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Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir – SB Class, 01 March 2016: HG Prasanta Devi Dasi

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Speaker: HG Prasanta Devi Dasi
Venue: Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir
Date: 01 March 2016

So I am begging for the blessings of all my teachers and all of you assembled here. We shall listen, study a verse from the Fourth Canto, 30th Chapter, called the Activities of the Pracetas, this is verse 35, one of my favourite verses. Please repeat.

yatredyante katha mrstas
trsnayah prasamo yatah
nirvairam yatra bhutesu
nodvego yatra kascana

Translation:
“Whenever pure topics of the transcendental world are discussed, the members of the audience forget all kinds of material hankerings, at least for the time being. Not only that, but they are no longer envious of one another, nor do they suffer from anxiety or fear.”

So this is a very beautiful, interesting verse, as are all the verses of Srimad Bhagavatam, meant to turn our consciousness back towards the lotus feet of Sri Krishna, meant to teach us how to see Krishna, how to see Him everywhere. Because this is the solution to all the ills of the material world, the material society.

Srila Prabhupada explains in this verse, the characteristic of this world. It is full of envy. It is indeed the characteristic of this world. As soon as we accept a material body, Prahlada Maharaja says dehinam, those who are materially embodied, they are immediately full of anxiety. And one of the anxieties is that somehow we cannot conceive of a world where everyone is a well-wisher of another. There is envy in our heart and there is envy in the heart of others. And when interact with each other we suffer the results of that envy.

In Srimad Bhagavatam as been given to us, its our great great good fortune, to remove this awful conditioning, which is completely the opposite of what our original nature is about. Srila Prabhupada explains that Krishna katha, as we hear many times is non-different from Krishna. It is completely identical with Him. This statement has been made again and again that there is no difference between the words that describe Krishna and Krishna Himself. It is difficult indeed for us to understand that. Therefore we are requested always to be very submissive, to the instructions of the spiritual master who says, to engage in sravanam, kirtanam, as much as possible.

Any services that we perform are certainly meant for our deliverance and are certainly transcendental. At the same time it is the same teachings of Prahlada Maharaja that tell us that, unless the services that we perform are backed up, substantiated by hearing and chanting, they will not actually be able to give us the full satisfaction because service means that which is done for Krishna in a pure consciousness. And the pure consciousness is generated not from us but from Krishna, it is generated from our association with the Supreme Lord. And as soon as we deviate just a little bit from that association, immediately the atmosphere of the material world takes over, contaminates our heart, contaminates our mind.

Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, kirtaniya sada, sada harih, all the time hear and chant about Krishna. Srila Prabhupada says we should organise our life in such a way that we can always hear and chant about Krishna.

So the material world has an atmosphere that is actually completely against this remembrance of Krishna. It is pulling our mind, especially in this age, towards all kinds of sinful activities. We are pulled from outside, we are pulled from within, suffering the reactions of so many of our previous offences, previous sins and we are left to battle in this world, truly just like a straw that is floating in the current of a river.

It is a great benediction to us when one day we can be blessed with this realisation that we are no more than a straw that is floating on a river. A river that flows with a very very strong current. And sometimes the river bashes us on the left side of the river and suddenly our mind and association becomes sinful. And then after some time the river sends us or the water flow sends us on the right side of the river and suddenly we are surrounded by pious activities, our mind is peaceful. And sometimes the river starts going round and round and round and we feel like we are descending, descending, descending into an abyss full of darkness and it seems that we shall never get out of there.

This is a great blessing upon us when we can realise that, that we are being bashed left and right and there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it. The only thing, the only person that can actually help us is Krishna and specifically its Krishna in the form of sound. mantra-murtim, Krishna is called, mantra-murtim-amurtikam. It is difficult to understand for us because we cannot see the sound, we cannot see the sound. We hear, we hear. And it is difficult to actually to get this point that the sound itself is the presence of Lord Krishna in our life around us.

The manifestation of Krishna from the sound is described in the scriptures. It is said that the Vedic scriptures of which Srimad Bhagavatam is the king, they are compared like a wind. There is a wind that blows naturally in the world. And when it passes over a fragrant flower and then enters our nostrils, although there is some separation between us and the flower we experience the beauty, the quality of the flower, the beauty of the flower and we recognise the flower because we have knowledge that sometime in the past there was that fragrance and it was associated with a rose. We remember and we appreciate and within our mind we see the flower, we experience its qualities, we have its direct association.

So Bhagavatam says actually, Lord Brahma explains that the Vedic mantras they are like a wind that is travelling around this world and it enters not the nostrils but the ears. And this sound of the Vedic mantras is just like the wind that carries the aroma of the flower. It carries within it the form, qualities and activities of Krishna. It describes the activities and it carries them encapsulated within that sound. The sound itself comes from Krishna, He is origin of all sound. Caitanya Mahaprabhu told us that this Hare Krishna mahamantra has come from Goloka Vrindavana. So it has come from there. The sound is carrying Krishna’s aroma and when it enters the ears, if we are attentive enough and desirous to be with Krishna and submissive to the order of our spiritual master, that sound will go deep, deep, deep, deep within our heart. The heart is described as a very subtle space wherein the soul resides and within the heart the sound is going to release the fragrance of Krishna’s lotus feet. This is how the very very advanced devotees meet Krishna. It begins all with sound and the sound manifests the fragrance of Krishna’s lotus feet. It manifests the form of Krishna’s lotus feet.

This is why we came to this movement, hearing this beautiful descriptions. We came here with a great hope, hope against hope. Srila Rupa Goswami defines the hope of the devotee, it is hope against hope because we realise day after day that we are not qualified. And at the same time we read the descriptions of that Lord of our heart and the main description is His love for us, its His nature as merciful. He is merciful to the most fallen. This is our only good fortune. We do not have any other.

Pride is great obstruction, obstacle on the path of devotional service. It is the beginning of all fall, when we begin to identity with this body, with this mental capacity, with this material intelligence, with the place where we have taken birth and somehow associate with that ideas of superior-inferior, and we start relating with people in a way that is going to cause a lot of chaos. We have to uproot. And if we don’t make an effort to uproot, Krishna will help us, He will help us to remove that dangerous weed of pride. Because as long as that pride is there, the feeling with which the mahamantra has to be chanted will never come.

Pride, envy are the diseases that plague this world. And they plague each and every individual. The solution is given in this verse. It is in one sense the essence of the Bhagavatam verses that directly talk of hearing and chanting. So coming together to hear and chant, this is the essence of what Srila Prabhupada taught us. Here the verse explains, yatredyante katha mrstas, the katha of the Lord is pure, never contaminated. It is pure transcendental sound and wherever Prabhupada says the topics are discussed, the word idyante actually means worshipped, the word of the Lord are worshipped. The form of the lord is worshipped through arati, dressing, bhoga offerings and the words of the Lord are worshipped by recitation. They are worshipped by hearing them submissively, attentively, respectfully. This is a form of worship, it is called the Bhagavata marga.

We worship the Lord through sound. This is indeed the worship that will keep us going till the end of life. At the last moment it is said when the soul is ready to leave this material tabernacle, what is to be done – remember! What is the best way to remember – chant!

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

This kirtana, sravanam is the king of all processes, although we cannot minimise any process because they are all equal. Each and every one of them has the capacity to liberate us but unless we have heard we won’t know what to do and unless we chant it will be very difficult to keep Kali at bay.

So the katha is pure and the effect of the katha is that it brings what everyone is searching for, trsnayah prasamo yatah, from this katha there is satisfaction, satisfaction. This is what everyone wants. We are burning in this world due to material hankerings. There are unlimited wants. I want so many things. In our discussion on devotee care we learn to make a difference between the needs and the wants. We have needs which are essential for our existence and we have wants which are simply overflowing and which bring in our lives which is not essential. And actually divert us from the path of Krishna consciousness.

So this dissatisfaction that we experience is manifest as greed for example. We always want more. Lust. We always want to enjoy. Because within the heart there is no peace. There is no satisfaction. There is no tranquility. The state of satisfaction is searched for by all the great sages, by all the great yogis. We are searching for that place within the heart where there is satisfaction.

And the secret is written in a very obvious way on the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam – hear about the Lord, chant about the Lord and it also says in the association of devotees because thats where He manifests! Prabhupada used to make jokes – someone has gone to search for Krishna in the bushes in Vrindavana. Krishna is not in the bushes of Vrindavana – at least not for us who are plagued by all anarthas. We cannot find Krishna in the bushes. We will find Krishna in the loving association of the devotees.

So this is the nature of Krishna katha. It gives satisfaction by removing all the material hankerings Srila Prabhupada says because it makes one pious. Indeed pride, envy, these are not the qualities of a pious person. These are the qualities of the demons. So to remove those qualities is the first step on our path towards Krishna. Then this is the quality of Krishna katha.

When the heart is at peace, it is also explained in Bhagavatam how the heart can be at peace. Its by learning how to desire spiritual life more than anything else, how to desire to achieve Krishna more than anything else, how to desire to fulfil the orders of the spiritual master more than anything else.

I remember once many years ago receiving a hand written note from my own spiritual master saying that ‘If you are not ready to hear, what is the use of me giving you instructions!’

It is in the association of devotees that we get that determination to hear and chant and to focus on our spiritual life. It is not easy indeed. There are many distractions, many distractions from all over but we have to learn, we have to learn to create a bubble around ourselves. We have to go around in a bubble so that we do not get affected by so many interactions of the material modes of material nature. Whatever happens is but that. Usually anything that disturbs us in life it is an interaction of the material modes of nature. Anything spiritual is pleasing, it is pleasing to the soul, in general pleasing to the mind, if we apply it gently, properly.

So Srila Prabhupada founded this International Society for Krishna Consciousness to create what he called the Vaikuntha atmosphere. A place where there is no envy amongst ourselves, where there is no fear. Many of us have come to this movement because the material world was full of fear. It was bringing us so much fear. There are many reasons for which we join. This is actually the topic of this Fourth Canto, worshipping the Lord simply for material prosperity, or worshipping the Lord in goodness maybe, out of ignorance, coming for various reasons to Him, to take something, to learn something.

