Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 11
By Krishna Kripa Das
(June 2020, part one)
(June 2020, part one)
Tallahassee
Where I Went and What I Did
I continued staying in Tallahassee and chanting Hare Krishna three hours every day on the porch, except for a few rainy days when we chanted inside, and I posted videos on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/krishnakripa.das). One neighbor, who is a musician, played with us for the second time.
As a result of putting the videos of our porch kirtans on YouTube, my channel (http://youtube.com/user/Krishnakripadas) did very well in May, gaining 2,928 subscribers, 597,112 views, and 986,972 minutes viewed, each figure double the value for April. This is amazing because practically all my videos are just people chanting Hare Krishna at different venues.
There have only been 8 deaths due to the Covid-19 virus in Leon County, Florida (population 291,247), where our Tallahassee temple is, while in Albany County, New York (population 307,717), the county in which I was born, there have been 120 deaths. Even compared to other places in Florida, the death rate due to Covid-19 here is much less. I wonder if Krishna is protecting us because of our daily harinama-sankirtana. If I want to stay safe, at least from Covid-19, I should stay here.
I share notes on the lectures and books of Srila Prabhupada. I share notes on the “Uddhava Gita” section of the Eleventh Canto, with Krishna’s personal instructions which even surpass His Bhagavad-gita, and with a commentary by Srila Prabhupada’s humble servants. I share excerpts from several books by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and one each of Devamrita Swami and Rajasekhara Prabhu. I share notes on recorded lectures by Janananda Goswami, Radhanath Swami, and Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu and on live lectures by Jayadvaita Swami and Sundara Lala Prabhu. I share notes on lectures by Malati Devi Dasi and Kadamba Kanana Swami from the New York Virtual Ratha-yatra. I share notes on local lectures by Kumari Sakhi Devi Dasi and Bhakta Daniel.
Thanks to the New York State Department of Labor for their contribution.
Many, many thanks to Daniel for taking several quite nice videos of our chanting party with my encouragement. Special thanks to Keli Vrndavan Devi Dasi, who shared almost all my harinama videos on Facebook.
Itinerary
March 23–June 30?: Tallahassee temple porch harinamas
December 5: Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa-puja
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
Here is our temple community in Tallahassee. From left to right, in back are Bhakta Chris and Bhakta Daniel, and in front Dharmaraja Prabhu (our cook), myself, Brajananda Prabhu (our temple president), Kumari Sakhi Devi Dasi (Brajananda Prabhu’s wife), and Bhaktin Linda (the mother of Chris). They are all willing to participate in harinama, and they are posing with the instruments they most often play, except Brajananda Prabhu, who usually plays harmonium, mrdanga, or guitar, and Kumari Sakhi Devi Dasi, who usually plays the harmonium or the mrdanga.
Here Chris, our most enthusiastic drummer, chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch in Tallahassee, Linda, our most enthusiastic singer of the response, plays the karatalas, and I play harmonium and dance (https://youtu.be/ziKrkiVXIrw):
I always feel more comfortable dancing.
Kumari Sakhi Devi Dasi chants a lively Hare Krishna tune at Krishna Lunch in Tallahassee (https://youtu.be/d4Hi-ltuTvY):
Kumari Sakhi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna, and Freddy, a visiting devotee, en route to Tampa, responds (https://youtu.be/I9WOSs_lo7o):
Brajananda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Krishna Lunch in Tallahassee (https://youtu.be/UFoRhS6VRhc):
Here I lead the Hare Krishna chant and Camilo of Haiti, who lives next door, plays with us for the second time, this time on a special type of box drum, one of five instruments he has at home, while Jorge sings the response and dances (https://youtu.be/VxIZxH6Sl_g):
Earlier that day, while Daniel was chanting Hare Krishna, Camilo played on a pipe instrument that is struck with a mallet (https://youtu.be/a-WMS6rlK8I):
Devotees here were burning out on the lockdown and some were planning to sneak off to the springs. Brajananda Prabhu decided it was better to take us to the beach instead, which is much safer because it is less crowded, especially on a Monday. I never go to the beach, but I like to do harinama in different places, so I decided to go and have a one-hour harinama on the beach. Some people may consider going to the beach a bit frivolous and think it might be maya, but in proofreading Prabhupada in South India recently, I encountered this quote from Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, Volume 5, Chapter 38, where Srila Prabhupada supports it:
“Nanda-kumara: Srila Prabhupada would tell us to go bathe in the ocean. ‘Go to the beach,’ he would say. So one day I asked him, ‘Srila Prabhupada, whenever I go down to the beach, the sun is warm on my body, the water feels so good, the sand – it seems like such a comfortable material situation. How should I understand your reason for asking us to go to the beach? I know the spiritual master never gives the disciple anything that will cause him to become materially attached but always gives him whatever he needs to remember Krishna. But when I go to the beach, it seems I just enjoy my senses. How can I relate that to Krishna? How can I understand that this instruction is for my spiritual benefit?’
Prabhupada said, ‘The sun is there – Krishna is the light of the sun. The ocean is there – Krishna is the taste of water. You are surrounded by Krishna. How can you forget Krishna? He is all around you.’”
Brajananda Prabhu brought his ukulele to play on the beach there at Alligator Point on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and he led kirtan for some of the time (https://youtu.be/F0jc-WvWT1o):
When we first got to the beach and began playing, one guy came up to us because he saw we had brought instruments, and he wanted to hear us play. He took an “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlet, and listened for a few minutes with a couple of friends, until the rest of his party arrived to drag him off.
