Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 14, No. 14
By Krishna-kripa das
(July 2018, part two)
London, Northampton, Sheffield, Leeds, Birmingham, Nuremberg, Paris, Berlin
(Sent from Dublin Airport on August 7, 2018)
Where
I Went and What I Did
I
took a bus from Paris to London on July 18 to attend several events
in England. Back in May I
heard
from Parasurama Prabhu that London devotees do six hours of harinama
on
Thursdays, and I wanted to experience that. Sacinananda Karuna
Prabhu, who I knew from doing Weekend Warriors in London, invited me
to speak at his program in Northampton on Fridays. Sheffield devotees
told me of a very successful harinama
they
did last year at an event called Tramlines, and I developed the desire to
go there this year, and I did so on Saturday. Leeds devotees were
excited to tell me they introduced harinamas
on
occasional Saturday nights to reach out to those trying to enjoy
themselves in the downtown, so I encouraged them to plan one for that
Saturday as I was nearby. Almost every Sunday there is a Ratha-yatra
in the UK, and that week it was in
Birmingham.
I had originally planned to fly to Lithuania to see Niranjana Swami
at the Baltic Summer Festival, but on Saturday I learned that
Niranjana Swami decided not to come this year. Since
my
planned
route to Lithuania included an overnight stop
in Nuremberg on Monday, I decided to take a bus back to Paris from
Nuremberg to serve Janananda Goswami by doing six more days of
harinama
there.
While
in Nuremberg I had a surprisingly successful harinama
there
by myself for two and a half hours. After
the Paris harinamas,
I
took a bus to Berlin to attend the Polish Woodstock festival for the
eighteenth time. In Berlin I did harinama
and
had pizza with Gadadhara Priya Prabhu and Sara before
traveling to Poland.
The
Polish Woodstock
for the
Hare Krishnas
actually started on July 31, but I will describe the
entire event
in the next issue of this journal.
I
share quotes from a conversation and a book by Srila Prabhupada. I
include a great verse spoken by Krishna in the “Uddhava Gita.” I
share a quote from Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. I share notes
on Janananda Goswami speaking in Paris, Adikarta Prabhu speaking in
London, and Dayananda Swami speaking in Birmingham. I share quotes
from Back
to Godhead articles
by Nagaraja, Satyaraja, Visakha, Caitanya Carana, and Gauranga
Darshana Prabhus. I share notes on lectures by
Gaura Nitai, Gauranga Prema and Acarya Prabhus, all
speaking
in Paris. I
interviewed Janananda Goswami about his realizations about harinama
sankirtana, and
a link to that video also appears under “Insights” below.
Thanks
to Janananda Goswami and the Paris devotees for funding my six-day
visit to Paris. Thanks to Sacinandana Karuna Prabhu for his kind
donation in Northampton. Thanks to the residents of Nuremburg for
donating more than enough on harinama
to
cover my weekly metro pass in Paris. Thanks to Madhavi Dasi for the
amazing pasta with olives, accommodation, and cost of my bus to
Sheffield, and thanks
to Kanwar
for getting me at Meadowhall. Thanks to Namamrita and Jahnavi Prabhu
of Nuremberg for their prasadam
and
help visiting their city. Thanks to Narada Prabhu for the lift up the
M1 to Sheffield, and Janardana and Priya Sundari Prabhus for their
accommodation, prasadam,
and
driving in Leeds. Thanks to Jaya Krishna Prabhu for dropping me at
Meadowhall. Thanks
to Sara for the awesome pizza, salad, and ice cream in Berlin. Thanks
to Dayananda Swami for bringing to me in Birmingham my sweater, which
a new devotee borrowed from me in Sheffield but neglected to return. Thanks to Narada Prabhu and the Hare Krishna Festivals team for photos of the Sheffield harinama. Thanks to Sara for her photo of me and her pizza and salad. Writing
this long
list
of appreciations,
I am reminded of the Beatles lyric, “I get by with a little help
from my friends.”
