Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 15, No. 13
By Krishna Kripa Das
(July 2019, part one)
Paris, London, Wales, Manchester
(Sent from Newcastle-upon-Tyne on July 20, 2019)
Where
I Went and What I Did
For
the first ten days of July, I continued chanting Hare Krishna three
hours a day in Paris, and in Sarcelles, where the ISKCON Paris temple
is located. I was happy that we had at least four devotees on each
harinama,
which
does not happen everywhere I go. We continued advertising the
Ratha-yatra, which was held on July 7, and which was well attended as
usual. Different devotees visited, including Srila Prabhupada
disciples, Janananda Goswami from the UK, Hari Katha Prabhu from
Mexico and Parividha Prabhu from Amsterdam. The famed Harinama Ruci
traveling harinama
party
also visited, and thus the harinamas
were
more ecstatic than usual. We also chanted on the trains, which we do
not regularly do. After Paris I did harinama
one
day in London, and then I attended a meeting in Wales of devotees
involved in science with Akhandadhi and Drutakarma Prabhus, who are
getting together exhibits for the Mayapur Temple of the Vedic
Planetarium. The next day I did harinama
in
Manchester en route to Newcastle, and encountered unexpected success.
I
share quotes from the books and letters of Srila Prabhupada, and
quotes from his servants who translated the end of the
Srimad-Bhagavatam.
I
share quotes from the Free
Write Journal of
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on classes in Paris by
Janananda Goswami, Hari Katha Prabhu, and Parividha Prabhu, many
relating to Ratha-yatra, and a comment by Rajadharma Prabhu.
Parividha Prabhu, in particular, shared many, many realizations from
his lifetime of Krishna consciousness practice. I share notes on a
class by Nrsimha Kavaca Prabhu in London. I share notes on
conversations with devotees working with science in Krishna
consciousness, including Drutakarma Prabhu and Pracarananda Prabhu. I
share a joke by Kavi Prabhu, who serves in London. I share some
insights on dogmatism and illusion in science from biologist Denis
Noble.
Many,
many thanks to both Marat and Jagattarini Devi Dasi for their kind
donations in Paris. During my seven weeks in Paris, Marat also
replaced my microphone and fixed my shakers three times when they
broke. He would come out on almost every harinama
and
would serve a drink and prasadam
to
harinama
attenders
afterward. Thanks also to Tulasi Prabhu, for being an ideal harinama
partner,
chanting beautifully and playing all the instruments with devotion,
and coming out on almost every harinama.
Many, many thanks to Nitai-Gaurasundara Prabhu for tirelessly working to organize Paris Ratha-yatra, as he has for decades, and to all who assisted, such as the daughter of Kishori and her daughters, who came to Paris just to cook for it.
Thanks
to Rasika for her photos of our harinama party at Sarcelles Market and of me distributing flyers during the Paris Ratha-yatra. Thanks to Vishnujana Prabhu for the
photo of our harinama
at
the Eiffel Tower. Thanks to Ramananada Prabhu for his photo of our
Bhaktivedana Institute meeting participants at Buckland Hall. Thanks
to Niskincana Caitanya Prabhu of Bhaktivedanta Manor for the ride
from Stanmore to Wales and to Seb of Kent for the ride from Wales to
Bristol.
Itinerary
July
20: Sheffield Tramlines harinama
(afternoon), Leeds harinama
(evening)
July
21: Birmingham Ratha-yatra
July
22: Manchester harinama
July
23: Sheffield harinama
and program
July
24–26: Dublin harinamas
July
27–28: Dublin and Belfast Ratha-yatras
July
29: Berlin harinama
July
30 – August 3: Pol’and’Rock Festival (formerly Polish Woodstock
Festival)
August
4–5: Berlin harinamas
August
6–11: Vaishnava Summer Festival (Lithuania)
August
12: harinama
in Kaunas or Vilnius?
August
13: flights from Vilnius to Oslo 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 harinama
and
program
September
8: Great North Run harinama
(Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
September
9–10: Dublin
September
11–December: NYC Yuga Dharma harinamas
January
– April 2020: North Florida colleges
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Paris and Nearby Sarcelles
As usual on Tuesdays, we chanted at the nearby Sarcelles market, where many vendors are happy to see us, some give regular donations, and the police never object to our presence.
