Travel Journal#15.16: Québec, Dublin, North England, London

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 15, No. 16 
By Krishna Kripa Das 
(August 2019, part two) 
Québec, Dublin, North England, London
 (Sent from Newcastle upon Tyne on September 8, 2019)

Where I Went and What I Did

From August 14–18, I attended the Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival held at The International Art of Living Centre in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, Québec, about 2 hours by car north of Montreal. On August 19, I did harinama in Montreal, and on August 20, in Dublin. I chanted Hare Krishna on the streets of Newcastle upon Tyne the next three days, ending with Janmastami, when several devotees joined me. I took a night bus to London, where devotees did two harinamas on the auspicious Vyasa-puja Day of Srila Prabhupada. I did harinama and the monthly program in Leeds the following day, and then four days of harinama in Manchester, before going to Liverpool to do two days of harinama before their Ratha-yatra on September 1. I will tell my entire Liverpool experience in the next journal.

In this issue I share a couple of inspiring quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books. I share excerpts from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Free Write Journal. I share realizations from Prahladananda Swami, Indradyumna Swami, and Sri Prahlada, which they mentioned at Pol’and’Rock, the Polish Woodstock, but which I forgot to include in the previous issue. I share notes on lectures from the Canadian Vaishnava Sanga festival by Bhaktimarga Swami, Gokulananda Prabhu, Krishnadas Kaviraj Prabhu, a Prabhupada disciple who did not want to be mentioned by name, Laksminatha Prabhu, Mahatma Prabhu, and Jahnava Devi Dasi. I share notes on a class by Dhananjaya Prabhu in Newcastle on Janmastami. I share realizations from Radhika Nagara Prabhu and Caitanya Vallabha. I include notes on Following Srila Prabhupada, Volume 1, and notes on the Vyasa-puja offerings the devotees made in London.

Many, many thanks to Paramahamsa Prabhu and the Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival for their very generous donations. Thanks to the attendee of that festival whose name I did not catch who gave a donation. Thanks to Satya Medha Gauranga Prabhu and his wife, Andrea, for their donations. Thanks to the Dublin, Newcastle, and Manchester temples for their donations. Thanks to Prananatha Prabhu and Radhika Nagara Prabhu for their donations. Thanks to the Montreal brahmacaris for the bus fare to the airport. Thanks to the devotees who picked me up at the airport on my way into Canada. 

Thanks to Aharada Devi Dasi for the photos of our Manchester harinama.

Itinerary

September 8: Great North Run harinama (Newcastle-upon-Tyne)

September 9–11: Dublin harinamas

September 12–25: NYC Yuga Dharma harinamas

September 26–28: Philadelphia harinamas and Ratha-yatra

September 29–30: Martha’s Vineyard (visiting relatives)

October 1 – December: NYC Yuga Dharma harinamas

January–April 2020: North Florida colleges

Chanting Hare Krishna at the Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival

For the third year, I attended the Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival, which is largely organized by Krishna Dulal Prabhu and his family and friends from the Ottawa area. We missed the special ecstasy of Ekalavya Prabhu for harinama this year.

Bhaktimarga Swami, Mahatma Prabhu, and Mahatma’s wife, Jahnava Devi Dasi, did seminars. We had harinama in nearby Shawinigan every day after lunch. Srutakirti Prabhu told Srila Prabhupada pastimes each evening, followed by prasadam and kirtan. Gaura Das Prabhu of Canada contributed to the kirtan, along with Mahatma.

Of Vaishnava sanga festivals the one in Canada is special because every day after lunch we go out and chant in the streets of a local city of 50,000, Shawinigan, Québec, Here Krishna Dulal Prabhu, who organizes the festival and majored in piano in college, leads the chanting of Hare Krishna, two boys from the city listen, one playing the shakers and chanting the mantra, a few other people listen, and an old man dances to the music. Devotees distributed 12 or 13 books. Fifteen devotees came that first day, thirty devotees the next day, fifty the third day, and seventy-four on the final day (https://youtu.be/HtSYhrBNah8):

The devotees have a beautiful Hare Krishna mantra sign, and they spend time playing on the public piano that, although outdoors, is protected from rain.

Bhaktimarga Swami chants Hare Krishna after guru puja at the Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/WTAlEEYzhmQ):

Krishna Dulal Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Shawinigan at Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/vXw3GoZiX04)

Gaura Das Prabhu from Canada chants Hare Krishna in Shawinigan accompanied by Mahatma Prabhu on piano at Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/8SjalJjriNs):

Mahatma Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Shawinigan at Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/dJIGC1Ds1E0):

Laksminatha Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Shawinigan at Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/tHiMem7111g):

Krishnadas Kaviraj Prabhu from Canada chants Hare Krishna in Shawinigan during Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/3fRNkpUc4-8):

Bhaktimarga Swami chants Hare Krishna in Shawinigan during Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/YUeJohZwqWI):

Laksminatha Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after guru puja at Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/iVVRk2iOW3k):

Prana Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Shawinigan during Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/HmjqNqsgW2I):

Krishnadas Kaviraj Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Shawinigan again during Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival, and many devotees dance (https://youtu.be/1HwscS2JyCE):

Mahatma Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Shawinigan, and a bearded man in shorts and sunglasses has a great time dancing with the male devotees while carrying a book he purchased (https://youtu.be/qFhrDPfL91M):

Mahatma Prabhu continued chanting, and many devotees danced. That man who danced with us while carrying the book danced again as we went through a cafe where he was sitting (https://youtu.be/cwwHPACd95Y):

Samir Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after guru puja at Canadian Vaishnava Sanga Festival (https://youtu.be/w-W-SAg1HJs):

Just hear the sweetness of Mahatma Prabhu chanting many melodious Hare Krishna tunes during most evenings and on the final morning of this year’s Vaishnava Sanga Festival in Canada (https://youtu.be/AH4IEaE5Yr0):

In addition, Gaura Prabhu also chanted many nice kirtans in the evenings, sometimes playing harmonium and sometimes guitar (https://youtu.be/9O4WtfQE6p0)

Chanting Hare Krishna in Montreal

I was happy to learn that for the last several months devotees have been doing harinama every day in Montreal for three or four hours. The day I went out with them, we had fifteen devotees!

Here Yasoda Dulal Prabhu chants Hare Krishna outside Berri-UQAM station in Montreal (https://youtu.be/Om46CTbAwBQ):

Bhakta Marshall chants Hare Krishna outside Berri-UQAM station in Montreal (https://youtu.be/K0BXVOCXfxI):

Bhakta Bader chants Hare Krishna outside Berri-UQAM station in Montreal, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/J_APK_ORX7w):

Bhaktin Caroline chants Hare Krishna outside Berri-UQAM station in Montreal (https://youtu.be/NZAGjchqeC4):

One nice feature in the Montreal ashram is this very convenient tilaka station, with water, a mirror, a light, and tilaka.

Chanting Hare Krishna in Dublin

These days it is often difficult to get people to join me for harinama in Dublin as Ananta Nitai and Premarnava Prabhus are not there. This time, however, Manu’s birthday was coming up, so to celebrate he invited everyone on harinama before the Tuesday kirtan, and thus we had around sixteen people.

