Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 15, No. 11
By Krishna Kripa Das
(June 2019, part one)
Paris, Brighton, Gainesville
(Sent from Paris on June 22, 2019)
Where
I Went and What I Did
For
the first four days of June, I continued chanting Hare Krishna,
either in Paris or in Sarcelles, the city where the Hare Krishna
temple is, for three hours a day. The next day, while traveling
between Paris and Orlando, I chanted Hare Krishna for 1¾ hours in
Brighton, England, most of the time with six devotees, many young and
enthusiastic. I
attended a Bhaktivedanta Institute conference in Gainesville where
devotees were discussing exhibit ideas for the Temple of the Vedic
Planetarian. While I Gainesville, I went on six harinamas
and
attended several kirtans at Krishna House. I chanted with eight
devotees in Brighton in the course of two hours as I had an
eight-hour layover in Gatwick on my return to Paris. Then I continued
chanting Hare Krishna in Paris for three hours a day through the
middle of the month, very happy that my old harinama
partner
from both New York and Paris, Tulasi Prabhu, originally from New
Zealand, had returned.
I
share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and books, and
a quote from a book by Bhaktivinoda Thakura. I share excerpts from
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Free
Write Journal.
I share notes on a darsana
and
a personal conversation with Vaiyasaki Prabhu. I share notes on
classes in
Paris by
Amrita Karana Prabhu, visiting from Mayapur, as
well as
Aksayananda Prabhu, and
Acarya Prabhu.
I
share notes on classes at Krishna House by Akhandadhi Prabhu,
Chaturatma Prabhu, Mother Loka, and Prabhupada Priya Devi Dasi. I
also share a very amazing book distribution story by Bhagavat Priya
Prabhu of Hungary.
Thanks
to Jack Baldwin and Kanti Devi Dasi of Key West for their very
generous donation. Thanks to Kalakantha and Jitamitra Prabhus of
Krishna House for their very kind donation. Thanks to Janananda
Goswami for reimbursing the cost of my travel from Munich to Paris
and giving me a nice donation as well. Thanks to Prishni Dasi of
Bhaktivedanta Institute for reimbursing the cost of my travel between
Gainesville and Orlando.
Thanks
to the friend of the girl from Azerbaijan for her photos of us
chanting at Les Halles. Thanks to Uma Jadhav of Mumbai for her photos
of our harinama
party
in Montmartre. Thanks to Mohini Dasi for her photos of us chanting in
Brighton.
Itinerary
May
19 – July 10:
Paris [except BI seminar on evolution in FL: June 6–10]
July
11:
London harinama
July
12–15:
Bhaktivedanta Institute conference in Wales
July
16–19: Newcastle area harinamas?
July
20: Sheffield Tramlines harinama
July
21: Birmingham Ratha-yatra
July
23: Sheffield harinama
and program
July
25: Accrington program?
July
27–28:
Dublin
and Belfast Ratha-yatras
July
30 – August 3: Pol’and’Rock Festival (formerly Polish Woodstock
Festival)
August
4–5: Berlin harinamas
August
6–12: Vaishnava Summer Festival (Lithuania)
August
13: flights from Vilnius to Olso to Dublin to Montreal
August
14–18: Vaishnava Sanga Festival (Canada)
August
20: Dublin harinama
and
Tuesday Evening Kirtan
August
21–22: harinamas
in
the Newcastle area
August
23: Janmastami in Newcastle
August
24: Vyasa Puja at Soho Street
August
25: Leeds harinama
and program?
August
27: Sheffield harinama
and program
August
29: Accrington program?
August
30: Liverpool harinama
and program
August
31: Liverpool harinama
September
1: Liverpool Ratha-yatra
September
2–6: Newcastle area harinamas
September
7: York Ratha-yatra?
September
8: Great North Run harinama
(Newcastle-upon-Tyne) or
Leeds Ratha-yatra?
September
9–10: Dublin
September
11–April 2020: NYC Yuga Dharma harinamas
& North Florida Colleges
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Paris
Here
Marat
chants Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel on
our Saturday afternoon harinama
in
Paris (https://youtu.be/dgS5rWjgtqk):
While
Marat was chanting, girls from Nebraska played shakers and danced
(https://youtu.be/g6HL_l4FxmU):
While
Gaura Bhakta Prabhu was chanting Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel, a
whole family appreciated (https://youtu.be/j-WfThkITaQ):
Visiting
senior brahmacari
from
Mayapur, Amrita
Karana Prabhu, chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/65F_fSpXQjM):
While
Marat, Andre, and I were chanting at Montmartre on Sunday, Uma
Jadhav, an Indian lady from Mumbai who attends our temples there, had
her photo taken with us.
On
Monday, while Marat and I
were chanting outside a Nike shop at Les Halles, a young lady came up
to us, along with a friend, and said, “I am a devotee. I am from
Azerbaijan, but I am studying in Paris. I went to the temple once,
but it was too far.” She played the shakers and chanted briefly,
and her friend took this photo of her with us. She was very happy to
learn of Yoga Lyrique, our downtown center for Vedic culture, which
has programs every day. That was the first time I had heard of
Azerbaijan before!
When
I returned from Gainesville, I was happy to meet Janananda Goswami,
under whose direction I work in the summer in Europe, who was briefly
visiting Paris.
Janananda
Goswami chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles on the Paris Thursday
evening harinama
(https://youtu.be/ALC4a-Yz0bs):
Rasikananda
Prabhu, recently initiated disciple of Janananda Goswami and his
traveling assistant, chants Hare Krishna
(https://youtu.be/zuTOZJe_QJ8):
Evgeny
from Russia, who visits Paris on business a few times a year, chants
Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/qsRVkIst39o):
Returning
to Paris, I was also happy to see that Tulasi Prabhu, who sings and
plays the instruments wonderfully and with devotion, had come back to
rejoin our daily Paris harinama party.
Marat
chants Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel on Paris Saturday afternoon
harinama
(https://youtu.be/SGxO8fVT78c):
Olivier
chants Hare Krishna, and two girls dance with a devotee lady
(https://youtu.be/gRwiTwY07FY):
The Hare Krishna congregation in Brighton, England, completely amazed me. I wrote Lochan Das Thakur Das Prabhu the afternoon before my flight to America telling him I had a six-hour layover at Gatwick between Paris and Orlando and if he could find one person to chant Hare Krishna me in Brighton I would go there and do harinama from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. the next day.
