Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 22, No. 32
(Week 32: August 6–12, 2026)
Paris
(Sent from Trutnov, Czech Republic, on August 15, 2026)
Where I Went and What I Did
During the thirty-second week of 2026, I lived at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles, and I did harinama for three hours each day, mostly in the city of Paris but at the local Garges Sarcelles RER station for an hour on Friday and Sunday.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, as well as lectures of his, and the continuation of the Bhagavatam by his disciples. I share a quote each from Caitanya-candramrta by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati and from Caitanya-mata-mañjusa by Srila Srinatha Cakravarti. I share quotes from Back to Godhead magazine articles by Srila Prabhupada, Satyaraja Prabhu, Caitanya Carana Prabhu, Prema Sundara Prabhu, Vibhu Caitanya Prabhu, Gauranga Darsana Prabhu, Vrnda Gopika Devi Dasi, and Tanay Shah. I share a quote from My Dear Lord Krishna by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and notes on classes by Niranjana Swami, Dayananda Swami, Aksayananda Prabhu, and Revatinandana Prabhu.
Thanks to Igor Marinichenk for the photo of me at Bastille. Thanks to Uzzol Das for the Sunday ISKCON Paris kirtan videos and photos.
Itinerary
June 16–August 28: Paris harinamas
‒ August 13–16: Trutnov (Czech Woodstock) harinamas and kirtanas
‒ August 17: Prague harinama
‒ August 25–27: Balarama Festival at New Mayapur
August 29: Fly to India
August 30–September 21: Mayapur harinamas
September 23: Return to New York
September 25: harinama to promote Philadelphia Ratha-yatra
September 26: Philadelphia Ratha-yatra
Chanting Hare Krishna in Paris
Yasomatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Garges Sarcelles train station near Paris (https://youtube.com/shorts/l8LiRmtM5oM):
Marat chants Hare Krishna at La Defense in Paris (https://youtube.com/shorts/Q_MJrSzIGNw?feature=share):
Aksayananda Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the place of Chanda Mataji near Bastille (https://youtube.com/shorts/fACFmLiGe9s):
Yasomatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna from the place of Chanda Mataji to Bastille (https://youtube.com/shorts/mkIld4rWkPo?feature=share):
Yasomatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Bastille (https://youtube.com/shorts/82t2L88sZ8o?feature=share):
Rohininandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Bastille (https://youtube.com/shorts/lHI_bBHkpzc?feature=share):
Rasa Parayana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Bastille (https://youtube.com/shorts/n1DDxMuTGH0?feature=share):
Yadurani Devi Dasi chants Hare Krishna at Bastille (https://youtube.com/shorts/0jPZcWTVApg?feature=share):
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Bastille (https://youtube.com/shorts/dNTa-Oi5ZZA?feature=share):
Yasomatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Garges Sarcelles train station near Paris on Sunday (https://youtube.com/shorts/dITn1bqCpKE?feature=share):
I took some photos so you can see how wild a scene that train station is. There are all these Muslim ladies selling roasted corn on the cob and drinks and Bangladeshis selling cigarettes.
We had a book table there. One guy gave us over five euros in coins, but he did not want the Gita or even a small book. Just the French “On Chanting Hare Krishna” was good enough for him.
