Travel Journal#14:21 New York City

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 14, No. 21 

By Krishna-kripa das 

(November 2018, part one) 

New York City 

(Sent from Yuga Dharma Ashram in New York City on November 16, 2018)

Where I Went and What I Did

I continued staying in New York City at the Yuga Dharma Ashram and attending its six-hour daily harinamas. I also observed Govardhan Puja at the Ashram in uptown Manhattan, at Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn, and the Bhakti Center on the Lower East Side, and I celebrated Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day at the Yuga Dharma Ashram and attended the Radha Govinda Mandir Sunday feast program that night. I also gave Bhagavad-gita class and led kirtan and “Damodarastakam” at 26 Second Avenue on the first Saturday in November.

I share quotes from a lecture by Srila Prabhupada and from his Srimad-Bhagavatam. I share excerpts from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Every Day, Just Write, Volume 18 and his Free Write Journal, including a sweet piece entitled, “The Glories of Lunchtime at 26 Second Avenue.” I share notes on lectures by Rama Raya, Vishnu-citta, Kalki, Natabara Gauranga, and Mahotsaha Prabhus at the Yuga Dharma Ashram. I share in a separate section before “Insights,” glorifications of Srila Prabhupada on the occasion of his disappearance day, by members of the Yuga Dharma Ashram.

Many thanks to Sasha Prabhu, who is assisting Atmanivedana Prabhu in running the 26 Second Avenue program when he is absent, for his kind donation. Thanks to Lee for playing the drum for me at 26 Second Avenue in both kirtanas. Thanks to Divyangi Devi Dasi for the many photos of the Yuga Dharma Ashram harinama party. Thanks to Hare Krishna NYC for the photos of our 26 Second Avenue program and to the Bhakti Center for their photo of me offering a lamp to Damodara during their Govardhan Puja festival.

Itinerary

October 1–: New York City Yuga Dharma Harinama Party

November 23–24: The Festival of the Holy Name in Alachua, Florida

December 1: Vyasa-puja of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami in Stuyvesant Falls

December 8: Bhagavad-gita class at 26 Second Avenue

December 24: Albany, New York, for Christmas Eve

January 8–17: FSU Tallahassee

January 18–20: BI Gainesville Consciousness Conference

January 21: Gainesville Martin Luther King Day parade

January 27: Tampa Gasparilla Pirate Parade harinama

Chanting Hare Krishna with the NYC Yuga Dharma Ashram Harinama Party

The first day of November we were blessed with a bit of warm weather so we chanted Hare Krishna at our usual venue in Union Square Park. Then it got cold, and we chanted in different subway stations such as 

Penn Station, 

Times Square, 

Union Square, 

Grand Central, 

and Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Ave.

Since we are running low on the pamphlets I usually distribute, I spend more time dancing on harinama. We do not have many dancers so it is a way I can be useful. Sometimes passersby feel inspired to dance when they see someone dancing already. Thus they get devotional credit for dancing in the kirtana party of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sacinananda Swami likes it when the devotees dance on harinama because people stop to watch, and thus they spend longer listening to the divine names.

On our Yuga Dharma Ashram harinamas in New York City we had two visiting kirtaniyas chant with us in the first half of November, Madhuri Pura Prabhu and Sundar Nitai Prabhu.

On November 1, Madhuri Pura Prabhu, formerly a member of our Yuga Dharma Ashram party but now chanting kirtan at yoga centers around the nation, chanted Hare Krishna at Union Square during a short visit to New York City, and three girls danced briefly (https://youtu.be/gnQWvTND2y0):

On November 13, Sundar Nitai Prabhu of Ireland, en route between Dublin and Mexico City to join Harinama Ruci, chanted Hare Krishna at Union Square subway station, and a guy waiting for a subway played the shakers (https://youtu.be/8Zmma3Rprso):

Later while Sundar Nitai Prabhu was chanting Hare Krishna, two guys danced with Mahotsaha Prabhu as their friend filmed it (https://youtu.be/M0tJ8_oIz9o):

Yuga Dharma Ashram harinama devotees continued inviting passersby who showed some interest in our chanting or our literature to offer a lamp to Lord Damodara, Krishna in the form of a child, as recommended in this sacred month of Karttika, and many did, including buddies, spouses, and even a mom and her kids. The revealed literature states, “A person who offers a lamp to Lord Krishna during Karttika attains the eternal spiritual world where there is no suffering” (https://youtu.be/f6jFQaRaTz0):

One young lady speaking to me at the book table in Union Square subway station asked, “Did I see you at FSU?”