I share statistics of our harinamas the first half of June.
We had more views than the first half of May,
but not quite as many as its second half.
Note: The second line for 06/15/20 is our harinama at the beach.
Mitra Prabhu advised Brajananda Prabhu to put a box garden or two on our front
lawn, and so he started with one. It includes both flowers and vegetables.
lawn, and so he started with one. It includes both flowers and vegetables.
Many of the people who come to order lunch from us enjoy looking at it.
Here Brajananda Prabhu shows our first zucchinis.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 13.138, purport:
“Only when the mind is free from designations can one desire the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The mind must have some occupation. If a person is to be free of material things, his mind cannot be vacant; there must be subject matters for thinking, feeling and willing. Unless one’s mind is filled with thoughts of Krishna, feelings for Krishna and a desire to serve Krishna, the mind will be filled with material activities. Those who have given up all material activities and have ceased thinking of them should always retain the ambition to think of Krishna. Without Krishna, one cannot live, just as a person cannot live without some enjoyment for his mind.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 13.147, purport:
“Srimati Radharani did not express Her personal unhappiness at being separated from Krishna. She wanted to evoke Krishna’s feelings for the condition of all the others in Vrindavan-dhama — mother Yasoda, Maharaja Nanda, the cowherd boys, the gopis, the birds and bees on the banks of the Yamuna, the water of the Yamuna, the trees, the forests and all the other paraphernalia associated with Krishna before He left Vrindavan for Mathura. These feelings of Srimati Radharani were manifested by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and therefore He invited Lord Jagannatha, Krishna, to return to Vrindavan. That is the purport of the Ratha-yatra car’s going from Jagannatha Puri to the Gundica temple.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 13.160:
“Lord Sri Krishna said: ‘Devotional service unto Me is the only way to attain Me. My dear gopis, whatever love and affection you have attained for Me by good fortune is the only reason for My returning to you.’” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.82.44]
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 14.16, purport:
“Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has particularly bestowed upon all fallen souls in this age the most potent method of devotional service — sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy name — and whoever takes to it through the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is immediately elevated to the transcendental position. As Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.32) recommends, yajñaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah.”
“Even a little of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy serves as a great asset for spiritual advancement. Therefore the Krishna consciousness movement must be spread through the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”
“Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s special mission is the deliverance of all fallen souls in Kali-yuga. Devotees of Krishna must persistently seek the favor and mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to become fit to return home, back to Godhead.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 14.18, purport:
“The greatest achievement for a devotee is to become a servant of the servants of the Lord. Actually, no one should desire to become the direct servant of the Lord. That is not a very good idea. When Prahlada Maharaja was offered a benediction by Nrisimhadeva, Prahlada rejected all kinds of material benedictions, but he prayed to become the servant of the servants of the Lord. When Dhruva Maharaja was offered a benediction by Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods, Dhruva could have asked for unlimited material opulence, but he simply asked for the benediction of becoming the servant of the servants of the Lord. Kholaveca Sridhara was a very poor man, but when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to give him a benediction, he also prayed to the Lord to be allowed to remain a servant of the servants of the Lord. The conclusion is that being the servant of the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the highest benediction one can desire.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 14.45, purport:
“Devotional service begins with sravanam kirtanam; therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised the beggars to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra for elevation to the transcendental position. On the transcendental platform, there is no distinction between the rich, the middle class and the poor.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 14.72:
“Three times daily — morning, noon and evening — He [Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu] would perform sankirtana in the yard of the Gundica temple.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 15.41, purport:
"Whatever one’s position, everyone in this Age of Kali needs to be enlightened in Krishna consciousness. That is the greatest need of the day. Everyone is acutely feeling the pangs of material existence. Even in the ranks and files of the American Senate, the pinpricks of material existence are felt, so much so that April 30, 1974, was actually set aside as Prayer Day. Thus everyone is feeling the resultant pinpricks of Kali-yuga brought about by human society’s indulging in illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. Now is the time for the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to distribute krishna-bhakti all over the world and thus follow the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu."
From class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.47–48 on Oct. 6, 1976 in Vrindavan:
“This is Vaishnava, that ‘I am the lowest of the human being.’ Just like Caitanya-caritamrita author, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, he said,
purisera kita haite muñi se laghistha
jagai madhai haite muñi se papistha
[Cc. Ādi 5.205]
Jagai-Madhai, he was considered to be very sinful. ‘I am more sinful than Jagai-Madhai.’ Jagai madhai haite muñi se papistha. And my position? Purisera kita haite muñi se laghistha: ‘The worm in the stool, he has got some position, but I am lower than that.’
Mora nama yei laya tara punya ksaya [Cc. Ādi 5.206].
‘Anyone who takes my name, whatever little asset he has got on account of pious activities, he will lose it.’
In this way... This is not artificial. A Vaishnava thinks like that. A Vaishnava like Kaviraja Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami, they always think like that. That is Vaishnava. They never think that he is very advanced. Never.”
“‘My cittah, my consciousness, is always absorbed in the thought of Your glorification. Therefore I am not at all happy [unhappy].’
‘You are not unhappy in spite of so much tribulation given by your father?’
‘Yes. I’m not at all.’
