Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 18, No. 6
By Krishna Kripa Das
(March 2022, part two)
Mayapur, Vrindavan, Mumbai
(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on April 4, 2022)
Where I Went and What I Did
From March 11 to March 20, I remained in Mayapur, living with Gaura-Nitai and Yogamaya Yajna Prabhus in Vaikuntha Prabhu’s apartment and Yogamaya and I continued doing harinama every day with Harinama Ruci. While in Mayapur I attended the Monday and Friday evening kirtanas at Niranjana Swami’s place, the Kirtan Mela, and the Shantipur festival. On Gaura Purnima, I did harinama with a group of Russian and Ukrainian devotees in the morning, so I could go to the afternoon program at Niranjana Swami’s place. After the feast I did harinama with Harinama Ruci. I was so busy I did not get around to bathing in the Ganges till 10 p.m.! Because Yogamaya really appreciated the opportunity to chant with Harinama Ruci, I proposed we travel with them to Vrindavan and chant with them there for four days after Gaura Purnima. While traveling with Harinama Ruci to Vrindavan, we did harinama at Sheldah station in Kolkata, on the train, and also at the New Delhi station. In Vrindavan, we chanted with a Russian party that sings from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. a block from the Krishna Balaram temple in the direction of the road to Delhi and on the same side of the street. In addition while in Vrindavan, I would hear Madhava Prabhu chant Hare Krishna in the temple for fifteen minutes before greeting of the deities each day, and also in Srila Prabhupada’s room on Tuesday evening. I would also spend some time each day chanting Hare Krishna with the Twenty-four Hour Kirtan party after breakfast. Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu and I happened to be on the same train to Mumbai as Narada Rishi Prabhu of New York City, and we chanted Hare Krishna for almost an hour on the Mathura Junction platform and on the train itself. Yogamaya and I spent two days doing harinama in Chowpatty, where they have a daily harinama attended regularly by temple president, Shyamananda Prabhu, who was very happy that we came to Chowpatty and participated in that. Yogamaya and I then went to the Govardhan Eco Village for two days. We chanted Hare Krishna around the grounds in the afternoon when it was cooler. One day Vrajapati Suta Prabhu invited me to an evening program in a village with a harinama, and so I went for that. We ended our stay in India by spending a day and a half at ISKCON Juhu, where we did harinama on Juhu Beach for two days. The second day we were joined by fourteen devotees! March 31 we began and completed our arduous journey back to Florida.
I share notes on Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures. I share excerpts from the writings of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, especially from Srila Prabhupada Samadhi Diary, which I was proofreading as part of the reprinting of all of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s books on Srila Prabhupada which is being done this year. I share notes on classes in Mayapur by many senior devotees. I share notes on classes in Vrindavan by Mahatma Prabhu, Mukunda Datta Prabhu, and Bhakti Anugraha Janardana Swami, classes in Chowpatty, and classes in Govardhan Eco Village by Premadhan and Gauranga Darsana Prabhus. I share notes on Back to Godhead magazine articles by Nagaraja, Satyaraja, Visakha, Karuna Dharini, Caitanya Candra, and Gauranga Darsana Prabhus.
Thanks to Navin Shyam Prabhu of the USA and Nitai Prabhu of Delhi for their generous donations. Thanks to Vaikuntha and Jahnavi Prabhus for allowing us to stay in their place in Mayapur. Thanks to Jivananda Prabhu for booking our train tickets to and from Vrindavan. Thanks to Pancagauda Prabhu for facilitating our stay in Vrindavan, Shyamananda and Nila Krishna Prabhus for letting us stay at the ISKCON Chowpatty Guesthouse, getting us medical care, and arranging our travel to Govardhan Eco Village, Gauranga Bihari Prabhu for arranging our stay at Govardhan Eco Village and our travel to ISKCON Juhu, and Adbhuta Hari Prabhu for arranging our stay at the ISKCON Juhu Ashram, the participation of the bhaktas in our final Juhu Beach harinama, and our ride to the Mumbai airport. Thanks to Visnujana Prabhu of Harinama Ruci for the video of me chanting in Vrindavan on our last day there.
Itinerary
April 1–21: Tallahassee and Tampa harinamas and college outreach
April 22–24: Gainesville harinamas and college outreach
April 25–May 6: Tampa harinamas and college outreach
May 7: Clearwater Beach Ratha-yatra
May 8: Potomac Sunday feast and Silver Springs harinama
May 9–May 11: harinama with Sankarsana Prabhu by the Washington, D.C., museums
May 12–June ?: NYC Harinam
May 27: harinama to promote Baltimore Ratha-yatra with Harinama Ruci
May 28: Baltimore Ratha-yatra
June ?–?: Colorado Rainbow Gathering?
July ?–August ?: Paris harinamas
August 22–September ?: Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa harinama and outreach
September ?–September ?: Philadelphia harinamas and Ratha-yatra
Chanting Hare Krishna in Mayapur
The Kirtan Mela in Mayapur was from March 11 to 14, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. I tried to attend as much as possible, but because I was doing two or three hours of harinama each day and traveling to Rasamrita Kunj for Niranjana Swami’s kirtans on March 11 and 14, I had limited time to dedicate to Kirtan Mela. During Kirtan Mela usually I would dance, and I would take videos of the kirtans that were so lively that they induced others to dance.
On the walls of the Panca-tattva extension were displayed many inspirational quotes.
Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Mayapur Kirtan Mela Day 1 at 2 p.m. (https://youtu.be/j2SpRpgq75E):
If you know the name of the above devotee, please let me know.
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur on day 8 (https://youtu.be/GHWjic0K3-o):
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur, and a kid sits on Visnujana Prabhu’s drum (https://youtu.be/AUNNNw3hjN0):
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur and a crowd dances wildly (https://youtu.be/dG6Js7EuSck):
Niranjana Swami chants Hare Krishna at Rasamrita Kunj in Mayapur, where he has Monday and Friday evening kirtans (https://youtu.be/2POusv4dy24):
Akincana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Mayapur Kirtan Mela Day 1 (https://youtu.be/jeqdphzXh4s):
Devotees chant Hare Krishna during Mayapur elephant procession (https://youtu.be/Uy3LbGwZSqA):
Sri Sri Gaura Nitai looked impressive atop their decorated throne pulled by bulls also decked out for the festival.
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur on day 9 (https://youtu.be/dbsBLn58Lww):
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci, and Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu dances with kids (https://youtu.be/Kj-IVioUt2k):
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci on a walking harinama in Mayapur (https://youtu.be/tsSzKtruOnk):
Stoka Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Mayapur Kirtan Mela Day 2, inspiring many devotees to dance for the pleasure of the Pancatattva (https://youtu.be/3CvuRKpZmzg):
Candramauli Swami chants Hare Krishna at Mayapur Kirtan Mela Day 3 (https://youtu.be/1w5hKGxRJ8):
Prabhavishnu Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Mayapur Kirtan Mela (https://youtu.be/Lb58PKjP8k4):
Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Mayapur Kirtan Mela (https://youtu.be/Bi6m43SjIPI):
Haridas Das Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Mayapur Kirtan Mela at midday (https://youtu.be/xLI68oB6rTM):
I was wearing a cadar because of the heat and someone had given me a flower garland, thus many pilgrims thought I was a swami, and they showed me special respect and wanted to have their photo taken with me. I found that amusing.
One day devotees showed a Prabhupada lecture for the morning class, and they displayed it on a big screen to the left of Radha Madhava Asta-Sakhi-Vrinda.
Prabhupada Disciple Kripanidhi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Mayapur Kirtan Mela Day 4 (https://youtu.be/oQKRKNGnqcs):
Girigovardhan Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Mayapur Kirtan Mela Day 4 (https://youtu.be/j7EP0rnHS5U):
Prananath Prabhu, a teacher from from Bhaktivedanta Academy in Mayapur, who plays accordion when the students are singing below, thought it would be a good experience for his students to go on harinama with Harinama Ruci one day. It was incredible to see their participation. Several of them did a good job leading kirtan, although not very old. You can see them in the next few videos.
Here Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci and students and teachers from Bhaktivedanta Academy in Mayapur (https://youtu.be/4YNCuw0J6UE):
Visvambhar of Bhaktivedanta Academy chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur (https://youtu.be/zFtlpNz5NRk):
Gopal of Bhaktivedanta Academy chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur (https://youtu.be/LdundDFFmrs):
Sridhar of Bhaktivedanta Academy chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur (https://youtu.be/73DR8_F3xFQ):
Vedanta of Bhaktivedanta Academy chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur (https://youtu.be/7VbauACKLEA):
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur, and men do a bridge dance (https://youtu.be/tWveqxe-a1U):
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur (https://youtu.be/eIM2cVUVGGs):
Niranjana Swami chants Hare Krishna at Rasamrita Kunj in Mayapur, where he had evening kirtans on Mondays and Fridays (https://youtu.be/nM5HkKg9lV0):
Prabhavishnu Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Rasamrita Kunj in Mayapur (https://youtu.be/Q59Tbv7zeJA):
Kishor Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Rasamrita Kunj, and many dance, including Niranjana and Candramauli Swamis (https://youtu.be/BvStgXOkMsM):
March 15 was the day of the Shantipur festival at the home of Advaita Acharya. The dvadasi before Gaura Purnima is the anniversary of the disappearance of the amazing paramahamsa Vaishnava Madhvendra Puri, the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya’s spiritual master. Advaita Acharya held a festival at His home in Shantipur on this day and gave the benediction that anyone who serves or honors prasadam on this day gets Krishna prema, love of God, the perfection of life.
Here is how Radha Madhava and Their eight female assistants looked on that day:
Devotees were leaving by bus at 7:00 a.m. and were planning to return around 3 p.m. Because I never get enough rest at night I need to take a nap both before the second part of the morning program and after breakfast. Otherwise I am too tired to appreciate anything, thus I decided to take the train to Shantipur later in the day, and Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu agreed to participate in that adventure. The bus that passes by our ISKCON Mayapur goes through Dhubuliya, and I found I could take trains from there leaving at 11:07 a.m. and arriving in Shantipur at 12:30 p.m. We waited for the bus for awhile, and gave up and decided to take a rickshaw. It took too long, so we had to take the 11:48 a.m. train instead.
That train was delayed, so we missed the next train, and ended up reaching Shantipur at 2:00 p.m.
A sign told of the maha-mahotsava, the great, great festival, and ISKCON’s role in it.
I was amazed to see the large number of people there.
Many booths selling Vaishnava paraphenalia were there
The queue for prasadam was enormous.
We checked out the area and decided we could sneak in through the kitchen and avoid the queue. Devotees were happy to facilitate us.
We saw the khichri being cooked in gigantic vats.
