Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 13, No. 4
By
Krishna-kripa das
(February 2017, part two)
(February 2017, part two)
North
and Central Florida
(Sent
from Tallahassee, Florida, on March 4, 2017)
Where I Went and What I Did
After returning to Gainesville from Jacksonville, I
stayed at Krishna House for five days, chanting at the University of Florida
during Krishna Lunch during the days and with the Alachua devotees Friday evening
at the University of Florida entrance. During that visit I made two day trips,
one to University of South Florida in Tampa with Ramiya Prabhu and Ananta Devi
and another to Jacksonville with the Krishna House devotees to chant with the
Jacksonville and Alachua devotees at the stadium before the Monster Truck Jam.
Both Sundays I attended the Sunday feast program in Alachua. I went to
Tallahassee with Adikarta Prabhu for three days to chant at the campus of
Florida State University. Adikarta found many nice students interested in books
there. I stayed in Gainesville for the last four days of the month, taking a
day trip to Tampa for a sacred sounds event at the University of South Florida
on Saturday, chanting for four hours at Active Streets in Gainesville on
Sunday, and chanting two days at Krishna Lunch.
I share a quote from Srila Prabhupada’s commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam and notes on several
of his lectures. I include a quote from Satsvarupa dasa Goswami’s Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name.
I share notes on classes by Adikarta, Kalakantha,
Nagaraja, Puskara, Trivikrama, Kaliya Damona, Caitanya Candra, Hari Parayana,
Rupachandra and Tulasirani Prabhus. I also share notes on a lecture on time
management by Rupachandra Prabhu. I also share comments from Brahmatirtha
Prabhu during a breakfast conversation, from Lilananda Prabhu during a sacred
sounds event, from Anantasesa Vaisnavi Dasi during a restaurant conversation,
and from Murali Gopal Prabhu during a Bhaktivedanta Institute meeting. In
particular Caitanya Carana Prabhu made lots of nice points in his lectures.
Thanks to Vishnu-priya Devi Dasi of Jacksonville for her
very generous donation. Thanks to Adikarta Prabhu for the ride from Alachua to
Tallahassee and back. Thanks to Manorama Prabhu for his photos of the Alachua
devotees chanting at the University of Florida entrance.
Itinerary
March 3–11: Tallahassee
March 12–April 8: North and Central Florida campuses
April 9–11: Washington, D.C.
April 12: Albany
April 13: New York City
April 14–August 7: Europe
August 8–16: Ottawa Sanga Retreat and Janmastami and
Vyasa-puja
August 17–September 5: Europe
September 5–November ?: New York City
November ?– December 1: Florida
December: New York City
Sacred Sounds Event at University of South Florida
Uma Devi Dasi, who started our Bhakti Yoga Society at the
University of South Florida, also began to have a Sacred Sounds event each
semester. I was always unable to come, so I was happy that this year’s event,
organized by Ramiya Prabhu, happened when I was in the area and could attend
it.
The high point for me was the dancing. Regular attenders
of our University of South Florida Bhakti Yoga Club, members of our Tampa
congregation, and brand new people all danced together, and it was beautiful to
see (https://youtu.be/XqPNXmrnGJM):
At the weekly programs, our kirtanas were more subdued, but at our sacred sounds event, because
of all the devotees, there was a lot of energy which inspired the students to
dance. Many of them had never danced in a kirtana
before.
Lilananda Prabhu, Upendra Hari Prabhu, Devala, and Pranaya
Keli were among the devotees from Alachua who came to chant at the program.
Before our chanting, some Indian students at the
university did a very lively bhangra dance from Punjab (https://youtu.be/jIJ7tL6MFfo):
Thanks to all the students who helped organize the
program and to everyone who came. Special thanks to Ramiya Prabhu, the
inspiration and hard work behind it.
Chanting Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch
For at least two hours devotees chant Hare Krishna while
about a thousand students eat Krishna Lunch each weekday.
Hari Priya, daughter of Yadubara and Visakha Prabhus,
leads the chanting of Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch (https://youtu.be/-JTWB__2Rkc):
After cooking the Krishna Lunch, Radha Govinda Prabhu
frequently chants while it is served on the campus, at least for an hour, and
often leads the chanting on those days (https://youtu.be/YrAE7_uVUwk):
The next week Radha Govinda Prabhu also led a lively kirtana at Krishna Lunch (https://youtu.be/EflmzEz9pmM):
When Adikarta Prabhu is leading the chanting of Hare
Krishna, he likes to give everyone present the chance to lead for one mantra.
Here he and his friends chant Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch (https://youtu.be/TdtCwXHOWz8):
Purusartha Prabhu is a Srila Prabhupada disciple who
played music before becoming a devotee.
Here he chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch (https://youtu.be/BEqFfQu1wwo):
I noticed one older couple, Dave and Lynn, who sat on
chairs facing our chanting party. I spoke to Dave and learned his daughter is
vegetarian, and she invited him to the Thanksgiving Day dinner at Govinda’s
restaurant. He liked both the food and the music, and thus he came to Krishna
House looking for more. At the house they told him if he wanted the live music
along with the food, he would have come out to the campus, and so they did. I
told them about the kirtanas at
Govinda’s every Tuesday with a free dinner afterward, and perhaps they will
attend those too.