This is Vaishnava. He cannot be unhappy. We see that Prahlada Maharaja was put into so much trouble by his father. Even, even this Draupadi, she was put into so much trouble – immediately, her sons are killed. But she is..., actually she is not unhappy. This is Vaishnava. Vaishnava cannot be unhappy in any circumstances.”
“If you become situated in Krishna consciousness, then you'll be so satisfied that in any circumstances nobody will be able to give you any trouble. This is Vaishnava.”
“If you once become merged into the nectarean of chanting the holy name of Krishna, then you’ll always remain happy. There is no doubt about it.”
“A Vaishnava has personally no distress. Anywhere he can sit down and chant Hare Krishna, read Srimad-Bhagavatam. And where is his difficulty?”
“Vaishnava is not satisfied that ‘Because I have no problem, I can chant anywhere and enjoy.’ No. Still, Vaishnava takes the risk. As Prahlada Maharaja said, that ‘I do not wish to go alone to Vaikuntha or anywhere, my Lord, unless I can deliver all these rascals.’ This is Vaishnava.”
“They are making skyscraper building, but there is no happiness. It is simply a, what is called, a gorgeous arrangement only. Otherwise, there is not a drop of happiness.”
“So Vaishnava is not aggrieved or distressed for personal interest, and Vaishnava is always feeling how others will be happy. Therefore Krishna is very, very satisfied with the Vaishnava.”
From Krishna, Chapter 81:
“The Lord fulfills the desire of everyone according to his position, yet one who is not in Krishna consciousness considers all the gifts of the Lord to be less than his desire.”
From a lecture at the Ladies Club in Visakhapatnam on February 20, 1972:
“Those who are talking about Krishna and those who are hearing about Krishna, both of them are benefited. It doesn’t matter whether he understands or not . . . So the purpose is that this Krishna consciousness movement is hearing and chanting about Krishna. The shortcut is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. So anyone who chants this Hare Krishna and anyone who hears Hare Krishna, both of them are benefited.”
The humble servants of Srila Prabhupada:
[The speaker in the verses in this section is Lord Krishna Himself, and the speaker in the purports is the servant of Srila Prabhupada, who wrote them based on the commentaries of the saints in the lineage in which Srila Prabhupada appeared.]
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.5, purport:
“The Vedic literatures are full of descriptions of piety and sin, but Lord Krishna’s statement that one should transcend piety and sin is also to be understood as Vedic knowledge. Sri Uddhava has understood this point and therefore requests Lord Krishna to clear up an apparent contradiction. Ultimately, the material world gives the living entities a chance to satisfy their perverted desires and at the same time gradually achieve the liberation of going back home, back to Godhead. Thus material piety must be considered a means and never an absolute end, since the material world itself is not absolute, being temporary and limited. The Personality of Godhead is Himself the reservoir of all virtue and goodness. Those persons and activities that please the Lord are to be considered virtuous, and those that displease Him are to be considered sinful. There cannot be any other permanent definition of these terms. If one becomes a mundane moralist, forgetting the Supreme Lord, one’s position is certainly imperfect, and one will not achieve the ultimate goal of piety, going back home, back to Godhead. On the other hand, there is great fear among moralists that if the distinction between piety and sin is minimized, people will commit many atrocities in the name of God. In the modern world there is no clear understanding of spiritual authority, and moral men consider any appeal to transcend morality to be an invitation to fanaticism, anarchy, violence and corruption. Thus they regard material moral principles as more important than directly trying to please God. Because this point is controversial, Uddhava is anxiously requesting the Lord to give a clear explanation.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.7–8:
“Among these three paths, jñana-yoga, the path of philosophical speculation, is recommended for those who are disgusted with material life and are thus detached from ordinary, fruitive activities. Those who are not disgusted with material life, having many desires yet to fulfill, should seek perfection through the path of karma-yoga. If somehow or other by good fortune one develops faith in hearing and chanting My glories, such a person, being neither disgusted with nor very much attached to material life, should achieve perfection through the path of loving devotion to Me.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.9:
“As long as one is not satiated by fruitive activity and has not awakened his taste for devotional service by sravanam kirtanam vishnoh, one has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.9, purport:
“Srila Jiva Gosvami points out in this regard that when a person fully surrenders to Lord Krishna, he takes shelter of the Lord’s promise to liquidate all other responsibilities and debts of the surrendered soul. The devotee thus becomes fearless by meditating on the Lord’s promise of protection. Those, however, who are materially attached are frightened by the prospect of full surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thereby revealing their inimical mentality toward the Lord.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.11:
“One who is situated in his prescribed duty, free from sinful activities and cleansed of material contamination, in this very life obtains transcendental knowledge or, by fortune, devotional service unto Me.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.12:
“The residents of both heaven and hell desire human birth on the earth planet because human life facilitates the achievement of transcendental knowledge and love of Godhead, whereas neither heavenly nor hellish bodies efficiently provide such opportunities.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.15–16:
