Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 14, No. 5
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2018, part one)
North Florida
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on March 18, 2017)
Where I Went and What I Did
(March 2018, part one)
North Florida
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on March 18, 2017)
Where I Went and What I Did
March
started with Gaura Purnima, which I celebrated in Tallahassee because
I could not convince my friends with vehicles to drive to Alachua for
the evening part of the festival there. Satyaraj Govinda Prabhu
kindly arranged a program at his house to celebrate, and many people
attended. The feast was beyond my expections. I continued chanting
Hare Krishna in Tallahassee through March 12, at Florida State
University on school days and at Lake Ella on the weekends and on
the
first day of spring break. The rest of spring break I chanted at
Krishna Lunch in Gainesville except for Thursday, when I chanted at
the University of North Florida in Jacksonville for the last time
this year. On
Friday we did three harinamas
in
Gainesville, at Krishna Lunch, at the University of Florida entrance,
and in downtown Gainesville.
I
share many, many notes on books and lectures by Srila Prabhupada. I share notes on lectures by visiting sannyasis, Bhakti Charu Swami and
Bhaktimarga Swami, and notes on a recorded Gaura Purnima lecture by
Niranjana Swami. I share notes on lectures by Adikarta Prabhu,
Madhava Prabhu of Alachua, Vrajendra Kumar Prabhu of Russia,
Nandanandana Devi Dasi, and Tulasirani Devi Dasi. I share excerpts
from a book on Vedic cosmology by Murali Gopal Prabhu. I share a
comment from Nama Kirtan Prabhu.
Thanks
to Kadamba Kanana Prabhu for the ride he gave me from Alachua to
Jacksonville and back. Thanks to Mother Mukhya for letting me stay at
the Alachua temple ashram. Thanks to Animesh Prabhu for lending me
his phone to take videos of himself, Shruti Sagar and Abhimanyu
Prabhus chanting Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville. Thanks
to Kira for singing with me at the University of North Florida.
Itinerary
27:
Vaishnava Summer Festival in Lithuania
Chanting Hare Krishna at Lake Ella in Tallahassee
Bhaktin
Aris chants Hare Krishna at Lake Ella, our weekend venue for sharing
Krishna consciousness in Tallahassee (https://youtu.be/x6Z3HAf00Bc):
This
week, one friendly man named Donny, who talked to us and accepted
cookies for himself and a friend, actually came to the temple for the
Sunday feast program that very afternoon along with his friend,
Debra. He recalled the Hare Krishnas from when he lived in
Gainesville and was happy to encounter Krishna
prasadam
again.
That was the second week in a row that someone came to the Sunday
feast from Lake Ella.
The
next Saturday while Bhakta Daniel was leading the Hare Krishna chant
at Lake Ella in Tallahassee, a variety of kids of a variety of races
delighted in playing a variety of instruments
(https://youtu.be/23d32elERHM):
I decided I would chant during the Krishna Lunch at FSU one day a week and chant elsewhere on the campus to advertise it the other four. Because the devotees serve lunch indoors, the best day to chant there is when the weather is bad and it is not practical to chant outside. When I checked the weather on Sunday, all the days were expected to be free of rain, but because the student activities organization got three complaints about us the previous week, I decided to chant at Krishna Lunch on Monday and let the situation cool down.
We
had some leftover garlands from the Sunday feast program and the
Krishna Lunch serve out was coming to an end. I asked one girl who
was waiting in line for lunch if she liked flowers, and she said she
liked flowers very much, and in fact, her middle name was Rose. I
asked Nama Kirtan Prabhu to give her a garland, and he gave her the
garland worn by Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, which was big enough to wear
around her neck, and she immediately put it on.
She was a senior from the Miami area, and to continue her relationship with Krishna prasadam after graduation, I told her we had a temple there with a free Krishna dinner on Sundays. I searched through the dozens of invitation cards in my money belt, and found the one for Miami and she took a picture of it.
She was a senior from the Miami area, and to continue her relationship with Krishna prasadam after graduation, I told her we had a temple there with a free Krishna dinner on Sundays. I searched through the dozens of invitation cards in my money belt, and found the one for Miami and she took a picture of it.
That
day one lady thanked me for chanting, saying that she was stressed
out and that it made her feel a lot better.
