to either
Yugoslavia or Bulgaria, they again would see those five men following them all
the way to the Czechoslovakian border. Indradyumna Swami also spontaneously told me that he has no objection to Krishna West. As long as they wear respectable clothing it is alright. He mentioned he has a couple of nice suits.
Bhakti Virambha Madhava Swami:
Q: Tell me
about the Radha Damodara Party . . . and Vishnujana Maharaja.
A: He was cool.
The party was called Vijaya’s Raiders in the beginning. Everyone kept their
belongings in BTG boxes.
On
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami’s appearance day in Atlanta three busloads,
80 brahmacaris, took darsana of Srila Prabhupada. He said,
“My guru liked brahmacaris. If you
get married you will have to get an apartment and so much trouble. You preach,
and you can pray to Krishna, and Krishna can make the itching sensation [sex
life] go away. There was 10 seconds of silence. You could hear a pin drop. Then
he repeated that. And then he said, but if it does not go away, you can get
married like them and he pointed to two householders who did not have a particularly
happy experience in married life.
But in 1972, he
said, “I am not sanctioning anymore marriages.” He had such a bad experience
of the husband and wife splitting up instead of living peacefully together as
devotees.
Q (by me): How
did you get captivated byDeity
service?
A: I started
deity worship in 1974. Some people are pujaris
by nature, and they cannot help but do that service because that is how
they establish their relationship with the Lord.
Q: How do you
establish a relationship with Gaura-Nitai?
A: Vamsidas
Babaji was asked that, and he just said, “Call out.”
When the person
asked him further, he said, “Call out more.”
When we call
out to the deities, They reciprocate.
Our business is
to love and serve all the devotees, because even the best devotees start out
small.
Seva aparadhas, offenses in service,are natural for one engaged in service,
but if one serves caranamrita and prasadam to the devotees, the Lord will
tolerate his offenses.
A devotee cross
references whatever knowledge he receives from others from within the heart,
with the sastra [the revealed
scriptures],guru, and sadhus [community of saints], and if you cannot do that with some
knowledge, then assume it is mental speculation. If it is for real, then
Paramatma [the Lord in the heart] will give it to you again.
To serve
Krishna in your spiritual form is immortality.
There is
spiritual liberation and material liberation. Material liberation is when the
children are asleep. [Laughter.]
What
is your attitude toward politics? One guru told his disciple, “When you see
politics, run the other away.”
What
do you think about Christ’s statement that He is the only way? It was meant for
his forum and is fine for that, but that is not for our forum.
Sometimes
we worked so hard during the book distribution marathon we fell asleep while
taking prasadam.
Srila
Prabhupada hated it when people fell asleep in his classes.
Bhakti
Tirtha Swami told me two ways of studying: Topicwise and bookwise.
According
to Hari-bhakti-vilasa, you can fast
on behalf of others but you cannot eat or sleep on their behalf.
Is
it better to chant the holy name and study the sastra or to work on becoming free from egoism? Do both, but do not
let your anarthas stop you from
chanting the holy name.
You
should open your heart to senior devotees who you love and trust and who are
local.
We
are made of the mercy of the devotees. By the mercy of the devotees we are
here.
You
should glorify people in public and find fault with devotees behind closed
doors with people competent to deal with it.
Even
if your constructive criticism is correct, if the person does not follow it,
what is the benefit?
If
you want a nice Govardhan parikrama, do
not do it between Ekadasi and the following Purnima.
The
devotee prays to the Lord, “Do what you want with me. Just bring me to Your
lotus feet.”
One
sannyasi said, “There is no utility in negativity.”
Narottama
Das Thakura says in his Prema-bhakti
candrika all he wants in his mind is the instructions of guru, sadhu, and sastra and nothing else.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.43 is a great verse
for book distributors for it expresses the devotee’s attitude of mercy:
“O
best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence,
for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and
activities. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making
elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families,
societies and countries. I am simply concerned with love for them.”
There
are prayers by Sani, the Lord of the Saturn planet, to Lord Nrsimha, which are
powerful to counteract negativity.
Prasada is very powerful. Who
argues with a samosa? Who fights with a sweet ball?
The
joke about marriage compatibility is that just because he loves Krishna and she
loves Krishna does not mean he loves her [or she loves him].
Dhirashanta Goswami:
Niranjana
Swami once told me to be careful of my translators. I asked him why I should be
careful of my translators. He said because you do not know what they are
saying.
When
I do japa workshops I put my chair at
the level of the audience because the workshop is also for me.
In
the 1980s some devotees came out with a reggae song about chanting the holy
name. [He repeated the lines. Two that struck me were:
“You do not have to care what other people
think.
