(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on February 28, 2026)
Where I Went and What I Did
For the eighth week of 2026 I lived at ISKCON Tallahassee, nearby Florida State University for the first four days. I chanted on the campus every day of the week for an average of three hours. I always meet a few students attracted by the chanting of Hare Krishna, the halava, and Srila Prabhupada’s books.
The fifth day I traveled to Tampa to chant at the University of South Florida for the rest of the week and to promote their Bhakti Yoga Club on the campus. I always meet more interested students at USF than FSU.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. I share quotes from The Story of the Retreat and A Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam, Volume 2, by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on a class by Vegavati Devi Dasi in Alachua.
Many thanks to Subala Gopal Prabhu and his family for hosting me in Tampa, providing transportation, accommodation, and prasadam. Thanks to Vivasvan Prabhu for a handful of “On Chanting Hare Krishna” pamphlets. Thanks to Surapran Govinda Prabhu for dinner on Friday and a ride to Alachua for the Sunday feast.
Itinerary
January 12–April 10: harinama and college outreach in Tallahassee and Tampa
– March 1–3: Alachua/Gainesville harinama
– March 14: Daytona Ratha-yatra
– March 15: Orlando harinama
– March 16–22: NYC Harinam
– March 21: Bhagavad-gita class at 26 Second Avenue
– March 23–25: harinama at University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa
– March 28: Tallahassee Ratha-yatra
April 11: St. Augustine Ratha-yatra
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
Ayusha chants Hare Krishna at Tallahassee Saturday Program (https://youtube.com/shorts/mQb915IkWWM):
Later she sang another part of that tune (https://youtube.com/shorts/YuCJQgQUtUQ):
Then Ananga Mohan Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna there (https://youtube.com/shorts/ENeoEMNZYl4?feature=share):
Chanting Hare Krishna in Alachua
Godruma Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON Alachua Sunday Feast (https://youtube.com/shorts/4wcX84s6I4M?feature=share):
Toward the end his kirtan became more lively (https://youtube.com/shorts/nQsk8IwR2i4):
Vegavati Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON Alachua Sunday Feast before giving the class (https://youtube.com/shorts/gMg0LePdxHE?feature=share):
Gopal Govinda Shyam Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON Alachua Sunday Feast (https://youtu.be/s1KevXH9U-k):
Radha Govinda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at ISKCON Alachua Sunday Feast (https://youtube.com/shorts/AD6Q8ospOZw):
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tampa
I always meet nice people while promoting our Bhakti Yoga Society at USF. Before I even finished singing the pranama mantras, I met Manisha of Nepal, who had heard of bhakti and yoga, and was happy to learn of our club and get a Bhakti-yoga book. The first day I was there, I offered at least seven books to people interested in learning of the club.
Because I play the harmonium when I chant Hare Krishna often musicians are attracted and speak to me. One University of South Florida musician was telling me that he did country music. When he showed me his card, I had to laugh. His name was Evan Compagna.
From studying French I learned the word compagne means country. Evan told me it’s compagna in Italian. I thought it was so funny that by Krishna’s arrangement that this country singer had “country” as his last name! He said I was first person to point out the correlation.
I met a girl who grew up in a tradition that accepts reincarnation but who is now confronted with Christianity which doesn’t accept it. She was happy to hear of empirical evidence for reincarnation and to learn of a tradition that accepts reincarnation as well as appreciating the essential teachings of Lord Jesus Christ. She is majoring in philosophy and was interested to learn that Newton, though famous as a physicist, gave up physics after five years to pursue metaphysics because he felt it was more important.
I also met a Bangladeshi who is getting a PhD in mathematics. Last month at FSU I met a female Bangladeshi also trying for a PhD in math.
The second day I began chanting at the USF library as there was a market with amplified sound at my usual venue. A student came up to me and asked me if I could convince him to stay in America. He said that he had asked students and professors, and no one could convince him to stay. My initial reaction, because of so many crazy governmental policies, was “Why would you want to stay in America?” I did not say it though, and I put it out of my mind. I replied, “Conviction comes from God. Pray to God, and ask Him to tell you decisively whether He wants you to stay in America or to return to your country.” He smiled, shook my hand, and went on his way.
As I was chanting Hare Krishna and walking between the USF library and the Marshall Student Center, I met Devon, a young woman who was very happy to encounter a Hare Krishna monk. She had got books from Rishi of Krishna Life in Atlanta and had a very positive attitude about Hare Krishna. I told her about our club and its two weekly programs as well as the ISKCON Tampa congregational programs, and our temple in Alachua where they have wonderful festivals.
