Where I Went and What I Did
On August 17, I flew from London to New York, where I joined Rama Raya Prabhu’s NYC Harinam at Columbus Circle for the last three hours. The next day I did a walking harinama along Fulton Street in Brooklyn for almost an hour by myself before flying to Orlando. I caught a ride with Avinash and Jaya Sila Prabhus and their families to Alachua for Janmastami. I did harinama on Janmastami in Gainesville’s Depot Park, with devotees from Krishna House and another party led by Malini Devi Dasi. Having lived in Alachua from 1994 and 2005, I decided observe the Vyasa-puja festival there because of all the Prabhupada disciples with amazing memories of him who live there. Krishna House devotees surprised me by doing four hours of kirtan in their temple room Vyasa-puja evening. We did harinama in Gainesville on Sunday night. Monday I drove to Tallahassee, but it was so hot and humid, I dozed off and hit a utility pole. Fortunately I sustained no serious injuries although the car was destroyed.
I was well enough to chant on the campus three hours the next day, and for each day for rest of the month as well, and I would promote our Krishna Lunch at FSU, distribute books, and collect names for our mailing list.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam and Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead. I share notes on the writings of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, in particular, Prabhupada Appreciation and his Free Write Journal, both of which I was proofreading. I share notes on lectures by Candrasekhara Swami, speaking in Brooklyn, and Hari Puja Devi Dasi and Tamohara Prabhu, speaking in Alachua. I share notes on Intelligence or Chaos?, a book by Hare Krishna Prabhu, a Prabhupada disciple from Holland. In a separate section I share notes on many, many inspiring Vyasa-puja offerings in Alachua.
Many, many thanks to Avinash Prabhu for his accommodation in Orlando, his ride to Alachua, and his very generous donation. Thanks to Sruti Sagar Prabhu of Krishna House for letting me stay there for three nights. Thanks to Rama Raya Prabhu for the videos of me on NYC Harinam. Thanks to Jason for the photo of me at Landis Green and for many rides to harinamas in Tallahassee, as well as for playing the drum and singing the response on almost every harinama as well.
Many, many thanks to all the devotees who donated to our GoFundMe for a new Tallahassee temple vehicle, beginning with the top donors, Jay Govinda Prabhu, Anonymous, Bipul Roy, Satyasara and Krishna Bhajana Prabhus, and Guru dasa Prabhu. Thank you all so much.
Itinerary
August 22–September 11: Tallahassee and Gainesville harinamas and outreach
September 12–14: Tampa harinamas at USF and Bhakti Yoga Club program
September 15–20: Syracuse harinamas
September 21: visiting guru and mother in Albany
September 22–September 24: Philadelphia harinamas and Ratha-yatra
September 25–November 22: NYC Harinam
November 23–December 14: three weeks of service to Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami
December 14–January ?, 2023: NYC Harinam
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
In Paris we get a sizable group of devotees on harinama on Thursday and Saturday, but in New York City we have plenty of attendance Monday through Saturday, as on this Wednesday evening:
Ananda Bihari Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Columbus Circle with NYC Harinam (https://youtu.be/wcaBP1wCAMU):
I was so happy to be chanting again with my friends in New York! Thanks to Rama Raya Prabhu, the leader of our party, for these videos, one in landscape orientation (https://youtu.be/-Q2QgFo77Mk):
And the other in portrait (https://youtu.be/2bTeY1klfbI):
When not leading, I would chant the response, dance,
and pass out “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlets.
Chanting Hare Krishna in Alachua
Here Lilananda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna after Guru Puja on Janmastami in Alachua, and Murli Gopal Prabhu and others dance (https://youtu.be/Ob9nXWtCxes):
Here Bada Haridas Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Janmastami in Alachua during abhishek (https://youtu.be/B1Qi3OQtjoE):
On Janmastami evening in Alachua there was so much happening it was overwhelming! There were at least five different venues of activities, in addition to the different booths set up. Apparently the Vaishnava youth had an area dedicated to replicating the main temples in Vrindavan, which I did not even get around to seeing, although I heard some ecstatic kirtans from that direction. Madhava Prabhu, originally from Boston but living in Alachua for many years, had a kirtan venue blessed by his Govardhan-sila, and since I knew many of the devotees there, some for decades, I decided to stay there most of Janmastami evening. I do not have lots of energy on the full-day fast days, so I was not enthusiastic to check out all the events. I had already sung at Depot Park in Gainesville with Krishna House devotees and with Malini Devi Dasi and her friends for a total of 3:40 hours, so I was a bit wiped out.
Here Madhava Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Janmastami night at our Alachua temple, New Raman Reti (https://youtu.be/t-K6-EZ6Byc):
Pancha Tattva Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/OPWe94NmFQo):
Purusartha Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/E1IJsgZgTtM):
Ramai Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/jw84TE-qia8):
Vaishnava youths chant Hare Krishna on Janmastami night in the temple room in Alachua, just before the midnight arati (https://youtu.be/pWAU4q2wYfw):
Nagaraja Prabhu, Laksmi Nrisima Prabhu, Krishna Kishora Prabhu and others chant Hare Krishna on Vyasa-puja during the midday arati in Alachua (https://youtu.be/s9zr9yAFPA8):
Morning Homages:
Sesa Prabhu:
I came from a military family, so I was familiar with duty, and Srila Prabhupada’s emphasis on duty was inspiring for me. I also learned how to make a good bed from the military. Duty can only take one so far. Once we were engaged in preparing Srila Prabhupada’s room, and I offered to make the bed. I made it with hospital corners. I do not know if he appreciated it being made it that way, but it was my spontaneous offering of love, and it kept me going.
Mukhya dd, temple president of Alachua:
You left Vrindavan to save the fallen souls, inspired by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.
We heard you and came running, but we had so much material contamination.
You kept the association of the saints by sharing it with us.
I have known you for 50 years, and I get to know you more each day.
Dayananda Prabhu:
You asked me to write in 1972. In 2005 I began.
You wanted us to sell your books and establish the culture.
Now I am writing a book about how Vaishnava culture can solve the environmental problem.
1. All souls are equal.
2. Celebration of Krishna-lila and nama.
3. . . .
4. . . .
Narayani dd:
By your glance, you solved all our problems.
It is better to serve you than to serve Krishna directly.
By serving you, we get the service of the parampara, and we get their mercy.
Although Krishna forbids it, you held open classes and made it possible for us to come.
In your poem, you say Krishna has put the souls in conditioned life, and by His grace they can be delivered. And you desired that He deliver us, and that must come to pass as Krishna fulfills the desire of His pure devotee.
Amarendra Prabhu:
This the 50th anniversary of the visit of Prabhupada to New Vrindaban on Janmastami and Vyasa-puja. I do not remember eating or sleeping, but the usual austerities must have been there. By Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, however, we were all focused on him.
My wife, Gayatri, made his Vyasa-puja cake, and four or five brahmacaris had to carry it. As soon as Srila Prabhupada had one bite of his piece of cake, all the devotees pounced on it. When Srila Prabhupada finished his piece, he inquired, “Any more cake?” But it was all gone. We felt embarrassed. Gayatri made another cake just for Srila Prabhupada the next day.
Srila Prabhupada talked to a New York Times reporter. Srila Prabhupada said, “You have an impressive Sunday paper, but after they read it, what do they do? They throw it out.” The New York Times reporter took it OK. Then Srila Prabhupada handed him a Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and said, “That will last forever.”
“How to love the guru?” a disciple asked.
You replied, “You have made vow. You have taken fire sacrifice. You keep that vow. That is love. More important than your offering to guru is your remembering his mission.”
Everyone was so inspired, they went out preaching.
Nanda dd:
His prolific writing, which we can never get enough of, has brought us here to devotional service to Krishna.
Just by hearing from him, we become purified, and we gain the happiness that is in short supply today.
Chanting, repeating what we have heard, completes the hearing process.
He has engaged us in the five most important items of devotional service.
He has given us easy processes for our purification.
