Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 14, No. 13
By Krishna-kripa das
(July 2018, part one)
Paris and Antwerp
(Sent from Paris on July 24, 2018)
Where I Went and What I Did
The
first eighteen days of July, except for July 14, I stayed in Paris
chanting Hare Krishna in public for about three hours a day and
always joined by at least one other person. On July 8, we celebrated
the Paris Ratha-yatra, and Harinama Ruci joined us for that and one
or two days of harinama
afterward.
On July 14 I attended the Antwerp Ratha-yatra since at least two
devotees had invited me to, and Antwerp is just four and a half hours
north of Paris by bus.
I
share notes and excerpts from classes by Srila Prabhupada. I also
share a quote from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami's Japa
Reform Notebook and
some notes on The
Nectar of Book Distribution. I
share notes on classes by Janananda Goswami in Paris, as well as
those by Rama Lila Devi Dasi and Gaura Nitai, Aksayananda, Acarya,
Gaura Sundara, and Jaya Rama Prabhus.
Thanks
to Marat, who is originally from Russia but has lived in Paris many
years and who regularly joins us for harinama,
for
his kind donation. Thanks to Janananda Goswami for reimbursing me for
travel expenses back to the UK, for local metro tickets I purchased,
and for giving me a donation beyond that. Thanks to Rohininandana
Prabhu, organizer of the Thursday and Saturday harinamas
in
Paris, for paying for my trip to Antwerp for the Ratha-yatra. Thanks
to Krishna Priya Devi Dasi of Antwerp for her donation and her photo
of me at Antwerp Ratha-yatra. Thanks to Mukund for the photo of me dancing at the Antwerp Ratha-yatra. Thanks to Harinama Ruci for their photos from Paris harinamas. Thanks to Dandavats for the photo of Yamaraja Prabhu.
Itinerary
July
24–July 29: Paris
July
30: Kostrzyn
July
31–August 4: Polish Woodstock
August
5: Berlin
August
6: Dublin
August
7–12: Vaishnava Sanga Festival in Canada
August
13: Dublin
August
14: York Ratha-yatra
August
15–16: Newcastle
August
17–18: Liverpool harinama
and Ratha-yatra
August
19: Newcastle retreat
August
20: Newcastle
August
21–22: Edinburgh harinamas
and
programs
August
23: Newcastle
August
24: Leeds program
August
25: ?
August
26: Leeds program?
August
27: Manchester
August
28: Sheffield program?
August
29: Manchester
August
30: Accrington program
August
31: Liverpool program
September
1: York
September
2: Newcastle
September
3–28: Mayapur
September
29: Newcastle
September
30: Dublin
October
1–January 5, 2019: New York City Yuga Dharma Harinama Party
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Paris Before Ratha-yatra
On
the first day of July we had the Jagannatha snana
yatra
[bathing ceremony] at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles. I was determined to
be more on time for it this year, as last year I was delayed in
returning from harinama
and
I missed it. It was very festive.
Ramanaji
Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna as the deities were bathed with yogurt
and other substances (https://youtu.be/maz5L3dH268):
Devotees
enjoyed dancing to the kirtan.
One
day as we were chanting Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel, the young lady
in the white shirt came up to me and asked if I had been to Florida.
I explained that I spend the winter there. She said she was from FSU
(Florida State University in Tallahassee) and recalled seeing me on
the campus there. I said that I sing at Landis Green behind the
library, and I invite people to the Krishna Lunch. She remembered
talking to me. I asked if she tried the lunch. She hadn't and so got
another reminder from me. She and several friends from FSU are
studying French in Paris for the summer. I invited them all to come
to the Ratha-yatra Sunday.
On
harinama
in
Les Halles, I met an Indian man who remembered me giving the Saturday
Bhagavad-gita
lecture
at 26 Second Avenue in New York City.
A
couple passing by played drums at Les Halles in Paris as Prananatha
Prabhu led the chanting of Hare Krishna and I sang the response
(https://youtu.be/i1_co8WsG9Y):
Tulasi
Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel, and quite a variety of
passersby danced (https://youtu.be/M-QkykpcokI):
Here
Radha Sundari Dasi chants Hare Krishna between Saint-Michel and Les
Halles in Paris (https://youtu.be/R9MP88BiBMc):
Janananda
Goswami chanted Hare Krishna at Paris temple in Sarcelles before the
morning class (https://youtu.be/H3gO862kVXQ):
The
day before Ratha-yatra, devotees chanted Hare Krishna on Avenue des
Champs-Élysées, known for its theaters, cafes, and luxury shops.
Here
a Janananda Goswami disciple visiting from the Baltics chants Hare
Krishna and passersby dance (https://youtu.be/nioUqJbcrww):
Paris
Ratha-yatra 2018
Dharmaraja
Prabhu of Harinama Ruci chants Hare Krishna before the Paris
Ratha-yatra on the train from Sarcelles, the location of ISKCON
Paris, to Paris itself, from the train station to La Chapelle, the
site of the beginning of the procession, and at Place de la Chapelle
itself. At Place de la Chapelle people joined in dancing with the
devotees (https://youtu.be/oWS10glZ5Ic):
Dharmaraja
Prabhu, Janananda Goswami, Sacisuta Prabhu, and Adikarta Prabhu
chanted Hare Krishna during the three-hour Paris Ratha-yatra
procession from La Chapelle to the festival site in Les Halles, many
people danced, and still more were attracted to watch and take photos
and videos (https://youtu.be/9OME2y1Tdq4):
More
books were sold this year both during the procession and at the
festival site.