I replied, “Yes. I sing on the campus there in the winter.”

She graduated from there last year, and she attended the Krishna Lunch on occasion. Now she works in finance in New York City.

At Penn Station subway station one day a man, perhaps about fifty years old, sat down on the ground cross-legged in front of our party to listen to the chanting. I offered him a chair, but he did not want it. Then I offered him a cushion which he accepted. I talked to him and learned that he was a Quaker from Annapolis Friends Meeting in Maryland. He is involved in interfaith, and to get the Hindu perspective he had used Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. He and his interfaith group have come up with thirty-three items in common to all major religions. I showed him my favorite verses in Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Isopanishad, and he purchased both books. Most amazing to me was he listened to the kirtan for a whole hour. He said it was just what he needed to become free from the stress of riding the subways. I told him different options for Hare Krishna food in New York City. He said he would send me what his interfaith group had taken from the Hindu tradition so I could verify its accuracy. A few days later he sent me a kirtana recording that someone shared with him which he liked. I look forward to corresponding with him in the future.

Mahotsaha Prabhu had an animated conversation with a very jovial priest. Although posing nicely with different books, he did not actually take one, saying that he had too many books already. He did recognize the Bhagavad-gita, having read it before, and he picked it up, and pointing it he said, “This is the best book.”

One friendly old man I talked to told me that once he had driven Srila Prabhupada to the Jagannatha festival in New York City. He said that his name was Arjuna, and he was a disciple of Satchidananda. He gave a five-dollar donation but refused a book saying that he had more books than he could read. I offered him a Jagannatha sticker to remember Lord Jagannatha and Srila Prabhupada, and he accepted that.

One progressive feature I noticed during our harinamas in the beginning of November is that a lot of devotees who are not regular members of our party but come a handful of times a month tried their hand at distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books, encouraged by our book distributors, Mahotsaha Prabhu and Divyangi Devi Dasi. In the following photos, you can see some of them in action:

Madhavi Devi Dasi from Russia

Samarpita Radhika Devi Dasi

Samarpita Radhika’s daughter, Radha

Vinny

As usual Rama Raya Prabhu led many kirtans on our Yuga Dharma harinamas with a lot of devotional energy that got both devotees and passersby to dance.

Here Rama Raya Prabhu chants at Times Square subway station, and Krishna Prasad Prabhu and a man dance (https://youtu.be/JNv0XUgYvl8):

Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Avenue subway station, and passersby play shakers and dance (https://youtu.be/S_iw9m4kg-s):

Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Union Square subway station, and Mahotsaha Prabhu and two onlookers dance (https://youtu.be/AJdIlm0W9BI):

Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Times Square subway station, and a guy dances with Natabara Gauranga Prabhu (https://youtu.be/2xdc9dYCSGk):

Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Union Square, and Mahotsaha Prabhu dances (https://youtu.be/YKN7DYlwRT0):

Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Grand Central subway station (https://youtu.be/mr9BYucCoaE)

Kaliya Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Jackson Heights, and a passerby dances enthusiastically (https://youtu.be/3XWcUK6mYAc):

Kaliya Krishna Prabhu chants in Union Square subway station, and a lady happily dances with devotees (https://youtu.be/2f9loLHx2ks):

Padmalaya Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Union Square subway station, and a young lady, who drums on a bucket in the same station, dances in the background (https://youtu.be/gT24VlUFGJw):

Padmalaya Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Times Square, and kids play shakers and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/nuO-XK6WnS4):

Kaliya Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Grand Central subway station (https://youtu.be/FhEElJ2WU70):

Jayesa Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Ave. subway station, and an Indian MTA employee offers a donation, after having danced briefly to the kirtan (https://youtu.be/6ROeqR_vvMU):

Govardhan Puja in New York City

We celebrated Govardhan Puja at our Yuga Dharma Ashram, where we are fortunate to always have Rama Raya Prabhu’s Govardhan-sila as our supreme deity.

