Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 22, No. 28
(Week 28: July 9–15, 2026)
Paris and Lyon
(Sent from Sarcelles, France, on July 18, 2026)
Where I Went and What I Did
During the twenty-eighth week of 2026, I lived for four days at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles, and I did harinama for three hours each day, mostly in the city of Paris but partly in Sarcelles market on Tuesday. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I visited Lyon with Dayal Nitai Prabhu.
There we did harinama and book distribution on Friday and Saturday and advertised the monthly program they have in a park there on Sunday. I was inspired seeing at least five new people participating as a result of encountering that Sunday program in the park.
I share quotes from letters of Srila Prabhupada. I share quotes from Volume 5 of Prabhupada Nectar by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share a quote from Gopiparanadhana Prabhu’s translation of Sanatana Gosvami’s Brhad-bhagavatamrita. I share notes on a class by Rasa Parayana Prabhu.
Thanks to Dattatreya Prabhu for his very generous monthly donation. Thanks to Eric of Lyon for his accommodation, prasadam, and numerous nice videos and photos from our harinamas and programs.
Itinerary
June 16–August 13: Paris harinama
‒ August 13–16: Trutnov (Czech Woodstock) harinamas and kirtanas
‒ August 17: Prague harinama
August 22–27: Balarama Festival at New Mayapur
August 29–September 21: India
September 23: Return to New York
September 26: Philadelphia Ratha-yatra
Chanting Hare Krishna in Paris
Gus chants Hare Krishna at Bastille (https://youtube.com/shorts/h5I_kLNyKXM):
Later more people were attracted (https://youtube.com/shorts/Xv7eJjqu91s?feature=share):
Bhakta V chants Hare Krishna at Bastille (https://youtube.com/shorts/6GqdkCcHbb4):
Chand chants Hare Krishna at Bastille in Paris (https://youtube.com/shorts/d2_B5NRe5cs?feature=share):
Yasomatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Stalingrad (https://youtube.com/shorts/9NwRBHhP-G4?feature=share):
Gus chants Hare Krishna at Stalingrad (https://youtube.com/shorts/zf0FjT7nmyw?feature=share):
Yasomatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe (https://youtube.com/shorts/MvhLgOv-464?feature=share):
Patit Pavana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe (https://youtube.com/shorts/pM2p_hA1jqk):
Patit Pavana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe, and passersby dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/418SwGqyTYQ?feature=share):
It was so hot in Lyon, we delayed going on harinama until it became slightly cooler around 6 p.m. Here Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna along a street in Lyon (https://youtu.be/LI250yiBowM):
We passed a cafe where a waitress really enjoyed listening to us (https://youtu.be/4PGq8cQsXSQ):
Each day I just gave out just one French “On Chanting Hare Krishna” because mostly I was playing the drum. That day the waitress got it.
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Lyon, and a guy plays shakers and dances, while his family films him (https://youtu.be/EebXOhktufg):
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna in Lyon, and a passerby plays the drum (https://youtube.com/shorts/89n-y1SvF_E?feature=share):
Later we came to a square called Place du Change in Old Lyon, where we chanted for a while (https://youtu.be/jknyl2tk5xE):
Then we continued on our way (https://youtu.be/dRsBJzWROvs):
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna on a bridge in Lyon (https://youtu.be/_SLiaQ05QaM):
On Saturday a Buddhist who is interested in meditation came in the morning, and I spoke on some of my favorite meditational verses from Bhagavad-gita: 6.5–7 and 6.20–23.
On Saturday, our party led by Madhurpati Prabhu chanted Hare Krishna at Bellecour in Lyon (https://youtu.be/AW2N9agQxbU):
Once I chanted there when it was 104° F (40° C). It was hot this time, but fortunately not that hot.
One young woman was very attracted by the chanting, so I gave her the French “On Chanting Hare Krishna.”
Later, as she stayed listening, I gave her some shakers which she was happy to play.
While Madhurpati Prabhu was chanting there, a bridal party took pleasure in dancing (https://youtu.be/gS4JydInplg):
There also this “Jesus loves you” guy gave a donation and accepted Perfection of Yoga. He enjoyed listening to the Hare Krishna chant for an hour, and he played the shakers (https://youtu.be/dRAc_FLt5fQ):
Three times Christians tried to convince him he was mistaken to remain with us, but he was not deterred, and they continued on their way. At the end, he said he felt the Christian world did not completely understand God, and through people he meets, he is able to learn more about Him.
