travel journal#4.11: Harinamas in Six Cities

Harinama in Brno, Czech

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 11
By Krishna-kripa das
(June 2008, part one)
Munich / Prague / Brno / Modra / Bratislava / Sofia
(Sent from Prague, Czech Republic on 6/19/08)

Correction: To see more Eiffel Tower harinama pictures, click on this link:
http://picasaweb.google.fr/srisriradhaparisisvara/HarinamTrocadero31Mai2008WithJananandaGoswamiMaharaj that does not work, then click on the link
http://picasaweb.google.fr/srisriradhaparisisvara/ and then on the album named "HarinamTrocadero31Mai2008WithJananandaGoswamiMaharaj".

Addition: Previously on the way to Simhacalam, our car died near Bonn and we took a train to Cologne, Germany, where we have a temple. While on the train, we did a harinama, led by Janmastami Prabhu. Bhaktin Elaine, from near Amsterdam, shares these two videos of the harinama on the train:
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=OWWMpkJRxqU
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=hT5zUotsOcA

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

The first half of June has been very exciting for me, traveling to new cities and old favorites to do harinama: Munich: 2 days, Prague: 3 days, Brno (CZ): 3 days, Bratislava (SK), 3 days and Sofia (BG): 1 day; 12 days in a row without a break, and only 3 days without harinama. Those days also were special, as I got to hear from Janananda Swami in Paris before going to Munich and Bhaktivaibhava Swami in Sofia the last weekend.

Devotional Notes

Jiva Goswami writes in the Bhakti Sandarbha regarding the glories of nama-sankirtana:
"In the Javali Samhita the process of nama smarana has been described. Those who are desirous of obtaining unlimited varieties of spiritual bliss should always perform japa, meditation (dhyana) singing (gana) and kirtana of the topmost names of Sri Hari. But in the practice of nama smarana one cannot obtain spiritual bliss as long as the heart remains impure. Whereas the practice of nama sankirtana does not depend on purification of the heart. Therefore nama smaranam is less effective than nama sankirtanam, and nama sankirtana has greater importance."
--contributed by Janananda Goswami

Wise words from Bhaktivaibhava Swami in Sofia:

"Bhagavad-gita is the art of living in this world."

"If you think this body belongs to you, try to keep it. Actually everything belongs to Krishna."

"People who take to Krishna consciousness are very fortunate to be giving up the stubborn materialistic mentality, and we should encourage them by all means."

"We should not tell people who like to work in a passionate way to act more in the mode of goodness, but rather to work passionately for Krishna."

"People who like to work to acquire wealth should not be discouraged. Rather they should be encouraged to engage their wealth in Krishna's service."

Gems from Kadamba Kanana Swami in Munich:

"Spiritual life is difficult, but material life is impossible."

"We see that Krishna puts the purification of an individual devotee ahead of using him as an instrument in His mission."

"'Sannyasi life is simple. Wherever the women go, go in the other direction.'
—Jayadvaita Swami"

"To go deep into our spiritual consciousness can help us benefit other people."

"Krishna decides what your role will be, and you have to accept that."

"Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura explains that true empowerment means to be empowered with both spiritual knowledge and spiritual happiness."

"Krishna wants to benefit all living beings, and so if you want to please Krishna, you also have to want to benefit all living beings."

Kadamba Kanana Swami said he saw someone with a self-designed T-shirt, "I have heard it all, I have seen it all, and I have done it all. But I cannot remember it all."

That struck me as the epitome of this famous verse spoken by Prahlada Maharaja, "Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Krishna are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both" (SB 7.5.30).

Wisdom from Priti Vardhana Prabhu who teaches at Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami's asrama:

"The Vedic process is to hear from the teacher in the morning and to apply the knowledge during the day."

"If the students do more than is required, we praise them, but not publicly, as that would breed competition which promotes working for rewards [not working in devotion]."

"Children should be given some responsibility. Without exception, they must do their duty before they play. Then they will learn to use their intelligence do their duties quickly so they can play."

"When the parent is busy, and the child comes by, the parent should try to think of how the child can assist, rather than tell the child to get out of the way. In this way, the child feels useful."

"Even primitive societies that worship some aspects of the Lord's material form (virat-rupa) last for centuries, while atheistic societies are short-lived."

--Prana Natha Prabhu (from Brazil) in Brno

An Extra Harinama in Prague

My friend Jaroslav from Prague, who loves harinama and helps organize the Happy Days festivals in Czech Republic as well as their Ratha-yatras, organized a four-hour harinama in Prague on Thursday. Thirteen devotees attended. A couple friends, Prana Natha Prabhu, from Brazil, and Bhakta Tom, from Slovakia, who did harinama with us in Mayapur this winter were there—a nice treat. To see the enthusiasm of the devotees, and the bystanders as well, made me so happy. One young lady watching the party surprisingly gave me a book of Vedic saying in Czech that she takes pleasure in distributing. It is rare to encounter people already attracted to Vedic philosophy. Another promised she would dance with us but remained watching from a distance with her boyfriend. I went to interest her in some books, and she asked me to tell the leader of the band to play faster so she could dance. When he did, she came over and danced for awhile with great delight. I encouraged her to come to the evening programs at Govinda's, where she sometimes dines. In Prague there is a positive attitude among the people in general because of the steady harinama program and three prasadam restaurants, and when you add to that the enthusiasm of the devotees to chant in public, it makes it a great place for harinama. In 2004, when I asked Lokanath Swami the best place to do harinama, he told me, "Prague." People from all over the world see us there. Even my mother saw the devotees chanting there when she visited once.

Surprising Appreciation in Brno

Sometimes I wonder why I bother to travel around and give class as my classes are not any better then anyone else's and probably worse than a lot of people's. Therefore I was very surprised that two bhaktins from Brno decided to stay for my evening class although it meant taking a bus leaving at midnight to go to Prague to attend mangala-arati and Kadamba Kanana Swami's class the next day. I guess one can argue that they are so devotional that they can find merit in even my classes. They expressed gratitude about the extra harinama and the evening programs we had in Brno, and it sort of validated my whole traveling and preaching program, in which I am trying to promote an increase in harinama and evening programs wherever I go.

Among other things, I try to go through the words of our standard songs with the new devotees, as the songs are so much more meaningful when we know the words. I also try to read a little Krishna book in the evening after Bhagavad-gita, so both myself and the audience will increase our attachment to Krishna's pastimes. It is nice to encounter enthusiasm for hearing and chanting about Krishna among the younger and newer people. It makes one feel the mission will continue and flourish.