Usually I go to the Gaura Arati kirtan on Sunday at our Paris temple, but I do not stay for the bhajanas afterwards, usually because I have some proofreading or other service to do. However, Bhaki Vardhan Prabhu sang one of my favorite tunes in such a lively way, I came downstairs to dance to it. There was no room in our small temple room, so I danced in the hallway outside it (https://youtube.com/shorts/Z4p1AWIOeJk?feature=share):
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Hotel de Ville (https://youtube.com/shorts/CgYf90C8aic?feature=share):
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Hotel de Ville, and women dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/eqkL954adzI?feature=share):
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Hotel de Ville, and a passerby plays the shakers (https://youtube.com/shorts/629-RL4Q4q4?feature=share):
Yasomatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe, and devotees dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/YJLEa94hr_0?feature=share):
Later passersby also began to dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/E4MFb7hHc00?feature=share):
Once a passersby danced with Revatinandana Prabhu (https://youtube.com/shorts/qMMj6QKFvtE?feature=share):
Here Dayananda Swami, who came from the UK to visit France for a week, chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe (https://youtube.com/shorts/njA7ZCXydlA?feature=share):
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe, and devotees dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/f2j0B-iekPY?feature=share):
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe, and passersby dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/Pwei6P7KMtI?feature=share):
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe, and a woman chants mantra and dances (https://youtube.com/shorts/8cml1AJux-M?feature=share):
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe, and young women dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/Shr_lXFTg1I?feature=share)
Revatinandana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe, and a little girl and a big woman dance (https://youtube.com/shorts/mL_WOYbCZms?feature=share):
Gus plays guitar and chants Hare Krishna at Arc de Triomphe (https://youtube.com/shorts/hiIkP-a0Fws?feature=share):
Later many danced in a circle (https://youtube.com/shorts/leLihFd6XJw):
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.21.31, purport:
“The householder, by the spell of maya, becomes absorbed in family affairs and forgets his relationship with Krishna. If he dies in forgetfulness, like the cats and dogs, then his life is spoiled. It is the duty of a sannyasi, therefore, to go and awaken the forgetful souls with enlightenment of their eternal relationship with the Lord and to engage them in devotional service. The devotee should show mercy to the fallen souls and also give them the assurance of fearlessness. As soon as one becomes a devotee of the Lord, he is convinced that he is protected by the Lord. Fear itself is afraid of the Lord; therefore, what has he to do with fearfulness?”
“A person who is a householder but is initiated by a sannyasi has the duty to spread Krishna consciousness at home; as far as possible, he should call his friends and neighbors to his house and hold classes in Krishna consciousness. Holding a class means chanting the holy name of Krishna and speaking from Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam. There are immense literatures for spreading Krishna consciousness, and it is the duty of each and every householder to learn about Krishna from his sannyasi spiritual master. There is a division of labor in the Lord's service. The householder's duty is to earn money because a sannyasi is not supposed to earn money but is completely dependent on the householder. The householder should earn money by business or by profession and spend at least fifty percent of his income to spread Krishna consciousness; twenty-five percent he can spend for his family, and twenty-five percent he should save to meet emergencies. This example was shown by Rupa Gosvami, so devotees should follow it.”
“Becoming one with the Supreme Lord does not imply becoming as great as the Supreme Lord. It is impossible. The part is never equal to the whole. The living entity is always a minute part. Therefore his oneness with the Lord is that he is interested in the one interest of the Lord. The Lord wants every living entity to always think about Him, to be His devotee and always worship Him.”
“In the transcendental world there is unlimited competition between the Lord and the servitor. The Lord wants to fulfill His desires unlimitedly, and the devotee also serves Him to fulfill His unlimited desires. There is an unlimited oneness of interest between the Lord and His devotee.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.21.32, purport:
“Because there is not potential difference, one gets the same result by worshiping the statue of the Lord or the Lord Himself. This is the science of Krishna consciousness.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.21.50, purport:
“In this age it is very difficult to find such a head of state who is expert in killing the undesirables. Modern heads of state sit very nicely in their palaces and try without reason to kill innocent persons.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.25.11, purport:
“Even in the position of Brahma or in the position of Indra or Candra, one is full of anxiety simply because he has accepted this material world as a place of happiness.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.25.13, purport:
“The blind man of the Western countries and the lame man of India should combine together in this Krishna consciousness movement. Then the lame man of India can walk with the help of the Westerner, and the blind Westerner can see with the help of the lame man. In short, the material advancement of the Western countries and the spiritual assets of India should combine for the elevation of all human society.”
From Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 5.35:
“As through devotion to the Lord one can attain His abode, many have attained that goal by abandoning their sinful activities and absorbing their minds in the Lord through lust, envy, fear or affection.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.1.30]
From “We Souls and Our Bodies as Krishna’s Energies” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 66, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2026):
[An edited transcript of a talk on Bhagavad-gita 7.6 in Hyderabad on December 11, 1976.]
“Krishna consciousness means when we understand, ‘We are part and parcel of Krishna; therefore our duty is to serve Krishna.’ This is self-realization; this is liberation. When you are fully convinced about this fact – ‘We are all part and parcel of Krishna; our only duty is to serve Krishna’ – then you are liberated.”
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.1.10 in Dallas on May 21, 1973:
“What is the test of his becoming learned scholar? Three things. Matrvat para-daresu. Except one's married wife, if one sees all other women like mother, he is a learned scholar.”
“If every woman has to be married, then polygamy must be there. Otherwise how every woman is going to get a husband? Because male population is always shorter than the female population.”
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.12.19 in Dallas on March 3, 1975:
As it is not as easy to reach the sun globe as the sunshine, it is not so easy to realize the Lord as the Supersoul or Bhagavan as to realize Brahman.
“They are so fool that they are conditioned in every step, and still they are thinking they are free. This is called illusion.”
“If one can practice, go within the water up to the neck in chilly, pinching cold, is it more difficult to give up illicit sex and meat-eating and intoxication? We are not advising, ‘No sex.’ Illicit sex. So where is the difficulty? But the age is so fallen that even these primary tapasya we cannot execute. That is the difficulty.”
“If you want to realize the Supreme, the Absolute, then you must agree to certain type of tapasya. Otherwise it is not possible.”
“We say, ‘Ekadasi, you don’t take food grains. Take little fruit, milk.’ This is tapasya. So we cannot execute this tapasya? So if we are not prepared to undertake even this very, very easily executable tapasya, then how we can expect go back to home, back to Godhead? No, that is not possible.”
“Now, executing this tapasya, penances, are you loser? You are not loser. Now, anyone who will come from outside, they will see in our Society, our members, boys and girls, they say ‘bright-faced.’ Do they not? They see distinction. One priest in plain cloth... I was going from Los Angeles to Hawaii. One priest, he came to me in the plane. So he asked my permission, ‘Can I talk with you?’ And ‘Yes, why not?’ So his first question was that ‘I see your disciples very bright-faced. How it has been done?’”
“Provided you want to render service, Krishna is ready to accept it.”
“Therefore our duty is that we should never think of this Deity as something made of stone or metal. We should always think, ‘Here is Krishna personally present.’ That is devotion. And we should worship Him like that. We should offer respect, that ‘Here is Krishna. We cannot do anything wrong.’”
“He can live in many millions of temples simultaneously and live at the same time Goloka Vrindavan. That is Krishna. That is Krishna‘'’s omnipotency.”
“Offenseless service will make you more and more advanced in spiritual life.”
“Although we cannot see Him by our present imperfect senses—adhoksaja, beyond our perception—still, we can see Him. How? Through the authorities. Through the authorities. The same example as I have given, that I do not know who is my father, but through the authority of mother, I can see him: ‘Here is my father.’”
“In your country Bhagavad-gita was being read for the last two hundred, three hundred years. So many scholars, so many Indian scholar or American, they have written Bhagavad-gita. But not a single person understood Krishna. Not a single person. But now, when they are reading Bhagavad-gita As It Is, they are understanding by the mercy of God. The mercy is shown if you follow the process, authoritative process.”
“So our Krishna consciousness movement is the authorized process by which you can understand Krishna, the Supreme Lord. By other methods it is not possible.”
“Krishna is not so very easily understood, but by the grace of Krishna we can understand Him if we follow.”
“So if we accept the statement of Krishna, then we understand Krishna immediately. Otherwise, by speculation, it is not possible. That is the fact.”
“So many big, big scholars, they have written comment on Bhagavad-gita, but they, still they have proved that they're rascal number one. Because they did not follow the process of understanding Krishna, therefore they could not understand.”
