Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 18, No. 9
(May 2022, part one)
Miami, NYC, Upstate NY
(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on May 21, 2022)
Where I Went and What I Did
For the first four days of May, I continued staying at ISKCON Miami Outreach in Coconut Grove and doing harinama each day with Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu. The last two days we were joined by a book distributor, Vayu Prabhu, who I knew from ISKCON London (Soho Street). We chanted Hare Krishna in Wynwood and Little Havana one day each, and at Miracle Mile the next two days. Then I flew to New York City, leaving behind Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu, who decided he did not want to be a traveling brahmacari, and I chanted with the NYC Harinam party for three days.
I was so happy to attain the association of people who are enthusiastic to attend the morning spiritual program in the temple and to chant on the streets four hours a day, and I was happy to promote the New York Ratha-yatra. I stayed at my mother’s place near Albany from Mother’s Day through Nrsimha Caturdasi, helping her after a minor operation by cooking meals and assisting her in getting around. During my stay at my mother’s, I visited Viraha Bhavan, the ashram of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, my diksa guru, twice for lunch and once to help with the morning services. On Nrsimha Caturdasi, I went to two programs, one at Stuyvesant Falls with Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu and another with ISKCON Schenectady devotees at their new building. I made walnut burfi for the first. Just before my bus from Albany to New York City, I chanted Hare Krishna with Krishna Kumari Devi Dasi for half an hour at a protest at the park in front of the New York State Capitol.
I share notes on Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 2, from my personal reading, and notes on Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 10, which Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and his friends and followers were reading twice daily online. I include excerpts from the writings of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I have a few quotes from Caitanya-Bhagavata by Vrindavan Dasa Thakura and its commentary as well as Brahma-samhita, both by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. I share notes on classes by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu in Stuyvesant Falls, classes by Kavicandra Swami and Arjunananda and Dvarakadhisa Prabhus in Brooklyn, and talks by Chandra Vamsi and Shridhara Jayateerthachar Prabhus in Schenectady.
Thanks to Victor for his kind donation in Albany and for lending me his car for a week. Thanks to Mahaprakash Prabhu for his kind donation in Schenectady. Thanks to BVP Damadara Swami and Jayadhvaja Prabhu for facility to share Krishna consciousness in Miami. Thanks to Rama Raya Prabhu for his videos of me chanting in New York City, which I took a frame from.
Itinerary
May 21–25: NYC Harinam
May 26–27: harinamas to promote Baltimore Ratha-yatra with Harinama Ruci
May 28: Baltimore Ratha-yatra
May 29: Baltimore harinama with Harinama Ruci
May 30–June 13: NYC Harinam
June 14: London lunch lecture and harinama
June 15–August 16: Paris harinamas
August 17: Flight to USA
August 18–21: Observe Janmastami and Vyasa-puja and travel to Florida
August 22–September ?: Tallahassee, Gainesville, Tampa harinama and outreach
September ?–21: NYC Harinam
September 22?–September 24: Philadelphia harinamas and Ratha-yatra
September ?–January ?, 2023: NYC Harinam and three weeks of service to guru
Chanting Hare Krishna in Miami
Here Yogamaya Yajna Prabhu and I chant Hare Krishna in the Wynwood district of Miami, Florida, on a Sunday, as advised by Jayadvaja Prabhu, and one passerby from Columbia, who has a Hare Krishna sister named Laksmi, shares our kirtan with her sister by phone and a vendor asks us to sing Nrsimha kirtan (https://youtu.be/KSrvXW0myX0) [from a Facebook Live video]:
We received enough donations just by singing to cover the $9 we spent on the train and bus getting there and back, some people took books, some moved to the music, and others offered the thumbs up gesture of approval. We returned to the temple just in time for the Sunday Feast.
Here Jayadhvaja Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the Sunday Feast Program at ISKCON Miami Outreach (https://youtu.be/hVQ6jW8mWUQ):
The next day, I asked Bhakti Vrata Prabhupada Damodara Swami for a suggestion of where to chant Hare Krishna, and he recommended Little Havana. It wasn’t obvious which part of Little Havana would be busiest, and Yogamaya and I did a walking harinama for an hour and a half until we found a strip of shops with a reasonable amount of pedestrian traffic in front of them. I sang for 50 minutes with Yogamaya and people gave us $6 or $7. Then I sang alone for 40 more minutes. When I counted the final collection, people had given us $25 in an hour and a half, just a single $5 note and all the rest singles. We were able to give out lots of books, mostly in Spanish, to those who donated, and we gave the collection to the swami who suggested we chant there. I do not recall singing anywhere in America to such a favorable crowd, and I will keep the place in mind for future trips to Miami.
Vayu Prabhu told us about Miracle Mile, one of his favorite places for book distribution.
It can be reached by the free trolleys so there is no cost for transportation. We did walking harinama with Yogamaya Prabhu and I alternating the singing every half hour or so and Vayu continuously distributing books. Occasionally Yogamaya would distribute books too. I found all the walking exhausting for me, and I wonder if I set up between the Barnes and Noble and the trolley stop on Miracle Mile how many donations I would get and how many books I would distribute in three hours. There are many places protected from both the sun and the rain on that route, and I am sure I could find a good place to set up for my style of harinama in the future.
Besides many other people, a nice traffic police lady at Miracle Mile in Coral Gables bought a book from Yogamaya and gave a nice donation.