Bratislava

I did a nama-hatta program at Peter and Jana's in Modra, Slovakia, near Bratislava. They are aspiring disciples of Kadamba Kanana Swami, and some of their friends came, who like to get to together and hear and chant about Krishna. Our gathering reminded me of a great verse:

naham tisthami vaikunthe
yoginam hrdayesu va
tatra tisthami narada
yatra gayanti mad-bhakta

Krishna explains to the great sage Narada that He is not to be found in the spiritual world nor the hearts of the yogis but where His devotees are chanting His glories. This also calls to mind a Biblical saying where Jesus Christ tells his followers, "Whenever two or three of you are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of you." These references reveal the truth that we can experience the Lord's presence when we get together to chant and talk about Him, an important clue in spiritual life.

After our talks, we had prasadam which made mostly with fruits and vegetables from Peter's own garden, and the strawberry halava was the best I have ever had. We had some nice discussion as we had dinner.

We hoped to do harinama in Bratislava on Sunday, but our hosts were not feeling well and the weather was uncooperative, so Bhakta Tom and I chanted kirtana at the bus station, as we waited for our respective buses. I'd hoped to give the Sunday feast lecture there, but the Sunday program was cancelled due to temple renovation, so I returned to Brno where I knew I had friends to do harinama with. In Bratislava the devotees are fully engaged both in their Govinda's Restaurant, which served a record 248 customers one day that week, and in doing book distribution. The Bratislava restaurant, which is quite successful, has made the local people, who are very much from a traditional Christian background, much more open to the devotees than they originally were. The devotees are committed to their weekly harinama on Wednesday, which I returned for. The enthusiastic party of five devotees chanted in a nice section of town with lots of people and different restaurants with outside seating. The people are less open to getting the invitations than in many places, and I had to really smile at them a lot, and hand them the invitations in a very dramatic way for them to finally accept. Harinamas require permission from the authorities, but not individual musicians, so on Thursday, I played the drum and chanted and passed out invitations to Govinda's for a little over an hour before catching a bus to Vienna to get my flight to Sofia.

Sofia Harinama

The weather was truly miserable, but the devotees have a backup location one floor under the street level. Many teenagers were skateboarding there in the beginning, an odd audience for harinama. Bhakta Stoyan is very enthusiastic at both organizing harinamas and during them, continuously distributing invitations and one page summaries of our philosophy to anyone and everyone, and it was inspiring to see. One group of teenaged girls sitting about twenty feet from us for over an hour finally got enough courage to dance along with us at the end and the devotees gave them prasadam. Another couple of teenaged girls took pictures of the chanting devotees from many different angles. Many people spend several minutes watching us before continuing on their way.

Nirjala Ekadasi

About Ekadasi, Srila Prabhupada writes in Nectar of Devotion, "The basic principle is not just to fast, but to increase one's faith and love for Govinda, or Krishna. The real reason for observing fasting on Ekadasi is to minimize the demands of the body and to engage our time in the service of the Lord by chanting or performing similar service. The best thing to do on fasting days is to remember the pastimes of Govinda and to hear His holy name constantly." I mentioned to the devotees in Sofia that I was willing to stay up all night on Nirjala Ekadasi if anyone wanted to. Bhakti Efi from Israel volunteered. He suggested we read Caitanya-caritamrita, but in light of the above quote we decided on Krishna book instead. We took turns choosing which chapter to read and took turns reading, and when we got tired of reading, and it was past midnight, we chanted four rounds toward the coming day's japa quota, and then returned our Krishna book reading, alternating between the activities in that way. Sometimes I nodded out while either reading or listening and a few times I felt like quitting because staying awake seemed so artificial, but in the end it proved to be quite a manageable austerity. After breaking the fast at sunrise with water and some khira, I took an hour nap before greeting of the Deities. A two-hour nap midday facilitated almost normal functioning of the body on the Dvadasi. Bhakti Efi, amazing enough, only took an hour nap. I write this to inspire others that it is not so hard. In his evening lecture, Bhaktivaibhava Maharaja encouraged such fasting and minimizing of bodily needs because at the end of life the body often cannot digest properly and so we may be forced to fast and to be practiced to remember Krishna in such awkward circumstances can greatly benefit us.

travel journal#4.10: Simhacalam / Japa Retreat / Paris Metroyoga & Eiffel Harinama

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 10

By Krishna-kripa das

(May 2008, part two)

Simhacalam / Japa Retreat / Paris Metroyoga & Eiffel Harinama

(Sent from Prague, Czech Republic on 6/6/08)

Harinama at the Eiffel Tower

About twenty devotees from Paris have a lively two-hour harinama at the foot of the famed Eiffel Tower on Saturday nights.

One young lady and her fiancée watched us for a few minutes. The lady was captivated by the kirtana. Janananda Swami encouraged the couple to dance with us, which they did for ten minutes or so. The lady was smiling with great happiness the whole time. When they left, waving good-bye, I lamented I had no invitations to give them. Fortunately, they came back, and I gave the lady my final Krishna.com business card with the mantra and web site on it. She said she was from Uruguay in South America but had seen the Hare Krishnas in Thailand. I invited her to look up our temples in Uruguay on Krishna.com when she returns home.

One boy was selling miniature Eiffel Towers which dangled from a ring, and he humorously shook the ring like a tambourine in perfect time with the karatala beat. One young black man also selling Eiffel souvenirs moved his whole body in time with the music.

The most humorous thing was how one man who was painted silver and held poses for money interacted with the harinama party, imitating their characteristic dance pose. This induced bystanders to join in as you can see in the picture. Thus more people participated in exchanging with the devotees than otherwise would. It was very funny. Between Janananda Swami and the silver man in the pictures, is Nitai Gaurasundara Prabhu, who deserves special mention for his years of selfless service as Paris temple president.

If you are ever in Paris don't miss the Eiffel Tower harinama. It is a lot of fun, as you can see. To see more pictures, click on this link:

http://picasaweb.google.fr/srisriradhaparisisvara/HarinamTrocadero31Mai2008WithJananandaGoswamiMaharaj

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

After repairing the car in Cologne, we drove to Munich, spending the night in our temple there; and then arrived at Simhacalam for Europe's best Nrsimhadeva's Appearance Festival. My ride to Paris having not materialized; I returned with the Radhadesh devotees hoping to catch a bus from Brussels, but I was happily detained by a very beneficial four-day japa retreat with Sacinandana Swami, like that I had been desiring to do for years, and which started the day after we arrived. The last week in May I spent in Paris, doing harinama and prasadam distribution, mostly on the subways, which the devotees here call "Metroyoga," and finally culminating in a walking harinama at the Eiffel Tower.