“So whatever little tapasya we have prescribed, you follow. You will understand Krishna. And if you understand Krishna, then your life is successful.”
Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati:
From Caitanya-candramrta, verse 130:
“Who would have heard of that astonishing supreme goal known as prema? Who would know the glory of the holy name? Who would have entered theunfathomable sweetness of Vrindavan’s groves? Who would have known Radha, the very climax of rasa’s wonder? Only Caitanya-candra, out of supreme compassion, revealed all of this.”
Srila Srinatha Cakravarti:
From Caitanya-mata-mañjusa:
“The supreme object of worship is Sri Krishna, the son of the king of Vraja. His abode, Vrindavan, is the highest spiritual realm. The most beautiful form of worship is that practiced by the gopis of Vraja. The spotless authority is Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the supreme goal of life is prema, love of God. This is the opinion of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and we hold it above all else.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From My Dear Lord Krishna:
“I am feeling far away from You, yet close to You. I feel far away in terms of what I know a pure devotee feels for You. In krishna-prema, the devotee is fixed on You, is absorbed in You, and is always trying to please You. I am not that fervent. I am not in ecstatic joy or separation, crying tears, working hard for You. I’m not like St. Francis of Assisi with his stigmata or Svarupa Damodara, living with You and feeding You ecstasies with songs to promote Your mood of viraha in the mood of Radharani. I’m not like Srila Prabhupada, always wrapped in ISKCON thought. Yet I am with You in a constant way. I’m almost always writing this journal about You or chanting Your holy names. I chant more mechanically than from the heart, but I chant because I know it is important.
“I like the fact that I feel close to You, and I don’t like the fact that I feel distant from You. I’d like to increase the one and decrease the other. Everyone should feel close to You and want to increase their love for You. They shouldn’t be satisfied that they are absorbed being a writer or a baseball player. Everyone should desire to be intensely God conscious. No one should be satisfied to be ‘laid back’ at not being a devotee.
“So I pray to You to feel closer. I suspect that loving You would involve more anxiety on my part. Love of God isn’t just a contented feeling. It’s a feeling of wanting to increase, of not doing enough, of feeling separation from You. Maybe I want to be more content in my favorable feelings toward You. Srimati Radharani prays, ‘You can crush Me in Your embrace or make Me brokenhearted by not being present before Me, but You are always My worshipable Lord, unconditionally.’ How intense is Her devotion to You. She is not like a religionist who goes to church or temple once a week and makes some ritualistic prayers. She’s mad about You. That is real love of God. And Lord Caitanya, appearing as Your devotee, has that identical form of love.
“It would take Your mercy to make me a more fervent devotee. It would be good for me. I ask You to grant it to me. I would like to do my part in increasing my intensity of devotion to You. I know I can do it if I try and if I desire it. But ultimately, it is up to Your mercy. I pray for it.”
From the humble servants of Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.6.44:
“O my dear Krishna, Your pastimes are supremely auspicious for mankind and are an intoxicating beverage for the ears. Tasting such pastimes, people forget their desires for other things.”
Niranjana Swami:
From a class on Brhad-Bhagavatamritam on August 6, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary:
Although Lord Shiva in many ways is nondifferent from Lord Krishna, he prefers to be considered a servant of the Lord, and even the servant of the servant of the Lord. That was also the mood of Lord Caitanya.
Once Advaita Acharya sang a kirtana glorifying Lord Caitanya as the Supreme Lord. Devotees were worried because Lord Caitanya preferred to consider Himself to be a devotee of the Lord, but they became enthusiastic seeing the enthusiasm of Advaita Acharya.
Satyaraja Prabhu:
“As the Adi Varaha Purana tells us: ‘O fortunate one, those who read or hear of the glories of Mathura go to the supreme destination after death. By hearing the glories of Mathura, one can liberate two hundred relatives on both sides of one’s family.’”