The
next day, as it turned out, rain was now predicted, so I chanted
indoors at Krishna Lunch again. Nama Kirtan introduced me to a lady
from Germany, who is teaching German at FSU for the semester. I told
her I had been to Germany several times, to Berlin, Cologne, Munich,
and Leipzig, and I mentioned our farms near Trier and Passau. She was
from near Heidelberg. I recalled being surprised to see an invitation
to the Heidelberg temple when I was searching for the Miami one the
previous day, so I found it for her, and she happily took a picture
of it.
That
day one older man, perhaps in his seventies, told me after his
Krishna Lunch that he liked my chanting and said that it added
authenticity to the program.
Chanting Near the Student Union at Florida State University in Tallahassee
Back
on the campus at the free speech area on Wednesday, a sweet
philosophy major who had previously received a Bhagavad-gita
from
“one of the monks” stopped to talk. He appreciated different
parts of the philosophy such as reincarnation, and he gave his email,
a five dollar donation, and said he would definitely come to our
programs next time he does not have to work. I sent him an email
offering him a book to read during the break, and he replied, “Thank
you for reaching out to me. Unfortunately I left for home for spring
break yesterday and did not see your email until now. I am always
happy to donate, the calmness I feel from your chanting and
discussion is well worth it even when there is not a new book to add
to my collection. Also, that was the best cookie I have ever had (and
I have tasted other monks recipes as well over the past semesters).
It is always a pleasure to get to talk with you, I will stop by every
time. Have a fulfilling week and safe travels, I will see you again
once the break is over.”
The
day before spring break Nama Kirtan Prabhu did not do Krishna Lunch
as there would be too few students, and so I had his servers, Bhakta
Daniel and Bhaktin Aris, to sing with me on the FSU campus.
Here
Bhaktin Aris chants two Hare Krishna tunes near the Florida State
University Student Union (https://youtu.be/qlxiKjstyUI)
Chanting
Hare Krishna at the Second Tallahassee Wednesday Two-Hour Kirtan
I
was so happy that at our second ever Wednesday evening two-hour
kirtan, we had nine devotees who participated at least for some of
the time, and much of the time we had seven chanting at once.
Shastrakrit Prabhu invited to the temple a sweet boy named Jack who is a
music major from Tallahassee Community College, and he came for the
whole time, greatly enjoying it.
Hearing
the enthusiasm in Bhakta Daniel’s spontaneous Hare Krishna kirtan
the next evening, I came over from the apartment next to the
Tallahassee temple to join in (https://youtu.be/ZpQkNwLj5Cw):
Chanting
Hare Krishna at Krishna House
Abhimanyu
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the Gainesville Krishna House outreach
program called Taco Tuesdays (https://youtu.be/D_UKnR15rCk):
Adikarta
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the Krishna House Friday evening
program in Gainesville (https://youtu.be/xc3QkdZVGzg):
Chanting
Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville
Shruti
Sagar Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch at the University
of Florida in Gainesville (https://youtu.be/tBc-qEQlSgg):
Shruti
Sagar Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, and an African man dances with pleasure to
the sound (https://youtu.be/JbcrdGZTnwc):
Here
Lucy, one of the new devotees at Krishna House who is very musical
and who loves kirtan, sings at Krishna Lunch, as she does almost
every day (https://youtu.be/FpIloVvqc2k):
Chanting
Hare Krishna at University of North Florida in Jacksonville
Kira
chants Hare Krishna on the University of North Florida green in
Jacksonville, and Marissa, who had met Adikarta Prabhu a couple times
and got books from him, learns the mantra and chants with us for half
an hour. Afterward I told Marissa that the Beatles once chanted Hare
Krishna on a boat for six hours. She replied, “I can see that you could
chant this for six hours. I felt like I was floating!”
(https://youtu.be/eTfPHmGFAZA):
Turns
out the next day, Marissa came to the Krishna House Friday program in
Gainesville with Daryl, her best friend from her hometown, who lives near Krishna House and is a regular attendee. She had a great time
chanting with the devotees again and even attended the harinama afterward.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Alachua
To
catch a ride to and from Jacksonville with Kadamba Kanana Prabhu to
chant at a campus there, I stayed in Alachua where he lives. Thus I
got to go to the morning program at New Raman Reti for two days. The
first day I
played the drum for Adikarta Prabhu’s kirtan for guru-puja,
so I could not film it, but the next day I filmed Bhaktin Christiana
chanting Hare Krishna and devotees dancing
(https://youtu.be/rmslAMHzv_I):
Chanting
Hare Krishna at the University of Florida Entrance in
Gainesville
Here Rishimurti Prabhu, an Alachua pujari,
chants Hare Krishna at University of Florida entrance during the
weekly Friday evening harinama organized by Alachua devotees
(https://youtu.be/ThPc3V0ievw):
Nagaraja
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/9sqhhSI_XkI):
Kaliyaphani
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/w_koFgx_4M0):
Adikarta
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/1agXTtoVh0I):
Jai Nitai Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/3vVG8QU4Azg):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Downtown Gainesville
After
an ecstatic Friday evening program, sixteen devotees mostly from
Krishna House went on harinama
in
downtown Gainesville for over an hour. Four people who had never
chanted with us in public joined us.
