Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Volume 15, No. 21
By Krishna Kripa Das
(November 2019, part one)
Gainesville, New York City, Albany
(Sent from New York City on November 23, 2019)
Where
I Went and What I Did
The
first three days of November I spent in Gainesville at a workshop on
cosmography with devotees in Bhaktivedanta Institute and from
the
Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. The first day I was also involved
with three harinamas,
the
last one attended by twenty-five devotees from the Krishna House community.
While in the Gaineville area, I attended the Giriraj Festival of
Madhava Prabhu at his home in LaCrosse, along with many Krishna House
devotees and friends from Alachua. Then I returned to New York City
and spent the next nine days chanting with the Yuga Dharma Ashram
party in different subway stations and
once outside at Times Square.
The next three days I stayed with my 95-year-old mother near Albany,
helping her with cooking
and
errands. During this time, I drove to Stuyvesant Falls a couple of
times and visited my guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, twice, and
Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu, who lives across the street from him, once.
I
share a quote from a lecture by Srila Prabhupada. I share excerpts
from many poems in Every
Day, Just Write and
writing
sessions in Free
Write Journal, both
by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami.
I
share notes on lectures by Kavicandra Swami, Niranjana Swami, and
Prahladananda Swami. I share notes on classes by Srila Prabhupada
disciples Drutakarma and Ramesvara Prabhus as well as conversations
with Ravindra Svarupa and Purnaprajna Prabhus. I include some
glorification of Govardhan Hill by Madhava Prabhu. I share notes on a
lecture by Princeton professor Matthew Desmond on eviction in
America, one of Kali-yuga’s anomalies. After the Insights section,
I include a lot of interesting points about
the Fifth Canto cosmology and exhibit ideas to represent it from
the workshop on cosmography attended by devotees involved in
Bhaktivedanta Institute (BI) and the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium
(TOVP).
Many
thanks to Yugala Piriti Devi Dasi of New York for her donation of a
wonderfully warm winter coat and well as some cash. Thanks to Mother
Nanda of Alachua for her generous donation. Thanks to my mother for
letting me use her car to visit Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and Ravindra
Svarupa Prabhu. Thanks to Prishni Devi Dasi for letting me use her
car to see, sing for
and
dance for Radha Shyamasundara in Alachua.
Thanks
to Purusartha Prabhu for his awesome photos of Baradraj Prabhu
chanting Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch in Gainesville.
Thanks to Ananta Sankirtana Prabhu for his photos and videos of us
chanting Hare Krishna at Times Square.
Itinerary
October
1 – December:
NYC Yuga Dharma harinamas
December
7: Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa-puja in Stuyvesant Falls
December
24: visiting relatives in Albany
January–April
2020: North Florida colleges, mostly Florida State University
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Alachua County, Florida
It
was great to be chanting Hare Krishna during Krishna Lunch in
Gainesville again.
When
I arrived, Ananta Vallabhu Prabhu, who had attained spiritual
initiation since I had last seen him, was chanting Hare Krishna, and
Sandipani Muni Krishna Prabhu of England was playing the drum for
him (https://youtu.be/gxtBCK-S62Q):
Later
Adikarta Prabhu invited his godbrother, the artist Baradraja Prabhu,
a legendary kirtan leader of the 1970s, to lead the last kirtan of
the day (https://youtu.be/rXw9Vnv1oJ0):
Here
Adikarta Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Krishna House at the end of
the Friday evening program after
a lecture by Drutakarma Prabhu (https://youtu.be/atRYqpneiHE):
Usually
Krishna House devotees do harinama
on
Saturday nights, but the week I was there they were attending Madhava
Prabhu’s Giriraj Festival on Saturday, thus I encouraged them to do
harinama
on
Friday night instead. I invited as many people to go as I could.
Three devotees who are great musicians who often go on harinama
gave
me different excuses why they could not come, but they all ended up
coming out anyway. I was so pleased we had 25 devotees altogether,
over
twice the usual attendance.
Here
Haripriya, the youngest daughter of Yadubara and Visakha Prabhus,
chants Hare Krishna across from University of Florida, near the bars
and restaurants, on a spontaneous Friday night harinama
with
the lively Krishna House congregation (https://youtu.be/jvKZ5lbPJvE):
Sandipani
Muni Krishna Prabhu of the UK leads Krishna House devotees in
chanting Hare Krishna near University of
Florida (https://youtu.be/7ltJrMtcg0w):
Narayani
chants Hare Krishna at Krishna House in
a spontaneous kirtan after
Guru Puja on Saturday (https://youtu.be/2oQxcwoBJqA):
Baradraja
Prabhu chants “Arunodaya Kirtan” and Hare Krishna in Gainesville
(https://youtu.be/0mN5dIhIcHc)
For
many years Madhava Prabhu, who is originally from Boston, but who
lives in LaCrosse, not far from the Alachua temple, has a had a
festival honoring Giriraj at his home, near the date of the Govardhan
Puja festival. Madhava has worshiped Giriraj in the form of a
Govardhan sila for many years with great dedication.
Here
Ananta
Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Madhava Prabhu’s Giriraj
festival at his home in LaCrosse, Florida
(https://youtu.be/sIbaOg3U2gg):
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
While
I was in Gainesville at the cosmography workshop, Yuga Dharma Ashram
devotees chanted at a new event for us, the NYC Marathon.
The
last week of October, when we were chanting at Penn Station subway
station, I noticed this ad for the NYC Marathon on the wall.
Remembering
the nice experience I had chanting Hare
Krishna with Newcastle devotees at
the Great North Run in
England in September,
I encouraged Natabara Gauranga Prabhu to do harinama
at
the NYC Marathon, which is attended by 52,000 people. He decided that
considering our schedule on Sundays, it would be best to chant at the
end of the marathon. An advantage to that is you have the many
friends and well-wishers of the runners there to congratulate them,
and so you can reach many more people. The Yuga
Dharma Ashram devotees
found it w silaas a great opportunity and many
more
people heard the holy name and took books than they do outside at
Times Square, our usual Sunday spot.
I
felt very victorious that weekend that by Krishna’s grace I was able
to encourage 25 Krishna House devotees to chant in Gainesville on
Friday, and I was able to encourage the Yuga Dharma Ashram devotees
to chant at a very successful new venue, the NYC Marathon, on Sunday!
On
Monday, Divyangi Devi Dasi chanted Hare Krishna at Penn Station
subway station (https://youtu.be/TNDCs16Z-bs):
Tuesday
Krishna Prasad Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna in Times Square subway
station, a lady played shakers, and Natabara Gauranga Prabhu danced
(https://youtu.be/-soqEWClZYo):
Here
Kaliya
Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Times Square subway station,
and a man plays shakers and dances with Jason and Mahotsaha Prabhus
(https://youtu.be/tQCOKZM3AK0):
Wednesday
Prahladananda Swami chanted Hare Krishna in Atlantic Ave. / Barclays
Center in Brooklyn (https://youtu.be/Rh9L1B5WZGI):
Each
year Prahladananda Swami comes out and chants with the Yuga Dharma
Ashram party when
he visits
New York City. This year he impressed me by leading the chanting for
two hours.
That
day we were blessed to have two swamis on harinama.
Kavicandra
Swami also
came
out with us this day, as he did almost every day for two weeks and
distributed books, inspiring us by his example.
Thursday
Ananda Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna in Times Square, and a passing
devotee danced to the music (https://youtu.be/DUF96aHNo9g):
Here
Natabara
Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Times Square, and Sati Devi
Dasi, visiting from Newburgh, dances (https://youtu.be/7yQxOl8-T3s):
Here
Jaya
Jagannatha chants Hare Krishna at the Bhakti Center Thursday kirtan
(https://youtu.be/43VZD9Pzj5I):
On
Friday Murli Krishna Prabhu, who used to chant with Aindra Prabhu in
New York in the 1980s, chanted Hare Krishna at Jackson Heights /
Roosevelt Avenue subway station (https://youtu.be/9Soae5cuDtY):
While
Murli Krishna chanted Hare Krishna, Richard, who met the Hare
Krishnas through this Yuga
Dharma Ashram
harinama
party, danced, and a regular passerby played shakers
(https://youtu.be/AiM7dqvP5Fk):
Here
Kaliya
Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Jackson Heights, and devotee
ladies dance (https://youtu.be/QbIHPj4QAfw):
I
gave Srimad-Bhagavatam
on
Saturday at the Bhakti Center. After class, I did the arati
to
Srila Prabhupada, and Jahnavi chanted the kirtan. Here she chants
Hare Krishna after the arati
(https://youtu.be/BGg6uaNba94):
Kaliya Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna and a family of tourists from Chicago, whose children like the music, plays shakers at Times Square subway station (https://youtu.be/Deo_jUqhIhQ):
Prahladananda
Swami chants Hare Krishna at 26 Second Avenue, the site of our first
ISKCON temple in New York City, and devotees dance
(https://youtu.be/7-pbnFxEHm4):
On
Sundays at 4:30 p.m. we chant for an hour outside at Times Square.
Natabara
Gauranga Prabhu led kirtan in the beginning at our meeting spot in
front of the Walgreens.
Then
we moved toward Times Square itself.
As
we were short of singers and instrumentalists, Natabara encouraged me
to sing.
Jason
was very enthusiastic to engage the onlookers in dancing.
In
this video I led the Yuga Dharma Ashram harinama
party in chanting Hare Krishna at Times Square, and onlookers danced
with devotees. Thanks to Ananda Sankirtana Prabhu for the photos and video.
(https://youtu.be/_W0ap51A_-o):
My
dentist asked if it was hard being a Hare Krishna monk. I said it
wasn’t. The hardest part is we have some spiritual knowledge to
share that can really benefit people but very few people are
interested in it. He smiled and said I should ask the universe or God
or whatever you call it to send only favorable people. I did that
later that day on harinama
in New York City. As soon as I offered that prayer someone came up to
the book table in a jolly, positive mood and gave a donation and took
a book. In general, the next two days were better than usual.
Ananta
Gauranga Prabhu, who was once full time on the Yuga Dharma Ashram
party, chants Hare Krishna in Times Square, during a visit to New
York City from Krishna House in Gainesville, Florida
(https://youtu.be/RIwfWq54WHQ):
Later
while Ananta Gauranga Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna, Krishna Prasad
Prabhu induced youths to dance with joy
(https://youtu.be/HihIazVlsQY):
The
last day I was in New York City, the month of Karttika came to an end
and
with it the
blissful experience of encouraging passersby to attain
spiritual perfection by offering lamps to Lord Damodara
(https://youtu.be/sALOKr5G1pg):
Chanting Hare Krishna in Albany
In Albany I did not do so much chanting of Hare Krishna beyond my sixteen rounds of japa and ten minutes of practicing a Madhava tune on my harmonium each day.
Everyday I would cook breakfast and lunch and do some driving for my mother. She is a social activist and always stays aware of current events. Thus she watched the impeachment hearings on TV every day. It was striking for me to see that the officials in the U.S. State Department who were testifying appear to have more integrity than the U.S. President himself.
Two of the three days I went to Stuyvesant Falls, just half an hour away, and I had lunch with my guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I was one of the devotees who would read transcendental literature to him while and after he ate, in this case Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila, Chapters 8 and 9. Afterward I would help clean the dishes and honor the maha-prasadam. One day I visited Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu, who lives just across the road, which is also a treat. I have known him since I lived in Philadelphia in the mid 1980s. He is working on a book about Lord Caitanya’s “Siksastaka,” when his health permits.