Itinerary
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 the Thursday Nine-Hour Harinama in London
For
several months a team of devotees led by Govinda, Kulasekhara, and
Vasudeva Prabhus has been doing nine hours of harinama
every
Thursday in Central London.
Devotees
chant on Oxford Street from 10:30 to noon, and return to the temple,
where they chant ten minutes in front of the entrance, and then they
go out to the streets again, stopping by the two colleges (SOAS and
LSE) where Parasurama Prabhu’s Food for All distributes Krishna
prasadam
lunch.
They return to the temple at 3:00 p.m., when they take a break for
lunch. Then at 3:30 p.m. they go out down Oxford Street, through
Carnaby
Street, past
Piccadilly
Circus, through
Leicester
Square, and back to the temple, returning
at 5:30 p.m. Then they take another half hour break and chant from
6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. or even 9:00 p.m.,
or sometimes 10:00 p.m. Every other week in the evening they go down
Oxford Street to Marble Arch and then on Edgware Road, which is a
largely Muslim section. The week I was there they did that, and many
Muslims smiled and took videos, and one Muslim guy donated a bottle
of water to everyone in our party.
Here
Jahnavi, one of two Israeli devotee sisters visiting ISKCON London
from Bhaktivedanta Manor, chants Hare Krishna in front of the Hare
Krishna temple in Central London (https://youtu.be/2iTeUuxNAlc):
Govinda
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in London during the nine-hour harinama
on Thursdays (https://youtu.be/0XWhAhsi1oU)
Bhaktin Abi, a young devotee lady from Bhaktivedanta Manor, also chanted nicely.
Kulasekhara
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on the Thursday nine-hour harinama
in London at SOAS university, where Parasurama Prabhu’s Food for
All distributes lunch prasadam,
through Russell Square, where Srila Prabhupada would walk, and at LSE
university, the other school where prasadam
lunch is served (https://youtu.be/nagzRFC252E):
After
our lunch break Dayal
Mora Prabhu chanted
Hare Krishna in London, and passersby danced
(https://youtu.be/wSsEUbqkGs4)
One
young lady from Greece who was visiting London for a few days
appeared just as we were beginning our final harinama of the
day at 6:00 p.m. She knew of the devotees and liked chanting Hare
Krishna, but she had never been on harinama before. I was
surprised that she stayed for the entire harinama lasting two
and half hours, participating nicely the whole time!
In
this evening harinama,
Tripada
Prabhu, a friendly soul who is often seen at the reception desk at
ISKCON London, chanted
Hare Krishna in a London shop (https://youtu.be/t3L2jgoHWUA):
While
Tripada
Prabhu was
chanting
Hare Krishna along
Oxford Street,
visiting students danced
(https://youtu.be/Pu57JeuJv8M):
We
were short of book distributors on some of the harinamas,
and
so I helped out with that and distributed 8 books, collecting £16.40,
which was good for me.
I
was so happy I went that next year I will plan my transits of London
on Thursdays to
join the enthusiastic devotees and their nine-hour harinama.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Northampton
I
had a very positive experience chanting Hare Krishna for three hours
in Northampton on Friday, a city I had only once visited when we had
a Ratha-yatra cart in their local parade. Sacinandana Karuna Prabhu,
who organizes regular Hare Krishna meetings there, joined me for half
the time, bringing a drum. Several groups of kids enjoyed interacting
with our party, especially by dancing, and two girls played karatalas
and
another tried the drum. One of the girls played karatalas
on
two different occasions, and her friend tried chanting the mantra.
People donated £16.35 and took several books.
As
with many Hare Krishna meetings in cities where we have no temple,
the venue was the local Quaker Meeting House.
Quaker
worship involves sitting in silence, thinking of God and waiting for
inspiration from within. Krishna glorifies silence in Bhagavad-gita,
“Of
secret things I am silence.” (Bhagavad-gita
10.38).
Commenting on this, Srila Prabhupada writes, “Among the
confidential activities of hearing, thinking and meditating, silence
is most important because by silence one can make progress very
quickly.”
