Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 13, No. 10
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2017, part two)
Paris
(Sent from Paris on June 12, 2017)
(May 2017, part two)
Paris
(Sent from Paris on June 12, 2017)
Where
I Went and What I Did
I
spent the entire second half of May chanting Hare Krishna for three
hours each day in
different venues in Paris. It
was nice for me to stay in the Paris temple, with a morning program
and beautiful deities of Radha and Krishna (Parisisvara),
which was an increase for me over The North of England. Also by the
grace of Krishna, every day devotees joined me on harinama:
Date Place #
of Devotees
05/17/17 Republique 9
05/18/17 Caumartin 8
05/19/17 Republique 6
05/20/17 Caumartin 15
05/21/17 Gare
du Nord 5
05/22/17 Garges
Sarcelles 4
05/23/17 Montmartre 3
05/24/17 Republique 3
05/25/17 Republique 9
05/26/17 Republique 7
05/27/17 Republique 15–20
05/28/17 Gare
du Nord 11
05/29/17 Garges
Sarcelles 3
05/30/17 Bastille 3
05/31/17 Republique 8
In
recent years, devotees only did harinamas in
Paris on Thursday and Saturday, and to get so many people coming out on a daily basis was impressive. Thanks to Pranesvara Prabhu (Ram Das)
for coming out almost every day and Kalavati Devi Dasi for coming out
several days a week and talking to people and distributing books and
prasadam and
collecting emails of favorable people.
I
share excerpts from the books and online journal of Satsvarupa Dasa
Goswami. I share notes on classes by Janananda Goswami, Pitavasa
Prabhu, Bhavasindhu Prabhu, Nitai Gaurasundara Prabhu, Vicaru Prabhu,
Aksayananda Prabhu, and Gauranga Prema Prabhu. I share some
realizations of Yasoda Dulal Prabhu from a conversation and of Murali
Gopal Prabhu from a seminar on Vedic cosmology.
Many
thanks to Pranesvara Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, who
volunteered to pay travel expenses for devotees to go on harinama
in
Paris.
Thanks
to Mantrini Devi Dasi for her photo of a sign in front of a Baptist
Church with a quote from God. Thanks to the Paris ISKCON Facebook
people for their photos of harinama
in
Paris. Thanks to Bianka of Hungary for her photos of me on harinama
and
at kirtan programs. Thanks to Atmarama
Rasa Prabhu for his photo
of devotees at Bhakti Loka. Thanks to Jean-Baptiste, a Paris
photographer, for his photo of me singing by the Indian shops near
Gare du Nord.
Itinerary
June
4–July 14:
Paris
July
15–18:
Leicester Ratha-yatra and harinamas
July
19: Newcastle harinama
and
kirtan
July
20: Chester harinama
and
program
July
22: Oxford Ratha-yatra
July
23: Birmingham Ratha-yatra
July
24–25:
Scarborough area harinamas
July
26–27:
Preston area harinamas
July
27: Accrington program
July
28: London
July
29–July 31: Berlin Ratha-yatra and harinamas
August
1–6: Polish Woodstock
August
7: Dublin
August
8: Boston
August
9–16: Ottawa Vaishnava Sanga Retreat / Janmastami and Vyasa-puja
August
17–27: North UK Ratha-yatra Tour
August
28–September 5: UK and Ireland
September
5–November ?: New York City (ex. Sept. 19–23: Philadelphia)
November
?– November 30: Florida
December:
New York City
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Paris
On
the days when we had lots of people on the party, I was free to take
some videos.
Here
Vicaru
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna outside Printemps, a massive high-end shop
in Paris, on a very rainy Thursday.
Refugee kids dance and otherwise interact with devotees
(https://youtu.be/qb1OU-rdgdo):
A
lively group of Paris devotees chants Hare Krishna with enthusiasm
every Saturday for two or three hours, this time outside Printemps.
Passersby often take photos and/or dance, and a few brave souls
accept spiritual food and literature (https://youtu.be/xaBcr1V8bCk):
Usually I danced and distributed literature.
Although sometimes I sang.
