(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on March 7, 2026)
Where I Went and What I Did
For the ninth week of 2026 I spent the first day in Tampa, chanting Hare Krishna at University of South Florida and attending their Thursday evening Gita class.
The next two days I was in Tallahassee, the three days after that in the Gainesville/Alachua area, and the last day of the week back in Tallahassee.
On Saturday we had our second Monthly Sankirtana Festival in Tallahassee, which was an increase in different ways. Sunday I chanted in Depot Park in Gainesville and caught the end of the Sunday feast program in Alachua.
Midday both on Monday and on Tuesday, which was Gaura Purnima, I chanted with Krishna House devotees at the University of Florida. It was great to hear other voices besides my own and also to able to dance. The rest of Gaura Purnima I spent at the festival in Alachua.
I share a quote from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam and another from Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Sri Brahma-samhita. I share quotes from A Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam, Volume 2, and Vraja-mandala Lament by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, both of which I am proofreading. I share notes on a class by Kalakantha Prabhu at Krishna House and by Nanda Devi Dasi on Gaura Purnima in Alachua. I also share notes on classes by Pran Govinda Prabhu in Alachua and Nayanabhiram Prabhu in Tampa. I also includes notes on a conversation with Soma Prabhu in Alachua.
Many thanks to Subala Gopal Prabhu for his accommodation, transportation, and donation in Tampa. Thanks to Nayanabhirama Prabhu for the ride from the university in Tampa to where I was staying. Thanks to Purusartha Prabhu for his ride to Gainesville for harinama on Monday. Thanks to Ananga Mohan Prabhu for the ride back to Tallahassee from Alachua. Thanks to Brandon for his ride from Gainesville to Alachua for the Sunday feast. Thanks to Jaya Nrsimha for his ride to Alachua from Gainesville. Thanks to Narada Muni Prabhu for his ride to the Gaura Purnima festival in Alachua.
Itinerary
January 12–April 10: harinama and college outreach in Tallahassee and Tampa
– March 14: Daytona Ratha-yatra
– March 15: Deland kirtan and lecture, Orlando harinama and Sunday kirtan
– 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
April 12–25: NYC Harinam
April 26: Amsterdam harinama
April 27: Kings Day harinama
April 28: Harinama Ruci harinama
April 29–May 3: Nrsimha festival at Simhachalam
May 4: fly back to NYC
May 5–June 14: NYC Harinam
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tampa
I told one student at University of South Florida, who glanced at me as he walked past, “This is a harmonium, and the song is a mantra, a song of spiritual upliftment.”
The student responded, “I can feel it!”
How fortunate!
Nayanabhirama Prabhu has a Bhagavad-gita class for students at USF on Thursdays that has been going on for four years. I heard about it a couple years back, and I decided to go to it this year and to invite students to it. A student who attends the Wednesday program told me the details so I could invite students.
Nayanabhirama does it as a Zoom meeting so people in other parts of the country can also participate in it. In his presentation, he tried to show that Bhagavad-gita teaches lessons that are relevant to our lives.
About ten students came, at least 90% from an Indian background. He let me lead kirtan for five minutes. They had prasadam in the cafeteria of the Marshall Student Center afterwards, including a cake for his son’s birthday.
I read online Thursday night that Badrinarayana Swami had passed away that day in Vrindavan. I stayed up late that night to write some memories of him: https://krishnamonk.blogspot.com/2026/02/remembering-badrinarayana-swami.html
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
When I got on the bus after harinama on Friday to return to the temple, I was surprised to see a young man wearing a japa mala around his neck like a garland. He recalled me from a devotional event by a mutual friend, Garuda Dasa (not Srila Prabhupada’s Garuda). He said he was having an open mike night at venue just a twenty-minute walk from the temple, and he invited me to perform.
