Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 16, No. 10
By Krishna Kripa Das
(May 2020, part two)
Tallahassee
(Sent from Tallahassee on June 5, 2020)
Where
I Went and What I Did
I
continued staying in the Hare Krishna temple in Tallahassee, chanting
Hare Krishna for three hours each day, on the porch on the clear days
and in the temple on the rainy days. Between three and eight devotees
would participate in the chanting for
at least some of the time.
I
share many quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s letters revealing that he
considered public nama-sankirtana
to
be an essential part of a devotee’s daily spiritual practice. I
also share many quotes from Srila Prabhupada books. I share more
ecstatic quotes from the “Uddhava Gita” where Lord Krishna
describes even more confidential spiritual truths than in
Bhagavad-gita.
I
share excerpts from the writings of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share
notes on recorded lectures by Hridayananda Goswami, Janananda
Goswami, and Niranjana Swami. I share notes on new Back
to Godhead magazine
articles by Nagaraja, Satyaraja, Urmila, Visakha, Karuna Dharini,
Caitanya Candra, and Gauranga Darsana Prabhus. I share notes on a
Newcastle Sunday Zoom lecture by Caitanya Candrodaya Prabhu, and I
share realizations from local Tallahassee devotees, Brajananda,
Kumari Sakhi, and Daniel Prabhus.
Thanks
to the New York State Department of Labor for their kind donation.
Itinerary
March
23–June ?: Tallahassee temple porch harinamas
June
?–July ?: Atlanta harinamas
with
the Yuga Dharma Ashram harinama
July
?–early August?: Paris harinama
August
7–8: Liverpool harinama
August
9: Liverpool Ratha-yatra
August
10–17: North of England harinamas
August
19–23: Canada Vaishnava Sanga Festival
August
24: Montreal harinama
August
25–September 12: North of England harinamas
September
13: Great North Run harinama
September
14–30?: Paris harinama
October–December:
Yuga Dharma Ashram harinama
party
in Atlanta
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
Different
devotees continued to appreciate our daily Facebook Live harinamas:
Mrgaksi
Devi Dasi, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, wrote, “Thank you for
your continued chanting for the betterment of the Universe. Bless
your devotional hearts❤️🙏Hare Krishna!”
Harley
James of Denver wrote, “I appreciate the consistency of these
kirtans! It’s inspiring to see this kirtan happening every day.”
One
day Brajananda Das and Kumari Sakhi Devi Dasi were in Gainesville, so
we had only five people at the temple, but they all participated in
harinama,
even Linda, who was not feeling well. Jorge came by bicycle with his
harmonium, so we had six people altogether. The “san”
in “sankirtana”
means complete, and it feels complete to me when we get 100%
participation! The best day was the last day of the month when eight
devotees participated!
Brajananda
Prabhu, our Tallahassee temple president, supports our three-hour
daily kirtan by leading the Hare Krishna chant on
the temple porch during our Krishna Lunch for awhile almost every day (https://youtu.be/dfQgzTcbNX0):
Here
Brajananda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during Krishna Lunch inside the
Tallahassee temple, our kirtan venue on rainy days (https://youtu.be/wZlX6-JtIKo):
Jorge, our most enthusiastic nonresident, chants Hare Krishna in front of the Tallahassee temple on two Sundays
(https://youtu.be/MhKAQ-rImqg):
On
three occasions, Kumari Sakhi Devi Dasi chanted Hare Krishna during
Krishna Lunch in the Tallahassee temple. Here are two
(https://youtu.be/6Im91lBrMfc):
Here
Kumari Sakhi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna on the Tallahassee temple
porch on a Sunday afternoon (https://youtu.be/Loq7sL8zF4c):
I
share these statistics from our daily harinamas
for
the second half of May:
The
views on Facebook were
twice
as many as the
first half of the month. There were also about twenty more “loves”
and about
ten
more “shares”.
A
Creative Harinama Video
Parividha
Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and a performer who loves
harinama,
made
this inspirational video which he shared with myself and others
(https://youtu.be/OZth4-vOqM0):
It
is a fact: You can be in a depressed or bored mood, but going on
harinama
will
make you blissful and ecstatic! What to speak of that, even atheists
and blasphemers have become blissful devotees of the Lord by
continuing to hear the devotees joyfully chant the holy names
together. There are several examples of this.
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
From
a letter to Rayarama from Columbus, Ohio, on May 17, 1969:
“My
advice to you under the circumstances is that at least for one hour
you must all go to have Sankirtana outside on the streets or in the
park. That is your life and soul, first business. The next business
is completing the chanting of 16 rounds every day. The next business
is your editing, and if you find extra time, then you can attend the
temple ceremonies. Otherwise you can stop these activities, but
outdoor kirtana,
your editing work and chanting of 16 rounds must be done. Outdoor
kirtana
must be done, even at the cost of suspending all editorial work. That
is your first and foremost business. Temple worship is not so
important. If need be, the whole temple can be locked, but the
outdoor kirtana
cannot be stopped.”
From
a letter to Satsvarupa from Columbus, Ohio, on May 14, 1969:
“Regarding
your questions about Sankirtana Party, I think you should try to
always have Sankirtana going on. All other things are subsidiary.
This
chanting is our life and soul, so we must arrange our program now so
that there will be as much chanting on the streets and at college
engagements as possible.”
From
a letter to Jagadish from Tittenhurst on October 11, 1969:
“So
far as how long each day to go out on Sankirtana Party, Caitanya
Mahaprabhu prescribes to chant Hare Krishna Mantra 24 hours. So if
you can do so, it is very nice. Otherwise, as much as possible.
Sankirtana
is our life and soul.”
From
letter to Madhusudana from Los Angeles on January 30, 1970:
“So
study our literatures, discuss philosophical points and problems with
your God-brothers, and especially chant regularly sixteen rounds
daily without offense and go on Sankirtana. We must always remember
that chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra is our life and soul.”
From
letter to Madhudvisa from Los Angeles on April 14, 1970:
“My
students who are so kindly cooperating with me, if they rigidly stick
to the routine work chalked out by me, namely chanting the prescribed
rounds, observing the regulative principles, attending temple
lectures and going out with Sankirtana Party, then without any fail
our movement will go ahead.”
From
a letter to Damodara from Los Angeles on May 4, 1970:
[Note: this letter quoted below was sent on the same day to several temple presidents.]
[Note: this letter quoted below was sent on the same day to several temple presidents.]
