Where I Went and What I Did
The forty-ninth week of 2025, I lived ISKCON NYC in Brooklyn. I chanted Hare Krishna in public with the NYC Harinam party of Rama Raya Prabhu from Monday to Friday. Toward the end of the harinama on Friday, I took a couple of trains upstate to cook breakfast for my guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, for three days. I chanted in the train station in Poughkeepsie between trains and a little bit at Hudson station when I arrived. Saturday was the Vyasa-puja festival of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, and Rama Raya Prabhu and several NYC Harinam devotees came up to Stuyvesant Falls to chant at that event and the Hudson Winter Walk harinama that evening. Both events were well attended. I felt victorious in that my guru liked the breakfast I made on his appearance day.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrita and also from a morning walk and a conversation of his. I share notes on lectures by Jayadvaita Swami and Arcita Prabhu.
Thanks to Nitai Prabhu, who works with GN Press, for his very generous donation. Thanks to Saradbihari Devi Dasi of Queens for her donation. Thanks to Rama Raya Prabhu for the videos and photos of me on NYC Harinam. Thanks to Gurudasa Prabhu for driving me places in Upstate New York and all the way back to New York City. Thanks to Krsna-bhajana and Krishna Kumari Prabhus for also giving me rides.
Itinerary
November 23–January 9, 2026?: NYC Harinam
– January 3: Program at 26 Second Avenue
Chanting Hare Krishna in New York City
Krishna Kripa Das chants Hare Krishna in Brooklyn (https://youtube.com/shorts/iLrxF--Aw3A?feature=share):
Chatamayi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Brooklyn (https://youtube.com/shorts/8ermaeq0skM):
Krishna Kripa Das chants Hare Krishna in Queens, and devotees dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/oVMxFr2vIPA?feature=share):
Hrith chants Hare Krishna in Queens (https://youtu.be/jA34on5Wtp4):
Kishan chants Hare Krishna in Queens (https://youtu.be/pzEedQYRz-k):
Jayananda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Queens, and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/9h4G3Hi6qh0):
Chatamayi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Queens, and a passerby dances with a devotee (https://youtube.com/shorts/IZB0D1Ts9Kc?feature=share):
Raghav chants Hare Krishna in Manhattan (https://youtube.com/shorts/lDHOMe6nE0g?feature=share):
At that station, Hadai Prana Prabhu successfully sold a Spanish Bhagavad-gita to a worker who cleans that station.
Krishna Kripa Das chants Hare Krishna in Manhattan on the disappearance anniversary of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (https://youtube.com/shorts/FNClYAw1oCA):
Chatamayi Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna in Manhattan, and devotees dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/kZW14kwuMkA?feature=share):
Dayanidhi Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Manhattan (https://youtu.be/uLm6hBpsRDs):
Chanting Hare Krishna in Upstate New York
Madan Gopal Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa Puja, and Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami enters and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/_4qOTmFPtGU):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa Puja (https://youtu.be/tv4OC1z-EJE):
Bhadra Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami Vyasa Puja (https://youtu.be/kbPy1H7rT90):
Here is another video in portrait orientation (https://youtube.com/shorts/fvhKqqfKAXA):
It was great having three kirtans at the event, and everyone was in a good mood.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and other devotees read selections from his books. He read a letter he wrote to Srila Prabhupada recently which was overflowing with devotion.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s health was much better than at the summer meeting back in July, when he had serious health issues both before and after the event. Usually he leaves after the Vyasa Puja kirtan, but this year he stayed and ate lunch with Jayadvaita Swami and other senior devotees. Later I mentioned to him that it was the first time that he stayed for lunch in a while, and he said that he had to stay because Jayadvaita Swami was staying.
The Hudson Winter Walk itself seemed more well attended than ever before, and our harinama party chanting there was also more well attended than ever before. Devotees from the Chatham Wednesday Program and the NYC Harinam joined together, and other local devotees and devotees from New York City also attended.