He went by the name of Lunchbox. When I got there, there were at least ten people on the list to perform already. Fortunately I brought my computer, and I was able to get a certain about of proofreading done, even in that wild scene, as I waited my turn. There were many very creative and socially aware people present. When my turn came, I hung up a mantra sign and gave out four pairs of shakers, and I encouraged listeners to chant the response and play shakers to the music. A number of people participated during my five-minute chanting session. Lunchbox asked how the chanting benefited my life. I said I became vegetarian because of it. Previously my sister had become vegetarian and my mother was a peace activist. After I began chanting I decided my diet should reflect my belief in nonviolence. I also said I developed conviction in the importance of vegetarianism for progressive spiritual development and now think that those who consider themselves advanced spiritually but have not embraced vegetarianism still have a way to go. He also asked if there was one thing that people could do to really transform the world. I said, “Chant whatever name of God you have faith in. The lust, greed, and anger in our hearts that causes us to do bad things to ourselves and others can be removed by the chanting of the holy names of God.” Ryan, the owner of the restaurant where the event was held, gave me his card and invited me back for the next month’s event.
We had our second monthly sankirtana festival in Tallahassee in Cascades Park, and we increased in many ways. We had eleven people this time instead of fourteen, but that was because a family of four moved away. Last time we distributed four cookies bought at the shop which we had offered, but this time we distributed eleven cookies which a devotee made. We also displayed a mantra sign this time, which we fastened to a tree. During the prasadam afterwards, also in the park, a Bangladeshi Ph.D. candidate in computer science and his wife, who were passing by, took prasadam and were happy to join our ISKCON Tallahassee WhatsApp group. A Western man, probably in his sixties, chanted the Hare Krishna mantra a bit with us and later the mantra “Devakinandana Gopala.” I asked him where he learned that mantra, and he said at a “Dances of Universal Peace” event. I was familiar with those as I attended one with my sister once, half way between Albany and New York. They sing songs from all the great world religions. That man was also happy to take prasadam.
Here I chant Hare Krishna at the Tallahassee Monthly Sankirtana Festival in Cascades Park, leading for the first half hour (https://youtu.be/Vd_fXwtySeM):
Then Kripamayi Tulsi Devi Dasi chanted Hare Krishna there (https://youtu.be/uzEEQIdKITg):
After her, Deepali Kapoor led the Hare Krishna chant (https://youtu.be/p5N-H3zOW90):
Chanting Hare Krishna in Gainesville
Gopal Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during Mangala Arati at Krishna House (https://youtube.com/shorts/vWO-WzqwdI0?feature=share):
Nartana Priya Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna with Krishna House devotees at the University of Florida (https://youtu.be/xSsTft63ngg):
Another Krishna House devotee chants Hare Krishna at University of Florida (https://youtu.be/l8K6RFMvM9Q):
Mayur chants Hare Krishna with Krishna House devotees at University of Florida (https://youtu.be/0nOGb4_yaXw):
Narada Muni Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Krishna House devotees at the University of Florida on Gaura Purnima (https://youtu.be/Zhq2hBK_q8k):
Purusartha Prabhu chants Hare Krishna with Krishna House devotees at the University of Florida on Gaura Purnima (https://youtu.be/GvpBvzHOQdw):
Nartana Priya Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna with Krishna House devotees at the University of Florida on Gaura Purnima (https://youtu.be/7H15zM65ir8):
Advaita led the final kirtan there that day (https://youtu.be/rI4KgPGTN5o):
While he was singing some devotees began to dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/BIMFuJs2ULs?feature=share):
Chanting Hare Krishna in Alachua
Jagi Kirtan Prabhu and friends chant Hare Krishna during the Sunday Gaura Arati at ISKCON Alachua (https://youtube.com/shorts/zNvfubN0dTI?feature=share):
Here is the end of that kirtan (https://youtube.com/shorts/GGcOICOkxKw?feature=share):
Kalindi and devotee women chant Hare Krishna on Gaura Purnima Guru Puja at ISKCON Alachua (https://youtu.be/fgFuDEvdJNU):
Gurukula kids chant Hare Krishna on Gaura Purnima morning at ISKCON Alachua (https://youtu.be/OhfF8KYcx94):