My accommodation in Miami was austere for me since everyone makes their own arrangements for prasadam. I decided in the morning I would make enough khichri for everyone in the house for the whole day so I would not have to worry about coming home after three hours of harinama and having nothing to eat. Once I miscalculated and did not make enough, but fortunately someone was inspired to cook something for dinner. When Jayadhvaja Prabhu learned of my dissatisfaction with the situation, he engaged a devotee lady in making prasadam for us, so we had lasagna on my last day.
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
After my flight from Miami to LaGuardia airport in New York, upon reaching Union Square I was happily surprised to see several devotees who only come on harinama occasionally, all there then, as if to greet me.
Here Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Union Square, and a passerby from South America plays his stringed instrument along with the kirtan (https://youtu.be/-UZikZUymus):
Pancharatna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after Tulasi Puja at ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/ydzdxngWMLw):
The next day because of rain, we chanted at Atlantic Avenue / Barclays Center subway station in Brooklyn.
Here Natabara Gauranga Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Atlantic Avenue / Barclays Center subway station in Brooklyn, and kids dance (https://youtu.be/N818ZMSyC08):
Bhakta Nate chants Hare Krishna at Atlantic / Barclays (https://youtu.be/mQ8bbYvRues):
Savyasaci Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/ywp65P2_-IY):
Narada Rsi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/YPQc1jSsd90):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/8b55pfxZEZc):
Savyasaci Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during mangala-arati at ISKCON New York in Brooklyn (https://youtu.be/1FyA-XdvUXQ):
Saturday, because of bad weather, we chanted at Times Square subway station.
Here Priya Krishna Prabhu chants my favorite Hare Krishna tune there (https://youtu.be/mXAVTTTz9rM):
A lady enjoyed imitating the dance of Tulsi das Prabhu as Nate chanted Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/-JEmidytiMM):
Tulsi das Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/km7fGZ9JcVI):
Dasya Prema Prabhu, visiting from Gitanagari, chants Hare Krishna during Tulasi Puja kirtan at ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn (https://youtu.be/AWIDoib8doU):
Just before I left New York City for Albany, Savyasaci Prabhu, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, but visiting New York City, suggested we interview each other and post the interviews on each other’s YouTube channel to create additional interest.
Here Savyasaci, known on YouTube as Savya the Monk, tells about his journey and his channel, https://www.youtube.com/c/SavyaTheMonk (https://youtu.be/e2WUdfcXA6Q):
Here I tell about my channel, https://youtube.com/user/Krishnakripadas (https://youtu.be/24MEUMsW_sg):
The first time I visited Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s ashram, Viraha Bhavan, I went for lunch, helped wash the dishes, and sang for his downstairs Gaura-Nitai deities.
Afterward, Amit and I chanted Hare Krishna for half an hour in a park along the Hudson River, known as Margaret and William See Riverview Park.
Chanting Hare Krishna on Nrsimha Caturdasi
I went to the noontime program for Nrsimha Caturdasi at Viraha Bhavan. Because of a lack of kirtana leaders, I was the sole singer at that festival, and my guru kindly wrote in appreciation of my service, “Krishna Kripa led long kirtanas with melodious voice and harmonium.” I also made walnut burfi, which many of the devotees attending the festival appreciated.
Lord Nrsimha shared the altar, decorated with abundant flowers, with Sri Sri Gaura Nitai.
For a month and a half, devotees in Schenectady have been doing their Sunday Feast programs at their new property, which will house both their temple and catering business. That building was the site of their Nrsimha festival.
Here Rishi Isvara Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Nrsimha Caturdasi at ISKCON Schenectady at their new building (https://youtu.be/QhJ9hgBxCLo):
Radha Dyuti Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/kyMHJZAF0Qk):
I was impressed by the large parking lot and the large temple room in the Schenectady ISKCON building.
This is what the building looks like from the front.
You can see they had plenty of prasadam at their feast.
The Prahlada-Nrsimha deity was most impressive.
Although traditionally devotees fast until dusk on Nrsimha Caturdasi as advised by Srila Prabhupada, at both venues prasadam was served before that.
I made plates to go and returned to my mother’s place, thinking of practical things I could do to fill up the time till dusk rolled around, and I could honor the prasadam.
Chanting Hare Krishna in Albany
I learned at the Nrsimha Caturdasi festival at Viraha Bhavan that Krishna Kumari was going to chant Hare Krishna at a protest in front of the New York State Capitol in Albany the next day. It turns out I had a gap between dropping my mother off at the doctor and going to the Chinese bus station in Albany to catch a bus to New York. Thus I chanted with Krishna Kumari at the Capitol for half an hour. We met a thoughtful, young man who liked the chanting and gave a donation, and who was happy to accept a Bhagavad-gita. He lives in Vermont, which he finds to be ultraconservative, but he regularly visits his parents in New Jersey, so I gave him an invitation for the New York Ratha-yatra.
Visiting My Mother Near Albany
I decided to visit my mother for Mother’s Day. I bought her tamari almonds and coconut cream doughnuts from the Doughnut Plant, both of which she likes. They also had a special rose doughnut for Mother’s Day, which I also brought.