One Swiss couple looked from a distance at the Krishna Lunch with its
chanting party for a while, and I decided to speak to them. The
man was amazed that we could do that on a campus. I explained that we could do
it because we started back in 1971. There are people on the faculty and
administration that enjoyed Krishna Lunch when they were students. We tried
recently starting a program at University of North Florida, and the
administration would permit us to do one day a week, but the food service
company would only let us do one day a month, so we were unable do it
Alachua Hare Krishnas Chant at University of Florida
Entrance
I attended the Friday evening harinama of the Alachua Hare Krishna devotees at the University of
Florida entrance the last two Fridays in February. Here are some videos clips
from the last one (https://youtu.be/Lr8lsgy0zb8):
Although the devotees always have a good time chanting
together in public often there are extra special moments.
Mike brought his saxophone, which added to the musical aspect of the party. At one point, he was so inspired he mounted a pillar and played atop it:
Here a Hungarian lady delights in dancing with the
Alachua Hare Krishnas at the University of Florida entrance (https://youtu.be/l27l8wXOuOo):
Amazed by her openness and boldness to dance with our
party, I asked her if she had previous experience with Hare Krishna. She said
she knew the devotees from a large music festival in Hungary known as Sziget.
She had also visited our rural community in Hungary known as New Vraja Dhama.
She was having a bad day, and the joy of meeting the devotees and dancing with
them pulled her out of her depression.
Chanting Hare Krishna Before the Monster Truck Jam in
Jacksonville
Hare Krishna devotees from Alachua, Gainesville, and
Jacksonville chanted Hare Krishna before the Monster Truck Jam at Jacksonville’s
Everbank stadium. Krishna Keshava, Godruma, and Abhimanyu Prabhu led the
chanting in this video in that order (https://youtu.be/plHJSaujZKA):
I encountered a few people happy to get our free literature,
and book distributors sold a few books.
Chanting Hare Krishna at the Alachua Sunday Feast
Here Adikarta Prabhu leads chanting of Hare Krishna at
the Alachua Sunday Feast (https://youtu.be/D1N1vvTbuO0):
Bhadra Prabhu chants Hare Krishna while the Alachua
Sunday Feast is being served (https://youtu.be/7C7yljoIDi4):
Amala Harinam Prabhu leads the chanting of Hare Krishna after
the Alachua Sunday Feast (https://youtu.be/fvyv68yFaPQ):
And then Adikarta Prabhu led the chanting, switching off
with a Vaishnava youth lady, Yamuna, who has a pretty voice (https://youtu.be/FsPjiJv8MQw):
Abhaya, the younger brother of Kishor and Ananta
Gauranga, led the chanting at the final arati
of Radha-Shyamasundara (https://youtu.be/Y_U9EmgO3zg):
In addition to the Sunday feast, I occasionally attended
the morning program at the Alachua temple.
Here Nagaraja Prabhu, editor of Back to Godhead magazine, chants Hare Krishna in guru-puja kirtana in Alachua and many
devotees dance (https://youtu.be/NMs37beeD7A):
Friday Evening Krishna House Kirtana
Here Kalakantha Prabhu, Krishna House president, leads
the chanting of Hare Krishna beginning the Friday evening program (https://youtu.be/6wnItJO8g1M):
Because the light was dim and I zoomed in instead of positioning
the camera closer to the party, the technical quality of the video is not that
great but the chanting is great, both the lead and the response, so I included
it anyway.
Is Science Enough?
“Is Science Enough?” is certainly a question to grab my attention.
Those aware of our spiritual existence know that material science alone cannot
satisfy our deepest need, to connect with our divine source. However, there is
another science for that. Mathematician and practitioner of bhakti-yoga, Richard L. Thompson
(Sadaputa Dasa) wrote a book called Mechanistic
and Nonmechanistic Science introducing bhakti-yoga
as a spiritual science. Krishna
says in Bhagavad-gita, “adyatma-vidya
vidyanam – of all sciences, I am the spiritual science of the self.” Srila
Prabhupada subtitles his summary study of Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu
called The Nectar of Devotion, “The
Complete Science of Bhakti-Yoga.” He also produced a collection of essays and
interviews entitled Science of
Self-Realization.
The girls in the picture above, in addition to reminding us
that material science is not enough, show their willingness to eat Krishna Lunch,
and thus engage, knowingly or unknowingly, in taking Krishna prasadam, an important part of the
nonmechanistic science of bhakti-yoga.
In “Is Science Enough?” MIT professor Troy Van Voorhis
discusses the question, “Can science and faith be compatible?” Such talks are
promoted by The Veritas Forum.
According to their web site, www.veritas.org, “The Veritas Forum helps students
and faculty ask life’s hardest questions. Many of the world’s leading
universities were founded to answer the big ‘why’ questions. Our mission is to
help them confront these questions anew. The first Veritas Forum was planned by
students, faculty and chaplains at Harvard University in 1992. Since then, over
200 universities in North America and Europe have hosted over 2,000
Forums. The Veritas Forum is committed to
courageous conversations. We place the historic Christian faith in dialogue
with other beliefs and invite participants from all backgrounds to pursue Truth
together.”
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
“We actually see that there are many Hindus, Muslims, Christians,
Buddhists and religionists of other cults who adhere to their religious
principles very nicely but are not equal to all living entities. Indeed,
although they profess to be very religious, they kill poor animals. Such
religion has no meaning.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam
8.8.21, purport)
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.3.29 given in Los Angeles on October 4, 1972:
Do not think that the incarnations of Krishna are less
powerful than Krishna.
God is everywhere. You simply have to purify your eyes to
see God. He is within your heart.
To purify the eyes is meditation.