Krishna Kishora Prabhu and friends chant Hare Krishna at ISKCON Alachua Gaura Purnima abhiseka (https://youtu.be/6MU9ta__BMc):
Here is more from that kirtan (https://youtu.be/vGpRMIjJW8w):
Visvambhar Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on Gaura Purnima evening at ISKCON Alachua (https://youtu.be/6UFNqMvol0g):
Aravind and others chant Hare Krishna on Gaura Purnima evening at ISKCON Alachua (https://youtu.be/lkV9sJAtFG0):
Amala Harinam Prabhu chants names of Gauranga during final arati at ISKCON Alachua on Gaura Purnima (https://youtube.com/shorts/bHdZKvJ0DYU?feature=share):
Later he resumed chanting Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/r7qdoKw8izI):
Bhadra Prabhu led an nice mangala-arati kirtan the next day, but he finished chanting Hare Krishna before I was able to record it (https://youtube.com/shorts/3zxd-UDapIM):
This is my harinama report for February 2026 in Tallahassee:
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.31.47, purport:
“Actually, renunciation is not possible. If one renounces his palatial building and goes to a forest, there is actually no renunciation, for the palatial building is the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the forest is also the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If he changes from one property to another, that does not mean that he renounces; he was never the proprietor of either the palace or the forest. Renunciation necessitates renouncing the false understanding that one can lord it over material nature. When one renounces this false attitude and renounces the puffed-up position that he is also God, that is real renunciation. Otherwise, there is no meaning of renunciation.”
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:
From Brahma-samhita, verse 5.55:
“I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, the meditators of whom, by meditating upon Him under the sway of wrath, amorous passion, natural friendly love, fear, parental affection, delusion, reverence and willing service, attain to bodily forms befitting the nature of their contemplation.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From A Poor Man Reads the Bhagavatam, Volume 2:
“My friends, have you ever felt little twinges of desire—not for bad things, more like for seeing a brainchild grow and flourish? Well, when you have willing disciples who will get you whatever you want, support you in whatever you say, or do whatever you tell them, you have to be careful not to be whimsical, but always stay fixed in Krishna consciousness.”
“Srila Prabhupada summarizes the Bhagavatam as ‘selected histories of great devotees who are in direct contact with the Personality of Godhead.’”
“We should never see ourselves as greater than a personality like Dhruva, but understand that Dhruva is sharing the benefits of his own experience with us in his pastimes with Krishna. Similarly, we learn from Srila Vyasadeva that if we don’t glorify Krishna directly, we will be despondent and feel incomplete in our service.”
“If it is written by devotees for devotees, then there is no value to listening to it being recited by nondevotees.”
“Preaching brings realization and conviction as well as serving to enlighten others.”
“Am I claiming a new standard which enables me to engage in sense gratification in the name of service and still make advancement in devotional service?”
“The light of the Bhagavata reaches here too, and transforms music and books and art, and claims them for Krishna’s service.”
“Hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam is a spiritual science; one of the key elements in the speaker’s ability to speak is the audience’s ability to appreciate. Therefore, it is beneficial for both audience and speaker if the appreciation is expressed to the speaker.”
“One time, when trying to convey the meaning of the rasa dance, Prabhupada described it by referring to how the boys and girls had joined hands and danced in Golden Gate Park during kirtana. To explain why Lord Caitanya appeared in the mood of Srimati Sri Radharani, he gave the example that if the spiritual master wanted to know what his disciples felt for him, he would have to take their position.”
“Even what I touch in this room spills onto the page like the black soot from the stove.”
“A speaker shapes his audience and takes them in a new direction of consciousness by his words.”
“The Sanskrit word for eagerness is utkantha, which literally means to stretch the neck upward like a hungry baby bird. That’s what we should feel when we hear—that overwhelming need to be fed.”