Seeing the daffodils in her garden I recalled a stanza from a poem about Lord Caitanya by Dravida Prabhu:
“O Lord whose splendor calls to mind the golden daffodil,
I am the lowest sinner in this world of sinners. Still,
You overlook the faults of one whose faults are like an ocean
And bless him with the strength to practice unalloyed devotion.
With this in mind, O Lord who are most kind to fallen souls,
I ask You with a humble heart devoid of mundane goals,
O Lord Caitanya! Sri Mukunda! Saci’s precious jewel,
Please shower Your compassion on this wretched, stubborn fool.”
[Caitanyastaka III of Rupa Gosvami, verse 8]
I learned from my sister that my mother, a veteran peace activist, although 97 years old and having to use a walker, attended the Grannies for Peace rally, protesting the Ukraine war, the day before.
While at my mother’s place, I would cook oatmeal for breakfast and soup for lunch every day. Twice I brought her prasadam from my guru’s ashram, just over twenty minutes away by car.
Once Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu, my guru’s longtime assistant, told the Irish ladies cooking lunch for him to make palak paneer, my mother’s favorite, and he gave us so much we had it for three meals.
I never cook on Ekadasi. Usually I eat in the temples, or if I am on the road, I eat fruit and nuts. Devotees these days often make quinoa on Ekadasi. I never acquired a taste for quinoa nor a desire to make it. In Poland on Ekadasi and in Ukraine, even when it is not Ekadasi, buckwheat, or gorechka as they say in Ukraine, is a popular food, and because of going to Poland for twenty years and Ukraine for eight, I acquired a taste for it.
Thus I asked my sister to pick up some buckwheat, and I made buckwheat with vegetables and spices for lunch and fruit salad for breakfast on Ekadasi. I don’t eat breakfast on Ekadasi, but I had to make something for my mother. Victor, my sister’s partner, really liked the buckwheat. I thought it came out pretty good too.
I visited my sister’s place briefly, and I appreciated the beautiful color of a blossoming tree there.
Special Photos
Seeing Krishna at home: This blacktop was laid down during my childhood over 50 years ago. Seeing its many cracks, I recall Krishna’s words, “Among subduers I am time.” (Bhagavad-gita 10.30) Seeing the green plant growing through it, I remember, “Beings possessing living force [vegetables, grass, trees and plants] are superior to dull matter [stone, earth, etc.].” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5 21)
Janananda Goswami once told us that he saw this quote on a bumper sticker, and I found it online on this hanging sign:
At Miracle Mile in Miami different cute little sayings were hanging from the ceiling of a covered sidewalk. I would adjust them in my mind to make them more Krishna conscious. Actually the truth is that we need Krishna. Why do we need Krishna? We cannot live for many minutes without the air that Krishna has provided. We cannot live for many days without the water Krishna has provided. We cannot live for many weeks without the food Krishna has provided. And one in perfect Krishna consciousness cannot live without the association of Krishna. As Lord Caitanya says in verse 7 of His “Siksastaka”: “O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.” Thus we can all say, “The truth is I need You, Krishna!”
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Bhagavad-gita 2.66, purport:
“Unless one is in Krishna consciousness, there is no possibility of peace. So it is confirmed in the Fifth Chapter (5.29) that when one understands that Krishna is the only enjoyer of all the good results of sacrifice and penance, that He is the proprietor of all universal manifestations, and that He is the real friend of all living entities, then only can one have real peace. Therefore, if one is not in Krishna consciousness, there cannot be a final goal for the mind. Disturbance is due to want of an ultimate goal, and when one is certain that Krishna is the enjoyer, proprietor and friend of everyone and everything, then one can, with a steady mind, bring about peace. Therefore, one who is engaged without a relationship with Krishna is certainly always in distress and is without peace, however much he may make a show of peace and spiritual advancement in life. Krishna consciousness is a self-manifested peaceful condition which can be achieved only in relationship with Krishna.”
From Bhagavad-gita 2.67:
“As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.”
From Bhagavad-gita 2.68, purport:
“One can curb the forces of sense gratification only by means of Krishna consciousness, or engaging all the senses in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. As enemies are curbed by superior force, the senses can similarly be curbed, not by any human endeavor, but only by keeping them engaged in the service of the Lord. One who has understood this – that only by Krishna consciousness is one really established in intelligence and that one should practice this art under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master – is called a sadhaka, or a suitable candidate for liberation.”
From Bhagavad-gita 2.69, purport:
“The sage feels transcendental pleasure in the gradual advancement of spiritual culture, whereas the man in materialistic activities, being asleep to self-realization, dreams of varieties of sense pleasure, feeling sometimes happy and sometimes distressed in his sleeping condition. The introspective man is always indifferent to materialistic happiness and distress. He goes on with his self-realization activities undisturbed by material reactions.”
From Bhagavad-gita 2.70:
“A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.”
From Bhagavad-gita 2.70, purport:
“As long as one has the material body, the demands of the body for sense gratification will continue. The devotee, however, is not disturbed by such desires, because of his fullness. A Krishna conscious man is not in need of anything, because the Lord fulfills all his material necessities. Therefore he is like the ocean – always full in himself. Desires may come to him like the waters of the rivers that flow into the ocean, but he is steady in his activities, and he is not even slightly disturbed by desires for sense gratification. That is the proof of a Krishna conscious man – one who has lost all inclinations for material sense gratification, although the desires are present. Because he remains satisfied in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he can remain steady, like the ocean, and therefore enjoy full peace.”
