Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 13, No. 2
By
Krishna-kripa das
(January 2017, part two)
(January 2017, part two)
North
and Central Florida
(Sent
from Gainesville, Florida, on February 18, 2017)
Where I Went and What I Did
I continued staying in Tallahassee for eight days, chanting
at Florida State University for three hours each weekday, distributing vegan
oatmeal cookies and invitations to our campus Krishna Lunch program and to the temple
Sunday Feast and Tuesday Bhagavad-gita class,
and trying to interest people in the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita. I also taught a class on mantra meditation there.
Then I spent a Wednesday chanting at the Gainesville Krishna Lunch and the
Farmers Market and attending a University of Florida interfaith event, a
progressive dinner. Then I joined Ramiya Prabhu and his wife, Ananta Dasi, in
chanting at and attending our campus Bhakti Yoga Society program at the
University of South Florida in Tampa. Friday I chanted at Krishna Lunch and
with the Alachua devotees at the University of Florida entrance. Saturday
devotees from Alachua, Gainesville, and Tampa chanted for three hours at the
yearly Gasparilla pirate festival in Tampa and had a picnic in a park. After
attending the Sunday feast in Alachua, I went to Jacksonville to chant with the
University of North Florida Krishna Club devotees on that campus and attend the
evening program at the Jacksonville Bhakti House. Then I returned to
Tallahassee for the final day of January.
I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s books and
lectures. I share excerpts from Begging
for the Nectar of the Holy Name by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami. I include notes
on lectures by Srila Prabhupada disciples from Alachua, namely Mother Nanda,
Ramiya Prabhu, and Mother Sukhada. I present notes on a class by Kaliya Damona
Prabhu about japa, and a quote from “A
Succession Conflict Caused by Selflessness,” a Back to Godhead article by Caitanya Candra Prabhu. I share notes on
a class by Hanan of Krishna House and interesting quotes from a Christian
preacher and people from different faiths, who attended the University of
Florida interfaith progressive dinner.
Thanks to the lady who gave me a donation on harinama at Tallahassee’s Lake Ella.
Itinerary
February 18: Jacksonville Monster Truck Jam harinama
February 19–24: Tallahassee, FSU campus
February 25: Sacred Sounds @ USF, Tampa
February 26–April 8: North and Central Florida campuses
April 9–11: Washington, D.C.
April 12: Albany
April 13: New York City
April 14–September 5: Europe
I chanted at Florida State University in Tallahassee for
three hours each weekday, distributing vegan oatmeal cookies and invitations to
our campus Krishna Lunch program and to the temple Sunday Feast and Tuesday Bhagavad-gita class, and trying to
interest people in the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita.
One day a young lady named Isabella stopped by my table,
and in the course of our conversation, she mentioned that her mother did
meditation and had compiled research showing how meditation actually changes
the structure of the brain. I invited her to the Krishna Lunch and to the mantra
meditation class I was going to do that evening behind the library. She looked
at her watch and realized she had better leave soon if she wanted to make it
in time for the lunch. As it turns out, she was the only one to show up for mantra
meditation. I explained how we have an existence beyond the body and mind and
that the mantra nourishes our transcendental self. We chanted twice for ten
minutes each, with some discussion in between, and I encouraged her to chant
ten minutes each day. She has been doing it for three weeks now and writes, “It
is wonderful. I am so happy to have stumbled upon the practice. It has impacted
my life very positively.” She also became a regular attender at Krishna Lunch
and enjoyed the one Sunday Feast program she came to.
On Inauguration Day, as I was chanting at FSU’s Landis
Green, I could heard students protesting the inauguration behind me. Of course that
made it harder for me to focus on my chanting. Some students seeing me chanting
during the protest indicated they thought my contribution was
the real solution, and I appreciated that.