Devotional Notes

Notes from Lecture by Sacinandana Swami on Nrsimha Caturdasi at Simhacalam:

"If you have faith in the Lord's protection, you will be a devotee, if not you will be a materialist."

Q: Should we tolerate a painful situation considering that it is sent by Krishna or should we try to change the situation?
A: (by Sacinandana Swami) If we can see that it is an attack of maya, we should resist. But if it is coming from Krishna for our purification we should accept it.

From Sacinandana Swami's japa retreat in Radhadesh, May 20-24:

"You will not come to the next level if you keep doing what you are doing."

"Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said that it takes three lives to perfect our chanting: one offensive, one clearing, and one pure." [Janananda Swami comments that Srila Prabhupada is more merciful because he said we can do it in one life.]

"If one is forced, resistance builds up. If there is taste, it is easy, and you do not want to stop."

"Advanced devotees have three desires: to reach Krishna, to serve Krishna; and to enter into a relationship with Krishna."

"The last gate to see Radha and Krishna opens from the inside [we may do many things to attain Krishna's mercy, but in the ultimate issue, Krishna reveals Himself.]"

"When you do not complete your sixteen rounds, the holy name, who is a person, slips into the background, thinking you no longer care for Him."

"To increase my appreciation of the holy name, which I came to understand is the most important part of our practice, for one month a year, I try to chant as many rounds a day as possible."

Tulasi is so important. Even Radharani offers Krishna tulasi leaves in hopes of pleasing Him and attaining His association.

"So as Nrsimhadeva touched the head of Prahlada Maharaja, immediately you can have that same facility. . . . Nama rupe kali kale krishna avatara. Krishna is present by his name, Krishna. . . . Always think like that, that as soon as you are chanting Hare Krishna, you must know that you are touching Krishna with your tongue. Then you get the same benefit as Prahlada Maharaja." --lecture by Srila Prabhupada on SB 7.9.6 in Mayapur on February 26, 1977.

"Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati advised that while chanting japa we can meditate that our beads are the toes of Lord Gauranga."

"The mind is like a roommate who is engaged in constant chatter and thus distracts us from our duties. It is filled with neurosis and lamentation. If we had such a roommate, we would be so eager to get rid of him we may even pay the additional rent for a new place, but we are so foolish that we continue to accept the mind's association."

"Devotee: Srila Prabhupada, it's very difficult to control my mind when I chant. It wanders.
Prabhupada: So what is the controlling of mind? You have to chant and hear, that's all. You have to chant with your tongue, and the sound you hear, that's all. What is the question of mind?" –Morning Walk, February 3; 1975, in Hawaii
[During the japa workshop both myself and a friend got more realization of these practical words of Srila Prabhupada than ever before.]

"If we address Krishna [by chanting] but then ignore Him when He turns to us; what will He think?"

"Therefore, when we chant Hare Krishna, we are praying, 'O Lord, O energy of the Lord, please accept me.' We have no other prayer than 'Please accept me.'" –Path of Perfection, Chapter 10

"Where a devotee takes shelter, especially in trying times, reveals the strength of his devotional service."

"We must be aware that on our own strength we cannot attain Krishna.

"Mauna does not mean just not to talk but silence the mind's chatter."

From Janananda Swami's SB 3.5.6 class in Paris:

"You cannot wake someone up if you are sleeping [we have to be enlightened ourselves if we hope to enlighten others]."

"Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said that anything that can be measured is maya (illusion or relative truth) for the Absolute Truth cannot be measured."

Nrsimhadeva's Appearance Festival at Simhacalam

I went to the festival at Simhachalam, a rural temple near the southeastern German city of Passau, a couple of hours northeast of Munich, for Lord Nrsimha's Appearance Day, and I was truly impressed. On the appearance day of the Lord, we desire to concentrate fully on Him, and I cannot think of a better place than Simhachalam, where Lord Nrsimha is so obviously in the center—the only large deity on the altar, along with Prahlada seated on His lap. His facial expression is fierce, but seeing Prahlada on his lap, we recall his affection for His servant, as a lioness is kind to her cubs.

The emphasis on kirtana (chanting) was very inspiring. I was amazed that the kirtana the day before the Lord's appearance went till nearly 11:00 p.m., and even great leaders like Sacinandana Swami stayed till the end. More impressive than this was the kirtana performed after the Nrsimha feast was served out at 8:30 p.m. At 9:30 p.m. as many as one hundred devotees were chanting together in the temple for the pleasure of the Lord, and when I left at 11:00 p.m., so I could make it till mangala-arati, there were still sixty or seventy devotees chanting together.

Devotees from all over Germany, and some from nearby Czech, Austria, and Poland gathered for the festival, with some attending from Radhadesh, Amsterdam, and London. Devotees who have often encouraged me to visit Simhacalam were there to add to the sweetness. Kadamba Kanana Swami encouraged me to participicate in the bathing ceremony of the Deity which was another nice feature.

Nrsimhadeva's appearance was a special day for me as I was initiated on that day, twenty-five years ago, and I felt really blessed to observe the festival so nicely there at Simhacalam. If you are ever in Europe at the time, take the opportunity to go.

Metroyoga

Chandrashekhara Acharya Prabhu and Gadadhara Priya Prabhu have developed an innovative harinama program palatable for the commuters on the Paris metro. They go out weekdays from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Chandra is a natural musican and master of ceremonies, and he speaks a few words of introduction after he and three devotees enter the metro car chanting, playing harmonium, drum, karatalas, and carrying sweets. "Now is the time for a daily session of what we call 'Metroyoga.' Yes, metroyoga, ladies and gentlemen—we have to adapt ourselves to urbanization. But do not worry; it is totally authentic according to the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition of India, it is free . . ." After chanting for one stop, he tells about the associated culinary tradition and one devotee offers a Dwaraka burfi, using tongs, to each passenger beginning with the more obviously favorable, along with a mantra card with the "http://www.metroyoga.fr/" web page on the front. Many accept, sometimes as many as six of the eight in each division of seating. At the third stop, Candra mentions the purifying effects of the mantra, even twenty feet underground ("Thank God for us!"), and at the fourth he concludes, "Ladies and gentlemen, they do this free of charge, with devotion, to bring a little bit of joy to Paris. Please, give a round of applause to the metroyoga team! Thank you for your tolerance. See you next time." Then the devotees leave, continuing to chant, and waiting on the platform till the metro begins moving, when they wave to their audience, many who smile and wave as well.

What do the people think? One Muslim girl wrote an email that very evening: "I entered inside the metro . . . in the middle of the chanting that you were singing. I didn`t understand much, but I felt various emotions; it touched me immensely to see your smiles, your friendliness and kindness, which could be seen from the traits of your faces. As the doors of the train were closing, one of you gave me a CD, which I rushed to listen to upon returning home. I found these chants to be absolute amazing. . . . A big, big 'thank you' to you all for those few minutes of joy."