From Bhagavad-gita 2.71, purport:
“To understand one’s actual position as the eternal servitor of Krishna, without falsely claiming this material body to be oneself and without falsely claiming proprietorship over anything in the world, is the perfect stage of Krishna consciousness.”
From Bhagavad-gita 2.72, purport:
“One can attain Krishna consciousness or divine life at once, within a second – or one may not attain such a state of life even after millions of births. It is only a matter of understanding and accepting the fact.”
“Attainment of Krishna consciousness even during this life is immediate attainment of Brahman, and one who is situated in Krishna consciousness has certainly already entered into the kingdom of God.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.17.45, purport:
“Without state support, no doctrines of philosophy or religious principles can progressively advance.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.12.4, purport:
“He [Lord Brahma] therefore created four principles of knowledge: sankhya, or empirical philosophy for the analytical study of material conditions; yoga, or mysticism for liberation of the pure soul from material bondage; vairagya, the acceptance of complete detachment from material enjoyment in life to elevate oneself to the highest spiritual understanding; and tapas, or the various kinds of voluntary austerities performed for spiritual perfection. Brahma created the four great sages Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanat to entrust them with these four principles of spiritual advancement, and they inaugurated their own spiritual party, or sampradaya, known as the Kumara sampradaya, or later on as the Nimbarka sampradaya, for the advancement of bhakti.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.3.21, purport:
“Krishna appears in this world for two purposes, paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam: [Bhagavad-gita 4.8] to protect the innocent, religious devotees of the Lord and to annihilate all the uneducated, uncultured asuras, who unnecessarily bark like dogs and fight among themselves for political power. It is said, kali-kale nama-rupe-krishna avatara. The Hare Krishna movement is also an incarnation of Krishna in the form of the holy name (nama-rupe). Every one of us who is actually afraid of the asuric rulers and politicians must welcome this incarnation of Krishna: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Then we will surely be protected from the harassment of asuric rulers. At the present moment these rulers are so powerful that by hook or by crook they capture the highest posts in government and harass countless numbers of people on the plea of national security or some emergency. Then again, one asura defeats another asura, but the public continues to suffer. Therefore the entire world is in a precarious condition, and the only hope is this Hare Krishna movement.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.3.26, purport:
“The sun is under the control of time, and time is controlled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord has no fear of time.”
From The Nectar of Devotion, Preface:
“In the primary stage a child loves his parents, then his brothers and sisters, and as he daily grows up he begins to love his family, society, community, country, nation, or even the whole human society. But the loving propensity is not satisfied even by loving all human society; that loving propensity remains imperfectly fulfilled until we know who is the supreme beloved. Our love can be fully satisfied only when it is reposed in Krishna. This theme is the sum and substance of The Nectar of Devotion, which teaches us how to love Krishna in five different transcendental mellows.”
“The Nectar of Devotion teaches us the science of loving every one of the living entities perfectly by the easy method of loving Krishna. We have failed to create peace and harmony in human society, even by such great attempts as the United Nations, because we do not know the right method. The method is very simple, but one has to understand it with a cool head. The Nectar of Devotion teaches all men how to perform the simple and natural method of loving Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we learn how to love Krishna, then it is very easy to immediately and simultaneously love every living being. It is like pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying food to one’s stomach. The method of pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying foodstuffs to the stomach is universally scientific and practical, as every one of us has experienced. Everyone knows well that when we eat something, or in other words, when we put foodstuffs in the stomach, the energy created by such action is immediately distributed throughout the whole body. Similarly, when we pour water on the root, the energy thus created is immediately distributed throughout the entirety of even the largest tree. It is not possible to water the tree part by part, nor is it possible to feed the different parts of the body separately. The Nectar of Devotion will teach us how to turn the one switch that will immediately brighten everything, everywhere. One who does not know this method is missing the point of life.”
“The root cause of our dissatisfaction is that our dormant loving propensity has not been fulfilled despite our great advancement in the materialistic way of life.”
“At the present moment we are inventing so many ways to utilize our propensity to love, but factually we are missing the real point: Krishna.”
From The Nectar of Devotion, Introduction:
“The author of Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami, very humbly submits that he is just trying to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, although he humbly thinks himself unfit for this work. That should be the attitude of all preachers of the Krishna consciousness movement, following in the footsteps of Srila Rupa Gosvami. We should never think of ourselves as great preachers, but should always consider that we are simply instrumental to the previous acaryas, and simply by following in their footsteps we may be able to do something for the benefit of suffering humanity.”
“By his mind a Krishna conscious person always thinks of the activities of the Lord – as He is speaking on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra or engaging in His various pastimes in Vrindavan with His devotees. In this way one can always think of the activities and pastimes of the Lord. This is the mental culture of Krishna consciousness.”