After attending the Wednesday afternoon Bhakti Yoga club meeting on the campus, where I led the kirtan, I went to the temple of Srila Prabhupada disciple, Vivasvan Prabhu, where I got to lead the kirtan and give the lecture. Here Vivasvan himself sings Hare Krishna after offering the arati to his Radha Vrindavanchandra deities (https://youtube.com/shorts/85DXy2MhH4w):
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Bhagavad-gita 10.4–5, purport:
“Spiritual knowledge is necessary in order for one to be free from doubt and delusion. Nothing should be accepted blindly, but with care and caution.”
“Self-control means that the senses should not be utilized for unnecessary personal enjoyment. Sense indulgence deters spiritual development.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.31:
“Clouds and dust are carried by the air, but less intelligent persons say that the sky is cloudy and the air is dirty. Similarly, they also implant material bodily conceptions on the spirit self.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.33:
“Whenever a person experiences, by self-realization, that both the gross and subtle bodies have nothing to do with the pure self, at that time he sees himself as well as the Lord.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.34:
“If the illusory energy subsides and the living entity becomes fully enriched with knowledge by the grace of the Lord, then he becomes at once enlightened with self-realization and thus becomes situated in his own glory.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.35, purport:
“The appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His different activities are all confidential, even to the Vedic literatures. Yet they are displayed by the Lord to bestow mercy upon the conditioned souls. We should always take advantage of the narrations of the activities of the Lord, which are meditations on Brahman in the most convenient and palatable form.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.38:
“Only by making such inquiries in this world can one be successful and perfectly cognizant, for such inquiries invoke transcendental ecstatic love unto the Personality of Godhead, who is the proprietor of all the universes, and guarantee cent-percent immunity from the dreadful repetition of birth and death.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.1.32:
“Any literature or narration in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Uttamasloka, is described and glorified is certainly great, pure, glorious, auspicious and all good.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.1.32, purport:
“Wherever a speaker holds discourses from these books and an audience hears him, this will create a good and auspicious situation. Therefore the preaching of Krishna consciousness must be done very carefully by the members of the Krishna consciousness movement, especially the sannyasis.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 21.119:
“The transcendental mellows generated from the dealings between the gopis and Krishna cannot be tasted by means of fruitive activity, yogic austerities, speculative knowledge, regulative devotional service, mantra-yoga or meditation. This sweetness can be tasted only through the spontaneous love of liberated persons who chant the holy names with great ecstatic love.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 21.123:
“‘All men and women were accustomed to enjoying the beauty of the shining face of Lord Krishna, as well as His shark-shaped earrings swinging on His ears. His beautiful features, His cheeks and His playful smiles all combined to form a constant festival for the eyes, and the blinking of the eyes became obstacles that impeded one from seeing that beauty. For this reason, men and women became very angry at the creator [Lord Brahma].’” (quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.24.65)
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 21.124:
“‘O Krishna, when You go to the forest during the day and we do not see Your sweet face, which is surrounded by beautiful curly hair, half a second becomes as long as an entire age for us. And we consider the creator, who has put eyelids on the eyes we use for seeing You, to be simply a fool.’” (quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.31.15)
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From The Story of a Retreat:
“I’m not tired in spirit, just need a little snap. I’m not tired of life. I’m not disgusted with everything, just give me some time to rest.”
“What matters is that we will have to die and be put into another form of life. The question is what is your next life going to be? That is the crucial question for the present. What are you doing right now—is it the best practice and preparation for your next life?”
“So much mistrust covered over with ‘Vaishnava etiquette.’”
“There is no need to speak of anything but Krishna. No need to go anywhere except on the order of Krishna. No need to trust anyone except in Krishna consciousness.
“Not yet can I do it so purely and continually, the string of slokas and sloka paraphrases must stop sooner or later. I cry out, ‘Wait! Stop! Hear about my fatigue, my hunger, my thirst, the noises I am subject to. Hear the thoughts, doubts and pains.’”
“Do not be a Mayavadi at anytime, Prabhupada wrote to me.”
“You accumulate baggage, and you’ll have to get rid of it later.”
“One theme is fighting for concentration in a world which doesn’t permit it much.”
“Throw off debris
that clings to soul.
Be a ceto-darpana-marjanam man.”
“Just trust in Him, don’t be
envious of Him, He’s giving
knowledge and realization by which
you’ll be free of all misery.
‘Do not be afraid.’”
“We seek the life of knowing God and serving Him—that’s the constitutional nature of the living being. It’s all false propaganda that there is no God or that God belongs only to one sect or religion and not another. God consciousness can’t be neglected by human society or they will get bad reactions. But God consciousness is a science that has to be properly learned, so it’s important enough to get yourself trained and then train others.”
“People do seek a transcendental life, at least a few do, and this movement may appeal to them.”
“It’s not that ‘join’ and everything goes smoothly for the rest of your life. You need to be enlivened. I’m trying to help with writings, with Krishna conscious culture that comes from an honest person speaking.”