Devotees made a hill of prasadam, and we circumambulated it along with Giri-Govardhan, chanting Hare Krishna as usual. The feast was awesome. I recall especially the curd vegetable dish, the pakoras, and the chutneys. After the feast I made it on time for harinama, but it was a challenge as the feast made me feel sleepy for two and a half hours. I was amazed to see Divyangi Devi Dasi distributing books the entire afternoon in spite of the effects of eating a large feast just before.

In the evening several of us went to the Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn, now under official ISKCON management, where the size of the hill was a bit diminished due to the recent sudden change in management, but not as much as I feared. Different people got to lead kirtana from previous years, which I thought was a good thing:

Acyuta Gopi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn on Govardhan Puja (https://youtu.be/TBoIcMilkpo):

Visiting Srila Prabhupada disciple, Sunanda Prabhu, chants Hare Krishna in Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn on Govardhan Puja (https://youtu.be/krgAK9mPOiM):

The Bhakti Center observed Govardhan Puja two days later, on Saturday. They did a drama which I caught the end of, and they had a nice feast.

I offered a lamp to Damodara there.

Offerings to Srila Prabhupada on the Anniversary of His Disappearance

Rama Raya Prabhu decided to have our own celebration of Srila Prabhupada’s Disappeance Day at our ashram, as he worried going to the program at Radha Govinda Mandir would delay our harinama. Thus we missed hearing some of the local Prabhupada disciples speak, but we did get to make our own offerings which we otherwise would not.

Rama Raya Prabhu:

For us in ISKCON it is clear that pleasing Srila Prabhupada is the way to get Krishna’s mercy.

“Srila Prabhupada was showing that one should preach with every breathe he had.” (Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita)

Bhisma left this world in the personal presence of Krishna, and Srila Prabhupada left this world in the presence of Krishna in the form of His holy name. (Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita)

Not only did Srila Prabhupada teach how to live, but he taught how to die.

There is evidence that Maharaja Pariksit left his body before Tarsaka, the snake bird, bit it.

The acaryas are all like trustees of the mission of the Supreme Lord. They are working together.

Krishna-kripa das:

To glorify Srila Prabhupada, I share one letter that Srila Prabhupada wrote in which he tells of the miracle Krishna worked through him:

“I am very, very happy to hear from you all the good news about New York centre.

“Yes, from the very beginning I went to New York because I thought that Krishna Consciousness is the most important idea in the world, so let me go to that place, New York, which is the most important city in the world, and if I am able to do anything for Krishna and my Spiritual Master, even I am at the fag-end of my life, at least let me try for it there.

“So my dreams have all come true, and all of you nice boys and girls are getting the credit. When I was alone in your New York, I was thinking, who will listen to me in this horrible, sinful place? All right, I shall stay little longer, at least I can distribute a few of my books, that is something.

“But Krishna was all along preparing something I could not see, and He brought you to me one by one, sincere American boys and girls, to be trained-up for doing the work of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Now I can see that it is a miracle.

“Otherwise, your city of New York, one single old man, with only a few books to sell for barely getting eatables, how he can survive, what to speak of introducing God-consciousness movement for saving the humankind? That is Krishna’s miracle. Now I can see it.” (Letter to Sudama on December 23, 1972, from Bombay)

Vishnu-citta Prabhu:

I am always amazed how Srila Prabhupada’s writing is so relevant, especially to young people in modern society.

Before encountering Srila Prabhupada’s translations, I thought Harry Potter had more to offer me than the Vedic texts.

Reading Bhagavad-gita As It Is I found that Bhagavad-gita was for the first time understandable for me.

Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita planted the idea in my head that I could be a brahmacari or full time devotee. When searching for a guru, I would compare his speaking with Srila Prabhupada’s mood and message which I learned from Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita.

Kalki Prabhu:

Srila Prabhupada explains important truths in such a way people can understand them.

Before encountering Srila Prabhupada, I was looking at different leaders in hopes of inspiration, but they always had some defect.

Mahotsaha Prabhu:

Praghosa Prabhu told Kaliya Krishna Prabhu he always wanted to get Srila Prabhupada’s association, so he decided to do lots of book distribution. For one year, he was number in book distribution, and he ultimately got Srila Prabhupada’s association.

Jayesa Prabhu:

“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.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.7.44). You, Srila Prabhupada, exemplify this.