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
From
a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.8.41
on May 3, 1973, in Los Angeles:
“But
these rascals, they do not know, they do not believe that there is
next life. As I have told you many times, that Professor Kotovsky in
Russia, he said, ‘Swamiji, after this body’s finished,
everything’s finished.’ Just see. He’s a big professor. He’s
saying like that. Our scientists also... They have no knowledge.
Still they’re passing as scientists, philosophers, and misleading
persons. This is our greatest grief. Therefore I am requesting you
all: just make a plan to face these rascals and defeat them. They are
misleading the whole human society.”
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
29, Part One, pages 62–63:
“You
have some little part in a dance.
Watching
films of you in crowd of devotees
around
Srila Prabhupada thirty years ago, so intense,
adoring,
competitive…now I
watch
it with detachment,
restrain
fault-finding… / but I don’t take part now /
I
wouldn’t want to go back to then
who
am I? Who are we? What is true?
“Soundless
movie track, men who have since left
him,
grown old, died, babies now young men
mostly
chose to leave him / beautiful young mothers,
now
where? Bare arms who cares for it now?
Was
it worth striving for honor and place?
Look
at them…if I had known back then to
stay
alone…but you had to push forward
so
your guru would recognize you.
“I
think of him differently now. Not as seen
in
those images.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
29, Part One, page 95:
“Nihil
Obsta
“I
don’t object to whatever they
put
out. I’ll find my way in Krishna consciousness
I’ll
hear it in ‘Laura’ piped in music
to
the battleship or office
I
may be working in
next
life, or worse than that.
“I’ll
find my Krishna, have to dust
it
off, my forgotten Krishna consciousness,
clean
it from modes dross
I
find myself in
but
nihil
obsta,
there’s
ultimately no block.
“Ahaituki
apraihatah,
the
sincere one finds the way
because
Krishna is reaching out to him
saying,
There are no obstacles,
“come
to Me
by
the movement of your own will
and
mind to Me,
start
with your little finger…”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
29, Part One, pages 227–28:
“I’ll
take my turn
in
sadhana
instead of
indulging
in world
art,
world love,
that’s
how it has to be
for
us soldiers,
sadhus,
recruits.
That’s
what we want
to
give it up and sing it
for
Krishna
now
and never. (forever?)”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
29, Part Two, pages 9–12:
“I
am not going to learn
from
doctor or shrink
or
priest or new guru
or
my own…
stay
with the one
who
taught you in youth
and
sustains.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
29, Part Two, pages 51–52:
“But
I like to walk
if
it can help it
and
think that You
are
with me everywhere
and
will teach me
and
love me and protect me
and
that You’re doing it
for
everyone. So many they’re not wrong
when
they say please accept me as I am
and
I accept You.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
29, Part Two, pages 52–54:
“Your
only asset, your guru’s
accepting
your service still in this
broken
whimsical condition
self-righteous
each one
in
the grave, burned on pyre
now
He’ll figure it out where
you
go He’s better than
any
government or military board
to
serve you orders
for
next ship base
program.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
29, Part Two, pages 78–80:
“Now,
got to go with it
now
Krishna is seen in
everything
wake
up fool
He’s
here
in
Gita
talking
to
you”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
29, Part Two, pages 103–4:
“I
want to be free but not in
a
cage of my own making like
I
did before July ’66…”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
29, Part Two, pages 131–33:
“Better
get happy in the remaining
time.
Don’t fall down. It’s
up
to Krishna. Srila Prabhupada prayed that
I
would not – he said
‘May
Krishna protect you from
calamities.’
What calamities? I
thought.
Little did I know.
Still
don’t.
Krishna
is known to His pure
devotee.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
30, Part One, pages 53–55:
“now
thank Krishna for the bounty
of
a bhakti
directed life I
could
not take advantage
of
Mathura the Lord of,
but
let it be said he kept
his
connection with the Swami
as
he thought he was supposed to”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
30, Part One, pages 53–55:
“I
say you can write you runs
and
puns and series and concoctions,
but
just make it good for Krishna
and
the best way is to be
truly
yearning for His lotus feet.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
30, Part One, pages 196–97:
“I’m
still crazy
ego
false but want
to
never leave my Swami’s
shelter.
“‘Why
is there anything?’
For
ananda
[pleasure],
the Swami said in
Mexico.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
30, Part One, pages 197–98:
“we
were about to declare in-
competency
or more accurately
complacence,
when a reminder
came
that man should try his
best
to retrieve a spirit of
work
for God
“we
were on the verge of rebellion
when
He gave us a little strength and
clarity
and we stayed on course
I
pray master this day
of
July 4, that I’ll not
be
independent of the rule,
declare
myself eager for
the
simple things you gave.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
30, Part Two, pages 29–31:
“We
know only a little of Krishna
at
least we know He does
exist.
It’s not a void at
core,
and we ourselves are not
Lord
Narayana in abstract.
At
least we know that
Krishna
is rare to see, but
His
devotees can show Him
to
the discerning pure soul.
“Now,
believe in me. I only want
to
present His teachings nicely.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
30, Part Two, pages 53–55:
“I’m
Govinda’s slave we all are
in
maya
in this world
Yogamaya
in that world
“Krishna,
Krishna hurry along who
will
reach the scenic spot
first,
who will touch
Krishna
first
“the
gopis
tease and He teases
back
all amorous language
and
why the pouting anger?
It’s
another way to please and
love
the Lord of all gods
people
will never understand
“but
I do, a little. I know
I
am covered still with material
modes
– they make this
world
seem real those
Time
and Newsweek
guys
But
Krishna is with me.
And
will protect the devotees.
“Don’t
care for outsiders
make
your own rhythm song.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
30, Part Two, page 107:
“Following
the Vedas the Easy Way
“Sad
your lot you want
the
easy way you can’t
have
a pain-free comfrey
roses
also shatter and
fall
to earth. The wind
blows
the petals
and
time kills
if
not the fox
or
hunter.
“But
if you turn to God
you’ll
find rest there eternal
the
Vedas
say and we believe.
We
live according to the
code
of guru
and
Krishna in Goloka
“myself
is happy to take part
at
least that way
for
beginners, easy start
you
sing
eat
prasada
and
bow down – see the
forms
of Supreme Lord, your master
is
now or never telling you
what
to do.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
30, Part Two, page 108:
If
He’s Lucky
sees
in a different way
that
nothing of his life will last,
and
that he achieved so little
“remembers
if he’s lucky
a
time he was obedient
to
radiant guru
in
old days
“and
if he’s lucky,
self-reliant,
he
turns to
him
again
and
he’s lucky.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
31, Part Two, page 20:
“Swami
keep punching
when
you serve your master
all
reason is right
may
you be on top for the
internal
festival even at
the
end.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
32, page 125:
“Simple
Swami won’t desert,
women
don’t disturb him
aw,
he’s got his claim, prays
master,
protect me. I wish
instead
of dead or dread
to
live in you forever.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, page 49:
“now
in
Krishna consciousness in Kali-yuga
it’s
being spread wide and they may
criticize
but somehow it goes on
and
people are learning to chant Hare Krishna
“We
want them to take it up as our spiritual master gave it. I’m read
to defend my own presentation which helps people come closer to the
truth of our Swami, our Founder-Acarya. Yes, I am for him but to make
it true I must personally go and I’m doing it, to hear from him and
his followers.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, page 88:
“Krishna
went to the pasture. He said I want to
make
everyone happy. He wanted all living beings
to
return home, back to Godhead, that’s
why
there is a recurring creation,
to
give us a chance. Meanwhile, He goes on sporting
with
the liberated bhaktas
and
waits
for us, for the chance we may each return.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, page 117:
“There
was a little fellow
who
snatched back his soul
from
the black hole of
material
life. Owed his
life
to the Swami and worked
hard
for that.
But
the devil claimed it
back
now he’s fighting
tack
to tack.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, page 187:
“knowing
what’s best
you
can’t take less.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, page 203:
“Krishna
is for each one of us
if
we will turn to Him in
His
holy names. I hear the murmur
of
a devotee’s japa
and wonder
if
he’s actually praying and even if
he’s
not, I hope the Lord will
hear
and bless each one of us
with
steps to prema.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, page 213:
“So,
he wiled, the wild man
could
serve Krishna too under
guidance
of guru like the race of hog
herders
who became exalted by
service
to Nilamadhava,
“like
Westerns who came to the Swami. I am not
indulging
in the
worst
fault-finding. He gave us
the
good thing, and we must
honor
and receive it.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, pages 221–22:
“Hare
Krishna Hare Krishna,
a
poem about praying:
May
the Lord
of
room and board
allow
me guts to utter
mantras
as the follower
and
get a taste before I die
may
the Lord Sri Krishna
give
me the mercy only
He
can bestow
and
may I honor that gift.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, pages 230–31:
“Please
pay attention to it,
the
moment you can spring upon
Krishna
conscious reflections or out of
Your
body and mind and grab
hold
of sastras
in a way
that
pleases and arrests your hearers.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, page 236:
“If
you could only connect to Krishna
with
that heartache,
throbbing,
with tears, for
Govinda,
hari-nama,
you’d
be doing fine and nothing
could
harm or disrupt.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, page 308:
“Japa
care is a habit
always
chant it here
purpose
is to capture God
a
tongue and ear are all
you
need. And Swami’s
grace.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, pages 308–9:
“Japa
is the main yajna
and
kirtana
even better
please
move your beads on fingers
after
the guru, the giver
of
the name.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
33, page 321:
“No
more sandwiches
no
meat no heroes or women
to
enjoy in any way – oh,
you
still enjoy them as loving
disciples,
yeah well that’s
not
sense grat.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
35, page 29:
“Waiting
for lunch.
Can’t
imagine I’ll die.
I
write about it as a fact,
but
it’s too scary.
“So,
you turn to the Eternal.
As
escape? Yes, why not?
Escape
from death and void
depend
on sastras
which
tell us the soul
never
dies, he just jolts out
of
one body, falls asleep
and
awakens in a body new.
“We
pray to Krishna – please
give
us inspiration to desire
no
more births
but
join You in Goloka
where
Your pure devotees please You forever.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
35, page 56:
“The
mad poet ate a shark
in
a bedroom dark
as
compensation for a quiet life.
He
didn’t like strife and
begged
off if he could
from
plenty suffering.
“But
the sastra
says unless
you
suffer you’ll not be blessed
by
the Lord who wants to
see
how much you
love
Him by your penance.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
35, pages 99–100:
“You
publicity hound
ISKCON
is good
take
our food
believe
our movement can save the world or at
least
take a sweet-ball and
visit
our boathouse or Fisher mansion, take a
book,
don’t ask us where our gurus went to after the
drop
out. Here, look at this picture of the spark
of
soul in the chest
and
this diorama
this
dollar bill with God we trust, this
Mahabharata,
this maha-burfi,
this you-gotta-reform-
your-life,
Mr. Non-devotee,
and
I will help you
grow
your plant
of
devotion
to
God (is Krishna).”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
35, page 156:
“I
told you the souls come into existence. They get
reborn,
so if you
get
the chance
to
dance with tulasi
and
Lord Caitanya, count yourself
as
lucky.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
35, page 213:
“if
the nations crash before that –
he
said even ISKCON could crash –
we’ll
be still happy enough in
Prabhupada
seva.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
37, pages 21–22:
“Whose
view of pain is right?
Embrace
or resist?
Perhaps
it winds up the same
in
this world of pain,
Krishna’s
service the only aim.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
37, pages 93–94:
“Learn
to not eat unless He eats. To not
attempt
to pamper your body. To love
the
Supreme Lord whom you’ve only heard of.