At one point Madhurpati Prabhu chanted my favorite Hare Krishna tune, and the devotees danced (https://youtu.be/SvoALmCmDEI):
Here I chant Hare Krishna at Bellecour in Lyon (https://youtu.be/sip21eYEdrk):
On Sunday several congregational devotee women came to assist in preparing prasadam for the program.
As I like to do three hours of public chanting each day, I chanted outside the park for about an hour before the program.
A nice feature of park programs is that passersby sometimes take part. Eric, the videographer and leader of our Lyon group, invited a musician playing nearby to join us. He learned the chords to the Prabhupada tune and the mantra, and he played guitar and sang the response (https://youtu.be/EH2XQJOlMvo):
Eric added him to WhatsApp group so he can come to future programs.
Madhurpati Prabhu chants the Hare Krishna kirtan before the lecture in a Lyon Sunday park program (https://youtu.be/1HlSTTlVL9o):
After my little talk I chanted the second kirtan at that Sunday park program in Lyon (https://youtu.be/RPFbI9UDb3Y):
This woman came during the first kirtan and stayed through the entire program. She was Christian but found what we were doing to be compatible with her religious ideas. She took the French Bhagavad-gita and “On Chanting Hare Krishna,” and she was added to our group to be informed of future programs. By the end of the evening, she was dancing in the kirtan.
Here Madhurpati Prabhu chants “Govinda Jaya Jaya” there in the park, and attendees dance (https://youtu.be/W-AgTOBi3z4):
He continued with Hare Krishna (https://youtu.be/GgfwiR3M99E):
Madhurpati Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at a Sunday park program in Lyon, and attendees dance (https://youtu.be/fLVhSwAUZko):
Madhurpati Prabhu chants the final Hare Krishna kirtan at our monthly program in a Lyon park in France, and people dance (https://youtu.be/oOQWZarMdow):
Srila Prabhupada:
From a letter to Sivananda on August 24, 1968:
“I may remind you that I am always with you. And so wherever I am there, and you are there, all your God-brothers are there. Please remember always the humble teachings that you have received from me, and that will make you always associated with me, and with your other God-brothers.”
From a letter to Bali Mardan on December 31, 1972:
“I am convinced that if you simply glorify Krsna and our books in the best descriptive manner, that anyone and everyone, no matter even atheist or otherwise, they can be convinced to purchase. Of course that is a great art and not everyone can do it, but gradually by practice of preaching in this way, striving to so much present a wonderful picture of our books to the people, gradually you will master the trick how to do it.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 5, Number 8:
“On Preaching
You cannot expect favorable situation. It is not possible. When I came to America, I never expected any favorable situation. I wrote that poetry in disappointment, that, “Who will accept this?” That is the position. By Krsna’s grace, gradually it will become a favorable situation, but don’t expect any favorable situation. You have to handle the unfavorable situation and make a favorable situation for preaching. That is preaching.”
—Room conversation, August 10, 1976”
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 5, Number 11:
“Prabhupada asked Dayananda what he thought. ‘Well, Prabhupada,’ Dayananda said, ‘I don’t know what your desire is.’ Like an arrow, Prabhupada answered back, ‘My desire is to spread this sankirtana movement all over the world.’”
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 5, Number 24:
“Navina Krishna dasa was a grhastha with many family responsibilities. He once asked Prabhupada how it would be possible for him to think of Krishna twenty-four hours a day, since he had so many family duties.
“Prabhupada looked at Navina Krishna dasa and asked if he had twenty-four hours in a day. Navina Krishna said yes. Prabhupada then said that out of those twenty-four hours, he worked eight or ten hours, spent six or seven hours sleeping, and used two hours for eating. This left five or six hours free. Navina Krishna dasa agreed that this was a true picture of his schedule. Prabhupada then asked him if he was using all of that extra time to serve Krishna. Navina Krishna dasa couldn’t reply. Prabhupada then said that if he used all his time in Krishna’s service, then Krishna would show him how to serve Him more. On hearing this, Navina Krishna dasa became very enlivened.”
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 5, Number 26:
“All Services Accepted
“Please continue your very good service, and do not feel any feeling of uselessness. It is true that Krishna has given some the opportunity to serve Him by nice writing, some by good business ability, some by nice cooking, and so on, but these various services are all accepted equally by Krishna. On the transcendental plane, one service is as good as another. There is no question of higher or lower. We are very tiny, and so we cannot really do very much. Simply we can engage our time and energy, and that is all Krishna sees. He sees this boy or girl is spending his time in My service and He is pleased. I hope you are both well.”