One
was Marissa (front
right),
who had chanted with Kira and me at University of North Florida in
Jacksonville the day before. It was impressive to see her joy and
enthusiasm for dancing in kirtan.
Another
was Jeff (with
the blue shirt and yellow fan),
who often attends the Taco Tuesdays.
Then
there was Caroline (with
the blue fan),
who comes to the Krishna House programs and who went to the Alachua
temple on Gaura Purnima.
The
other (in
the red shirt) works
with a devotee, Bhakta Bill, who has been attending programs in
Gainesville and Alachua and who invited him to come to Krishna House
for the Friday program.
Here
Shruti
Sagar Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in downtown Gainesville on the
Krishna House Friday evening harinama,
and several people dance (https://youtu.be/qAyOnGX0peI):
Here
Abhimanyu
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, and several people move with music (https://youtu.bhe/pwga5XdBqdU):
Finally
Animesh
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, and several people dance (https://youtu.be/LlkqSq-NJ50):
The end of the harinama was in very dark area, so I had to lighten my video of it so you can see it (https://youtu.be/GPq-yodG7Ro):
Srila
Prabhupada:
From
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.15.41
in Los Angeles on December 19, 1973:
So
actually, if you are serious to know God, so God is within yourself.
He can understand, “Now this living entity is serious to know about
Me.” So He will help you, immediately. That is stated in
Bhagavad-gita,
tesam
satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena
mam upayanti te
[Bg. 10.10] Tesam, “such persons,” satata-yuktanam, “always very much anxious to know about God.” So God can
understand. God is omnipotent. He can understand that “This living
entity is now serious. He wants to hear about God.”
“So
this inquisitiveness is very good. My Guru Maharaja accepted me as a
disciple because he saw in the beginning I was very inquisitive to
hear him. So in the beginning, when many gentleman. . . . I was one
of them, was introduced to my Guru Maharaja, that ‘They are to be
initiated. They want to be initiated, to become your disciple.’ So
when my turn came, he immediately said, ‘Yes, I will accept this
boy as disciple because he is very inquisitive to hear.’ That was
my recommendation. And actually, I was very inquisitive. I could not
follow what Guru Maharaja was speaking, but still, I was asking
others, that ‘When Guru Maharaja will speak? I will hear.’ I
could not follow. He was speaking in a very high philosophical term.
So at that time I had no capacity to under . . . Still, I wanted to
hear him, I understand or not understand.”
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.15.42 in Los Angeles on December 20, 1973:
A
kripana
has money but does not spend it. A brahmana
has knowledge and distributes it.
We
can know God because God speaks about Himself in Bhagavad-gita.
One
should learn what is God and teach others to trust in God. If you do
not know the meaning of God, what is the meaning of your trust?
The
soul is permanent. That is where there is a conservation of energy.
“Just
like a rich man, if his son goes out of home, he is suffering. His
father knows that rascal boy is suffering. He is very anxious to get
him back. ‘Bring this rascal at home.’ That is father’s
concern, naturally. Similarly, Krishna is more eager to take you
back. Therefore He comes. He comes. He has got his agent, the guru.
He has got His instruction, the Bhagavad-gita. The whole concern is that God is so anxious, Krishna is anxious, to call back these rascals, back to home, back to Godhead. So sometimes He is so eager that He comes Himself. Just like I have sent some my agent to do something. I am seeing that it is being delayed, so I go there: ‘What you are doing? Why it is so delayed?’”
“As Yudhisthira Maharaja . . . now he is closing the business. The business is that ‘I am creating this body.’ Just like a businessman opens a business house. Sometimes when the business is simply troublesome, he liquidates. Similarly, we should come into the understanding that our material business is always troublesome.”
“In
Paris I saw some statue of Napoleon. There is written, ‘Napoleon is
France; France is Napoleon.’ But I inquired that ‘Where is Mr.
Napoleon? The France is there, but where is Napoleon?’ Just see.