Here
Dharmaraja Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after the Paris Ratha-yatra at
the festival site in Les Halles (https://youtu.be/9ZrlS7tU1cg):
Dharmaraja
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after the Paris Ratha-yatra on the stage
at the festival site in Les Halles (https://youtu.be/CD4j8SabN6w):
Dharmaraja
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after the Paris Ratha-yatra by the bars
near the festival site (https://youtu.be/AAO-8IduS_M):
Dharmaraja
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after the Paris Ratha-yatra on the trains
back to ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles (https://youtu.be/lXZuw08TOPw):
We
almost never get stopped when we chant on the trains in Paris, but as
we were late arriving at the station for the final train and the
train was ready to leave, we entered the carriage closest to the
driver. About half way home, the driver came out of his compartment
and told us to be quiet, and we stopped completely.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Paris After Ratha-yatra
Harinamananda
Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna at the ISKCON Paris temple in Sarcelles
after Guru Puja the morning after Ratha-yatra
(https://youtu.be/AZs8Pk8i35g):
In
the afternoon, Dharmaraja Prabhu of Harinama Ruci chanted Hare
Krishna on the trains and metros and through the station in between
them on the way to and from Montmartre in Paris
(https://youtu.be/Sw0t2r8VuYM):
Dharmaraja
Prabhu of Harinama Ruci chanted Hare Krishna at Montmartre, which is
a famous hill in Paris, with the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur (Sacred
Heart), on top of it, and which has many
people visiting it. All kinds of passersby participated
(https://youtu.be/yKmfLt1wYPA):
In addition to taking videos, I danced.
From Montmartre you have quite a nice view of Paris.
In
this video clip from Montmartre, a guitarist played with us for a
while and some
Later
at Montmartre, several people enjoyed dancing with the devotees for
quite awhile (https://youtu.be/HzfzFEoErWY):
The
next day Tulasi Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna to and from the Eiffel
Tower on the trains and through the Les Halles and Auber RER
(regional express railway) stations of Paris. I was amazed to see how
much enthusiasm the devotees had for chanting Hare Krishna in the
metro station on the way back, after having chanted for three hours
around Eiffel Tower. It really shows how harinama
gives
you energy rather than depletes your energy as some people think
(https://youtu.be/GeSAptPkmGo):
At
the Eiffel Tower, Tulasi Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna, and a crowd of
tourists chanted and danced with the devotees
(https://youtu.be/uKk4Rk0MmN4):
Other
individuals and smaller groups of people also danced and occasionally
chanted with the sankirtana
party led by Tulasi Prabhu as we walked around the Eiffel Tower
(https://youtu.be/_sThPYqqNdM):
On
the train on the way to the temple from the Eiffel Tower, Gopika from
New Mayapur, whose grandmother, Kisori Devi Dasi, is a disciple of
Srila Prabhupada, distributed a Bhagavad-gita
and
a Perfection
of Yoga to
a young black lady.
Here
Tulasi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in the park at Porte Dorée in
Paris, and a family is attracted (https://youtu.be/REXW_600acE):
While
in the park, we met a couple who were followers of Narayana Maharaja
on a japa
walk
there. As it turned out they were planning to attend the Antwerp
Ratha-yatra on the next Saturday like I was. We also met an Indian
family happy to encounter our chanting party and interested in
looking at our books. One young lady, who smiled upon seeing our
party and hearing our chanting, later told Vraja Laksmi Dasi that she
spent some time on a Hare Krishna farm in Australia and really
enjoyed it.
With
the trees, grass, and lake surrounding us and the sound of the cars
far in the distance, at the park you could almost forget you were in
Paris. It is not so crowded as the places we usually chant in the
city, but the people are more friendly and more favorable, and it
felt nice to get out of the city atmosphere. Tulasi and Vraja Laksmi
had never been there before, but they were very happy to encounter
it, and Tulasi wants to make it a place we regularly go.
Tulasi
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna and teaches rail passengers the Hare
Krishna mantra on the train just north of Paris as we returned from
harinama
one
day. The young lady heard our kirtan begin from another part of the
train, and she was so attracted she asked if she could sit next to us
(https://youtu.be/RJTrzcEaGS8):
Antwerp
Ratha-yatra
Amita
Krishna Prabhu, originally from the Antwerp area and happy to be back
there to promote Krishna consciousness, was the first singer to chant
Hare Krishna in the Antwerp Ratha-yatra on July 14 (https://youtu.be/809XZp26wr4):
Parividha
Prabhu, disciple of Srila Prabhupada and accomplished singer and
performer, chants Hare Krishna in Antwerp Ratha-yatra, increasing the
ecstasy (https://youtu.be/QooQ9fWruJk):
Madhva
Prabhu, the son of Krishna Dharma Prabhu and Cintamani-dhama Mataji,
chants Hare Krishna in Antwerp Ratha-yatra
(https://youtu.be/8Y_Sl27EDA8):
Rati Manjari Dasi of Amsterdam chants Hare Krishna with her characteristic intensity (https://youtu.be/Z54n4lNHrls):
Syamananda Prabhu, one of a few devotees visiting from Radhadesh, chants Hare Krishna in the Antwerp Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/ju55h2kogO8):
Syamananda Prabhu, one of a few devotees visiting from Radhadesh, chants Hare Krishna in the Antwerp Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/ju55h2kogO8):
Dayal
Nitai Prabhu of Antwerp chants Hare Krishna in Antwerp Ratha-yatra
(https://youtu.be/_988V-hMxZs):
I
engaged in a variety of services during the Ratha-yatra festival in
Antwerp, chanting and dancing for Lord Jagannatha, inviting people to
the festival afterward, taking videos of each singer, talking to
people at the festival and inviting them to the Sunday feast at the
temple, and spending forty-five minutes manning the book table and
selling a few books.
Hridaya
Caitanya Prabhu's wife invited me to help take the deities off the
cart and situate them in their car for their ride home, and as a
result I was able to carry Lord Balarama from the cart to the car.
Krishna
Priya Devi Dasi, who is enthusiastic about sharing Krishna
consciousness in Antwerp, showed me a Jagannatha she had made.
She
also welcomed me with a garland and gave me a donation for myself and one for Janananda
Goswami.
Because
I wanted to stay for the whole festival after Ratha-yatra, I booked a
bus for 7:05 p.m. to arrive in Paris at midnight, which meant I would
reach the temple by 1:20 a.m. Unfortunately the bus was 100 minutes
late, and by the time I reached Paris the metros stopped running, and
I had to take three night buses crowded with drunk people to arrive
at the temple at 3:40 a.m., just in time to shower for mangala-arati.