Chanting
Hare Krishna at Tramlines (Sheffield’s Biggest Ever Party)
I
really never recall seeing so many people on the streets of Sheffield
as at the Tramlines event where
a team of around twelve devotees chanted on Saturday.
From time to time people would dance with our party, some quite a bit
intoxicated, as you can see in these videos:
Here
Bhakta
Ian Nene chants Hare Krishna at Tramlines, Sheffield’s biggest ever
party, and passersby dance and take photos and videos
(https://youtu.be/FHKZ5iahg20):
I danced and distributed invitations most of the time as usual.
Dayananda
Swami chanted with great enthusiasm, and at one point a group of
female partiers danced. After the harinama,
Dayananda Swami recalled the words spoken by Srila Prabhupada while
leaving the historic Mantra Rock Dance in San Francisco in 1967,
“This is no place for a brahmacari”
(https://youtu.be/GG3vB2UVa08):
A
couple more ladies danced with our party as we reached the end of the
town (https://youtu.be/eHlWdS_5Qbc):
As
some devotees went back through the town to find two devotees who got
lost, Narada Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna kirtan and passersby danced
(https://youtu.be/-ecFdI2qfVc):
Many
invitations to the Sheffield
Wednesday night kirtan program were distributed along with lots of
packages of prasadam.
During
our harinama
we
saw a man with a piano on wheels and a lady with a cello on wheels.
It reminded me of Parasurama Prabhu, who has an entire drum set on
wheels, and perhaps we could bring that in future years. It would fit
right in.
Chanting
Hare Krishna on Saturday Night in Leeds
As
soon as our Sheffield harinama
ended,
I took a train to Leeds to chant another hour and a half with seven
devotees there.
I
chanted Hare Krishna at the beginning of our harinama
in
Leeds, and a bride and her friends, out partying before her marriage,
chanted, danced, and played the drum (https://youtu.be/nsaR8gqCFhw):
Later
we went down a street called Greek Street with several restaurants
with outdoor seating on both sides. Many people interacted with us by
dancing, clapping, smiling, or taking photos, but because I was
singing, I could not make a video of it.
Here
Acyut
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Saturday night in Leeds beginning
on Greek Street, where one drunk person joined us for several
minutes,
and passersby dance (https://youtu.be/OXUGrIPD6e4):
Later
Priya
Sundari Devi Dasi chanted
Hare Krishna and passersby danced
(https://youtu.be/2PAwCe6J1kY):
Birmingham
Ratha-yatra
Dayananda
Swami chanted Hare Krishna at the beginning of the Birmingham
Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/sIu9nW2yYj8):
Agnideva
Prabhu, celebrated Srila Prabhupada disciple and kirtan leader,
chanted Hare Krishna at Birmingham Ratha-yatra and devotees danced
with joy (https://youtu.be/DjJ2E1S6cIE):
Birmingham
youth of various races, religions, and genders enjoyed dancing with
devotees as Agnideva Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna at Ratha-yatra. The
guys danced in circles with Sutapa Prabhu and other male devotees as
the girls watched, smiled, clapped, took photos, and danced on the
side or occasionally danced with the devotee ladies
(https://youtu.be/g8Ygmx7BzJ4):
I
had attended Ratha-yatras in London, Paris, and Antwerp in the
previous month, but I did not see such nice partcipation by the youth
of the city as there in Birmingham.
Unexpectedly
Wonderful Experiences Chanting Hare Krishna in Nuremberg
I
like to do three hours of chanting Hare Krishna in public every day,
and since I chanted half an hour near the Sheffield train station in
the morning before traveling to the airport, I decided to chant in
Nuremberg, a city I had never chanted in, for two and a half hours,
between my afternoon flight from Manchester and my overnight bus to
Paris.
A
very kind and friendly Russian-speaking devotee named Namamrita
Prabhu met me at the airport, and he
showed
me the bus station and their usual harinama
spot
before returning home for a Skype session with his guru, Bhakti
Vijnana Swami. He also brought me some wonderful Ekadasi prasadam,
salad
and potatos with cheese, made by his wife, Jahnavi Devi Dasi, disciple
of Janananda Goswami, and some fruit as well.