This is called ignorance, maya. When Napoleon was very victorious, he might think that ‘I am making my France very strong, very powerful,’ but that’s all right. But you are not powerful. You have to go away. By one kick of nature, go away. That they do not see. This is called ignorance.”
“Any
person who is reliable in all circumstances is called dependable. In
this connection Rupa Gosvami says that even the demons were relying
upon the dependability of Krishna, because they were confident that
Krishna would never attack them without due cause. Therefore, with
faith and confidence, they used to live with their doors wide open.
And the demigods, although afraid of the demons, were confident of
the protection of Krishna. Therefore, even in the midst of danger
they were engaged in sportive activities. Persons who had never
undergone the reformatory ritualistic ceremonies of the Vedas were
confident that Krishna would accept only faith and devotion, and so
they were engaged in Krishna consciousness and were freed from all
anxieties. In other words, all kinds of men, from the demigods down
to the uncultured, can rely on the causeless mercy of the Supreme
Lord.”
From
The
Nectar of Devotion, Chapter
25:
“Anyone
who becomes exhilarated by hearing of the pastimes of Lord Krishna
when He was present on this earth with His associates is to be
understood as nitya-siddha,
eternally perfect.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.5.15–16,
purport:
“The
ultimate goal of life is to please Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Lord. The
uncivilized man or materialistic person, however, does not know this
aim of life. Na
te viduh
svartha-gatim
hi vishnum
(Bhag.
7.5.31). One’s real self-interest lies in satisfying Lord Vishnu.
Not satisfying Lord Vishnu but instead attempting to become happy
through material adjustments (bahir-artha-maninah)
is the wrong way for happiness. Because Vishnu is the root of
everything, if Vishnu is pleased, everyone is pleased; in particular,
one’s children and family members become happy in all respects.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.5.20,
purport:
“Vasudeva
and Nanda Maharaja were so intimately connected that they lived like
brothers. Furthermore, it is learned from the notes of Sripada
Madhvacarya that Vasudeva and Nanda Maharaja were stepbrothers.
Vasudeva’s father, Surasena, married a vaisya
girl, and from her Nanda Maharaja was born. Later, Nanda Maharaja
himself married a vaisya
girl, Yashoda. Therefore his family is celebrated as a vaisya
family, and Krishna, identifying Himself as their son, took charge of
vaisya
activities (krishi-go-rakshya-vanijyam).
Balarama represents plowing the land for agriculture and therefore
always carries in His hand a plow, whereas Krishna tends cows and
therefore carries a flute in His hand. Thus the two brothers
represent krishi-rakshya
and go-rakshya.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.5.25:
[Vasudeva
says to Nanda Maharaja:] “Many planks and sticks, unable to stay
together, are carried away by the force of a river’s waves.
Similarly, although we are intimately related with friends and family
members, we are unable to stay together because of our varied past
deeds and the waves of time.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.6.3,
purport:
“Even
from a material point of view, everyone should take to chanting the
Hare Krishna mantra to be saved from all kinds of danger. This world
is full of danger (padam
padam yad vipadam).
Therefore we should be encouraged to chant the Hare Krishna
maha-mantra
so that in our family, society, neighborhood and nation, everything
will be smooth and free from danger.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.6.27–29:
“If
one remembers Vishnu always, even though one is disturbed by many bad
elements, one can be protected without a doubt. The Ayurveda-sastra
recommends, aushadhi
cintayet vishnum:
even while taking medicine, one should remember Vishnu, because the
medicine is not all and all and Lord Vishnu is the real protector.
The material world is full of danger (padam
padam yad vipadam).
Therefore one must become a Vaishnava and think of Vishnu constantly.
This is made easier by the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has recommended, kirtaniyah
sada harih, param vijayate sri-krishna-sankirtanam,
and kirtanad
eva krishnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet.”
From
The
Nectar of Devotion, Chapter
30:
“Even
if devotees are illusioned by some ghastly scene or by any accidental
occurrence, they never forget Krishna. Even in the greatest danger
they can remember Krishna. This is the benefit of Krishna
consciousness: even at the time of death, when all the functions of
the body become dislocated, the devotee can remember Krishna in his
innermost consciousness, and this saves him from falling down into
material existence. In this way Krishna consciousness immediately
takes one from the material platform to the spiritual world.”
“In
the Tenth Canto, Sixtieth Chapter, verse 39, of Srimad-Bhagavatam,
there is an account of Rukminidevi’s writing a letter to Krishna
requesting Him to kidnap her before her marriage to another person.