Dayananda Swami:
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.8 at ISKCON Paris on August 11, 2026:
By engaging in devotional service, we even forget envy, which is the reason we are here in this world.
Balarama leaves no stone unturned in serving Krishna.
If we want to hear about Krishna, we are nearing perfection or have already attained perfection.
The result of hearing is that we actually become humble and we deal with people in a nice way.
Real humility means knowing how to act in every situation.
If we do not know what to say, it is better not to say anything.
In the scripture it says that unless we are speaking to benefit the situation, it is better not to speak.
Comment by Revatinandana Prabhu: Another difference between Krishna and Balarama is that for Krishna the primary rasa is madhurya whereas for Baladeva it is sakhya.
Comment by me: Lord Balarama often plays the role of a peacemaker, like in the quarrel between Krishna and Rukmi, between the Kurus and the Yadus when Samba kidnapped Laksmana, and between Bhima and Duryodhana at the end of the Kurukshetra War.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.9 at ISKCON Paris on August 11, 2026:
We are trying to give people a chance to engage in devotional service, something they may not have done for many, many lives.
Maya is there to take one good quality and change it into a falldown.
Even if Bharata Maharaja had the association of a new bhakta he could have been saved from his attachment to the deer that caused him to abandon his spiritual practice.
Suffering helps us take shelter of Krishna. That is what the material world is for.
Aksayananda Prabhu:
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.5–7 at ISKCON Paris on August 6, 2026:
If we drop you in the ocean, your own effort will not be enough to cross over it.
We cannot advance without austerity and renunciation, but bhakti is not dependent on austerity and renunciation.
Devotees like the Pandavas without the presence of Krishna cannot do anything.
Whatever we are doing is dependent on the intervention on Krishna.
The Jagannatha deities are changing at every moment because of the great ecstasy they are experiencing.
Pariksit was looking for the form of Krishna who had saved him. Seeing Narayana in the temple wasn’t sufficient for him.
When Krishna kills a demon, He frees him from all sinful reactions. But He does not kill all demons, just those who are most attached to Him.
We should not think that an act of devotion to Krishna will have no result because Krishna is always presence.
From a home program at Candra Mataji’s place in Paris on August 8, 2026:
Those who do not invite the devotees to their homes are said to have homes that are places of pilgrimage for crows.
Why do we compare alcohol to spirit? The spirit is invisible.
Spiritual life is manifesting the presence of the soul and the God.
If a conversation does not have the topic of the soul, the Lord, or the Absolute as part of it, then it is not spiritual.
We cannot have someone chant our rounds or take prasadam for ourselves.
Krishna does not impose Himself.
After 99 blasphemes against Krishna, Krishna told Sisupala to stop. This was because Sisupala had a received a benediction that Krishna will tolerate 100 blasphemes. Sisupada said that he did not care and continued his critical words, and thus Krishna killed him with His disk weapon.
When the disk weapon returned to his hand, it cut Him. Draupadi spontaneously ripped off part of her sari to use as a bandage. Later when Dusasana tried to put off her sari, Krishna manifested unlimited cloth to protect her.
We may think that Krishna did not notice something we did, but actually Krishna is very observant and will ultimate reciprocate.
There is a difference between pleasing Krishna and having the desire to pleasure Krishna. The second is bhakti.
The more we advance in Krishna consciousness, we more see devotees as devotees and the less we see ourselves as devotees. We do not become jealous, but we learn who we can learn from.
As a new devotee, I always wondered, “Krishna, when will you give me the knowledge?” When I was to give class I felt proud that Krishna had given me the knowledge. But when I sat at the vyasasana I felt Krishna took away whatever I knew because he did not want me to be proud.
Spiritual knowledge has the ability to soften the heart and give us the desire to share it.
Only the bhaktas can transmit bhakti.
Once the Bengali devotees accidently put baking soda in the sabji instead of salt. They asked me what to do. My knowledge of chemistry came to mind. I asked how much baking soda they put in it, and I put the proper amount of citric acid to counteract it. Then we added the right amount of salt. We offered it to Krishna, and by His mercy it was alright.