People ask how to see God. God is everywhere. You do not
like to see Him. That is the difficulty.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.3.30 in Los Angeles at October 5, 1972:
“So you have got the creative power, God has got the
creative power. But God’s creative power cannot be compared with your creative
power. You have got the creative power, but not exactly like God. This is the
conclusion. You cannot become God. You can imitate or you can do something very
little. Just like little children, they play with little toys. Similarly, you
can play with little toys and advertise yourself great scientist. That’s all.
But you are nothing. You are nothing. This is to be realized. This is called bhakti-yoga. The rascals are puffed up,
‘I am God.’ Foolishly. How you can be God? You may have some qualities, very
minute quality of God, but you cannot claim that you are God.”
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.5.8 in New Vrindaban on May 4, 1969:
If God is pleased, the whole world is pleased. This
knowledge is lacking.
Satsvarupa
dasa Goswami:
“Srila Prabhupada describes the state of feeling
unqualified and yet desiring Krishna’s association. In Teachings of Lord Caitanya, he quotes Sanatana Gosvami: na prema sravanadi-bhaktir, ‘. . . I
have no asset for hearing . . . ’ Yet he maintains hopes of achieving Krishna,
the darling of the damsels of Vraja, ‘and these hopes are always disturbing me.’
Srila Prabhupada comments, ‘Such a devotee, being touched deeply by such strong
desires, always chants Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare /
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.’ (Teachings
of Lord Caitanya, p. 139)” (Begging
for the Nectar of the Holy Name)
Adikarta
Prabhu:
Different famous people knew of Bhagavad-gita and read it. J. Robert Oppenheimer quoted from it
when the atom bomb exploded, “Time I am, the destroyer of worlds.” (Bg. 11.32) The
amazing thing is after the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the death
of half a million people, they gave Oppenheimer the Noble Peace Prize. That
shows how sick their understanding of peace is.
As a rich person has a butler, a baker, a chauffeur, etc.,
Krishna, the Supreme Person, can engage people in different ways.
As when a king visits a prison, he does not come in as a
prisoner, similarly when Krishna comes to this world, He is not like one of us.
This world is like a dungeon, but we like it because we
do not know what the spiritual world, the real world, is like.
Although in the West there is a lot of permissiveness and
people engage in sinful activities, there is freedom of speech and freedom of
religion, and therefore people have the opportunity to hear about Krishna, and
so we are very fortunate.
The saints wrote these books because they wanted to see
everyone happy.
Spiritual life is easy, but you have be very determined.
By our chanting Hare Krishna, Krishna is happy because we
are finally turning to Him. In Brhad-bhagavatamritam,
Krishna tells how happy He is that Gopa Kumar finally turned to Him.
Along with getting happiness in Krishna consciousness,
you also get knowledge.
The night blooming lotus is especially meant for Krishna’s
dance at night with His friends.
Srila Prabhupada said, “They should give Krishna the
Nobel Prize because He is the best designer.”
Srila Prabhupada created ISKCON to give shelter to people
who want to make spiritual progress.
Krishna likes to have different moods and different
relationships with His devotees.
Krishna is easy to obtain. He is always ready to make
Himself available to the devotees.
We have to surround ourselves with Krishna’s paraphernalia
to remember Him.
If we chant even inattentively we connect with Krishna
and progress.
The devotees want to keep Krishna present in their lives.
There are so many books by the Goswamis, Bhaktivinoda
Thakura, Narottama Dasa Thakura, Kavi Karnapura, etc., just to
help us attain Krishna.
There are so many stories in the Bhagavatam of different people who have different difficulties on
their path of self-realization that we can learn from and increase our determination.
Sometimes Krishna hides to increase the sincerity of the
devotee or to increase the love of the devotee.
Most people are not fortunate enough to have complete
faith in Krishna.
People have to learn by suffering because they are not
willing to hear philosophy or listen to some preacher.
One football manager publicly said that bad things are a
result of karma, and people found that so objectionable he lost his job.
Q (by me): You have convinced a few students to become
devotees. What do you say to them?
A: I go to the same places because people need
association. Go out there, and make yourself available.
Hearing about Krishna, we become attracted Him because He
is absolute. No one can be is nice as Krishna, and the more we hear about Him,
the more we understand how that is true.
The Japanese worshiped the sun, the Egyptians worshiped
the sun, and Krishna says He originally spoke the message of Bhagavad-gita to the sun god.
In most religions, persons who actually want to know
details about God’s personality are actually very rare.
I went to India a couple of times before I was a devotee.
At that time lots of hippies were visiting India.
I talked to a guy whose girlfriend died of a drug
overdose, whose best friend died in a car accident, and who tried to kill
himself driving 100 m.p.h. while both stoned and drunk on I-75 and got in an
accident, but who walked away from it unharmed. I gave him a book and hoped he
would come to this program tonight. You just have to be detached because people
in the material world are crazy.
The
dharma of the soul is to be the eternal servant of God. It is not to be
Christian, Muslim, or Hindu.
Krishna
may not fulfill your material desires because he has a better plan for you, so
you have to be open to that.
Brahmatirtha
Prabhu:
From a breakfast conversation:
A research study concludes that the evangelical
fundamentalists have a higher rate of teenage pregnancy than the other
Christian groups. Because there is such negative energy about sexuality among
evangelical fundamentalists, the kids tend to vacillate from chastity to
indulgence.