Still
it was worth it to attend the Ratha-yatra and the stage show after.
From
the Recent Past
Even
though I am not a very good musician or an empowered kirtan leader,
occasionally passersby enjoy dancing when I sing. On May 14, en
route from Manchester to Paris, I was one of the leaders on London
harinama,
and
Ananta Nitai Prabhu took this video (https://youtu.be/fkFOMelDm9k):
Remembering
Yamaraja Prabhu
Yamaraja
Prabhu, who left his body the morning of June 22 at New Raman Reti in Alachua, was a Srila
Prabhupada disciple who worked with the BBT and with Back
to Godhead magazine
since the 1970s. He stayed brahmacari
the
whole time. He also helped out in the production of Sadaputa Prabhu's
books. I share some remembrances and glorification of him from myself
and others. Some of you may have seen some of this on Facebook or
Dandavats, but I include it here for those who have not or those who
want to remember Yamaraja Prabhu again:
was a great soul. I wrote him a letter
thanking him for how he benefited me and our ISKCON society in
general. gave
the letter to Punya Kirti Prabhu, who read it to Yamaraja the day
before he left his body. Punya Kirti said upon hearing it Yamaraja
Prabhu smiled. I shared the letter with my Facebook friends to
glorify him, and because many people liked it, I decided to share it
with Dandavats readers to give them pleasure and to inspire others to
share memories of him. After the letter I also include some of the
comments I received by several devotees on Facebook which add to the
appreciation of Yamaraja Prabhu.
Dear
Yamaraja Prabhu,
Please
accept my humble obeisances again and again. All glories to Srila
Prabhupada.
Visvambhar
Prabhu mentioned on Facebook that he visited you yesterday. I am in
Paris so I cannot.
I
just wanted to thank you for being a model of dedication to Srila
Prabhupada, his Back
to Godhead,
his society, ISKCON, and his mission.
You
have been designing, laying out, and taking photos for Back
to Godhead
ever since I met you in Philadelphia around 1984. When did you start?
Thank
you for designing practically all of Sadaputa Prabhu's books, both in
the past and present. You were always a great supporter and friend of
his. I do not think any devotee appreciated Alien
Identities
to the extent you did.
Thank
you for cooking for all the devotees, the halava
for the Sunday feasts, the capatis
for lunch, the pancakes and the upma
for breakfast.
Thank
you for teaching me typesetting and proofreading so I could do layout
for Sadaputa Prabhu's books and so I could help out by proofreading
those books, Back
to Godhead, Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami's books, Tattva
Sandarba, Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava, and
so many more.
Thank
you for teaching me how to make capatis,
upma,
and tricks for mass quantities of halava.
Thank
you for being a good example of a steady devotee and a steady
brahmacari.
One
devotee commented on Visvambhara Prabhu's post:
“Akinchan
Damodar Das: I became a member of Iskcon back in 1999 due to a
picture clicked by Yamaraj Prabhu in BTG.
Interestingly I didn’t know it was a BTG
magazine as the main cover was torn off but the devotee in the pic
clicked by Prabhu was so ecstatic that it inspired me to be a
devotee.”
All
I can do is pray to Lord Gauranga that He might bless you with His
causeless mercy and His supreme benediction at this important
transition in your life.
Thank
you for your friendship.
If
there is any service I can do for you, let me know.
Your
servant,
Krishna-kripa das
Krishna-kripa das
[Since
I wrote this letter, I recalled that in addition to doing the design
and layout of Sadaputa Prabhu's books, which I am most familiar with,
Yamaraja Prabhu also served many other devotee authors in the same
way.]
Comment
by Minimalist
offering glorifying a devotional minimalist: he owned few
possessions, no distractions, just his computer, cameras, and a few
peripheral gizmos only for his service, a handful of simple
brahmachari
clothes; we had a few minimalist conversations here and there over
the years, always Prabhupada and seva
oriented; a few wry jokes and dry humorous observations of life, and
devotees; a man of few words, and multitudes of service…
[As
for his minimalist conversations, I remember a couple of things he
said. Regarding marriage, he once said it wasn't the ultimate
solution. Once I told him that a mutual friend, a very respectable
grhastha
Godbrother of his, told me that at one point he felt some emptiness
in his life and decided to get married. Yamaraja Prabhu indicated
that he was so busy with his various devotional services that he did
not experience such an emptiness, and I empathized with him. – KKD]
Comment
by I
wrote an article for Back
to Godhead
in 1986 I believe. Yamaraja Prabhu drove all the way from
Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia just to take a photo of me for the
article. Another devotee from Philadelphia was going to Norfolk
before Yamaraja and he offered to take the photo of me to save
Yamaraja the trip. Yamaraja refused the offer. That just goes to show
how dedicated he was to the service he did.
Comment
by One
day Yamaraj Prabhu was taking photos of NY Ratha Yatra and he was
there in from the of us at Balaramas cart with a message on his face.
Our eyes met and it seemed the message was, “I might have a great
shot of this arrangement of Balaram if only you could take off that
silly floppy hat!!” So I did that and he smiled and began shooting.
One photo made it to BTG. He was able to communicate with me just by
looking at me that day. Humble and amazing, what a great example of
Krsna's devotee!
Comment
by I'm
so grateful for Krishna in my heart guiding me to share about Yamaraj
prabhu so that you could communicate with him.
I
replied to him explaining how it came about: “Thank you so much. It
is very supernatural how I read your post. It was around 1:30 a.m. in
the morning, and my roommate was snoring, so I decided to play a
favorite kirtan
of Madhava Naidoo
at the Ukraine festival from iskcondesiretree.com
on my iPhone to cover up the sound of the snoring. I accidentally hit
a key that displayed Facebook, which happened to be open to your post
in another window. When I read it and heard Yamaraja Dasa would not
be with us much longer, I asked if anyone could read him a letter
from me as I am at Iskcon Paris and unable to visit. Shri-Ram Poddar
kindly agreed, and ultimately he gave the letter to Punya Kirti
Prabhu who read it. Thank you so much. Krishna works in very
mysterious ways!”