Srila Prabhupada was impressed in Greece when a man seeing Srila Prabhupada and the devotees said, “Hare Krishna.” Srila Prabhupada was so pleased, just by his chanting Hare Krishna.
Bhakti is so potent and pure, it will forcibly drag one to ultimate success. That is what Srila Prabhupada has given us.
I wanted to offer these prayers of Vrtrasura to Srila Prabhupada:
“O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, will I again be able to be a servant of Your eternal servants who find shelter only at Your lotus feet? O Lord of my life, may I again become their servant so that my mind may always think of Your transcendental attributes, my words always glorify those attributes, and my body always engage in the loving service of Your Lordship? O my Lord, source of all opportunities, I do not desire to enjoy in Dhruvaloka, the heavenly planets or the planet where Lord Brahma resides, nor do I want to be the supreme ruler of all the earthly planets or the lower planetary systems. I do not desire to be master of the powers of mystic yoga, nor do I want liberation if I have to give up Your lotus feet. O lotus-eyed Lord, as baby birds that have not yet developed their wings always look for their mother to return and feed them, as small calves tied with ropes await anxiously the time of milking, when they will be allowed to drink the milk of their mothers, or as a morose wife whose husband is away from home always longs for him to return and satisfy her in all respects, I always yearn for the opportunity to render direct service unto You. O my Lord, my master, I am wandering throughout this material world as a result of my fruitive activities. Therefore I simply seek friendship in the association of Your pious and enlightened devotees. My attachment to my body, wife, children and home is continuing by the spell of Your external energy, but I wish to be attached to them no longer. Let my mind, my consciousness and everything I have be attached only to You.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.11.24–27)
Pundarika Vidyanidhi Prabhu reading Vijitatma Prabhu’s offering:
Like Rama gathered monkeys for his mission, you gathered us.
I was out on sankirtana after two hours.
After eating the maha, I cleaned the temple. You came while I was cleaning.
Once a Christian was speaking during your lecture, demanding one surrender to Jesus. In order that your disciples did not get violent with him for rudely interrupting you, you said, “Chant Hare Krishna” and thus the kirtan drowned him out.
One devotee expressed his devotion to you by eating the Styrofoam cup you were offered food in.
I think that your disciples were highly elevated assistants of you from the past although appearing in low births.
A devotee said listening to you chant “Jaya Radha Madhava” was the highest perfection.
The San Francisco temple beat the Los Angeles temple in a competition for distribution of books on the weekends by only asking for money for books on the weekdays.
We distributed books at every train stop on a 48-hour journey to Hyderabad.
Seeing you perform arati gave new meaning to “Gurvastakam” verse 3.
You gave class from my Gita when you needed one.
You only gave me one order: “Preach Krishna consciousness.”
Bhumi Devi:
I am now the age you were when you came on the boat.
Your mercy is the best part of my life.
Thank you for all you have given to me and the world.
May I always stay on course.
Tamohara Prabhu:
I first saw Srila Prabhupada at that New Vrindaban festival when Srila Prabhupada came to Janmastami and Vyasa-puja.
I heard in Seattle about the farm in West Virginia, and my wife and I drove 2,000 miles there. We were amazed to see Srila Prabhupada there. His presence was impossible to forget. The room filled with spiritual energy. He filled his words with the deepest devotion. We found our master. Our lives were saved.
Now his words are heard in many temples. His books make new bhaktas each day. He has given us everything from sadhana [practice] to sadhya [perfection].
Any bliss we feel comes from Srila Prabhupada.
The world looks dark, but Krishna consciousness looks bright.
That one pure devotee of Lord Caitanya, Srila Prabhupada, made this possible.
“My simple request is that you live in the association of devotees, chant Hare Krishna, read the books, and you will go to Krishna.” Many times Srila Prabhupada assured of this. I long to join Srila Prabhupada in eternal service to Radha and Krishna.
Rangavati dd reads Mahendrani dd’s offering:
Some words from the younger Amarendra who gives many classes:
“You have brought bhakti to places where it was never before.”
“As Hanuman found Sita although hidden, you found bhakti hidden in all our hearts.”
Rangavati dd’s own offering:
One grain of devotion is worth tons of faithlessness.
Chaturatma Prabhu:
Hearing from so many other devotees before me, I am embarrassed, but I make my humble offering as you encouraged us to do.
I am the same age you left Vrindavan.
Against all odds in a year, you attracted a few followers.
Later you initiated thousands of disciples.
I am that same age this year, and I cannot imagine the energy you expended all for our benefit.
Although traveling all over the world, you managed a million-dollar movement.
How deep is our debt! What are we willing to give? We should consider this.
Mother Rucira:
All I appreciate you taught to us.
|My connection to you is service.
Someone mentioned the culture of the US, and you said, “What culture?”
I am so grateful for what you gave.
Nagaraja Prabhu, editor of Back to Godhead:
From Bhakti Siddhanta Vaibhava, Jati Sekhara remembers, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was discussing an English magazine simpler to read than The Harmonist. Three titles were discussed. Our Srila Prabhupada suggested Back to Godhead, and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura accepted it. Later Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura asked our Srila Prabhupada to start it.
“To take all of the people of the world with me back to Godhead,” Srila Prabhupada said, “I have started this periodical.”
Presenting the Absolute Truth is the editorial policy of Back to Godhead.
You said we must follow the predecessor acaryas. We are convinced we will serve best by doing this.
Vegavati dd:
[Vegavati dd said she was quite junior among the Prabhupada disciples present, but she wanted to go home early and cook something to offer. So she brought references by some of Prabhupada’s earliest disciples.]
From Remembering Srila Prabhupada, Volume 1, by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, “September 1, 1896,” the first poem in the book:
“Under a jackfruit tree, in a little house,
almost a hundred years ago
in Calcutta—an unlikely place someone might say,
but it lies within the geography and culture
of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,
and the great saint Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
was also living there.
The most important day it was
for the sorry, sad world
where millions were killed in the wars,
killed and then born again
into different species of pain.
Under a jackfruit tree, in a little house
almost a hundred years ago,
the day after Krishna’s birthday,
his mother delivered him,
he who is actually the savior,
the messiah who would bring
Krishna bhakti to the West.
The world would receive true religion
from him.”
There’s another very senior devotee, Goursundar dasa, who was Prabhupada’s servant in 1967, along with his then wife, Govinda dasi.
He figures in my personal history in a unique way. I came in touch with Krishna consciousness in the fall of 1972; a new friend gave me prasadam, and played for me a tape of Srila Prabhupada. I couldn’t understand much, but I got this: ‘Simple people, chanting and dancing and eating nice food. This is spiritual life.’ My friend gave me the Gita and taught me to chant and to offer my food. A few months later, he said he was leaving for Hawaii. I didn’t want to stay where I was, so I went to Hawaii with him. The island where we landed had a farm where brahmacaris lived, but no facility for ladies. So with the permission, by phone, from Goursundar, I was able to go to Kauai and move into the ladies’ ashram there on Gaura Purnima, 1973. But it was only this last Christmas that I got to meet Goursundar in person, as he and his wife Gaya now live in Alachua. His physical condition doesn’t allow him to come to the temple. So I’d like to share something from a little book he’d written, called Krsnology: The Lord is the Quest. This is an excerpt I’d written in a little notebook about 49 years ago:
“We cannot escape, in our heart of hearts, this knowledge:
1) I exist.
2) I shall continue to exist.
3) I have joy.
4) There is a great entity underlying and maintaining my joy.”
Prabhupada himself actually wrote a Foreword to that book, and it ends with his saying, “If you read carefully Krsnology: The Lord is the Quest, you will come to the right point, and go back home, back to Godhead.”
Then she read her own offering to Prabhupada, from the Srila Prabhupada Tributes book.
This excerpt struck me:
“Please forgive me for the many missed opportunities to spread your message of deep reality, love and compassion. Yet there are opportunities I’ve taken, too, and some successes. Thank you so much for encouraging us to connect with others and spread the holy names, philosophy, and prasadam.”