Devotee from New York City chants Hare Krishna at Hudson Winter Walk (https://youtu.be/SymGJTLWNDg):
Kishan chants Hare Krishnsa at Hudson Winter Walk and devotees dance (https://youtu.be/hDPLeMn3aJc):
Later the devotees danced even more (https://youtu.be/m7mPQ8JpxY0):
Here three girls play shakers and dance at Hudson Winter Walk as Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna (https://youtube.com/shorts/K5Z794kyzrg?feature=share):
Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in the Hudson Clothier during the Hudson Winter Walk (https://youtube.com/shorts/-MDReuxfnWw?feature=share):
Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Hudson Winter Walk, and percussionists join in (https://youtu.be/ZlzDQpMGz9o):
Hadai Prana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Hudson Winter Walk, and percussionists join in again (https://youtube.com/shorts/OydSoKFYYJc?feature=share):
Then many people danced (https://youtu.be/9Qm9UljG5kY):
Rama Raya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Hudson Winter Walk (https://youtube.com/shorts/9M_7FU69px0):
While I was upstate, I gave the Sunday feast lecture at ISKCON Schenectady.
After the prasadam, an aspiring disciple of Radhanath Swami with a PhD in cyber security shared his realization with us: There is no cyber security. Any system can be hacked. I wasted my time. You’re right. The holy name is the only security.
Photos
There are plenty of prasadam options at ISKCON NYC.
Here are the menus of our two restaurants.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.17:
“The sixth creation is that of the living entity’s darkness of ignorance, which makes the master act as a fool.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.17, purport:
“Although a living entity is the master of the material world, he is conditioned by ignorance, by the false impression of being the proprietor of material things.”
“The energy of the Lord called avidya is the bewildering factor of the conditioned souls. The material nature is called avidya, or ignorance, but to the devotees of the Lord engaged in pure devotional service, this energy becomes vidya, or pure knowledge. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita. The energy of the Lord transforms from mahamaya to yogamaya and appears to pure devotees in her real feature.”
“By the influence of darkness, the conditioned soul forgets his relationship with the Supreme Lord and is overwhelmed by attachment, hatred, pride, ignorance and false identification, the five kinds of illusion that cause material bondage.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.20:
“All the immovable trees and plants seek their subsistence upwards. They are almost unconscious but have feelings of pain within.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.21:
“The eighth creation is that of the lower species of life, and they are of different varieties, numbering twenty-eight. They are all extensively foolish and ignorant. They know their desirables by smell, but are unable to remember anything within the heart.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.10.26:
“In the human race, the mode of passion is very prominent. Humans are always busy in the midst of miserable life, but they think themselves happy in all respects.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.12.43, purport:
“The lesson from the life of Dhruva Maharaja is that if one likes, one can attain Vaikunthaloka in one life, without waiting for many other lives. My Guru Maharaja, Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, used to say that every one of his disciples could attain Vaikunthaloka in this life, without waiting for another life to execute devotional service. One simply has to become as serious and sincere as Dhruva Maharaja; then it is quite possible to attain Vaikunthaloka and go back home, back to Godhead, in one life.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.12.44, purport:
“Srimad-Bhagavatam means everything in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whether we hear the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Lord or we hear about the character, reputation and activities of His devotees, they are all one and the same. Neophyte devotees simply try to understand the pastimes of the Lord and are not very interested in hearing about the activities of His devotees, but such discrimination should not be indulged in by any real devotee. Sometimes less intelligent men try to hear about the rasa dance of Krishna and do not take care to hear about other portions of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which they completely avoid. There are professional Bhagavata reciters who abruptly go to the rasa-lila chapters of Srimad-Bhagavatam, as if other portions of Srimad-Bhagavatam were useless. This kind of discrimination and abrupt adoption of the rasa-lila pastimes of the Lord is not approved by the acaryas. A sincere devotee should read every chapter and every word of Srimad-Bhagavatam, for the beginning verses describe that it is the ripened fruit of all Vedic literature. Devotees should not try to avoid even a word of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The great sage Maitreya therefore affirmed herein that the Bhagavatam is sammatam satam, approved by great devotees.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Introduction:
“It is not that Radharani is separate from Krishna. Radharani is also Krishna, for there is no difference between the energy and the energetic. Without energy, there is no meaning to the energetic, and without the energetic, there is no energy. Similarly, without Radha there is no meaning to Krishna, and without Krishna there is no meaning to Radha. Because of this, the Vaishnava philosophy first of all pays obeisances to and worships the internal pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord. Thus the Lord and His potency are always referred to as Radha-Krishna. Similarly, those who worship Narayana first of all utter the name of Laksmi, as Laksmi-Narayana. Similarly, those who worship Lord Rama first of all utter the name of Sita. In any case—Sita-Rama, Radha-Krishna, Laksmi-Narayana—the potency always comes first.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Introduction:
“In the maha-mantra — Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare — the word ‘Rama’ refers to Balarama. Since Lord Nityananda is Balarama, ‘Rama’ also refers to Lord Nityananda. Thus Hare Krishna, Hare Rama addresses not only Krishna and Balarama but Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda as well.”