He wrote me in the evening that three or five devotees would join me, and we actually had six devotees altogether, and they were all so happy to have the harinama opportunity. It was wonderful for me to see that Hare Krishna is alive in Brighton!
Mohini Dasi, who helped organize the harinama party during my layover at Gatwick Airport, chants Hare Krishna in Brighton (https://youtu.be/YEx29Jm9RmM):
The next Wednesday, I had a eight-hour layover in Gatwick on my return trip. Mohini Dasi arranged for me a facility to take a nap after my overnight transatlantic flight at the home of an Indian couple who live a short walk from the Brighton train station. I was able to do harinama for two hours from 2 to 4 p.m. before returning to Gatwick for my 6 p.m. flight to Paris. This time, during the course of the harinama, eight different devotees joined me for part of the time, and they were so happy they invited me to return to Brighton for another harinama whenever I am in the area.
Mohini Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Brighton, on a harinama she organized for me on my return trip from Orlando to Paris the next week (https://youtu.be/LDZqkp1NSEE):
I also chanted Hare Krishna in Brighton, and a one point some kids enjoyed taking photos of themselves with the devotees, one playing some shakers I gave him (https://youtu.be/xaejS9bCm_U):
Tarun Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the Brighton train station, where we ended the harinama as I had to catch a train back to Gatwick Airport (https://youtu.be/IpWLFRSRuqE):
Flight Surprises
On my flight from London to Orlando, seeing me reject the airline meal, a friendly British Airways flight attendant from Madrid offered to get me something else.
I asked if she could find some fruit or yogurt.
Later she came up to me displaying a photo on her phone she thought I might like. It was her and her best friend, another flight attendant, wearing Vaishnava tilaka. Apparently they went to Mauritius to celebrate New Year’s, and on the plane they met a man wearing tilaka. They were attracted by it and wanted to try it themselves.
On my return flight a week later, I met the same flight attendant, and she got me some fruit again. I mentioned I was a Hare Krishna monk, and she asked if I could give her one instruction to benefit her life. I said the most powerful spiritual practice, which is mentioned in many traditions, is to chant the names of God. She said she would try it, and before deplaning I gave her “On Chanting Hare Krishna,” which she promised to read on her flight back to Madrid that day for her break.
On the flight from London Gatwick to Paris, I saw an amazing rainbow!
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Gainesville, Florida
I
visited Gainesville for five and half days to attend a Bhaktivedanta
Institute conference where devotees were discussing what to present
in the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium Exhibit Hall. During that
time, I was able to attend six harinamas in
Gainesville, four
at Krishna Lunch, one at the University of Florida entrance with the
Alachua devotees, and another by the bars across from the university
with the Krishna House devotees. I also took some videos of devotees
chanting at Krishna House. It was beautiful for me to see so many
youthful Hare Krishna devotees very happily chanting Hare Krishna and
dancing!
The
following videos are in chronological order.
Here
Lucy
plays guitar and chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville,
Florida
(https://youtu.be/K0nyuik1amg):
Haripriya,
daughter
of Yadubara and Visakha Prabhus, who
is on summer break from teaching at Bhaktivedanta Academy in Alachua,
chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch (https://youtu.be/wItlasz-EuU):
Haripriya
chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch, and devotees dance, both those
in the kirtan party and those serving Krishna Lunch
(https://youtu.be/oFvP99GZwbU):
Narayani,
who has moved into Krishna House recently, chants Hare Krishna
(https://youtu.be/GYKSlFrsPiU):
Daryl,
a University of Florida student who has lived in Krishna House for a
year or so and
who became attracted to Krishna consciousness from hearing Lucy
chanting at Krishna Lunch,
chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/3gfeXNR5EA8):
Srila
Prabhupada liked the devotees to dance to the chanting of Hare
Krishna. Although leading the kirtan, I stopped playing the harmonium
to film the enthusiastic dancers, beginning with Murali Gopal Prabhu.
Next
Daryl and Marcela joined the dance, and an attendee at Krishna Lunch,
who recently moved back to Gainesville, happily danced with her baby
while playing the shakers (https://youtu.be/LHtU0caBMdU):
Nagaraja
Prabhu, Srila
Prabhupada disciple and editor of Back
to Godhead magazine,
chants Hare Krishna at University of Florida entrance
(https://youtu.be/5yvmA-FuVB0):
Krishna
Keshava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at University of Florida entrance
(https://youtu.be/qPL89tV8RYc):
Alachua devotee lady chants Hare Krishna at University of Florida entrance (https://youtu.be/tShjUY_hpH8):
The
next three videos were taken in dim light, and if you turn up the
brightness on your display and watch them in a dark room, they will
appear at their best.
Bada
Haridas Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Krishna House, and devotees
dance more and more (https://youtu.be/ifp_ntG8Cow):
Bada
Haridas Prabhu chants another Hare Krishna tune at Krishna House
(https://youtu.be/1u41NUvrQVI):
Michael
Collins chants Hare Krishna in Gainesville on Krishna House Saturday
night harinama
(https://youtu.be/fJ2F1MVjNSA):
Narayani
chants Hare Krishna in Gainesville on Krishna House Saturday night
harinama
(https://youtu.be/J0pbTISdk6w):
Satyahit
Prabhu, initiated
by Srila Prabhupada,
chants Hare Krishna at
Krishna Lunch
(https://youtu.be/dESudtgq7pI):
Meditation
Mondays is an outreach event at Krishna House to encourage students
to experience the chanting of Hare Krishna.
Daryl,
who organizes the event and makes the prasadam for it, which
by the way was very good, mentioned a few points in her introduction:
The
mantra dissolves the many designations covering us that prevent us
from experiencing our blissful self.
Take
the role of grateful receiver not passionate achiever.
We
can meditate on the synergy of all us. There is actually extra energy
in the group. When two bulls work together they actually can do the
work of three.
Here
Gaurangi
chants Hare Krishna at Meditation
Mondays.
[Watch in a dark room
with the brightness turned up
for best results.] (https://youtu.be/QYUt_Zewuu4):
After
the chanting, Monica, who has lived at Krishna House for several
months, said: “In the beginning I
felt I had a lot of stuff I had to let go of, and by the end I felt
really relieved that it was all gone.”