Madhujjvala-lila dd:
Thank you for your inspiration. We are doing a meals on wheels program. It has been difficult. I thought about all your difficulties the first year. I was inspired to continue. Now many devotees have come forward to assist me, including many younger devotees.
I pray and surrender to you and Krishna. Please empower us to do prasadam distribution and help care for devotees.
Lilananda Prabhu:
I am never nervous about speaking in any situation except this.
You are an incomparable master.
Acyutananda came to Radha Damodara temple. Srila Prabhupada was there. Acyutananda stayed with many of Srila Prabhupada’s godbrothers, and he concluded, “None of them could have done what Srila Prabhupada did.”
Ragatmika dd:
All glories to your tireless endeavor to deliver the conditioned souls.
My family was engaged in welfare activities, so I later engaged in the Peace Corps.
Then I met your followers.
Sharing your books, the holy name, and prasadam has given me the happiness I longed for.
“You have kindly arranged two steady harinam buddies, namely Parijata and Manmohini, to take me along with them every Friday. Parijata’s carefully packaged cookies and chidwa prasadam is the bate I use to stop the lost souls running by. And, by your inspiration, Rasa McKnight is kindly keeping me supplied with books to distribute, side by side with Nitai-Priya and Samkalpa. And all the while the melodious harinam is vibrating in the background, circling this war-torn planet seven times, thanks to your steady kirtaneers such as Kesava, Nagaraja, Guru-vagmi, Parijata and Manmohini prabhus, accompanied regularly by JR, Trivikram, Vrndavana-lila, Kirtan, Shranti and Abhay and others. Srila Prabhupada, I pray that I will never lose the taste for engaging in these transcendental acts of mercy in the company of your devoted followers. Please allow me to be your instrument lifetime after lifetime if you so desire.”
Ameyatma Prabhu:
My wife was a simple devotee. She had no position. I had a dream of my wife after she passed away. She said that the program that you, Srila Prabhupada, have taught us works. We just have to chant Hare Krishna, read your books and serve the deity. We do not have to play some important role in your mission, but just do whatever we do in devotion.
Mahavishnupriya Devi Dasi, who wrote offering for the temple of Alachua:
Despite the pandemic, we were able to keep the temple open, which is remarkable for a temple this size. Some got COVID, but they quarantined until they were cured.
Reflecting on your concern, as seen in your writings, letters, conversations, etc., we see your fatherly kindness. We see your patience, immense and steady. You knew people’s hearts better than they did.
Krishna will send so many devotees, and they will help you spread Krishna consciousness.
You also said that demigods would take birth in this movement. We see these young devotees with more devotion than we had at their age.You encouraged us to share our realizations.
You had deep absolute faith in Lord Sri Krishna.
You have succeeded where no one else could.
You have brought us to this bhakti path, and we must continue.
You have taught us to save humanity by giving Krishna to the world.
Mother Amrita:
You told us to chant and advised us to tell others to chant. Just reading your books I find is not complete without telling people to chant.
Quote from Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, about asking people to chant Hare Krishna: “Ask them to please chant Hare Krishna.”
Saumya Prabhu:
He would say “thank you very much” after the pranama prayers.
Srila Prabhupada was asked, “What do you get out of the chanting?”
He replied, “Chanting.”
This is my favorite day of the year. I would see that people would just light up when they talked about Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada came in his car to the palace at New Vrindaban, and he was smiling as they showed him different parts of it. He was tapping things with his cane. There were some cement bags covered with plastic. Srila Prabhupada said this is not good. Later we found it was ruined as water had gotten in.
Bali Mardan said that Krishna’s palaces had jewels in them, and Srila Prabhupada said pointing to the devotees, “These are my jewels.”
Srila Prabhupada was always saying, “Thank you very much.” But I need to say [to him] “Thank you very much.”
Mother Sukhada:
I read this poem Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold written in 1867 before I was a devotee, and it helped me to realize the desperation of the human condition, especially the last two stanzas below. I recently reread it and marveled at how Srila Prabhupada rescued us!!!
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
“Following” by Sukhada dasi
Srila Prabhupada,
You opened the Sea of Faith
Armed with humility, determination and love
With the words of the sages raining down from above
You arrived before us as a beacon of light
Opened the spiritual world filled with infinity and light
Imbued with devotion to our Supreme Lord
Cut lust, greed, and envy with your transcendental sword
You passed on the torch
Books, prasad, and the holy name
Devotion to you our only real claim to fame
Hark! Can you hear the sound of kartals ring
As the saffron and sari clad devotees sing?
A little advancement drives away all fear
On this path of devotion – you’ve made it so clear
United we stand, divided we fall
Your ISKCON goes on giving mercy to all
You gave us a way to right all the wrongs
Immersed eternally in ancient Sanskrit song
As your dedicated disciples leave this world one by one
Your children and grandchildren will get your work done
They must never forget how this all came to be
A lone sannyasi crossing the sea
On this mission of his guru – give up? No, never.
You will live in our hearts forever and ever.
I was told to bring the tray of cookies to Srila Prabhupada, and when I did, he said, “Hmm. Where are the children?”
Bhutabhavana Prabhu:
Srila Prabhupada wanted all Afro-American disciples to go to Nairobi, so I did.
Brahmananda Prabhu was there, and he asked me to make a garland of campaka flowers for Srila Prabhupada. We sang the samasara prayers each morning just a few feet from Srila Prabhupada.
We had a media interview. We had a photo of Lord Caitanya on an easel. At the end of the program, the interviewer asked who was in the center. Srila Prabhupada said, “He is Lord Caitanya. He is God.”
The interviewer said, “He is not God. He is just a person.”
Srila Prabhupada said angrily, “You do not know who is God. Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
At that time Shyamasundar was asking Srila Prabhupada about different Western philosophers. Srila Prabhupada said Socrates was a brahmavadi because he knew he was not his body.
Srila Prabhupada said to us, “Four hundred years ago your ancestors were taken from here as slaves, but you are returning as masters.”
The Gujarati ladies cooked amazing prasadam.
Brahmananda asked if I wanted to take brahmana initiation. I said I have not been initiated for a year. He let me take it anyway.
I wanted to touch Srila Prabhupada, and after I got brahmana initiation, he told me to offer obeisances, and did so, with my palms on his right foot.
Srila Prabhupada had so many different moods we saw, and I was so glad to be there.
Guru Gauranga Prabhu:
All I really needed to know I learned from you.
In my initiation lecture, you said: “Follow the regulative principles, chant, read, do street sankirtana.”
In France, you said, “Make Krishna more popular than Napoleon and the Eiffel Tower.”
However early I arose, you were always up chanting or translating.
You let me be your English-French interpreter at public events.
In Geneva you said we would ultimately be successful if we kept up our preaching.
You said we had the best milk in Geneva, except for one with his own cows.
You said, “Jnana alone is no good unless the jnani surrenders to Lord Krishna.”
Lilasuka dd of the Child Protection Office:
There are countless letters where you express concern for the health of the devotees.
If some child experiences abuse from a devotee, we want them to also experience caring devotees concerned to help them.
Adideva Prabhu:
I was in Texas in 1971, where vegetarians were unheard of and yoga and meditation were similarly unknown.
I saw Vishnujana Swami, who would chant for hours at the University of Texas.
Your teachings are a clear rainwater washing away doubt.
Your words describing Krishna are like the sun penetrating the clouds.
Pasupati dd:
The script of my life was rewritten when you came from India to the US.
You have established Vedic culture in every corner of the world.
You gave instructions, like Bhismadeva, until the end of life.
Srila Prabhupada said once, “Did you know yogis can travel on a sunbeam? When I was in Hamburg, I tried that.”
One lady was doubtful of his instruction to get rid of ghosts. So Srila Prabhupada told how he once got a haunted house for cheap and chanted Hare Krishna in it and got rid of the ghosts.