But this section of the Bhagavatam, Lord Shiva instructing the Pracetas is teaching us the right purpose to come to the Lord. So whatever, we gave up the material world, we were looking for an umbrella, we were looking for protection. We came here to live the real life of a human being. What is the real life of a human being? It is to simply endeavour, to forget about all the past that we may have gone through, and simply look at the future. The future is Krishna’s lotus feet, the future is to distribute all over the world this process of hearing and chanting, to flood every street, every corner. This is what Srila Prabhupada gave us as the purpose of this movement. To instruct each and every person about the process of devotional service and to make it, to make a society that where the interactions are such that this hearing and chanting can go on uninterruptedly, both as groups and as individuals. We want to hear and chant uninterruptedly. There is no other solution for the miseries of the world. All fears, meaning that within our own society there shouldn’t be any fear, they should not be afraid. We should be afraid only of breaking our vows, we should be afraid of not following the instructions of the spiritual master. Otherwise there is no other fear.

So this is a very beautiful instruction that we are receiving this morning. And the conclusion that is given in the purport is that we must decide like the Pracetas to remain within that society, to remain within that society and to play our best role, to play our best part, to contribute to the Vaikuntha atmosphere. This is our duty. We cannot accuse anyone to spoil the atmosphere. We can only from within our little bubble try to influence, so that this Vaikuntha atmosphere will be generated. This is what Srila Prabhupada wanted. This is what the world needs.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Granthraj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Nitai Gaurapremanande Hari Haribol!


Day 7of ILS: Connection with ISKCON

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1st March 2016, Mayapur, India

By Romapada Das

At the pre-launch of ISKCON Connection on the 7th day of the ILS, Praharana Devi Dasi explained that the new initiative will help connect every devotee to our worldwide community. ISKCON Connection, which will be formally launched on Gaura Purnima day this year, is a 50th anniversary initiative.

“Any ISKCON devotee can register on the website, and will be able to connect to other ISKCON devotees, become familiar with GBC activities, be nurtured in spiritual life, and access a secure database of ISKCON members,” said Praharana Devi Dasi in her introductory talk.

Devotees can fill a form on the prelaunch site at www.iskconconnection.org straight away, but they will get a welcome letter and be able to access the facilities on the site after its formal launch on 23rd March.

In the next presentation, Kaunteya Das presented ISKCON’s 3 ecosystems made of the guru-disciple relationship, ISKCON as an organisation, and society at large. He explained that these ecosystems were interconnected and interdependent, but not interchangeable.

“Srila Prabhupada has told us that human society means that which is making progress towards spiritual realisation,” commented Kaunteya. “There may be differences that may sometimes surface between the needs and priorities of the management and those of the spiritual master, but these can be resolved. An organisation without the spiritual mentorship of a Guru is dead, and a social ecosystem without spirituality is mundane.”

After the plenary sessions in the morning, ILS delegates had to walk through the Expo area surrounded by different booths hosted by various ISKCON projects. Booths included those set up by the Tribal Care Initiative Mayapur, Govardhan Eco Village, Mayapur Chandrodaya Temple, Congregation Development Ministry, BBT, Museum of the Sacred Art, Back to Godhead, Kirtan Academy, VOICE and many others.

Bhakta Ashwin from ISKCON Pune NVCC who was hosting the VOICE stall said, “VOICE has been training and educating youth since 1996 and over 10,000 students have participated in different courses. It also has over a dozen youth hostels across the country close to prestigious colleges. ILS delegates who came to our stall appreciated the wide variety of training and preaching material we have here for youth, corporates, congregation and children.”

At the Kirtan Academy booth nearby, Chaitanya Chintamani Dasi was upbeat about promoting a 3-month course on kirtans.

“Mother Laxmimoni told us that the Kirtan Academy was the best kept secret of Mayapur,” she laughed. “Therefore we set this booth up and signed up many interested people whom we will contact later for our courses. It has been good to just get the word out and see how positive people feel about our work.”

The President of ISKCON Chennai, Sumithra Krishna Das felt that the booths and stalls at ILS helped him to get timely and up-to-date information about preaching activities and tools. “The best part were the free gifts so many of the stalls were handing out,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “However, it rained heavily on the second day. Water clogged the access area, and we could not get inside. The organisers helpfully sanded the entire area, and we could get access to the stalls the following day.”

Krishna Jhan Das from ISKCON Guyana expressed admiration for the commitment and dedication of the devotees who had set up the different stalls.

“They are helping Srila Prabhupada push our movement to the next level,” he concluded. “I have had a lifetime of experience by coming here, and hope to share this knowledge and apply it when I get back to my country.”

THINK 50! Act 50!

Source: http://iskconnews.org/day-7of-ils-connection-with-iskcon,5430/

Everything Srila Prabhupada did, he did for our benefit, for the…

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Everything Srila Prabhupada did, he did for our benefit, for the benefit of the living entities and especially for his disciples.
Ambarish: I found a palatial estate that was the Fisher Mansion and later became the Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center. We went there to look at it, and Srila Prabhupada immediately liked it. He mentioned, “Who would not like such a building?”
Govardhan said, “Well, Ambarish doesn’t like it.” It was dirty, and there were dogs in it, and the neighborhood was really bad. I couldn’t see what was going to happen to it, but Prabhupada had a vision of what this place could be.
Govardhan said, “Ambarish thinks it’s maya.” Prabhupada said, “Yes, but Krishna is also maya, and maya can be utilized in the service of Krishna.”
After we looked at the building, we went to see the man who owned it. We were sitting by his pool. He was materialistic and greedy and wanted as much money as he could get, but the neighborhood was so bad that I couldn’t see how he was possibly going to get that much money, three-hundred-fifty thousand.
Prabhupada told the man that he liked the building. He said, “Of course, we’re mendicants, we’re monks, we don’t have much money.” He suggested that the man give the building.
The man was cool. He didn’t seem too shocked with that suggestion, but the real-estate lady almost fell over backwards in her chair, because she was counting on her commission. Her jaw dropped when Prabhupada said that.
The owner was respectful and said he couldn’t possibly do that, as he had invested money in the property. So they settled on a price, and Prabhupada asked if Lekhashravanti and I could come up with the money. We ended up purchasing the building that way.
We were walking in the gardens, when Prabhupada explained that he wanted to make this Detroit building a showplace for Krishna consciousness. He specifically mentioned putting in diorama exhibitions.
He was very enthusiastic about these diorama exhibitions because his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, had used dioramas throughout India as an effective way of preaching.
Prabhupada saw that non-devotees like Disney were using them, and he wanted us to have them. Dioramas were one of the first things that I wanted to get working on when we bought the property.
I was concerned with the neighborhood because there was a lot of crime and burned-out buildings. Prabhupada said “If you simply bring Krishna here, everything will improve.” At the time, I didn’t have much faith in that, but it’s well known how the neighborhood has improved.
Now there are luxury condominiums there, and there’s the first new housing development within the city limits of Detroit in forty or fifty years.
The whole neighborhood has been transformed, and they have said specifically that it’s because the temple is there. Prabhupada could see that this was going to happen.
What I learned from this experience was that simply by following the instructions of the spiritual master, you become successful. As disciples, we don’t have to try to be innovative or think up new things, but just by following Prabhupada’s directions things will work out.
Prabhupada could see past, present, and future because he was in touch with Krishna. The Detroit building has worked out really well.
It has become a wonderful center and people who would never visit any other temple come there. I think Prabhupada would be very pleased with the way things developed.
The night after the new temple was purchased, the real-estate lady and her partner, two middle-aged Polish women, came to congratulate Prabhupada. They both were intoxicated and were laughing.
Prabhupada was kind and friendly with them, and he was very happy too, because he had purchased the building at a good price. Prabhupada didn’t discriminate. He always made whomever came feel comfortable. His attitude was so personable it was amazing.
During the last few months of his life, I knew Prabhupada was really ill, but I never thought that he was going to depart. I thought, “How can he leave? He can’t leave us now,” so I did not go to India.
In retrospect I wish I had gone, but Govardhan, the president of the Detroit temple, went, and when he first went into Prabhupada’s presence, Prabhupada said, “How is Ambarish?”
He was on his departure bed, yet he was asking how I was doing. It’s amazing to me that he was always so concerned. Right up to the end, he was translating and giving instructions.
Everything he did, he did for our benefit, for the benefit of the living entities and especially for his disciples. It’s such an example of love. I never knew what love was before I met Srila Prabhupada.
I had no idea, because we get so many perverted reflections. He was an example of Krishna’s love, and it is amazing that we’re able to see that.
—Ambarish
Excerpt from “Memories-Anecdotes of a Modern-Day Saint”
by Siddhanta das
www.prabhupadamemories.com

ILS Cow Protection Work shop 2016 (Album with photos) Sri…

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ILS Cow Protection Work shop 2016 (Album with photos)
Sri Mayapur International School Grade 5 visited the Cow protection workshop on February, 29th and had a fun, educational time learning how to plough with bulls, make cow dung patties, clean cows and use cow products to keep healthy.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/65RqUg

Preaching program at Sagar Institute of Research & Technology collage, Bhopal, India

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On Monday, 15th February 2016, HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja addressed approximately 600 students and congregational members at Sagar Institute of Research & Technology collage, Bhopal (India). HH Bhakti Prema Swami Maharaj also accompanied Maharaj in this program.

Maharaja was enthusiastically greeted by the audience and after Maharaja arrived, a drama named “Live from Ahobilam” was performed. Thereafter, Guru Maharaja started the program with a very wonderful prayer. Maharaja began the class and described the glories of Sri Narsimhadeva and Prahalada Maharaja. He also glorified the actors for their wonderful acting skills and presentations.

In the class Maharaja focused on the concept of devotion where he also discussed the philosophy of scriptures depicting the transmigration of the souls from one body to another and the cycle of birth and death. Maharaja said that the best way of understanding the Lord is by directing ourselves on the track that is illuminated by “Bhagavad Gita As It Is”. He said that “the best way to understand the taste of pudding is by tasting it”. Similarly, the best way to understand devotion is by practicing it. He also said that Krishna and Arjuna had the conversation to cultivate the instruction of devotion within his devotees. Maharaja said that the best way to understand any person is asking him directly, similarly to know the Lord, you need to read His book of instructions “Bhagavad Gita As It Is”. Maharaja gave the conclusion in Hindi Tro accommodate the Hindi speaking audience.