Here
Rasika chants Hare Krishna at Garges Sarcelles (RER) train station
(https://youtu.be/acjn1EBzMok):
Ramanaji
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Yoga Lyrique Wednesday evening kirtan
(https://youtu.be/9dyiqBJsVIs):
Tulasi
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Yoga Lyrique Wednesday evening kirtan
(https://youtu.be/tM4wAN52oqk):
Olivier
chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles on Thursday night harinama
in Paris the week before Ratha-yatra, and Vraja Laksmi Devi Dasi and
Rasika dance (https://youtu.be/COQbC4ZiTHY):
Chanting
Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci on the train to Paris for harinama
(https://youtu.be/3_Zwh-EMZ9A):
Tulasi
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Les Halles, and a
passerby dances (https://youtu.be/CEeUHPLB1YI):
While Tulasi was singing, I offered an invitation to the Paris Ratha-yatra to a girl who seemed happy to see the devotees.
She
exclaimed, “Hare Krishna!”
“Where
do you know Hare Krishna from?” I asked.
She
replied, “Gainesville.”
“Oh
really,” I said, “I used to live in Alachua County from 1994 to
2005.”
It
turns out she knew Adikarta Prabhu, and she did a report on Krishna
House for a course at University of Florida for which she went to
Taco Tuesday. Now she studies French in Paris for the summer with two
friends also from UF. Here she is with me and our harinama
party at Les Halles, the site of the stage show for Sunday’s
Ratha-yatra which she said she will try to catch the end of. Margo is
her name. In previous years I met two UF girls in Prague on separate
occasions and one in Dublin, all who knew about Hare Krishna from
Krishna Lunch in Gainesville.
Here
Candi Araujo, a very jovial street performer, chants Hare Krishna
with Harinama Ruci at Pompidou Centre (https://youtu.be/PE8CHjLXFDA):
Harinamananda
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Paris and passersby dance
(https://youtu.be/WxvBVnqrY18):
Rasika
chants Hare Krishna at République, and a kid plays shakers, his
sister and another guy listen, and devotees dance.
(https://youtu.be/eYnlf5mUl6s):
Harinamananda
Prabhu leads the Hare Krishna chant on the trains back home to the
temple from Paris (https://youtu.be/fV47TYlRk5Q):
Parividha
Prabhu and others chant Hare Krishna after guru-puja
in Paris the day before Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/U5s4pX8fSOw):
Rohininandana
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel, and a lady dances
(https://youtu.be/V7pnUjn-Fag):
Harinamananda
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel, and some kids dance with
a devotee lady (https://youtu.be/KPf0qAJ6KIg):
Parividha
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in front of the fountain at Saint-Michel,
and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/_QZU-ZMsL3w):
Tulasi
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel, and passersby dance with
the devotees (https://youtu.be/DMfac_6HnnA):
Parividha
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel, and two Hispanic ladies
dance (https://youtu.be/DMfac_6HnnA):
Parividha
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel, inspiring Chinese
tourists to chant and dance (https://youtu.be/bKC51L4uOLQ):
Krishna
Kripa Das chants Hare Krishna at Saint-Michel, and devotees dance
(https://youtu.be/dIKd0ehH9sU):
Parividha
Prabhu chants Gaura Arati and Hare Krishna on RER B train and at
Paris Gare du Nord station (https://youtu.be/806S2R3Y418):
Parividha
and Tulasi Prabhus chant Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci on train RER
D north of Paris (https://youtu.be/AKbi3MJXXsY):
Parividha
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci at a Garges Sarcelles
bus stop north of Paris (https://youtu.be/q0XJHPktcxg):
Harinamananda
Prabhu of Harinama Ruci chants Hare Krishna as Lord Jagannatha goes
to Paris for Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/QFS6wJBSDxo):
Harinamananda
Prabhu of Harinama Ruci chants Hare Krishna on the train and street
on the way to the Paris Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/QyO1KTirquY):
During
Ratha-yatra, I would distribute the last few Ratha-yatra invitations
to encourage the more curious parade viewers to attend the stage show
at the final destination, Les Halles at the Fontaine des Innocents.
The many people
so attracted to the Ratha-yatra that they would take photos were often interested to learn of the stage show afterward.
I
even saw a policeman take a photo of the Jagannatha cart.
One
devotee lady also noticed and talked to him.