“As
each and every ISKCON Center is my life and soul for preaching this
movement, I hope you are doing your best to conduct the regular
routine duties of the Temple—chanting regularly the beads,
observing the restrictive regulations, taking Sankirtana Party to the
streets, and selling our magazines and books.”
From
a letter to R. N. Vyasa from Los Angeles on June 7, 1970:
“The
Krishna Consciousness movement is being popularized here by three
principles: by temple worship, by sending Sankirtana Party for
chanting in the streets and by distribution of small booklets.”
From
a letter to Dinesh on June 26, 1970:
“I
am very glad to know that you are maintaining a nice program of
sankirtana
in the Washington area. Yes, this sankirtana
is our prime means for attracting sincere souls back to Krishna
consciousness, so continue to improve your sankirtana
as far as possible. It is very encouraging that you have received
written permission from the police to chant and take collections.
This permission is very important. Please send a copy of the letter
to me for reference. So it is very good that your sales of literature
are good and improving more.”
From
a letter to Sivananda from Bombay on November 12, 1970:
“The
two of you, along with Sucandra and Gunai, should lead a nice
regulated daily schedule of chanting 16 rounds, reading all our
books, going on Sankirtana Party, and taking nice Prasadam. Then this
will keep you pure and potent in your preaching work.”
From
a letter to Bansidhari from Bombay on November 16, 1970:
“Your
program for extending Sankirtana Party activities to the nearby towns
and cities and universities is very welcome. I have received similar
good report of such extended Sankirtana Party tours or trips from
many other centers in Europe as well as America. Lord Caitanya’s
desire was that this chanting of the Holy Names be spread to every
town and village on the face of the globe, and now His desire is
being fulfilled. That is to your credit as sincere servants of the
Lord.”
From
a letter to Sankarsana from Paris on July 23, 1972:
“If
you want to study, there is much time in the day for studying, but
you must go also on Sankirtana party, that is the result or practice
of your studying. Simply studying is dry and useless without
chanting.”
From
a letter to Bali-Mardan and Pusta Krishna from Los Angeles on
September 12, 1972:
“So
far the painting department is concerned, they have telephoned me
also, so their work is very important, and four or five painters may
be allowed to paint full-time, after chanting two hours their rounds,
and they may spend one or two hours on sankirtana
party as it is convenient.”
From
a letter to Ravindra Svarupa from Bombay on January 5, 1973:
“Regarding
your question is it all right to assign the entire sankirtana
party for distributing books so that no one will be free for street
chanting? Of course we should not understanding the meaning of
sankirtana
very narrowly, that only chanting and dancing and playing
instruments, no, sankirtana
means to glorify the Lord in a congregational manner. So if many
devotees are going out daily on the streets and public places for
distributing our literature, that is also sankirtana,
even if there is no one chanting. Hearing and chanting are essential
processes for sankirtana.
So if someone is hearing us singing on the street, or if he is
purchasing one book and if he reads sincerely, these two activities
are the same. So if there is any occasion of necessity, if there are
not very many men available or if there is prohibition by the
municipal authorities, something like that, we may assign everyone
for distributing our literatures, there is no loss for that. But it
is always better if there are also some devotees chanting loudly on
the street. If there is even one man to two men or a small party who
are chanting Hare Krishna, that will increase also the book sales. So
if there are sufficient men, and if we have got sanction by the
authorities, it is always better to have at least a small party
chanting along with as many distributers of books as possible.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
11.1, purport:
“This
process is very simple. One need only be firmly convinced by the
spiritual master that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
If one decides this, he can make further progress by thinking of
Krishna, chanting of Krishna and glorifying Him. There is then no
doubt that such a fully surrendered devotee will receive the
blessings of Lord Krishna.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
2.6.6,
purport:
“Whatever
a person may be in the estimation of the social order of things, if a
person tries to reciprocate a feeling of love towards the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and is satisfied with the blessings of the
Lord, he will at once feel the highest peace of mind for which he is
hankering life after life. Peace of mind, or in other words the
healthy state of mind, can be achieved only when the mind is situated
in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
11.89, purport:
“A
devotee is always thinking of how better to serve Lord Krishna, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, and how to broadcast His name, fame
and qualities throughout the world. One who is nitya-siddha
has no business other than broadcasting the glories of the Lord all
over the world according to his ability. Such people are already
associates of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore Narottama dasa
Ṭhakura says, nitya-siddha
kari’ mane.
One should not think that because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was
personally present five hundred years ago, only His associates were
liberated. Rather, Srila Narottama dasa Ṭhakura says that anyone is
a nitya-siddha
if he acts on behalf of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by spreading the
glories of the holy name of the Lord. We should respect those
devotees preaching the glories of the Lord as nitya-siddha
and should not consider them conditioned.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
11.95, verse and purport:
[Maharaja
Prataparudra continued:] “Indeed, their effulgence is like the
brilliance of a million suns. Nor have I ever heard the Lord’s
names chanted so melodiously. Purport: Such are the symptoms of pure
devotees when they are chanting. All the pure devotees are as bright
as sunshine, and their bodily luster is very effulgent. In addition,
their performance of sankirtana
is unparalleled. There are many professional chanters who can perform
congregational chanting with various musical instruments in an
artistic and musical way, but their chanting cannot be as attractive
as the congregational chanting of pure devotees. If a devotee sticks
strictly to the principles governing Vaishnava behavior, his bodily
luster will naturally be attractive, and his singing and chanting of
the holy names of the Lord will be effective. People will appreciate
such kirtana
without hesitation. Even dramas about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya
or Sri Krishna should be played by devotees. Such dramas will
immediately interest an audience and be full of potency. The students
of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness should note
these two points and try to apply these principles in their spreading
of the Lord’s glories.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
11.96, verse and purport:
[Maharaja
Prataparudra continued:] “I have never before seen such ecstatic
love, nor heard the vibration of the holy name of the Lord chanted in
such a way, nor seen such dancing during sankirtana.”