Maharaja also answered several questions asked by the students, which was followed by an ecstatic kirtan led by Him. Many students joined Maharaja on stage dancing in the kirtan with Maharaja. In this way the program was concluded.

The next day, 16th February 2016, Maharaja gave Srimad Bhagvatam class at ISKCON Bhopal temple. HH Bhakti Prema Swami accompanied Maharaja. After that Maharaja visited “Transcendental classes”, a coaching institute opened by the local ISKCON youth forum devotees.

ISKCON Leadership Sanga (ILS) Attendees Pledge $250,000 to TOVP

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Hare KrishnaBy Praghosa Das

The ILS seminars in Sridhama Mayapur during ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary celebrations and the Gaur Purnima Festival are underway and a dynamic partnership with the TOVP Fundraising Team is helping to facilitate this year’s seminars. These seminars are organized every two years under the direction of Gopal Bhatta prabhu to educate, train and inspire ISKCON devotees in different areas of management, outreach, devotee care and much more. They are attended by hundreds of GBC’s, sannyasis, Temple Presidents, Congregational Development leaders, Bhakti Vrksha leaders and general devotees from all over the world. This year also brought some additional inspiration and excitement to the gathering when the attendees themselves forged together to combinedly pledge $250,000 to the TOVP which included a $100,000 donation from Gopal Bhatta himself. The TOVP Team is very appreciative of this generous action which will undoubtedly be a springboard for further contributions during the Gaur Purnima Festival.

A visit to the Temple of Vedic Planetarium in Mayapur by the…

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A visit to the Temple of Vedic Planetarium in Mayapur by the Grade 2 students of SMIS (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Sometimes it is very risky to give great philosophical instructions to ordinary people, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, for the benefit of the fallen souls of Kali-yuga, has given us a very nice instrument, the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.10.18 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/frba1B

Mauritius Plans New School, Medical Center for 50th. ISKCON of…

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Mauritius Plans New School, Medical Center for 50th.
ISKCON of Phoenix, Mauritius, is planning a whole host of exciting events and projects for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary year, including a new school and medical center, and the groundbreaking for a new $3 million temple.
Devotees have already secured a 5-acre plot of land in the town of Phoenix in the center of the island, and hope to hold the groundbreaking ceremony within the next few months.
The ambitious project, which is expected to take a minimum of three years to construct, will include a 600 to 800-capacity temple hall for Radha-Golokananda, a guest house and accommodation for devotees, a prasadam hall, a conference hall, exhibition areas, an auditorium and a five-star restaurant. It will blend traditional domes with modern western features.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/gH7JVi


March 2. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Satsvarupa…

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March 2. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Typing His Words.
In February 1966 Prabhupada spoke, over the space of two lectures, what later became the introduction to his Bhagavad-gita As It Is. He recorded these lectures himself and we typed them later. In a 1968 letter to me, Prabhupada wrote, “You have to meet many opposing elements in the matter of preaching work; therefore, you should always be careful to follow the principles in Bhagavad-gita As It Is. You will be glad to know that our arrangement with Macmillan for publishing Bhagavad-gita As It Is, is already complete and the manuscript has been handed over to them. We should clearly preach that our Krishna consciousness movement is purely based on Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Any other movement which does not tally with the principles of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, is considered unauthorized by us.”
I was still typing for him in 1968 despite many opposing elements. Typing is yoga. You sit on the floor cross-legged in front of the typewriter. Instead of performing pranayama and raising the life air in the cakras, you type the words of Swamiji from the Bhagavad-gita manuscript. If you make a mistake in typing, then stop and correct it. Everything is concentrated on looking at the message and making it right. Thinking of typing as yoga gives a nice spirit to the work, but the most important thing is that it is in connection with the Swamiji. It is his words of Bhagavad-gita. Besides the recorded lectures, he had bundles of thousands of pages that he had typed, wrapped in saffron and lying on the floor in his closet. When he first took some typing out of this mass of material and gave it to me, I remarked, “I think you have enough work to last me a whole winter.” Swamiji laughed and said, “I have many lifetimes of work for you.”
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=6

The Adventurous Govardhan Parikrama. Sutapa das: Yesterday I…

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The Adventurous Govardhan Parikrama.
Sutapa das: Yesterday I went on Parikrama, which literally means to “walk around.” Circumambulation of holy places has a symbolic meaning – to always keep our spiritual aspirations central and close, regardless of where we are in life (whatever point on the circle, one is never further away from the centre). There is also a transcendental benefit: anyone who sincerely circles these holy places accrues the conviction and devotion to escape the cosmic cycle of birth and death. Bare footed, and carrying the bare necessities, I set off, trying to keep a spiritual meditation in mind.
An hour into my journey, a local resident whizzed past me. Half my size and double my age, but somehow walking at twice my speed! How was it possible? Not to be defeated (as if it was a race anyway), I upped my tempo. At this point I was practically running, but he was effortlessly pulling away. As he floated ahead into the morning mist, I wanted a glance of his face. I was waiting, praying for him to look back – who was this man? He eventually disappeared out of sight, and never looked back even once. He was totally focused on the path ahead.
Residents of these holy places, we are told, are not ordinary souls. They travel light, with few attachments, speeding towards spiritual perfection. They’ve closed all their chapters, tied up their worldly concerns, and now invest everything in their cherished spiritual aspirations. They don’t look back. Yes, I thought, maybe I’m not moving as fast as I’d like because I’m still looking back. Looking back to see if I’m missing out on something. Looking back and regretting actions and decisions of the past. Looking back to see what people think of me, preoccupied with public opinion, image, name and fame. Looking back to see how everyone else is doing, continually comparing my progress to others and competing with the world. In this way we continually look back, and unknowingly slow down our progressive march forward.
I resolved to not look back for the rest of my walk. It helped, and I prayed that ‘not looking back’ will become a deeper meditation in my life. Oh, and I did indeed meet that mystical man again. A half hour down the road he was sitting on a wooden bench sipping coconut water. He had finished his circuit, while I still had a good few hours left. He smiled, and I smiled back, folding my hands in respect. Gracefully and humbly, he returned the gesture. It was touching. I walked off and wondered who he was… a small man, but likely a spiritual giant.
Read more: https://sutapamonk.wordpress.com/

Preaching in Nepal (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada: Sri…

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Preaching in Nepal (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is described as maha-vadanya, the most munificent of charitable persons, because He gives Krishna so easily that one can attain Krishna simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.3.38 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/lXcwoB

TOVP: First Segment of West Wing Kalash Installation Begins (3…

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TOVP: First Segment of West Wing Kalash Installation Begins (3 min video)
We have commenced the stainless steel structure for the West Wing kalash.
What you’re seeing in the photo and video is the first segment for the small dome. There will be three more layers on top of that. This gives an indication of the immense size of the kalashes. Soon work will commence on the main dome kalash.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/Yok1O1

A lone Vaishnava mendicant. Somehow my life trajectory led me to…

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A lone Vaishnava mendicant.
Somehow my life trajectory led me to the life of a monk. As years progress, I realise that the renounced order is not just a dress, an identity, role, position, or life situation. It must mature into a deep internal conviction. Saffron signifies fire; the setting ablaze of all material concern. Saffron is not just a statement, but the opportunity and responsibility to embody genuine detachment. Not a dry, bitter, heartless or forced detachment, but a natural indifference coming from genuine spiritual inspiration. Without this higher taste, what is the real substance of one’s so-called renunciation? I’m falling short, and challenged to dig a little deeper.
In 1958, while residing as a lone, penniless mendicant in this remote town, Srila Prabhupada wrote a beautiful poem. “In this mood,” he said, “I am getting many realisations.”
Krishna has shown me the naked form of material nature,
By his strength it has all become tasteless to me today.
“I gradually take away all the wealth of those upon whom I am merciful.” How was I able to understand this mercy of the all-merciful? (Stanza 1)
Everyone has abandoned me, seeing me as penniless,
Wife, relatives, friends, brothers, everyone.
This is misery, but it gives me a laugh. I sit alone and laugh.
In this maya-samsara, whom do I really love? (Stanza 1)
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/e2p6H3

The Illusion of Heavenly Planets

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By Khonika Gope-Kumar

Like many others, I had a misconception that the 7 subterranean planets mentioned in the scriptures are actually hellish planets meant for punishing the sinners. Hell no! (no pun intended)

The seven subterranean planets, i.e. those are below the earthly plane (not to be confused with the earthly globe) known as Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala and Pātāla (SB 5.24.7) are, in fact, more opulent than the Heavenly planets!!! In those subterranean heavens, known as bila-svarga, “there are very beautiful houses, gardens and places of sense enjoyment, which are even more opulent than those in the higher planets because the demons have a very high standard of sensual pleasure, wealth and influence”. (SB 5.24.8). Srimad Bhagvatam keeps describing, “There are many wonderful houses, walls, gates, assembly houses, temples, yards and temple compounds, as well as many hotels serving as residential quarters for foreigners.”(SB 5.24.9) “There are many lakes and reservoirs with clear, transparent water, agitated by jumping fish and decorated with many flowers such as lilies, kuvalayas, kahlāras and blue and red lotuses.”(SB 5.24.10)

And unlike the demigods, whose sense enjoyment is sometimes disturbed, “the residents of these planets enjoy life without disturbances. Thus they are understood to be very attached to illusory happiness.” (SB 5.24.9). Everyone in the material planetary systems, from Swarga Loka to Patal Loka think that they are happy. Even a stool eating hog thinks that he has got a blissful life. What to speak of living entities enjoying such great opulence. But, how big an illusion this momentary happiness is?