One girl who received the sweet and mantra card from us followed us when we moved from one subway car to another as we do on the high speed train home at the end of the evening. She visibly lamented when her stop came, and she had to leave us. The sweet mantras brought another girl to tears.

One girl waiting for the metro smiled as we walked by. I gave her our card; when she took it I offered her a sweet. When we chanted; I noticed she was chanting along, so I told her that we had some CDs of the music, and that if she gave a donation, I would give her one. She dug through her pockets as she boarded the metro with us, and then her bag, and finally gave us three euros, and we gave her the CD.

In five days, I only saw one guy who was a little offended, some were just absorbed in their books or listening to a portable music device, but many liked the chanting and the entertaining presentation, and no doubt have a good feeling about the Hare Krishnas and their chant.

kalim sabhājayanty āryā
guna jñāh sāra-bhāginah
yatra sankīrtanenaiva
sarva-svārtho 'bhilabhyate

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 sankīrtana [the congregational chanting of the holy name] (SB 11.5.36).

travel journal#4.9: Holland and Belgium Adventures

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 9
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2008, part one) 
Holland and Belgium Adventures
(Sent from Radhadesh, Belgium on 5/22/08)

 
I am sorry that this one is so long. I will try to reform by next time. If you can read only part, check out my Queen's Day blog and read the Amsterdam harinama stories.

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

I was invited by Kadamba Kanana Swami to Amsterdam to take part in Queen's Day, a mammoth street festival attended by over a million people, where the Hare Krishna devotees chanted for ten hours. For those who are interested, I wrote a whole article on it, including some links to a variety of videos that will give you an idea of what it was like. Janmastami Prabhu, a Lokanath Swami disciple, who is an enthusiastic preacher who played accordion before becoming devotee, nicely reciprocated with my desire to do three hours of daily harinama in Amsterdam for the rest of the week. Next weekend I went to Rotterdam for Saturday harinama and to do the Sunday feast lecture. The next week, seeing the beautiful weather, the devotees decided to try chanting in the park in Amsterdam, and it was a great success. The next weekend I did Saturday harinama in Brussels with the Radhadesh devotees, and a Sunday harinama and feast lecture in Antwerp. Finally after many devotees have described and invited to me to Radhadesh, I finally visited, and was struck by the beauty and serenity of that spiritual place and the enthusiasm of the devotees to hear and chant about Krishna. From Mayapur and the Polish tour, I had many friends now residing in Radhadesh, and it was a joy to see them. We did another harinama in Antwerp, and a nama-hatta program at the place of Krishna Priya, a very devoted preacher. After returning to Amsterdam for a final chanting in the park, we leave to go to Simhacalam, Bavarian Germany's rural home of Lord Nrsimha, to celebrate His appearance, along with devotees from all over Europe. The car broke down, and we stayed over night in the Cologne, Germany, temple, where Nikhilananda Prabhu assisted us in repairing the car and continuing on our journey.

Devotional Notes

Gems from Kadamba Kanana Swami in a Bhagavatam lecture in Amsterdam:

Austerity is never the goal. Nor is austerity one of the 64 items of devotional service. Out of prema, Vaishnava acaryas reduce eating and sleeping to focus on devotional service.

Although we can engage the products of passion and ignorance in the service of the Lord, they still have a demoniac features, so we must be careful.

Spiritual life is like going to Badrinatha (in the Himalayas). You go up and then you go down, but not as far down as you went up!

Comment [by me]: It makes senses that since Lord Caitanya has come to give love of Krishna, He would first give it to those assisting in His mission.

Response [by Kanamba Kanana Swami]: Yes. But also Lord Caitanya was very strict with Chota Haridas, Krishna Das, and Damodar. He did not want His followers to act loosely. Still, although we are incomplete, He gives us His blessings. All the acharyas (previous spiritual teachers) are full of compassion and desire our welfare. I envision the Panca-tattva dancing, followed by the acharyas.

Commenting on a lecture on Rama's appearance day, describing Sita being kidnapped when she stepped out of her protective circle, Mother Lila-avatara said that Prabhupada has drawn a protective circle around us, and Maya cannot reach us as long as we stay within the circle—the four regulative principles.
   --from "Tachycardia" by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami.

We do not worship cows as being the Supreme Lord but because of their relationship with the Supreme Lord.
  --Shyamasundara Prabhu from Bhaktivedanta Manor in a Bhagavatam lecture at Radhadesh

In the lyrics of a song [I think it was by Bob Dylan] the point was made that whether you serve the devil or the Lord, you have to serve somebody. That is also our understanding.
  --Gaura Prabhu in a Bhagavatam lecture in Amsterdam

Krishna can be compared to an expert herdsman who nicely takes care of his animals needs, thus we do not have to worry if we take shelter of Krishna.
  --Gaura Hari Prabhu, temple president in Oslo, Norway, in a Bhagavatam lecture in Amsterdam

When Srila Prabhupada said we go back to Godhead if we just chanted sixteen rounds a day and followed the four regulative principles, devotees were surprised it was so easy. Now after many have left, we realize it is not so easy. Thus the people who are still endeavoring to follow are very special souls.
   --Gaura Hari, in a Bhagavatam lecture in Amsterdam

From Hari Sauri's Diary:

Balavanta Prabhu said one American politician said Krishna consciousness was spreading like an epidemic and could even take over the government. Srila Prabhupada mentioned if Krishna consciousness became popular with the masses they could elect a Krishna consciousness consciousness government.

We have many jungles to pass through so we have to sharpen our knife by studying the sastra so we can cut through them all.
  --Caitanya-lila devi dasi in a Srimad-Bhagavatam class in Cologne, Germany

 

Adventure in Rotterdam

I went to Rotterdam for the weekend since Kadamba Kanana Swami suggested I visit other places besides Amsterdam. Every Saturday they have a harinama for two and a half hours. They chant to the Rotterdam Central train station, a convenient five-minute walk from their temple, and stay there for half an hour while more devotees gather. Many of the enthusiastic participants were Indian-bodied devotees from Suriname, formerly Dutch Guiana, whose enthusiasm for helping with the harinama and the temple programs reminded me of the Guyanese devotees I knew from Alachua who were similarly enthusiastic. A couple senior brahmacaris also came from Den |Haag, a town 15 minutes away. Some devotees distributed invitations and books. We chanted in a mall crowded with people checking out the different shops. A good number of people took the invitations. After the harinama was an incredible feast including pizza, spaghetti, curd sabji, and the best sweet rice I have had in months. The delicious sweet rice was simply flavored with toasted coconut, a new and pleasant experience. Having a tasty feast after harinama is a great idea that might be introduced in other temples to encourage reluctant souls to turn out for the event. Everyone likes a good feast.