Pilgrims were very happy to eat the khichri prasadam.
The devotees, including Sacinandana Karuna Prabhu, who I knew from the UK, were eager to serve people as much prasadam as possible.
I ate far more than usual, and for mass produced khichri, it was remarkably good.
We hoped to take the buses home, but we could not find them. We asked some devotees if we could go in their vehicle and the second group of devotees we asked, a group of Indians living in America, was happy to help us.
As we approached Mayapur, we saw the TOVP looming in the distance.
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur on day 12 (https://youtu.be/49otEALjg0Y):
There was a final elephant procession, and we stopped our harinama briefly to view it as it passed. The small Radha Krishna deities rode atop the first elephant.
The young devotee ladies would decorate the procession route beautifully with dyes and flowers.
Each day we would chant for half an hour and sometimes even an hour or more outside the TOVP office, and two days before Gaura Purnima, the TOVP officials sponsored pizza for Harinama Ruci and their assistants, including ourselves and the devotee men and ladies who regularly helped out by dancing with the pilgrims.
I had not seen so many pizzas or eaten so much pizza in a long time!
Jivanatha Prabhu, leads the chanting of Hare Krishna with his Mayapur daily harinama party the day before Gaura Purnima (https://youtu.be/KkpwkW9bAi0):
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci in Mayapur the day before Gaura Purnima (https://youtu.be/UhJ80tKmZHk):
The closer Gaura Purnima came, the more crowded the temple was, and I would view the deities from the courtyard.
Actually every day during the early morning Nrsimha arati, I would dance in the courtyard, as we sang the Nrsimha prayers.
I viewed the deity, peering over the heads of the people in the crowd. Dancing for Lord Nrsimha is a favorite part of visiting Mayapur for me
Russian devotee chants Hare Krishna in Mayapur on Gaura Purnima (https://youtu.be/W9nFt2NxEtw):
Mataji chants Hare Krishna in Mayapur on Gaura Purnima (https://youtu.be/cxjzujEWNPY):
Ukrainian devotee chants Hare Krishna in Mayapur on Gaura Purnima (https://youtu.be/dMG0-7N4ffA):
Ukrainian devotee chants Hare Krishna in Mayapur on Gaura Purnima, and pilgrims dance (https://youtu.be/82Knzdjt5XM):
Gaura Purnima falls on the day of Holi, where people offer to each other and sometimes throw upon each other, colored dyes.
Here pilgrims offer dyes to the Gaura Nitai deities held by Natasha of Ukraine, who also was blessed with a lot of colored dyes herself!
Akincana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Rasamrita Kunj in Mayapur on Gaura Purnima (https://youtu.be/sNJaRAwpJyc):
Because Gaura Purnima was on Friday in India, many pilgrims stayed around for a day or two afterward, thus the harinamas after the Gaura Purnima feast and the next day were extra special.
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci after Gaura Purnima feast, and pilgrims dance wildly (https://youtu.be/3_tmMnAsX44):
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci the day after Gaura Purnima, and kids dance joyfully (https://youtu.be/kRuy14TjQbQ):
Syamaras Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci the day after Gaura Purnima and pilgrims dance (https://youtu.be/YQyFxzttvTk):
At Mayapur, Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu would often buy pizza for the harinama party at the end of our chanting session. After eating most of a pizza, we took this photo of it.
Acintya Caitanya Prabhu invited Harinama Ruci and ourselves to breakfast at his place the day we left Mayapur. We had idlis and dosas, which I had acquired a taste for fifteen years ago when my mother and I traveled to South India fifteen years ago. During that trip we attended Drdha Prabhu’s marriage in rural Karnatala and a Indradyumna program called “Stringless” at Manipal, and my mother stayed at their place in Manipal, where his wife acquired a degree in medicine. His wife lent my mother some clothes to wear as British Airways misplaced her luggage.
I shared this photo of Acintya Caitanya Prabhu’s family with my mother. Their kids were not born at the time when we met them in Manipal.
Yogamaya Prabhu and I traveled with Harinama Ruci by taxi to Kolkata. Visnujana Prabhu, leader of Harinama Ruci, reminded me of my autumns in New York City with the Metrocard affixed to his cell phone case.
While in the taxi we passed an auto rickshaw with this message on is back which reminds us of a value of the Vedic civilization: “The driver of this auto respects women.”
We got to Sealdah station over an hour early, and I led the chanting of Hare Krishna there for over half an hour. Devotees displayed books, and many people gave donations. Many people took videos and a few danced and even chanted. The next day on the train, we did harinama from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. We stayed in the 3-tier AC section of the train which we had tickets for, and we encountered other parties of devotees who were happy to join us, some even having mrdangas which we were lacking. Here are some videos from that:
Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci on a train from Kolkata to New Delhi (https://youtu.be/oW_AHUIUfJ8):
Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci on a train from Kolkata to New Delhi, and a guy plays a stringed instrument (https://youtu.be/CNHCuRSg2As):
This Prabhu, one of several devotees we met on our journey, chants Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci on the train from Kolkata to New Delhi (https://youtu.be/WqEqxOTgHbI):
Jivananda Prabhu of Harinama Ruci chants Hare Krishna at the New Delhi Railway Station (https://youtu.be/S6t1cDNBeLM):
The Harinama Ruci devotees decided to chant Hare Krishna with a Russian party of devotees who chant from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. just one block from our temple. Often a crowd formed and people danced, chanted, and took videos of us.
Here a Russian harinama party and Harinama Ruci chant in Vrindavan on day 1 (https://youtu.be/MKiDwaeUSzc):
When I saw Madhava Prabhu in Mayapur, he told me he chanted Hare Krishna in the temple room in Vrindavan every day at 7:00 a.m., fifteen minutes before the greeting of the deities, and thus I attended his kirtans for all three mornings I was there.
Madhava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna before greeting of the deities in Vrindavan on Tuesday (https://youtu.be/2gZ35aV6gtI):
A Russian harinama party and Harinama Ruci chant in Vrindavan on day 2 (https://youtu.be/vW6EORhAvZU):
In addition to the Russian harinama party, Mahabahu Prabhu, formerly of Alachua, has a party that chants Hare Krishna along the parikrama path from 5 to 7 a.m. and in front of Krishna Balaram from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. When in front of Krishna Balaram they induce passersby to chant into two extra microphones they have. They just chant the Prabhupada tune. I joined them for an hour once.
Here Madhava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Srila Prabhupada’s Room in Vrindavan, where he sings on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m.(https://youtu.be/UQGn8JMzucA):
Madhava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna before greeting of the deities Wednesday morning in Vrindavan (https://youtu.be/nbiUlxAUu5Ua):
Pancagauda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after Guru Puja in Vrindavan (https://youtu.be/26OuEJrgneI):
Pancagauda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during 24-hour kirtan in Vrindavan (https://youtu.be/_QPdIxCY9q4):
Russian harinama party and Harinama Ruci chant Hare Krishna in Vrindavan on day 3 (https://youtu.be/qeLR6H3PlO8):
Madhava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna before greeting of the deities Thursday morning in Vrindavan (https://youtu.be/i7EQRXjzs80):
Sara, who I chanted with in both Paris and Berlin, along with her partner, Gadadhara Priya Prabhu, learning I was in Vrindavan, invited me for lunch. It was my last day, and I suggested she make something we could take on our trip to Mumbai instead. As she is Italian, she made this focaccia bread with green olives and rosemary. It was excellent, and both Yogamaya Prabhu and I loved it. Unfortunately Yogamaya got sick, but I was happy to eat it for the next three days until I exhausted the supply. I took this photo of the last bite.
I chanted Hare Krishna with Harinama Ruci for half an hour at the Srila Prabhupada Samadhi Mandir in Vrindavan before leaving for the Mathura train station, and a devotee lady induced many pilgrims to dance (https://youtu.be/qgTNZbc7lvE):
Here Narada Rishi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Mathura Junction railway station before our train to Mumbai, and a crowd of people listens (https://youtu.be/kbbtLN3PD1A):
Narada Rishi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on the train from Mathura to Mumbai (https://youtu.be/ospvOv3IktU):
The next morning I proofread Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s latest Free Write Journal on that train from Mathura to Mumbai. I blasted a Niranjana Swami kirtan through my headphones so I did not have to hear an Indian man loudly snoring on the bed next to me.
We arrived at Mumbai Central, and as we walked to the taxi I saw a very professional Hare Krishna book stand.
Then we passed some female military personnel, who wanted a photo with us, to my surprise.
The altar at ISKCON Chowpatty was beautiful with Radha-Gopinatha and their associates. There were even monkeys, which reminded us of Vrindavan, where we had just been.
Radhanath Swami encouraged one of his followers to paint a picture illustrating the Gaura arati described in Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s song. You can see many of details of the description of the arati to Lord Caitanya portrayed in the picture.
While waiting for harinama to begin, I was practicing transliterating the Devanagari on the book titles on a book shelf near the shoe rack of the temple.
I found the cover image of this book which appears to be Beyond Birth and Death to be interesting. Usually we show changing human bodies to illustrate transmigration and not changing plant bodies.
Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on the daily ISKCON Chowpatty harinama (https://youtu.be/RQV3juD6qAo):
A
fter harinama we decided to go to Govinda’s for pizza.
I also got a mango smoothie, one of my favorite treats.
Prabhu1 chants Hare Krishna across from Chowpatty Beach during the daily ISKCON Chowpatty harinama (https://youtu.be/S3ql42qN5c8):
Prabhu2 chants Hare Krishna on Chowpatty harinama (https://youtu.be/FLBwJv1O3QQ):
Eight-year-old Sachi chants Hare Krishna with a little help from her friends on Chowpatty harinama (https://youtu.be/nt7xsrKuNc0):
After Chowpatty, we went to Govardhan Eco Village, a lot of which is modeled after Vrindavan, as you can see in this map.
Signs remind visitors they are in a spiritual place and that they should use their time in a spiritual way.
The main deities Radha Vrindavan Bihari and Gauracandra are very beautiful.
I was worried that there would not be any harinama opportunities at the Govardhan Eco Village, but I learned on the weekends there are many visitors there, and you can just walk around their campus singing with a harmonium, and many visitors will be happy to hear you chant the holy names.
