Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 22, No. 7
(Week 7: February 12–18, 2026)
Tallahassee and Alachua
(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on February 21, 2026)
Where I Went and What I Did
For the seventh week of 2026 I lived at ISKCON Tallahassee, nearby Florida State University. 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.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, and Sri Isopanisad, as well as a lecture and a letter of his. I share quotes from The Story of the Retreat by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share quotes from The Vanaprastha Adventure by Jayadvaita Swami, including many realizations by Urmila Devi Dasi. I share notes on a lecture by Bhadra Prabhu on Shiva Ratri, including the eight prayers to Lord Shiva by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Many thanks to Dattatreya Prabhu for his very, very generous donation. Thanks to Prishni Devi Dasi of the Richard L. Thompson Archives for contributing to my travel to Alachua, to honor Sadaputa Prabhu’s birthday earlier in the month. Thanks to Ananga Mohan Prabhu for driving me to Alachua for the Sunday feast.
Itinerary
January 12–mid April: harinama and college outreach in Tallahassee and Tampa
– February 24–26: harinama at University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa
– March 14: Daytona Ratha-yatra
– March 15: Deland Holi Festival
– March 16–22: NYC Harinam
– March 21: Bhagavad-gita class at 26 Second Avenue
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
When I was chanting on the campus of Florida State University on Valentine’s Day, one young couple, who had previously signed up to hear about my weekly Bhagavad-gita classes, gave me a bouquet of flowers. They were happy to accept the halava I gave them. Later a young woman, who had listened to the chanting and bought two books the previous day, came by with two friends wanting to listen to the music again. As I sang, she danced with her friends, and then she gave me a rose.
When she saw I put the flowers in my water bottle to keep them fresh, she gave me a bottle of water for myself. I offered both the water and the flowers to Sri Sri Gaura Nitai the next day, happy to engage the students in Their service.
I was happy to go to Alachua for the Sunday feast program as usual.
Here Nagaraja Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in the ISKCON Alachua Sunday Feast Kirtan (https://youtube.com/shorts/bHfcH-oddN4?feature=share):
Later Ananga Mohan Prabhu, who kindly drove me from Tallahassee to Alachua, danced enthusiastically (https://youtube.com/shorts/bgZPia3fL4M):
After the feast Shyamananda and Radha Govinda Prabhus chanted Hare Krishna there (https://youtu.be/hSDSfDIXYUw):
At the FSU campus in Tallahassee one day I met a vegan guy from Brittany, France, named Jérémy, who was visiting a friend in Orlando. He said he did some woofing while in Florida. I told him that we had many woofers at our chateau between Châteauroux and Tours, and I showed him New Mayapur on Google Maps. He sounded interested in checking it out. The Florida girl he was with loved the vegan banana halava I gave her.
I distribute several small cups of halava on the campus each day. I know in the past that people have become devotees from halava, and therefore, I am hoping some people become devotees from eating the halava I distribute.
Three people said they would come for my evening meditation class, but none did. That reminded me of the story that a college student, who ultimately became an initiated devotee and did a college outreach program that made four devotees, told me. She said when she was first coming around she would tell Adikarta Prabhu that she would definitely attend his program although she had no intention of doing so. Thus even people who end up becoming very nice devotees may not even keep their promises to attend programs in the beginning. So there is hope.