“Those who are great souls or great devotees do not act under the spell of material energy, but act instead under the protection of the spiritual energy. Any activities done in devotional service, or in Krishna consciousness, are directly under the control of spiritual energy.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.3, purport:
“Anyone who becomes even slightly interested in krishna-katha [talks about Krishna] is liberated.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.4, purport:
“A devotee is one who has no other motive for reciting Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam than to serve the Lord.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.5, purport:
“Krishna is the Supersoul of all living entities, and He gives everyone liberation, even if one is not a pure devotee. Kamsa, for example, was not at all a devotee, yet Krishna, after killing him, gave him salvation. Krishna consciousness is beneficial to everyone, whether one is a pure devotee or a nondevotee. This is the glory of Krishna consciousness. Considering this, who will not take shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.5.20, purport:
“It is learned from the notes of Sripada Madhvacarya that Vasudeva and Nanda Maharaja were stepbrothers. Vasudeva’s father, Surasena, married a vaisya girl, and from her Nanda Maharaja was born. Later, Nanda Maharaja himself married a vaisya girl, Yasoda. Therefore his family is celebrated as a vaisya family, and Krishna, identifying Himself as their son, took charge of vaisya activities (krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam). Balarama represents plowing the land for agriculture and therefore always carries in His hand a plow, whereas Krishna tends cows and therefore carries a flute in His hand. Thus the two brothers represent krsi-raksya [agriculture] and go-raksya [cow protection].
From The Nectar of Instruction, verse 2, purport:
“The wealth of the world actually belongs to Krishna, and every living entity, man and animal, has the birthright to use God’s property for his maintenance. When one takes more than his maintenance requires – be he a capitalist or a communist – he is a thief, and as such he is liable to be punished by the laws of nature.
“Krishna conscious devotees know very well that this material world is designed by the complete arrangement of the Lord to fulfill all the necessities of life for all living beings, without their having to encroach upon the life or rights of one another.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Free Write Journal #195:
From One Hundred Prabhupada Poems, #22:
“Ran through those memories quickly
then stopped and said I can’t remember more.
Fortunate. Funny stories now.
Brief flame rises when I tell.
Most of these boys and girls weren’t even
born then. LSD, Lower East Side,
even the Swami is another world.
“Went through those memories and
I can do it again, just ask me.
I can tell it and it’s jolly and sad and
primitive . . . never mind, it is what it
is. No one can judge it. They live in
their own in
an imagined memory state—
Swamiji in summer with
no kurta just dhoti and sannyasa top
piece . . . no photograph can capture
the inner state. He said my name
means inner form of truth.
Another time I entered when
they were burning birthday candles
and sticking them to the tabletop
‘To increase your devotion’
during autumn, Karttika.
He said, ‘Here comes the truth
personified.’ He gave me typing. He
gave me life to break away from most
degraded habits.
“I became quickly
one of the Swami’s boys,
remain so to this day.
Remember for audiences wherever
I go,
call it an art, a show performed,
my ’66 monologue,
I’ll clown it, be serious,
poeticize, it’s all true,
he really did give out ISKCON bullets,
I really did phone him from my
office and say, ‘Swamiji, this is Steve.
Remember me? I can’t come to lunch
at 1:00 today. Can you save something for me?’
And when I went to him he
put the plate of prasadam on the floor and
I bowed down.
‘If you love me, I will love you’
is still in my ears.”
From Journal and Poems, Volume 2:
“Encouragement
A word of encouragement
can change my whole outlook
as when sunlight clears the clouds.
Maybe at midday I am feeling slow,
wondering if I have done anything at all
to serve Prabhupada,
doubting whether I have any hope,
but all it takes is a sincere devotee’s word
pointing out the good
and hope pours in.”
From The Story of My Life, Volume 3:
“I was surprised that he [Bhakti Tirtha Swami] made such a sudden change in the momentum of his outward preaching to make a prayer to take away the world’s sins by an act of petition to the Lord, an intercessionary prayer, or prayer that all the world’s karma be put upon himself. It was a very different kind of thing than he had been doing. When I asked him about it, one answer he gave was that he thought that his present preaching had not been effective enough. He wanted to do something more dramatic because the world’s corruption was so great and there was also a need for purification even in ISKCON. So he was willing to put his body on the line completely for total purification of himself (so that he could become a pure actor on behalf of Krishna) and – provided Krishna would take the karma from others in return for Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s sacrifice – he would increase his work in this world.
“Some have doubted his prayer. But I accept it as sincere and also as efficacious. Bhakti Tirtha Swami has shown the proof of its working in the many good things that have happened as a result of his prayer. He did not expect to get hit so fast with a terminal illness. But neither did he expect to get so many good results in terms of people reforming their ways. Many, many people wrote him letters that they were inspired by his sacrifice and that they themselves were now reforming their acts and purifying themselves. He said that in particular many ex-gurukulis wrote to him of their change for the better and also many errant ISKCON adults appreciated what he was doing and were returning to the field – many, many. So he could not help but think that his intercessionary prayer on behalf of karmic-laden souls was doing good. And he felt it was doing good for himself also. So this is one thing I am writing in my letter as my own personal faith in the spiritual warrior.”
From My Letters from Srila Prabhupada, Volume 3: “I Am Never Displeased with Any Member”:
“In this case, he [Srila Prabhupada] advised me not to reject anyone on a personal level but to engage everyone in Krishna’s service. Just because someone might not think I was an ideal leader didn’t mean I should hold a grudge against him or try to eject him from the temple.