Dhruva Prabhu:
Comparing another Vaishnava’s translation or commentary of Bhagavad-gita with Srila Prabhupada’s, we can see that Srila Prabhupada presented the truth more clearly and more elaborately, and we can understand how fortunate we are to have encountered his books.
Samapriya dd:
Thank you, Srila Prabhupada, for everything.
I think last night’s Janmastami celebration was appreciated by higher beings.
You are famous and magnanimous. Your mission is to save all the fallen souls.
Only one who speaks your name can do so by great mercy from God.
You set my life in order by giving me your order.
Lord Caitanya’s compassion is bringing you to the West.
Hearing your transcendental sound, faith becomes awakened, you conquer misconceptions.
Because of your sacred speech, the unattainable is now within our reach.
Ananga Manjari dd:
I was so convinced by your words, I thought that anyone who heard them would become convinced.
I was 12 in 1965 in the middle of September, living 15 minutes from the Boston pier, where your boat landed. A friend asked what I wanted to do. I saw the trees swaying and in an inspired way, I thought, “I want to know the Absolute Truth.” I knew she would not appreciate that, so I said, “I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
I must pay back for I am indebted to you.
I wrote to you, “I am 18 years old, and my husband took sannyasi. Can I study your books and preach?”
You said, “Yes.” I did not get much encouragement from others, so I did sankirtana and other services.
You transplanted a transcendental message, tinged with Indian culture, but you wished it to be tinged with transcendental culture.
I see the greater participation of the children now, and I am inspired that it will continue.
Nataka Chandrika dd:
Shyamasundar elaborates that Pradyumna Prabhu’s job with the United Nations was to talk to all the holy men of the world. He said, “No one comes close to Srila Prabhupada.”
So many come in touch with you and are transformed.
Tulasi Dasa Jaya Sharma was at the Churchgate pandal, and he said, “I was overwhelmed with joy, because he taught the Westerners the Vaishnava religion and made them devotees of Krishna.”
Nair sold some land to Tulasi Dasa Jaya Sharma, but then Srila Prabhupada wanted it. Nair said, “Srila Prabhupada wants to build a Krishna temple. Will you surrender your rights?”
“Only if he personally tells me.”
Tulasi Dasa Jaya Sharma did, and he is now happy to see the temple of Krishna there.
Ranjit Prabhu:
You had the most comprehensive understanding of the three major works of bhakti.
Sincerity is the secret, not erudite scholarship.
You established this movement to awaken the love of Krishna within everyone.
The wonderful Janmastami celebration we had in Alachua is a result of your teachings.
We see all over the world different celebrations inspired by your teachings.
We pray to remain in the shelter of your teachings.
Kasisvari Prabhu of Ukraine:
I have collected book distribution stories.
During Soviet times, Sandipani Muni IDS served as a military pilot in several wars. He was sent to Moscow to get high ranking military training. The trainer was saying to him that the hippie movement in America would have made capitalism fall in 10 years, but Srila Prabhupada, a grandpa from India, was getting them all off drugs.
Rama Govinda Prabhu (Radha Jivan’s son):
One female disciple was talking about the last visit of Srila Prabhupada to London. She said that Srila Prabhupada would shed tears of gratitude for those who helped him.
Thank you for your sons and daughters.
Thank you for your disciples, who have a piece of you, and who inspire us.
Love for you in the hearts of your disciples can give us love for you.
Syamakunda Prabhu:
First Wave of Devotees to Join in Gainesville when Srila Prabhupada Was on This Planet:
Amarendra Das
Gayatri Devi Dasi
Gadi Das
Dharma Das
Aja Das
Jalangi Devi Dasi
Mahaprabhu Das
Pusta Krishna Das
Bhakta Richard
Bhakta Jerry
Nagari Devi Dasi
Second Wave of Devotees to Join in Gainesville During Gayatri and Amarendra’s Management:
Harinam Devi Dasi
Dhanesvara Das
Ekadasi Das
Lokanath Guru
Laxminatha Das
Paravat Muni Das
Nikunjavasini Devi Dasi
Lalu Gopal Das
Vaninatha Vasu Das
Jagannatha Tirtha Das
Bhranti Devi Dasi
Garuda Pundita Das
Sranti Devi Dasi
Akincina Krishna Das
Manushresta Das
Dushala Devi Dasi
Svaha Devi Dasi
Bhaja Govinda Devi DasiGopapatni Devi Dasi
Yasoda Mayi Devi Dasi
Ganga Gati Devi Dasi
Dronacharya Guru Das
Ramananda Das
Smriti Devi Dasi
Syamakunda Das
Bhakta Rodger
Atari Das
Bhakta Larry (Lila Avatara Das)
Bhakta Hugo
Devotees Who Helped Building Gainesville ISKCON while Srila Prabhupada Was on the Planet but Did Not Join in Gainesville:
Sudarsana Das
Shankarsana Das
Suresvara Das
Pundarika Das
Rtadhvaja Swami
Afternoon Homages:
Vaninatha Vasu Prabhu:
I created the Institute for Advanced Social Design and compiled a book, Speaking About Varnasrama.
Srila Prabhupada said, “We are about to embark on a new phase of this movement, varnasrama.”
I show how Srila Prabhupada’s ideas of varnasrama evolved over time.
Srila Prabhupada gives a recipe for creating varnasrama which you can read in this book.
In the first volume we see how the brahmanas and the ksatriyas are like the father and mother of society.
Bhisma says that ksatriyas protect society from visible threats, and brahmanas protect society from invisible threats.
Srila Prabhupada was interested in training. He trained brahmanas, and he wanted training for the other asramas.
Bhimadeva says that advisers to the king should be 55 years or older, in other words, they should be experienced.
Bhimadeva gave instructions to the ksatriyas for dealing with relatives. This is important because the whole battle of Kurukshetra was a family dispute not an invasion.
Mrkanda Prabhu:
I grew up in the movement and came back to the movement after college.
I feel on a tether from Srila Prabhupada, keeping me in the association of devotees.
Devotional leadership is important for our advancement.
Mukhya, my auntie, from Detroit and our dedicated temple president, always gives me opportunities for service.
I was born on Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s disappearance day.
For Arjuna, without Krishna there would have been no success, and so it for us.
I felt growing up, that the balance between the material and the spiritual was not always there, so I strive to attain that and to give that.
Whenever you are present and attentive, Krishna can use you as His instrument.
Srila Prabhupada made us realize Krishna is the Lord of sweetness not just the Lord of opulence.
Radha Damodara Prabhu:
We sacrificed our youth for Srila Prabhupada, and he will not forget us. If we stay our whole life in Krishna consciousness, as we see with many of our godbrothers, Prabhupada will remember us at the end.
All around the world there are groups of devotees relishing talking about Srila Prabhupada.
When I met the devotees I was impressed by their happiness and their honesty. I knew I wanted to be a devotee but not yet.
I got some books at the temple and carried them around for years, although I never understood them.
I met the devotees in Victoria, BC. There were just a few devotees. I hadn’t seen Srila Prabhupada, but we understood that Srila Prabhupada was not different from his photo and his books. That picture was Prabhupada to us. Bahudaka Prabhu talked a lot about Srila Prabhupada, and hearing from him was the high point of our day.
We preached in places it was forty below in the winter, and we made devotees there.
Srila Prabhupada knew us, and he to wrote us, answering our every letter. He would travel over the world and make sure we were doing well. He wrote Krishna book so we could hear Krishna’s sweet pastimes.
Saumya Prabhu:
In 1976 on a walk in New Vrindaban, a calf came up to Srila Prabhupada, and he asked, “What is the age of this calf?” I could not find anyone who knew, so I just said, “It is not very old as the milk bag is not developed.”
He said, “I can see that.”
The first cow at New Vrindaban was Kaliya, who they got for a cheap price as she was blind in one eye. She gave very good milk, and we always offered her milk to Srila Prabhupada when he would come there.
He asked me what was growing in a certain field, and I happened to know they had planted mung beans there. So I said, “They planted mung beans there.” I was happy to have the answer to his question this time.
