Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 13, No. 18
By Krishna-kripa das
(September 2017, part two)
New York City, Boston, Philadelphia
(Sent from New York City on November 21, 2017)
By Krishna-kripa das
(September 2017, part two)
New York City, Boston, Philadelphia
(Sent from New York City on November 21, 2017)
Where
I Went and What I Did
I
continued assisting the Yuga Dharma New York City harinama
party
for the second half of September, except two
weekends when
I chanted with Mahavishnu Swami and Harinama Ruci, one weekend
at
the Boston Hempfest and another weekend
promoting
and attending
the Philadelphia Ratha-yatra. The
Philadelphia Ratha-yatra was special this year because of the
attendance not only of Mahavishnu Swami and Harinama Ruci, but also
Indradyumna
Swami and his traveling festival team, who
were touring
the northeast
USA
for three weeks. On
International World Peace Day, September 26, Hare
Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It was
shown at many theaters around the country, and I got to see it for
the first time after having heard about it for several weeks.
I
share insights from a book and conversation of Srila Prabhupada and
excerpts from Sri Ksetra: Vaikuntha on Earth, a
soon-to-be-published book about Puri by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Thakura's disciple, Sundarananda Vidyavinoda Prabhu, from Touchstone Media. I share notes on classes by Mahavishnu Swami in Boston
and Philadelphia and by a visiting swami at The Bhakti Center, as well as notes on talks by several Prabhupada disciples, Adi Purusa Prabhu and
Badarayana Prabhu speaking at The Bhakti Center, and Bada Haridas
Prabhu and Bhusara Prabhu speaking in Philadelphia. I also share
notes on a class by harinama leader, Rama Raya Prabhu, and
notes on classes by younger devotees, all speaking at The Bhakti
Center. I share excerpts from Back to Godhead articles by
Nagaraja Prabhu and Karuna Dharini Devi Dasi, and an answer to a
letter by the Krishna.com Live Help staff.
Thanks
to Atmanivedana Prabhu, who keeps a Bhagavad-gita class going
each Saturday night at 26 Second Avenue, for his very liberal
donation on my birthday.
Thanks
to Bhaktin Diana for the many photos of me chanting in New York City.
Thanks to Devatideva Prabhu and Ritchie for photos of me in
Philadelphia. Many thanks to John Kilgariff for his beautiful video of the Philly Ratha-yatra.
Itinerary
November
11,
2017–January ?, 2018: Yuga Dharma New York City harinama
party
except:
December
2, 2017: Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa-puja in Stuyvesant Falls
December
?, 2017: possible visit to Hartford to see Niranjana Swami
December
24, 2017: Christmas Eve with my relatives in Albany
Chanting
with Mahavishnu Swami and Harinama Ruci at the Boston Hempfest
The
Hare Krishna devotees in Boston have been chanting at the Boston
Hempfest (officially known as the Boston Freedom Rally), which is
sponsored by a pro-marijuana group, for many years. It is always on a
weekend in mid September and sometimes on the same weekend the Boston
devotees celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of Srila Prabhupada
in Boston in 1965. You can find YouTube videos of the devotees
chanting there in previous years. I first learned about the event
from Janananda Goswami of the UK, who was visiting Boston for the
Prabhupada festival, and who told me that many young people at the
Hempfest chanted and danced with the devotees and that it was a great
venue to share the chanting of Hare Krishna with American youth. I
was happy to learn that Mahavishnu Swami and Harinama Ruci were going
to Boston for several days at that time, and so I decided to join
them for the weekend of the Hempfest.
There
were literally thousands of people sitting in groups all over Boston
Commons. We chanted sometimes on the sidewalks which were packed with
people, especially where sidewalks would meet, and also through the
grassy areas from one group of people to another. We also chanted in the streets of Boston briefly. Mahavishnu Swami
would chant the Hare Krishna mantra two words at a time and encourage
the people to respond and most of them would, although some had
difficulty focusing because of intoxication and others were too lazy
or spaced out. We had plenty of invitation cards for the Boston
temple which had the Hare Krishna mantra in large letters on one
side. I would give favorable people the cards and tell them, “If
you chant this mantra, you can stay high forever!” I got a lot of
positive responses. I would invite people who enjoyed chanting with
us to the Boston Sunday feast that weekend, and a lot of people were
happy to learn about it. One person who was not a Hempfest attender,
but who happened to be out and about, saw the devotees and learned of
our temple and Sunday program and came and had a good time, having
previously met the devotees in Brazil. Some of the Boston devotees
also distributed invitations, “On Chanting Hare Krishna”
pamphlets, and books, and a traveling party led by
Brajananda Prabhu distributed books.
One
devotee lady was really expert in encouraging all the young ladies to
dance with her and proved to be a great asset to our party.
One
devotee sported a T-shirt the Boston devotees especially designed for
the Hempfest in past years.
Mahavishnu
Swami occasionally let some people wear his special hat.
One
guy even danced with him while wearing it.
Here
is some video of Mahavishnu Swami and Harinama Ruci joining with
Boston devotees and other visiting devotees to chant Hare Krishna at
the Boston Hempfest (officially the Boston Freedom Rally)
Day
2 (https://youtu.be/01aKO_xS_D0):
With
Mahavishnu Swami playing the accordion and adding his energy and
enthusiasm, the Boston temple kirtanas
were
extra special (https://youtu.be/WpW81qcYdeE):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Philadelphia on the Occasion of Ratha-yatra
I
heard from my Philadelphia friend, Haryasva Prabhu, that the devotees
planned to do a harinama
on
South Street with Mahavishnu Swami and Harinama Ruci the night before
the Ratha-yatra, so I decided to go there after doing a couple of
hours of harinama
in
New York City that afternoon.
The
most striking thing for me was to see how much more open the people
in Philadelphia were to accepting the Ratha-yatra invitations than
New Yorkers. To see their gratitude that I offered them an invitation
was powerful and endearing. Of course, the kirtan attracted musically
inclined passersby to participate which made it a very lively event.
Here
you can see Mahavishnu Swami and Harinama Ruci chanting Hare Krishna
and encouraging passersby to chant and dance on South Street in
Philly to promote the Ratha-yatra the next day
(https://youtu.be/QxXFTCLXLMk):
While
chanting Hare Krishna along South Street, Mahavishnu Swami and
Harinama Ruci entered a clothes shop and employees, shoppers, and
passersby participated by dancing (https://youtu.be/-olcULN7Ulk):
The
Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra deities have their own car seat in
which they are transported from the temple to the Ratha-yatra site.