Here
Gaura Bhakta, Gauranga Prema, and Jagattarini Prabhus along with
myself, led the chanting of Hare Krishna at Republique in Paris and
passersby danced and learned the karatalas
(https://youtu.be/At8hYPTTtSw):
Another
day at Republique, a young girl played with the karatalas
as Pranesvara Prabhu and I chanted Hare Krishna
(https://youtu.be/yFgXWGIMkcM):
Later
that day, a devotee boy played harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna
(https://youtu.be/j-rsLnSLpXY):
Here
Gauranga
Prema Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, Anton plays clarinet, a devotee
couple from Chile dances and Kalavati Devi Dasi distributes books at
Republique (https://youtu.be/mUNWVpjIMhw):
Later
that day, Raghava
Pandit Prabhu of Chile chanted
Hare Krishna and a friend played
accordion and Kalavati Devi Dasi danced
(https://youtu.be/j_xnmEgcGcc):
One
Saturday when there was too much competition with other musicians at Republique, the devotees did harinama
along
a canal. Yasoda Dulal Prabhu led the chanting
(https://youtu.be/FIziEvNnGGs):
I
distributed prasadam
burfi along
the canal, and many people tried it.
On
Sunday’s I would chant on the street between Gare du Nord and Place
de la Chapelle where there are lots of Indian shops. Many people
would give donations, and I could fund my weekly transit pass in this
way. Once a local photographer named Jean-Baptiste took a photo of me
singing there before others joined me, and he sent it to me by email:
Here
Yasoda Dulal Prabhu leads the chanting by the Indian shops near Gare
du Nord (https://youtu.be/68Kmi3s4Z0c):
Wednesday
Evening Kirtan
Every Wednesday evening Atmarama Rasa (center) and Jagattarini (playing clarinet) have kirtan at their apartment for an hour, followed by tea. Many new devotees come. All are encouraged to lead the kirtan sometimes and to learn to play the different instruments.
While going to attend that program, one day on a crowded bus in a Paris traffic jam, two guys had a heated argument which disturbed my mind and those of others. Some people tried unsuccessfully to stop them. After a while I picked up my harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna kirtan softly for two minutes, and they quieted down. A couple of people smiled broadly in appreciation. The guys rekindled their argument after a few minutes, and I chanted again. This time they quieted down after half a minute. Chanting Hare Krishna is the solution in this age of quarrel.
While going to attend that program, one day on a crowded bus in a Paris traffic jam, two guys had a heated argument which disturbed my mind and those of others. Some people tried unsuccessfully to stop them. After a while I picked up my harmonium and chanted Hare Krishna kirtan softly for two minutes, and they quieted down. A couple of people smiled broadly in appreciation. The guys rekindled their argument after a few minutes, and I chanted again. This time they quieted down after half a minute. Chanting Hare Krishna is the solution in this age of quarrel.
Sunday
Morning Program at Bhakti Loka
Aksayananda
Prabhu has a program at his apartment on Sunday morning with kirtan,
Srimad-Bhagavatam
class,
prasadam,
and
more kirtan.
Here
Yasoda Dulal Prabhu chants during the kirtan at the end of the Bhakti
Loka program (https://youtu.be/keDLG10bgyI):
Here
Jagattarini Devi Dasi chants during the kirtan at the end of the
Bhakti Loka program (https://youtu.be/pMSltY-7bvQ):
Here
Olivier, a musician who has only been coming around for a few weeks,
chants a tune of his own during the kirtan at the end of the Bhakti
Loka program (https://youtu.be/iAWdvtPrpwI):
Advice
from God
Last
issue I mentioned that a Baptist preacher told us in Newcastle that
God was more concerned that we love each other than that we agree
with each other. When I shared that quote on Facebook, Mantrini Devi
Dasi shared a Baptist quote of her own with me:
Insights
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
a “Japa Poem”:
“When Prabhupada was in Tehran
he
told a group of Muslims
that
the sound vibration ‘Allah’ was non-different
from
Allah Himself. They could not accept
it.
But it
is
an absolute fact.”
From
another “Japa Poem”:
“I
wrote of preparing for a Bhagavatam class.
I
picked verses from the First Canto
where
Vyasadeva expresses
his
despondency after compiling
the
Vedas.