“In Srimad-Bhagavatam there is a great deal of information given about the Vaikuntha planetary systems, which are beyond the material universe. Similarly, a great deal of inconceivable information is given in the Caitanya-caritamrta. Any attempt to arrive at this information through experimental knowledge will fail. The knowledge simply has to be accepted. According to the Vedic method, sabda, or transcendental sound, is regarded as evidence. Sound is very important in Vedic understanding, for, if it is pure, it is accepted as authoritative. Even in the material world we accept a great deal of information sent thousands of miles by telephone or radio. In this way we also accept sound as evidence in our daily lives. Although we cannot see the informant, we accept his information as valid on the basis of sound. Sound vibration, then, is very important in the transmission of Vedic knowledge.”
“In the execution of Krishna consciousness, our first business is to know Krishna and our relationship with Him. To know Krishna is to know one’s self, and to know one’s self is to know one’s relationship with Krishna.”
“The Gosvamis would live under a tree for one night only, and the trees would satisfy all their desires. For the common man this may all seem very wonderful, but as one makes progress in devotional service, all this can be realized.”
“Vrindavan is actually experienced as it is by persons who have stopped trying to derive pleasure from material enjoyment. “When will my mind become cleansed of all hankering for material enjoyment so I will be able to see Vrindavan?” one great devotee asks. The more Krishna conscious we become and the more we advance, the more everything is revealed as spiritual.”
“The author of the Caitanya-caritamrita prays that just as Krishna attracted the gopis by the sweet sound of His flute, He will also attract the reader’s mind by that transcendental vibration.”
“Lord Caitanya therefore teaches direct worship of Lord Krishna, who appeared as the foster child of the King of Vraja. He also teaches that the place known as Vrindavan is as good as Lord Krishna because, Lord Krishna being the Absolute Truth, there is no difference between Him and His name, qualities, form, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia. That is the absolute nature of the Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya also teaches that the highest mode of worship in the highest perfectional stage is the method practiced by the damsels of Vraja. These damsels (gopis, or cowherd girls) simply loved Krishna without any motive for material or spiritual gain. Lord Caitanya also teaches that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the spotless narration of transcendental knowledge and that the highest goal in human life is to develop unalloyed love for Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Preface:
“Lord Caitanya taught that the most practical way for the mass of people to practice sankhya-yoga meditation is simply to chant the holy name of the Lord. He taught that the holy name of the Lord is the sound incarnation of the Lord and that since the Lord is the absolute whole, there is no difference between His holy name and His transcendental form. Thus by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can directly associate with the Supreme Lord by sound vibration.”