Purport: Because the temple of Lord Jagannatha is situated at
Jagannatha Puri, many devotees from all parts of the world came to
perform sankirtana
in glorification of the Lord. All these devotees were certainly seen
and heard by Maharaja Prataparudra, but he herein admits that the
kirtana
performed by the associates of the Lord was unique. He had never
before heard such sankirtana
nor seen such attractive features manifest by the devotees. The
members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness should
go to India during the birthday ceremony of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
at Mayapur and perform sankirtana
congregationally. This will attract the attention of all the
important personalities in India, just as the beauty, bodily luster
and sankirtana
performance by the associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu attracted
the attention of Maharaja Prataparudra. The associates of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu were unlimited during the Lord’s presence on
this planet, but anyone who is pure in life and devoted to the
mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is to be understood as a
nitya-siddha
associate of the Lord.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
11.98:
[Sarvabauma
Bhattacarya said: ] “In this Age of Kali, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
has descended to preach the religion of Krishna consciousness.
Therefore the chanting of the holy names of Lord Krishna
[Krishna-nama
sankirtana]
is the religious principle for this age.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
11.189, purport:
“This
is an example of the reciprocation of feelings between master and
servant. The servant thinks that he is most impure and that the
master should not touch him, and the master thinks that because He
has become impure by associating with so many impure living entities,
He should touch a pure devotee like Haridasa Ṭhakura just to purify
Himself. Actually both the servant and the master are already
purified because neither of them is in touch with the impurities of
material existence. They are already equal in quality because both of
them are the purest. There is a difference in quantity, however,
because the master is unlimited and the servant is limited.
Consequently the servant always remains subordinate to the master,
and this relationship is eternal and undisturbed. As soon as the
servant feels like becoming the master, he falls into maya.
Thus it is by misuse of free will that one falls under the influence
of maya.
“The
Mayavadi philosophers try to explain the equality of master and
servant in terms of quantity, but they fail to explain why, if the
master and servant are equal, the servant falls victim to maya.
They try to explain that when the servant, the living entity, is out
of the clutches of maya,
he immediately becomes the so-called master again. Such an
explanation is never satisfactory. Being unlimited, the master cannot
become a victim of maya,
for in such a case His unlimitedness would be crippled or limited.
Thus the Mayavada explanation is not correct. The fact is that the
master is always master and unlimited, and the servant, being
limited, is sometimes curtailed by the influence of maya. Maya
is also the master’s energy and is also unlimited; therefore the
limited servant or limited living entity is forced to remain under
the master or the master’s potency, maya.
Being freed from maya’s
influence, one can again become a pure servant and equal
qualitatively to the Lord. The relationship between master and
servant continues due to their being unlimited and limited
respectively.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
11.209, purport:
“One
should take prasadam
with great faith and should chant the holy name of the Lord and
worship the Deity in the temple, always remembering that the Deity,
maha-prasadam
and the holy name do not belong to the mundane platform. By
worshiping the Deity, eating prasadam
and chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,
one can always remain on the spiritual platform (brahma-bhuyaya
kalpate).”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
17.75:
“Krishna
is an ocean of mercy. He is especially merciful to the poor and
fallen. Without His mercy, there is no possibility of happiness.”
From
Bhagavad-gita
15.5,
purport:
“For
one who is always expecting some honor in this material world, it is
not possible to surrender to the Supreme Person. Pride is due to
illusion, for although one comes here, stays for a brief time and
then goes away, he has the foolish notion that he is the lord of the
world. He thus makes all things complicated, and he is always in
trouble. The whole world moves under this impression. People are
considering the land, this earth, to belong to human society, and
they have divided the land under the false impression that they are
the proprietors. One has to get out of this false notion that human
society is the proprietor of this world.”
From
a conversation with disciples in New Vrindaban, West Virginia, on
June 26, 1976, as reprinted in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
54, No. 5:
“The
law of karma, which governs this material world, is that if you want
to make a house, then somewhere you have to cut trees down. Somewhere
you have to destroy – only then can you make your house. You have
to ‘adjust’ things like that. So in reality, you cannot create.
You create your house by destroying somewhere else. Is it not? So
where is your creation? Real creation is God’s creation. Without
destroying anything, He has created everything. But if you want to
create, then somewhere you have to destroy. That is the law of
karma.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.4.17–18,
purport:
“As
an astrologer can see the future fate of a man, or an astronomer can
foretell the solar and lunar eclipses, those liberated souls who can
see through the scriptures can foretell the future of all mankind.
They can see this due to their sharp vision of spiritual attainment.”
From
Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
11.241:
“As
long as the devotees remained at Jagannatha Puri with Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, the pastime of sankirtana
was performed with great jubilation every day.”
Vyasadeva:
From
Padma
Purana,
Patala-khanda, Mathura-mahatmya:
“All
the names of Vishnu give liberation (mukti),
while Krishna’s names give love of God (prema).”
The
humble servants of Srila Prabhupada:
In all these verses from the “Uddhava Gita” below, Krishna is the speaker. In the purports, however, the commentator
is the speaker.