For they don’t care if you swim or sink.”]
Japa is the activity that brings us up from the modes of nature
and allows us to become transcendental.
[Dhirashanta Goswami has
an exercise whereby he claims he can prove that chanting Hare Krishna is very
easy. He has the ladies stand on their toes and put their arms in the air, and
he has the guys stand on one leg, bring their other leg up to their knee, and
put their hands above their heads. He says that is an austerity done in
Satya-yuga. But Kali-yuga we can get the same benefit by chanting Hare Krishna.
After a few minutes of having the audience stand in those positions, he asks
again, “Is chanting Hare Krishna easy?” Everyone agrees it is.]
Our attitude is a
problem we can have in japa, that we
have to do it alone, that we have to do it at all. It can be a struggle. If we
can change our attitude alone, that can really transform our japa.
We are not our bodies
but spirit souls, and our soul is just waiting for us to take shelter of the
holy name. The soul says, “It has been so many lifetimes since I have chanted
the holy name of the Lord, and now I have this great opportunity. I cannot wait
for tomorrow’s japa session.”
The mind is such a
rascal it will not allow us to chant.
I have many japa affirmations. Here are three:
1.Lord
Caitanya is allowing me to chant Hare Krishna.
2.I
want to chant Hare Krishna.
3.I
love to chant Hare Krishna.
Even in two weeks of
chanting, your life becomes transformed. You have seen it yourself. Imagine
after twenty or thirty years!
Q: Why does the mind
object to the chanting of the holy name?
A: The mind is very
familiar with our service to it. It does not appreciate our changing our object
of service to Krishna.
In the boxing
championship, they have twelve rounds, and we have sixteen. We are in one side
of the boxing ring, and our mind is in the other. Every time we say Krishna
with sincerity, it is a left hook to the mind.
Q:
What should we do on Ekadasi?
A:
We are all individuals. It is not that I can say what we should all do on
Ekadasi. For you, who have been a devotee for two years, chant sixteen rounds,
fast till noon, and eat as much as you want. Can I chant a little more japa? Sure.
Q:
How to get strong faith in the holy name and not lose it?
A:
It develops gradually as we chant Hare Krishna. It has become a fashion to do
the impossible before one does the simple.
One
disciple asked Srila Prabhupada for his blessings to go to Radha Kund and chant
sixty-four rounds there. Srila Prabhupada said no, there are already so many
monkeys there.
We
want to chant Hare Krishna happily and be ourselves. Maybe later we will be
able to do something miraculous.
Usually
when asked about overpopulation, Srila Prabhupada would say that from his
travels by plane it did not seem to him the earth was overpopulated. Once,
however, he said, “Yes, the world is overpopulated. No one is going back to
Godhead. There is no upward mobility.”
Once
Srila Prabhupada said that Mayapur is our home, and there are only two reasons
to live in the west, to preach and to engage in sense gratification.
The
best time to sleep is between 9 p.m and 3 a.m.If one gets no sleep from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., he gets no deep sleep. If
one gets no sleep between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. he will have no energy. If one
gets no sleep between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. he will be emotionally unbalanced. Any
doctor will say that the rest one gets before midnight counts double.
Affirmations:
“I
easily chant my 16 rounds with focus and attention.”
“I
chant from my heart.”
“I
chant to repair my broken relationship with Krishna.”
“I
organize my life to make japa the
most important activity of my day.”
We
must prepare to chant japa with a
clean japa bag and a sacred space to
chant in.
[Dhirashanta
Goswami asked all the devotees to put their bead bags on the table in front of
him, and he inspected them, one by one, giving them a grade, mostly based on
cleanliness.
Some ladies, I recall, got 10 out of 10. I was apprehensive as I
knew I had not washed my bead bag for over two weeks. I had gone on the Czech
Woodstock, done harinamas in Berlin
and Leipzig, and gone on the Polish tour since I had washed my bead bag in
Berlin.
He gave me an embarrassing 4 out of 10, and had me come up and claim my
bead bag, as he had with the others. I am going to try to be much more diligent
in washing my bead bag from now on.]
If
your parents object to your altar get a portable altar.
We
let the mind wander because of our inattention.
To
improve japa, first we must be
conscious that our mind has wandered. Then
we have the chance to bring it back. If we do, that is our victory. Harinama
Prabhu is very conscious of our japa,
and He rewards us.
Once
guests were served dry khichri cooked
by a hired cook. Srila Prabhupada accused the devotees of trying to undo what
he had begun. He said he was just trying to represent Lord Caitanya. He said
the next day they should have five opulent preparations. If they did not enough
money he would give them some from his book fund.