One day I made oatmeal with slivered almonds roasted in
coconut oil, cinnamon, and turbinado sugar, and offered it to our Gaura-Nitai
deities at the Tallahassee temple. It was just awesome. I really think it was
the best oatmeal I had this life. Maybe Gaura-Nitai were pleased I decided to
cook Them something instead of just having Krishna Lunch leftovers for
breakfast.
The last day of the month I returned to Tallahassee.
While I was singing, a woman named Suzette came up to me who appreciated the
chant. She told me she lived for two months in a Hare Krishna ashram in Chapel
Hill.
Looking at her graying hair, I asked, “In the 1970s?”
She replied, “Yes.”
She told me that the Hare Krishnas had the best food in
the world, and I smiled and told her of the Krishna Lunch on the FSU campus.
Every Tuesday, she takes a class in teaching French, so she promised to check
out the Krishna Lunch the next week, and sure enough she did. She was very
happy to see the Hare Krishnas still have the best food in the world. She
wanted to learn how to cook it, and I told her about Yamuna Devi’s amazing cookbook,
Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian
Vegetarian Cooking, that won awards for being the best Indian and the best
vegetarian cookbook the year it came out.
Chanting at the Gainesville Farmers Market
The devotees canceled the weekly harinama at the Gainesville Farmers Market because the yearly
interfaith dinner was Wednesday night, and they felt there was not enough time
to do both. I had returned from Tallahassee on Wednesday just to participate in
it, and so I encouraged them to chant at the Farmers Market for just an hour so they
would have time to do the other event. Later the devotees expressed gratitude
that I resurrected the program that week.
Here Bhaktin Christiana chants Hare Krishna at the
Gainesville Farmers Market (https://youtu.be/9XBDG5XTHYo):
Here Krishna Prasada Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the
Gainesville Farmers Market (https://youtu.be/SEzem0rHa9A):
The University of Florida Interfaith Progressive Dinner
For the last four years or so, the chaplains at
University of Florida have organized what they call an interfaith “progressive”
dinner. The initial snacks are always at the Hillel House far to the west on
University Avenue. The main course is always the Hare Krishna spaghetti which
this year was served along with the Lutheran’s salad at their place to the east
of Hillel. The Episcopal church serves the hot drinks, usually tea, coffee, and
hot chocolate. This year they had Bengal Spice, my favorite of the herb teas.
At that church some artistic types had made a nice sign
welcoming the people from the different traditions and thanking Christ and
Krishnas:
Other signs in that church had progressive messages:
Standing up for truth is important. Truthfulness is
sometimes said to be the distinguishing quality of a brahmana.
What does Krishna say about kind words? “Austerity of
speech consists in speaking words that are truthful,
pleasing, beneļ¬cial, and not
agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature.” (Bhagavad-gita 17.15)
I had never heard of Gandhi’s seven deadly social sins.
Have you?
This year I decided to talk with some of the older people
who encourage the students in their faith instead of the students themselves. I
asked one Christian gentleman in charge of a spiritual program for his group
what motivates the students the most in a spiritual direction. He explained
retreats, where you get away from your daily life and just focus on spiritual
activities, either in town or at some remote retreat center, are the most
powerful way of motivating the students.
The Wesleyans have the dessert at the end, along with the
entertainment.
Chanting
with Alachua Devotees at the University of Florida Entrance
Almost every Friday since I moved to Alachua in 1994, I
would chant with the Alachua devotees at the corner of University Avenue and
Thirteenth Street in Gainesville, on the northeast corner of the University of
Florida campus, where the entrance gate stands.
Here Nagaraja Prabhu, editor of Back to Godhead magazine, chants Hare Krishna at University of
Florida entrance (https://youtu.be/nA7XcFxv39M):
Here Shankha Prabhu, the famous cook, chants Hare Krishna
at the University of Florida entrance (https://youtu.be/ogQ81m7ieLI):
Here Hari Priya chants Hare Krishna at the University of
Florida entrance (https://youtu.be/aRq48CTK4zA):
Here Bhaktin Christiana chants Hare Krishna at the University
of Florida entrance (https://youtu.be/bvD5CbiH8ks):
Chanting at the Krishna House Friday Evening Program
Every Friday we have a program at Krishna House which
begins with twenty minutes of kirtana.