Bada
Haridas Prabhu also posted on Facebook about visiting Yamaraja
Prabhu, sharing a video clip of a kirtan with him.
:
“Kosa
and I visited His Grace Yamaraja Prabhu about a week before his
departure. We were leaving town the next day, so I knew that this
would be our last meeting. He was weak, but very lucid and we had a
nice conversation. He expressed his desire to be with devotees, as he
said, 'doing what they do best, hearing and chanting about Krsna',
and to help him ‘make the transition’. He seemed peaceful, ready
to go and not at all fearful. On his request we had kirtan, and to my
surprise, although he was so weak, he was singing along and chanting
very intently. That kirtan, which lasted more than an hour, was one
of the most amazing experiences of my life. I was overwhelmed with
emotion and Krsna gave me a little glimpse how special a soul
Yamaraja Prabhu is. I was overpowered by the feeling that Srila
Prabhupada loves him so, so much. I feel blessed to have known such a
great soul as Yamaraja Prabhu who dedicated his whole life in service
to Krsna and to have had this last time with him. Thank you Yamaraja
Prabhu. Thank you Srila Prabhupada.”
Below
are excerpts from a letter Srila Prabhupada wrote to “Ramesvara &
Co.” after the 17-books-in-2-months book production marathon in
1975. Yamaraja Prabhu was a key layout man in that marathon, spending
long hours pasting up type to be shot by the printer. He never
faltered in that demanding, precision work, as he never faltered in
his BTG service and cooking service in the 43 years since. Yamaraja
Prabhu ki
jaya!
I’ve
marked the portions of the letter with italic in which Prabhupada
expresses his appreciation for the press workers and showered his
blessings on them.
*
* *
Vrindaban
1
September, 1975
Los
Angeles
My
Dear Ramesvara & Co.,
Please
accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated August
31, 1975, and the six new volumes of Caitanya Caritamrta. . . . You
have taken seriously the publishing and also the distribution of
these books, and that is the success of our mission. You have taken
seriously this work and I know that my guru maharaj is pleased with
you because he wanted this. So by this your endeavor you will all go
back home back to Godhead. . . .
So
I wish to also thank you for your cooperation. Because of your
cooperation, therefore it has been possible. For me to publish alone
the first three volumes, I had to take so much trouble, but by the
cooperation of you American boys and girls now this has become
possible. . . .
The
pictures are all wonderful. The artists tease me with so many
questions, about this and that, but they have done nicely, so it is
all right. So
you all go on with your work, and I will pray to Krsna for your ever
advancement in His service.
I
hope this meets you in good health.
Your
ever well wisher,
A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami
Photos
of the Paris Deities at Mangala Arati
I share many photos I took of the Paris deities.
This time I include some photos of Sri Sri Nitai Sacisuta, who look like they could at any time leave the altar and blissfully go on harinama with their devotees.
Funny
Photos
We often talk about how satisfying the senses of the body does not bring pleasure to the soul within. On a bus in Sarcelles, I saw someone wearing a T-shirt with a saying illustrating this idea. I was not fast enough to take a photo, but I later found a photo of the T-shirt on an internet shop.
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
From
a class on Ratha-yatra in Los Angeles on July 1, 1971:
As
we are individual, God is individual.
In a movie although many pictures are changing each moment, we see it
as continuous motion. Similarly the body is changing at every moment although
it appears continuous.
If
I am eternal, why should God be dead?
If
I have the tendency to love others, why should God not have the
tendency to love others?
If
I have the tendency to be attracted to the opposite sex, why should
Krishna not be attracted to Radha? The difference is that ours is
false, like attraction to a mannequin in a dress shop.
Love
cannot be accepted as love unless it is reposed in Krishna.
Everything else is lust. It appears to be similar. Love is gold.
So-called love, or lust, is iron.
Our
whole process is training people how to love Krishna.
Krishna
has kindly accepted the arca-murti
to
be handled by us.
To
understand God requires a process. You have to know the process.
Krishna says only by devotional service can one understand. There is
no difficulty. We just have to become a devotee.
Krishna
is kind to everyone, but especially to His devotees.
We
have to study from authorized sources.
Krishna
says we have to first become liberated to understand Him (Bg. 18.54).
Simply
we have to change our consciousness to identify with Krishna and
Krishna's interest.
We
have to take the treatment to be liberated.
Seeing
Lord Jagannatha opens the way of liberation, but we cannot absorb
ourselves again in material activities.
Just
as one recovering from a disease must protect himself so it does not
return, a devotee has to be careful to stay away from material
activities.
If
God or Christ forgives you for your sin, that is alright, but if you
again perform sinful activities and then die, you will not go to the
spiritual world.
We
should chant Hare Krishna so we will not fall down and also carefully
avoid sinful activities, and then we will progress, just as you have
to accept the medicine and diet proposed by the doctor if you want to
be quickly cured.
We
should be serious to abide by the order the spiritual master. If we
think “the spiritual master is an ordinary man like me why should I
follow him?” what is the use of beginning initiated?
One
who is serious to carry out the order of the spiritual master is
serious.
From
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.1.26
in Honolulu on May 26, 1976:
People
think that to keep one's family comfortable is one's only duty, but
that is also there among the animals.
What
is the difference between lusty desires and pure love? Here we are
mixing, man and woman, mixing with lusty desires, and Krishna is also
mixing with the gopis.
Superficially they look the same thing. Yet what is the difference?
So this difference has been explained by the author of
Caitanya-caritamrita,
that what is the difference between lusty desires and love? That has
been explained. He has said, atmendriya-priti-vancha-tare
bali 'kama'
[Cc. Adi 4.165], “When I want to satisfy my senses, that is kama.”
But krishnendriya-priti-iccha
dhare 'prema' nama, “And
when we want to satisfy the senses of Krishna, then it is love,
prema.”
