travel journal#4.21: Praises of Prabhupada & HDG, Orlando Campus

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 21
By Krishna-kripa das
(November 2008, part one)
Gainesville, Alachua, Orlando
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, U.S.A. on 11/21/08)

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

I started off the month by going to Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day observances in Gainesville and Alachua, and then Hridayananda Dasa Goswami’s Vyasa Puja in Gainesville. I gave the Sunday feast lecture in Alachua and tried to glorify Srila Prabhupada for his gift of the process of Krishna consciousness—especially the Hare Krishna mantra and Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, and talked about how to increase our faith in and taste for hearing about Krishna. One bhakta told me that he attended my evening classes in Alachua years ago. He was attached to Mayavadi impersonal ideas at the time, and said I helped him get past that. I felt successful because delivering people from Mayavadi impersonalism is an important part of Srila Prabhupada’s mission. The remainder of the month I have been in Orlando in Trivikrama Swami’s temple, where I chant at the campus of University of Central Florida three hours a day.

Devotional Meditations

Bhakta Andres recalls an analogy that Adi Karta Prabhu uses to explain Krishna’s partiality. We are all Krishna’s children but most of us are sitting with our backs to Him, therefore, the few people who sit with their faces turned toward Krishna are the ones that Krishna reciprocates with.

Prayer by Bhaktin Kelly for renunciation, "Dear Lord, I think I am ready to let this go. Please help me."

Notes from Trivikrama Swami’s classes at his ISKCON temple in Orlando:

"If we just do what Srila Prabhupada wants, we will not be the loser, but rather we will be situated in the safest position."

"The coal is nothing by the sun’s energy yet it is separate from the sun and appears quite different, black and cold. In the same way, this material nature is the Lord’s own energy, but it is separated from Him and appears quite different."

"Scientists claim that life or conscious comes from matter, but they have never demonstrated that. Therefore it is not unreasonable to consider the Vedic conception of the soul."

People were afraid of Prabhupada. Even his godbrothers were afraid. And some of his disciples were afraid. They could see by Prabhupada’s example that surrender is required, but they were hesitant to surrender. People were exposed in his association.

When Trivikrama Swami met the devotees, he was attracted, but he had doubts. After he graduated from college, he decided, "for one year, I am going to live as devotee, and if I do not get some higher realization, I will go to California and get a job and raise a family like I was planning." He never left the devotees.

In Vrindavana in 1974 when Srila Prabhupada was not feeling well, Trivikrama Swami and Srutakirti Prabhu came to visit him after the evening kirtana. Srila Prabhupada said, "This kirtana is our life. Without a taste for kirtana, there is simply sex life."

Notes from Danavira Goswami’s classes in Orlando:

The material nature is so well designed it appears to be automatic. A child may foolishly think a door in a supermarket opens by magic but actually there is a complicated mechanism behind it that was designed by a person. The materialists similiarly think material nature is automatically working without a cause.

Trying to make the material world a nice place is like spraying perfume in a toilet.

You may have your opinion, and I may have my opinion, but if there is a God then God’s opinion is superior.

Srila Prabhupada commenting on Bharata Maharaja’s attainment of a deer’s body for one life due neglecting his devotional service, which had matured to the stage of bhava, writes " It is proved herein that due to the grace of the Supreme Lord, a devotee is never vanquished. Due to his willful neglect of devotional service, a devotee may be punished for a short time, but he again revives his devotional service and returns home back to Godhead" (SB 5.8.27, purport).

Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day Offerings
(from notes taken in Gainesville and Alachua)

"‘Love starts with obediance’, said Srila Prabhupada in Sri Isopanisad."

"Our tests will now begin," Mother Jitamitra thought, on hearing of Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance. "Previously Srila Prabhupada’s words solved all problems, but now it would be different. I am glad I did not stray away from ISKCON in those turbulant years immediately after he left."

Kalakantha Prabhu reminded us of this great purport, "When the mortal body of the spiritual master expires, his disciples should cry exactly as the queen cries when the king leaves his body. However, the disciple and spiritual master are never separated because the spiritual master always keeps company with the disciple as long as the disciple follows strictly the instructions of the spiritual master. This is called the association of vani (words). Physical presence is called vapuh. As long as the spiritual master is physically present, the disciple should serve the physical body of the spiritual master, and when the spiritual master is no longer physically existing, the disciple should serve the instructions of the spiritual master" (SB 4.28.47, purport). Kalakantha also praised Prabhupada’s wisdom in having a GBC rather than a single acarya, "When there is a committee you cannot change anything very fast."

Bhakta Hanan from Israel, who is has been main manager of the Krishna lunch program for many years, recalls Prabhupada’s letter to the Gainesville devotees: "So do something wonderful there in Gainesville. Wonderful means simply you chant loudly and distribute prasadam. That is not very difficult. It is very easy. Simply if you do it enthusiastically and sincerely, then success will be there." He commented, "It is Srila Prabhupada’s kindness that Krishna lunch is going on so nicely." The Krishna lunch is so famous that someone dressed as a Krishna lunch server for Halloween! That day also Hridayananda Goswami took prasadam with some professors. Hanan further said about Srila Prabhupada, "Srila Prabhupada demonstrated tolerance. Although he could have reacted many times, he chose to be tolerant and set an example."

Bhaktin Kelly said, "For so long, I thought about what the devotees have done for me and what Srila Prabhupada has done for me, but now I think about what we can do for Srila Prabhupada."

A devotee who spent time in Africa remarked, "In Africa, it was so poor it was hard to imagine how Krishna consciousness could spread there, but now everything is developing wonderfully by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy."

Amarendra Prabhu recalls Srila Prabhupada’s visit to Gainesville. "Srila Prabhupada had a great time in Gainesville. From morning to evening all he did was preach. He came to the plaza and spoke there. That is why so many people are coming now [for the Krishna lunch]. Seven or eight hundred students came to hear Srila Prabhupada speak on the 6^th chapter of Bhagavad-gita. I thought it would be too esoteric for them. But, all the students said things like, ‘This was the best lecture I ever heard.’ Many people who were at that lecture went to other parts of the world.
I asked Srila Prabhupada, ‘How can we make people Krishna conscious?’
Srila Prabhupada replied, ‘Simply you request them to chant Hare Krishna and your business is finished.’"

Mother Visakha quoted, "Materialists are generally very attached to their present bodily comforts and to the bodily comforts they expect in the future. Therefore they are always absorbed in thoughts of their wives, children and wealth and are afraid of giving up their bodies, which are full of stool and urine. If a person engaged in Krishna consciousness, however, is also afraid of giving up his body, what is the use of his having labored to study the sastras [scriptures]? It was simply a waste of time" (SB 5.19.14). She reminded us of Prabhupada’s analogy that the jaws of the cat are death for the rat but protection for the kittens. Similarly death is painful for the materialist, but for the devotee, it is Krishna coming to bring His devotee back home.

Puskara Prabhu reminded us that Ramananda Raya says the greatest pain is separation from pure devotees. "Srila Prabhupada could have given so much veda, knowledge, but he gave the essence, the Hare Krishna mantra."

Mother Pasupati mentioned, "Visvambara Goswami of Vrindavan developed greater appreciation of Srila Prabhupada when he came to America and saw the Bowery and 26 2^nd Ave., and the obstacles Prabhupada had to overcome."

Madana Mohan Prabhu made the interesting point that, "The greatest pain is separation from the pure devotees, and Krishna’s feels the separation of His pure devotees who are now covered by maya in the material world."

Mother Jaya Radhe is thirty years old and spoke with sincerity and great emotion that she wants not to waste her youth, but to do something for Srila Prabhupada.

Navina Syama Prabhu said he wants to play a part in making Srila Prabhupada
the most famous person in the world because it is destined to happen.

Hridayananda Dasa Goswami began by recalling a story Giriraja Swami tells. "In the middle of the night, Srila Prabhupada asked his servant to get Giriraja Swami. Giriraja Swami came.
Srila Prabhupada asked him, ‘How will movement go on?’
Giriraja Swami replied, ‘By chanting, etc.’
Srila Prabhupada said, ‘More is required: intelligence and organization.’
Srila Prabhupada cared for the material and spiritual health of his spiritual children. After that care, all his talk was of the Hare Krishna movement. Srila Prabhupada recognized what was needed to keep Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s mission alive in the 1960s and 1970s. To serve him, we have to use our intelligence to see how to keep the mission alive in the present day. Are our communities more focused on benefiting the public or benefiting ourselves? We preached to the neglect of our own needs at first, and then we paid attention to our own needs. Now is time for a recommitment to the preaching again."

Notes on Hridayananda Dasa Goswami’s (Hridayananda Goswami’s) Vyasa Puja

Mother Duhsala mentioned that Hridayananda Goswami has been sannyasi since the age of 23, and a guru since the age of 29—truly an amazing record of service to Srila Prabhupada.

Brahma Tirtha Prabhu: He is very humble, admitting his many mistakes. [This reminds me of one attender describing a Vyasa Puja as a Hare Krishna roast.] He is the unofficial philosopher for ISKCON.

Amarendra Prabhu: I asked for help in Gainesville, I was sent Hridayananda Goswami, and his enthusiasm brought life to everyone, by reciting verses, holding classes in each of Srila Prabhupada’s books as they came out, etc.

Lilananada Prabhu: Hridayananda Goswami knows Portuguese so well that he can speak with proper accent for the region of Brazil he preaches in. This really wins the hearts of the people.

Mother Nartaka Gopal: I appreciate his erudite scholarship, practical application of wisdom, dedication to increasing book distribution, and humor as well.