Here Bhaktin Tsurit chants Hare Krishna at Krishna House
Friday program (https://youtu.be/R6dJgQjoXfs):
Chanting After the Alachua Sunday Feast
After the Sunday feast devotees who love kirtana, young and old alike, stay and
chant in the temple room until the deities are put to rest for the evening,
just after 9 p.m.
Here Lilananda Prabhu, disciple of Srila Prabhupada,
chants Hare Krishna after the Alachua Sunday Feast (https://youtu.be/4gKEf2MuLiM):
Here Dhanya, wife of Bali Prabhu and daughter of Havi
Prabhu, chants Hare Krishna after the Alachua Sunday Feast (https://youtu.be/yo_y9TfM8Nk):
Anasuya, a third-generation devotee girl, chants Hare
Krishna after Alachua Sunday Feast (https://youtu.be/2kOtP4esZtY):
Conversation with a Nurse
A nurse asked me what I did as a monk, and I told her
that I taught classes on Bhagavad-gita. She
surprised me by saying, “I am studying Bhagavad-gita.”
I asked her where she was studying the Gita,
and she explained that the hospital she was working in had a course on holistic
medicine, and that was part of the course.
Later as she reviewed my chart, seeing the date of my birth
she exclaimed, “September 30! That is the same day my dog, Bhakti, was born!”
“You have a dog named Bhakti?” I inquired incredulously.
“Yes,” she replied. “I have three of them, Jai Ram, Kali,
and Bhakti.”
I asked her how she came up with such spiritual names for
her dogs, and she told how a very devout Muslim patient, who gave a her Koran
out of gratitude, started her on a spiritual search.
She said that she thought that our meeting was
providential.
I had explained I was doing a meditation on my beads, and
when I left, I gave her a copy of the new On
Chanting Hare Krishna, with the text of Srila Prabhupada’s description of
the Hare Krishna mantra from the record album, and I told her about Dhira
Govinda Prabhu’s research showing the Hare Krishna mantra decreased stress and
depression to a statistically significant degree while a bogus mantra of
Sanskrit words in the same pattern was ineffectual from the statistical point
of view.
It was striking to me that a Western lady about forty,
with a perceptable English accent, would be studying Bhagavad-gita and have dogs named after an incarnation of Krishna,
a pure devotee of Krishna, and the process for attaining Him.
Harinama at Gasparilla
The last Saturday in January, devotees from Alachua,
Gainesville, and Tampa chanted for three hours at the yearly Gasparilla pirate
festival in Tampa and had a picnic in a park.
On college-aged lady told her friend, “They are the Hare
Krishnas. They are on all the campuses. I see them at the stadium in
Gainesville.”
Cloe, who attends Krishna Lunch at Florida State
University in Tallahassee, and who has stopped by my book table behind the
library two or three times during the last couple of weeks, greeted me in
Tampa, as surprised to see me as I was to see her. She apparently drove at
least four and a half hours by herself from Tallahassee to Tampa to attend
Gasparilla for the first time. She was amazed to see the large group of
devotees, and I explained we have a large community in the Gainesville /
Alachua area, and we came down for the event.
One couple, who enjoyed dancing with us, especially the
girl, said they had moved here just recently from Colorado, and were happy to
encounter us. They wanted to know if we had a Tampa temple, and I made sure
they had an invitation card for the local nama-hatta
programs. She had graduated from University of South Florida in Tampa, and
I gave her a card for the programs we have at that university.
Here are just some of the highlights, including the
dancing dinosaur [6 minutes] (https://youtu.be/k7M4s2WN3G0):
Harinama at University of North Florida
University of North Florida in Jacksonville is my favorite college to chant Hare Krishna at because so many students from their Krishna Club are willing to join us and so many students passing by are open to taking cookies and invitations.