No,
I saw Him too on the altar,
in
a devotee, lake, moment.
People
talk about it, ‘He is here and
there.’”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
37, pages 98–99:
“Believe
in Bhagavad-gita
and
distribute
the holy
Hare
Krishna
offer
the best Christmas present
to
the world.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
37, pages 100–1:
“Holocaust.
More words in my throat my
poems
don’t count
anymore
they thrust out
and
fear dreams my
seniority
doesn’t count either
but
at least brings me
a
bowl of soup.
In
the little world, I am
universally
acclaimed because I am one
of
the first disciples. My begging bowl
full
of soup I feel bolder and
ask
for apple pie
too.”
“O
Krishna, You can see
below
the covering
of
myself, and love me
even
as I wish I could love myself.
Krishna,
You love all from
Brahma
to lesser devas
and on
to
humans, animals, plants, souls
all.”
“This
street on which I live has
no
name it’s so remote,
and
no one ever comes here
to
break the peace
of
life with pain and
japa.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
37, page 120:
“Life
isn’t just the good times
rolling.
It has sorrow, jagged
pain.
It moves fast sometimes,
then
slow, as we march with nervous
energy
to a funeral of classical beauty.”
From
Every
Day, Just Write, Volume
37, page 132:
“Jesus,
on your day, please allow me
entrance
of your holy place. I’m a
devotee
of Hare Krishna, a disciple
of
Srila Prabhupada
so,
you may know me in
the
divine realm
beyond
sects.”
From “Writing Session #1” in Free
Write Journal #64:
“May
Srimati Radharani know that if I read less of Her pastimes it doesn’t
mean I don’t work to attain Her favor and the service of Her
associates. But I think it’s best I serve wholly the tangible
person who first taught me of service and worship to Radha, that is,
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Dearest Mother
of Bhakti, I pray You will see this concentration of mine not as
alien to my cultivation of service to You, but as the best practical
means to achieve it. One may hear of Your intimate pastimes with
Syama by opening a rasika
book, but if one isn’t qualified it will become a travesty, and You
will be displeased.
“(December
21, 1993
Wicklow,
Ireland)”
From “Writing Session #7” in Free
Write Journal #64:
“Your
headaches, suddenly plans destructed. Then you have to see that
Providence has her hand in it—Krishna’s in it—Krishna’s will.
You turn to Writing Session also and explain it to yourself. Say, “I
had this nice plan, but now Krishna has changed it. He is showing me
another feature of the material energy, and also He is bringing me
closer to Him.’ Sastra
says that He is more eager to bring us to Him than we are eager to go
back to Godhead. So, to do that He sometimes makes moves that are
surprises to us. We thought it was best to progress by smooth
increments according to our plans, but He may have a different idea.
What Taoists speak of as the flow to go with naturally is actually
the will of Krishna, and in the case of the devotee, it is special
handling, so he shouldn’t object or try to resist. ‘You may
handle Me roughly or not be present before Me.’”
From “Writing Session #2” in Free
Write Journal #65:
“Petty
officer Myles. Report for duty. Write a hack story for the newspaper
and Navy TV. No, thanks. I got out. Krishna got me through so many
bad things, and I have some mental scars but basically safe and
sound. Now in gratified remaining years, please write in gratitude,
express your love in that way. This is an important point.”
“I
write down my attempts and doubts and failures and foolishness, all
committed on the path of bhakti,
may Prabhupada accept me.”
“Writing
is hard
reading
is hard
chanting
is hard
“Each
of them I love, but to gain ‘mastery’ is not possible in any of
them. To surrender to them, believe in them, practice in them . . .
At least I see these are the goals of my life, to attain proficiency
at these. Then your other main activity, to lecture, comes more or
less automatically.”
“O
angels, O guides, I am grateful. My choices themselves are good ones,
whether to chant here or chant there, whether to share with the
Wicklow devotees or go alone a little more. Either way. Mayapur or
Vrndavana.
“Prabhupada,
please guide me. Supersoul, give me the intelligence to lovingly
serve my spiritual master.”
“Heaven,
heaven. Indra is there. He comes down for his misbehavior. But you
don’t presume to judge him. He is much greater than you. You are a
pipsqueak who can’t even control your mind when you chant Hare
Krishna.”
Kavicandra
Swami:
From
a conversation:
The
Christians would form groups of Christians with similar professions
so the people could more easily form friendships because they would
have other things in common besides their Christianity.
When
distributing books, Jadurani would say, “Krishna says to give
everything, but you cannot do that, so just give as much as you can.”
From
a morning class:
The
British, when they were looking for workers in India for their
factories, asked if the applicants were married because they knew the
principle mentioned in the Bhagavatam
that family life is an impetus for economic development.
Gaurikisora
Dasa
Babaji Maharaja was the guru of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura,
who was his only disciple.
He
lived in Vrindavan for thirty years.
He
took initiation from a disciple of Jagannatha Dasa Babaji Maharaja.
He
had two books, Prema-bhakti-candrika
and Prathana,
of
Narottama Dasa Thakura.
He
advised others to read these books, and in that way he was a book
distributor, although he did not have stock of books himself.
When
the birthplace of Lord Caitanya was found, he moved to Navadvipa
dhama.
He
would come and listen to Bhakivinoda Thakura’s lectures.
St.
Francis was going blind because he was crying all the time. The
doctors said he should stop crying. St. Francis said, “I do not
need these eyes to see God.” Gaurakisora Dasa
Babaji Maharaja said the same thing when Bhaktivinoda Thakura
advised him to see an eye doctor in Calcutta when he was going blind.
I
was talking to an Indian who had become a Christian, and I advised
him to sin no more. He replied that he did not have to worry because
he had an advocate in Jesus, but that is sahajiya
[retaining
acts of sense gratification and taking devotion to God very cheaply].
It
wonderful that we are in a line including such amazing people as
Gaurikisora Dasa
Babaji Maharaja, and we should feel gratitude that they allow us to
be in their lineage.
Sometimes
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was torn between the mood of
Bhaktivinoda Thakura and that
of Gaurakisora
Dasa
Babaji Maharaja.
Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati started whatever Bhaktivinoda Thakura wanted him to
implement in Mayapur, but now because of Srila Prabhupada it is all
becoming fully manifest.
We
can pray to Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji Maharaja for the ability to chant
the holy name, and we can pray to feel separation from Krishna. We
are always feeling separation from something.
To
chant two or three hundred thousand names of the Lord each
day one
has to have some taste for the chanting. One cannot do it
mechanically.
In
China there were five shops in a row that sell headphones. So people
have a desire to hear, but they do not know what to hear.
Marriages
these days are love at first sight and divorce at first fight.
In
India ladies hire detectives to catch their husbands enjoying with
other women so that they can get a good divorce settlement. The
marriages out of love fail more frequently because they are conducted
by the mode of passion as compared to
the arranged marriages.
Q:
It is said taking too much care of the body is a cause of sex desire.
What is taking too much care of the body?
A:
Eating palatable food, building up your muscles to show off, dressing
opulently, etc.
Niranjana
Swami:
From
a lecture recorded in Boston on October 30, 2019:
If
you ask any devotee where they were on November 14, 1977, the day
Srila Prabhupada left his body, they all remember. I was on I-84, and
I knew I would be late getting to Boston, so I called the temple
president, Agrani Prabhu, to inform him, and Agrani told me Srila
Prabhupada had left. I was driving a van full of uninitiated book
distributors I was training up, and I had to give them the news. It
was one of the most difficult things I did in my life. I spoke from
my realization that Srila Prabhupada would not have left unless he
had a program for continuing his movement because that is what he
wanted done. In the marathon of December 1977, we distributed more
books than ever before, meditating on how important it was to Srila
Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada had said that those he had appointed to
initiate on his behalf would continue to initiate after he left, but
the disciples would be their own disciples. That was clear.
Prabhupada’s
guru convinced Prabhupada that better than a free India was freedom
of the living entities from the repetition of birth and death.
In
Mulaprakrti’s book, Our
Prabhupada – A Friend to All,
Nayanananda Das Babaji tells: On the last day of the last parikrama
of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura one devotee returned from London
without complete success. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said it
was the desire of Bhaktivinoda Thakura and the last request of his
mother that Krishna consciousness be spread all over the world. Guru
Maharaja was looking out at the devotees, first in front toward all
the brahmacaris
and sannyasis,
and then toward me, and I looked behind me and saw
Abhayacaranaravinda Prabhu, and Guru Maharaja seemed to be
communicating with him. Then Guru Maharaja said, ‘I have a
prediction that one of my disciples will cross the ocean, and that
devotee will bring back the whole world.’ Then I saw it happened
exactly that way.
In
the beginning we did not have vehicles, we had to sell BTGs
[Back
to Godhead magazines]
to get enough money for the subway to sell more BTGs.
In
the beginning in India, Srila Prabhupada was the only distributor of
his BTG
and would go out on a bicycle to the tea stalls. The printer was
reluctant to print more until he had paid for what he had, and he
would have to preach to him to continue, promising to pay.
One
time at 1:00 a.m. Prabhupada arrived at the Gaudiya Math, and he
knocked on the door, and said to his Godbrother B. R. Sridhara
Maharaja, he had a dream that Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura told
him to take sannyasa.
Sridhara
Maharaja was worried because he was friends with the De family and
the Mullik family what would happen if he gave Prabhupada
sannyasa.
He
told Srila Prabhupada to prepare internally and then communicate his
desire to his family in due course, and then he would give him
sannyasa.
Later
Prabhupada
had another dream, and again he appeared at the Math in the middle of
the night. Sridhara Maharaja advised him to take the first of the
four stages of sannyasa.
Prabhupada
said, “No, I must take sannyasa.
The
order has come from above.” Then he left home, without taking
anything with him. That was in 1955.
One
of my services to Srila Prabhupada was to renovate this temple in
Boston for his visit. I was a carpenter before I became devotee, so I
prepared these rooms for his arrival in 1975. As it turned out,
Indira Gandhi agreed to meet Srila Prabhupada, so he changed his
itinerary, and never came to Boston and never saw the temple.
Distributing books was another service I did for him.
Prahladananda
Swami:
Happiness
means to have no wants.
The
material world is a discouraging place to live because whatever we
have we will lose, and we are guaranteed to encounter things that we
do not want like disease, old age, and death.
In
London, a reporter asked Srila Prabhupada why so many people are
dying in India. Srila Prabhupada said that he noticed, despite its
advancement, even in England people are dying. In fact, the death
rate is 100%.
Give
Krishna a chance.
Even
persons who have given up hankering and lamentation and who can see
all beings equally are attracted by Krishna.
For
one who has attained Krishna, everything else is tuccha-vat,
insignificant.
As
soon as we are thinking we are sane, we are crazy. We have to be sane
enough to know we are crazy, and then endeavor to be more spiritually
sane.
People
wonder why we endeavor so much for spiritual happiness, but why do
they endeavor so much for
material
things when they actually know within that material things will not
satisfy them because they have not satisfied them before.
Real
knowledge is to know how to develop love and happiness. Other
knowledge is superficial.
Unless
we see things as they are, we cannot act with conviction, and without
acting in conviction we cannot attain Krishna.
We
can consider that we are like puppeteers, and our bodies are our
puppets.
In
material life, we do not care about ourselves. We are only concerned
that we make a good presentation with our puppets.
As
devotees we are not concerned about the relationship between the
puppets but the relationship between the puppeteers.
In
the spiritual world, one sacrifices everything because the
return
is so great.
Lord
Caitanya emphasizes the atmarama
verse
so people stop trying to satisfy themselves and start trying serve
Krishna and
thus
become genuinely self-satisfied.