When
I first came to the Sunday Feast, I found the chanting too loud and philosophy
over my head, but the food was great, and I came every week. After awhile,
seeing I liked the food, the temple president invited me for lunch as well, and
I happily accepted his invitation. After some weeks, one evening my tongue
spontaneously chanted Hare Krishna for several hours. I mentioned to the
devotees I unexpectedly found myself chanting their mantra and I wondered why.
They explained the food was prasadam
and because it was nondifferent from Krishna it had purified my tongue, and so
I was able to chant Hare Krishna.
Suresvara Prabhu:
One
should not easily reject one’s guru. Just like one’s parents are always one’s
parents no matter what happens. Still sometimes it is better if we are
separated from our parents or if they are separated from us. But if we are
separated from our guru, we still need shelter. Thus we should consult with
senior devotees we have faith in about what to do in our specific case. The
phenomenon of reinitiation has become prominent because of too much emphasis on
the diksa-guru. That has to come to
be more in balance.
If
you have some difficulty with your guru, then give it time, consult with other
gurus, and decide how to proceed.
There
are no more than a hundred gurus in ISKCON, but Srila Prabhupada indicated we
need many, many more.
Q:
Some people think if they just follow the instructions, they do not have to
take initiation.
A:
One of the instructions is that one should take initiation. In The Nectar of Devotion, Srila Rupa
Goswami says that one must accept a guru and many of the first ten instructions
he gives deal with how to act in relationship with the guru. An important part
of initiation is accepting vows, and if one is not willing to accept vows, that
indicates his faith has not developed. As AA has a 12-step process for becoming
sober, Rupa Goswami has a nine-step process for attain love of God [sraddha, sadhu-sanga, . . . , prema].
Step three is bhajana-kriya, which
involves accepting the guru.
Once
in response to a question as to which bhagavata
is more important, the book or the person, Srila Prabhupada explained the
person is more important because the person bhagavata
can pull your ear. He can make you hear.
At
a Vyasa-puja lecture, in talking to reporters and guests, Srila Prabhupada
presented that the guru is like the dog of God. He ended, “It is very hard to
please Krishna directly, but it is very easy to please me.” One devotee asked,
“How can we please you?” and Srila Prabhupada replied, “Chant Hare Krishna.”
Then there was a big kirtana, which
ended the meeting.
In
1965 Srila Prabhupada wrote several godbrothers asking them to work conjointly
to spread Lord Caitanya's message in the west, but no one was willing. Thus he
realized he had to start his own institution.
Srila
Prabhupada realized his godbrothers would be unable to help his disciples as
they were unable to help him, so he warned his disciples not to take shelter of
them. He explained to his disciples that his guru had wanted all the
godbrothers to cooperate, but they had failed to. Still because they had not
given up preaching the message of Krishna, they should be respected.
Srila
Prabhupada asked his temple presidents to have temple stationery with
"International Society for Krishna Consciousness / Founder-acarya A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada"
Q:
What is the future of ISKCON?
A:
That depends on us. The Gaudiya Matha had an excellent opportunity to spread
Krishna consciousness around the world in the 30s, but they failed because they
could not cooperate. Srila Prabhupada is the unifying element in ISKCON, and
the more we understand his position, the easier it will be to cooperate.
At
my initiation, Srila Prabhupada said Krishna consciousness is just like sweet
rice. Sweet rice is very nice, but a little sand will spoil it. He advised us
not to mix anything in to our practice of Krishna consciousness.
Without
the mood of service it is difficult to be compassionate.
There
is such similarity in the mood of Srila Prabhupada and Prahlada Maharaja.
Immediately
from their first meeting, Srila Prabhupada’s allegiance went from Gandhi to
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.
In
1935 Srila Prabhupada received three blessings from his guru:
1.
Whatever you write will be printed.
2.
In time you will do everything by yourself.
3.
If you get money, print books.
Srila
Prabhupada’s definition of realization is described in his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.4.1 and can be
summarized as faithful and fresh.
Ambarish
Prabhu (Alfred Ford) spent one million dollars fixing up the Fisher Mansion as
Detroit’s Hare Krishna temple, and he invited many members of auto industry
aristocracy to come to the opening. They wanted to see to leader behind the
movement, and that was arranged. Srila Prabhupada began speaking to them about
cars, how he had a 1920 Buick with lots of problems. Then introduced the
analogy of the car and driver to the body and soul. We should speak according
to the audience following Srila Prabhupada.
Bada Haridas Prabhu:
Sometimes
the activities of the mind are thought to be spiritual because they are subtle.