Hridayananda Goswami: Krishna, as time, not also destroys the world, but also glorifies the devotees.

Vedasara Prabhu: I always thought of old people as grumpy, but Hridayananda Goswami changed all that. I was worried about getting involved in ISKCON management again in Atlanta, but Hridayananda Goswami deals with his managers so nicely I felt encouraged.

Hridayananda Goswami: We should dedicate ourselves to helping others, whatever our particular situation is.

Mother Syama Priya quoted a great verse, SB 7.9.28: "My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the general populace. But Your servant Narada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my first duty is to serve him. How could I leave his service?"

Mother Mantra Murti: Great stories of Hridayananda Goswami’s inspiration in book distribution in Brazil.

Mahavira Prabhu: Recalls Hridayananda Goswami’s amazing preaching in South America opening BBTs and inspiring thousands of people.

Mother Nila Madhava: "Although you are exalted you treat me as a friend, and it makes me feel like I want to become more exalted."

Balabhadra Prabhu from Atlanta’s wife, Mother Gandharvika, liked the Krishna consciousness philosophy but had doubts about organized religion. Hridayananda Goswami was able, however, to convince her to live in the temple.

At an emergency GBC meeting, Hridayananda Goswami had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, while everyone else had thalis by the greatest ISKCON cooks. Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami looked over toward Hridayananda Goswami, saying, "Do you have any more of those?" Soon everyone, except Tamal Krishna Goswami, also got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Hridayananda Goswami: "Raghunandini at age 4, in response to my question, ‘Should I go to Jagannatha Puri?’ said, ‘Yes, Krishna wants you to go to Jagannatha Puri.’ She spoke with such authority, I took it as coming from Krishna, and so I did."

I was intimidated by the eloquence of the speakers and their closeness to Hridayananda Goswami, and I also did not want to delay everyone’s lunch, so I chose not to speak. I would have praised his maintaining Prabhupada’s enthusiasm for defeating the misconceptions of materialism and impersonalism in his conmpletion of the Srimad-Bhagavatam commentary. I’d thank him for his prompt assistence in helping answer my Krishna.com inquires on Sanskrit and Mahabharata. And I’d tell him I like his classes because I always learn something new.

University of Central Florida, Orlando

In addition to chanting at the campus with a book table and invitations, I brought halava from the Govardhan Hill for interested students. Two students, seeing the halava sitting on my table, inquired if it was prasadam, which was quite surprising to me, as that is uncommon word. One was a Turkish lady with a Sikh husband, and the other a young Hindu lady originally from Guyana. Across from me, after an hour or so, a group of Christians appeared, one speaking loudly and attracting a crowd that grew to a hundred. He was getting on the case of the students for voting for Obama because of his position on abortion and national health care. In the course of his speech against the health care, he said that Jesus was a capitalist. Somehow I had never thought of Christ in those terms. I am sure in my youth I encountered those who considered Christ to be more socialist than capitalist. Hearing the tirade of insulting words, one young Christian lady told me she was embarrassed that her fellow Christians would publicly speak in such a way. Yet another Christian lady was hurt by the crowd’s mockery of the Christian evangelist. I suggested that perhaps it is not that they are against Christianity but against the style of presentation. However, that did not make her feel much better. I used the crowd the Christians attracted to distribute prasadam, and I also continued playing harmonium and chanting, but not so loud as to appear purposely disruptive to the Christian speaker. After the Christian finished I was able to talk to a group of five or seven people about different aspects of the philosophy of Krishna consciousness.

One day I set up near the bank of a pool that is off limits to student bathers the whole year, except the day I was there, when students are allowed to wade or swim in it for two hours. Thus hundreds of students heard the Krishna chanting. One man, probably in his thirties, asked many questions, and I helped to increase his knowledge of religion. He did not know that the main Hindu text, Bhagavad-gita, recommends against the worship of the many demigods that Hinduism is famous for, and that the saints, or pure representatives of God, are superior to the many administrative demigods, who often have their own agenda to some extent. He also learned that God has many names. Two friends of the devotees came by, and I gave them some prasadam, which they gratefully accepted. One English major from Oregon considered that Bhagavad-gita philosophy must be worth studying since such great writers as Thoreau and Emerson found it so impressive. That boy’s girlfriend was a vegetarian.

A young student named Eden, who works for food services at UCF stopped by, saying "It always makes me happy to see you people chanting." She mentioned that it was a refreshing change from the presentation of the most radical of the "hating Christians," who often frequents the same free-speech area. She described herself as a "loving Christian" as opposed to the "hating Christians" who yell at you for all the sinful activities they think you are commiting, and which are for her also, an embarrassment.

A thirty-one-year old student named Derek came by my table. He was a friend of Richard who had attended our evening temple program the previous night. He had met a Hare Krishna devotee, who referred to himself by the letter "G", at a local Rainbow gathering. When he told me the devotee’s Rainbow name was Soaring Turkey, I knew it was Garuda Prabhu from Tallahassee, who often sets up a Krishna tent at the Rainbow gatherings. Derek had gotten beads and a Bhagavad-gita from Garuda. He asked me about chanting, and I encouraged him to chant as many times around the beads as he could easily maintain, and then gradually increase. He said he will come to our evening programs.

Like in Tallahassee, in Orlando, I found I always met a few students who find the chanting, the prasadam, and the philosophy of Krishna consciousness attractive. I also found that students dislike the presentation of the Christian evangelists, and are more attracted to our program of kirtana and prasadam.

aksnoh phalam tvadrsa-darsanam hi
tanoh phalam tvadrsa-gatra-sangah
jihva-phalam tvadrsa-kirtanam hi
sudurlabha bhagavata hi loke

"O Vaishnava! To see you is the perfection of the eyes. To touch your holy feet is the perfection of the body. To vibrate your holy qualities is the perfection of the tongue, for it is very rare to find a pure devotee within this world" (Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya 13.2).

travel journal#4.20: FSU / God & Science / Halloween Harinama

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 20
By Krishna-kripa das
(October 2008, part two)
Gainesville, Alachua, Tallahassee
(Sent from Orlando, Florida, U.S.A. on 11/08/08)

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

I am chanting at the campuses in Florida, specifically in Gainesville and Tallahassee, and next week, in Orlando. I was happy to meet the Hare Krishna devotees when I was in college, and hope to give others the same opportunity. Special this month were a creation/evolution debate and a Halloween harinama.

Devotional Meditations

Notes on Kalakantha Prabhu’s class:

There is a difference between discriminating who we should associate with and making a judgment as to how advanced someone is in spiritual life. We cannot always tell how advanced someone in Krishna conscious is, and so it is offensive to verbalize judgements of devotees.

As long as the people are making spiritual advancement, they should be allowed to live in the temple.

Notes on Adi-karta Prabhu’s class:

This age is very demoniac. In England, a study showed 85% think religion does more harm than good.

Notes on Jayananda Prabhu’s class:

We should develop the vision of eternity. Our tiny ten-year plans are insignificant compared to the age of the earth what to speak of eternal time.

This is the age of Kali, the iron age. Iron has been the most profit commodity for the last ten years. Down the street they have electronic implants for your dog for $30 so you won’t loose it.

Notes on Kalakantha Prabhu’s class:

In response to material setbacks, devotees should:
1) patiently continue with their duties,
2) offer obeisances to Krishna, and
3) await Krishna’s mercy.

Q: Can we help our friends and relatives with their setbacks?
A: If we try as far as it is possible then that is Krishna’s desire, but if the endeavor to do so is so great that blocks our spiritual progress, then that is not Krishna’s desire.

Florida State University at Tallahassee

I chanted at the FSU campus three days from 11:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. and was pleased with the response. I brought a harmonium, and a book table with prasadam, invitations to the temple and to the lunch program, and books. Some people were attracted by the harmonium. Some of these knew of the instrument but had never seen one. Other people asked, "What kind of Buddhist are you?" I had made carob coconut burfi and told the people who came by that everyone who
tried them had liked them. The first day a bus of high school sophomores from Panama City came, and many of the students were interested in the instruments and the prasadam. The first FSU student who stopped by had heard of our lunch program but did not know its location. Another student had Krishna food at the First Friday art festival but didn’t know we served lunch weekdays on campus too. One girl told me her boyfriend at University of Florida went to our lunch program there. I told her that we started an all-you-can-eat dinner for $8 on Saturday nights at our place in Gainesville quite near that University. Later she said she told her boyfriend on the phone about the new dinner program, and she promised they would go together next time she was in Gainesville. Some students I told about our mantra meditation at our temple in Tallahassee. One young student named Marie offered me a small New Testament Bible. I declined because I already had one. [I heard later of one devotee who would accept them and then sell them to people who did not want the Bhagavad-gitas he was distributing.] Marie offered to help carry my table back to the van, and I let her. I wondered if she was the kind of Christian who seems really curious about what we believe but at heart just wants to convert us. Thinking in this way, I told her, "You know, so many Christians have tried to convert me to Christianity, but they have all failed, so I highly doubt you will succeed." I gave her another sweet for helping with the table. Amazing me, she came back the last day and again helped me carry my table to the van. She took two sweets that day as well.

Daru Brahman Prabhu also teaches vegetarian cooking classes occasionally in addition to his cooking five days a week for 150 students. All the participants were really friendly. One mother whose daughter goes to the Krishna lunch in Gainesville took a list of our German centers from me so her daughter could visit the Sunday feasts when she travels to Germany in the summer.