He thinks,
‘This
may be because
I
did not specifically
point
out the devotional service
of
the Lord.’
In
my diary I comment,
‘This
is the story
of
my japa
retreat’ –
indicating
I am
dissatisfied
with my
japa
because I
didn’t
chant with love.”
From
Begging
for the Nectar of the Holy Name:
“I want to really understand how important it is to beseech the mind to cooperate with our attempts to chant japa. In a sense, the mind is responsible for our japa. When the mind is under control, we can actually hear the holy names without being attentive to other ‘noises.’ It requires the cooperation of the mind.
“Of course, we also know that it is not just the ‘badness’ of our minds, but the material world is filled with distraction. However, the mind has become so implicated in past activities and impressions that he has become part of the problem.
“Krishna’s power and attraction is greater than maya’s, so although it is not easy for the mind, we have to coax him, sometimes sternly, and preach to him about the wonderful effects that will come from hearing the holy name in faith. So manah-siksa, to instruct and pray to the mind, is a central part of japa.”
“One way to practice manah-siksa is to talk to the mind during japa (or at other times) and ask for his full cooperation. We also have to ensure that the mind does not become absorbed in other things, either during the japa hour or during the day. We have to protect our minds from mundane engagement. Then, if we become enough of a friend of our mind, we can become aware of our mental activity. We can become conscious. The mind will begin to signal to us: ‘Now I am thinking nonsense, now I am chewing the chewed. What are you going to do about it?’ When the mind gives that signal, then we can immediately preach to our minds: ‘Wake up! Hear the holy names!’ Therefore, dear friends, let’s follow the previous acaryas and instruct our minds in a friendly way, always conscious of the goal we want to attain—attentive, devotional chanting.”
From
Prabhupada
Nectar:
Once
in the middle of the night, Srila Prabhupada awoke his servant, and
announced his decision, “I want to go back to Godhead. I want go to
Mayapur.”
[Regarding
Srila Prabhupada:] “His purity created an aloofness from those who
were impure.”
Srila
Prabhupada said, “It is my responsibility to make sure all the
aratis
are
going on and all the floors are swept in our temples all over the
world. By your cleaning the floor in a particular temple, you are
assisting me. Just like if I was offering a arati
and
you hand me the fan, in the same way, you are assisting me.”
Comment
by Vicaru Prabhu: Srila Prabhupada likened Westerners to people who
were asleep and Indians to people who were pretending to be asleep.
It is easy to wake up a person who is asleep, but it is difficult to
wake up someone pretending to be asleep. The Westerners did not know
about Krishna, and so they could easily accept the knowledge that
Srila Prabhupada gave, while the Indians, often thinking they already
knew Krishna, could not hear what he was saying.
Janananda
Goswami:
One
may think the incarnations of God in different forms are fantastic
and inconceivable, but there are lots of amazing things in the
universe. Consider a tiny insect: within that small body there is a
brain, a digestive system, etc. So many things are going on! No
scientist has designed it or built it, but there it is.
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura explained that you cannot understand how God can be
all-pervading throughout the universe and also localized in the
spiritual world until you come to the level of Brahman realization.
On
the platform of material identification we cannot understand the
situation of Personality of Godhead.
Surrender
to or acceptance of the fact that the Supreme Personality of Godhead
is not affected by the material energy is an important step in
understanding Him in truth.
People
dress differently for different purposes although they remain the
same internally. One wears a wetsuit when going scuba diving but not
to the office. Similarly the Lord takes on different forms to
accomplish His purposes although remaining the same person.
Remembering
the presiding deity of each of the elements purifies us of attachment
to these elements and is another facility given by the Lord for our
purification.
The
name of the English town Swindon [where Janananda Goswami comes from]
derives from “Swine Down” and historically was a region of pig
farmers.
If
there is a cockroach incarnation of the Lord, He would not be
affected by the different poisons one uses to get rid of them.
Some
Puranas describe things in one way, but other Puranas describe them
differently for persons who are not yet able to assimilate the actual
understanding.
Pitavasa
Prabhu:
People
in general do not have a clear idea of the soul. Some speak of
animals as having a different kind of soul. Others speak of a Jewish
soul.