Manu Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Dublin, and kids play shakers and dance (https://youtu.be/lxdMfQ7Zelg):

Jayananda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Dublin (https://youtu.be/N8VYEQ0ujD8):

Jayananda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Tuesday Evening Kirtan in Dublin (https://youtu.be/RlzDaK5Wklg):

Chanting Hare Krishna in Newcastle

Prema Sankirtana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Newcastle on Janmastami (https://youtu.be/6KOVWGmjvv4):

Prema Sankirtana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Newcastle on Janmastami, and his girls danced (https://youtu.be/7oqh8SSsuSg):

Bhakti Rasa Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Newcastle on Janmastami, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/_c4QBbinqoE):

On Janmastami, Jiya, aged nine, led the chanting of Hare Krishna on harinama in Newcastle for just the second time this life (https://youtu.be/A08cdyqqMb4):

Enthused from the Janmastami harinama, Bhakti Rasa Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna in the car all the way to the Newcastle temple for the evening program, and the devotees enthusiastically chanted the response (https://youtu.be/8jBciZiHud4):

Radhika Nagara Prabhu, who teaches sastric studies in Mayapur, chants Hare Krishna in Newcastle on Janmastami (https://youtu.be/H0s3z6klp0o):

One of the best parts of the Newcastle Janmastami for me was the three dramas. The killing of Dhenukasura, the chastisement of Kaliya, and a pastime of Krishna and the gopis.

I made cardamom coconut burfi for the feast, and it was well received. There were lots of nice items served, but I could not take as much as I wanted as I had to catch a 1:40 a.m. bus to London for Vyasa-puja because I like to celebrate the festivals with harinama, and I knew I could count on them to do that at ISKCON London in Soho. In fact, we had two harinamas on Vyasa-puja Day!

Chanting Hare Krishna in London

Balavanta Prabhu of Mexico chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON London on Vyasa-puja (https://youtu.be/H-eYNFfcQwk):

Devotees chant Hare Krishna in London on Vyasa-puja afternoon (https://youtu.be/PTott7ia7zE):

During that afternoon harinama of Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja Day, these lucky newlyweds received garlands from the ISKCON London deities and danced with Hare Krishna devotees! What wonderful good fortune! (https://youtu.be/lxqLPEuhnuU)

Devotees chant Hare Krishna on Vyasa-Puja Saturday Night harinama in London, and many dance (https://youtu.be/pGps2MltlB0):

After the Saturday night harinama I stayed at Parasurama Prabhu’s place known as Krishna’s Castle in Holborn, about a twenty-five minute walk from the Soho temple. He has lots of space for all the goods he gets donated. He has three kitchens there. Three individuals live there in their own rooms, and there is one big room where a lot of helpers, who are mostly youthful travelers, live in exchange for helping him out using their various skills.

Here is the altar at Krishna’s Castle.

Chanting Hare Krishna in Leeds

I chanted Hare Krishna with Janardana Prabhu and Manoharini Radha Devi Dasi for an hour before the monthly Leeds program, which is the last Sunday of the month in the Cardigan Centre. Then after the program I chanted for two more hours, at first with Manoharini Radha, and then alone.

While I was chanting alone, a few drunken ladies came by, eager to play around with the instruments, and thus hearing the Hare Krishna mantra a little longer than those who just walk by (https://youtu.be/IexY3IhtHys):

Chanting Hare Krishna in Manchester

I am so impressed with the Manchester devotees. To increase harinama in Manchester last July, I encouraged the devotees come out with me and chant on a Monday evening. We had eight or nine people. The devotees were so positive about it, they decided to do harinama every other week on Monday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m. This week I went, and we also had nine devotees.

Here Gemma chants Hare Krishna in Manchester, on their new biweekly Monday evening harinama, and passersby dance (https://youtu.be/nvRUDryDLJs):

Gemma continues chanting and kids play shakers (https://youtu.be/nB2sDGkA_0M):

Isa Prakasa Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Manchester, and a kid plays shakers (https://youtu.be/VerHg5PXyzU):

One day in Manchester, Felix, who distributes books and promotes Krishna consciousness in Manchester, chanted with me the last fifteen minutes.

He showed me a flyer he designed to promote Srila Prabhupada’s books.

Harinama Report

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.22.24:

“A candidate for spiritual advancement must be nonviolent, must follow in the footsteps of great acaryas, must always remember the nectar of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, must follow the regulative principles without material desire and, while following the regulative principles, should not blaspheme others. A devotee should lead a very simple life and not be disturbed by the duality of opposing elements. He should learn to tolerate them.”

From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.104:

“Association with a devotee, the mercy of Krishna, and the nature of devotional service help one to give up all undesirable association and gradually attain elevation to the platform of love of Godhead.”

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

From Free Write Journal #52:

“The male calves are chained in little houses to limit their movements so that they don’t develop muscles. They are allowed to live a short life being fed milk so that their bodies remain tender. Then they are slaughtered for veal. Veal was considered a prime delicacy in Italy, but because the process was so cruel, it has been outlawed there.”

From “From Amrta Vani by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati” in Free Write Journal #52:

“Bhaktsiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is asked, ‘We consider doing good to others our religion. What is your opinion in this regard?’ Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati replies that welfare work is good, but it has two defects: it directly or indirectly encourages godlessness, and it supports violence to animals and other living entities. Whatever attempts we make to help others while neglecting the Absolute are useless. Ordinary altruism is not the goal of life. There is much more important duty while one is in the human form of life, and that is to serve God. ‘It is our intention to convert the entire human population to practicing bhakti.’”

From “Giriraja dasa Brahmacari” in Free Write Journal #53:

“Glen Teton was first introduced to Krsna consciousness when Prabhupada and his devotees held a program at Glen’s college, Brandeis University, in 1969. Glen arrived at the program late, after our first kirtana and Prabhupada’s speech. I was leading the second kirtana when he arrived. Our devotees asked him if he could lend us his car to take the devotees back to our temple. He willingly did so, and during the ride, Nanda-kisora’s wife, Jahnava devi dasi, preached strongly to Glen. He was impressed by her knowledge, and he was interested in what she was saying. He attended other lectures by Prabhupada in Boston during Prabhupada’s two-week stay. He met Prabhupada and attended a lecture in our small storefront ashram. Glen had concocted ideas of spiritual life and had a sign up in his dorm room, “You are God.” When he heard Prabhupada’s lecture and presented his ideas, Prabhupada exposed them as nonsense, and Glen bowed down and made obeisances before Prabhupada. He started coming to our storefront temple for lunch. One day, a devotee, Saradiya devi dasi, asked me, “Since when do we allow hippies to join us?” I firmly replied, “Glen is not a hippie,” and she was satisfied. I was the temple president, and in the beginning I guided Glen in the practices of Krishna consciousness. Glen soon graduated from college, and he moved into our temple as a brahmacari. He was so ideal and submissive that he lifted the atmosphere of the devotee association. In our temple were about 40 devotees who worked for ISKCON Press, headed by Advaita dasa. They worked devotedly on the Press machinery for long hours, but they were not dutiful to attending the morning devotional programs. This caused a conflict for me, as I tried to get them to act like regular devotees. The Press devotees even teased Glen for his ideal behavior, taking rest early, getting up early and attending the temple program wearing devotional dress. (The ISKCON Press workers wore worker uniforms, dull green pants.) Glen went out regularly with me and the other devotees on sankirtana, chanting in the streets, distributing Back to Godheads and asking for donations. He excelled in distributing the magazines and collecting the money, first in a conch shell and then in a little money bag with straps. His father, who was a lawyer, was concerned about Glen joining Krishna consciousness. He offered Glen a big sum of money if he would quit, and talked to me about his worries that Glen might be drafted into the Army. We politely tried to pacify his father, but Glen remained firm in his commitment to ISKCON. After a while, he was initiated by mail. Prabhupada wrote him a letter and said that he had observed his good qualities when he was in Boston. One particular incident bonded Glen and I together. One night a local gang attacked our building, broke all the front windows and entered our house. They carried car antennas and beat us with them. We fought back with fists, pieces of wood, and Uddhava used a small penknife to stab a gang member, who then tried to scratch Uddhava’s eyes out. We called the police, and they came and arrested the gang members. But we heard that while they were in prison overnight, they swore they would come back and attack the temple again as soon as possible, and devotees were traumatized in anticipation. We feared their return. We were in shock. We sent the women down to the Brooklyn temple to take shelter, and some men also abandoned the temple and went down to Brooklyn. Myself and Glen also decided to go to Brooklyn. Immediately Brahmananda and Rsi-Kumara and another devotee had come up from Brooklyn to help guard the temple. Glen and I started to drive to Brooklyn. But when we reached the toll entry to the main highway, we started talking among ourselves how running away from the fight was not a good thing. It was an act of cowardice. So we mutually agreed to turn the car around and go back to Boston. When we arrived at the temple we were warmly greeted by Brahmananda and the other New York devotees. We had put up wooden bars across the broken windows. I armed myself with a two-by-four piece of wood and got ready to stay up all night, anticipating trouble. About 3:00 in the morning a police car cruised by. I went out to see him carrying my two-by-four. He was alarmed to see it and told me to put it down and go back inside the house. There was a court hearing, and the judge ruled that if any trouble happened in the temple in the next six months, the case would be opened again. We wrote to Prabhupada about this, and he said the judge made an intelligent decision. So things quieted down and there wasn’t another attack. Giriraja stayed with us for several years. He was our star brahmacari. When the lease ran out on our storefront and we needed to find new quarters, Giriraja and some other devotees found a Victorian mansion in the neighborhood that was for sale. We approached the realtor and drew up a mortgage contract. We showed it to Giriraja’s father, and he said it was a good contract. We thought we could make the monthly payments if we just increased our Back to Godhead sales on the street. So Giriraja was very instrumental in helping us get the new building. Then after a couple of years, Prabhupada’s secretary Syamasundara sent out a newsletter approved by Prabhupada asking that all the temples send men to India, because he needed manpower for his ambitious plans for starting temples in Vrndavana, Bombay and Mayapur. We didn’t have that many devotees, but we surrendered to Prabhupada’s request. We decided to send our very best devotee, Giriraja, as a sacrifice to the order of the spiritual master. Giriraja was enlivened at the prospect of joining Prabhupada in India, and the rest is history. Giriraja is just finishing his 600-page book about the adventures of securing the land and getting permission to build a temple in Bombay. And I heard from devotees that he is now writing a book on the early days in Boston. He remains affectionate and grateful to me for my helping him in the early days, and I have love for him as a great preacher and soul surrendered to Prabhupada.”