Q:
What did Lord Caitanya use the story of Mrgari the hunter to exemplify
the atmarama
verse?
A:
Because we are all engaged in killing.
In
Dallas, whoever could remember a chapter of Bhagavad-gita
would
get a maha-prasadam
plate.
Prabhupada came and the devotees recited for him the Sanskrit to
Chapter One. When he asked them what it meant, they did not know, and
he declared it was useless, like the recitation of a parrot.
Everything
comes from vibration.
We
are imagining we are doing so many things, but we are just
experiencing different situations created by the material nature.
Everything
depends on who we are listening to. In the material world, everything
is going on because of propaganda.
People
do not realize they are naturally self-satisfied because their hearts
are filled with so many desires created by propaganda, and thus they
become dissatisfied.
They
tell you to go to college, but they don’t tell you will spend the
rest of your life paying the interest on your student loans.
You
get a car to serve you, but you end up becoming the servant of the
car. You have to get gas and oil, and tires. You have to use the car
to go to work to pay for the car.
We
do not preach to people who think they are happy in this material
world because it is a waste of time. They are like someone whose
house is burning down but they are so busy watching their favorite TV
program they do not notice.
Krishna
wants everyone to know He is the enjoyer, He is the proprietor, and
He is the friend of everyone. If we are assisting Him in that, we
become pleased.
Q:
What if you do not know what to say to people on book distribution?
A:
Say to them, “You must be a very spiritual person. I can see it in
your eyes. What do you do for spiritual activity?”
They
may respond, “I play tennis.”
Then
you say, “I knew it!”
Many
times in Bhagavad-gita
Krishna
says that He will give confidential knowledge or more confidential
knowledge.
It
appears that Krishna has set it up so just a few people know who they
actually are. How is that? Actually we are all meant to realize our
spiritual identity, but we are living in a world where no one is
endeavoring in that way, so we think it is natural to be unaware of
our spiritual identity.
Srila
Prabhupada gave many classes on how we are not the changing body but
the unchanging spiritual soul. One may think “Oh, another class on
‘I am not
my body.’
How boring! Why not something more exciting like Krishna and the gopis.”
Actually, when we realize we are not the body, we realize a great
spiritual truth.
In
his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam
2.2.35,
Srila Prabhupada describes how you can use your intelligence to
realize Krishna’s feature as Supersoul.
Hearing
involves paying attention. If we are not paying attention, we are
still listening, but we are listening to our mind.
If
we think knowledge is all there is and there are no feelings, we miss
out on a lot of what life is about, and we miss out on what Krishna
consciousness is.
We
do not just want to know Krishna but to have feelings for Krishna.
People
aren’t present because they are waiting to get out of their current
situation.
We
are
hearing
about Krishna but we are not immediately in ecstasy, so we go back to
listening to our mental speculation because we find it more
interesting.
Most
people do not realize that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they trying
to avoid death.
If
we had a pill that would make people live a year longer but it costs
$100,000, people would line up to buy one. But when we talk about how
to live eternally, people are uninterested. This is due to maya,
illusion.
In
the Hare Krishna movement, we are supposed to be practicing loving
exchanges not tolerance.
Service
to Krishna means to become more expert in loving exchanges.
Initiation
means beginning to act as a servant of Krishna and His devotees and
to give up the false ego.
Actually
sometimes people who become initiated, instead of progressing, move
in the opposite direction because they become proud and decrease
their attitude of service to the devotees of the Lord.
Q:
How to feel love for people who are nondevotees?
A:
We understand from the pure devotee how Krishna loves everyone and
that the pure devotee himself loves everyone, and then we can begin
to feel love for everyone ourselves.
We
have to try to pay attention, and we have to try to feel.
If we are expecting something wonderful from the chanting we will be
open to experiencing something wonderful from the chanting.
When
people are speaking to us they are engaging us in the service of
listening to them.
Krishna
says that from Him come remembrance, knowledge, and forgetfulness. We
can experience remembrance, knowledge, and forgetfulness are beyond
our control. Thus we can experience these are controlled by Krishna.
At
a certain level of consciousness we can experience Krishna in His
picture and Srila Prabhupada in his
murti.
There
was a popular TV show host in Australia who had a habit of
criticizing his guests. Srila Prabhupada agreed to be on the show
because it
was heard by a million people.
Prabhupada
sat
on a seat and on the seat next to him was a large photo of Krishna and a calf with a cow in the
background.
The
interviewer said, “Is that your God?”
Srila
Prabhupada, “That’s not my God. That is everybody’s God.”
Then
Srila Prabhupada asked the man, who was a Christian, to tell him
everything he knew about God.
The
interviewer thought, and said “Actually I do not know anything
about God.”
Srila
Prabhupada said, “Well, I know everything about God, and you know
nothing about God, so listen to me.”
In
the bodily conception of life everyone has a lot to lament about
because this whole world is lamentable.
Demoniac
people are proud of their atomic weapons. Previously we had to throw
rocks at people to kill them, but now we can kill millions of people
by pushing a button.
People
build slaughterhouses and kill millions of cows, thinking they are
advanced. They grind up the meat from the cows and make burgers. When
eating a burger one has to suffer the karma for killing the hundred
or so cows whose meat was ground up to make that burger.
We
have to maintain the body as a tool to use for our self-realization.
When
we understand we are not the body, we are happy because we know we are eternal, and we have no worry about the future because we know we
will continue to exist.
People
do not know their biggest mistake is they have forgotten Krishna and
that they are servants of Krishna. When they come to understand this,
they can begin to act in service to Krishna.
Q:
How does the pure devotee behave?
A:
Krishna explains in Bhagavad-gita
9.13–14,
“O son of Prtha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are
under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in
devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, original and inexhaustible. Always chanting My glories,
endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these
great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.”
Devotional
service is not just an activity, it is a consciousness as well.
The
sambandha
is
that everything belongs to Krishna, and this is easy to remember and
easy to forget.
We
want to hear in a such a way that we see what we are hearing.
Because
everything is Krishna’s property, it should be used in His service.
We
will never realize we are not our bodies if we do not engage Krishna’s
property in Krishna’s service.
Not
only do we do what guru,
sadhu, and sastra say,
but we try to please the self-realized souls. Thus we have to hear
from them so we understand how to
render
them service.
Everything
people do, everything they say, and how they dress themselves is
sending you a message. You may not understand the message. In that
case, you can ask them.
We
have to observe where our consciousness is going and to observe where
their consciousness is going.
If
we have loving relationships among the devotees, then we will be
inclined to go out and invite more people to join the family.
Book
distribution is a challenge, and it is meant to be a challenge.
Without the challenge, we would never take shelter of Krishna.
We
are there to serve Krishna and His devotees. Everyone is a devotee
because they are all souls, part of Krishna. Krishna is in their
hearts, and we are trying to connect them to Krishna.
We
should not think, “I say, ‘Excuse me,’ and they immediately
stop. Just see my Godlike potency!”
People
should feel that we are trying to benefit them, although they may not
exactly understand how.
When
Krishna sees our sincerity, He enlightens us from within, and we will
not have to artificially try to remember Him.
The
right attitude is that I have been appointed to do this service by
Krishna, and I just want to do it to please the devotees and the
Lord.
Srila
Prabhupada said that our greatest asset is our enthusiasm. When
people see the devotees happy in spiritual consciousness they become
attracted.
We
can desire to distribute more books and to make more devotees, but we
should remember that we are desiring these because that is Krishna’s
desire. Krishna has to be part of the equation.
Drutakarma
Prabhu:
No
one has explained exactly how living beings have come into being from
molecules.
I
am conscious. You are conscious. It is not a matter of faith. It is
something we can all experience.
Scientists
think consciousness is produced from chemicals in the brain, but how
exactly that takes place they cannot explain.
Out-of-body
experiences indicate we have an existence beyond the body.
Although
we have an existence beyond this body, somehow we are now situated
within a body. Why?
We
all feel uncomfortable living in a place where our existence is
threatened at every moment. I think we feel we really do not belong
here.
There
is a spiritual world where all souls live in harmony with the Supreme
Soul, Krishna.
Some
have become selfish and they want to exploit and control others, and
that mentality is not compatible with the spiritual world.
This
world is a chance to act out our desires to control and enjoy, and at
the same time, to become qualified to enter the spiritual realm.
Many
universes are said to emanate from Maha-Vishnu in seed form and then
expand.
Many
scientists now consider there are many universes, but that idea has
been around before they thought of it.
Many
scientists also believe the universe was small and is expanding.
As
a automobile manufacturer designs many different kinds of cars for
people with different economic backgrounds, the Supreme Lord has
provided different kinds of bodies for those with different desires.
We
should understand where we are so we can use this world as a
launching pad to the spiritual realm. It is just like you need to
understand the airport so you can get your flight to another
destination.
Although
in the Vedic descriptions there are things that we cannot see, in
modern science there are also many things we cannot see. They say
only 5% of the universe is matter which
is visible,
while 30% is dark matter and 65% is dark energy which
are not visible.
Because
the universe is meant for the spiritual development of human beings,
they have been there from the beginning.
The
person who has created the universe has instructed us in the Vedas
and periodically comes to remind us of our spiritual identity.
We
have divided ourselves into many competing groups by race, gender,
and species, but we do not have to do this. We are all part of one
family.
I
take the 400,000 humanlike bodies to include all planets and all
universes, including hominids, like Homo
this
or Homo
that.
People have different names for them like angels, ETs, etc.
The
human foot varies continuously in length,
but the shoes come in different discrete
sizes. Similarly although consciousness varies continuously, there are
different species.
Purnaprajna
Prabhu:
From
a conversation at Rupanuga Prabhu’s home in Alachua:
Once
Svarupa Damodara talked to Stanley Miller after a lecture, and asked,
“If I give you all the chemicals, the RNA, the DNA, etc., can you
create life?”
Miller
replied, “I don’t know.”
Srila
Prabhupada liked that, and he would tell it at different times.
Ramesvara
Prabhu:
From
a morning class at the Yuga Dharma
Ashram in New York City:
If
we learn that something is giving the Lord unhappiness, we have to
act to alleviate it. Otherwise there is no question of love. By
acting in this way, we become confidential associates of the Lord.
Srila
Prabhupada had to deal with many Vaishnavas who refused to help him,
and therefore, he had to start this movement on his own.
For
years Indians thought the American devotees were spies for the CIA
because they could not believe that Westerners could actually become
Vaishnavas. Srila Prabhupada had to deal with all this.
In
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita the
innermost feelings of the greatest and most merciful incarnation of
God are being revealed.
This
chapter three of Antya-lila is an amazing chapter.
“On
this earth there are many living entities,” the Lord said, “some
moving and some not moving. What will happen to the trees, plants,
insects and other living entities? How will they be delivered from
material bondage?” (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Antya
3.67)
Who
is worrying about the welfare of the plants and the insects? That is
the compassion of the Lord.
Ruci
distributed a Srimad-Bhagavatam
to
a Muslim in the airport, and the man exclaimed, “Ha Rama!”
[Understanding the man was benefiting by unconsciously chanting the
holy name of Rama,] Ruci asked him what he was saying, so he repeated
it again and again.
I
would type up a report listing all the devotees who went out on book
distribution, the best story from the day, and the list of devotees
scheduled to go out the next day, and I
posted it so the devotees could read it. I also give it to Srutakirti
Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada’s servant. Srila Prabhupada was very
happy.
They
started distribution at the airports, and then at
the
bus and train stations, and even at
the
docks.