Although one devotee makes daily offerings to their Pancatattva Deities, they have no morning program there. I took advantage of the situation of being alone with a computer with an internet connection, and caught up on my work before the Sunday lecture.

I talked about chanting the holy name in the form of japa as temple president, Mother Narayani advised. One regular invited a couple friends for the first time as it was his birthday, so I had to summary the main points of the philosophy for them.

They asked me to lead the kirtana which I did for a while and then one of the regulars took over. They put on YouTube: http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=bl45NNCqTYg&feature=email

For me the significance of the kirtana was the enthusiastic dancing of all the devotees, a nice feature of that temple. Although I am not a real kirtana leader, they were still able to enthusiastically get absorbed in chanting the holy name and dancing.

They are intent to keep their web page current and Michel, their vice-president, did a whole photo article on my visit.

Harinamas in Amsterdam

Back in Amsterdam, we resumed our daily harinamas. One girl passed us, smiling and moving her body in time to our music. When I gave her an invitation, she said she saw us at Queen's Day. Later I told Bhakta Nir from Israel to try to sell her a book, and she ended up taking one. On Sunday, a couple people came to the temple from seeing us at Queen's Day. It is nice to see so soon some favorable results from our attempts at that awesome street festival.

We chanted in the park in Amsterdam which was very crowded, even on a Wednesday, due to the incredibly beautiful spring weather. Different people who had some relationship with the devotees came by for the cold ginger tea and sweet balls and to hear the mellow bhajanas. New people also came by as well. We were successful in that, despite our mrdanga, we did not get stopped for illegally playing a drum in the park for the three hours we were there. It was such a nice experience that we decided to go for the rest of the week if the weather holds out. Bhakta Nir pedaled me and the instruments, books, and prasadam, all packed into a wagon in front of the bike, back to the temple. I was reclining my back and playing the harmonium and chanting the whole way, Many people smiled and laughed at us because it was such an odd sight, but they also benefited from hearing the holy names.

I talked to one devotee who met Srila Prabhupada in Bury Place in London in 1968. He never got initiated during Srila Prabhupada's presence, but when he went to Vrindavana recently, one day the devotees asked him to lead the temple parikrama kirtana after guru puja and the next day they asked him to do the arati itself. That night he had a dream in which Srila Prabhupada initiated him and gave him a name. He had some doubts that had previously blocked him from coming forward for initiation, but that experience resolved them.

One guitar player, who also liked Beatles music, had a nice conversation with Gaura Prabhu at the park, and lent Gaura his guitar to play Hare Krishna before the other devotees had arrived with the instruments. The next day, the boy came for the second half of the morning program and Gaura Prabhu talked with him and taught him to play the Govinda prayers on the guitar. He left with a set of japa beads. Gaura Prabhu said the park was a preachers' paradise, and it reminded him of the 1970s.

One girl from Brazil chanted and danced with us for nearly an hour. She said she will try to come by on Sunday. She heard the mantra on a CD of Indian music she bought on the Internet. Once her parents had gone to Rio de Janeiro to celebrate some holiday, but it was too crowded to find a place to stay. They ended up meeting the Hare Krishnas and spending the whole time with them.

A periodic attender, Smiles, also came by, with his female friend, and they also participated in chanting and dancing. Now that we had four dancers, others took more interest in our performance, some taking pictures.

Janakinatha Prabhu talked with a couple boys, one with a degree in philosophy. Other people came by as well, and between people he would play karatalas while watching our book, drink, and halava table. He sees chanting in the park superior to walking harinama as persons who are attracted can come forward and associate with the devotees. I tend to agree. In fact, last Sunday another person came to Amsterdam's Sunday feast from seeing us in the park.

We did a final harinama in Antwerp as Janmastami Prabhu's van was repaired and then dashed off for one final harinama in the park in Amsterdam. Although we got there at 7:00 p.m., the other devotees were still there, some singing and passing out tea, as Janakinatha Prabhu, walked around with the tray of halava cubes, meeting with interested people.

I met a girl named Natalie, a junior in cultural and physical anthropology at University of Florida, who regularly attends the Krishna Lunch program. She loves the peaceful atmosphere with the great food and the devotees chanting. I told her last year my service was to chant at that very campus lunch program in the spring. It is indeed a small world. Since she was an anthropology student, I told her a couple friends of mine wrote an amazing book called Forbidden Archeology that describes many artifacts reported by scientists themselves that are too old for theory of human evolution. She was interested and took down the name and authors. She asked if we had a lunch program in Amsterdam, and I told her about our Sunday Feast, with its special festival for Lord Nrsimha's appearance, but she and her sister were only staying another day. I asked their itinerary and when I found they were going to Prague, I told her about our three restaurants there, giving her flyers for two of them. I told her we also celebrated the special festival there and she could find the address at http://directory.krishna.com. It was amazing to find a Krishna Lunch enthusiast in a park in Amsterdam.

One girl, buying some water for a friend, happened by our setup. She said she left Isreal on a spiritual search about nine months ago. She took only one book--one by Srila Prabhupada. She mentioned how she went to our program at Soho St. in London once. She asked about our community in Belgium, and I understood she meant Radhadesh. I told her I was just in Radhadesh and found it very beautiful and serene. I gave her an explanation of the Hare Krishna mantra with the addresses of both our Amsterdam and Radhadesh centers on it, so she can follow up on her interest in Krishna consciousness.

It is amazing the interesting people you meet at Amsterdam's Vandel Park. Janakinath also met some nice people who had some touch with Krishna consciousness and were ready for more. He is excited to continue the program on all the sunny days in the summer.

Harinama in Brussels

We joined a busload of devotees from Radhadesh and a few local Indians to go on a very lively two-hour harinama in Brussels, Belgium's capital. With forty-five devotees, we attracted a lot of attention. Once, when Janmastami Prabhu was leading and we were chanting in one place, about sixty or seventy people surrounded us to watch.

Sesa Prabhu, who was teaching ethics in Radhadesh, came on the harinama, and nicely took part in the dancing at one point, with the encouragement of the devotees. He was so surprised to see me there in Brussels, but I was less surprised to see him, as I know he goes to Radhadesh regularly.

Janmastami Prabhu was so enthused by the harinama that he continued for an hour and a half after the Radhadesh devotees departed, with myself and a three local Indian devotees, one of whom, Ratan, kindly bought us some drinks.