Here several pilgrims from Mumbai chant Hare Krishna with Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu and me at Madana Mohana temple at Govardhan Eco Village as I led the kirtan (https://youtu.be/5JoYDAmxYWs):
There are several evening services that the visitors are invited to, and here are three video clips of them:
Jai Sacinandana and Vrindavan Prasad Prabhu chant Hare Krishna during Giriraj Arati at Govardhan Eco Village (https://youtu.be/WDVq26_Lr8Q):
Vrindavan Prasad Prabhu and Bhaktin Shakuntala chant Hare Krishna during Yamuna Puja at Govardhan Eco Village (https://youtu.be/xRvDG_KoOWg):
Jai Sacinandana and Vrindavan Prasad Prabhus chant Hare Krishna at Mana Mandir at Govardhan Eco Village (https://youtu.be/ybrh-SZQVD0):
Vrajapati Suta Prabhu of Govardhan Eco Village learned I liked nagara-sankirtana, and so invited me to a program at Kombadkhop, a nearby village, which was attended by twenty-five very enthusiastic kids and a few ladies watching them (https://youtu.be/O82gwjnZ4fY):
Devotees from Govardhan Eco Village do programs at thirty or forty villages within two hours of their campus each year, with some villages having weekly programs, such as the one I attended. They hope to instill in the young people of the villages an appreciation of their traditional spiritual culture to protect them from the Western materialistic influence imbibed from the media.
Our final day at Govardhan Eco Village was Ekadasi, and I was pleasantly surprised to encounter an Ekadasi pancake that was very tasty yet made of a non-grain flour.
We visited the Juhu temple, which Srila Prabhupada fought so hard to establish, for the last day and a half of our visit to India.
The first day in Juhu we chanted Hare Krishna on Juhu Beach, the place of Srila Prabhupada’s daily walk and his famous conversations with Dr. Patel. There Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu engaged passersby in chanting Hare Krishna and playing instruments, and I engaged one in making this video (https://youtu.be/2V5b0yIhGec):
I was asked to lead the Guru Puja kirtan at Juhu, and I prayed to my guru and Srila Prabhupada and it came out alright. Someone said he liked it.
Srila Prabhupada gives the morning class on Wednesdays there, and they put a microphone in front of his murti, a special touch I have not seen in other temples.
The second day Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu and I were joined devotees from ISKCON Juhu, including twelve bhaktas, who chanted Hare Krishna with us on Juhu Beach, which was not as crowded because we started at 5:00 p.m. instead of 6:00 p.m. (https://youtu.be/uMaKkhA1zOk):
While chanting on the beach, we would see planes flying to the west, over the ocean, and I was thinking that later that night we would be on one such plane.
After the bhaktas left our party for another engagement, Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu and I chanted in a little park along side of the beach, that has grass, tree, and benches, and we chanted Hare Krishna as the sunset over the ocean.
On the boundary wall of the park are tiles with spiritual imagery,
both from the India’s Vedic tradition, like Sita, Rama, Laksmana, and Hanuman,
and also other traditions, like the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Our flight was at 2:25 a.m. on March 31, and as airlines recommend passengers arrive three hours early, I planned to leave the temple at 11:00 p.m. the previous day. I was late packing, and we encountered a little traffic, so we arrived about two and a half hours before the flight. We could not check-in online or using a kiosk, so we had to wait in an incredibly long line. Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu offered to bring back items from India for many friends, and when we got to the check-in desk after almost two hours we learned his luggage weighed 36.6 kilos (80 pounds) which was 4.6 kilos over the limit. My bag was just 8.9 kilos (20 pounds), so we moved heavier items to my bag. We got his bag below 32 kilos, but because it was greater than 23 kilos he had to pay an overweight fee and he had to wait for them to process that. When we went through security our bags were separated out for special inspection as we forgot in India you have to take every electronic item out of your bag, including batteries, adapters, headphones, and cables. Thus I had to take many additional items out of my bag, and then put them back in again. On the boarding pass, in red, they warn you if you are at your gate less than 20 minutes before the flight you will be denied boarding, and it was 5 minutes till our flight! We ran through the airport to our gate. At the foot of an escalator, we saw many personnel of the KLM staff, who we had encountered during the check-in process, urging us to hurry as our flight was closing. One staff member, seeing I could not run very well carrying my harmonium, motioned for me to give it to him, and so I did, and he ran ahead of me with the harmonium. Had I not been in a hurry, I would have taken a photo of the KLM man running with my harmonium, following Yogamaya to the gate. We were the last people on the plane. I was so glad we made it. I was looking forward to chanting at First Friday in Tallahassee, a great outreach opportunity the next day, one that I did not want to miss.
In Amsterdam, we were not so hurried, and as I boarded the plane, a stewardess said she would like to hear my harmonium, and I said I would play it for five seconds. I played the Hare Krishna mantra just once, and as I continued to my seat, I heard one stewardess say to the other, “It’s so calming!”
It is not unusual to hear people say the chanting is calming, but never after hearing a single mantra!
Special Photos
It was surprising for me to see a dog sleeping on the ground in front of the deities as an ecstatic kirtan was going on.
I do not know if a threat of a fine of $6.58 would stop an American from feeding the monkeys!
This elevator sign, after telling the rider what to do in an emergency, concludes with “Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!”
I never saw a deity in a stroller before, but in Vrindavan I did!
which you do not see so much in the West in the Western traditions.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From a letter to Bhagavan on September 22, 1969 from London:
“Actually in every town and city there are many, many devotees of Krishna; now it is our business to go around the world wherever people are congregating and pick up these sincere souls. The world is suffering for want of this knowledge of Krishna Consciousness, and we experience practically that many people will take to this spiritual line simply if we make this information available to them.”
From Renunciation Through Wisdom, Chapter Two:
“O people of the world! Please try to translate the Gita’s message into action and channel your thoughts toward Lord Krishna’s lotus feet. Serve Him with your mind and body. If you dovetail all your energy in the Lord’s service, then not only will you feel intense exhilaration in this lifetime, but you will be immersed in eternal bliss in the spiritual world, perpetually serving Him.”
From a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.23 in Los Angeles on April 15, 1973:
“Those who are jealous and envious, they are within this material world. And those who are not jealous, they are in the spiritual world. Simple thing. You test yourself, ‘Whether I am jealous, envious of my other associates, friends, everything?’ Then I am in the material world. And if I am not jealous, then I’m in the spiritual world. Anyone can test. There is no question of whether I’m spiritually advanced or not. You can test yourself.”
From a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.12 in Bombay on November 12, 1974:
“So transcendentalists, those who are advanced in spiritual life, when they hear some questions from persons to understand about spiritual life, they become very happy.”
“‘And what about my maintenance?’ To maintenance the sastra never gives any stress, that ‘You try for maintenance.’ The sastra says, ‘It will come. It is already there. It will come.’ But we have no such faith that ‘God is given..., giving food to the animals, to the birds, to the beasts, to the trees, everyone, and why He shall not give me? Let me engage my time for apavarga [liberation].’ They have no faith. They have no such education. Therefore good association required, not the crow’s association, but swan’s association.”
“A father gives education to his son to earning livelihood, gets him married, and settles him, but he knows that ‘This kind of business, earning money and marrying, begetting children, I have done, but I am not satisfied. So why I am engaging my son in this business?’ This is called chewing the chewed.”
“Kapiladeva became very happy by seeing His mother so eager to understand about the spiritual subject matter.”
“And this subject matter, spiritual realization, means tapasya [austerity]. Tapasya. But it has been made easy by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, very easy. . . . Little tapasya. Just spare little time and chant Hare Krishna. This much tapasya, we are not ready. . . . Krishna is more interested to get us in the apavarga-vartmani, in the path of liberation. And He has given very simple method: chant Hare Krishna.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Free Write Journal #187:
“‘Yesterdays.’ This is a ballad, Charlie Mingus bows deeply on his bass, thinking of yesterdays. The reminiscence of what it was like. You think it was very sad, and you were very poor, and there was no happiness. But maybe it wasn’t like that. You can’t exactly recall yesterdays. They’re gone. But they are there in somehow tender memories, bittersweet. All that water under the bridge. You used to take walks in Ireland, gingerly stepping along the paths, stopping by the bridge and looking down into the waterfalls on the rapid rivers. It was so wonderful. It’s all over now. And your close friendships with the friends there. They encouraged you in your free writing, said it was the best thing. You liked to give lectures on Sundays, and prepared for it and gave good lectures. I don’t remember now what it was like exactly, but I know it’s not here, now. It was yesterday. Yesterdays. The yesterdays are kept steady on the beat of Charlie Mingus’ double bass. Thump-thump-thump-thump. It’s like seeing the movie again, but it’s new, it’s kept alive by his beat. Oh yes, now I remember that part. I recall that scene. It was all yesterday. Please help me to remember more of it, because I think it’s important that you be who you used to be. It can never come back. It’s lost in time. You were younger. You really can’t remember. All that time in the past. Little flashes continue still. Sometimes in dreams, it comes mixed up with other pasts, all the yesterdays accumulated. You used to love me. You used to. I think you still do, and I still love you. There’s that bowing of the bass again, so mournful because it’s gone now. And that the feeling is still alive, the love is still present, except everything is changed. Yesterdays are gone for good. You play a mournful horn to recollect something like it. Not exactly a memory, but a feeling of how you’d like it to be. And how you wish it was. It’s melancholic because it’s gone, but it’s sweet too, because you actually lived it and you can taste it still. Some of those yesterdays were very hard, very hard times. But some of them were happy, the happiest days of your life. And where are you now? You’re in the present, so put the yesterdays aside.”
From Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam, Volume 2:
“Satisfaction takes discipline and acceptance. Prabhupada said we should accept whatever prasadam we receive, and we accept our lodgings. We don’t need more.
“But that has to be true. We can’t just say it and not mean it, or else the unconscious will demand more. Satisfaction comes from the spiritual plane, not from material satiation. I think that’s obvious.”
“The only way to discover the root cause of our shortcomings is to approach guru and Krishna. We do not always have the power to discern the root cause ourselves.”
“We should never feel doubtful about this process no matter how long it takes. We can imagine someone hearing about Vyasadeva’s dissatisfaction and disdaining the whole process. ‘Your Vyasadeva worked so hard to give people knowledge, but he’s still not satisfied. I don’t worry about helping other people, but at least I’m happy.’ A materialist cannot even touch the depth of Vyasadeva’s realization, either of his happiness or his dissatisfaction. People who care nothing for others may seem satisfied with their selfish activities, but everything is tested by time. Although Vyasadeva’s welfare activities were not sufficient in themselves to satisfy him, we would never criticize them. He is about to discover the greatest secret and his life’s purpose, both of which rise above all selfish concerns. Real satisfaction comes from an unfathomable depth within the self. Even a sage like Vyasadeva was unable to know the depth and nature of satisfaction, what to speak of a materialist who calls temporary relief from suffering happiness.
“One last point: when we feel dissatisfied, we should not ask Krishna to protect us from that feeling. Rather, we should ask Krishna to protect us from the superficial satisfaction which often distracts us from the deeper levels of self. Please, Krishna, although I want to be happy, don’t allow my mind and heart to rest until they have taken full shelter of You. Please let me serve You in some way.”