Sruti
Sagar Prabhu, a
University of Florida graduate assisting his guru, Kalakantha Prabhu,
as an administrator
at Krishna House, chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch
(https://youtu.be/aObNWz6ismg):
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.30
in Vrindavan on November 9, 1972:
“The
creation is from a person, not from the impersonal feature of the
Absolute Truth. Creation, there must be brain; otherwise how there is
question of creation? We are part and parcel of Krishna. . . . We
have also creative power. So as soon as there is question of creative
power, there must be a brain behind the creation, and brain means a
person. Creation cannot be possible from void or impersonal things.”
“Impersonal
feature is one of the manifestation of God.”
“He
has got multi-energies, and because He is spirit, complete spirit,
therefore His energies are also spiritual.”
“The
Mayavada philosophy is that everything is God; therefore there is no
separate existence of God. That is impersonalism.”
“Krishna,
when He’s called aguna, or nirguna, that means He’s not
affected by these material modes of nature.”
“Krishna
says, aham adir hi devanam. Therefore He’s not a created being
of this material world.”
“Isvara means controller. So we are also controller of something. A business
man is controller of his business; I am controller of my disciples.
There are so many controllers. So in that sense, everyone is isvara,
in the sense of controller. But Lord Brahma says, isvarah
paramah krishnah [Bs.
5.1] – ‘The supreme controller, the supreme controller is
Krishna.’”
“What
is the difference between supreme controller and ordinary controller?
Ordinary controller means that he controls and he is controlled,
both. We are controller, but nobody can say that ‘I am not
controlled.’ We are controlled. But Krishna, He’s controller, but
not controlled. That is the difference between Krishna and ourself.
So we cannot be equal with Krishna. We are controlled.”
“We
don’t identify with anything material. As soon as we identify with
anything material, we become under the clutches of maya.”
“So
advancement of knowledge means to understand his real position and
act accordingly.”
“But
when he realizes himself that ‘I have nothing to gain and nothing
to lose; I have nothing to do with this material world,’ that is
called brahma-bhutah.
That is Brahman realization.”
“Unless
one becomes jubilant, joyful, by executing devotional service, he
cannot understand what is Krishna. It is not possible.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.1.3, purport:
“The
Supreme Personality of Godhead is therefore described in the
sruti-mantras,
Vedic hymns, as ‘the fountainhead of all rasas.’
When one associates with the Supreme Lord and exchanges one’s
constitutional rasa
with the Lord, then the living being is actually happy.”
From
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
2.3.15
on June 1, 1972:
“A
child cannot become a jnani.
A child cannot become a yogi. But a child can become a bhakta.
Therefore this is the easiest process. . . . Everyone is pleased to
execute this process.”
From
a “Cleansing of the Gundica Temple” lecture in San Francisco on
July 4, 1970:
“So
Lord Caitanya’s sampradaya.
[laughter] That is my joy, that we have now a sampradaya,
a party of Lord Caitanya in the Western country. That is my success.
That’s all. I have no value—insignificant—but somehow or other
you cooperated, and you are still cooperating, as Lord Caitanya’s
sampradaya.
That is my life. Thank you very much.”
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.2.33
in Vrindavan on November 12, 1972:
“Creation,
there is machine, or there is electronic working and the buttons are
pushed by the Supreme Lord. Parasya
saktir vividhaiva sruyate
[Svetasvatara
Upanishad
6.8, Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]. His electronic machine is so subtle
and powerful that we cannot understand. We say ‘nature.’”
“There
is pushing of button. Everything is there. That is explained in the
Bhagavad-gita:
mayadhyakshena prakritih suyate sa-caracaram hetunanena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
[Bg. 9.10] Mayadhyakshena.
‘I am putting the buttons.’ He is... But the..., His putting of
buttons and acting of the machine is so subtle and so quick and so
immediate that we cannot explain. We think it is automatically done.
We think that it is automatically done.”
“There
is a brain. It is not a so-called evasive reply, ‘Automatically.’
What do you mean, ‘Automatically’? There must be somebody pushing
the button, must be working. There is brain. That is really
scientific study.”
[Srila
Prabhupada summarizes the creation from subtle to gross.] “So there
is great machinery. It is not that automatically it has come out. But
behind all these energetic work... The energies, different energies
are working.”
“Your
body, my body – in the same way, everything is coming out. Now
there was seed, the father and mother’s seed. Now, within that
seed, all these arrangement of the veins, nerves and fibers and
muscle and everything was there.”
“I
do not know how the nerves in my finger became disturbed and how it
has become diseased and how it became cured, and now it is all right.
I do not know, although I claim, ‘This is my hand,’ ‘This is my
leg.’ But I do not know. Therefore it is not my leg, not my hand.”
“Indriya means senses – how they are working, how the enjoyment, object of
enjoyment is supplied, that is all being arranged by Krishna.”
“Then
what I enjoy? I enjoy the action and reaction of the three modes of
material nature, that’s all. Actually, the enjoyment is in my mind.
That is not enjoyment. That is not enjoyment. Real enjoyment is when
I am free from this embodiment of five elements, gross elements, and
three subtle elements. I have entered into this, and the action and
reaction of these five gross elements, three subtle elements, I am
enjoying. Actually, not enjoying. This is called maya.
There is no enjoyment. It is enjoyment in the mind. The mind is also
material creation. Real enjoyment is beyond these senses. Sukham
atyantikam yat tad atindriya-grahyam
[Bg. 6.21]. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita.
Sukham atyantikam yat tat.
The real happiness is not by these gross senses. By transcendental
senses, we can enjoy . . . real happiness.”
“Therefore,
because we are not in that platform of enjoying the transcendental
senses, we are trying to enjoy by these gross senses, therefore we
are becoming baffled and frustrated. This is the cause of
frustration. Because that is not the platform of enjoyment.”
“Because
I am in bodily concept of life, therefore I am thinking, ‘I am
American,’ ‘I am Indian,’ ‘I am Hindu,’ ‘I am Muslim,’
‘I am black,’ ‘I am white,’ ‘I am man,’ ‘I am woman,’
‘I am tree,’ ‘I am this,’ ‘I am that.’ This is covered.