“Everything in the subterranean heavens is very nicely arranged. There are well situated residential quarters, there is a pleasing atmosphere, and there are no bodily inconveniences or mental anxieties, but nevertheless those who live there have to take another birth according to karma. Persons whose minds are dull cannot understand this defect of a materialistic civilization aiming at material comforts. One may make his living conditions very pleasing for the senses, but despite all favorable conditions, one must in due course of time meet death. The members of a demoniac civilization endeavor to make their living conditions very comfortable, but they cannot check death.” (Bhaktivedanta Purport SB 5.24.14)

“According to the statements of Prahlāda Mahārāja, material enjoyment is māyā-sukha,illusory enjoyment – māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: these fools (vimūḍhas) are engaged in material happiness, which is surely temporary. Whether in the heavenly planets, the lower planets or the earthly planets, people are engrossed in temporary, material happiness, forgetting that in due course of time they have to change their bodies according to the material laws and suffer the repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. Not caring what will happen in the next birth, gross materialists are simply busy enjoying during the present short span of life” (Bhaktivedanta Purport SB 5.24.8)

“Under the influence of māyā, the living entity becomes exactly like a person haunted by a ghost. Such a person speaks all kinds of nonsense. When the living entity is covered by the influence of māyā, he becomes a so-called scientist, philosopher, politician or socialist, and at every moment presents different plans for the benefit of human society. All these plans are ultimately failures because they are illusory. In this way the living entity forgets his position as an eternal servant of the Lord. He instead becomes a servant of māyā… As servant of māyā, he sometimes becomes a king, sometimes an ordinary citizen, sometimes a brāhmaṇa, a śūdra,and so on. Sometimes he is a happy man, sometimes a prosperous man, sometimes a small insect. Sometimes he is in heaven and sometimes in hell. Sometimes he is a demigod, and sometimes he is a demon. Sometimes he is a servant, and sometimes he is a master. In this way the living entity wanders all over the universe.” (Bhaktivedanta Purport SB 4.29.29)

It is very difficult to break free of this chain and get out of this illusion. Very difficult asMaya is also Krishna’s energy. So, what is the solution to break free from this maya? Bhagvat Gita describes (BG 7.14)

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te

“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.”

The only solution is to Surrender unto the Lord. There is no other formula. “When he [a devotee] is strong in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, māyā cannot touch him. In this way, in the association of Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees, the living entity can get free from the contamination of material existence.” (Bhaktivedanta Purport SB 4.29.29)

Krishna-conscious Carnival at Hungarian Nursery Schools. It is…

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Krishna-conscious Carnival at Hungarian Nursery Schools.
It is an age-old custom in Europe that in every February, people say goodbye to the cold and dark winter and welcome spring in a celebratory way, singing, dancing, and dressed up in colorful costumes.
The students of Krishna-valley and the Budapest Gurukula’s nursery schools did not want to miss out on the fun all their fellow nursery schoolers enjoy during this season, so with the help of their teachers, they also put up their own show.
The day of the carnival was full of activities – they decorated the school, enjoyed dancing and singing, playing with the balloons, eating delicious donuts, but everyone agreed, the highlight of the day was the Krishna-conscious costume party.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/kfDtbi


Seminar: Sri Tattva Sandarbha – The Life of Jiva Goswami –…

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Seminar: Sri Tattva Sandarbha – The Life of Jiva Goswami – Romapada Swami.
HH Romapada Swami Maharaja is a disciple of ISKCON Founder Acarya His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He was first introduced to this movement of Krsna consciousness when he was a college student more than 37 years ago. He has accepted renounced order of life- sannyasa, and preaches the message of true devotion by traveling all over the United States of America, Canada, the Caribbean, India, and many other parts of the world. With his most kind and loving persona, he inspires his followers to take to the process of devotional service. He is also serving the movement for years as a Governing Body Commissioner (GBC) of ISKCON in the North America region. HH Romapada Swami very strongly believes in educating everyone in the process of devotional service. He frequently makes presentations and delivers seminar lectures across the world, in many famous educational institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvad University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Penn State University, Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, BITS-Pilani, and at many renowned corporate offices such as Microsoft, Lucent Technologies, just to name a few.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/Eh7Rjd

Iskcon Toronto: We are happy to share our March edition of our…

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Iskcon Toronto: We are happy to share our March edition of our monthly newsletter!
ISKCON 50th - This year, around the world, ISKCON is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary! Our Founder Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada incorporated ISKCON in 1965 in New York. Global festivities will celebrate Krishna conscious values, spiritual contributions by Srila Prabhupada, and the incredible impact ISKCON has had around the world! We encourage you to help us showcase Krishna consciousness through books, prasadam, educational initiatives and even by simply encouraging your friends and family to visit the temple! The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple is working on very exciting plans to celebrate ISKCON’s 50th anniversary! You can read more about the international celebrations at ISKCON 50.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/ZNlh0f

Mayapur GBC Meeting (Album with photos) Ramai Swami: Every year…

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Mayapur GBC Meeting (Album with photos)
Ramai Swami: Every year at the time of the Mayapur Gaura Purnima festival, the GBCs from all over the world come to meet.
There are many proposals of various kinds put to the GBC body and discussions go over.
Find them here: http://goo.gl/7Wvrfc

Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

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Travel Journal#12.2: North and Central Florida

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 12, No. 2
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2016, part two)
North and Central Florida
(Sent from Mumbai, India, on March 2, 2016)
The second half of January I spent four days in Orlando, four days in Tallahassee, and five days in Gainesville chanting at Krishna Lunch and the Farmers Market, except Sunday when I attended the Alachua Sunday Feast. I also spent two days in Tampa, one chanting at University of South Florida and the other with Gainesville and Alachua devotees chanting at the Gasparilla Pirate parade. While I was in Orlando, I came to Gainesville just for the day, to chant Hare Krishna with my friends from Gainesville and Alachua in the Martin Luther King Day March, a yearly event we have been attending for several years.
I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami’s books and journal, lectures by Amala Bhakta Swami and Giriraja Swami, a seminar on cow protection by Balabhadra Prabhu, Prabhupada memories by Govinda Dasi, lectures by Prabhupada disciples, Kalakantha Prabhu, Krishnasravana Prabhu, Sesa Prabhu, and Sukhada Devi, and lectures by newer devotees.
Thanks to Megan Sauer for her pictures of Nama Kirtana Prabhu and I chanting at Lake Ella in Tallahassee. Thanks to Jeremiah for his recording of the kirtana at our Tallhassee temple. Thanks to Audrey for her picture of the Gainesville Farmers Market harinama. Thanks to Carol Cole for her video of me playing harmonium and chanting in front of the University of South Florida library. Thanks to Sudevi Dasi for her pictures of the program with Amala Bhakti Swami at University of South Florida in Tampa.
Itinerary
March 1–3: Mumbai
March 5–10: Mayapur Kirtan Mela
March 12–21: Rishikesh Harinama
March 22–April 11: Vrindavan
April 13: Mumbai
April 14–21: Dublin, Ireland
April 22–24: Newcastle, England
April 27: King’s Day, Amsterdam
April 28–29: Holland
April 30–May 1: Birmingham 24-hour kirtana
May 2–: The North of England and Scotland
July 10: Prague Ratha-yatra
July 12–16: Polish Woodstock
August 5–11: Baltic Summer Festival
August 18–21: Trutnoff (Czech Woodstock)
September 13–: New York City Harinam
Chanting Hare Krishna in the Martin Luther King Day March

Hare Krishna devotees from Alachua and Gainesville chanted in the annual Martin Luther King Day March this year as they have for several years. As usual we were the only group with music, and because we had a nice loud sound system, it was easy for people to hear us. Despite our dominating presence, many people were favorable, and no one complained about us.

Christiana danced with some of the people from other groups in the parade, including this lady, who also played the shakers.




This gentleman played his own drum along with us.

Kalki, our fired-up brahmacari book distributor, danced blissfully in the march.
The young ladies at Krishna House danced very joyfully as well.

This lady dances with us every year.
Here is some video showing what it was like (https://youtu.be/b4VeY4WzVDE):

Chanting at University of South Florida
Having taken a bus from Orlando, and a city bus to the campus, I was late getting to University of South Florida so I decided to chant as walked to the library because I like to chant a full three hours. One Asian-looking girl looked toward me and moved her head to the music as I approached. I asked her where she was from and she said India. I asked which part, and she said South India, Karnataka. Recalling the most significant place I had been in that state, I told her had been to Udupi. She said, “I am from Udupi.” She talked about how they had their big biannual festival there recently for the changing of the swami who manages that famous Krishna temple. I mentioned I had been to a program a Hare Krishna swami did in a nearby town at a university with a large medical school. She said, “Oh, you must mean Manipal.”
“Yes,” I said, “Manipal.”
She replied,  “Actually I am an exchange student from Manipal University.”
I met a librarian who taught yoga and was very interested and said she would come next week.
One girl who was senior, was just starting to learn about yoga. She said she would definitely come, and she did and brought three friends.
One Christian lady, Cathy Cole, who loves to chant in her church choir, was intrigued with my portable harmonium and the chanting, and she took this little video (https://youtu.be/CYjnc6V9O8s):
When she sent me the link to the video she said, “It was a pleasure listening to your music and sharing thoughts.”
As the time of the program approached, I left the library to set up in front of the Marshall Student Center, the program venue.  On the way there, I met a Bhakta Carlos, who was distributing books. I told him the details about the program and asked him to tell the people he meets. As I approached the Marshall center, I saw Sudevi Dasi, who was wondering where I was chanting, and we went to sing together in front of the center with books on display for ten or fifteen minutes before program. One young guy skateboarded up to us, and said, “Hare Krishna.” Earlier in the week he had been playing recordings of George Harrison chanting Hare Krishna, and was happy to see us, and learn of the program. He also came to it.
Altogether I was very pleased that five people came to the program because I took the trouble to come from Orlando to Tampa to chant at the campus.


Amala Bhakta Swami gave an interesting, entertaining, and informative lecture, and I think there is a good chance that all the new people who came to the program will come back.
Chanting Hare Krishna in Tallahassee
I chanted at Lake Ella in Tallahassee on the weekend and at Florida State University, behind the library, on Monday and Tuesday.
Saturday it was so cold, I wanted to quit after just an hour and a half. I ended up staying out two hours, as I had to wait for a ride.