All these Europeon cities have many people on the streets and many restaurants with seating on the sidewalk in front, ideal for sharing the chanting of the holy names with the populace. On Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we did small harinamas in the Belgian city of Antwerp.

Antwerp Harinama and Sunday Program

During the Sunday feast lecture in Antwerp, I asked if there were any new people. There was one person who said it was his first time at the temple, but he had seen the devotees before at their festivals in Poland. I talked with him later and found he was named Piotr and had gone to two festivals, one in the town of Rewal, and another in the city of Kolobrzeg. He lives in Gdansk, four hours from Kolobrzeg by train, and I gave him the web site of our Polish festival which includes the summer schedule so he can come this year when he returns to Poland for summer vacation. Now he is studying organic chemistry in Antwerp. He was so happy to be in the association of devotees, he came to the nama-hatta program we did two days later at the home of Krishna Priya, a former resident of Poland herself.

Krishna Priya Devi Dasi, a disciple of B. B. Govinda Swami, is a colorful personality with great faith in the name, form, and mercy of the Lord. Her front room is glorified by the presence of several sets of deities and few statues of Jesus Christ and Mary, and her walls are completely covered with devotional pictures--a truly incredible sight. She tells that once she was chanting in public, playing harmonium, when a drunk man who hated the chanting threatened to break her harmonium and hurt her. She prayed to Lord Nrsimha. Within a one minute, a group of tourists from Nepal came by, amazed to see Krishna's glories chanted on the sidewalk of Belgian city. They sat down and joined her, playing some instruments she had. They stayed for two hours, and the drunk man, frustrated at not being able to do his mischief, left after an hour. She also told stories of materialistic people who had miraculously gained some faith in the holy name by her prasadam and her words. Inspired by her deities and her devotional art filled asrama, at her nama-hatta I spoke on Bhagavad-gita 8.14, which tells how Krishna can be easily attained by those who always remember Him, in anyone of His incarnations, in one of five relationships. One devotee from Ukraine especially liked it. Krishna Priya kindly supported my travels by giving a donation. I was thinking of passing up Janananda Goswami's invitation to go to France for lack of funds and decided than morning not to go unless some one gave me a donation, so I took it as a clue to I should go there after all.

Just the first half of May was filled with harinama in four cities and the joy of seeing many people coming in touch with Krishna. I hope the rest of the warm season continues in this way.

Queen's Day—Holland's Biggest Festival

Kadamba Kanana Swami Leads Queen's Day Street Kirtana
With Vidya Vicaspati Prabhu of Prague on the Harmonium

In Front of Our Bhajana Tent, I Dance and
Pass Out Invitations to Those Who Watch

Different countries have their special venues where thousands of people gather and Hare Krishna devotees use the opportunity to help the people get in touch with Krishna in different ways. America has its Rainbow Gatherings, concerts, and football games, England, its Glastonbury, Poland, its Woodstock, India, its melas, and Amsterdam, its Queen's Day, known locally as Koninginnedag and described on one web page as “The World’s Biggest Street Party.” On April 30, one to two million people crowd Amsterdam's streets, many of which prohibit traffic on that day, to celebrate the birthday festival of the Queen of the Netherlands.

One might ask why the devotees, who espouse the most exalted and comprehensive exposition of theism in human society, are motivated to go to an event celebrating the birthday of a mundane dignitary, where vendors exploit foolish people dedicated to decorating their bodies by selling them things they do not need and where the vast majority of people are drunk and are getting drunker by the hour? Is this a truly favorable place to demonstrate and to distribute Krishna consciousness? In answer we may say that the devotees are actually attempting to follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya and His glorious associates of the Panca-tattva, who did not consider who was fit and who was unfit, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. Whenever they got a chance the members of the Panca-tattva distributed love of Godhead. (Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 7.23) And how did they do that? By singing and dancing! By singing and dancing? Attaining love for God requires knowledge and renunciation, one might argue. How does singing and dancing help one to attain love of God? Srila Prabhupada writes, "People generally cannot understand the actual meaning of chanting and dancing. . . . Not only did Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates demonstrate this chanting and dancing, but the six Gosvamis also followed in the next generation. The present Krishna consciousness movement follows the same principle, and therefore simply by chanting and dancing we have received good responses all over the world. 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." (Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 7.22 purport)

All the people of Amsterdam, and any other place for that matter, be they vendors, consumers, or drunkards, are in fact pure spiritual souls having dormant love of God within. Sri Caitanya-caritamrita (22.107) describes "nitya siddha krishna prema sadya kabha naya, sravanadi suddha citte karaye udaya" Pure love for Krishna is already there in eternally in the heart. It is not something gained from an outside source. When one engages in devotional service, beginning with hearing, one consciousness is purified and the love becomes manifest. So this hearing, as Srila Prabhupada often mentions, is so important. We must give as many people as possible the chance to hear the name, glories, and instructions of Lord Krishna, and thus purify themselves, bringing them one step closer to the goal of love of God, which is that rare item that actually satisfies the needs of the soul, our real self.

Therefore to take advantage of a venue where hundreds of thousands of people can hear the holy name in one day and become purified is actual utility. Srila Prabhupada himself chanted the holy name in gatherings of young people addicted to illicit sex and varieties of intoxicants, and many people became purified and began to take up Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada stressed that his followers practice strictly so by their pure chanting others may become attracted to become pure devotees.

What to speak of the spiritual power of the divine sound, just to demonstrate that one can be happy without intoxication, meat eating, illicit sex, and gambling, is valuable in a society where many people suffer from these addictions that do not bring them the happiness they originally desired. People gradually burn out, and if they see the devotees example, they may be moved to inquire about their alternative.

The scene at Queen’s Day was wild. As Her Highness took birth in the Orange dynasty, many people put on orange for the occasion. Some wear orange wigs with straight hair, others with curls, dreadlocks, or mohawks. Head apparel included ski hat, caps, broad-rimmed hats, construction hats, cone-shaped hats, berets, and a variety of crowns, all orange. Some even paint their faces orange. Some wore orange glasses, and I even saw someone on a orange bicycle! Some sport imitation flower garlands, feather garlands, or scarves on their necks, all of which are colored orange and others put the orange garlands around their heads. Many people wore orange T-shirts with “Holland” on the front and “Nederland” on the back. Others wear orange sweatshirts, orange overalls, orange tights, or orange ponchos and others, even wear orange life preservers—some quite humorously attired. Of course, the Hare Krishna brahmacaris and sannyasis were already dressed for the occasion, with their saffron dhotis, kurtas, cadars and caps, and a few ladies donned orange cadars and scarves. One lady wearing a bright orange sari, had hair that might well have been dyed for the occasion.