That is the difference. Here in this material world there is no love
because the man and woman, they have no idea that “I mix with the
man, the man who satisfies desires with me.” No. “I will satisfy
my desires.” This is the basic principle. The man is thinking that
“Mixing with this woman, I'll satisfy my sense desire,” and woman
is thinking that “By mixing with this man, I shall satisfy my
desire.” Therefore it is very prominent in the Western countries,
as soon as there is difficulty in personal sense gratification,
immediately divorce. This is the psychology, why so many divorces in
this country. The root cause is that “As soon as I don't find
satisfaction, then I don't want.”
Civilization
is how to cut down sex desire.
“In
the material world . . . The woman is hunting after man, and the man
is hunting after woman. Either in human society or bird society or
beast society or dog society or cat society, the principle is sex. .
. . They unite, and there is sex, and as soon as there is sex then
there is bondage.”
“This
is the most wonderful thing that we have experience, that 'My father
is dead, my father's father is dead, so I shall also be die, my sons
will die.' Well, who will stay? Well, what is the struggle for
existence, survival of the fittest? He never thinks of it. This is
the eighth wonder.”
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.1.21
on Jan. 17, 1970, in Los Angeles:
“According
to Vedic civilization, these four necessities are needs of the body.
Eating, sleeping, mating and defending, they are not problems. . . .
Lower animals who are not human being, they have no such problems.
They have no problems for eating, sleeping, mating and defending.
That is naturally done, or by nature's law these things are
arranged.”
“According
to Vedic civilization this eating, sleeping, mating and defending
were so organized that every people would get the chance of elevating
himself to the transcendental platform. And one who follows those
regulative principles, they are called sadacarah.
Just like we have introduced in our Society, you are following also,
that we prohibit 'No illicit sex life, no intoxication, no
meat-eating and no gambling.' So these four principles are included
in this sadacarah
program.”
“If
you cannot follow the regulative principles then you cannot advance
yourself to the transcendental platform.”
“He
[Ajamila] lost his brahminical culture, so he could not execute his
profession as a brahmana.”
“Dana,
pratigraha: and
a brahmana
is not supposed to accumulate money. According to Indian language,
there is a proverb: the brahmana
is a beggar even if he gets one lakh of rupees or hundreds thousands
of dollars. He remains a beggar. Because even if he gets $100,000 in
a day, he should spend it for Krishna. He cannot keep it as his
personal bank balance for utilizing it for sense gratification. No.
Whatever he gets, he should spend for Krishna. That is called dana.
And pratigraha,
and because he is keeping himself always helpless, therefore he can
accept any charity given to him by others.”
“Our
principles should be that to keep ourselves always strong so that we
may not fall victim to the maya.
If we actually serious about solving the problems of this birth and
death, then we should always be very alert in our execution of this
devotional service so that we may not fall a victim to maya,
just like this Ajamila fell.”
“That
is our mantra. Bahyabhyantarah-sucih.
Yah smaret pundarikaksam sa bahyabhyantarah sucih
[Garuda
Purana].
If one is engaged always in chanting the holy name of pundarikaksam,
Vishnu, Krishna, then he becomes bahya,
externally, abhyantaram
internally, suci.
But if you do not follow the regulative principle, then again you
become asuci.”
“These
carefulness has been minimized to the lowest point by the grace of
Lord Caitanya. In order to become the Vaishnava, or the higher
platform, in order to occupy the highest platform of life, Vaishnava,
the simple method is that you chant Hare Krishna and follow these
regulative principles, four. That's all. This much we must agree;
then it is sure then you'll haven't got to fall down like this
Ajamila, or asuci.”
“Death
is sure, but nobody is preparing for death. We are making so many
preparation for our future protection. We are having life insurance
policy, good bank balance, this deed, that deed, so many things, but
we are not preparing for our death. This is the most wonderful
thing.”
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
Japa
Reform Notebook:
“One
may think, 'I am very weak. I was brought up in a different way. I
cannot follow the rules and regulations, but I will chant Hare
Krishna.' But deliberate wrongdoing is offensive. If you are going to
commit sinful activities and try to clear it up by chanting, then you
are misusing the holy name. The name is not meant for cleaning up
your dirty situation so that you can again do some dirty thing with a
clean slate, and again chant Hare Krishna, and again do a sinful
activity. Don’t use the holy name in your nefarious plans like
that. Approach the holy name when you want to serve Krishna, glorify
Krishna, and ask Krishna to take you back in eternal devotional
service. That is the power of Hare Krishna.”
Janananda
Goswami:
The
Yamadutas were ignorance of the position of Yamaraja and also of the
Supreme Lord.
Everyone
thinks “I am the greatest person I know.”
The
Russian cosmonauts said they did not see God in space, but they did
see Moscow from above.
Radha
Parisisvara are the supreme controllers, but people cannot understand
that.
Rohininandana
Prabhu thoroughly analyzed Srila Prabhupada's books and concluded he
quoted Bhagavad-gita
15.15
more than any other verse.
The
soul is in the region of the heart, not that he is locked into the
heart organ.
Neither
the soul nor Supersoul can be seen since they are not material
elements.
Material
consciousness means unclear or cloudy consciousness.
Krishna
is revealed. [He is not seen by our material senses.]
As
long as we have material senses we tend to judge imperfectly.
As
we surrender to Krishna, Krishna removes the coverings.
As
children do not understand how society is working or how a plane
working, the people in general do not understand how Krishna exists
in everyone's heart, how the many universes emanate from His body,
etc.
The
individual soul is one of the five factors of action, but he is not
the only factor nor even the primary factor.
Srila
Prabhupada says that we should pray to the Lord, “Please let me
remember You and remember to chant Your holy name. Do not let me
forget You in any circumstance.”
Our
forgetfulness is a reminder that Krishna is in control and not us.
Our
intelligence has to become clear so we can act as an instrument of
the Supersoul.
Ultimately
we should be able to know how to live independently but act in a way
that is pleasing to the Supersoul.