At that time the specific attachment of Rukmini for Krishna was
expressed by Rukmini as follows: ‘My dear Lord Krishna, Your
transcendental glories are chanted by great sages who are free from
material contamination, and in exchange for such glorification You
are so kind that You freely distribute Yourself to such devotees. As
one can elevate oneself simply by Your grace, so also by Your
direction alone one may be lost to all benedictions, under the
influence of eternal time. Therefore I have selected Your Lordship as
my husband, brushing aside personalities like Brahma and Indra—not
to mention others.’ Rukmini enhanced her love for Krishna simply by
thinking of Him. This is an instance of thoughtfulness in ecstatic
love.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.7.1–2,
purport:
“We
have no attraction for hearing about Krishna, and this is the root
cause of our suffering.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.7.4,
purport:
“There
is no question of overpopulation or of children’s being a burden
for their parents in a Vedic society. Such a society is so well
organized and people are so advanced in spiritual consciousness that
childbirth is never regarded as a burden or a botheration.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.7.9,
purport:
“Those
who enjoy the activities of Krishna are also on the platform of
ananda-cinmaya-rasa;
they are liberated from the material platform. When one develops the
practice of hearing krishna-katha,
he is certainly transcendental to material existence, as confirmed in
Bhagavad-gita
(sa
gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate).
Unless one is on the spiritual platform, one cannot enjoy the
transcendental activities of Krishna; or in other words, whoever
engages in hearing the transcendental activities of Krishna is not on
the material platform, but on the transcendental, spiritual
platform.”
Bhakti
Charu Swami:
Knowledge
of the body and soul enables us to transcend matter.
Matter
is dead. The presence of the soul makes the body appear alive. When
the soul leaves the body it is dead. The body is born and dies, but
the soul has no birth or death.
The
body is always changing, but although the body is always changing we
do not change.
Thus
the question, is who are we, who does not change. We are the soul.
The
soul is immortal, and because I am the soul, I am immortal. Thus we
can achieve immortality very easily.
The
pharmaceutical industry is trying to keep the body from dying, but
that is not possible. We can attain immortality by understanding this
knowledge that we are spiritual souls.
Even
Brahma was born into ignorance, what to speak of everyone else.
The
Vedic knowledge is the most profound spiritual knowledge.
People
have difficulty understanding that animals have souls. It took me
half an hour to convince one judge, the grandfather of a devotee in
South Africa.
If
we are spiritual, how have we forgotten our spiritual nature? We are
like sparks that have left the fire, have fallen into ash, and have
become ash. By losing our connection with the Supreme Lord, we fall
into matter, and we identify with that matter. To regain the firey
quality, we have to reenter the fire. Similarly by reviving our
relationship with the Supreme Lord, we regain our spiritual nature.
The spark cannot go back to the fire itself, but someone has to put
the spark back in the fire. Similarly we need someone already in
contact with the Supreme Lord to bring us back to His service.
If
you have not read the account of Srila Prabhupada’s life, I request
you to do so. We all tend to worship a hero. Srila Prabhupada at the
age of seventy came to the west alone, with practically no money and
no resources, and within ten years time spread this movement all over
the world. Would you go to a country with no money and without
knowing anyone? And on top of that start a multinational corporation
in ten years?
Once
Srila Prabhupada told me he was richest man in the world. His
reasoning was that he had 10,000 followers who work for him without
salary and give him all the money.
Who
wants to be immortal? Let me put that in another way. Who wants to
die?
You
are immortal. You simply have to realize your identity.
Love
is the impetus to develop a relationship.
Love
unites. Hatred separates.
I
happen to know you have an abundance of love in your heart, and you
just have to offer it to Krishna.
Is
it difficult for us to love someone? No. Especially not, if the
person loves us so much.
Krishna
has given us the apple tree, with wonderful apples, and these apples
contain seeds to produce more apple trees with more fruit.
Our
bodies breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, and thus
after some time the atmosphere would be filled with carbon dioxide
and devoid of oxygen. But this does not happen because Krishna made
plants which take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen.
We
can understand that Krishna loves us by all the arrangements he has
made for our survival.
If
we love someone, but they do not love us, how does it make us feel?
Sad.
Krishna
loves us, but we do not love Krishna. How does that make Krishna
feel? Sad. But if we love Krishna. How will that make Krishna feel?
Happy.
We
can show Krishna we love Him, but simply saying, “I love you,
Krishna.” But better than that is to follow Krishna’s
recommendation to chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna . . .
Because
we are doing so many things with this body, we should do them for
Krishna to spiritualize them.