In
the airports so we did not get caught, we would stand in the ticket
lines and sell books to the people behind us and in front of us in
the lines. When we would get near the front of the line, we would go
to the back of another line.
Although
it was illegal to distribute books in the airports, and the policeman
and security guards were always on the lookout for us, in the decades
we distributed at the Los Angeles airport, there were no devotees
from that temple who were ever arrested.
I
encouraged one man at the airport to take thirty books. Then he asked
how he could carry them all. I asked if he was coming back through
the airport. He said he was. I suggested he rent a locker in the
airport and put the books there, and I helped him find one. That
person was Peter Burwash, who ended up doing so much service for
the movement.
There
was so much ecstasy that people felt they could sell any number of
books to anyone.
Srila
Prabhupada was so thankful his disciples distributed so many books he
said, “My Guru Maharaja will give you blessings a thousand times
what I can give you.”
Ravindra
Svarupa Prabhu:
From
a conversation at his home in Upstate New York:
The
original Hare Krishna devotees were double dropouts. They had dropped
out of the American culture of the day, and then they dropped out of
the counter culture to become devotees.
Comment
by my sister, Karen (when I read the above to her): That was clear
from the movie [Hare
Krishna!].
Srila Prabhupada did not go after people who were happily situated.
We
can see how Krishna cares for us in that He sent Srila Prabhupada,
who was willing to suffer so much inconvenience, just to bring His
message to us.
In
graduate school at Temple University I heard that the real question
is not “does God exist?” but “is God available?” When I
encountered the devotees, I learned that God is available, right
there in His holy name. You just do a few things on your own, give up
few activities of passion and ignorance, and you can experience Him.
I
see it is true that Krishna does make arrangements for you. I had no
savings or rich disciples, but somehow or other I am able to stay in
this house in Stuyvesant Falls,
formerly used by Mother Kaulini. When the Hare Krishna straightedge
band, Shelter, was looking for a place to stay, I let them stay in
the Philly temple. Now years later, Saci Suta, who was with Shelter,
is allowing me to stay on his property.
Comment
by Sraddha Devi Dasi: I remember you talking about the ideal
situation for you two months before. Then when we got this place, I
was amazed to see it had every feature you dreamed of.
Madhava
Prabhu of Alachua County:
While
Krishna held up Govardhan Hill, the residents of Vrindavan praised
His beauty: “His beautiful form is the very ornament of the entire
earth. Krishna glances lovingly at us as His eyes roam here and
there. His face is more dazzling than ever before.” Another
resident said, “On His flute He plays soft sweet tunes that fill
our hearts with exhilaration.”
Excerpts
of prayers
for residence at Govardhan:
Oh
hill that became an umbrella, held by the arm of your own Lord . . .
Let
me see the divine couple’s passionate amorous pastimes in your own
caves . . .
O
you, who bring great bliss to the best of those who relish
transcendental nectar, . . .
O
you, whose nectar name, the best of Hari’s servants, flows from
moonlike Radha’s mouth, . . .
Govardhan
is the best of Hari’s servants, and one of his services is to
facilitate devotional service to Krishna.
Excerpts
of a prayer
by Rupa Goswami:
The
gopis
astonished
by your glories describe you as the best of Hari’s servants . . .
Your
Lord Himself is the decoration of the universe . . .
O
hill, decorated with the rasa-lila,
. . .
Princeton
University professor
of
sociology, Matthew
Desmond:
[As
my mother is a social activist, I went to some of her meetings while
in Albany, such as this one, which tells about one anomaly of
Kali-yuga here in America.]
From
a lecture on his book, Evicted:
Poverty and Profit in the American City:
In
America we have the richest country and have the worst poverty.
I
followed many families in Milwaukee who got evicted, and I followed
their landlords who were passing out eviction notices.
Eviction
pushes families into greater disadvantage.
Traditionally
in America, people spend 30% on housing. Now the majority of
Americans pay over 50% for housing.
Only
one of four who qualify for housing assistance receive it.
In
Milwaukee landlords evict 40 people a day.
www.evictionlab.org
has all kinds of statistics.
2.3
million people were evicted in one recent
year
in USA.
Only
10% of evictions are formal.
There
used to be a day care center in the South Bronx eviction center
because
so many kids were running around.
Only
two cities have a moratorium on evictions in the winter, Washington,
D.C., and Chicago, not Anchorage, not Fargo, and not Milwaukee, where
it is bitter cold.
Arlene,
whose I case I am focusing on in this lecture, had to call 90 people
to find another place two months after her eviction.
For
families with kids there are three times as many evictions although
that kind of discrimination is not legal.
In
languages all over the world the word for “home” includes warmth,
shelter, etc.
Evictions
can prevent you for getting a better place or even getting public
housing.
Eviction
is not an effect of poverty but a cause of poverty.
Housing
should be a right in America, because without it, everything falls
apart.
As
slums have been largely eliminated in America, we can make progress
eliminating this problem.
justshelter.org
lists groups helping people get housing.
There
is a lot of evidence that housing aid does not decrease a person’s
participation in the job market.
Poverty
reduces people who are made for better things.
22
billion dollars could make the housing assistance program reach all
who qualify instead of just 25%. Reducing home owner tax subsidies
for the rich, which amount to 171 billion, could easily pay for this.
If
poverty persists in America, it is not due to lack of resources.
One
third of evictions are made for failure to pay only a month or less
of rent.
Only
3% of evictions are made
for six
months of unpaid rent.
People
in good communities are not enthusiastic to allow new housing
construction in their areas, and that is
a problem.
Statistics
show that landlords in poor neighborhoods make twice as much profit
because the rent is not that much lower but their expenses are much
lower.
BI
/ TOVP Cosmography Workshop November 1–3, 2019, in Gainesville
[Because
I worked with Sadaputa Prabhu for 17 years, and helped with the
publishing of his
Mysteries of the Sacred Universe book
and video, devotees from the Bhaktivedanta Institute of Gainesville
encouraged me to attend their joint
workshop
on cosmography
with devotees
involved in the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. This
occurred
the first three days of November. People made different interesting
points about
the Bhagavata Cosmology and how to present it.
Because of an agreement on confidentiality, I cannot say who said
what, although I would like to give the
speakers
credit for their ideas. Here I share some new or interesting ideas I
gained from it which may be of interest to others.]
We
do not really know anything, and in fact, we all, theist and atheist,
take leaps of faith and doubt.
While
distributing books as a brahmacari I
met a disciple of Srila Prabhupada who had left the movement when the
Fifth Canto came out. I had heard of such people, but I had never met
one. So coming to an understanding of the Fifth Canto description of
the universe is important.
Sukadeva
Goswami starts his discussion of cosmology by saying, “My dear
King, there is no limit to the expansion of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead’s material energy. This material world is a
transformation of the material qualities [sattva-guna,
rajo-guna and tamo-guna],
yet no one could possibly explain it perfectly, even in a lifetime as
long as that of Brahma. No one in the material world is perfect, and
an imperfect person could not describe this material universe
accurately, even after continued speculation. O King, I shall
nevertheless try to explain to you the principal regions, such as
Bhuloka, with their names, forms, measurements and various symptoms.”
(SB 5.16.4)
Srila
Prabhupada comments: “The limits of the expansions of Govinda, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot be estimated by anyone, even a
person as perfect as Brahma, not to speak of tiny scientists whose
senses and instruments are all imperfect and who cannot give us
information of even this one universe. We should therefore be
satisfied with the information obtainable from Vedic sources as
spoken by authorities like Sukadeva Gosvami.”
Plato’s
allegory of the cave can be useful to us.
Platonic-Pythagorean
schools emphasized mathematics, and considered it could train the
mind so it could think of transcendence.
During
the Middle Ages, prominent Christian natural philosophers such as
Jean Buridan and Nicolas Oresme argued that both geocentric and models described the same motion, and given the
available evidence it was not possible to conclusively prove which
was the
more accurate model.
Aristotle
argued that the crescent shape of the earth’s shadow on the moon
during an eclipse indicates the earth is round. He also argued that
when viewing a ship rise over the horizon you see the mast first, as
additional evidence that the earth curves and is therefore a globe.
Copernicus
who was a Roman Catholic priest, worked for the Church on calendar
reform as a mathematician and astronomer. Copernicus would write: “as
though seated on a royal throne, the Sun governs the family of
planets revolving around it.” Possibly a sentiment reminiscent of
Surya Narayana.
Galileo
was a Roman Catholic, his daughter a nun. Thus on a personal level,
he was not opposed to the Church but had difficulties with some
leaders. A basic search using the term “Galileo
affair”
brings up numerous popular as well as academic sites offering
details.
The
Catholics had incorporated Greek natural philosophy
into
their educational system, and thus to promote a
sun-centered
view would involve rewriting textbooks.
They had expressed a willingness to consider this
at
the time of Galileo if the natural science in support of heliocentric
motion could be conclusively proven beyond reasonable doubt. Galileo
did not yet have sufficiently convincing comprehensive evidence,
while many of his scientific arguments were considered faulty, both
then and now.
Darwin
wrote in a letter to Charles Lyell not long after the publication of
Origin of Species, “I am content that man will probably advance, and care not
much whether we are looked at as mere savages in a remotely distant
future.”
In
our discussions, we should keep in mind that the cosmology chapters
of the Fifth Canto of the Bhagavatam
are in fact a description of a universal form. This is directly
stated at the beginning and end of these chapters.
These
quotes here are from the beginning of the cosmology chapters:
“When
the mind is fixed upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His
external feature made of the material modes of nature — the gross
universal form — it is brought to the platform of pure goodness. In
that transcendental position, one can understand the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, who in His subtler form is
self-effulgent and beyond the modes of nature. O my lord, please
describe vividly how that form, which covers the entire universe, is
perceived.” (SB 5.16.3)
And
here is what’s said at the end of the cosmology chapters.
“In
the beginning [the second and third cantos of Srimad-Bhagavatam]
I have already described how one can progress on the path of
liberation. In the Puranas
the vast universal existence, which is like an egg divided into
fourteen parts, is described. This vast form is considered the
external body of the Lord, created by His energy and qualities. It is
generally called the virat-rupa.
If one reads the description of this external form of the Lord with
great faith, or if one hears about it or explains it to others to
propagate bhagavata-dharma,
or Krishna consciousness, his faith and devotion in spiritual
consciousness, Krishna consciousness, will gradually increase.
Although developing this consciousness is very difficult, by this
process one can purify himself and gradually come to an awareness of
the Supreme Absolute Truth.” (SB 5.26.38)
“One
who is interested in liberation, who accepts the path of liberation
and is not attracted to the path of conditional life, is called yati,
or a devotee. Such a person should first control his mind by thinking
of the virat-rupa,
the gigantic universal form of the Lord, and then gradually think of
the spiritual form of Krishna [sac-cid-ananda-vigraha]
after hearing of both forms. Thus one’s mind is fixed in samadhi.
By devotional service one can then realize the spiritual form of the
Lord, which is the destination of devotees. Thus his life becomes
successful.” (SB 5.26.39)
“My
dear King, I have now described for you this planet earth, other
planetary systems, and their lands [varsas],
rivers and mountains. I have also described the sky, the oceans, the
lower planetary systems, the directions, the hellish planetary
systems and the stars. These constitute the virat-rupa,
the gigantic material form of the Lord, on which all living entities
repose. Thus I have explained the wonderful expanse of the external
body of the Lord.” (SB 5.26.40)
Three
types of universal form descriptions:
1.
revealed as to Arjuna and Yashoda
2.
authoritative descriptions from authorities
3.
invitations to envision mentally a universal form
The
cosmology chapters in the Fifth Canto of the Bhagavatam
are part of an authoritatively described universal form.