God / Science Debate

The devotees in the Gainesville temple went to see the debate between a Christian creationist, Dr. Jacobi, and an evolutionist, Dr. Schermer, of Skeptic magazine. The creationist argued that evolution was God’s way of creating and therefore you could be both a creationist and evolutionist. The evolutionist, who was formerly a born-again Christian, considered God as an unnecessary element that should not be introduced. The creationist lost my sympathy when he said that the Bible was the best scripture on earth. He must not know all the additional information about God, the soul, their relationship, and the spiritual world where they live eternally which abounds in the Vedic literature. The evolutionist did not touch the many gaps in the explanation of how a human being arises from chemicals, and I sensed that he had as much blind faith that God does not exist as the creationist did that God does exist. I think he just went from being a fanatical Christian to be a fanatical agnostic. I tried to sell some of Sadaputa Prabhu’s God and Science books to the people after the lecture. Two people said they would look it up at the college library, where I had placed it soon after publication. I talked to the evolutionist after the talk about if he heard of Forbidden Archeology. He said Michael Cremo (Drutakarma Prabhu) visited him in his office once. He did not think cases in the book were very sound. [The fact is that if one of the many cases is true, everything they have been teaching about the evolution of man from apes is completely wrong.] I asked if they seriously looked at
them, and he said he would email the review of the book in Skeptic magazine. I imagine it will be incomplete. To refute all the cases in the book would take more than a years’ worth of magazines to do, if it could be done at all!

Halloween Harinama in Gainesville

Halloween weekend in Gainesville is special time when many punk rock bands play at different venues, and their admirers crowd the streets.

Mother Akuti decided to take advantage of the situation and distribute prasadam on Halloween night with the assistance Mothers Vrindavanesvari and Parijata. Although the Orlando devotees invited us to the big city that night, we worried we would be too wiped out to properly observe Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance festival, so we elected to assist with the kirtana in Gainesville.

The devotees themselves dressed in various ways:

devotee clothes, street clothes, as blue grass bhajana singers,

as Dvivida gorilla, and as a more traditional Halloween goblin.

One kirtana leader was Adi Karta Prabhu, who played accordion.

Many people in quite an array of costumes danced with us.

One high school youth (in back), dressed in the red robes of a cardinal, a cross dangling from his neck and mantra card in hand, danced with us with upraised arms for almost an hour and a half. A friend of his, decorated with palm leaves, also participated as well. The cardinal had to leave at 10:00 p.m., respecting his parents’ curfew, but must have got a lot of mercy to stay so long.

Another guy joined us for some time, playing a large drum with "The Lower 13^th Street Jazz Band" written on the side of it.

I was happy to see the college students who live at our center, as a result, really developed a taste for harinama and want to continue to go out on Friday nights. We thank Ali Krishna Dasi and Bhakta Jude for the nice illustrations.

sanketyam parihasyam va
stobham helanam eva va
vaikuntha-nama-grahanam
asesagha-haram vidhu

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 (SB 6.2.14).

travel journal#4.19: Alachua/Gainesville, FL & Albany, NY

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 19
By Krishna-kripa das
(October 2008, part one)
Alachua and Gainesville, Florida, and Albany, New York
(Sent from Gainesville, Flordia, U.S.A. on 10/25/08)

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

Visiting Alachua temple. Chanting at the campus in Gainesville. Visiting my family in Albany. (Not necessarily in that order.)

Devotional Meditations

From a Srila Prabhupada lecture: "Unless you become first-class devotee there is no chance of being relieved of this material existence."

"Every family in every society can conduct sankirtana-yajna at least every evening. In this way there will be no disturbance or scarcity of rain. It is essential for the people in this age to perform the sankirtana-yajna in order to be materially happy and to advance spiritually" (SB 5.4.3).

Notes from a darshan with Hridayananda Dasa Goswami SB 5.9.13-14:

1. Srila Prabhupada mentions in the purport that human sacrifice is done by barbaric, low class people. Everything in the scripture is not necessarily "Vedic". The Srimad-Bhagavatam was just describing human nature as it is, and the Vedic culture was just trying to deal with realities of human nature. Whenever you get a sufficently varigated gene pool, you are bound to get some people who are into human sacrifices.


2. The idea of kings hunting is not necessarily "Vedic". To get someone passionate enough to be king, they are bound to have some bad qualities. The allowance for ksatriyas to hunt is not there by intent but by necessity because they will do it anyway.


3. Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami asked Srila Prabhupada how do fire sacrifices. Srila Prabhupada said, "Shortcut."


4. For people’s psychological needs they want a guru is a superman or celebrity. Someone purely representing the sastra alone is does not satisfy them.


5. To really be a second class devotee is not easy. Can you have an international society where most of the devotees are absorbed in missionary work? In the beginning we were all youthful with recent conversion experiences so enthusiasm for preaching was natural. But can that be maintained in an institution?


6. In Jada-yoga, you put yourself in the lowest possible state, by accepting various dualities, and thus become free from false ego. It works but it is not for this age.


7. We have technology far beyond what we had in the 1970s but in many ways we have less communication.


8. I am trying to figure out what I can do with my psychophysical nature to benefit the greatest number of people for Srila Prabhupada, and have a transforming effect on Srila Prabhupada’s movement.

Notes from class by Kripa Sindhu Prabhu:

ISKCON history: In the early days, after the morning program, they had another class, and then went on harinama for three hours, took lunch, and then went out on harinama for three more hours, and then took a shower and went to the evening program. Srila Prabhupada said if we don’t go to the evening program, we would all fall down. Every one was fully engaged and it was pretty fired up because of that. We would tell the people to surrender to Krishna now, and many did.

In Brihad Bhagavatamrita, Gopa Kumar did not know if he was in Goloka, the spiritual abode, or Gokula, its replica in this world, because the same activities are going on in both.

We can understand from the scripture, we have already been through the different bodies and had the different experiences.

Acaryas compare the desire for fame to be in the same category as having sex with a low-class prostitute.

We should follow Srila Prabhupada’s program because we are not perfect pure and are subjected to the four defects of the conditioned soul. [We cannot devise a better path.]

In the questions and answers after class, one devotee lady told of an impromptu Sunday feast program at a friendly Indian’s house where she and a friend followed Srila Prabhupada whole program with kirtana, lecture, and prasadam and how it was amazingly successful. There was no prasadam left for them at the end, but they were so happy from sharing Krishna consciousness with others, they didn’t mind.

Notes from a class by Dravida Prabhu on Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 17.50-51:

We should not blame anyone else for our suffering, especially God. We must understand that the suffering we encounter is Krishna’s personal program for our purification from the tendency for sense gratification, and is thus benedictory. Practically every great devotee encountered some misery in the course of his life. Because the devotees are eager to go back to Godhead, they want to receive all the reactions that they are due before the end of life, and so are not disturbed by the miseries, but are grateful for them.

Kaviraja Goswami spoke very wonderfully and his words did not offend even those he rebuked during chastisement. Raghunatha Dasa Goswami established the superiority of the service of Srimati Radharani. Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami considered that all Vaishnavas are sincerely serving the Lord according to their realizations and should not be criticized.

Notes from a class in Gainesville by Dravida Prabhu:

The modern tendency is to depersonalize everything including our own consciousness, but the Vaisnava principle is to see the personality of Godhead everywhere and in everything.

The names that describe Krishna’s forms and pastimes are His primary names.

One of the reasons the Hare Krishna mantra is called the maha-mantra is that it not only offers obeisances to and glorifies the Lord, but directly calls out and implores the Lord to be engaged in His service.


Notes from a class by Laskmi Nrsimha Prabhu:

The Christians have the idea that Jesus and the Father are one. We can understand how that can be true because we understand the principle of the satyavesa-avatara, in which a living entity is empowered as an incarnation of Godhead with special powers.

All the ‘rights’ movements reveal intense identification with the body.

Campus Bhajanas Awaken Devotion in Students

Brian from Santa Fe Community College and Celia from University of Florida both excitedly told me how they became attracted to Krishna consciousness from the campus bhajana programs at their respective colleges. Celia said that the chanting attracts you on a deeper level than you can realize. Both now attend the daily chanting on the University of Florida campus and talked to me during an evening program at our Gainesville Krishna House. I felt so inspired to hear how the chanting attracted them since the public chanting is an important part of my life. I suggested that Celia might try coming to the morning program, which Brian is already doing, and she expressed some interest in that. The next day both of them helped carry the instruments back to our Krishna center after the campus bhajanas. The following day they came to our gourmet dinner program, and after it was over, asked the devotees if we could have a kirtana. The other devotees were tired from cooking and serving out and still needed to clean up, but I, who was also feeling a void without an evening kirtana, chanted with them for fifteen minutes. My friends from Europe speak disparagingly from what they have heard about our outreach programs in America, but I can see, as American book distributors tell me, the field in America is as good as it ever has been, if not better. When we are out in public to share Krishna with others, people there become attracted. The problem is that there are only a too few fulltime or even parttime missionary devotees in America. Otherwise it is a great place to share Krishna
consciousness with others.

You Should Choose a Religion!