“Sometimes devotees say it is easier for them to develop their enthusiasm to hear directly from Saunaka and Suta than for their own contemporaries, but that’s a little artificial. We can be enthusiastic to hear from those who are speaking the same message now, and respond to such devotees’ realizations. We should not neglect our contemporaries as being too tiny. Sit at their feet and hear, and the mercy will come through.”
“We should make special endeavor to hear from devotees whom we trust in spiritual life. By making such devotees feel at ease in our company, we can induce them to speak their Bhagavatam realizations. There is an art to being an audience. Devotees want to talk about Krishna, and to encourage them, we should make relevant and intelligent inquiries and offer pleasing service to put them at ease. That doesn’t mean loading them down with a ton of flower garlands, but somehow making them feel really at home, showing them that we want to hear their presentation of Bhagavatam, and allowing them to see that we trust them. That will awaken a speaker’s enthusiasm.”
“This movement is small
in world influence, but Lord Caitanya set it in
motion in Navadvipa and it will go on,
His devotees the moon’s reflecting
the sun of the original Lord.”
“Not just anyone receives the divine spark of inspiration. It was only Vyasadeva who was inspired to write the Bhagavatam. Although he was the literary incarnation of God, still, he underwent much internal wrestling before this ultimate inspiration came to him. He also had to face despondency and perform austerity. If we would like to become inspired in our pursuits, we should be prepared to face the same.”
“A devotee’s inspiration is to find the Absolute Truth, and even a neophyte will become addicted to this work if he has an understanding of the goal and the determination to achieve it. Without being fixed on the goal, however, it is impossible to maintain determination.”
“As the Padma Purana states: ‘O Ambarisa, if you wish to end your material existence, then every day you should hear the Bhagavatam that was narrated by Sukadeva, and you should also recite it yourself.’”
“I’ve adopted the language and the dress
and the way and the food.
Nothing else satisfies.
I’m with the devotees.”
“The spiritual master has opened our eyes, which were shut tight, by the torchlight of knowledge. We are now hearing from Sukadeva Gosvami instead of some TV broadcaster or radio disc jockey.”
“A person who faithfully recites one verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam every day, O sage, attains the fruit of reading the eighteen Puranas.” (Skanda Purana, quoted by Jiva Gosvami in Sri Tattva Sandarbha, Anuccedha 22.3)”
“That’s the amazing thing about Prabhupada. He maintained the same philosophy but varied the angle of his teaching in subtle ways. He is dear to Krishna, and that in itself constitutes his originality. He is enthused, and he enthused us.”
“He [Krishna] plays with the gopis and stuns their senses with His cupid-like attraction. He showers them with arrows from His bow. I offer myself in gopi-bhava, in some future life; so we sannyasis pray.”
From Vraja-mandala Lament:
“Look, if you achieve parikrama to Vraja in the mind, then you will be successful. If you walk in Vraja but leave your mind in America, then you have failed.”
“I continue to survive with new hopes that take me beyond the stars to the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada. I pray to be lifted up again by him, as he lifted me up at 26 Second Avenue.”
“Lord Shiva guards Mathura on four sides in the form of Shiva lingas. We must ask his permission to circumambulate the dhama without difficulty. My dear Lord Shiva, I am not a demon, although I was once. I probably still have traces of that tendency, but now I am under Srila Prabhupada’s shelter. Please allow me to perform this parikrama.”
“Although we say we can live for a hundred years, few people actually live that long. Death can come at any moment. Life should be a serious consideration. We have to do all we can to realize Krishna and our relationship with Him so we can go back to Godhead.”
“There are two Varaha murtis in Mathura. One is worshiped in a house, and “non-Hindus” are not allowed to enter. That’s okay because you can see Him through the window during darsana times. The other Varaha murti is much older. This murti was worshiped by Ravana and then recovered by Lord Rama over five thousand years ago.”