How you can enjoy with these covered senses? So you have to uncover.
You have to discover. That discovering process is devotional service.
The more you are engaged in devotional service, the more your senses
become pure, or uncovered. And when it is completely uncovered,
without any designation, then you are capable to serve Krishna.”
“Suppose
I cover your tongue with some cloth and then I give you one
rasagulla.
Can you taste it? What you’ll taste?”
“The
sastric process is kanishtha-adhikara,
lowest stage of devotional service.”
“If
we do not associate with the advanced devotees, uttama-adhikari,
if we simply want to remain in the lowest stage of devotional
service, then we are not making progress. Then we shall simply enjoy
the material field, without entering into the spiritual platform.”
“One
has to do good for others. That is madhyama-adhikari.”
“Krishna
said, nistraigunyo
bhavarjuna: ‘Just
become transcendental to the material modes of nature.’ What is
that transcendental material nature? ‘I am asking you to fight. You
do it.’ That is nistraigunya.
Krishna is asking him.”
“If
we execute devotional service with some material purpose, that
purpose may be served, but you cannot rise to the transcendental
platform.”
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.2.34
in Vrindavan on November 13, 1972:
“Just
like Krishna, when He appeared, He, He’s Krishna when He was
so-called three months old, and He was Krishna when He was twenty
years old. The same Krishna. As we find difference that a..., the
same man, when he’s three months old, he’s different from the
twenty years old. When his age is twenty years, he’s different from
his age when his age is three months.”
“As
I have told you several times, just like the waves of the river, one
cannot count, similarly, nobody can count how many incarnations are
coming always, incessantly, one after another.”
“That
is our activity, even at the present moment. Always. Everyone is busy
how to exploit the resources of material nature. That is advancement
of civilization. Advancement of civilization means how to exploit the
material resources. But they do not know. The foolish people do not
know that is not advancement; that is entanglement. That is not
advancement. This knowledge they are lacking. They do not know what
is advancement. Advancement means advancement in spiritual life. That
is advancement. We are spirit. In essence we are spirit soul. We have
been encaged within this body. Therefore advancement means how to get
out of this entanglement of repetition of birth and death.”
“The
people do not know, at the present moment, that the business is to
conquer over the repetition of birth and death, punar-janma-jayaya.
They do not know that this can be stopped. Neither they have any idea
that there is rebirth. Na
hanyate hanyamane sarire
[Bg. 2.20]. Your life is not finished. Your life is not finished
simply by finishing... When the, this body is ended, it is not that
you are also ended. This knowledge, there is nowhere throughout the
whole world. There are so many big, big universities. That is our
lamentation, that what is this education? They do not know how to
direct education. In the sastra
it is said that your activity should be conducted in such a way that
Krishna becomes satisfied. Hari-toshanam.
But they do not know what is Krishna, what is Hari. And how to
satisfy Him, that is another question.”
“I
am spirit soul; you are spirit soul. We are as good as God.
Anandamayo ’bhyasat
[Vedanta-sutra
1.1.12]. Our real position is ananda.
Sac-cid-ananda. So why
we are meeting so many problems? This is due to this body. This is
due to this body. Therefore the real culture is, real education is,
how to stop this repetition of body. But they do not know.”
“So
there are so many societies. Deva-tiryan-naradishu.
And in every society there is incarnation of God according to their
position, according to their language, according to their problems,
there is incarnation.”
“Krishna
is demanding, sarva-dharman
parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja
[Bg. 18.66], but he’ll not do that. And he is a scholar of
Bhagavad-gita.
The simple truth he cannot understand. Neither he can follow. If I am
actually follower of Bhagavad-gita,
then Krishna says that ‘You surrender unto Me,’ then, if I am
actually follower, I shall surrender unto Him. That is my business.
But no. I shall not surrender. ‘I am Krishna. Why shall I surrender
to You?’”
“So
those who are asuras
or the naradhamas,
their only business is to..., how to kill Krishna. Just like the
great scholar is saying, when Krishna says that man-mana
bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru
[Bg. 18.65], he’s commenting, because he’s a great scholar, ‘Not
to Krishna.’ Just see. ‘Not to Krishna.’ This is going on. They
are thinking there is something more exalted than Krishna. But
Krishna says, mattah
parataram nanyat [Bg.
7.7] – ‘There is nothing more. I am the Supreme.’”
“Even
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is actually Krishna, He avoided to be
addressed as Krishna. And these rascals, false, they are claiming ‘[I
am] Krishna.’ Just
see.”
“So
in the Vedas, in the Puranas, in the Upanishads, and confirmed by
great sages, saintly persons, everyone accepts Krishna the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Then why these rascals cannot find out God?
We are giving the name of God, the address of God, the father, God’s
father’s name also, Nanda-nandana, Devaki-nandana. So where is the
difficulty to find out? There is no difficulty. But the rascals will
not accept. They will continue their rascaldom.”
“You
cannot manufacture the incarnation of God. You cannot see the
incarnation of God provided if you are not blessed by God. Svayam
eva sphuraty adah. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah.”
“They
[the youth of the 1960s and 1970s] were hankering after
this God consciousness, because they are fed up with this all
nonsense civilization. These young boys and girls, they are fed up.
They do not want to live like their fathers or grandfathers. They
want something better.”
Comment
by Gaura Nitai Prabhu:
The sastra is
the highest authority, so it proves itself.
Comment
by Acarya Prabhu:
Srila Prabhupada said that those who do not follow the sastra
engage
in sinful activities, and that is the proof of its validity.
Comment
by Gaura Nitai Prabhu:
Everything the scientists are creating is all there in the sastra.
They
do not know it is there, so they are taking so much credit for their
creation.
Letter
to Kadamba Kanana Das from Vrindavan on December 8, 1975:
“The
mercy of the spiritual master is always there, but we have to take
it. Just like the sun, it is there for everyone, but we at least have
to stand in a receptive place to get the benefit.”
From
a lecture in Gorakhpur, India, on February 18, 1971:
“‘What
is surrendering?’
‘Krishna, I forgot you for so many births, from time immemorial. Now I surrender unto You. Please accept. . . . ’
This simple method. This simple method will make you liberated, if you do it sincerely without any reservation.”
