travel journal#4.6: Chowpatty and London

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 6

By Krishna-kripa das

  (March 2008, part two) 

Chowpatty and London

 (Sent from London, England, on 3/31/08)

 

 

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

 

After a great Gaura Purnima in Chowpatty, I came to London to do harinama. I love our London temple, with its lunch program, harinama program, and evening program. This place is really alive. Being a central location, many sannyasis also come through here. Externally speaking, I am worse off because I got sick due to the cold. I have to just tolerate it, or vow to never live in a place where it gets cold, at least during the season I am there.

 

Devotional Tips

 

Lord Krishna taught devotional service theoretically, but as Lord Caitanya He wanted to demonstrate by His own example how to be fully absorbed in thoughts of Krishna. Our surrender is engaging our mind in Krishna, becoming His devotee, worshiping Him, and offering obeisances to Him (Bg. 18.65). Anyone who chants with firm faith in the process Lord Caitanya has given can attain success.—Niranjana Swami, Gaura Purnima lecture, Chowpatty

 

   Gaura Purnima is the greatest of holy days. It is the Deity in the form of day.—Radhanatha Swami

 

   What is the qualification to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya? The qualification is simply to realize one's fallen position.—Niranjana Swami

 

   The value of a moment's association with a devotee is more valuable than material prosperity. Better one moment of full consciousness than a life inexperienced by years in this world. How does one get this one moment of full consciousness? By one moment's association with a devotee. The Lord incarnates as the holy name, but the devotees make the holy name available to others. The holy name can give the fruit of love of God. We simply have to desire it. This Krishna consciousness movement is for the cultivation of the desire for love of God (Bg. 12.9). By hearing and chanting the seed of love of God is watered. One must hear from the mouths of Vaishnavas. Otherwise we cannot get that seed. The most elevated conjugal love of God, Lord Caitanya came to give, in the form of the holy name.—Niranjana Swami

 

   If some calls us Prabhu [master], we should think, "This person is so elevated that he can see even me as Prabhu." We should not think, "Everyone is calling me Prabhu. It must be true."—Radhanatha Swami

 

   We should not think that a beggar is begging, and I am giving. We should think I am begging for service, and this person [appearing as a beggar] is giving me an opportunity [to serve]. —Radhanatha Swami

 

   The consciousness with which we serve the agents of the holy name is the consciousness we serve the holy name. —Radhanatha Swami

 

   To the degree we are happy to see others getting Krishna's blessings, Krishna will be inclined to bestow His blessings upon us.—Radhanatha Swami

 

   If you say everything is God's but you use everything for yourself, then you are thinking that you are God. —Radhanatha Swami

 

Notes from Jayadvaita Swami's classes:

 

   Better not to take a vow than to not to keep one. Then at least we will be considered honest.

 

   Bhisma vowed to be a lifelong celibate not in front of the Lord but in front of a fisherman, but he kept his vow.

 

   Why does a cockroach move when you try to step on it? He wants to live forever. Not that he thinks, "I have lived long enough, you can kill me."

 

Q: Why are people attracted to spiritual life, and why people not attracted?

A: We are spiritual beings by nature so spiritual life is attractive to us, but we have been conditioned by many births in the material world and therefore we also have a tendency to remain absorbed in material life and neglect it.

 

Madhudvisa Prabhu Remembers Srila Prabhupada

 

Visiting the site of the Ratha-yatra cart construction, Srila Prabhupada offered obeisances to cart saying, "The Ratha cart is as good as the Deity."

 

I can see that you feel frustrated and confused and because you are in the material world, it is not a bad thing that you are feeling frustrated and confused. But do not think that by taking shelter of drugs that things will improve, rather you will become more frustrated and more confused. Better you take shelter of chanting Hare Krishna and taking Krishna prasadam. Then you will be happy.—Summary of  Srila Prabhupada's 1970 Ratha-yatra lecture in San Francisco

 

You never knew how Srila Prabhupada would answer a question because he spoke for the benefit of the particular individual.

 

Srila Prabhupada's mood was, "Whenever someone comes to the temple, I feel he has been sent by my Guru Maharaja, so I must take care of him."

 

 

Darshan with Radhanatha Swami

 

Karuna Sindhu Prabhu invited me to a darshan with Radhanatha Swami. He and a friend were reporting to Maharaja on their program of cultivating foreign tourists. They had different strategies including taking the foreigners on tours of a few notable sites in Mumbai, ending with the Radha-Gopinath temple—Gandhi, Gardens, and God's House. Many people enjoyed the tours and some developed some interest in Krishna consciousness. Radhanatha Swami mentioned that both Giriraja and Sridhara Swamis had said that one of Srila Prabhupada main desires for Mumbai was to have a program for cultivating the foreign tourists. Because of other extensive projects in India, practically no one had done anything in this area, and Radhanatha Swami was excited about his disciples' preliminary results and plans for the future, which include tours of the devotees Mumbai food distribution program and farm in the country.

   I thanked Maharaja for the festival, saying, "You are the only person who can put on such a nice Gaura Purnima festival that people will feel happy leaving Mayapur to come to it." Mother Shyama Sakhi, one of the Bhakti-sastri teachers in Mayapur, in queue with her husband for the next darshan, voiced a loud agreement. (About nine of us Mayapur residents had come to Chowpatty for the festival this year.) Maharaja kindly gave me an incredible beautiful picture of Radha-Gopinath and Lalita and Visakha which I certainly do not deserve. It is a rare shot, as beautiful as the Deities Themselves. He also gave us all cookies. We are always indebted to Radhanatha Swami who is the personification of affectionate exchanges with devotees. I said I hoped to come back when Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami visits Chowpatty next winter. Radhanatha Maharaja fondly recalled how Satsvarupa Maharaja had enjoyed his visit to Chowpatty this year.

 

Harinama in London

 

Each harinama is unique, most having some memorable features. The first day, a young Indian attendee of the temple, coming from work, dressed in coat and tie, joined us for the last hour of harinama. He played the drum and suggested some melodies. After the two-hour event was over, he was so invigorated he insisted we continue another fifteen minutes. He later said Janananda Swami once told him he should go on harinama whenever he had the chance. The next day, Madhukari Dasi, a young and enthusiastic disciple of Tripurari Swami, joined our party and convinced one girl to chant, engaged three people in dance, and distributed eight of Srila Prabhupada's books. Also taking part was Srinivasin, a Chowpatty attendee, probably in his thirties, wearing a suit but with prominent tilaka, here in London for two days on business. There were five of us, and we all took turns leading. Everyone participated so nicely together, it was very blissful. The day after, Victor from Portugal come out to resolve his doubt, "How could anyone stay out on harinama for two hours?" His realization was that as time goes on, it becomes more and more enjoyable, and to see the positive reactions of the public gives one inspiration to continue. One young Canadian man, attracted by our party, held his cell phone up to the mouths of both the lead singer and then a responder as they chanted "Hare Krishna." As he was leaving, he said, "I love you guys! You make the city of London happy!"

   Saturday night is especially lively. A group of six teenaged black girls delighted in moving to the rhythm of the kirtana for a while. Then Superman and a band of five male and two females wearing leotards in the chilly London evening, danced for five minutes. Spectators found that scene particularly humorous. I wished I had a camera. Other people also took great pleasure in dancing with us. That evening I passed out a couple Higher Tastes and many restaurant invitations.