My sister, Karen, that her daughter, Fern, told her how her grandmother wanted her to choose a religion. To hear that was humorous for me because I had been considering advising her in the same way. Now she is sixteen. Her mom is a Buddhist, her grandmother, Quaker, and me, her uncle, am a Hare Krishna. She comes to all the different services from time to time, but doesn’t really practice any of them on her own. She is a lifetime vegetarian, however. Karen thinks that as she has taken her studies seriously like adults around her did, she will some day take up a religious practice on her own, like those around her. The Vedic idea is that children should be reminded that this human form of life is simply meant for spiritual life and be encouraged to endeavor in that way. My father and my mother were not so attached to the Anglican and Catholic religions of their births, so when Karen and I were young they looked for a path they both had faith in so we would have some idea of spirituality. Thus they joined the Quaker meeting in Albany. That consideration by the parents to promote spirituality in their children is actually the parents’ dharma. We will see what happens with Fern. I told Fern I was thinking the same thing as her grandmother (my mother), but I did not push her to choose a religion. I am so averse to people trying to push me to make decisions, I cannot do the same to others. I did, however, make the point to her that at least when she goes to the Hare Krishna services, she can count on there being vegetarian food. With the others, you never know. Even the Buddhists sometimes have preparations containing meat at their programs.

Quaker Meeting

The Sunday I was home in Albany I went to the Quaker meeting I attended as a youth. The Quakers teach complete pacifism, equality to all human beings, andthat God is in everyone’s heart. They also highly value the search for spiritual truth. In the unprogrammed meetings as we have in Albany, they sit in silence for an hour, presumably thinking of godly things, and anyone can stand up and speak briefly, if inspired, during that time. After their meetings, they serve refreshments. I was late half an hour because I miscalculated the baking time for some prasadam cookies I made to add to the refreshments. No one spoke for the first twenty minutes I was there. I decide to quote a very ecumenical verse from the Vedic literature: smartavyah satatam vishnur, vismartavyo na jatucit, sarve vidhi-nishedhah syur, etayor eva kinkarah. "One should always remember the Supreme Lord. One should not forget Him at any time. All the other scriptural injunctions and prohibitions are servants of these two principles." I spoke briefly saying that whatever our religion is, we may sometimes get caught up in the rules and rituals and forget that the important thing is to remember God. After that in the five remaining minutes at least a couple people spoke, each talking about how they saw God in their life recently in some way or other. One saw Him in the colorful autumn leaves and another in the loving responses of friends during his illness. I felt victorious because we as devotees promote the glorification of God, and so that a couple people broke the silence, and spoke in God’s favor made me smile. One elderly lady told me afterwards that now she is almost completely vegetarian now, and I encouraged her. A sociology major from Skidmore told me she liked my quote, and I sent it to her by email. Many liked the cookies. One later mentioned them in an email to my mother. I noticed the Sunday school kids playing outside and took a few cookies to them. They had studied that day the Biblical story of Jonah and the whale, and I asked them to tell it, as I did not know it. Apparently God wanted Jonah to preach, but he did not want to, and went sailing instead. He got in an accident and ended up being swallowed by whale. He realized that he made a mistake, and prayed to God who arranged his rescue. Then he went to preach to the people God had ordered him to. It reminded me of the fact that Lord Caitanya has ordered us all to preach. Perhaps if we do not do so, we will get into a jam like Jonah. Better not chance it.

ataeva ami ajna dilun sabakare
yahan tahan prema-phala deha’ yare tare

[Lord Caitanya continued,]
"Therefore I order every man within this universe to accept this
Krishna consciousness movement and distribute it everywhere"
(Cc. Adi 9.36).

travel journal#4.18: The Best Ukraine Festival Ever and More!

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 18
By Krishna-kripa das
(September 2008, part two)
Ukraine Festival, Poland, England, and Back to the USA
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on 10/17/08)

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

The second half of September I went to a very sweet festival
in Ukraine attended by four thousand devotees, and then traveled through Katowice, Wroclaw, London, and Manchester, on the way back to Alachua, Florida, U.S.A., where I attended a memorial service for Sadaputa Prabhu.

Devotional Meditations

Notes from Prabhupada Lecture:

If we see the Ford car, which was produced under the direction of Mr. Ford, and we think we have met Mr. Ford himself, that is foolishness. In the same way, everything is God, but God Himself is not every thing.

If you meet someone who has no father, that is God.

Om namah bhagavate vasudevaya, means "Krishna, I accept your invitation to surrender unto You."

By chanting Hare Krishna you can always think of Krishna and become a first-class yogi. The perfect yogi has all power from within.

Q: Sometimes there is maya in the temple.
A: Show me a place where maya is not.

God is one and the path to God is one, bhakti, as Krishna says in Bg. 18.55. Others persons, who take to other paths, waste their time because it will take them longer.

One who is inquisitive about the Absolute Truth will ultimate attain it depending on how he is situated, but for a devotee who can accept immediately the Bhagavatam version, liberation is attained. Those who can accept the authority save time.

God is not dead, because we are part of God and we are not dead.

Notes on Srila Prabhupada lecture (SB 1.5.15, New Vrndavana, June 15, 1969):

If we do not come to the spiritual platform, just some regulative principles on the material platform will not help us. Neither will going to the temple, while maintaining desires for sense enjoyment, bring the ultimate benefit.

Just as you can get a position in the government and be better situated than an ordinary man, you can become a demigod and be better situated than a human being.

Direct people to Krishna. Do not misguide them by leading them to some demigod.

The impersonalists claim the impersonal feature of God is supreme, and think that temporarily one can worship any demigod to elevate himself to that point. The Vaishnavas accept the Bhagavatam version that the personal form of Krishna is Supreme.

Krishna and maya are side by side. As soon as you are a little slack in Krishna consciousness, maya is there waiting for you.

We give brahminical initiation as recognition that the disciple is pure in habits, learned in the scripture, and engaged in devotional service.

The born brahmanas without brahminical qualities have destroyed the India’s spiritual culture.

I foolishly left my notebook in Poland, but I remember one class at the Ukraine festival by Gopiparanadhana Prabhu on the prayers of Queen Kunti. He was making the point that the devotees of the Lord do not actually suffer although they may appear to. One devotee raised a doubt, "Didn’t Devaki suffer when her six children were killed?" Gopiparanadhana was firm in his reply, "No." He explained that when actors put on a play, so many calamaties may happen in the course of the drama, but no one actually gets hurt. Rather the actors are happy to see that the audience enjoys the play. In the same way, the pure devotees of the Lord do not actually suffer in the course of playing their parts in the Lord’s pastimes. It was such a powerful analogy, it remains fresh in my mind.

Ukraine Festival—Better Than Ever

Many people I talked to said that the Ukraine festival was better than ever this year. Many reasons combined to make it so. There were no festival or prasadam fees. There were an estimated 4,000 devotees, more than ever and 500 more than last year. B.B. Govinda Swami and his harmonium player and saxophonist/backup singer were there to lead bhajanas every night, along with Niranjana Swami, Indradyumna Swami, and Bhaktivaibhava Swami and others. One very special reason for the swell of devotional emotions is that Niranjana Swami, who has been a GBC in Ukraine for many years and is a main inspiration behind the festival, returned after a two-year absence because of health. He fully participated and the devotees were grateful. Moreover, some wonderful presenters made their first appearance this year, Bhanu Swami, and Deena Bandhu and Gopiparadhana Prabhus. The three hours of kirtana every evening was taken very seriously both by the presenters and the attenders, perhaps even more so than usual, and there was much chanting and dancing and great joy. The organizers planned for no seminars, prasadam serve outs, or vendors of devotional items during the scheduled evening kirtana, to encourage participation. Those evening kirtanas are what I miss the most as I recollect the festival, sitting crosslegged on my gray cadar at Pzremysl Glowny, the train station just over the Poland-Ukraine border, grateful to the Polish railroad company, PKP, for the free power. Unfortunately, they leave the train station doors open, and the coldness of late September creeps in. Thinking of the festival, I feel the saddest of separation from the devotees, their devotion, and their kirtana. Of course, there is always next year, and one can always get the DVD with all the lectures and kirtanas, and relive it through hearing.

The devotees in Ukraine are sweet. One young male devotee came up to me the first day of the festival and gave me a bag saying, "Some matajis wanted me to give you this." I thanked him, and later looked in the bag. It was some very thick woolen socks. During the next mangala arati, feeling the unexpected cold of the floor, I realized what a great gift they were. Indradyumna Swami once told me, "The best gift is not the most valuable thing, but that which is most needed."

Devotees are such charitable people, I asked one for change for ten euros, and he gave me six more euros and told me to keep the ten. The next day, I asked another to change ten euros into grivnas, the Ukrainian currency, he gave me a hundred grivnas (over sixteen euros) and also would not accept the ten. When will I become charitable by their good association? Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita 18.5, "Sacrifice, charity, and penances purify even the great souls." What to speak of me.

As I took the bus from the Ukraine’s Lvov airport to Shegyni on the border of Poland, I saw about fifteen cows coming down a rural highway closely followed by a middle-aged woman with a stick. It reminded me of India. There, of course, it would have been a man with the stick. Many houses have vegetable gardens and squash is in season. The crowded condition of the bus also reminded me of India as do the simplicity of the people and their paraphenalia. That the prices are less is also like India, although not that quite that much less. Of course, Ukraine is much greener than India.

On the train from Przemysl to Katowice, I met a Polish young man who has lived in Munich for four years, and I gave him a invitation to the Munich temple I obtained during my visit there. Another, who kindly lent me his phone, told me he had friends who enjoy going to the Hare Krishna camp at the Polish Woodstock. He recalled, "I think they call it Krishna’s Village of Peace." I smiled and replied with its Polish translation, "Pokojova Wioska Kryszny!" And he smiled back. By the grace of Indradyumna Swami and his followers, Krishna is popular in Poland.