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.11:
“Among
subtle things I am the spirit soul, and of things that are difficult
to conquer I am the mind.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.18:
“I
am gold among metals.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.19:
“Among
the social orders I am the fourth, or the renounced order of life,
and among the occupational divisions I am the first, the brahmanas.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.23:
“I
am nonviolence among vows.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.24:
“Among
the eight progressive states of yoga I am the final stage, samadhi,
in which the soul is completely separated from illusion. Among those
desiring victory I am prudent political counsel, and among processes
of expert discrimination I am the science of the soul, by which one
distinguishes spirit from matter. Among all speculative philosophers
I am diversity of perception.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.24, purport:
“It
is to be understood that one can acquire perfect knowledge only by
hearing directly from Lord Krishna and not by hearing from
conditioned philosophers who imperfectly perceive the creation of the
Lord through the screen of their personal desires.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.25:
“Among
ladies I am Satarupa, and among male personalities I am her husband,
Svayambhuva Manu. I am Narayana among the sages and Sanat-kumara
among brahmacaris.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.26:
“Among
religious principles I am renunciation, and of all types of security
I am consciousness of the eternal soul within. Of secrets I am
pleasant speech and silence.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.30:
“Among
jewels I am the ruby, and among beautiful things I am the lotus cup.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.31:
“I
am the forgiveness of the tolerant.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.38, purport:
“As
has been clearly explained in this canto of the Bhagavatam,
both the living entity and the Supreme Lord are completely
transcendental to material nature. The living entity, however, has
the propensity to dream that he is material, whereas the Lord
constantly remembers the transcendental position of both Himself and
the conditioned dreaming entity. As the Lord is transcendental, His
abode is also far beyond the reach of the modes of nature. The actual
purpose of life is to understand by mature conviction the
transcendental Lord, His transcendental abode, our own transcendental
position and the process by which we may go back home, back to
Godhead.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.39, purport:
“Although
the Lord is certainly omniscient, even He Himself cannot supply a
finite number for His opulences, because they are infinite.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.41, purport:
“If
one sees Lord Krishna as the source of all opulences and gives up all
desires to enjoy or possess the Lord’s opulences, then one can see
the spiritual nature of these opulences. At that time, even though
one may continue to perceive the variety and distinctions of the
material world, one will become perfect in Krishna consciousness.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.42, purport:
“Although
a pure devotee may criticize those who obstruct the Lord’s mission,
such criticism is never personally motivated nor is it ever based on
enviousness. An advanced devotee of the Lord may chastise his
followers or criticize the demoniac, but only to carry out the
mission of the Supreme Lord and never out of personal enmity or
enviousness.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.16.43:
“A
transcendentalist who does not completely control his words and mind
by superior intelligence will find that his spiritual vows,
austerities and charity flow away just as water flows out of an
unbaked clay pot.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.14:
“The
married order of life appeared from the loins of My universal form,
and the celibate students came from My heart. The forest-dwelling
retired order of life appeared from My chest, and the renounced order
of life was situated within the head of My universal form.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.16:
“Peacefulness,
self-control, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction, tolerance, simple
straightforwardness, devotion to Me, mercy and truthfulness are the
natural qualities of the brahmanas.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.17:
“Dynamic
power, bodily strength, determination, heroism, tolerance,
generosity, great endeavor, steadiness, devotion to the brahmanas
and leadership are the natural qualities of the ksatriyas.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.18:
“Faith
in Vedic civilization, dedication to charity, freedom from hypocrisy,
service to the brahmanas
and perpetually desiring to accumulate more money are the natural
qualities of the vaisyas.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.18, purport:
“The
fervent desire of the vaisyas
to accumulate wealth is not the same as ordinary material greed,
because it is purified and tempered by the superior qualities
mentioned in this verse.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.19:
“Service
without duplicity to the brahmanas,
cows, demigods and other worshipable personalities, and complete
satisfaction with whatever income is obtained in such service, are
the natural qualities of sudras.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.20:
“Dirtiness,
dishonesty, thievery, faithlessness, useless quarrel, lust, anger and
hankering constitute the nature of those in the lowest position
outside the varnasrama
system.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.21 :
“Nonviolence,
truthfulness, honesty, desire for the happiness and welfare of all
others and freedom from lust, anger and greed constitute duties for
all members of society.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.34–35:
“My
dear Uddhava, general cleanliness, washing the hands, bathing,
performing religious services at sunrise, noon and sunset, worshiping
Me, visiting holy places, chanting japa,
avoiding that which is untouchable, uneatable or not to be discussed,
and remembering My existence within all living entities as the
Supersoul — these principles should be followed by all members of
society through regulation of the mind, words and body.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.42, purport:
“One
may ask why a brahmana
should voluntarily accept inconvenience in keeping his body and soul
together. In this verse the Lord explains that advanced human life is
meant for serious austerity and not for insignificant sense
gratification. By spiritual advancement one is fixed in
transcendental bliss on the spiritual platform and gives up useless
absorption in the temporary material body. One should remain detached
from the material body, accepting only the bare necessities of life.
The brahmanas,
by accepting a troublesome form of livelihood, never forget that the
material body is destined to grow old, become diseased and die in
misery. Thus remaining alert and transcendental, an advanced
brahmana,
at the end of this life, goes back home, back to Godhead, where he
enjoys unlimited spiritual bliss. Without such higher awareness, how
can one be considered a qualified brahmana?”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.44:
“Just
as a ship rescues those who have fallen into the ocean, similarly, I
very quickly rescue from all calamities those persons who uplift
brahmanas
and devotees suffering in a poverty-stricken condition.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.18.27:
“One
should logically consider the universe, which is situated within the
Lord, and one’s own material body, which is composed of mind,
speech and life air, to be ultimately products of the Lord’s
illusory energy. Thus situated in the self, one should give up one’s
faith in these things and should never again make them the object of
one’s meditation.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.18.42:
“The
main religious duties of a sannyasi
are equanimity and nonviolence, whereas for the vanaprastha
austerity and philosophical understanding of the difference between
the body and soul are prominent. The main duties of a householder are
to give shelter to all living entities and perform sacrifices, and
the brahmacari
is mainly engaged in serving the spiritual master.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.18.44:
“One
who worships Me by his prescribed duty, having no other object of
worship, and who remains conscious of Me as present in all living
entities, achieves unflinching devotional service unto Me.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.18.45:
“My
dear Uddhava, I am the Supreme Lord of all worlds, and I create and
destroy this universe, being its ultimate cause. I am thus the
Absolute Truth, and one who worships Me with unfailing devotional
service comes to Me.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.2:
“For
learned, self-realized philosophers I am the only object of worship,
the desired goal of life, the means for achieving that goal, and the
settled conclusion of all knowledge. Indeed, because I am the cause