 

Conversation with Traveling

 

   I talked to a Moslem man for an hour or so while waiting for my flight to London from Mumbai. I asked him if he offered his five prayers a day to Allah. He said did. He had familiar misconceptions of Hinduism that I tried to correct, that (1) Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are all on the same level, that (2) Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu, and the (3) the goal is to merge our spiritual self with the Supreme Spirit. I explained that we have an eternal relationship with God in the spiritual world, as we have relationships with other people in this world. For example, Arjuna is Krishna's friend and Radha is Krishna's beloved. I asked about the situation of those who attain perfection in Islam. He talked about gardens and beautiful girls, and it reminded me of the situation of heaven but not the kingdom of God. Srila Prabhupada has given us such a wonderful goal, to take part in pastimes of love with the Supreme Lord Krishna in one of five completely satisfying relationships. What a wonderful opportunity!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

travel journal#4.5: Mayapur Festival and More

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 5
By Krishna-kripa das
(March 2008, part one)
Mayapur, Kolkata, and In Between
(Sent from Chowpatty, Mumbai, India, on 3/20/08)

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

I have been in Mayapur doing harinama, proofreading Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava, Nature's IQ, the second edition of The Uddhava Gita, and the Friends of the BBT Newsletter, and reading over the articles for an anti-Darwinian BBT book timed to coincide with the bicentennial of Darwin's birth in 2009. I have been selling of few of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami's, my diksa guru's, books at the Mayapur festival as well. Now I have come to ISKCON Chowpatty for their Gaura Purnima festival, especially because Niranjana Swami, the wonderful devotee who advised me to live in the temple originally, and Radhanatha Swami, also a great realized devotee and lecturer, are both here. I wish you all a wonderful Gaura Purnima wherever you may be. After the festival, on March 26, I plan to go to London, and do harinama, and from there to other European cities.

Devotional Meditation

Our philosophy is so wonderful. We all have an eternal relationship with an incredibly beautiful person, which becomes more blissful as time goes on. This material world with all its hellish conditions is temporary and illusory, and when we wake up we become free from it. Sometimes it is very intense just to motivate us to wake up.—from an SB class

Devotees Are Everywhere

On March 13, I was meeting devotees left and right in Kolkata, many I knew. Vaishnava youth Kumari, a bharat-natyam dancer studying in Chennai, and who once lived in Alachua, came to my Srimad-Bhagavatam class and liked it. I had breakfast with Ahovalam Nrsimha Prabhu and his son Rsabha who I knew from the Poland tour and from Mayapur. He is happy to use his French to enlighten visitors to Radha-desa in Krishna consciousness, rather than just teaching gurukula and his son is enjoying his studies at Bhaktivedanta College. Later I met a friendly Gaudiya Matha devotee at the Foreign Tour Quota office and two Russian devotees on the ferry to Howrah station. Then I met Gaura Krishna Prabhu and his brother on the train back to Navadvipa. Many people smiled and laughed to see three Western men balanced on a rickshaw from the train station to Mayapura Ghat.

Conversations While Traveling

I had some nice experiences sharing Krishna consciousness with others. As I left the Kolkata temple, I decided to purchase a Bengali book, in case I met someone nice in my travels. The brahmacari at the counter insisted I take two. On the bus to the tourist quota office, one friendly man who works in elections helped arrange my seating and baggage. I showed him the small 6 rupee book on Lord Caitanya's life and instructions, and he got some change from the bus fare collector and bought it. He said he liked music and rightly sensed that I was not up on the latest popular music. He mentioned he really liked a group called Kulasekhara and a title called Govinda. I heard that Kulasekhara was a Hare Krishna devotee from friends who are more into the music scene. The man was so enthusiastic about that group, he told me I should pickup their music the next time I return to America. It was a nice exchange, and I thanked him for his help as I left the bus.

On the train I met a computer science student going to school in Kolkata but originally from Navadvipa where we were both going. I told how I myself got a computer science degree in American back in 1982. I mentioned how Lord Caitanya had predicted this chanting of Hare Krishna would spread all over the world, and although for centuries, people thought it was allegory, now the prediction was coming to pass. I showed him the English and Bengali books I had, but he said he didn't believe in it. I said well it is a historical fact that the prediction was made 500 years ago, and it is coming true. He said Nostradamus has so many true predictions. I said that is true, but those predictions do not have to do with people awakening love for God! I was in shock—I was talking to an atheist from the home of Lord Caitanya's pastimes. I asked if he had adopted another religion or he had an atheistic view and he revealed his atheism. I talked to him about Forbidden Archeology, and all evidence dug up that is inconsistent with presently formulated theory of human evolution. Then I discussed the inability of scientists to explain the cause of consciousness, and how past life memories and out-of-body experiences provide evidence consistent with the Vedic explanation of consciousness. He was interested in the ideas, and I got his email address, and promised to send him the URL for the online version of Origins magazine.

My Experience of the Beginning of the Mayapur Festival

What can one say about the Mayapur festival? So many events attractive to our spiritual senses compete for our attention. One cannot attend them all. Seminars, harinamas, dramas, and kirtanas, all ways of associating with great souls, who bless us with faith in Lord Gauranga, His surrendered representative, Srila Prabhupada, and the holy name of the Lord.

I recall the varnasrama seminar of Bhakti Raghava Swami was popular among many. His disciple gave me Bhakti Raghava Swami's book on the subject to pass on to my guru since Maharaja wanted all the leaders to get one. Varnasrama was a popular topic in the ether this year, and my friend Akhiladhara Prabhu induced me to promise to visit a new self-sufficient varnasrama farm project near Belgaum in northern Karnataka, which he and others predict will fulfill Srila Prabhupada's dreams in that area.

New things making this festival a level above the last included Dravida Prabhu's morning poetry reading prior to the announcements. He has creatively worded English translations in poetic form to profound literary contributions of the previous spiritual teachers, to attract our ears, minds, and hearts to Krishna and His pastimes. One about the delightfully tasty beverage of the holy names of Radha and Krishna was particularly sweet and well received:

Stavavali, by Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami

radheti nama nava-sundara-sidhu mugdham
   krsneti nama madhuradbhuta-gadha-dugdham
sarva-ksanam surabhi-raga-himena ramyam
krtva tadaiva piba me rasane ksud-arte

An excellent fresh nectar drink with endless subtle tastes --
Such is the name of Radha, by whom all three worlds are graced.
Condensed milk that is wonderfully delicious, thick and sweet --
Such is the name of Krishna, in whom all attractions meet.
Now mix these drinks, O thirsty tongue, and add the fragrant ice
Of love, a prize the wise will try to buy at any price.
And then at every moment drink this beverage most fine,
And make my heart supremely blissful, peaceful, and divine.

Another nice new feature was Russian Service Day when the over eight hundred Russian devotees made special contributions to serve the holy dhama and the other devotees. Forty or more Russian devotees cleaned the temple after the noon arati with great delight. They also, with great joy, took over the serving of lunch prasadam, creating a most pleasing mood by their enthusiasm to serve.

The stage show was highlighted by the wonderful dramas, both by the very professional Bhaktivedanta Players, and Bhakti Marg Swami, who directed a cast of mostly local and youthful devotees, in enacting tales from the Mahabharata about Kunti and Karna. The visiting brother of devotee from England said that fight scene in that play was among the best he had ever seen and that all the performances were very professional. That convinced me of their value since it is all too easy for us to glorify our own performers, who often are our personal friends, but when those with no great attachment to devotional service or devotees appreciate, the acting must be truly well done.

Also on stage in the evening, Dravida Prabhu, with his delightful poems, reminded us both of the limitless beauty of Krishna and the fact that poetic is one of the qualities of great devotees. One of his poems was a transcendent rap piece following one of Rupa Gowami's poems, with very creative rhymes. Another was a truly beautiful one about how the holy name is really all that is:

It makes this world appear like bits of straw upon the ground.
It splendorously reigns Supreme—Divinity in sound. . . .
O what great sorrow, what great pain, the worst calamity,
For people to forget the holy name of Sri Hari!
Although the name's a priceless gem, mere broken glass they see.
The holy name of Sri Hari is surely all that be!