Here
they appear nicely seated, with their loving pujari.
I
was surprised to see how nicely decorated the wheels of the cart
were. I did not recall seeing that before.
Prabhupada
disciple, Bhusara Prabhu, chanted Hare Krishna before Philly
Ratha-yatra procession began (https://youtu.be/reDE4ZolWdQ):
The
most special feature of this year's Ratha-yatra was the participation
of Indradyumna Swami and his festival team, both in the procession
and in the stage show afterward. The final kirtan lead by Indradyumna
Swami was especially powerful.
Indradyumna
Swami chants Hare Krishna in Philly Ratha-yatra
(https://youtu.be/7VC9H6J_lV0):
Mahavishnu
Swami chants Hare Krishna in Philly Ratha-yatra
(https://youtu.be/9gPfi2Nd9CM):
One
devotee encouraged a young couple who encountered the Philadelphia
Ratha-yatra to participate by dancing, and they responded
enthusiastically (https://youtu.be/xgiIa7BYkSw):
I
also danced at the Ratha-yatra to please Lord Jagannatha.
An
enthusiastic young devotee lady chanted Hare Krishna at the end of
Philly Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/Lx6JDTjqUqg):
Another
special feature for me about
this year's Philly Ratha-yatra was
that I helped out in preparing the salad for the Ratha-yatra feast,
which is something I never do. Vishnu Gada Prabhu, who I have known
since 1979 when he was head cook at the 55th
Street temple in Manhattan and would take me and the other new
devotees on harinama
at
lunch time, was the organizer of the feast so it was nice for me to
connect with him by volunteering to help. Later we ate lunch together
at the festival, and it was nice to spend some time with him.
I
missed the harinama
that
Harinama Ruci did during the stage show, but I did spend time at the
kirtan tent and invite locals who liked the kirtan to our programs in
Philadelphia.
Here
Acyuta Gopi and some friends and relatives chanted Hare Krishna in
the Philly Ratha-yatra Kirtan tent, and many passersby were attracted
to watch (https://youtu.be/FjNjyPr0CuY):
As
Lord Jagannatha was getting ready to return to the temple, His
garlands were distributed to passersby. As devotees we find it always
a treat to be blessed with the maha-prasadam garlands, but
I noticed even brand new people became completely blissed out to
receive the garlands of the Lord.
These
girls looked so happy I just had to take their picture.
Sometimes
garlands and offered flowers lie neglected in odd places, but at the
Philly temple they have a nice receptacle for them.
I
attended the final kirtan at the stage show led by Indradyumna Swami
which was so lively that people walking past would stop to watch and
sometimes after watching would join the dance
(https://youtu.be/o_RQZnKLZNI):
I
saw someone taking more video of that final kirtan than I did with a
much better camera, and I asked him to share it with me (https://youtu.be/9cqJ88-sDGA):
After
the Philadelphia Ratha-yatra, Devatideva
Prabhu gave Kate and me a ride to Haryasva Prabhu's Bhakti Garden
in central Philadelphia, and I was happy to not have to walk.
We
found that Indradyumna
Swami, Bada Haridas Prabhu, and their traveling festival team were
visiting
Haryasva Prabhu at
the
Bhakti Garden and
seeing his Panca-tattva deities there.
Haryasva
Prabhu has great love for Indradyumna Swami, and he wanted to feed
him and his forty-five associates wraps and ice cream. Thanks to Kate
and Saumya Radhika Devi Dasi for getting that all together.
While
waiting for the wraps, Bada
Haridas Prabhu led the chanting of Hare Krishna for the pleasure of
the Panca-tattva (https://youtu.be/eNkEHUdr6Ag):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in New York City
A
middle-aged black man stopped by our book table at Union Square one
day hoping to buy a DVD of the recent Hare
Krishna!
film [http://harekrishnathefilm.com/]
he had enjoyed seeing. We said, “It hasn't been released yet as a
DVD, but when it has, we will definitely have it. However, it is
playing at 7:00 p.m. [in 75 minutes] at the Regal theater in
Brooklyn, and three of us are going to see it!” Later on at the
theater, after the film, I saw the same man, happy to have seen it
again. He and a friend accepted invitations from us for Saturday's
Philadelphia Ratha-yatra.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Union Square
On
our Union Square harinama, I would mostly watch the book
table.
I
would also sing for half an hour.
Once
a New York City policeman came by and stopped in front our chanting
party. Devotees were worried we had done something wrong. Then he
came over to our book table and told Mahotsaha Prabhu that he was
really into this and he had been to the Brooklyn temple. He asked for
some japa beads, and we got him some, and you can see them
around his neck.
Mahavishnu
Swami chants Hare Krishna in Union Square with Harinama Ruci
(https://youtu.be/kD0jBvmKqJg):
Brajananda
Prabhu, a traveling book distributor, chants Hare Krishna in Union
Square (https://youtu.be/Txb-882UkT4):
Pavana
Nitai Chandra chants Hare Krishna in Union Square and a man, who
regularly comes by, dances in the distance
(https://youtu.be/0caZgMIYtfQ):
Krishna
Prasad Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Union Square and two young
ladies play shakers (https://youtu.be/yVuMG4-vvro):
Natabara
Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Union Square, and a young lady
chants Hare Krishna and plays shakers (https://youtu.be/1WG2kyWlwM8):
Tota
Gopinatha Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Union Square
(https://youtu.be/gEbZf8GyieM):
Jaya
Jagannatha Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Union Square and Rama Raya
Prabhu and a kid play shakers (https://youtu.be/agEPFAY7kUY):
Chanting
in Times Square with Mahavishnu Swami and Harinama Ruci
Mahavishnu
Swami, traveling with Harinama Ruci, leads the chanting of Hare
Krishna in Times Square, joined by the Yuga Dharma NYC harinama
party, and onlookers joyfully participate by chanting and dancing
(https://youtu.be/l5wsBX-nTnU):
Brajananda
Prabhu chants
Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Times Square and many people dance
enthusiastically (https://youtu.be/Z2VFo47JzpU):
On
the way from our Hare Krishna kirtan in Union Square to our walking
harinama in Times Square Mahavishnu Swami and Harinama Ruci, along
with Brajananda Prabhu and his traveling book distributors and local
New York City devotees chanted on the N train
(https://youtu.be/oe2eXCgBgrs):
Chanting
Hare Krishna at Times Square Subway Station
Times
Square has the busiest of all the subway stations and on rainy days
in warm weather and twice a week in the cold weather we chant there.