When Srila Prabhupada went to Dr. Mishra’s ashram, Satsvarupa and another devotee came up later, as they were working during the day. Srila Prabhupada encouraged Satsvarupa to sit next to him, he personally fed him capatis and sugar, although Mishra’s followers, who were macrobiotic, could not appreciate.
When Srila Prabhupada visited Boston, they had a nice reception, and Srila Prabhupada went to the temple. But we had to wait for someone to get the sankirtana van from where it was parked to bring us to the temple.
One devotee convinced Satsvarupa that the Boston temple was not good enough for Srila Prabhupada to stay, and he donated money to get a room in the Four Seasons Hotel, the best in Boston.
Srila Prabhupada refused the room, saying it was in the mode of ignorance, but that the temple was Vaikuntha.
Srila Prabhupada liked to stay with the devotees.
Krishna Kripa Das:
I offer obeisances to my gurus, to Srila Prabhupada, and to the Vaishnavas.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, my diksa guru, wrote many books glorifying Srila Prabhupada, and as an offering to him, he decided to reprint them all this year. I do proofreading for him, and I selected from his books these quotes of appreciation of Srila Prabhupada to share:
“We don’t have to do what Prabhupada did and start a worldwide society of devotees; we already have ISKCON. But it’s worth noting: We can do what we are doing in ISKCON because our founder-acarya left his family and business and went alone to Jhansi. Because he tried to spread Krishna consciousness, despite the discouragement of others, and because he persisted, we can now call ourselves devotees. We can now claim to be part of the sankirtana spirit that moved Srila Prabhupada to pick us up in the first place, that same spirit that was operating in him even in those early days in Jhansi. If Prabhupada had not come, probably I would have died or gone crazy. Or at least my life would have been totally useless.”
“You are smiling enthusiastically, eager to see the service done by your disciples and to take part by speaking Krishna’s message and guiding us in all ways. You never shirk your responsibility or take a day off; that attitude is unknown to you. Never lazy or cowardly in any way, never tired or depressed. No wonder we want to emulate you, although we cannot.”
“Prabhupada really is available to us. We are never devoid of his association. All we need is a little faith. We don’t have to give up our regular duties in Prabhupada’s service to go off and look for Prabhupada. Prabhupada (and Krishna) reveal themselves through our service. Although we speak of patience, we don’t have to wait ten thousand years before we receive any revelation; all we have to do is look around us.”
“The meaning of human life is to engage the soul in service to Krishna, and it’s to Srila Prabhupada that we are grateful because he has taught us this. He has taught us that happiness comes only when we regain our original position as servants of the servants of the servants of Krishna. Prabhupada assures us, and we are experiencing it ourselves as truth, that there is no better work and satisfaction then that which is performed as favorable service to the all-attractive Lord Krishna. We pray to realize this more consciously and deeply, becoming free of all unwanted habits, so that eventually we can attain the goal—joining the eternal blissful pastimes of Radha-Krishna and Their entourage.”
From Srila Prabhupada Smaranam: Photographs 1966–1977:
“Another man challenged Prabhupada to prove he had the realization of sama-darsanam (as stated in Bhagavad-gita), the ability to see Krishna in the heart of every living entity. Prabhupada told the man he had no such power. But then he told him the power that he did have. He said he had been able to make Vaishnavas of thousands of young people who had formerly been drunkards and drug addicts. He was able to see Krishna in their hearts and administer the medicine of chanting and hearing which converted them from meat-eating mlecchas to refined Vaishnavas and brahmanas. The man was very impressed and left the room repeating to himself, ‘He sees Krishna in everyone’s heart.’ So this was the miraculous ability that Prabhupada readily admitted he possessed. He said he had it, ‘however, only by his one hundred percent following of his spiritual master, and he strictly followed the path chalked out by Lord Caitanya.’”
On this day for the last few years I have read this excerpt of a letter which Srila Prabhupada wrote to Sudama in 1972 describing the amazing success of his mission:
“Yes, from the very beginning I went to New York because I thought that Krishna Consciousness is the most important idea in the world, so let me go to that place, New York, which is the most important city in the world, and if I am able to do anything for Krishna and my Spiritual Master, even I am at the fag-end of my life, at least let me try for it there. So my dreams have all come true, and all of you nice boys and girls are getting the credit. When I was alone in your New York, I was thinking, who will listen to me in this horrible, sinful place? All right, I shall stay little longer, at least I can distribute a few of my books, that is something. But Krishna was all along preparing something I could not see, and He brought you to me one by one, sincere American boys and girls, to be trained-up for doing the work of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Now I can see that it is a miracle. Otherwise, your city of New York, one single old man, with only a few books to sell for barely getting eatables, how he can survive, what to speak of introducing God-consciousness movement for saving the humankind? That is Krishna’s miracle. Now I can see it.” (Srila Prabhupada letter to Sudama, December 23, 1972)
The following quote reveals Srila Prabhupada’s great faith in power of the basic devotional principles he taught to liberate a soul and send him to the spiritual world. Commenting on the verse describing Sivananda Sena’s dog going back to Godhead, Srila Prabhupada wrote:
“Therefore, everyone in the human form of life should be induced to associate with devotees. By rendering a little service, even by eating prasadam, what to speak of chanting and dancing, everyone can be promoted to Vaikunthaloka [the spiritual world]. It is therefore requested that all our devotees in the ISKCON community become pure Vaishnavas, so that by their mercy all the people of the world will be transferred to Vaikunthaloka, even without their knowledge. Everyone should be given a chance to take prasadam and thus be induced to chant the holy names Hare Krishna and also dance in ecstasy. By these three processes, although performed without knowledge or education, even an animal went back to Godhead.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Antya 1.32, purport).
In Vijaya Prabhu’s book, Tribute to the Brhat Mridanga, there is a wonderful story about Srila Prabhupada’s amazing mercy:
“One time in America, at a book table, an old man approached the book distributor and asked him, ‘Do you have the Bhagavad-gita?’
“‘Yes, sir,’ the devotee replied.
“‘Let me see it.’ He took the book in his hand, turned it around, saw Srila Prabhupada’s picture, and said, ‘Yes, I’ll buy this one.’
“‘Why, sir?’ the devotee asked.
“Pointing to Srila Prabhupada’s picture, the man replied, ‘This man has been coming to me in dreams for years and telling me, “Buy my Bhagavad-gita, buy my Bhagavad-gita.” When I saw you dressed in the same color as him, I thought that maybe you would have his Bhagavad-gita. Now I’ve found it.’”
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
At present I try to serve you by reminding people of your instruction to perform congregational chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra in public on a daily basis. You have great faith in the power of this chanting to purify people from their demoniac tendencies and engage them in Krishna’s service. In the database of your books, lectures, conversations, and letters, you quote “ceto darpana,” about how the congregational chanting cleanses one’s mind, 553 times!
Sometimes I cannot convince other devotees to join me. Sometimes I encounter lack of interest or even resistance from the public. At challenging times I reflect on your 38-day voyage to America, your having two attacks on the boat, and your lack of assistance from others for your important missionary work, and I realize the austerities I encounter sharing the chanting with people are truly insignificant by comparison, and thus I am able to continue.
I am inspired by your great faith in the purifying power of the holy names, and I am happy to serve you by chanting Hare Krishna in public. Thank you for the opportunity. Please bless me that I may continue for the rest of my life and that I may inspire others to take the yuga dharma of congregational chanting of the holy name more seriously.
The servant of your eternal servants,
Krishna Kripa Das
Krishna House devotees planned to do harinama on Vyasa-puja night around the bars acroos from University of Florida beginning at 8 p.m., but as some devotees went to a Vaishnava Youth Vyasa-puja program, the devotees informed me harinama would be at 9:00 p.m. Kirtan was going on in the temple room since 8:00 p.m. Unfortunately, at 9:00 p.m. it was raining, so I did not even consider trying to get the devotees to go out. I just thought as soon as the rain stopped, the harinama would happen. Sruti Sagar Prabhu, the temple president sanctioned it, and Kevin, the men’s ashram leader, was into it, and so was Madhu Prabhu. There was a core of devotees, however, who were really into doing kirtan in the temple room, and they kept that kirtan going on and on.