In
all these universal form descriptions there are those things that are
visible and those that are invisible. What is the status of these?
So
there are some verses and purports that raise doubts.
“The
conception of the virat
universal form of the Lord, as appearing in the material world, is
imaginary. It is to enable the less intelligent [and neophytes] to
adjust to the idea of the Lord’s having form. But factually the
Lord has no material form.” (SB 1.3.30)
“As
Paramatma, or Supersoul, the Lord is within each and every material
form, even within the atoms, but the outward material form is but an
imagination, both for the Lord and for the living being. The present
forms of the conditioned souls are also not factual. The conclusion
is that the material conception of the body of the Lord as virat
is imaginary. Both the Lord and the living beings are living spirits
and have original spiritual bodies.” (SB 1.3.30, purport)
Although
in one sense, the universal form is imaginary, it does not mean we
can take it all as imagined, and thus that the measurements do not
have meaning. In another purport, Srila Prabhupada takes the
virat-rupa
as being similar to the arca-vigraha,
and says both are forms of Krishna. They have dimension. Although
this is true, we still have to maintain some humility, as shown in
these quotes.
[Lord
Brahma said to Narada:] “Since neither Lord Siva nor you nor I
could ascertain the limits of spiritual happiness, how can other
demigods know it? And because all of us are bewildered by the
illusory, external energy of the Supreme Lord, we can see only this
manifested cosmos according to our individual ability.” (SB 2.6.37)
“The
demigods, semi-demigods, Gandharvas, etc., are all highly intelligent
persons in the upper planets, the human beings are inhabitants of the
intermediate planets, and the asuras
are inhabitants of the lower planets. All of them have their
respective conceptions and estimations of the Absolute Truth, as does
the scientist or the empiric philosopher in human society.” (SB
2.6.37, purport)
“Everyone
thinks, in terms of individual capacity, that this universe, which is
manifested before us, is all in all. And so the scientist in the
human society of the twentieth century calculates the beginning and
end of the universe in his own way. But what can the scientists know?
Even Brahma himself was once bewildered . . .” (SB 2.6.37, purport)
“We
should simply be satisfied with the statements of authorities like
Sukadeva Gosvami and appreciate how the entire cosmic manifestation
has been made possible by the external energy of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. The measurements given herein, such as 10,000
yojanas
or 100,000 yojanas,
should be considered correct because they have been given by Sukadeva
Gosvami. Our experimental knowledge can neither verify nor disprove
the statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
We should simply hear these statements from the authorities. If we
can appreciate the extensive energy of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, that will benefit us.” (SB 5.16.10, purport)
Theophany
is visible evidence of God’s manifestations.
I
have analyzed the universal form descriptions in the Bhagavatam,
and they vary according to the
person hearing them, the person speaking them, and the purpose they
are made for.
A
very important point is that all the universal forms proceed from the
original form of Krishna.
The
universal form descriptions help people understand where they come
from, where they are at, and that are all things are related to the
original form of the Lord.
Q:
Regarding Bhu-mandala and our meditation on it as the virat
rupa, how much of it do you regard
as a model? How much do we take as actual?
A:
We are meant to understand it as far as our intelligence allows, as
the Bhagavatam says.
Sadaputa
Prabhu makes the point that the length of the day calculations are
practically perfectly accurate at Delhi, where the conversation took
place, but diverge as you go further away, thus indicating that
actual knowledge is being given in the discussion.
Previously
there were 10 or 15 serious problems in modern cosmology. Now there
are 100 problems.
As
devotees we should not trivialize the complexity of the universe.
There
are parts of the universe that we have never seen because we have
never received any light from there.
Stars
can last one trillion years. No other traditional cosmology deals
with trillions of years besides the Vedic cosmology.
In
the secular world the standard is a 12-minute presentation with 3
minutes for questions. If we cannot keep to the times we promise,
people in the secular world will not take us seriously.
There
are 200,000 satellites going around the earth.
If
we disagree with basic well-established facts about the earth, we are
appealing to either:
1.
Vast conspiracies.
2.
Knowledge stolen by illusion.
3.
The understanding that the Puranas
are not describing the observable
universe.
The
Bhagavatam has
the most complete cosmology of the Puranas.
Warped
Passages, a book by physicist Lisa
Randall, describes hidden dimensions.
Theory
of branes indicates the universe may be small.
There
is an idea that the laws of physics may not work uniformly throughout
the universe.
The
Bhagavatam heights
correlate with the “modern mean distances to the planets.” There
is the greatest correlation with the difference between maximum and
minimum distances, pretty good correlation with the maximum
distances, and the least correlation with the mean distances.
On
the heavenly planets, as the demigods experience time to be very
different from us, they also experience space to be very different
from us.
There
is a difference between the chariot of the sun and the abode of the
sun, and their locations could be different as well.
The
TOVP wants exhibits, and the BI wants publications.
I
am happy to be here and talk about these important topics that have
been on my mind for years.
Is
it actually the job of BI to discredit scientific theories to make
room for Puranic?
The
burning questions are for me:
1.
the relationship between bhu-mandala
and bhu-gola
2.
the size of the universe
3.
the vertical dimension
The
scale of time space is expanding not the universe itself. Thus the
experience of a kilometer would be quite different when the time
space expands.
Iron
is the most stable element in the universe. Nickel is also very
stable. That is why planets have iron and nickel cores.
Things
heavier than iron and nickel are formed by collisions of stars and
galaxies.
Some
scientists say Jupiter was a failed star.
Scientists
say our star is a second generation star formed from matter ejected
from a supernova, and that is why the heavier elements are present in
our solar system.
We
can tell the elements the stars are made of from the spectra of light
coming from the stars. Size is indicated by the brightness of the
stars.
Using
telescopes and trigonometry with parallax we can measure the distance
of stars up to 100 million light years.
The
experiments show that the theory
of stars being nuclear furnaces using lighter elements to create
heavier elements is justifiable.
This
discussion reminds me of the calculation of time from the atom
chapter of Srimad-Bhagavatam, with
atoms combining to form hexatoms, and so on.
The
first thing that expands is space, which is consistent with the Vedic
idea that everything begins with space.
Some
scientists (e.g. Roger Penrose et al.) are saying that this universe
did not begin from an initial singularity but rather from a reduced
state of a previously expired universe. This is because the
singularity idea is problematic.
It
is well known there are problems with the singularity idea.
The
big bang was not an explosion but a quick manifestation.
Sukadeva
Goswami was speaking to an audience composed of a variety of people,
but no one was inquiring about details. It appears he was giving a
summary for a general audience.
I
take it as a literal presentation. If that does not work, we can see
about other ways of seeing it.
When
you have the potter’s wheel analogy and the two motions, it gets
complex because of the 23.5 degree tilt. Sadaputa solved that by
taking Bhu-mandala as the ecliptic plane because otherwise you would
have to deal with the sun moving in a spiraling motion. Prana
Gauranga Prabhu explains the spiraling up and down motion of the sun
during the seasons. This is in addition to the movement of the whole
chariot.
The
purpose of the cosmological descriptions is to create faith, and we
should make sure we do this in our representations of it.
Ujjain
had a position of considerable importance in the field of Indian
astronomy. Great works on astronomy such as the Surya-siddhanta
and the Panch Siddhanta
were written there. According to Indian astronomers, the Tropic of
Cancer is supposed to pass through Ujjain. It is also the first
meridian of longitude of the Hindu geographers. From about the 4th
century B.C. Ujjain enjoyed the reputation of being a center of
learning as well and the Prime Meridian, like the ‘Greenwich’ of
the ancient world.
Pavaneshwar
Prabhu’s book, Bhagavata
Cosmology, is
based on a model of a follower of Madhvacarya named Vidaraja Tirtha
(1480–1600). He claims features such as Mount Meru, which we cannot
see, are composed of some kind of subtle imperceptible matter.
To
explain to our contemporaries the Bhagavata Cosmology, it is helpful
to hear how a great Vaishnava acarya
explained it to his contemporaries.
Loka
is defined as that which you can
perceive, which indicates that if you take birth in a certain place
you are endowed with the senses you need to perceive it.
The
Srimad-Bhagavatam presents
an actual description of the universe, Srila Prabhupada accepted it
that way, and he wanted us to present it that way in the TOVP.
Our
senses cannot necessary perceive it as it is.
This
can be presented directly or indirectly.
Generally
we should accept the direct meaning, although indirect meanings may
have value.
Sadaputa
Prabhu explained in a letter to Tamal Krishna Goswami that he
explained the universe in Mysteries
of the Sacred Universe the way he
did because he was worried that people would consider the Fifth Canto
cosmology to be mythological and thus reject the whole literature.
BI
is meant to preach to the scientists in their language. TOVP is to
attract all the people of the world to Mayapur.
You
need presentations both for people familiar with popular science and
for people who are experts in science.
TOVP
tends to focus on the presentations for those familiar with popular
science rather than presentations for professionals in science.
It
is important that in trying to relate how we see the universe in our
experience to the description of Bhu-mandala that we do not interpret
either in a trivial way.
I
personally think that the Srimad-Bhagavatam
describes the universe as Lord
Brahma sees it and only a very few other people. Even Agastya Muni
had to be especially empowered to see the seven islands and oceans.
I
see the Jyotisa Sastra describes
our experience.
The
goal is to make a model that has fidelity to the Bhagavatam.
Although
most of the audience is general, I think it is important to make sure
that the arguments are sophisticated enough so that intellectuals
appreciate them.
In
the west wing we will show the Puranic and Siddhantic models side by
side, and show how both work and are resonant. The main presentation
is the Bhagavata Cosmology as
described and modeled as it is as far as possible. In the history of
ISKCON, by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, people who were very
beginning artists were able, by his direction, to produce valuable
and accurate artistic representations.
They
have Graphic Guides done by Ph.D.s but for a general audience, thus a
Ph.D. can see they are accurate but a layman can understand them.
I see there are multiple ways Bhagavata Cosmology has been presented by serious devotees.
I see there are multiple ways Bhagavata Cosmology has been presented by serious devotees.
We
are not going to have an argument. We are going to have a discussion.
Sanskrit
is such a rich language one statement can have many meanings, all of
which can be considered direct and all of equal value.
It
is important we accurately represent the direct meaning in the model.
Still presenting material from commentaries is valuable.
There
can be several direct meanings as well as several indirect meanings.
We
do not experience some aspects of Bhu-mandala. Why? Maybe it is
hyperplane, a plane tangent to ours but in a higher dimension.
The
vertical direction could be explained as an extrusion of the
celestial sphere that is not a spatial transformation but an
elevation in the modes of material nature.
Going
to the subterranean heavens is like going into a casino. There is a
lot of opulence but also a lot of ignorance.
There
is a relationship between time and the modes. For example, in New
York City, which is in the mode of passion, time speeds up, while in
Upstate New York or in Maine, which is more in goodness, time slows
down.
Perhaps
we cannot perceive things because of different combinations of the
gunas.
Looking
at the same galaxy in different ways, you see different things.
Everyone,
including the scientists, knows we cannot perceive everything. We
have to explain why our senses cannot perceive certain things in
order to give a good explanation.
Clockwise
and anticlockwise movement of the sun involves hyperplanes.
Vishnu
Purana
divides Bharata-varsa into nine divisions, and only the last one is
inhabited by humans. It is encircled by a sea, and it is 1000
yojanas, which
is the size of the earth’s diameter. The experiences of the four
yugas are
limited to this region.