Too much separation between men and women increases
tension, and too much mingling increases tension. Srila Prabhupada saw this,
and therefore, he intelligently allowed men and women to be together but not
intimately.
I personally noticed when the swamis came back from India
to our New York temple on Henry Street and forced separation of the sexes, it
destroyed the relaxed atmosphere between men and women that existed previously.
Srila Prabhupada’s disciple, Nitai, associated with some
people who criticized Srila Prabhupada’s guru, although Srila Prabhupada told
him not to, and thus he developed a similar mentality. Srila Prabhupada banned
Nitai from ISKCON and referred to him as “a black snake.” That is well known,
but what many people do not know is after some time passed, Srila Prabhupada
wrote to Nitai, “All is forgiven. Come back and be my Sanskrit secretary
again.” Unfortunately for Nitai, he did not do it.
Kalakantha
Prabhu:
From a Krishna House ista-goshti:
The Queen of England attended the opening of the first
Krishna Avanti school in England. They read the third verse of the
“Siksastakam” to her, describing how one who is more tolerant than a tree and
more humble than a blade of grass, who asks for no respect but respects all,
can always chant the holy name of God, and she replied, “Wouldn’t that be
lovely?”
At the Krishna Avanti schools students are required to
chant one round of japa and attend one
arati.
An ecotourist award was won by Radhanath Swami’s eco
village in Maharashtra.
One in a thousand, or 0.1%, of religion institutions last
four generations. The chart below shows that with each successive generation
some aspect of the mission is lost, beginning with intent.
Generation
|
Issues
|
Instructions
|
Context
|
Intent
|
First
|
Issues
|
Instructions
|
Context
|
Intent
|
Second
|
Issues
|
Instructions
|
Context
|
|
Third
|
Issues
|
Instructions
|
||
Fourth
|
Issues
|
Two major challenges in ISKCON:
1. Lack of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books.
2. Lack of qualified leadership
Solving lack of reading challenge:
1. Personal vows.
2. Study groups.
3. Bhakti Sastri courses.
Lack of qualified leaders:
1. GBC College, which has been going on for three years
The initial GBC was 100% American. Now it is 60% American.
Of those in the GBC college now, none are Americans, yet they come from all
other parts of the world.
The Krishna House is successful in bringing educated
Americans to ISKCON.
The mission of Krishna House:
Introductory practice of Krishna consciousness
8 rounds, low cultural expectations
encouragement, support, acceptance
no commitment beyond currect semester
We hope to bring people from sraddha to anartha-nivrtti.
Graduate options:
Degree, job, marriage, family
Brahmacari
/ brahmacarini book distribution
Sustenance farming / preaching – Krishna House International in Guyana
Business [Govinda’s], marriage, family
If anyone was Srila Prabhupada’s right hand man it was
Tamal Krishna Goswami.
There was a paper in which Tamal Krishna Goswami said he
was responsible for importing the Indian cultural values and enforcing them upon Western people.
To reduce politics we can:
Emphasize coming together for classes, field trips and harinama.
Teach straightforwardness.
To accept the 1972 Gita
with its errors is OK and to accept the 1983 Gita with its changes is OK, but to say the editing was
unauthorized and is an offense to Srila Prabhupada, and that therefore, ISKCON,
the BBT, and the GBC, are all offenders to Srila Prabhupada is aparadha, or offense, to many sincere
followers of Srila Prabhupada who have dedicated their lives to his service.
Any topic is open for discussion, no matter how
controversial. This helps politics decrease.
I became a guru five years ago. When you become a guru,
you set yourself up to be disappointed if your disciples leave.
Comments by Brahmatirtha Prabhu: I was in a temple where
the most crazy things went on. The temple president was a sannyasi, and then he got married, and Srila Prabhupada performed
the ceremony. The temple president’s wife would offer chicken to Radha Govinda.
It sort of innoculated me from craziness in ISKCON. Nothing I encountered in
the future was quite that crazy. I learned a lot from how Srila Prabhupada
dealt with that situation. He praised those who put a stop to the craziness and
those who continued with their services despite it, and he chastised those leaders
who allowed it to happen.
Comment by Kaliya Damona Prabhu: At a Rainbow Gathering I
once asked Radhanath Swami why he stayed at New Vrindavan, although
Kirtanananda Swami was doing so many unusual, nonstandard things.
Radhanath Swami replied, “When a devotee has
difficulties, other devotees should not push him down. Instead they should
support him.”
From a class on Bhagavad-gita:
A brahmacari lives
in the ashram of the spiritual master, and the grhastha creates his own ashram.
Ideally it is progress to enter grhastha life, because one takes responsibility for others.
The spiritual master reveals the best way for us to serve
Krishna.
Part of life is learning what you are good at, what can
you do for a long time without any real endeavor.
Arjuna goes through so many moods in the Bhagavad-gita. He is so human. He
confidently orders Krishna to drive his chariot in the midst of the armies. He
is overcome with compassion seeing his friends and relatives on the other side.
Then he becomes exasperated and gives up trying to figure it out, and he surrenders
to Krishna.
When we choose to go to Krishna, despite our different
personal considerations, Krishna will reciprocate and come to us.
The jnani wants
to know everything, and once he knows everything, he agrees to surrender. The bhakta wants to surrender, and by
surrendering, he comes to know everything.
Lilananda Prabhu:
One
Indian student did not do well academically and decided to commit suicide. He
tried to hang himself, but the rope broke. He tried to poison himself, but the
rat poison was imitation. He decided to have a train run over him, but the
train was delayed 6 hours. He gave up, deciding that God wanted him to live.