“Ultimately, he wanted his leaders to encourage everyone, just as he was doing. That is the broadmindedness of a leader. Again, he wanted us to be kindly guides. If we really wish to lead, we have to accept that some people may not like us and that we may not like them either. We still have to encourage everyone. Prabhupada himself encouraged all of us on the common platform that we were spirit souls, servants of Krishna, and that entitled us to be a part of his ISKCON movement. We are working so hard to bring nondevotees into our camp; how much harder should we work to encourage those who have already surrendered their lives, even if we think they are not always so nice. Do we keep only the devotees we think are nice and reject ones we consider not to our taste? There can be no preference on personal grounds. Prabhupada didn’t play favorites, and he didn’t want us to play favorites either. Prabhupada was able to see through the veneer of someone’s aggressive behavior or other problem behaviors and assess what services they could perform. We needed to learn that skill.”
From Srila Prabhupada Samadhi Diary:
“On this day as my body moves lethargically in the heat, I pray to keep my inner devotion and my remembrance of you and offer some tangible service. Please grant me a place in your eternal service.”
From Karttika Moon:
“I’ll tell people what it’s
like to live
“an ordinary devotee life
full of so many doubts
but you know
a devotee’s way is
always special
“so, I don’t complain, oh
no. I enjoy the chances
we get and try to give to
Lord Krishna, in a way He’ll accept.”
“Krishna will protect you.
If you’re timid, we’ll
find a way to reach out –
give your prayer your
handkerchiefs, your good
wishes, your cookies for
the preachers, just think it over
and do something that
“is compassion. Start with
yourself. Don’t feel guilty, love
God in your heart ask
Him, please make me
Yours.”
From Free Write Journal #196:
From One Hundred Prabhupada Poems, #35:
“God consciousness . . . he makes it sound universal.
He makes it sound easy,
which it is when you are with him.
God consciousness, he skillfully explains
that Krishna is the God of gods
as told in Bhagavad-gita and by
sages of ancient past and ‘most recently’
Lord Caitanya.
Prabhupada says, ‘I’m a Hindu so I may accept
Krishna as superstition, you may think.
But then why these boys and girls of Europe
and America, why they have accepted Krishna?’
Even the Christian priest was amazed. He said,
‘These were our boys but they didn’t care for God.
Now they are mad after God.’”
From One Hundred Prabhupada Poems, #36:
“Prabhupada left in 1977.
It was what Krishna wanted.
I am finding my way
to serve you
in separation.”
From One Hundred Prabhupada Poems, #44:
“You want us to keep our vision
in Goloka but our feet on the ground—
so we can answer people’s questions
subdue our own doubts.”
From Passing Places, Eternal Truths: Travel Writings 1988–1996:
“It was Prabhupada’s party,
based on his books.
It ran on his order
and won by his mercy.”
[Note: The party referred to above is the Library Party, the group of devotees who put Srila Prabhupada’s books in college libraries.]
From One Hundred Prabhupada Poems, #41:
“In ‘samsara’ prayers
I see you in every verse
and you shine back to me
from your picture.”
From Passing Places, Eternal Truths: Travel Writings 1988–1996:
“It’s important to stay away from material influences or they will leak into my writing, my life, my dreams.”
From Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name:
“Bhaktivinoda Thakura sings, ‘O Holy Name, Your glories are boundless! I therefore bow at Your lotus feet again and again.’”
“‘At the lotus feet of Srila Rupa Gosvami, Thakura Bhaktivinoda constantly begs that at every moment there be the transcendental vibration of the holy name.’ (Gitavali, ‘Sri Namastaka,’ Song 7, verse 8, p. 111).”
From a lecture on Nrsimha Caturdasi in Stuyvesant Falls:
I write through fictional characters through whom the story is told.
Things seem clearer when you put them into writing.
Two most impressive prayers of Prahlada Maharaja:
“Therefore, although I was born in a demoniac family, I may without a doubt offer prayers to the Lord with full endeavor, as far as my intelligence allows. Anyone who has been forced by ignorance to enter the material world may be purified of material life if he offers prayers to the Lord and hears the Lord’s glories.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.12)
“My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the general populace. But Your servant Nārada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my first duty is to serve him. How could I leave his service?” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.28)
From He Lives Forever:
“Many who had personal association with Srila Prabhupada feel that they did not take advantage of it. Yet they also have the opportunity, even now after he had left, to increase their attachment for him. This association is something each of us deliberately has to cultivate.”
“Everyone should desire intimate association with a pure devotee. If you don’t desire that, then you’re as good as dead, because by association with a pure devotee you can develop love of Krishna but otherwise it’s not possible.”
Vrindavan Das Thakur:
From Caitanya-Bhavagat, Adi 13.194:
“One finds happiness in kingly opulences only when he does not know the glorious happiness derived from devotional service.”
From Caitanya-Bhavagat, Adi 14.21–27:
“Mahaprabhu taught the householders, ‘The foremost duty of a householder is to serve his guests.’ If a householder does not serve his guests, he is considered lower than the birds and beasts. ‘In the houses of pious people there may be a scarcity of rice or other staples due to poverty, but a straw mat, water, resting place, and sweet words should always be available for serving guests.’ [This verse is found in the Manu-samhita (3.10) and in the Hitopadesa.] ‘If one has nothing more to offer, he should apologize without duplicity; then he is not guilty of neglecting his guest. If a householder happily serves his guests without duplicity and according to his ability, he is considered hospitable.’ Therefore the Lord personally invited His guests with great respect.”