There
are different geometries that may used to describe features of the
Bhagavata
Cosmology.
When
we go into the Kali-yuga, we become more tamasic and thus less of the
universe is presently accessible to us as human beings than before.
Bhaktivinoda
Thakura in Tattva-viveka views
the different philosophies he was aware of from the point of view of
the paramahamsa.
We
should not immediately jump to appeal to supernatural explanations.
We should see how far we can go with other explanations first.
Carana
Renu Devi Dasi’s model:
CRdd’s
model uses a “Bhu-mandala floor” and a “rotating star dome,”
with a 10' Mt. Meru and Jambudvipa on Temple room floor. She suggests
placing Bilva-svarga, Ananta Sesa, and hells below the level of the
temple hall.
Belt
of the zodiac (ecliptic plane) at 23.4° tilt, thus Meru
lines up with the north polar axis. Planets, sun and moon orbit here, each on
their own tracks with their based on “simple observation.” Higher
regions to be artistically portrayed along the galleries or within
lower regions of the main dome.
Not
a chandelier model.
Exhibits:
present scientific explanations and connections with modern science.
Sadaputa
Prabhu’s model:
Equatorial
plane horizontal, small earth (1–2 in.) in center, connected to
Dhruvaloka mounted on ceiling, rotating rod for daily motion.
Bhu-mandala as the ecliptic plane, 23.5° tilt, rotates with rod but
also moves counterclockwise on its own track as proper motion. The
sun spiraling up and down will model the passing of the seasons, and
also accounts for day and night.
If
Bhu-mandala is physical,
must be subtle energy, invisible and intangible to senses, or perhaps
it is purely a geometrical model for describing celestial motion.
Two
Merus: Puranic: 84,000 yojanas
high in center of Jambudvipa. Surya-siddhanta:
1 yojana
high at North Pole.
Uses
Tiruvenkata Swami’s model for planetary orbits because it’s
supported by Vaishnava tradition, it harmonizes with model’s
structural details, good match with known astronomy.
Suggests
two levels:
-
chandelier suspended from the ceiling above deities
-
Bhu-mandala flat on floor, sun’s chariot on circular track, planets orbit the sun
Mystic
Universe:
Rsiraja
Prabhu offers
a semantic interpretation, along the lines of Rasaraja Prabhu’s
work, suggesting a new space time geometry. He does this by redefining
terms, e.g.:
-
Distance: the semantic distance between two objects or the time it takes to send information from one to another
-
Vertical dimension: successive stages of guna development through or different levels of abstraction
-
Oceans: disconnection between activities
-
Mountain: energy barrier or hardship in going from one domain to another
There
are difficulties correlating this model with scientific observation.
His
idea of relating distance to consciousness is useful. In fact one can
derive useful ‘golden nuggets’ from the works of such devotees,
even if one doesn’t agree with all their conclusions.
The
idea is that there are other geometries that can better explain what
we see in the Puranas.
Prahlada
Prabhu, Janmastami Prabhu’s son, was so outraged that any of his
friends believed that the earth was flat that
he brought his friends to a lake that
was nine miles long, and using a boat and a laser he was able to show
the curvature of the earth to their satisfaction.
There
were globe models that the Greeks had.
You
have to be careful to understand the difference between Bhu-mandala
and the earth under your feet, otherwise you can get absurd results.
I
never saw the TOVP as an entity unto itself. I did not see it that
way, and I do not think Srila Prabhupada saw it that way.
If
we present things in a mood of accommodating people it is a different
mood than explaining the veracity of something.
We
had conversations with Srila Prabhupada in the beginning before the
Fifth Canto was even printed for many, many hours, and I asked Srila
Prabhupada about what we did not understand. He wanted it to make
sense, and he was very concerned about that.
If
you need people to believe the model, you have a problem. If you do
not need people to believe it, you do not have a problem.
The
BI is meant to bring the ideas we have learned all these years into
the minds of incredibly intelligent people. Even if you get one guy
to think in a different way, you have done a lot.
The
real understanding of the sastra is
not a physical model but different qualities.
How
you interpret things very much depends on how you see things, not
that there is a single way of seeing things.
The
chandelier was meant just to show the planets.
The
chandelier is meant to be a thing of wonder. In the temple there are
meant to be levels of presentation of the universe meant to attract
us to go to the spiritual realm.
The
Madhvacarya followers in Udupi are the most learned Vaishnavas as far
as the cosmography is concerned. They have a developed mathematical
background.
Sridhara
Maharaja said, “Do not consider it is static. Everything is always
in motion.”
I
think that Srila Prabhupada realized that the task was inhuman and
thus, he once told Jayapataka Swami, “Make it smaller and just have
some planets flying above the deities.”
When
I was discussing with Sadaputa Prabhu, I suggested we have light
frequencies and sound frequencies for each planet which would provide
a concert and light show for the pleasure of the deity.
In
other temples, you see deities of the nine planets around the side of
the main deities but not above them.
Angkor
Wat is the model we had in those days. Other temples are modeled
after that.
There
was another idea of having a pyramid with a planetarium in it before
you come to the actual temple building.
Sadaputa
Prabhu saved practically every paper that crossed his desk, so we
have all kinds of materials from the history of Bhaktivedanta
Institute going back to its inception in the mid 1970s.
Sadaputa
Prabhu is right to bring attention to areas where modern and Vedic
astronomy ‘agree’. However Danavir Goswami is also right to
remind us that the ultimate authority for devotees is the Vedic
paradigm.
The
astrolabe in a museum in Geneva has Sanskrit inscriptions on it,
adding weight to Sadaputa Prabhu’s planisphere and astrolabe
models.
The
odds that the close correlation between the sizes of the concentric
rings of Bhu-mandala and the geocentric orbits of the solar system is
merely a coincidence is more than 10,000
to one against.
The
rings of Bhu-mandala relate to the geocentric orbits on the planets
in Phase Space.
The
geocentric orbit of Uranus was encoded in the Puranas,
yet it was not discovered by Western astronomers until 1781.
One
can accept both the Puranic and Siddhanta version of the universe,
even if they appear to contradict each other. They are from different
points of view, different levels of consciousness.
Encoded
into the Surya-siddhanta
are very close correlations with modern astronomy, especially when it
comes to the relative distances and the diameters of the planets.
There
are logarithmic maps of the universe. One was shared as an example of
the fact that perhaps the universe as a whole cannot be approached as
something restricted to linear space.
The
vertical dimension of the Vedic universe does not represent physical
/ linear distance in space.
Two
common themes:
The
demigods experience the universe differently from us.
There
are nonphysical aspects to the universe that we as devotees cannot
ignore.
Most
of Jambudvipa is a collection of heavenly realms which have karmic or
some other connections with the global earth we can perceive
(Bharata-varsa).
Together they form part of the Greater Earth as experienced by the
higher demigods.
The
traveling upward of 80,000 miles refers to the movement of the subtle
body. This accounts for the massive dimensions of the mountains of
Jambudvipa. It could be that heavenly realms are accessible from
various places within the mountainous regions of central Asia.
However only those with the qualification can use such gateways.
One
may require increasing higher qualification as one enters realms
nearer to Mt. Meru. Thus Jambudvipa is ‘stepped’.
The
lower planets can be reached by going within the earth, but they are
not necessarily within the earth physically. Rather there are
gateways to those realms under the earth.
You
can have a vertical graph ordering planets by temperature. It was
used as an example of how the vertical direction of the Vedic
universe is not in the sequence of the physical locations of planets.
An
example was given of a mother and child sitting close to each other
and meanwhile the teacher is further away. In terms of mental
capacity the mother has more in common with the teacher and is thus
closer in a subtle way. Similarly, the earth and moon are close to
each other physically, but in a subtle sense the sun is ‘nearer’
than the moon.
Perhaps
in mystic travel a yogi would encounter the sun before the moon.
The
Vedic universe was compared to an upside down cosmic tree, with the
single, original trunk in the highest part of the universe identified
as Lord Brahma’s abode.
The
demigods are seeing more dimensions than
we are.
It
could be that Brahma can see everything in the universe, but his
ongoing descendants see increasingly less and less of it. The higher
beings can see lower beings, but the lower beings cannot see them.
The more a being’s consciousness is focused on gross matter, the
further down the tree it is, and the less it can ‘see’.
Perhaps
planets have an additional dimension of ‘height’, i.e. places
like the moon and Venus have gross level identities which are
completely inhabitable, but in the higher more subtle dimension they
are heavenly worlds. It’s a little like comparing the ground
imprint of a two dimensional single side of a shape (its gross
identity) with the full three-dimensional shape (full identity).
To
travel from the earth to the heavenly aspect related to Venus (for
example), one would need to travel both through gross-linear space
as well as in another more subtle
way.
In
terms of sacred geometry, there are connections between Bhu-mandala
and yantras.
Also connections with vastu purusha
mandalas, temple architecture such
as Angkor Wat and the nine grahas.
It
was also brought to the devotees’ attention that Maha Meru is a
three-dimensional version of the Sri Yantra. Maha Meru includes Mt.
Meru at its top center,
which was used to support the proposal that Bhu-mandala is not
completely flat. It is only relatively flat in the context of its
role as the geocentric solar system. This was further supported by
sharing illustrations by Vaishnavas of the medieval period, who
represented Bhu-mandala as ‘stepped’ and leading up to Meru at
its center.
That type of progression, namely climbing steps of consciousness,
also exists in the Surya-siddhanta
and the Matsya Purana.
When
it comes to the heavenly dvipas
(planets) of Bhu-mandala (together with their exotic oceans), it was
argued that they belong to much higher vertical locations in the
universe but they may be accessible via gateways within this solar
system.
Some
realms in Bhu-mandala, such as Plaksadvipa do not have an orbital
relationship with a recognizable planet in the solar system. It could
be that it is a realm which exists on a much higher ‘vibration’
but has no planetary imprint on the gross sensory level.
Perhaps
a Bhu-mandala on the floor of the TOVP showing the geocentric
movements of the solar system would be wonderful.
Subterranean
planets could be represented underground.
Use
holograms. Updating exhibits would be easier, and guests, especially
the youth, would find use of the latest technology attractive.
I
see LA is like a subterranean heavenly planet.
Hitler
sent a whole expedition to Antarctica looking for the hollow earth.
Places
within the earth may be portals or gateways to lower planetary
systems.
Not
only within the earth but also on the surface of the earth. Bhima
entered the realm of the Nagas by going into the water. In Hawaii it
is said people enter other realms by entering volcanoes.
The
Righteous Mind is a great book I
recommend reading. We are not trying to change others’ minds but
achieve a mutual understanding. Keep in mind the difference between
details and principles.
Srila
Prabhupada asked me to rewrite the Fifth Canto. He was not joking. He
was talking about a future action. The ideas given in a book are a
representation of them. What we are hearing now is different from how
people were hearing them. I am not talking about the Sanskrit.
Usually when you hear “Prabhupada said to rewrite the Fifth Canto”,
you black out, thinking it is impossible. To do it, you have to think
about how to present it in our way of understanding. I do not like
the world “subtle” because it does not actually describe what we
want to say.
Prabhupada
I could talk to because he was more far out than all the rest of us
together. His experience was so vast he could relate to everything.
Once I sat next to Srila Prabhupada when he was singing a bhajana
and I experienced it with all my
five senses at once. He looked at me and smiled, appreciating my new
experience. If you have an experience then you can describe it
realistically not otherwise. We have problems if we limit ourselves
to the physical. People talk about different energetic dimensions.