“Without attachment, a bird gives up the tree in which his nest was constructed when that tree is cut down by cruel men who are like death personified, and thus the bird achieves happiness in another place. Knowing that one’s duration of life is being similarly cut down by the passing of days and nights, one should be shaken by fear. In this way, giving up all material attachment and desire, one understands the Supreme Lord and achieves perfect peace.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.17:
“The human body, which can award all benefit in life, is automatically obtained by the laws of nature, although it is a very rare achievement. This human body can be compared to a perfectly constructed boat having the spiritual master as the captain and the instructions of the Personality of Godhead as favorable winds impelling it on its course. Considering all these advantages, a human being who does not utilize his human life to cross the ocean of material existence must be considered the killer of his own soul.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.18:
“A transcendentalist, having become disgusted and hopeless in all endeavors for material happiness, completely controls the senses and develops detachment. By spiritual practice he should then fix the mind on the spiritual platform without deviation.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.21:
“An expert horseman, desiring to tame a headstrong horse, first lets the horse have his way for a moment and then, pulling the reins, gradually places the horse on the desired path. Similarly, the supreme yoga process is that by which one carefully observes the movements and desires of the mind and gradually brings them under full control.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.26:
“It is firmly declared that the steady adherence of transcendentalists to their respective spiritual positions constitutes real piety and that sin occurs when a transcendentalist neglects his prescribed duty. One who adopts this standard of piety and sin, sincerely desiring to give up all past association with sense gratification, is able to subdue materialistic activities, which are by nature impure.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.27–28 :
“Having awakened faith in the narrations of My glories, being disgusted with all material activities, knowing that all sense gratification leads to misery, but still being unable to renounce all sense enjoyment, My devotee should remain happy and worship Me with great faith and conviction. Even though he is sometimes engaged in sense enjoyment, My devotee knows that all sense gratification leads to a miserable result, and he sincerely repents such activities.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.29:
“When an intelligent person engages constantly in worshiping Me through loving devotional service as described by Me, his heart becomes firmly situated in Me. Thus all material desires within the heart are destroyed.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.31:
“Therefore, for a devotee engaged in My loving service, with mind fixed on Me, the cultivation of knowledge and renunciation is generally not the means of achieving the highest perfection within this world.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.31, purport:
“The Lord has explicitly declared in the previous verses that a devotee should not try to solve his lingering problems by means other than devotional service. Although a sincere devotee has surrendered heart and soul in loving service to the Lord, there may be lingering material attachments that prevent the devotee from perfectly realizing transcendental knowledge. Devotional service, however, will automatically eradicate such lingering attachments in due course of time. If the devotee tries to purify himself through cultivation of knowledge and renunciation which fall outside the scope of devotional service, there is danger of his being deviated from the Lord’s lotus feet and falling down completely from the transcendental path. One who endeavors for purification outside the loving service of the Lord has not actually understood the transcendental potency of bhakti-yoga and does not appreciate the extent of Lord Krishna’s mercy.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.36:
“Material piety and sin, which arise from the good and evil of this world, cannot exist within My unalloyed devotees, who, being free from material hankering, maintain steady spiritual consciousness in all circumstances. Indeed, such devotees have achieved Me, the Supreme Lord, who am beyond anything that can be conceived by material intelligence.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.36, purport:
“A momentary falldown by a sincere devotee of the Lord cannot change the Lord’s feelings toward such a person. Even an ordinary father or mother quickly excuses a momentary transgression by their child. Just as children and parents enjoy mutual love, the Lord’s surrendered servants enjoy a loving relationship with the Lord. An unpremeditated, accidental falldown is quickly excused by the Lord, and all members of society must share in the Lord’s own feelings, excusing such a sincere devotee. An advanced devotee should not be branded as materialistic or sinful because of accidental falldown. A devotee immediately returns to the platform of saintly service and begs the Lord’s forgiveness. However, one who permanently remains in a fallen condition can no longer be accepted as a highly elevated devotee of the Lord.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.20.37:
“Persons who seriously follow these methods of achieving Me, which I have personally taught, attain freedom from illusion, and upon reaching My personal abode they perfectly understand the Absolute Truth.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.21.2, purport:
“A pure devotee engaged exclusively in the Lord’s service should not be criticized, but a devotee whose devotional service is mixed with material qualities may be corrected so that he can rise to the platform of pure devotional service.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.21.6, purport:
“Just as a doctor deals with a crazy man by speaking to him sympathetically in terms of his false conception of life, one who understands the Vedic literature engages the living entities according to their illusory identification with the elements of matter.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.21.9, purport:
“Political, social or economic disturbances that obstruct the execution of one’s religious duties are considered inauspicious times.”
“Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Ṭhakura explains that the most auspicious of all times is the moment one achieves the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one neglects the loving service of the Lord, being carried away by sense gratification, he is certainly living in most inauspicious times. Therefore that moment in which one achieves the association of the Supreme Lord or the Lord’s pure devotee is the most auspicious time, whereas the moment of losing such association is most inauspicious. In other words, the perfection of life is simply Krishna consciousness, by which one transcends the dualities of time and space caused by the three modes of material nature.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.21.14, purport:
“But by Krishna consciousness, remembrance of the Personality of Godhead, one can actually uproot one’s tendency to act against the will of the Absolute Truth. Then one becomes freed from the clutches of maya and goes back home, back to Godhead. As stated in the Garuda Purana:
apavitrah pavitro va
sarvavastham gato ’pi va
yah smaret pundarikaksam
sa bahyabhyantare sucih
‘Whether one is pure or contaminated, and regardless of one’s external situation, simply by remembering the lotus-eyed Personality of Godhead one can internally and externally cleanse one’s existence.’”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.21.18:
“By refraining from a particular sinful or materialistic activity, one becomes freed from its bondage. Such renunciation is the basis of religious and auspicious life for human beings and drives away all suffering, illusion and fear.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.21.21, purport:
“One whose consciousness is absorbed in the nonexistent becomes himself practically nonexistent.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.21.24, purport:
“Activities performed in ignorance are beneficial neither for oneself nor others, just as the charitable activities one may perform in a dream bestow no tangible benefit on real people. The conditioned soul is dreaming of a world separate from God, but any advancement experienced in this dream world is merely hallucination.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.21.43:
“I am the ritualistic sacrifice enjoined by the Vedas, and I am the worshipable Deity. It is I who am presented as various philosophical hypotheses, and it is I alone who am then refuted by philosophical analysis. The transcendental sound vibration thus establishes Me as the essential meaning of all Vedic knowledge. The Vedas, elaborately analyzing all material duality as nothing but My illusory potency, ultimately completely negate this duality and achieve their own satisfaction.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Free Write Journal #94:
“I listened to the Govardhana Retreats. It was Sacinandana Swami’s turn. He didn’t speak at all but led a lead-and-response kirtana for 30–40 minutes. Like Madhava, he asked the audience to ‘chant from the heart,’ and he was chanting from the heart. I don’t get a chance much to join in kirtanas, since I stay in the house, and, anyway, with the coronavirus restrictions there are no kirtana gatherings. So it was nice listening to this very sincere kirtaniya, Sacinandana Maharaja, pouring out the maha-mantra and encouraging devotees to chant louder and more focused. It was as good as any lecture. Often he talks about the holy name and its importance, but now he was demonstrating it by actual chanting. I settled back and joined the chorus. On and on in waves of bliss. Sometimes he’d say, ‘One more time,’ but then he would not stop. He kept on going. He had the microphone, but you could hear the large crowd of devotees in the background, men’s and women’s voices.
“Years ago, I traveled throughout my GBC zone, making a presentation of kirtana. I played a recording of Prabhupada leading a kirtana with his standard tune and the devotees responding. In each place I went, the devotees there responded live to Prabhupada’s recorded kirtana. Everyone enjoyed it, and some said it was the best kirtana they had had.”
“We have been tolerating the parade of heavy-duty manure trucks passing by constantly on the road outside our window. Now, it may have stopped. But yesterday we had to tolerate the onset of a heat wave. I had fans and an A/C unit in my room. But downstairs when I went for “Krishna lunch,” it was 90°F (32°C) in the kitchen. People are always complaining about the weather, and every season there’s something wrong. Prabhupada writes that the enjoyment of material life and living in Krishna consciousness go ill together. So devotees practice austerities such as fasting on Ekadasis and days of the Supreme Lord’s appearance like Janmastami, Gaura Purnima and Rama Navami. Many of the qualities of a Vaishnava involve tolerance and austerities, peacefulness, control of the senses and the mind, etc. Prabhupada commends women for their tolerance during pregnancy and for their patience and forbearance after the children are actually born.
From Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam, Volume 1:
“Thank you, Prabhupada, for thinking of these verses [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.17–19] and for persistently trying give us your Lord’s message. I am personally thankful because I was lost, purposeless, without You. I was swirling around like trash in water, about to be swept down the gutter of a city street and into the sewer.”
From Here Is Srila Prabhupada:
“O Prabhupada, I thought by coming out here and walking in these hills it would be somehow easier to focus on you. Meditation on you is elusive. It’s not that you are elusive, but my honest devotion for you seems to ebb and flow. I continue serving you out of duty, but I am hankering to serve you out of a steady love.
“I know, ultimately, duty is performed out of love too. That’s vaidhi-bhakti. I get out of bed early in the morning not out of spontaneous love, but because I want to please you. I try to surrender my intelligence to you because I trust you to lead me forward in Krishna consciousness. You are not forcing me, I am forcing myself. But, Srila Prabhupada, isn’t this a sign that I love you?
“I am searching for you, Srila Prabhupada, just as the Six Gosvamis searched for Radha and Krishna. You told us that the Gosvamis were never fulfilled in their search for Radha-Krishna. They never felt that they had finally seen Them and the goal had been achieved. But rather, they were always thinking, ‘Where is Krishna, where is Radharani? Are they over on Govardhana? Are they by the river Yamuna?’ In intense anticipation they were always crying out, ‘Krishna, Radhe!’
“I am not saying that my feelings are the same as the Six Gosvamis’, but at least I can recognize that they are spiritual. They are feelings of separation. Sometimes my feelings of separation take the form of feeling separate not only from the beloved person, but from my feelings about the beloved person. I mean, sometimes my groping is actually out of forgetfulness of the true love and the true connection that I do have with you, Srila Prabhupada. I can see with regret that I have chased yet another illusion rather than pursuing my love for you.”
From Journal and Poems, Volume One (January-June 1985):
“Both conservatives and radicals think devotees are odd. Therefore we have to become callous to their opinions.
“I am not impressed by anyone’s thought even a fraction as much as I am impressed by the teachings of the sages in parampara, all of whom are personified in my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.
“Thinkers do not come to grips with death or with spiritual reality. They say there is no spirit, or they are vague, or they blindly follow some dogmas. They become disgusted when the devotees demand such surrender. People are also envious of our knowledge about God. They think He should remain unknown. ‘If you don’t accept Krishna as God,’ says Srila Prabhupada, ‘then bring forward who you say is God. But if you admit that you don’t know, then accept Krishna.’”