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:
From Caitanya-Bhavagat, Adi 13.196, commentary:
And Sri Madhvacarya quotes the following verse from the “Mathara” sruti in his commentary on Vedanta-sutra (3.3.53):
bhaktir evainam nayati bhaktir evainam darsayati
bhakti-vasah puruso bhaktir eva bhuyasi
“Bhakti leads the living entity to the Lord, and enables him to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is controlled by bhakti. Bhakti is best of all.”
From Caitanya-Bhavagat, Adi 14.35–37, commentary:
“Although demigods headed by Brahma are equal to the Lord’s limbs and minor limbs and are very dear servants, the distinguishing feature of the causeless mercy of the most compassionate Gaurasundara is that in order to deliver the living entities of this Age of Kali He distributes to everyone the Lord’s prasada, which is rarely obtained by even the best of the demigods and highest authorities like Lord Brahma, without considering whether one is qualified or not.”
From Caitanya-Bhavagat, Adi 14.84, commentary:
“Although guru-tattva is actually a manifestation of Krishna, if one considers the spiritual master as the supreme worshipable object, Radhika-natha, rather than considering him a manifestation of the supreme worshiper, or if one considers him simply an artificial singer of folk songs, which are contrary to the maha-mantra given by the spiritual master, and if one declares or induces others to glorify his material body to be the Supreme Lord in order to accumulate mundane fame, then such a cheating so called guru and his cheated followers will both enter hell under the burden of great sins.”
From Caitanya-Bhavagat, Adi 14.85, commentary:
“For a living entity qualified for being forced to undergo three different states [gross, subtle, and causal; wakefulness, dream, and deep sleep; or past, present, and future] in one day to claim to be the Supreme Lord, who controls maya and is transcendental to the three modes of nature, is simply ludicrous.
From Caitanya-Bhavagat, Adi 14.104, commentary:
“In the Vishnu Purana (1.9.143) it is said:
devatve deva-deheyam
vishnor dehanurupam vai
manusyatve ca manusi
karoty esatmanas tanum
“When the Lord appears as a demigod, she [the goddess of fortune] takes the form of a demigoddess, and when He appears as a human being, she takes a humanlike form. Thus she assumes a body corresponding to that accepted by Lord Vishnu in order to assist in His pastimes.”
“In the Varaha Purana it is stated:
na tasya prarkrta murtir mamsa-medo ’sthi-sambhava
na yogitvad isvaratvat satya-rupo ’cyuto vibhuh
’The Supreme Lord and His svarupa-sakti do not possess material forms made of flesh, bones, and marrow. His transcendental form, however, is not the result of mystic perfections, for since He is directly the Personality of Godhead, His form is eternal, infallible, and supreme.’
“As stated in the Mahabharata: ‘The five gross material elements are not present in the body of Krishna, the Supersoul.’”
“Sri Sukadeva Gosvami speaks to Pariksit Maharaja in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.31.6) as follows:
lokabhiramam sva-tanum
yoga-dharanayagneyya-
dharana-dhyana-mangalam
dagdhva dhamavisat svakam
‘Without employing the mystic agneyi meditation to burn up His transcendental body, which is the all-attractive resting place of all the worlds and the object of all contemplation and meditation, Lord Krishna entered into His own abode.’”
“Though the Lord is unlimitedly powerful and the only cause of creation, maintenance, and destruction of innumerable universes, thinking that His mundane mortal body would not be effective any more and exhibiting the supreme destination of the self-realized souls, He did not wish to keep His form after the killing of the mortal Yadavas, rather He took it to His own abode. Otherwise, the above-mentioned self-realized souls would disregard achieving the supreme destination and endeavor to remain in this material world by achieving yogic perfections—so that this calamity may not happen, in other words, to check this, the Lord enacts His disappearance pastimes.” (Sridhara Svamipada)”
From Brahma-samhita 5.56, purport:
“The Vedas and sadhus practicing devotion revealed by the Vedas, by availing the support of their individual cognitional aptitude actuated by devotion, may have a sight of divine realm and by the power of the grace of Krishna their tiny cognitive faculty attaining the quality of infinitude they are enabled to be on the level of the plane of enjoyments of Krishna.”
From Brahma-samhita 5.59:
“The highest devotion is attained by slow degrees by the method of constant endeavor for self-realization with the help of scriptural evidence, theistic conduct and perseverance in practice.”
From Brahma-samhita 5.60:
“These preliminary practices of devotion [sadhana-bhakti] are conducive to the realization of loving devotion. [Loving devotion]—than whom there is no superior well-being, who goes hand in hand with the attainment of the exclusive state of supreme bliss and who can lead to Myself.”
From Brahma-samhita 5.60, purport:
“The jiva-soul has no better well-being than loving devotion. In this is realized the final beatitude of jivas. The lotus feet of Krishna are attainable only by loving devotion. He who cultivates the preliminary devotional activities anxiously keeping in view that realized state of devotion can alone attain to that object of all endeavor. None else can have the same.”
From Brahma-samhita 5.61:
“Abandoning all meritorious performances serve Me with faith. The realization will correspond to the nature of one’s faith. The people of the world act ceaselessly in pursuance of some ideal. By meditating on Me by means of those deeds one will obtain devotion characterized by love in the shape of the supreme service.”