Here devotees
including Harinamananda Prabhu, Janananda Goswami, Adi-Guru Prabhu, and Parividha Prabhu, chant Hare Krishna in Paris Ratha-yatra 2019
(https://youtu.be/UNGtgUq5jy4):
Harinamananda
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the site when the Paris Ratha-yatra ended (https://youtu.be/mwSeOCEyu5Y):
Several
Moroccan girls and others take pleasure in chanting Hare Krishna and
dancing with Harinama Ruci, here led by Harinamananda Prabhu, after
Paris Ratha-yatra. The girl in the cafe, who sang the response very
enthusiastically at the very beginning of the video, told me she
never had encountered the mantra before! I gave her and the several
Moroccan girls who chanted and danced in much of the video, all of
whom reside in Paris, cards for Yoga Lyrique so they could attend the
weekly Wednesday Hare Krishna kirtans there
(https://youtu.be/SFmn5cNThA0):
Harinamananda
Prabhu of Harinama Ruci chants Hare Krishna around Les Halles, the
site of the stage show, after Paris Ratha-yatra. A couple young men,
clad in blue shorts and white T-shirts, danced with us almost the
entire time, and many people on the streets and at the cafes were
happy to participate, some by chanting and others by dancing
(https://youtu.be/pCDY5SnP4VI):
Tulasi
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci while waiting for the
train back to the temple after Paris Ratha-yatra, and a man chants
and dances (https://youtu.be/sZOgpIgX2H0):
Tulasi
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci on the train home to
the temple after the Paris Ratha-yatra, and two young men dance enjoy
dancing (https://youtu.be/D47kUHzv2MA):
Parividha
Prabhu and others chant Hare Krishna after Guru Puja in Paris the day
after Ratha-yatra (https://youtu.be/fjmHEROwaBY):
I
had not done harinama
at
the Eiffel Tower this year. It is far from the temple, and most of
the people are tourists, who are not likely to come to the
Ratha-yatra we were advertising for several weeks.
The
day after Ratha-yatra, we decided to chant there because some of the
Harinama Ruci boys, including Ananta Gauranga Prabhu from Alachua,
had never seen it.
Here
Tulasi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci on the trains
and metros and in the metro stations en route to the Eiffel Tower,
and finally at the tower itself, and many people appreciate
(https://youtu.be/uyzJ_EmCoo0):
Urugaya
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on the way back to the Paris temple from
the Eiffel Tower, and passersby dance (https://youtu.be/6wjWFBHJWX4):
Parividha
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna to the evening tune at Yoga Lyrique
(https://youtu.be/qrOnNqwqe4A):
Parividha
Prabhu engages the audience in singing the chorus to “My Sweet
Lord” at Yoga Lyrique (https://youtu.be/8He1j2F6cpU):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in London
Amrita
Gopala Dasi, overjoyed to encounter our harinama
party while in Central London for an appointment, chants Hare Krishna
at Covent Garden (https://youtu.be/Vgr0CcFsllc):
Krishna
Kripa Das chants Hare Krishna in London, and a girl dances and plays
the shakers while her brother plays the shakers too
(https://youtu.be/uLKxLrvDmJI):
Shyam
Kishora Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after Guru Puja at ISKCON London
(https://youtu.be/tCjSgeWKTqw):
Adikarta
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON London after Guru Puja
(https://youtu.be/7u_YCtVFXNY):
Evolution
Workshop in Wales
Srila Prabhupada disciple Akhandadhi Prabhu (below, far right)
has run a retreat center in Wales called Buckland Hall for twenty-two years.
This month he invited a group of devotees involved in science
there to talk about evolution, one topic that he and Drutakarma
Prabhu (above, next to Akhandadhi Prabhu) have to deal with in planning the exhibits for the Mayapur
Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
The venue was beautifully situated
in rural South Wales, and it was absolutely wonderful to be in a
natural setting devoid of the disgusting sounds and smells of the
city. I was happy to catch up on my exercise and my sleep.
We
started the morning and evening sessions of our weekend meetings,
with chanting Hare Krishna, here led by Pracarananda Prabhu, who
leads a research team in geothermal geology, in Alberta, Canada
(https://youtu.be/uhNvjDTjKjE):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Manchester
After
the BI meeting in Wales I took a coach to Manchester and chanted in
front of Arndale on Market Street by myself for three hours. People
donated £19.28 and took the three small books I brought from London.