Krishna Consciousness in Katowice

Although I visited Bhakta Adam and his very devotional wife three times last year, I always missed their Sunday nama-hatta program. This time I stayed for it, although it was austere as the city failed to begin heating his apartment building in time for the cool autumn season. I recall the seven or eight guests who came were all very attentive in the kirtana and played the instruments and chanted nicely. It is so much more fun when the people respond with a degree of enthusiasm. Adam and his wife will get some mercy from Lord Caitanya for faithfully maintaining that weekly program.

A Couple I Met in Wroclaw

While waiting for the bus to the Wroclaw airport, I passed out Polish Hare Krishna mantra cards to the others at the bus stop. One middle-aged couple enroute to London on the same flight as me I found out was vegetarian—a rarity in Poland. I invited them to our Sunday program there in Wroclaw as it was their home. The man had a African djembe drum, and I told him he could bring it to play at our program. I wrote down the address of our Govinda’s Restaurant on Soho St. so they could come there during their two-week London visit. I also told them about our summer festivals on the Baltic Sea and at the Polish Woodstock and gave them invitations for each, saying that next year’s schedule will be posted on the web site. I hope they take advantage of some of these many opportunities.

Painting by Jagannath Krishna Das,
now Gopi Vallabha Das.

Sadaputa Prabhu Memorial at London’s Matchless Gifts

Amazingly enough, the day after I arrived in London, I saw Jagannatha Krishna Prabhu, now reinitiated as Gopi Vallabha Prabhu, who did some illustrations for Sadaputa Prabhu in San Diego. I had not seen him since that time, and it was comforting to see a fellow associate of Sadaputa Prabhu, soon after hearing he left his body. Gopi Vallabha and Rama Nrsimha Prabhus were planning a memorial service at the King’s Cross store front’s, Matchless Gifts’, Friday evening program, and they invited me to participate. I showed some clips from Sadaputa Prabhu’s videos, including those showing cheating in archeology, the complete improbability of evolution by natural selection, and empirical evidence for the difference between the mind and the brain. Gopi Vallabha told of how Sadaputa Prabhu patiently answered his scientific doubts for two or three hours when he was becoming a devotee, and how that helped him greatly in his Krishna consciousness. We felt happy that Parasurama Prabhu, the president of the center, and several individual devotees said they liked the program very much.

Manchester Ratha-yatra 2008

I went to a great harinama on Saturday in Manchester to advertise the next day’s Ratha-yatra and found the city to be a great venue for doing harinama, with many pedestrians walking in areas intentionally offlimits to cars. I was also inspired to see a group of enthusiastic congregational devotees eager to participate. Indeed, to witness the cooperative spirit among those planning and executing the Ratha-yatra was uplifting. Most amazing was that Manchester, reputed to be the rainiest city in England, had a mostly sunny day in honor of Lord Jagannatha. A busload of devotees came from London for the event.

Maha-Vishnu Swami, seen here with his accordion, played a key role in the life the kirtanas.

I am hopeful the event can happen yearly at a scale at least as large as it was this year. A brief article with a gallery of pictures can be found at: http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/news/s/1069576_krishna_devotees_enjoy_colourful_festival

That site links to a nice video as well: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/video/?bcpid=1138292711&bctid=1825764784

Memorial Service for Sadaputa Prabhu in Alachua, Florida

It was a little bewildering after sleeping one hour the night before, to take an hour and a half of buses, eleven hours of flights, from London to Orlando, and then two hours of traveling by car to Alachua for a memorial service for Sadaputa Prabhu that evening. I had been gone for fifteen months, and experienced the mixture of the happiness to see old friends and sadness that Sadaputa Prabhu was no longer with us, and the frustration at not being able to reciprocate with all the people I saw there that I knew. From the memorial service, I learned about other aspects of Sadaputa’s life, both as a new devotee and as a family man, that I had not known before, and I found that beneficial. For my part, I played an excerpt of his "Mind and Brain" video where he talks about empirical evidence that the soul is different from the body, near-death experiences and past life memories. I prefaced it by saying that we are so much affected by materialistic ideas we have learned in school, that hearing of this empirical evidence confirming scriptural injunctions about the eternality of the soul is valuable.

Birthday Party

Three devotees at Gainesville ISKCON had birthdays on September 30. We were 22, 32, and 49 years old. The two eldest of us, Saranga Prabhu and I, did presentations for the evening class. He discussed his silas and worshiping Them, and I showed some clips from Sadaputa Prabhu’s videos and shared some of the material I did not have time to present the previous night at the memorial service. Barbara and Brian, Sadaputa Prabhu’s wife and son from his first marriage, appreciated hearing more about him. We all had cake and ice cream. A nice way to end the month.

"Advanced people are eager to understand the Absolute Truth through the
medium of science, and therefore a great scientist should endeavor to prove the
existence of the Lord on a scientific basis" (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.22,
purport). All glories to Sadaputa Prabhu, who endeavored his best in that
connection.

travel journal#4-17: Finland and Ukraine

To see the illustrated version of this journal, click on the link below:

http://krishnamonk.blogspot.com/2008/10/travel-journal4-17-finland-and-ukraine.html

 Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 17

By Krishna-kripa das

(September 2008, part one)

Tampere and Helsinki, Finland & Kharkov, Ukraine

(Sent from Gainesville, Florida on 10/11/08)

 

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

I spent the first week of September in Finland, researching an article on the Finnish yatra, especially its programs for academia, for Back to Godhead and meditating on speaking on the glories of Radharani for Radhastami. Then I went to Kharkov where we had a couple harinamas, including a very nice one at the college, and where Bhakta Andre kindly replaced eight fillings in my teeth.

 

Devotional Meditations

Notes on Kavicandra Swami's recorded class on Caitanya-caritamrita:

"Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink" from Rime of the Ancient Mariner describes the nature of the material world. We are looking for enjoyment, but if we try to enjoy that which surrounds around us, we will just suffer, just as if one drinks the sea water to quench his thirst.

We want to go from lust to love, and from passion to compassion.

In this ISKCON movement we are doing the same things that Lord Caitanya did, so this is also Gaura-lila.

Notes from a recorded lecture by Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami:

In making emotional presentations, a pleasant background has to be created before the point is made, so the point is likely to be accepted. In intellectual presentations, the point is made in the beginning, and the presentation uses intelligent arguments to show the wisdom of the point.

If one foolishly drives off the road, one does not blame the road, the car, or the tires, but oneself, why then does one who has difficulty in a relationship, always blame the other person? If we could learn to refrain from doing this, we could improve our relationships among devotees considerably.

 

Academic Outreach in Finland

 

I have written an article for Back to Godhead, on Finland's academic outreach, but I want to say a little about it here. The "Krishna religion" is an official religion in Finland. If three or more kids in a city worship Krishna, then if their parents request, the school is obligated to teach a weekly class it in.

 

Tapo Divyam Prabhu teaches a class of Nepali boys about Srila Prabhupada.

Thus one devotee, Tapo Divyam Prabhu, teaches seven such courses in the Helsinki area schools.

 

Tattvavada Prabhu gives a lecture to a class of high school students. In addition a team of five devotees headed by Tattvavada Prabhu, ISKCON's regional secretary for Finland, gives lectures in 100 high schools and colleges and in six of the country's ten universities. Besides this, at least two or three classes visit the temple each week. One teacher of religion teachers brings his entire class once a year, and a class of nurses visits the temple once a year, as nurses need to be familiar with the different practices of their patients. Recently, a professor at the Helsinki University asked the devotees to write a curriculum for a course in the Krishna religion. Thus in the country of Finland the devotees are well respected for the knowledge that they share.

 

Harinama in Finland

We did harinama in Tampere with the book distribution and college lecturing party, which they occasionally do midweek. We also did weekly two-hour harinama in a busy section of Helsinki. There they distributed hundreds of invitations to the Radhastami festival. They kindly let me lead the kirtana part of the time both place, and they had the cut-off harmoniums that Aindra Prabhu has especially made for harinama. It is three cities in a row that they have had those harmoniums, and I am happy to have the practice using them.

 

Book Distribution Stories from Finland

While researching my article on the academic programs done by ISKCON in Finland, I traveled for three days with their book and prasadam distribution devotees who worked Tampere, the same town as Tattvavada Prabhu gave his academic lectures in that week. Every day Avadhutacandra Prabhu, the party leader and one of the leading book distributors in Europe had a nice story to tell.

The first day he met a respectably dressed man who showed surprising interest in Prabhupada's books. It turned out, when the man was a student, he had heard a lecture by Tattvavada Prabhu and even stayed after class to continue speaking with him. Now he eagerly discussed the philosophy with Avadhutacandra and ultimately bought a book.In front of the library, Avadhutacandra talked with a student who had a heart condition so bad that he could actually die at any moment. He was convinced about the worlds' miseries, and Avadhutacandra sold him both the Gita and the Bhagavatam, Canto 1. When the man made the payment for the books, Avadhutacandra threw in the Mahabharata for another five euros. One boy really had an interest in Prabhupada's books, but he had no money. Just then a girl who had previously purchased the books came up and told Avadhutacandra how much she liked them. Seeing her enthusiasm for the books, he asked her if she would be willing to buy a book for the boy who had no money. The boy was a little shy at first to take help from the girl, but ultimately he did, and received the book. Avadhutacandra also sold another book to the girl at a discounted price.