Our advantage is that we can enter into energetic dimensions. The
change of perception makes understanding possible.
When
many people proposed cosmological models I recommended that we go
with Carana Renu’s model showing the sun moving through the rasis
because it was directly there in the
Bhagavatam. Sadaputa
has things not directly in the Bhagavatam
itself, and Antardvipa had stuff
from other Puranas. Danavira
Swami’s spherical earth off the coast of Jambudvipa is also not
directly there in the Bhagavatam.
We
have a problem in explaining a direct meaning if we start with our
experience of earth and relate it to Bhu-mandala because how do we
see our earth in the Bhagavatam?
I
include the material from bona fide Vaishnavas’ commentaries on the
Srimad-Bhagavatam. It
can fill in the gaps, but if it appears to disagree with Srila
Prabhupada’s version, we go with Srila Prabhupada’s version.
Brahmapuri
is 10 million yojanas, which
is larger than the top of Mount Meru itself. How do we understand
this?
Srila
Prabhupada accepted the direct meaning. It is simple. The planets
move east to west around Dhruva the pole star.
There
do appear to be irreconcilable differences. Another point is that if
you take Surya-siddhanta
and Srimad-Bhagavatam
material and weave it together, although the sources are direct, the
result is a personal interpretation and therefore no longer direct.
It
is a representation of the direct meaning. There is the example of
the village on the Ganges. It is not literally on the river itself.
I
feel it is impossible to say we have a direct meaning as there will
always be a degree of interpretation in it. The ideas of who we are,
where we are, and how to get out are also direct meanings. There can
be other indirect meanings that do not detract from the direct
meaning but enhance our greater appreciation of God’s creation.
We
are trying to make the best presentation possible to the groups we
hope to reach.
Sastra
has volume while we just see in 2D. The acarya
can see the extra dimensions. Srila Prabhupada gave the direct
meaning which we should follow as far as possible.
If
we see a sphere coming through a plane, we see different sized
circles. Which is right? Unless we are previously given knowledge
that it is a sphere, we cannot say.
We
hope to create an experience for the public. I feel with the mandate
comes the ability to manifest it.
If
we are humble, cooperative, and connected, empowerment becomes
possible. Through cooperation we can avoid synthesizing direct
sources in a way that misinterprets them.
Brahma
is instructed in yoga-nidra, but
when he wakes up he does not recall it. Ultimately he does penance
and he is inspired by Krishna, and he sees everything in his heart.
Radhika
Ramana Prabhu, who is a great scholar, always makes the point that if
the direct meaning does not make sense, then we have to go to
indirect meanings. The Bhagavatam
describes Bhu-mandala both as
the equatorial plane and as the ecliptic plane, and that does not
make sense.
There
are many direct interpretations in the Bhagavatam.
How do we determine which to choose?
The
only way is purifying ourselves and working together.
We
can dovetail peer review in Krishna consciousness.
Srila
Prabhupada wanted us to show that the Bhagavatam
is good science. Surya-siddhanta
is a good tool for us because Srila Prabhupada suggested it.
All
use of language is subjective to some degree. For example, whether a
meaning can be classed as literal or not, depends upon the context
and the culture of the users. One must also consider the multiple
meanings of English words themselves. For example, to a geologist the
word mountain
means a ‘massive mound of rock’ but the inhabitants of an ancient
valley community might immediately understand that the text is
referring to a type of ‘huge boundary’.
The
work of the BI is not to judge the chandelier model but suggest it
may not be set in stone.
It
is not Vaishnava to condemn science but only its neglect of the
Supreme Lord.
Srila
Prabhupada wanted us to bring God back into science.
We
have an awful lot of work to do, and not enough for one conference or
a series of conferences, but it will take generations to do it all.
Srila
Prabhupada wanted BI devotees to clarify the presentation in the
TOVP, and this has always been understood by the managers of the TOVP
project. Originally it was all the BI devotees, but later Sadaputa
Prabhu came forward and applied his talents to the cosmology. Then he
was gone, and there was no other clear BI group focused on cosmology
until this Gainesville group formed. Originally there was a single
Mayapur TOVP group. Now Ambarisa is working on part, and Jayapataka
Maharaja is working on another. It is important to understand that we
are the current voice of this line of a tradition that has been going
on for sometime, and it is a great responsibility. We take the
knowledge we have received, present it according to our ability, and
hand the ball to the next team. It is not a new project. We have a
new audience. We want to be loyal to our tradition.
Before
the TOVP during Srila Prabhupada’s time, there was an idea of
presenting exhibits with scientific devotees’ input.
Our
material needs should not over endeavored for, but for spiritual
service, however, there is no limit to the endeavor.
Our
ultimate goal is we have a Radha Madhava temple, and we want people
to appreciate it.
I
have stressed that the chandelier be modular and changeable.
One
leading devotee mentioned that he had doubts about a mechanical model
in light of advancing technology.
The
Bhagavata Cosmology is describing a real structure. There are
positions for people of different consciousness.
Formerly
scientists
did not understand there are living entities with bodies living 8,000
meters beneath the sea.
Why
don’t we see Mount Meru? We do not have access to that location. It
is not a question of a suitable telescope as it
is in
another dimension.
Bhugola
is such we cannot see beyond it. We are earth bound. We cannot see
beyond the sixteen elements.
Dealing
with this issue will force us to understand deeper what we as
conditioned jivas can
perceive.
Just
because you cannot see something does not mean it does not exist or
that it is a different substance.
Srila
Prabhupada used the analogy of a bull tied to a post to our being
limited in what we can see.
Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura said not to reject the Bhagavatam
because it does not know astronomy.
I
see our not seeing things as being like on a web site that a pay wall
may block one from seeing different aspects of the web site.
We
cannot really definitely say if that which is beyond the pay wall is
of the same nature or a different nature as what we presently
experience.
I
think we have to explain the whole nature of maya,
and why the living entities are
conditioned differently.
One
devotee explains that on the different levels of the universe there
are different percentages of the eight elements in the bodies of the
residents there.
We
have to research our own metaphysics. Atmatattva tells a story of a
person who went into meditation, and saw mountainous beings who said,
“You are not supposed to be here.” Then he found his meditation
broke and he could not get back to that place.
Most
is beyond our conception though not all.
Sadaputa
made the point that Lokaloka Mountain is said to be the limit of
grahas
(planets with astrological meaning) visible to the naked eye, and
that is just beyond the orbit of Saturn. In this context, Lokaloka
may not be a physical rocky mountain, but a mountain in the sense
that it is a type of boundary in space.
Understanding
the relationship of the Lord with the universe is the beginning of
Krishna consciousness.
I
think this verse sums it up: “My dear King, I have now described
for you this planet earth, other planetary systems, and their lands
[varsas],
rivers and mountains. I have also described the sky, the oceans, the
lower planetary systems, the directions, the hellish planetary
systems and the stars. These constitute the virat-rupa,
the gigantic material form of the Lord, on which all living entities
repose. Thus I have explained the wonderful expanse of the external
body of the Lord.” (SB 5.26.40) The message is to show where we are
in the universe, so we understand we are part of something greater.
Sadaputa
says in his purpose of the BI lecture, the first of the Origins series, that the purpose of the BI is to present aspects of science
to attract the scientists and to give engagement to scientific minded
devotees.
I
see it is all about engaging people. Knowledge not static but
dynamic.
I
have a mandate. I have to do this very seriously. Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura conceived of a theistic exhibition, and he was one
of the greatest astronomers. It is the first time for something of
this magnitude. It is the fulfillment of the mission. All relevant
science for human progress is to be found in Srimad-Bhagavatam.
The more we can show that, the more
we can change the face of the earth. Srila Prabhupada prophesied
this. He said it will achieve more than Columbus.
The
Bhagavata Cosmology is an attack on the materialistic concept. It is
a test for us to get past, a rite of passage, or a filter system. It
appears in the middle of the Bhagavatam,
and it prepares us to accept Krishna
in the later cantos.
We
should bear in mind that audiences in previous times would have been
able to appreciate the underlying metaphysics and this would have
enabled them to conceive of the Bhu-mandala description as the
virat-rupa
much more clearly perhaps than we do.
The
Fifth Canto shows where we can go after this life, and gives us the
option of stopping the repeated births. Because it is so far out, it
has been difficult and somewhat impossible for some people to be
Krishna conscious. Srila Prabhupada was aware of this and wanted us
to make it more understandable and to seem more feasible.
It
is meant to show the Lord is glorified all over the universe. I see
this is along the lines of Brhad-bhagavatamrita.
The
key is to build the faith of the viewers. If we are unable to do this
it will be too easy for people to take it as mythological and reject
it.
Just
reading Srimad-Bhagavatam is
an act of devotion and leads us to transcendence. We are churning
this, and we do not know what will come out. Some poison, some
nectar. Now that we have achieved humanity, we can inquire about the
Absolute Truth. If through our models, we can inspire people to
inquire about the Absolute Truth, that is our success. We do not need
to give people answers but the means to find the answers themselves.
Personalism
is one contribution we have, in relation to ourselves, the cosmos,
and Krishna. This has to shake your soul. When you leave, you will
become a new person, having changed for the better. And the time
could not be better. Previously people did not consider animals had
consciousness . . .
One
anti-cult book said that the Hare Krishnas believe God lies on a bed
of water and breathes out millions of universes. They thought it was
evil, but I thought it was cool. Now scientists are talking about
multiple universes. I see the Fifth Canto is the demigods for a
moment exposing their world to us, and we are shocked by it, just as
Yashoda was shocked to see the universe in Krishna’s mouth.
I
think we should think about what we can do for the TOVP, not what the
TOVP can do for us.
We
have an entry level, three floors of exhibits, and a dome theater.
Originally we will start with one floor of exhibits and the dome
theater because we will not be able to get it all ready by the
opening day.
I
think the abbreviated version will deal with mostly the philosophical
exhibits which the BI is not so essential for.
We
have an initial outline for all the exhibits. The three floors deal
with
1.
consciousness and the soul
2.
evolution
3.
cosmology
I
favor doing full development and producing virtual reality models of
the exhibits. Among other things that will motivate people to
contribute to it. This should go on intensively and continually.
The
BI needs to be fairly assertive and practical in order to get its
points and objectives across to the TOVP team.
I
had low expectations and high hopes so no disappointments.
I
think we should make a book for the BBT and put all we discussed in
it for the benefit of the devotees.
Although
you cannot point to a lot of practical things, I would say that we
are building relationships that are very important for this project,
and on the foundation of these relationships we will make progress
toward the goals that Srila Prabhupada wanted.
I
feel it was very important to discuss these important issues with
people who have actually considered them.
This
is not something we are doing which is necessary to attain love of
God. It is something for us who have an interest in doing it.
-----
When
I try to sell Sri
Isopanisad, I
show people verses one and two. I say the book explains how we can
have peace in this world. Sometimes the people buy it. Unfortunate
people who are not satisfied with their God-given quota cause trouble
to themselves and others by stealing as indicated here, but God
conscious people, satisfied with what God as given, have time to work
for the benefit of others. If everyone in human society took these
verses seriously, we would live in a very peaceful world.
isavasyam
idam sarvam
yat
kiñca jagatyam jagat
tena
tyaktena bhuñjitha
ma
grdhah kasya svid dhanam
kurvann
eveha karmani
jijivisec
chatam samah
evam
tvayi nanyatheto ’sti
na
karma lipyate nare
“Everything
animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and
owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things
necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one
should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.
One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes
on working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to
the law of karma. There is no alternative to this way for man.”
(Sri
Isopanisad, Texts
1 and 2)