There was more to the stage show, but I had my regular service to attend to, my guru's books to sell, and my computer in disrepair, so I could only catch a little nectar here and there.

When you have evening kirtanas led by Lokanatha Swami, Radhanatha Swami, Sivarama Swami, and Aindra Prabhu, you have a lot of devotees smilingly dancing with great happiness, and a lively scene which went past 10:00 p.m. every night. It reminded me of what Mayapur is meant for. One time in Mayapur, Srila Prabhupada overheard a wonderfully melodic bhajana coming from the temple, and remarked that he wanted all the devotees to come to Mayapur and experience the wonder of chanting kirtana together here. The leaders were in anxiety calculating how much it would cost. Yet Prabhupada was eagerly thinking of sharing the great mercy Gauranga had come to give.

Personally I love meeting all my friends from America, Europe, and India, all in one very spiritually invigorating place, one friend after the other. I rejoice in their great victory, the attainment of the transcendental land where the son of Mother Saci eternally performs His pastimes. Living on the East Coat of America, I never see my friends from the West Coast, except when we occasionally and unexpectedly meet in Mayapur. My service for the winter in Mayapur was what we call in America harinama or what they call in Bengal nagar sankirtan. We chant for three hours each day, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., either to the bhajana kutir of Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the Yoga-Pitha, Jagannatha Mandir, the town of Navadvipa, or a couple villages, one on each side of the Ganges, where we distribute prasadam, spiritual food. The party is very international with regulars from Russia, Nigeria, Ghana, Bulgaria, Australia, Italy, Bengal, and the USA. I encouraged everyone I knew who came to visit Mayapur to come out with us at least once. Some unexpectedly fell in love with the program, coming out almost every day. These included a Prabhupada disciple from Alachua along with his daughter, and an Indradyumna Swami disciple from Poland, who I knew was fond of Deity worship but appeared to develop a great taste for harinama as well.

People who live in Mayapur before the festival time, see how the variegated opulence of the festival covers the peaceful charm of Mayapur, to a large extent, and it is harder for us to focus on our favorite service to Krishna in our favorite place. But we know at heart it is Srila Prabhupada's will, that of his spiritual predecessors, and that of Lord Gauranga Himself. Seeing all the pilgrims, Bengali and international, I recall how Srila Prabhupada told his earlier followers in Mayapur, "If we advertise, 'Bhaktivedanta Swami will speak under a tree,' who will come?" Therefore, Srila Prabhupada wanted to build big temples to invite people to visit and hear about Krishna from self-realized souls and to make their lives successful. In Mayapur that is always going on in a big way, and during the festival, the great mercy is spreading even more. If you didn't come this year, don't miss out again! Commit to coming to next year's festival today! Mayapur Gaura Purnima Festival, ki jaya!

Concluding Verse about Lord Caitanya

anarpita-carim cirat karuṇayavatirṇaḥ kalau
  samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
  sada hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ saci-nandanah

May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Saci-devi [Lord Caitanya] be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 1.4).

travel journal#4.4: Mayapur

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 4

By Krishna-kripa das

  (February 2008, part two) 

Mayapur

 (Sent from Mayapur, West Bengal, India, on 2/23/08)

 

 

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

 

I am in Mayapur doing harinama, and proofreading Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava, Nature's IQ, and the Friends of the BBT Newsletter. As GBC meeting time and festival time approach I see friends from all over the world, a nice feature of Mayapur this time of year. I invite everyone to come on our daily three hour harinamas if they get a chance. On disciple of Indradyumna Swami from Katowice, Poland, at whose house I stayed three times while traveling to and from Ukraine, got a real taste for harinama in the dhama and came out almost every day to my great happiness. I also saw on harinama some devotees I remembered from the Berlin Ratha-yatra, which I attended the last three years. They included some great dancers who increased the opulence of the sankirtana party.

 

Devotional Tips

 

Sri Krishna shows Himself to those who prefer His service to any other occupation.—Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

 

"Krishna is ready to associate with you in any way you like. Somebody likes Krishna as friend, somebody likes Krishna as husband, somebody likes Krishna as paramour. So Krishna is ready. Somebody likes Krishna as son. So any way, Krishna is ready. . . . If you want Krishna as enemy, yes, Krishna is ready. He'll kill you. But that is also good for you. If you want to fight with Krishna, yes, Krishna is ready—everything. Akhila-rasamrita-sindhu. He can associate with you in any rasa, humor, you like. Krishna's ready. Ready means, "That is natural." Because we are part and parcel of Krishna, so the part and parcel must remain with Krishna."—Srila Prabhupada, in a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.23, given on September 20, 1976, in Vrindavana.

 

"You shall be always feeling jolly. If I am not jolly, if I am not prasanna-manasa, that means maya [illusion] has attacked me. A bhagavad-bhakta [devotee of the Lord] shall never be aprasanna, not joyful. Always joyful. If he is actually in contact with Kåñëa, how he can become morose? No. If he is morose, if he is unhappy, that means maya has attacked him. This is the test." —Srila Prabhupada, in a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.20, given on October 31, 1972, in Vrindavana.

 

Lokanath Swami tells of a Delhi businessman who had a thriving shoe business. After chanting Hare Krishna for some time, he decided because of the animal killing involved in making leather shoes, he could not continue, but would produce non-leather shoes instead. He gave Lokanath Swami the first pair.

 

On a bicycle wheel as you move closer to the center, the distance between the different spokes decreases. In the same way, as we move closer to Krishna, the distance between ourselves and other individuals also decreases.—Lokanath Swami

 

We have a tendency to reject a brahmana for making one mistake. Manu Samhita, however, gives an atonement prescription for a brahmana who kills a brahmana. After executing the atonement, the brahmana is as good as before.—Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami

 

If a car always works but it breaks down once, we do not throw out the car. Similarly we should not reject a devotee for a single deviant act. —Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami

 

A Prabhupada Story

 

   In Los Angeles, some devotees from Hawaii were proposing different things they might do. Srila Prabhupada said, "Yes, you can do that" to all their proposals, concluding by saying, "You can do anything you want." They protested, "We are your disciples. We want your sanction." These devotees from Hawaii had long hair, and Srila Prabhupada replied, "You are not my disciples. You all have long hair."—told by Jag Jivan Prabhu

 

Realizations

 

   As today is Lord Nityananda's appearance day here, I thought I would write something related to him. When I proofread the Nityananda Caritamrita, a compilation mostly of material from Caitanya Bhagavata, some points were striking to me. I recall at least a couple worth sharing.

 

   The glorification of Lord Nityananda by Lord Caitanya and the glorification of Lord Caitanya by Lord Nityananda are filled with such a depth of both knowledge and devotion that they increase our faith in both of the two Lords, and I highly recommended them. Some of these are in the chapter "Lord Nityananda Offers Prayers to the Six-armed Form of  Lord Caitanya." Lord Nityananda prayed, "You will fill the entire universe with Krishna-nama-sankirtana. Loving devotional service to the Lord will be preached in each and every house. . . . You will distribute devotional services to Lord Vishnu that are unknown in the Vedas."

 

   Vrindavana Dasa Thakura warns that if two devotees disagree and we side with one and criticize the other, by offending a devotee in this way we can end up falling away from devotional service altogether. I cannot help but think that such circumstances may account for why so many devotees have left the Hare Krishna movement. At least I can try to avoid criticizing devotees in my own life, thinking that because of their devotion, they are dear to the Lord, even if I cannot appreciate some things about them.