“Srila Prabhupada mentions that devotional service is the normal condition of the living being. This is similar to physical health, in which normal life constitutes health, and disease is an abnormality. Devotional service is not an extraordinary state of psyche and heart, implying that few may attain it. It is the constitutional position of every living entity. We are meant to be happy in connection with Krishna by performing voluntary devotional service. When we step away from that state, we are crazy and troubled. If only one or two souls out of millions remember this, it means that the rest are diseased.”
Prabhupada expresses this as the central teaching of Krishna consciousness. One time I wrote to Srila Prabhupada to ask if there were any special articles I should write or solicit for Back to Godhead magazine. Prabhupada replied, ‘There is nothing “special.” Krishna is the Supreme Person and we are all His servants. This philosophy we have to present in different ways. One cannot be happy without this understanding of his constitutional position.’”
“The highest representation of devotional service is found in Srimati Radharani, Krishna’s dearmost devotee. It is actually She who bestows love of God on the living beings, and She who especially wants to see them return to their normal loving relationship with Krishna. The spiritual master is Srimati Radharani’s representative. He teaches that bhakti is greater than Krishna, or more accurately, that bhakti is the highest manifestation of Krishna and Krishna consciousness. God rules in all realms, but of His own free will He becomes submissive to bhakti and to His bhaktas. That is His greatest glory, that He become submissive to the love of His devotees.”
“Inspiration, or Krishna’s dictation through the heart, doesn’t always come as a discovery of something wonderful; we may also see our defects. We heard in the previous verse Vyasa’s diagnosis of his own fault. Now Srila Prabhupada informs us that this insight was inspired by Krishna.”
“ . . . Another point to note in this verse and purport is Vyasadeva’s expression of regret. Without experiencing regret we cannot experience reform. Reform means more than simply giving up a bad habit for a better one; it implies a changed heart.
“There are many examples throughout the scriptures of the purifying effects of regret. Maharaja Pariksit also regretted neglecting to honor Samika Rsi. Prabhupada writes, ‘Repentance comes in the mind of a good soul as soon as he commits something wrong.’ (Bhag. 1.18.31, purport) And again, ‘ . . . by the grace of the Lord all sins unwillingly committed by a devotee are burnt in the fire of repentance.’ (Bhag. 1.19.1, purport)”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 3:
“We never expected Swamiji to act like a hippie-guru. He never spoke our jargon, and yet he was hip in his own way. He was totally present with us, and we gave ourselves to him.”
From Srila Prabhupada Smaranam: Photos 1966–1977:
“He [Prabhupada] told his secretary that dealing with the management gives him a headache, but if he did not deal with it, it would give him another kind of headache.”
From My Letters from Srila Prabhupada, Volume 3 (“I Am Never Displeased by Any Member”):
“Prabhupada didn’t surround himself with yes-men but with people he hoped would apply their intelligence and experience to his cause.”
From Remembering Srila Prabhupada: A Free-Verse Rendition of the Life and Teachings of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness:
“Others didn’t know Prabhupada
but saw him walk past on his route—
Columbus Avenue to Westside Drive.
They saw a swami of 70 years
with white pointy shoes and wrapped in a grey shawl
pass by their window at a brisk pace.
|The word spread Downtown
to the health-and-occultish Paradox
that a swami Uptown in a little room
had a far-out chant and
whoever went could see him.
In 1960s fashion, Bill Epstein went
bringing brown rice and a handshake:
‘We are doing our thing to make reform,
and so are you. So dig the scene.’
Prabhupada received them each.
He was a deep reservoir of devotion,
yet always a person
as real and ready to deal
as any one of them.
He regarded even the ant as worthy of respect
and shared an hour with whomever inquired.
His social service
was to give them Krishna.
He was a real person
from the spiritual world,
but no one knew.
They mostly saw a swami of 70
in pointy shoes and a grey shawl
quickly passing by their window.
And even if they received his mantra
it was not as sisya.
The mad eclectics moved on,
searching for another experience,
unfortunate lives of short duration,
lazy, cheated, and always disturbed.
The flotsam and jetsam jivas
could not, in their downstream rush,
halt to take shelter on the shore of Srila Prabhupada.
He humbly offered them prasadam
and gave of himself,
but they could not see the value
as they careened by.”
From Karttika Moon:
“Haiku masters can teach you the essence of poetry, which is to observe the best moments.”
“I told Srila Prabhupada in 1974 that people in the U.S.A. were profoundly intimidated by the Bomb and thought life is not worth living, raising children to be incinerated, etc. He said we don’t stay home and cry because of the threat. We go on living. We also live to avert the disaster. Or we prepare ourselves to transcend any and all material upheavals.”
The humble servants of Sila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.16.30, purport:
“The wives of Kaliya were actually serious devotees of Lord Krishna, and according to the acaryas they had often tried to convince their husband to surrender to Him. Finally, finding himself in unbearable agony, Kaliya remembered his wives’ advice and took shelter of the Lord.”
From Srila Prabhupada Samadhi Diary:
“Who stops to look at you, Srila Prabhupada? Who considers what your work is? Who dedicates himself to you? Relatively few. You are another ‘saint,’ another statue, to most people. I’m supposed to know better, but the superficial nature of most people’s visits here serves to remind me that I also tend to be perfunctory and shallow. Still, something draws me to you. Every morning when the bell strikes ten, you call me here. I circumambulate your form three times. I touch my head to an outer wall of the inner sanctum. I pray to you here.”
“A Catholic priest once told a story that when he was a kid, there was a man who stopped into the church every day, even if only for a few minutes. He entered the church and said, ‘Hello, God, it’s me, Billy.’ When the man was dying, God came to him and said, ‘Hello, Billy, it’s Me, God.’ The priest was encouraging us to go to church and pray; don’t forget God or the house of God. The Samadhi Mandir is Prabhupada’s ‘church.’ Hello, Srila Prabhupada, it’s me, SatsvarÅ«pa.”
“He captured us, whether he was mellow and soft with us or acted like a military general.”
“By studying and preaching I can forget the petty concerns of my anxious mind. The mind will be engaged in higher topics.”
“Out of thousands, only a few seek perfection. Out of those who achieve perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth. What is true for Sri Krishna is also true for His pure representative. Hardly one knows Srila Prabhupada in truth.”
“I pray my resolution,
which is substantial—
which is the profound hope
and which is right for me—
I pray that it doesn’t become like
the bathing of the elephant
which is followed by his
rolling in the dust.
“What is that resolution?
To return to Srila Prabhupada and ask
him to revive in me that
exclusive and wholehearted spirit
of service to him which I had
when I was young and he was here.”
“The letter on your desk today is to Ranadhira, 1972. He has since gone from your service. You wrote to him that he was senior and serious and if he kept it up, he would ‘very soon reach the supreme highest perfection.’
“I look at this now and feel some sorrow. Still, I feel hopeful because what you promised to the devotees is still true, provided we follow your instructions. You wrote, ‘We must become so responsible for seriously practicing this Krishna consciousness, because the world is full of degrading elements ... Save the people.’ That was Srila Prabhupada’s concern. Save the people.”
“‘So I count on you and your Godbrothers among those few men who are treading seriously on the path back home back to Godhead ... do not fall back.’”
“It will increase if we keep the standard he gave us: ‘Otherwise it will gradually become mechanical and fade away like every other so-called religious movement.’”
“Srila Prabhupada, you are still counting on us. We are still only a few men. The world is full of bad elements dragging people down. We can work to save them. We have to keep the enthusiasm and the high standard you gave us. It has in some ways become mechanical. Hardening of the arteries is occurring, but also new life and hope. I’m fighting for my own life and wish to stay as you describe in this letter, a senior disciple whom you can trust and who takes his responsibilities seriously. Now my duties have become refined, but they’re even more responsible than before. People look to me to set an example that there is still life in Krishna consciousness even after you practice it for thirty or forty years. Actually, the longer you practice spiritual life, the more enlivened you become.
“I want to prove myself faithful. I want to be in the spirit that you want me to be in. I think I know what that means and what I should do.”
“How long will anything last? Your bed in this room reminds us. You preached in the West for only eleven years. You accomplished so much in such a short amount of time! Your bed tells us we will have to move along and that we should try to do something for you before it’s too late.”
“The lions—they can tear apart elephantine vices. They are good lions, part of the Mandir, yet they are fierce and their bodies are built for attack. Let them attack any demons that try to enter here. Let them swallow my own demons so that I can look upon Prabhupada peacefully and pray to him. Let the roar of the lions frighten doubts and superficiality. Please give me the courage not to run away.”
“A new generation brahmacari sits before you, Srila Prabhupada, chanting japa. He’s so young. I think, ‘I’m senior.’ What does that mean? Do I think it means that I should be given honor and privilege? It means I should do more. I should know more and give more. I should freely tell your pastimes to others and assure them of their relationship with you. I should speak from my own experience and encourage them about the power of reading your books. That’s what being senior means. It means taking responsibility.”
“‘By distributing my books profusely, you are giving me great encouragement to translate. And you are all helping me to fulfill the order which my Guru Maharaja gave me. So I am so much grateful to you and I am sure Krishna will bless you a million times over for doing this work.’”
“I said it’s all right if Godbrothers or Godsisters see me here [in Srila Prabhupada’s room in Vrindavan]. Actually, I like to see them here. I’d like to see them enthusiastic to come in here any chance they get, even if it’s only for a few moments. It’s a beloved chapel and meditation center, a place of wishes and prayer. Here you come to confess to Srila Prabhupada and expect his direction. If ever you are going to receive something like that, it’s in here. You work all year in Russia or Brazil or a farm in Canada or Australia, you get roughed up by the material energy, and then you manage to get to Vrindavan ‘for a refresher.’ You come to this room.”
“That’s what I want—the enlivened state of the preacher, which Prabhupada himself exemplified. The connection he had with Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, the blessings he received from him—why can’t I have some of that and the confidence that he’s always with me, watching my activities? Srila Prabhupada lives forever by his divine instructions and the follower lives with him.”
“Srila Prabhupada, I am a living witness of your pastimes. I am one of the boys you picked up. When you returned to visit the Boston pier in 1968 you said, ‘When I first came here, I was alone, but now I have some boys, so if I die, they will continue it.’ You lived for this mission. You wanted it to continue. That was your main desire. Prabhupada, it is continuing. It is rooted in many countries. I have lived to see it. I want to continue serving you in that role. Please keep me.”
“Srila Prabhupada, your ‘best’ years of service to your Guru Maharaja came long after your spiritual master’s disappearance. You kept your conviction alive for many years. You followed the basic, strong, mainstream order of your spiritual master in a personal way. I shouldn’t think that all I can do is to relive old memories. I can still deepen my commitment to your mission by deepening my own service career, in cooperation with my Godbrothers. I can write and write and read and read and speak on your behalf.”