In
England there was a devotee named Rafael who was from Spain. His
service was to take out the garbage. He did OK in beginning, but then
he started to dump the garbage in the temple room, sometimes in front
of the deities and sometimes in front of Srila Prabhupada. The temple
president called him in and inquired about why he was doing that. He
said that the Supersoul appeared to him and told him to act in that
way. The temple president said, “You will not believe it, but the
Supersoul appeared to me also, and he told me to send Rafael to Spain
to start a temple and to leave immediately with no money.” After a
few days we got a call from the Canterbury jail. Apparently he
insisted on taking the ferry at Dover for free and was physically
restrained, arrested, and put in jail by the police. The devotees
went to get him, and after that he sobered up and behaved nicely. As
it turned out, he later became a temple president in Spain.
When
the devotees got a large farm in Hyderabad, the devotees asked Srila
Prabhupada if he wanted them all to become farmers. Srila Prabhupada
replied that the local villagers are farmers, you just have to engage
them.
I
worked in a pig slaughterhouse as a summer job not in the slaughering
department but in another department. I was struck by seeing the
low consciousness of the people working there, and I could see it was
appropriate for such an engagement.
Comment
by Rama Lila Devi Dasi: I sold a Trappist monk a Bhagavad-gita.
He
was especially grateful to have received it. I was surprised he had
heard of it. He explained that after
they are monks for 40 years they are allowed go to the Vatican
Library, and there he learned that reincarnation was a fact but that
it was taken out of the Bible. He was so happy that he said he would
do a special service for our benefit.
Srila
Prabhupada said his qualification was that he did not change
anything.
As
Yamaraja instructs his messengers never to approach the devotees, the
government should tell all the police never to harrass the devotees.
Once
in Newcastle there was a group of skinheads who were moving toward
our harinama
party
in a mood to cause trouble. Three policemen came from the other
direction and stood between us and them with raised sticks and
ordered them to go away. Decades before, the Newcastle police would
stop our harinamas
and
threaten to arrest us, so things are moving more in a positive
direction.
There
is variety, beauty, and sense enjoyment in both the spiritual world
and in the material world. In the spiritual world these exist for the
enjoyment of Krishna, and in the material world for sense enjoyment
of the living beings.
Radharani's
favorite color is blue. Now is Krishna blue because it is Radharani's
favorite color or is Radharani's favorite color blue because Krishna
is blue? It must be both.
A
Vaishnava is one who knows the will of the Lord.
Q
(to Titiksu Prabhu): You have been doing the Ratha-yatra of decades.
You must have some feelings from that.
A:
I feel indebted to Lord Jagannatha. I feel He has been very kind to
me. It is nice to see the devotees are happy.
Svarupa
Damodara's qualification is His understanding the heart of Lord
Caitanya. The other intimate devotees also act in that way.
The
essence of Ratha-yatra is bringing Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva,
and Lady Subhadra back to Vrindavan. Why? For the pleasure of the
devotees headed by Radharani.
Sometimes
Srila Prabhupada would go to a place simply for a Ratha-yatra. He
felt it was so important he would sometimes travel by plane halfway
around the world.
Compassion
means to bring all Krishna's parts and parcel back to Godhead.
Matter
cannot touch spirit.
It
is not a mechanical process. We work together to please the pure
devotees of the Lord.
The
constitution of the soul is simply to please Krishna.
To
remember Krishna at the time of death is Krishna's mercy. He allows
it.
Hear
the sound of the holy name. Other things will come from that.
I
have seen all over the world people are attracted to Lord Jagannatha,
Lord Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra. No one becomes angry and says,
“What is this idol worship?” It is Krishna's trick to manifest
that form to attract the people.
Ramesvara
Prabhu said when Srila Prabhupada was asked, “What did the Goswamis
actually look like?” He replied by saying that they were so thin
they were shaking.
When
we invite someone over we usually clean our place, even if we do not
usually clean our place. Thus the devotees clean the Gundica temple
before the Ratha-yatra. When Srila Prabhupada would visit, the
devotees would always do a maha
clean-up
of the temple and Srila Prabhupada's quarters.
Lord
Caitanya is begging for permission to cleanse the temple of Gundica,
and thus He demonstrated great eagerness for devotional service.
Srila
Prabhupada placed so much emphasis on cleanliness, especially in
deity worship. He would run his hand on top of the picture frames to
see if there was dust. He would open drawers and see if there was
dust. He would check the toilet as an indication of the overall
cleanliness of the temple. He would check between the window and
grill and see if there was dust.
Products
of our modern civilization can be engaged in Krishna's service, but
we have to be careful not to get attached to such things.
Lord
Jagannatha reciprocates with His devotees according to their moods.
Lord
Jagannatha always looks happy.
Without
compromising with the Mayavadis we can accept the brahman
idea
as a partial understanding and encourage those having that idea to
expanding their understanding.
As
it turned out, the motor racing champion who had a meeting Srila
Prabhupada at Bhaktivedanta Manor died in a crash of his private jet
two weeks later. [Thus it was very forunate he got some spiritual
association just before his death.]
Among
other reasons, Lord Jagannatha has big eyes to enjoy the dancing of
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Imagine
being sprayed by the tears of Lord Caitanya spurting out and
spreading all around!
During
the Ratha-yatra procession, Srila Prabhupada would stop and offer
prayers to Lord Jagannatha, and then continue with the parade.
Sacinandana
Swami:
From
The
Nectar of Book Distribution:
If
one has determination one can convince people to buy books even
though they do not want them.
Seeing
the personal satisfaction of the devotees from their spiritual
practice can inspire people to buy books from them.
Book
distributor 1:
From
The
Nectar of Book Distribution:
A
book distributor must appreciate the service of the other devotees
otherwise he will lose their mercy.
Book
distributor 2:
From
The
Nectar of Book Distribution:
We
must be very friendly, even to people who are inimical. Often they
become transformed and end up taking books.
Rama
Lila Devi Dasi:
There
is no post that is eternal in this world.
Even
the sages in the mode of goodness experience bewilderment, being
attached to their position.