—Letter to Hamsaduta dasa and Himavati-devi dasi, March 3, 1968”
“In general we cannot say that any of the nine processes is more important than the others, except that if hearing, chanting, and remembering are there, that is the most vital consideration for the general class of men in this age. . . . All activities, words, everything should be offered as service to the Deities, and this offering with remembering will gradually increase as you practice it.”
—Letter of June 16, 1976
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 5, Number 32:
“On arriving once in Mayapura, Prabhupada entered his quarters, leaned back in his seat, and relaxed with his legs on his desk. He then drank from his water glass. “Ah, Mayapura water,” he said. He then related how Mayapura is the spiritual kingdom and that living and dying in Mayapura is the same. He said that if you live in Mayapura, then you are living in the spiritual world, and that if you die in Mayapura, then you go back to the spiritual world.”
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 5, Number 35:
“‘If, in the cooking process, food falls on the floor, if it is raw and can be washed nicely, then it can be offered. But if it is prepared and cannot be washed, then it is not to be offered, but can be eaten rather than wasted.’
—Letter of February 15, 1968”
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 5, Number 36:
“In Dallas, Garuḍa hoped to hear Prabhupada give the Bhagavatam class. Before class Prabhupada chanted Hare Krishna. On this occasion, Srila Prabhupada kept chanting and chanting Hare Krishna from the vyasasana. Instead of giving the class, Prabhupada kept chanting and chanting on and on. Garuḍa then realized that the sole purpose of Prabhupada’s mission was to spread the chanting of Hare Krishna. He realized that the chanting permeated Prabhupada’s whole life, and that the only reason Prabhupada traveled was for the chanting of Hare Krishna.”
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 5, Number 41:
“But temples which have only Pancatattva painting worship should not be given this deity [the Prabhupada murti].”
From Prabhupada Nectar, Volume 5, Number 48:
“From a Handwritten Diary:
“How to Open a Center
1. At least three devotees will form a party to open a center.
2. They will go on the streets to perform kirtana twice in a day—morning and evening.
3. Will hold classes thrice a week where classes will be taken, B.G. etc., preceded and followed by kirtana.
4. On every Sunday there must be a love feast festival.
5. As the members increase, the sankirtana party for street increases and the strength for selling BTG and other books.”
Gopiparanadhana Prabhu:
From Brhad-bhagavatamrita 2.2.28:
[Gopa-kumara said:] “For fear of being ungrateful, I never gave up my japa, nor for a moment was I able to forget this Vraja-bhumi.”
Rasa Parayana Prabhu:
From a class on the disappearance day of Gadadhara Pandit and Bhaktivinoda Thakura:
As the wealth a man gains becomes lost by future generations who do not value it and the work required to attain it, if we do not study the lives of the acaryas we can lose the great contribution they have made to our lives.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura started organized preaching.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura begged one rupee from each family to build a temple at the birth site of Lord Caitanya so they would each get credit for serving Him. He would not accept more than one rupee as he wanted many people to get this credit.
He had 400 nama-hattas.
If we consume so much Krishna consciousness, we will naturally start speaking Krishna consciousness.
His preaching spirit was continued by his son, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and by Srila Prabhupada.
He was successful because he wrote so many books.
He taught by his example how someone in family life can practice and preach Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
He showed how to engage all one’s time in Krishna’s service.
He united diverse Vaishnava groups.
At the university I would tell people we have a very nice meditation technique. Other meditation techniques do not work. Try it, and see for yourself. That presentation would always work.
Comment (by me): Bhaktivinoda Thakura enthusiastically promoted the chanting of the holy name saying things like, “This temporary life is full of various miseries. Take shelter of the holy name as your only business. . . . Drink the pure nectar of the holy name of Krsna. There is nothing but the name to be had in the fourteen worlds.” (“Arunodaya Kirtana Song 1”, stanzas 6 and 8)
Comment (by Ekanath Prabhu): Bhaktivinoda Thakura envisioned a wonderful temple near the birthplace of Lord Caitanya and devotees from all over the world coming there and chanting the holy names.
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Mandakini Devi Dasi reminded us in Bhagavatam class today that Srila Prabhupada told his book distributor disciple, Mula Prakrita Devi Dasi, that the Srimad-Bhagavatam sells itself. He then quoted this verse:
krishne sva-dhamopagate
kalau nasṭa-drsam esa
puranarko ’dhunoditah
“This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the Age of Kali shall get light from this Purana.”