Krishna
Prasad Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the Times Square subway station
and a passerby plays shakers (https://youtu.be/uoDgEpd-MM4):
Kaliya
Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the Times Square subway station
(https://youtu.be/CNdvgasJXW0):
Rama
Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the Times Square subway station,
and
a little girl from the local Hare Krishna congregation plays the
shakers in back
(https://youtu.be/ha33U9t5uMQ):
Hare
Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It
I
saw Hare
Krishna! The
Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It
(the
film)
with
two friends from the Yuga Dharma NYC harinama
party
in Brooklyn, just a few blocks from the Radha Govinda temple there.
It was special to watch it in New York City, within a few miles of
where the movement first began.
I
liked many things about the film beginning with all the audio clips
of Srila Prabhupada speaking. People will benefit so much from
hearing that transcendental sound. The religion professors speaking
with appreciation of Srila Prabhupada and his movement was also very
powerful. The sections on the Mantra Rock Dance, George Harrision and
the Beatles, and the New York court case victory were great. The
devotees appreciations what Srila Prabhupada had to offer and his
qualities such as genuine concern to benefit others and freedom from
hypocrisy was valuable and has the potential to increase the
audience's awareness of Srila Prabhpada's divine qualities. I liked
the video clips from the early public kirtans, and the London and New
York Ratha-yatras.
I
liked the Krishna conscious scenes from around the world and the
Madhava kirtan during the credits. Madhava Prabhu seems to me to very
much reflect Srila Prabhupada's mood of simply wanting people to
chant Hare Krishna and be happy.
I
felt bad that I had not encouraged people to see the movie more, and
I look forward to promote its DVD incarnation in the future.
I
do not know that I am qualified to suggest how it could be improved
nor do I know if there is any value in such a meditation. Perhaps to
consider what elements could be included in its sequel may be
relevant. Maybe more devotees telling how Krishna consciousness
benefited them or stories of materially successful people who felt
their lives incomplete until encountering Krishna consciousness would
be valuable. To communicate how the knowledge Srila Prabhupada gave
really explains practically all kinds of natural, supernatural, and
religious experience would be wonderful if it could be done. There is
one quote from a letter by Srila Prabhupada, expressing
Srila Prabhupada’s own wonder at the success of his movement,
which I have included in Vyasa Puja offerings to him the last two
years, that I would like to share with the world:
“Srila
Prabhupada letter to Sudama, December 23, 1972:
“Yes,
from the very beginning I went to New York because I thought that
Krishna Consciousness is the most important idea in the world, so let
me go to that place, New York, which is the most important city in
the world, and if I am able to do anything for Krishna and my
Spiritual Master, even I am at the fag-end of my life, at least let
me try for it there. So my dreams have all come true, and all of you
nice boys and girls are getting the credit. When I was alone in your
New York, I was thinking, who will listen to me in this horrible,
sinful place? All right, I shall stay little longer, at least I can
distribute a few of my books, that is something. But Krishna was all
along preparing something I could not see, and He brought you to me
one by one, sincere American boys and girls, to be trained-up for
doing the work of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Now I can see that it is
a miracle. Otherwise, your city of New York, one single old man, with
only a few books to sell for barely getting eatables, how he can
survive, what to speak of introducing God-consciousness movement for
saving the humankind? That is Krishna’s miracle. Now I can see it.”
More
T-shirt Messages
From
Boston, I shared of photo of a devotee with a “Stay High Forever”
T-shirt, and from Philadelphia, the “Krishna Reigns Supreme”
T-shirt Devatideva Prabhu sported.
I
also encountered a couple other messages that can have nice Krishna
consciousness purports:
As
devotees we do believe in heroes. Krishna Himself, who did so many
heroic acts to protect His devotees, is our supreme hero. Also great
devotees like Prahlada Maharaja, who led ideal lives and gave ideal
instructions, are heros we believe in. Srila Prabhupada is a hero for
coming to America by cargo ship and suffering two heart attacks on
the way to make the essence of the world's most complete body of
spiritual knowledge available to those all over the world. The Hare
Krishna! movie
will make this important contemporary hero more well known.
Knowledge
obtained by our senses and mind is imperfect. Our process is to sit
down and learn from the master, as Lord Krishna advises in
Bhagavad-gita
4.34:
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master.
Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The
self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have
seen the truth.” This man, out of humility, did not want us to see
him, but his message is a good one.
To see photos I took but did not include click on the link below:
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.19.36,
purport:
“In
Calcutta there are many butcher shops which keep a deity of the
goddess Kali, and animal-eaters think it proper to purchase animal
flesh from such shops in hope that they are eating the remnants of
food offered to goddess Kali. They do not know that goddess Kali
never accepts nonvegetarian food because she is the chaste wife of
Lord Siva. Lord Siva is also a great Vaishnava and never eats
nonvegetarian food, and the goddess Kali accepts the remnants of food
left by Lord Siva. Therefore there is no possibility of her eating
flesh or fish. Such offerings are accepted by the associates of
goddess Kali known as bhutas, pishacas,
and Rakshasas, and those who take the prasada of goddess Kali
in the shape of flesh or fish are not actually taking the prasada
left by goddess Kali, but the food left by the bhutas
and pishacas.”
From
a conversation with biochemist Thoudam Singh, Ph.D. [Svarupa
Damodara], in Bhubanesvara, India, on February 3, 1977:
“If
we go beyond our knowledge, it is false. When we have gone beyond our
knowledge, our conclusions have to be false. Our conclusions must be
false – unless they come from someone whose knowledge goes beyond
our own. In other words, from someone who is a bona fide authority.”
Sundarananda
Vidyavinoda Prabhu:
From
Sri
Ksetra: Vaikuntha
on Earth:
“Actually
the cultivators of devotional service, which diminishes the
importance of liberation, know that the purifying qualities of the
water of holy places, which are described in the Puranas, are simply
to deceive one about devotional service. They are not equal to the
water that has washed the lotus feet of a Vaishnava for this water
can easily fulfill all one’s desires.”
“It is said that once one of the priests from a Koma brahmana family went to another place for some work and he asked his young son to carry on the daily worship of Alvarnatha. The simple-hearted young brahmana somehow or other cooked some foodstuffs and brought it before Alvarnatha. Since he did not know the appropriate mantra for offering, he said to the Deity, 'My Lord I am a foolish boy and I don’t know Your mantras and procedure for worship. My father has gone to another place. Kindly accept this offering.'
“After making the offering to Alvarnatha, the brahmana boy shut the temple door and began to play with his friends as any young boy would have done. When his mother saw him playing with other boys, she asked if the offering to the Lord has been completed or not. To this the boy replied, 'I have made the offering to the Lord.'