From “Local News” in Free Write Journal #53:

“We heard from Prabhupada’s purport that Radharani’s right hand of benediction enables us to gaze upon Krishna’s lotus feet.”

Bhaktimarga Swami:

I have taken this workshop on “nine devotions” to many places like yoga centers, and I have seen good results. Usually I do it in two hours. Sometimes people would even say, “I believe in God again.”

Sravana – the ultimate reflective listening process

japa, kirtana, and lectures.

So many times conflict arises because of lack of hearing another.

The prospect for advancement comes in good hearing.

Our problem is self-imposition on whatever we have heard.

Srila Prabhupada describes a Vaishnava as someone who always tries.

Many misunderstandings can be resolved by hearing from the other person.

We hear the Divine name and prolong the experience by chanting.

Sometimes when you talk to people, you realize they do not know what positive thinking is.

In the developed countries you encounter a kind of cynicism that ironically is not there in the developing countries.

Comment by Krishnadas Kaviraj Prabhu: In a suffering state I turned to God, and it struck me, “Why do I only turn to God when I am suffering?” That was a turning point in my life.

Comment by Mahatma Prabhu: I tried mescaline once, and I felt every hormone in my body was excreting happiness. I thought there must be some way of getting to this state without drugs. Three months later I met Bhakta Howard, later to become Hridayananda Goswami, teaching a Bhagavad-gita class on campus.

Prayer by lady from Ottawa: Thank for the struggle. Without the struggle I would not have come closer to you.

Prayer by Narayana: Dear Guru Maharaja and Srila Prabhupada, help me to be a more loving person.

Prayer by Dan: Please deliver me from conscious unawareness.

Prayer by Mahatma Prabhu: My Dear Lord Balaram, Please give me the strength to follow Prabhupada’s instructions and fulfill his desires and to be a perfect example of his teachings.

This is an exercise for developing friendships. Find a partner you do not know well and take turns answering these questions:

What is your name?

Where are you from?

What do you do?

Do you have a hobby?

Do you have a pet peeve?

Do you have a favorite color?

Do you have an aim?

Gaura Prabhu, who I know a little, chose me as a partner.

Gaura Prabhu: I am Gaura Das from Manitoba, Canada. I tell students about Krishna consciousness. My hobby is to add jazz chords to traditional Bengali tunes. My pet peeve is when I point out to my Godbrothers that they are altering Srila Prabhupada standards in different ways that they become angry. My favorite color is yellow. My aim is to become the real deal. To have integrity. To have Prabhupada’s values. Get anartha nivrtti down. Ultimately get Krishna prema. Realize I can depend on Krishna.

Make a friend every day.

In Sanskrit plays the stage manager gives some introduction. There was no blood and guts on the stage in those days. Those sorts of things would just be implied.

Indradyumna Swami:

From an address before kirtan at the Mantra Yoga tent at Pol’and’Rock:

If you sing your favorite song for hours you will get tired of it, but we have been chanting this Hare Krishna for 25 years. How is that? That is because Hare Krishna is a transcendental sound.

Spiritual life has to be more fun than material life.

If you want to be happy you cannot be cruel to other living other beings. You have to be vegetarian to be happy.

Prahladananda Swami:

From a conversation at the Pol’and’Rock Festival:

Krishna consciousness is both knowledge and an experience. If people get just the knowledge “I am not this body” and “Krishna is God” but they do not experience “I am not this body” and “Krishna is God” then they will lose interest.

Gokulananda Prabhu:

Our original purpose is enjoy rasa with Krishna.

Nature by providing suffering can remind us we are not where we belong and should seek out Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada says that human intelligence is awakened when we begin to inquire about why we are suffering.

Gopipran was living in a mental asylum, but he cured himself of his mental illness by reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and chanting Hare Krishna.

Comment by Mahatma Prabhu: When Gopipran met us for the first time, he said, “I see you chanting every day and you seem to be having more fun than I am, so I want to join.”

When I first got a Back to Godhead, I read it for two hours. I felt so enlivened as a result. That is the power of hearing about Krishna from a pure devotee.

In the assembly of devotees completely absorbed in spiritual consciousness, people’s lives are transformed.

Krishnadas Kaviraj Prabhu:

Rohininandana is name for Balaram because He is the son of Rohini.

After I shaved my head the people at work said, “What’s with the haircut?” They especially asked that because of the sikha. I said, “It is the Hare Krishna haircut! Haven’t you heard? The next time you go to the barber, you should ask him to give you one.” Then I added, “The Hare Krishnas are a spiritual group that practice spiritual self-defense. We are always being bombarded by all kinds of distractions that keep us from realizing our higher spiritual nature, so we have to protect ourselves from this. We do that by chanting Hare Krishna.” I saw that some of them were impressed by my description.

Krishna is there for everybody, and He is always making arrangements for people to hear about Him.

I like this festival because in the middle of it we take the realizations we get from the association of devotees out into the streets of Shawinigan on harinama.

Comment by Gaura Prabhu: Srila Prabhupada once asked the devotees who was stronger, Krishna or Balaram. They did not know, and he replied, “Krishna, because Balaram is leaning on Him.”

For that 1/11th of a second of the association of the pure devotee, people get a glimpse of what it is to be spiritual, and they start craving more spiritual experiences.

Comments by Srutakirti Prabhu:

When you were with Srila Prabhupada, you would always have to be watching him because he would give so many signals.