“If one’s mind is fixed on Krishna (His name, qualities, form, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia), all one’s activities — both subtle and gross — become favorable. The Bhagavad-gita’s process of purifying consciousness is the process of fixing one’s mind on Krishna by talking of His transcendental activities, cleansing His temple, going to His temple, seeing the beautiful transcendental form of the Lord nicely decorated, hearing His transcendental glories, tasting food offered to Him, associating with His devotees, smelling the flowers and tulasi leaves offered to Him, engaging in activities for the Lord’s interest, becoming angry at those who are malicious toward devotees, etc. No one can bring the activities of the mind and senses to a stop, but one can purify these activities through a change in consciousness.”
From a morning walk at Chandigarh on October 14, 1976:
“God interferes if you are a devotee. Otherwise, you have to undergo the laws of nature.”
From a conversation with policeman Lt. Mozee in Chicago on July 5, 1975:
“People have no conception of God. Everyone is practically godless. Therefore they should be educated about God. Just like the Communists: they are educating godlessness.”
“Where is the education about God? Simply trust is also good, very good, but simple trust will not endure unless you know scientifically what is God.”
“The meaning of religion is to abide by the laws of God, just like a good citizen means who abides by the laws of the state, of the government. Because we have no understanding of God, therefore we do not know what is the laws of God, and therefore we do not know what is religion. That is the present status of the human society.”
“Religion means the laws which is given by God, and anyone who follows the laws, he is religious. It doesn’t matter whether he is a Christian or a Hindu or Muslim. If he follows the laws of God, then he is religious.”
Jayadvaita Swami:
Srila Prabhupada said that to see Krishna alone is impersonal. We never see a picture of Krishna alone. There is always another with Him, sometimes a cow.
If we are still affected by lust, greed, anger, illusion, madness, and envy, we still need to regularly hear Srimad-Bhagavatam and serve the mission of the Lord.
Srila Prabhupada say that the spiritual master is like a doctor who prescribes a certain program of upliftment for his disciple.
Some devotees say we should just listen to Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan, but Sukadeva Goswami in the Tenth Canto also tells elaborately about the pastimes of Krishna in Mathura and Vrindavan.
Srila Prabhupada said there are four stages: (1) awaking, (2) training, (3) relishing the relationships between the Lord and His energies, (4) complete absorption in Krishna. He said that in Back to Godhead we should focus on people at stages (1) and (2).
I asked Srila Prabhupada about the “nikunja yuno rati keli siddhyai” verse. He replied, “If he is in that relationship.” I understood from that the spiritual master may be in any of the rasas as a perfected being, not necessarily the madhurya rasa.
Arcita Prabhu:
Srila Prabhupada said that if you are engaged in devotional service and you are morose, the defect is in yourself.
Srila Prabhupada said that if you can’t expand the movement at least maintain it.
We are just trying to assist in the bringing of Lord Caitanya’s movement to every town and village.
The British were impressed with Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s eloquence in English.
Srila Prabhupada said if you disturb the duration of life of even an insect, you are culpable.
If we do not attain perfection in this life, there is no guarantee that we will have such a nice situation in the next life, living in a nice temple with nice prasadam, etc., so we should be serious.
Srila Prabhupada was very sensitive. He would criticize devotees strongly who he knew could take it and become better devotees. But devotees who could not take it, he would be more lenient with.
Srila Prabhupada said that if we just chant sixteen rounds of Hare Krishna and follow the four rules for our whole life we will go back to the spiritual world. It sounds easy, but if you are not serious, maya will make it difficult for you follow these things, and you will not make it.
Q (by Sita Rama Prabhu): Acaryas who are nitya-siddhas can perform devotional service in a fixed up way so they can go back to Godhead, but how can we who are born in degraded conditions perform devotional service is such a fixed up way?
A: Because as part and parcel of Krishna, we are naturally pure, and devotional service is a purifying process, thus it is just a matter of time before any of us can become completely pure as long as we continue to try to practice it.
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I like this prayer of Queen Kunti because it has many names of Krishna in it, namely, Krishna, Vasudeva, Devaki-nandana, Nanda-gopa-kumara, and Govinda:
krishnaya vasudevaya
nanda-gopa-kumaraya
govindaya namo namah
“Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devaki, the boy of Nanda and the other cowherd men of Vrindavan, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.21)