“Hearing this, the boy’s mother replied, 'A while after you make the offering, you should remove the offering plate and bring it home.'
“According to the order of the mother, the boy opened the temple door and saw there is nothing left on the offering plate. The boy informed this to his mother. The boy’s mother could not believe this and the boy took her to the Deity room to show her directly. The mother was still doubtful. She thought that due to restlessness the boy must have eaten all of Sri Narayana’s food and now he is telling a lie out of fear of punishment.
“But for a few consecutive days, the boy made an offering to the Lord in the same way and after sometime he opened the door of the Deity room and showed his mother that indeed Alvarnatha has accepted all the foodstuffs. The mother became very astonished and said to her son, 'Your father worships Alvarnatha every day with sixteen ingredients, but the Lord does not eat all the foodstuffs like this. On the other hand you do not know the process of worship, what to speak of that you cannot even pronounce the mantras for worship, and yet the Lord accepts foodstuffs offered by you!'
“After some days the above-mentioned priest brahmana returned home and heard everything in detail from his wife. Being surprised, the brahmana desired to personally see on the next day how his son offers bhoga to Narayana and how Sri Narayana eats the offering. The young brahmana cooked the bhoga as before and offered it to Alvarnatha as his father hid himself in one corner of the Deity room. The brahmana could hear that his young son was offering bhoga to Sri Narayana, saying, 'O Lord! I do not know any mantra or procedure. I also do not know how to make the offering. My father is not present, so until he returns please accept these offerings.'
“Saying this as the boy closed the temple doors, his father who was hiding inside the Deity room, could see that with His four hands, Sri Narayana was happily and eagerly eating all the foodstuffs offered by the boy. Seeing that the Lord is eating up all the foodstuffs, the brahmana went before the Lord and caught hold of His hands and said, 'If You eat up all the foodstuffs what will we eat?'
“Sri Alvarnatha simply replied, 'I am eating everything out of love for the boy. You may ask for any benediction you wish.'
“The priest brahmana then said, 'What benediction can I ask? When you are eating up all our share of food then we have to die out of starvation.'
“To this Sri Alvarnatha replied, 'From today onwards I will not accept anything offered by you. Everything in this world is meant for My enjoyment. You have the right to accept whatever remnants of food I mercifully leave behind as your share. Since you desired to enjoy My share, therefore very soon you and your family members will be vanquished. Only My eternal devotee who has appeared as your son will come with Me to Vaikuntha.'
“After this statement of Sri Alvarnatha, the 1,200 families of the Koma brahmanas vanished one by one. No one survived in that family. In the meantime, Sri Alvarnatha appeared to Purushottamadeva, the King of Puri, in a dream and ordered him to immediately arrange brahmanas for His worship.”
“Since Brahmagiri or Alalanatha is the topmost place for Sriman Mahaprabhu’s pastime of searching after Krishna, it is extremely dear to the Gaudiya Vaishnavas who are devoted to Gaura and who worship the Lord in the mood of separation. This place has been considered as very favorable for awakening the spirit of service. Whenever Mahaprabhu would perform a pastime of loving quarrel with the devotees at Nilacala, He would go to Sri Alalanatha.”
“Although
Purushottamadeva was not the eldest son, Kapilendradeva decided to
hand over the kingdom to him by the order of Sri Jagannathadeva. In
Gangavamsanucarita, it stated that
the brothers of Purushottamadeva asked him in an angry
mood to prove that he was the future successor and appointed by Sri
Jagannathadeva. Purushottamadeva agreed to this and on a fixed day he
stood in front of his
brothers without any weapons in his hand while chanting the holy name
of Sri Jagannathadeva.
His brothers began to throw sharp weapons at him. But by the mercy
of Sri Jagannathadeva, he remained unaffected and completely
unharmed. Seeing
this, his brothers left, allowing him to rule the kingdom
peacefully.”
“The marriage of Purushottamadeva was arranged with the princess of Kañci. The King of Kañci decided to personally come and meet the groom during Ratha-yatra. According to ancient custom, the King of Odisha is supposed to sweep the road in front of the chariot with a golden broom. When the King of Kañci saw his would be son-in-law in that condition, he decided not to give his daughter in marriage to a person who was like a dog-eater or a sweeper.
“The King of Kañci was a devotee of Sri Ganesa, and he had no respect for Sri Jagannathadeva. Being puffed up by mundane pride, the King of Kañci could not understand how even the demigods like Brahma and Rudra desire to serve Sri Jagannathadeva. With a desire to smash his useless pride and to give him suitable punishment for such humiliation, Purushottamadeva promised, 'I will forcibly kidnap the princess within three years, three months and three days and get her married to a real sweeper or dog-eater.'
“The marriage of Purushottamadeva was arranged with the princess of Kañci. The King of Kañci decided to personally come and meet the groom during Ratha-yatra. According to ancient custom, the King of Odisha is supposed to sweep the road in front of the chariot with a golden broom. When the King of Kañci saw his would be son-in-law in that condition, he decided not to give his daughter in marriage to a person who was like a dog-eater or a sweeper.
“The King of Kañci was a devotee of Sri Ganesa, and he had no respect for Sri Jagannathadeva. Being puffed up by mundane pride, the King of Kañci could not understand how even the demigods like Brahma and Rudra desire to serve Sri Jagannathadeva. With a desire to smash his useless pride and to give him suitable punishment for such humiliation, Purushottamadeva promised, 'I will forcibly kidnap the princess within three years, three months and three days and get her married to a real sweeper or dog-eater.'
“He took a huge army with him and attacked the city of Kañci. But in the beginning he was forced to retreat. The king took shelter of Sri Jagannathadeva so that he could punish the King of Kañci, who had disregarded Sri Jagannathadeva by disregarding his servant. Purushottamadeva received an indication of Sri Jagannathadeva’s support, and with greater force he again attacked Kañci. While marching towards Kañci, about ten miles from Puri, the king saw a devoted cowherd girl named Manika in a village called Anandapura. The girl showed a ring to the king and said that two soldiers on horseback came to her because of thirst. After accepting yogurt, milk and buttermilk, they gave this ring to her and told her that she should give the ring to the king and he would pay the price of the yogurt and milk, etc.
“As soon as Purushottamadeva saw the ring, he could easily understand that the soldiers were none other than Sri Jagannatha and Sri Balarama! The Lords were going ahead of the king just to help him.