“Am I the kind of spiritual master who represents you not only in my teachings, but in my caring mood? You cared for us. Please teach me to care for others.”
“Please, Srila Prabhupada, give me the strength and endurance to grow in my attraction to your books. Today a Godbrother was telling me that he was reading your Second Canto purports and that they were powerful and wonderful. I liked hearing that. I also want to experience that and then describe it to others. This is what I want to accomplish in this life.”
“I don’t come here out of my own intelligence, I am drawn here by you. You lived among us, Srlla Prabhupada, and therefore these places exist in my memory of you. Because they exist, I am drawn to them. My being drawn to you is as natural as iron filings being drawn to a magnet. As soon as I saw the announcement in your storefront window, I went to see you. I have never stopped. You drew me to you. A guru! India! Bhakti! The Hare Krishna mantra, the promise of eternal life, Krishna! Your knowledge and words to convince us. A guru for us on the Lower East Side. An escape from our dangerous lives. I must have a relationship with you from my past life. Whatever our relationship is, you draw me to you.”
“Even if we waver or stray or grow stale, please bring us back to your lotus feet.”
“‘With full faith in Krishna and the spiritual master, push on this work with full force. We have got a great mission to fulfill, and these books and magazines are the torchbearers of truth which can save the world.’”
“Srila Prabhupada, may my books be part of your mission? May they carry some of the torchlight which you ignited in this world? Are my books not, in a small way, an extension of the original fire I received from you? I hope so.”
“I am not a clone or a carbon copy of you. As a unique soul, I do what I can for your cause. That’s how you want it.”
“Srila Prabhupada, your words imply all the mellows of conjugal rasa and any other valuable secrets we may wish to learn. Nothing is missing from your instructions. By following your orders, everything will be revealed to us—when we are qualified.”
“O Prabhupada, may we live in you until we die; may we serve in this life and the next. May we study your words and repeat them with joy and conviction. May we know Krishna and Radha through you.”
“You said that we are moved by desire. You said you came to America because you had a desire to preach. Desire also carries us to our next body. Under all my rhetoric, what and whom do I love? What do I actually desire to achieve? Who am I? The answer to those questions determines where I will go and in what capacity I will live and serve. Who would be such a fool as to maintain or cultivate material desire? Prabhupada, you worked to save us, save me. Therefore, you are the personification of the preaching spirit. Please make me in your image.”
“During mangala-arati, I thought how we sometimes use the word ‘Prabhupada’ and speak of allegiance to him, but it’s not personal, it’s vague. We actually forget him. We run ‘our’ institution and use his name. This is done by every group with every different shade of opinion. I’m not saying that no one is sincere, but I want to go beyond saying only socially acceptable things about Prabhupada only because they are socially acceptable. It’s better to say something real and sincerely attempted in surrender.”
“Your immortal words flow through us in the exact way that you said them: ‘Be responsible, cool-headed, sober, and always think of Krishna.’”
“Prabhupada, one of my disciples is sick. The doctors say he may have tuberculosis. His name is Rama-raya dasa, and he reads your books more than anyone I know practically. He also distributes them. He loves Vrindavan-dhama and to serve Radha-syama. I hope he won’t die young, but will live to develop his Krishna consciousness. Yet, one by one we have to go. Please let Rama-raya think of you at the end, Srila Prabhupada, and let him remember Lord Krishna. Please allow me to help him.”
“You said that the brahmana is the intellectual. He studies sastra and writes books. He doesn’t have to do the ksatriya’s or the vaisya’s work. Krishna doesn’t ask Vyasadeva to fight on the battlefield like Arjuna, you said. He asks Vyasa to write books.”
From Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam, Volume 2:
“The disciple usually then offers appropriate prayers to receive the spiritual master and offers him a sitting place; a meal, and any other comforts. These points of etiquette should never be overlooked when the guru arrives. Beyond that, however, Vyasadeva honored his guru by mentally becoming his servant. He molded his entire life around Narada Muni’s instructions. The spiritual master should be the master of the disciple’s heart and the director of all his activities. Yasya deve para bhaktir, yatha deve tatha gurau: ‘Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.’ Visvanatha Cakravarti has said that as a person cannot live without his life air (prana) circulating through his body, similarly, a disciple cannot live without the ‘life air’ of the spiritual master’s order. Dedicating all activities of body, mind, and words to carrying out the guru’s order is real honor and real worship. If we fail to follow the order wholeheartedly, we are dead. The guru’s order is the source of life.”
“Bhakti is so merciful that even the fallen souls can practice it; bhakti is liberal and free. It engages all our propensities and allows us to engage art and freedom in His service. It establishes the supremacy of Krishna in this world.”
“Prabhupada has encouraged me to write, and he has ordered me to chant, hear, preach Krishna consciousness, and of course, to do all this in the mood of coming to love God. I particularly remember his instruction that we BTG writers should express ourselves in our own words, our own language. He said that if our writing was cumbersome, it was a sign that we had not assimilated the philosophy. I find this comment pertinent now for the writing of this book. It is not enough for me to simply repeat the philosophy; I must assimilate it and then speak it from my heart, in my own words, with my own aspirations and realizations. Nothing will be changed, but the expression of it may be simplified.
“When Prabhupada discussed the topics upon which an author should concentrate, he said,
“‘So far as special topics for writing, all our topics are in the books. There is nothing “special.” Krishna is the Supreme Person and we are all His servants. This philosophy we have to present in different ways. One cannot be happy without this understanding of his constitutional position.’ (Letter, April 9, 1971)
“So that will be the nature of this book: I have not changed anything, and I have tried to take a personal approach to understanding how we can regain our constitutional position, how we can love the Supreme Person, how we can be true to ourselves and to our spiritual master. Nothing special.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 4:
“Pure devotees of Krishna meditate on Krishna’s schedule. Krishna performs various pastimes with His eternal associates according to the time of day. Krishna’s day is divided into eight main periods, and within those eight periods, there are minute divisions. Pure devotees fill their minds with remembrance of Radha-Krishna by meditating in this way.
“Similarly, Srila Prabhupada’s daily schedule is well-known to his devotees. We can meditate on Prabhupada at different times of the day. For example, Prabhupada rose around 1:00 A.M. to write. He took prasadam at specific times, chanted his Gayatri at specific times, and had scheduled meeting times for guests. He took a noon bath and a little nap afterwards, and he was usually prepared to lecture in the evening. As we go through our own day’s activities, we can meditate on Prabhupada’s schedule and even try to do some of the things he did at the times he did them. That will fill our minds with remembrance of Prabhupada.
“Prabhupada also manifested the other symptoms of steady bhava, including always expecting the Lord’s mercy, pridelessness, attraction for living in a holy place, and attraction for chanting the holy names. Prabhupada manifested all these symptoms with full, Krishna conscious emotion and with the strong awareness of a preacher. He was a pure devotee. Prabhupada wanted his followers to also become pure devotees. Therefore, we can please Prabhupada not only by meditating on him throughout the day as he performs his bhajana, but by performing it ourselves. This is the perfection of Prabhupada meditation.
“Try This...
“Another way to follow Srila Prabhupada’s schedule is to worship his murti and serve him throughout the day in that way. If you have a murti, you may find that your schedule is already formed around service to your deity. But you can make it even more personal by trying to serve the murti according to Prabhupada’s actual schedule.”
“Advertising oneself as advanced means you are not advanced, especially if you lessen your tie with your spiritual master.”
“For me, Prabhupada meditations has become a genre. Genres are not only different ways to create books, but are the variety of expressions in which I look for self-purification.”
From The Story of My Life, Volume 1:
“Prabhupada Murti
Because the murti is somehow him,
therefore it is absolutely him.
And any worshiper has the right
to dress, garland and feed him.
All are chosen servants now—
if you will receive him with care,
he will stay in your home,
giving purpose to a life.
Some nights I surrender,
and he knows, smiles.
I can touch him
and bow down.
One brother said, ‘I realized
Prabhupada was my only friend.’
I lectured to him, ‘No, appreciate others
you are not alone with only him.’
Now I realize he was right:
when all else fails, Prabhupada doesn’t.
When I was tired of the world,
and no one understood,
I appealed to coworkers,
‘Let us always stay together.’
But they joked in reply:
‘Is there a threat if we don’t?’
‘How about a two-year contract?’
Both are true in Prabhupada—
he’s keeping us together,
and he’s keeping me together.
This murti is nice.”
From A Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam, Volume 3:
“Nowadays, we hear even some of Prabhupada’s own followers accuse him of not speaking the ‘higher topics.’ Prabhupada was convinced that there were no higher topics until his disciples and followers had mastered the ABCs. We saw that especially with guests. A guest would try to jump past Prabhupada’s elementary presentation and try to ask questions about Krishna, but Srila Prabhupada would say, ‘Don’t talk about Krishna. Krishna is millions of miles away. First we have to understand, “Who am I? Am I this body, am I this mind, or am I something else?”’”
“Disciples are praiseworthy in that they are seeking the Absolute Truth, but to the degree to which they are unsuccessful in fulfilling their quest, they are also foolish. Our failure to find the Absolute Truth is based on our identification with body and mind, and our lack of understanding that we are Krishna’s eternal servants. Only the spiritual master can help us. Anyone now living in this material world who thinks himself above the need for guru is proud and therefore doubly foolish. Disciples should always be prepared to have their faults exposed by their spiritual master. Such care shown by the spiritual master is the life of a disciple. If we don’t admit that we don’t know Krishna, and if we don’t open ourselves to instruction from higher authorities, we will always remain dissatisfied, lost to our attachments.”
“My dear prabhu, why are you feeling undone? Take to bhakti. It’s not enough to be a scholar or writer. You can’t help others unless you immerse yourself in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srimad-Bhagavatam contains Krishna and is therefore the sum total of all things.”
From Forgetting the Audience:
“The wretched world of perverts—I mean those who are cruel and degraded and ruin the pure life. They do it in me; they do it in themselves and in others. I can’t wipe them out. I can, however, help to make the Krishna consciousness movement a haven for those who want to escape the cruel and filthy minds of the world.”
“I just told myself to write to help my japa, and immediately I came up with a practical plan—going outdoors when drowsy. This idea never came until I wrote it. The writing has such power. Whatever I turn it toward, it starts thinking creatively, productively.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 3:
“Hoping for dreams of you,
and now it is time to offer you
your evening milk, as I used to in Bombay,
in a silver cup,
with sugar in a separate cup.”
From The Story of My Life, Volume 3:
“I’ve missed out on so many things of material life. I’ve missed out on going to baseball games in major league stadiums. I’ve missed going to concerts, I’ve missed going to the movies. But I don’t regret it. When I took sannyasa Prabhupada told me that, ‘As you are a preacher, you’ll meet rich men and their beautiful wives, but don’t think, ‘I once had a wife like that, or I could have a house like this.’ Don’t resent becoming a sannyasi and becoming civilly dead.”