Still we met some nice people, like two girlfriends who were FSU students, and one of whom, Megan Sauer, took this picture of us.
Ramiya Prabhu and his wife, Ananta Devi, joined me in chanting at the campus, and it was so wonderful to have their contribution to the kirtana, an increase in our outreach this year.
A seriously inquisitive young man named Jeremiah came to a couple programs, even recording a kirtana because he liked it. You can hear it too at:
Krishna Lunch Kirtana

Different devotees sing at Krishna Lunch each day. Usually Adi Karta Prabhu just distributes books and talks with students. This time he led kirtana (https://youtu.be/HRZmrWCB754):

Palika, visiting from Bhaktivedanta Manor, also a wonderful singer, played karatalas.
Krishna House Devotees Chant at the Gainesville Farmers Market

A kid enjoyed playing the tambourine and shakers and a visiting musician enjoyed playing the flute as Krishna House devotees chanted at the Gainesville Farmers Market (https://youtu.be/i5xuMxsQpQs):
Interfaith Progressive Dinner
The progressive dinner is a yearly event put on by the University of Florida chaplains, with the intent of creating a forum for students of different religious faiths to get to know each other. This time it was not the last week of classes, and more people could attend, a suggestion from Amy of Krishna House, who is involved with interfaith at University of Florida. The idea is that people take snacks at the Hillel House, then the main course, which is Hare Krishna spaghetti, at the St. Augustine Catholic Church, hot drinks served at the Episcopal Church, and the desserts served at Gator Wesley, where there is entertainment.
I had an interesting conversation with a Mormon preacher. I asked him about the Mormon references to restricting the eating of meat, and he showed me the reference from a book associated with the Book of Mormon on his smartphone.
He elaborately explained to me and a young lady from the Episcopal Church the whole history of the Book of Mormon. As the discussion continued, he made a reference to how peaceful the Hare Krishna people were. That reminded me of a story, which I asked if I could tell briefly. I asked one student eating our Krishna Lunch how he liked it, and he said it was great but the most amazing thing was that whenever he eats the Krishna Lunch, the whole afternoon he never becomes angry, and he advised us to market this. I then explained how by cooking food in the spirit of devotion to God, the food becomes transformed and has spiritual qualities, which is something that the student experienced although he did not know the philosophy behind it. The young Episcopal lady smiled and appreciated the point that the consciousness the food is prepared in has an effect on the food itself.
The Gator Wesley people were really conscientious this year to make sure that there were plenty of desserts did not violate the lactovegetarian diet of the Hare Krishnas.
Michael Collins and his wife Madhava Devi Dasi sang and played instruments, and Madhava danced as well, which was something not there in the other performances. They sang devotional tunes with a lot of feeling and expertise. Because I tend to like more mellow music than the genre they played, I could not completely appreciate it, but I am sure it reached many of the students who regularly hear more intense music. In particular, Audrey of Krishna House really loved it.
One of the interfaith leaders read an inspiration quote I thought had some value, and I asked him about it afterward. I decided to take a picture of it to share with others.
Hare Krishnas Chant and Dance at Tampa’s Gasparilla Pirate Festival
The Gasparilla event had two Hare Krishna chanting groups because instead of waiting at our meeting place, the first Alachua devotees to arrive went in one direction along the crowded roadway while the Gainesville devotees and the Alachua devotees who came later, not finding them, decided to go in the opposite direction. We did not meet for an hour and twenty minutes. Then we chanted together for an hour or so.
Vanna was very enthusiastic and successful in distributing some vegan oatmeal cookies I had leftover from my college outreach in Tallahassee. Many people liked them. I asked two girls who seemed especially enthusiastic to see us if they had encountered Hare Krishna before.

They smiled and said they ate Krishna Lunch at University of Florida all the time. We told them we were the people who serve the Krishna Lunch. And that made them more happy.

Many people enjoyed dancing with us.

Some took photos of themselves and their friends dancing with us.
One lady came by two or three times and played the karatalas. I asked her how she knew about Hare Krishna. She said she has seen the devotees in different places and always likes to participate with them.

One young lady took pleasure in striking Abhi’s drum.
I was happy to see the enthusiasm of all the devotees who came from Krishna House to participate in the event. They included Abhi, who played the drum, Carlos, who played harmonium, Vaishnava, who helped drive, Audrey, who danced, and Vanna, who danced and distributed cookies.
Here is a collection of video clips from the event (https://youtu.be/EKVyiqIbw2o):
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
The atheist wishes there may be no God so he can do what he likes.
Dharma is to obey the laws of God. Adharma is to disobey them.
Our real dharma is to serve God and if we neglect this, we are liable to be punished.
Preaching means whatever Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita you simply repeat. Both speaker and hearer become liberated.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.18 in Mayapur on September 28, 1974:
It is the desire of Krishna that someone as pious as Maharaja Yudhisthira is in control of the government.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.18 in New York on April 10, 1973:
Unless you deal with God, you cannot experience His greatness.
Meditation is to concentrate the mind to see how the Lord is in the heart. This is real yoga.
The more you purify, the more you can see God within and without.
It is not so cheap thing that you can see God, especially when affected by lust and greed, the lower qualities of material nature. But by the process of Krishna consciousness, we can change our qualities.
God is giving our daily bread. Why should we bother him by asking? Do the animals go to the church and ask for bread? God consciousness does not mean you go to God and ask for something, rather you give everything to God.
Mother Yasoda is always anxious to give Krishna protection. This is Krishna consciousness.
The Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy is very sublime, to see God as subordinate, and in that mood serve Him with affection.
If we apply the ointment of love of God, we can see Him.
If you can see God, talk with God, and go back to Godhead, why should you lose this opportunity? That is Krishna consciousness.
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.5.24, purport:
“Lord Krishna is very much pleased with His devotees, even if they are not on the topmost stage of devotional service. Even on the lower stages of devotional service one is transcendental, and if one continues with devotional life, he continues to be a deva or sura [a godly person]. If one continues in this way, Krishna will always be pleased with him and will give him all instructions so that he may very easily return home, back to Godhead.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

From Japa Walks, Japa Talks:
The Bhagavatam is our daily newspaper, our in-depth study of current events. As we read the news, we’ll stay in touch with our needs and our predicament as entangled, permanently bound jivas. And we will also be reminded of the remedy.
“The harinama devotees
have a strong bond.
They may express some
differences and have
superficial conflicting
personalities, but they
are an elite corps
with firm allegiance
to a common, highest cause.
Their main feature
is cooperation in
steadily, staunchly, going out together
every day. They exchange
a non-sentimental love
and a high degree of efficiency in
working together.
They serve Lord Caitanya
and endure petty differences.”

Amala Bhakta Swami:

Srila Prabhupada said that ISKCON is here forever.

We go from this Vaikuntha to that Vaikuntha.

Speaking during the occasion of the solar eclipse at Kurukshetra, Krishna indicates the amazing power of the great sages is such that ordinary people become interested in inquiry about the Absolute Truth simply by being in their proximity.

After greeting the sages and washing their feet, those who are intelligent take that water on their heads and bodies to facilitate and expedite their spiritual advancement.

The sages are greeted so nicely they are made to feel what they are, truly venerable persons.

The sages came to glorify the Lord, but the Lord surprised them by glorifying them before they had a chance to glorify him.

The Lord accepts the cowherd girls with romance in their eyes, cowherd boys with friendship in their eyes, and the elderly ladies with maternal affection in their eyes, because He does not want to disturb their pure emotions for Him.

Although Krishna is always happy, that happiness can be increased. Like an ocean always has waves, yet a sudden wind can create a much bigger wave.

Mike Phelps, famous as all-American hero, won eight gold medals for swimming. He was harassed by all kinds of businessmen wanting him to endorse their products. He became an alcoholic, got in a car accident, and had to go through rehab. Thus success without Krishna consciousness is failure. The Pandavas were successful, but because they were conscious of Krishna, they were happy.

The more you think “me, me, me, mine, mine, mine,” the more you distance yourself from Krishna and you feel an emptiness within, and thus you are unhappy.

If you endeavor for wealth, strength, and beauty, and you have no knowledge of Krishna, you will be miserable.

The devotee wants to serve the Lord with joy and with love, knowing that there is nothing better.
Although originally callous to the many great sufferings of the animals he half killed, by the purity of the association of Narada, Mrgari, the hunter, became willing to change his life. By chanting the mantra and following the lifestyle that Narada suggested he become so nonviolent he did not want to kill an ant.

After Dhruva performed austerities and saw the Lord, he no longer desired to have a kingdom greater than Lord Brahma, but the Lord, impressed by his saintly qualities, wanted him to rule the world for 36,000 years to set an example.

We can pray, “O Lord, you are nondifferent from this book,” and beg for His revelation.

If there is one thing that bothers Krishna it is the misery of His children, and Srila Prabhupada knew his books could eliminate that misery.