of their happiness and their freedom from unhappiness, such learned
souls have no effective purpose or dear object in life except Me.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.3:
“Those
who have achieved complete perfection through philosophical and
realized knowledge recognize My lotus feet to be the supreme
transcendental object. Thus the learned transcendentalist is most
dear to Me, and by his perfect knowledge he maintains Me in
happiness.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.5:
“Therefore,
My dear Uddhava, through knowledge you should understand your actual
self. Then, advancing by clear realization of Vedic knowledge, you
should worship Me in the mood of loving devotion.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.7:
“My
dear Uddhava, the material body and mind, composed of the three modes
of material nature, attach themselves to you, but they are actually
illusion, since they appear only at the present, having no original
or ultimate existence. How is it possible, therefore, that the
various stages of the body, namely birth, growth, reproduction,
maintenance, dwindling and death, can have any relation to your
eternal self? These phases relate only to the material body, which
previously did not exist and ultimately will not exist. The body
exists merely at the present moment.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.17:
“From
the four types of evidence — Vedic knowledge, direct experience,
traditional wisdom and logical induction — one can understand the
temporary, insubstantial situation of the material world, by which
one becomes detached from the duality of this world.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.20–24:
“Firm
faith in the blissful narrations of My pastimes, constant chanting of
My glories, unwavering attachment to ceremonial worship of Me,
praising Me through beautiful hymns, great respect for My devotional
service, offering obeisances with the entire body, performing
first-class worship of My devotees, consciousness of Me in all living
entities, offering of ordinary, bodily activities in My devotional
service, use of words to describe My qualities, offering the mind to
Me, rejection of all material desires, giving up wealth for My
devotional service, renouncing material sense gratification and
happiness, and performing all desirable activities such as charity,
sacrifice, chanting, vows and austerities with the purpose of
achieving Me — these constitute actual religious principles, by
which those human beings who have actually surrendered themselves to
Me automatically develop love for Me. What other purpose or goal
could remain for My devotee?”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.25:
“When
one’s peaceful consciousness, strengthened by the mode of goodness,
is fixed on the Personality of Godhead, one achieves religiosity,
knowledge, detachment and opulence.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.33–35:
“The
Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Nonviolence, truthfulness, not
coveting or stealing the property of others, detachment, humility,
freedom from possessiveness, trust in the principles of religion,
celibacy, silence, steadiness, forgiveness and fearlessness are the
twelve primary disciplinary principles. Internal cleanliness,
external cleanliness, chanting the holy names of the Lord, austerity,
sacrifice, faith, hospitality, worship of Me, visiting holy places,
acting and desiring only for the supreme interest, satisfaction, and
service to the spiritual master are the twelve elements of regular
prescribed duties. These twenty-four elements bestow all desired
benedictions upon those persons who devotedly cultivate them.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.36–39:
“Absorbing
the intelligence in Me constitutes mental equilibrium, and complete
discipline of the senses is self-control. Tolerance means patiently
enduring unhappiness, and steadfastness occurs when one conquers the
tongue and genitals. The greatest charity is to give up all
aggression toward others, and renunciation of lust is understood to
be real austerity. Real heroism is to conquer one’s natural
tendency to enjoy material life, and reality is seeing the Supreme
Personality of Godhead everywhere. Truthfulness means to speak the
truth in a pleasing way, as declared by great sages. Cleanliness is
detachment in fruitive activities, whereas renunciation is the
sannyasa
order of life. The true desirable wealth for human beings is
religiousness, and I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, am
sacrifice. Religious remuneration is devotion to the acarya
with the purpose of acquiring spiritual instruction, and the greatest
strength is the pranayama
system of breath control.”
From
Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.19.40–45:
“Actual
opulence is My own nature as the Personality of Godhead, through
which I exhibit the six unlimited opulences. The supreme gain in life
is devotional service to Me, and actual education is nullifying the
false perception of duality within the soul. Real modesty is to be
disgusted with improper activities, and beauty is to possess good
qualities such as detachment. Real happiness is to transcend material
happiness and unhappiness, and real misery is to be implicated in
searching for sex pleasure. A wise man is one who knows the process
of freedom from bondage, and a fool is one who identifies with his
material body and mind. The real path in life is that which leads to
Me, and the wrong path is sense gratification, by which consciousness
is bewildered. Actual heaven is the predominance of the mode of
goodness, whereas hell is the predominance of ignorance. I am
everyone’s true friend, acting as the spiritual master of the
entire universe, and one’s home is the human body. My dear friend
Uddhava, one who is enriched with good qualities is actually said to
be rich, and one who is unsatisfied in life is actually poor. A
wretched person is one who cannot control his senses, whereas one who
is not attached to sense gratification is a real controller. One who
attaches himself to sense gratification is the opposite, a slave.
Thus, Uddhava, I have elucidated all of the matters about which you
inquired. There is no need for a more elaborate description of these
good and bad qualities, since to constantly see good and bad is
itself a bad quality. The best quality is to transcend material good
and evil.”
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
Journal
and Poems, Volume
One (January-June 1985):
“For
the first twenty-six years of my life I felt apart from this world.
Sometimes I would think, ‘Why are there trees? Why is the sky just
the way it is?’ I wasn’t satisfied with scientific explanations.
‘Why? Why am I suffering? Why are others suffering?’ Vedic
knowledge from Srila Prabhupada has satisfied me. It explains as no
other. And now we want others to accept this in order to be relieved
of their sufferings.”
From
My
Dear Lord Krishna: A Book of Prayers:
“My
Dear Lord Krishna,
“I
am writing to You an improvisation. I don’t have an essay or letter
planned. But the first thing that comes to my mind is love, my desire
to love You and know that You love me. The scriptures tell me that
You love me. My heart tells me I love You. If I love You fully, You
will take me to live with You eternally. I want to increase my love
for You. Please help me to do that. There is no reason that I should
not have unbounded love for You. I do not know You intimately yet.
You have not granted me that right. But I already love You. Just as
Rukmini-devi fell in love with You before She even met You, just by
hearing about You from Narada, I already love You. She heard
descriptions of Your qualities from Narada Muni and was so aroused in
love for You that she boldly asked You to come and kidnap her from
marriage with Sisupala. I want to ask You in the same bold way to
please shower knowledge of Your love for me upon me and for me to
declare my love for You. I would like you to come and kidnap me from
my connection to Maya-devi, Your illusory energy, to come and take me
to Your abode. I already know enough about You to have this love and
ask You to
take me.
“Rukmini-devi said that if You did not come and marry her, she would give up her life. I also declare that if You do not show me that You love me, I will be as good as a dead person and have nothing to live for. I ask You to open the floodgates of love of God, which are contained in the Hare Krishna mantra, so that by chanting Your names I can feel Your love for me. And then I want to reciprocate fully, chanting with a heart full of ecstasy. I don’t want to keep chanting mechanically or halfheartedly.”
From
Prabhupada
Nectar, Chapter
5, Number 1:
“When
Prabhupada arrived, the devotees began throwing flowers, and
Prabhupada walked slowly toward the crowd, carrying a cane.
“Suddenly
a little six-year-old girl named Sarina bolted loose from the
devotees and ran up to Srila Prabhupada. ‘Srila Prabhupada,’ she
called, ‘I have a question! I have a question!’ She said she had
trouble making garlands. She said when she put a flower on the
garland, she then got mixed up and didn’t know which flower to put
on next. Prabhupada looked down at her and then took a very
beautiful, opulent garland from around his neck and placed it on the
little girl. ‘You look at this garland and you will learn,’ he
said.”