Three people also donated food. One item had onions, so I took it
back to the Tesco, explaining it did not fit my diet, and they gave
me £1. As I left the shop, one older man told me he liked the
singing and was happy that I brought something spiritual to a very
industrial place. In general I was very pleased to
see such interest in the chanting in Manchester, and I saw it as
Krishna approving my decision to stop and chant there on the way to
Newcastle, instead taking a single nine-hour bus ride and missing out
on a day of harinama.
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
From
a letter to Rayarama das dated May 7, 1969:
“My
advice to you under the circumstances is that at least for one hour
you must at go to have sankirtana
outside on the streets or in the park. That is your life and soul,
first business. The next business is completing the chanting of 16
rounds every day. The next business is your editing, and if you find
extra time you can attend the temple ceremonies. Otherwise you can
stop these activities, but outdoor kirtana must be done, even at the
cost of suspending all editorial work. That is your first and
foremost business.”
From
a letter to Satsvarupa on August 24, 1972:
“I
have noted that you have returned to Gurukula to take over the
managing because Stoka Krishna has left to go to Los Angeles at his
whim. This is not good, this unsteady position. I have never been in
favor of this practice of many times changing the responsible
officers, three times in one week changing presidents, this will ruin
the whole thing. From now on if someone takes the leading post, he
must agree to stick and not go away just because it is difficult from
time to time. That is ideal leader. He is responsible and he knows
his duty. Just like I did that. My Guru Maharaja gave me a task and
always I was discouraged by my Godbrothers, but I did not forget him
even for a moment, and I was determined to follow my duty, even
though sometimes I did not like to do it. But this always changing
means no sense. If he is leader, he must be fixed-up. Otherwise, if
he has no real interest, why he takes that post? He must be
responsible. He must stick and develop the highest standard of
Krishna Consciousness practice in that area of management. But if he
is sometimes thinking, Oh, I do not like to do this, let me go away
at first opportunity, then how will things go on? That is just like
democratic system in your government: every four, five years changing
all the leaders. In this way, each man is thinking he shall not try
to do very much. No one is interested in the real welfare of the
citizens, simply because the post is temporary. That is not our
process. Real meaning of duty is just like Arjuna: he did not like to
be responsible, he wanted to leave the scene, but Krishna convinced
him this is your duty, to fight, so he did it for Krishna, and he
fought until the last man was killed from the opposing side. That is
leadership. He is determined to stick to his position because he has
understood Krishna.”
“Sannyasi
simply means to do as I am doing, and sometimes I have to manage,
sometimes cook, sometimes go to the bank, keep the money, write
books, chant, preach in the class, keep accounts—sannyasi
should be expert in every department.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi-lila 10.7, purport:
“Sri
Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami sets the example of offering obeisances
to all the preacher devotees of Lord Caitanya, without distinction as
to higher and lower. Unfortunately, at present there are many foolish
so-called devotees of Lord Caitanya who make such distinctions. . . .
Anyone who is a bona fide preacher of the cult of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu must be respectful to the real devotees of Lord Caitanya;
one should not be envious, considering one preacher to be very great
and another to be very lowly. This is a material distinction and has
no place on the platform of spiritual activities.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita,
Adi 10.51, purport:
“Although
modern philanthropic physicians open gigantic hospitals, there are no
hospitals to cure the material disease of the spirit soul. The
Krishna consciousness movement has taken up the mission of curing
this disease, but people are not very appreciative because they do
not know what this disease is. A diseased person needs both proper
medicine and a proper diet, and therefore the Krishna consciousness
movement supplies materially stricken people with the medicine of the
chanting of the holy name, or the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,
and the diet of prasadam.
There are many hospitals and medical clinics to cure bodily diseases,
but there are no such hospitals to cure the material disease of the
spirit soul. The centers of the Krishna consciousness movement are
the only established hospitals that can cure man of birth, death, old
age and disease.”
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’s 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.”
From
the humble servants of Srila Prabhupada:
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.87.15, purport:
“Mundane
literature describes limited phenomena, disregarding the relation of
its subjects to the total reality, but the Vedas always focus their
perfect vision on the Supreme.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
10.87.17, purport:
“The
Katha
Upanishad
(2.2.13) proclaims:
nityo
nityanam cetanas cetananam
eko
bahunam yo vidadhati kaman
tam
pitha-gam ye ’nupasyanti dhiras
tesam
santih sasvati netaresam
‘Among
all the eternal, conscious beings, there is one who supplies the
needs of everyone else. The wise souls who worship Him in His abode
attain everlasting peace. Others cannot.’”