“The king rewarded Manika with land and honor and marched forward. He fought a fierce battle with the King of Kañci and defeated him. During the battle, Sri Jagannatha and Sri Balarama completely destroyed the city of Kañci. Having won, Purushottamadeva took away the jewel-studded throne of the king and offered it in the service of Sri Jagannathadeva. He also brought to Puri the Ganesa deity worshiped by the royal dynasty of Kañci. It was said that this Ganesa created various impediments in the way of Sri Purushottamadeva’s battle. Therefore he was famous as Bhanda Ganesa or Hypocrite Ganesa.
“This Ganesa is still present within a small temple adjacent to the western gate or tiger gate in Sri Jagannatha temple. The king also brought the princess of Kañci named Padmavati to Puri and according to his previous promise he decided to marry her to a sweeper. But by the will of Sri Jagannathadeva, when Purushottamadeva was sweeping the road with a broom during Ratha-yatra, his minister brought the princess and offered her to the hand of the king. Thus the promise of Purushottamadeva was also kept intact.”
“Even
before Sri Caitanyadeva’s arrival at Sri Nilacala or from the
external point of view, even before achieving Sri Caitanyadeva’s
mercy, Prataparudradeva had the crest jewel of all transcendental
poets Ramananda compile Sri Jagannatha Vallabha Nataka,
which is enriched with the amorous pastimes of Sri Radha-Govinda.
Therefore, it is understood that Sri Krishna Caitanya, who is the
combined form of Sri Radha-Krishna, appeared in the heart of
Prataparudradeva unseen by others and inspired him to be attracted to
Raya Ramananda, who was an eternal associate of Sri Radha-Govinda.
What can be difficult to achieve for a person who is enlightened by
the mercy of Raya Ramananda?”
“Mahaprabhu
did not agree to meet with the king directly, but said that since a
son is as good as the father He can meet the king’s son. When the
Lord saw the black-complexioned young prince, His remembrance for Sri
Krishna immediately awakened. The Lord embraced the prince,
considering him to be Sri Krishna. The eight symptoms of ecstatic
love manifested in the body of the prince. The prince began to chant
‘Krishna Krishna’ and dance in bliss. Mahaprabhu pacified him and
asked him to come everyday. Prataparudra felt the touch of Sriman
Mahaprabhu by seeing and embracing his own son. From that day
onwards, the fortunate prince has been counted as one of the devotees
of Sriman Mahaprabhu.”
“How
the golden personality, Sri Gaura Hari, lived in the house of Kasi
Misra being bound by his love is still sung today in folk songs in
the villages of Utkala as follows:
'O
brothers! Go and see the golden pet bird in the house of Kasi Misra
who has kept it bound by the rope of love within his heart.'”
“It
was said that once Syamananda Prabhu was dancing in ecstasy in the
mood of the rasa dance. Seeing this, Hrdaya-caitanya Prabhu,
who belonged to sakhya rasa, displayed the pastime of being
artificially angry in order to test Syamananda Prabhu’s
qualification. As a result of this, Sriman Mahaprabhu told
Hridaya-caitanya that Syamananda was a suitable candidate for
madhurya-rasa; therefore it was not proper to check the flow
of his natural service attitude. Then, considering that he had
committed an offense by awarding punishment to Syamananda,
Hridaya-caitanya asked the acaryas headed by Jiva Gosvami
about the way to get rid of that offense. In order to teach people in
general, they gave the injunction that he should glorify the
qualities of the Vaishnavas and satisfy them by feeding mahaprasada
for twelve days. Syamananda Prabhu humbly begged from his spiritual
master the responsibility of carrying out this twelve-day festival.
He used to hold that festival twelve days every year with great pomp.
After the disappearance of Syamananda Prabhu, his disciple
Rasikananda and then the successors of Gopivallabhapura have been
celebrating this grand festival for twelve days for every year,
starting twelve days before the disappearance day of Syamananda
Prabhu.”
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
Vaishnava Compassion:
“Real
compassion is not achieved automatically upon joining the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Compassion is not a
line of work but an expansion of heart. The more institutionalized we
make our acts of compassion, the more likely we are to fall victim to
motivations such as pride, honor, righteousness—one type of moral
superiority or another. Srila Prabhupada, however, genuinely
understood the suffering of material life and the pain of rebirth. He
knew and taught his followers that only by awakening the people's
dormant Krsna consciousness could they be freed from the cycle of
birth and death. It is not enough, he said, to alleviate people's
material hunger and thirst. It is not enough to alleviate their
suffering for this lifetime only. He wanted his followers not only to
save the drowning man's coat but the drowning man himself.”
From
Looking
Back, Volume
2:
“We
can be intimate friends by endeavoring to help ourselves and others
to become Krishna conscious and celebrate the many ways it can be
done.”
“So
the prime order is to rest, and I agree, although this means greatly
minimizing japa
and writing. Rest comes first because then I will build up the
strength to do those things of utmost importance. It sounds
contradictory. But for so many years I have not been able to
accomplish my top priorities due to weakness. I have pushed to the
max with no relax. But now I am going to change that. Now is the time
for rest and doing necessary, basic health repairs.”
“I
know who Krishna is theoretically, now I have to think of Him, even
if only in a theoretical way. As Prabhupada writes at the beginning
of Bhagavad-gita, 'At least theoretically one must accept
Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.' I have located Him on
the map. Now let me look in His direction.”
“But
my mind doesn’t rest. It goes all over the place. Then bring it
back to the Supreme Lord. He has so many activities. We can think of
His pastimes and focus on His qualities. We can chant His names. The
main thing is to bring the mind back, away from those errant
thoughts. You’ve had millions of errant thoughts, but now you have
millions of Krishna conscious thoughts and entreaties that you can
make. You can repeat and repeat them. Turn to them sincerely and free
them from envy. Don’t put the quality of materialism into your
prayers. Pray to please Him, and while chanting Hare Krishna be above
your own wants. There should be a pleading, and an awareness, and a
sincere direction to your thinking. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna is a
prayer form, but within it is the coming closer to the pleading, a
coming closer to the wanting to be with; otherwise, your mechanical
chanting leaves so much space for exploring where He is not. So fill
up all those empty spaces with Him. Otherwise your little devils will
be romping and jumping about and reminiscing on past follies. Bring
the mind back to the now.”
“If
you are raking in the bucks from your business and are just
reinvesting it in a capitalistic spirit to make more money for your
own sense gratification, it’s like carrying around an octopus with
many arms that will eventually entangle and choke you.”
“The
religion of love. Each gendarme can’t force you, not even the
provosts or ecclesiastical chiefs; you do it yourself on bright
wings.”