‘Krishna, I forgot you for so many births, from time immemorial. Now I surrender unto You. Please accept. . . . ’
This simple method. This simple method will make you liberated, if you do it sincerely without any reservation.”
From
a class on Bhagavad-gita
9.2–5 in New York City on
November 23, 1966:
“If
you have got any distress, you have got any confidential thing, you
have to submit to Krishna, ‘Krishna, I am in suffering this way. I
am fallen in this tossing ocean of material illusion. Kindly save me.
I can understand now that I have no identification with this material
world. I am simply put here.’ Just like if I am put into the
Atlantic Ocean, I have no identification with the ocean, but I am
subjected to the tossing waves of the ocean, similarly, we are
spiritual spark, fragmental part of Krishna. Some way or other, we
put into this material ocean, and there is tossing. So I am being
tossed. Don’t identify. Don’t try to solve the tossing. That is
not possible. If you want to make solution of the tossing waves of
the Atlantic Ocean when you are fallen there, it is useless
foolishness. That is not possible. Don’t be foolish in that way.
That will go on. That is Atlantic Ocean’s nature. You cannot stop
it. You have to get out of it.”
From
a letter to Bhanutanya written from Hyderabad on November 18, 1972:
“...Not
that there is some disagreement and I go away disgusted, no. That is
not Vaishnava standard. Standard should be that, never mind there is
some difficulty, my spiritual master has ordered me to do like this,
now let me do it, that’s all.”
From
Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 21.144, purport:
“The
vibration of Krishna’s flute is always prominent in the ears of the
gopis. Naturally they cannot hear anything else.
Constant remembrance of the holy sound of Krishna’s flute keeps
them enlightened and enlivened, and they do not allow any other sound
to enter their ears. Since their attention is fixed on Krishna’s
flute, they cannot divert their minds to any other subject. In other
words, a devotee who has heard the sound of Krishna’s flute forgets
to talk or hear of any other subject. This vibration of Krishna’s
flute is represented by the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
A serious devotee of the Lord who chants and hears this
transcendental vibration becomes so accustomed to it that he cannot
divert his attention to any subject . . .”
From
Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 23.1:
“The
most munificent Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as
Gaurakrishna, distributed to everyone — even the lowest of men —
His own confidential treasury in the form of the nectar of love of
Himself and the holy name. This was never given to the people at any
time before. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.”
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura:
From
the sanga-tyaga section of his Sri Bhaktyaloka:
“The
foremost instruction of Sri Ramanujacarya is this: ‘If you cannot
purify yourself by any endeavor whatsoever, then just go sit with the
Vaishnavas and you will achieve all auspiciousness.’”
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
Free Write Journal
#42:
“By
Prabhupada’s grace, I have developed a sense of my own
individuality as a writer in the Krishna
Consciousness Movement; several of my books reflect this.”
“Recently
I received a letter from a Bhaktin Natalia in Russia. She was very
grateful for my book Chota’s
Way.
She said it inspired her and gave her confidence. She summed up the
message of the book: ‘Do not be afraid to be yourself. Find your
own way in Krishna
consciousness.’ She wrote that for years she had been feeling some
confusion in her spiritual life. It seemed to her that only
extroverted devotees who liked dynamic activities and public events
can be successful in Krishna
consciousness. But now, due to Chota, she sees that introverted
devotees, who like to study and meditate in solitude, can get closer
to Krishna
and help others also. I wrote back to her and encouraged her. I told
her that I had read that two-thirds of the population are extroverts.
They charge their batteries by making contact with others, whereas
introverted devotees get charged by being alone and practicing their
bhajana.
I wrote that both devotees are dear to Krishna.
She should make her own contribution and not be intimidated by the
extroverted devotees in Russia.”
From “The Sunday Feast” in Free
Write Journal #43:
“In
the beginning in 1966, Prabhupada started the ‘Sunday Love Feast,’
and at first it was primarily an in-house function. Prabhupada cooked
the preparations and served devotees in his room, and at the very
beginning we even left him to clean up the pots! But shortly devotees
like Kirtanananda and Acyutananda learned how to cook. The
approximately twelve devotees enjoyed the feast as a reward for their
austerities during the week. There were many fancy preparations
different than the daily menu, and the devotees relished several
plates with a kind of sense gratification. They ate with gusto.
Gradually Swamiji told them that they should invite the public to
come for the Feasts and make it a preaching event. After all,
everyone likes to take prasadam,
so why should the devotees consume it all themselves? As soon as they
advertised and invited guests, many people started coming to the
temple on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed a free vegetarian feast of
food offered to Krishna.
Over the years the Sunday Feast attendance has increased to where now
hundreds (or even thousands) of people participate. A notable
transition has taken place where the devotees enjoy sitting down next
to interested guests and answering their questions about Krsna
consciousness in the congenial atmosphere of sharing prasadam
and preaching. The preaching has become even more blissful than the
initial almost-greedy consumption of the special preparations on
Sunday.”
Akhandadhi
Prabhu:
From
a conversation:
My
understanding is the original idea of the Bhaktivedanta Institute is
to put out there all kinds of academic papers on different features
of the Vedic knowledge so that in the future people can cite them and
elaborate on the ideas in them.
Systems
biologists are realizing that cells can do their own genetic
engineering and that the cells are operating according the needs of
the organism.
From
a class at Krishna House:
Whatever
you think will benefit your life, this verse promises you will
attain simply by hearing this glorious pastime of the Lord. More
important than these is ultimately attainment of devotion for the
Lord and the abode of the Lord.
One
devotee named Vicitravirya Prabhu had Lou Gehrig’s disease in which
your bodily organs gradually shut down. One
time there was a big change in his body, and it was clear he was in
the final stage. At that point he said to me, “When you get this
close to death, you realize it is not what you were thinking about
your whole life, this terrible thing you have been fearing, rather it
is just a portal, something to go through.”
[Akhandadhi
Prabhu asked the devotees to tell of some benefits they received from
their practice of devotional service. Here are some of the
responses:]
Vaninatha
Vasu
Prabhu:
The ability to not think of myself as being the center.