The big Hare Krishna contribution to the event is Lord Caitanya's desired mass distribution of the jubilant singing of the Hare Krishna mantra accompanied by music and dance. About seventy devotees joined the chanting party which crisscrossed the canal-ridden streets of Amsterdam twice, beginning in the late morning and in the late afternoon for four hours each. Midday we all congregated at a booth where we also had bhajanas all day, and took lunch, resting up for the second harinama. Devotees hailed from Canada, America, England, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and other countries as well. Some were disciples and friends of Kadamba Kanana Swami, who is originally from the Netherlands, and they came to assist him by helping with the festival in different ways.

The crowd comprised people of all ages, and many of them were attracted by the chanting and dancing of the devotees, with some senior citizens moving with the music and accepting invitations, as well as the wilder middle-aged and even wilder youth. Highlights were the fact that so many people began to dance as they passed our party, many taking invitations, as well. Once we came upon some African drummers on a sidewalk, who enthusiastically played along with our kirtana to the mutual enjoyment of all. Mother Sukhayanti, an energetic Israeli devotee living at London's Soho temple, and Bhaktin Tuuli from Finland, would grab the arms of appreciative ladies who were watching from the sidewalks and spin them around in circles as we passed by, to their great delight.

Kadamba Kanana Swami, who is enthusiasm personified, led much of the kirtana, especially in the beginning, fanning the enthusiasm of the other devotees. Another lively kirtana leader was Vidya Vacaspati Prabhu from Czech Republic, who many know from the video about harinama in Prague, where he leads semiweekly harinamas, playing lively tunes on a full-sized harmonium attached to a strap.

At our bhajana tent, different devotees led bhajans all day. In my mind, Gaura Prabhu, a Prabhupada disciple visiting from Canada who truly loves bhajana, and Parividha Prabhu, a Prabhupada disciple from Amsterdam, who is a talented singer with a lot of devotion, were prominent, in addition to Kadamba Kanana Swami, who also sang some bhajans for awhile during the two hours between harinamas. We almost always had a crowd listening to the performance at our bhajana tent, sometimes as many as forty, many of whom took invitations and prasadam, spiritual food, distributed by the devotees. We also had a table of books and devotional items.

It was often a crazy scene. Sometimes people, often drunk from having a few too many beers or harder drinks, would sit down on the carpet in front of our singers, and try to play some of the instruments, often with friends taking pictures of them. One couple played along, one on the whompers (big karatalas) and the other banging their two bottles of alcoholic drink together in time with the beat. Many people wanted their pictures taken with the devotees. Some would dance with us, and you always hoped you would not get sloshed with beer in the course of their dancing.

As time goes on and people get more drunk, things get wilder. During the last couple of hours we were there, a couple different people in the crowd through different projectiles at me, gaining us some sympathy from the others. Kadamda Kanana Swami said the devotees close their tent at 8:00 p.m. although the event goes all night, because it gets to be too crazy, and I could see why! In fairness to the crowd, I must say of the eighty or a hundred devotees attending the event, I was the only one to my knowledge who was the object of thrown items. Perhaps I am just a good target. One long time Amsterdam devotee commented, "Back in the 80s, we used to get that type of stuff practically on every harinama. The holy name has definitely had its effect, since we now mostly get smiles from the people."

For some, the devotees were just another outlet for their drunken madness, yet others who were more fortunate were attracted, often without knowing why, to the music, the mantra, and the devotees. Some spontaneously came up asking for invitations, seeing me give them to others. A few always give us the universal “thumbs up” gesture of approval. So many thousands of people heard the holy name and gained favorable impressions of the devotees. And hundreds danced with us in the course of the day, maybe even thousands. Many said “Hare Krishna” as they passed us, and a few really enjoyed chanting along with us for awhile. I considered the following verse, reflecting on their good fortune: “One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.14).

What was the effect of the devotees endeavor? Practically the next Sunday, two new people came to the Sunday program, attracted by the devotees' Queen's Day presentation, and they enjoyed talking to Gaura Prabhu after his lecture. On one subsequent harinama, one girl smilingly swayed to the music as she walked by, and I gave her an invitation. She said she remembered us from Queen's Day. Later Bhakta Nir sold her a book. Such events as the Queen's Day harinama stimulate interest in spiritual life, which at a future time bears fruit, and we cannot properly trace out the benefit to the thousands of people who became freed from karmic reactions, who are more inclined to take a book or visit a temple, or who think well of the devotees because they made the endeavor to benefit them.

Kadamba Kanana Swami encouraged us all to put the event on our schedule for next year. Hopefully we will have more people and make a greater impact. The event is so massive that if we had enough devotees, kirtana leaders, instruments, and amplifiers, we could have several harinama parties moving simultaneously through the packed streets of Amsterdam, purifying the Queen's Day crowd from their innumerable sinful acts and planting and watering hundreds of thousands of creepers of devotion.

The day after felt a little empty by comparison to the previous day of full engagement, and I thought of Polish Woodstock festival with its four days of intensity. There is a always a sense of satisfaction from cooperating together to put on such events, and I plan to add this to my yearly itinerary along with the Polish festival tour, the Berlin Ratha-yatra, the Ukraine festival, and harinama-sankirtana, in its birthplace, the holy dhama of Mayapur. I hope you adventurous souls can come and join us for some great harinama in Amsterdam on April 30, 2009. You should try it at least once. Otherwise you may be missing out on something you might really like!

Videos of the Queen's Day harinamas:

Hare Krishnas (Including Me) Dance in Front of Their Booth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnyOSmoZ-Aw&NR=1

Queen's Day Harinama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN5ySEtaemE

Temple Program and Queen's Day Harinama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsaAfjH4SOs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNkLZJJ-Wqs

Hare Krishnas Pass by a Buddhist Temple
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNkLZJJ-Wqs

Hare Krishnas Dancing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23kxxt0_HBI&feature=related

Lively Chanting and Tour of Hare Krishna Booth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoFBN_rppbk

travel journal#4.8: The Only Happy People in London!

  Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 8

By Krishna-kripa das

(April 2008, part two)

The Only Happy People London!

(Sent from Amsterdam on 4/30/08)

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

 

I spent almost five weeks in London doing three hours of harinama almost every day. Then by the invitation of Kadamba Kanana Swami, I went to Amsterdam for Queensday, a mammoth street celebration which the devotees do harinama at on April 30. That I will describe in my next issue as it would make this one too large and too late.