Srila Prabhupada is still present and even appears in the dreams of those who are not his followers. One book distributor was showing a book to someone, and when the person saw the photo of Srila Prabhupada in it, he said, “That man appeared in my dreams.”

Krishna Prasad Prabhu:

By our preaching in New York the whole world will benefit as everyone follows New York.

I pray to be an instrument at the feet of Srila Prabhupada and of the divine personalities following him.

Ryan:

I did not know my father as he died when I was young.

Srila Prabhupada is a father figure for me now. He himself had such an ideal father, Gour Mohan, that he was fired up with Krishna consciousness even has a kid.

He is educating me through his books and lectures.

The emptiness I felt not having a father is more than filled. I do not think I could ever leave Srila Prabhupada because I do not want that void to return.

Sasha:

The Prabhupada book [the abridged Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita] and the Hare Krishna! film have been incarnations of Prabhupada who have inspired me.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura said, “He reasons ill who tells that Vaisnavas die / When thou art living still in sound! / The Vaisnavas die to live, and living try / To spread the holy name around!” Srila Prabhupada is such a Vaishnava.

Our harinama goes to 7:30 p.m., and since my subway train was delayed, I did not reach Radha Govinda Mandir till 8:10 p.m. Thus I missed whatever speaking had been done earlier in glorification of Srila Prabhupada.

Acyuta Gopi Devi Dasi and some friends were still chanting Hare Krishna in the temple room (https://youtu.be/Ph4l-_X44c0):

I listened for a while and took the feast so I would not stay out too late. Our new ashram unfortunately ends up being an hour by subway from Radha Govinda Mandir, although the MTA says it need only take 47 minutes to return from there.

I recall the kachoris at both feasts, ours and the one in Brooklyn. Srila Prabhupada is famous for loving kachoris in his youth. I made laddus for the feast at our ashram. It was a sacrifice as I did it during my nap time and thus was tired during harinama. I like to make sweets for the festivals in general and felt bad I had missed doing one for Govardhan Puja being busy with proofreading work and catching up on other things.

Lecture at the 26 Second Avenue

If you want to hear the lecture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yZL5JCs_a4):

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.2 in Caracas on February 24, 1975:

“In Sanskrit language or in Vedic literature, dharma means the characteristics which cannot be changed.”

“Our real characteristic is to serve God, but we have given up the service of God; therefore, we are now engaged in the service of the senses.”

“Sukadeva Gosvami is the realized person. He is liberated, realized person. Therefore, to hear Bhagavatam from him is immediately delicious and effective.”

“Srimad-Bhagavatam defines mukti as this: muktir hitva anyatha rupam sva-rupena vyavasthitih (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.10.6), means mukti means giving up, giving up our unreal engagement and to be situated in the real, original characteristic engagement. For our original characteristic, that we are eternal servant of God, Krishna, if we are situated in that platform or eternal platform, serving Krishna, that is mukti. Mukti means give up the false conception of life and take the real conception of life. That is mukti.”

“We are following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and therefore His instruction should be followed. What is it? Na dhanam: ‘I don’t want any wealth, material wealth,’ na dhanam. Na janam: ‘I don’t want any so-called followers.’ Then, na sundarim kavitam: ‘Neither I want a very beautiful wife.’ ‘Then what do You want? These are the material things everyone wants.’ No, mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktih: ‘Even I don’t want liberation.’ Liberation means there is no more janma. But He said, janmani janmani: ‘Life after life, I want to be engaged in Your devotional service.’ This is real characteristic, and that should be followed. So this is the essence of Vedic knowledge.”

“Because why a devotee shall aspire after liberation? As soon as a bhakta, he is already liberated. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, mam ca yo ’vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena yah sevate sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate (Bhagavad-gita 14.26) ‘He, anyone who is engaged in pure devotional service, he is transcendental to all these three qualities of the material world, and he is situated in the Brahman platform.’ Liberation means to be situated on the Brahman platform. So for a bhakta the liberation is already there.”

From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.9, purport:

“Spiritual well-being is automatically followed by material well-being. The acaryas therefore give directions in spiritual well-being for people in general.”

From Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.19.17:

“In the material world, all distresses are due to extravagance.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

From Every Day, Just Write, Volume 18:

“I’m improvising

making up my lecture based on what we read and

hear. TKG unwinds a lecture like that. You can say,

‘No preparation,’ but this whole life is a preparation

and the surrender of going into this one with no

prepared script.”