“Thus today I was thinking of my duties as guru, of the simple but critical function that I have to perform. It is a function similar in a certain sense to the tasks performed by welders and locksmiths. To forge a disciplic link for the devotees, a guru has to be strict and pure in sadhana, and he has to repeat the instructions of disciplic succession without any change. Beyond that, he does not have to aspire to be a very exalted person, yet the task he performs is a profoundly exalted one for human society. In material life also, if the welder or the airplane mechanic makes the slightest mistake, he could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of persons. Although such workers may be humble craftsmen, they must take their work very seriously. Of course, the guru should be honored above all occupational workers, yet he should always think of himself as a humble worker, accepting honor only on behalf of Lord Krishna.”
From Wicklow Writing Sessions, Session #3:
“Remind them there is a next life. Plan for it. Don’t forget it by your absorption in present duties. Sravanam kirtanam.”
From a lecture on the ISKCON of NJ Zoom series on June 6, 2020:
When Srila Prabhupada reprimanded me for sending a letter without the indicated enclosure, I learned several things: I should not defend myself or uselessly lament, but I should think of a practical way to rectify things.
From Remembering Srila Prabhupada, Book Two:
SICKNESS
Deep down the ship prowed,
then rose high, mounting a swelling wave
in a sea sick rhythm and roll.
In the hold, in a small, cramped cabin,
sitting up or lying down,
there was no comfort
from the sea-tossed roll and pitch
as rain poured down on the Bay of Bengal.
More rain on the Red Sea.
sudden pains in his chest
made him think he would die.
Were Scindia’s agents right,
that he would die at sea?
What is the pain of a pure devotee?
Only he and Krishna knew
what he was willing to do
to serve his Lord in any condition.
If we like we can ask,
“Why was Haridas Thakur beaten?
Why were the Pandavas exiled and harassed?
Why Prahlad tortured by his father?
Why Rama banished? Christ crucified?”
But we cannot demand the answers.
The Lord unfolds His plans
as He pleases,
and the devotee knows
it is best for all.
Prahlad never doubted:
“If God is almighty and just,
why am I, a devotee, being tortured?”
In confronting the demon,
he did not suffer,
but remembered Krishna
and attained the Lord’s abode.
Prabhupada tolerated
two attacks in two days.
But if it comes again,
I will not survive.
The rains and winds persisted.
HIS DREAM OF MANY FORMS OF KRISHNA
On the night of the second day
Prabhupada had a dream;
Lord Krishna in His many forms
was rowing a boat
and encouraging him along.
Lord Matsya, who saved the Vedas from the flood,
waved him on. To protect the Vedas
from the ocean of vices,
Prabhupada must reach the West
and print and distribute his books.
The West was drowning in sins,
and Indian gurus were drowning
the Vedic message
in a sea of bogus speculation.
Come Prabhupada!
You can cross this sea—
the Lord is here!
Lord Kurma of the nectar-churning lila
urged him on to America
to churn the sankirtan-amrta.
Mohini Murti stole the nectar
in favor of the devas,
but if Prabhupada could reach his goal
he would give immortal quaffs of Hari Nama
to one and all.
Therefore the Lord was blessing him.
As the moon and gods came forth
from the churning of Mandara Hill,
so during the friction between demons and devotees,
Srila Prabhupada appeared.
And in his hour of attacks at sea,
he beheld the Lord in His many forms.
Come Prabhupada!
You can cross this sea—
the Lord is dear!
Lord Nara Hari’s divine advent
is to kill the miscreants,
and He encouraged Prabhupada
with His fierce demeanor,
which vanquishes the demons’ false dominion
and assures the followers of Prahlad.
The enemies would not touch
a hair on Prabhupada’s head,
but he would kill them all
with the healing, cleansing weapon of the Holy Name.
False threats and illusions
cannot sway the Lord’s devotees,
but Prabhupada must come at once
because until now
the sons of demons
have never met the teachings of Prahlad
or known the protection of Nrsimhadeva.
As sons of demons they have only suffered,
sometimes longing for another world.
Come Prabhupada!
You can cross this sea—
with the Lord there is no fear!
Balarama and Krishna also assured,
“Come along.”
They appeared to him in a most delightful way,
running and frolicking in the forests of Vraja—
the all-attractive Lord and His brother,
who deliver the most fallen as Gaura and Nitai.
Let the Americans also share this nectar—
Krishna is not “the Hindu god.”
The Americans will gladly embrace Him—
Krishna with flute and Balarama with plow.
The Westerners can relearn to love Them,
since all are eternal spiritual souls,
servants of Krishna and Rama.
Come Prabhupada!
You can cross this sea—
the Lord is here!
Srila Prabhupada, you will cross this sea,
because the Lord desires.”
From Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, Volume 5, Chapter 37:
[The Chief Guest at the Delhi pandal program was His Excellency James George, the Canadian High Commissioner. In his speech he revealed how Srila Prabhupada had changed the lives of young men and women in Canada and the United States:]
“For several years I have been wanting to meet Swamiji and see what it was about him that he was able to affect so many of our young people in Canada and North America. I was very happy to have been invited to attend this program and especially to meet with Swamiji. Something is happening and whoever doubts it, he should be here tonight and see this program for himself. It is not only happening here in Delhi. But it’s happening in Toronto, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and New York, and many other places. What is it? I don’t know and I can’t answer that question, but for me something is happening at a deeper spiritual level. It is the awakening of a search for the answers to life.”
From Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, Volume 5, Chapter 38:
“Tejiyas: He [Srila Prabhupada] was also speaking about how our pujaris should never be paid. The teacher and the pujari should never receive a salary. They must work in pure devotion. The ksatriya also. He said that was the mistake in government today, that the ksatriya are being paid.”
Devamrita Swami:
From Bhakti-bhava:
“Often devotees ask, ‘If Krishna really cares about us, why doesn’t He force us to love Him?’”
“Not one of you here wants forced love.”
“Why do you think Krishna wants that or should have that? Just see our nonsense, we want to give to Krishna what we will not accept for ourselves. Isn’t this bogus?”
“Krishna wants your natural love for him to develop organically, not artificially.”
If you acquire something in the material world, it means that someone else has missed out, but spiritual service is not like that. There are unlimited opportunities for everyone.
Janananda Goswami:
From a lecture on chanting the maha-mantra in Paris on September 17, 2019:
“Therefore Srila Prabhupada is recommending. He said we should perform sankirtana yajna one after the next. Nonstop. Then the people this world will actually become happy. The sankirtana can unite us and purify us of all the ill effects of this world.”
Jayadvaita Swami:
From his evening lectures on the ISKCON NJ Zoom and YouTube channels:
Everyone knows how to get into family life, but not everyone knows how to get out. Just like Abhimanyu, who knew how to get into the cakravyuha military formation, but who could not get out and thus perished.
The chanting will help us, the Bhagavatam will help us, the whole process of devotional service will help us.
Ultimately, Acyuta, the infallible Lord, will save us when the fallible soldiers fail.
In Fiji Upendra did not not allow the Indian wives of one disciple to cook for Srila Prabhupada because they were not initiated, although they were expert cooks. When Prabhupada heard about that, he reinstated them saying, “Indians know how to cook, how to serve, and how to eat.”
Radhanath Swami:
The gopis know that Krishna is happiest in Vrindavan, and thus they want to bring Him back there.
Dancing in the Ratha-yatra, Lord Caitanya reveals the great treasure of love in separation and the greatness of the love of the residents of Vrindavan.
After King Prataparuda was bathed in the tears of Lord Caitanya and saw Him reveal His form as Krishna, he took the dust from the feet of all the devotees, realizing that it was only by their mercy he received such fortune. Then he arranged for all kinds of prasadam for the pleasure of the devotees.
Lord Caitanya came with medicine of the holy name and the prescription of how to take it, trnad api . . . [with humility and tolerance].
We have to unite on the higher principle of pleasing guru and Krishna.
Malati Devi Dasi:
From a lecture at the New York Virtual Ratha-yatra on June 13, 2020:
Srila Prabhupada said we should have a feast for Ratha-yatra. We did not have much money. I decided to make capatis because they are just flour and water. We had only two rolling pins, so I had people find empty wine bottles and clean them very well to use as rolling pins. We made over a thousand capatis. We had so much faith in prasadam that everyone ate everything on their plates, and there were no half-eaten plates lying around after the event, as we sometimes see.
One new devotee worked in a hospice, and she would chant Hare Krishna to the dying people when no one was around. Once as she was preparing to leave for work, she heard a voice, “Put on tilaka.” There was no one around. She ignored it, and continued walking toward the door, but it happened again. She was apprehensive about wearing tilaka to work, but she did it anyway. When she got to work, she decided to first visit the lady who most liked it when she would chant Hare Krishna. She peeked in her room and saw the whole family there. The woman was leaving her body. The daughter saw the devotee nurse with her tilaka on and exclaimed. “Are you one of them? My brother was one of you, and last night I was praying to him, ‘Send a sign.’ And you’re here.” And then the brother said, “Last week I was in South Africa, and there was a huge festival on the street with these great big carts, and on the front of one of the carts there was a picture of our brother!” The lady in that bed who was leaving her body was Jayananda’s mother! Jayananda had been gone for years, over two decades. Krishna, Jagannatha, did not forget the service that Jayananda had offered, and so He arranged that this young lady, this devotee of Krishna, could be there at the time of his mother’s death. The relatives said, “We do not know what to do. Can you help us?” So she did what she could, and they were so grateful. They invited her to speak at a memorial service. For me this is like a very tangible expression of the presence of Lord Jagannatha, and how Krishna never forgets His devotee, nor the family of a devotee. Nobody else really had remembered his mother. Devotees kept track of her up to a certain point, but then they lost track of her. But only Krishna kept track. He made sure at the time of her departure there was someone there to remind her of Krishna and chant the holy name. The power of Lord Jagannatha is inexplicable.
Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu:
From a lecture on the ISKCON of New Jersey YouTube channel on May 14, 2020:
In japa, things are very simple. There are only three characters on stage, yourself, your mind, and the holy name.
When Arjuna protests, saying it is hard to control the mind, Krishna agrees, but He says it is possible by practice.
It is good to understand you are not the body, and it is better to understand you are not the mind.
When you notice your mind is wandering and you bring back, that is chanting in the clearing stage.
When I first started to chant japa seriously trying to pay attention, I felt uneasy rather than happy. I became assured when I read Lord Caitanya’s prayer, “O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by chanting Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.”