Because the previous reader of Krishna book had gone back to his temple, I took over that service. The first time I read, it was a story about a demon. I saw that when we got to the part of the demon getting killed, Srila Prabhupada would laugh and laugh, and slap his knees, and tears would come from his eyes. I took that as a cue that Srila Prabhupada liked those pastimes, so the next time I got to read I selected the pastime of Dvivida gorilla. When he got to the part of Dvivida urinating on the sacrifice, Srila Prabhupada laughed and laughed just like I expected.

A disciple of Srila Prabhupada:

The most salient feature of Lord Balarama is that of adi-guru, the original guru.

When my mother was getting older, I asked her how it was going. She said she had not gone to any funerals that week, so it was a good week.

One man was taken to Yamaraja at his death, and he complained. “You took me without any warnings. If you gave me a warning, I could tie up my lose ends.”

Yamaraja said, “You were walking with a cane, your teeth fell out, I gave you so many warnings!”

Srila Prabhupada was given an instruction by his guru to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, and he has given that instruction to our whole society.

Sacinandana Swami elaborates on the story of the prostitute who inspired Bilvamangala Thakura to become dedicated to achieve Krishna. That night they stayed up all night chanting bhajanas to Krishna, and in the morning they left, going their separate ways, and taking shelter of different gurus and attaining perfection.

None of my godbrothers who have thousands of disciples ever thought they would have thousands of disciples when they were new devotees.

When we actually surrender to the guru, inquire from him, and serve him, we get his mercy and become qualified.

The verse guru na sa syat is a very heavy order, and we have been given that order as well.

The parents of the hippies thought they were failures, but Srila Prabhupada saw the generation of children disenchanted with material life as candidates for self-realization. He figured out how to present Krishna conscious to those people according to where they were at. We have to figure out how to give Krishna consciousness to the people of today.

We have to situate ourselves so we will attain perfection, and so we can inspire others to attain perfection.

The mission statement of Srila Sridhara Swami (1995) is very inspirational:

“My mission is to serve my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, with all my heart and soul. . . .

“To achieve this goal has now become my only reason for living. Out of a great sense of debt for his having shown me the path, I want to become a sharp instrument to be used by Srila Prabhupada in his mission of flooding the world with love of Krishna.

“I will strive to achieve excellence in all my activities. . . . I will struggle to rise above my lower animal nature, my conditioning of the lowest of births, and my lack of cultural training. . . . I will study Srila Prabhupada books regularly and thoroughly. I will do my best to follow his teachings perfectly and teach others with whom I come in contact according to my own level of realization.

“I will be forever loyal to his ISKCON, being always positive and ready to help in its development. I will be proactive as a preacher, teacher, facilitator, leader, and spiritual master (servant).

“I will always be ready to, as Srila Prabhupada put it, ‘do the needful,’ . . .

“I will meditate upon and try to imbibe the twenty-six qualities of a pure devotee.

“I will not over-endeavor but will strive for quality in my work and relationships. I will be constantly on guard against committing offenses to other Vaishnavas.

“Having realized that in previous years of association with devotees I must have committed so many offenses due to my gross and careless nature, I will sincerely try to recognize those offenses, beg forgiveness from those whom I have offended, and atone for these offenses as best I can.

“I will continually evaluate my progress, getting input from my peers. Despite all obstacles, personal and incidental, I will not cease from struggling to improve my character and obtain his mercy, to be finally accepted by Srila Prabhupada.”

Vidura preached to Dhrstarastra.

Q: What if you are not qualified to preach?

A: No one who is qualified thinks they are qualified. You can aspire to become qualified.

Q: What if you lack enthusiasm?

A: Associate with enthusiastic people.

Laksminatha Prabhu:

The verse akamah sarva kamo va includes the idea mentioned in Bhagavad-gita catur-vidha bhajanti mam.

Srngi cursed Maharaja Pariksit, “Just like you insulted my father with a snake, you will be killed by a snake.”

Agni wanted to burn the Kandava Forest because he was previously he had been offered too much ghee in sacrifice and felt the forest herbs would relieve his indigestion. Indra, however, would shower rain and frustration his plan. Thus Agni took shelter of Krishna and Arjuna, and Arjuna will his arrows created an umbrella to keep the rain from extinguishing the fire. Tarsaka’s wife and son were burned in the fire, and thus Tarsaka to get back at Arjuna killed his grandson, Maharaja Pariksit.

The Bhagavatam is full of encouragement for us, those having material desires and those not, who took shelter of Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada would encourage everyone to come. Come, take prasadam. But to stay is another story.

Devotees make arrangements to fulfill some necessity, but so their consciousness is free to think of Krishna.

In the USA there are over 240 victims of mass shootings this year. Just see how mad people have become. Someone may out of hatred desire to kill someone, but who kills people they do not even know!

The grhastha ashrama is like using a second regulated fire to extinguish an initial one. A fire may be moving southward, so they set a fire in the south and direct it northward so the two fires extinguish each other.

We have to appreciate Krishna consciousness, what it is doing for us in our life. Then we may value it and protect it.

The devotee prays to Krishna be become free of his material desires, whatever it takes.

If we are convinced of our product, we will be able to sell our product.

I recommend if you are thinking of getting married to go a live with a grhastha couple for a month so you give up whatever fantasies you have about married life and see what is actually required.

Q: Suppose we fulfill material desires so we will be free from them, and then can focus on Krishna. We could get just entangled in fulfilling desires and not have time for chanting Hare Krishna.

A: To know what desires can be fulfilled and what cannot comes from association.

Mahatma Prabhu:

Religious institutions are ideal settings for guilt to arise because the standards are higher than those of the people in general.

Repression means you push it into the unconscious. Suppression is when you just run away from it.

As we avoid bad thoughts by directing our minds away from them, I thought I could avoid emotions in the same way. One female counselor advised me not to avoid them but to feel them and confront them in that way. I protested, “No, then I will act on them.” She said then, “No. Don’t worry. Try it, and you will understand.”

I was feeling guilty when starting a business because I could not follow the spiritual program which I had done for thirty years.

By facing the emotion, I learned that the guilt was very painful, a lot more painful than getting up and going to mangala-arati anyway. Thus I became more motivated to start going to the morning program again.

Why do emotions exist? So we can learn from them.

For example if a beautiful woman walks into the room, if a brahmacari becomes attracted and starts thinking about her, he may repress it or deny it. If instead, he let himself experience how lust has a degrading effect on his mind, he could be become humble and turn away from it.

I was able to fully experience my resentment before, and it was such a painful experience, I never wanted to have that experience again.

Some problems recur because we do not experience the emotional pain associated with them.

Prajapati had studied in a seminary, and there is a lot stress on guilt in Christianity, and so he asked Srila Prabhupada the position of guilt in Krishna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada said, “A little guilt is good.”

Suppressing guilt is bad because guilt is an indicator we went off.

Continual chanting helps us chant better only when we chant with remorse.

One counselor who counsels devotees when I asked her the biggest issue with devotees said, “Guilt about not following the rules and about not chanting.”

She told them, “You do not have to follow. It is your decision.”

Then she found many of them began to follow.

Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu just knows how to say things. “If I’m fallen, then I’m a divided person. I’ve got an internalized set of ideals—the voice of the spiritual master, the voice of the community, the voice of Krishna—saying to me, ‘This is the way you ought to be.’ And my own perception is, ‘I’m not that way.’ So one develops an acute sense of being ill at ease. And there are a few really unhealthy reactions. One is to indulge in bluffing, hypocrisy, which we’ve seen a lot of in our time. Another is simply to propagate a different standard. People start to try to change the philosophy around to accommodate their actual practices. Or they join some other group, in which other people will validate their behavior. ‘Better to be a good Christian than a bad Hare Krishna.’”

