(Sent from Brooklyn, New York, on November 6, 2022)
Where I Went and What I Did
I stayed at Radha Govinda Mandir (ISKCON NYC) in Brooklyn for the last two weeks of October, assisting Rama Raya Prabhu’s NYC Harinam party Monday through Saturday by chanting lead and response, dancing, and distributing the invitations, free literature, and an occasional book. As we chanted the “Damodarastakam” in the evening devotees engaged passersby in offering lamps to Krishna in his feature as Damodara, and I have a beautiful video of that. One Sunday I chanted in the local Atlantic Avenue / Barclays Center subway station for an hour and a half, and the other Sunday I chanted Hare Krishna for three hours with the very enthuasiastic members of Sevika Devi Dasi’s Hari-Nama Sankirtan Youth Group in the South Ozone Park section of Queens at 120-13 Liberty Avenue, just a block and a half past the Lefferts Boulevard A train station. Twice I heard Radhanath Swami chant Hare Krishna at the Bhakti Center Thursday night kirtan. I include photos, videos, and homages from the celebrations of Govardhan Puja and Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day at Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn. I share videos of people in Halloween costumes interacting with our harinama party. Beyond our usual harinama, we did an extra walking harinama on Halloween for about half an hour from Washington Square Park to the Prince Street subway station, stopping early because of rain. Then we continued chanting Hare Krishna on the R train to Dekalb Avenue station, and then as we walked to the temple.
I share many quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, which I am reading for the month of Karttika, inspired by Kadamba Kanana Swami, and several quotes from three Srila Prabhupada lectures which we heard as our morning class at ISKCON NYC. I share notes on Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s Gurudeva and Nimai and his Free Write Journal, both of which I was proofreading. I share notes on classes by Candrasekhara Swami and Hansarupa, Rama Raya, Hari Vilasa, Arjunananda, Matanga, Prabhavishnu, and Hadai Prana Prabhus. I share notes on a presentation on Chapter 8 of Sadaputa Prabhu’s Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science by Sthita-dhi Muni Prabhu. I share notes on essays on scientific topics by Murli Gopal Prabhu and Venkatesh Chembrolu from a Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies journal, Purva-Paksa, which I also proofread.
I thank Edita Jimenez for her kind donation. I thank Rama Raya Prabhu and Divyangi Devi Dasi for their videos of NYC Harinam and Sevika Devi Dasi for her video and photo from our harinama in Queens.
Itinerary
September 26–November 22: NYC Harinam
November 23–December 14: three weeks of service to Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami
December 14–18: Taking care of mother near Albany
December 18–January ?, 2023: NYC Harinam
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
Here over fifty people of a variety of ages, genders, races, and nationalities enjoy offering lamps to Lord Krishna in his form of Damodara during the middle two weeks of the month of Karttika at several venues in New York City, and thus they become free from karma and gain promotion to the spiritual realm according to India’s revealed literature (https://youtu.be/QPBkrkO4lDc):
In the Skanda Purana it is said: “When one offers a lamp during the month of Karttika, his sins in many thousands and millions of births perish in half an eye blink.”
“A person who offers a lamp to Lord Krsna during Karttika attains the eternal spiritual world where there is no suffering.”
Thanks to Divyangi Devi Dasi, Janaki Devi Dasi, Jayananda Das, and Prama Mataji for assisting the people in offering the lamps, and to NYC Harinam for the divine music.
You may notice that due to police regulations, we had to use battery-powered lamps in the subway stations.
Aravinda from Alachua, visiting NYC Harinam for three weeks, chants Hare Krishna in Times Square subway station, and a guy passing by plays guitar (https://youtu.be/CmGNt3K-xH0):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Tulasi Puja at ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/T1dk57MA_AM):
Divyangi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Columbus Circle, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/lw8i9f4Ffw0):
While Hadai Prana Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna there, Turkish ladies danced (https://youtu.be/Eoxng1ZQmt4):
Here Sevika Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Columbus Circle, and a lady plays shakers (https://youtu.be/FxdDx6Kkdlo):
Later while she was singing, three guys played the shakers and moved to the mantra (https://youtu.be/BNIQ9oQ8xgM):
Syamala Priya Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park on a Friday (https://youtu.be/U-PtElosX-E):
Here Kishan chants Hare Krishna there (https://youtu.be/pPdcmwVrPFo):
Later Aravind chanted Hare Krishna there (https://youtu.be/8w7XdRRNkOI):
Alex chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park on Saturday (https://youtu.be/bH6K50FHR28):
Bader Soma, visiting from Montreal, chanted Hare Krishna there too (https://youtu.be/bJcbeEORUkA):
Here Divyangi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/f_pWIsOaE9w):
While Divyangi chanted Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park, two guys danced with devotees, one wearing my hat half the time (https://youtu.be/NOFf2Bh71_8):
Here Janaki Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park, and four girls play shakers and dance (https://youtu.be/YsBhDWMh8KI):
Later Sunanda Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, chanted Hare Krishna there, inspiring many devotees and passersby to dance (https://youtu.be/8XbwCJTmCOw):
Actually I was the first dancer, then one guy joined me, and then it increased.
I have been forgetting how much I like to dance, but Sunanda Prabhu’s kirtana reminded me.
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park, and many dance (https://youtu.be/fhOaHB6SyU0):
Finally Keshav chanted Hare Krishna there (https://youtu.be/02BlBsyuyIQ):
Sunanda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON NYC Sunday feast (https://youtu.be/49qdeBnp0Ik):
Aravind chants Hare Krishna at Washington Square Park, and passersby and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/gI8hkFt2jKE):
Alex chants Hare Krishna at Times Square subway station, and a Nepali family participates at Times Square subway station above the 7 train (https://youtu.be/pjf1q8fYq8U):
Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna there as well (https://youtu.be/JQHTRYyHNS4):
Janaki Devi Dasi chanted Hare Krishna there too (https://youtu.be/KVxO56OJ4C0).
Also at Times Square, a lady from Ukraine who was an artist did a drawing of our harinama party.
We celebrated Govardhan Puja at ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn. I took photos from all four sides of Govardhan Hill before it was surrounded by all kinds of different offerings of food.
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON NYC Govardhan Puja Festival in Brookyln (https://youtu.be/EJ7GsUsOOjI).
I was surprised to see such eagerness in Atmanivedana Prabhu, who runs the Saturday Bhagavad-gita at 26 Second Avenue, to stand on a bench to get a better view of the hill and the kirtan!
Sunanda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON NYC Govardhan Puja Festival during circumabulation (https://youtu.be/MC9wAVAeSaI):
Priya Krishna Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON NYC Govardhan Puja Festival (https://youtu.be/5IlQnN6dBw8):
Jayananda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Columbus Circle, and kids play instruments and dance (https://youtu.be/YS1tzvoztl8):
When Divyangi Devi Dasi chanted Hare Krishna, a worker at Air India in red, joined in chanting the response during her one-day visit to New York (https://youtu.be/b6Ki2mpm5zA):
Krishna Kumar Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Columbus Circle (https://youtu.be/EOhyJbXA_c4):
I also chanted Hare Krishna at Columbus Circle (https://youtu.be/ptY1Pd0Kq2A):
At Columbus Circle I met this lady who went to Govinda’s at 55th Street, just a few blocks away, over 40 years ago. I gave her a card for Govinda’s in Brooklyn.