 

   There were some special incidents on Lord Nityananda's appearance day for me. Although I was delayed getting ready in the morning and worried I would be late, I arrived at the temple just as the curtains on Pancatattva's altar were opening. The week before, on Advaita Acarya's appearance day, I ended up missing the noon arati and kirtana in order to make sure I didn't miss lunch and I felt really bad about it, because such behavior is very substandard for me. On Nityananda's appearance day, two of my friends leaving the temple after the bathing ceremony, strongly encouraged me to skip the arati and get in line for the feast or I would miss out, but remembering the previous week and my love for kirtana, I just ignored them. Chanting and dancing at the noon arati during the appearance day festivals is the best part of the festival for me. As it turned out, I left the temple after the kirtana accompanying the arati ended and made it just in time for the prasadam feast without having to wait in line at all! Another thing was I was unwilling to wait in line for maha-prasadam, but a friend of mine walked past me with a bowl of it and kindly gave some to me. Our harinama party took our Nitai-Mayapur Chandra Deities and the Gaura-Nitai Deities from Prabhupada's bhajan kutir around Prabhupada's Puspa Samadhi, and it was a very lively event with some of the pilgrims also participating by dancing. I got some of the maha-prasadam from an offering along the way and shared it with some friends. Our harinama party got to lead the evening arati chanting at Prabhupada's bhajan kutir after we returned the Deities to their home. I had a sense that Lord Nityananda was fulfilling my desires to participate in His festival, and my happiness from the whole experience carried over to tulasi puja the next day in which I danced with more enthusiasm than usual. All glories to Lord Nityananda, who is so kind to encourage even neophyte devotees in His service.

 

nityanandam aham naumi

   sarvananda-karam param

hari-nama-pradam devam

   avadhuta-siromanim

 

"I bow down to the Supreme Lord Nityananda Prabhu, who is the awarder of the highest joy to all, the bestower of the holy name and the crest jewel of all paramahamsa mendicants."—quoted in Pancaratra Pradipa

 

travel journal#4.3: Mostly Mayapur

                       Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 3
                                    By Krishna-kripa das
                                 (February 2008, part one)
                                        Mostly Mayapur
               (Sent from Mayapur, West Bengal, India, on 2/15/08)


What I Am Doing

I am in Mayapur doing harinama, finishing Bhaktivaibhava Cantos 1-3,
and proofreading Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava, Nature's IQ, and the
Friends of the BBT Newsletter.

Devotional Insights

From Dhanurdhara Swami:

The Lord expands into two to experience love, and He takes the part of
His lover to complete His experience.

Why is Madhavi devi considered a "half associate" when enumerating
Lord Caitanya's most intimate associates in Caitanya Caritamrta?
Because circumstantially Lord Caitanya was a sannyasi and Madhavi devi
was a lady, she could not associate with Him to the extent that the
male intimate associates could.

Whatever pastimes take place in Vraja, Mathura, and Dvaraka, also take
place in Puri.


From Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami:

  Our problem is that there are a lot of nice things in our life that
not really connected to Krishna. We identify the negative things as
maya or illusion, but the pleasurable non-Krishna conscious things we
do not really see as also maya.
  When we try to engage our impious culture in Krishna consciousness,
a lot is left out.
  If you follow Vedic culture, that is human life, otherwise it is
animal life. If you can't follow, it does not mean you cannot be a
devotee. After all, Hanuman is a monkey, Garuda is a bird …

Within the family, often family members give love to each other only.
But the brahmacari gives love to everyone and gets love from everyone.
The sannyasi is loved (and taken care of) as a son but respected as a
father.—Bhakti Purusottam Swami

The Vedas are bewildering, even to their author, Vyasadeva, thus his
guru, Narada, had to "straighten him out."—Pankajanghri Prabhu

The critic Ramacandra Puri in Lord Caitanya's pastimes was Jatila in
Krishna's pastimes, where Krishna enjoyed her harsh words.
—Madhavananda  Prabhu


Devotional Tips

"Let me not desire anything but the highest good for my worst
foes."—Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

One Christian prayer says, "When we pray, we speak to God, and when we
read scripture, God speaks to us."—Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami

Q[by me]: Although we preach, often people do not take it very
seriously. How do we handle that?
A[by Bhakti Purusottam Swami]: Sometimes it is seen that the most
argumentative people become devotees. We preach and just wait and see.

Lord Caitanya gave us our identity, the servant of the servant of the
servant of the master of the gopis.—Jananivasa Prabhu

No one can be more senior than Lord Brahma, but as Haridasa Thakura he
taught to chant the holy name, one must accept an insignificant
position. —Madhavananda  Prabhu

Once should always respect one's guru. If someone gives you a million
dollars, would you spit in his face? What the guru gives is worth much
more than that!—Madhavananda  Prabhu

Chanting japa inattentively is like trying to fill up a bucket with
holes in it.—Premadatta Prabhu, Tripura TP

Nice analogy: As we have to obey a traffic officer when his directions
differ from the traffic light, similarly, we have to carry out Lord
Krishna's direct order in preference to His orders in the Vedas.—heard
in Kolkata SB Class


Prabhupada in Puri

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami described Srila Prabhupada's 1977 Puri visit.
Srila Prabhupada did not enter the Jagannatha temple because his
disciples were not allowed to enter. Two Puri brahmanas sang
"Jagannathastakam" for Srila Prabhupada. This song has the refrain "O
Jagannatha, Lord of the universe, kindly be visible to me." Srila
Prabhupada commented to the brahmanas that his disciples are now
hankering after seeing Lord Jagannatha, but "you do not let them in
the temple. . . . You want Jagannatha Svami to be compact within your
home and you do not expand the mercy of Jagannatha. . . . He is not
only just Purinatha [Lord of Puri] or Oriyanatha [Lord of Orissa]. He
is Jagannatha [Lord of the Universe]." Satsvarupa Maharaja asked the
devotees to say what qualities Srila Prabhupada demonstrated in these
dealings with the Puri priests. Compassion, righteousness, and
boldness were some of the responses.


Realizations

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, my diksa guru, was just here in Mayapur.
While in this holy dhama, he did a retreat of increased japa (chanting
on beads). As I do extra japa on Ekadasi, I decided to chant with him.
He, his servant Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu, and myself chanted for
half an hour in his room, and an hour and a half outside. I glanced
out at the lush vegetation toward the Jalangi River from our rooftop
position at the Vaishnava Academy, roughly in the direction of
Bhaktivinoda Thakura's samadhi. As we chanted I thought how it was
amazing that the three of us were there chanting Hare Krishna in
Mayapur just because Srila Prabhupada desired it, Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura desired it, and Bhaktivinoda Thakura
desired it. These great devotees were so powerful, simply by their
desire, they had changed the materialistic course of the lives of
thousands of people in the West like us. By material calculation we
are insignificant souls from a different culture, separated by
thousands of miles and dozens of years from Bhaktivinoda Thakura and
His transcendental son, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Yet because
they desired, we Westerners were taking to the chanting of Hare
Krishna, and our Srila Prabhupada made it happen. Ultimately we were
chanting because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu desired it and these great
saints took great trouble to represent His will to us.


Harinama and Prasadam Distribution Story

  We were doing harinama to the Jagannatha temple near Mayapur and a
prasadam [spiritual food] distribution party came with us. The kitri
was so popular that around Lord Caitanya's birthplace, the food party
stopped and we continued chanting toward the Jagannatha temple. I had
to leave early so I took the bus back to our Mayapur temple. When the
bus driver came upon our prasadam distribution party, he stopped the
bus to everyone's surprise and got out. He got a bowl of kitri, ate
it, and returned to the bus, wiped his hands with a cloth, and
continued driving. Everyone smiled to see this. I peeked around to
glance at the driver, and when he turned to look, I said, "Khub bhalo
kitri?" ["Very good kitri?"] He smiled, and said with enthusiasm,
"Khub bhalo kitri! Khub bhalo kitri!" Everyone smiled and glanced at
each other, amused at the bus driver's enthusiasm, a Westerner's
attempt to speak Bengali, or perhaps a combination of both.
  When I told Jagannatha Misra Prabhu, our harinama leader, he told
me that one time the passengers forced a bus driver to stop against
his will, and twenty people on the bus got off and got bowls of kitri!
  All glories to transcendental prasadam distribution!