I like workshops where people reveal all their issues because everybody realizes that everyone else also has issues.

There is intelligence in emotions. When we experience the emotion, we access that intelligence.

Comment by Bhaktimarga Swami: I was very arrogant when returned home for the first time after becoming a devotee. I burnt incense though my mother did not like it. I thought I was better than my brothers and sisters. Later on, by reflection, I understood my mistake, and I vowed never to act as a fanatic again. Be a “fun addict” not a fanatic.

One self-help teacher said there are many things that we cannot learn except by trying and failing.

Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami uses an analogy of a well dressed person slipping and falling into a ditch and lying there lamenting about how he got there and the consequences of being there rather than getting out of the ditch and going on his way. This is an analogy about wallowing in guilt.

As a counselor, I help people rewrite their stories so they see the same situation in a more positive way.

Seeing through the scriptures is way of changing our stories.

When I was temple president in Vancouver, in the beginning it was very hard to get the devotees to go out on sankirtana. However, when I would come to pick them up at 6:00 p.m. they were not eager to come back to the temple.

The stories in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrita are so extreme that although we may feel we have some issues ourselves, our issues are insignificant in comparison to the people in those stories.

Sometimes we have difficulty controlling our thoughts because they are based on deep rooted beliefs which have not changed.

If you are not a vaisya, you can go to so many seminars on how to get rich, but you will never be rich. You will get all the information, but you will not be able to apply it.

There are different beliefs a chronic critic might have. He may think he is better than others. He may not feel good enough about himself so he compensates by bringing other people down. He may feel he has to get back at someone. By changing the belief, he can give up the criticism.

This is important because we always talk about changing thoughts but we do not talk about the beliefs upon which our thoughts are based.

A pure devotee is happy thinking that others are better.

Srila Prabhupada advised serving someone you are envious of.

You can display a white sheet of paper with a black dot in the center, and ask people what they see. Generally people say, “I see a black dot.” You can ask them, “There is a whole white sheet there. How is it you just saw the black dot?” That black dot is criticism.

Abraham Lincoln said, “He who has a heart to help has the right to criticize.”

Comment by Gaura Prabhu: It is good if people criticize you. It means they care about you, and they want you to improve. When people no longer criticize you, it means they have given up on you.

The false ego gets us to accept the thoughts in our mind as ours.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.27–28 verse and purport explain the proper mental attitude of an advancing devotee.

As long as you do not give in and believe what your mind is telling you, you can progress in Krishna consciousness.

I ask people to say, “I am my mind” and “I have a mind.” Which feels right? Most people say “I have a mind.”

I ask people to say, “I am my body” and “I have a body.” Which feels right? Most people say “I have a body.”

The best advice I got is, “Why don’t follow your own advice?” Imagine if we all followed the advice we gave in classes and seminars!

Until I forgave I did not realize I had no compassion for that person.

Until I forgave, I could not realize that I betrayed him four years before.

Sometimes you do not say anything wrong, but it is the wrong thing. Maybe it is to the wrong person or at the wrong time.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura says if you find fault someone you give them your good karma and you take their bad karma.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says if someone criticizes you that Lord Caitanya is trying to make you more humble than a blade of grass. If someone praises you, they are telling you what they want you to become.

Comment by Krishnadas Kaviraj Prabhu: My wife, Paurnamasi, came up with a strategy when driving to deal with people who cut you off. She says, “I curse them to get a Bhagavad-gita.” Then we laugh and the negative emotion goes away.

I would say, “Never punish someone when you are full of resentment.” You may have to punish people because that’s your job.

The sastra says that only the vaisyas do not forgive people. I do not understand the reason for that.

Comment by a devotee: In a bar many years ago, one guy was disturbing everyone, and one lady came up to him and spoke to him as if speaking to a three-year old, and he completely quieted down.

Forgiveness means to give up hope for a better past.

Forgiveness means instead of giving them what they deserve, you give them what they do not deserve, kindness.

Forgiveness does not happen logically. It happens from the heart. If you look at it is logically, you will never forgive. For people who look at things logically then you can present how it is in their self interest to forgive.

We start out saying you should forgive because it is pleasing to Krishna. Beyond that there are so many material reasons to forgive because resentment is toxic. Google resentment and cancer if you want a scare.

Nelson Mandela said, “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”

You can forgive people who are no longer here. It is good for you.

Sometimes people say, “Forgive and do not forget.” For example, if your business partner steals all your money, you may forgive, but you may not want to make him a business partner in the future.

I have a class on how your psychology affects your japa. A lot of bad japa comes from bad psychology.

Imagine your life was such that people would learn a lot about Krishna consciousness from just seeing how you live!

The greatest service to Srila Prabhupada is to be an example of his teachings.

“I know I should, but . . .” is tamo-guna, determination which does not go beyond dreaming.

Integration means you do what you say you will do.

Someone may say, “I cannot be Krishna conscious at work.” But why not? You are interacting with people all day. You can practice being tolerant and being humble while interacting with people at work.

Interesting enough, Krishna spoke to Arjuna on his job site, giving practical guidance for how to act.

When you become a devotee, at every class you attend you learn something new. If you do not act according to the new knowledge, you will feel bad about that. Thus you have to make the effort to try to act according acquired knowledge.

It is curious that the Amish became a cult for living how everyone used to live before industrialization.

The Amish forgave the man who shot ten of their girls and killed six. In commenting on that a priest said, “They had been preparing for that act of forgiveness for a lifetime. It was built into their practice as people who forgive.”

People do not see what we think. People see what we do.

Comment by Krishnadas Kaviraj Prabhu: When my wife, Paurnamasi, had a stroke, the doctor who dealt with her for the next two weeks after she had her stroke was surprised that she was consistently happy, when most people were always depressed. She said, “I believe that I am not my body. I tell people I am not my body. Now I have to live it.”

A brahmacari in Denver said at a forgiveness workshop, “We are getting unlimited forgiveness coming down from Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. Should it stop with us, and turn into resentment?”

When Mother Yashoda went to check on the boiling milk, Krishna and Mother Yasoda were 15 feet apart from each other, and they were both feeling incredible separation from each other. Krishna was jealous that Yashoda was feeling more separation from Him than He from her.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that the atheist sees God nowhere and the theist sees God everywhere.

As long as we are trying to taste material things, we cannot taste the spiritual nectar that can complete satisfy our soul.

Why do we have difficulty having good relationships? Because we do not value people or relationships sufficiently. Sometimes we let differing views get in the way of having good relationships with people.

Even some devotees I have had horrible disagreements with, if I were on my deathbed they would help me remember Krishna, I am convinced.

We have so many standards to judge people by, so we tend to be judgmental but being judgmental does not improve relationships, and it also leads to offenses to devotees.

We have to decide if we want to judge people or have good relationships with people.

Why do we judge people? One reason may be we expect senior people to be examples because it helps us.

Sometimes we do not meet the expectations of others because we do not know what others’ expectations are.

Sometimes leaders are very supportive and affectionate toward people who agree with them and make life difficult for others. If you are obliged to work with such people, you have to try not to ruffle any feathers, otherwise you will have to tolerate a lot of negativity.

If you focus on the negative, you will become discouraged. So if you want to achieve something, even if your criticisms are valid, you may be more effective at attaining your goals to just not worry about it.

Srutakirti Prabhu:

When Mr. Nair died, Srila Prabhupada was happy. I wondered how Srila Prabhupada was happy about someone dying. Then Srila Prabhupada explained. He caused so much trouble to the Deities and to the devotees. It was significant that he did not say he caused so much trouble to himself. He was just doing his service, tolerating the difficulties.

At Juhu, the mosquitoes were as big as rats and the rats were as big as cats.