“Now deep is only

one concord

your peace God

do whatever He says

the taskmaster

agree co-operate with the Almighty

or you’ll be crushed

wheel of time.”

“So many errant thoughts

there be

when you take sannyasa

you should be free.

Always read the Gita is our

code.

May you be protected and

to Krishna’s abode

enter soon,

Swamiji.”

“whoever you meet tell him of

Krishna

yourself first”

From Free Write Journal#12:

“One time I wrote to Srila Prabhupada that I did not think myself a very bold preacher. He wrote back that he too once thought he could not speak, but by practice he gained confidence. Moreover, he said, we are not cheating anyone when we speak, so you should not be hesitant or ashamed. Prabhupada compared the devotee of the Lord to a servant of the king. As the king is most honorable, so is his servant.”

“It is stated that the spiritual master will always keep company with a disciple as long as the disciple follows strictly the instructions of the spiritual master.’

“The Gayatri mantra advises us ‘to meditate on him being enthused.’ One time, when he was commenting on the word enthusiasm (utsaha) as used in Rupa Gosvami’s Upadesamrta, Srila Prabhupada gave himself as an example. He said, ‘How could I have come to America at such an old age unless I was enthusiastic?’ He was enthusiastic to come to America because his guru ordered, and when for a whole year he got almost no response in America, Srila Prabhupada remained patient but still enthusiastic. That enthusiasm can be heard on tape recordings of Prabhupada lecturing on the Lower East Side, where his voice often cracks with earnestness to deliver the message of Krishna consciousness.

Prabhupada was so enthusiastic to write Srimad-Bhagavatam that he would rise at 1:00 A.M. in the morning to do so. His composing of his purports was the perfect example of combined patience and enthusiasm. As he said, ‘Little drops of water wear away the stone. In this way, I have written all these books.’

“‘Let us meditate,’ the Gayatri mantra advises, and so one can continue on his own, or in the association of devotees, to think about and discuss the enthusiastic moods and activities of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada’s translation contains a particularly interesting phrase, ‘Let us meditate on him being enthused as he enthused us.’ A genuine disciple has become enthusiastic in devotional service, and he knows that this is due to the enthusiasm of his spiritual master.

“We may meditate on how our enthusiastic spiritual master has transferred this shakti of utsaha to us. Prabhupada said that the mother of one of his disciples, Acyutananda, complained that her son used to lounge around the house all the time and was unwilling to go on errands. But since he had come to live with Swamiji, he was always enthusiastic to cook and run any errands asked by his spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada was also fond of a pamphlet produced by a Christian minister in Boston which made reference to Srila Prabhupada’s enthusiastic disciples. This minister wrote that he met a Hare Krishna devotee giving out literature in the neighborhood of the church. The priest said, ‘These are actually our boys, but previously they were never interested in going to church. Now they have become mad after God.’ Srila Prabhupada also said that it was only by the enthusiasm of his disciples that the Krishna Consciousness Movement was spreading around the world.

“When we do not feel enthusiastic, let us meditate on the enthusiasm of Srila Prabhupada. Let it ignite within us our natural enthusiasm to serve Krishna. This is krishna-ananda, which motivates all the thoughts and activities of a pure devotee of the Lord. Whether he is grave and silent, or dancing in the kirtana of Lord Caitanya, whether he is being honored by many followers, or treated as an outcast, the pure Vaishnava is always merged in enthusiasm and bliss. Let us meditate upon him being enthused, just as he enthused us.”

From Free Write Journal#13 and 14:

“Krishna’s lifting of Govardhana Hill was the first time that the cowherd men and women all witnessed Krishna’s miraculous prowess. Previously, with the killing of Putana, Sakatasura, Trnavarta, Aghasura and Bakasura, the grownups didn’t believe that the little child Krishna had vanquished the demons. But they believed He was protected by Lord Vishnu. Krishna’s young cowherd boyfriends witnessed all the miracles, but the elders didn’t believe them, especially when the boys witnessed Krishna uprooting the twin Arjuna trees and delivering two demigods. The boys tried to convince the Vrajavasis of what had happened, but they were not believed. Govardhana, however, was different. The whole population of Vrndavana, with their cows, saw seven-year-old Krishna holding the hill on the pinkie of His left hand for seven days. They couldn’t deny that it was child Krishna holding up the hill.”