“This
is also expressed in the text of the Taittiriya
Upanisad
(2.7): raso
vai sah.
Within His personal essence, the Supreme Lord enjoys rasa,
the reciprocation of the mellows of devotional service, and integral
to the play of rasas
is the participation of realized jivas.
Raso
vai sah rasam hy evayam labdhvanandi bhavati:
‘He is the embodiment of rasa,
and the jiva
who
realizes this rasa
becomes fully ecstatic.’”
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
Free
Write Journal#46:
[Commenting
on a letter written to him by Srila Prabhupada on August 24, 1972]
“He
[Srila Prabhupada] writes at length about a group of black-bodied
devotees in Cleveland who wish to start their own ISKCON center
independent of the white devotees there. He approves their request in
principle, says we should not discourage them, but he wants me to go
there to see how things are going on and that they are maintaining a
standard of Krishna consciousness. He is depending on me to go there
and see that they are carrying out Krishna consciousness in a way
that is up to standard with ISKCON temples, and then he shall give
them his final sanction and give them initiations. My memory is
faulty, and I do not remember the details of my follow-up on this
request from Prabhupada. But I did go to visit their center and
generally approved their activities and gave them suggestions how to
conduct their center as a bona fide ISKCON temple. Eventually they
received initation from Prabhupada, and they carried on their
activities there for years. It is interesting that he did not insist
that they ‘integrate’ with the white-bodied devotees in
Cleveland, but approved their desire to keep their center all
African-Americans. ‘Birds of a feather flock together’ were his
words. He does not see any objection to their proposal, and so they
were allowed to develop separately from the other ISKCON temple in
Cleveland.”
From “The Calling” in Remembering
Srila Prabhupada:
“But
he [Srila Prabhupada] is creating books for them [the English
speaking people],
inspired
by the Six Gosvamis
and
his spiritual master.
It
is they who are blessing him—
to
live in Vrindaban
as
well as to leave Vrindaban
and
to ignite the world with bhakti.
They
are sending him forth.
He
lives in their place,
and
he prepares to leave with their permission.
He
loves their abode and the simple renounced life,
but
he is unhappy at the unhappiness of others.
He
will go out to fulfill a duty—
into
hell with Vrindaban’s message.”
Janananda
Goswami:
From
a class on the morning of the day of Paris Ratha-yatra:
In
the beginning, you could get initiated if you could answer two
questions:
1.
Who is Krishna?
2.
Who are you?
The
San Francisco devotees had only been around a few months and yet had
to run the temple and organize the Ratha-yatra.
Malaysia
is a Muslim country, yet we have 35 Ratha-yatras there.
Harvey
Cohen went to San Francisco and invited Mukunda to come.
One
year in Melbourne the newspaper had two stories on the front page.
One about how someone had stripped the park of flowers, and the other
about how nicely decorated the Hare Krishna Ratha-yatra was with
flowers. They did not make a connection between the two but left it
to the reader.
Ratha-yatra
is festival of distributing mercy: prasadam,
the holy name, books, etc. This is our main outreach festival. We
have 700 every year.
Anonymous:
A
really immersive retreat can give people realizations and bonding far
beyond the effect of regular temple visits.
The
variation of consciousness is continuous but it is accommodated in
various discrete species, as foot sizes vary continuously, but there
are discreet sizes of shoes.
You
basically drop lower in the human level, and at some point, you fall
too low for human life, and then you go up through species again.
Vedanta
makes the point that even a little worm does not want to die because
of its memory of death.
Drutakarma
Prabhu:
From
a conversation:
When
working with Sadaputa Prabhu in the 1980s we decided that we would
have to work on the outside of the established academic community
much like the scientists in the Middle Ages had to work outside of
the establishments of learning which were then completely controlled
by the Church.
Now
there is a trend of devotees getting degrees and trying to work
within the established academic community.
We
have to decide whether we are going to work on the outside or work on
the inside or both.
The
neo-Darwinists incorporated ideas from genetics into their theories
which Darwin had no access to.
Hari
Katha Prabhu:
In
Puri just for Lord Jagannatha to go from the ground to His seat on
the cart takes 50 minutes!
When
the cart stops and cannot be moved, they continue the Ratha-yatra the
next day.
Although
Lord Caitanya was absorbed in the emotions of Radharani, He took
great care to organize the kirtan parties with great intelligence.