Nagaraja
Prabhu:
Srimad-Bhagavatam
is considered to be truth.
Srila Prabhupada in his poem on the boat expressed faith
that the words of Srimad-Bhagavatam had
the power to change people’s hearts.
Vyasa split up the Vedic knowledge so different sages
could specialize in it.
Even God’s literary incarnation had a spiritual master.
Narada told the dissatisfied Vyasa in effect, “Spread the
name and fame of the Lord. Be explicit and expansive in your description.”
Srila Prabhupada said that people have always looked to
India for spiritual knowledge.
Mundane literature has value for our lives in this world
but these do not last forever.
People have an appreciation of features of goodness such
as morality but as far as transcendence or connecting with God, the aim of the
yoga system, not so much interest is there.
Srila Prabhupada often called for his comrades in India
to help him spread India’s spiritual message to benefit the world.
Although Srila Prabhupada had so many challenges, he
always pressed on. He never gave up. It was the mission his spiritual master
had given. There was no question of giving up.
He had absolute faith in the holy name of Krishna.
Indologists cannot make sense out of the vast Vedic
literature.
The Srimad-Bhagavatam,
step by step, almost imperceptibly, leads us to higher levels of
realization. It is in a class by itself. It is called the amala purana.
We think the creator is God, but Krishna is the creator
of the creator.
Lord Brahma is like a candle compared to the sun of Lord Krishna.
The Bhagavatam
is very encouraging literature.
Talks of Krishna are Krishna as the Hare Krishna mantra
is Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada often advised in his lectures, regarding
the Bhagavatam, “Please take this
seriously.”
Puskara
Prabhu:
We may foolish think that Krishna needs our offering, but
in reality, Krishna is self-sufficient.
Srila Prabhupada said his disciples dressed the deities
in Hawaii so beautifully that anyone visiting from India would be impressed.
The devotees have no qualification. How have they done this? Prabhupada explained that Krishna had
inspired them in the heart.
If we were to get the glances of those sixteen thousand
queens, we would not last very long, but Krishna was completely undisturbed.
All the oceans we can think of as tears because there is
so much crying go on in the material world, but it is dried up by the glance of
the Lord. It is said, “A yogi should similarly meditate on the most benevolent
smile of Lord Sri Hari, a smile which, for all those who bow to Him, dries away
the ocean of tears caused by intense grief.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.28.32)
We are constantly trying to enjoy that which Krishna
considers insignificant.
Comment by Pran Govinda Prabhu: Srila Prabhupada said if you
want to know the Radha Krishna pastimes, study this song by Srinivasa Acarya
“Sad Goswamyastaka.”
Srila Prabhupada wanted us to all come to the level of
Goswami, especially the devotees in Vrindavan, and especially our leaders
there.
Srila Prabhupada gave you more than you can do in
millions of lifetimes. People say Srila Prabhupada did not give us this or
that. First do whatever Srila Prabhupada gave and then ask for more.
If we do not get reciprocation, we should think, “I am not
doing much service.”
Srila Prabhupada said we should not be envious of others.
We should simply think that Krishna wants them to that service.
Jiva Goswami quotes the same verses in the different sandarbhas and reveals them in different
ways.
The more we consider the verses and the pastimes, the
more we get Krishna prema [love of God].
After Srila Prabhupada printed The Nectar of Devotion, he said, “Don’t come to me asking
questions. Read it over again.”
When I first joined, I heard devotees speak of
detachment, but I saw everyone there just seemed to be becoming attached to
Krishna.
In Los Angeles, in one second Srila Prabhupada looked
around the room, and all present experienced that Srila Prabhupada glanced at
them.
Jayadvaita Swami tells one story: In one Delhi spiritual
program, an industrial fan was blowing so loud no one could hear the speakers.
Srila Prabhupada motioned for Jayadvaita Swami to turn it off, but when he
heard the speaker was presenting a bogus philosophy, he motioned for Jayadvaita
Swami to turn it back on!
Trivikrama
Prabhu:
I had a doubt. If Krishna came to reestablish religion,
why did Krishna appear at the end of Dvapara-yuga? After many years an answer
occurred to me which is supported by today’s verse: “My dear Lord, those pious
and saintly persons who in the age of Kali hear about Your transcendental
activities and also glorify them will easily cross over the darkness of the
age.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.6.24) Lord
Krishna came to establish religious principles for those in the age of Kali.
In a conversation with Sita, Lord Rama spoke about
Kali-yuga. He explained that in Kali-yuga there is no place for a sadhu.
Everyone will be engaged in sinful activities. There will be some karma and
dharma, but there will be no sharma [peace of mind, happiness, delight,
good fortune].
In this age we have an opinion about everything, and we think
we do not need to follow the scriptures.
King Yayati is famous as the father of Yadu, in whose
dynasty Krishna appeared. Devayani, the wife of Yayati, is not so well known,
so I will tell you about her. Devayani is the daughter of Sukracarya, the guru
of demons. Kaca, the son of Brhaspati, the guru of the demigods, studied in the
ashram of Sukracarya. Devayani fell in love with Kaca, while he was studying in
the ashram. The demons were envious of Kaca, and they killed him, but
Sukracarya brought him back to life. The demons killed him again and cut his
body into pieces, but Sukracarya again brought him back to life. The demons
again killed Kaca and mixed his body in a liquid which they fed to Sukracarya,
in order that Sukracarya could not bring him back to life again. Devayani was
cursed to not marry a brahmana, and
that is why she ended up marrying Yayati, a king.