Later that day one guy asked me what calamity happened in my life so that I joined a sect. Was I abused or did I come from a broken family? I was annoyed, and I replied, “No. I just wasn’t satisfied by the explanations of the Western religions.” He could accept that but pushed me to tell him some personal calamity.
I said, “My father died when I was 12.”
His tone of voice changed. He said, “I am sorry,” and walked away.
He came back in a few minutes and gave me a persimmon, saying, “This is for you.”
I thanked him and gave it Matanga Prabhu, one of our cooks, to offer to Radha Govinda. Thus Krishna tricked this disrespectful man into offering Him a fruit.
Keshav chants Hare Krishna at Union Square (https://youtu.be/ft3NF_dTtio):
Acyuta Gopi chants Hare Krishna in Union Square (https://youtu.be/C4R0v0RhGhQ).
Acyuta Gopi chanted so nicely that my video of her is one of the most popular from this two-week period.
At Union Square I met Siddhavidya Prabhu’s cousin from Florida. I told her I’d chanted with him and that he was famous in our movement for doing harinama practically every day in Miami, sometimes even alone. I mentioned I had chanted in several places in Miami in May, and she told me that in addition to Coconut Grove, he would chant by the theater on Flagler St. downtown, which I’ll have to try sometime. She said she always gives us a donation when she sees us in New York.
Another guy I met said he loved the Hare Krishnas because his mom used to live across the street from our temple in Haight-Ashbury years ago. Thus he happily took the free literature and invitations.
On Srila Prabhupada's disappearance day I suggested that we chant Hare Krishna at the Fulton Street subway station which is just ten minutes by train from the temple so we could easily get back to the temple for the evening program. Our closest subway venue, Atlantic/Barclays, we had already done earlier that week on Govardhan Puja day. Here I chant Hare Krishna at Fulton Street subway station (https://youtu.be/jQNXRmO9A8g).
Sunanda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during the evening arati on the disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada in New York City (https://youtu.be/2ae2pUgoPgU):
Devotees chant Hare Krishna in the final kirtan on the disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada at ISKCON NYC, in which Sunanda Prabhu was the first leader (https://youtu.be/M61iWcklt9I):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park, and a guy plays shakers and dances (https://youtu.be/nslgZDdgzZs):
Later a dog became attracted to remaining near the kirtan, and its owner just had to go along with it.
I was happy to join the Hari-Nama Sankirtan Youth Group led by Sevaka Devi Dasi, who chant Hare Krishna in South Ozone Park in Queens for about three and a half hours on every other Sunday.
Kishan chants Hare Krishna in South Ozone Park in Queens (https://youtu.be/eHkCDR9sDzc):
Radha chanted Hare Krihna there too (https://youtu.be/Q5u8-gLF0jI):
I chanted there as well (https://youtu.be/m5XITx1mNXE):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Sunday Feast at ISKCON NYC (https://youtu.be/hrgQoWK-Ybo):
At one point, Divyangi tried to sell some of Srila Prabhupada’s books to a man in a wolf suit.
Here the masked Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Halloween, and devotees and passersby dance (https://youtu.be/OJbG_TJPh3o):
Aravind chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park on Halloween, and a lady and her kids, dressed as astronauts, play the shakers and dance (https://youtu.be/Oj2mD79puL8):
Deva Damodara Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park on Halloween and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/7OJqZAzrYX0):
While Deva Damodara Prabhu continuing chant Hare Krishna, a couple from Ananda Ashram danced (https://youtu.be/KnrufYbYmxk):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Washington Square Park on Halloween, and two masked ladies dance with Janaki Devi Dasi (https://youtu.be/tRq1KaXSoho):
On Halloween someone asked if they could interview me about happiness. I always say yes, because there is a chance I could share some transcendental knowledge with them. He asked if I was happy, and I said yes.
He asked me to rate my happiness on a scale of 1 to 10. I said 9.
He asked what would make me more happy, and I said if more people were chanting and dancing with us.
He asked if happiness was a choice. I know some people have a philosophy that happiness is a choice, but I was not completely convinced about that, so I said, “Not necessarily. Happiness can be bestowed upon a person.” I thought of instances like Lord Caitanya giving the highest ecstasy of love of God to the son of King Prataparuda simply by embracing him. Later I reflected that you can say happiness is a choice, but it is not our choice, it is God’s choice, as He enforces the law of karma, and He can also free one from the bondage of karma and bless one with the highest spiritual happiness, if He chooses.
Another interviewer inquired about how to attain happiness, and I said, “Chant Hare Krishna.”
I was planned to take a Facebook Live video of the entire Halloween walking harinama, but that was not possible. So many people were using the Internet through their phones, my internet connection was not stable. Thus I just took a sixteen-minute Facebook Live video of the beginning of it. Here are the six minutes of that video when we had the most interactions with passersby (https://youtu.be/KPmejZKG-eA):
I just took regular videos the rest of the time.
Here Hadai Prana chants Hare Krishna in SoHo (South of Houston Street) in New York City on Halloween and people dance (https://youtu.be/zjzQjbVcpAY):
Deva Damodara Prabhu chants Hare Krishna along Prince Street in SoHo on Halloween (https://youtu.be/bveAyt2DxC8):
Unfortunately, it rained after no more than half an hour. I was very intent on chanting on the subway home, as our Halloween harinama was so short. We took the R train eight stops from Prince Street to Dekalb Avenue. I asked Matanga Prabhu to chant, and he agreed being in the mood of the Harinama Ruci traveling party. I was not sure if anyone would chant the response if I led, so I decided to ask Matanga as I knew I would chant the response when he led. In the course of the seventeen-minute journey, three people took videos of our chanting, and I was happy that they all took “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlets, being sufficiently attracted by the chanting. Divyangi Devi Dasi took this video of the end of the kirtan on the subway (https://youtu.be/XlYIoNfSPm8):
Thus the month of October had a happy ending with many additional conditioned souls hearing the holy name as a result of our Halloween harinama, but we hope for better weather next year.
Offerings on Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day
Morning Offerings
Candrasekhara Swami:
I only met Srila Prabhuada once before I was a devotee and that was at a Ratha-yatra in San Francisco.
Srila Prabhupada appeared, carried on a vyasasana. Everyone was bowing down. I did not know who Prabhupada was, so I did not feel that I should bow down. However, I felt self-conscious because everyone else bowed down, so I decided to bow down too.
The prasadam was also mysterious and amazingly good. I became a devotee a year later.
In November 1977 in ISKCON Berkeley we were all dressed in Paul Revere outfits to go to Fisherman’s Wharf to distribute flowers and ask for donations. Some devotees were in the van, and some were in the house. Then they told us to all go into the temple for an announcement. Vatsala and Nagaraja were there. Then they told us that Srila Prabhupada had left this world. We did not know what to do. We decided to do a kirtan for an hour, and sankirtana was cancelled for the day.
I had just gotten used to the idea that Srila Prabhupada was here when he left since I had joined in late 1975.
When I visited Vrindavan, it felt otherworldly. I felt that Krishna could appear at any moment.
Janaki Devi Dasi:
Each Srila Prabhupada disciple is like a facet of a diamond, manifesting one of his special qualities.