Special thanks to Amrita Keli Devi Dasi, Hare Krishna chaplain at UNF and organizer of the party, who is playing the drum in the beginning of the video, and thanks to lead singers, Richie, Youssef, and Dorian, respectively (https://youtu.be/tCwwGnW_7UA):
All the devotees had led kirtana except Courtney (on the far right at the end of the above video), who had never led before and who was celebrating her birthday that day. I suggested she lead, but she said she preferred to follow. Amrita had suggested she could sing the Prabhupada tune because it is very easy. So I offered to I play the Prabhupada tune for her while she sang it. She decided to try. Afterwards I complimented her for going beyond her limits, and she replied, “That was awesome! I really loved doing that!” It is nice to be an instrument in people taking another step toward Krishna. If you have a Facebook account, by clicking on this link, you can see Courtney sing in this video taken by Amrita Keli Devi Dasi (https://www.facebook.com/2040949/videos/vb.2040949/10110281001766861/?type=2&theater). Amrita also took a video of me singing (https://www.facebook.com/2040949/videos/vb.2040949/10110281005304771/?type=2&theater). It is nice to see the enthusiasm of the students for the chanting.
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.19.2, purport:
“Since no one in this material world can tolerate
another’s advancement, everyone in the material world is called matsara, envious. In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is therefore said
that Srimad-Bhagavatam is meant for
those who are completely nirmatsara
(nonenvious). In other words, one who is not free from the contamination of
envy cannot advance in Krishna consciousness. In Krishna consciousness,
however, if someone excels another person, the devotee who is excelled thinks
how fortunate the other person is to be advancing in devotional service. Such
nonenvy is typical of Vaikuntha. However, when one is envious of his
competitor, that is material.”
From a class on Bhagavad-gita
13.26 in New Delhi on September 22, 1974:
“When this body, this old body, will not be workable,
when the machine will not act, then I – or you, every one of us – will have to
change. Suppose your car is going on then somehow or other it stops. Then you
take another car and continue your journey. The car’s stopping to work does not
mean that the man who is in the car also stops. No. He continues.”
“There are so many different types of next life,
beginning from Brahmaloka, the highest planet, down to the smallest insect. So
why should we try to make a better position within this material world? Why
should we waste our time like that? We have seen that to occupy the post of
president, Mr. Nixon had to work so much in the beginning. I was in America at
that time. He was advertising, ‘America needs Nixon now.’ He had to spend
millions and millions of dollars, and there were so many cliques and there was
so much political intrigue. But now, somehow or other, his presidency is gone.
He has been dragged down.”
“Krishna’s name, Krishna’s form, Krishna’s qualities, Krishna’s
pastimes – everything about Krishna is absolute. You’re chanting the Hare Krishna
mantra. It is not only a sound; it is Krishna personally. You are in direct
touch with Krishna when you chant Hare Krishna. This realization is Krishna
consciousness.”
“So how can one learn about Krishna consciousness? Those
who do not know can come to this Krishna conscious center, and they will
understand by hearing from the members. We are opening so many centers. Why?
Because people do not know about Krishna, and it is our duty to give them the
chance to know. They’ll inquire. They’ll see how we are worshiping Krishna, how
we are offering prasadam, how we are
serving. They also can go back home, back to Godhead by learning from us. It is
a school. We are teaching others.”
“We are all eternally the servants of Krishna. That we
have forgotten. Now, in this life, we have surrendered to Krishna and accepted
His service. ‘Krishna, for so long I forgot You. I am Your eternal servant, but
I forgot. Now, in this life, I can understand. Therefore I surrender unto You.’
This is our life. Krishna consciousness means, ‘Krishna, I forgot You. I forgot
my relationship with You. But now I have come to know that I am Your eternal
servant. Therefore engage me.”’