We
may feel unqualified to distribute Krishna consciousness, but if we
try to distribute Krishna consciousness, the Lord, being pleased with
us, will give us the necessary qualifications.
There
was a blind man who would chant the glories of the Lord outside a
certain temple in India always. The ritualistic smarta
brahmanas
would
tease him. One day in dressing the deity, the brahmanas
neglected
to give Krishna His flute, but the blind man noticed that in his
meditation, and he corrected them to their surprise.
There
are songs that become famous for just some few weeks on the top ten,
but I have been chanting Hare Krishna for several decades, and I
never get tired of it.
There
are billions of living entities that are waiting for this human form
of life, so we must be careful to use our human life for spiritual
realization. The chanting of the holy name is so powerful that it can
benefit all kinds of living entities.
There
are so many rites of purification in the Vedic literature but none
compares to the chanting of the holy name.
Bhavasindhu
Prabhu:
For
a devotee, every place should be a temple.
As
soon as a traveler gets to his hotel room, he should get out his
Bhagavad-gita
and
install it, making the place a temple.
Krishna
says, “He who meditates on Me as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated
from the path, he, O Partha, is sure to reach Me.” The key is to be
“undeviated from the path.” We may have difficulties, but we will
be successful if we are “undeviated from the path.”
Comment
by Rajadharma Prabhu: My Guru Maharaja, Bhakti Charu Swami, would
say, “Whether you are a pot washer or the temple president, if you
want to control, everyone will hate you, but if you want to serve,
everyone will love you.”
Nitai
Gaurasundara Prabhu:
The
Lord reveals Himself through His devotees. He gives intelligence to
devotees who are preaching His glories.
The
devotees do not chant mantras for liberation but to glorify the Lord
because they take pleasure in doing so.
Laksmi’s
prayer is full of knowledge of the Lord and is very condensed.
It
is great mercy to see God everywhere as most people see God nowhere.
They see God’s energy but have no idea where it came from.
The
impersonalists consider God does not exist but is merely a
conception.
In
sadhana-bhakti we are trained
to understand the energies of the Lord working.
One
who is not determined on the spiritual path cannot control the mind.
When
one writes a biography he puts his own opinion in it, depending on
whether he likes or hates the person. The biography of God that
Vrindavan Das Thakur wrote, however, is based on facts that were
revealed to him by persons who knew.
Vrindavan
das Thakur was a cowherd boy in Krishna’s pastimes and thus was
very absorbed in the pastimes of Lord Nityananda. He knew others
would also write about Lord Caitanya, and he left lots out for them
to tell.
Vrindavan
das Thakur greatly warns about the destructive influence of
criticizing devotees.
In
Lord Caitanya’s childhood pastimes He shows how much he likes food
cooked by His devotees in love by crawling on the altar three times
to eat the food a brahmana offered.
He also demonstrates this by requesting the food that Jagadish and
his brother offered to Lord Vishnu on the Ekadasi day.
Nimai
demonstrates that He wants to hear from His mother about defeating
Mayavadi philosophy.
Comment
by Rajadharma Prabhu: When Nimai would be chastised by His mother,
He would run outside because His mother would not leave home because
it was the custom that the chaste ladies stay at home.
Comment
by Pitavasa Prabhu: Devotees relish when the Lord shows symptoms of a
normal child yet in the course of such play He also demonstrates His
supernatural power, as Krishna did by killing the demoniac.
Parents
nowadays become frustrated trying to control their kids, but when
Nimai would act in a naughty way, Sacimata became more loving toward
Him.
Comment
by Pitavasa Prabhu: The Vedic understanding was that children under
five would be corrected but not punished, children between five and
fourteen are punished if they misbehave, but after fifteen they are
treated as friends, otherwise they will revolt and leave the parents.
Comment
by Pitavasa Prabhu: When Krishna steals, it is not like ordinary
stealing because Krishna is reminding us that everything in reality
belongs to Him.
Laksmi
knows the Lord in detail. We are here to increase our knowledge and
appreciation of the Lord, and we can learn from her.
She
glorifies the Lord as the only beneficiary. We tend to glorify so
many people with gold medals, but actually all glory goes to the
Lord, the source of their sensory abilities. The
devotee, knowing this, gives all credit to Krishna.