Evening Offerings
Adi Purusa Prabhu:
Sometimes we would glorify Srila Prabhupada by listing his accomplishments: Srila Prabhupada started so many temples, initiated so many disciples, wrote so many books. Once when Srila Prabhupada heard that, he said, “If you want to glorify what I did, say that I repeated what I heard from my spiritual master. Everything else came from that.”
Here Adi Purusa Prabhu, who does Food For Life in NYC, makes a musical offering to Srila Prabhupada on his disappearance day (https://youtu.be/ItAY3Mb4wOI):
Here are the lyrics to his song:
Candrasekhara Swami:
Sometimes I am overwhelmed by different devotional duties. This verse from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam gives me solace: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead then said: O Brahma, O depth of Vedic wisdom, be neither depressed nor anxious about the execution of creation. What you are begging from Me has already been granted before.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.9.29)
Sunanda Prabhu:
We cry on this day. We glorify him. We celebrate his being with Krishna. We try to come up another notch.
Rama Raya Prabhu:
When he appeared, an astrologer said this personality at the age of 70 will cross the sea, become a great exponent of religion, and open 108 temples.
Both Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Lord Caitanya predicted Srila Prabhupada’s appearance in that they foretold the chanting of the holy names would be spread to every town and village. Someone had to do it.
I was hearing on a tape that Srila Prabhupada was saying, “You are all young men. You can easily live another 50 years, and that is enough time to perfect your Krishna consciousness.”
We should imbibe the selfless mood of Srila Prabhupada.
Sivaradhya Prabhu:
In 1971 I learned there was a temple in Brooklyn on Henry Street. I went on Sunday for prasadam. A devotee gave me Caitanya-caritamrita.
I asked about Srila Prabhupada. They said he was in India. I kept asking. After the temple moved to 55th Street in Manhattan, once when I asked about Srila Prabhupada, I learned he had come to New York.
He went on a morning walk, and devotees were waiting for him to return. I joined the devotees in waiting. When Srila Prabhupada passed me, I put my hands on his feet. Devotees discouraged me, but Srila Prabhupada was smiling, so I knew it was OK.
In 1977 when he was in England he was sick, but because he did not want to go into a hospital, he asked the devotees to take him back to India.
Special Photos
There are so many Bengali speaking people in New York City, I found I could practice transliterating the Bengali script on the subway, something which I learned to do when I lived in Mayapur for six months. The words here are somabar (Monday) and ravibar (Sunday).
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 28:
“When Nanda Maharaja was taken away by one of Varuna’s servants, Nanda’s companions began to call loudly for Krishna and Balarama. Immediately Krishna and Balarama could understand that Nanda Maharaja had been taken by a servant of Varuna. Thus They went to the abode of Varuna, for They were pledged to give protection to the inhabitants of Vrindavan, who were all unalloyed devotees of the Lord. Devotees, having no shelter other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, naturally cry to Him for help, exactly like children who do not know anything but the protection of their parents.”
“Unless one is constantly situated on that transcendental platform, it is not possible to understand the spiritual nature.”
“Therefore it is recommended that one should take to bhakti-yoga and keep himself engaged twenty-four hours a day in Krishna consciousness, which places one beyond the reach of the modes of material nature. One in Krishna consciousness can easily understand the nature of the spiritual sky and Vaikuntha-loka. The inhabitants of Vrindavan, being always engaged in Krishna consciousness, could therefore very easily understand the transcendental nature of the Vaikuntha-lokas.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 29:
[Lord Krishna said to the gopis:] “I can also understand that you have very great affection for Me, and out of that transcendental affection you have come here, hearing My playing on the flute. Your feelings of love and affection for Me are very appropriate because I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All living creatures are My parts and parcels, and naturally they are affectionate to Me. So this affection for Me is very welcome, and I congratulate you for this.”
[The gopis said to Krishna:] “If a woman accepts You as the supreme husband, then she will never be bereft of her husband, as in the bodily concept of life. If we accept You as our ultimate husband, then there is no question of being separated, divorced or widowed. You are the eternal husband, eternal son, eternal friend and eternal master, and one who enters into a relationship with You is eternally happy.”
[The gopis said to Krishna:] “Besides that, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita, You are the only enjoyer, You are the only proprietor, and You are the only friend. As such, we have come to You, leaving aside all so-called friends, society and love, and now You have become our enjoyer. Let us be everlastingly enjoyed by You. Be our proprietor, for that is Your natural claim, and be our supreme friend, for You are naturally so. Let us thus embrace You as the supreme beloved.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 30:
“Krishna is self-sufficient: He has nothing to enjoy from any other source. Yet just to satisfy His devotee, He treated Radharani exactly as a lusty boy treats his girlfriend. Krishna is so kind that He always tolerates the disturbances created by His girlfriends.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 32:
“The gopis who were gathered there had almost all been followers of the Vedas. In their previous births, during Lord Vedic scholars who desired the association of Lord Ramacandra in conjugal love. Ramacandra had given them the benediction that they would be present for the advent of Lord Krishna and He would fulfill their desires. During Krishna’s advent, the Vedic scholars took birth in the shape of the gopis in Vrindavan; as young gopis, they got the association of Krishna in fulfillment of their previous birth’s desire. The ultimate goal of their perfect desire was attained, and they were so joyous that they had nothing further to desire.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 33:
“One should know with certainty that Krishna had no personal interest in whatever He did for the benediction of the gopis.”
“Sukadeva Gosvami further concludes that the great sages and devotees, who are washed clean of all conditioned life, can move freely even within the contamination of material nature by keeping Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, within their hearts. In this way they also do not become subject to the laws of pleasure and pain in the modes of material nature. How, then, is it possible for Krishna, who appears by His own internal potency, to be subject to the laws of karma?
“Some ask that if Krishna is self-sufficient, why did He at all manifest the pastimes with the gopis, which are disturbing to the so-called moralists of the world? The answer is that such activities show special mercy to the fallen, conditioned souls. The gopis are expansions of His internal energy, but because Krishna wanted to exhibit the rasa-lila, they appeared as ordinary human beings. In the material world, pleasure is ultimately manifested in the sex attraction between man and woman. The man lives simply to be attracted by women, and the woman lives simply to be attracted by men. That is the basic principle of material life. As soon as these attractions are combined, people become more and more implicated in material existence. In order to show them special favor, Krishna exhibited this rasa-lila dance. It is just to captivate the conditioned souls. Since they are very much attracted by sex, they can enjoy the same life with Krishna and thus become liberated from the material condition. In the Second Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Maharaja Pariksit also explains that the pastimes and activities of Lord Krishna are medicine for the conditioned souls. If they simply hear about Krishna, they become relieved of the material disease. They are addicted to material enjoyment and are accustomed to reading sex literature, but by hearing these transcendental pastimes of Krishna with the gopis, they will be relieved of material contamination.”
“Anusrinuyat means that one must hear from an authorized person who is in the disciplic succession and is always engaged in Krishna consciousness. When a person hears the rasa-lila in this way, the effect will be sure: he will be elevated to the highest position of spiritual life.”