“I
asked Pandit Maharaja, 'do you know a particular Prabhupada-ism
about listening to music during japa?' He said he didn’t
know for sure about music in japa, but he thought it was not
required. As for the phrase 'not required,' it had a different
meaning in English. He said he was serving as Prabhupada’s servant
and he asked Prabhupada a question about something that Jayadvaita
Maharaja actually wanted to do, but Prabhupada said, 'It is not
required.' So Pandit took it to mean that it was okay to do, but
that it was not required. Pandit asked him again, 'Can we do such
and such?' Prabhupada answered, 'It is not required.' Then
Pandit understood that for Prabhupada 'not required' meant 'don’t
do it.' It’s a clear negative. 'It is not required' means
'don’t do it.' So many derivations from so many directions.
There could be a Prabhupada etymology book about how Prabhupada uses
words. Or is it not required?”
“He
[the Buddhist master] was so luminous; he made us more illuminating
in presenting Prabhupada’s philosophy in our own voices. Holy
people are like that, they elevate us. They elevate us because they
genuinely want everyone to be on a higher platform. In our case, he
didn’t elevate us to talk Buddhism, but Krishna consciousness, in a
sharing context that he might have access to.”
“Death
is the mirror in which the entire meaning of our life is reflected.”
“Those
who believe they have plenty of time get ready only at the time of
death, and then they are ravaged by regret. But isn’t that far too
late? What more chilling commentary on the modern world could there
be, than that most people die unprepared for death, in the same way
as they lived unprepared for life? They die meeting the unknown in
ignorance. We shouldn’t wait; we should prepare now.”
“The
main thing is to keep preaching and have a zest for it. He
[Prabhupada] was so enthusiastic for all of us to be preachers.
Prabhupada was warm towards each of us. He refused to be annoyed at
any of our mistakes. He was simply encouraging us to take up the
preaching mission and do it. And he was infectious – we all felt
the desire to do it and spread Krishna consciousness as our life’s
mission. Yes I could do it I thought as he spoke; I could make it my
lifelong career.”
“Love
of God and fear of death,
keep
fixed on them and remain
renounced.”
Mahavishnu
Swami:
We
take Bhagavad-gita
as
it is because that is how Arjuna accepted Krishna. We want to accept
Krishna as Arjuna is.
Krishna
has a home. He has
relatives. He has a wife. There are so many descriptions of Krishna in the
Vedic literature.
In
all scriptures, those of the Christians, Muslims, and Jews, there is
an idea of loving God but who that God actually is is not known.
When
we are seeing the deity of Krishna, we are seeing Krishna.
Krishna
is a magician.
Actually
cell phones are magical, the way you can push a few buttons and talk to
your beloved on the other side of the world.
Why
does God put us into illusion? That is a very interesting question.
If
we identify with the body, what do we get? Birth, death, disease, and
old age.
Krishna
cannot force us to love Him, because if there is force there is no
love.
We
have turned our back on Krishna so we only see the darkness of maya.
My
experience is the chanting of this Hare Krishna is very powerful. It
will help us understand our spiritual nature.
This
surrender to Krishna will get us free from maya.
It
is very easy. All you have to do is to chant Hare Krishna. There are
many tunes. It is not tedious.
Q:
Are other religions also worshiping God?
A:
Yes. But just as when you view a mountain from the distance, it may
be a blue haze on the horizon. Then as you come closer, you may see
there are some trees, and when you come still closer you see more
detail.
Lord
Jagannatha in Puri is 12 feet from arm to arm.
It
is good if you invite the local dignitaries to the Ratha-yatras
because then the press comes,
and you get so much publicity for the Ratha-yatra. In India we always
invite the governor or chief minister to the Ratha-yatra.
Everyone
has a story about how he was in dire straights and prayed to the
Lord, and then he met a devotee.
Rohininandana
Prabhu tells how he was playing in the rocks off the sea at Cornwall
and could not get back to the land. He started praying to God and
found the strength to climb out through the rocks. The next person he
saw was a devotee.
From
the seed of devotional service one gets a creeper of kripa.
Today
many people will
be
enticed to pull the rope of the Ratha-yatra cart. It looks fun.
Srila
Prabhupada said, “Rythmn is the universal language.”
The
African community really gets in there with the dancing and shows
the whites what it is all about.
We
should induce people to pull the rope.
Anyone
who welcomes the Ratha-yatra goes back to Godhead.
Srila
Prabhupada explains that when people see Lord Jagannatha on the cart,
at that point they are liberated. If they were to
die then, they would go back to Godhead.
My
godbrother, Dhruvanatha Prabhu, came to the Sunday feast for twelve
years before becoming a devotee.
Both
the York and Liverpool mayors said the same thing, “We are
invited to so many functions but this is different. This is alive.”
The York mayor said, “This is like being in India again.”
Krishna
does not see the motive, He just sees the service.
A
visiting swami:
Vaisesika
Prabhu says if your cell phone goes off in class you should buy a
book as atonement.
There
is no real relationship between the individual cantos and the ten
subject matters described in the Bhagavatam.
Different
commentators place the different subjects
differently.
One
who realizes the victory and supremacy of God is protected by the
Lord. One who fails to do this becomes entangled in fruitive
activities.
When
we are going against God, we are going against ourselves as we are
part of God.
One
cannot be satisfied without relationship with God anymore than a fish
can be happy out of water.
The
material world has the right intention behind it. Its two purposes
are bhoga
[sense
enjoyment] and moksa
[liberation].
Sense enjoyment is to give us energy to strive for liberation, or if
in excess, to frustrate us to give it up.
The
secret of good writing is to eliminate anything that does not serve
the theme.
You
can be satisfied when you act in harmony with your nature.
Suffering
is an indication that something is wrong.
God
gives external suffering to keep us from following a path leading to
internal suffering.
Performance
of sacrifice is the mark of a sage and makes one a sage.
Jnana
[knowledge]
is to discriminate matter from spirit so we can renounce matter.
A
devotee is renounced because he wants to please Krishna not because
of separate endeavor.
Raghunatha
Dasa Goswami did not become renounced because he could not function
in the material world, but because he had a higher consciousness than
the material world.
I
can cure anyone who gets sick in India within one day. It is simple.
You just fast for a day.
You
have to cure the tendency for sinful activities by going to the root
of the problem by surrendering to Krishna.
Comment
by Adi Purusa Prabhu: If we are sincere, Krishna will show us how to
present the truth in such a way that people can assimilate it.
We
have to study the scripture and apply it, and then we will get the
realization of how to share it.