On
the side of the pathway from the main train station toward the city I
sat down with a pair of karatalas,
as
I left my harmonium in Leeds, not wanting to drag it to Paris,
Poland, and Canada or pay the baggage charges to do so. My amplifier was dying
and did not work very well. Considering my external situation, I was
amazed by the reception, both in terms of meeting interesting people
and in getting donations and distributing literature.
One
boy took a photo of me, and I asked him to send it to me. Usually
people who promise to do this fail 80% of the time, but he actually
sent it. I asked him about himself, and he replied, “My name is
Isaiah, I am 18 years old and a student. I am working on my career as
a professional photographer day and night. I Love taking portraits of
magnificent people on the streets and my goal in Life is Helping
people to feel better and balanced by working on my emotional
intelligence and spreading positive energy.” Such noble ambitions
for a youth of today!
Besides
Isaiah, I met a man who likes George Harrison so much he goes to
Liverpool for Beatlesweek every year. I invited him to the Liverpool
Ratha-yatra, but unfortunately it does not fall on Beatlesweek this
year so he could not come. I offered him Chant
and Be Happy which
tells of George Harrison and his meeting with Srila Prabhupada, but
he already had it. Still he happily donated five euros toward my trip to
Paris.
An
American man who knows about Hare Krishna through the hardcore band
Shelter stopped by. He knew Shelter has five shows in Germany this
summer, and he was very
excited
about it, once having seen them play in Philadelphia.
A
youthful Buddhist lady from Thailand gave two euros and took a book,
and a friendly lady from L.A., who I told about our temple and
restaurant there, got a book, giving two dollars.
In
the two and a half hours I
chanted there,
people donated €24.10 and $3.10, taking three books, and they
would have taken many more if I had some in the
German
language.
The reception was especially
striking as the previous week in Paris Tulasi Prabhu and I sang two
and a quarter hours, and people donated €0.10!
Back
Chanting Hare Krishna in Paris for Six More Days
In
Paris I like to chant by the Indian shops at least once a week, as
the people are so favorable. There on Wednesday Olivier, who is a
guitar player, led the chanting (https://www.youtu.be/FeKwYDns3-8):
When chanting by the Indian shops, we displayed Bhagavad-gitas in seven languages: French, England, and five languages from India. As it turned out, only one person asks for a Gita, a Bengali one, and that was one language we did not have! Fortunately he took the English one.
We had a few other books as well.
Saturday
Rohininandana
Prabhu chanted
Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel and passersby danced,
and one couple even chanted
(https://youtu.be/mVMFGe5JXDk):
Janananda
Goswami chants Hare Krishna on Paris metro line 4 after the
Saint-Michel harinama.
Rohininandana Prabhu plays drum, and Sofia distributes literature and
collects donations. Vidura Prabhu plays karatalas
(https://youtu.be/-TX1IVFt5WQ):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Berlin
I
spent the day after my overnight bus ride from Paris to Berlin
recovering from my journey, eating homemade pizza, salad,
and ice cream, and going on harinama
with
Gadadhara Priya Prabhu and Sara, who I did Metroyoga with in Paris
years ago.
Sara is from Italy and likes to cook for guests and make
prasadam
for
distribution on harinama.
Gadadhara
Priya Prabhu chants nicely and plays the harmonium. Anyone who smiles
he asked to say, “Hare Krishna.” If they are willing to do that,
he praises them saying, “You must be a yogi!” Then he gives them
a mantra card for the Berlin temple and encourages them to chant one
entire mantra along with us. Then he introduces the books and the
prasadam.
In
just the area around where Gadadhara Priya and Sara lived we
encountered so many people willing to chant the Hare Krishna at least
once with us, who had previous positive experiences of Krishna
consciousness, or who were willing accept books or prasadam
and
give a donation. It was truly inspiring. One couple was a very open
and friendly guy from Kenya and a girl from Geneva, who each took a
book, accepted prasadam,
and
gave a donation.
More Photos of Radha-Parisisvara
Some photos for me remember the beauty of the Paris deities till next year.