You can see some of it here:
Prabhupada Priya Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Krishna House on Vyasa-puja night and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/shRRlwwQ9Dc):
At one point Govinda Prabhu flashed the lights on and off quickly, and we had a rare strobe kirtan (https://youtu.be/FcwpHu1YI3w):
Later the kirtan moved to the space just before Srila Prabhupada (https://youtu.be/bbSiCVZBfh8):
I am happy to stay up even as late as 4:30 a.m. to share the chanting with new people who may never again get such an opportunity, but when I am with devotees in the temple, I like kirtan to end by 10 p.m. so I can go to sleep, and have a nice morning program. I kept thinking at any moment the kirtan would end, and then we could do an hour or even half an hour of harinama and share Srila Prabhupada’s mercy with the others in our city on the auspicious day of his appearance, but that never happened. They kept chanting till midnight, and then they decided to have a farewell party for Janaki Devi Dasi, who was leaving the next day.
If they told me at 9:30 p.m. straight up, “Actually we would rather chant in the temple than do harinama,” then I could have gone out by myself for an hour or so and maintained my vow of daily harinama, but as it turned out, I didn’t do any public chanting on Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja day.
Next year I shall go to a place where that will not happen. In 2019, I was in London, and we had two harinamas on Srila Prabhupada’s all-auspicious Vyasa-puja day. I had taken a bus to London at 1:45 a.m., after the Janmastami feast in Newcastle, because I knew I could count on the London devotees to do harinama on Vyasa-puja, and I was not disappointed. In fact, I was happily surprised that we had two harinamas there instead of one because Vyasa-puja was Saturday that year!
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
I was happy to have two other devotees to chant Hare Krishna with on the FSU campus on my first day back, Ranchor Prabhu of South Africa and Madeline who is local. We began advertising our Krishna Lunch here which we resumed on Monday. One student said that Krishna Lunch is what he likes best about FSU. An Indian girl had a vegan friend who came last year and inspired her. Puja from Bangladesh was happy to hear of it. Many people were happy to see us back on the campus, and several people signed up for the free yoga. Six people took free small books, and one girl gave $2 for Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers.
We distributed thirty small books and one medium book at FSU in Tallahassee during the last nine days of the month. The third day of our Krishna Lunch at FSU, we distributed an amazing ninety-four plates of prasadam. Previously the seventies was considered high. The fourth day we distributed seventy-seven plates, also very good.
Sunday as Jason Schoeller, Madeline and I chanted by the library, a student exclaimed, “I love your music!” Practically every day someone says something nice or makes a gesture of approval. It is nice to see Krishna kirtan appreciated at FSU.
Car Accident
Normally I would have gone back to Tallahassee with Kaliya Damana Prabhu and the other devotees who came to Alachua for Janmastami and Vyasa-puja, but they wanted me to stay in the Alachua area and drive the Tallahassee Radha Krishna deities which Ramiya Prabhu had used for a program in Tampa back to Tallahassee. That day happened to be Ekadasi, and I slept for six hours the previous night which was much better than usual, so I was not worried about my trip. Normally I would have breakfast and take a nap, but on Ekadasi I skip breakfast, and because I got more sleep at night than usual, I skipped the nap. When I picked the deities up from Ramiya Prabhu, he recommended I use the air conditioning to make the temperature nice for the deities on the journey, but unfortunately the A/C did not work. I kept the windows open, but the heat and humidity made me very tired, and the whole journey I sprinkled water on my face every few minutes to keep awake. Normally I would have made it all the way to Tallahassee before eating lunch, but because I spent a long time talking to Ramiya Prabhu, my half day fast was over when I dropped the deities off at our new rural property near Monticello, half an hour before Tallahassee, and because I skipped breakfast I was enthusiastic to eat lunch before completing my journey. I made it to Tallahassee and was 2.3 miles (7 minutes) from the temple when I suddenly found myself a few feet from a utility pole off to the right side of the road. I screamed either Krishna or Gauranga in the fraction of a second before the car hit the pole.
Both the seat belt and the air bags worked, so except for some chest wall bruises and blisters on the back of each thumb from the air bags I was not seriously hurt. My glasses were knocked off but did not break, and my phone which was on the platform between the seats and my computer which was on the seat both landed on the floor but were still functional. My harmonium, solidly wedged between the front and back seats, was also unharmed. I got out of the car, through the door which was also functional, and I called 911 because I know we are suppose to report accidents. Both the EMS and the police arrived within a couple of minutes. My pulse, blood pressure, and oxygen were all normal. I made sure I brought my computer and charger to the hospital so I could work on the previous issue of this journal while they checked me out. I was glad I had brought the computer because I spent almost seven hours there. They gave me a chest X-ray, a chest CAT scan, an EKG, and blood tests to make sure my bones and internal organs were not damaged and that there was no heart irregularity or blood deficiency that caused me to black out. I think it was just the heat, the humidity, and not taking a nap after lunch that caused me to drift off for a few seconds and get in the crash. I got home from the hospital at 10 p.m., but I stayed up till 1 a.m. to finish the previous issue of this journal. The pain was not severe. Two 200 mg. tablets of ibuprofen, which I already had from when my tooth was pulled, taken before sleeping at night and before harinama during the day, were all I needed to avoid the pain, and sometimes my body did not hurt enough to remember to take them. According to the Internet, blisters from the air bags can be caused by heat, from chemicals, or from friction, and they last 11 ± 5 days. In my case, they took 7 days to heal. By Krishna’s grace, I got off easy.
What did I learn from my accident? Never drive when I am tired. I have driven dozens of times when I was tired, and I never got into an accident. Now I realize I should be more careful.
Srila Prabhupada would quote one Bengali saying, “Rakhe krishna mare ke, mare krishna rakhe ke – He whom Krishna protects, no one can kill, but if Krishna wants to kill someone, no one can give him protection.”
So I accept that Krishna wanted to save me. Thus I should be grateful and try to always engage in His service in a favorable way.
Sometimes people die early because Krishna feels they have completed their mission, and other times Krishna does not want them to continue moving away from Him, so He stops their progress in a negative direction by terminating their life in that body. Apparently neither applied in my case.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Chant while you can!
I wondered if anyone took any photos of me chanting at FSU this semester so I searched the Internet for Krishna and “Landis Green”. I found two articles from the past, one from an 2021 FSU paper and another from a 2020 Tallahassee paper.
Reflecting on her time at FSU, Alli Hinchliffe, Deputy Views Editor for the FSView and Florida Flambeau, a few days before graduation in April of 2021, wrote in an article, “Thoughts on Graduation: Alli’s Senior Send-off,” “I’d walk through Landis Green and pause my music in order to do a quick dance with the Hare Krishna club as they played their instruments.”
In August of 2020, when classes started again after the COVID summer, Bryon Dobson, a writer for the Tallahassee Democrat, observing the much reduced student population on the campus as the semester started, stated:
“Landis Green, the normally bustling park-like setting in front of Strozier Library on the campus of Florida State University, was peaceful Monday morning.
“A few students trickled in and out of Strozier, some rested on the benches in front and two representatives of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness chanted on a grassy spot.”