“I can remind us to know that Lord Krishna is our friend and that we shouldn’t see Srila Prabhupada only as a statue. I can soften the institutional message, make it understandable and palatable. I can help you and your desire to gain access to Srila Prabhupada. I can do some things, and I will do them. One is to sing. Some people like it. It breaks up the fog and the remorse. Sometimes, even while actively living in the ISKCON temple, we feel that inner life is petrified.
I can help. I have no alternative but to use myself in this way.”
“The nondevotees have written so many books in many genres. Let’s have ISKCON equivalents.”
“Accepting the Lord’s grace. Another nice inspiration I read in the Gajendra chapters: devotees accept reverses such as curses by sages on them, without any resentment or frustration because they think that nothing can happen without the will of the Supreme Lord. It’s happening (whatever), so it must be Krishna’s arrangement for me. Therefore, why complain? There is good in this curse, just as when Indradyumna Maharaja was cursed to become an elephant—it resulted in his swift return back to Godhead.”
“Another gem: if your gross body
(and mind) touches the transcendental body
of the Supreme Lord you are immensely
blessed for going back to Godhead.
Touch Him in service, your
ears touch when His sound
vibration reaches you as
Hare Krishna mantra and Srimad-Bhagavatam,
and your tongue touches His
names and prasada. Will
you allow your heart
to be touched by life in
a Krishna conscious way?
In a nondefensive way?
Stay in touch with He
whose touch relieves all pain.”
“Don’t be indifferent ever to Sri Krishna. ‘Fools deride Me ...’ He is never indifferent or lazy about our salvation. He is in our heart and always active for our cause, but we refuse Him. That’s true.”
“Suffice to
say here, God is great, no one
equals or surpasses Him.
He has nothing that He has to do
He stays and plays in Goloka and
does everything everywhere else without
even thinking about it as a
distraction from His play
with His devotees in Vrndavana.”
“Put Krishna in the center where He is already.”
“Maybe my role is to preach to devotees who have already decided to serve Lord Krishna. They too get hit by maya and need further education and encouragement. Preach to them, give them time. So I am pleased you are going to Mayapura for that.”
“Once Prahlada told his father
the best thing is to go to Vrindavan
and get out of the well.
He did not tell his father, ‘Go
to hell.’ No, he cared, was
gentle, a preacher of compassion.
‘O best of the atheists...’
Boom boom boom.
‘The best thing I heard was to
practice nine-fold bhakti like
this, sravanam-kirtanam…’”
“As a preacher, ideally I should have a high attraction or how will I be able to influence others (as Prabhupada influenced us in NYC in ’66)? So to gain taste and discipline for sravanam-kirtanam is good and worthy time spent.”
“Krishna: He belongs in the center of my life, just as He is the center of all existence. Anything else is illusion. Find Him in the books, the beads, the devotees, in everything, because He is all.”
“So when you see me, read me,
you see Him and get in touch.
Touch Him and you are transformed.”
From A Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam, Volume 2:
“Chanting Hare Krishna cleans the dust from the mind and enables us to see that Krishna and His name are nondifferent. Those who demand to see spirit at once, although they’re unwilling to practice the process of purification, are arrogant and foolish. It certainly makes sense that in order to understand any subject matter, we have to qualify ourselves to learn it.”
“Alone in our room we take shelter of the Lord in His holy names. We’re tiny creatures crying out and usually we know it. Krishna, please protect us all.”
“When the subject matter of a particular verse is technical, I try to make it interesting. I believe a Bhagavatam speaker should do this. At the same time, he shouldn’t make it interesting by watering down the verse’s contents. He shouldn’t cater to the fickle mind—his own or those of others—in his attempt to hold his audience’s attention.”
“In India especially, guests tend to wander in and out, mingle with the class, approach the Deities, and generally ignore both speaker and audience.”
“It is important that the neophyte enlist himself as a disciple of a pure devotee of spiritual master. This is the only way to gradually cleanse our motives. If the spiritual master orders us to execute some particular service, we can be sure the tasks themselves will be pure. Even though our motives may remain impure for the time being, by following the guru’s order, the task itself will remove impure motives. If we want to increase the speed at which our motives are purified, we have to adopt a simple service attitude toward guru and Krishna.”
“It occurred to me that the main thing for me to do when I visit temples is to truly wish devotees well. Be loving.”
“God’s one energy can act as the internal energy or the external energy, just as electricity generated by the powerhouse can be used for heating or cooling. It is only how He uses His energy that determines whether it is internal or external.”
“When a devotee stops seeing the events in his life as if they were caused by someone else, and when he starts to accept that everything, he experiences is a reaction to his own karma, when he can understand beyond that everything comes ultimately from Krishna, then the material energy will not act on him to drag him down.”