“One who is actually deriving benefit from hearing the rasa-lila dance surely achieves the transcendental position. He surely loses all traces of lust in his heart.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 35:
“Krishna is accepted as the friend of the cloud because both the cloud and Krishna satisfy the people when they are disturbed. When the people are burning due to excessive heat, the cloud satisfies them with rain. Similarly, when people in materialistic life become disturbed by the blazing fire of material pangs, Krishna consciousness gives them relief like a cloud. The cloud and Krishna, having the same bodily color also, are considered to be friends. Desiring to congratulate its superior friend, the cloud poured not water but small flowers and covered the head of Krishna just like an umbrella to protect Him from the scorching sunshine.”
“Another gopi said, ‘My dear friends, when Krishna returns home with His cows, the footprints of the soles of His feet – with flag, thunderbolt, trident and lotus flower – relieve the pain the earth feels when the cows traverse it. He walks in a stride which is so attractive, and He carries His flute. Just by looking at Him we become lusty to enjoy His company. At that time, our movements cease. We become just like trees and stand perfectly still, unaware that our hair and clothes are loosening.’”
“Such descriptions of Krishna’s transcendental pastimes and activities were remembered by the gopis during His absence from Vrindavan. They give us some idea of how attractive Krishna is, not only to human beings but to all animate and inanimate objects. In Vrindavan, everyone and everything is attracted to Krishna, including the trees, the plants, the water, and animals like the deer and cows. That is the perfect description of Krishna’s all-attractiveness. The example of the gopis is very instructive to persons who are trying to be absorbed in Krishna consciousness. One can very easily associate with Krishna simply by remembering His transcendental pastimes. Everyone has a tendency to love someone. That Krishna should be the object of love is the central point of Krishna consciousness. By constantly chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and remembering the transcendental pastimes of Krishna, one can be fully in Krishna consciousness and thus make his life sublime and fruitful.
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 38:
“The demigods and the devotees of the Lord take pleasure in abiding by the laws of Krishna, and Krishna takes pleasure in giving them all sorts of protection.”
“Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the spiritual master of all spiritual masters; He is the deliverer of all fallen souls and the proprietor of the three worlds. Anyone who is able to see Him with eyes smeared with love of Godhead enjoys a festival of seeing. Today I shall be able to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who by His transcendental beauty has attracted the goddess of fortune to live with Him perpetually.”
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is also the source of everything. A devotee must know how to render service unto Him and thus be recognized by Him. In the Caitanya-caritamrita it is therefore explained that one should serve both the spiritual master and Krishna simultaneously and in that way make progress in Krishna consciousness. Service rendered to Krishna under the direction of the spiritual master is bona fide service because the spiritual master is the manifested representative of Krishna. Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that when one satisfies the spiritual master, he satisfies the Supreme Lord. It is exactly like service in a government office. One has to work under the supervision of the departmental head. If the supervisor of the department is satisfied with the service of a particular person, a promotion and increase in pay will automatically come.”
“After Akrura was thus properly received and seated, Nanda Maharaja, the foster father of Krishna, said, ‘My dear Akrura, what shall I inquire from you? I know that you are being protected by Kamsa, who is most cruel and demoniac. His protection is just like the slaughterhouse keeper’s protection of animals he will kill in the future. Kamsa is so selfish that he has killed the sons of his own sister, so how can I honestly believe that he is protecting the citizens of Mathura?’ This statement is most significant. If the political or executive heads of the state are simply interested in themselves, they can never look after the welfare of the citizens.”
“Krishna stated that He was very sorry that His maternal uncle Kamsa was the head of the kingdom; He said that Kamsa was the greatest anomaly in the whole system of government and that they could not expect any welfare for the citizens while he ruled.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 43:
“The damsels of Vrindavan were so much pleased by seeing Krishna’s beauty and participating in His activities that they forgot the troubles of material existence. By seeing Krishna and thinking of Him, they forgot all sorts of fatigue.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 44:
“The gopis give a perfect example of how one can execute Krishna consciousness even while performing various types of material engagements. By constantly being absorbed in the thought of Krishna, one cannot be affected by the contamination of material activities. The gopis, therefore, are perfectly in trance, samadhi, the highest perfectional stage of mystic power. In the Bhagavad-gita, it is confirmed that one who is constantly thinking of Krishna is a first-class yogi among all kinds of yogis. ‘My dear friends,’ one lady told another, ‘we must accept the activities of the gopis to be the highest form of piety; otherwise, how could they have achieved the opportunity of seeing Krishna both morning and evening – in the morning when He goes to the pasturing ground with His cows and cowherd boyfriends, and in the evening when He returns with them, playing on His flute and smiling very brilliantly?’”
[The wives of Kamsa and his brothers said:] “Our dear husbands, you treated persons ill who were faultless, and as a result you have been killed. This is inevitable because a person who torments an innocent person must be punished by the laws of nature. We know that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the supreme master and supreme enjoyer of everything; therefore, one who neglects His authority can never be happy, and ultimately, as you have, he meets death.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 46:
“Even if one is highly elevated in material education and is even the disciple of Brhaspati, he still has to learn from the gopis and the other residents of Vrindavan how to love Krishna to the highest degree. It was Krishna’s special favor to Uddhava to send him to Vrindavan with a message for the residents there, which was meant to pacify them.”
[Lord Krishna said:] “The gopis are always absorbed in thoughts of Me. They have dedicated body, desire, life and soul to Me. I am anxious not only for the gopis but for anyone who sacrifices society, friendship, love and personal comforts for Me. It is My duty to protect such exalted devotees.”
“Uddhava continued, ‘If at the time of death a person can fix his pure mind upon Krishna even for a moment, after giving up his material body he becomes eligible to appear in his original, spiritual body, just as the sun rises with all illumination. Passing from his life in this way, he immediately enters into the spiritual kingdom, Vaikuntha.’”
“To remain always absorbed in Krishna consciousness was the standard of the inhabitants of Vrindavan, as exhibited by Maharaja Nanda, Yasoda and the gopis. If we can simply follow in their footsteps, even to a minute proportion, our lives will surely become successful, and we shall enter the spiritual kingdom, Vaikuntha.”
“Whatever is already being experienced, whatever is not being experienced, whatever already exists, does not exist or will exist in the future, whatever is the smallest and whatever is the biggest have no existence outside the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything rests in Him, but He is untouched by everything manifested.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 51:
“The material qualities are three, namely goodness, passion and ignorance. When one is placed into the mixed material qualities of passion and ignorance, various kinds of greed and lusty desires impel him to try to find comfort in this material world. When situated in the material quality of goodness, one tries to purify himself by performing various penances and austerities. When one reaches the platform of a real brahmana, he aspires to merge into the existence of the Lord. But when one desires only to render service unto the lotus feet of the Lord, he is transcendental to all these three qualities. The pure Krishna conscious person is therefore always free from all material qualities.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 53:
“The significance of offering respectful obeisances to a superior is that the one offering obeisances is obliged to the respected person.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 56:
“The word ‘materialist’ means one concerned with gratification of the senses within this material world.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 58:
“Krishna is called Mukunda because as soon as one comes in constant touch with Krishna or sees Him in full Krishna consciousness, one immediately becomes freed from all material anxieties. Not only that, but one is immediately blessed with all spiritual bliss.”
“Lord Krishna embraced every one of them, and by the touch of the Supreme Personality of Godhead the Pandavas immediately became freed from all reactions of material contamination and were therefore smiling in spiritual bliss. By seeing the face of Lord Krishna, everyone was transcendentally satisfied.”