My Favorite Pastime of the Lord

The following is a submission to the Back to Godhead magazine, "In
Your Own Words" feature:

My favorite pastime is Lord Caitanya and His associates plundering the
storehouse of love of Godhead and eating and distributing the
contents. I am inspired because they do not consider who is fit or who
is unfit. They give spiritual love to everyone through the holy name.
How? "They danced, cried, laughed and chanted like madmen, and in this
way they distributed love of Godhead." (CC Adi 7.22) Miraculously,
unlike a material storehouse, as the love is distributed, the supply
increases hundreds of times. Best of all, this pastime continues even
now, and you and I can take part in it, tasting spiritual nectar and
endearing ourselves to the Lord. "The present Krishna consciousness
movement is nondifferent from the pastimes performed by Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu . . . , for the same principles are being followed and the
same actions performed without fail." (CC Antya 5.88 purport)
  Each year, as I visit the Polish festival tour, the world's
Ratha-yatras, the devotee festivals in Ukraine and Mayapur, and our
regional harinamas, I see many people smile, laugh, and dance, tasting
some pleasure and developing spiritual desires through this
congregational chanting introduced by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His
associates, and I feel happy in their happiness and grateful to be
allowed to participate this glorious benedictory pastime.

"It is to be understood, however, that this chanting and dancing do
not belong to this material world. They are actually transcendental
activities, for the more one engages in chanting and dancing, the more
he can taste the nectar of transcendental love of Godhead." (CC Adi
7.22 purport)

travel journal#4.2: Mayapur, Puri, and Between

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 2

By Krishna-kripa das

  (January 2008, part two) 

Mayapur, Puri, and Between

 (Sent from Mayapur, West Bengal, India, on 2/9/08)

 

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

 

    I am in Mayapur where winter has hopefully finally ended. I felt successful as I invited Kapilasva Prabhu on harinama, and he and his daughter joined our nagar-sankritana party with its three-hours harinamas for three or four days and had a great time. Devarsi Prabhu from France showed the DVD on Bhaktivedanta Institute conference in 2004, and it was nice to be reminded of the BI preaching again. I volunteered to be Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami's assistant in December in Delaware. I feel indebted to him for giving me the maha-mantra initiation and writing lot of wonderful books on Srila Prabhupada's life which created a lot of my initial faith in Prabhupada, as well as writing books filled with tips on sadhana. I meant to serve him in the past but I was absorbed in working with Adi Kesava and Sadaputa Prabhus for 23 years, so I never got around to it. December is slow for college preaching and harinama and so a good time to do it.

 

Tips on Devotional Service

 

Something to keep in mind: "The living being has no factual relationship with material nature. He is simply imagining everything, and this imagination is the cause of material existence. Spirit has no good reason to association himself with matter. He does so, although it is insane."—Jayadvaita Swami

 

"In an hour glass, the future is the sand in top and the past is in the bottom. The sand that is in between is the present. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says our only progress is that which we do in the present."—Hari Sauri Prabhu

 

"The material world: You can't win. You can't break even. You can't quit."—Pankajanghri Prabhu

 

"Lord Caitanya told Devananda Pandit, 'Never think you have understood Srimad-Bhagavatam. Each syllable has volumes of meaning.'"—BVV Narasimha Swami

 

Q: Why is Ekadasi called 'mother of devotion'?

A: Mother gives birth. Ekadasi gives birth to devotion.

                                                                                    —BVV Narasimha Swami

 

   "The greatness of this age is we have few good qualities. If we are honest we will become humble and thus able to chant Hare Krishna effectively."—Dhanurdhara Swami

 

   "Sacinandana Swami says, 'Do not think it is easier to go to another country than a holy dhama [spiritual place]. Just as you need a passport and visa to enter a country, you need special qualifications to enter the holy dhama.'"—Madhavananda Prabhu

 

"Low esteem is based on failure to dominate nature or become God which is on the platform of false ego, but spiritual humility is based failure to attain pure devotional service to God."—Dhanurdhara Swami

 

"Devotional service is all about experiencing mercy. A proud person cannot experience mercy because he always thinks he deserves more. It is not that we are not getting mercy, but that we cannot perceive the mercy we are already getting."—Dhanurdhara Swami

 

"Aisvarya is the pot in which madhurya is held."—Madhvacharya

[Aisvarya is knowledge of the Lord's majesty and madhurya is experience of the Lord's sweetness.]

 

"The pure devotee is so hungry for love of Krishna, he thinks he has none." —Dhanurdhara Swami

 

   Puri offers abundant benedictions, even to the unserious. If you inquire about the price of vegetables here, you get the result of offering prayers to Krishna. If you go to the Internet café [or anyplace else], you get the result of going on parikrama. Sleep counts as samadhi, the deepest perfectional meditation. Sometimes I think ill of people doing frivolous activities, especially in the sacred places, but now I am thinking of their good fortune to have come to Puri and to spiritually benefit in their frivolity.

 

Temple Descriptions—ISKCON Puri (original property)

 

   ISKCON Jagannatha Puri is situated on the site of Bhaktivinoda Thakura bhajana kutir. It is across the street from the Haridasa Thakura's samadhi. They have a very large murti of Bhaktivinoda Thakura there, and they chant his pranam mantra after Srila Prabhupada's in all the kirtanas there.

   Later in life, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was transcendentally despondent that Lord Caitanya's movement had not become more widespread. Thus Lord Caitanya appeared to him in a dream, and said, "If you perform your bhajana next to Haridasa Thakura's samadhi, it will be heard all over the world." Thus Bhaktivinoda Thakura build a small building there and performed devotional service to Krishna there from 1902 till 1914. And now, by the grace of the Lord, it is clear his bhajana is becoming heard all over the world.

   The ISKCON temple has deities of Lord Caitanya, who looks like He is experiencing some transformations in devotional ecstasy, and the beautiful divine couple, Radha-Giridhari. The temple rents rooms to devotees for 150 rupees per night, and they let me stay in the brahmacari ashram for free. They have a restaurant on the ground floor. Their new property is four kilometers south, down the beach, in a quiet part of Puri that the friendly temple president, Gaura Nitai Prabhu, said is a nice location for one's personal bhajana. 

 

Lord Jagannatha Delights in Prasadam Distribution

 

On my first day in Jagannatha Puri one devotee offered us some wonderful parathas with very little oil and spice that were made by the Chowpatty devotees for Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami's party. Before I had even finished one of them, I was informed about some Jagannatha prasadam downstairs. How could I pass up Jagannatha prasadam! Still munching my paratha, I rushed downstairs to see what was available. That beautiful sweet dal along with rice and sabjis (vegetables) were there in clay pots, and I took a leaf plate with a little of everything. Late for Dhanurdhara Swami's evening lecture because of taking prasadam, I entered the room. Smiling, Maharaja said he was glad to see me, and before I had even offered obeisances, he asked if I had gotten enough prasadam. I laughed and explained my recent experience, concluding that it seems in Puri, Lord Jagannatha wants everyone to be well fed.

   Walking back from the internet café in the evening, I saw sweet shop after sweet shop, many with khaja, known popularly as Jagannatha tongues, one of my favorite sweets. I had even made them for the deities on occasion. Recalling a pastime I heard last visit, in which Lord Jagannatha reveals He likes khaja so much that He accepts them as soon as they are thrown in the boiling ghee, I longed to buy one and eat it. Then I reflected that I should not waste my money meant for preaching Krishna consciousness on unnecessary sense gratification. "Surely someone will give me some prasadam sweets soon. Let me wait till then." When I returned to the temple, two or three devotees asked if had prasadam and urged I go downstairs and get some chapatis hot off the stove with some sabji. The next day, Baladeva Prabhu offered me some nice maha-prasadam from the Mumbai Jagannatha deities he had received while there—a least four varieties of sweets. Those must have been the sweets I desired the night before.