From a class at the University of South Florida in Tampa:
I always make sure that everyone understands each point before we move forward.
We offer respect to our spiritual teacher to get the maximum blessing before we even begin.
Reality is much more than we see. If we look at our hands with a microscope, we see so many things we do not see with our eyes. Similarly if we look at the sky with a telescope, we see so much more.
Spiritually elevated beings see themselves as one with you as they are all also connected to the same source.
Krishna was so beautiful that anyone who saw him, male or female, would practically pass out. That is because Krishna is the reservoir of all beauty.
In yoga we begin to look into ourselves more carefully, and then we can look into others more carefully.
Yoga helped me retain vigor.
Yogis traditionally meditate on the tip of the nose or on a place on the forehead between the eyes.
In yoga you become the captain or master of your mind.
The five senses are all pulling on the mind, and thus the mind is agitated, and you cannot make clear decisions.
As we cannot see the bottom of the stream when the water is agitated and it becomes muddy, we cannot think clearly unless our mind is peaceful.
The peacefulness of yoga samadhi is very deep, but it does not reach the bliss of bhakti-yoga.
God reciprocates with the love in your heart so nicely it satisfies the soul.
When our team wins, we rejoice because we identify with our team. One man became so frustrated with his team losing, that he moved to the city of the team predicted to win the next year. Unfortunately, the next year that team lost and he remained frustrated. When we identify ourselves materially, we will always be frustrated.
Real love is experienced between the soul and the Supersoul in the heart.
As we become more aware that we are souls, we try to serve God more. We associate with people who inspire us and give us their blessings so we feel peace.
Yoga gives us a happiness that is above and beyond our little physical form.
When our consciousness is cleansed we can experience the peace we are looking for without external endeavor.
By yoga we can become impervious to all kinds of material tribulations.
The best meditative state is to develop pure love of God and that will bring us to the greatest ecstasy.
Giriraja Swami:  
We come to the temple because of the association of devotees. If everything was here, but there were no devotees, no one would come. What brings us to Krishna is the association of devotees.
We develop good or bad practices by association. Babies do not smoke, but by association with people who smoke, one develops that habit.
Association is the most critical factor in peoples’ lives to bring them up or down.
With a damaged car, you can replace the parts and eventually get it to work, but you cannot do that with the body when it is dead.
The car needs the help of a driver or it cannot move, and similarly the body needs the presence of the soul to function.
Most people identify with the body and act for the body but only achieve some stimulation, not lasting happiness.
As if we make a mistake in the beginning of solving a mathematical equation, we will be assured of an erroneous result despite doing all subsequent calculations perfectly, we mistake the body for soul, our calculation of how to be happy will be incorrect.
There was a generation of people who did everything their society taught them would make them happy, but never obtained happiness. This led people to investigate the cause of actual happiness. One professor wrote a book called Stumbling on Happiness. He discovered that we are very poor at predicting what will make us happy.
Most people identify with the body, and those who don’t identify with the mind. The mind simply accepts and rejects things but is never satisfied. Sometimes it rejects something it accepted just a moment before.
Anything material that gives us happiness will not continue to give us happiness for long.
As a youth, I would be so excited to get a new phonograph record, but I realized I could not listen to it too much, or I would lose my taste for it.
At a campus program, I had just seen Srila Prabhupada dismantle the arguments of many challenging students, and I knew he could have easily torn me apart for getting lost while driving him home from the program, but he smiled compassionately and dismissed it. I was so impressed with his kindness.
One Muslim student who heard Srila Prabhupada speak at Harvard went on to become a Muslim professor. He told the devotees that whenever he is in some difficulty or crisis, he always remembers the swami who gave that talk, what he said, and Krishna Himself. When he hears the devotees speak of Srila Prabhupada, tears well up in his eyes.
“The root cause of devotional service to Lord Krishna is association with advanced devotees. Even when one’s dormant love for Krishna awakens, association with devotees is still most essential.
‘O my Lord! O infallible Supreme Person! When a person wandering throughout the universes becomes eligible for liberation from material existence, he gets an opportunity to associate with devotees. When he associates with devotees, his attraction for You is awakened. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead – the highest goal of the topmost devotees, and the Lord of the universe.’
‘O devotees! O you who are free from all sins! Let me inquire from you about that which is supremely auspicious for all living entities. Association with a pure devotee for even half a moment in this material world is the greatest treasure for human society.’” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 22.83–85)
Ordinary association reinforces the illusion that you are the body and by getting things for the body you will be happy.
Association with devotees helps us as individual souls connect with the Supreme Soul, and that will give us ultimate happiness.
Q (by Kalakantha Prabhu): What about inappropriate feelings that arise in the course of pursuing our spiritual goals?”
A: Krishna recommends in Bhagavad-gita to tolerate. Others say control your breath, count to ten. Do not react and damage relationships. If you know something is going to bring a bad result then do not indulge in it. Try to see the good in others. If we are seeing bad in others, perhaps we should look to see if that fault is in ourselves and try to correct ourselves. If we find a place is full of the atmosphere of criticizing devotees, we can try to change the atmosphere, but easier and more practical is to just do the right thing ourselves because it is the right thing.
The principle with chanting and everything else is to do the best we possibly can at the moment. It may not be the best we have ever done.
We cannot always predict what situation will be favorable. Sometimes we get the most mercy when we least expect it.
Q (by me after class): What did you gain especially from Srila Prabhupada’s personal association?
A: I was impressed most by his humility, his faith in Krishna, especially in His holy name, his enthusiasm to preach, even when no one was present, and his kindness to all living entities. I could tell many examples of each.
You bathe every day don’t you? The problem is we think eating and sleeping are necessary but not chanting. This is because we do not read enough.
[To an Indian student:] Work is worship is not in Bhagavad-gita. Whatever anyone says has to be supported by Bhagavad-gita.
Arjuna accepts Krishna as param brahma, and we must also accept Him as such. Arjuna also accepted that whatever Krishna says is true, and therefore we must accept Bhagavad-gita in total as well.
To develop his theory of psychology, Maslow studied healthy people as opposed to studying mentally ill people or rats. He was the chairman of the department of psychology at Brandeis University where I studied. He found healthy people had peak experiences that transformed them. He was very open to have all sorts of yogis and swamis speaking. I had an idea of perfection and finding a perfect master, so I was excited by this.
I rejected the swamis and yogis for different reasons, one for too tightly embracing his female followers, one for getting angry, one Zen master, who when asked about Vedanta replied, “Why are you asking me about Vedanta? I can hardly keep up with Zen,” and one professor, whose Zen was playing golf.
When Srila Prabhupada said in the first lecture I ever attended that only one in thousands of people is looking for perfection, I thought, “That is me.”
I asked Srila Prabhupada, “Every swami advocates his own method as best? Which is the best method?”
Prabhupada replied, “What is your goal? Do you want to become God or do you want to serve Him? If you want to become God, that means you are not God now. How can someone who is not God become God? If you want to serve God, if you hear and chant about Him, He will give you guidance. If you want to become God, why should God help the competition?”
I was reminded of the sign I had put in my bathroom “You are God.” I learned that I could not become God and that Srila Prabhupada could understand what was going on within me. I understood he was my master and bowed down before him.
Once while chanting Hare Krishna in Boston, I felt love for everyone in the classroom and beyond the classroom, like all the way to California. I praised the chanting to Srila Prabhupada and he chuckled and replied, “Thank you very much.”
At the age of eight, I got some inkling I was meant for a higher purpose, that I have a mission.
I wanted to help people so I thought of being a doctor, but then I realized that those in mental agony suffered more, so I thought of going into psychology. But studying anxiety at college I saw that the psychology professors had quarrels about the budget.
Balabhadra Prabhu:

From a seminar on ox protection at the Orlando Sunday feast:

While training the oxen, when we stop, I always talk to them, and say they are doing a good job.

At Bhaktivedanta Manor, practically all the farming is done using the oxen. When tour groups of children visit, they love to go for ox cart rides.

At a program solely about cows near Udupi, in nine days the organizers got the 500,000 attendees they were hoping for.

One cow at the Czech farm, Rasalila, gave milk for the pleasure of Krishna for many years without giving birth to a calf.  I tasted her milk, and it was the most incredible nectar. She had a friend, Tungi, and just two weeks before Rasalila left her body, Tungi also started giving milk without a calf, as if taking over Rasalila’s service.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.17.3, both verse and purport, are very important statements on cow protection. Verse 8.24.5 is also important.

If we show how to protect cows, it does not matter where we are, it will be very beneficial.

The question we are asked most often is how many cows are giving milk, but cows and milk are just part of cow protection. Religious principles are derived from cow protection. In Vedic times, cows were bred to produce bulls to assist in agriculture, transportation, and religious principles. The second reason was dung, and the third, urine, for medicine. Milk was the last reason, and it considered to come as a natural byproduct.

I always had a problem with anger, even when I began working the oxen at Gitanagari. In Small Farm Journal I read, “You cannot have any anger when you are working the bulls. If you become angry, stop working them. Feed them, and come back when your mind is peaceful.” I took note of that and applied it. One devotee, with a degree in psychology, who observed me working the oxen for some time, told me, “The more you work with the oxen, the more you improve at controlling your anger.”

It is not that Krishna was a cowherd boy, but Krishna is a cowherd boy.

A lot of devotees who follow vegan diets, do so out of compassion for the cows.

It would be so helpful if more and more temples got involved in cow protection so the deities could be offered ahimsa milk.

The cows and bulls are more valuable alive than dead.

Rajsthan Goseva Sangh, one goshala in Rajasthan, was completely self-sufficient from selling cow products when we visited them about 1998. They had a cancer clinic which used medicine derived from cow urine and had a success rate of 85%.

Bhakti Raghava Swami never touched a cow before once he came to visit me. Now he is a great advocate of cow protection and has done valuable service.

When people would accuse of us exploiting the oxen by forcing them to work, I would point how because their great size, 2,500 pounds each, I could not force them to do anything. They work because we have a relationship with them. Actually they love to work, especially when they are being treated properly.

Usually vegans would be the ones who complain about us exploiting the oxen. I would point out they were eating vegetables produced with tractors. And I would explain in detail, all the exploitation of the environment needed make the tractors.  Then I explain about the tires necessary for the tractors and the exploitation to obtain the rubber. Then I tell how because of the tractors, the oxen were not worked but slaughtered, and how the farm workers replaced by them were jobless. The real fact is not using the oxen for farming has resulted in mass exploitation.

Srila Prabhupada captured our hearts with his gratitude. Whatever service we did for him, he would always say, “Thank you very much.” And it melted our hearts.

Organic milk is really just a smokescreen. It still has the problems of calves sold for slaughter, cows slaughtered after they stop giving milk, etc.

We created a minimum standard for cow protection in ISKCON. It included the idea that before breeding, there must a program for training and working the bulls.
Still too few farms live up to this standard.

When I was minister of cow protection, I tried to incite a competition between farms, getting them to report how many oxen were working and how many hours of work they performed.

Srila Prabhupada said on December 4, 1968 in a lecture in Los Angeles:

“So the example is set by the Supreme Personality of Godhead that human civilization will advance only on the basis of brahminical culture and cow protection. As soon as there is falldown from brahminical culture, and as soon as there is discrepancy in the protection of cows, there will be no more peace in the world. Therefore He specifically said, go-brahmaṇa-hitaya ca. This Krishna consciousness movement is for the protection of brahminical culture and cows.”

More information on cow protection, see the ISCOWP website at http://www.iscowp.org or write to iscowp@gmail.com.

Govinda Dasi:

I was a senior at University of Texas in Austin. There was the first shooting from the university tower. We were so disillusioned that we left school in the middle of the year and went to San Francisco seeking enlightenment. 

I did yoga and read in a yoga book when the chela is ready, the guru will appear. Thus I practiced celibacy and meditated for eight hours a day. I must have got this inspiration from a previous life. I found a Back to Godhead in a head shop. 

In the second BTG I read the description of Srila Prabhupada walking down the street, and it was like the doors of perception opened and I had a darsana (vision) of Srila Prabhupada. I realized without doubt he was my guru. I looked up the address of the temple, and it was just five blocks away, and we went there and asked for an interview with the swami.