I should be fair and talk about the successes of my outreach that same day. I distributed all my halava, and two people signed up for the club. Also a student came to the morning arati at 6:45 a.m. since for an anthropology of religion class she had to see a service of a tradition she was not familiar with, and she had a good time. She even played the shakers in time with the music and took some halava for breakfast. She also decided to interview Ananga Mohan Prabhu for another class project later in the semester.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.33, purport:
“Similarly, the material conception of a thing is at once changed as soon as it is put into the service of the Lord. That is the secret of spiritual success. We should not try to lord it over the material nature, nor should we reject material things. The best way to make the best use of a bad bargain is to use everything in relation with the supreme spiritual being. Everything is an emanation from the Supreme Spirit, and by His inconceivable power He can convert spirit into matter and matter into spirit. Therefore a material thing (so-called) is at once turned into a spiritual force by the great will of the Lord. The necessary condition for such a change is to employ so-called matter in the service of the spirit. That is the way to treat our material disease and elevate ourselves to the spiritual plane, where there is no misery, no lamentation and no fear. When everything is thus employed in the service of the Lord, we can experience that there is nothing except the Supreme Brahman. The Vedic mantra that ‘everything is Brahman’ is thus realized by us.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.41, purport:
“A pure devotee cuts off the limited ties of affection for his family and widens his activities of devotional service for all forgotten souls.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.33, purport:
“If the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, putting faith in Krishna as the center, live in harmony according to the order and principles of Bhagavad-gita, then they are living in Vaikuntha, not in this material world.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.34, purport:
“It is stated that as long as a living entity is pure, he is in complete harmony with the desires of the Supreme Lord, but as soon as he becomes impure he is in disharmony with the desires of the Lord. By contamination he is forced to transfer to this material world, where the living entities have three enemies, namely desire, anger and lust. These three enemies force the living entities to continue material existence, and when one is free from them he is eligible to enter the kingdom of God. One should not, therefore, be angry in the absence of an opportunity for sense gratification, and one should not be lusty to acquire more than necessary.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.42:
“The exquisite beauty of Narayana, being many times magnified by the intelligence of His devotees, was so attractive that it defeated the pride of the goddess of fortune in being the most beautiful. My dear demigods, the Lord who thus manifested Himself is worshipable by me, by Lord Shiva and by all of you. The sages regarded Him with unsated eyes and joyously bowed their heads at His lotus feet.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.43:
“When the breeze carrying the aroma of tulasi leaves from the toes of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead entered the nostrils of those sages, they experienced a change both in body and in mind, even though they were attached to the impersonal Brahman understanding.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.44:
“The Lord’s beautiful face appeared to them like the inside of a blue lotus, and the Lord’s smile appeared to be a blossoming jasmine flower. After seeing the face of the Lord, the sages were fully satisfied, and when they wanted to see Him further, they looked upon the nails of His lotus feet, which resembled rubies. Thus they viewed the Lord’s transcendental body again and again, and so they finally achieved meditation on the Lord’s personal feature.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.45, purport:
“The highest yoga-marga process is to concentrate the mind twenty-four hours a day on Krishna. This is called Krishna consciousness. The yoga system, as described in Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita or as recommended in the Patañjali yoga process, is different from the nowadays-practiced hatha-yoga as it is generally understood in the Western countries. Real yoga practice is to control the senses and, after such control is established, to concentrate the mind on the Narayana form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. Lord Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead, and all the other Vishnu forms—with four hands decorated with conch, lotus, club and wheel—are plenary expansions of Krishna. In Bhagavad-gita it is recommended that one meditate upon the form of the Lord.”
“One should be very practical in every field of activities and should not waste his valuable time in practicing useless gymnastic feats in the name of yoga. Real yoga is to search out the four-handed Supersoul within one’s heart and see Him perpetually in meditation. Such continued meditation is called samadhi, and the object of this meditation is the four-handed Narayana, with bodily decorations as described in this chapter of Srimad-Bhagavatam. If, however, one wants to meditate upon something void or impersonal, it will take a very long time before he achieves success in yoga practice. We cannot concentrate our mind on something void or impersonal. Real yoga is to fix the mind on the form of the Lord, the four-handed Narayana who is sitting in everyone’s heart.”
“The breathing exercise of the yoga system which is generally practiced is just the beginning. Meditation on the Supersoul is just another step forward. But to obtain direct contact with the Supersoul and take dictation from Him is the highest perfectional stage.”
“If one wants success in practical yoga practice, it is advised that he take to the chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and he will actually feel himself making progress.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.1.26:
“By enmity or by devotional service, by fear, by affection or by lusty desire—by all of these or any one of them—if a conditioned soul somehow or other concentrates his mind upon the Lord, the result is the same, for the Lord, because of His blissful position, is never affected by enmity or friendship.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 2.117, purport:
“The desired change of heart referred to above is visible in the reluctance to do anything not congenial to the devotional way. To create such a change of heart, conclusive discussion about Sri Krishna and His potencies is absolutely necessary.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 22.65:
”One who is expert in logic, argument and the revealed scriptures and who has firm faith in Krishna is classified as a topmost devotee. He can deliver the whole world.”