Srila
Prabhupada explains we have experienced varieties of bodies over
millions of births.
Even
Indra forgot his position and fought with Krishna, objecting to His
taking a tree from heaven.
Sometimes
the brahmanas
become
proud like Bhrgu, who kicked the chest of the Lord to test His
tolerance. Srila Prabhupada mentioned it was the bad association of
unqualified brahmanas
that
clouded Bhrgu's intelligence.
It
is described that when Jarasandha attacked Mathura his armed forces
were greater than both armies at Kurukshetra. Bhakti Charu Swami
explains that Krishna and Balarama brought two chariots from
Vaikuntha equipped men and weapons. At one point in the battle They
took the bow of Lord Shiva and split it in half, and Krishna used one
half and Balarama used the other half, and both shot arrows.
Not
only did Krishna have palaces in Dvaraka, but Krishna built a palace
in Dvaraka for every resident of Mathura.
Subhadra
suggested to Krishna and Balarama that They should go and visit
Vrindavan, stopping at Kurukshetra for the solar eclipse on the way.
When
the residents of Vrindavana asked to see Krishna at Kurukshetra the
guards did not want to let them in. Krishna, however, heard them
speaking and rushed out to see Mother Yasoda, dropping His royal
dress and reducing His size, and He sat on Yasoda's lap.
Vidura
was so upset that Bhismadeva was not acting to protect the Pandavas
that he left the palace and went on pilgrimage.
Srila
Prabhupada was expert to be able to keep people together who would
have never lived in the same house.
Dhananjaya
Prabhu was thinking of proposing to serve Srila Prabhupada by
offering to become the temple president of Sri Lanka because there
was no one in that position. At the beginning of the darsana
Srila
Prabhupada spontaneously said whoever is thinking of going to Sri
Lanka, I do not recommend it. When you go to Sri Lanka, your demoniac
tendencies will increase.
I
noticed Srila Prabhupada did not like to remove people from their
services.
Gaura
Nitai Prabhu:
“The
Bhagavatam
further says, sa
vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje: the
supreme religion is that which teaches its followers how to love the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond the reach of
experimental knowledge.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.3.22)
Here we learn that religion is love. Where do we hear that? Usually
when we think of religion we think of fear and punishment. Maybe the
hippies say, “My religion is love.”
The
servants of people in the Vedic culture are as good as their sons. They receive
the same advantages.
Every
chapter has a key verse, a verse that summarizes that chapter's
teachings. This is the verse for Canto 6, Chapter 3:
etavan
eva loke ’smin pumsam
dharmah
parah smrtah
bhakti-yogo
bhagavati
tan-nama-grahanadibhih
“Devotional
service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is
the ultimate religious principle for the living entity in human
society.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.3.22)
Srila
Prabhupada is giving a life's goal and a process.
How
to develop faith? By chanting the holy name.
Because
God is a person we cannot approach him in a mechanical way but by
love.
Srila
Prabhupada was nearly seventy years old, and he could not resist the
force of his enthusiasm to go West to expand the mission of his guru
maharaja. People
thought he was crazy. That is the burning nature of Srila
Prabhupada's love. Similarly Srila Prabhupada's disciples,
understanding how much pleasure distribution of his books gave him,
would spend ten or twelve hours a day distributing books to give
pleasure to Srila Prabhupada, and they experienced such ecstasy by
doing so.
The
more we hear about a person, the more chance we can love him if his
qualities are there.
Consider
Krishna's form. Any artist can see that is a beautiful form. It may
not be one's favorite form, but no one can deny the beauty of Radha
and Krishna.
By
chanting and dancing we experience Krishna appears through His holy
name.
Srila
Prabhupada said that Charles Chaplin had special empowerment to bring
humor to horrible situations.
Comment
by Nitai Caran Prabhu: On harinama
one
man I was talking to, who heard the devotees chanting the same tune
for half an hour, said, “I am an atheist, but I really respect you
because I see you really believe in what you are doing.”
Q
(by Nitai Caran Prabhu): Sometimes we absorb ourselves in devotional
service, even minimizing our bodily needs, and we have a very
positive experience. Yet other times we find because we get too
little sleep we fall asleep during japa.
A:
Yes, actually both experiences are there. Sometimes our enthusiasm
for devotional service pushes us past our limits, and at other times
our limits restrict us. There is a time when you give yourself fully
that Krishna takes care of everything. In the practicing stage, the
regulation is helpful to keep us steady, so that our anarthas
do
not affect us so much.
Aksayananda
Prabhu:
The
sun, in addition to providing heat and light, also provides energy
for the other demigods to do their services and for all living
entities to live.
When
Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakasipu performed austerities they took power
away from the demigods and created disturbance in the universe.
All
activities begin in the mind.
The
four Kumaras play a very important role in the universe, distributing
transcendental knowledge all over.
The
impersonalists are correct when they say the Absolute Truth is
impersonal, but if they say the Absolute Truth is not personal they
are wrong, because the Absolute Truth has both personal and
impersonal features.
The
four Kumaras could understand that family life would complicate their
search for the Absolute Truth, and so they did not want to get
married. By their mystic power they kept themselves as young boys so
there would be no scope for marriage, and thus they solved that
problem.
The
four Kumaras were absorbed in the impersonal feature, but they had
heard others speak of the personal feature of the Absolute Truth.
They wanted proof for themselves.
Although
the residents of Vaikuntha appear almost exactly the same as Lord
Narayana, they do not have the same feeling for the others as they do
for the original Narayana Himself.
When
Krishna disguises Himself as a woman to mislead the gopis
they
are perplexed how they have the same feelings for this girl as they
do for Krishna.
In
this world you have to built a plane following principles of
aerodynamics but in the spiritual realm conveyances are not so
restricted. If we had such opulent flying machines it would
completely distract us from our devotion to Krishna, but that does
not happen to the residents there.
In
the material world sattva
(goodness) is always contaminated by traces of passion and ignorance.
An example would be donating canned meat to feed starving people.