Krishna
understands all the needs of everyone and meets them as well.
Laksmi
is nonenvious. She sees that although Krishna is her husband, Krishna
is husband of everyone.
The
Lord is the only husband because His protection is not limited by
time or by ability.
Although
fulfilling people’s material desires, Krishna gradually reveals
that the desired things are useless and pure devotion to the Lord is
the real cause of satisfaction.
Material
benedictions received by the people in general are received from
Durga Devi not Laksmidevi.
Radharani’s
benedictory hand can bless everyone with devotional service to the
Lord.
Although
present on the chest of the Lord, Laksmi wants to receive the
blessing of the touch of His hand on her head.
Comment
by Rajadharma Prabhu: Laksmi could not enter the rasa dance
because she was unwilling to bow down to the gopis who
she considered village girls while she was the goddess of fortune.
Comment
by Pitavasa Prabhu: I went to the temple of Vyenkata Bhatta. There is
a altar with Jagannatha Deities that were personally made by Lord
Caitanya. The devotees there are very respectful to the Gaudiya
Vaishnavas, and they gave me a whole plate of maha-prasadam
tulasi leaves.
Lord Caitanya came to make one sampradaya. He
did not come to start a fifth sampradaya.
Srila
Prabhupada told us about the Ratha-yatra from Puri to Gundica but not
from Gundica to Puri.
Aksayananda
Prabhu:
Mayavadis
see personality is the cause of conflict. Thus personality which is a
cause of misery cannot be in the Absolute Truth.
Actually
conflict arises when a person wants to control someone who does not
want to be controlled.
The
biggest fault with impersonalism is that it cannot explain the cause
of the material world.
Ashtanga yogic perfections easily distract one from attaining perfection.
While in the material world you cannot really enjoy the impersonal Brahman.
We cannot manifest our personal qualities when we are isolated from others.
Bhakti is completely different from any other activity because the theory, the practice, and the goal are the same.
There are “believers” who we do not consider transcendentalists. Even there are demons who believe in God. Those who attend church weekly and feel themselves purified so they can begin another week of sinful activities we cannot consider transcendentalists.
To
be transcendental we have to fix the mind on Krishna.
When we are in front of a plate we should consider that Krishna has given us this prasadam.
Our effort to please Krishna and how much we want to please Krishna are more important than the results of our activities.
We cannot cheat Krishna.
Transcendental knowledge is not the goal but the satisfaction of Krishna is.
Union of the soul with God is yoga, but union of man and woman is not called yoga, yet both the man and woman can be yogis if they are individually linked with God.
When
we are not linked with God, we suffer, and thus
we
seek God. The scripture says our spiritual life does not begin until
then.
Krishna is the center of everything. In our conditional life we put things other than Krishna in the center of our lives. Krishna wants to enter, but there is no room.
Surrender means considering “I am yours.” The soul must come to take pleasure in being dependent.
Radha feels She has no love for Krishna because She did not die when separated from Him.
Our sense data is inaccurate, and so we are in illusion.
If you have people in the three different modes together they will not be able to work together because of different interests.
Krishna disappears when the love of the devotee reaches its climax in order to increase that love. Then he reappears when the feeling of separation becomes unbearable.
When we take birth in an animal form our consciousness is restricted by the form. That is not the case when Krishna incarnates as an animal.
We should know whatever we put on the plate to offer already belongs to Krishna.
A nondevotee could never accept the idea of serving the Lord no matter how the Lord chooses to reciprocate.
When Krishna sees one has an attachment that he cannot give up, He arranges that the devotee can engage it in His service.
Jesus would be less glorified had the Lord not allowed him to be crucified.
Christ said many things, and the Lord had to allow the crucifixion to happen for those words to come true.
Krishna is amazed by the activities of His devotees, and we are also.
Suffering is caused by attachment. If we see something as the property of Krishna and not ourselves, it will cause us to suffer less.
Judas is seen as evil, but he was a faithful follower of Christ, and it was his service to betray Christ.
Comment by Mandakini Devi Dasi: The Russian devotee Ananta Shanti told me he was imprisoned in such an extreme way he prayed to Krishna that he did not see how he could tolerate it. A Bhagavad-gita verse came clearly to him about how the soul is indestructible, and he became peaceful, realizing that they could not harm his soul.