Kaliya
Damona Prabhu:
Without humility, you cannot understand anything.
If you serve others with the same enthusiasm as you serve
your guru, the “Siksastakam” will come alive for you.
In both Vedic and Hawaiian traditional life, there are
prayers for planting and watering the crops.
In our different activities we can be conscious of acting
in such a way as to be of service others. Clean the food out of the sink. Do
not leave your shoes in the doorway.
It is good to say your marriage vows every month to keep
it alive.
As devotees, we are supposed to be exemplary in the eyes
of the public. That is a great responsibility.
Comment by Ekayani Devi Dasi: Your chanting improves your
service, and your service improves your chanting.
If you are having a problem with a certain devotee, you
can choose to consider that devotee to be your best teacher.
When we do not do the the things that Srila Prabhupada
advised us to do each day, we lose our taste, and then we have to recommit
ourselves.
We have to present things so the people we are advising do
not have a false ego flare up.
Comment by Abhimanyu Prabhu: Both the service and the
offenses are increased by 1,000 times in Vrindavan.
Caitanya
Carana Prabhu:
From a Friday night Krishna House program:
Bhagavad-gita
is the eye to see the “I.”
According to our conception of ourself we choose a course
of action and aspire for a certain destiny.
We experience conflict when our conception of ourself is
not compatible with our activities. If one goes to the university seeking a
marriage partner, he may find his studies are getting in the way.
Before we can do time management, we have to do identity
management.
Arjuna is challenged because of conflicting identities,
as a ksatriya meant to protect dharma
in society and as a Kuru meant to protect his family members.
Some people say religion is the cause of war, but most of the
biggest wars in human history had nothing to do with religion.
Arjuna does not ask Krishna whether he should fight or
not fight but rather, “What is dharma?”
Activities which restore us to the natural order of
things are dharma, the duty that brings us back to our nature.
“What is dharma?” is the question that makes Bhagavad-gita universal.
Although Krishna speaks over six hundred verses, no more
than six have to do with the fight.
Is Arjuna a ksatriya
or a Kuru? You can say both, and you can also say neither.
In addition to knowing who we are, it is important to know
whose we are. Krishna says all souls are part of Him.
Most religious scriptures are someone speaking about God,
but Bhagavad-gita is God speaking
about Himself.
Bhagavad-gita
describes that God is a being who manifests at different
levels.
Although people are not attracted to the external
practice of renunciation, they are attracted to the result of renunciation,
peace of mind.
There are universal characteristics of God, and in Bhagavad-gita we see the personal
identity of God, Krishna, who has these characteristics.
In the story of the prodigal son, the word ‘prodigal’
means wasteful.
When Europeans went to India, they saw the worship of
many gods and assumed it was similar to pre-Christian worship of many gods as
in Rome or Greece. The different gods have different responsibilities. But
reading the Bhagavad-gita, it is
clear there is one Supreme God.
In the West, there is a conception that there is one true
God, and all other Gods are false. Thus the Isis people destroy all shrines of
any other religion, even other branches of Islam.
Krishna is not a jealous God. He says, “If you do not
want to worship Me, you can worship another god, and I will make your faith in
that god steady.” (Bhagavad-gita
7.21–22).
These devatas (demigods)
can be seen as representatives of the Supreme Lord.
For people who are completely godless, worship of the devatas is a step up, but for one engaged in the
worship of the Supreme Lord, worship of the devatas
is step backwards.
Other identities, besides being a servant of God, are
dependent on changing circumstances, and they are ultimately a cause of
frustration.
We may have a plan for our life, based on a temporary
identity, that is completely frustrated, but if we are fixed in our eternal
identity, then our bewilderment will only be temporary, and we will not be
discouraged.
Srila Prabhupada was asked, “What is the best prayer?”
He replied, “Please give me the strength to serve You.”
He replied, “Please give me the strength to serve You.”
God is the greatest person, so serving Him is a great
thing. Just like if someone works for Apple Computer, he is proud because he is
working for a great company.
Although in Bhagavad-gita
2.13, Krishna explains to Arjuna that he is not his body, in the very next
verse, he calls Arjuna the by names Kaunteya and Bharata, hoping to inspire him
in dharma by reminding him of his great heritage from both his mother’s and his
father’s families. That heritage is based on the temporary body, but Krishna
uses it to motivate Arjuna to act for the eternal dharma of the soul.
From a Monday Srimad-Bhagavatam class at Krishna House:
I will speak on going from grudges to gratitude.
The bad things that happen to us do not hurt us as much
as our resentment caused by them.
This resentment is like a wall preventing ourselves from
moving forward.
We repeatedly think about the incident, and our resentment
only increases.
A theme in Srimad-Bhagavtam
is “God’s power to heal is greater than the world’s power to hurt.” The Bhagavatam begins with injustice of the
cursing of the innocent King Pariksit. The solution given to the problem is to
raise one’s consciousness toward God.
It is part of our duty to try to make a stable situation
for our service.
It is important to see the universal application of the
issue and not get absorbed in the details.
Resentment blocks us from accessing God’s power to heal.
I summarize Bhagavatam
verses in five or six words. For this verse, Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.8, I came up with, “Cultivate aggressive gratitude.”
Satisfaction is said by Krishna to be the first austerity
of the mind (Bhagavad-gita 17.16).
Usually we think of satisfaction as an emotion, but actually satisfaction is a
decision. If I contemplate things that cause satisfaction, I will become
satisfied.