When
we are awake the soul, the subtle body, and the body are awake, but
when we are asleep the soul and the subtle body are awake, but the
body is asleep.
Sometimes
we say someone is just like angel, while we may say someone else is
just like an animal. We say that because of their activities which
are created by the subtle body, and thus the condition of the subtle
body determines our next destination.
We
never leave the subtle body, but our mind, intelligence, and ego
become transformed into spirit by being engaged in Krishna’s
service.
Bhaktimarga
Swami:
You
cannot have a good drama without conflict, and thus in the pastimes
of the Lord you also find conflict.
Even
brahmanas
and
rabbis love to argue, and if they are fortunate, they will come to
the conclusion that they should do some service.
Sacrifice
for Krishna frees us from karmic bondage and gives us knowledge that
everything is within the Lord.
I
hear people grumbling about the political situation in America, but
we have to see it as Krishna’s will. In the 1960s people were
grumbling about the political situation, and some them, the youthful
flowers of their nation, as a consequence, took shelter of Srila
Prabhupada and that was a very good thing.
With
the Battle of Kurukshetra, the evil was flushed out.
Bad
things will come to an end.
Restlessness
is the nature of the mind.
When the novelty of the chanting wears off, the mind begins its activities.
One revelation from the chanting is that we realize how completely
crazy our minds
are.
How
can we
control the mind? How can we fix it on our chanting? That was asked
in the 1960s, and that is asked today. When we see the uselessness of
the mind’s contemplations, we can stop listening to it.
We
survive the challenges of life by taking shelter of the Personality
of Godhead.
This
age of Kali has this good feature. It is easy to think “the
world is so disgusting I am not going to submit to it.” Beyond it
is Krishna, so
let me do as He wishes. Surrender to the body and mind is not working
out.
Submit
to Krishna’s will and not your own stupid will.
A
good thing about competition is that you do not always win, and so
you learn to become to humble. Yay!
The
kirtan was always Srila Prabhupada’s formula. At John Lennon’s
estate when the hired hand wanted a solution for his ghost problem,
Srila Prabhupada sent the devotees to do kirtan at his place, and
things quieted down.
How
do you deal with passion? Pick up a drum, and chant loudly.
If
there is a little conflict, do not worry about it too much and go on
chanting.
Krishna
is always there in our lives through His representatives. The worst
thing is to do spiritual life on your own. Most of us cannot detect
the indications of caitya-guru,
the
Lord of the heart,
from within.
Sometimes
the elderly people are seen to have no value, but their great value
is in their wisdom.
The
traumas of Kali-yuga are to shake us up so we take action.
Arjuna
wanted to leave the battlefied and just be, but Krishna wanted him to
take action.
If
you have a heart you will do something. If you do not have a heart,
you will not do anything. That is the mode of ignorance.
Niranjana
Swami:
From
a lecture on Gaura Purnima 2012 in Bali:
Whenever
Krishna comes, He comes to teach.
In
Bg. 18.66 Krishna advises to surrender to Him, and how to surrender
is explained in the previous verse Bg. 18.65.
Krishna
taught theoretically that one must surrender to Him, but He came as
Lord Caitanya to demonstrate that
surrender practically by His example. Especially in this age of Kali,
example is very important.
In
fact, to teach devotional service, one must practice it. All the
acaryas
in
our line taught in that way.
Although
Krishna is omniscient, Krishna wanted to know, “What is it in Me
that causes My devotee, Radharani, to experience more joy than I do
by serving Me?”
Lord
Caitanya gives the holy name without discrimination. Our only
qualification to receive Lord Caitanya’s mercy is to be fallen, or
rather, to realize our fallen condition.
Without
sincere devotional service, everything else is a show.
We
should not think we are so qualified. What attracts Krishna, what
attracts Lord Caitanya, is genuine humility.
Lord
Caitanya teaches detachment by making the taste of bhakti so
accessible that one can easily give up other things.
Adikarta
Prabhu:
All
the ancient cultures used to worship the sun, the Greeks, the Romans,
etc.
Scientists
are now thinking levitation was used in assembling the pyramids
because otherwise moving the stones would not be possible.
It
is amazing that although there are unlimited living entities, Krishna
has a personal relationship with each.
An
ordinary person, like Elvis Presley, is so popular that people all
over world offer cakes to him on his birthday. How much more popular
is Krishna, and how much more lovable!
You
have to make your own decision to love someone. You cannot be forced
to love someone.