The key is to rise above the kanistha-adhikari level and stop seeing in terms of good and bad, and just see the good like Srila Prabhupada did. Just try to assist people in their service, like Srila Prabhupada did.

It is a question doing what is necessary for saving Srila Prabhupada’s movement.

He was not giving philosophy but showing how to live practically.

Srila Prabhupada took an hour walk and three hours of massage just to take care of his health so he could benefit people.

Srila Prabhupada would walk fast, and he would stop fast. We would not stop fast because we were spacing out. Sometimes devotees even stepped on Srila Prabhupada’s feet.

Some people stopped coming on the morning walks because they got tired, even though they were only 25 years old.

One devotee said, “We are your puppets.”

Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, but I want you to move like this, and you are moving like this.” [He would gesture as if manipulating marionettes.]

Less talk more action. Srila Prabhupada was all about action.

I was at the early GBC meetings. They were three days, a couple of hours, morning and evening, and it was all about preaching.

Every day was a festival with Srila Prabhupada. I traveled with him for 2½ years. We all had an expiration date. We could last with him so long. Why? Because he was pure, and we were not.

I was with Srila Prabhupada twenty-four hours a day. No one after me did that.

Comment by Mahatma Prabhu: Mangalananda asked Srila Prabhupada how many rounds he chanted. He said, “Sixteen like you.”

Once he was in anxiety about Juhu, and he was chanting very loudly. He told me, “When you are anxiety, you chant very loudly.”

If you were fortunate to be with him, he would help you every step of the way.

Srila Prabhupada’s strategy to get me to chant my rounds worked because I saw he cared.

If you are here, you are here because he brought you here and because he is keeping you here.

His desire gave us the ability. He facilitated all of us to serve.

The first trip we went around the world, fifteen temples in all.

In a letter Srila Prabhupada said to open up a temple all you need is one person and the guru’s order.

Treating guests very nicely is a very important part of Vaishnava culture.

Srila Prabhupada was lying there in Vrindavan preparing to leave his body. I came with Madhudvisa from Hawaii. Srila Prabhupada knew how far Hawaii was, and he asked if we got prasadam and had a shower. He was not concerned with himself but with us.

I carried the deity of Radharani on three flights, en route from India to Melbourne, Australia, and Srila Prabhupada told me, “Krishna is pleased with your service.” I felt so satisfied, as if he had embraced me.

In August and September of 1974 Srila Prabhupada was so ill they instituted 24-hour kirtana all over the movement at that time.

I had malaria, and I stayed in a room, between Srila Prabhupada’s room and the bathroom. We would all eat in that room, but only I would stay there. Once Srila Prabhupada saw me lying there, and everyone else was taking prasadam. Srila Prabhupada looked at the whole scene, the devotees eating and me lying there. He asked the devotees eating, “What are you doing for Srutakirti? Get him a doctor. Get him a bed. Get him a nimba pani.”

He said 80% of his leaders were not following and therefore he became sick.

Srila Prabhupada hadn’t eaten much for several weeks. He asked me to make him some upma. I said Yamuna is right here. He said, “No, I like your upma.” I went into the kitchen, and said to Yamuna that Srila Prabhupada wanted upma. She said, “Great. I will get right on it.” I said, “And he wants me to make it.” She said, “What do you need?” There was no envy. We just wanted see that Srila Prabhupada was served nicely.

I expressed to him that all his disciples loved him so much but I didn’t feel anything. He didn’t say anything till hours later.

Then he asked, “Do you like your service?”

“Yes, Srila Prabhupada,” I said.

Then he said, “Service is love. Just keep doing your service.”

Srila Prabhupada did the service he was told to do by his guru until his very last breath.

The only day he complained about my cooking was the day I did not cook.

He said there were two kinds of prasadam: opulent and sumptuous. Opulent is for the deities and is with ghee and sugar, and sumptuous is for the devotees and is so tasty that the devotees would not even think of eating elsewhere.

For Srila Prabhupada everything is most important.

His biggest concern was that we do not change things.

He told Pankajanghri and Jananivasa Prabhu to serve the deities in Mayapur for their lives. He told that to all the pujaris, to stay and serve the Lord.

Every temple on that tour [beginning in Caracas] Srila Prabhupada cried, overwhelmed to see the spreading of the mercy of Lord Gaura and Nitai all over the West.

When I went into his room it was quiet and peaceful. You could just stay there and be happy. Even now you can feel his presence in his rooms in Vrindavan.

Srila Prabhupada is here for you. If you do not accept it, then he is not here for you.

Srila Prabhupada did not consider the scientists to be have truth because they consider the body to be the self so all their knowledge is based on a false premise. Thus he did not take seriously what they had to say.

When I first became his servant, he rang his bell.

I came in and offered obeisances, and asked him, “What can I do for you, Srila Prabhupada?”

“Nothing,” he said, “I just wanted to see how fast you were.”

His joking spirit made me feel completely at ease.

He was the most humble devotee I never met.

If you stayed in his bubble of protection, you were protected.

Srila Prabhupada did not like the sannyasis to grow beards on Caturmasya. He never appreciated that. He said that if they wanted to do Caturmasya, they had to follow everything. He would make the point that people cannot even follow the basics, and yet they want to do all these other things.

Srila Prabhupada just wanted us to spread Krishna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada chastised Jayapataka Maharaja for chanting 64 rounds during Karttika or Caturmasya by saying, “Why? Go out and preach.”

When Paramahamsa Prabhu was talking about preaching in Vietnam, during the war, Srila Prabhupada was impressed and decided to give him sannyasa. At that sannyasa ceremony, Srila Prabhupada said Rupa Goswami and Narada Muni attended. They never went to Vietnam because they could not get visas, but a year later, Paramhamsa Swami became Srila Prabhupada’s secretary.

There was an urgency when Srila Prabhupada was here. We could take up that urgency even now.

Prasadam was the first preaching. By taking more and more prasadam people would become purified and qualified to hear.

Srila Prabhupada was very serious about Deity worship. Because he emphasized book distribution, sometimes people neglected other things. But Srila Prabhupada consisted both very important.

In the temple, the first thing is that you take care of Krishna, then everything else comes.

Srila Prabhupada was not into big, big expansion, even while he was here. He wanted everything maintained very nicely. When he left, he asked us to maintain what he gave.

If you endeavor to maintain what Srila Prabhupada gave us, you will find it is not so hard and you will be rewarded.

Although there were 108 Radha Damodara devotees there in Atlanta, what he saw was how nicely Gaura-Nitai were taken care of, unlike in Mexico City, Caracas, and Miami.

Chant and be happy. But you cannot do that if you do not surrender. You may surrender in one moment, but then you have to surrender in the next moment.

Srila Prabhupada was happy to see people doing their best according to their capacity.

It is important in management to understand the capacity of those under you.

He gave me a benediction, after I knocked over the mustard oil for his massage, “You will be intelligent when you are eighty.”

I thought for the next half hour how to respond, and said, “Thank you. I thought it would take longer than that to become intelligent.”

He laughed and laughed and slapped his knees.

Before initiation, you get all your doubts cleared, then you surrender. Then you do what the guru says.

Kirtanananda Swami asked if I wanted to be Srila Prabhupada’s servant. I said yes. Kirtanananda Swami said I would be his best servant because I would never leave.

Srila Prabhupada accepted whatever arrangement that Krishna made. Even when a monkey chewed up his shoe in Vrindavan, and I fixed it at his request, he used it for another month. He was so satisfied with that, that no one thought to buy him another, even though anyone would have bought him another one if he asked.

Srila Prabhupada was tired of brahmacaris who were his servants leaving him to get married, so he asked Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami to be his servant because he would be steady. He was the only one who had training in serving Srila Prabhupada and that training came from me. For two days he asked many questions and took notes. He took notes on massage while watching me massage. Srila Prabhupada asked him what he was doing. He said he was learning massage by watching Srutakirti. He said that was like learning to swim on the bank.