Srila Prabhupada would ask many questions to familiarize himself with America. He was surprised that I had traveled so much, and when I said in all my travels nothing had made me happy, he smiled broadly, and said, “That is required.” He understood that although I could get whatever I wanted, I was not happy.

He listened to our problems attentively, and he told us, “If you come to my classes morning and evening, all your problems will be solved.” Of course, there are always problems, but the devotee becomes detached from them.

In college you have philosophies like existentialism which elaborately describe the problem but have no solution.

From the beginning Srila Prabhupada engaged us according to our propensities, and do this he inquired what we were studying. He immediately engaged us in painting Radha Krishna because we had an art background.

We had no desire to be anywhere except with him, so when he went to New York, we went to New York, driving in there four days with some hippies.

The charm, the personal wit, and the caring in Srila Prabhupada is more than I can describe.

Srila Prabhupada wanted all his lectures recorded. On the bhajans he recorded himself playing both the drum and the harmonium. These recordings are his gifts.

“A pure devotee always engages in the service of the Lord, taking shelter of His lotus feet, and therefore he has a direct connection with the saffron mercy-particles that are strewn over the lotus feet of the Lord. Although when a pure devotee speaks the articulation of his voice may resemble the sound of this material sky, the voice is spiritually very powerful because it touches the particles of saffron dust on the lotus feet of the Lord. As soon as a sleeping living entity hears the powerful voice emanating from the mouth of a pure devotee, he immediately remembers his eternal relationship with the Lord, although up until that moment he had forgotten everything.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.20.25, purport)

Once I tried correcting his pronunciation for the word “analogously” in his  reading of the preface of Brahma-samhita, and he replied, “You pronounce it your way, and I will pronounce it my way.” I never tried to correct him again.

Gaurasundara was learning the Sanskrit and Bengali. He learned about the suffix “ji” and asked Prabhupada if he could call me Govindaji. Prabhupada indicated “ji” was low class. I asked, “Why do we call you “Swamiji” if it is a low class ending?” He said it was not important, but I thought it was important so I pressed him several times.  That was out of character for me, so I think Supersoul was pushing me.
Prabhupada said, “You can call me Gurudeva, Guru Maharaja, or Srila Prabhupada.”
“That is three,” I said, “what about one?”
He replied, “You can call me Srila Prabhupada. That would be very nice.”
Then he explained what Prabhupada meant and said, “I am the Prabhupada and you are the Prabhus are taking shelter.”
Prabhupada means he whose lotus feet the masters take shelter of.

He was the most gentlemanly and fatherly person you could ever hope to meet.

Srila Prabhupada started us studying Sanskrit and Bengali.

When the lotus blooms, the bees come. Although there were no devotees, sankirtana parties or books, but somehow so many people came.

I prayed to be able to understand his accent, and almost immediately I was able to understand.

If you ask Srila Prabhupada for some service, he will guide you from in the heart.

Our first service was putting up posters for the mantra rock dance.

Krishna speaks through his devotees, and therefore their association is so important.

The whole year I was cooking for Srila Prabhupada he had the same five things on Ekadasi: pan fried peanuts, sweet potatoes mashed with yogurt, a wet vegetable preparation with cauliflower and potato slightly fried, and fruit salad with sour cream.

Srila Prabhupada said, “Ghee is for cooking for Krishna, oil is for cooking for Shiva.” He also said, “Ghee is for the inside of the body, and oil is for the outside of the body.”

People take lots of prasadam in the beginning because it their first contact with Krishna in many lives and they cannot get enough.

I dealt with a contractor in Gainesville who lived on Krishna Lunch when he was a student.

There is a problem in ISKCON that some tulasis have crossbred with other varieties of basil, so we have to be careful.

Srila Prabhupada said that personal ambition cannot be dovetailed in devotional service.

Srila Prabhupada said regarding our children, “Demigods are waiting in line to take birth in this movement.” And you can see that in their spirit of enjoyment. But 

Prabhupada also said that the children of our children would be pure devotees.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

It is an art to not be too liberal or too conservative, to retain the essence of the tradition, while attracting new people.

Comment by Caitanya: Now there are more people who work in the department of agriculture than there are farmers.

Krishnasravana Prabhu:
We can go up or down or remain in this realm. Krishna does not force anyone, but He advises how we can return to Him.
Other names like Allah and Jehovah have the same power as they are all names of God, but I am a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, so I chant Hare Krishna as he advised and the Vedic literature recommends.
Q (by me): In Bhagavad-gita 18.65 Srila Prabhupada stresses worship of Krishna alone, yet in Bhagavad-gita 8.14 he accepts worship of the other Vishnu-tattva avatars. Why is this?
A: When you love someone you want His name and fame glorified all over the world, and because Srila Prabhupada is a pure devotee of Krishna, so he is glorifying Krishna. Even in Dvaraka, Vasudeva Krishna is attracted by the beauty of the youthful Vrindavan Krishna. Even Maha-Vishnu wanted to see Krishna so He kidnapped the brahmana’s sons. Even Laksmi was attracted by the sweetness of Krishna and tried to attain the position of the gopis.
A (by another SP disciple): Srila Prabhupada is trying to bring us to the topmost platform in Bhagavad-gita 18.65 and so he promotes Krishna as superior to the other incarnations. He also says the knowledge is the most confidential.
In a war, if you surrender, you lose, but if you surrender to Krishna, you win.
Q (by Jorge): How to we think of Krishna while talking to someone at our job?
A: If a woman has a lover, she will do her household duties nicely so her husband does not suspect, but she is always thinking of her lover because of her intense attraction. Similarly we are all lovers of Krishna by constitution, so we should perform our duties in this world very nicely, and at the same time always think of Him.
Sesa Prabhu:
We are eternal individuals, and we have each have a history by which we have become here today, to Srimad-Bhagavatam class.
Fiji is the island where Kaliya came from and eventually returned. During a brief transit through a Fiji airport, one Indian man with governmental influence, who was amazed at hearing of Srila Prabhupada’s great preaching work in the West, visited him at the airport, and Srila Prabhupada convinced him to build a Krishna temple within that brief time. There was installed a deity of Kaliya-Krishna.
The Kaustuba gem was given by Kaliya to Krishna.
Within in the last couple of years, in Fiji, workers in an excavation reported seeing a multi-headed snake in the mountains.
Comment by Dhameshvar Mahaprabhu Prabhu: It is explained in a former life, Kaliya was a king who washed a devotee’s feet but did not respect the water considering the devotee’s social position. Thus he got a mixed result.
One of the key lessons of Kaliya pastime is that Krishna’s mercy follows the mercy of the devotees. Because Kaliya’s wives offered prayers on his behalf he attained Krishna’s mercy. When they saw in their husband exalted qualities of humility, remorse, regret and doubt in response to Krishna’s chastisement, they prayed to Krishna for His mercy upon their husband.
Sukhada Devi:
The cowherd boys offer the challenge to Krishna and Balarama of liberating the Talavana Forest from influence of the Dhenuka demon, and the two are up for the challenge.
Radha-Damodara temple is said to be the hub of the universe. Srila Prabhupada was inspired to serve Rupa Goswami and thus he stayed there. He desired to be blessed by the mercy of sages there.
Srila Prabhupada prayed to Rupa Goswami for his mercy, and he attained it. He literally cried for the mercy as he swept the Rupa Goswami’s samadhi.
The Yamuna River is described as a necklace of sapphires or blue lotuses.
The children I take on sankirtana look forward to it every year. One girl suggested we bring lunch next time so we could stay out all day.
Once a devotee was saying how Vrindavana is becoming degraded. Srila Prabhupada said no, that those who are responsible for taking care of Vrindavana will take birth as hogs and dogs there, but even the hogs and dogs in Vrindavana are liberated.
Comments by me:
I always go to Radha-Damodara temple.
Srila Prabhupada described Vrindavana as a place where people are inclined to love Krishna and where Krishna is inclined to love them.
Vrindavana is a special place. Even a young Afro-American lady who was not a Hare Krishna concluded that sacred places do in fact exist and Vrindavana is such a place, after she stayed there for a month as some devotees friends had encouraged her to.
Madhava Prabhu [from New Raman Reti]:
Part of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s daily bhajana, in addition to glorifying Radha-Krishna, is to take shelter of the Lord to overcome material tendencies. We can learn from this.
Q: When are the exams [for your series of seminars on Saranagati]?
A: Every day, at every moment. [laughter]

Visvambhara Prabhu of Bhaktivedanta Academy:

We find that the students who went out distributing prasadam cakes and Srila Prabhupada’s books enjoyed that experience. That was our goal. In fact, some of them did not want to come back.

Kalki Prabhu:
By Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, through his books, we can understand who is actually a sadhu, a saintly person.
By giving classes morning and evening, by speaking with people, and encouraging disciples, in so many ways, Srila Prabhupada expressed his compassion by enlightening people in Krishna consciousness.
This chanting of Hare Krishna is so nice that plants, animals, and insects, all advance spiritually by hearing the chanting.
Devotees asked Srila Prabhupada what happens to the grass that hears the chanting of a pure devotee. Srila Prabhupada explained that it gets a human body in the next life, which would normally take ten million births.
People do not understand how on the material platform, there is no steady happiness, but if we explain this carefully, they can come to get an appreciation of it.
Like Krishna wants to glorify His devotees, the advanced devotees want to glorify the other devotees.
Srila Prabhupada’s minimization of sleep was just a symptom of being fully engaged in devotion.
Srila Prabhupada was doing the same thing as the Goswamis, using the Vedic literature to support the conclusion of pure devotion service to Krishna.
Humility and tolerance are very important. If we are humble and tolerant, we will not commit offenses, and thus we will be able chant the holy name constantly.
We should always be looking within ourselves to see how we can improve our devotional service.
Krishna consciousness is already spreading all over the world, but if we assist we will get the credit for helping. Otherwise, it will happen anyway and we will miss out.
Comment by Abhimanyu Prabhu: Locan Das Thakura wrote in one of his books that Lord Caitanya said some people would try to escape by going to Western countries but that he would send his senapati bhakti [commander-in-chief devotee] to rescue them.
Comments by me:
If we are not tolerant, we will be absorbed in the dualities of material life, and will not have time to mercifully benefit people.
Sometime we have the idea that we want everyone to love us, but that is not realistic. Even the greatest saints and the Lord Himself, although they are goodness personified, still have enemies.
Vasudeva Datta:
If you do not read in the morning, you may find that you do not have time to read later, and the reading does not happen.
—–
This verse inspires me when I chant Hare Krishna in public in different cities around the world. I am an instrument, although tiny, in fulfilling Lord Caitanya’s prediction. Although not everyone will appreciate the chanting, Lord Caitanya will be pleased, and He is the bestower of all benedictions:
prithivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama
[Lord Caitanya said:] “In every town and village of the world, in every place, My name will be propagated.” (Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya-kandha 4.126)

The Light of the Soul

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By Indradyumna Swami

Volume 14, Chapter 8.