Curious
Photos
I
encountered some curious sights to photograph during the London
harinama.
A
couple near the universities were reminders of the unpopularity of U.S. President Trump. I
know from living in America, lots of U.S. citizens voice
dissatisfaction with him, and I learned in London people also have
issues with his policies.
Finding
a mate is done different ways in different cultures. Of course,
traditionally in Vedic culture it was done by the parents, who
presumably were more experienced and sagacious. Now people seek their
own mates in different places.
This
is a humorous sign with some advice I also saw while chanting in
London. Does that constitute British humor?
Actually
if you want to find an ideal husband who will help you attain
spiritual perfection, no pub is an ideal place to look!
The
wisest realize that there is one ideal husband, and that is the
Supreme Lord.
Srila
Prabhupada writes, “The ultimate result of devotional service is to
develop genuine love for the Supreme Personality. Love is a word
which is often used in relation with man and woman. And love is the
only word that can be properly used to indicate the relation between
Lord Krishna and the living entities. The living entities are
mentioned as prakriti
in the Bhagavad-gita,
and in Sanskrit prakriti
is a feminine object. The Lord is always described as the
parama-purusa,
or the supreme male personality. Thus the affection between the Lord
and the living entities is something like that between the male and
the female. Therefore the term love of Godhead is quite appropriate.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.7.7, purport)
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
From
a conversation with biochemist Thoudam Singh, PhD, in Bhubaneswar,
India, on February 3, 1977, printed in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
52, No. 6 (November/December 2018):
“Here
is the supreme science: to realize, ‘Yes, all around me I see so
many natural laws that no one can change. Certainly I cannot change
them. I am under the laws of nature. Therefore, let me search out
that one person who is above the laws of nature – that one person
who made the laws and can even change them. I must make Him the goal
of my life.’”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi-lila 1.55, purport:
“The
Personality of Godhead in His all-pervading feature of Paramatma
enters every entity, from the biggest to the most minute. His
existence can be realized by one who has the single qualification of
submissiveness and who thereby becomes a surrendered soul. The
development of submissiveness is the cause of proportionate spiritual
realization, by which one can ultimately meet the Supreme Lord in
person, as a man meets another man face to face.”
Lord
Krishna:
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
11.14.26:
“When
a diseased eye is treated with medicinal ointment it gradually
recovers its power to see. Similarly, as a conscious living entity
cleanses himself of material contamination by hearing and chanting
the pious narrations of My glories, he regains his ability to see Me,
the Absolute Truth, in My subtle spiritual form.”
Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:
From
his “64 Principles for Community,” Principle 21:
“The
only duty of the most merciful persons is to transform the degraded
taste of people. If you can save even one person from the great force
of mahā-māyā
[the
illusory energy of Supreme Lord that distracts us from making
spiritual progress] then that will be a greater act of philanthropy
than opening millions of hospitals.”
Janananda
Goswami:
In
this interview, Janananda
Goswami shares realizations about harinama
sankirtana
[the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Supreme Lord],
described in the Vedic literature as the yuga
dharma,
the religion of this age (https://www.youtu.be/6lnPN05Gzpk)
From
classes in Paris:
I
met a tramp in London in 1973 who was formerly a nuclear physicist
and became disgusted by it. He was a student of Oppenhiemer and knew
of Bhagavad-gita,
saying
Oppenhiemer knew Sanskrit and studied the Vedic literature in the
process of making the atomic bomb.
When
I was in India when people learned I was from England, our
conversation always ended with them asking me to help them get a visa
to England. After a while, I would tell people that I was from
Malaysia, as I spent a lot of time preaching there.
When
Srila Prabhupada had not been in the USA for more than twelve hours,
he prayed to Krishna, “Why have you brought me to this terrible
place?”
Srila
Prabhupada once said, “Even if all of you leave and all the temples
close, this movement will go on because these books are there.”
What
Srila Prabhupada is teaching here, is that we have to be dependent on
Krishna in every circumstance.
Lord
Caitanya was saying he did not want money or any followers. Sometimes
we find ourselves wanting these things and being disturbed when they
are not present or when they are lost.