Srila Prabhupada is maintaining all of us.

Srila Prabhupada said, “I am ISKCON” and also “ISKCON is my body.” I feel that connection when I carry out his orders.

He had a dozen servants in the course of time.

When I returned to his service, it was like I had never left.

Even though he was the guru, he did not shout out orders. He was always a gentleman.

As soon as I started talking about Srila Prabhupada, he opened the floodgates.

Krishna is waiting for us to do something.

Srila Prabhupada always reciprocated. If I just did service, everything would be fine.

From a breakfast conversation:

One day Srila Prabhupada told me that grhastha life is an austerity and brahmacari life is an austerity. You have to choose which austerity. Then the next day he told me that managing his family was more difficult than managing ISKCON. I did not see it then, but I see now he was giving me his realizations to help me make my decision which to choose.

Dhananjaya Prabhu:

Krishna is not an ordinary person. He is not even an incarnation but the source of all incarnations.

He first appeared in the mind of Vasudeva, and then transferred to the mind of Devaki, and then the heart of Devaki.

Although very powerful demons attacked Krishna, as a boy He killed them effortlessly.

Once one of the cowherd ladies, hid in her house and caught Krishna stealing, grabbing by Him by the hand. He acted like He did not realize that it was her house and thought it was His own home, and her heart melted and He ran away.

Krishna’s rasa dance takes place when He was eight years old, and thus the accusation that it was sexual in nature is not reasonable.

As a business magnate may have his private jet, Krishna has His carrier Garuda, who can travel without restriction.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that He is attained only by devotional service and in this age it is very easy because all we have to do is chant Hare Krishna.

Radhika Nagara Prabhu:

From a comment during a group reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books:

It seems to me that devotees who are honest about their material desires end up being dealt with Krishna in a better way while others sometimes become even dysfunctional.

Caitanya Vallabha Prabhu:

From his Janmastami announcements:

By bathing the Lord, we bathe our heart.

Jahnava Devi Dasi:

There are six human needs. These are needs, not wants or desires, but needs:

1. Certainty/Security

2. Uncertainty/Variety

3. Significance

4. Love and Connection

5. Growth

6. Contribution

Individually we find different ways of satisfying these needs.

We can meet them in either positive or negative ways.

Positive ways are empowering. Negative ways are disempowering.

Ideally, we should satisfy needs in ways that are good for us, good for others and good for society.

Certainty

Good ways to get certainty:

associate with competent people

to plan ahead

Bad ways to get certainty:

addiction

If you hear people criticize others, you can say that the topic makes you feel uncomfortable and suggest that we might talk about something more uplifting.

Comment: Sometimes people do something to achieve significance, but then they lodge themselves in an organization where they are no longer the best person for the job.

Sometimes we have the problem of worrying about what we can’t do, rather than focusing on what we can do and doing it nicely.

It is revealing to ask ourselves how we are meeting these needs.

Srila Prabhupada shows in this quote how one can meet the need for variety in Krishna consciousness: “In my room I have a mrdanga so I play it for a while. When I get tired of that, I do some translation. When I finish with that, I sing a song on the harmonium. Then I have correspondence to do. I have one activity after another, all connected to Krishna.”

People want a soulmate. Previously God was the soulmate. Now people look for another human being to fulfill that role which is unrealistic. Also formerly there were extended families that helped fulfill the need for connection.

Comment by a disciple of Srila Prabhupada: People confuse sex and love, and they think that by engaging in sex they will fulfill their need for love which is not true. At Radhadesh, one man who had been married for 35 years was becoming a devotee and wanted to give up sex but his wife concluded he did not love her, so he bought her flowers, he went on walks with her, and he had conversations with her, and he told us that she felt more loved than previously when they were engaging sex but did not really get to know each other.

There are vehicles that meet many needs both positive and negative. For example, someone may take drugs because they experience certainly, variety, and a kind of perverted connection with themselves.

Comment by me: Harinama meets a lot of needs. The need for variety, significance, and love and connection are all met by harinama.

Comment by Laksminatha Prabhu: Actually all the six needs are met by harinama.

Donald Trump is quintessential example of a perverse need for significance.

Comment by Mahatma Prabhu: Not only are we loving Krishna through our sadhana but we are loving ourselves.

Comment by Gokulananda Prabhu: You grow by helping others grow.

I know that when you help your child grow, you grow so much.

Taking responsibility, you grow. That is a very good one.

You can inquire from others in what ways you need to grow.

Comment by Mahatma Prabhu: One exercise is to ask a question, and then try to come up with twenty answers.

Comment by Gaura Prabhu: One neurologist says to always to learn new things is a way to avoid Alzheimer’s disease.

You may not be able to get certainty to the extent you want, so you may prioritize love and connection, and through pursuing love and connection, you may find your needs for certainty met in that way.

Most of us focus primarily on two of the six needs. These two prevail over all others and become the primary driving force in our lives. These two needs are experienced so intensely that we will do almost anything to satisfy them.

[I thought about it and realized that certainty is very important to me, and if it is not there, I am very uneasy. Contribution is also a big need. If I am in a situation, and I cannot see how I can contribute, I would rather be somewhere else, where I can.

It was illuminating to hear which of the six needs people felt were most important, and to see how different many people are from me. – KKD]

The way we prioritize our needs is not out of our control. If you are unhappy in a significant area of your life, it’s time to reflect on what your two most important human needs really are. You might then realize that the way you currently prioritize your needs is not conducive to your well-being or happiness.

For example, you might have certainty at the top of your list, and you might think that because you have a great deal of uncertainty, for instance, financially, certainty has to be at the top. But that is not necessarily the case. Many people live with great uncertainty, and yet they make love and connection their first priority. You can do that too. You can choose, for example, to put love or contribution at the top of your list, and you can decide to let love flow from you no matter how little certainty there is in your life.

Exercise:

Note your top two needs? Of these two, which one is your top need?

Why are the two you chose most important?

Are these needs serving you well?

Can these top two needs be met right now? Do you need to change priorities?

From Following Srila Prabhupada, Volume 1:

On Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja Day at ISKCON London, they played the DVD Following Srila Prabhupada, Volume 1. I took some notes on that:

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The thing that attracted me most was his certainty.

Prabhupada dasa:

Swamiji told me, “Simply join us and that will solve all your problems.”

When I left he said, “Please come back.”

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Srila Prabhupada was so insistent that his lectures be tape recorded that he would stop speaking and wait for the tape to be reloaded.

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I asked Srila Prabhupada what I could do for him. He said the duty of the disciple is to assist the spiritual master in his work. I thought about it and decided his work was his translating. I noticed a Dictaphone in a shop and bought it for him. That revolutionized his book production.

Krishna provides. That was the famous word. Krishna provides. . . . You always felt that everything would work out if you were with Srila Prabhupada because everything did work out when you were with Srila Prabhupada.

Brahmananda Prabhu:

Regarding chanting, Srila Prabhupada told me: “You sing in such a way that you never get tired.”

I found a cushion in a sofa that someone threw out. I gave it to Srila Prabhupada and we used it.

We did not have any money. In the summer when watermelon was abundant and inexpensive, we would eat the watermelon and cook the rind as a sabji.

Shyamasundara Prabhu:

He seemed to light up the whole room. We could not take our eyes off him.

Umapati Swami:

When Srila Prabhupada spoke he said, “The supreme Absolute Truth is a person.” When he said that I realized I met my spiritual master.

He had me dance carrying the picture of Lord Caitanya and His associates on the first harinama. I set it down after a while. He asked why I set it down. I said I got tired of holding it.