Imagine a feast where everyone is served a plate of
amazing prasadam, but where each
plate is different. You can choose to be satisfied with the amazing prasadam you were given, or you can look
at the plates of others and lament about what they got that you did not.
Krishna is not a vindictive God. Suffering comes as a
reaction from the laws of nature, but Krishna can protect us from this
suffering.
By absorbing our consciousness in Krishna, our suffering
is reduced.
If we look at our life, we can see so many things right
in our life, even on the material level. We can also see so many people are
suffering more than we are. Even if we are suffering a lot, how many people
know that by remembering Krishna their suffering will be reduced? We are very
fortunate.
We must search for those things to be grateful to for. By
doing so we become free from resentment.
Q (Kalakantha Prabhu): What is behind our tendency to
promote our suffering as being greater than others?
A: Here are some reasons:
(1) As a child, we learn if we cry then we get attention.
(2) To the extent we delight in material pleasure, we
obsess in material suffering.
Q (by Shyamala Kishori dd): How do we know if we should
tolerate or leave?
A: Krishna tells Arjuna not to tolerate the misbehavior
of the Kurus but to tolerate the miseries of fighting the war. Tolerance is the
virtue of keeping small things small so we can focus on the big things. If what
is troubling us is a big thing, then a change needs to be made.
There are three responses:
1. Change ourself and tolerate.
2. Change others or change the situation.
3. Walk away.
Tolerance means no knee jerk reactions.
Low esteem is false ego frustrated, but humility is false
ego transcended. Low esteem is the negative of megalomania. In both cases, it
is all about me.
Two comments by me:
1. I wanted to share this relevant verse:
mad-asrayah katha mrstah
srnvanti kathayanti ca
tapanti vividhas tapa
naitan mad-gata-cetasah
srnvanti kathayanti ca
tapanti vividhas tapa
naitan mad-gata-cetasah
“Engaged constantly in chanting and
hearing about Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sadhus do not suffer
from material miseries because they are always filled with thoughts of My
pastimes and activities.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam
3.25.23)
2. In Alachua one speaker said that once a devotee
interviewed 500 devotees who left ISKCON to find out why they left. He found
they had respect and faith in Srila Prabhupada, but they could not apply the “tat te ’nukampam” verse we are
discussing today. Could you comment on that?
A: That is true from the individual’s perspective, but
from the institutional point of view we should think, “What did we do wrong so
they wanted to leave?”
I saw one bumper sticker in America in a Bible Belt
state:
“Oh, God. Please save us from Your preachers.”
“Oh, God. Please save us from Your preachers.”
From a breakfast conversation:
“Aversion to making commitments is not detachment.”
We have faith and doubt sessions for college students,
where the students express what they have faith in and what they have doubts
about. We do this in order to build their conviction.
In India we focus on the pious people and remove their
intellectual doubts so they can act on their natural piety. This is because
that is easy for us. There are so many intellectuals we have not reached.
Rupachandra
Prabhu:
From a lecture on time management:
From the moment we are born, to our last breath we are
forced by time to perform a series of actions. We are prisoners of time.
But how do we get out???
How do we manage our desires?
How do we manage our time?
I see my professors always complain about being busy and
not having enough time to do this or that.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
3.11.3 gives a definition of time:
“One can estimate time by measuring the movement of the
atomic combination of bodies. Time is the potency of the almighty Personality
of Godhead, Hari, who controls all physical movement although He is not visible
in the physical world.”
In Bhagavad-gita 11.32,
Krishna says, “Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds.”
Time is a gift from God, thus we should give our time
back to God. Actually we should give all our time to God, but we can start by
giving some time to God each day.
If we spend 15 minutes on God a day, that is about 1% of
our time. The other 99% of our time is spent on things that animals also do.
A healthy soul should realize that he is spiritual being,
part and parcel of God, and use his intelligence to control his mind.
We have to pray to the Lord to transcend the three modes of
material nature.
We tend to live from one deadline to another, always in
an emergency situation.
We sometimes made a time table that is too difficult. We
give up after three days, and we become demoralized. The solution is to make
two tables, an easy one and an ideal one.
Use the easy one to become regulated and make it a
routine.
Analyze where you are wasting time.
If people waste your time, keep it to yourself. Otherwise
your wife and friends will become annoyed with you.
By regulating your body, you develop piece of mind.
Before sunrise is the mode of goodness and best time for
spiritual activity.
After my spiritual program and after breakfast, I plan my
day.
Daily planning is crucial to our time planning program.
If you stay up late and sleep in, in the long run you
will be less productive because you are going against the natural modes of
nature.
Write all appointments down within 5 minutes. Do not
trust your memory. Write down the address with the appointment so you do not
have to find it at the last minute.
Do not make appointments sooner than 3 days from the
present unless they are very important.
Keep a list of things that you always wanted to do but
you never did – a book to read, a verse to memorize, a musical instrument to learn.
Keep a list of friends you really want to keep up with. Keep a list of dream
projects. Keep a list of daily chores and rotating chores, which you have to do
periodically.
Have a list of things to do today which you compile from
the other lists during your planning time. Prioritize according to the importance
of your tasks. Keep notes on things you failed to do. Have a “to buy” list.
If you do a spiritual sadhana
or practice, you can eliminate a
lot of unnecessary activities, and you can end up actually saving a lot of
time.
If your life has a lot of chaos in it, it is even more
important to have a regulated daily program.