From Sri Isopanisad, mantra 3, purport:
“We are given this human form of life not to work hard like asses, swine and dogs but to attain the highest perfection of life. If we do not care for self-realization, the laws of nature force us to work very hard, even though we may not want to do so. Human beings in this age have been forced to work hard like the asses and bullocks that pull carts.”
From a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.10 in Bombay on November 10, 1974:
“According to Vedic system there is compulsory renunciation. ‘Get out, please, immediately.’ Pañcasordhvam vanam vrajet. ‘You are now past fifty years. That’s all right. You have falsely fought in this material world, aham mameti. Now stop this business. Come out.’ This is Vedic civilization. As soon as you are fifty years . . . Just like children, they play on the beach, making sand house and so on. Now, the father, when the time is up: ‘Now, my dear children, stop this business. Come out. Come here, home.’ So we have to do that.”
From a letter to Madhukara on January 4, 1973:
“One mistake of judgment often made by the neophyte devotees is that any time there is some disturbance or some difficulty they are considering that the conditions or the external circumstances under which the difficulty took place are the cause of the difficulty itself. That is not the fact. In this material world there is always some difficulty, no matter in this situation or that situation. Therefore simply by changing my status of occupation or my status of life, that will not help anything. Because the real fact is that if there is any difficulty with others, that is my lack of Krsna consciousness, not theirs. Is this clear?”
“The varnasrama-dharma system is scientifically arranged by Krsna to provide facility for delivering the fallen souls back to home, back to Godhead.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From The Story of a Retreat:
“My Writing Sessions are more friendly and directly accessible at every minute. But they are not so presentable. They are like your underwear.”
“I was reading about Hiranyakasipu getting the benedictions from Lord Brahma. It looked so foolish in print, ‘That I may not be killed by any creature created by you, or any entity not created by you . . . That I not be killed in a house or outside a house, by a man-made or demigod-made weapon ...’ He tried to cover all the possibilities. So vain and demoniac. They continue to do it today in perhaps more sophisticated language. May I not be killed by cholesterol or AIDS or by nuclear waste or nuclear bombs, by terrorists’ or big nations’ bombs, by Russian or non-Russian.”
“So why don’t I persist in telling the Krishna conscious rap of higher life?”
“At least feel good
about the mantras. Live in them
and don’t desire any other meditation
or yoga or God or method.”
“Krishna supplies what you need and protects what you have, but the nondevotee prefers to suffer because at least he retains his freedom to defy God.”
“We can try to tell them, we must. Someone will be interested. Most will prefer to deny the only Supreme God even while they are crushed by the illusory energy.”
“No matter what the topic discussed, Srila Prabhupada is bringing us up to the highest stage. He may not directly discuss gopi-bhava, but he is giving us what we need in order to reach that stage in the future. Therefore, no one gives more advanced teachings than he does—if by advanced you mean that which will actually make you advanced.”
“Writing is also kirtana as good as singing with drums and karatalas. Let’s have twenty-four kirtana, of one sort or another.”
“Krishna is always teaching us, either through matter or spirit.”
“Srila Prabhupada. He’s the one. Become his menial servant. The bell is ringing and his servant now has to go to Prabhupada’s room. Would you like those days again? Are they gone? Am I still his menial servant? Yes, when you read, and when you write for him.”
“Prabhupada is the teacher. He set the example of uninterrupted bhakti. One time he told me that whether you wash the dishes or read, they’re all different varieties of Krishna consciousness. Krishna in the heart will teach you when to do one and when to do the other.”
“Srila Prabhupada had the right idea: be always engaged in Lord Caitayna’s mission, thinking how to save the others. We may not be able to save everyone, he said, but at least a few. We are fortunate who follow him and despite our faults, stay always engaged in some attempt to practice Krishna consciousness twenty-four hours a day in this life and in the next.”
“Let’s not be cynical about attempts to improve chanting. They’re always worthwhile, I think. You are as good as dead if you lose all hope.”