Humility is realism.
Humility increases as you go through the “Siksastakam” verses.
By chanting japa we are showing Krishna that we want to have a relationship with him. By our perseverance in bringing the mind back whenever it wanders, we show Krishna that we are serious about the relationship.
Although Krishna has so many devotees, because He is unlimited, He still has a desire to have a relationship with us.
The regulative principles of freedom give us freedom from birth, death, old age, and disease. Following them is a struggle because of conditioning in previous lives and in this life, but we are not alone. Krishna is there to help us. Then if we do not succeed, in the next life we start where we left off.
The fact that Srila Prabhupada and so many devotees have made so much endeavor to make Krishna available is evidence that Krishna wants us back more than we want to go back to Him.
If you find it a struggle, do not quit. Someday Krishna will be merciful.
I find when I have done everything I can do in a certain circumstance, that Krishna changes the circumstances.
Rajasekhara Dasa:
From Prabhupada in South India:
“During this difficult period [in Delhi in 1955], regardless of his almost penniless and homeless existence, Abhaya Charanaravinda continued to preach Lord Krishna’s transcendental message and continued to write articles whenever he got the chance. Despite the many reversals that he had to face, Abhaya Charanaravinda’s faith in Lord Krishna did not diminish even slightly, but instead it increased dramatically, because he knew that it was only by the Lord’s special mercy that he was able to continue with his preaching mission.”
Kadamba Kanana Swami:
From a lecture at the Virtual New York City Ratha Yatra festival on June 14:
[See the whole lecture on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kadamba.swami/videos/3959924457383476/]
Yamaraja has no jurisdiction in Jagannatha Puri. Everyone is judged for their piety and impiety by Krishna Himself.
Narada informed the residents of Vrindavan that the residents of Dvaraka including Krishna and Balarama were going to Kurukshetra during the eclipse. He said they were not invited. Nanda and Yashoda said they would go anyway because Krishna was their son and so it would be alright.
King Prataparudra in reciting the “Gopi Gita” was speaking of the exact topics that were on Lord Caitanya’s mind and thus it was so pleasing to the Lord.
Sundara Lala Prabhu:
From a Newcastle Sunday Zoom lecture on June 14, 2020:
Dvaraka is the abode of dharma [duty] while Vrindavan is the abode of prema [love].
There are many important things in life, but they are not the goal. Family is important, work is important, and home is important. So many things are important, but the goal is to reach Krishna.
Kumari Sakhi Devi Dasi:
It is appropriate that Krishna is described as four-armed here because he is about to give instruction, and as the four-armed Supersoul in the heart He is instructing everyone.
One important feature of the Supersoul is His supreme neutrality.
Daniel:
From a reading of Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya:
Radha-kunda is said to reside on Rtudvipa, but it is not manifest.
Vidyanagara in Rtudvipa is a special place where all kinds of knowledge was revealed. Narada engaged Valmiki in writing Ramayana there. Vyasadeva wrote the Puranas there. Patanjali wrote the Yoga-sutras there. Lord Caitanya defeated all kinds of scholars there.
Jiva inquired from Nityananda why scholarship and sankhya, which are considered inauspicious, are represented in the dhama. Nityananda explained nothing is inauspicious in the dhama. Scholarship and sankhya do not act independently in Navadvipa, but they serve the Lord.
Bhismadeva attained devotion by living in Jahnudvipa.
Krishna Kripa Das:
From a reflection on a great soul:
I noticed on June 10, the appearance of Vakresvara Pandit day, on Dandavats.com there were many remembrances of senior devotees glorifying Brahmananda Prabhu, who had passed away five years ago. I did not know him very well. I heard him give a presentation in the Brooklyn temple on some Prabhupada multimedia project in the last decade or so. My most amazing experience with him was before Rama Raya Prabhu had his established daily harinama in New York City. Sometimes when I came through New York City to visit my mother in Albany, I would get some devotees from the Bhakti Center together and do harinama in Manhattan. On one such harinama, one of the devotees saw Brahmananda Prabhu nearby and pointed him out to me. He was happy to see our harinama party, and I introduced myself as Krishna Kripa Das. He told me that he read my blog. It was so impressive to me that someone who played a very key role in many of Srila Prabhupada’s important pastimes thought my blog was worth reading. Thank you, Brahmanada Prabhu, who in addition to greatly assisting Srila Prabhupada with publishing and ISKCON management for years, encouraged this insignificant devotee in his little service.
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Some verses jolt you, reminding you of the supreme priority of one’s spiritual development. This one stuck in my mind from the first time I heard it.
natah parataro loke
pumsah svartha-vyatikramah
yad-adhy anyasya preyastvam
atmanah sva-vyatikramat
“There is no stronger obstruction to one’s self-interest than thinking other subject matters to be more pleasing than one’s self-realization.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.22.32)
“Human life is especially meant for self-realization. ‘Self’ refers to the Superself and the individual self, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entity. When, however, one becomes more interested in the body and bodily sense gratification, he creates for himself obstructions on the path of self-realization. By the influence of maya, one becomes more interested in sense gratification, which is prohibited in this world for those interested in self-realization. Instead of becoming interested in sense gratification, one should divert his activities to satisfy the senses of the Supreme Soul. Anything performed contrary to this principle is certainly against one’s self-interest.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.22.32, purport)