People
claim to get knowledge from subtle beings at Mount Shasta, but when asked about
that knowledge, they are unable to express anything of any value.
The
subtle element that connects the pure spiritual soul with his temporary
material body is the false ego.
How
much intelligence does a five-year-old boy have? Yet that was not an impediment
in Narada Muni’s spiritual development.
There
was an eight-year-old girl in St. Petersberg, who died from a terrible disease.
She was preaching to the doctors to not be so much concerned because she had an
existence beyond her body. That was not a little girl talking, but a realized
soul.
It
is not mentioned that Narada received spiritual initiation by the sages yet
their association transformed his life. It is like a light is turned on that
cannot be turned off again.
There
is a change in our lives because by the grace of the devotees we perceive the actual
value of spiritual life.
Sometimes
people hear the descriptions of spiritual life or the spiritual world, and they
say, “I wish I could believe that.”
The
scientists’ speculations never go beyond the mind, and so there is no actual
realization. It is not that the scientists become Big Bang realized.
Because
spiritual conscious is factual it has such a transformational effect on our
lives.
We
need to contemplate these spiritual truths, especially when life gets hard.
Despite
their rough edges, I could see Srila Prabhupada’s disciples had something
genuine, and that attracted me.
When
a verse does not have a purport, one way to understand that is to consider the
point it makes so obvious and accepted that no comment is required.
Because
we forgot Krishna and came to this world, we cannot have anything to be proud
of.
Sometimes
the child in the womb is seen to be with palms together as in prayer.
My
godsister, Ananga Manjari, who was a staunch sankirtana devotee, when she was pregnant, doubted she could really
play the role of a mother as she did not have all these motherly feelings, but
as soon as her first child was born, all these motherly feelings spontaneously
appeared.
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura tells how we become absorbed in varieties of material affection and
find ourselves to be old men, lamenting another life wasted without
cultivating devotional service to Krishna.
One
devotee giving a class on the story of Bharata Maharaja said that he should
have just let the fawn die instead of rescuing it and becoming so entangled. I
was shocked. But that is not the only option. Rather than becoming hardhearted,
we can cultivate spiritual affection.
Krishna,
who is unconquerable, is conquered by those who hear about Him.
Because
of their affection for the Lord, the devotees see difficulties as the Lord’s
special arrangement to benefit them.
Krishna
is the possession of those who do not possess anything.
Sarvatma Prabhu:
This
is a missionary movement. Let us not be selfish.Let us please Srila Prabhupada by giving
Krishna consciousness to others.
Ananda Krishna Prabhu
[of Germany]:
The
speaker benefits most from the lecture, and the attentive hearer benefits
second most.
Keeping
abominable activities distant is metaphorical and is not talking about a
physical distance.
When
the plant is growing we are expecting some fruit, just as when we work we
expect so many euros in our bank account.
What
is abominable is the egoistic mindset.
Concern
for our own interest and lack of concern for others, who are also part of God,
is abominable.
You
can say that buddhi-yoga is bhakti-yoga because the greatest
intelligence is to engage in the service of the Lord.
The
word “intelligence” derives from Latin words meaning “between” and “readings.”
We
have to be introspective to perceive the enemy of lust in the heart and to deal
with it.
Intelligence
is the ability to discern, and with it, we can choose to perform bhakti-yoga in a proper way, to accept
what is good for our bhakti and to
avoid what is bad for it.
In
the competition for intelligence among countries Hong Kong is number one, and
in general the Asian countries beat out the European ones.
If
we engage our whole self in the service of the Lord we are no longer indebted
to anyone else.
By
hearing narrations about Krishna we become infected with Krishna bhakti.
One
should hear from pure devotees about pure devotees and become inspired to
become a pure devotee oneself.
Rupa
Goswami says that desire is the only price to attain pure devotional service to
Krishna.
The
Hare Krishna maha-mantra is in the
vocative, meaning that we are calling out to Krishna.
If
we find we have no desire attain Krishna, we can pray to Krishna for that
desire.
The
devotees of Krishna are eager to hear of the different pastimes of Krishna out
of love for Him. Indeed, they never tire hearing of Krishna.
Q:
Is giving to Krishna like daksina, a
donation?
A:
When we work and attain a good result, that is Krishna’s gift to us, so we
should be willing to give to Him, and do it with some feeling.
-----
In
proofreading this issue, I am simply amazed by all the wonderful instructions
given by the senior devotees speaking at the Lithuanian festival. It reminded
me of this wonderful verse:
‘sadhu-sanga’,
‘sadhu-sanga’—sarva-sastre kaya
lava-matra
sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya
“The
verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with
a pure devotee, one can attain all success.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 22.54)