When
I went to Shantipur in 1992 to feed the people, only a few people
came to be fed. Now there are many, many people coming, not just for
the prasadam
but
also to see the devotees from all over the world and to participate
in this pastime of Lord Caitanya.
The
more we become purified, the more we can see how the Lord is working
in this world.
There
are two crying forms in Puri: Radharani is crying for Krishna and
Krishna is crying for Radharani.
Lord
Caitanya stayed in Puri so many years, eighteen, because His
worshipful Lord Shyamasundara was there [as Lord Jagannatha].
Lord
Caitanya, in the mood of Radharani, did not want just Krishna but all
the paraphernalia of Vrindavan.
If
you are actually listening to the mantra, then your mind cannot be
thinking of everything else.
Lord
Jagannatha is wide-eyed out of eagerness to see Radharani.
As
we can appreciate the Ratha-yatra better than those who are not
devotees, devotees who are more advanced than us are given more
insight into the Lord’s activities, such as the exchange of
feelings between Lord Caitanya and Lord Jagannatha described here.
In
Mexico there is a saying that in a marital relationship the man has
the last word and that last word is, “What do you want, my love?”
Radharani
is the epitome of love of Krishna. We need Radharani to achieve
Krishna.
The
first time I saw Lord Jagannatha was in 1973 in Amsterdam. The deity
was installed in 1972, and the devotees made so many mistakes. They
made fruit salad instead of having five whole fruits. Revatinandana
Swami offered the ghee with his left hand. Srila Prabhupada gave him
a dirty look and reprimanded other devotees, even though the TV film
crew was there.
Now
no one reprimands anyone, but without reprimanding people, knowledge
is lost.
I
was interested in truth.
Srila
Prabhupada was sick before the London Ratha-yatra. When I first saw
him, he appeared to me as a little old man, and I was not impressed.
But the next day he danced the entire Ratha-yatra. I did also, but
although I was twenty-three, I was exhausted. Then I could see he was
situated in a different energy.
I
did not cry when Srila Prabhupada left [in 1977] as I did not really
know him, but in the nineties, I did cry when I realized that I had
lost my greatest well-wisher.
For
me, Krishna consciousness is a festival. If you give your full
energy, like you did the first day, Krishna consciousness will always
be exciting for you.
During
the parade, if you see people you know, just greet them, and tell
them you will talk to them at the square, and then chant for the
whole parade.
You
see people’s faces light up when the Ratha-yatra or the harinama
passes.
Actually in general the people are not happy, but when they see the
devotees chanting and dancing they become happy.
The
devotees improve in so many ways because the Lord speaks to them from
within.
When
I was complaining to the GBC about the deity worship, he said, “This
is the sankirtana
movement.
You are too concerned about details.”
I
thought, “He is right.” When I went home, I opened the Srila
Prabhupada-lilamrita, and
read, “A Krishna conscious person is a man of detail.”
In
1973, my service was to take out the harinama.
There
were two people. One was a psychopath, a guy who later jumped off the
temple building and killed himself, and a German bhaktin
who
was super spaced out. One day I felt the psychotic guy’s eyes in my
back, and then it started raining, and I never go out in the rain.
But it was the most blissful harinama
I
was ever on because I surrendered to go out in spite of all the
adverse conditions, and Krishna really reciprocated.
The
Greeks, Romans, Turks, and Arabs came from the ksatriyas
that
Parasurama drove out of India.
I
became Hare Krishna because there is so much perfect knowledge in the
Vedas.
The
fashions are always changing so the manufacturers can keep selling
clothes.
Schools
have uniforms so you cannot see who comes from a rich family by
dress.
Janananda
Goswami was telling me when he went door-to-door on book distribution
with Gaura Bhakta who is from an Arab country, some Muslims were so
angry that Gaura Bhakta had converted to another religion that they
had to leave their houses.
A
Christian was telling me I was going to hell, but if a two-year-old
child died in a fire, she would go to heaven.
I
asked, “Is God love?”
The
Christian replied, “Yes.”
Then
I asked, “Don’t you think if God is love that he would give me
another chance?”
The
Christian did not have an answer for that.
We
do not want to go on automatic pilot.
If
I see that something needs to be done, I do it.
We
have to stay simple and keep the enthusiasm of being of a bhakta
[a
new devotee].
In
our pure state we have many subtle powers which are presently covered
by maya,
but
we can all become uncovered.