We
come here to try to become happy without Krishna, but Krishna is so
kind He comes here to teach us the real platform of happiness.
Although
the Lord is in the heart as caitya-guru,
but
because we do not listen to Him very well, we need other gurus.
Sometimes
people claim that God told them to go around killing people, but that
is not God. That is their minds. We have to learn to discriminate
between the Lord in the heart and our mind in
order to
progress spiritually.
If
you have knowledge, you can be happy and joke when you are old and
leaving your body, but not otherwise.
In
modern society old people tend to be considered a burden because
their bodies are wasted by a life of sense enjoyment, but previously
older people were valued because of the knowledge they acquired
throughout their lives.
Madhava
Prabhu from Alachua:
Although
the title of Canto 1, Chapter 14 is “The Disappearance of Lord
Krishna” the actual disappearance of Lord Krishna is not described.
What is described is the effect of His disappearance on others.
Comment
by someone: It is important that we have feelings for Krishna for
then we can be completely absorbed in Him.
When have feelings for Krishna, it will be more real for us.
If
we have no feeling of separation from
Krishna there will be
no impetus for going to Krishna.
As
Arjuna saw Krishna in everything he did, we can learn how to see
Krishna in everything we do.
In
Brhad-Bhagavatamrita, it
is said Arjuna and the Pandavas thought of performing a sacrifice or
wishing for a calamity to gain Krishna’s association when He was in
Dvaraka and absent from Hastinapura.
To
establish righteousness, Krishna needed righteous leadership, and
Arjuna and the Pandavas played that role.
Krishna
says in Bhagavad-gita
that
He is ability in man, and here Arjuna remembers the abilities that
Krishna had given him.
Krishna
wanted to glorify Bhima’s strength, and so He arranged that Bhima
kill the powerful Jarasandha.
Yudhisthira
was worried about not being able to properly serve the brahmanas,
and
they advised him to perform a sacrifice to Surya who would help him.
He did so, and Surya gave him a pot that would supply food
unlimitedly
until Draupadi had eaten.
Each
of the demigods has their own personal weapon.
I
went home to see my parents on New Years Day. My brother was still
intoxicated from New Years Eve, and my parents were at church. I saw
in their mail correspondence with deprogrammers,
and so I got out of there fast. At the next Sunday feast, devotees
saw suspicious looking men in the crowd. I was on the third floor of
the temple and had to pass through the first floor, where they were,
in order to leave. Niranjana Swami, then a brahmacari,
dressed
as the best of grhasthas,
and
I dressed as his good wife, borrowing a sari from one of the ladies,
and we escaped unsuspected. Then I went to Puerto Rico, where I
stayed for four years after that.
The
world
maya, or
illusion, does not mean this world is not here, but our identifying
with it is an illusion, thinking “I am a man,” “I am a woman,”
“I am an American,” etc.
Vrajendra
Kumar Prabhu [visiting Alachua from Russia]:
When
Srila Prabhupada said that in ideal household life, the couple has
sex once a month for the begetting of child, one of his young
disciples said, “Better to forget the whole thing.” Everyone once
laughed, but Srila Prabhupada accepted that point, taking it
seriously.
Ayurveda
says that if a man discharges semen more than one a month, he
destroys his health. The immune system becomes weak, and one becomes
more susceptible to disease, and his body becomes weaker.
We
are meant to decrease our attachment to our body and increase our
attachment to Krishna. Thus unnecessary sex life is not conducive to
spiritual development.
In
the mode of passion sex life is a necessity, but in the mode of
goodness sex life can be controlled.
In
Bg. 9.14, Krishna first says “satatam
kirtanayanto mam – always
chanting My glories,” then he says “yatantas
ca drdha-vrata – endeavoring
to execute vows steadily.” This indicates that
from
the chanting one gets the power to become steady in one’s vows.
The
Gaudiya Math devotees in the 1930s tried to engage Western people in
following principles of
detachment
before they introduced the chanting, but they were largely
unsuccessful. Srila Prabhupada engaged people in chanting Hare
Krishna first, and thus they got the strength to follow the
principles, and so he was successful.
Truthfulness
is more important, because if we maintain it, then all the other
principles can
become reintroduced if they become lost.
There
are ten ways we can become associated in the modes [these are listed
in the Srimad-Bhagavatam,
somewhere
in the beginning of the Eleventh Canto]:
(1)
food and drink
(2)
our place of residence
(3)
time
(4)
our occupation
(5)
our association
(6)
literature
(7)
mantras
(8)
ceremonies
(9)
meditation
(10)
birth
If
we do not get up early in the morning when goodness is prominent, we
will miss this goodness in our life.