 

Radhastami

I gave two lectures on Radhastami—one in the morning to the temple devotees, and one for the general Sunday feast crowd. In the morning, I talked about the feelings of separation of Radharani and how Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada taught that devotees must learn how to love Krishna through feelings of separation following in the footsteps of the gopis. This is largely over my head, but I supported it with Prabhupada's statements from Krishna book. It is the right time to talk of such esoteric topics. If not on Radhastami, when? We cannot neglect such an important part of the philosophy. I read my poem about Radha and the bumblebee, which is based on Krishna book, and it went well. In the evening I stressed how Srila Prabhupada would often say that it is easy to attain Krishna by the mercy of Radharani, and we should beg for Her mercy in this connection, especially on this day.

 

During the Radhastami feast I talked to a young couple who had hitchhiked from Germany to Finland. I could see they were not so interested in religion, but they did like music. I talked with them about mantras and the purifying power of the Vedic sound vibration, and they seemed interested. The boy was a guitar player, and I showed him the chords for the simple tune that Srila Prabhupada often chanted, demonstrating with the harmonium. He said that they like to sing while they hitchhike, and I hope they experiment with the maha-mantra, and that it wins their hearts. One enthusiastic devotee gave them two liters of halava to take with them on the road. That it itself might prove an inspiration for devotional service. I learned from the girl that there is a bus that you can take to India from Instanbul for forty euros. Apparently, you do not need visas for the intervening countries as you don't get off the bus. She had never taken it but heard that it leaves from the main bus terminal there in Istanbul.

 

Harinama in Kharkov

 

Each venue we do harinama has a special flavor. I love the ones we do on the sidewalk near the university in Kharkov, Ukraine. What's special there is the devotees roll out about 15 meters of carpet on the curb across from us for interested people to sit and hear the transcendental sound. Usually between five and twelve people are sitting listening at any one time, and for at least half an hour during the three or four hours we chanted there, twenty people listened. This time we came out with four devotees. Two more devotees, who attend the university, later joined us. We played the harmonium, the mrdanga, karatalas, whompers (the big karatalas), a tambourine, and a djembe. The devotees, headed by brahmacari preacher, Krishna Dvaipayana Dasa, display a table of books, DVDs, incense, sweets, temple invitations, and a photo album of devotional pictures for people to look through. [The DVD distribution program is interesting. The DVDs, which are either for sale or to borrow, include kirtana, lectures, and movies of India and devotional topics, and create an interest in the people receiving them.] One new Kharkov devotee, a university student in technology, told me that he hears the passersby the harinamasay things like, "These Hare Krishnas are very powerful. They pass out sweets and incense, and make you feel like you don't want to go anywhere else." In Kharkov the devotees chant six days a week, at least three hours a day, either at the university, park, or downtown, depending on the day. I like to go there every year and become inspired. Sahasra Jit Prabhu, the temple president, tells me that each year they teach an introductory course to about twenty to thirty newcomers to Krishna consciousness, most having developed an interest as a result of the harinama program.

 

Some People I Encountered in Kharkov

 

There is Sahasra Jit Prabhu, the temple president, who always gets me at the train station, translates my Bhagavatam classes, finds a place for me to stay, and makes sure I can go on plenty of harinamas. There is Krishna Dvaipayana Prabhu, who is always jolly, and is a dedicated preacher. There is Drumila Dasa, who on harinama, closes his eyes and chants lively tunes with his whole heart. There is Bhakta Andre, the dentist, who kindly spent four hours replacing the fillings for eight of my cavities as a service, because he found my dancing inspiring at the Ukraine festival one year. There is householder Alexi, who invited the harinama party to lunch two days in a row. There was a five-year medical student from Malaysia who went to the Sunday feast there as a ten-year-old kid but decided to take devotional service seriously in Kharkov a few months ago and came out with us on harinama. There was a lady from Iran who teaches Farsi at the university, who developed an interest in Krishna consciousness in Kharkov, and came out on harinama along with her daughter. An English teacher from the university visited the harinama and decided she had to talk with me as I was an American. She blessed me to think good thoughts, say good words, do good activities, and to find God in my heart—all nice sentiments.

 

Bolo 'krishna,' bhajo 'krishna,' koro 'krishna–siksa'.

Chant "Krishna!" worship Krishna, and follow Krishna's instructions.

(from Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Gitavali)

travel journal#4-17: Finland and Ukraine

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 17
By Krishna-kripa das
(September 2008, part one)
Tampere and Helsinki, Finland & Kharkov, Ukraine
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida on 10/11/08)

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

I spent the first week of September in Finland, researching an article on the Finnish yatra, especially its programs for academia, for Back to Godhead and meditating on speaking on the glories of Radharani for Radhastami. Then I went to Kharkov where we had a couple harinamas, including a very nice one at the college, and where Bhakta Andre kindly replaced eight fillings in my teeth.

Devotional Meditations

Notes on Kavicandra Swami’s recorded class on Caitanya-caritamrita:

"Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink" from Rime of the Ancient Mariner describes the nature of the material world. We are looking for enjoyment, but if we try to enjoy that which surrounds around us, we will just suffer, just as if one drinks the sea water to quench his thirst.

We want to go from lust to love, and from passion to compassion.

In this ISKCON movement we are doing the same things that Lord Caitanya did, so this is also Gaura-lila.

Notes from a recorded lecture by Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami:

In making emotional presentations, a pleasant background has to be created before the point is made, so the point is likely to be accepted. In intellectual presentations, the point is made in the beginning, and the presentation uses intelligent arguments to show the wisdom of the point.

If one foolishly drives off the road, one does not blame the road, the car, or the tires, but oneself, why then does one who has difficulty in a relationship, always blame the other person? If we could learn to refrain from doing this, we could improve our relationships among devotees considerably.

Academic Outreach in Finland

I have written an article for Back to Godhead, on Finland’s academic outreach, but I want to say a little about it here. The "Krishna religion" is an official religion in Finland. If three or more kids in a city worship Krishna, then if their parents request, the school is obligated to teach a weekly class it in.

Tapo Divyam Prabhu teaches a class of Nepali boys about Srila Prabhupada.

Thus one devotee, Tapo Divyam Prabhu, teaches seven such courses in the Helsinki area schools.

Tattvavada Prabhu gives a lecture to a class of high school students.

In addition a team of five devotees headed by Tattvavada Prabhu, ISKCON’s regional secretary for Finland, gives lectures in 100 high schools and colleges and in six of the country’s ten universities. Besides this, at least two or three classes visit the temple each week. One teacher of religion teachers brings his entire class once a year, and a class of nurses visits the temple once a year, as nurses need to be familiar with the different practices of their patients. Recently, a professor at the Helsinki University asked the devotees to write a curriculum for a course in the Krishna religion. Thus in the country of Finland the devotees are well respected for the knowledge that they share.

Harinama in Finland

We did harinama in Tampere with the book distribution and college lecturing party, which they occasionally do midweek.

We also did weekly two-hour harinama in a busy section of Helsinki. There they distributed hundreds of invitations to the Radhastami festival. They kindly let me lead the kirtana part of the time both place, and they had the cut-off harmoniums that Aindra Prabhu has especially made for harinama. It is three cities in a row that they have had those harmoniums, and I am happy to have the practice using them.

Book Distribution Stories from Finland

While researching my article on the academic programs done by ISKCON in Finland, I traveled for three days with their book and prasadam distribution devotees who worked Tampere, the same town as Tattvavada Prabhu gave his academic lectures in that week. Every day Avadhutacandra Prabhu, the party leader and one of the leading book distributors in Europe had a nice story to tell.

The first day he met a respectably dressed man who showed surprising interest in Prabhupada’s books. It turned out, when the man was a student, he had heard a lecture by Tattvavada Prabhu and even stayed after class to continue speaking with him. Now he eagerly discussed the philosophy with Avadhutacandra and ultimately bought a book.

In front of the library, Avadhutacandra talked with a student who had a heart condition so bad that he could actually die at any moment. He was convinced about the worlds’ miseries, and Avadhutacandra sold him both the Gita and the Bhagavatam, Canto 1. When the man made the payment for the books, Avadhutacandra threw in the Mahabharata for another five euros.

One boy really had an interest in Prabhupada’s books, but he had no money. Just then a girl who had previously purchased the books came up and told Avadhutacandra how much she liked them. Seeing her enthusiasm for the books, he asked her if she would be willing to buy a book for the boy who had no money. The boy was a little shy at first to take help from the girl, but ultimately he did, and received the book. Avadhutacandra also sold another book to the girl at
a discounted price.

Radhastami

I gave two lectures on Radhastami—one in the morning to the temple devotees, and one for the general Sunday feast crowd. In the morning, I talked about the feelings of separation of Radharani and how Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada taught that devotees must learn how to love Krishna through feelings of separation following in the footsteps of the gopis. This is largely over my head, but I supported it with Prabhupada’s statements from Krishna book. It is the right time to talk of such esoteric topics. If not on Radhastami, when? We cannot neglect such an important part of the philosophy. I read my poem about Radha and the bumblebee, which is based on Krishna book, and it went well. In the evening I stressed how Srila Prabhupada would often say that it is easy to attain Krishna by the mercy of Radharani, and we should beg for Her mercy in this connection, especially on this day.

During the Radhastami feast I talked to a young couple who had hitchhiked from Germany to Finland. I could see they were not so interested in religion, but they did like music. I talked with them about mantras and the purifying power of the Vedic sound vibration, and they seemed interested. The boy was a guitar player, and I showed him the chords for the simple tune that Srila Prabhupada often chanted, demonstrating with the harmonium. He said that they like to sing while they hitchhike, and I hope they experiment with the maha-mantra, and that it wins their hearts. One enthusiastic devotee gave them two liters of halava to take with them on the road. That it itself might prove an inspiration for devotional service. I learned from the girl that there is a bus that you can take to India from Instanbul for forty euros. Apparently, you do not need visas for the intervening countries as you don’t get off the bus. She had never taken it but heard that it leaves from the main bus terminal there in Istanbul.