From
Wicklow
Write Sessions, Session
2:
“Oh,
and sing that Krishna is the paratattva
and the expansions all come from Him. He asks us to surrender to Him,
not just the people of India but the whole world. Then He gave us a
second chance in Kali-yuga appearing in His devotional form as Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu along with Nityananda and all the other
stalwarts. And He said the same thing He said in His original
appearance, ‘Surrender to Krishna, praise Krishna, serve Krishna,
read Krishna.’ And now it’s up to us to take it up. He appears to
eradicate the darkness, Rupa Goswami has written. And Srila
Prabhupada said he came to speak the same thing, old wine in new
bottles. And you boys and girls have to take to it because it’s not
presented with concocted imagination, but the original, appealing
truth: chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna. Of course, it’s not
possible to know Krishna in full but at least accept that He is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Accept it from the scripture and from
the soliciting of His pure devotee.”
“Srila
Prabhupada says that the basic sins are the tree, so when you stop
the four sinful activities all the branches of sin will fall down.”
From
The
Story of My Life, Volume
Two:
“Nowadays,
devotees wonder whether it’s enough to wait for Krishna. They’ve
heard different gurus emphasize different things. They’ve been told
it’s not enough to serve Prabhupada’s mission; we must also know
Prabhupada in his eternal form. I prefer to think it is enough to
wait for Krishna, simply because that’s what Prabhupada taught.
Therefore, we can safely conclude that if we do what Prabhupada says,
we will reach the highest perfection. Prabhupada is not telling us to
worship Satyabhama but Radha and Krishna in Vraja. We may be so
inexperienced that we don’t understand how it will all come about.
It’s natural for children to have a meager understanding of the
mechanics of life. Whatever the case, we will not go to Vraja by
academic or theoretical understanding. Actually, a premature
understanding can hinder our progress and delay us from reaching the
goal. It has been said that if we think of ourselves as female
servants in our eternal forms without first becoming free from
mundane bodily identification, then we could be forced to take birth
in a female body the next time around – not in the spiritual world,
in the material world.”
Hridayananda
Goswami:
From
a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.4.17–23
on December 29, 2019:
Sometimes
in our preaching we target this or that group, but Vyasadeva was
considering how to benefit all classes of men.
The
standard Vedic sacrifices employed four priests, and Vyasadeva
categorized the Vedas into four sections, grouping together the
verses for each priest into a different division. Thus we have the
four Vedas.
After
completing their studies, students in the Vedic tradition took a
ritual bath.
Suta
is a title as Vyasa is a title. Vyasa
means a divider. Suta
is one who chants mantras. Suta is frequently the speaker in the
Itihasas
and
Puranas.
Janananda
Goswami:
From
a class in Paris on December 15, 2019:
“Lust
means seeing yourself in the center, and everybody else has to fit
into that perspective. Religions like see that. Politics sees like
that. Nations see like that. Genders see like that. Races see like
that. You name it. Individuals for sure. It is all lust. Lust is a
perversion of love.”
“That
knowledge is just not theory. That knowledge is the practical
application according to our condition which will help to purify the
way we see things.”
From
a class in Paris on November 26, 2020:
“I
do not know Krishna. The holy name is all I can say I have some
connection with, maybe. But that to me is the attractive feature, the
opportunity to have a little tiny glimpse of the association of
Krishna through chanting of the holy name.”
“That
hand of [Krishna’s] mercy is manifested as the holy name.”
“Srila
Prabhupada writes that ‘one should meditate on the lotus feet of
the Lord, this is the path of perfection, but the lotus feet of the
Lord have become manifest in this world in the form of the sankirtana
movement,
the holy name.’”
Niranjana
Swami:
From
a class in Mayapur on May 13, 2020:
Someone,
not a devotee, once asked Srila Prabhupada where he was going in his
next life.
Srila
Prabhupada spontaneously responded, “I am going to hell to preach
there.”
One
devotee expressed doubt about attaining the spiritual world, saying
it seemed so hard. Srila Prabhupada replied, “Don’t worry. I have
a key to the back door.” That is very encouraging and inspiring.
That is one of my favorite quotes.
Brhad-bhagavatamrita
teaches us the goal so we do not have to
follow
the path of Gopa Kumara, going through so many intermediate
destinations.
Nagaraja
Prabhu:
From “Welcome” in Back
to Godhead,
Vol. 54, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2020):
“It’s
easy to see why people would tend to put Vishnu above Krishna; mighty
Vishnu just seems a better fit for the position of Supreme Lord. But
power comes in many forms, and Krishna’s great power is His
irresistible sweetness, which ultimately conquers all.
“In
this issue, we hear from Caitanya Carana Dasa about how Krishna once
seemed to fail, unable to defeat Duryodhana’s obstinacy. But the
episode sheds light on other aspects of Krishna’s greatness. When
You’re God, even Your so-called failures are a success.”
From “Real Mercy” in Back
to Godhead,
Vol. 54, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2020):
“I
read or heard once that the Lord’s prasadam, or mercy, comes
in five ways: from sadhus (pure devotees in one’s line),
shastra (Vedic scriptures), guru (one’s own guru), Krishna,
and atma. Atma here means one’s own self. We have to
be merciful to ourselves by taking advantage of the mercy offered to
us by the other sources.”
“When
asked for his mercy, Prabhupada would sometimes reply that it was
available freely to anyone in the form of his instructions.
Prabhupada’s mercy is in fact Krishna Himself, who is present when
we chant His holy names or perform any other devotional service under
the direction of His pure representative.”
Satyaraja
Prabhu:
From “Tat Tvam Asi: A Gaudiya Vaishnava Clarification” in Back
to Godhead,
Vol. 54, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2020):
“Even
objective Sanskrit scholars who do not align themselves with either
Advaitins or Vaishnavas have noted the inconsistencies in the
Advaitin interpretation of tat
tvam asi.
“For
instance, Professor Edwin Gerow,a renowned Sanskritist and Indic
studies educator, writes:
“The
laksana
[implied meaning] then is obvious for the ‘tvam’:
it is to be taken not as referring to the individual Svetaketu, but
to his indwelling soul: atman.
Here we encounter the real problem for the Advaitin. For although the
soul of Svetaketu is in some sense identical to Brahman, the cosmic
soul, the sentence still is defective in meaning, for ‘tat’
still conveys the notion of ‘Brahman’ as we ordinarily understand
it: replete with qualities such as omniscience, omnipotence, etc.