From Brahma-samhita 5.61, purport:
“Supreme Lord says, ‘This world subsists by the constant performance of certain activities. Fill all these activities with meditation of Me. This will destroy the quality that makes those activities appear as acts done by you. They will then be of the nature of My service (bhakti).’”
From Brahma-samhita 5.62, purport:
“Let the attainment of love for Krishna by the practice of pure devotion through the knowledge of their mutual true relationship that subsists between the jiva, the jada (matter) and Krishna based on the principle of inconceivable simultaneous distinction and non-difference, be My instruction for being handed down in the order of spiritual preceptional succession in your community (Sri Brahma-sampradaya).”
Kavicandra Swami:
George Harrison produced a triple album entitled “All Things Must Pass.”
People live as if they are not going to die.
In California a funeral home was encouraging clients to pay for their funerals in advance and not leave it to their families. Otherwise they might get a cheap funeral.
Any devotee we are with, we do not know if we will see them again.
As a kid I would only read the sports and the comics in the newspaper. Once I glanced at the obituaries, and I saw this person died at age 10, and this other person died at age 6. I was surprised as I thought only old people died.
On harinama even if people hear it a little bit, it starts them on their way.
Having the book distribution and harinama going on in human society will purify the atmosphere. People will become purified and desire a better world.
Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu:
After the 9/11/2001 plane crashed into the Pentagon, they had a program at a cathedral in Washington, D.C., and Rukmini suggested I speak, and I chose this verse from Prahlada Maharaja, “May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Sri Krishna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.9) I worded it for the occasion. Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport that even niskama devotees always ask the Lord for a benediction. He mentions Lord Caitanya does that in Siksastakam 4 and 5 and also Prahlada Maharaja does in his prayer in Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.9. “If the Krishna consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Krishna everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays, sivam mitho dhiya.”
The first academic book on the Krishna consciousness movement was Hare Krishna and the Counter Culture.
Chandra Vamsi Prabhu:
From a Nrsimha Caturdasi lecture at ISKCON Schenectady:
You are all great devotees because if you were not pious, you would not come to this festival.
People worship Lord Ganesa to become free from klesas [miseries], but he gets the potency to do this by his worship of Lord Nrsimha.
We wonder if the Lord will help us because we are just one insignificant person, but Lord Nrsimha appeared to please one devotee, Prahlada.
We think our kids are too young to learn anything, but Prahlada Maharaja learned so much in the womb!
Prahlada’s mother was too absorbed in her external situation to accept the instructions of Narada although her son was able to.
Prahlada was never fearful even for a moment.
Hiranyakasipu was so cruel that he forced his wife to give poison to their son, Prahlada, against her will. She fainted after she did it, but Prahlada was unaffected by the poison.
We pray to the Lord to remove the dirt of lust, greed, and anger, from our hearts so we can experience that He is present within us.
Arjunananda Prabhu:
The cycles of time are explained to inspire us to break out of the cycles.
Eating, sleeping, mating, and defending are done in all the species of life, so if after we attain a human form we focus on those, then it is pointless.
One may think that by changing his wife he will be happier, but by changing his wife he will not change his karma.
Maya Danava does lots of construction on the lower planets so there is a lot of pleasure there but not necessarily happiness.
How long will we be in the material world? As long as we have material desires.
The pleasures of the demigods do not keep them from remembering Krishna in a time of danger, but the pleasures of the demons cover their remembrance of Krishna.
Comment by Candrasekhara Swami:
There is sensual pleasure in both the heavenly and the lower planets, but in the heavenly planets there is sacrifice to Vishnu and in the lower planets there is not. In the heavenly planets the background of Vedic rules and regulations is there in, but the lower planets there are no such rules and people act more independently.
Dvarakadhisa Prabhu:
Time is an important topic discussed in Srimad-Bhagavatam because Krishna is beyond time and is the controller of time.
Understanding how powerful time is can help us appreciate how powerful Krishna is.
Srila Prabhupada is always reminding us that the Lord is a person, but not a person like us. His eating and sleeping are different from ours.
There is a big difference between nidra and yoga-nidra. Although sleeping, He does not lose cognizance.
The Lord has to take us beyond the three modes. We cannot do it on our own power.
Srila Prabhupada is beyond the three modes because of his connection to Krishna, and by his mercy we can transcend the three modes.
Shridhara Jayateerthachar (Albany Hindu Temple priest from Madhvacarya sampradaya):
From a brief speech at the Nrsimha Caturdasi festival at ISKCON Schenectady:
We learn that Prahlada became a devotee because he heard from Narada in the womb. Thus if one is pregnant, it is better not to just watch anything on Netflix.
We can also learn from Diti’s having demonic children because she had sex at an inauspicious time, that it makes a difference when you have sex.
We cannot expect to remember Lord at the end of life if we do not try to do harinama-sankirtana at every moment.
Prahlada said the Lord was in a certain pillar and to substantiate His devotee’s statement He appeared from that pillar.
The name Hiranyakasipu can mean that he hoards his wealth in his pillow.
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Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu reminded us on Nrsimha Caturdasi of the beautiful prayer of Prahlada Maharaja about the universal value of the devotional service of the Supreme Lord and how it blesses everyone. Here is the verse and Srila Prabhupada’s translation:
svasty astu visvasya khalah prasidatam
manas ca bhadram bhajatad adhoksaje
avesyatam no matir apy ahaituki
“May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Sri Krishna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.9)