“It’s one thing to follow veganism for oneself, but to look upon devotees who drink milk as inferior is offensive. Veganism is a new ‘religion.’ Vegans often take a “holier-than-thou” attitude, which works against humility.”

From “The Glories of Lunchtime at 26 Second Avenue” in Free Write Journal#13 and 14:

“One of the nicest times with the Swami was when we all came together to eat lunch. At the beginning, a group of regulars would attend the Swami’s lecture, but as soon as the kirtana was over, each person would go back to his apartment and his separate life. But once we ate together, it created an intimacy.

“Let me remember it again: I come in just a few minutes after one o’clock, straight from the welfare office. I’m not exactly late, but lunch is already underway. I am a little anxious and hungry. I want to be sure I get a plate.

“‘Satsvarupa, come on!’

“They make a space for me, and I sit down near the wall. The rug has been rolled back, and we sit on the bare parquet floors. There is one row of eaters along the three walls, and then another half-circle of people in the center of the room. In the center of everything, sitting just to the right of the low table with the Pañca-tattva picture, is the Swami.

“Kirtanananda comes in with capatis and says, ‘Everybody has to take at least two helpings. Right, Swamiji?’

“‘Yes,’ Swamiji says, ‘Eat more.’

“Swamiji himself is eating. He mixes the different preparations together with his right hand – pours the dal onto the rice and then mixes the rice with the dal with his fingers, then pushes the sabji into the rice and takes the capati and pushes everything together. He eats quickly, while everything is still warm, and he continues to mix it. It’s almost like he’s tasting with his hand as well as with his mouth and eyes. The Swami’s eating was another art which was new and fascinating to us. We all eat with our right hands, just like Swamiji. It’s joyful, but serious business, chewing meditatively and relishing.

“‘This is very succulent!’

“Others praise the food.

“Swamiji says, ‘I can teach you many preparations. I’ve only taught a few.’

“. . . Aromas of food from the kitchen, the smell of hot rice as it goes on everyone’s plate, and the vegetables and the capatis and the butter and the combined good dinner aroma. Eating first and talking second. But there is talk also. The Swami is usually quiet, especially at the peak of the eating. But sometimes Hayagriva is talking about American poetry, Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson, and Raya Rama has something to say about that.

“After a while, the Swami looks up and asks, ‘Raphael, when will you fix the door lock?’

“And, ‘Stryadhisa, how is your mother?’

“An old acquaintance, Mr. Nelson, has come, and the Swami is glad to see him. Some who come to see him are a bit eccentric, and some aren’t serious devotees, but Swamiji is always cordial to them. He invites everyone to eat, and eat more.

“I like sitting cross-legged in front of my dish. I’m hungry, and I like it when it is hot. I never liked hot rice before. Rice was something my mother would be embarrassed to give you. It was for poor people or Chinese. But wow! This was good, rice and vegetable, and you touch it with your hand. Kirtanananda’s capatis are like pancakes. The Swami calls them rotis.

“I ask, ‘How do you make the capatis come out like this?’

“Kirtanananda laughs and says, ‘Swamiji showed me.’

Everyone is eating away or passing their plates in for seconds or thirds. We’re all sitting on the same level as the Swami and looking over to him. The Swami leans slightly over his plate, and there he is – the heart of the new Krishna conscious life which you’ve adopted. His clothes are humble, whatever khadi he brought from India, with inexpensive provisions that we bought him, t-shirts or jerseys from the Orchard Street markets. Although he is the guru, there is no elevated seat. He is barefoot and eating the same prasadam as everyone. When he finishes, Swamiji gets up and walks across the room and washes his hands in the bathroom, and then goes to his own room. We begin to finish up also. This is a good time for sneaking in to see Swamiji to ask him a question or get some more typing.”

Rama Raya Prabhu:

Srila Prabhupada once said, “You have seen the glitter, but my spiritual master is the gold.”

We want to be recognized as a devotee not a karmi, jnani, or yogi.

Jayananda Prabhu once said, “I wanted to work for Srila Prabhupada because I knew he would not cheat me.”

In Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is quoted as saying, “To call a sadhaka [a spiritual practitioner] a siddha [a perfected being] will destroy bhakti [devotion].”