“Consider Mahatma Gandhi. He was serving his country, but
his countrymen killed him. It is a fact. So you cannot satisfy anyone. Who can
give more service to his country than Mahatma Gandhi? But what was the return?
His countrymen killed him. This is the return. You go on serving your senses in
the name of your country, society, and family, and they’ll never be satisfied.
So why should you be so serious about serving someone other than Krishna? That
is sensible.
“Better to serve Krishna. Then you surpass the
jurisdiction of birth and death. You conquer the repetition of birth and death
simply by this process of hearing. If you simply hear Bhagavad-gita from realized souls regularly, by hearing alone you
will be able to conquer birth, death, old age, and disease. This is the result.”
Satsvarupa
dasa Goswami:
From Begging for
the Nectar of the Holy Name:
“You want to be a part of the spiritual world, of
Krishna's pastimes in Vraja. It is beginning to happen. But so far, it is not
that real to you. You have only been hearing it for a few years, and it has
only been a few months since you gained the focus that this should be the goal
of your life. For many years and lifetimes, a file has accumulated, filled with
so many real and imagined adventures (they are all actually mayic misadventures).
So you cannot be part of any world right now. You cannot sink roots into this
earth, and neither can you fly to Goloka. You cannot entirely give up your
sense of self in this world, and you are tired of playing the center of
existence. The condition of your japa
reflects this confused state of being.
“I am not confused, but between worlds is a more accurate
wording. Arjuna also felt this and expressed it to Sri Krishna: ‘But for
Yourself, there is no one who can remove this doubt.’ Arjuna thought that if he
followed Krishna’s instructions for self-realization, then he would have to
give up his hopes for happiness in this world. But what if he failed to attain
the transcendental goal? Then he would be neither here nor there, but be like a
small cloud torn apart from a big cloud and floating loose in the big sky. Lord
Krishna assured His friend that one who does good never meets with evil. Even
if Arjuna could not completely succeed on the path of bhakti, there would be no loss. Whatever gains he had made would be
continued in the next life. As a result of his spiritual efforts in this life
he would be born in the family of yogis or devotees, or pious wealthy people.
From there he would be automatically attracted to spiritual life again, and as
soon as possible, complete the course for going back to Godhead.
“Therefore, if we cannot chant with attention right now,
chant anyway and chant more. Make efforts to control the mind. Discuss the aparadhas in chanting and be alert to
when you may be about to commit them. Be glad if you don’t feel part of this
world. Go on hearing the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. Associate with devotees
and avoid those who would destroy your faith and enthusiasm. Your devotional
activities are all gains. They often seem comical because of the awkward place
you are in, so there is no harm in having a laugh at yourself. At least you won’t
become proud that you are an accomplished taster of rasa.”
Radhanath
Swami:
Quoted by a disciple:
There is no such thing as a mistake, if we are always
learning.
Mother
Nanda:
The primary characteristic of pure devotional service is
favorable and in relationship to Krishna.
Such pure devotional service begins by developing faith
in the spiritual master.
If we only look forward we may be discouraged because the
distance we have to go is so vast, so it is good to look back sometimes to see
how far we have progressed, but it is not good to always look back.
Comment by Gopal: A sign we are advancing is that, although
we may still have material desires, our tendency to act on them is no longer
present.
Sometimes you realize you are not as advanced as you
thought. That realization, although it seems like a step down, is actually a
step up.
Ramiya
Prabhu:
If we become Krishna’s devotee, we enter Krishna’s inner
circle and He takes special care of us.
Our material life is like a quarter. You do not get just
the heads, but you get the tails too. You want just happiness, but you get
distress as well.
When we see Krishna has helped us, we should feel
grateful and do something for Him to express our gratitude.
If we chant the glories of the Lord, He will take
seriously our claim to be His devotee.
Like parents, what do they want from the child? Just
love. Krishna is the same way.