The strongest manifestation of tamas (ignorance) madness. After dusk tamas is total. One should not make decisions at this time.
Sometimes time can solve problems better than we can ourselves. We should have a positive relationship with time.
Comments by me:
It is described that Sukadeva Goswami, can enter the hearts of all. (SB 1.2.2)
In the Cc. Kaviraja Goswami says in different places that he remembers the Vaishnavas for his purification. Two examples are Adi 11.7 and Adi 11.57.
Srila Prabhupada said you have to use your common sense, and if you do not have any common sense, you should find someone who does.
Caitanya Carana Prabhu:
From “Q&A” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 66, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2026):
“By observing the design in the world and inferring that a design requires a designer, we can to some extent come to a logical conclusion about the existence of God, but logic can’t take us beyond existence of God to the personality of God. For that we depend on revelation.”
“Now the question arises, did Arjuna win the war by the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita or by the knowledge of archery he learned throughout his life? It’s by both. Knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita gave Arjuna the inspiration, but knowledge of archery helped him in practical ways. This implies that the material and the spiritual are complimentary. In the ordinary course of life, the spiritual does not replace the material. Nor does the material make the spiritual unnecessary.”
From “Managing the Mind” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 66, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2026):
“The way to rich relationships is not so much by finding the right partner as by becoming the right partner.”
“At an even more fundamental level, the mind’s imagination that everyone else is happy is what keeps us most unhappy.”
“Suppose you have been digging for gold for a long time and are just a few inches away from a treasure. If you give up then, thinking that the labor is too much, what a tragedy that would be! Similar will be our predicament if we neglect the opportunity for spiritual growth that awaits us in the human form of life.”
“No reality is as undeniable as death. Yet no reality is as strongly denied by our mind as death. Why does it deny death? So that it can keep chasing worldly pleasures.”
“Studying the Gita and practicing bhakti-yoga enable us to become aware of Krishna’s love for us. The more we become attuned to that reality, the more we feel inspired to reciprocate with Him in a mood of service and contribution.”
Prema Sundara Prabhu:
From “From Self-absorption to Krishna Immersion” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 66, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2026):
“Srila Prabhupada, for example, generally ended his letters with the words ‘Your ever well-wisher.’ These words were not a formality, but the overflow of a heart constantly praying for others. Scriptures describe such souls as para-duhkha-duhkhi – those who feel another’s pain as if it were their own. Just as we instinctively attend to an injury in our body, they instinctively seek to heal the sufferings they encounter in the world.”
Vibhu Caitanya Prabhu:
From “When Comfort Becomes a Test” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 66, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2026):
“To be habituated to abstain is not to live a life of fear and repression, but to live so fully engaged with Krishna that the offers of Kali begin to look cheap.”
“If I do not use my gifts to move toward Krishna, they slowly pull me away from Him.”
“Life cannot be perfectly arranged in this world, but it can be molded. We can decide what happens with the first and last hour of our day.”
Gauranga Darsana Prabhu:
From “The Real Spirit of Janmastami: Inviting Krishna Into Our Hearts” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 66, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2026):
“Devaki and Vasudeva endured immense hardship – imprisonment, heartbreak, and constant fear. Yet they remained unwavering in their desire to receive Krishna. Their sacrifice and steadfastness ultimately brought the Supreme Lord directly into their lives.”
“To honor Janmastami each year, let us reflect: Am I willing to embrace inconvenience for His pleasure? Am I ready to choose devotion over comfort, and sacrifice over ease – for the joy of having Krishna dwell within me?”
“When we patiently endure the struggles life brings, the moment Krishna appears in our hearts becomes profoundly transformative. We realize that every hardship was worthwhile for that one moment of divine grace.”