Once when Rupanuga Prabhu asked what to say to new people, Srila Prabhupada said, “Whatever you say, if you get them to chant Hare Krishna, what you said was good.”

Srila Prabhupada said this Krishna consciousness movement is meant to give everyone the chance to practice devotional service at least for sometime.

The grhastha ashram has a built-in obsolescence clause in it.

In addition to Diwali being the day that Rama returned to His kingdom after conquering Ravana, Diwali is also the day that Mother Yashoda bound Krishna in His Damodara form.

Comment by Vishnu-citta Prabhu: Diwali is also the day that Krishna killed Narakasura and that Vamanadeva received the three paces of land which spanned the entire universe from Bali Maharaja.

If someone does not reply, it may be he has some purpose behind it, and usually it is a lesson in humility.

Sticking to the version of Vyasadeva helps us control our mind and senses.

The Lord has His plan to dismantle everyone’s false ego.

One devotee who joined in Buffalo was a bit eccentric and hard to deal with so he was sent to Boston. The devotees there also experienced difficulty with him, and wrote Srila Prabhupada, who advised them to be tolerant and patient. That devotee became Kusakratha Prabhu, who did great service translating so many of the previous acaryas writings into English. He would include Srila Prabhupada’s translations of verses referred to in the commentaries. Knowledgeable people who read Kusakratha’s books found them to have captured the proper rasa.

It is an important point that Krishna, after returning to the spiritual world, leaves His dhama [his earthly abode] in this world so people can take shelter there.

Govardhan provides a stage for Krishna to enact His pastimes.

Mother Yashoda is the leader of grass-fed cow advocates.

Srila Prabhupada said that because we are engaged in continuous harinama sankirtana we are living in Vrindavan and nowhere else.

Those who can chant the pure holy name should lead the kirtan.

Gopiparanadhana Prabhu wrote most of the purports to the Tenth Canto.

Govardhan was in such ecstasy being touched by Krishna, He did not feel the thunderbolts of Indra.

Vraja-vilasa-stava nicely relates Vrindavan lilas.

Raghunatha Dasa Goswami prays to Govardhan repeatedly, “Please grant me residence near to You that is so dear to me.”

Govardhan is worshiped to let us enter into the pastimes of Radha and Krishna.

Govardhan is called the tilaka mark of Vraja.

Deity worship is not for showing off.

Lord Caitanya gave Raghunatha Dasa Goswami a Govardhan sila, and not any Govardhan sila, but His personal Govardhan sila that He had worshiped for a number of years and which was wet with the water of His tears.

When we get a Govardhan sila we should not think that Krishna is becoming mine but rather that I am becoming Krishna’s.

People think that the devotees are sycophants, but they are actually important benefactors of human society.

Krishna needs us to have spiritual bodies because He is not attracted to material bodies. He awards us a spiritual body for His pleasure.

We dress the deities of Radha and Krishna so beautifully that They will be mutually attracted to each other.

Instead of simple living and high thinking, today we have very complicated living and very simple thinking, practically no thinking at all.

On his tour of the newly opened Vrindavan temple Srila Prabhupada told his disciples, “I have come five thousand miles to tell you there is a pigeon’s nest in the chandelier.”

Srila Prabhupada did not like his disciples to criticize each other. He wanted them to cooperate.

We learn in Chapter One of Srimad-Bhagavatam how to propitiate the acarya for transcendental enlightenment.

On book distribution, externally we may be flattering the people we approach but internally we are praying to the Supersoul in their heart that they may take a book.

Vishnu-citta Prabhu:

One who does not preach does not fully realize every soul is an eternal servant of Krishna.

A Vaishnava realizes that if he does not tell people they are eternal servants of Krishna then no one will, so he has a burning desire to preach.

By the mercy of the infinite, the finite can understand the infinite Supreme Lord.

Yashoda does not feel competent to chastise the Supreme Lord because she was proud but because of her affection.

It can be said there is no difference between the sun and the sunlight, yet because the sun is the source of the sunlight, there is a difference.

To become free from birth, death, disease, and old age, you have to become free from sense gratification, and that is not an easy task.

The secret of success is satisfying the spiritual master. Why? Because ultimately we want to please Krishna, and Krishna is pleased when His representatives are pleased.