Srila
Prabhupada had the realization to be able to give the highest subject
matter to those with the least frame of reference to understand it.
Visvanatha
Cakravarti Thakura, it is said, prayed to each word of the Bhagavatam
because
it is not different from Krishna Himself.
If
you depend on yourself, you are limited by your karma, but if you
depend on Krishna you can do things beyond your karma because you
being empowered by Krishna.
In
both books, the
Bhagavad-gita and
the Srimad-Bhagavatam, we
first see Krishna at the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, as the chariot
driver of Arjuna. That is significant as Krishna not acting as the
Supreme Godhead but the friend of Arjuna, taking a subordinate
position out of love.
If
you do not have faith, you cannot learn beyond your own frame of
reference.
We
tend to accept things filtered through our imperfect intelligence.
Arjuna,
in the beginning, misunderstood bhakti to be renunciation and thus he
repeatedly asked about it, and it was not till the Fifth Chapter of
the Bhagavad-gita
that
he finally understood it.
It
is said that Brahma heard the Vedas three times until he understood
that the goal was bhakti.
The
first time he considered that perhaps it was karma because there are
so many rewards for good work in the Vedas. The second time heard the
Upanishadic portions, he considered it may be that the goal is jnana.
But
the third time, he realized it was bhakti.
When
inquiring from the guru, we should not consider the guru may be wrong
but rather that we have misunderstood.
We
should read the Bhagavatam to
be transformed.
Comment
by Adi Purusa Prabhu:
We need to give people knowledge there is something beyond their
present understanding.
Prema
[love
of God] is beyond shanti
[peace].
Eating only prasadam
is beyond veganism.
We
have our plan, and God has His plan.
John
Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men,
has this
striking line, “The
plans of mice and men
often go astray.”
My
godbrother, Pradyumna Prabhu, once told me, “Bhakti
means
always making ourselves available to render service to Krishna.”
My
friend who is walking down the Appalachian Trail, in his journal,
asks, “Why are we in Krishna consciousness?”
His
answer is “the drop of ecstasy we feel from it.”
When
you walk to a place, your mind arrives before your body, and when you
fly to a place, your body arrives to serve your mind.
Akrura
stayed in Mathura (1) because he valued living in the holy
dhama and
(2) to protect Vasudeva by advising
Kamsa that there was no need to worry about him.
Dogs
joining parikramas is
common in India.
Good
managers give authority but maintain responsibility, and bad managers
give responsibility and try to maintain authority.
Bhurijana
Prabhu, commenting on the pastime of the dog attaining the spiritual
world by joining the parikrama, says
that our success is to melt the heart of a Vaishnava.
One
simple business lady who was leaving her body in Vrindavan said, “I
am not advanced but I know who is and I serve them.”
Comment
by Adi Purusa Prabhu:
Lord Caitanya's movement is spreading from heart to heart.
Badarayana
Prabhu:
The
absolute truth when presented humbly as a messenger has a profound
effect.
We
were counting money in a parking lot in Boston after distributing
books all day. A policeman
shined his flashlight in our car, and asked us what we were doing. We
explained that we were Hare Krishnas and we had been distributing our
literature, and we showed them the books. The policeman accepted
that, and inquired from us, “You are spiritual people. What do you
think of the death penalty?” I explained that a murderer
should be killed by the state otherwise he will have to suffer
greatly in his future lives. He was surprised. He independently asked
the other two book distributors the same question and was amazed to
see we all had the same answer. He was happy to let us go, and he
asked to have a copy of one of our books.
We
can see that Srila Prabhupada, although not appearing politically
correct, was always giving knowledge out of compassion to free people
from their misconceptions.
In
one lecture Srila Prabhupada says, “What to speak of those who kill
human beings, even the animal killer should immediately be killed.”
Bhakti
Tirtha Swami told Srila Prabhupada that he sometimes encountered
racism in his movement. Srila Prabhupada made the point that because
Bhakti Tirtha Swami was still identifying himself with his body as a
black man that he was disturbed by it.
Srila
Prabhupada stressed sincerity in book distribution for if devotees
are sincere Krishna would direct them from within.
Srila
Prabhupada thought of book distribution as distribution of knowledge, not in terms of sales.
Comment
by a
visiting swami:
Persons
without realization make two mistakes: (1) they change the truth in
order to be accepted or (2) they present the truth in such a way
people hear it but misunderstand it.
Nagaraja
Prabhu:
From
“Fulfilled by the Simple Life” in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
52, No. 1:
“What
we generally see is that people work hard to fill their lives with
artificial luxuries. The result of all that hard work is
dissatisfaction. Acquiring more and more stuff can never truly
satisfy us because we’re spiritual beings with spiritual needs. To
find fulfillment, we need to reconnect with Krishna, the source of
all happiness.
“This
basic principle of Krishna consciousness lies at the heart of the
devotee’s quest for a simpler way of life. It’s an important
point to grasp, and until we do so, we’ll fall victim to the allure of material things. There’s nothing wrong with living a comfortable
life and practicing Krishna consciousness in that environment, but
modern life abounds in ways to distract us from our essential task of
making spiritual progress. So we have to be careful.”
Bada
Haridas Prabhu:
From
an informal gathering at the Bhakti Garden in Philly after the
Ratha-yatra:
Panca-tattva was my ista-deva from the beginning. I was grateful that Panca-tattva came while I was in Laguna, where we previously had Gaura-Nitai deities. The Panca-tattva mantra is not just a mantra. The persons are personally present. Whenever we worship just Gaura Nitai I always wonder, “Where are the others?”
Srila
Prabhupada said our obeisances are complete when we chant, “Jaya
Sri Krishna Caitanya Prabhu Nityananda Sri Advaita Gadadhara
Srivas-adi Gaura-bhakta-vrinda,"
and that in chanting it there no consideration of offense. He also
said it is the most powerful mantra. When asked why we do not chant
it instead of chanting Hare Krishna. Srila Prabhupada said because
Lord Caitanya told us to chant Hare Krishna.
Bhusara Prabhu:
Bhusara Prabhu:
From
an informal gathering at the Bhakti Garden in Philly after the
Ratha-yatra:
It is easy to progress if we love the devotees.
Vishnujana Swami was always blissful about Krishna, and I never saw him otherwise.
He
was sweet like sugar, and Tamal Krishna Swami was like pepper.
It was like Srila Prabhupada did not walk, but he floated.
It was like Srila Prabhupada did not walk, but he floated.
It
was like Srila Prabhupada was in color, and everyone else was in
black and white.