Bandhu
means you are my friend, like on Facebook, but not
outside, but suhrt means someone who
is always my friend.
Krishna is waiting for everyone in Tallahassee to turn to
Him, but most of them are not inclined.
Srila Prabhupada explained that if we offer something to
Krishna with the mood, “I have no good qualification to be Your friend, but
please accept this gift,” Krishna will happily accept it.
Q: If someone is a great devotee his whole life and then
does something wrong, what will happen to him?
A: That is up to Krishna. Bharata was a great devotee,
but he become absorbed in taking care of a deer and forgot his devotional
practice, and Krishna punished him giving him the body of a deer in the next
life. Usually that does not happen to a devotee [that he takes an animal birth],
but Krishna wanted to teach him a lesson.
Mother
Sukhada:
Formerly kings were so powerful they could end drought
and famine.
Srila Prabhupada would make the point there is no scarity
only mismanagement.
Srila Prabhupada tried to connect with anyone he could. He
would talk to famous amd important people in hopes of convincing them of his
message.
Srila Prabhupada made an analogy in a conversation with
Toynbee that the situation of the people in general is like children who have a
father who has given them a great inheritance but whose dependents are unable
to access it and thus benefit by it. God wants everyone to have the joy of
krishna-prema, but the people do not have the knowledge of how to attain it.
The drug problem is so bad that every 19 minutes someone
dies of an overdose of drugs.
Srila Prabhupada, while talking with George Harrison and
Yoko Ono, praised them for becoming successful in the music industry, and he
urged them to take advantage of that popularity by sharing spiritual knowledge
through their music. George Harrison took it seriously and thus inspired many
in a spiritual way.
Kirtana
is so popular that they even have rabbi kirtana in the synagogues.
One lady in Hawaii got a book from the devotees and put
it on her shelf. She did not read it for years, but once she was a little
depressed, and she took the book off the shelf, and read it. She read it a
little bit more, and she moved in the temple in Hawaii.
There is a celebrated story of a man who was so disturbed
by a lady distributing books on a bus, he ripped the book in half and stepped
on it, and rudely pushed the lady off the bus. So as not to litter, he put the
ripped up book in his bag. His maid found the book, repaired it, and put it on
the shelf. Years later, the man’s wife died, then he got cancer, and he was
depressed and he saw the book on the shelf and read it. He realized it really
did tell about ultimate goal of life. He felt so bad about how he mistreated the
lady who was distributing it, he went to the temple, and explained what had
happened. He had one desire: to meet that lady and apologize. And the devotees
made that arrangement.
Comment by Yugala: I distributed a book to one lady on a
bus who wrote me back really grateful she got the book. She said she had
decided to kill herself, but on reading the book she changed her mind.
Kaliya
Damana Prabhu:
From a japa class:
Srila Prabhupada said that Jayananda was the first pure
devotee to come out of ISKCON. Jayananda Prabhu would say, “Always encourage
and never discourage.” He would always leave the room when he heard criticism
of devotees.
Everything we do is to chant better.
Japa is
like the password that unlocks your computer. Everything becomes available if
you have the password.
In Denver as an experiment, we had the whole congregation
chant one round of japa together at
the Sunday feast. We happened to have 500 sets of japa beads on hand, and we engaged in the whole mostly Indian
congregation in chanting one round together. We ended up selling 250 sets of japa beads that day and making japa a weekly event.
I find it hard to focus on the holy name on a japa walk. Prabhupada did it, but I know
he wasn’t window shopping.
Comment by Abhi: In Jaiva
Dharma, Bhaktivinoda Thakura said, “A Vaishnava has no taste for
arguments.”
The Bible indicates that Jesus was a vegetarian:
Isaiah 7: 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a
sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Comment by Tulasirani Devi Dasi: I beg Srimati Tulasi Devi to help me when I chant japa, and I find very soon she helps me.