Harinama in Kharkov

Each venue we do harinama has a special flavor. I love the ones we do on the sidewalk near the university in Kharkov, Ukraine. What’s special there is the devotees roll out about 15 meters of carpet on the curb across from us for interested people to sit and hear the transcendental sound. Usually between five and twelve people are sitting listening at any one time, and for at least half an hour during the three or four hours we chanted there, twenty people listened. This time we came out with four devotees. Two more devotees, who attend the university, later joined us. We played the harmonium, the mrdanga, karatalas, whompers (the big karatalas), a tambourine, and a djembe. The devotees, headed by brahmacari preacher, Krishna Dvaipayana Dasa, display a table of books, DVDs, incense, sweets, temple invitations, and a photo album of devotional pictures for people to look through. [The DVD distribution program is interesting. The DVDs, which are either for sale or to borrow, include kirtana, lectures, and movies of India and devotional topics, and create an interest in the people receiving them.] One new Kharkov devotee, a university student in technology, told me that he hears the passersby the harinamasay things like, "These Hare Krishnas are very powerful. They pass out sweets and incense, and make you feel like you don’t want to go anywhere else." In Kharkov the devotees chant six days a week, at least three hours a day, either at the university, park, or downtown, depending on the day. I like to go there every year and become inspired. Sahasra Jit Prabhu, the temple president, tells me that each year they teach an introductory course to about twenty to thirty newcomers to Krishna consciousness, most having developed an interest as a result of the harinama program.

Some People I Encountered in Kharkov

There is Sahasra Jit Prabhu, the temple president, who always gets me at the train station, translates my Bhagavatam classes, finds a place for me to stay, and makes sure I can go on plenty of harinamas. There is Krishna Dvaipayana Prabhu, who is always jolly, and is a dedicated preacher. There is Drumila Dasa, who on harinama, closes his eyes and chants lively tunes with his whole heart. There is Bhakta Andre, the dentist, who kindly spent four hours replacing the fillings for eight of my cavities as a service, because he found my dancing inspiring at the Ukraine festival one year. There is householder Alexi, who invited the harinama party to lunch two days in a row. There was a five-year medical student from Malaysia who went to the Sunday feast there as a ten-year-old kid but decided to take devotional service seriously in Kharkov a few months ago and came out with us on harinama. There was a lady from Iran who teaches Farsi at the university, who developed an interest in Krishna consciousness in Kharkov, and came out on harinama along with her daughter. An English teacher from the university visited the harinama and decided she had to talk with me as I was an American. She blessed me to think good thoughts, say good words, do good activities, and to find God in my heart—all nice sentiments.

Bolo ‘krishna,’ bhajo ‘krishna,’ koro ‘krishna–siksa’.

Chant "Krishna!" worship Krishna, and follow Krishna’s instructions.

(from Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Gitavali)

Sadaputa Prabhu: Words of Praise

Sadaputa Prabhu: Words of Praise

I feel I should say a few words about Sadaputa Prabhu, on the occasion of his disappearance, as I worked for him from 1988 to 2005, assisting mostly with book and video production. Actually beyond it being an obligation, I took as both a great honor and a great pleasure working for him, and I take great pleasure in glorifying him and his achievements.

Srila Prabhupada said, "The more we kick on Darwin's face, the more [we] advance in spiritual consciousness. He has killed the whole civilization, rascal" (Morning Walk, May 12, 1973, Los Angeles). Through his strong words, Srila Prabhupada made it clear that Darwin's materialistic theory has created a so-called civilization in which the quest for self-realization, the goal of human life, will never arise, and he wanted the theory completed discredited. Sadaputa Prabhu dealt many great blows in this connection, which I personally appreciate.

Before I went to work with Sadaputa Prabhu, I thought that in the sense the scientists are presenting that life came to be without God, you could say that are cheating. In Forbidden Archeology, Sadaputa Prabhu and Drutakarma Prabhu show that even according to the ordinary dictionary definition of cheating, the scientists are cheating. By discrediting evidence that does not fit the theory instead of altering the theory to accommodate the evidence, as their scientific method requires, they maintain a false theory and claim objective evidential support. This is a first class example of cheating, elaborately exposed by the grace of Sadaputa and Drutakarma Prabhus, who describe dozens of cases in their book. I hope in the future they both get the recognition for exposing that great hoax of an idea, namely that humans have evolved from apes. In Sadaputa Prabhu's video, "Models of Natural Selection," he shows that the probability of evolution by natural selection of even the simplest organism is out of the question, to the extent of 1 in 10 to the 84th power! In Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science he points out that according to information theory there is a conservation of information, and one cannot explain the existence complex biological forms with the simple laws of physics alone. All are wonderful contributions.

His analysis of the Bhagavata cosmology as meaningful in at least four different self-consistent ways is brilliant as is his discovery that the geocentric orbits of the planets line up with the oceans and dvipas of Bhumandala, which provides evidence of advanced astronomical knowledge in India thousands of years ago, and shows the Bhagavata description is not mythology, but a model encoding astronomical and geographical information, well ahead of its time.

Analyzing Vedic star coordinates and the present star coordinates and rates of motion, Sadaputa Prabhu, gave evidence for exact measurement of star positions in India sometime about 30,000 or 40,000 years ago. Such advancement of civilization in ancient times is consistent with traditional Vedic ideas but revolutionary for Western scholars, even the most liberal.

Some people did not appreciate his book on UFOs, because that topic is considered disreputable. Sadaputa Prabhu, a true scientist, was more interested in empirical evidence which provides insight into reality than academic or public opinion. He wrote the book because he read in the Bhagavatam about so many vimanas (flying machines), and so many species of humanlike living beings, many with supernatural powers. He thought if this Vedic version is the truth, there must be some empirical evidence for it. He found in the modern UFO literature amazing parallels with ancient accounts from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Bhagavatam. One reviewer of his book, Alien Identities, described it as "the most honest UFO book ever written." Most UFO authors are true believers who bend the facts to support the existence of the UFOs or debunkers who try to explain away all the evidence as deriving from man-made or meteorological phenomena. Sadaputa Prabhu was just interested in the truth about the phenomena, and thus that reviewer and many others were impressed.

When asked by one devotee why he accepted the Vedic knowledge with all its peculiarities, Sadaputa Prabhu replied, Because it can explain so many things." Consciousness, the complexity of biological form, inspiration, out-of-body experiences, past life memories, psychic healing, mystic power, telepathy, psychokinesis, precognition, teleportation, UFOs, ETs, ghosts, and all kinds of natural and supernatural phenomena can be explained with the Vedic world view. On the contrary, modern scientists' attempts to explain all these are either full of fault or else nonexistence because of their firm faith the phenomena cannot exist despite abundant human testimony.

Sadaputa Prabhu was hardworking, brilliant in analysis, consummately fair, humorous, honest and sincere, and faithful to Srila Prabhupada and the Vedic version. He never really disappointed me. I felt sad when people attacked him or didn't appreciate him. He is one who deserves to be appreciated for his sincere efforts.

He was very humorous. In his Origins lectures series, discussing the faith the scientists have in their imperfect theories, he exclaims "And the scientists, they BELIEVE in their theories! They BELIEVE in their theories as much as any Baptist BELIEVES in Lord Jesus Christ!"

I left working for him not because of disagreement, but because at the end, I was just doing accounting and shipping, which I felt any secretary could do. What needed to be done was to promote his books, and I did not have the vision to do that, and unfortunately, I did not even have the determination to enlist someone who did. I felt out of place in Alachua--one brahmacari among a handful, in a household community. I think he understood. Perhaps if he were in my situation, he would have left too.

I still show his videos. I showed "Mind and Brain," "Natural Selection, " and "Mysterious Orbits" in Finland this month, and I showed the Russian version of "The Hidden History of the Human Race" last week at the Ukraine festival. They are valuable and devotees desire to get them to help with their academic programs. I thought he should get some royalties for the videos I distribute, and I asked if I could send money to his email address, but he never wrote me back.

On September 22, in Wroclaw, I met Karanam Prabhu, who published many of Sadaputa Prabhu's books in Polish. He sold at least 60,000, and maybe even 70,000 copies of the Polish version of the abridged Forbidden Archeology. Just this week, he told me, an order came for 300 more.

In February 2007, I sent Sadaputa Prabhu an article about about the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research lab closing after nearly thirty years of fruitful research into the paranormal. He quoted from their studies, and so I thought he would be interested. Sadaputa Prabhu wrote me back the last email I ever got from him, "Thanks. The end of an era..." That too is how it feels for me now that he has disappeared, "The end of an era..."

As Sadaputa Prabhu is a faithful follower of Srila Prabhupada, playing a key role in his mission, I am hopeful of his attainment of Srila Prabhupada's full mercy, which he bestows on those who give their valuable human lives fully to his service. At least we can all pray for that.

I submit these words for the pleasure of the devotees. Please accept them.

In addition, I think a book and video should be produced telling of his life and his achievements. I do not have the determination to do it personally, but I am willing to suggest and contribute content and to proofread the book. I would like it if anyone interested in that might contact me. I have an account on PAMHO, where my user name is "Krsna-krpa SDG". Also perhaps at the Mayapur festival this year, some special program honoring him might be included.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Your servant,

Krishna-kripa das

a very imperfect servant of Sadaputa Prabhu and the other glorious followers of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, founder-acarya, of ISKCON, BBT, and BI.

travel journal#4.16b: Czech Woodstock 2008

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 4, No. 16b
By Krishna-kripa das
(August 2008, part two)
Czech Woodstock
(Sent from Helsinki, Finland on 9/8/08)

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

Reminded of my taste for encouraging people in kirtana at the Polish Woodstock, I decided to go to the Czech Woodstock instead of the Polish nama-hatta festival after the Polish festival tour.