Devotional Notes

"Such a false conception [of I am the enjoyer and all I possess is mine] can be given up by thinking, 'I belong to Krishna and Krishna belongs to me.'"—Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura on Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.17.54 from Uddhava Gita

Mukunda Dasa, a devotee from 1974 in Amsterdam, once walked to the temple with the desire to help out with Food for Life and another favorite service. When he arrived he found that Food for Life was not happening that day and neither was the other service, so he returned home, having done no service at all. The next day when he went to the temple, he asked the devotees what they needed done, and he was given some service which he happily did.

Harinama in London

Saturday night always has a lively harinama in downtown London. Parasurama Prabhu plays ukulele and Mother Ratnavali plays jdembe, along with the usual Hare Krishna instruments. We have some very enthusiastic female dancers who smilingly grab ladies from the crowd watching our performance, and pull them into the center to dance with them. It is entertaining both for the ladies and their friends and family who watch the fun from the side. Many of the induced dancers and their spectators take invitations. A guy with a British flag medallion stuck to his suit danced erratically through our party at one point. You really never know what will happen on the London Saturday harinamas. A few weeks back Superman and his friends danced with us.

For me the high point was when a respectably dressed man in his fifties, a little pudgy, with glasses and a round face, joined us in a very jovial mood for the last few blocks to the temple. In our conversation after the harinama, he said, "You know what I like about you Hare Krishnas. You are the only people in London who are happy!" We talked briefly. He had come to Govinda's Restaurant sometimes and read our books. Because he is attached to eating meat and drinking liquor, he says Krishna consciousness isn't for him, but he appreciates what we are doing. The most amazing thing for him, however, which he restated several times as I talked with him, is his realization that the Hare Krishnas are the only people in London who are happy.

On Sunday, Prabhupada disciple, Gaura Prabhu, a nice drummer with dozens of delightful Hare Krishna tunes, lead kirtana and Mother Sukhayanti, bouncing from person to person in her youthful enthusiasm, distributed flyers and a book. I was pleased that although our party was small, the two devotees were so enthusiastic it was a great experience nonetheless. We walked to King's Cross where we have a small center with a food distribution program and a weekly kirtana, lecture, and prasadam program. On the way back, Sukhayanti brought one lady she met to the Sunday feast. I suggested to the London devotees that they could make a Sunday harinama a regular event, gathering up people with nothing to do and bringing them to the Sunday feast, as we have done at some of our other temples in our ISKCON history.

 

The next Saturday evening, when our harinama party was stopped, I was passing out flyers to people who appeared to enjoy watching us dancing. I encouraged one young couple to dance with us, and amazingly enough they did, and their friends did, and then a whole group of ten people was dancing, some imitating the devotees and some doing their own thing. It was so lively, and I was happy, for once, to be an instrument in inducing their participation.

A Feast to Remember

Mother Gopi Bhava who works at Soho's Govinda's Restaurant is credited with cooking a notable feast—the only Sunday feast I recall, in twenty-five years, with two curd subjis. It is also the only one with trifle, a typical British dessert made with cake, custard, fruit, jelly, and whipped cream, which was very tasty. Gopi Bhava felt the devotees always see the trifle at the restaurant but never get to eat any, so she affectionately wanted to treat them.

 

Book Distribution

I hardly ever go out on book distribution. I do not like to talk to people. I never know what to say. I never have. Somehow Jai Nitai Prabhu, the temple president, made such an earnest entreaty to get everyone to go out on maha-Saturday, the last Saturday in the month, when everybody in the temple and congregation is encouraged out, that I decided to surrender. I meant to do an hour before the 3 p.m. Harinama, but I spent the day doing computer work and only had fifteen minutes left. I was intimidated by the prospect of stopping the people on bustling Oxford St. and sought those on side streets who were not moving. One person give me 18 pence for a book, less than half its printing cost. I felt a little bad but decided to go out more later. A devotee suggested I try selling books on the evening harinama, and so I did. The first people I talked to, a Russian couple, also gave less than the printing cost. I mentioned to the man about one of the devotees in our party who spoke Russian, a hard working devotee from the Polish tour, and I noticed the couple followed us to Chinatown. I talked to one middle-aged man who was a Buddhist practitioner. He asked about our philosophy. As a true Buddhist, he rejected the necessity of God. I asked where the creation came from and the system that governs karma. He ascribed those functions to material nature herself, which I said sounds a little hard to conceive. He and his friend who had spent time together at Buddhist asramas talked with me for a while, and his friend, claiming he was impressed by my sincerity, give me all his change, as had the others who had bought books from me, although this time it amounted to about 9 British pounds ($18), and thus made up for the previous two people who had given too little. That was Krishna kindness on me. I had not been in anxiety about the previous poor donations, but I was happy to see it balance out. Later a lady took another book for a pound.

Srila Prabhupada's book distribution ki, jaya!

Friends and Enemies

Gadagraja Prabhu, a key participant in Soho temple's Krishna Community Shop, told nice real life stories in class. Before he became a devotee, there was one person he just hated, and that person hated him. Whenever they saw each other, they would fight, calling each other ill names and punching each other out. After he become a devotee, in the course of distributing Srila Prabhupada's books, Gadagraja spied his former enemy. Surprisingly, he now felt no enmity in his heart toward him, although he was apprehensive about the man's reaction to him. The man saw him, but now that Gadagraja had the shaven head of a devotee, he didn't recognize him. He asked if he was a Hare Krishna, and he said he was. Apparently Gadagraja's former enemy had received a Perfection of Yoga from another devotee and wanted some explanation as to what it was about. They had a nice exchange, and the former enemy even offered to watch Gadagraja's stash of books whenever he distributed in that area!

On the other hand, before he became a devotee, Gadagraja had a close friend who he did a lot of activities together with. As Gadagraja was becoming a devotee, however, the friend said negative things about the devotees and tried to discourage him, and the two became more distance.

 

We can learn from this that we cannot always see who our real friends and enemies are, in the ultimate issue. An apparent enemy can assist us in our service to Krishna while an apparent friend can hold us back. We can also see that devotional service can purify our hearts from deep rooted enmity toward others.

 

My Favorite Holiday
(a submission to Back to Godhead's "In Your Own Words")

Srila Prabhupada's appearance day is my favorite holiday because then devotees reveal through their heartfelt offerings the inspiration behind their life of devotional service to Srila Prabhupada and his mission. It's also special because you hear Prabhupada stories you never heard and relish again those you have heard many times. Prabhupada brings everyone together. His Vyasa Puja Day brings out the best in all of us more than other holidays and pools our inspiration, giving us spiritual strength for another year of service. Not only that, but the feast, cooked with great devotion and frequently one of the most opulent, often features his favorites like kacauris, karela, and laddus, another very pleasant way to remember Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja Day ki jaya!