   All glories to Lord Jagannatha, who always makes sure His devotees get plenty of prasadam, and who thus inspires them in devotional service.

 

Realizations

 

   Siddha Bakula was a powerful place. I chanted for twenty minutes with my head touching that tree which Lord Caitanya planted and embraced and which Haridasa Thakura chanted under. Physically touching the tree like that for so long definitely made an impression on my mind. The kirtana there was the most spiritually invigorating of all the kirtanas so far.

   As I liked Vrindavana better this visit, I also liked Puri better. Puri is nice because like Mayapur it reminds us of Lord Caitanya's pastimes and associates. Like Mayapur, as many people greet us with, "Hare Krishna." Unlike Mayapur and Vrindavana, we do not have either regular harinama programs or twenty-four kirtana programs at our Hare Krishna centers in Puri. If I was really ambitious, I could start them there.

 

Attempt at a Spiritual Conversation

 

   I talked to the other foreign tourist quota passenger on my trip from Puri to Howrah (across the Ganges from Kolkata). Julienne from Thailand was in Kolkata for a month volunteering for a charitable organization. She shared a room with other college-aged girls from Portugal, Chile, Italy, and another country, all doing the same charity work. Like many people in Kolkata, they had decided to go to Puri for the weekend. I explained I had some friends who were Hare Krishna missionaries in Thailand. I asked her if Thailand was primarily Buddhist, and she replied that it was but she was Catholic. I told her about the Catholic boy who attended our Hare Krishna programs in Gainesville. It was Lent, and he was avoiding meat on Friday, thus he came to our lunch and dinner programs that day. He had been impressed with similarities between the two traditions, especially in the offering of respect to previous saints. I explained the Hare Krishna founder, Srila Prabhupada, glorified Lord Jesus Christ as a shaktyevesh-avatar, someone who descends from the spiritual world and who is empowered by God, in Christ's case, to arouse God consciousness in others. Prabhupada felt, however, that if the Christians refrained from killing animals, only then would they be truly following the commandment not to kill. She responded, as the Christians often do, that God had put man in a superior position above the animals. That may be, I said, but it does not mean man has to kill them, especially when we can live very well on a vegetarian diet. I told how Francis of Assisi is my favorite of the Christian saints since he considered the animals like his brothers and sisters, and that some Christian monks also practice vegetarianism. I mentioned that the Buddhists were also originally vegetarian although many now eat meat. She mentioned about half the Catholics do not follow their principles strictly, and she found that was lamentable. I explained that Lord Caitanya, who originally started the Hare Krishna movement in Bengal, once said that of the civilized human beings who have some scripture, only about half of them actually follow it. It seems to me that the world's problems will end not so much by adopting a particular religion, but by following the one we have adopted, and I encouraged her in her following.

   She studies medicine in Sydney and mentioned to another passenger that she liked Indian food. I told her that we have many vegetarian restaurants serving Indian food in Australian cities, including Sydney, and I gave her my Krishna.com card so she could look them up.

   She mentioned how she had visited a Durga temple in Kolkata. I explained Durga is Mother Nature and is worshiped by those seeking a better position in this world but that her worshipers do not attain the kingdom of God. To seek a position in this world is like aspiring for a better cell in the jail, instead of aspiring to get out. She liked that analogy. I told her about our temple in Mayapur and how beautiful it is with is gardens and fountain in attractive rural setting, and I gave her the address of our web page on it.

   I hope she gained from her experience of meeting a Hare Krishna devotee. For me it just was nice to share some transcendental knowledge and opportunities with someone, especially after spending lots of time just hearing on pilgrimage.

   While writing this account, I regretted I did not try to sell her a book. I guess I figured because she seemed satisfied with her Catholicism, she would not accept it. That reason is not valid—I know because once, by Krishna's grace, I sold a Science of Self-Realization to a man reading a Bible in his car in a Gainesville shopping center!

 

"On the shores of the ocean, covering a very large area is the place known as Nilacala [Jagannatha Puri]. This is also known as Purusottama-ksetra, the abode of the Supreme Person. It has a most pleasing and peaceful atmosphere. Even at the time of the cosmic annihilation, this place remains intact, unscathed. I reside there eternally, and daily receive opulent offerings of foodstuffs."—Lord Krishna speaking to Lord Siva (Caitanya Bhagavata, Antya Khanda, Chapter 2).

travel journal#4.1: Mayapur and Puri

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 1

By Krishna-kripa das

  (January 2008, part one) 

Mayapur and Puri

 (Sent from Mayapur, West Bengal, India, on 2/1/08)

 

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

 

    I am in Mayapur where I am going on harinama almost every day for three hours, proofreading a book the Hungarian devotees did against Darwinian evolution, proofreading a book Bhakti Vikas Swami wrote on Srila  Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, having lunch with Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami and his disciples and going to his evening lecture, and trying to stay warm in the chilly mornings and evenings. I regular meet devotee friends from all over the world and encourage them to join us in our daily harinamas at least once, while they are here in Mayapur.

 

 

On Experiencing Srila Prabhupada's Reciprocation

 

   On my way to do my proofreading service, I walked by Srila Prabhupäda's puspa samadhi here in Mayapur. Now that Bhaktivaibhava class was on break and our nagar sankirtana party had a day off, I felt less pressured and thought I should stop by and see Srila Prabhupada and bow down to him. Entering the samadhi, I was disappointed to see the curtains closed, but I went up to the altar to offer obeisances anyway. There was crowd of people, including many school children in uniforms wandering about, doing there best to ignore the "Silence Please" signs in English and Bengali. I saw the pujari pick up the conchshell and was pleasantly surprised to find the midday arati for Prabhupada had not yet occurred. It does not start here till 1:00 p.m. Remembering that Prabhupada liked live kirtana during the arati, I asked the brahmacari distributing the maha-prasadam for some instruments. He pointed to the altar, and so I made a gesture to the purjari like someone playing an instrument. He handed me a gong and karatalas. I chanted, but there was so much background noise I could hardly here myself. I decided to chant as loudly as I could for the whole fifteen minute arati. People bumped into me as they rushed the altar to honor the offered ghee lamps, in typical Indian fashion, but I just chanted on, singing the Hare Krishna mantra alone, because that is the standard at the samadhi. I chanted the "Jaya Om" prayers at the end, and the distributor of maha-prasadam thanked me for my enthusiastic chanting saying, "Srila Prabhupada liked your kirtana." He then motioned to come downstairs, saying, "I will get you some maha-prasadam." He told the kitchen staff to give me a whole plateful. Srila Prabhupada is offered for lunch chapattis, rice, pakoras, chutney, at least five vegetables preparations, and three sweets. I was happy to see the nice arrangement they have for him. It all tasted wonderful.

   The whole experience was very sweet and taught me that by these simple devotional exchanges of bowing down, chanting, and accepting prasadam we can experience a loving exchange with Srila Prabhupada even now.

 

Quotes from Classes that are Tips on Devotional Service

 

Q: Krishna exists everywhere. Why then do we need to worship Him?

A (by Jananivasa Prabhu): If you feel Krishna is in every atom, you will want to worship Him. You will see, "My worshipful Lord is here."

 

Padmalocana Prabhu: If we understand completely the illusory nature of this material world we can absorb ourselves in devotional service.