Charity is an act of goodness, but implicating people in animal
killing is ignorance.
The
limit of your consciousness is defined by your relationship with
Krishna.
Krishna
likes tulasi
very
much. She is part of the lila-sakti
of
Krishna. She appears as a tree and also as a gopi
in
Goloka Vrndavana. The residents of the spiritual world are happy that
tulasi
decorates
the feet of the Lord. They do not wish to take her place. In the
spiritual world everyone is satisfied with his position, but in the
material world no one is satisfied with his position because we are
frustrated in not being able to manifest our real nature here. In the
spiritual world everything is in its rightful place so there is no
desire to control in order to adjust things.
In
Vaikuntha not only do the men look like Narayana, the women look like
Laksmidevi and have qualities like Laksmidevi, being manifestations
of Laksmidevi, but they cannot replace the original Laksmidevi.
In
this world we are obliged to work, but in the spiritual world
everything is a pleasing pastime. Nothing breaks down. Everyone wants
to perform some service. Every place is so clean, but they engage in
cleaning anyway to do something to please Narayana.
In
the spiritual world everyone sees all the beautiful people and things
as manifestations of Narayana and thus these beauties do not distract
them from their concentration on or affection for Narayana.
Q:
Is the goal of a human being to attain Vaikuntha?
A:
It is a goal, but the ultimate goal is to please the Lord, and we can
do that from here in Paris.
When
we are looking for emotional tastes separately from Krishna that is
sense gratification. It is like an artificial flavor of ice cream.
We
should consider how what we purchase and possess can be used to serve
the devotees.
Going
into a different area you modify your behavior. This is sense
control.
If
people speak critical words, and you tell the people you do not want
to hear them and go away, that is a kind of preaching.
Acarya
Prabhu:
Srila
Prabhupada wanted to engage the whole human society in varnasrama
dharma
to bring them to the mode of goodness.
Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura commented that there is so little knowledge of
dharma what to speak of bhakti.
One
man in Salem [South India] got a set of Srimad-Bhagavatam
from
me. In two years he read the entire set and came to the temple,
asking the devotees how he could serve the Supreme Lord. They
suggested he could put Srila Prabhupada's books in his shop, and in
that way, the people would read them and also become purified, and he
would get benefit from that. So he very happily did that.
We
should be innovative in distributing Srila Prabhupada's books.
We
should be careful our plans are pleasing to the spiritual master. In
Aukland, New Zealand, some devotees enthusiastic about cow protection
decided to build bombs to destroy slaughterhouses. They were not very
expert, and the bombs exploded and killed one or two of them.
When
we are in pure consciousness we can be empowered to do amazing things
for Krishna, but if we think we are doing the things, we will get
ourselves into trouble. There are many examples in the
Srimad-Bhagavatam.
It
is important to be neutral regarding our surroundings, otherwise we
will be distracted from our focus on Krishna.
Each
of our temples and farm communities should be an oasis free from the
problems of modern society, which therefore can attract people.
The
material world is such that a disaster can happen at any second. Thus
we should be prepared to take full shelter of Krishna at every
moment.
Srila
Prabhupada would always consider how the opposition would react.
Everything
we are doing in our spiritual life we should do through our spiritual
master. The previous teachers teach not to overstep the spiritual
master.
Comment
by Nitai Charan Prabhu: On book distribution I met some ladies in
Germany who had received Srila Prabhupada's books. They were not
devotees that came to the temple but were engaged in taking care of
dying people, and they would read Sri
Isopanisad to
people as they were leaving their bodies.
Gaura
Sundara Prabhu:
People
are having difficulty in understanding what religion actually is.
People are fighting over religion. Thus Yamaraja here describes
dharma as durbhodam,
being
difficult to understand.
Krishna
speaks over four hundred verses in Bhagavad-gita
which
deal with material dharma.
Confidential
knowledge deals with the soul, more confidential knowledge is about
Paramatma [the Lord of the heart], still more confidential knowledge
is about Bhagavan [God as the Supreme Person], and the most
confidential knowledge is devotional service to Krishna.
That
dharma is hard to ascertain is demonstrated in the pastime of the
Pandavas arguing about how Asvatthama should be punished. Though each
citing sastra,
they
give different conclusions.
All
living entities must become pure devotees of the Supreme Lord. That
is suddha-bhakti,
and
that is dharma.
Dharma
begins with the chanting of the holy names.
Vaishnava
can be explained as coming from two words, Vishnu, meaning God and
iva,
meaning
“like.”
Jesus
Christ is mentioned as a shaktyevesa
avatar
in the Bhavishya
Purana.
People
who are starting religions are in effect declaring themselves to be
God for only God can start a religion.
Jaya
Rama Prabhu:
We
do not have to do anything but engage in the practice of devotional
service, and Krishna will worry about everything else.
Our
purification is just a side effect of serving Krishna. We do not need
to make a separate program for it.
In
this world if you are a CEO you get a lot of money, but if you are a
street sweeper you just barely survive. Krishna, however, is willing
to give the supreme reward to His devotees, whatever their service to
Him is.
Because
matter is dead it cannot satisfy you who are alive.
-----
While
living in Mayapur for seven and a half months in 2005 and 2006, I
learned to transliterate the Bengali script from reading the signs
that were in both Bengali and English or in both Bengali and Hindi.
Once I was in Navadvipa where there is a statue of Gaura-Nitai in the
middle of the road, just after you leave the boat ghat.
I
noted some Bengali inscriptions at its base and practiced
transliterating. I know only about ten verses in Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, and
I was amazed to find this simple but profound Bengali verse
describing the result of chanting Hare Krishna inscribed on the
statue:
krishna-mantra
haite habe samsara-mocana
krishna-nama
haite pabe krishnera carana
[While
explaining His chanting of Hare Krishna to the Mayavadi sannyasis,
Lord Caitanya quoted His spiritual master, who had instructed Him
thus:] “Simply by chanting the holy name of Krishna one can obtain
freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare
Krishna mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.”
(Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi-lila 7.73)