“If the Muslims could build a mosque with the broken pieces of a mandira, why can’t I build faith with the broken pieces of my skepticism? With broken bones, broken promises, broken dreams, I build a world of faith. “It’s not religious faith,” Srila Prabhupada said. “That kind of faith can change.” True religion means to serve God and obey His laws, and that is eternal.”
“Dear Adi Varaha, I am not a Hindu nor a non-Hindu. I am a Prabhupadanuga. I worship You. Lord Caitanya assumed Your form and climbed on the back of Murari Gupta.”
“For now, living with such a mind is my austerity, to lie down at night and to wake up with it in the morning, to attempt to write with it—it’s not the pure medium to the soul’s joy, but I am hammering it into place, gradually.”
“Due to separation from the Lord and His devotees, Govardhana is shrinking.”
“We manage to pray between fickle thoughts and bodily considerations. We endure a day of inconvenience to be with Govardhana. And while our minds resist the heat and the staring, we endure, knowing this is best, to come to Govardhana to worship.”
“Krishna-katha is far beyond the material world. It is the spiritual world at its most tangible, its most beautiful. It is the spiritual world in its most human form. Krishna finds His nara-lila the most attractive of all.”
“For one who has had his pride shattered, it is a brilliant occasion to personally ask pardon and to praise the Supreme Lord in earnest.”
“Some devotees told me they went to Vrindavan for the first time. They fell in love with it and want to make plans to live there permanently. They ask if I feel separation from the dhama. They want me to tell them all my secrets. But it’s better we just adjust ourselves to being back in the West. There is plenty to do here on Prabhupada’s order.”
“We have heard about Krishna’s flute, which enchants all living beings. We have heard His transcendental yet scientific instructions to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita. We have learned to want to get out of the material world. We have learned to take advantage of and shelter in the transcendental rescue team known as the guru-parampara. We read the relevant books, and maya appears to ease off in our case. But she has not stopped her attempts to keep us materially entrapped. Her illusions simply become more subtle tests to see whether we really have the desire it takes to become Krishna conscious.”
“Just because you made the puris puff up doesn’t mean that Krishna is hungry for them. He’s hungry for our bhakti.”
“A demigod has something of which to be proud—he is powerful—but we become proud over nothing. Our position is absurd.”
“We have heard that by circumambulating one great Vaishnava we can accomplish the entire purpose of Vraja-mandala parikrama. It is the heart that counts.”
“When we asked Srila Prabhupada about the rules of sannyasa on the day he awarded four of us dandas, he kept his instructions simple: Don’t regret that you have renounced money and women.”
“I like to feel at ease wherever I am, so in Vrindavan I was at ease living the way an Indian sannyasi lives, and in the West I live the way a Western sannyasi lives. A sannyasi shouldn’t become homesick but should always feel at home wherever he is, because Krishna is in his heart.”
“Dear Srila Prabhupada, you spoke of Krishna lifting Govardhana as early as October 1966. You told how people have to pay the light bill and can’t flatter the clerk at the utilities company. Similarly, you said, we have to worship Krishna, the lifter of Govardhana.”
“It’s nice to distribute charity, but we have to be careful. One devotee wanted to observe his birthday by going to Radha-kunda and giving everyone a rupee, but when people saw what he was doing, he was surrounded by a pushing, shouting mob and had to run away.”
“Srila Prabhupada used to remind us of the difference between our houses and the houses next door—our houses are used for worshiping Krishna and the house next door is used for sense gratification. How something is used is what decides whether it is holy or not.”
“The gopis don’t discuss death and rebirth unless it enhances their love for Krishna.”
“The Gaudiya Vaishnava acaryas all pray for the dust of Visvanatha Cakravarti Ṭhakura’s feet, and Srila Prabhupada turned to him in his Bhaktivedanta Purports. He instructed his followers to complete the Bhagavatam with emphasis on Visvanatha Cakravarti.”
“If you think the faults you find in others are factual, then pray to Krishna to remove their anarthas and make them better devotees.”