These qualities, which are part of Brahman’s primary meaning, are
clearly not present in Svetaketu’s soul, and also must be set aside
if ‘tat
tvam asi’
is to convey an acceptable meaning: ‘the principle of pure
consciousness evidenced in the World Soul is identical to the
principle of consciousness evidenced in Svetaketu.’ Thus, the
Advaitin has resorted to laksana
not once, but twice in the same sentence.”
“Traditional
editions of Sanskrit texts often used a form of scriptio
continua as
well, omitting numerous orthographic elements (elements related to
letters and spelling) that would make the text more easily readable.
“Bart
Ehrman, bestselling author and New Testament scholar, points out how
scriptio
continua
can make it difficult to recognize the real and originally intended
meaning of a text. As an example, he uses the word ‘godisnowhere,’
which can be read by a theist as ‘God is now here,’ and by an
atheist as ‘God is nowhere.’ One’s reading of it will depend on
one’s understanding of the language and the phrase’s context, as
well as one’s predilections and received tradition.”
“From
the statement tat
tvam asi,
found in the Chandogya
Upanisad,
it is to be understood that spiritual knowledge is not impersonal but
entails gradually perceiving the pure spiritual soul within the
material body. Just as in Bhagavad-gita
Krishna repeatedly says aham,
or ‘I,’ this Vedic aphorism uses the word tvam,
or ‘you,’ to indicate that just as the Absolute Truth is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, the individual spark of Brahman (tat)
is also an eternal personality (tvam).
Therefore, according to Srila Jiva Gosvami it is to be understood
that the individual spark of Brahman is eternally conscious.
Visvanatha Cakravarti Ṭhakura has further pointed out that instead
of wasting time trying to understand the truth in its impersonal
aspect, which is merely the negation of temporary material variety,
one should try to understand oneself to be an eternally conscious
entity in the jiva
category. In other words, one should understand oneself to be
eternally a conscious servitor of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.3.38, purport)
“In
the end, we must understand the ways in which all souls are one with
the Supreme, but, more importantly, we must also understand how we
are different from Him. It is this difference that allows for a mood
of service (bhakti),
for how can there be service if all living beings are the same? Who
is serving whom? Indeed, the Vaishnava conception is that by
“division” we can become truly one – not in the sense of an
ontological oneness, but in the sense of a oneness that has love at
its basis, culminating in the Caitanya conception: ‘I am His.’”
Urmila
Devi Dasi:
From “Foggy Morning at Govardhana” in Back
to Godhead,
Vol. 54, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2020):
“Every
spiritual and religious tradition has holy places where spiritual
life is more easily accessible. The Sanskrit word for such places is
tirtha,
literally meaning a place where one can cross – like a narrow part
of a river. Tirthas
act as a passageway, crossing place, or portal where one can easily
go from materialistic to transcendent awareness. We can think of a
tirtha
as something like a place where one can get a phone or WiFi signal,
allowing us to access another reality. A tirtha
can also be compared to an embassy of a country in a foreign land.”
The
word govardhana
has two primary translations. Go
translates as “cows,” and vardhana
as “nourishment.” Go
also means “senses,” and vardhana,
“increase.” Thus Govardhana Hill increases the senses’
attraction to Krishna. In other words, the personality of Govardhana
blesses the devotee by increasing the devotee’s devotion (bhakti).
One is therefore encouraged to reside at the foot of Govardhana
Hill.”
“When
the Vrindavan villagers worshiped Govardhana Hill, the hill displayed
a form of God Himself, showing that worship of Govardhana is worship
of the Supreme Lord in the form of a mountain.”
Visakha
Dasi:
From “Caring Krishna and His Caring Devotees” in Back
to Godhead,
Vol. 54, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2020):
“If
I suffer from a lack of caring, a callousness toward the spiritual
and material suffering of others, that fault is my responsibility
alone. I cannot command this unnatural, hard-hearted attitude to
change, but I can control how I act and what I say. Even if I don’t
feel like it, I can choose to act and speak as if I cared. This isn’t
artificial or forced, but a reflection of who I really am – an
atma,
an integral part of God, who cares for and about all beings. It’s a
lack of caring that’s artificial. Rather than act according to the
dictates of callousness, I can try to care for and about others even
when my emotions disagree. By tolerating whatever happens and by
depending on my innate desire to care, which comes from the care
Krishna has for all beings, I unfold a new dimension in myself.”
“Care
can encompass sternness and softness, gravity and lightheartedness,
chastisement and clemency. It can mean graciously accepting
unpleasant, unlikely-to-change aspects of someone, or it can mean
disassociating from someone. Care based on love and girded by
spiritual knowledge and detachment withstands the onslaught of our
fluctuating moods, phases, and vulnerabilities.”
“In
Sanskrit, care and protection is called posana,
which includes nourishing, cherishing, fostering, keeping,
supporting, and maintaining. Posana
also refers to the Lord’s special care and protection of His
devotees.”
“Prabhupada
further explains, ‘As a king maintains his kingdom and subjects but
nevertheless gives special attention to the members of his family, so
the Personality of Godhead gives special care to His devotees who are
souls completely surrendered to Him.’ (Caitanya-caritamṛta,
Adi 2.91–92, Purport) This so-called favoritism is actually
impartiality and makes complete sense when we consider Krishna’s
famous statement ‘As all surrender unto Me, I reward them
accordingly.’ (Gita
4.11) Since Krishna’s devotees are souls surrendered to Him, they
are eligible to receive His special reward in the form of posana:
they are especially cared for by Him. How God reciprocates with each
one of us is determined by what we give to our relationship with
Him.”
Karuna
Dharini Devi Dasi:
From “Understanding Two Weaknesses of Heart” in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
54, No. 5 (Sept/Oct. 2020):
“Since
we live on the earth and derive benefit here, let us note that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is the most elevated and caring
environmentalist, as He demonstrated when He lifted Mother Earth from
the torment of being submerged.”
Caitanya
Candra Prabhu:
From “When God ‘Fails’” in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
54, No. 5 (Sept/Oct. 2020):
“Vidura
asked Krishna, ‘Why, O Lord, are You going to the Kuru assembly?
You know that Duryodhana won’t agree to any peace proposal.’
“Vidura
spoke from experience. He had been trying for years, even decades, to
make Duryodhana see sense. But Duryodhana was adamant in his
antipathy towards the Pandavas. Never had he listened to good advice.
And now that he had the vast Kuru wealth and army with him, he was
unlikely to start seeing sense and settle for a peaceful resolution.