In
one lecture Srila Prabhupada explained sato-vrtte
[Upadesamrita
3]
as
meaning our means of livelihood must be clean.
On
many holidays, we are glorifying an ordinary man and not the Supreme
Lord. That is not in the mode of goodness.
We
purify our birth by accepting a spiritual master.
Comment
by Prana Govinda Prabhu: Prabhupada
was upset that one devotee had gone to a prostitute. The devotee
confessed, and explained he could not follow the principle of having
sex with his wife just once a month for having a child.
Srila Prabhupada told him if
he could not follow, it was still better to have sex with his wife
rather than to see
a prostitute.
Nandanadana
Devi Dasi:
Thoughts
on war:
Krishna
House student 1: War stems from the individual consciousness.
Krishna
House student 2: It is evidence of the polluted consciousness of the
people.
Me:
I can see there has to be a class of powerful righteous people to
protect innocent people from the class of powerful unrighteous
people.
Hitler
had a propaganda minister to convince the German people that Jews
were evil.
Comment
by Richie: Often we fight to protect our resources and not to protect
our people.
Comment
by Seth: If America only got involved in war if someone directly
attacked America, there would be a lot less war.
Comment
by Murali Gopal Prabhu: Sometimes people use war to build economies,
but Switzerland has a position of neutrality and their economy is
doing really well.
How
can you be greedy and teach people spiritual life?
Even
in Japanese culture, in a war, at the end of the day the opponents
would sit and have tea together.
If
I know that a powerful personality will protect me if others attack
me, that is a more desirable situation for me than
a situation where such protection is not there.
Krishna
describes in Bhagavad-gita
that
there are three forces of nature, goodness, passion, and ignorance,
and those in ignorance and passion always make bad decisions, and
thus although we wish everyone could be nice and pursue the
spiritual, that is never the case.
Nama
Kirtan Prabhu:
Comment
during Gaura Purnima festival:
When
I was becoming a new devotee, the philosophy seemed lofty, and I
thought it was too much for me. Hearing the pastime of Jagai and
Madhai [the two drunken criminals who were delivered by Lord Caitanya
and Lord Nityananda] gave me hope.
Tulasirani
Devi Dasi:
What
do we wear tilaka?
To
remind ourselves we are devotees of Krishna and to remind others we
are devotees of Krishna.
When
answering the question “Why
do we wear tilaka?”
we can inject some of the philosophy of Krishna consciousness into
our answer such as our being souls and our being servants of the
Lord.
Tulasi
is
a pure devotee of the Lord who gives bhakti,
and
thus her presence on our neck beads is a great blessing.
Peaceful
and ecstatic seem like opposing qualities but both are present in a
devotee.
Being
responsible is an important quality for devotees to develop, as are
integrity and good character.
In
the course of time, people appreciate other people sticking to their
values, even if at first they do not appreciate those values
themselves.
Radhanath
Swami said that if a person, after speaking with a devotee, thinks
“that person was so kind,” then their path back to Godhead is
set.
Murali
Gopal Prabhu:
From
his cosmology book, soon to be published by the North European BBT:
Nobel
Prize-winning Austrian physicist, Erwin Schrödinger, writes in his
book Mind and Matter
(1956): “Consciousness cannot be accounted for in physical terms.
For consciousness is absolutely fundamental. It cannot be accounted
for in terms of anything else.”
“There
are many enigmas when trying match science with the ancient Indian
scriptures, but given my own personal realizations, which I have
gained through years of practice and study, as well as the
affirmation from great saints and scientists throughout history, it
is clear to me that there is an overlapping truth in both of these
world views that is waiting there for us to tap into. A truth that
is personal and that must be approached with the simple and eager
heart of a child in wonder, without arrogance or desire to control.
A truth that encompasses the full range of experiences that make up
our embodied reality, not just the physical. This, to me, is the
real grand unified theory of everything.”
-----
This
verse is one of my favorites in all the books of His Divine Grace A.
C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It informs us that love of God,
the supreme goal of life, already exists in our hearts, and it tells
that process by which our hearts can be cleansed so that we might
realize it. The Bible also promotes purification of the heart,
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) The purifying process given is universal, beyond sectarian dogma: devotional service to the Lord, beginning with hearing about Him.
nitya-siddha
krishna-prema ‘sadhya’ kabhu naya
sravanadi-suddha-citte
karaye udaya
“Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 22.107)