“Srila Prabhupada is also a mahajana. He is the mahajana who represents all the rest. He teaches that the individual souls and the Lord are one in quality and that they are eternal and spiritual. This is such good news for we who are overwhelmed by the details of daily life.”
“Swamiji also assured us that Krishna never becomes entangled in matter. And of course, he assured us that we could become free by hearing the truth. Imagine, just by hearing of the supreme, transcendental nature of God, we can become free. How’s that for potency?”
“Paramahamsas always see the perfection of God’s creation. They also see that atheists spend most of their time trying to rearrange the Lord’s plan for the world.”
“We can know God only when we accept His version of Himself.”
“If we want to become voluntary servants, we can’t be complacent when we see signs of unfavorable meditation or indifference to Krishna’s desires. When we recognize these corruptions of our natural, constitutional mood, we should feel regret for them. They are a sickness of spirit. They have to be transformed into positive remembrance and dependence if they are to become purified. Feel the raw pain of the corruption.”
“Chant and hear and light up your soul with Krishna’s kindness.”
“The problem is that we can’t enter the Bhagavatam unless we are pure, and that the only way to become pure is to enter the Bhagavatam. Well, we also become pure by hearing and serving among devotees.”
“I hope I remember at last to preach and at death to chant the holy name.”
“Suta praises the sages because their questions were transcendental. They didn’t ask, ‘Where is the bathroom?’ Everybody asks mundane questions, but only a devotee can ask the kind of questions that free him from the dreadful repetition of birth and death.”
“Prabhupada said that at least a devotee knows that when he is suffering, he is suffering for the last time. His suffering is not useless, but it is purifying him so that he can go back to Godhead. At least we can take that much solace when we are suffering.”
Janananda Goswami:
From Prabhupada in Malaysia:
“As Prabhupada explained the process of Krishna consciousness he quoted many Sanskrit verses.
Mrs. Sambanthan said: ‘Yes that is so true. You quote Sanskrit so nicely Swamiji.’
After some time Srila Prabhupada said: ‘So you are appreciating our philosophy very nicely. You must help us spread this Krishna consciousness movement.’
She answered: ‘With your mercy, Swamiji.’
Srila Prabhupada said: ‘Mercy is already there. You simply have to take it.’
She answered again: ‘With your mercy Swamiji.’
Then Srila Prabhupada gave an analogy. He said: ‘If someone is drowning in a well and crying out “Help”, and another person hears him and throws down a rope so he can catch it. If the person drowning in the well cries, “Help me take the rope”, it is not right. It is up to him to take the rope and be pulled out. The mercy is there. You simply have to take it and become freed from all illusion and lamentation.’”
Vegavati Devi Dasi:
People are well known sometimes not for their good deeds but their bad deeds. This is not Krishna’s choice for them but rather the result of their own choices.
We may get caught up in bills to be paid and children to be educated and forget that this whole realm is temporary.
They say in Vrindavan that Radharani holds up a mirror to you so you can see your faults, and if you do not look at it, she shows it to everyone else.
One way of seeing Krishna everywhere is seeing distress coming to us as an opportunity to remember Him.
I was a student at Ohio State, when the musical Hair had come out. I found myself singing the mantra to myself one day from hearing it. Once I went to a stage enactment of Hair in Columbus, and when the actors sang the mantra, some people from the audience came up to the stage and joined them. I thought, “I know the mantra,” so I went up on the stage, and I also sang. At same point, I was ushered back to my seat, and I later realized those people who came up to the stage were planted there for that purpose.
Advaitacarya at Krishna House said, “If you chant with love, you will love to chant.”
There is a Washington Post article entitled something like “Are We All Becoming Hare Krishnas?” which talks about how ideas promoted by the devotees like vegetarianism and yoga have become much more popular than they were back in the sixties.
Comment by Pran Govinda Prabhu:
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura advised acknowledging that we made a mistake, asking for forgiveness, repenting for the mistake, and making some rectification. He advised that one try to change oneself instead of changing one’s environment.
Murli Gopal Prabhu:
From a comment to a Facebook post:
“Radhanath Swami also mentions that the priest who used to come to his college cooking program and who asked him for the halava recipe told him that it did not taste the same when he made it for his college group. Maharaja then told him he had left one important ingredient out: offering it to God. The next week, the priest came back with a smile and told him that now it tasted exactly as Maharaja’s.”
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In chapter fourteen of Bhagavad-gita, after exhaustively describing the three qualities of material nature which condition us embodied souls, Krishna in a single verse describes how we can transcend them. Let us take it seriously and come to the platform of spiritual joy.
mam ca yo ’vyabhicarena
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
“One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” (Bhagavad-gita 14.26)