“Krishna
replied to Vidura, ‘Yes, I know Duryodhana won’t listen. Still I
will go because I want the world to know that the Pandavas tried
everything to prevent the war. I don’t want them to be blamed for
having instigated this war.’”
“While
stressing the benefits of reconciliation, Krishna offered Duryodhana
a peace treaty on the most accommodating terms: ‘Just give the
Pandavas five villages.’
“This
was an astonishingly generous overture. The Pandavas had been the
undisputed rulers of vast expanses of land and had been defrauded of
it all by Duryodhana. Even the gambling match in which they lost
everything had been rigged. Still, they had honored the terms of the
match and had lived out a long exile of thirteen years, including an
especially humiliating incognito hiding for one year. Now they had
full right to demand at least their share of the kingdom, which was
the half they had developed from scratch from abandoned wilderness.
“And
yet Duryodhana rejected even this proposal. But through his rejection
he unintentionally exposed his own arrogant attitude thoroughly. He
replied, ‘I won’t give the Pandavas enough land to even put the
tip of a needle through.’”
“Any
reasonable observer would acknowledge that five villages was a
ridiculously low price to avoid a catastrophic war. When Duryodhana
refused to give even that much, his actions made the reality crystal
clear: it was Duryodhana who was bent on war, whereas the Pandavas
were ready to bend way backwards to avoid the war.”
Gauranga
Darsana Prabhu:
From “The Humble Apology: Why, When and How” in Back
to Godhead, Vol.
54, No. 5 (Sept/Oct. 2020):
“By
acknowledging our mistakes we can become
humble, and by remembering them we can remain
humble.”
Caitanya
Candrodaya Prabhu:
From
a Sunday
zoom
lecture with ISKCON Newcastle devotees:
Recently
we were doing harinama
in
Odessa, and it started severely raining. We took shelter in front of
a theater. Other people were stuck there also. Some people
appreciated and danced and took sweet balls, so it actually turned
out to be very good.
What
would be inspiring for someone in terms of the Absolute Truth now? In
the 1960s and 1970s if there were
protest, confrontation, and a radically new lifestyle, people would
be attracted.
I
remember from visiting Newcastle that a lot of young people were
involved in organizing the preaching, and I thought that was good
because young people will attract young people. Now I see it was more
than that. The young people are more in tune with the times so people
could relate to them.
If
you claim to be a world religion these days, that may not actually be
as attractive to people as if you presented yourself as being
alternative.
Nowadays
being able to present your system as being rational is not as
important as showing that you actually follow the principles you
espouse.
The
more differences we have, the more that which unites us becomes
important.
If
the only goal of our movement was to get people to chant Hare
Krishna, the best thing would be to create a devastating computer
virus called “Hare Krishna” that stops plaguing your machine if
you chant Hare Krishna for one hour.
I
talked to two devotee ladies who were head pujaris
in
India during Srila Prabhupada’s time. They would sometimes interact
with female pujaris
in
the Gaudiya Math. Thus it is a misconception that there were only
male pujaris
in
India when Srila Prabhupada was present.
Comment
by Rupa Goswami Prabhu:
Even after the restrictions relax, I think we should continue the
virtual meetings because I see we are getting much more interaction
between the devotees.
Comment
by Satya Medha Gauranga
Prabhu: When we had the meetings at the temple, half the people were
downstairs working on the feast or doing pujari
work.
Sometimes we had to leave the meetings to answer the door. With the
virtual meetings, I find I can just focus on hearing.
Comment
by Bhakti Rasa Prabhu: Since a lot of our meetings in ISKCON have
been male dominated, it has been interesting to see recently many
senior devotee ladies have been doing virtual presentations heard by
many other women.
Comment
by Kirtida Devi Dasi: Srila Prabhupada is still leading us, although
not physically present, and he is reciprocating with people who
sincerely approach him. I feel Srila Prabhupada is like my
grandfather. I tell that to the kids who visit the temple. Why? I am
the disciple of his direct disciple. We have this little group in the
northeast of England, and if we can appreciate and cooperate with
those in our group, that is where to begin.
Brajananda
Prabhu:
I
feel really connected to Srila Prabhupada when I distribute his books
because he put so much of his heart into them.
You
have to really depend on Krishna on book distribution because if you
don’t, no books will go out.
Making
goals is good because it helps us progress in Krishna consciousness.
Because
of the sacrifices of few devotees willing to risk their lives to help
spread Krishna consciousness in countries like Russia, China, etc.,
many thousands of people have been able to become devotees.
Arjuna
was the favorite student of Dronacarya because he was so submissive
and learned everything that Dronacarya had to teach. Dronacarya once
said to Arjuna, “You are dearer to me than my own son.” Thus
Asvatthama, the son of Dronacarya, became envious of Arjuna, and thus
he sided with Duryodhana, who had the same mentality.
Krishna
gave Draupadi the benediction that He would appear before her
whenever she called for Him.
I
used to play in a band. I would write songs, and sometimes hundreds
or thousands of people would applaud when I played on stage. Later as
a devotee sometimes I found myself playing mrdanga
alone
in the temple room, and I noticed just playing for one person, the
Lord, I felt greater satisfaction.
Kumari
Sakhi Devi Dasi:
For
me, baking, when I concentrate on each step of it, is a meditation on
pleasing Krishna and the devotees.
Music
is my way of expressing and sharing Krishna consciousness in a way
people can relate to.
Daniel:
From
a reading of Navadvipa
Mahatmya:
All
the other holy places reside in Navadvipa for the purpose of serving
Navadvipa.
Every
Ekadasi Lord Caitanya would wander all over different parts of
Navadvipa performing sankirtana.
Lord
Varaha, who appeared to His devotee, Vasudeva, in Koladvipa, told him
that Navadvipa is the sum total of all holy places.
Jayadeva
Goswami wrote the Dasavatara
Stotra in
Navadvipa dhama.
-----
In
my last journal, I shared the verse in which Lord Caitanya told
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya that nama-sankirtana
was
the most important form of devotional service. Here He speaks in the
same way about nama-sankirtana
to
Sanatana Goswami, thus confirming its importance once again.
tara
madhye sarva-srestha nama-sankirtana
niraparadhe
nama laile paya prema-dhana
“Of
the nine processes of devotional service, the most important is to
always chant the holy name of the Lord [nama-sankirtana].
If one does so, avoiding the ten kinds of offenses, one very easily
obtains the most valuable love of Godhead.” (Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita, Antya-lila
4.71)