Krishna
Kripa Das: When I do presentations on mantra meditation, I tell them
before chanting Hare Krishna I was lonely, bored, and depressed some
of the time, but now these negative emotions never plague me. I also
have a sense that although I have no real job, Krishna is taking care
of me. Someone gave me $80 at the Sunday Feast last night because I
spoke nicely to his wife 17 years ago.
Henna:
You step in another realm by doing the five items of
devotional service, and
they become fuel for your day. You see things, like that “this world is so exploitative, who would want to stay here?”
??????: I see am dependent on the devotees. I feel satisfied with what Krishna has given me to do. I feel satisfied.
Sruti
Sagar
Prabhu:
I cleaned the temple at the Bhakti Center for three weeks. On the
last day, I saw the deities looked
especially beautiful, and
I
felt
Their appreciation.??????: I see am dependent on the devotees. I feel satisfied with what Krishna has given me to do. I feel satisfied.
Ramananda
Prabhu:
When I am immersed I felt protected.
Vaikunthanath Prabhu: The practice is comforting and grounding. I never felt like I fit in before. You feel with the chanting and the devotees one step from home. I have only been a devotee for two of my sixty-six years, and it is the greatest experience I have ever had.
Vaikunthanath Prabhu: The practice is comforting and grounding. I never felt like I fit in before. You feel with the chanting and the devotees one step from home. I have only been a devotee for two of my sixty-six years, and it is the greatest experience I have ever had.
Jaya
Caitanya Prabhu:
When I serve the devotees nicely, I find myself pleased.
Daryl:
I did not realize life had a goal before. I gained
respect for my parents.
Jitamitra
Devi Dasi:
I gained clarity of purpose. Deity worship gave me a sense of
pleasing the Lord instead of myself.
Brian:
I get to have a direct experience with the Lord through japa,
and
I
feel wholeness. If that were the only benefit, it would be enough.
A
place of pilgrimage is a place where it is easier to perform the
other of
the five
items of devotional service.
Henna:
When the devotees from Houston would return from Vrindavan, they
would say that is the same as here because they were absorbed in
devotional service in both places.
When
we used to visit the holy places, we would think, “I must be
careful to not let a moment go past without being connected to
Krishna.”
If
you get some free time, live in an ashram and practice completely
absorbing your mind in devotional service for some time.
It
nice to visit pilgrimage places
with others to help each other be focused.
Please
be aware. We are all just scratching the surface. There is so much
more we can get from our devotional practice.
Q:
Is fame or wealth a greater attachment?
A:
I see people using wealth as facilitating their fame, power, etc.
Q:
Can I not work and just hear these narrations and get everything?
A:
These
promises in Srimad-Bhagavatam
are factual. Previously people would try for punya
[piety]
to
gain so many benefits. If Krishna sees you appreciate spiritual
benefits, why would he trouble you with other things you do not care
about.
We
just have to do our dharma. If we have a family, we will have to
maintain our family.
We
should not be negligent in devotional service. We should not expect
Krishna to do things for us.
Kalakantha
Prabhu: In Bg. 18.78, when Sanjaya lists different benefits one can
derive, he does not mention
going back to Godhead as a result as Dhrtarastra is not interested in
that.
Caturatma
Prabhu:
Srila
Prabhupada was fond of this
section of Srimad-Bhagavatam
telling
of Nrsimhadeva and Hiranyakasipu.
“Listen
to my instructions and act on them quickly,” Hiranyakasipu told his
associates, and Srila Prabhupada also told us similarly.
Lord
Vishnu is inclined to the devotees because they are inclined to Him.
The
demons are not thinking in any way how they will pacify, serve, or
glorify Lord Vishnu.
There
is no example in history of Lord Vishnu having His head severed by
some demon, so it is in great arrogance that Hiranyakasipu thinks he
will be the first.
We
find the shelter of Lord Vishnu in this age through the chanting of
His holy names.
The
brahmanas, although advising
the kings, did not
live in the palaces so they were not corrupted by the opulence of
palace life. They would live outside the palace in a hut to maintain
their austerity.
In
Russia we are required by law to read a statement that this program
is only for the members of our society, and if you are not one,
please leave. In Ukraine, on the other hand, government officials
come to our programs.
There
is no chance that any of us would have
encountered
Krishna consciousness except for Srila Prabhupada.
As
an Uber driver I see you on harinama
on Friday and Saturday nights. I
see the reaction perhaps better than you do because I am detached. I
see the people who meet you. They are happy. They are joining in.
This is good for them because this is how people become purified in
this age.
Srila
Prabhupada liked the pastimes of Dhruva and Prahlada Maharajas. In the
purports to those verses, Srila Prabhupada includes many instructions
relevant for our
lives.
The
demon thinks he does not need God. He thinks, “I will just cut off
His head and take His place.”
It
is not that any of us are anything special. We were addicted to the
same things they are,
but we gave it up by devotional service.
Our
chanting of japa and
kirtana will give us
the power to share it with others.
Q:
Is it by our chanting Hare Krishna we will find our particular
activity in terms of varna through
which we
will please Krishna?
A:
Yes.
The
Bhagavatam is the
history of the Lord’s activities in relationship with His devotees.
Hiranyakasipu
and Hiranyaksa spread the demoniac influence so powerfully
the Lord Himself had to appear to curtail them.
We
had five classes when I was a new devotee. We had Bhagavatam
class, breakfast, an hour of
cleaning, class on Nectar of Devotion,
class on Isopanisad, then
lunch, and an afternoon of book distribution, and
then a Bhagavad-gita class
followed by
a Krishna book
reading.
Vaiyasaki
Prabhu:
From
a darsana at ISKCON
Paris:
Srila
Prabhupada watched a play the devotees performed about the Battle of
Kurukshetra. We looked back frequently to see how he was taking it.
After the performance, Srila Prabhupada said, “The Oscar goes to
Yudhisthira.” Lokamangala, who played Yudhisthira came forward, and
Srila Prabhupada patted him on the head. He was the only devotee who
ever got an Oscar from Srila Prabhupada.
After
seeing the drama, Prabhupada said his guru wanted him to spread Lord
Caitanya’s message in the English speaking countries, but as an old
man, what could he do? Then he said, “I am happy to say that Lord
Caitanya’s movement is in the right hands.” We were all looking
around wondering, “Who were the right hands?” Later I realized
that Srila Prabhupada had understood from seeing how well the drama
was performed, that his disciples were capable of keeping the
movement going.