Czech Woodstock

I had heard of the Czech Woodstock from my friends in recent years but was always busy when it was held. This year, however, it occurred just after the Polish festival tour, so it was easy to go to. I spent three days in between at our Wroclaw temple, where I learned a great Hare Krishna tune on the harmonium. My plan to take buses to the Polish border, walk across the border, and take a buses on the Czech side was foiled when the last Czech bus driver refused to accept my euros, saying firmly "Cheska koruny!" [Czech crowns] and pointing to the door of the bus. So much for the European Union! As it was last bus for the evening, I decided to hitchhike the 16 kilometers to Trutnov, the site of the 21^st annual open air music festival, now attended by 20,000 people willing to pay the 40 euros to get it. After walking two kilometers I got a ride with a couple young ladies in their twenties, who were also going to the Trutnov festival. I gave the driver our Polish mantra yoga card in exchange for the ride. [Persons living near the border can mostly understand the language.] And I gave an invitation to Govinda’s to her friend from Prague. They showed me the VIP entrance where, after I had been waiting in line for fifteen minutes, Mother Vrindavana Priya of Prague, who schedules our kirtana tent at the Polish Woodstock arrived. I was eager to meet the devotees and know how to deal with the registration, and she was eager to avoid waiting for fifteen minutes in line, so it was fortunate we met.

The first night the Prague devotees led some lively kirtana for an hour.

Next Danavir Goswami arrived, and led a wonderful kirtana, chanting the simple Prabhupada melody for three hours. After half an hour, asking the audience to arise, he demonstrated the swami step from the stage, and I demonstrated it, facing him, in the front of the audience. He had between fifteen and forty people dancing at any one time. Most amazing for me was that probably about 80% of them also chanted. I noticed one girl chanted the entire four hours, smiling the whole time. I was glad to see Srila Prabhupada’s program of making hippies into happies is still effective.

The first full day of the festival, organizer Punya Palaka Prabhu, told the people waiting in our tent for the program to start, that we were going to chant around the festival site and downtown, and they were welcome to come.


About eight people, including a couple girls who had chanted almost the entire previous evening joined our party of about ten devotees. It was a great idea to engage the people like that, and they had a great time.

One girl carried the mantra sign the entire hour and a half.

To see about ten harinama pictures included in a gallery of an electronic newspaper, click here.

Punya Palaka explained the people who come are special. Like with the Polish Woodstock, some come to the Czech Woodstock only to attend the Hare Krishna camp. One year, when the devotees began setting up their sound system, the eager attendees waiting for them to play urged them to chant without it. When the devotees did not comply, the Woodstock attendees themselves took up the instruments and had their own Hare Krishna kirtana as the devotees continued setting up the sound!

The devotees have been attending the festival since 1999, when the organizer, who is very favorable, made Hare Krishna the theme of that year’s festival. Ever since then, the devotees have had their own stage at the festival site, and the organizer has put Lord Jagannatha’s face on the festival advertisement each year. In fact, Lord Jagannatha’s smiling face can be seen even the armbands that the festival goers received this year. And although dozens of bands played music at Trutnov, the Krishna hard core band, Shelter, was listed in the top four.

Realizing that I am not a good enough singer or musician to play on the stage with the other devotees, I danced to the music of the kirtana in front of the stage, off to the side. I smiled at the people in the audience, and using gestures, encouraged them to sing and dance, and I appreciated their attempts.

Danavir Goswami lead an electric kirtana the second night, accompanied by two devotees on electric guitars, one on the bass, one on a full drum set, and another on djembe. Maharaja would chant the lead, and point the microphone toward the crowd on the response, encouraging the people to sing along. It was very lively. Occasionally Maharaja would hold the microphone and let one of the guitar players chant the lead. The last half of this video shows what it was like.

Afterwards I saw one girl with hair having streaks of light blue, who had danced right in front of the stage in the middle and chanted with vigor the whole time. I later thanked her for her contribution, and she told me how the chanting gave her so much energy she was amazed and did not know what to do with it. Her friend expressed that although she was very tired, her feet could not stop dancing. I explained that that was all the result of contacting the spiritual energy. The girls, who were from Prague, had seen us on harinama there, and I told them the time and location of our harinamas in case they wanted join in. They loved both our food and our music and had been to Govinda’s. They did not know, however, about the Wednesday evening program at Govinda’s, so I told them that they could come and sing and dance and have a free prasadam meal.I later I saw the girl who had chanted for four hours, when she came up to me and thanked me for my encouragement. She had not originally planned to come back but to go to a punk rock festival the next day. I found she was from Brno, and I gave her a Brno invitation card I got when visiting there in June, and introduced her to Mayapur Chandrodaya Prabhu, one of the most active devotees in that center.

Three girls practically lived in our tent for the better of the four days, often chanting along. They are seen in the far left of this photo, in front, two sitting on the ground, chanting and smiling, and one behind on the bench. When I decided to pick up the trash during a break in the action, two of them helped me.

One young man, who likes to chant "Haribol!" loudly, throwing his arms in the air, wanted to give me his black leather wrist bands, appreciating my enthusiasm in the kirtana. Such things are not part of my natural wardrobe, and I declined them with the quite real excuse that, as devotees, we do not unnecessarily use leather products because of the violence behind them. I appreciated his sentiment and gave him a mantra card. A devotee told me that previously the man had purchased some books. One girl gave me some pakoras and a container of tissue paper in appreciation. For me, the appreciation of individual people made the festival especially sweet.

The devotee hardcore band, Shelter, from America, resurrected for Trutnov, played for about an hour, led by Raghunatha Prabhu, who now is a fulltime yoga teacher in upstate New York. In this video, you can see the glowing Jagannatha face on the stage above the band as they play! Raghunatha is very personable with the audience, who reciprocated nicely. He inserted different philosophical points from time to time, between songs. For example, he said that it is not how well you play the guitar but that you sing from the heart. He mentioned that he would be singing at the Krishna Camp the next day, and invited the people to come. I had not seen him since the Polish Woodstock five years ago.
Prasadam is very popular and the devotees served it at least three different venues. After one chanting session I saw two high school girls, who had chanted and danced nicely for almost an hour, eating some pakoras and chutney. I asked if they liked food. They smiled, saying they did, listing with joy all the preparations they had tried, culminating in the sweet rice with berries in it, which was also my favorite. Although they knew of the Govinda’s on Palmovka in their hometown of Prague, they had never eaten there. I told them of the other Govinda’s with their chanting and dancing and free dinner program on Wednesdays and gave them an invitation. They had seen the devotees chanting in Prague, and I told them how they meet at 4 p.m. at Republic Square on Wednesdays and Fridays, so they could also take part. In the course of talking I explained that we are spiritual beings who are by nature always happy but feel distress due to material identification. The mantra is a spiritual sound that elevates us to a higher level where the problems of the material world do not exist. Because they had chanted nicely in the kirtana, they could appreciate to some extent how that was true. Material solutions do not help but result in more problems, as in the case of one who takes shelter of drinking to avoid his miserable condition. He still has his previous ninety-nine problems, but now one more—a drinking habit. I gave them cards with the mantra to take with them. The two friends had a wonderful experience in our Krishna camp and promised to return later in the evening.

Another fan of prasadam was a one software tester who works in Prague and used to eat regularly at Govinda’s on Palmovka when her office was located there. Last year she went to India for two weeks and had such a nice time she wants to go again. I told her how I lived in India the last three winters and mentioned some of our projects there like Mayapur, Vrindavana, and Chowpatty, giving her the addresses of their web pages, and telling her about Krishna.com which lists all our centers worldwide. One who goes to these music festival programs may wonder how much benefit is gained by the people, who although they like to sing and dance with the devotees, are still drinking their beers and puffing on their cigarettes, sometimes all at once. In this regard, a nice point is made in The Nectar of Devotion in the beginning of chapter three: "On account of his association with mahatmas, or great souls one hundred-percent in the devotional service of the Lord, one may attain a little bit of attraction for Sri Krishna. But at the same time one may remain very much attached to fruitive activities and material sense enjoyment and not be prepared to undergo the different types of renunciation. Such a person, if he has unflinching attraction to Krishna, becomes an eligible candidate for discharging devotional service." From this it seems that if we can encourage the people to develop their attraction to Krishna to the extent that it is unflinching, they too may take up the practice of sadhana-bhakti in serious way and attain love of Godhead in due course.

From the three restaurants (two named Govindas and one called Balarama) and two weekly harinamas (four in the summer) in Prague, and from previous festivals, like Trutnov and the devotees’ Happy Days festival, many, many people in Czech Republic think favorably of the devotees and appreciate some kinds of devotional service. It was nice to meet these people and try to encourage them even more. I thank my friends from Czech who invited me to come, and Punya Palaka Prabhu for organizing our participation. For more information, you may want to see Punya Palaka’s article on the Czech Woodstock festival in general on Dandavats.com, or see the official Trutnov festival site. Czech devotees have their own article at http://www.harekrsna.cz/ with photos as well.

sanketyam parihasyam va

stobham helanam eva va
vaikuntha-nama-grahanam
asesagha-haram viduh

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. (SB 6.2.14)