Fallible
literally means able to fall. Srila Prabhupada is teaching us to
depend on Krishna, who is infallible.
Comment
by Gaura Bhakta Prabhu: In Saint-Michel one man who looked like a bum
put a five euro note in our bowl. Although he had so little, he felt
what we were giving had some value.
Adikarta
Prabhu:
The
Battle of Kuruksetra was the biggest battle in the history of the
world.
It
is said the Balaji temple has been there thousands, if not millions
of years.
In
India people have been going to temples for thousands of years. In
the West the churches have been around only for hundreds of years,
but people have largely stopped going to them.
You
are intrinsically happy by loving God. You are designed that way.
We
are so much controlled by our karma. How we look and how intelligent
we are, we cannot do anything about.
They
have £100,000 watches at Selfridges on Oxford Street.
Comment
by Nrsimha Kavaca Prabhu: I have heard some places they have
$1,000,000 and $2,000,000 watches.
Krishna
wanted everyone ruled by a righteous king because a righteous king
will keep people from accruing bad karma. Krishna wanted Arjuna to
fight because if he did not then the world would be degraded.
Unrighteous kings can cause everyone to suffer, but a righteous king
could elevate everyone.
The
Bible is 33,000 verses, the
Mahabharata
is
110,000 verses, and Jiva Goswami wrote 400,000 verses.
If
you are not preaching or making a lot of money, it is better to live
in a simple place where there is not so much maya
[distraction
from
our spiritual life].
I
was an ordinary, materialistic person, a fashion photographer, and I
joined the temple, and after a couple of weeks, I went out on book
distribution and I liked it and have done it ever since.
Nagaraja
Prabhu:
“The
spiritual practices of the Hare Krishna movement, prescribed by Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the spiritual authorities in His line, are
meant to nurture within us the pure desire for intimate service to
Krishna in Goloka. When the Lord and His pure devotees recognize our
spiritual longing, we’ll gain entrance to the kingdom where God
reigns as an irresistible cowherd boy.”
Satyaraja
Prabhu:
“A
friend from the Christian tradition once pointed out to me that for
Christians love of God is intimately connected to love of man. That’s
how they express their love of God – through loving their brothers
and sisters under God’s fatherhood. He wanted to know how the
Vaishnava conception of love ties in with love for humankind.
“This
is an urgent question and needs to be addressed. But we shouldn’t
begin with the misconception that Christianity conflates love of God
and love of man. While both types of love are important, Christians,
like Vaishnavas, know a clear distinction between the two. If we
study closely, we will find that the Christian tradition makes clear
that love of God and love of man are two different things. When Jesus
was asked which commandment is the greatest, he said, ‘You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind.’ And then he augmented it: ‘This is the
great and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love
your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the
law and the prophets.’ (Matthew 22:36) So they are actually two
different things. The second commandment is like the first one, but
it is not the same as the first one. The difference is implicit: Love
of man and love of God are distinct.”
Dayananda
Swami:
From
a talk at the Birmingham Ratha-yatra:
Who
is attracted by renunciation? Who is not attracted by renunciation?
Wouldn’t everyone like to say, “I am so satisfied, I do not need
anything else”?
Gaura
Nitai Prabhu:
When
we are brought up, our parents do everything to make us happy, and we
learn that our happiness is the goal of life.
I
too thought life was for my enjoyment. I made a list of enjoyable
things and then pursued them one after another. But I found that
after some time those enjoyable things were not so enjoyable as
before, so I had to find new things. Sometimes my best friends would
become enemies or at least neutral.
Then
I met the devotees. They said their chant would help me, but I could
not understand how. However, I liked the food. The devotees would
tell stories, and I used to like the stories in the movies, so that
was something nice I could relate to. I heard the Bhagavad-gita,
but
it seemed it could all be theoretical. However, when I read the
Bhagavatam
I
came to accept it as true.
Lord
Caitanya had a special mission – to inform everyone in the world
how they could become free from material miseries. His program was
all positive. By chanting one can experience spiritual happiness.