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.4.27, purport:
“Perfection is never attained until one is satisfied at heart. This satisfaction of heart has to be searched out beyond matter.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.4.30, purport:
“Purification of the living being submerged in matter is made possible by the prescribed activities in the Vedas, but the ultimate achievement is different. Unless it is attained, the living being, even though fully equipped, cannot be situated in the transcendentally normal stage.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.8, purport:
“The compiler of the Vedanta-darsana is Vyasadeva himself. Yet he is troubled, although he is the author. So what sort of transcendental bliss can be derived by the readers and listeners of Vedanta which is not explained directly by Vyasadeva, the author? Herein arises the necessity of explaining Vedanta-sutra in the form of Srimad-Bhagavatam by the self-same author.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.4.4, purport:
“Srila Sukadeva Gosvami was a liberated soul, and thus he remained always alert not to be trapped by the illusory energy. In the Bhagavad-gita this alertness is very lucidly explained. The liberated soul and the conditioned soul have different engagements. The liberated soul is always engaged in the progressive path of spiritual attainment, which is something like a dream for the conditioned soul. The conditioned soul cannot imagine the actual engagements of the liberated soul. While the conditioned soul thus dreams about spiritual engagements, the liberated soul is awake. Similarly, the engagement of a conditioned soul appears to be a dream for the liberated soul. A conditioned soul and a liberated soul may apparently be on the same platform, but factually they are differently engaged, and their attention is always alert, either in sense enjoyment or in self-realization. The conditioned soul is absorbed in matter, whereas the liberated soul is completely indifferent to matter.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 90:
“In Vrindavan, as the boyfriend of many gopis, and in Dvaraka, as the husband of many queens, Krishna increased their lusty desires to enjoy with Him. For God realization or self-realization, one generally has to undergo severe austerities and penances for many, many thousands of years, and then it may be possible to realize God. But the gopis and the queens of Dvaraka, simply by enhancing their lusty desires to enjoy Krishna as their boyfriend or husband, received the highest type of salvation.
“This behavior of Lord Krishna with the gopis and queens is unique in the history of self-realization. Usually people understand that for self-realization one has to go to the forest or mountains and undergo severe austerities and penances. But the gopis and the queens, simply by being attached to Krishna in conjugal love and enjoying His company in a so-called sensuous life full of luxury and opulence, achieved the highest salvation, which is impossible to achieve even for great sages and saintly persons. Similarly, demons such as Kamsa, Dantavakra and Sisupala, who all treated Krishna as an enemy, also got the highest benefit of being transferred to the spiritual world.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Free Write Journal #209:
“In recent weeks we have been experiencing 90 degree weather. Tomorrow it is predicted to be 100 degrees. There are different ways to deal with this. The family next door has purchased a large four-foot deep above ground pool to stay cool. We are not going to go into their pool. We have AC, and I have fans. We think that we are not suffering much, and we think of Vrindavan. Our heat wave is nothing compared to Vrindavan dhama, where the temperatures go up to 120°. You can think of the heat here as miserable, or you can think of it as a way to meditate on Vrindavan, where it’s really hot and transcendental.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 1:
“As we hear krishna-katha and contemplate the brilliant future for the Krishna consciousness movement, we remain in Prabhupada’s presence. From this viewpoint we can see the quarrels and failures within the Krishna consciousness movement as temporary. The opposition to Krishna consciousness will come and go, like fame and infamy in this world. but Krishna consciousness worldwide will not go away. And Srila Prabhupada will always be with us.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 2:
“He appears to be just a small man from India,
but not ordinary, very elderly.
But see how he is dressed
without Western compromise,
and how these young men and women are running before and after him.
It is no magic or bluff.
It is Krishna the Supreme,
the source of all bliss,
our release from birth and death.
He carried the keys,
he’s the Vaishnava guru par excellence.
If you will just listen and obey.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 4:
“An evening in Mayapur to remember Prabhupada while the drums and karatalas beat out the rhythm of the twenty-four hour kirtana. Generals may fall, new people come and then make the same mistakes. Still, his movement goes on. It is Lord Caitanya’s movement, His desire, and Prabhupada remains His extraordinary representative and dear to all of us. We can only cling to his feet or to the dust where he walked or to a piece of his dhoti. We can only ask Prabhupada, ‘Please accept us. Please accept the work we are doing to maintain your movement.’”
From Free Write Journal #210:
From One Hundred Prabhupada Poems, #49:
“Srila Prabhupada was strong up
until his last breath; he said
he prayed to Krishna for enthusiasm,
and the Lord gave it.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 3:
“Let us always thank Prabhupada for giving us the best education in the most important of all subjects. It is not a sectarian religious education. It is not less important than material knowledge. Prabhupada teaches raja-vidya, the king of education. Most of us are unqualified to receive this education, and yet we have received a full scholarship. Just as an underprivileged person feels fortunate to receive a scholarship to a top university, we are grateful that Prabhupada has accepted us into the university of Vaishnava brahmanism.”
“The subject in which we are trained, love of Krishna, is unlimitedly vast. We can never know everything about Krishna. Therefore, a Ph.D. in this field honestly says that he does not have deep love for Krishna. He reasons that if he had love for Krishna, how could he live in this world without Him? The accomplished student of Krishna consciousness never considers himself a master of this subject and never becomes puffed-up. He acknowledges that even simple people can receive God consciousness by the direct method of chanting the holy names. Prabhupada has taught us everything: he has given the syllabus and the practices, and he has stressed humility. This is true education.”
From Prabhupada Appreciation:
“Stern warnings from preachers may not prompt us to leave the material world, but the ecstasy of the Lord and His devotees can attract us. We can get a taste of that ecstasy if we submissively study Srila Prabhupada’s books.”
“Instructions to one devotee in a letter may not apply to another devotee, or they may change with time (i.e., Prabhupada told me to keep my job at the welfare office and then later said I could give it up). Because of this, Prabhupada stopped the circulation of his letters among the various centers.”
“In 1969 Prabhupada wrote, ‘Letters are sometimes personal and confidential, and if all letters are circulated, it may act reversely.’”
“Here is a letter by Prabhupada that reveals his deep humility: ‘Personally, I am nonentity; I have come here on the order of my Spiritual Master, and He has kindly sent you all boys to assist me. So, whatever is being done, there is no credit for me, but all the credit goes to my Spiritual Master, because He has arranged everything, and I am simply to abide by His order.’” [Letter to: Brahmananda — Seattle, October, 16, 1968]
“He also had favorite verses that he lectured on. For example, from the Bhagavad-gita, he lectured the most on 7.1 (51 times). Another favorite was 2.13 (10 times). From the Srimad-Bhagavatam, he liked to lecture on 1.2.6 and 5.5.1 (13 times each).”
“It is inconceivable to think of how pleased Krishna is with Srila Prabhupada’s endeavors in His service, and it is equally inconceivable to think how Krishna’s pleasure increases with the continued success of the sankirtana movement as it is carried on, on behalf of Srila Prabhupada by his disciples and grand-disciples. We must not misrepresent his mission or deviate it from that path of pleasing Krishna.”
“We can also see Srila Prabhupada’s dearness to Krishna when we examine how Krishna made so many special arrangements for him throughout his life. He appeared in a well-to-do aristocratic, pure Vaiṣṇava family where he grew up materially comfortable ‘because he did not like to perform austerity.’ His parents protected and nurtured his Krishna consciousness and saved him from going to the West prematurely to study in English schools. He was saved from having a wife too much to his liking and therefore he could remain detached. He was introduced to his spiritual master almost by accident, and received his life’s order at that time.
“When his business failed and his family remained unsupportive of his preaching, he took the vanaprastha order and began Back to Godhead. But his spiritual master personally appeared to him in a dream and told him to take sannyasa. He was protected from becoming embroiled in Gauḍiya-math politics by his spiritual master while he was still present and by Krishna after Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s departure, and when he finally left for the West, he was a free agent for Krishna. Although he suffered heart attacks aboard the Jaladuta, Krishna came to him in a dream and assured him that everything would be all right. To arrive in the United States with only the equivalent of eight dollars and to begin a worldwide institution for the propagation of God consciousness was definitely mercy from the Lord.
“Although the Lord made special arrangements for Prabhupada, it was also Srila Prabhupada’s real devotion that allowed him to mold himself to the Lord’s plans. He was the ideal devotee: malleable in the hands of the Lord and unbreakable by the world of matter.”
“Once, Jayadvaita Swami asked Srila Prabhupada, ‘What if the spiritual master makes mistakes?’ Prabhupada pointed out that to see such discrepancies is a material viewpoint. ‘Acarya is not God, omniscient. He is servant of God. His business is to preach the bhakti cult… That is the perfection.’”