Yasoda
Dulal Prabhu:
Sivarama
Swami says our preaching is on three levels:
1.
to make common people devotees
2.
to make devotees pure devotees
3.
to make pure devotees perfect devotees.
I
like the daily harinama
program
because it has the power to do all three.
Gopinathesvari
Devi Dasi:
The
tendency of one in grhastha
life to become absorbed in one’s family and business and forget
about his relationship with the Supreme Lord.
The
analogy of the crocodile being weakened on land but regaining
strength by reentering the water implies when the grhastha
again remembers his relationship with the Supreme Lord he is
happily and naturally spiritually situated.
We
must always remember that the material world is a place of transit.
It is not our eternal place.
Because
everyone has a spiritual body in the spiritual world, the love there
is not the same as loving the flesh of a material body.
At
the age of fifty, one should analyze his life and conclude that it is
incomplete without perfection in spiritual realization.
If
we offer to Krishna our profit, we do not lose, but our profit is
multiplied.
Comment
by J.P.: I have tried to enjoy in the material world but in the end I
realized I always paid the bill. While living here [at the temple], I
tasted something I never tasted before, happiness. I see so many
people out there have attained nice cars and nice families, but they
are not happy without Krishna.
We
have to be careful because often we think we are Krishna conscious,
but when we leave class we can easily take a direction which has
nothing to do with our spiritual realization.
Comments
by Pitavasa Prabhu:
Once
Srila Prabhupada was talking with Muslims in Iran. They were saying
the prophet taught them to offer prayers five times a day, but that
was too much so they do prayers three times day but they double them
up to make them count as five. Srila Prabhupada reprimanded them for
speculating and not following their guru.
There
are different teachers sent by Krishna that come from time to time,
but we should follow whichever one we choose strictly if we want to
make advancement.
Murali
Gopal Prabhu:
There
is no place where Srila Prabhupada says the earth is flat, and there
are many places where Srila Prabhupada says the earth is round.
Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur also uses gola
or
sphere to refer to the earth.
The
opinion of the scientists is that the climate change is a reality, it
is manmade, and it is irreversible.
Gauranga
Prema Prabhu:
All
the modern medical technology is simply to keep the body working
longer so people can enjoy sense gratification.
If
people come to the mode of goodness, they will automatically live
longer, but they will not be so inclined to sense gratification.
Because of performing austerities to attain the state of goodness,
they realize the limitations of sense gratification and lose interest
in it.
Radhanath
Swami likened a person who tries to correct individual societal
anomalies one at time to a person with boils who tries to treat each
boil individually without treating the blood disorder which is the
cause of them. The sadhu, the saintly person, treats the cause of all
social anomalies by purifying the hearts of the people.
I
learned working with Greenpeace that if we stopped our activities
that cause environmental damage right now, we would not experience
the beneficial effect for twenty years. In the same way, good effects
of adopting a spiritual practice may take years to manifest in our
lives.
It
is guaranteed that our material situation will change, but it is also
guaranteed that our bhakti
will never be taken away.
We
should not be attached to a material situation because that will
cause us suffering.
We
are connected with all devotees, even those in a distant place,
because we are all serving Krishna.
Janananda
Goswami tells that Srila Prabhupada once said that after the ten
thousand year golden age of Lord Caitanya still Krishna will make
sure there is always a pure devotee on the planet.
-----
My
favorite reading program is to read fifteen minutes each day from
Bhagavad-gita, from
Srimad-Bhagavatam,
from
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, and
from one other book, either The
Nectar of Devotion, Nectar of Instruction, or
Sri Isopanishad.
Now,
having read the two other alternatives, I am reading Sri
Isopanishad and
trying to memorize the Sanskrit for the mantras as well. As I have
not read it for years, I had forgotten how wonderful and how
essential the mantras are. This is a recent one that I particularly
liked:
yasmin
sarvani bhutany
atmaivabhud
vijanatah
tatra
ko mohah kah soka
ekatvam
anupasyatah
“One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?” (Sri Isopanshad, Mantra 7)