Comment by Indradyumna Swami: Srila Prabhupada struggled so much in the first 12 months in the USA, but he always had faith that the will of Supreme Lord would someday manifest.
Adi Purusa Prabhu of NYC Food for Life:
When people won't give a donation, I invite them to offer words of appreciation, and many people gladly do.
Comment by Indradyumna Swami: Srila Prabhupada struggled so much in the first 12 months in the USA, but he always had faith that the will of Supreme Lord would someday manifest.
Adi Purusa Prabhu of NYC Food for Life:
When people won't give a donation, I invite them to offer words of appreciation, and many people gladly do.
Rama Raya Prabhu:
In sadhana bhakti we engage in activities that purify the heart.
We all must come to the point of realizing “I cannot figure this out by myself.” We need a guru.
In the beginning Srila Prabhupada was very encouraging about devotional service, but after 1974 you can hear that Srila Prabhupada is very intense in his lectures.
Hearing scripture with taste and realization is the reward for serving the guru intensely.
By the potency of Srila Prabhupada, people who had his association were lifted up to the platform of becoming spiritual revolutionaries.
Bhavananda donated 25,000 1983 dollars for Aindra Prabhu's sankirtana truck.
Krishna uses mixed devotees to attract new people and bring them up to that level.
We should strive for Krishna prema [love of God].
Revolution means come to the original consciousness.
Disturbance is due to a final goal for the mind.
Q (by Josh): How to become more serious?
A: Understand the material way of life has nothing to offer us. If we stick to the mission of the guru we will come to understand what desires of ours are not to be held on to.
Devotional service is the reward.
It is important to understand we are either going toward Krishna or away from him.
Prabhupada losing his place in Jhansi, etc., was amply rewarded.
From
conversations:
“If
you are chanting, dancing, and feasting then you have understood Lord
Caitanya's philosophy, and if you are not chanting, dancing, and
feasting then you have not understood Lord Caitanya's philosophy.”
“Hope
for best, and prepare for the worst.”
Karuna
Dharini Devi Dasi:
From
“In Excess of Our Quota”
in Back to Godhead, Vol.
52, No. 1:
“Every
emanation from Krishna is a complete unit, and each of us, as pure
spiritual beings, lacks nothing for our existence. So how do
perfectly equipped complete units experience restriction? When the
soul ignores the Personality of Godhead, restriction begins. Our own
minute completeness faces limitation the moment we disassociate
ourselves from the Supreme. Our full potential for bliss, knowledge,
and eternal existence is put on hold.
“Consider
the example of fire and sparks. Sparks sometimes jump out of a fire,
fall through the air, and become extinguished. Similarly, we fall
into restriction when we disassociate ourselves from the greatest
source of fire and light, the original source of everything that
exists. Restriction of God’s resources comes from our being
distanced from Him, but Krishna, our ever well-wisher, sends us a
quota for living a balanced, happy life.”
Shyamala
Kisori Dasi:
In
pursuing speculative knowledge, we still are possessed of a
dominating, controlling mentality and are still thinking in terms of
“I” and “my”.
We
are busy building our sand castles on the beach, and even quarreling
in the process, oblivious to the fact that the waves will soon wash
them away.
The
defending propensity Srila Prabhupada would describe as “fearing,”
and we can see it is all-pervading.
As
long as we try to be the controller, we will be in anxiety.
When
we surrender to Krishna, we can become free from fear.
Comment
by Adi Purusa
Prabhu:
We are not successful only if we win the battle, but even if we
merely engage in the battle, as Krishna is pleased if we simply try.
Karuna
Nimai Prabhu:
Many
times in Srila Prabhupada's books he says that the secret of success
is to follow the instructions of the pure devotee of God and thus
please him.
Srila
Prabhupada would stress that because he was simply repeating Krishna
words his speech was authoritative.
Srila
Prabhupada defined a mahajana
as
someone completely absorbed in the devotional service of the Supreme
Lord.
The
mahajanas teach
by their example to follow guru, sadhu,
and sastra.
In
the previous life Narada Muni as a young boy served the great souls
and by their blessings he became the great soul, Narada Muni.
Giriraja
Swami said in a lecture that when Krishna takes something away it is
only to give something better.
The
devotee is not disturbed because he has substance. That substance is
his devotion to Krishna.
Kapila
pleased His mother, not by getting a good job, but by enlightening
her in the spiritual science.
The
greatest gift we can give is devotional service because it is the
only thing that is imperishable.
We
can follow Bali Maharaja by rejecting persons who presume to be
spiritual teachers but who advise against making offerings to the
Lord.
Virabhadra
Rama Prabhu:
Arjuna
Prabhu often shares with me this quote, “Every saint has a past,
and every sinner has a future.”
Not
only did Srila Prabhupada give us the process and the path, but he
made pure devotees who we can serve even today and who can guide us.
Now
things are so degraded even festivals supposedly performed in the
name of some saint, like St. Patrick, are filled with people
performing sinful activities.
Thousands
of people pass the harinama
at
Union Square, but how many people take it seriously. We are so
fortunate. If we maintain gratitude for that, we can advance.
Durga
tests our sincerity to see how much we really want to serve Krishna.
If we have a material tendency, she is ready to help us work it out,
to fulfill the desire and let us suffer the consequences so we might
learn.
Q
(by Gopal Campu Prabhu): How to increase gratitude?
A:
Honesty about where we
are
at, and where other people are at. Stay in the association of
devotees. Remember our sinful life, the fact that we are not that far
from that state now, and
have compassion for people
who are presently there.
Comment
by Arjuna Prabhu: Appreciation is very important. Even if you
appreciate people in a mechanical way, you still become uplifted
because by doing so you are purifying your heart.
Radhanath
Swami said Arjuna is the heart of The Bhakti Center.
Krishna.com LiveHelp staff:
From answers to letters to the editor in Back to Godhead, Vol. 52, No. 1:
“It is impossible to be comfortable here in the material world, and if we continue to try to be, we will not do the work necessary to go back to the spiritual world, Goloka Vrindavana.”
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This age appears very dark with mass shootings and natural calamities yet the saints glorify it because the holy name of the Lord is so powerful it can nullify the defects and create a positive spiritual situation. Let us always remember that and promote the sole solution to the soul problem.
kalim
sabhajayanty arya
guna
jnah sara-bhaginah
yatra
sankirtanenaiva
sarva-svartho
bhilabhyate
“Those
who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the
essential value of this age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship
Kali-yuga because in this fallen age all perfection of life can
easily be achieved by the performance of sankirtana [the
congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord].”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.5.36)