“Preachers regularly tell us that God loves us, but it takes a lover of God to actually convince us of it.”
“The main point here is honesty. Srila Prabhupada was a very potent preacher because he was honestly in love with Krishna. There was never any showmanship or an attempt to create appearances of devotion that did not actually exist. If we are honest in our showing love for Krishna, that is, behaving in a way that does not try to overstep our level of advancement, then that in itself will be attractive to sincere inquirers. And in the light of Srila Prabhupada’s purity, we will easily remain humble, which is the most attractive quality of a Vaiṣṇava preacher. Humility will attract a sincere seeker, and humility will also attract Krishna. If others see a devotee’s dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s mission, that in itself is evidence of the devotee’s love for Krishna, and that will attract others to Krishna’s service.”
“Prabhupada was a world preacher, and as such, his places of pastimes can be visited. These tours to places outside of ISKCON can revive our memory of Prabhupada. Especially relishable is to tour his beginnings in New York City—the Bowery, 26 Second Avenue, Tompkins Square Park. Devotees and friends in the Boston area make a yearly pilgrimage and hold sankirtana at Commonwealth Pier on the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the United States. Devotees can also visit where he worked to produce his Bhagavatams before leaving for America.
“It is especially important to approach such tirthas in the correct mood, ready to serve the tirtha by prayerful remembrance. It is a good idea to have a reading about the significance of the place. This will help imbue the visit with proper understanding.”
“In 1974, Srila Prabhupada allowed the guru-puja ceremony to be performed for him in Bombay, and in 1977, while instructing his disciples about the meaning of guru-puja, Srila Prabhupada said that because the spiritual master enlightens the disciple with divya-jñana, transcendental knowledge, the disciple feels obliged and thus worships the spiritual master. “This guru-puja is essential, just as the Deity worship is essential. It is not cheap adoration. It is the process of enlightenment, of divya-jñana.
“But in order to improve our attendance and attitudes at the daily guru-puja, we have to realize that Srila Prabhupada is present. We must pray for that realization. We should know that he is present on the vyasasana; and we should know that he is pleased by our enthusiastic participation. It is not a dull routine, but an opportunity to daily meet and glorify Srila Prabhupada in the most appropriate way.”
“A further development of the Lilamrita came in the form of Remembering Srila Prabhupada, the series of free-verse poems I wrote based on the biography. Because the biography was aimed at both devotee and nondevotee audiences, I had to be suitably restrained in my praise of Srila Prabhupada. Remembering Srila Prabhupada provided the opportunity to freely praise Srila Prabhupada and to appreciate him more in the society of devotees. Actually, writing a condensed version of a larger biography is a Vedic tradition. So, Remembering Srila Prabhupada is a natural complement to Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita.
Candrasekhara Swami:
That sex desire is a powerful motivating factor that can engage people in acts that get themselves into a lot of trouble is known throughout history. Most people learn this from the school of hard knocks and not from the pages of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Because Diti was repentant for offending Lord Shiva, although her sons were to become demoniac, her grandson was to be a great devotee of the Lord.
Not only by eating in the wrong way, but by speaking in the wrong way, we can be overcome by sex desire.
By controlling the senses, one conquers the material world.
Krishna consciousness is sometimes described as a process of purification, a way of connecting with the Lord, a practice to control the mind, a practice to control the senses, and a way to ascend through the modes of natures. All these are interrelated and are Krishna consciousness as seen from different perspectives.
If you catch lust early on by controlling the mind, it is much easier.
If you focus your mind on something, you can direct your life in a certain direction.
To get the same effect from sense enjoyment, you have to do more and more of it as time goes on, and one becomes attracted to darker and darker kinds of sense enjoyment.
Even ordinary people understand the principle that if you give into the senses, you will become degraded.
If you can see a thought and let it go, especially if it focuses on sense objects, you can save yourself from a lot of difficulty.
If one offends devotees, one loses the attraction and taste for devotional service, and then one becomes more open to seeking other things like sexual pleasure.
If one is very degraded it will take more time to become elevated, but if we become very determined to advance because of our suffering condition, we can overcome that degradation.
Usually people burn out on devotional service because they were doing austerities that were not actually required.
The holy name is the easy way to become purified, if you can just try to keep the mind focused on it, and if we become purified in that way, we will not have to become purified in more difficult ways.
If you criticize a devotee for his past sinful activities or for a sinful act he commits later that is not premeditated, that counts as the offense against the holy name known as offending the Vaishnavas.
Hare Krishna Prabhu:
From Intelligence or Chaos?:
“‘Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe —a spirit vastly superior to that of man.’
Albert Einstein, 1936”
“‘A little bit of science leads to atheism, but large quantities of it bring us back to God.’
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) – British philosopher and scientist”
“While E=mc2 shows that energy can be converted to mass and vice versa, neither can be destroyed. That implies that something does not and cannot arise from nothing, and that the foundation of existence—energy—is eternal and does not have a cause.”
“Time scales of millions, or even billions of years, of evolutionary processes are invoked to blur the improbability of properties emerging out of nothing.”
“‘I don’t know why we are here, but I am pretty sure that we are not here to enjoy ourselves.’ – Ludwig Wittgenstein [philosopher]”
“If suffering is reduced to the personal responsibility of the individual and not to the unfathomable arbitrariness of God, then 99% of the theodicy [the problem of evil] is solved.”
“According to the optimist this world is the best possible world out of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears that this could be true.”
Hari Puja Devi Dasi:
“Once a peacock requested that Krishna and Radha dance with the peacocks. They did so for a long time, and the king of the peacocks, out of gratitude, offered Krishna a peacock feather which He put in His hair, and which He has kept there ever since. The eye of the feather is the color of Radharani’s eyes and has Radha’s name in Sanskrit on it. Thus Krishna always feels under Radha’s glance.”
Tamohara Prabhu:
We have in Krishna, His supremacy as the Supreme Lord of everything and the sweetness He shows in His different rasas in His pastimes. Both are described in the Tenth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Gargamuni says, “In conclusion, therefore, O Nanda Maharaja, this child of yours is as good as Narayana. In His transcendental qualities, opulence, name, fame and influence, He is exactly like Narayana. You should all raise this child very carefully and cautiously.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.8.19)
Why does he advise Nanda Maharaja to raise this child very carefully when He has all the power of Narayana? Because he does not to disturb his rasa.
A boy may have a father who is a high court judge, but the boy is only concerned with his relationship with his father.
We need to understand Krishna’s supremacy before we can enter into an intimate relationship with Him.
Srila Prabhupada’s phrase “Supreme Personality of Godhead” makes it clear that God is not impersonal.
The description of the incarnations as “plenary portions of Krishna” means that they are empowered by Krishna.
Although Jaya and Vijaya were killed by Krishna’s incarnations of Varaha, Nrsimha, and Ramacandra, they attained complete liberation only when killed by Krishna.
The name of Krishna is said to be three times more powerful than the name of Rama, which is a thousand times more powerful than the name of Vishnu.
The Gaudiya Vaishnava acaryas focus on Lord Krishna’s Vrindavan pastimes.
We are fortunate that Lord Caitanya has given us the worship of Radha Krishna, which is the highest.
Yesterday, Radharani had an umbrella on the altar. Apparently the pujari heard that rain was predicted, and so she gave Her an umbrella.
When talking philosophically with the sages about Krishna, Vasudeva said to Krishna that He was not really his son, but Nanda Maharaja would never say that. Thus his devotion is superior.
-----
How valuable is the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord? That is nicely answered in this verse in the Srimad-Bhagavatam at the end of the pastime of Ajamila:
tasmat sankirtanam vishnor
mahatam api kauravya
viddhy aikantika-niskritam
“Sukadeva Gosvami continued: ‘My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the sankirtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to understand this so that others will take it seriously.’” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.31)
Like the king, we should also try to understand this so that others will take it seriously!