Srila
Prabhupada said, “If I have any credit, it is that I delivered
parampara as
it is, without adding anything or subtracting anything. Just like the
postman delivers a letter from the government to the citizen, I am
delivering the message of the supreme government, Krishna.”
The
next day he gave a class warning us not be Krishna unconscious. First
we had to become conscious, and then we had to become Krishna
conscious. We should always be aware that we are dealing with
Krishna.
Srila
Prabhupada said we have had millions of
births. We had done everything. We had tasted everything. Therefore
we should give this life to Krishna. We should finish up our business
in this one life and go back to Godhead.
Another
time he said, regarding questions after class, “If they do not ask
questions they were either sleeping or they did not understand.”
Srila
Prabhupada asked the devotees if they had any difficulty chanting,
dancing, and feasting. They said no. Then he said, “Chanting,
dancing, and feasting is Lord Caitanya’s three point program for
going back to Godhead.”
At
an airport departure darsana when
Srila Prabhupada got up to catch his flight, everyone bowed down and
was chanting the pranama mantras.
I noticed no one was looking, and so I touched his feet as they
passed by. I was one of a very few people who touched Srila
Prabhupada’s feet. Radhanath Swami was another. Later my temple
president, who had seen me, blasted me for doing that against his
order, even calling me a non-Vaishnava.
I
traveled with Satya Narayana Prabhu for a year in a van all over
India to put full sets of Srila Prabhupada’s books in all kinds of
libraries. We even did Kashmir, which was 80% Muslim.
Srila
Prabhupada trained us up. Srila Prabhupada said, “Salesmanship
begins when they say no.” We were prepared with all our lines if
people said no. I called the sets “The Encyclopedia of Vedic
Knowledge.”
Once
in Kashmir a librarian said he had thought he already had the the
books.
I
said, “No, they were just printed. You could not have them.”
“Let
me check,” the librarian
replied.
In
five minutes, he returned with a
three-volume set of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto
One, saying that the author had personally sold them to him. It
was the same three volume set that Srila Prabhupada had brought to
America. I convinced him to
take all the rest of Srila Prabhupada’s books. I was ecstatic. I
sold books to the same person that Srila Prabhupada had sold books
to! I felt such a connection with Srila Prabhupada. Later in a
darsana I told Srila
Prabhupada we distributed his books in Kashmir, and Srila Prabhupada
said that he visited Kashmir before going to America and sold his
books to someone there.
I
told him, “I know that. I met that person and sold him the rest of
your books.”
Later
at that darsana, Srila
Prabhupada said, “Wherever you go and whomever you meet, you share
these teachings of Lord Caitanya.”
I
take it seriously that Srila Prabhupada said to share the knowledge.
Daivi-shakti
Devi Dasi
told me she also had the experience of selling books to someone in
Bombay that Srila Prabhupada had personally sold books to years
before.
Everyone
loved Vishnujana Maharaja because he was so kind, personal, and
affectionate. He was such a loving person. He would go out 10 or 12
hours on harinama each
day. When he was sick, he would still go out. Devotees would
encourage him to rest. He would say if he chanted in public, the
germs would hear and become purified, and he would get better.
Everyone
was always telling Vishnujana Swami, “Srila Prabhupada is giving
you all his mercy.”
Once
in a darsana, Vishnujana
Swami asked Srila Prabhupada, “Why are you giving me all your
mercy?”
Srila
Prabhupada replied,
“No, I am giving my mercy out to everyone. You are taking my
mercy.”
One
of Lord Caitanya’s essential instructions is to
do harinama
sankirtana, and Vishnujana
Prabhu took it very seriously, and so he got so much mercy.
The
best way to make friends is to not find faults with anyone. Rather we
should find our own faults. If you are always appreciating the good
qualities of others they will like you and that is how you make
friends.
From
a conversation after dinner:
Q:
What do you tell people who ask, “How do I chant more attentively?”
A:
My present strategy is to thank Krishna for all the nice experiences
I have had since becoming His devotee and to say, “I want to offer
one offenseless mantra in reciprocation as I have nothing which You
do not already possess to offer You. Please accept it.” Each day I
would try to chant the first mantra without offenses and with perfect
attention just to please Krishna. Then after some days, I would try
chant the first two mantras with perfect attention. In this way, I
would very slowly increase one mantra at a time.
Amrita
Karana Prabhu:
When
the gopis see Paramatma in
the heart they desire He come out and play with them.
They
did not have nightclubs in Jagai’s
and Madhai’s time. They had to do their drinking in the day.
In
the spiritual realm, Vaikuntha, only in Goloka Vrindavan do they
serve Krishna in love, not knowing His identity as God.
No
one can say that Srila Prabhupada did not mention all the rasas
because they are all mentioned
in Sri Caitanya-caritamrita.
Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura took a vow to chant a billion names of Krishna.
After chanting for nine years, Lord Caitanya and His associates
appeared and told him, “You already have perfection. Go for
preaching. Print books. Build temples.”
When
you are doing sankirtana,
Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu is there, and Srila Prabhupada is there. You may
not yet realize it.
After
the first Ratha-yatra in San Francisco the devotees were so ecstatic
they had never felt so happy in their lives. Srila Prabhupada
explained that Lord Caitanya and Nityananda had come. They had not
seen, but he had seen.
Aksayananda
Prabhu:
A
jiva is
an embodied soul. We cannot actually see the soul. Only Krishna can
see the soul.
If
we take away your body, what do you have? Because of our material
identification, we have some idea of what we are. We cannot perceive
ourselves in our embodied condition.
Death
is the end of the current project of the soul. Then another project
begins for the soul.
The
material world is a ministry of sense gratification.
As
long as we have sense gratification projects we get appropriate
material bodies until we decide to gratify Krishna’s senses.
The
soul never changes its geography or its constitution.
Ganges
is situated at the foot of the Lord, and Govardhan at His heart.
Our
relationship with Krishna is always evolving.
Feelings
in relationship with Krishna are on the platform of soul.
We
suffer because of the false ego causing us to identify ourselves with
our body.
The
liberated soul is 100% convinced that Krishna will maintain him, and
thus does not experience the anxiety of the conditioned
soul, which
is
produced of the mode of passion.