From The Last Days of the Year:
“Everything comes to us according to our destiny. If we receive the mercy to spend time with a pure devotee, we are receiving more than our due. Pure devotional service is beyond fate. It is wholly spiritual.”
“But time is not slow—Krishna Himself. Baladeva said he wants to get me an hourglass. He thought it would be fun for me to work with it. He sent me a photo of an ad for one. The ad showed an old white-haired couple in their ’60s, photo models, hugging each other on the beach with the waves running over their ankles. It said, ‘Time is running.’ Yes, it’s true.”
From Karttika Moon:
“Srila Prabhupada singing, ‘Jaya Radhe, Jaya Krishna, Jaya Vrndavana. . . .’ You think he is not in a Vraja mood? Don’t be a nonsense. Hear him more carefully and follow his mood in your own way.”
“Go, go, Govinda, the stately Deity. Go back to Godhead, not to go-go girls.”
“Govindaji – I want to love Thee and know Thee as a Christian knows Christ and says his name. Please give sweetness to me when I say ‘Govinda’ or Your many names. Gopala, Gopinatha, Gopi-jana-vallabha.”
“Saw this poem, Japanese point of view but a good description of an uncontrolled mind, applies to japa also.
“‘Satori’ noted,
the mind, like quicksilver, goes,
falsely ‘enlightened,’
down those old long-headed roads,
each more wrong than one before.
“Another, by Muso Seki translated by Sam Himel, describes retreat mode.
“If only people
would not come to visit me
in lonely mountains
where I have built my retreat
from the world’s many trials.”
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:
Quoted in Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, Vol. 1, Chap. 3, by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
[As Gaura Purnima ended in the USA and began in Mayapur, I recalled this quote:] “There has not been, there will not be, such benefactors of the highest merit as [Chaitanya] Mahaprabhu and His devotees have been. The offer of other benefits is only a deception; it is rather a great harm, whereas the benefit done by Him and His followers is the truest and greatest eternal benefit. … This benefit is not for one particular country causing mischief to another; but it benefits the whole universe. … The kindness that Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has shown to jivas [embodied souls] absolves them eternally from all wants, from all inconveniences and from all the distresses. … That kindness does not produce any evil, and the jivas who have it will not be the victims of the evils of the world.”
Lokanath Swami:
Although it was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s instruction a hundred years ago to Abhay Babu to go to the West to spread Lord Caitanya’s message, I like to see it as Lord Caitanya speaking through him.
Lord Caitanya came to give mercy, and we are praying for some of that mercy.
Radha and Krishna are one, but they manifest as two to enjoy their pastimes. Five hundred years ago, they again joined together as Lord Caitanya.
Lord Caitanya came with the bhava [emotions] and dyuti [luster] of Radharani.
The extra kindness manifested by Lord Caitanya beyond that manifest by Krishna is the kindness of Radharani.
Krishna says he appears as some avatar, yuge yuge, in every age, but Lord Caitanya appears just once in a kalpa or day of Brahma.
All the associates of Krishna appear when Krishna appears, and all the associates of Lord Caitanya appear when Caitanya appears.
Goloka is the dhama of Krishna, and it is also the dhama of Lord Caianya.
Lord Caitanya taught to worship Vrindavan.
Krishna tells people to do this and do that, but He does not do it Himself. As Lord Caitanya, He becomes a devotee and follows all those instructions. In particular, He taught the chanting of the holy name, which is mentioned many places in the scripture as the dharma for this age.
When Lord Caitanya chanted the holy name so purely after hearing it from his spiritual master, He immediately attained love of God and became mad to go to Vrindavan.
Many religions are very proud of their religious book, but we have a library of religious books. Lord Caitanya was always relishing verses from these books, often all night long.
Lord Caitanya recommended spotless scriptures with no traces of tamas, rajas, or sattva guna.
Lord Caitanya practiced and propagated prema through chanting and dancing. One of his great contributions is the teaching prema pumartha mahan [love of God is the highest goal].
Lord Caitanya desired this chanting spread to every town and village, not of Bengal, not of India, but of the whole world.
Devotees are living in Mayapur from sixty countries.
Why is this ten-thousand-year period of spiritual enlightenment referred to as a golden age? Because of Gauranga, the golden avatar.
Mahatma Prabhu:
There was one devotee who befriended devotees who were not doing very well and who other devotees had given up on. Because of his friendship, they all became very advanced. I have seen it many times that someone a devotee befriends does very well in devotional service.
Srila Prabhupada was once explaining what he meant by ever well wisher, and he said, “Even if a devotee leaves, I am ever their well wisher. I cannot be any other way.”
If you are jealous, if you are envious, you live in the material world. If you are not jealous or envious, you are in the spiritual world.
Srila Prabhupada was always giving mercy. He did not care for his personal inconvenience.
Srila Prabhupada once said, “If I thought of my convenience, how could I preach?”
If we are not trying to control ourselves and yet continuing to chant, we are making offenses against the holy name.
Srila Prabhupada explained that one should understand if he envies someone that he is actually respecting them because he is considering that the person is superior in some way to themselves.
Srila Prabhupada taught that we can become purified from envy by serving the the people we are envious of.
There was one devotee who was so spaced out from previously having taken lots of LSD that it took him all day to just chant 16 rounds. Devotees told Prabhupada this devotee could not do service because it took him all day to chant his rounds. Srila Prabhupada said it was OK, and ultimately he came out of that.
A Prabhupada disciple:
From a comment during a class:
There is a program where a Mayavadi sannyasi was going on and on. Finally Srila Prabhupada had heard enough, and he told the devotees to chant, and the devotees on the stage chanted, and the devotees in the crowd chanted, Srila Prabhupada chanted, and the audience chanted, and the devotees danced, Srila Prabhupada danced, and even the Mayavadis danced.
Nagaraja Prabhu:
From “Past-life Memories” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 56, No. 4 (July/August 2022):
“A self-help method that aims at cleaning up unbeneficial things within ourselves one by one may not be the best solution. By the method of Krishna consciousness, we can cleanse our hearts wholesale.”
Sesa Prabhu:
The conversation between the brahmanas and King Vena shows two different world views. The brahmanas consider the demigods as part of the body of the Lord and that by pleasing the Lord everyone can be happy while King Vena sees the demigods as part of his own body and meant to please him.
We must show people there is something they can do to remove those inevitable miseries we all experience.
Obviously the more sincerely we apply Krishna consciousness ourselves, the more we can convince people of its benefits.
Comment by Prabhupada Priya Devi Dasi: If we have a materialistic view, we will see others as instruments for our sense gratification and others who do not help us become competitors for sense gratification or our enemies, and this is very dissatisfying vision of the world. On the other hand, devotees, seeing others as souls, work for everyone’s spiritual benefit and are their true friends.
Visakha Dasi:
From “Krishna’s Sometimes Disguised Mercy” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 56, No. 4 (July/August 2022):
“Whatever may be happening externally, Krishna’s devotees are filled with appreciation for His kindness, and their hearts are tender with affection for Him. Their knowledge and appreciation of Krishna, as well as their affection for Him, are evidence of His mercy on them.”
Black Swami speaking on March 16, 2022 in Mayapur:
As in the academic community, in the bhakti tradition we also have peer-reviewed literatures, such as those by Narottama Dasa Thakura, Six Goswamis, and Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami.
Rukmini was telling Krishna that He could not understand the depth of His devotees feelings for Him. Then Krishna came upon Narada who looked surprisely morose, and Krishna asked him what was wrong. Narada said that the people of Kali-yuga are so resistant to the message of your devotees that I think you should advent yourself to invigorate the preaching. Thus Krishna appeared as Lord Caitanya for both purposes.
The yuga-dharma is very scientific. The result of many people chanting Hare Krishna individually in their rooms is not the same as the result of a group of people chanting together.
Even as a child, Lord Caitanya encouraged those around Him to constantly chant by stopping His crying whenever they did so.
Lord Caitanya taught that although we may be very learned, we should be very humble.
Lord Caitanya, although the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also faced challenges in His devotional service, as that of the Kazi who threatened to stop His sankirtana movement.
Although Lord Caitanya was a leader of preachers, He also preached Himself.
Doing our preaching activities helps us to really be in the dhama when we are in the dhama.
The essence is to be able to inject Krishna consciousness into the people of the time. Lord Caitanya took sannyasa for this purpose.
Taking inspiration from hearing of the pastimes of the Lord, we should deepen our practice.
We do not need to alter our life, we just have to chant Hare Krishna.
Comment by Bhakta Das Prabhu: Nilambara Cakravarti performed the name giving ceremony for Lord Caitanya, although he was His maternal uncle. In the Bengali families the paternal uncle does this work, but Lord Caitanya’s family originally came from Odhisa where the maternal uncle does this.
Satyaraja Prabhu:
From “Madana Mohana: Mesmerizer of Mesmerizers” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 56, No. 4 (July/August 2022):
“The name Madana Mohana is commonly used as a direct reference to the Supreme Being, for only such an incomparable entity is ‘all-attractive’ (a literal translation of the name Krishna). He is therefore sometimes called Kamadeva as well, i.e., ‘the Lord who instigates unending spiritual desire [kama].’ By inspiring desire of this magnitude through His all-attractive visage and nature, He makes all living beings run after Him, seeking a relationship and loving exchanges. In this way Madana Mohana is the sambandha deity, who reestablishes our relationship with God, for we cannot resist this relationship having once been exposed to Him.”
Bhakti Anugraha Janardana Swami:
In the previous life, Kaliya was a yogi in the Satya-yuga, who restricted another sadhu from meditating in the same place, and thus he was cursed to take birth as a snake.
It is said that at its widest, the Yamuna was eight miles across, and Kaliya took shelter of this part of the river and considered it his territory, and he lived there for many years.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says there is no room for malicious people in Braja. They can stay there temporarily at best.
Everyone in Vrindavan, the people, the birds, the animals, are all attracted by Krishna. Even Kaliya was attracted.
Why are imprints of Krishna’s feet not erased by the effects of the wind? The earth considers them to be an ornament.
Why does Krishna allow Kaliya to hold him in his coils for so long? Krishna considered it like an embrace. Why did Krishna allow Kaliya to bite him? Krishna took it like a kiss.
Envy is fanned by bad association. Thus by good association, the association of serious devotees, we can conquer envy.
There is nothing that the holy name cannot purify as long as we try chant the holy name without offenses.
The worst devotee is better then the best karmi because he is trying to surrender to Krishna.
Manasi-ganga was created from the mind of Lord Krishna, and thus she has that name.