March 3, 2016

The Light of the Soul

“Welcome home!” Mahavan dasa, a Russian disciple, greeted me as I came out of New Delhi’s slick new airport terminal, tired after my flight from Bangalore. Mahavan is my secretary when I travel in India. A brahmachari in his thirties, he wears saffron, shaves his head, and stuffs his bag with the latest gadgets—cell phones, iPads, ear buds, chargers.

“We’re not home yet,” I said. “I wish we were, but Vrindavan is still a good three hours away.”

“Well, let’s get there quickly,” he said. “The car is just over here.”

We began working our way through the crowd of people that were going into and coming out of the terminal when Mahavan suddenly pointed to an elderly man in soiled burgundy-colored robes in the midst of the throng. “Gurudeva,” Mahavan said, “look at that man. It looks like he’s asking people for help. I think he’s a beggar.”

“He’s not a beggar,” I said. “He’s a Buddhist monk from Tibet. It’s part of his tradition to approach others for alms. It helps the monks develop humility.”

“But he doesn’t have a begging bowl,” Mahavan said, “and he looks desperate.”

No one was giving the man anything. As we watched, a teenage boy shoved him aside. The monk covered his face with his hands and sat down on a bench. A moment later, an affluent-looking couple walked past, and he got up and approached them, but they too ignored him, and when he persisted the man shouted at him. The monk looked flustered. He sat back down on the bench and stared straight ahead, as if in contemplation. Despite his bedraggled condition, he appeared effulgent.

I was shocked at the way people were treating him. I felt it was my duty to help him, so I started to walk toward the bench when he noticed me and jumped up to hurry over and grab hold of my sleeve. “Please let me stay with you for a while,” he said in English. “I need the shelter of spiritual people.”

“Sure,” I said. “Why don’t we sit down?”

“Do you have the time?” he asked softly.

“For someone like you I have all the time in the world,” I said. We walked toward the bench he had been sitting on. He continued to hold onto my sleeve.

“Are you hungry?” I asked. “Can I get something for you to eat?”

“Thank you, no,” he replied. “I am not hungry.”

“Have you lost your way?” I asked. “Maybe I can help you get to your next destination.”

“Just a minute,” he said. He straightened his back and closed his eyes, assuming a meditative pose. As he slowly inhaled and exhaled, he became calm, serene, and composed.

“How in the world did he manage to find such peace right after being mistreated?” I wondered. The minutes passed, and I felt a wave of tranquility come over me as well. Finally he opened his eyes. He didn’t look directly at me, but stared into the distance as he told me his story. “My name is Tsering Lama,” he said. “I come from the Sera Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet. I have lived there since I was five years old.”

“Wow!” I said. “How old are you now?”

“I am seventy years old.”

“And what service do you do in the monastery?” I asked.

“I study the scriptures,” he said. “Since my childhood I have studied the teachings of Master Lama Tsongkhapa who lived in the fourteenth century. He was the founder of the Gelug-pa School which I belong to, and a highly respected teacher of the Buddhist scriptures. My main service is to debate with others about the scriptures. It is an integral part of our tradition.”

“I am honored to meet such a learned scholar,” I said. “And I am sorry to see how people are treating you today.”

He shook his head, as if to suggest the mistreatment was of no concern or perhaps to dismiss my praise. “It has been my lifelong dream to visit Bodh Gaya,” he said. “It is the place where Buddha attained enlightenment. That holy site is here in India in the state of Bihar. Several months ago I said goodbye to my beloved disciples and set out on foot alone for Bodh Gaya.”

I wondered how many hundreds or even thousands of disciples such a man could have.

“When I arrived here in Delhi,” he continued, “two men invited me to spend the night at their home. I was exhausted from months of traveling, so I accepted their invitation. That night they fed me and gave me some tea to drink. The next thing I knew I was waking up on the sidewalk in a Delhi slum. It seems that the tea they gave me was laced with some drug that caused me to fall unconscious. I discovered that they had stolen everything I possessed: my clothes, my passport, my money, of course, and even my sacred chanting beads. I had been saving that money since my childhood for this pilgrimage, and suddenly it seemed impossible that I would make it to Bodh Gaya.

“Now I have nothing. I have been here at the airport for three days begging for money to complete my journey. Nobody has given me a single rupee, most likely because I look so dirty and disheveled.”

I took his hand. “I will help you,” I said.

“No, no,” he said. “I will not take money from a holy man like you.”

“It’s OK,” I said. “I am not holy yet. I’m trying, but I’m just a beginner, really. I have a long way to go. Believe me, you can safely accept some money from me.”

“What you say in humility is not true,” he said soberly. “I studied your face. I can see your true self through your eyes.”

“You can see me through my eyes?” I asked.

“Yes” he replied. “I have learned this from our Tibetan masters.” He looked straight into my eyes with a steady stare. Feeling uncomfortable, I looked away, but he caught my chin with his hand and turned my head toward him so he could study my face. His small hand had a powerful grip.

I also looked at his face. His dark brown eyes peered out from slanted eyelids that curved upward at the outer corners, reminding me of Tibetan art. He had a small flattish nose, and his thin lips, though fixed in a determined line, seemed to be slightly, almost imperceptibly, smiling. He obviously had not shaved for some days, and his golden skin bore a few small scars. He seemed to glow with a radiance that I could feel more than see, and the softly pungent fragrance of Tibetan incense still hovered about his stained, travel-weary clothes. Though his head barely came up to my nose, I had the feeling that I was standing in front of someone large and powerful, someone who could knock me over with the flick of a finger.

After some minutes he spoke. “You have served your master well in this life.”

“Well, I have done some service,” I said. “Like I said, I’m trying, but…”

“You have spread his glories through the written word, through discourses, and through festivals that you hold in distant lands.”

“Distant lands?” I thought. “How could a Tibetan monk know about the festivals in Poland?”

“But your service was interrupted last year by disease,” he said.

“Well, yes. I had a bout with cancer and…”

“In March,” he said.

I caught my breath. “Yes,” I said. “Yes. You are exactly right. It was in March of last year.”

“And there is more disease to come,” he said.

“Oh really?” I said. I could hear the disappointment in my own voice.

“But don’t worry,” he said. “I will help you.”

He got off the bench and sat down on the ground in a full yoga asana. He closed his eyes once more and quickly seemed to be transported to another plane. After a few minutes his eyebrows furrowed in the intensity of his meditation and his lips moved as he chanted mantras in the Tibetan language.

People stopped to stare at the unusual sight: a sannyasi sitting on a bench and a Buddhist monk meditating on the ground next to him. They looked at me as if asking for an explanation, but I had none. I could only sit silently while he offered prayers on my behalf. Twenty minutes later he opened his eyes and turned to me. “I have removed the obstacles,” he said. “You will live a long life in service to your master.”

“Well, gosh,” I said. “Thanks so much.” I got up and helped him back onto the bench.

“Compassion is central to the teachings of Buddha,” he said.

“I know that,” I said. “But why are you being so kind to a stranger like me?”

“We are not strangers,” he said. “I am returning a favor you offered me several lifetimes ago.”

I felt the hair on my arms stand up.

“You mean… Are you saying we were together in a previous…?”

“Some things are better left unsaid,” he replied. “And I must go. I must try to fulfill my dream.”

“Wait,” I said. “Wait a minute. I want to help you.” “No,” he said. “As I already told you, I would not accept money from you. You are using it to help people less fortunate than yourself.”

“But wait,” I said. “How do you know how I use money? We’ve only just met.”

“As I told you,” he said, “the eyes show the light of the soul.”

He turned and started walking away toward the terminal.

“No!” I said running after him. “I won’t let you be mistreated by those people again. Please take this donation. It’s enough to get you to Bodh Gaya and back to Tibet by train.” I pushed some bills into his hand.

He looked at the money for a long time. When he looked up his eyes were moist.

“I will accept your kindness,” he said slowly. “And I will not forget you.”

He started walking away again, but then stopped and turned back.

“We won’t meet again in this lifetime,” he said. “But I will leave you a special gift in the monastery in Lhasa. When you arrive, mention my name. The monks will direct you.” He took a small piece of paper from the sleeve of his robe and wrote down the address of the monastery. I felt goose bumps erupt on my body.

“Please make sure you go there,” he said. “What I am leaving for you will be a great asset in service to your master.”

“Do you mean money?” I asked.

“Oh, no,” he said. “Nothing like that. It is something more wonderful than anything money could ever buy. You will not be disappointed.” With that he disappeared into the crowded metro station.

I turned to Mahavan. “What just happened? Was that a dream?”

“No,” he said, looking as astounded as I felt. “I saw it with my own eyes. Will you actually go to Lhasa?”

“Yes, of course I will,” I replied. “I’ve always wanted to go to Tibet. And now I have the best reason ever: to increase my service to my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.”

“Can I go with you?” Mahavan said.

“You must come,” I said, “just to remind me that I’m not dreaming when we discover what the monk has left us. And to confirm that service to a great soul never goes in vain.”

“One can attain the path of liberation from material bondage only by rendering service to highly advanced spiritual personalities. These personalities are impersonalists and devotees. Whether one wants to merge into the Lord’s existence or wants to associate with the Personality of Godhead, one should render service to the mahatmas. For those who are not interested in such activities, who associate with people fond of women and sex, the path to hell is wide open. The mahatmas are equipoised. They do not see any difference between one living entity and another. They are very peaceful and are fully engaged in devotional service. They are devoid of anger, and they work for the benefit of everyone. They do not behave in any abominable way. Such people are known as mahatmas.”

[ Srimad Bhagavatam 5.5.2 ]
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