 

Dhanurdhara Maharaja recalled a statement he heard from Srimati Mataji that was made by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: "Dhama seva (service of the sacred places) leads to nama seva (service to the holy name), and nama seva leads to kama seva (service given by the Lord to fulfill His personal desire)."

 

In the dhama, even the wind is serving Krishna.

 

Dhanurdhara Maharaja shared a realization a godbrother told him: Trnad api kirtana (chanting in humility) means we contribute to the kirtana but do not try to appear prominent, just as every blade of grass contributes to a beautiful lawn but none stands out.

 

Madhavananda Prabhu mentioned that if we appreciate the devotee association that Krishna gives us, He will give us better and better association.

 

I gave a class on verses dealing with the ages and their dharmas and the yuga-sandhyas divisions. While researching I found Back To Godhead (Nov./Dec. 1999, Vol. 33, No. 6) had some great quotes describing Lord Caitanya's appearance which increase our faith:

 

"In the first sandhya [period] of Kali-yuga, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will assume a golden form. First He will be the husband of Laksmi, and then He will be a sannyasi who stays near Lord Jagannatha at Puri."—Garuda Purana

 

"In the first sandhya of Kali-yuga I will appear on the earth in a beautiful place by the Ganges' shore. I will be the son of Sacidevi, and My complexion will be golden."—Padma Purana

 

"In the first sandhya of the Kali-yuga I will reveal My eternal golden form by the shore of the Ganges on the earth."—Brahma Purana

 

I also chanted several verses about the holy name being the yuga dharma and the best spiritual practice for the age such as the following:

 

Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of sankirtana. (SB 11.5.36)

 

Many people loved the class, but that is no surprise. This is the holy dhama of Mayapur, and they are all devotees of Lord Caitanya, and all I did was glorify the Lord and his process of chanting the holy names!

 

hare krishna hare krishna

   krishna krishna hare hare

hare rama hare rama

   rama rama hare hare

iti sodasakam namnam

   kali-kalmasa-nasanam

nätah parataropayah

   sarva-vedesu drsyate

 

"The sixteen words—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—are especially meant for counteracting the contaminations of Kali. To save oneself from the contamination of Kali, there is no alternative but the chanting of these sixteen words." (Kalisantarana Upanisad)

Memories of Nirguna Prabhu

I want to share with you some words of glorification of Nirguna Prabhu, a dedicated book distributor and follower of Srila Prabhupada, who passed away on November 3, 2007, in Mayapur, surrounded by devotees chanting the holy name. This account includes a conclusion which is not included in the versions of this on http://www.dandavants.com/ or send to my email list, so if you have read those versions, you might skip down to the conclusion.
I will include notes from our travels together, notes on his lectures, a nice story told by Niranjana Swami about him, and perhaps most importantly, notes from his seminar on book distribution at the 2005 Odessa festival.

Nirguna Prabhu on the Polish Festival Tour

I got to know Nirguna Prabhu when he inquired from me about the Polish festival tour when were attending the Festival of Inspiration in New Vrindavana in May 2005. Seeing thousands of people coming in touch with the culture of Krishna consciousness each day on the Polish festival tour makes me so happy I love to participate in them. Many people ask me for details about the festival, but few actually show up, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Nirguna Prabhu arrive for the Polish Woodstock festival in July of 2005. On the Polish festival tour Nirguna Prabhu would go on harinama, answer questions, and teach yoga. I was fortunate to serve Nirguna Prabhu by holding an umbrella over his head at harinama on one rainy day at Polish Woodstock festival.

Nirguna once mentioned that when he teaches yoga, he has the students chant the maha-mantra one word at a time. Indradyumna Swami asked, “Do they do it?”
Nirguna said, “Yes, they like it very much.”

Notes from a class given by Nirguna Prabhu on the Polish tour, August 10, 2005:
He glorified Indradyumna Swami for his determination. “His only business is to use each moment to spread the glories of the holy name.” Regarding the spread of Krishna consciousness in Poland, Indradyumna Swami says he is simply a witness to all the things going on. “He appreciated the devotees’ service. He bought ice cream for all the setup devotees, and when he ran out he drove to town to buy some more.” Nirguna expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the devotees on the tour. He recalled Prabhupada’s statement that the devotees could please him by their cooperation to serve his mission. If we have an appreciation of everyone’s service, no matter how different it is from our own, that will help us cooperate together. Our attachments in the world keep us so busy we have no time to hear and chant about Krishna. One may be younger or have come to Krishna consciousness more recently, but they may be lifetimes ahead of us. One may do so much service, but the real measure of our Krishna consciousness is now we treat others. A devotee is a kind friend to everyone.

Traveling with Nirguna Prabhu to New Vraja Dhama and the Odessa Festival

After the Polish festival tour Nirguna Prabhu arrived in Warsaw around 6:00 p.m. or so after 30 hours of traveling from our basis near the Baltic coast. Apparently the tires blew out on the cart they were pulling which carried the generator, and they had to wait till morning for a mechanic. Nirguna slept under the van to have the luxury of spreading out and to avoid the dew. He was still determined to take the 6:00 a.m. train to Budapest for the New Vraja Dhama festival for Janmastami which Indradyumna Swami ordered him to attend. I decided to fulfill Nirguna Prabhu’s desire and go with him. It meant missing opportunities to catch up on emails and entering my journal into the computer. It also meant missing the Poland 30th year of Krishna consciousness festival and being with my friends from the tour. I played the role of Nirguna’s travel agent, and tried to get us to Budapest the cheapest way possible by paying for a ticket in each country separately and avoiding the costly international rail tickets. We saved $36 dollars each going from Warsaw to Budapest, and later $88 each going from Budapest to Kiev. Nirguna Prabhu used his sankirtana expertise with the passengers on the train to trade my dollars for euros as conductors will not take dollars and but will take euros, however reluctantly.
We got into Fonyod, near the New Vraja farm, at 10 p.m., long after the buses had stopped running, so we had to take a taxi for $33 to New Vraja (Nirguna talked him down from $40). Everyone was asleep at the farm, so we slept under someone’s porch where we were attacked by mosquitoes the whole night. Another night we stayed in a tent, myself near the center, to avoid the cold and mosquitos, and Nirguna Prabhu toward the edge. Unfortunately for him, it rained at night and his stuff got wet. I noticed he took the setback better than I would have.
On Janmastami during the Radha Krishna boat festival, Nirguna Prabhu spoke briefly about the Lord and His boat pastimes. At the feast, Nirguna Prabhu kindly gave me some of the sweets they gave the sannyasis, but there were more than I could eat so we gave them to the servers, who gratefully accepted them.
On Vyasa Puja, Nirguna Prabhu read from the Brahma-vivarta Purana about the golden age predicted by Lord Krishna and talked about Srila Prabhupada’s important role in fulfilling that prophecy.
On the train to the Hungary border, a young woman stayed in our compartment for a couple hours. She spoke English pretty well. She had been to a public program the devotees had done recently. Nirguna gave her an Isopanisad he had for distribution, and showed her pictures of the festival on his digital camera.
At the border of Ukraine we met a lady who could speak some English and helped us to get across the border and to purchase our tickets for Kiev. Nirguna gave her some cake prasadam which she gratefully accepted. I think due to Nirguna Prabhu’s piety the female train conductor gave us a two-person compartment, although we only had paid for a four-person one, and thus we could do our devotional practices in peace.
We chanted all the morning prayers and evening prayers as well, and we got caught up in our journals, in our reading, and in our resting. In that respect, train travel can be ideal. We had a sink in our compartment, which was nice for washing hands after eating.
We saw lots of green vegetation, a few cows and goats, and lots of small gardens with corn, squash, and other things, many with people working in them, as we went by at an average of 35 mph, slow for a train.
Devotees from Kiev met us at the very car of the train we got off at—talk about expert! They drove us 25 minutes to the temple where they offered us flower gardens, showed us to our rooms, and provided us some dinner, although we were not hungry since the Budapest devotees had given us so much prasadam for our trip.
In Kiev, Nirguna Prabhu gave class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.1. He mentioned that the last verse of Vedanta Sutra stresses liberation through sound, and the last verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam, its natural commentary, stresses the congregational chanting of the holy name, a parallel I was unaware of before.