Krishna wants us to offer everything to Him, not just the
good things. When we offer the bad things into the fire of Krishna
consciousness, we become purified.
If thoughts come to mind during japa if you write them down, then they will be off your mind and
you can chant peacefully.
Caitanya
Candra Prabhu:
From “A Succession Conflict Caused by Selflessness” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 51, No. 3 (May /
June, 2017):
“Valuing relations over possessions is foundational for
the sustenance of family, society, and humanity. Bharata considered the
affection he relished in his relationship with Rama far more meaningful and
fulfilling than the gratification of ruling the kingdom. Even if we can’t be as
selfless as Bharata, still a slight increase in selflessness in our
relationships can significantly improve them and substantially decrease
conflicts.”
Hanan:
The difference between the university and life is that in
the university you learn first and then you take a test and in life you get a
test first and then you learn from the test.
The first six chapters of the Bhagavad-gita deal with
karma-yoga, the next middle six chapters deal with bhakti-yoga, and the final six deal with jnana-yoga.
Bhakti is in the middle because it is confidential and to
protect it.
Comment by Dhamesvara Mahaprabhu dasa Prabhu: Without the
touch of bhakti, karma and jnana are
not fruitful. Thus bhakti is in the middle in order to touch both.
When we hear if we remember Krishna at the end of life
that we will attain Krishna, we might conclude, “I will do what I like and then
just remember Krishna at the end.” That however is not practical because the
time of death is a critical time and it not easy to just remember something
that we have no deeply routed attachment for at that time. Therefore, Krishna
recommends to practice to remember him.
Patanjali says that attachment is a moment of pleasure we
become attached to so we want to do it over and over again.
Shabari was a goat herd girl, who was upset when she was told
she would be married and some of her goats would be killed for the marriage
feast. She did not want the goats to be killed, so she left home for the
forest. She took shelter of the ashram of Matanga Rsi, and she rendered all
kinds of services to him. Then he and the other monks left, having attained perfection, and
before going they instructed Shabari to continue worshiping Rama with devotion.
Rama came by her place when He was in the forest. She would pick fruits, taste
them to make sure they were sweet, and then offer them to Rama. Although it was
nonstandard to taste fruits before offering them, Rama accepted her devotion,
and blessed her she would attain perfection. After Rama left, she sat in
trance, meditating on Lord Rama, and attained perfection. We can learn from
this that bhakti is so easy that no qualification is needed to execute it.
The whole story of Shabari as told by Radha Govinda Swami
in detail, I found online at:
https://groups.google.com/forum/ - !topic/istagosthi/s8Yilyr98DU
[After clicking on the link above, you will have to then click on the line beginning:
B. Radha-Govinda Swami (ACBSP)]
[After clicking on the link above, you will have to then click on the line beginning:
B. Radha-Govinda Swami (ACBSP)]
Comment by me during prasadam
to guests: We can also learn from the story of Shabari, about the power of
associating with devotees in attaining bhakti.
Interfaith
Progressive Dinner participants:
A Quaker lady: If you have 2 Quakers, you will have 3
opinions.
A Christian boy: If God leads you to it, He will lead you
through it.
A young Mormon preacher: When God gives you a test, you
are either strong enough to pass it or about to become strong enough to pass
it.
Christian
TV preacher:
God loves it when we trust Him. He loves it when we trust
Him in all aspects of our life.
-----
In
the Hare Krishna movement, we advise everyone to engage in the congregational
chanting of the holy name of the Lord (sankirtana)
and to encourage others also to perform this chanting for their ultimate deliverance
from material existence and attainment of spiritual perfection. Lord Caitanya
was so advised by His guru, Sri Isvara Puri, who said:
naca, gao,
bhakta-sange kara sankirtana
krishna-nama
upadesi’ tara’ sarva-jana
“‘My
dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing sankirtana in association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and
preach the value of chanting krishna-nama,
for by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.’” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 7.92)
