Travel Journal#15.13: Paris, London, Wales, Manchester

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.

After we chanted at the market for an hour and a quarter, we chanted at the train station to complete the three hours.

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):

Rohininandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles (https://youtu.be/w56zDOcQ8Sk):

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):

Tulasi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Paris Ratha-yatra stage show (https://youtu.be/3VTdz6maCKM):

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.

Parividha Prabhu:

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.

I think that Mick Jagger donated the piece of marble the London deities are standing on.

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.

Rajadharma Prabhu:

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.”

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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)