Krishna, disguised as boat man, said he did not have enough energy to row the boat, and asked to eat the gopis’ sweet meats. They reluctantly agreed. Later the boat began to leak. The boat man advised them to toss overboard first their milk products and then their jewels. A storm started brewing. The gopis became fearful. Radha took shelter of the boatman, who was the only person available to take shelter of, and she came to realize he was Krishna.
Q (by Pancagauda Prabhu) : We may be envious and think that because devotional service is the only cure, that we can just go on as we are, and ultimately we will be cured.
A: If you accept an authority, then your envy can be rectified, but if you are not willing to accept an authority you will not cured of the problem.
Narada Rishi Prabhu:
Everything is already there, in the sastra and in the holy name. We just have to desire it.
One man had a large library, and Srila Prabhupada offered him a Bhagavad-gita. The man at first rejected it, but as Srila Prabhupada insisted, he accepted, and put it on a window sill. After twenty years and his hair was gray, he was doing some whitewash, and the book fell down. He read it and wished he had read it years before.
Indian Prime Minister Mody actually chants Hare Krishna, and one devotee heard him mention Lord Caitanya in a lecture. He is a very pious man.
Karuna Dharini Devi Dasi:
From “Remedy for an Over-Salted Condition” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 56, No. 4 (July/August 2022):
“Sometimes a preparation is incorrectly salted and cannot be eaten lest we are sickened. On the other hand, with no salt the flavor of many foods is inhibited. Fittingly, Srila Prabhupada compared the collection and use of resources and wealth to the use of salt. If we take too much, we spoil our life, and if we use too little, life is tasteless.”
“In the early twenty-first century, the destruction of the bounty of earth’s natural resources is fully imminent. A tense human society totters on the edge of the loss of the God-given opulence that has been at our fingertips and all around us for eons. Our industrial achievements have been supersized, our moral and spiritual condition downsized.”
Mukunda Datta Prabhu:
The acaryas say that the purpose of Lord Krishna’s pastimes is to attract the conditioned souls.
By hearing the different pastimes of Krishna we become purified from different anarthas.
Even in 1980 when I came here, we were drinking the water from the river Yamuna and offering it to the deities.
One babaji told me that it was alright for me to kill the mosquitoes because my child could get bitten and catch malaria and die, and it was my duty to protect my family. For himself as a babaji he said that he could not kill them and had tolerate them.
In the purport to the verse describing the nine kinds of devotional service, Srila Prabhupada explains that we should perform the devotional service with the understanding that we are the eternal servants of Krishna.
Lord Caitanya was very humble. One lady eager to see Lord Jagannatha climbed on His body, but He did not become disturbed.
Lord Krishna is the supreme controller, but in the pastimes He has to do what Radharani wants.
We should read the Krishna book regularly. Otherwise if we wait to encounter His pastimes in Srimad-Bhagavatam it will take 11 years to encounter them.
One time when Kadamba Kanana Swami was in charge, the devotees enacted the subduing of Kaliya before the boat festival. Another time they enacted the killing of Aghasura pastime. Kadamba Kanana Swami liked the pastimes of Krishna killing the demons.
Caitanya Carana Prabhu:
From “Srila Prabhupada: Delivering the Essence from the Past, Present, and Future” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 56, No. 4 (July/August 2022):
“Only because he [Srila Prabhupada] paid meticulous attention to even the smallest of openings that came his way was he able to spread his movement, initially slowly and then dramatically rapidly.”
“When he was asked, ‘What do you think of Buddhism?’ he sensed that the questioner was asking from a platform of idle intellectualism. Rather than getting into the intricacy of any philosophy, he counter-questioned, ‘Do you follow Buddha?’
When the surprised questioner replied, ‘Er . . . no,’ Srila Prabhupada emphatically declared, “Follow Buddha; follow Jesus; follow Krishna; follow someone. Don’t just talk.” His point was that mere academic comparison of various schools of thought wouldn’t provide any substantial spiritual insight; only by adopting a path through appropriate lifestyle change could people realize the validity and suitability of any path for them."
Gauranga Darsana Prabhu:
From “Does One Person’s Mistake Make Many Culprits?” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 56, No. 4 (July/August 2022):
“Though one brahmana, Sá¹›ngi, had cursed Pariksit severely, Pariksit didn’t condemn the entire brahmana class. Rather he took the association of many brahmanas on the bank of the sacred Ganges and accepted the brahmana Sukadeva Gosvami as his guru, heard Srimad-Bhagavatam from him, and perfected his life.”
“Even great souls might succumb to extreme emotions at times, but they are humble enough to admit their mistakes, rectify them, and not repeat them.”
From a class at Govardhan Eco Village:
Love is an emotion, expression, and action.
The problem is that we do not sufficient love Krishna, and bhakti-yoga is to develop our love for Krishna.
Radhanath Swami says we should love Krishna, those dear to Krishna, those aspiring to become dear to Krishna, and those Krishna loves, in other words, everyone.
A devotee sees everything in connection with Krishna, and loves everything its connection with Krishna.
Rasa is the pleasure devotees experience in their relationship with Krishna.
Amrita is a nectar that will make us deathless.
The pleasure we experience in devotional service is like an ocean, sindhu.
Bhakti-rasa gives us pleasure like an ocean.
The four waves:
1. Samanya bhakti: a general description of bhakti.
2. Sadhana bhakti
a. Vaidhi bhakti
b. Raganuga bhakti
3. Bhava bhakti
4. Prema bhakti
First Wave: Samanya bhakti
1-10: Mangalacarana
11-16: Definition of uttama bhakti
17-46: Six qualities of uttama bhakti
Verse 1: Krishna is the objective of this book. He diffuses His beauty. He controls Taraka and Pali. He has a relationship of equals with Syama and Lalita. But Radha is most dear to Krishna and controls Him. He is the enjoyer of all rasas.
Verse 2: By Lord Caitanya’s empowerment I am writing this book.
Verse 3: Guru Vandana
Verse 4: Vaishnava Vandana
Verse 5: Asirvada (offering of benedictions)
Verse 6: Humility of Rupa Goswami
Verse 7–9: Grantha vibhaga
Verse 10: Uttama bhakti lakshanam
Verse 11: Definition of uttama bhakti
anyabilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krishnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama
Our knowledge and activity should not cover our devotion.
The first two lines describe secondary characteristics.
The last two lines describe primary characteristics.
One may be absorbed in the Lord and one may even please Krishna, but if one’s intention is not to please Krishna, it is not bhakti. For example, Canura and Mustika pleased Krishna by fighting with Him, although their intent was to kill Him.
Abhilasita means material desires not connected with Krishna. Desires for self-preservation are OK.
Knowledge for the sole purpose of liberation is not bhakti.
Activities for material results are not bhakti.
Verse 13: from Narada Pancaratna
sarvopadi-vinirmukam
tat-paratvena-nirmalam
hrsikena-hrsikesa
sevanam bhaktir ucyate
Verse 14-16: Definition of uttama bhakti in Srimad-Bhagavatam by Lord Kapila:
mad-guna-sruti-matrena
mayi sarva-guhasaye
mano-gatir avicchinna
yatha gangambhaso ’mbudhau
laksanam bhakti-yogasya
nirgunasya hy udahrtam
ahaituky avyavahita
ya bhaktih purusottame
“The manifestation of unadulterated devotional service is exhibited when one’s mind is at once attracted to hearing the transcendental name and qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is residing in everyone’s heart. Just as the water of the Ganges flows naturally down towards the ocean, such devotional ecstasy, uninterrupted by any material condition, flows towards the Supreme Lord.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.29.11–12)
17–46: Six qualities of uttama-bhakti
1. klesaghni (frees one from distress)
avidya causes papa-bijam which causes papam and thus klesa.
Aprarabdha – unmanifest
Kutam – about to be manifest
Papam – beginning their manifestation
Prarabdha – manifest
2. subhada (giving auspiciousness)
a. jagat-prinanam – benefits everyone
b. jagatam-anuraktata – attracts everyone
c. sad-gunadi-pradatvam: it gives good qualities
d. sukha-pradatvam: it gives happiness
3. moksa-laghutakrt: it minimizes liberation
4. su-durlabha: it is rare because it requires a lot of blessings
5. sandrananda-visesatma
Sandra means condensed, and ananda means bliss.
A drop of the pleasure of bhakti defeats an ocean of any other pleasure.
We become intoxicated with bhakti bliss and material happiness or distress do not at all affect us.
6. sri-krishna-akarsini: it attracts Krishna
Second Wave: Sadhana bhakti
Three types of uttama bhakti:
Sadhana bhakti
Bhava bhakti
Prema bhakti
Bhava bhakti must be separate from sadhana because there are feelings for Krishna and realization of Krishna which are not there in sadhana, and also because bhava is the aim of sadhana. Bhava bhakti differs from prema bhakti in that there are still impurities in bhava bhakti.
Sadhana bhakti is considered uttama bhakti because we are practicing pure devotional service not mixed devotional service.
Sadhana bhakti is performed with the senses and leads to bhava. This bhava is something eternally situated in the heart.
The essence of sadhana bhakti is to fix the mind on Krishna.
If those with negative emotions are completely absorbed in Krishna they attain liberation, otherwise they attain hell.
Two types of sadhana bhakti:
Vaidhi sadhana bhakti
no natural attachment, engagement motivated by sastra, guru, intellectual conviction
Raganuga sadhana bhakti:
spontaneous attraction
We should not stop at mechanical engagement in devotional service, but must continue until our mind is absorbed Krishna.
Observing vows without remembering Krishna is like performing exercises to reduce bodily fat.
SB verse supporting sadhana:
tasmad bharata sarvatma
bhagavan isvaro harih
srotavyah kirtitavyas ca
smartavyas cecchatabhayam
“O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.” (SB 2.1.5)
Qualification for executing sadhana:
1. faith in Krishna-seva
2. not too attached
3. not too detached
From SB 11.20.8:
yadrcchaya mat-kathadau
jata-sraddhas tu yah puman
na nirvinno nati-sakto
bhakti-yogo ’sya siddhi-dah
“If somehow or other by good fortune one develops faith in hearing and chanting My glories, such a person, being neither very disgusted with nor attached to material life, should achieve perfection through the path of loving devotion to Me.”
Four types of renunciation:
phalgu – weak, renouncing things that could be engaged in Krishna
smasana – temporary, as when going to a cremetorium
markata – monkey-like, living simply but remaining addicted to sensual enjoyment
yukta – engaging everything in Krishna’s service
uttama-adhikari:
perfect faith
does not discriminate between people
madhaya-adhikari:
firm faith
loves the Lord, befriends devotees, avoids envious, shows mercy to innocent
kanishta-adhikari:
weak faith
not well versed in the sastra
does not deal with other devotees nicely
Four type of pious people: the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute. (Bg. 7.16)
Bhakti Surpasses Mukti
Satisfying bodily needs cannot give ultimate fulfillment and thus some people seek liberation, but because they are unaware of spiritual activities, they merely avoid all activities.