Gopiparanadhana Prabhu, in setting the mood for his Sanskrit school, said, “Our duty is to understand how Srila Prabhupada has perfectly presented the message of the previous acaryas.”

We are so insignificant compared to the great Vaishnava acaryas [spiritual masters], we cannot criticize them.

The jnana-yoga people do not like to do service. They like to sit and speculate.

The secret of being happy in Krishna consciousness is to please the spiritual master.

Shyamananda Prabhu toward the end of his life told his followers, “The Lord has ordered me to return the spiritual world. Do not try to cure me. Engage in the sankirtana of the holy names.”

Comment by Rama Raya Prabhu: As Krishna does not come primarily to kill the demons but to enliven the devotees, we, as Krishna’s representatives, primarily want to encourage those people out there who are looking for spiritual life.

It was Jahnava Mata who requested Srinivasa Acarya to take charge of the distribution the books of the Six Goswamis.

Kalki Prabhu:

In this society you can be a teacher if you have the required degrees, but your character when you are not in the institution is not considered. The Vedic understanding is that teacher must always be of good character.

The sages are humble and are eager to learn about Krishna, both for themselves and for others.

Those who teach the spiritual knowledge of the Srimad-Bhagavatam are benefited by it as well as those who hear it. A kindergarten teacher may teach 1 + 1 = 2, but he does not really benefit by explaining that knowledge himself, yet the Bhagavatam speaker feels spiritually nourished by explaining the Bhagavatam.

Sukadeva Goswami did not put forward his qualifications. Rather people recognized his qualifications and gave him the post of speaker in a natural way.

Going to holy places is important because saints frequent the holy places and one can learn by hearing from them.

Srila Prabhupada would not just answer the questions of the reporters but try to enlighten them in Krishna consciousness at the same time.

It is better to be immune from a disease than to be temporarily cured. By becoming Krishna conscious one does not have to take on a material body and suffer any disease, so that is better than just curing a disease.

Once Vishnujana once told Srila Prabhupada that people are too agitated to read his books. Srila Prabhupada explained that is why we need varnasrama: to give people facility to live a peaceful life so they can be able read the books.

Natabara Gauranga Prabhu:

As you cannot come to end of the glories of the Lord the same is true for the Vaishnavas.

People say Srila Prabhupada just gave the ABCs, but one with faith in the guru and the Lord has all the imports of the scriptures revealed.

We should be fortunate to be an instrument. We should remember we are always just instruments, then things will go smoother.

Mahotsaha Prabhu:

We are giving people a choice. Now they have one choice, maya, but by giving them the holy name and Srila Prabhupada’s books, we give them the chance to choose Krishna.

In the material world, if you give you end up with less, but in the spiritual world, if you give you end up with more. By giving away love of God, we end up with more.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that lust, greed, and anger are gates to hell and one desiring self-realization should give them up, but in our modern society these things are encouraged.

One famous guy was caught cheating on his wife when the wife looked at the text messages on his phone. One techie created an app that just displays messages for three seconds so that would not be possible, and he named the app after that guy.

Historically you can see that excessive sense gratification is the cause of the overthrow of different empires. In the beginning people are hard working and sincere, but later they became lazy and prone to sense gratification, and then they are removed.

We have to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books in all parts of the world so people come to realize that God is real and Krishna is God.

Comment by Ryan: What is the value of people taking videos of us jokingly to show their friends without any interest in the God consciousness we are promoting?

Response by Vishnu-citta Prabhu: They get freedom from sinful reactions by hearing the holy name and a chance to associate with devotees again.

Response by Ryan: I may be biased against them, since I came to Krishna consciousness by seeking it out.
Response by Mahotsaha Prabhu: This life you may have come to Krishna by some conscious endeavor, but in your previous life you may have been one of those people who jokingly took a video of the Hare Krishnas to show your friends!

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prema haite krishna haya nija bhakta-vasa

prema haite paya krishnera seva-sukha-rasa

“The Supreme Lord, who is greater than the greatest, becomes submissive to even a very insignificant devotee because of his devotional service. It is the beautiful and exalted nature of devotional service that the infinite Lord becomes submissive to the infinitesimal living entity because of it. In reciprocal devotional activities with the Lord, the devotee actually enjoys the transcendental mellow of devotional service.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 7.145)