I
ask people what their latest realization is to keep people
appreciating and to keep things fresh.
As
a devotee, you have to see how Krishna is working in everything and
that His purpose is to purify you.
I
never miss mangala-arati
when
I am living in the temple.
That
is one of the few things have learned. My mind may protest, saying I
need more sleep, but I ignore it because know I can always sleep
later.
If
you can make your hobby your service, it will be fun.
Srila
Prabhupada said that it is very easy to become Krishna consciousness,
if you do what you like doing for Krishna.
To
me, being Krishna conscious means to be aware that the Lord is
telling you things. Sometimes it may be spiritual or sometimes it may
be material, like remember your passport or your umbrella. He may
only tell you once, so you have to take note of it.
Please
bless me. . . . Thank you for blessing me. I always ask for
blessings. If the devotees bless us, we get mercy from the Lord.
The
devotees were recording in a studio with George Harrison and John
Lennon. A devotee was looking through a skylight at the scene, and he
fell through it. John said, “Is that one of your friends, George?”
The
Vaikuntha Players played for Srila Prabhupada in Mayapur. I did not
get to go as I had just joined them and was not yet in any plays.
Srila
Prabhupada loved performances. When Srila Prabhupada watched a
performance, no one watched the actors. All the devotees watched
Srila Prabhupada. He was expressive like a child. He was a very good
audience.
Q:
How did you get into doing musicals for Krishna?
A:
We used to do skits at the Sunday feast in Amsterdam, and I was
involved in that. In New York City they would do street theater. In
the middle of a street a woman would scream, “My husband, my
husband is drowning!” Someone would come forward to save the man,
but save only his dress, and someone would give the purport.
I
lived in England, and we did lots of plays there.
One
devotee lived in the temple, went home, and then returned. He played
for me a song he had written to the tune of Yasomati
Nandana of
Nanda glorifying Lord Indra. It occurred to me we could write some
more songs and have a whole Govardhan musical, and so we did.
If
I could do music I would become very proud. Because I can’t, I am
dependent on others.
When
I was young, I was too shy to pick up a phone or speak to people. In
school, we had to choose a subject, learn about it, and then speak to
the class. I only could speak three lines, and I was too shy to
continue. When I became a devotee, I read in Nectar
of Devotion, “By
the mercy of spiritual master, a lame man can cross mountains, a
blind man can see the stars in the sky, and a dumb man can speak
wonderfully.” Now I am bursting with creativity. I wish I had ten
heads to express it all.
Srila
Prabhupada said the costumes were not so important in a play. They
could be simple, just a cadar
or
something.
You
can do different things in drama, like mime.
I
was invited by the personal assistent of a temple president to
perform at their Ratha-yatra festival to do a performance of “The
Boatman and the Scholar.” I wrote to him that if he would find me a
girl, who would like to play the sankirtan
devotee I could stage the Dracula skit too. And if he could find some
dancers, I could do some of my songs as well. He did, and I sent all
the audio files and lyrics, but didn’t hear from any of them till I
got mail from the girl playing the sankirtan
girl that she couldn’t do it. He found me another one, but she also
dropped out. Then I got a letter from him that he was offered a job
in Uganda and that he wouldn’t even be there. I lost my will to go,
as I didn’t know anyone there. He found me someone to replace him.
I was becoming angry with Krishna for making my service of performing
for Him so difficult. The people who finally agreed to perform, as it
turned out, were just right for the parts, and they performed
wonderfully, which is actually unusual. My realization was that
Krishna maybe had a plan for others to participate to bring them
closer to Him and also to make me realize that He is in control and I
have to learn to do my best, not get upset and just go with the flow.
From
a musical Vyasa-puja offering:
In
the west our hearts were burning for a guru yearning to help us
through.
You
brought your books, the holy name. This world will never be the same.
From
another Vyasa-puja offering:
[Before
I was a devotee, in 1972, I was playing in a musical called Godspell
and
singing a song called “Day By Day.”]
Prabhupada,
three things I pray. Listen to you clearly, follow you sincerely, and
try to serve your dearly. Love you more dearly.
From
a comment during class:
Regarding
the foolishness of the faultfinding mentality, Gaura Govinda Swami
uses an analogy about a sieve that criticized a needle for having a
hole in it.
Nrsimha
Kavaca Prabhu:
Visvanatha
Cakravati Thakura says this whole chapter of Bhagavatam
[Canto
Eleven, Chapter 21]
is
meant for the karma-kandis.