“Often, Krishna first comes as subtle inspiration, nudging us toward deep devotion. As we serve with sincerity, that inspiration becomes longing, and longing ripens into a heartfelt cry. When that cry becomes pure and intense, Krishna’s presence fills our hearts, dispelling the darkness of doubt, ego, and illusion with the light of divine knowledge, love, and bliss. Until then, we walk the sacred path of bhakti-yoga – with humility and steady dedication – knowing each step draws us closer to Him.”
“True failure is giving up; true success is serving on with unwavering faith.”
Revatinandana Prabhu:
If we ignore all the arrangments that the Lord has made for us, we will not have the gratitude to worship the Lord with real feeling. Therefore, Krishna reveals so many truths about Himself.
Because all the avatars are within Krishna, He can manifest any of these avatars as He desires. Because Lord Caitanya is Krishna, He can do the same, and He does so in His pastimes.
As the first expansion of Krishna, Balarama has within Him all the avatars except Krishna Himself.
Although so many of her daughters died shortly after birth, Sacidevi was grateful to the Lord when Visvarupa appeared as her son.
Life should be an adventure to find the ultimate truth and to develop a relationship with that truth. It is said that Lord Nityananda resides in the house of such a sincere person.
We should prepare to be devoted even if materially impoverished.
To become selfless, you have to associate with selfless people.
Comments by me:
Krishna says in Bg. 15.15 that He is the source of knowledge, remembrance, and forgetfulness. If we are thoughtful, we can understand that we cannot accomplish anything without the knowledge and remembrance given by Krishna. Thus we should feel grateful for the Lord for our success.
The materialist considers his abilities the cause of success and thus he becomes proud. The devotee sees the mercy as the Lord as the cause of success and feels grateful to the Lord, and renders service to Him.
Guru Prasad Swami once said that Krishna enjoys being conquered by the love of His devotee, and so He deals with the devotee in such a way as to bring the devotee to that point.
Vrnda Gopika Devi Dasi:
From “The Golden Theophany” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 66, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2026):
“Here the Lord does not demand grandeur or ritualistic perfection. Instead, He begs only for our conscious participation in kirtana. He inaugurates sankirtana, the yajña (sacrifice) of the age – the very means of Kali-yuga’s redemption.”
“This is Gauranga, Caitanya Mahaprabhu. His weapon is not Krishna’s Sudarsana disc; His weapon is the holy name. And His conquest is unlike any seen before. He conquers our hearts and draws us to Him in His eternal home in the spiritual world.”
“He conquers not by slaying demons, but by cleansing hearts until they sparkle with krishna-prema.”
Tanay Shah:
From “The Invisible Contributors to Success and Failure” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 66, No. 5 (Sept/Oct 2026):
“Krishna’s sanction is not random, emotional, or impulsive. It is thoughtful, just, and compassionate.”
“As stated in the Mahabharata: dharmo raksati raksitah – one who protects dharma is protected by dharma.”
“We often see only a small portion of reality. Krishna, however, sees the complete picture – past, present, and future. He understands how a particular outcome will affect us and others in the long run.”
“Even when things don’t go exactly as planned, we begin to trust that Krishna – our greatest wellwisher – may have a better plan for us. Over time, a thoughtful person learns an important shift: instead of asking Krishna to follow our plans, we learn to align ourselves with His.”
“Imagine having a friend who is your true well-wisher – someone who genuinely cares for you and always wants the best for you. Not just that, this friend “mystically” knows your past, present, and future. And beyond all this, he has the power to control and guide events in a direction beneficial for you. Wouldn’t it be extraordinary to have someone like that by your side? The beautiful truth is – we already do. And that friend is Krishna.”
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The idea that the devotional service of the Lord begins with the chanting of His holy names is not something newly invented by Lord Caitanya. It is there in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is considered the ultimate authority by Lord Caitanya and His followers, in this nice verse which is worthy of memorization:
etavan eva loke ’smin
bhakti-yogo bhagavati
tan-nama-grahanadibhih
“Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for the living entity in human society.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.22)