Karma is action.
Akarma is no action.
But performing action without a result is also called akarma.
Rupa Goswami quotes about forty slokas about how bhakti surpasses mukti.
The happiness of devotional service is so great that Krishna also aspires for it. Lord Krishna appears as Lord Caitanya to relish the pleasure of serving Krishna.
The greatest happiness that the soul can experience is that derived from devotional service to Krishna.
Any attempt to satisfy one’s own ego will result in dissatisfaction while even a small attempt to serve Krishna will bring great satisfaction.
Devotees reject the four Vaishnava liberations if there is no opportunity for service to the Lord.
When we are in a service attitude toward Krishna we glimpse the actual liberated state.
For a devotee even anxiety experienced in the course of devotional service to Krishna is considered a cause of pleasure.
Krishna, by His mere smile, can free us from all material anxiety.
Devotees are sometimes called atmarama because they are satisfied by serving the self-satisfied Lord.
Two types of liberation:
1. sukha-aisvarya-uttara: predominated by the desire for happiness and opulence
2. prema-seva-uttara: predominated by the desire for loving service
Anantacarya was bitten by snake. He was urged to take something to counteract it. He was not inspired. He said, “If the poison of the snake is greater than the poison of anarthas, I will die and attain the spiritual world, otherwise I will continue my service here, so it does not matter.”
Varnasrama is a system for organizing society. It is not a requirement for or a part of bhakti.
Premadhan Prabhu (GEV):
Srila Prabhupada criticized Indra’s program of disguising himself as a sannyasi and stealing the horse meant for Prithu Maharaja’s sacrifice because it encourages people to adopt the dress of sadhu to engage in sinful acts.
Q (by speaker): What is success for you?
A (by me): The Chowpatty temple president was pleased because I came to Chowpatty and participated in harinama each day I was there, so I felt very successful.
A (by one devotee): To live by the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and give them to others.
Devotees only aspire to achieve success by pleasing the Lord or his devotees, but for even the great demigods, material conceptions of success can get them into great difficulty.
If we maintain material conceptions of success, we continue transmigrating from one body to another.
Industry expands because of envy. If you are satisfied within then all the products advertised are of no interest.
Neighbor’s envy, owner’s pride.
One Bollywood actor was incredibly successful but he ended up committing suicide. Is that success?
Understanding Bg. 5.29, we can be successful: “A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.”
Brajabihari Prabhu taught 3 C’s of success, clarity of knowledge and clarity of goal, connection [with the Lord], and contribution to society.
The good we have received, we should share.
You can feed a child who has become separated from his parents, and that will help him temporarily, but rejoining him with his parents is a more permanent solution. In the same way, to connect a person with his Supreme Father, is the best solution for all problems.
You can have the other four constituents of action, the place, the instruments of action, the performer, and the endeavor, but without the sanction of the Supersoul, no success is possible.
Bali appeared unsuccessful having lost his expansive kingdom yet he pleased the Lord who became his door keeper.
Vrtasura appeared defeated by Indra, but he attained the spiritual kingdom because the Lord was pleased with his devotional service.
Prithu was successful although not completing 100 sacrifices because Lord Vishnu was pleased with his decision to stop at 99.
If we continue cooperating with devotees, even in difficult situations, Krishna will be pleased with us.
If we experience people dealing improperly, we should still deal with them properly.
Indian brahmacari in Mayapur 1 [March 15]:
Madhavendra Puri was the fulfillment of the mission of Lord Caitanya.
We come to Krishna consciousness attracted by “chant and be happy,” but we hear Madhavendra Puri was crying at the time of his death. His crying however is not like our crying. He was feeling separation from Krishna.
When Krishna is present, the advanced devotee is seeing Krishna before him. But when Krishna disappears, affected by deep feelings of separation, the devotee sees Krishna everywhere.
Deep attachment for Krishna is required for one to feel separation Krishna.
Madhavendra Puri did not endeavor to maintain himself. Whatever came of its own accord, Madhavendra accepted.
Seeing the beauty of a cowboy in Vrindavan who offered him some milk to drink, Madhavendra forgot all hunger and thirst.
Krishna maintains his devotees, so we do not have to worry about our future.
Whenever we act on the platform of faith in guru and Krishna, as many of you have realization of, they never fail us.
Srila Prabhupada did madhukari in Vrindavan, but instead of asking for rice and sabji, he asked for money to buy paper to print books.
Madhavendra Puri, after having a dream that his deity wanted sandalwood pulp, immediately set out of foot on that arduous journey from Govardhan to Jagannath Puri.
Srila Prabhupada writes:
“The Krishna consciousness movement has spread all over the world within a very short time (within five years), and mundane people are very much astonished at this. However, by the grace of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we understand that everything is possible by the grace of Krishna. Why does Krishna have to take five years? In five days He can spread His name and fame all over the world like wildfire. Those who have faith in and devotion to Krishna can understand that these things happen so wonderfully by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We are simply the instruments. In the fierce Battle of Kuruksetra, Arjuna was victorious within eighteen days simply because Krishna’s grace was on his side.” (Cc. Madhya 4.86)
Madhavendra Puri also taught humility by his example. When the Krishna deity in Remuna stole sweet rice for Madhavendra Puri, he left that place immediately, not wanting to become famous because of that act.
The materialist, by running after fame, runs away from Krishna, and the devotee, by running away from fame, runs toward Krishna.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami writes in his Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita that there are three reasons an advanced devotee suffers:
1. To give his disciple a chance to serve him.
2. Because Krishna wants to glorify the devotee for his tolerance.
3. Because of the sinful reactions of his disobedient disciples.
Advaita Acharya honored Madhavendra by offering a feast on his disappearance day, and He gave the benediction that anyone who serves or honors the prasadam will attain Krishna prema.
Some people realize that material fame results in misery, and they become fed up with it.
Chowpatty devotee on March 26:
Sometimes in our preaching we present that it is like you can turn on a switch and become Krishna conscious, but the problem is that we do not want to turn on that switch. We do not want to get anywhere near that switch.
It is significant here that although Bhismadeva spoke on so many subjects throughout his life, at the end of his life, he just wants to forget all that and focus his mind on Krishna.
Bhisma is not considered a mahajana because of the various accomplishments in this life, but because of his choice to focus on Krishna at the end of life.
If our whole life is about surrender to Krishna, then at the end of life, it will not be hard to surrender to Krishna at the time of death. If however we just chant our japa and spend the rest of the day acting to fulfill our own desires, it will be more difficult to remember Krishna at the end of life.
Krishna is happy to execute the orders of His devotee, as when Arjuna ordered Him to put His chariot between the two rival parties on the battlefield.
Krishna was happy to stay with Devaki and Vasudeva in Mathura because they desired it, although it meant being separated from his intimate associates in Vrindavan.
Krishna was happy to take the parijata flower from the heavenly planet to please His wife, Satyabhauma, although it meant fighting with Indra.
Although He is the Supreme Lord and therefore supremely independent, not having to carry out anyone’s order, He takes pleasure in carrying out the order of His pure devotee.
Lord Caitanya did not just instruct people to be humble, but He demonstrated humility in his life, by fulfilling the desires of His devotees.
Arjuna was only able to see the back of Krishna on the battlefield, as He was playing as Arjuna’s charot driver, but the soldiers on the opposing side were able to see His beautiful lotus face.
People think that the Lord acted just to benefit Arjuna and his brothers, but by arranging that Arjuna’s enemies died while seeing His transcendental form and thereby attained liberation, he also benefited Arjuna’s enemies.
If we come to appreciate the beautiful form of Krishna, we will lose interest in the forms of this world.
If we remember the form of the Lord while we fight the different battles we are engaged in life, then we will be able to remember the form of the Lord at the time of death.
This world is so degraded that instead of wars happening on a remotely located battlefield exclusively between trained fighters, hospitals are bombed where many innocent people are mercilessly killed.
Like Arjuna, we are bewildered by attachments to the material world. Thus the transcendental knowledge Krishna gives in Bhagavad-gita is relevant for us.
Krishna Kripa Das:
Excerpt from a Facebook post I read on Gaura Purnima and my comment thread:
Laura Suthar:
Without going into detail, I’m suddenly facing a great deal of uncertainty in my life, which is something my mind loathes . . .
Krishna Kripa Das:
I always pray to Lord Caitanya, “Please tell me decisively what You want me to do in Your service.”
I did that when they were thinking of closing the Tallahassee temple, and I was very shortly led to help out in Orlando as a pujari. While I was there a person came to the temple for the first time, Jeremiah Omar Tellado, and I invited him to chant with me in a local park sometime. He chanted with me three hours the next day and ultimately moved into the temple. He joined Krishna House and became initiated by Kalakantha Das Prabhu in a year. He wanted to go to India, and Kalakantha wouldn’t let him go alone so he invited me and offered to pay my ticket. Thus we are both in Mayapur, where today is Gaura Purnima. 🙂
Such is the amazing power of praying to Lord Caitanya!
Amrita Keli:
Krishna Kripa Das, your stories are like Vaikuntha Lila!
Krishna Kripa Das:
O Amrita Keli, it is not just my stories! Srila Prabhupada is engaging us all in Lord Caitanya’s pastime of sharing His name in every town and village, and as He is the Lord of Vaikuntha, it is all Vaikuntha Lila — like you going to Jacksonville and connecting with so many sweet souls like Lila Kishor, Richard Miele (Madhumangala), who chants with me regularly in Tallahassee, Yamuna Bihari, Kumari Sakhi, and Laura Suthar, just to name a few! 🙂
We do not have to die enter the Lord’s eternal pastimes, Vaikuntha Lila! We can simply go on harinama!
From a text conversation:
I got an unsolicited text: “How are you doing? I’m Bella. I want to make friends with you. If I receive your reply, I will be very happy.”
I decided to reply: “My name is Krishna Kripa Das. I promote the chanting of Hare Krishna as an easy way to attain transcendental happiness and spiritual perfection. If you tire of material sensual happiness and want to experience something better, let me know.”
----
Although we routinely see some situations as advantageous and others to be avoided, the highest transcendentalists, the pure devotees of the Supreme Lord, are beyond this mentality of duality. As situations in India often challenge my sensibilities, I would recall this amazing verse about the perfection of spiritual consciousness spoken by Lord Shiva to his wife, Parvati, explaining why King Citraketu, who was just cursed by her to become a demon, was undisturbed:
narayana-parah sarve
na kutascana bibhyati
svargapavarga-narakesv
api tulyartha-darsinah
“Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.17.28)