“‘In that assembly of Radha-Krishna and Their principal associates, there is a flood of laughing and joking as they address one another. Narottama dasa says that the eternal pastimes of Radha-Krishna are full of transcendental pleasure. Let us all remember them now and then and thus become happy even in this material world.’
—Vrndavana, by Narottama dasa Ṭhakura”
“A Godbrother advised me not to make prayers only for myself but for others too, for the world. So I prayed for those I love and also for those devotees with whom I struggle.”
“When I saw Vrnda-devi at Kamya-vana I prayed that one of my Godbrothers could find the balance he was seeking in his life between his management duties and his desire for study and bhajana. I prayed for what I thought he wanted.”
“By having faith in the transforming power of Krishna’s flute-song, we can become eligible to hear His flute ourselves and go back to Godhead, but by remaining skeptical of what we have never experienced, despite the evidence of so many ragatmika devotees, we will throw away the prized opportunity of the human form of life.”
“Krishna plays hide-and-seek only with the gopis and gopas of Vraja. With the rest of us, He mostly hides it seems. Or rather, it is we who hide from Him. We are not playing with Krishna, although we accuse Him of playing games with us. We envision Him (or some do) as a metaphysical monster who causes pain and keeps Himself hidden.”
“O Madana-mohana, O guru
teaching us,
please let us awaken to our attraction
for you. Krishna,
You are our Lord. O Govinda,
please give us Your service.
Let us work at abhidheya day and night.
O Gopinatha, Lord of the gopis, player of the flute,
O You who steals our precious hearts,
please detain us, stop us, give us a
glimpse of the goal.”
“I am proving
that if you grab onto the rope
lowered by the acaryas and
hold on tight,
even when you get dragged over material mud,
you will be pulled out
to the spiritual world,
Vrndavana-dhama.”
Kalakantha Prabhu:
If we consider this male-female attraction to be simply the pushing of the senses, we will not invest so much of our mental energy into it.
Marriage is a vehicle to deal with the male-female attachment in a positive way so it does not distract from our spiritual focus.
We are like prisoners doing our time, and if we have good behavior, parole is coming soon.
There is nothing wrong in aspiring to go back to the spiritual world. In the course of progressing toward that goal we may come to a point where we say, “Krishna, I will do whatever You want me to.”
It is difficult to have a long term male-female relationship, but if both parties have Krishna as the goal, it is possible.
We think of birth as a joyous occasion, and it is, but not for the child. No one is born laughing.
Sometimes Krishna makes arrangements for us to realize there is no comfortable or lasting place in this world. We should be thankful for these.
We have to be educated consumers in finding a liberated soul to associate with.
There are many gurus who can take your money, but there are not so many gurus who can take your karma.
Canakya Pandit says you should be satisfied with three things: your spouse, your amount of wealth, and the prasadam you obtain, and there are three things you should never be satisfied with, the amount of knowledge you have received, the charity you have given, and the service you have performed.
Nanda Devi Dasi:
Lord Caitanya has given us access to an intimate personal relationship with God which was previously unavailable, and He has given it to people who were the most unqualified and the most uninterested.
The process that Lord Caitanya gave of chanting Hare Krishna, hearing the glories of the Lord from pure devotees, and taking prasadam is much easier than processes given in previous ages.
Although Krishna prema is there in Srimad-Bhagavatam it is more accessible in Sri Caitanya-cartamrita in the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
The first time I saw the devotees was when I was coming up from the subway at Boston Commons, and I decided to go the other way. I know some other people who ultimately became devotees who had a similar reaction.
Gopinatha Acarya vowed before his deity that he would not take food or drink until Sarvobhauma Bhattacarya accepted the divinity of Lord Caitanya.
The devotees make arrangements for us to get that little bit of mercy from the Lord which is required to enable us to understand Him. We all can see that in our lives.