“[Kunti said:] ‘I know certainly, my dear Krishna, that being seated in everyone’s heart, You always create auspicious situations for Your unalloyed devotees.’”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 60:
[Queen Rukmini said to Krishna:] “In the society of the servitors and served in Krishna consciousness, one is not subjected to the pains and pleasures of material society, which functions according to sex attraction. Therefore everyone, whether man or woman, should seek to be an associate in Your society of servitors and served. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead; no one can excel You, nor can anyone come up to an equal level with You. The perfect social system is that in which You remain in the center, being served as the Supreme, and all others engage as Your servitors. In such a perfectly constructed society, everyone can remain eternally happy and blissful.”
[Queen Rukmini said to Krishna:] “My dear Lord, You are the master of the three worlds. You can fulfill all the desires of all Your devotees in this world and the next because You are the Supreme Soul of everyone. I have therefore selected You as my husband, considering You to be the only fit personality. You may throw me in any species of life according to the reactions of my fruitive activities, and I haven’t the least concern for this. My only ambition is that I may always remain fast to Your lotus feet, for You can deliver Your devotees from illusory material existence and are always prepared to distribute Yourself to Your devotees.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 63:
“On a cloudy day, to the common man’s eyes the sun appears to be covered. But the fact is that because the sunshine creates the cloud, the sun can never actually be covered, even though the whole sky may be cloudy. Similarly, less intelligent men claim that there is no God, but when the manifestation of different living entities and their activities is visible, enlightened persons see You present in every atom through the medium of Your external and marginal energies. Your unlimitedly potent activities are experienced by the most enlightened devotees, but those who are bewildered by the spell of Your external energy identify themselves with this material world and become attached to society, friendship and love. Thus they embrace the threefold miseries of material existence and are subjected to the dualities of pain and pleasure, sometimes drowning in the ocean of attachment and sometimes being taken out of it.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 66:
“As far as Paundraka was concerned, somehow or other he always thought of Lord Vasudeva by falsely dressing himself in imitation of the Lord. Therefore Paundraka achieved sarupya, one of the five kinds of liberation, and was thus promoted to the Vaikuntha planets, where the devotees have the same bodily features as Vishnu, with four hands holding the four symbols. Factually, his meditation was concentrated on the Vishnu form, but because he thought himself Lord Vishnu, it was offensive. By his being killed by Krishna, however, that offense was mitigated. Thus he was given sarupya liberation, and he attained the same form as the Lord.”
From Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 69:
[Narada Muni said to Krishna:] “‘My dear Lord, You have very kindly asked what You can do for me. In answer to this I simply request that I may not forget Your lotus feet at any time. I do not care where I may be, but I pray that I constantly be allowed to remember Your lotus feet.’ By asking this benediction from the Lord, the sage Narada showed the ideal prayer of all pure devotees. A pure devotee never asks for any kind of material or spiritual benediction from the Lord; his only prayer is that he may not forget the lotus feet of the Lord in any condition of life. A pure devotee does not care whether he is put into heaven or hell; he is satisfied anywhere, provided he can constantly remember the lotus feet of the Lord. Lord Caitanya taught this same process of prayer in His ‘Siksastaka,’ in which He clearly stated that all He wanted was devotional service, birth after birth. A pure devotee does not even want to stop the repetition of birth and death. To a pure devotee, it does not matter whether he has to take birth again in the various species of life. His only ambition is that he not forget the lotus feet of the Lord in any condition of life.”
From a lecture on The Nectar of Devotion in Vrindavan on November 12, 1972:
“These European, American boys, they never heard the name of Krishna four years ago, but they have taken to Krishna consciousness seriously because it was already dormant in them. It has been simply awakened. By chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, this pure vibration of transcendental sound has enlivened them, and they are awakened to Krishna consciousness.”
“They [degraded people] can be purified if they actually take shelter of a pure devotee. They can be purified. That is the injunction of the sastras, Sukadeva Gosvami. Sudhyanti. People may argue how such low-born people can be purified. That reply is: prabhavishnave namah. It is the supreme power of Lord Vishnu. It is possible.”
“Pathana pathana. The brahmana should be learned, and a brahmana should make others learned, other brahmana, not that be simply satisfied that he’s brahmana and nobody should become brahmana. No. He should make others brahmana. Just like a big lawyer, he makes his assistants lawyer. A professor, learned professor, he makes others professor. Otherwise, it is called jñana-khala, miser. The knowledge should be distributed. Any scientist discovering, they distribute it. Similarly, brahmana should be udara. Not only he should personally know what is Brahman, but he should distribute the knowledge.”
From a lecture on The Nectar of Devotion in Vrindavan on November 13, 1972:
“Here, especially in this Kali-yuga, the time is very bad. At any moment there can be any turmoil and we can die at any moment. Therefore, the recommendation is:
harer nama harer nama harer nama eva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
[Cc. Adi 17.21]
“You are chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If you..., I die chanting Hare Krishna, it is a great opportunity. So this practice, kirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31], this is the only sadhana. Sadhana-bhakti. Chant always Hare Krishna mantra, fix up your mind on the lotus feet of Krishna, and it will be very easily possible to make your life perfect.”
“Spiritual master is required for a person who is interested in the transcendental subject matter.”
“The example is given..., it was given by my Guru Maharaja that there is a cup of sweet rice, and you mix with some grains of sand. Then it is, whole thing is spoiled. You cannot comment on Bhagavad-gita according to your whims. Krishna did not leave Bhagavad-gita to be understood by your commentation. Try to understand Bhagavad-gita as it is. You’ll be benefited.”
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.6 in London on August 27, 1971:
“The whole world is conditioned because there is no Krishna consciousness. And as soon as one takes to Krishna conscious, he is mukta, immediately liberated. What is that Krishna conscious? Now, ‘Krishna is the enjoyer. I am not enjoyer. Why I am struggling so hard? Whatever prasada will Krishna give me, that’s all.’ That is mukti. So one can become liberated in one second. In one second. It doesn’t take many lives. . . . But because we are fools and rascals, therefore it takes many, many births.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Calling Out to Srila Prabhupada:
“Lord Krishna is not alone; He is always with His devotees. Similarly, Prabhupada’s followers are part of his eternal entourage. Too much criticism of his followers is a type of criticism against Prabhupada. We may think that we have built an indomitable fortress around Prabhupada in our minds—we can defend him from all critics. Nevertheless, if we allow ourselves free pot-shots at his disciples, then we are not protecting Prabhupada.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 4:
“Dhananjaya told us how, when Prabhupada installed Radha-Krishna in London, he said something like, ‘Radharani’s hand is blessing you so you can approach Krishna. Otherwise you cannot approach Krishna.’ Then he told another story about Yamuna dasi receiving some Radha-Krishna Deities from a traveling lady sadhu named Syama. Prabhupada warned her sternly in a letter that she could not worship these Deities unless he gave permission.”
“Himavati had made dresses that were too short, but Prabhupada said, ‘It is all right, it affords us a view of Radharani’s feet.’”
From Gurudeva and Nimai:
“In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that time is the impersonal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead which is present in this world to remind us. We act so perky, well dressed, well fed, chattering our civilized language as we stumble through the forest with a million ideas in our heads. But we will soon pass. Most trees outlive us. Human superiority is to understand all selves are eternal spirit. We can receive education from the Vedas and the guru, and we can also see for ourselves the rotting log.”