Jayadvaita Swami:
From The Vanaprastha Adventure:
“Concerning Lord Caitanya’s acceptance of renounced life, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote, ‘He left His little world in His house for the unlimited spiritual world of Krishna with man in general.’”
“We should know that we are always dependent, and Krishna is always dependable.”
“Vanaprastha life means, in part, developing confidence that Krishna will protect me and Krishna will maintain me.”
Urmila Devi Dasi:
Quoted in The Vanaprastha Adventure by Jayadvaita Swami:
“I had already read the whole Bhagavad-gita and the whole Krishna Book, and I had been chanting a little bit. I can’t say I really knew anything. But going out on book distribution really convinced me of the philosophy of Krishna consciousness because I could defeat anybody, even though I’d only been in the movement a few days.”
“I’m very grateful I married young. I’m very grateful I had children young. I’m grateful that when I took vanaprastha I was still young enough. I just see it as such an intelligent system by Krishna— and one that not even most people in the world but most devotees don’t really avail themselves of. Most devotees do not see the genius of the system of asrama.
“But anyway I see in my own life—and now my daughter is a vanaprastha—that Krishna’s giving us a system that uses the natural physiological and psychological changes that happen in the body and the mind to relate them to our spiritual development. So you get to a point where the desires of the body and the mind are in sync with the Lord’s plan, and then you have energy and space—mental space, emotional space, physical space—to be filled with nama, rupa, guna, lila.”
“Be detached from the upadhis, all along. Even grhastha life is not a license for identification with upadhis. Even in grhastha life, give up upadhis. I’m not this woman’s husband. I’m not this man’s wife. I’m the servant. Cultivate that from day one. ‘I’m the servant. I may have this jiva to take care of in this particular way at this particular time, but I’m a soul.’”
Bhadra Prabhu:
From a lecture in Alachua on Shiva Ratri:
We may not have so much knowledge, but if our behavior is good, that is more important.
Devotees respect Lord Shiva as a Vaishnava.
Why is Lord Shiva considered the best Vaishnava?
Lord Vishnu advised Lord Shiva to drink the ocean of poison to protect the universe. Lord Shiva asked his wife, Parvati, whether he should. She said yes because she knew the power of her husband.
At Chakresvara Mahadeva’s place Sanatana Goswami was doing his bhajana, but the mosquitos were disturbing him so he was planning to leave. Lord Shiva told him not to worry, and from then to the present day, there are no mosquitos there.
If you go to Lord Shiva for pure bhakti, he will give you pure bhakti.
There was one Indian man who was considering Lord Shiva to be supreme. Giriraja Maharaja would argue with him that Lord Krishna is supreme. When Srila Prabhupada came to that city, he came to that Indian man’s house, and that man asked Srila Prabhupada who was supreme, Lord Shiva or Lord Krishna. Srila Prabhupada answered by saying that there is puja and there is seva. When one does puja he is desiring to get some material benediction, but when one does seva, one just wants to please the Lord. Usually people do puja to Lord Shiva. The man said he just did seva to Lord Shiva, because he did not want a material benediction, and asked if that was alright, and Srila Prabhupada said yes.
There are eight slokas (Sri Shivastaka) where Lord Caitanya glorifies Lord Shiva in Murari Gupta’s Sri Caitanya Carita Mahakavya:
namo namaste tri-dasesvaraya
bhutadi nathaya mrdaya nityam
ganga-tarangotthita-bala-candra-
cudaya gauri-nayanotsavaya
“I repeatedly offer my obeisances unto you, the controller of the thirty primal demigods; unto you, the original father of all created beings; unto you, whose character is gracious; unto you, whose head is crested by the sickle moon arisen from the waves of the Ganga and unto you, who are a festival for the eyes of the fair goddess Gauri.”
sutapta camikara-candra-nila-
padma-pravalambuda-kanti-vastraih
sa nrtya-rangesta-vara-pradaya
kaivalya-nathaya vrsa-dhvajaya
“I offer my obeisances unto you, who are dressed in garments resembling molten gold, the moon, blue lotuses, coral, and dark rainclouds; unto you, who bestow the most desirable boons on your devotees by means of your delightful dancing; unto you, who are the master of the impersonalists and unto you, whose flag bears the image of the bull.”