People need different types of religions to cater to
them, to connect with God or to a least control their minds and senses.
From Srimad-Bhagavatam
class:
People are so selfish these days that people who care for
their family members nicely in addition to themselves are glorified in society.
Mother Theresa is famous for leaving her native country
and going to Calcutta and helping the impoverished.
Leaders realize that a society full of selfish people
will always compete and create quarrel. Thus they promote unselfishness in
different ways.
Hari
Parayana Prabhu:
From a Sunday feast lecture on Shiva Ratri:
Shiva means auspicious, pure,
blissful, and sacred, and Lord Shiva has all these good qualities.
Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva, is
not part of this earth nor is it easily accessible from earth.
There is Shiva, who resides in
Kailasa, and Sadashiva, an expansion of Krishna, who resides in Vaikuntha.
Intoxicated by ecstatic love,
Sadashiva, sings about the qualities and pastimes of Krishna (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 6.81).
Shiva is the conveyer of the glance
of Maha-Vishnu.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.70
is an instruction of Shiva to worship Vishnu: “Therefore, O sons of the King,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is situated in everyone’s heart. He
is also within your hearts. Therefore chant the glories of the Lord and always
meditate upon Him continuously.”
Shiva informs us, “What to speak of
any blessings on this earth or on Svarga [heaven] even the blessing of
liberation cannot compare with even half a moment’s association of a devotee of
the Lord.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.57)
Comment by Pran Govinda Prabhu: Lord Brahma
takes care of those who do karma, and Lord Vishnu takes care of those who do
bhakti, but Lord Shiva takes care of those who do all nonsense.
Comment by Jaya Sila Prabhu: Lord Shiva
says he holds a trident only to protect Lord Krishna’s devotees.
Q: Why is the moon on Lord Shiva’s
head?
A: Soma, the moon god, kidnapped the
wife of his guru, Brhaspati, and Daksa, the father of the girl, was very angry
with him, and thus Soma sought shelter of Lord Shiva.
Although some of Lord Shiva’s followers
consider the supreme to be impersonal, Lord Shiva himself worships the supreme
form of Lord Vishnu.
Tulasirani
Devi Dasi:
Even as a kid I realized I was most happy serving others.
But I wondered, “Am I doing something good
for another just because it makes me
feel good or do I actually want to benefit the other person? Is there really
pure selflessness?” When I met the devotees, I found some who were genuinely
selfless, and I was reassured to see that.
When I was visiting home I was not feeling well and I
said to my mother, “My body is not feeling well.” I was not planning to preach
to my mother but she was upset that I did not say “I am not feeling well,” and
so I started explaining how the soul is always full of joy and problem was the
body was not feeling well. She did not appreciate my explanation.
Pure selflessness is the same as pure selfishness, if
one’s heart is pure. [Because the identity of the self is to be the servant of
Krishna, our self-interest is to serve Krishna selflessly.]
The Vrajavasis’ love for Krishna was uncontrollable, and
it surpassed the love they had for their own offspring.
When Krishna manifested himself as the missing cowherd
boys the imitations extended to making copies of the individual sticks the boys
used to herd the cows.
The Vrajavasis do not worry how Krishna will reciprocate
their love.
There are three main paradoxes in the Damodara pastime of
Lord Krishna:
1. Although he is feared by fear personified, how is He
afraid of Yashoda?
2. How can an ordinary woman catch the unlimited Supreme
Lord?
3. How can anyone bind the unlimited Supreme Lord?
The nice thing about this pastime is there is so much
bhakti in it.
In the beginning it is important to have reverence for
God, but for the pure residents of the spiritual world reverence hinders their
pure bhakti.
Mother Yashoda got the best cows and fed them the best
grass to get the best milk for her son, Krishna. Thus when the milk began to
boil over, to stop it Yashoda immediately set Krishna down, although He had not
finished drinking her breast milk.
Murali
Gopal Prabhu:
From a Bhaktivedanta Institute of Gainesville meeting:
The Fifth Canto deals with cosmography, or how the
universe is laid out. Cosmology, which deals with the origin of the universe,
is discussed in the Second and Third Cantos.
Anantasesa
Vaishnavi Devi Dasi:
From a restaurant conversation:
Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami says that Udupi is the most
sattvic [infused with the quality of goodness] city in India. I noticed myself
that the houses for sale in Udupi all have puja
[worship] rooms whereas in Mumbai and Chennai they do not. In one temple in
Udupi they chant six hours of Hare Krishna every day.
Abhimanyu Prabhu:
Both
pious and impious work are bad for the soul because they bind the soul to this
world.
Anyone
involved in any way in the offering a devotee makes to Krishna makes eternal
spiritual benefit.
Mohit
(University of South Florida Bhakti Yoga Club president):
From his welcoming announcement at a sacred sounds event:
Everyone
is welcome regardless of race, gender, or color. We enjoy dance and food
together and forget that things such as racism exist.
-----
Simply by remembering God, we can become free from all
our karma, the Lord is so kind! Prabhupada is so kind to give us so many books
with detailed knowledge about the form, qualities, pastimes, and instructions
of the Lord so it is very easy to remember Him. Let us share this good fortune.
yad-anudhyasina yuktah
karma-granthi-nibandhanam
chindanti kovidas tasya
ko na kuryat katha-ratim
“With sword in hand, intelligent men cut through the
binding knots of reactionary work [karma] by remembering the Personality of
Godhead. Therefore, who will not pay attention to His message?” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.15)