“Why do we think we are better than a rock? At least in terms of longevity, we are just a flash in the pan. The rock has seen empires come and go, and many persons like us. The only reason a human being is special is because he has higher consciousness for self-realization. A human can break through the cycle of birth and death, but a rock can only wait.”
“Gradually I felt more at home with the sounds, and we added our own. But in the morning, when Nimai and I chanted vigorously, nature stepped back and looked on.”
“The animals are provided for, and yet they suffer – but they don’t know that they are suffering. Their greatest suffering is their lack of enlightenment. Their consciousness is so limited that they do not miss their lack of higher intelligence, and they have less sensitivity to pain. The humans have greater potential for becoming liberated, but also a greater tendency for neurosis and psychosis.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 1:
“Illness also teaches us that Krishna is the controller. We are not independent to run here and there and to think hard without any restriction. At least as long as we remain conditioned by the material body, we are like a cow at the end of a rope. Illness means the rope is being tugged, and this is a reminder that we are completely dependent. In the conditioned state, sickness means that the prakrti, or matter, is subjecting us to its control. Another thought is to accept that we are ill as a result of karmic reaction. None of these thoughts should produce mental depression, but should make us sober, and in a simple way, even more devoted than when we are normally active.”
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume 4:
“Swamiji was imbued with the spirit of devotion, especially the spirit to chant Hare Krishna, to engage his senses in Krishna’s service, and to teach us how to develop this spirit too. Prabhupada knew that despite our imperfect application of Krishna consciousness, everything would develop if we followed his simple program of hearing, chanting, and working for Krishna. That was the spirit.”
From Songs of a Hare Krishna Man:
“You’ll go to the higher realm
and even into your rasa—
be briefed on all you need to do to serve
in Vraja, but only if you qualify
down here by unalloyed devotion
to your master’s mission.
He wants you to be happy
to love Krishna the all-attractive.
Is it so hard?
Yes, because we are rascals.”
From Japa Transformations:
“As a goat eats anything, the mind ‘eats’ anything. It turns it over, sniffs at it. . . . Roaming through the worlds, without scruples, without considering my self-interest.”
Candrasekhara Swami:
As the devotee is trying to bring himself to loving service to the Lord, the Lord is anxious to reciprocate the devotee’s service.
By hearing of the name, fame, form, and pastimes of the Lord, we can realize the truth of the self.
One sinful reaction is the tendency to commit the same sinful activities again.
We have unwanted desires coming from sinful activities. We have unwanted desires coming from pious activities. We have unwanted desires coming from offenses.
Madhurya Kadambini treats sins and offenses as different.
There are unwanted desires that come from bhakti. For example, one may become honored as a devotee and become attached to being honored.
There are five different levels of purification.
Even at prema, not all contamination is completely removed, but when the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee, all contamination is vanquished forever.
The unwanted desires that are caused by offenses are the last to be vanquished.
In the course of our performance of devotional service, we must try to become free from offenses, as they slow our progress.
The difference between nama-aparadha and nama-abhasa is that in nama-abhasa we are trying give up the offenses although we may still have some.
The pure devotees always do the right thing because they have no desire to do anything besides the right thing.
We have to learn how to give up the tendency to evaluate devotees based on external things like race, nationality, gender, social position, etc.
Why do people hate religion? Because there are people who drive people away from religion because of their bad character. If people claim to represent the Supreme, but treat people in a negative way, then the people will have a negative attitude about the Supreme.
Krishna can speak in such a way that His speech can mean multiple things at the same time.
No matter how many years you have been around Krishna consciousness, there is always something new, something you are just now beginning to grasp.
The four Kumaras are literally “strangers in paradise.” They had heard of the Lord, but had never seen Him before nor been to His abode, Vaikuntha, before.
When the Supreme Lord appeared before them, the four Kumaras realized that their previous anger, arising from being restricted, was petty.
Jaya and Vijaya felt bad that they stopped the four Kumaras from entering Vaikuntha, the spiritual realm, the four Kumaras felt bad they cursed Jaya and Vijaya, and the Lord felt bad that the whole incident happened.
One thing that the four Kumaras learn from this pastime is that the Lord has feelings for His devotees, including them.
In Vaikuntha time, if millions of years of earth time pass, it is still soon. We may spend many births in the material world, but when we return to the spiritual world it is still soon.
The devotees are not interested in Brahman because there is nothing to see and nothing to feel.
Q (by Matanga Prabhu): Sometimes you ask many devotees the same question and none of the answers are completely satisfying, and then one devotee finally answers in a way you feel satisfied.
A: Sometimes you do not ask the real question, and then finally a devotee figures out the real question and answers it. Sometimes you just have to go through some purification before you can get the answer.
Comment by me: In the Srimad-Bhagavatam there is the pastime of King Yudhisthira, who heard several people, including Krishna Himself, explain why he should not feel bad that hundreds of thousands of people were killed in order for him to attain the throne. None could convince Yudhisthira because Lord Krishna wanted to glorify Bhismadeva as the only person who could pacify him.
Whatever is a mystery now, in five years you will find is no longer a mystery.
If you read how the other acaryas explain things, you will see that Srila Prabhupada often says similar things.
I worked in a vegetarian restaurant before I encountered Krishna consciousness, and a girl who worked there claimed to be a psychic. I asked her to do a reading for me. She said that I would become involved in spiritual life and dedicate my whole life to it. However, at that time in my life there was no clue that I would move in a spiritual direction. Thus she knew about that before I did.
Hansarupa Prabhu:
When asked if he was doing something, a disciple would sometimes say, “I am trying to.”
Srila Prabhupada would reply, “Trying means that you do it.”
One should be such an attentive disciple that one can anticipate the desire of the spiritual master.
If one thinks he has to endeavor separately to maintain himself then he becomes distracted from executing the order of his spiritual master.
Srila Prabhupada said that he would take sannyasa when his Godbrother Muni, who was 93 years old, took sannyasa. When Muni heard that, he said, “Then I will take sannyasa now.”
If we are not getting a higher taste, we should consider what we have to do to get Krishna’s mercy.
Although nothing that we have done in devotional service is lost, if we are inattentive we can lose our faith in the knowledge of or the practice of Krishna consciousness, and then it is as if our devotional assets are frozen.
Swami Narayana has the best temples in terms of construction, but they have no serious deity worship going on there. If you go on a tour, they just talk about the building. They got the idea to build elaborate buildings from Prabhupada’s Palace at New Vrindaban.
The Govinda’s restaurant at 55th Street in the late 1970s was $1.99 for all you could eat. We always had a line waiting for us to open. When we opened the doors, busy businessmen would run to the front of the queue. The menu was the raja-bhoga offering for Govinda. We had the best cooks like Vishnugada and Mathuresa Prabhus.
Sunanda Prabhu:
The chanting of Hare Krishna is the foundation of this Krishna consciousness movement.
We tend to become illusioned. Even all the billboards we see put us into illusion.
In Brahma-samhita we find descriptions of God and the kingdom of God in greater detail than anywhere else.
The more we ache to attain the spiritual world the more we get detached from this world.