We should remember that the love of Krishna in Goloka Vrindavan is our goal, as Lord Caitanya advised. Then we will not be cheated out of attaining the highest goal of life.
Arcita Prabhu:
Even if we admit that everything Srila Prabhupada said is true, it is still hard to follow because we are so inclined to propose our own thing out of pride.
Soma Prabhu:
From a conversation at ISKCON Alachua on Gaura Purnima:
Q (by me): So many devotees come and go, but you are still practicing. What is your secret?
A: I was not very philosophical, but I could under that I am eternal and everything in this world is temporary. When I went to tell my father that I wanted to join the temple, he asked why.
I said that I am eternal but everything in this world is temporary, so I want do something for my eternal soul.
My father said, “Well, I cannot argue with that.”
I was on the hockey team so I had to return my hockey gear to the hockey coach.
He also inquired about the reason for my decision.
I told him, “I am eternal but everything in this world is temporary, so I want do something for my eternal soul.”
My coach said, “Well, I cannot argue with that.”
And thus I joined the temple.
Pran Govinda Prabhu:
Goloka is not a location but a different level of reality.
Svarga (heaven) means a prepaid vacation.
There are many devotees in ISKCON who are jivan-mukta. I won’t say names. If I do, then people will say, “He said your guru’s name, but he did not say my guru’s name.”
Never blame Maya. She is not independent.
You get according to your karma. Like a movie you chose to see. You can close your eyes, but you cannot change the movie.
We are protected by the cit-sakti because of our chanting 16 rounds and following the four rules, but the kama (lust) and krodha (anger) can divert us.
Offering obeisances to the Vaishnavas protects us from our tendency to criticize them.
Nayanabhirama Prabhu:
One purpose of Bhagavad-gita is to free us from lamentation.
The first ten verses of Chapter Two stress the need for a guru.
The battlefield is transformed into a classroom, the chariot driver is transformed into a teacher and the warrior is now a student.
When we are confused, we have to approach someone who can advise us.
Verses 11 through 30 deal with the identity crisis of Arjuna.
We all have an identity crisis. At school we act in one way. At home we act in another way. If we have an identify crisis we cannot be happy. That was Arjuna’s situation.
It is a leadership strategy to tackle the more serious problem first. That is what Krishna does with Arjuna.
If you know who you are, you can know what you have to do, and thus you can solve your other problems.
There is a temple in India called “Visa Balaji” in Hyderabad. People pray to him for a visa. If they get it, they do a certain circumambulation.
Some people worship Hanuman, praying to him for a wife, but he is a brahmacari. What is this?
In Verses 31 to 53 Krishna speaks about duties.
Verses 31 to 32: Sva-dharma
Verses 33 to 53: Sanatana-dharma
There are a lot of leadership qualities mentioned in the Gita.
Academics just focuses on immediate responsibility, but that cannot bring ultimate satisfaction.
There is a big difference between satisfaction and pleasure.
In giving immense importance to sva-dharma we neglect sanatana-dharma.
Even if you go to heaven, you can only live there 36,000 years.
The purpose is before the action and the result is after the action.
A true leader focuses on the long term results.
Spirituality will give you motivation to do what you are doing, disregarding failures on the way.
Verses 54 to 72 deal with the atmarama, who is satisfied within.
Sudra means one who needs are never fulfilled, while sadhu means one who is always self-satisfied.
Two strategies:
1. Keep a safe zone between you and your temptations.
2. Internally develop a higher taste.
Before we get a higher taste, we can get a higher purpose, then higher service, and higher taste.
If you do not give your mind something to chew on, the mind will start chewing you.
Female poet in Tallahassee:
[Regarding Trump:] We are all suffering because his mother did not hug him enough.
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Devotees distribute Krishna consciousness in all kinds of situations. Why? That is the mood of the Pañca-tattva.
patrapatra-vicara nahi, nahi sthanasthana
“In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity, the members of the Pañca-tattva distributed love of Godhead.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 7.23)