I complained about different things the devotees were doing and he said, “If you do not like what they are doing, then you set the example.”

Another time I complained, he said, “What can be done! They are trying to serve Krishna.”

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He wanted me to make a large sign with the holy name on for a program in Tompkins Square Park.

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He liked to turn the globe and talk about sending devotees to different places.

Sri Prahlada Prabhu:

From an address before kirtan at the Mantra Yoga tent at Pol’and’Rock:

If you chant these three names at any time or in any place, you will be uplifted to the transcendental platform.

Notes on Vyasa-puja Offerings

Jai Nitai Prabhu:

Ranchor Prime did the interior decoration of the Soho temple, and built the vyasasana. He also built the three top stories of this building, which did not exist when we bought it.

Ranchor Prime:

From his Vyasa-puja offering:

As the years pass, your influence increases more and more because you are empowered by Krishna.

Krishna Kripa Das:

Dear Srila Prabhupada,

namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

In one sense it is very difficult to glorify you because you have done so many glorious deeds and have so many glorious qualities, it is not possible to enumerate them all.

On the other hand, it is easy to glorify you, because your glories are so numerous, it is easy to mention the ones most striking to us.

I cannot understand how dear you are to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.  Lord Caitanya wanted the chanting of His holy name spread to every town and village of the world, and you greatly assisted him by taking the chanting out of India and personally bringing it to all the major countries of the world. Bhaktivinoda Thakura longed for the day when Westerners would take mrdanga and karatalas and chant the holy names in the street, and you made that come to pass. How dear you are to Bhaktivinoda Thakura!

On this day the last few years I have read this excerpt of a letter of you wrote to Sudama in 1972 describing the amazing success of your mission:

“Yes, from the very beginning I went to New York because I thought that Krishna Consciousness is the most important idea in the world, so let me go to that place, New York, which is the most important city in the world, and if I am able to do anything for Krishna and my Spiritual Master, even I am at the fag-end of my life, at least let me try for it there. So my dreams have all come true, and all of you nice boys and girls are getting the credit. When I was alone in your New York, I was thinking, who will listen to me in this horrible, sinful place? All right, I shall stay little longer, at least I can distribute a few of my books, that is something. But Krishna was all along preparing something I could not see, and He brought you to me one by one, sincere American boys and girls, to be trained-up for doing the work of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Now I can see that it is a miracle. Otherwise, your city of New York, one single old man, with only a few books to sell for barely getting eatables, how he can survive, what to speak of introducing God-consciousness movement for saving the humankind? That is Krishna’s miracle. Now I can see it.” (Srila Prabhupada letter to Sudama, December 23, 1972)

You are a perfect example of having absolute faith in the holy name of Krishna.
You chanted Hare Krishna kirtan in Tompkins Square Park and Hippie Hill, and you encouraged your followers to go out every day and chant Hare Krishna in public. In the early days, in London devotees would regularly get arrested, but you encouraged them to persevere and said they would one day be accepted. Last month at the Monthly Sankirtan Festival in Newcastle, two policemen danced with the harinama party!

 At the 40th anniversary of Radha-Londonisvara’s installation devotees recalled how daily they would chant from Bury Place to Marble Arch and back four times each day. That amounts to 12.8 miles or 20 km of harinama. So many people were attracted by meeting the blissful devotees on harinama, who appeared to have found the happiness they were also seeking, that they joined the temple. It was so crowded some devotees had to sleep on the stairs or under the sink in the bathroom!


Another example of faith in the holy name is your faith in the chanting of japa. You had faith that if your disciples just chanted sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra each day, trying to avoid the offenses, and gave up the four pillars of sinful life, in just one lifetime they would become pure devotees of the Lord eligible to attain the spiritual world.

You said you would be most pleased if your followers attained love for Krishna.

You said the love your followers had for you would be tested by how they cooperated together after you disappeared.

You wanted your followers to expand your mission, and if they could not do that, to at least maintain what you had given them.

You wanted many things: temples, restaurants, self-sufficient farm communities, book distribution, harinama, prasadam distribution, gurukula, preaching to the materialistic scientists, doing outreach in colleges, life membership, etc.

On this auspicious day of your appearance, I pray to you that all of your followers might seriously take up these different aspects of mission and successfully work together to both maintain and expand it, and that by pleasing you in this way, they might attain that love for Krishna. Please be merciful and thus empower all of us.

An insignificant servant of your servants,

Krishna Kripa Das

Jhulan-lila dd:

I see the books coming alive when going out on sankirtana.

We can feel safe under your protection.

Radha Ramana Prabhu:

Although encountering your books thirty years ago, I see I am getting your mercy by getting more and more enthusiasm to hear your teachings by reading your books.

Bhaktin Brily:

Without you I had nothing. With you I have everything.

I will follow. Following you the sky is always Krishna blue.

Ananda Nitai Prabhu:

By reading Srimad-Bhagavatam one can destroy all attachments to our dangerous material life.

I see I am advancing toward that condition, death, which without your mercy, would be most fearful.

Indian prabhu, Damo:

Thank you for your army of preachers to enlighten us.

My faith and commitment to you have increased hearing of your position in the guru disciple course.

Gopichandra Devi Dasi:

This day is a chance to glorify you and to thank you.

Neither this temple nor this movement would exist without you.

By your mercy, your disciples became expert instruments in your hands.

Dayal Mora Prabhu:

Many doubted that this mission could be successful, but you had complete faith.

You have given us so much hope against the terrible materialistic life.

You have given us Krishna and your only request was that we take Him into our hearts, and love the Supreme Lord.

? dd:

You taught by your example.

Devotees do now harinama four to six hours in Columbo, Sri Lanka.

Your glories are endless. Your teachings are priceless. Your mercy is matchless.

Nama Sankirtana Prabhu:

Your faith in the holy name is unlimited.

One new initiate, who had difficulty in following the vows, approached you. You said, “I have given you the holy name. What is the difficulty?”

Once you said with emotion, “I have captured Krishna. I am holding Him here for you. Please come.”

Your kirtan in Tompkins Square Park is an echo of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Those who heard it now are spreading it.

When a book distributor asked about the unique taste of distributing books, you said, “This is nothing else but the embrace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

Srila Prabhupada explained the sannyasa mantra as meaning, “To always be ready to do the needful for Krishna.”

When anyone visits an ISKCON temple he always feels welcome and at home.

Whatever we have, we have been given by you. Let us never forget that. Let us not forget humility can turn a mouse into tiger and pride can turn a tiger into a mouse.

Vamsidhara Prabhu:

You said you pity those who come to this movement but still retain a spirit of enjoyment.

Vamsivata Prabhu:

I got to know you better waking and dressing your murti in the early hours of the morning. You are no longer just a concept. Focusing on the many details of the service I feel I have obtained a personal relationship with you.

Attachment to our master is seen by how we treat those who are servants, disciples, and followers of our master. They are gem-like personalities who have made your service their life and soul.

Because Londonisvara is Vrindavan Krishna, He demands the spontaneous love that characterizes the devotees in Vrindavan.

Shyam Govinda Prabhu:

Padayatra UK was very transformational for us because we were simply doing what you wanted.

I feel I am floating in your mercy for so much as been given.

I wish to be always be a student of your empowered teachings.

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This verse is important to me because it indicates that Krishna, the Lord in the heart, and the Vedas, are all the same voice. I learned of the Lord in the heart being brought up as a Quaker, and I was happy to learn that Krishna and the Vedas are really that same person. The verse also reminds us of how dependent we are on Krishna. Whatever we do, without inspiration in the form of knowledge and remembrance by the Lord, we have no chance of success.

sarvasya caham hṛdi sannivisto

mattah smrtir jñānam apohanam ca

vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo

vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Bhagavad-gita 15.15)