Persons
who are only interested in material gain find only that within the
Vedas.
Even
those seeking liberation are simply trying to become free from
suffering and are also selfish.
There
are so many rules that just apply to karma-kandis
and
not those trying to please the Lord.
One
of the purposes of the rules and regulations is to bring one to the
point of becoming frustrated with the rules and regulations and
seeking something higher.
The
karma-kanda
injunctions
are like a high risk investment where you can win a lot but also lose
a lot.
The
extreme reactions for making mistakes in rituals in karma-kanda
is
to discourage people from following the path of karma-kanda
and
to ultimately surrender to Krishna.
If
we focus on serving Krishna then the problems in our interactions
that arise from our different conditioning will evaporate.
Pracarananda
Prabhu:
From
a conversation:
Besides
Jerry Garcia and my parents, Srila Prabhupada is the most influential
person in my life.
Sacinandana
Swami once said to me, “Don’t be so quick to give up your job for
some immature notion of full time devotional service.”
The
people who are running the BBT today are the same people who were
running the BBT before I was born. They are Dhrtarastras across the
board.
Kavi
Prabhu:
From
a conversation:
Q:
Why don’t atheists do exponential mathematics?
A:
They do not believe in higher powers.
Krishna
Kripa Das:
Remembering
Nikhilananda Prabhu:
I
learned recently that German Prabhupada disciple, Nikhilananda
Prabhu, left his body recently at the holy dhama
of
Simhachalam in Bavaria. There is an article on Dandavats
telling of his fearless distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books
during the Lebanese civil war:
http://www.dandavats.com/?p=76615&fbclid=IwAR0VLm_zjL2jJ6loBL-4pn7Q60PTJsknV9lQgVQZINADzNUqhfGYr5TBjV8
I
recall he gave me a ride from Cologne to Munich on the way to
Simhacalam for the Nrsimha festival one year which I greatly
appreciated. He did astrology, and he told me when he would do a
devotee’s chart everything he calculated for the early life of the
devotee would be accurate, but after the person took to devotional
service, everything changed. That inspired me as it was empirical
evidence supporting the idea in the sastra
that
devotional service changes your karma. I am happy he was surrounded
by devotees chanting the holy name when he left his body. All
obeisances to him.
Comment
on a Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita reading:
We
see here that Lord Caitanya induced people to dance. So it is quite
alright to induce others to dance as Lord Caitanya did it and also
Srila Prabhupada did it.
Denis
Noble, biologist:
From
a Chasing
Reality
podcast
(https://www.youtube.com/channel/Uchz-a9985r_s6n2EeC6zTgg?view_as=subscriber):
“There
is a kind of community of people, who defend the fortress if I might
put it that way, of neo-Darwinism. I have never in my long career in
science, encountered anything like it. I have had controversies in my
own field of physiological science, but I have never encountered a
situation where there is a kind of dogmatism in reverse. The
dogmatism here is that the neo-Darwinist synthesis must be protected,
must be regarded as absolute, because we told the religious right in
the United States that it is absolute, and absolutely certain.”
“I
have direct experience of it, because as I said, I live and work
sometimes in the United States, with colleagues there, I know middle
America, where all of this is rampant, and I therefore know I am
partly right. Whether it is the whole explanation, I really can’t
say.”
“The
change needs to be in the popular presentation of evolutionary
biology.”
“The
genome is controlled by the organism itself.”
“So
just taking that one example [from The
Selfish Gene by
Richard Dawkins], ‘Genes created this body and mind.’ Well, it’s
simply wrong. It is not a matter of nuancing it. It is incorrect.
Moreover, and I am sure Mr. Dawkins would agree with me on this
point, to attribute selfishness to a piece of a molecule is very odd.
[Laughter.] You and I can be selfish, if we wish, if we have the
inclination, but my DNA cannot be selfish.”
-----
During
the Paris Ratha-yatra procession, we passed by a Japanese restaurant
called Sushirama. When people speak of it by name, they become freed
from unlimited sinful reactions by calling out the name of Lord Rama,
even to indicate something else. That is the power of the holy name
of the Lord. This is substantiated by verses like this one:
sanketyam
parihasyam va
stobham
helanam eva va
vaikuntha-nama-grahanam
asesagha-haram
viduh
“One
who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the
reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to
indicate something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or
even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of
the scriptures.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam
6.2.14)