When
we are worried, we do not rely on Krishna.
In
the mode of passion, we try to do everything ourselves, thinking that
no one else is competent.
Rajas
is
the active mode, and tamas
is
the passive mode.
In
Russia in 1917, the sudras
killed
many
of the
brahmanas and
the ksatriyas, but
they saw that everything became degraded quickly, and they called
back the ksatriyas
that
were imprisoned or exiled.
Because
the soul has a connection to Krishna it has great potency, but in
illusion, we direct this potency toward sense gratification.
By
doing bhakti we
gratify the senses of Krishna and our senses become satisfied,
otherwise we try to gratify our own senses excessively, beyond their
natural limits, and we end up destroying our bodies.
By
constantly seeing everything in relationship with Krishna, we develop
a relationship with Krishna. We see the devotee of Krishna. We see
the nondevotee of Krishna. This is the vision of the uttama-abhikari.
The
gross body follows the consciousness, thus Srila Prabhupada created
this International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
If
you are proud, you will be proud on the upper, lower, or middle
planets.
Bhagavat
Priya Prabhu of Hungary:
From
a Facebook post by Vilasa-manjari Devi Dasi, originally from Hungary
but living in Newcastle:
“I
was going door to door. A lady opened her door, and I showed her
books. She invited me in and said she would get a donation for me. I
was astounded at what I saw in her house.
There was a beautiful
picture of Jesus Christ, 2.5 meters high (about 7 feet tall). I was
awed. It was so nice. The lady returned and saw me appreciating the
picture. She said, ‘I think you will understand what I’m going to
tell you since you like this picture so much. Two years ago Jesus
came to me in a dream and said, “You should be vegetarian;
otherwise, you won’t be able to understand God.” I was shocked
that He came in a dream and instructed
me in that way, but it was clear, so I became a vegetarian. Then
three days ago He came to me again and said, “In three days a monk
is going to come to you with books. Take them.” And now here you
are, right on time.’ She bought all the books I had. I was so happy
to hear this, that Jesus is with us.”
Mother
Loka:
What
a battle there was between between Hiranyaksa and Lord Varaha! If we
saw it on the big screen, we would think, “What an amazing story!”
Although
the fight between Hiranyaksa and Lord Varaha seems very intense, the
Lord laughs because it is just a pastime for Him.
Hiranyaksa
is the perfect example of what happens when the false ego goes out of
control. He is so much
in illusion at one point in the fight, after throwing his weapon at
the Lord, he shouts, “You are slain,” unaware of the Lord’s
potency.
Comment
by Michael Collins:
When we want to please the Lord, He
is pleased with us.
My
guru [Bhakti Tirtha Swami] used to say we should treat everyone as
well and
as
nicely as the one we love the most.
Bhakti
Tirtha Swami says that as a patient has the best chance of recovery
if he acts
completely under the
direction of the
doctor, one who acts under the direction of the Lord, has the best
chance of recovering from his
material contamination.
Our
chanting nurtures the blooming of our consciousness.
By
engaging with other devotees, we elevate our own consciousness.
Comment
by Kalakantha
Prabhu: Japa is
our regular practice of solitude in our tradition.
Comment
by Vaninatha
Vasu Prabhu: I know two people who have experienced from a crisis
that they are different from their bodies but their false egos are so
strong in both instances that they still have no interest in
spiritual life.
Prabhupada
Priya Devi Dasi:
Comment
by a student: Hiranyaksa, was using maya
against
the Lord of maya
by
the mercy of the Lord of maya.
As
Lord Varaha killed the great demon Hiranyaksa with one slap, Krishna
can finish all our maya
with one slap, if we want Him to.
Krishna’s
killing Hiranyaksa was good for him because he was cursed to live
three lives as a demon, and one was finished. It was good for the
world as all the people were free from the harassment of the demon. It was good
for the Lord, because He
enjoyed the fight. That is the nature of Krishna’s acts. They
benefit everyone.
Acarya
Prabhu:
We
meet many Christians who talk about how Christ has revealed this to
them or that to them, but at the same time they display various kinds
of a material attachments. Srila Prabhupada did not advise to take
seriously “revelations” to people who are not completely absorbed
in devotion and detached from matter.
Everything
about Krishna consciousness is mysterious in the beginning. How is
the deity God Himself? How can the prasadam
be
transcendental when it looks like ordinary food?
The
Lord reveals more and more in the heart to one when He sees the
person is serious about Him. Thus the person’s faith will increase.
One
devotee in the Sri Sampradaya lived in a tree for nine years. The
tree was an incarnation of Ananta Sesa, and the devotee found all his
needs met without having to leave the tree. A materialist cannot
understand how this can be.
So
many flags are flying over a nation throughout the millennia but
still it remains the property of Krishna.
If
we do not control our senses, although we know so many verses of the
scriptures, we will not have any realization.
The
pure devotees do just opposite of the materialists. The pure devotees
try to hide their glories while the materialists endeavor so much to
advertise their glories.
Harinamananda
Prabhu, who was a very empowered book distributor, was very humble.
He would ask the pujari
[the
temple priest] if
he could gave him his blessings so he could distribute many books.
The
more we develop our devotion the more Krishna will reveal His
mysterious workings. We will become naturally humble as we understand
more and more how Krishna is doing everything for us.
I
noticed within in the last year, a few gray hairs coming. I thought, “Death is coming, I should become more serious.”
One
devotee in Tamil Nadu in a couple years became very empowered in
distribution of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
He
would daily offer prayers to the Bhagavatam
and
also offer arati
to
it.
Once
the illusory
bodily concept of life becomes diminished, we will make progress more
and more in spiritual life.
The
acaryas
are very happy to bestow their blessings, but we have to become eager
for them.
Comment
by Rajadharma Prabhu:
While I was distributing books, when I would meet an atheist I would say,
“Better a sincere atheist than a hypocritical believer.” I sold
many books to atheists in this way.
-----
Sometimes we look for short cuts in spiritual life. Here Krishna gives
one. Try it!
ananya-cetah
satatam
yo
mam smarati nityasah
tasyaham
su-labhah partha
nitya-yuktasya
yoginah
“For
one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O
son of Pritha, because of his constant engagement in devotional
service.” (Bhagavad-gita 8.14)