Nirguna Prabhu—Book Distribution Seminar Notes

Niranjana Swami glorified the devotees who had come for the first time to Odessa to do seminars, among them, Nirguna Prabhu. Niranjana Swami told a nice story illustrating Nirguna Prabhu’s dedication to distributing Krishna consciousness. Once Nirguna was hit by a car while distributing books in North Carolina, and when Niranjana Swami and Madhuha Prabhu heard about it, they went to visit him in the hospital. He was in surgery when they arrived so they had to wait a couple hours. When they were finally allowed in, Niranjana Swami put his face above Nirguna’s head since his body was completely wrapped up like a mummy because of extensive injuries, and he couldn’t move. When Nirguna saw him, he immediately exclaimed, “Niranjana Swami, please accept my obeisances! Tell me, how is the preaching in the CIS?” During their brief conversation, Nirguna was reluctant to talk about the accident. He was more interested in hearing how Krishna consciousness was being accepted in the former USSR. When Niranjana Swami left, Nirguna said, “Could you just bless me I might always be engaged in distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books?” Niranjana Swami was amazed how little Nirguna was concerned about his body, even when in such a serious condition.
Nirguna Prabhu shared knowledge and techniques about book distribution and also went out distributing as well. I only attended two of his several sessions, but he shared very valuable realized knowledge that I would like to pass on to you for your inspiration since Srila Prabhupada valued book distribution so much. Here are some of the things Nirguna Prabhu said:
We must read Srila Prabhupada’s books to be inspired. We must buy some books. Keep the book room neat. No damaged books. Books of each type together. Keep inventory. Ukraine, because it has many devotees, can do a lot to spread Krishna consciousness.
One devotee who was doing carpentry in the temple noticed how ecstatic the sankirtana devotees were from selling books, and he decided to go out. Very soon he sold many books and gave up the carpentry to do fulltime book distribution.
Keep at least one of each of Srila Prabhupada’s books on hand, and the inexpensive and mass produced ones, you should have a stock of. Every book that is distributed is read by an average of five people. Try different venues for distributing books and see which works for you. Every home can have a book display. We must want to distribute Krishna consciousness more than everything. We must try to avoid distractions from devotional service. The more our mind is fixed on Krishna, the more effective we will be. Set time aside to distribute books.
Greet somebody in a very friendly way and stop them. Ask them a question. Put a book in their hand, and say we are showing these to everyone today. Show them some of the pictures in the books and say a few words about them. Say we like everyone to have one because they make people’s lives better. We just ask a donation. Distribute damaged books to poorer people, some pious person who will read it. Sometimes bad weather is good because the people will buy the books because they appreciate the devotee’s determination.
Nirguna asked devotees to tell stories of book distribution.
One young Russian lady told how she brought some books home with her when she went home to visit her grandmother one day’s train ride from Moscow. When she went to the nearby town to make a phone call, she dressed in a sari because it was so hot outside. A guy who was waiting for the bar to open started talking with her about a cure for his hangover. She decided to go home after making the call because she felt that this person was not good to associate with, but when she went he followed her. He said that he read that people dressed the way she was had a cure for hangover, and he asked if she had some prayer he could say. When she got home, she wrote down the Hare Krishna maha-mantra on a piece of paper for him and gave him some yogurt prasadam. He was so grateful that he gave her 50 rubles ($1.75) and told her to buy some chocolate. She decided that was enough to cover the cost of a book, so she gave him a book. He said, “I want you to get some chocolate!” And he gave her 50 more rubles, and so she gave him another book. He was so grateful, he said, “Thank you. Thank you.” And walked down two stairs to go and said again, “Thank you. Thank you.” And he waved his hands in the air like the devotees do during kirtana.
One older lady saw an ad for Srila Prabhupada’s books in a Russian magazine. Bhagavad-gita was in the center of a group of books, and the caption read, “These books can change your life.” She told her husband that she wanted to order them, and he permitted it, so they did. In time, they forgot about it. A few months later, an unexpected package showed up. She was going to open it after lunch, but when she went into the kitchen to cook, it was as if a voice within her suggested that she open it then. It was the book she had ordered. When she saw the picture on the cover, she wondered what this nice boy is doing involved in this war. When she started reading it, she found it was about a battle, but she wasn’t interested in warfare.
Then she skipped through the first chapter and came to the second. Then she found it so fascinating that she read it day and night, whenever she got a chance and finished it in twenty days. Her husband was traveling and happened to meet the devotees and was interested in the books but did not buy any because he was poor. He was glad to find that his wife had the Bhagavad-gita when he returned home.

Summary
1. All the books are based on Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.
2. Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura wanted to preach all over the world.
3. Book distribution is our primary service.
4. If they get a book, they have Srila Prabhupada’s association 365 days a year.

For success in Srila Prabhupada’s book distribution:
1. read the books
2. do little nonsense
3. make your abode like a temple
4. associate with devotees
5. have books for distribution on hand
6. have a book display
7. bring books with you wherever you go.

Notes from a class given by Nirguna Prabhu on September 13, 2005, in Kiev, Ukraine:
By surrendering to Krishna we can transcend material nature, because He is in control of material nature.

Nirguna gave a book distribution seminar in which he told of novel ways people had come in touch with Srila Prabhupada’s books. One person saw a shaft of sunlight shine through a crack in some rocks onto a picnic table in the forest and illuminate a Srimad-Bhagavatam that happened to lay there, so he picked up the book. As a result, he developed an interest in Srila Prabhupada’s books. Another person found a Bhagavad-gita As It Is in a cave in an island off the coast of Crete where he was vacationing, and he read it and became a devotee. Another heard a clanging noise when he drove over something with his car. When he investigated, he found it was a Bhagavad-gita, and he read it and became a devotee. Still another was going to commit suicide by jumping off of a cliff, but he met a devotee who showed him a Back to Godhead magazine, and so he changed his mind, read the magazine, and then became a devotee.

Conclusion

I hope this account gives you some insight into the transcendental qualities of Nirguna Prabhu, a faithful servant of Srila Prabhupada. For me I see his submission to Indradyumna Swami in following Maharaja’s advice to go to New Vraja’s Janmastami festival. I see his humility and practicality in inducing the train passengers to trade their euros for my dollars. I see his humility also in not wanting to disturb the New Vraja residents by arriving at 11:00 p.m. to the extent of being willing to sleep under someone’s mosquito-infested porch. I see his tolerance manifest when his paraphernalia got wet when it rained at night. I see his gratitude and compassion in sharing prasadam with those who helped us on our journey. I see his preaching spirit in distributing the Sri Isopanisad to the girl on the train and showing her pictures of the New Vraja festival. His preaching spirit is actually so strong, inspiring him to come to the Polish festival tour for two years and to teach the seminar on book distribution at the Odessa, Ukraine, festival. Niranjana Swami’s account shows how Nirguna valued spreading Krishna consciousness far more than worrying about his personal comfort. I could see from traveling with Nirguna Prabhu that he is a remarkable, spiritually advanced personality.
My only prayer is that Nirguna Prabhu, by his service and qualities, may attract the mercy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is famous as Krishna-prema pradaya, the giver of Krishna prema and that Nirguna Prabhu might receive from Him that ultimate gift. Please join me in this prayer.
I also pray to him that he may forgive me for my incompetence in his service.

Nirguna Prabhu ki, jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki, jaya!