sudhamsu-suryagni-vilocanena
tamo-bhide te jagatah shivaya
sahasra-subhramsu-sahasra-rasmi-
sahasra-sanjit-tvara-tejase’stu
“I offer my obeisances unto you, who dispels darkness with your three eyes the moon, the sun and fire; unto you, who causes auspiciousness for all the living entities of the universe and unto you, whose potency easily defeats that of thousands of moons and suns.”
nagesa-ratnojjvala-vigrahaya
sardula-carmamsuka-divya-tejase
sahasra-patropari samsthitaya
varangada-mukta-bhuja-dvayaya
“I offer my obeisances unto you, whose form is brilliantly illuminated by the jewels of Ananta, the king of snakes; unto you, who are clothed by a tiger-skin and thus radiate divine effulgence; unto you, who sits upon a thousand-petalled lotus and unto you, whose two arms are adorned by lustrous bangles.”
su-nupura-ranjita-pada-padma
ksarat-sudha-bhrtya-sukha-pradaya
vicitra-ratnaugha-vibhusitaya
premanam evadya harau videhi
“I offer my obeisances unto you, who brings happiness to your servitors, as you pour on them the liquid nectar from your two reddish lotus feet, which ring with charming anklebells. Obeisances unto you, who is adorned with an abundance of gems please endow me with pure love for Lord Hari.”
sri rama govinda mukunda saure
sri krishna narayana vasudeva
ity-adi namamrta-pana-matta-
bhrngadhi-payakhila-dukha-hantre
“‘O Sri Rama, O Govinda, O Mukunda, O Sauri, O Sri Krishna, O Narayana, O Vasudeva!’ I offer my obeisances unto you, Lord Shiva, the monarch of intoxicated bee-like devotees, maddened by drinking the nectar of these and other holy names of the Lord. Obeisances unto you, the destroyer of all grief.”
sri naradadyaih satatam sugopya-
jijnasita-yasu vara-pradaya
tebhyo harer bhakti-sukha-pradaya
shivaya sarva-gurave namo namah
“I offer my respectful obeisances again and again unto you, who is forever enquired of confidentially by Sri Narada and other sages; unto you, who also grants favors to them very quickly; unto you, who bestows the happiness of hari-bhakti; unto you, who creates auspiciousness and unto you, who is the guru of everyone.”
sri gauri-netrosava-mangalaya
tat-prana-nathaya rasa-pradaya
sada samutkantha-govinda-lila-
gana-pravinaya namo’stu tubhyam
“I offer my obeisances unto you, who are a festival of auspiciousness for the eyes of Goddess Gauri; unto you, who is the monarch of her life-breath; unto you, who is capable of bestowing transcendental rasa and unto you, who is expert in forever singing songs of the pastimes of Lord Govinda with great longing.”
etat shivasyastakam adbhutam mahat
srnvan hari-prema labheta sighram
jnanam ca vijnanam apurva-vaibhavam
yo bhava-purnah paramam samadaram
“A person, filled with loving feelings, who hears with rapt attention this wonderful eight-fold prayer to Lord Shiva, can quickly gain Sri Hari-prema as well as transcendental knowledge, the realization of that knowledge, and unprecedented powers.
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Although people in general are endeavoring for happiness, according to Srimad-Bhagavatam, that endeavor is completely unnecessary. We will get the happiness we are destined to get, whether we endeavor for it or not. Thus the Srimad-Bhagavatam recommends that instead we should endeavor for spiritual perfection which is permanent rather than happiness that comes and goes. A verse often cited in this connection is:
tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido
tal labhyate duhkhavad anyatah sukham
kalena sarvatra gabhira-ramhasa
“Persons who are actually intelligent and philosophically inclined should endeavor only for that purposeful end which is not obtainable even by wandering from the topmost planet [Brahmaloka] down to the lowest planet [Patala]. As far as happiness derived from sense enjoyment is concerned, it can be obtained automatically in course of time, just as in course of time we obtain miseries even though we do not desire them.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.18)