Rama Raya Prabhu:
When the ksatriyas become proud and think they can lord it over the brahmanas, the Supreme Lord has to appear to rectify things.
Aniyor is the place where the offering of food took place and is where Govardhan has its highest point.
Srila Prabhupada said this Krishna consciousness movement is meant to deliver all living entities in the universe.
How can we be happy in a place where birth, death, disease, and old age are imposed on one and all, whether they be rich or poor?
Within Govardhan Hill are the most sacred places, Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda.
Many Srila Prabhupada disciples, describing how they came to Krishna consciousness said, “I just followed the harinama back to the temple.”
The philosophy of Krishna consciousness is to help us to understand the importance of the chanting and dancing and to continue the chanting and dancing without interruption.
Srila Prabhupada makes the point that if we just endeavor for love of God we will attain everything we need.
By our assisting in the expansion of the sankirtana movement, ultimately Krishna becomes most dear to us, and we become most dear to Krishna.
Gopastami is the day that Krishna put down Govardhan Hill after several days.
In Govardhan-lila Krishna not only protected the human residents of Vrindavan but also the cows. Thus on Gopastami he received the opportunity to take care of the cows and was named Govinda.
Srila Prabhupada indicates that if one dedicates his life to expanding the sankirtana, all his acts are approved by the Lord.
Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda are enjoying these funny dealings of engaging the variety of people in participating in Their movement.
On the Srila Prabhupada memory tapes often the disciples say that Srila Prabhupada’s most attractive quality was his complete conviction.
Krishna is not in need of anyone’s benedictions or validations. That is God.
In discussing one devotee who some disciples had issues with, Srila Prabhupada said, “All of you have come to discourage, but I have come to encourage.”
Sthita-dhi Muni Prabhu:
From a presentation on the eighth chapter of Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science by Sadaputa Prabhu:
The concept of a knowledge filter, which Drutakarma and Sadaputa Prabhus discuss in Forbidden Archeology, is mentioned in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn, though not by that name.
Kuhn’s argument is that one theory becomes dominant. As time goes on, new evidence accumulates that does not support it, the older scientists committed to it die off, and at a certain point, the young generation of scientists begins to explore other paradigms.
Science is not metaphysics. The scientists get into trouble when they mix metaphysics in with their science as they sometimes do with evolution.
The negative theology argument is a childish argument: “If God is logical then he would not have made it this way.” That presumes they know the mind of God although they do not believe in Him.
If God wants to be hidden, you cannot find Him.
If you do not want to find God, He is not there.
In 1959 was the centennial of the publishing of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, and at a conference celebrating that the attending scientists agreed on a version of Darwinian evolution to accept and promote. They had a program in a cathedral with them all dressed in robes. That began the creationist reaction.
In Chapter 8 of Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science, Sadaputa Prabhu says, “We shall argue that the theory of evolution has been motivated more by philosophical misunderstanding than by the strength of empirical evidence. One of the most persistent themes of evolutionary argumentation has been that evolution is the only viable alternative to certain stereo-typed conceptions of divine creation. The theory of evolution can thus be seen as an effort to enlist natural evidence in support of an alternative to an unwanted and unsatisfactory spiritual world view. We propose that this effort is futile, and that the underlying philosophical problems can be solved only if we take advantage of a direct, scientific approach to spiritual knowledge.”
Our definition of species is not the same as that of the scientists, and our species also exist on other planets throughout the universe.
The scientists are finding new species all the time, often insects and fish.
The arguments against evolutionary theory show how complicated it would be to actually demonstrate that evolutionary theory were true although they are not absolutely conclusive.
Certainly Sadaputa Prabhu shows that simplistic evolutionary presentations are definitely flawed.
Gaudiya Vaishnava theology does not require this world be a happy place.
Sadaputa Prabhu writes, “The negative theological argument is dependent on a painfully naive and limited conception of God, and it collapses as soon as a more satisfactory conception is introduced.”
You can find evidence for the existence of God, but you cannot prove the existence of God.
Sadaputa Prabhu describes the scientific reaction to the natural theology arguments:
“The argument from design seemed to lock them into a stultifying system of useless, unverifiable doctrines. It could not satisfy their curiosity about the origins of life, it offered no new avenues of scientific investigation, and it provided no tangible spiritual insight. Thus many perceived natural theology as a dead end.”
Sadaputa Prabhu makes the point that the intelligent design argument is not essential, but it can be engaged.
Scientists look at the evidence which they have access to, but that is not all the evidence.
Sadaputa Prabhu concludes the chapter, “How, then, can we obtain a genuine understanding? Our suggestion is that we can reach such an understanding only through a valid spiritual science. Speculation resting on a finite set of material observations is indeed inadequate to provide valid knowledge about a supreme transcendental being. But the answer to this problem is not to deny the existence of such a being and to seek explanations solely in familiar physical principles. This is the fallacy of the drunk who lost his keys near the doorstep of his house but would search for them only under a streetlamp because the light was better there.”
Comment by Prishni: Sadaputa Prabhu makes the point here that if one has a very limited conception of God, then intelligent design argument will not be very convincing.
Sadaputa Prabhu is making an intelligence design argument which is much more sophisticated than the usual intelligent design arguments.
Comment by Parama Karuna Prabhu: The great faith in pratyaksa [that which can be perceived with the senses] these days has given science great credibility.
Hari Vilasa Prabhu:
Here the Lord reveals His mind as to what He thought about the sages cursing His doormen.
We can learn from Jaya and Vijaya how to respond when people curse us. They admitted their wrong and were very apologetic.
People think that the material world is about sensual enjoyment but actually it is about having the freedom to create your own identity.
Raghunatha Dasa Goswami says that humility is the means by which to conquer over sense gratification because through it we become freed from the conception of ourselves as being an enjoyer.
If we accept the identity of being a devotee, we can be saved from so many false identities that are promoted in this world.
Devotees make decisions in terms of what is best for their service, and they thus become very sober.
The false ego protects the identity that we create for ourselves.
As Prabhupada mentions, the Vaishnava identity is not an artificial imposition. It can never be destroyed
The determination to continue their services in all circumstances is the glory of the Vaishnavas.
If you take shelter of a superior Vaishnava and are willing to be corrected, you can make great advancement.
Q (by Deva Damodara Prabhu): What about other identities we have as devotees?
A: We spiritualize them by engaging them in Krishna’s service.
Why wasn’t Odisha conquered by Muslims? Because Maharaja Prataparudra was a very powerful king, but although a powerful king, he always thought of himself as the servant of Lord Jagannatha.
Krishna writes the job descriptions in the material world, and we can please Him by following them.
The more that we develop the service attitude, whatever our engagement may be, the more will be revealed to us. Thus it does not matter if we are a doctor or a janitor in Krishna consciousness.
Arjunananda Prabhu:
There is a story about a king who was very attached to his beautiful wife, but he found his wife was attached to someone else, and he found the person his wife was attached to was attached to someone besides her. Seeing the folly of this, the king, who had previously written a hundred verses about the beauty of his wife, wrote a hundred verses about renunciation.
Matanga Prabhu:
We have to repeat so much in this age of Kali because we are so forgetful.
We have to see how Krishna and His devotees act to help us develop the transcendental qualities.
If you are a pitta person, and you eat too much pitta, you will become angry and try to control others.