There is no emphasis on the suffering that results if you do not act
properly as in some traditions.
If
we are protected by the word Narayana, Krishna, or Gauranga, we
should share it with others.
If
we have a very deep faith in the holy name, we can create faith in
others.
“Na
te vidhuh svartha gatim hi vishnum.”
Almost everyone knows Vishnu as some Hindu god but not as the goal of
life so we have a lot of work to do.
If
we are not successful preachers, we have to look within our life and
see what we can improve.
The
best devotees are always thinking how to improve their service, their
sadhana
[spiritual
practice],
and
their
preaching, with the aim of changing peoples’ lives.
Comment
by Rajadharma Prabhu: Bhakti Charu Swami says sometimes our service
is not so pleasurable, but the reciprocation with Krishna is
pleasurable.
Sense
gratification which is allowed in Krishna consciousness is not bad,
but attachment to such pleasure is bad.
Comment
by Gauranga Prema Prabhu: In the story of the cloth merchant who
refused to give any cloth to Krishna, the cloth merchant had a desire
to see God in his previous life. When he got to see Krishna, Krishna
gave him the chance to serve Him, but unfortunately he had no
interest in that.
Caitanya
Carana Prabhu:
From
“Sugriva-Laksman: Comfort – Material and Spiritual” in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
52, No. 6 (November/December 2018):
“The
bhakti tradition doesn’t romanticize adversity or demonize
prosperity – it urges us to utilize whatever circumstance we find
ourselves in. Adversity in and of itself is not spiritually
beneficial; extreme adversity can make both basic material
subsistence and basic spiritual practice difficult. And prosperity in
and of itself is not spiritually harmful; a reliable and comfortable
provision of material needs can free the mind from survival anxiety
to ponder higher spiritual truths and ultimately the highest
spiritual truth, God.”
“Tara,
Hanuman and Lakshmana all reminded Sugriva of his obligation and
helped him correct his deviation [from Lord Rama’s service].
Similarly, we too need friends and guides who can remind us of our
obligation to the Lord, especially when we start deviating from it.”
Visakha
Dasi:
From
“The Modern World’s Pervasive Bane: Boredom” in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
52, No. 6 (November/December 2018):
“Danish
philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote over 170 years ago: ‘Boredom
is the root of all evil.’”
“To
Kierkegaard, boredom is not just feeling weary because one is
unoccupied or lacks interest in one’s current activity; boredom is
not just a sense of emptiness due to an absence of stimulation.
Boredom, he wrote, is the result of an absence of meaning in one’s
life. This understanding explains why people today are overstimulated
but existentially bored. In 2017, global spending for entertainment
reached $2.2 trillion, yet there was also an increase in boredom and
unhappiness.”
“Kierkegaard
was clear about what would end his boredom: ‘What could divert me?
Well, if I managed to see a faithfulness that withstood every ordeal,
an enthusiasm that endured everything, a faith that moved mountains;
if I were to become aware of an idea that joined the finite and the
infinite.’”
“Interestingly,
Kierkegaard had seen boredom as ‘the despairing refusal to be
oneself.’ And what Prabhupada
stressed – practically demanded – was for us to be ourselves,
that is, to act as spiritual souls, tiny parts of God replete with
God’s qualities of eternality, joyfulness, and cognition.
Constitutionally the soul is meant to give pleasure to God and His
devotees, and such pleasure-giving service is fresh because Krishna
is nava-yauvana,
ever fresh. Giving this sort of pleasure gives us the greatest
pleasure. And this attitude is stimulated by spiritual love, love
that is not motivated by personal gain. Surely it is due to our lack
of realization of our spiritual identity and spiritual activity that
boredom exists at all in this world.”
Gauranga
Prema Prabhu:
Devamrita
Maharaja tells the married devotees they may end up with a child like
Prahlad [the
perfect saint] or
a child like Vena [a
complete rascal].
If
even Brahma and Indra occasionally get into trouble because of
attachment to the opposite sex it is no wonder that an aspiring
devotee contending with the temptations of Kali-yuga might have
difficulty.