If one eats too much, one will be punished by the laws of nature.
Krishna is seeing everyone as part of His family, even the worms and the plants.
Krishna has given us time for self-realization, and we can show respect to Krishna by not wasting it.
When one falls down from a high position, he causes great pain to both himself and the society of devotees.
Our spiritual masters are always very peaceful because they are rightly situated. Such peacefulness is attractive.
We tend to strive to be independent, but we are better situated when dependent on the protection of advanced devotees.
We have to make a point to have the mood of service to the Vaishnavas. Otherwise the tendency is to criticize them.
Even though human beings are the most intelligent of living beings, when we are born we do not know anything. If we are not educated we remain in ignorance.
Even the highest placed conditioned souls are still subjected to birth, death, disease, and old age.
Krishna says in the Gita if we understand His transcendental nature, we can transcend the material world with these above-mentioned miseries and attain the spiritual world.
One cannot become God if he is not God at the present moment.
In the sadhana stage we have to follow so many rules and regulations to become purified because we are not on the level where we can always act spontaneously in the service of the Lord.
Many people exist in a stage of inertia, dominated by the mode of ignorance.
If we are negligent in our devotional practice, Krishna will make arrangements for us to try to enjoy the material world.
One senior devotee was saying he has watched many, many people who commit offenses get more and more covered by the material energy as the years go by.
Srila Prabhupada’s followers tell of Srila Prabhupada’s urgency to deliver spiritual knowledge to people so they could get out of this material world.
Because material enjoyment does not actually satisfy the soul, those who are pious and opulent get involved in sinful activities, in hopes of finding additional enjoyment, and thus they become degraded.
Srila Prabhupada was always preaching in every circumstance despite all inconveniences.
Srila Prabhupada makes the point in Bhagavad-gita if one does not preach Krishna consciousness he is committing violence.
Directly or indirectly, in a big way or a small way, we can all participate in the preaching of Krishna consciousness.
When we are sheltered by Krishna’s internal energy there is no fear and no lack.
We have to cultivate the sense of urgency which Srila Prabhupada had.
Mother Devaki said in a seminar that we should develop a humble attitude and serve different devotees in whatever way we can, and then Krishna will give us more and more opportunities to serve.
Comments by Candrasekhara Swami:
It is easy to find fault with devotees and let that get out of hand and commit all kinds of offenses, and then ultimately become distanced from the devotees.
If we recognize that just as others have quirks and annoying habits that bother us, we have quirks and annoying habits that bother them, then we will not be inclined to criticize others.
We should work with the devotees around us, but we can also develop other ways we can serve in addition.
We tend to emphasize conformity, austerity, and obedience as if those are the only good qualities.
Murli Gopal Prabhu:
From “Spacetime and the Gunas” in Purva-Paksa by Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies:
“For Sankhya and yoga, time only exists in the present moment; there is no past or future as such. Yet, the Bhagavatam looks at it the other way. Krishna says that He is time, and it’s time that puts the gunas [the three divisions of the material nature] into motion.”
Prabhavishnu Prabhu:
The mahajanas [great souls who are authorities in the spiritual science], because of their devotion, have realization of the Lord, so we have to understand Him through them.
Krishna does not give bhakti out without testing to see if the person is sincere.
One friend of my family starting reading Yogananda’s Bhagavad-gita and started criticizing Krishna for demanding people surrender unto Him, saying, “How can one human being demand another surrender to him?” Thus from his reading of that book, he could not understand Krishna’s position as the Supreme Lord.
The Lord spoke very sweetly to the four Kumaras so as not to upset them, rather than directly criticizing them for cursing His doorkeepers.
Q (by Deva Damodara Prabhu): I find my mind still runs after completely mundane things.
A: We do gradually become purified. I used to watch movies. One year I watched 181, but I have not watched a movie in two years because I see they do not really improve my life.
Comments by me:
Regarding Indra fighting Krishna because He took the parijata tree from heaven:
1. Indra is forgetting that Krishna is supreme proprietor, and thus all the parijata trees belong to Him.
2. It is interesting that Indra forgot Krishna’s position after at most 90 days or so since being humbled by the Govardhan pastime since a day of the demigods is one of our years.
Rupa Goswami says that those affected by the black art of the two witches, bhukti [the desire for material enjoyment] and mukti [the desire for liberation], cannot perceive the sweet taste of pure devotional service.
Hadai Prana Prabhu:
A zip file may look like an ordinary file, but when you click on it, you find so many files are there. In the same way, the Bhagavatam may seem just like any other book, but when you open it, you find so much transcendental knowledge is there.
One devotee was complaining at the New York Ratha-yatra about the prasadam being cooked in canola oil. He said in angry mood, “Krishna didn’t steal canola oil! Krishna stole butter!”
There is a temple where they offer Krishna banana peels in remembrance of the pastime in which Vidura’s wife peeled bananas, and in her devotional ecstasy, accidentally gave Krishna the peels instead of the bananas.
If you read Sri Caitanya-caritamrita mostly what you see is chanting, dancing, feasting and the pleasing relationships between devotees.
The idea of vacation is not there in the dasa [servant]. He is always looking for ways to expand or to improve his service.
Some nuns were protesting that Krishna consciousness was immoral because Krishna had 16,108 wives. The judge threw out the case because nuns are considered to be wives of Jesus, and thus Jesus also had so many wives!
Venkatesh Chembrolu:
From “Conceptual Space in the Puranas: An Overview” in Purva-Paksa by Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies:
“Since the brain is an ordinary object in the world, made up of the same elementary particles that all stuff, all matter, is made of. Its true description is also mathematical in nature. So ultimately, the brain is nothing but a very complex mathematical structure. Therefore, consciousness and our subjective experience can be understood as emergent properties emanating from the complex information processing that’s taking place in the brain. But if subjective experience is not fundamental, then it is difficult to argue that there is an observer in this world view. So, this seems to imply that the brain is nothing but complex math; and yet the brain, as part of an individual such as as a scientist or a philosopher, generates more math to describe external reality, and that math in turn leads to more math describing how we are experiencing reality. So, all in, from beginning to end, math is all that there is ultimately. However, none of this math was generated by non-conscious matter. It is always a subjective entity, like a conscious person having subjective experience, who generates this math.”
“According to Vedic understanding, the mind is the center of all perception, and we need not understand inanimate matter first in order to understand the mind – the mind can and must be understood directly first, because without it there would be no perception of reality at all.”
“Mathematics can be used as a tool to describe the objective nature of reality, but in the Vedic worldview, objectivity itself is a mere appearance.”
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After Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya renounced his understanding that the impersonal feature of God is supreme and became a devotee of Lord Krishna, he asked Lord Caitanya what the most important item in the devotional service of the Lord was. Because Lord Caitanya is the most recent incarnation of Lord Krishna Himself, His answer is most authoritative.
bhakti-sadhana-srestha sunite haila mana
“Then the Bhattcarya asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu, ‘Which item is most important in the execution of devotional service?’ The Lord replied that the most important item was the chanting of the holy name [nama-sankirtana] of the Lord.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 6.241)
Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport to that verse, “He then quoted the following verse from the Brihan-naradiya Puraṇa (thirty-eighth chapter, verse 126) to confirm His statement.”
harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
“‘In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.’” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 6.242)