In
Brhad-Bhagavatamritam,
Krishna told Gopa Kumara after he finally returned to the spiritual
world, “I have been looking down the road, waiting for your
return.”
In
Sanatana Goswami’s Lila-stava,
it
said that Krishna is always endeavoring to make Himself more
attractive to the conditioned souls.
If
you just stay alive in Krishna consciousness, ultimately you will
attain Krishna-prema.
It
is said that he who is loved by God is loved by everyone.
Comment
by Rajadharma Prabhu: Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that one
who commits sinful activities out of weakness will ultimately attain
success but one who hides his sinful acts to maintain respectability
will go to the darkest region.
Gauranga
Darshana Prabhu:
From
“The Art of Living and Leaving” in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
52, No. 6 (November/December 2018):
“A
fact of life is that everyone who has entered a body has to leave it
one day. The time between birth and death is what we call life. Lord
Krishna says that the consciousness with which one leaves the body
decides his or her next destination.”
“Responsibility
shouldn’t lead to undue attachment, and detachment doesn’t mean
irresponsibility. The Bhagavatam
narrates stories of saintly kings known as rajarsis
who ruled the earth religiously, taking care of the citizens’
physical and spiritual needs. And when an able successor was ready to
take charge of the political responsibilities, these kings, despite
their great influence, followers, accomplishments, and unexcelled
facilities, were detached and mature enough to leave behind
everything for a higher purpose. Thus they promptly retired at the
right time to dedicate the rest of their lives in devotional service
unto the Supreme Lord Krishna.”
Acarya
Prabhu:
In
the class which inspired me to shelter of him, Bhakti Vikasa Swami
asked those in the audience when they became devotees. After they had
all answered, he praised them for becoming devotees and said he hoped
to become a devotee soon.
In
explaining the Krishna
book
to people on the street, I was telling of the wonderful qualities of
Krishna displayed in His pastimes. Krishna is not someone loudly
telling people what to do, like Trump, but actually He is so humble
that He washed the feet of the guests at the Rajasuya festival.
The
glorification of mundane people becomes boring after a few seconds,
but we never tire of hearing the glories of the Lord and the saints.
A
devotee does not introduce concoctions in the movement.
The
great devotees do not consider their own comforts or their own
possessions.
Mahatma
Prabhu told us that when he was a devotee for eight months they asked
him to become the temple president because he had been there longer
than anyone else. Thus he learned how to do that service and became
qualified. Had he rejected the opportunity because it may have been
too difficult, he would have lost that chance and been less useful to
the Lord.
No
“ism” in the material world can protect the living entity. Only
Krishna can protect.
By
criticizing pure devotees, you at once come under the control of the
three modes of material nature.
Comment
by me: Actually criticism is said in Bhagavad-gita
to
be in the mode of ignorance, the lowest of the modes of nature, what
to speak of criticizing a pure devotee which must be in the lowest
region of the mode of ignorance.
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura explains you can criticize to warn devotees of nondevotional
activities.
I
overheard a devotee being criticized and when I realized it, I
thought I should apologize to that devotee for hearing criticism of
him. So I bowed down and apologized. The devotee was impressed with
my apology and said that I did not have to, but I felt so blissful
afterward I could see Paramatma [the Lord in the heart] was inspiring
me in this way.
Devamrita
Swami said that Ramesvara Prabhu came up to him on the street and
offered obeisances to him and apologized to him for offending him
years ago. Because of such offenses he had fallen away from his
practice, and therefore, he compiled a list of all those he offended
and was traveling all over systematically apologizing to each and
every one of them. His only lamentation was that some of the people
had passed away before he got the chance to apologize.
-----
This
verse appears in connection with Lord Shiva saving the universe from
deadly poison produced from churning the ocean, and many Bhagavatam
speakers
quote it to stress the importance of compassion in pleasing the
Supreme Lord:
tapyante
loka-tapena
sadhavah
prayaso janah
paramaradhanam
tad dhi
purushasyakhilatmanah
“It
is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary
suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is
considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, who is present in everyone’s heart.”
